Migingo is a  island in Kenya on Lake Victoria. The island was the center of a low-level territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda and is extremely densely populated. Migingo is a main source of fish to the Kenyan people.

History
Two Kenyan fishermen, Dalmas Tembo and George Kibebe, claim to have been the first inhabitants on the island. When they settled there in 1991, it was covered with weeds and many birds and snakes lived there. Joseph Nsubuga, a Ugandan fisherman, says he settled on Migingo in 2004, when all he found on the island was an abandoned house. Subsequently, other fishermen — from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — came to the island because of its proximity to fishing grounds rich with Nile perch. An unusual claim in 2009 by some Kenyan fishermen was that since none of the Nile perch breed in Uganda (the nearest Ugandan land and nearest Ugandan freshwater is  away), the fish somehow "belonged to Kenyans".

Uganda–Kenya dispute
In June 2004, according to the Kenyan government, Ugandan marine police pitched a tent on the island and raised the Ugandan flag and that of their police department. Ugandan and Kenyan police have since occupied the island at various times.

A diplomatic row between the two countries arose in February 2009, when Kenyans living on Migingo were required to purchase special permits from the Ugandan government.

On 12 March 2009, a Ugandan-government press release proposed that the matter be resolved by a survey, using as a guideline the boundaries set by the Kenya Colony and Protectorate Order in Council, 1926, which is copied into the Ugandan constitution, and which identifies the boundary line as tangentially touching the western tip of Pyramid Island, and then running in a straight line just west of due north to the western tip of Kenya's' Ilemba Island.

On 13 March 2009, several government ministers, including the foreign-affairs ministers — Kenyan Moses Wetangula and Ugandan Sam Kutesa — met in Kampala, Uganda, and reached an agreement that the fishermen from both countries be allowed to continue conducting business as usual, until the boundary was determined by experts. They also agreed that Uganda would withdraw the 48 policemen it had deployed on Migingo.

On 27 March 2009, Ugandan and Kenyan ministers travelled to the island where they held negotiations and addressed the residents. This ended in a row, with Ugandan First Deputy Prime Minister Eriya Kategaya taking issue with Kenyan Minister for Lands James Orengo for calling the Ugandan delegation "hyenas" during the meeting. The Kenyan delegation demanded that Uganda withdraw its police. The Ugandan delegation insisted that they would remove the flag only after consulting their president and that the Ugandan policemen were there to keep law and order. Kenya's Internal Security Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode replied that he would be sending Kenyan police to the island.

Amidst concerns that the dispute could affect cooperation between the two countries and within the East African Community, both Museveni and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki had voiced confidence that the dispute, including fishing rights, will be resolved amicably.

Territorial claims
In 2008–2009, the island itself was claimed by both Kenya and Uganda. In July 2009 a survey team found that the island is  east of the Kenya–Uganda border within the lake, a finding supported by openly available Google Earth imagery. Since 1926, territorial ownership of the island has been consistently shown on maps and in language on official documents as Kenyan.

Much, if not most, of the Ugandan protests revolve around the lucrative fishing rights, mostly for valuable Nile perch, and Ugandan waters come within  of the island. In July 2009, the Ugandan government shifted its official position, stating that while Migingo Island was Kenyan, much of the waters near it were Ugandan. The island had been claimed by the Ugandan government from 2008 until 11 May 2009 when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni conceded that the island is in Kenya, but continued to point out that Kenyan fishermen were illegally fishing in Ugandan waters, which lie to the west of Migingo. The Ugandan flag was lowered, Uganda withdrew its military troops, and agreed that all its police officers would leave the island. A joint re-demarcation line of the border was launched on 2 June 2009 to recover and to place survey markers on land, making delineation of the boundary on the lake more precise, with results released in late July 2009 confirming that the island falls  on the Kenyan side of the line.

Geography
A rocky and rugged piece of land with little vegetation, Migingo is one of three small islands in close proximity. The much larger Usingo Island is  to the east of the small white rectangle that is Migingo, and Pyramid Island, the largest of the three, is  due south of Migingo and  north of the Tanzanian border in Lake Victoria. On detailed maps, all three islands have been shown on the Kenyan side since the 1920s, when the Kenya Colony and Protectorate Order in Council, 1926 awarded all three islands to Kenya. The boundary delineation in that 1926 agreement and the Constitution of Uganda state that the boundary line runs to "the westernmost point of Pyramid Island ... thence continuing by a straight line northerly to the most westerly point of Ilemba Island." A line connecting those two points runs  west of Migingo, placing the island within Kenya along with the larger Pyramid and Usingo Islands, as shown on most maps since 1926. Tiny Migingo's location within  of the much larger Usingo Island is clear both on Google Earth and on widely available television network videos depicting aerial helicopter photography.
Migingo Island is so small that it is not displayed on some maps. However, it has not "emerged from the water" recently, despite a Uganda government official's claims. In the first decade of the 21st century, water levels have dropped only  in the lake from the normal level. Recent photographs clearly show the island reaching  above the lake level.

Demographics
The island has a population of about 131 (according to the 2009 census), mostly fishermen and fish traders, who are served by four pubs, a number of brothels, and a pharmacy on the island. It has a density of more than 65,500 people per square kilometer which makes it one of the most densely populated islands in Africa and the world.

See also
Kenya–Uganda relations
Politics of Kenya
Politics of Uganda
Lake Victoria

References

External links
AFP news report from the island from July 2009 (hosted on YouTube.com)

Disputed islands
Lake islands of Kenya
Islands of Lake Victoria
Territorial disputes of Kenya
Territorial disputes of Uganda
Kenya–Uganda border


The Pakistani plan for a military action which commenced on March 25, 1971, in the then East Pakistan was code-named Operation Searchlight. This is the Operation Searchlight order of battle which was outlined on March 19, 1971, by Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, GOC 14th infantry division, and Major General Rao Farman Ali in the GHQ of Pakistan Army in Dhaka, (then)East Pakistan.

Pakistani Forces

MLA Headquarters and Eastern Command in Dhaka
Lt. General Tikka Khan Governor and Chief Martial Law Administrator
Major General Iftekhar Janjua – Advisor
Major General Shawkat Riza – Advisor
Brigadier Gulam Jilani – Chief of Staff MLA HQ
Brigadier Nessar Ahmed – Director General EPR

14th Infantry Division:
Major General Khadim Hussain Raja – GOC 14th Infantry Division and OC East Pakistan
Colonel Staff: Col. Saadullah
G.S.O -1 (Operations): Lt. Col Taj Khan
G.S.O -1 (Intelligence): Lt. Col Minwari

Attached Units:
29th Cavalry - Lt.Col. Sagir Hussain Syeed (detached to Rangpur)
43rd Light Ack Ack – Lt. Col. Shaffat Ali - Dhaka Airport
19th Signal Regiment – Lt. Col. Iftekhar Hussain – Dhaka Cantonment
Company 3rd Commando Battalion – Lt. Col. Z.A. Khan
Army Aviation Squadron #4: 8 Helicopters (4 Mi-4 and 4 Alouette III)

Pakistan Air Force:
CO: Air Commodore Inam Ul  Haq Khan
14th Squadron: 20 F-86 Sabres
3 T-33 and 2 Helicopters
Temporary attachment: 4 C-130 Hercules planes and PIA Fokker Friendship Aircraft.

Pakistan Navy:
Rear Admiral Sharif
PNS Jessore (Gunboat) (detached to Khulna)
PNS Comilla (Gunboat)
PNS Sylhet  (Gunboat)

Dhaka
Major General Rao Farman Ali: Officer Commanding Dhaka Area
57th Infantry Brigade: Brigadier General M. Jahanzeb Arbab
22nd Baluch Regiment: Pilkhana Dhaka
18th Punjab Regiment
32nd Punjab Regiment – Lt. Col. Taj
31st Field Artillery Regiment – Lt. Col. Zahed Hassan
13th Frontier Force Regiment – Reserve and Cantonment Security

Comilla
53rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Iqbal Shaffi
31st Punjab – Lt. Col. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan and later Lt Col Riaz Hussain (stationed at Sylhet).
20th Baluch – Lt. Col. SH Fatami (stationed at Chittagong).
53rd Field Artillery – Lt. Col. Yakub Malik ( acting Garrison/Fortress Commander in absence of Brig Iqbal).
3rd Commando Battalion – Lt. Col. Z.A. Khan. (Moved to Dacca for Operation Searchlight).
171st Mortar Battery.
40th Field Ambulance – Lt. Col. A.N.M Jahangir.
Brigade Intelligence Detachment
Chittagong Relief Column: (Brig. Iqbal Shaffi)
24th Frontier Force – Lt. Col Shahpur Khan (after Shahpur fell in action, the command of only infantry battalion in the Column was taken over by Brigadier Iqbal himself).
88th Mortar Battery.
Brigade Signals Detachment.
No Engineering Elements.

Chittagong
CO: Brig. Iqbal Shafi from April when HQ 53 Brigade was airlifted from Comilla, replaced by 107 Brigade (ex 9 Division) on arrival from West Pakistan.

Lt. Col. Abdul Aziz Sheikh: Sector Commander EPR;

Brig Mujamdar - Center Commadant EBR.
20th Baluch – Lt. Col. SH Fatami
Company 31st Punjab

Pakistan Navy:
Commodore A.R. Mumtaj - Chittagong Naval Base
PNS Jahangir (destroyer): Commander T.K Khan
PNS Rajshahi (Gunboat)
PNS Balaghat (Patrol boat)

Sylhet
31st Punjab – Lt. Col. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan.
Company in Shamshernagar
Company in Maulavibazar

Rangpur
23rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Abdullah Khan Malik
20th Field Ambulance – Lt. Col Masud
Brigade Signal & Engineers
23rd Field Artillery – Lt. Col. Shaffi in Saidpur
29th Cavalry – Lt. Col. Sagir Hussain Sayyed
26th Frontier Force – Lt. Col. Hakeem A. Quereshi in Saidpur
25th Punjab – Lt. Col. Shafkat Baluch (detached to Rajshahi)
23rd Field Regiment Company in Bogra: Captain Mohammad Reza
25th Punjab Company in Pabna: Captain Asghar
26th Frontier Force Company in Dinajpur

Jessore
107th Infantry Brigade: Brig A. R. Durrani
25th Baluch Regiment
24th Field Artillery (elements)
55th Field Artillery
7th Field Ambulance
22nd Frontier Force – Lt Col. Shamsi (detached to Khulna)
Company in Kushtia: Major Shoaib

References

Bangladesh Liberation War
Military operations involving Pakistan
Orders of battle


Northumbrian dialect or Northumbrian English is any one of several English language varieties spoken in the traditional English region of Northumbria, which includes most of the North East England government region. The traditional Northumbrian dialect is a moribund older form of the dialect spoken in the area which is closely related to Scots and Cumbrian and shares with them a common origin in Northumbrian Old English.

The traditional dialect has spawned multiple modern varieties, and Northumbrian dialect can also be used to broadly include all of them:
Geordie, the most famous dialect spoken in the region, largely spoken in Tyneside, centred in Newcastle and Gateshead
Mackem, a dialect spoken in Wearside, centred on Sunderland
Smoggie, a dialect spoken in Teesside; an area at the southern tip of region which straddles the border of Yorkshire and County Durham
Pitmatic or 'Yakka', a group of dialects spoken in mining towns of Northumberland and Durham Coalfield
Berwick dialect, spoken in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northernmost town in England
The only rhotic or variably rhotic dialect left in the region (Northumberland and Durham), nearly extinct, which uses the Northumbrian burr, mostly spoken today only by the oldest rural, male speakers

The term 'Northumbrian' can refer to the region of Northumbria but can also refer specifically to the county of Northumberland. This article focuses on the former definition and thus includes varieties from throughout the wider region, including Durham as well as Northumberland.

Dialect divisions

19th century
Alexander John Ellis, a 19th century linguist and philologist, divided Northumberland and Durham into three main dialect groups based on their linguistic features. Ellis considered the bulk of Northumberland and northern County Durham as belonging to the 'North Northern' dialect group. This group was deemed to be a transitional variety between other Northern dialects (those north of the Humber-Lune Line) and Scots, but overall still considered a form of Northern English. However, a small portion of northwestern Northumberland around the Cheviot hills was deemed to be Scots-speaking and therefore categorised as a variety of the Scots language. The southern part of County Durham was considered part of the 'West Northern' dialect group, which was deemed to be more closely related to the Cumbrian dialect, especially that of the Vale of Eden. Like Cumbrian, the dialect of south Durham was subject to greater Scandinavian influence than the rest of Durham and Northumberland. Scandinavian influence is evident in the naming of streams in south Durham, which are typically named ‘becks’ (from the Old Norse ‘bekkr’). In contrast, 'burns' (from the Old English ‘burna’) are found in north Durham and Northumberland.

21st century

Urban North East English dialects are a group of English dialects spoken in urban areas of the North East of England, including major cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough. These dialects have emerged as a result of the region's rapid urbanization during the 19th and 20th centuries, which brought about significant social and demographic changes. In comparison to traditional dialects, urban North East English dialects have undergone a greater degree of dialect levelling. A tripartite division is recognised among modern urban dialects in the North East of England, which distinguishes between the northern, central, and southern urban dialects:
Northern Urban North-Eastern English: Tyneside and urban Northumberland
Central Urban North-Eastern English: Sunderland and much of Durham unitary authority
Southern Urban North-Eastern English: Teesside, Hartlepool and Darlington

Central and northern urban dialects retain a decidedly Northumbrian base, but have been shaped by a standard English superstrate, resulting in hybrid dialects that incorporate elements of both traditional dialects and more standardised forms of English. On the other hand, the southern urban dialects have been subject to more significant dialect restructuring, resulting in a dialect which, while still North Eastern in character, lacks more marked Northumbrian forms such as 'gan' (to go) and 'divvent' or 'dinnet' (don't) that survive in Tyneside, Wearside and Durham.

Phonology

Consonants

Northumbrian burr: the uvular pronunciation of /r/ as  was prevalent in traditional dialects throughout most of Northumberland (exceptions being the extreme west of the county and Tynemouth) and northern parts County Durham within the Tyne valley. The Northumbrian burr was generally absent from Wearside/Durham and South Shields dialects; however, it could be found sporadically in areas of the Wear valley as far south as Kelloe. Nowadays, the feature is mostly restricted to elderly rural residents of Northumberland.
 is traditionally realised as  in Northumberland and upper Weardale; on Tyneside and throughout the rest of Durham, it is typically /w/ as in Standard English.
In contrast to most varieties of Northern English, traditional dialects north of the Tees are largely H-retaining. Northumberland and north Durham dialects are fully H-retaining while south Durham dialects occupy a transitional zone and exhibit variable H-retention.
As with most Northern English dialects, final  sound is reduced to  e.g.  for “ganging” (“going”).
In common with most dialects of England, Northumbrian has lost . Scots  typically corresponds to  in Northumbrian cognates, compare Scots   and   with Northumbrian   and  .
Unlike most Northern English dialects /l/ is clear in all cases and never velarised.
The most conservative forms of the dialect undergo L-vocalization as in Scots, thus wall is  and needful is .

Vowels
Nurse–north merger: [ɔː] in words such as bord (bird) forst (first) throughout Northumberland and north Durham. This is a result of the Northumbrian burr modifying adjacent vowels.
[ɪ] in words such as ‘’blinnd’’ (blind) and “finnd” (find).
Occurring throughout much of north & west Northumberland, the GOAT vowel in words like "phone" and "tone" moves closer to [ɜː], so "phone" would be pronounced the same as the word "fern". Amongst those with stronger accents, a similar vowel can be found in the LOT vowel, so "cod" would be pronounced with a short œ sound.
Phonemic long /aː/ (written aa or more traditionally aw). This creates some minimal pairs based upon phonemic vowel length, for example gan [gan] "go" vs. gawn [gaːn] "going".
Preservation of Old English /uː/ (the sound of Southern English oo), therefore down and town are "doon" and "toon" in Northumbrian. It also retains the old English pronunciation of [ʊ] when followed by [nd], so "pound" and "found" are "pund" and "fund".
 eu or ui in words like eneugh, muin and buit, partially corresponds to Scots Vowel 7. The pronunciation of this vowel varies depending on the dialect.
The FACE vowel is typically [ɪə] or [ɪa].
Lack of foot–strut split, as in other Northern English varieties.
Diphthongisation of Northern Middle English [aː] to i+e in south Northumberland and north Durham, producing ,  and  for "both", "stone" and "home"; and to ,  and  in south Durham. Older forms such as baith, stane and hame, which are shared with Scots, survive in some Northumbrian dialects.
 [iː] in words such as heed and deed meaning “head” & “dead” (compare Scots “heid” & “deid” and Yorkshire “heead” & “deead”)

Diphthongs

Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed is unique within Northumberland. The local speech has characteristics of the North Northumbrian dialect and due to its geographical location, has characteristics of the East Central Scots dialect as well.

A sociological study of the Anglo-Scottish border region conducted in the year 2000 found that locals of Alnwick, 30 miles (48 km) south of Berwick, associated the Berwick accent with Scottish influence. Conversely, those from Eyemouth, Scotland, 9 miles (14 km) north of Berwick, firmly classed Berwick speech as English, identifying it as Northumbrian.

Classification in relation to English and Scots
The Northumbrian Language Society (NLS), founded in 1983 to research, preserve and promote the Northumbrian language variety, considers it divergent enough to be not a dialect of Modern Standard English but, rather, a related but separate Anglic language of its own, since it is largely not comprehensible by standard English speakers. Northumbrian has perhaps an even closer relationship with Modern Scots, and both the NLS regard as distinct languages derived from Old English but close relatives; however, mainstream scholarly sources regard them as essentially the same language, albeit with minor differences. The similarities are not commonly or formally recognised possibly due to sensitivities on both sides of the border. The status of Scots and Northumbrian as either languages or dialects therefore remains open to debate.

Grammar
Northumbrian includes some weak plurals such as ee/een (eye/eyes), coo/kye (cow/cows) and shough/shoon (shoe/shoes) that survived from Old English into Northumbrian but have become strong plurals in Standard Modern English – ox/oxen and child/children being exceptions. Regular Northumbrian plurals which correspond to irregular in Standard English include loafs (loaves),  (wives) and shelfs (shelves)
T–V distinction: Use of the singular second-person pronouns thoo or tha and thee in Durham and south Northumberland. In north Northumberland only ye is encountered.
aw’s (I is) and thoo's (thou is) are the first and second person present forms of the verb "to be" in Durham and south Northumberland. In north Northumberland aw'm (I am) is used as in Scots and Standard English.
In Northumberland and north Durham the definite article is unreduced as in Standard English and Scots. This is considered a peculiarity among Northern English dialects.
In south Durham the definite article is traditionally reduced to  or , usually written as t'. An isogloss running just north of Bishop Auckland separates the two varieties.
The English verb "to be able" is in Northumbrian in the older form 'te can', for example aw used te cud sing meaning I used to be able to sing.

Examples

In 1883 Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte was granted a civil list pension for his work on English dialects. His dialect studies draw upon both written texts and the results of field work, which consisted of the direct interrogation of native speakers. In 1862 he published a compilation of 24 dialectal translations of the Old Testament passage, The Song of Solomon, which he commissioned from local dialectologists from throughout England and southern Scotland. According to a register of his known works, six Biblical translations were commissioned in the Northumbrian dialects, four of which appear in The Song of Solomon.

Vocabulary

Some Northumbrian words include:

 aw / aa - I
 aboot - about
 alreet or aareet / awreet - a variation on "alright" or "hello" (often used in the phrase "aalreet mate").
 aye - yes
 bairn/grandbairn - child/grandchild
 bari - "good" or "lovely"
 banter - chat/gossip
 belter - "really good", used in the film Purely Belter
 bess - "please ya bess" for "please yourself"
 te boule - to roll, however te boule aboot means to "mess around"
 bray - to overpower or defeat someone, usually in a physical sense
 byer - cattle shed
 cannet or canna - cannot
 canny - "pleasant", or like in Scots "quite" (therefore something could be described as "canny canny")
 chud - chewing gum
 clart or clarts - "mud" as in "there's clarts on yor beuts"
 cuddy - a small horse or a pony
 te dee - do
 deeks - "look" as in "Gie’s a deeks" - "Gimme a look"
dinnet, divvent or dinna - "don't"
 divvie - an insult, referring to a stupid person
 doon - down
 ee - oh, an exclamation of shock
 feyther, fatther, or fadder - "father"
 te gan - to go ("gannin" or "gaan" = going)
 gadgie - man
 git awesh - "go away"
 geet, varry - very
 gie's- "Give me", compare "Gimme"
 had / haud - "hold" example: keep ahad means "keep ahold" or "look after", and haud yor gob means "keep quiet".]
 hev or hae - have
 hacky - "dirty"
 haddaway - "get away"
 hairn (or hen) - similar to "hinny", see below
 hinny a term of endearment - "Honey"
 hoose - house
 ho'wair, ho'way or ha'way - "come on"
 te hoy - to throw
 hyem - "home"
 us- me, for example Pass us the gully meaning "Pass me the knife"
 ket - sweets
 te knaw / te knaa - know
  - electricity, or electric
 te lend - often used for borrow, (lend us a bi meaning "Can I borrow a pen?")
 like - used as a filler in many sentences; usually every other word, e.g. like, is he on aboot me or like, summat, like?
 mair for "more" (compare with German "mehr")
 mam/ma a variation of Mother
 man - often used as a generic term of address, as in "Giv uz it heor noo man" or "haway man"
 marra - Friend. Used like "mate" - aareet marra meaning "hello friend")
 me or ma - my (compare: myself > meself or mesel)
 mollycoddle - overprotect, "wrap in cotton wool"
 muckle - similar to "canny", in the sense of meaning "quite". It can also mean "big", for instance "Yon hoose hez a muckle windae" means "that house has a big window"
 ner, na or nar - no
 neb - nose (nebby = nosey)
 neet - night
 nettie - toilet
 nivvor - never
 noo - now,
 nowt - nothing
 owt - anything
 pet - a term of address or endearment towards a woman or a child
 plodge - to stomp about or wade through something ungracefully
 radge or radgie - crazy
 sel - "self" as in mesel = myself, yersel = yourself, hesel = himself, horsel = herself,
 shuttin for "shooting" thus simply shortening the "oo" vowel sound
 snek - nose
 spelk - a splinter
 stot - to bounce. A well-known local bread bun called a 'stottie cake' receives its name from the fact the dough is 'stotted' about when being made.
 summat or summick - something
 tab - cigarette
 tiv or te - to. The former is usually used when the following word begins with a vowel. There's nowt tiv it - "there's nothing to it"
 toon - town (or specifically Newcastle)
 wa - "our". used in a more general sense unlike "wor" below as in "Divvint touch wa bags" means "Don't touch our bags"
 willent, winnit - "won't"
 wor - our, Used primarily to denote a family member, such as "wor bairn"
 wu - "us" in Northumberland and Tyneside as in What ye deein te wu? means "What are you doing to us?". "us" is used in Durham and Wearside.
 yark - verb meaning to hit or move abrasively. Believed to be a corruption of "jerk"
 ye or 'ee for you as in What are 'ee deein meaning "What are you doing?"
 yor, thee - your

See also
Northumbria (modern)

References

Further reading
Thomas Moody, The Mid-Northumbrian Dialect, 2007
Bill Griffiths, A Dictionary of North East Dialect, 2005
Cecil Geeson, A Northumberland & Durham Word book, 1969
Richard Oliver Heslop, Northumberland Words. A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Northumberland & on the Tyneside. 1893

External links
Northumbrian dictionary
Northumbrian Language Society
Northumbrian Words Project
Northumbriana
Northumbrian wiki in Miraheze (Incubator plus)
Northumbrian Language Dictionary
A glossary of words used in the County of Northumberland and on the Tyneside
Poetry in Northumbrian

English language in England
North East England
Languages of the United Kingdom


The 1911 Ice Hockey European Championship was the second edition of the ice hockey tournament for European countries associated to the International Ice Hockey Federation .

The tournament was played between February 15, and February 17, 1911, in Berlin, Germany, and it was won by Bohemia.

Results

February 15

February 16

February 17

Final standings

Top Goalscorer

Jaroslav Jirkovský (Bohemia), 9 goals

References
 Euro Championship 1911

1910–11 in European ice hockey
1911
Ice Hockey European Championships
Ice Hockey European Championship
 European Championship
Sports competitions in Berlin
1910s in Berlin


The 25th Signal Battalion is a strategic signal battalion (SSB) of the United States Army. The battalion is one of two permanently assigned to the 160th Signal Brigade.

Mission
The 25th Strategic Signal Battalion is formally tasked to 'maintain a forward-stationed theater signal battalion to Install, Operate, Maintain, and Protect (IOM&P) theater strategic and operational C4 systems to provide reliable and responsive operational communications in support of USCENTCOM Combatant, Coalition, Allied forces, and other U.S. government agencies across the Central and Southwest Asia Theater of operations. Facilitate integration of rotational forces and signal assets into the Theater Information Grid.'

Battalion history
The 25th Signal Battalion was constituted on 3 February 1944 and was activated on 14 April 1944 as a light signal construction battalion at Camp Forrest Tennessee. On 26 June of the same year, the battalion was reorganized as a heavy signal construction battalion.

During World War II, the 25th served in Europe and the Far East and is one of the few units of its type to claim this distinction. The battalion earned three battle streamers for its participation in the Campaigns of Central Europe, Rhineland, and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. On 6 April 1946, the 25th Heavy Signal Construction Battalion was inactivated at Yokohama, Japan. The battalion was reactivated on 20 November 1951 and was designated as a signal construction battalion at Camp Edwards Massachusetts. The unit aided with the restoration of communications lines in several New England states after destruction left by Hurricane Carol in 1954.

In the spring of 1956, the battalion was transferred to Europe in support of the 7th Army and in 1957 the unit installed in excess of  of cable through the forests of Germany. Again, in 1966 the battalion was inactivated except for Charlie Company which was attached to the 440th Signal Battalion. Later, on 1 October 1968, C/25 was redesignated as the 541st Cable Construction Company thus completing the inactivation of the 25th Signal Battalion.

On 18 January 1971, the battalion was reactivated at Fort Bragg and designated the 25th Signal Battalion (Operation). At that time, the unit was one of four signal battalions within the 35th Signal Group. The unit's mission was to install, operate, and maintain a portion of the integrated signal communications systems within the theater Army Communications Zone.

On 16 March 1984, the battalion was reorganized as the 25th Signal Battalion (Corps Area). It was assigned to the 35th Signal Brigade (Airborne) to extend area communications in support of XVIII Airborne Corps. The battalion consisted of four line companies each responsible for establishing a corps area signal center and a battalion headquarters company.  The 25th was capable of worldwide tactical connections to automated message and voice switching networks (AUTODIN and AUTOVON). The battalion provided the XVIII Airborne Corps with sustainment base communications for Operation Just Cause from December 1989 to March 1990 in addition to tasking its FM RETRANS assets for use in Panama during Operation Just Cause. Less than one year later, the 25th Signal Battalion was participating in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Middle East. The battalion deployed all of its assets to Saudi Arabia less A/25th, which remained at Fort Bragg to provide sustainment base communications. Soldiers from the 25th Signal Battalion supported the Southwest Asia Campaign from September 1990 to July 1991 installing part of the largest tactical network at that time.

From October 1991 through July 1992, the 25th Signal Battalion was responsible for supporting most of the XVIII Airborne Corps' communications missions while the other three battalions within the brigade underwent Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) fielding. In March 1992, the 514th Signal Company was attached to the 25th Signal Battalion. In August 1992, the battalion was called upon to deploy to southern Florida to aid in the recovery of the area after the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew. The battalion provided key command and control communications to units assisting in the restoration of the area. It also provided soldiers to help with cleanup efforts and other humanitarian actions.

On 16 March 1993, the battalion received a notification to inactivate with an effective date of 16 October 1993. Elements of the 25th Signal Battalion and 514th Signal Company remained after the inactivation and were reassigned to the 327th Signal Battalion under a new organizational concept supporting force protection warfare. Bravo Company of the 25th Signal Battalion was reflagged as Delta Company 327th.

On 1 September 2003, the 25th Signal Battalion reactivated in Qatar at As Saliyah, near Doha. The Brigade Commander, Colonel John M. Blaine III presented the colors to Lieutenant Colonel Leith A. Benedict to reactivate the battalion in the midst of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. On 16 October 2003, the battalion was officially activated by Headquarters Department of the Army, Permanent Orders Number 180-7. The mission of the Battalion is to maintain a combat-ready, forward stationed Signal Battalion tasked to install, operate, maintain, protect strategic sustaining bases and tactical C4I systems in support of USCENTCOM combatant and non-combatant forces, coalition allies and other US government agencies.  Upon activation, the battalion assumed command of the 580th and 550th Signal companies from the 54th Signal Battalion stationed at Camp Doha, Kuwait.

The 25th is currently deployed to Afghanistan as the primary source of signal support for Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) and Resolute Support (RS).

Subordinate units
 HHD Signal Company
 USANEC-QATAR
 518th TIN Signal Company - Attached
 550TH Signal Company - Deactivated
 580th Signal Company - Deactivated
 278th Signal Company - Deactivated

Lineage
Constituted 3 February 1944 in the Army of the United States as the 25th Signal Construction Battalion.

Activated 14 April 1944 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, as the 25th Signal Light Construction Battalion.

Reorganized and redesignated 26 June 1944 as the 25th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion.

Inactivated 6 April 1946 in Japan.

Redesignated 20 November 1951 as the 25th Signal Construction Battalion and allotted to the Regular Army.

Activated 1 December 1951 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.

Reorganized and redesignated 20 October 1953 as the 25th Signal Battalion.

Inactivated 1 October 1968 in Germany.

Activated 18 January 1971 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Inactivated 15 October 1993 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment activated 16 October 2003 in Qatar.

Campaign participation credit
World War II: Rhineland; Central Europe; Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Streamer without inscription.

Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait.

War on Terrorism: Global War on Terrorism.

Decorations
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991.
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered SOUTHWEST ASIA 2004–2005.

References

External links
 25th Signal Battalion
 25th Signal Battalion Lineage and Honors
 160th Signal Brigade

025


An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together with surrounding villages suffered the most damage. There were several thousand foreshocks and aftershocks since December 2008, more than thirty of which had a Richter magnitude greater than 3.5.

The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 308 people are known to have died, making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. In a subsequent inquiry of the handling of the disaster, seven members of the Italian National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks were accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory" information about the danger of the tremors prior to the main quake. On 22 October 2012, six scientists and one ex-government official were convicted of multiple manslaughter for downplaying the likelihood of a major earthquake six days before it took place. They were each sentenced to six years' imprisonment, but the verdict was overturned on 10 November 2014. Criticism was also applied to poor building standards that led to the failure of many modern buildings in a known earthquake zone: an official at Italy's Civil Protection Agency, Franco Barberi, said that "in California, an earthquake like this one would not have killed a single person".
in April 2022 the reconstruction was at 72% in L'Aquila city and in the region hit by the 2009 earthquake.

Cause

This earthquake was caused by movement on a NW-SE trending normal fault according to moment tensor solutions. Although Italy lies in a tectonically complex region, the central part of the Apennines has been characterised by extensional tectonics since the Pliocene epoch (i.e. about the last 5 million years), with most of the active faults being normal in type and NW-SE trending. The extension is due to the back-arc basin in the Tyrrhenian Sea opening faster than the African Plate is colliding with the Eurasian Plate.

The earthquake occurred at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) at the relatively shallow depth of  and with an epicentre at 42.3476° N, 13.3800 °E, approximately  north-east of Rome, near the city of L'Aquila. The earthquake was reported to measure 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale.

Historical context
Earthquakes mark the history of L'Aquila, a city built on the bed of an ancient lake, providing a soil structure that amplifies seismic waves. The city was struck by earthquakes in 1315, 1349, 1452, 1501, 1646, 1703, 1706 and 1958. The earthquake of February 1703, which caused devastation across much of central Italy, largely destroyed the city and killed around 5,000 people. In addition, a 1915 earthquake that killed more than 30,000 people and obliterated almost every building in Avezzano and several villages around it happened within  from L'Aquila.

Effects

The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval city of L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. A total of 308 people died in the earthquake, including five Macedonians, five Romanians, two Ukrainians, two Czechs, a Greek, a Moldovan, a Peruvian, an Argentinian, a French, and an Israeli, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children. Around 66,000 people were rendered homeless.

The main earthquake was preceded by two smaller earthquakes the previous day. The earthquake was felt as far away as Rome ( away), in other parts of Lazio, as well as Marche, Molise, Umbria and Campania. Schools remained closed in the Abruzzo region. Most of the inhabitants of L'Aquila abandoned their homes and the city itself; in the city centre of L'Aquila, and the nearby village of Paganica which was also badly damaged, many streets were impassable due to fallen masonry. The hospital at L'Aquila, where many of the victims were brought, suffered damage in the 4.8 aftershock which followed the main earthquake an hour later. Powerful aftershocks, some only slightly weaker than the main shock, were felt throughout the following 2 days.

Villages in the valley along Strada Statale 17 just outside l'Aquila suffered the greatest damage while medieval mountain hill towns lying high above the valley suffered little damage. Onna was reported to be mostly leveled with 38 deaths among the 350 residents. The villages of Villa Sant'Angelo and San Pio delle Camere were badly damaged. Fatalities were reported in Poggio Picenze, Tornimparte, Fossa, Totani, San Gregorio and San Pio delle Camere.

Many of L'Aquila's medieval buildings were damaged. The apse of the Basilica of Saint Bernardino of Siena, L'Aquila's largest Renaissance church, was seriously damaged, and its campanile collapsed. Almost the whole dome of the 18th-century church of Anime Sante in Piazza Duomo fell down. The 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio collapsed from the transept to the back of the church, and Porta Napoli, the oldest gate to the city, was destroyed. The third floor of Forte Spagnolo, the 16th-century castle housing the National Museum of Abruzzo, collapsed, as did the cupola of the 18th-century Baroque church of St Augustine, damaging L'Aquila's state archives. This church had been rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1703 earthquake. The Cathedral of L'Aquila has lost part of its transept and maybe more with the effects of the aftershocks. Slight damage was also reported to the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, but other Roman monuments such as the Colosseum and Roman Forum were unharmed.

While most of l'Aquila's medieval structures suffered damage, many of its modern buildings suffered the greatest damage, for instance, a dormitory at the university of l'Aquila collapsed. Even some buildings that were believed to be "earthquake-proof" were damaged.  L'Aquila Hospital's new wing, which opened in 2000 and was thought capable of resisting almost any earthquake, suffered extensive damage and had to be closed.

Homeless camps
Around 40,000 people who were made homeless by the earthquake found accommodation in tented camps and a further 10,000 were housed in hotels on the coast. Others sought shelter with friends and relatives throughout Italy. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi caused a controversy when he said, in an interview to the German station n-tv, that the homeless victims should consider themselves to be on a "camping weekend" – "They have everything they need, they have medical care, hot food... Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping." To clarify his thought, he also told the people in a homeless camp: "Head to the beach. It's Easter. Take a break. We're paying for it, you'll be well looked after." The billionaire prime minister claimed he will offer his own house to some of the survivors.

Building standards
Poor building standards or construction materials seem to have further contributed to the large number of victims. According to firefighters and other rescuers, some concrete elements of the fallen buildings "seemed to have been made poorly, possibly with sand". An official at Italy's Civil Protection Agency, Franco Barberi, said that "in California, an earthquake like this one would not have killed a single person". According to Italian media, L'Aquila's chief prosecutor has opened a probe into possible criminal blame for the collapses.

Luminous phenomena
Many people reported seeing peculiar sightings of light glows, flashes, lightning, flames and fireballs, all of which were considered candidates for earthquake light. 241 luminous phenomena were collected including photos and videos. At least 99 of such phenomena occurred before the main shock and other strong events of the seismic sequence, whereas globular lights, luminous clouds and diffused light were more frequent before the quakes. Flashes were mostly observed during the main shock. Electrical discharges and flames were observed principally after the main shock. Many luminous events were observed before and after the main shock without the ground shaking and were very similar to those reported about two centuries ago. An earthquake alarm system has been proposed, based on a video sensing network to capture earthquake light and provide a warning if observations match threshold characteristics preceding a main shock.

Aftershocks

The epicentral region saw dozens of significant aftershocks following the main earthquake. The strongest, which hit at 19:47 CEST on 7 April, measured magnitude 5.3  and caused further damage. According to the Italian National Geophysics Institute director Boschi, the aftershock epicentres migrated south-east, thus lessening the risk of further major shocks near populated areas.

Aftershocks caused safety problems for rescue crews searching for injured victims trapped in precarious structures in the historic center of L'Aquila, a medieval city. Using cranes and backhoes to remove loose bricks and broken timbers, the crews were aware that even a small aftershock could have triggered the collapse of seriously damaged walls or parapets.

The aftershocks also caused sustained psychological trauma to small children and elderly who had already been traumatized by the main earthquake of 6 April 2009. Aware of this, the Italian government temporarily relocated thousands of citizens away from the epicentral area.

As a result of aftershocks, the dome of the Anime Sante Basilica in L'Aquila, already heavily damaged by the main shock, almost entirely collapsed. Further buildings collapsed in L'Aquila and in neighbouring municipalities. The largest aftershock was strong enough to be felt in Rome, where it caused an elderly man to die of cardiac arrest.

List of foreshocks and aftershocks
Only shocks with local magnitude 4.0 or higher are listed. There have been dozens of small magnitude aftershocks,  1–3, but these generally do not cause further structural damage. Shocks with local magnitude 5.0 or higher are highlighted in blue, and the main shock is highlighted in darker blue.

Emergency and reconstruction aid

National aid

Many Italian companies have offered some sort of help. All Italian mobile companies (Telecom Italia Mobile, Vodafone Italy,
Wind, H3G), and some Mobile virtual network operators, sent free minutes and credit to all their pre-paid customers in Abruzzo, suspended billing to all post-paid customers and extended their coverage with additional mobile base stations to cover homeless camps. In addition, some companies sent free mobile phones, SIM Cards and chargers for those who lost their mobiles, and set up a national unique number to send donations to, by placing a call or sending an SMS. Poste Italiane sent to homeless camps some mobile units acting as Postal Office, to allow people to withdraw money from their accounts as well as their retirement. Many companies, such as pay-tv SKY Italia, suspended billing to all customers in Abruzzo, and offered some decoders to homeless camps to allow them to follow the funerals and the news. Ferrovie dello Stato offered railway sleeping carriages to host some homeless people, and offered free tickets to all people and students living in Abruzzo. AISCAT (Associazione Italiana Società Concessionarie Autostrade e Trafori) declared that all toll-roads in Abruzzo would be free of charge. All tax billing for all Abruzzo residents has been suspended by the government, as well as mortgage payments.

International aid
Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi refused foreign aid for the emergency, saying that Italians were "proud people" and had sufficient resources to deal with the crisis. However he singled out the United States, announcing that he would accept aid for reconstruction: "If the United States wants to give a tangible sign of its solidarity with Italy, it could take on the responsibility of rebuilding heritage sites and churches. We would be very happy to have this support." and suggested the US help rebuild "a small district of a town or a suburb". Aid was offered by Austria, Brazil, Croatia, the European Union, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Slovakia, Israel, Portugal, Iran, North Macedonia, Mexico,
Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia, the Turkish Red Crescent, Ukraine, and the United States.
Aid was also offered by various organisations, companies, sport clubs and celebrities including ACF Fiorentina, Carla Bruni, Madonna, S.S.C. Napoli, Zastava and Fiat.

On 20 November 2009 in Brussels, Pawel Samecki and Guido Bertolaso who, at that time, were European Commissioner for Regional Policy and commander in chief of the Italian Civil Protection department respectively, signed an agreement to provide 493.7 million euros from EU solidarity fund to help reconstruction in Abruzzo.

Prior warning

Italian laboratory technician Giampaolo Giuliani claimed to have predicted a major earthquake on Italian television a month before, after measuring increased levels of radon emitted from the ground. He was accused of being alarmist by the Director of the Civil Defence, Guido Bertolaso, and forced to remove his findings from the Internet (old data and descriptions are still online). He was also reported to police a week before the main quake for "causing fear" among the local population when the mayor of Sulmona claimed that Giuliani predicted an imminent earthquake in his town, about  from L'Aquila, on 30 March, after a 4° quake happened (Sulmona later only suffered minor damages from 6 April earthquake). Enzo Boschi, the head of the Italian National Geophysics Institute declared:

Every time there is an earthquake there are people who claim to have predicted it. As far as I know nobody predicted this earthquake with precision. It is not possible to predict earthquakes.

Scientists have studied Earthquake predictions based on radon emissions since the 1970s, but enthusiasm for the method has faded due to inconsistent results.

Controversy on reconstruction and criminality
In the days following the tragedy, journalists reported that the reconstruction works may have been infiltrated by criminal organizations, with the Mafia and Camorra trying to infiltrate the contract procedures.

On 7 April, a few hours after the main earthquake, journalist Luca Spinelli stated:
The transfers of money necessitated by such a big tragedy are huge: much the same as the cost of running a war. [...] Any company would be interested in a turnover and a potential income like this. Surely the "main Italian company" will be: a company with a ninety billion annual income, making up to 7% of Italian GDP (Gross Domestic Product): the Mafia. [...] Abruzzo and Marsica are known territories of the mafia. A region which "attracted the attention of some Camorra and Sacra Corona Unita associates too", according to Franco Forgione, President of the Parliamentary Antimafia Commission in 2007. A region which, according to the Antimafia District Public Prosecutor's Office of L'Aquila, hosts part of the hidden treasure of mafia boss Vito Ciancimino, reckoned to be around 600 million euros, a region which has seen many recent arrests for mafia infiltration; infiltration in contracts, building permits, the health system, the very things that will be needed for the reconstruction.

The week following the earthquake, on 14 April, journalist and writer Roberto Saviano, author of the bestseller Gomorrah, wrote:
Data demonstrates that the Camorra invasion (in Abruzzo) during these years was enormous. In 2006 it emerged that the ambush against mafia boss Vitale was decided and settled in detail at Villa Rosa in Martinsicuro. On 10 September, Diego León Montoya Sánchez, the drug dealer deemed among the ten most wanted by the FBI, had one of his bases in Abruzzo. Nicola di Villano, cashier in a criminal-entrepreneurial organisation led by the Zagaria family of Casapesenna, repeatedly managed to escape capture and it was discovered that his shelter was located in the Abruzzo National Park, where he had the ability to move freely. Abruzzo has become a junction point for waste traffic. [...] Behind it all, obviously, the Camorra clans.

In the following weeks, even major Italian institutions talked about the danger of criminal infiltration, noting that these risks would have been avoided with adequate supervision and inspections. On 15 April, President of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini confirmed the need to "watch out for mafia infiltrations".

On 17 April, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, stated: "Exploitation will be impossible, we will reconstruct within 6 months keeping out exploitation and the mafia."

State funeral

On the morning of 10 April 2009, which was also Good Friday, a state funeral was held for 205 of the 291 victims of the earthquake. It was attended by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, and many other politicians and church dignitaries. The funeral Mass was led by the Vatican's second highest official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The Vatican had earlier granted a special dispensation to hold a Mass on Good Friday, the only day on the Roman Catholic calendar on which Mass is not normally held. Near the end, an Islamic rite was held for the Muslim victims. In addition Friday was declared a national day of mourning, with flags flying at half staff, shops lowering their shutters and flights stopping at the airport for one minute of silence.

Pope Benedict XVI later visited the areas affected by the L'Aquila earthquake on 28 April 2009.

G8 summit
The 35th G8 summit took place in the city of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, on 8–10 July 2009. It was moved from the Sardinian seaside city of La Maddalena as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the earthquake.

Prosecutions

A trial, which lasted from September 2011 until October 2012, found six scientists and a former government official guilty of involuntary manslaughter. According to the prosecution, they had spread "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory" statements after preliminary tremors could be felt on the days before 6 April 2009. While scientists were found guilty for failing to give adequate warning, the full text of the decision said that "science [was] not being tried for failing to predict the April 6, 2009 earthquake" ("Non è sottoposta a giudizio la scienza per non-essere riuscita a prevedere il terremoto del 6 aprile 2009"). The seven members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks who were convicted were: Franco Barberi, head of Serious Risks Commission; Enzo Boschi, former president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology; Giulio Lorenzo Selvaggi, director of National Earthquake Centre; Gian Michele Calvi, director of European Centre for Earthquake Engineering; Claudio Eva, physicist; Mauro Dolce, director of the Civil Protection Agency's earthquake risk office; Bernardo De Bernardinis, former vice-president of Civil Protection Agency's technical department.

Boschi had called a major earthquake "unlikely", while not entirely excluding the possibility. De Bernardinis had informed the public that there was "no danger". The prosecutors cited a scientific opinion that the low-level tremors ahead of 6 April quake were typical of the seismic activity preceding major convulsions, but the defendants had classified them as a "normal geological phenomenon". They were criticised in court for being "falsely reassuring" and Judge Marco Billi gave them a six-year jail sentence on 22 October 2012, reasoning that they had provided "an assessment of the risks that was incomplete, inept, unsuitable, and criminally mistaken". They were also banned from ever holding public office again and had to pay court costs and damages.

Enzo Boschi, one of the convicted, said, "I thought I would have been acquitted. I still don't understand what I was convicted of." His co-defendant Claudio Eva said that "it was a very Italian and medieval decision." Their lawyers announced they would appeal the verdict, and it will not be finally decided until it is heard by the appellate court.

The verdicts were strongly criticised by the British media and public. The journal Nature ran an editorial stating that the "verdict is perverse and the sentence ludicrous." Malcolm Sperrin, a British scientist, said:

This position was countered by other views. David Ropeik, writing for Scientific American, contested the "trial against science" thesis, describing it as "a judgment not against science, but against a failure of science communication".

During the trial, other scientists attacked the scientific conduct of the commission. Professor Francesco Giovanni Maria Stoppa, a member of the commission until 2003, said: "They should have given information proportional to our knowledge, which in 2009 spotlighted a criticality in L'Aquila. Under those conditions, there were 5–6 days before the quake to give information, and this doesn't mean forecasting earthquakes."

In protest over the prison sentences handed to his seven colleagues, Luciano Maiani, the head of Italy's disaster body, resigned.

In November 2014, the scientists' convictions were quashed by an appeals court, except for Bernardo De Bernardinis, whose sentence was reduced. The result of this appeal was definitively confirmed by the Italian Supreme Court, Corte di Cassazione, on 20 November 2015.

See also

 List of earthquakes in 2009
 List of earthquakes in Italy
 1703 Apennine earthquakes
 1461 L'Aquila earthquake

Notes

External links

 Pace, B.; Peruzza, L.; Boncio, P.; Lavecchia, G., "Layered Seismogenic Source Model and Probabilistic Seismic-Hazard Analyses in Central Italy", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol.96, p. 107–132, February 2006.
 Akinci, A.; Galadini, F.; Pantosti, D.; Petersen, M.D.; Malagnini, L.; Perkins, D., "Effect of Time Dependence on Probabilistic Seismic-Hazard Maps and Deaggregation for the Central Apennines, Italy" , Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol.99, no.2A, p. 585–610, April 2009,
 Carraro, F.; Giardino, M., "Geological evidence of recent fault evolution; examples from Camp Imperatore, L'Aquila, central Apennines", Il Quaternario, vol. 5, 1992, p. 181–200.
 Fidani, C., "The earthquake lights (EQL) of the 6 April 2009 Aquila earthquake, in Central Italy", NHESS, vol.10, p. 967, 2010.
 Kerr, Richard A., "After the Quake, in Search of the Science --- or Even a Good Prediction", Science Magazine, vol. 324, 17 April 2009, p. 322.
 Koukoufikis G. 2019. Post-disaster redevelopment and the "knowledge city": limitations of an urban imaginary in L'Aquila
  Noi L'Aquila
 PreventionWeb 2009 L'Aquila earthquake

L'Aquila earthquake
L'Aquila earthquake
2009 Earthquake
April 2009 events in Europe
Earthquakes in Italy
Earthquake 2009
Disasters in Abruzzo
Colosseum


The Christian film industry is an aspect of Christian media for films containing a Christian-themed message or moral. They are often interdenominational films, but can also be films targeting a specific denomination of Christianity.

Criteria
Popular mainstream studio productions of films with strong Christian messages or Biblical stories, such as Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Prince of Egypt, The Robe, Sergeant York, The Blind Side, The Book of Eli, Machine Gun Preacher, Risen, Hacksaw Ridge, and Silence, are not specifically part of the Christian film industry, being more agnostic about their audiences' religious beliefs. These films generally also have a much higher budget, production values and better known film stars, and are received more favourably with film critics.

Many films from the Christian film industry are produced by openly confessing Christians in independent companies mainly targeting a Christian audience. This has been on the rise since the success of Sherwood Pictures whose Fireproof was the highest grossing independent film of 2008.

History

Beginnings

Catholic priest Athanasius Kircher promoted the magic lantern by publishing the book Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae in 1680. Controversy soon followed as priests and masons used the lanterns "to persuade followers of their ability to control both the forces of darkness and enlightenment" and temperance groups used the lanterns to fight alcoholism. In the 1800s, missionaries such as David Livingstone used the lanterns to present the Gospel in Africa.

Through the years, many Christians began to utilize motion picture for their own purposes. In 1899, Herbert Booth, as part of the Salvation Army, claimed to be the first user of film for the cause of Christianity.

20th century
In the 1940s, Christian film libraries emerged. Harvey W. Marks started the Visual Aid Center in 1945. Circa 1968, Harry Bristow launched Christian Cinema in a small theater in the Germantown area of Philadelphia, and in the early 1970s, the ministry moved to a theater in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Christian Cinema operated a movie theater that showed only Christian films, but closed down in the mid-1990s. The growth of Christian film libraries led to the Christian Film Distributors Association (CFDA) being formed in 1974. The CFDA began holding a conference each year for Christian filmmakers and distributors. The Christian Film and Video Association (formerly the Christian Film Distribution Association) gave out Crown Awards for films that "glorify Jesus Christ."

Spencer Williams's 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus was screened in cinemas and in black churches. The film was produced in Texas on a budget of US$5,000. To present the afterlife, Williams used scenes from a 1911 Italian film called L'Inferno that depicted souls entering Heaven and in addition to Williams, the cast was made up of amateur actors and members of Reverend R. L. Robinson's Heavenly Choir, who sang the film's gospel music score. The film's commercial success enabled Williams to direct and write additional feature films for Sack Amusement Enterprises, including two films with religious themes: Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus (1942) and Go Down Death (1944).

The 1971 Christsploitation film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? was based on a sermon by Estus Pirkle held on January 31, 1968 at Camp Zion in Myrtle with the title "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?". The sermon was made available by print, and Estus W. Pirkle joined with filmmaker Ron Ormond in their first collaboration, and converted the sermon into a film. The pair made a number of other films, but this first film is the team's most well-known. The film became widely distributed among churches and church camps in the 1970s.

Movie theaters and film festivals
Since The Great Commandment opened in movie theaters in 1941, many Christian filmmakers have attempted to pursue theatrical releases. World Wide Pictures was a pioneer in partnering with churches to bring Christian films to the cinema. Gateway Films (now Gateway Films/Vision Video) was "formed with the express purpose of communicating the Christian Gospel in the secular motion picture theaters" and released The Cross and the Switchblade in 1972. In 1979, the Jesus film appeared in theaters across the United States. This film, based on the Gospel of Luke, was made for $6 million by Campus Crusade for Christ.

In 1993, Tom Saab launched the Merrimack Valley Christian Film Festival in Salem, New Hampshire. Each year this festival is held during Easter week and draws an audience of thousands to a theater to watch Christian films for free. Saab's organization Christian Film Festivals of America has also presented film festivals in Salinas, California and Orlando, Florida. In October 1999, the Voice of Pentecost Church in San Francisco hosted the 1st Annual WYSIWYG Film Festival. Other Christian film festivals include San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, 168 Hour Film Project, and the Redemptive Film Festival.

Recent years

Many Christian films have been released to theaters since that time, such as The Omega Code (1999), Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001), Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002), Facing the Giants (2006), The Ultimate Gift (2007), Amazing Grace (2007), Fireproof (2008), The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008), The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2009), To Save a Life (2010), Preacher's Kid (2010), Letters to God (2010), What If... (2010), The Grace Card (2011), Courageous (2011), October Baby (2012), Last Ounce of Courage (2012), Home Run (2013), Grace Unplugged (2013), I'm in Love with a Church Girl (2013), Son of God (2014), God's Not Dead (2014), Persecuted (2014), Old Fashioned (2015), Do You Believe? (2015), War Room (2015), Beyond the Mask (2015), I’m Not Ashamed (2016), I Can Only Imagine (2018), Breakthrough (2019), and Overcomer (2019).

In 2006, nearly 50 Christian-faith films were produced. The films grossed an average $39 million. All five of the major Hollywood studios have created marketing departments to target the growing demand for faith-based and family fare. Movieguide publisher Ted Baehr said, "There is competition for the Christian audience now that there hasn't been before. I thought at some point it would level off, but so far it's getting bigger and bigger. It's more than I could have possibly imagined. One of the audiences that has become stable and even grown for books, music and movies is the Christian audience."

The proliferation of Christian movies and Christian films has led to the establishment of many online retailers that focus their business exclusively on the sale and distribution of Christian movies online and family-friendly films such as Parables.tv, Exploration Films based in Monument, Colorado, FishFlix.com, ChristianCinema.com and ChristianMovies.com. Parables TV also provides streaming and linear TV. In 2013, FishFlix.com opened the first ever DVD store devoted completely to Christian DVDs in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The 2014 film God's Not Dead is one of the all-time most successful independent Christian films and the 2015 film War Room became a box office number-one film.

List of highest-grossing Christian films
Following is a list of highest-grossing Christian films of 2004–present, including only those films with overt Christian themes explicitly promoting The Gospel or an otherwise Christian message and targeted primarily at Evangelical Christian audiences. Grosses presented here are worldwide box office receipts.

Christian film in Africa

South Africa
Faith-based, family-values films are popular in South Africa due to its predominantly Christian audience including Faith Like Potatoes, a 2006 biopic of farmer-turned-preacher Angus Buchan.

Nigeria
Nigerian Christians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood. Christian films makes up about 20% of Nigerian films. Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have participated in mainstream success and many of the films appear on state television channels.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God founded Dove Studios, which has become the country's biggest movie studio and distributor. More than 50,000 copies of their movies were sold before April 2006. The Gospel Film Festival (GOFESTIVAL) is also a major Nigerian film attraction.

See also
 The Bible in film
 Christian Film Database
 List of Christian films
 List of Christian film production companies
 Independent film

References

Further reading

 Lindvall, Terry The Silents of God (Scarecrow Press, 2001)
 Lindvall, Terry Sanctuary Cinema (New York University Press, 2007)
 Lindvall, Terry and Andrew Quicke Celluloid Sermons: The Emergence of the Christian Film Industry, 1930-1986 (New York University Press, 2011)
  Seguins Pazzis, Bruno de, Quand le christianisme fait son cinéma, Paris, Le Cerf, 2018, 502 p. .
 Shen, Hsiang Yen, Cross-cultural effectiveness of Christian message films: Taiwanese responses to the concepts of God and Christianity in the film "Bruce Almighty",(ProQuest, 2010).

Films about Christianity
Film genres
Film
1940s in film
1970s in film
2000s in film
2010s in film
2000s in animation


Aspen Hall may refer to:

 Aspen Hall (Pittsboro, North Carolina), listed on the NRHP in North Carolina
 Aspen Hall (Martinsburg, West Virginia), listed on the NRHP in West Virginia
 Aspen Hall (Harrodsburg, Kentucky), listed on the NRHP in Kentucky

See also
 Aspen (disambiguation)
 Aspen Hill (disambiguation)


The 1913 Ice Hockey European Championship was the fourth edition of the ice hockey tournament for European countries associated to the International Ice Hockey Federation .

The tournament was played between January 25, and January 27, 1913, in München, Germany. With Belgium and Bohemia finishing equal on points, Belgium was declared champion based on goal difference.

Results

January 25

January 26

January 27

Final standings

Top Goalscorer
Maurice Deprez (Belgium), 7 goals

References

 Euro Championship 1913

1913
Ice Hockey European Championships
Ice Hockey European Championship
1910s in Munich
Sports competitions in Munich


The giant mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri) is a species of mudskipper native to the tropical shores of the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean where it occurs in marine, brackish and fresh waters. It is most frequently found along muddy shores in estuaries as well as in the tidal zones of rivers. It lives in a burrow in the mud and emerges from the burrow at low tide on sunny days. It can move quickly across a muddy surface and is capable of breathing both in and out of water. The giant mudskipper can grow to a length of  TL.  This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries. The specific name honours the Dutch physician and naturalist Johann Albert Schlosser (1733-1769), who was a friend of Peter Simon Pallas and who received the type from the East Indies and sent it to Pallas.

References

giant mudskipper
Fish of India
Fish of Indonesia
Fish of Malaysia
Fish of New Guinea
Fish of Singapore
Fish of Thailand
Fish of Vietnam
giant mudskipper
giant mudskipper


Bus Queensland was formed in April 2009 when the Pulitano Group purchased both the Garden City Sunbus and Kynoch Coaches operations.

Kynoch Coaches was a family-owned business, previously owned by Jason Ward, operated urban, school and long-distance services from its base, in Stephen Street, Toowoomba.

Garden City Sunbus was a division of Sunbus and formed in September 2003 after Hagan's City Bus handed back its licence due to Queensland Transport rejecting requests for higher subsidies.

Bus Queensland operated a network of long-distance coach services from Toowoomba to Cunnamulla, Lightning Ridge and Rockhampton. In January 2015, further contracts commenced for services from Brisbane to Charleville and Mount Isa and from Townsville to Mount Isa.

On 10 December 2021, Bus Queensland's contracts passed to the operators listed below:

Fleet
As at October 2021, the fleet consisted of 80 buses and coaches.

References

Bus companies of Queensland
Toowoomba
Transport companies established in 2009
2009 establishments in Australia


Hardy Inlet is an inlet that is located in the South West region of Western Australia.

The town of Augusta is situated on the South Western shore of the inlet, the inlet opens to the Southern Ocean via Flinders Bay.

Both the Blackwood River and the Scott River discharge into the north eastern end of the inlet.

The inlet is a wave dominated estuary with a high sediment trapping efficiency, it is always open to the ocean and the water is turbid. The total surface area of the inlet is .

Hardy Inlet is the wide, lower basin of the Blackwood Estuary with a long narrow and shifting entrance channel. The majority of the inlet is made up of shallow banks with a depth of less than  found between channels between  to  in depth.

Algal blooms have been recorded in the inlet around Molloy Island and West Bay as a result of elevated nutrient levels, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus levels. Warnings have been issued so that people do not consume shellfish such as mussels and oysters which can filter out the toxic algae.

Commercial fishing was once conducted within the inlet but all licences have now been cancelled and only recreational fishing is permitted.

References

Inlets of Western Australia
Blackwood River


Kingdom of Fear is the fourth studio album by the Swedish band In Battle. The album was released through Candlelight Records and Nocturnal Arts Productions.

Track listing
 "Kingdom of Fear" - 4:38
 "The Multitude" - 4:04
 "The Wandering One" - 4:48
 "Follow the Allfather" - 3:51
 "Tyr" - 3:12
 "The Dead Shall See" - 4:22
 "The Curse" - 3:08
 "I Kamp" - 4:18
 "Terrorkings" - 3:48
 "Path of Power" - 4:17
 "Raven Calls" - 4:24

Personnel
Per the album's notes.
John Odhinn Sandin - vocals
Hasse Carlsson - guitar
Tomas Elofsson - guitar
John Frölén - bass
Nils Fjallström - drums
Tim Turan - mastering

References

2007 albums
In Battle albums


"Walkin' on the Moon" is the third single by The-Dream from his second album Love vs. Money. The song features rapper Kanye West.

Critical reception
Billboard magazine gave the song a positive review, saying: "The third single from the-Dream's critically acclaimed album "Love vs. Money" finds the R&B artist tipping his hat to Michael Jackson, in a futuristic way. Kicking into a techno beat, the-Dream crafts a melodic pop tune that manages to fit nicely into the current uptempo R&B trend, while creating some new sonics of its own. With MJ-imitated "woo-hoo's"; a clever, flirtatious rap interlude from Kanye West; and romantic lyrics throughout, this could be the summer anthem for young lovers everywhere".

Music video
The video was premiered on May 20, 2009, at a Def Jam event. On May 27, 2009, the video was premiered on 106 & Park. The video was directed by Hype Williams. The video doubles as a homage to Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson's hit 1995 music video, "Scream".

The video ranked at #71 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.

Charts

References

2009 singles
The-Dream songs
Kanye West songs
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Songs written by Kanye West
Songs written by The-Dream
2009 songs
Def Jam Recordings singles


Jason Colwick (born January 25, 1988) is a two-time NCAA champion American pole vaulter. His personal best vault is 5.72 metres, achieved in April 2009 in Austin, Texas. He attended and competed for Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Career
Colwick won the pole vault title at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. He followed this with a win at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor championships with a vault of 5.70m.

Colwick was the first Rice pole vaulter to win a title since Dave Roberts in 1973, and the school's first NCAA Outdoor champion since Ryan Harlan's 2004 decathlon win.

Colwick is the recipient of the 2008–09 Conference USA Male Athlete of the Year award.

Personal

Colwick was first interested in gymnastics at an early age, which he says is the ideal sport from which to transition into pole vaulting due to gymnasts' ability to control their body in the air. He has stated that he looked to pole vaulting as something he would "enjoy more and be better at" than other sports he was participating in at the time.

Colwick adheres to a strict diet that includes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and minimal alcohol consumption. He is also an avid and technically advanced guitar player.

In addition to his accomplishments in athletics, Colwick earned a degree in economics from Rice University and as of 2017 he works at an engineering firm in the Houston, Texas area. While at Rice, Colwick was a member of Martel College.

References

External links

1988 births
Living people
American male pole vaulters
Rice Owls men's track and field athletes
Sportspeople from San Marcos, Texas
Track and field athletes from Texas


Reid House may refer to:

in the United States

 Nash-Reid-Hill House, Jonesboro, Arkansas, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
 Reid House (Little Rock, Arkansas), NRHP-listed
 Leonard Reid House, Sarasota, Florida, NRHP-listed
 Reid-Woods House, Sarasota, Florida, NRHP-listed
 Reid House (Atlanta, Georgia), also known as Garrison Apartments, NRHP-listed
 Reid-Jones-Carpenter House, Augusta, Georgia, NRHP-listed
 Reid-Glanton House, La Grange, Georgia, listed on the NRHP in Georgia
 Reid House (Chicago, Illinois), NRHP-listed
 Dr. William E. Reid House, Leesville, Louisiana, listed on the NRHP in Louisiana
 Reid House (Iuka, Mississippi), listed on the NRHP in Mississippi
 Stone-Reid House, Iuka, Mississippi, listed on the NRHP in Mississippi
 Reid-Kent House, Kalispell, Montana, listed on the NRHP in Montana
 Reid House (Missoula, Montana), listed on the NRHP in Montana
 Reid House (Pittsboro, North Carolina), NRHP-listed
 Gov. David S. Reid House, Reidsville, North Carolina, NRHP-listed
 Whitelaw Reid House, Cedarville, Ohio, NRHP-listed
 Hinkle-Reid House, Mill City, Oregon, listed on the NRHP in Marion County, Oregon
 Reid-White-Philbin House, Lexington, Virginia, NRHP-listed

See also
 Reid Farm, Jackson Hill, North Carolina, NRHP-listed


Alida  is a feminine given name, a common Dutch version of Adelaide until about 1960. It is a compound word: adal 'noble' + heid 'gleam, glitter'. The name was also common in Norway between 1860 and 1910 when immigration was frequent.

Notable people with the name include:

 Alīda Ābola (born 1954), Latvian orienteering competitor
 Alida van der Anker-Doedens (1922–2014), Dutch canoeist
 Vija Artmane (1929–2008), Latvian actress
 Alida C.M. Besseling (1944–2014), Dutch politician and activist known as Alice Besseling
 Alida Bolten (1903–1984), Dutch swimmer
 Alida van den Bos (1902–2003), Dutch gymnast
 Alida Bosshardt (1913–2007), Dutch Salvation Army officer
 Alida Brittain (1883–1943), British musician and journalist
 Alida Chelli (1943–2012), Italian actress, singer, and TV hostess
 Alida Chen (born 1996), Dutch badminton player
 Alida Cosijn (1931–2016), Dutch ceramist known as Lies Cosijn
 Alida Garcia, American social activist
 Alida Gray (born 1977), American judoka
 Alida Hisku (born 1957), Albanian singer
 Alida Malkus (1888–1976), American writer of children's novels
 Alida Marcovici (born 1973), Romanian volleyball player
 Alida Morberg (born 1985), Swedish actress
 Alida Neave (fl. 1929), South African tennis player
 Alida Rockefeller Messinger (born 1948), American philanthropist
 Alida Rouffe (1874–1949), French actress
 Alida Schuyler (1656–1727), New Netherland businessperson
 Lidy Stoppelman (born 1933), Dutch figure skater
 Alida Valli (1921–2006), Italian actress
 Alida Vázquez (1929–2015), Mexican composer
 Alida de Vries (1914–2007), Dutch sprinter
 Alida Withoos (1661–1730), Dutch botanical artist and painter

See also
 Alide (disambiguation), another feminine given name
 Alida (video game)

References

Dutch feminine given names
Feminine given names


This list includes properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Chatham County, North Carolina. Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view a Google map of all properties and districts with latitude and longitude coordinates in the table below.

Current listings

|}

Former listing

|}

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in North Carolina
List of National Historic Landmarks in North Carolina

References

Chatham County


"Fishsticks" is the fifth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 186th overall episode of the series, it was originally broadcast on Comedy Central in the United States on April 8, 2009. In the episode, Jimmy writes a joke that becomes a national sensation, and Cartman tries to steal the credit while rapper Kanye West, believing himself to be a "genius", becomes frustrated due to his failure to understand the joke.

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. The episode was conceived from a joke among Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone about a fish dressed as motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, which eventually turned into a joke about Kanye West not understanding a joke about why liking fishsticks made him a gay fish. The way Cartman tries to steal credit for the joke was inspired by real people Parker and Stone have worked with in the television business.

Parker provided the voice of West in the episode and during the song "Gay Fish", a parody of West's song "Heartless". "Fishsticks" received largely positive reviews, and generated a great deal of media attention when West wrote in a blog that the episode hurt his feelings, although he said it was funny and admitted that he needed to work on his ego problem. The episode also spoofed comedian Carlos Mencia, who praised the episode after it was broadcast.

According to Nielsen Media Research, "Fishsticks" was watched by more than 3.1 million households in its original broadcast, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. The episode received even further attention after West famously interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the September 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, after which Comedy Central reaired the episode four times back-to-back. "Fishsticks" was released on DVD and Blu-ray along with the rest of the thirteenth season on March 16, 2010.

Plot
Jimmy works on writing jokes for his comedy routine while Cartman sits on his couch, eating potato chips. Jimmy comes up with a joke when Cartman asks if he has any snacks, and Jimmy remarks that there may be fishsticks in the freezer:

Jimmy: Do you like fishsticks?Cartman: Yeah.Jimmy: Do you like putting fishsticks in your mouth?Cartman: Yeah.Jimmy: What are you, a gay fish?

The joke, which plays on the similarity of the phrases "fishsticks" and "fish dicks" when spoken, becomes a hit throughout South Park. When Cartman begins taking half credit for the joke, Kyle tells Jimmy he should stand up to Cartman. When Jimmy tells Cartman he feels he wrote most of the joke, Cartman fears Jimmy will try to take full credit and asks Kyle for advice on how to deal with Jimmy. Kyle instead says he believes Jimmy wrote the entire joke, and suggests that Cartman's ego is so big that he subconsciously remembers things incorrectly to make himself feel more important. This is supplemented by Cartman's flashbacks to the creation of the joke, which become more overblown and ridiculous as the episode goes on, showing him to truly believe that he deserves credit.

Meanwhile, the joke becomes a national sensation. Comedian Carlos Mencia goes on Conan O'Brien's show claiming credit for the joke. The joke is played on rapper Kanye West, who does not understand it. West grows angry when others say he does not get it, and will not allow anyone to explain it to him, because he claims to be a genius and "the voice of a generation". West abducts Carlos Mencia, who admits he stole the joke to compensate for not being funny and claiming that his "dick don't work" in a parody of Viggo Mortensen's character Lalin in Carlito's Way, but West does not believe him and beats him to death with the help of his hired thugs. Cartman and Jimmy go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and claim they invented the joke, prompting West to go after them. Jimmy confronts Cartman, asking how he can live with himself for taking credit for a joke he did not write. They are interrupted by West, who threatens to kill them. By now, Cartman has not only convinced himself he wrote the whole joke without Jimmy's help, but believes he also saved his life from a black widow (in actuality, Jimmy's mother killed it), slew a dragon, defeated an army of "Jewbots", and has powers similar to the Human Torch. Cartman thinks he realizes what Kyle was trying to tell him, but he gets it completely backwards: Cartman believes that Jimmy's ego is the one that is twisted and Jimmy's ego trying to convince itself that he wrote the joke, while not accepting that Cartman wrote the whole thing, and Jimmy believes him. West has an epiphany about his own massive ego and believes he finally understands the joke. However, he incorrectly thinks it means he is, in fact, a gay fish. The episode ends with West donning a wetsuit and diving off the Santa Monica Pier into the ocean to embrace his new identity as a gay fish in the form of a music video, in which he happily swims around the sea, kissing and humping random fish.

Production

"Fishsticks" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The concept for "Fishsticks" began when Parker, fellow co-creator Matt Stone, and actor Bill Hader attended a writers' retreat in Seattle, Washington and they visited a body of water where they could watch salmon jump. They started joking about a salmon wearing an outfit like the motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, which eventually reminded them of the music video for rapper Kanye West's song "Touch the Sky", in which West himself dresses like Knievel. This led to them picturing a scene with West on a news program, angrily denying reports that he is a fish, shouting "No, I am not a salmon!" During a four-hour ride in a car, Stone and Parker discussed the joke further, and eventually thought of the "fishsticks" joke that featured prominently in the final episode. The duo said they found it hilarious and told variations of the joke back and forth to each other for the rest of the ride. Stone said, "The van driver we hired was just so bummed because we just kept talking about fishsticks, 'You're a gay fish', over and over. We thought it was so funny, and just the fact that he didn't get it."

Although the joke originally stemmed from Evel Knievel and not Kanye West, Parker and Stone said they realized West would probably be extremely humorless about the joke and not understand it, so they decided the episode should revolve mostly around him. After coming up with the idea, Parker and Stone waited a long time before they finally wrote the script because, Stone said, "It just seemed too dumb. Are we really going to do a whole episode about this?" Stone said the jokes about Carlos Mencia were "just a complete afterthought" that came about during the writing process. During one scene in "Fishsticks", Cartman steals credit from Jimmy for a joke he did not write. This was inspired by people Parker and Stone have worked with in the television business who were present for discussions the duo had, then later claimed credit for the idea even though they had nothing to do with it. Stone said, "They truly believe they did it. That's the really sinister part. It's not where they're trying to steal part of the glory. ... They actually fully believe that they came up with it."

Parker provided the voice of West, both in the episode and in "Gay Fish", a full-length song featured at the end of the episode about West's realization that he actually is a gay fish. Parker used a large amount of Auto-Tune pitch audio processing, which he had never used before. Parker said he eventually discovered he had to sing off-key on purpose in order to get the desired effect. Parker said, "You had to be a bad singer in order for that thing to actually sound the way it does." The day after "Fishsticks" was broadcast, the full two-and-a-half minute version of the Kanye West spoof, "Gay Fish", was made available for download on South Park Studios, the official South Park website. The site also featured T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on the episode. One featured Jimmy asking, "Do you like fishsticks?" The other features text from Kanye West's whiteboard in the episode: "Fishsticks + Me = Gayfish".

Cultural references

A Kanye West song in the episode about the fact that he is indeed a "gay fish" is a parody of the West song "Heartless", from his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak and satirizes the rapper's usage of Auto-Tune pitch audio processing. When West first confronts Cartman and Jimmy, Cartman mistakes him for Puff Daddy, another rapper and record producer.

Carlos Mencia, host of the former Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia, is portrayed in "Fishsticks" as knowingly stealing credit for a joke he did not write; this is a reference to accusations other comedians have made that Mencia plagiarizes jokes from other people. Mencia's death scene in the episode, as well as his claims that he uses a catheter to relieve himself, are a reference to Lalin, a character who uses a wheelchair in the 1993 crime film Carlito's Way.

Talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres were featured in the episode. Kimmel is voiced by his real-life brother Jonathan Kimmel, who previously served as a writer and voice actor on South Park.

During a fantasy sequence, Cartman says "flame on" and turns into a fiery, flying superhero; this is a reference to the Human Torch, a superhero and member of the Fantastic Four.

Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Fishsticks" was watched by 3.1 million overall households, according to the Nielsen Media Research, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. It had over 1.2 million more household viewers than the second most-watched Comedy Central show that week, the April 8 episode of The Daily Show. In June 2009, "Fishsticks" was announced to be the most watched South Park episode on South Park Studios, the official South Park website, which has all but 5 episodes of South Park to date available for viewing.

Both Kanye West and Carlos Mencia responded within one day of the episode's original broadcast and said they enjoyed the parodies of themselves, although West said on his blog that his feelings were hurt.  After the episode was broadcast, Mencia wrote on his Twitter feed, "They just made fun of me on South Park. I thought it was hysterical. Catch the rerun." West wrote on his blog, "South Park murdered me last night and it's pretty damn funny. It hurts my feelings but what can you expect from South Park!" West thanked the South Park writers in his blog entry and acknowledged he has a problem with his ego, but said he was trying to change. Parker and Stone said they were extremely surprised by West's reaction, and felt Mencia was treated far more harshly in the episode than West. Parker said, "It was like, dude, we just said you were a gay fish. What are you talking about? It was so dumb."

Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly said the post was "a fascinating look at where Kanye's head is at these days", and complimented West for his "humility and honesty". Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone said: "Many have tried, all have failed, but in the end it only took four animated children from Colorado to topple Kanye West's ego. ... One day, we'll all look back on this day and thank South Park for ushering in this historic moment in the life of Kanye." Kerrie Mitchell of Entertainment Weekly suggested West's modest response was actually a marketing stunt to help sell his upcoming personal fragrance and energy drink. Mitchell wrote, "Did he just get the last laugh on South Park? Conspiracy!" In response to the media coverage, West wrote another blog entry on April 10 claiming he had only seen part of the episode and found it funny, but he had been working on his arrogance problem for some time and that South Park did not lead to his "ego epiphany". The next day, he said in another blog entry that while visiting The Cheesecake Factory restaurant, the manager brought him a plate of fishsticks as a joke.

The episode received positive, if slightly mixed reviews. Ramsey Isler of IGN declared it the best episode of the season, calling it a "beautiful Kanye West spoof that was so well-timed, so hilarious and so spot-on" that it became a "phenomenon".  Carlos Delgado of If Magazine said the episode was "another South Park classic" which "takes full advantage of Cartman's monumental ego". Delgado, who gave the episode a B+ grade, described the West parody as "awesome" and the final scene with the "gay fish" West song as "spell binding". TV Guide listed the episode at number five on the top ten television moments of the week.

Travis Fickett of IGN said the episode included some good laughs but "never kicks into high gear" and said the themes might have worked better as subplots than a full episode: "'Fishsticks' is one of those episodes that typically occur around now in the South Park season. It's not great, not bad – hovering somewhere around amusing towards forgettable." Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club said he was disappointed by the episode and thought the message about celebrity self-delusion might have been better if it focused on only West or Mencia, rather than both. Although O'Neal liked the West song in the episode's final scene, O'Neal said "cramming (West and Mencia) together—even mixed in with Cartman's very funny fantasy sequences—felt too cobbled to me, and the time limits imposed by cutting back and forth between it all made the respective digs start to feel a little too one-note."

Legacy

On September 13, 2009 during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West interrupted an acceptance speech from Taylor Swift by walking onto stage, grabbing the microphone and praising her fellow nominee, Beyoncé. The incident received considerable press attention and drew further attention to "Fishsticks", which Comedy Central re-broadcast for two straight hours on September 15, 2009.

Following a controversial 2008 performance at music festival Bonnaroo, many concertgoers have since sprayed graffiti around the festival grounds, as well as making signs, deriding the rapper as a "gay fish".

While the musical number "Gay Fish" was never officially released for streaming services, it did receive an official release as the B-side of a vinyl release of the song "San Diego" (from the season 16 episode "Butterballs") for Record Store Day 2013, under Comedy Central Records.

West's response
Kanye West references the episode in the song "Gorgeous" from his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy where he says "choke a South Park writer with a fishstick". He similarly referenced the episode on his album Watch the Throne in the song "Made in America" when he says "South Park had them all laughin'/ Now all my niggas designing and we all swaggin'." It was also referenced in a leaked demo of his 2021 song "Life of the Party" that appeared on the deluxe version of West's 10th studio album Donda, in which he says "South Park had jokes about fish sticks / 'Til this day the whole team can kiss this dick".

Coinye

A cryptocurrency called Coinye was created in January 2014. Under legal pressure, the developers had to change the logo from resembling West to resembling "a half-man-half-fish hybrid" instead.

Home release
"Fishsticks", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park thirteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVD set and two-disc Blu-ray set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show with Inside Xbox host Major Nelson.

See also

South Park (Park County, Colorado)
South Park City

References

External links

 "Fishsticks" Full episode at South Park Studios

Cultural depictions of Kanye West
LGBT-related South Park episodes
Television episodes about murder
South Park (season 13) episodes
Television episodes set in Los Angeles
Narcissism in fiction


The 1914 Ice Hockey European Championship was the fifth edition of the ice hockey tournament for European countries associated to the International Ice Hockey Federation .

The tournament was played between February 25, and February 27, 1914, in Berlin, Germany, and it was won by Bohemia.

Results

February 25

February 26

February 27

Final standings

Top Goalscorer

Jaroslav Jirkovský (Bohemia), 7 goals

References
 Euro Championship 1914

1914
Ice Hockey European Championships
Sports competitions in Berlin
1910s in Berlin
Ice Hockey European Championship


Smash Hits may refer to:

 Smash Hits, a defunct music magazine
 Smash Hits (TV channel), a television channel spun off from the magazine
 Smash Hits Radio, a UK-based digital radio station
 Smash Hits (The Jimi Hendrix Experience album), 1968
 Smash Hits (All Star United album), 2000
 Smash Hits, a 1968 album of covers by Tom Jones
 "Smash Hits" (song), a 2007 single by Kid Canaveral
 Guitar Hero Smash Hits, a 2009 video game

See also
 Smash hit (disambiguation)


The 1978 Rothmans 500 was an endurance motor race for Group C Touring Cars. The event was held at Oran Park in New South Wales, Australia on 4 June 1978 over 222 laps of the 2.7 km circuit, a total distance of 599.4 km. This was the second and last Rothmans 500 race for Touring Cars to be held at Oran Park, the 1977 Rothmans 500 having been the inaugural event.

Results

References

Further reading
Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, page 150

External links
Images from the 1978 Rothmans 500 Retrieved from www.autopics.com.au on 6 April 2009

Rothmans 500


Thomas Cumming Bach (October 10, 1853 – October 29, 1914) was one of the first members of the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory.

His grandfather, Robert Bach (1777–1846), emigrated to New York from Hereford, England, in 1796.  His grandmother was Margaret Cowen (or Cowan) (1783–1865), who emigrated to New York from Newry, Ireland.   Robert Bach and his son, John Casnave Bach (1814–1885), engaged in the wholesale drug business and erected the first brick house in the city of Brooklyn.  Thomas Bach's mother was Elizabeth Brinckhoff Nostrand (1822–1887), a descendant of the 1624 Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam.

Thomas was born to John and Elizabeth Bach in Brooklyn on October 10, 1853, the seventh of 12 children.  In the early 1860s, the family moved to Manhattan, where the Bach family's wealth afforded them an opulent lifestyle.  Young Bach graduated from Columbia College in 1875 with the degree of A.B. and in 1877 he completed his studies in the law department of the School of Arts graduating with the degrees of A.M. and LL.B.  In 1884, after seven years in the private practice of law in New York, Bach moved to the Montana Territory, where his younger brother, Edmund William Bach, had established a successful accounting practice.  On August 9, 1886, President Grover Cleveland appointed Bach as a judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Montana to serve in the newly created fourth position on the territorial supreme court.  Bach held the office until 1889, when Montana gained statehood.  In 1892, Bach was elected a member of the Montana State Legislature and was chairman of the Judiciary Committee.  He served as a district judge for the First Judicial District from 1907 to 1909.

Bach was married to Kathryn Child (1863–1926), a native of San Francisco, California. They had two children, Dorothy (1891–1968) and Marjorie (1892–1972). Thomas Bach died in Pasadena, California, on October 29, 1914, at the age of 61.

Sources
History of Montana, Joaquin Miller, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1894
1989 Judicial Report, Supreme Court of Montana

1853 births
1914 deaths
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Columbia Law School alumni
Lawyers from Brooklyn
Members of the Montana House of Representatives
Montana state court judges
Montana Territory judges
19th-century American judges
19th-century American lawyers


The 1921 Ice Hockey European Championship was the sixth edition of the ice hockey tournament for European countries associated to the International Ice Hockey Federation .

The tournament was played on February 23, 1921, at Stockholm, Sweden, and it was won by Sweden.

Results

February 18

Final standings

Top Goalscorers

Erik Burman (Sweden), 3 goals
Georg Johansson-Brandius (Sweden), 3 goals

References
 Euro Championship 1921

1921
Ice Hockey European Championships
1920s in Stockholm
February 1921 sports events
International sports competitions in Stockholm