Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church. He became known as l'Éminence rouge, or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the title "Eminence" applied to cardinals and from the red robes that they customarily wear.

 

Consecrated a bishop in 1607, Richelieu was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616. He continued to rise through the hierarchy of both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622 and chief minister to King Louis XIII of France in 1624. He retained that office until his death in 1642, when he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered. Richelieu became engaged in a bitter dispute with Marie de Médici, the king's mother, and formerly his close ally.

 

Richelieu sought to consolidate royal power and restrained the power of the nobility in order to transform France into a strong centralized state. In foreign policy, his primary objectives were to check the power of the Habsburg dynasty (reigning notably in Spain and Austria) and to ensure French dominance in the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 after that conflict engulfed Europe. Despite suppressing the Huguenot rebellions of the 1620s, he made alliances with Protestant states like the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic to help him achieve his goals. However, although he was a powerful political figure in his own right, events such as the Day of the Dupes (French: Journée des Dupes) in 1630 showed that Richelieu's power still depended on the king's confidence.

 

An alumnus of the University of Paris and headmaster of the College of Sorbonne, Richelieu renovated and extended the institution. He became famous for his patronage of the arts and founded the Académie Française, the learned society responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. As an advocate for Samuel de Champlain and New France, he founded (1627) the Compagnie des Cent-Associés; he also negotiated the 1632 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye under which Quebec City returned to French rule after English privateers took it in 1629. He was created Duke of Richelieu in 1629.

 

Richelieu is known as the inventor of the table knife. Annoyed by the bad manners that were commonly displayed at the dining table by users of sharp knives (who would often use them to pick their teeth),[6] in 1637 Richelieu ordered that all of the knives on his dining table have their blades dulled and their tips rounded. The design quickly became popular throughout France and later spread to other countries.

 

Richelieu has frequently been depicted in popular fiction, notably as the lead villain in Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel The Three Musketeers and its numerous film adaptations.

 

Early life

Born in Paris on 9 September 1585, Armand du Plessis was the fourth of five children and the last of three sons: he was delicate from childhood and suffered frequent bouts of ill-health throughout his life. His family belonged to the lesser nobility of Poitou: his father, François du Plessis, seigneur de Richelieu, was a soldier and courtier who served as the Grand Provost of France, and his mother, Susanne de La Porte, was the daughter of a famous jurist.

 

When he was five years old, Richelieu's father died of fever in the French Wars of Religion, leaving the family in debt; with the aid of royal grants, however, the family was able to avoid financial difficulties. At the age of 9, young Richelieu was sent to the College of Navarre in Paris to study philosophy. Thereafter, he began to train for a military career. His private life seems to have been typical for a young officer of the era; in 1605, aged twenty, he was treated by Théodore de Mayerne for gonorrhea.

 

Henry III had rewarded Richelieu's father for his participation in the Wars of Religion by granting his family the Bishopric of Luçon. The family appropriated most of the revenues of the bishopric for private use; they were, however, challenged by clergymen who desired the funds for ecclesiastical purposes. To protect the important source of revenue, Richelieu's mother proposed to make her second son, Alphonse, the bishop of Luçon. Alphonse, who had no desire to become a bishop, became instead a Carthusian monk. Thus, it became necessary that the younger Richelieu join the clergy. He had strong academic interests and threw himself into studying for his new post.

 

In 1606, Henry IV nominated Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon. As Richelieu had not yet reached the canonical minimum age, it was necessary that he journey to Rome for a special dispensation from Pope Paul V. This secured, Richelieu was consecrated bishop in April 1607. Soon after he returned to his diocese in 1608, Richelieu was heralded as a reformer. He became the first bishop in France to implement the institutional reforms prescribed by the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563.

 

At about this time, Richelieu became a friend of François Leclerc du Tremblay (better known as "Père Joseph" or "Father Joseph"), a Capuchin friar, who would later become a close confidant. Because of his closeness to Richelieu, and the grey colour of his robes, Father Joseph was also nicknamed L'éminence grise (lit. 'the Grey Eminence'). Later, Richelieu often used him as an agent during diplomatic negotiations.

 

Rise to power

In 1614, the clergymen of Poitou asked Richelieu to be one of their representatives to the Estates-General. There, he was a vigorous advocate of the Catholic Church, arguing that it should be exempt from taxes and that bishops should have more political power. He was the most prominent clergyman to support the adoption of the decrees of the Council of Trent throughout France; the Third Estate (commoners) was his chief opponent in this endeavour. At the end of the assembly, the First Estate (the clergy) chose him to deliver the address enumerating its petitions and decisions. Soon after the dissolution of the Estates-General, Richelieu entered the service of King Louis XIII's wife, Anne of Austria, as her almoner.

 

Richelieu advanced politically by faithfully serving the queen-mother's favourite, Concino Concini, the most powerful minister in the kingdom. In 1616, Richelieu was made Secretary of State, and was given responsibility for foreign affairs. Like Concini, the Bishop was one of the closest advisors of Louis XIII's mother, Marie de Médicis. The queen had become Regent of France when the nine-year-old Louis ascended the throne; although her son reached the legal age of majority in 1614, she remained the effective ruler of the realm. However, her policies, and those of Concini, proved unpopular with many in France. As a result, both Marie and Concini became the targets of intrigues at court; their most powerful enemy was Charles de Luynes. In April 1617, in a plot arranged by Luynes, Louis XIII ordered that Concini be arrested, and killed should he resist; Concini was consequently assassinated, and Marie de Médicis overthrown. His patron having died, Richelieu also lost power; he was dismissed as Secretary of State, and was removed from the court. In 1618, the king, still suspicious of the Bishop of Luçon, banished him to Avignon. There, Richelieu spent most of his time writing; he composed a catechism titled L'Instruction du chrétien.

 

In 1619, Marie de Médicis escaped from her confinement in the Château de Blois, becoming the titular leader of an aristocratic rebellion. The king and the duc de Luynes recalled Richelieu, believing that he would be able to reason with the queen. Richelieu was successful in this endeavour, mediating between her and her son. Complex negotiations bore fruit when the Treaty of Angoulême was ratified; Marie de Médicis was given complete freedom, but would remain at peace with the king. The queen-mother was restored to the royal council.

 

After the death of the king's favourite, the duc de Luynes, in 1621, Richelieu rose to power quickly. The year after, the king nominated Richelieu for a cardinalate, which Pope Gregory XV accordingly granted in September 1622. Crises in France, including a rebellion of the Huguenots, rendered Richelieu a nearly indispensable advisor to the king. After he was appointed to the royal council of ministers on 29 April 1624, he intrigued against the chief minister Charles, duc de La Vieuville. On 12 August of the same year, La Vieuville was arrested on charges of corruption, and Cardinal Richelieu took his place as the king's principal minister the following day, but the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld nominally remained president of the council (Richelieu was officially appointed president in November 1629).

 

Amboise is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court.

 

Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, 27 kilometres (17 mi) east of Tours. It is also about 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from the historic Château de Chenonceau, situated on the river Cher near the small village of Chenonceaux. Amboise station, on the north bank of the Loire, has rail connections to Orléans, Blois and Tours.

 

Clovis I (c. 466 – 511) and the Visigoths signed a peace treaty of alliance with the Arvernians in 503, which assisted him in his defeat of the Visigothic kingdom in the Battle of Vouillé in 507.

 

Joan of Arc passed through in 1429 on her way to Orleans to the Battle of Patay.

 

Château du Clos Lucé was the residence of Leonardo da Vinci between 1516 and his death in 1519. Da Vinci died in the arms of King Francis I, and he was buried in a crypt near the Château d'Amboise. The house has lost some of its original parts, but it still stands today containing a museum of da Vinci's work and inventions, and overlooks the river Loire.

 

The Amboise conspiracy was the conspiracy of Condé and the Huguenots in 1560 against Francis II, Catherine de' Medici and the Guises.

 

The Château at Amboise was home to Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, for much of her early life, being raised there at the French court of Henry II. She arrived in France from Scotland in 1548, aged six, via the French king's favourite palace at Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, and remained in France until 1561, when she returned to her homeland—sailing up the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh on 15 August that year.

  

The Edict of Amboise (1563) conceded the free exercise of worship to the Protestants.

 

Here was born in 1743 Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French philosopher, known as Le Philosophe Inconnu (d. 1803).

 

Abd el Kader Ibn Mouhi Ad-Din (c. 1807 – 1883) was imprisoned at the Château d'Amboise.

 

In 2019, the 500th anniversary of da Vinci's death, Amboise held many events celebrating the master's life and his work completed in the town. The number of visitors to Château du Clos Lucé, for example, was estimated as 500,000 in 2019, a 30% increase over the typical annual number.

 

The city is known for the Clos Lucé manor house where Leonardo da Vinci lived (and ultimately died) at the invitation of King Francis I of France, whose Château d'Amboise, which dominates the town, is located just 500 m (1,640 feet) away. The narrow streets contain some good examples of timbered housing.

 

Just outside the city is the Pagode de Chanteloup, a 44-metre-tall (144 ft) Chinese pagoda built in 1775 by the Duke of Choiseul. The pagoda is seven levels high, with each level slightly smaller than the last one. An interior staircase to reach all levels is open to the public.

 

The Musée de la Poste (in the Hôtel Joyeuse) is a museum tracing the history of the postal delivery service.

 

A 20th-century fountain by Max Ernst stands in front of the market place.

 

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"Nothing is ugly or beautiful if no one is watching it"

Javier A. Bedrina

 

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Here's a slightly better view of the western-facing side of the station with its new bland canopy, as seen from the next-door Coleman's BBQ parking lot. The remainder of today's pictures were taken the very next day after I discovered the unfortunate transpirings here, on Saturday, September 1st, 2018.

 

Now... I *will* admit (albeit very, very begrudgingly) that this remodel doesn't look horrible. In fact, when I first saw it being implemented at the Goodman and Airways Shell, I went so far as to describe it as “classy.” But since that time, having seen it take over the majority of the other Shell stations I pass on a frequent basis, I've grown quite tired of it, mainly because it lacks any character whatsoever. The Shell brand has always had yellow and red as its primary colors... and this remodel takes that away from them. Even worse, it strips the stations of any “coolness factor” that they may have had before, at least in my opinion. I mean, this new design is coming from the same company that once produced this masterpiece. That represents a MAJOR step down in creativity.

 

(I will note this... perhaps it's just the local franchisee[s] who is/are trying this look, and this isn't something that has spread around the country quite yet. Could be the franchisee[s] created this themselves, or Shell corporate is using DeSoto County [for whatever reason] as a test market; I don't know. But in any case, I do imagine that Shell corporate had to sign off on this style, and as such, they're involved somehow.)

 

Shell // 586 E Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 38632

Circle K // 586 E Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 38632

 

(c) 2018 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

A sneak peek (literally) on my new Drifter. Now in it’s road setup. Also with implemented insights from my bike fitting session a few weeks ago. And of course as an endurance cyclist I’m always pondering the eternal saddle question. Can you guess which model I have mounted here?

 

--

 

Ein Blick durch's (Sattel-)loch auf mein neues Drifter. Nun im Straßen-Setup. Und mit umgesetzten Erkenntnissen aus meiner Bikefitting-Session von vor ein paar Wochen. Und als Ausdauer-Radfahrer grübele ich natürlich immer über die ewige Sattelfrage. Könnt ihr erraten, welches Modell ich hier montiert habe?

Wekewauban House Wayville now Parkin Wesley Retirement home.

 

This fine colonial home was built around 1900 for Richard Henry White a manager of Harris Scarfe department store. His wife named it Wekewauban meaning “house of light” from a North American Indian word. She and her husband were Methodists. Richard White was born in Cornwall in 1854 and migrated to South Australia around 1874. In 1878 he joined the staff of Harris Scarfe department store and within a short time (1885) he was the manager of one of their subsidiary companies the Australasian Implement Company which produced machinery for farmers. White was a generous man and at the urging of his wife Emily White they donated Wekewauban House to the Chapman Alexander Bible Institute in 1922. But they had founded the institute in SA and let it use Wekewauban from 1912 when the inaugural meeting of the Chapman Alexander Bible Institute was held in Wekewauban. The house was built of freestone in federation style. It is built into the banks of Brownhill Creek with a downstairs semi basement area with fine red brick arches with sandstone keystones. The façade has two bay windows with enclosing verandas and the roof has a round widow’s lookout with a spire in Queen Anne style. Richard Henry White died in 1929 and his estate was valued at £19,400 for probate. He also left property to the value of £14,500 outside of South Australia. A major legatee was his wife as they had no children. He also left a small donation to the Port Adelaide Central Methodist Mission. The bulk of his estate was left to the Wesley College and to a White Scholarship fund for that college. Emily White died in 1939.

 

In 1926 the Chapman Alexander Bible Institute incorporated with the Methodist Church and transferred the property to them for use as a theological college. The Wesley College theological college of Brighton transferred its students to Wekewauban House in May 1927. An alliance was then made with the Parkin Theological College run by the Congregational Church in 1930. From 1950 the Wesley College began sharing staff and resources with the Baptist theological college of Northgate Street Unley. In 1968 the college became the Parkin Wesley College for the training of Congregational and Methodist ministers. In the 1990s Parkin Wesley College closed as it amalgamated with all the churches of South Australia to form an ecumenical theological college affiliated with Flinders University. The former Wekewauban House then became a Uniting Church retirement village.

 

Charles Alexander of Tennessee formed a partnership with John Chapman of Indiana in 1907 to take evangelism into the streets of the world. The pair toured Australia in 1909 and after their Australian tour of 1918 Mrs White decided eventually donate her house to them. The Alexander Chapman Bible Institute only operated from 1912 to 1926 at Wekewauban House. The house was made over to the Chapman Alexander Bible Institute in 1922. John Chapman died in 1918 after the world tour and Charles Alexander died in 1920.

 

Commentary.

 

This verdant gem tucked away in the back-slope of Leith Hill always impresses me.

The old hammer-pond is a remnant of a medieval iron industry.

One of the tributaries of the River Tillingbourne was dammed in the 16th. Century.

The fall of water created working forge-hammers that shaped the smelted iron into farm implements, fences, gates, tools, weapons, cannons and cannon balls.

The iron was found in the local rock, Lower Greensand.

The industry faded here, when cheaper, more plentiful supplies of iron was discovered in various parts of Central and Northern England.

However, it can still be seen to this day.

On many local buildings ironstone has been built into the mortar to both strengthen and decorate it.

Today, the industry and noise has gone.

This place has become a beautiful and peaceful haven of tranquillity.

Surrounded by the Surrey Hills, pine plantations and endless banks of deciduous Beech, Ash, Oak and Sweet Chestnut it offers sumptuous and splendid reflections in the clear and still Spring-Water in all seasons.

Edged by the water-irises, sedges and rushes these and other

water-side plants give shelter to Moorhens, Coots and Mallard Ducks.

Only the fall of water from a sluice-gate into the valley below

breaks the serene and lingering silence of this

special beauty-spot in the heart of Surrey.

 

++++++ Form Wikipedia +++++

  

Kalaw (Burmese: ကလောမြို့; Shan: ၵလေႃး [ka lɔ]) is a hill town in the Shan State of Myanmar. It is located in Kalaw Township in Taunggyi District.

Kalaw

ကလောမြို့

Kalaw 21.jpg

Kalaw is located in Myanmar

Kalaw

 

Location in Myanmar

Coordinates: 20°38′N 96°34′E

Country Myanmar

Division Shan State

Districts Taunggyi District

Township Kalaw Township

Population (2005)

• Religions Buddhism

Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)

OverviewEdit

 

The town was popular with the British during colonial rule. Kalaw is the main setting of the novel "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" by Jan-Philipp Sendker.

 

The hill station is located at an elevation of 1320 metres, 50 km from the Inle lake. Kalaw is famous for hiking and trekking.[1]

Kalaw Train station sign altitude.

 

Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.

 

Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.

 

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.

 

Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]

Etymology

Main article: Names of Myanmar

 

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]

 

In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]

 

The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]

 

In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.

 

Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]

 

Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]

 

Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]

History

Main article: History of Myanmar

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma

Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.

 

Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]

 

The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]

Early city-states

Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms

 

Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]

 

By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]

Imperial Burma

Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty

See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States

Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.

 

Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]

 

Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]

Temples at Mrauk U.

 

Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.

 

Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.

 

Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.

Taungoo and colonialism

Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.

 

Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).

 

The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.

A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

 

After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]

 

With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]

 

The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.

 

Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.

British Burma (1824–1948)

Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign

Burma in British India

The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.

British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.

 

The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.

 

With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.

 

Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]

Separation of British Burma from British India

 

On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.

 

A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]

 

Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]

 

Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]

Independence (1948–1962)

Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62

British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).

 

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.

 

The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]

 

In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]

Military rule (1962–2011)

 

On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.

 

A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]

Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.

 

There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]

 

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.

 

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.

Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.

 

On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]

Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.

 

In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.

 

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]

 

In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]

Civil wars

Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive

 

Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]

 

In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]

 

Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.

Democratic reforms

Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms

 

The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012

 

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.

 

Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]

 

Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]

 

The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.

Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.

 

In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]

2015 general elections

Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015

 

General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]

 

The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Myanmar

A map of Myanmar

Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.

 

Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.

 

Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]

 

In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]

 

The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar

A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.

About this image

 

Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

 

Climate

Main article: Climate of Myanmar

The limestone landscape of Mon State.

 

Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]

Environment

Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar

 

Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]

Wildlife

 

Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]

 

Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.

 

Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Myanmar

Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)

 

The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.

In the current article, we will review how to implement the second phase of our project in which we detect an event of “SPF = Fail” and forward such E-mail message to approval by an authorizes a person.

 

The SPF Fail policy article series, including the following three...

 

o365info.com/implementing-spf-fail-policy-using-exchange-...

Shot with my D600 and 14-24 Nikor Wide Angle Lens at my friends farm. Post processed in Lightroom and HDR'd in Photomatix Pro. I have a few more that I will upload later, but this is by far my favorite shot.

At the Karoo Moon Motel and Diesel & Créme Diner in Barrydale on Route 62 through the Klein Karoo.

A tractor dragging a simple implement reconditions the soil surface for barrel racing. The device serves to break up dirt clumps and compacted areas in order to even up the dirt surface. Regular conditioning occurs between every 5 contestants.

 

An interested spectator (not a contestant) astride a horse watches the action.

 

Photo taken at the equestrian arena at the John Volken Academy in Gilbert, Arizona.

 

Yellowstone National Park (Arapaho: Henihco'oo or Héetíhco'oo) is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.

 

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.

 

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the Continental United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobiles.

 

The park is located at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, from which it takes its historical name. Near the end of the 18th century, French trappers named the river "Roche Jaune", which is probably a translation of the Hidatsa name "Mi tsi a-da-zi" (Rock Yellow River). Later, American trappers rendered the French name in English as "Yellow Stone". Although it is commonly believed that the river was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Native American name source is not clear.

 

The first detailed expedition to the Yellowstone area was the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition of 1869, which consisted of three privately funded explorers. The Folsom party followed the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake. The members of the Folsom party kept a journal and based on the information it reported, a party of Montana residents organized the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition in 1870. It was headed by the surveyor-general of Montana Henry Washburn, and included Nathaniel P. Langford (who later became known as "National Park" Langford) and a U.S. Army detachment commanded by Lt. Gustavus Doane.

 

The expedition spent about a month exploring the region, collecting specimens and naming sites of interest. A Montana writer and lawyer named Cornelius Hedges, who had been a member of the Washburn expedition, proposed that the region should be set aside and protected as a national park; he wrote a number of detailed articles about his observations for the Helena Herald newspaper between 1870 and 1871. Hedges essentially restated comments made in October 1865 by acting Montana Territorial Governor Thomas Francis Meagher, who had previously commented that the region should be protected. Others made similar suggestions. In an 1871 letter from Jay Cooke to Ferdinand V. Hayden, Cooke wrote that his friend, Congressman William D. Kelley had also suggested "Congress pass a bill reserving the Great Geyser Basin as a public park forever".

 

By 1915, 1,000 automobiles per year were entering the park, resulting in conflicts with horses and horse-drawn transportation. Horse travel on roads was eventually prohibited.

 

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal relief agency for young men, played a major role between 1933 and 1942 in developing Yellowstone facilities. CCC projects included reforestation, campground development of many of the park's trails and campgrounds, trail construction, fire hazard reduction, and fire-fighting work. The CCC built the majority of the early visitor centers, campgrounds and the current system of park roads.

 

During World War II, tourist travel fell sharply, staffing was cut, and many facilities fell into disrepair. By the 1950s, visitation increased tremendously in Yellowstone and other national parks. To accommodate the increased visitation, park officials implemented Mission 66, an effort to modernize and expand park service facilities. Planned to be completed by 1966, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service, Mission 66 construction diverged from the traditional log cabin style with design features of a modern style. During the late 1980s, most construction styles in Yellowstone reverted to the more traditional designs. After the enormous forest fires of 1988 damaged much of Grant Village, structures there were rebuilt in the traditional style. The visitor center at Canyon Village, which opened in 2006, incorporates a more traditional design as well.

A large arch made of irregular-shaped natural stone over a road

 

The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake just west of Yellowstone at Hebgen Lake damaged roads and some structures in the park. In the northwest section of the park, new geysers were found, and many existing hot springs became turbid. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in recorded history.

 

In 1963, after several years of public controversy regarding the forced reduction of the elk population in Yellowstone, United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall appointed an advisory board to collect scientific data to inform future wildlife management of the national parks. In a paper known as the Leopold Report, the committee observed that culling programs at other national parks had been ineffective, and recommended management of Yellowstone's elk population.

 

The wildfires during the summer of 1988 were the largest in the history of the park. Approximately 793,880 acres (321,272 ha; 1,240 sq mi) or 36% of the parkland was impacted by the fires, leading to a systematic re-evaluation of fire management policies. The fire season of 1988 was considered normal until a combination of drought and heat by mid-July contributed to an extreme fire danger. On "Black Saturday", August 20, 1988, strong winds expanded the fires rapidly, and more than 150,000 acres (61,000 ha; 230 sq mi) burned.

 

The expansive cultural history of the park has been documented by the 1,000 archeological sites that have been discovered. The park has 1,106 historic structures and features, and of these Obsidian Cliff and five buildings have been designated National Historic Landmarks. Yellowstone was designated an International Biosphere Reserve on October 26, 1976, and a UN World Heritage Site on September 8, 1978. The park was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 1995 to 2003 due to the effects of tourism, infection of wildlife, and issues with invasive species. In 2010, Yellowstone National Park was honored with its own quarter under the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

Heritage and Research Center

 

The Heritage and Research Center is located at Gardiner, Montana, near the north entrance to the park. The center is home to the Yellowstone National Park's museum collection, archives, research library, historian, archeology lab, and herbarium. The Yellowstone National Park Archives maintain collections of historical records of Yellowstone and the National Park Service. The collection includes the administrative records of Yellowstone, as well as resource management records, records from major projects, and donated manuscripts and personal papers. The archives are affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration.

 

Approximately 96 percent of the land area of Yellowstone National Park is located within the state of Wyoming. Another three percent is within Montana, with the remaining one percent in Idaho. The park is 63 miles (101 km) north to south, and 54 miles (87 km) west to east by air. Yellowstone is 2,219,789 acres (898,317 ha; 3,468.420 sq mi) in area, larger than the states of Rhode Island or Delaware. Rivers and lakes cover five percent of the land area, with the largest water body being Yellowstone Lake at 87,040 acres (35,220 ha; 136.00 sq mi). Yellowstone Lake is up to 400 feet (120 m) deep and has 110 miles (180 km) of shoreline. At an elevation of 7,733 feet (2,357 m) above sea level, Yellowstone Lake is the largest high altitude lake in North America. Forests comprise 80 percent of the land area of the park; most of the rest is grassland.

 

The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park. The divide is a topographic feature that separates Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean water drainages. About one third of the park lies on the west side of the divide. The origins of the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers are near each other but on opposite sides of the divide. As a result, the waters of the Snake River flow to the Pacific Ocean, while those of the Yellowstone find their way to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, at an average elevation of 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level. The plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains, which range from 9,000 to 11,000 feet (2,700 to 3,400 m) in elevation. The highest point in the park is atop Eagle Peak (11,358 feet or 3,462 metres) and the lowest is along Reese Creek (5,282 feet or 1,610 metres). Nearby mountain ranges include the Gallatin Range to the northwest, the Beartooth Mountains in the north, the Absaroka Range to the east, and the Teton Range and the Madison Range to the southwest and west. The most prominent summit on the Yellowstone Plateau is Mount Washburn at 10,243 feet (3,122 m).

 

Yellowstone National Park has one of the world's largest petrified forests, trees which were long ago buried by ash and soil and transformed from wood to mineral materials. This ash and other volcanic debris, are believed to have come from the park area itself. This is largely due to the fact that Yellowstone is actually a massive caldera of a supervolcano. There are 290 waterfalls of at least 15 feet (4.6 m) in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River at 308 feet (94 m).

 

Three deep canyons are located in the park, cut through the volcanic tuff of the Yellowstone Plateau by rivers over the last 640,000 years. The Lewis River flows through Lewis Canyon in the south, and the Yellowstone River has carved two colorful canyons, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone in its journey north.

 

Yellowstone is at the northeastern end of the Snake River Plain, a great U-shaped arc through the mountains that extends from Boise, Idaho some 400 miles (640 km) to the west. This feature traces the route of the North American Plate over the last 17 million years as it was transported by plate tectonics across a stationary mantle hotspot. The landscape of present-day Yellowstone National Park is the most recent manifestation of this hotspot below the crust of the Earth.

 

The Yellowstone Caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America. It has been termed a "supervolcano" because the caldera was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions. The magma chamber that lies under Yellowstone is estimated to be a single connected chamber, about 37 miles (60 km) long, 18 miles (29 km) wide, and 3 to 7 miles (5 to 12 km) deep. The current caldera was created by a cataclysmic eruption that occurred 640,000 years ago, which released more than 240 cubic miles (1,000 km³) of ash, rock and pyroclastic materials. This eruption was more than 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. It produced a caldera nearly five eighths of a mile (1 km) deep and 45 by 28 miles (72 by 45 km) in area and deposited the Lava Creek Tuff, a welded tuff geologic formation. The most violent known eruption, which occurred 2.1 million years ago, ejected 588 cubic miles (2,450 km³) of volcanic material and created the rock formation known as the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff and created the Island Park Caldera. A smaller eruption ejected 67 cubic miles (280 km³) of material 1.3 million years ago, forming the Henry's Fork Caldera and depositing the Mesa Falls Tuff.

 

Each of the three climactic eruptions released vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, falling many hundreds of miles away. The amount of ash and gases released into the atmosphere probably caused significant impacts to world weather patterns and led to the extinction of some species, primarily in North America.

Wooden walkways allow visitors to closely approach the Grand Prismatic Spring.

 

A subsequent caldera-forming eruption occurred about 160,000 years ago. It formed the relatively small caldera that contains the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. Since the last supereruption, a series of smaller eruptive cycles between 640,000 and 70,000 years ago, has nearly filled in the Yellowstone Caldera with >80 different eruptions of rhyolitic lavas such as those that can be seen at Obsidian Cliffs and basaltic lavas which can be viewed at Sheepeater Cliff. Lava strata are most easily seen at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where the Yellowstone River continues to carve into the ancient lava flows. The canyon is a classic V-shaped valley, indicative of river-type erosion rather than erosion caused by glaciation.

 

Each eruption is part of an eruptive cycle that climaxes with the partial collapse of the roof of the volcano's partially emptied magma chamber. This creates a collapsed depression, called a caldera, and releases vast amounts of volcanic material, usually through fissures that ring the caldera. The time between the last three cataclysmic eruptions in the Yellowstone area has ranged from 600,000 to 800,000 years, but the small number of such climactic eruptions cannot be used to make an accurate prediction for future volcanic events.

 

The most famous geyser in the park, and perhaps the world, is Old Faithful Geyser, located in Upper Geyser Basin. Castle Geyser, Lion Geyser and Beehive Geyser are in the same basin. The park contains the largest active geyser in the world—Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin. A study that was completed in 2011 found that at least 1283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone. Of these, an average of 465 are active in a given year. Yellowstone contains at least 10,000 geothermal features altogether. Half the geothermal features and two-thirds of the world's geysers are concentrated in Yellowstone.

 

In May 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, Yellowstone National Park, and the University of Utah created the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), a partnership for long-term monitoring of the geological processes of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, for disseminating information concerning the potential hazards of this geologically active region.

 

In 2003, changes at the Norris Geyser Basin resulted in the temporary closure of some trails in the basin. New fumaroles were observed, and several geysers showed enhanced activity and increasing water temperatures. Several geysers became so hot that they were transformed into purely steaming features; the water had become superheated and they could no longer erupt normally. This coincided with the release of reports of a multiple year United States Geological Survey research project which mapped the bottom of Yellowstone Lake and identified a structural dome that had uplifted at some time in the past. Research indicated that these uplifts posed no immediate threat of a volcanic eruption, since they may have developed long ago, and there had been no temperature increase found near the uplifts. On March 10, 2004, a biologist discovered 5 dead bison which apparently had inhaled toxic geothermal gases trapped in the Norris Geyser Basin by a seasonal atmospheric inversion. This was closely followed by an upsurge of earthquake activity in April 2004. In 2006, it was reported that the Mallard Lake Dome and the Sour Creek Dome— areas that have long been known to show significant changes in their ground movement— had risen at a rate of 1.5 to 2.4 inches (3.8 to 6.1 cm) per year from mid–2004 through 2006. As of late 2007, the uplift has continued at a reduced rate. These events inspired a great deal of media attention and speculation about the geologic future of the region. Experts responded to the conjecture by informing the public that there was no increased risk of a volcanic eruption in the near future. However, these changes demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system.

 

Yellowstone experiences thousands of small earthquakes every year, virtually all of which are undetectable to people. There have been six earthquakes with at least magnitude 6 or greater in historical times, including a 7.5‑magnitude quake that struck just outside the northwest boundary of the park in 1959. This quake triggered a huge landslide, which caused a partial dam collapse on Hebgen Lake; immediately downstream, the sediment from the landslide dammed the river and created a new lake, known as Earthquake Lake. Twenty-eight people were killed, and property damage was extensive in the immediate region. The earthquake caused some geysers in the northwestern section of the park to erupt, large cracks in the ground formed and emitted steam, and some hot springs that normally have clear water turned muddy. A 6.1‑magnitude earthquake struck inside the park on June 30, 1975, but damage was minimal.

 

For three months in 1985, 3,000 minor earthquakes were detected in the northwestern section of the park, during what has been referred to as an earthquake swarm, and has been attributed to minor subsidence of the Yellowstone caldera. Beginning on April 30, 2007, 16 small earthquakes with magnitudes up to 2.7 occurred in the Yellowstone Caldera for several days. These swarms of earthquakes are common, and there have been 70 such swarms between 1983 and 2008. In December 2008, over 250 earthquakes were measured over a four-day span under Yellowstone Lake, the largest measuring a magnitude of 3.9. In January 2010, more than 250 earthquakes were detected over a two-day period. Seismic activity in Yellowstone National Park continues and is reported hourly by the Earthquake Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

On March 30, 2014, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck almost the very middle of Yellowstone near the Norris Basin at 6.34am; reports indicated no damage. This was the biggest earthquake to hit the park since February 22, 1980.

 

Over 1,700 species of trees and other vascular plants are native to the park. Another 170 species are considered to be exotic species and are non-native. Of the eight conifer tree species documented, Lodgepole Pine forests cover 80% of the total forested areas. Other conifers, such as Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir and Whitebark Pine, are found in scattered groves throughout the park. As of 2007, the whitebark pine is threatened by a fungus known as white pine blister rust; however, this is mostly confined to forests well to the north and west. In Yellowstone, about seven percent of the whitebark pine species have been impacted with the fungus, compared to nearly complete infestations in northwestern Montana. Quaking Aspen and willows are the most common species of deciduous trees. The aspen forests have declined significantly since the early 20th century, but scientists at Oregon State University attribute recent recovery of the aspen to the reintroduction of wolves which has changed the grazing habits of local elk.

 

There are dozens of species of flowering plants that have been identified, most of which bloom between the months of May and September. The Yellowstone Sand Verbena is a rare flowering plant found only in Yellowstone. It is closely related to species usually found in much warmer climates, making the sand verbena an enigma. The estimated 8,000 examples of this rare flowering plant all make their home in the sandy soils on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, well above the waterline.

 

In Yellowstone's hot waters, bacteria form mats of bizarre shapes consisting of trillions of individuals. These bacteria are some of the most primitive life forms on earth. Flies and other arthropods live on the mats, even in the middle of the bitterly cold winters. Initially, scientists thought that microbes there gained sustenance only from sulfur. In 2005 researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder discovered that the sustenance for at least some of the diverse hyperthermophilic species is molecular hydrogen.

 

Thermus aquaticus is a bacterium found in the Yellowstone hot springs that produces an important enzyme (Taq polymerase) that is easily replicated in the lab and is useful in replicating DNA as part of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. The retrieval of these bacteria can be achieved with no impact to the ecosystem. Other bacteria in the Yellowstone hot springs may also prove useful to scientists who are searching for cures for various diseases.

 

Non-native plants sometimes threaten native species by using up nutrient resources. Though exotic species are most commonly found in areas with the greatest human visitation, such as near roads and at major tourist areas, they have also spread into the backcountry. Generally, most exotic species are controlled by pulling the plants out of the soil or by spraying, both of which are time consuming and expensive.

  

Yellowstone is widely considered to be the finest megafauna wildlife habitat in the lower 48 states. There are almost 60 species of mammals in the park, including the gray wolf, the threatened lynx, and grizzly bears. Other large mammals include the bison (often referred to as buffalo), black bear, elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion.

Bison graze near a hot spring

 

The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the largest public herd of American bison in the United States. The relatively large bison populations are a concern for ranchers, who fear that the species can transmit bovine diseases to their domesticated cousins. In fact, about half of Yellowstone's bison have been exposed to brucellosis, a bacterial disease that came to North America with European cattle that may cause cattle to miscarry. The disease has little effect on park bison, and no reported case of transmission from wild bison to domestic livestock has been filed. However, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has stated that bison are the "likely source" of the spread of the disease in cattle in Wyoming and North Dakota. Elk also carry the disease and are believed to have transmitted the infection to horses and cattle. Bison once numbered between 30 and 60 million individuals throughout North America, and Yellowstone remains one of their last strongholds. Their populations had increased from less than 50 in the park in 1902 to 4,000 by 2003. The Yellowstone Park bison herd reached a peak in 2005 with 4,900 animals. Despite a summer estimated population of 4,700 in 2007, the number dropped to 3,000 in 2008 after a harsh winter and controversial brucellosis management sending hundreds to slaughter. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Henry Mountains bison herd of Utah, at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota and on Elk Island in Alberta.

Elk Mother Nursing Her Calf

 

To combat the perceived threat of brucellosis transmission to cattle, national park personnel regularly harass bison herds back into the park when they venture outside of the area's borders. During the winter of 1996–97, the bison herd was so large that 1,079 bison that had exited the park were shot or sent to slaughter. Animal rights activists argue that this is a cruel practice and that the possibility for disease transmission is not as great as some ranchers maintain. Ecologists point out that the bison are merely traveling to seasonal grazing areas that lie within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that have been converted to cattle grazing, some of which are within National Forests and are leased to private ranchers. APHIS has stated that with vaccinations and other means, brucellosis can be eliminated from the bison and elk herds throughout Yellowstone.

A reintroduced northwestern wolf in Yellowstone National Park

 

Starting in 1914, in an effort to protect elk populations, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds to be used for the purposes of "destroying wolves, prairie dogs, and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry" on public lands. Park Service hunters carried out these orders, and by 1926 they had killed 136 wolves, and wolves were virtually eliminated from Yellowstone. Further exterminations continued until the National Park Service ended the practice in 1935. With the passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the wolf was one of the first mammal species listed. After the wolves were extirpated from Yellowstone, the coyote then became the park's top canine predator. However, the coyote is not able to bring down large animals, and the result of this lack of a top predator on these populations was a marked increase in lame and sick megafauna.

Bison in Yellowstone National Park

 

By the 1990s, the Federal government had reversed its views on wolves. In a controversial decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (which oversees threatened and endangered species), northwestern wolves, imported from Canada, were reintroduced into the park. Reintroduction efforts have been successful with populations remaining relatively stable. A survey conducted in 2005 reported that there were 13 wolf packs, totaling 118 individuals in Yellowstone and 326 in the entire ecosystem. These park figures were lower than those reported in 2004 but may be attributable to wolf migration to other nearby areas as suggested by the substantial increase in the Montana population during that interval. Almost all the wolves documented were descended from the 66 wolves reintroduced in 1995–96. The recovery of populations throughout the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho has been so successful that on February 27, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population from the endangered species list.

 

An estimated 600 grizzly bears live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with more than half of the population living within Yellowstone. The grizzly is currently listed as a threatened species, however the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that they intend to take it off the endangered species list for the Yellowstone region but will likely keep it listed in areas where it has not yet recovered fully. Opponents of delisting the grizzly are concerned that states might once again allow hunting and that better conservation measures need to be implemented to ensure a sustainable population. Black bears are common in the park and were a park symbol due to visitor interaction with the bears starting in 1910. Feeding and close contact with bears has not been permitted since the 1960s to reduce their desire for human foods. Yellowstone is one of the few places in the United States where black bears can be seen coexisting with grizzly bears. Black bear observations occur most often in the park's northern ranges and in the Bechler area which is in the park's southwestern corner.

 

Population figures for elk are in excess of 30,000—the largest population of any large mammal species in Yellowstone. The northern herd has decreased enormously since the mid‑1990s; this has been attributed to wolf predation and causal effects such as elk using more forested regions to evade predation, consequently making it harder for researchers to accurately count them. The northern herd migrates west into southwestern Montana in the winter. The southern herd migrates southward, and the majority of these elk winter on the National Elk Refuge, immediately southeast of Grand Teton National Park. The southern herd migration is the largest mammalian migration remaining in the U.S. outside of Alaska.

 

In 2003 the tracks of one female lynx and her cub were spotted and followed for over 2 miles (3.2 km). Fecal material and other evidence obtained were tested and confirmed to be those of a lynx. No visual confirmation was made, however. Lynx have not been seen in Yellowstone since 1998, though DNA taken from hair samples obtained in 2001 confirmed that lynx were at least transient to the park. Other less commonly seen mammals include the mountain lion and wolverine. The mountain lion has an estimated population of only 25 individuals parkwide. The wolverine is another rare park mammal, and accurate population figures for this species are not known. These uncommon and rare mammals provide insight into the health of protected lands such as Yellowstone and help managers make determinations as to how best to preserve habitats.

 

Eighteen species of fish live in Yellowstone, including the core range of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout—a fish highly sought by anglers. The Yellowstone cutthroat trout has faced several threats since the 1980s, including the suspected illegal introduction into Yellowstone Lake of lake trout, an invasive species which consume the smaller cutthroat trout. Although lake trout were established in Shoshone and Lewis lakes in the Snake River drainage from U.S. Government stocking operations in 1890, it was never officially introduced into the Yellowstone River drainage. The cutthroat trout has also faced an ongoing drought, as well as the accidental introduction of a parasite—whirling disease—which causes a terminal nervous system disease in younger fish. Since 2001, all native sport fish species caught in Yellowstone waterways are subject to a catch and release law. Yellowstone is also home to six species of reptiles, such as the painted turtle and Prairie rattlesnake, and four species of amphibians, including the Boreal Chorus Frog.

 

311 species of birds have been reported, almost half of which nest in Yellowstone. As of 1999, twenty-six pairs of nesting bald eagles have been documented. Extremely rare sightings of whooping cranes have been recorded, however only three examples of this species are known to live in the Rocky Mountains, out of 385 known worldwide. Other birds, considered to be species of special concern because of their rarity in Yellowstone, include the common loon, harlequin duck, osprey, peregrine falcon and the trumpeter swan.

 

As wildfire is a natural part of most ecosystems, plants that are indigenous to Yellowstone have adapted in a variety of ways. Douglas-fir have a thick bark which protects the inner section of the tree from most fires. Lodgepole Pines —the most common tree species in the park— generally have cones that are only opened by the heat of fire. Their seeds are held in place by a tough resin, and fire assists in melting the resin, allowing the seeds to disperse. Fire clears out dead and downed wood, providing fewer obstacles for lodgepole pines to flourish. Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Whitebark Pine, and other species tend to grow in colder and moister areas, where fire is less likely to occur. Aspen trees sprout new growth from their roots, and even if a severe fire kills the tree above ground, the roots often survive unharmed because they are insulated from the heat by soil. The National Park Service estimates that in natural conditions, grasslands in Yellowstone burned an average of every 20 to 25 years, while forests in the park would experience fire about every 300 years.

 

About thirty-five natural forest fires are ignited each year by lightning, while another six to ten are started by people— in most cases by accident. Yellowstone National Park has three fire lookout towers, each staffed by trained fire fighters. The easiest one to reach is atop Mount Washburn, though it is closed to the public. The park also monitors fire from the air and relies on visitor reports of smoke and/or flames. Fire towers are staffed almost continuously from late June to mid-September— the primary fire season. Fires burn with the greatest intensity in the late afternoon and evening. Few fires burn more than 100 acres (40 ha), and the vast majority of fires reach only a little over an acre (0.5 ha) before they burn themselves out. Fire management focuses on monitoring dead and down wood quantities, soil and tree moisture, and the weather, to determine those areas most vulnerable to fire should one ignite. Current policy is to suppress all human caused fires and to evaluate natural fires, examining the benefit or detriment they may pose on the ecosystem. If a fire is considered to be an immediate threat to people and structures, or will burn out of control, then fire suppression is performed.

 

In an effort to minimize the chances of out of control fires and threats to people and structures, park employees do more than just monitor the potential for fire. Controlled burns are prescribed fires which are deliberately started to remove dead timber under conditions which allow fire fighters an opportunity to carefully control where and how much wood is consumed. Natural fires are sometimes considered prescribed fires if they are left to burn. In Yellowstone, unlike some other parks, there have been very few fires deliberately started by employees as prescribed burns. However, over the last 30 years, over 300 natural fires have been allowed to burn naturally. In addition, fire fighters remove dead and down wood and other hazards from areas where they will be a potential fire threat to lives and property, reducing the chances of fire danger in these areas. Fire monitors also regulate fire through educational services to the public and have been known to temporarily ban campfires from campgrounds during periods of high fire danger. The common notion in early United States land management policies was that all forest fires were bad. Fire was seen as a purely destructive force and there was little understanding that it was an integral part of the ecosystem. Consequently, until the 1970s, when a better understanding of wildfire was developed, all fires were suppressed. This led to an increase in dead and dying forests, which would later provide the fuel load for fires that would be much harder, and in some cases, impossible to control. Fire Management Plans were implemented, detailing that natural fires should be allowed to burn if they posed no immediate threat to lives and property.

 

1988 started with a wet spring season although by summer, drought began moving in throughout the northern Rockies, creating the driest year on record to that point. Grasses and plants which grew well in the early summer from the abundant spring moisture produced plenty of grass, which soon turned to dry tinder. The National Park Service began firefighting efforts to keep the fires under control, but the extreme drought made suppression difficult. Between July 15 and 21, 1988, fires quickly spread from 8,500 acres (3,400 ha; 13.3 sq mi) throughout the entire Yellowstone region, which included areas outside the park, to 99,000 acres (40,000 ha; 155 sq mi) on the park land alone. By the end of the month, the fires were out of control. Large fires burned together, and on August 20, 1988, the single worst day of the fires, more than 150,000 acres (61,000 ha; 230 sq mi) were consumed. Seven large fires were responsible for 95% of the 793,000 acres (321,000 ha; 1,239 sq mi) that were burned over the next couple of months. A total of 25,000 firefighters and U.S. military forces participated in the suppression efforts, at a cost of 120 million dollars. By the time winter brought snow that helped extinguish the last flames, the fires had destroyed 67 structures and caused several million dollars in damage. Though no civilian lives were lost, two personnel associated with the firefighting efforts were killed.

 

Contrary to media reports and speculation at the time, the fires killed very few park animals— surveys indicated that only about 345 elk (of an estimated 40,000–50,000), 36 deer, 12 moose, 6 black bears, and 9 bison had perished. Changes in fire management policies were implemented by land management agencies throughout the United States, based on knowledge gained from the 1988 fires and the evaluation of scientists and experts from various fields. By 1992, Yellowstone had adopted a new fire management plan which observed stricter guidelines for the management of natural fires.

 

from Wikipedia

  

The nuts were evaluated, decisions made, and then implemented.

Warchief, everything is set as you ordered! The enemy ships just docked and they are unloading the troops. They will be here in an hour.- reported commander of the scouts.

Burlogh O'Rohal let out a sigh. For some reason I hoped they change their mind. - So it is decreeded. Stay calm and follow my orders.

    

Scouts of Lenfald army road into the valley. Suddenly a band of cheering beastman jumped out from the woods and ran towards them. Commander of the cavalry ordered a charge. The beastman group seemed confused and started to flee. Everything went as the warchief planned. The knights followed the Ironclad Company but after the turn of the road they faced a troll phalanx. Their charge broke in a minute. The beastmen turned back and flanked the cavalry.

    

Meanwhile main force of the invaders faced some problem too. Magical song rang over the valley as combined power of shamans created huge flamesnakes. As the fire stroke down to the knights, a sniper rose up from his hiding spot. His first shot hit the Lenfald commander who fall down to the ground. His army became disorganised in a moment. The ground shaked as Dragon Maiden lead their charge. The Lenfald army was surrounded in a few minutes. Their only chance was the road, but it was blocked by the warchief himself.

 

Let the massacre begin! For freedom, for the Bleeding Claws! - roared Burlogh and started to run and the horde followed him...

   

My entry to Lands of Classic Castle Global Challenge 3 - Purging the Magic Islands

As companies and business models continue to innovate at a blistering pace, in-house counsel face increasing pressure to keep up. How can today's general counsel manage and leverage technology and innovation to support their business clients? Panelists, who are at the forefront of technology and innovation in in-house legal departments, discussed their best practices for assessing and implementing new technologies to support their businesses, while balancing the need to retain and promote human and knowledge capital against the drive for efficiency. Panelists explored how technology is transforming the way lawyers work generally today, and ways in which they have adjusted to work with their business clients.

 

Moderator: Victoria Lee

Panelists: Rachel Barnett, Katherine Butler, Susan Garcia and Phyllis Harris

 

DLA Piper | Women's Conference 2018 | Ritz Carlton | Spoon Photo and Design

The UN Ocean Conference is taking place at UN headquarters in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017, coinciding with World Oceans Day (8 June). Co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, the Conference aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

 

The Ocean Conference opens with a Fijian traditional welcome ceremony.

 

UN Photo/Mark Garten

05 June 2017

United Nations, New York

Photo # 724271

The Albertina

The architectural history of the Palais

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Image: The oldest photographic view of the newly designed Palais Archduke Albrecht, 1869

"It is my will that ​​the expansion of the inner city of Vienna with regard to a suitable connection of the same with the suburbs as soon as possible is tackled and at this on Regulirung (regulation) and beautifying of my Residence and Imperial Capital is taken into account. To this end I grant the withdrawal of the ramparts and fortifications of the inner city and the trenches around the same".

This decree of Emperor Franz Joseph I, published on 25 December 1857 in the Wiener Zeitung, formed the basis for the largest the surface concerning and architecturally most significant transformation of the Viennese cityscape. Involving several renowned domestic and foreign architects a "master plan" took form, which included the construction of a boulevard instead of the ramparts between the inner city and its radially upstream suburbs. In the 50-years during implementation phase, an impressive architectural ensemble developed, consisting of imperial and private representational buildings, public administration and cultural buildings, churches and barracks, marking the era under the term "ring-street style". Already in the first year tithe decided a senior member of the Austrian imperial family to decorate the facades of his palace according to the new design principles, and thus certified the aristocratic claim that this also "historicism" said style on the part of the imperial house was attributed.

Image: The Old Albertina after 1920

It was the palace of Archduke Albrecht (1817-1895), the Senior of the Habsburg Family Council, who as Field Marshal held the overall command over the Austro-Hungarian army. The building was incorporated into the imperial residence of the Hofburg complex, forming the south-west corner and extending eleven meters above street level on the so-called Augustinerbastei.

The close proximity of the palace to the imperial residence corresponded not only with Emperor Franz Joseph I and Archduke Albert with a close familial relationship between the owner of the palace and the monarch. Even the former inhabitants were always in close relationship to the imperial family, whether by birth or marriage. An exception here again proves the rule: Don Emanuel Teles da Silva Conde Tarouca (1696-1771), for which Maria Theresa in 1744 the palace had built, was just a close friend and advisor of the monarch. Silva Tarouca underpins the rule with a second exception, because he belonged to the administrative services as Generalhofbaudirektor (general court architect) and President of the Austrian-Dutch administration, while all other him subsequent owners were highest ranking military.

In the annals of Austrian history, especially those of military history, they either went into as commander of the Imperial Army, or the Austrian, later kk Army. In chronological order, this applies to Duke Carl Alexander of Lorraine, the brother-of-law of Maria Theresa, as Imperial Marshal, her son-in-law Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, also field marshal, whos adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, the last imperial field marshal and only Generalissimo of Austria, his son Archduke Albrecht of Austria as Feldmarschalil and army Supreme commander, and most recently his nephew Archduke Friedrich of Austria, who held as field marshal from 1914 to 1916 the command of the Austro-Hungarian troops. Despite their military profession, all five generals conceived themselves as patrons of the arts and promoted large sums of money to build large collections, the construction of magnificent buildings and cultural life. Charles Alexander of Lorraine promoted as governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1741 to 1780 the Academy of Fine Arts, the Théâtre de Ja Monnaie and the companies Bourgeois Concert and Concert Noble, he founded the Academie royale et imperial des Sciences et des Lettres, opened the Bibliotheque Royal for the population and supported artistic talents with high scholarships. World fame got his porcelain collection, which however had to be sold by Emperor Joseph II to pay off his debts. Duke Albert began in 1776 according to the concept of conte Durazzo to set up an encyclopedic collection of prints, which forms the core of the world-famous "Albertina" today.

Image : Duke Albert and Archduchess Marie Christine show in family cercle the from Italy brought along art, 1776. Frederick Henry Füger.

1816 declared to Fideikommiss and thus in future indivisible, inalienable and inseparable, the collection 1822 passed into the possession of Archduke Carl, who, like his descendants, it broadened. Under him, the collection was introduced together with the sumptuously equipped palace on the Augustinerbastei in the so-called "Carl Ludwig'schen fideicommissum in 1826, by which the building and the in it kept collection fused into an indissoluble unity. At this time had from the Palais Tarouca by structural expansion or acquisition a veritable Residenz palace evolved. Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen was first in 1800 the third floor of the adjacent Augustinian convent wing adapted to house his collection and he had after 1802 by his Belgian architect Louis de Montoyer at the suburban side built a magnificent extension, called the wing of staterooms, it was equipped in the style of Louis XVI. Only two decades later, Archduke Carl the entire palace newly set up. According to scetches of the architect Joseph Kornhäusel the 1822-1825 retreaded premises presented themselves in the Empire style. The interior of the palace testified from now in an impressive way the high rank and the prominent position of its owner. Under Archduke Albrecht the outer appearance also should meet the requirements. He had the facade of the palace in the style of historicism orchestrated and added to the Palais front against the suburbs an offshore covered access. Inside, he limited himself, apart from the redesign of the Rococo room in the manner of the second Blondel style, to the retention of the paternal stock. Archduke Friedrich's plans for an expansion of the palace were omitted, however, because of the outbreak of the First World War so that his contribution to the state rooms, especially, consists in the layout of the Spanish apartment, which he in 1895 for his sister, the Queen of Spain Maria Christina, had set up as a permanent residence.

Picture: The "audience room" after the restoration: Picture: The "balcony room" around 1990

The era of stately representation with handing down their cultural values ​​found its most obvious visualization inside the palace through the design and features of the staterooms. On one hand, by the use of the finest materials and the purchase of masterfully manufactured pieces of equipment, such as on the other hand by the permanent reuse of older equipment parts. This period lasted until 1919, when Archduke Friedrich was expropriated by the newly founded Republic of Austria. With the republicanization of the collection and the building first of all finished the tradition that the owner's name was synonymous with the building name:

After Palais Tarouca or tarokkisches house it was called Lorraine House, afterwards Duke Albert Palais and Palais Archduke Carl. Due to the new construction of an adjacently located administration building it received in 1865 the prefix "Upper" and was referred to as Upper Palais Archduke Albrecht and Upper Palais Archduke Frederick. For the state a special reference to the Habsburg past was certainly politically no longer opportune, which is why was decided to name the building according to the in it kept collection "Albertina".

Picture: The "Wedgwood Cabinet" after the restoration: Picture: the "Wedgwood Cabinet" in the Palais Archduke Friedrich, 1905

This name derives from the term "La Collection Albertina" which had been used by the gallery Inspector Maurice von Thausing in 1870 in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts for the former graphics collection of Duke Albert. For this reason, it was the first time since the foundation of the palace that the name of the collection had become synonymous with the room shell. Room shell, hence, because the Republic of Austria Archduke Friedrich had allowed to take along all the movable goods from the palace in his Hungarian exile: crystal chandeliers, curtains and carpets as well as sculptures, vases and clocks. Particularly stressed should be the exquisite furniture, which stems of three facilities phases: the Louis XVI furnitures of Duke Albert, which had been manufactured on the basis of fraternal relations between his wife Archduchess Marie Christine and the French Queen Marie Antoinette after 1780 in the French Hofmanufakturen, also the on behalf of Archduke Charles 1822-1825 in the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory by Joseph Danhauser produced Empire furnitures and thirdly additions of the same style of Archduke Friedrich, which this about 1900 at Portois & Ffix as well as at Friedrich Otto Schmidt had commissioned.

The "swept clean" building got due to the strained financial situation after the First World War initially only a makeshift facility. However, since until 1999 no revision of the emergency equipment took place, but differently designed, primarily the utilitarianism committed office furnitures complementarily had been added, the equipment of the former state rooms presented itself at the end of the 20th century as an inhomogeneous administrative mingle-mangle of insignificant parts, where, however, dwelt a certain quaint charm. From the magnificent state rooms had evolved depots, storage rooms, a library, a study hall and several officed.

Image: The Albertina Graphic Arts Collection and the Philipphof after the American bombing of 12 März 1945.

Image: The palace after the demolition of the entrance facade, 1948-52

Worse it hit the outer appearance of the palace, because in times of continued anti-Habsburg sentiment after the Second World War and inspired by an intolerant destruction will, it came by pickaxe to a ministerial erasure of history. In contrast to the graphic collection possessed the richly decorated facades with the conspicuous insignia of the former owner an object-immanent reference to the Habsburg past and thus exhibited the monarchial traditions and values ​​of the era of Francis Joseph significantly. As part of the remedial measures after a bomb damage, in 1948 the aristocratic, by Archduke Albert initiated, historicist facade structuring along with all decorations was cut off, many facade figures demolished and the Hapsburg crest emblems plunged to the ground. Since in addition the old ramp also had been cancelled and the main entrance of the bastion level had been moved down to the second basement storey at street level, ended the presence of the old Archduke's palace after more than 200 years. At the reopening of the "Albertina Graphic Collection" in 1952, the former Hapsburg Palais of splendour presented itself as one of his identity robbed, formally trivial, soulless room shell, whose successful republicanization an oversized and also unproportional eagle above the new main entrance to the Augustinian road symbolized. The emocratic throw of monuments had wiped out the Hapsburg palace from the urban appeareance, whereby in the perception only existed a nondescript, nameless and ahistorical building that henceforth served the lodging and presentation of world-famous graphic collection of the Albertina. The condition was not changed by the decision to the refurbishment because there were only planned collection specific extensions, but no restoration of the palace.

Image: The palace after the Second World War with simplified facades, the rudiment of the Danubiusbrunnens (well) and the new staircase up to the Augustinerbastei

This paradigm shift corresponded to a blatant reversal of the historical circumstances, as the travel guides and travel books for kk Residence and imperial capital of Vienna dedicated itself primarily with the magnificent, aristocratic palace on the Augustinerbastei with the sumptuously fitted out reception rooms and mentioned the collection kept there - if at all - only in passing. Only with the repositioning of the Albertina in 2000 under the direction of Klaus Albrecht Schröder, the palace was within the meaning and in fulfillment of the Fideikommiss of Archduke Charles in 1826 again met with the high regard, from which could result a further inseparable bond between the magnificent mansions and the world-famous collection. In view of the knowing about politically motivated errors and omissions of the past, the facades should get back their noble, historicist designing, the staterooms regain their glamorous, prestigious appearance and culturally unique equippment be repurchased. From this presumption, eventually grew the full commitment to revise the history of redemption and the return of the stately palace in the public consciousness.

Image: The restored suburb facade of the Palais Albertina suburb

The smoothed palace facades were returned to their original condition and present themselves today - with the exception of the not anymore reconstructed Attica figures - again with the historicist decoration and layout elements that Archduke Albrecht had given after the razing of the Augustinerbastei in 1865 in order. The neoclassical interiors, today called after the former inhabitants "Habsburg Staterooms", receiving a meticulous and detailed restoration taking place at the premises of originality and authenticity, got back their venerable and sumptuous appearance. From the world wide scattered historical pieces of equipment have been bought back 70 properties or could be returned through permanent loan to its original location, by which to the visitors is made experiencable again that atmosphere in 1919 the state rooms of the last Habsburg owner Archduke Frederick had owned. The for the first time in 80 years public accessible "Habsburg State Rooms" at the Palais Albertina enable now again as eloquent testimony to our Habsburg past and as a unique cultural heritage fundamental and essential insights into the Austrian cultural history. With the relocation of the main entrance to the level of the Augustinerbastei the recollection to this so valuable Austrian Cultural Heritage formally and functionally came to completion. The vision of the restoration and recovery of the grand palace was a pillar on which the new Albertina should arise again, the other embody the four large newly built exhibition halls, which allow for the first time in the history of the Albertina, to exhibit the collection throughout its encyclopedic breadh under optimal conservation conditions.

Image: The new entrance area of the Albertina

64 meter long shed roof. Hans Hollein.

The palace presents itself now in its appearance in the historicist style of the Ringstrassenära, almost as if nothing had happened in the meantime. But will the wheel of time should not, cannot and must not be turned back, so that the double standards of the "Albertina Palace" said museum - on the one hand Habsburg grandeur palaces and other modern museum for the arts of graphics - should be symbolized by a modern character: The in 2003 by Hans Hollein designed far into the Albertina square cantilevering, elegant floating flying roof. 64 meters long, it symbolizes in the form of a dynamic wedge the accelerated urban spatial connectivity and public access to the palace. It advertises the major changes in the interior as well as the huge underground extensions of the repositioned "Albertina".

 

Christian Benedictine

Art historian with research interests History of Architecture, building industry of the Hapsburgs, Hofburg and Zeremonialwissenschaft (ceremonial sciences). Since 1990 he works in the architecture collection of the Albertina. Since 2000 he supervises as director of the newly founded department "Staterooms" the restoration and furnishing of the state rooms and the restoration of the facades and explores the history of the palace and its inhabitants.

 

www.wien-vienna.at/albertinabaugeschichte.php

 

La primera etapa de la llamada “Guerra contra el Narcotráfico”, fue el “Operativo Conjunto Michoacán”, implementado por el Ex Presidente Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, este operativo fue y sigue siendo duramente cuestionado por las faltas graves a la Constitución mexicana y por las violaciones a los derechos humanos que podría haber incurrido la presencia militar en el Estado de Michoacán y paulatinamente en México. (a mediados de Mayo de 2013, E. Peña Nieto ha iniciado un operativo similar).

 

Para diferentes analistas políticos y jurídicos resaltan que la intervención de las Fuerzas militares va en contra de lo dispuesto en el artículo 129 Constitucional, que establece lo siguiente:

 

Artículo 129. En tiempo de paz, ninguna autoridad militar puede ejercer más funciones que las que tengan exacta conexión con la disciplina militar. Solamente habrá Comandancias Militares fijas y permanentes en los castillos, fortalezas y almacenes que dependan inmediatamente del Gobierno de la Unión; o en los campamentos, cuarteles o depósitos que, fuera de las poblaciones, estableciere para la estación de las tropas.

   

Bajo este fundamento Constitucional se realiza la pregunta: ¿La disposición que realizó Felipe Calderón Hinojosa y que fue acatada por los Secretarios de Defensa y Marina, viola la Constitución?

   

En términos del artículo 129 Constitucional, no puede realizar las funciones que de manera diaria viene realizando desde aproximadamente siete años el Ejército, Armada y Marina, se podría decir bajo este fundamento que es anticonstitucional la intervención del ejército en las calles.

   

Sin embargo cuando se hable de “amenazas a la seguridad anterior” podría cambiar la opinión al respecto, según la resolución que presenta la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) de una acción de inconstitucionalidad en el año de 1996, presentada por el diputado federal en ese entonces Leonel Godoy Rangel que planteaba que el acto de autoridad era anticonstitucional, la causa de esta acción de inconstitucionalidad era la presencia del Ejército en Michoacán enviados por el Presidente en ese entonces Ernesto Zedillo.

   

Registro No. 192080

 

Localización:

Novena Época

Instancia: Pleno

Fuente: Semanario Judicial de la Federación y su Gaceta

XI, Abril de 2000

Página: 549

Tesis: P./J. 38/2000

Jurisprudencia

Materia(s:( Constitucional

 

“ EJÉRCITO, ARMADA Y FUERZA AÉREA. SU PARTICIPACIÓN EN AUXILIO DE LAS AUTORIDADES CIVILES ES CONSTITUCIONAL (INTERPRETACIÓN DEL ARTÍCULO 129 DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN).

 

La interpretación histórica, armónica y lógica del artículo 129 constitucional, autoriza considerar que las fuerzas armadas pueden actuar en auxilio de las autoridades civiles, cuando éstas soliciten el apoyo de la fuerza con la que disponen. Por esta razón, el instituto armado está constitucionalmente facultado para actuar en materias de seguridad pública en auxilio de las autoridades competentes y la participación en el Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Pública de los titulares de las Secretarías de la Defensa Nacional y de Marina, quienes por disposición de los artículos 29, fracción I, y 30, fracción I, de la Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal, tienen a su mando al Ejército, Armada y Fuerza Aérea, no atenta contra el numeral señalado del Código Supremo. Además, la fracción VI del artículo 89 constitucional faculta al presidente de la República a disponer de dichas fuerzas para la seguridad interior. Por estas razones, no es indispensable la declaratoria de suspensión de garantías individuales, prevista para situaciones extremas en el artículo 29 constitucional, para que el Ejército, Armada y Fuerza Aérea intervengan, ya que la realidad puede generar un sinnúmero de situaciones que no justifiquen el estado de emergencia, pero que ante el peligro de que se agudicen, sea necesario disponer de la fuerza con que cuenta el Estado mexicano sujetándose a las disposiciones constitucionales y legales aplicables.

 

Acción de inconstitucionalidad 1/96. Leonel Godoy Rangel y otros. 5 de marzo de 1996. Once votos. Ponente: Mariano Azuela Güitrón. Secretaria: Mercedes Rodarte Magdaleno.

 

El Tribunal Pleno, en su sesión privada celebrada hoy veintisiete de marzo en curso, acordó, con apoyo en su Acuerdo Número 4/1996 de veinticuatro de agosto de mil novecientos noventa y seis, relativo a los efectos de las resoluciones aprobadas por cuando menos ocho votos en las controversias constitucionales y en las acciones de inconstitucionalidad, que la tesis que antecede (publicada en marzo de ese año, como aislada, con el número XXIX/96), se publique como jurisprudencial, con el número 38/2000. México, Distrito Federal, a veintisiete de marzo de dos mil.”

 

Esta resolución fue un precedente para que el Ex Presidente Felipe Calderón dispusiera del ejército en las calles, y de esta manera realizar su guerra absurda contra el crimen organizado, haciendo valer su facultad como Presidente que viene establecida en la la fracción VI del artículo 89, siendo este su fundamento para su acción “bélica”:

 

“Preservar la seguridad nacional, en los términos de la ley respectiva, y disponer de la totalidad de la Fuerza Armada permanente o sea del Ejército, de la Armada y de la Fuerza Aérea para la seguridad interior y defensa exterior de la Federación. “

   

Bajo estos argumentos se podría decir que la presencia del Ejército en las calles no trasgrede lo dispuesto en la Constitución en el artículo 129 y de igual manera lo planteado por el artículo 21, que dispone que las fuerzas de seguridad pública sean de carácter civil.

 

Tomar una decisión de trascendencia como la realizada por Calderón, fundamentándose en una tesis de jurisprudencial, teniendo en cuanta que la resolución de la Corte puede cambiar en cualquier momento, y sabiendo que de los ministros que tomaron aquella resolución solamente se encuentra en la corte en este momento, Juan Silva Meza y Olga Sánchez Cordero.

 

¿Los actuales ministros resolverían de manera diferente la controversia sobre la presencia del ejército en las calles sin la declaratoria de Estado de emergencia?, la tendencia que ha tomado la SCJN en acotar el fuero militar, al momento que se presente algún conflicto con civiles, podría ser precedente para que la SCJN fallara en contra de la presencia del ejército en las calles.

 

Como ejemplo encontramos la declaración que realizó el ministro José Ramón Cossío, en el debate realizado por la SCJN en relación del fuero militar señaló:

 

“Creo que el Ejército no está para cumplir funciones de seguridad pública en términos de la propia Constitución; entiendo que todo el sistema de seguridad pública está construido a partir de servicios de policía, no a partir de servicios de los miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas”

 

Si se discutiera en este momento la presencia del Ejército en las calles, la SCJN dictaminaría la inconstitucionalidad de este acto de autoridad realizado por Felipe Calderón y sus secretarios de Defensa y Marina, de igual manera él y sus secretarios tendrían que responder por su responsabilidad penal, primero sus secretarios por refrendar un acto completamente en contra de la ley fundamental, y en segundo el Ex Presidente por realizar un decreto completamente contrario a la Constitución que juro guardar y hacer guardar.

 

El artículo 129 constitucional prohíbe la presencia del Ejército en labores con alguna conexión con la disciplina militar y que se han realizadas en tiempos de paz, en relación el artículo 21 establece que las instituciones de seguridad del país solo pueden ser de carácter civil.

 

¿Cómo pudo justificar Felipe Calderón, la presencia del Ejército en las calles, en la lucha contra el crimen organizado?, en la fracción VI del artículo 89 de la Constitución otorga la facultad al Presidente de disponer de las fuerzas armadas para garantizar la seguridad interior y la defensa exterior, sin embargo, ¿Qué es la “seguridad interior” que menciona la Carta Magna?

 

La ley vigente de Seguridad Nacional, no contempla el concepto de “seguridad interior”, que es manejado por la Constitución, en la iniciativa que realizó Felipe Calderón presenta una definición: “Es la condición en la que la estabilidad interna y permanencia del Estado mexicano se encuentran garantizadas a través de la aplicación coordinada de sus recursos y medios”

 

Sin embargo el Senado de la república al momento que le fue turnada para revisar la iniciativa de reforma, creó su propia definición de “seguridad interior”:

 

“La condición de estabilidad interna, paz y orden público, que permite a la población su constante mejoramiento y desarrollo económico, social y cultural; y cuya garantía es una función que está a cargo de los tres poderes de gobierno”.

 

Por último la Cámara de Diputados realizó algunos cambios a la definición planteada en la minuta del Senado, dejándola de la siguiente manera:

 

“La condición de estabilidad interna y permanencia del Estado mexicano, que permite a la población su constante mejoramiento y desarrollo económico, social y cultural; y cuya garantía es una función que está a cargo de los tres órdenes de gobierno, con la concurrencia de los sectores social y privado”.

 

Se realizaron dos decretos uno el 9 de mayo de 2007 y otro el 17 de septiembre de 2007, ambos planteaban la creación de un Cuerpo Especial de Fuerzas de Apoyo Federal del Ejercito y la Fuerza Área.

 

Sin embargo el único fundamento legal que presentan esos decretos es una jurisprudencia mencionada anteriormente, no existía un marco jurídico fuerte que apoyara las acciones de “guerra” del presidente, su proyecto no tuvo mayor trascendencia que solo quedarse en iniciativa, ya que no hubo el impulso suficiente por parte del Ejecutivo, puede ser que Calderón se dio cuenta de ilegalidad que estaba por cometer.

 

El 23 de abril de 2009 el Ejecutivo realizó una iniciativa de reforma a la Ley de Seguridad Nacional.

 

Esta Reforma estuvo de paseo en la Cámara de diputados y la Cámara de Senadores durante más de tres años, sin embargo durante ese lapso de tiempo el Ejército se encontraba en “guerra” contra el crimen organizado, sin mandato conforme a la ley.

 

Esto demuestra la incompetencia de un Congreso en donde solo se manejan intereses de los miembros que conforman las cámaras, el Congreso tuvo la oportunidad de parar de manera legal, una guerra ilegal que termino al final del 2012 con más de 100 mil muertos, y un centenar de desaparecidos, el Congreso es cómplice de la muerte al mostrar su burocracia y no ver por los intereses de los mexicanos.

 

Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, actuó fuera de la ley, realizando sus funciones como un dictador, y disponiendo de las Fuerzas Armadas sin tener en cuenta ningún procedimiento, realizando un decreto con fundamento en una jurisprudencia que interpreta el artículo 129 Constitucional y ampliando facultades a un servidor público, cuando claramente solamente la ley puede otorgar estas facultades.

 

Felipe Calderón utilizo las Fuerzas Armadas, sin una declaración previa de guerra, un decreto de disposición del Ejército, Armada y Marina que se base legalmente en un precepto jurídico con más jerarquía que una jurisprudencia realizada en un tiempo social e histórico, que nada tiene que ver con el México bélico que se vive en estos momentos, de igual manera no hubo un decreto ley de suspensión de garantías, las Fuerzas Armadas están actuando fuera de los limites legales, realizando disposiciones y funciones que no le corresponden.

 

Felipe Calderón Hinojosa traicionó a la patria, al no respetar las disposiciones que plantea la Constitución, es un criminal de guerra, que dejó al país en una de sus mayores crisis de seguridad en su historia, la psicosis que se vive en la mayoría de las entidades de la federación, es más evidente en los Estados norteños pero eso deja fuera al sur del país, que día con día se viven secuestros y extorsiones, la gente ha perdido la confianza de las autoridades y de cualquier persona que se encuentre ahí.

 

Un Congreso inepto es lo que te tocó a Felipe Calderón que fungió como un cómplice de sus crímenes de lesa humanidad.

 

Sin fundamento legal, o con un fundamento sin fortaleza jurídica, la “guerra contra el crimen organizado” sigue azotando a México, mientras que el “criminal de guerra” (Felipe Calderón), así acusado ante La Corte Penal Internacional de La Haya, disfruta de unas vacaciones todo pagadas por el Estado mexicano, en virtud de la pensión vitalicia presidencial (250 mil pesos mensuales)

 

Publicado por Proyecto ambulante @ www.proyectoambulante.org/index.php/noticias/oaxaca/item/...

Eastern Iceland near Wilderness Center, Iceland

During a working trip to Mykolaiv region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the presentation of the projects implemented under the patronage of the Kingdom of Denmark over the region.

The Head of State took part in the presentation of the office of the Embassy of Denmark in Mykolaiv and the representative office of the Danish company Bright Bird, which deals with risk management and organization of contacts for Danish companies in Ukraine.

 

The Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration familiarized the Head of State with the work of the Regional Office for International Cooperation at the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration established pursuant to the instruction of the President of Ukraine. The office coordinates and oversees projects implemented at the expense of Denmark, the main partner in the restoration of Mykolaiv region, as well as its partners, including municipalities, government organizations and companies from Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and other countries.

The Regional Office for International Cooperation is working on proposals for priority areas of economic reconstruction and development, as well as for eliminating the consequences of Russian aggression in Mykolaiv region.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Parliament and society for supporting important projects in Ukraine.

"We need such stories of success with very specific results," the President said.

The Head of State emphasized the importance of implementing programs of patronage over Mykolaiv region.

 

"This is indeed a success story. The patronage program for this region, and especially for those regions that are under attack on a daily basis, is very important. This is an example that shows other countries what we can do. And they can help rebuild Ukraine now, without waiting for global post-war recovery plans. So help Ukraine, because our country is living in a struggle right now," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasized that Ukraine will do everything possible to preserve infrastructure, institutions and security for business even in the face of full-scale Russian aggression.

The presentation was also attended by: Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania Valdemaras Sarapinas, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Seymur Mardaliyev, Bright Bird CEO Thomas Trust Have, and Head of Bright Bird's representative office in Ukraine Rasmus Ulfeldt

Este santuário está

implementado numa vasta

área consagrada ao culto

Mariano e constitui um pólo

de dinamização de

numerosas actividades de

espiritualidade, recolhimento

e apoio social. Na sua

génese, está a resposta das

populações do nordeste

transmontano à mensagem

de Fátima, através de uma

acção liderada por um

sacerdote natural da região: o

P. Manuel Joaquim Ochôa.

Começou a ser edificado em

1961. Para a sua construção

foi necessária a colaboração

de todo o povo de Cerejais,

homens e mulheres; eles com

quatrocentos carros de bois

de pedra e elas com o transporte de toda a água necessária à construção,

muita da qual foi transportada em cântaros, à cabeça.

Além da capela principal, fazem parte do conjunto do santuário:

l O Calvário (fig.1.1) com uma capelinha onde se encontra um conjunto

escultórico, em tamanho natural, que representa o encontro da Mãe

Dolorosa com o seu Divino Filho.

l Uma Via-sacra que percorre o caminho entre a Capela e o Calvário e

cujas cruzes foram esculpidas em granito da aldeia de Romeu.

Dois anos mais tarde, em 28 de Maio de 1967, celebrou-se a “festa dos

Bispos” como ficou conhecida a inauguração dos quinze Mistérios do

Rosário, que estão representados por outras tantas figuras esculpidas que

se distribuem à beira do caminho entre a capela e a Loca do Cabeço. Com

efeito, nas cerimónias desta inauguração, estiveram presentes os bispos

de Bragança-Miranda, Leiria, Lamego e Dili.

Em 1976 foi edificado o primeiro pavilhão da Casa dos Pastorinhos e foi

ampliada a torre sineira.

1977 foi o ano da comemoração do 60º aniversário das aparições em

Fátima e o Santuário dos Cerejais foi o ponto central das comemorações

na diocese de Bragança-Miranda.

seu desejo ao rei que logo pensou juntar o útil ao agradável: fez a vontade

à esposa e aproveitou o pretexto para construir uma fortificação militar nas

proximidades, dado que se tratava de um local estratégico para a

segurança do reino.

A administração da capela e dos seus folgados proventos determinados

por D. Dinis foi entregue aos frades beneditinos do mosteiro do Castro da

Avelãs, que se localiza a cerca de 30 km de distância, próximo a Bragança.

No reinado de D. João III, foi construída a catedral de Miranda, que passou

a ser a sede da diocese para quem passou a administração do santuário.

Durante todos estes anos, as actividades de culto foram promovidas pela

confraria que contava sempre com um mordomo castelhano, o que

confirma a grande influência que o santuário exerce do outro lado da

fronteira. Do lado espanhol o Santuário é designado por “La Ribeiriña”.

Apesar da grande quantidade de romeiros e da celebração anual das

grandes romarias, o templo chegou ao final do século XIX num estado de

apreciável degradação. Providencialmente surgiu um benemérito, próspero

emigrante no Brasil, natural de Castrelos, de seu nome António do Carmo

Pires.

5l-henrique.blogspot.pt/2013/06/alfandega-da-fe-cerejais-...

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) continues to implement precautions in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). New York City Transit, MTA Bus, Access-A-Ride, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are significantly increasing the frequency and intensity of sanitizing procedures at each of its stations and on its full fleet of rolling stock. Trains, cars and buses will experience daily cleanings with the MTA’s full fleet undergoing sanitation every 72 hours. Frequently used surfaces in stations, such as turnstiles, MetroCard and ticket vending machines, and handrails, will be disinfected daily.

 

Photo: Patrick Cashin / MTA New York City Transit

 

poorly implemented underdeveloped idea. Remake coming soon.

 

ps sorry for no picture yesterday. I was busy writing a lot of pages of absolutely unreadable stuff. Not a good excuse anyway.. right? :)

 

pps i just couldn't skip two days in a raw. That's way this pic is published. argh. shame.

  

Avalon peninsula, Newfoundland. Bronica GS-1, XP2, Epson v800 scan.

Persistent URL: digital.lib.muohio.edu/u?/tradecards,2000

 

Subject (TGM): Hats; Teenagers; Girls; Boys; Children misbehaving; Farms; Agricultural facilities; Agricultural machinery & implements; Pumps; Water pumps; Hardware; Cutaway drawings; Machinery; Machinery industry;

Colombia, 2022.

 

The Peace Agreement in Colombia, signed in 2016 between the Government and the guerrilla group FARC-EP, put an end to the longest war in Latin America.

 

Six years later, more than 13,000 ex-combatants, a third of which are women, continue to face daily challenges resulting from their reintegration into civil life. The country's new government has generated momentum both domestically and internationally towards the reactivation of the women, peace and security agenda, emphasizing the importance of the reintegration process to achieve a stable peace.

 

Since its inception, the Peace Agreement has included a gender approach as an indispensable condition for its implementation. Women ex-combatants have enthusiastically embraced new roles as mothers, entrepreneurs, students, citizens and political leaders. However, their lives are still full of challenges related to their physical, legal and political security; educational and economic opportunities; and access to specialized health services, among others. These conditions are key for a successful reintegration.

 

UN Women, together with governmental and civil society actors, supports this process with actions that strengthen women's citizenship, political leadership and economic empowerment, as well as prevent gender violence and build new masculinities among male ex-combatants. Nearly 3,000 women in 11 regions of the country benefit from these programs, allowing them to strengthen their role as peacebuilders.

 

Pictured: Dama Verde is an economic project in Pondores (Colombia) led by women former guerrilla fighters in process of reintegration. They grow aromatic plants among other crops to sustain their families and contribute to the entire community, as they reintegrate into civilian life after the Peace Agreement with the Colombian Government was signed in 2016. An economic project supported by UN Women.

 

Photo: UN Women/Pedro Pio

 

Read More: www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/video/2022/10/the-reinteg...

This is why I take the road less traveled...

Because you just never know what will present itself

 

ראיון מלא עם הצייר הישראלי רפי פרץ על הרעיונות מאחורי הציור הנאיבי , רזומה ביוגרפיה אישית וקורות חיים

שאלה: רפי פרץ ספר לנו על תהליך העבודה שלך כצייר נאיבי ?

תשובה: אני בוחר את המבנים האייקוניים והמפורסמים ביותר בכל עיר ועיר המעניינים מבחינה ארכיטקטונית ובעלי צורה מיוחדת וממקם את המבנים האייקוניים בשדרות מלאות בעצים, שיחים, צמחייה, פרחים.

 

שאלה: כיצד אתה נותן עומק בציורים הנאיביים שלך ?

תשובה: כדי לתת עומק לציור, אני בונה את הציור בשכבות של צמחייה, אחרי אותם בניינים מפורסמים נמוכים, ואחריהם שדרת עצים גבוהה, ומאחוריהם מגדלים וגורדי שחקים, בשמים אני שם לפעמים סימנים תמימים של בלונים, עפיפונים.

מוטיב חוזר בחלק מהציורים שלי הוא דמותו של הצייר שנמצא במרכז השדרה ומצייר את כל הסצנה הנפרשת מולו, כמו כן יש שתי גננות שמטיילות עם ילדי הגן עם דגלי המדינה שאני מצייר , וזוגות אוהבים מתחבקים ומתנשקים וציורים משפחתיים של אמא, אבא וילד צועדים בהרמוניה בשדרה.

 

שאלה: רפי פרץ מה מאפיין את הציור הנאיבי שלך ?

תשובה: לרוב הציורים הנאיביים יש את אותם מאפיינים

(הגדרה כפי שהיא מופיעה בויקיפדיה)

• מספר סיפור פשוט לקלוט מחיי היומיום, בדרך כלל עם בני אדם.

• ייצוג האידיאליזציה של הצייר למציאות – מיפוי המציאות.

• אי שמירה על פרספקטיבה - במיוחד פרטים גם בפרטים רחוקים.

• שימוש נרחב בתבניות חוזרות - פרטים רבים.

• צבעים חמים ובהירים.

• לפעמים הדגש על קווי מתאר.

• רוב הדמויות שטוחות, חסרות נפח

• אין עניין במרקם, הבעה, פרופורציות נכונות

• אין עניין באנטומיה.

• אין הרבה שימוש באור וצל, הצבעים יוצרים אפקט תלת מימדי.

אני מוצא שההגדרות הללו תקפות לגבי כל הציורים הנאיביים שלי

 

שאלה: רפי פרץ למה אתה בוחר בעיקר בעיר תל אביב ?

תשובה: נולדתי בירושלים עיר הבירה שאותה אני מאוד אוהב וגם מצייר ,

אני אוהב את מבני הבאוהאוס המיוחדים בתל אביב , הבניינים האורנמנטיים שנבנו לפני מאה שנה בשנות ה - 20 וה - 30 של המאה העשרים , השדרות היפות , מגדלים וגורדי השחקים המודרניים נותנים לך תחושה של המולה ומטרופולין גדול וישנם לא מעט בניינים נמוכים וגבוהים שמרתקים מבחינה אדריכלית בצורתם המיוחדת

כמו כן המעבר לתל אביב שהיא בירת התרבות , החופש , החילוניות איפשרו לי לחיות את חיי כפי שבחרתי , לחיות בזוגיות עם גבר , ירושלים שהיא עיר מסורתית זה יותר מורכב לחיות חיים הומוסקסואליים , כמו כן עולם האמנות מתרחש בעיקר בעיר תל אביב ויתכן שמבחינה מקצועית זה מאפשר לי לקיים את עצמי טוב יותר בתל אביב מאשר בכל עיר אחרת בישראל .

 

שאלה: רפי פרץ האם הציורים של העיר תל אביב שונים מהציורים של העיר ירושלים

תשובה: הציורים של ירושלים חלקם הגדול יש דגש על הצבע הצהוב , זהב , צבע של חומות העיר העתיקה, הנושאים שציירתי בירושלים הם בעיקר סוג של אידיאליזציה של חיים שלווים בין יהודים לערבים וציורים שעוסקים בעולם הדתי יהודי , מספר ציורים מתארים את כל גווני הזרמים של היהדות של ימינו

להבדיל ציורי תל אביב הם יותר צבעוניים , עם גורדי שחקים , ים , כדורים פורחים ומוטיבים יותר חילוניים

 

שאלה: רפי פרץ פרט על איזה מבנים ובניינם אדריכלים אתה בדרך כלל אתה בוחר בציורי הערים שלך

תשובה: המבנים האהובים עלי הם כאלה שיש להם צורה מיוחדת שכל אחד יכול לזהות והם מסממני העיר ואתן מספר דוגמאות :

בעיר תל אביב הבניינים האהובים עלי הם : בניין האופרה עם הצורה הגיאומטרית המיודת , מגדל ישרוטל עם ראש המיוחד , מגדל כל בו שלום ששנים היה סמל לבניין הגבוה בתל אביב, בית לוין שנראה כמו פגודה יפנית, מלון נורדאו בצבע בורדו עם הכיפה המיוחדת בקצה הבניין , זוג מגדלי אלון עם המבנה המיוחד שלהים , בנייני באוהאוס אופייניים לתל אביב עם המרפסות המיוחדות וחדר המדרגות המיוחד, המזרקה של יעקב אגם בכיכר דיזנגוף מופיעה בחלק גדול של הציורים , מגדלים רבים שנמצאים במתחם הבורסה, מגדלי אביב ועוד בניינים גבוהים על איילון , בחלק מהציורים לקחתי תוכניות מתאר של בניינים עתידיים שצריכים להבנות בעיר וציירתי אותם עוד לפני שהם נבנו במציאות ,

 

בציורי ירושלים בחרתי בעיקר את איזור העיר העתיקה ומזרח ירושלים , ציור של חומות העיר העתיקה, הכותל , כנסיית הקבר , מסגד אל אקצ'אה, מגדל דוויד, מרבית הכנסיות המפורסמות בעיר , ימין משה, במרבית הציורים היהודי לבוש בחולצה כחולה עם שרוך אדום זכר לימים שהייתי בתנועת נוער והערבי עם גלבייה , ובציורי הציבור הדתי אז יהודים עם חליפות שחורות וחולצות לבנות, טליטות , כיפות , כובעים מיוחדים , בתי כנסת ועוד

 

יצרתי גם שלושה ציורים של העיר חיפה וציור אחד של צפת

בציורי חיפה ציירתי את האוניברסיטה , הטכניון , מגדל אגד המפורסם , מגדל המפרש , בתי מלון ידועים , כמובן הגנים הבאהיים והמקדש הבאהי , נמל חיפה והסירות ועוד בניינים מפורמים בעיר

 

שאלה: האם יצרת סדרות של ערים נוספות מהעולם

תשובה: יצרתי סדרות של העיר ניו יורק עם כל המבנים האייקונים והמפורסמים כמו : מוזיאון הגוגנהיים ,גורדי השחקים המפורסמים - בניין קרייזלר , אימפייר סטייט בילדינג, מרכז לינקולן , בית הכנסת המפורסם בעיר, פסל החרות , דגלי ארצות הברית ועוד בניינים מפורסמים

שני ציורים של לונדון וכל האתרים המפורסמים בה , הביג בן , מונמנטים מפורסמים , הגלגל הענק, המלכה אליזבט ומשפחתה, האוטובוס הכפול, הטלפון הציבורי המפורסם , ארמונות , כנסיות מפורסמות , מונומנטים ידועים

יצרתי 4 ציורים נאיביים של ערים בסין, ציור של שנגחאי, שני ציורים של העיר סוז'ו וציור של פארק העולם בעיר בייג'ינג... בחרתי את קו הרקיע המפורסם של שנגחאי עם כל המגדלים המפורסמים , הטיילת המפורסמת, מקדשים ובניינים ישנים , שני ציורים של העיר סוג'או עם תעלות המים המפורסמות , הגשרים , הגנים המיוחדים , מגדלים וגורדי שחקים המפורסמים של העיר

 

שאלה: רפי פרץ מה הרעיון הכללי שמלווה אותך בציורים

תשובה: ליצור עולם טוב , יפה , נאיבי, תמים שנראה את החדשנות של העיר המודרנית דרך גורדי השחקים מול בניינים קטנים ונמוכים שמביאים את ההיסטוריה והעבר של כל מדינה הכול עם שפע צמחיה, שדרות , עצים

 

רזומה , ביוגרפיה , קורות חיים של הצייר רפי פרץ ומשפחתו

שאלה: מתי נולד רפי פרץ?

תשובה: רפי פרץ נולד ב-4 במרץ 1965

 

שאלה: איפה נולד רפי פרץ?

תשובה: רפי פרץ נולד בירושלים, ישראל

 

שאלה: מהו השם המלא של רפי פרץ?

תשובה: השם המלא שלו הוא רפאל פרץ באנגלית raphael perez

 

שאלה: איזה תחום מתמחה רפי פרץ?

תשובה: רפי פרץ מתמחה בתחום הציור

 

שאלה: מהו הנושא העיקרי ביצירתו של רפי פרץ?

תשובה: הנושא העיקרי ביצירתו של רפי פרץ הוא בציורי נוף אורבני של ערים בישראל ובעולם

 

שאלה: איזו מוסד לימודים לאמנות בוגר רפי פרץ?

תשובה: רפי פרץ בוגר המרכז לאמנויות החזות בבאר שבע

 

שאלה: מתי החל לצייר רפי פרץ?

תשובה: רפי פרץ החל לצייר בשנת 1989

 

שאלה: מתי החל להתפרנס ממכירת אמנות?

תשובה: רפי פרץ החל להתפרנס ממכירת אמנות בשנת 1999

  

שאלה: איפה מתגורר ועובד רפי פרץ?

תשובה: משנת 1995, רפי פרץ מתגורר ועובד מהסטודיו שלו בתל אביב

 

שאלה: באיזו מסגרת צבאית שירת בצה"ל?

תשובה: שירת בחיל התותחנים

 

שאלה: באיזה עבודות עבד לאחר שירותו הצבאי ?

תשובה : רפי פרץ עבד 15 שנה בחינוך במסגרות טיפוליות לילדים ולימד אמנויות ותנועה

 

שאלה: כמה אחים ואחיות יש לרפי פרץ הצייר הישראלי

תשובה: סה"כ הם שבעה ילדים , עם הצייר 5 בנים ושתי בנות ,זאת אומרת לצייר רפי פרץ יש עוד 4 אחים ושתי אחיות

 

שאלה: במה עוסקים האחים והאחיות של הצייר רפי פרץ

תשובה: האח הבכור דוד פרץ עסק בתחום לימודי הדת , האחות חנה עוסקת בתחום החינוך , גננת לילדים וטיפול בילדים , האח אבי פרץ שנמצא בארצות הברית כיום הוא רב קונסרבטיבי אבל בעבר עסק בחינוך וטיפול , האח אשר פרץ עוסק בתחומי היצירה ותכשיטים , האח התאום מיקי פרץ מעצב תעשייתי ידוע ומוכר האחות הקטנה שלומית פרץ עובדת בתפקיד ניהולי בבזק

 

שאלה: ספר על ההורים של הצייר רפי פרץ

תשובה: הורי הצייר רפי פרץ שמם שמעון פרץ ועליזה אליס בן יאיר , התחתנו בשנת 1950 בירושלים , שניהם נולדו במרוקו ועלו לארץ בשנת 1949 , שמעון פרץ עבד בבניין בצעירותו ואחר כך כפקיד קבלה בבית החולים הדסה עין כרם, עליזה אליס פרץ עסקה בתחום טיפול בילדי גן , עבודה בגני ילדים וכמובן טיפול וגידול שבעת ילדיה

Advertisement postcard for the Pender Manufacturing and Supply Company, showing different

types of sowers. The card also reads, "Fertilizer and Lime Sowers," "So-Rite Fertilizer

Sower," "Hand Operated Horse Drawn Tractor Drawn Sizes up to 13 ft. wide BUY TODAY."

 

Digital Collection:

North Carolina Postcards

 

Location:

Raleigh (N.C.); Wake County (N.C.);

 

Collection in Repository

Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077); collection guide available

online at www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/pcoll/77barbour/77barbour.html

 

Usage Statement

Dreer's quarterly wholesale price list of vegetable seeds flower seeds bulbs aquatics decorative plants hard plants tools implements etc., etc..

Philadelphia, Pa. :Henry A. Dreer,1900..

biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43837590

Antique Farm Implement,

Penn Farm Agricultural Heritage Center.

Cedar Hill State Park. Cedar Hill, Texas.

Dallas County. 24 December 2018.

Olympus E-P5. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II.

(45mm) f/8 @ 1/100 sec. ISO 640.

Boy George, 1988 (Collage, Acryl, Fumage/Collage, arcylic, fumage), Albertina - Schenkung/Donation, 2015

 

The Albertina

The architectural history of the Palais

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Image: The oldest photographic view of the newly designed Palais Archduke Albrecht, 1869

"It is my will that ​​the expansion of the inner city of Vienna with regard to a suitable connection of the same with the suburbs as soon as possible is tackled and at this on Regulirung (regulation) and beautifying of my Residence and Imperial Capital is taken into account. To this end I grant the withdrawal of the ramparts and fortifications of the inner city and the trenches around the same".

This decree of Emperor Franz Joseph I, published on 25 December 1857 in the Wiener Zeitung, formed the basis for the largest the surface concerning and architecturally most significant transformation of the Viennese cityscape. Involving several renowned domestic and foreign architects a "master plan" took form, which included the construction of a boulevard instead of the ramparts between the inner city and its radially upstream suburbs. In the 50-years during implementation phase, an impressive architectural ensemble developed, consisting of imperial and private representational buildings, public administration and cultural buildings, churches and barracks, marking the era under the term "ring-street style". Already in the first year tithe decided a senior member of the Austrian imperial family to decorate the facades of his palace according to the new design principles, and thus certified the aristocratic claim that this also "historicism" said style on the part of the imperial house was attributed.

Image: The Old Albertina after 1920

It was the palace of Archduke Albrecht (1817-1895), the Senior of the Habsburg Family Council, who as Field Marshal held the overall command over the Austro-Hungarian army. The building was incorporated into the imperial residence of the Hofburg complex, forming the south-west corner and extending eleven meters above street level on the so-called Augustinerbastei.

The close proximity of the palace to the imperial residence corresponded not only with Emperor Franz Joseph I and Archduke Albert with a close familial relationship between the owner of the palace and the monarch. Even the former inhabitants were always in close relationship to the imperial family, whether by birth or marriage. An exception here again proves the rule: Don Emanuel Teles da Silva Conde Tarouca (1696-1771), for which Maria Theresa in 1744 the palace had built, was just a close friend and advisor of the monarch. Silva Tarouca underpins the rule with a second exception, because he belonged to the administrative services as Generalhofbaudirektor (general court architect) and President of the Austrian-Dutch administration, while all other him subsequent owners were highest ranking military.

In the annals of Austrian history, especially those of military history, they either went into as commander of the Imperial Army, or the Austrian, later kk Army. In chronological order, this applies to Duke Carl Alexander of Lorraine, the brother-of-law of Maria Theresa, as Imperial Marshal, her son-in-law Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, also field marshal, whos adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, the last imperial field marshal and only Generalissimo of Austria, his son Archduke Albrecht of Austria as Feldmarschalil and army Supreme commander, and most recently his nephew Archduke Friedrich of Austria, who held as field marshal from 1914 to 1916 the command of the Austro-Hungarian troops. Despite their military profession, all five generals conceived themselves as patrons of the arts and promoted large sums of money to build large collections, the construction of magnificent buildings and cultural life. Charles Alexander of Lorraine promoted as governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1741 to 1780 the Academy of Fine Arts, the Théâtre de Ja Monnaie and the companies Bourgeois Concert and Concert Noble, he founded the Academie royale et imperial des Sciences et des Lettres, opened the Bibliotheque Royal for the population and supported artistic talents with high scholarships. World fame got his porcelain collection, which however had to be sold by Emperor Joseph II to pay off his debts. Duke Albert began in 1776 according to the concept of conte Durazzo to set up an encyclopedic collection of prints, which forms the core of the world-famous "Albertina" today.

Image : Duke Albert and Archduchess Marie Christine show in family cercle the from Italy brought along art, 1776. Frederick Henry Füger.

1816 declared to Fideikommiss and thus in future indivisible, inalienable and inseparable, the collection 1822 passed into the possession of Archduke Carl, who, like his descendants, it broadened. Under him, the collection was introduced together with the sumptuously equipped palace on the Augustinerbastei in the so-called "Carl Ludwig'schen fideicommissum in 1826, by which the building and the in it kept collection fused into an indissoluble unity. At this time had from the Palais Tarouca by structural expansion or acquisition a veritable Residenz palace evolved. Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen was first in 1800 the third floor of the adjacent Augustinian convent wing adapted to house his collection and he had after 1802 by his Belgian architect Louis de Montoyer at the suburban side built a magnificent extension, called the wing of staterooms, it was equipped in the style of Louis XVI. Only two decades later, Archduke Carl the entire palace newly set up. According to scetches of the architect Joseph Kornhäusel the 1822-1825 retreaded premises presented themselves in the Empire style. The interior of the palace testified from now in an impressive way the high rank and the prominent position of its owner. Under Archduke Albrecht the outer appearance also should meet the requirements. He had the facade of the palace in the style of historicism orchestrated and added to the Palais front against the suburbs an offshore covered access. Inside, he limited himself, apart from the redesign of the Rococo room in the manner of the second Blondel style, to the retention of the paternal stock. Archduke Friedrich's plans for an expansion of the palace were omitted, however, because of the outbreak of the First World War so that his contribution to the state rooms, especially, consists in the layout of the Spanish apartment, which he in 1895 for his sister, the Queen of Spain Maria Christina, had set up as a permanent residence.

Picture: The "audience room" after the restoration: Picture: The "balcony room" around 1990

The era of stately representation with handing down their cultural values ​​found its most obvious visualization inside the palace through the design and features of the staterooms. On one hand, by the use of the finest materials and the purchase of masterfully manufactured pieces of equipment, such as on the other hand by the permanent reuse of older equipment parts. This period lasted until 1919, when Archduke Friedrich was expropriated by the newly founded Republic of Austria. With the republicanization of the collection and the building first of all finished the tradition that the owner's name was synonymous with the building name:

After Palais Tarouca or tarokkisches house it was called Lorraine House, afterwards Duke Albert Palais and Palais Archduke Carl. Due to the new construction of an adjacently located administration building it received in 1865 the prefix "Upper" and was referred to as Upper Palais Archduke Albrecht and Upper Palais Archduke Frederick. For the state a special reference to the Habsburg past was certainly politically no longer opportune, which is why was decided to name the building according to the in it kept collection "Albertina".

Picture: The "Wedgwood Cabinet" after the restoration: Picture: the "Wedgwood Cabinet" in the Palais Archduke Friedrich, 1905

This name derives from the term "La Collection Albertina" which had been used by the gallery Inspector Maurice von Thausing in 1870 in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts for the former graphics collection of Duke Albert. For this reason, it was the first time since the foundation of the palace that the name of the collection had become synonymous with the room shell. Room shell, hence, because the Republic of Austria Archduke Friedrich had allowed to take along all the movable goods from the palace in his Hungarian exile: crystal chandeliers, curtains and carpets as well as sculptures, vases and clocks. Particularly stressed should be the exquisite furniture, which stems of three facilities phases: the Louis XVI furnitures of Duke Albert, which had been manufactured on the basis of fraternal relations between his wife Archduchess Marie Christine and the French Queen Marie Antoinette after 1780 in the French Hofmanufakturen, also the on behalf of Archduke Charles 1822-1825 in the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory by Joseph Danhauser produced Empire furnitures and thirdly additions of the same style of Archduke Friedrich, which this about 1900 at Portois & Ffix as well as at Friedrich Otto Schmidt had commissioned.

The "swept clean" building got due to the strained financial situation after the First World War initially only a makeshift facility. However, since until 1999 no revision of the emergency equipment took place, but differently designed, primarily the utilitarianism committed office furnitures complementarily had been added, the equipment of the former state rooms presented itself at the end of the 20th century as an inhomogeneous administrative mingle-mangle of insignificant parts, where, however, dwelt a certain quaint charm. From the magnificent state rooms had evolved depots, storage rooms, a library, a study hall and several officed.

Image: The Albertina Graphic Arts Collection and the Philipphof after the American bombing of 12 März 1945.

Image: The palace after the demolition of the entrance facade, 1948-52

Worse it hit the outer appearance of the palace, because in times of continued anti-Habsburg sentiment after the Second World War and inspired by an intolerant destruction will, it came by pickaxe to a ministerial erasure of history. In contrast to the graphic collection possessed the richly decorated facades with the conspicuous insignia of the former owner an object-immanent reference to the Habsburg past and thus exhibited the monarchial traditions and values ​​of the era of Francis Joseph significantly. As part of the remedial measures after a bomb damage, in 1948 the aristocratic, by Archduke Albert initiated, historicist facade structuring along with all decorations was cut off, many facade figures demolished and the Hapsburg crest emblems plunged to the ground. Since in addition the old ramp also had been cancelled and the main entrance of the bastion level had been moved down to the second basement storey at street level, ended the presence of the old Archduke's palace after more than 200 years. At the reopening of the "Albertina Graphic Collection" in 1952, the former Hapsburg Palais of splendour presented itself as one of his identity robbed, formally trivial, soulless room shell, whose successful republicanization an oversized and also unproportional eagle above the new main entrance to the Augustinian road symbolized. The emocratic throw of monuments had wiped out the Hapsburg palace from the urban appeareance, whereby in the perception only existed a nondescript, nameless and ahistorical building that henceforth served the lodging and presentation of world-famous graphic collection of the Albertina. The condition was not changed by the decision to the refurbishment because there were only planned collection specific extensions, but no restoration of the palace.

Image: The palace after the Second World War with simplified facades, the rudiment of the Danubiusbrunnens (well) and the new staircase up to the Augustinerbastei

This paradigm shift corresponded to a blatant reversal of the historical circumstances, as the travel guides and travel books for kk Residence and imperial capital of Vienna dedicated itself primarily with the magnificent, aristocratic palace on the Augustinerbastei with the sumptuously fitted out reception rooms and mentioned the collection kept there - if at all - only in passing. Only with the repositioning of the Albertina in 2000 under the direction of Klaus Albrecht Schröder, the palace was within the meaning and in fulfillment of the Fideikommiss of Archduke Charles in 1826 again met with the high regard, from which could result a further inseparable bond between the magnificent mansions and the world-famous collection. In view of the knowing about politically motivated errors and omissions of the past, the facades should get back their noble, historicist designing, the staterooms regain their glamorous, prestigious appearance and culturally unique equippment be repurchased. From this presumption, eventually grew the full commitment to revise the history of redemption and the return of the stately palace in the public consciousness.

Image: The restored suburb facade of the Palais Albertina suburb

The smoothed palace facades were returned to their original condition and present themselves today - with the exception of the not anymore reconstructed Attica figures - again with the historicist decoration and layout elements that Archduke Albrecht had given after the razing of the Augustinerbastei in 1865 in order. The neoclassical interiors, today called after the former inhabitants "Habsburg Staterooms", receiving a meticulous and detailed restoration taking place at the premises of originality and authenticity, got back their venerable and sumptuous appearance. From the world wide scattered historical pieces of equipment have been bought back 70 properties or could be returned through permanent loan to its original location, by which to the visitors is made experiencable again that atmosphere in 1919 the state rooms of the last Habsburg owner Archduke Frederick had owned. The for the first time in 80 years public accessible "Habsburg State Rooms" at the Palais Albertina enable now again as eloquent testimony to our Habsburg past and as a unique cultural heritage fundamental and essential insights into the Austrian cultural history. With the relocation of the main entrance to the level of the Augustinerbastei the recollection to this so valuable Austrian Cultural Heritage formally and functionally came to completion. The vision of the restoration and recovery of the grand palace was a pillar on which the new Albertina should arise again, the other embody the four large newly built exhibition halls, which allow for the first time in the history of the Albertina, to exhibit the collection throughout its encyclopedic breadh under optimal conservation conditions.

Image: The new entrance area of the Albertina

64 meter long shed roof. Hans Hollein.

The palace presents itself now in its appearance in the historicist style of the Ringstrassenära, almost as if nothing had happened in the meantime. But will the wheel of time should not, cannot and must not be turned back, so that the double standards of the "Albertina Palace" said museum - on the one hand Habsburg grandeur palaces and other modern museum for the arts of graphics - should be symbolized by a modern character: The in 2003 by Hans Hollein designed far into the Albertina square cantilevering, elegant floating flying roof. 64 meters long, it symbolizes in the form of a dynamic wedge the accelerated urban spatial connectivity and public access to the palace. It advertises the major changes in the interior as well as the huge underground extensions of the repositioned "Albertina".

 

Christian Benedictine

Art historian with research interests History of Architecture, building industry of the Hapsburgs, Hofburg and Zeremonialwissenschaft (ceremonial sciences). Since 1990 he works in the architecture collection of the Albertina. Since 2000 he supervises as director of the newly founded department "Staterooms" the restoration and furnishing of the state rooms and the restoration of the facades and explores the history of the palace and its inhabitants.

 

www.wien-vienna.at/albertinabaugeschichte.php

 

on Instagram ift.tt/1ZdxXdN

立法會監察西九文化區計劃推行情況聯合小組委員會參觀西九文化區

立法会监察西九文化区计划推行情况联合小组委员会参观西九文化区

LegCo Joint Subcommittee to Monitor the Implementation of the West Kowloon Cultural District Project visits West Kowloon Cultural District (2016.12.12)

A companion to my blog post on the subject.

Well, this title proves I must be unhinged but I didn't even forget it since last night when I thought it up so it stuck. Unfortunately two of the clunky signs showed in this shot and I will probably clone them out when I collapse the layers back together. Way too much work otherwise. The crowd was a bit much for a Friday weekday and even highway #66 seemed overloaded with travelers and RVs probably on their way up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park (area right of the wind mill). Highway #66 does not appear in this shot and thank goodness I had little cloning on the cars! I appreciated the way the sky was beginning to display in a spray on the widest angle shots. I moved in for consecutively tighter shots on the red barn after I captured "The old spread" and tried to crop out problems as was possible. I fiddled with the horizon but it has to be on a slant. The terrain slopes down and left to McIntosh Lake that is over in northwest Longmont. On the right hand side of the frame is the new stock shed where they are housing the ponies and pigs while the slow elk, left, have to feed themselves. There are several exhibits inside the red barn for the mommas to explain to the kiddies. All the kiddies want is a cool soda pop as long as they have to walk. Careful, the chickens and bunnies are under foot; a delight to the kiddies no doubt. I went out again on Sunday and shot more photos including some of the signs so I'd have a record. We can't agree which was the McIntosh barn and which was moved in from the FAA property. A strange day it is because the place was empty but Highway #66 was a real pain with folks apparently heading for Rocky Mountain National Park. We just got out of there last Tuesday and I figure it will be a wild one for the summer. You couldn't pay me to go now, except for a cooler day.

 

This is the McIntosh-Lohr Farm Agricultural Museum on Highway #66, (not the same as Route #66). I had by now dropped everything else. Though the clouding has been absent recently, they really popped the structures today but I still had to wait for the chickens to cross the road before they allowed me passage. Today, though, served up a sprinkle and they promise 92 tomorrow. Keep editing in the cool, I guess. I am spending extra time on the best of the captures considering these abundant skies. I was just in time for the sky. I looked out of my window and jumped up, gathered my camera and split. I scored shots out here some years ago but the sky was a dud and I was using my old D70. The farm/museum is part way between Largemont and Hygiene, Colorado. Today, I can afford the time to stop and look (it was my "race on debt" for being there) over the old shots I ought to have spotted before. I bet though I'd better manage it in an hour or two. They have added new venues and I am in a wandering mood. Here is one of my results. The day would later collapse to overcast, allowing time to start editing. There COULD be some time involved in editing. After I boiled the layers down to a TIFF, I edited objects I could then.

  

Implements - cable ties. Focus stacked using zerene,

Hatch Warren farm was the home and head office of Rex Paterson, the noted agriculturalist, when it was part of the estate of the Earls of Portsmouth. Hatch Warren Farm building at the top of the hill are being developed by its owners, Portsmouth Estates, as part of a redevelopment programme to breath a new lease of life into the buildings. This farmyard is now part of the Hatch Warren housing estate at Birches Crest close to the Portsmouth Arms public house.

 

Rex Munro Paterson OBE (1902 in London – 1978 in Hampshire) was an English agricultural pioneer whose extensive business and meticulous record keeping enabled him to carry out research and development in dairy farming systems on a scale that would have been beyond most research institutions.

 

He moved to this free-draining chalk downland of Hampshire which enabled him to start milking cows using the system developed by Wiltshire dairy farmer Arthur Hosier. The cows were kept out all year and milked in "bails", or mobile milking parlours, which offered a very cheap way of starting up a dairy herd. Paterson started milking with a bail in 1928 (milking the cows himself) and built up a farming empire which came to include up to 10,000 acres (40 km²) (in 1943), and 4,000 dairy cows (in the early 1970s).

 

He was a pioneer in the making of silage in Britain and to enable this he designed the Buckrake and the Muckrake, which exploited the hydraulic three-point linkage invented by Harry Ferguson. This was manufactured by the firm of Taskers of Andover. This is probably what the implement in the foreground is.

 

Hatch Warren is a district and ward of Basingstoke in Hampshire, west of the town centre. Neighbouring housing estates include Kempshott and Brighton Hill.

 

It is primarily served by Brighton Hill Community College (a secondary school) and two junior schools, St Mark's and Hatch Warren.

 

It lies within the Hatch Warren & Beggarwood ward of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

 

Hatch Warren shares a Newsletter, the Rabbiter, with Beggarwood and Kempshott Park, and has a small retail park, which includes a supermarket and a petrol station. It also has one pub which is named 'The Portsmouth Arms.' The Pub was due to open in 1996, but was destroyed by arson. It did however open a year later. The pub was not there when this picture was taken.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/24972344@N02/6390911793/in/photolis...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Paterson

Clearly visible implement hooks from the driver`s seat.

Building instructions and .ldr file available freely here. I strongly advise to have a look at it before doing anything.

 

Credits inside the building instructions. Enjoy!

 

Minor design changes may occur during the life of the MOC. When implemented, I make a new post in the album as soon as the building instructions are updated and available (the .zip file will indicate the date of the revision)