title: Louis-Ferdinand Céline

text: In December 2017, the French government and Jewish leaders expressed concern over plans by publisher Gallimard to republish Céline's antisemitic books. In January 2018 Gallimard announced that it was suspending publication. In March Gallimard clarified that it still intended to publish a critical edition of the books with scholarly introductions.


title: Louis-Ferdinand Céline

text: A collection of Céline's unpublished manuscripts including "La Volonté du roi Krogold", "Londres", and 6,000 unpublished pages of already published works ("Casse-pipe", "Mort à crédit", "Journey to the End of the Night"), were handed over by a "Libération" journalist, Jean-Pierre Thibaudat, to the Nanterre police in March 2020, and revealed in August 2021. The manuscripts had been missing since Céline fled Paris in 1944. French writer and Céline's expert David Alliot maintains that it will take many years for these writings to be completely appreciated and published. Writing in "The Jewish Chronicle" in September 2021, Oliver Kamm described Céline as a "French literary hero [who] needs to be forgotten". The lost manuscripts of Céline have been described as "one of the greatest literary discoveries of the past century, but also one of the most troubling".


title: Louis-Ferdinand Céline

text: In May 2022, Céline's "Guerre" (War) was published by Gallimard, and "Londres" (London) followed in October 2022. The latter novel was probably written in 1934 and includes a key character who is a Jewish doctor.


title: Lacquer

text: Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.


title: Lacquer

text: Asian lacquerware, which may be called "true lacquer", are objects coated with the treated, dyed and dried sap of "Toxicodendron vernicifluum" or related trees, applied in several coats to a base that is usually wood. This dries to a very hard and smooth surface layer which is durable, waterproof, and attractive in feel and look. Asian lacquer is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved, as well as dusted with gold and given other further decorative treatments.


title: Lacquer

text: In modern techniques, lacquer means a range of clear or pigmented coatings that dry by solvent evaporation to produce a hard, durable finish. The finish can be of any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss, and it can be further polished as required. Lacquer finishes are usually harder and more brittle than oil-based or latex paints, and are typically used on hard and smooth surfaces.


title: Lacquer

text: In terms of modern finishing products, finishes based on shellac dissolved in alcohol are often called "shellac" or "lac" to distinguish them from synthetic lacquer, often called simply "lacquer", which consists of synthetic polymers (such as nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate butyrate ("CAB"), or acrylic resin) dissolved in "lacquer thinner", a mixture of various organic solvents. Although synthetic lacquer is more durable than shellac, traditional shellac finishes are nevertheless often preferred for their aesthetic characteristics, as with French polish, as well as their "all-natural" and generally food-safe ingredients.


title: Lacquer

text: The English is from the archaic French word "a kind of sealing wax", from Portuguese , itself an unexplained variant of Medieval Latin "resinous substance," from Arabic (), from Persian (), from Hindi (); Prakrit , ), itself from the Sanskrit word () for lac bug, representing the number one hundred thousand (100,000), used as wood finish in ancient India and neighbouring areas.


title: Lacquer

text: Lacquer sheen is a measurement of the shine for a given lacquer. Different manufacturers have their own names and standards for their sheen. The most common names from least shiny to most shiny are: flat, matte, egg shell, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss (high).


title: Lacquer

text: In India shellac derived from insect lac was used since ancient times. Shellac is the secretion of the lac bug ("Tachardia lacca" Kerr. or "Laccifer lacca"). It is used for wood finish, lacquerware, skin cosmetic, ornaments, dye for textiles, production of different grades of shellac for surface coating.


title: Lacquer

text: Urushiol-based lacquers differ from most others, being slow-drying, and set by oxidation and polymerization, rather than by evaporation alone. The active ingredient of the resin is urushiol, a mixture of various phenols suspended in water, plus a few proteins. In order for it to set properly it requires a humid and warm environment. The phenols oxidize and polymerize under the action of laccase enzymes, yielding a substrate that, upon proper evaporation of its water content, is hard. These lacquers produce very hard, durable finishes that are both beautiful and very resistant to damage by water, acid, alkali or abrasion. The resin is derived from trees indigenous to East Asia, like lacquer tree "Toxicodendron vernicifluum", and wax tree "Toxicodendron succedaneum". The fresh resin from the "T. vernicifluum" trees causes urushiol-induced contact dermatitis and great care is therefore required in its use. The Chinese treated the allergic reaction with crushed shellfish, which supposedly prevents lacquer from drying properly. Lacquer skills became very highly developed in Asia, and many highly decorated pieces were produced.


title: Lacquer

text: It has been confirmed that the lacquer tree has existed in Japan since 12,600 years ago in the incipient Jōmon period. This was confirmed by radioactive carbon dating of the lacquer tree found at the Torihama shell mound, and is the oldest lacquer tree in the world found as of 2011. Lacquer was used in Japan as early as 7000 BCE, during the Jōmon period. Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima "B" Excavation Site in Hokkaido. The ornaments woven with lacquered red thread were discovered in a pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jōmon period. Also, at Kakinoshima "A" Excavation Site, earthenware with a spout painted with vermilion lacquer, which was made 3200 years ago, was found almost completely intact.


title: Lacquer

text: During the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC), the sophisticated techniques used in the lacquer process were first developed and it became a highly artistic craft, although various prehistoric lacquerwares have been unearthed in China dating back to the Neolithic period. The earliest extant Chinese lacquer object, a red wooden bowl, was unearthed at a Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BC) site in China. By the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), many centres of lacquer production became firmly established. The knowledge of the Chinese methods of the lacquer process spread from China during the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. Eventually it was introduced to Korea and Japan.


title: Lacquer

text: Trade of lacquer objects travelled through various routes to the Middle East. Known applications of lacquer in China included coffins, music instruments, furniture, and various household items. Lacquer mixed with powdered cinnabar is used to produce the traditional red lacquerware from China.


title: Lacquer

text: From the 16th century to the 17th century, lacquer was introduced to Europe on a large scale for the first time through trade with Japanese. Until the 19th century, lacquerware was one of Japan's major exports, and European royalty, aristocrats and religious people represented by Marie-Antoinette, Maria Theresa and The Society of Jesus collected Japanese lacquerware luxuriously decorated with maki-e. The terms related to lacquer such as "Japanning", "Urushiol" and ""maque"" which means lacquer in Mexican Spanish, are derived from Japanese.


title: Lacquer

text: The trees must be at least ten years old before cutting to bleed the resin. It sets by a process called "aqua-polymerization", absorbing oxygen to set; placing in a humid environment allows it to absorb more oxygen from the evaporation of the water.


title: Lacquer

text: Lacquer-yielding trees in Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and Taiwan, called Thitsi, are slightly different; they do not contain urushiol, but similar substances called laccol or thitsiol. The result is similar but softer than the Chinese or Japanese lacquer. Burmese lacquer sets slower, and is painted by craftsmen's hands without using brushes.


title: Lacquer

text: Raw lacquer can be "coloured" by the addition of small amounts of iron oxides, giving red or black depending on the oxide. There is some evidence that its use is even older than 8,000 years from archaeological digs in Japan and China. Later, pigments were added to make colours. It is used not only as a finish, but mixed with ground fired and unfired clays applied to a mould with layers of hemp cloth, it can produce objects without need for another core like wood. The process is called "kanshitsu" in Japan. In the lacquering of the Chinese musical instrument, the guqin, the lacquer is mixed with deer horn powder (or ceramic powder) to give it more strength so it can stand up to the fingering.


title: Lacquer

text: There are a number of forms of urushiol. They vary by the length of the R chain, which depends on the species of plant producing the urushiol. Urushiol can also vary in the degree of saturation in the carbon chain. Urushiol can be drawn as follows:


title: Lacquer

text: R = (CH)CH orR = (CH)CH=CH(CH)CH orR = (CH)CH=CHCHCH=CH(CH)CH orR = (CH)CH=CHCHCH=CHCH=CHCH orR = (CH)CH=CHCHCH=CHCHCH=CH


title: Lacquer

text: Types of lacquer vary from place to place but they can be divided into unprocessed and processed categories.


title: Lacquer

text: The basic unprocessed lacquer is called "raw lacquer" (生漆: "ki-urushi" in Japanese, "shengqi" in Chinese). This is directly from the tree itself with some impurities filtered out. Raw lacquer has a water content of around 25% and appears in a light brown colour. This comes in a standard grade made from Chinese lacquer, which is generally used for ground layers by mixing with a powder, and a high quality grade made from Japanese lacquer called "kijomi-urushi" (生正味漆) which is used for the last finishing layers.


title: Lacquer

text: The processed form (in which the lacquer is stirred continuously until much of the water content has evaporated) is called "guangqi" (光漆) in Chinese but comes under many different Japanese names depending on the variation, for example, "kijiro-urushi" (木地呂漆) is standard transparent lacquer sometimes used with pigments and "roiro-urushi" (黒呂色漆) is the same but pre-mixed with iron hydroxide to produce a black coloured lacquer. "Nashiji-urushi" (梨子地漆) is the transparent lacquer but mixed with gamboge to create a yellow-tinged lacquer and is especially used for the sprinkled-gold technique. These lacquers are generally used for the middle layers. Japanese lacquers of this type are generally used for the top layers and are prefixed by the word "jo-" (上) which means 'top (layer)'.


title: Lacquer

text: Processed lacquers can have oil added to them to make them glossy, for example, "shuai-urushi" (朱合漆) is mixed with linseed oil. Other specialist lacquers include "ikkake-urushi" (釦漆) which is thick and used mainly for applying gold or silver leaf.


title: Lacquer

text: Solvent-based lacquers that contain nitrocellulose, a resin obtained from the nitration of cotton and other cellulosic materials, debuted in the 19th century along with nitrocellulose's other commercial applications. They were used, for example, on brass items such as musical instruments. Faster-drying and more durable versions of these lacquers were developed in the early 1920s and soon greatly displaced much use of the slower-drying paints and lacquers that preceded them; they were extensively used in the automotive industry and others for the next 30 years until further chemical advancements replaced them. Prior to their introduction, mass-produced automotive finishes were limited in colour, damaged easily, and took a long time to dry, with Japan black being the fastest drying and thus the most economical to use. In 1923, General Motors' Oakland brand automobile was the first to introduce one of the new fast-drying nitrocellulose lacquers, a bright blue, produced by DuPont under their Duco tradename. In 1924 the other GM makes followed suit, and by 1925 nitrocellulose lacquers were thoroughly disrupting the traditional paint business for automobiles, appliances, furniture, musical instruments, caskets, and other products.


title: Lacquer

text: Nitrocellulose lacquers are also used to make firework fuses waterproof. The nitrocellulose and other resins and plasticizers are dissolved in the solvent, and each coat of lacquer dissolves some of the previous coat. These lacquers were a huge improvement over earlier automobile and furniture finishes, both in ease of application and in colour retention. The preferred method of applying quick-drying lacquers is by spraying, and the development of nitrocellulose lacquers led to the first extensive use of spray guns. Nitrocellulose lacquers produce a hard yet flexible, durable finish that can be polished to a high sheen. Drawbacks of these lacquers include the hazardous nature of the solvent, which is flammable and toxic, and the hazards of nitrocellulose in the manufacturing process. Lacquer grade of soluble nitrocellulose is closely related to the more highly nitrated form which is used to make explosives. They become relatively non-toxic after approximately a month since, at this point, the lacquer has evaporated most of the solvents used in its production.


title: Lacquer

text: Lacquers using acrylic resin, a synthetic polymer, were developed in the 1950s. Acrylic resin is colourless, transparent thermoplastic, obtained by the polymerization of derivatives of acrylic acid. Acrylic is also used in enamel paints, which have the advantage of not needing to be buffed to obtain a shine. Enamels, however, are slow drying. The advantage of acrylic lacquer is its exceptionally fast drying time. The use of lacquers in automobile finishes was discontinued when tougher, more durable, weather- and chemical-resistant two-component polyurethane coatings were developed. The system usually consists of a primer, colour coat and clear topcoat, commonly known as clear coat finishes.


title: Lacquer

text: Due to health risks and environmental considerations involved in the use of solvent-based lacquers, much work has gone into the development of water-based lacquers. Such lacquers are considerably less toxic and more environmentally friendly, and in many cases, produce acceptable results. While water-based lacquer's fumes are considerably less hazardous, and it does not have the combustibility issues of solvent-based lacquers, the product still dries fairly quickly. Even though its odor is weaker, water-based lacquers can still produce airborne particulates that can get into the lungs, so proper protective wear still needs to be worn. More and more water-based colored lacquers are replacing solvent-based clear and colored lacquers in under-hood and interior applications in the automobile and other similar industrial applications. Water-based lacquers are used extensively in wood furniture finishing as well.


title: Lacquer

text: One drawback of water-based lacquer is that it has a tendency to be highly reactive to other fresh finishes such as quick-dry primer (excluding waterborne lacquer primers), caulking and even some paints that have a paint/primer aspect. Tannin bleed-through can also be an issue, depending on the brand of lacquer used. Once it happens, there is no easy fix as the lacquer is so reactive to other products.


title: Lacquer

text: Water-based lacquer used for wood finishing is also not rated for exterior wear, unless otherwise specified.


title: Lacquer

text: Just as "china" is a common name for porcelain, "japanning" is an old name to describe the European technique to imitate Asian lacquerware. As Asian lacquer work became popular in England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain in the 17th century, the Europeans developed imitation techniques. The European technique, which is used on furniture and other objects, uses finishes that have a resin base similar to shellac. The technique, which became known as japanning, involves applying several coats of varnish which are each heat-dried and polished. In the 18th century, japanning gained a large popular following. Although traditionally a pottery and wood coating, japanning was the popular (mostly black) coating of the accelerating metalware industry. By the twentieth century, the term was freely applied to coatings based on various varnishes and lacquers besides the traditional shellac.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: This was the first season since 1997 without 2003 series Champion Matt Kenseth. This was also the first season since 2000 without seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson. Finally, this was the first season without Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson since 2004, the former of which joined the "NASCAR on Fox" booth as a color commentator. This was also the first season for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan, and Trackhouse Racing Team, co-owned by former NASCAR and current sports car racing driver Justin Marks and musician Pitbull. It was also the last season for Chip Ganassi Racing, as Trackhouse purchased the entirety of CGR's NASCAR team for 2022, StarCom Racing, as they ceased operations after 2021, Team Penske crew chief Todd Gordon, who announced his retirement from crew chiefing following the 2021 season, and the Cup Series Generation 6 car, which will be replaced with the Next Gen car starting in 2022; by extension, it was also the final season for the Car of Tomorrow chassis, as the Next Gen car will have a completely-new chassis design. In addition, this was the final season to have races covered by NBCSN, which shut down at the end of the year and had its coverage of NASCAR and all other sporting events taken over by USA Network.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: In the Busch Clash, Ryan Blaney started on pole. Kevin Harvick spun twice early in the race. Martin Truex Jr. was leading when the competition caution came out but had to restart in the rear due to missing the final chicane while the race was under caution. Late in the race, Truex Jr. wrecked while leading. In the closing laps, Blaney and Chase Elliott were battling for the lead. In the final chicane on the last lap, Elliott took an aggressive line, which spun Blaney out of the lead. Elliott slowed, which allowed Kyle Busch to pass him and win the race. It was the first year that the race was run on the road course, and the second Cup Series race run on the track's road course layout.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: In the Bluegreen Vacation Duel, Aric Almirola held off Joey Logano to win the first Duel. The start of the second Duel was delayed by rain. In the second Duel, there were multicar wrecks on lap 36 and with three laps to go in the race; the latter caution sent the race into an overtime finish. In overtime, Austin Dillon held off Bubba Wallace to win the second Duel.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Alex Bowman would start on pole, as the race was under threat from rain and thunderstorms. Derrike Cope would hit the wall on lap 4 to bring out the first caution while also causing damage to Bubba Wallace. On lap 14, "The Big One" would strike in turn 3 as Bowman and Aric Almirola would both spin into the outside wall and into the path of traffic, collecting 16 cars. Two laps later, while under the ensuing caution, the race was red-flagged for 5 hours and 40 minutes due to a lightning strike over the racetrack. The race would restart with Kevin Harvick as the leader. Defending winner Denny Hamlin would both win stages 1 and 2. Christopher Bell would lose a left-rear tire and spin, collecting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jamie McMurray in stage 2. The final stage would remain caution-free as Hamlin, in contention to win the race for the third consecutive time, would pit from the lead on final pit stops, but would fall back to 13th as the pack fell in line single file with Joey Logano leading. On the last lap, Brad Keselowski attempted to pass Logano on the backstretch with help from a push from Michael McDowell, but the push incidentally spun Keselowski into Logano's left rear quarter panel, causing a fiery crash sending Keselowski into the catchfence and collecting Wallace, Logano, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, and Ross Chastain. McDowell would dodge the crash to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race under caution as well as earning Front Row Motorsports their third Cup victory.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Chase Elliott was awarded the pole. Michael McDowell, who started second, got a flat tire before entering the first turn as Kyle Busch got damage by running into the grass. Elliott won the first stage while Denny Hamlin would win the second stage. Kurt Busch spun while leading and then made contact and spun Brad Keselowski the following lap. On a restart, Elliott got into the grass while Kyle Larson spun while battling for the lead. Elliott made his way back to the front, but spun after contact with Hamlin. Joey Logano pulled away from Kurt Busch, but was run down and passed by Christopher Bell, who would win the race for his first career Cup Series win.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Chris Buescher had the dominant car early and won the first stage, while Hamlin struggled to get to the front of the field. Buescher led early in the second stage, but Martin Truex Jr. took the lead and dominated most of the remainder of the stage. In a one lap dash to end the second stage, Hamlin slid into Truex and it allowed William Byron to win the stage. Kurt Busch had to return to pit road during a round of green flag pit stops due to a loose wheel. Aric Almirola got into the wall along with Ryan Blaney. Byron was able to get back to the lead and pulled away to hold off a charging Tyler Reddick for his second career Cup Series win.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kevin Harvick was awarded the pole. Brad Keselowski would hold off Chase Elliott to win the first stage while Kyle Larson won the second stage. On a restart, Elliott spun after contact with Kurt Busch. Aric Almirola got into the wall after a flat tire. After the final round of green flag pit stops, Larson was able to take the lead from Daniel Suárez and hold off Keselowski for his first win with Hendrick Motorsports and his first win on an mile and a half track.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole. Alex Bowman spun after contact with Austin Dillon. Ryan Blaney won the first stage. Anthony Alfredo slammed the wall after contact with Cody Ware. Joey Logano won the second stage and dominated the final stage. Tyler Reddick got into the wall while Aric Almirola had to slow for a lapped car and got hit by Kyle Busch. On the restart, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead from Logano and pulled away for his 28th career win, tying Carl Edwards on NASCAR's all-time win list.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole. Kyle Larson dominated the majority of the race by winning both stages. Kevin Harvick had to pit early in the first stage due to a flat tire. The race remained green for the majority of the race except for when Kurt Busch got into the wall after contact with Hamlin and when Chase Elliott blew an engine. Lapped traffic came in play at the end as Ryan Blaney was able to run down Larson and pass him for the lead and pull away to his fifth career win.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: This was the first dirt race for the Cup Series since the 1970 NASCAR Cup Series season. Kyle Larson was awarded the pole after the scheduled heat races were canceled due to rain, but had to start at the rear after changing engines in practice. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to the rain. Martin Truex Jr. dominated most the race. The first stage was littered with accidents caused. Aric Almirola got turned after contact with Stewart Friesen (who was making his first Cup Series start), involving multiple other drivers. Ryan Newman spun and Stewart-Haas teammates Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe got together trying to avoid the incident. Christopher Bell spun while running second and collected Larson and Ross Chastain. Truex would win the first stage. In the second stage, Truex would lose the lead to Daniel Suárez while Larson would wreck again, ending his race and collecting Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, and Michael McDowell. Briscoe would get in the wall again after contact with Brad Keselowski. After this crash, NASCAR elected to conduct all restarts going forward single-file to help with visibility, as the flying dust made it hard for drivers to see. Joey Logano would take the lead from Suarez and win the second stage. Logano would dominate the final stage and hold off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in overtime to become the series' seventh different winner of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole. The race was postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to rain. Hamlin dominated and won both stages. Kurt Busch got into the wall after contact with Erik Jones while Aric Almirola spun into the wall after contact with Matt DiBenedetto. Brad Keselowski got into the wall along with Daniel Suárez, whose car caught fire. Keselowski again got into the wall along with Jones and Ross Chastain. Chris Buescher got turned and caused a huge stack up that collected Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Ryan Preece, Anthony Alfredo, Alex Bowman, and others. Martin Truex Jr. would outduel the dominant Hamlin and hold off Chase Elliott for his second win of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Martin Truex Jr. was awarded the pole. Truex, along with Denny Hamlin dominated, but Hamlin won both stages and led the most laps. Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick both spun into the wall after having flat tires. Hamlin continued his domination, but would be passed for the lead by Alex Bowman, who recovered from an uncontrolled tire penalty, with ten laps to go and Bowman pulled away for his third career Cup Series victory and taking the 48 to victory lane for the first time since Jimmie Johnson at Dover in 2017.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole. Kyle Larson suffered a blown engine and fall out of the race on only the third lap. On the final lap of the first stage, Joey Logano spun and went airborne, flipping onto its roof. The car's spoiler scraped the roof of Bubba Wallace (who continued on) before rolling back onto all fours at the bottom of turn 3. Matt DiBenedetto was awarded the stage win. On the final lap of the second stage, Hamlin got turned into the wall and collected Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Martin Truex Jr. while Wallace was awarded the stage win, the first of his career. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be spun off the bumper of Quin Houff and nose into the wall coming to pit road during green flag pit stops. Truex would suffer a flat tire, bringing out a caution and sending the race to overtime. Brad Keselowski would drive past DiBenedetto and hold off William Byron as several drivers crashed on the final lap to score his sixth career win at Talladega, tying Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for second on the all-time Talladega win list behind Dale Earnhardt.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole. Kyle Busch won the first stage while Kyle Larson won the second stage. Larson dominated the race, but was passed for the lead by Denny Hamlin. Hamlin got into the wall while battling Larson and then got into the wall again after a flat tire. On the restart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun after contact with Austin Cindric. On the following restart, Christopher Bell spun and collected Stenhouse and Ryan Preece. In a two lap shootout, Larson got into Ryan Blaney and both fell back as Kyle Busch held off Kevin Harvick to win on his 36th birthday. NASCAR officials were criticized for their handling of an uncontrolled tire by Tyler Reddick's pit crew. They waited several laps until all the cars had pitted, then belatedly threw a caution, despite the tire presenting little apparent danger. This action disadvantaged several of the drivers.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the second straight race. Aric Almirola slammed the wall after a flat tire while Kyle Busch spun while leading with a flat tire. Martin Truex Jr. dominated by leading the most laps and winning both stages. Cole Custer slammed the wall after contact with Anthony Alfredo while Kurt Busch got into the wall and caught fire after making contact with Bubba Wallace. Drivers split the final stage by pitting for green flag pit stops three different times. Kyle Larson was the only driver to challenge Truex for the lead as lapped traffic caused issues. Truex was able to pull away from Larson and win for his third win of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Martin Truex Jr. started on the pole. Kyle Larson dominated, leading the most laps and winning both stages. Aric Almirola got a flat tire and got into the wall before catching fire. Anthony Alfredo spun after contact with Brad Keselowski and collected Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Alex Bowman took the lead from the dominant Larson and pulled away for his second win of the season followed by teammates Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron, making Hendrick the first team since Roush-Fenway Racing to have all four cars finish 1, 2, 3, 4.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Tyler Reddick won his first career pole in qualifying. It began to rain on the first lap and all drivers pitted to change from slick tires to treaded rain tires. Kevin Harvick got heavy damage after making contact with Ryan Blaney, which also collected Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace. Joey Logano won the first stage. In the second stage, the rain picked up, and the ensuing spray created visibility issues. In one incident, Martin Truex Jr. got into the back of Michael McDowell and then was rammed into by Cole Custer, severely damaging both cars, and causing Custer's car to catch on fire. Kyle Busch won the second stage. On a round of green flag pit stops, Kyle Larson passed Busch for the lead. Alex Bowman took the lead from Larson and was then passed by Chase Elliott. The race was red flagged again due to heavier rain and was called official with 14 laps to go. Elliott was awarded the win, giving Chevrolet its 800th win in NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports its 268th win, tying Petty Enterprises for the most wins by team in NASCAR history.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson won the pole in qualifying. Larson dominated, leading the most laps and winning the first two stages. Kurt Busch had an issue that sent him to the garage, but when he returned to the race, he blew his engine. Several drivers had tire problems including Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. Larson won the third stage and pulled away from teammate Chase Elliott to over a ten-second lead to win his second race of the season, earning the 269th win for Hendrick Motorsports, making them the winningest team in NASCAR history.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was awarded the pole where he dominated and won both stages. William Byron spun and slammed into Kevin Harvick and collected Corey LaJoie. Cody Ware went through dirt and slammed into Ryan Preece as Matt DiBenedetto spun. Anthony Alfredo spun and collected Christopher Bell, sending the race to overtime. On the restart, Larson would hold off teammate Chase Elliott for his second straight win and third of the season for Hendrick Motorsports' 270th Cup win.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: In the Open, Tyler Reddick was awarded the pole. Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric were penalized for beating the leader on the start and changing lanes before the start respectively. Bubba Wallace spun, bringing out a caution, and Buescher spun on the following restart after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez would both be involved in an accident soon after. Ross Chastain, who had to start at the back, passed Reddick and won the first stage to advance. Reddick held off Aric Almirola to win the second stage to advance. In the final 10 lap stage, Almirola held off Matt DiBenedetto to win the Open and advance. DiBenedetto advanced to the All-Star Race by winning the fan vote.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: In the main event, Kyle Larson was awarded the pole. Christopher Bell spun on the first lap, but saved the car from hitting anything. The race was broken into six segments with Larson, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott winning the segments. Elliott's team won the pit road challenge for the final segment. In the first segment, Larson passed and held off Brad Keselowski for the $1 million and his second All-Star Race win.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Aric Almirola won the pole in qualifying. Quin Houff got into the wall on the first lap. Ryan Blaney slammed the wall hard after losing his brakes. Chris Buescher got into the wall along with Justin Haley. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Kyle Larson won the second. Several had brake issues that caused them to get into the wall including Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe. Larson was able to save enough fuel to hold off


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was awarded the pole. Brad Keselowski, in an attempt to go under Cole Custer, hit Custer in the back and sent him into the wall. Kyle Busch would win the first stage. Ryan Newman and Ross Chastain both got in the wall in separate accidents. Kurt Busch would stay out and win the second stage. Larson passed Alex Bowman for the lead with four laps to go, and looked to have the win secured until his left front tire blew out entering the final corner. His car slammed into the outside wall, allowing Bowman to pass Larson back and win his third race of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Owing to the top 20 finishers being inverted from the previous race to set the field, Chris Buescher started on the pole. Martin Truex Jr. won the first stage while William Byron won the second stage. The race came down to fuel mileage. Brad Keselowski had to pit from the lead, giving the lead to Byron. Byron then had to pit with three laps to go, handing the lead to Denny Hamlin. Hamlin pit coming to the white flag, giving the lead to Kyle Busch, who was also suffering from a transmission issue, had enough fuel for his second win of the season over Kyle Larson, who finished second despite suffering heating issues.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: William Byron won the pole in qualifying. Early, Ryan Preece suffered an blown engine and Daniel Suárez came to a stop on the track due to a broken transmission. Bryon won the first stage while Tyler Reddick won the second stage. At the beginning of the third stage, Austin Cindric was leading and suffered a gearing issue. Chase Elliott would take the lead from Matt DiBenedetto and hold off Christopher Bell for his second win of the season and his seventh road course win, putting him third behind Tony Stewart (8) and Jeff Gordon (9).


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Chase Elliott was awarded the pole. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun into the wall and collected Daniel Suárez. Kyle Busch won the first stage while Kurt Busch won the second stage. The race went under a red flag for 20 minutes to repair damage to the track surface. Kurt and Kyle traded the lead with lapped traffic causing problems. After Kyle got into the wall, Kurt was able to pull away and win the race.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Busch was awarded the pole. During the first few laps it began to rain and caused Busch to slam into the wall and others spun including Martin Truex Jr., and Alex Bowman. Busch would be unable to continue the race. The race was red flagged due to rain. When the race resumed, Joey Logano was penalized two laps for a crew member working on the car under the red flag. Bubba Wallace spun with a flat tire as Ryan Blaney won the first stage. Kevin Harvick would dominate, but Brad Keselowski won the second stage. In the closing laps, several laps were taken off of the distance due to darkness looming. Aric Almirola would take the lead from Matt DiBenedetto and hold off a charging Christopher Bell for the win, qualifying for the playoffs being 27th in points and needing a win to qualify.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole. Keselowski spun early while leading as teammate Joey Logano won the first stage. Martin Truex Jr. would win the second stage and led the most laps. Keselowski returned to the lead, but spun again and collected Logano, causing small damage to both cars. Kyle Larson made contact with Christopher Bell, sending him spinning. Larson then took the lead from Truex and held off teammate Chase Elliott for his fifth win and second road win of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: William Byron won the pole in qualifying for the first Cup race on the Indianapolis Road Course. Pit strategy came into play for the start of the race, allowing Tyler Reddick to win both stages while Martin Truex Jr. suffered tire issues and Brad Keselowski spun into the wall. Late in the race, Byron spun with Kyle Busch while Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez both got into the tire barrier. On the restart, Reddick made contact with teammate Austin Dillon and collected Cole Custer and Alex Bowman. In overtime, Chase Briscoe was penalized for not stopping after missing a corner while battling Denny Hamlin for the lead and then spun Hamlin (Briscoe said after the race that he wasn't told about the penalty.) A. J. Allmendinger took advantage and took the lead and held off Ryan Blaney for his second career Cup victory and the first Cup win for Kaulig Racing.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson started on pole. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Kyle Busch won the second stage. At the end of the second stage, Brad Keselowski made contact with Austin Dillon and sent Dillon spinning into the wall, ending his race. In the final stage, drivers had different pit strategies, with William Byron gaining the lead. A caution came out for rain with 21 laps to go and for a multicar wreck with 14 laps to go. Following a restart with eight laps to go, Ryan Blaney gained the lead and held off Byron and Kyle Larson to win the race, his second win of the season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Joey Logano won the second stage. Logano led the most laps in the race. Several lead changes occurred and the race was red-flagged due to a multicar wreck late in the race. In overtime, Ryan Blaney took the lead and won the race as a nine-car wreck occurred in turn 3 on the final lap. Blaney scored his second consecutive win and third win of the season. Larson won the regular season championship while Tyler Reddick clinched the final spot in the playoffs.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Ryan Blaney started the race from the pole position. Early in the race, playoff driver Alex Bowman scraped the wall while playoff driver Michael McDowell was taken out of the race after hitting the wall. Denny Hamlin won the first stage of the race. In the second stage, Austin Dillon and playoff driver Kyle Busch made contact, with Busch hitting the wall and going to the garage, ending his night. Kyle Larson won the second stage of the race. Several other playoff drivers had trouble during the race including William Byron, who hit the wall after cutting a tire, Chase Elliott, who hit the wall after going three-wide with Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell, and Blaney, who spun late in the race. In the closing laps, Hamlin was leading Larson. On the final lap, Larson tapped Hamlin, but Hamlin blocked the top line to win the race, his first win of the season, to move on to the next round of the playoffs.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race, but dropped to the rear at the start. At the start of the race, Martin Truex Jr. was penalized for crossing the start/finish line ahead of leader Denny Hamlin. Early in the race, Kurt Busch cut a tire and slammed the wall. Hamlin won both stages and led the most laps in the race. Kyle Busch was leading late in the race but was penalized for speeding on pit road during a round of green-flag pit stops. Truex Jr. gained the lead and went on to win the race, advancing to the next round of the playoffs. Larson also advanced to the next round of the playoffs on points.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Martin Truex Jr. earned the pole position for the start of the race, where he led the first five laps. Denny Hamlin won stage one after passing Kyle Larson on lap 90. A red flag occurred for nearly eight minutes following a turn 4 incident that involved four vehicles on lap 221. Larson led at the end of stage two. On lap 464, Chase Elliott was forced to pit from the lead when he had a flat tire from damage he received when Kevin Harvick got into his rear quarter panel. When back on the track, Elliott attempted to retaliate by getting into the side of then race leader Harvick and then running Harvick's preferred line, thus slowing him down. Larson was able to pass Harvick on lap 497, and secure his 12th overall Cup Series win. Following the race, Harvick and Elliott bumped cars on pit road and confronted each other when they eventually parked. Elliott said, "It's something [Harvick] does all the time. He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks and sometimes it does cut down your left side (tires), other times it doesn't." The argument continued for several minutes continuing inside Elliott's hauler. Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch, Tyler Reddick, and Aric Almirola were eliminated from the Playoffs.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson started on the pole for the race. Four cars (#10, #19, #24, #66) dropped to the rear for multiple inspection failures. Larson won stage one. Following an incident with Joey Gase only five laps into the run, most cars pitted with the four Hendrick Motorsports cars choosing to stay out. The Hendrick cars thought they were on the outside of the fuel window, but due to an extended caution the cars that pitted were able to make it to stage two. This forced the Hendrick cars to pit under green, forcing them a lap down. Chase Elliott was able to un-lap himself, and William Byron earned the lucky dog pass. Denny Hamlin won stage two and went on to win the race, beating Elliott by 0.442 seconds.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Denny Hamlin was the pole sitter for the race. The race was forced to be delayed until the following day due to rain. The next day, NASCAR would be able to get the race started at 1PMET, 12 PM local time. Chris Buescher won Stage 1 for his 2nd stage win of the season and the first since February at Homestead-Miami Speedway. At the end of Stage 2, rain hit the area. And the race was past its halfway point (Lap 94), so whoever was leading could possibly win the race. Bubba Wallace was leading when the rain hit. After a long red flag, NASCAR declared the race official and Wallace won his first career Cup Series race along with Stage 2 of the race. It was also the first win for 23XI Racing, the new team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan which debuted this season.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Denny Hamlin was the pole sitter for the race. Chase Elliot won Stage 1 and Kyle Busch won Stage 2. Despite dealing with technical issues during the race, Kyle Larson was able to overcome it to pass Hamlin with 8 laps to go to win the race. The victory made Larson the first Cup driver in NASCAR history to win three different road courses in a single season (Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval). William Byron, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick were eliminated from the playoffs.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was the pole sitter for the race. Kyle Busch won Stage 1 and Larson won Stage 2. Multiple playoff drivers suffered issues late in the race, with Joey Logano blowing an engine and Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. involved in wrecks. Larson would lead 257 of the 334 laps to win his eighth race of the season and be the first to advance into the Championship 4.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson started from the pole position. Larson won Stage 1 and William Byron won Stage 2. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were involved in incidents during the race while Ryan Blaney wrecked out of the race with 44 laps to go. Larson won the race, his third consecutive win and ninth for the season. He became the second driver after Joey Logano in 2015 to win three consecutive "post-season" races. He is the fourth driver in NASCAR "post-season" history to win four races in the post-season, following Jimmie Johnson (3 times), Tony Stewart (won 5 in 2011), and Martin Truex Jr. (2017).


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson was the pole sitter. Chase Elliott led 289 laps and won Stages 1 and 2, but a spin-out late in the race pushed him out of contention to win the race and he finished 16th, but he was still able to advance to the Championship 4 based on points. Late in the race, Alex Bowman wrecked leader Denny Hamlin. Bowman won the race for his fourth victory of the season. Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin also advanced to the Championship 4 based on points. Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were eliminated from the playoffs.


title: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

text: Kyle Larson won the pole position for the race. The majority of the race saw the Championship 4 drivers in the front, with Martin Truex Jr. winning Stage 1 and Larson winning Stage 2. With 60 laps to go, Truex made a pit stop as rookie Anthony Alfredo wrecked, but Truex was able to exit pit road on the lead lap before the caution came out. Truex took the lead when the other Championship 4 drivers pitted during caution. Truex was leading the race with 30 laps to go when the caution came out for the wrecked David Starr. In the final pit stop of the season, Hamlin's pit crew conducted a 12.1 second pit stop that would have allowed Hamlin to exit pit road with the lead. But with Larson in the first pit stall and Larson's pit crew conducting a 11.8 second pit stop (the second fastest time for the crew in the season), Larson was able to exit pit road with the lead. When green flag racing resumed with 25 laps to go, Larson got a good jump to clear the other drivers, but Truex was able to follow close behind. Despite some close challenges from Truex in the final laps, Larson held on to win his tenth race of the season and his first career NASCAR Cup Championship. Truex, Hamlin and Elliott would finish 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively in the race to finish in the point standings 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal organs (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat), the Specialized Agencies and related organizations. The UN System includes subsidiary bodies such as the separately administered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary entities. Some of these organizations predate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and were inherited after the dissolution of the League of Nations.


title: United Nations System

text: The executive heads of some of the United Nations System organizations and the World Trade Organization, which is not formally part of the United Nations System, have seats on the United Nations System Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB). This body, chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, meets twice a year to co-ordinate the work of the organizations of the United Nations System.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA/GA) consists of all United Nations Member States and meets in regular session once a year under a president elected from among the representatives. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also established a wide number of .


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action. Its powers are exercised through United Nations Security Council resolutions.


title: United Nations System

text: The Security Council held its first ever session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, London. Since its first meeting, the council, which exists in continuous session, has travelled widely, holding meetings in many cities, such as Paris and Addis Ababa, as well as at its current permanent home at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.


title: United Nations System

text: There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is responsible for co-ordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. ECOSOC has 54 members; it holds a four-week session each year in July. Since 1998, it has also held a meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations System.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations Secretariat is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, and other U.N. bodies. The United Nations Charter provides that the staff is to be chosen by application of the "highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis.


title: United Nations System

text: The charter provides that the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member country is enjoined to respect the international character of the secretariat and not seek to influence its staff. The secretary-general alone is responsible for staff selection.


title: United Nations System

text: The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations Trusteeship Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, was established to ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territories—most of them are former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II—have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries. The last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994.


title: United Nations System

text: The separately administered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary bodies are autonomous subsidiary organs of the United Nations.


title: United Nations System

text: Throughout its history the United Nations General Assembly has established a number of programmes and funds to address particular humanitarian and development concerns. These are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions. These bodies usually report to the General Assembly through an executive board. Only one UN programme has ever closed in the history of the organization, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), which ceased to exist in 1959 and was subsequently replaced by the UNHCR.


title: United Nations System

text: Each of the funds and programmes is headed by an executive director at the under-secretary-general level and is governed by an executive board. One former fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), was merged with other elements of the United Nations System into a new organization, UN Women, in January 2011.


title: United Nations System

text: Various institutes were established by the General Assembly to perform independent research and training. One former institute, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), was merged with other elements of the United Nations System into a new organization, UN Women, in January 2011.


title: United Nations System

text: The specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the co-ordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council and the Chief Executives Board for Coordination. Each was integrated into the UN System by way of an agreement with the UN under UN Charter article 57 (except ICSID and MIGA, both part of the World Bank Group).


title: United Nations System

text: Some organizations have a relationship with the UN defined by an arrangement different from the agreements between the specialized agencies and the UN, which are established under Articles 57 and 63 of the United Nations Charter.


title: United Nations System

text: The IOM, established in 1951, is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people. In September 2016, IOM joined the United Nations System as a related organization during the United Nations General Assembly high-level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants.


title: United Nations System

text: The relationship between the IAEA and the UN was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly. Unlike the specialized agencies which report to ECOSOC, the IAEA reports to the General Assembly as well as the Security Council. Like the other specialized agency's heads, their executives are part of the United Nations System Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB).


title: United Nations System

text: The OPCW is not an agency of the United Nations, but cooperates both on policy and practical issues. On 7 September 2000 the OPCW and the UN signed a co-operation agreement outlining how they were to co-ordinate their activities. Under this agreement, the OPCW reports to the UN General Assembly.


title: United Nations System

text: The WTO does not have a formal agreement with the UN. Instead, their relationship is governed by exchanges of letters. Unlike the specialized agencies and the IAEA, the WTO has no reporting obligations towards any of the principal organs of the UN, but provides contribution to the work of the General Assembly and ECOSOC. The WTO has a seat on the CEB.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB) brings together on a regular basis the executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations System, under the chairmanship of the secretary-general of the UN. The CEB aims to further co-ordination and co-operation on a whole range of substantive and management issues facing UN System organizations. In addition to its regular reviews of contemporary political issues and major concerns facing the UN System, the CEB approves policy statements on behalf of the UN System as a whole. Three committees report to the CEB, namely the High-level Committee on Programme (HCLP), the High-level Committee on Management (HCLM) and the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). Each of those bodies has, in turn, developed a subsidiary machinery of regular and bodies on the substantive and managerial aspects of inter-agency co-ordination. The committee structure is supported by a CEB secretariat located in New York and Geneva.


title: United Nations System

text: There is also a Senior Management Group, composed of some of the senior officials in the secretariat and the funds and programmes at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General rank, which serves as the cabinet of the Secretary-General.


title: United Nations System

text: The United Nations, its subsidiary bodies, thirteen of the specialized agencies (ILO, FAO, UNESCO, WHO, ICAO, UPU, ITU, WMO, IMO, WIPO, IFAD, UNIDO, and UNWTO), and one related body (IAEA) are part of the United Nations common system of salaries, allowances, and benefits administered by the International Civil Service Commission. Most, but not all, of the members of the United Nations System are part of the common system; the Bretton Woods institutions (i.e. the World Bank Group and the IMF) are notable exceptions. The WTO utilizes the OECD common system. The UN common system was established to prevent competition amongst organizations of the United Nations System for staff and to facilitate co-operation and exchange between organizations.


title: United Nations System

text: Some international organizations that are not part of the United Nations System (and therefore not members of the common system) but who voluntarily follow the policies of the common system in whole or in part include:


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military forces in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. Codenamed Operation Red Dawn, this military operation was named after the 1984 American film "Red Dawn".


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: The mission was executed by joint operations Task Force 121—an elite and covert joint special operations team, supported by the 1st Brigade Combat Team (led by Colonel James Hickey) of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Raymond Odierno.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: They searched two sites, "Wolverine 1" and "Wolverine 2", outside the town of ad-Dawr, but did not find Hussein. A continued search between the two sites found Hussein hiding in a "spider hole" at 20:30 hrs local Iraqi time. Hussein did not resist capture.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Hussein disappeared from public view soon after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The American military labelled him "High Value Target Number One" (HVT1) and began one of the largest manhunts in history.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Between July and December 2003, JSOC's Task Force 121 carried out twelve unsuccessful raids to find Saddam Hussein, together with 600 other operations against targets, including 300 interrogations. On 1 December 2003, a former driver divulged the name Muhammed Ibrahim Omar al-Musslit, Saddam's right-hand man, known to TF 121 as "the source" or "the fatman". Over the next two weeks, nearly 40 members of his family were interrogated to ascertain his location. On 12 December 2003, a raid on a house in Baghdad that was being used as an insurgent headquarters captured Omar. Early the next morning he revealed where Saddam may be found. This intelligence and other intelligence from detained former members of the Ba'ath Party, supported by signals intelligence from the ISA, finally pinpointed Hussein at a remote farm compound south of Tikrit.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Operation Red Dawn was launched after gaining actionable intelligence identifying two likely locations of Saddam's whereabouts code-named Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2, near the town of ad-Dawr. C squadron Delta Force, ISA operators under Task Force 121 and the First Brigade Combat team of the 4th ID, conducted the operation. The operation was named after the 1984 film of the same name starring Patrick Swayze. The site names of "Wolverine 1" and "Wolverine 2" are also a reference to the American insurgent group in the movie, "The Wolverines". The Forces involved in the operation consisted of approximately 600 soldiers including cavalry, artillery, aviation, engineer, and special operations forces.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: The forces cleared the two objectives but initially did not find the target. Then, as the operators were finishing and the helicopters called in to extract them, one assaulter kicked a piece of flooring to one side, exposing a spider hole; he prepared to throw a fragmentation grenade into it – in case it led to an insurgent tunnel system, when suddenly Hussein appeared. The Delta operator struck him with the stock of his M4 carbine and disarmed him of a Glock 18C.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Hussein surrendered and offered no resistance; he was taken by a MH-6 Little Bird from the 160th SOAR to the Tikrit Mission Support Site where he was properly identified. He was then taken in an MH-60K Blackhawk helicopter by 160th SOAR from Tikrit to Baghdad and into custody at Baghdad International Airport. Along with the Glock, an AK-47 and $750,000 in US bank notes were recovered from the spider hole.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Sinha, in his brief conversation with Powell, merely expressed hope that such developments would contribute to the stabilization of Iraq. Powell told Sinha that the capture would bring "a change in the existing situation and lead to greater respect for the Iraqi Governing Council."


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda agreed the arrest was "great news," but cautioned it would not necessarily lead to peace.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: "The problem, however, is terrorism. I don't think the arrest of Saddam Hussein can stop all terror attacks," Fukuda said.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Iraqis should "be given the right to decide on the manner and procedure of bringing Saddam Hussein to face justice," said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, head of the Non-Aligned Movement. Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed hope that the capture of Saddam Hussein would contribute towards bringing peace and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region and stated that the United Nations should now play a bigger role in achieving this objective. "With peace and stability in Iraq, we hope that an Iraqi government representing the free and independent Iraqi people could be set up to start the reconstruction process of that nationfor the benefit of its people," he said. He said the views and inputs of the Iraqis should be taken into account in deciding whatever action would be initiated against Saddam. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed urged a fair trial for Saddam Hussein.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Secretary General Amr Mussa said the Iraqi people should "decide the fate of the old regime and its old leaders," alluding to the discovery of mass graves after Saddam's fall during the US invasion in April.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: The International Committee of the Red Cross says the US-led coalition in Iraq had given the agency the "green light" to visit Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Red Cross spokesman Florian Westphal confirmed that ICRC visits to the captured Iraqi leader would go ahead according to international rules governing the detention of all prisoners of war. He said discussions are under way as to how and where those visits would take place.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: A spokesman for Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, said the capture "offers an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq".


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said the Allied Coalition might ask Saddam Hussein meaningful questions about Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programmes, "He ought to know quite a lot, and be able to tell the story; we all want to get to the bottom of the barrel".


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: A Pentagon spokesman said he was given the status as he was the leader of the "old regime's military forces."


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: The spokesman, Major Michael Shavers, said Saddam, captured by US troops in December, was entitled to all the rights under the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross had asked to visit the former Iraqi leader as soon as possible. The US spokesman did not give further details about Saddam Hussein's conditions of detention.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: POW status for Saddam Hussein meant that the former Iraqi leader would be eligible to stand trial for war crimes.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: There was controversy over TV pictures which showed Saddam Hussein undergoing a medical examination after his capture — footage regarded by some as a failure to protect him from public curiosity. A leading Vatican clergyman described the scenes as Saddam being "treated like a cow," and some sections of the Arab world were deeply offended by them. The US maintains that the pictures were shown to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that they no longer had anything to fear.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: A senior British official said Saddam — who was being held at an undisclosed location and interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — was still refusing to co-operate with his captors, but the former president's capture the previous month was yielding results "far greater than we expected," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.


title: Capture of Saddam Hussein

text: The US-led coalition had used documents found with the ex-leader to mount operations against Saddam loyalists, the official said.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Kathleen Marie Garver is an American stage, film, television, and voice-over actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom, "Family Affair". Before that, she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille in the film "The Ten Commandments" (1956), and after that, she provided the voice of Firestar in the animated television series "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981–83). Garver authored "The Family Affair Cookbook" (2009), "Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood" (2015), and "X Child Stars: Where are They Now?" (2016).


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver was born in Long Beach, California, the daughter of Rosemary (Schmoker) and Hayes Garver. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended a Catholic primary school. Garver recalled that her mother began getting her into acting from a young age: "I started singing and dancing at the Meglin Studios in Hollywood, at three years old, as was Shirley Temple, who was also discovered there. I think my mom had the vision of her little daughter as Shirley Temple." When she was nine, she was cast in "I'll Cry Tomorrow", but her most famous movie role was one of the young slaves in "The Ten Commandments". Garver was cast as an extra in "The Ten Commandments", but during filming director Cecil B. DeMille noticed her and wrote her into the movie.


title: Kathy Garver

text: During the 1950s Garver did voice work on radio dramas, including "Whispering Streets" and "Heartbeat Theater". In 1969, Garver released a Christmas song called "Lem, the Orphan Reindeer" on the Aquarian label, distributed by Bell Records. The song was written by Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, and E. Justin, and arranged by Jimmie Haskell.


title: Kathy Garver

text: In 1965, Garver played a youthful Isadora Duncan, with June Lockhart as librarian Ina Coolbrith, the first poet laureate of California, in the episode "Magic Locket" of the syndicated western television series "Death Valley Days". In the story line, Coolbrith develops a tenuous friendship with the teen-aged free spirit, "Dorita Duncan". A year later, she had a supporting role in "Lady of the Plains".


title: Kathy Garver

text: In 1966, while studying at UCLA, she auditioned for, and won, the role of "Cissy" Davis, the eldest of the three siblings on "Family Affair". Garver had been a fan of series star Brian Keith since she was ten years old and had guest-starred on his earlier CBS series about the Cold War, "Crusader". She had also previously worked with co-producer Don Fedderson on "The Millionaire". While working on "Family Affair" Garver began dating her on-screen boyfriend Greg Fedderson, but otherwise did not socialize much with the rest of the cast, since they were all either much older or much younger than her. "Family Affair" ran for five seasons.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver appeared in such movies as "Princess Diaries", "Unleashed", and "Helen's Last Love", and as guest star in such TV films as "Hercules Saves Christmas" and "FBI Murders". Her stage plays include "Voice of the Turtle", "Vanities", "Under the Yum Yum Tree", "Sunday in New York", "Star Spangled Girl", "Romeo and Juliet" with musicals "My Fair Lady", "River Song: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Summer Magic".


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver provided the voices of Firestar, Storm and other female guest characters on the Saturday morning cartoon "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends". In the 1990s "Spider-Man" cartoon series, she played the voice of Miss America.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver was the voice of Alice Mitchell in the "Dennis the Menace" cartoon special "Mayday for Mother" and Pepper in "". Her other voice roles included the television series "Fonz and the Happy Days Gang"; "The Tom & Jerry Kids Show"; "Droopy, Master Detective"; "The New Yogi Bear Show"; "The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show"; "The All-New Super Friends Hour" and the cartoon special "Marvin: Baby of the Year". In addition to her television work, Garver has lent her voice talents to numerous commercials, toys, and audiobooks.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver appeared in the Christmas episode of the 2002–2003 "Family Affair" WB series, which was a remake of the original.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver has produced, narrated, written lyrics, and composed the music for eight audio Beatrix Potter tales and eight Mother Goose based audiotapes for Smarty Pants, Inc. She has recorded books for Brilliance Audio, Dove, Audible, and Listen and Live.


title: Kathy Garver

text: Garver's stage performances include productions of "Absolutely Dead" and "Dinner at Five", the latter written and directed by Lloyd J. Schwartz.


title: Kathy Garver

text: As of November 1994, Garver was living in Hillsborough, California, with her husband, David Travis, and their adolescent son, Reid. She kept in touch with and visited her "Family Affair" co-star Brian Keith until his suicide on June 24, 1997, and attended his funeral.


title: Kathy Garver

text: On June 26, 2008, she attended the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony when Brian Keith was awarded a star posthumously; Garver gave a speech on his behalf.


title: Kathy Garver

text: In 2009, Garver co-authored, with Geoffrey Mark, "The Family Affair Cookbook". In September 2015, she published her autobiography, "Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair Of Life In Hollywood".


title: Kathy Garver

text: In 1995, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. Garver has won two Audie Awards, one for her narration of "The World's Shortest Stories", the other in 2004 for her direction of Amy Tan in "The Opposite of Fate" read by the author. In 2010, Garver was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role in "Family Affair".


title: Gimme a Break!

text: Gimme a Break! is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: The show was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions (renamed as Reeves Entertainment Group in 1985). The US syndication rights are held by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, the successor company to original syndicator MCA TV. FremantleMedia owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Reeves Entertainment Group in 1990. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. The series was taped at Metromedia Square in Hollywood before a studio audience.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: Over its run, the series used two different theme songs. The first was composed by Bob Christianson with lyrics by Bob Garrett and Marley Sims; two versions of this song were used, one for the first season and a new recording for the second. A new theme, with music by Jay Graydon and lyrics by Richard Page, was introduced in the third season and used for the remainder of the show's run. The new theme has similarities to the first but with a more positive attitude. Carter performed both themes.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: Carter distanced herself from the show following its run. “I don't want to go to my grave being known as the girl from 'Gimme a Break,’” she told The New York Times in 1988. “That wasn't me; it was just a job.”


title: Gimme a Break!

text: The show received mixed reviews from critics when it premiered. Writing for the "Washington Post", Tom Shales wrote an especially scathing review of the pilot episode. “I wish I could sue NBC for the grievous consternation, intestinal distress and aggravated low moaning I have suffered as a result of ‘Gimme a Break,’” Shales wrote, going on to criticize the show’s sex jokes and what he found to be the racial stereotypes embodied by Carter’s character. “If I thought television could get substantially worse than this, I am not sure I would have the courage or desire ever to turn the set on again,” Shales concluded.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: By contrast, the "New York Times" found the show promising, praising the performances of Carter and Sweet and the way the show balanced wisecracks with bits of seriousness. “The abrupt changes in tone are handled adroitly,” John J. O’Connor wrote. “Given some supportive scripts, Miss Carter and Mr. Sweet could insure a good run for this series.”


title: Gimme a Break!

text: The show has been in syndication since 1985. Reruns have also aired nationally on WWOR EMI Service and USA. Distribution rights are jointly owned by The Program Exchange and NBCUniversal Television Distribution, successor in interest to previous syndicator MCA Television. Reruns of the series are a mainstay of many of Sinclair Broadcast Group's The CW, MeTV and MyNetworkTV stations, especially in low-traffic time periods, due to the low-cost barter setup of The Program Exchange.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: Visual Entertainment (under license from FremantleMedia) released the first two seasons of "Gimme a Break!" on DVD in Canada between 2006–07. In 2009, VEI announced that they plan on releasing the entire series in a complete series box set in 2010. VEI released "Gimme a Break! The Complete Series" on DVD in Canada on July 20, 2010.


title: Gimme a Break!

text: Nell Carter received two Emmy nominations as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. and two Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress in a Television Series-Comedy or Musical.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, encouraged the Major Leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, and introduced the batting helmet. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders from 1905 through 1907. After struggling as a player, Rickey returned to college, where he learned about administration from Philip Bartelme. Returning to MLB in 1913, Rickey embarked on a successful managing and executive career with the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals elected him to their team Hall of Fame in 2014.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey also had a career in football, as a player for the professional Shelby Blues and as a coach at Ohio Wesleyan University and Allegheny College. His many achievements and deep Christian faith earned him the nickname "the Mahātmā" (guru).


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, the son of Jacob Frank Rickey and Emily (née Brown). Rickey was the uncle of Beth Rickey, a Louisiana political activist.


title: Branch Rickey

text: He graduated from Valley High School in Lucasville, Ohio, in 1899, and he was a catcher on the baseball team at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he obtained his B.A. Rickey was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey was a Master Mason in Tuscan Lodge #240 in Saint Louis. After arriving in Brooklyn, Rickey joined Montauk Masonic Lodge #286 in Brooklyn.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Stricken with tuberculosis, he took the "cure" in Saranac Lake, New York in 1908 and 1909 at the Trudeau Sanatorium. Later, he moved into the Jacob Schiff cottage.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Before his front office days, Rickey played both football and baseball professionally. He played in both baseball's minor and major leagues.


title: Branch Rickey

text: In 1902, Rickey played professional football for the Shelby Blues of the "Ohio League", the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League (NFL.) Rickey often played for pay with Shelby while he was attending Ohio Wesleyan. During his time with Shelby, Rickey became friends with his teammate Charles Follis, who was the first black professional football player. He also played against him on October 17, 1903, when Follis ran for a 70-yard touchdown against the Ohio Wesleyan football team. After that game Rickey praised Follis, calling him "a wonder." It is also possible that Follis' poise and class under the pressures of such racial tension, as well as his exceptional play in spite of it, inspired Rickey to sign Jackie Robinson decades later. Rickey, however, stated his inspiration for bringing Jackie Robinson into baseball was the ill-treatment he saw received by his black catcher Charles Thomas on the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team coached by Rickey in 1903 and 1904 and the gentlemanly way Thomas handled it. When Rickey signed Robinson, Charles Thomas' story was made known in the papers


title: Branch Rickey

text: In 1903, Rickey signed a contract with the Terre Haute Hottentots of the Class B Central League, making his professional debut on June 20. Rickey was assigned to the Le Mars Blackbirds of the Class D Iowa–South Dakota League. During this period, Rickey also spent two seasons–1904 and 1905—coaching baseball, basketball and football at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania where he also served as athletic director and as an instructor of Shakespeare, English, and freshman history.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey debuted in the major leagues, with the St. Louis Browns in 1905. Sold to the New York Highlanders in 1907, Rickey could neither hit nor field while with the club, and his batting average dropped below .200. One opposing team stole 13 bases in one game while Rickey was behind the plate, which was an American League record until 1911. Rickey also injured his throwing arm and retired as a player following that season.


title: Branch Rickey

text: While at Michigan, Rickey applied for the job as Michigan's baseball coach. Rickey asked every alumnus he had ever met to write letters to Philip Bartelme, the school's athletic director, on his behalf. Bartelme recalled, "Day after day those letters came in." Bartelme was reportedly impressed with Rickey's passion for baseball and his idealism about the proper role of athletics on a college campus. Bartelme convinced the dean of the law school that Rickey could handle his law studies while serving as the school's baseball coach. Bartelme reportedly called Rickey into his office to tell him he had the job if only "to put a stop to those damn letters that come in every day." The hiring also marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship and business relationship between Rickey and Bartelme. Bartelme and Rickey worked together for most of the next 35 years, and in 1944 a California newspaper noted: "He and Rickey have had a close association in baseball ever since Bartelme was head of the athletic department of the University of Michigan where Rickey took to baseball just as a means to build up his failing health." During his four years as head baseball coach from 1910 to 1913 his record was 68–32–4.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey returned to the big leagues in 1913, as a front office executive with the Browns. He was responsible for signing young George Sisler. Rickey became the team's manager for the final 12 games of the season, and managed the team for two more full seasons, although the Browns finished under .500 both years.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey served as an officer in the U.S. Army in France during World War I. He commanded a chemical training unit that included Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. Rickey served in the 1st Gas Regiment during the war, and spent over four months as a member of the Chemical Warfare Service.


title: Branch Rickey

text: He then returned to St. Louis in 1919, but clashed with new Browns owner Phil Ball and jumped to the crosstown rivals Cardinals, to become team president and manager. In 1920, Rickey gave up the team presidency to the Cards' new majority owner, Sam Breadon.


title: Branch Rickey

text: The Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured the two familiar cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat in 1922. The concept of this pattern originated in a Presbyterian church in Ferguson, Missouri, at which Rickey was speaking. He noticed a colorful cardboard arrangement featuring two cardinal birds perched on a branch on a table. The arrangement's designer was a woman named Allie May Schmidt. Schmidt's father, a graphic designer, assisted Rickey in creating the logo that is part of a familiar staple on Cardinals uniforms.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Under Rickey's leadership as on-the-field manager for six relatively mediocre years, the Cardinals posted winning records from 1921 to 1923. Breadon fired him early in the 1925 season. However, he could not deny Rickey's acumen for player development, and offered to let him stay to run the front office. An embittered Rickey stated, "You can't do this to me, Sam. You are ruining me." "No", Breadon responded. "I am doing you the greatest favor one man has ever done to another."


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey had wisely invested in several minor league baseball clubs, using them to develop future talent and supplement the Cardinals major league roster. At 43 years of age upon his firing, he had been a player, manager and executive in the Major Leagues. However, there had been little indication to this point that he would ever belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although he was not the first executive titled as a "general manager" in Major League Baseball history — his actual title was "business manager" — through his activities, including inventing and building the farm system, Rickey came to embody the position of the baseball operations executive who mastered scouting, player acquisition and development and business affairs, which is the definition of the modern GM.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Second baseman Rogers Hornsby, winner of two Major League Baseball Triple Crowns, replaced Rickey to become a player-manager, and in 1926, his first full year as manager, Hornsby then led the Cardinals to their first World Series championship.


title: Branch Rickey

text: By 1930, Rickey's Cardinals, known as the "Gashouse Gang", were the class of the National League. They won 101 games in 1931 and won the World Series in seven games. The star of the 1931 World Series was rookie Pepper Martin, one of the first Cardinal stars that came from Branch's minor league system. Soon, other minor league graduates joined the team, among them future hall of famers Dizzy Dean and Joe Medwick, nicknamed "Ducky", and Dean's brother Paul "Daffy" Dean. The Deans and Medwick were integral parts of the 1934 Cardinals, who won the franchise's third World Series title.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball, was concerned that Rickey's minor league system was going to ruin baseball by destroying existing minor league teams, and he twice released over 70 Cardinal minor leaguers. Despite Landis' efforts, Rickey's minor league system stayed in existence, and similar systems were adopted by every major league team within a few years. Arguably, the farm system "saved" the minor leagues, by keeping them "necessary" after the television age began and minor league attendance figures declined.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey continued to develop the Cardinals up until the early 1940s. In his final year at St. Louis, 1942, the Cardinals had their best season in franchise history, winning 106 games and the World Series title. The team was led by a new crop of players developed by the Cardinals, two of whom, Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial, became Hall of Famers; and several others, among them future MVP Marty Marion, who were among the best at their position during their eras. Even their manager Billy Southworth was a product of their farm system.


title: Branch Rickey

text: When Rickey's good friend Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail enlisted in the army to serve in World War II after the 1942 season, the Dodgers hired Rickey to replace him as president and general manager, ending a tenure of over two decades with the Cardinals. In 1945, the Dodger ownership reorganized, with Rickey acquiring 25% of Dodger stock to become an equal partner with three other owners.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey continued to innovate in his time with Brooklyn. He was responsible for the first full-time spring training facility, in Vero Beach, Florida, and encouraged the use of now-commonplace tools such as the batting cage, pitching machines, and batting helmets. He also pioneered the use of statistical analysis in baseball (what is now known as sabermetrics), when he hired statistician Allan Roth as a full-time analyst for the Dodgers in 1947. After viewing Roth's evidence, Rickey promoted the idea that on-base percentage was a more important hitting statistic than batting average. While working under Rickey, Roth was also the first person to provide statistical evidence that platoon effects were real and quantifiable.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey's most memorable act with the Dodgers involved signing Jackie Robinson, thus breaking baseball's color barrier, which had been an unwritten rule since the 1880s. This policy had continued under a succession of baseball leaders, including Landis, who was openly opposed to integrating Major League Baseball for what he regarded as legitimate reasons. Landis died in 1944, but Rickey had already set the process in motion, having sought (and gained) approval from the Dodgers Board of Directors in 1943 to begin the search for "the right man."


title: Branch Rickey

text: In early 1945, Rickey was anticipating the integration of black players into Major League Baseball. Rickey, along with Gus Greenlee who was the owner of the original Pittsburgh Crawfords, created the United States League (USL) as a method to scout black players specifically to break the color line. It is unclear if the league actually played the 1945 season or if it was only used as a pretense for integration. Around this time, Rickey held tryouts of black players, under the cover story of forming a new team in the USL called the "Brooklyn Brown Dodgers." The Dodgers were, in fact, looking for the right man to break the color line.


title: Branch Rickey

text: On August 28, 1945, Rickey signed Robinson, who never played in the USL, to a minor league contract. Robinson had been playing in the Negro leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs. On October 23, 1945, it was announced that Robinson would join the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' International League affiliate, for the 1946 season. He would end up as the league's batting champion, and led the Royals to a dominant league championship.


title: Branch Rickey

text: There was no statute officially banning blacks from baseball, only a universally recognized unwritten rule which no club owner was prepared to break that was perpetuated by culturally entrenched racism and a desire by club owners to be perceived as representing the values and beliefs of everyday American white men. The service of black Americans in the Second World War, and the celebrated pre-war achievements of black athletes in American sports, such as Joe Louis in boxing and Jesse Owens in track, helped pave the way for the cultural shift necessary to break the barrier.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Rickey knew that Robinson would face racism and discrimination. Rickey made it clear in their momentous first meeting that he anticipated wide-scale resistance both inside and outside baseball to opening its doors to black players. As predicted by Rickey, right from the start Robinson faced obstacles among his teammates and other teams' players. No matter how harsh the white people were towards Robinson, he could not retaliate. Robinson had agreed with Rickey not to lose his temper and jeopardize the chances of all the blacks who would follow him if he could help break down the barriers.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Red Barber recounted in Ken Burns's documentary "Baseball" that Rickey's determination to desegregate Major League Baseball was born out of a combination of idealism and astute business sense. The idealism was at least partially rooted in an incident involving a team for which Rickey worked early on. While managing at Ohio Wesleyan University, a black player, Charles Thomas, was extremely upset at being refused accommodation, because of his race, at the hotel where the team stayed. Though an infuriated Rickey managed to get him into the hotel for the night, he never forgot the incident and later said, "I may not be able to do something about racism in every field, but I can sure do something about it in baseball." The business element was based on the fact that the Negro leagues had numerous star athletes, and logically, the first Major League team to hire them would get the first pick of the players at an attractive price. At the time, Mexican brewery czar Jorge Pasquel was raiding America for black talent (e.g. Satchel Paige), as well as disgruntled white players, for the Mexican League with the idea of creating an integrated league that could compete on a talent level with the U.S. major leagues. However idealistic, Rickey did not compensate Monarchs ownership for the rights to obtain Robinson, nor did he pay for rights to Don Newcombe, who would also join the Dodgers from a Negro leagues club. Rickey also attempted to sign Monte Irvin but Newark Eagles business owner Effa Manley refused to allow Irvin to leave her club without compensation. When she threatened to sue him in court, Rickey stopped the pursuit of Irvin, who would later sign with the New York Giants.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Amid much fanfare, Jackie debuted, and turned out to be a success. Robinson was baseball's first rookie of the year, and while he was often jeered by opposing baseball players, managers, and fans, he became extremely popular with the American public. His success became the crowning achievement of Rickey's illustrious career. His Dodgers would make the World Series that year. Although they lost in seven games to the New York Yankees, Rickey's vision and action had set the stage for the Dodgers to be contenders for decades to come. And it opened the door for other leaders like Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians, who integrated the American League in 1947, as well.


title: Branch Rickey

text: From 1945 through 1950, Rickey was one of four owners of the Dodgers, each with one quarter of the franchise. When one of the four (John L. Smith) died, Walter O'Malley took control of that quarter. Also in 1950, Branch Rickey's contract as Dodger president expired, and Walter O'Malley decided that were Rickey to retain the job, almost all of Rickey's power would be gone; for example, he would no longer take a percentage of every franchise sale. Rickey declined a new contract as president. Then, to be a majority owner, O'Malley offered to buy Rickey's portion. Seeing no reason to hold on to the club, Rickey decided to comply. In a final act of retaliation against O'Malley, Rickey instead offered the club percentage to a friend for $1 million. His chances at complete franchise control at risk, O'Malley was forced to offer more money, and Rickey finally sold his portion for $1.05 million.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Immediately upon leaving the Dodgers, Rickey was offered the position of executive vice president and general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates by the team's new majority owner, John W. Galbreath. He joined them on November 1, 1950, one month after the 1950 Bucs, who lost 96 out of 153 games, finished in last place for only the third time in the 20th century. With an average player age of 28.6 years, they also were one of the oldest teams in the National League. Bringing several key aides with him from Brooklyn, Rickey began a tear-down/re-building process that would consume his entire five-year term as general manager. The Pirates finished eighth (and last) four times and seventh once, compiled a miserable 269–501 (.349) record, and in 1952 experienced one of the worst seasons in MLB annals, going 42–112 and lagging behind the champion Dodgers by 54 games. It was the second-worst season in franchise history, and the third-worst in modern (post-1900) baseball history. After presiding over one last-place season with the Pirates, Rickey proposed cutting the pay of power-hitting superstar Ralph Kiner. When Kiner objected, Rickey famously quipped, "Son, we could have finished last without you!"


title: Branch Rickey

text: Perhaps his most notable innovation during his Pittsburgh tenure came during the season, when the Pirates became the first team to permanently adopt batting helmets on both offense and defense. These helmets resembled a primitive fiberglass "miner's cap". This was the mandate of Rickey, who also owned stock in the company producing the helmets. Under Rickey's orders, all Pirate players had to wear the helmets both at bat and in the field. The helmets became a permanent feature for all Pirate hitters, but within a few weeks the team began to abandon their use of helmets on defense, partly because of their awkwardly heavy feel. Once the Pirates discarded the helmets on defense, the trend disappeared from the game.


title: Branch Rickey

text: Health problems forced Rickey to retire in 1955. The Pirates were still mired in the NL basement; they would not have another winning record until 1958. However, with an average age of 25.5, they were the youngest outfit in the Senior Circuit. Five years later, Rickey's contributions would help lead to a World Series championship for Pittsburgh in 1960. Wrote author Andrew O'Toole in 2000, "The core of the 1960 championship team [notably Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat, Bill Mazeroski, Elroy Face and Vern Law, among others] was put together and nurtured by Rickey."