Marion Harris

Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison, April 4, 1896 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.
Early life.
She was born Mary Ellen Harrison on April 4, 1896, probably in Indiana. She sang in vaudeville and movie theaters in Chicago around 1914. The dancer Vernon Castle introduced her to the theater community in New York City, where she debuted in the Irving Berlin revue "Stop! Look! Listen!" in 1915.
Recordings.
In 1916, she began recording for Victor Records, singing a variety of songs, such as "Everybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues, but I'm Happy", "After You've Gone", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", "When I Hear That Jazz Band Play" and her biggest success, "I Ain't Got Nobody" (originally titled "I Ain't Got Nobody Much").
In 1920, after Victor prevented her from recording W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues", she joined Columbia, where she recorded the song. Sometimes billed as "The Queen of the Blues", she recorded blues and jazz songs throughout her career. Handy wrote, "she sang blues so well that people hearing her records sometimes thought that the singer was colored." Harris commented, "You usually do best what comes naturally, so I just naturally started singing Southern dialect songs and the modern blues songs."
She was briefly married to the actor Robert Williams. They married in 1921 and divorced the following year. Harris and Williams had one daughter, Mary Ellen, who later became a singer under the name Marion Harris Jr.
In 1922 she signed with Brunswick. She continued to appear in Broadway theatres throughout the 1920s. She regularly played the Palace Theatre, appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld's "Midnight Frolic", and toured the country with vaudeville shows. After her divorce from a marriage that produced two children, she returned, in 1927, to New York theater, made more recordings with Victor and appeared in an eight-minute Vitaphone short film, "". After performing in a Hollywood movie, the early musical "Devil-May-Care" (1929), with Ramón Novarro, she temporarily withdrew from performance because of an undisclosed illness.
Later career and death.
Between 1931 and 1933, Harris performed on such NBC radio shows as "The Ipana Troubadors" and Rudy Vallee's "The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour". She was billed by NBC as "The Little Girl with the Big Voice."
In early 1931 she performed in London, returning for long engagements at the Café de Paris (located in London). In London, she appeared in the musical "Ever Green" and broadcast on BBC radio. She also recorded in England in the early 1930s, but retired soon afterwards. In 1936, she married Leonard Urry, an English theatrical agent. Their house was destroyed in a German rocket attack in 1941, and in 1944 she travelled to New York to seek treatment for a neurological disorder. She was discharged two months later.
She died on April 23, 1944, at Le Marquise Hotel from a fire that started when she fell asleep while smoking in bed.


D. Knox Hanna

D. Knox Hanna was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He was one of six members of the state House killed in the Kerns Hotel fire in Lansing on December 11, 1934. Also killed were representatives Charles D. Parker, T. Henry Howlett, Vern Voorhees, John W. Goodwine, and Don E. Sias, along with state senator John Leidlein. The men were in Lansing for a special session of the Michigan legislature.


Anti-tank artillery


Boti

Boti, Dao, Da, Chulesi, or Pirdai ( ; also transliterated Bonti or Bnoti or Nepali : चुलेसी; Chulesi) is a cutting instrument, most prevalent in the country Nepal and Bengal region, a region in eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided between the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Barak Valley of Assam and the independent country of Bangladesh .
A boti is a long curved blade that cuts on a platform held down by foot. Both hands are used to hold whatever is being cut and move it against the blade. The sharper side faces the user. The method gives excellent control over the cutting process and can be used to cut anything from tiny shrimp to large pumpkins.
Variations.
A larger version of the boti, with a bigger blade, is used for gutting and cutting fish. Another version of the boti comprises the "Nariyal Khuruchni" (coconut grater) in the form of a flat round top with sharp small shark-like teeth all around it to serrate coconut. "Dao" or "daa" (a more prevalent name in Bangladesh, specifically Chittagong and Sylhet) is a variation of boti, which is handheld.
The cutting instrument is not unique to Bengal. It is well known in Maharashtra and South India also. The names in South India are in Tamil: Arivalmanai or Aruvamanai, Telugu: Kathipeeta, Konkani: Addili, Marathi: Vili or Morli, Odiya: Panikhi, Bihar: Pirdai etc. It is known as Chulesi in Nepal(चुलेसी) and used to chop vegetables mainly in the rural areas of Nepal.
It is basically for the cooks to sit comfortably on the floor and cut vegetables and meat with one leg folded on the wooden base and the other leg stretched. The coconut scraper is in all states mentioned above who produce and use more coconuts in the cuisine.


Solothurn ST-5

The Solothurn ST-5 is a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun designed by Solothurn in Switzerland which ultimately was the design basis for the highly successful 2 cm FlaK 30 series of guns used by Germany in World War II.
Solothurn was owned by the German firm Rheinmetall, which at the time was prohibited from developing certain weapons. It and other German manufacturers sought partnerships with foreign firms, often owning them outright, in an effort to circumvent the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
The ST-5 fired the 'Long Solothurn' ammunition, the cartridge 20 × 138 mm. B. The cartridge case was 138 mm long, making it the most powerful 20 mm round available.


Tabas

Tabas (, also Romanized as Ṭabas), formerly Golshan, is a city in and capital of Tabas County, South Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 35,150, in 9,903 families.
Tabas is located in central Iran, 950 kilometers southeast of Tehran, in South Khorasan Province. At first, it was part of the greater Khorasan province, but in 2001, it was annexed to Yazd Province. However, in 2013, it was returned to Khorasan, and it became part of South Khorasan province. The name Khorasan means the land of the rising sun. There are two other places in Khorasan called Tabas, but the name Tabas usually refers to the city under discussion.
It is a desert city with many date and citrus trees. It has a 300-year-old public garden (Bagh-e-Golshan). There is also a shrine in Tabas that is visited every year by thousands of pilgrims. Tabas has two universities with 2,500 to 3,500 students. The city has hot summers, and people rarely see a winter snowfall.
The people of Tabas speak a Khorasani dialect of Persian that sounds somewhat different from the standard Iranian version ("Tehran Persian").
History.
The history of Tabas dates back to pre-Islamic times. It was an important outpost of the Sassanid empire, and during the Arab invasion, it was considered the gateway to Khorasan. It was spared when the Mongols attacked Iran. It had a local government incorporating not only Tabas but also Ferdows and Gonabad.
In 1978, the 7.4 Tabas earthquake affected the city with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 15,000 people were killed. Since then, the city has been rebuilt with many new streets, parks and public buildings.
Operation Eagle Claw.
The failed rescue American operation Operation Eagle Claw on 24–25 April 1980 to free American hostages in Tehran occurred near Tabas. In Iran, the operation is called "amaliat tabas" (Tabas operation), and the significance and aftermath of the failed operation made the city Tabas known in almost every corner of Iran. The Tabas air defense system is accordingly named so.
Transport.
Multiple bus lines, a railroad station and an airport connect Tabas to Mashhad, Yazd, Tehran, Kerman and Birjand (the capital city of South Khorasan province).


Xploderz

Xploderz is a line of toy weapons made by The Maya Group to compete with Hasbro's Nerf Super Soaker line and marketed as a safer alternative to paintball. The concept is based on Orbeez, a girls' toy line also by The Maya Group that uses water-absorbent gel pellets, and hence is sometimes referred to as "Orbeez ball shooters".
When playing, a piston rod is manually pulled back against spring tension in a fashion similar to drawing a slingshot, allowing pellets to be drop-loaded from a top mounted magazine. When the rod is released, the spring elasticity drives piston to pressurize the air pump behind the pellets, which in turn propels the pellets flying out forward.
The ammunition used is what the Maya Group calls "H2Grow Technology", wherein superabsorbent polymer pellets (containing sodium polyacrylate, sodium hydroxide and colorings) grow into spherical hydrogel beads around 7 ~ 11 mm in size after being immersed in water for about three hours. Unlike airsoft and paintball pellets, the hydrogel shots are quickly biodegradable, easy to clean off clothing, and will not cause any bodily injury due to their softness and readily tendency to fragment upon impact.


Fort Richardson (Alaska)

Fort Richardson is a United States Army installation in the U.S. State of Alaska, adjacent to the city of Anchorage. In 2010, it was merged with nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base to form Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
History.
Fort Richardson was named for the military pioneer explorer, Brig. Gen. Wilds P. Richardson, who served three tours of duty in the rugged Alaska territory between 1897 and 1917. Richardson, a native Texan and an 1884 West Point graduate, commanded troops along the Yukon River and supervised construction of Fort Egbert near Eagle, and Fort William H. Seward (Chilkoot Barracks) near Haines. As head of the War Department's Alaska Road Commission from 1905 to 1917, he was responsible for much of the surveying and building of early railroads, roads and bridges that helped the state’s settlement and growth. The Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, surveyed under his direction in 1904, was named the Richardson Highway in his honor.
During World War II, Fort Richardson was used briefly as a holding center for several family members of Alaskan Japanese Americans arrested after Pearl Harbor. Fifteen Japanese Americans and two German Americans were interned here before being transferred to other camps. Built during 1940-1941 on the site of what is now Elmendorf Air Force Base and established as the headquarters of the United States Army, Alaska (USARAK) in 1947, the post moved to its present location five miles (8 km) northeast of Anchorage in 1950. The post then had barracks for 500 soldiers, a rifle range, a few warehouses, a hospital, and bachelor officer quarters. From 1986-1994 the fort was headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division (Light). Fort Richardson is now headquarters for United States Army Alaska (USARAK), a subordinate unit of United States Army Pacific Command. For more than a decade, the major combat unit at Fort Richardson was Task Force 1-501, the only airborne infantry battalion in the Pacific Theater. Task Force 1-501 deployed to Afghanistan from October 2003 through August 2004.
The majority of USARAK combat forces were at Fort Wainwright, 300 miles to the north, with Fort Richardson as the primary support base.
Demographics.
Fort Richardson appeared once on the 1970 U.S. Census as an unincorporated military reservation. Because it was located within the confines of the Anchorage Census Division, it was consolidated into the City of Anchorage in 1975.
Recent history.
During the Army's expansion following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Task Force 1-501 was expanded into an airborne brigade. Flagged as 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, the unit is now the primary strategic response force for the Pacific Theater. It comprises two infantry battalions, an engineer battalion, one cavalry squadron, a small artillery battalion, and a support battalion. A full range of family and soldier support facilities common to any small Army community are found on post, ranging from a shoppette to childcare and recreational facilities. The post has small but modern dental and medical clinics, and receives major medical services from the 3rd Medical Group hospital at Elmendorf. The Joint Military Mall, also located on Elmendorf, provides post exchange and commissary services.
The post’s largest military tenant is the Alaska National Guard, with facilities at Camp Carroll and Camp Denali. Fort Richardson also hosts several non-military activities, including a United States National Cemetery and a state-owned fish hatchery. According to the Fort's website, there are 5,418 soldiers, as well as over 8,300 family members housed at the base as of June 2008. The Fort also employs about 1,200 Army and DOD civilian employees. Fort Richardson's military payroll for fiscal year 2003 was $85 million. The civilian payroll was $49 million. Including other expenditures of $111 million, Fort Richardson put more than $245 million into the local economy.
The fort encompasses 84,000 acres, which includes space for offices, family housing, a heliport, a drop zone suitable for airborne and air/land operations, firing ranges and other training areas. Nearby mountain ranges offer soldiers the opportunity to learn mountain/glacier warfare and rescue techniques.
Facilities.
The post’s largest military tenant is the Alaska National Guard, with facilities at Camp Carroll and Camp Denali. Fort Richardson also hosts several non-military activities, including a United States National Cemetery and a state-owned fish hatchery.
The fort encompasses , which includes space for offices, family housing, a heliport, a drop zone suitable for airborne and air/land operations, firing ranges and other training areas. Nearby mountain ranges offer soldiers the opportunity to learn mountain/glacier warfare and rescue techniques.
The "Buckner Fieldhouse" is a 3,500 seat multi-purpose arena on Fort Richardson. From 1978 to 1982, it was home to the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament. It was replaced as the Shootout venue when the Sullivan Arena opened in 1983. Along with the West Anchorage High School gymnasium and the former Anchorage Sports Arena on Fireweed Lane, the Buckner Fieldhouse served as a venue for various other events which later moved to the Sullivan Arena and the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center upon those facilities' completion.
Unification with Elmendorf AFB.
Under the base unification procedure, which began finalization in the summer of 2010, Elmendorf AFB and Fort Richardson were consolidated as a result of decisions made by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). The combined base is known as Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Most of the current civilian base employees became Air Force employees as a result.


Safety area

A Safety Area is a term from the shooting sports describing a bay with a safe direction where shooters can handle unloaded firearms without the supervision of a Range Officer (RO). Safety areas are widely used in dynamic shooting sport disciplines (e.g. IPSC and PPC 1500), and may for example be used to pack, unpack or holster a gun, cleaning or repair, dry firing and training with empty magazines.
The handling of ammunition is expressively prohibited within the safety area, including any dummy rounds. Outside the safety area ammunition can be handled freely to load magazines, but firearms may only be handled under the direct supervision of a Range Officer. This strict separation of firearms and ammunition prevents accidents like accidental discharge (AD). Violators will be prosecuted as a rule, with immediate disqualification and exclusion from the competition.


Attached gas-check

An attached gas-check was a copper plate that was physically attached to the base of a studded projectile of rifled muzzle-loading ("RML") artillery, sealing the escape of gas between the projectile and the barrel.


Through the Fire and Flames

"Through the Fire and Flames" is a song by English power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song is a single as well as the opening track from DragonForce's third album, "Inhuman Rampage", and features rapid twin guitar solos by Herman Li and Sam Totman.
The song peaked at #86 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and #61 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2008. It also enjoyed briefly renewed popularity in March 2015 when a cover version uploaded to YouTube became popular, sending the song to number 13 on the Rock Songs chart. It has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States alone and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Through the Fire and Flames" has also appeared in several video games. In the "Guitar Hero" rhythm game series, the song first featured in "" as an unlockable bonus song, and later appeared in "Guitar Hero Smash Hits" and "Guitar Hero Live". The song also featured in "Rocksmith 2014". It is a playable song in Konami's band session arcade games "GuitarFreaks" and "DrumMania V6", and part of the soundtrack for "Brütal Legend". It is also one of the most popular songs used by "Audiosurf" players. The song was also made available for download for "Rock Band 3" on 29 March 2011 for both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which can utilize real musical instruments.
Composing and recording.
This song is written in the key of C minor (but in standard E tuning), and like most other DragonForce songs it is written in a fast tempo of 200 beats per minute with a common time signature (170bpm in the first half of the guitar solo). Near the end of the recording, guitarist Herman Li broke one of his guitar strings. Despite this, the band decided to keep this recording and left it on the final album version.
Music video.
The track was used in the first music video by DragonForce. For the video, a shortened version of the song was used, lasting only five minutes.
The simple video primarily shows the band performing the song in a dark room illuminated by amber lights. After the rapid intro riff, guitarist Herman Li holds onto his Ibanez S series guitar with just the whammy bar. During the guitar solos, the camera focuses on Li and Sam Totman alone, with an inset shot of the current player's fretboard. During Li's solos, Totman stands to Li's left drinking. At the start of the solo, a Pac-Man sound is played by Li, after which he throws the whammy bar he used to make this sound into the air.
The music video circulated through YouTube and various music video channels, including MTV2, and was shown on the monitor screens during the band's performances at Ozzfest 2006.
Compilation appearances.
The song appears on two compilation albums: The short version of the song, misnamed as "Through the Fire and "the" Flames", appears on "MTV2 Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge", released on 11 April 2006. The full version of the song appears on "Salvation, Vol. 1", released on 23 October 2007.


Horizontal escalation

Horizontal escalation is the process by which conflicts are heightened through geographical expansion with reasoning including diplomatic, economic, informational, and military components. This also includes international intervention as well as the geographical widening of combat operations. Horizontal escalation is a direct contrast to vertical escalation which employs types of weapons not previously used in the conflict. That type of escalation also allows attacking new types of targets in order to have an upper hand to the other combatant.
The word escalation was used for a variety of different facets, but it was not until the year 1973 that the American Heritage Dictionary related the term to military events of increasing scope and intensity.
During the Cold War, the risks associated with using escalation were much broader and more diverse, due to the intensity of the current world events. Counterinsurgency and counter-terrorist operations were very prone to using horizontal escalation as a means of defense. Those two types of warfare are more likely to lead to horizontal escalation, because the area of conflict widens in efforts to eliminate enemy holdings or to punish other parties that support their enemy. In an era of such high intensity, in order to gain an upper hand, horizontal escalation was implemented.
Escalation in depth.
There are many aspects associated with escalation, thus making it a difficult concept to comprehend. Rightly so, we can begin to encompass its many form through its different ideas, while also trying to understand the motives behind escalation and the mechanisms of manifestation. The most recognized form of escalation is deliberate escalation, which is carried out for instrumental reasons. Deliberate escalation entails a combatant deliberately increasing the intensity of the operation to gain an advantage. This advantage sets in motion the idea that the one side that chooses to give up escalating first, loses. This sends the signal to the enemy that they are willing to overcome anything to have the lead or that the enemy's previous attempt to gain control shall be punished. Deliberate escalation demands actions to be taken one after another. There is intention from both sides to become the last man standing. In order to have the upper hand in deliberate escalation, one side needs to focus more of its time and energy on deterrence. Deterrence is the threat of punishment when serious actions are intended, which means if one combatant has the upper-hand in weapons, strategy, and technology, the other side would withhold any future attacks due to the fear of consequences. Deterrence is the way to an end. It sends the statement to the other combatant that one is not only trying to get an advantage, but that one is willing to implement many different blockades or tough punishments, in order to continue prevention of escalation. Deterrence is a way to get into the enemy's mind. It creates the idea that if one were to step out of line, there would be serious consequences for the actions. It puts the cost-risk thinking into perspective, making the route with much less costs to the actions the most favorable outcome. Meaning that during a serious battle that requires much deliberation, the less risky choice will most likely be taken. Another form of escalation is inadvertent escalation, which entails an action being interpreted as deliberate, when the action was meant to be plain and simple. This inadvertent escalation stems from the thresholds and subjective thought of escalation. This form of escalation can be prevented by defining thresholds by both sides of the conflict. If there are clear rules of engagements, any misinterpretations could be prevented, because both sides would know the difference between an actual attack or something much simpler. The third form of escalation is accidental escalation. This happens when individuals make mistakes, such as bombing the wrong location, or when military leaders fail to set the rules of engagement. These accidental risks are hard to eliminate, but one can use effective force management to lessen the risks. Accidental escalation is very problematic, because minor mistakes could eventually lead to the enemy thinking the worst, then one can face much more terrific outcomes like actual warfare.
Dimensions of escalation.
The dimensions of escalation also range from vertical, horizontal, and political. Vertical escalation contains the notion of increasing the intensity of armed conflict, such as creating new weapons not previously used in combat. The United States had a pivotal role in vertical escalation during the development of nuclear weapons during World War II. This development changed all of mankind and had other nations trying to vertically escalate as well, such as the Soviet Union following closely behind with nuclear weapons of their own. Vertical escalation has the means to end war, but it usually just results in another nation trying to play catch up. The reason for nuclear weapons is due to the fear of a neighboring country or a high power nation using the weapons for personal gain. Aside from vertical escalation, we have horizontal escalation that seeks to expand the geographic scope of conflict, such as operating in a territory previously set as a neutral zone. Horizontal escalation could be used to lure an enemy to familiar territory. This familiar territory can mean a significant advantage in the battlefield, breaking the opponents stance in the matter. Horizontal escalation could also be used to create tension within the battles. Meaning, if one were to place nuclear missiles around an enemies known allies, it could create an unsettling environment for the opponent, having them to make or move or forfeit the ally. Political escalation derives its ideas from any leftover categories not suited for previously mentioned escalation methods. This can be the ideas one develops to respond to someone else's, such as what technology to use to develop nuclear weapons and the steps needed to reach the goal. Horizontal escalation means to increase the intensity of conflict, whether to gain objectives or an advantage viewpoint to avoid defeat. If left undisturbed, horizontal escalation could potentially result in a mutually assured destruction, forgetting about the initial problem that lead up to the conflict. The thinking throughout the Cold War made it so the group with the most power, such as the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States compared to the other nations, would deter other combatants from escalating due to the potential catastrophic risks involved. Many challenges faced by the United States had escalation in high regard, because the United States needed to be ready to face any powerful adversary, the United States had to protect regions in which high interest was involved, and lastly the United States had to face many irregular war threats, asking for a new strategy of Horizontal Escalation. This new strategy was implemented by Ronald Reagan in response to the Warsaw Pact in Western Europe. This was done by attacking the Soviet Union or their allies in areas in which the United States had a clear military advantage.
Unilateral escalation.
When strategizing about escalation and the actions surrounding it, the form for which it takes is usually seen as an interactive process in which combatants escalate threats or force in response to the other's actions. This is not always the case though, it can also be unilateral escalation, in which the one escalating the battles does so independently without any interference from the other side. To clarify this point, in 1945 the United States strategically fire-bombed Tokyo to ensure devastating urban decay to prevent Japan from gathering up and setting a foothold to retaliate. This eventually led up to the nuclear age, inadvertently leading with the destruction of Hiroshima, crushing the Japanese economy without any previous change in terms of conflict. A response is usually not warranted, because the combatant's capabilities are much less fearful than what the higher power has in store. This means no matter how much a nation tries to overcome the threat, there will always be something more to stop the action, making it a lose-lose situation. Another aspect of unilateral escalation is that a response may be unattractive to the public eye. This can be largely due to the risks being higher than what the cost ensures, such as violating morals to overcome a problem. The act of retaliating, in Japan's instance, would result in more substantial loss than any real gain. Japan would have to shell out tremendous amounts of resources in order to keep up with the demand of retaliating. If a response is not taken, this makes the escalation unilateral. This way of thinking insures the most powerful nation the capability to have all the power. A unilateral form of escalation is only possible when there is a clear distinction of power between the two combatants. If the two powers are equal in strength, Like the Soviet Union and the United States, a unilateral form of escalation could almost be impossible. This is because both sides of the conflict have the power to continue retaliating. There is almost a mindset instilled in both powerhouses that it is best to continue fighting than to give up to the lesser power. This is where other forms of escalation come into play. When thinking about unilateral escalation, it is best implemented when the higher power knows they will always have an upper hand.
Ronald Reagan's Administration.
United States President Ronald Reagan's administration fully committed the United States in the deterrence of further Soviet aggression in the Persian Gulf Sea. There were a few strategies that were implemented in the Persian Gulf Sea, such as the strategies known as Symmetrical response and Asymmetrical response. Symmetrical response can be defined as a reaction to threats in the attempt of achieving an equally balanced level of power at the exact geographical location, time, and level corresponding to the initial threat. Asymmetrical response has been defined as "Shifting the location or nature of one's reaction onto terrain better suited to the application of one's strength against adversary weakness." This strategy consists of one combatant trying to pull all the strings on familiar territory in order to use the strengths they have acquired in similar situations. President Ronald Reagan's administration quickly favored the Asymmetrical response in the Persian Gulf, however both asymmetrical and symmetrical responses were incorporated in his plan of attack. Not long after President Ronald Reagan took office, his administration strategist reported guidelines for the military stating, "to hit the soviets at their remote and vulnerable outposts in retaliation for any cutoff of Persian Gulf oil." The Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger stated the United States' ability to prevent the Soviets from further escalating in the Persian Gulf complements the ability for the United States to shift or spread the war to other areas. One current idea at the time was "to threaten the Soviet Brigade in Cuba if Moscow or its Surrogates move into the Persian Gulf." If that were to happen then symmetrical response would be put into play and the prospects of symmetrical response were viewed as negative, because the Soviets Geographical advantage complemented with their enormous number of ground forces.
One year later, the First Defense made a statement that carried over the same attitude as Reagan's administration had during the Gulf War. If the Soviet military made any advances in the Persian Gulf then the United States must have the capability to use military in the Persian Gulf, Cuba, Libya, Vietnam, or Asian territory in the Soviet Union; making the Soviet Union's homeland a possible target for horizontal escalation.
From this evidence, it can be argued that the goal of Horizontal Escalation is to terminate something in a way that would hurt the Soviets and give the United States an advantage or is it to hold something valuable for ransom to make the Soviets comply with the terms of the United States? To answer these questions, we must first understand that Soviet Union lacked military support in the Persian Gulf Sea and had most of their military positioned in the west. The Soviet Union's military placed in the west was a compensation tool used for the loss of access to the Persian Gulf oil. Therefore, the United States would use Horizontal Escalation by placing more military forces in the Persian Gulf to force the Soviet Union to redeploy its military there, by making the Soviet Union shift its forces back out into the Persian Gulf. This would make Soviet positions in Western Europe more vulnerable to attack and easier to be taken over by the United States military forces. It essentially forces the opponent to space out its military, which in turn makes it easier for you to attack. For the United States, it meant they were now capable of making conventional defense mechanisms in the West.
Horizontal escalation could also be used to essentially fix the Soviet forces at a specific location to prevent them from placing reinforcements at the desired location of attack. However, horizontal escalation will only turn out well, if there is a respectable enough bargaining chip like that of the Persian Gulf oil; essentially how valuable is the territory/object to your opponent? However, it was not the United States Navy that dictated where the Soviet Union positioned its forces. It was primarily Chinas forces that dictated where the Soviet Union's military went.
It's questioned when should the United States start using horizontal escalation and the answer is the Reagan five-year defense plan. Ronald Reagan's five-year defense plan would allow the United States to build up its military large enough to have enough forces in both Persian Gulf and the west forcing the Soviet Union to redeploy its forces in the Persian Gulf. Ronald Reagan's five-year plan increased the possibly of success for horizontal escalation and the return meant the United States military success in the west improved allowing them to further their progression. However, Ronald Reagan's plan will only work if the Soviet Union's military reached a ceiling or peak to their Military buildup. While the Soviet Union continued to deny any limits on how large their military could grow, the United States kept building its military with Ronald Reagan's five-year plan and the U.S combined both horizontal escalation and Reagan's five-year plan in attempts to cap the Soviet Union's military growth. This would put a cap on the Soviet Union's military, once their military became spread out and an enormous amount of money was added by the Soviet Union to move and deploy more troops.
Horizontal targets can be hard to identify if you do not know the value your opponent places on an object, territory, or hostages. The United States faced a difficult task identifying what the Soviet Union valued enough for the U.S to achieve the desired effect on the Soviet Union. However, it was important not to choose a target of great value to the Soviet Union, which might lead to them using nuclear weapons. This left the United States with the open question of whether attacking Soviets fleets in their home waters would be the most effect method for securing communications in the Western sea. Even if such offensive navy operations were the best option, it would still cause extremely high risks for the Soviet Union to use nuclear weapons based not solely on U.S navy ships reaching Soviet territory, but, also because it would be almost impossible for the U.S Navy to avoid sinking "Soviet strategic ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)." Hence if the U.S used only conventional methods in attempts to gain sea control, the Soviet Union might not see it as "conventional sea control," but rather as a forerunner to nuclear attack, also known as damage limiting nuclear first strikes. Even with a clear goal for horizontal escalation, it is unclear how to exactly determine what an appropriate target is. Not having an idea of where or what to attack, escalation is a difficult concept to grasp in the heat of war. One wrong move, one false alarm, and the end result could mean nuclear war.
Strategic misstep.
The Reagan Administration's naval buildup is important for the overall objective of deterring the Soviet Union in Europe and the American's interest due to military escalation of nuclear weapons. The Maritime Strategy is the blueprint for the U.S. Navy to mass-produce 600 ships against fighting in a global war against the Soviet Union. The U.S. Navy believes that the buildup is the key for the protection of the American people and their close relation to Europe. The main idea is to prevent the Soviet's threat to NATO and is extremely important to the American's military. The Maritime Strategy is to gain control in the sea and have the range to launch missiles or air strikes into enemy territory. Horizontal escalation was one of the main tenets of the overall defense policy of the early Reagan Administration. The horizontal escalation discussed in its position is to build large number of carriers and have the capability to eliminate threats on both land and water.
Conventional deterrence is a method to discouraging the other side to engage in war due to the escalation of a nuclear exchange. The 4 main keys parts to conventional deterrence is one, broken down into one side believing that they can make a quick victory when striking first. The second part is the risk involved going to war and the pressure of not talking any military action. The third part is the mathematical calculation of the degree of crisis stability. The ability to make prediction on the battlefield and the effects it has on the opposing side. The last part is the history of the navies role in war. When Germany decided to execute the Schlieffen Plan in July 1914 and another in plan in Fall of 1939 and 1940 which result of France falling. The evidence from these cases shows that calculations regarding the naval balance did not play an important role in the decision for war.
One impact position is called the direct naval impact were sea control is about stopping the Soviets from disrupting the flow of military goods from the United States to Europe. One way to achieve this strategy is by launching an amphibious attack close to shore which direct the Soviet's attention and decrease the possibility of winning the war. With the Navy, the United States could also use carriers to launch air attacks which might win the war for NATO. Another position is the horizontal escalation in relation to the Navy is building many carriers that would have a direct impact to the Soviets. Horizontal escalation, in other words, involves simultaneous operations around the world, while the other two call for sequential operations (which is shorthand for concentrating first on the European theater).
The Maritime Strategy is difficult to describe since the Navy was unclear of their objectives during the beginning of the Reagan Administration. While the details of this strategy were being developed, the goals were the direct naval impact, horizontal escalation, offensive sea control, and counterforce coercion. Horizontal escalation was one of the main tenets of the overall defense policy of the early Reagan Administration. The idea was not popular with the public because it reduces the American forces in Europe and American's commitment to fight.
Theorists.
In the early days of the war, commanders did not question the mechanics of escalation, but they lacked a concrete model to follow. The lack of a concret model made it so that it was difficult to understand the pentameters of escalating war.
Herman Kahn.
It was not until 1965 when Herman Kahn created a theory called the escalation ladder. The categories of horizontal escalation can also be applied to a similar theory called, the vertical dimension of escalation. This theory has three categories:
Compound and Widen Escalation.
These two levels include having the conflict expand out of the general space and increasing the space for operations in the local area.
Increase Intensity.
This level includes logistical attacks, usage of nuclear weapons, and attacking cities.
Kahn's model was influential because it was the first type of model for escalation.
Ole Holsti.
Ole Holsti studied escalation from a psychological point of view. His view of escalation dealt with elements of communication and the stresses created by that conflict. He found the following number of things happened: (1) that as stress increased so did the volume, (2) as stress increased the channels of communication are either increased or new forms of communicating are found. Alternatives are also a form of escalation Holsti studied and found that it could be broken down into 3 categories: choice, closed, and necessity.
Choice.
The chosen alternative was selected on merit above other viable alternatives
Closed.
The specific alternative is not viable.
Necessity.
This alternative is the escalation operative, as the decision is made due to the perception that there are no other available options. The alternative is an outcome of the issues dealing with the crisis and dealing with the amount of time the cause of stress has been around.
Time is the main component to most of Holsti's studies dealing with this issue and found the following. As the pressure of time increases so does the seeking of alternatives. If the search is not producing many results, then the amount of alternative considered is greatly diminished. When this happens there is a greater likelihood that a "false alarm will be converted to war"
Richard Smoke.
The man known as Richard Smoke was able to expand upon many of the existing concepts in his book entitled War: Controlling Escalation. Richard Smoke found that escalation was the product of crossing salient lines, either during a crisis or afterward. He noted that "as means are increased to achieve the original objective (end), so does the perceived value of that objective also rise" from there he was able to come up with key themes. Smoke found that the fear was the only way to control escalation. In his book, he included images of escalation including:
Actor images.
Which is a unilateral act and includes decision cycles that control conflict. When the opposing side takes action, the conflict does not rise.
Phenomenal image.
This concept known as phenomenal image naturally occurs when wars expand to greater instances, and is found to be the most common concept associated with escalation.
Reciprocal escalation.
Another concept associated with escalation and also one of two subsections found in phenomenal images, reciprocal escalation happens when an escalatory action or plan is carried out and executed only once.
Cyclical-sequence.
The other of the two subsections found in phenomenal images, cyclical-sequence is a concept in which multiple escalation actions or thought processes that lead to different plans are carried out. This is referred to as action-response cycles.
Examples.
Due to an unclear division between different types of escalation, some attacks can be classified as horizontal, vertical, or both.


Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific

Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific), formerly Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific or SSC Pacific) provides the US Navy with research, development, delivery and support of integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), cyber and space systems and capabilities across all warfighting domains. The only Naval technical center headquartered in a major fleet concentration area, NIWC Pacific manages strategic locations both in the Pacific theater and around the world.
NIWC Pacific is advancing the Navy's employment of next generation unmanned systems and autonomous vehicles, large data management, antenna design, clean and renewable energy sources, and both offensive and defensive cyber programs. As the primary research arm of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), NIWC Pacific supports basic research and prototype development, basic and applied science, extensive test and evaluation services, systems engineering and integration, installation and full spectrum life-cycle support of fielded systems. With worldwide connectivity and numerous partnerships with private industry and academia, NIWC Pacific addresses warfighting requirements for Navy, Joint, National and Coalition war fighters.
The laboratory operates as a Naval Working Capital Fund organization and relies on funding from both Navy and non-Navy sponsors rather than direct Congressional appropriations. The vast majority of its workforce is located in San Diego, CA, with detachments located in Hawaii, Guam, and Japan.
History.
On June 1, 1940, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox established the Navy's first laboratory on the West Coast, the U.S. Navy Radio and Sound Laboratory. Its mission was to perform research and development in communications and radio propagation. In 1943, a second West Coast laboratory was established in the high desert at Inyokern, Calif., the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS), charged with improving naval weapons systems, particularly those dropped from aircraft.
Over the next several decades, those two organizations changed names several times: the U.S. Navy Radio and Sound Lab became the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory, the Naval Command Control and Communications Laboratory Center, and the Naval Electronics Laboratory Center (NELC); while NOTS became the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Naval Undersea Research and Development Center, and the Naval Undersea Center (NUC). On March 1, 1977, NELC and NUC were consolidated to form the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC).
These Navy research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) organizations specialized in command, control and communications (C3); Arctic submarine warfare; undersea weapons systems; intelligence and undersea surveillance technology, as well as a number of other important areas including lasers, underwater vehicles, environmental science, high performance computing, robotics and marine mammal research.
During the 1990s, NOSC was renamed following several Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) actions starting with the Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center (NCCOSC) RDT&E Division, then the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego; also added were a number of other Navy commands, including the NCCOSC In-Service Engineering (NISE) West Coast Division; and some substantive changes in business areas, including the loss of leadership roles in anti-submarine warfare weapons systems and Arctic submarine warfare, and the gain of in-service engineering functions and navigation technology. In late 2008, the organization was assigned the name Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific). In early 2019, the organization was assigned its current name, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific).
SPAWAR in San Diego.
In 1997, San Diego became the headquarters of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), formerly located in the Washington, DC area and is now located in the Old Town neighborhood. SPAWAR and its subordinate Echelon III Activities provide much of the tactical and non-tactical information management technology required by the Navy to complete its operational missions. These include NIWC Pacific, its counterpart, NIWC Atlantic, located in Charleston, South Carolina, along with the SPAWAR Space Field Activity, located in Chantilly, Virginia.
SPAWAR headquarters in San Diego, CA is registered as an active superfund clean-up site by the EPA. In September 2014, more than 150 employees in the public affairs and engineering departments of SPAWAR's facility in the Old Town neighborhood had to be moved to other spaces within Old Town Campus to avoid toxic trichloroethylene (TCE) vapors. Soil and groundwater beneath the Naval site is contaminated with byproducts from World War II era missile and aircraft production. TCE is a volatile metal-cleaning agent. Since 2011, the Navy has been removing toxic waste, which has reduced TCE levels beneath the building. The Navy plans to complete its cleanup by 2018.
In October 2018, the Navy said it is planning to renovate or redevelop the Old Town site, and issued a Request for Interest to recruit possible private-sector partners in the endeavor.
Leadership areas.
NIWCP leads in the following areas:
In addition, NIWC Pacific is involved in complementary areas of research including
Major initiatives.
NIWC Pacific's major initiatives are:
NIWC Pacific is located close to major operational commands of air, surface, submarine, and special operations Naval forces, as well as air, expeditionary, and electronic components of the U.S. Marine Corps. This support extends into the Pacific, with a SPAWAR Systems Activity in Hawaii supporting U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT), as well as facilities in Guam and Japan supporting U.S. Seventh Fleet (C7F).
Other activities.
NIWC Pacific, formerly SSC Pacific, has been the host of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International annual Autonomous Underwater Vehicle competition since 2002.


Plamen Goranov

Plamen Goranov () (20 October 1976 – 3 March 2013) was a Bulgarian photographer and mountain climber, and a Varna-based local protest leader of the 2013 Bulgarian nationwide protests. He became a symbol of the Bulgarian social protest movements and a catalyst for nationwide protests and government resignations when on 20 February 2013 he set himself on fire in front of the Varna municipal building. He died from his injuries in a local hospital on 3 March, Bulgarian Liberation Day, a Bulgarian national holiday celebrating liberation from five centuries of Ottoman rule. Goranov protested against the organized crime group TIM and the TIM-controlled Varna mayor Kiril Yordanov.
After setting himself on fire, Goranov became the subject of discussions and received active support on social networks. Approximately 300 people donated blood for transfusion while he was in hospital. On the day of his death, people in Sofia and Varna gathered to pay their respects to Goranov.
Goranov was the first of six Bulgarians who set themselves on fire during the Bulgarian nationwide protest. (in conflict with self-immolations article here)
Death.
According to the official report by the prosecution, on the morning of 20 February 2013, Goranov arrived in front of the Varna municipal building a little before 7:30 carrying a backpack, a poster, and two bottles of gasoline. Recordings of nearby security cameras show him putting the two bottles down, taking out a white sheet, and laying the sheet on the ground. He then proceeded to pour the contents of one of the bottles over himself, which attracted the attention of a municipal officer who came out to investigate. Goranov informed the officer that he would set himself on fire, after which the officer went back in the building and came back shortly with a second officer. At that point Goranov lit himself on fire. The two officers went back into the building again and eventually returned with fire extinguishers, but at that point Goranov had already endured burn injuries to 80 percent of his body.
According to witnesses, while Goranov was on fire, he was saying "Kiro, Kiro, today I was supposed to be in Antalya" (note Kiro being short for Kiril, reference to Kiril Yordanov, the then mayor of Varna Municipality).
At some point, an official from the municipality took away the poster brought by Goranov. After testimonials of witnesses and the fact that the poster was missing becoming public, the official handed in the poster to the local police. No charges were pressed against him.
On the way to the hospital, Goranov said that he didn't want to kill himself.
Goranov died on 3 March 2013. Two days later Varna Mayor Yordanov resigned.
Legacy.
Goranov became known as the Bulgarian Jan Palach, a Czech student who set himself on fire in 1969 after the Soviets crushed the Prague Spring and whose memory became a catalyst for overthrow of the communist regime. Goranov was also compared to Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi who in death became a symbol for the Arab Spring.
An article by Sofia News Agency noting the massive protests that had occurred already prior to Goranov's death, described the effect of Goranov's death: "Bulgaria was jolted like never before." A foundation was set up in Goranov's honor. Another author describes it this way: "Goranov carried th[e] spark… of growing social tensions." An article in the Guardian noted, "Goranov's sacrifice may not resonate in the west (sic) as loudly as Jan Palach's did during the Prague spring 40-odd years earlier, but to Bulgarians it is just as cathartic."
March 6, 2013, was designated a day of national mourning for Goranov; and on that day the mayor of Varna Kiril Yordanov, widely implicated in TIM mafia activities, resigned following huge protests. Also on that day, the cabinet of Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov resigned, and held a minute's silence in tribute to Goranov as they did so.
Despite limited police efforts to prevent it, a pile of rocks covered with flowers and topped by the Bulgarian flag was erected on the square in front of Varna city hall to mark the spot where Goranov set himself on fire. This was possibly a tribute to Goranov's passion for climbing but is more generally regarded as an allusion to famous Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov's poem "Gramada".
According to a report in "The New York Times", Goranov's death has become for Bulgarians a symbol of despair that things will never change, but it also marks a loss of fear among the populace to take on mafia group TIM, described in a 2005 U.S. Embassy document uncovered by WikiLeaks as "the up-and-coming star of Bulgarian organized crime" fingered for involvement in various illicit activities including "extortion and racketeering, intimidation, prostitution, gambling, narcotics trafficking and car theft." As a leader of a 30,000-strong protest prior to his death, Goranov had led chants of, "Down with TIM."
Other activities.
In 2012 Goranov scaled three 35-foot-tall female statues on the monument of Soviet-Bulgarian friendship overlooking Varna and placed colored hoods over their heads in solidarity with jailed members of Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot.
Quote.
"Whatever it is that people do, they need to do it with passion and to do it well."


Evolve USA

Evolve USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for gun safety. In contrast to many groups involved in gun politics in the United States, Evolve focuses on individual, voluntary actions to prevent accidental shootings. It was founded in 2013, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In 2015 they ran an ad campaign that caught media attention for its humour, using "hilarious social faux pas to illustrate the danger of keeping guns in the house."


M4 flame fuel thickening compound

M4 flame fuel thickening compound is a nonhygroscopic thickener, adi-acid aluminum soap of isooctanoic acids derived from isooctyl alcohol or isooctyl aldehyd, which are obtained from the oxidization of petroleum. M4 is used in fire bombs and incendiary weapons.


Battle Tag

Battle Tag is a laser tag-shooter hybrid game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game was revealed at E3 2010 at the Ubisoft press conference. The game was released on November 2010 in Texas and Canada.
Gameplay.
"Battle Tag" shares similarities with laser tag. Players wear harnesses with sensors and shoot at other players with wired guns that are attached to their harnesses. As the game progresses, the players' scores are uploaded to their Windows-based PC which tallies the scores and declares the winner. The game contains a multiplayer leaderboard component so players can compete with others by high scores online. "Battle Tag" uses an Ubiconnect sensor, which allows the players to play in a range of 1,000 feet from the sensor. Matches are allowed to have a maximum of eight players at a time per ubiconnect device with a maximum of 5 ubiconnect devices or 40 players. Players can use plastic markers to create parameters and requirements for their games. The game will ship with two harnesses, two guns, and other accessories that add to the gameplay.
Development.
The game was presented by the game's producer Gael Seydoux as a "real live shooter that you could play at home with all your friends." The game follows the trend of E3 2010 games to focus on more non-traditional aspects of gaming.
Reception.
Gaming critics were mostly confused by the game's presentation at Ubisoft's E3 2010 press conference. Models and game developers armed with harnesses and laser guns began playing the game and running around the auditorium during the press conference. The introduction of "Battle Tag" won GameSpot's "Biggest What the...?'" special achievement award from E3 2010. G4's Andrew Pfister thought that presentation of the game was poorly thought through. "The Guardian"'s Keith Stuart stated, "I'm not sure I entirely understood what was going on". Eurogamer's Ellie Gibson called it "Laser Quest for your house."
Release/Pre-release.
Finally after months of little to no advertising (only an official site was up) on November 20, 2010 a limited test release of 15 Toys R US stores in Texas and all Zellers stores in Canada was announced. The three initial available sets are The Starter pack (US$129.99/CDN$169.99: two "sensor vests", two "t-blasters", two different "ammo packs", two "bases", the "UbiConnect" RF Rx/Tx device, install CD and manual), T-Blaster Expansion Kit (US$70: one "sensor vest", one "t-blaster") and the Med-Kit Expansion Pack (US$20: two "med-kits", two "t-bases"). The November 15, 2010 Ubisofts official US & Canada store websites opened The Starter Pack for pre-order (US$129.99/CDN$169.99) with shipment slated for November 30, 2010 "the official release date" according to pre-sale receipts.
Support.
No longer supported by Ubisoft, http://www.battletagforums.org is a good source for new game modes and hardware mods created by the user community and is still supported to this day despite a previous incorrect wiki stating that this forum was dead.


Suriyothai

Suriyothai (, ) or was a royal queen consort during the 16th century Ayutthaya period of Siam (now Thailand). She is famous for having given up her life in the defense of her husband, King Maha Chakkraphat, in a battle during the Burmese–Siamese War (1547–1549).
Somdet Phra () and Sri (), pronounced and often transcribed Si, are her honorifics. Her given name Suriyothai means "dawn". It is a compound of "Suriya", from Sanskrit "surya" सूर्य "sun"; plus "Uthai" from "udaya" उदय "rising", a cognate of Aurora and Ushas.
Life.
Suriyothai was married to Prince Tien when he was regent under King Yodfa's rule. Wishing to remain faithful to Suriothai, Prince Tien entered a monastery to avoid the advances of Sudachan, the Queen Mother.
Suriyothai was queen during the early part of the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat. In 1548 CE, barely six months into King Maha Chakkraphat's reign, the King of Burma invaded Siam with the intent of sacking the main capital, Ayutthaya.
First Burmese invasion.
The invasion initially met little resistance, as the Burmese force was too large for the small guard posts on the border. Upon hearing of the Burmese invasion, Maha Chakkraphat mobilized his kingdom, then gathered his forces at Suphanburi, a town just west of Ayutthaya. When Tabinshwehti and his Burmese army arrived at the walled town of Kanchanaburi, they found it deserted. The King of Burma then continued his march eastward, capturing the villages of Ban Thuan, Kaphan Tru and Chorakhe Sam Phan. Tabinshwehti divided his army into three columns, the first commanded by Bayinnaung, the second by the Viceroy of Prome, and the third by Yong, the Governor of Bassein. The Burmese continued their advance and captured the ancient town of Uthong as well as the villages of Don Rakhang and Nong Sarai and closed on Suphanburi. When the Burmese attacked the town, the Siamese defenders could not withstand the onslaught and retreated towards Ayutthaya. Tabinshwehti ordered his army southeast along two canals, and crossed the Chao Phraya River near Phong Phaeng. From here he encamped his army directly north of the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya on a field called the Lumpli Plain.
Maha Chakkraphat left the capital with his forces to engage Tabinshwehti and test Burmese strength. On this occasion, he mounted his chief war elephant. Accompanying him were his Chief Queen, Sri Suriyothai, and one of their young daughters, Princess Boromdhilok, the two riding together on a smaller war elephant. Both royal ladies were dressed in male military attire (helmet and armour), with the queen wearing the uniform of an Uparaja. Also accompanying their father on elephant mounts were two sons, the Uparaja and heir apparent, Prince Ramesuan, and his brother Prince Mahin.
Elephant battle and death.
The Siamese army under Maha Chakkraphat soon met the advance column commanded by the Viceroy of Prome, and the two armies engaged in battle. The commanders of the two forces engaged in single elephant-combat, as was the custom of the time. Maha Chakkraphat's elephant panicked and gave flight, charging away from the enemy, the viceroy giving chase. Fearing for the life of her husband, Queen Sri Suriyothai charged ahead to put her elephant between the king and the viceroy, thereby blocking his pursuit. The viceroy then engaged the queen in single combat, fatally cleaving her from shoulder to heart with his spear, also mortally wounding her daughter. Both mother and child met their deaths on the back of the same elephant. It was said that the viceroy did not know he was fighting a woman until his blow struck. As she fell dying, her helmet came off, exposing her long hair. Burmese chronicles do not mention any instance of single combat (on elephant-back or otherwise) by the Viceroy of Prome.
Prince Ramesuan and Prince Mahin then urged their elephants forward to fight the viceroy, and drove him and his remaining forces from the field, then carried the bodies of their mother and sister back to Ayutthaya. The Siamese king meanwhile rallied his army, and retreated in good order back towards the capital.
Legacy.
A memorial chedi to Queen Suriyothai, Phra Chedi Sisuriyothai, was built by King Maha Chakkraphat in her honor. The chedi is at Wat Suanluang Sopsawan on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, southwest of the royal palace. There is also a memorial park to her outside of Ayutthaya, featuring a large statue of the queen riding a war elephant at Tung Makham Yong in Ban Mai sub-district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District in order to honor Queen Suriyothai and to mark the great occasion of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 60th birthday anniversary in 1992.
In 2001, a Thai movie about her life, "The Legend of Suriyothai", was released. The film was directed by M.C. Chatrichalerm Yukol of the Thai Royal Family and financed by Queen Sirikit.
In 2013 Opera Siam International premiered S. P. Somtow's ballet-opera called "Suriyothai" in honour of the birthday of Queen Sirikit. It starred Stacey Tappan and Winita Lohitkul, and was conducted by Trisdee na Patalung.


Fort-600

The Fort-600 is the 40 mm stand-alone grenade launcher Brügger & Thomet GL-06 produced under license by the Ukrainian gun manufacturer RPC Fort. The Fort-600 intended to defeat the live targets and fire objects at a distance from 50 to 400 m and for shooting by non-lethal ammunition.


6.5mm Creedmoor

The 6.5mm Creedmoor (6.5×48 mm), designated 6.5 Creedmoor by SAAMI, 6.5 Creedmoor by the C.I.P. or 6.5 CM or 6.5 CRDMR for short, is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced by Hornady in 2007, developed by Hornady Senior Ballistics Scientist Dave Emary in partnership with Dennis DeMille, the Vice-President of Product Development at Creedmoor Sports, hence the name. The cartridge is a necked down modification of the .30 TC.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor was designed specifically for long-range target shooting, although it has success in game hunting. Bullet-for-bullet, the 6.5mm Creedmoor achieves a slower muzzle velocity than longer cartridges such as the 6.5-284 Norma or magnum cartridges such as the 6.5mm Remington Magnum. However, due to its overall length of , it is capable of chambering in short-action rifles.
Design considerations.
In general, 6.5 mm (.264") bullets are known for their relatively high sectional density and ballistic coefficients, and see success in rifle competition.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor was designed for target shooting at longer ranges, and as such, couples a sensible case volume (3.40 ml) to bore area (34.66 mm2/0.3466 cm2) ratio with ample space for loading relatively-long slender projectiles providing good aerodynamic efficiency and external ballistic performance for the projectile diameter.
For some loads, the 6.5mm Creedmoor is capable of duplicating the muzzle velocity or trajectory of the .300 Winchester Magnum while generating significantly-lower recoil, based on lighter projectile weight. This cartridge is designed for a bolt-face diameter of .473 inches (roughly 12 mm), making conversion of many short (or even long) action rifles of another caliber (such as the .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, .30-06 or .300 Savage) with similar bolt-face diameter generally requiring little more than a simple barrel change, but on the Armalite-style AR-10 series, a complete upper-assembly.
Cartridge dimensions.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor has 3.40 ml (52.5 grains H2O) cartridge case capacity.
6.5mm Creedmoor maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).
Americans define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 30 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 203 mm (1 in 8 in), 6 grooves, Ø lands = , Ø grooves = , land width = , and the primer type is large rifle or small rifle depending on the cartridge case manufacturer.
According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings, 6.5mm Creedmoor can handle up to Pmax piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries, every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
In CIP-regulated areas, 6.5mm Creedmoor chambered arms are proof-tested at PE piezo pressure.
The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for this cartridge is piezo pressure
Performance.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor is a medium-power cartridge comparable to the .260 Remington and 6.5×47mm Lapua. Three-hundred yard energy using 129-grain Hornady SST bullets is listed by an independent reviewer as . For the 140 grain bullet at initial velocity, another reviewer reports an MPBR for a six-inch-high target of , and reports a manufacturer-claim of "almost " of retained energy at using a barrel. SAAMI test data confirms 6.5 mm Creedmoor, from muzzle, velocity of for the 129-grain bullet and for the 140-grain bullet (which compares to .300 Winchester Magnum data of for a 200-grain bullet and for a 210-grain bullet). Long-range shooter Ray "RayDog" Sanchez summarized the bolt-action Tubb 2000 rifle in 6.5mm Creedmoor as "boringly accurate" at . He asserted the rifle/ammunition combination he used maintained sub-MOA groups at .
6.5mm Creedmoor can provide sub-half-minute of angle accuracy from factory ammo.
The ability to retain velocity keeps the 6.5mm Creedmoor with 140-grain match bullets in the supersonic range out to around , while the .308 Winchester with non-ideal for long range use 168-grain match bullets has a supersonic range of about .
Handloading.
Handloading costs for the 6.5mm Creedmoor are roughly-equivalent to other 6.5 mm cartridges, such as the 6.5×47mm Lapua, due to the availability of Lapua small primer brass for both cartridges. As of January 2020 Lapua is also manufacturing 6.5 Creedmoor brass with large rifle primers. Norma makes brass for the cartridge, and Norma brass is available through several major-retailers at approximately the same cost as Lapua brass. Lapua brass for 6.5×47 lasts for about 12-to-20 reloads. Starline sells brass cases with either large or small primer pockets, with small pocket brass costing slightly more.
After the 6.5mm Creedmoor was introduced, it was advertised as a 60,000 psi capable case. However, after it was placed into production, Hornady listed it as 62,000 psi, then registered it with SAAMI as such. For this reason, many hand loaders have poor experiences reloading for it. Blown primers on the first shot at 62,000 psi are not uncommon. Early shooting articles listed the ammo as loaded to 58,000 psi, but later citings list it as 57,000 psi. Hornady reduced the loads in its factory ammo because of complaints it was often blowing primers.
Lapua delivered 6.5mm Creedmoor brass at Shot show 2017, and production quantities became available via major retailers in second quarter 2017. The Lapua version has a small primer pocket. Thus, load data for small-primer brass are not interchangeable with those for large-primer brass. A smaller diameter decapping rod is required to size and decap. As of January 2020 Lapua also manufactures its brass with large rifle primers addressing concerns that some small rifle primers may not efficiently ignite the powder charge in cold weather conditions causing hang fires or misfires. Large rifle primer Lapua brass also allows the use of a standard size decapping rod.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor as parent case.
The 6mm Creedmoor is a necked-down version of the 6.5mm Creedmoor using 6 mm (.243 inch) bullets, lighter than 6.5 mm bullets with similarly-reduced recoil. John Snow at Outdoor Life designed it in 2009. As of May 2018, Savage Arms offers three bolt action rifles and one semiautomatic rifle chambered in 6mm Creedmoor. As of May 2018, Hornady offers 87-gr Varmint Express, 103-gr Precision Hunter and 108-gr Match ammunition in 6mm Creedmoor.
The 22 Creedmoor is another even further necked-down version of the 6.5mm Creedmoor using 22 (.224 inch) bullets, lighter than 6 mm bullets with even softer recoil. It is easier to rather neck down 6mm Creedmoor brass, or fire forming .22-250 Rem. brass for it, although there are now a number of manufacturers producing brass casings for the 22 Creedmoor caliber.
Military use.
In October 2017, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) tested the performance of 7.62×51mm NATO (M118LR long-range 7.62×51mm NATO load), .260 Remington, and 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridges out of SR-25, M110A1, and Mk 20 Sniper Support Rifle (SSR) rifles. SOCOM determined 6.5 Creedmoor performed the best, doubling hit-probability at , increasing effective range by nearly-half, reducing wind drift by a third, with less recoil than 7.62×51mm NATO rounds. Tests showed the .260 Remington and 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridges were similarly accurate and reliable, and the external ballistic behavior was also very-similar. The prevailing attitude is there was more room with the 6.5mm Creedmoor to develop projectiles and loads.
As the two cartridges (7.62×51mm NATO and 6.5 mm Creedmoor) have similar dimensions, the same magazines can be used, and a rifle can be converted with just a barrel change. This led to its adoption and fielding by special operations snipers to replace the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge in their semi-automatic sniper rifles, planned in early 2019. In response to SOCOM's adoption, Department of Homeland Security also decided to adopt the round. U.S. Special Operations Command will convert their 7.62×51mm NATO M110 Semi-automatic Sniper rifle (SASS) and Mk 20 Sniper Support Rifle (SSR) rifles to 6.5 Creedmoor in 2019, a process that requires just a new barrel. In 2018, USSOCOM announced they would roll-out 6.5 mm Creedmoor in a long-range precision rifle, and use it in a carbine and assault machine-gun. That means that the US Special Forces will use the same calibre for an assault rifle, light machine gun, and sniper rifle. That will give better penetration and terminal ballistics (because of high sectional density and retained energy), while providing longer range precision fire.
At the National Defense Industry Association’s annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), beginning May 20 2019, FN unveiled a prototype of its Mk 48 Mod 2 machine gun chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor to fill a USSOCOM requirement. American special operations forces are in the process of acquiring a lightweight belt-fed machine-gun offering better range than existing weapons.
In November 2019, the U.S. Navy ordered 6.5mm Creedmoor conversion kits to upgrade the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System to the M110K1 variant.
In April 2020 the United States Department of Defense decided to replace the Mk13 .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle with a barrel semi-automatic AR-10 platform chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor and ammunition for engagements from .


Thomas Danby (mayor)

Thomas Danby (1631–1667) of Farnley and Thorpe Perrow was the first Mayor of Leeds (1661–62).
He was born in 1631, the son of Sir Thomas Danby (1610–1660) of Farnley Hall (West Yorkshire), and his wife Katherine Wandesford, and married Margaret Eure in 1659.
In 1660 he became Member of Parliament for Malton, and in 1661 (via a charter for the city of Leeds from King Charles II) he became the first Mayor of Leeds. The mayoral duties were actually carried out by his deputy Edward Atkinson, but Danby's symbols were added to the Leeds coat of arms.
He died on 31 July 1667 in a sword fight in a London tavern.
Thomas Danby College was named after him.


Semilir eruption

The Semilir eruption was a major volcanic event which took place in Indonesia during the Early Miocene. This eruption formed Semilir Formation and Nglanngran Formation. These two geological formations are in Southern Mountains of East Java. The eruption created two formations consists mostly pyroclastic rock (minor lava flows). It has incredibly thickness (at least ). In contrast, Toba eruption only formed ignimbrite. Semilir eruption age date by isotope method is 21 million years ago.
Geology Background.
Java is between Asia and Australia at the centre of the Indonesian archipelago where the Indo-Australian Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate. There has been subduction at the Java Trench since the Early Cenozoic. An Eocene to Early Miocene volcanic arc in East Java, the Southern Mountains Arc, is parallel to and south of the modern arc. Thick volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits related to this arc are well preserved in East Java and identified volcanic centres are separated by similar distances to volcanoes of the modern arc. New field investigations and stratigraphic studies in East Java have identified the most important features of arc activity in the Southern Mountains. The oldest sedimentary rocks are conglomerates and sandstones that lack volcanic material and were deposited unconformably on a basement that included ophiolitic and continental rocks. In the overlying sedimentary rocks volcanic debris and detrital zircons indicate initiation of the arc, and subduction beneath Java, by the Middle Eocene (42 Ma). The arc was active until the Early Miocene (18 Ma) and volcanic activity was most abundant during the Oligocene to Early Miocene. Volcanic activity was commonly explosive and of Plinian-type. The erupted products range from andesite to rhyolite and formed lava flows, lava domes, volcanic breccias and extensive pyroclastic deposits including flow, air-fall and pyroclastic surge deposits. Volcanic activity along the Southern Mountains Arc culminated in the Early Miocene in a climactic phase of eruptions preserved in the Batu Agung Escarpment, near Yogyakarta. It was during this climactic phase that the Semilir Eruption occurred.
Eruption Product.
The volcanic deposits are fresh and dip uniformly towards the south at approximately 30°. The sequence is divided into three formations which are, from base to top, the Kebobutak, Semilir and Nglanggran Formations (note that Kebobutak Formation is not a same eruption event with Semilir and Nglanggran). The top part of Kebobutak Formation are intensely bioturbated by a Cruziana-type assemblage. The formation is interpreted to be air-fall deposits reworked in a shallow marine sublittoral setting. Above the Kebobutak Formation lies at least of dacitic pumice, volcanic lithic and crystal-rich tuffs and breccias assigned to the Semilir Formation.
Facies of Semilir Formation.
In East Java the base of the Semilir Formation can be identified by the abrupt termination of bioturbated reworked deposits characteristic of the Kebobutak Formation. The volcanic rocks of the Semilir Formation are characterised by features typical of terrestrial air-fall, pyroclastic surge and flow deposits including dune and antidune structures, crystal layering, well-sorted granular laminations, diffuse bedding, breccias (with metre-scale pumice blocks), thick mantling ashes, and abundant fragments of charcoal. Locally there are water-laid deposits, with scoured irregular bases, flame, traction and suspension structures, and large slump folds indicating an unstable marine slope. Smyth et al. (2011) interpret these observations to indicate the Semilir Formation was erupted in a subaerial setting in which pyroclastic flows travelled across vegetated slopes picking up and baking plant fragments, with some of these flows entering the sea. Some of the primary material would have been redeposited as lahars in distal settings.
Facies of Nglanggran Formation.
Overlying the Semilir Formation is a thick sequence of massive, resistant, monomict andesitic volcanic breccias, crystal-rich sandstones and minor lava flows of the Nglanggran Formation. The breccia beds are thick and can be mapped for several kilometres. Interbedded crystal-rich sand- stones are much thinner. The breccias are both clast- and matrix-supported with angular fragments commonly across with some blocks up to . Fragment imbrication within the breccias records diverging west and southwest flow from a source in the northeast part of the Batu Agung Escarpment. There is no evidence of any marine influence, and we interpret the Nglanggran Formation as terrestrial deposits formed by sector or repeated dome collapse, marking the end of arc activity in the Southern Mountains. The top and base of the Nglanggran Formation forms topographic breaks in slope, because the andesitic breccias are much more resistant than the underlying and overlying units, and the feature and the formation can be easily mapped across the area over a distance of .
Thickness and distribution.
Based on examined exposures, measured sections and published geological maps, the combined thickness of the Semilir and Nglanggran Formations is between , exposed over , and the total volume of volcanic material at least (DRE). Widely distributed volcanic quartz-rich sandstones of Early Miocene age exposed in East Java that may be Semilir products but have not been precisely dated. One such sandstone is the Jaten Formation, exposed near Pacitan, east of the Batu Agung Escarpment. The location and character of this formation are described in detail in Smyth et al. (2008). Zircons from the Jaten Formation have a weighted mean SIMS age of 19.6 ± 0.5 Ma and this is consistent with them being reworked products of the Semilir eruption.


Naval Station Newport

The Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) is a United States Navy base located in the city of Newport and the town of Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School. It once was the homeport for Cruiser Destroyer Force Atlantic (COMCRUDESLANT), which relocated to Naval Station Norfolk in the early 1970s. Newport now maintains inactive ships at its pier facilities, along with the United States Coast Guard. In BRAC 2005 (Base Realignment and Closure), NAVSTA Newport gained over five hundred billets, in addition to receiving, again, the Officer Candidate School (OCS), the Naval Supply Corps School (in 2011), and several other activities, to include a few Army Reserve units.
Mission statement.
Naval Station Newport provides the facilities and infrastructure essential to support the operations of tenant commands and visiting fleet units.
History.
Founding.
The US Department of Navy officially founded the Newport Training Station in 1883, but the legwork between the state of Rhode Island and the Navy dated back to the late 1870's. The Training Station was intended to provide education for young men and boys for a ten month period. Initially 750 students, the training occurred initially on water, fully transitioning to being shore-based by 1887.
Civil War.
During the Civil War, the US Naval Academy was temporarily moved from Annapolis, Maryland to Newport to avoid any potential conflicts relating to the insurgency. Naval training ships, including the USS Constitution, USS Santee and USS John Adams were also moved to Newport Harbor during the conflict to train midshipmen for the Union.
World War 1.
According to the Newport Historical Society,
"With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the first preparations for war began, and the Training Station expanded onto Coddington Point. By 1916 there were 7,215 men stationed there, and Newport became the home for a yeoman school, signal school, Hospital Corps Training School, Commissary School, Musician’s School, and a Firemen’s School. After the United States formally entered WWI in April 1917 the Naval Station received authority to increase capacity by 10,000 men. Temporary barracks, mess halls and auxiliary buildings were made into Camp Sadler on Coasters Island, as well as a tent city for 2,800 recruits called Camp Palmer. The enacting of the Selective Service Act of 1917 brought an average of 15,000 men each month for training, and while women were not eligible for the draft, they began enrolling in the Navy at this time. All of this led to more expansion. During WWI, Training Station Newport equipped and sent 65,000 sailors to sea, in addition to thousands of Naval reservists trained there."
Current operations.
The station was home of the decommissioned after the departure of the which departed under tow for the inactive ship storage facility in Philadelphia.
On May 8, 2014, Naval Sea Systems Command announced that ESCO Marine, Brownsville, Texas, would scrap "Saratoga" for one cent. Currently, the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame is trying to move the decommissioned moored at Pier 2 at the station.
Naval Health Clinic New England provides the health care facilities.


Unrotated Projectile

The Unrotated Projectile, or UP, was a 7-inch anti-aircraft rocket developed for the Royal Navy by Alwyn Crow at the Ministry of Supply's Projectile Development Establishment at Fort Halstead. It proved unreliable and ineffective in operation, prompting the withdrawal of the system during 1941.
Continued development of the basic concept led to the UP-2 and UP-3, which had smaller diameters of or (respectively) but longer in length. The latter was used as the basis of the Z Batteries, and later developed in air-to-ground form as the RP-3, most famously used on the Hawker Typhoon.
Operation.
The name "unrotated projectile" was a cover name to disguise the use of a rocket system, and comes from the fact that the projectile was not spin-stabilized. The weapon had 20 smoothbore tubes and fired ten at a time. A small cordite charge was used to ignite a rocket motor which propelled the fin-stabilized rocket out of the tube to a distance of about , where it exploded and released an mine attached to three parachutes by of wire. The idea was that an aeroplane hitting the wire would draw the mine towards itself, where it would detonate.
Development.
The UP was developed by Sir Alwyn Crow, who was the director of the Projectile Development Establishment at Fort Halstead. In November 1939, Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty asked Crow to produce urgently a means of laying an aerial minefield and to consider other methods of protecting ships against aircraft. It is likely that Churchill was influenced in his request by his friend and advisor, Frederick Lindemann, who had previously advocated a scheme for "dropping bombs hanging by wires in the path of attacking aircraft". A high-altitude barrage was developed: an aerial minefield up to , the fast aerial mine up to , the PE fuse up to and the UP up to .
The 7-inch UP was developed simultaneously with the 2-inch and 3-inch UP systems, the latter being successfully deployed in the anti-aircraft Z Batteries which were operated by the Home Guard and was the basis of the RP-3 air-to-surface rocket and the Mattress surface-to-surface multiple rocket launcher.
Effectiveness.
The weapon was not very effective as it was slow to load and aircraft could avoid the wires. It was replaced later in the war by the 2-pounder or Bofors 40 mm gun.
A demonstration of the weapon for Churchill on Admiral Jack Tovey's flagship at Scapa Flow dramatically exposed a flaw in the concept. Practice bombs were fired, and when there was an unexpected change of wind, they drifted back onto the ship and some became entangled in the rigging and superstructure. The dummy rounds caused little or no damage, but Tovey was amused at the embarrassment thus caused to the weapon's advocates, Lindemann and Churchill.
The UP ammunition aboard was seen to be on fire just before she exploded and sank in May 1941. The report of the Admiralty Board of Enquiry into the sinking of "Hood" in September 1941 concluded "That the fire that was seen on Hood's boat deck, and in which UP and/or 4-inch ammunition was certainly involved, was not the cause of her loss", but it noted that "Action has (already) been taken to land UP mountings and ammunition" in the rest of the fleet.


Cannone da 75/32 modello 37

The Cannone da 75/32 modello 37 was an Italian field gun used during World War II. The designation indicates that the gun had a 75 mm caliber, the barrel was 32 caliber-lengths long and it was accepted for service in 1937.
History.
The Cannone da 75/32 was designed by Ansaldo and the first examples were produced in 1937.
After Italy surrendered, guns captured by Germany were designated 7.5 cm FK248(i).
This gun was used in Russia with the ARMIR (ARMata Italiana in Russia - Italian Army in Russia) in the "201º Reggimento d'artiglieria motorizzato" and it had good results against the Soviet T-34 tank.
Some were acquired by the Peruvian Army before the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War of 1941.