title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The 2019 amendment of the extradition bill caused an historic political upheaval, where intensive protests erupted throughout the city in the latter half of the year, including the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong on 1 July. In July 2020, in light of the pro-democrats' attempt to seize the majority of the Legislative Council in the midst of the largely unpopular Carrie Lam government, the government postponed the seventh general election, citing the COVID-19 spike. At variance with the four-year term set out in the Basic Law, the NPCSC decided in August that the sitting Legislative Council should continue with its duties for at least one year; however, the term of the upcoming LegCo would remain four years. In a November decision, the NPCSC disqualified LegCo members on grounds such as Hong Kong independence, Chinese sovereignty, and solicitation of foreign intervention, impacting four sitting legislators whose candidacies had been invalidated in the postponed election. After the disqualification, the 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced their resignation in protest, leaving the legislature with virtually no opposition.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: On 27 January 2021, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" when he reviewed a work report delivered by Carrie Lam. In March 2021, China's National People's Congress passed a resolution that authorised an overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system, including that of the Legislative Council. The reform would allow a new Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, composed entirely of principal officials from the Hong Kong government, to vet candidates for the Legislative Council and would increase its total number of seats from 70 to 90. However, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by the pro-Beijing Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies. Every candidate must have nominations from each of the five sectors in the Election Committee.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The first meetings of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, from 1844 to 1846, were likely convened in the residence of Governor Pottinger (later to be the French Mission Building), still standing at Government Hill. From 1848 to 1954 (interrupted by renovation in 1928-9 and the Japanese occupation in 1941–5), it was housed on the upper floor of the Colonial Secretariat Building, Lower Albert Road, replaced in 1957 by the Annex to the Central Government Offices Main Wing, on the same site. In 1985, LegCo moved down to the nearby Old Supreme Court building () in Central Hong Kong where it remained until November 2011. It took up residence in its present accommodation at the Legislative Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar in December 2011.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Unlike many other former and current Commonwealth legislatures, the Hong Kong Legislative Council does not have a ceremonial mace placed in its chambers. However, the high courts of Hong Kong use a mace to open sessions, and it represents the authority and powers of the court.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: To provide a long-term solution to the space shortage problem facing both the Government and the Legislative Council, the Government commissioned the Tamar Development for the design and construction of the Central Government Complex, the Legislative Council Complex and other ancillary facilities in 2008. The Legislative Council Complex comprises a low block and a high block: the low block, which will be named the Council Block, mainly houses conference facilities including the Chamber, major conference rooms, and communal facilities such as library, cafeteria and education facilities. The range of education facilities for visit by the public includes video corner, visitors' sharing area, exhibition area, children's corner, viewing gallery and access corridors, memory lane, education activities rooms and education galleries. The high block, which will be named as the Office Block, mainly houses offices for members and staff of the Legislative Council Secretariat. Officially opened on 1 August 2011, administrative staff had already taken occupation on 15 January 2011.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress, the Legislative Council is now composed of 90 members returned from 3 constituencies: the Election Committee Constituency, Functional Constituencies and Geographical Constituencies by popular vote.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The term of office of a member is constitutionally four years except for the first term (1998 to 2000) which was set to be two years according to Article 69 of the Basic Law. The 6th Legislative Council's term of office of over five years from 2016 is in direct violation of Article 69 of the Basic Law.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In both the 2008 and 2004 elections, 30 members were directly elected by universal suffrage from geographical constituencies (GCs) and 30 were elected from functional constituencies (FCs). In the 2000 election, 24 were directly elected, six elected from an 800-member electoral college known as the Election Committee of Hong Kong, and 30 elected from FCs. Since the 2004 election, all the seats are equally divided between geographical and functional constituencies.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: According to The Basic Law, while the method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress, the ultimate aim is to elect all Council members by universal suffrage (Article 68 of The Basic Law of Hong Kong). However, under the 2021 overhaul, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 back down to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by the Beijing-controlled Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies, reducing the proportion of directly elected seats from 50% to 22%. Additionally all candidates must now be approved by the unelected HKSAR government via the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee. This has led to all parties that are not pro-Beijing declining to run in the elections, as it is now reasonable to assume that any pro-democracy candidates fielded that might be electable will be disqualified prior to the election.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The Geographical Constituency (GC) seats are returned by universal suffrage. 20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by GCs through single non-transferable vote with a district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in its amendment to Annex 2 of the Basic Law on 30 March 2021.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Geographical constituencies were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in 1991. The electoral system and boundaries of GCs have since changed:


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Between 1998 and 2016, the voting system adopted in GCs is a system of party-list proportional representation, with seats allocated by the largest remainder method using the Hare quota as the quota for election.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes, 28 functional constituencies (FC) return 30 members. The Labour Functional Constituency returns three members by block voting. The other FCs return one member each with first-past-the-post voting.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The 2021 electoral reform saw the dissolution of District Council (First) and District Council (Second) FCs. 3 existing FCs were reconstituted: the Information Technology FC reorganised as the Technology & Innovation FC; the Medical FC and Health Services FC combined to form the Medical and Health Services FC. 2 new FCs were established, namely the Commercial (Third) and the HKSAR Deputies to the National People's Congress, HKSAR Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Representatives of Relevant National Organisations FCs. Functional constituencies are now principally elected by body votes; the number of FCs with individual votes were reduced, together with elimination of mixed individual and body voting systems.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Between 1998 and 2016, the Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport FCs where a preferential elimination system is used due to the small number of voters. In the preferential elimination system, a voter must indicate preferences rather than approval/disapproval or a single choice. District Council (Second) uses the same voting rule in Geographical constituencies for the 5 seats.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Before the 2021 elections, neither the Heung Yee Kuk nor the Commercial (Second) FCs have held an actual election, as only one candidate has stood for each FC in every election since their establishment in 1991 and 1985, respectively.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The Election Committee constituency was one of the three constituencies designed in the Basic Law of Hong Kong next to the directly elected geographical constituencies and the indirectly elected functional constituencies for the first and second-term Legislative Council in the early SAR period. With the last British Governor Chris Patten's electoral reform, the ECC was composed of all elected District Board members who had been elected in 1994. The Single Transferable Vote system was used in the 1995 election.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: After the handover of Hong Kong, the ECC was allocated 10 seats out of the total 60 seats in the SAR Legislative Council, comprising all members of the Election Committee which also elected the Chief Executive every five years. The size of the constituency reduced to six seats in 2000 and was entirely abolished and replaced by the directly elected geographical constituency seats in the 2004 election. The plurality-at-large voting system was used in 1998 and 2000.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In the 2021 electoral overhaul, the Election Committee constituency was reintroduced, taking 40 of the 90 seats, almost half, of the Legislative Council with plurality-at-large voting system. The electorate is composed of all newly expanded 1,500 members in the Election Committee.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In order to perform the important functions of scrutinizing bills, approving public expenditure and monitoring Government's work, a committee system is established.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: From the establishment of the Legislative Council in 1843 to 1993, the Governor was the President and a member of the council, and until 1917 the Governor was required to act with the advice but not necessary the consent of the Legislative Council. The Letters Patent of 1917 changed such practice by requiring the Governor to act "with advice and consent" of the Legislative Council.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Under the Basic Law (Article 72), the President has the powers and functions to preside over meetings, decide on the agenda, including giving priority to government bills for inclusion in the agenda, decide on the time of meetings, call special sessions during the recess, call emergency sessions on the request of the Chief Executive, and exercise other powers and functions as prescribed in the rules of procedure of the Legislative Council. However, the president of the legislative council may not vote in most situations regarding government bills, and is encouraged to remain impartial towards all matters in the LegCo. The President of the Legislative Council has to meet the eligibility requirements set out in the Basic Law that he or she shall be a Chinese citizen of not less than 40 years of age, who is a permanent resident of the HKSAR with no right of abode in any foreign country and has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The President is elected by and from among Council members. The first President (1997–2008) was Rita Fan; the incumbent president, elected in 2016, is Andrew Leung of the pro-Beijing Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In a controversial move directed at reining in democratic legislators (most of whom were elected by universal suffrage and six of whose seats had been vacated by a controversial court order of disqualification), amendments to the Rules of Procedure were passed on 15 December 2017 giving sweeping powers to the President to control the business of the legislature. Among them is the power to vet proposed motions and amendments to bills, require legislators to explain them and to reject or merge them. Prior notice must be given of any notice of motion and the President may reconvene the chamber immediately after any failure to meet quorum.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The quorum for meetings of the council is half of all LegCo Members; while the quorum for meetings of a committee of the whole during second reading of bills is 20, i.e. only 22 per cent of membership, having been reduced from 35 on 15 December 2017.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: After the 15 December 2017 amendments to procedure, a petition is to be submitted to the House Committee only with at least 35 signatures of members, effectively blocking democrat-sponsored scrutiny of government action.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Passage of bills introduced by the government require only a simple majority of votes of the members of the Legislative Council present; whereas passage of motions, bills or amendments to government bills introduced by individual LegCo members shall require a simple majority of votes of each of the two groups of members present: namely members returned by the Election Committee and members returned by functional constituencies and geographical constituencies.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Motions on amendments to the Basic Law require a two-thirds vote in the Legislative Council, without a specific requirement in each group of constituencies. After passing the council, the Basic Law amendment must obtain the consent of two-thirds of Hong Kong's deputies to the National People's Congress, and also the Chief Executive (the Chief Executive is vested with the veto power). The National People's Congress reserves the sole power to amend the Basic Law.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Traditionally, the President does not vote. However, this convention is not a constitutional requirement.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Legislative Council general elections are held every four years in accordance with Article 69 of the Basic Law of HKSAR. The most recent election was held on 19 December 2021. The pro-Beijing camp had absolute control of the Legislative Council with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) as the largest party.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In a typical Council meeting in the old Legislative chamber, members were seated to the left and front of the President's chair in the Chamber patterned after the adversarial layout of Westminster system legislatures. The three rows to the right were reserved for government officials and other people attending the meetings.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: At the new LegCo site at Tamar, members sit facing the President (and council officers) in a hemicycle seating arrangement.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: At present, the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, provides administrative support and services to the Council through its ten divisions. In addition to being the chief executive of the Secretariat, the Secretary General is also the Clerk to the Legislative Council responsible for advising the President on all matters relating to the procedure of the council.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The following chart lists the composition of the Legislative Councils of Hong Kong since the Special Administrative Region (SAR) period from 1998, the composition and diagram indicate the seats controlled by the camps (green for the pro-democracy camp and red for the pro-Beijing camp) at the beginning of the sessions.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: Services to members were originally provided by the Office of the Clerk to the Legislative Council which was part of the Government Secretariat. Additional support later came from other administrative units, i.e. the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (UMELCO) Secretariat and its variants, in consideration of the gradually rising volume of work in Council business.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: With the establishment of UMELCO in 1963, public officers were seconded to UMELCO to assist members to deal with public complaints and build up public relations with the local community. During their secondments, public officers took instructions only from Council members. The practice remained when the Office of the Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) replaced UMELCO in 1986.


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: In 1991, the OMELCO Secretariat was incorporated. As a result of the complete separation of membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils, OMELCO was renamed the Office of Members of Legislative Council (OMLEGCO).


title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong

text: The Legislative Council Commission, a statutory body independent of the Government, was established under The Legislative Council Commission Ordinance on 1 April 1994. The Commission integrated the administrative support and services to the council by the Office of the Clerk to the Legislative Council and the OMLEGCO Secretariat into an independent Legislative Council Secretariat. The Commission replaced all civil servants by contract staff in the 1994–1995 session.


title: Helmsman

text: A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the functions of the helmsman are combined with that of the skipper; on larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch who is responsible for the safe navigation of the ship and gives orders to the helmsman, who physically steers the ship in accordance with those orders.


title: Helmsman

text: In the merchant navy, the person at the helm is usually an able seaman, particularly during ship arrivals, departures, and while maneuvering in restricted waters or other conditions requiring precise steering. An ordinary seaman is commonly restricted to steering in open waters. Moreover, military ships may have a seaman or quartermaster at the helm.


title: Helmsman

text: A professional helmsman maintains a steady course, properly executes all rudder orders, and communicates to the officer on the bridge using navigational terms relating to ship's heading and steering. A helmsman relies upon visual references, a magnetic and gyrocompass, and a rudder angle indicator to steer a steady course. The mate or other officer on the bridge directs the helmsman aboard merchant or navy ships.


title: Helmsman

text: Clear and exact communication between the helmsman and officer on the bridge is essential to safe navigation and ship handling. Consequently, a set of standard steering commands, responses by the helmsman, and acknowledgment by the conning officer are widely recognized in the maritime industry. The helmsman repeats any verbal commands to demonstrate that the command is heard and understood. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) requires that a helmsman be able to understand and respond to helm orders in English.


title: Helmsman

text: The proliferation of autopilot systems and the increased computerization of operations on a ship's bridge lessen the need for helmsmen standing watch in open waters.


title: Helmsman

text: Helm orders or commands fall into two categories: rudder commands and heading commands. A rudder command dictates changing the angle of the rudder, which is a single-event action, whereas steering a heading is a comparatively long event and will require ongoing or continuous rudder adjustments.


title: Helmsman

text: Steering a ship effectively requires skills gained through training and experience. An expert helmsman has a keen sense of how a particular ship will respond to the helm or how different sea conditions impact steering. For instance, experience teaches a helmsman the ability to correct the rudder in advance of a ship substantially falling off course. This requires the capacity to anticipate the delay between when the helm is applied and when the ship responds to the rudder. Similarly, a skilled helmsman will avoid overcompensating for a ship's movement caused by local conditions, such as wind, swells, currents, or rough seas.


title: Helmsman

text: Computer-based ship simulators provide a training environment for learning skills to steer a ship. Training can be programmed to replicate a variety of ship sizes and environmental conditions. Scenarios depicted in 3-D graphics range from making course corrections in open waters to maneuvering in port, rivers, or other shallow waters. Cost compared to a real vessel is low. Mariners learn responses to dangerous situations, such as steering failure, in the safety of a virtual environment.


title: Helmsman

text: Land-based ship simulators may feature a full-scale replica of a steering stand with a ship's wheel. Such simulators incorporate magnetic and gyro compasses (or repeaters) for steering. Moreover, a rudder angle indicator that responds appropriately to the helm is part of the configuration.


title: Helmsman

text: However technology also allows for a multitude of smaller workstations in a classroom setting. Administrators network student workstations so that the instructor can launch individual scenarios at each station. Computer models are used to accurately simulate conditions such as wind, seas, and currents. Moreover, shallow-water effects or other hydrodynamic forces, such as ships passing close to each other, can also be depicted. A computer application records training sessions, complete with voice commands issued by the instructor which are received by the students via a headset.


title: Helmsman

text: On-the-job training at sea is critical to a helmsman developing ability to "sense" or anticipate how a ship will respond in different conditions. The experienced helmsman uses measured responses to sea conditions, even when encountering heavy weather that may cause a ship to pitch and roll as it pounds its way through oncoming waves. Subsequently, the helmsman learns to relax and take into account the vessel's natural rhythm in order to avoid oversteering whatever the maritime environment. Consequently, more accurate steering is attained with less rudder. Applying the minimal rudder required to steer a course reduces drag of the ship, thereby favorably impacting the ship's speed and operating costs.


title: Helmsman

text: One of the helmsman's most important duties is steering a ship in a harbor or seaport when reduced speeds slow a ship's response to the rudder. For it is during ship arrivals and departures, when most ship collisions or groundings occur. Clear communication, then, between the officer of the bridge and the helmsman is essential for safe operations. The officer or harbor pilot relies upon the helmsman to flawlessly execute steering commands to avoid a variety of hazards, including man-made obstacles, land formations, grounding in shallow waters, and the threat of collision with other vessels. In addition, powerful sea tides and river currents encountered in seaports heighten navigation dangers, as a ship's ability to stop is severely limited.


title: Helmsman

text: Helmsmen of merchant and military ships that are underway stand watch at the helm for a set period of time before being relieved by another watchstander. The person being relieved will complete any course change or other critical maneuver that is in progress before handing over the helm.


title: Helmsman

text: The helmsman handing over the helm will inform the relief helmsman of any rudder commands in place and pertinent conditions. "Steering 180. We have oncoming traffic two points on the starboard" for example. In addition, the current helmsman should inform the relief if there are any peculiarities affecting steerage. Similarly, the helmsman will also point out if he or she is steering on a landmark, range, or navigational light. The relief helmsman is obligated to repeat the course being steered or other rudder command in order to demonstrate an understanding of the situation at the helm.


title: Helmsman

text: On merchant ships, it is taught at the various maritime academies that the proper way to relieve the helm is for the helmsman being relieved to call out loudly the ship's course per gyro, course per standard magnetic compass, steering mode, rudder angle, and the pump the vessel is steering off of. The relief helmsman will then take the helm and repeat all the information to ensure that he/she knows what to steer while on watch. An example of this would be:


title: Helmsman

text: Helmsman: "Helm is being relieved... steering two-four-eight per gyro, checking two-four-five per standard. Helm is in hand, rudder amidships, steering off the port pump."


title: Helmsman

text: Relief: "Helm has been relieved... steering two-four-eight per gyro, checking two-four-five per standard. Helm is in hand, rudder amidships, steering off the port pump."


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (, ; born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Negro leagues in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB) after the 1948 season as baseball's color line fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Afro-Latino in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso was an American League (AL) All-Star for seven seasons and a Gold Glove winner for three seasons when he was in his 30s. He batted over .300 for eight seasons. He was the AL leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases once each. Willie Mays (179 steals) and Miñoso (167 steals) have been widely credited with leading the resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s. Miñoso was particularly adept at reaching base, leading the AL in times hit by pitch a record ten times, and holding the league mark for career times hit by pitch from 1959 to 1985. Miñoso, as a defensive standout, led the AL left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso was one of the most popular and dynamic players in White Sox franchise history. He helped the "Go-Go" White Sox become one of the premier teams of the 1950s and 1960s. A rare power threat on a team known for speed and defense, Miñoso also held the White Sox record for career home runs from 1956 to 1974.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso left the major leagues following the 1964 season, but went on playing and managing in Mexico through 1973. He rejoined the White Sox as a coach, and made brief but highly publicized player appearances in 1976 and 1980. He became the third player to get a hit after the age of 50 and the second player to appear in the major leagues in five different decades (Nick Altrock is the other). Miñoso's White Sox uniform number 9 was retired in 1983, and a statue of him was unveiled at U.S. Cellular Field in 2004. Miñoso was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in Exile in 1983, and to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: In 2014, Miñoso appeared for the second time as a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee election ballot for possible Hall of Fame consideration in 2015. He and the other candidates including former White Sox teammate Billy Pierce, and two other former players from Cuba, Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant, all missed induction in 2015. He and Oliva were elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso was born in Perico, Cuba near Havana, the son of Carlos Arrieta and Cecilia Armas. His date of birth is often cited as being November 29, 1923; however, his Republic of Cuba 1951 driver's license and his first Topps baseball card(s) 1952/195 list his date of birth as November 29, 1925. The Miñoso baseball card that was handed out by his family to visitors who stopped by to pay their respects for Miñoso at a remembrance held for him at a Chicago church before his funeral has printed on it "1924-2015".


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: His father worked in the fields of the sugarcane plantation on which the family lived. His mother had four other children from a previous marriage, and had the surname "Miñoso" from her first husband. Her son Orestes became referred to as a "Miñoso" too, and eventually this name became his last name for life; he changed his name legally to Orestes Miñoso when he became a U.S. citizen. Miñoso grew up playing baseball with two of his brothers and in fact managed his own team while working on his father's plantation, finding players and the necessary equipment himself. In 1941, he moved to Havana to live with his sister and play baseball there.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso played professional baseball as a third baseman in Cuba and in the Negro leagues. He signed a contract with the team from the borough of Marianao in 1945 for $150 per month, and moved into the Negro leagues with the New York Cubans the next season and doubled his monthly salary. Batting leadoff for the Cubans, he hit .309 in 1946, and followed up with a .294 average in 1947 as they won the Negro World Series over the Cleveland Buckeyes. He was the starting third baseman for the East in the 1947 All-Star Game, and again in 1948.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso remained with the Cubans until signing with the Cleveland Indians organization during the 1948 season and starting his minor league career with the Dayton Indians of the Central League, batting .525 in 11 games.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: On April 19, 1949, Miñoso made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first Black Cuban in the major leagues; he drew a walk as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of a 5–1 road loss to the St. Louis Browns. He got his first hit in his next game on May 4, a single off Alex Kellner in the sixth inning of a 4–3 win over the Philadelphia Athletics. The next day, he hit his first home run, off Jack Kramer in the second inning of a 7–3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Miñoso had little further chance to make an impression, however; the Indians were signing black players more aggressively than any other team in the American League, but coming off their victory in the 1948 World Series, they were the strongest team in baseball. They had little opportunity to get Miñoso into the lineup as a rookie, as they played Ken Keltner at third base, and he had only 16 at bats through May 13 before being sent to the minor leagues. Miñoso was sent to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League for the rest of the 1949 season and all of 1950, batting .297 the first year and following up with a .339 average and 115 runs batted in (RBIs).


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso rejoined the Indians to start the 1951 season, but the team still could not find a spot for him in the lineup, as the Indians had Al Rosen at third base and Larry Doby, Dale Mitchell and Bob Kennedy in the outfield. He consequently had only 14 at bats in eight April games.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: On April 30, 1951, the Indians sent Miñoso to the White Sox in a three-team trade involving the Athletics, getting relief pitcher Lou Brissie from the Athletics in exchange. On May 1, Miñoso became the first black player on the White Sox, hitting a home run in Comiskey Park on the first pitch of his first at bat against the New York Yankees. He was an instant star, maintaining a batting average over .350 through most of the first half of the season, and finished the season hitting .324 – second in the AL behind the .344 mark of the Athletics' Ferris Fain. Miñoso was named for the first time to the AL All-Star roster (reserve player) becoming – along with White Sox teammate Chico Carrasquel and Washington Senators pitcher Connie Marrero – one of the first Latin Americans ever named to an All-Star team. That year, he scored 112 runs (one short of Dom DiMaggio's league leading total) in 138 games played, topping the league with 14 triples and 31 stolen bases as well as 16 times being hit by pitches, and became known as "Mr. White Sox". Following the 1951 season, he finished second in the AL's Rookie of the Year voting behind the Yankees' Gil McDougald, drawing a protest by the White Sox due to Miñoso having better statistics in nearly every category. Miñoso also finished fourth in the year's Most Valuable Player voting. Miñoso was regarded as such an outstanding all-around player that Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle acquired the nickname "The Commerce Comet" because he reminded observers of "The Cuban Comet". When batting, Miñoso had a tendency to crowd the plate, which made him particularly susceptible to "beanball" pitches.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso followed up with several years of outstanding play for Chicago. He led the AL in steals in both 1952 (22) and 1953 (25), and topped the league with 18 triples and 304 total bases in 1954, appearing in the All-Star Game all three years and starting in 1954. On April 14, 1953, Opening Day, he provided the only hit for the Sox in a 4–0 loss to the Indians' Bob Lemon, and on July 4, 1954, he broke up a combined no-hitter by three Indians pitchers with two out in the ninth inning of a 2–1 loss. He led AL left fielders with three double plays in 1953, and the following year led all major league left fielders with 13 assists and three double plays. In the first game of a doubleheader on May 16, 1954, he drove in six runs in a 10–5 win over the Senators, and on April 23, 1955 he scored a career-high five runs in the White Sox' record-setting 29–6 road win over the Kansas City Athletics. Miñoso again finished second in the batting race in 1954 with a .320 mark, trailing the .341 average by the Indians' Bobby Ávila (Ted Williams, who did not have enough plate appearances to qualify, would have finished second given the needed at bats). On May 18, 1955, Miñoso suffered a skull fracture from being hit in the head by a pitch from the Yankees' Bob Grim in the first inning of an 11–6 loss. He finished the season with a .288 average, his lowest from 1953 through 1960; however, he had the longest hitting streak in the AL that year and the longest of his career, a 23-game string from August 9 to 30 during which he batted .421. In addition, his 18 assists that season were not only twice as many as any other left fielder in the major leagues, but also matched the highest mark by any AL left fielder from 1945 through 1983. He also led AL left fielders in putouts for the first time with 267.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso also represented a rare power threat for the Sox; due to the dimensions of Comiskey Park, the White Sox were the only major league team who did not have a player hit 100 home runs for them prior to World War II. On September 2, 1956, he hit his 80th home run with the Sox, off Hank Aguirre, in a 4–3 win over the Indians, breaking Zeke Bonura's team record. On September 23, 1957, in a 6–5 road loss to the Athletics, he became the first player to hit 100 home runs with the White Sox, connecting in the fourth inning off Alex Kellner. Miñoso topped AL left fielders again with 282 putouts and 10 assists in 1956, and with two double plays in 1957. He led the league in triples again in 1956 with 11, and in doubles with 36 in 1957. In the 1957 All-Star Game, he saved a 6–5 victory for the AL with a dramatic catch for the final out, with the tying run on second base. The 1957 season marked the first in which Gold Glove Awards were awarded, and Miñoso was chosen as the first honoree in left field (separate awards for both leagues were established the following year, and awards for each outfield position were discontinued for half a century after 1960 in favor of three awards for outfielders regardless of position).


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: The White Sox traded Miñoso back to the Indians after the 1957 season in a four-player deal, with the White Sox getting pitcher Early Wynn and outfielder Al Smith in exchange for Miñoso and third baseman Fred Hatfield. With Cleveland, Miñoso hit a career high 24 home runs in 1958, and again led AL left fielders with 13 assists. He batted .302 in both 1958 and 1959, and on April 21, 1959 had a career-high five hits in a 14–1 road win against the Detroit Tigers, also driving in six runs for the second time in his career. He was involved in a notable incident in a road game against the Boston Red Sox on July 17 that year when Indians manager Joe Gordon was ejected after an interference call on the previous batter, but continued his argument instead of leaving the field; Miñoso refused to enter the batter's box while Gordon was still arguing, and became furious when plate umpire Frank Umont called him out on three strikes. Miñoso was then ejected after throwing his bat at Umont, but apologized profusely after the game, saying he was unaware of the rule that any pitch in that situation must be called a strike regardless of its location; he served a three-game suspension. That year, he led all major league left fielders with a career-high 317 putouts, and also led the AL again with 14 assists, and received his second Gold Glove Award. Also in 1959, he made another All-Star appearance, starting in left field on July 7, the first of two All-Star Games held that year (MLB played two All-Star Games from 1959 through 1962). He went 0 for 5 in the first game and didn't play in the second game on August 3.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso was deeply disappointed over having missed playing for the White Sox during their 1959 pennant-winning season, and was thrilled to be traded back to Chicago in a seven-player deal in December, with Norm Cash being the top player sent in return. White Sox owner Bill Veeck presented Miñoso with an honorary 1959 pennant championship ring at the beginning of the 1960 season, saying that he had done as much as anyone in helping the White Sox reach the top of the league – partially through his influence in building a winning team, and partially because the Sox had acquired Wynn, who won the 1959 Cy Young Award, in exchange for Miñoso in the 1957 trade. Miñoso responded by driving in six runs for the third time in his career, hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning on Opening Day against Kansas City, and giving the Sox a 10–9 victory with a walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the ninth. Minoso had his last great season in 1960 – he made his last All-Star appearances (starter in both games), led the AL with 184 hits, had 105 RBIs, batted over .300 for the eighth and final time, and finished fourth in the MVP vote for the fourth time. He also had perhaps his best defensive season, leading all major league left fielders in putouts (277), assists (14) and double plays (3) and winning his third and final Gold Glove Award.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: After the 1961 season, in which his average dropped to .280, Miñoso was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Joe Cunningham; Miñoso had led the AL in times hit by pitch every year since his rookie season, except 1955. After struggling to adjust to his new league's pitchers and strike zone, he missed two months of the 1962 season due to suffering a fractured skull and broken wrist from crashing into the outfield wall in the sixth inning of an 8–5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 11, and finished the year hitting .196.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: His contract was sold to the Washington Senators prior to the 1963 season, and after hitting .229, he was released that October.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: On October 12, he played in the first and only Hispanic American All-Star Game at New York's Polo Grounds.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: He signed with the White Sox before the 1964 campaign, but appeared in only 30 games that year, batting .226 – almost exclusively as a pinch hitter – and hit his last home run in the second game of a doubleheader on May 6 off Ted Bowsfield in the seventh inning of an 11–4 win over the Athletics. He retired after the 1964 season.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Starting in 1965, Miñoso played for the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. Playing first base, he batted .360 in his first season, leading the league with 35 doubles and 106 runs scored. He continued to play in the Mexican League for the next eight seasons. He hit .265 with 12 home runs and 83 RBIs in 1973, when he was 47 years old.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: In 1976, Miñoso was called out of retirement, becoming a first and third base coach for three seasons for the White Sox. He also made three game appearances for the Sox that September in games against the California Angels, picking up one single in eight at bats (four coming as a designated hitter) – a two-out single off Sid Monge on September 12 in the second inning of a 2–1, 10-inning win, becoming – at age 50 – the fourth oldest player ever to get a base hit in the major leagues. In 1980, Miñoso, age 54, was activated again to play for the White Sox, and was a pinch hitter in two games, again against the Angels. He became the fourth-oldest player ever to play in the majors, behind Nick Altrock, who at age 57, pinch hit in 1933, Charley O'Leary, who at age 58, pinch hit in 1934, and Satchel Paige, who at age 59, pitched three shutout innings in one game in 1965. Miñoso joined Altrock (1890s–1930s) as just the second player in major league history to play in five decades (1940s–1980s); out of the players who played in the major leagues in the 1940s, Minoso was the last one to appear in a major league game. Bill Melton broke Miñoso's White Sox record of 135 career home runs in the second game of a doubleheader on August 4, 1974, a 13–10 win over the Texas Rangers; he had tied the record in the previous day's 12–5 loss. On August 29, 1985, Don Baylor broke Minoso's AL record of being hit by pitches 189 times.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: In 1990, Miñoso was scheduled to make an appearance with the minor league Miami Miracle of the Florida State League and become the only professional to play in six decades; however, MLB overruled the Miracle on the idea. When the last game was played at Comiskey Park during the same season, Miñoso was invited to present the White Sox lineup card to the umpires in the pregame ceremonies at home plate. He did so while wearing the new uniform debuted by the White Sox that day, his familiar number 9 on the back. In 1993, a 67-year-old Miñoso made an appearance with the independent St. Paul Saints of the Northern League. He returned to the Saints in 2003 and drew a walk, thus becoming the only player to appear professionally in seven different decades. The earlier extensions to his career with the Sox were publicity stunts orchestrated respectively by one-time Sox owner Bill Veeck and his son Mike, who at the time owned partial or controlling interest in the team.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso lived in Chicago where he represented the Chicago White Sox as "Mr. White Sox". He married Sharon Rice in the 1990s and they have one son, Charles. Miñoso also has three children from a previous marriage, Orestes Jr., Cecilia, and Marilyn. His eldest son, Orestes Jr., briefly played professional baseball.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: He became a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on August 11, 2002, and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Miñoso was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2002.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: On September 19, 2004, Minnie Miñoso Day was celebrated at U.S. Cellular Field and there was a pregame unveiling of a Minnie Miñoso statue at the field. Miñoso received the 2011 Jerome Holtzman Award from the Chicago Baseball Museum.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso died March 1, 2015 from a torn pulmonary artery resulting from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A funeral service was held for him at Holy Family Church in Chicago on March 7, with over 1,000 dignitaries, officials, friends and fans in attendance.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: "For South Siders and Sox fans all across the country, including me, Minnie Miñoso is and will always be ‘Mr. White Sox,’" President Barack Obama said in a statement released by the White House.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso became eligible for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970 – a year before the Hall began considering players from the Negro Leagues or taking into account the accomplishments of major leaguers in the Negro Leagues – and was dropped from the ballot for insufficient support. He was restored to the ballot five years after his final 1980 appearances as a player, and finally began to receive support as a candidate, remaining on the ballot for 14 years before his eligibility expired; however, most of the writers voting by that point had little memory of him during his prime. In 2001, historian Bill James selected Miñoso as the tenth greatest left fielder of all time; based on the then-general belief that Miñoso was born in 1922 rather than 1925, James wrote, "Had he gotten the chance to play when he was 21 years old, I think he'd probably be rated among the top thirty players of all time."


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Author Stuart Miller makes the case for Miñoso's election based on the wins above replacement (WAR) statistic, which calculates the number of additional wins a team would get from a player's production compared to having played a replacement-level minor league player at the position. Miñoso is among the top five AL players in WAR for seven of his MLB seasons, ranking first in WAR for two of those seasons. Jay Jaffe of "Sports Illustrated" has written that Miñoso's Hall of Fame candidacy may have been damaged by the publicity stunt game appearances in his later life. He said that the biggest question for Hall of Fame voters would be how much potential major league production was taken away from Miñoso because baseball was not integrated at the outset of his career.


title: Minnie Miñoso

text: Miñoso was selected to be on the Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee election ballot in 2011 and 2014. Since 2011, the Baseball Writers' Association of America's (BBWAA) Historical Overview Committee serves as the Hall's screening committee every three years to identify ten long-retired players, managers, umpires, or executives (living or deceased) from the "Golden Era" (1947–1973) for possible induction into the Hall of Fame . In order to be inducted, any of ten candidates on the ballot must receive at least 12 of 16 votes cast by the 16-member Golden Era Committee at the MLB Winter Meeting in December. In 2011 and 2014, Miñoso received 9 and 8 votes; in 2011, only Ron Santo with 15 votes was elected to the Hall of Fame (inducted 2012). In 2014, none of the candidates were elected by the committee. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on December 5, 2021. He was formally inducted on July 24, 2022, with his widow Sharon speaking on his behalf.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: Lynden Pindling International Airport , formerly known as Nassau International Airport, is the largest airport in the Bahamas and the largest international gateway into the country. It is a major hub for Bahamasair, Western Air, and Pineapple Air. the airport is located in western New Providence island near the capital city of Nassau. The airport is named after Lynden Pindling,


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: In August 1942, No. 111 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF was established at Nassau Airport to train general reconnaissance crews using the North American Mitchell and Consolidated Liberators.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: During the Second World War, on 30 December 1942, the airport was named Windsor Field (after the Duke of Windsor) and became a Royal Air Force (RAF) station. Windsor Field was the second airport in The Bahamas and was used for delivery flights of US-built fighter and bomber aircraft such as the Boeing B-17 and Consolidated B-24 bombers, and the Curtiss P-40 fighter from the aircraft manufacturers to the North African and European theaters. It was also a base station for Consolidated Liberator I and Mitchell patrol bombers combating the German Navy's U-boat threat.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: After the Second World War, on 1 June 1946, the RAF withdrew from Windsor Field and it reverted to civilian use. Oakes Field (now Thomas Robinson Stadium) remained as the main airport in the Bahamas due to its close proximity to downtown Nassau. At the Regional Caribbean Conference of the International Civil Aviation Organization held in Washington in September, 1946, Oakes Field was recommended for designation as a long range regular airport. Oakes International Airport was kept in operation until midnight, 1 November 1957, when Nassau International Airport at Windsor Field was brought into full operation.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: The name of the airport was officially changed on 6 July 2006 in honour of The Rt Hon. Sir Lynden Pindling (22 March 1929 – 25 August 2000), first Prime Minister of Bahamas (1967 – 1992). Sir Lynden is recognized as the Father of the Nation, having led the Bahamas to Majority rule in 1967 as well as full Independence from the United Kingdom within the British Commonwealth six years later.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: With more than 3 million passengers and over 80,000 takeoffs and landings, the airport had reached its capacity by 2011 and its facilities were outdated and insufficient. In 2006, Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) entered a 10-year management agreement with YVR Airport Services Ltd. (YVRAS), the commercial arm of Vancouver Airport Authority, to manage, operate and redevelop the airport.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: The redevelopment updated the airport facilities to international standards and expanded terminal capacity. The work was carried out in three stages. The first stage included the design and construction of a new U.S Departures Terminal, at a cost of $198.1 million. Stage 2 consisted of the complete renovation of the current U.S terminal, to serve as the new U.S/International Arrivals Terminal, with a budget of $127.9 million. Stage 3 involved the design and construction of a new domestic arrivals and departures terminal, as well as an International Departures Terminal at the location of the existing International Arrivals Hall. This last stage cost $83.5 million.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: The financing had to be restructured and therefore slightly delayed because of the turmoil on financial markets in the wake of the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Nevertheless, the first stage of the project was completed in March 2011. The $409.5 million invested resulted in of terminal space, a 21% increase, as well as the ability to accommodate 50% more passengers. The third and final phase of the project was completed in October 2013. The airport now features 10 jet bridge capable gates. Other features include four gates capable of taking Boeing 747-sized aircraft and one capable of handling the Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner. An additional 1 million square feet of airport operating surface has been added. There are also 24 new retail outlets and 16 bars and lounges located across the sprawling terminal complex.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: The airport handled 3.2 million passengers in 2008; and it is expected that the expansion will allow for roughly 5.2 million passengers to be processed by 2020, according to NAD. The airport contains US Border preclearance facilities allowing all US flights to operate as domestic flights upon arrival at their destination. In February 2015, the US Border Preclearance Facility installed 20 Automated Passenger Control (APC) self serve kiosks to improve the efficiency of passenger processing for US bound travelers.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: The airport had the highest Turnaround Costs (landing, boarding bridge, passenger facility charge, security, measured on an Airbus 320) of Latin American airports in 2009.


title: Lynden Pindling International Airport

text: 17. File: https://nassaulpia.com/lpia-ends-2019-with-a-record-4-1-million-passengers-and-revenue-growth File: https://nassaulpia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NAD-2019-Annual-Report_.pdf


title: Cashless society

text: In a cashless society, financial transactions are not conducted with physical banknotes or coins, but instead with digital information (usually an electronic representation of money). Cashless societies have existed from the time when human society came into existence, based on barter and other methods of exchange, and cashless transactions have also become possible in modern times using credit cards, debit cards, mobile payments, and digital currencies such as bitcoin. However, this article focuses on the term "cashless society" in the sense of a move towards a society in which cash is replaced by its digital equivalent—in other words, legal tender (money) exists, is recorded, and is exchanged only in electronic digital form.


title: Cashless society

text: Such a concept has been discussed widely, particularly because the world is experiencing a rapid and increasing use of digital methods of recording, managing, and exchanging money in commerce, investment and daily life in many parts of the world, and transactions which would historically have been undertaken with cash are often now undertaken electronically. Some countries now set limits on transactions and transaction values for which non-electronic payment may be legally used.


title: Cashless society

text: The trend towards the use of non-cash transactions and settlement in daily life began during the 1990s when electronic banking became common. By the 2010s digital payment methods were widespread in many countries, with examples including intermediaries such as PayPal, digital wallet systems such as Apple Pay, contactless and NFC payments by electronic card or smartphone, and electronic bills and banking, all in widespread use. At this point cash had become actively disfavored in some kinds of transaction which would historically have been very ordinary to pay with physical tender, and larger cash amounts were in some situations treated with suspicion, due to its versatility and ease of use in money laundering and financing of terrorism. Additionally, payment with a large amount of cash has been actively prohibited by some suppliers and retailers, to the point of coining the expression of a "war on cash".


title: Cashless society

text: The 2016 United States User Consumer Survey Study claims that 75% of respondents preferred a credit or debit card as their payment method while only 11% of respondents preferred cash.


title: Cashless society

text: Since the founding of both companies in 2009, digital payments can now be made by methods such as Venmo and Square. Venmo allows individuals to make direct payments to other individuals without having cash accessible. Square is an innovation that allows primarily small businesses to receive payments from their clients.


title: Cashless society

text: By 2016, only about 2% of the value transacted in Sweden was by cash, and only about 20% of retail transactions were in cash. Fewer than half of bank branches in the country conducted cash transactions. The move away from cash is attributed to banks convincing employers to use direct deposit in the 1960s, banks charging for checks starting in the 1990s, banks launching the convenient Swish smartphone-to-phone payment system in 2012, and the launch of iZettle for small merchants to accept credit cards in 2011.


title: Cashless society

text: Among the first sociological studies about cashless societies, see Aldo Haesler, Sociologie de l'argent et postmodernité, Geneva & Paris 1995.


title: Cashless society

text: A common measure of how close to a "cashless society" a country is becoming is some measure of the number of cashless payments or person to person transactions are done in that country. For instance, the Nordic countries conduct more cashless transactions than most other Europeans. Levels of cash in circulation can widely differ among two countries with a similar measure of cashless transactions.


title: Cashless society

text: Even though a cashless society is widely discussed, most countries are increasing their currency supply. Exceptions are South Africa whose supply of banknotes fluctuates wildly compared to most nations, and Sweden which has significantly reduced its currency supply since 2007. China's currency has decreased from 2017 to 2018


title: Cashless society

text: The amount of cash in circulation was much lower in past decades in all countries except Sweden. The oldest comparative figures at Bank for International Settlements were from 1978 and only including the USD and 10 other currencies.


title: Cashless society

text: Under a Massachusetts law dating back to 1978, no retailer may "discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit". It was the only U.S. state to have such a law until March 2019, when New Jersey passed similar legislation; car rentals, parking garages, and airport stores have exceptions under the legislation. The bill came shortly after the city of Philadelphia passed a similar law. San Francisco has also banned cashless stores. Similarly, Rhode Island became the third U.S. state to outlaw cashless businesses when its ban took effect on 1 July 2019. A requirement in New York City that businesses accept cash took effect on 19 November 2020. A similar law was enacted in the District of Columbia in December 2020.


title: Cashless society

text: Cashless payments eliminate several risks, including counterfeit money (though stolen cards are still a risk), theft of cash by employees, miscounting of change, and burglary or robbery of cash. The costs of physical security, physically processing cash (withdrawing from the bank, transporting, counting) are also reduced once a business goes completely cashless, as is the risk that the business will not have enough cash on hand to make the change. Cashless payments are also known to be more efficient and safer compared to cash payments, and they can always be traced back afterwards as well.


title: Cashless society

text: Cash provides a good home for disease-causing organisms (i.e. "Staphylococcus aureus", "Salmonella" species, "Escherichia coli", COVID-19, etc.). However, cash has been found to be less likely to transmit disease than commonly touched items such as credit card terminals and pinpads. Such concerns prompted the German central bank, , to state that "Cash poses no particular risk of infection for public".


title: Cashless society

text: Restaurant chain Sweetgreen found cashless locations (with customers using payment cards or the chain's mobile app) could process transactions 15% faster.


title: Cashless society

text: One significant societal advantage cited by proponents is the difficulty of money laundering, tax evasion, performing illegal transactions, and funding illegal activity in a cashless society. Many countries have regulated, restricted, or banned private digital currencies such as Bitcoin, partly to prevent illegal transactions. Large amounts of value can also be stored in real estate, antiques, or commodities like diamonds, gold, silver, and platinum.


title: Cashless society

text: Some have proposed a "reduced cash" system, where small bills and coins are available for anonymous, everyday transactions, but high-denomination notes are eliminated. This would make the amount of cash needed to move large amounts of value physically awkward and easier to detect. Large notes are also the most valuable to counterfeit. The United Kingdom declared only banknotes of £5 or less were legal tender near the end of World War II on 16 April 1945 due to fear of Nazi counterfeiting, although a £5 note then had the purchasing power of £217.22 in 2020, over four times larger than the current largest note of £50. On 14 July 1969, the federal government of the United States declared that banknotes of over $100 in value would remain legal tender, but any notes in government hands would be destroyed and that no new notes of those denominations would be printed in the future, although such notes were last printed in 1945, 24 years earlier. Canada did the same thing with the CAD$1000 banknote beginning on 12 May 2000. Sweden printed 10,000kr banknotes in 1939 and 1958, but declared them invalid after 31 December 1991. Singapore announced on 2 July 2014, that they would no longer produce the SGD$10,000 banknote, and it was no longer issued as of 1 October 2014. The European Central Bank no longer issues the €500 denomination euro banknotes as of 27 April 2019.


title: Cashless society

text: Rather than conducting "costly and periodic" surveys and sampling of real-world transactions, "real data" collected on citizens' spending can assist in devising and implementing policies that are deduced from actual data. With recorded financial transactions, the government can better track the movement of the money through financial records which enables them to track the black money and illegal transactions taking place in the country.


title: Cashless society

text: As digital payments are made, transactions are kept in records. Cashless payments facilitate the tracking of spending expenditure and record the movement of money. Having recorded transactions, it can help citizens to refine their budget more efficiently because people can see their recorded transactions in their bank account and know where their ingoings and outgoings are occurring.


title: Cashless society

text: In a digitized economy, payment made will be recorded digitally (cash payments are also typically recorded). With digitally-recorded transactions, certain institutions such as the seller may have potential access to this information (though the record is likely to be anonymous to the seller). Such transactions could allow businesses a way to build an understanding of their customers based on observed spending patterns.


title: Cashless society

text: The issue of data mining also comes into place as countries head towards a cashless society. Cashless transactions leave a record in the database of the company as one makes a payment, and this information becomes a way for the prediction of future events. Through a large number of records, data mining then allows the organization to compile a profile of an individual through its records in the database.


title: Cashless society

text: Going all-digital, these data retrieved from transactions lead to widespread surveillance where individuals can be tracked by both corporations and the government. These records might also be available to hackers and could be made public after a data breach.


title: Cashless society

text: Cashless systems can be problematic for people who currently rely on cash, who are concentrated in certain populations such as the poor, disabled, elderly, undocumented immigrants, and youth. Electronic transactions require a deposit account (in a bank or other deposit-taking financial institution) and some familiarity with the payment system. Many people in impoverished areas are underbanked or unbanked. In the United States, almost one-third of the population lacked the full range of basic financial services in 2012. In 2011, an FDIC survey found that approximately one-quarter of households whose annual income was less than $15,000 had no bank account. Nationwide, 7.7% of people in United States did not have bank accounts, with levels over 20% in some cities and rural counties, and over 40% in some census tracts, as of 2016.


title: Cashless society

text: As part of its Smart Nation initiative, Singapore has been moving towards a cashless economy. In 2017, 14.4% of the country's population was over 65 years old, and the majority of seniors still used cash as their only method of payment. Not used to digital payment methods, troubleshooting issues such as managing lost cards or passwords and managing their expenses can create potential trouble for anyone transitioning from cash.


title: Cashless society

text: When payment transactions are stored in servers, it increases the risks of unauthorized breaches by hackers. Financial cyber attacks and digital crime also form a greater risks when going cashless. Many companies already suffer data breaches, including of payment systems. Electronic accounts are vulnerable to unauthorized access and transfer of funds to another account or unauthorized purchases.


title: Cashless society

text: Attacks on or accidental outages of telecommunication infrastructure also prevent electronic payments from working, unlike cash transactions which can continue with minimal infrastructure.


title: Cashless society

text: Opponents point out that an entirely cashless system, in addition to tracking all transactions, would enable a central government to:


title: Cashless society

text: Sweden is one of the best examples of the results of efforts to create a cashless society. Sweden is exceptional in that the amount of cash in circulation has reduced substantially. Swedish society changed profoundly from 2000 to 2017 due to attempts to replace all cash with digital payment methods. The concept of cash-free bank branches began in Sweden between 2000 and 2005, with a cashless branch being a step towards an upcoming closure of that branch. From around 2008, Swedish banks began giving special hardware to their customers that could be used to process financial transactions (like digital payments of invoices) from home. People still had the choice to use cash, however, and those who so wished could still do business in cash at the bank offices that remained.


title: Cashless society

text: This trend began around 2008, and peaked in connection with the 2015–17 exchange of all Swedish coins and banknotes (except for the 10 kronor coin). According to the banks' head offices, cash was no longer required as withdrawals and deposits were possible (in limited amounts) through machines. But for "safety regulations", the maximum amount a bank customer could withdraw was about 5,000 to 10,000 SEK per week, and similar "security rules" for deposits were established as well. Later, all the major regular banks with branches began an enforced process of either closing down branches or making them "cash-free". Today very few cash handling bank branches still exist.


title: Cashless society

text: The limited availability of cash in Sweden has caused difficulties for smaller boutiques, shops, and convenience stores, which depend on cash, as they can no longer deposit their daily takings or obtain any change. Non-profit organisations, which are very common in Sweden, have also experienced an outsized impact. In response, Swedish banks have introduced a mobile telephone payment system known as Swish. But this system has suffered from many problems.


title: Cashless society

text: The banks (and initially media as well) have dismissed complaints about the change as "a problem for elderly people" only, essentially claiming that some were only struggling to learn new technology, rather than being unhappy with a totally new transaction method. Opponents of the change, however, contend that the technological excitement has changed too much too fast, saying that many dangers lurk in the reeds. Concerns have been expressed about a rising number of fraudulent transactions, and the fast development of quantum computers contributes to fears of hacking within the system. The debate about a cashless Sweden became more complicated when the Swedish authority "Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap—MSB" or "the Authority for Community Protection and Preparedness" in their writing ""Om Kriget Eller Krisen Kommer"" ("If war or crisis comes") contained a list of items to store permanently at home to be prepared, which includes "cash in small denominations". A wave of negative criticism followed in Sweden from experts outside the banking sphere expressing their concerns.


title: Cashless society

text: The former head of police, Björn Eriksson, started a movement in the spring of 2016 known as "Kontantupproret" or "The Cash Petition". This movement has quickly grown to a considerable size, with many contributors describing troubles caused by the increasingly hostile attitude expressed by banks against cash. The range of complaints covers a wide variety of issues. For instance, the well-known TV3 figure Robert Aschberg got mad after having paid at a chemist with the Swish system via his mobile phone, because he almost immediately received an advertisement from the same pharmacy, raising privacy concerns. Svante Linusson, professor of mathematics, claims that "the liquidation of cash is slowly destroying our democracy". A billiard club in Malmö was almost forced to close after their bank of 20 years refused to acknowledge them as a customer after the billiard club refused any other payments but cash (the bank claimed that the cash is not traceable in their crime investigation activities). A traditional summer market in northern Lycksele went into bankruptcy after a computer error. Because people had been required to pay with phones (Swish) and cards, there was not enough money available for them to conduct business in their market.


title: Cashless society

text: In general new money laundry laws require evidence of sources for higher amounts of cash. The banks in Sweden blame EU laws, but the EU laws allow transactions of below €15,000, while Swedish banks require evidence and can refuse to accept or confiscate cash without lower limit and have high requirements of documentation.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: Ashfaqulla Khan (22 October 1900 – 19 December 1927) was an Indian independence activist in the Indian independence movement and co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Association.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: Khan was born in the Shahjahanpur district of the United Provinces to Shafiq Ullah Khan and Mazharunissa, Muslim Pathans of the Khyber tribe who belonged to the landlord class. He was the youngest among his five siblings.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: In 1918, while Khan was in the seventh standard, police raided his school and arrested the student Rajaram Bhartiya in relation to the Mainpuri Conspiracy, in which activists organised looting in Mainpuri to fund the publication of anti-colonial literature. The arrest spurred Khan's engagement in revolutionary activities in the United Provinces.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: Khan met Ram Prasad Bismil, a revolutionary who was closely involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy, through a friend. He soon became closely tied to Bismil and joined him in activities related to non-cooperation, the Swaraj Party, and the Hindustan Republican Association. Bismil and Khan were also both poets, with Khan writing Urdu poetry under the pseudonym Hasrat.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: Like others in the Hindustan Republican Association, Khan was strongly inspired by Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. He expressed beliefs in the liberation of the poor and the rejection of capitalist interests. He also spoke against religious communalism, identifying it as a British tool to control the Indian population and prevent Indian independence.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: The revolutionaries of the Hindustan Republican Association organised a meeting in Shahjahanpur on 8 August 1925 to determine how to raise funds for arms and ammunition. They decided to rob a train carrying government cash through Kakori. The HRA had previously executed similar train robberies, inspired by the Russian Bolshevik technique of using robbery to fund revolutionary operations. He was originally against the Kakori train robbery, but eventually agreed to participate when others in the HRA expressed approval of the plan.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: On 9 August 1925, Khan and other revolutionaries, namely Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi, Chandrashekhar Azad, Keshab Chakravarty, Banwari Lal, Murari Lal Gupta, Mukundi Lal, and Manmathnath Gupta, attacked and robbed a government train in Kakori near Lucknow. After the robbery, the British government launched an extensive investigative campaign to catch the perpetrators. On the morning of 26 October 1925, Bismil was caught by the police. Khan fled to Nepal to evade capture. From Nepal, he travelled to Kanpur and then Daltonganj, where he worked as a clerk at an engineering firm under a pseudonym.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: Eventually, Khan decided to travel to Delhi to continue his revolutionary activities. While in Delhi, he met with a Pathan friend he had known in Shahjahanpur, who secretly reported his whereabouts to the police. On the morning of 7 December 1926, Khan was captured and arrested by the Delhi Police. He was detained in the District Jail at Faizabad and a case was filed against him.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: The trial of the Kakori train robbers was held for over a year in Lucknow and received significant interest from the public. The HRA had released an official statement in 1925 claiming that they did not consider themselves terrorists and instead saw their revolutionary activities as a way to fight back against the violence of the colonial government. While in prison, Khan wrote a letter that expressed a similar sentiment, confirming that he did not aim to spread violence through the HRA but only hoped to ensure India's independence.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: The case for the Kakori dacoity was concluded by imposing the death sentence on Bismil, Khan, Lahiri, and Roshan. The others were given life sentences. Khan was sentenced to death by hanging and executed on 19 December 1927 at the Faizabad Jail. He is considered a martyr for the cause of India's independence.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: After the hangings of Khan, Bismil, Lahiri, and Roshan, the HRA changed their name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army and began officially espousing socialist and Marxist ideologies.


title: Ashfaqulla Khan

text: The actions of Khan and his compatriots have been depicted in the Hindi film "Rang De Basanti" (2006), where his character is depicted by Kunal Kapoor. Chetanya Adib portrayed Khan in the Star Bharat television series "Chandrashekhar". "Mujahid-E-Azadi – Ashfaqullah Khan", an Indian television series that aired on DD Urdu in 2014, starred Gaurav Nanda in the titular role.


title: N.I.B.

text: "N.I.B." is a song released by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's 1970 debut album, "Black Sabbath". The lyrics are in the first person from the point of view of Lucifer. Bassist Geezer Butler, who composed the song's lyrics, has said that "the song was about the devil falling in love and totally changing, becoming a good person."


title: N.I.B.

text: The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib. According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was "Nib", which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'."


title: N.I.B.

text: Though "Nativity in Black" is a disputed title, it was later used for a pair of Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000 respectively.


title: N.I.B.

text: Ugly Kid Joe recorded their cover of "N.I.B." for the "Nativity in Black" tribute album, followed by Ozzy Osbourne and Primus on "Nativity in Black II"; the latter cover peaked at No. 2 on "Billboard"'s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in October 2000. This version also appears in Osbourne's 2005 boxed set "Prince of Darkness". Storm Large also covered it for her 2014 album "Le Bonheur".


title: Crixus

text: Crixus was a Gallic gladiator and military leader in the Third Servile War between the Roman Republic and rebel slaves. Born in Gaul, he was enslaved by the Romans under unknown circumstances and trained as a gladiator in Capua. His name means "one with curly hair" in Gaulish.


title: Crixus

text: In 73, Crixus was part of what started as a small slave revolt in the gladiatorial training school of Lentulus Batiatus in Capua, in which about 70 gladiators escaped. The escaped slaves defeated a small force sent to recapture them, then made camp on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Word of the escaped gladiators' revolt spread, and other escaped slaves started to join their ranks. At this time, the band of former slaves chose Crixus—with the Thracian Spartacus, and the Gaul Oenomaus—as one of their leaders. Later in the rebellion, another Gaul, Castus, and Celtic former Gladiator Gannicus also served as generals under Spartacus.


title: Crixus

text: The movement, in the course of what would come to be known as the Third Servile War, witnessed numerous military successes for the escaped slaves. They routed the militia forces the Roman Senate sent to put down the insurrection by rappelling down the cliffs of Mount Vesuvius and attacking the Roman camp from behind. With these early successes, thousands of fellow slaves swarmed to their ranks, until their numbers swelled to perhaps as many as 150,000.


title: Crixus

text: For reasons that are unclear, Crixus and about 30,000 followers appear to have separated from Spartacus and the main body of escaped slaves toward the end of 73 BC. Contemporary historians have theorized two possible reasons for the split. One theory proposes that Crixus and his followers were intent on plundering the Roman countryside and, perhaps, marching on Rome, while Spartacus and his followers wanted to cross the Alps to reach Gaul and freedom. A second theory is that the split had strategic value and was planned by Spartacus and Crixus as a way to further their strategic goals. However, Spartacus's actions raise more questions about their intentions. Both accounts by Appian and Plutarch state that after Spartacus defeated Lentulus, he turned back and attacked an army behind him. In one account, it was Gellius' army, in the other, it was an unnamed Roman force. If he wanted to escape Italy to the North, why would he turn back for unnecessary bloodshed? This fact seems to tip history in favor of the second theory.


title: Crixus

text: Whatever the reason for the split, Crixus' contingent encountered a Roman army under the command of the Roman consul Lucius Gellius Publicola near Mount Gargano in 72 BC. The two consular legions under the command of Publicola were deployed defensively along the crest of a hill, while the slaves led by Crixus made three unsuccessful assaults up a steep slope. Crixus, who is said to have fought bravely in a losing effort, was killed in the conflict.


title: Crixus

text: Spartacus, on hearing of the defeat of Crixus and his forces, held mock gladiatorial games, in which he forced captured Roman soldiers to fight to the death. Either 300 or 400 Romans were sacrificed in Crixus' honor.


title: Yvette Young

text: Yvette Young is an American musician from San Jose, California. She is the front-woman for the math rock band Covet.


title: Yvette Young

text: Young is of Chinese heritage and comes from a musical family: her father Phil is a singer, accordionist, and composer, and her mother is an organist and accordionist. She began taking piano lessons at the age of four, and violin lessons at the age of seven. She graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and began her career by posting videos of herself playing music in 2009. In 2014, Young released an EP titled "Acoustics EP" and further expanded her discography with the release of a split EP with Natalie Evans in 2015. In June 2017, Young released a second EP entitled "Acoustics EP 2".


title: Yvette Young

text: Young used her background in piano to use polyphony on a guitar. She taught herself guitar, playing by ear she notes, "I write with my ear, so I’m not really in a box in terms of chord shapes. And I don’t use [traditional] shapes at all, which freaks a lot of people out! I have a million different tunings I work in too so I didn’t really put in the time to learn every shape in every tuning, that would be ridiculous." She uses a technique of singing the part out loud and then replicating it on guitar to decipher the parts of the songs she writes.


title: Yvette Young

text: Young also creates unique illustration and art pieces, including work on some of her own guitars. One of her paintings serves as the cover for her band's album "Technicolor", released in June 2020.


title: Yvette Young

text: Young has begun to teach a master course on guitar and finds that her style resonates with many of her students. Before this she was mainly an art teacher, but by teaching while on tour she has become a music teacher.


title: Yvette Young

text: Young was featured in a Super Bowl LV Commercial in February 2021 for Logitech. She is also featured on their website as a partner with tutorials and tips on how to use their equipment.


title: Yvette Young

text: Young was featured on Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!'s new album "Gone Are The Good Days" on the track, "Tongue Tied".


title: Yvette Young

text: As of 2019, Young plays two Ibanez Talman Prestige guitars with Seymour Duncan Five-Two single-coil pickups and custom sparkle finishes, and a 7-string, fanned-fret Strandberg that she has painted. During NAMM 2020, Ibanez announced her signature model, the YY10, a Strat-style Talman. It was released in late 2021, and she calls it the YY20 OCS (orange-cream sparkle).


title: Mist

text: Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such as in exhaled air in the winter, or when throwing water onto the hot stove of a sauna. It can be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the humidity and temperature conditions are right. It can also occur as part of natural weather, when humid air cools rapidly, notably when the air comes into contact with surfaces that are much cooler than the air (e.g. mountains).


title: Mist

text: The formation of mist, as of other suspensions, is greatly aided by the presence of nucleation sites on which the suspended water phase can congeal. Thus even such unusual sources of nucleation as small particulates from volcanic eruptions, releases of strongly polar gases, and even the magnetospheric ions associated with polar lights can in right conditions trigger condensation and the formation of mist.


title: Mist

text: Mist is commonly confused with fog, which resembles a stratus cloud lying at ground level. These two phenomena differ, but share some commonalities; similar processes form both fog and mist. Fog is denser, more opaque, and generally lasts a longer time, while mist is thinner and more transparent.


title: Mist

text: Cloud cover is often referred to as "mist" when encountered on surfaces of mountains, whereas moisture suspended above a body of water, cleared or marsh area is usually called "fog". One main difference between mist and fog is visibility. The phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is or less. In the United Kingdom, the definition of fog is visibility less than on the surface for driving purposes, UK Highway Code rule 226, while for pilots the distance is 1 km at cruising height. Otherwise, it is known as mist.


title: Mist

text: Mist makes a light beam visible from the side via refraction and scattering on the suspended water droplets, and rainbows can be possibly created.


title: Mist

text: Mist usually occurs near the shores and is often associated with fog. Mist can be as high as mountain tops when extreme temperatures are low and strong condensation occurs.


title: Mist

text: Freezing mist is similar to freezing fog, only the density is less and the visibility greater. When fog falls below 0°C, it is known as freezing fog, however it still stays suspended).


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game features an open world environment, with elements of potential stealth gaming and reputation-based social mechanics, and is set during a fictitious multi-national military action in North Korea, in an alternate history version of the year 2007. The player gains control of one of three mercenary main characters and completes contracts in the war-torn country for profit and to prevent a nuclear war. Critics gave favorable reviews to the game, in particular praising its focus on explosive mayhem.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: A sequel, "", was released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Following Pandemic Studios' closure in November 2009, Electronic Arts announced Danger Close Games would be developing a second sequel, tentatively titled "Mercs Inc". The game was eventually canceled following the closure of Danger Close Games in 2013.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: The player is deposited in a vast "sandbox" environment, free to pick up missions, perform side tasks, collect items, hijack vehicles, or employ game mechanics in exhibition. As the world is a sandbox, the player can choose to do any of these activities at any time. In fact, one can level all of the buildings in the game world, including the faction HQs. Buildings are usually restored after an extended time away from the area, the player's death, or re-loading the game. Also, the player can cause wanton destruction in many small outposts and strongholds occupied by and restricted to faction members only. However, excessive rampaging is discouraged by the reduction of the attacked faction's disposition towards the player, and the murders of civilians and Allied Nations personnel result in cash fines as well.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: There are five warring factions: the Allied Nations, South Korea (associated with the CIA), the Russian Mafia, China, and Song's North Korean army. Disposition from the first four factions is initially friendly, though through the player's actions it can go from friendly to neutral and eventually hostile. Since the North Korean faction is always hostile towards the player and to all the other factions, the player is free to attack NK forces without fear of penalty. In fact, destroying NK vehicles will result in a small compensation, adding credits to the player's account.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: In order to get back in the favor of an offended faction, the mercenary must complete contracts for the faction. If the faction is so hostile that it refuses to give out contracts, the player must bribe the HQ guard first. Other less effective methods include collecting National Treasures and Blueprints of interest to each faction, destroying hidden listening posts, leveling Song's monuments or helping out one faction fight off another one during a skirmish. Upon being witnessed, the player's actions will be favored by the faction receiving the help; however, the other faction will dislike the player more.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: A mercenary may disguise himself by driving a faction's vehicle, allowing for enemy outpost infiltration. However, the disguise is rendered ineffectual should the enemy spot the mercenary entering the vehicle, should the player exit the vehicle or if the player engages in inappropriate behavior (such as attacking enemy troops). The disguise is also lost if the player comes across an enemy officer, who will invariably see through the disguise.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: The player can perform various missions for different factions, but it is not required to complete every mission available. A mission involves one or multiple objectives that include stealing, delivery, retrieval, or destruction of certain items or vehicles, assassinating targets, and destruction of an enemy camp or stronghold. Often, a mission provides a bonus goal which may be completed for extra cash. AN missions are usually taxi and escort missions, whereas Mafia-instructed missions are somewhat more stealth-oriented, and SK and Chinese missions usually have the player take orders from one faction to harm the other one. A mission may upset another faction, although this can be prevented to some degree if the player engages the mission with stealth. The completion of a mission rewards the mercenary with cash, increase in the faction's disposition, and tips regarding the Deck of 52; it occasionally unlocks items, vehicles, or airstrikes.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: Throughout the game, the player is tasked with hunting down and "verifying" 13 targets of a "suit". "Verification" involves either killing the target and taking a picture of the corpse, or subduing the target and radioing an AN helicopter to transport the prisoner away. After every verification the player is awarded with "Intelligence" and cash, which is usually doubled if the target is captured alive. In a suit, the number cards (from 2 to 10) are located throughout the in-game region, and they can be found by exploration or by receiving tips from friendly factions (usually after the completion of a mission). Each of the three face cards (Jack, Queen, King) is only made available by one of Chinese, South Korean, and Russian factions. A "face card mission" often involves specific objectives for the faction in addition to verifying the target. However, it is not necessary to verify all members of a suit to progress through the game. The player must gain only enough Intelligence by verifying targets before the AN gives the player the Ace contract. The Ace, the most important figure in a suit, is located in an isolated, often heavily fortified area, where the player is dropped off. The Ace contract usually consists of a variety of required and optional objectives that can be accessed in multiple routes, before the Ace is available for verification. After the Ace is verified, the player is transported back to the main region to hunt down another suit of targets.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: The PS2 version of the game suffers from an glitch, where saving the same campaign playthrough in multiple slots can result in corrupted data on the memory card though saving in one slot each for different playthroughs with different characters is apparently fine.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: If the player attempts to leave the game world (leaving N. Korea), they will effectively enter a restricted area where either the AN Task Force or the North Koreans have supreme air power in those areas, bearing great lethality that serves as an invisible wall to bar the player from going out of bounds. Entering these areas immediately prompts the players with a warning message (either by an unnamed Allied radio operator or by your support operative, respectively) telling them to get out quick. Choosing to ignore this warning prompts another message, informing that enemy planes are inbound. This is followed by three fighters appearing to shoot the player down with a large salvo of explosives that are impossible to completely dodge and tough to survive. These are areas that usually surround the province (with the exception of the Black Gate until after the Ace of Clubs is verified) and are marked in red.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: The game world takes place in North Korea, where General Choi Song leads a violent coup against his father President Choi Kim's government. Supposedly killing his own father, as well as several North and South Korean delegates during a peace ceremony, General Song seizes power and closes off North Korea to the world. Some time later, the Royal Australian Navy locates a North Korean freighter in distress but also discovers its cargo of nuclear warheads bound for known terrorist elements, triggering an Allied Nations invasion to topple Song's regime. The Allies are able to secure Song's nuclear missile silos, but they soon learn of another launch site, its whereabouts unknown. Furthermore, the North Koreans launch a counterattack, pushing the Allies back whilst the Chinese, South Korea as well as the Russian Mafia enter into the conflict to assert their own agendas with North Korea whilst also undermining the Allied Nation's position. Desperate to locate the silos, the Allied Nations post bounties related to the "Deck of 52"; including North Korean businessmen, ranking officers, weapon scientists, General Song's personal bodyguard as well as Song himself. The mercenary is given the choice of either apprehending or killing members of the deck, though killing them only rewards the player with half their bounty. The bounty increases according to the importance of that member all the way up to General Song, who is posted at $100,000,000.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: Prior to entering the game world, the player is given the choice of playing as one of three available mercenaries. The choice does not affect the plot, and each character has slightly different statistics to each other and can understand a different language used by one of the four factions in game (except for the Allied Nations). The four factions are the Allied Nations, South Korea, China and the Russian Mafia. Each faction concerns itself with one goal influenced by the mercenaries actions. The Allies for instance, only intend to remove Song from power though they possess the missions for the "Ace" contracts that advance the game. China and South Korea respectively both want to conquer North Korea, bringing the two factions closer to conflict as the game progresses. The Russian Mafia concerns itself only with exploiting the conflict and setting up illegal activities, and dealing arms which the mercenary may buy.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: The player is airdropped somewhere over the DMZ, finding the Allied Nations headquarters under artillery attack orchestrated by the "Two of Clubs". The mercenary assists AN forces in repelling the attack, destroying the guns and verifies the Two before venturing on to meet the other three factions in play. In completing assigned missions for each faction, the player is given intel relating to members of the Deck of 52 in the game world. By embarking on these optional missions, the player gathers enough intelligence to unlock the Ace contracts, the theatre of war moving from the Southern Province to the Northern Provinces midway through the game. The player finally arrives on the Ace of Spades contract; General Song himself. After heavy fighting against Song's remaining forces, the mercenary discovers through the still alive President Choi that Song has acquired the launch codes for his country's nuclear armament, and launches them before the mercenary enters battle with him.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: Depending on the player's actions, there are numerous endings. If the player does not abort the nuclear missiles in time, a post-ending news report details that Seoul, as well as several other cities worldwide have been destroyed by the nuclear weapons. Furthermore, depending on who the player decided to assist the most, another report indicates that faction assuming control over the North Korean state.


title: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

text: There are three playable characters in "Mercenaries": Christopher Jacobs, Jennifer Mui, and Mattias Nilsson. Each are mercenaries employed by ExOps during the North Korean conflict, but only one character of player's choice is dispatched to the war-zone in the beginning of the game. They follow the same plot and handle similarly in terms of gameplay, but each of them has a different personality, as well as specific strengths that may alter the player's strategy. Also, each mercenary can speak a unique language in addition to English, so the player can understand conversations of a particular faction by reading the subtitles shown.