Life.

Provenance and early years.

Gerhard Riege was born into a working-class family at Gräfenroda, a small town known throughout Germany for the production of garden gnomes, located along the Wilde Gera valley in the hills south of Erfurt. His father worked as an. As he matured, he showed a particular interest in Philosophy, History and Art history. He left school at fourteen and trained for work as a postman. Shortly after this, the telephone connections were cut and the trainee postman was given a telegram to take through to the forest. His orders were to deliver it by hand to a satellite concentration camp of the Buchenwald complex. While visiting the camp, he met a group of half-starved camp detainees, closely guarded by armed, smartly uniformed officers. He would later recall the encounter as a formative element of his later life. He became the "most-determined anti-fascist imaginable".  Roughly one year after his recruitment into the postal service, the war ended. After May 1945, the entire central portion of Germany was administered as the Soviet occupation zone (to be relaunched in October 1949 as the Soviet-sponsored German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Under the egalitarian precepts of the military administrators he was chosen to return to school in order to complete the Abitur, the schools' final exam leading to university-level education. He graduated from his "Aufbaugymnasium" (secondary school) at nearby Neudietendorf in 1949 and moved to the University of Jena, where he studied for a degree not in Philosophy or History, but in Jurisprudence.

Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena.

After passing the state law exams in 1953, he stayed on at the university faculty of Jurisprudence, employed as an assistant. His doctorate followed in 1957 in return for a dissertation on the representative system [of government] in Europe's people's democracies. He had already, in 1954, taken up a tutorial position, having thereby becoming the youngest don at the university giving tutorials in constitutional law. It was again at Jena that he received his habilitation in 1964, which opened the way to a life-long career in the universities sector. This time his dissertation concerned "East German citizenship". The next year he accepted the Jena university professorship in Public Law. Between 1974 and 1983 he also served as dean of the Social Sciences faculty.  On 23 January 1990 Riege was elected to the university rectorship. However, due to "procedural errors" the election was re-run, and this time Riege, deeply upset by the whole business, did not resubmit himself for election. The period was one of intensified political turmoil, and it would appear that the objections from those who had complained related to their identification of Riege as a "party official" of the country's ruling Socialist Unity Party. Sources are divided in their evaluation of the incident. Ironically, the previous time he had sought election as Jena's university rector it had been party pressure that had blocked his election.

Politics.

With the collapse of the Hitler government the ban on non-Nazi political parties lapsed and was lifted. The Socialist Unity Party ("Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands" / SED) was formed in April 1946 through the contentious merger of the former Communist Party and Social Democratic Party. Although there are indications that the engineers of the merger intended that it should be implemented in all four occupied zones, it was only effected in the Soviet occupation zone. Driven by passionate anti-fascism and a determination that divisions on the political left should never again permit the emergence of a nationalist-populist government, Gerhard Riege was one of hundreds of thousands of Communists and others who promptly enrolled in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, which over the next few years emerged as the ruling party in the National Front of the German Democratic Republic's single-party dictatorship, closely modelled on the Leninist model which the Ulbricht leadership team had studied in depth during their political exile in Moscow before 1945. Although a committed anti-fascist socialist, and therefore part of the political mainstream, there is no reason to believe that Gerhard Riege was a political activist during his student years, nor indeed during his time as a university teacher during the four decades following the founding of the state in October 1949. Sources indicate that at least by the standards of those times he was apolitical. For supporters and sympathisers, it is simply preposterous to believe that his academic success was in any way connected with Riege's party membership. Within academia, he was respected on account of his personal ability and integrity. He was able to present objectively based arguments through the power of his intellect. Those who agreed and those who disagreed with his point of view could join together in admiring the consistency of his intellectual positions, which were always philosophically aligned with the party's intellectual underpinnings, but which could "never" have been perceived as partisan or (even) intolerant. Admirers would recall not just his integrity and openness, but also his scrupulous politeness. Guido Henke, a former law student of Riege's who subsequently worked for him in a political capacity during the early 1990s, described him as "a fine person, one of those who would apologise three times to an interlocutor before lifting the receiver if the telephone rang [during a one-on-one meeting]".

Ministry for State Security.

Documents that surfaced after 1990 disclosed that in 1954 Gerhard Riege signed the a "declaration of obligation" statement in favour of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi). This triggered the (already increasingly standardised) process whereby East German citizens enrolled as "Informeller Mitarbeiter" ("IM" / "Stasi informers"). Riege's senior position in a prestigious university gave him an unusual level of access to university teachers and other people of influence over current and future generations of opinion formers. For the security services, with their traditional mistrust of "intellectuals", he would have been a prime target, and his unswerving support of anti-fascist Socialism would have encouraged handlers to think him "reliable", even if there is no indication that he was much of a party activist - at least before 1990. The Ministry for State Security were meticulous and complete in their record keeping. In October 1990, directly after reunification, the government set up the Stasi Records Agency to organise and administer the surviving Stasi archives. The agency is generally identified in archives from the period as the Gauck Commission: Joachim Gauck was the Federal Commissioner who headed it up between 1991 and 2000. It is unsurprising that Gerhard Riege was among the first of those on whom Stasi records were identified, sorted and consulted.  Gerhard Riege was an active "IM" between 1954 and 1960. When invited to comment more than thirty years later, Riege pleaded forgetfulness. Given that professorial absent-mindedness was an aspect of Riege's personality that colleagues would have completely recognised, this was not a totally implausible explanation. However, when presented with more evidence, he recalled that he had agreed to help the Ministry officials as requested in 1954 because he had been trying to obtain an exit visa in order to undertake a research visit to the west: it had been explained to him that without helping the security services as requested, the privilege of foreign travel would never be his. After the Gauck commission had reviewed the relevant Stasi files, they concluded that the reports Riege furnished on colleagues were few in number and insubstantial in content. From the six years that he was an active "IM", there were only four surviving reports. Given that some Stasi files were hastily burned when East Germany collapsed, it is impossible to be sure that he only submitted four reports on "persons of interest to the authorities" over the six years between 1954 and 1960, but there is no evidence of Stasi efforts to retain his service or re-recruit him after 1960. According to at least one source, subsequently researched Stasi files disclosed that it was indeed on 3 March 1960 that Riege "refused further [Stasi] contact". No former academic colleagues or students have come forward since Riege's suicide claiming that they suffered state-sponsored injury "Zersetzung" on account of potentially sensitive information on them shared by Riege with Stasi handlers. As far as the availability of evidence allows, it is accordingly reasonable to endorse the conclusions of the Gauck commission that Riege's activity and impact as a registered Stasi informer were insubstantial ("unerheblich") and insignificance ("eher bedeutungslos").

The politician.

By the time, in November 1989, that the wall was breached by street protestors and it became clear that watching Soviet troops had received no instructions to preserve or restore the old political status quo, the German Democratic Republic faced more than mere financial bankruptcy. In the context of the dismal personal chemistry between Mikhail Gorbachev and Erich Honecker, and confronted by the winds of Glasnost blowing from, of all places, Moscow, the East German leadership experienced a rapid collapse in self-confidence which was reflected in the dissolution from within of the repressive apparatus that had been constructed over forty years by the Ministry for State Security. The ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) hastily rebranded itself for a more democratic future as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). (Re-engineering the party's inner soul would take a little longer.) SED loyalists, including Gerhard Riege, unhesitatingly signed their party membership over to the PDS. A general election was arranged for 18 March 1990. It would be the first (and last) East German general election in which the outcome had not been predetermined by the leaders of the ruling SED long before a single vote had been cast. For the "new" party there was an urgent need to field candidates who were competent and politically reliable, but who would not turn out to have been implicated in inhuman forms of political repression since 1949. The academic world was an obvious place to search for candidates, but most of the politically reliable were plainly unfamiliar with notions of multi-party democracy and had little credibility internationally. Gerhard Riege already had political experience as a former member of the Gera and he enjoyed a certain level of academic recognition outside East Germany. He accepted nomination as a PDS candidate for the general election. Under the western-style proportional representation system introduced for the election, his name was included on the party list for an electoral district corresponding approximately with the former (and after 1990 re-established) state of Thuringia. To the surprise of commentators, when the votes were counted, it became apparent that his name had been high enough up on the party list to secure his election as a member of the Volkskammer, East Germany's national parliament (which had hitherto been widely viewed by "voters" as a "rubber stamp" for decisions already taken elsewhere, within the Party Central Committee).  In the Bundestag Gerhard Riege tried to contribute to the creation of a new constitution for a newly united Germany. As a leading professor of constitutional law from the eastern half of the new state he was well qualified for the task. There had certainly been positive reactions from western constitutional experts in response to early drafts drawn up under his direction during 1989/90. However, the political power, backed by the economic muscle and the simple demographic differences between east and west meant that reunited Germany ended up with the constitutional arrangements of former West Germany. In the west there were certainly compromises made that involved adopting elements of the East German constitutional arrangements, notably in respect of abortion law, but from the perspective of the "new federal states", the state that emerged from German reunification was in most respects and enlarged version of what had been West Germany, with constitutional arrangements essentially those promulgated on 8 May 1949 in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Surviving sources focus less on Riege's contribution to the German constitutional settlement after 1990, and more on the circumstances under which his Bundestag career came to an end in 1992.

A scapegoat?

After 1990 many East German politicians who were serious about building or sustaining a post-reunification political career hastened to condemn the dictatorship and the party they had previously served. That was not Gerhard Riege's approach. As an East German professor of constitutional law he had never eulogised the achievements of the former SED régime without qualification, and as a post-unification member of the Bundestag, he sustained a scholarly and essentially nuanced approach, generally avoiding gratuitous judgmentalism. Meanwhile, among the Bundestag members representing the (formerly western) centre-right CDU/CSU coalition, there were those who found themselves reluctant or unable to avoid a certain triumphalism. It is not entirely clear from sources precisely when suspicions on the political right that Gerhard Riege's disinclination unambiguously to condemn his (East German) socialist past meant that he "must have been" working for the hated Stasi were complemented and then supported up by emerging rumours, followed by initially imprecise reports, that the "Gauck Commission" had indeed found evidence in the Stasi archives that Riege had been an "IM" ("Stasi informer"). Throughout his relatively brief Bundestag career Gerhard Riege did, in any event, attract more criticism and gratuitous taunts than other PDS members from the more triumphalist (formerly western) assembly members.  On 13 March 1991 Riege delivered a speech to the Bundestag on behalf of the PDS concerning the government's budget proposals. It lasted seven minutes, and was notable not so much for its content, which was characteristically analytical and thoughtful, as for the bitter personal hostility with which it was greeted. The official record of it lists no fewer than 33 discernible heckles from and others from the right wing of the government coalition, and references further undiscernible interventions. Examples included the following: Riege was badly shaken up by the cumulative impact of the hysterical reactions of these CDU/CSU parliamentarians.

Final days.

Several sources on the matter which appeared only after Riege's death place emphasis on his temperamental unsuitability for national politics. For Riege, education and scholarship were the priority. "East Germany is a country where people read" was the proud boast of this Schubert-loving professor on behalf of his countrymen, apparently without quite acknowledging the price paid by some of those East German citizens less privileged than he. He was a sensitive legal scholar and not mentally equipped either to lock horns with parliamentary street-fighters or to find himself on the receiving end of the media hate-campaign to which he was already being subjected. In 1990, as a result of reunification, he had also, like others, undergone the rapid and permanent upending of basic socialist certainties. In that respect, as later became clear, Riege's ongoing state of shock and depression during his final two years of life reflected the experiences of millions of East Germans at the time. On Monday 10 February 1992, five days before his suicide, Riege confided to his parliamentary assistant, "I hope I'll get through this week!". It was the start of a week during which the "Gauck Commission" findings into his work for the Ministry For State Security (Stasi) during the 1950s were to be made available. If his memory of the Stasi relationship was truly as hazy as he had recently intimated to Bundestag comrades, he can have had little idea what the Gauck Commission findings would be. But he was terrified of the press reaction, of the unthinking "small-town" reactions of the people he came across in his daily life in and around the university, and indeed of the reactions of his own party colleagues who were in many cases, he sensed, already instinctively distancing themselves from him.  On the evening of 14 February 1992 Gerhard Riege drove to Erfurt to take part in a meeting with his regional party leadership. There was but a single item on the agenda: the Stasi. While comrades discussed Riege's "Stasi past" with him, across town the newspaper presses started running. In a piece of slightly more than thirty lines they reported that three of the PDS Bundestag members had been "IMs" ("Stasi informers"). The reports added that other PDS Bundestag members had not seen that as any reason to demonstrate suspicion of the three parliamentary comrades in question. Afterwards, media defenders were keen to stress the strictly factual nature of the press reports. There had been no malice, no hounding; merely execution of the duty of the press to report the facts. Nevertheless, when Riege left the party meeting later that Thursday evening, he was, in words repeated by more than one commentator, "a broken man".  Karin Keschuba, the regional party chairwoman and leader of the Erfurt meeting, later agreed that participants had "discussed between themselves", as they had at so many meetings before the rebranding and relaunch of the old SED. Neither Keschuba nor her fellow participants were keen to discuss the Erfurt meeting in much detail partly, according to one of them, out of respect for Riege's widow. But Keschuba did accept that, perhaps, the "human dimension of the problem" had, with the benefit of hindsight, been to some extent overlooked. Professor [Riege] had three times stressed that he had simply forgotten "the matter" [of his Stasi contacts]., the regional party deputy chair, who was also present, later shared his impression that "Riege sometimes seemed not to know what else to do. He seemed to me helpless... completely changed". Several sources indicate that by the end of the meeting, rightly or wrongly, Riege had simply concluded that, after backing and belonging to the party for more than forty years, he was now being "dumped" by party comrades.  Shortly before leaving home on the morning of Friday 15 February 1992, Gerhard Riege asked his wife, "What will Mangoldt think of me now?" ( was a law professor at the University of Tübingen and a long-standing friend.) He then drove to his vegetable allotment on the edge of town where a few hours later a neighbour found his body hanging by the neck from a tree. That afternoon the snow began to melt.

Afterwards.

Riege left behind a lengthy suicide letter addressed to his wife and three grown-up children. The letter was widely reported and selectively quoted over the next few days, along with reports of the savage exchanges to which Riege had been exposed since becoming a member of the Bundestag.  The suicide triggered consternation across the political spectrum. There was a widespread consensus that "Lessons must be learned" and not a little bitterness, especially from (former) East Germans, that Riege had been hounded to his death by (formerly West German) political opponents. For instance, the president of the Thuringia Landtag (state parliament), (CDU)) wrote in his telegram of condolence to Riege's widow that it was an absolute necessity to deal with the [East German] past with a greater sense of justice, and in ways that displayed humanity and political wisdom.

Personal.

Gerhard Riege was married with three children. His daughter Katharina is a biographer of.

Gerhard Riege (23 May 1930 - 15 February 1992) was a respected East German law professor. On 18 March 1990 East Germany held the first truly free election in that part of Germany since 1932. Riege had accepted nomination as a list candidate for the electoral district of Thuringia, and was elected to the East German Volkskammer ("national parliament"). On 3 October 1990 he was one of 144 nominated Volkskammer members who moved across to the following reunification. He was then elected to the Bundestag in the December general election later that year.


Career.

Early life and college.

Kandji was born in Senegal, raised in The Gambia, and came to the United States in 2003. He attended East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was voted MVP in 2003 as the Men's All-State Team forward, and played college soccer at Georgia Military College, where he was selected in the All-Region team in 2004 and 2005, scoring 17 goals and providing six assists during the 2005 season.  During 2006, Kandji also impressed while playing for Atlanta Silverbacks U23's in the USL Premier Development League, scoring one goal and one assist in eight games.

Professional.

Kandji joined the senior Atlanta Silverbacks team in 2007. He made his first team debut 4 August 2007 against Charleston Battery. From then on, he began to establish himself as one of the top players of the USL. During the 2008 season Kandji appeared in 21 league matches for Atlanta, registering 11 goals and 5 assists. He was named to the USL-1 Weekly Best 11 on six occasions, despite playing just one game in the final six weeks of the season due to an ankle injury.  Kandji finished the 2008 season ranked third in points (27 points, 21 games), though he missed nearly a third of the season due to injury, travel restrictions, and a loan to New York Red Bulls. During his time with the Silverbacks, Kandji was the main feature of an ESPN Soccernet article highlighting some of the USL's tops stars.  On 15 September 2008, Kandji signed with New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer on loan through the end of the 2008 MLS season. This initial loan deal involved Red Bulls paying Atlanta Silverbacks a fee of $25,000. If the loan was a success, then another fee of $150,000 would be paid for Kandji, making the total amount paid $175,000. He made his MLS debut against Colorado Rapids on 27 September 2008, where he recorded an assist.  In November 2008, the Silverbacks announced that, due to financial reasons, they would be'sitting out' the 2009 season. This development would have made Kandji a free agent, allowing New York to pick him up on a free transfer instead of the $175,000 previously agreed. However, Silverbacks owner Boris Jerkunica transferred his rights to Carolina Railhawks, a team he had a small stake in.  New York purchased his rights and signed him on a one-year deal on 14 January 2009. Kandji quickly established himself as a key performer for New York. His performance on 5/8/09 in a 4–1 victory over San Jose Earthquakes, in which Kandji scored one goal and had two assists, led to him being named MLS player of the week. In his first full season with New York, Kandji appeared in 23 league matches scoring 4 goals and assisting on 5 others.  On 25 July 2010 Kandji scored a goal and assisted Dane Richards on another in a 2–1 pre-season victory over Manchester City. It was also rumoured that Greece's Skoda Xanthi was interested in signing Kandji.  On 14 September 2010, Kandji was traded to Colorado Rapids for Mehdi Ballouchy and an international roster spot.  Kandji played an integral role in scoring the winning goal for Colorado Rapids during the 2010 MLS Cup final. His shot on goal was deflected off a defender, and though classified as an own-goal, it was his shot that resulted in the scoring opportunity. Kandji was also injured on this play; he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He underwent surgery to fix the torn ligament at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City with Doctor Riley Williams (head team physician for Kandji's former team, the New York Red Bulls).  Kandji was traded to Houston Dynamo on 8 February 2012 (to fill their void at the left wing position) in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. At year's end, Kandji declined a contract extension from Houston in pursuit of a European contract.  He signed with Kalloni of the Greek Second Division on 28 January 2013. In 19 appearances with the club, Kandji bagged six goals in 1477 minutes played. Not only did he contribute with goals, Kandji helped the club gain promotion to the first division and earn a spot in the Superleague Greece.  Although his club was promoted, Kandji announced he had changed clubs to Levadiakos F.C. of the Greek Super League (1st division) for the new Greek season 2013/2014. He signed a one-year contract.  In April 2014 Kandji signed a short-term contract with Finnish football club HJK Helsinki until August 2014 with an option to extend. On 12 April he scored a goal on his Veikkausliiga debut against KuPS. HJK qualified for the Europa League group stages 2014 with a 5-4 aggregate victory over SK Rapid Wien.  After spending a season in Saudi Arabia with Al-Faisaly, he rejoined HJK in July 2015 and said that it is "great to be back again".  On 5 May 2017, Kandji returned to the Finnish Veikkausliiga, signing with FC Inter Turku on a deal until the end of July, with an option for it to be extended until the end of the season.  In May 2018, Kandji joined FC Honka. He made his debute for Honka in an away game against RoPS on 3rd of May, and played an important role as he helped Honka grab their first win of the season by scoring a goal just five minutes after he came off the bench. He was then selected as the Veikkausliiga 'Player of the Month' for June and July 2018. In the end of August Kandji suffered a calf sprain and had to sit out a few games. That clearly made a difference to Kandji's game; in the last seven games he scored just twice. Eventually he went to claim the third spot in 'Most goals scored in Veikkausliiga 2018' with 16 scored goals. However, for FC Honka the season ended in a disappointing way, when Honka was left out of the top 3 by just the goal difference.  After the 2018 season in Espoo, Kandji agreed to sign with the Iranian Sanat Naft FC for the remaining three months of the season, which played in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He spent there just the time of 11 games, which from he played 6 of them. He scored two goals, but was left as a free agent in the end of May.  On 9 August 2019, Kandji made an expected return to Honka, when he agreed to a contract covering the remaining 2019 and the entire 2020 season.

International.

Kandji has not yet appeared for any national team. Both Senegal and The Gambia have offered Kandji an opportunity to play, but Kandji turned them down in hopes of one day playing for the United States.

Macoumba Kandji (born 2 August 1985 in Dakar) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays for FC Honka in the Veikkausliiga.


History.

Aue, whose origin is closely linked to the abbey of abbey of Zelle founded in 1173, was first mentioned as an independent church parish in 1286 and was looked after by Augustinian canons regular until the Reformation. The first church building, of which no details have been passed down, was located on the former church square, the "Kirchplatz" (the present "Neumarkt"), and was replaced by a new building between 1625 and 1628. On 4 August 1633 this building, together with a large part of the town, was destroyed in a raid by imperial troops. By 1636 the church had been temporarily rebuilt. In 1639 the new pulpit was consecrated and, in 1643, the new bells. In 1648 the church was given a new baptismal font as a present from a married couple from Auerhammer. In the following year the townsfolk of Aue donated a new altar table. Its first organ was installed around 1654. When the old St. Nicholas' Church fell into disrepair at the end of the 19th century and became too small for the rapidly growing population, the parish council decided to have a new church built and had the old building demolished in 1895. The area was grassed and planted with chestnut trees. A stone ball that had adorned the entrance of the old building, was placed on a stele and was given a place in the Luther Park, the former churchyard behind the new building.  After the parish of Aue had donated 27,500 marks (M) in 1885 for the new St. Nicholas' Church and after protracted negotiations, a site was chosen in 1889 that dominated all other buildings in the town. This proved to be difficult from an engineering perspective because the nature of the soil was partly rocky and partly sandy and there were old mineshafts and a gallery, part of an old mine, under the site.  The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone took place on 27 July 1891 with the participation of a large number of the population and, a year later, the "Hebefeier" was celebrated. On 4 December 1892 the three bells in B flat major, cast by G. A. Jauck in Leipzig and which weighed together 5,055 kg, were inaugurated. The bells from the old St. Nicholas' Church were exchanged for them in payment. After the interior had been completed the church was opened on 2 September 1893.

The Evangelical-Lutheran parish church of St. Nicholas () in Aue is a Neo-Gothic hall church of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxony in the Saxon Ore Mountains and the tallest building in the town.


History.

Like Bornholm's other medieval churches, Sankt Ols was built in the 12th century. It was named after the revered King Olaf II of Norway who fell at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. In 1378, it was documented as "Ecclesia sancti Olaui" (Church of St Olaf). The church first belonged to the Archbishopric of Lund, then came under the Danish crown at the time of the Reformation. In the 19th century, it became fully independent.

Architecture.

The highest of Bornholm's four round churches, rising 13 metres from its base to the top of the conical roof, the church is built of local granite fieldstone with limestone door frames. Standing on a hilltop at a height of 112 metres above sealevel, it was built as a stronghold to defend the surrounding area. The openings in the wall on the upper storey were designed for shooting or throwing stones at the enemy. There was also a platform with a parapet which was used for defensive purposes. The church was also equipped with a hanging gallery, supported on beams projecting from the walls of the round tower.  The structure consists of a barrel vault and a central column bearing the upper floors. The height of the cylindrical nave, 13 metres, is almost exactly the same as that of Østerlars Church. There are small extensions from the nave into the small choir and tiny apse. The central column provides solid support for the first two storeys but is more slender in the loft where it bears the more recent roofing. The porch is probably medieval while the two buttresses to the west were added in 1825 to guard against collapse. The bell tower dates from the end of the 18th century. Restoration work was carried out in 2004 by Nils-Holger Larsen.

Interior.

During restoration work in 1911 and 1950–52, frescos were discovered in the nave and choir from at least three different periods, the oldest from the 14th century. They were however in very poor condition, especially in the nave. The early Renaissance pulpit dates from the first half of the 16th century. In the 18th century, it was decorated with paintings of the evangelists and angels. The fairly recent oak gallery is unpainted. The new organ was built by Axel Starup.

Bornholm's round churches.

Bornholm is known for its four round churches built in the 12th and 13th centuries The other round churches on Bornholm are Nyker Church, Nylars Church and Østerlars Church. They are all architecturally impressive buildings with a number of common features.

Sankt Ols Kirke (St Olaf's Church), also known as Olsker Church, is a 12th-century round church located in the village of Olsker, south of Allinge on the Danish island of Bornholm. Built in the Romanesque style and reaching three storeys high, it has from the beginning consisted of a round nave, a choir and an apse.


Bismarck's dogs.

Germans became able to own dogs freely as a result of the democratisation following the revolution of 1848. Keeping dogs became increasingly fashionable as the 19th century continued, and people in public life often did so as part of their image. Bismarck reportedly took a blonde Great Dane called Ariel with him when he entered the University of Göttingen in 1832. He continued to keep Great Danes throughout the rest of his life. His favourite was Sultan (shortened to 'Sultl' to avoid diplomatic repercussions with Turkey); on his deathbed he berated himself for not treating the dog better. Sultan was a gift from the Bavarian Count Holnstein. After Sultan's death on 26 October 1877, Bismarck could only be consoled by the gift of another Great Dane from Count Holnstein, Tyras. Tyras died on 18 January 1889; Emperor Wilhelm II gave Bismarck Tyras II for his birthday the following April 1. The dog died on 11 May 1896.  Bismarck also owned female Great Danes named Flora (nicknamed 'Flörchen'), who was Sultan's mate, and finally Rebecca (nicknamed Beckchen), who died in 1897. After receiving Tyras II from the emperor, Bismarck regretfully gave Tyras I's offspring, Cyrus, whom he had hand-reared, to his head forester. Bismarck's dogs were buried at his estate in Varzin, in Pomerania (now Warcino, Poland); the gravestones were rediscovered by students at the forestry institute that now occupies the manor.  Accounts of the dogs' temperament vary. Some historians have regarded Bismarck's choice of the largest available breed and his habit of having a dog with him, which would disconcert foreign diplomats, as calculated demonstrations of power. Former diplomat James Bryce, Viscount Bryce referred to the dog as "now and then growl[ing] and show[ing] its teeth in a threatening way", and diplomat and President of Japan Kijūrō Shidehara said in a speech that "the dog threatened to bite anyone who would provoke his master's displeasure." Robert K. Massie describes Tyras as "terrori[sing] the Chancellory staff" and writes that those who spoke with Bismarck were "advised to make no unusual gestures which Tiras might interpret as threatening." On the other hand Tyras was said by one contemporary to have "never been guilty of any such ill-mannered act before" his celebrated misbehaviour, and the English periodical "The Spectator" described him at the time as "a very quiet creature, with a most pacific reputation."

Public attention.

Bismarck's dogs came to the public's attention and began to be called 'Reichshund' after Tyras attacked the Russian chancellor, Alexander Gorchakov, at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. In some accounts, he knocked him to the ground, according to Massie after he raised his arm to make a point, but according to "The Spectator" after he had stumbled and Bismarck had rushed to aid him. However, "Kladderadatsch" published a front-page poem describing him as having torn the envoy's trousers. Its title was "An den Reichshund" - "To the Dog of the Empire". The poem misidentifies the offending dog as Sultan, who had already died.  The term Reichshund came to be used for Great Danes or similar dogs in general. In Nancy Mitford's "Wigs on the Green" Eugenia's "enormous mastiff" is called the Reichshund "after Bismarck's dog".  Some of the statues of Bismarck in Germany depict him with a dog, for example Max Klein's statue of him in Grunewald, Berlin (1897; melted down during World War II and recreated by Harald Haacke in 1996), Adolf Lehnert's statue of him in the Johannapark in Leipzig with a dog for whom Tyras II served as model (1895; destroyed) and the statue of a young Bismarck by Norbert Pfretzschner erected by members of the student 'corps' on the Rudelsburg at Bad Kösen in 1896 (destroyed; recasting erected in 2006) depicts him with attributes of a corps member including a dog for whom Tyras I served as model. Late-19th century student corps members included keeping large dogs among their traditions.

Reichshund ("dog of the Empire") was an informal term used in Germany for "Reichskanzler" Otto von Bismarck's dogs and more generally for similar dogs, particularly Great Danes.


Route description.

I-280 begins at a directional T interchange with Interstate 80 on the northwestern outskirts of Davenport. U.S. Route 6 (US 6) and US 61 join I-280 from opposite directions of I-80 at the interchange. It heads south along the western edge of Davenport. At the Kimberly Road exit, US 6 splits off to the east. It continues south for, crossing Duck Creek, towards a diamond interchange with Scott County Road F65 (CR F65), which becomes Locust Street in Davenport.  Further south, I-280 passes the West Lake Park. South of West Lake Park, US 61 splits away from the interstate on its way towards Muscatine. In the other direction, U.S. Route 61 Business heads towards the Davenport riverfront. South of US 61, I-280 curves to the southeast towards the Mississippi River. It drops into the river valley and meets Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22). It continues southeast and crosses the river via the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge.  In Illinois, I-280 runs for. It runs southeast from the Baker Bridge to Milan, where it parallels the Rock River. I-280 joins with I-74 at the Quad Cities International Airport; this concurrency continues for 9.4 miles (15.1 km) before terminating at the I-74/I-80 interchange.  On the SE corner of the Quad Cities (in Illinois) I-280 heading East ends and becomes I-80 while I-80 heads South from Le Claire, Rapids City, and Port Byron. I-80 heading South becomes I-74 which (after going through the center of the Quad Cities hooks up with I-280. This exchange is called The Big X.

History.

Interstate 280 has been at the center of a few debates regarding its routing. In the early 1990s, the state of Illinois suggested, via AASHTO and ISTEA hearings, swapping the I-80 and I-280 designations around the Quad Cities. The plan would have also changed I-74 to I-174. This was challenged by the state of Iowa, and the idea was dropped.  One of the reasons Illinois pursued the matter was due to the configuration of the eastern terminus of I-280; as a simple cloverleaf interchange, through I-80 traffic (along the north and east branches) was required to exit on both directions. Thru I-74 traffic (along the west and south branches) is also required to exit on both directions. I-280 runs due west from the interchange.

Interstate 280 (I-280) is an auxiliary highway that makes up the western and southern portions of the beltway around the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. The freeway starts at I-80 near Davenport, Iowa and ends at I-80 near Colona, Illinois; its eastern part runs concurrent with I-74 to return to I-80. I-280 forms the southern part of a circle around the Quad Cities as well as forming part of a bypass (along with I-80) for U.S. Highway 61 around Davenport. This road is long.


Description.

The dwarf sawfish has a torpedo-shaped body that resembles that of a shark, and grows to a length of about. It has broad, triangular pectoral fins and large, upright dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin is located directly above, or slightly behind, the origins of the pelvic fins, and the caudal fin has a very small lower lobe. The snout is broad and flat and is elongated into a rostrum with around twenty pairs of rostral teeth. This fish is usually greenish-brown, or occasionally yellowish-brown, on its dorsal surface, and whitish underneath.

Distribution and habitat.

The dwarf sawfish is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific region and historically had a much wider range than it does now. Its present confirmed range is from the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, to the northern Pilbara region of Western Australia. A recorded sighting from the Canary Islands was probably of a different species. It typically inhabits inshore waters, estuaries, tidal mudflats and sometimes the lowest reaches of rivers.

Ecology.

This sawfish feeds mainly on fish, but also eats molluscs and crustaceans. The rostrum has large numbers of pores adapted for electroreception and is probably also used to manipulate prey. Its sensory input helps the fish move about in the muddy waters in which it often lives. Although they are sometimes found in deep water, most movements take place while the tide is either rising or falling, and movements during each tidal cycle may be up to. At high tide the fish tend to forage and rest among the mangroves.  Little is known of the breeding habits of the dwarf sawfish. The fish are ovoviviparous with the developing embryos feeding on the yolks of their eggs. It is not known how many young can be carried at one time nor how frequently the fish can breed, but the young are about long when they are born. Maximum longevity in this species is estimated to be forty-eight years.

Status.

The dwarf sawfish is protected in Australian waters, but elsewhere in the world, sawfishes are harvested for their meat, fins, rostrums and oil. The main threat facing the dwarf sawfish is being caught as bycatch in gillnets and trawl nets. That this is the cause of declining numbers is demonstrated by the fact that populations are declining fastest in heavily fished areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the conservation status of this fish as "endangered". There is a need for education of fishermen about safe release practices and how to manage their fisheries. However, the threats are continuing, and there is no reason to believe that the population of dwarf sawfish is recovering from previous declines.

References.

5. (Sensory Systems in Sawfishes. 1. The Ampullae of Lorenzini) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barbara_Wueringer/publication/51559323_Sensory_systems_in_sawfishes._1._The_ampullae_of_Lorenzini/links/09e415091dacec5f51000000.pdf

The dwarf sawfish or Queensland sawfish, "Pristis clavata", is a sawfish of the family Pristidae, found in tropical Australia. This endangered species is the smallest species in its family.


Career.

The Heart Throbs formed in 1986, initially by Rose Carlotti and Stephen Ward, both college students, who recruited Rose's sister Rachel DeFreitas and Mark Side. Rose and Rachel are sisters of the late Echo & the Bunnymen drummer Pete DeFreitas. The band released their first single in mid-1987 on Marc Riley's In-Tape label. They were then signed by Rough Trade, for whom they released two singles, both hits on the UK Independent Chart. After two further singles on their own label, Profumo (a reference to John Profumo), the Heart Throbs were signed by the UK label One Little Indian Records. Guitarist Alan Barclay a.k.a Alan Borgia joined at this time, allowing original guitarist Ward to move to keyboards. Their first album, "Cleopatra Grip", was distributed in the US by Elektra Records, after which they were signed by A&M Records, who released "Jubilee Twist" in the US. After disappointing sales, however, A&M elected not to distribute their third and final album, "Vertical Smile". The first and third albums were named after euphemisms for female genitalia, while the jubilee twist is a martial combat technique for attacking the male genitalia.  The Heart Throbs' single "Dreamtime" reached a peak position of number 2 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1990, and their single "She's in a Trance" reached number 21 in the same year.  Following the "Cleopatra Grip" tour, the rhythm section left the band, and were replaced by Noko (ex-Luxuria) on bass and Steve Monti (ex-Blockheads) on drums. By the third album, the band had switched to a third rhythm section of Colleen Browne on bass (formerly of the Parachute Men, who later joined Pale Saints) and Steve Beswick on drums.  After the Heart Throbs split up in 1993, Rose Carlotti and Steve Beswick formed the group Angora, who then changed their name to Tom Patrol before eventually disbanding.

Members.

The initial lineup was:  Other members:

The Heart Throbs were an indie rock band from Reading, England. They released three albums on the One Little Indian label before splitting up in 1993.


Macabebe Scouts.

Native guides and a small number of former Spanish Army militia members from Macabebe that joined U.S. forces commanded by General Henry Lawton and, after authorization by General Elwell Otis, initially two, and later five companies of Macabebe Scouts were formed on September 10, 1899 under Lieutenant Matthew A. Batson. The Macabebes proved themselves reliable over the next two months, and Batson formed five companies of 128 men each; all veterans of service in the militia. In retaliation, Aguinaldo's forces under the command of Col. Agapito Bonzon burned the town of Macabebe and massacred 300 of its residents on June 26, 1898. Batson's Macabebe companies saw combat against Aguinaldo's forces beginning in October 1899, after which they were reorganized into "The Squadron of Philippine Cavalry, U.S. Volunteers" on June 1, 1900 and enlisted as irregulars. The Macabebes won lasting notability in the operation under General Frederick Funston to capture General Aguinaldo.  In 1901, on the Army's recommendation, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the formation of a unified native Scouts organization. The Army activated this Native Scouts force in October 1901 by integrating 50 local companies into a single force of 5,000 men. Over the next ten years, the Scouts won accolades from their American commanders which contributed to their survival as a unit.

Philippine Scouts and U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).

On July 26, 1941, in preparation for the coming war, President Roosevelt called General Douglas MacArthur back to active duty and put him in charge of a new military organization: The United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). MacArthur took command of all military forces in the Philippines except the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet. The Philippine Division, Philippine Department and all other Philippine Scout units were included in USAFFE, as was the U.S. Army's Far East Air Force (FEAF). At the time of USAFFE's formation, the unit consisted of 22,532 troops, of which 11,972 were Philippine Scouts.  Of the 22,532 troops, 10,473 were members of the Philippine Division, itself containing 2,552 Americans and 7,921 Filipinos. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment and some of the military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.

Filipino Officers within the Philippine Division, July 1941.

In 1910, the U.S. Army began sending one outstanding Filipino soldier per year to West Point. Among these cadets were Vicente Lim (USMA, Class of 1914), Fidel V. Segundo (1917), Pastor Martelino (1920), and at least five others. By 1941 some of these men had risen to the rank of senior officers, and some transferred to the Philippine Army when the Philippine Commonwealth began to build up its own forces in 1937. In July 1941, there were fifteen Filipino Scout officers within the Philippine Division. Two were in the Headquarters, two were amongst the Special Troops, three in the 45th Infantry Regiment (PS), one in the 57th Infantry Regiment (PS), five in the 24th Field Artillery Regiment (PS), one in the 12th Quartermaster Regiment (PS), and one in the 14th Engineer Regiment (PS).

World War II.

On December 7, 1941, (December 8, 1941 local time in Asia), Imperial Japanese forces attacked the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, bombed the U.S. Army's Far East Air Force at Clark Field in the Philippines, attacked British Hong Kong, and landed troops on the shores of British Malaya, simultaneously. Over the next three months the Japanese Army marched through Southeast Asia, and by March 1942 the Japanese had completely overrun every country and island in the western Pacific—except the Philippines.  On the Bataan Peninsula of Luzon Island, the Philippine Scouts, a few U.S. Army National Guard units, and ten divisions of poorly equipped, almost untrained Philippine Army soldiers held out against the Japanese. Survivors of the Battle of Bataan, to a man, describe the Philippine Scouts as the backbone of the American defense there. President Franklin Roosevelt awarded the U.S. Army’s first three Medals of Honor of World War II to Philippine Scouts: to Sergeant Jose Calugas for action at Culis, Bataan on January 6, 1942, to Lieutenant Alexander R. Nininger for action near Abucay, Bataan on January 12, and to Lieutenant Willibald C. Bianchi for action near Bagac, Bataan on February 3, 1942.  With the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor in shambles, and the Japanese Navy blockading the Philippines, there was no way to send adequate amounts of food, medicine, ammunition or reinforcements to Bataan. Early in the campaign, in January 1942, General MacArthur ordered that his forces be fed one-half daily rations because the USAFFE food-stocks on Bataan were insufficient for the planned six-month siege. Such a diet did not provide enough calories for men working and fighting in the tropical heat of the Philippines' Dry Season. Nonetheless, the Scouts and the other soldiers held out for more than four months without adequate food or medicine, while malaria, dysentery and malnutrition ravaged their ranks, and Japanese attacks drove them further down the Bataan Peninsula. In the midst of the Battle of Bataan, on 11 March 1942, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur spirited out of the Philippines by PT boat and airplane.

Prisoners of war.

The Battle of Bataan ended on April 9, 1942, when Major General Edward P. King, Jr., surrendered rather than see any more of his starving, diseased men slaughtered by the advancing enemy. At that point 70,000 men became Prisoners of War: about 16,000 Americans and 54,000 Filipinos. Japanese soldiers marched the emaciated Scouts, American soldiers, and Philippine Army men sixty-five miles up the Bataan Peninsula's East Road on the notorious "March of Death," the Bataan Death March. During the March, Japanese guards shot or bayoneted between 7,000 and 10,000 men who fell, attempted to escape, or just stopped to quench their thirst at roadside spigots or puddles. They also beat and sometimes killed Filipino civilians who attempted to give food and water to the POWs, and at times flashed the "V" for "Victory" hand-gesture to the defeated soldiers along the length of the Death March. The March ended at the railroad head in San Fernando, Pampanga province. There the POWs were forced into overcrowded "40 and 10" railroad cars, which only had enough room for them to sit down in shifts on the final leg of the trip to Capas, Tarlac province. At Capas they were herded into Camp O'Donnell, a former Philippine Army training camp, which was to be their prison camp.  At Camp O'Donnell the Japanese crammed all 60,000 survivors into a Philippine Army camp designed to accommodate 10,000 men. There, the Japanese commander greeted each new group of arrivals with the discouraging "Goddamn you to Hell" speech in his native language, and assured the men that they were "captives," not Prisoners of War, and would be treated as such. There was little running water, sparse food, no medical care, and only slit trenches for sanitation. The heat was intolerable, flies rose out of the latrines and covered the prisoner's food, and malaria, dysentery, beriberi and a host of other diseases swept through the crowds of men. They began to die at the rate of four hundred per day.  From September through December 1942, the Japanese gradually paroled the surviving Philippine Scouts and other Filipino soldiers to their families and to the mayors of their hometowns. But by the time Camp O'Donnell closed in January 1943, after eight months of operation, 26,000 of the 50,000 Filipino Prisoners of War had died there.  The Japanese transferred the American prisoners to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija province, where conditions were only marginally better. But as U.S. forces pulled closer to the Philippines in 1944, they evacuated the healthiest American prisoners to Japan and Manchuria, for use as slave laborers. Thousands of men were crammed into the dark holds of cargo ships so tightly that they could not sit or lay down. Again, food and water were scarce, sanitary facilities were non-existent, and the heat in the closed holds of the ships was unbearable. Men suffocated to death standing up. The Japanese ships were unmarked and some of them were torpedoed by American submarines. More of the men died of malnutrition and exposure in the work camps. By the time Japan surrendered and the U.S. and Filipino Army liberated the Bataan Prisoners of War, two-thirds of the American prisoners had died in Japanese custody.

Liberation and the "New" Scouts.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines an extensive Filipino guerrilla movement sprang up. In some cases the guerrilla units were led by escaped American officers (e.g., Wendell Fertig) and often included "paroled" Philippine Scout and Philippine Commonwealth Army soldiers, along with civilian members of the Philippine underground. As MacArthur’s forces, supported by the guerrillas, liberated the Philippine Islands, the surviving Philippine Scouts stepped forward and rejoined the U.S. Army. The Filipino guerrillas joined them, and the U.S. Army set up new Philippine Scout units, reconstituting the old Philippine Division as the 12th Infantry Division. Subordinate units included the 43rd, 44th and 45th Infantry Regiments (PS); 23rd, 24th and 88th Field Artillery (PS) Battalions; 56th Engineer Battalion (PS) and the 57th Infantry Regiment (PS). The "New Scouts" actively participated in combat against the Japanese Army in north Luzon, served as military police to restore order and help locate pockets of escaped Japanese in the south, and served as occupation forces on Okinawa. As planning for the invasion of Japan progressed, the Philippine Scouts were included in the invasion forces, and were selected to become part of the occupying force once Japan was defeated.  After Japan surrendered in August 1945, the United States granted the Republic of the Philippines full independence on July 4, 1946. At that point the ethnically Filipino Philippine Scouts held a unique status in U.S. military history: they were soldiers in the regular U.S. Army, but now they were citizens of a foreign country. To solve this dilemma, the United States offered the Filipinos in the Philippine Scouts full U.S. citizenship. Many of the surviving Scouts, perhaps around 1,000, accepted, and the Army transferred them to other units to finish their military careers.  With the consent of the Philippine government, Congress approved the maintenance of 50,000 Philippine Scouts. Under Major General Hibbs, Philippine Division as the 12th Infantry Division (PS) was reconstituted. Unlike its previous organization enlisted personnel of the division were exclusively Philippine Scouts. The War Department also proposed organizing a second Philippine Scout division, the 14th, but never did so. In the end President Truman disbanded the Philippine Scouts as an official element of the United States Army, and all of their unit colors were retired in 1947, and finally disbanded in December 1948.

Legacy.

Many of the former Philippine Scouts went on to serve the United States in military careers of twenty and more years, campaigning in the Korean War, the build-up to the planned invasion of Cuba during the October 1962 Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. Children of the Scouts (known as "Army Soup" in pre-World War II Fort William McKinley days) sometimes carried on their fathers' military traditions and also became US Army soldiers and Marines. Two Philippine Scout children even earned the stars of US Army generals: Lt. General Edward Soriano and Major General Antonio M. Taguba. A third, Brig. General Oscar Hilman, a native of Washington state and an armor officer who had started out as an enlisted man, earned his star in a long career in the Army National Guard.  Unlike other non-citizen veterans, veterans of the Philippine Division and other Filipinos who fought as part of the USAFFE were never granted citizenship. Since 1993, various bills have been introduced to the United States Congress under the name Filipino Veterans Fairness Act to rectify this. However, this was a complicated matter as after the liberation of the Philippines members of the Philippine Scouts were offered enlistments and in some applicable cases commissions in the US Army and subsequent citizenship. Large numbers of "old" Philippine Scouts (those enlisting before or during World War II) took advantage of this. However, most "new" Philippine Scouts (those recruited following the war, mostly for occupation duty on Okinawa and elsewhere) were not offered citizenship. Language similar to the aforementioned proposed legislation was inserted by the Senate into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which was signed into law. This provided a one-time payment to those veterans who are recognized as being soldiers or recognized guerrilla members by the United States or their surviving spouse. Even this, however, falls far short of the benefits available to similar veterans of other units.  In 2012, a documentary film named "Forgotten Soldiers" was produced by Donald A. Pata, with the help of Associate Instructor Chris Schaefer of the University of Utah, and narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips. The film received awards from the City of Los Angeles, the California Senate, County of Los Angeles, and at the Beloit International Film Festival.

The Philippine Scouts (Filipino: "Maghahanap ng Pilipinas" or "Hukbong Maghahanap ng Pilipinas") was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II. These troops were generally Filipinos and Filipino-Americans assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department, under the command of white American commissioned officers (though a handful of Filipino Americans received commissions from the United States Military Academy). Philippine Scout units were given the suffix "(PS)", to distinguish them from other U.S. Army units.


Biography.

State legislator.

Ferry was born in the old Mission House on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The community on Mackinac at that time included the military garrison, the main depot of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, and the mission. His father was a Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. William Montague Ferry, and his mother was Amanda White Ferry; together his parents ran the mission school.  Rev. Ferry also was the pastor of the Protestant church on the island. Thomas moved with his parents to Grand Haven, Michigan, attended the public schools, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He worked as a store clerk in Elgin, Illinois for two years from 1843 to 1845 before returning to Michigan.  He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1850-1852 and a member of the Michigan State Senate in 1856. On January 26, 1857, Ferry, with his father William Montague Ferry, platted the village of Ferrysburg, Michigan, which his father had first settled in 1834.

United States Senator.

He was a delegate to the Loyalist Convention at Philadelphia in 1866. He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives for the 39th, 40th, and 41st Congresses, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1871. He was re-elected to the U.S. House for the 42nd Congress in the general election of November 8, 1870. The Michigan Legislature subsequently elected him to the U.S. Senate on January 18, 1871 and Wilder D. Foster was elected in a special election on April 4, 1871 to fill the vacancy in the House. Ferry was re-elected to the Senate in 1877, and served from March 4, 1871 to March 4, 1883. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882. Ferry was the first person from Michigan to have served in both houses of the Michigan State Legislature and in both houses of the United States Congress. The second person to do so is Debbie Stabenow.  While Senator, Ferry was chairman of the Committee on Rules (43rd through 45th Congresses) and the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (46th and 47th Congresses), as well as President pro tempore of the Senate during the 44th and 45th Congresses. In this capacity, he became, upon the death of Vice President Henry Wilson on November 22, 1875, next in the line of presidential succession, and remained so until March 4, 1877.  He presided over the 1876 impeachment trial of U.S. Secretary of War William Belknap and the meetings of the Electoral Commission created by Congress to resolve the disputed 1876 presidential election. Still president pro tempore at that time, he would have temporally become the acting president had the Electoral College vote not been certified by March 4, 1877; Congress certified Rutherford B. Hayes as the winner of the Electoral College vote on March 2.  Ferry died in Grand Haven, Michigan at aged 69 and is interred in Lake Forest Cemetery.

Thomas White Ferry (June 10, 1827October 13, 1896) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.


United States at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Disability classifications.

Every participant at the Paralympics had their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation (either congenital or sustained through injury or illness); cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes (often overlapping with other categories); visual impairment (including blindness); and les autres (any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis). Each Paralympic sport then had its own classifications, depending on the specific physical demands of the competition. Events were given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divided athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities. Other sports, such as swimming, grouped competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.  Athletes may have competed against individuals with different classifications in the same event. For example, track and field athlete Jim Bob Bizzell competed in the men's 200 meters T44; the prefix T designated a track event and 44 was the disability classification. Although he finished behind Oscar Pistorius (competing under the T43 class), Bizell set a world record in the T44 classification. For specific classification information, see the pages for individual sports at 2008 Summer Paralympics#Sports.

Medalists.

The following American athletes won medals at the games; all dates are for September 2008. In the 'by discipline' sections below, medalists' names are in bold.

Archery.

The American archery team consisted of seven men and one woman. The highest placed finishers were Lindsey Carmichael and Jeff Fabry, who each won a bronze medal. T. J. Pemberton and Joe Bailey competed against each other in the quarterfinals of the men's individual compound open, with Pemberton winning and going on to finish fourth in that event.

Track and field (athletics).

The American track and field team consisted of 26 men and 17 women. Among them was shot putter Scott Winkler, a U.S. Army veteran who was paralyzed in Tikrit, Iraq in 2003 after he fell off a truck while holding 50 pounds of ammunition. The team set six world records and won a total of nine gold, fourteen silver, and five bronze medals, two more medals than the team won in Athens. Jessica Galli won five medals, more than any other team member, while Amanda McGrory, Tatyana McFadden, and Jim Bob Bizzell each won at least three medals. Jeremy Campbell was the only U.S. track and field athlete to win two golds.  Legend: Q – Qualifiers for the final as decided on a basis of rank within heat; WR=World Record; PR=Paralympic Record  Legend: Q – Qualifiers for the final as decided on a basis of rank within heat; WR=World Record; PR=Paralympic Record

Boccia.

The U.S. boccia team consisted of a single competitor, T. J. Hawker. Hawker lost his four pool stage matches and did not advance to the knock-out stage.

Cycling.

The initial members of the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team were named on June 6, 2008 after the 2008 U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Championships in Morrison, Colorado. The final roster included thirteen athletes (seven men and six women). The team entered the Games with a goal of two gold and ten medals total. They surpassed their goal, finishing with fourteen medals: five gold, five silver, and four bronze.  To ensure a fair event when athletes with differing disabilities compete, times achieved were sometimes modified by a percentage rate, to produce a result known as "Factor Time". It is this time that decided the result of the races, and is listed below. Where this differs from the actual time recorded, actual time is also listed.

Equestrian.

The only equestrian events held in the Paralympic Games are in the Dressage discipline. Five American riders competed, in both individual and team events.

Goalball.

Goalball is a Paralympic sport played by athletes who are blind and visually impaired. At the 2008 Paralympics, the U.S. men's goalball team hoped to repeat their bronze medal performance in Athens, but lost to Sweden in the final. The U.S. women's goalball team improved on their silver medal performance in Athens, defeating China in the gold medal match.

Judo.

Jordan Mouton was selected as the only U.S. representative in the women's division at the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Trials for Judo. All four American men went uncontested at the Trials and were automatically selected for the team. Greg DeWall, a first-time Paralympian, won a bronze medal in the Men's +100 kilogram class.

Powerlifting.

The U.S. powerlifting team consisted of two competitors, Mary Stack and Andy Wise. All of Stack's lifts were declared invalid. She faltered and missed on her first two attempts to lift 110 kg. On her third attempt, Stack managed to lift the weight but the judges did not accept the lift and she was disqualified. Wise completed two valid lifts, the maximum of which was 150 kg, and finished in eleventh place.  Key: NMR=No marks recorded

Rowing.

The 2008 U.S. Paralympic Rowing Team was selected after the 2008 U.S. Rowing National Championships in West Windsor, N.J. and was composed of nine athletes. This was the first time rowing has appeared as a medal sport in the Paralympic Games. Laura Schwanger, who has multiple sclerosis and won ten medals in track and field across three Paralympics, battled back from breast cancer treatment to win a bronze medal in women's single sculls at age 49. The U.S. mixed coxed four team rallied in the final 100 m of their 1000 m race to take the silver medal. Qualification Legend: R=Repechage; FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal)

Sailing.

The United States entered crews in all three of the sailing events, held in the Qingdao International Sailing Centre. Maureen McKinnon-Tucker and Nick Scandone clinched a gold medal in the SKUD-18 class with two races left in the series. First-time Paralympian John Ruf won a bronze medal in a competitive 2.4 mR final race, where the top seven players of the fleet started within single-digit points of each other.

Shooting.

The U.S. sent two athletes (one man and one woman) to compete in the shooting events at the Paralympics.

Swimming.

The 2008 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials were held on April 3–5 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A total of 38 swimming athletes (20 male and 18 female) were selected to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Paralympic Games. Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb, became the first Iraq War veteran to be selected for the Paralympics. The roster also included Dave Denniston, an NCAA champion in the 200-yard breast stroke, two-time Olympic hopeful, and world record breaker who was paralyzed in a 2005 sledding accident.  The U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team left Beijing with 17 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze medals. The total of 44 medals was 9 more than they took home from Athens. Out of the 38 athletes on the team, 19 received a medal. U.S. swimmers set a total of 16 world records, 23 Paralympic records, 48 Pan American records and 99 American records.  <nowiki>*</nowiki> Legend: Q – Qualifiers for the next round as decided on a time only basis. Ranks shown are overall rank against competitors in all heats; WR=World Record; PR=Paralympic Record  Legend: Q – Qualifiers for the next round as decided on a time only basis. Ranks shown are overall rank against competitors in all heats; WR=World Record; PR=Paralympic Record

Table tennis.

The United States sent four athletes (three men and one woman) to compete in Paralympic table tennis.

Volleyball.

The U.S. women's sitting volleyball team upset world number one Netherlands in five sets to reach the gold medal match, where they lost to China for a silver medal. The men's sitting volleyball team failed to qualify for the Paralympics after losing to Brazil at the 2007 Parapan American Games.  Women's sitting volleyball

Wheelchair basketball.

The United States qualified for both men's and women's wheelchair basketball tournaments at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation qualifying tournaments for the Americas. The men's team finished in fourth place after losing to Great Britain in the bronze final. The women's team successfully defended their 2004 gold medal with a win over Germany.  <nowiki>*</nowiki>Iran withdrew from its quarterfinal match against the United States on September 19, 2008. The match had been rescheduled from 11:15am to 9:00am, but was changed without any logical reason according to the head of Iran's delegation. As a result, the U.S. was awarded the win by the score of 20–0 and automatically advanced to the semi-finals.

Wheelchair fencing.

The United States sent five athletes (four men and one woman) to compete in wheelchair fencing.

Wheelchair rugby.

At the Paralympics teams in the sport of wheelchair rugby are made up of mixed classification quadriplegic athletes of both sexes. The United States qualified by winning the 2006 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships and went on to win its third gold medal since wheelchair rugby was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics.

Wheelchair tennis.

The American wheelchair tennis team consisted of nine players. Lee Hinson, Paul Moran, Jon Rydberg and Stephen Welch competed in the men's events, Beth Arnoult and Kaitlyn Verfuerth competed in the women's events, and Brent Poppen, Nick Taylor and David Wagner competed in the mixed quadriplegic events. The tennis team was coached by Dan James, with Jason Hartnett as assistant coach, David Schobel as team leader, and Bill Taylor as the personal care assistant. Taylor and Wagner successfully defended their title in mixed doubles, which they had won four years earlier at the 2004 Paralympics. The two men competed against each other in the bronze medal match of the mixed singles event, with Wagner prevailing.

Media coverage.

U.S. coverage of the 2008 Paralympic Games was provided by the Universal Sports Television Network. Daily live and delayed highlight shows as well as coverage of the opening and closing ceremonies was available on-demand at UniversalSports.com from September 6–17. Daily video highlights were also available at the official website of the U.S. Paralympic Team, usparalympics.org. The Universal Sports television broadcast began on October 8, followed by seven days of three-hour segments of coverage and a special presentation highlighting the events that was broadcast by NBC on October 18. A 90-minute documentary was presented by NBC on November 9, and was followed by another broadcast of the Games on Universal Sports from November 10–16.

The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.


Early life.

Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight children born to Winthrop Sargent (1727–1793) and Judith Saunders. His elder sister was Judith Sargent Murray (1751–1820), an essayist, playwright, and poet.  He was the grandson of Colonel Epes Sargent, one of the largest landholders in Gloucester. Sargent was also the nephew of Daniel Sargent Sr. (1730–1806), a prominent merchant, Paul Dudley Sargent (1745–1828), who also served in the Continental Army, and John Sargent (1750–1824), a Loyalist during the Revolution.  He graduated from Harvard College Class of 1771 before the Revolution. He spent some time at sea, as captain of a merchantman owned by his father.

Career.

He enlisted in Gridley's Regiment of Massachusetts Artillery on July 7, 1775 as a lieutenant, and later that year was promoted to captain lieutenant of Knox's Regiment, Continental Artillery, on December 10. He was with his guns at the siege of Boston, as well as the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He was promoted to captain in the 3rd Continental Artillery on January 1, 1777, and brevetted major on August 25, 1783.  In 1786, he helped to survey the Seven Ranges, the first lands laid out under the Land Ordinance of 1785. With inside knowledge of the area, he went on to form the Ohio Company of Associates, was an important shareholder in the Scioto Company, and as of 1787, secretary of the Ohio Company.  Sargent was appointed by the Congress of the Confederation as the first Secretary of the Northwest Territory, a post second in importance only to the governor, Arthur St. Clair. He took up his post in 1788. Like St. Clair, Sargent would function in both civil and military capacities; he served as acting Adjutant General of U.S. Army from September 1791 until he was wounded twice at the Battle of the Wabash, on November 4, 1791. On August 15, 1796, he would, as Acting Governor, proclaim the establishment of Wayne County, the first American government in what is now Michigan.  President John Adams then appointed Sargent the first Governor of the Mississippi Territory, effective from May 7, 1798 to May 25, 1801. His last entry as Northwest Territory's secretary was on May 31, 1798; he arrived at Natchez on August 6, but due to illness was unable to assume his post until August 16.  The subject was a cotton planter, marketing his crop in New York by Gilbert and John Aspinwall, merchants.

Later life.

In 1788, Sargent was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was also a member of the Philosophical Society and an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati as a delegate from Massachusetts, and published, with Benjamin B. Smith, "Papers Relative to Certain American Antiquities" (Philadelphia, 1796), and "Boston," a poem (Boston, 1803).  Being a Federalist, Sargent was dismissed from his position as territorial governor of Mississippi in 1801 by incoming president Thomas Jefferson. Sargent took up life in the private sector, developing his plantation Gloucester, the earliest such establishment in Natchez. Sargent was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813.

Personal life.

In 1789, he married Roewena Tupper (1766–1790), a daughter of Gen. Benjamin Tupper, at the settlement of Marietta in the first marriage ceremony held under the laws of the Northwest Territory. After her death, he married Hannah Ober of Massachusetts on 13 Feb 1791. They had a daughter, Hannah born 25 August 1791 in Massachusetts, and Hannah Ober died the next day. Then he married Mary McIntosh Williams (1760–1823) shortly after moving to Natchez. They were the parents of:  He died on June 3, 1820 in New Orleans. His grandson was the writer Winthrop Sargent (1825–1870).

Legacy.

Although there are at least two Sargent Townships (in Illinois and Nebraska) and one Sargent County, it is not known if these are named after Winthrop Sargent. However, a former township of the Northwest Territory's Wayne County was designated as Sargent Township or the District of Sargent; this apparently encompassed the settlements downriver from Detroit and at the River Raisin in what is now Monroe County, Michigan. This township apparently ceased to function after the organization of Michigan Territory, being replaced by the District of Erie. A student dormitory at Ohio University (founded in 1804) in Athens, Ohio, is named Sargent Hall in his honor. This is the first university in the Northwest Territory and the first in Ohio.

Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party.


Plot.

Wilby Daniels (Dean Jones) is now a successful attorney who is married to Betty (Suzanne Pleshette), and they have a son named Brian (Shane Sinutko). Returning to the town of Medfield from a vacation, the family discovers that they have been robbed of almost all their possessions, and Wilby blames the local district attorney John Slade (Keenan Wynn), who is reputed to have connections with organized crime, particularly with warehouse owner Edward "Fast Eddie" Roshak (Vic Tayback). After being robbed a second time later that night (along with their Navy admiral neighbor, Gordon C. Brenner), Wilby vows to run for district attorney to make his town safe again.  Meanwhile, the two thugs who had robbed the Daniels', Freddie (Richard Bakalyan) and Dip (Warren Berlinger), observe the Borgia ring at the local museum and assume it might fetch a large sum, so they steal it. The ugly ring with a scarab on it can only be pawned off to local bumbling ice cream salesman, Tim, who is the owner of a large Old English Sheepdog named Elwood. Tim figures he will give the ring to his girlfriend Katrinka (Jo Anne Worley), a local roller derby star and pastry assistant.  While dressing himself in preparation for a live television broadcast to announce his candidacy, Wilby hears a report of the Borgia ring being stolen. He freezes in terror, then reveals his former shape-shifting secret to his wife, who is certain his story cannot be true; he warns her that if the inscription on the ring (""In canis corpore transmuto"") [I transmute into the body of a dog] is spoken aloud he will turn into a shaggy dog. Soon afterward, Wilby is moments before his live television debut as Tim discovers the inscription on the ring and reads it aloud, causing Elwood to disappear - only to reappear moments later as he takes over Wilby's body. Moments before the cameras roll Brian notices that shaggy hair is growing all over his father, who reacts in horror, as he realizes he is turning into an Elwood the shaggy dog. He rushes from the house and cameras in his dog form and briefly confounds Tim, who can’t understand why his dog Elwood suddenly can speak. The spell wears off, and Wilby is now in his human form again and determined to find the ring as he faces the prospect of being a candidate in the public eye who never knows when he might turn into a dog.  Soon, Wilby's fears come true as Katrinka receives the ring and once again the inscription is read, just as Wilby is giving a public address at a ladies garden club (the Daisies). Betty warns him of his shaggy condition a split-second before his canine form would become apparent to all gathered and creates a near riot while trying to escape. Once again, Tim finds Wilby in Elwood's form and is convinced that his talking dog could make millions; when Tim wanders off momentarily, Wilby returns to his human form, leaving a silent Elwood to confound Tim further. Meanwhile, Raymond (Dick Van Patten), an agent of Wilby's rival, John Slade, gets suspicious and wonders why Wilby keeps disappearing.  Desperate to find the ring, the hunt leads to Katrinka, who seems to have lost it in a vat of cherry pie filling intended for a John Slade fundraiser. Offering a reward to whoever finds the ring, Katrinka and her colleagues go into a mad dash to find it, eventually escalating into a large-scale pie fight. In the pandemonium, the ring once again finds itself in the hands of the local thugs who this time attempt to pass it off to an undercover police detective. Once again in the hands of the museum, the inscription is read aloud as a point of reference; in the middle of the police station, Wilby (who had arrived to confirm the ring had been recovered) finds himself turning into Elwood once again. This time, Slade's agent puts two and two together when he overhears the museum's curator explaining the ring's reputed power and how his predecessor (from the first film) told him a story of a young man that turned into a sheepdog years ago.  Slade is informed of this weakness in his rival, is dubious at first, and then invites Wilby to his office to test out the theory. He advises Wilby to withdraw his campaign. Wilby refuses and tells Slade that when he is elected, he will have him investigated regarding his criminal connections. Slade then reveals he has his ring. With a reading of the inscription, Slade is thrilled to see Wilby Daniels turn into the shaggy dog right before his eyes and makes a call to the local pound. Wilby escapes hearing Slade repeat the inscription several times, which guarantees that the spell will not wear off, and he will be trapped in a dog's form for some time to come. Slade ignores warnings that reciting the incantation too often could cause the spell to transfer to him and keeps reciting the incantation over and over.  Wilby eventually disguises himself as a female roller-derby competitor to elude Slade, who as district attorney has the entire police force and animal control at his disposal. Eventually, Wilby is caught and taken to the local dog pound where he is able to understand the other dogs, who band together to help him escape.  With the help of Brian and Tim (who still thinks his dog Elwood can speak until Wilby tells him the truth about what really happened), Wilby gets evidence that John Slade is connected to organized crime. Wilby and Tim trick Slade into showing up at Roshak's warehouse, and Wilby uses a tape recorder to collect information that confirms Slade's wrongdoings. With the help of his dog friends from the pound, he also manages to retrieve the ring from John Slade, who unfortunately has read the inscription aloud so many times that the curse has now passed onto him, causing him to transform into a bulldog. Finally, Wilby gets elected district attorney, Slade is supposedly jailed (although it is never actually revealed), and Tim gets engaged to Katrinka. Together, they adopt Wilby's dog friends from the pound.

Background.

"The Shaggy Dog" had been at that point the most profitable film produced by Walt Disney Productions and heavily influenced the studio's live-action film production for the next two decades. Using a formula of placing supernatural and/or fantastical forces within everyday mid-twentieth century American life, the studio was able to create a long series of "gimmick comedies" (a term coined by Disney historian and film critic Leonard Maltin) with enough action to keep children entertained with a touch of light satire to engage their adult chaperones. Using television actors on their summer hiatus who were familiar to audiences but did not necessarily have enough clout to receive over-the-title billing (or a large fee) from another major studio was one way these comedies were produced inexpensively; they also tended to use the same sets from the Disney backlot repeatedly. This allowed Walt Disney Productions a low-risk scenario for production; any of these films could easily make back their investment just from moderate matinee attendance in neighborhood theatres, and they could also be packaged on the successful Disney anthology television series "The Wonderful World of Disney" (some of these films were expressly structured for this purpose).  Occasionally, Walt Disney Productions would find one of these inexpensive comedies would become a runaway success and place at or near the top of the box office for their respective release year ("The Absent-Minded Professor", "The Love Bug"). The initial release of "The Shaggy Dog" in 1959 grossed more than $9 million on a budget of less than $1 million – making it more profitable than "Ben-Hur," released the same year. "The Shaggy Dog" also performed very strongly on a 1967 re-release.

Production notes.

Cast and crew.

Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette were frequently paired in other Disney gimmick comedies, such as "Blackbeard's Ghost" and "The Ugly Dachshund". Keenan Wynn had played villainous Alonzo Hawk in many other Disney comedies before taking on the role of John Slade.  This is the last of 19 films Robert Stevenson directed at Disney that spanned nearly 20 years. His first was "Johnny Tremain" in 1957. He also directed a number of episodes for the series "Disneyland." This is also Stevenson's final film. The first film that he directed was "Happy Ever After", a 1932 German musical.

Setting.

The story was set in fictional Medfield, a town that (along with its eponymous Medfield College) was the setting for five other Disney gimmick comedies, including "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber" and the “Dexter Riley” trilogy ("The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," "Now You See Him Now You Don’t," "The Strongest Man in the World").

Transformation device.

The mythology of the Borgia ring was changed from the first film, in which young Wilby read the inscription on the ring once and then was the victim of random transformations which could only be stopped if he performed a heroic deed. In this sequel, he simply turned into a dog whenever the ring's inscription was read aloud, and the spell would generally last from five to ten minutes.  In the television movie "The Return of the Shaggy Dog" (1987), which takes place between the events of the original film and this sequel, the mythology changes once again: now, once the inscription is read, Wilby is trapped in dog form until it is read again.  The 2006 remake with Tim Allen eschewed the situation and characters of the three initial films (and also a 1994 television remake which returned the mythology of the original 1959 film) and opted instead for a science fiction device of a man being bitten by a viral dog that infected him with a serum that affected his DNA.

Reception.

A. H. Weiler of "The New York Times" wrote, "Naturally, the story line is incredible and convoluted enough to give an uninhibited cast plenty of opportunities to clown for, unfortunately, a minimum of real laughs... Despite all the athletic goings-on, 'The Shaggy D.A.' does turn into a dog too often for comfort." Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and called it "one of Disney's better recent efforts." Gene Siskel awarded three stars out of four and declared it "far better than most of the live-action comedies to come out of the studio in recent years. Don Tait actually has written a cute script that gives adults in the audience a few laughs while watching the inevitable and unending pratfalls designed for the kids." "Variety" wrote that the film "looks like a comparable commercial winner. It has all the elements of smooth and sunny comedy that Disney does best, and it marks a return to top studio craftsmanship after a few uneven pix of late." Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "'The Shaggy D.A.' is right off the assembly line, but it is still the most competent line of its kind." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" called the film "a surprisingly snappy and diverting Disney farce." Jill Forbes of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" called it "dully scripted and poorly paced, and so frequently interrupted by set pieces (the pie fight and Tim's attempt to make his dog talk) that it never succeeds in exploiting a situation which is gratuitous when it is not gruesome."  The film opened at Christmas in 1976 at the same time as the remake of "King Kong" which slowed its initial performance but the film performed better after the Christmas holidays and earned rentals of $10.5 million in the United States and Canada.

Legacy.

The film has been seen as a light satire of American politics in the post-Watergate era, with politicians being depicted as tied to crime, and not being what they appear to be.  A television movie, "The Return of the Shaggy Dog," followed in 1987, taking place between "The Shaggy Dog" and "The Shaggy D.A.".  The original 1959 film has been remade twice: first, as a television movie in 1994 and as a theatrical feature in 2006.  The 2019 film "Mister America" depicts "The Shaggy D.A." as part of Gregg Turkington's fictional "Victorville Film Archives" project. "Mister America" also has several notable similarities to "The Shaggy D.A.", which are commented on by Turkington throughout the film.

The Shaggy D.A. is a 1976 American comedy film and a sequel to "The Shaggy Dog" (1959) produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Don Tait. Like the first film in the series, it takes some inspiration from the Felix Salten novel, "The Hound of Florence."