title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: Hume further develops his sympathy-based account of the natural virtues by considering two objections. First, "variability and impartiality": how can something as variable as sympathy account for moral impartiality of the sort that recognises virtue in loved ones and complete strangers alike? Hume's answer is that, because variability in moral evaluation would lead to hopeless practical conflict, we correct ourselves in our "general judgements" by fixing onto a "common point of view": i.e., we focus on the people within someone's sphere of influence, and evaluate his character by sympathetically considering how they are affected by his character traits. Indeed, we perform similar corrections for our senses and our aesthetic judgements. Of course, our passions may resist correction, so that only our language is changed; but we still know that our emotional favoritism of some over others would go away if we were equally close to them all, which is perhaps enough to settle "a general calm determination of the passions". Second, "moral luck": how can sympathy explain cases where unusual external circumstances have prevented someone's internal character from having its usual effects? Hume's answer is that the imagination follows general rules, focusing more on something's general tendencies than its actual effects, and that our moral sentiments are influenced accordingly. Naturally, we will feel even stronger approval when the general tendency is actually realised, but we deliberately set aside moral luck to correct our general moral judgements. This explains how we can manage such "extensive sympathy" in morality despite our "limited generosity" in practice: it takes ""real consequences"" and particular cases to "touch the heart" and "controul our passions", but ""seeming tendencies"" and general trends are enough to "influence our taste".


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: He finishes this general treatment of the natural virtues with a fourfold classification: every natural virtue is either (1) useful to others, (2) useful to the person himself, (3) immediately agreeable to others, or (4) immediately agreeable to the person himself. Of these "four sources of moral distinctions", the most important are the virtues of usefulness, which please us even when mere private interest is at stake: thus we approve of prudence and frugality, and while the vice of "indolence" is sometimes indulged (as an excuse for the unsuccessful or a veiled boast of sophistication), "dexterity in business" wins approval by sheer sympathy with the person's private interest. The two categories of useful virtues are often blended together by sympathy: what hurts me ends up paining others as they sympathise with me, and what hurts others ends up paining me as I sympathise with them. Less important are the virtues of immediate agreeableness: instead of reflecting on the positive tendencies of a mental quality, we simply find it pleasant in and of itself (e.g. wit, insouciance). And even here sympathy plays a major role: we approve of these virtues in large part because they bring pleasure to others or the person himself. Hume concludes with "a general review of the present hypothesis"—viz., that we evaluate character by sympathetically considering its impact on the person himself and others within his sphere of influence—and a brief remark on how "good or ill desert" is explained in terms of the benevolence or anger that come with evaluating (i.e. loving or hating) another person.


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: Hume then applies his "general system of morals" to two kinds of virtue: the rough "heroic virtue" of the "great", and the kind-hearted virtue of the "good". As for heroic virtue, it derives its merit from a suspect source: pride. Pride has a bad name because the idea of someone superior to us can be so immediately disagreeable, but Hume distinguishes between "ill-grounded" and "well-grounded" pride. Ill-grounded pride pains us by "comparison", when someone else overrates their own merit and this idea of a superior becomes more than an "idle" fiction and reaches a medium level of strength. But someone else's well-grounded pride brings us pleasure by "sympathy", when the idea is so strong in us that we fully believe in their merit. And thus well-grounded pride is a virtue, thanks to its usefulness and agreeableness to the person himself. Now, because we are so prone to the vice of excessive pride, social harmony demands artificial rules (""rules of good-breeding"") against the open expression of any pride at all. But "a man of honour" is still expected to have a healthy internal sense of his own merit, and those whose modesty goes too far are scorned for their "meanness" or "simplicity". Thus it is that heroic virtues—"[c]ourage, intrepidity, ambition, love of glory, magnanimity, and all the other shining virtues of that kind"—are chiefly admired for the "well-regulated pride" they embody. Indeed, though excessive pride is harmful to oneself (even when courteously concealed from others), and military glory is often extremely harmful to others, nevertheless there is something admirable and "dazzling" in the pride of a hero, due to the immediately agreeable "elevated and sublime sensation" he experiences. Hume adds that our disapproval of open pride even in those who have never insulted us (e.g. historical figures) is due to an additional sympathy with the people around them.


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: As for the virtues of "goodness and benevolence", Hume explains their merit primarily in terms of their positive impact on others. The section begins by reviewing Hume's account of moral evaluation from the common point of view, and of sympathy with a person's sphere of influence. Here the "tender passions" are not only themselves good for society, they are needed to direct other virtues towards the public good. But there is also a more immediate approval, as we are simply "touch'd with a tender sentiment" or sympathetic to characters like our own—this is why even benevolent "trifles" and excesses in love still win approval, as the love in their minds easily converts into love in our minds for them. As for the contrasting "angry passions", they are judged by comparison with humanity in general—such passions are excused when normal, sometimes scorned when absent, and even applauded when impressively low, though "they form the most detested of all vices" when they "rise up to cruelty"—and for its negative impact on others. Indeed, in general, your moral virtue is mostly determined by how desirable you are in different social relations.


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: Hume finishes by explaining how his system accommodates not only the "moral virtues" but also the "natural abilities" of the mind, and by downplaying the distinction as not very important and largely a matter of mere terminology. Virtues and abilities are alike, Hume contends, in their "causes and effects": they are mental qualities that produce pleasure and elicit approval, and we all care about both. To the objection that the distinction matters because the approval of abilities feels different from the approval of virtues, Hume responds that our approval of different things always feels different (e.g., with different virtues). To the objection that virtues are unlike abilities in being voluntary and involving free will, Hume replies that many virtues are involuntary (especially the virtues of the great), that voluntariness has no clear relevance to the process of moral evaluation, and that we have no free will other than mere voluntariness. But voluntariness helps explain why "moralists" think the distinction matters: in contexts of moral exhortation, Hume explains, it is important to focus on those qualities that are most responsive to social pressure, rather than approving indiscriminately of any mental excellence, like everyday people and ancient philosophers.


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: These natural abilities of the mind are valued mainly for their usefulness for the person himself: e.g. prudence, sagacity, industry, patience. Sometimes immediate agreeableness is most important, whether to others (e.g. wit, eloquence, charisma, even cleanliness) or the person himself (e.g. cheerfulness). Our judgements are influenced by empirical associations between a quality and a person's age or walk of life (e.g., disapproval of levity in the old). Natural abilities also influence our evaluations by making an able person more consequential in life, for good or ill. The question of why we are less inclined to value a person according to the quickness and accuracy of their memory Hume explains by noting that (unlike the intellect) "the memory is exerted without any sensation of pleasure or pain; and in all its middling degrees serves almost equally well in business and affairs".


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: Thus far Hume's account has dealt exclusively with mental qualities, but he goes some way to accommodate "bodily advantages" and "the advantages of "fortune"", which are equally capable of eliciting "love and approbation". Thus women love a strong man in sympathy with the utility a lover of his could be expected to receive, everyone finds beauty in healthy and useful body parts, and an immediate pleasure or dismay arises from the perception of regular features or "a sickly air", respectively. Thus we esteem the wealthy by sympathy with the pleasure their riches give them, reinforced by their being more consequential. Hume notes that, though he cannot explain why, the feeling of approval is more determined by the kind of subject contemplated (e.g., an inanimate object, or a person) than by the kind of mechanism driving the approval (e.g., sympathy with utility, or immediate agreeableness).


title: A Treatise of Human Nature

text: The conclusion of Book 3, and therefore the "Treatise" as a whole, briefly recapitulates the reasoning for Hume's thesis that "sympathy is the chief source of moral distinctions". Indeed, most would agree that justice and "the useful qualities of the mind" are valued for their usefulness, and what besides sympathy can explain why we care about the public good or "the happiness of strangers"? This "system of ethics" is not only supported by "solid argument", Hume adds, but it can help moralists show the ""dignity"" and the ""happiness"" of virtue. First, it puts morality in a good light to see it derived from "so noble a source" as sympathy: we end up approving of virtue, the sense of virtue, and even the psychological principles underlying the sense of virtue. And while the artificiality of justice may seem unattractive at first, this disappears when we remember that since "[t]he interest, on which justice is founded, is the greatest imaginable, and extends to all times and place", therefore the rules of justice are "stedfast and immutable; at least, as immutable as human nature". Secondly, a life of virtue pays off quite well, bringing immediate advantages, an enhanced social reputation, and the "inward satisfaction" of a mind able to "bear its own survey". So, while Hume presents himself as a theoretical "anatomist" who dissects human psychology into ugly bits, his work is well-suited for the practical "painter" who styles morality into a beautiful and inviting ideal.


title: Miami bass

text: Miami bass (booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit lyrical content differentiate it from other hip hop subgenres. Music author Richie Unterberger has characterized Miami bass as using rhythms with a "stop-start flavor" and "hissy" cymbals with lyrics that "reflected the language of the streets, particularly Miami's historically black neighborhoods such as Liberty City, Goulds and Overtown".


title: Miami bass

text: Despite Miami bass never having consistent mainstream acceptance, early national media attention in the 1980s resulted in a profound impact on the development of hip hop, dance music, and pop.


title: Miami bass

text: During the 1980s, the focus of Miami bass tended to be on DJs and record producers, rather than individual performers. Record labels such as Pandisc, HOT Records, 4-Sight Records and Skyywalker Records released much material of the genre. Unterberger has referred to James (Maggotron) McCauley (also known as DXJ, Maggozulu 2, Planet Detroit and Bass Master Khan) as the "father of Miami bass", a distinction McCauley himself denies, choosing rather to confer that status on producer Amos Larkins. DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Mantronix) was a key influence on Miami bass. In particular, Mantronik's single "Bass Machine" (1986), featuring rap vocals by T La Rock, was pivotal to the development of Miami bass.


title: Miami bass

text: MC ADE's "Bass Rock Express" (with music and beats produced by Amos Larkins) is often credited as being the first Miami bass record to gain underground popularity on an international scale.


title: Miami bass

text: The single "Throw The D" by the group 2 Live Crew in January 1986 gave a permanent blueprint to how future Miami bass songs were written and produced.


title: Miami bass

text: Luther "Luke Skyywalker" Campbell along with David "Mr. Mixx" Hobbs of 2 Live Crew played a key role in popularizing Miami bass in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group's 1986 release, "The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are", became controversial for its sexually explicit lyrics. 1989's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be", along with its hit single "Me So Horny", proved more controversial still, leading to legal troubles for both 2 Live Crew and retailers selling the album (all charges were eventually overturned on appeal).


title: Miami bass

text: For the better part of the mid-'80s and early '90s, DJs such as Luke Skyywalker's Ghetto Style DJs, Norberto Morales' Triple M DJs, Super JD's MHF DJs, Space Funk DJs, Mohamed Moretta, DJ Nice & Nasty, Felix Sama, DJ Spin, Ramon Hernandez, Bass Master DJs, DJ Laz, Earl "The Pearl" Little, Uncle Al, Ser MC, Raylo & Dem Damn Dogs, DJ Slice, K-Bass, Jam Pony Express and others were heavily involved in playing Miami bass at local outdoor events to large audiences at area beaches, parks, and fairs.


title: Miami bass

text: Clubs in South Florida, including Pac-Jam, Superstars Rollertheque, Bass Station, Studio 183, Randolphs, Nepenthe, Video Powerhouse, Skylight Express, Beat Club and Club Boca, were hosting bass nights on a regular basis. Miami radio airplay and programming support was strong in the now defunct Rhythm 98, as well as WEDR and WPOW (Power 96).


title: Miami bass

text: Contribution and promotion of Miami bass also came out of Orlando. 102 Jamz (WJHM), a prominent Orlando radio station in the late '80s, featured Miami bass and helped its popularity rise in and around Central Florida.


title: Miami bass

text: Florida breaks was heavily influenced by Miami bass in addition to elements of house, and deep bass that eventually created "The Orlando Sound". Thus, Miami bass quickly became a Florida staple.


title: Miami bass

text: By the mid-1990s, the influence of Miami bass had spread outside South and Central Florida to all areas of Florida and the Southern United States. In the mid-1990s, it saw a commercial and mainstream resurgence, with Miami bass influenced artists such as L'Trimm, 95 South, Tag Team, 69 Boyz, Quad City DJ's and Freak Nasty all scoring big Miami bass hits. Examples of these songs are "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team in 1993, "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz in 1994, "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's in 1996 and "Whoot, There It Is" by 95 South in 1993.


title: Miami bass

text: These songs all reached the top 20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and exposed Miami bass nationally. These artists generally used a Miami bass sound and production but did it in a far less explicit and far more accessible way than had been previously done by Campbell and the 2 Live Crew.


title: Miami bass

text: Miami bass is closely related to the electronic dance music genres of ghettotech and booty house, genres which combine Detroit techno and Chicago house with the Miami bass sound. Ghettotech follows the same sexually oriented lyrics, hip-hop bass lines and streetwise attitude, but with harder, uptempo Roland TR-909 techno-style kick beats. In 2007, contemporary hip-hop and R&B songs became more dance oriented, showing influences of Miami bass and techno, and are typically sped up to a "chipmunk" sound for faster tempos for dances such as juking, wu-tanging and bopping (usually only done in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties in south Florida).


title: Miami bass

text: Miami bass has been influenced by the cultural history of its wide-ranging community with the evolution of Cuban, Dominican, and Afro-Brazilian-fused sub-genres that include Baltimore club and funk carioca.


title: Miami bass

text: Another subgenre of Miami bass is "car audio bass", which features an even more stripped down bass-heavy sound, tending to focus on either extremely hard 909 kicks combined with sine waves or the classic 808 kick, or sometimes simply the sine wave by itself. Some artist examples would be DJ Laz, DJ Magic Mike , Afro-Rican (as Power Supply), Techmaster P.E.B., DJ Billy E, Bass 305 and Bass Patrol.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or "Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh"), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia (Iran) during the Qajar dynasty.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The revolution opened the way for fundamental change in Persia, heralding the modern era. It was a period of unprecedented debate in a burgeoning press, and new economic opportunities. Many groups fought to shape the course of the revolution, and all segments of society were in some way changed by it. The old order, which King Nassereddin Shah Qajar had struggled for so long to sustain, was finally replaced by new institutions, new forms of expression, and a new social and political order.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: King Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signed the 1906 constitution shortly before his death. He was succeeded by Mohammad Ali Shah, who abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament in 1908 with Russian and British support. This led to another pro-constitutional movement. The constitutionalist forces marched to Tehran, forced Mohammad Ali Shah's abdication in favor of his young son Ahmad Shah Qajar, and re-established the constitution in 1909.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The 1921 Persian coup d'état () refers to several major events which led to the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty as Iran's ruling house in 1925. Iran's parliament amended the 1906–1907 constitution on December 12, 1925, replacing the 1797–1925 Qajar dynasty with the Pahlavi dynasty as the legitimate sovereigns of Iran. The revolution was followed by the Jungle Movement of Gilan (1914–1921).


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: With the first provision signed by Muzzafir al-Din days before his death, Iran saw legislative reform vital to their goal of independence from Britain and Russia. The three main groups of the coalition seeking a constitution were the bazaar merchants, the "ulama", and a small group of radical reformers. They shared the goal of ending royal corruption and ending dominance by foreign powers. According to the revolutionaries, the role of the shah was being used to keep the Qajar dynasty and other aristocrats wealthy at the expense of Iran's resources and economy. They argued that whilst Iran's oil industry was sold to the British, tax breaks on imports, exports and manufactured textiles destroyed Iran's economy (which had been supported by the bazaar merchants).


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Muzzafir al-Din accumulated a fortune in foreign debt while selling assets to pay interest, instead of investing in Iran. This sparked the revolt. The new fundamental law created a parliament, the "Majles", and gave the legislature final approval of all loans and the budget. More power was divested from the shah with the supplementary fundamental law, which was passed by the National Assembly and signed by the new shah, Mohammad Ali, in October 1907. A committee of five mujtahids was to be created to ensure that new laws were compatible with the sharia. However, the committee never convened. Despite the "ulamas" efforts at independence from external dominance, Britain and Russia capitalized on Iran's weak government and signed the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention dividing the country between them (with a neutral central zone). This constitutional period ended when the "Majlis" in Tehran's neutral zone dissolved over the issue of equal rights for non-Muslims; Russia then invaded and captured the city. Although Iran gained a constitution, Iranian independence was not achieved by the revolts.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Weakness and extravagance continued during the brief reign of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (1896–1907), who often relied on his chancellor to manage his decentralized state. His dire financial straits caused him to sign many concessions to foreign powers on trade items ranging from weapons to tobacco. The aristocracy, religious authorities, and educated elite began demanding a curb on royal authority and the establishment of the rule of law as their concern about foreign (especially Russian) influence grew. Qajar had taken large loans from Russia and Britain to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and the cost of the government; the shah financed a royal tour of Europe in 1900 by borrowing 22 million from Russia, using Iranian customs receipts as collateral.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: In 1905, protests erupted about the imposition of Persian tariffs to repay the Russian loan for Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's royal tour. In December of that year, two merchants in Tehran were bastinadoed for price-gouging. The city's merchants rebelled, closing its bazaar. The clergy followed suit as a result of the alliance formed during the Tobacco Protest.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The two protesting groups sought sanctuary in a Tehran mosque, but the government entered the mosque and dispersed them. The dispersal triggered a larger movement which sought refuge at a shrine outside Tehran. The shah yielded to the demonstrators on January 12, 1906, agreeing to dismiss his prime minister and transfer power to a "house of justice" (forerunner of the Iranian parliament). The "basti" protesters returned from the shrine in triumph, riding royal carriages and hailed by a jubilant crowd.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: During a fight in early 1906, government forces killed a "sayyid" (a descendant of Muhammad). In a skirmish shortly afterwards, Cossacks killed 22 protesters and injured 100. The bazaar again closed and the "ulama" went on strike, a large number taking sanctuary in the holy city of Qom. Many merchants went to the British embassy in Tehran, which agreed to shelter the "basti" on the grounds of the embassy.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: During the summer of 1906, about 12,000 men camped in the gardens of the British embassy in what has been called a "vast open-air school of political science". Demand for a parliament ("majlis") began, with the goal of limiting the power of the shah. Mozaffar ad-Din Shah agreed on a parliament in August 1906, and the first elections were held that fall. One hundred fifty-six members were elected, the overwhelming majority from Tehran and the merchant class.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The National Consultative Assembly first met in October 1906. The shah was old and frail, and attending the inauguration of parliament was one of his last official acts. Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's son, Muhammad Ali, was unsympathetic to constitutionalism; the shah signed the constitution (modeled on the Belgian constitution) by December 31, 1906, making his power contingent on the will of the people, and died three days later.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Shah Muhammad Ali, the sixth Qajar shah, came to power in January 1907. The Anglo-Russian Convention, signed in August of that year, divided Iran into a Russian zone in the north and a British zone in the south; the center of the country was neutral. The British switched their support to the shah, abandoning the constitutionalists. In 1908, the shah moved to "exploit the divisions within the ranks of the reformers" and eliminate the "majlis", creating a period in Iranian history called the Minor Tyranny. Persia tried to remain free of Russian influence through resistance (via the "majlis") to the shah's policies.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Parliament appointed William Morgan Shuster Persia's treasurer-general. Russia issued an ultimatum to expel Shuster and suspend the parliament, occupying Tabriz.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The fourth Qajar King, Naser al-Din Shah was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, when he was visiting and praying in the Shah Abdul-Azim Shrine on 1 May 1896. At Mozaffar al-Din Shah's accession Persia faced a financial crisis, with annual governmental expenditures far in excess of revenues as a result of the policies of his father. King Mozaffar ad-Din Shah signed the 1906 constitution shortly before his death. The members of newly formed parliament stayed constantly in touch with Akhund Khurasani and whenever legislative bills were discussed, he was telegraphed the details for a juristic opinion. In a letter dated June 3, 1907, the parliament told Akhund about a group of anti-constitutionalists who were trying to undermine legitimacy of democracy in the name of religious law. The trio replied:


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: At the dawn of the democratic movement, Sheikh Fadlullah Nouri, supported the sources of emulation in Najaf in their stance on constitutionalism and the belief that people must counter the autocratic regime in the best way, that is constitution of legislature and limiting the powers of the state; hence, once constitutional movement began, he made speeches and distributed tracts to insist on this important thing. However, when the new Shah, Muhammad Ali Shah Qajar, decided to roll back democracy and establish his authority by military and foreign support, Shaikh Fazlullah sided with the King's court.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Meanwhile, the new Shah had understood that he could not roll back the constitutional democracy by royalist ideology, and therefore he decided to use religion. Nouri was a rich and high-ranking Qajar court official responsible for conducting marriages and contracts. He also handled wills of wealthy men and collected religious funds. Nouri was opposed to the very foundations of the institution of parliament. He led a large group of followers and began a round-the-clock sit-in in the Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine on June 21, 1907 which lasted till September 16, 1907. He generalized the idea of religion as a complete code of life. He believed democracy would allow for “teaching of chemistry, physics and foreign languages”, and that this would cause the spread of atheism. He bought a printing press and launched a newspaper of his own, “Ruznamih-i-Shaikh Fazlullah”, and published leaflets. He believed that the ruler was accountable to no institution other than God and people have no right to limit the powers or question the conduct of the king. He declared that those who supported democratic form of government were faithless and corrupt, and apostates. He hated the idea of female education and said that girls' schools were brothels. He also opposed allocation of funds for modern industry, modern ways of governance, equal rights for all citizens irrespective of their religion and freedom of the press. He believed that people were cattle, but paradoxically, he wanted to “awaken the Muslim brethren”.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The anti-democracy clerics incited violence and one such cleric said that getting in the proximity of the parliament was a bigger sin than adultery, robbery and murder. In Zanjan, Mulla Qurban Ali Zanjani mobilized a force of six hundred thugs who looted shops of pro-democracy merchants, took hold of the city for several days, and killed the representative Sa'd al-Saltanih. Nouri himself recruited mercenaries from criminal gangs to harass supporters of democracy. On December 22, 1907, Nouri led a mob towards Tupkhanih Square and attacked merchants and looted stores. Nouri's ties to the court of monarchy and landlords reinforced his fanaticism. He even contacted the Russian embassy for support and his men delivered sermons against democracy in mosques, resulting in chaos. Akhund Khurasani was consulted on the matter and in a letter dated December 30, 1907, the three Marja's said:


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: However, Nouri continued his activities and a few weeks later Akhund Khurasani and his fellow Marja's argued for his expulsion from Tehran:


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi, the enlightened Thiqa tul-islam from Tabriz, opposed Nuri saying that only the opinion of the sources of emulation is worthy of consideration in the matters of faith. He wrote:


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: He firmly opposed the idea of a supervisory committee of Tehran's clerics censoring the conduct of the parliament, and said that:


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: As far as Nouri's argument was concerned, Akhund Khurasani refuted it in a light tone by saying that he supported the “parliament at Baharistan Square”, questioning the legitimacy of Nouri's assembly at Shah Abdul Azim shrine and their right to decide for the people.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: As “sanctioned by sacred law and religion”, Akhund believes, a theocratic government can only be formed by the infallible Imam.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Nouri interpreted Sharia in a self-serving and shallow way, unlike Akhund Khurasani who, as a well received source of emulation, viewed the adherence to religion in a society beyond one person or one interpretation. While Nouri confused Sharia with written constitution of a modern society, Akhund Khurasani understood the difference and the function of the two.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Nouri tried to get support from Ayatullah Kazim Yazdi, another prominent Marja of Najaf. He was apolitical, and therefore during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, he stayed neutral most of the times and seldom issued any political statement. Contrary to Akhund Khorasani, he thought that Usulism did not offer the liberty to support constitutional politics. In his view, politics was beyond his expertise and therefore he avoided taking part in it. While Akhund Khorasani was an eminent Marja' in Najaf, many imitators prayed behind Kazim Yazdi too, as his lesson on rulings (figh) was famous. In other words both Mohammad Kazem and Khorasani had constituted a great Shia school in Najaf although they had different views in politics at the same time. However, he was not fully supportive of Fazlullah Nouri and Muhammad Ali Shah, therefore, when parliament asked him to review the final draft of constitution, he suggested some changes and signed the document. He said that modern industries were permissible unless explicitly prohibited by Sharia. He also agreed with teaching of modern sciences, and added that the state should not intervene the centers of religious learning (Hawza). He wasn't against formation of organizations and societies that do not create chaos, and in this regard there was no difference between religious and non-religious organizations. In law-making, unlike Nouri, he separated the religious (Sharia) and public law (Urfiya). His opinion was that the personal and family matters should be settled in religious courts by jurists, and the governmental affaris and matters of state should be taken care of by modern judiciary. Parliament added article 71 and 72 into the constitution based on his opinions. Ayatullah Yazdi said that as long as modern constitution did not force people to do what was forbidden by Sharia and refrain from religious duties, there was no reason to oppose democratic rule and the government had the right to prosecute wrong doers.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: The Revolutional Tribunal declared Nouri guilty of inciting mobs against the constitutionalists and issuing fatwas declaring parliamentary leaders "apostates", "atheists," "secret Freemasons" and "koffar al-harbi" (warlike pagans) whose blood ought to be shed by the faithful.


title: Persian Constitutional Revolution

text: Nouri allied himself with the new Shah, Mohammad Ali Shah, who, with the assistance of Russian troops staged a coup against the Majlis (parliament) in 1907. In 1909, however, constitutionalists marched onto Tehran (the capital of Iran). Nouri was arrested, tried and found guilty of "sowing corruption and sedition on earth," and in July 1909, Nouri was hanged as a traitor.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Sturge–Weber syndrome, sometimes referred to as encephalotrigeminal angiomatosis, is a rare congenital neurological and skin disorder. It is one of the phakomatoses and is often associated with port-wine stains of the face, glaucoma, seizures, intellectual disability, and ipsilateral leptomeningeal angioma (cerebral malformations and tumors). Sturge–Weber syndrome can be classified into three different types. Type 1 includes facial and leptomeningeal angiomas as well as the possibility of glaucoma or choroidal lesions. Normally, only one side of the brain is affected. This type is the most common. Type 2 involvement includes a facial angioma (port wine stain) with a possibility of glaucoma developing. There is no evidence of brain involvement. Symptoms can show at any time beyond the initial diagnosis of the facial angioma. The symptoms can include glaucoma, cerebral blood flow abnormalities and headaches. More research is needed on this type of Sturge–Weber syndrome. Type 3 has leptomeningeal angioma involvement exclusively. The facial angioma is absent and glaucoma rarely occurs. This type is only diagnosed via brain scan.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Sturge–Weber is an embryonal developmental anomaly resulting from errors in mesodermal and ectodermal development. Unlike other neurocutaneous disorders (phakomatoses), Sturge–Weber occurs sporadically (i.e., does not have a hereditary cause). It is caused by a mosaic, somatic activating mutation occurring in the GNAQ gene. Imaging findings may include tram track calcifications on CT, pial angiomatosis, and hemicerebral atrophy.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Sturge–Weber syndrome is usually manifested at birth by a port-wine stain on the forehead and upper eyelid of one side of the face, or the whole face. The birthmark can vary in color from light pink to deep purple and is caused by an overabundance of capillaries around the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, just under the surface of the face. There is also malformation of blood vessels in the pia mater overlying the brain on the same side of the head as the birthmark. This causes calcification of tissue and loss of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Neurological signs include seizures that begin in infancy and may worsen with age. Convulsions usually happen on the side of the body opposite the birthmark, and vary in severity. There may also be muscle weakness on the side of the body opposite the birthmark.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Some children will have developmental delays and cognitive delays; about 50% will have glaucoma (optic neuropathy often associated with increased intraocular pressure), which can be present at birth or develop later. Glaucoma can be expressed as leukocoria, which should suggest further evaluation for retinoblastoma. Increased pressure within the eye can cause the eyeball to enlarge and bulge out of its socket (buphthalmos).


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: The blood vessel formations associated with SWS start in the fetal stage. Around the sixth week of development, a network of nerves develops around the area that will become a baby's head. Normally, this network goes away in the ninth week of development. In babies with SWS due to mutation of gene "GNAQ", this network of nerves doesn't go away. This reduces the amount of oxygen and blood flowing to the brain, which can affect brain tissue development.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: CT and MRI are most often used to identify intracranial abnormalities. When a child is born with a facial cutaneous vascular malformation covering a portion of the upper or the lower eyelids, imaging should be performed to screen for intracranial leptomeningeal angiomatosis. The haemangioma present on the surface of the brain is in the vast majority of cases on the same side as the birth mark and gradually results in calcification of the underlying brain and atrophy of the affected region.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Treatment for Sturge–Weber syndrome is symptomatic. Laser treatment may be used to lighten or remove the birthmark. Anticonvulsant medications may be used to control seizures. Doctors recommend early monitoring for glaucoma, and surgery may be performed on more serious cases. When one side of the brain is affected and anticonvulsants prove ineffective, the standard treatment is neurosurgery to remove or disconnect the affected part of the brain (hemispherectomy). Physical therapy should be considered for infants and children with muscle weakness. Educational therapy is often prescribed for those with intellectual disability or developmental delays, but there is no complete treatment for the delays.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Brain surgery involving removing the portion of the brain that is affected by the disorder can be successful in controlling the seizures so that the patient has only a few seizures that are much less intense than pre-surgery. Surgeons may also opt to "switch-off" the affected side of the brain.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Latanoprost (Xalatan), a prostaglandin, may significantly reduce IOP (intraocular pressure) in patients with glaucoma associated with Sturge–Weber syndrome. Latanoprost is commercially formulated as an aqueous solution in a concentration of 0.005% preserved with 0.02% benzalkonium chloride (BAC). The recommended dosage of latanoprost is one drop daily in the evening, which permits better diurnal IOP control than does morning instillation. Its effect is independent of ethnicity, gender or age, and it has few to no side effects. Contraindications include a history of cystic macular edema (CME), epiretinal membrane formation, vitreous loss during cataract surgery, history of macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion, history of anterior uveitis, and diabetes mellitus. It is also wise to advise patients that unilateral treatment can result in heterochromia or hypertrichosis that may become cosmetically objectionable.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Although it is possible for the birthmark and atrophy in the cerebral cortex to be present without symptoms, most infants will develop convulsive seizures during their first year of life. There is a greater likelihood of intellectual impairment when seizures are resistant to treatment. Studies do not support the widely held belief that seizure frequency early in life in patients who have SWS is a prognostic indicator.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: The Sturge-Weber Foundation's (The SWF) international mission is to improve the quality of life and care for people with Sturge–Weber syndrome and associated port wine birthmark conditions. It supports affected individuals and their families with education, advocacy, and research to promote effective management and awareness. The SWF was founded by Kirk and Karen Ball, who began searching for answers after their daughter was diagnosed with Sturge–Weber syndrome at birth. The SWF was incorporated in the US in 1987 as an International 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In 1992, the mission was expanded to include individuals with capillary vascular birthmarks, Klippel Trenaunay (KT) and Port Wine Birthmarks.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: The Hemispherectomy Foundation was formed in 2008 to assist families with children who have Sturge–Weber syndrome and other conditions that require hemispherectomy. The Brain Recovery Project was formed in 2011 to fund research and establish rehabilitation protocols to help children who have had hemispherectomy surgery reach their full potential.


title: Sturge–Weber syndrome

text: Sturge Weber UK (SWUK), formerly Sturge-Weber Foundation UK, is a volunteer-run registered charity formed in 1990. The charity exists to support those affected by Sturge Weber syndrome, promote research into the condition and raise awareness of the condition amongst both public and professionals. The charity was instrumental in setting up a specialist Sturge Weber clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent Georgia in the House. She left the Democratic Party and ran in 2008 as the presidential nominee of the Green Party. She ran for vice president in 2020 after the Green Party of Alaska formally nominated her and draft-nominated Jesse Ventura for president. She is currently a professor in Political Science at North South University in Bangladesh.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the 1992 election, McKinney was elected in Georgia's newly re-created 11th district, and was re-elected in 1994. When her district was redrawn and renumbered due to the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in "Miller v. Johnson", McKinney was elected from the new 4th district in the 1996 election. She was re-elected twice more without substantive opposition. McKinney was defeated by Denise Majette in the 2002 Democratic primary. Her defeat was attributed to some Republican crossover voting in Georgia's open primary election, which permits anyone from any party to vote in any party primary and "usually rewards moderate candidates and penalizes those outside the mainstream."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: After her 2002 loss, McKinney became a vocal supporter of conspiracy theories about the September 11 terrorist attacks. McKinney was re-elected to the House in November 2004, following her successor's run for Senate. In Congress, she unsuccessfully tried to unseal FBI records on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the murder of Tupac Shakur. She continued to criticize the Bush administration over the 9/11 attacks. She supported anti-war legislation and introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: She was defeated by Hank Johnson in the 2006 Democratic primary. In the March 29, 2006, Capitol Hill police incident, she struck a Capitol Hill Police officer for stopping her to ask for identification. She left the Democratic Party in September 2007. Members of the Green Party had attempted to recruit McKinney for their ticket in both 2000 and 2004. She eventually sought and won the Green Party nomination in the 2008 presidential election receiving 161,797 votes (0.12% of the votes cast nationwide).


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Cynthia McKinney was born and raised in the affluent middle-class historic Collier Heights area in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Leola McKinney, a retired nurse, and Billy McKinney, a law enforcement officer and former Georgia State Representative.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney was exposed to the Civil Rights movement through her father, an activist who regularly participated in demonstrations across the south. As a police officer, he challenged the discriminatory policies of the Atlanta Police Department, publicly protesting in front of the station, often carrying young McKinney on his shoulders. He was elected as a state representative. McKinney attributes her father's election victory, after several failed attempts, to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, which provided for federal oversight and enforcement of voting. Most blacks in the South had been disenfranchised by state legislative barriers since the turn of the 20th century.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney earned a B.A. in international relations from the University of Southern California in 1978 and an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1979. In 2015, McKinney completed her dissertation on the transformational leadership of Hugo Chavez and was awarded a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change by Antioch University.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Prior to entering politics, McKinney worked as a high school teacher and university professor. In 1984, she served as a diplomatic fellow at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She then taught political science at Agnes Scott College in Decatur and at Clark Atlanta University.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Her political career began in 1986 when her father, a representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, submitted her name as a write-in candidate for the Georgia state house. She received around 40% of the popular vote, although she then lived in Jamaica with her husband, Coy Grandison (and their son, Coy McKinney, born in 1985).


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 1988, McKinney ran for the same seat and won, making the McKinneys the first father and daughter to simultaneously serve in the Georgia state house. In 1991, she spoke aggressively against the Gulf War; many legislators left the chamber in protest of her remarks.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the 1992 election, McKinney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the member of Congress from the newly created 11th District, a 64% African American majority district reaching from Atlanta to Savannah. She was the first African American woman to represent Georgia in the House. She was re-elected in 1994.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Miller v. Johnson" that the 11th District was an unconstitutional gerrymander because the boundaries were drawn based on the racial composition of the constituents. McKinney's district was subsequently renumbered as the 4th and redrawn to take in almost all of DeKalb County, prompting outrage from McKinney. She asserted that it was a racially discriminatory ruling, given the fact that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that Texas's 6th District, which is 91% white, was unconstitutional. The new 4th, however, was no less Democratic than the 11th. McKinney was easily elected from this district in 1996. She was re-elected two more times with no substantive opposition.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In her first period in Congress, she served on several committees, including the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Banking and Finance, and Armed Services. She eventually ascended to the top Democratic spot on the International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, serving as ranking member. In that role, she became a frequent critic of American foreign policy. Examples include her vocal opposition to President Bill Clinton’s interventionist policies in Kosovo, U.S. sanctions against Iraq, and other policies related to the Middle East.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On October 17, 2001, McKinney introduced a bill calling for "the suspension of the use, sale, development, production, testing, and export of depleted uranium munitions pending the outcome of certain studies of the health effects of such munitions." The bill was cosponsored by Reps. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Puerto Rico; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Barbara Lee, D-Ca.; and Jim McDermott, D-Wash.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: During the 2000 presidential campaign, McKinney wrote that "Al Gore's Negro tolerance level has never been too high. I've never known him to have more than one black person around him at any given time." Gore's campaign pointed out that its manager, Donna Brazile, was black.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney chastised Gore for failing to support the U'wa people of Colombia trying to oppose petroleum drilling near them. In a press release issued on February 22, 2000, entitled "No More Blood For Oil," McKinney wrote that "Oil drilling on Uwa land will result in considerable environmental damage and social conflict which will lead to greater militarization of the region as well as an increase in violence." Addressing herself to Gore, she wrote, "I am contacting you because you have remained silent on this issue despite your strong financial interests and family ties with Occidental."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney and other members of the House of Representatives objected to the 25 electoral votes from Florida which George W. Bush narrowly won after a contentious recount. Because no senator joined her objection, the objection was dismissed by Vice President Al Gore, who was Bush's opponent in the 2000 presidential election. Without Florida's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney gained national attention for her remarks following the September 11 attacks in 2001. She asserted that the United States had "numerous warnings of the events to come" and called for an investigation. She enquired in a radio interview: "What did this administration know and when did it know it?" She said that US President George W. Bush may have been aware and allowed them to happen. She made allegations about the earlier president, George H. W. Bush: "It is known that President Bush's father, through The Carlyle Group, had–at the time of the attacks–joint business interests with the bin Laden construction company and many defense industry holdings, the stocks of which have soared since September 11." A spokesman for the Carlyle Group rejected her hypothesis. In a statement in April 2002, McKinney told "The Washington Post": "I am not aware of any evidence showing that President Bush or members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of 9-11. A complete investigation might reveal that to be the case."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the month that followed the attacks, McKinney published an open letter to the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani had refused to cash a $10 million check written by Saudi Prince because of the Prince's suggestion that the attacks were an indication that the United States "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stand toward the Palestinian cause." In the open letter, she expressed her disappointment at Giuliani's action: "Let me say that there are a growing number of people in the United States who recognize, like you, that U.S. policy in the Middle East needs serious examination...Your Royal Highness, many of us here in the United States have long been concerned about reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that reveal a pattern of excessive, and often indiscriminate, use of lethal force by Israeli security forces in situations where Palestinian demonstrators were unarmed and posed no threat of death or serious injury to the security forces or to others."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 2002, McKinney was defeated in the Democratic primary by DeKalb County judge Denise Majette. Majette defeated McKinney with 58% of the vote to McKinney's 42%.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney protested the result in court, claiming that thousands of Republicans had voted in the Democratic primary, the real contest in the district, in revenge for her anti-Bush administration views and her allegations of voter fraud in Florida in the 2000 presidential election. Like 20 other states, Georgia operates an open primary: voters do not align with a political party when they register to vote and may participate in whichever party's primary election they choose. Thus, relying on the Supreme Court's decision in "California Democratic Party v. Jones", which had held that California's blanket primary violated the First Amendment (despite the fact that the Court explicitly differentiated—albeit in dicta—the blanket primary from the open primary in "Jones"), on McKinney's behalf, five voters claimed that the open primary system was unconstitutional, operating in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the associational right protected by the First Amendment, and various statutory rights protected by § 2 of the Voting Rights Act.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: The district court dismissed the case, in the judgement stating the plaintiffs had presented no evidence in support of the 14th Amendment and Voting Rights Act claims, and lacked standing to bring the First Amendment claim. It interpreted the Supreme Court's "Jones" ruling to hold that the right to association involved in a dispute over a primary—and thus, standing to sue—belongs to a political party, not an individual voter. On appeal in May 2004, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this result in "Osburn v. Cox", assessing that not only were the plaintiffs' claims meritless, but the remedy they requested would likely be unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's decision in "Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut". On October 18, 2004, the Supreme Court brought an end to the litigation, denying certiorari without comment.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Other factors in her defeat were her allegations of Bush's involvement in 9/11, her opposition to aid to Israel, a perceived support of Palestinian and Arab causes, and open antisemitism in her comments. On the night before the primary election, McKinney's father stated on Atlanta television that "Jews have bought everybody. Jews. J-E-W-S." Cynthia McKinney had been through a long contentious relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Georgia political analyst Bill Shipp addressed McKinney's defeat saying: "voters sent a message: 'We're tired of these over-the-top congressmen dealing in great international and national interests. How about somebody looking out for our interests?'"


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: During 2003 and 2004, McKinney toured the US and much of Europe publicly speaking about her defeat, her opposition to the Iraq War, and the Bush administration.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 2004, McKinney served on the advisory committee for the group 2004 Racism Watch. On September 9, 2004, she was a commissioner in The Citizens' Commission on 9-11. On October 26, 2004, she was among 100 Americans and 40 family members of those who were killed on 9/11 who signed the 9/11 Truth Movement statement, calling for new investigations of unexplained aspects of the 9/11 events.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Having made no secret that she wanted to return to Congress, McKinney turned down the Green Party's nomination for president in the 2004 presidential election.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Majette declined to run for re-election to the House, opting instead to become a candidate to replace retiring Senator Zell Miller, a conservative Democrat. According to a report in "The New York Times", Rep John Lewis (D-GA) believed it was "going to be a real battle" for McKinney to return to Congress. It was feared McKinney's previous comments would have a negative effect on her chances. Since it was taken for granted that victory in the Democratic primary was tantamount to election in November, McKinney's opponents focused on clearing the field for a single candidate who could force her into a runoff election.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney hosted the first delegation of Afro-Latinos from Central and South America and worked with the World Bank and the U.S. State Department to recognize Afro-Latinos. She stood with Aboriginals against Australian mining companies. She was one of the 31 in the House who objected to the official allotment of the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 United States presidential election to incumbent George W. Bush.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted not to count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election, despite Republican President George W. Bush winning the state by 118,457 votes. Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On July 22, 2005, the first anniversary of the release of the 9/11 Commission Report, McKinney held a briefing on Capitol Hill about the attacks. The day-long briefing featured family members of victims, scholars, former intelligence officers and others who critiqued the 9/11 Commission account of 9/11 and its recommendations. The four morning panels addressed flaws, omissions, and a lack of historical and political analysis in the commission's report. Three afternoon panels critiqued the commission's recommendations in the areas of foreign and domestic policy and intelligence reform. An "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" editorial said that the purpose of the event was to discuss whether or not the Bush administration was involved in the 9/11 attacks, expressing surprise that McKinney was once again taking on the issue that was believed to have cost her House seat. The "Journal-Constitution" declined to publish McKinney's reply. The 9/11 Commission has sealed all the notes and transcripts of some 2,000 interviews, all the forensic evidence, and both classified and non-classified documents used in compiling its final report until January 2, 2009. McKinney's interest in 9/11 relates specifically to what she expresses as her opposition to excessive government secrecy, which she has challenged with numerous pieces of legislation.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney has said that she "remain[s] hopeful that we will learn the truth" about 9/11 "because more and more people around the world are demanding it."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney was an advocate for victims of Hurricane Katrina and a critic of the government's response. Over 100,000 evacuees from New Orleans and Mississippi relocated to the Atlanta area, and many have now settled there.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: During the Katrina crisis, evacuees were turned away by Arthur Lawson's Gretna police when they attempted to cross the Crescent City Connection Bridge between New Orleans and Gretna, Louisiana. McKinney was the only member of Congress to participate in a march across the Crescent City Connection Bridge on November 7, 2005, to protest what had happened on that bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In response, McKinney introduced a bill on November 2, 2005, that would temporarily deny federal assistance to the City of Gretna Police Department, Harry Lee's Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Crescent City Connection Police Department, in the state of Louisiana. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, but was not acted on. However, in August 2006, a grand jury began an investigation of the incident. On October 31, 2007, the Grand Jury ruled not to charge anyone. The Grand Jury accepted Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson's explanation, "Some of the people in the crowd acted aggressively and threatened to throw one of the officers off the bridge, the chief said. The shot was fired over the officer's shoulder and over the side of the bridge.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney chose to be an active participant in the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, although the Democratic Party leadership called for Democratic members to boycott the committee. She submitted her own 72-page report. She sat as a guest along with only a few other Democrats. In questioning Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, McKinney referred to a news story in which the owners of a nursing home had been charged with negligent homicide for abandoning 34 clients who died in the flood waters. McKinney asked Chertoff: "Mr. Secretary, if the nursing home owners are arrested for negligent homicide, why shouldn't you also be arrested for negligent homicide?"


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: The Congressional Black Caucus' Omnibus Bill (HR 4197) was introduced on November 2, 2005, to provide a comprehensive response to the Gulf Coast residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. The second title of the bill was submitted by McKinney, seeking a Comprehensive Environmental Sampling and Toxicity Assessment Plan, or CESTAP, to minimize harm to Gulf Coast residents from the toxic releases into the environment caused by the hurricane.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: At the request of McKinney, the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, chaired by Thomas M. Davis, held a previously unscheduled hearing titled "Voices Inside the Storm" on December 6, 2005.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney, in collaboration with Rep. Barbara Lee (CA), produced a "Katrina Legislative Summary," a chart summarizing House and Senate bills on Hurricane Katrina. On June 13, 2006, McKinney said on the House floor that only a dozen of the 176 Katrina bills identified on the chart had passed into law, leaving 163 bills stalled in committee.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On August 2, 2007, McKinney participated in a press conference in New Orleans to launch an International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which she described as an effort to seek justice for the victims of those hurricanes and their aftermath.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Until 2000, McKinney served on the House International Relations Committee, where she was the highest-ranking Democrat on the Human Rights Subcommittee. McKinney worked on legislation to stop conventional weapons transfers to governments that are undemocratic or fail to respect human rights.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On November 18, 2005, McKinney was one of only three House members to vote for H.R. 571, introduced by House Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, on which McKinney sat. Hunter, a Republican, offered this resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq in place of John Murtha's H.J.Res. 73, which called for redeployment "at the earliest possible date." In her prepared statement, McKinney accused the Republicans of "trying to set a trap for the Democrats. A 'no' vote for this Resolution will obscure the fact that there is strong support for withdrawal of US forces from Iraq ... In voting for this bill, let me be perfectly clear that I am not saying the United States should exit Iraq without a plan. I agree with Mr. Murtha that security and stability in Iraq should be pursued through diplomacy. I simply want to vote 'yes' to an orderly withdrawal from Iraq."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: At the end of the 2006 legislative session, McKinney introduced articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush as (H Res 1106), which made three charges against Bush:


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: The second article also made charges against Vice President Dick Cheney alleging he manipulated intelligence in order to justify the Iraq War, and against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice alleging that she knowingly made false statements concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On the morning of March 29, 2006, McKinney entered the Longworth House Office Building's southeast entrance and proceeded past the security checkpoint, walking around the metal detector. Members of Congress have identifying lapel pins and were not required to pass through metal detectors at the time. The officers present failed to recognize McKinney as a member of Congress because she was not wearing the appropriate lapel pin and had recently changed her hairstyle. She proceeded westward down the ground floor hallway and about halfway down the hallway was stopped by United States Capitol Police officer Paul McKenna, who states that he had been calling after her: "Ma'am, Ma'am!"; at that time it is reported that McKinney struck the officer. Two days later, Officer McKenna filed a police report claiming that McKinney had struck "his chest with a closed fist".


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the midst of a media frenzy, McKinney made an apology on the floor of the House of Representatives on April 6, 2006, neither admitting to nor denying the charge, stating only that: "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Though McKinney was not indicted for criminal charges or subjected to disciplinary action by the House, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police said of Officer McKenna, "We're going to make sure the officer won't be harassed. We want the officer to be able talk to experts, who can look at his legal recourses, if he needed to."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the wake of the March 2006 incident with the Capitol Police officer, McKinney was in the news, and her office invited the media to attend one of her monthly "District Days," where she spends one full day meeting with constituents to discuss issues of concern. At her April 23, 2006, "District Days" event, McKinney was being interviewed by WGCL's Renee Starzyk, who repeatedly questioned her about the March 29 scuffle with a Capitol police officer. Frustrated, McKinney stood up and apparently forgot she was still wearing the microphone. Her offscreen comments were captured on tape. She was heard saying, "Oh, crap, now you know what ... they lied to [McKinney's senior aide Coz Carson], and Coz is a fool." McKinney returned on screen with the microphone, this time with instructions on what parts of the interview the station was allowed to use: "anything that is captured by your audio ... that is captured while I'm not seated in this chair is off the record and is not permissible to be used ... is that understood?"


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney submitted to Congress two different versions of the same bill, the "MLK Records Act" (one in 2003, the other in 2005), which, if signed into law, would release all currently sealed files concerning the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. These records were sealed in 1978 and are not due to be declassified until the year 2028. The 2005 version of the MLK Records Act, HR 2554 had 67 cosponsors by the time McKinney left office at the end of 2006. A Senate version of the bill (S2499) was introduced by Senator John Kerry and was co-signed by Sen. Hillary Clinton. The bill has also received numerous endorsements from former members of the House Select Committee on Assassinations.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Documents relating to the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, in which McKinney took an active interest, would be released under another bill she would introduce. In a statement, McKinney explained her reason for the bill: "The public has the right to know because he was a well-known figure. There is intense public interest in the life and death of Tupac Shakur." Legislation demanding release of records is a more direct route than requesting their release through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney finished first in the July 18, 2006 Democratic primary, edging DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson 47.1% to 44.4%, with a third candidate receiving 8.5%. However, as McKinney failed to get at least 50% of the vote, she and Johnson were forced into a runoff.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In the runoff of August 8, 2006, although there were about 8,000 more voters than in the primary, McKinney received about the same number of votes as in July. Johnson won with 41,178 votes (59%) to McKinney's 28,832 (41%). McKinney's loss was attributed to a mid-decade redistricting, in which the 4th had absorbed portions of Gwinnett and Rockdale Counties, as well as her run-in with a police officer in the March 29, 2006, Capitol Hill police incident.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: CNN reported that during her concession speech, McKinney hardly mentioned her opponent but praised the leftist political leaders elected in South America. She also questioned the efficacy of voting machines and criticized the media.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 2007, McKinney moved from her longtime residence in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain to California.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney appeared at the July 15, 2007, Green Party National Meeting in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she suggested that the Green Party could become a progressive political force. "[T]he disgust of the American people with what they see before them—all they need is the blueprint and a road map. Why not have the Green Party provide the blueprint and the road map?"


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: At an August 27, 2007, peace rally in Kennebunkport, Maine, McKinney confirmed the depth of her disenchantment with the Democratic Party, urging San Francisco voters to replace Nancy Pelosi with antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. On September 10, in a letter to the steering committee of the Green Party of the United States, McKinney stated she would not seek the Green Party nomination for president. However, in early October it appeared that McKinney was making moves toward declaring herself an official Green Party candidate.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On July 9, 2008, she named as her running mate journalist and community activist Rosa Clemente and clinched the party's nomination three days later at the 2008 Green Party National Convention.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On September 10, 2008, McKinney joined a press conference held by third-party and independent candidates, along with Ralph Nader, Chuck Baldwin, and initiator Ron Paul. The participants agreed on four basic principles:


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On November 4, 2008, McKinney received 161,797 votes, 0.12% of the total votes cast, placing her behind Obama, McCain, Nader, Barr, and Baldwin.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On December 30, 2008, McKinney was aboard the ship "Dignity" when it attempted to enter the Gaza Strip, which had its coastal area declared a "closed military zone" by Israel, while on a humanitarian mission by the Free Gaza Movement from Cyprus. Aboard were physicians, medical supplies, and activists, including Caoimhe Butterly. The Israeli Navy confronted the ship at night in international waters. Members of the crew claimed that the ship was rammed, gunfire was directed at the water, and the ship was forced to dock in Lebanon after taking on water. Israeli officials claimed that the collision was accidental and occurred after the ship was informed they would not be allowed to enter Gaza and tried to outmaneuver the patrol boat; they decried McKinney's actions as being irresponsible and provocative for the sake of propaganda.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On June 30, 2009, McKinney was aboard the Greek-flagged Free Gaza Movement's ship "Spirit of Humanity" carrying 21 activists including Irish peace activist Mairead McGuire, medical supplies, a symbolic bag of cement, olive trees and toys, when it was seized by the Israeli Navy off the Gaza coast. It was unclear whether they were in international waters or in Gazan waters, which is subject to the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Although both the Cypriot and Israeli authorities were officially informed the destination was Gaza before the vessel's departure, according to the Cypriot government the ship "was given permission by the competent Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus to sail off the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on the basis of its declaration that its intended destination was the port of Port Said in Egypt."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney was held at the Givon immigration detention center in Ramle, until her release on July 5. McKinney initially refused to sign the deportation papers because they were written in Hebrew and that the papers would require them to admit that they were in violation of Israel's blockade, which they denied. According to "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", Israeli officials stated that the "Palestinian Authority and the rest of the international community had agreed to the off-shore blockade to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza." "The Palestinian Chronicle" reports that such an agreement to the off-shore blockade never happened. "No Palestinians have agreed nor did the international community agree to a blockade of Gaza by land or Sea." On June 17, 2009, a group of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On July 7, 2009, McKinney was deported to the United States. The Israeli government indicated it would deliver the supplies via land.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On May 21, 2011, McKinney appeared on state-run television in Libya and stated that United States participation in military intervention in the 2011 Libyan civil war was "not what the people of the United States stand for and it's not what African-Americans stand for". In the same interview, McKinney stated: "On a previous visit to Libya, I was able to learn about "The Green Book", and the form of direct democracy that is advocated in "The Green Book"."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Around the same time, during her first visit to Iran, McKinney was interviewed by Iran's state-run channel, Press TV: "it is clear that the people of Iran have one thing in mind, and that is that they are a revolutionary state. And as a revolutionary state, they understand colonialism, neo-colonialism, and imperialism. They understand being under the foot of oppression and occupation -- even if it is mental occupation -- from an outside force or outside power, and that is what centers the resistance".


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 2015, she received a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University with a dissertation on Hugo Chávez.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: McKinney announced in April 2012 that she would run for the 4th congressional district against Hank Johnson on the Green Party ticket. However, in August she failed to qualify for the ballot. Nevertheless, she received 58 write-in votes in the general election.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In March 2009, McKinney was present at a gathering of Holocaust deniers in London. In postings on the Green Party website, she said former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, someone with a history of anti-Jewish statements, was "one of my heroes". She described David Pidcock as "my London friend". Pidcock is an individual whom the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have described as an "anti-Semitic writer". In one post she related the conspiracy theory that individuals such as George Soros and Alan Greenspan (both Jewish) have plotted to create a "one-world government". In discussing this notion, she was drawing on a book entitled, "The Shadow Money-Lenders" by Matthias Chang, an advisor to Mahathir. McKinney praised the work.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: Bill Torpy, a columnist at "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", wrote in January 2021 that McKinney has used her social media accounts to promote multiple conspiracy theories, including baseless claims about 9/11, denial of the Holocaust and misinformation about COVID-19.


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: In 2016 McKinney released a statement via Twitter accusing Israelis of conducting the 2016 Nice truck attack in France and the Würzburg train attack in Germany, she did not provide any evidence for either claim. In May 2020, "The Algemeiner Journal" and other medial outlets reported that McKinney released a series of statements via Twitter questioning the true number of Jewish people murdered during The Holocaust. In the tweets (in which she misrepresented an article from Haaretz) she stated: "So, the figure wasn't six million after all?? What about those punished and even imprisoned for saying so?? Is this a "You can't say, but I can" kind of thing??". "The Jerusalem Post" reported that on June 28, 2021, McKinney posted a meme to Twitter that depicted the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center as a puzzle with the "final piece of the puzzle" having the word "Zionists" on it. When adding that piece to the puzzle, the image read: "Zionists did it." New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman condemned McKinney's post as anti-semitic. The ADL in a tweet objected to McKinney continuing "to repeat an offensive #antisemitic trope falsely blaming Jews/Zionists for the terrorist attacks on 9/11."


title: Cynthia McKinney

text: On June 14, 2000, a part of Memorial Drive, a major thoroughfare running through her district, was renamed "Cynthia McKinney Parkway," but the naming has come under scrutiny since her primary defeat in 2006 as well as previous controversial statements that she had made.


title: Cardo (record producer)

text: Ronald Nathan LaTour Jr. (born September 24, 1984), professionally known as Cardo Got Wings or simply Cardo, is an American record producer and rapper.


title: Cardo (record producer)

text: In 2010, Cardo was producing for Mac Miller and Chevy Woods and subsequently met Wiz Khalifa at a show in Texas through Chevy Woods and his Uncle Motor. Cardo gave Khalifa a couple of his beats, which would end up on Khalifa's "Kush & Orange Juice" mixtape. Cardo then started producing for other artists.


title: Cardo (record producer)

text: Cardo is the founder and CEO of the record label Everything is Gold Music (EISG). Cardo was previously a member of, and producer on, Taylor Gang Records, and currently signed to Fool's Gold Records. He has produced on many rappers albums and singles including Curren$y, 2 Chainz, Drake, Skepta, Kendrick Lamar, Travi$ Scott, ScHoolboy Q, Meek Mill, The Game, Wiz Khalifa, R. Kelly, Jeezy, Jay Z, Frank Dukes and Swizz Beatz, among others. In June 2022, he signed Atlanta rapper YoDogg to EISG, in a joint venture with Epic Records.


title: Cardo (record producer)

text: On December 21, 2017, Cardo and Payroll Giovanni of Detroit-based Doughboyz Cashout announced their record deal with Def Jam Records.


title: Cardo (record producer)

text: Cardo's professional name was derived from relatives who named him 'Ricardo' the Puerto Rican, despite being fully aware of his Caucasian and African American descent.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" is a song written by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Combined with its acoustic counterpart "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", it bookends Young's 1979 album "Rust Never Sleeps". The song was influenced by the punk rock zeitgeist of the late 1970s, in particular by Young's collaborations with the American art punk band Devo, and what he viewed as his own growing irrelevance.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: The song "Hey Hey, My My...", as well as the titular phrase of the album on which it was featured, "rust never sleeps," sprang from Young's collaborations with Devo and, in particular, the band's frontman, Mark Mothersbaugh. In 1977, Devo had been asked by Young to participate in the creation of his film, "Human Highway", and a scene in the film shows Young playing the song in its entirety with Devo (with Mothersbaugh changing a lyric about "Johnny Rotten" to "Johnny Spud").


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: On May 28, 1978, Young collaborated with Devo on a version of "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" at the Different Fur studio in San Francisco and would later introduce the song to Crazy Horse. During the Different Fur studio sessions, Mothersbaugh added the lyrics "rust never sleeps", a slogan he remembered from his graphic arts career that promoted the automobile rust proofing product Rust-Oleum. Young adopted the line and used it in the Crazy Horse version of the song, as well as for the title of his album. The lyrics, "It's better to burn out than to fade away." were widely quoted by his peers and by critics. The line "It's better to burn out than it is to rust" is often credited to Young's friend Jeff Blackburn of The Ducks.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: Some critics viewed Young's career as declining after the release of 1977's "American Stars 'N Bars" and 1978's "Comes a Time". With the explosion of punk rock in 1977, some punks had felt that Young and his contemporaries were becoming obsolete, with Young worrying that they were right. The death of Elvis Presley that same year compounded this, with the British punk band The Clash even stating, "No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones in 1977!" in their song "1977".


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: According to Young, the version of the song on "Rust Never Sleeps" is the same as that on "Live Rust", except that for the "Rust Never Sleeps" version they removed the crowd noise and added sound effects such as hand claps and slamming doors in the studio.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: "Cash Box" called it a "grinding three-chord rocker" that makes "a challenging musical and lyrical statement" with "thrashing drums and brash fuzz guitar."


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: Texas author and journalist Brad Tyer wrote in the "Houston Press" that "Hey Hey, My My" was stylistically "proto-grunge grunt rock".


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: The song later appeared on Young's "Greatest Hits" in 2004 and was included at #93 in Bob Mersereau's book "The Top 100 Canadian Singles" in 2010. The Chromatics version was used as the closing music in HBO's "The Sex Lives of College Girls" season 1, episode1.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: Many other bands and singers have recorded covers of the song, including: Oasis (on the album "Familiar to Millions" in 2000); System of a Down (at the Festival of Hurricane in 2005); Dave Matthews Band; Cross Canadian Ragweed; Battleme (as the closing track of the season 3 finale of "Sons of Anarchy"); Rick Derringer; Nomeansno (on the "FUBAR" soundtrack); Mexican rock and roll band El Tri; Finnish glam rock band Negative; Argentine rock band La Renga; Chromatics; Jake Bugg (at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival); Axel Rudi Pell (on his 2014 album "Into the Storm"); Billy Talent on "Covered in Gold 5.0" (2017); Romanian act Fjord (on their 2016 album "Textures"); Brazilian doom metal band HellLight (on their 2012 covers album "The Light That Brought Darkness"); Blixa Bargeld and Teho Teardo (on their 2017 album "Fall"); French rocker Dominic Sonic in his 1991 album.


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: The lyrics of the song, particularly the line "out of the blue and into the black", are an epigraph and are also featured prominently in Stephen King's novel "It".


title: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

text: The line, "It's better to burn out than to fade away", was included in Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide note in 1994. It is also referenced in Panic! At The Disco's "Nicotine", Def Leppard's "Rock of Ages", Hole's "Reasons to be Beautiful", 's , Meg Myers' "Some People", Killswitch Engage's "The New Awakening" and most recently Machine Gun Kelly's "27". It is also spoken by The Kurgan (Clancy Brown) in the 1986 fantasy adventure film "Highlander" in the modern-day church scene. This line is used in Queen's "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" from the album "A Kind of Magic", which functioned as that film's soundtrack.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod Oblast (, "Novgorodskaya oblast") is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic monuments of Veliky Novgorod and surroundings have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Population: 634,111 (2010 Census).


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod Oblast borders with Leningrad Oblast in the north and in the northwest, Vologda Oblast in the east, Tver Oblast in the southeast and in the south, and Pskov Oblast in the southwest.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The western part is a lowland around Lake Ilmen, while the eastern part is a highland (northern spurs of the Valdai Hills). The highest point is Mount Ryzhokha in the Valdai Hills (). In the center of the oblast is Lake Ilmen, one of the largest lakes in Central Russia. The major tributaries of Lake Ilmen are the Msta, which originates in the east of the Valdai Hills and collects the rivers in the east of the oblast, the Lovat, the Pola, and the Polist, which all flow to the lake from the south, and the Shelon, flowing from the southwest. The only outflow of the lake is the Volkhov, a major tributary of Lake Ladoga. Almost all of the oblast belongs to the river basin of the Volkhov. The exceptions are the northwest, which belongs to the river basin of the Luga, a tributary of the Baltic Sea, the north, belonging to the basin of the Syas, another tributary of Lake Ladoga, the east, which belongs to the basin of the Mologa, a tributary of the Volga, and the south, belonging to basins of various tributaries of the upper Volga River. Sorted by the discharge, the biggest rivers of the oblast are the Volkhov, the Mologa, the Msta, the Lovat, the Syas, and the Shelon.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The south and the southeast of the oblast contain one of the largest lake districts in European Russia. The biggest lake in the area, Lake Seliger, is divided between Novgorod and Tver Oblasts. Other big lakes in the area include Lake Valdayskoye, Lake Shlino, Lake Velyo, Lake Piros, and Lake Meglino.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Two areas in Novgorod Oblast have been designated as protected natural areas of federal significance. These are Valdaysky National Park in the southeast of the oblast, protecting the lake district and related ecosystems and cultural landscapes, and Rdeysky Nature Reserve in the southwest of the oblast, which protects the Polist-Lovat Swamp System and is adjacent to Polistovsky Nature Reserve in Pskov Oblast.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod is one of the oldest centers of Russian civilization. It lay on the historical trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which followed the Volkhov upstream to Lake Ilmen and then followed the course of the Lovat before eventually reaching the Dnieper River. Novgorod is indicated in the chronicles as the site where Rurik settled and founded the Rurik Dynasty in 862. Subsequently, Rurik's successor, Oleg, moved the capital to Kiev, but Novgorod continued to play an important role until the 15th century. In 1136, Novgorod evicted the prince and became the center of the Novgorod Republic, which included the major part of what is currently northwestern Russia. It was an example of a medieval republic, in which decisions were taken by veche—a meeting of the city population—and the prince was elected. (The only other Russian city with a similar organization was Pskov.) Novgorod linked the river routes of Baltic, Byzantium, Central Asian regions, and all parts of European Russia and flourished as one of the most important trading centres of eastern and northern Europe. It was part of the Hanseatic League which connected it to Central and Northern Europe. Novgorod was one of the few areas of Rus not affected by the Mongol invasions. It was also an important cultural center, and the majority of monuments preserved in Russia from the 11th through the 14th century are those standing in Veliky Novgorod.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Towards the end of the 15th century Novgorod was defeated by the army of Ivan III, the prince of Moscow, and was included into the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1560, Ivan the Terrible, fearing treason, sent his army to sack the city. This event, known as the Massacre of Novgorod, had catastrophic consequences for the city, which lost the majority of its population and never recovered. Additionally, in the beginning of the 17th century, during the Time of Troubles, Novgorod was plundered by the Swedish army.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: , 1708 Tsar Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The present area of Novgorod oblast was a part of Ingermanland Governorate, which was renamed Saint Petersburg Governorate in 1710. In 1727, a separate Novgorod Governorate was established. It was subdivided into five provinces, and the current area of Novgorod Oblast was split between two of them—Novgorod and Velikiye Luki Provinces. In 1772, Velikiye Luki Province was transferred to newly established Pskov Governorate. In 1775, Novgorod Governorate was transformed to Novgorod Viceroyalty, and in 1777, Pskov Governorate was transformed to Pskov Viceroyalty. In 1796, both governorates were re-established. By the 1920s, most of the area of current Novgorod Oblast belonged to Novgorod Governorate.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Before the 19th century, the areas around Novgorod were considerably better developed than the areas which are currently located in the center and the east of the oblast. In 1851, Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway, the first long-distance railway in Russia, opened. It bypassed Novgorod as it was built on a straight line between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The railway construction lead to the development of the adjacent areas and eventually to creation of new towns such as Malaya Vishera, Okulovka, and Chudovo. Later on, the railroads between Sonkovo and Saint Petersburg, as well as between Bologoye and Pskov, and a number of connecting lines, were constructed.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: On August 1, 1927 the governorates were abolished, and merged into newly established Leningrad Oblast. Between autumn of 1941 and spring of 1944, during World War II, western parts of the current area of Novgorod Oblast, including the city of Novgorod, were occupied by German troops. Novgorod Oblast was an area of long and fierce battles, such as, for example, the Demyansk Pocket, or the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in 1944, when the Soviet troops crossed the Volkhov River. After the liberation, on July 5, 1944, Novgorod Oblast with the center in the city of Novgorod was established.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Novgorod CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The Charter of Novgorod Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Novgorod Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: In the period when they were the most important authority in the oblast (1944 to 1991), the following first secretaries were appointed:


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: As of 2014, industry was responsible for about 40% of the GNP of the oblast. The main industrial enterprises in the oblast are four chemical plants, all located in Veliky Novgorod and specializing mostly in production of fertilizers, a metallurgical plant, also in Veliky Novgorod, producing copper, and a plant in Borovichi producing refractory materials.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The main specialization of agriculture in the oblast is cattle breeding with meat and milk production. In 2011, approximately 90% of the farms held cattle, and 79% of all agricultural production in the oblast were meat, milk, and eggs. A number of large-scale farms are keeping pigs and poultry. Bee-keeping, as well as cultivating of crops and potatoes, are also present.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod appeared as a site on one of the most important Middle-Age trade routes. The importance of waterways has considerably diminished since those days, but Lake Ilmen, the Volkhov River, and lower courses of main tributaries of lake Ilmen—the Lovat, the Msta, the Polist, and the Shelon, as well as Lake Seliger, remain navigable.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The Saint Petersburg – Moscow Railway crosses the oblast from southeast to northwest. The major train stations are Okulovka, Malaya Vishera, and Chudovo. In Chudovo, one railroad branches off south to Veliky Novgorod, and another one north to Volkhovstroy and eventually to Murmansk. Another railway line, connecting Sonkovo and Mga, runs parallel to the first one north of it. A line between Okulovka and Nebolchi makes a connection between the two. Additionally, Veliky Novgorod is connected by railway to Saint Petersburg and Luga. A railway crosses the south of the oblast as well, connecting Bologoye and Pskov via Parfino and Staraya Russa.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The Kushaverskoye peat narrow gauge railway for hauling peat operates in the Khvoyninsky District, and Tyosovo peat narrow gauge railway for hauling peat operates in the Novgorodsky District.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The road network is well developed within the oblast, though only a small number of roads cross borders with Tver Oblast west of Valday and Leningrad Oblast east of Lyubytino. One highway of federal significance, M10, which connects Moscow and Saint Petersburg, crosses the oblast, running through Valday, Kresttsy, and Veliky Novgorod (there is a bypass of Veliky Novgorod). Highways connect Veliky Novgorod with Pskov and with Velikiye Luki, among other destinations.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod Airport and Krechevitsy Airport are both located around Veliky Novgorod, however, there are no regular passenger flights. Novgorod Airport is basically abandoned.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: The oblast is administratively divided into three cities and towns under the oblast's jurisdiction (Veliky Novgorod, Borovichi, and Staraya Russa) and twenty-one districts. Another seven towns (Chudovo, Kholm, Malaya Vishera, Okulovka, Pestovo, Soltsy, and Valday) have the status of the towns of district significance.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: "Population": 634,111 (2010 Census), down from 694,355 recorded by the 2002 Census, and further down from about 753,054 recorded in the 1989 Census.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod Oblast has the lowest population for any oblast in the European part of Russia. One of the reasons for the relatively low population density, particularly the male population, is that the area suffered heavily during World War II. The population is 70.6% urban.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: "Ethnic groups": Novgorod Oblast is relatively homogenous, with only five recognized ethnic groups of more than two thousand persons each at the time of the 2010 Census. In the 2010 Census, the following ethnicities were most numerous: 560,280 Russians (95.1%); 7,025 Ukrainians (1.2%); 3,438 Belarusians (0.6%); 3,598 Romani (0.6%); 15,054 others. Additionally, 44,716 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: 2009: 1.54 | 2010: 1.55 | 2011: 1.56 | 2012: 1.70 | 2013: 1.70 | 2014: 1.75 | 2015: 1.78 | 2016: 1.80(e)


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: According to a 2012 survey 46.8% of the population of Novgorod Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 4% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are Muslims. In addition, 34% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 10% is atheist, and 3.9% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.


title: Novgorod Oblast

text: Novgorod is one of the oldest Russian cities and was an important part of the Old Rus. Like many Russian cities Novgorod preserved its own local characteristics of traditional Russian culture. Despite great damages, in particular, during World War II, a large amount of medieval monuments of art, archeology, and architecture survive. Many of those are included into the World Heritage site Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The majority of them are operated by the Novgorod Museum Reserve. The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod is the oldest Christian church in Russia with the exception of the Caucasus area. Since Novgorod was not affected by the Mongol invasions, it keeps a fair share of pre-Mongol buildings, most of which are concentrated in the city of Veliky Novgorod and its immediate surroundings. The only pre-Mongol building in Novgorod Oblast outside the Veliky Novgorod agglomeration is the Katholikon of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Staraya Russa, built in the end of the 12th century. Novgorod has, furthermore, a large number of architectural monuments constructed in the 13th–14th centuries, of which the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyina Street is a representative example.