Plot.

Tired of facing assaults by the corrupt policemen and lawbreakers in the hilly village areas, Kundan (Sunil Shetty) decides to move to Mumbai with his younger brother Kisna (Kunal Khemu), with the help of honest lawyer Satyaprakash (Om Puri) and his daughters Pooja (Pooja Batra) and Meenu (Sonali Bendre). Kundan soon gets a job as an auto driver, and begins to send Kisna to school. Soon they change their lifestyle and become city dwellers. Don David (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Malik (Rajendra Gupta) are arch rivals in the city, struggling to come to power, and corrupt minister Mantri tries to support both for his own profit.  Satyaprakash is murdered by David's men. Kundan's brother Kisna witnesses David murdering Satyaprakash, and he tells Kundan. When David finds out that Kisna will tell the police, he sends his men to murder Kisna, killing him. An angry and devastated Kundan seeks revenge. He sets out and murders the don's men one after the other. He is supported by honest cop Inspector Lalit Kapoor (Kader Khan) and the entire locality, including friends (Shakti Kapoor). He does not even acknowledge Malik when he comes to him to support him.  Soon Kundan becomes "Bhai", a don who is loved and respected by all. He marries Pooja and they have a son whom they name Kisna. But Pooja is not happy with Kundan's activities, as she feels it can harm both him and his family. Kundan is joined by Meenu in all his activities. Enemies never at bay for those who take the gun, Mantri gets Inspector Lalit transferred to another area. Malik and David now team up along with Mantri to eliminate Kundan. On one occasion, when Kisna is taken to hospital by Kundan's friends and Meenu, all of them are attacked and murdered, but not before Ganesh (Mohan Joshi) manages to save Kisna and bring him to Kundan.  Kundan is arrested on false charges of murder. His enemies conspire to take him to the hills and eliminate him, coincidentally, at the very jungles from which Kundan first came. Kundan breaks away in the police jeep which the villains immolate, and drives it through the waterfalls in the jungle, into the river. Malik, David, Mantri and the other corrupt cops set out in search of Kundan, unfortunately for them, Lalit arrives as the inspector in charge of the area. He helps Kundan by shooting his handcuffs. Kundan takes on all the goons in the jungle he knows so well, eliminating them one by one, even blasting the helicopter carrying Mantri trying to shoot him down. After all is over, he surrenders to Lalit.  The film ends with Lalit and Kundan arriving back at home and a happy reunion.

Soundtracks.

Anand-Milind and Sameer teamed up yet again with director Deepak Shivdasani after composing successful songs in films like "Pehchaan" (1993) and "Gopi Kishan" (1994).

Bhai is a 1997 Indian Hindi gangster drama action film directed by Deepak Shivdasani, and written by Kader Khan. It starred Sunil Shetty, Pooja Batra, Sonali Bendre and Ashish Vidyarthi in lead roles. It received above average reviews and became a surprise hit at the box office.


Background.

Vermeer's artistic style in the 1670s is often compared to his earlier style of the mid-1660s. "The Guitar Player" properly demonstrates the energy of Vermeer's late style. His earlier paintings portray quiet self-contained worlds, but "The Guitar Player" is different. His late style demonstrated abstract painting techniques, in which the depiction of motion is portrayed through the diffused illustration of shifting objects. With Vermeer's experience, he began to create paintings that demonstrate dynamic poses and actions, implying that a movement (or in this case, sound) is taking place. "The Guitar Player" is often compared to Vermeer's, "Woman with a Lute".

Composition and Style.

"The Guitar Player" represents a new direction in Vermeer's art. Because he developed and perfected compositional balance and harmony during the 1660s, he was able to expand and paint scenes that show imbalance and fluctuation. Vermeer's painting of "The Guitar Player" rejects compositional balance and harmony, which contradicts his previous paintings. This painting exhibits an unbalanced arrangement that depicts a lack of compositional consistency, but also rejects the past instrument of the lute to focus on the modern guitar. The rejection of the lute and depiction of the guitar may be linked to Vermeer's compositional organization. Vermeer painted the young guitar player far to the left, covering the right half of the paining in light and shadow. This imbalance gives the viewer a sense of change and movement. The combination of an uneven arrangement conjoined with a gleam of light coming from the right rather than the left, forces the viewer engage with the character and instrument in this painting. The compositional arrangement is reinforced by Vermeer's decision to specifically direct the light onto the guitar player, which helps the viewer feel the impact of her presence. As a result of Vermeer's decision to paint a single personality, a greater importance and focus is placed on the instrument. The inclusion of a pastoral landscape, dark curtains, three books, and a blue tablecloth provide a counterbalance to the overriding composition displayed on the left of this artwork.  The late style of Vermeer utilized a number of painting techniques, most of which suggest an abstract style. His fascination with objects and actions that portray movement and sound are represented by an approach to painting that establishes objects as diffused and illuminated. In his painting, Vermeer integrated the use of abstraction through the strum of the guitar strings and movement of the right hand. Because this painting stayed with him until he died in 1675, we are to assume that this was his own stylistic direction, and not a request of a patron.

Visual Analysis.

In this painting, Vermeer depicts a young girl strumming a guitar. The instrument is placed comfortably on her lap while she plays near a window, sitting in the corner of a room. Her attire is made up of an ermine-bordered yellow jacket, an ivory-colored satin dress, and a pearl necklace. Surrounding her is a painted pastoral landscape bordered by an extravagant picture frame, a blank wall, three books, and a guitar. Prior to this painting, Vermeer portrayed individuals with obscure expressions. On the contrary, this young girl has an open expression that is joyous and flirtatious. The girl's smile and tipped head, along with the fixed gaze on something just outside the painting suggests that she is playing not for us, but for an unseen individual. Her dress and hairstyle reflect the relevant fashions of the wealthy Dutch, in that day.  The young girl is portrayed with wholesome features and a free expression, as if she is in the act of speaking or singing. The joyous demeanor established in this painting is conveyed through the young girl's self expression, the peaceful landscape pictured behind her, and the soft tones of light and dark. Due to these factors, Vermeer is able to provoke feelings of calmness and contentment.

Yellow Jacket and Satin Dress.

The morning jacket portrayed in this painting resembles five separate Vermeer paintings, three of which are "A Lady Writing" a Letter, "Mistress and Maid", and "Woman with a Pearl Necklace". In each painting, the jacket depicts different types of folds, distribution of spots, and fur trim. The thin patches of gray and yellow led-tin paint categorize the abstract pattern that establishes the folds in the jackets fabric and fur trim. Vermeer's devotion to painting light and shade can be acknowledged through the inclusion of dark brown shadows painted on the young musicians right arm and shoulder. From a distance these small patches seem blended, but they are actually laying side-by-side. Historians conclude that the fur on Vermeer's morning jacket was not made from ermine, but either cat, squirrel, or mouse. The fur was then decorated with faux spots. The jacket in "The Guitar Player" is one of the few surviving examples of 17th century overcoats.  The depiction of a satin dress implies a life of luxury. The young girls gown is presumably starched satin. For the dress to appear heavy and shimmery, the material was stiffened with starch and then ironed. The act of painting fine materials such as satin, took time and talent. To realistically represent luxurious materials, the artist had to be able to depict small details in the folds and patterns of the dress. To complete such a task, the artist often set up a life-sized wooden manikin dressed in the garments.

Pearl Necklace.

Vermeer's depiction of a pearl necklace alludes to the young girls elegant lifestyle. In this work he used an abstract technique to portray the pearl necklace, which was replicated his painting, "Allegory of Faith". To begin, he painted a base layer of dark greenish gray that curved around her neck to depict a shadow. Over the shadow, he created a hazy sequence of white spherical highlights. He didn't define the individual pearls to portray the natural translucence of the gemstone. Compared to his paintings of the mid-1660s, Vermeer simplified and dismissed intense detail for abstracted portrayals. This shows an outgrowth of his own style, along with a technique that was not frequented by artists of his time.

Guitar.

Vermeer's depiction of a young girl making music is associated with the nobility found in artistic inspiration, as well as the art of painting in the seventeenth century. The guitar originated in Spain, and was keenly sought after in the Dutch Republic. Compared to the lute, the guitar was cheaper and easier to play. This instrument has been decorated with a combination of ivory, ebony, tortoiseshell, and mother-of-pearl. The soundhole is created with multiple layers of ornately scrolled paper. In the seventeenth century, the guitar was used as both a continuo (harmonic) instrument, and a solo instrument. The music the guitar produces is bolder than that of the lute, and this is due to the design of the cords. The guitars strings reverberate deeper and fuller than that of past instruments. It does not play as loud as the modern flamenco guitar, and the gut strings are played with fingers. This painting depicts a five-course guitar, which was standard for most solo musicians.  Vermeer's depiction of a guitar suggests a move into the modern world of music, in which the lute is left behind with its contemplative and conservative traditions. The depiction of this guitar was created with immense attention to detail. The sound hole is created with a depiction of a finely tooled gold rose, where Vermeer has created an abstract arrangement of painted strokes. These strokes are highlighted with hazy accents of lead-tin yellow paint. The decorative white and black trim of the guitars border intensifies the painting's cheerful atmosphere. The small detailed sound hole was created with blobs of impasto paint, which portrays the light reflecting across its slick uneven surface. The most influential and well thought out technique Vermeer used in this painting focusses on the guitar's strings. Some of the strings are blurred, this suggests that they have been strummed and are vibrating. Because of this, we can assume she is in the midst of playing a song.

Landscape Painting.

Vermeer's picture-within-a-picture was identified by art historian Gregor Weber. The landscape that is depicted behind the young girls head is identified with Pieter Jansz's, "A Wooded Landscape with a Gentleman and Dogs in the Foreground". In Vermeer's version, the mimicked composition is cropped slightly on top, and on the right. The head of the young musician covers the gentleman and dogs. Vermeer's version guides the viewers focus towards the centered tree, as well as incorporating blue skies and greener foliage.  Vermeer may have incorporated this sun-filled pastoral landscape into his painting in reference to woman's beauty. Artists in the seventeenth century were often attributing the topic of female beauty to nature, which was frequently expressed through poetry and music.

Wall.

Vermeer's depiction of a whitewashed wall allowed him to set the stage for a scene that illustrates an individual strumming a guitar composed on the left side of the canvas. The painting's composition is balanced due to the large negative space the wall creates. The unobtrusive wall helps establish the mood of the painting, as well as the lighting scheme and spatial depth. Because of the wall's color, Vermeer was able to establish a warm and welcoming temperature from the incoming light. Vermeer's brushwork also implies the lights direction.  According to the Delft building historian Wim Weeve, the use of whitewashed walls was frequently integrated in the houses, castles, and churches of the Dutch in the Middle Ages. The beginning process of whitewashing a wall starts with a thick application of lime putty, which is created with burned seashells. When the putty dries, and the wall is thick enough, then the process of whitewashing with paint can begin.

Chair.

Although unrecognizable to the untrained eye, this wooden chair is portrayed several times through Vermeer's artistic career. At the top left hand side of the painting, behind her shoulder, a silhouette of a lion head finial can be found. This finial references chairs designed and crafted by the Spanish. When constructing this chair, the Spanish craftsman used leather and not cloth. This is due to Spains constant supply of rawhide. These chairs were respected for their craftsmanship and creativity, and the creators of these chairs regarded themselves as superior within the craftsman guilds.

Books.

Vermeer's decision to depict three books suggests the young girls sophistication, which is implied through a high level of education. Even though scholars do not know the book titles, it has been argued that the middle book's bulkiness resembles the Bible. With that being said, it was stated that the possible representation of the Bible implies biblical advice. If this is true, then the painting could indicate a decision to morally ignore the religious text. The young girl's body language and facial expression turn away from the book to pay attention to the individual on her right. Others argue that the presence of the book implies learning, which is familiar in Dutch paintings of the Middle Ages. According to scholar Elise Goodman, the young musician featured in this painting would be a member of the haute bourgeoisie who could read, write, and speak several languages.

Provenance.

After Vermeer's death in 1675, the painting stayed in Delft in the hands of Maria de Knuijt, his widow. In 1682, Maria gave the painting to their daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven. After Magdalena's death, the painting was passed on to her widower, Jacob Abrahamsz Dissius, in 1695. On the 16th of May, 1696, the painting was auctioned off at a Dissius sale in Amsterdam. From 1794 to 1802, "The Guitar Player" was in the hands of Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston, in London. From the dates of 1802 to 1865, the painting was owned by Temple's son, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. Eventually, the painting was in the ownership of John Temple's step-son, William Francis Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple, from 1865 - 1888. In 1888, his step son, Evelyn Melbourne Ashley, sold the painting to Thomas Agnew and Sons, in London. Between the dates of 1888 and 1889, the painting was sold by the Agnews to Edward Guinness. From the dates of 1889 to 1927, the painting was in the hands of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, in London.  In 2012, Kenwood House closed for renovations. While construction was taking place, the painting was on display in the National Gallery, beside the visiting galley's own two Vermeer's. In 2013, The painting was returned in late December when construction was over. "The Guitar Player" is currently on display in the Kenwood House in London, as part of the Iveagh Bequest collection.

Theft.

On February 23, 1974, someone stole the painting from Kenwood House and ransomed it for a deal to deliver and distribute over $1 million (US) dollars in food to the Caribbean island of Grenada, or the thief would destroy the painting. Following the threat, a small strip of the painting was sent to "The Times" in London, along with another demand that requested the Irish Republican sisters Marian and Dolours Price be allowed to serve their prison sentences near their homes in Northern Ireland. It was recovered by Scotland Yard in the cemetery of St Bartholomew-the-Great, in London's financial district, on May 7, 1974. The painting showed signs of dampness, but was otherwise undamaged.  A period copy, "A Lady Playing the Guitar", is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Guitar Player is an oil painting by Dutch Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675), dated c. 1672. This work of art is one of Vermeer's final artistic activities, providing insight into the techniques he mastered and approaches to painting he favored. The painting has been on display at Kenwood House, London since the 1920s, as part of the Iveagh Bequest collection. After being recovered from a theft in 1974, when the painting was held for ransom, "The Guitar Player" was returned to Kenwood House.


Plot.

"Pop. 1280" is the first-person narrative of Nick Corey, the listless sheriff of Potts County, the "47th (out of 47) largest county in the state". He lives in Pottsville which has a population of "1280 souls".  Sheriff Nick Corey presents himself as a genial fool, simplistic, over-accommodating, and harmless to a fault, given he is Pottsville's sole lawman. In reality, he is a clever psychopath able to manipulate people by appealing to their worst instincts and to get away with multiple murders.  The novel begins with Nick visiting Ken Lacey, the sheriff of a nearby county. Nick visits Sheriff Lacey ostensibly to ask for advice as he has in the past. Nick has two pimps in charge of a whorehouse on the river at the edge of town who regularly insult and abuse him. Nick asks Lacey what to do about them and Lacey mocks and belittles Nick including literally kicking him in the behind multiple times. Lacey finally explains that he is doing all this to show Nick that when someone hurts you, you need to hurt them back twice as hard, finishing with the boast that if any pimps tried to disrespect him, he would shoot them dead on the spot. In the process of suffering the abuse of Lacey and his deputy Buck, Nick realizes that Buck harbors ill will toward sheriff Lacey as well. He manipulates Lacey to have Buck see him off at the train station and has a discussion with Buck before heading back home.  Early that evening Nick goes to see the two pimps. As usual they berate and mock him for taking their graft and for being generally spineless. Nick plays the fool and takes their abuse waiting for a steamboat to traverse a bend in the river and blow its whistle. When it does, to the shock of the pimps, Nick pulls his gun and kills them both, relying on the noise of the whistle to cover the sound of his gun.  He dumps their bodies in the river and returns home to take a nap. He's awakened by his wife Myra to find that Sheriff Lacey has come to see him. At the prodding of his deputy Buck, Sheriff Lacey became concerned that Nick might actually kill the pimps and make him an accessory for encouraging the crime. Nick reassures Lacey that the thought never entered his mind. He gets Lacey drunk and then apologizes that even though it's too late to get a train back Nick doesn't have room to let Lacey stay the night and there are no hotels in Pottsville. He tells Lacey the only place to spend the night is the whorehouse run by the pimps. In his drunken state Lacey is eager to spend the night this way. As Nick walks him there he manipulates Lacey to brag to several people that he would never take abuse from the pimps, virtually claiming he would kill them if they tried. He further manipulates Lacey to make similar claims to the prostitutes at the house.  The next day, the county attorney Robert Lee Jefferson berates Nick for not doing his job and never making any arrests. Jefferson warns Nick that he will face a strong opponent in the coming election from Sam Gaddis. Nick replies that the people don't really want him to do his job, that they enjoy petty crimes such as gambling, public drunkenness, and prostitution and that if he started to arrest people for such crimes he would have to arrest the whole town. Jefferson is adamant that Nick needs to stop being so lazy and cowardly because Gaddis is everything that Nick is not. Nick agrees with Jefferson that Gaddis is a man of the highest moral quality regardless of all the rumors about him people are spreading. Jefferson asks and then demands to know what these rumors are but Nick refuses to tell him. In reality there are no rumors but Nick realizes that he has planted a seed that will result in them.  Nick then goes to find Tom Hauck, the husband of Rose Hauck who Nick is having an affair with. He finds Hauck drinking and fishing at the river. Nick tells Hauck that he has been having sex with his wife and as Hauck begins to sputter with rage Nick picks up Hauck's shotgun and lets him have both barrels in the stomach. As Hauck lies in agonizing pain Nick kicks him a few times and leaves him to die a painful death. Nick leaves Hauck to go see Hauck's wife Rose. He encourages Rose to have sex with him, but as much as she wants to, she has work that must be done at her farm or her husband will viciously beat her when he returns from fishing. Nick toys with her a while then finally gives her the news that he has killed her husband. She is overjoyed and they retreat to her bedroom to have passionate sex.  In addition to Rose Hauck, Nick is also having an affair with Amy Mason. He sometimes has difficulties juggling both affairs while keeping either woman as well as his wife Myra and her imbecile brother Lennie from discovering them but by quick thinking and manipulation he is always able to.  Where as Rose is foul mouthed and hypocritical, Amy is the only person in Pottsville that is beyond Nick's manipulation because she has a strong sense of morality. As she learns that Nick is planning to frame Sheriff Lacey for the murder of the two pimps which Nick committed she threatens to tell the authorities regardless of any potential consequences for her and Nick realizes that she would actually do it. This makes Amy more appealing to Nick than Rose. He realizes that he must choose between them because Amy is too intelligent to try and deceive about his relation with Rose and she will no longer tolerate Nick seeing Rose.  Nick comes up with a way to get rid of his wife Myra, her brother, and Rose all at once. He manipulates Rose, who thinks she is taking part in a scheme to get rid of Nick's wife, to tell Myra's brother Lennie that she has seen him and Myra having passionate sex. Upon hearing this, Myra takes Lennie and heads for Rose's house. Myra breaks in on Rose and tells her that because she discovered her and Lennie's secret (what seemed like a vicious rumor turned out to be the truth) she is going to have Lennie rape her while she takes photos in order to blackmail Rose and force her to leave town. Rose gets a pistol that she purchased to protect herself from her abusive husband and kills both Myra and her brother.  Rose finally realizes she has been manipulated by Nick. When she confronts Nick he just laughs at her and suggests she get out of town as soon as possible before the bodies are discovered. Toward the end of the novel, Nick's inner dialogue becomes more and more delusional as he comes to believe he is Jesus come to Earth to dispense justice on the guilty, hypocritical people of Pottsville. The novel ends without Nick being caught for any of his crimes but with the impression that circumstances are finally catching up to him while he becomes more delusional.

Themes.

The character of a sheriff who plays the fool but is in reality highly intelligent is used several times by Thompson. Sometimes, as in this novel and "The Killer Inside Me", the sheriff is a psychopath. In the novels "Wild Town" and "The Transgressors", the sheriff is heroic, a highly intelligent man who was forced by circumstances to take a job that didn't allow him to take full advantage of his abilities and who plays at being a clown to fit in to his role and to manipulate people for altruistic ends.  In his autobiography "Bad Boy", Thompson wrote that this character was based on an actual deputy who pursued him when he neglected to pay a fine for being drunk and disturbing the peace. As recounted in a NY Times article, Thompson describes the encounter he had with the deputy:  The sheriff also is quite likely based to some degree on Thompson's own father, who had many of the same characteristics: a born politician who knew just what to say to win favor with anyone and who appeared friendly on the outside but inside harbored a great deal of pent up rage and misanthropy.  "Pop. 1280" is also one of Thompson's most overtly political books. Nick constantly uses jokes to point out the racism, classism, and sexism of American society, for example at the end of Nick's discussion with the county attorney who is after Nick to make more arrests when Nick promises to arrest anyone who breaks the law, "Providing o' course, that he's either colored or some poor white trash that can't pay his poll tax".

Adaptations.

"Pop. 1280" was adapted as the French film "Coup de Torchon" (1981), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, set in French West Africa in 1938.  Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos has been tapped to direct a new adaptation for release in 2020.

Pop. 1280 is a crime novel by Jim Thompson, published in 1964. NPR's Stephen Marche described it as Thompson's "true masterpiece, a preposterously upsetting, ridiculously hilarious layer cake of nastiness, a romp through a world of nearly infinite deceit."


History.

The Kingdom of Italy occupied the port of Vlorë on December 1914, but had to withdraw after the Austrian-Hungarian invasion in late 1915 - early 1916, and the fall of Durrës on 27 February 1916. In May 1916, the Italian XVI Corps, some 100,000 men under the command of General Settimio Piacentini, returned and occupied the region of southern Albania by the autumn 1916, while the French army occupied Korçë and its surrounding areas on November 29, 1916. The Italian (in Gjirokastër) and French forces (in Korçë), according mainly to the development of the Balkan Front, entered the area of former Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (controlled by the Greek minority) in autumn 1916, after approval of the Triple Entente. The establishment of the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë was done on December 10, 1916 by French authorities with a protocol, according to which an autonomous province would be established on the territories of Korçë, Bilishti, Kolonja, Opar and Gora in eastern Albania. On December 12, 1916, Italy asked for explanations from the Quai d'Orsay, through its ambassador, because the establishment of the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë violated the Treaty of London. Austria-Hungary used French precedent in Korçë to justify the proclamation of independence of Albania under its protectorate on January 3, 1917 in Shkodra.  The Kingdom of Italy did the same when proclaiming independence of Albania under its protectorate on June 23, 1917 in Gjirokastra. General Ferrero proclaimed on that day the Italian Protectorate and the next weeks occupied Ioannina in Epirus. Neither Great Britain nor France had been consulted beforehand, and they did not give any official recognition to the Italian Protectorate.  This Albanian republic under the leadership of Turhan Përmeti, protected by 100,000 soldiers of the Italian Army, adopted officially a red flag with a black eagle in the middle, but raised a storm of protests even in the Italian Parliament In autumn 1918, the Italians expanded their Protectorate (without adding anything officially to Albania) to areas of northern Greece (around Kastoria) and western Macedonia (around Bitola), conquered from the Bulgarians and Ottomans. On September 25 the Italian 35 Division reached and occupied Krusevo deep inside western Macedonia.  In October 1918, the Italian "XVI Corpo d' Armata" (nearly four divisions, with even 2 Albanian volunteers battalions) conquered all north-central Albania from the Austrians: on 10/14 Durres, the next day Tirane and on 10/31 Scutari; finally on November 3 even Ulcinj and Bar in actual coastal Montenegro.  In November 1918, when World War I finished, nearly all what is now contemporary Albania was under the Italian Protectorate, after the French expedition withdrawal from the Korce area (France "officially" put an end to the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë on December 10, 1918).  Since then and for nearly two years until summer 1920 the Italian Protectorate over Albania was administered by the Italian government: in a country that lacked nearly everything after centuries of Ottoman rule, were built 546 km of new roads, 110 km of new railroads, 3000 km of telegraph lines, 9 teleferics, a few hospitals and some modern administrative buildings.

After World War I.

A delegation sent by a postwar "Albanian National Assembly" that met at Durrës in December 1918 defended Albanian interests at the Paris Peace Conference, but the conference denied Albania official representation. The National Assembly, anxious to keep Albania intact, expressed willingness to accept Italian protection and even an Italian prince as a ruler so long as it would mean Albania did not lose territory.  But in January 1920, at the Paris Peace Conference, negotiators from France, Britain, Italy and Greece agreed to divide Albania among Yugoslavia, Italy, and Greece as a diplomatic expedient aimed at finding a compromise solution to the territorial conflict between Italy and Yugoslavia. The deal (with the Valona territory and areas of south-central Albania given to Italy) was done behind the Albanians' backs and in the absence of a United States negotiator.  This deal created huge anti-Italian resentment between many Albanians and in May 1920 the Italians (even because of demobilisation of their troops after World War I ended) withdrew to some important cities (Durazzo, Scutari, Tirane, Valona, Tepelani and Clisura) and their surrounding areas: successively were forced to fight the Vlora war. The revolutionary movements in Italy made the presence of the last 20,000 soldiers of the Italian Army in Albania basically impossible.  On August 2, 1920 the Albanian-Italian protocol was signed, upon which Italy retreated from Albania (maintaining only the island of Saseno). This put an end to Italian claims for Vlora and for a mandate over Albania, rescuing the territory of the Albanian state from further partition.  The desire to compensate for this retreat would be one of Benito Mussolini's main motives in invading Albania in 1939

The Italian protectorate over Albania was established by the Kingdom of Italy during World War I in an effort to secure a "de jure" independent Albania under Italian control. It existed from June 23, 1917 until the summer of 1920.


Appearance.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo is large in size, compact and muscular. The coat is short and usually brindle but may be a pale yellow ("bayo"), with a black face. Height of males at the withers is from 58 to 61 cm (23 to 24 in) and weight is from 38 to 45 kg (84 to 99 lb). Adult females are slightly smaller.

Temperament.

The breed standard states that the dog should have great courage. As with all large dogs, the Cimarrón Uruguayo must be well socialized when very young if it is to be safely kept as a companion. It is a very friendly dog with children and other animals.  The Cimarrón Uruguayo is sometimes used for guarding, hunting, and all dog sports in its native Uruguay. Being a very smart dog it has been used for all kinds of jobs, such as rescue or herding.  It is a rather calm and stable dog and doesn't usually bark unless a threat is real.

History.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo mainly descends from the Alano Español and other European dogs brought by early colonizers and released or abandoned. The dogs adapted to living in the wild in Uruguay and in time became numerous. In the eighteenth century, attacks on livestock and even humans resulted in the dogs being hunted, with bounties paid by the government for each dog killed. However, many remained, especially in the highlands of Cerro Largo. Ranchers in the area would capture and tame the dogs, using them as guard dogs.  The Cimarrón's survival story and fierceness has made it something of a national symbol in Uruguay and the breed is the mascot of the National Army of Uruguay.  The Kennel Club Uruguayo (Uruguayan national kennel club) recognised the Cimarrón Uruguayo after some twenty years of work by fanciers and breeders in documenting the breed. In addition, genetic studies are being done on the breed by the Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay college of Veterinary Medicine.  The Cimarrón Uruguayo was provisionally recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale on February 21, 2006, and definitively on November 7, 2017 in Group 2, Section 2 Molossoid breeds-Mastiff type. The breed has been exported to the United States, and is recognised there by the United Kennel Club in the Guardian Dog Group.

Health.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo should be tested for hip and elbow dysplasia before breeding.  Often the ears are cropped short when the dogs are very young. This is alleged to be in homage to the days when they were hunted (the ears were presented for the bounty). Most fighting dog breeds have their ears cropped.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo (Uruguayan Cimarron) is a breed of molosser type dog originating in Uruguay. The word "cimarrón" in Latin America is used to mean "feral", referring to the breed's history.


Background and development.

The Seychelles Football Federation was founded in 1979, and became a FIFA affiliate in 1986. Women's football is represented in the federation by specific mandate and currently they employ one full-time employee to look after the women's game.  Football is the third most-popular women's sport in the country. In 2006, there were overall 185 registered female players (100 adult players and 85 youth players). There are also a few women's clubs, eight senior women's club as of 2009 and a national competition takes place yearly. Girls' football was not played in school based competitions in 2006, but started in 2009. The first woman's football tournament occurred in the late 1990s, with the first tournaments being seven-a-side football before an eleven-a-side tournament started. The Patron's Cup, the major women's competition in the country that is the final for the national league, was won by Olympia Coast in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. The cup was won by Dolphins in 2004. The competition and some of the teams underwent a name change with United Sisters becoming the Lioness and the Patron's Cup becoming the Federation Cup. In 2007, 2009 and 2011, the Lioness won the Federation Cup. In 2002, Cynthia Sanders became the first woman from the country to attain an assistant referee international license. Rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup in the country were bought by the African Union of Broadcasting and Supersport International. In 2011, Sanders became the first woman from the country to referee an international match when she officiated a match between Malawi and Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 2012, the country had their first woman sign a contract for and coach a men's team.  Early development of the women's game at the time colonial powers brought football to the African continent was limited, as colonial powers in the region tended to make concepts of patriarchy and women's participation in sports was limited as a result. The lack of later development of the national teams on a wider international level is symptomatic of most of African teams and a result of several factors, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women in the wider society, and fundamental inequality present in the society that occasionally allows for female specific human rights abuses. When quality female football players are developed, they tend to leave for greater opportunities abroad. Continent wide, funding is also an issue, with most development money coming from FIFA, not the national football association. Future success for women's football in Africa is dependent on improved facilities and access by women to these facilities. Attempting to commercialise the game and make it commercially viable is not the solution, as demonstrated by the current existence of many youth and women's football camps held throughout the continent.

The team.

In 1985, almost no country in the world had a women's national football team including the Seychelles who did play in a single FIFA sanctioned match between 1950 and June 2012. In 2006, the country did not have an official FIFA recognised senior a team, a situation unchanged by 2009. In 2005, they competed in a three nation tournament hosted by Mauritius, where all games were 80 minutes in length. They lost to Mauritius 1–4. They lost to Réunion 0–9. Overall, they finished last, scoring only one goal in the competition. In 2005, Zambia was supposed to host a regional COSAFA women's football tournament, with ten teams agreeing to send teams including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Seychelles did not record a match in the event. The country did not have a team competing in the 2010 African Women's Championships, or at the 2011 All Africa Games. In March 2012, the team was not ranked in the world by FIFA.  The country has an official under-17 team, the Seychelle women's national under-17 football team. In 2006, they had two training sessions a week but had yet to record an official FIFA recognised match.

The Seychelles women's national football team is the national team of the Seychelles. It does not officially exist and has not played in a FIFA recognised match. The national team has played in two eighty-minute long games in 2005 in a tournament hosted by Mauritius, with the Seychelles losing both matches. An official under-17 national team exists and had regular training sessions in 2006. The sport faces several development problems inside the country including a lack of popularity for the sport, and few female players and teams. Women have gained football leadership positions in the country with one coaching a men's team and another umpiring international matches. There are other development issues for the sport that are ones facing the whole of Africa.


Theology of nonviolence.

Douglass is a noted author on nonviolence and Catholic theology, with many books and essays to his credit. Four of his monographs, published from 1968 to 1991, were reprinted in 2006 by theology publisher Wipf & Stock.  Douglass's 2008 book, "JFK and the Unspeakable", discusses the John F. Kennedy assassination as a conspiracy ordered by unknown parties and carried out by the CIA with help from the Mafia and elements in the FBI to put an end to Kennedy's effort to end the Cold War after the Cuban Missile Crisis.  "JFK and the Unspeakable" was first published by Orbis Books in Maryknoll, New York (2008), and reprinted by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone Books (2010).

Activism.

Douglass was a professor of religion at the University of Hawaii who first engaged in civil disobedience to protest against the Vietnam War.  In 1975 Jim and Shelley Douglass founded Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action to protest against the construction of a Trident missile nuclear submarine base on the Kitsap Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. The Douglasses, joined by other activists seeking to prevent the installation of Trident missiles, formed a small intentional community, the Pacific Life Community, near the submarine base. Their goal was to "seek the truth of a nonviolent way of life," both personally and politically. Personally we tried to confront our racism, sexism, consumerism — all the isms that allowed us to violate others. Politically, we chose to experiment with nonviolent actions resisting Trident, a system that seemed to epitomize all the violence of our society.  This nonviolent protest later extended to protesting against the White Train which carried nuclear missile parts to Bangor Trident Base.  The Douglasses later moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama, to establish Mary's House, a "house of hospitality" for homeless or indigent people in need of long-term health care.  Douglass has traveled to the Middle East on several peace missions. In 2003 he joined a Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq and stayed with civilians during the U.S.-led invasion.  Douglass is a member, and co-founder of, Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth, an organization that questions the "official story" about the 9/11 attacks.

James W. "Jim" Douglass (born 1937) is an American author, activist, and Christian theologian. He is a graduate of Santa Clara University. He and his wife, Shelley Douglass, founded the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo, Washington, and Mary’s House, a Catholic Worker house in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1997 the Douglasses received the Pacem in Terris Award.


History.

The Palace was built for Count Jan Klemens Branicki, Great Crown Hetman and patron of art and science, raised in the French milieu of the Polish aristocracy, who transformed a previous house into the suitably magnificent residence of a great Polish noble, a rival to Wilanów Palace, making a start in 1726. He also laid out the central part of the town of Bialystok, not a large place in the 18th century, with its triangular market.  The original wooden manor of the Raczkowicz family that occupied the site was transformed in the 16th century into a brick two-storey castle for Piotr Wiesiołowski the Younger. The architect was Hiob Bretfus, who constructed the a gothic-renaissance structure with a moat and earth ramparts. Shortly after the property was inherited by Stefan Mikołaj Branicki he commissioned the transformation of the castle into a baroque mansion. The structure was thoroughly reconstructed during 1691–1697 by Tylman Gamerski, including one of the towers adapted to a staircase. During the subsequent reconstruction the side outbuildings were enhanced, the Ionic colonnade above the main entrance was erected and the whole structure was adorned with sculptures. Further expansion of the palace was conducted by Jan Klemens Branicki and his wife Izabella Poniatowska. Starting in 1728 the reconstruction of the palace was directed by Johann Sigmund Deybel. Under his supervision, the structure was enhanced, the tympanum and domes on the towers were added. Deybel is also the author of the main façade. The existing pavilions and outbuildings were merged with the main building ("corps de logis") according to French model to form wings surrounding a horseshoe court - the courtyard of honor ("cour d'honneur"), which was closed with a gate built in 1758 by Jan Henryk Klemm. Among notable architects employed in reconstruction was Pierre Ricaud de Tirregaille. After the death of Deybel, in the years 1750–1771, the rebuilding of the palace was supervised by Jakub Fontana, who was an author of the palace's vestibule, rococo interiors and the staircase with statues by Jan Chrysostom Redler (1754). The fence between the initial ("avant cour") and honor courtyard was adorned in 1757 with two monumental sculptures by Redler - "Hercules fighting the dragon" and "Hercules fighting the hydra". Interior decorations were conducted by artists such as Szymon Czechowicz, Ludwik Marteau, Augustyn Mirys, Jean-Baptiste Pillement, fresco painters such as Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz (in 1738) and Antoni Herliczka and stucco decorators Samuel Contesse and Antoni Vogt. The newly created "Versailles de la Pologne" concentrated many great artists, poets including Elżbieta Drużbacka and Franciszek Karpiński and scientists. A theater, orchestra and ballet were established. Among notable guests were King Augustus II the Strong (1726 to 1727 and again in 1729), King Augustus III and his wife and sons Prince Francis Xavier and Prince Charles (1744 and 1752), Prince Charles of Saxony, Duke of Courland (twice in 1759), Bishop Ignacy Krasicki (1760), King Stanisław August Poniatowski (occasionally), Emperor Joseph II Habsburg (1780), Grand Duke Paul, future Tsar Paul I of Russia, with his wife (1782), King Louis XVIII of France (1798), French, English, Turkish and Russian envoys and Italian actress.  With the third Partition of Poland it went to the Prussian Kingdom and, after 1807, to Russia. In the summer of 1920, briefly, the palace was the headquarters of the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee. Branicki Palace suffered from bombing and fires caused by the Germans, with damage totaling approximately 70%. It was restored after World War II as a matter of national pride. The Medical University is housed in the Palace.

The palace grounds.

A straight avenue centered on the palace passes across the river on a three-arched bridge across the river, which is confined with deep stone embankment walling, to the large enclosed paved forecourt. The central block has two storeys upon a high arcaded basement story, with a pedimented central block displaying Branicki's coat-of-arms and end pavilions that have squared domes in two tiers. The roofline is an Italianate balustrade that masks a low attic story, and the heroic sculptural group of Atlas crowning all.  Surrounding the Palace are the grounds. The garden front has a terrace raised on columns, which forms a podium for viewing the parterre in the French taste with a main central allée and French sphinxes, and a later "English garden," in the naturalistic taste associated with the English park, surrounding the grounds. The central axis continues to a guest pavilion. Other outbuildings include the Arsenal (1755), Orangery and Italian and Tuscan Pavilions.

Branicki Palace () is a historical edifice in Białystok, Poland. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the 18th century by Jan Klemens Branicki, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth hetman, into a residence suitable for a man whose ambition was to become king of Poland. The palace complex with gardens, pavilions, sculptures, outbuildings and other structures and the city with churches, city hall and monastery, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the 18th century as "Versailles de la Pologne" (Versailles of Poland) and subsequently "Versailles de la Podlachie" (Versailles of Podlasie).


Background and development.

Development of Lady Gaga's third studio album, "Artpop", began shortly after the release of her second one, "Born This Way" (2011), and by the following year, the album's concepts were "beginning to flourish" as Gaga collaborated with producers Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow. However, while on tour for the Born This Way Ball, Gaga had to undergo a hip surgery in February 2013 which forced the singer into a six-month hiatus, and this rehabilitation became one of the inspirations behind the album. According to White Shadow, the title track was one of the first songs penned for the album, which created the backbone for the record. Calling it a "defining moment" of "Artpop"s creation, the producer explained that the title track led them to explore other avenues in terms of musical aspirations. Written and produced by Gaga, White Shadow, Monson and Dino Zisis, "Artpop" was called the swan song of the album by the singer. Talking to Sirius XM Radio, where she gave an in-depth analysis of each song from the album, Gaga explained:  'Artpop' is really an inferno and it's the only song on the record that I didn't really wanna go anywhere or explode or orgasm. Because then it would just be like composing something that would be just like every other sort of orgasm that I've ever had. And because its really the center of the record, I really wanted there to be a more infinite tone, to this concept of Art+Pop, that we can put art in the front and not have the corporate world to control in art anymore. How can we the artist back our ideas and for our visions to be the most important thing. The thing that's driving culture, driving these corporations. I didn't wanted ['Artpop'] to grow too much, I wanted it to kind of hypnotize people and become like a mantra.

Recording and composition.

Initial recording sessions for "Artpop" coincided with the Born This Way Ball. Gaga spent the majority of her recording time on "Artpop" with White Shadow but she did not want the final version to be edited further, unlike her other songs. The song was recorded at Record Plant Studios, Hollywood, California, by Dave Russell and Benjamin Lader, with Lader and Daniel Zaidenstadt also working as assistants during the final mix. Russell also did the mixing of the track for the track at Record Plant and at Heard It! Studios with additional mixing being done by Dino "SpeeedoVee" Zisis. Instrumentation for "Artpop" included piano and guitars by Gaga and Monson. Background vocals were sung by Nichole Ganther, Natalie Ganther and Lyon Gray with vocal arrangement by Gaga. Finally, Rick Pearl did the additional programming and Gene Grimaldi did the audio mastering at Oasis Mastering Studios in Burbank, California. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Artpop" is set in the time signature of common time, with a dance-pop tempo of 117 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of D minor with Gaga's vocals spanning the tonal nodes of F to A. The song follows a basic sequence of Dm–Gm–F–C as its chord progression.  In a review for "Billboard", Jason Lipshutz described "Artpop" as Gaga's manifesto about her creativity, calling it a "lurching electro-jazz beast" who's beats became louder and complex as it reached climax. Consisting of strings, the techno song has a beat similar to Selena Gomez's 2011 single "Love You like a Love Song" with its electronic composition, and a groove comparable to singer Kylie Minogue's 2001 hit single "Can't Get You Out of My Head". Interspersed between are computerized musical sounds and the chorus, which has a coo-ing accompanied with the main vocals, like Michael Jackson. Both Sal Cinquemani of "Slant Magazine" and Kevin Harley from "The Independent" described "Artpop" as a Euro disco song, with Cinquemani also comparing its sound to Madonna's 2005 album "Confessions on a Dance Floor". "Artpop"s lyrics have been deduced to be a statement about "the subjectivity of art". It begins with the singer uttering the lines "Come to me with all your subtext of fantasy", the line being an indicative of enigma around her, according to "The Huffington Post". Gaga explained the lyrics were a metaphor about love with the chorus line "We could belong together, Artpop". She believed that if her fans and herself could be together, that would probably mean a bonding for art and pop too. On the contrary, Jim Farber from "New York Daily News" believed that the love relationship was sidelined for that between art and pop with the lyrics.  There are other dimensions to the lyrics, with Gaga playing off her image of self-promotion and criticisms directed at her with the line "I try to sell myself, but I am really laughing because I just want the music not the bling". In a review for "Artpop", Simon Chandler from Tiny Mix Tapes gave a detailed analysis of the lyrical composition. According to him, Gaga wanted to portray her music as boundless in its meaning with "Artpop", but it appeared to be arrogant since most of the conclusions derived about her music is from her public persona created and its media coverage. Chandler believed that the lyrics wanted to drive home a point about Gaga being the center for any discussion. With the previous lyrics, the implication is that Gaga's impassive personality utilizes her music to sell her brand name to the general crowd, and primarily fuels the public interest in her.

Release and reception.

A teaser for "Artpop" was previewed as part of snippets from the parent album until its final release on November 11, 2013. A "not safe for work" short film, "An Artpop Film Starring Lady Gaga", set to the song was released as promotion for the album, on November 20, 2013. Shot by Dutch fashion photographer duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the video consisted of the material that Gaga created with them as promotion leading to "Artpop". The video begins with a nude Gaga uttering a monologue: "This album is a celebration. My pain exploding in electronic music. It's heavy, but after I listen to it I feel happy again. I feel lighter." Following these are the black-and-white promotional scenes from "Artpop" campaign announcement, the music video for the first single "Applause", the nude images for her interview with "V" magazine and the artwork for promotional single, "Dope". Gaga shows a range of emotion in the film, including caressing a mannequin and applying dirt on her body, but most of the time she simply stares towards the camera. Zayda Rivera from "New York Daily News" expressed her difficulty in understanding the film, but added that "hypnotic musical backdrop of her single 'Artpop' perfectly matches the artsy, bewildering and even disturbing images that run through the fast and slow editing." Gaga admitted that she had performed for 12 hours while making the film.  The track received mixed reviews from music critics. Mike Wass from Idolator called it an "obtuse synth track" believing the composition to be "ingenious" or "pretentious", and felt that Gaga's endeavors kept the pop music scene interesting. Evan Sawdey from PopMatters believed that the vibe of the previous track on the album, "Do What U Want", carried off to "Artpop" which he described as "strange" and "hypnotic" and the best thing on the parent album. Harley listed "Artpop" as one of the more aurally pleasurable tracks from the album. Calling it a "standout" track, Andrew Barker from "Variety" compared Gaga's vocals to those of Debbie Harry, with their cold disposition. Emily McKey from "NME" called the song "slow and purringly sexy", believing that the line "My artpop could mean anything" referred to the trivial concept of the album itself. Critic Greg Kot from "Chicago Tribune" believed that "Artpop" was the only song on the album, where there was a hint of what the actual composition of the over all record should have been. Justin Miller from "Harper's Bazaar" called the song more intimate that the previous tracks in the album, but felt it was a techno-ballad and the most diffused composition for Gaga.  Negative reviews came from Holly Williams of Contactmusic.com, who was extremely disappointed with the track. Williams felt a rapid decline in the quality of music with the title track, which she believed should have been "climactic, inventive and a little bit trippy with such a title" but found its tempo to be slow and mundane. Maura Johnson from "Spin" felt that lyrics like "I just love the music, not the bling" appeared insincere on Gaga's behalf since her career graph showed that the singer was more infatuated with Fame in the 21st century. "Not the deepest statement, but also not that unique to the new millennium," Johnson concluded. "Los Angeles Times"s Mikael Wood believed that the line was not something that worked in a pop record and believed that along with first single "Applause", Gaga's ideas seemed unattainable and not exciting. John Walker from MTV News rated it two out of five stars, calling it boring. Chris Bossman from Consequence of Sound compared the composition of the track to a "dying, old school war dialer". Melinda Newman from HitFix called the song "too quirky" and felt that it could only be successful if remixed properly. Robert Copsey from Digital Spy believed that the chorus line "My artpop could mean anything" made the concept of the album all the more confusing, instead of simplifying Gaga's brash statements about her musical outputs. Ericka Welch from "The Huffington Post" called the song as "pretentious" and the least interesting endeavor on the album. She believed that "Artpop" failed to embody the concept of the album and was plagued with the same inconsequential lyrics that was visible during her "Born This Way" era. She concluded by giving the example: "Like a mad scientist trying to create life, Gaga's experiment to fuse ART and POP sometimes results in overly ambitious deformities with six legs."

Live performances.

Previous to the release of the album or the teasers, Gaga performed "Artpop" live on September 1, 2013, at the iTunes Festival in London. The song was the third performance that evening, from a set list containing eight tracks. Following the performance of "Manicure" and a piano interlude, Gaga stripped off her clothes onstage until she was in a sea-shell bikini and an enormous blond wig, and started singing the song. Ashley Percival from "The Huffington Post" complimented the performance, saying that the song "showed the most promise onstage". A review at Capital FM website found the song akin to her 2009 single, "Paparazzi". Jenn Selby from "Glamour" called the performance a "heartfelt piece of pop music accompanied with its own, YMCA-like arm dance." Digital Spy's Copsey was confused with the performance, but enjoyed the downtempo composition of "Artpop" and rated it three-and-a-half stars out of five. Writing for "The Guardian", Kitty Empire criticized the absence of clothing but praised the overall performance. Gaga next performed "Artpop" during her ArtRave party for the release of the album. Wearing an ensemble that was described by the "New York Post"s Hardeep Phull as a combination of S&M gear and the Michelin Man, Gaga performed "Artpop" after opening the ArtRave concert with "Aura", the first track of the album. The singer had to wade through the crowd of her fans in order to reach the main stage where the rest of the performance took place.  Gaga performed the song on "Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular", her second Thanksgiving television special which aired on ABC on November 28, 2013. She had invited singer Elton John as special guest star for the performance. After a performance of John's 1974 single "Bennie and the Jets", the duo started singing "Artpop". They were seated opposite to each other on piano, and Gaga was ornamented in a dress made of Coca-Cola cans. During the chorus, they were joined by The Muppets who aided with background vocals. Chris Willman from "Billboard" called John as the best guest performer of the special. Maricela Gonzales from "Entertainment Weekly" was impressed with the performance, saying that although she did not understand the message behind the song, "[w]hat is clear is that Gaga and Elton John belong together. I'm serious, I want to go to that show."  She also performed the song on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on February 18, 2014. The performance was the restart of Gaga's emergence under media spotlight, following a self-imposed sabbatical due to depression and stories about betrayal surrounding the release of "Artpop". The singer wore a white dress and sported a platinum blond wig; the ensemble made her look like fashion designer Donatella Versace. Starting the song as an acoustic version, Gaga played a crystal piano placed atop a ramp at the end of the stage. By the second chorus, the electronic beats of the song started and she descended to the front of the stage to complete the performance with a dance. Carl Williot from Idolator complimented the performance, saying that it made him appreciate the track more. It was praised by Melinda Newman from HitFix who said that "Gaga excels when it is just her at a piano performing the songs with the barest of accompaniment."  At the tour of 2014, "Artpop" was added as the opening song of the set list. The show starts off with a video introduction about the tour, followed by dancers appearing on stage with balloons and blue gazing balls. The video continues to play as Gaga emerges from beneath the stage, wearing a golden leotard with wings and a blue ball attached to her bosom. Dry ice and confetti accompanied her arrival on stage, as Gaga sang the song standing atop two male dancers wearing scuba diving masks.  Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Artpop".

Charts.

Following the release of "Artpop", the song debuted and reached a peak position of number 185 in France, staying on the chart for 39 weeks. It also reached a peak of number 48 on the Gaon Chart for non-domestic downloads of South Korea, selling 3,157 copies.

"Artpop" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third studio album of the same name (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Nick Monson, and Dino Zisis. "Artpop" was the first song developed for the album and led the composers to pursue other avenues of musical production. Described as the backbone of the record, Gaga did not want to experiment with the production of "Artpop", as she believed it to have an infinite aspect in it.


Education and business career.

Piolle was born in Pau, France. He attended a local high school in that area. After graduating, he went to the Grenoble Institute of Technology to study engineering.  He joined the Hewlett-Packard Company in 2001, and became a senior manager at the Grenoble site. In February 2011, he was fired for refusing to set up a relocation plan.  He co-founded the company Raise Partners, a company specializing in financial risk management.

Political career.

Before mayor of Grenoble.

In 1997, at 24, Piolle was a parliamentary candidate for the eighth district of Isère as a Miscellaneous left, he won 1.35% of the votes. In 2002 he was a substitute candidate during the legislative elections for the first district of Isère.  In March 2010, he was elected as a regional councilor of Isère, which is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region, as a member of Europe Ecology.  In June 2012, he was a parliamentary candidate for the first district of Isère as a member of EELV, he won 7.7% of votes.

Mayor of Grenoble.

In 2014, Piolle became a candidate for mayor of Grenoble during the municipal elections, his motto being "Grenoble, Une Ville pour Tous" (Grenoble, A City for All). He was the leading candidate throughout the race, gathering support from environmentalists, EELV, the Left Party,, the Anticapitalist Left, and two local associations, ADES and the Citizen Network. He was elected during a city council session on April 4, 2014, succeeding Michel Destot (PS) as mayor of Grenoble. He received 50 votes out of the 59 councilors. After this election Grenoble becomes the first french city with more than 100 000 inhabitants to elect an EELV municipal government.  After winning the election, he declined to run for president of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, and resigned from his position as a regional councilor of Rhône-Alpes.  In the French presidential election of 2017, he called on voters to support Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Éric Piolle (born 6 January 1973) is a French engineer and politician. He was Regional Councillor of Rhône-Alpes from March 2010 to April 2014. He has served as mayor of Grenoble since 2014.


Biography.

Canaveri was born September 25, 1753 in Borgomaro, Liguria (Italy), his family was originally from Piedmont and Alpes-Maritimes. His father had exercised the first Magistracy, in the city of Borgomaro. He began his studies at Giaveno and finished at the University of Turin where he received a doctorate at the age of 18 years. He then studied at the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, and was ordained a priest on September 21, 1776 by the Archdiocese of Turin. In 1797 he was appointed Bishop of Biella, was consecrated in Rome, but by the request of Pius VII he resigned his position. He was consecrated bishop of Vercelli on February 4, 1805.  Confessor of the Princess María Felicita of Savoy, Giovanni Canaveri had founded the "Convitto Principessa Maria Felicita di Savoia," a home created for Noble ladies. The institution was led by the same Canaveri.

French Empire.

Because of their aversion to the Jacobins, Canaveri not had difficulty in accepting the government of the First Consul, and in these pastoral letters of 29 September 1801 and 4 Vendemiaire of 1802, he threatened with, of the anti-French priests who were against the annexation of the Piedmont to the territory of France. His pro-French attitude, aroused the disapproval of his clergy. On June 1, 1803 was suppressed the diocese of Biella, Canaveri moved to Paris, where he became a member of the Council of the Great Emperor, and was appointed first Chaplain of Letizia Ramolino, mother of Napoleon. After the appointment as Bishop of Vercelli, Canaveri made frequent trips to Paris: from May to October 1806, December 1807 to March 1808, from the summer until October 28, 1808, then again in June 1810. In February of that 1808 was appointed. He adopted the Frenchified name of Jean-Baptiste Canavery.

Works.

His pastoral letters were mostly a political content and decidedly anti-Jacobin, was the author of Panegyrics, including "san Giuseppe" and "sant'Eusebio". He also wrote some Pastoral Letters in Latin and Italian among them; "Dell'ubbidienza dovuta al sovrano;" "Notizia compendiosa dei monasterj della Trappa, fondati dopo la rivoluzione di Francia".  Giovanni Battista Canaveri died in the Diocese of Vercelli on January 13, 1811.

Giovanni Battista Canaveri (1753-1811) was an Italian nobleman, "Bishop" of "Biella" and "Vercelli", first "" of "Madame Letizia". He was appointed as "Baron of the "French Empire" in February 1808.


Early life.

Born in the Muscogee Creek Nation in Indian Territory after the tribe was removed from Alabama in the 1830s, Wilson Jones was a Muscogee Creek Indian. He was better known by his Creek name of Chitto Harjo, meaning "Crazy Snake." "Chitto" means "snake" and "Harjo" means "to be brave without regard for one's personal well being or 'crazy brave'." He was a traditionalist, belonging to the minority of the tribe who remained loyal to the Union during the American Civil War.  Later in the century, traditionalists worked to reinstate the tribal government of 1867 and to enforce treaty rights with the United States. They opposed the extinguishing of government and allotment of lands to households under the Dawes Commission.

Career.

While a young man, Chitto Harjo was allied with the federalists or Loyalists led by Opothleyahola, who moved the group to Kansas in 1861 with the start of the American Civil War. They remained loyal to the Union when most Creek allied with the Confederacy. He and many of these Creek men were recruited to the Union Army and served with federal forces in the Civil War. In testimony in 1906, he said that he had believed this service, in a war between the white men and one which did not concern the Indians, would help ensure the maintenance of government promises to his people. The Civil War divided the tribe, as many Creek were allied with the Confederacy.  In the late 19th century, the Muscogee Creek and other American Indian tribes in Indian Territory were pressured to change by the US government, in part to make way for a demand for statehood by European-American settlers in parts of the territory. There was national legislation to extinguish tribal government and to establish individual household allotments of land in place of tribal communal holdings. Congress created the Dawes Commission in 1896 to carry out the allotment of lands for the Five Civilized Tribes. The Dawes Rolls were the registries of tribal members who were eligible to receive allotments. These became a record of tribal members.  Chitto Harjo was a leader in the Four Mothers Society, an intertribal religious movement. This group sought to revive the traditional practices and solidarity between related tribes that had been relocated to Oklahoma from the southeastern United States. In 1900 a meeting at Harjo's ceremonial grounds of Old Hickory declared the chief Pleasant Porter deposed for having violated the 1867 Creek Constitution while cooperating with the allotment process. They selected Chitto Harjo as the new principal chief of the Creek. They founded a police force, known as Lighthorse, and attempted to dissuade the Creek from accepting allotment of lands.  From 1900 to 1909, Chitto Harjo led Creek resistance to the assimilation changes. The Green Peach War took place in 1901, and Isparhecher retired. He had been a judge in the Okmulgee District and leader of Loyalists. Harjo led those Creek who opposed cultural assimilation and allotment. As the US was trying to extinguish tribal government, Crazy Snake and his followers set up a separate government for a time at the old Hickory Stomp Grounds southeast of Okmulgee|.  Chitto Harjo and others were arrested and convicted in US court and imprisoned briefly. They were released on parole. During the next five years, the majority of the tribe accepted the changes and were allotted individual plots of land, in preparation for the territory to be admitted to statehood as Oklahoma. Chitto Harjo and other Snakes refused to choose their allotments.  In 1906 members of a Special Senate Investigating Committee visited the Indian Territory to learn more about the issues and why some of the Muscogee Creek people were resisting changes. Harjo, as the recognized as a leader of the traditionalists, testified at length to the senators. His speech to the US Congress in 1906 is considered an eloquent statement regarding US treatment of Indian peoples. It is often quoted for the phrase, "as long as the grass grows", used in regard to the promised perpetuity of Indian treaties and agreements with the US government.  In 1909, after Oklahoma had achieved statehood and passed Jim Crow laws like those of neighboring states of Arkansas and Texas, a group of African Americans came to Harjo's grounds seeking refuge. They had faced discrimination and been driven out of other parts of Oklahoma. During the time of the March meeting of the Four Mothers Society, local European-Americans said that a piece of smoked meat had been stolen from them. Fearing an alliance between the Creek and the African Americans, they called together a white posse to break up the black encampment. A melee ensued in which one black man was killed, a white man wounded, and 42 blacks were arrested and jailed.  Whites began to get arms, wanting to break up the Creek-black encampment and to arrest Chitto Harjo, known as a conservative leader. When a group went to his house, a gun battle broke out. Two white deputies were quickly killed and others were wounded; Harjo and his followers escaped to the old Choctaw Nation. They were helped by fellow members of the Four Mothers Society. This became known as the "Crazy Snake Rebellion".  The Oklahoma governor, "Charles N. Haskell, ordered a militia to pursue the Creek conservatives and restore order in McIntosh and Okmulgee counties." The commanding officer found that whites were causing most of the problem and forced the disbanding of posses in the area. Harjo took refuge with Daniel Bob, a Choctaw conservative leader, in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. He died in 1911, without being seen again by white enforcers.

Address to US Senate committee.

Chitto Harjo, under the name Eufala Harjo, testified before the Select Committee of the Senate. Harjo, along with several representatives of Cherokee, Creek, and other tribes strongly opposed breaking up tribal land into individual allotments. Harjo told a Senate investigating committee that "I will never stop asking for this treaty, the old treaty that our fathers made with the Government which gave us this land forever... as long as the grass grows, water runs, and the sun rises."  Harjo gave this further testimony:  "I will begin with a recital of the relations of the Creeks with the Government of the United States from 1861 and I will explain it so you will understand it. I look to that time—to the treaties of the Creek Nation with the United States—and I abide by the provisions of the treaty made by the Creek Nation with the Government in 1861. I would like to enquire what had become of the relations between the Indians and the white people from 1492 down to 1861?  "My ancestors and my people were the inhabitants of this great country from 1492. I mean by that from the time the white man first came to this country until now. It was my home and the home of my people from time immemorial and is today, I think, the home of my people. Away back in that time—in 1492—there was man by the name of Columbus came from across the great ocean [Atlantic] and he discovered this country for the white man—this country which was at that time the home of my people. What did he find when he first arrived here? Did he find a white man standing on this continent then or did he find a black man standing here? Did he find either a black man or a white man standing on this continent? I stood here first and Columbus first discovered me.  "I want to know what did he say to the red man at that time? He was on one of the great four roads that led to light. At that time Columbus received the information that was given to him by my people. My ancestor informed him that he was ready to accept this light he proposed to give him and walk these four roads of light and have his children under his direction. He told him it was all right. He told him, 'The land is all yours; the law is all yours'. He said it is all right. He told him, 'I will always take care of you. If your people meet with any troubles, I will take these troubles away. I will stand before you and behind you and on each side of you and your people, and if any people come into your country I will take them away and you shall live in peace under me. My arms,' he said, 'are very long'. He told him to come within his protecting arms and he said, 'If anything comes against you for your ruin I will stand by you and preserve you and defend you and protect you.'  " 'There is a law,' he said at that time, 'that is above every other law and that is away up yonder—high up—for,' said he, 'if any other town or nation or any other tribe come against you I will see through that law that you are protected. It does not make any difference to you,' he said, 'if as many as twelve other nations come against you or twelve other tribes come against you it will not make any difference for I will combine with you and protect you and overthrow them all. I will protect you in all things and take care of everything about your existence so you will live in this land that is yours and your fathers' without fear.' That is what he said and we agreed upon those terms. He told me that as long as the sun shone and the sky is up yonder these agreements shall be kept. This was the first agreement that we had with the white man. He said as long as the sun rises it shall last; as long as the waters run it shall last; as long as the grass grows it shall last. [Bolding added.] That was what it was to be and we agreed upon those terms. That was what the agreement was and we signed our names to that agreement and to those terms. He said, 'Just as long as you see light here; just as long as you see this light glimmering over us, shall these agreements be kept and not until all these things shall cease and pass away shall our agreement pass away.' That is what he said and we believed it. I think there is nothing that has been done by the people should abrogate them. We have kept every term of that agreement. The grass is growing, the waters run, the sun shines, the light is with us and the agreement is with us yet for the God that is above us all witnessed that agreement. He said to me that whoever did anything against me was doing it against him and against the agreement and he said if anyone attempted to do anything against me, to notify him for whatever was done against me was against him and therefore against the agreement. He said that he would send good men amongst us to teach us about his God and to treat them good for they were his representatives and to listen to them and if anyone attempted to molest us to, tell them (the missionaries) and they would tell him. He told me that he would protect me in all ways; that he would take care of my people and look after them; that he would succor them if they needed succor and be their support at all times and I told him it was all right and he wrote the agreement that way.  "Now, coming down to 1832 and referring to the agreements between the Creek people and the Government of the United States; What has occurred since 1832 until today? It seems that some people forget what has occurred. After all, we are all one blood; we have the one God and we live in the same land. I had always lived back yonder in what is now the State of Alabama. We had our homes back there; my people had their homes back there. We had our troubles back there and we had no one to defend us. At that time when I had these troubles, it was to take my country away from me. I had no other troubles. The troubles were always about taking my country from me. I could live in peace with all else, but they wanted my country and I was in trouble defending it. It was no use. They were bound to take my country away from me. It may have been that my country had to, be taken away from me, but it was not justice. I have always been asking for justice. I have never asked for anything else but justice. I never had justice. First, it was this and then it was something else that was taken away from me and my people, so we couldn't stay there any more. It was not because a man had to stand on the outside of what was right that brought the troubles. What was to be done was all set out yonder in the light and all men knew what the law and the agreement was. It was a treaty—a solemn treaty—but what difference did that make? I want to say this to you today, because I don't want these ancient agreements between the Indian and the white man violated and I went as far as Washington and had them sustained and made treaties about it. We made terms of peace, for it had been war, but we made new terms of peace and made new treaties. Then it was the overtures of the Government to my people to leave their land, the home of their fathers, the land that they loved. He said, 'It will be better for you to do as I want, for these old treaties cannot be kept any longer.' He said, 'You look away off to the West, away over backward and there you will see a great river called the Mississippi River and away over beyond that is another river called the Arkansas River.' And he said, 'You go way out there and you will find a land that is fair to look upon and is fertile, and you go there with your people and I will give that country to you and your people forever.' He said, 'Go way out there beyond these two rivers; away out the direction of the setting sun and select your land—what you want of it—and I will locate you and your people there and I will give you that land forever and I will protect you and your children in it forever.' That was the agreement and the treaty and I and my people came out here and settled on this land and I carried out these agreements and treaties in all points and violated none. I came over and located here.  "What took place in 1861? I had made my home here with my people and I was living well out here with my people. We were all prospering. We had a great deal of property here, all over this country. We had come here and taken possession of it under our treaty. We had laws that were living laws and I was living here under then laws. You are my fathers and I tell you that in 1861, I was living here in peace and plenty with my people and we were happy; and then my white fathers rose in arms against each other to, fight each other. They did fight each other. At that day Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States and our Great Father. He was in Washington and I was away off down here. My white brothers divided into factions and went to war. When the white people raised in arms and tried to destroy one another, it was not for the purpose of destroying my people at all. It was not for the purpose of destroying treaties with the Indians. They did not think of that and the Indian was not the cause of that great war at all. The cause of that war was because there was a people that were black in skin and color who had always been in slavery. In my old home in Alabama and all through the south part of the Nation and out in this country, these black people were held in slavery and up in the North there were no slaves. The people of that part of the United States determined to set the black man free and the people in the South determined that they should not and they went to war about it. In that war the Indians had not any part. It was not their war at all. The purpose of the war was to set these black people at liberty and I had nothing to, do with it. He told me to come out here and have my laws back, and I came out here with my people and had my own laws and was living under them. On account of some of your own sons—the ancient brothers of mine—they came over here and caused me to enroll along with my people on your side. I left my home and my country and everything I had in the world and went rolling on toward the Federal Army. I left my laws and my government; I left my people and my country and my home; I left everything and went with the Federal Army for my father in Washington. I left them in order to stand by my treaties. I left everything and I arrived in Kansas—I mean it was at Leavenworth where I arrived. It was a town away up in Kansas on the Missouri River. I arrived at Fort Leavenworth to do what I could for my father's country and stand by my treaties. There at Fort Leavenworth was the orator of the Federal Army and I went and fell before the orator of the Federal Army. It was terrible hard times with me then. In that day I was under the Sons of my father in Washington. I was with the Federal soldiers. "I am speaking now of this orator in the Federal Army. I went and fell before him and I and my people joined the Federal Army because we wanted to, keep our treaties with the father in Washington. Things should not have been that way but that is the way they were. The father at Washington was not able to keep his treaty with me and I had to leave my country, as I have stated, and go into the Federal Army. I went in as a Union soldier. When I took the oath, I raised my hand and called God to witness that I was ready to die in the cause that was right and to help my father defend his treaties. All this time the fire was going on and the war and the battles were going on, and today I have conquered all and regained these treaties that I have with the Government. I believe that everything wholly and fully came back to me on account of the position I took in that war. I think that. I thought then and I think today that is the way to do—to stand up and be a man that keeps his word all the time and under all circumstances. That is what I did and I know that in doing so I regained again all my old treaties for the father at Washington conquered in that war and he promised me that if I was faithful to, my treaties, I should have them all back again. I was faithful to my treaties and I got them all back again and today I am living under them and with them. I never agreed to the exchanging of lands and I never agreed to the allotting of my lands. I knew it would never do for my people and I never could say a b c so far as that is concerned. I never knew anything about English. I can't speak the tongue. I can't read it. I can't write it. I and my people, great masses of them, are unenlightened and uneducated. I am notifying you of these things because your Government officials have told me and my people that they would take care of my relations with the Government and I think they ought to be taking care of them as they promised. He said that if anyone trespassed on my rights or questioned them to let him know and he would take care of them and protect them. I always thought that this would be done. I believe yet it will be done. I don't know what the trouble is now. I don't know anything about it. I think my lands are all cut up. I have never asked that be done but I understand it has been done. I don't know why it was done. My treaty said that it never would be done unless I wanted it done. That anything I did not want to be done contrary to that treaty would not be done. I never made these requests. I went through death for this cause and I now hold the release this Government gave me. I served the father faithfully and as a reward, I regained my country back again and I and my children will remain on it and live upon it as we did in the old time. I believe it. I know it is right. I know it is justice.  "I hear the Government is cutting up my land and is giving it away to black people. I want to know if this is so. It can't be so for it is not in the treaty. These black people, who are they? They are negroes who came in here as slaves. They have no right to this land. It never was given to them. It was given to me and my people and we paid for it with our land back in Alabama. The black people have no right to it. Then can it be that the Government is giving it—my land—to the negro? I hear it is and they are selling it. This can't be so. It wouldn't be justice. I am informed and believe it to be true that some citizens of the United States have title to land that was given to my fathers and my people by the Government. If it was given to me, what right has the United States to take it from me without first asking my consent? That I would like to know. There are many things that I don't know and can't understand but I want to understand them if I can. I believe the officers of the United States ought to take care of the rights of me and my people first and then afterwards look out for their own interests. I have reason to believe and I do believe that they are more concerned in their own welfare than the welfare of rights of the Indian—lots of them are. I believe some of them are honest men, but not many. A plan ought fiat to dispossess himself of all thought or wish to do me or my country wrong. He should never think of doing wrong to this country or to the rights of my people. After he has done that, then maybe he can do something for himself in that regard; but first he must protect the Indians and their rights in this country. He is the servant of the Government and he is sent here to, do that and he should not be permitted to do anything else.  "All that I am begging of you, Honorable Senators, is that these ancient agreements and treaties wherein you promised to take care of me and my people, be fulfilled and that you will remove all the difficulties that have been raised in reference to my people and their country and I ask you to see that these promises are faithfully kept. I understand you are the representatives of the Government sent here to look into these things and I hope you will relieve us. That is all I desire to say."  In response to, an interrogatory by the Chairman of the Committee, the old Indian responded, "Oh, yes, I am a farmer. I have a farm and a home there on it. I used to have horses and hogs and cattle but I have precious few left now. The white people have run all through me and over me and around me and committed all kinds of depredations and what I have left is precious few. I am here and stand before you today, my fathers, as a man of misery. I am here appealing to you to have the laws carried out."  Senator Teller of the Committee enquired of Mr. Hodge, the interpreter, "Do you believe that the old man is honest in his statements?" Mr. Hodge very readily and with emphasis answered, "Yes sir, he is as honest and straight forward and sincere in his statements as a living man can be."

Chitto Harjo (also known as Crazy Snake, Wilson Jones, Bill Jones, Bill Snake, and Bill Harjo; 1846–1911) was a leader and orator among the traditionalists in the Muscogee Creek Nation in Indian Territory at the turn of the 20th century. He resisted changes which the US government and local leaders wanted to impose to achieve statehood for what became Oklahoma. These included extinguishing tribal governments and civic institutions and breaking up communal lands into allotments to individual households, with United States sales of the "surplus" to European-American and other settlers. He was the leader of the Crazy Snake Rebellion on March 25, 1909 in Oklahoma. At the time this was called the last "Indian uprising".