Overview.

In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong has Special Administrative Region status which provides constitutional guarantees for implementing the policy of "one country, two systems". The Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document, was approved in March 1990 by National People's Congress of China, and entered into force upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July 1997.  The Hong Kong government is economically liberal, but currently universal suffrage is only granted in District Council elections, and in elections for half of the Legislative Council. The head of the government (Chief Executive of Hong Kong) is elected through an electoral college with the majority of its members elected by a limited number of voters mainly within business and professional sectors.

The three branches.

Executive branch.

The Chief Executive (CE) is the head of the special administrative region, and is also the highest-ranking official in the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is the head of the executive branch.  The Chief Executive is elected by a 1200-member Election Committee drawn mostly from the voters in the functional constituencies but also from religious organisations and municipal and central government bodies. The Executive Council, the top policy organ of the executive government that advises on policy matters, is entirely appointed by the Chief Executive.

Legislative branch.

In accordance with Article 26 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, permanent residents of Hong Kong are eligible to vote in direct elections for the 35 seats representing geographical constituencies and 35 seats from functional constituencies in the 70-seat, unicameral Legislative Council (LegCo).  Within functional constituencies, 5 seats attribute to District Council (Second) which virtually regards the entire city as a single electoral constituency. The franchise for the other 30 seats is limited to about 230,000 voters in the other functional constituencies (mainly composed of business and professional sectors).

Judicial branch.

The Judiciary consists of a series of courts, of which the court of final adjudication is the Court of Final Appeal.  While Hong Kong retains the common law system, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China has the power of final interpretation of national laws affecting Hong Kong, including the Basic Law, and its opinions are therefore binding on Hong Kong courts on a prospective basis.

Major political issues in recent years.

Right of Abode.

On 29 January 1999, the Court of Final Appeal, the highest judicial authority in Hong Kong interpreted several Articles of the Basic Law, in such a way that the Government estimated would allow 1.6 million Mainland China immigrants to enter Hong Kong within ten years. This caused widespread concerns among the public on the social and economic consequences.  While some in the legal sector advocated that the National People's Congress (NPC) should be asked to amend the part of the Basic Law to redress the problem, the Government of Hong Kong (HKSAR) decided to seek an interpretation to, rather than an amendment of, the relevant Basic Law provisions from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC). The NPCSC issued an interpretation in favour of the Hong Kong Government in June 1999, thereby overturning parts of the court decision. While the full powers of NPCSC to interpret the Basic Law is provided for in the Basic Law itself, some critics argue this undermines judicial independence.

1 July marches and Article 23.

The Hong Kong 1 July March is an annual protest rally led by the Civil Human Rights Front since the 1997 handover on the HKSAR establishment day. However, it was only in 2003 when it drew large public attention by opposing the bill of the Article 23. It has become the annual platform for demanding universal suffrage, calling for observance and preservation civil liberties such as free speech, venting dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government or the Chief Executive, rallying against actions of the Pro-Beijing camp.  In 2003, the HKSAR Government proposed to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law by enacting national security bill against acts such as treason, subversion, secession and sedition. However, there were concerns that the legislation would infringe human rights by introducing the mainland's concept of "national security" into the HKSAR. Together with the general dissatisfaction with the Tung administration, about 500,000 people participated in this protest. Article 23 enactment was "temporarily suspended".

Universal suffrage.

Towards the end of 2003, the focus of political controversy shifted to the dispute of how subsequent Chief Executives get elected. The Basic Law's Article 45 stipulates that the ultimate goal is universal suffrage; when and how to achieve that goal, however, remains open but controversial. Under the Basic Law, electoral law could be amended to allow for this as soon as 2007 (Hong Kong Basic Law Annex.1, Sect.7). Arguments over this issue seemed to be responsible for a series of Mainland Chinese newspapers commentaries in February 2004 which stated that power over Hong Kong was only fit for "patriots."  The interpretation of the NPCSC to Annex I and II of the Basic Law, promulgated on 6 April 2004, made it clear that the National People's Congress' support is required over proposals to amend the electoral system under Basic Law. On 26 April 2004, the Standing Committee of National People's Congress denied the possibility of universal suffrage in 2007 (for the Chief Executive) and 2008 (for LegCo).  The NPCSC interpretation and decision were regarded as obstacles to the democratic development of Hong Kong by the democratic camp, and were criticised for lack of consultation with Hong Kong residents. On the other hand, the pro-government camp considered them to be in compliance with the legislative intent of the Basic Law and in line with the 'One country, two systems' principle, and hoped that this would put an end to the controversies on development of political structure in Hong Kong.  In 2007 Chief Executive Sir Donald Tsang requested for Beijing to allow direct elections for the Chief Executive. He referred to a survey which said more than half of the citizens of Hong Kong wanted direct elections by 2012. However, he said waiting for 2017 may be the best way to get two-thirds of the support of Legislative Council. Donald Tsang announced that the NPC said it planned to allow the 2017 Chief Executive elections and the 2020 Legislative Council elections to take place by universal suffrage.  In 2013, public concern was sparked that the election process for the Chief Executive would involve a screening process that swipes out candidates deemed suitable for the position by Beijing, incited by a comment made by a Deputy of the National People's Congress at an off-the-recorded gathering.

Resignation of Tung Chee-hwa and interpretation of Basic Law.

On 12 March 2005, the Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, resigned. Immediately after Tung's resignation, there was dispute over the length of the term of the Chief Executive. To most local legal professionals, the length is obviously five years, under whatever circumstances. It should also be noted that the wording of the Basic Law on the term of the Chief Executive is substantially different from the articles in the PRC constitution concerning the length of term of the president, premier, etc. Nonetheless, legal experts from the mainland said it is a convention a successor will only serve the remainder of the term if the position is vacant because the predecessor resigned.  The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress exercised its right to interpret the Basic Law, and affirmed that the successor would only serve the remainder of the term. Many in Hong Kong saw this as having an adverse impact on one country, two systems, as the Central People's Government interpret the Basic Law to serve its need, that is, a two-year probation for Tsang, instead of a five-year term.

Political reform package.

On 4 December 2005, people in Hong Kong demonstrated against Sir Donald Tsang's proposed reform package, before a vote on 21 December. According to the organisers, an estimated 250,000 turned out into the streets. The police supplied a figure of 63,000, and Michael de Golyer of Baptist University estimated between 70,000 and 100,000.  The march has sent a strong message to hesitant pro-democracy legislators to follow public opinion. The pro-government camp claims to have collected 700,000 signatures on a petition backing Mr. Tsang's reform package. This number, however, is widely seen as too small to influence pro-democracy lawmakers. The Reform Package debate has seen the return of key political figure and former Chief Secretary Anson Chan, raising speculations of a possible run up for the 2007 Chief Executive election, though she dismissed having a personal interest in standing for the next election.  In an attempt to win last minute votes from moderate pro-democracy lawmakers, the government amended its reform package on 19 December by proposing a gradual cut in the number of district council members appointed by the Chief Executive. Their number would be reduced from 102 to 68 by 2008. It would then be decided in 2011 whether to scrap the remaining seats in 2012 or in 2016. The amendment has been seen as a reluctant response by Sir Donald Tsang to give satisfaction to the democratic demands made by demonstrators on 4 December. The move has been qualified "Too little, too late" by pan-democrats in general.  On 21 December 2005, the reform political reform package was vetoed by the pro-democracy lawmakers. Chief Secretary Rafael Hui openly criticised pro-democracy Martin Lee and Bishop Zen for blocking the proposed changes.

Political Appointments System.

The 24 non-civil service positions under the political appointment system comprise 11 undersecretaries and 13 political assistants.  The government named eight newly appointed Undersecretaries on 20 May, and nine Political Assistants on 22 May 2008. The posts were newly created, ostensibly to work closely with bureau secretaries and top civil servants in implementing the Chief Executive's policy blueprint and agenda in an executive-led government. Donald Tsang described the appointments as a milestone in the development of Hong Kong's political appointment system. Controversies arose with the disclosure of foreign passports and salaries. Pressure for disclosure continued to mount despite government insistence on the right of the individuals to privacy: on 10 June 2008, newly appointed Undersecretaries and political assistants, who had previously argued were contractually forbidden from disclosing their remuneration, revealed their salaries. The Government news release stated that the appointees had "voluntarily disclosed their salaries, given the sustained public interest in the issue."

Inflation relief measures.

On 16 July 2008, Donald Tsang announced some "extraordinary measures for extraordinary times", giving a total of HK$11 billion in inflation relief to help families' finances. Of which, the Employee Retraining levy on the employment of Foreign domestic helpers would be temporarily waived, at an estimated cost of $HK2 billion. It was intended that the levy would be waived for a two-year period on all helpers' employment contracts signed on or after 1 September 2008, but would not apply to ongoing contracts. The Immigration Department said it would not reimburse levies, which are prepaid half-yearly or yearly in advance. The announcement resulted in chaos and confusion, and uncertainty for the helpers as some employers deferred contracts or had dismissed helpers pending confirmation of the effective date, leaving helpers in limbo.  On 20 July, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung announced the waiver commencement date would be brought forward by one month. The Immigration Department would relax its 14-day re-employment requirement for helpers whose contracts expired. On 30 July, the Executive Council approved the measures. After widespread criticism of the situation, the government also conceded that maids having advanced renewal of contract would not be required to leave Hong Kong through the discretion exercised by the Director of Immigration, and employers would benefit from the waiver simply by renewing the contract within the two-year period, admitting that some employers could benefit from the waiver for up to 4 years. The administration's poor handling of the matter came in for heavy criticism. The administrative credibility and competence were called into question by journals from all sides of the political spectrum, and by helpers and employers alike.

Leung Chin-man appointment.

In August 2008, the appointment of Leung Chin-man as deputy managing director and executive director of New World China Land, subsidiary of New World Development (NWD), was greeted with uproar amidst widespread public suspicion that job offer was a "quid pro quo" for the favours he allegedly granted to NWD. Leung was seen to have been involved with the sale of the Hung Hom Peninsula Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) public housing estate to NWD at under-value in 2004.  After a 12-month'sterilisation period' after retirement, Leung submitted an application to the government on 9 May for approval to take up employment with New World China Land. The Secretary for the Civil Service, Denise Yue Chung-yee, signed off on the approval for him to take up the job after his request passed through the vetting committee.  Controversies surrounded not only the suspicions of Leung's own conflict of interest, but also of the insensitivity of the committee which recommended the approval for him to take up his lucrative new job less than two years after his official retirement. New World argued that they hired Leung in good faith after government clearance.  On 15 August, the Civil Service Bureau issued the report requested by Donald Tsang, where they admitted that they had neglected to consider Leung's role in the Hung Hom Peninsula affair. Donald Tsang asked the SCS to reassess the approval, and submit a report to him. New World Development announced in the early hours of 16 August that Leung had resigned from his post, without any compensation from either side or from the government, for the termination.  The next day, Donald Tsang confirmed that Denise Yue would not have to resign. He was satisfied with her apology and with the explanations offered by her. Tsang ordered a committee, of which Yue was to be a member, to be set up to perform a sweeping review of the system to process applications for former civil servants.

May 2010 by-election.

In January 2010, five pan-democrats resigned from the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to trigger a by-election in response to the lack of progress in the move towards universal suffrage.  They wanted to use the by-election as a de facto referendum for universal suffrage and the abolition of the functional constituencies.

Umbrella Revolution.

The Umbrella Revolution erupted spontaneously in September 2014 in protest of a decision by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) on proposed electoral reform.  The austere package provoked mobilisation by students, and the effects became amplified into a political movement involving hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens by heavy-handed policing and government tactics.

Hong Kong Extradition bill.

In February 2019, the Legislative Council proposed a bill to amend extradition rights between Hong Kong and other countries. This bill was proposed because of an incident in which a Hong Kong citizen killed his pregnant girlfriend on vacation in Taiwan. However, there is no agreement to extradite to Taiwan, so he was unable to be charged in Taiwan. The bill proposes a mechanism for transfers of fugitives not only for Taiwan, but also for Mainland China and Macau, which are not covered in the existing laws. There have been a series of protests against the bill, such as on 9 June and 16 June, which were estimated to number one million and two million protesters, respectively. Police brutality and subsequent further oppression to the protesters by the government have led to even more demonstrations, including the anniversary of the handover on 1 July 2019 saw the storming of the Legislative Council Complex, and subsequent protests throughout the summer spread to different districts.  On 15 June 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam decided to indefinitely suspend the bill in light of the protest, but also made it clear in her remarks that the bill was not withdrawn. On 4 September 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that the government would "formally withdraw" the Fugitive Offenders Bill, as well as enacting a number of other reforms.  The 2019 Hong Kong District Council election was held on 24 November, the first poll since the beginning of the protests, and one that had been billed as a "referendum" on the government. More than 2.94 million votes were cast for a turnout rate of 71.2%, up from 1.45 million and 47% from the previous election. This was the highest turnout in Hong Kong's history, both in absolute numbers and in turnout rates. The results were a resounding landslide victory for the pro-democracy bloc, as they saw their seat share increased from 30% to almost 88%, with a jump in vote share from 40% to 57%. The largest party before the election, DAB, fell to third place, with its leader's vote share cut from a consistent 80% to 55%, and their three vice-chairs losing. Among those who were also legislators, the overwhelming majority of the losing candidates were from the pro-Beijing bloc. Commenting on the election results, "New Statesman" declared it "the day Hong Kong's true "silent majority" spoke.  After the election, the protests slowly became quiet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationality and citizenship.

Chinese nationality.

All people of Chinese descent, who were born in Hong Kong on or before 30 June 1997, had access to only British nationality. They are therefore British nationals by birth, with the designation of "second class citizen" with no rights of abode in the U.K. The Chinese nationality of such British nationals was enforced involuntarily after 1 July 1997.  Before and after the handover, the People's Republic of China has recognised ethnic Chinese people in Hong Kong as its citizens. The PRC issues Home Return Permits for them to enter mainland China. Hong Kong issues the HKSAR passport through its Immigration Department to all PRC citizens who are permanent residents of Hong Kong fitting the right of abode rule.  The HKSAR passport is not the same as the ordinary PRC passport, which is issued to residents of mainland China. Only permanent residents of Hong Kong who are PRC nationals are eligible to apply. To acquire the status of permanent resident one has to have "ordinarily resided" in Hong Kong for a period of seven years and adopted Hong Kong as their permanent home. Therefore, citizenships rights enjoyed by residents of mainland China and residents Hong Kong are differentiated even though both hold the same citizenship.  New immigrants from mainland China (still possess Chinese Citizenship) to Hong Kong are denied from getting PRC passport from the mainland authorities, and are not eligible to apply for an HKSAR passport. They usually hold the Document of Identity (DI) as the travel document, until the permanent resident status is obtained after seven years of residence.  Naturalisation as a PRC Citizen is common among ethnic Chinese people in Hong Kong who are not PRC Citizens. Some who have surrendered their PRC citizenship, usually those who have emigrated to foreign countries and have retained the permanent resident status, can apply for PRC citizenship at the Immigration Department, though they must renounce their original nationality in order to acquire the PRC citizenship.  Naturalisation of persons of non-Chinese ethnicity is rare because China does not allow dual citizenship and becoming a Chinese citizen requires the renouncement of other passports. A notable example is Michael Rowse, a permanent resident of Hong Kong and the current Director-General of Investment Promotion of Hong Kong Government, naturalised and became a PRC citizen, for the offices of secretaries of the policy bureaux are only open to PRC citizens.  In 2008, a row erupted over political appointees. Five newly appointed Undersecretaries declared that they were in the process of renouncing foreign citizenship as at 4 June 2008, citing public opinion as an overriding factor, and one Assistant had initiated the renunciation process. This was done despite there being no legal or constitutional barrier for officials at this level of government to have foreign nationality.

British nationality.

Hong Kong residents who were born in Hong Kong in the British-administered era could acquire the British Dependent Territories citizenship. Hong Kong residents who were not born in Hong Kong could also naturalise as a British Dependent Territories Citizen (BDTC) before the handover. To allow them to retain the status of British national while preventing a possible flood of immigrants from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom created a new nationality status, British National (Overseas) that Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens could apply for. Holders of the British National (Overseas) passport - BN(O) - have no right of abode in the United Kingdom. See British nationality law and Hong Kong for details.  British National (Overseas) status was given effect by the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. Article 4(1) of the Order provided that on and after 1 July 1987, there would be a new form of British nationality, the holders of which would be known as British Nationals (Overseas). Article 4(2) of the Order provided that adults and minors who had a connection to Hong Kong were entitled to make an application to become British Nationals (Overseas) by "registration".  Becoming a British National (Overseas) was therefore not an automatic or involuntary process and indeed many eligible people who had the requisite connection with Hong Kong never applied to become British Nationals (Overseas). Acquisition of the new status had to be voluntary and therefore a conscious act. To make it involuntary or automatic would have been contrary to the assurances given to the Chinese government which led to the words "eligible to" being used in paragraph (a) of the United Kingdom Memorandum to the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The deadline for applications passed in 1997. Any person who failed to register as a British Nationals (Overseas) by 1 July 1997 and were eligible to become PRC citizens became solely PRC citizens on 1 July 1997. However, any person who would be rendered stateless by failure to register as a British Nationals (Overseas) automatically became a British Overseas citizen under article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986.  After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, people urged the British Government to grant full British citizenship to all Hong Kong BDTCs – but this request was never accepted. However, it was considered necessary to devise a British Nationality Selection Scheme to enable some of the population to obtain British citizenship. The United Kingdom made provision to grant citizenship to 50,000 families whose presence was important to the future of Hong Kong under the British Nationality Act (Hong Kong) 1990.  After reunification, all PRC citizens with the right of abode in Hong Kong (holding Hong Kong permanent identity cards) are eligible to apply for the HKSAR passport issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. As the visa-free-visit destinations of the HKSAR passport are very similar with that of a BN(O) passport and the application fee for the former is much lower (see articles HKSAR passport and British passport for comparison and verification), the HKSAR passport is becoming more popular among residents of Hong Kong.  Hong Kong residents who were not born in Hong Kong (and had not naturalised as a BDTC) could only apply for the Certificate of identity (CI) from the colonial government as travel document. They are not issued (by neither the British nor Chinese authorities) after handover. Former CI holders holding PRC Citizenship (e.g. born in mainland China or Macau) and are permanent residents of Hong Kong are now eligible for the HKSAR passports, making the HKSAR passports more popular.  Recent changes to India's Citizenship Act, 1955 (see Indian nationality law) will also allow some children of Indian origin, born in Hong Kong after 7 January 2004, who have a solely BN(O) parent to automatically acquire British Overseas citizenship at birth under the provisions for reducing statelessness in article 6(2) or 6(3) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. If they have acquired no other nationality after birth, they will be entitled to subsequently register for full British citizenship] with right of abode in the UK.

Political parties and elections.

The four main political parties are as follows. Each holds a significant portion of LegCo. Thirteen members are registered as affiliated with the DAB, eight with the Democratic Party, five with the Civic Party, three with the Liberal Party and three with the League of Social Democrats.  There are also many unofficial party members: politicians who are members of political parties but have not registered such status in their election applications. There are two major blocs: the pro-democracy camp (opposition camp) and the pro-Beijing camp (pro-establishment camp).

The politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by its quasi-constitutional document, the Hong Kong Basic Law, its own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government and of the Special Administrative Region and of a politically constrained multi-party system. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is led by the Chief Executive, the head of government.


Biography.

Young was born in 1932 in Nampa, Idaho. He received his BS degree in electrical engineering in 1953 from Oregon State University, later receiving an MBA degree from Stanford University. Young served in the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant from 1954 to 1956.  In 1958 he joined Hewlett-Packard, rising to the post of vice president in 1968. He was elected executive vice president and a director in 1974. Young succeeded William Hewlett as president of Hewlett-Packard in 1977, receiving the titles of chief operating officer in 1977 and chief executive officer in 1978.  He was elected a director of Chevron in 1985. Upon the merger with Texaco in 2000, he became a director of Chevron Texaco, serving until 2003.  Having had a long association with competitiveness issues, he chaired President Reagan's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness and in 1986 founded the Council on Competitiveness, serving as chairman until 1990. Young served on President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology from 1993 to 2000.  Young retired in October 1992 as president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard and was succeeded in both posts by Lewis E. Platt. In 1995 he was elected a director of Novell, serving as acting chairman from August 1996 to April 1997 and as vice chairman until 2001.  Currently, Young is a director of Affymetrix, Inc., Vermillion, Inc. (formerly Ciphbergen Biosystems, Inc.), Fluidigm Corporation, Nanosys Inc., and Perelgen Sciences, Inc. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In addition to Chevron and Novell, he formerly served on the boards of Wells Fargo & Company, International Integration, Inc., Lucent Technology, Smith Kline Beecham, and Agere Systems.

John A. Young (born April 24, 1932) is an American business executive. He was chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1978 to 1992. He also formerly served as a director of Wells Fargo & Company.


History.

The origins of the office are unknown, but the earliest record of an "attorney of the crown" is from 1243, when a professional attorney named Laurence Del Brok was paid to prosecute cases for the King, who could not appear in courts where he had an interest. During the early days of the office the holder was largely concerned with representing the Crown in litigation, and held no political role or duties. Although a valuable position, the Attorney General was expected to work incredibly hard; although Francis North (1637–1685) was earning £7,000 a year as Attorney General he was pleased to give up the office and become Chief Justice of the Common Pleas because of the smaller workload, despite the heavily reduced pay. The office first took on a political element in 1461, when the holder was summoned by writ to the House of Lords to advise the government on legal matters. This was also the first time that the office was referred to as the office of the "Attorney General". The custom of summoning the Attorney General to the Lords by writ when appointed continues unbroken to this day, although until the appointment of Lord Williams of Mostyn in 1999, no Attorney General had sat in the Lords since 1700, and no Attorney General had obeyed the writ since 1742.  During the sixteenth century the Attorney General was used to pass messages between the House of Lords and House of Commons, although he was viewed suspiciously by the Commons and seen as a tool of the Lords and the King. In 1673 the Attorney General began to take up a seat in the House of Commons, and since then it has been convention to ensure that all Attorneys General are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, although there is no requirement that they be so. During the constitutional struggle centred on the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 and 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crown's representative in legal matters.  In 1890 the ability of an Attorney General to continue practising privately was formally taken away, turning the office-holder into a dedicated representative of the government. Since the beginning of the twentieth century the role of the Attorney General has moved away from representing the Crown and government directly in court, and it has become more of a political and ministerial post, with the Attorney General serving as a legal adviser to both the government as a whole and individual government departments. Despite this change, until the passing of the Homicide Act 1957 the Attorney General was bound to prosecute any and all poisoning cases.  However, in recent times the Attorney General has exceptionally conducted litigation in person before the courts, for instance before the House of Lords in "A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department", where the legality of the Government's detention of terrorist suspects at Belmarsh was at issue.

Role and duties.

The Attorney General is a non-cabinet minister who leads the Attorney General's Office. The rule that no Attorney General may be a cabinet minister is a political convention rather than a law, and for a short time the Attorney General did sit in cabinet, starting with Lord Birkenhead in 1915 and ending with Douglas Hogg in 1928. There is nothing that prohibits Attorneys General from attending meetings of the cabinet, and on occasion they have been asked to attend meetings to advise the government on the best course of action legally; this has occurred on several occasions, most notably, Geoffrey Cox throughout the Brexit negotiations. Despite this it is considered preferable to exclude Attorneys General from cabinet meetings so as to draw a distinct line between them and the political decisions on which they are giving legal advice. As a government minister, the Attorney General is directly answerable to Parliament.  The Attorney General is also the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government, and has the primary role of advising the government on any legal repercussions of their actions, either orally at meetings or in writing. As well as the government as a whole, they also advise individual departments. Although the primary role is no longer one of litigation, the Attorney General still represents the Crown and government in court in some select, particularly important cases, and chooses the Treasury Counsel who handle most government legal cases. By convention, they represent the government in every case in front of the International Court of Justice. The Attorney General also superintends the Crown Prosecution Service and appoints its head, the Director of Public Prosecutions. Decisions to prosecute are taken by the Crown Prosecution Service other than in exceptional cases i.e. where the Attorney General's consent is required by statute or in cases relating to national security. An example of a consent case is the Campbell Case, which led to the fall of the first Labour government in 1924.  The Attorney General also superintends the Government Legal Department and the Serious Fraud Office. The Attorney General also has powers to bring "unduly lenient" sentences and points of law to the Court of Appeal, issue writs of "nolle prosequi" to cancel criminal prosecutions, supervise other prosecuting bodies (such as DEFRA) and advise individual ministers facing legal action as a result of their official actions. They are responsible for making applications to the court restraining vexatious litigants, and may intervene in litigation to represent the interests of charity, or the public interest in certain family law cases. They are also officially the leader of the Bar of England and Wales, although this is merely custom and has no duties or rights attached to it. The Attorney General's duties have long been considered strenuous, with Sir Patrick Hastings saying that "to be a law officer is to be in hell". Since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997, any duties of the Attorney General can be delegated to the Solicitor General for England and Wales, and his or her actions are treated as coming from the Attorney General.

List of Attorneys General.

1900–2001.

Colour key (for political parties):

2001–present.

Colour key (for political parties):

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General (A-G), is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. The Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser to the Crown and the Government in England and Wales, and though they maintain their own office, they are still subordinate to the Cabinet-level Secretary of State for Justice (Lord Chancellor). The Solicitor General for England and Wales serves as the next in command and is subordinate to the Attorney General.


Objectives.

This alliance between the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army had three objectives:

Activities.

From 1982 to 1985 M19CO committed a series of bombings, including bombings of the National War College, the Washington Navy Yard Computing Center, the Israeli Aircraft Industries Building, New York City's South African consulate, the Washington Navy Yard Officers' Club, New York City's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, and the United States Capitol Building. Three officers were killed during the Brinks Robbery, but no one was injured or killed in their bombings. Almost all the M19CO members were convicted in a US Court of Law for these offenses, but Elizabeth Ann Duke remains at large.

Arrests.

By May 23, 1985, all members of the group had been arrested, with the exception of Elizabeth Duke, who remains a fugitive. Alleged rioter Donna Joan Borup was arrested but failed to appear at trial and is currently on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist list. Donna Borup "is thought to have a photographic memory and is highly intelligent," according to the FBI.  Marilyn Jean Buck was arrested in 1985 and was, prior to joining the May 19th Communist Organization, the only white member of the Black Liberation Army, one of the two groups that formed the May 19thCommunist Organization. While the May 19th Communist Organization was made up of individuals of several racial heritages, the Black Liberation Army was previously entirely made up of black Americans, save for Marilyn Jean Buck.  On October 20th, 1981, Judith Clark was arrested in connection to the attack on the armored Brinks truck. Clark was the spokesperson of the May 19th Communist Organization as of 1978, and was previously a member of one of the May 19th Communist Organization's predecessor groups, the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee. Judith Clark is eligible for parole and is scheduled to be released from jail on May 15th, 2019, 37 years after she was arrested on the same day as the robbery of the armored Brinks truck.

Impact.

The May 19th Communist Organization, along with other domestic terrorist organizations like the United Freedom Front and the Aryan Nations, are noted as having advanced the FBI's strategy and capacity to investigate domestic terrorism in the United States.  Following Congressional hearings in the mid-1970s, the FBI's capacity for surveillance of domestic terrorist groups was curtailed due to alleged overreach. This rollback on the FBI's ability to gather intelligence allowed the May 19th Communist Organization and the United Freedom Front to conduct terror attack in the late 1970s, which garnered a renewed support for the FBI's ability to gather intelligence about domestic terrorist organizations in order to prevent future attacks.  In 1982, FBI director William H. Webster reported to the Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism that the Justice Department was relaxing rules that allowed the FBI to keep surveillance on domestic terrorist groups, inspired by the actions of the May 19th Communist Organization, as well as the Socialist Workers Party, the Progressive Labor Party, and the May 19th Communist Organization's predecessor group, the Weather Underground Organization. These new guidelines were aimed at repressing domestic terrorist organizations while not curtailing legitimate political protest and dissent.  Francis McNamara, former executive secretary of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, allegedly sought a return to McCarthy-era politics, surveilling Americans who were involved in communist or left-wing organizations, and allowing these political views to deem the May 19th Communist Organization a terrorist group following the 1981 robbery of an armored Brinks truck perpetrated by members of the May 19th Communist Organization.

The May 19th Communist Organization (also variously referred to as the May 19 Coalition, May 19 Communist Coalition, and various alternatives of M19CO), was a US-based revolutionary organization formed by members of the Weather Underground Organization. The group was originally known as the New York chapter of the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee (PFOC), an organization devoted to legally promoting the causes of the Weather Underground. This was part of the Prairie Fire Manifesto's change in Weather Underground Organization strategy, which demanded both aboveground mass movements and clandestine organizations. The role of the clandestine organization would be to build the "consciousness of action" and prepare the way for the development of a people's militia. Concurrently, the role of the mass movement (i.e., above ground Prairie Fire Collective) would include support for, and encouragement of, armed action. Such an alliance would, according to Weather, "help create the'sea' for the guerrillas to swim in." The M19CO name was derived from the birthdays of Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X. The May 19 Communist Organization was active from 1978 to 1985. M19CO was a combination of the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground. It also included members of the Black Panthers and the Republic of New Africa (RNA). In addition to the May 19th Communist Organization being made up of the Black Liberation Army, the group was formed because of infighting in the Weather Underground Organization. Following the split of the Weather Underground Organization into factions, the faction that favored more extreme actions to achieve its objectives joined the Black Liberation Army, forming the May 19th Communist Organization. One of the founders, Laura Whitehorn, was also part of the Weather Underground Organization's predecessor, the Students for a Democratic Society. In addition to being known as the May 19th Communist Organization and the New York chapter of the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, the group was also known as the Armed Resistance Movement, the Red Guerilla Resistance, Resistance Conspiracy, and Revolutionary Fighting Group. Despite these other monikers, the group was most popularly known as the May 19th Communist Organization, predicated on the Communist Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh's birthday.


Background.

On 10 April 1919, the First Dáil announced a policy of ostracism of Royal Irish Constabulary men. At the time Sinn Féin official policy was against acts of violence. Boycotting, persuasion and mild intimidation succeeded against many officers. However others escalated their activities against republicans and in March 1920 Collins asked Dick McKee to select a small group to form an assassination unit.

Members.

When this squad was formed, it came directly under the control of the Director of Intelligence or his deputy and under no other authority. The Squad was commanded by Mick McDonnell.  The original 'Twelve Apostles' were Mick McDonnell, Tom Keogh, Jimmy Slattery, Paddy Daly, Joe Leonard, Ben Barrett, Vincent Byrne, Sean Doyle, Paddy Griffin, Eddie Byrne, Mick Reilly and Jimmy Conroy. After some time the Squad was strengthened by the following members: Ben Byrne, Frank Bolster, Mick Keogh, Mick Kennedy, Bill Stapleton and Sam Robinson. Owen Cullen (member of 2nd Battalion) was driver for a short time, and Paddy Kelly of Co Clare for a short time. They were employed full-time and received a weekly wage.  Sometimes the squad was strengthened by members of the Intelligence staff, the Active Service Unit, munition workers and members of the Dublin Brigade, as occasion demanded; Tipperary Flying Column men, Dan Breen, Séumas Robinson, Seán Treacy and Seán Hogan; also Mick Brennan and Michael Prendergast Co Clare. The IRA Intelligence Staff consisted of Director of Intelligence Michael Collins, Deputy Director of Intelligence Liam Tobin, 2nd Deputy Director of Intelligence Tom Cullen, 3rd Director of Intelligence Frank Thornton, Members: Joe Dolan, Frank Saurin, Ned Kelleher, Joe Guilfoyle, Paddy Cadwell, Paddy Kennedy, Charlie Dalton, Dan McDonnell and Charlie Byrne. The Munitions included Mat Furlong, Sean Sullivan, Gay McGrath, Martin Kelly, Tom Younge and Chris Reilly.

Assassinations.

On 30 July 1919, the first assassination authorised by Michael Collins was carried out when Detective Sergeant "the Dog" Smith was shot near Drumcondra, Dublin. The Squad would continue targeting plainclothes police, members of the G Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and—occasionally—problematic civil servants. Organisationally it operated as a subsection of Collins' Intelligence Headquarters. Two of the executions by The Squad" were the killing on 21 January 1920 of RIC Inspector William Redmond of the DMP "G" Division and on 2 March 1920 a British double agent John Charles Byrnes.  Further members included Mick Love, Gearoid O'Sullivan, Patrick Caldwell, Charlie Dalton, Mick O'Reilly, Vincent Byrne, Sean Healy, James Ronan, Tom Keogh, Tom Cullen, Paddy Lawson, John Dunne and Johnny Wilson, James Heery. Seán Lemass and Stephen Behan (the father of Irish writers Brendan and Dominic Behan) have also been put forward as members of the Apostles. Understandably, there is no hard evidence to support many of these names; however, those that subsequently served in the Irish Army have their active service recorded in their service records held in the Military Archives Department in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines. Dr. Andy Cooney is also reported to have been associated with "The Squad". Stephen Behan's involvement in the squad was first made public in 1962 when the BBC broadcast an episode of 'This is your life' This is your life dedicated to Behan; during this broadcast other remaining members of the squad joined Behan on the set of the show.

Bloody Sunday.

One of the Apostles' particular targets was the Cairo Gang, a deep-cover British intelligence group, so called since it had either been largely assembled from intelligence officers serving in Cairo or from the Dublin restaurant called The Cairo, which the gang frequented. Sir Henry Wilson brought in the Cairo Gang in the middle of 1920, explicitly to deal with Michael Collins and his organization. Given "carte blanche" in its operations by Wilson, the Cairo Gang adopted the strategy of assassinating members of Sinn Féin unconnected with the military struggle, assuming that this would cause the IRA to respond and bring its leaders into the open.  The most well-known operation executed by the Apostles occurred on "Bloody Sunday", November 21, 1920, when British MI5 officers, linked to the Cairo Gang and significantly involved in spying, were shot at various locations in Dublin (14 were killed, six were wounded). In addition to the "Twelve Apostles", a larger number of IRA personnel were involved in this operation. The only IRA man captured during the operation was Frank Teeling. In response to the killings, the Black and Tans retaliated by shooting up a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary at Croke Park, the proceeds from which were for the Irish Republican Prisoners Fund, killing fourteen civilians including one of the players, Michael Hogan, and wounding sixty-eight. The Hogan stand at Croke Park is named after him.  The elimination of the Cairo Gang was seen in Dublin as an intelligence victory, but Lloyd George commented dismissively that his men "... got what they deserved, beaten by counter-jumpers...". Winston Churchill added that they were ".. careless fellows... who ought to have taken precautions".  Some Squad members were hanged in 1921 for the killings on Bloody Sunday, including Thomas Whelan and Patrick Moran. Moran had killed a vet, Patrick MacCormack, who seems to have been an innocent victim.

Dublin Guard.

In May 1921, after the IRA's Dublin Brigade took heavy casualties during the burning of the Custom House, the Squad and the Brigade's "Active Service Unit" were amalgamated into the Dublin Guard, under Paddy Daly. Under the influence of Daly and Michael Collins, most of the Guard took the Free State side and joined the National Army in the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. During this conflict some of them were attached to the Criminal Investigation Department and were accused of multiple assassination of Anti-Treaty fighters. They were also involved in several atrocities against Republican prisoners, particularly after the death of Michael Collins, due to many of them having personal ties with him.

Later years.

Bill Stapleton went on to become a director in "Bord na Mona", Charles Dalton and Frank Saurin became directors in the Irish Sweepstakes. Dalton was the subject of a Kevin Myers article, Myers questioned Dalton living in Morehampton Road in 1940, but did not research his article enough to mention that Dalton was a director in the Sweepstakes at the time. In October 1923, Commandant James Conroy was implicated in the murder of two Jewish men, Bernard Goldberg and Emmanuel 'Ernest' Kah[a]n. He avoided arrest by fleeing to Mexico, returning later to join the Blueshirts.

The Squad, nicknamed the Twelve Apostles, was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit founded by Michael Collins to counter British intelligence efforts during the Irish War of Independence, mainly by means of assassination.


Background.

At the time of the release of the album, SP.com posted a section featuring lead singer and lyricist Gary Lightbody discussing the new songs, which was initially a Lightbody interview to RTÉ. About "Take Back the City", he said that though the song was inspired by Belfast and Northern Ireland in general, it applied to every other city and the relationship its inhabitants have with it. He said that it's "about the reasons why I grew up confused by my country and the reasons now why I love it so". Lightbody, who grew up in Belfast added that our native place has a big hand in what we became. Lightbody has also mentioned that the "rawness of the song came from Hansa and Berlin".  In an interview to Q in November 2008, Lightbody commented that the song was about his love for the place (Belfast) rather than the conflicts that have taken place. He shed light on the lyrics. The lyric "All these years later and it's killing me/Your broken records and words" refers to the city's past and the phrase "broken records and words" is a metaphor for "the politicians saying no". Lightbody added the after-effects of the past could still be seen in the city, but it's advancing rapidly, and it's a "fully functional, vibrant, European city these days". The phrase "pick a side, pick a fight, but get your epitaph right" is about how Lightbody doesn't understand why the conflict was taking place. He didn't understand why anyone would want to fight. He added that "I'm not fighting anyone for anything, because I don't hate anyone". "I love this city tonight, I love this city always/It bares its teeth like a light, and spits me out after days" is about the city's buzzing music scene. Lightbody revealed that he was always discovering new bands. The lyric "Tell me you never wanted more than this/And I will stop talking now" was a kind of lyric Lighbody said would be present in every song he'd write. He said that the song becomes a "modern love story in the blink of an eye" because of it. He further commented that the whole album was about being in love, and admitted it was a change in style for him.  In another interview for "The Sunday Times", Lightbody stated that the "song's spiky solo and chunky chord work were inspired by old Tom Petty and Cars records". He added that though the band preferred to write about current events, they seldom liked to "luxuriate in the past". Bruce Springsteen was also an influence, as the band were listening to his work at the time of recording the album.

Promotion and release.

The band organized a competition for fans in the United States to make a video about their city, with guitarist Nathan Connolly appearing in a video announcing the competition. Videos were to be uploaded to a group specially created for the competition on YouTube. One person could enter one video only, and to do this, a space of one month was provided - from 10 November 2008 12:01 a.m. PST to 10 December 2008 11:59 p.m. PST. The band/label selected the winners, who were notified through phone/e-mail.  The single was first played on the air on Zane Lowe's radio show on BBC Radio 1. Snow Patrol appeared on Channel 4's show T4 to perform the song on 5 October. A day after the single was released in the UK, the band appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, to perform a few tracks for the then upcoming album (including "Take Back the City"). The show saw the band appear alongside Tom Jones, Eliza Carthy, Norma Waterson and Friendly Fires. Additionally, the song made it to BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2's A list, and subsequently got played twenty times a week. The song was released as a downloadable track for the Rock Band series. The song has also been featured on the Gossip Girl episode "Chuck in Real Life", which aired on 20 October 2008. The track featured on the compilation "Now That's What I Call Music! 71".  The song was released digitally worldwide through iTunes, with a digital single released on 5 October. The single was released on the German iTunes on 10 October. Physically, the single was released in Ireland, Germany and Belgium on 10 October, in the UK and Rest of Europe on 13 October, and in Australia on 11 October. The single was released in two formats, CD and 7" Vinyl and saw a limited release. They were made available in shops for a week, and could be purchased from the online SP store or HMV. The 7" single had two versions, one containing a live version of "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" and the other containing a "Lillica Libertine Remix" of "Take Back the City" as a b-side. At the SP store, all three singles could be bought as a bundle for £5. The CD single was backed by the previously unreleased b-side "The Afterlife". In the Netherlands, the single was released on 17 October.

Music video.

The music video was filmed in the now derelict Millennium Mills in London Docklands, East London and was produced by Paul Weston. Alex Courtes, who has previously directed the music video for "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, directed it. It premiered on Yahoo! Music on 24 September 2008. The band invited fans in the age bracket of 18–35 to be a part of the video as extras. Interested people were required to email their details and photograph to the production company Partizan. The ones chosen were utilized for the pub scene, and scenes were shot on 11 August 2008 after midnight. The video was described by "RockTog" magazine as a "fast paced, headache inducing visual spectacle", but it criticized it for featuring lead singer Gary Lightbody over the other band members.  The video is stop-motion shots of London skyscrapers and Gary Lightbody walking through the city streets, taken by the band's photographer Cedric, which are interspersed with scenes of the band performing the song on their instruments, filmed in the Millennium Mills. In a'making of' video, Lightbody is heard saying that it "may be their best video yet".

Track listing.

Live track featuring Miriam Kaufmann recorded at Mencap's Little Noise Sessions at the Union Chapel, London on 25 November 2007.

Reception.

"Take Back the City" received generally mixed reviews. Daily Music Guide's James Brindle reviewed the single negatively and gave it 2 stars out of 5. He wrote that (the song) feels like Snow Patrol has run out of ideas, and the song sounded like a "re-hash" of "You're All I Have". He criticized the hook for being "average" and called the lyrics bland. He also called Lightbody's vocals banal and "more grating than usual". Yahoo! Music's Julian Marszalek wasn't too pleased either, calling the band "daddies of glum-rock". He noted the song was a faster-paced song than the band's previous work, and declared that "Gary Lightbody discovers his guitar can still be played in a vaguely meaningful manner while making a distorted noise." He went on to say the band "have discovered the majesty of rock", though "not in a Metallica kind of way", and "certainly not in the kind of way that'll clear the dinner party this will end up inevitably soundtracking, but in a nice, sensible, tuneful and tasteful way." He awarded the single 5 stars out of 10. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy gave the single 3 stars out of 5. He wrote "it attempts to unite the group's new-found love for all things epic and U2-ish with their scruffier indie roots." He felt the guitar was predictable, but praised the lyrics for their depth, citing "It bares its teeth like a light and spits me out after days" as an example. musicOMH's Ryan Helfland was generally pleased with the song, though he had his criticisms. He felt the track was "a continuation of, as opposed to a departure from, the band's commercially viable (yet, at times, predictable) material on über-hit "Eyes Open"." But he also felt that "it conjures images of fans a-plenty bouncing along with the tune's pulsating rhythm, which should be gracing arena scoreboards shortly." He also said the single would likely be succeeded by "a fit-for-primetime television ballad", and "Snow Patrol are likely on the precipice of spectator domination."  However, there were reviewers that welcomed the song. "Billboard"'s Sven Phillip reviewed the single very positively. He said that the "guitar-driven anthem begins humbly, with Bowie-ish vocals dancing over a new wave-infused folk-rock beat." He praised the build up to the refrain, and felt that it was "delivered with the kind of understatement that makes melody-focused U.K. acts so exciting." "NME" reviewed the single positively as well, awarding it 7 stars out of 10. It called the song "pleasing" for being "more of a glammy power-rock ballad in the vein of '80s unit-shifters Starship or Roxette", rather than being "their typical dewy-eyed simperer." It also said that "you won't admit to liking it". The "Sunday Mail"s Avril Cadden reviewed the single positively as well, awarding it 3 stars out of 5, but called it "nothing new or unexpected". But she felt it had "a good tune that will keep their star shining brightly and get lots of radio play." She called the chorus "big" and felt that Gary Lightbody's vocals were "affective".  The single was successful on the charts, charting in ten countries around the world. Its highest peak was #4 in Ireland, where it spent a total of one week. Additionally, it spent ten weeks on the Irish Charts. In the UK, the single hit #6 as their fifth UK Top 10 single and stayed in the charts for eight weeks. The single is also notable for topping the Triple A chart in the United States. The next single taken from the album, "Crack the Shutters" would go on to achieve the same feat. The single hit the Top 40 in a further five countries: Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Austria and Sweden. Till date, the single has spent a total of sixty-seven weeks on record charts around the world.

Use in "We're Backin' Belfast" Campaign.

In January 2013, Lightbody authorised the use of "Take Back the City" as the theme song for "Backin' Belfast", a marketing campaign to encourage shoppers and diners to return to Belfast city centre after seven weeks of the Belfast City Hall flag protests.  The campaign was supported by local politicians, business owners and local media. #backinbelfast and #takebackthecity were reportedly retweeted over 1.2 million times. Stephen Magorrian, Managing Director of Botanic Inns noted, "There were a lot of people in the city saying to me that they came in because of the campaign."  Lightbody told "The Belfast Telegraph" afterwards, in response to his involvement, "I do get defensive because a lot of people have a very warped idea of what Northern Ireland is because they only see the negative stuff."

"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album "A Hundred Million Suns". It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song has positive lyrics, and is about Lightbody's love for Belfast. The song has been officially remixed once, by Lillica Libertine, and it appeared as a b-side to the single.


Amateur Cycling career.

Eddy began racing bicycles during his senior year in high school in Tampa, Florida. In 1991, aged 22, he moved to France and raced as an elite amateur throughout Europe. In 1994 he won the Tour of Yugoslavia.

Professional career.

Eddy turned professional in 1995 with the Montgomery Bell Professional Cycling Team under his formative coach, Eddie Borysewicz. In his first year as a professional he won the second stage of the Tour of Poland, holding the leaders jersey until the penultimate stage when a crash left him 10th on the GC. In 1996 the team changed title sponsors and became the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, which subsequently became known as the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. In his second year as a professional Eddy won the biggest one-day event on the US Professional calendar, the USPRO National Road Race Championships in Philadelphia, PA. He also won a stage on the Tour of China. Outside Magazine Online ran daily journal entries from Eddy's first grand tour, the 1997 Vuelta a España - (See below).  Eddy raced for US Postal for 1997 and went on to race for several other Professional teams such as Oil-Me, Ikon-Lexus, Jelly Belly and Sierra Nevada. In 1999 he won the USPRO Saturn Tour.  In 2003 he won the Descente Boulder Criterium with the Trek-VW team.

Major results.

1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000

Personal life.

Since retirement Eddy has married, has two kids and become a Corporate Tax Manager (with focus on transfer pricing) and resides in Colorado.

Eddy Gragus (born February 15, 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former professional cyclist. In 1994 he won the Tour of Yugoslavia as an amateur. In 1996 he won the USPRO National Road Race Championships, and a stage on the Tour of China. In 1999 he won the USPRO Saturn Tour. He raced professionally for the Montgomery Bell Professional Cycling Team and U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team among others.


Synopsis.

Ancilotto, the king, heard three sisters talking: Brunora, the eldest sister, said if she married the king's majordomo, she could give the entire court a drink from one glass of water; Lionella, the second, said if she married the king's chamberlain, she could turn one spindle of linen to give fine shifts to the entire court; Chiaretta, the youngest said if she married the king, she would give him triplets who would have fine hair with gold, a gold necklace, and a star on their forehead. The king married them off as they had said. The Queen mother was angry to have such a daughter-in-law. The king had to leave, and while he was gone, Chiaretta gave birth to two sons and a daughter, as she had described. Three black puppies with white stars had been born, and Chiaretta's sisters brought them to the queen. The queen substituted them for the babies, and the babies were put in a box and thrown into the river. A miller, Marmiato, found them. His wife, Gordiana, named the boys Acquirino and Fluvio, and the girl Serena.  Ancilotto was grief-stricken by the story, but when the Queen mother, the midwife, and the queen's sisters all agreed that Chiaretta had given birth to the puppies, he ordered her kept in the dungeon.  Gordiana gave birth to a son, named Borghino. Marmiato and Gordiana learned that if they cut the children's hair, gems fell out of it, and they lived prosperously; but when the children grew up, they learned that they were foundlings and set out. They found Ancilotto's land and met him; he told his mother that he thought they were the children Chiaretta had borne him.  The Queen mother sent the midwife after them, and she tricked Serena into asking for the dancing water. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it; a dove warned them of the danger and then filled up a vial for them. Ancilotto saw them again, and the Queen mother heard of their survival. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for the singing apple. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it, and on the way, their host one night warned them of the danger, and then gave them a robe of mirrors. This would trick the monster that guarded it, when it saw its own reflection. Fluvio used it and picked the apple. Ancilotto saw them again, and the queen learned they had survived. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for a beautiful green bird that could speak words of wisdom day and night, and when Acquirino and Fluvio found the garden with the bird, they looked at marble statues in it, and were turned into statues themselves.  Serena awaited them anxiously and finally set out after them. She reached the garden, snuck up on the bird, and caught it. It begged for its freedom, and showed her how to turn her brothers back to life. Serena said she would free it only if it brought them to their mother and father.  They went to Ancilotto's palace for dinner and brought the water, apple, and bird. The king and guests marveled at the water and apple, and the bird asked what punishment should be imposed on those who tried to kill two brothers and a sister. The queen mother said death by burning, and everyone agreed. The bird told the story of Chiaretta's children; the king freed her and had his mother, her sisters, and the midwife burned.

Other variants.

Other variants of this tale include an oral Italian version, "The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird", the Spanish "The Bird of Truth", the Russian "The Wicked Sisters", and the Romanian "The Boys with the Golden Stars" and "A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers".

Ancilotto, King of Provino is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in "The Facetious Nights of Straparola".


History.

The area was settled in 1825 by George Tillson and other immigrants from Enfield, Massachusetts. A forge and sawmill were erected and roads built which led to the establishment of this small community, originally called Dereham Forge. The settlement was on the Big Otter Creek.  In 1836 the village was renamed Tillsonburg in honour of its founder. It was also in this year that the main street, Broadway, was laid out to its full width. Because the village was predominantly a logging and wood product centre, the street was built to accommodate the turning of three-team logging wagons. This width is now unique to Ontario and has become a benefit toward handling the pressures of modern-day traffic by providing angled parking. The extension of Broadway north was called Plank Line and is now known as Highway 19.  The mid-19th century proved to be the first step in the industrialization of this municipality. A water system was devised to not only supply pure water for domestic use, but also to provide water power to such industries as a sawmill, planing mill, grist mill, spinning mill, pottery and a tannery. Many of these new establishments were either owned, started, or financed by George Tillson. In 1872 the village was incorporated as the Town of Tillsonburg, with Edwin Delevan Tillson elected as its first mayor. The Town of Tillsonburg reached a population of 2,000 in 1885, experienced its first church dedication, and had its first telephone installation established. Electric power was first used in 1912 and automobiles began to appear on the market.  In 1915, a public library was built with funds provided by the Carnegie Foundation, and the town's Memorial Hospital opened in 1925.  In the 1920s, major enterprises included milk production, manufacture of shoes, tractors, textiles and an increased production of tobacco. The Tillsonburg Livingstons Basketball Team (representative of Tillsonburg's largest industry) won the Canadian Championships in 1952 and represented Canada in the Olympics at Helsinki, Finland. CKOT Radio began broadcasting operations in 1955 and the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Marketing Board opened its new auction exchange three years later.

Government.

Tillsonburg is one of eight municipalities that make up the County of Oxford. The mayor also represents the town as a County Councillor. The county administers social programs, ambulance and paramedic services, planning, water and wastewater services, garbage and landfill operations and the County road system.  Tillsonburg is governed by an elected mayor, deputy mayor and five councillors. Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month in the Council Chambers in the Corporate Municipal Office. They oversee staff and set policy for the various operations and services provided by the town.  The town also owns and operates: Oxford County now owns and operates:

Healthcare.

The town has one hospital accredited through the Ontario Ministry of Health. Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital is in the downtown area on Rolph Street. The TDMH serves the town and region.

Development.

In the Town's Centennial Year (1972), the new $1,000,000 Community Recreation Complex was opened by the Governor-General of Canada. The Tillsonburg Museum was also opened in the old community centre on the shores of Lake Lisgar. A new library was completed in 1975, and a second indoor skating rink was built in 1977, funded completely by donations from industry, commerce, service clubs, citizens and the Wintario lottery. In 1979, the hospital built a $7,000,000 addition for offices, improved x-ray and emergency departments, and an expanded Intensive Care Unit. A fire hall was constructed in 1979, replacing the old building which was demolished to make way for a downtown mall. The controversial Tillsonburg Town Centre Mall opened in 1980, where the former Town Hall once stood. The mall, a joint effort of the town and Trottier Investments, was built primarily to meet competition from out-of-town malls and keep more of the shopping dollar in town. In 1983, two important buildings - Annandale House (built by the founding Tillson family) and the Hale Street railway station became public buildings. The former would be restored as a house museum, while the latter became The Station Arts Centre.  A residential development geared for seniors, named Hickory Hills, began selling homes in 1986. The development significantly added to the town's population and increased the pool of volunteers for local non-profit agencies.  In 1991, a food bank was established for the community's needy and continues to be operated on a volunteer basis.  Throughout the early 1990s, volunteers were also busy on the Lake Lisgar Renaissance Project, which sought to revitalize the lake, and make the park around the lake more attractive with the construction of a gazebo, water fountain and walkways into the lake.  In that period two major entertainment outlets closed: the Skylark Drive-In and the Strand movie theatre, victims of the video store arrival. The original angled marquee architecture of the Strand Theatre is still intact but the building is again unoccupied after brief stints as businesses. To the relief of many, big screen movies came back in Tillsonburg in 1996 with the opening of Broadway Cinemas.  In 1994, the downtown area was significantly enhanced with the construction of the Rotary Club Clock Tower, which incorporated a clock from the town's former Post Office, and a bell from the demolished Town Hall. Soon, it became a community tradition (sponsored by the Rotary Club) for local residents to gather at the Clock Tower to ring in the New Year with fireworks, hot apple cider and the dropping of a ball.  Further development of residential senior's focused development began in 2001 with the Baldwin Place subdivision located on the western periphery of the town. This development which is in Phase 8 will have approximately 300 homes when completed.  The Tillsonburg Community Centre was refurbished in 2004 with renovations and enlargement of the main ice surface to NHL size. The project's scope of work included keeping the whale-back roof as a key architectural feature as well as to increase seating and provide for new recreation and health club facilities.  Residential development includes the re-urbanization of the former railway lands on Bridge Street East which is the site of Tillson Landing condominium, the first such highrise construction in more than a decade.

Industry and economy.

Tillsonburg serves a regional tri-county area of 225,000 people at the convergence of Oxford, Elgin and Norfolk counties. The industrial base has become quite diverse during the decline of the once prominent tobacco industry. The area is home to several branch plants of major US-based automotive suppliers including Autoneum Canada Ltd, Guardian Industries, THK-TRW and Adient. There are many service-related industries including Verspeeten Cartage, Marwood International Inc., Inovata Foods, E & E McLaughlin, J/E Bearing Ltd., Fleetwood Metal Products, and MIL-SIM-FX International Inc.  The town has a very active and developing downtown core area which includes the Tillsonburg Town Centre mall, built in 1980 and big box stores including Canadian Tire, Shopper's Drug Mart and Staples-Business Depot. Newly expanded The Source store and Mark's Work Wearhouse are in the Tillsonburg Town Centre Mall.  All of the major Canadian chartered banks have branches in the town and there is also a credit union.  The town is served by three grocery stores: Sobeys, Zehrs and Metro.  Tillsonburg is served by three radio stations; the New Country 107.3 (107.3 CJDL FM), Country 1510 (1510 CKOT AM), Easy 101 (101.3 CKOT FM) and two newspapers: "The Tillsonburg News" and "The Tillsonburg Independen"t.  The town has been positively impacted by the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, 22 kilometres north of the town, which opened in 1986. The CAMI plant, owned by General Motors of Detroit, Michigan, produces the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain CUVs.  The announcement of a new Toyota plant in Woodstock, 30 km northeast of Tillsonburg, will have a similarly positive impact on the development of Tillsonburg. In preparation for the increased traffic demands in the County of Oxford, Highway 19 has been upgraded and completely rebuilt north of the town to Highway 401.  The area also has a strong agricultural community with cash crops, hog farming, milk production, tobacco, ginseng and various tertiary crops (including watermelons).  The town has recently become a hub for regional operations of the Ontario Provincial Police including Oxford County Division Headquarters and also the Southwestern Ontario Forensics laboratory which opened in April 2008.  The town is the third fastest growing community in Oxford County, and ranks as one of the top places to live in Canada.

Tourism.

In January 2006 the "National Post" listed Tillsonburg as number 75 on the top 100 places to visit in Canada. Annandale House was designated a Canadian National Historic Site in 1997.  Tillsonburg is home to three barn quilts. One is on the north end of town on the side of a furniture store, shaped as a barn. Another one is on the grounds of Station Arts in front of the caboose and the third quilt is on the original Pea & Barley Mill, built in 1878 by E.D. Tillson, son of the town's founder and opened in 2009 as the Mill Tales Inn beside the Otter Creek featuring a restaurant and inn. These barn quilts make up part of the Barn Quilt Trail in Southwest Ontario.  Another attraction is the Station Arts Centre, a multi-use facility which was created from two historic train stations that were joined together by a central gallery. It has been home to artistic, cultural and technical groups since its founding in 1983. It is also home to the Saturday morning Tillsonburg Farmers' Market which operates from May to November.  A number of organizations across Tillsonburg collaborate in putting together events such as Turtlefest, the Week of Remembrance and the Tillsonburg Country Christmas Festival.  Camping is available north of town at Casey's Park on Highway #19 north of Mount Elgin, which is the home of weekly Country Music Jamborees between Victoria Day and Labour Day, where audience members are encouraged to participate on stage.  Lake Lisgar, a small lake in the centre of town, has been rehabilitated and is home for the Tillsonburg Rowing Club and the Lake Lisgar Water Park.

Education.

Elementary and secondary schools.

Tillsonburg elementary and secondary schools are under the control of two school boards, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB).

Demographics.

All statistics are based on the 2006 census by Statistics Canada.

Transportation.

Road and rail.

Though not directly on the route, Highway 401 passes close to the town, and is connected to it by Highway 19, at exit 218. Greyhound no longer has weekly bus service to and from Tillsonburg. Also, there has been no transit system since Tillsonburg Transit ceased operations in 2001 after a 6-year lifespan, however there are 3 taxi cab companies.  The Town of Tillsonburg rail service was served by the St. Thomas & Eastern Railway, a division of Trillium Railway, which ran in most cases parallel to Highway 3 in the south end of the town on the former Canadian National Railway Cayuga subdivision, previously the Great Western Railway's "Canada Air Line". Service on the STER was daily, Monday to Friday, but ceased operation in 2013.  The Ontario Southland Railway also serves Tillsonburg using the former CPR Port Burwell subdivision running from nearby Ingersoll, parallel to Highway 19 north of town, and then into the north-east end of town. The OSR interchanges with the STER at the south end of town.  Passenger train services are provided by Via Rail stations in nearby Ingersoll or Woodstock.

Air.

The town is served by the Tillsonburg Municipal Airport, owned and operated by the Town of Tillsonburg. The airport is 7 km north of the town in Southwest Oxford Township. The airport is home to several aviation-related businesses. The airport has 3 runways, with the primary runway being re-constructed and extended to 5,500 feet, constructed of asphalt. Its terminal building houses a flying school and has a cafe, lounge, patio and viewing area. The airport is used by corporate aircraft including jets. Regular users of the airport also include the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, Air Ambulance, Canadian Coast Guard, the Ontario Provincial Police and other government agencies.

Popular culture.

Stompin' Tom Connors and The Cash Brothers have each written and recorded songs entitled "Tillsonburg".

Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada with a population of 15,872 located about 50 kilometres southeast of London, on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19.


History.

The division of Adelaide was one of seven single-member seats established when the seven-member statewide Division of South Australia was abolished following the inaugural 1901 election. For the first 40 years after Federation, it was one of the few Federation seats in the state that regularly changed hands between the Australian Labor Party and the conservative parties. Despite the bellwether-like swinging tendency, unusually the only time Adelaide was obtained by an incoming government was in 1931.  However, Labor held it for all but six years from 1943 to 1993, including a 23-year Labor hold during the Robert Menzies era. For most of the time from 1943 to 1987, it was a fairly safe Labor seat. Labor's hold on the seat loosened slightly in the late 1980s due to pro-Liberal demographic change; it was briefly lost to the Liberals at a 1988 by-election, but regained in 1990.  Very similar to the modern-day state-level electoral district of Adelaide, historically the federal-level Division of Adelaide covered only the Adelaide city centre and a few nearby inner north suburbs up to Regency Road in Prospect for most of its first century.

Later years.

A pre-1993 boundary redistribution pushed the seat to the south, adding Liberal-friendly suburbs to the south of the Adelaide city centre for the first time while removing Labor suburbs in the north-east, resulting in Liberal Trish Worth holding the seat for eleven years, albeit on slender margins.  Kate Ellis regained Adelaide for Labor in 2004 on a 1.3 percent margin from a two percent two-party swing. Ellis has held the seat since, with the margin increasing to 8.5 percent in 2007, before falling to 7.7 percent in 2010 and to 4.0 percent in 2013, before increasing to 4.7 percent in 2016.  In 2016, the major party vote was suppressed in all eleven state seats in the presence of Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) candidates in all eleven South Australian seats. Though Labor picked up a two-party swing in all eleven, the NXT presence produced a result where Kingston ended up as the only South Australian seat to record an increase, however small, to the primary vote of a particular major party. Additionally, Adelaide was the only seat of the state's eleven where the Greens vote increased, while also producing both the highest Green vote and the lowest NXT vote in the state. This is in contrast to 2007 where the Xenophon Senate ticket polled higher in Adelaide than in most other seats.

2018 redistribution and next election.

Labor incumbent Kate Ellis announced in March 2017 that she would step down from the Labor shadow cabinet in the following months and would not re-contest her seat at the end of the parliamentary term. The 2018 South Australian federal redistribution saw the seat of Adelaide lose all of its inner-eastern suburbs and a couple of its southern suburbs, while gaining a long strip of western suburbs spanning the entire north-south length of the seat. These changes saw the Labor margin increase significantly from 4.7 percent to a notional 9.0 percent. In July 2018, Steve Georganas, the Labor member for neighbouring Hindmarsh, sought and won preselection for Adelaide at the 2019 election, yielding his former seat to fellow Labor MP Mark Butler, the member for abolished Port Adelaide.

The Division of Adelaide is an Australian electoral division in South Australia and is named for the city of Adelaide, South Australia's capital.


Terminology.

Traditionally, the ruling Khmer majority has referred to all the highland groups as "phnong", a name of one of the groups that has come to mean "savage" in Khmer, or "samre", the name of another group that has developed the meaning "bumpkin" or "hick". Both of these words are now considered pejorative. The colonial French administration designated the highland ethnicities of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam "Montagnards".  The term "Khmer Loeu" was crafted by the Sangkum Reastr Niyum government of Sihanouk's Cambodia in the 1950s. In order the stress the unity, or "Cambodian-ness", of the various ethnic groups that inhabited its borders and promote a nationalist cohesiveness, the government classified citizens as one of three groups of "Khmer", "Khmer Kandal", "Khmer Islam" and "Khmer Loeu". "Khmer Kandal" ("Central Khmer") referred to the ethnic Khmer majority. "Khmer Islam" was the name given to the ethnic Cham inhabiting the central plains of Cambodia. "Khmer Loeu" was coined as a catch-all term to include all of the indigenous minority ethnic groups, most of which reside in the remote highlands of northeast Cambodia. The current government has used the term "chuncheat daerm pheak tech" (, "original ethnic minority") in official documents while referring to ethnic Khmer as "chuncheat daerm pheak chraern" ("original ethnic majority"). However "Khmer Loeu" still remains the colloquial, and most common, designation for these groups.  In the Khmer language, an alternative, though unrelated, use of the term "Khmer Loeu" is in reference to the Northern Khmer people. Ethnic Khmers sometimes use a tripartite division to differentiate Khmers native to Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam. Those native to Thailand are sometimes referred to as "Khmer Loeu" due to their location on the southern Khorat plateau relative to those native to Cambodia, "Khmer Kandal", while Khmer native to the lower Mekong Delta region of Vietnam are called Khmer Krom, "lower Khmer" or "southern Khmer".

Geography and demographics.

Khmer Loeu form the majority population in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces, and they also are present in substantial numbers in Kratié Province and Stung Treng Province. Their total population in 1969 was estimated at 90,000 people. In 1971 the number of Khmer Loeu was estimated variously between 40,000 and 100,000 people. Population figures were unavailable in 1987, but the total probably was nearly 100,000 people. According to the General Population Census conducted in 2008, their total population was 179,193.

Culture.

Most Khmer Loeu live in scattered temporary villages that have only a few hundred inhabitants. These villages usually are governed by a council of local elders or by a village headman.  The Khmer Loeu cultivate a wide variety of plants, but the main crop is dry or upland rice grown by the slash-and-burn method. Hunting, fishing, and gathering supplement the cultivated vegetable foods in the Khmer Loeu diet. Houses vary from huge multifamily longhouses to small single-family structures. They may be built close to the ground or on stilts.

History.

During the period of the French Protectorate, the French did not interfere in the affairs of the Khmer Loeu. Reportedly, French army commanders considered the Khmer Loeu as an excellent source of personnel for army outposts, and they recruited large numbers to serve with the French forces. Many Khmer Loeu continued this tradition by enlisting in the Cambodian army.  In the 1960s, the Cambodian government carried out a broad civic action program—for which the army had responsibility—among the Khmer Loeu in Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and Koh Kong provinces. The goals of this program were to educate the Khmer Loeu, to teach them Khmer, and eventually to assimilate them into the mainstream of Cambodian society. There was some effort at resettlement; in other cases, civil servants went out to live with individual Khmer Loeu groups to teach their members Khmer ways. Schools were provided for some Khmer Loeu communities, and in each large village a resident government representative disseminated information and encouraged the Khmer Loeu to learn the lowland Khmer way of life. Civil servants sent to work among the Khmer Loeu often viewed the assignment as a kind of punishment.  In the late 1960s, an estimated 5,000 Khmer Loeu in eastern Cambodia rose in rebellion against the government and demanded self-determination and independence. The government press reported that local leaders loyal to the government had been assassinated. Following the rebellion, the hill people's widespread resentment of ethnic Khmer settlers caused them to refuse to cooperate with the Cambodian army in its suppression of rural unrest. Both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese communists took advantage of this disaffection, and they actively recruited Khmer Loeu into their ranks. In 1968, Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge fled to Khmer Loeu lands, who were seen as hostile to lowland Khmer and to the government. In late 1970, the government forces withdrew from Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces and abandoned the area to the rapidly growing Khmer Rouge communist insurgent force, the Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea, and to its Vietnamese mentors. There is some evidence that in the 1960s and in the 1970s the Front Uni pour la Libération des Races Opprimés (FULRO—United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races) united tribes in the mountainous areas of southern Vietnam and had members from Khmer Loeu groups as well as from the Cham in Cambodia.  In the early 1980s, Khmer Rouge propaganda teams infiltrated the northeastern provinces and encouraged rebellion against the central government. In 1981 the government structure included four Khmer Loeu province chiefs, all reportedly from the Brao group, in the northeastern provinces of Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and Preah Vihear. According to a 1984 resolution of the PRK National Cadres Conference entitled "Policy Toward Ethnic Minorities," the minorities were considered an integral part of the Cambodian nation, and they were to be encouraged to participate in collectivization. Government policy aimed to transform minority groups into modern Cambodians. The same resolution called for the elimination of illiteracy, with the stipulations that minority languages be respected and that each tribe be allowed to write, speak, and teach in its own language.

Groups.

The major Khmer Loeu groups in Cambodia are the Kuy, Pnong, Stieng, Brao, Tampuan, Pear, Jarai, and Rade. All but the last two speak Mon–Khmer languages.

Kuy.

In the late 1980s, about 160,000 Kuy lived in the northern Cambodian provinces of Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, and Stung Treng as well as in adjacent Thailand. (Approximately 70,000 Kuy had been reported in Cambodia itself in 1978.) Most of the Kuy have been assimilated into the predominant culture of the country in which they live. Many are Buddhists, and the majority practice wet-rice cultivation. They have the reputation of being skilled blacksmiths.

Brao, Kreung, Kavet.

The Brao, Kreung, and Kavet inhabit the northeastern Cambodian province of Ratanakiri and adjacent Laos. All three speak different, though mutually intelligible, dialects of the same language. They share a very similar culture, with matrilineal descent. In 1962 the Brao population in Laos was estimated at about 9,000. In 1984 it was reported that the total Brao population was between 10,000 and 15,000. About 3,000 Brao reportedly moved into Cambodia from Laos in the 1920s. The Brao live in large villages centered on a communal house. They cultivate dry-rice and produce some pottery. They appear to have a bilateral kinship system.

Tampuan.

The Tampuan number about 25,000, according to a 1998 census. They have a Mon–Khmer language, and practice a form of animism. They have matrilineal descent.  The Tampuan live in the northeastern province of Cambodia, Ratanakiri. Many Tampuan live in villages close to Ratanakiri's provincial capital, Ban Lung, around a volcanic crater lake, Yeak Laom. Some live in scattered communities around the small town of Voeun Sai.

Pnong, Stieng.

A total of 23,000 Pnong were thought to be living in Cambodia and in Vietnam in the early 1980s. In Cambodia the Pnong are found in Mondulkiri, Kratié, and Kampong Cham provinces in villages consisting of several longhouses each of which is divided into compartments that can house nuclear families. The Pnong practice dry-rice farming, and some also cultivate a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and other useful plants as secondary crops. Some subgroups weave cloth. At least two of the Pnong subgroups have matrilineal descent. Monogamy is the predominant form of marriage, and residence is usually matrilocal. Wealth distinctions are measured by the number of buffalo that a notable person sacrifices on a funereal or ceremonial occasion as a mark of status and as a means of eliciting social approval. Slavery is known to have existed in the past, but the system allowed a slave to gain freedom.  The Stieng are closely related to the Pnong. Both groups straddle the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, and their languages belong to the same subfamily of Mon–Khmer. In 1978 the Cambodian Stieng numbered about 20,000 in all. The Stieng cultivate dry-field rice. Their society is apparently patriarchal, and residence after marriage is patrilocal if a bride-price was paid. The groups have a very loose political organization; each village has its own leaders and tribunals.

Pear, Chong, Saoch, Suoi (Pearic Group).

Several small groups, perhaps totalling no more than 10,000 people in Cambodia and eastern Thailand, make up the Pearic group. The main members are the Pear in Battambang, Pursat, and Kampong Thom provinces; the Chong in Thailand and Battambang Province; the Saoch in Kampot Province; the Samre in what was formerly Siem Reap Province; and the Suoi in Kampong Chhnang Province. Some believe that this group constitutes the remnant of the pre-Khmer population of Cambodia. Many members of the Pearic group grow dry-field rice, which they supplement by hunting and by gathering. They have totemic clans, each headed by a chief who inherited his office patrilineally. Marriage occurs at an early age; there is a small bride-price. Residence may be matrilocal until the birth of the first child, or it may be patrilocal as it is among the Saoch. The village headman is the highest political leader. The Saoch have a council of elders who judge infractions of traditional law. Two chief sorcerers, whose main function is to control the weather, play a major role in Pearic religion. Among the Saoch, a corpse is buried instead of being burned as among the Khmer.

Jarai.

The Austronesian groups of Jarai and E De (also known as Rhade, or Rade) form two of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Both groups spill over into northeastern Cambodia, and they share many cultural similarities. The total Jarai population stands at about 200,000; the E De number about 120,000. According to 1978 population figures, there were 10,000 Jarai and 15,000 E De in Cambodia in the late 1970s. They live in longhouses containing several compartments occupied by matrilineally linked nuclear families. There may be twenty to sixty longhouses in one village. The Rade and Jarai cultivate dry-field rice and secondary crops such as maize. Both groups have exogamous matrilineal descent groups (consanguineous kin groups that acknowledge a traditional bond of common descent in the maternal line and within which they do not marry). Women initiate marriage negotiations and residence is matrilocal. Each village has its own political hierarchy and is governed by an oligarchy of the leading families. In the past, sorcerers known as the "kings of fire and water" exerted political power that extended beyond an individual village. The Rade and the Jarai have been involved intimately in the FULRO movement, and many of the leaders in the movement are from these two groups.

Khmer Loeu (), is the collective name given to the various indigenous ethnic groups residing in the highlands of Cambodia. The Khmer Loeu are found mainly in the northeastern provinces of Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and Mondulkiri. Most of the highland groups are Mon-Khmer peoples and are distantly related, to one degree or another, to the Khmer. Two of the Khmer Loeu groups are Chamic peoples, a branch of the Austronesian peoples, and have a very different linguistic and cultural background. The Mon–Khmer-speaking tribes are the aboriginal inhabitants of mainland Southeast Asia, their ancestors having trickled into the area from the northwest during the prehistoric metal ages. The Austronesian-speaking groups, Rade and Jarai, are descendants of the Malayo-Polynesian peoples who came to what is now coastal Vietnam, saw the rise and fall of their Champa kingdoms, and then migrated west over the Annamite Range, dispersing between the Mon–Khmer groups.


History.

The seat was named after the suburb of Port Adelaide, the working port of Adelaide. Before 1949, most of the seat had been part of Hindmarsh, which moved south as a result of Port Adelaide's creation. The seat was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 federal election. For most of its history, it has been a comfortably safe Labor seat. The closest Labor has ever come to losing it was at the 1988 by-election, where Labor candidate Rod Sawford won on a 5.2 percent two-party margin. The two-party margin currently stands, after the 2016 vote, at 20.72 percent, making it the safest Labor seat in the state and one of the safest Labor seats in the nation. Port Adelaide remains the only electorate in South Australia to have voted Labor at every federal election in its existence.  The seat was pushed slightly northward in 2004 with the abolition of the other safe Labor seat in northern Adelaide, Bonython. A few southern portions of Bonython transferred to Port Adelaide, however the majority of Bonython was transferred to Wakefield which contributed to Wakefield's change from a rural safe Liberal seat to a hybrid urban-rural notional marginal Labor seat.  A notable curiosity in recent years was that in the 1998 and 2001 federal elections, the seat was the only one in Australia where a Communist Party candidate, Michael Perth, stood for election. This was the only occasion when the Liberal Party did not preference the One Nation Party last. He achieved about one percent of the vote on each occasion.  Sawford retired at the 2007 election, which saw South Australian Labor's historically safe seat easily won by the newly endorsed Labor candidate, unionist and former head of the Left state Labor faction Mark Butler.  At the 2016 election, as a result of the emergence of the Nick Xenophon Team, Butler became the first Labor candidate in 20 years, and only the second ever, to come up short of a majority on the primary vote. He easily won after preferences, with NXT pushing the Liberals into third place. While Port Adelaide remains the safest Labor seat in South Australia on two-party terms, Butler's primary vote was actually one percent lower than that of Amanda Rishworth in Kingston. Despite also falling short of a majority on the primary vote, Rishworth received the highest primary vote of South Australia's 11 seats, but remained the second safest Labor seat in South Australia on two-party terms. The presence of NXT candidates in all eleven state seats resulted in a suppressed major party primary vote.  Due to a change in representation entitlements for South Australia, the Redistribution Committee of the Australian Electoral Commission proposed that Port Adelaide be abolished as part of the 2018 boundary redistribution.  In July 2018, this recommendation was adopted, reducing the number of seats in South Australia to ten for the 2019 election. Most of Port Adelaide's electors will join Hindmarsh, which will change from marginal Labor to fairly safe Labor as a result. Smaller portions will transfer to Spence (formerly Wakefield), Adelaide and Makin. Ironically, most of the Port Adelaide area had been part of Hindmarsh for the first half-century after Federation. Butler transferred to Hindmarsh, while Hindmarsh's incumbent Labor MP, Steve Georganas, transferred to Adelaide.

The Division of Port Adelaide was an Australian electoral division in the state of South Australia. The 181 km2 seat extended from St Kilda in the north to Grange Road and Findon in the south with part of Salisbury to the east. Suburbs included Alberton, Beverley, Birkenhead, Cheltenham, Findon, Kilkenny, Largs Bay, Mansfield Park, North Haven, Ottoway, Parafield Gardens, Paralowie, Pennington, Port Adelaide, Queenstown, Rosewater, Salisbury Downs, Semaphore, Woodville, West Croydon, and part of Seaton. The seat also included Torrens Island and Garden Island. Port Adelaide was abolished in 2019, after a redistribution triggered by a change in representation entitlement which saw South Australia's seats in the House of Representatives reduced to ten.