title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: From 1480 to 1482, he continued his studies at the University of Padua, a major center of Aristotelianism in Italy. Already proficient in Latin and Greek, he studied Hebrew and Arabic in Padua with Elia del Medigo, a Jewish Averroist, and read Aramaic manuscripts with him as well. Del Medigo also translated Judaic manuscripts from Hebrew into Latin for Pico, as he would continue to do for a number of years. Pico also wrote sonnets in Latin and Italian which, because of the influence of Savonarola, he destroyed at the end of his life.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: He spent the next four years either at home, or visiting humanist centres elsewhere in Italy. In 1485, he travelled to the University of Paris, the most important centre in Europe for scholastic philosophy and theology, and a hotbed of secular Averroism. It was probably in Paris that Giovanni began his "900 Theses" and conceived the idea of defending them in public debate.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: During this time two life-changing events occurred. The first was when he returned to settle for a time in Florence in November 1484 and met Lorenzo de' Medici and Marsilio Ficino. It was an astrologically auspicious day that Ficino had chosen to publish his translations of the works of Plato from Greek into Latin, under Lorenzo's enthusiastic patronage. Pico appears to have charmed both men, and despite Ficino's philosophical differences, he was convinced of their Saturnine affinity and the divine providence of his arrival. Lorenzo would support and protect Pico until his death in 1492.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Soon after this stay in Florence, Pico was travelling on his way to Rome where he intended to publish his "900 Theses" and prepare for a congress of scholars from all over Europe to debate them. Stopping in Arezzo he became embroiled in a love affair with the wife of one of Lorenzo de' Medici's cousins, which almost cost him his life. Giovanni attempted to run off with the woman, but he was caught, wounded and thrown into prison by her husband. He was released only upon the intervention of Lorenzo himself.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Pico spent several months in Perugia and nearby Fratta, recovering from his injuries. It was there, as he wrote to Ficino, that "divine Providence ... caused certain books to fall into my hands. They are Chaldean books ... of Esdras, of Zoroaster and of Melchior, oracles of the magi, which contain a brief and dry interpretation of Chaldean philosophy, but full of mystery." Pico was introduced in Perugia to the mystical Hebrew "Kabbalah", which fascinated him, as did the late classical Hermetic writers, such as Hermes Trismegistus. The "Kabbalah" and "Hermetica" were thought in Pico's time to be as ancient as the Old Testament. Pico's "tutor" in Kabbalah was Rabbi Johannan Alemanno (1430s – c. 1510), who argued that the study and mastery of magic was to be regarded as the final stage of one's intellectual and spiritual education.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: This contact, initiated as a result of Christian interest in probing the ancient wisdom found in Jewish mystical sources, resulted in unprecedented mutual influence between Jewish and Christian Renaissance thought. The most original of Pico's 900 theses concerned the "Kabbalah". As a result, he became the founder of the tradition known as Christian Kabbalah, which went on to be a central part of early modern Western esotericism. Pico's approach to different philosophies was one of extreme syncretism, placing them in parallel, it has been claimed, rather than attempting to describe a developmental history.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Pico based his ideas chiefly on Plato, as did his teacher, Marsilio Ficino, but retained a deep respect for Aristotle. Although he was a product of the "studia humanitatis", Pico was constitutionally an eclectic, and in some respects he represented a reaction against the exaggerations of pure humanism, defending what he believed to be the best of the medieval and Islamic commentators, such as Averroes and Avicenna, on Aristotle in a famous long letter to Ermolao Barbaro in 1485. It was always Pico's aim to reconcile the schools of Plato and Aristotle since he believed they used different words to express the same concepts. It was perhaps for this reason his friends called him "Princeps Concordiae", or "Prince of Harmony" (a pun on Prince of Concordia, one of his family's holdings). Similarly, Pico believed that an educated person should also study Hebrew and Talmudic sources, and the Hermetics, because he thought they represented the same concept of God that is seen in the Old Testament, but in different words.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: He finished his "Oration on the Dignity of Man" to accompany his "900 Theses" and traveled to Rome to continue his plan to defend them. He had them published together in December 1486 as ""Conclusiones philosophicae, cabalasticae et theologicae"", and offered to pay the expenses of any scholars who came to Rome to debate them publicly. He wanted the debate to begin on 6 January, which was, as historian Steven Farmer has observed, the feast of Epiphany and "symbolic date of the submission of the pagan gentes to Christ in the persons of the Magi". After emerging victorious at the culmination of the debate, Pico planned not only on the symbolic acquiescence of the pagan sages, but also the conversion of Jews as they realised that Jesus was the true secret of their traditions. According to Farmer, Pico may have been expecting quite literally that "his Vatican debate would end with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse crashing through the Roman skies".


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: In February 1487, Pope Innocent VIII halted the proposed debate, and established a commission to review the orthodoxy of the "900 Theses". Although Pico answered the charges against them, thirteen theses were condemned. Pico agreed in writing to retract them, but he did not change his mind about their validity. Eventually all 900 theses were condemned. He proceeded to write an "apologia" defending them, "Apologia J. Pici Mirandolani, Concordiae comitis", published in 1489, which he dedicated to his patron, Lorenzo. When the pope was apprised of the circulation of this manuscript, he set up an inquisitorial tribunal, forcing Pico to renounce the "Apologia", in addition to his condemned theses, which he agreed to do. The pope condemned "900 Theses" as:


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: This was the first time that a printed book had been banned by the Church, and nearly all copies were burned. Pico fled to France in 1488, where he was arrested by Philip II, Duke of Savoy, at the demand of the papal nuncios, and imprisoned at Vincennes. Through the intercession of several Italian princes – all instigated by Lorenzo de' Medici – King Charles VIII had him released, and the pope was persuaded to allow Pico to move to Florence and to live under Lorenzo's protection. But he was not cleared of the papal censures and restrictions until 1493, after the accession of Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) to the papacy.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: The experience deeply shook Pico. He reconciled with Savonarola, who remained a very close friend. It was at Pico's persuasion that Lorenzo invited Savonarola to Florence. But Pico never renounced his syncretist convictions. He settled in a villa near Fiesole prepared for him by Lorenzo, where he wrote and published the "Heptaplus id est de Dei creatoris opere" (1489) and "De Ente et Uno" ("Of Being and Unity", 1491). It was here that he also wrote his other most celebrated work, the "Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinicatrium" ("Treatise Against Predictive Astrology"), which was not published until after his death. In it, Pico acidly condemned the deterministic practices of the astrologers of his day.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, in 1492, Pico moved to Ferrara, although he continued to visit Florence. In Florence, political instability gave rise to the increasing influence of Savonarola, whose reactionary opposition to Renaissance expansion and style had already brought about conflict with the Medici family (they eventually were expelled from Florence) and would lead to the wholesale destruction of books and paintings. Nevertheless, Pico became a follower of Savonarola. Determined to become a monk, he dismissed his former interest in Egyptian and Chaldean texts, destroyed his own poetry and gave away his fortune.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: It was rumoured that his own secretary had poisoned him because Pico had become too close to Savonarola. He was interred together with Girolamo Benivieni at San Marco, and Savonarola delivered the funeral oration. Ficino wrote:


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: In 2007, the bodies of Poliziano and Pico were exhumed from the Church of San Marco in Florence to establish the causes of their deaths. Forensic tests showed that both Poliziano and Pico likely died of arsenic poisoning, possibly at the order of Lorenzo's successor, Piero de' Medici.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: In the "Oratio de hominis dignitate" ("Oration on the Dignity of Man", 1486), Pico justified the importance of the human quest for knowledge within a Neoplatonic framework.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: The "Oration" also served as an introduction to Pico's 900 theses, which he believed to provide a complete and sufficient basis for the discovery of all knowledge, and hence a model for mankind's ascent of the chain of being. The 900 Theses are a good example of humanist syncretism, because Pico combined Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah. They also included 72 theses describing what Pico believed to be a complete system of physics.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Pico's "De animae immortalitate" (Paris, 1541), and other works, developed the doctrine that man's possession of an immortal soul freed him from the hierarchical stasis. Pico believed in universal reconciliation, as one of his 900 theses was "A mortal sin of finite duration is not deserving of eternal but only of temporal punishment;" it was among the theses pronounced heretical by Pope Innocent VIII in his bull of 4 August 1487.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: In the "Oration" he argues, in the words of Pier Cesare Bori, that "human vocation is a mystical vocation that has to be realized following a three stage way, which comprehends necessarily moral transformation, intellectual research and final perfection in the identity with the absolute reality. This paradigm is universal, because it can be retraced in every tradition."


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: A portion of his "Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem" was published in Bologna after his death. In this book Pico presents arguments against the practice of astrology that have had enormous resonance for centuries, up to our own time. "Disputationes" is influenced by the arguments against astrology espoused by one of his intellectual heroes, Augustine of Hippo, and also by the medieval philosophical tale "Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān" by ibn Tufail, which promoted autodidacticism as a philosophical program.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Pico's antagonism to astrology seems to derive mainly from the conflict of astrology with Christian notions of free will. But Pico's arguments moved beyond the objections of Ficino, who was himself an astrologer. The manuscript was edited for publication after Pico's death by his nephew Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, an ardent follower of Savonarola, and may possibly have been amended to be more forcefully critical. This might possibly explain the fact that Ficino championed the manuscript and enthusiastically endorsed it before its publication.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Early in his career, Pico wrote a "Commento sopra una canzone d'amore di Girolamo Benivieni", in which he revealed his plan to write a book entitled "Poetica Theologia":


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Pico's "Heptaplus", a mystico-allegorical exposition of the creation according to the seven Biblical senses, elaborates on his idea that different religions and traditions describe the same God. The book is written in his characteristic apologetic and polemic style:


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: "On Being and the One" () has explanations of several passages in the Pentateuch, Plato and Aristotle. It is an attempted reconciliation between Platonic and Aristotelian writings on the relative places of being and "the one" and a refutation of opposing arguments.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: He wrote in Italian an imitation of Plato's "Symposium". His letters ("Aureae ad familiares epistolae" Paris, 1499) are important for the history of contemporary thought. The many editions of his entire works in the sixteenth century sufficiently prove his influence.


title: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

text: Another notorious text by Pico is "De omnibus rebus et de quibusdam aliis" ("Of all things that exist and a little more"), which is mentioned in some entries on Thomas More's "Utopia" and makes fun of the title of Lucretius' "De rerum natura".


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Mayaanadhi () is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film directed and co-produced by Aashiq Abu, and written by Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair. The film stars Tovino Thomas as a criminal on the run and Aishwarya Lekshmi as an aspiring actress. Their troubled love and struggle for survival form the basic plot of the film. It released on 22 December 2017 to widespread critical acclaim from critics. The film was praised for the way it tackled with sexuality and was included in The Hindu's top 25 Malayalam films of the decade.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: John Mathew (Tovino Thomas) is an orphan, living as a thug. He participates in an undercover deal on behalf of his boss, who is busy with his daughter's schooling. Mathew convinces his group that their boss is intentionally pulling out of the deal due to the risk involved. However, they reach the hotel without any issue. While Mathew is taking a bath, three police officers disguised as civilians enter the rooms and kill the accompanying three gang members. Mathew hides in the tub, and during his escape, he accidentally kills an officer. He reaches Kochi and moves in with his ex-boss and longtime friend Shaji.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Mathew intends to settle abroad with his ex-girlfriend "Appu" Aparna (Aishwarya Lekshmi), who is an aspiring actress and is auditioning for a role. In this, she is helped by her ex-roommate Sameera (Leona Lishoy), who is now a successful actress. Aparna is also making a livelihood as an anchor for parties and other events. Mathew suggests his plans to settle abroad using the money that he got from the deal. However, she refuses to move out with him as she believes that Mathew stole it. She gets an offer for an ad shoot and travels to Kasaragod. Mathew accompanies her on the trip.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Mathew's boss is taken into custody, and he provides details on Mathew. He asks the officers to kill him and keep the looted money for themselves. The police hunt Mathew and locate him as being in contact with a lady (Aparna). They find her at a mall in Kochi, and an officer introduces himself as Mathew's classmate, enquiring about his whereabouts. Aparna denies being in contact with him, and Mathew eavesdrops on the conversation. Later, Shaji asks him to leave his home. Planning to have a final word with Aparna, he meets her at Sameera's apartment. Aparna never relents to his plans, and Mathew decides to move on.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Aparna is interrogated by the police while at a diner, and she reveals being in contact with Mathew. Mathew is called for and caught, but the policemen intend to kill him rather than take him to court. Mathew tries convincing one officer to no avail. He is taken to a forest, and the officer lies to him that Aparna plotted the call intending him to be caught. Mathew replies that she was right in doing so and says that he loves her very much. He is then shot by one of the policemen (Senthil) and succumbs to his wounds. The last scene, set some time in the future, shows Aparna, oblivious to Mathew’s death, getting her first shot as an actress and waiting for her first film, still living with a hope that Mathew will come back.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: The film is jointly scripted by Dileesh Nair and Syam Pushkaran both of whom have previously associated with Aashiq Abu in several films. The seed for the film came from director-cinematographer Amal Neerad, a friend of Aashiq and Syam. Neerad narrated in one of their meetings something that he had heard while living in Bombay. Neerad himself had initially wanted to direct the story for his short film in the "5 Sundarikal" anthology. But later he put it on hold and proceeded with another script. Syam adapted Neerad's story to a more familiar surrounding for "Mayaanadhi".


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Tovino Thomas was announced as the male lead for the film in February 2017. Aashiq wanted to cast a new face as the female lead and model-turned-actress Aishwarya Lekshmi was selected through audition. Aishwarya had already debuted in films early in the year playing the female lead in "Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela". According to Aishwarya she never had to put any extra effort for portraying the role as the director and script writers would brief situations well. Cast includes Aparna Balamurali and Leona Lishoy.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: The shooting of the film started in May 2017 .The first schedule was shot in Madurai and Kodaikanal and second leg of shooting was completed at Kochi. Other locations include Bekal and Dhanushkodi.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Upon release, it received wide critical acclaim from various film critics and was voted among the best Malayalam films of the year by "The Hindu", "The Indian Express", and "International Business Times".


title: Mayaanadhi

text: G. Raghesh of "Malayala Manorama" has written that Aashiq Abu's craftsmanship as a filmmaker makes 'Mayaanadhi' a neatly narrated love story that has some of the most beautiful romantic moments Malayalam cinema has ever produced. Sudhi C. J. from the same newspaper wrote: "Mayaanadhi tugs at the heartstrings of viewers with the cinematic brilliance and excellence in craft displayed by Aashiq Abu, setting it apart from other contemporary films, most of which fail to leave an impression – of either sadness, happiness or thought – on the audience."


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Sanjith Sidhardhan of "The Times of India" has rated the film 3.5 of 5 stars and written that Aashiq Abu's 'Mayaanadhi' is a movie telling an intense story of urban characters without any superficiality. It's also a fine example on how two well fleshed out characters can take forward a film all on their own. Neelima Mohan of "The News Minute" has written that 'Mayaanadhi' is a modern romance with all its trappings—yet the intensity cannot be more searing which inverts traditional ideas of romance. S. R. Praveen of "The Hindu" said that 'Mayaanadhi' is Aashiq Abu's best yet and movie is a quite an absorbing watch. The movie is a Magic of love, life, and all in between. Aditya Shrikrishna of "The New Indian Express" wrote: "There is something about Mayaanadhi, Ashiq Abu’s new Malayalam film, that is as mystical as its title. The film seemingly gravitates between genres but keeps the tone intact. Mayaanadhi’s gaze, most sensitive gaze of all, doesn’t flinch. Two threads run in parallel, a manhunt widening in real time and a lived relationship uncovering its past. Never a false moment in its 136-minute run, Mayaanadhi begins like a thriller, sways into romance territory, and keeps jumping timelines and genres at will."


title: Mayaanadhi

text: News and entertainment portal Sify has written that 'Mayaanadhi is the kind of film that goes straight into your heart and provides a variety of emotions. It's romantic, funny and moving. It's the kind of honest and realistic movie that is not to be missed. Abhijith from online entertainment portal Filmibeat.com has reviewed that 'Mayaanadhi' is pre-dominantly a love story and at the same time, it has some thrilling elements in it. Aashiq Abu has successfully switched sequences between these two different genres and never ever one would feel a mismatch. He has rated the movie 4 of 5. Anna MM Vetticad from media portal Firstpost has written that in 'Mayaanadhi' Aishwarya Lekshmi, Tovino Thomas headline the romance of the year from Mollywood. She has stated that 'Mayaanadhi' has its fine balance between being relatable and yet being an epic romance. It is a befitting December release in a year that has witnessed some great works from Malayalam cinema and has rated the movie 4 of 5.


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Rating the film 4 in a scale of 5, film critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote: "We’ve seen many falling-in-love films, many falling-out-of-love films. This is a being-in-love film, with all the passions and problems the term suggests." Another critic Veeyen in a brilliant tribute to the film, states that "In ‘Mayaanadhi, director Aashiq Abu, armed with a dexterously penned screenplay, settles down to sensitively sketch a doomed tale of love. An impeccable reconstruction of an age-old narrative in an untested realistic setting, ‘Mayanadhi’ is the kind of film that holds a depth of meanings in those abstract gazes, a profundity of emotions in those unuttered words, and which leaves an inexplicable, seething sting at the upshot of it all."


title: Mayaanadhi

text: Some critics have pointed out the film's plot similarities with the 1960 French film "Breathless", written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, which is about a wandering criminal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his American girlfriend (Jean Seberg). During the script development stage, Aashiq Abu had revealed that films like "Breathless" were a reference to "Mayaanadhi". An article from "International Business Times" states: "Even though "Mayaanadhi" owes a great deal of its plot structure to "Breathless", Aashiq Abu transforms and elevates the movie to a different level. He breaths fresh air and life into his protagonists, Matthan and Appu, and they stay with the viewers even after the movie's touching climax scene."


title: Mayaanadhi

text: The film's soundtrack was composed, programmed and arranged by Rex Vijayan. Vijayan, along with Yakzan Gary Pereira and Neha Nair produced the background score of the film. Shahabaz Aman won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer for the rendition of the song "Mizhiyil Ninnum".


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The politics of Denmark take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state in which the monarch of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II, is the head of state. Denmark is described as a nation state. Danish politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Executive power is exercised by the cabinet of Denmark (commonly known as "the Government", Danish: ), presided over by the Prime Minister () who is first among equals. Legislative power is exercised by the Folketing, the unicameral parliament, and secondarily by the Cabinet. Members of the judiciary are nominated by the executive (conventionally by recommendation of the judiciary itself), formally appointed by the monarch and employed until retirement.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Denmark has a multi-party system, with two large parties, and several other small but significant parties. No single party has held an absolute majority in the Folketing since the beginning of the 20th century. Thirteen parties have ballot access for the 2019 Danish general election, three of which did not contest 2015 general election. Since only four post-war coalition governments have enjoyed a majority, government bills rarely become law without negotiations and compromise with both supporting and opposition parties. Hence, the Folketing tends to be more powerful than legislatures in other EU countries. The Constitution does not grant the judiciary power of judicial review of legislation; however, the courts have asserted this power with the consent of the other branches of government. Since there are no constitutional or administrative courts, the Supreme Court also deals with constitutional matters.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: On many issues the political parties tend to opt for co-operation, and the Danish state welfare model receives broad parliamentary support. This ensures a focus on public-sector efficiency and devolved responsibilities of local government on regional and municipal levels.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The degree of transparency and accountability is reflected in the public's high level of satisfaction with the political institutions, while Denmark is also regularly considered one of the least corrupt countries in the world by international organizations. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Denmark as "full democracy" in 2016.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (born 16 April 1940) has ruled as Queen Regnant and head of state since 14 January 1972. In accordance with the Danish Constitution the monarch as head of state is the theoretical source of all executive and legislative power. However, since the introduction of parliamentary sovereignty in 1901, a "de facto" separation of powers has been in effect.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The text of the Danish constitution dates back to 1849. Therefore, it has been interpreted by jurists to suit modern conditions. In a formal sense, the monarch retains the ability to deny giving a bill royal assent. In order for a bill to become law, a royal signature and a countersignature by a government minister are required. The monarch also chooses and dismisses the Prime Minister, although in modern times a dismissal would cause a constitutional crisis. On 28 March 1920, King Christian X was the last monarch to exercise the power of dismissal, sparking the 1920 Easter Crisis. All royal powers called royal prerogative, such as patronage to appoint ministers and the ability to declare war and make peace, are exercised by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, with the formal consent of the Queen. When a new government is to be formed, the monarch calls the party leaders to a conference of deliberation (known as a "dronningerunde", meaning "queen's round"), where the latter advise the monarch. On the basis of the advice, the monarch then appoints the party leader who commands a majority of recommendation to lead negotiations for forming a new government.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: According to the principles of constitutional monarchy, the monarch's role is largely ceremonial today, restricted in his or her exercise of power by the convention of parliamentary democracy and the separation of powers. However, the monarch does continue to exercise three rights: the right to be consulted; the right to advise; and the right to warn. Pursuant to these ideals, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet attend the regular meeting of the Council of State.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Denmark has a multi-party system. Ten parties are represented in parliament, while an additional three were qualified to contest the most recent 2019 general election but didn't win any seats. The four oldest, and in history most influential, parties are the Conservative People's Party, the Social Democrats, Venstre (the name literally means "Left", but it is a right-wing liberal-conservative party) and the Social Liberal Party. However, demographics have been in favour of newer parties (such as the national conservative far-right Danish People's Party and the far-left Red-Green Alliance).


title: Politics of Denmark

text: No two parties have exactly the same organization. It is however common for a party to have an annual convention which approves manifestos and elects party chairmen, a board of leaders, an assembly of representatives, and a number of local branches with their own organization. In most cases the party members in parliament form their own group with autonomy to develop and promote party politics in parliament and between elections. Parties also have youth wings to promote engagement with the party among young people, such as Social Democratic Youth, Young Liberals, and Radikal Ungdom.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Though coined in 1994 by then leader of Venstre Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, the terms "red bloc" and "blue bloc" first became mainstream around the 2011 Danish general election. Left-wing parties are described as belonging to the red bloc while right-wing parties belong to the blue bloc. The Social Democrats and Venstre have historically served as the de facto leaders of the red and blue bloc respectively, though in 2022 leader of the blue bloc party Conservative People's Party Søren Pape Poulsen declared his prime minister candidacy alongside leader of Venstre Jakob Ellemann-Jensen.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Moderates, founded in 2021 by former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, rebuke bloc politics and support a government with parties from both traditional blocs, and use the color purple to represent this. Similarly, The Alternative have refused their designation as a red party declaring they are a green party.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The government performs the executive functions of the kingdom. The affairs of government are decided by the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet and the Prime Minister are responsible for their actions to the Folketing (the parliament).


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Members of the Cabinet are given the title of "minister" and each hold a different portfolio of government duties. The day to day role of the cabinet members is to serve as head of one or more segments of the national bureaucracy, as head of the civil servants to which all employees in that department report.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Enjoying the status of "primus inter pares", the Prime Minister is head of the Danish government (as taken to mean the Cabinet). The Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Crown on basis of the party composition in the Folketing. No vote of confidence is necessary to install a new government after an election. If the Folketing expresses its lack of confidence in the Prime Minister, the entire cabinet must step down, unless a new parliamentary election is called in which case the old government continues as a caretaker government until a new government can be formed.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The current government is the Frederiksen Cabinet, led by Mette Frederiksen from the Social Democrats. It only consists of her own party, but has a majority due to the confidence and supply of the Social Liberal Party, the Socialist People's Party (SPP), and the Red-Green Alliance. Frederiksen's government was formed on 27 June 2019, after the 2019 election where Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Venstre-Conservative-Liberal Alliance coalition lost power.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Since the 1990s, most governments have been coalition governments led by either Venstre or the Social Democrats. Until 2001, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (S) led a coalition with the Social Liberals, supported by the SPP and the Red-Green Alliance. A coalition of Venstre and the Conservatives, supported by the DPP, was then in power from 2001 to 2011, led first by Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V) and then from 2009 by Lars Løkke Rasmussen (V). The Liberal Alliance formed in 2007. After the 2011 election, Løkke was replaced by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (S), whose government consisted of the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, and the SPP. The SPP left the government again in 2014, following heavy internal disagreement over the planned sale of state-owned shares in the company DONG (now known as Ørsted). The Social Democrats and Social Liberals continued in power, with SPP and Red-Green support, until the 2015 election when Løkke returned to power in a single-party Venstre government. The Løkke II Cabinet held only 34 seats in the Folketing, making it the narrowest since Poul Hartling's (V) 22-seat government in the 1970s, and the first single-party government since Anker Jørgensen's (S) fifth government in the early 1980s. After finding it difficult to govern with such a small government, Løkke invited the Conservatives and the Liberal Alliance to join his government in 2016, turning it into the Løkke III Cabinet.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: According to section 14 of the constitution, the king sets the number of ministers and the distribution of cases between them. The monarch formally appoints and dismisses ministers, including the Prime Minister. That means that the number of cabinet positions and the organisation of the state administration into ministries are not set by law, but subject to change without notice. A coalition of many parties usually means a large cabinet and many ministries, while a small coalition or the rare one-party-government means fewer, larger ministries.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: In June 2015 in the wake of the parliamentary election, the cabinet had 17 members including the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister leads the work of the Cabinet and is minister for constitutional affairs, overseas territories and for the affairs of the press. The seventeen cabinet ministers hold different portfolios of duties, including the day-to-day role as head of one or more segments of the government departments.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Danish executive consists of a number of government departments known as Ministries. These departments are led by a cabinet member and known as Minister for the relevant department or portfolio. In theory all Ministers are equal and may not command or be commanded by a fellow minister. Constitutional practice does however dictate, that the Prime Minister is "primus inter pares", first among equals. Unlike many other countries, Denmark has no tradition of employing junior Ministers.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: A department acts as the secretariat to the Minister. Its functions comprises overall planning, development and strategic guidance on the entire area of responsibility of the Minister. The Minister's decisions are carried out by the permanent and politically neutral civil service within the department. Unlike some democracies, senior civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. The head of the department civil servants is the Permanent Secretary. In fact, the majority of civil servants work in executive agencies that are separate operational organizations reporting to the Minister. The Minister also has his own private secretary and communications personnel. Unlike normal civil servants, the communications staff is partisan and do not remain in their posts upon changes of government.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: As known in other parliamentary systems of government, the executive (the Cabinet) is accountable to the parliament (the Folketing). Under the Danish constitution, no government may remain in office with a majority against it. This is called negative parliamentarianism, as opposed to the principle of positive parliamentarianism—as in Germany and some other parliamentary systems—a government needs to achieve a majority through a vote of investiture in parliament. It is due to the principle of negative parliamentarianism and its proportional representation system that Denmark has a long tradition of minority governments. Nevertheless, minority governments in Denmark sometimes have strong parliamentary majorities with the help of one or more supporting parties.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The current government of the Social Democrats is stable due to their support by the Social Liberal Party, Socialist People's Party, and the Red–Green Alliance and informally supported by The Alternative. The previous government coalition between Venstre (the Left), the Liberal Alliance, and the Conservatives had support from the Danish People's Party despite not being an official member of the government. This system enables minority parties to govern on specific issues through an ad hoc basis, selecting partners for support based on common interests instead of legislative need. As a result, Danish laws are born of extensive negotiations and compromise. It is common practice for both sides of the Danish political spectrum to cooperate in the Folketing.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Folketing performs the legislative functions of the Kingdom. As a parliament, it is at the centre of the political system in Denmark, and is the supreme legislative body, operating within the confines of the constitution. The Prime Minister is drawn from parliament through the application of the Danish parliamentary principle (a majority must not exist in opposition to the government), and this process is also generally the case for the government also. The government is answerable to parliament through the principle of parliamentary control (question hour, general debates and the passing of resolutions or motions). Ministers can be questioned by members of Parliament regarding specific government policy matters.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: General debates on broader issues of government policy may also be held in parliament and may also be followed by a motion of "no-confidence". The opposition rarely requests motions of no-confidence, as the government is usually certain of its majority; however, government policy is often discussed in the plenary assembly of Parliament. Since 1953, the year that marked the reform of the Danish constitution, parliament has been unicameral.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: With the implementation of the first democratic constitution in 1849, Denmark's legislature was constituted as a bicameral parliament, or "Rigsdag", composed of "Folketinget" (a lower house of commoners) and Landstinget (an upper house containing lords, landowners and industrialists). In 1901, parliamentarism was introduced to the Danish Parliament, which made Folketinget the essential chamber, as no sitting government could have a majority against it in Folketinget. With the constitutional reform of 1953 the "Landstinget" was abolished, leaving only "Folketinget".


title: Politics of Denmark

text: During the occupation of Denmark during the Second World War, on 29 August 1943, the German authorities dissolved the Danish government following the refusal of that government to crack down on unrest to the satisfaction of the German plenipotentiary. The cabinet resigned in 1943 and suspended operations (although the resignation was never accepted by King Christian X).—all day-to-day business had been handed over to the Permanent Secretaries, each effectively running his own ministry. The Germans administered the rest of the country, and the Danish Rigsdag did not convene for the remainder of the occupation until a new one was formed following the liberation on 5 May 1945.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Folketing is composed of 179 seats, of which two are reserved for the Faroe Islands and two for Greenland. The remaining 175 seats are taken up by MPs from elected in Denmark. All 179 seats are contested in elections held at least every four years and in the present parliament, all seats are taken up by members belonging to a political party.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: All parties receiving more than 2% of the votes are represented in parliament. Comparatively, this is quite low; in Sweden the minimum level of support necessary for getting into parliament is 4%. Often, this has led to the representation of many parties in parliament, and correspondingly complex or unstable government majorities. However, during the last decade the political system has been one of stable majorities and rather long government tenures. Independent politicians running for parliament need about 15,000-20,000 votes in the electoral district they ran in. Since the 1953 constitution of Denmark, only one independent, Jacob Haugaard, has been successful in doing this. Only two politicians have done this in the history of the Danish parliament.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Denmark uses a system of proportional representation for both national, local, and European Parliament elections. The parliament Folketinget uses a system with constituencies, and a system of allotment is indirectly prescribed in the constitution, ensuring a geographically and politically balanced distribution of the 179 seats. 135 members are proportionally elected in multi-member constituencies, while the remaining 40 seats are allotted nationwide in proportion to the total number of votes a party or list receives. The Faroe Islands and Greenland elect two members each.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Parties must pass a threshold of 2% of the total vote to be guaranteed parliamentary representation. As a consequence of the system, the number of votes required to be elected to parliament varies across the country; it generally requires fewer votes to be elected in the capital, Copenhagen, than it does being elected in less populous areas. Voter turnout in general elections normally lies above 85%, but has been decreasing over time. Turnout is lower in local elections, and lower than that in European Parliament elections.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Denmark has an independent and highly professional judiciary. Unlike the vast majority of civil servants, Danish judges are appointed directly by the Monarch. However, since the constitution ensures the independence of the judiciary from Government and Parliament in providing that judges shall only take into account the laws of the country (i.e., acts, statutes and practices), the procedure on appointments is only a formality.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Until 1999 appointment of judges was the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, which was also charged with the overall administration of the justice system. On accusations of nepotism and in-group bias, the Ministry in 1999 set up two autonomous boards: the Judicial Appointments Council and the Danish Courts Administration, responsible for court appointments and administration, respectively.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman, Jørgen Steen Sørensen, is a lawyer who is elected by parliament to act as a watchdog over the government by inspecting institutions under government control, focusing primarily on the protection of citizens' rights. The Ombudsman frequently inspects places where citizens are deprived of their personal freedom, including prisons and psychiatric hospitals. While the Ombudsman has no power to personally act against the government, he or she can ask the courts to take up cases where the government might be violating Danish law.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The Ombudsman can criticize the government after an inspection and bring matters to public attention, and the government can choose to act upon or ignore his/her criticism, with whatever costs it might have towards the voters and the parliament.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands used to be dependencies of Denmark. The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union (1918) changed the status of Iceland into that of a kingdom in personal union with Denmark. Iceland remained subordinate to Denmark until independence in 1944 amidst World War II. In the nineteenth century Greenland and the Faroe Islands were given the status of counties, and their own legislatures were disbanded, becoming integral parts of a unitary state. They later gained home rule; the Faroe Islands in 1948 and Greenland in 1979.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Today Greenland and the Faroe Islands are effectively self-governing in regards to domestic affairs, with their own legislatures and executives. However, the devolved legislatures are subordinate to the Folketing where the two territories are represented by two seats each. This state of affairs is referred to as the . In 2009 Greenland received greater autonomy in the form of "self-rule".


title: Politics of Denmark

text: The foreign policy of Denmark is based on its identity as a sovereign nation in Europe. As such its primary foreign policy focus is on its relations with other nations as a sovereign independent nation. Denmark has long had good relations with other nations.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: It has been involved in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with IFOR, and now SFOR. Denmark also strongly supported American operations in Afghanistan and has contributed both monetarily and materially to the ISAF. These initiatives are a part of the "active foreign policy" of Denmark. Instead of the traditional adaptative foreign policy of the small country, Denmark is today pursuing an active foreign policy, where human rights, democracy and other crucial values is to be defended actively. In recent years, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues, such as fishing, whaling and geopolitical concerns.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Following World War II, Denmark ended its two-hundred-year-long policy of neutrality. Denmark has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949, and membership in NATO remains highly popular. There were several serious confrontations between the U.S. and Denmark on security policy in the so-called "footnote era" (1982–88), when an alternative parliamentary majority forced the government to adopt specific national positions on nuclear and arms control issues. The alternative majority in these issues was because the Social liberal Party (Radikale Venstre) supported the governing majority in economic policy issues, but was against certain NATO policies and voted with the left in these issues. The conservative led Centre-right government accepted this variety of "minority parliamentarism", that is, without making it a question of the government's parliamentary survival.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: With the end of the Cold War, however, Denmark has been supportive of U.S. policy objectives in the Alliance.


title: Politics of Denmark

text: Danes have enjoyed a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. When they rejected ratification of the Maastricht Treaty on 2 June 1992, they put the EC's plans for the European Union on hold. In December 1992, the rest of the EC agreed to exempt Denmark from certain aspects of the European Union, including a common defense, a common currency, EU citizenship, and certain aspects of legal cooperation. The Amsterdam Treaty was approved in the referendum of 28 May 1998. In the autumn of 2000, Danish citizens rejected membership of the Euro currency group in a referendum. The Lisbon treaty was ratified by the Danish parliament alone. It was not considered a surrendering of national sovereignty, which would have implied the holding of a referendum according to article 20 of the constitution.


title: Ashley Blue

text: Oriana Small, known professionally as Ashley Blue, is an American radio personality, writer, and former pornographic actress. She is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. She hosts her own Vivid Radio show and writes for "Hustler" magazine.


title: Ashley Blue

text: Blue has won multiple Adult Video News awards, including 2004 Female Performer of the Year and 2005 Best Supporting Actress. In March 2004, she signed a three-year contract with JM Productions, appearing in the "Girlvert" series. She ended the contract on February 14, 2007.


title: Ashley Blue

text: In 2003, she sued ex-boyfriend and fellow former adult film star Trent Tesoro on an episode of "Judge Mathis". She was featured in "Inside the Porn Actors Studio: Ashley Blue" (2006), an episode of Howard Stern's TV series "Howard Stern on Demand". She also did voice acting for the cartoon "Three Thug Mice".


title: Ashley Blue

text: In 2008, Small finished writing her memoir of nearly ten years working in the adult entertainment industry (using her JM Productions moniker "Girlvert"). It was published as "Girlvert: A Memoir by Oriana Small" by Los Angeles-based independent publisher A Barnacle Book & Record in 2011.


title: Mass diffusivity

text: Diffusivity, mass diffusivity or diffusion coefficient is a proportionality constant between the molar flux due to molecular diffusion and the gradient in the concentration of the species (or the driving force for diffusion). Diffusivity is encountered in Fick's law and numerous other equations of physical chemistry.


title: Mass diffusivity

text: The diffusivity is generally prescribed for a given pair of species and pairwise for a multi-species system. The higher the diffusivity (of one substance with respect to another), the faster they diffuse into each other. Typically, a compound's diffusion coefficient is ~10,000× as great in air as in water. Carbon dioxide in air has a diffusion coefficient of 16 mm/s, and in water its diffusion coefficient is 0.0016 mm/s.


title: Mass diffusivity

text: The diffusion coefficient in solids at different temperatures is generally found to be well predicted by the Arrhenius equation:


title: Mass diffusivity

text: An approximate dependence of the diffusion coefficient on temperature in liquids can often be found using Stokes–Einstein equation, which predicts that


title: Mass diffusivity

text: The dependence of the diffusion coefficient on temperature for gases can be expressed using Chapman–Enskog theory (predictions accurate on average to about 8%):


title: Mass diffusivity

text: For self-diffusion in gases at two different pressures (but the same temperature), the following empirical equation has been suggested:


title: Mass diffusivity

text: In population dynamics, kinesis is the change of the diffusion coefficient in response to the change of conditions. In models of purposeful kinesis, diffusion coefficient depends on fitness (or reproduction coefficient) "r":


title: Mass diffusivity

text: where formula_8 is constant and "r" depends on population densities and abiotic characteristics of the living conditions. This dependence is a formalisation of the simple rule: Animals stay longer in good conditions and leave quicker bad conditions (the "Let well enough alone" model).


title: Mass diffusivity

text: The effective diffusion coefficient describes diffusion through the pore space of porous media. It is macroscopic in nature, because it is not individual pores but the entire pore space that needs to be considered. The effective diffusion coefficient for transport through the pores, "D", is estimated as follows:


title: Mass diffusivity

text: The transport-available porosity equals the total porosity less the pores which, due to their size, are not accessible to the diffusing particles, and less dead-end and blind pores (i.e., pores without being connected to the rest of the pore system). The constrictivity describes the slowing down of diffusion by increasing the viscosity in narrow pores as a result of greater proximity to the average pore wall. It is a function of pore diameter and the size of the diffusing particles.


title: Mass diffusivity

text: Gases at 1 atm., solutes in liquid at infinite dilution. Legend: (s) – solid; (l) – liquid; (g) – gas; (dis) – dissolved.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Demon – and has been described as the first international superstar of lucha libre. Mil Máscaras is considered one of the most influential wrestlers of all time for enhancing and popularizing the lucha libre style around the world, both in the ring and as the star of 20 films. He is also an accomplished artist and cultural ambassador for his native country and has appeared on three of its postage stamps. Although he has never been unmasked and his true identity is generally kept a secret out of respect for lucha libre traditions, his real name is known due to appearing in the credits of the films he has starred in. His ring name is Spanish for "Thousand Masks".


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010, and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. He is a member of one of Mexico's most prominent wrestling families; his brothers José and Pablo respectively wrestle as Dos Caras and Sicodélico. José's oldest son Alberto is a former WWE Champion and currently wrestles as Alberto El Patron. José's younger son Guillermo wrestles as El Hijo de Dos Caras. Pablo's son Aaron is better known as Sicodelico Jr.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras made his professional wrestling debut on July 20, 1963 in Pachuca. He became popular in Mexico for being one of the best conditioned luchadores in the heavyweight division, which was dominated by foreigners at the time. It was also his size which permitted him to wrestle in the US and Japan under the heavyweight division. Mil Máscaras was one of the first masked luchadores outside of Mexico to play a non-heel role. He rarely resorted to rule breaking, instead relying on his repertoire of moves and counter-moves. Mil Máscaras was also one of the first wrestlers to introduce the high-flying moves of lucha libre, such as the plancha and tope suicida, to Japanese fans. This brought him international fame as one of the first high-flyers, something he was not considered in Mexico where he fell under the mat-power category.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras made his international wrestling debut in 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, getting involved in rivalries against the likes of Ernie Ladd, John Tolos, Black Gordman and Goliath. In Mexico City, he unmasked El Halcon in a triangular tournament that included Alfonso Dantés in the 1970s. Owing to the limited spread of news at the time, he repeated the feat in a Japanese ring, winning by submission.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras performed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) during the '70s. In his Japanese debut on February 19, 1971, he defeated Kantaro Hoshino in Tokyo. It was during this time that he had his best known international feud with American masked wrestler The Destroyer. During the '70s, Mil Máscaras also had feuds with Mexican wrestlers such as TNT, Canek, El Halcon, and Angel Blanco. These feuds took place mostly in Mexico and the US, and were broadcast on Spanish language stations in the USA, Mil Máscaras was also the heavyweight champion of the IWA wrestling promotion, which was founded by Eddie Einhorn, and still holds the title to this day.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: In 1974, Mil Máscaras was the World Champion of the short-lived International Wrestling Association promotion based in New York City. He had major title defenses against competitors such as Ivan Koloff and Ernie Ladd.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras appeared in World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now called WWE). He performed at Madison Square Garden several times after a ban on masked wrestlers was lifted for him, making him the first masked wrestler in the Garden, he defeated The Spoiler (who was not permitted to wear his mask). During this time, he feuded with Superstar Billy Graham over the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras made many appearances during the 80s and the 90s at the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. He also wrestled in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where his most notable match was a match with Cactus Jack at "" on February 6, 1990 in the Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: On September 10, 1991, at the age of 49, Mil Máscaras won his final title, the WWA (Mexico) World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until 1994 and assumed a state of semi-retirement after his final reign.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras' first American pay-per-view appearance was competing in WWF's 1997 "Royal Rumble" match. He eliminated himself, diving off the top rope out of the ring onto Pierroth Jr., whom he himself had just eliminated. Such a move is common in lucha libre but it is technically a mistake in the Royal Rumble as it leads to elimination.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: On December 5, 2002, Mil Máscaras defeated Manny Fernandez at the inaugural show for Legacy Wrestling Enterprises in Fort Worth, Texas. On July 25, he celebrated his 50th in-ring anniversary to the day by teaming with his brother Sicodelico and his nephew El Hijo De Dos Caras to face one of his greatest rivals, Canek, along with Negro Navarro and Rey Bucanero in a special six man tag.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras also starred in a series of 20 luchador action films beginning with his self-titled debut in 1966 at age 24. In 1966, Mexican movie producer Luis Enrique Vergara was looking for a new "enmascarado" to star in his wrestling/horror movies which were then the rage of Mexican cinema. Mil Máscaras was the first Lucha Libre personality that was created specifically to be a movie star, since his whole persona and flashy look was designed initially for the movies. (His real life wrestling career followed and grew out of the excitement generated by his film appearances.)


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Vergara's two regular movie stars had suddenly become unavailable. El Santo had walked out on him over a contract dispute, and Blue Demon was injured unexpectedly and would require a prolonged time-out. Not wanting to stop making his successful cinematic quickies, Vergara decided to transform Lucha Libre newcomer Mil Máscaras as the star of his next two movies. Mil began a movie career that has continued to this day, appearing in a total of 20 Mexican horror/wrestling/action films.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: The first film, simply entitled "Mil Máscaras" (1966) was shot in black & white, and made Mil out to be a sort of super-hero. The film gave Mil Máscaras a comic book-style origin story, which seems to have been somewhat swiped from the then-popular "Doc Savage" pulp novels that were selling very well in science-fiction bookstores in the mid-60's. According to the script, Mil was an infant who was found clutched in his dead mother's arms in a war-torn area of Europe during World War 2 and was sent to an orphanage. A group of scientists (not affiliated with any particular country) adopts the boy, secretly using him as a guinea pig, subjecting the child to an intensive regimen of physical exercise and mental training as he matures.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: When he reaches adulthood, Mil Máscaras is something of a superman (although without actual superpowers); both his mind and his body have been developed to perfection. The scientists then send him out into the world to help downtrodden people everywhere, to fight criminals and to right wrongs, and just basically help make the world a better place.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: The plots of the first two films were rather lackluster. In both "Mil Máscaras" (1966) and its sequel "Los Canallas" (also 1966), Mil gets to fight a rather ordinary gang of thugs and a crooked fight promoter who are bullying the locals in some backwater burg in Mexico. Mil's second film "Los Canallas" and all of them thereafter were shot in Color.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Federico Curiel directed Mil Máscaras' next two films in 1968, both of which feature American horror star John Carradine as a bad guy. Mil's missions were becoming a bit more meaningful by this time. In "Enigma of Death", Mil faces off against Carradine who plays the leader of an underground Nazi organization (who disguises himself as a circus clown!), while in "Las Vampiras", Mil goes up against a secret cult of female vampires led by a very manic Carradine.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: In 1970, Curiel directed Mil Máscaras in two of his team-up movies. "The Mummies of Guanajuato" teamed Mil up with both Blue Demon and El Santo in what became the highest-grossing Mexican wrestler film of all time, pitting the three enmascarados against a group of re-animated mummies.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: "The Champions of Justice" (also 1970) saw Mil Máscaras in action with fellow wrestlers Blue Demon, Tinieblas, El Medico Asesino and La Sombra Vengadora (who all joined together as sort of a super-team to fight monsters, mad scientists, criminals, evil dwarves or whatever else crossed their paths.) The producers employed a gaggle of masked midget wrestlers in a number of their luchador films in the 70s.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Over the next few years, a number of other team-up movies were made, most co-starring Mil Máscaras, who by this time was becoming the "King of the Team-up Movies". "Champions of Justice Return" (1972) was very similar to the first Champions film, only with El Fantasma Blanco sitting in for El Medico Asesino, El Rayo de Jalisco replacing Tinieblas, and El Avispon Escarlata replacing La Sombra Vengadora. (Mil didn't appear in the third and final "Champions" film because it would've involved traveling to a foreign country where it was filmed.)


title: Mil Máscaras

text: However, in 1973, he teamed up again with Tinieblas and El Fantasma Blanco in two more films, "Macabre Legends of the Colony" and "The Mummies of San Angel" (which both resemble "Champions Of Justice" films, in spite of the Blue Demon's conspicuous absence from the casts). "Theft of the Mummies of Guanajuato" (1972) teamed up Mil with the Blue Angel and El Rayo De Jalisco.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras then co-starred with super-star strongman Sergio Oliva in "Black Power" (1973). He fought alongside the then-famous Superzan in "Vampires of Coyoacan" (1973) and later joined forces once again with El Santo and Blue Demon in 1977's "Mystery in Bermuda", which most Mexi-cinema fans consider to be the last real entry in the then fading Mexican wrestling/horror genre.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: He also appeared in a solo movie of his own, "A Rose in the Ring" (1972) and years later, he even teamed up with Santo's son El Hijo del Santo in "The Lawless Frontier" (1983), making Mil Máscaras the only Mexican superhero to ever co-star with both Santos, father and son. In the late 80's, Mil appeared in two more wrestling films, "La Verdad de la Lucha" and "La Llave Mortal".


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil's film career lay dormant after 1990 for 17 years, but he more recently resumed appearing in movies. In 2007, Mil Máscaras starred in "Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy" (also known as "Mil Mascaras: Resurrection"), the first lucha film featuring any of the so-called "Big Three" stars of the genre (Máscaras, Blue Demon, Santo) to be produced in English. The film screened at festivals around the world garnering awards and award nominations along with positive critical reviews. The film enjoyed almost continuous popularity and publicity for several years after its debut, including two magazine cover articles as late as 2012. He also appeared in a 2008 film entitled "Academy of Doom", and a 2015 film called "Aztec Revenge".


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras has drawn criticism from fellow wrestlers such as Mick Foley and Chris Jericho for his unwillingness to sell moves and put opponents over. In a 2007 shoot interview, Superstar Billy Graham said that, during their series of matches, Mil Máscaras was unwilling to sell properly. In September 2012, while announcing an Alberto Del Rio match at WWE's "Night of Champions" pay-per-view, John Layfield called Mil Máscaras "the most egomaniacal, selfish human being that ever lived."


title: Mil Máscaras

text: In 1975, Mil Máscaras was voted as "The Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" by the company that now publishes the US magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, has described Mil Máscaras' impact on Japanese professional wrestling, "If it weren't for Mil Máscaras, there would be no Jushin Liger, no Último Dragón or the Great Sasuke today,". Mil Máscaras' success in the US also paved the way for other luchadors such as Rey Mysterio Jr., who has become one of the most popular luchadors in US wrestling. Even after reaching the age of 70, Mil Máscaras continues to perform sporadically. In 2001, he was inducted into the Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: In 2006, Mil Máscaras was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club, a fraternal organization of both retired and active wrestlers. The Destroyer, one of Mil Máscaras' legendary rivals, presented him with an award at the event. The Destroyer also commented on Mil Máscaras' wrestling style, "He was the best competitor that I ever wrestled. He never gave you anything – it's true – but I didn't give him anything either. You talk about a shoot or a half-shoot, and that's the kind of match that it was."


title: Mil Máscaras

text: On October 7, 2011, Mil Máscaras returned to Japan to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his debut in the country. He teamed with Dos Caras and Original Tiger Mask to defeat CIMA, Último Guerrero and Tiger Mask IV in a six-man tag team match.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras has never been unmasked in the ring, and like most masked luchadores, he goes to great lengths to conceal his true appearance and personal life. He has two brothers who wrestled, Dos Caras and Sicodélico. He has two sons and two daughters with his first wife, who died in 1975, and two daughters with his second wife, whom he married in 1995. His nephews are Alberto Del Rio (also known as Dos Caras Jr., El Hijo de Dos Caras, and Alberto El Patrón); the current El Hijo de Dos Caras; Sicodélico Jr.; and Hijo Del Sicodelico.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Mil Máscaras is an avid golfer and plays in many charity golf tournaments around the world, including the annual Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament.


title: Mil Máscaras

text: Along with pro wrestling, Mil Máscaras is a fan of Japanese martial arts, and has practised judo, aikido, jujutsu, karate and kendo, among others. He trained jujutsu under a Mitsuyo Maeda student, and also trained under Professor Tanaka. Mil Máscaras started learning martial arts as a counter to shoot attempts, and recalls several wrestlers who tried to shoot on him and whom he had to legitimately submit.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a tactical shooter stealth video game developed and published by CI Games. It is the sixth entry in the "" series and is the sequel to "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts". The game was released on 4 June 2021 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The PlayStation 5 version was released later, on 24 August 2021.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2" refines the gameplay of its predecessor, "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts". The game and its DLCs feature a total of six missions, distinctly categorized as either "classic" and "long-distance." The classic missions offer an experience comparable to that of the last installment, as they involve a mix of infiltration, close-quarter combat, and stealthy elimination of targets closer than . The long-distance shot missions, however, require the player to eliminate targets further than .


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: As in the previous game, the plot is about overthrowing a tyrannical government. The game is set in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kuamar. The game's protagonist, Raven, and his handler, Alex, are not connected to the previous game.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2" was developed by Polish video game developer CI Games, the developer of the "" series. The development began shortly after its predecessor "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts".


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: The game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 4 June 2021. It was released on PlayStation 5 in August 2021.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: According to review aggregator Metacritic, "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2" received "mixed or average reviews" for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X versions, while the PlayStation 5 version received "generally favorable" reviews.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: "GameStar"s Sascha Penzhorn scored the game 75 out of 100, writing the game is for those who "enjoy planning perfect long-distance shots", but criticizing the story and the inclusion of microtransactions in a single-player game.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: "eXputer" reviewer Huzaifah Durrani wrote the gameplay excelled at presenting creative scenarios for killing a target. Rick Lane of "PC Gamer" also has the impression that killing targets without raising alarm is like a puzzle to solve. He has an impression that after making five "Ghost Warrior" games CI Games "clearly understands the experience it's after". The "PCGamer" reviewer perceives infiltrating enemy base as James Bond missions, but also writes "The sniping feels authentic". He praises animation, environment design, weapon handling, writing and voice acting. He also likes the size of levels in the game ("Some locations you visit, such as a giant medieval castle that has both an inner and outer fort, would form the entire level in any other game").


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: "JeuxVideo" praises tutorial, which is good both for acquainted with "Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts" and for newcomers. They also praise "the quality of the level design". They write: "Obviously, the clichés of video game infiltration, with the eternal tall grass, are present". They also praise the array of gadgets to use. They write that "killcam lovers will be able to have fun", however they write that headshots are "particularly gory" and "the PEGI 18 on the jacket is there not by accident".


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: As far as newly introduced long-distance shooting in the game is concerned, "JeuxVideo" thinks it "is an excellent idea". "IGN" reviewer Tristan Ogilvie thinks such kills are "the strongest sections of Contracts 2" and they remain thrilling long after bloodiness of kills wears off, however he thinks that returning fire from long distance with assault rifles "admittedly shatters the sense of realism somewhat".


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: As far as AI is concerned, "JeuxVideo" writes: "Overall, AI has become more realistic, but unfortunately it happens that it goes off the rails". "IGN" reviewer admits the guards use a bit of strategy, but generally has an impression their stupidity makes them too easy to kill.


title: Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

text: At the Pixel Heaven 2021 game festival, the game was nominated in the categories "Best Audio", "Big Fish Grand Prix" and "Best Gameplay".


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – October 29, 1986) was an American songwriter and poet whose works were published under his pseudonym, Lewis Allan. He wrote the poem "Strange Fruit" (1937), which was recorded by Billie Holiday. Meeropol was a member of the American Communist Party, but later quit.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Meeropol was born in 1903 to Russian Jewish immigrants in The Bronx, New York City. Meeropol graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1921 (his classmate Countee Cullen graduated in 1922); he earned a B.A. degree from City College of New York, and an M.A. from Harvard. He taught English at DeWitt Clinton High School for 17 years. During his tenure he taught the notable author and racial justice advocate James Baldwin.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Meeropol wrote the anti-lynching poem "Strange Fruit" (1937), which was first published as "Bitter Fruit" in a Teachers Union publication. He later set it to music. The song was recorded and performed by Billie Holiday and Nina Simone among other artists. Holiday notes in the book "Lady Sings the Blues" that she co-wrote the music to the song with Meeropol and Sonny White.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Meeropol wrote numerous poems and songs, including the Frank Sinatra and Josh White hit "The House I Live In." He also wrote the libretto of Robert Kurka's opera "The Good Soldier Schweik", which was premiered in 1958 by the New York City Opera.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: According to his adopted son Robert Meeropol, the songs "Strange Fruit" and "The House I Live In," along with the Peggy Lee hit "Apples, Peaches and Cherries," provided most of the royalty income of the family. "Apples, Peaches and Cherries" was translated into French by Sacha Distel and became a number one hit in France under the title "Scoubidou." Abel Meeropol filed a copyright infringement lawsuit over Distel's plagiarism, as at first Distel had claimed the song as his. After the case was settled, Meeropol started receiving the royalties.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Meeropol published his work under the pseudonym of "Lewis Allan" in memory of the names of his two stillborn children.


title: Abel Meeropol

text: Meeropol was a communist and sympathetic to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Later, he and his wife Anne adopted the Rosenbergs' two sons, Michael and Robert, who were orphaned after their parents' executions for espionage. Michael and Robert took the surname Meeropol.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: In mathematics, a map or mapping is a function in its general sense. These terms may have originated as from the process of making a geographical map: "mapping" the Earth surface to a sheet of paper.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: The term "map" may be used to distinguish some special types of functions, such as homomorphisms. For example, a linear map is a homomorphism of vector spaces, while the term linear function may have this meaning or it may mean a linear polynomial. In category theory, a map may refer to a morphism. The term "transformation" can be used interchangeably, but "transformation" often refers to a function from a set to itself. There are also a few less common uses in logic and graph theory.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: In many branches of mathematics, the term "map" is used to mean a function, sometimes with a specific property of particular importance to that branch. For instance, a "map" is a "continuous function" in topology, a "linear transformation" in linear algebra, etc.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: Some authors, such as Serge Lang, use "function" only to refer to maps in which the codomain is a set of numbers (i.e. a subset of R or C), and reserve the term "mapping" for more general functions.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: Maps of certain kinds are the subjects of many important theories. These include homomorphisms in abstract algebra, isometries in geometry, operators in analysis and representations in group theory.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: In the theory of dynamical systems, a map denotes an evolution function used to create discrete dynamical systems.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: A "partial map" is a "partial function". Related terms such as "domain", "codomain", "injective", and "continuous" can be applied equally to maps and functions, with the same meaning. All these usages can be applied to "maps" as general functions or as functions with special properties.


title: Map (mathematics)

text: In category theory, "map" is often used as a synonym for "morphism" or "arrow", which is a structure-respecting function and thus may imply more structure than "function" does. For example, a morphism formula_1 in a concrete category (i.e. a morphism that can be viewed as a function) carries with it the information of its domain (the source formula_2 of the morphism) and its codomain (the target formula_3). In the widely used definition of a function formula_4, formula_5 is a subset of formula_6 consisting of all the pairs formula_7 for formula_8. In this sense, the function does not capture the set formula_3 that is used as the codomain; only the range formula_10 is determined by the function.


title: African literature

text: African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the "Kebra Negast", or "Book of Kings."


title: African literature

text: A common theme during the colonial period is the slave narrative, often written in English or French for western audiences. Among the first pieces of African literature to receive significant worldwide critical acclaim was "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe, published in 1958. African literature in the late colonial period increasingly feature themes of liberation and independence.


title: African literature

text: Post-colonial literature has become increasingly diverse, with some writers returning to their native languages. Common themes include the clash between past and present, tradition and modernity, self and community, as well as politics and development. On the whole, female writers are today far better represented in African literature than they were prior to independence. The internet has also changed the landscape of African literature, leading to the rise of digital reading and publishing platforms such as OkadaBooks.


title: African literature

text: As George Joseph notes in his chapter on African Literature in "Understanding Contemporary Africa", whereas European views of literature stressed a separation of art and content, African awareness is inclusive and "literature" can also simply mean an artistic use of words for the sake of art alone. Traditionally, Africans do not radically separate art from teaching. Rather than write or sing for beauty in itself, African writers, taking their cue from oral literature, use beauty to help communicate important truths and information to society. An object is considered beautiful because of the truths it reveals and the communities it helps to build.


title: African literature

text: Oral literature (or orature, the term coined by Ugandan scholar Pio Zirimu) may be in prose or verse. The prose is often mythological or historical and often includes tales of the trickster character. Storytellers in Africa sometimes use call-and-response techniques to tell their stories. Poetry describes a narrative poem based upon a short and a ribald anecdote and is often sung, through: narrative epic, occupational verse, ritual verse, praise poems of rulers and other prominent people. Praise singers, bards sometimes known as "griots", tell their stories with music. Also recited, often sung, are love songs, work songs, children's songs, along with epigrams, proverbs and riddles. These oral traditions exist in many languages including Fula, Swahili, Hausa, and Wolof.


title: African literature

text: In Algeria, oral poetry was an important part of Berber traditions when the majority of the population was illiterate. These poems, called "Isefra", were used for aspects of both religious and secular life. The religious poems included devotions, prophetic stories, and poems honoring saints. The secular poetry could be about celebrations like births and weddings, or accounts of heroic warriors. As another example, in Mali, oral literature or folktales continue to be broadcast on the radio in the native language Booma.


title: African literature

text: Examples of pre-colonial African literature are numerous. In Ethiopia, there is a substantial literature written in Ge'ez going back at least to the fourth century AD; the best-known work in this tradition is the "Kebra Negast", or "Book of Kings." One popular form of traditional African folktale is the "trickster" story, in which a small animal uses its wits to survive encounters with larger creatures. Examples of animal tricksters include Anansi, a spider in the folklore of the Ashanti people of Ghana; Ijàpá, a tortoise in Yoruba folklore of Nigeria; and Sungura, a hare found in central and East African folklore. Other works in written form are abundant, namely in North Africa, the Sahel regions of west Africa and on the Swahili coast. From Timbuktu alone, there are an estimated 300,000 or more manuscripts tucked away in various libraries and private collections, mostly written in Arabic but some in the native languages (namely Fula and Songhai). Many were written at the famous University of Timbuktu. The material covers a wide array of topics, including astronomy, poetry, law, history, faith, politics, and philosophy. Swahili literature, similarly, draws inspiration from Islamic teachings but developed under indigenous circumstances, one of the most renowned and earliest pieces of Swahili literature being "Utendi wa Tambuka" or "The Story of Tambuka".


title: African literature

text: As for the Maghreb, North Africans such as Ibn Khaldun attained great distinction within Arabic literature. Medieval North Africa boasted universities such as those of Fes and Cairo, with copious amounts of literature to supplement them.


title: African literature

text: The African works best known in the West from the periods of colonization and the slave trade are primarily slave narratives, such as Olaudah Equiano's "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" (1789).


title: African literature

text: In the colonial period, Africans exposed to Western languages began to write in those tongues. In 1911, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford (also known as Ekra-Agiman) of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) published what is probably the first African novel written in English, "Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation". Although the work moves between fiction and political advocacy, its publication and positive reviews in the Western press mark a watershed moment in African literature.


title: African literature

text: During this period, African plays written in English began to emerge. Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo of South Africa published the first English-language African play, "The Girl Who Killed to Save: Nongqawuse the Liberator" in 1935. In 1962, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o of Kenya wrote the first East African drama, "The Black Hermit", a cautionary tale about "tribalism" (discrimination between African tribes).


title: African literature

text: Among the first pieces of African literature to receive significant worldwide critical acclaim was the novel "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, late in the colonial era, "Things Fall Apart" analysed the effect of colonialism on traditional African society.


title: African literature

text: African literature in the late colonial period (between the end of World War I and independence) increasingly showed themes of liberation, independence, and (among Africans in francophone territories) négritude. One of the leaders of the négritude movement, the poet and eventual president of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor, published in 1948 the first anthology of French-language poetry written by Africans, "Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache de langue française" ("Anthology of the New Black and Malagasy Poetry in the French Language"), featuring a preface by the French existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre.


title: African literature

text: For many writers this emphasis was not restricted to their publishing. Many, indeed, suffered deeply and directly: censured for casting aside their artistic responsibilities in order to participate actively in warfare, Christopher Okigbo was killed in battle for Biafra against the Nigerian movement of the 1960s' civil war; Mongane Wally Serote was detained under South Africa's Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 between 1969 and 1970, and subsequently released without ever having stood trial; in London in 1970, his countryman Arthur Norje committed suicide; Malawi's Jack Mapanje was incarcerated with neither charge nor trial because of an off-hand remark at a university pub; and, in 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the Nigerian junta.


title: African literature

text: With liberation and increased literacy since most African nations gained their independence in the 1950s and 1960s, African literature has grown dramatically in quantity and in recognition, with numerous African works appearing in Western academic curricula and on "best of" lists compiled since the end of the 20th century. African writers in this period wrote both in Western languages (notably English, French, and Portuguese) and in traditional African languages such as Hausa.


title: African literature

text: Ali A. Mazrui and others mention seven conflicts as themes: the clash between Africa's past and present, between tradition and modernity, between indigenous and foreign, between individualism and community, between socialism and capitalism, between development and self-reliance and between Africanity and humanity. Other themes in this period include social problems such as corruption, the economic disparities in newly independent countries, and the rights and roles of women. Female writers are today far better represented in published African literature than they were prior to independence.


title: African literature

text: In 1986, Nigeria's Wole Soyinka became the first post-independence African writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Previously, Algerian-born Albert Camus had been awarded the prize in 1957. Other African Nobel laureates in literature are Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) in 1988, Nadine Gordimer (South Africa) in 1991, John Maxwell Coetzee (South Africa) in 2003, Doris Lessing (UK/Zimbabwe) in 2007, and Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania) in 2021.


title: African literature

text: There have been a lot of literary productions in Africa since the beginning of the current decade (2010), even though readers do not always follow in large numbers. One can also notice the appearance of certain writings that break with the academic style. In addition, the shortage of literary critics can be deplored on the continent nowadays. Literary events seem to be very fashionable, including literary awards, some of which can be distinguished by their original concepts. The case of the Grand Prix of Literary Associations is quite illustrative. "Brittle Paper", an online platform founded by Ainehi Edoro, has been described as "Africa's leading literary journal".


title: African literature

text: The increasing use of the internet has also changed how readers of African literature access content. This has led to the rise of digital reading and publishing platforms like OkadaBooks.


title: African literature

text: Inaugurated in 1980 and running until 2009, the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa was presented for outstanding African writers and scholars published in Africa.


title: Government budget

text: A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Education, Defence, Roads, State Benefit) for the coming financial year. In most parliamentary systems, the budget is presented to the legislature and often requires approval of the legislature. Through this budget, the government implements economic policy and realizes its program priorities. Once the budget is approved, the use of funds from individual chapters is in the hands of government, ministries and other institutions. Revenues of the state budget consist mainly of taxes, customs duties, fees and other revenues. State budget expenditures cover the activities of the state, which are either given by law or the constitution. The budget in itself does not appropriate funds for government programs, hence need for additional legislative measures.


title: Government budget

text: Credible budgets, which are defined as statutory fixed term (generally one year) budgets auditable by parliament, were first introduced in the Netherlands in 1572, England in 1689, France in 1830, Denmark, Piedmont and Prussia in 1848, Portugal in 1851, Sweden in 1866, Austria in 1867, and Spain in 1876. Credible budgets had two main effects: 1. They made parliament more likely to approve new taxation, and 2. They enhanced wartime military spending and increased the chance of victory in war.


title: Government budget

text: The practice of presenting budgets and fiscal policy to parliament was initiated by Sir Robert Walpole in his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer, in an attempt to restore the confidence of the public after the chaos unleashed by the collapse of the South Sea Bubble in 1720. Thirteen years later, Walpole announced his fiscal plans to bring in an excise tax on the consumption of a variety of goods and services, such as wine and tobacco, and to lessen the taxation burden on the landed gentry. This provoked a wave of public outrage, including fierce denunciations from the Whig peer William Pulteney, who wrote a pamphlet entitled "The budget opened, Or an answer to a pamphlet. Concerning the duties on wine and tobacco" - the first time the word 'budget' was used in connection with the government's fiscal policies. The proposed Excise Bill was eventually rescinded.


title: Government budget

text: The institution of the annual account of the budget evolved into practice during the first half of the 18th century and had become well established by the 1760s; George Grenville introduced the Stamp Act in his 1764 budget speech to the House of Commons of Great Britain.


title: Government budget

text: The true government budget, the modern government budget, arose during the period of capitalist society and was gradually established during the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the feudal ruling class. As the productive forces of capitalism developed, the economic power of the bourgeoisie gradually grew and the political demands for democracy became more and more vocal. In the early stages of its development, the budget aimed to establish the duties of the legislature and, after a long struggle with the monarchy, it finally gave the legislature control over taxation. After obtaining the taxation! the power to amend tax laws and approve tax proposals, the legislature turned its attention to controlling expenditure. As a result, the legislature required an annual budget report, including a statement of expenditure and a statement of revenue. England was the highest country in the world to establish a modern government budget. After the triumph of the bourgeois revolution in 1640, England, as a parliamentary monarchy, had all of its financial powers controlled by Parliament. The Bill of Rights of 1689 reaffirmed that the royal government could not force anyone to pay taxes without the approval of Parliament for adoption, and also required that how taxes were to be spent and the items of budgetary expenditure be approved by Parliament, and that revenues and expenditures be allocated on an annual basis and that a plan of revenues and expenditures be made in advance and submitted to Parliament for approval and monitoring. In other capitalist countries, government budgets were created later, such as in France in 1817 and in the United States in 1921. In short, the government budget system was historically established and developed as a way for the National Assembly to control and organise the financial activities of the government (the executive), with the aim of effective control of the executive by the legislature.


title: Government budget

text: The government budget is both a product of government administration and of political democratisation. The emergence of the capitalist mode of production and the high level of development of the commodity economy led to an expansion of the state's financial resources and a massive increase in both revenue and expenditure. The expansion of fiscal revenues and expenditures and the increase in government departments and personnel required the government to plan its funds, which gave rise to the concept of the government budget. The government budget is also a product of the democratisation of modern politics. From the West, the emergence of the capitalist mode of production and the gradual economic power of the bourgeoisie led to increasing demands for political rights. The bourgeoisie demanded the complete separation of the state from the home and the control of government revenues and expenditures through parliament. To this end, the bourgeois theorists put forward the famous "principle of participation", which states that the people have the right not to recognise taxes and expenditures that have not been discussed yet and adopted by the representatives of the people, and to refuse to pay them. On the basis of this principle, the bourgeoisie united with the workers in a long struggle against the feudal aristocracy, which was finally compromised. In 1689, a constitutional monarchy was established in England, with a bourgeoisie-dominated House of Commons, which confirmed the status of the principle of participation: firstly, no taxes could be levied without the consent of Parliament; secondly, the government established a budget, which could only be implemented with the approval of Parliament, etc. By gaining the right to tax and budget, the bourgeoisie finally entered the political arena.


title: Government budget

text: The institutional framework of public finance is the government budget or public budget. The budgetary system is a system of popular approval and oversight of the financial activities of the state. The history of constitutional politics can be described as the history of the establishment of the modern budgetary system. The budget is, in economic and technical terms, a schedule for the comparison of government revenues and expenditures, a mechanism for allocating resources in modern economic society. The budget, determined through the political process, determines, first of all, the proportion and structure of the allocation of the resources of society as a whole between the various sectors, and therefore the scale and direction of the financial allocation of resources. In essence, the budget is a mechanism by which the taxpayers and their representative bodies control the financial activities of the government, a distribution of public power between different subjects as a means of allocating resources, a structure of checks and balances and a democratic political process. The taxpayers, who have the right to independent assets, are responsible for the financial provision of the State, which necessarily requires control of the State's finances and a legal procedure to ensure that government revenues and expenditures do not deviate from the interests of the taxpayers. In conclusion, the government budget, as a rule of the allocation of resources by public power, is a system of control and organisation of the operation of public finances, and is the basis of representative politics, the core of whose values is democratic finance.


title: Government budget

text: The two basic elements of any budget are the revenues and expenses. In the case of the government, revenues are derived primarily from taxes. Government expenses include spending on current goods and services, which economists call ; such as infrastructure investment or research expenditure; and transfer payments like unemployment or retirement benefits.


title: Government budget

text: Government budgets have economic, political and technical basis. Unlike a pure economic budget, they are not entirely designed to allocate scarce resources for the best economic use. Government budgets also have a political basis wherein different interests push and pull in an attempt to obtain benefits and avoid burdens. The technical element is the forecast of the likely levels of revenues and expenses.


title: Government budget

text: The relationships between the federal government and the states and localities are complex and are not well described by a simple look at expenditures. In some cases, the federal government pays for a program and gives broad discretion to the states as to how to carry out the mandate. In other cases, the federal government essentially dictates all the terms, and the states simply administer the program.


title: La Cage aux Folles (film)

text: La Cage aux folles (, English: "The Cage of Madwomen"; also released as Birds of a Feather) is a 1978 comedy film directed by Édouard Molinaro, based on Jean Poiret's 1973 play of the same name. It stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault as a gay couple operating a drag nightclub in a French resort town, Rémi Laurent as the former's son, and Michel Galabru and Carmen Scarpitta as his new fiancée's ultra-conservative parents. The French-language picture was a Franco-Italian co-production by United Artists. This was the first film adaptation of Poiret's play, which was later adapted into the 1996 American film "The Birdcage".


title: La Cage aux Folles (film)

text: The film was released in Italy on October 20, 1978 and in France on October 25. It was a considerable commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing foreign-language films released in the United States of all time. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for three Oscars: Best Director (Molinaro), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Costume Design. Michel Serrault won the César Award for Best Actor. It was followed by two sequels, with Tognazzi, Serrault, and Galabru reprising their roles.


title: La Cage aux Folles (film)

text: Like the play upon which it is based, the film tells the story of a middle-aged gay couple – Renato Baldi, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte, his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son Laurent brings home his fiancée Andrea and her ultra-conservative parents to meet them.


title: La Cage aux Folles (film)

text: Exterior filming was on-location in Saint-Tropez and Nice, while interiors were shot at Dear Film and Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Italy.