Origin of the term.

Silicon Wadi is a pun based on the Californian region of Silicon Valley. "Wadi" is the Arabic word for a valley or dry river bed, also commonly used in colloquial Hebrew.

History.

Israeli high-tech firms originally began to form in the 1960s. In 1961 ECI Telecom was founded, followed in 1962 by Tadiran and Elron Electronic Industries regarded by many to be the "Fairchild of Israel." The number of internationally successful firms grew slowly, with only one or two new successful firms each year until the early 1990s. Motorola was the first US corporation to set up an R&D unit in Israel, in 1964. The center initially developed wireless products including remote irrigation systems and later developed leading chips such as the 68030. Following the 1967 French arms embargo, Israel was forced to develop a domestic military industry, focusing on developing a technological edge over its neighbors. Some of these military firms started to seek and develop civilian applications of military technology. In the 1970s more commercial innovations began, many of which were based on military R&D, including: Scitex digital printing systems, which were based on fast rotation drums from fast-rotation electronic warfare systems, and Elscint, which developed innovative medical imaging and became a leading force in its market.  High-tech firms continued to struggle throughout this period with marketing and many products, such as a mini-computer developed in the 1970s by Elbit, who were unable to successfully commercialise the product.

World software market takes off.

Slowly, the international computing industry shifted the emphasis from hardware (in which Israel had no comparative advantage) to software products (in which human capital plays a larger role). The country became one of the first nations to compete in global software markets. By the 1980s a diverse set of software firms had developed. Each found niches which were not dominated by US firms and between 1984 and 1991 "pure" software exports increased from $5 million to $110 million. Many of the important ideas here were developed by graduates of Mamram, the Israeli computer corps, established by the IDF in the 1960s.  During the 1980s and early 1990s several successful software companies emerged from Israel, including: Amdocs (established in 1982 as Aurec Information), Cimatron (established in 1982), Magic Software Enterprises (established in 1983), Comverse (established in 1983 as Efrat Future Technologies), Aladdin Knowledge Systems (established in 1985), NICE Systems (established in 1986), Mercury Interactive (established in 1989) and Check Point Software Technologies (established in 1993).  The 1990s saw the real takeoff of high-tech industries in Israel, with international media attention increasing awareness of innovation in the country. Growth increased, whilst new immigrants from the Soviet Union increased the available high-tech workforce. Peace agreements including the 1993 Oslo Peace Accord increased the investment environment and Silicon Wadi began to develop into a noticeable high-tech cluster.

Dot-com boom.

In 1998, Mirabilis, an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, which revolutionized communication over the Internet, was purchased by America Online (AOL) for $407 million in cash, 18 months after it was founded and having no revenues. The free service attracted a user base of 15 million in that period and by 2001, ICQ had over 100 million users worldwide.  The success of Mirabilis triggered the dot-com boom in Israel; thousands of start-up companies were established between 1998 and 2001, while venture capital raised by Israeli companies reached $1,851 million in 1999, peaking at $3,701 million in 2000. Over fifty Israeli companies had initial public offerings on NASDAQ and other international stock markets during that period.

Silicon Wadi today.

For more than 50 years, local demand fueled Israeli industrial expansion, as the country's population grew rapidly and the standard of living rose. More recently, world demand for Israeli advanced technologies, software, electronics, and other sophisticated equipment has stimulated industrial growth. Israel's high status in new technologies is the result of its emphasis on higher education and research and development. Cultural factors contributing to the expansion include chutzpah and openness to immigration. The government also assists industrial growth by providing low-rate loans from its development budget. The main limitations experienced by industry are the scarcity of domestic raw materials and sources of energy and the restricted size of the local market. One certain advantage is that many Israeli university graduates are likely to become IT entrepreneurs or join startups, about twice as much as US university graduates, who are also attracted to traditional corporate executive positions, according to Charles A. Holloway, co-director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. ICQ, for instance, is one of the world's most famous Israeli software products, developed by 4 young entrepreneurs. IBM has its IBM Content Discovery Engineering Team in Jerusalem, which is part of a number of IBM R&D Labs in Israel.

RAD Group's prominence.

According to research conducted by Prof. Shmuel Ellis, Chair of the Management Department at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Management, together with Prof. Israel Drori of the School of Business Administration at the College of Management and Prof. Zur Shapira, Chair of the Management and Organizations Department at New York University, the RAD Group, founded in 1981 by brothers Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel, has been "the most fertile ground" for creating Israeli entrepreneurs, having produced 56 "serial entrepreneurs" who established more than one start-up each. RAD Group "graduates" were responsible for the establishment of a total of 111 significant high-tech initiatives.

Location.

Due to the small size of Israel, the concentration of high-tech firms across much of the country is enough for it to be recognised as one large cluster. Most activity is located in the densely populated areas of metropolitan Tel Aviv, Haifa (Matam), and Jerusalem (Technology Park, Malha, Har Hotzvim and JVP Media Quarter in Talpiot), and the Startup Village Ecosystem in the Yokneam area, although some secondary with additional activity include the corridor to Beer Sheba, including Kiryat Gat, and the Western Galilee. In all, this is an area no larger than 6000 square kilometers, half of the extended Silicon Valley's geographical coverage.

Economy.

Many international technology companies have research and development facilities in this region, including companies such as Intel, IBM, Google, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, SAP, BMC Software, Microsoft, Motorola and CA. Many Israeli high-tech companies are based in the region, including Zoran Corporation, CEVA, Inc., Aladdin Knowledge Systems, Mellanox, NICE Systems, Horizon Semiconductors, RAD Data Communications, RADWIN, Radware, Tadiran Telecom, Radvision, Check Point Software Technologies, Amdocs, Babylon Ltd., Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries and the solar thermal equipment designer and manufacturer Solel, with most of them being listed on the NASDAQ, which even has an Israel Index. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center located at the "Merkaz Ta'asiya ve'Meida" (Matam – Scientific Industries Center) in the city of Haifa. In 2006, more than 3,000 start-ups were created in Israel, a number that is only second to the US. Newsweek Magazine has also named Tel Aviv as one of the world's top ten "Hot High-Tech Cities". In 1998, Tel Aviv was named by "Newsweek" as one of the ten technologically most influential cities in the world. In 2012, the city was also named one of the best places for high-tech startup companies, placed only second behind its California counterpart.

Importance.

The importance of Silicon Wadi was first recognised internationally by Wired magazine, who in 2000, ranked locations by the strength of cluster effects, giving the Israeli high-tech cluster the same rank as Boston, Helsinki, London, and Kista in Sweden, second only to Silicon Valley.

Israeli venture capital industry.

The origins of the now thriving venture capital industry in Israel can be traced to a government initiative in 1993 named the Yozma program ("Initiative" in Hebrew); which offered attractive tax incentives to any foreign venture-capital investments in Israel and offered to double any investment with funds from the government. As a result, Between 1991 and 2000, Israel's annual venture-capital outlays, nearly all private, rose nearly 60-fold, from $58 million to $3.3 billion; companies launched by Israeli venture funds rose from 100 to 800; and Israel's information-technology revenues rose from $1.6 billion to $12.5 billion. By 1999, Israel ranked second only to the United States in invested private-equity capital as a share of GDP. And it led the world in the share of its growth attributable to high-tech ventures: 70 percent.  Israel's thriving venture capital industry has played an important role in financing and funding Silicon Wadi. The financial crisis of 2007–08 affected the availability of venture capital locally. In 2009, there were 63 mergers and acquisitions in the Israeli market worth a total of $2.54 billion; 7% below 2008 levels ($2.74 billion), when 82 Israeli companies were merged or acquired, and 33% lower than 2007 proceeds ($3.79 billion) when 87 Israeli companies were merged or acquired. Numerous high tech Israeli companies have been acquired by global corporations for its provision of reliable and quality corporate personnel. The March acquisition of Israeli company Mellanox for $ 6.9 billion by Nvidia Corporation is a definite contender for the largest M&A deal in 2019. Generally, Israeli startups are becoming so attractive that US companies tend to acquire them more than anyone else: they account for half of all transactions in 2018. Thus, Israels eventually became a "net seller".  Israel's venture capital industry has about 70 active venture capital funds, of which 14 international VCs with Israeli offices. Additionally, there are some 220 international funds, including Polaris Venture Partners, Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, that do not have branches in Israel, but actively invest in Israel through an in-house specialist.  In 2009, the life sciences sector led the market with $272 million or 24% of total capital raised, followed by the software sector with $258 million or 23%, the communications sector with $219 million or 20%, and the Internet sector with 13% of capital raised in 2009.

Multinational technology companies operating in Israel.

As of 2010, more than 35,000 personnel were employed in multinationals research and development centers across Israel. In recent years, East Asian multinationals and investors, especially from Mainland China, have actively invested and opened up offices in Israel, including Chinese technology giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and Kuang-Chi. Around 60 foreign R&D centers are engaged in a diverse range of activities including biotechnology, chemicals, industrial machinery, communication equipment, scientific instruments, medical devices, flash memory storage equipment, computer hardware components, software, semiconductors and internet.

Silicon Wadi (, lit: "Silicon Valley") is an area with a high concentration of high-technology companies on the coastal plain of Israel, similar to Silicon Valley in the U.S. state of California, and is the reason Israel is nicknamed the Start-Up Nation. The area covers much of the country, although especially high concentrations of high-tech industry can be found in the area around Tel Aviv, including small clusters around the cities of Ra'anana, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Netanya, the academic city of Rehovot and its neighbour Ness Ziona. In addition, high-tech clusters can be found in Haifa and Caesarea. More recent high-tech establishments have been raised in Jerusalem, and in towns such as Yokneam Illit and Israel's first "private city," Airport City, near Tel Aviv.

La Silicon Wadi (, littéralement la « vallée du silicium ») est une zone de grande concentration d'industries de hautes technologies située dans la plaine côtière israélienne et comparable à la "Silicon Valley" américaine. La région s'étend sur une grande partie de l'État d'Israël, bien que des concentrations particulièrement élevées d'industrie de hautes technologies puissent surtout être trouvées dans la région de Tel Aviv-Jaffa, ainsi que de plus petites près des villes de Ra'anana, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Netanya, de la ville universitaire de Rehovot et de sa voisine Rishon Letsion. De plus, d'autres zones de hautes technologies peuvent aussi être trouvées à Haïfa et Césarée. Des secteurs de hautes technologies plus récents ont été construits à Jérusalem, dans des villes telles que Yoqneam et dans la première « ville privée d'Israël », "Airport City", près de Tel Aviv-Jaffa.


Early life.

James Wallace Fields was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in September 1958. Fields was educated in the Omaha public schools. Starting in his childhood, Fields took an intense interest in film. An early photograph that appears in "Saving The Indian Hills" depicts Fields at age 16, standing in front of the "Indian Hills Theater", which housed the largest indoor movie screen ever constructed. Designed by the architect "Richard L. Crowther", the "Cinerama" theater was considered his greatest achievement. Its unique curved screen provided a 3-D effect that caused moviegoers to feel themselves immersed in the film—especially wide screen movies such as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dr. Zhivago" and "Star Wars".

Early career.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Fields wrote the play "Little Red" about the 'Bugeaters', a 1915 University of Nebraska football team that went on to become the Cornhuskers. Fields himself produced and directed "Little Red" in Omaha. The success of his first play led Fields to write, produce and direct "Scarlett Fever", a dramatic play about a 76-year-old woman who wakes up one day and believes she is Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind". The success of "Scarlett Fever" led Fields to acquire his first digital video equipment which he used to produce and direct his first feature film: "Plain Living".

"Saving The Indian Hills".

In 2001 Fields found himself swept up in a brewing controversy in Omaha. The aforementioned "Indian Hills Theater" was sold to Methodist Health Systems, which announced its intention to demolish the theater for a parking lot. A group of Omaha activists formed to save the "Indian Hills Theater" and Fields was on hand, filming. The preservation fight became a cause célébre, resulting in letters from Hollywood legends pleading for the theater. Such legends included "Kirk Douglas", "Leonard Maltin", "Charlton Heston", "Janet Leigh", "Ray Bradbury" and "Patricia Neal". Despite these pleas and a recommendation for the theater as a city landmark by the City of Omaha's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Methodist Health Systems began demolition of the theater shortly after the theater had been declared a landmark.

"416".

The movie "416" is named after Initiative 416, Nebraska's referendum banning same-sex marriage. Fields takes a balanced approach to the issue as he plays the initiative's backers against Nebraskans who oppose the measure, which passed with support from 71% of Nebraska voters. "416" purported to give an objective view of the issue but most reviewers suggested the film was highly critical of the religious right.

"Preserve Me A Seat".

Although the activists did not succeed in saving the theater, Fields captured their tumultuous efforts on film and this resulted in two films: "Saving The Indian Hills" and footage that later became the core of "Preserve Me A Seat". The later film enlarges the focus of "Saving The Indian Hills" to the entire United States. It presents the story of the "Indian Hills Theater Preservation Society", the Omaha group that formed to save the theater, in context with the companion stories of similar groups that formed in other cities with the intention of saving their own theater palaces from the wrecking ball. Because of the controversy surrounding its "Indian Hills Theater" elements, the film's premier faced long delays while litigation got resolved. The world premiere occurred in Grand Island, NE Nebraska. After the feature a lively panel discussion occurred featuring the film-makers and theater developer, Paul Warshauer. The common thread of the theater preservation efforts within "Preserve Me A Seat" is their lack of success. This film has seen wide distribution at film festivals across the country.

"Bugeaters".

Fields' latest work is a documentary film about the 1890 University of Nebraska football team, entitled "Bugeaters".

Work as a producer.

As is common with independent producer/directors, Fields has produced all of his works.

Themes.

Much of Fields' oeuvre presents the struggle of the common man against entrenched power. His movies portray ordinary people engaged in extraordinary battles in which their lack of power does not equate with a lack of passion.

Awards.

Fields' film "416" was chosen as Best Feature in the Central Nebraska Film Festival.

James Wallace Fields (born September 1958) is an American film director, producer, playwright and actor. Fields wrote, produced and directed the movies "416", "Saving The Indian Hills", "Preserve Me A Seat", "Plain Living" and, most recently "Bugeaters", currently in production. Prior to his film work, Fields wrote and directed the musical comedy "Little Red" and the play "Scarlett Fever".

James Wallace Fields, mieux connu sous le nom de Jim Fields (né en ) est un réalisateur, producteur de cinéma, dramaturge et acteur américain. Il a notamment travaillé sur les films "416", "Saving The Indian Hills", "Preserve Me A Seat", "Plain Living" et "Bugeaters" ainsi que sur les pièces "Little Red" et "Scarlett Fever". Sa compagnie de production est "Apartment 101 Films".


Early history.

Mucking was "a particularly extensive Anglo-Saxon settlement, of at least 100+ people, commanding an important strategic position in the Lower Thames region; it may have functioned as a meeting place and mart for surrounding areas on both sides of the Thames". Its name is of Saxon origin and indicates human settlement here for well over a millennium. The meaning is usually given as 'the family (or followers) of Mucca' (Mucca most likely being a local chieftain). However, Margaret Gelling has suggested alternative interpretations - 'Mucca's place' or 'Mucca's stream'. Mucking's geographical location on flat marshland at the very mouth of the River Thames indicates that settlement in the area by Germanic invaders from the continent probably occurred at a relatively early date; indeed, an outline of a now abandoned nearby Saxon village, West Mucking, was discovered from aerial photographs in the 20th century. Mucking was host to a small iron smelting industry because of its workable deposits of iron ore. Spongy iron blooms were produced and had their impurities worked out by a process known as 'Mucking'. It is not known if this process is connected to the village name or a coincidence.

Modern Mucking.

Although the population of the hamlet is now less than one hundred, it thrived in Victorian times, boasting small shops, a large rectory and the mediaeval church of St John the Baptist (both of the latter buildings have now been converted to private houses, with access to the church graveyard possible only with prior written permission). The hamlet also gives its name to Mucking Flats, the mudflat on the estuary to the east of the village, one of Essex's Sites of Special Scientific Interest and once the site of a small lighthouse.

Archaeological excavation.

Mucking was the location for a major archaeological dig ahead of excavation from the gravel quarry that swallowed it up. The site was discovered by crop marks in the soil photographed by Dr St Joseph in 1959. The excavation was directed by Margaret Jones and lasted from 1965 to 1978. In addition to major finds from the Saxon period, other artefacts from the site span the period from the Stone Age through to the medieval period.  The Saxon settlement excavated at Mucking was extensive with more than 230 buildings. The site contained two cemeteries. Many of the buildings were sunken huts although there were timber halls which were possibly occupied by the higher status families. The settlement gradually moved north over the course of two hundred years after its establishment in the 4th century.

Parish church.

The parish church was dedicated to St John the Baptist. It was largely demolished and rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century. It is now redundant and used as private dwelling.

Mucking is a hamlet and former Church of England parish adjoining the Thames Estuary in southern Essex, England. It is located approximately south of the town of Stanford-le-Hope in what is now Thurrock unitary authority.

Mucking est un hameau de l'Essex, en Angleterre. Il est situé au nord de l'estuaire de la Tamise, à quelques kilomètres au sud de la ville de Stanford-le-Hope. Administrativement, il appartient à l'autorité unitaire de Thurrock.


Gameplay.

Players take on the role of a postknight, a postal worker that must fight their way past enemies such as wolves and bandits. During missions players control the postknight via three buttons that allow them to charge enemies, block their attacks, or heal wounds. After performing an action, players must wait a certain amount of time, typically only a few seconds, before they can perform that action again until the end of the mission. For each successful mission, players receive rewards which can be used to upgrade armor, weapons, and potions. Players can level up the postknight characters in 4 areas: strength (increases damage), agility (increases chances of dodging and landing critical hits), intelligence (increases magic defense and experience gain rate) and vitality (increases maximum health)  Another interesting game mechanic is relationship, wherein players can give gifts to certain female NPCs in the game and raise their heart meter with them, which will in turn result in the characters gifting items to the player if certain levels are reached. However, if player gift wrong/unwanted gifts to the female NPC or do not talk to them for a while, the heart meter will drop.

Reception.

Gamezebo gave "Postknight" four out of five stars, stating that the game's pacing allowed for little downtime and near constant gameplay while also criticizing it for its repetitive nature. Common Sense Media rated the game at three stars, criticizing its repetitive gameplay and freemium options, while also stating that it was perfect for playing for small periods of time. "TouchArcade" also reviewed the app, naming it its "Game of the Week" during the app's first week of release.  "Postknight" was nominated and won the Grand Prix of the SEA International Mobile Gaming Awards 2017, making it the first ever winner of the SEA Grand Prix. By the end of the year, "Postknight" received Google Play's recognition as 'Google Play's Best Games of 2017'.

Postknight is a RPG mobile app that was created by Kurechii, a Malaysian game developing team. It released for iOS and Android on February 9, 2017, after its beta testing period ended.

Postknight est un jeu vidéo de type "action-RPG" développé et édité par Kurechii, sorti en 2017 sur iOS et Android.


Racing history.

Nissan received three 87G chassis from March that had minor improvements over the R86V chassis, and with the newly designed VEJ30 engine Nissan dubbed this new platform the R87E. For the 1987 racing season Le Mans was the sole objective, with only a single entry in the Fuji 500 km race as preparation for the event. Unfortunately Nissan did not have a good performance at Le Mans that year with each car failing to complete the race due to engine difficulties. Nissan blamed the poor results on the engine, and Nissan's engineers developed an entirely new engine dubbed the VRH30 as a replacement. With the newly improved engine, chassis modifications, and a new body developed in a wind-tunnel for better aerodynamics, the new cars would be renamed the R88C and compete in the 1988 and 1989 racing seasons.

Specifications.

Nissan VEJ30, V8 (90o) cyl, 4 stroke, petrol engine 2996cc, 85 x 66 mm 800 hp Aluminum-alloy block and head forged steel crankshaft with 5 main bearings DOHC, 4 Valves/cylinder - 32 valves total aspiration, 2 x IHI turbochargers with multipoint electronic fuel injection firing order 1 - 8 - 7 - 3 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 2 dry sump March 87T, 5 speed Manual gearbox aluminum monocoque chassis suspension (fr/r) double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar rack and pinion ventilated disks 356mm disk diameter with 4 piston calipers all around Length 4780 mm (188.2 in) Width 1990 mm (78.3 in) Height 965 mm (38 in) Wheelbase 2800 mm (110.2 in) Track (fr/r) 1600 mm (63 in) / 1550 mm (61 in) wheels, front 13x17", rear 14x19" tires, front 320/30R17", rear 350/40R19" 850kg

The Nissan R87E was developed as a replacement to the R86V and featured a newly designed twin-turbo V8 engine dubbed the VEJ30 to compete in the 1987 Group C class.

La Nissan R87E est une voiture de course du FIA Groupe C dont le but principal était de participer aux 24 Heures du Mans 1987. Elle a également été engagée en championnat du Japon de sport-prototypes.


Early life.

Susan Benjamin grew up in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, a self-described "nice Jewish girl".  During her first year at Tufts University, she renamed herself after the Greek mythological character Medea and joined the Students for a Democratic Society. She then dropped out of school and hitchhiked through Europe and Africa, teaching English classes to earn money. She later returned to the United States and received master's degrees in public health from Columbia University and in economics from The New School. Benjamin worked for ten years as an economist and nutritionist in Latin America and Africa for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, the Swedish International Development Agency, and the Institute for Food and Development Policy.  From 1979 to 1983, Benjamin lived and worked in Cuba, and married the coach of the Cuban national basketball team. She worked for a communist newspaper, initially describing the nation as "heaven". However, after writing a piece about censorship in Cuba, Benjamin was deported. After returning to the US, she met Kevin Danaher, with whom she was married for many years.

Career.

Organizations.

In 1988, with her husband, Kevin Danaher, and Kirsten Moller, Benjamin co-founded the San Francisco-based Global Exchange, which advocates fair trade alternatives to what she describes as corporate globalization. In 2002, she co-founded the feminist anti-war group, which advocated an end to the Iraq War, the prevention of future wars, and social justice. Benjamin has also been involved with the anti-war organization United for Peace and Justice.  She later created the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad (IOWC) to monitor the United States military, and the war's effect on civilian populations. Through this center, she brought U.S. military family members to see the conditions under which enlisted personnel served, and to speak out against the war, in Congress and at the United Nations, in 2003.

Politics.

In 2000, Benjamin ran for the United States Senate on the Green Party ticket. She advocated a living wage, universal healthcare and delaying genetically engineered foods. Such was leading position of the Democrat incumbent Dianne Feinstein, Benjamin and her Republican rival Tom Campbell chose to participate in joint events, including a press conference, during the campaign. Benjamin garnered 99,716 votes, 74%, in the primary, and 326,828 votes, 3.08% of the general election total ballots. Since then she has remained active in the Green Party and has also supported efforts by the Progressive Democrats of America. She is a member of the Liberty Tree Board of Directors.  As of April 2015, she serves on the Green Shadow Cabinet of the United States as "Secretary of State".

Protest actions.

From 2002 to 2009, Benjamin engaged in numerous protests involving members of the Bush administration (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; President George W. Bush; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice); Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and others. Benjamin engaged in protest actions at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the 2004 Republican National Convention. On December 4, 2007, she was arrested by plainclothes police in Lahore, Pakistan, detained by the ISI for eight hours, and deported after protesting the house arrest of lawyers (including Aitzaz Ahsan). In 2009, Benjamin joined the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March. In February 2012, Benjamin was arrested and deported for illegal entry to Bahrain and her participation in an illegal protest.  During 2005–2010, she worked to oppose United States threats of a possible impending war with Iran, including lobbying Congress, taking peace delegations to Iran, and bringing Iranian youth to Congress.  Benjamin repeatedly interrupted a major speech by President Barack Obama regarding United States policy in the War on Terror at the National Defense University on May 23, 2013. After Benjamin was removed for her actions, President Obama then went off script. "The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to," he said. "Obviously I do not agree with much of what she said. And obviously she wasn't listening to me and much of what I said. But these are tough issues. And the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong."  "If he had indeed made significant policy changes, I wasn't going to say anything," Benjamin told "The Daily Beast" later. "I would have preferred that option, but given that he didn't make those kind of changes I was looking for, I was glad to be given the opportunity to speak out."  On July 21, 2016, Benjamin disrupted Donald Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention with a sign that read "Build bridges not walls".

Organization efforts.

Labor rights and corporate responsibility.

During the 1990s, Benjamin focused on countering what she believed was unfair trade as promoted by the World Trade Organization. She participated in an anti-sweatshop movement, initiating campaigns against Nike and clothing companies such as the GAP. In 1999, Benjamin helped expose the problem of indentured servitude among garment workers in the United States territory of Saipan (the Marianas Islands), which led to a billion-dollar lawsuit against 17 United States retailers. In 1999, she produced the documentary "Sweating for a T-Shirt" about the sweatshop industry.  During the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle in December 1999, Benjamin's organization, Global Exchange, helped organize the 1999 Seattle WTO protests.  In 2000, she helped a campaign to pressure Starbucks to carry fair trade coffee in all their cafes. In October 2000, Starbucks introduced whole bean Fair Trade Certified coffee at over 2,300 stores.  For 2001, Benjamin focused on California's energy crisis, assisting low-income ratepayers and small businesses. She headed a coalition of consumer, environmental, union and business leaders working for clean and affordable power under public control.  In September 2003, Benjamin was in Cancún, Mexico challenging the policies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in November, she was in Miami protesting the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) while trying to bring attention to global peace and economic justice movements.  After several fact-finding visits to China, Benjamin co-sponsored with the International Labor Rights Fund an initiative to improve the labor and environmental practices of United States multinationals in China. The ensuring Human Rights Principles for US Businesses in China have been endorsed by major companies such as Cisco, Intel, Reebok, Levi Strauss and Mattel.

Israel/Palestine.

In 2006, Benjamin organized humanitarian aid for war refugees in Lebanon and spoke out against Israeli bombing. In 2008 during the Operation Cast Lead Israeli invasion of Gaza, she organized a daily protest at the hotel where President-elect Barack Obama was staying, and then visited Gaza to see the immediate effects of the bombing. She brought humanitarian aid and helped put together six other delegations to Gaza. She was one of the lead organizers of the Gaza Freedom March, where 1,350 people from dozens of countries came together in Cairo to try to march to Gaza. Benjamin criticized the United States government for passing legislation to send Israel $3 billion in aid, lobbied Congress and sailed on the U.S. Flotilla to Gaza in November 2011. Days after Israel launched its Pillar of Defense operation targeting sites in Gaza during November 2012, Benjamin led a delegation to deliver medical supplies to the Shifa hospital and the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza. She also helped to organize a yearly gathering in Washington, D.C., with the objective of exposing the "negative influence" of the United States lobby group American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  In January 2018, it was announced that activists from 20 American groups, including Code Pink, were banned from entering Israel because of their support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). "The Algemeiner" reported in April 2014 that Benjamin's charitable foundation, which is worth $12 million, has shareholdings in Caterpillar, a company targeted by the BDS movement, as well as the Chevron oil company and the tobacco conglomerate Phillip Morris.

Iraq.

After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, she created the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad to monitor the United States military and the war's effect on civilian populations. Through this center she brought Iraqi women to the United States to speak about the occupation, organized delegations of U.S. military family members to see the conditions of their children serving in Iraq, and documented United States abuses, including at Abu Ghraib prison long before the scandal involving it broke in the United States media. She also organized medical aid delegations to Iraq to civilians harmed by the United States military.  She testified in Congress and the United Nations against the Iraq War.  In 2005, she focused on the abuses of United States military contractors such as Halliburton, the goal of which was to expose the awarding of corrupt no-bid contracts to corporations with close ties to the Bush administrations. Along with this, Benjamin also exposed Blackwater Worldwide's illegal activities, including protests at the headquarters of the International Association of War Contractors.  In opposition to indefinite detention in Guantanamo, in 2007, Benjamin organized a delegation of prisoners' family members to Guantanamo Naval Base prison camp in Cuba, demanding its closing. In 2007 as well, she continued to protest weekly outside the Justice Department concerning water boarding and indefinite detention, and called for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. She was arrested many times for protests in Congressional hearings.  On October 31, 2009, Benjamin led a group of Code Pink protestors at a protest aimed at military families queued up for a White House Halloween Party hosted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. The event raised controversy when a Reuters News photo showing the protesters (dressed as wounded soldiers), including one identified as Benjamin, were described as "taunting" the children.

Drones.

In 2009, Benjamin began her efforts to bring attention to the effects of drone warfare, participating in demonstrations at United States bases where drones are piloted and at headquarters of drone manufacturers. On April 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C., she was responsible for organizing the first ever International Drone Summit with lawyers, scientists, academics, and activists to kick off an international campaign to rein in the use of drones in the U.S. and abroad.  On April 30, 2012, Benjamin bemoaned the "innocent civilians murdered" by drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, by interrupting a speech on United States counterterrorism strategy given by John Brennan at the Woodrow Wilson Center.  In October 2012, she organized a 34-person delegation to Pakistan to protest U.S. drone warfare. While in Pakistan she allegedly met with drone victims, family members, lawyers, academics, women's groups, and Pakistani leaders, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan. The delegation made international headlines when they joined a caravan to Waziristan organized by prominent political leader and former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan, a staunch opponent of American involvement in Pakistan. (See CNN video, "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", Al Jazeera, the BBC, and over 100 major news outlet, 09/28 – October 14, 2012). She also organized a public fast in Islamabad in sympathy with alleged drone victims.  In 2012, she authored "Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control", published by OR Books, and toured the country speaking out against drone warfare.

Other campaigns.

As part of Code Pink's mission, Benjamin helped organize many International Women's Day Marches and Mother's Day Calls for Peace, the latter to bring back the original intent of Mother's Day as women mobilizing against war. These included bringing women from war torn countries such as Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan to the U.S. to speak about their experiences. Between 2003 and 2010, Benjamin helped organized anti-war mass mobilizations in Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco.  Benjamin organized the campaign Bring Our War Dollars Home, which fought to divert money from the Pentagon into social programs at home.

WTO protest violence.

During the anti-globalization movement World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity in Seattle some alleged Benjamin said that anarchists who engaged in property destruction should have been arrested by the police. Benjamin said that the quote was "distorted" and "taken out of context" and said she did not support the tactics of that group of anarchists.

Anybody But Bush.

Benjamin has been criticized by some Greens for her support for "Anybody But Bush" in 2004. Explaining why she supported this movement, she said that "maybe it's time for the people who voted for Bush in 2000, the people who didn't vote at all in 2000, and yes, people like myself who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, to admit our mistakes. I'll say mine — I had no idea that George Bush would be such a disastrous president. Had I known then what I know now, and had I lived in a swing state, I would have voted for Gore instead of Ralph Nader.  Todd Chretien, a leading member of the International Socialist Organization, responded:

Views on United States involvement in Middle East.

Benjamin writes in "The Huffington Post" that the U.S. needs to end military interventionism and that the "U.S. military should close all foreign military bases and use our soldiers to protect us here at home."  Benjamin also writes in "The Huffington Post" that the United States never had any "justification for invading Iraq", that there is no "justification for continuing the war in Afghanistan", and that in Pakistan, the United States "drone attacks are only fueling the violence and creating more Osama Bin Ladens". Regarding the killing of bin Laden, she says "Let us not sink into a false sense of triumphalism in the wake of Bin Laden's passing."

Arrest In Egypt.

On March 3, 2014, Benjamin was arrested in Egypt. She had flown there en route to participating in a women's conference in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Upon her arrival at Cairo International Airport, Benjamin was detained by airport police and held overnight, during which time she said she was assaulted by police officers, resulting in a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. She was later deported to Turkey. Questions arose regarding the role of the United States Embassy in her detention, as embassy spokesman Mofid Deak said that Benjamin left the country following assistance from the embassy, while Code Pink's Alli McCracken said the embassy did not help Benjamin.

Venezuela.

In January 2019, in a "Democracy Now!" interview, Benjamin said she was against "US intervention in Venezuela" which had the potential to "create a civil war leading to tremendous violence".  In April and May 2019 Benjamin was part of an "Embassy Protection Collective" (formed by groups that include Code Pink, ANSWER Coalition, and Popular Resistance) which occupied the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington. Benjamin said the group had the permission of the Maduro government to stay in the embassy.

Awards and accolades.

In 2010, she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. In 2012, she won the Marjorie Kellogg National Peacemaker Award and the Thomas Merton Center Peace Award. Also in 2012, she was awarded the US Peace Prize "in recognition of her creative leadership on the front lines of the antiwar movement." In 2014, she received the Gandhi Peace Award from Promoting Enduring Peace "to honor her for her unyielding advocacy for social justice of more than 30 years".  In 2003, the "Los Angeles Times" described her as "one of the high profile leaders" of the peace movement.

Personal life.

Benjamin has one daughter, Arlen, from her first marriage in Cuba and another daughter, Maya, from her marriage with activist Kevin Danaher. Her daughter Arlen is named after Sandinista revolutionary Arlen Siu, with her daughter once writing "I grew up believing that protest lines and teach-ins were normal family outings... I was born in Cuba to an Afro-Cuban father and Jewish-American mother, and the fact that I was named for the first woman to die fighting for the Nicaraguan [Sandinista] Revolution gives you an idea of my politically oriented upbringing".  Benjamin lives in Washington, DC.

Medea Benjamin (born Susan Benjamin; September 10, 1952) is an American political activist who co-founded Code Pink and, along with activist and author Kevin Danaher, the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange. Benjamin was the Green Party candidate in California in 2000 for the United States Senate, receiving the highest raw vote total of any Green Party U.S. Senate candidate. She currently contributes to "OpEdNews" and "The Huffington Post".

Medea Benjamin (née Susan Benjamin le ) est une militante politique américaine, surtout connue pour avoir co-fondé le mouvement féministe et pacifiste Code Pink et, avec l'activiste et auteur, son mari, l'ONG antimondialiste. Benjamin est également candidate du Parti Vert en Californie lors des élections sénatoriales de 2000 où elle obtient le plus haut score pour un candidat écologiste à ces élections. Elle écrit pour les sites "Huffington Post" et "".


Background.

The plot was organised and developed by then Oberstleutnant Hans Oster and Major Helmuth Groscurth of the Abwehr. They drew into the conspiracy such people as Generaloberst Ludwig Beck, General Wilhelm Adam, Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch, Generaloberst Franz Halder, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and Generalleutnant Erwin von Witzleben. The working plan was for Count Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal to lead a storm party into the Reich Chancellery and kill Hitler. It would then be necessary to neutralize the Nazi Party apparatus in order to stop them from proceeding with the invasion of Czechoslovakia, which they believed would lead to a war that would ruin Germany.  In addition to these military figures, the conspirators also had contact with Secretary of State Ernst von Weizsäcker and the diplomats Theodor and Erich Kordt. Theodor Kordt was considered a vital contact with the British on whom the success of the plot depended; the conspirators needed strong British opposition to Hitler's seizure of the Sudetenland. However, Neville Chamberlain, apprehensive of the possibility of war, negotiated at length with Hitler and eventually conceded strategic areas of Czechoslovakia to him. This destroyed any chance of the plot succeeding, as Hitler was then seen in Germany as the "greatest statesman of all times at the moment of his greatest triumph", and the immediate risk of war had been neutralized.

Aftermath.

The plotters survived to become leaders of German resistance to Hitler and Nazism during the Second World War. Oster himself was on active duty until 1943, when placed under house arrest after other Abwehr officers were caught helping Jews to escape Germany. After the failed 1944 July Plot on Hitler's life, the Gestapo seized the diaries of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, in which Oster's long term anti-Nazi activities were revealed. Oster was executed in April 1945.

The Oster Conspiracy (German "Septemberverschwörung", eng. September Conspiracy) of 1938 was a proposed plan to overthrow German "Führer" Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime if Germany went to war with Czechoslovakia over the Sudetenland. It was led by Generalmajor Hans Oster, deputy head of the "Abwehr" and other high-ranking conservatives within the Wehrmacht who opposed the regime for behavior that was threatening to bring Germany into a war that they believed it was not ready to fight. They planned to overthrow Hitler and the Nazi regime through a storming of the Reich Chancellery by forces loyal to the plot to take control of the government, who would either arrest or assassinate Hitler, and restore the exiled Wilhelm II as Emperor.

La conspiration Oster de 1938 était un plan visant à renverser le Führer Adolf Hitler et le régime nazi si l'Allemagne déclenchait une guerre avec la Tchécoslovaquie en raison du conflit sur le territoire des Sudètes. Elle était dirigée par le Generalmajor Hans Oster, chef-adjoint de l'Abwehr et soutenue par de nombreux officiers conservateurs de haut rang de la Wehrmacht, qui s'opposaient à une politique menant à une guerre qu'ils ne pensaient pas pouvoir mener avec succès. Le plan est centré sur un assaut de la Chancellerie du Reich, mené par des troupes loyales aux comploteurs afin de prendre le contrôle du gouvernement et d'arrêter ou d'assassiner Hitler. L'objectif final est de réinstaurer l'empereur Guillaume II, alors en exil, sur le trône impérial allemand.


Gameplay.

"Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance" is a lane based strategy game, where the players must place 5 buildings on their side of the map, in order to produce resources and to produce units (called 'cards'). The player must then capture 3 enemy lanes, by killing enemy units and destroying the enemy buildings at the end of each lane. Between levels, the player has the option to upgrade units, giving units access to new weapons and abilities - however, by upgrading units, their costs also increase. Both the Dark Angels and the Bad Moons have their own campaigns and are playable in skirmish and multiplayer matches.  Each faction has 2 resources. The Dark Angels have their redemption resource and resolve resource. The redemption resource is used to produce basic units, such as; Tactical Space Marines, Assault Marines and Devastators. Whilst resolve is used to produce; Dreadnaughts and Ravenwings, it is also used to use unique in-battle abilities. Whilst the Orks produce teef, the standard resource for all ork units and the Ork faction also makes use of the 'warp' resource, which is used to grant special abilities from the Weirdboy Tower.

Setting.

The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a dystopian vision of the future. Humanity has forged a galaxy-spanning empire, The Imperium, with the Immortal Emperor as humanity's leader and a living god. The Imperium is in a state of constant war with the Orks along with other alien races (often referred to as xenos) and their arch enemy, the forces of Chaos. Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance takes place on Piscina IV as Grand Master Belial and Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka fight for control of the planet.

Reception.

"Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance" received generally negative reviews from critics on the "Microsoft Windows" version, picking up on poor AI, repetitive gameplay and its similarity to Eutechnyx's previous title "Ninja Cats vs Samurai Dogs". The mobile versions received slightly more favorable reviews.  Eurogamer described the Microsoft Windows version as having a "complete lack of AI" as units are "compelled to keep moving forwards, even if that means walking right past an enemy in a shuffling conga line" and that the game is really "about watching construction bars fill up and health bars go down, over and over again". Eurogamer summarized by saying Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance is a "small and fussy" game that "takes its gameplay pretty much wholesale from Eutechnyx's own 2013 iOS game Ninja Cats vs Samurai Dogs".  AppSpy stated that "Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance" was "repetitive, but engaging enough tower defence game, that makes fair use of its 40K licence", praising the game for its "huge range of technology trees" however said that "some long winded tutorials in place to ensure you are never unaware of a unit’s abilities". The review summarises saying that the game has "intuitive controls may be undermined on small screens, but complexity and flexibility they allow make it a fair compromise" however goes on to say "there's no ignoring the fact that this is a reskin of the developer's previous game".  Pocket Gamer starts by stating if the reader is "expecting an accurate digital conversion or even a loving tribute" to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise then "you're out of luck" and if "you're not bothered about the franchise and are just after a satisfyingly meaty strategy game" then "you're out of luck as well". The reviewer picks up on the variation in gameplay with abilities such as "the commander abilities that help inspire surrounding troops, or the melee class's ability to rocket over to another lane" however states that gameplay is still "somewhat constrained by the compact nature of the battles". Ultimately, Pocket Gamer summarised saying that Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance is a game "that's a bit of a grind to play for more than an hour or so".

Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Eutechnyx. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Android and iOS. "Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance" was set in the "Warhammer 40,000" universe, it follows the Dark Angels, commanded by Grand Master Belial, and the Bad Moons, commanded by Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka on the planet Piscina IV. "Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance" was released on 3 April 2014 (Steam), 23 April 2014 (Google Play) and 1 May 2014 (iOS).

Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance est un jeu vidéo de stratégie en temps réel développé et édité par Eutechnyx, sorti en 2014 sur Windows, iOS et Android.


Élections législatives népalaises de 2017

Background.

The previous House of Representative, elected on May 1999, was dissolved by Gyanendra on advice of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on May 2002 in order to hold new elections. Elections could not take place due to the ongoing civil war which eventually led King Gyanendra to stage a royal coup on February 2005 after dismissing four Prime Ministers. Following the democracy movement of 2006, the King reinstated the earlier legislature. On 15 January 2007, the House of Representatives was replaced by an Interim Legislature. The Interim Legislature consisted both of members appointed by an agreement between the Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).  The Interim Legislature was followed by the first Constituent Assembly whose task was to form a new constitution. The failure of the assembly to write a constitution within the stipulated time led to the formation of the second Constituent Assembly which approved the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. After the promulgation of constitution, the second Constituent Assembly was converted into an unitary Legislature Parliament. The constitution set the tenure of the Legislature Parliament until 21 January 2018 or the date of filing of nomination for the House of Representatives, whichever is earlier. Per this provision, the tenure of the Legislature Parliament ended on 14 October 2017.  A five-member Constituency Delineation Commission was formed under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Justice Kamal Narayan Das to redraw the constituency boundaries to 165, a reduction from the 240 used in the 2013 elections. It submitted its report to the government on 30 August 2017. The boundaries set by this commission will remain unchanged for the next 20 years as per Article 286 (12).

Electoral system.

The 275 members of the legislature will be elected by two methods; 165 will be elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 seats will be elected by closed list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency. Each voter will get separate ballot papers for the two methods. A party or electoral alliance must pass the election threshold of 3% of the overall valid vote to be allocated a seat under the proportional method.

Eligibility to vote.

To vote in the general election, one must be:

Timetable.

The key dates are listed below

Parties and alliances.

A total of 88 parties were granted ballot access under the proportional system. However, only 49 parties submitted list of proportional candidates.  A left alliance comprising the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and the Naya Shakti Party was announced with party unification to follow after the elections. However, Naya Shakti Party left the alliance after its coordinator Baburam Bhattarai was not guaranteed an election ticket from his preferred constituency of Gorkha. He subsequently switched alliances in Gorkha. Other leftist parties like Rastriya Janamorcha and Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist–Leninist) have also joined this alliance in some constituencies.  An alliance consisting of the center-left Nepali Congress, the Rastriya Prajantanra Party, the Rastriya Prajantanra Party (Democratic) and two Madhesh based parties, Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, was formed as a response to this left alliance but was limited to select places. Rastriya Prajatantra Party allied with the left parties to defeat Nepali Congress candidate former Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula in Jhapa-3.

Conduct.

Before the final phase of the election, starting 5 December, the border with India was closed at 22 points. There have been over a hundred minor and major explosions in the run up to the elections targeting election assemblies and leaders. A temporary police was killed in Dang from an explosion at an event attended by the Prime Minister. Nepali Congress candidates Narayan Karki was injured in an targeted explosion to his vehicle in Udayapur while 11 people including former Health Minister Gagan Thapa were injured from an explosion in Kathmandu.

Results.

Five parties, CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninst), Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), Rastriya Janata Party and Federal Socialist Forum, won at least one seat in first-past-the-post voting and crossed the three percent in proportional voting and were represented in the parliament. Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Naya Shakti Party, Rastriya Janamorcha and Nepal Workers Peasants Party did not reach the three percent threshold in proportional voting and were represented as independents in the parliament.

Aftermath.

The governing Nepali Congress preferred the upper house to be elected by Single Transferable Voting System while the left parties preferred majority vote. Lack of consensus meant the Legislature Parliament disbanded on 14 October, as required by the constitution, without approving National Assembly Election Bill which included provisions to elect members of the upper house.  According to Article 84 (8) of the Constitution of Nepal, at least one third of the total number of members elected to the Federal Parliament from each party must be women. Citing this provision, the Election Commission withheld announcing final results as the number of women each party needs to submit from their respective party lists could not be determined until the number of women in the upper house from each party was confirmed.  The government sent the National Assembly Election Ordinance to the President on 23 October 2017 with the provision that the upper house be elected using Single Transferable Voting System. The ordinance was held by the president for two months citing lack of consensus, but was ultimately approved on 29 December 2017. Another delay occurred because the electoral college for the election of the upper house includes members of the State Assemblies who, due to the absence of Chiefs of State, had not been able to take the oath of office until late January.

Legislative elections were held in Nepal in two phases on 26 November and 7 December 2017 to elect the 275 members of the fourth House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal. The election was held alongside the first provincial elections for the seven provincial assemblies. A political deadlock between the governing Nepali Congress and the winning left-wing coalition over the system used to elect the upper house led to delay in forming the new government. Following the announcement of final result by the Election Commission, K.P. Oli of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) was sworn in as Prime Minister on 15 February 2018 by the President according to Article 76 (2) of the constitution. He passed a Motion of Confidence on 11 March 2018 with 208 votes.

Les élections législatives népalaises de 2017 se déroulent les 26 novembre et 7 décembre 2017 au Népal pour élire les 275 députés de la Chambre des représentants et ainsi remplacer l'Assemblée constituante dont le mandat doit prendre fin le 21 janvier 2018. Les élections ont lieu en deux temps, le nord du pays votant en novembre, et le sud le mois suivant. Des élections provinciales ont lieu simultanément.


Background.

Saudi Arabia contains the largest known oil reserve. This generates an abundance of wealth for the country and places it as the number one oil exporter in the world. Oil extraction is a priority over environmental policy. While oil is not environmentally sustainable, Saudi Arabia has made some contributions to fighting climate change. The kingdom implemented its first environmental law in 1992, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection Act. This measure was enacted to encourage environmental awareness and sustainable law creation. Moreover, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations are working together to create a series of international environmental contracts. Saudi Arabia alone has signed eighteen pacts and ratified thirty-nine environmental agreements. Saudi Arabia's environmental performance index (EPI) is 55.3. The EPI is an internationally standardized scale, with 1 as the lowest environmental performance and 100 as the highest. The scale measures both environmental health and ecosystem viability. Out of Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia ranks 9th on the EPI.

Environmental challenges.

Pollution.

Oil pollution.

As the largest oil exporter in OPEC, Saudi Arabia contributes to the immense environmental impacts associated with oil drilling. This includes hydraulic fracturing, oil spills, and air pollution. Saudi Arabia contributed to the world's most severe spill, the 1991 Gulf War Oil Spill. The environmental impacts from oil spills are long lasting and often irreversible. The Gulf War spill directly affected the Saudi Arabian shoreline. While initial research found minuscule long-term impacts, recent studies show oil persistence in ocean habitats. Oil persistence affects ecosystem relationships and the livelihood of all marine animals. The Gulf Coast spill increased the toxicity of Saudi Arabia's coastline. During the initial aftermath, only visible oil was removed from the Gulf. The rest of the spill has remained in the ocean for the past 25 years and contributes to high-risk amounts of hydrocarbons in the environment. Saudi Arabia's salt marshes have had a hard time recovering from past spills. Thick oil coverage permanently changed the biodiversity and chemical compositions of many ocean related habitats. This environmental damage will take decades to reverse.  An abundance of oil resources promotes wasteful energy practices throughout Saudi Arabia. The government encourages energy use through subsidies. Currently, these subsidies are higher than any other regime at a total of 43 billon US dollars a year. Inexpensive energy supports excessive energy use, contributing to high rates of domestic oil consumption. The hot, arid climate of the Middle East causes widespread use of air conditioning for climate control. Power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions increase each year.

Urban pollution.

Urbanization causes ground, water, and air pollution. Increasingly urban areas call for more desalinated water and a growing water sector. Desalinization plants use greenhouse gasses and are highly inefficient. The process of oil extraction also contributes to air pollution by emitting high rates of carbon dioxide. Excess greenhouse gas emissions deplete the ozone and raise global temperatures.  Marine life and ocean ecosystems are threatened by urbanization as well. Coastline construction from residential and tourism projects increase the amount of untreated sewage released into the ocean and excess trash in cities. Construction and human activities lead to coastal reef damage and high ocean acidity. Urban and agricultural runoff frequently contaminate waters by releasing untreated waste. Ground pollution results from both oil drilling and urbanization. The city of Jeddah and other urban areas face problems of heavy traffic that leads to roadside contamination and high carbon emissions. Saudi Arabia's high standard of living encourages fossil fuel based transportation. Saudi Arabia has yet to develop a concrete public transport sector. Therefore, private transportation is a major contributor to air pollution. Moreover, car usage and city life contribute to dangerous degrees of heavy metals in urban soils. These metals are harmful for both humans and plants, as soil contamination inhibits plant growth and are poisonous when ingested.

Deforestation and desertification.

Urbanization, expansion of agriculture, and energy consumption contribute to deforestation. Wood is the primary natural resource used in local communities. Studies show that wood is often used inefficiently by people living in rural, traditional housing. Saudi Arabia's growing population increases food insecurity. In turn, forests are cleared at higher rates to make more area for agriculture. Deforestation occurs both legally and illegally. Research on woodland conservation shows that there are few initiatives taking place to slow deforestation.  Increasing global temperatures are projected to accelerate desertification within Saudi Arabia. Desertification will have a variety of impacts on the country's population. Desertification limits residential expansion and prevents small scale farmers from gaining access to lands. The growing industrial agriculture sector contributes to desertification. Mass monoculture disrupts soil processes and depletes the fertile soils on nutrients. The expansion of industrial agriculture misuses the scarce water resources available to Saudi Arabian farmers. This practice depletes naturally fertile land of water, leading to desertification as well.

Environmental action.

Renewable energy.

Currently, there are no programs encouraging reduced fossil fuel use. Although the government provides subsidies for oil consumption, record breaking oil use has pushed policy towards renewable energy. Peak load, where high energy use creates power outages, is a common fear among the citizens of Saudi Arabia. This anxiety creates further urgency for alternate energy plans to support the population. Mass oil consumption is not sustainable. This realization recently created a new market for renewable energies and further research for cleaner initiatives. Scholars are developing plans to help Saudi Arabia make a transition towards renewable energy. Thus, Saudi Arabia is ranked the 6th worldwide in solar energy potential.  As opposed to overall energy reduction, the government organization Saudi Aramco wishes to create a solar energy sector. Saudi Arabia has a goal to create 41 GW of renewable energy plants, which would place the country as a leading solar energy exporter. Currently, the country is at 17 MW of solar energy and as a ways to go before reaching the goal. Hydroelectric and water based powers are also being discussed as alternatives to carbon emitting energies. Recently, and particularly in 2019, Saudi Arabia signed a number of agreements to implement mega wind projects as part of its plan to incorporate 5 gigawatt of wind power into its grid.  Concerns of inefficiency and expense are holding Saudi Arabia back from converting to renewable energy. Long term costs for environmentally friendly practices are low. However, developers often ignore environmental restrictions during oil expansion. It is possible for Saudi Arabia to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and encourage renewable energy use. Preoccupation on energy security strengthen the movement towards renewable energies. The current wealth from oil abundance and pressure from international organizations could encourage the energy sector to move towards sustainable policy. Natural resources are finite. The transition from voluntary sustainability to mandatory environmental regulation can push Saudi Arabia towards environmentally friendly practices. In the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is opt to increase its renewable energy supply by 30%. This is planned to be achieved by partnering Shanghai Electric.  The First Saudi Environment Week  The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture organized in 2019 the first Saudi Environment Week. The motto of the event was “protecting our environment for our society’s well-being”. The event was organized in 13 Saudi provinces where around 230,715 wild trees were planted.

Environmental policy and programs.

The General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, or PME, is the Saudi Arabian environmental protection agency that handles all environmental policy. Due to a lack of natural Gulf Coast restoration, the Kingdom is implementing a plan to restore the coast from oil pollution. A scientific evaluation of the coastline's toxicity is underway in hopes to rebuild the coastal environment. The government recently created the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), an institute dedicated towards efficient, environmentally friendly energy use. The organization is working towards a city model that only uses nuclear and renewable energies.  The National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) is a government sector created for endangered animal preservation. The Saudi government works towards creating designated areas for wildlife protection and natural resource conservation. The parks limit hunting and human development to preserve unique plant and animal species. The goal of the NCWCD is to revive destroyed areas and maintain biodiversity while increasing public environmental education research. Specifically, the NCWCD strives to protect the lava field in Harrat Al-Harrah and the sand sea and cuesta in Uruq Bani Mu'arid.  In hope to increase environmental awareness to schoolchildren the government has partnered with the United States to create the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. The goal of the program is to increase international environmental awareness through education and technology. The courses implement environmental issues and solutions into every subject. GLOBE trains teachers and supplies them with instruction materials in both Saudi Arabia and the United States. Students are exposed to the complexity of international environmental issues and the environmental problems stemming from globalization.  In order to boost organic agriculture, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture allocated an amount of $431,000 to help many farmers go organic.  In the 2019th G20 meeting in Japan, Saudi Arabia addressed the issue of climate change by introducing the Saudi efforts to produce and increase the production of renewable energy.

Future Prospects.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia started to take serious steps to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels as a source of electricity. Thus, Saudi Arabia planned to build the largest wind farm in the middle east. The farm is planned to be constructed in Dumat Al-Jandal, Al Jawf region, Saudi Arabia. An amount of $500 million is allocated to construct the wind farm with a capacity of 400 megawatts (MW). This power is expected to supply 70,000 homes in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, carbon emission is expected to be reduced by 880,000 tons every year.

The desert-covered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the geographically largest country in the Middle East. Moreover, it accounts for 65% of the overall population of the GCC countries and 42% of its GDP. Saudi Arabia does not have a strong history in environmentalism. Thus, as the number of population increases and the industrial activity grows, environmental issues pose a real challenge to the country. Lack of environmental policy can be linked to an enormous reliance on oil. Due to intense fossil fuel usage, Saudi Arabia has generated a number of environmental issues. Urbanization and high standards of living contribute to ground, water, and air pollution. Agriculture and overconsumption of natural resources cause deforestation and desertification. Likewise, Saudi Arabia’s oil industry subsidizes energy use and magnifies carbon dioxide emissions. These environmental issues cause a variety of health problems including asthma and cancer. Some environmental action is taking place such as the construction of a renewable energy industry. Policies and programs are also being developed to ensure environmental sustainability.

Lenvironnement en Arabie saoudite est l'environnement (ensemble des éléments - biotiques ou abiotiques - qui entourent un individu ou une espèce et dont certains contribuent directement à subvenir à ses besoins) du pays Arabie saoudite, pays d'Asie.


Bulk elasticity.

When depositing a droplet on a solid surface with contact angle θ, horizontal force balance was described by Young's equation. However, there is a vertical force balance which often ignored can be written as: formula_1  Where  formula_2 is the force per unit length in the vertical direction  formula_3 is the surface tension of a liquid  formula_4 is the Young's modulus of a substrate  formula_5 is deformation of the substrate  This gives length scale formula_6 δ~ γ/E sinθ for the deformation of bulk materials caused by the surface tension force.  For example, if a water (formula_3 ~ 72 mN/m) droplet is deposited on the glass (formula_4 ~ 700 GPa), this gives formula_9 ~10m which is typically negligible. However, if a water is deposited on the PDMS (formula_10 ~ 300 kPa), this caused the deformation to be formula_9 ~10m, which is in micron scale, this can have great impact on the micro/nanotechnology applications where length scale is comparable and "soft" photoresists were used.

Elastocapillary length.

The elasto-capillary length of an elastic material is defined as:  formula_12  where  B is the bending modulus of an elastic material  γ is the surface tension of a liquid  This provides a comparison between bending stiffness (elasticity) and surface tension (capillarity). An elastic structure will be significantly deformed once its length is larger than the elasto-capillary length, which can be explained when gain of surface energy of a material is larger than stored elastic energy while bending.

Capillary rise between parallel plates.

In the case of capillary rise between two parallel plates, height of capillary rise can be predicted as Jurin's height if plates are rigid. Longer the plates, more flexible they become, consequently plates coalesce as a result of deformation induced by capillary force. As observed, length of capillary rise L between elastic plates increases linearly with total length of plates L, sets length of dry L=L-L nearly a constant. By balancing gain of surface energy by capillary force and loss of elastic energy by banding a flexible sheet and minimizing with respect to L, dry length was found to be:  formula_13  Where  formula_12 is the elastocapillary length of sheets  w is the distance between two parallel sheets  This L sets the minimum length for parallel sheets to collapse, sheets spontaneously coalesce if they are longer than L.  Above result can be generalized to multiple parallel plates when N elastic plates were used. By assuming these N sheets is N times more rigid than single sheet, such system can be treated as two bundles of N/2 sheets with a distance Nw/2. Thus the dry length can be written as:  formula_15

Capillary origami.

Unlike normal origami, capillary origami is the phenomenon where folding of an elastic sheet is done by capillary force. This phenomenon can only be seen as characteristic length of an elastic sheet is longer than elasto-capillary length and can be used in the application of self-assembly in micro and nano applications. In some cases, high voltage was used to actuate a folded structure by using electrostatic energies.

Young-Laplace Equation.

The capillary pressure developed within a liquid droplet/film can be calculated using the Young–Laplace equation (e.g.):  where:  If the liquid wets the contacting surfaces then this pressure difference is negative i.e. the pressure inside liquid is less than the ambient pressure, and if the liquid doesn't wet the contacting surfaces then the pressure difference is positive and liquid pressure is higher than the ambient pressure.

Examples of elastocapillarity.

The coalescence happens in a brush after removing it from water is an example of elastocapillarity. Elastocapillary wrapping driven by drop impact is another example.  Most of the small scale devices such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), magnetic head-disk interface (HDI), and the tip of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for which liquids are present in confined regions during fabrication or during operation can experience elastocapillary phenomena. In these devices, where the spacing between solid structures is small, intermolecular interactions become significant. The liquid can exist in these small scale devices due to contamination, condensation or lubrication. The liquid present in these devices can increase the adhesive forces drastically and cause device failure.

Elastocapillarity in contact between rough surfaces.

Every surface though appears smooth at macro scale has roughness in micro scales which can be measured by a profilometer. The wetting liquid between contacting rough surfaces develops a sub-ambient pressure inside itself, which forces the surfaces toward more intimate contact. Since the pressure drop across the liquid is proportional to the curvature at the free surface and this curvature, in turn, is approximately inversely proportional to the local spacing, the thinner the liquid bridge, the greater is the pull effect.  where:  These tensile stresses put the two surfaces into more contact while the compressive stresses due to the elastic deformation of the surfaces tend to resist them. Two scenarios could happen in this case: 1. The tensile and compressive stresses come into balance which in this case the gap between the two surfaces is in the order of Surface roughness|roughness of the surfaces, or, 2. The tensile stresses overcome the compressive stresses and the two surfaces come into near complete contact in which gap between surfaces is a small fraction of the Surface roughness|surface roughness. The latter case is the reason for failure of most microscale devices. An estimate of the tensile stresses exerted by the capillary film can be obtained by dividing the adhesion force, formula_24, between two surfaces to the area wetted by the liquid film, formula_25. Because for relative smooth surfaces, the magnitude of the capillary pressure is predicted to be large, it is anticipated that the capillary pressures will be of large magnitude. A lot of works have been done to ascertain whether there may be some practical limit to the development of such negative pressures (e.g. ).

Elasto-capillarity is the ability of capillary force to deform an elastic material. From the viewpoint of mechanics, elastocapillarity phenomena essentially involve competition between the elastic strain energy in the bulk and the energy on the surfaces/interfaces. In the modeling of these phenomena, some challenging issues are, among others, the exact characterization of energies at the micro scale, the solution of strongly nonlinear problems of structures with large deformation and moving boundary conditions, and instability of either solid structures or droplets/films.The capillary forces are generally negligible in the analysis of macroscopic structures but often play a significant role in many phenomena at small scales.

L'élasto-capillarité est la capacité des forces capillaires à déformer un matériau solide. Comme tous les phénomènes capillaires, elle ne se manifeste qu'à petite échelle.


Early life and education.

Eichenwald was born in 1961. He has stated that he is "Episcopalian with a Jewish father." He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas and Swarthmore College. His extracurricular activities during his time at Swarthmore included being a founding member of "Sixteen Feet", an a cappella vocal octet.  During his first months of college, Eichenwald sustained a concussion, which was soon followed by noticeable epileptic seizures. Diagnosed with epilepsy in November of his freshman year, he continued to attend school despite repeated grand mal seizures.  After having two outdoor seizures on campus, he was dismissed from Swarthmore, in apparent violation of federal law. He contacted the United States Department of Health and Human Services and fought his way back into school, an experience that he has credited with giving him the willingness to take on institutions in his muckraking reporting. He graduated with his class in 1983, receiving a degree in political science, with distinction.

Career at "The New York Times".

Following a year at the Election and Survey Unit at CBS News, Eichenwald joined "The New York Times" in 1985 as a news clerk for Hedrick Smith, the paper's chief Washington correspondent. When Smith began writing his book "The Power Game", Eichenwald became his research assistant, leaving in 1986 to become associate editor at "The National Journal" in Washington. During those years, he was a frequent contributor to "The New York Times" op-ed page, writing humorous pieces about political issues.  Eichenwald returned to "The New York Times" later in 1986 as a news clerk for the national desk in New York, participating in the paper’s writing program for aspiring reporters. By 1988, he had been named "The New York Times"’ Wall Street reporter.  His arrival on Wall Street coincided with the explosion of white collar criminal investigations in finance. He wrote about the stock trading scandals involving speculator Ivan Boesky and junk bond king Michael Milken, as well as the Treasury markets scandal at Salomon Brothers. He also covered the excesses of the takeover era, including the biggest deal of the time, the acquisition of RJR Nabisco by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company.  In 1995, Eichenwald began writing about assorted corporate misdeeds. He wrote a multi-part series for "The New York Times", exposing significant deficiencies in the American business of providing kidney dialysis treatments. The series led to a review by the Clinton Administration of ways to create financial incentives to improve quality in dialysis treatment, a focus of Eichenwald’s series. The articles were honored in 1996 with a George Polk Award for excellence in journalism, the first of two that he was awarded.  After his dialysis series, he joined with Martin Gottlieb, a health reporter with the newspaper, in a multi-year investigation of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation, which at the time was the largest health care company in the world. The investigation, which led to multiple articles in the paper and a criminal investigation of Columbia, and led to significant changes in the way the federal government compensated hospitals, according to Bruce Vladek, then the head of the Medicare program. An article in the magazine "Content" cited the work by Eichenwald, Gottlieb and two other reporters as the year’s best public service journalism. Eichenwald received his second Polk award, along with his colleagues, for this work.  In 1998, Eichenwald was attached to "The New York Times"’ senior reporter program. He also teamed with another of the newspaper's reporters, Gina Kolata, for a multi-year investigation into how business interests affect the nation’s system for medical research. The articles explored drug and device testing, and pointed out how the interplay between insurance companies and the courts had prevented the testing of experimental procedures, including the use of bone marrow transplants for the treatment of breast cancer. The articles were credited with driving new policies by American insurance companies that allowed for reimbursement to participants in federally approved medical studies for the treatment of cancer. Eichenwald and Kolata both were honored as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for their work.  With the explosion of corporate scandals in 2002 – Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen, Tyco and others – Eichenwald reported on the unfolding scandals and becoming a television fixture on such programs as "Charlie Rose" and "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" in explaining the meaning of the latest developments. Eichenwald, along with several other "New York Times" reporters, was selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his work on the corporate scandals.  In 2005, he wrote a group of "New York Times" articles about online child pornography. One of those articles was about Justin Berry, a then-18 year old who operated pornographic websites featuring himself and other teen males. For this reporting, he received the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism, for "preserving the editorial integrity of an important story while reaching out to assist his source, Justin Berry, in reporting on Berry’s involvement in child pornography."  Five months after publication of the article, Eichenwald and Berry both gave Congressional testimony about online child abuse before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Eichenwald claimed in the testimony that he had stumbled across Berry while reporting on documents that proved to be fraudulent, leaving him believing there was no story but fearful there was a child in danger. "I began trying to figure out if it was real, not for the purpose of doing a story because truthfully I did not, it did not occur to me there would be a story there," Eichenwald testified.  After confirming that Berry was a real person in danger, Eichenwald testified, he along with two others launched an effort to rescue the young man. Weeks after that effort had been completed, during which Eichenwald met Berry, Berry contacted him and said he wanted to reveal everything he knew about the online child pornography business for a news article in hopes of "bringing down" the illicit enterprise.  In 2007 it came to light that Eichenwald had given Berry an undisclosed $2,000 before writing the reports; "The New York Times" published a note stating that "the check should have been disclosed to editors and readers". During his testimony that same day as a prosecution witness against one of Berry's abusers, Eichenwald said he and his wife had used the money as a means of forcing Berry to reveal his identity during the rescue effort. Eichenwald testified that when Berry offered to become a source for a news article, he told the young man that he could not begin any reporting until the financial conflict was resolved by Berry returning the money to him from a lawful source of funds. Eichenwald testified that Berry obtained a loan from his grandmother which he used to repay him in July 2005, at which point the reporting began.

"Condé Nast Portfolio".

In the fall of 2006 Eichenwald left "The New York Times" and joined the staff of newly created business magazine "Condé Nast Portfolio" as a senior writer. He was recruited by Jim Impoco, a former "New York Times" editor and managing editor of the new Portfolio. The first edition of the magazine was published in April 2007. However, both Eichenwald and Impoco had a very short tenure at "Portfolio". An Eichenwald article about terrorism that had been championed by Impoco was killed by editor-in-chief Joanne Lipman, leading to a significant dispute between the two editors. After several months of tension between them, Lipman fired Impoco in August 2007; Eichenwald resigned on the same day. "Portfolio" was not a commercial success, and was closed in April 2009. The failure of such a high-profile project was seen as a major setback for Condé Nast.

"Vanity Fair" and "Newsweek".

In 2012, Eichenwald joined "Vanity Fair" as a contributing editor where he wrote business articles for the magazine and an online column focusing on government and politics. In 2013, while continuing his work for "Vanity Fair" he joined "Newsweek" as a senior writer.

Books.

Eichenwald's reporting on Prudential led to his first book, "Serpent on the Rock" (1995), which focused primarily on the limited partnership scandal at Prudential Securities, which is alleged to have defrauded 340,000 people out of eight billion dollars. The book was positively reviewed by Kirkus reviews, with a comparison to the bestseller "Barbarians at the Gate".  In 2000, he published his second book, "The Informant". While still a business book, "The Informant" was much more of a non-fiction police procedural depicting the inner workings of the FBI in detail. The book was subsequently adapted as the feature film a film adaptation. The movie, a dark comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon, was released in 2009.  Eichenwald’s investigation of Enron led to his third and most successful book, "Conspiracy of Fools" (2005). The book made "The New York Times" bestseller list in April 2005. The book was marketed as "a gripping corporate thriller with more plot twists than a John Grisham novel" by Random House. It was optioned as a movie by Warner Brothers, to potentially star Leonardo DiCaprio. However, the film was never made.  In 2012, he published his fourth book, "500 Days". Also a "New York Times" bestseller, the book chronicled the events in governments around the world in the 500 days after the 9/11 attacks. It revealed details of the American program of NSA eavesdropping, torture policy, the American government's briefings on the coming attacks before 9/11, and the details of debates within the British government.  Eichenwald's fifth book, A Mind Unraveled, was published in 2018 by Random House. The book is a memoir about medical struggles that almost killed Eichenwald when he was a young man.

Awards and recognition.

Eichenwald is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award for Excellence in Journalism in 1995 and 1997, for articles about the dialysis industry and fraud at the nation's largest hospital company, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, along with his "New York Times" colleague Gina Kolata, for an investigation of medical clinical trials. In 2006, he won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and the Best in Business Enterprise Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Personal life.

Epilepsy.

In a 1987 article about his illness for "The New York Times Magazine", Eichenwald wrote about his epilepsy diagnosis at the age of 18 in 1979:  The doctor warned me – and so did members of my family soon afterward – that if I did not keep my epilepsy a secret, people would fear me and I would be subject to discrimination. Even now, seven years after that scene in the dining hall, it is difficult for me to say that I have epilepsy. Back then, it was impossible. In the years since, I have had hundreds of various types of seizures. I have experienced the mental, physical and emotional side effects caused by changes in the anticonvulsant drugs I take each day. Yet, for the first two years, I refused to learn about epilepsy. My fears of being found out were my real concern.  His willingness to reveal his personal battle to readers won him praise. He was awarded a journalism prize from the Epilepsy Foundation of America for his 1987 article. In a 2002 "NewsBios" article titled "Kurt Succeeded Where So Many Others Would Have Quit," Dean Rotbart wrote:  While Eichenwald has never since hidden his epilepsy, he also didn't make it a centerpiece of his life. After writing his story, his mission was clear and it was not to become a poster boy for the illness. "My whole life from the time I got sick was focused on making sure that I was a student, a journalist, a husband, and a father," Kurt tells me. "Not that I was someone with this condition."  In late 2016 after making critical remarks about Donald Trump, Eichenwald was intentionally sent epileptogenic GIFs over Twitter. He said the second attempt, in mid December following an interview about his Trump claims with Tucker Carlson, succeeded in causing him to have a seizure and that he would be taking a short break from Twitter while he pursued legal action against the user that sent the image. In March 2017, a Maryland man was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with cyberstalking. The federal cyberstalking charge was later dropped, although he still faces one count of aggravated assault, with the tweet being considered "a deadly weapon." The trial of the suspect began on December 16, 2019.

Family.

Eichenwald is married to Theresa Pearse, an internist. They have three children.

Kurt Alexander Eichenwald (born June 28, 1961) is an American journalist and a "New York Times" bestselling author of five books, one of which, "The Informant" (2000), was made into a motion picture in 2009. Formerly he was a senior writer and investigative reporter with "The New York Times", Condé Nast's business magazine, "Portfolio", and later was a contributing editor with "Vanity Fair" and a senior writer with "Newsweek". Eichenwald had been employed by "The New York Times" since 1986 and primarily covered Wall Street and corporate topics such as insider trading, accounting scandals, and takeovers, but also wrote about a range of issues including terrorism, the Bill Clinton pardon controversy, Federal health care policy, and sexual predators on the Internet.

Kurt Alexander Eichenwald (né le ) est un journaliste américain, rédacteur ("senior redactor") à "Newsweek", collaborateur à la rédaction de "Vanity Fair," et auteur de quatre best-sellers édités par le New York Times, dont l'un, "The Informant" (2000), a été adapté en film en 2009. Auparavant, il a été écrivain et journaliste d'investigation au "New York Times" et plus tard au magazine business de Condé Nast, "Portfolio". Eichenwald a travaillé au" New York Times" à partir de 1986 et a couvert principalement Wall Street et le monde de l'entreprise, à travers des sujets tels que les délits d'initié, les fraudes comptables, et les offres publiques, mais a également écrit sur un large éventail de questions, notamment le terrorisme, la controverse sur l'usage du droit de grâce de Bill Clinton, la politique fédérale de la santé, et les prédateurs sexuels sur Internet.


Life.

Birgitte was born in 1610 to the nobleman Christen Thott and Sophie Below in Turebygård. She was the sister of Henrik Thott (1606–1676). Thott lost her father at only 6 years old. Her mother was a learned woman and educated her in language and literature. Being educated by learned parents was the only real way for young girls to receive any sort of education in Denmark at the time.  Thott married Otto Giøe in 1632 at the age of twenty two, but he died ten years later due to illness surrounding a gunshot wound. The two did not have any children. Despite not having any biological children of her own, Birgitte Thott was responsible for fostering two children that we know of: Elisabeth and Sophie.

Career.

She is most famous for her translation of moral philosopher Seneca’s Philologus in 1658 from Latin to Danish. The enormous undertaking of the Seneca translation ended up being 1,000 pages. This translation was the first of its kind, and introduced a new cultural and religious conversation to the Danish audience. The translation also introduced new words into the Danish language.  Though being proficient in Latin, Birgitte Thott did not write any Latin of her own, rather, she focused on translating. "Contemporary sources report that she before her death mastered Danish, German, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, of which her knowledge of German, English, French and Latin can be confirmed through preserved translations from her hand."  She resumed and recommitted to her studies after her husband's death. In 1660, Birgitte Thott was given permission by the King to receive an annual grant from the Soro Academy to pursue her studies, expand her library, and research language. This was achieved with the assistance of Jørgen Rosenkrantz.  Thott was part of a rather small European network of approximately 100–150 learned women including Christina Queen of Sweden, Marie le Jars du Gournay (in France), Bathsua Makin (in England) and Dorothea Moore (in Ireland), and Anna Maria van Schurman. She became a well respected woman in the Danish scholarly community, despite not having a public "profession". She was one of the first defenders of women's rights in Scandinavia.

Tributes.

Feminist artist Judy Chicago completed an installation art piece called The Dinner Party in 1979, currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum. There are 39 place settings around a table for 39 significant mythological and historical women. The procelain tile floor; the Heritage floor, is inscribed in gold with 999 additionally notable women. Birgitte Thott is included among these women under the name Bridget Thott.  In translating Seneca, Thott praised the Romans for asserting that women, as well as men, should be honored and praised for their life accomplishments in funeral orations. In this vein, Professor Jørgen Rosenkrantz wrote Birgitte Thott a funeral address which has been preserved. It tells of her life and many achievements.  Quote from Rozenkrantz’ funeral orations:So, at thirty-one years of age, guided by eminent teachers, she embarked upon learning the Latin language, which today is studied far and wide by scholars, and the result was so good that she could very soon express whatsoever thought she so wished in that language. In order to acquire the innermost meaning of the Holy Scripture she later worked – not without yield and exceptional progress – with the Hebrew language, which is the language employed by God to impart His Word to the patriarchs and the prophets, and in which the canonical writings of the Old Testament were originally rendered. She was perfectly aware that water has one taste at its source and another down the river.Anna Maria van Shurman wrote one of twelve introductory poems for Thott’s translation of Seneca’s "Philologus" in which she referred to Birgitte as the tenth muse, which was a praise-worthy term for learned women at the time.

Unpublished achievements.

Birgitte Thott also wrote a personal manuscript or "treatise" of two hundred pages titled Om et lyksaligt liv (On a Happy Life). In this, she asserts that even if women are not exposed to learning other languages, they should have access to literary works from other cultures via translation. This was the driving force behind her life's work.  Quotes from "On a Happy Life":  On young girls not being encouraged to have an education: No one whets their appetite to the sweetness found there. No one tells them what delicious food there is for the soul, what effective remedy against all their frailties it is to have a little understanding of bad and good. There are many, and this I have heard often, who would rather impress upon young maidens that poring over books will make them objects of derision.On education for young boys:But young male children are treated completely differently. They are enticed into study by the reward and honour they are told they can thereby attain; [...] they are impelled to attend school by their parents or guardians whether they like it or not. There are so many learned men who sweat and toil to educate and teach them [...] neither exertion nor expense is spared at the institutions of education [...] in order to lead the students onwards.

Birgitte (Bridget) Thott (17 June 1610 – 8 April 1662) was a Danish writer, scholar and feminist, known for her learning. She was fluent and literate in Latin (her main area of study) along with many other languages. She is most notable for her many translations of published works to Danish, particularly her 1,000-page translation of Latin moral philosopher Seneca.

Birgitte Thott ( – ) est une autrice, savante et féministe danoise. Elle parle parfaitement le latin, sa spécialité, et beaucoup d'autres langages. Elle est connue pour ses traductions en danois de travaux classiques, et en particulier sa traduction de plus de 1000 pages du philosophe Sénèque.