Gameplay.

The gameplay of "Kingdom Hearts II" is similar to the action RPG and hack and slash gameplay of the first "Kingdom Hearts" game, though developers made an effort to address some of the complaints of no map and camera bugs with the previous game. The player directly controls Sora from a third-person camera angle, though first-person perspective is available via Select button. Most of the gameplay occurs on interconnected field maps where battles take place. The game is driven by a linear progression from one story event to the next, usually told via cutscenes, though there are numerous side-quests available that provide bonuses to characters.  Like many traditional role-playing video games, "Kingdom Hearts II" features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player and allies culminate experience to "level up", in which the playable characters grow stronger and gain access to new abilities.  Combat in "Kingdom Hearts II" is in real-time and involves heavy hack and slash elements with button presses which initiate attacks by the on-screen character. A role-playing game menu on the screen's bottom left, similar to those found in "Final Fantasy" games, provides other combat options such as using magic or items, summoning beings to assist in battle, or executing combination attacks with other party members. A new feature is the "Reaction Command", special enemy-specific attacks that are triggered when the player presses the triangle button at the correct time during battle. Reaction Commands can be used to defeat regular enemies or avoid damage, and are sometimes necessary to complete a boss battle. In addition to the main character, two party members are usually present who also participate in combat. Although these characters are computer-controlled, the player is allowed to customize their behavior to a certain extent through the menu screen, such as attacking the same enemy Sora targets.  In response to criticism, the "Gummi Ship" feature of the first game was re-imagined to be "more enjoyable". Although retaining its basic purpose of travel, the system was completely redone to resemble a combination of rail shooter and "Disney theme park ride". In the world map, the player must now control the Gummi Ship from a top-down view and fly to the world the player wishes to enter. Worlds are no longer open from the beginning—the player must unlock the routes to them by entering a new level, controlling the ship from a third-person point of view, and battling enemy ships. After the route is opened, travel to the world is unimpeded, unless it is blocked again due to a plot-related event. The player may also gain new Gummi Ships from completing routes, which is also a new feature from the first game.

Drive Gauge.

One of the new features is a meter known as the "Drive Gauge". The Drive Gauge has dual functions: to transform Sora into a "Drive Form" or to summon a special character. While in a Drive Form, Sora bonds with party members to become more powerful and acquire different attributes; all but two Forms also allow the use of two Keyblades. When a Drive is executed, Sora's combat statistics are heightened. Drive Forms also give Sora new abilities that can be used in normal form, called "Growth Abilities." Sora's first two Drive Forms only combine power with one party member; later-obtained Drive Forms require him to bond with both party members. When allies are used in a Drive, they are temporarily removed from battle for its duration. Unlike the HP and MP gauges, the Drive Gauge is not refilled at save points.  Like in the first game, Sora can summon a Disney character to aid him in battle. Summons will replace the two computer-controlled characters and fight alongside Sora for as long as the Drive Gauge allows, or until Sora's HP runs out. Instead of being limited to only one action, Summons now have a menu of their own and are capable of performing solo or cooperative actions with Sora. These actions are performed by pressing the triangle button. The Summon ability and each Drive Form are leveled up separately and by different criteria; obtaining higher levels allows for extended use and in the case of Drive Forms, access to new abilities.

Plot.

Setting.

"Kingdom Hearts II" begins one year after the events of "Kingdom Hearts" and "Chain of Memories". The game's setting is a collection of various levels (referred to in-game as "worlds") that the player progresses through. As in the first game, the player can travel to various Disney-based locales, along with original worlds specifically created for the series. While Disney-based worlds were primarily derived from the Disney animated features canon in the first game, "Kingdom Hearts II" introduces worlds that are based on live-action franchise "Pirates of the Caribbean" as well. Each world varies in appearance and setting, depending on the Disney film on which it is based. The graphics of the world and characters are meant to resemble the artwork style of the environments and characters from their respective Disney films. Each world is disconnected from the others and exists separately; with few exceptions, players travel from one world to another via a Gummi Ship.  Some worlds featured in the previous games reappear, but with new and expanded areas. There are also new worlds that are introduced, including the Land of Dragons (based on "Mulan"), Beast's Castle ("Beauty and the Beast"), Timeless River ("Steamboat Willie"), Port Royal (""), Pride Lands ("The Lion King"), and Space Paranoids ("Tron"). Twilight Town, an original world first seen in "Chain of Memories", has a greater role as the introductory world. The World That Never Was is a new world that serves as the headquarters of Organization XIII.

Characters.

The three protagonists of the game are Sora, a 15-year-old boy chosen as a wielder of the Keyblade, a mystical key-shaped weapon that can combat darkness; Donald Duck, the court magician of Disney Castle; and Goofy, the captain of the Disney Castle guards. Both Donald and Goofy are under orders from their missing king, Mickey Mouse, to accompany Sora and his Keyblade. which refers to Sora and his Keyblade. Other original characters include Riku, who is briefly playable at the game's climax, and Kairi, Sora's friends from his home world of Destiny Islands; Roxas, a boy who can also wield the Keyblade and is playable in the game's beginning sequence; Naminé, a girl with the power to manipulate memories; and DiZ, a man in red robes with a vendetta against Organization XIII, who is later revealed to be Ansem the Wise, the mentor of Xehanort.  As in the previous games, there are numerous appearances of characters from both Disney and Square Enix works. While some make a return from "Kingdom Hearts", new characters from Disney fiction are also introduced, such as Scar from "The Lion King" and Scrooge McDuck. Pete appears as a persistent enemy who works with the resurrected Maleficent. Nearly twenty characters from "Final Fantasy" games appear, notably Auron of "Final Fantasy X", Tifa from "Final Fantasy VII", and the return of Squall Leonhart, Cloud, and Sephiroth. It was stated that although the first game strictly stuck to characters Tetsuya Nomura designed, this time around they were going to "take some risks", implying that characters not directly designed by Nomura might make an appearance. Other new characters to series are Vivi of "Final Fantasy IX", Seifer Almasy of "Final Fantasy VIII" and Setzer of "Final Fantasy VI".  The various worlds that Sora explores often have an optional party character from the film on which the world is based. Such party members include Fa Mulan, the woman who passes as a man in order to take her ailing father's place in the army; Jack Sparrow, a pirate who seeks to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl; Simba, the self-exiled lion who is the rightful king of the Pride Land; and "Tron", a security program in Hollow Bastion's computer network who seeks to end the dictatorship of the Master Control Program.  Organization XIII, a group of powerful Nobodies—the "empty shells" left over when a strong-hearted person becomes a Heartless—introduced in "", is established as the primary group of antagonists early on. Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, serves as the main antagonist and final boss of the game. Villains unique to the worlds are still prevalent, and are often presented as challenges that Sora's group must overcome.

Story.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy have been in suspended animation for the past year to regain their lost memories. Roxas, Sora's Nobody, is trapped in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town created by DiZ to merge him with his original self to restore Sora's power. DiZ's plans are threatened when Nobodies led by Axel, Roxas's former friend in Organization XIII, infiltrate the virtual town to extract Roxas. However, Roxas is able to repel the Nobodies and finally merge with Sora. Sora, Donald, and Goofy awaken in the real Twilight Town and meet King Mickey and Yen Sid, who send them on another journey; their goal is to find Riku and uncover the Organization's plans. Afterward, Maleficent is resurrected and joins with Pete to continue her quest for power.  Sora travels to familiar and unfamiliar worlds, where he resolves several problems caused by Organization XIII, the Heartless, and various local villains. During a visit to Hollow Bastion, they reunite with Mickey, who explains that the Heartless "Ansem" they defeated is an imposter named Xehanort, whose Nobody, Xemnas, is the Organization's leader. The Organization also reveal that they seek the power of Kingdom Hearts, creating one from the hearts Sora has released from the Heartless with his Keyblade, to regain their lost hearts; in addition, Sora discovers that the Organization is holding Kairi hostage to force him to comply. Sora revisits the worlds to solve lingering problems and new complications while seeking a path to Organization XIII's base of operations in the World That Never Was. Throughout his endeavors, Sora is secretly aided by a hooded figure whom Sora believes to be Riku.  Following a lead, Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter a passageway to the World That Never Was through Twilight Town, where Axel sacrifices himself to give them safe passage. Sora finds Kairi and Riku, the latter of whose appearance has been changed to that of Xehanort's Heartless as a result of capturing Roxas. Mickey encounters DiZ, who reveals himself to be the true Ansem, Xehanort's mentor. Ansem uses a device that dissipates some of Kingdom Hearts' power, but a system overload causes the device to self-destruct, both engulfing Ansem and miraculously returning Riku to his original form. Atop of the Castle That Never Was, Sora and company battle Xemnas, who uses what remains of Kingdom Hearts to fight them. After Sora and Riku destroy Xemnas, the two become trapped in the realm of darkness, where they discover a portal to the realm of light in a bottled letter sent by Kairi, allowing them to return to the Destiny Islands and reunite with their friends. In a post-credits scene, Sora, Kairi, and Riku receive and read a letter from Mickey, the contents of which are hidden from the player.

Development.

Development plans for "Kingdom Hearts II" began around the completion of "Kingdom Hearts Final Mix", but specific details were undecided until July 2003. Nomura noted several obstacles to clear before development could begin on a sequel. One such obstacle was the development team's desire to showcase Mickey Mouse more, which required Disney's approval. The game was developed by Square Enix's Product Development Division-1, with most of the original staff from the first game. The game was originally supposed to have been released after "Kingdom Hearts". Nomura had planned for the sequel to take place a year after the first and originally intended for the events of that year to be left unexplained. To bridge the gap between the two games, "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" was developed. To explain the loss of all the abilities from the first game at the beginning of "Kingdom Hearts II", Nomura had Sora's memories scrambled in "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories". Many aspects of the gameplay were reworked for this sequel. Some changes were made due to user feedback and others were meant to be included in previous games but were omitted either because of time or technological constraints. The camera was switched to the right analog stick of the DualShock controller instead of the shoulder buttons and the Gummi Ship travel was reworked. The combat system was completely redone and did not use any animations from the first game. Because Sora had matured, Nomura wanted his fighting style to reflect that. Other changes included more integration between exploration and battles. The variations in combat styles associated with each Drive Form and the introduction of the Reaction Command were added to give players more choices in battles. The inclusion of worlds based on live-action Disney films was aided by technology that generated the character models from live-action pictures.

Audio.

Musical score.

Like the first game, "Kingdom Hearts II" features music by Yoko Shimomura and Hikaru Utada. The Original Soundtrack for "Kingdom Hearts II" was composed by Shimomura and released on January 25, 2006. The opening orchestration and ending credits theme were arranged and orchestrated by Kaoru Wada and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The main vocal theme for the original Japanese release was "Passion", written and performed by Utada. The English version of "Passion", "Sanctuary", was used in the Western releases. Utada's involvement was announced on July 29, 2005. According to Nomura, the vocal theme ties in even more closely with the game's story than "Hikari" ("Simple and Clean") did with "Kingdom Hearts" and "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories". The CD single for "Passion" was released on December 14, 2005 and "Sanctuary" was first previewed on MTV's official website in early 2006.

Voice cast.

"Kingdom Hearts II" features well-known voice actors for both the Japanese and English versions. Many of the original voice actors from the first "Kingdom Hearts" reprised their roles; Miyu Irino and Haley Joel Osment as Sora, Mamoru Miyano and David Gallagher as Riku, and Risa Uchida and Hayden Panettiere as Kairi. New voice actors included Kōki Uchiyama and Jesse McCartney as Roxas, Iku Nakahara and Brittany Snow as Naminé, and Genzō Wakayama and Christopher Lee as DiZ. A special effort was made to preserve the official voice actors from the Disney movies used in "Kingdom Hearts II". Many actors reprised their Disney roles for the game, including Ming-Na Wen as Mulan, James Woods as Hades, Bruce Boxleitner as Tron, Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington and Zach Braff as Chicken Little. Some voice actors from the related television series or direct-to-video sequels were chosen over original voice actors where applicable, such as Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes rather than Danny DeVito or Cam Clarke as Simba instead of Matthew Broderick. Some characters were given new voice actors in the English version; Ansem, Aerith, Leon, Sephiroth and Hercules, who were originally voiced by Billy Zane, Mandy Moore, David Boreanaz, Lance Bass, and Sean Astin respectively in the first game, were voiced by Richard Epcar, Mena Suvari, Doug Erholtz, George Newbern, and Tate Donovan (Hercules' original voice actor), and newcomer Tifa was voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook.

Content editing.

Besides English translation and localization, the international version of "Kingdom Hearts II" differs from the original Japanese version in the content of gameplay and several scenes. The Hydra boss in the "Hercules"-themed world Olympus Coliseum had its green blood from the original Japanese version (which was taken from the film) changed into black and purple smoke in the English version. In one cutscene, Hercules fights the Hydra and uses his sword on its head, which eventually releases green blood from its mouth in the Japanese version; this was later changed into drool in the English version. There is also a scene in Disney Castle where, after chasing Donald around for missing a date, Daisy Duck pounds him on the backside in the Japanese version, whereas she merely tells him off inaudibly in the English version.  Xigbar's telescopic sight was changed from a crosshair and black shading around the sides to three glowing circles. An attack animation was also altered; in the Japanese version, Xigbar combines his two hand-held guns to create a sniper rifle, which is used to shoot the player's party during the telescoping sight sequence. In the English version, Xigbar does not combine his guns, but twirls them around and shoots at Sora with a single gun. The death of Organization XIII member Axel was slightly edited; in the original, he bursts into flames during his suicide attack, while in the English version he simply fades away after using up all of his power.  Port Royal, based on "", contains the most content edits. Cutscenes were edited to remove some of the violence, such as William Turner threatening to commit suicide while aiming a gun at his neck, as in the film. Unlike the Japanese version, the undead pirates do not catch fire when affected by Fire magic, and their muskets were modified to resemble crossbows, though the crossbows still fire with an audible musket shot sound effect.

Promotion.

An unlockable trailer in "Kingdom Hearts" and "Kingdom Hearts Final Mix" hinted at the possibility of a sequel. Rumors for a sequel on the PlayStation 2 were spurred in Japan when the video game website Quiter stated that "an internal (and anonymous source) at Square Japan" confirmed that development of "Kingdom Hearts II" had begun. It was not until "Kingdom Hearts II" was announced, along with "Chain of Memories", at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2003 that rumors were confirmed. Initial details were that it would take place some time after "Chain of Memories", which takes place directly after the first game. Other details included the return of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, as well as new costumes. Information about Mickey Mouse's involvement was kept to a minimum.  At the 2004 Square Enix E3 Press conference, producer Shinji Hashimoto said that many mysteries of the first game would be answered. Square Enix launched the official Japanese website in May 2005, followed by the English website in December 2005. The websites featured videos and information regarding characters and worlds. Commercials were aired in Japan which highlighted the numerous Disney characters in the game. Although the game was announced in September 2003, a release date for the game was not set until two years later. Nomura admitted that the game was announced too early and information regarding the game was not released until a debut period was in sight.

Release.

Within a week of its Japanese release, "Kingdom Hearts II" shipped one million copies, selling almost 730,000 copies. The NPD Group reported that "Kingdom Hearts II" was the highest-selling console game in North America during March 2006 with 614,000 copies. In the month after its release in North America, "Kingdom Hearts II" sold an estimated one million copies. GameStop listed the game as their best-selling title for the first quarter of 2006. The game was also on IGN's "Top 10 Sellers in 2006". By December 2006, over 3.5 million copies of "Kingdom Hearts II" had been shipped worldwide with 700,000 in PAL regions, 1.1 million in Japan, and 1.7 million in North America. By March 31, 2007, Square Enix had shipped over 4 million units worldwide.

Reception.

"Kingdom Hearts II" received critical acclaim upon release, garnering positive reviews. The game received numerous awards and high ratings among reviews including a Satellite Award in 2006 for "Outstanding Game Based on Existing Medium". It tied with "Resident Evil 4" as "Famitsu"s "Game of the Year" 2005. "Famitsu"s readers ranked the game 29th on their "All Time Top 100" feature, ten places below "Kingdom Hearts". It was ranked number one on IGN's 2006 "Reader's Choice" for PlayStation 2 games. "Eurogamer" ranked it 34th on their "Top 50 Games of 2006" list. Video game magazine "Electronic Gaming Monthly" awarded it "Best Sequel" of 2006, and "Game Informer" listed it among the "Top 50 games of 2006". "VideoGamer.com" featured it 10th in their article "Top 10: Role playing games". "GamePro" named it the 25th best RPG title of all time. "Kingdom Hearts II" also received a near-perfect score, 39/40, from the Japanese gaming magazine "Famitsu".  Critics commended many aspects of the game. GameSpy praised the quality of the voice acting and cited the graphics as "on par with the best of Square's productions to date." They also commented on the realistic and accurate character models for the characters from "Pirates of the Caribbean". IGN rated the graphics a 9/10 and stated that the "worlds look very much like their filmed counterparts." Japanese gaming site Gpara.com also praised the look of the worlds. G4 awarded "Kingdom Hearts II" "Best Voice Over" and "Best Soundtrack" in their 2006 "G-Phoria" awards show.  Like its predecessors, the gameplay received mixed reviews. Many compliments were directed at the new camera controls and combat interactions between party members. "GamePro" stated that the beginning was "sluggishly slow", but praised the action-oriented combat. GameSpot said that the fixed camera system and new gameplay dynamics improved the experience, but they felt the game was far too easy and that there was too much button-mashing. IGN also commented on the button-mashing aspect of the gameplay and criticized the party member's artificial intelligence, citing it as "absolutely terrible", but praised the story, presentation, and new battle features. Gpara.com had positive comments about the ease of combo attacks and complimented the steady pacing of the story and gameplay.

Versions and merchandise.

"Kingdom Hearts II" has been released in four different versions. The first three are the normal regional releases in Japan, North America, and PAL regions, which only differ nominally in content editing and localization. The European and Australian PAL releases were reformatted to run at 50 Hz to fit the definition size of PAL encoding systems. The fourth version has additional content and was released under the title "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix". Like the previous titles, both Square and Disney released numerous types of merchandise before and after the game came out. Merchandise ranged from toys and figurines to clothing items and books. The game has also been adapted into both manga and novel series. Prior to the game's release, an "Ultimania" book titled "Kingdom Hearts Series Ultimania α ~Introduction of Kingdom Hearts II~" came out. It provides extended information on the first two "Kingdom Hearts" games, as well as information on the unreleased "Kingdom Hearts II". After the release of the game, "Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania", which focuses on the game itself, came out. Another book, titled "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania", was released after the "Final Mix" version came out. Released along with "Final Mix", "Kingdom Hearts -Another Report-" was a hardback book which includes game information, visuals by Shiro Amano, and a director interview. In North America, BradyGames published two strategy guides—a standard guide and a limited edition version. The latter version was available in four different covers and included a copy of Jiminy's Journal along with 400 stickers.

"Final Mix".

Because the first game was re-released, there was speculation whether Tetsuya Nomura would do the same with "Kingdom Hearts II". In a "Weekly Shōnen Jump" interview with Nomura, he expressed interest in a possible international version of "Kingdom Hearts II," although there were no definite plans. He said that should a "Final Mix" version arise, he had a "trump card" in mind, with such features as the Mushroom Heartless found in the first "Kingdom Hearts" game. In September 2006, Square Enix announced "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix", featuring new scenes and gameplay elements. Like the first re-release, this version would combine English audio with Japanese text and also use the "Sanctuary" theme song instead of "Passion". New cutscenes, however, used Japanese voice acting, as they mostly featured Organization XIII members from "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" who did not yet have English voice actors; these scenes were later re-dubbed into English for the "HD 2.5 Remix" release.  "Kingdom Hearts II" was re-released in Japan on March 29, 2007 as a 2-disc set titled "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+". The first disc contains "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix" with a new secret movie and additional battles and items. The second disc contains "Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories", a 3D PlayStation 2 remake of "" with extra scenes and voice acting. The battle system maintains the card gameplay, with the addition of Reaction Commands from "Kingdom Hearts II". Like the first game's Final Mix, the two games serve as a canonical update to the series. The book "Kingdom Hearts -Another Report-" was included along with the game for those who reserved a copy. Based on Amazon.com figures, "Final Mix+" was the number one PlayStation 2 game in sales during the week of its release in Japan. Nomura cited the presence of "Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories" to explain why "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+" was so popular. Nevertheless, in a "Famitsu" poll in July 2011, "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix" was voted the most popular entry so far.  It was released for the first time outside Japan as part of "Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix".

Printed adaptations.

A manga series based on the game started its serialization in the June 2006 issue of the magazine "Monthly Shōnen Gangan", published by Square Enix. The artist is Shiro Amano, who also did the "Kingdom Hearts" and "Chain of Memories" manga series. The first volume was released in Japan in December 2006. As a result of Amano working in the "Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" manga, the series has been on hiatus and resumed publication in October 2012. Tokyopop licensed the manga and released volume one in North America on July 3, 2007. The second volume was released the following year.  The game has also been novelized by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. The first volume, titled "Roxas—Seven Days", was released on April 22, 2006 and covers Roxas' story to when Sora wakes up and leaves Twilight Town. The novel depicts extra scenes that were added in the "Final Mix" version, such as interaction between Organization XIII members and between Axel, Naminé and Riku. The second book, "The Destruction of Hollow Bastion", was released on July 16, 2006, the third book, "Tears of Nobody," revolving around Roxas' past, was released on September 29, 2006, and the fourth book, "Anthem—Meet Again/Axel Last Stand," came out in February 2007.

"HD 2.5 Remix".

In the credits of "HD 1.5 Remix", clips of "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix" were shown, hinting at its inclusion in another collection. On October 14, 2013, Square Enix announced "Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix", a second compilation exclusively for the PlayStation 3 after "HD 1.5 Remix", that includes both "Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix" and "Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix" in HD and trophy support. Additionally, the collection includes HD cinematic scenes from "" and was released in Japan on October 2, 2014, North America on December 2, 2014, Australia on December 4, 2014, and Europe on December 5, 2014.

References.

Notes Citations

"Kingdom Hearts II" is the third game in the "Kingdom Hearts" series. It picks up one year after the events of "". Sora, the protagonist of the first two games, returns to search for his lost friends while battling the sinister Organization XIII, a group of antagonists previously introduced in "Chain of Memories". Like the previous games, "Kingdom Hearts II" features a large cast of characters from Disney and Square Enix.


Need for detonators.

The need for detonators such as blasting caps came from the development of safer explosives. Different explosives require different amounts of energy (their activation energy) to detonate. Most commercial explosives are formulated with a high activation energy, to make them stable and safe to handle so they will not explode if accidentally dropped, mishandled, or exposed to fire. These are called secondary explosives. However they are correspondingly difficult to detonate intentionally, and require a small initiating explosion. This is provided by a detonator.  A detonator contains an easy-to-ignite primary explosive that provides the initial activation energy to start the detonation in the main charge. Explosives commonly used in detonators include mercury fulminate, lead azide, lead styphnate, tetryl, and DDNP. Blasting caps and some detonators are stored separately and not inserted into the main explosive charge until just before use, keeping the main charge safe. Early blasting caps also used silver fulminate, but it has been replaced with cheaper and safer primary explosives. Silver azide is still used sometimes, but very rarely due to its high price.  Detonators are hazardous for untrained personnel to handle since they contain primary explosive. They are sometimes not recognized as explosives due to their appearance, leading to injuries.

Types.

Ordinary detonators.

Ordinary detonators usually take the form of ignition-based explosives. While they are mainly used in commercial operations, ordinary detonators are still used in military operations. This form of detonator is most commonly initiated using a safety fuse, and used in non time-critical detonations e.g. conventional munitions disposal. Well known detonators are lead azide [Pb(N)], silver azide [AgN] and mercury fulminate [Hg(ONC)].

Electrical detonators.

There are three categories of electrical detonators: instantaneous electrical detonators (IED), short period delay detonators (SPD) and long period delay detonators (LPD). SPDs are measured in milliseconds and LPDs are measured in seconds. In situations where nanosecond accuracy is required, specifically in the implosion charges in nuclear weapons, exploding-bridgewire detonators are employed. The initial shock wave is created by vaporizing a length of a thin wire by an electric discharge. A new development is a slapper detonator, which uses thin plates accelerated by an electrically exploded wire or foil to deliver the initial shock. It is in use in some modern weapons systems. A variant of this concept is used in mining operations, when the foil is exploded by a laser pulse delivered to the foil by optical fiber.

Non-electric detonators.

A non-electric detonator is a shock tube detonator designed to initiate explosions, generally for the purpose of demolition of buildings and for use in the blasting of rock in mines and quarries. Instead of electric wires, a hollow plastic tube delivers the firing impulse to the detonator, making it immune to most of the hazards associated with stray electric current. It consists of a small diameter, three-layer plastic tube coated on the innermost wall with a reactive explosive compound, which, when ignited, propagates a low energy signal, similar to a dust explosion. The reaction travels at approximately 6,500 ft/s (2,000 m/s) along the length of the tubing with minimal disturbance outside of the tube. Non-electric detonators were invented by the Swedish company Nitro Nobel in the 1960s and 1970s, and launched to the demolitions market in 1973.

Electronic detonators.

In civil mining, electronic detonators have a better precision for delays. Electronic detonators are designed to provide the precise control necessary to produce accurate and consistent blasting results in a variety of blasting applications in the mining, quarrying, and construction industries. Electronic detonators may be programmed in millisecond or sub-millisecond increments using a dedicated programming device.

Wireless detonators.

Wireless electronic detonators are beginning to be available in the civil mining market. Encrypted radio signals are used to communicate the blast signal to each detonator at the correct time. While currently expensive, wireless detonators can enable new mining techniques as multiple blasts can be loaded at once and fired in sequence without putting humans in harm's way.

Number 8 blasting caps.

A number 8 test blasting cap is one containing 2 grams of a mixture of 80 percent mercury fulminate and 20 percent potassium chlorate, or a blasting cap of equivalent strength. An equivalent strength cap comprises 0.40-0.45 grams of PETN base charge pressed in an aluminum shell with bottom thickness not to exceed to 0.03 of an inch, to a specific gravity of not less than 1.4 g/cc, and primed with standard weights of primer depending on the manufacturer.

Types of blasting caps.

Pyrotechnic fuse blasting cap.

The oldest and simplest type of cap, fuse caps are a metal cylinder, closed at one end. From the open end inwards, there is first an empty space into which a pyrotechnic fuse is inserted and crimped, then a pyrotechnic ignition mix, a primary explosive, and then the main detonating explosive charge.  The primary hazard of pyrotechnic blasting caps is that for proper usage, the fuse must be inserted and then crimped into place by crushing the base of the cap around the fuse. If the tool used to crimp the cap is used too close to the explosives, the primary explosive compound can detonate during crimping. A common hazardous practice is crimping caps with one's teeth; an accidental detonation can cause serious injury to the mouth.  Fuse type blasting caps are still in active use today. They are the safest type to use around certain types of electromagnetic interference, and they have a built in time delay as the fuse burns down.

Solid pack electric blasting cap.

Solid pack electric blasting caps use a thin bridgewire in direct contact (hence solid pack) with a primary explosive, which is heated by electric current and causes the detonation of the primary explosive. That primary explosive then detonates a larger charge of secondary explosive.  Some solid pack fuses incorporate a small pyrotechnic delay element, up to a few hundred milliseconds, before the cap fires.

Match or fusehead electric blasting cap.

Match type blasting caps use an electric match (insulating sheet with electrodes on both sides, a thin bridgewire soldered across the sides, all dipped in ignition and output mixes) to initiate the primary explosive, rather than direct contact between the bridgewire and the primary explosive. The match can be manufactured separately from the rest of the cap and only assembled at the end of the process.  Match type caps are now the most common type found worldwide.

Exploding bridgewire detonator or blasting cap.

This type of detonator was invented in the 1940s as part of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons. The design goal was to produce a detonator which acted very rapidly and predictably. Both Match and Solid Pack type electric caps take a few milliseconds to fire, as the bridgewire heats up and heats the explosive to the point of detonation. Explosive bridgewire or EBW detonators use a higher voltage electric charge and a very thin bridgewire,.04 inch long,.0016 diameter, (1 mm long, 0.04 mm diameter). Instead of heating up the explosive, the EBW detonator wire is heated so quickly by the high firing current that the wire actually vaporizes and explodes due to electric resistance heating. That electrically driven explosion then fires the detonator's initiator explosive (usually PETN).  Some similar detonators use a thin metal foil instead of a wire, but operate in the same manner as true bridgewire detonators.  In addition to firing very quickly when properly activated, EBW detonators are safe from stray static electricity and other electric current. Enough current and the bridgewire may melt, but it is small enough that it cannot detonate the initiator explosive unless the full high-voltage high-current charge passes through the bridgewire. EBW detonators are used in many civilian applications where radio signals, static electricity, or other electrical hazards might cause accidents with conventional electric detonators.

Slapper detonator or blasting cap.

Slapper detonators are an improvement on EBW detonators. Slappers, instead of directly using the exploding foil to detonate the initiator explosive, use the electrical vaporization of the foil to drive a small circle of insulating material such as PET film or kapton down a circular hole in an additional disc of insulating material. At the far end of that hole is a pellet of conventional initiator explosive.  The conversion efficiency of energy from electricity into kinetic energy of the flying disk or slapper can be 20–40%.  Since the slapper impacts a wide area - 40 thousandths of an inch (roughly one mm) across - of the explosive, rather than a thin line or point as in an exploding foil or bridgewire detonator, the detonation is more regular and requires less energy. Reliable detonation requires raising a minimum volume of explosive to temperatures and pressures at which detonation starts. If energy is deposited at a single point, it can radiate away in the explosive in all directions in rarefaction or expansion waves, and only a small volume is efficiently heated or compressed. The flier disc loses impact energy at its sides to rarefaction waves, but a conical volume of explosive is efficiently shock compressed.  Slapper detonators are used in nuclear weapons. These components require large quantities of energy to initiate, making them extremely unlikely to accidentally discharge.

Laser ordnance initiators.

In this type, a pulse from a laser passes down an optical fiber to strike and thus initiate a carbon-doped explosive. These initiators are highly reliable. Unintentional initiation is very difficult as the explosive can only be detonated by the attached laser, which is precisely tuned to do so, or a completely independent laser that matches.

History.

The first blasting cap or detonator was demonstrated in 1745 when British physician and apothecary William Watson, F.R.S., showed that the electric spark of a friction machine could ignite black powder, by way of igniting a flammable substance mixed in with the black powder.  In 1750, Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia made a commercial blasting cap consisting of a paper tube full of black powder, with wires leading in both sides and wadding sealing up the ends. The two wires came close but did not touch, so a large electric spark discharge between the two wires would fire the cap.  In 1832, a hot wire detonator was produced by American chemist Robert Hare, although attempts along similar lines had earlier been attempted by the Italians Volta and Cavallo. Hare constructed his blasting cap by passing a multistrand wire through a charge of gunpowder inside a tin tube; he had cut all but one fine strand of the multistrand wire so that the fine strand would serve as the hot bridgewire. When a strong current from a large battery (which he called a "deflagrator" or "calorimotor") was passed through the fine strand, it became incandescent and ignited the charge of gunpowder.  In 1863, Alfred Nobel realized that although nitroglycerin could not be detonated by a fuse, it could be detonated by the explosion of a small charge of gunpowder, which in turn was ignited by a fuse. Within a year, he was adding mercury fulminate to the gunpowder charges of his detonators, and by 1867 he was using small copper capsules of mercury fulminate, triggered by a fuse, to detonate nitroglycerin.  In 1868, Henry Julius Smith of Boston, Massachusetts, introduced a cap that combined a spark gap ignitor and mercury fulminate, the first electric cap able to detonate dynamite.  In 1875, H. Julius Smith—and then in 1887, Perry G. Gardner of North Adams, Massachusetts—developed electric detonators that combined a hot wire detonator with mercury fulminate explosive. These were the first generally modern type blasting caps. Modern caps use different explosives and separate primary and secondary explosive charges, but are generally very similar to the Gardner and Smith caps.  H. Julius Smith also invented the first satisfactory portable power supply for igniting blasting caps: a high-voltage magneto that was driven by a rack and pinion, which in turn was driven by a T-handle that was pushed downwards.  Electric match caps were developed in the early 1900s in Germany, and spread to the US in the 1950s when ICI International purchased Atlas Powder Co. These match caps have become the predominant world standard cap type.

A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common.


Biography.

Eric of Lorraine was born in Nancy on 14 March 1576 as a son of Nicolas, Duke of Mercœur and his third wife Catherine of Lorraine (1550–1606), daughter of Claude, Duke of Aumale. Some sources attribute a turbulent youth to him, which did not prevent him from being destined for a career in the Church; he was provided with the Abbey of St. Hydulphe at Moyenmoutier on 31 March 1588. He was also the commendatory abbot of the Monastery of St Vanne near Verdun. He was appointed bishop of Verdun in 1593 when he was only seventeen years of age.  By the end of the 16th century, with the religious world across western Europe undergoing the confrontation between the Protestant winds from Germany and the Counter-Reformation forces confronting them, there was a feeling that monasticism in Moyenmoutier had fallen into a sorry state. Eric undertook to restore a more orderly existence to the monks under his authority. He entrusted this task to Dom Didier de La Cour. In 1604 the resulting new constitution of the Congregation of St. Vanne and St. Hydulphe received Pope Clement VII's approval. The reforms became an important element in Catholic reform, being copied by other Catholic religious houses and congregations, most famously, in 1621, the Congregation of St. Maur.  In the following year he considered becoming a Jesuit. He went to Rome, but the Pope dissuaded him from this idea. He returned to Verdun in 1597 and, encouraged by Cardinal Bellarmine, showed himself a model bishop: he organized synods and played an important part in the reform of the Benedictine orders in Lorraine.  However, in 1605 he was involved in a scandal. He fell in love with and married a woman called Marie Dupuy (died 1640). Eric was suspended on 19 December 1605 and subsequently brought before the tribunal of the Inquisition. As punishment he was relegated to the Jesuits of Pont-à-Mousson. In his defense, he alleged that he was bewitched. As a result, Eric was exorcised before being re-established in his diocese in 1608.  In 1610, he renounced his office as bishop of Verdun in favor of his nephew Charles, and retreated to the Capuchins. He died in Nancy in 1623. Initially he was buried in the church of the convent of the Capuchins of Varangéville. In 1792 his remains were repatriated to the Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers.

Eric of Lorraine (14 March 1576 – 27 April 1623), count of Vaudémont, was a Bishop of Verdun and half brother of Louise of Lorraine, Queen consort of France.


History.

In December 1958, MCA, Inc. purchased the Universal City Studio Lot in California. After MCA and Universal merged in 1962, MCA-Universal expanded into recreation. In 1964, MCA-Universal officially opened Universal Studios Hollywood. As the park grew, Universal Creative was founded in 1968 under the name MCA Planning and Development as part of MCA-Universal’s recreation division.  Universal Creative continued to operate through 1996 as MCA Planning and Development, opening Universal Studios Florida in 1990 and creating attractions such as Jaws and E.T. Adventure. In 1996, MCA was sold to Seagram, which changed the company name to Universal Studios, Inc. In 1997, MCA Planning and Development was renamed to Universal Creative. Two years later, Universal Creative opened Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort.  The company moved to Universal Orlando Resort in 2001, the same year it opened Universal Studios Japan. In 2011, Comcast purchased NBCUniversal, incorporating Universal Parks & Resorts and Universal Creative into its portfolio. Universal Studios Singapore, a joint venture with Resort World Sentosa on Sentosa Island, was opened by Universal Creative in the same year. Its next major park projects are Universal Beijing Resort and Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe. Universal Creative currently has offices in Hollywood, Orlando, Osaka, and Beijing.

Patents.

Universal Creative files numerous patents for new technologies with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In 2019, Universal Creative filed 43 patents. Some notable patents include the SCOOP ride vehicle designed for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man in Universal Orlando Resort, interactive wand technology for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and moving portraits for the queue of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. “We actually had to create the technology which was used to make those portraits look like moving paintings,” said Thierry Coup, Senior Vice President of Universal Creative’s Creative Studio. “There’s a whole portfolio of patents that Universal filed just with the creation of this attraction.”

Projects.

Universal Creative designs, develops, and delivers attractions, resorts, and restaurants for Universal Parks & Resorts globally.

Attractions.

Universal Creative attractions are known for their use of classic and popular culture intellectual properties, in addition to their incorporation of new technology.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Universal Creative’s Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is considered to be the world’s first “story coaster”. The Creative team’s coaster broke multiple records by being the first coaster in the U.S. to have a free-fall vertical drop (17 feet), catapulting guests 65 feet in the air at more than a 70 degree angle then immediately dropping them back down in one movement, having the most launches of any coaster in the world (7 total), and containing the longest coaster track in Florida, measuring approximately a mile in length. The construction of this attraction also included planting a forest of 1,200 trees.  Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure won the Thea Award from the Themed Entertainment Association for outstanding achievement, the Best New Roller Coaster Award from Theme Park Insider, and was named “best new attraction installation of 2019” from the 2019 Golden Ticket Awards.

Transformers: The Ride - 3D.

Universal Creative, in partnership with Oceaneering International and Industrial Light & Magic, created to be featured at Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Orlando Resort. In this dark ride, riders board a 12-person vehicle designed to look like a Transformer and go on a chase from the top-secret NEST agency. The attraction blends computer-generated action with reality through the use of 14 screens and a variety of physical props. Universal Creative first opened this attraction in Singapore in 2011 and Hollywood in 2012, followed by Orlando in 2013. Its biggest challenge was real-estate space, which prompted it to be designed as a vertical, two-story experience. Transformers: The Ride - 3D has won numerous awards, including the Thea Award for outstanding achievement, the International 3D Society Lumiere Award, and was named “best new attraction” from Theme Park Insider.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.

Universal Creative's The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a dark ride using advanced audio, with the sound accurate to 1⁄5 of a video frame. “All of your visceral, aural and visual input has to be in perfect sync,” says Steve Blum, Senior Vice President of Ride Safety and Engineering. “Humans are very sensitive to anomalies in their environment: If you don’t give them the right input, they detect right away that it’s not real.” Universal Creative partnered with Oceaneering International to create a 12-passenger motion-base simulator pod capable of six degrees of freedom (heave, sway, surge, yaw, pitch, and roll) and 360-degree rotation (achieved with a ring and pinion gear system), all contained in an angled shell to direct riders' view. Universal Creative's Phil Hettema and William Mason received inventor credits on the ride system patent, known as the SCOOP.  Universal Creative employees Scott Trowbridge and Thierry Coup storyboarded a scene-by-scene breakdown of the ride that would be projected onto thirteen 30-foot tall projection screens integrated with physical sets. Because guests would be moving toward, away from, or past these 3D screens, animators had to consider the perspective shift that viewers would actually encounter if these really. They developed a new process they called “squinching”, used to account for a viewer's moving sightline and distorting the animation to match.  Created for the Islands of Adventure theme park that opened on May 28, 1999, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man won "Amusement Today"s Golden Ticket Award for Best Dark Ride for twelve consecutive years from 1999 through to 2010. It has since placed second in that category, after fellow Islands of Adventure attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, took the top spot in 2011. In 2000, the ride won a Thea Award from the Themed Entertainment Association for outstanding themed entertainment and experience design. It has also won numerous public-voted Theme Park Insider Awards and Screamscape Ultimate Awards. The ride has been duplicated at Universal Studios Japan, which opened in January 2004.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey opened in June 2010 as part of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure. It features robotic arms as a ride vehicle which are mounted on a track, to travel through the attraction while performing their movements in synchronization with the ride's show elements (animated props, projection surfaces, and so on). In "Amusement Today"'s annual Golden Ticket Awards, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey debuted as the best new ride of 2010. It won the Best Dark Ride category for five consecutive years from 2011 to 2015. Due to the massive popularity of the ride, it was duplicated at Universal Studios Japan (which opened on July 18, 2014) and Universal Studios Hollywood (which opened on April 7, 2016).

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is a steel roller coaster that opened on July 8, 2014 in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. The attraction was a part of Universal Creative’s goal to “create Diagon Alley exactly how people might have imagined it in the books.” It encompasses motion-based vehicles, detailed sets, physical effects, and 3D projection screens similar to those found on "" and "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man". The ride takes guests through the vaults of Gringotts, where they meet several characters from the "Harry Potter" films and have a face-to-face encounter with Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange In "Amusement Today"'s annual Golden Ticket Awards, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts has made it into the Top Five Dark Rides since it opened in 2014.

Resorts.

The Universal Creative Resort Development team designs and develops resort, hotel, restaurant, and retail experiences for Universal Parks & Resorts. Universal Orlando Resort’s long-standing partnership with Loews Hotels led to the development of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal’s Aventura Hotel, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside, and Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside. Future Universal Creative resorts include The Universal Studios Grand Hotel and the NUO Resort Hotel – Universal Beijing Resort at Universal Beijing Resort.

Restaurants.

Universal Creative designs and develops the restaurants within Universal Parks & Resorts. Award-winning restaurants within the parks include Mythos Restaurant, The Leaky Cauldron, and The Three Broomsticks at Universal Orlando Resort. Award-winning restaurants in Universal CityWalk Orlando include The Cowfish and Vivo Italian Kitchen. Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen, currently located only in Universal CityWalk Orlando, is expected to replace the Hard Rock Café In Universal CityWalk Hollywood in 2021. This is the latest addition to Universal Studios Hollywood to align with Universal Orlando Resort’s CityWalk dining options. Other shared restaurants are Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, Bubba Gump, and Voodoo Doughnut.

Theme park and resort projects.

Current projects.

Universal Creative is in the process of developing two new parks—Universal Beijing Resort and Epic Universe. Universal Beijing Resort is expected to open in 2021 with seven highly themed lands. These lands include: Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, Transformers: Metrobase, Minion Land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic World Isla Nublar, Hollywood, and WaterWorld.  Epic Universe, the fourth park to be added to the Universal Orlando Resort portfolio, was announced in August 2019. It will feature an entertainment center, hotels, shops, restaurants and more. It is expected to be located within a larger 750-acre site that will nearly double Universal’s total available acreage in Central Florida. No opening date has been announced. Brian Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, said the following regarding Epic Universe:

Universal Creative designs, develops, and delivers themed attractions, rides, resorts, and parks globally for Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of NBCUniversal, whose parent company is Comcast. Its divisions include master planning, creative development, design, engineering, project management, and research and development. The Universal Creative team is composed of artists, architects, engineers, designers, producers, builders, writers and more who conceive, design and build all of the themed entertainment experiences for Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Singapore, and Universal Beijing Resort.


History.

On October 1, 1982, "Magic Journeys" premiered as one of the opening-day attractions at the Journey Into Imagination pavilion in Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center. It was directed by Murray Lerner and featured a song composed by Robert and Richard Sherman. A preshow presentation, anchored by another Sherman Brothers song, "Makin' Memories", played before the film during its EPCOT Center run.  Starting on June 16, 1984, it began a two-year run at Disneyland, first on the outdoor Space Stage and then inside the newly constructed Magic Eye Theater in Tomorrowland. In early 1986, the film was removed from Disneyland and EPCOT Center in order to make way for a new 3-D film, "Captain EO".  In December 1987, "Magic Journeys" returned to Walt Disney World at the Fantasyland Theater inside the Magic Kingdom, where it was paired with the 1953 3-D short "Working for Peanuts". The film played in this venue for six years until it closed in December 1993 in order to make room for Legend of the Lion King.

Plot.

"Magic Journeys" looked at the world through the eyes of a child. The film started with children running through a meadow and looking at clouds. Someone blew on a dandelion and the seeds then flew away, turning into stars and then turned into the sun. Next the kids were seen flying a kite at the beach. The kite then turned into a bird, a fish, a school of fish, a flock of birds, bird wings, a Pegasus, a horse and then finally into a merry-go-round. While the children rode the carousel, they began reaching for a brass ring spinning next to the carousel; the carousel spins around the moon and bats fly out past the riders. The moon becomes a witch, a mask, an Olmec head, and more until turning into a cat. A boy reaches out to the cat and it turns into the Sphinx, which turns into a lion jumping through a hoop in the circus. Trapeze artists and acrobats fly through the air and several clowns amuse the children.

Soundtrack.

The film's preshow song, "Makin' Memories" and the film's theme song, "Magic Journeys," can be found on the 1991 CD "The Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World". Both songs also appear on the album "The Sherman Brothers Songbook".

Magic Journeys was a 3D film created by WED Enterprises for presentation at Disney theme parks. It was featured at four different parks over the course of its 11-year run.


Playing career.

Big, quick and powerfully built, he was a stand out school boy performer, being selected for the Queensland Reds for the inaugural season of the Super 12 in 1996, aged 21. He made his international test debut at the age of 23, coming of the bench against South Africa on 23 August during the 1997 Tri Nations Series. He made his first start on his second cap almost a year later. He took over the position of number 8 from fellow Tongan Willie Ofahengaue in 1998 in Australia's record 76–0 win over England. After helping Australia qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in September 1998, he played a vital role in winning the Webb Ellis Cup for Australia's second time. He played in 4 of their matches, scoring against Romania in the opening game, and playing the full 80 minutes in the final.  He helped Australia to their first ever Tri-nations title in 2000, which saw the Wallabies win their third consecutive Bledisloe Cup title, the first ever time they had done this. In 2001, he helped Australia to their first series win over the British and Irish Lions in over 70 years, playing in all three tests. Later that year he scored the try which beat the All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe Cup, giving his Skipper, John Eales, a perfect send off, as this was his last game for the Wallabies.  After failing to make the 2003 Rugby World Cup squad, Kefu signed with Kubota Spears in the Top League in Japan, leaving the Queensland Reds after earning 103 caps for his state. In the six season Kefu was with the Japanese club, Kubota Spears failed to move from the midsection of the table, only getting as high as fifth in the 2009–10 Top League season. Following the 2009–10 season, Kefu retired from playing rugby.  In 2006, Kefu represented the Barbarians, playing against England at Twickenham Stadium, with England winning 46–19.

Coaching career.

In 2010 Kefu became head coach of the Sunshine Coast Stingrays, a team in the Queensland Premier League. In his first season in charge, he led the Stingrays to the Senior Championship title, defeating Gold Coast 37–12 in the final. Kefu continued on to coach the Stingrays, but temporarily left the side in 2011 to take up the role of assistant coach for the Tongan national team in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He helped Tonga to second in the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, their best positioning since the tournament was formed in 2006. It saw Tonga earn their first victory over Fiji since 2008, winning 45–21, their largest winning margin over the Flying Fijians. In addition to this, they beat Samoa 29–19, which was their first victory over Manu Samoa since 2007. Their only loss came to Japan going down narrowly 28–27. During the World Cup, Tonga earned two victories, beating Japan 31–18 and beating France 19–14 for the first time since 1999. However, the two wins was not enough to progress Tonga further in the tournament.  In 2012, following Isitolo Maka resignation as Tongan head coach, Kefu acted as interim head coach for the 2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. He guided Tonga to a sole victory, beating Japan in Tokyo 24–20. In September 2012, Mana Otai was named the full coach.  Following his leave from the Tongan national team, Kefu became the head coach of his former club Kubota Spears in Japan. They had dropped to the Eastern A League. He had recruited high-profile players including Kurt Morath and Hoani Matenga, and brought in young Japanese players. Kefu led the team to promotion for the 2013–14 Top League season, and in his second year in charge, he led his side to top of Group 2, though failed to make it past the Wildcard play-offs, after losing to NEC Green Rockets 47–10. Unfortunately, in the 2014–15 Top League season, Kubota Spears finished fifth in their group which meant they played in the Promotion and relegation play-offs. They played Kamaishi Seawaves on 14 February 2015, where they secured a 34–5 victory to remain in the Top League for the 2015–16 Top League season. Following another poor season in 2015/16, Kefu left the club at the end of the season.  In August 2016, just three months after being appointed head coach of Tonga, Kefu was named the head coach of Queensland Country for the 2016 National Rugby Championship in Australia. Kefu was only able to lead his side to a single victory during their campaign, coming against finalist and table leaders New South Wales Country Eagles 40–38. This meant Queensland Country finished bottom of the table on 7 points.

Head coach of Tonga.

On 6 May 2016, Kefu was announced as the Tongan national team's head coach, replacing Mana Otai after Tonga failed to automatically qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup due to finishing fourth in their pool at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Kefu started his reign as Tongan head coach with a 23–18 loss to Fiji, though Tonga did lead the Fijians 15–0 at half time. A week later, he led his side to a 23–20 loss to Georgia, before going down to Samoa 30–10. Tonga finished last in the 2016 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, placing them bottom of the table - putting them in a disadvantage ahead of the 2017 tournament, where they will need to win both matches to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Kefu gained his first win against Spain during the 2016 2016 end-of-year internationals, where they won 28–13 in the first ever meeting between the two nations. A week later, Tonga defeated the United States 20–17 before going on to win against Tier 1 side Italy 19–17. This was Tonga's first win over Italy since 1999 and their first win over a Tier 1 nation since beating Scotland in 2012. This was the first ever time Tonga had won all of their games in a single campaign.  In June 2017, Kefu named a squad that included 15 uncapped players in an attempt to increase depth in the national team of players playing in elite rugby in various countries. On 16 June, 7 players earned their debut in Tonga's 24–6 loss to Wales at Eden Park. Two weeks late, Kefu led Tonga into their first home game since 2009 - against Samoa in the first round of the 2017 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup. Despite a late come back from Samoa, Tonga earned their first victory over Samoa (30–26) since 2011, in a game that included 2 further debutantes. The following week saw Fiji down Tonga for s sixth consecutive time, losing 14–10. Tonga had a promising starts to the End-of-year tour, narrowly losing to invitational side Barbarians, 27–24, in the first ever match between the two sides. Unfortunately, they were unable to continue their form from that match in to their second match on tour, losing to Japan 39–6, a record defeat for the Tongan's against Japan. Tonga's third match on tour ended in a victory, defeating Romania 25–20.  The 2018 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup saw Tonga maintain their position as the second ranked Pacific Nation behind Fiji. In the opening round of the PNC, Tonga lost to newly invited Georgia 16–15, but went onto to defeat Samoa 28–18 in round 2. Despite there only being two rounds of the PNC, Tonga later went onto to beat Fiji in Lautoka 27–19, in a one-off test match - it was the first time since 2011 that Tonga had defeated Fiji in Fiji. The start of the World Cup year saw Tonga finished in fifth place during the 2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, winning just once, beating Canada 33–23.

Toutai Kefu (born 8 April 1974) is a Tonga-born rugby coach, who earned 60 caps playing at number eight for the Australian national team (the Wallabies). Kefu is currently the head coach of the Tongan national team having previously coached them as a caretaker in 2012. He is also the Assistant Coach of the First 15 at Brisbane Boys College. He is additionally the head coach of the Australian side Queensland Country in the National Rugby Championship, while there is a break between international windows.


Description.

This lizard can reach an average total length of about 13 cm whereas females are slightly smaller. Some males may even reach a length of 15 cm. The body colour is dark green or yellowish green. Remarkable is the broad, flattened tail with serrated edges. On the lower back three red tear-shaped markings dots are present. On the neck, which may be bluish, two longitudinal yellow stripes are present. On the snout and head, there are three transversal red bars.

Distribution.

This species occurs on the east coast of Madagascar. It is only known from the region 12 km north of Toamasina.

Habitat.

"Phelsuma serraticauda" is largely restricted to coconut palms yet can also be found on banana trees.

Diet.

These day geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also like to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.

Behaviour.

This species lives in groups with one male and up to five females. Amongst the females, there is a well-developed dominance hierarchy. Juveniles are tolerated up to a certain size.

Reproduction.

The females lay up to 4 pairs of eggs per year. At a temperature of 28 °C, the young will hatch after approximately 53–58 days. The juveniles are typically 40 mm in length.

Captivity.

The flat-tailed day gecko is endangered due to illegal collection for the international pet trade.  These animals should be housed in pairs or small groups and need a large, well planted terrarium. The temperature should be between 25 and 28 °C. The humidity should be maintained between 75 and 90%. In captivity, these animals can be fed with crickets, wax moth larvae, fruit flies, mealworms and houseflies.

The flat-tailed day gecko ("Phelsuma serraticauda") is a diurnal gecko lives in eastern Madagascar. It is endangered due to illegal collection for the international pet trade. It typically inhabits rainforests and dwells on trees. The flat-tailed day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.


Synopsis.

The speaker of the poem starts by addressing a woman who has been slow to respond to his romantic advances. In the first stanza he describes how he would pay court to her if he were to be unencumbered by the constraints of a normal lifespan. He could spend centuries admiring each part of her body and her resistance to his advances (i.e., coyness) would not discourage him. In the second stanza, he laments how short human life is. Once life is over, the speaker contends, the opportunity to enjoy one another is gone, as no one embraces in death. In the last stanza, the speaker urges the woman to requite his efforts, and argues that in loving one another with passion they will both make the most of the brief time they have to live.

Structure.

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymes in couplets. The first verse paragraph ("Had we...") is ten couplets long, the second ("But...") six, and the third ("Now therefore...") seven. The logical form of the poem runs: if... but... therefore...

Critical reception and themes.

Until recently, "To His Coy Mistress" had been received by many as a poem that follows the traditional conventions of carpe diem love poetry. Some modern critics, however, argue Marvell's use of complex and ambiguous metaphors challenges the perceived notions of the poem. It as well raises suspicion of irony and deludes the reader with its inappropriate and jarring imagery.  Some critics believe the poem is an ironic statement on sexual seduction. They reject the idea that Marvell's poem carries a serious and solemn mood. Rather, the poem's opening lines—"Had we but world enough, and time/ This coyness, Lady, were no crime"—seems to suggest quite a whimsical tone of regret. In the second part of the poem, there is a sudden transition into imagery that involves graves, marble vaults and worms. The narrator's use of such metaphors to depict a realistic and harsh death that awaits the lovers seems to be a way of shocking the lady into submission. As well, critics note the sense of urgency of the narrator in the poem's third section, especially the alarming comparison of the lovers to "amorous birds of prey".

Allusions in other works.

At least two poets have taken up the challenge of responding to Marvell's poem in the character of the lady so addressed. Annie Finch's "Coy Mistress" suggests that poetry is a more fitting use of their time than lovemaking, while A.D. Hope's "His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell" turns down the offered seduction outright.  Many authors have borrowed the phrase "World enough and time" from the poem's opening line to use in their book titles. The most famous is Robert Penn Warren's 1950 novel "World Enough and Time: A Romantic Novel," about murder in early-19th-century Kentucky. With variations, it has also been used for books on the philosophy of physics ("World Enough and Space-Time: Absolute versus Relational Theories of Space and Time"), geopolitics ("World Enough and Time: Successful Strategies for Resource Management"), a science-fiction collection ("Worlds Enough & Time: Five Tales of Speculative Fiction"), and a biography of the poet ("World Enough and Time: The Life of Andrew Marvell"). The phrase is used as a title chapter in Andreas Wagner's pop science book on the origin of variation in organisms, "Arrival of the Fittest". The verse serves as an epigraph to "", literary critic Erich Auerbach's most famous book. It is also the title of an episode of Big Finish Productions's The Diary of River Song series 2, and of part 1 of Doctor Who's Series 10 finale.  Also in the field of science fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote a Hugo-nominated short story whose title, "Vaster than Empires and More Slow", is taken from the poem. Ian Watson notes the debt of this story to Marvell, "whose complex and allusive poems are of a later form of pastoral to that which I shall refer, and, like Marvell, Le Guin's nature references are, as I want to argue, "pastoral" in a much more fundamental and interesting way than this simplistic use of the term." There are other allusions to the poem in the field of Fantasy and Science Fiction: the first book of James Kahn's "New World Series" is titled "World Enough, and Time"; the third book of Joe Haldeman's "Worlds" trilogy is titled "Worlds Enough and Time"; and Peter S. Beagle's novel "A Fine and Private Place" about a love affair between two ghosts in a graveyard. The latter phrase has been widely used as a euphemism for the grave, and has formed the title of several mystery novels.  Brian Aldiss's novel "Hothouse", set in a distant future in which the earth is dominated by plant life, opens with "My vegetable love should grow / vaster than empires, and more slow."  Sir Terry Pratchett opens his poem An Ode to Multiple Universes with "I do have worlds enough and time / to spare an hour to find a rhyme / to take a week to pen an article / a day to find a rhyme for ‘particle’."  The phrase "there will be time" occurs repeatedly in a section of T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), and is often said to be an allusion to Marvell's poem. Prufrock says that there will be time "for the yellow smoke that slides along the street", time "to murder and create", and time "for a hundred indecisions... Before the taking of a toast and tea". As Eliot's hero is, in fact, putting off romance and consummation, he is (falsely) answering Marvell's speaker. Eliot also alludes to the lines near the end of Marvell's poem, "Let us roll all our strength and all / Our sweetness up into one ball", with his lines, "To have squeezed the universe into a ball / To roll it toward some overwhelming question," as Prufrock questions whether or not such an act of daring would have been worth it. Eliot returns to Marvell in "The Waste Land" with the lines "But at my back in a cold blast I hear / The rattle of the bones" (Part III, line 185) and "But at my back from time to time I hear / The sound of horns and motors" (Part III, line 196).  The line "deserts of vast eternity" is used in the novel "", by Virginia Woolf, which was published in 1928.  Archibald MacLeish's poem "", alludes to the passage of time and to the growth and decline of empires. In his poem, the speaker, lying on the ground at sunset, feels "the rising of the night". He visualizes sunset, moving from east to west geographically, overtaking the great civilizations of the past, and feels "how swift how secretly / The shadow of the night comes on."  B. F. Skinner quotes "But at my back I always hear / Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near", through his character Professor Burris in "Walden Two", who is in a confused mood of desperation, lack of orientation, irresolution and indecision. (Prentice Hall 1976, Chapter 31, p. 266). This line is also quoted in Ernest Hemingway's novel "A Farewell to Arms", as in Arthur C. Clarke's short story, "The Ultimate Melody".  The same line appears in full in the opening minutes of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's "A Matter of Life and Death" (1946), spoken by the protagonist, pilot and poet Peter Carter: 'But at my back I always hear / Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near; And yonder all before us lie / Deserts of vast eternity. Andy Marvell, What a Marvel'.  The line "A fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace" appears in Stephen King's novel "Pet Sematary".  One of the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley is titled “the Grave’s a Fine and Private Place”.  The line "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires, and more slow" is quoted by William S. Burroughs in the last entry of (July 29, 1997).  The line "I would Love you ten years before the Flood, And you should, if you please, refuse Till the conversion of the Jews. My vegetable love should grow Vaster than empires, and more slow." Is used as the preamble to part three of Greg Bear's Nebula award winning novel "Moving Mars".  In "The Time Traveler's Wife", by Audrey Niffenegger, one of the main characters, Henry, raises a toast "To world enough, and time," early in the book, foreshadowing his death near the end of the book where he recites this same phrase to his wife as his last words.

"To His Coy Mistress" is a Cavalier poem written by the English author and politician Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) either during or just before the English Interregnum (1649–60). It was published posthumously in 1681.


Career.

Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón grew up in the Inwood section of Manhattan, New York City, where he was introduced to "breaking" by his older brother when he was nine. He was an original member of the Rock Steady Crew after its foundation in 1979. Dance critic Sally Banes in an April 1981 piece on the form in the "Village Voice" quotes Crazy Legs listing the best dancers extant and documents his accidental invention of the "W" move, in which the dancer sits with his legs double-backed behind him. The next month saw "The New York Times" cover a three-day conference on "Bronx folk culture". "There is a system of apprentices: a 'Lil' Crazy Legs with Crazy Legs," the "Times" reported, "Dance steps are performed solo to an accompaniment called "rapping" - chanting voice and percussion."  His first film appearance was as himself in Charlie Ahearn's independent release "Wild Style" (1982), followed by his featuring in the early documentary on hip hop culture "Style Wars" (PBS, 1983). As a craze for all things hip hop took hold, the 16-year-old Crazy Legs, now President of the Rock Steady Crew, took hip hop dance to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour, with recording artists Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmixer D.ST, graffiti artists Fab 5 Freddie and Futura 2000, and the World Champion Fantastic Four Double Dutch Girls. Appearances in Hollywood films were another consequence: he was a street dancer (and also a heavily disguised body double for Jennifer Beals' final dance scenes) in the movie "Flashdance" (Paramount, 1983) and, as with "Wild Style", played himself in the fiction film "Beat Street" (Orion, 1984).  In 1991 he danced in "So! What Happens Now?", "probably the first hip-hop production on a mainstream dance stage in New York City," according to "The New York Times", which reflected that the production proved "street dance is an art as demanding and inventive as mainstream dance forms like ballet and jazz." The following year came "Concrete Jungle" as part of a program at the Lincoln Center which the "Times" called "a turning point in the evolution of urban street dance," the piece itself being "extraordinarily affecting". The "jubilantly hyperactive" and "astonishing" "Jam on the Groove" debuted in 1995, and in 1999 Crazy Legs instructed dancers of the Urban Youth Theater for their show "Minotaur".  His connection to hip hop culture outside of theater remains strong, with hosting of b-boy contests, appearances at live events, and staging of Rock Steady Crew Anniversaries. Documentaries continue to feature Crazy Legs: a look at contemporary hip hop called "The Voice of a Nation" (Goldcrest, 1993), "Here Come the Drums" (8mm, 1993), "" (Bowery, 2000) and "The Freshest Kids" (QD3, 2003). He joined a host of hip hop personalities in providing voice-overs for the television comedy series "Kung Faux" (Dubtitled/Tommy Boy, 2003). He is also a character in the video game "Def Jam Fight For NY" (EA, 2004). In 2006 he was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to contribute to a collection for the National Museum of American History. Crazy Legs officially retired from competition as of July 28, 2012 after competing at the Rock Steady Crew's 35th Anniversary at The Altman Building in Manhattan, NY.

Rock Steady Anniversary parties.

As president of Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs and his Backspin Productions hosts and organizes the annual Rock Steady Anniversary, a community event that honors deceased members of the crew and celebrates hip hop culture both past and present. These anniversary parties unite DJs, b-boys and b-girls, MCs, graffiti artists, and thousands of hip hop supporters from around the world. Under his leadership the group also holds the annual Celebrity Basketball Tournament during the yearly anniversary celebrations to raise money for the Greenwich Village Youth Council in New York. In 2003, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed July 26 to be "Rock Steady Crew Day" in New York City during their 26th Anniversary Celebration at Pier 54. Sportswear company Fila debuted the "Rock Steady Crew 77" sneaker in April 2004.

Awards.

As part of the Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs won a 1992 Bessie Award for choreography. In 1994 he received the Hip Hop Pioneer Award from The Source. He was presented with the Source Youth Foundation Image Award in 2003. He has also earned the 2003 AARTS Award from the Bay Shore Schools Arts Education Fund and was honored as the National Godfather of the 2003 Jersey City Puerto Rican Day Parade. He was nominated for an MTV Award for Best Choreography for his work with Wyclef Jean. “Jam on the Groove” was nominated for best choreography at the Drama Desk Awards in 1996. His dance program at The POINT CDC for young people in South Bronx garnered him the “New Yorker of the Week” Award from New York 1 News. He also won the Hispanic culture award in 2018

Richard Colón (born January 11, 1966), better known by his stage name Crazy Legs, is a Puerto Rican American b-boy from The Bronx, New York. He was featured in the earliest stories on hip hop dancing to appear in mainstream press, and as president of the Rock Steady Crew brought the form to London and Paris in 1983. Today he is also involved in community outreach, dance instruction, and dance theater productions. His pioneering status is reflected in his appearances in fiction films and documentaries. Crazy Legs is the most well known and commercially successful of the few original members remaining of the Rock Steady Crew, and is its current president.


Criteria.

The decoration is awarded to officers and non-commissioned members of the Regular and Reserve forces, including honorary appointments within the Canadian Armed Forces. However, time served while on the Supplementary Reserve List does not apply. The medal may be awarded to persons in possession of any long service, good conduct, or efficiency decoration or medal clasps, provided that the individual has completed the full qualifying periods of service for each award and that no service qualifying towards one award is permitted to count towards any other.  Service in the regular and reserve or auxiliary forces of the Commonwealth of Nations is counted towards the decoration if the final five years have been served with the Canadian Armed Forces and no other long service, good conduct, or efficiency medal has been awarded for the same service.

Appearance.

The medal is decagonal (ten-sided, representing the ten provinces), 36 millimetres across the flats, with raised busts. The King George VI medal is.800 fine silver and gilded. The Queen Elizabeth II medal is tombac (a copper-zinc alloy). A gilded copper version was introduced in 2008. The King George VI medal has the uncrowned coinage head of King George VI, facing left, with the inscription GEORGIVS VI D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF around the edge. The Queen Elizabeth II medal has the uncrowned coinage head of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right, with the inscription around the edge ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA with the word CANADA at the bottom. The reverse of the medal has a naval crown, three maple leaves and an eagle representing the navy, army and air force from top to bottom. The word SERVICE is on a scroll at the base and a fleur-de-lis is on each side of the crown. The Royal Cypher is superimposed on the centre of the King George VI medal, but is omitted from the Queen Elizabeth II medal. The King George VI medal has the name and rank of the person to whom the medal was awarded to engraved on the reverse of the solid bar while the Queen Elizabeth II medal has the name and rank engraved around the edge of the medal. Early Queen Elizabeth II medals had the letters stamped rather than engraved.  A clasp, also known as a bar, is awarded for every 10 years of subsequent service. The bar is tombac and is high, has the Canadian coat of arms in the centre surmounted by a crown, and is gold in colour. This is indicated on the undress ribbon bar by a rosette.  Recipients of the Canadian Forces Decoration are entitled to use the post nominal letters "CD". This post-nominal is not affected by the awarding of clasps.

The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the title of Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada. The decoration is awarded to all ranks, who must have a good record of conduct during the final eight years of claimed service.


Biography.

Born in Lille to a bourgeois family of cloth merchants, Liénart was the second of the four children of Achille Philippe Hyacinthe Liénart and Louise Delesalle. He studied at College Saint-Joseph, the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the "Institut Catholique de Paris", "Collège de Sorbonne", and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1907, and then taught at the Seminary of Cambrai until 1910, and then at Lille until 1914. During World War I Liénart served as a chaplain to the French Army, and did pastoral work in his hometown from 1919 to 1928. As a priest, he championed social reform, trade unionism, and the Worker Priest movement.  On 6 October 1928 he was appointed Bishop of Lille by Pope Pius XI. Liénart received his episcopal consecration on the following December 8 from Bishop Charles-Albert-Joseph Lecomte of Amiens, with Bishops Palmyre Jasoone and Maurice Feltin serving as co-consecrators, in Tourcoing. He was created Cardinal Priest of "S. Sisto" by Pius XI in the consistory of 30 June 1930. By coincidence, one of the first priests he ordained, on 21 September 1929, was a certain Marcel Lefebvre. Liénart's and Lefebvre's paths were intertwined during the following years, even serving both on the Central Preparatory Commission for the Second Vatican Council. And it was Liénart who, as Cardinal, in 1947 consecrated Lefebvre (who had been appointed as Apostolic Vicar of Dakar in Senegal), to the Episcopate.  During the German occupation, Liénart initially supported Philippe Pétain, but was greatly opposed to Nazi Germany.  Liénart, who participated in the 1939 papal conclave, was elected President of the French Episcopal Conference in 1948, representing the Catholic Church in France, and remained in that post until 1964. An elector in the 1958 papal conclave, he was named the first Territorial Prelate of "Mission de France" on 13 November 1954 and later resigned from this post in 1964.  An active participant of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), Liénart was a leading liberal voice at the Council and sat on its Board of Presidency. When the Roman Curia, composed predominantly of conservative prelates, issued a list of nominees for the members of the Council's commissions, Liénart objected that nothing of the nominees' qualifications were included. Liénart, assisted by Cardinals Bernardus Johannes Alfrink and Giovanni Colombo, delivered one of the closing messages of the Council on 8 December 1965. He was also one of the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave, which selected Pope Paul VI.  Liénart resigned as Lille's bishop on 14 March 1968, after forty years of service. He lost, on January 1, 1971, the right to participate in a conclave, having already reached age 80. After his death at age 89, he was buried in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille.

Achille Liénart (7 February 1884—15 February 1973) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.


History.

"On April 14, 1942, William Donovan, as Coordinator of Information (which evolved into the Office of Strategic Services that June), activated Detachment 101 for action behind enemy lines in Burma. The first unit of its kind, the Detachment was charged with gathering intelligence, harassing the Japanese through guerrilla actions, identifying targets for the Army Air Force to bomb, and rescuing downed Allied airmen. Because Detachment 101 was never larger than a few hundred Americans, it relied on support from various tribal groups in Burma. In particular, the vigorously anti-Japanese Kachin people were vital to the unit's success. By the time of its deactivation on July 12, 1945, Detachment 101 had scored impressive results. According to official statistics, with a loss of some 22 Americans, Detachment 101 killed 5,428 Japanese and rescued 574 Allied personnel." 101's efforts opened the way for Stilwell's Chinese forces, Wingate's Raiders, Merrill's Marauders, and the great counter-attack against the Japanese Imperial life-line."  During most of the unit's existence, it funded and coordinated various resistance groups made up of the Kachin people of northern Burma. The best known resistance force was known as the Kachin Rangers and was under the command of Carl F. Eifler, though often the term Kachin Rangers has been used to describe all Kachin Forces raised during the war by the Americans in Northern Burma.  In July 1942, twenty OSS men moved in and set up headquarters at Nazira in the northeastern Indian province of Assam. No operations of any significance occurred until the end of 1942. Starting in 1943, small groups or individuals were parachuted behind Japanese lines to remote Kachin villages, followed by a parachute supply drop. The Americans then began to create independent guerrilla groups of the Kachin people, calling in weapons and equipment drops. In December 1943 Stilwell issued a directive that Detachment 101 increase its strength to 3,000 guerillas. They were recruited from within Burma, many of them "fierce Kachins".  Once established, the groups undertook a variety of unconventional missions. They ambushed Japanese patrols, rescued downed American pilots, and cleared small landing strips in the jungle. They also screened the advances of larger Allied forces, including Merrill's Marauders.  Eifler held the rank of Colonel when he was relieved because of serious head injuries, Lt. Col. William R. Peers taking over command. At the end of the war, each Kachin Ranger received the CMA (Citation for Military Assistance) Award. Actually, the medal was the result of a mistake. An OSS officer, reading a radio message that advised him how to reward heroic Kachin action, misinterpreted the abbreviation for "comma" ("CMA") as signifying some sort of a medal. Reluctant to leave the Kachins empty handed, the OSS quickly created the medal and presented it to them.

Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (formed under the Office of the Coordinator of Information just weeks before it evolved into the OSS) operated in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. On 17 January 1946, it was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation by Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote: "The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in offensive action against overwhelming enemy strength reflect the highest tradition of the armed forces of the United States."


Mission.

Following the Estates General of French Canada, whose preparation began in 1964 and occurred between 1967 and 1969, the MNQ took a stance in favour of an independent Quebec and gave itself the mission to promote:

Affiliated societies.

It was founded by nine SSJB branches. It has 19 affiliated societies:

History.

In 1947, nine of Quebec's SSJB (those of Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, Rimouski, Saint-Hyacinthe, Nicolet, Hull, Saint-Jean and Chicoutimi), formed the "Fédération des Sociétés Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Québec" during a congress in Sherbrooke. This happened not long after the start of diverging opinions among the members of the ephemeral federation (1945–1946), whose members counted all the SSJB of Quebec and Ontario. In spite of this failure, the SSJB of Quebec and Ontario continued to collaborate closely up until the 1960s.  The young Quebec federation initiated various actions and took part in the efforts for the development of Quebec which accelerated after World War II. The federation participated to the popular movement that led to the adoption of the "fleurdelisé" as Quebec's Flag in 1948, organized the National Conference on Education which led, in 1964, to the creation of a Quebec Ministry of Education, and helped with setting in motion the Estates General of French Canada.  In 1969, the federation's position was "in favour of the total political sovereignty of Quebec", affirming that sovereignty "is an essential condition for a methodical (orderly) development of the human, physical and economic resources of the Quebec community."  In 1972, influenced by the secularization movement that affected all of Quebec's institutions at the time, the federation changed their name to "Mouvement national des Québécois" (Quebecers' National Movement). Strongly committed against institutional bilingualism and for territorial unilingualism, the MNQ was active in the political movement that opposed the "Act to promote the French language in Quebec" (1969) and the "Official Language Act" (1974) and supported the Parti Québécois's (PQ) proposed interventionist policy.  The defeat of the sovereigntist option in the Quebec referendum of 1980 consequently left the MNQ disoriented. In 1982, its office closed and dissolving the federation was discussed.  In 1984, the SSJB's 150th anniversary, the government of Quebec entrusted the MNQ with the responsibility of coordinating Quebec's national holiday festivities.  In 1991, the MNQ changed their name to "Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois", but kept the acronym "MNQ". This change reflected the movement's support of feminism.  In 2007, the federation celebrated its 60th anniversary.  The MNQ leadership, along with the Bloc Québécois, impels the federal government of Canada to respect the "Charter of the French Language" and withdraw from the field of telecommunications as a consequence of the adoption of the motion recognizing that Quebecers form a nation within Canada by the House of Commons of Canada. It also supports PQ National Assembly member Daniel Turp's initiative to obtain a.qc country code for Quebec following the precedent of a.cat for Catalonia.

Founded in 1947, the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ) is a federation that groups together the various patriotic organizations in Quebec, Canada. Its membership includes 19 National Societies ("Sociétés nationales") and Saint-Jean-Baptiste Societies (SSJB) throughout all of Quebec.


Early life.

Danielli who is of Italian descent, was educated at Cheltenham College and achieved an Upper Second Class Degree in Philosophy and Theology at Oxford University (Trinity College). During his time at Oxford he was awarded two rugby union Blues playing in the Varsity Match against Cambridge in 1999 and 2000.

Club career.

Danielli joined The Borders from Bath in September 2004, where he had been since the summer of 2001, prior to which he played for Bristol Shoguns.  With the Borders club being disbanded by the SRU in 2007 Danielli moved to Ulster. His try scoring feats for Ulster did not go un-noticed with the IRB stating he was close to making the IRB player of the year list in 2009. His rate of nearly a try every two games made him one of the most dangerous wingers in the Magners League.

International career.

Danielli represented England Students and Under 21s. However, in January 2003 he opted to play for Scotland. He made his international debut against Italy during the World Cup warm-up match in August 2003 scoring a try. In his first start of the 2003 Rugby World Cup against the US, when he scored two tries in a Scottish victory and went on to impress throughout the 2003 World Cup tournament. He also scored a try in his Murrayfield Six Nations debut against England in 2004.  He dropped out of the international picture in 2005, but was recalled to the Scotland squad for the 2006 Six Nations championship. He was also picked as part of the Scotland 2007 World Cup training squad. He struggled to regularly break into the Scottish first-fifteen due to competition from the likes of the Lamont brothers and Chris Paterson.  However, he returned to the international scene on 28 February 2009 (against Italy in the Six Nations) with a try-scoring man of the match performance. He would continue to start throughout this campaign. After injury he returned to the Scotland team again for the match against Italy during the 2010 Six Nations Championship.  Despite Danielli having few starts for Scotland in the run up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup he started in Scotland's opening game against Romania, scoring two tries in the 75th and 78th minutes saving Scotland from an embarrassing defeat.

Retirement.

Danielli announced his retirement from professional rugby on 10 May 2012, after an injury disrupted 2011–12 season where he has failed to achieve fitness after a series of back injuries.

Simon Charles Jonathan Danielli (born 8 September 1979 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for Ulster and Scotland.


Career.

Afeaki has played for the Wellington Lions in the National Provincial Championship, the Hurricanes in the international Super 14 competition, Secom and Ricoh in Japan before joining the Scarlets in Wales. He represented Grenoble in the French Pro D2. He signs for Saint Etienne in 2009. He captained Tonga at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.  In 1986-90, he attended St Bernard's College in Wellington, in 1991 and 1992 he played for the Wellington under 19 and 21 teams respectively. He played for Petone from 1992 through to 1999, and the Wellington Lions from 1993–96 and again from 1999-01. He made his Super 12 debut for the Hurricanes in 1996, in the first season, and played with them from 1999 to 2001, as he played in Japan from 1997-98. After returning to Wellington in 1999, he went back to Japan in 2002 and played their until 2005.

International career.

He made his debut for Tonga on May 26, 1995 in a match against France, coming on as a replacement in Pretoria during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He also played in two other matches during the tournament, in the starting line-up, against Scotland and Côte d'Ivoire.  He next played for Tonga in November 2001 when he started against Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium. He captained them in their next match against Wales, in which he scored a try. He retained the captaincy for the following season and played four matches for Tonga in 2002. Following captaining them in a number of internationals in 2003, he then led Tonga at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. In 2004 he was the captain of the Pacific Islanders rugby union team that played a series of matches against southern nations.

Inoke Afeaki (born 12 July 1973 in Tofoa, Tongatapu) is a Tongan rugby union footballer. His usual position is at lock. He is currently the Technical Director at the Singapore Rugby Union.