马哈茂德·艾哈迈迪内贾德

Early life.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born on 28 October 1956 near Garmsar, in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province. His mother, Khanom, was a Sayyida, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His father, Ahmad, was a grocer and barber, and was a religious Shia who taught the Quran.  When Mahmoud was one year old, his family moved to Tehran. Mahmoud's father changed their family name from "Saborjhian" or "Sabaghian" to Ahmadinejad in 1960 to avoid discrimination when the family moved to the city. "Sabor" is Persian for thread painter, a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad's

Administrative and academic careers.

Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iran.  Many reports say that after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Early political career.

After the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity, an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the emerging militant Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation.  Ahmadinejad first assumed political office as unelected

Mayor of Tehran.

The 2003 mayoral race in Tehran elected conservative candidates from the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran to the City Council of Tehran. The Council appointed Ahmadinejad mayor.  As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous moderate and reformist mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices,

Presidency.

2005 Campaign.

Ahmadinejad was not particularly well known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had been mayor of Tehran for only two years and had been appointed, not elected), although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He was/is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran ("Abadgaran" or "Developers"). He was also helped by support from supreme leader Ali Khamenei, of whom some described Ahmadinejad as a protégé.  Ahmadinejad was largely non-committal about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes. His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".  In the campaign, he took a populist approach. He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of

2005 Presidential election.

Ahmadinejad won 62% of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005. Ahmedinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his

2005 Cabinet appointments.

Iran's President is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the parliament for his selection of ministers. Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected

2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election.

Ahmadinejad's team lost the 2006 city council elections. In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became President, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Results, with a turnout of

2009 Presidential election.

On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as

2009 Iranian Presidential election protests.

The election results remained in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009. Iran's Constitution stipulates term limits of two terms for the office of President. Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony. Former presidents

2009 Cabinet appointments.

Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.  On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half

2012 Parliamentary elections.

Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in March/May 2012 parliamentary elections with Ayatollah

Domestic policy.

Economic policy.

In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy. Inflation and unemployment also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations. Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25% and supported subsidies for food and petrol. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government would free up petrol prices after five years. Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below

Family planning and population policy.

In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth-control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010, he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier: "We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and 17." His remarks have drawn criticism and been

Housing.

The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called ""Reza's Compassion Fund"", named after Shi'a Imam Ali al-Rida. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and

Human rights.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." Human Rights Watch also has stated, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement." Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members

Universities.

In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as the "second cultural revolution". The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones. Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly. In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.  In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50% quota for male students and 50% for female students in the university

December 2006 student protest.

In December 2006, it was reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, which they saw as promoting Holocaust denial.  In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no

Nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion." He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those that want to solve all problems by the use of force. In a 2008 interview Ahmadinejad elaborated that countries striving to obtain

Domestic criticism and controversies.

Accusations of corruption.

According to Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group, Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private "plunderers" and "corrupt officials," while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism". Many of his close associates were appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion

Other statements.

In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these

The UN and football stadiums.

There are two statements that led to criticism from some religious authorities. One concerns his speech at the United Nations, and the other concerns the attendance of women at football matches. During a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers,

Constitutional conflict.

In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by the Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", "the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait", and "the law for registration of industrial designs and

Ali Kordan.

In August 2008, Ahmadinejad appointed Ali Kordan as interior minister. Kordan's appointment was heavily criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree purportedly awarded to Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, Oxford University, had no record of Kordan receiving any degree from the University. It was also revealed that he had been jailed

Conflict with Parliament.

In February 2009, after Supreme Audit Court of Iran reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hadn't been returned by the government to the national treasury, Ali Larijani, Iran's parliamentary speaker, called for further investigations to make sure the missing funds are returned to the treasury as soon as possible. Tensions between Larijani and Ahmadinejad continued into 2013.  Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government. The head of the parliament energy commission, Hamidreza Katouzian, reported "The government spent $5 billion to import fuel, about $2 billion more than the sum

Relations with Supreme Leader of Iran.

Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the Supreme Leader, and even as being his "protege." In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty," and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters. However, as early as January 2008, signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies, and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them. The disagreement was described as centered on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics", who was first vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader.  In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but

Hugo Chavez's funeral.

Ahmedinejad was criticised by the religious and political groups in Iran for photographs taken of him embracing Elena Frias de Chavez, the mother of recently deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, at his funeral. In the image, Ahmedinejad was thought to be holding her hands and in a cheek-to-cheek

Nepotism.

One of the most frequent criticisms about Ahmedinejad was the nepotism in his governments. Nepotism was one of his habits in appointing senior government officials. His elder brother, Davoud, was appointed chief inspector at the

Foreign relations.

During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with developed countries generally soured while relations with less-developed countries, including those in Africa and Latin America, rose. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the ALBA states, and Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the Bush administration and Israel deteriorated further.  Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the Western world and is often criticized for his hostility towards the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom and other Western nations.

Israel.

Ahmadinejad abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize Israel as a legitimate state, and wants the Jewish people who immigrated to Israel to return to their "fatherlands" ("translated").  In 2005, Ahmadinejad, in a speech praising the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, was translated by Iranian state-run media as saying that "Israel must be wiped off the map." A controversy erupted over the translation, with specialists such as Juan Cole of the University of Michigan and Arash Norouzi of the Mossadegh Project pointing out that the original statement in Farsi did not say that Israel should be wiped off

Palestine.

He advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future. On Quds Day in September 2010 Ahmadinejad criticized the Palestinian Authority over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the

United States.

In September 2010, Ahmadinejad made a contentious assertion at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly by claiming that most people believe the United States government was behind the 9/11 attacks and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who

Venezuela.

Ahmadinejad is said to have "forged a close public friendship" with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. On Chavez's death in March 2013,

After presidency.

Ahmedinejad left his office at Pasteur st. on 3 August 2013 and returned to his private house in Narmak.  In an interview with CNN, Ahmadinejad said that, after the end of his presidency, he would return to the university and retire from politics. However, Ahmadinejad announced from Russia on the sidelines of an OPEC summit on 2 July 2013 that he might stay involved with politics by creating a new party or non-governmental organization. In late July, "Mehr news agency" reported that Ahmadinejad obtained permission from the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council to launch a university for post-graduate studies in Tehran. On 5 August 2013, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a decree appointing Ahmedinejad as a member of the Expediency Council. On 15 June 2015, a number of Ahmadinejad's cabinet ministers established a new political party, called YEKTA Front. The party published list for 2016 legislative election and some of Ahmadinejad's cabinet members (like Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee, Sadeq Khalilian, Mohammad Abbasi and Mahmoud Bahmani) registered for the election, but Ahmadinejad did not support any list in the election.

2017 presidential election.

It was rumored that Ahmadinejad would run for presidency again in 2017 after he did not deny plans when questioned by the media in 2015. Ahmadinejad remained mostly out of the public eye since leaving office, but his anti-Western rhetoric and combative style remained popular among many Iranian Principlists, and he was widely viewed as among the most formidable political figures capable of unseating Hassan Rouhani. In December 2015, it was reported that he had begun his presidential campaign by appointing his campaign's chiefs. He also began provincial travels in April 2016 by traveling to Amol. Travels were continued until September 2016, when he traveled to Gorgan. Ahmadinejad's advisors said his travels were not electoral and he only delivered speeches

2017–18 Iranian protests.

During the 2017–18 Iranian protests Ahmedinejad criticized the current government of Iran and later

Party affiliation.

Ahmadinejad has been an active and prominent member of the right-wing Islamic Society of Engineers since its establishment until 2005. As of 2014, he is still a member of the party but is not active since 2005. He was

Public image.

Ahmadinejad is known for his vulgarism, undiplomatic language and usage of slang terms. He is active on Twitter, where he engages his followers primarily in English and tweets about sports, the United States, and current events.  According to a poll

Personal life.

Ahmadinejad is married, and has one daughter and two sons. His oldest son married a daughter of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in 2008. One of his sons studied at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic).  Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a simple man who leads a modest life. As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in until his security advisers insisted that he should move. Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the VIP seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead. Upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious". He also used to lay an extra place for the 12th Imam at his weekly cabinet briefings.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian (, 28 October 1956), is an Iranian politician who served as the sixth President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005.

马哈茂德·艾哈迈迪内贾德(,,1956年-10月28日)是伊朗第6任总统,同时是伊朗保守派政治联盟伊斯兰伊朗建筑联盟的主要政治领袖。艾哈迈迪内贾德是一名出身贫寒的工程师及教师,他在伊朗伊斯兰革命后加入一个名为巩固联合处的学生组织。艾哈迈迪内贾德在1993年出任阿尔达比勒省省长,在穆罕默德·哈塔米当选总统后被免职,重执教鞭。2003年,他获选为德黑兰市长,政治立场保守而且强硬,颠倒了前任市长的改革政策。伊斯兰伊朗建筑联盟支持艾哈迈迪内贾德参选2005年伊朗总统选举,结果在第二轮选举当中获得62%的选票,他在2005年8月3日正式就任伊朗总统亦成为自伊朗革命以来首位非神职人员出身的总统。


History.

Latin American Training Center-Ground Division.

In 1946, the United States Army founded the Latin American Training Center-Ground Division ("Centro de Entrenamiento Latino Americano, Division Terrestre"")" at Fort Amador in the Panama Canal Zone to centralize the "administrative tasks involved in training the increasing number of Latin Americans attending U.S. service schools in the canal zone." The school trained Latin American military personnel to use artillery and advanced weapons purchased from the United States and provided instruction in nation-building. The army soon renamed the division the Latin American Ground School ("Escuela Latino Americano Terrestre") and divided it into three departments: engineering, communications, and weapons and tactics. The school was affiliated with army training schools in Panama that included the Food Service School (Fort Clayton), the Motor Mechanics School (Fort Randolph), and the Medical School (Fort

U.S. Army Caribbean School.

In February 1949, the army consolidated the training schools in the Panama Canal Zone and transferred operations to Fort Gulick. The army changed the name of the Latin American Ground School to the U.S. Army Caribbean School. Some courses were taught in Spanish to accommodate requests from Latin American countries that the school served. The school graduated 743 U.S. military personnel and 251 Latin Americans representing ten countries in 1949.  Mutual defense assistance agreements bound the U.S. Army to the militaries of Latin America by the middle of the 1950s, with only Mexico and Argentina as exceptions. By 1954, the school's pupils were overwhelmingly from Latin American countries due to a decrease in U.S. military personnel in the region, an increased utilization of the school by governments in Latin America, and an agreement that the United States would pay "transportation, per diem and course costs for military trainees from MDAP countries in Latin America." In 1956, English was eliminated

Curriculum.

To accommodate objectives of cooperation between the United States and Latin America established by President Kennedy in the Alliance for Progress in 1961, the school's curriculum was constructed and reorganized into two departments. The Department of Internal Defense dealt with "national internal defense", while the Counterinsurgency Committee provided counterinsurgency training in ten-week and two-week courses. According to the Department of Defense, the school provided intelligence and counter-intelligence training to "foreign military personnel" under the Mutual Assistance Program. It also trained military police and maintained a close relationship with the Inter-American Police Academy. As part of an effort to emphasize "nation building and economic growth through military civic action," the school taught "technical skills applicable to civic action programs." These skills included bridge building, well-drilling, radio repair, medical technique, and water purification.

School of the Americas.

In 1963, officials renamed the facility the U.S. Army School of the Americas "to better reflect its hemispheric orientation."  During the mid-1960s, the school was one of several institutions through which the U.S. Army augmented "training in jungle warfare". In the first years of the decade, the Army made the Jungle Operations Committee part of the School of the Americas. This addition resulted in a surge in attendance by U.S. military personnel. By 1967, the school had graduated 22,265 U.S. soldiers. The Department of Defense reported to President Lyndon B. Johnson that 180 students from the Continental U.S. Base had been trained in 1965, including 60 from the 1st Cavalry Division deployed in the Republic of Vietnam.  The Jungle Operations Course included in-field exercises. For example, in 1966a company of 103 students from Panama and 4 other Latin American countries enrolled in the Jungle Operations Course, U.S. Army School of the Americas, Fort Gulick, Canal Zone, recently completed a 9 day tactical exercise crossing the Isthmus of Panama, a ground distance of about 55 miles, through jungle, swamp and water. Symbolically following in the footsteps of Spanish explorers 300 years ago, the crossing began with an amphibious landing on the Pacific side of the Isthmus. The exercise ended with the last student completing the trek by emptying a container of Pacific Ocean Water into the Caribbean. The 9 day exercise emphasized jungle operations and tactics and techniques of combat in this environment. The U.S. Army School of the Americas' Jungle Operations Committee supervised and controlled the maneuver.Heightened tensions in Southeast Asia increased demand for "jungle operations techniques". In 1966, the army ordered the Commander, U.S. Army Forces Southern Command, to augment the school's Jungle Operations Course to accommodate more students. Specifically, these new students were to be soldiers "enroute to assignments in units serving in the Republic of Vietnam." A feedback-loop created between the school and General Westmoreland's headquarters allowed the Army to ensure that "lessons learned" in Vietnam were incorporated into the curriculum. Scholar J. Patrice McSherry has argued that methods derived from Vietnam and incorporated into the curriculum included "torture techniques and other dirty war methods". Further, the school leveraged instructors returning from service in Vietnam to "insure currency of the instruction". As new techniques were developed and adopted, the military became increasingly protective of course content. According to one scholar, by the mid-to-late 1960s "trainees required security clearances even to view the course descriptions of military intelligence courses."  The counterinsurgency manuals that the school used for instruction were produced during the Army's Project X, established under the Foreign Intelligence Assistance Program

WHINSEC.

By 2000, the School of the Americas was under increasing criticism in the United States for training students who later participated in undemocratic governments and committed human rights abuses. In 2000, the US Congress, through the FY01 National Defense Act, withdrew the Secretary of the Army's authority to operate USARSA.  The next year, the institute was renamed to WHINSEC. U.S. Army Maj. Joseph Blair, a former director of instruction at the school, said in 2002 that "there are no substantive changes besides the name....They teach the identical courses that I taught and changed the course names and use the same manuals."  In 2013, researcher Ruth Blakeley concluded after interviews with WHINSEC personnel and anti-SOA/WHINSEC protesters that "there was considerable transparency... established after the transition from SOA to WHINSEC" and that "a much more rigorous human rights training program was in place than in any other US military institution".

Participation.

Since its opening in 2001, WHINSEC has trained more than 19,000 students from 36 countries of the Western Hemisphere. In 2014–2015, the principal "Command & General Staff Officer" course had 65 graduates (60 male and five female) representing 13 nations: Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and the U.S.  In 2004, Venezuela ceased all training of its soldiers at WHINSEC after a long period of chilling relations between the United States and Venezuela. On March 28, 2006, the government of Argentina, headed by President Néstor Kirchner, decided to stop sending soldiers to train at WHINSEC, and the government of Uruguay affirmed that it would continue its current

Current organization.

Charter.

Authorized by the United States Congress through in 2001, WHINSEC is responsible for providing professional education and training on the context of the democratic principles in the Charter of the Organization of American States (such charter being a treaty to which the United States is a party), and foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating

Independent Review Board.

When the National Defense Authorization Act for 2001 was signed into law, WHINSEC was created. The law called for a federal advisory committee – the Board of Visitors (BoV) – to maintain independent review, observation, and recommendations regarding operations of the institute. The 14-member BoV includes members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees along with representatives

Board of Visitors.

As of August

Criticism.

Accusations toward the School of the Americas.

The School of the Americas has been blamed for human rights violations committed by former students.  By the early 1980s, Latin American critics accused the school of teaching techniques of repression to be used toward civilians. American officers rejected the criticism, arguing that the training prevented abuse toward civilians.  According to the Center for International Policy, "The School of the Americas had been questioned for years, as it trained many military personnel before and during the years of the 'national security doctrine' – the dirty war years in the Southern Cone and the civil war years in Central America – in which the armed forces

SOA Watch.

Since 1990, Washington, DC,-based nonprofit human rights organization School of the Americas Watch has worked to monitor graduates of the institution and to close the former SOA, now WHINSEC, through legislative action, grassroots organizing and nonviolent direct action. It maintains a database with graduates of both the SOA and WHINSEC who have

Protests and public demonstrations.

Since 1990, SOA Watch has sponsored an annual public demonstration of protest of SOA/WHINSEC at Ft. Benning. In 2005, the demonstration drew 19,000 people. The protests are timed to coincide with the anniversary of the assassination of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in November 1989 by graduates of the School of the Americas.

Graduates of the School of the Americas.

A number of graduates of the SOA and WHINSEC have been accused and sentenced for human rights violations and criminal activity in their home countries.  In response to public debate and in order to promote transparency, the Freedom of Information Act released records that tracked trainees of the school. In August 2007, according to an Associated Press report, Colonel Alberto Quijano of the Colombian Army's Special Forces was arrested for providing security and mobilizing troops for Diego León Montoya Sánchez (aka "Don Diego"), the leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel and one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. School of the Americas Watch said in a statement that it matched the names of those in the scandal with its database of attendees at the institute. Alberto Quijano attended courses and was an instructor who taught classes on peacekeeping operations and democratic sustainment at the school from 2003 to 2004.  Other former students include Salvadoran Colonel and Atlacatl Battalion leader Domingo Monterrosa and other members of his group who were responsible for the El Mozote massacre, and Franck Romain, former leader of the Tonton Macoute, which was responsible for the St. Jean Bosco massacre. Honduran General Luis Alonso Discua was also a graduate of the school who later on commanded Battalion 3-16, a military death squad.  Critics of SOA Watch argue the connection between school attendees and violent activity is often misleading. According to Paul Mulshine, Roberto D'Aubuisson's sole link to the SOA is that he had taken a course in radio operations long before the Salvadoran Civil War began. Further, others assert that training statistics show that Argentina, a country that engaged in much anti-Communist sentiment and violence during the Cold War era, had a relatively small number of military personnel educated at the school.  In 2018, two of the highest officers of the Venezuelan Army, Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López and SEBIN director Gustavo González López, were sanctioned by the United States for human rights abuses against opposition protesters and dissidents, corruption leading to the economic collapse of the country, and drug trafficking charges. They were found to have been students of psychological operations courses at SOA in 1995 and 1991 respectively.

Educated according to other sources.

In 1992 the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended prosecution of Col. Cid Díaz for murder in association with the 1983 Las Hojas massacre. His name is on a State Department list of gross human rights abusers. Díaz went to the institute in 2003.

The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the US Army School of the Americas (SOA), is a United States Department of Defense Institute located at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia, created in the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act.

西半球安全合作学院(英语:Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation)是美国国防部下属学院,位于佐治亚州哥伦布班宁堡,依照2001年美国国防授权法建立。该学校原名美国陆军美洲学校(英语:US Army School of the Americas),位于巴拿马,培训拉丁美洲国家亲美独裁政权军事人员镇压国内反对势力。


Geography.

It is the economic centre of this part of the island (commercial centres, food industry) and is very close to the Costa Smeralda tourist area. It was one of the administrative capitals of the province of Olbia-Tempio, operative since 2005 and canceled after a referendum seven years later. Olbia is a tourist destination thanks to its sea and beaches and also for the large number of places of cultural interest to visit.

History.

Although the name is of Greek origin, due to the Greek presence during the 7th century B.C., the city of Olbia was first settled by Phoenicians, according to the archaeological findings. It contains ruins from the Nuragic era to the Roman era, when it was an important port, and the Middle Ages, when it was the capital of the Giudicato of Gallura, one of the four independent states of Sardinia. During the First Punic War, the Romans fought against the Carthaginians and the Sardinians near Olbia, where the general Hanno died in battle. From 1113 it was the episcopal see of the Diocese of Cività (succeeding to the Diocese of Gallura, the 1070 restoration of the Diocese of Fausania, 500–750), which was renamed in 1839 as Diocese of Civita–Tempio until its formal suppression in favor of (in fact merger into) the Diocese of Tempio–Ampurias (also integrating the Diocese of Ampurias, which was in personal union with the see of Civita from 1506)

Sport.

Olbia Calcio 1905 represents Olbia in Serie C, the third division of Italian football.

Transport.

Olbia is the main connection between Sardinia and the Italian peninsula, with an airport (Olbia – Costa Smeralda), a passenger port (Olbia-Isola Bianca), and a railway from Olbia railway station to Porto Torres, Golfo Aranci and Cagliari. There is an expressway to Nuoro and Cagliari (SS131) and national roads to Sassari (SS199-E840), Tempio Pausania (SS127) and Palau (SS125).

Climate.

Olbia has a Mediterranean climate ("Csa"), with mild winters, warm springs and autumns and hot summers.

Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and "comune" of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia (Italy), in the historical region of Gallura. Called "Olbia" in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle Ages (Judicates period) and Terranova Pausania before the 1940s, Olbia was again the official name of the city during the fascist period.

奥尔比亚(意大利语:)是位于意大利撒丁岛上奥尔比亚-坦皮奥省的一个城市。人口约有5.1万人。自2005年起,奥尔比亚成为奥尔比亚-坦皮奥省的首府之一。


Early life, education and career.

Stanishev was born in 1966, in Kherson, Ukrainian SSR (Soviet Union) to Dinah Sergeevna Muhina, a Soviet citizen and, a Bulgarian communist official who headed Bulgarian communist party's foreign policy department and would later become secretary of the central committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party.  After beginning his schooling in Russia, he then graduated from the 35 SOU "Dobri Voynikov" in Sofia. Stanishev subsequently graduated from Moscow State University in 1989 and obtained his candidate degree (PhD-equivalent) in 1994 both in the field of history. His thesis was entitled “The system of service promotion of high ranking officials in Russia and its evolution during the second half of XIX century”. In 1998, he specialized in political sciences at Moscow School of political studies. He was a visiting fellow in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1999–2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist.  In 1995 he became a staff member in the Foreign Affairs Department of the BSP. He was Chief of Foreign Policy and International Relations for the BSP from 1996 to 2001. In May 2000 he was elected a Member of the BSP Supreme Council and Member of the Executive Bureau. In June 2001, he entered politics when he was elected as a member of the Bulgarian National Assembly from the region of Ruse.

Political career.

Chairmanship of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

In December 2001 Stanishev was elected Chairman of the BSP at the party's Congress, and also Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Coalition for Bulgaria following the resignation of the previous holder of these positions, Georgi Parvanov, after his victory in the 2001 presidential election. Since April 2004 Stanishev has also been a member of the presidency of the Party of European Socialists. Even though, at the beginning, older party members regarded him with suspicion due to his lack of experience, Stanishev has enjoyed considerable public approval mainly because of his successful efforts to modernise the BSP. Stanishev succeed to modernise the Bulgarian Socialist Party, leading it to a fill membership to Socialist's international and then - to member of the PES. He was elected as a member of the European Parliament for a second term in 2019.

Prime minister.

In the general election of June 25, 2005, Stanishev was re-elected to the National Assembly, this time for a seat in Burgas. Under his leadership the Coalition for Bulgaria (a coalition dominated by the BSP) won 31% of the votes. Stanishev said that the next government "should be led by the party which won most votes in the elections." On 20 July, after nearly a month of political uncertainty, Stanishev agreed to attempt to form a Cabinet. On July 27, 2005 the Bulgarian Parliament chose him as the new Prime Minister in a coalition government, led by the BSP and National Movement Simeon II in a partnership with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. The vote was 120 to 119. However, the parliament voted against Stanishev's proposed Cabinet by 119 to 117 votes.  This was followed by another two weeks of political deadlock. Finally, on August 15, Stanishev was able to form a three-party grand coalition with the party of outgoing Prime Minister Simeon Sakskoburggotski and with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a Turkish minority party. Stanishev said the coalition's priorities would be "European integration, social responsibility and economic growth." He was elected Prime Minister by the Bulgarian parliament on August 16 with 168 in favour and 67 against. On August 17, 2005, with an official ceremony on 1 Dondukov Boulevard, Sergei Stanishev took office as Prime Minister.  Sergei Stanishev is an avid pro-EU politician who is credited with reforming Bulgaria to the extent that he managed to steer his country to be among the last group of countries which joined the EU. Stanishev said Bulgaria's entrance to the EU was the final fall of the Berlin Wall for his nation, while EU President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed Bulgaria for having "gone through a remarkable transformation" in order to join.  The European Commission's report on Bulgaria and Romania's accession had confirmed that after seven years of talks, Bulgaria and Romania were able to take on the rights and obligations of EU membership. Reading the report, Barroso said the two nations' entry would be a "historic achievement".  In June 2008 Stanishev drew criticism from human rights advocates for his remarks regarding Bulgaria's first gay pride parade; the Prime Minister said he did not approve of "the manifestation and demonstration of such orientations."  Also in June 2008 "The Guardian" published an article highly critical of planned real estate development in a pristine seacoast area under EU environmental protection. Sergei Stanishev's brother, Georgi Stanishev, is the Bulgarian partner of Foster and Partners, the developer behind the controversial project.  In March 2009, "New Europe" published the heading 'Barroso backs Stanishev'. Stanishev received the full support of European Commissions President Jose Manuel Barroso concerning the improvement of the cooperation with the European Commission and the enhancement of the administrative capacity. Prime Minister Stanishev was on a working visit to Brussels and met with President Barroso, as well as European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs and Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia.  Later in June 2009, Sergei Stanishev supported Jose Manuel Barroso for a second term as EU Commission President.

President of the Party of European Socialists (PES).

Stanishev took over the PES leadership as Interim President in late 2011 after his predecessor, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, stepped down from his post. In September 2012, at the 9th PES Congress, Sergei Stanishev was elected (with 91.3% of the votes) as President of PES for a full two-year term. He was the only candidate for the post.  On June 11, 2015, he was re-elected after his rival, Enrique Barón Crespo, withdrew from the race. According to him, his victory margin was 69.5% to 16.5%, with 13.3% abstaining. At the PES congress in Lisbon in 2018 Stanishev was re-elected as president of the PES.

Later career.

At the 2014 European parliament election, Stanishev was elected as Member of the European Parliament for Bulgaria, placing second on the BSP party list.  In early July 2014, Stanishev announced that he would step down as leader of the BSP. On July 27, at the BSP's 48th congress, incumbent chairperson of the National Assembly Mihail Mikov was elected to succeed Stanishev as party chair.  In the 2019 European Parliament election Stanishev earned a seat as a Member of the European Parliament for the 2019–2014 term. At the summit at which EU's top jobs were discussed Stanishev was proposed as a candidate for President of the European Parliament. However, he withdrew his nomination. Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, said Stanishev's nomination was an "honor and pride for Bulgaria". According to Euractiv, Stanishev is "at war" with the leader of the Bulgarian socialists Korneliya Ninova.

Controversies.

Scandal Hochegger.

In March 2012, scandalous Austrian lobbyist Peter Hochegger was found to have received nearly €1.5 M from the former three-way coalition government for a dubious campaign aimed at boosting Bulgaria's image abroad. A report indicated that a part of the sum paid to Hochegger's company had returned to the PR agency owned by Monika Yosifova, now Stanisheva, wife of Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. Hochegger made headlines in Bulgaria after it emerged that he had lobbied for Bulgaria's EU accession in exchange for a fee of €1.5 M under two contracts from 2006 and 2008 signed during the term in office of the government headed by Stanishev. The Viennese Regional Criminal Court sentenced Hochegger to two and a half years in prison.

European elections project scandal.

A public relations firm led by Stanishev's wife, Monika Stanisheva, won a €60,000 contract for a project to the European elections in Bulgaria. MEPs from the EPP have rang the alarm bell an "obvious" conflict of interest involving some of the most prominent figures in the European socialist family.  The project consists of a website explaining the functions of the European Parliament to a Bulgarian audience. According to experts, quoted by the Bulgarian press, the website is built on open source software and contains information copy-pasted from the EU institutions own websites. The contract will be investigated by the Budgets Committee of the European Parliament. Stanishev defended his wife saying that she was working on similar projects before they got married in 2013. He attacked his opponents by asking if they, "suggest that she should stop working?". Stanisheva has announced that she was returning the down payment of €29,679.93.

Criminal prosecution for lost documents.

Sergei Stanishev faced a court on 18 March 2014 in the so-called "lost documents" case, which many observers and Stanishev himself have claimed as based on pure political grounds. In a written statement, he stated that "In Bulgaria it is clear to everyone that the case against me is political."  He was charged with losing 7 classified documents - 3 from the State Agency for National Security (DANS), 2 from the Interior Ministry, 1 from the Defense Ministry and 1 from NATO - while he was Prime Minister. In October 2013 Stanishev voluntarily gave up his parliamentary immunity to be tried in court.  If convicted, he could have faced a two-year jail sentence or a fine.  On December 16, 2016 Stanishev was acquitted, with the judge stating that "there were no indisputable evidence that Stanishev lost the documents, nor was it proven conclusively that the documents contained confidential information".

Personal life.

In 2011, PR agent Monika Yosifova announced that she was having a baby with Stanishev. Their daughter Daria was born on May 1, 2011. Their second child Georgi was born in 2013. Yosifova is a divorcee who has two other children - Monika and Ventsislav - by her ex-husband Ventsislav Yosifov. Stanishev married Monika in May 2013.  Stanishev has one brother, architect Georgi Stanishev.  Stanishev acquired Bulgarian citizenship in 1996.  His hobbies include fitness, skiing, swimming and motorcycling.

Sergei Dmitrievich Stanishev (; born 5 May 1966) is a Bulgarian politician who has served as President of the Party of European Socialists since November 2011 and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Bulgaria. He previously served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2005 to 2009, Leader of the Socialist Party from 2001 to 2014 and Member of the National Assembly from 1997 to 2014.

谢尔盖·迪米特里耶维奇·斯塔尼舍夫(Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev,保加利亚语:),1966年5月5日生于苏联乌克兰赫尔松市,保加利亚政治家,总理。


Plot.

"Speed Grapher" follows the exploits of former war photographer Tatsumi Saiga, who investigates a secret fetish club for the ultra-wealthy called the Roppongi Club. He tries to photograph the club's "goddess", a 15-year-old, exploited girl named Kagura, but is discovered. As he is about to be killed, Kagura kisses him, granting him the ability to destroy anything he photographs. Saiga soon discovers that Kagura's body fluids, like her saliva, in combination with a certain "virus", can give people bizarre abilities relating to their secret desires, fetishes, and obsessions. Club members strive for the honor of becoming "gifted" via Kagura's power. Saiga soon becomes entangled in this secret underground society and the powerful and corrupt Tennōzu Group mega-corporation that operates it. He attempts to free Kagura, a move that puts the two of them on the run from the Tennōzu Group and blood-thirsty members of the club with bizarre and often horrifying special powers.  Saiga and Suitengu engage in a game of cat and mouse; Saiga and Kagura manage to evade capture several times before Suitengu himself attacks Saiga, severely injuring him, and takes Kagura captive. To take over Tennōzu Group, Suitengu murders its president, Shinsen Tennōzu, who also is Kagura's mother. Kagura inherits the group, so Suitengu attempts to marry her to take legal control of it. Saiga, having recovered from his wounds, interrupts the wedding and rescues Kagura. Together, they attempt to leave Japan but are enticed back by the prospect of defeating Suitengu once and for all.  The plan, however, ends up being a trap set up by Prime Minister Kamiya, Seiji Ochiai and other Cabinet members as a way to control Suitengu and take control over the club. But, Suitengu knew of their betrayal, and after trapping all the Cabinet members, the police superintendent and other members of government inside the club, he went to Kamiya's mansion to exact his revenge against him for having ruined his life and that of his family in the past. After brutally killing him, he then took away Kagura from Saiga by promising not to kill Saiga if Kagura comes with him willingly. Saiga and his policewoman friend Hibari Ginza make one final attack on Suitengu's stronghold - the main building of Tennōzu Group. In addition, a group of politicians from around the world fire missiles at Tokyo to kill Suitengu. Saiga and Suitengu battle, but Saiga is unable to defeat Suitengu before going blind from overusing his power. Suitengu spares Saiga's life, and, in a final act of defiance, self-destructs the Tennōzu building, killing all the members of the Club and destroying all the money he gathered, before dying in the explosion. The world collapses into a financial crisis, but Saiga and Kagura finally reunite five years later, no longer under threat of attack.

Production.

"Speed Grapher" was aimed at a mature audience to "stimulate the audience at an intellectual level", according to director Kunihisa Sugishima. The story was influenced by the Japanese economic scenario in which there were several cases of suicides. He noted these cases must have been caused by the fact that in our society "financial fortune is equated with success and is expected to lead to happiness". He described Saiga as someone who opposes this system and Kagura as someone trapped on it. Gonzo opted to use little computer graphics and to create hand-drawn illustrations painted by computer for both the foreground and the background. In Sugishima's words: "Because we wanted "Speed Grapher" to stand out because of its story, we chose not to use any special visual effects."

Media.

Anime.

The episodes of "Speed Grapher" are directed by Kunihisa Sugishima, animated by Gonzo, and produced by TV Asahi. They initially aired on TV Asahi between April 8, 2005 and September 30, 2005 in Japan. It was then released to twelve DVD compilations, each containing two episodes, between July 2005 and June 2006 by Sony Pictures Entertainment.  The North American adaptation was licensed to Funimation, who released it to DVD and on iTunes. The six DVD compilations, containing four episodes each, were released to Region 1 between July 2006 and March 2007. Several "Limited Edition" DVDs were also released on the same dates as the regular DVDs. On March 11, 2008, a box set was released. "Speed Grapher" aired on the Independent Film Channel between March 7 and August 15, 2008. On September 28, 2006, Madman Entertainment revealed that it had received a license to distribute "Speed Grapher" to Australia and New Zealand. Madman released the first DVD volume with a collector's box on October 11, 2006. A box release, with all six DVD compilations, was released on March 19, 2008. In the United Kingdom, "Speed Grapher" was licensed to MVM Films, who released six DVD compilations between April 16, 2007 and February 4, 2008. "Speed Grapher" was also aired internationally by Animax. In Latin America, Animax aired the series in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. Future showings are also planned in Asia.

Manga.

Based directly on the anime, a manga series, also entitled "Speed Grapher", was released in Japan by MediaWorks and was originally serialized in "Monthly Dengeki Comic GAO!". Illustrated by Tomozo, the series was collected into three "tankōbon", which were released between September 2005 and September 2006.  The series was licensed to Chuang Yi in Singapore, who released all three volumes of the manga in English on December 11, 2007, July 22, 2008, and November 2009 respectively. Chuang Yi also released the series in Chinese. The "Speed Grapher" manga received another English release by Tokyopop in North America, who released the first two volumes on September 16, 2008 and December 2, 2008 respectively. The third volume was set to be released on March 10, 2009, but was cancelled shortly beforehand. In Germany, the manga was licensed to Carlson Comics, who released all three volumes.

Light novel.

A light novel version of "Speed Grapher", written by Minoru Niki, was also released. Hayakawa Publishing released it on July 21, 2005. The novel was also licensed to Tokyopop in North America and was set to be released on November 11, 2008, but was cancelled alongside volume three of the manga.

Music.

A drama CD was released in Japan on September 22, 2005 by King Records. In addition, two soundtracks were released as bonus CDs accompaining the release of the second and the sixth DVD volume in August 2005 and February 2006, respectively. They include score music composed by Shinkichi Mitsumune, and the opening theme and the two ending themes.

Reception.

"Speed Grapher" received mixed reviews from critics. Zac Bertschy and Theron Martin of Anime News Network both found the animation to be sub-par when compared to other Gonzo releases. In addition, Zac found the storyline to be "totally silly" and strange though it was possibly very entertaining because of its uniqueness. Theron found that later episodes felt "more natural" and cited the characters to be part of this improvement, though the animation was "still second-class (at best)." Compared to the Japanese release, Theron Martin greatly preferred the English dubs, noting that "the English dialogue has more punch and better flow than the drier and sometimes awkwardly-worded Japanese." Tasha Robinson of "Sci Fi Weekly" found "Speed Grapher" to have a "rich feel that's mirrored in the lovely visuals" and a complicated storyline. She also commented that "Its dry, serious central plotline is also clearly aimed at viewers who value sophisticated, drawn-out serial stories over instant gratification." D. F. Smith of IGN disliked the storyline, though for different reasons. He felt that the series was "trying way too hard to push the content envelope" and that the characters were not likable. However, in contrast to the Anime News Network reviewers, he found the art and animation to be a "first-rate job." The anime was chosen as the fifth best DVD release of the year by DVD Talk's staff. They wrote, "the twists here were enough to make the series unique with a decidedly adult approach some may find discomforting but you will be glued to the edge of your seat as the action packed series provides some of the best intrigue of the year".

The series was adapted into a manga by Tomozo. Originally serialized by MediaWorks in "Monthly Dengeki Comic GAO!", it was released to three "tankōbon" between September 2005 and September 2006. The manga series was then licensed to Chuang Yi, who released the three volumes in English and Chinese in Singapore, and later to Tokyopop, who released the first two volumes in North America in September and December 2008. A light novel was also created and was written by Minoru Niki. It was published by Hayakawa Publishing and released on July 21, 2005.

《极速摄杀》又译作《速写者》,(英语:SPEED GRAPHER,)是GONZO制作的电视动画,于2005年播出。<br>


History.

The current location of downtown Villeurbanne is known to have been inhabited as far back as 6000 BC. Its current name comes from a Gallo-Roman farming area, established at about the same time as Lyon (then "Lugdunum") and known as the "Villa Urbana" ("town house"). It would then become "Urbanum", then "Villa Urbane" and, ultimately, "Villeurbanne".  Villeurbanne has belonged to the kingdom of France since 1349. It was then separated from La Guillotière (A former city lately incorporated into Lyon as the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th Arrondissment) by the river La Rize, a former branch of the Rhône River.  Until the 19th century, the city was merely a patchwork of distinct villages separated by fields and undeveloped land. These villages have mostly survived, and nowadays form the neighborhoods of Charpennes, Cusset, Croix-Luizet, Maisons-Neuves, etc.  With the industrial era, Villeurbanne's economy soared: the textile industry was the first to bloom, followed by mechanical and chemical ones. The factories lured in numerous immigrants, most notably from Italy. Transforming from a rural community to an industrial town, Villeurbanne underwent a tremendous demographic boom in the late 1920s. From 3,000 inhabitants in 1928, its population rocketed to 82,000 in 1931. Mayor Lazare Goujon (elected 1924) engaged the city in a vast public works initiative. Arguably the most visible heritage of this program is the "Gratte-Ciel", a housing complex made up of two Art Deco towers and annex smaller buildings, lining up along the Avenue Henri Barbusse. These structures are the work of architect Môrice Leroux, and one of the most notable Art Deco structures in France. Having undergone thorough renovation, the 19-story twin towers have become an emblem of the city.

Education.

Primary and secondary schools.

Public senior high schools:  Private schools:

Colleges and universities.

Many colleges and universities of the Lyon metropolitan area are located in Villeurbanne. Many of these are located on the La Doua campus, home to the Claude Bernard University (Lyon I), a public university, CPE Lyon and the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon, one of the premier engineering institute (Grandes écoles) in France, very well known for high quality education and for research in France.

Weekend schools.

The "Association Pour le Developpement de la Langue et de la Culture Japonaises" (ADLCJ; リヨン補習授業校 "Riyon Hoshū Jugyō Kō"), a part-time Japanese supplementary school, is held in the "Maison Berty Albrecht" in Villeurbanne. It was formed in 1987.

Transport.

Villeurbanne is well served by the Lyon area public transit system, the TCL (Transports en Commun Lyonnais). The east branch of subway line A runs through the city heart, and the new tramway lines T1 and T4 connects the "La Doua" campus to the Lyon business and commercial district of "La Part-Dieu" and the "Presqu'île" downtown.

International relations.

Twin towns — sister cities.

Villeurbanne is twinned with:  In addition, Villeurbanne has a friendship declaration with:

Demography.

In terms of number of inhabitants, the city of Villeurbanne is the second city of the Metropolis of Lyon, the fourth city of the region Rhône-Alpes, the 27th city of France.

Notable people.

The list of notable native "Villeurbannais" includes:

Villeurbanne (; ) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.

维勒班(,),法国东部城市,奥弗涅-罗讷-阿尔卑斯大区的一个市镇,原属于罗讷省,自2015年起成为里昂大都会的一部分。


Statement.

A perfect graph is an undirected graph with the property that, in every one of its induced subgraphs, the size of the largest clique equals the minimum number of colors in a coloring of the subgraph. Perfect graphs include many important graphs classes including bipartite graphs, chordal graphs, and comparability graphs.  The complement of a graph has an edge between two vertices if and only if the original graph does not have an edge between the same two vertices. Thus, a clique in the original graph becomes an independent set in the complement and a coloring of the original graph becomes a clique cover of the complement.  The perfect graph theorem states:  Equivalently, in a perfect graph, the size of the maximum independent set equals the minimum number of cliques in a clique cover.

Example.

Let "G" be a cycle graph of odd length greater than three (a so-called "odd hole"). Then "G" requires at least three colors in any coloring, but has no triangle, so it is not perfect. By the perfect graph theorem, the complement of "G" (an "odd antihole") must therefore also not be perfect. If "G" is a cycle of five vertices, it is isomorphic to its complement, but this property is not true for longer odd cycles, and it is not as trivial to compute the clique number and chromatic number in an odd antihole as it is in an odd hole. As the strong perfect graph theorem states, the odd holes and odd antiholes turn out to be the minimal forbidden induced subgraphs for the perfect graphs.

Applications.

In a nontrivial bipartite graph, the optimal number of colors is (by definition) two, and (since bipartite graphs are triangle-free) the maximum clique size is also two. Also, any induced subgraph of a bipartite graph remains bipartite. Therefore, bipartite graphs are perfect. In "n"-vertex bipartite graphs, a minimum clique cover takes the form of a maximum matching together with an additional clique for every unmatched vertex, with size "n" − "M", where "M" is the cardinality of the matching. Thus, in this case, the perfect graph theorem implies Kőnig's theorem that the size of a maximum independent set in a bipartite graph is also "n" − "M", a result that was a major inspiration for Berge's formulation of the theory of perfect graphs.  Mirsky's theorem characterizing the height of a partially ordered set in terms of partitions into antichains can be formulated as the perfection of the comparability graph of the partially ordered set, and Dilworth's theorem characterizing the width of a partially ordered set in terms of partitions into chains can be formulated as the perfection of the complements of these graphs. Thus, the perfect graph theorem can be used to prove Dilworth's theorem from the (much easier) proof of Mirsky's theorem, or vice versa.

Lovász's proof.

To prove the perfect graph theorem, Lovász used an operation of replacing vertices in a graph by cliques; it was already known to Berge that, if a graph is perfect, the graph formed by this replacement process is also perfect. Any such replacement process may be broken down into repeated steps of doubling a vertex. If the doubled vertex belongs to a maximum clique of the graph, it increases both the clique number and the chromatic number by one. If, on the other hand, the doubled vertex does not belong to a maximum clique, form a graph "H" by removing the vertices with the same color as the doubled vertex (but not the doubled vertex itself) from an optimal coloring of the given graph. The removed vertices meet every maximum clique, so "H" has clique number and chromatic number one less than that of the given graph. The removed vertices and the new copy of the doubled vertex can then be added back as a single color class, showing that in this case the doubling step leaves the chromatic number unchanged. The same argument shows that doubling preserves the equality of the clique number and the chromatic number in every induced subgraph of the given graph, so each doubling step preserves the perfection of the graph.  Given a perfect graph "G", Lovász forms a graph "G"* by replacing each vertex "v" by a clique of "t" vertices, where "t" is the number of distinct maximum independent sets in "G" that contain "v". It is possible to correspond each of the distinct maximum independent sets in "G" with one of the maximum independent sets in "G"*, in such a way that the chosen maximum independent sets in "G"* are all disjoint and each vertex of "G"* appears in a single chosen set; that is, "G"* has a coloring in which each color class is a maximum independent set. Necessarily, this coloring is an optimal coloring of "G"*. Because "G" is perfect, so is "G"*, and therefore it has a maximum clique "K"* whose size equals the number of colors in this coloring, which is the number of distinct maximum independent sets in "G"; necessarily, "K"* contains a distinct representative for each of these maximum independent sets. The corresponding set "K" of vertices in "G" (the vertices whose expanded cliques in "G"* intersect "K"*) is a clique in "G" with the property that it intersects every maximum independent set in "G". Therefore, the graph formed from "G" by removing "K" has clique cover number at most one less than the clique number of "G", and independence number at least one less than the independence number of "G", and the result follows by induction on this number.

Relation to the strong perfect graph theorem.

The strong perfect graph theorem of states that a graph is perfect if and only if none of its induced subgraphs are cycles of odd length greater than or equal to five, or their complements. Because this characterization is unaffected by graph complementation, it immediately implies the weak perfect graph theorem.

Generalizations.

proved that, if the edges of a complete graph are partitioned into three subgraphs in such a way that every three vertices induce a connected graph in one of the three subgraphs, and if two of the subgraphs are perfect, then the third subgraph is also perfect. The perfect graph theorem is the special case of this result when one of the three subgraphs is the empty graph.

In graph theory, the perfect graph theorem of states that an undirected graph is perfect if and only if its complement graph is also perfect. This result had been conjectured by, and it is sometimes called the weak perfect graph theorem to distinguish it from the strong perfect graph theorem characterizing perfect graphs by their forbidden induced subgraphs.

在图论中,完美图定理(由洛瓦兹·拉兹洛证明)断言:一个无向图是完美的当且仅当其补图也是完美的。这个结论一度是提出的猜想。它有时也被称为弱完美图定理,以和强完美图定理作区分。强完美图定理通过禁止导出子图来刻画完美图。


History.

Before European encounter, the area had been inhabited for thousands of years by successive indigenous peoples. Historical tribes belonged mostly to the Algonquian-language family, especially the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi and related peoples. In contrast, the Huron (Wyandot) were Iroquoian speaking. French colonists had a trading post at Fort Detroit and a settlement developed there in the colonial period. Another developed on the south side of the Detroit River in what is now southwestern Ontario, near a Huron mission village. French and French-Canadian colonists also established farms at Dearborn in this period. France ceded all of its territory east of the Mississippi River in North America to Great Britain in 1763 after losing to the English in the Seven Years' War.  Beginning in 1786, after the United States gained independence in the American Revolutionary War, more European Americans entered this region, settling in Detroit and the Dearborn area. With population growth, Dearborn Township was formed in 1833 and the village of Dearbornville in 1836, each named after patriot Henry Dearborn, a general in the American Revolution who later served as Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson. The Town of Dearborn was incorporated in 1893. Through much of the 19th century, the area was largely rural and dependent on agriculture.  Stimulated by industrial development in Detroit and within its own limits, in 1927 Dearborn was established as a city. Its current borders result from a 1928 consolidation vote that merged Dearborn and neighboring Fordson (previously known as Springwells), which feared being absorbed into expanding Detroit.  According to historian James W. Loewen, in his book "Sundown Towns" (2005), Dearborn discouraged African Americans from settling in the city. In the early 20th century, both whites and African Americans migrated to Detroit for industrial jobs. Over time, some city residents relocated in the suburbs. Many of Dearborn's residents "took pride in the saying, 'The sun never set on a Negro in Dearborn'". According to Orville Hubbard, the segregationist mayor of Dearborn from 1942 to 1978, "as far as he was concerned, it was against the law for a Negro to live in his suburb." The area between Dearborn and Fordson was undeveloped, and still remains so in part. Once farm land, much of this property was bought by Henry Ford for his estate, Fair Lane, and for the Ford Motor Company World Headquarters. Later developments in this corridor were the Ford airport (later converted to the Dearborn Proving Grounds), and other Ford administrative and development facilities.  More recent additions are The Henry Ford (a reconstructed historic village and museum), the Henry Ford Centennial Library, the super-regional shopping mall Fairlane Town Center, and the Ford Performing Arts Center. The open land is planted with sunflowers and often with Ford's favorite crop of soybeans. The crops are never harvested.  With the growth and achievements of the Arab-American community, they developed and in 2005 opened the Arab American National Museum (AANM), the first museum in the world devoted to Arab-American history and culture. Arab Americans in Dearborn include descendants of Lebanese Christians who immigrated in the early twentieth century to work in the auto industry, as well as more recent Arab immigrants and their descendants from other, primarily Muslim nations.  In January 2019, Dearborn Mayor John "Jack" O'Reilly, Jr., terminated the contract of Bill McGraw, new editor of the "Dearborn Historian", a city publication. He refused to allow distribution of the Autumn 2018 issue to subscribers. That issue, on the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's acquisition of the "Dearborn Independent" newspaper, discussed the influence that Ford exerted in expressing his anti-Semitism. The mayor's suppression of the issue received national publicity. The Dearborn Historical Commission held an emergency meeting and passed a resolution calling for the mayor to reverse these actions. The suppressed article was published in "DeadlineDetroit" and may be read here.

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and (0.37%) is water. The city developed on both sides of the Rouge River. An artificial waterfall/low head dam was constructed by Henry Ford on his estate to power its powerhouse. The Upper, Middle, and Lower Branches of the river come together in Dearborn. The river is widened and channeled near the Rouge Plant to allow lake freighter access.  Fordson Island () is an island about three miles (5 km) upriver on the River Rouge from its confluence with the Detroit River. Fordson Island is the only major island in a tributary to the Detroit River. The island was created in 1922 when engineers dug a secondary trench to reroute the River Rouge to increase navigability for shipping purposes; businesses needed it to be navigable by the large lake freighters. The island is privately owned, and public access is prohibited. The island is part of the city of Dearborn, which has no frontage along the Detroit River.  Dearborn is among a small number of municipalities that own property in other cities. It owns the Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan, which is located from Dearborn. Dearborn was among an even smaller number of cities that hold property in another state: for a time the city owned the "Dearborn Towers" apartment complex in Clearwater, Florida, but this has been sold. Camp Dearborn is considered part of the city of Dearborn. Revenues generated by camp admissions are incorporated into the city's budget.

Demographics.

As of the 2010 census, the population of Dearborn was 98,153. The racial and ethnic composition was 89.1% Whites, 4.0% black or African-American, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.2% Non-Hispanics of some other race, 4.0% reporting two or more races and 3.4% Hispanic or Latino. 41.7% were of Arab ancestry (categorized as "White" in Census collection data).  Dearborn has a large community of descendants of ethnic Europeans who arrived as immigrants from the mid-19th into the 20th centuries. Their ancestors generally first settled in Detroit: Irish, German, Italians, and Polish. It is also a center of Maltese American settlement, from the Mediterranean island of Malta. Also attracted to jobs in the auto industry, some were among immigrant Maltese who first settled in Corktown.  The city has a small African American population, many of whose ancestors came to the area from the rural South during the Great Migration of the early twentieth century.  In Census 2000, 61.9% spoke only English, while 29.3% spoke Arabic, 1.9% Spanish, and 1.5% Polish as first languages. There were 36,770 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.42.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $44,560, and the median income for a family was $53,060. Males had a median income of $45,114 versus $33,872 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,488. About 12.2% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 and over.  As of the 2012 estimate, Dearborn's population was thought to have fallen to 96,474, a decrease of 1.7% since 2010. Over the same period, though, SEMCOG, the local statistics agency of Metro Detroit Council of Governments, has estimated the city to have grown to 99,001, or an increase of 1.2% since 2000. SEMCOG's July 2014 estimate listed Dearborn with a population of 102,566.

Arab Americans.

The city's population includes 40,000 Arab Americans. Since the late 20th century, there has been growth in immigration from new areas of the Middle East, such as Syria. Arab Americans own many shops and businesses, offering services in both English and Arabic.  Per the 2000 census, Arab Americans totaled 29,181 or 29.85% of Dearborn's population; many are descendants of families who have been in the city since the early 20th century. The city has the largest proportion of Arab Americans in the United States. As of 2006 Dearborn has the largest Lebanese American population in the United States.  The first Arab immigrants came in the early-to-mid-20th century to work in the automotive industry and were chiefly Lebanese Christians (Maronites). Other immigrants from the Mideast (Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs) have also immigrated to the area. Since then, Arab immigrants from Yemen, Iraq and Palestinian Territories, most of whom are Muslim, have joined them. Lebanese Americans comprise the largest group of ethnic Arabs. The Arab Muslim community has built the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in North America, and the Dearborn Mosque. More Iraqi refugees have come, fleeing the continued war in their country since 2003.  Warren Avenue has become the commercial center of the Arab-American community. The Arab American National Museum is located in Dearborn. The museum was opened in January 2005 to celebrate the Arab American community's history, culture and contributions to the United States.

Economy.

Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance, and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford, including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses, such as the Fairlane Town Center shopping mall. DFCU Financial, the largest credit union in Michigan, was created for Ford and related companies' employees.  One of the largest employers in Dearborn is Oakwood Healthcare System. Other major employers include auto suppliers like Visteon, education facilities such as Henry Ford Community College, and museums such as The Henry Ford. Other businesses headquartered in Dearborn include Carhartt (clothing), Eppinger (fishing lures), AAA Michigan (insurance), and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Largest employers.

According to the City's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

Education.

Colleges and universities.

University of Michigan–Dearborn and Henry Ford College are located in Dearborn on Evergreen Road and are adjacent to each other. Concordia University Dearborn Center, and Central Michigan University both offer classes in Dearborn. Career training schools include Kaplan Career Institute, ITT Tech, and Sanford Brown College.

Primary and secondary schools.

Dearborn residents, along with a small portion of Dearborn Heights residents, attend Dearborn Public Schools. The system operates 34 schools including three major high schools: Fordson High School, Dearborn High School and Edsel Ford High School. The public schools serve more than 18,000 students in the fourth-largest district in the state.  Divine Child High School and Elementary School are in Dearborn as well; the high-school is the largest private coed high school in the area. Henry Ford Academy is a charter high school inside Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. Another charter secondary school is Advanced Technology Academy. Dearborn Schools operated the Clara B. Ford High School inside Vista Maria, a non-profit residential treatment agency for girls in Dearborn Heights. Clara B. Ford High School became a charter school in the 2007–08 school year.  A small portion of the city limits is within the Westwood Community School District. The sections of Dearborn within the district are zoned for industrial and commercial uses.  The Islamic Center of America operates the Muslim American Youth Academy (MAYA), an Islamic elementary and middle school.  The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit operates Sacred Heart Elementary School. It previously operated the St. Alphonsus School in Dearborn. In 2003 the archdiocese closed the high school of St. Alphonsus; and in 2005 closed the St. Alphonsus elementary school.  Global Educational Excellence operates multiple charter schools in Dearborn: Riverside Academy Early Childhood Center, Riverside Academy East Campus (K-5), and Riverside Academy West Campus (6–12).  Dearborn Christian School closed in 2014.

Public libraries.

Dearborn Public Library includes the Henry Ford Centennial Library, which is the main library; and the Bryant and Esper branches.  Dearborn's first public library opened in 1924 at the building now known as the Bryant Branch. This served as the main library until the Ford library opened in 1969. In 1970 what became known as the Mason building was classified as a branch library. The library was renamed in 1977 after Katharine Wright Bryant, who developed a plan for the library and campaigned for it.  Around April 1963 the Ford Motor Company granted the City of Dearborn $3 million to build a library as a memorial to Henry Ford. Ford Motor Company deeded of vacant land for the public library to the city on July 30, 1963, the centennial or 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's birth. The Ford Foundation later granted the library an additional $500,000 for supplies and equipment. On November 25, 1969 the library was dedicated. Library employees have occupied the building since its opening; originally only the library had offices in the building. In 1979 the library staff gave up the western side's meeting rooms, and the City of Dearborn Health Department occupied those rooms.  The Esper Branch, the smallest branch, is located in what is known as the Arab residential quarter of the city. The library has about 35,000 books, entertainment and educational videocassettes, music CDs, children's music cassettes, audio books, and magazines. Newspapers are also available. It features many Arabic-language books, newspapers, and videocassettes for Arabic-speaking residents. This library was dedicated on October 12, 1953. Originally named the Warren Branch, this structure had replaced the Northeast Branch, which opened in a storefront in 1944. In October 1961 it was named after city councilman Anthony M. Esper.

Post office.

During the years 1934 to 1943, during and after the Great Depression, murals were commissioned for federal public buildings in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. They often featured representation of local history. In 1938 artist Rainey Bennett painted an oil-on-canvas mural for the federal post offices in Dearborn titled, "Ten Eyck's Tavern on Chicago Road".

Infrastructure.

Sports facilities.

Sports facilities include the Dearborn Ice Skating Center.

Transportation.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Dearborn, operating its "Wolverine" three times daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois and Pontiac, via Detroit. Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, up to two suitcases, in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment, are allowed on board as carry-ons. There are two rail stops in Dearborn: the regular Amtrak station and a rarely used station at Greenfield Village. Amtrak operates on Norfolk Southern's (NS) "Michigan Line". This track runs from Dearborn to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Most of the freight traffic on these rails is related to the automotive industry. Norfolk Southern's Dearborn Division offices are also located in Dearborn.  Dearborn is served by buses of both the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) systems.  From 1924 to 1947, Dearborn was the site of Ford Airport. It featured the world's first concrete runway and the first scheduled U.S. passenger service.

Government.

Dearborn has a mayor-council form of government. As of 2019, the Mayor of the City of Dearborn is John B. "Jack" O'Reilly, Jr. The City Council President is Susan Dabaja.

Media.

The metropolitan-area newspapers are "The Detroit News" and the "Detroit Free Press".  The "Dearborn & Dearborn Heights Press and Guide" publishes local news for Dearborn and the neighboring Dearborn Heights. "The Arab American News" is published in Dearborn.

Target of Christian missionaries and politicians.

In the 21st century, the Arab-American community in Dearborn has sometimes been subject to public proselytizing by Protestant Christian missionaries and inflammatory statements by political candidates. In 2010, Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, and two other people acting as Christian missionaries, were arrested at the Dearborn International Arab Festival. They had been handing out Christian literature aimed at Muslim believers. The four were prosecuted for breach of the peace. Police ordered them to stop filming the incident, to provide identification, and to move at least five blocks from the border of the fair. After reviewing the video evidence, the jury acquitted the defendants. The four defendants filed a separate civil suit against the city. Dearborn was found to have violated their constitutional rights related to freedom of speech. The city settled the lawsuit and issued a formal apology to the individuals.  Sharron Angle, a Republican senatorial candidate in Nevada, said in an October 2010 political speech that the Arab Americans in Dearborn contributed to a "militant terrorist situation," and that the city government was enforcing Islamic "sharia" law. Mayor Jack O'Reilly strongly criticized Angle for her deliberate misrepresentation of the city and its residents, and he called her comments "shameful." He said her claim was based on distorted Tea Party accounts of the arrest of members of an anti-Islam group at an Arab festival.  Preacher Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, known for burning a Quran, the sacred book of Islam, planned a protest in 2011 outside the Islamic Center of America. Local authorities required him either to post a $45,000 "peace bond" to cover Dearborn's cost if Jones incited violence, or to go to trial. Jones contested that requirement, and he and his co-pastor Wayne Sapp refused to post the bond. They were held briefly in jail, while claiming violation of First Amendment rights. That night Jones was released by the court. The ACLU had filed an "amicus brief" in support of Jones's protest plans. A week later, on April 29, Jones led a rally at the Dearborn City Hall, in a designated free speech zone. Riot police were called out to control counter protesters. Jones also planned to speak at the annual Arab Festival on June 18, 2011, but his route was blocked by protesters, six of whom were arrested. Police said they did not have enough officers present to maintain safety. Christian missionaries accompanied Jones with their own protest signs. Both festivalgoers and counter protesters said the missionaries had yelled insults at Arabs, Muslims, and Catholics.  On November 11, 2011, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Ziolkowski vacated the "breach of peace" ruling against Jones and Sapp on the grounds that they were denied due process. On April 7, 2012 Jones led another protest in front of the Islamic Center of America, where he spoke about Islam and free speech. The mosque officials had locked it down to prevent damage. The city used thirty police cars to block traffic from the area in an effort to prevent a counter protest.

Dearborn is a city in the State of Michigan. It is located in Wayne County and is part of the Detroit metropolitan area. Dearborn is the eighth largest city in the State of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 98,153 and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States. First settled in the late 18th century by ethnic French farmers in a series of ribbon farms along the Rouge River and the Sauk Trail, the community grew in the 19th century with the establishment of the Detroit Arsenal on the Chicago Road linking Detroit and Chicago. In the 20th century, it developed as a major manufacturing hub for the automotive industry.

迪尔伯恩(英语:Dearborn),位于美国密歇根州韦恩县,属于大底特律地区的一部分。迪尔伯恩是密歇根州第八大城市,拥有约98,000人口。该城市是亨利·福特的家乡和福特汽车公司的全球总部,并且是密歇根大学迪尔伯分校和亨利·福特特社会学院所在地。迪尔伯恩是密歇根州旅游的重点,亨利·福特园区是美国最大的室内和室外美国历史博物馆和综合娱乐设施,也就是大家所熟知的亨利·福特博物馆和Greenfield村。


Early life.

Ong was born on 15 November 1956 in Lenggong, Perak. He graduated from University of Malaya, majoring in Mathematics and Science in 1980. He began his career as a teacher in Catholic High School in Petaling Jaya from 1981 until 1986.  He is married to Puan Sri Wendy Chong Siew Mei. The couple have two children – Chloe Ong Li En and Ong Xing Yang.  MCA former secretary-general for twice, Ong Ka Chuan, is his elder brother.

Political career.

From 1986 until 1990, Ong was the political secretary to the then Minister of Transport. After winning the general elections in 1990, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health from 26 October 1990 until 24 February 1991. Ong was next appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs from 25 February 1991 through April 1995, before being promoted to be the Deputy Minister of the same Ministry on 3 May 1993.  In 1999, he was promoted to become a full-fledged minister leading the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, a position he held until 2008. In 2004, he retained his parliamentary seat of Tanjung Piai with a 23,615 votes majority over the opposition candidate. In January 2008, he was appointed as Acting Health Minister following the resignation of Dr. Chua Soi Lek who was involved in a sex scandal.  In the 2008 general election, Ong succeeded in his bid for the Kulai Parliamentary seat. However, the election was marked by heavy losses for the ruling coalition, especially among candidates from the MCA and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). In the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle, Ong was not retained as a member of the Cabinet by his request, as he wanted to focus his energies in restructuring and re-engineering the MCA to win back Chinese voters' support. His former Cabinet portfolio was handed over to his elder brother, Ong Ka Chuan, who was MCA Secretary-General, Perak MCA chief and MP of Tanjung Malim in Perak.  In 2008, he had left the presidency of Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA) and had given the highest post of president to Ong Tee Keat on 18 October 2008 after the successful party election.  On 17 March 2010, Ong Ka Ting announced his intention to contest for the party's presidency in the 28 March party elections after leaving the post for one and a half years. He was defeated by Dr. Chua Soi Lek. In 2013, Ong retired as a Member of Parliament, having decided not to recontest his parliamentary seat in the 2013 general election.

References.

Ong Ka Ting (; born 15 November 1956) is a Malaysian politician. He was the former Housing and Local Government Minister from 1999 to 2008 and Acting Transport Minister from May to June 2003 in the Malaysian cabinet. Ong also served as the seventh President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a major component party in Barisan Nasional (BN); from May 2003 to October 2008. He was appointed Special Envoy of Malaysia to China in 1 November 2011. The appointment was terminated by the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2018.

黄家定(1956年-11月15日),男,汉族,祖籍福建省泉州晋江市潘湖村,出生于马来西亚霹雳州上霹雳县玲珑,马来西亚政治人物,为马华公会第7任总会长。他曾经担任柔佛州、和国会议员,官至房屋及地方政府部长,2008年先后卸下内阁职务及党职。2011年10月21日,黄家定受委为马来西亚首相对华特使。


History.

Richard H. Ranger an electrical engineer working at Radio Corporation of America invented a method for sending photographs through radio transmissions. He called his system the wireless photoradiogram, in contrast to the fifty-year-old telefacsimile devices which used first telegraphic wires, and then later was adapted to use the newer telephone wires.  On 29 November 1924, Ranger's system was used to send a photograph from New York City to London. It was an image of President Calvin Coolidge and was the first transoceanic radio transmission of a photograph. Also that year, AT&T engineer Herbert E. Ives transmitted the first color photograph.  During World War II thousands of photographs were transmitted from Europe, and from the Pacific Islands, to the United States. The major news agencies (AP, UPI, Reuters), maintained their own transoceanic radio facsimile transmitters as close to the action as they could. The iconic flag raising on Iwo Jima was printed in hundreds of American newspapers within a day of being taken, because it was transmitted from Guam to New York City by wireless radiofacsimile, a distance of 12,781 km (7,942 mi).  Beginning in the late 1930s, the Finch Facsimile system was used to transmit a "radio newspaper" to private homes via commercial AM radio stations and ordinary radio receivers equipped with Finch's printer, which used thermal paper. Sensing a new and potentially golden opportunity, competitors soon entered the field, but the printer and special paper were expensive luxuries, AM radio transmission was very slow and vulnerable to static, and the newspaper was too small. After more than ten years of repeated attempts by Finch and others to establish such a service as a viable business, the public, apparently quite content with its cheaper and much more substantial home-delivered daily newspapers, and with conventional spoken radio bulletins to provide any "hot" news, still showed only a passing curiosity about the new medium.  By the late 1940s, radiofax receivers were sufficiently miniaturized to be fitted beneath the dashboard of Western Union's "Telecar" telegram delivery vehicles.  In the 1960s, the United States Army transmitted the first photograph via satellite facsimile to Puerto Rico from the Deal Test Site using the Courier satellite.

Weatherfax.

A decade after the introduction of radiofax National Weather Service (NWS) began transmitting weather maps using the radiofax technology. The NWS named this new service weatherfax (portmanteau word from the words "weather facsimile") The cover of the regular NOAA publication on frequencies and schedules states "Worldwide Marine Radiofacsimile Broadcast Schedules".  Facsimile machines were used in the 1950s to transmit weather charts across the United States via land-lines first and then internationally via HF radio. Radio transmission of weather charts provides an enormous amount of flexibility to marine and aviation users for they now have the latest weather information and forecasts at their fingertips to use in the planning of voyages.  Radiofax relies on facsimile technology where printed information is scanned line by line and encoded into an electrical signal which can then be transmitted via physical line or radio waves to remote locations. Since the amount of information transmitted per unit time is directly proportional to the bandwidth available, then the speed at which a weather chart can be transmitted will vary depending on the quality of the media used for transmission.  Today radiofax data is available via FTP downloads from sites in the Internet such as the ones hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Radiofax transmissions are also broadcast by NOAA from multiple sites in the country at regular daily schedules. Radio weatherfax transmissions are particularly useful to shipping, where there are limited facilities for accessing the Internet.  The term weatherfax was coined after the technology that allows the transmission and reception of weather charts (surface analysis, forecasts, and others) from a transmission site (usually the meteorological office) to a remote site (where the actual users are).

Transmission details.

Radiofax is transmitted in single sideband which is a refinement of amplitude modulation. The signal shifts up or down a given amount to designate white or black pixels. A deviation less than that for a white or black pixel is taken to be a shade of grey. With correct tuning (1.9 kHz below the assigned frequency for USB, above for LSB), the signal shares some characteristics with SSTV, with black at 1500 Hz and peak white at 2300 Hz.  Usually, 120 lines per minute (LPM) are sent (For monochrome fax, possible values are: 60, 90, 100, 120, 180, 240. For colour fax, LPM can be: 120, 240). A value known as the "index of cooperation" (IOC) must also be known to decode a radio fax transmission - this governs the image resolution, and derives from early radio fax machines which used drum readers, and is the product of the total line length and the number of lines per unit length (known sometimes as the "factor of cooperation"), divided by π. Usually the IOC is 576.

Automatic Picture Transmission format (APT).

APT format permits unattended monitoring of services. It is employed by most terrestrial weather facsimile stations as well as geostationary weather satellites.

Stations.

Today, radiofax is primarily used worldwide for the dissemination of weather charts, satellite weather images, and forecasts to ships at sea. The oceans are covered by coastal stations in various countries.  In the United States, fax weather products are prepared by a number of offices, branches, and agencies within the National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Tropical and hurricane products come from the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch, part of the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center. They are broadcast over US Coast Guard communication stations NMG, in New Orleans, LA, and NMC, the Pacific master station on Point Reyes, CA. After Hurricane Katrina damaged NMG, the Boston Coast Guard station NMF added a limited schedule of tropical warning charts. NMG is back at full capability, but NMF continues to broadcast these.  All other products come from the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) of the NWS, in cooperation with several other offices depending on the region and nature of information. These also use NMG, NMC, and NMF, plus Coast Guard station NOJ in Kodiak, Alaska, and Department of Defense station KVM70 in Hawaii.  Ever since the RMS "Titanic" dramatized the dangers of icebergs in the North Atlantic, an International Ice Patrol has also originated weather data, and its charts are broadcast by the Boston station during the prime iceberg season of February through September, using the callsign NIK.  A major producer of Canadian radiofax is the Canadian Forces METOC (Meteorology and Oceanography Centre) in Halifax, NS, using the communication station CFH. Charts are sent on the hour, then the station switches to radioteletype (RTTY) for the rest of the period.  CBV, Playa Ancha Radio in Valparaiso, Chile broadcasts a daily schedule of Armada de Chile weather fax for the southeastern Pacific, all the way to the Antarctic. Also in the Pacific, Japan has two stations, as does the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia. Most European countries have stations, as does Russia.  Kyodo News is the only remaining news agency to transmit news via radiofax. It broadcasts complete newspapers in Japanese and English, often at 60 lines per minute instead of the more normal 120 because of the greater complexity of written Japanese. A full day's news takes hours to transmit. Kyodo has a dedicated transmission to Pacific fishing fleets from Kagoshima Prefectural Fishery Radio, and a relay from 9VF, possibly still in Singapore.  The German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) transmits a regular daily schedule of weather charts on three frequencies 3855.0 kHz, 7880.0 kHz and 13882.5 kHz from their LF and HF transmitting facility in Pinneberg.

Radiofacsimile, radiofax or HF fax is an analogue mode for transmitting monochrome images via high frequency (HF) radio waves. It was the predecessor to slow-scan television (SSTV). It was the primary method of sending photographs from remote sites (especially islands) from the 1930s to the early 1970s. It is still in limited use for transmitting weather charts and information to ships at sea.

无线电传真(英语:Radiofax)是一种利用无线电波传送图像的方法,现时通常用于传送气象信息,也被用作传送新闻及图像。