title: James Pernotto

text:
James Pernotto (born 1950) is an American contemporary artist; a painter and sculptor, book artist, print-maker, paper-maker, accomplished architectural designer-illustrator, and self-titled “Existential Subliminal Subversive.” Pernotto was founding director of Pacifico Gallery in Greenwich Village.  He was most notably affiliated as a curator with The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. As a university educator, he has worked at Youngstown State University and Penn State University. Pernotto is dually known as a canvas painter and paper sculptor. His works have been described as post-post-modern arte povera. He currently resides in Youngstown, Ohio.

Career in the 1960s and early 1970s
As a student Ohio State University, Pernotto was highly influenced by the pop-art of Rauschenberg, Warhol, and Lichtenstein rendering images from comic books and editorial photography into satirical collage. At that point, he began being featured in national shows including shows at the Print Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ColorPrint USA at Texas Tech University.

Career in the 1970s and 1980s
During this time, Pernotto lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and Washington D.C., and worked primarily in painting on hand-made paper, teaching workshops at Parson’s School of Design in Lake Placid, New York, and Rutgers University. He was exposed to Chicago imagist painters and non-figurative painters such as Alan Shields and Sam Gilliam whom greatly influenced Pernotto's involvement in Arte Povre. He received his MFA in 1975 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pernotto's most notable work from this period was a travelling museum commissioned in 1977 by the Madison Art Center entitled “King Toot.” This exhibition was a complete sculptural parody of the King Tutankhamun exhibition updated with contemporary artifacts such as the Barbie Selket, Coke adds Ankh vase. King Toot travelled to the International Art Exposition at Navy Pier in Chicago in 1982.
Pernotto was featured in the Fendrick Gallery, Allan Frumkin Gallery, and Carl Solway Gallery during this period. He earned a fellowship at PS1 International Studio Program (now MoMA PS1) in 1987.

Career in the 1990s and 2000s
During this period, Pernotto transitioned from painting on hand-made paper to painting primarily on canvas. Initially, paintings were inspired by previously created illustrated book pages in a palimpsest fashion. His work was featured at the Center for Book Arts. He was awarded a 1994 Ohio Arts Council Fellowship and a 1994 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. That year, he moved to New York City, and a shift in focus occurred as Science and Technology now combined with History to drive his work.

While in New York City, Pernotto kept a small studio space in the East Village and a studio in the Bronx. Inspired by the book The Mayan Factor by Jose Arguelles, Pernotto began weaving together time and space within his images. Pernotto was the conceptual driving force in the founding of Pacifico Fine Art Gallery on Hudson Street in Greenwich Village, which exhibited emerging and mid-career artists, and operated from 1999 to 2001.

In 2004, Pernotto moved back to his original studio in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, where he resumed art production and began the process of documenting his collection. In 2006, The Butler Institute of American Art asked that he exhibit a retrospective show of his works which he entitled “MEME.” In 2009, received a Juror’s Choice award for his acrylic/photo/wood work titled “S.A.L.T.: Germs, Steel,” which depicts a gritty scene from the local steel industry.

Pernotto is just one of several area artists whose works appear in the show.

Career from 2010-present
In 2010, Pernotto launched NEXT Best Art, a non-profit with the mission to create an independently run public gallery, considering the juncture of art and physics, to educate and enhance the cultural community of Downtown Youngstown. Next Best Art is working to establish a home within the Mahoning Valley to embrace the opportunity for a consistent cultural dialogue with the greater worldwide art forum.

In a featured story about Jim Pernotto in the Youngstown Vindicator on August 9, 2014, Editor Todd Franko discusses his downtown apartment and workspace as "It’s a fantastic loft space right out of Hollywood central casting for an artist/Bohemian type like Pernotto." The article linked here shows Pernotto's passion for art, Youngstown and especially the downtown urban area, and linking continued development with using art as a vehicle.

On January 10, 2016, Pernotto will be celebrating the opening of his latest show at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown Ohio. The show titled "Merkaba" is scheduled to run until the end of February 2016. "Merkaba" opened at the Butler Art Institute with a reception attended by many local artists, media, family and friends. In an article in the Youngstown Vindicator, Guy D'Astolfo writes "The art in the exhibit, titled “Merkaba,” merges geometric shapes and patterns with scenes that can be cosmic in scope or theme. The results connect the eternal truths of science with mythology in a way that appears to be both ancient and futuristic". In the same article published on January 7, 2016, Jim Pernotto states “There are three words – Pro Bono Publico – above the doorway at the Butler Institute of American Art,” said Pernotto. “We are at a place as individuals, as a city, a country and world, were we need to decide if things can only be done to maximize profit or for the good of the people.”

The Butler show is scheduled to run through February 28th, 2016.

References

American contemporary artists
Artists from Youngstown, Ohio
Living people
1950 births


title: Donbas Battalion

text:
The 2nd Battalion of Special Assignment "Donbas" () is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and based in Severodonetsk. Originally created in 2014 as a volunteer unit called the Donbas Battalion () by Semen Semenchenko following the Russian occupation of Crimea and possible invasion of continental Ukraine. The formation of the unit started in the spring of 2014 during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The unit was initially formed as an independent force, but has been since fully integrated into the National Guard as the 2nd Special Purpose Battalion "Donbas" within the 15th Regiment of the National Guard.

The Donbas Battalion was initially formed by Russian-speaking Ukrainians from the Donbas who opposed the separatist movement. They are one of the most notable volunteer battalions, recognized as a highly effective combat unit during the war in Donbas, and also by the constant use of balaclavas, not only to hide their identities from pro-Russian sympathizers, but also to create a sense of mystery and fear around them. Their use of balaclavas and occasionally of black fatigues led to them begin nicknamed as the "Men in Black" or "Little Black Men", as a Ukrainian analogue of the Russian "Little Green Men".

In October 2016 a veteran of the former volunteer battalion Anatoliy Vynohrodskyi announced their intent to revive a volunteer battalion outside of the National Guard. The creation of the new volunteer battalion was never realized. Instead, in January 2017, Vynohradskyi became one of the leaders of the trade blockade with the Russian occupied territories in the Ukrainian East.

History

Background
At the beginning of March 2014, when separatist sentiments started to boil over in Donetsk, the pro-Maidan self-defense forces of the Donetsk Oblast was created by pro-Ukrainian citizens from Donetsk Oblast in order to protect pro-Maidan protests in response to the calls to create a separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and to prevent violence by the Russian special services and separatists against Ukrainian citizens. Semen Semenchenko was motivated by the weak state of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the capitulation of many local officials to the separatists, to found a group of local volunteers to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine. For example, in February 2014, the Head of the Militsiya (national police) for Donetsk Oblast, Roman Romanov, handed over his powers to pro-Russian separatists, while Pavel Gubarev, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass seized the building of the Donetsk Oblast Administration.

The Donbas self-defense forces asked the leadership of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and the military commissariat to create a territorial defense battalion and succeeded in this, but only after a similar proposal to the administration of Donetsk Oblast was rejected. On 15 April, a recruitment of volunteers and officers began into a new unit, which was named the Donbas Battalion. Volunteer groups, a charitable foundation of the battalion were created, and Ukrainians from all over the country sent aid and money for the unit's logistical needs. The battalion is based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Citizens with licensed weapons are invited to join.

Non-governmental armed formation (April 2014 – June 2014)

In March 2014, a self-defense unit of the Donetsk Oblast was created. After the first battles with DPR forces, the creation of the Donbas Volunteer Battalion was announced. The commander of the squad was Semen Semenchenko, who announced a recruitment of volunteers to the unit on his Facebook page.
In a few days, about 600 volunteers signed up to the Donbas battalion, and since the end of April the unit began its activities in the Donetsk Oblast. They provided assistance in moving activists who are in danger and collected information about the coordinators of pro-Russian rallies and checkpoints. The battalion leadership created groups for counteraction, intelligence, warning and escort.

On 1 May, the unit participated in its first operation to capture and destroy the civil checkpoints. The Donbas Battalion successfully destroyed a separatist checkpoint in Krasnoarmiysk. Three Kalashnikovs were seized and 15 civilians captured.

The battalion commander was offered to locate a base in Novopidgorodnye at the boundary of the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk Oblasts. After the checkpoint in Krasnoarmiysk had been destroyed, the personnel returned to the location. A few hours later, reported Russian mercenaries arrived in three buses to assault the Donbas base. The Donbas fighters were armed with several small-caliber rifles, an old rifle and several grenades. The attempt to assault the checkpoint did not succeed, as a Ukrainian military helicopter flew to help the surrounded volunteer battalion, prompting the attackers to retreat.

 On 11 May, a subdivision of the Donbas Battalion, stationed in Mariupol, was in charge of the protection of the city. The soldiers of the unit assisted the Ukrainian National Guard in the recapture of Mariupol's police station.
On 15 May 2014, the formed unit carried out an operation to clear the Donbass territories from enemy sabotage groups. The operation was held in Velyka Novosilka, during which the DPR flag was torn down from the building of the district administration and the flag of Ukraine was put on and the control over the district was returned to Ukrainian administration. Educational work was carried out with militiamen, who had previously handed over control of the region to DPR forces. The Donbas battalion took the district under military occupation, supervising elections in Velikonovosilkivsky district. With the region under government control, the branches of the largely defunct Party of Regions and the banned Communist Party were forced to dissolve.

On 21 May 2014, Semen Semenchenko, the battalion commander, called the part of the employees of the State Automobile Inspection of Ukraine in the Donetsk region who defected to the DPR side as "traitors" as well as those who were carrying joint service with DPR soldiers at the checkpoints, accompanying vehicle columns and guarding the administrative buildings. He demanded that they hand over their arms and leave the Donetsk Oblast territory within 24 hours, until noon on 22 May, threatening to eliminate them if they continued cooperate with the DPR.
As of 21 May, the battalion took control over the administration buildings of four districts: Velikonovosilkivsky, Volodarsky, Dobropolsky and Aleksandrivsky. This was a part of the operation to ensure the security of polling stations, which allowed the presidential elections in Ukraine to be held smoothly in 2014.

On 22 May 2014, Semenchenko announced Ukrainian control over the Volodarske district was re-established.

On 23 May, the unit performed an operation to attack fortified areas, but fell into an ambush in Karlivka. Twenty five fighters fought with the enemy, a company of the Vostok battalion. Five Donbas fighters were killed and the Vostok battalion lost 11. According to Semenchenko, the losses of the Donbas battalion were 4 people killed, 1 died from wounds, about 20 wounded, and some number were captured.

Special purpose battalion in the National Guard of Ukraine (June 2014 – October 2016)

After the battle near Karlivka, for the leadership of the Donbas battalion it became clear that Russian mercenaries in the Donbass had already got not only small arms but heavy weapons as well. Moreover, it became obvious that the Armed Forces leadership did not provide sufficient assistance to Ukrainian volunteer detachments. The Armed Forces units, located 5 km from Karlivka, did not come to help Ukrainian volunteers. In this regard, Semen Semenchenko accepted the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov to merge the battalion into the National Guard of Ukraine. This would have offered an opportunity to arm the battalion, should have given it a legal status and provided an opportunity to coordinate its actions with the units of the Armed Forces, the NGU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On 1 June, Semen Semenchenko spoke at the People's Veche (assembly) on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), where he first called on participants to join the unit to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. On the first day of the volunteers' recording, about 600 people arrived at Novy Petrovtsy training range, a base of Ukrainian Army Unit 3027. After this, several more volunteer enrollments were held on the Maidan. During one of these enrollments on 8 June 2014, 10 soldiers of the Presidential Regiment appeared to have entered the battalion ranks.

On 3 June, while a decision was being made to send volunteer battalions to the ATO, the Donbas battalion was asked to keep guard near the Verkhovna Rada as the Internal Troops were not able to offer adequate protection. The Donbas fighters faced the building of the Verkhovna Rada turning their backs to the people, demonstrating on which side they were – on the side of people.

On 29 June, Semenchenko, the battalion commander spoke at the People's Veche (assembly) on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), calling for a complete change and reform of all public authorities and state institutions. A mobilization station was announced to be created on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and many volunteers were recorded to have joined. After the Veche (assembly) the Donbas battalion volunteers went to the Presidential Administration. The battalion volunteers headed by Semen Semenchenko demanded to stop a cease-fire order with Russian mercenaries. President Poroshenko assured the future military unit that they would soon have an opportunity to go to the ATO area and fight.
On 19 July, a decision was made to form a special purpose volunteer battalion Crimea, and on 21 July, the commander of the Donbas battalion announced the recruitment of volunteers to a new unit. It was planned to liberate Donbas from Russian mercenaries first, then involve the Krym Battalion in the liberation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea from the Russian occupation.
On 4 June 2014, in the city of Izium, a meeting of the political, military and police leadership of Ukraine was held to coordinate the actions of the Donbas and Azov volunteer battalions with other military units, attended by Oleksandr Turchynov, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Arseniy Avakov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, representatives of law enforcement agencies, as well as commanders of both battalions. At the meeting, samples of modern armored vehicles manufactured by the Malyshev plant were shown, particularly armored combat vehicles Dozor which the Donbas were planned to be supplied to the Battalion. Semenchenko stated that having such armored vehicles he was ready to liberate Donetsk. However, for all subsequent years of the war, the Donbas battalion did not receive any such vehicle.

After the military meeting in Slavyansk it was decided to send a company of the Donbas battalion to the ATO area. However, the unit was provided neither with vehicles, nor with fuel for transportation, nor with adequate equipment. At request of Semen Semenchenko, the unit commander, volunteers, entrepreneurs and ordinary Ukrainians gathered everything necessary and a company of the Donbas battalion managed to go to the frontline.

On 4 July 2014, an assault company of the Donbas battalion took part in a liberation operation of Mykolayivka, the Donetsk Oblast. Immediately after this operation a retreat of Russian mercenaries from Slavyansk started. The first person who provided intelligence data that the city could be entered in was Yaroslav Markevych, a volunteer of the Donbas battalion who led a group of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The battalion fighters located in Artemivsk took active effort in liberating the city from DPR forces – night-time attacks of militants were being met, checkpoints were being built in and outside the city, and operations were conducted to clear the territory. The battalion units provided patrols of the surrounding areas of Artemivsk and Horlivka.

Only one IFV out of the promised armored vehicles was allocated for the Donbas battalion and the battalion had a KRAZ on the volunteers' balance sheet. Among the other "special equipment" they had two CIT vehicles, which Donbas fighters retook from Russian mercenaries in the first minutes of the battle.
As a result of the operation, the volunteer battalions accused the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine of failing to provide the necessary support in heavy weapons.
On 17 August 2014, together with other units, the Donbas Battalion again participated in the assault of Ilovaysk. The unit entered the city and took positions at the city school number 14 near the railway, fulfilling the task set. However, the adjacent units did not fully fulfill their obligations again.
In the interim report of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada investigating the tragic events under Ilovaysk, it says:

On 19 August 2014, Semen Semenchenko, the commander of the Donbas battalion, was injured during the assault of Ilovaysk, having suffered shrapnel wounds. Within 10 days, fierce battles had not stopped.
On 29 August 2014, leaving Ilovaysk via the Green Corridor, a Ukrainian military group fell into ambush and happened to be under the shell fire of the Russian regular army. During their retreat from the Ilovaysk salient, 98 soldiers of the unit were captured. More than 100 unit fighters were injured. The official estimates were 366 dead, 249 wounded, and 158 missing during fighting for Ilovaysk and leaving the Green Corridor.
During September, October and November, the battalion personnel were withdrawn from the ATO area and engaged in a combat coordination exercise. A part of the fighters were sent to Zolochiv city to undergo NCO training. In September, a large number of volunteers came to the battalion and it deployed to training camp of the 93rd Separate Mechanized brigade in Cherkaske village, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, which had about 300 recruits. At the end of October, the battalion personnel, together with the recruits were relocated to Kyiv oblast for training with instructors and a combat coordination exercise.
During that period, the battalion could not move to the combat area due to the fact that about 100 soldiers of the unit were captured by Russian mercenaries during the withdrawal from the Ilovaisk salient. In case the battalion moved to the front line, the prisoners could have been executed.

On 18 November, the first rotation of the Donbas battalion to the Peace Valley of Luhansk oblast took place. They had to watch at the local support point to assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The battalion was engaged in a clearing operation of sabotage reconnaissance groups of Russian army mercenaries and support of 24th separate mechanized brigade on the Bakhmut route.On 15 December the second rotation took place.
From 15 to 25 December 2015, the Donbas Battalion organized a blockade of Akhmetov humanitarian convoys to the Lugansk People's Republic-occupied territories in order to accelerate a captive exchange process, blocking motorways in Luhansk oblast by mobile groups in a tank-dangerous direction. Volunteer divisions, including Dnipro-1, Right Sector and Aidar were involved in fulfilling separate tasks. Supplies of tobacco and vodka by Russian mercenaries were also blocked. The operation was successful – as a result of the blockade after the negotiations on 26 December, 97 soldiers from the Donbas Battalion were released from captivity of pro-Russian mercenaries who had been captured during the operation in Ilovaysk.
On 11 January 2015, the Donbas Battalion marched to Kyiv demanding an immediate sending of the unit into a combat area to carry out missions there. A volunteer column came to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and surrounded the building.

In January 2015, certain ex-fighters who were expelled from the battalion due to misconduct began to accuse Semenchenko of criminal behavior. However, the majority of the personnel didn't believe the accusation.

Nevertheless, on 13 January 2015 two companies of the battalion went to the ATO area. However, the promised armored vehicles that had been given to the battalion before start proved to be unsuitable for military tasks.At that time, the unit was performing tasks under the guidance of the Headquarters of 24th separate mechanized brigade. On 27 January, a battalion company came to the battlefield deployment from an early rotation.
On 31 January, Semen Semenchenko took part in the operation to relieve the Svityaz battalion and was shell-shocked.
On 1 February, there was an attack in the area of Vuglegirsk. The soldiers were killed; the commander happened to be in an accident.
In January–February 2015, the Donbas battalion took part in battles near Debaltseve as in an attack of fortified areas of Russian mercenaries. Anti-diversion and assault groups were operating there. During fighting for Vuglegirsk on 1 February, the unit lost four fighters. On 9 February, the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with an anti-diversion group of the Donbas Battalion, did not allow Russian mercenaries to take control of Debaltsevo-Artemivsk route. On 12 February, the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took control of a part of Logvinovo and unblocked the Artemivsk-Debaltsevo highway. The remaining resistance cells were suppressed; the Donbas battalion units carried out a clearing operation of the village and an adjacent section of the highway. In the morning of 13 February, the clearing operation of the Donbas battalion near Logvinovo was stopped. When units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine together with armored vehicles were withdrawn, militants counterattacked using armored troops – 7 tanks; the intensity of fighting was increasing. In the battles for Logvinovo, the Donbas battalion destroyed about a platoon of enemies, a tank and an IFV, though three soldiers perished and four were injured. By midday of 13 February, the Donbas battalion and the Armed Forces had killed about 50 separatist fighters near Logvinovo. Seventeen Russian mercenaries had been captured, who were later transferred to the SSU for exchange. The Donbas battalion and the Armed Forces of Ukraine held "a road of life", parallel to the field track. It was fired upon but the battalion was able to successfully protect the convoys passing through . At some points, the situation was complicated, and fighters had to fight half-trapped by pro-Russian units. The Donbas battalion fighters captured an enemy's multi-purpose light-armored towered vehicle and a 122mm mortar as war trophies.

On 15 February, a Donbas battalion company took part in an operation to destroy fortified areas of Russian mercenaries and entered Shirokino, but it was ambushed by separatist militants because a conductor "missed a turn." In the course of the battle, three battalion soldiers died, three were injured, and one of them died later because of mortal wounds. During the battle of Shirokino, from15–16 February more than 100 troops from the separatist forces were killed and 10 armored vehicles were destroyed by the Donbas, Azov and AFU units.

Late evening on 16 February, the Ukrainian military managed to squeeze armed men who were not identified as soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of one of the two heights near Shirokino. Earlier, 14 Donbas Battalion fighters were able to escape from an encirclement made by separatist forces in Shirokino. On 18 February, near Shirokino, having occupied a residential multi-storied building before, separatist supported by mercenaries began shelling Ukrainian positions with two mortars. Two hours later, a separatist armed group was kicked out by Ukrainian troops and began leaving in the direction of Novoazovsk. Another illegal armed group, as a result of actions of Ukrainian troops, went to the north-east – from the eastern outskirts of Shirokino under the cover of two tanks, one of the tanks malfunctioned and was evacuated by the retreating separatists. On that day, a representative of the Ukrainian intelligence reported that Shirokino was under the fire of mortar shells and tanks of separatist armed units; in the evening of 16 February, one soldier in a Donbas battalion platoon was killed and four were wounded. The next night, a battalion column fell into an ambush, and three soldiers were killed. On 7 March, the battalion fighters detected a sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Russian Special Forces. During the battle, three mercenaries were killed and other militants were captured. In order to take them back Russian mercenaries opened fire with tanks. While repulsing the attack a Donbas battalion soldier was killed. On 9 March, a Donbas battalion company supported by a tank of the 37th Battalion and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was clearing up the sea coast and knocking off the invaders from the coastal positions and occupying a dominant position that blocked access to the battalion's rear. During the operation, 1 fighter was lightly wounded. 15 invaders were destroyed. The Azov's tank was put into a battle, an Infantry fighting vehicle belonging to DPR was damaged by joint efforts. Another Donbas fighter was shell-shocked.

On 9 April, the barracks of separatist units were destroyed in Shirokino by joint actions of the Azov regiment and the Donbas battalion during the fire response to the Russian mercenary attack.
On 25 April, after bombardment of an ambulance near Shirokino a wounded soldier of the Donbas battalion died on the way to hospital. On 2 May, another attack by pro-Russian separatists was defeated by the Donbas battalion fighters. Three military personnel were wounded. During one battle, at 13:05, a shot from a sniper rifle wounded a Donbas battalion fighter on his head. On 3 May, during the fighting in Shirokino, another soldier from the Donbas battalion was killed. On 24 May, in Shirokino, one soldier of the Donbas battalion was killed and one was wounded. Overnight into 26 May, an anti-tank platoon of the Donbas Battalion destroyed a KamAZ carrying separatist troops and ammunition. A Donbas Battalion soldier was wounded at night, in response, the enemy's fire points were suppressed. On 19 July, in Shirokino near Mariupol the Donbas battalion combatants took an BMP-2 from the Russian mercenaries during the battle. It had a torn caterpillar and beaten optics. The IFV was towed to the positions of the Ukrainian Army.
During May–July 2015, in Mariupol, there were rallies against so-called demilitarization of Mariupol, which would mean a total withdrawal of the military personnel from the first line of defense in Shirokine within Minsk agreements. Demilitarization did not take place, but at the end of July 2015, the Donbas battalion was withdrawn from watching Shirokino's front positions. The Donbas and Azov volunteer battalions, which kicked the invaders out of Shirokino and from February to June 2015 "held" positions, were replaced by Ukrainian Naval Infantry.
From October 2015 to March 2016, the Donbas battalion was on duty on the checkpoints of the third defense line near Mariupol and Berdyansk.
From March 2016 to April 2016, a significant part of the Donbas battalion was demobilized, serving as the mobilized for a calendar year, being reluctant to continue service on the third defense line. Part of the soldiers remained in the unit hoping that the unit would still fight on the first defense line.
After April 2016, the battalion was on duty on checkpoints in Mariupol zone and protected the Azov Sea coast.
In early August 2016 more than 160 battalion soldiers arrived at the military training ground in the village of Stare, Kyiv oblast (3070 military unit base), for the purpose of an operational coordination. Another company of the battalion remained in Mariupol and was preparing for retirement, as the battalion was taken out of the combat area.
In mid-September, from the training ground in the village of Stare, the personnel was transferred to Slovyansk, Donetsk oblast (3035 military unit base). Part of the soldiers was sent back to the military unit 3057 in Mariupol.
According to an order of the NGU commander on reducing the manpower in the military unit 3057 (end of August 2016) the special-purpose battalion Donbas was destroyed. Personnel were retired due to the organizational and staffing measures on 19 September 2016. On 26 September 2016, the battalion officers were retired.

From October 2016 to present time – a non-governmental voluntary organization aimed at protection of Ukraine

Internal Corps of the Donbas Battalion

When the majority of personnel of the NGU Donbas battalion was demobilized into the reserve in 2016, together with an honorary commander of the Donbas battalion Semen Semenchenko and the second commander of the Donbas battalion Anatoliy Vinogrodskiy, an Internal Corps of the Donbas Battalion as a public organization was formed, and later as a non-governmental volunteer organization "Donbas volunteer battalion", where the battle flag was brought [115]. The organization consists of demilitarized soldiers of the battalion who participate and conduct community-oriented activities aimed at protecting Ukrainian citizens from the unlawful acts of titushky (bullies), law enforcement agencies and fighting corruption. Starting from July 2016, the battalion Internal Corps took part in actions against illegal construction, against unauthorized felling of green spaces in Kyiv and its suburbs; was engaged in protecting businesses and agricultural businesses from raider take-overs, protecting the population from Titushky, exposing criminal activities of police and cooperation between police and Titushky; provided legal and media support to political prisoners, was engaged in a civil control of court sessions in cases against corruptioners and traitors, anti-maidanivtsi and raiders; blocked railroad goods traffic to occupied territories during the Blockade of Trade with Occupants; it protected a protest camp at Hrushevskyi Street during the "Rally for Political Reform".

On 2 July, during Kyiv Pechersk Court attempt to arrest a chief of staff of the Aydar battalion Valentin Likholit, several hundred veterans of the War for Independence and public figures protested in Khreshchatyk. They repelled Likholit without allowing him to be imprisoned illegally. On the same day, on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), Patriots’ Liberation Headquarters was proclaimed to be established. The main task was to provide legal and moral support to illegally imprisoned and repressed volunteers and patriots. At the meeting, when Patriots' Liberation Headquarters was established, three activity directions were announced: discharge from custody unlawfully or illegally imprisoned combatants; dismiss Anatoliy Matios, a military prosecutor; arrest and imprison people who contributed to Putin's aggression against Ukraine: in particular, Medvedchuk, Akhmetov, Boyko, Novinskyi, Yefremov, etc. Veterans from the Internal Corps of the Donbas Battalion are actively visiting court sessions concerning volunteer soldiers throughout Ukraine.

Human rights violations
The OHCHR reported that in August–September 2014 eight or ten members of the Donbas and Azov battalions sexually assaulted a man with a mental disability. After the different forms of violence (including cruel treatment and rape), the victim's health significantly deteriorated and he was taken to psychiatric clinic. The issue brought the attention of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Association "Forbidden to Forbid".

In 2016, according to the OHCHR, five fighters of the battalion were taken to court and accused of different criminal activities committed against civilian population: banditry, abduction, armed robbery, extortion, hooliganism and illegal possession of weapons. However, after a political pressure put on the judges by the former commander of the Donbas battalion and three other parliamentarians, they were released.

A UN monitoring mission in Ukraine reported that during the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014, the Donbas battalion took part in ill-treatment and torture of male population of the city, aged 30 to 66. From 18 to 28 August 2014, the majority of victims were locked in school No. 14 by members of Donbas battalion. The conditions of the incarceration may amount to ill-treatment, some victims were subjected to beatings, regarding thirteen of them the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented cases of torture. All detained ones who were interviewed by the UN officers told they were beaten with intention to extract confessions that they were affiliated with rebel forces. After the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Ilovaisk, a grave with three bodies was exhumed in the backyard of Ilovaisk school No. 14 where the Donbas battalion had been stationed. The UN monitoring mission identified the victims as local civilians. According to the forensic reports, two of them had signs of firearm wounds on their bodies, and third had likely died as a result of shelling.

References

External links

Donbas Battalion Commander: Now, separatists will take as much as we allow them to take (video)

History of Donetsk Oblast
Volunteer National Guard units of Ukraine
Military units and formations established in 2014
Donbas
2014 establishments in Ukraine
Ukrainian nationalist organizations
Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas


title: Usogorsk

text:
Usogorsk (; ) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic, Russia, located at the confluence of the Us and Mezen Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 5,343.

History
In December 1967, an agreement was signed between the governments of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Bulgaria to harvest Soviet timber for the needs of Bulgarian economy. Two months later, a team of Bulgarian builders arrived in Udorsky District and began to build the first of the three planned logging companies. After several years of work, three localities (Usogorsk, Blagoyevo, and Mezhdurechensk) serving the logging operations developed in the area. Urban-type settlement status was granted to Usogorsk in 1971.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, the urban-type settlement of Usogorsk, together with three rural localities, is incorporated within Udorsky District as Usogorsk Urban-Type Settlement Administrative Territory (an administrative division of the district). As a municipal division, Usogorsk Urban-Type Settlement Administrative Territory is incorporated within Udorsky Municipal District as Usogorsk Urban Settlement.

References

Notes

Sources

Urban-type settlements in the Komi Republic
Bulgarian communities


title: Pierre-Antoine Gillet

text:
Pierre-Antoine Gillet (born 16 April 1991) is a Belgian professional basketball player for Filou Oostende of the BNXT League. He also represents the Belgian national basketball team. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he plays at the Power Forward position.

Early life
Gillet started playing basketball at the age of nine.

Professional career
On August 31, 2020, Gillet signed a three-year deal with Filou Oostende of the Belgian Pro Basketball League. He helped the team win the league title, averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Gillet re-signed with the team on August 11, 2021.

International career
He represented Belgium at the EuroBasket 2015 where they lost to Greece in eighth finals with 75–54.

References

External links
ACB.com profile

1991 births
Living people
Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players
BC Oostende players
Belgian expatriate basketball people in France
Belgian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Belgian men's basketball players
Belgium national basketball players
CB Canarias players
Élan Chalon players
Liga ACB players
Liège Basket players
People from Huy
Power forwards (basketball)
Sportspeople from Liège Province


title: 1990–91 Primera B Nacional

text:
The 1990–91 Argentine Primera B Nacional was the fifth season of second division professional of football in Argentina. A total of 22 teams competed; the champion and runner-up were promoted to Argentine Primera División.

Club information

Standings
Quilmes was declared champion and was automatically promoted to Primera División, and the teams placed 2nd to 10th qualified for the Second Promotion Playoff.

Second Promotion Playoff
The Second Promotion Playoff or Torneo Reducido was played by the teams placed 2nd to 11th in the overall standings: Atlético Tucumán (2nd), who entered in the Semifinals, Belgrano (3rd), who entered in the Second Round, and in the first round entered San Martín (T) (5th), Banfield (6th), Almirante Brown (7th), Instituto (8th), Douglas Haig (9th), Deportivo Morón (10th) and Atlético de Rafaela (11th), (Cipolletti (4th) did not qualify because it was relegated). In the first round also participated the champion of Primera B Metropolitana: Central Córdoba (R), and Nueva Chicago and San Martín (SJ), both winners of Zonales Noroeste y Sureste from Torneo del Interior. The winner was promoted to Primera División.

Bracket

1: Qualified because of sport advantage.
Note: The team in the first line plays at home the second leg.

Final

Relegation

Note: Clubs with indirect affiliation with AFA are relegated to their respective league of his province according to the Argentine football league system, while clubs directly affiliated face relegation to Primera B Metropolitana. Clubs with direct affiliation are all from Greater Buenos Aires, with the exception of Newell's, Rosario Central, Central Córdoba and Argentino de Rosario, all from Rosario, and Unión and Colón from Santa Fe.

Additional Playoff
Since Central Córdoba (SdE) and Tigre finished with the same relegation co-efficient at the dividing line, a one-match playoff was held to determine who was relegated. Tigre lost so their got relegated to Primera B Metropolitana, while Central Cordoba (SdE) remained in Primera B Nacional.

Relegation Playoff Matches
Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, but if the first match was won by the team of Primera B Nacional (who also played the first leg at home), there was no need to play the second. If instead, the team from the Regional leagues wins the first leg, the second leg must be played, leg that, if its won by the team of Primera B Nacional, a third leg must be played, if the third leg finishes in a tie, the team from Primera B Nacional remains on it.
This season Deportivo Maipú had to defend their spot in Primera B Nacional against Godoy Cruz from the Liga Mendocina de fútbol.

Deportivo Maipú remains in Primera B Nacional.

See also
1990–91 in Argentine football

References

External links

Primera B Nacional seasons
Prim
1990 in South American football leagues
1991 in South American football leagues


title: Splatoon (video game)

text:
is a 2015 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game centers around Inklings—anthropomorphic cephalopodic lifeforms that can transform between humanoid and cephalopod forms and frequently engage in turf wars with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot colored ink while in humanoid form, or swim and hide in surfaces covered in their own colored ink while in their cephalopodic forms. Splatoon features several different game modes, including four-on-four online multiplayer and a single player campaign.

Splatoon was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development division, and originated from a competitive multiplayer ink-based territory control game, which was later expanded to include squid and the ability to swim through ink. The concept was created by lead programmer Shintaro Sato, who had previously worked on games in the Animal Crossing franchise. The development team for Splatoon was generally composed of younger Nintendo employees compared to other games by the company.

Splatoon received positive reviews, with critics praising Nintendo's decision to enter the genre with a new franchise, the game's overall style and presentation, gameplay mechanics, and its soundtrack. However, criticism was directed at the exclusion of voice chat and private lobbies, the small number of multiplayer maps at launch, and issues with online matchmaking. Nintendo provided post-release support for the game by adding new maps and weapons to the game, adding a feature to allow users to create private lobbies and holding time-limited events called "Splatfests". Splatoon was awarded and nominated for several year-end accolades from several gaming publications. A sequel, Splatoon 2, was released for the Nintendo Switch on 21 July 2017, followed by another sequel, Splatoon 3, which was released on the Nintendo Switch on 9 September 2022.

Online play is set to be discontinued by April 2024.

Gameplay

Splatoon is primarily a team-based third-person shooter that is playable by up to eight players in online four-versus-four matches, although the game also features local one-versus-one multiplayer matches and a single player campaign. Players control an Inkling, who have the ability to transform between humanoid and squid forms. In humanoid form, Inklings can shoot ink in their team's color, which can be used to cover the environment or "splat" opposing players or enemies. Transforming into a squid allows players to swim through the ink of their own color, even up walls and through grates, hiding from the enemy and replenishing their ink supply in the process. Conversely, enemy ink is much slower to walk across in humanoid form, cannot be swum through in squid form, and gradually deals damage. Players can use their ink to try and "splat" their opponents, which will send them back to their team's starting point whilst also providing a large splat of ink. In all modes, except for the two-player mode, players can use the Wii U GamePad to view a map of the surroundings and instantly launch towards the location of another teammate, as well as use optional gyroscopic controls to assist with aiming.

Players go into matches wielding a primary ink weapon, each with differing statistics and traits, along with a secondary weapon (such as ink-filled balloons, sprinklers, and disruptive fields), and a special attack that can be charged up by covering enough ground with ink. Primary paint weapons range from those whose firing patterns resemble various types of firearms, to melee weapons such as Splat Rollers, Inkbrushes, and Sloshers (ink buckets). Ink weapons are sold in sets that can be purchased with money earned from matches, with more sets becoming available to the player as they gain experience. In addition, players can customize their character with headgear, clothes, and shoes from the neighboring shops, with more items becoming available as the player's level increases. Each item carries an ability that improves the player's statistics, such as faster respawn time or longer special duration. Additional abilities can be unlocked by gaining experience in battles. When encountering other players in the plaza, players can choose to order an item another player is wearing and purchase it the next day from the back alley dealer named Spyke for a higher price.

The game also supports Splatoon Amiibo figures, with each figure unlocking a set of missions which unlocks extra equipment (weapons and clothing) and a bonus minigame upon completion, the latter of which can be selected and played on the Wii U GamePad while waiting in lobbies. Players can also make posts to the game's Miiverse community, which appear in-game as graffiti on various buildings.

Multiplayer
Online multiplayer is split into regular (turf war) and ranked game types. Each of these match types goes through a rotation of two maps, which change every four hours. In ranked games, players gain or drop ranks based on consecutive wins and losses, ranging from C− to S+. Having a higher rank increases the amount of money and experience earned after wins.

There are four modes (rule-sets) used for online matches, all of which need two teams consisting of a maximum of four players each. Turf War is the only mode for regular matches. Ranked matches change between Splat Zones, Tower Control, and Rainmaker.

 Turf War: Each team tries to ink the most turf as possible in their own color of ink within three minutes. The team that covers the most turf in their color ink when time runs out wins.
 Splat Zones (a king of the hill-style mode): Each team tries to control designated areas by keeping them covered in their ink; the team that achieves this get their counter value decreased at a constant rate. The team that has the lowest value on their counter wins.
 Tower Control: Each team tries to board the floating tower located at the center of the map. When a player boards the tower, it moves towards a target located at the end of the opponents' side of the map along a predetermined path. The team that had moved the tower closest to the opponents' side's target wins.
 Rainmaker (a capture the flag-style mode): Players on each team try to pickup the Rainmaker and carry it towards a target on the opponents' side of the map. Once the Rainmaker is picked up by a player, that player can drop the rainmaker only by getting splatted (killed) or going out-of-bounds. The Rainmaker can also be used as a weapon and does not use any ink. The team that had carried the Rainmaker closest to the opponents' side's target wins.

In Battle Dojo, the local multiplayer mode, two players compete to pop the most balloons, with one player using the Wii U GamePad and the other using the TV with a Wii U Pro Controller or Wii Classic Controller or either controller in conjunction with a MotionPlus-enabled Wii Remote to recreate the GamePad's gyroscopic controls.

Time-limited "Splatfest" events, held between June 2015 and July 2016, were also held in multiplayer play. During these events, players could choose between one of two teams, and earn points towards a player rank and their team based on their performance. Members of the winning team, decided by popularity and overall performance, earned Super Sea Snails, which could be used to re-spec and add additional perks to equipment, with the losing team earning fewer snails. Following the final Splatfest event, which ended on 24 July 2016, Super Sea Snails can be earned by winning a certain number of matches.

Campaign
Octo Valley is the game's single player campaign in which players are recruited by Great turf war veteran and leader of the Squidbeak Splatoon Cap'n Cuttlefish to rescue the Great  Zapfish, Inkopolis' source of power, from the Octarians, a race of octopuses with whom the Inklings warred in a century-old territorial conflict known as the Great Turf War. Players use a default ink weapon for this mode, which can be enhanced with upgrades or power-ups by collecting Power Eggs littered across the campaign's levels. The goal of each level is to navigate through enemies and obstacles to reach and rescue the Zapfish at the end. Each level also contains a hidden "sunken scroll" which reveals backstories and lore surrounding the setting of Splatoon. After clearing all of the levels in an area, players fight a boss called an Octoweapon to proceed to the next. Clearing each boss unlocks blueprints that can be exchanged at an armoury for more weapon options.

Development
Splatoon was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development. In mid-2013, one member of the Animal Crossing development team, Shintaro Sato, created a four-versus-four ink-based territory control game set in a featureless arena. After management approved making the prototype into a full game, the team started expanding its concepts, creating the ability to hide in ink, and wanted to somehow incorporate squids. After coming up with these ideas, the developers had trouble "filter[ing] it down" to a "simple, fun game." Shigeru Miyamoto told the team that there was "no appeal" to the game in that state. Afterwards, the developers added the ability to hide in ink and verticality to the maps, but it still felt unfocused. The art director sketched different ideas for the player character, including animals, "macho men," robots, and Mario, but the co-directors wanted to include a playable squid. They also needed the character to be human in order to hold weaponry, but thought that a squid-human hybrid "wouldn't sell". In January 2014, they realized they could make the player character switch between human and squid forms, which allowed them to come up with other ideas, such as swimming through ink or sustaining damage while maneuvering in enemy ink, which Miyamoto approved of. From the beginning, the GamePad could display a real-time overview of the map so the player could see which team was ahead, and at some point, the team considered using urinals and sinks as warp points. The development team was determined to make interesting sound effects, so they repeatedly pounded slime to create the sound of a squid diving into ink.

The team working on the game is composed of much younger members compared to other teams that work on Nintendo franchises. Game director Tsubasa Sakaguchi and producer Hisashi Nogami admitted that they, along with the rest of the team, play first person shooters and games on other companies' hardware (such as Call of Duty and Battlefield) as part of their job, and also because they love video games in general. Monolith Soft also assisted Nintendo on the development of the game. Splatoon was revealed in a trailer during Nintendo's E3 2014 Digital Event video presentation, and a demo of its multiplayer mode was playable on the show floor. The game's single-player campaign was further detailed in a later Nintendo Direct.

Release

Prior to the game's release, a time-limited multiplayer demo known as the "Global Testfire" was held on 8 and 9 May 2015 and one two-hour block on 23 May 2015. On 15 May, on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, Nintendo held a special event called the Splatoon Mess Fest, featuring celebrities and an obstacle course inspired by the game. Fans could also play a demo of the game at the event. A collaboration with Masahiro Anbe's Squid Girl manga series was announced, which included free in-game costumes released on 6 August 2015. Splatoon outfits are also featured in the Nintendo 3DS title, Girls Mode 3: Kirakira ☆ Code. In Canada, Splatoon-themed frozen yogurt was produced at various Yogurty's locations from June to September. Nintendo UK partnered with Adrenaline Alley skatepark to decorate it with decals and props based on the game and install several Wii U demo stations for the summer. Nintendo also held fan-art competitions on Miiverse and Twitter.

Wii U Deluxe Set bundles with Splatoon included were released in North America at Best Buy stores (as a coupon for a digital copy) Australia, Europe, and New Zealand (on a physical disc). Splatoon series Amiibo were released alongside the game, with Boy and Girl Inklings sold separately and a Squid figure sold exclusively as a bundle with either the game or the two other Amiibo. Amiibo figures of in-game pop idols Callie and Marie—collectively known as the "Squid Sisters"—were released in Japan on 7 July 2016 and internationally on 8 July 2016, along with limited edition recolors of the Inkling Boy, Girl and Squid Amiibo; the Callie and Marie Amiibo unlock in-game music players featuring their songs. Players who pre-ordered the game at GameStop received a download voucher for Splatoon-themed Mii costumes for use in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. A bundle containing Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U was announced in a November 2015 Nintendo Direct and was released during the holiday season. Nintendo released a Splatoon Wii U Deluxe Set containing the amiibo figures in Japan on 7 July 2016. In addition, Nintendo launched two new diorama sets based solely on Splatoon and its characters around the same time in Japan.

In the United Kingdom, a lorry containing a shipment of special edition copies of the game was hijacked in transit, resulting in GAME having to cancel all their special edition pre-orders.

Additional modes, along with new maps and weapons, have been introduced to the game through timed updates. An August 2015 update raised the level cap from 20 to 50, added S and S+ ranks to ranked battles, introduced new Splatling and Slosher weapons, private lobbies and party play, and added over 40 new pieces of gear items. In July 2016, Nintendo announced that the United Kingdom would host a splat-off between 16 July through 7 August 2016.

In December 2015, it was announced that free downloadable content would conclude in January 2016, although Nintendo later announced that downloadable content will continue to be released. After the version 2.9.0 update, released on 5 July 2016, the game stopped receiving further content updates. Additionally, Nintendo announced that Splatoons online services will continue to be active, despite the game's final Splatfest having occurred on 22 July 2016. In March 2023, Nintendo halted online play for Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon due to a vulnerability. The issue was fixed and online play resumed on August 3, 2023. Nintendo further stated that if further issues occurred, online play may be discontinued for the games. On October 4, 2023, Nintendo announced that online services for most Wii U and Nintendo 3DS software would end by April 2024, including Splatoon.

Reception

Splatoon was well-received when it was revealed. Many in the gaming press were surprised that Nintendo was creating a shooter intellectual property and praised the new gameplay ideas that distinguished it from other titles in the genre.

On release, Splatoon received positive reviews, receiving an aggregated score of 81/100 on Metacritic based on 88 reviews. GamesRadar gave the game 3.5/5 stars, praising the game's refreshing take on the shooter genre, while criticising some elements such as lobbies and amiibo-locked content. GameTrailers gave the game a score of 8.4/10, praising the game's mechanics and presentation, while lamenting that the game felt sparse at launch. IGN initially scored the game 7.9, praising the gameplay but criticizing the low number of maps and modes at launch and absence of voice chat. After several major updates were released, IGN released a re-review, increasing the game's score to 8.6/10 because of the new maps and online modes. Some critics expressed displeasure over the fact that communication errors cause a loss of points in Ranked Battles. Destructoid gave the game a score of 8.5, arguing that its shortcomings "can be forgiven in [his] mind because of how damn fun it is." Nintendo Life scored the game nine stars out of ten, considering Splatoon one of the "most fun" online games available because of the unique way each online match played out due to the ink mechanic, which also helped counteract potential boredom from the low number of maps playable at launch.

Writing for The Guardian, Kate Gray praised the visual style of Splatoon for contrasting realistic shooter games such as the Call of Duty franchise with a "90s cartoon aesthetic", citing influence by games such as Jet Set Radio, Super Mario Sunshine, and de Blob, along with a catchy soundtrack. However, Gray noted shortcomings in the game, such as a lack of multiplayer maps and modes on-launch making the game feel repetitive, matchmaking issues (such as inconsistent wait times between matches and team composition issues), as well as the lack of features such as voice chat and private lobbies, but defending the criticism by arguing that it was "[Nintendo's] first game in a long time that's really attempted to revitalize and reinvent a genre that often seems stagnant. This sort of daring creative venture will have its flaws, and if anything, we should be glad that it’s Nintendo taking the first step into new territory." Gray concluded by declaring Splatoon to be "a breath of fresh air—or more accurately 'splodge of fresh ink'—for those who like to shoot stuff, but have grown tired of the endless bloody churn of gritty, realistic shooters."

Sales
Splatoon debuted at No. 2 in the UK software sales chart in the week it launched, only behind The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is the fifth fastest-selling Wii U game and the fastest-selling new intellectual property on the console in that country, beating the previous record set by Ubisoft's 2012 launch title ZombiU. Splatoon debuted at the top of the Japanese software sales chart, with over 144,000 retail copies sold in its launch week and a total of 1.53 million sold by December 2016. In the U.S., 165,000 combined physical and downloaded copies were sold in May 2015, with another 290,000 sold in June and 85,000 in July. By the end of August 2015, over 600,000 copies had been sold in the region. In March 2016, Nintendo announced that one million copies had been shipped in Europe. By the end of June 2015, 1.62 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide, and by the end of March 2021, worldwide sales reached 4.95 million. In May 2016, Splatoon was announced to be the most successful new home console intellectual property (IP) in Japan since Wii Sports. The game's soundtrack album debuted at number two on Billboard Japan's Hot Albums chart and was number 46 on the chart's 2015 year-end list.

Awards

Media

An artbook for the game titled the Art of Splatoon was released in Japan in September 2015, and in North America and Europe in June 2017. Toy water guns modeled after an in-game weapon were released by Jakks Pacific in 2017.

In 2016, a series of real-life virtual concerts featuring the Squid Sisters, known as "Squid Sisters Live" and appearing as holograms, were held at Tokaigi 2016 (Makuhari Messe) in January, Choukagi 2016 in April, Japan Expo (Paris) in July, and Niconico Cho Party in November.

Splatoon has been adapted into a manga series, which is written and illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya. It began serialization in Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic in February 2016, and launched in CoroCoro Comic on 15 May 2017. It has also been published in English by Viz Media. CoroCoro Comic gave free access to the entire series for a limited time from 22 June – 13 July 2018.

Notes

References

External links
  ()

Splatoon
2015 video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games
Nintendo games
Nintendo Network games
Third-person shooters
Video games developed in Japan
Video games with gender-selectable protagonists
Video games scored by Toru Minegishi
Video games that use Amiibo figurines
Wii U eShop games
Wii U games
Wii U-only games
Post-apocalyptic video games
Japan Game Awards' Game of the Year winners
The Game Awards winners


title: List of princesses of Greece by marriage

text:
This is a list of Greek princesses by marriage from the accession of Geórgios I to the throne of the Kingdom of Greece in 1863. Individuals holding the title of princess would usually also be styled "Her Royal Highness"  (HRH).

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, Marína Kárella and Irina Aleksandrovna Ovtchinnikova, while meeting most of the requirements, are not classed princesses by marriage of Greece, because Prince Fílippos, husband of Elizabeth II, renounced his Greek (and Danish) titles, Prince Michaíll had a morganatic marriage, and Prince Pétros lost his succession rights upon his marriage.

List of Greek princesses by marriage since 1863

See also
 List of princesses of Greece by birth
 List of princesses of Denmark by marriage
 Monarchy of Greece

Princesses
Princesses
Marriage, unions and partnerships in Greece


title: Laa (TV serial)

text:
Laa (, ) is a Pakistani drama serial written by playwright and poet Sarmad Sehbai,  directed by Farooq Rind and produced by Momina Duraid. It stars Meekal Zulfiqar, Sadia Khan and Sabreen Hisbani in lead roles. The serial aired Saturday evenings on Hum TV.

Plot
The story revolves around Daniyal Malik, a rich and humble person who has bet his friends that he would make Naina Syed fall in love with him during her stay at Daniyal's house with her family. The story then takes a turn when Daniyal discovers his past. Naimat Khan, informs him that he's adopted. He finds out that with the parent he's living with are not his real parents. He was given to them, because his dad couldn't take care of him because of his step mother. The marriage was kept secret, that's why Daniyal's mother had to sacrifice his son and leave him.

Daniyal goes to search for his birth parents and finally meets a man who is aware of the truth. It is later revealed that Naimat Khan was his dad's servant and wanted to take revenge and that is why he had approached Daniyal. Naimat Khan's daughter was murdered by Daniyal's step mother and Naimat Khan wanted Daniyal to take revenge from his half brother, Dilawar. His step family was very rich but it was Naimat Khan's wish that Daniyal takes over his dad's place as peer and not Dilawar. However, Dilawar gets to know the truth and finds out that Daniyal is his half brother and is about to kill him but a lady instead takes the bullet. That lady is a good friend of Daniyal's real mother, who is also a lawyer. Meanwhile, Daniyal is sent to prison because the police thinks it is him who tried killing the girl. Daniyal's mother takes up his case and helps him in getting out of prison. Naina helps him too. Later, the lady who took the bullet, gains consciousness and declares that Daniyal did not shoot her. She also says that she is Daniyal's mother. She knew the truth, just when Dilawar shot her. However, whilst knowing the truth she gets so shocked and overwhelmed with emotions, because she thought Daniyal was dead. She approaches Daniyal and tells him the truth. Daniyal is happy, but then he decides to live with his foster parents instead of his birth mother since they took care of him and have always been there for him.

Cast
 Mikaal Zulfiqar as Daniyal Malik
 Qavi Khan as Daniyal's father
 Saiqa as Zareena (Daniyal's mother)
 Seemi Raheel as Naina's mother
 Naeem Tahir as Naina's father
 Khalid Malik as Dilawar Shah
 Sadia Khan as Naina Syed
 Rehan Sheikh as Naimat Khan
 Mehreen as Sohai
 Rabia Noreen as Sanam
 Sabreen Hisbani
 Laila Zuberi
 Ali Saqi
 Ashraf Rehman
 Xile Huma
 Shamaa Asif
 Almaas Butt

Soundtrack

The theme song of Laa was written by Sarmad Sehbai and composed by Sahir Ali Bagga, while the background score was composed by Waqas Azeem. The song was sung by Javed Bashir.

Track listing

See also

 List of Pakistani television serials

References

External links
 Official website

Urdu-language television shows
Pakistani drama television series
2014 Pakistani television series debuts
Hum TV original programming
2013 Pakistani television series endings


title: Mike Spivey (law school administration)

text:
Mike Spivey is an author, motivational speaker, podcaster, and the founder of The Spivey Consulting Group, and he has been featured in national media outlets including The New York Times, Reuters, The Economist, USA Today, Inside Higher Ed, the ABA Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report, CNN/Fortune, Above the Law, and Law.com. He is a former senior-level administrator at Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Colorado law schools. He was among the first higher education experts to write publicly about the possibility of university campuses remaining closed through fall 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been featured in the media in respect to how higher education should respond to pandemic-related concerns. He is a co-author of The PowerScore/Spivey Consulting Law School Admissions Bible, and his next book, We're All A Bit Messy, is scheduled to be published in late 2023.

He has published hundreds of articles on motivation, goal-setting, how to improve law schools, law school admissions, and legal employment and has been featured as a speaker at colleges and universities, including presenting with Civil Rights Leader Representative John Lewis and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales at the University of Alabama. He hosts a podcast, "Status Check with Spivey," in which he speaks about legal education and admissions and has interviewed a number of psychologists and researchers, including Judson A. Brewer, Guy Winch, Gabor Maté, Anna Lembke, and Kristin Neff. Spivey has served on the board of directors for two legal education entities — a non-profit and a tech startup — and is a former advisory board member for LexisNexis. He is from New Canaan, Connecticut and resides in Boulder, Colorado.

References

Living people
Vanderbilt University alumni
University of Colorado faculty
Vanderbilt University faculty
Washington University in St. Louis faculty
1972 births
University of Alabama alumni


title: Ototriton

text:
Ototriton is an extinct genus of rhineurid amphisbaenian or worm lizard from the Early Eocene of the western United States, including the type and only species Ototriton solidus. Paleontologist F. B. Loomis named Ototriton in 1919 on the basis of a single skull from the Wind River Formation in Wyoming, misinterpreting it as the skull of a salamander. Unlike salamanders and like other rhineurids, Ototriton has a shovel-shaped snout that it presumably used for burrowing underground. Ototriton is one of the earliest known rhineurids and also one of the largest.

Several other species have been assigned to Ototriton since Loomis named the genus in 1919. In 1928, paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore assigned a vertebra from the Bridger Formation of Wyoming, first classified as Glyptosaurus anceps, to Ototriton based on its large size, but later attributed it to the snake Lestophis crassus. In 1945, Gilmore and G. I. Jepsen named a new species of Ototriton, O. minor, on the basis of another skull from the Wind River Formation, distinguishing it from O. solidus on the basis of its smaller size. O. minor was later classified as its own genus, Jepsibaena. The most recent study to consider the specimen places it in the species Protorhineura hatcherii.

References

Amphisbaenians
Eocene lepidosaurs
Eocene reptiles of North America
Prehistoric lizard genera
†
Fossil taxa described in 1919


title: Kieran MacDonald

text:
Kieran MacDonald (born 21 July 1993) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder for Edinburgh.

Career
Born in Rutherglen, MacDonald played youth football for Motherwell, but was released by the club in May 2012.

Having featured as a trialist against Queen's Park, Macdonald signed for Clyde on 22 October 2012. After two years at Clyde, he signed for Hamilton Academical in June 2014. He later spoke about his transfer, stating he was looking forward to the challenge of playing at a higher level. In August 2014, MacDonald moved on loan to Dumbarton until the end of the calendar year. He made his Scottish Premiership debut on 28 February 2015 in a 1-0 defeat for Accies away to St Mirren, and started a further six league fixtures in the campaign. On 31 August 2015, having failed to make any appearances in the opening month of the 2015–16 season, he was released by Hamilton.

MacDonald signed for East Fife in October 2015, with the contract running until January 2016, at which point he was signed by Scottish League One side Airdrieonians on an initial short-term deal. In May 2016, he signed a new two-year contract.

In June 2019 he signed for Raith Rovers, helping the club to win the curtailed 2019–20 Scottish League One title, followed by reaching the promotion play-offs at the end of the 2020–21 Scottish Championship season. In May 2021, he confirmed that he was leaving the Kirkcaldy club after "the best two years of my football career" as they were turning full-time, but that arrangement did not suit him as he wished to continue his part-time work in his family's engineering business and the full-time salary offered by Raith did not benefit him financially.

He returned to Hamilton Academical in June 2021, with the club (located close to his home) having agreed to accommodate his engineering career on a full-time contract. He was released in June 2022.

McDonald signed for Edinburgh in July 2022.

Career statistics

References

1993 births
Living people
Footballers from Rutherglen
Scottish men's footballers
Motherwell F.C. players
Clyde F.C. players
Hamilton Academical F.C. players
Dumbarton F.C. players
East Fife F.C. players
Airdrieonians F.C. players
Raith Rovers F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Men's association football fullbacks
Men's association football midfielders
Edinburgh City F.C. players


title: Teresa Lu

text:
Teresa Lu (born 13 October 1987) is a Taiwanese professional golfer.

Lu played on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour in 2006 and 2007, on the LPGA Tour from 2006 to 2010 and on the LPGA of Japan Tour (JLPGA) since 2010. She won the Mizuno Classic in 2013, a tournament co-sanctioned by the LPGA and JLPGA. She picked up three additional wins on the JLPGA in 2014 and five in 2015. She also won twice as a non-member on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour in 2012. She finished second on the money list in both 2014 and 2015. Her highest position in world ranking is 19th, and currently she is the highest ranking woman golf player of Taiwan.

Professional wins (19)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (16)

Ladies Asian Golf Tour wins (2)

^ 2013 Mizuno Classic co-sanctioned by LPGA of Japan Tour and LPGA Tour.

China LPGA Tour wins (1)
2016 CTBC Ladies Open

Team appearances
Professional
International Crown (representing Chinese Taipei): 2014, 2016, 2018

References

External links

Taiwanese female golfers
LPGA of Japan Tour golfers
LPGA Tour golfers
Olympic golfers for Taiwan
Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from New Taipei
1987 births
Living people


The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (; ) is a U.S. public law that authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for intelligence activities of the U.S. government. The law authorizes there to be funding for intelligence agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency, but a separate appropriations bill would also have to pass in order for those agencies to receive any money.

The law was introduced into the United States Senate during the 113th United States Congress. A similar bill, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 (H.R. 4681; 113th Congress), was passed by the United States House of Representatives.

Provisions of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 - Title I: Budget and Personnel Authorizations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2014 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the: (1) Office of the Director of National Intelligence; (2) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); (3) United States Department of Defense (DOD); (4) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); (5) National Security Agency (NSA); (6) Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (7) Coast Guard; (8) Departments of State, the Treasury, Energy (DOE), and Justice (DOD); (9) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (10) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (11) National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); (12) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); and (13) United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

(Sec. 102) Provides that the amounts authorized to be appropriated by this Act and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 2014, for intelligence activities are those specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations, which shall be made available to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and the President. Prohibits the President from publicly disclosing the classified Schedule of Authorizations or any portion of such Schedule except as provided in the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, to the extent necessary to implement the budget, or as otherwise required by law.

(Sec. 103) Authorizes the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized for FY2014 when necessary for the performance of important intelligence functions, limited to 3% of the number of civilian personnel authorized for each intelligence element. Requires notification to the congressional intelligence committees of the use of such authority.

(Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for the Intelligence Community Management Account for FY2014, as well as the authorized personnel levels for elements within such Account (855 positions as of September 30, 2014). Allows funds allocated for advance research and development to remain available until September 30, 2015. Authorizes additional appropriations and personnel for the Account as specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations.

Title II: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System - (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for FY2014 for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund.

(Sec. 202) Amends the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act to expand the definition of "qualifying service," for purposes of creditable service determinations under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, to include duties in support of intelligence activities hazardous to life or health or duties that are so specialized as to be clearly distinguishable from normal government employment.

Title III: General Intelligence Community Matters - Subtitle A: General Matters - (Sec. 301) Declares that the authorization of appropriations by this Act shall not be deemed to authorize any intelligence activity that is not otherwise authorized by the United States Constitution or the laws of the United States.

(Sec. 302) Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for federal employees to be increased by such additional or supplemental amounts as necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law.

(Sec. 303) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to extend protections against the disclosure of the identity of individuals under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community.

(Sec. 304) Directs the President to designate certain U.S. officers or employees as functional managers for signals intelligence, human intelligence, geospatial intelligence, and other necessary intelligence disciplines as the President determines necessary. Requires such designated officers or employees to report annually to the congressional intelligence committees and the congressional armed services committees concerning the performance of their respective functions.

(Sec. 305) Requires the Office of the DNI, the CIA, the DIA, the NSA, the NRO, and the NGA to undergo a full financial audit each year beginning with their FY2014 financial statements. Requires the chief financial officer of each such agency to provide the congressional intelligence committees an annual audit report on each audit conducted.

(Sec. 306) Requires the chief information officer of each element of the intelligence community to conduct, and the Chief Information Officer of the Intelligence Community to compile and report on, inventories of all existing software licences of each element, including utilized and unutilized licenses.

(Sec. 307) Extends the authority for the Public Interest Declassification Board until December 31, 2018.

(Sec. 308) Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to permit an employee of an element of the intelligence community, or of a contractor to the intelligence community, who intends to report to Congress a complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern, to report such complaint or information to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community.

Subtitle B: Targeted Lethal Force Oversight - (Sec. 311) Requires the head of an element of the intelligence community to notify the DNI upon determining that a U.S. person is knowingly engaged in acts of international terrorism against the United States such that the government is considering the legality or the use of targeted lethal force against that person.

Requires the DNI: (1) within 15 days after receipt of such notification, to complete an independent alternative analysis of the information relied on to support such determination; (2) to notify the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community and the congressional intelligence committees of the receipt of such notification; and (3) to notify such committees of the person's identity and the results of the independent analysis.

Directs the Inspector General to annually review, and report to the DNI and the congressional intelligence committees on, any notifications received and the compliance of each element of the intelligence community with all appropriate policies and procedures related to the use of targeted lethal force against a U.S. person.

(Sec. 312) Requires the President to prepare and make public an annual report on the total number of combatants and noncombatant civilians killed or injured during the preceding year by the use of targeted lethal force outside the United States by remotely piloted aircraft. Excludes from such report any use of targeted lethal force in Afghanistan prior to the end of combat operations or any use of targeted lethal force in a foreign country described by a future declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.

Subtitle C: Reporting - (Sec. 321) Requires the Attorney General to provide an annual listing to the congressional intelligence committees of every opinion of the DOD Office of Legal Counsel that has been provided to an element of the intelligence community. Allows the President to: (1) limit access to information in such listing relating to a covert action, and (2) decline to disclose a particular listing on the ground of executive privilege.

(Sec. 322) Requires the DNI, the CIA Director, and each head of each element of the intelligence community within DOD to submit to specified congressional committees a copy of any plan pertaining to agency operations in the absence of appropriations that such officials have submitted to the OMB Director.

(Sec. 323) Requires the DNI to submit a report on the Syrian chemical weapons program.

(Sec. 324) Requires the DNI to establish procedures requiring each cleared intelligence contractor to report when a network or information system of such contractor has been successfully penetrated. Requires such procedures to provide for reports by contractors that describe the technique or method used in such penetration, a sample of the malicious software involved in such penetration, and a summary of information that has been potentially compromised by such penetration.

(Sec. 325) Repeals reporting requirements pertaining to: (1) the threat of attack on the United States using weapons of mass destruction; (2) commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign countries; and (3) uncontrolled treaty-limited equipment.

Modifies reporting requirements to: (1) require the DNI to notify the congressional intelligence committees of the creation of an advisory committee (currently, an annual report is required); (2) terminate in 2014 (currently, 2015) the report on intelligence community business system transformation; (3) require semiannual (currently, quarterly) reports on the activities of privacy and civil liberties officers; and (4) require notification to congressional committees, rather than annual reports, of waivers of conditions for disqualification for security clearances.

Title IV: Matters Relating to Elements of the Intelligence Community - Subtitle A: National Security Agency - (Sec. 401) Amends the National Security Act of 1959 to require the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Inspector General of NSA to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Subtitle B: National Reconnaissance Office - (Sec. 411) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Director and the Inspector General of NRO to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Title V: Security Clearance Reform - (Sec. 502) Requires the DNI, in consultation with the DOD Secretary and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to conduct an analysis of the relative costs and benefits of improving the process for investigating persons for access to classified information.

(Sec. 503) Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to prohibit an agency from rejecting another agency's access determination on the basis that such determination is out-of-scope, unless the rejecting agency does not employ any personnel who have background investigations that are out-of-scope. Defines "out-of-scope" to mean a background investigation or reinvestigation that is more than 7 years old in the case of a top secret clearance, more than 10 years old in the case of a secret clearance, or more than 15 years old in the case of a confidential clearance.

(Sec. 504) Requires the DNI to report to Congress each year, through 2017, on the reciprocal treatment of security clearances, including: (1) the periods of time required by authorized adjudicative agencies for accepting background investigations and determinations completed by an authorized investigative entity or authorized adjudicative agency; and (2) the total number of cases in which a background investigation or determination completed by an authorized investigative entity or adjudicative agency is, or is not, accepted by another agency.

(Sec. 505) Requires the DNI, the DOD Secretary, and the OPM Director to submit to Congress a strategic plan for improving the process for periodic reinvestigations.

Title VI: Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protections - (Sec. 601) Extends whistleblower protections for employees of an intelligence community element (defined as the CIA, the DIA, the NGA, the NSA, the Office of the DNI, the NRO, and any executive agency that is determined to have as its principal function the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities, excluding the FBI).

(Sec. 602) Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to: (1) require the development of policies and procedures that permit individuals who, in good faith, appeal an adverse security clearance determination to remain employed while the appeal is pending; (2) require the development and implementation of uniform and consistent policies and procedures to ensure protections during the process for denying, suspending, or revoking a security clearance or access to classified information; and (3) prohibit the revocation of a security clearance or access determination in retaliation for a protected whistleblower disclosure.

Allows a defense intelligence employee to appeal an agency head's adverse final order or decision to the appellate review board established by this title. Grants the board authority to: (1) order corrective action and award compensatory damages and expenses if it determines that an adverse security clearance determination was retaliatory, and (2) recommend the reinstatement of an employee and a security clearance. Requires the review board to notify specified congressional committees of any orders it issues. Requires an agency to notify such committees if it does not follow the board's recommendation to reinstate a security clearance.

(Sec. 603) Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Inspector General to submit a complaint or information submitted under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act or the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to the DNI, or to the DOD Secretary if the intelligence unit is within DOD, upon determining that submission of the complaint or information to the agency head would create a conflict of interest. Requires the DNI to consult with members of the appellate review board regarding all submissions. Allows an individual who has submitted a complaint or information to an Inspector General to notify any Member of Congress, or congressional staff members, of the submissions made and the date of such submissions.

(Sec. 604) Defines "congressional oversight committees" to mean the congressional intelligence committees, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Requires: (1) the DNI to: (1) prescribe regulations to ensure that a personnel action shall not be taken against an employee of an intelligence community element as a reprisal for any whistleblower disclosure relating to intelligence activities, (2) establish an appellate review board to hear whistleblower appeals related to security clearance access determinations, and (3) submit a report on the status of the implementation of such regulations to the congressional oversight committees.

Renders whistleblower protections under this Act inapplicable to terminations of intelligence community whistleblowers who are personally terminated by the DOD Secretary, the DNI, the CIA Director, or the head of any federal agency who determines the termination to be in the interest of the United States. Requires notification of any termination to the congressional oversight committees within five days of such termination.

Title VII: Other Matters - (Sec. 701) Eliminates the termination date for provisions requiring notification to congressional intelligence committees regarding the authorized disclosure of national intelligence or intelligence related to national security.

(Sec. 702) Amends the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to authorize the CIA Director to engage in fundraising for the benefit of nonprofit organizations that provide support to surviving family members of deceased CIA employees or for the welfare, education, or recreation of current CIA employees, former employees, or their family members.

(Sec. 703) Provides for the compliance of the budgetary effects of this Act with requirements of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

Congressional Budget Office report
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as reported by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on November 12, 2013. This is a public domain source.

S. 1681 would authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for intelligence activities of the U.S. government. Since Congressional Budget Office (CBO) does not provide estimates for classified programs, this estimate addresses only the unclassified aspects of the bill. On that limited basis, and assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, the CBO estimates that implementing the unclassified provisions of S. 1681 would cost $564 million over the 2014-2019 period.

Procedural history
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 was introduced into the United States Senate on November 12, 2013 by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, CA). The bill was referred to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It was reported alongside Senate report 113-120. On June 11, 2014, the Senate passed the bill with an amendment by voice vote. The House voted in a voice vote on June 24, 2014 to pass the bill. President Barack Obama signed it into law on July 7, 2014.

Debate and discussion
Senator Feinstein, who introduced the bill, spoke in favor of it, saying that "Congress has a responsibility to ensure the DNI and other intelligence leaders have the resources and flexibility they need to protect the nation." Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) argued that the bill provides "clear guidance and appropriate resources to the intelligence community, while enhancing the committee's oversight of vital intelligence activities."

See also
List of bills in the 113th United States Congress
United States Intelligence Community

References

External links

Library of Congress - Thomas S. 1681
beta.congress.gov S. 1681
GovTrack.us S. 1681
OpenCongress.org S. 1681
WashingtonWatch.com S. 1681
Congressional Budget Office's report on S. 1681

United States federal defense and national security legislation
Acts of the 113th United States Congress


title: Grim Building

text:
The Grim Building is an office building and former medical clinic located in Kirksville, Missouri. Constructed in the Jacobethan Revival style in 1905, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June, 1979.

History
Brothers Ezra and Edward Grim, both physicians, had a desire to consolidate their medical practices under one roof. In 1904 they contracted with the St. Louis, Missouri architectural firm of Weber and Groves for a building large enough to house offices, examination rooms and operating suites.  Local contractor Albert L. Holmes was chosen for the construction, which was finished in October, 1905 for a final cost of $11,248. This was considered only slightly higher than a similar size building of more utilitarian design, surprising considering the ornate details often associated with a Jacobethan Revival building.

The exterior is of red brick with white accent stones and trim around the windows. Great detail was given to the main entrance, a hooded limestone basket-handle arch with considerable ornamentation. An adjacent carriage house still remains from the original construction, though it has been heavily renovated over the years to provide more office and retail space. The Grims spared little expense on the interior either, with plentiful high-quality oak woodwork throughout and Tennessee marble in the main first floor hallway. Several fireplaces in the building feature ornate metal screens and green glazed tile in the immediate floor area.

The Grim brothers used the eastern half of the first floor for outpatient surgery and treatment rooms until they established the Grim Brothers Hospital in 1910. A new hospital building was completed for them just south of the First District Normal School; however, Edward Grim continued to use the original building for his office until his death in 1936.

The brothers' partnership went on hiatus for a time beginning in 1917 when Ezra Grim joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps, serving in France during World War I. They would continue in partnership with the hospital until their retirement while also maintaining ownership of the original building, renting out office space to other businesses. The ownership of the building remained within the extended Grim family until 1970 when a grandnephew sold it to outside investors.

Plans were put forth in the 1980s to demolish the building and replace it with more parking for downtown businesses,  despite the buildings' very good condition. However, public outcry, and new ownership of the building, prevented the demolition from happening. Renovation and restoration returned the Grim Building to an appearance much like it did when first constructed, save for modern lighting, heating and cooling, and some carpeted areas of individual offices.

Although not a museum by intent, the interior decor of the building features many items and photos that chronicle the medical history of Kirksville, from osteopaths like Andrew Taylor Still to medical doctors such as the Grim brothers.

Gallery

References

Buildings and structures in Adair County, Missouri
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Jacobethan architecture
Commercial buildings completed in 1905
National Register of Historic Places in Adair County, Missouri
1905 establishments in Missouri


title: Macon Whoopees (SHL)

text:
The Macon Whoopees were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Macon, Georgia, and played home games at the Macon Coliseum. The Whoopees played in the Southern Hockey League, and were the second professional hockey team in Georgia. The attempt in Macon to expand hockey southward failed, as the team ceased operations before completion of the 1973–74 season. Hockey did not return to Macon until 1996, when the name was revived by the Macon Whoopee in the Central Hockey League. The original Whoopees team was named after the song "Makin' Whoopee" by Gus Kahn, and is the subject of the book Once Upon A Whoopee: A Town, A Team, A Song, A Dream, by Ed Grisamore and Bill Buckley.

History
The first attempt to bring professional hockey to Georgia was made in 1968, by the Eastern Hockey League. The Macon Coliseum was completed in 1968, and was the first facility in the state with an ice surface, and the seating capacity to host professional hockey. The EHL considered an expansion team for the 1968–69 season, but opted instead to have the Jacksonville Rockets play six home games at the coliseum to gauge interest.

In 1973, the Southern Hockey League was created when the four southernmost teams in the EHL broke away to form their own league, partially due to travel costs of going to northern arenas. The new league searched for other Southeastern United States cities to host hockey teams. Macon was targeted due to the new arena, and its location adjacent to Interstate 75, which was on a direct route travelling to the Suncoast Suns arena, from the other teams in North Carolina and Virginia. The league chose Jerry Pinkerton, a stockbroker from Atlanta, as the franchise owner. The SHL and Pinkerton believed the timing was right for Macon. The population had grown rapidly, surpassing 120,000 residents as of the 1970 United States Census. The Omni Coliseum had just opened up in 1972, and the National Hockey League came to Georgia with the Atlanta Flames. The SHL and its commissioner Tedd Munchak, were desperate enough for a sixth team, that Munchak himself put up the $25,000 expansion fee, and appointed a league businessman to help raise the $300,000 in expected operating expenses.

The choice of name arose from Pinkerton's favorite song being the Doris Day version of "Makin' Whoopee", and the euphemism being popularized on The Newlywed Game by Bob Eubanks. The Macon Whoopees were officially announced at press conference on July 4, 1973, as one of the six teams in the inaugural season of the Southern Hockey League. The Whoopees made affiliation agreements with the Houston Aeros, and Cleveland Crusaders in the World Hockey Association. Keke Mortson from the Aeros was hired as general manager and player-coach, and Bill Buckley was named his assistant, and the club's business manager. Pinkerton was able to secure investors from Atlanta, New York City, and Macon in September.

People in Georgia knew little about hockey, but the fighting was similar to professional wrestling. In promoting the team, management mentioned similarities to football, and held information sessions with civic groups, schools, and churches. Pamphlets for season tickets included explanations of hockey, as did the team's pocket schedule. Radio stations in central Georgia played the Doris Day song frequently, local press and television stories were used to promote the team, Sports Illustrated, and The Wall Street Journal ran items on the team, and 5,000 t‐shirts were sold in advance.

When the team hit the ice in October, jerseys resembled the colors and patterns of the Montreal Canadiens. The Whoopees debuted at home on October 12, 1973, versus the Suncoast Suns. Macon won 5–4 in overtime, in a game that included seven fights, but many fans left after the second period, not knowing it was three periods. Doris Day was invited to sing the national anthem on opening night, but declined. The Whoopees sat in second place for the early part of the season, and Mortson led the team in scoring, with 24 goals, 51 assists, and 75 points.

Despite the good start, the Whoopees could not make payroll in November, and resorted to giving players free rent and television sets to stay with the team. The Whoopees averaged only 1,100 spectators for home games, as Wednesdays and Sundays were church nights in Macon. The team forfeited a game against the Charlotte Checkers on January 17, 1974, when players refused to play due to not being paid. The team was eventually shut down by the Internal Revenue Service on February 15, 1974, for taxes in arrears. The Macon Whoopees won 22 games, lost 38 games, and had 2 ties, in 62 games played.

Players
Twelve Whoopees players also played in the National Hockey League or World Hockey Association:

Ray Adduono
Blake Ball
Normand Cournoyer
Bob Dupuis
Ron Grahame
Ed Hoekstra
Jim McMasters
Ron Morgan
Keke Mortson
Al Rycroft
Jack Stanfield
Gary Williamson

Results
Season-by-season results:

References

External links
YouTube interview with Dan Jaskula, Georgia broadcaster and Macon Whoopees season ticket holder

1973 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
1974 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cleveland Crusaders minor league affiliates
Houston Aeros minor league affiliates
Ice hockey clubs established in 1973
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1974
Ice hockey teams in Georgia (U.S. state)
Southern Hockey League (1973–1977) teams
Sports in Macon, Georgia