.30-30 Winchester

The .30-30 Winchester/.30 Winchester Center Fire cartridge was first marketed in 1895 for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle. The .30-30 (thirty-thirty), as it is most commonly known, and the .25-35 were offered that year as the USA's first small-bore sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powder. Sixty years after its introduction, in 1955, it was surpassed by the smaller bore .243 Winchester cartridge with more powerful and accurate ballistics yet similar recoil, but the .30-.30 Winchester remains in widespread use even today.
Naming.
The .30 Winchester Smokeless first appeared in Winchester's catalog No. 55, dated August 1895. When chambered in the Winchester Model 1894 carbine and rifle, it was also known as ".30 Winchester Center Fire" or ".30 WCF". When the cartridge was chambered in the Marlin Model 1893 rifle, rival gunmaker Marlin used the designation ".30-30" or ".30-30 Smokeless". The added -30 stands for the standard load of of early smokeless powder and is based on late-19th century American naming conventions for black powder-filled cartridges. Both Marlin and Union Metallic Cartridge Co. also dropped the Winchester appellation, as they did not want to put the name of rival Winchester on their products.
The modern designation of .30-30 Winchester was arrived at by using Marlin's variation of the name with the Winchester name appended as originator of the cartridge, but ".30 WCF" is still seen occasionally. This designation also probably serves to avoid consumer confusion with the different, yet similarly shaped .30-40 Krag, which has been referred to as ".30 US" and ".30 Army".
Characteristics and use.
When originally produced by Winchester Repeating Arms (WRA) and Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMC), it was manufactured with a "metal patched" (jacketed) lead bullet weighing 160 gr. One year later, UMC produced a 170-grain bullet offering. Both 150- and 170-grain bullets continue to be very popular, as seen in the number of these weights offered by current manufacturers. However, the 160-grain bullet weight has reappeared in modern cartridges from Hornady, as noted below. Jacketed bullets for the .30-30 are .308 inches in nominal diameter. Cast lead bullets for the .30-30 are also popular and usually are .309 inches in diameter.
The .30-30 is considered to be the "entry-class" for modern big-game hunting cartridges, and it is common to define the characteristics of cartridges with similar ballistics as being in ".30-30 class" when describing their trajectory. While it is very effective on deer-sized and black bear-sized game, most commercial loadings are limited in effective range to about 200 yd (183 m) for that purpose, except when using ballistic-tip ammunition. The cartridge is typically loaded with bullets weighing between 150 and 170 grains , but lighter loads are possible. Bullets of up to can be used, but the overall length restrictions of the lever-action rifles most commonly chambered for this round limit their usefulness.
In Canada and the U.S., the cartridge has also been used on moose, caribou, and pronghorn. Modern opinions in Canada on its suitability for moose are mixed. Paul Robertson, a Canadian hunting firearms columnist, says, "Too many moose have been taken with the [.30-30] to rule it out as good for this purpose, as well." In both Canada and the U.S. it has a long history of use on moose. It is generally agreed that the .30-30 is not a good choice for hunters who wish to shoot animals at longer ranges. The cartridge, with flat- or round-nosed bullets, does not meet minimum energy standards required for moose hunting in Finland, Norway, or Sweden. Hunting technique and style, as well as law and culture, dictate cartridge choices. Thor Strimbold, a Canadian who has made more than 20 one-shot kills on moose with a .30-30, advises most moose hunters to use more than minimal power if they can handle the recoil. While the .30-30 is legal for hunting moose in Newfoundland, Canada, provincial game authorities do not recommend its use.
One of the primary reasons for the .30-30's popularity amongst deer hunters is its light recoil. Average recoil from a typical 150-grain load at in a rifle is of felt recoil at the shooter's shoulder, about half that of a comparable rifle chambered for the .30-06 Springfield. However, the .243 Winchester offers more muzzle energy and far greater downfield terminal energy than the .30-30 with similarly light recoil.
Because the majority of rifles chambered in .30-30 are lever-action rifles with tubular magazines, most .30-30 cartridges are loaded with round-nose or flat-nose bullets for safety. This is to prevent a spitzer-point bullet (the shape seen on the 7.62×51mm NATO above) from setting off the primer of the cartridge ahead of it in the magazine during recoil, resulting in potentially catastrophic damage to both firearm and shooter. The Savage Model 99 was introduced in 1899 with a rotary magazine, in part, to avoid that issue. When used in single-shot rifles or handguns, such as the Thompson Center Arms Contender or Encore series, it is common for shooters to hand load the cartridge with spire-point bullets for improved ballistics.
A notable exception to the "no pointed bullets" guideline for bullet selection in rifles with tubular magazines are the new flexible "memory elastomer"-tipped LEVERevolution cartridges as produced by Hornady. The soft tips of these bullets easily deform under compression, preventing detonations while under recoil in the magazine, yet also return to their original pointed shape when that pressure is removed, thus allowing for a more efficient bullet shape than previously available to load safely in such rifles. The more aerodynamic shape results in a flatter bullet trajectory and greater retained velocity downrange, significantly increasing the effective range of rifles chambered for this cartridge.
Rifles and handguns chambered in .30-30.
The .30-30 is by far the most common chambering in lever-action rifles such as the Winchester Model 1894 and the Marlin Model 336. Some earlier Savage Model 99 rifles were chambered for this cartridge, as well. More recently, Mossberg came out with lever-action rifles in the chambering, the Mossberg models 472, 479, and newer 464. One can also find these Mossberg rifles under the brands of Western Field (sold through Montgomery Ward as the M72). The 472 was only produced from 1970 to 1979, and the 479 until 1983 – both of which are rare and often confused with the Marlin 336 due to their similar appearance. The Roy Rogers edition has a gold trigger and butt plate, and Roy Rogers' signature on the stock. Rossi of Brazil has recently started offering what is essentially a clone of the Marlin 336 series in .30-30. Winchester produced a simplified and more economical version of their popular Model '94 through Sears under the Ted Williams name, and through Western Auto under the Revelation label.
The rimmed design is well suited for various single-shot actions, so it is commonly found there, as well. Rimmed cartridges are chambered in bolt-action rifles, but .30-30 bolt actions are uncommon today. "At one time Winchester turned out the Model 54 bolt-action repeater in this caliber [.30 WCF], but it was a decided failure, chiefly because the man desiring a bolt action preferred to take one of the better and more powerful cartridges. However, in this particular caliber, the .30 WCF cartridge proved to be decidedly accurate." In addition, rimmed cartridges typically do not feed well with the box magazines normally found on bolt-action rifles. Other examples of bolt-action rifles offered in .30-30 Winchester are the Stevens Model 325, the Savage Model 340, the Springfield/Savage 840, and the Remington 788.
In the sport of handgun metallic silhouette shooting, the .30-30 has been used. The Thompson Center Arms Contender pistol, with its compact frame and break-action design, is available for the .30-30 cartridge. The .30-30 will produce velocities of nearly 2000 f/s (610 m/s) out of the 10-in (25-cm) Contender barrel, though recoil and muzzle blast are stronger due to the short barrel. The longer barrel results in significant reductions in felt recoil (due to increased weight) and muzzle blast, with higher velocities, especially if factory-loaded rifle ammunition is used. Magnum Research offers their five-shot BFR revolver in .30-30.
Derivative cartridges.
In addition to the most common factory derivations, the .25-35 Winchester, 6.5×52mmR, .32 Winchester Special and the less-well-known .219 Zipper, the .30-30 has also spawned many wildcat cartridges over the years. One example is the 7-30 Waters, made by necking the .30-30 case down to 7 mm (.284 in). The 7-30 Waters eventually moved from a wildcat design to a factory chambering, with rifles being made by Winchester, and barrels made by Thompson/Center for their Contender pistol. Other .30-30-based wildcats are used almost exclusively in the Contender pistol. One of the more notable examples is the .30 Herrett, a .30-30 case necked back to reduce case capacity for more efficient loading with fast-burning powders. The .30 Herrett produces higher velocities with less powder than the larger .30-30 case in the short 10- and 14-in (25- and 35-cm) Contender barrels. Other examples are the .357 Herrett, developed to handle heavier bullets and larger game than the .30 Herrett, and the 7mm International Rimmed, a popular metallic silhouette cartridge. Bullberry, a maker of custom Contender barrels, offers proprietary .30-30 wildcats in 6 mm, .25 caliber, and 6.5 mm diameters. In addition, P.O. Ackley used the cartridge as the basis for the .30-30 Ackley Improved.
Perhaps the oldest derivative cartridge is the wildcat cartridge 35-30, also known as the 35-30-30, 35/30-30, and 35/30. This round was never factory produced. Rather, it was an invention to counteract the corrosion of the early 30-30 barrels from the use of black powder and shot out barrels. Barrels that were no longer serviceable were bored out to 35 caliber and the .30-30 case was re-necked and loaded with a .35 caliber bullet.


HMCS Athabaskan (G07)

HMCS "Athabaskan" was the first of three destroyers of the Royal Canadian Navy to bear this name. It was a destroyer of the , that served in the Second World War. She was named for the First Nations peoples who make up the Athabaskan language group. She was torpedoed in the English Channel and sunk in 1944.
"Athabaskan" was ordered 5 April 1940 as part of the 1940-1941 building programme. She was laid down in the United Kingdom on 31 October 1940 by Vickers Armstrong of Newcastle upon Tyne and constructed in consort with Parsons engine works. She was launched on 18 November 1941 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 3 February 1943.
Service history.
HMCS "Athabaskan" had a relatively short service of about 14 months between her commissioning and sinking. The ship also experienced several major mishaps and battle damage that required her being taken out of service for repairs for a total of about five months. When these repair periods are taken into account, "Athabaskan" was available for actual service at sea for a total of only nine months prior to her sinking.
After a short work-up subsequent to commissioning on 3 February 1943, "Athabaskan" sailed on 29 March 1943 to patrol the Iceland-Faeroes Passage for blockade runners, but heavy seas damaged her hull, which took five weeks to repair at South Shields. Shortly after returning to service, in early June 1943 she took part in Operation Gearbox III, the relief of the garrison at Spitsbergen.
On 18 June 1943, "Athabaskan" sustained damage during a collision with the boom defence vessel "Bargate" at Scapa Flow, resulting in a month under repair at Devonport. In July and August 1943, she was based in Plymouth, carrying out anti-submarine patrols in the Bay of Biscay.
"Athabaskan" was heavily damaged by a Henschel Hs 293 glider bomb, dropped by a KG 100 aircraft, during an anti-submarine chase off Cape Ortegal, in the Bay of Biscay, on 27 August 1943. was sunk in the same incident. The glider bomb passed entirely through "Athabaskan" before detonating on the outside of the ship.
Returning to Scapa Flow in December 1943 she escorted convoy JW55A to the Soviet Union but in February 1944, rejoined Plymouth command and was assigned to the newly formed 10th Destroyer Flotilla carrying out ‘Operation Hostile’ (Minelaying) and ‘Operation Tunnel’ (Patrol) missions off the coast of France. On 26 April, she assisted in the destruction of the German in the English Channel off Ushant as part of an ‘Operation Tunnel’ mission that included the British cruiser , destroyer and Canadian Tribals , and "Athabaskan". Three days later "Athabaskan" was sunk in another action.
Final action, sinking.
On 29 April 1944 at about 0300 hours "Athabaskan" was patrolling with her sister Tribal-class destroyer "Haida" in support of a British minelaying operation off the coast of France near the mouth of the Morlaix River. She received the first of a series of Admiralty orders to intercept German warships near Ile de Bas (sometimes ‘Île de Batz’) as spotted by coastal radar in southern England. During the subsequent engagement with German naval vessels, "Athabaskan" was torpedoed and sank. 128 men were lost, 44 were rescued by Haida and 83 were taken prisoner by three German minesweepers sortied from the coast after the departure of "Haida".
As might be expected with a night-time naval battle, various sources and even eyewitnesses provide widely differing accounts of the events surrounding the sinking of "Athabaskan". Some survivors recount that the ship was initially struck by shore-battery gunfire, and then by a torpedo. At least one survivor tells of a second torpedo hit fifteen minutes after the first, but the official history of the Royal Canadian Navy attributes the second major explosion to the fires touching off the ammunition magazine.
"Athabaskan" was apparently torpedoed by the German torpedo boat . Commanding officer — Lieutenant Commander John Stubbs — was killed in action after declining rescue by "Haida" to swim back for more crew members. In 2004, the Royal Canadian Navy provided a brass plaque to be laid on the wreck to commemorate the loss. The expedition found more information about the sinking but did not clarify the actual cause. The wreck is in a shattered condition spread over the sea bed.
HMCS "Haida" motor cutter rescue.
When "Haida" quickly departed the area due to the onset of daylight and heightened risk from air and sea attacks, she left behind her motor cutter manned by Leading Seaman W. A. MacLure, Jack Hannam and three volunteers. MacLure and his comrades rescued six "Athabaskan" survivors along with two "Haida" crew who had been washed from the scramble nets as the ship departed. As recounted in Canada's official naval history, the German minesweepers chased the motor cutter but gave up for unknown reasons. After a series of breakdowns and encounters with enemy aircraft, MacLure's motor cutter eventually made landfall in England under Royal Air Force escort just before midnight on 29 April 1944.
Legacy.
Athabaskan Island, near Bella Bella on the Central Coast of British Columbia, was named in memory of "Athabaskan".
École John Stubbs Memorial School near Victoria, British Columbia is named for Lieutenant Commander John Stubbs.


National Federation for Constitutional Liberties

The National Federation for Constitutional Liberties (NFCL) (1940–ca. 1946) was a civil rights advocacy group made up from a broad range of people (including many trade unionists, religious organizations, African-American civil rights advocates and professional organizations).
History.
Formation.
The NFCL founded at a national conference on civil liberties held in Washington, D.C. in .
Purpose.
The purpose of the Federation was co-ordinate the activities of the various groups involved within the organization to gain greater democratic freedoms for all who were involved. As well as civil rights advocacy, the Federation was also against lynching, poll tax, and discrimination, the Jim Crow laws, and ran campaigns against these occurrences.
In a proposed "Anti-Fascist Civil Rights Declaration for 1944", the Federation called for a permanent Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC), equality within the US armed forces, legislation against antisemitism and all forms of incitement to racial hatred, a ban on discrimination in employment and in housing, the abolition of Jim Crow, and passage of a federal anti-lynching bill.
The Federation publicized its campaigns and other activities through numerous pamphlets and through "Action Letters" mailed to thousands of local leaders, unions, churches, civic and professional groups. It organized conferences, public meetings and banquets with outstanding speakers and civil liberties advocates. Its Academic Council led the defense of educators like Max Yergan, blacklisted by the United States for their political beliefs.
Controversy.
The Federation was considered "subversive" and "Communist" by Attorney General Tom C. Clark, and the group was considered one of eleven "subversive organizations", drawn up on at the request of Clark.
Attorney General Francis Biddle claimed this was as "part of what Lenin called the 'solar system' of organizations, ostensibly having no connection with the Communist Party, by which Communists attempt to create sympathizers and supporters of their program".
George Marshall, who served as chairman of the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties and the Civil Rights Congress, worked with Paul Robeson, Dashiell Hammett, and William L. Patterson on litigation protecting the rights of African-Americans and American communists. Marshall was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, where he was cited for Contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over records from the National Federation. Convicted, he served three months in a federal prison in 1950.
Merger.
By 1946–1947, the NFCL rolled into the Civil Rights Congress (along with the International Labor Defense (ILD) and the National Negro Congress.


Baylè 1879 wallet / palm pistol

The Baylè Pistol was a 6 barrel pistol of French origin introduced in 1879. The barrels were stacked vertically and firing was actuated with a double-action trigger mechanism firing each round at a time.


Willie Robinson

William Lorenzo Robinson (July 6, 1926 – December 30, 2007), known as "Weepin'" Willie Robinson or "Weep" Robinson, was an American blues singer who began his career in the 1950s, and performed with, among others, Susan Tedeschi, Steven Tyler and Bonnie Raitt.
Robinson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Robinson had been a sharecropper, a soldier and a boxer. A steady position as an emcee/comedian at a Trenton, New Jersey nightclub led to his singing career. He eventually sang with B.B. King's 21-piece orchestra. He and King became friends.
Robinson settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1959 and played in clubs, but by 2004 he was homeless. Musicians and other concerned individuals, when they learned of Robinson's situation, held a benefit concert on his behalf, making sure he was fed and clothed.
He died, aged 81, from a fire accidentally started by a cigarette he had been smoking in bed at his home in Jamaica Plain, Boston. His wife, Alice, long predeceased him. He was survived by a daughter.


2007 Noto earthquake

At 9:41:58 a.m. on March 25, 2007, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Hokuriku region of Japan, near the Noto Peninsula. The earthquake shook the city of Wajima, the city of Nanao, and the town of Anamizu with a seismic intensity of 6+ on Japan's "shindo" scale. One death, in the city of Wajima, and at least 356 injuries have been reported.
Geology.
This earthquake was the result of oblique-slip faulting. According to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the fault was 21 km long, 14 km wide and shifted 1.4 m. By using sound waves, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology also found a fault 18~ km long that is supposed to have caused this earthquake.
This earthquake was an intraplate earthquake that occurred within the Eurasia Plate, near the boundary with the North American Plate. Noto Peninsula itself was created by pressure pushing up sediment from the south-east, and many folds and reverse faults are in the area. Some strike-slip faults are also found in the area. A 6.6 Mj earthquake also struck Ishikawa Prefecture on February 7, 1993.
Since the 1990s, the number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0~ Mj are increasing. Some seismologists say that the seismic activity in West Japan is at its peak, and many earthquakes will occur, like the Great Hanshin earthquake. This earthquake is sometimes considered as one of those earthquakes.
Like the 2005 Fukuoka earthquake, it was announced that it "occurred in an area where seismic activity was relatively quiet", but earthquakes are possible anywhere in Japan and its surrounding areas. Also this earthquake's fault was out in sea, so it was not simulated in the seismic danger maps, since most of the faults simulated are inland faults. Some seismologists are trying to simulate these kind of earthquakes as well as inland earthquakes.
Frequency.
This type of earthquake was estimated to have occurred 1~2 times in the last 20,000 years.
Main shock.
The Japan Meteorological Agency placed the earthquake at 37.3°N, 136.5°E, at a depth of 11 km. It estimated the magnitude at 7.1, but later revised its estimate to 6.9. The earthquake had a maximum three-component vector sum peak ground acceleration of 1,304 cm/s2 (1.33 g). It occurred in a big seismic gap. Shaking in Wajima was very close to "Shindo" 7. It was the first time that "Shindo" 6- or more was observed in Ishikawa prefecture. It was also the 2nd time that "Shindo" 5- or more was observed in Toyama prefecture.
Geophysical effects.
The earthquake moved Shika 25 cm southwest, and Anamizu 15 cm northwest.　It also shifted an erosion terrace formed in the ice age and the sediment on top by 10 cm.
Extent.
Shaking was felt as far as Oshamanbe in the north, to Hiroshima in the west and Nahari in the south.
Damage.
According to the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, the pattern of the shaking was similar to the shaking in the Great Hanshin earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake, called the "killer pulse": Pulse waves with a frequency of 1–2 seconds. This kind of shaking heavily damages buildings with around 2 floors. The shaking then got larger as it reached softer ground like alluvial plains, causing major damage.
Effects.
Evacuations.
At least 1000 people in Wajima were evacuated to temporary shelters.
Transportation.
The train lines that were stopped after the earthquake were:
Noto Airport temporarily closed due to the fact that 22 cracks were found in the runway.
A part of the Noto Toll Road temporarily closed since many parts of it collapsed. It re-opened on April 27.
Tsunami.
A tsunami advisory was immediately made for the Kaga coast and Noto coast, and a 22 cm wave hit shore about 30 minutes later.
Aftershocks.
More than 500 perceptible aftershocks were observed.
Largest aftershocks are blue, and 4.8~ Mj earthquakes are light blue.
Response.
The Cabinet Office.
At 9:45, an emergency meeting for this earthquake was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Government damage inspecting teams under command of Kensei Mizote were sent to the epicenter area from the 25th to the 26th.
Ishikawa Prefecture.
At 10:45, an emergency disaster prevention meeting was held. 375 firefighters were summoned from Toyama Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Tokyo prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Shiga prefecture, and Hyogo Prefecture. They were ordered to leave on 10:42 on the 26th, and left on 11:55.
Japan Self-Defense Forces.
At 10:45, the Ministry of Defense held an emergency meeting. At 11:08, Masanori Tanimoto, the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture summoned 30 soldiers from the Ground forces from bases in Kanazawa, Sabae, Toyama, Kasugai, Nagoya, Hisai, and Takashima. Helicopters from bases in Wajima and Komatsu were also used. Ground forces, maritime forces, and air forces all went to investigate damage.


Weaponology

Weaponology is a documentary television series that premiered on November 6, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. The program also airs on the Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel). The documentary series was narrated by John Schwab.
Episode list.
The first season of the show primarily covers the history of weapons, including tanks and sniper rifles. The second season focuses on special operations groups, such as the Russian Spetsnaz American Green Berets, and the British Special Air Service, or combat engineers.


Tang Fu-zhen self-immolation incident

The Tang Fu-zhen self-immolation incident () was an event that occurred at Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China on November 13, 2009. Tang Fu-zhen (唐福珍) fought with a demolition crew and government authorities in an effort to save a building. In the end she lost and self-immolated. The incident has triggered a debate on "forced demolitions" rampant across China.
Background.
In 1996 Tang Fu-zhen's (唐福珍) husband Hu Chang-ming (胡昌明) constructed a three-story building in Jinhua village (金华村).
Event.
At the time of the incident Tang Fu-zhen (唐福珍) was 47 years of age. On November 13, 2009 Tang Fu-zhen together with her relatives and those of her ex-husband's relatives fought with a demolition team. According to her brother Tang Fu-ming (唐福明), he told the media the demolition relocation took place at the early morning hour of 5 am on November 13. People wearing camouflage clothing started entering the building armed with shields and steel pipes. The attackers started indiscriminately beating anyone in the building. The demolition crew were backed by police and firefighters. Tang and her relatives threw rocks and bottles filled with gasoline.
Three hours into the melee, Tang poured gasoline all over her body. She started saying something on the roof of the building, while others tried to prevent her actions. In 10 minutes, she self-immolated and turned bright red in flames on the roof. In the event, four members of Tang Fu-zhen's family ended up wounded and in the hospital. Two people suffered severe injuries. Seven people were taken away by public safety officials.
Tang Fu-zhen's sister Tang Fu-jing (唐福英) said that after the immolation incident, her hospital room was protected by 4 people. She was not able to see her sister at all. On November 29, 11pm Tang Fu-zhen was officially pronounced dead by the hospital. The building was also destroyed.
A mobile phone captured the event and spread the video on the Internet. The story was given wide coverage and was broadcast on CCTV.
Demolition law.
In 2001 mainland China's regulation authorizes demolition "before" a compensation agreement is reached. However, in 2007 a property law said demolition work can start only "after" both the demolition crew and residents agree on compensation. This contradiction in the law has led to widespread dissatisfaction among people who lose their homes without fair compensation.
Other construction incidents.
In November 2009 a Shanghai woman threw gasoline bombs at government forklifts working on an expansion of the Hongqiao airport expansion. In Chengdu, a woman set fire to herself in front of police and firefighters.
Forced demolition in Gumo village, Weihai (威海古陌村暴力强拆寡妇房屋).
Feng-luwei, the head of Gumo village in Weihai, Shangdong (威海市古陌村委书记冯鲁威) pulled down the widow Wang-guiying's (王桂英) house by violence in 2000. The land use right was forced to be changed, even though house owner still has the land deed and house ownership certificate. The widows have not been relocated after 13 years. Wang-guiying has been appealing to the higher authorities for help to Beijing for 10 years more. Yet every time, she was obstructed by Feng-luwei (冯鲁威), who sent his men to shadow Wang-guiying 24 hours a day, especially during the people's congress.
Other incidents.
In Guiyang, 13 residents were kidnapped by thugs hired by a local real estate developer who then demolished their homes.
On December 14, 2009 a man named Xi Xinzhu (席新柱) in Beijing also self immolated when government officials pressed his family to give up their home. He suffered 10% body burns.


Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch


Rheinmetall LTA2

Rheinmetall LTA2 is a 105 mm tank gun produced by the Rheinmetall firm of Germany.


List of weapons in the American Civil War

The American Civil War, fought between the Union and Confederate forces, took place from 1861 to 1865. During the war, a variety of weapons were used on both sides. These weapons include edged weapons such as knives, swords, and bayonets, firearms such as rifled muskets, breech loaders and repeating weapons, various artillery such as field guns and siege guns and new weapons such as the early grenade and landmine.
The Civil War is often referred as one of the first "modern" wars in history as it included the most advanced technology and innovations of warfare available at the time. Some of the advances and innovations of the Civil War included mass production of war materiel, rifling of gun barrels and the use of the Minié ball, the advent of repeating firearms and metallic cartridges, transportation railroads with armed locomotives, ironclad warships, submarines, one of the first uses of air corps for aerial reconnaissance, communication (especially the telegraph), advances in medicine and the gradual decline of tactics from previous centuries.
Personal weapons.
Edged weapons.
In 1862 Joseph E. Brown governor of Georgia, proposed issuing pikes to the State militia to compensate for the shortage of guns. Thousands were made and issued but not known to have been used in combat.
Sidearms.
Derringers, pocket pistols, small revolvers and revolver pepperboxes like the teat-fire cartridge Colt M1847 Baby Dragoon revolver were often carried by enlisted men as a backup weapon for close quarters fighting. Single shot caplock pistols copied from the prewar French models were issued to the US Navy. These had brass barrels to prevent corrosion. Some Confederate cavalry units were equipped with single shot caplock or even flintlock pistols early in the war. Some pistols were of the military make and had been issued to the US Army but were obsolete by the time of the Civil War due to the introduction of revolvers.
Rifles and muskets.
The .69 caliber muskets (mostly percussion, but some flintlocks as well) were common in the early part of the war (either in their original form or converted to rifling). Early in the war the Confederates used civilian firearms including shotguns and hunting rifles like the Meylin M1719 Pennsylvania-Kentucky rifles or the Hawken M1823 rifles due to the shortage of military weapons. The British officer Arthur Fremantle observed that revolvers and shotguns (especially double barreled models) were the favored weapons of Confederate cavalry and mounted infantry during his 1863 visit to the South.
Grenades.
The American Civil War belligerents did have crude hand grenades equipped with a plunger that would detonate upon. The Union relied on experimental Ketchum grenades with a wooden tail to ensure the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds sometimes with a paper fuse. They also used Rains and Adams grenades which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and firing mechanism.
Landmines.
Originally developed by General Gabriel J. Rains, were typically iron containers, loaded with gunpowder, a fuse and also a brass detonation cap. Some of these still-activated landmines were recovered in Alabama in the 1960s.
Landmines were an intimidating method of psychological warfare but were viewed as unethical. Union General William T. Sherman also hated them and declared them as not warfare but murder. Confederate General James Longstreet banned their use for a time.
Rapid fire weapons.
Similar weapons of the Union included the .58 caliber Ager machine gun also known as "coffee-mill gun" which was similar to the Claxton machine gun. Like the Gatling I and Gatling II machine gun, the cartridges of Ager's invention were fed by a hand crank with a hopper on top and had a steel guard, and this is why some people believe that President Lincoln called it "the coffee grinder gun". Other infantry support weapons included the Billinghurst Requa Battery volley gun which had eight banks of cartridge chambers that were rotated into alignment behind the row of 25 barrels.
Chief of Ordnance, General James Wolfe Ripley was against issuing repeating rifles and rapid fire weapons to the Union army as he believed it would waste ammunition. Nevertheless, several generals, including General Benjamin Butler and General Winfield Scott Hancock, purchased Gatling machine guns that were the logical outgrowth of the trends portrayed in the Ager machine gun and the Ripley machine gun.
The Confederacy used the single barrel hand cranked Williams machine gun that was similar to the single barrel hand cranked Gorgas machine gun and the Vandenberg volley gun that was similar to the French De Reffye mitrailleuse and the Belgian Montigny mitrailleuse.
Equipment.
This equipment was carried by the troops for emergency situations


Hall Johnson

Francis Hall Johnson (March 12, 1888 – April 30, 1970) was an American composer and arranger of African-American spiritual music. He is one of a group—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who had great success performing African-American spirituals.
Early years.
Francis Hall Johnson was born on March 12, 1888, the fourth of six children of Alice Virginia Sansom and William Decker Johnson, who was a bishop in the AME Church. Johnson received an extensive education. He attended the private, all-black Knox Institute and earned a degree from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. He also attended Atlanta University, the Juilliard School, Hahn School of Music, and the University of Pennsylvania.
As a boy, Johnson was tutored on piano by his older sister, and he taught himself to play the violin after hearing a violin recital given by Joseph Henry Douglass, grandson of Frederick Douglass.
Career.
Johnson's debut as a professional violinist occurred in a concert in New York in 1910. He went on to play the violin and viola professionally, including in the orchestra for the 1921 musical, "Shuffle Along". Johnson played in the orchestra led by James Reese Europe as it accompanied Vernon and Irene Castle on tour, and he played with the New York Syncopated Orchestra, led by Will Marion Cook in 1918.
In time, however, he became more interested in choral music, forming the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, the first of many choral ensembles, in 1925. The group first performed professionally at the Pythian Temple in 1928. Johnson and his choir became renowned through their participation in the 1930 Broadway production of Marc Connelly's "The Green Pastures" as well as in national and international tours of the play, radio versions, the 1936 film adaptation, and Hallmark Hall of Fame television broadcasts.
Johnson would also go on to arrange music for and conduct his choir in more than thirty feature-length Hollywood films, besides a number of short films and cartoons. Johnson wrote "Run, Little Chillun", which premiered on Broadway in 1933 and was produced in Los Angeles in 1935 - 1937 under the auspices of the Federal Theater Project. Another production of the folk opera was featured in San Francisco in 1939 as an exhibit of the Works Progress Administration at the Golden Gate International Exposition.
Also in 1937, the Hall Johnson Choir was featured in the soundtracks of the Frank Capra film "Lost Horizon", Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and Hal Roach's "Zenobia". In 1941 they returned for yet another Disney film, "Dumbo", specifically for the song "When I See An Elephant Fly"; Johnson himself voiced one of the crow characters, the Preacher Crow. Some members of the choir also provided voices to these characters as well except Cliff Edwards, who voiced the lead Dandy Crow.
In addition to his theatrical work, Johnson wrote the Easter cantata "Son of Man", which premiered at New York's City Center in 1946, the same year that the Hall Johnson Choir sang in Disney's "Song of the South." In 1951, the Hall Johnson Choir was selected by the United States Department of State to represent the United States at the International Festival of Fine Arts held in Berlin, Germany.
Johnson wrote of the spiritual:
True enough, this music was transmitted to us through humble channels, but its source is that of all great art everywhere—the unquenchable, divinely human longing for a perfect realization of life. It traverses every shade of emotion without spilling over in any direction. Its most tragic utterances are without pessimism, and its lightest, brightest moments have nothing to do with frivolity. In its darkest expressions there is always a hope, and in its gayest measures a constant reminder. Born out of the heart-cries of a captive people who still did not forget how to laugh, this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception.
Johnson was fluent in both German and French. Among the singers he coached were Marian Anderson, Robert McFerrin and Shirley Verrett. His arrangements of the spirituals have been recorded by some of the world's finest artists.
Death.
Johnson, aged 82, died during a fire at his New York apartment on April 30, 1970.
Recognition.
In 1975, Johnson was posthumously honored for his work in films by being elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
A 1931 bust of Johnson by Minna Harkavy was shown at an exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Western Art and was bought by the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
In 1934, the Philadelphia Academy of Music recognized Johnson with an honorary doctorate.
Johnson's photograph, taken by Sidney Cowell in 1960, is included in the National Portrait Gallery of the United States.
In September 2020, the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission included Hall Johnson in the first ten inductees of the Athens Music Walk of Fame installed downtown, alongside other, more contemporary honorees such as R.E.M., The B-52's, and Vic Chesnutt. A plaque mounted in the sidewalk and mobile-app beacon honor Johnson's career.


Effects of the Cold War

In its course, the Cold War became a growing threat to world peace and when it reached its highest form of confrontation, as a direct and indirect consequence, numerous people suffered great misfortunes. Since the end of the war up until its subsequent century, the Cold War had many effects on nation-states and targeted them in many economical and social ways, for example in Russia, military spending was cut dramatically since 1991 creating a decline in the Soviet Union’s military-industrial sector. Such a dismantling left millions of employees (throughout the former Soviet Union) unemployed thus affecting Russia’s economy and military
After Russia embarked on several economic reformations in the 1990s, it underwent a financial crisis and a recession more oppressive than the United States and Germany experienced during the Great Depression. Although Russian living standards worsened overall in the post–Cold War years, the economy held an overwhelming growth after 1995 and in early 2005 it became known that it had returned to its 1989 levels of per-Capita GDP.
The Cold War has continued to influence global politics after its end, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the post–Cold War world is widely considered as uni polar—with the United States the sole remaining superpower. The Cold War defined the political role of the United States in the post–World War II world: by 1989 the United States held military alliances with 50 countries and had 1.5 million troops posted abroad in 117 countries which institutionalized a global commitment to huge, permanent peacetime military-industrial complexes and large-scale military funding of science. In addition, it led to the permanent creation of Peacetime Defense and the armaments industry which was referred to in the farewell address of President Eisenhower.
Military expenditures by the US during the Cold War years were estimated to have been roughly 8-9 trillion dollars, while nearly 100,000 Americans lost their lives in the Korean War and Vietnam War.
In addition to the loss of life by uniformed soldiers, millions died in the superpowers' proxy wars around the globe, most notably in Southeast Asia. Most of the proxy wars and subsidies for local conflicts ended along with the Cold War; the incidence of interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, as well as refugee and Disagreements between the leaders of the nations that were affected by the warfare declined sharply in the post–Cold War years.
The legacy of the Cold War conflict is not easily erased as many of the economic and social tensions that were exploited to fuel Cold War competition in parts of the Third World remain acute. The breakdown of state control in a number of areas formerly ruled by Communist governments has produced new civil and ethnic conflicts, particularly in the former Yugoslavia. In Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War has ushered in an era of economic growth and a large increase in the number of liberal democracies, while in other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, independence was accompanied by state failure.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the annulment of the Warsaw Pact and the dissolution of the Soviet Union the Cold War had been officially terminated, but despite it all, military development and spending continued, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and defensive systems, because there was no formalized treaty ending the Cold War, the former superpowers have continued to various degrees to maintain and even improve or modify existing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Moreover, other nations not previously acknowledged as nuclear-weapons states have developed and tested nuclear-explosive devices.
The risk of nuclear and radio logical terrorism by possible sub-national organizations or individuals is now a concern.
Radiation legacies.
Due to the military and non-military exploitation of nuclear fission, the Cold War brought forth some significant involuntary exposures to high-level radiation. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused large-scale destruction as well as an acute and lingering radiation throughout the infected areas, and as a result of decades of nuclear-weapons production, experimentation, and testing, exposure to radiation above normal background levels occurred to scientists, technicians, military personnel, civilians, and animals. Several significant radiation-related accidents occurred at military and civilian nuclear reactors and facilities, causing direct fatalities, as well as involuntary occupational and public exposures. Unfortunately, these consequences did not detain the  E.E.U.U. and the U.R.S.S. from accumulating a large number of missiles and nuclear weapons thus exacerbating tensions between asymmetrical powers.
Many nuclear legacies can be identified from the Cold War, such as the availability of new technologies for nuclear power and energy, such legacies which created great tensions between superpowers back then, especially since the hegemony of the world was disputed between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Environmental remediation, industrial production, research science, and technology development have all benefited from the carefully managed application of radiation and other nuclear processes.
Security legacies.
Due to the potential risk to national and international security, nuclear-weapons states have inherited substantial responsibilities in protecting and stabilizing their nuclear forces.
During the Cold War and post-Cold War periods, nuclear weapons and their delivery systems had been immensely secured and protected over the fear that such weapons of mass destruction were stolen, thus nuclear facilities and devices, such as reactors and propulsion systems, were safeguarded. An appropriate continuing level of security remained necessary through all life-cycle phases, from production to decommissioning as the entire military nuclear infrastructure requires protection, and that requires a commensurate allocation of funding.
Having once had widespread overseas nuclear bases and facilities, both the United States and the former Soviet Union inherited particular responsibilities and costs. Moreover, all nuclear-weapons states had developed not only production and service facilities but sometimes in extensive military staging and storage.
World inventories of weapons-grade fissile materials are substantial, much greater than now needed for military purposes. Until these materials can be demilitarized, they need to be securely safeguarded to evade risks of deliberate, accidental, or unauthorized nuclear devastation. Moreover, terrorists and hackers continue to interfere with nuclear stability and confidence.
Military legacies.
Internal national-security military postures still dominate behavior among sovereign nations, and as the former superpowers did not formally consummate their stand-down from Cold War military equipment the strategic and tactical nuclear and conventional forces remain at levels comparatively high for a peacetime environment. Localized conflicts/tensions replaced the former bilateral nuclear confrontation and as a lingering result, large inventories of nuclear weapons and facilities remain stabilized. Some facilities are being recycled, dismantled, or recovered as valuable substances as well as some chemical and biological weapons that were developed during the Cold War are still in existence, although many are being demilitarized.
Military policies and strategies are slowly being modified to reflect the increasing interval without major confrontation and because of the large extent of inventories on weapons, fissile materials, and rapid-response delivery systems, a mutual danger coexists for accidental, misjudged, or miscalculated incidents or warfare.
Other Cold War weapons states are slowly reducing their arsenals because they have not abandoned their dependency on nuclear deterrence. While a few more nations have attempted or succeeded in carrying out nuclear-explosive tests and thus creating their own nuclear deterrence.
During the Cold War, an international fabric of arms-control constraint had evolved, much of it carried over as a beneficial heritage with institutional mechanisms for multilateral or international function and verification.
Institutional legacies.
Aside from the tangible measures of national defense, such as standing military and security forces and hardware, there are various institutional structures of government and functionality that have less to do directly with military or security factors, but more to do with underlying public attitudes and risks. These institutional structures and perceptions have had their own challenges and adjustments after the Cold War.
Strong impressions were made and continue to affect the national psyche as a result of close brushes with all-out nuclear warfare. In some cases, this had resulted in an aversion to warfare, in other cases to callousness regarding nuclear threats. Peaceful applications of nuclear energy received a stigma which is still too difficult to exercise as it heightens the fear of nuclear risk which can result in resistance to military drawdown.
Public impressions and insecurities gained during the Cold War could carry over to the peacetime environment. This new peaceful era created a territorial expansion of democratic capitalism which had an open invitation to proclaim the obsolescence of the war itself. Several foreign states built specific institutions of democracy in post-communist areas with the wide belief that it would favor peaceful conflict resolution as wars did not occur in democracies. This exacerbated the idea of having a ‘democracy equaled having peace,’ surged across the nations affected by the Cold War and became a popular opinion across international relation experts because peace laid in the political strength(democracy) of the sovereignty of the people.
After the tensions of the Cold War diminished, the United Nations commenced an extensive journey marked by the sole objective to analyze, reflect and debate in detail around those issues related to aid the advocates for Human Rights and the creation of the construction of a perfect society that lives in a culture involving peace around foreign nations (a utopia-like fantasy).
With the end of communism (the Soviet Union collapsed due to its economic weaknesses), German unification, and even the expected separation of Czechoslovakia everything Historical occurred with immense rapidness. Therefore, the end of the twentieth century will always be marked as the start of widespread peace, in Europe, Western countries, and beyond.
Economic legacies.
After the end of World War II in 1945, Europe faced great difficulties in achieving an economic, political and social recovery. Although historians and scholars maintain different positions regarding what were the causes that led to the development of the Cold War and its effects they all concur the tensions between the superpowers that had already been accumulating during this period where the spark that ignited the flame. Such tensions were described by the immense separation between the capitalist and communist countries, the latter having an economy planned by the state, and the capitalists pursuing the idea of a free market economy.
The Potsdam Agreement made the Allies to divide Germany into two large blocks, each led by the most powerful nations of the moment—Russia, Great Britain and the United States. The United States, along with Great Britain, represented the western bloc and the capitalist system whilst the Soviet Union was given the eastern bloc and expanded their communist system. Thus creating a huge fiscal mortgage placed on many domestic economies, as financial obligations included those necessary to avoid further dislocations while the change took place from a wartime footing to a peacetime environment. The most important social causes are due to economic influence which caused national military establishments and alliances to be reconfigured. Highly dependent institutional frameworks were to be restructured, and new obligations were acquired by nations that were once bystanders to the East-West confrontation.
Psychological Legacies.
Psychologically, the Cold War led to some less than desired psychological affects. The World, and to a greater extent the populous of The United States and Russia lived in fear of impending nuclear doom. The psyche of citizens in the United States during the Cold War was unstable, there was an overwhelming sense of Fear, Powerlessness, and Future-less-ness (uncertainty about the future). This is evident in adolescent children of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade as polled in a study conducted by Daniel J. Christie and C. Patricia Hanley. This study measured the general anxiety surrounding the Cold War and the thought of impending doom by administering a test where the students would rate how they felt on certain issues from a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being never describing the individual, 5 being always describing the individual. This study found that 85% of the adolescents reported feeling Powerless, 90% reported feeling Future-less-ness, and 88% feeling Fearful. This study was very influential as to seeing inside the mind of the youth, which would go on to become adults during this Cold War period. It is astonishing how many of them were so uncertain about the future and even if they would have a future to grow up in. Additionally, another paper published by Dr. Sibylle K. Escalona analyzed the psychological development of children during the Cold War era. It is important to remember that children do see and do have "somewhat" of a grasp on reality as. One quote from the study from Dr. Escalona really sticks out, she goes on to say "During the sixties we conducted a study where we asked children about the future in ten years while giving no reference to the bomb... we found that 70% of the 350 children polled in the study mentioned the bomb in some capacity." Additionally, Dr. Escalona makes another point that children are not just little brainless beings that run amok, she says in her paper "To children, as the rest of us, nuclear danger is apart of the total social atmosphere." The impending fear of a nuclear war with mutually assured destruction was ever-present in the mindset and the everyday social anxieties of American citizens during the Cold War era. Alternatively, a study conducted by researchers in Canada confirmed that the fear of nuclear threats was not just present in American society. The study was conducted by a slew of researchers including Dr. Susan Goldberg, Suzanne LaCombe, Dr. Davora Levinson, Dr. K. Ross Parker, Dr. Christopher Ross, and Dr. Frank Sommers. The researchers found that 58% of the kids interviewed reported being afraid of a nuclear war/event. These studies indicate that over half of the adolescent populous interviewed were cognizant of the current political climate. The study also revealed that individuals who reported a worry about nuclear war/events also felt a more overwhelming sense of helplessness and general anxiety about events than those that did not report feeling anxious about a nuclear war/event. The Cold War led to not only economic, societal, and militaristic changes, but also psychological changes that shaped a generation
References.
Alexander DeVolpi (2009): "Nuclear Insights: The Cold War Legacy," Volume 2: "Nuclear Threats and Prospects (A Knowledgeable Assessment)"
Thad Dunning (2004): Conditioning the Effects of Aid: Cold War Politics, Donor Credibility, and Democracy in Africa.
Petra Goedde (2019): The Politics of Peace: A Global Cold War History. Oxford University Press.
Aldo Marchesi (2019): Latin America's Radical Left: Rebellion and Cold War in the Global 1960s
Andrew Sumner (2016): Global Poverty: Deprivation, Distribution, and Development Since the Cold War.


Ahatsistari

Eustache Ahatsistari ( 1602 – August 19, 1642) was a Huron warrior. He is famous for his conversion to Catholicism and his death at the hands of the Iroquois. Ahatsistari was captured alongside St. Isaac Jogues and several other Huron prisoners in 1642 and was tortured and executed. He is notable for his conversion to Christianity and his role in the lives of early French missionaries in the Americas.
Life.
Ahatsistari was born in 1602 in the Huron village of Teanostaiae, also called St. Joseph. He requested to be baptized in 1639 but was rejected for not complying with Jesuit practices.
He was baptized on April 4, 1642 with the name Eustache.
Ahatsistari had a reputation as a powerful warrior. In the summer of 1640, he led a successful attack on a group of Iroquois canoes in spite of his companions' desire to retreat. In 1641, Ahatsistari led a group of 50 Huron warriors against a group of 300 Iroquois, some of whom were captured and taken prisoner by the Huron.
Capture and death.
On August 2, 1642, Ahatsistari led a group of 40 Huron warriors who were escorting French missionaries from Trois-Rivières to Ste. Marie. The group encountered tracks of Iroquois warriors, but Ahatsistari determined that the group that had made the tracks was smaller than their own party. As they continued, the entire group--including Jesuit missionaries René Goupil and Isaac Jogues--were captured by a group of Iroquois warriors. The Iroquois held the party captive and tortured them over the course of several days.
The captives were paraded through Iroquois villages where the villagers hit them with sticks and iron rods. In each village, they were bound to a platform where they then had burning coals and cinders thrown at them. The Iroquois removed both of Ahatsistari's thumbs and inserted sharpened sticks through the open wounds. After being tortured for several days, Ahatsistari and two other Hurons were selected to be executed. Ahatsistari was taken to Tionondogen, burned to death, and beheaded.
Legacy.
Ahatsistari is a significant figure in the story of St. Isaac Jogues as well as the martyr René Groupil. He is one of the most notable success stories of Catholic conversions of Native Americans. For St. Isaac Jogues and René Groupil, their torture by their Iroquois captors led to them being canonized by the Catholic church. As he was not a member of the clergy, Ahatsistari has not been recognized by the Catholic church.
Since Ahatsistari was a notable warrior and role model for Huron men, Ahatsistari’s conversion to Christianity inspired many of his tribesmen to convert as well. Specifically, upon his death, several friends of his converted to Christianity to ensure that they would be reunited with Ahatsistari upon their deaths. It is likely that many of these converts, including Ahatsistari himself, were motivated at least in part by the fact that the Jesuits would allow them increased access to firearms, which would then increase their abilities as warriors and the strength of the tribe as a whole.


Bolsius

Bolsius is a Dutch candle manufacturer founded by Antonius Bolsius in 1870.
The company is headquartered in Schijndel. It employs around 900 people. Its United Kingdom subsidiary Bolsius UK Ltd is headquartered in Wiltshire.


Galerna

A galerna is a sudden and violent storm with strong wind gusts from the west or northwest that affects coastal areas of the Bay of Biscay, predominantly during spring and fall. It especially affects the central and eastern part of the Spanish north coast (Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa) and the southwestern region of France (Touraine, Berry, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, French Basque Country, Quercy, and Brittany). The name comes from French "galerne" and that originates from Breton (gwalarn), a wind from the northwest.
Description.
It is caused by the passage of a channeled cold coastal front, a type of coastally trapped disturbance. They usually occur during warm and calm days when a cold front causes a sudden change in wind direction and intensity that can exceed 100 km/h. The sky darkens and there is a sudden decrease in temperature of up to 12°C in 20 minutes, rapid drop in atmospheric pressure, and a rise in relative humidity. The resulting wave heights in the coastal ocean range from rough to very high on the Douglas sea scale.
Because of the associated weather and sea condition change, they are some of the meteorological events most feared by mariners and fishermen in the Bay of Biscay, especially historically. Currently, weather forecast models are able to predict the precursor conditions to galernas, reducing their potential risks, but predicting the exact timing of their occurrence remains a challenge.
Galernas throughout history.
Galernas have caused many fatalities throughout history. One of the most damaging events occurred on April 20, 1878 and it was known as the "Galerna of Easter Saturday". It is featured in the novel "" by José María de Pereda. During that day, fishermen tried to reach the coast in their launch boats to no avail, while their families watched from shore. 322 fishermen died along the Cantabrian coast (132 from Cantabria and 190 basque) and it caused a commotion throughout the country. The response to this disaster caused the introduction of several maritime safety improvements (e.g., flush deck, weather reports, search and rescue operations). Even with these improvements, many galernas continued causing fatalities.


Novosvitlivka, Luhansk Oblast

Novosvitlivka (; , "Novosvetlovka") is an urban-type settlement in Krasnodon Raion, Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. The settlement is on the main Luhansk–Krasnodon highway. Population: , .
War in Donbass.
Since 2014, Krasnodon Raion has been controlled by forces of the Luhansk People's Republic.
The town is strategically positioned such that the Ukrainian ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operations) forces occupied it on August 15, 2014, to try to stop the humanitarian aid convoy from Russia to arrive to the people of South-Eastern Ukraine.
The convoy managed to arrive at the destination however the battle between ATO and separatist forces continued. The ATO forces used civilian buildings for their defense of the town which provoked separatist shelling of their positions. The photos show weapons burned by the separatist bombardment.
On August 19, The coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Dmytro Tymchuk, wrote that
"The ATO [anti-terrorist operation] forces (airmobile and mechanized units) continue defensive fighting near the settlements of Novosvitlivka and Khriashchuvate. The district has been blocked with 23 checkpoints and 29 strongholds".
On August 21, journalist Vsevolod Filimonenko wrote that
"Fighters of the battalion «Aidar», which controls the village, had to leave their position so the terrorists would stop the shelling of the church. Later «Aidar» returned the full control over this settlement".
The battle continued over the town when, according to the Ukrainian government, "Russian" tanks of the separatist forces destroyed much of the town on August 30, including most residences.
The Ukrainian governmental forces were defeated in the battle to control the town.
"After weeks of yielding ground, the Russian-backed separatists are brimming with confidence following a string of seemingly effortless victories. On Saturday (August 30), Ukraine announced it was abandoning Ilovaisk, a city 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Starobesheve. Surrounded on all sides over several days, they sustained fire so intense that the government was compelled to plead for a corridor out. "We are surrendering this city," said Ukrainian Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. "Our task now is to evacuate our military with the least possible losses in order to regroup."
Lysenko said that regular units of the military had also been ordered to retreat from Novosvitlivka and Khryashchuvate, two towns on the main road between the Russian border and Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city. Ukraine had claimed control of Novosvitlivka earlier in August."
Demographics.
According to the 2001 census, the population of the settlement was 3610. 54.43% reported that their native language was Ukrainian, whilst 45.10% said that it was Russian.


Mark 77 bomb

The Mark 77 bomb (MK-77) is a United States air-dropped incendiary bomb carrying of a fuel gel mix which is the direct successor to napalm.
The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States military. Instead of the gasoline, polystyrene, and benzene mixture used in napalm bombs, the MK-77 uses kerosene-based fuel with a lower concentration of benzene. The Pentagon has claimed that the MK-77 has less impact on the environment than napalm. The mixture reportedly also contains an oxidizing agent, making it more difficult to put out once ignited, as well as white phosphorus.
The effects of MK-77 bombs are similar to those of napalm. The official designation of Vietnam War-era napalm bombs was the Mark 47.
Use of aerial incendiary bombs against civilian populations, including against military targets in civilian areas, was banned in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol III. However the United States reserved the right to use incendiary weapons against military objectives located in concentrations of civilians where it is judged that such use would cause fewer casualties and/or less collateral damage than alternative weapons.
Use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MK-77s were used by the United States Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Approximately 500 were dropped, reportedly mostly on Iraqi-constructed oil filled trenches. They were also used at the Battle of Tora Bora during the Afghan War.
At least thirty MK-77s were also used by Marine Corps aviators over a three-day period during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to a June 2005 letter from the UK Ministry of Defence to former Labour MP Alice Mahon. This letter stated:
The U.S. destroyed its remaining Vietnam era napalm in 2001 but, according to the reports for I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) serving in Iraq in 2003, they used a total of 30 MK 77 weapons in Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003, against military targets away from civilian areas. The MK 77 firebomb does not have the same composition as napalm, although it has similar destructive characteristics. The Pentagon has told us that owing to the limited accuracy of the MK 77, it is not generally used in urban terrain or in areas where civilians are congregated.
This confirmed previous reports by U.S. Marine pilots and their commanders saying they had used Mark 77 firebombs on military targets:
According to the Italian public service broadcaster RAI's documentary, MK 77 had been used in Baghdad in 2003 in civilian-populated areas. However, there were never any confirmed reports of the use of incendiaries specifically against civilians. Marine pilots stated to the San Diego Union-Tribune that the targets of the bombings were Iraqi soldiers defending civilian infrastructure such as bridges.
In some cases where journalists reported that the U.S. military has used napalm, military spokesmen denied the use of "napalm" without making it clear that MK-77 bombs had actually been deployed instead.
U.S. officials incorrectly informed U.K. Ministry of Defence officials that MK-77s had not been used by the U.S. in Iraq, leading to Defence Minister Adam Ingram making inaccurate statements to the U.K. Parliament in January 2005. Later both Adam Ingram and Secretary of State for Defence John Reid apologized for these inaccurate statements being made to Members of Parliament.
Variants.
Later variants of the bomb were modified to carry a reduced load of of fuel, which resulted in the total weight decreasing to around .


Prescott E. Bloom

Prescott Eller Bloom (June 18, 1942 – January 11, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician.
Born in Peoria, Illinois, Bloom received his bachelor's degree from Williams College. He went to the London School of Economics and then received his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. He practiced law in Peoria and served in the United States Army Reserves. Bloom was a Republican. In the 1974 Republican primary, Bloom defeated incumbent Senator Hudson R. Sours. Bloom served in the Illinois Senate from 1975 until death in 1986. Bloom and his daughter died in a fire at their home in Peoria, Illinois. David R. Leitch was appointed by Republican leaders to succeed Bloom in the Senate. In an all write-in primary Carl Hawkinson defeated Leitch and won the general election.


HMS Bluebell (K80)

HMS "Bluebell" was a that served in the Royal Navy in World War II. Ordered from Fleming & Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland on 27 July 1939, she was launched on 24 April 1940 and commissioned in July 1940. She served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic campaigns, escorting several convoys to Russia, and also took part in the invasions of Sicily and France. She was torpedoed and sunk by under the command of Hans-Günther Lange in the Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945 while escorting the convoy RA-64 from Murmansk. Only one member of her crew survived.
Service history.
After commissioning and sea trials in July 1940, "Bluebell" was deployed on Atlantic convoy escort duties. Commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Robert Sherwood, one of her first duties, in October 1940, was to meet Convoy SC 7 mid-ocean. She rescued all 39 officers and men from the cargo steamship , which had been torpedoed and sunk on 17 October. Sherwood subsequently appeared in the 1973 TV programme "The World at War", in the episode "Wolf Pack".
In January 1941 "Bluebell" was attached to the 5th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, based at Liverpool, to escort Atlantic convoys, transferring in September to the 37th Escort Group for the defence of convoys between Gibraltar and ports in West Africa. She returned to the UK in July 1942 to refit, and was assigned for service on the Russian Convoys. In September she sailed to Iceland to join the escort of Convoy PQ 18 to Arkhangelsk, returning in November, and resuming Atlantic convoy escort duties in December and January. In February 1943 she joined the escort of Convoy JW 53 from Loch Ewe to Kola Inlet, returning in March to resume duties in the Western Approaches.
In June 1943 "Bluebell" was sent to the Mediterranean, and in early July was part of the escort for assault convoys during the initial landings in the Allied invasion of Sicily, remaining in the Mediterranean for further convoy escort duties until August when she returned to the Western Approaches.
Between February and April 1944 she escorted Russian Convoys JW 57 and JW 58, and in May was transferred to Escort Group 143 to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. On 6 June she formed part of Convoy ECL1 escorting LSTs from the Bristol Channel to the landing beaches, then escorted follow-up convoys until released on 25 June. In August she was transferred to the 8th Escort Group and joined the escort force for Russian Convoy JW 59, returning in September.
After further convoy defence and interception duties, on 2 February 1945 she was attached to the escort for Russian Convoy JW 64. After arriving at Kola Inlet she took part in anti-submarine operations against U-boats known to be gathering to carry out attacks on the return convoy. On 17 February, as Convoy RA 64 was assembling off Murmansk, "Bluebell" was hit in the stern by an acoustic homing torpedo fired by , which caused her depth charges to explode. She sank in less than 30 seconds at . From her crew of 86 ratings and officers there was only one survivor: Albert Holmes from Southampton.


Sodom and Gomorrah (play)

Sodom and Gomorrah (French title: "Sodome et Gomorrhe") is a play by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944). Composed as a tragedy set in the biblical city of Sodom, the play was first published in 1943.
History.
Although Giraudoux was a prolific writer before World War II, "Sodome et Gomorrhe" was his only new work produced during the German occupation. The play was first translated into English by Herma Briffault in Barry Ulanov's "Makers of the Modern Theatre" (1961).
Synopsis.
One of Giradoux's darkest works, the themes and lessons of "Sodom and Gomorrah" are "deeply pessimistic". The play explores the fundamental differences between man and woman, their different expectations and the unlikelihood of their satisfaction. The plot begins with an angel proclaiming that the people of the two cities will be destroyed unless they can show among themselves an example of true love. The characters of Lia and Jean are introduced as the best evidence, but over the course of the play their fidelity erodes, ending with Lia's seemingly wanton betrayal of Jean. Lasting love of any kind appears impossible. Inevitably, divine judgment condemns the two cities, and mankind itself, for failing to prove the existence of even one happy couple.
Original production.
"Sodom and Gomorrah" was first performed on 11 October 1943 in Paris at the Théâtre Hébertot in a production by Georges Douking. With a cast that included the popular French stars Edwige Feuillère as Lia and Gérard Philipe as Jean, this original production was a commercial success and ran for over two hundred performances.


K-4 (missile)

K-4 is a nuclear capable Intermediate-range submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India to arm the Arihant-class submarines. The missile has a maximum range of about 3,500 km.
Development.
The development of the K-4 was undertaken after facing significant difficulties in compacting similarly capable Agni-III to equip INS Arihant which has a limited -diametre hull. K-4 has range comparable to Agni-III with major length reduction from to . The gas-booster designed for K-4 was successfully tested from a submerged pontoon in 2010.
Agencies responsible.
The High Energy Material Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and the Advanced Centre for Energetic Materials (ACEM) of the DRDO have been involved in developing the three motors responsible for propelling the K-4, the systems responsible for separating the stages of K-4, the low-thrust boosters, the gas generator and other components. The launch system of K-4 has been developed by the Naval Systems Group of the Research and Development Establishment (Engineers).
Description.
The K-4 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile which is composed of two stages. The missile is reported to be long with a diameter of and weighs nearly . It can carry a warhead weighing up to and is powered solid rocket propellant. The DRDO stated that the aim of the missile was to achieve a high accuracy. As a countermeasure against ballistic missile defence systems, the K4 can perform three-dimensional maneuvers.
Testing.
The developmental testing of K-4 started in January 2010, when the missile successfully ejected from a pontoon submerged 50 metres below the surface of water and breached the surface. The missile was originally scheduled to be initially tested in September 2013 from a pontoon submerged 50 feet underwater, but the test was delayed due to unspecified issues. In the event, the first test was carried out on 24 March 2014 from a depth of 30 metres. The test was successful and the missile was tested to a range of 3,000 km. The launch took place from a pontoon submerged more than 30 metres deep in the sea off the Visakhapatnam coast. After a powerful gas generator ejected it from the pontoon submerged in the Bay of Bengal, the K-4 missile rose into the air, took a turn towards the designated target, sped across 3,000 km in the sky and dropped into the Indian Ocean.
, the missile was planned for further testing both from pontoons and submarines before being declared operational.
It is reported that on 7 March 2016 the K-4 was successfully tested from a submerged platform in the Bay of Bengal.
In April 2016, it was reported that the missile was successfully tested on 31 March 2016 from INS Arihant, 45 nautical miles away from Vishakhapatnam coast in Andhra Pradesh. The missile with a dummy payload was launched from the submarine in full operational configuration. The trial was carried out with the support of the personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) and the DRDO provided all the logistics. The missile was fired from 20-metre deep and covered more than 700 km before zeroing on the target with high accuracy reaching close to zero error.
On 17 December 2017, an attempt to launch K-4 missile ended in a failure. The failure was attributed to a discharged battery.
A test of the K-4 was planned in October 2019 but got postponed. A test of the K-4 missile was expected to be held on 8 November 2019, but got postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions caused by the cyclone Bulbul. A test of the missile was expected to be conducted in December 2019.
On 19 January 2020, K-4 was successfully tested from a submerged platform located in the coastal waters of Andhra Pradesh. This test was undertaken in full operational configuration during which the missile traversed a distance of over 3,500 km in approximately 21 minutes, achieving a near-zero circular error probability.
Another test was successfully carried out on 24 January 2020. This was the final developmental test of K-4 and the missile was ready to enter serial production.


Bombard (weapon)

The bombard is a type of cannon or mortar which was used throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Bombards were mainly large calibre, muzzle-loading artillery pieces used during sieges to shoot round stone projectiles at the walls of enemy fortifications, enabling troops to break in. Most bombards were made of iron and used gunpowder to launch the projectiles. There are many examples of bombards, including Mons Meg, the Dardanelles Gun, and the handheld bombard.
The weapon provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier and the word bombardment.
Terminology.
The term "bombard" was first used to describe guns of any kind from the early to mid-14th century, but it was later applied primarily to large cannons during the 14th to 15th centuries. Despite its strong association with large cannons, there is no standard size for bombards, and the term has been applied to cannons only a meter in length as well as cannons several meters long weighing up to 20 tonnes.
History.
The oldest representation of a bombard can be found in the Dazu Rock Carvings. In 1985, the Canadian historian Robin Yates was visiting Buddhist cave temples when he saw a sculpture on the wall depicting a demon firing a hand-held bombard. The sculpture was later dated to the early 12th century.
The 'Vaso' shown by Walter de Milamete (see Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages) is usually dated to 1327 and shows a mailed knight firing a brass fire pot. However the armour shown appears anachronistic for 1327 and the image may actually be a copy of a lost 12th century image.
Early bombards also include two Chinese c. 1377 cast-iron mortars weighing over 150 kg, each with 4 trunnions on their barrels.
England certainly began using cannons in the early 14th century. Field artillery was deployed by King Edward III at the Battle of Crecy in 1346 but equipment which may have been an artillery piece was listed as captured on a French ship by the English, at Sluys, as early as 1340. Inverted 'keyhole' gun loops at Bodiam Castle, Cooling Castle and Westgate Canterbury have all been identified as for firing heavy handguns. These defences are dated 1380–1385. Initially used as defensive weapons primitive bombards began to be used as siege weapons in the later 14th century. Henry IV, Henry V, and James II won battles with the use of bombards. Henry V captured Harfleur with bombards in 1415. King Henry's army later came under artillery fire at the Battle of Agincourt. James II destroyed many castles with his one and a half ton cannon named "The Lion".
The French re-conquest of their kingdom from English control saw the use of considerable French artillery in the siege role. The French in this period preferred to avoid attacking English longbowmen in open battle and relied on siege and re-conquest by siege tactics. However the last battle of the Hundred Years' War saw English commander John Talbot lead an Anglo-Gascon army against dug-in French troops equipped with 300 pieces of artillery at the Battle of Castillion in 1453. The French camp had been laid out by ordnance officer Jean Bureau to maximise the French artillery arm. The Anglo-Gascons were shot to pieces and Talbot was eventually killed.
Most bombards started with the construction of a wooden core surrounded by iron bars. Then, iron hoops were driven over these bars in order to surround and cover them. The whole structure was then welded with a hammer while it was still hot at about 1300 °C (2350 °F). The rings then subsequently cooled and formed over the bars to secure them. The last step was to incinerate the wooden core and to attach a one-piece cast. The complicated procedure required a highly skilled forge who could work quickly and precisely with a hammer.
Notable examples.
A notable example of a bombard is the large Mons Meg weapon, built around 1449 and used by King James II of Scotland. It was very powerful and used for bringing down castle walls. The origins of the Mons Meg are not fully known but according to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, it was his idea. It was ordered around 1449 and had similar construction to a typical bombard. However, the Mons Meg was seldom used because of several factors. Mons Meg was capable of firing 180 kg (396 lb) shots and was one of the largest bombards in its time. It is now housed on public display at Edinburgh Castle.
A bombard with a bore of approximately 12 inches was found when the moat of Bodiam Castle, Kent, was drained. A muzzle-loader of hoop-and-stave construction, it is believed to be the oldest piece found in England and may be late 14th or very early 15th century. It was possibly dumped in the moat following an abortive siege at the castle during the Wars of the Roses. The original is now at the Royal Artillery Museum at Woolwich, but a copy has been on show at the castle for many years. The Star Gun Company has built a Bodiam Bombard replica while local newspapers report a replica was being fired at the castle for visitors during 2012.
Other known 15th-century very large-calibre guns include the wrought-iron Pumhart von Steyr and Dulle Griet as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete, and Grose Bochse. The Tsar Cannon is a late 16th-century show-piece.
The Dardanelles Gun, built in the Ottoman Empire in 1464 by Munir Ali, with a weight of 18.6 t and a length of 518 cm, was capable of firing stone balls of up to 63 cm diameter.
The Tsar Cannon, built in 1586 and today located on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin, is the largest bombard ever built.
Eventually bombards were superseded by weapons using smaller calibre iron projectiles fired from longer barrels with more powerful gunpowder.


Chris Brown (baseball)

John Christopher Brown (August 15, 1961 – December 26, 2006) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball during the 1980s, most notably with the San Francisco Giants.
Biography.
Early life.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Brown was a graduate of Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California, where he played high school baseball with Darryl Strawberry. The 1979 Crenshaw High Cougars baseball team was the subject of Michael Sokolove's "The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw".
Brown was selected by the Giants in the second round (44th overall) during the 1979 amateur draft.
Professional baseball career.
San Francisco Giants.
After a steady climb through the Giants minor league system, Brown made his major league debut for them in 1984 as a September call-up. In his first full season in 1985, Brown batted .261 with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in (RBIs) for the last-place Giants, made the All-Rookie team, and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting; Brown also led the NL in times being hit by pitch (11). In 1986, Brown batted .317 and made the NL All-Star team after hitting nearly .350 in the season's first half. The same season, he was involved in an infamous brawl.
At the end of 1986, he complained of shoulder soreness. That offseason, an examination by Dr. Frank Jobe in Los Angeles discovered that there was indeed a serious problem, and surgery was performed that winter. The following season, with Brown hitting a paltry .242 after 38 games, the Giants sent him packing on July 5 along with Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant in a midseason trade to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, and Craig Lefferts.
San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers.
Brown's play declined further as the year progressed, and he ended the year with a .237 average; the Giants went on to win the NL West division, and the Padres finished in last place. After dropping to a .235 average in 1988 for San Diego, Brown was dealt to the Detroit Tigers and was out of baseball by 1989 at the age of 28. In his career he batted .269 with 38 home runs, 184 RBIs, 164 runs, 410 hits and 21 stolen bases in 449 games.
Life after baseball.
After retirement, Brown lived in Houston, Texas, with his wife Lisa and their two children, Paris Brown and Gordon Pickett. In 2004, Brown worked in Iraq driving an 18-wheel truck delivering diesel fuel for Halliburton. He took fire on numerous occasions, including in a convoy that was attacked on April 9, 2004, in which six Halliburton drivers and one soldier were killed and another driver kidnapped and later released. By 2006, Brown had returned to the United States.
Brown died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on December 26, 2006, nearly a month after he suffered burns in a fire at a vacant house he owned in Sugar Land, Texas. He was 45 years of age.


Driving band

A driving band or rotating band is a band of soft metal near the base of an artillery shell, often made of gilding metal, copper, or lead. When the shell is fired, the pressure of the propellant swages the metal into the rifling of the barrel and forms a seal; this seal prevents the gases from blowing past the shell, and engages the barrel's rifling to spin-stabilize the shell.
Characteristics.
The shell is stabilized for yaw in the barrel by a smaller bourrelet band near the front of the projectile. This band keeps the projectile travelling straight in the bore, but doesn't engage the rifling.
As shell weight increases, it becomes more difficult to engineer a driving band that prevents propellant gases from either blowing past it, or blowing it off the shell.
Variations.
Driving bands pre-cut for the rifling have been used for muzzle loaded weapons, e.g. some mortars.
Freely rotating bands can be used to reduce the spin imparted to the round as is preferable for HEAT warheads or fin-stabilised projectiles fired from general-purpose rifled barrels.
Gerald Bull worked extensively on ways to eliminate the driving band, leading to the development of his Extended Range, Full Bore ammunition using an inversion of the pre-cut rifling for his GC-45 howitzer, which is now rapidly replacing older artillery worldwide.
Some weapons that operate at high rates of fire, such as the GAU-8 Avenger Gatling cannon, use plastic driving bands instead of soft metal. Using plastic as a swage material reduces wear on the barrel's rifling, and extends the life and average accuracy of the weapon.
In a small-arms rifle, the entire bullet is typically covered in copper or another soft alloy, making the entire bullet its own driving band.


MBT LAW

The Main Battle Tank and Light Anti-tank Weapon (MBT LAW), also known as the NLAW, is a joint British and Swedish short-range fire-and-forget anti-tank missile system. Designed for use by infantry, the MBT LAW is shoulder fired and disposable, firing once before being disposed of. It is currently in use with the military forces of the United Kingdom, Finland, Luxembourg, and Sweden, Indonesia, among others.
Overview.
The MBT LAW was developed by Saab Bofors Dynamics and Thales Air Defence in collaboration with the British Ministry of Defence in 2002. The development is a joint venture between the UK and Sweden using technology derived from the BILL 2 (warhead and guidance), and AT4 CS (confined space capability) systems. The UK MoD Defence Procurement Agency will procure the systems for both the UK and Sweden, with Sweden signing a contract for the weapon in December 2005 where it will be designated the "RB ("Robot") 57". It has been estimated that the UK requirement may be for up to 20,000 systems for the British Armed Forces and each system has a shelf life of around 20 years. In December 2007, Finland placed an order for an undisclosed number of NLAW systems. An additional, undisclosed, number was ordered in December 2008. It is a soft-launch system, allowing it to be used by infantry from within an enclosed space. In this system, the missile is first launched out of the launcher using a low powered ignition. After the missile travels several metres into flight, its main rocket ignites, propelling the missile from there on to the target. Guidance is obtained using predicted line of sight (PLOS); for a moving target, the gunner maintains tracking for three seconds, training the missile's guidance electronics to compute the target's angular speed. After launch the missile flies autonomously to the target making the necessary corrections according to the data acquired by the tracking. It is unnecessary for the gunner to consider the range to the target. After launch the missile's position in its trajectory always coincides with the target irrespective of range.
The portable, short range, fire-and-forget system entered service in 2009 as the "Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon" (NLAW), to replace the British Army's existing LAW 80 system that had in UK's deployment reached obsolescence, as well as the Interim Lightweight Anti-tank Weapon (ILAW), AT4 CS, which was in deployment as a substitute for the period in which the MBT-LAW had yet to be deployed. Deliveries began in December 2009.
In Finnish Defence Forces the NLAW complements the existing stock of LAW and Apilas rockets and Spike and TOW missiles; LAW is primarily intended against lighter armoured vehicles, but a MBT in close range is engaged with both LAW and NLAW. LAW is stocked at infantry platoon level, NLAW is stocked at infantry company level.
Development.
Both launcher and missile development are carried out at Saab Bofors Dynamics facilities at Eskilstuna and Karlskoga in Sweden using the expertise gained on anti-armour systems such as the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle, the AT4 CS confined spaces weapon and the Bill anti-tank missile. Thales Air Defence is the major UK partner and contributor to the program, leading Team MBT LAW which includes 14 UK subcontractors for the manufacture of the weapon system and its components. Final assembly and testing is carried out at the Thales Air Defence facilities in Belfast. The missile's inertial measurement unit (IMU) is manufactured by Collins Aerospace in Plymouth. Eaton Ltd, based in South Molton, is responsible for the manufacture of the control fins and actuators. Raytheon Systems Limited based in Glenrothes, and Thales Missile Electronics based in Basingstoke, manufacture electronics assemblies and the systems proximity fuse. National Plastics Aerospace based in Coventry, is responsible for the plastic and composite mouldings. Skeldings, based in Smethwick, manufacture the system's special purpose springs. Express Engineering of Gateshead, Portsmouth Aviation, EPS Logistics Technology, Leafield Engineering of Bristol and Metalweb in Birmingham are also major partners in the MBT LAW consortium.


Turret gun

A turret gun is a type of multi-shot hand-held firearm. It is a variation on the percussion revolver, designed with chambers in a drum mounted so it would rotate horizontally (around a vertically mounted pivot), rather than around a horizontal axis, in an attempt to circumvent the patent of Samuel Colt. Chambers opened in all directions, and the weapon was prone to row ignition, all chambers firing in sequence, resulting in fatal accidents because one chamber always faces the shooter.
Several designs were attempted, including an 1837 Cochran and an 1851 Porter.
A number of turret rifles were also attempted. None of these weapons were successful, due to the row-firing hazard. As a result, they are very rare and much sought-after.


Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage (NWIRP) -- also known as 'Northrop Grumman Site Facility' -- was a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility established in 1941, with the mission to design, fabricate, and test prototype aircraft for the US Navy and the NASA in the town of Oyster Bay in Bethpage, New York. Two groundwater plumes of toxic chemicals, mostly volatile organic compounds migrating from the property were discovered in 1986 and in 2009, affecting the water district well fields. The site is subject to state Superfund cleanup plans. Special water treatment plants were established in the early 2000s.
History.
The former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant is situated on 605 acres in the Town of Oyster Bay, Bethpage, NY. In 1936 the Grumman Corporation was founded and produced aircraft at the site, before the Navy established the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage there in 1941.
The site was a 'storage facility' and since 1976 permitted under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to both the Navy and Northrop Grumman as responsible parties. In 1986, the first of 2 known plumes of contamination was discovered, a shallow one; in 2009 a larger, deeper plume was found under what became the Bethpage Community Park. Grumman installed and operates an Onsite Containment System. Manufacturing stopped in 1996. There are public and private water wells located within a two-mile radius of the plant, as of 2014 and local water districts worry that public-supply wells could be affected. 2014 results from a monitoring well the Navy installed north of Hempstead Turnpike show Trichloroethylene levels as high as 4,600 parts per billion in groundwater hundreds of feet below the surface.=
Groundwater Flow Simulation.
In 2010 the groundwater flow system was simulated by Paul Misut of the USGS to provide a scientific basis for designing systems to remediate the groundwater plumes that originated from the facility. A new study published in 2020 provides updated information.


Sarah Amelia Scull

Sarah Amelia Scull (November 25, 1834 – February 14, 1913) was an American educator and writer, author of "Greek Mythology Systematized" (1880) and "Illustrations of Greek Mythology and Greek Art" (1890).
Early life.
Sarah Amelia Scull was born in Bushnell's Basin, New York and raised in Smethport, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Paul Ebenezer Scull and Rhoda Tyler Scull. She attended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, New York.
Career.
Scull taught at the Pittsburgh Female College in Meadville, Pennsylvania from 1860 to 1866, and at the Chestnut Street Seminary in Philadelphia. She and two other women teachers opened the short-lived Logan Square Seminary in Philadelphia. She became vice-principal of Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, D.C. after it was founded in 1875. She was also first corresponding secretary of the Women's Anthropological Society.
Scull wrote "Greek Mythology Systematized" (1880) from her studies and reading on the topic. From her base in Washington, she traveled to Greece in 1886, studying and touring and taking over 500 photographs of scenery, people, architectural ruins and statues. She published the photos as "Illustrations of Greek mythology and Greek art" (1890). "Because this age is one of financial estimates and enterprises," Scull wrote of her work, "so much the more is there imperative need that we cultivate in every direction, and by every method, power to apprehend and appreciate the precious values of spirit, truth-seeking and beauty-loving."
Scull was listed among the directors of the Washington Archaeological Society for 1895-1897. She was a member of "The Literary", a literary club in Washington. In 1884 the Wesleyan Female College awarded her an honorary doctorate for her scholarship.
Personal life.
Scull died from injuries sustained in a house fire in 1913, aged 79 years. An unfinished manuscript on Greek history, a project she had been writing for many years, was lost in the fire with her.


Wallet gun

A wallet gun is a concealed firearm. It is a small handgun covered in leather or cloth in a wallet shape with openings for the barrel and trigger to disguise it as a wallet (at least at first glance).