Family and early life.

Stiles was born in Melbourne, but grew up in Brisbane. He was educated at Gregory Terrace, where he rowed in the first VIII and played rugby for the first XV. Stiles was selected for the Australian Schoolboys side in 1992 and named as captain.  In 1993 and 1994, Stiles played in the Queensland Under 21s side and was a fringe player in the Queensland Reds squad. During this time, Stiles played for Souths in the Brisbane club competition. Because of the physical development and technical ability needed to play front row at representative level, his progression to the senior Queensland side took several years. In 1997 he switched clubs to join University where he was made the club captain – a role he held until 2005 when he retired from playing. He captained the Australian Universities team in 1997 and 1998.

Rugby career.

Queensland.

After having been a squad member for nearly five years, Stiles made his senior Queensland starting debut in 1998. He made his Super 12 starting debut for the Reds at Cape Town in 1999, in a match with the Stormers. The Reds managed to finish on top of the table that year for the regular season but squandered their semi-final home advantage and were defeated by the Crusaders who went on to win the 1999 title.  Stiles became the first choice at loosehead prop for the Reds in 2001, and remained so for the next five seasons. An injury to Queensland's captain Elton Flatley in 2004 allowed him to assume the captain's role at the Reds.  In the last season of his Reds contract in 2005, the 31-year-old Stiles was still playing strongly enough to be the starting loosehead. However, he wasn't offered a new contract and played his final Queensland game against New Zealand A in June 2005, finishing with 93 state caps.

Australia.

Stiles was selected in the Wallaby squad for the European tour in 2000. While he did not play any matches, he gained crucial experience training with the team ahead of the 2001 season. The Australians as reigning Rugby World Cup champions would be seriously challenged and Stiles would play a crucial role for the Wallabies in defending their status.  In 2001 he was selected in the Australian squad to face the touring British and Irish Lions side. It was the first such visit from the Lions for twelve years. Stiles made his Australian debut in the lead-up to the series, playing in the match against New Zealand Maori. He scored a try in the 41-29 win over the visiting including a number of All Black players. The ARU did not award test caps for the encounter, though, unlike past matches with the Maori.  A good performance against the Maori led to his selection for first Lions test at Brisbane. The Australian team lost in a stunning defeat to the British side but the selection panel persevered with the players and Stiles kept his place for the Melbourne test. After a poor start, the Wallabies finished the stronger in the second test to secure a 35-14 win. They then went on to claim the Tom Richards Trophy the next week in the decider at Sydney.  In the following month, the Wallabies retained both the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations trophy. The Australians were the dominant force in world rugby. From 2001 to 2002, Stiles was an integral part of the team. Although in good form during the Super 12, he lost his place in the Wallabies squad in 2003 as the Reds finished with a losing record for the season.

Coaching.

In his playing years, Stiles had taken several off-field roles, including Coaching Director of the Queensland Rugby Union in 1995 and 1996, and coaching several first XV school teams.  After retiring from playing, he was the head coach of Premier Grade at University of Queensland from 2005 to 2007. He then moved to Japan as the forwards coach of the Kubota Spears for three seasons, before returning to Australia to take up the forwards coaching position at the Western Force. Stiles was at the Force from 2010 to 2013, before linking again with the Queensland Reds as the forwards coach for 2014 season. He was appointed as head coach of Brisbane City for the inaugural season of Australia's National Rugby Championship, winning the competition twice in his first two seasons in 2014 and 2015.  Stiles was appointed as co-interim head coach of the Reds alongside Matt O'Connor two games into the 2016 season, after Richard Graham was sacked as head coach. On 26 July 2016, he was named the new head coach of the franchise.

Nick Stiles (born 17 October 1973) is an Australian professional rugby union coach and a former player for the Queensland Reds. He also played in twelve Tests for Australia as a loosehead prop.


Meteorological history.

On August 22, 2004, a cold front—the same front which eventually spawned Tropical Storm Hermine—moved off the coast of the Carolinas and drifted southward before stalling on August 24. On August 25, Surface observations indicated that a broad low pressure area developed along the deteriorating frontal boundary. Convection remained sporadic and disorganized, until thunderstorm activity began to increase and the system developed banding structure on August 26. At 1200 UTC on August 27, the low organized, and was designated as Tropical Depression Seven while located about east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.  Because steering currents were initially weak, the depression was nearly stationary in movement, although forecasts predicted a ridge to the northeast of the system would gradually steer it to the west. The cyclone was situated over warm ocean waters and contained good anticyclonic flow, leading forecast models to predict at least moderate intensification. Later that same day, it gradually drifted southwest and convective banding continued to increase. At 1100 UTC on August 28, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gaston. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters aircraft completed a flight into Gaston, revealing that the intensity was higher than previously reported. At the time, it was believed that Gaston had reached peak intensity of, placing it very close to hurricane status. However, during post-season analysis, it was discovered that Gaston had briefly attained Category 1 Hurricane intensity at 1800 UTC on August 28. At 1400 UTC on August 29, Gaston made landfall at Awendaw, South Carolina, between Charleston and McClellanville, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of. The storm quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it continued northward through South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and it began to gradually move north-northeastward. At 0000 UTC on August 30, the storm weakened to a tropical depression over northeastern South Carolina. As it accelerated to the northeast, it emerged in the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and regained tropical storm status late on August 30. Initially, the system maintained a good radar signature, although satellite imagery soon indicated that convection became limited in intensity and coverage. Also, a front-like band appeared to be forming southeast of the center, which indicated signs of weakening. At 0600 UTC on August 31, Gaston crossed the Delmarva Peninsula for the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The system began to lose tropical characteristics as it became associated with the frontal system, although there was still some thunderstorm activity wrapped around the center. Forward speed increased to about, and over water the storm lost all of its tropical characteristics early on September 1, and became an extratropical cyclone south of the Canadian Maritimes. The extratropical remnants of Gaston were absorbed by a larger extratropical system on September 3, about south-southeast of Reykjavík, Iceland.

Preparations.

On August 27, shortly after the formation of Gaston, tropical storm watches were issued for coastal locations from Surf City, North Carolina to Fernandina Beach, Florida. On August 28, a tropical storm warning was put into effect from the Savannah River to the inlet of the Little River; shortly after, the tropical storm watch was modified to a hurricane at 0000 UTC on August 29. At 0300 UTC the tropical storm watch issued for north of Little River Inlet to Surf City, North Carolina was upgraded to a tropical storm warning. The tropical storm watch issued for coastal Georgia from south of the Savannah River to Fernadina Beach, Florida remained in effect. At 1500 UTC, all hurricane watches and warnings were discontinued and by 0000 UTC on August 30, all advisories were subsequently discontinued.  In South Carolina, residents living in low-lying Charleston and Georgetown counties as well as those living in mobile homes were urged to evacuate or move to higher grounds. No mandatory evacuations were ordered, although voluntary evacuations were advised for the Barrier Island. In those locations and other coastal counties, it is estimated that 100–200 people sought protection in 6 shelters. In Charleston and surrounding areas, bridges were closed to large vehicles and trucks. In anticipation of Gaston, mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr advised, "The best advice for everyone is to stay put. Stay put, don't go out please. This will be past us quickly and let's just stay out of harm's way and get it behind us."  By August 29, flood watches were in effect for eastern South Carolina and eastern and southern North Carolina. On August 30, flood warnings were issued for portions of central Virginia, and tornado watches were put into effect for parts of southeast Virginia and northern North Carolina. In Charlotte, North Carolina, an estimated 30 National Guard soldiers were activated to assist in helping in flooded areas.

Impact.

South Carolina.

On August 29, Gaston made landfall near Bulls Bay with maximum sustained winds of. At the Isle of Palms, a gust of was reported by a storm chaser. The heaviest rain fell from Williamsburg County, through Florence and Darlington counties, where rainfall amounts ranged from to over. This resulted in flash flooding, up to deep in some cases, which overwashed and closed several roads. One F1 tornado was reported in Marlboro County, although damage was unknown.  Storm surge ranged from feet in Bulls Bay. Widespread wind damage occurred in northern Charleston County and in Berkeley County. The high winds blew down numerous trees and branches, destroying eight homes. In total over 3,000 structures sustained minor to significant damage, and trees fell on several vehicles. Several lamp posts, power lines, mailboxes, signs and fences were damaged or destroyed by fallen debris. The Lumber River crested at a record high of nearly 8 feet above flood stage, forcing the evacuation of many homes and flooding farmlands. In Berkeley County, 20 structures were severely damaged or destroyed, and dozens of other structures suffered minor flooding damage. Overall, damage in South Carolina rose to over $40 million. During the height of the storm over 150,000 customers were without power.

North Carolina.

Gaston tracked into North Carolina as a tropical depression early on August 30, producing up to of rain near Red Springs. Wind gusts peaked at at the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport. Also, the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station reported gusts of. These winds knocked out power to 6,500 customers. In Chatham County and Johnston County, numerous trees were blown down. A fallen tree landed on a post office, inflicting damage to the roof and back porch. Windspread flooding occurred as a result of the heavy rainfall. In Raleigh, the Marsh Creek overflowed its banks, flooding several trucks and closing numerous onramps to Interstate 40. Persistent rainfall on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge caused the Linville River near Linville to rapidly rise, flooding a bridge. Many other small creeks and rivers overflowed which forced some evacuations in the early hours of the morning. In Selma, of water was reported on Interstate 95. Additionally, a tornado spawned by the storm damaged several homes in Hoke County.

Virginia.

As the storm tracked northward through Virginia as a tropical depression, it produced torrential rainfall, peaking at in Richmond. The storm strengthened over Virginia, as it pivoted from a northerly track to a northeasterly track nearly over the Richmond area, which led to the afternoon of exceptional rainfall, with the epicenter over Richmond. There were also numerous reports of rainfall over, primarily in the central portions of the state. The heavy precipitation caused moderate to severe damage in Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico, and Prince George counties, where 350 homes and 230 businesses were damaged or destroyed, and many roads were closed due to high water. Hanover, Virginia reported almost a foot of rain, 11.7 inches to be exact. The heaviest-hit location was downtown Richmond, where 20 blocks of the city were under water. In the historic district, a brick building collapsed and dozens of other structures received flood damage as water reached in some places. It is estimated that 29 homes were declared uninhabitable. At the Richmond battlefield, a foot of standing water left $32,500 (2004 USD) in damage. Rushing water floated automobiles and crashed them into buildings in some parts of the city. Also, over 120 roads were closed within Richmond, with several more in other areas. The stretch of Interstate 95 in the city was closed as flash flooding caused 20 traffic accidents. An intersection was closed due to a crest as a result of flowing underground water. Along the James River, swift–water rescues were required to bring people who were stranded in their cars to safety. Additionally, at least 1,000 people were forced from their homes. In total, damage from flooding in the city totaled to over $20 million (2004 USD) and nine people were killed, eight directly.  Gaston touched off numerous tornadoes in the state. In all, 19 tornadoes were confirmed in Virginia. These were mostly weak, commonly ranking F0 or F1 on the Fujita Scale. Damage from the tornadoes was mostly minor, and typically limited to fallen trees and light structural damage. A tornado in Hopewell downed 25–30 trees and damaged a shed. Also, an F0 tornado in Nottoway County tore metal roofing off the roof of a church.

Atlantic Canada.

On August 30, the hurricane produced a shield of rain just off the coast of mainland Nova Scotia, although on Sable Island of rain fell in four hours. Other than reports of light rainfall there was no damage and little if any effects in the region.

Aftermath in Richmond.

Much of downtown Richmond was a mess; many buildings in the disaster area were condemned. A story in the "Richmond Times-Dispatch" said, ""The air downtown is ripe with the smell of fresh mud and rotting vegetables."" On August 31, Governor Mark Warner declared a state of emergency.

Consumer concerns.

Approximately 2,000 cars and trucks were reported towed from the disaster area following Gaston. Consequently, the flooded-out cars and trucks, known as "flood cars," were sold on used car lots at a cheap price. There were also isolated reports of scamming.

Economic impact.

Many small businesses in the Richmond area were hit hard by the flooding brought by Gaston. While some managed to reopen, some closed for longer periods of time or even permanently. After the storm, city officials cordoned off the historic Shockoe Bottom area (roughly between 15th and 18th Streets, south of East Broad Street), so building inspectors and crews from the Department of Public Utilities and Dominion Virginia Power could ensure that the area's stores, restaurants, warehouses, and apartments were safe to enter and that there were no gas leaks.  ""Property insurance by itself probably won't cover damages"," said a spokesman for the State Corporation Commission. ""However, many businesses in the Bottom have flood insurance, since most lenders would make it a requirement in flood-prone areas...""  ""The best other businesses can hope for, in the rebuilding process, is federal assistance through grant money and low-interest loans if Richmond is declared a federal disaster area"," he later said.  The flooding from Gaston also affected VDOT's emergency road repair fund. VDOT estimated that repairing the wrecked roads and bridges would cost $10 to $20 million, and that did not cover damage to streets and roads that the city of Richmond and Henrico County maintain.  Already stretching its budget thin, VDOT had to set $16 million aside for major projects other than snow removal, leaving very little to pay for storm damage.

Recovery and criticism.

After the storm, the Richmond city government poured money into reconstruction and expansion of the drainage system and new emergency-notification technology that officials said would make Richmond ready for future storms. Beginning in 2006, the city had spent $1.9 million on projects to mitigate the impact of major rainfalls. The city had also stepped up the frequency of its inspections and cleanings of the existing drain system, and has installed a new flash flood warning system.  $8.7 million was spent to help the victims of the storm, much of it from FEMA. In Shockoe Bottom, most of the buildings were rebuilt and most of the businesses were back up and running. Some business owners say that the relief came too late.  This sparked criticism of the city government in response to Hurricane Gaston. Many complained about potholes lining the roads, brick sidewalks that were a mess, and faded crosswalks. Also, because of poor drainage, streets was covered with a thick layer of silt and because of the lack of trash cans, storm debris was everywhere.  Even a year later, some of the damage from Gaston still lingered.

Hurricane Gaston was a minimal hurricane that made landfall in South Carolina on August 29, 2004. It then crossed North Carolina and Virginia before exiting to the northeast and dissipating. The storm killed nine people – eight of them directly – and caused $130 million (2004 USD) in damage. Gaston produced torrential downpours that inundated Richmond, Virginia. Although originally designated a tropical storm, Gaston was reclassified as a hurricane when post-storm analysis revealed it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h).


Personal life.

He was born and grew up in southern Lebanon in Hanin, near the Lebanese-Israeli border. He gained refugee status in 1996 and became a Belgian citizen through marriage to a Belgian woman, from whom he much later divorced. He is now married to a Belgian Muslim woman, Nabila Boujdaine of Moroccan origin, who was also on the electoral lists for his MDP party in 2004. N. Boujdaine is the sister of Saida from the book "Saida", written by "De Standaard" journalist, Tom Naegels and is the partner in a new organisation, Safe Have Aid, established by Dyab Abou Jahjah and his brother. He holds a Masters degree in political science from the Université catholique de Louvain.  Abou Jahjah has written several books, among them an autobiography entitled "Between Two Worlds - the Roots of a Freedom Fight" that sold 7,000 copies in Belgium and the Netherlands. He was also the subject of two political biographies, one written by Mohammed Benzakour and the other by Maroun Labaki, and a political analysis book written by the Belgian communist writer Ludo De Witte.

Move to Belgium.

In 1991, at the age of 19, Abou Jahjah left Lebanon: "I wanted to go abroad like a lot of Lebanese young people". Abou Jahjah studied at Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Louvain la Neuve and obtained a master's degree in political science and International relations. After several odd jobs during his study time, including factory work and construction labour, he became the director of vzw Welkom, the Immigrant working body for the Belgian ABVV trade Union.

Political views.

Abou Jahjah is a Social democrat and moderate Muslim, although he later revealed that he is rather a Muslim by culture and agnostic on faith. He is an opponent of assimilation. He wants immigrants to be treated as full citizens who can keep their own culture, rather than being treated as guests. He was compared to the American activist Malcolm X, also a Muslim, who opposed assimilation and the melting pot model of integration. He sees the integration of Armenians in Lebanon as the ideal model. He has said that, "America's race laws are more advanced than here. I have relatives in Detroit and they are Arab-Americans but they feel American. I don't feel European. Europe needs to make its concept of citizenship inclusive to all cultures and religions.

Arab European League.

In 2000 Abou Jahjah founded the Arab European League in Antwerp, a city with a large Muslim population. In the 2003 election the Arab European League partnered with the Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party of Belgium to form the RESIST (electoral list), which failed to win any seats and soon dissolved. In 2004 he started the MDP, but this party didn't obtain any elected participants. Early in 2006 Abou Jahjah announced that he will no longer be leading the AEL nor holding a leadership position.

Sabra and Shatila.

In 2001, Abou Jahjah founded the Sabra and Shatila committee, which brought a lawsuit against former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his alleged role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre committed, in adjacent refugee camps, during the Israel-Lebanon war in 1982.

9/11.

He said of Arab reaction to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks that "Most of us... felt that day something that can not be described as joy, or as happiness, but rather as that sweet revenge feeling. We all had – except that small minority- a "what goes around comes around’" attitude", but he continued that "Now, almost two months after the eleventh of September, we see things clear(er). It is terrible how criminals can cause by their acts the misery for so many people, people of their own kind and people of their alleged enemy. How violence will breed violence that will breed more violence".

Negative attitudes towards homosexuals.

In his own column in the Belgian daily "De Standaard", he stated "We (Belgians with Arab roots) are predominantly negatively disposed towards homosexuals. This isn't because we're immigrants, but rather because we're men. The idea that another man could desire us sexually, is for most heterosexual men a nightmare that can render them aggressive."

Means to an end.

Abou Jahjah considers democracy a strong means to an end. Sharia would be instated after a democratic process. Indeed, his messages are altogether mixed Jahjah suggested in a televised debate that a similar attack was likely in the Netherlands. "It's logical," he said. "You make war with us, we make war with you."

Controversies.

Arrest.

Abou Jahjah was arrested and detained for several days in 2002 after he allegedly organized riots and called for violence. The riots broke out in Borgerhout, a district of Antwerp, after a 27-year-old Belgian-Moroccan was shot by his Flemish neighbor. He was acquitted from all charges on October 21, 2008. A police officer who was watching him the night of the riots said that Abou Jahjah is innocent and that the evidence against him was fabricated. His arrest sparked sharp debates and dominated Belgian politics for months. He gained a lot of support among Belgian intellectuals and academics and was considered as a political prisoner. 300 personalities signed a petition demanding a more moderate approach by the government in dealing with the AEL and the issue of immigration and discrimination in the country. The case became a famous example of demonization of political activists and violation of the separation of powers. The Abou Jahjah affaire is still taught as a case study in some law schools in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Theo van Gogh.

In the Netherlands, Abou Jahjah had a row with the late film director Theo van Gogh, who was known for his opposition to Islam. After van Gogh, who was supposed to be the moderator of a debate between him and Boris Dittrich, insulted Abou Jahjah by calling him "de pooier van de profeet" ("the prophet's pimp") in front of an audience of 1000 people, Abou Jahjah stormed out of the theater, with his bodyguards in tow and refused to continue considering that a moderator should be neutral and not insult the guests. His opponent that day Boris Dietrich declared his sympathy to his position and his dismay to the behavior of Van Gogh.

2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

In July 2006 he announced that he would be going to Lebanon to help in whatever way he can defending his country against the attack by Israeli forces. In response, Vlaams Belang leader Filip Dewinter called on the Belgian government to revoke Abou Jahjah's citizenship.  He wrote a book on the Israel-Lebanon war called "Diary Brussels Beirut".

Return to Lebanon.

Since 2007 Abou Jahjah left Belgium and resettled in Lebanon and focused on his management career as a CEO of a small BPO company, Jana SARL in Saida. He later confirmed in 2009 on his Facebook wall that he was "glad to be out of that shit-hole now".  It was also in 2009 that he called on Facebook and in Arab language on his blog: "la valise ou le cercueil" and "And resist the occupier and colonizer constantly and without hesitation, and by all means necessary and available, and the most important thing, the armed struggle – until his expulsion from our land for good and unconditionally."  He continued visiting Europe regularly to speak at meetings and media shows. The VRT, the Belgian-Flemish state television was even accused of sympathising with him and promoting him after it became known that the TV station paid his airplane ticket and hotel costs to attend the famous Belgian talk show Phara. He is considered an authority on issues of immigration, and the Arab world. After the Arab spring, that Abou Jahjah supports adamantly, he gained intellectual credit in the West as someone who has always defended the opinion that revolution is inevitable in the Arab world. In 2008 a group of Flemish students videotaped an interview with him in which he was speaking in details about revolution in Egypt and elsewhere and expected it to happen within 5 years. Parts of the video were later shown on Belgian Television. Three young students from Arab origin in Belgium wrote that Abou Jahjah and his AEL were a chance to build a better understanding between communities, and that chance was missed. Many argue today that it would have been much easier and more productive to dialogue with a person like Abou Jahjah instead of the religious groups that appeared after he left Europe. This opinion has been outed by many people including former rivals, like former prime minister Verhofstadt, the man who decreed his arrest.

Popular culture.

During the year of 2002 Abou Jahjah was the most mentioned name in the Belgian media, exceeding reference of the prime minister and the king. He became a household name in Belgium and in the Netherlands, and this was reflected in hundreds of caricatures and satires. He was played by the comedian in the Dutch comedy show Kopspijkers. He was also a main character in the best selling novel "Los" of writer Tom Naegels which was later filmed. "" was directed by. The name "Abou Jahjah" also was used as a protest slogan by Antwerp dock workers during a strike in clashes with the Police. It was also sung by supporters of football club RSC Anderlecht in its clashes with rivals Royal Antwerp, as a tool to provoke the Antwerp supporters.

Debating skills.

Abou Jahjah was called by Roderiek van Grieken of a Dutch debating institute a "perfect pure talent" in debating. Also as a solo speaker, Abou Jahjah drew very large crowds and could galvanize them to his causes. The renowned linguist Professor C. Delantsheer wrote a chapter on Abou Jahjah's rhetoric in a book published by Cambridge university in 2007. He had also presented a paper on the power of metaphors in the discourse of Abou Jahjah and presented it to an academical congress in Sweden.

Return to Belgium.

In September 2013 Abou Jahjah returned to Belgium due to the dire security situation in Lebanon. He declared that for the time being he was choosing the security of his children over all other considerations. Upon his return, several opinion makers wrote articles welcoming him back. He declared that he will be founding a new movement that will seek to defend equal rights and social justice. From January 2014 he became a weekly columnist at the prestigious newspaper "De Standaard". In January 2017 "De Standaard" stopped his column, when Jahjah declared on the January 2017 Jerusalem vehicular attack, the "liberation of Palestine 'by any means necessary' needs to take place" as calling for violence is not compatible with the policy of the newspaper.  Soon after he was chosen as the 4th most influential Belgian of foreign origin by "Knack" magazine, only preceded by then Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, Meyrem Almaci and Vincent Kompany.

Dyab Abou Jahjah (, born 24 June 1971 in Hanin, Lebanon) is an Arab political activist and writer who was active in Europe between 2001 and 2007. He is the founder and former leader of the Arab European League (AEL), a Pan-Arabist movement that supports the interests of Muslim immigrants in Europe. Since then, Abou Jahjah took distance from identity politics and is more operating out of a non-ethnic, secular and leftist framework.


Early life in the Church.

Samuel comes from a Syriac Orthodox family. In his early years he became a Syriac Orthodox monk in the monastery of Deyrulzafaran. When Samuel fled to Lebanon after a dispute with the archbishop of Deyrulzafaran, Samuel became a Syrian Catholic priest. In the mid-1970s he fled to Belgium, claiming that the Aramaic Christians were being persecuted in Turkey. He became a Belgian and adopted the surname of Boniface – "he who does good things." He was appointed to the diocese of Tournai, but soon became caught up in the culture war between Christians secularists and Christians traditionalists. Tournai is a thoroughly secularised, modernist diocese. Father Samuel clashed with the bishop. He then bought the St-Antoine-de-Padoue church in Montignies-sur-Sambre. There he conducts the Mass according to the traditional rites of the Catholic Church.

Career.

Hundreds of faithful from all over the country and even from the north of France attend Sunday Mass in Montignies-sur-Sambre. The congregation includes African immigrants, a large number of young people and many young families with small children. In his sermons and on his website Father Samuel speaks out against secularism, but also fights on another front of the three-way culture war, warning against "the islamic invasion" of the West. Boniface says he has witnessed in Turkey what the future has in store for Europe. He claims Muslims are invading Europe and warns for an impending civil war. According to Father Samuel "so-called moderate Muslims do not exist."

Controversy.

Allegations of incitement to racist hatred.

Father Samuel has been prosecuted for "incitement to racist hatred" by the Belgian government’s agency, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR)  In 2006, the Belgian judiciary decided that the priest will have to stand trial before the penal court in Charleroi. He reacted by repeating his "time bomb" statement and added that he would be honoured if he had to go to jail for speaking his mind. He added that Jesus, too, had been convicted. During a sermon he called upon the faithful to accompany him to court. "We will turn this into an excursion, driving there in full buses."  Father Samuel was acquitted, of charges of incitement to racial hatred. The Court of First Instance of Charleroi found no punishable acts according to the Belgian anti-discrimination.

Cult status.

In 1997, the Belgian parliamentary commission on cults established a list of 189 movements containing the Father Samuel (see List of groups referred to as cults or sects in government documents). Former members say he has an anti-social speech which breaks families, he praticize sexual touchings against adult women and he receives many cash donations. Father Samuel is also criticized by evangelical associations fighting against cults, but mainly on doctrinal issues.  Samuel rejected these accusations and sent protest letters to the parliamentary members.

Father Samuel ("Père Samuel") is a Syriac Orthodox monk-priest. He was formerly incardinated in the Syriac Catholic Church, but due to his bigotry against Islam, he was considered by his Belgian Roman Catholic bishop to be a Belgian Roman Catholic suspended Priest of Aramean origin. His passport gives his name as Charles-Clément Boniface. However, he was born in 1942 in Bağlarbaşı (Arnas) nearby Midyat, Turkey, as Samuel Ozdemir. The latter is a surname the priest dislikes because it was imposed on his family by the Turks. Samuel is a Christian He was suspended in 2011 from celebrating cult and sacrements by the bishop of Tournai.


Life.

Jean-Baptiste de Santeul was born on 12 May 1630 in Paris, to a good family. His father was Claude de Santeuil, a bourgeois merchant of Paris. His uncle, Nicolas de Santeuil, was President of the Finance office of Paris, then Intendant of the Department of Beauvais for twenty years. His mother was Madelaine Boucher. He was one of five children. Three of his brothers, Claude, Charles and Didier, also had distinguished careers. He was first educated at the College of Clermont. He studied rhetoric under the Jesuit Father Coffard, who discovered his talent for Latin verse.  Jean-Baptiste de Santeul entered the Abbey of St. Victor, Paris, in 1653, and made his profession the next year. He became a regular canon. He was a respected poet in the Latin language, writing under the name of Santolius Victorinus. Santeul also wrote hymns, many of which were published in the Cluniac Breviary of 1686, and the Paris Breviaries of 1680 and 1736. His "Hymni Sacri et Novi" were published at Paris in 1689. An enlarged version was published in 1698. A number of his hymns were translated into English.  De Santeul was the author of the Latin phrase "castigat ridendo mores", meaning "laughter corrects customs". One of his contemporaries was Giuseppe Biancolelli, a popular actor better known as "Dominique" who specialized in the role of Harlequin. Dominique managed to obtain the phrase from de Santeul for use as an inscription on his theater. Since then it has often been engraved on the pediment of theaters.  Jean-Baptiste de Santeul died at Dijon on 5 August 1697 while on a journey. He was first buried in the church of Saint-Etienne in Dijon, later transported to Paris at the expense of the house of Condé and buried in the Abbey of St-Victor. His body was exhumed when that abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution, and taken to the College of Charlemagne. He was then transferred to the church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, Paris, and placed in the vault of the chapel of St-Esprit on 16 February 1818. An epitaph composed by Rollin is on the wall of that chapel.

Hymns.

Several of Santeul's hymns were translated into English. They include:

References.

Notes  Citations  Sources  Further reading

Jean-Baptiste de Santeul (or Santeuil, Santeüil; 12 May 1630 - 5 August 1697) was a French poet who wrote in Latin.


History.

Cable television pioneers Alan Harmon and Bill Daniels were awarded a USFL franchise for San Diego when the league announced its formation in 1982. However, the city refused to grant the team a lease to play at Jack Murphy Stadium under pressure from the stadium's existing tenants—baseball's Padres, the NFL's Chargers, and the NASL's Sockers. The only other outdoor facility available in the area was Balboa Stadium, the original home of the Chargers. However, it was a relatively antiquated facility (built in 1915) that had not had a major tenant since the Chargers moved into Jack Murphy in 1967, and was now largely used by high school teams. This was an untenable situation for a team that was aspiring to be part of a major sports league.  With only eight months before the season was to start, Harmon and Daniels decided to move to Los Angeles with the league's blessing. League officials believed that Harmon and Daniels' ties to the cable industry could help the league get exposure; David Dixon's blueprint for the league depended heavily on television coverage. They forced Jim Joseph, second owner of the Los Angeles USFL franchise, to give up his rights to Los Angeles in favor of Harmon and Daniels. Joseph relocated his franchise to Phoenix, Arizona as the Arizona Wranglers.

1983 season.

The Los Angeles Express drafted Dan Marino as the first pick in USFL history. Marino made some appearances on behalf of the Express before signing with the Miami Dolphins.  The Express also made a serious run at Eric Dickerson, and actually matched the Los Angeles Rams' offer for him. However, Dickerson signed with the Rams, apparently because family members were skeptical about the USFL.  Television star Lee Majors became part owner in April 1983.  The Express ownership lured Canadian Football League legend Hugh Campbell, head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos, to be their first head coach. (Campbell had taken over the Eskimos in 1977 and in his six years had taken the team to six straight Grey Cup games, winning the last five.)  The 1983 Express team was a competitive team headed by quarterbacks Tom Ramsey and Mike Rae and led by an above average defense. Despite losing two defensive backs to knee injuries, the Express finished fifth in the league in total defense.  However, a patchwork offensive line limited the team's offensive firepower. The Express had the worst rushing attack in the league. (Herschel Walker rushed for 72 more yards than the entire Express team in 1983).  Upset losses to the New Jersey Generals and Washington Federals in weeks 16 and 17 respectively cost the Express the Pacific Division title and allowed the Oakland Invaders to claim the last 1983 playoff berth.  Southern Californians viewed the Express largely with indifference. They only drew 19,000 people per game, failing to top 17,000 in their last four games. The crowds looked even smaller than that due to the cavernous size of the Coliseum, which seated almost 95,000 people at the time, far and away the largest stadium in pro football. However, it was far too big for an NFL team (the Los Angeles Raiders, and the Rams before them, were plagued with local blackouts even in their best years), let alone a USFL team. It was so spread out that even crowds of 25,000—a decent-sized crowd by USFL standards—looked sparse.  While Harmon and Daniels knew that the Express were going to be a hard sell, the poor gate surprised even them. Additionally, ratings for USFL games in the area were so low that they significantly held down the league's average television ratings.

1983 schedule and results.

Sources

1984 season.

Harmon and Daniels grew alarmed at their fellow owners' increasingly reckless spending. They had also tired of commuting from their base in Denver to Los Angeles for games. They put the Express up for sale, and found a buyer in mortgage banker J. William Oldenburg, who bought the team for $7.5 million. Soon after taking over, Oldenburg hired veteran NFL executive Don Klosterman as general manager and former Chargers and Los Angeles Rams quarterback John Hadl as head coach.  Oldenburg told Klosterman that money was no object, and he was to sign the best 40-man roster he could find. As Klosterman put it, Oldenburg wanted to "design a car to go 180 miles an hour." Klosterman signed 31 players in two months for a total of $12 million. Among other things, he spent a total of $8 million to sign four of the best offensive linemen in college football, giving the Express the most expensive offensive line in all of professional football. One of the new signees, kicker Tony Zendejas, recalled being stunned at the number of luxury cars in the players' parking lot.  Klosterman and Oldenburg's biggest prize was Steve Young, a quarterback who had played at the namesake university of his lineal ancestor, Brigham Young University. Agent Leigh Steinberg negotiated for Young what was then reported to be the largest professional sports contract ever signed – a 10-year deal worth over US$40 million. The payments were to be in the form of an annuity set up to pay him $1 million annually for the next 42 years, so the value of the contract was considerably less than stated.  The team struggled to compete with the popularity of the Raiders, who had just won the Super Bowl, and the Rams. Despite the all-star lineup, the Express only drew 15,000 people per game–4,000 fewer than they drew a year earlier. On three occasions, the team drew crowds of fewer than 11,000 people. Largely due to the poor attendance, they reportedly lost $15 million.  In spite of its overwhelming talent and one of the league's highest payrolls, the young team struggled with adjusting to the pro game and injuries, only finishing two games over.500 at 10-8. However, this tied the Wranglers for first place in the Pacific Division. The Express won the division title on a tiebreaker, and got to play the Michigan Panthers, who had limped into the playoffs with a 4-8 record in their last 12 games since losing star wide receiver Anthony Carter for the season, while Arizona got Jim Kelly's red hot 13-5 Houston Gamblers. The playoff game against the Panthers drew only 7,900 fans. As it turned out, that game was the longest in professional football history—a three-overtime, 93 minute and 33 second marathon won by the Express 27-21.  The Wranglers had managed to upset the Gamblers 17-16 on a late rally. The Express would have hosted the conference championship game, but were forced to play in Arizona because the Coliseum was being readied for the 1984 Summer Olympics. They lost to the Wranglers, 35-23.

1984 schedule and results.

Sources

Offseason disaster.

Then, just as quickly as the Express rose, they fell. Midway through the season, the FBI began investigating Oldenburg's financial dealings. Multiple exposés by "The Wall Street Journal" and "The New York Times" revealed Oldenburg not only had a habit of luring savings and loans into questionable deals, but was also nowhere near as well off as he had long claimed.  It later emerged that league officials had dispensed with their usual exhaustive due diligence of potential owners before approving Oldenburg's bid to buy the Express. They were so determined to ensure an apparently solid owner in the nation's second-largest market that they did not conduct any meaningful vetting of Oldenburg's finances. While Oldenburg had gained a reputation as the "enfant terrible" of the league, no one even suspected that he was a fraud until the FBI and newspaper investigations revealed that he had virtually no money. When he applied to buy the Express, he claimed to have net worth of $100 million, which on paper would have given him more than enough net worth to buy the team. Subsequent investigations suggested that much of that figure came from buying a piece of property for a discount, then selling it to a small bank that he owned for ten times its actual worth.  Late in the season, just days after the "Times" article, Oldenburg told league officials that he could no longer afford to pay the Express' bills. The league required all owners to post a $1.3 million letter of credit for just such an emergency; it tapped into the Express' letter of credit to cover expenses. The owners also agreed to chip in $500,000 to keep the team going through the playoffs. Even this wasn't enough to prevent their equipment from being confiscated after the Western Conference title game because Oldenburg had failed to pay an equipment company $13,000. By the time that Oldenburg had walked away from the team, office employees and landscaping contractors were going unpaid. Real estate magnate and Houston Gamblers minority owner Jay Roulier got preliminary approval to take over the team in October. Despite this, the turmoil surrounding the Express led led league insiders and reporters to wonder when, not if, the team would implode, even with the trove of talent on the roster. That implosion happened in February 1985, when Roulier's lawyer sounded wary about discussing her boss's finances with league executive director and general counsel Bill McSherry. Suspecting that Roulier was less than advertised, league officials launched an investigation. It turned out that Roulier, like Oldenburg, had deceived league officials about his net worth. He was using the remaining money in the team's league-controlled checking account to send the team to training camp. In short order, league officials pushed Roulier out and took control of the team.  The league could not fold the team because of a clause in its television contract with ABC Sports requiring the league to have teams in the nation's three largest markets. While ABC had not concerned itself with the demise of the Chicago Blitz after the 1984 season, the league's owners feared that ABC would pull its contract if the Express were shut down—an action that would have probably killed the league. Potential buyers were scared off by the prospect of having to assume the burden of the Express' expensive roster.  Under the circumstances, the other owners had no option but to operate the Express as a ward of the league for the 1985 season. McSherry became nominal team president. The owners were required to contribute $500,000 apiece to fund the Express–enough to meet payroll, but little else. Notably, no money was allocated for replacing injured players.

1985 season.

The league found itself operating a team for the second year in a row; it had been forced to take over the Blitz after new owner James Hoffman walked away from the team during training camp. However, as bad as the situation with the Blitz had been for the league in 1984, the Express were even worse in 1985. Not only did the Express' roster costs dwarf Chicago's due to the large contracts, but the league had contracted in the off-season and there were only 13 other teams to contribute to supporting the Express.  In what proved to be a harbinger of things to come, the team was evicted from its hotel during training camp after the bill went unpaid. The players were forced to room with each other for the remainder of camp. They also went without water for much of camp after a $136 bill went unpaid. A bank won an attachment on the franchise as part of a lawsuit against Oldenburg after he defaulted on a loan. However, the attachment was withdrawn when bank officials learned they would be responsible for $1.3 million in player salaries that week.  After three close losses to start the season, they went 3-5 in their next eight games. Just when it looked like the season could be salvaged, the injury bug bit the team hard, decimating the roster. Young was among the more prominent casualties. At that point, the season turned into a complete fiasco, and the Express would not win another game. The nine-game losing streak was the second-longest in league history, behind only the Wranglers' 10-game losing streak in 1983. One of those games was a 51-0 thrashing by the Denver Gold—the largest margin of defeat in league history.  The Express' on-field collapse was all the more stunning since this was essentially the same team that had gone all the way to the Western Conference title game a year earlier. However, the rash of injuries made a shambles of the depth chart. At one point late in the season, the team was so short of healthy offensive linemen that one player had to back up the entire starting line. Even without this to consider, the young Express players suspected that the team wouldn't be around for the planned move to the fall in 1986, even if the league managed to survive the 1985 season. With this in mind, they played tentatively, fearing injuries that might diminish their future NFL prospects.  With no money to replace injured players, Klosterman and Hadl had to resort to creative measures to field a team. In one game, they signed a 39-year-old truck driver to start at tackle. For the season finale against Orlando, Young had to line up at running back for most of the second half because the Express didn't have any healthy running backs.  If possible, the off-field situation was even worse. No money was allocated to pay office bills or buy tape for players' ankles. They went for much of the offseason without postage, and had to talk a local company into processing season ticket renewals through their postage meter. The lights and phones were sometimes turned off. They were forced to fire the cheerleaders in a cost-cutting move. Late in the season, there wasn't even a public address announcer.  Even as the team's infrastructure fell apart, the players still got paid, thus avoiding a repeat of situations in Portland, Arizona, Houston and San Antonio. In a bizarre scene, the players rolled into team headquarters in Manhattan Beach in luxury cars and toting Gucci bags, but the grass on the practice fields went uncut for much of the season because the landscapers hadn't been paid.  Attendance continued to plummet; they only drew 8,500 fans per game. League commissioner Harry Usher was under fire to find an owner and fix the Express' problem. Desperate for a solution, Usher had the team try a smaller stadium for its final home game— John Shephard Stadium on the campus of Los Angeles Pierce College, a junior college in the San Fernando Valley. The stadium's capacity was expanded to 16,000 for the game. Usher and the league owners hoped if the game did well they might have some ammunition to land a potential owner.  That game almost didn't occur when the team's bus driver refused to take them to Pierce College without being paid up front–in cash. Young passed a hat around, but no one was willing to chip in. Finally, the trainer offered to cash his check, and the driver took them to the game. However, the game was still not a sellout; only 8,200 people—barely half of the stadium's capacity—actually attended to see Young and the Express lose 21-10 to Doug Williams and the Outlaws. The playing conditions left much to be desired; the field was strewn with rocks and potholes, and some areas were merely painted dirt. The scoreboard was positioned at an angle that made it useless once the sun began setting. While the game drew double what the Express had drawn for their previous two home games at the Coliseum, the experiment was so embarrassing that Usher nearly lost his job.  A week later, they lost to the Renegades, 17-10; as mentioned above, Young had to play part of the game at running back. They were almost stranded in Orlando when the pilot of their charter plane insisted on being paid in advance before allowing the players to board. The team's final record was 3-15, last in the league.

1985 schedule and results.

Sources

Demise of the franchise and the league.

Unable to find a new owner for the Express, the USFL announced the team would suspend operations for the 1986 season. However, many of the very issues that plagued the Express in 1985 made it very likely the team would not have returned even if the league had succeeded in winning a large payoff from the NFL to finance a move to a fall schedule in 1986. Additionally, the Express would have had to compete against two NFL teams and, if they had returned to the Coliseum, would have had to share their home with one of them (the Raiders) and the University of Southern California's team. In the end, the USFL cancelled its 1986 season, never to return.

Aftermath.

After trying all season in 1985, Steve Young and Gary Zimmerman were finally able to buy their way out of the USFL. Both went on to Hall of Fame careers in the NFL.  The "Los Angeles Express" name was briefly revived in 2013 for a proposed A-11 Football League team, but those plans fell through in April 2014 due to California's workers compensation situation.

Season-by-season.

!Totals || 22 || 34 || 0

The Los Angeles Express was a team in the United States Football League (USFL) based in Los Angeles, California. Playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Express competed in all three of the USFL seasons played, 1983–1985.


Background.

Walker was born in Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia.

Career.

Hailing from Nowra, Walker began his career as a rugby union footballer for Shoalhaven Rugby club as a junior, before moving to Randwick DRUFC, where he played alongside Eddie Jones in their 1991 premiership-winning season. He changed rugby football codes from rugby union to rugby league he transferred to NSWRL Premiership club St. George Dragons the following season.  Walker played for several NRL clubs including the St George Dragons, Sydney Roosters and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. In 1996, he played in one match for the Kangaroos against a Papua New Guinean side. He is known as the first dual-international to switch codes from league to union; 2 years before the more publicised exodus of Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers. Walker's provincial rugby was with the ACT Brumbies. He is remembered among Brumbies fans for scoring thirteen tries in the 2000 season, which included two hat-tricks. Walker became Australia's 40th dual code international when he made his Australia début against New Zealand during July 2000 following Scott Gourley and preceding Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers. However his debut was not a memorable one as he came off the bench for the last 10 minutes of the game at Stadium Australia in front of a world-record crowd and proceeded to miss a conversion, kick straight down the throat of Christian Cullen and then, after the resulting New Zealand try to Jonah Lomu to win them the game 39–35, he failed to send the kick-off 10 metres and New Zealand received the ball.  Walker changed rugby football codes from rugby union to rugby league after his Australia career ended following disciplinary difficulties, but he was subsequently banned for two years in 2004 following cocaine use when playing for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.  In 2006 he resurrected his career by signing to play with French rugby union club UA Gaillac. During December 2006 Walker began renegotiations with Queensland Reds' coach Eddie Jones (who had previously coached him with the Brumbies) to play in the 2007 Super fourteen season. In early March, Walker was named on the bench of the Queensland Reds team and played the last 15 minutes in their Week 5 defeat by the Lions. This came just hours after he was released from UA Gaillac and signed by the Queensland Reds until his retirement on 26 July 2008.  On 26 July 2008, Andrew Walker announced his retirement from representative rugby union. At the time he was playing for the Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup competition. 35 Years old at the time, Walker retired, stating fatigue and a need to spend more time with his family who supported him through his successful but troubled career.  However, in early January 2010, Andrew Walker signed a minor contract with the Goodna Eagles rugby league football club, who are based in Ipswich, Queensland, becoming the biggest signing in Ipswich Rugby League history.  In 2019, he played one game for Randwick DRUFC against Argentina.

Andrew Walker (born 22 November 1973) is an indigenous Australian rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union - a dual code international. Walker was the first dual code international to represent his country at rugby league before representing rugby union.


Competition format.

Covering ten weeks, the schedule featured a total of 70 matches. The fourteen unions were grouped by the top three places in each pool, they advanced and secured a spot in the top six. Auckland secured the top position at the start of the second round. Competition points from round one carried over to round two, and teams were seeded according to total points won. If necessary of a tiebreaker, when two or more teams finish on equal points, the union who defeated the other in a head-to-head gets placed higher. In case of a draw between them, the side with the biggest points deferential margin will get rights to be ranked above. If they are tied on points difference, it is then decided by a highest scored try count or a coin toss.  Three teams receive two home fixtures in Round Two:  The remaining three teams receive only one home fixture apiece.  Similarly, the top two teams in each repechage pool, based on competition points earned in Round one (with tiebreakers applied as needed), earn two home fixtures in Round two, with the other teams receiving one apiece. Bay of Plenty and Counties Manukau earned the extra home fixture in "Repechage A", while Southland and Taranaki earned this privilege in "Repechage B".  In Round two saw each team in the competition played three fixtures in this round. In the "Top Six", each team played the three teams that it did not play in Round one. Each team in the repechage pools played the other teams in its pool once.  For the teams in the "Top Six", competition points carried over from Round one. All "Top Six" teams advanced to the quarterfinals, with their seedings determined by their positions at the end of Round two.  In the two repechage pools, competition points did not carry over from Round one. The top team in each pool at the end of Round two advanced to the quarterfinals. The two repechage winners received the seventh and eighth seeds, determined based on competition points at the end of Round two.  At the end of Week 9, Auckland, Waikato and North Harbour secured home quarter-finals. Bay of Plenty secured the top spot in "Repechage A". In "Repechage B", Taranaki dropped out of contention for the top spot.  After defeating Manawatu in Week 10, Bay of Plenty clinched the higher placing of the two repechage quarter-final slots. Also in Week 10, Otago's loss to Wellington placed Otago at the bottom of the "Top 6" going into the quarter-finals. The fourth home quarter-final went to Wellington; although Canterbury defeated Auckland, they did not earn the bonus point they needed to pass Wellington on the table. Wellington's victory over Canterbury in Week 8 gave them the advantage in the tiebreaker.  Southland earned the top spot in "Repechage B" by means of a 19-12 bonus-point loss to Northland, putting them one point ahead of the Taniwha.  The battle for the top overall seed came down to the final match in pool play. Waikato claimed the top seed by defeating North Harbour. Regardless of the Waikato-Harbour result, Auckland was assured of no worse than the second seed they eventually received. Harbour received the third seed.

Regular season.

Confirmed fixture matches for 2006 season as follows:

The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the inaugural season of the Air New Zealand Cup, contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 2006. At the end of the regular season, the top team from "Repechage A" and "B" joined with teams from the "Top Six" who entered the quarter-finals, with the winners going through to the semi-finals. The winner of each semi-final qualified for the final, which was contested between Waikato and Wellington, with Waikato winning 37–31 to win the first Air New Zealand Cup title.


Demographics.

Although there are no reliable figures, the diaspora is estimated to be around 8 -10 million people, far more than the internal population of Lebanon of around 4 million who are citizens. According to other estimates the number of Lebanese living outside the country is thought to at the very least double the number of citizens living inside, which means at least 8 million people. Of the diaspora, 1.2 million are Lebanese citizens.

History.

The Lebanese diaspora, while historically trade-related, has more recently been linked to the Lebanese Civil War, with many Lebanese emigrating to Western countries. Because of the economic opportunities, many Lebanese have also worked in the Arab World, most notably Arab states of the Persian Gulf like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Currently around 50% of Lebanese citizens resident in Lebanon are Muslim and around 50% are Christian.  The Americas have long been a destination for Lebanese migration, with Lebanese arriving in some countries at least as early as the nineteenth century. The largest concentration of Lebanese outside the Middle East is in Brazil, which has, according to some sources, at least 6 million Brazilians of Lebanese ancestry, making Brazil's population of Lebanese more than twice that of the entire population of Lebanon. The population of Brazil of either full or partial Lebanese descent is estimated at 7 million people by Arab-Brazilian organizations. According to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East There are also other large Lebanese communities in Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, Haiti and Dominican Republic. Many Lebanese have also been settled for quite some time in the United States, Canada, Australia, The United Kingdom, South Africa and in the European Union member states. There are also sizable populations in The United Arab Emirates, Singapore as well as francophone West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast and Ghana.  A law passed in 2008 permitted Lebanese abroad to vote in Lebanese elections starting in 2013.

Business networks and economic impacts.

Many Lebanese entrepreneurs and business people worldwide have proved very successful, in all kinds of sectors and contexts. Therefore, Lebanese abroad are considered "rich, educated and influential." Remittances from Lebanese abroad to family members within the country were estimated at $8.9 billion in 2014 and accounted for 18% of the country's economy. However, there remains a great untapped potential for further collaboration and cooperation between the diaspora and the Lebanese in their home-country. Foreign direct investment is below 7% of the GDP, and almost half the Lebanese population is in tertiary education.  Throughout its history, the Lebanese diaspora used the Lebanese identity to create strong networks to help its members out. That helped develop a productive and profitable activity. Over the course of time, immigration has indeed yielded Lebanese "commercial networks" throughout the world.

Lebanese populations in the diaspora.

The list below contains approximate figures for people of full or partial Lebanese descent by country of residence, largely taken from the iLoubnan diaspora map. Additional reliable cites have been provided where possible. Additional estimates have been included where they can be cited; where applicable, these are used in place of the iLoubnan figures. The Figure below uses the data from the list and calculates the amount of Lebanese residents as a percentage of the total population of the respective country.  Note: An important percentage of Arabs in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Portugal and Spain are of Lebanese ancestry. They are denoted ** for this purpose.

Outreach to the Lebanese diaspora by the Lebanese government.

The Lebanese government increasingly sees the diaspora as a critical resource for investment and new immigrants. A 2016 television ad tried to entice Lebanese in the United States to move to Lebanon to help improve the standard of living.  The Lebanese government launched the DiasporaID program in August 2017 to better connect Lebanese abroad to Lebanon itself. Funding for the project was provided by USAID with an objective of improving foreign investment in Lebanon.  On August 8, 2017, Lebanese President Michel Aoun advocated children of Lebanese in the diaspora take on Lebanese citizenship during a speech to the Maronite Diaspora Institution at Baabda Palace.

Notable persons of Lebanese descent.

Famous scientists of Lebanese descent include: Peter Medawar (Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine), Elias Corey (Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Michael Atiyah (Fields Medalist, Mathematics), Michael DeBakey (medical innovator), Mona Nemer (Canada's Chief Science Advisor) and geneticist Huda Zoghbi. Famous writers include William Peter Blatty, film director Alex Garland, Nassim Nicholas Taleb and screenwriter and film producer Geoff Johns.  Prominent members of the Lebanese diaspora include Presidents and Vice-Presidents, e.g. Michel Temer (Brazil), Julio Teodoro Salem, Abdalá Bucaram, Alberto Dahik, Jamil Mahuad (all in Ecuador), Jacobo Majluta Azar (Dominican Republic), Julio Cesar Turbay (Colombia), Alberto Abdala (Uruguay) and Mario Abdo (current president of Paraguay). Other famous politicians include Ralph Nader, 2000, 2004 and 2008 US presidential candidate, Alex Azar current United States Secretary of Health, Spencer Abraham former United States Secretary of Energy, John Sununu former White House Chief of Staff, Darrell Issa US politician, George J. Mitchell US Politician and Peace Envoy, Philip Habib US Politician and Peace Envoy, politician and author Jeanine Pirro, US Representative Donna Shalala, and Edward Seaga Prime Minister of Jamaica.  Notable military and astronauts include US army general John Abizaid, Navy Seal and Medal of Honor recipient Michael Mansoor as well as astronaut and Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipient Christa McAuliffe.  Famous businessmen of Lebanese descent include Carlos Slim Helú, Carlos Ghosn, Nicolas Hayek, John J. Mack, Jacques Nasser, Debra Cafaro, Joseph J Jacobs, Lucie Salhany, Kevin O' Leary, Marcus Lemonis and famous names in entertainment like Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas, Salma Hayek, Shakira, Jenna Dewan, Terrence Malick, Tom Shadyac, Tony Shalhoub, Tiffany, Jim Backus, Jane Wiedlin, Kristy McNichol, Zoe Saldana, James Stacy, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Amy Yasbeck, Khrystyne Haje, Skandar Keynes, Barbara Mori, John Leguizamo, Omar Shariff, Paul Anka, Emilio Stefan, Drake's long time producers and Grammy winners Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib, Ricardo Darin, Oscar-winning composer Gabriel Yared, Xavier Dolan, Damian Bichir, Armand Van Helden, Tyler Joseph, Bazzi, Thomas Rhett, Mika, models Yamila Diaz-Rahi and Daniella Sarahyba; and sportsmen like Doug Flutie, Rony Seikaly, Marcos Bagdhatis, Patrick Maroon, Johnny Manziel, surfers Kelly Slater and Maya Gabeira, winner of the Indy 500 Bobby Rahal, FIFA World Cup record holder Mario Zagallo, chess Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade and Olympic medalists Jordyn Wieber, Florencia Habif, Matt Abood and Thaisa Daher.

Lebanese diaspora refers to Lebanese migrants and their descendants who, whether by choice or coercion, emigrated from Lebanon and now reside in other countries. There are more Lebanese living outside Lebanon (4 - 8 million), than within the country (4m). The majority of the diaspora population consists of Lebanese Christians; others are Muslim, Druze, or Jewish. The Christians trace their origin to several waves of emigration, starting with the exodus that followed the 1860 Lebanon conflict in Ottoman Syria.


Career.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Rhymefest started off battle rapping at events such as JumpOff and ScribbleJam against acts like Eminem and Chalk. He appeared on the MTV show "Punk'd" when Kanye West was the subject of a practical joke on the set of his second music video for "Jesus Walks." Rhymefest was the first to greet West as he stepped out of a van after it had been revealed to him that he had just been "Punk'd." Rhymefest was on the set of the video to give his input as he was co-writer of the song. Also appeared on TRL along with Kanye West and other stars introducing new artists to the game such as Pharrell Williams introducing Robin Thicke.  Rhymefest was also featured on the episode of the VH1 show "Driven" that dealt with the life story of Kanye West as told by his family, friends and colleagues.  Rhymefest guest starred in an episode of the second season of Nick Cannon's "Wild 'N Out" on MTV, originally aired on Thursday, February 23, 2006. During the "Wildstyle" segment of the show, Fest freestyled to Nick Cannon, ""The black team, a real hard team to deal with, what the hell is this? A little baby Will Smith? I don't understand, by all accounts, Nick Cannon, get out of here, you need to Roll... Bounce!"" After that, in response to a rap about his lisp, he rapped, ""Yeah I got a lisp, I understand this, but why you look like a piece of big Suge Knight's shit? I don't understand, wait a minute, don't buzz me, Celie from The Color Purple, 'You sho is ugly!'"" He also performed "Brand New" with Kanye West on the episode.  "Brand New" was featured on the series premiere of the MTV program "8th & Ocean". It was being played in the Miami club Privé while Britt danced with Adrian.  Fest appeared on Chicago PBS station's local affairs program "Chicago Tonight".  Appears in puppet form and performs the new "Crank Yankers" theme song.  Appeared on an episode of "Chancers" with Matthew Knowles.  Appeared on an episode of "Last Call with Carson Daly", where he performed his single "Fever". Instead of reciting the third verse, he broke into a freestyle about Carson and people in the audience.  Rhymefest appeared as a guest on WGN and CLTV's television show, "Garrard McClendon LIVE". He had three appearances on the show, discussing WalMart's hiring of Blacks, his Englewood campaign for alderman, and his rap career.  Smith co-wrote "Glory" alongside John Legend and Common, for the 2014 motion picture "Selma". The song received the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2014 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Politics.

In October, 2010, Smith announced his candidacy for Chicago's 20th ward alderman. He placed second in the February 22, 2011 election, and was defeated by incumbent Willie Cochran in the April 5, 2011 runoff election, getting 45.4% of the vote to Cochran's 54.6%.  He hosted a "Truth & Reconciliation" event series to enhance awareness about gun violence in Chicago.

Donda's House.

Rhymefest also managed Donda's House, Inc., now renamed Art of Culture, Inc. The organization was originally named after Kanye West's mother Donda West. Artists who were accepted into Donda's House included Hex Hectic.

Rhymefest the Goodwill Hip Hop Ambassador.

On October 19, 2006, Rhymefest met with the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron of the Conservative Party. They discussed the issue of violent rap lyrics which Cameron had highlighted as a problem and they both agreed that hip hop music should not be banned, but that rappers should portray the positive side of life in their music. According to the London Metro, Rhymefest treated Cameron to a performance in his House of Commons office and even invited him to venture with him to a nightclub. However at the advice of Legal Document Assistant and Consigliere to "The Chicago Outfit" Jacques Darrow Carr of Los Angeles, California this was turned down by Cameron due to his busy schedule. In a March 2011 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Rhymefest discussed his relationship with David Cameron, including a frank discussion regarding Mr Cameron's reaction to him.

Che Guevara namesake.

Che Smith, named for the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, addressed the matter, stating:

Personal life.

Rhymefest has always been a Muslim.

Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American hip hop artist, philanthropist, and politician from Chicago, Illinois, whose first official album, "Blue Collar", was released on July 11, 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co–writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks", which won the Grammy for Best Rap Song at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards and "New Slaves" taken from West's sixth studio album "Yeezus" (2013).


Gameplay.

"Disney’s Aladdin" is a side-scrolling platform game in which the player controls the eponymous main character through several stages taking place throughout the city of Agrabah. Within each stage, Aladdin must defeat foes by jumping on them or disorienting them by throwing apples while avoiding dangerous obstacles. Gems can be collected to gain extra lives and points, and 10 red gems located within each stage will substantially increase the player's score. Also most stages contain a treasure chest holding a scarab that flies about for a few seconds, if the player collects it before it disappears they will access a bonus stage in which they spin a wheel that allows Genie to grant them extra lives and other special bonuses. Aladdin also has a health meter of hearts (starting with 3) which will deplete each time he is hit. These can be increased through pickups or through the bonus stages as well.  The escape from the Cave of Wonders and the carpet ride with Princess Jasmine are both stages in which the player rides the Magic Carpet through self-scrolling stages. While in the Cave of Wonders the player must traverse up and down to avoid dangerous obstacles while outrunning waves of lava, the ride with Jasmine is a free-flying bonus stage (between stages 5 and 6) in which the player can collect gems; the bonus stage ends when the melody to "A Whole New World" ends. Only stages 1, 6 and 7 have a boss to defeat (stage 7 being the final stage), while stages 2, 3, 4 and 5 require reaching the end to complete.

Reception.

"Electronic Gaming Monthly" four reviewers scored the Super NES version 8, 8, 9 and 8 out of 10, adding up to 33 out of 40 (average 8.25 out of 10). They commented that the graphics, animation, music and gameplay are all outstanding. "GameFan"s four reviewers scored it 90%, 89%, 87% and 90%. Pedro Hernandez of Nintendo World Report gave the game a positive review, saying that "Capcom truly did something great with this Super NES game". A ScrewAttack reviewer also gave the game a positive review, saying that it was one of the best SNES games. "Aladdin" proved to be a commercial success, selling approximately 1.8 million copies worldwide, becoming Capcom's highest-selling game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System after "Street Fighter II" and its various versions.  Shinji Mikami, the game's designer, said that if he had not made the SNES game, he "would probably buy" the Virgin game because it has a sword and better animation.  The GBA port received mixed reviews. Avi Fryman of GameSpy called the port of "Disney's Aladdin" "the most monumentally disappointing" of all the ports from SNES to GBA.

The game was released in November 1993, the same month that another game with the same title was released by Virgin Games for Sega Genesis. The two games vary in some respects; in the Virgin game, Aladdin wields a scimitar, which is not the case in the Capcom game. The Capcom game was ported to Game Boy Advance (GBA) in Japan on August 1, 2003, in Europe on March 19, 2004, and in North America on September 28, 2004.


Classification.

The term "Chinese Indonesian" has never been clearly defined, especially for the period before 1900. There was no Indonesian identity or nationality before the 20th century. The ethno-political category Han Chinese was also poorly defined before the rise of modern Chinese nationalism in the late 19th century. At its broadest, the term "Chinese Indonesian" is used to refer to anyone from, or having an ancestor from, the present-day territory of China. This usage is problematic because it conflates Han Chinese with other ethnic groups under Chinese rule. For instance, Admiral Zheng He (1371–1433), who led several Chinese maritime expeditions into Southeast Asia, was a Muslim from Yunnan and was not of Chinese ancestry, yet he is generally characterized as "Chinese". This broad use is also problematic because it prioritizes a line of descent from China over all other lines and may conflict with an individual's own self-identity. Many people who identify as Chinese Indonesian are of mixed Chinese and Indonesian descent. Indonesia's

History.

Early interactions.

The first recorded movement of people from China into Maritime Southeast Asia was the arrival of Mongol forces under Kublai Khan that culminated in the invasion of Java in 1293. Their intervention hastened the decline of the classical kingdoms such as Singhasari and precipitated the rise of the Majapahit empire.  Chinese Muslim traders from the eastern coast of China arrived at the coastal towns of Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 15th century. They were led by the mariner Zheng He, who commanded several expeditions to Southeast Asia between 1405 and 1430. In the book "Yingya Shenglan", his translator Ma Huan documented the activities of the Chinese Muslims in the archipelago and the legacy left by Zheng He and his men. These traders settled along the northern

Chinese in the archipelago under Dutch East India Company rule (1600–1799).

By the time the Dutch arrived in the early 17th century, major Chinese settlements existed along the north coast of Java. Most were traders and merchants, but they also practiced agriculture in inland areas. The Dutch contracted many of these immigrants as skilled artisans in the construction of Batavia (Jakarta) on the northwestern coast of Java. A recently created harbor was selected as the new headquarters of the Dutch East India Company ("", VOC) in 1609 by Jan Pieterszoon Coen. It grew into a major hub for trade with China and India. Batavia became home to the largest Chinese community in the archipelago and remains so in the 21st century. Coen and other early Governors-General promoted the entry of Chinese immigrants to new settlements "for the benefit of those places and for the purpose of gathering spices like cloves, nutmeg, and mace". The port's Chinese population of 300–400 in 1619 had grown to at least 10,000 by 1740. The Dutch Company ruled migrant ethnic groups in Batavia using 'officers' drawn from each community, usually with the title "kapitan" or

Chinese in the archipelago under Dutch colonial rule to 1900.

When the VOC was nationalized on 31 December 1799, many freedoms the Chinese experienced under the corporation were eliminated by the Dutch government. Among them was the Chinese monopoly on the salt trade which had been granted by the VOC administration. An 1816 regulation introduced a requirement for the indigenous population and Chinese traveling within the territory to obtain a travel permit. Those who did not carry a permit faced arrest by security officers. The Governor-General also introduced a resolution in 1825 which forbade "foreign Asians in Java such as Malays, Buginese and Chinese" from living within the same neighborhood as the native population. Following the costly Java War (1825–1830) the Dutch introduced a new agrarian and cultivation system that required farmers to "yield up a portion of their fields and cultivate crops suitable for the European market". Compulsory cultivation restored the economy of the colony, but ended the system of revenue farms established under the VOC.  The Chinese were perceived as temporary residents and encountered difficulties in obtaining land rights. Europeans

Divided nationalism (1900–1949).

The Chinese revolutionary figure Sun Yat-sen visited southeast Asia in 1900, and, later that year, the socio-religious organization Tiong Hoa Hwe Koan (), also known as the Chinese Association, was founded. Their goal was to urge ethnic Chinese in the Indies to support the revolutionary movement in China. In its effort to build Chinese-speaking schools the association argued that the teaching of the English and Chinese languages should be prioritized over Dutch, to provide themselves with the means of taking, in the words of Phoa Keng Hek, "a two or three-day voyage (Java–Singapore) into a wider world where they can move freely" and overcome restrictions of their activities.

Loyalty in question (1950–1966).

The Netherlands relinquished its territorial claims in the archipelago (with the exception of West Papua) following the 1949 Round Table Conference. In the same year that the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, allowing the Communist Party of China to take control of mainland China. Most Chinese Indonesians considered a communist China less attractive than a newly independent Indonesia, but in the archipelago their loyalties were questioned. Ethnic Chinese born in the Dutch East Indies whose parents were domiciled under Dutch administration were regarded as citizens of the new state according to the principle of "jus soli", or "right

Managing the "Chinese Problem" (1967–1998).

When the New Order government of General Suharto came into power in 1966–1967, it introduced a political system based only on the Pancasila (five principles) ideology. To prevent the ideological battles that occurred during Sukarno's presidency from resurfacing, Suharto's "Pancasila democracy" sought a depoliticized system in which discussions of forming a cohesive ethnic Chinese identity were no longer allowed. A government committee was formed in 1967 to examine various aspects of the "Chinese Problem" (') and agreed that forced emigration of whole communities was not a solution: "The challenge was to take advantage of their economic aptitude whilst eliminating their

Social policy reforms (1999–present).

Suharto unexpectedly resigned on 21 May 1998, one week after he returned from a Group of 15 meeting in Cairo, which took place during the riots. The reform government formed by his successor Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie began a campaign to rebuild the confidence of Chinese Indonesians who had fled the country, particularly businessmen. Along with one of his envoys James Riady, son of financial magnate Mochtar Riady, Habibie appealed to Chinese Indonesians seeking refuge throughout East Asia, Australia, and North America to return and promised security from various government ministries

Origins.

Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago almost entirely originated from various ethnic groups especially the Tanka people of what are now the Fujian and Guangdong provinces in southern China, areas known for their regional diversity. Nearly all Chinese Indonesians are either patrilineal descendants of these early immigrants or new immigrants born in mainland China.  The first group of Chinese people to settle in large numbers to escape the coastal ban were the most affected Tanka boat people, other came in much smaller numbers, Teochews from Chaozhou, the Hakkas from Chengxiang county (now renamed Meixian), Huizhou (pronounced Fuizhew in Hakka) and rural county of Dabu (pronounced Thaipo in Hakka), the Cantonese from Guangdong and various different ethnic dialect groups who left the trading city ports of southern Fujian including the ethnic Tanka, Hakkas, etc. Descendants of Hokkien Tanka are the dominant group in eastern Indonesia, Central and East Java and the western coast of Sumatra. Teochews, southern neighbors of the Hokkien, are found throughout the eastern coast of Sumatra, in

Demographics.

Indonesia's 2000 census reported 2,411,503 citizens (1.20 percent of the total population) as ethnic Chinese. An additional 93,717 (0.05 percent) ethnic Chinese living in Indonesia were reported as foreign citizens, mostly those of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China, who may not be able to pay the cost of becoming an Indonesian citizen. Because the census employed the method of self-identification, those who refused to identify themselves as ethnic Chinese, or had assumed the identity of other ethnic groups, either because of assimilation or mixed-parentage, or fear of persecution, were recorded as non-Chinese. It is also likely that there are around 6 to 8 millions Chinese living in Indonesia according to several external estimates.  Past estimates on the exact number of Chinese Indonesians relied on the 1930 Dutch East Indies census, which collected direct information on ethnicity. This census reported 1.23 million self-identified ethnic Chinese living in the colony, representing 2.03 percent of the total population, and was perceived to be an accurate account of the group's population. Ethnic information would not be collected again until the 2000 census and so was deduced from other census data, such as language spoken and religious affiliation, during the intermediate years. In an early survey of the Chinese Indonesian minority, anthropologist G. William Skinner estimated that between 2.3 million (2.4 percent) and 2.6 million (2.7 percent) lived in Indonesia in 1961. Former foreign minister Adam Malik provided a figure of 5 million in a report published in the "Harian Indonesia" daily in 1973. Many media and academic sources subsequently estimated between 4 and 5 percent of the total population as ethnic Chinese regardless of the year. Estimates during the 2000s have placed the figure between 6 and 7 million, and the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission of the Republic of China estimated a population as high as 7.67 million in 2006.  According to 2010 population census, 22.3 percent of Chinese Indonesians lived in the capital city of Jakarta, located on the island of Java. When the island's other provinces—Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java—are included, this population accounted for around half (51.8 percent) of all Chinese Indonesians. This data does not count the number of ethnic Chinese that have foreign citizenship. 8.15 percent of West Kalimantan's population is ethnic Chinese, followed by Bangka–Belitung Islands (8.14 percent), Riau Islands (7.66 percent), Jakarta (6.58 percent), North Sumatra (5,75 percent), Riau (1.84 percent). In each of the remaining provinces, Chinese Indonesians account for 1 percent or less of the provincial population. Most Chinese Indonesians in North Sumatra lived in the provincial capital of Medan; they are one of major ethnic groups in the city with the Bataks and Javanese people, but in the province, they constituted only a small percentage because of the relatively large population of the province, the sizeable Chinese population also has presence in Binjai, Tanjungbalai and Pematangsiantar city. Bangka–Belitung, West Kalimantan, and Riau are grouped around the hub of ethnic Chinese economic activity in Singapore and, with the exception of Bangka–Belitung, these settlements existed long before Singapore's founding in 1819.  The ethnic Chinese population in Indonesia grew by an average of 4.3 percent annually between 1920 and 1930. It then slowed owing to the effects of the Great Depression and many areas experienced a net emigration. Falling growth rates were also attributed to a significant decrease in the number of Chinese immigrants admitted into Indonesia since the 1950s. The population is relatively old according to the 2000 census, having the lowest percentage of population under 14 years old nationwide and the second-highest percentage of population over 65. Their population pyramid had a narrow base with a rapid increase until the 15–19 age group, indicating a rapid decline in total fertility rates. This was evidenced by a decline in the absolute number of births since 1980. In Jakarta and West Java the population peak occurred in the 20–24 age group, indicating that the decline in fertility rates began as early as 1975. The upper portion of the pyramid exhibited a smooth decline with increasing population age. It is estimated that 60.7 percent of the Chinese Indonesian population in 2000 constitutes the generation that experienced political and social pressures under the New Order government. With an average life expectancy of 75 years, those who spent their formative years prior to this regime will completely disappear by 2032.  According to the last 2010 population census, the self-identified Chinese Indonesian population is 2,832,510. There is a growth of 17.5% from 2000 census, although some of them are because the census bureau improved its counting methodology between 2000 and 2010. During the 2000 census, it only published data for the eight largest ethnic groups in each province. Because Chinese Indonesians in some provinces did not have a large enough population, they were left off the list. This error was only corrected in 2008 when Aris Ananta, Evi Nuridya Arifin, and Bakhtiar from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore published a report that accounted for all Chinese Indonesian populations using raw data from BPS.

Society.

Scholars who study Chinese Indonesians often distinguish members of the group according to their racial and sociocultural background: the ""totok"" and the ""peranakan"". The two terms were initially used to racially distinguish the pure-blooded Chinese from those with mixed ancestry. A secondary meaning to the terms later arose that meant the ""totok"" were born in China and anyone born in Indonesia was considered ""peranakan"". Segmentation within ""totok"" communities occurs through division in speech groups, a pattern that has become less apparent since the turn of the 20th century. Among the indigenized ""peranakan"" segmentation occurs through social class, which is graded according to education and family standing rather than wealth.

Gender and kinship.

Kinship structure in the ""totok"" community follows the patrilineal, patrilocal, and patriarchal traditions of Chinese society, a practice which has lost emphasis in ""peranakan"" familial relationships. Instead, kinship patterns in indigenized families have incorporated elements of matrilocal, matrilineal, and matrifocal traditions found in Javanese society. Within this community, both sons and daughters can inherit the family fortune, including ancestral tablets and ashes. Political, social, and economic authority in ""peranakan"" families is more evenly distributed between the two genders than in ""totok"" families. Kin terms do not distinguish between maternal and paternal relatives and polygyny is strongly frowned upon. Western influence in ""peranakan"" society is evidenced by the high proportion of childless couples. Those who did have children also had fewer of them than ""totok"" couples.  Despite their break from traditional kinship patterns, ""peranakan"" families

Identity.

Ethnic Chinese in the 1930 Dutch East Indies census were categorized as foreign orientals, which led to separate registration. Citizenship was conferred upon the ethnic Chinese through a 1946 citizenship act after Indonesia became independent, and it was further reaffirmed in 1949 and 1958. However, they often encountered obstacles regarding the legality of their citizenship. Chinese Indonesians were required to produce an Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (', SBKRI) when conducting business with government officials. Without the SBKRI, they were not able to make passports and identity cards (', KTP); register birth, death, and marriage certificates; or register a business license. The requirement for its use was abolished in 1996 through a presidential instruction which was reaffirmed in 1999, but media sources reported that local authorities were still demanding the SBKRI from Chinese Indonesians after the instructions went into effect.  Other terms used for identifying sectors of the community include'and '. The former, traditionally used to describe those born locally, is derived from the root Indonesian word "

Economic aptitude.

Members of the "totok" community are more inclined to be entrepreneurs and adhere to the practice of "guanxi", which is based on the idea that one's existence is influenced by the connection to others, implying the importance of business connections. In the first decade following Indonesian independence their business standing strengthened after being limited to small businesses in the colonial period. By the 1950s virtually all retail stores in Indonesia were owned by ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs, whose businesses ranged from selling groceries to construction material. Discontentment soon grew among indigenous merchants who felt unable to compete with ethnic Chinese businesses.

Political activity.

Between the 18th and early 20th centuries, ethnic Chinese communities were dominated by the "peranakan" presence. This period was followed by the growth of "totok" society. As part of a resinicization effort by the indigenized ethnic Chinese community, a new pan-Chinese movement emerged with the goal of a unified Chinese political identity. The movement later split in the 1920s when "peranakan" elites resisted the leadership of the "totok" in the nationalist movement, and the two groups developed their own objectives. When it became apparent that unification was being achieved on "totok" terms, "peranakan" leaders chose to align their community with the Dutch, who had abandoned the segregation policies in 1908. The two communities once again found common ground in opposition to the invading Japanese when the occupying forces treated all Chinese groups with contempt.  The issue of nationality, following independence, politicized the ethnic Chinese and led to the formation of Baperki in 1954, as the first and largest Chinese Indonesian mass organization. Baperki and its majority "peranakan" membership led the opposition against a draft law that would have restricted the number of ethnic Chinese who could gain Indonesian citizenship. This movement

Culture.

Language.

Four major Chinese-speech groups are represented in Indonesia: Hokkien (Southern Min; Min Nan), Mandarin, Hakka and Cantonese. In addition to these, the Teochew people speak their own dialect that has some degree of mutual intelligibility with Hokkien. Distinctions between the two, however, are accentuated outside of their regions of origin. There were an estimated 2.2 million native speakers of various Chinese varieties in Indonesia in 1982: 1,300,000 speakers of Southern Min varieties (including Hokkien and Teochew); 640,000 Hakka speakers; 460,000 Mandarin speakers;

Literature.

Chinese cultural influences can be seen in local Chinese Malay literature, which dates back to the late 19th century. One of the earliest and most comprehensive works on this subject, Claudine Salmon's 1981 book "Literature in Malay by the Chinese of Indonesia: A Provisional Annotated Bibliography", lists over 3,000 works. Samples of this literature were also published in a

Media.

All Chinese-language publications were prohibited under the assimilation policy of the Suharto period, with the exception of the government-controlled daily newspaper "Harian Indonesia". The lifting of the Chinese-language ban after 1998 prompted the older generation of Chinese Indonesians to promote its use to the younger generation; according to Malaysian-Chinese researcher of the Chinese diaspora, Chang-Yau Hoon, they believed they would "be influenced by the virtues of Chinese culture and Confucian values". One debate took place in the media in 2003, discussing the Chinese "mu yu" (, "mother tongue") and the Indonesian "guo yu" (, "national language"). Nostalgia was a common theme in the Chinese-language press in the period immediately following Suharto's government. The rise of China's political and economic standing

Religion.

There is little scholarly work devoted to the religious life of Chinese Indonesians. The 1977 French book "" ("The Chinese of Jakarta: Temples and Collective Life") is the only major study to assess ethnic Chinese religious life in Indonesia. The Ministry of Religious Affairs grants official status to six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. A 2006 civil registration law does not allow Indonesians to identify themselves as a member of any other religion on their identity cards.  According to an analysis of the 2000 census data, about half of Chinese Indonesians were Buddhist, and about one third Protestant or Catholic. A New York Times report however, puts the percentage of Christians much higher, at over 70 percent. With the exception of Chinese-Filipinos, Chinese Indonesians tend to be more Christian than other Chinese ethnic groups of Southeast Asia due to a complex of historical reasons. Throughout the 20th century Chinese religion and culture was forbidden and persecuted in Indonesia, forcing many Chinese to convert to Christianity. The first wave of conversions occurred in

Architecture.

Various forms of Chinese architecture exist throughout Indonesia with marked differences between urban and rural areas and among the different islands. Architectural developments by the Chinese in Southeast Asia differ from those in mainland China. By blending local and European (Dutch) design patterns, numerous variations of fusion styles emerged. Chinese architecture in Indonesia has manifested in three forms: religious temples, study halls, and houses. Cities during the colonial period were divided into three racial districts: European, oriental (Arabs, Chinese, and other Asians), and indigenous. There usually were no physical boundaries among the zones, except for rivers, walls, or roads in some cases. Such legal boundaries promoted high growths in urban density within each zone,

Cuisine.

Chinese culinary culture is particularly evident in Indonesian cuisine through the Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese loanwords used for various dishes. Words beginning with'() signify the presence of meat, e.g.'("meat bun"); words ending with'() signify vegetables, e.g.'("Chinese white cabbage") and '. The words'() signify noodle as in "".  Most of these loanwords for food dishes and their ingredients are Hokkien in origin, and are used throughout the Indonesian language and vernacular speech of large cities. Because they have become an integral part of the local language, many Indonesians and ethnic Chinese do not recognize their Hokkien origins. Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng, lumpia, and bakpia can trace their origin to Chinese influence. Some food and

Education.

Citizens of the Republic of China (Taiwan) residing in Indonesia are served by two international schools: Jakarta Taipei

Popular Culture.

Geography.

Warung Buncit is name of an area in South Jakarta (also known as Jalan AH Nasution) that took its origin from Chinese Indonesian profile name Bun Tjit. Zaenuddin HM wrote in his book "212 Asal-Usul Djakarta

Bibliography.

Tertiary sources  Secondary sources  Primary sources

Chinese Indonesians (Indonesian: "Orang Indonesia keturunan Tionghoa") or (in Indonesia) simply Orang Tionghoa (), are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Most Chinese Indonesians are descended from Southern Chinese immigrants.