Geography.

The High Fens, established as a reserve in 1957, with their high altitude and unique location, consist mainly of raised bogs, and low, grass- or wood-covered hills, moorland and forest. The provincial capital of Liège is to its west, the German border is to the east and the dark forested hills of the Ardennes surround the southern part. The park stretches between Eupen in the north, Monschau in the east, Spa in the west and Malmedy in the south. It stretches north of Malmedy as far as Eupen and marks the end of the Ardennes proper. It is contiguous with the Eifel hills, which stretch east from the German border to form the large Deutsch–Belgischer Naturpark. Signal de Botrange located in the Haute Fagnes is marked by a Telecom Tower erected over an older artificial, earthen mound with stone steps that was built to raise a small part of the broad plateau from. Large urban centres in the vicinity of the reserve are Eupen, Verviers, Spa and Malmedy.  Part of the High Fens reserve remains closed during the spring breeding season of the endangered black grouse ("Tetrao tetrix"). During the summer there is a risk of fire in the forest area. Boardwalks cross the bogs, permitting access across these areas. Paths lead to many areas of the park, and there are signposts to guide visitors through the park. The nature reserve of the High Fens is coordinated under the Nature Division and Forests of the Walloon Region.

Climate.

The reserve is one of the wettest and coldest parts of Belgium. It is frequently shrouded in mist and low cloud. It has a subalpine climate with strong winds and fierce winters, which are occasionally subarctic. The Fagnes plateau intercepts clouds brought by the prevailing Atlantic winds, and this results in copious precipitation, with an average of of rain per year. However, beneath the fragile composition of the overlying soils are rocky beds and clay that prevent infiltration of water and thus create the conditions for wetlands, marshes and bogs.  The highest and lowest annual rainfall recorded are and respectively, with maximum on a single day of on 7 October 1982 at the Signal de Botrange. The maximum snowfall recorded at Signal de Botrange was in 1953. The maximum number of frost days (when the temperature remains below ) in a year is reported to be 158 days and the minimum is 70 days. The lowest temperature recorded was in 1942, but it was in 1952 at Baraque-Michel.  Several rivers have their sources in the High Fens: the Vesdre, Hoëgne, Warche, Gileppe, Eau Rouge, Amblève, Our, Kyll, and Rur. In winter all the water sources freeze into snow making the High Fens one of the best ski resorts in Belgium. During winter the swamps appear as if "wrapped in white fluffy snow shawl".

Zoning.

The region has been zoned under a regulation of 1992 into specific zones, keeping in view the access areas provided for visitors and tourists. The areas are allocated to three zones: B, C, and D. Zone B is open daily to the public subject to regulations: bicycles and dogs are forbidden; one must keep to identified tracks; waste is to be disposed of only in trashcans; and silence is to be maintained. Zone C can be visited only accompanied by a guide authorised by the park administration. However no access to this zone is allowed from mid-March to late June, when an endangered species, the black grouse, breeds here. Zone D is a totally protected reserve area, with no access to the public.

Flora and fauna.

In the High Fens the habitats of many plants and animals typically found further north or in the mountains, result from the geology and relief, the harsh climate, high rainfall, long and cold winters and low average temperatures in the region.  The High Venn's plateau thus is rich in flora and fauna some of which have become rare and threatened in the last more than three centuries. The heathers and turf moors in the reserve have a significant role to maintain biodiversity for the rare and threatened flora and fauna as it ensures regulation of the water balance and maintains value of the landscape. However, since the 17th century, peat cutting, drainage, inappropriate spruce plantations, infestation of the ground by the purple moor-grass, a herb, had caused problems for the ecology of the region. These negative aspects are now being rectified by special projects titled "Life-Nature Project".

Flora.

The common heather or "Calluna", a small bush of height is grazed by sheep and also has healing qualities; the bilberry, in the family Ericaceae, is a shrub found at an altitude of 500 m (around 1600 feet); the rootless peat mosses ("Sphagnum") of about grow at a year and form the basic turf moors through the buildup of organic matter; cotton grass, a perennial plant in wet regions; sundew ("Drosera rotundfolia") found in the acid turfs of the reserve which are carnivores and consumes insects; and wintergreen chickweed ("cerastium"), which is a seven-petal flower and also the logo of the park.

Fauna.

Faunal species recorded are: the wild boar, roe deer, hen harrier, black grouse, wood mouse, grasshopper warbler, northern shrike, great grey shrike, meadow pipit, stonechat and wheatear. The black grouse, a protected species, is found in small numbers. It is a sedentary bird. The male species has black plumage with a red wattle above the eyes while the female species has a brown plumage with black, grey and white stripes and possesses a light forked tail. Vertebrates, spiders and insects reported in the reserve are: orvet ("Anguis fragilis"), "Odonata Orthoptera", "Heteroptera Lepidoptera", diptera, crustaceans, myriapods and shellfish.

Fires.

As the habitat consists of bogs, fire is a major hazard during the drought period, when Fens is closed except for a small fen area near Poleur. Triangular signs painted in red are fixed at the fire hazard locations. In April 2011, in a fire that broke out in the High Fens, of land were destroyed. Stated to be the biggest ever fire in the Fens, 300 fire fighters supported by a helicopter were involved in dousing and controlling the fires.

Activities.

The winter sports activities allowed in the Fens in specified area and outside conserved area of the fens are skiing, bicycling and trekking. Cross-country skiing in the High Fens is permitted on specified forest tracks which are located in the outskirts or even outside the nature reserve. Hiking trails have been reorganized outside the parks reserved areas. The walk routes would be limited to undergrowth adjacent to nature reserve. Bicycle routes have been specified outside the nature reserve in nearby forests. The subalpine climate may change to subarctic condition and hence when taking adventure walks in the night through the park it could be hazardous unless one is properly equipped for taking such a risk.

Monument.

Another notable monument is at Gèyeté (Gayetay) within the municipal boundary of Sart and Jalhay; it is in memory of eight American airmen who were the crews of three Douglas C-47 Skytrains that collided in flight on 6 April 1945 due to fog. The memorial consists of a three-bladed propeller erected on a quartzite pedestal, with a cross erected next to it with the inscription "For the American airmen."

The High Fens (; ; ), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in the province of Liège, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands. The High Fens are the largest nature reserve or park in Belgium, with an area of ; it lies within the German-Belgian natural park "Hohes Venn-Eifel" (), in the Ardennes. Its highest point, at above sea level, is the Signal de Botrange near Eupen, and also the highest point in Belgium. A tower high was built here that reaches above sea level. The reserve is a rich ecological endowment of Belgium covered with alpine sphagnum raised bogs (not "fens" as the name would imply) both on the plateau and in the valley basin; the bogs, which are over 10,000 years old, with their unique subalpine flora, fauna and microclimate, are key to the conservation work of the park.


History.

The origins of the British Shorthair most likely date back to the first century AD, making it one of the most ancient identifiable cat breeds in the world. It is thought that the invading Romans initially brought Egyptian domestic cats to Great Britain. These cats then interbred with the local European wildcat population. Over the centuries, their naturally isolated descendants developed into distinctively large, robust cats with a short but very thick coat, to better withstand conditions on their native islands. Based on artists' representations, the modern British Shorthair is unchanged from this initial type.  Selective breeding of the best examples of the type began in the nineteenth century, with emphasis on developing the unusual blue-grey variant called the "British Blue" or "English type" (to distinguish it from the more fine-boned "Russian type"). Some sources directly credit UK artist, and pioneering cat fancier, Harrison Weir with the initial concept of standardizing the breed. Others suggest a group of breeders may have been involved. The new British Shorthair was featured at the first-ever cat show, organised by Weir and held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, and enjoyed great initial popularity.  By the 1900s with the advent of the newly imported Persian and other long-haired breeds, the British Shorthair had fallen out of favour, and breeding stock had become critically rare by World War I. At least partially to alleviate this, British Shorthair breeders mixed Persians into their bloodlines. The genes thus introduced would eventually become the basis for the British Longhair. At the time, any long-haired cats produced were placed into the Persian breeding program. As all cats with the blue colouration were then judged together as variants on a "de facto" single breed. The Blue Shorthair, outcrossings of the British with the Russian Blue were also common.  After the war, in an attempt to maintain the breed standard, the GCCF decided to accept only third-generation Persian/British Shorthair crosses. This contributed to another shortage of pure breeding stock by World War II, at which point the Persian and Russian Blue were reintroduced into the mix. British Shorthair breeders also worked with the French Chartreux, another ancient breed, which although genetically unrelated to the British Blue, is a very similar cat in appearance. Breeders worked to re-establish the true British type, and by the late 1970s, the distinctive British Shorthair had achieved formal recognition from both the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA). According to the GCCF's 2013 registry data, it is once again the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country.

Description.

Appearance.

The British Shorthair is a relatively powerful-looking large cat, having a broad chest, strong thick-set legs with rounded paws and a medium-length, blunt-tipped tail. The head is relatively large and rounded, with a short muzzle, broad cheeks (most noticeable in mature males, who tend to develop prominent jowls) and large round eyes that are deep coppery orange in the British Blue and otherwise vary in colour depending on the coat. Their large ears are broad and widely set.  The British Blue variant can often be confused with the grey Scottish Fold. However, the Shorthair can be characterised by having its pointy triangle ears, whereas the Fold has softer, folded ears.  They are slow to mature in comparison with most cat breeds, reaching full physical development at approximately three years of age. Unusually among domestic cats they are a noticeably sexually dimorphic breed, with males averaging and females.

Coat, colour and patterns.

The British Shorthair's coat is one of the breed's defining features. It is very dense but does not have an undercoat; thus, the texture is plush rather than woolly or fluffy, with a firm, "crisp" pile that breaks noticeably over the cat's body as it moves.  Although the British Blue remains the most familiar variant, British Shorthairs have been developed in many other colours and patterns. Black, blue, white, red, cream, silver, golden and—most recently—cinnamon and fawn are accepted by all official standards, either solid or in colourpoint, tabby, shaded and bicolour patterns; the GCCF, FIFe and TICA also accept chocolate and its dilute lilac, disallowed in the CFA standard. All colours and patterns also have tortoiseshell variants.  The Tabby patterns include: Classic Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, Spotted & Ticked Tabby. The non-tabby patterns include: Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Van patterns Bi-Colour & White, Smoke, Tipped & Colourpointed.

Temperament.

They are an easygoing and dignified breed, not as active and playful as many but sweet-natured and devoted to their owners, making them a favourite of animal trainers. They tend to be safe around other pets and children since they will tolerate a fair amount of physical interaction, but as a rule do not like to be picked up or carried. They require only minimal grooming and take well to being kept as indoor-only cats; however, they can be prone to obesity unless care is taken with their diet.

Health.

The UK breed committee considers the British Shorthair a long-lived cat, with a life expectancy of 14–20 years. Vet clinic data from England shows a median lifespan of 11.8 years. Swedish insurance data puts the median lifespan of the breed at >12.5 years. 82% of British Shorthairs lived to 10 years or more and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more.  Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. A Danish prevalence study with more than 329 cats showed that 20.4% of males and 2.1% of the females had HCM. On top of this 6.4% of males and 3.5% of females were judged to be equivocal.<ref name="doi10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0751.x"></ref> HCM testing of males used for breeding is now mandatory for breeders organized under the Danish Fife member, Felis Danica.  The breed is thought to be at high risk of polycystic kidney disease (PKD). A DNA test lab has noted a significant decrease of the PKD mutations in tested populations. Carrier frequency is now at 1%.

The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, dense coat, and broad face. The most familiar color variant is the "British Blue," a solid grey-blue coat, copper eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colorpoint.


Location.

Klínovec lies in the Karlovy Vary Region, about 3 km (2 miles) to the east of Boží Dar and 5 km (3 miles) north-east of Jáchymov. Another two towns are set in the valley to the north, between Klínovec and Fichtelberg: Loučná pod Klínovcem, the second smallest municipality with town status in the Czech Republic with merely 80 inhabitants, and Oberwiesenthal, a German spa town. Access to the peak is provided by a road from Boží Dar, tourist trails (marked red and yellow), or a chairlift from Jáchymov, running all year round. These days, Klínovec is a popular regional ski resort, featuring more than 10 kilometres (6 miles) of ski pistes, 35 kilometres (20 miles) of trails for cross-country skiing and a snowpark.  The average temperature at the peak is, the average rainfall amounts to 1,050 mm (41").

History.

Thanks to its elevation, Klínovec offers marvellous panoramic view of Bohemia and Saxony. On a clear day, the Bohemian Forest may be seen to the south, 150 kilometres (90 miles) away, or the Ještěd mountain to the east.  The first public observation tower was built on the summit as early as 1817, and instantly became popular among visitors of the famous spa of Carlsbad, now Karlovy Vary. However, the wooden tower burnt down in 1868, and a new stone one was built between the years 1883 and 1884. This tower bore the name "Kaiser-Franz-Josephs-Turm" ("Emperor Franz Joseph Tower") and has survived until the present.  The tower is 24 metres (79') high and was extended with a hotel in 1893, when its popularity grew to such an extent, that accommodation was needed. The complex has been further extended over time, but it is currently in poor condition. Attempts to restore the buildings have been delayed through a lack of funds, although work was due to start in 2012.  In addition, a 56 metre (183') high broadcasting tower was erected on the top of Klínovec in the 1950s, exceeding the height of the observation tower by 32 metres (105'). The Klínovec TV tower covers most of the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem Regions and broadcasts in digital.

Klínovec () is the highest peak of the Ore Mountains, located in the Czech Republic's part of the mountains at. There is an important TV broadcasting tower on the top of the mountain.


History.

Radio was first introduced in China in the 1920s and 1930s. However, few households had radio receivers. A few cities had commercial stations. Most usage of radio was for political purpose, frequently on a local area level.  The Chinese Communist Party first used radio in Yanan Shaanxi Province in March 1940 with a transmitter imported from Moscow. Xinhua New Chinese Radio (XNCR) went on the air from Yanan on December 30, 1940. XNCR transmitted to a larger geographical area after 1945, and its programs became more regular and formalised with broadcasts of news, official announcements, war bulletins, and art and literary programs.  The English service started on September 11, 1947, transmitting as XNCR from a cave in Shahe in the Taihang Mountains, when China was in the midst of a civil war, to announce newly conquered areas and broadcast a Chinese political and cultural perspective to the world at large. The station moved from the Taihang Mountains to the capital, Peking, when The People's Republic of China was formed in 1949. Its name was changed to Radio Peking on April 10, 1950, and to Radio Beijing in 1983. On January 1, 1993, the name of the station was again changed, this time to China Radio International, in order to avoid any confusion with local Beijing radio broadcasting. Its online broadcasting platform: China International Broadcasting Network (CIBN) was formally established in 2011, as a joint venture of China Radio International, Huawen Media Investment, JinZhengYuan, Youku, Oriental Times Media and Suning Holdings Group.

Short wave/international broadcasting.

CRI broadcasts via shortwave radio, satellite and the Internet in English and numerous other languages (see below). There are also numerous AM and FM relays. Shortwave broadcasts in English are targeted at North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific. CRI maintains direct shortwave broadcasts to developed, media-rich countries in North America and Europe, even as major Western broadcasters (such as BBC World Service, Voice of America and Radio Netherlands) reduce or discontinue such broadcasts.

Programming.

Mandarin Channel.

At the beginning of 1984, it started to broadcast home service to the Beijing area on AM and FM frequencies. The service later expanded to dozens of major cities across the PRC, providing listeners inside the PRC with timely news and reports, music, weather, English and Chinese learning skills, as well as other services.

CRI News Radio (90.5 FM).

CRI News Radio (CRI环球资讯广播) was established on 28 September 2005, which takes advantage of CRI's journalists from all around the world and report international (and partially domestic) news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle programmes for domestic listeners in Mandarin Chinese. Its aim is to make CRI News Radio a first-class national news radio brand and its slogans are 'First News, News First', 'On-the-Spot China, Live World' etc. CRI News Radio can be heard online and in Beijing on the radio on 90.5 FM; in Tianjin 90.6 FM; in Chongqing 91.7 FM; in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau 107.1 FM; in Shandong 89.8 FM; in Anhui 90.1 FM.  Popular Shows

Chinese podcasts.

The following programmes can be heard on the Mandarin version of the podcast from the World Radio Network:  This broadcast was originally targeted at London in the United Kingdom. In 2006, they removed the "London" reference, which was part of the introduction as ""Ni hao London. Hello London""

English Channel.

CRI in English (846 AM, 1008 AM; 91.5 FM).

The CRI English channels that can be heard online are:

English Podcasts.

CRI offers a list of podcast programs in English:

Holiday Broadcasts.

During major Chinese holidays (dubbed Golden Week), such as Chinese New Year, May Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival, China Radio International typically broadcasts special programmes such as:  Most of these programmes are not typical of the broadcast during the other parts of the year. The analogy is similar to Christmas music broadcasts in the United States.

Olympic Radio.

In July 2006, CRI launched a new radio station called CRI Olympic Radio at 900 AM in Beijing. This special broadcast was done in Mandarin, Korean, English, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and German 24 hours a day. This service was terminated in late 2008 after the Beijing Olympics and now the frequency 900 AM is occupied by CRI News Radio which only covers Beijing.

Languages.

China Radio International broadcasts in the following languages:  The Tibetan, Uygur and Kazakh services are broadcast in association with local radio stations (Tibet People's Broadcasting Station and Xinjiang People's Broadcasting Station).

Joint ventures.

China International Broadcasting Network.

China International Broadcasting Network (CIBN, traded as, an internet TV, was a joint venture of China Radio International with other companies. The company was owned by Global Broadcasting Media Group (, a joint venture (50–50) of China Radio International and, literally "JinZhengYuan Union Investment Holding") for 34.0004% stake, Huawen Media Investment for 30.9996% stake, a subsidiary () of listed company Oriental Times Media () for 15% stake, the operator of Youku () for 10% stake and Suning Holdings Group, the parent company of PPTV for 10% stake.

China Radio International (CRI) is a state-controlled international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later adopted the pinyin form Radio Beijing.


Early life.

Henry the Pious was the second son of High Duke Henry the Bearded of Poland and Hedwig of Andechs. His elder brother, Bolesław, died in 1206. In 1213, his younger brother Konrad the Curly died during a hunt, leaving the young Henry as the sole heir of Lower Silesia. Around 1218 his father arranged his marriage to Anne, daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia. This union with the royal Přemyslid dynasty allowed Henry the Pious to participate actively in international politics.  Henry the Bearded quickly designated his sole surviving son as his sole heir, and from 1222, the young prince countersigned documents with his father. By 1224, he had his own seal and notary. In 1227, during a meeting of Piast dukes in Gąsawa, Henry the Bearded and High Duke Leszek I the White were ambushed. Leszek was killed and Henry was seriously wounded. Henry the Pious acted as interim duke. In 1229, Henry the Bearded was captured by Duke Konrad I of Masovia, and again young Henry the Pious acted as interim duke. During 1229–30, he led a military expedition to recover and secure the possession of Lubusz Land, and in 1233–34 he actively supported his father's affairs in Prussia and Greater Poland. In 1234, Henry the Bearded named his son co-ruler. Later, Henry the Bearded took the duchies of Kraków and Silesia, and Henry the Pious was given the duchies of Silesia and Greater Poland. When Henry the Bearded died on 19 March 1238, Henry the Pious became duke of Silesia, Kraków and Greater Poland.

Sole reign.

Henry the Pious inherited Lower Silesia from his father. Southern Greater Poland and Kraków were ruled by the Piast princes, although the late duke of Greater Poland and Kraków, Władysław III, had left all his lands to Henry the Bearded. The will was ignored by Duke Konrad of Masovia and Władysław's III nephew Władysław Odonic.  Henry II could retain his authority as a regent over the Upper Silesian Duchy of Opole-Racibórz and the Duchy of Sandomierz during the minority of their rulers Mieszko II the Fat and Bolesław V the Chaste. Nevertheless, in 1239, Henry was compelled to resign the regency, although he remained on good terms with the Dukes of Opole and Sandomierz, and managed to retain Greater Polish Kalisz and Wieluń.  The situation in the northwest was more complicated: Margrave Otto III of Brandenburg took the important Greater Polish fortress at Santok and besieged Lubusz. Henry II also inherited the disputes with Konrad of Masovia, Władysław Odonic, and with the Church, led by Pełka, Archbishop of Gniezno. The situation changed unexpectedly after the death of Władysław Odonic on 5 June 1239, who left two minor sons, Przemysł I and Bolesław the Pious. Henry II took the majority of Odonic's possessions (including Gniezno), leaving Nakło nad Notecią and Ujście to Odonic's sons.  Henry then abandoned the traditional alliance of his family with the Imperial House of Hohenstaufen and supported Pope Gregory IX, immediately resolving his dispute with the Church. He then put an end to his conflicts with Konrad of Masovia by arranging the marriages of two of his daughters to two of Konrad's sons: Gertrude to Bolesław, and Constance, to Casimir I of Kuyavia. In 1239, Henry II reclaimed the Santok fortress from Margrave Otto III after Henry's victory in the Battle of Lubusz.

Mongol invasion.

In the East, a new dangerous opponent appeared: the Mongols, under the leadership of Batu Khan, who, after the invasion of Rus' chose the Kingdom of Hungary as his next target. Batu Khan realized that he had to take control of Poland before he could take Hungary. In January 1241, Batu sent reconnaissance troops to Lublin and Zawichost. The invasion was launched a month later, by an army of 10,000 men under the leadership of Orda. In Lesser Poland the Mongols met weaker resistance, defeating and killing almost all the Kraków and Sandomierz nobility in the Battle of Tursko (13 February), and the Battles of Tarczek and Chmielnik (18 March), including the voivode of Kraków, Włodzimierz and the castellan Klement of Brzeźnica. All of Lesser Poland, including Kraków and Sandomierz, fell into the hands of the Mongols.  Henry did not wait for the promised aid from Western rulers and began to concentrate the surviving troops of Lesser Poland and his own Silesian and Greater Poland forces in Legnica. Europe's rulers were more focused on the struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and Papacy, and they ignored Henry's requests for help. The only foreign troops who joined him were those of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia and the combined forces of some Knights Templar. Some sources report that European forces halted their troops near Legnica, probably fearing that the Christian Army would become an easy prey to the Mongols. The battle of Legnica took place on 9 April 1241. Henry was defeated and killed in action.  The defeat was widely blamed on the European monarchs, especially Emperor Frederick II and King Béla IV of Hungary, who had refused to help, and the unexpected retreat from the battle by Henry's Upper Silesian cousin Mieszko II the Fat, through a trick of the Mongols. There are two descriptions of Henry's death, one submitted by Jan Długosz (today considered dubious), and the second by C. de Brigia in his "Historii Tartatorum" (based on reports of direct witnesses, now considered more reliable). However, the Mongols did not intend to occupy the country, and shortly afterward they went through Moravia to Hungary, wanting to connect with the main army of Batu Khan. Henry's naked and decapitated body could only be identified by his wife, because of his polydactyly. He had six toes on his left foot, which was confirmed when his tomb was opened in 1832. Henry was buried in the crypt of the Franciscan Church of Sts. Vincent and Jacob in Wrocław (Breslau).  Despite ruling for only three years, Henry remained in the memories of Silesia, Greater Poland and Kraków as the perfect Christian knight, lord and martyr, whose brilliant career was abruptly ended by his early death. Upon his death, the line of the Silesian Piasts fragmented into numerous dukes of Silesia, who (except for Henry's grandson Henry IV Probus) were no longer able to prevail as Polish high dukes and subsequently came under the influence of the neighbouring Kingdom of Bohemia.  In 1944, Henry the Pious' body went missing after being taken from its tomb by German scientists for laboratory tests; they had hoped to prove that the prince was Aryan.

Marriage and children.

Between 1214–1218, Henry married Anna (ca. 1201 – 23 June 1265), daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia. They had ten children:

In popular culture.

Leo Frankowski's Conrad Stargard series has the time-travelling protagonist decide on Henry as the man he wants to be King of a reunited Poland, and after defeating the Mongols this comes to fruition.

Henry II the Pious () (1196 – 9 April 1241), of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław and Duke of Kraków and thus High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of Southern Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. During 1238–1239 he also served as a regent of two other Piast duchies: Sandomierz and Upper Silesian Opole–Racibórz. On October 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Legnica opened up his cause for beatification, obtaining him the title of Servant of God.


Life.

According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Procopius was a native of Cilicia and spent his youth there, probably in Corycus. On his mother's side, Procopius was a Greek, a maternal cousin, to Emperor Julian, since their maternal grandfather was Julius Julianus. His first wife was probably Artemisia, having married secondly the dowager Empress Faustina, while the Roman general of the 5th century Procopius and his son, the Emperor Anthemius, were among his descendants, the first being the son of his son Procopius.  In 358, during the reign of Constantius II, he was sent with Lucillianus as an envoy to the Sassanid court; in this period he was "tribunus" and "notarius".  Procopius entered Julian's retinue and took part in his campaign against the Sassanids in 363. Together with Sebastianus he was entrusted with controlling the upper Tigris with 30,000 men and, if possible, joining King Arsaces II of Armenia and marching southward, to reach Julian's army in Assyria. However, Julian died and, when Procopius reached the main Roman army near Thilsaphata, between Nisibis and Singara, he met the new emperor, Jovian.  According to Zosimus, Julian had given Procopius an imperial robe, explaining his act only to him. When Jovian was acclaimed Emperor, Procopius gave him the robe, revealed to him Julian's intention, and asked the new Emperor to be allowed to retire to private life; Jovian accepted, and Procopius and his family retired to Caesarea Mazaca.  Ammianus, who based part of his account on the testimony of Strategius, tells that a baseless rumor spread, according to which Julian had ordered Procopius to take the purple in case of his death. Fearing Jovian's wrath, which had caused the death of another army candidate to the throne (Jovianus), Procopius went into hiding, but later supervised the transport of Julian's body to Tarsus and its subsequent burial, and only later went to Caesarea with his family.  After Jovian's death, the new emperors, Valentinian I and Valens, sent some soldiers to arrest Procopius. He surrendered, but asked to meet his family; he had his captors dine and drink, and then seized the opportunity to flee with his family, first to the Black Sea and later to the Tauric Chersonese, where they hid. However, Procopius lived in constant fear of betrayal or exposure among the savage barbarians, and decided to go to Constantinople to ask Strategius for help.  Procopius immediately moved to declare himself Emperor. He bribed two legions which were then resting at Constantinople to support his efforts, and took control of the imperial city. Shortly after this he proclaimed himself Emperor on September 28, 365, and quickly took control of the provinces of Thrace, and later Bithynia.  Though Valens initially despaired of subduing the rebellion, and was inclined to come to terms with the usurper, he quickly rallied, guided by the counsels of Sallustius and Arintheus, and the superior ability of his generals prevailed in two battles at Thyatira and Nacolia where Procopius' forces were defeated. He fled the battlefield, and was for a while a fugitive in the wilds of Phrygia, but was soon betrayed to Valens due to the treachery of his two generals Agilonius and Gomoarius (they had been promised they would be "shown favour" by Valens), he was captured. Valens had his rival executed on 27 May 366 by being fastened to two trees bent down with force; when the trees were released, Procopius was ripped apart in the manner of the legendary execution of the bandit Sinis. The "favour" Valens showed to Agilonius and Gomoarius was to have them both sawn asunder.

Procopius (c. 325/326 – 27 May 366) was a Roman usurper against Valens, and a member of the Constantinian dynasty.


Cultivation.

Six grape varieties are officially approved for Tokaji wine production:  Furmint accounts for 60% of the area and is by far the most important grape in the production of Aszú wines. Hárslevelű stands for further 30%. Nevertheless, an impressive range of different types and styles of wines are produced in the region, ranging from dry whites to the Eszencia, the world's sweetest wine.  The area where Tokaji wine is traditionally grown is a small plateau, above sea level, near the Carpathian Mountains. The soil is of volcanic origin, with high concentrations of iron and lime. The location of the region has a unique climate, beneficial to this particular viniculture, due to the protection of the nearby mountains. Winters are bitterly cold and windy; spring tends to be cool and dry, and summers are noticeably hot. Usually, autumn brings rain early on, followed by an extended Indian summer, allowing a very long ripening period.  The Furmint grapes begin maturation with thick skins, but as they ripen the skins become thinner, and transparent. This allows the sun to penetrate the grape and evaporate much of the liquid inside, producing a higher concentration of sugar. Other types of grapes mature to the point of bursting, however, unlike most other grapes, Furmint will grow a second skin which seals it from rot. This also has the effect of concentrating the grape's natural sugars. The grapes are left on the vine long enough to develop the "noble rot" (Botrytis cinerea) mold. Grapes then are harvested, sometimes as late as December (and in the case of true Eszencia, occasionally into January).  Typical yearly production in the region runs to a relatively small.

Types of Tokaji wine.

These wines, once referred to as common, "ordinárium", are now named after their respective grape varieties: Tokaji Furmint, Tokaji Hárslevelű, Tokaji Sárgamuskotály and Tokaji Kövérszőlő.  In 1999, Chateau Pajzos became the first winery to produce a Tokaji ice wine.

Imperial Tokay.

Prior to 1918 (the end of World War I and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the finest eszencia Tokaji was not sold but was reserved for the Imperial cellars of the Habsburg Monarchy. By the mid 18th century these finest eszencia Tokaji originally held by the Habsburgs were called "Imperial Tokay". Cases, barrels, and bottles of it often passed between European monarchs as gifts. In 2008, a bottle of Imperial Tokay bearing the seal of the wine cellar of the Royal Saxon Court sold at auction at Christie's for £1,955.

History.

It is not known for how long vines have been grown on the volcanic soil of the fork of the rivers Bodrog and Hernád. This predates the settlement of the Magyar tribes to the region. According to legend, the first aszú was made by Laczkó Máté Szepsi in 1630. However, mention of wine made from aszú grapes had already appeared in the "Nomenklatura" of Fabricius Balázs Sziksai which was completed in 1576. A recently discovered inventory of aszú predates this reference by five years.  Tokaji wine became the subject of the world's first appellation control, established several decades before Port wine, and over 120 years before the classification of Bordeaux. Vineyard classification began in 1730 with vineyards being classified into three categories depending on the soil, sun exposure and potential to develop noble rot, botrytis cinerea, first class, second class and third class wines. A royal decree in 1757 established a closed production district in Tokaj. The classification system was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772.  In 1920, following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a small part of the Tokaj wine region (approx. 1.75 km2) became part of Czechoslovakia due to the Treaty of Trianon, while the rest remained part of Hungary. After World War II, when Hungary became a Soviet-influenced state, Tokaji production continued with as many as 6,000 small producers, but the bottling and distribution were monopolized by the state-owned organization. Since the collapse of the communist regimes in 1990, a number of independent wineries have been established in the Tokaj wine region. A state-owned producer continues to exist and handles approximately 20% of the overall production.

Famous consumers of Tokaji.

Voivode Stephen the Great of Moldavia was said to be a very big fan of Tokay wines. He introduced in Moldavia the Kövérszőlő cultivar, that lead to the development of Grasă de Cotnari wine.  Tokaji has since the 18th century been known as "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" ("Wine of Kings, King of Wines"), an epithet sometimes attributed to King Louis XIV of France. In 1703, Francis Rákóczi II, Prince of Transylvania, gave Louis XIV some Tokaji wine from his Tokaj estate as a gift. The Tokaji wine was served at the French Royal court at Versailles, where it became known as Tokay.  Emperor Franz Josef (who was also King of Hungary) had a tradition of sending Queen Victoria Tokaji Aszú wine, as a gift, every year on her birthday, one bottle for every month she had lived, twelve for each year. On her eighty-first and final birthday (1900), this totaled an impressive 972 bottles.  Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich von Schiller, Bram Stoker, Johann Strauss II, and Voltaire. The composer Joseph Haydn's favorite wine was Tokaji. Besides Louis XIV, several other European monarchs are known to have been keen consumers of the wine. Louis XV and Frederick the Great tried to outdo one another when they treated guests such as Voltaire with Tokaji. Napoleon III, the last Emperor of the French, ordered 30–40 barrels of Tokaji at the French Royal Court every year. Pope Pius IV. (1499–1565) at the Council of Trient in 1562, exclaimed: "Summum pontificem talia vina decent!" (This is the type of wine that should be on the papal table). Gustav III, King of Sweden, loved Tokaji – it has been said he never had any other wine to drink. In Russia, customers included Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth of Russia. A newspaper account of the 1933 wedding of Polish president Ignacy Mościcki notes that toasts were made with 250-year-old wines, and goes on to say "The wine, if good, could only have been Essence of Tokay, and the centuries-old friendship between Poland and Hungary would seem to support this conclusion."

Other uses of the Tokaji appellation.

Tokaji wines have been famous for a long time, which has resulted in their name being “adopted” by other wines:

Tokaji ( ) or Tokay is the name of the wines from the Tokaj wine region (also "Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region" or "Tokaj-Hegyalja") in Hungary or the adjoining Tokaj wine region in Slovakia. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region. The "nectar" coming from the grapes of Tokaj is also mentioned in the national anthem of Hungary.


History.

The name "dirham" is an Arabic word. Due to centuries of trade and usage of the currency, "dirham" survived through the Ottoman Empire.  The United Arab Emirates dirham was introduced on 19 May 1973. It replaced the Qatar and Dubai riyal at par. The Qatar and Dubai riyal had circulated since 1966 in all of the emirates except Abu Dhabi, where the dirham replaced the Bahraini dinar at 1 dinar = 10 dirham. Before 1966, all the emirates that were to form the UAE used the Gulf rupee. As in Qatar, the emirates briefly adopted the Saudi riyal during the transition from the Gulf rupee to the Qatar and Dubai riyal.

Coins.

In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 fils, and 1 dirham. The 1, 5 and 10 fils are struck in bronze, with the higher denominations in cupro-nickel. The fils coins were same size and composition as the corresponding Qatar and Dubai dirham coins. In 1995, the 5 fils, 10 fils, 50 fils, and 1 dirham coins were reduced in size, with the new 50 fils being curve-equilateral-heptagonal shaped.  The value and numbers on the coins are written in Eastern Arabic numerals and the text is in Arabic. The 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are rarely used in everyday life, so all amounts are rounded up or down to the nearest multiples of 25 fils. The 1 fils coin is a rarity and does not circulate significantly. In making change there is a risk of confusing the old 50 fils coin for the modern 1 dirham coin because the coins are almost the same size.  Since 1976 the Currency Board of the United Arab Emirates has minted several commemorative coins celebrating different events and rulers of the United Arab Emirates. For details, see Commemorative coins of the United Arab Emirates dirham.

Issues with fraud.

By August 2006 it became publicly known that the Philippine one peso coin is the same size as one dirham. As 1 peso is only worth 8 fils, this has led to vending machine fraud in the UAE. Pakistan's 5 rupee coin, the Omani 50 Baisa coin and the Moroccan 1 dirham are also the same size as the Emirati one dirham coin. A falcon watermark is present on all dirham notes to prevent fraud.

Banknotes.

On 20 May 1973, the U.A.E. Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dirhams; a 1000 dirham note was issued on 3 January 1976. A second series of note was introduced in 1982 which omitted the 1 and 1000 dirham notes. 500 dirham notes were introduced in 1983, followed by 200 dirham in 1989. 1000 dirham notes were reintroduced in 2000. Banknotes are currently available in denominations of 5 (brown), 10 (green), 20 (light blue), 50 (purple), 100 (pink), 200 (green/brown), 500 (navy blue) and 1000 (greenish blue) dirhams.  The obverse texts are written in Arabic with numbers in Eastern Arabic numerals; the reverse texts are in English with numbers in Arabic numerals. The 200 dirham denomination is scarce as it was only produced in 1989; any circulating today come from bank stocks. The 200 dirham denomination has since been reissued and is now in circulation since late May 2008 – it has been reissued in a different colour; Yellow/Brown to replace the older Green/Brown. The United Arab Emirates Central Bank has released a new 50 dirham note. The security thread is a 3-mm wide, color-shifting windowed security thread with demetalized UAE 50, and it bears the new coat of arms which was adopted on 22 March 2008.

Exchange rates.

On January 28, 1978, the dirham was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs). In practice, it is pegged to the U.S. dollar for most of the time. Since November 1997, the dirham has been pegged to the 1 U.S. dollar = 3.6725 dirhams, which translates to approximately 1 dirham = 0.272294 dollar.

The United Arab Emirates dirham (, sign: د.إ; code: AED), also known as simply the Emirati dirham, is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The term "dirham" is officially abbreviated "AED", while unofficial abbreviations include "DH" or "Dhs.". The dirham is subdivided into 100.


History.

Cologne was the ancient Roman city of Colonia Agrippina in the province of Germania Inferior, and has been a bishop's see since Roman times. In 953, the archbishops of Cologne first gained noteworthy secular power, when Bishop Bruno was appointed as duke by his brother Emperor Otto I. To weaken the secular nobility, who threatened his power, Otto endowed Bruno and his successors in the bishop's see with the prerogatives of secular princes. This was the beginning of the electoral state of Cologne. It was formed from the temporal possessions of the archbishopric and included in the end a strip of territory along the left Bank of the Rhine east of Jülich, and the Duchy of Westphalia on the other side of the Rhine, beyond Berg and Mark.  By the end of the 12th century, the Archbishop of Cologne was one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Emperor. Besides being prince-elector, he was Arch-chancellor of Italy as well, technically from 1238 and permanently from 1263 until 1803. In the Battle of Worringen (1288), the archbishop was captured by soldiers of the city and was forced to grant the city near-complete autonomy. Eventually, the archbishop moved to Bonn to escape jurisdiction conflicts with the city government. In 1475, Cologne became a Free Imperial City, independent from the archbishop. The first pogrom against the Jews was in 1349, when they were used as scapegoats for the Black Death, and therefore burnt in an "auto-da-fé". Political tensions arose from issues of taxation, public spending, regulation of business, and market supervision, as well as the limits of corporate autonomy.  Long-distance trade in the Baltic grew, as the major trading towns came together in the Hanseatic League, under the leadership of Lübeck. It was a business alliance of trading cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe and flourished from the 1200 to 1500 and continued with lesser importance after that. The chief cities were Cologne on the Rhine River, Hamburg and Bremen on the North Sea, and Lübeck on the Baltic. The economic structures of medieval and early modern Cologne were based on the city's major harbor, its location as a transport hub and its entrepreneurial merchants who built ties with merchants in other Hanseatic cities.  During the 16th century, two Archbishops of Cologne converted to Protestantism. The first, Hermann von Wied, resigned the archbishopric on converting, but Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, who converted to Calvinism in 1582, attempted to secularize the archbishopric. His marriage the following February, and his refusal to relinquish the territory resulted in the election of a competing archbishop and prince-elector, Ernst of Bavaria, brother of the Wittelsbach Duke of Bavaria. In the Cologne War that followed, the pope funded Italian and Spanish mercenaries and the Catholic Bavarians also sent an army to support Ernst, while the Protestant Netherlands supported von Waldburg. The war ruined most of the Electoral economy, and many villages and towns were besieged and destroyed. The Siege of Godesberg in November–December 1583 ended with the destruction of Godesberg Castle and the slaughter of most of its inhabitants. After several more sieges, von Waldburg gave up his claim to the see and retired to Strasbourg with his wife. Ernst became archbishop–the first major success of the Counter-Reformation in Germany. Under Ernst's direction, Jesuits supervised the reintroduction of Catholicism in the Electorate. From 1583 to 1761, the archbishopric was effectively a secundogeniture of the Bavarian branch of the House of Wittelsbach. As the archbishop in this period usually also held the Bishopric of Münster (and often the Bishopric of Liège), he was one of the most important princes of northwestern Germany.  From 1597 until 1794, Bonn was the residence the Elector, and consequently the capital of the Electorate. After 1795, the electorate's territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France and were formally annexed in 1801. Cologne was part of the "département" of Roer; Bonn was part of the "département" of Rhin-et-Moselle. The "Reichsdeputationshauptschluss" of 1803 secularized the rest of the archbishopric, giving the Duchy of Westphalia to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt and Vest Recklinghausen to the Duke of Arenberg. Cologne was, however, reestablished as the seat of a Catholic archbishop in 1824, and is an archdiocese to the present day.

The Electorate of Cologne (), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift — the temporal possessions — of the Archbishop of Cologne and ruled by him in his capacity as prince-elector. There were only two other ecclesiastical prince-electors in the Empire: the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of Trier. The Archbishop-Elector of Cologne was also Arch-chancellor of Italy (one of the three component titular kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, the other two being Germany and Burgundy) and, as such, ranked second among all ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Empire, after the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, and before that of Trier.


Folklore.

Folklorist James R. Lewis compares accounts of men in black with tales of people encountering Lucifer and speculates that they can be considered a kind of "psychological drama."

Ufologists.

Men in black figure prominently in ufology and UFO folklore. In the 1950s and 1960s, UFOlogists adopted a conspiratorial mindset and began to fear they would be subject to organized intimidation in retaliation for discovering "the truth of the UFOs."  In 1947, Harold Dahl claimed to have been warned not to talk about his alleged UFO sighting on Maury Island by a man in a dark suit. In the mid-1950s, the ufologist Albert K. Bender claimed he was visited by men in dark suits who threatened and warned him not to continue investigating UFOs. Bender maintained that the men in black were secret government agents who had been given the task of suppressing evidence of UFOs. The ufologist John Keel claimed to have had encounters with men in black and referred to them as "demonic supernaturals" with "dark skin and/or 'exotic' facial features." According to the ufologist Jerome Clark, reports of men in black represent "experiences" that "don't seem to have occurred in the world of consensus reality."  Historian Aaron Gulyas wrote, "during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, UFO conspiracy theorists would incorporate the Men in Black into their increasingly complex and paranoid visions."  In his article, "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker," John C. Sherwood claims that, in the late 1960s, at the age of 18, he cooperated when Gray Barker urged him to develop a hoax—which Barker subsequently published—about what Barker called "blackmen," three mysterious UFO inhabitants who silenced Sherwood's pseudonymous identity, "Dr. Richard H. Pratt."

In popular culture.

The G-Man from the Half-Life video game franchise is said to have characteristics of the men in black, including an awkward grasp of human speech and mannerisms. The 1997 science fiction movie Men In Black (1997 film) starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones was inspired by the Men In Black conspiracy

In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are supposed men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi-government agents who harass, threaten or assassinate UFO witnesses to keep them quiet about what they have seen. It is sometimes implied that they may be aliens themselves. The term is also frequently used to describe mysterious men working for unknown organizations, as well as various branches of government allegedly designed to protect secrets or perform other strange activities. The term is generic, used for any unusual, threatening or strangely behaved individual whose appearance on the scene can be linked in some fashion with a UFO sighting. Several alleged encounters with the men in black have been reported by UFO researchers and enthusiasts.


Assumption of power.

After the death of Charles, power was not divided to include their half-brother Grifo, Charles' son by his second wife Swanachild. This was per Charles' wishes; although Grifo demanded a portion of the realm, his brothers refused him. In 741, Carloman and Pepin besieged Grifo in Laon, took him captive and forced him into a monastery. Each brother turned his attention towards his own area of influence as "majordomo", Pepin in the West (in what was called Neustria, roughly the area between Nancy and Reims) and Carloman in the East (in what was called Austrasia, roughly the area between Bruges, Metz and Fulda), which was the Carolingian base of power.  With Grifo contained, the two mayors, who had not yet proved themselves in battle in defence of the realm as their father had, on the initiative of Carloman, installed the Merovingian Childeric III as king (743), even though Martel had left the throne vacant since the death of Theuderic IV in 737.  Unlike most medieval instances of fraternal power sharing, Carloman and Pepin for seven years seemed at least willing to work together; certainly, they undertook many military actions together. Carloman joined Pepin against Hunald I of Aquitaine's rising in 742 and again in 745. Pepin assisted Carloman against the Saxons in 742–43, when Duke Theoderic was forced to come to terms, and against Odilo, Duke of Bavaria, in 742 and again in 744, when peace was established between the brothers and their brother-in-law, for Odilo had married their sister Hiltrude.

Strengthening of the dynasty.

In his realm, Carloman strengthened his authority in part via his support of the Anglo-Saxon missionary Winfrid (later Saint Boniface), the so-called "Apostle of the Germans," whom he charged with restructuring the church in Austrasia. This was in part the continuation of a policy begun under his grandfather, Pepin of Herstal, and continued under his father, Charles Martel, who erected four dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau) and gave them Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine, with his seat at Mainz. Boniface had been under Charles Martel's protection from 723 on; indeed the saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without it he could neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry.  Carloman was instrumental in convening the "" in 742, the first major synod of the Catholic Church to be held in the eastern regions of the Frankish kingdom. Chaired jointly by him and Boniface, the synod ruled that priests were not allowed to bear arms or to host females in their houses and that it was one of their primary tasks to eradicate pagan beliefs. His father had frequently confiscated church property to reward his followers and to pay for the standing army that had brought him victory at Tours (a policy supported by Boniface as necessary to defend Christianity). By 742 the Carolingians were wealthy enough to pay their military retainers and support the Church. For Carloman, a deeply religious man, it was a duty of love; for Pippin a practical duty. Both saw the necessity of strengthening the ties between their house and the Church. Carloman donated the land for one of Boniface's most important foundations, the monastery of Fulda.

Political ruthlessness.

Despite his piety, Carloman could be ruthless towards real or perceived opponents. After repeated armed revolts and rebellions, Carloman in 746 convened an assembly of the Alemanni magnates at Cannstatt and then had most of the magnates, numbering in the thousands, arrested and executed for high treason in the Blood Court at Cannstatt. This eradicated virtually the entire tribal leadership of the Alemanni and ended the independence of the tribal duchy of Alemannia, which was thereafter governed by counts appointed by their Frankish overlords.  These actions strengthened Carloman's position, and that of the family as a whole, especially in terms of their rivalries with other leading Germanic families such as the Bavarian Agilolfings.

Withdrawal from public life.

On 15 August 747, Carloman renounced his position as "majordomo" and withdrew to a monastic life, being tonsured in Rome by Pope Zachary. All sources from the period indicate that Carloman's renunciation of the world was volitional, although some have speculated that he went to Rome for other, unspecified reasons and was "encouraged" to remain in Rome by the pope, acting on a request from Pepin to keep Carloman in Italy.  Carloman founded a monastery on Monte Soratte and then went to Monte Cassino. All sources from the period indicate that he believed his calling was the Church. He withdrew to Monte Cassino and spent most of the remainder of his life there, presumably in meditation and prayer. His son, Drogo, demanded from Pepin the Short his father's share of the family patrimony, but was swiftly neutralised.  Seven years after Carloman's retirement and on the eve of his death, he once more stepped briefly on the public stage. In 754, Pope Stephen II had begged Pepin, now king, to come to his aid against the king of the Lombards, Aistulf. Carloman left Monte Cassino to visit his brother to ask him not to march on Italy (and possibly to drum up support for his son Drogo). Pippin was unmoved, and imprisoned Carloman in Vienne, where he died on 17 August. He was buried in Monte Cassino.

Carloman (between 706 and 716 – 17 August 754) was the eldest son of Charles Martel, "majordomo" or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud of Treves. On Charles's death (741), Carloman and his brother Pepin the Short succeeded to their father's legal positions, Carloman in Austrasia, and Pepin in Neustria. He was a member of the family later called the Carolingians and it can be argued that he was instrumental in consolidating their power at the expense of the ruling Merovingian kings of the Franks. He withdrew from public life in 747 to take up the monastic habit, "the first of a new type of saintly king," according to Norman Cantor, "more interested in religious devotion than royal power, who frequently appeared in the following three centuries and who was an indication of the growing impact of Christian piety on Germanic society".


Etymology.

The common name for the sturgeon, as for the unrelated beluga whale, is derived from the Russian word белый ("beliy"), meaning "white", probably referring to the extensive pale colour on the flanks and belly in beluga compared to other sturgeons. Other common names are morun (Ro), moruna (Bu), viza (Hu), vyza velka (Cz), vyza (Slov), storione ladano or storione attilo (It), grand esturgeon (F), Hausen (G).

Description.

"Huso huso" shows typical characteristics of sturgeons, i.e., elongated body, heterocercal tail, partially cartilaginous skeleton, naked skin, longitudinal series of scutes. The dorsal fin has 48 to 81 soft rays, the anal fin, much shorter, has 22 to 41 soft rays. The series of longitudinal scutes are five: dorsal (1 series, 9-17 scutes), lateral (2 series, one per side, 28-60 scutes each) and ventral series (2 series, one per side, 7-14 scutes each). The surface of the skin is covered by fine denticles. The rostrum is conical and contains numerous sensory pits on both ventral and dorsal surfaces. Large, crescent shaped mouth, protractile, with the upper lip continuous while lower lip is interrupted by a large gap. The barbels are laterally compressed with foliate appendages, arranged in two pairs, originating midway or closer to the mouth than the tip of the snout.  However, during the growth Beluga sturgeon shows evident morphologic changes:

Size.

Among all extant bony fishes, Beluga sturgeon may be considered a rival to the ocean sunfish ("Mola" sp.) as the most massive fish, the second longest fish after the giant oarfish ("Regalecus glesne"), as well as the largest freshwater fish in the world. The beluga also rivals the great white shark ("Carcharodon carcharias") for the title of largest actively predatory fish.. The largest accepted record is of a female taken in 1827 in the Volga estuary at and. Another specimen reportedly weighted and measured in length. Several other records of aged sturgeon exceed. Among sturgeons, only the closely related Kaluga ("Huso dauricus") can attain similar size, with a maximum weight of.  Beluga of such great sizes are very old (continuing to grow throughout life) and have become increasingly rare in recent decades due to the heavy fishing of this species. Today, mature belugas that are caught are generally long and weigh. The female beluga is typically 20% larger than the male. An exceptionally big beluga caught recently reportedly weighed and measured.

Biology.

Like most sturgeons, the beluga is anadromous, migrating upstream in rivers to spawn. Males attain sexual maturity at 12–16 years of age, whereas females do so at 16–22 years. In both sexes, they will go to spawn every 4 to 7 years. At one time, beluga sturgeons could migrate up to upriver to spawn but dams in almost every major tributary they utilize has impeded historic spawning routes. The female lays her eggs on gravel from underwater. Upon hatching, the embryo are long, 10–14 days later when they absorb their yolk sack, the length is. Thereafter, the larvae usually subsist on benthic invertebrates but at as small as in length will switch to a fish-based diet. While swimming back to the ocean, the young sturgeons may cover up to a day.

Diet.

"Huso huso" is a pelagic predator which local distribution is not influenced by the nature of the substrates, unlike most of the sturgeons which show demersal attitude. The prey is sucked into the mouth opening extremely quickly the jaws and extending forward the lips. Juveniles feed on benthic invertebrates in rivers and shallow coastal waters, where they grow quickly, then, at the length of 8–10 cm, they become largely piscivorous. Different diets have been observed throughout the distribution range of Beluga sturgeon, as well as according to the stage of migration of the spawners, anyway it mainly consists for adults in a great diversity of large fish (73% of the diet). Additional food items may include molluscs and crustaceans, even aquatic birds and young seals (Caspian seals, "Pusa caspica"). The piscivorous diet of Beluga sturgeon tendentially changes with age: in the Caspian Sea, it mainly consists in "Clupeonella" sp. for juveniles smaller than 40 cm, different species of Gobiidae for fish ranging between 40 and 280 cm, then mullets, "Alosa" sp. and other sturgeons for the biggest.  In brackish environments of the Ponto-Caspian basin, the genera "Alosa", "Aspius" and "Engraulis" are the preferred prey. In estuaries and rivers of the same area, migrating spawners eat various cyprinids, mainly "Cyprinus carpio" and "Rutilus rutilus", "Sander lucioperca" and, among sturgeons, "Acipenser ruthenus" is the main prey. It is little known about the diet of the Adriatic population, it has been reported that in marine and brackish environments adult "H. huso" foraged primarily on molluscs (Cephalopoda, of which common cuttlefish, "Sepia officinalis," and European squid, "Loligo vulgaris," are particularly common in the Adriatic sea) and fish belonging to the families Gadidae, Pleuronectidae, Gobiidae, Clupeidae, Scombridae and Mugilidae, but also on big crustaceans; in the rivers, they fed mainly on local Cyprinidae.

Uses.

Beluga caviar is considered a delicacy worldwide. The flesh of the beluga, though, is not particularly renowned but is a hearty white meat similar to that of swordfish. Beluga caviar has long been scarce and expensive and its endangered status has made its caviar even more expensive throughout the world.  Its air bladder is said to make the best isinglass.

Status.

IUCN classifies the beluga as critically endangered. It is a protected species listed in appendix III of the Bern Convention, and its trade is restricted under CITES appendix II. The Mediterranean population is strongly protected under appendix II of the Bern Convention, prohibiting any intentional killing of these fish.  The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has banned imports of beluga caviar and other beluga products from the Caspian Sea since 6 October 2005, after listing beluga sturgeon under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The Beluga or Great sturgeon ("Huso huso") is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae) of order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and formerly in the Adriatic Sea. Going on maximum size, it is the eighth most massive living species of bony fish. Heavily fished for the female's valuable roe, known as beluga caviar, wild populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and poaching.


Biography.

Early life.

Rivadavia was born in Buenos Aires on May 20, 1780, the fourth son of Benito Bernardino González de Rivadavia, a wealthy Spanish lawyer, and his first wife María Josefa de Jesús Rodríguez de Rivadeneyra. On December 14, 1809, he married Juana del Pino y Vera Mujica, daughter of the viceroy of the Río de la Plata, Joaquín del Pino and his second wife, the vicereine Rafaela Francisca de Vera Mujica y López Pintado. His military appointment was rejected by Mariano Moreno.

Career.

Rivadavia was active in both the Argentine resistance to the British invasion of 1806 and in the May Revolution movement for Argentine Independence in 1810. In 1811, Rivadavia became the dominant member of the governing triumvirate as Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of War. Until its fall in October 1812, this government focused on creating a strong central government, moderating relations with Spain, and organizing an army.  By 1814 the Spanish King Ferdinand VII had returned to the throne and started the Absolutist Restoration, which had grave consequences for the governments in the Americas. Manuel Belgrano and Rivadavia were sent to Europe to seek support for the United Provinces from both Spain and Britain. They sought to promote the crowning of Francisco de Paula, son of Charles IV of Spain, as regent of the United Provinces, but in the end he refused to act against the interests of the King of Spain. The diplomatic mission was a failure, both in Spain and in Britain. He visited France as well, and returned to Buenos Aires in 1821, at their friends' request.  During his stay in Britain, Rivadavia saw the growing development of the Industrial Revolution, and the rise of Romanticism. He sought to promote a similar development in Buenos Aires, and invited many people to move to the city. He convinced Aimé Bonpland to visit the country, but few other invitations were accepted.  In June 1821, he was named minister of government to Buenos Aires by governor Martín Rodríguez. Over the next five years, he exerted a strong influence, and focused heavily on improving the city of Buenos Aires, often at the expense of greater Argentina. To make the former look more European, Rivadavia constructed large avenues, schools, paved and lighted streets. He founded the University of Buenos Aires, as well as the Theatre, Geology, and Medicine Academies and the continent's first museum of natural science.  He persuaded the legislature to authorize a one-million pound loan for public works that were never undertaken. The provincial bonds were sold in London through the Baring Brothers Bank, local and Buenos Aires-based British traders also acting as financial intermediaries. The borrowed money was in turn lent to these businessmen, who never repaid it. Of the original million pounds the Buenos Aires government received only £552,700. The province's foreign debt was transferred to the nation in 1825, its final repayment being made in 1904.  A strong supporter of a powerful, centralized government in Argentina, Rivadavia often faced violent resistance from the opposition federalists. In 1826, Rivadavia was elected the first President of Argentina. During his term he founded many museums, and expanded the national library.

Presidency.

His government had many problems, primarily an ongoing war with Brazil over territory in modern Uruguay and resistance from provincial authorities. Faced with the rising power of the Federalist Party and with several provinces in open revolt, Rivadavia submitted his resignation on June 27, 1827. He was succeeded by Vicente López y Planes. At first he returned to private life, but fled to exile in Europe in 1829.  Rivadavia returned to Argentina in 1834 to confront his political enemies, but was immediately sentenced again to exile. He went first to Brazil and then to Spain, where he died on September 2, 1845. He asked that his body would never be brought back to Buenos Aires.

Legacy.

Rivadavia is recognized as the first president of Argentina, even though his rule was accepted only in Buenos Aires, he did not complete a full mandate, there was no constitution for more than half of his rule, and did not start a presidential succession line. The chair of the President of Argentina is known as the "chair of Rivadavia", but only metaphorically: Rivadavia took everything when he left office, including the chair, which could never be retrieved.  Liberal historians praise Rivadavia as a great historical man, for his work improving education, culture and separation of church and state. Revisionist authors condemn his Anglophilia, the weak customs barriers that allowed the entry of big British imports, harming the weak Argentine economy of the time, and the Baring Brothers loan that started the Argentine External debt.

Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827.


Use in European antiquity.

Neolithic to Bronze Age.

The triple spiral symbol, or three spiral volute, appears in many early cultures, the first in Malta (4400–3600 BCE) and in the astronomical calendar at the famous megalithic tomb of Newgrange in Ireland built around 3200 BCE, as well as on Mycenaean vessels.  The Neolithic era symbol of three conjoined spirals may have had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion.. It is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange, which was built around 3200 BCE.

Classical Antiquity.

The "triskeles" proper, composed of three human legs, is younger than the triple spiral, found in decorations on Greek pottery especially as a design shown on hoplite shields, and later also minted on Greek and Anatolian coinage. An early example is found on the shield of Achilles in an Attic "hydria" of the late 6th century BCE. It is found on coinage in Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia (at Aspendos, 370–333 BCE) and Pisidia.  The meaning of the Greek triskeles is not recorded directly. The Duc de Luynes in his 1835 study noted the co-occurrence of the symbol with the eagle, the cockerel, the head of Medusa, Perseus, three crescent moons, three ears of corn, and three grains of corn. From this, he reconstructed feminine divine triad which he identified with the "triple goddess" Hecate. The triskeles was adopted as emblem by the rulers of Syracuse. It is possible that this usage is related with the Greek name of the island of Sicily, "Trinacria" (Τρινακρία "having three headlands"). The Sicilian triskeles is shown with the head of Medusa at the center. The ancient symbol has been re-introduced in modern flags of Sicily since 1848.

Roman period and Late Antiquity.

Late examples of the triple spiral symbols are found in Iron Age Europe, e.g. carved in rock in Castro Culture settlement in Galicia, Asturias and Northern Portugal. In Ireland before the 5th century, in Celtic Christianity the symbol took on new meaning, as a symbol of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

Medieval use.

The triple spiral design is found as a decorative element in Gothic architecture. The three legs (triskeles) symbol is rarely found as a charge in late medieval heraldry, notably as the arms of the King of Mann (Armorial Wijnbergen, c. 1280), and as canting arms in the city seal of the Bavarian city of Füssen (dated 1317).

Modern usage.

The triskeles was included in the design of the Army Gold Medal awarded to British Army majors and above who had taken a key part in the Battle of Maida (1806). An early flag of Sicily, proposed in 1848, included the Sicilian triskeles or "Trinacria symbol". Later versions of Sicilian flags have retained the emblem, including the one officially adopted in 2000. The Flag of the Isle of Man (1932) shows a heraldic design of a triskeles of three armoured legs.  The triple spiral, or the "horned triskelion", is used by some polytheistic reconstructionist or neopagan groups. As a "Celtic symbol", it is used primarily by groups with a Celtic cultural orientation and, less frequently, can also be found in use by various eclectic or syncretic traditions such as Neopaganism. The spiral triskele is one of the primary symbols of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, used to represent a variety of triplicities in cosmology and theology; it is also a favored symbol due to its association with the god Manannán mac Lir.  Other uses loosely inspired by the triskelion as a "Celtic" symbol include the crest of the Breton football club En Avant de Guingamp, which combines the Flag of Brittany, the team colours and the triple spiral triskelion. and the triskelion-like design of the roundel of the Irish Air Corps,  Other uses of triskelion-like emblems include the logo for the Trisquel Linux distribution, the seal of the United States Department of Transportation, and the design of RCA's "Spider" 45 rpm adapter (adopted as a popular symbol for record and music enthusiasts). Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, an Afrikaner nationalist organization and political party (founded 1973), uses a triskele composed of three sevens as its symbol in place of the Nazi swastika. Use of a triskelion-derived emblem has been reported for parts of the BDSM community in 2012. "The Gamesters of Triskelion" is a second-season episode of the American science fiction television series "Star Trek". In the Marvel Universe, the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the Triskelion as its headquarters. The Triskele is also used as a prominent symbol in MTV's "Teen Wolf" (2011) which draws heavily from Celtic mythology. In the television series "Merlin" it was used as symbol of druids. In anime "Nanatsu no Taizai" it is used as symbol of goddesses clan.

Occurrence in nature.

The endocytic protein, clathrin, is triskelion-shaped. The Ediacaran fossil Tribrachidium is also triskelion shaped.

A triskelion or triskeles is a motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs.


The organization.

WMO has a membership of 193 Member States and Territories as of May 2019. The Convention of the World Meteorological Organization was signed 11 October 1947 and established upon ratification on 23 March 1950.  The WMO hierarchy:  The annually published WMO Statements on the status of the World Climate provides details of global, regional and national temperatures and extreme weather events. It also provides information on long-term climate change indicators including atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, sea level rise, and sea ice extent. The year 2016 was the hottest year on record, with many weather and climate extremes, according to the most recent WMO report.

Meteorological codes.

In keeping with its mandate to promote the standardization of meteorological observations, the WMO maintains numerous code forms for the representation and exchange of meteorological, oceanographical, and hydrological data. The traditional code forms, such as SYNOP, CLIMAT and TEMP, are character-based and their coding is position-based. Newer WMO code forms are designed for portability, extensibility and universality. These are BUFR, CREX, and, for gridded geo-positioned data, GRIB.

Recognitions received.

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) jointly created by WMO and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) received the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about anthropogenic (man-made) climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

World Meteorological Day.

The World Meteorological Day is held annually on 23 March.

Use of the International System of Units.

WMO states that "the International System of Units (SI) should be used as the system of units for the evaluation of meteorological elements included in reports for international exchange." The following units, which include units which are not SI units, are recommended by the WMO for meteorological observations:

Membership.

As of May 2019, WMO Members include a total of 187 Member States and 6 Member Territories.  Ten United Nations member states are not members of WMO: Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and San Marino. Cook Islands and Niue are WMO Members but non-members of the United Nations. Vatican City and State of Palestine and the states with limited recognition are not members of either organization.  The six WMO Member Territories are the British Caribbean Territories (joint meteorological organization and membership), French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Macau, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (joint meteorological service and membership) and New Caledonia. (List of all members with admission dates.)

Membership by regional associations.

Region I (Africa).

Region I consists of the states of Africa and a few former colonial powers. Region I has 57 member states and no member territories: Non-member

Region II (Asia).

Region II has 33 member states and 2 member territories. The member states are:  The member territories are:

Region III (South America).

Region III consists of the states of South America, including France as French Guiana is an overseas region of France. It has a total of 13 member states and no member territories:

Region IV (North America, Central America and the Caribbean).

Region IV consists of the states of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, including three European states with dependencies within the region. It has a total of 25 member states and 2 member territories. The member states are:

Region V (South-West Pacific).

Region V consists of 21 member states and 2 member territories. The member states are:

Region VI (Europe).

Region VI consists consist of all the states in Europe as well as some Western Asia. It has 50 member states:

States with membership in more than one region.

A total of ten member states have membership in more than one region. Two nations are members to four different regions, while eight are members of two regions. These nations, with their regions, are as follows:

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories. The President of the World Meteorological Congress, its supreme body, is Gerhard Adrian as a successor of David Grimes. The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.


Biography.

Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. John George succeeded to the electorate on 23 June 1611 on the death of his elder brother, Christian II. The geographical position of the Electorate of Saxony rather than her high standing among the German Protestants gave her ruler much importance during the Thirty Years' War. At the beginning of his reign, however, the new elector took up a somewhat detached position. His personal allegiance to Lutheranism was sound, but he liked neither the growing strength of Brandenburg nor the increasing prestige of the Palatinate; the adherence of the other branches of the Saxon ruling house to Protestantism seemed to him to suggest that the head of the Electorate of Saxony should throw his weight into the other scale, and he was prepared to favour the advances of the Habsburgs and the Roman Catholic party.  Thus John George was easily induced to vote for the election of Ferdinand, Archduke of Styria, as emperor in August 1619, an action which nullified the anticipated opposition of the Protestant electors. The new emperor secured the help of John George for the impending campaign in Bohemia by promising that he should be undisturbed in his possession of certain ecclesiastical lands. Carrying out his share of the bargain by occupying Silesia and Lusatia, where he displayed much clemency, the Saxon elector had thus some part in driving Frederick V, elector palatine of the Rhine, from Bohemia and in crushing Protestantism in that country, the crown of which he himself had previously refused.  Gradually, however, he was made uneasy by the obvious trend of the imperial policy towards the annihilation of Protestantism, and by a dread lest the ecclesiastical lands should be taken from him; and the issue of the edict of restitution in March 1629 put the capstone to his fears. Still, although clamouring vainly for the exemption of the electorate from the area covered by the edict, John George took no decisive measures to break his alliance with the emperor. He did, indeed, in February 1631 call a meeting of Protestant princes at Leipzig, but in spite of the appeals of the preacher Matthias Hoe von Hohenegg (1580–1645) he contented himself with a formal protest.  Meanwhile, Gustavus Adolphus had landed in Germany, aiming to relieve Magdeburg. Gustavus attempted to conclude an alliance with John George to allow him to cross the Elbe at Wittenberg, but John George remained hesitant to join the Protestant cause and the discussions went nowhere. Hoping that an alliance would be concluded eventually, Gustavus avoided any military action.  Tilly, commander of the main imperial force, was also concerned about the possibility of an alliance, no matter how unlikely it was at the time. In order to preempt any such move, he invaded Saxony and started to ravage the countryside. This had the effect of driving John George into the alliance he had hoped to preempt, which was concluded in September 1631. The Saxon troops were present at the battle of Breitenfeld, but were routed by the imperialists, the elector himself seeking safety in flight.  Nevertheless, he soon took the offensive. Marching into Bohemia the Saxons occupied Prague, but John George soon began to negotiate for peace and consequently his soldiers offered little resistance to Wallenstein, who drove them back into Saxony. However, for the present the efforts of Gustavus Adolphus prevented the elector from deserting him, but the position was changed by the death of the king at Lützen in 1632, and the refusal of Saxony to join the Protestant league under Swedish leadership.  Still letting his troops fight in a desultory fashion against the imperialists, John George again negotiated for peace, and in May 1635 he concluded the important treaty of Prague with Ferdinand II. His reward was Lusatia and certain other additions of territory; the retention by his son Augustus of the archbishopric of Magdeburg; and some concessions with regard to the edict of restitution. Almost at once he declared war upon the Swedes, but in October 1636 he was beaten at Wittstock; and Saxony, ravaged impartially by both sides, was soon in a deplorable condition. At length in September 1645 the elector was compelled to agree to a truce with the Swedes, who, however, retained Leipzig; and as far as Saxony was concerned this ended the Thirty Years' War. After the peace of Westphalia, which with regard to Saxony did little more than confirm the treaty of Prague, John George died on 8 October 1656.

Assessment.

Although not without political acumen, John George was not a great ruler; his character appears to have been harsh and unlovely, and he was addicted to drink and other diversions such as hunting. Wallenstein held him in contempt saying on more than one occasion "have you seen how he lives ".

Family and children.

John George was married twice. In addition to his successor John George II, he left three sons, Augustus (1614–1680), Christian (died 1691) and Maurice (died 1681).  In Dresden on 16 September 1604 Johann Georg married firstly Sibylle Elisabeth, daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg. She died in the birth of their only child:  In Torgau on 19 July 1607 Johann Georg married secondly Magdalene Sibylle, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. They had ten children:

John George I (German: Johann Georg I.) (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.


Characteristics.

The frame is held firmly against the performer's parted teeth or lips (depending on the type), using the jaw and mouth as a resonator, greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. The teeth must be parted sufficiently for the reed to vibrate freely, and the fleshy parts of the mouth should not come into contact with the reed to prevent damping of the vibrations and possible pain. The note or tone thus produced is constant in pitch, though by changing the shape of the mouth, and the amount of air contained in it (and in some traditions closing the glottis), the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies.  According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica" Eleventh Edition, "The vibrations of the steel tongue produce a compound sound composed of a fundamental and its harmonics. By using the cavity of the mouth as a resonator, each harmonic in succession can be isolated and reinforced, giving the instrument the compass shown."  "The lower harmonics of the series cannot be obtained, owing to the limited capacity of the resonating cavity. The black notes on the stave show the scale which may be produced by using two harps, one tuned a fourth above the other. The player on the Jew's harp, in order to isolate the harmonics, frames his mouth as though intending to pronounce the various vowels." See: bugle scale.

History.

The earliest depiction of somebody playing what seems to be a Jew's harp is a Chinese drawing from the 3rd Century BC. Archaeological finds of surviving examples in Europe have been claimed to be almost as old, but those dates have been challenged both on the grounds of excavation techniques, and the lack of contemporary writing or pictures mentioning the instrument.

Etymology.

There are many theories for the origin of the name "Jew's harp". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this name appears earliest in Walter Raleigh's "Discouerie Guiana" in 1596, spelled "Iewes Harp". The "jaw" variant is attested at least as early as 1774 and 1809, the "juice" variant appeared only in the late 19th and 20th centuries.  It has also been suggested that the name derives from the French "Jeu-trompe" meaning "toy-trumpet". (Though in the French idiom, if two substantives are joined together, the qualifying noun is invariably the last.)  Both theories—that the name is a corruption of "jaws" or "jeu"—are described by the OED as "baseless and inept". The OED says that, "More or less satisfactory reasons may be conjectured: e.g. that the instrument was actually made, sold, or imported to England by Jews, or purported to be so; or that it was attributed to Jewish people, suggesting the trumps and harps mentioned in the Bible, and hence considered a good commercial name."

Use.

Cambodian music.

The angkouch (Khmer: អង្គួច) is a Cambodian jew's harp. It is a folk instrument made of bamboo and carved into a long, flat shape with a hole in the center and the tongue across the hole. There is also a metal variety, more round or tree-leaf shaped. It may also have metal bells attached. The instrument is both a wind instrument and percussion instrument. As a wind instrument, it is placed against the mouth, which acts as a resonator and tool to alter the sound. Although mainly a folk instrument, better-made examples exist. While the instrument was thought to be the invention of children herding cattle, it is sometimes used in public performance, to accompany the Mahori music in public dancing.

Carnatic music.

The instrument, known as morsing in South India, morchang in Rajasthan, or murchunga in Nepal (where they are common), is part of the rhythmic section in a Carnatic music ensemble.

Sindhi music.

In Sindhi the Jew's harp is called Changu (چنگُ). In Sindhi music, it can be an accompaniment or the main instrument. One of the most famous players is Amir Bux Ruunjho.

World music.

The Jew's harp is frequently to be found in the repertoire of music played by alternative or world music bands. Sandy Miller of the UK-based Brazilian samba/funk band "Tempo Novo", plays a Jew's harp solo in the piece "Canto de Ossanha".

Austrian Jew's harp playing.

Austrian Jew's harp music uses typical Western harmony. The UNESCO has included Austrian Jew's harp playing in its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Western classical music.

Early representations of Jew's harps appeared in Western churches since the fourteenth century.  The Austrian composer Johann Albrechtsberger—chiefly known today as a teacher of Beethoven—wrote seven concerti for Jew's harp, mandora, and orchestra between 1769 and 1771. Four of them have survived, in the keys of F major, E-flat major, E major, and D major. They are based on the special use of the Jew's harp in Austrian folk music.  Well known performer Franz Koch (1761–1831), discovered by Frederick the Great, could play two Jew's harps at once, while the also well known performer Karl Eulenstein (1802—1890), "invented a system of playing four at once, connecting them by silken strings in such a way that he could clasp all four with the lips, and strike all the four springs at the same time".  The American composer Charles Ives wrote a part for Jew's harp in the "Washington's Birthday" movement of "."

Western rock music.

It features prominently in Canned Heat's multi-part piece "Parthenogenesis" from their "Living the Blues" album.  The Jew's harp provides a distinctive sound for the beginning of The Who's "Join Together".  It appears in Johnny Cash's recording of "God's Gonna Cut You Down" from his album "".

Kyrgyz music.

The "temir komuz" is made of iron usually with a length of 100–200 mm and with a width of approximately 2–7 mm. The range of the instrument varies with the size of the instrument, but generally hovers around an octave span. The Kyrgyz people are exceptionally proficient on the "temir komuz" instrument and it is quite popular among children, although some adults continue to play the instrument. There is a National Artist of Kyrgyz Republic who performs on the instrument, "temir komuz". One time twenty Kirgiz girls played in a "temir komuz" ensemble on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. "Temir komuz" pieces were notated by Zataevich in two or three parts. Apparently an octave drone is possible, or even an ostinato alternating the fifth step of a scale with an octave.

The Jew's harp, also known as the jaw harp, mouth harp, gewgaw, guimbard, khomus, trump, Ozark harp, Galician harp, or murchunga is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame.


Early history.

In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and Lysimachus. His family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty.  Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great's court in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father, Antipater, most likely to help uphold Antipater's regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary who was hostile to the Antipatrids suggested that Cassander had journeyed to the court to poison the King.  Whatever the truth of this suggestion, Cassander stood out amongst the Diadochi in his hostility to Alexander's memory. As Cassander and the other diadochi struggled for power, Alexander IV, Roxana, and Alexander's supposed illegitimate son Heracles were all executed on Cassander's orders, and a guarantee to Olympias to spare her life was not respected. Cassander's decision to restore Thebes, which had been destroyed under Alexander, was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased King. It was later even said that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint. Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him.

Later history.

As Antipater grew close to death in 319 BC, he transferred the regency of Macedon not to Cassander, but to Polyperchon, possibly so as not to alarm the other Diadochi through an apparent move towards dynastic ambition, but perhaps also because of Cassander's own ambitions. Cassander rejected his father's decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, and declared himself Regent in 317 BC. After Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city fell two years later, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxanne confined at Amphipolis.  Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander's half-sister, Thessalonica, and he had Alexander IV and Roxanne poisoned in either 310 BC or the following year. By 309 BC, Polyperchon began to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed him to have the boy killed. After this, Cassander's position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC. After the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, in which Antigonus was killed, he was undisputed in his control of Macedonia; however, he had little time to savour the fact, dying of dropsy in 297 BC.  Cassander's dynasty did not live much beyond his death, with his son Philip dying of natural causes, and his other sons Alexander and Antipater becoming involved in a destructive dynastic struggle along with their mother. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexander's appeal for aid and ousted Antipater II, killed Alexander V and established the Antigonid dynasty. The remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne.  Of more lasting significance was Cassander's refoundation of Therma into Thessalonica, naming the city after his wife. Cassander also founded Cassandreia upon the ruins of Potidaea.

Lissandreia (the modern region of "Kassandreia", Halkidiki, survived in a corrupted form), interpreted as army commander Cassander (Greek: Κάσσανδρος Ἀντιπάτρου, "Kassandros Antipatrou"; "son of Antipatros": c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of ancient kingdom of Macedon from 305 BC until 297 BC, and "de facto" ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.


Overview.

The singleton design pattern is one of the twenty-three well-known "Gang of Four" design patterns that describe how to solve recurring design problems to design flexible and reusable object-oriented software, that is, objects that are easier to implement, change, test, and reuse.  The singleton design pattern solves problems like:  The singleton design pattern describes how to solve such problems:  The key idea in this pattern is to make the class itself responsible for controlling its instantiation (that it is instantiated only once).
 The hidden constructor (declared private) ensures that the class can never be instantiated from outside the class.
 The public static operation can be accessed easily by using the class name and operation name (codice_2).

Implementation.

An implementation of the singleton pattern must: Typically, this is done by: The instance is usually stored as a private static variable; the instance is created when the variable is initialized, at some point before the static method is first called. The following is a sample implementation written in Java. public final class Singleton {

C# implementation.

public sealed class Singleton {  In C# you can also use static classes to create singletons, where the class itself is the singleton. public static class Singleton {

Lazy initialization.

A singleton implementation may use lazy initialization, where the instance is created when the static method is first invoked. If the static method might be called from multiple threads simultaneously, measures may need to be taken to prevent race conditions that could result in the creation of multiple instances of the class. The following is a thread-safe sample implementation, using lazy initialization with double-checked locking, written in Java. public final class Singleton {

Dart implementation.

class Singleton {

PHP implementation.

class Singleton {

Java Implementation.

public class Coin {

Kotlin Implementation.

Kotlin object keyword declares a singleton class  object Coin{

Delphi and Free Pascal implementation.

GetInstance is thread safe implementation of Singleton.  unit SingletonPattern;  interface  type  function GetInstance: TTest;  implementation  uses  var  function GetInstance: TTest; begin  end;  constructor TTest.Create; begin end;  initialization  finalization  end. Usage:  procedure TForm3.btnCreateInstanceClick(Sender: TObject); var begin end;

In software engineering, the singleton pattern is a software design pattern that restricts the instantiation of a class to one "single" instance. This is useful when exactly one object is needed to coordinate actions across the system. The term comes from the mathematical concept of a singleton.