Biography.

Nicholas Francis was the youngest son of Duke Francis II of Lorraine and his wife, Christina of Salm. Born on the feast of Saint Nicholas, he was named in his honour. His sister was Marguerite of Lorraine, the Duchess of Orléans and wife of Gaston, Duke of Orléans.  As it appeared unlikely that he would succeed to the duchy, he was destined for the church. He was made coadjutor bishop of Toul, in spite of his youth, in 1619 and succeeded to the see in 1624, but never actually received any sacred orders. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Pont-à-Mousson, 1622–1629. He returned to Nancy in June 1629. The thesis he prepared on the sacrament of penance was printed in Holland in 1627 with a dedication to Pope Urban VIII. After his promotion to the cardinalate, he received private lessons from two Jesuit priests.  Nicholas Francis was named abbot "in commendam" – a lucrative sinecure – of several abbeys and was sent on several embassies by his brother, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and by Louis XIII of France.  On 19 January 1626 he was created cardinal "in pectore" (secretly). The appointment was not proclaimed publicly until 30 August 1627. He never received the cardinal's red hat nor was he assigned a cardinal-deaconry. When in 1634 his brother Charles was pressured into resigning in his favor, he became sovereign Duke of Lorraine. He wrote to Pope Urban VIII, 4 March 1634, resigning as cardinal to marry his cousin Claude of Lorraine, the second daughter of Henry II, on 17–18 February. On 8 March 1634, the pope declared him "in nullo e sacris ordinis constitutum", depriving him of the title of cardinal and the diocese of Toul. In the consistory of 22 March 1634, the pope communicated this to the College of Cardinals.  Immediately following Nicholas's accession to the dukedom, the French invaded the duchy and forced the new duke to sign a treaty recognizing their right to occupy it. In April 1634, Nicholas himself fled into exile, and soon after abdicated himself, returning the claim to the duchy to his older brother, Charles. With one brief exception, Charles would not, however, be able to return to his duchy until 1661.

Family and issue.

He married his first cousin Claude Françoise de Lorraine who died in childbirth:

Nicholas Francis (French: "Nicolas François de Lorraine"; 6 December 1609 – 25 January 1670), also known as Nicholas II, was briefly Duke of Lorraine and Duke of Bar for a few months in 1634, spanning the time between the abdication of his older brother and his own resignation. He was therefore Duke during the invasion of Lorraine by the French in the Thirty Years War.


Geography.

The town is situated on the river Bode, approximately west of Quedlinburg. Served by Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt trains, Thale Hauptbahnhof is the terminus of the Magdeburg–Thale railway line. The town has access to the Bundesstraße 6n highway.

History.

The settlement of Thale probably emerged at the beginning of the 10th century. It was documented in 936 in connexion with the neighbouring Wendhusen Abbey, which had been founded around 825 AD as a chapter of canonesses ("Kanonissenstift"). Established by an Eastphalian comital family and based on the model of Herford Abbey, it was one of the first monasteries in the medieval Duchy of Saxony. After Queen Dowager Matilda, wife of the late King Henry the Fowler, tried in vain to relocate the convent in 936, it came under the guardianship of the newly established Quedlinburg chapter.  The adjacent village was first mentioned in a 1231 deed as "Dat Dorp to dem Dale" (from 1288 it was given the Latinised description "de valle", and from 1303 as "von Thale"). In the late Middle Ages, the estates were held by the Saxon Counts of Regenstein, vassals of the Halberstadt prince-bishops. The monastery premises were stormed and devastated in 1525 during the German Peasants' War.  From 1445 the records show that there had been an ironworks in Thale. It was rebuilt from 1648 onwards after the devastations of the Thirty Years' War as the "Berghaus zum Wilden Mann", but was fully destroyed in 1670. After the secularised Halberstadt territories were incorporated by Brandenburg-Prussia, a small hammer mill was established in 1686 out of which a new ironworks later developed that benefited especially from its proximity to the ore deposits and the availability of wood. It lasted until 1714. In 1740 a business was opened again. For a short time this ironworks was owned by the Prussian king Frederick the Great.  Part of the Prussian Province of Saxony since 1815, the first wrought-iron wagon axle to be made in the German lands was manufactured here in 1831. In 1835 the oldest sheet steel enamel works in Europe was founded in Thale. Following the town's connexion to the railway network in 1862 with a line to Berlin the place flourished as did the number of workers. Whilst the iron industry had only 350 workers in 1872, by 1905 there were as many as 4,400. In particular, the production of enamel contributed to Thale's international renown; in its heyday Thale produced no less than 10% of the world's production. In 1910 Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin spoke to Thale's workers. From 1916 steel helmets were produced in Thale. In the World War II Thale had the monopoly on this product (from 1934).  Tourism blossomed from the 19th century onwards in connexion with the radon rich water of the Hubertus Spring, which had been opened up in 1836. As a result, various literary figures visited the place, including Heinrich Heine ("Die Harzreise") and Theodor Fontane and especially the Bode Gorge. In addition tourists from Berlin enjoyed the summer resort of Thale. This encouraged the connexion of Thale in 1862 to the railway line from Wegeleben. In 1909 a branch line from Blankenburg (Harz) followed. In 1922 the resort was given town rights. From 12 to 14 June 2009 Thale was the venue for the Saxony-Anhalt Day held under the motto "Thale sagenhaft" ("Legendary Thale"), and attracted around 200,000 visitors.

Incorporation of other parishes.

Warnstedt was incorporated in 2003. In 2009 a total of seven municipalities were incorporated on four separate dates. Westerhausen was added in 2010. Allrode became a part of the borough of Thale in 2011.  The changes in area are shown in a special table.

Population growth.

The growth of population "(from 1995 censuses were taken every 31 December)":

Politics.

Coat of arms.

The coat of arms was approved on 11 July 1996 by the Magdeburg Regional Council ("Regierungspräsidium").

Partnerships.

Since 1990 Thale has had a town partnership with Seesen (Lower Saxony) on the northwest edge of the Harz and, since 1998, with the French town of Juvisy-sur-Orge, 18 km from Paris, as well as Tillabéri in Niger, northwest of the River Niger.

Media.

Thale is the setting of Theodor Fontane's novel "Cécile". Fontane stayed in Thale a number of times between 1868 and 1884.

Thale () is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre.


Early life.

Kaplan was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family.  He graduated from New Utrecht High School.

Acting career.

As a kid, Kaplan had aspirations of being a Major League Baseball player. However, he was unable to make the roster of a minor league team and decided to pursue other interests. He began working as a bellman at a hotel in Lakewood, New Jersey. Touring comedians would sometimes perform at the hotel, and Kaplan began to work toward his own career as a stand-up comedian. Gabe honed his standup routine in 1964 in places such as the Cafe Tel Aviv at 250 West 72nd Street, New York City.  Kaplan's comedy was successful, and he toured the country with his act based on his childhood experiences in Brooklyn. He appeared five times on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" from May 1973 to December 1974. During that time, he also recorded the comedy album "Holes and Mello-Rolls," which included long routines about his high school days, among other topics. The sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter", whose central characters he helped Eric Cohen and Alan Sacks create and whose core format he helped them to develop, was in part based on his comedy act. In the sitcom, Kaplan played Gabe Kotter, who returns as a teacher to the dysfunctional high school where he had been a student. The series ran from 1975–79, and Kaplan bought a home in Palm Springs, California with his earnings. "Up your nose with a rubber hose!", sanitized from the original album line "Up your hole with a Mello-Roll!", became an unlikely catchphrase from the show. It became so popular that a comedy record by Kaplan, "Up Your Nose", was released by Elektra Records. The record, co-written and -produced by Kaplan, dented the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1977, peaking at #93.  From 1976–78 and again in 1981, Kaplan participated in the ABC celebrity athletic competition "Battle of the Network Stars". For the first five competitions, Kaplan was the captain of the ABC network team. In the very first competition, Kaplan defeated Robert Conrad, who was participating in the event representing the NBC team as its captain, in a race much to Conrad's chagrin. Kaplan, who was 31 at the time, passed Conrad, then 40, with a strong sprint to the finish line, giving ABC television network the win with 175 points. In 1981, Kaplan returned to the competition as the team captain for the NBC side, as he was appearing in the NBC TV show "Lewis & Clark". After "Welcome Back, Kotter", Kaplan continued with his stand-up act and was in several movies, including a starring role in "Fast Break" in 1979; and portrayed comic Groucho Marx in a one-man show.

Poker.

Kaplan became involved in financial markets and poker during his acting career. He made his first appearance at the World Series of Poker in 1978. In 1980, Kaplan was considered one of poker's elite, as he won the main event at Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker and was presented with "a loving cup that was so enormous it made the gaudy gold bracelets given to the winners at the World Series of Poker look understated." Over the next five years his reputation was solidified as he made the final table at the Super Bowl's main event two more times.  In July 2004, Kaplan finished third in a World Poker Tour no-limit Texas hold 'em event, earning more than $250,000. He also finished second in the 2005 World Series of Poker $5,000 Limit Hold 'Em event, winning $222,515. Kaplan was joint TV commentator for the 1997 and 2002 WSOP events. In 2007, Kaplan won on NBC's "Poker After Dark" in the episode "Queens and Kings" after defeating Kristy Gazes heads-up and outlasting Howard Lederer, Ali Nejad, Vanessa Rousso and Annie Duke in a $20,000 buy-in, six-person No-Limit Texas Hold-Em winner-take-all Sit-and-Go.  In the 2007 World Series of Poker, Kaplan finished in ninth place in the $50,000 World Championship HORSE event, winning $131,424. As of June 2017, Kaplan's total live tournament winnings were $1,991,248. His eleven cashes at the WSOP were $539,159 of those winnings.  Kaplan won again on "Poker After Dark" during "Cowboys" week that first aired in February 2008 against Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Chau Giang, Hoyt Corkins and Doyle Brunson. Kaplan's "Poker After Dark" win in the first week of the 2010 season (the "Commentators III" episode) was the greatest comeback in the show's history.

Later activities.

Kaplan resumed performing stand-up comedy and worked on adaptations of "Welcome Back, Kotter." He still plays poker frequently and became a commentator for poker events and televised poker shows, including the "National Heads-Up Poker Championship" on NBC, "High Stakes Poker" on GSN, and the Intercontinental Poker Championship on CBS.  In 1995, his name was mentioned in episode 21, "The PTA Disbands", of the sixth season of "The Simpsons" as a substitute teacher in Bart's class.  In 2007, he appeared in Zak Penn's improvisational comedy "The Grand" as Seth Schwartzman, father of brother-and-sister poker players. Also in 2007, Kaplan published a book titled "Kotter's Back: E-mails from a Faded Celebrity to a Bewildered World". In the book, people react to absurd e-mailed claims by Kaplan, such as that he:  The book also describes his e-mails:  In January 2011, GSN announced that Norm Macdonald would replace Kaplan as host of "High Stakes Poker".

Gabriel Weston Kaplan (born March 31, 1945) is an American comedian, actor and professional poker player. He played the eponymous teacher in the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". He later became a professional poker player, and commentator for the series "High Stakes Poker" on GSN.


Early life.

Regev was born in Kiryat Gat in 1965 to Sephardi Jewish immigrants. She went to Rogozin Highschool in Kiryat Gat. Her father, Felix, was from Morocco and her mother, Mercedes, was from Spain. In 1983, she joined the Gadna, where she became a platoon commander, serving in the position until 1986. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Informal Education and an MBA.

Public relations career.

She began serving as the IDF Spokesperson's representative in the Israeli Southern Command. Regev was promoted to a Colonel rank for the position of Deputy IDF Spokesperson in 2002. In 2003, she was appointed coordinator of the national public relations efforts at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in preparation for the Iraq War. After a short stint (2004–2005) as the Chief Press and Media Censor, she was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and to the position of IDF Spokesperson in 2005. She served in this position during Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the 2006 Lebanon War. In 2007, she was discharged and was succeeded by Avi Benayahu.

Political career.

In November 2008, Regev joined the Likud party, saying that she had been a supporter of the party's platform for many years. She won twenty-seventh place on the party's list for the 2009 elections, just high enough to enter the Knesset as Likud won 27 seats. At the 2015 elections Regev was re-elected, after being placed fifth on Likud's national list. She was subsequently appointed by prime minister Netanyahu to Minister of Culture and Sport in the new government.  Revital Madar, a Tunisian-Israeli writer for "Haaretz", stated that Regev had faced discrimination due to her Moroccan origins, and her forthright behaviour is perceived as being stereotypically Mizrahi.

Minister of culture.

In September 2015, four months in office, Regev announced a list of criteria that will cause the withdrawal of state funding the following year. The list included the deformation of state symbols and a call for boycotting Israel.  In July 2016, Regev announced that she would not participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies, because they take place on Shabbat.  In her position as Minister of Culture, Regev frequently equates artistic Freedom of Expression with the power of the government to withdraw its funding, using the term "Freedom of Funding". Regev also argued that state-funded artists or organisations must show "loyalty" to the Israeli state. She has called this a "Loyalty in Culture" initiative, and has proposed legislation making "support for a cultural institution dependent on its loyalty to the state of Israel". She has said the group Breaking the Silence "hurts Israel's image" and accused a gallery that had hosted a talk by the group of "holding political activities".  At the closing ceremony of the 2017 Maccabiah Games on July 18, 2017, Regev passed the Maccabiah torch to a number of Maccabiah athletes.

Minister of Transportation and National infrastructure.

In May 2020, Regev was offered the portfolio of Minister of Transportation for the first half of the 35th government of Israel and the portfolio of foreign minister during the second half of the incoming government's term. She was sworn in to this position on 17 May 2020.

Views.

Immigration from Africa.

In May 2012, at a demonstration against illegal immigrants in Tel Aviv, Regev said that "Sudanese infiltrators are a cancer in the nation's body". She later said that the quote was misrepresented, and, while justifying the comparison, apologized for seeming to compare human beings to cancer.

LGBT rights.

Regev met with LGBT community members of her party, and said (in parallel to social activism), that "not only the left can support and embrace the gay community".

Personal life.

She is married to Dror Regev, an engineer at Israel Aerospace Industries and has three children. Her husband is from a left-wing background and holds some views opposing her own.

Miriam "Miri" Regev (; born "Miriam Siboni" on May 26, 1965) is an Israeli politician and a former Brigadier-general in the Israel Defense Forces, in which she served as IDF Spokeswoman. She is currently a member of the Knesset for Likud, and Minister of Transportation. She also previously served as Minister of Culture and Sport. On June 14, 2017, she was appointed acting PM to serve while PM Netanyahu would be abroad.


Biography.

Ernest von Koerber was born in Trento, Tyrol, Austrian Empire, in a German speaking family, the son of a Gendarmerie officer. Koerber attended the elite Theresianum boarding school in Vienna and, having obtained his "Matura" degree, went on to study law at the University of Vienna. He became extremely involved in Austrian culture and politics. The study of the "Rechtsstaat" ("legal state") doctrine, or constitutionality and civil rights was popular during Koerber's teen years and Koerber and his constitutionally-minded peers such as Sieghart, Steinbach, Baernreither, and Redlich learned and immersed themselves in this principle.

Political career.

Koerber’s knowledge of government was apparent when in 1874 he launched his career in the civil service, entering the Austrian Ministry of Commerce. In 1895 he was appointed general manager of the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways and obtained the honorific title of a "Geheimrat" the following year. By 1897 Koerber was a member of the Imperial Council parliament of Cisleithania (i.e. the 'Austrian' portion of Austria-Hungary) and Commerce Minister. At this time, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, there were separate internal governments for the Austrian lands and the Kingdom of Hungary. Two years later in 1899, Koerber rose to the position of Austrian Minister of the Interior. In 1900, Emperor Franz Joseph asked Koerber to create a cabinet and serve as Prime Minister. This was by far the most influential position of Koerber’s career. Koerber served in this capacity until the end of 1904.

First Koerber cabinet.

From the beginning of his term in office, Minister-President Koerber encountered many difficulties. Within the multinational Dual Monarchy, he had full authority only over the Cisleithania crown lands. Furthermore, the Imperial Council parliament was politically weak. In order to make major liberal reforms Koerber depended largely on Article 14, a provision in the December Constitution which allowed the Emperor to issue an “emergency regulation” for any necessary purposes. The meetings of the Imperial Council quickly transformed into forums for Koerber to bargain with party leaders.  Koerber’s tenure in office was also marked by rising national tensions within Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy dissipated any sense of allegiance to a single crown. The various ethnic groups resented one another and it became apparent that most government actions would leave at least one offended group.  In military matters, Koerber opposed providing the Hungarian portion of the Austro-Hungarian Army (the Royal Hungarian Honvéd) with its own artillery units. While the emperor advocated such a policy, Koerber sided with crown prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand against it, stating that the principle of parity would require the Imperial-Royal Landwehr to also have artillery, which Austria could not afford.  Even education was a controversial aspect within the monarchy. The Italians in the Habsburg lands of Tyrol and the Littoral could no longer get a university education within the borders of Austria after it lost Venetia in 1866. Koerber sought to fix this problem and presented a draft law establishing an Italian university. However widespread disapproval from Germans culminated in riots during the aborted inauguration of the first course, to be opened in Innsbruck in November 1904 This forced the government to abandon this project. Koerber also attempted to institute a “National University” with German as the language of teaching but the Italians and Slavs protested this plan.  Koerber pursued reform for the infrastructure of the country, particularly railways and canals. These expansive reforms known as the "Koerber-Plan" were made in efforts to appease the Imperial Council and create a sense of regionalism with non-controversial government reforms. Despite Koerber's efforts, these changes did not provide the reaction he expected and attention once again shifted towards the nationality question.  Additionally, Koerber aimed to promote the industrial and communications sectors. He abolished censorship of the press. Koerber believed this would benefit the changing and expansive monarchy. Koerber also exhibited his liberal ideology by reducing the harsh persecution of Social Democrats, allowing them to organize openly in Austria. This was a tremendous stride in individual rights.  Coupled with these strategies was Koerber's economic savvy. Koerber got the Imperial Council to enact his 1902 economic development program without resorting to Article 14. But once again, it was to no avail. Many historians believe that Koerber’s emphasis on economic matters over national issues made his administration highly unpopular. Ethnic hostilities ensued despite his attempts at reform. The lack of transition within the state diminished Koerber's dreams and he eventually resigned from office on 31 December 1904, officially on health grounds. Koerber was succeeded by Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn, Minister of Education.

Second Koerber cabinet.

Koerber returned to the spotlight during World War I. From 7 February 1915 to 28 October 1916, he served as Austro-Hungarian Finance Minister (one of three "k.u.k" common ministries which served both countries). In the ongoing discussions on the goals of the war, Koerber strictly opposed Foreign Minister Stephan Burián's ideas to annex Russian Congress Poland (Vistula Land), stating that it could further weaken the cohesion and political balance of the Dual Monarchy.  After the Austrian minister-president Count Karl von Stürgkh was assassinated by Friedrich Adler on 21 October 1916, aged Emperor Franz Joseph quickly recalled Koerber to return as his successor. Many had hoped that Koerber would modify the tyrannical system that had developed during wartime. However, after Franz Joseph's death on November 21, Koerber came into conflict with the new emperor, Charles I, and did not make such changes. In fact, the constant disputes made it difficult for Koerber to get anything accomplished. Koerber still held out hope that Austria and Hungary were able to unite, both politically and socially. Charles I, however, continued to take measures that would hinder this progress. Koerber, an aged man by this point, decided he could no longer take these differences. His resignation was caused by several issues, the most important of which was his belief that the planned convocation of the Austrian parliament was premature, but Charles I wanted to present himself as a constitutional monarch as soon as possible. Furthermore, he objected to what he considered to be too extensive concessions to Hungary in the new compromise, whereas the emperor did not want to risk jeopardizing the relationship with Hungary.  A few weeks later, on December 13, Koerber officially retired from office and was succeeded by Heinrich Clam-Martinic. He died shortly after the end of the war, on 5 March 1919, in Baden, a spa town near Vienna.

Support for Zionism.

Koerber was a friend and supporter of Theodor Herzl. He was impressed by his Zionist project and assured Herzl that he would stand behind him in his endeavors to win a charter for Jewish settlement in Palestine.

Ernest Karl Franz Joseph Thomas Friedrich von Koerber (6 November 1850 – 5 March 1919) was an Austrian liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the Austrian portion of Austro-Hungary in 1900-1904 and 1916.


Description.

"Borassus flabellifer" is a robust tree and can reach a height of. The trunk is grey, robust and ringed with leaf scars; old leaves remain attached to the trunk for several years before falling cleanly. The leaves are fan-shaped and long, with robust black teeth on the petiole margins. Like all "Borassus" species, "B. flabellifer" is dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants. The male flowers are less than 1 cm long and form semi-circular clusters, which are hidden beneath scale-like bracts within the catkin-like inflorescences. In contrast, the female flowers are golfball-sized and solitary, sitting upon the surface of the inflorescence axis. After pollination, these blooms develop into fleshy fruits 15–25 cm wide, each containing 1-3 seeds. The fruits are black to brown with sweet, fibrous pulp and each seed is enclosed within a woody endocarp. Young palmyra seedlings grow slowly, producing only a few leaves each year (establishment phase), but at an as yet undetermined time, they grow rapidly, producing a substantial stem.

Uses.

Fruit.

The fruit (Palmyra fruit) measures to in diameter, has a black husk, and is borne in clusters. The top portion of the fruit must be cut off to reveal the sweet jelly seed sockets, translucent pale-white, similar to that of the lychee but with a milder flavor and no pit. The sweet jelly seed sockets occur in combinations of two, three or four seeds inside the fruit. The jelly part of the fruit is covered with a thin, yellowish-brown skin. These are known to contain watery fluid inside the fleshy white body. These seed sockets have been the inspiration behind certain Sandeshes called "Jalbhora" (জলভরা) found in Bengal. The soft orange-yellow mesocarp pulp of the ripe fruit is sugary, dense and edible, rich in vitamin A and C. They also contain bitter compound called flabelliferrins, which are steroidal saponins.  The conventional way this fruit is eaten is when the outer casing is still unripe while the seeds are eaten as the fruit. But if the entire fruit is left to ripen, the fibrous outer layer of the palm fruits can also be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted. When this happens, the fruit takes a purple-blackish hue and tastes similar to coconut flesh. The skin is also eaten as part of the fruit similar to how mango skins are often consumed along with the fruit. Bengali People have perfected the art of making various sweet dishes with the yellowish viscous fluid substance obtained from a ripe palm fruit. These include mustard oil-fried (alternately sunflower oil-fried) "Taal-er bora" (তালের বড়া) "palmyra vadas" or mixed with thickened milk to prepare "Taal-kheer" (তাল ক্ষীর).  In Kerala it is called Pananungu whereas in Tamil Nadu, it is called as Nungu (நுங்கு). Ice apple in Indonesia is called Buah Lontar or Siwalan.

Sap.

Obtaining the sap traditionally involves tapping the top shoots and collecting the dripping juice in hanging earthen pots (in some region utilize plastic or bamboo bottle). The juice collected in evening or after fermentation becomes sour, and is called Tadi (ताडी) in Marathi. This sap was the main source of sugar production in Thailand even before sugarcane, as for the vocabulary Nahm-Taal (น้ําตาล) which used to call any kind of sugar in Thailand literally means the water of tala palm  A sugary sap called toddy, can be obtained from the young inflorescence, either male or female. Toddy is fermented to make a beverage called arrack, or it is concentrated to a crude sugar called jaggery or Taal Patali (তাল পাটালী) in Bengali and Pana Vellam or Karuppukatti (கருப்புகட்டி or கருபட்டி) in Tamil. It is called "Gula Jawa" (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia, and is widely used in Javanese cuisine. In Thailand it is called Nahm-Taal-Puek (น้ําตาลปึก) means the pack of sugar that dried from the palm sap (but in modern day the ingredient had been switched to mainly be coconut water because the convenient of farming and harvesting).  In Thailand there was techniques utilize anti bacterial agents of some woods to keep the sap from becoming sour while tapping. And after sterilized it was available as beverage called Nahm-Taan-Sod (น้ําตาลสด (fresh sugar)) or used to make alcoholic beverage called Nahm-Taan-Mao (น้ําตาลเมา (drunken sugar))

Sprouts.

In the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar, and in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the seeds are planted and made to germinate and the fleshy stems (below the surface) are boiled or roasted and eaten. It is very fibrous and nutritious. It is known as Thegalu (తేగలు) or Gaygulu (గేగులు) or Gengulu (గెంగులు) (especially in Telangana) in Telugu, as Panai Kizhangu or Panangkizhangu (பனங்கிழங்கு) in Tamil, and as htabin myiq (ထန်းပင်မြစ်) in Myanmar.  The germinated seed's hard shell is also cut open to take out the crunchy kernel, which tastes like a sweeter water chestnut. It is called Buragunju (బురగుంజు) in Telugu and "thavanai" in Tamil.  The white kernel of the ripe palm fruit after being left for a few months is used as an offering in Lakshmi Puja in various parts of Bengal and is also eaten raw.

Leaves.

The "Borassus flabellifer" leaves are used for thatching, mats, baskets, fans, hats, umbrellas, and as writing material.  All the literature of the old Tamil was written in preserved Palm leaves also known as Palm-leaf manuscript. In Tamil Yaedu or Olai chuvadi. Most of the ancient literature in Telugu are written on palm leaves (Tala patra grandhas).  In Indonesia the leaves were used in the ancient culture as paper, known as "lontar". Leaves of suitable size, shape, texture, and maturity were chosen and then seasoned by boiling in salt water with turmeric powder, as a preservative. The leaves were then dried. When they were dry enough, the face of the leaf was polished with pumice, cut into the proper size, and a hole made in one corner. Each leaf made four pages. The writing was done with a stylus and had a very cursive and interconnected style.  The stem of the leaves has thorny edges (called "karukku" in Tamil).  The skin of the stem can be peeled off and be used as rope and also used to weave into cots ("நார்க்கட்டில்" in Tamil). In some part of Tamil Nadu, a variety of rice flour cake (called "Kolukattai") is prepared using the leaf.  In the eastern part of India, the leaves are used to make hand fans.

Trunk.

The stalks are used to make fences and also produce a strong, wiry fiber suitable for cordage and brushes. The black timber is hard, heavy, and durable and is highly valued for construction.

Crown.

When the crown of the tree is removed, the segment from which the leaves grow out is an edible cake. This is called 'pananchoru" (பனஞ்சோறு) in Tamil or "thati adda" (తాటి అడ్డ/తాటి మట్ట) in Telugu.

Roots.

In Cambodia, where the palm is known as "thnôt"' (Khmer), the roots are dried and smoked to heal nasal complaints.)

Cultivation.

"Borassus flabellifer" has a growth pattern, very large size, and clean habits that make it an attractive ornamental tree, cultivated for planting in gardens and parks as landscape palm species.

Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala palm, toddy palm, wine palm, or ice apple is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is reportedly naturalized in Pakistan, Socotra, and parts of China.


Biography.

The youngest son of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Claude of France, he was styled the Count of Vaudémont during his father's reign (1545–1608) as well as during that of his older brother Henry II (1608–1624). His father appointed him as his deputy (Lieutenant General) of Lorraine, while in 1594 he was out of the country.  That same year he was Lieutenant General of the French king in Toul and Verdun. From September to October 1606 he was in his father's diplomatic mission in England. In 1621 he fell out with his brother Henry II, who had become duke in 1608, and went to Germany for the emperor to fight the Protestants.  The reason for the rift was Henry's intention to have Francis's son Charles marry Henry II's daughter Nicolette of Lorraine and to leave Lorraine to her, even though the will of Duke René II had provided for a strictly male succession. Henry and his wife Margherita Gonzaga had only had daughters. After negotiations, the issue was then resolved and the marriage took place but the couple did not have any children and the duchy was to revert to Francis' other son, the future Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine.  After Francis' brother died on 31 July 1624, the situation became complicated; Henry's final rules specified that Charles could only be the Duke of Lorraine as Nicolette's husband.  In November 1625, however, it was Francis himself who became the ruler of Lorraine. Having claimed the duchy for himself, he got it on 21 November 1625 from the duchy's States General.  After he had paid the duchy's debt out of its treasury five days later, he abdicated in favour of his son, who by then had pushed aside his wife and who then ruled in his own right.  In his will, Francis stated that he "never had ambitions to wear a crown in this world". After his abdication, Francis II took on the management of the county of Vaudémont. He died less than a year later.

Family.

He married Christina of Salm and had the following issue:

Francis II (François de Lorraine; 27 February 1572 – 14 October 1632) was the son of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine and Claude of Valois. He was Duke of Lorraine briefly in 1625, quickly abdicating in favour of his son.


Measures.

The efficacy of conversion marketing is measured by the conversion rate: the number of customers who have completed a transaction divided by the total number of website visitors. Conversion rates for electronic storefronts are usually low. Conversion marketing can boost this number as well as online revenue and website traffic.  Conversion marketing attempts to solve low online conversions through optimized customer service, which requires a complex combination of personalized customer experience management, web analytics, and the use of customer feedback to contribute to process flow improvement and site design.  By focusing on improving site flow, online customer service channels, and online experience conversion marketing is commonly viewed as a long-term investment rather than a quick fix. Increased site traffic over the past 10 years has done little to increase overall conversion rates, so conversion marketing focuses not on driving additional traffic but converting existing traffic. It requires proactive engagement with consumers using real time analytics to determine if visitors are confused and show signs of abandoning the site; then developing the tools and messages to inform consumers about available products, and ultimately persuading them to convert online. Ideally, the customer would maintain a relationship post-sale through support or re-engagement campaigns. Conversion marketing affects all phases of the customer life-cycle, and several conversion marketing solutions are utilized to help ease the transition from one phase to the next.

Conversion rate.

The conversion rate is the proportion of visitors to a website who take action to go beyond a casual content view or website visit, as a result of subtle or direct requests from marketers, advertisers, and content creators.  Successful conversions are defined differently by individual marketers, advertisers, and content creators. To online retailers, for example, a successful conversion may be defined as the sale of a product to a consumer whose interest in the item was initially sparked by clicking a banner advertisement. To content creators, a successful conversion may refer to a membership registration, newsletter subscription, software download, or other activity.  For websites that seek to generate offline responses, for example telephone calls or foot traffic to a store, measuring conversion rates can be difficult because a phone call or personal visit is not automatically traced to its source, such as the Yellow Pages, website, or referral. Possible solutions include asking each caller or shopper how they heard about the business and using a toll-free number on the website that forwards to the existing line.  For websites where the response occurs on the site itself, a conversion funnel can be set up in a site's analytics package to track user behavior.

Methods of increasing conversion rates in e-commerce.

Among many possible actions to increase the conversion rate, the most relevant may be:

In electronic commerce, conversion marketing is marketing with the intention of increasing "conversions--"that is, site visitors who are paying customers. The process of improving the conversion rate is called conversion rate optimization. However, different sites may consider a "conversion" to be a result other than a sale. Say a customer were to abandon an online shopping cart. The company could market a special offer, like free shipping, to convert the visitor into a paying customer. A company may also try to recover the customer through an online engagement method, such as proactive chat, to attempt to assist the customer through the purchase process.


Host selection.

Bids :  Rejected Bids :  On 4 September 2006, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) approved a compromise between rival countries to host the Africa Cup of Nations after it ruled out Nigeria. CAF agreed to award the next three editions from 2010 to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya respectively. They assigned Angola in 2010, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which submitted a joint bid in 2012, and Libya for 2014.  This edition was awarded to Angola to encourage the country to move towards peace after the Angolan Civil War.  Two-time former host Nigeria is the reserve host for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 tournaments, in the event that any of the host countries fails to meet the requirements established by CAF.  The 2014 tournament was pushed forward to 2013 and subsequently held in odd-numbered years to avoid year-clash with the FIFA World Cup.

Qualification.

The Confederation of African Football announced that the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification would also be the qualification for this tournament. Despite the fact Angola are the host of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, they also needed to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. A similar situation was true for South Africa. Although they will be the hosts for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they still needed to compete in the qualification tournament in order to qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Draw.

The draw for the final tournament took place on 20 November 2009 at the Talatona Convention Centre in Luanda, Angola. The 16 teams were split into four pots, with Pot 1 containing the top four seeded nations. Angola were seeded as hosts and Egypt as reigning holders. The remaining 14 teams were ranked based on their records in the three last editions of the competition. Cameroon and Ivory Coast had the two strongest records and so completed the top seeded Pot 1. The four seeded teams were placed into their groups in advance of the final draw.

Match officials.

The following referees were chosen for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Group stage.

Tie-breaking criteria.

If two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:  "All times given as local time (UTC+1)"

Knockout stage.

"All times given as local time (UTC+1)"

Awards.

Best XI.

The following players were selected as the best in their respective positions, based on their performances throughout the tournament. Their performances were analysed by the tournament's Technical Study Group (TSG), who picked the team.

Statistics.

<nowiki>***</nowiki> indicates the team played only two matches in the group stage, due to the withdrawal of Togo from the tournament.

Mascot.

The Mascot for the Tournament is Palanquinha, which was inspired by the Giant Sable Antelope ("Hippotragus niger variani"), a national symbol and a treasured animal in Angola. In Angola, this animal is found only in the Cangandala National Park in Malange Province.

Match ball.

The official match ball for the tournament is the Adidas Jabulani Angola, a modified version of the Adidas Jabulani to be used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the colours of the flag of Angola.

Marketing.

Tournament had seven sponsors, Doritos, MTN Group, NASUBA, Orange, Pepsi, Samsung and only African corporate sponsor Standard Bank.

Attack on the Togo national team.

On 8 January 2010, the team bus of the Togo national football team was attacked by gunmen in Cabinda, Angola as it travelled to the tournament. A spokesman for the Togolese football federation said assistant coach Améleté Abalo and press officer Stanislaud Ocloo had died as well as the driver. The separatist group Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-PM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Togolese team withdrew from the competition the following day. The players initially decided to compete to commemorate the victims in this way, but were immediately ordered to return by the Togolese government.  Following their departure from Angola, Togo were formally disqualified from the tournament after failing to fulfil their opening Group B game against Ghana on 11 January.  On 30 January 2010, CAF banned Togo from participating in the next two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and fined the team $50,000 due to "government involvement in the withdrawal from the tournament". Togo were unable to compete until the 2015 tournament, but that ban was lifted on 14 May 2010 by a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa (CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2010 and concluded on 31 January.


Ancient Rome.

"Praefectus", often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but conferred by delegation from a higher authority. They did have some authority in their prefecture such as controlling prisons and in civil administration.

Praetorian prefects.

The Praetorian prefect ("Praefectus praetorio") began as the military commander of a general's guard company in the field, then grew in importance as the Praetorian Guard became a potential kingmaker during the Empire. From the Emperor Diocletian's tetrarchy (c. 300) they became the administrators of the four Praetorian prefectures, the government level above the (newly created) dioceses and (multiplied) provinces.

Military prefects.

For some auxiliary troops, specific titles could even refer to their peoples:

Prefects as provincial governors.

Roman provinces were usually ruled by high-rank officials. Less important provinces though were entrusted to prefects, military men who would otherwise only govern parts of larger provinces. The most famous example is Pontius Pilate, who governed Judaea at a time when it was administered as an annex of Syria.  As Egypt was a special imperial domain, a rich and strategic granary, where the Emperor enjoyed an almost pharaonic position unlike any other province or diocese, its head was styled uniquely "Praefectus Augustalis", indicating that he governed in the personal name of the emperor, the "Augustus". Septimius Severus, after conquering Mesopotamia, introduced the same system there too.  After the mid-1st century, as a result of the Pax Romana, the governorship was gradually shifted from the military prefects to civilian fiscal officials called procurators, Egypt remaining the exception.

Feudal times.

Especially in Medieval Latin, "præfectus" was used to refer to various officers—administrative, military, judicial, etc.—usually alongside a more precise term in the vernacular (such as "Burggraf", which literally means "Count of the Castle" in the German language).

Ecclesiastical.

The term is used by the Roman Catholic Church, which based much of its canon law terminology on Roman law, in several different ways.

Academic.

Many college preparatory boarding schools utilize the position of Prefect as a high student leadership position.

Modern sub-national administration.

In the 1980s, under the presidency of François Mitterrand (1981–1995), a fundamental change in the role of the prefect (and sub-prefect) took place. The previously extremely centralized French (Fifth) Republic was gradually "decentralized" by the creation of the Regions and the devolution of central state powers towards the "Régions", "Départements" and "Communes" (municipalities). New elected authorities were created (e.g. the "Conseils régionaux") in order to administrate the subdivisional entities ("collectivités territoriales") of the nation (law from 2 March 1982). The changes have gradually altered the function of the prefect. He is still the supreme representative of the state in a département, but has lost his omnipotent function of chief administrator. Instead, he has acquired the roles of chief controller (not a title) of regional, departemental and communal public accounts and of chief inspector (not a title) of good (i.e. law-abiding) governance of the authorities of the respective territorial entities.  A "Préfet maritime" is a French Admiral ("Amiral") who is commissioned to be the chief commander of a "Zone maritime" (i.e. a section of the French territorial waters and the respective shores).  In Paris, the "Préfet de police" (prefect of police) is the head of the city's police under the direct authority of the "Ministre de l'Intérieur" (Minister of the Interior), which makes him unique as usually in French towns and cities the chief of the local police is subordinated to the "maire" (mayor), who is the local representative of the minister in police matters.

Police.

The Prefect of Police ("Préfet de police)" is the officer in charge of co-ordinating police forces in Paris (see above under "France"). The local police in Japan are divided among prefectures too.

Prefect (from the Latin "praefectus", substantive adjectival form of "praeficere": "put in front", i.e., in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.


Biblical narrative.

The description of Jacob's ladder appears in :  Afterwards, Jacob names the place "Bethel" (literally, "House of God").

Judaism.

The classic Torah commentaries offer several interpretations of Jacob's ladder. According to the Midrash Genesis Rabbah, the ladder signified the exiles which the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the Jewish messiah. First the angel representing the 70-year exile of Babylonia climbed "up" 70 rungs, and then fell "down". Then the angel representing the exile of Persia went up a number of steps, and fell, as did the angel representing the exile of Greece. Only the fourth angel, which represented the final exile of Rome/Edom (whose guardian angel was Esau himself), kept climbing higher and higher into the clouds. Jacob feared that his children would never be free of Esau's domination, but God assured him that at the End of Days, Edom too would come falling down.  Another interpretation of the ladder keys into the fact that the angels first "ascended" and then "descended". The Midrash explains that Jacob, as a holy man, was always accompanied by angels. When he reached the border of the land of Canaan (the future land of Israel), the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land went back up to Heaven and the angels assigned to other lands came down to meet Jacob. When Jacob returned to Canaan he was greeted by the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land.  Yet another interpretation is this: The place at which Jacob stopped for the night was in reality Mount Moriah, the future home of the Temple in Jerusalem. The ladder therefore signifies the "bridge" between Heaven and earth, as prayers and sacrifices offered in the Holy Temple soldered a connection between God and the Jewish people. Moreover, the ladder alludes to the giving of the Torah as another connection between heaven and earth. In this interpretation, it is also significant that the Hebrew word for ladder, "sulam" (סלם) and the name for the mountain on which the Torah was given, "Sinai" (סיני) have the same gematria (numerical value of the letters).  The Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo, born in Alexandria, (d. ca. 50 CE) presents his allegorical interpretation of the ladder in the first book of his "De somniis". There he gives four interpretations, which are not mutually exclusive:  A hilltop overlooking the Israeli settlement of Beit El north of Jerusalem that is believed by some to be the site of Jacob's dream is a tourist destination during the holiday of Sukkot.

Christianity.

Jesus said in John 1:51 "And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." This statement has been interpreted as associating or implicating Jesus with the mythical ladder, in that Christ bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. Jesus presents himself as the reality to which the ladder points; as Jacob saw in a dream the reunion of Heaven and Earth, Jesus brought this reunion, metaphorically the ladder, into reality. Adam Clarke, an early 19th-century Methodist theologian and Bible scholar, elaborates:  The theme of a ladder to heaven is often used by the Church Fathers. Irenaeus in the second century describes the Christian Church as the "ladder of ascent to God".  In the third century, Origen explains that there are two ladders in the life of a Christian, the ascetic ladder that the soul climbs on the earth, by way of—and resulting in—an increase in virtue, and the soul's travel after death, climbing up the heavens towards the light of God.  In the fourth century, Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of ascending Jacob's Ladder by successive steps towards excellence, interpreting the ladder as an ascetic path, while Saint Gregory of Nyssa narrates that Moses climbed on Jacob's Ladder to reach the heavens where he entered the tabernacle not made with hands, thus giving the Ladder a clear mystical meaning. The ascetic interpretation is found also in Saint John Chrysostom, who writes:  Jacob's Ladder as an analogy for the spiritual ascetic of life enjoyed wide influence thanks to the classical work "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" by John Climacus.

Islam.

In Islam, Jacob () is revered in Islam as a prophet and patriarch. Muslim scholars drew a parallel with Jacob's vision of the ladder and Muhammad's event of the Mi'raj. The ladder of Jacob was interpreted by Muslims to be one of the many symbols of God, and many saw Jacob's ladder as representing in its form the essence of Islam, which emphasizes following the "straight path". The twentieth-century scholar Martin Lings described the significance of the ladder in the Islamic mystic perspective:The ladder of the created Universe is the ladder which appeared in a dream to Jacob, who saw it stretching from Heaven to earth, with Angels going up and down upon it; and it is also the "straight path", for indeed the way of religion is none other than the way of creation itself retraced from its end back to its Beginning.

Pseudepigraphic apocalyptic literature.

The narrative of Jacob's Ladder was used, shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple in the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), as basis for the pseudepigraphic "Ladder of Jacob". This writing, preserved only in Old Church Slavonic, interprets the experience of Patriarchs in the context of Merkabah mysticism.

Cultural references.

Jacob's Ladder has been depicted in many artworks, the largest of which is the facade of Bath Abbey in England where sculptures depict angels climbing up and down ladders on either side of the main window on the west front.

Jacob's Ladder ( ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis.


Early life.

Princess Victoria was born on 6 July 1868 at Marlborough House, London. Her father was the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Her mother was the Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra), the eldest daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. She was known as "Toria" to her family.  She was christened at Marlborough House on 6 August 1868 by Archibald Campbell Tait, Bishop of London.  Princess Victoria was educated at home by tutors and spent her childhood at Marlborough House and Sandringham. The Princess was particularly close to her brother, George, the future King George V.  With her sisters, she was a bridesmaid at the wedding in 1885 of their paternal aunt Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York (future King George V and Queen Mary) on 6 July 1893.

Personal life.

Although she had a number of suitors, the most famous of them being King Carlos I of Portugal, Princess Victoria never married and had no children. Her mother, Alexandra, is believed to have actively discouraged her from marrying. Instead she remained a companion to her parents, particularly her mother, with whom she lived until Queen Alexandra's death in 1925. The Princess then set up her own home at Coppins, Iver, in Buckinghamshire. She took a particular interest in the village life, becoming honorary president of the Iver Horticultural Society.

Later life.

After the death of her mother, she left Sandringham House and decided to live in Buckinghamshire. Princess Victoria's last years were plagued with health problems. She suffered from neuralgia, migraines, indigestion, depression, colds and influenza. Princess Victoria died at home on 3 December 1935, aged 67. Her funeral took place on 7 December 1935 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where she was initially buried. Her remains were later moved and reburied at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor Great Park, on 8 January 1936. Her death greatly affected her brother, George V, who died one month later.

Titles, styles, honours and arms.

Arms.

Upon her younger sister's marriage in 1896, Princess Victoria was awarded a personal coat of arms, being the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, bearing an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony and differenced with a label argent of five points, the first, third and fifth bearing roses gules, and the second and fourth crosses gules. The inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant in 1917.

Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary; 6 July 1868 – 3 December 1935) was the fourth child and second daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark, and the younger sister of George V.


Early life.

Alexandra was born Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh on 1 September 1878 at Rosenau Castle, Coburg. Her father was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second-eldest son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her mother was Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, the only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She was baptised "Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria" on 2 October 1878 at Edinburgh Palace, Coburg, presumably by her mother's chaplain. Her godparents included her maternal uncle Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.  During Alexandra's formative years, her father, occupied with his career in the Navy and later as a ruler in Coburg, paid little attention to his family. It was Alexandra's mother who was the domineering presence in their children's life. Alexandra had four siblings: Alfred, Marie, Victoria Melita, and Beatrice (her only younger sibling). Throughout her life, Alexandra was usually overshadowed by her elder sisters; she was considered less beautiful and more subdued than Marie and Victoria Melita. Nicknamed 'Sandra' by her family, Alexandra spent her childhood first in England, then from 1886 to 1889 in Malta, where her father was serving with the British Navy. In 1889 the family moved to Coburg, Germany, as her father was the heir apparent to the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was a bridesmaid at the 1885 wedding of her aunt Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom to Prince Henry of Battenberg, and at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1893. That year, her great-uncle, The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (brother of her paternal grandfather, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) died without issue. As Prince Albert had passed away, and her uncle The Prince of Wales had renounced his claim to the duchy, the ducal throne fell to the Duke of Edinburgh. Following her father's succession, though Alexandra remained a British princess, she took the title of Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Marriage.

Alexandra's mother, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, believed in marrying her daughters young, before they began to think for themselves. At the end of 1895, she arranged Alexandra's engagement to Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (13 September 1863 – 11 December 1950). Alexandra's grandmother, Queen Victoria, complained that she was too young. Alexandra's father objected to the status of his future son-in-law, who would become the 7th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. The House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was mediatized — a formerly ruling family who had ceded their sovereign rights to others while (in theory) retaining their equal birth; it was not considered a brilliant match. The couple were also related: Ernst was a grandson of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, Queen Victoria's half-sister. The wedding took place on 20 April 1896 in Coburg, Germany. Alexandra was 17 and Ernst 32.  They had five children:

Later life.

Alexandra lived for the rest of her life in Germany. At the death of her father in 1900, Alexandra's husband was appointed regent of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg during the minority of the new Duke, who was her first cousin. Alexandra's only brother, Alfred, had died in 1899. During World War I, she worked as a Red Cross nurse. In February 1916 her eldest daughter Marie Melita was married in Coburg to Prince Wilhelm Friedrich, the future Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and Alexandra became a grandmother when the couple's first child Prince Hans was born in May 1917. On her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary in April 1931, her eldest son Gottfried married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark. In the years preceding World War II, Alexandra was an early supporter of the Nazi Party, which she joined on 1 May 1937, together with several of her children. She died in Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany in 1942.

Titles, styles, honours and arms.

British arms.

Alexandra's personal coat of arms was that of the British monarch, with an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony, all differenced, as a male-line grandchild, with a label argent of five points, the central point bearing a cross gules, the inner pair anchors azure, and the outer pair fleurs-de-lys azure. In 1917, the inescutcheon was dropped by Royal Warrant from George V.

Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, VA, CI (Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria; 1 September 1878 – 16 April 1942) was the fourth child and third daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. As the wife of Ernst II, she was Princess consort of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She was a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Tsar Alexander II of Russia.


Geography.

The town is situated north of the Jizera Mountains on the left banks of the Kwisa River, the eastern edge of the historic Upper Lusatia region. It lies approximately south of Lubań, and west of the regional capital Wrocław. In the south, a border crossing leads to Jindřichovice pod Smrkem in Bohemia.  Lake Leśnia, a reservoir of the Kwisa River, is located east of the town.

History.

Leśna Castle, erected on the border with the Polish Duchy of Silesia about southeast of the town, was first mentioned in a 1247 deed. King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, then ruler of the Upper Lusatian lands, ceded it to the Meissen bishop Conrad I of Wallhausen. The fortress probably lost its strategic importance with the construction of Czocha Castle further east in the early 14th century.  The "Lissa" settlement is documented in 1329. It may have been a founding of the Silesian Duke Henry I of Jawor, heir of the Upper Lusatian Kwisa District by his mother Beatrice of Brandenburg. Upon Henry's death in 1346, the Kwisa lands reverted to the Bohemian Crown, whereafter the lordship was enfeoffed to local noble dynasties. A first town layout was abandoned in 1434 upon devastations by the Hussite Wars, a flood and a fire, and rebuilt at its present location further south on the route from Frýdlant to Lubań. A centre of cloth manufacturing, it received market rights in 1515.  The name "Marklissa" first appeared in 1574. Upon the 1635 Peace of Prague it fell with Upper Lusatia to the Electorate of Saxony. The town's economy was boosted by the immigration of Protestants fleeing from the Counter-Reformation in the adjacent Habsburg lands of Bohemia and Silesia. After the Napoleonic Wars and the 1815 Congress of Vienna, southeastern Upper Lusatia was annexed by Prussia and incorporated into the Province of Silesia.  With Prussia Marklissa became part of the German Empire in 1871. After World War II the town, located east of the Oder-Neisse line, was ceded to the Republic of Poland according to the 1945 Potsdam Agreement. The German population was expelled and the area resettled with Poles deported from the eastern Kresy borderlands.

Twin towns – sister cities.

See twin towns of Gmina Leśna.

Leśna () is a town in Lubań County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, close to the Czech border. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Leśna. As of 2019, the town has a population of 4,439.


Description.

Carried on the XM34 rocket launcher, it could carry either nuclear or conventional warheads. It was primarily intended for use in airborne assault operations and to complement the heavier, self-propelled MGR-1 Honest John rocket. Development of the missile was started at Army’s Rocket and Guided Missile Agency laboratory at Huntsville, Alabama, the Redstone Arsenal, in June 1955.  In June 1956, the first launch of the XM47 Little John occurred. This initial model was spin-stabilised by larger triangular fins and a longer launch rail. It was stabilised by the fins alone until it began to spin. The production XM51 version had smaller rectangular fins, too small to stabilise the rocket, and was stabilised from launch by a unique "spin-on-straight-rail" system.  The XM51 Little John was delivered to the field in November 1961 and remained in the regular Army's weapons inventory until August 1969.  It was a spin-stabilized field artillery rocket that followed a ballistic trajectory to ground targets. The rocket XM51 consisted of a warhead, a rocket motor assembly, and an igniter assembly. The components were shipped in separate containers, with the warhead and motor assembled before issue and the igniter inserted immediately before use.  The Little John differs from the Honest John in not only its size but how it is stabilized in flight. The flight of the Honest John is stabilized by a spin that is imparted to the rocket by spin rockets after the round leaves the launcher. The XM51 Little John rocket flight is stabilized by applying spin to the rocket while on the launcher, just before firing. This manual method of stabilization was called "spin-on-straight-rail" (SOSR). A hand-wound mechanical clock spring on the launcher rotates the missile through gears, when the firing lanyard is pulled. Once the rocket is rotating at 31⁄2 rev. per second, inertial switches connect the thermal batteries to the rocket motor's igniter. In flight, the spin is maintained by canted fins. The system was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company.  The missile and launcher system were light enough to be easily transported by helicopters and other aircraft or towed by a vehicle. The Phase II Little John weapon system was initially deployed with the 1st Missile Battalion, 57th Field Artillery in Okinawa, Japan.  The missile was retired beginning in July, 1967, with the final missile removed from inventory in 1970. Five hundred missiles were produced during the life of the weapon program.

The MGR-3 Little John was a free flight artillery rocket system designed and put into service by the U.S. Army during the 1950s and 1960s.


Early life.

Sweyn was the illegitimate son of King Erik II the Memorable and the concubine Thunna. Sweyn travelled with Eric II to Norway in the mid-1130s, when his father fought King Niels to win the Danish throne. When Eric II died in 1137, he was succeeded by Eric III, and Sweyn was sent to the court of Conrad III of Germany. Here he befriended Conrad's nephew Frederick.  Sweyn travelled to Denmark, where he and his cousin Valdemar sought to canonize Sweyn's uncle and Valdemar's father Canute Lavard in 1146, under protest from Archbishop Eskil of Lund in Scania. At the abdication of Eric III in 1146, Sweyn was elected king by the magnates on Zealand while Canute V was crowned by their counterparts in Jutland.

Civil war.

For the next years, Sweyn fought a civil war against Canute for the kingship of Denmark, supported by Valdemar. Canute was supported by Archbishop Eskil, but Sweyn moved to secure Eskil's loyalty by granting the Archbishop of Lund land holdings in Scania and Bornholm. Sweyn subsequently defeated Canute on Zealand, to confine him to Jutland. In 1147, Sweyn and Canute united to support the Wendish Crusade. As Sweyn engaged the Wends in naval battle, he received little support from Canute, and lost his flagship. The civil war was soon re-ignited.  After several battles, Sweyn conquered Funen and parts of Jutland, and set Valdemar up as Duke of Schleswig. Sweyn then campaigned with Etheler von Dithmarschen against Adolf II of Holstein, a supporter of Canute. Sweyn succeeded in banishing Canute in 1150, and Canute's re-entry with German troops in 1151 was also repulsed. Both Canute and Sweyn sought the support of Conrad III of Germany. In 1152, Frederick I was crowned King of Germany, and he brokered a deal in Merseburg later that year. The deal made Sweyn "premier king", with Canute eligible to receive a substantial portion of Denmark, and Valdemar keeping the Duchy of Schleswig. However, Sweyn only granted Canute small holdings, breaking the agreement, and Sweyn's position in Denmark was further undermined by his alleged tyrant manners and his pro-German behaviour.

Tripartition.

In 1154, Sweyn was overthrown by an alliance between Canute and Valdemar, who was crowned Canute's co-ruler as Valdemar I. Eskil and the majority of Sweyn's other supporters deserted him, and he went into exile in Germany. Sweyn spent three years seeking support for a reconquest, and returned to Denmark in 1157 with the support of German duke Henry the Lion. This prompted the Danish magnates to force through a tripartition of the kingdom into Jutland, Zealand, and Scania. Sweyn chose first, and was made the ruler of Scania. At the peace banquet in Roskilde on 9 August 1157, Sweyn planned on killing his two co-rulers, and succeeded in having Canute killed. The incident became known as the "Bloodfeast of Roskilde".  Valdemar escaped to Jutland, and on 23 October 1157, Sweyn and his army faced and met him at the Battle of Grathe Heath, which gave him his nickname "Grathe". Sweyn's army was defeated, and he was killed by peasants who caught him when his horse was sucked into a bog while he fled from the battle.

Marriage and issue.

In 1152, Sweyn married Adela of Meissen, daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, and Luitgard of Ravenstein. They had a short-lived son, possibly named Eric, and a daughter, Luitgard, who married Berthold I of Istria.:

Sweyn III Grathe () ( – 23 October 1157) was the King of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed a tripartition of Denmark. Sweyn attempted to kill his rivals at the peace banquet, and was subsequently defeated by Valdemar I at the Battle of Grathe Heath and killed.


Fish and wildlife.

There are two main habitats in the Hanford Reach National Monument: desert and river.  Islands, riffles, gravel bars, oxbow ponds and backwater sloughs provide support to forty-three species of fish. Large numbers of fall Chinook salmon spawn in the Hanford reach. Federally threatened species such as the Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook, the Middle Columbia River Steelhead and the Upper Columbia River Steelhead use the reach for migration purposes.  The refuge is famous for the elk located on the Arid Lands Ecology Area. Herd numbers vary by time of year with 150 seen during the spring/summer and 350 to 375 during the fall. The elk population reaches its peak in the winter with an average of 670. Archaeologists believed the elk had been in the region for the last 10,000 years. During the mid-19th century, first hand accounts mentioned the disappearance of the species. Rocky Mountain elk were reintroduced into the region during the 1930s, as well as a natural recolonization event from the nearby cascade mountains during the difficult 1978 winter.  The dry, desert region is home to forty-two mammal species. Mice are the most abundant and include the deer mouse, western harvest mouse, northern grasshopper mouse. Mammals that inhabit this refuge include coyotes, skunks, beavers, mule deer, bobcats, river otters, minks, cougars and badgers.

Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Hanford Reach is home to nine nuclear reactors of which B Reactor is the most famous; constructed in 13 months during World War II, it was the world’s first full scale reactor. Plutonium from the reactor was used in the first nuclear explosion at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico (July 16, 1945) and in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan (August 9, 1945). The reactor’s significance has led to many distinctions including a place on the National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Nuclear Historic Landmark, National Civil Engineering Landmark and National Historic Landmark.

Access.

The monument is open from two hours before sunrise to two hours after sunset; some areas are open to the public and others are not:  The Rattlesnake Mountain Public Access Act () is a bill that has been introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress which would change some of the access to this site. The bill would require the United States Secretary of the Interior to provide public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument in the state of Washington. The bill is supposed to help with tourism and scientific undertakings. It passed the House on June 11, 2013 and was sent to the Senate.  Several sites in the adjacent Hanford Site including the B Reactor are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and are accessible on public tours.

The Hanford Reach National Monument is a national monument in the U.S. state of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Hanford Site). The area has been untouched by development or agriculture since 1943. Because of that it is considered an involuntary park.


Creation of the museum.

During the mid 1960s, the Prague Military Museum commenced a programme to recover, restore and preserve historic aircraft from around the country for eventual display at Kbely. Initially, one hangar was used, and about fifty aircraft were placed on public display. The aircraft collection continued to grow, and one of the original Wagner-type hangars on the airfield was brought into use, and now contains the earliest aircraft types on display. Another Picha-type hangar has also been added to bring the number of hangars housing the large and varied collection to four.

The aircraft collection.

The collection at Kbely now includes 275 aircraft, of which approximately 110 are on public display at any given time. The museum contains many Czech designed and Czech built aircraft dating from World War I through World War II and up to 1960s supersonic jet fighters. Several unique types are on display, including the early 1920s-built Avia BH-11C L-BONK. Periods before World War II represent Avia B-534. Aircraft from World War II include a Soviet-built Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, Avia S-92 (Czech version of Messerschmitt Me-262A Schwalbe in typical czech colour), Avia CS-92 (Messerschmitt Me-262B Schwalbe in german camouflage), Lavochkin La-7. The formerly displayed fully authentic Supermarine Spitfire LF.IX flown by a Czech squadron of the Royal Air Force was transferred to its owner, the National Technical Museum in Prague in 2008. Periods after World War II represent Avia S-199 and double seats Avia CS-199 (Messerschmitt Bf-109G with Jumo engine), Aero C3A (Siebel Si-204).  In addition to the many military aircraft and helicopters on display, there are several Soviet-designed airliners, some of which were built under licence in Czechoslovakia. Airliners displayed include the Avia 14M (Ilyushin Il-14), an Avia 14T, an ex-CSA Ilyushin Il-18 and a CSA Tupolev Tu-104. Light aircraft exhibited include the Czech-built Praga E-114 Air Baby of 1936, a Mraz Sokol, an Aero 45, an Orlican L-40 Meta Sokol and a Zlin 22 Junak. Helicopters on display include a HC-2 Heli-Baby designed by VZLU (Výzkumný a zkušební letecký ústav).  After 1 January 1993, when Czechoslovakia was divided, a few aircraft were transferred from the collection to the Slovak Republic for inclusion in that country's aviation museums. Also, in recent years, the museum has exchanged several Czech- and Soviet-designed aircraft for military aircraft from the USA, UK, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries.

Kbely Aviation Museum ("Letecké Muzeum Kbely") is the largest aviation museum in the Czech Republic and one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It is located at the north-east of Prague, at the military airport Kbely.


Commands.

The key combination consists of and another key, which controls the command issued. may be released before pressing the command key, as long as remains held down.  The combinations always assume the QWERTY keyboard layout; for example, on the Dvorak keyboard layout, the combination to shutdown the system uses the key instead of. Furthermore, some keyboards may not provide a separate key. In this case, a separate key should be present.  On some devices, notably laptops, the key may need to be pressed to use the magic key, e.g. Thinkpad Carbon X1 the is activated by pressing simultaneously, then releasing and while still holding (see here).  SysRq functionalities can also be accessed without a keyboard. See below.

Uses.

A common use of the magic SysRq key is to perform a safe reboot of a Linux computer which has otherwise locked up (abbr. REISUB). This can prevent a being required on reboot and gives some programs a chance to save emergency backups of unsaved work. The QWERTY (or AZERTY) mnemonics: "Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring", "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken" or simply the word "BUSIER" read backwards, are often used to remember the following SysRq-keys sequence:  When magic keys are used to kill a frozen graphical program, the program has no chance to restore text mode. This can make everything unreadable. The commands (part of SVGAlib) and the command can restore text mode and make the console readable again.  On distributions that do not include a command, the key command may sometimes be able to force a return to a text console. (Use,,,...,, where "n" is the highest number of text consoles set up by the distribution. would normally be used to reenter GUI mode on a system on which the X server has not crashed.) There are also distributions where opens text consoles, reenter GUI mode, reenter GUI mode on the login page, in order to log in another user.

Configuration.

The feature is controlled both by a compile-time option in the kernel configuration,, and a sysctl kernel parameter,.  On newer kernels (since 2.6.12), it is possible to have more fine-grained control over how the magic SysRq key can be used. On these machines, the number written to can be 0, 1, or a number greater than 1 which is a bitmask indicating which features to allow. On Ubuntu this is set at boot time to the value defined in.

Other ways to invoke Magic SysRq.

While the magic SysRq key was originally implemented as part of the kernel's keyboard handler for debugging, the functionality has been also exposed via the proc filesystem and is commonly used to provide extended management capabilities to headless and remote systems. From user space programs (such as a command line shell), SysRq may be accessed by writing to (e.g., ).  Many embedded systems have no attached keyboard, but instead use a serial console for text input/output to the running system. It is possible to invoke a Magic SysRq feature over a serial console by sending a serial break signal, followed by the desired key. The method of sending a break is dependent on the terminal program or hardware used to connect to the serial console. A sysctl option needs to be set to enable this function.  The Linux daemons and provide a method of accessing SysRq features over a TCP connection after authenticating with a plain-text password. The daemon will invoke pre-configured SysRq triggers when system load average exceeds a certain threshold.  The Xen hypervisor has functionality to send magic commands to hosted domains via its command. Additionally, a SysRq command can be invoked from a Xen paravirtual console by sending a break sequence followed by the desired key.  Chromebooks have a keyboard but no dedicated SysRq key. They use () instead, however some keys have a different function.  IBM Power Systems servers can invoke the Magic SysRq feature using followed by the desired key from the Hardware Management Console.  IBM mainframe partitions can invoke the Magic SysRq feature using followed by the desired key on 3270 or HMC console.

The magic SysRq key is a key combination understood by the Linux kernel, which allows the user to perform various low-level commands regardless of the system's state. It is often used to recover from freezes, or to reboot a computer without corrupting the filesystem. Its effect is similar to the computer's hardware reset button (or power switch) but with many more options and much more control.


Description.

The pillar is made of a type of limestone called "pierre de Saint-Leu-d'Esserent", from Saint-Leu, Oise, France. The original pillar would have been 5.24m high, 91cm wide at the base and 74cm wide at the top (Saragoza 2003). It is likely to have been formed in four tiers and although the order from top to bottom is reasonably certain from the relative sizes of the blocks, we do not know the rotational order in which the blocks were arranged; there are 64 possibilities.  However, there is no proof that they were stacked and could also have been two pairs of altars.  The guild was for relatively wealthy shipowners or traders. An indication of the power of the guild is shown by one of the sculptures of the pillar where they parade in arms with shields and spears, a privilege granted by the Romans, which is exceptional in less than half a century after the conquest of Gaul. The guild was also the first known society of Paris.

Inscription.

Written in Latin with some Gaulish language features, the inscription mingles Roman deities with gods that are distinctly Gallic. The pillar is dated by a dedication to "Tiberius Caesar Augustus", that is Tiberius who became emperor in 14 AD. It was set up publicly "(publice posierunt)" by the guild of sailors of Lutetia, from the "civitas" of the Parisii "(nautae Parisiaci)". These sailors would have been merchants who travelled along the Seine.  The main dedication is to Jupiter in the form of "Iovis Optimus Maximus" ("Jove Best and Greatest"). The names of the emperor and the supreme deity appear in the dative case as the recipients of the dedication. The remaining theonyms are nominative legends that accompany individual depictions of the gods. These are (in the order they appear below) Jove, Tarvos Trigaranos (the Bull with three Cranes), Volcanus (Vulcan), Esus, Cernunnos, Castor, Smertrios, and Fortuna.  The dedication (; "RIG" L2-1) is as follows:  The pillar provides the only undisputed instance of the divine name "Cernunnos". The Gaulish theonyms are presented as deity names in their own right, and not as epithets for Roman gods (by contrast, see the many Celtic gods syncretized with Mars). Other figures appear on the pillar without legible inscriptions, including the Roman gods Mars and Mercury, who can be identified by their conventional iconography, and other unidentified figures, mainly female.

Deities.

The top tier, of which only the top half remains, depicts Cernunnos, Smertrios, and Castor and Pollux. Cernunnos has stag's antlers from which hang two torcs. From the amount of the body in the top half, Cernunnos is assumed to have been depicted in a cross-legged seated position as is typical of other Cernunnos depictions ; there is insufficient room for him to be seated on a chair or standing. Smertrios is shown kneeling, brandishing a club and attacking a snake. Castor and Pollux are shown standing beside their horses, each holding a spear.  The second tier, which is complete, shows Jupiter, Esus, Tarvos Trigaranos and Vulcan. Jupiter is shown standing, holding a spear and a thunderbolt. Esus is shown standing beside a willow tree, which he is cutting down with an axe. Tarvos Trigaranus is depicted as a large, heavy-set bull standing in front of a willow tree. Two cranes stand on his back and a third on his head. Vulcan is shown standing, with hammer and tongs.

Block of dedication.

The third tier, the top half of which survives, bears the main dedicatory inscription on one face. Since this has a border and appears complete, the content of the bottom half of this face is unknown. The other sides show a group of three young men with shields and spears; a group of three older, bearded men with spears and shields, bearing the inscription "Iurises"; and a group of three figures, at least one of which is female. They are unarmed, dressed in flowing gowns, and have an inscription "Senani U[s]eiloni".  The fourth, lowest tier is slightly wider than the upper three. Only the top half remains, and the inscriptions are badly damaged. Each face shows a pair of standing figures. Mars, with spear and sword, is accompanied by a female deity with large round ear-rings and a flowing garment which is held over one arm. Mercury, identifiable by his caduceus, is depicted with a goddess who may be Rosmerta, his frequent companion in Gallic art. Fortuna is accompanied by another female deity, perhaps Juno. Two other unidentified female deities are on the fourth face, the one to the left is naked to the waist and holds a large cloak behind her with upraised arms; the other is clothed and has large round ear-rings.

History of the Pillar.

Some time in the 3rd century, the stone blocks that formed the pillar were broken into two and used to reinforce the foundations of the walls along the riverbank. Over time, the island grew slightly so that the 3rd-century wharfs are now a dozen metres from the banks of the modern river.  The Christian cathedral of St. Etienne was founded by Childebert in 528 AD on the site of the Gallo-Roman temple; Notre-Dame de Paris was in turn built over this in 1163 AD.  The pillar was found on 6 March 1710 during the construction of a crypt under the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris and first published by Baudelot de Dairval in 1712. Not all of the pieces were recovered; for three of the tiers we have only the top half.  After discovery, the stone blocks were taken to the Hôtel de Cluny, a medieval ecclesiastical building constructed over the remains of a 2nd-century Roman bath house. This became the "Musée de Cluny" and then, the "Musée national du Moyen Age".  In 2001, the blocks were restored, removing the black patina of grime that had accumulated on the surface of the stone over the three centuries since discovery. The restored stones are once again on display in the museum.

The Pillar of the Boatmen () is a monumental Roman column erected in Lutetia (modern Paris) in honour of Jupiter by the guild of boatmen in the 1st century AD. It is the oldest monument in Paris and is one of the earliest pieces of representational Gallo-Roman art to carry a written inscription.


Description.

The red-fronted parrot is 28 cm (11 in) long. It is mostly green and has a short black squarish tail. Black feathers on the head, neck, back, and wings have lighter green edges giving a scalloped appearance. The lower mandible is dark grey and the upper mandible has a horn coloured base and a dark grey tip. The irises are red-orange, the eyerings are pinkish-grey, and the legs are grey-brown. The amount of red or orange on the forecrown, the bend of the wing, and thighs varies in the three subspecies but is absent in all young birds – juveniles having a dark smokey appearance above a paler beak and brown irises. The adult male and female are identical in external appearance. Gender determination of chicks is normally carried out by breeders using DNA analysis of a feather sample or by internal examination of the cloaca. This latter method is cheaper and quicker but does cause some distress to the bird.

Taxonomy.

The first red-fronted parrot to be scientifically identified was named Congo Jack. The parrot was brought back live from the Congo to the United Kingdom by Sir William Jardine's son on his return from a three-year cruise on. Congo Jack became tame and whistled and screamed, rather than talk. Sir William Jardine gave the species the binomial name "Pionus Gulielmi" after his son, William R.N. (Latin: Gulielmi means "William's"), and published the description in 1849.  Three subspecies are now recognized:

Behaviour.

Breeding.

The red-fronted parrot nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days and the chicks leave the nest about 80 days after hatching.

Feeding.

They fly swiftly making noisy calls above the forest in pairs or small groups between their night-time roosts and feeding grounds. They feed quietly in the upper canopy of trees, where they are well camouflaged.

Pets.

Usually called Jardine's parrots, the red-fronted parrot is becoming an increasingly popular pet, owing to increased availability and a growing following. They are particularly playful, intelligent, and affectionate. Some speak very clearly, and imitate other birds expertly. Their size, temperament, and voice makes them good candidates for apartment dwellers, though they can give a shrill call. Captive bred birds have an endearing nature, bonding well, usually imperceptibly or only slightly favouring one member of the family more than others. They are not as "needy" as some companion species and so long as they are occupied, can be left alone for longer periods without emotional stress (allowing the owners to work for example).

Conservation status.

The wild red-fronted parrot population in Africa is difficult to estimate, because of its vast range. They are potentially threatened by trapping of wild parrots for the pet trade; however, that are listed on appendix II of The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), along with almost all other parrot species. This has made the trade, import and export of all wild caught parrots illegal.

The red-fronted parrot ("Poicephalus gulielmi"), also known as Jardine's parrot, is a medium-sized mainly green parrot distributed across wide areas of Africa. It has three subspecies. The extent and shade of the red or orange plumage on its head, thighs, and bend of wings vary depending on the subspecies.


Description.

The yellow-collared lovebird is a mainly green small parrot about 14.5 cm (5.5 in) long. Its upperparts are a darker green than its lower surfaces. Its head is black, and it has a bright red beak with white above it and white eyerings. Yellow on the breast is continuous with a yellow collar and an expansion of yellow over the nape of the neck. Male and female have an identical external appearance.

Breeding.

The yellow-collared lovebird brings nesting material in its beak to a tree cavity for their nest. The eggs are white and there are usually four to five in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 23 days and the chicks leave the nest about 42 days after hatching.

Aviculture.

Housing.

White eye-rings lovebirds, of which masked lovebirds are part, are reportedly less aggressive in comparison to the slightly larger peach-faced lovebird. They are frequently housed in aviaries with other species of their genus, a practice which although can be convenient, and wonderfully aesthetic, may lead to hybridization. This can especially be concerning where other species may not be as locally common e.g. black-cheeked lovebird, and Lilian's lovebird. It would be advisable to house lovebirds either; by themselves, or if a mixed collection is desired, ensure they are kept in a large flight with a few feeding stations, & assertive species e.g. red-rumped parrot, kakariki, rose-ringed parakeet or cockatiels. They can usually be kept safely with quails, and pheasants in aviaries.  Breeding cages should be 400mm x 400mm x 500mm, or these birds can be housed in colonies, or have in some cases been "kept at liberty". There was a mixed flock of masked, peach-faced lovebird, and a few hybrids near Napier, New Zealand for a number of years in the mid 2000s. There is also a small feral population in France, which contains the Blue mutant, and mixes with larger proportion of Fischer's lovebirds - also from aviary origin.  Aviaries, and cages need perches in a range of diameters. Natural perches in the form of branches are ideal, especially if they have a variety of forks, angles, and a bit of bounce in them. The reason for this is to give the captives stimuli; it also keeps their feet healthy, and nimble. Research (suitability, and toxicity) must be carried out on all plant material going into any cages. Cherry wood is poisonous, as is broom, kowhai, and avocado (its fruit being surprisingly poisonous to parrots), to mention just a few examples.  Nesting boxes are usually utilised throughout the year as sleeping quarters. It is advisable to clean them, but keep them up even after breeding season. The risk of losing a bird to egg laying complications (in the unlikely event they do decide to breed in the winter), is out-weighed by the benefit of keeping the birds content, keeping pair-bonds strong, & the reduced risk of losing a bird to the cold. A supply of willow branches, and roughly slivered corn, or maize husk can be given in the aviary as nesting box lining: It will be ripped up, & carried into the nest box by the female.  Lovebirds are reasonably difficult to sex. A "pair" will often be of the same gender, even though they are exhibiting signs of mutual affection. This usually arises when inexperienced bird keepers house two birds alone, & wait on behavioral signs that they're a "true pair", with the intention of swapping one out for another lovebird if they're not; then being excited when they see birds "pair up", even though they may both be of the same sex. These bonds are artificial, & can be broken, or tested if the "pair" are re-housed communally (or split up by the keeper). One or both of a pair of males may go, and breed with lone hens, despite staying connected to their original partner. Or the same sex pair's bond may completely dissolve immediately.

Colour varieties.

The blue mutation was originally found in wild birds in the 1920s and is the oldest colour mutation known in the lovebird genus. The other mutations are a result of selective breeding in aviculture, such as two cobalts which will make a mauve (black). Various color mutations exist, including blue, cobalt, mauve, slate, dilute slate, violet, lutino (ino) and albino.  The Blue and the Lutino mutations are where some colour genes have not been passed on, or have been suppressed from the original wild colour form. In the case of the lutino the micro-structure which creates the blue based colours in the normal form is not passed on to offspring when it arises; hence everywhere yellow except the face which contained the colours which make up orange. In the case of the original Blue, none of the yellow or red pigment genes are passed on. The Albino is the latest "colour" which is a combination of the Lutino, and the Blue ('wild' colouring minus blue, and minus red and yellow = no colour so is completely white).  The Dilute mutation is a lightening of the darker feathers, most noticeable in the wings, and face. It was first noted from Green (Wild) coloured parents, & originally called ""Yellow"". This new colour was soon built up in numbers by passionate aviculturelists, and once secure was bred to Blue coloured birds. The result was then known as ""White"", but we now call this combo a Dilute Blue.

The yellow-collared lovebird ("Agapornis personatus"), also called masked lovebird, Black-masked lovebird or eye ring lovebird, is a monotypic species of bird of the lovebird genus in the parrot family Psittaculidae. They are native to northeast Tanzania and have been introduced to Burundi and Kenya. Although they have been observed in the wild in Puerto Rico, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.