Reign.

Emperor Zhenzong's reign was noted for the consolidation of power and the strengthening of the Song Empire. The empire prospered, and its military might was further reinforced. However, it would also mark the beginning of a foreign policy towards the Khitan-led Liao dynasty in the north that would ultimately result in humiliation.  In 1004, the Khitans waged war against the Song Empire. Emperor Zhenzong, leading his army, struck back at the Khitans. Despite initial successes, in 1005, Emperor Zhenzong concluded the Chanyuan Treaty. The treaty resulted in over a century of peace, but at the price of the Song Empire agreeing to an inferior position to the Liao Empire, and also agreeing to pay an annual tribute of 100,000 ounces of silver and over 200,000 bolts of silk. The admission of inferiority would come to plague the foreign affairs of the Song Empire, while the payments slowly depleted the empire's coffers.  He was responsible for ordering the shipment of 30,000 bushels of quick-maturing rice seed from the Fujian Province to the lower Yangtze basin in 1011–1012, improving agriculture.  Emperor Zhenzong stressed the importance of Taoism at his imperial court. It was during his reign that the so-called Heavenly Texts, which glorified the Zhao family, were allegedly discovered. This was followed up by imperial sacrificial ceremonies carried out at Mount Tai. From 1013 to 1015, the emperor issued official decrees deifying the Jade Emperor as the highest ruler of Heaven.  Champa rice was introduced to China from Champa during Emperor Zhenzong's reign.  In 1020, Emperor Zhenzong became affected by an illness which was to cause his death two years later and unable to handle the affairs of state. By this time, Zhenzong’s wife Empress Liu was already established as power behind the throne and handled the affairs of state. She continued to act unofficially as regent of China for the two remaining years of Zhenzong’s life.  Zhenzong died in 1022 of the foresaid illness. He was succeeded by his 4th son, Zhao Zhen who took the throne as Emperor Renzong.

Archaeology.

A number of Chinese artifacts dating from the Tang dynasty and Song dynasty, some of which had been owned by Emperor Zhenzong were excavated and then came into the hands of the Kuomintang general Ma Hongkui, who refused to publicise the findings. Among the artifacts were a white marble tablet from the Tang dynasty, gold nails, and bands made out of metal. It was not until after Ma died, that his wife went to Taiwan in 1971 from the United States to bring the artifacts to Chiang Kai-shek, who turned them over to the National Palace Museum.

References.

(With the Empress Consort Liu)

Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty in China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was changed to Zhao Yuanxiu in 983, Zhao Yuankan in 986, and finally Zhao Heng in 995. He was the third son of his predecessor, Emperor Taizong, and was succeeded by his sixth son, Emperor Renzong (At the end of his reign, he was ill but retained the power to rule. Thus often, rule was in the hands of his third wife, Empress Liu).

Čen-cung (; 23. prosince 968 – 23. března 1022), vlastním jménem Čao Cheng () z dynastie Sung v letech 997–1022 vládl čínské říši Sung. Byl třetím synem sungského císaře Tchaj-cunga, roku 995 byl jmenován následníkem trůnu, po smrti otce se stal císařem.


Development.

During 1948, aircraft designers Robert Castello and Pierre Mauboussin at French aircraft manufacturer Fouga embarked upon the design of a new jet-propelled primary trainer aircraft, initially designated as the CM.130, intended for the French Air Force ("Armée de l'Air", AdA) as a replacement for piston-engined Morane-Saulnier MS.475 aircraft. The AdA reviewed the project and found that the aircraft lacked power from the two Turbomeca Palas turbojet engines selected for the aircraft; in response, Fouga proceeded to enlarge the basic design, which was equipped with the more powerful Turbomeca Marboré engine and retaining the distinctive V-tail of the Fouga CM.8 glider, which had been used by Fouga for jet engine research.  During December 1950, the AdA placed an order for three prototypes; on 23 July 1952, the first aircraft conducted its maiden flight. During June 1953, a pre-production batch of 10 aircraft were ordered, which was followed by an initial production order for 95 aircraft on 13 January 1954. By October 1955, all 13 preproduction Magisters had been completed, while the first flight of the first production aircraft was imminent. Also scheduled to fly early in 1956 was the CM.171, which functioned as a test aircraft for the envisioned CM.195 swept-wing, butterfly-tailed trainer.  In order to manufacture the type, Fouga opened a new assembly plant at Toulouse-Blagnac within a newly-built complex. According to aviation publication Flight International, any export orders that were received were typically given priority over the existing orders which had been issued by the French government; this policy allowed for overseas countries to procure aircraft directly "off the line" with minimal delay between receipt of orders and the corresponding deliveries.  The Aéronavale (French naval air arm) decided to adopt a carrier-capable derivative of the Magister, the CM.175 Zéphyr, which served as a basic trainer for deck-landing training and carrier operations. These were preceded by two "proof of concept" prototypes, designated the "CM.170M Magister", which performed their first flights in 1956 and 1957 respectively.  By 1960, in excess of 350 Magisters had entered in service with various operators; according to Flight International, production within France had attained a completion rate of five aircraft per month, while the projected total of French-built Magisters was reportedly expected to eventually top 600 units. The type was also being produced overseas under licensed production arrangements in West Germany, Finland and Israel. The first export customer for the Magister was West Germany, who placed an initial order for 62 aircraft directly from Fouga; a further 188 aircraft were produced by "Flugzeug Union Süd" (a consortium of Heinkel and Messerschmitt) under license. In addition, the Magister was also constructed under license by Finnish company Valmet and by Israeli firm Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). As a result of these arrangements, a combined total of 286 aircraft were completed under license.  From 1960, an improved version of the Magister, designated the "CM.170-2 Magister", was produced, which was powered by a more powerful Turbomeca Marboré IV engine. During 1962, production of the Magister was terminated in France but continued to be constructed under licence in Finland up to 1967. The development of the aircraft had been brought to an end in response to the AdA selecting the rival Alpha Jet as its new jet trainer instead.

Design.

The Fouga CM.170 Magister was developed to perform both basic and intermediate training activities. It is a compact, tandem seat aircraft with performance akin to larger, more powerful aircraft. Comparatively, it was a higher performance aircraft than the rival British-built BAC Jet Provost, and was considered by the Aviation magazine "Flight International" to be comparable to Fokker S.14 Machtrainer. It featured a distinctive butterfly tail configuration; a conventional tail was tried but found to be aerodynamically inferior at higher speeds. A keel fitted under the rear fuselage functions to reduce the negative dihedral effect of the butterfly tail during rudder applications.  The Magister was powered by a pair of Turbomeca Marbore turbojet engines, which provided 880 lb of thrust each; it was promoted as offering "twin-engine safety with single-engined flying characteristics". The two engines, which were placed close to the centre line, produced very little asymmetric thrust as a consequence; this was viewed as a valuable safety feature for a trainer aircraft. While viewed as an uncommon instance, in the event of a single-engine flameout the relighting procedure was relatively quick and easy to perform. The rate of acceleration and rate of climb were less than contemporary frontline jet fighters, such as the de Havilland Vampire and Gloster Meteor, but was in excess of many of the previous generation of piston-engined trainer aircraft. The engines shared a common fuel system, but had independent oil systems; for extended range, tip tanks were provided as standard equipment.  The design of the Magister paid close attention to simplicity of operation; as such, a minimum number of procedures were necessary prior to take-off. Accessibility to both the engines and onboard equipment for servicing was above average; it was possible for both of the type's Marbore engines to be swapped out within 45 minutes. Provision was made for the installation of a pair of 7.5 mm guns upon the aircraft's nose, which included a 200-round ammunition box for each gun and the ability to collect both links and cases. Underwing hard points could be used to hold up to four rockets or a pair of 110 lb bombs. A landing light was installed in the tip of the nose while a retractable taxiing light was installed upon the Messier-built nosewheel. The landing gear was satisfactory for operations from austere grass airstrips.  The Magister was typically outfitted with avionics such as very high frequency (VHF) radio systems, Lear radio compass, and intercom; all cockpit electronics conformed to NATO accessibility standards. It was not provided with ejector seats in standard, but the fitting of various units was considered to be available upon request. The assorted levers, switches and dials that comprised the cockpit displays were typically easily observable, while ample room was provided for pilot comfort and space to accommodate a parachute. The standard blind panel is ahead of each pilot, and engine instruments are set to the left, while underneath these are the flap indicator, flap switch and emergency selectors, along with the two throttles and fuel cocks; the right forward bench carries the radio panel, and to the extreme right of that are the armament controls. The cockpit was pressurized as well as being provisioned with a fresh air system.  The pedals were adjustable and had fairly permissible limits, while the cockpit itself was relatively easy to access, the canopy opening upwards and rearwards while using only a single step due to its low height. In order to account for the poor forward visibility available to the rear seat, usually occupied by the instructor, the front screen was bulged and a binocular periscope was fitted, providing a relatively clear perspective over a relatively wide angle over the top of the front cockpit. The forward cockpit, normally used by the student, provided for excellent external visibility. According to "Flight International", the Magister was able to perform various aerobatic manoeuvers "effortlessly", the flight controls were light and relatively well harmonized, and the stick has a firm sense of feel. It had a high level of lateral stability in flight, as well as being fairly directionally stable as well, allowing the aircraft to, when properly trimmed, be flown hands-off for indefinite periods.

Operational history.

Israel.

The first Fouga arrived in Israel in 1957 and shortly later local license-manufacturing was started by IAI, with the aircraft named the IAI Tzukit. The first Tzukit was completed in 1959 and entered service in 1960.  The Fougas served with the IAF's flight school, where they were used for both basic and advanced jet training. The aircraft also formed the IAF Aerobatic Team. In 1974, the Magisters were replaced by A-4 Skyhawks in the advanced jet training role, keeping their basic training role alone. By the beginning of the 1980s, a plan was devised to upgrade and refurbish the aircraft, extending their service life. The refurbished aircraft featured over 250 modifications, including new engines and a newly designed cockpit. By 1986, the majority of the Fougas had been upgraded to Zukit standard, all have now been replaced by the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II.  In 1964, the flight school organized a fighting squadron, manned by school instructors and IAF reservists, to use the Magister as light attack aircraft in case of hostilities. In the 1967 Six-Day War, 44 Fougas were used by 147 Squadron as a close support aircraft, attacking targets on the Sinai front during the first day of the war, when Israel's more capable combat aircraft were deployed on Operation Focus against Arab air bases. They were then deployed against Jordanian forces, including armour, on the West Bank. Fougas reportedly destroyed over 50 tanks and over 70 other armoured vehicles, helping in holding back Jordanian armour which had been advancing towards Jerusalem. The Magister proved effective in the close support mission, albeit sustaining heavy casualties in the process, with seven aircraft and six pilots recorded as having been lost.

El Salvador.

Nine former Israeli and three French Magisters were acquired by the Salvadoran Air Force and used as both trainers and ground attack aircraft in the Salvadoran Civil War using bombs and nose-mounted 7.62mm machine guns. They cooperated with Ouragans and A-37Bs. None is recorded as being lost to enemy fire, but only five were in operational condition by the end of the war.

Finland.

In 1958–1959, Finland purchased 18 Magisters from France. At the same time it also obtained a manufacturing license. The Finnish aircraft manufacturer Valmet later built 62 Magisters between 1958–67. Finland assigned a secondary attack role in the event of war, as the number of attack planes was limited by peace agreement with the Soviet Union.  The French built aircraft carried the designations FM-1...-18 and the Finnish built FM-21...-82. The aircraft served as a jet trainer in the Finnish Air Force between 1958–1988 until superseded by BAe Hawks. A total of 21 Magisters were destroyed in accidents, six with fatal outcome. The usual Finnish Air Force nickname for the aircraft was "Kukkopilli" (Ocarina) because of the unique sound of the Turbomeca Marboré turbojet.

Belgium.

The Belgian Air Force operated 50 Magisters as primary trainers. The aerobatic team The Red Devils also used them as display aircraft. A small number of Magisters remained in use until September 2007, as flight maintenance aircraft for senior officers. The Belgian Air Force was the last country that used Magisters for full duty.

Brazil.

The Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) used the Magister in their aerobatic display team, the Esquadrilha da Fumaça, from 1968 until 1975. Its aircraft were numbered T-24 in the trainer series of FAB type designations.

Katanga.

During the Congo Crisis, the pro-secessionist Katangese Air Force (FAK) purchased nine newly built Magisters, set aside from a Belgian order. Only three were delivered to Katanga, in February 1961. One of these was used against the ONUC in the September 1961 Siege of Jadotville, flown by a Belgian and armed with two machine guns and two locally made light bombs. It destroyed two DC-4s and a DC-3 on the ground and made numerous attacks on ground targets. It is alleged that a Magister may have been involved in the crash of a DC-6 that was carrying Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN Secretary General and 15 others to Ndola Airport in Zambia.  The aircraft was not used again after 1961.

Morocco.

The Moroccan Air Force purchased 25 Magisters from France between 1956 and 1970 for training, some of which were employed in the Western Sahara War against Polisario forces. The loss of several in action led to the Magister's retirement from combat duties in the 1980s replaced by Alpha Jets.

Ireland.

The Irish Air Corps operated six Magisters from 1975 to 1999, four of which equipped the Silver Swallows display team.

Cambodia.

Cambodia's Royal Cambodian Air Force operated four Magisters from 1961. They were used initially only for training purposes, but were later also used as light strike aircraft. Allegedly, Cambodian Magisters were very active in the Khmer Air Force from 1970. The Magisters were combined with four Cessna AT-37Bs of the Air Academy forming a Light Attack Squadron. This unit was active at the time, frequently cooperating also with the three or four A-1Ds that were still operational.

The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Fouga. Due to industrial mergers, the aircraft has been variously known as the Fouga CM.170 Magister, Potez (Fouga) CM.170 Magister, Sud Aviation (Fouga) CM.170 Magister and Aérospatiale (Fouga) CM.170 Magister, depending on where and when they were built.

Fouga CM.170 Magister je dvoumístný cvičný proudový letoun z poloviny 50. let 20. století. Později byly používány na podporu pozemních vojsk a také bylo během studené války jedním z nejrozšířenějších cvičných letadel zemí NATO.


Plot.

Ryan Varrett (Steve Austin), is an ex-cop determined to avenge the murder of his family. In 2009, when Ryan was a cop in Dallas, Texas, his wife Constance Marie Varrett (Rebecca Robbins) and 9-year-old son Matt Ryan Varrett (Connor Stanhope) were viciously killed by a gang. Ryan survived the assault and killed three of the gang.  However, Ryan quits the Dallas police and hits the road to find everyone else responsible for the deaths of his loved ones. Special Agent Frank Sutton (Lochlyn Munro) of the FBI's Seattle office is investigating the deaths of criminals.  After killing a rapist named Dale James Burrows (Roman Podhora), Ryan ends up in the small town of Hope, Washington, where a gas station owner named Kirby (Patrick Gilmore) directs Ryan to a tiny hotel run by a woman named Darcy (Serinda Swan). Ryan finds Rex Ray Salgado (Noel Gugliemi), a member of the gang that attacked Ryan's family.  It turns out that Hope is under the control of the Circle, a drug and arms dealing biker gang led by Rex's brother, Drayke Salgado (Danny Trejo), who is on the ATF's most wanted list. Sheriff Cole (Tom McBeath) is in Drayke's pocket, so Ryan has only himself and Darcy to depend on.  Ryan kills Rex, Drayke declares war on Ryan, and the town of Hope becomes a battleground. It turns out that Drayke masterminded the shooting of Ryan's family members, and the families of other cops who years ago sent him to prison, where he was brutalized. Drayke got even with the prisoners who brutalized him, then got even with the cops who put him away.  After Kirby is killed by Crab (Keith Jardine), Drayke's right-hand man, Sutton arrives in town, and Cole tries to convince him that Rex's death was an accident. Cole thinks that by appeasing the bikers, he is protecting the town from more bloodshed. Ryan finds Crab and burns him to death.  Since Cole is not much help, Sutton goes to Cole's son, Deputy Hedge (Adam Greydon Reid), who is not in Drayke's pocket. Hedge explains that a long-time ago, the Circle used to protect the town. That was before Drayke took over and started running guns. Rex provided Drayke with a recipe for meth, and Drayke and his gang started selling drugs too.  However, Drayke and his gang are arming themselves for all-out war against Ryan, and they don't care whom they have to kill. At night, Darcy hears bikers approaching her hotel. Ryan kills the three bikers. Outside, more bikers grab Darcy and beat Ryan up.  On the next day, Ryan has been taken to Drayke, and some of his men bring Darcy into the room. Darcy is held tied up with tape on her mouth. They're on an abandoned ferry boat that Drayke uses as his headquarters. Drayke leaves his man Prospect (Tygh Runyan) to beat Ryan up. Ryan breaks free from his restraints and takes care of Prospect. Ryan overcomes Drayke's men, finds Darcy who is tied to a chair and gagged with tape. Deputy Hedge goes to his father's house and finds Cole has shot himself. With Sutton's help Hedge plans to go after Drayke.  Ryan remembers Drayke being present during the attack on his family. Until Ryan came to Hope, Drayke thought Ryan was dead. Ryan and Drayke start fighting. A shot kills Drayke. It was Sutton who fired the shot. Darcy decides that she's going to stay in Hope, and Sutton decides to not arrest Ryan. Hedge becomes the new sheriff. Ryan decides to leave town, but promises Darcy that he will send her a postcard to let her know where he is.

Illegal downloading.

In 2012, Canadian judge ruled in favour of Recoil's production company, NGN Prima Production, and ordered internet service providers to reveal the names and addresses of people who had allegedly downloaded the film illegally. This is the only recently made possible due to changes in Canadian law, making it the first lawsuit of its kind in the country. The further developments include one of the involved internet service providers filing the motion opposing disclosure of the customers information.

Home media.

Nasser Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on March 6, 2012. Entertainment One released in the UK on April 16, 2012.

Recoil is a 2011 Canadian action film directed by Terry Miles and starring Steve Austin and Danny Trejo. The film was released on direct-to-DVD and Blu-ray in Canada on March 1, 2011. The film is about a cop turns vigilante after his family has been murdered, exacting vengeance on the killers and then on all criminals who have slipped through the system. This film serves as somewhat of a reboot to the 1998 film of the same name

Recoil je kanadský akční film z roku 2012. Film režíroval Terry Miles podle scénáře Johna Sullivana. V hlavních rolích se ve filmu představili Danny Trejo, Steve Austin a Serinda Swan.


Plot.

Opening sequence.

Kang and Kodos star in a fictional sitcom, entitled "Keepin' it Kodos". In it, Kodos is preparing their boss' visit by cooking dinner: Homer on a baking tray (continually eating himself), Bart on a skillet, Marge and Maggie in pies and Lisa in a soup. The boss gives the meal a delicious rating, but his stomach bursts ends up liberating Bart. Kang and Kodos are given a hyper-galactic promotion, much to the aliens' delight. Bart is sad about the loss of his parents and sisters, but Kang and Kodos decide to adopt him, which comforts Bart. The theme song from "Perfect Strangers" plays as the Treehouse of Horror logo appears on the screen; an alien tentacle stamps the "XV" underneath which makes it say, "Treehouse of Horror XV" in the fashion of the Mark VII Productions company logo.

The Ned Zone.

In a parody of "The Dead Zone", Homer tries to get his frisbee from the roof by throwing a bowling ball after it. The ball strikes a passing Ned on the head. When Ned recovers in Dr. Hibbert's hospital, he has a vision of Dr. Hibbert falling out of a window to his death. Homer then asks Hibbert to retrieve his frisbee from a ledge on the hospital. As Dr. Hibbert reaches for the ledge, he slips out of the window, causing Ned's vision to come true. Ned realizes that he can see the deaths of people whom he touches. After he gets out of the hospital, he attempts to save Hans Moleman from falling down but has a vision of him being eaten by alligators. In shock, he drops Moleman into an open manhole with dozens of alligators swimming in it. He also predicts the closing of the Rosie O'Donnell musical, but says he "didn't need special powers to know that was coming!"  A later vision depicts him shooting Homer, which horrifies Ned and he tries to conceal this from Homer. When Homer finds out, he taunts Ned and even gives him Chief Wiggum's gun to shoot him with, and says he could not even shoot him by accident. Ned refrains from shooting Homer, seemingly changing the future, but then has another vision of Homer blowing up Springfield by pressing the 'Core Destruct' button at the nuclear power plant. Ned tries to dissuade Homer from going to work, but Homer goes anyway because of ice cream cake for Lenny's birthday. Ned rushes to the power plant to stop Homer, and Marge follows him to force her husband to clean the garage. Unfortunately, Ned's warning is scrambled by static over the intercom, sounding as if he is encouraging Homer to press the button. In desperation, Ned grabs a nearby security guard's gun to shoot Homer, fulfilling the original prediction, but in his death throes, Homer presses the destruct button with his tongue. Ned has enough time to say "OH, YOU STUPID SON OF A--" before the power plant explodes and Springfield is destroyed. Ned, The Simpsons, and their still uncleaned garage go to Heaven as angels and meet God (again), who proceeds to give Homer "what he deserves" – his Frisbee.

Four Beheadings and a Funeral.

In a parody of "From Hell", taking place in 1890, London's prostitutes are being killed with swords in a series of unsolved murders by "Jack the Ripper" (referred as The Muttonchop Murderer). Scotland Yard's Inspector Wiggum challenges Master Detective Eliza Simpson and her easily amazed, goofy assistant Dr. Bartley to solve the crime. Their first piece of evidence is a bloody sword found by a "proper-Cockney flower girl", Marge. Simpson takes the sword to an oddities merchant (Comic Book Guy), who recognizes the sword as part of a set he had sold, called The Seven Swords of Osiris. He goes to check his dusty record books to see who he sold the swords to, but is killed by Jack the Ripper. Looking at the ledger, Simpson and Bartley discover the swords were sold to C. Ebenezer Burns, an industrialist who "makes coal out of babies". Bartley knows where to find Burns and tracks him down at Mao's (Moe's) Den of Inequity, an opium den. Burns instantly recognizes the sword, and tells Simpson that he sold them for opium to a "fat man with sideburns", and notices a man nearby who resembles the description, Homer. Simpson and Bartley chase him down and Homer gets caught by Wiggum, who happens to be at the opium den as well, to help Ralph Wiggum go to sleep.  Simpson and Bartley congratulate themselves for solving the crime, until they find another body, Selma, stabbed by another Sword of Osiris. Bartley first dismisses the body as having been killed days prior, pointing out the body as bloated and the face rotten, though Selma is alive long enough to say it was just "5 minutes ago". Simpson takes the sword and recognizes a certain scent on the sword handle. The next day, just before Homer is hanged for the murders, Simpson arrives, declaring Homer innocent due to the smell of eel pie on the handle, which Wiggum loves to eat. Officer Lou then reveals that Wiggum has muttonchops as well, exposing him as Jack the Ripper. He starts to explain that he just wanted to come up with a case that Simpson herself could not solve, but then flees in a hot-air balloon stolen from Professor Frink, but it gets pierced by a steampunk-style flying saucer flown by Kang and Kodos, who consider Earth's air fleet as destroyed. It is then shown that the whole story was an opium-caused dream by Ralph, which Wiggum reveals is part of an even crazier and fantastical dream that both of them are in.

In the Belly of the Boss.

In a parody of "Fantastic Voyage", at the "Invention Expo", Professor Frink creates a machine that shrinks objects. Maggie crawls inside a giant pill, thinking that it is a ball pit, which is miniaturized and swallowed by Mr. Burns. The rest of the family agrees to be shrunk within a craft and injected into Mr. Burns' body. Homer is the craft's captain, Lisa is in charge of science and research, Bart is in charge of security, and Marge is in charge of helping the deeps of the science. When Homer refuses to follow Frink's instructions, the ship gets stuck in Burns' heart. The crew manage to get the ship free from the outside and are able to reach the stomach by catching a ride on a nerve impulse, which Lisa calls "the body's information superhighway". They manage to save Maggie, but Homer is forced to leave the ship and save the rest on his own when their craft does not have enough power to save them all due to the addition of Maggie's extra weight. Homer becomes initially despondent at his family is forced to leave him behind, but finds consolation in finding a marshmallow in Burns' stomach. The submarine successfully escapes, but there isn't enough time to save Homer, who instantly returns to his original size inside Mr. Burns' skin, which makes them both yell in extra pain. Even though Homer complains that Mr. Burns needs several extra holes, Burns is confident that things will work out. The episode ends with Burns and Homer leading a dance to the tune of "I've Got You Under My Skin" (along with characters from all three segments and the opening sequence).

Reception.

The episode has received mixed reviews from television critics. Pip Ellwood Hughes was positive and said "In the Belly of the Boss" was the best segment of the three. Kevin Yeoman disliked the episode saying "much of it was old hat, and comfortably so. The best example of this is in the 'Treehouse of Horror XV' episode, which not only fails to elicit a single laugh, but also demonstrates how much the annual tradition had come to rely on spoofing pop-culture or horror films, rather than using the conventions of the genre to craft something funny and memorable. The execrable 'Four Beheadings and a Funeral' and 'In the Belly of the Boss' showing just how unfunny and lazily written these Halloween episodes can sometimes be." Chris Morgan of Cinema Sentries thought the quality of the episode was questionable. On John Hugar's top 25 Treehouse of Horror episodes he placed the episode at #21. He enjoyed "The Ned Zone" but thought "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" "bland" and "In the Belly of the Boss" done better before. When ranking the top 78 Treehouse of Horror segments Louis Peitzman was positive on the segments. He placed "The Ned Zone at #56 and said "it's fairly well done" but said "like so many early 2000s episodes, it goes too far." "Four Beheading and a Funereal was put at #49 and said "The distinctive look of the segment is great, and the murders are gruesome, but the mystery-solving itself isn’t worth more than a shrug." In the Belly of the Boss was placed highest at #44 and he thought it had its moments.

"Treehouse of Horror XV" is the first episode of the sixteenth season of "The Simpsons". It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 2004. In the fifteenth annual "Treehouse of Horror", Ned Flanders' head injury gives him the power to predict others' deaths, Bart and Lisa play detective when a string of Victorian-era prostitutes are murdered by Jack the Ripper, and the Simpsons go on a fantastic voyage inside Mr. Burns' body to save Maggie. It was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by David Silverman. Around 11.29 million Americans tuned in to watch the episode during its original broadcast.

Speciální čarodějnický díl (alternativně také "Speciální čarodějnický díl XV") (anglicky "Treehouse of Horror XV") je 1. díl 16. řady amerického animovaného seriálu "Simpsonovi". Premiéru v USA měl 7. listopadu 2004. Scénář napsal Bill Odenkirk.


Early life and career.

Kishi was born Nobusuke Satō in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, but left his family at a young age to move in with the more affluent Kishi family, adopting their family name. Kishi was considered to be so brilliant as a boy that one of his uncles thought it better to adopt him as he believed that his nephew could do much to advance the interests

Economic Manager of Manchukuo.

In 1926-27, Kishi traveled around the world to study industry and industrial policy in various nations, such as the United States, Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1929, he was deeply "shocked and impressed" with the Soviet first five-year plan, which left him a convinced believer in state-sponsored industrial development. Besides for the Five Year Plan which left Kishi with an obsession with economic planning, Kishi was also greatly impressed with the labor management theories of Frederick Winslow Taylor in the United States, the German policy of industrial cartels and the high status of German technological engineers within the German business world.  Kishi was one of the more prominent members of a group of "reform bureaucrats" within the Japanese government who favored an etatist model of economic development with the state guiding and directing the economy. From 1933 onwards, Kishi regularly attacked democracy in his speeches and praised Nazi Germany as a model for Japan. Very similar in their thinking as regards the "reform bureaucrats" in their plans to do away with "laissez faire" capitalism were the "total war" faction within the Imperial Japanese Army who wanted Japan to become a totalitarian "national defense state" whose economy would be geared entirely towards supporting the military. In the early 1930s, Kishi forged an alliance between the "total war" school in the military and the "reform bureaucrats" in the civil service. In September 1931, the Kwantung Army seized the Chinese region of Manchuria ruled by the warlord Zhang Xueliang, the "Young Marshal", and turned it into the nominally independent "Empire of Manchukuo" supposedly ruled by the Emperor Puyi. Manchukuo was a sham, and in reality it was a Japanese colony; Manchuko had all the trappings of a state, but it was not a real country. All of the ministers in the Manchukuo government were Chinese or Manchus, but all of the deputy ministers were Japanese, and these were the men who really ruled Manchukuo. Kishi visited Manchukuo several times starting in the fall of 1931, where he quickly became friends with the leading officers in the Kwantung Army. As an important bureaucrat in Tokyo, Kishi played a major role in forcing out the private shareholders in the South Manchuria Railway company, which was the largest corporation in Asia at the time, so that the Kwantung Army could become a shareholder instead. One of Kishi's in-laws was the CEO of the South Manchuria Railroad, and his nephew advised him that making an alliance with the Kwantung Army was in the best interests of the corporation, and had the additional benefit of winning Kishi much goodwill from the officers of the Kwantung Army, who appreciated getting their share of the South Manchuria Railroad company's profits Besides for the railroads, the South Manchuria Railroad company also owned oil fields, hotels, ports, telephone lines, mines and the telegraph lines in Manchuria, making it the dominant corporation in Manchuria. Right from the start, the Japanese Army planned to turn Manchukuo into the industrial powerhouse of the Japanese empire and carried out a policy of forced industrialization with a reckless disregard for human life; the model for Manchukuo was the Soviet First Five Year Plan. Deeply distrustful of capitalism, the military completely excluded the "Zaibatsu" from investing in Manchukuo, and instead all of the industrial development of Manchuria was carried out by state-owned corporations. Reflecting the military's ideas about the "national defense state", Manchukuo's industrial development was focused completely upon heavy industry such as steel production for the purposes of arms manufacture. In 1935, Kishi was appointed Manchukuo's Deputy Minister of Industrial Development. Kishi was given complete control of Manchukuo's economy by the military, with the authority to do whatever he liked just as long as industrial growth was increased. After his appointment, Kishi persuaded the military to allow private capital into Manchukuo, successfully arguing that the military's policy of having the state-owned corporations leading Manchukuo's industrial development was costing the Japanese state too much money. Kishi envisioned a "planned economy" for Manchukuo where bureaucrats such as himself would direct the "zaibatsu" into selected industries, which would create the necessary industrial basis for the "national defense state". In place of the previous policy of "one industry, one firm" for Manchukuo, Kishi brought in a new policy of "all industries, one firm". One of the "zaibatsu" that Kishi selected to invest in Manchukuo, the Nissan group, was headed by another of Kishi's uncles. In order to make it profitable for the "zaibatsu" to invest in Manchukuo, Kishi had a policy of lowering the wages of the workers to the lowest possible point, even below the "line of necessary social reproduction" as he once put it. The purpose of Manchukuo was to provide the industrial basis for the "national defense state" with Driscoll noting "Kishi's planned economy was geared towards production goals and profit taking, not competition with other Japanese firms; profit come primarily from rationalizing labor costs as much as possible. The "nec plus ultra" of wage rationalization would be withholding pay altogether-that is unremunerated forced labor."  In 1935, he became one of the top officials involved in the industrial development of Manchukuo, where he was later accused of exploiting Chinese forced labor. In 1935, Kishi introduced a Five Year Plan for Manchukuo, focusing on heavy industry intended to allow Japan to fight a "total war" with the Soviet Union or the United States by 1940. Kishi spent almost all of his time in Manchukuo's capital, Hsinking (modern Changchun, China) with the exception of monthly trips to Dalian on the world famous Asia Express railroad line, where he indulged in his passion for women in alcohol- and sex-drenched weekends; one of Kishi's best friends later recalled that they never took their wives with them on their monthly trips to Dalian. All of his friends in Manchukuo were Japanese and Kishi never associated with Chinese or any other ethnic groups in Manchuria on a social basis. Kishi's dinner companions were fellow bureaucrats, businessmen seeking government contracts, Army officers and "yakuza" gangsters. The presence of the latter was due to Kishi's involvement

Minister in the Konoe and Tōjō governments.

In 1940, Kishi became a minister in the government of Prince Fumimaro Konoe. Kishi intended to create within Japan the same sort of totalitarian "national defense state" that he had pioneered in Manchuria, but these plans ran into vigorous opposition from various vested interests. In December 1940, Konoe dropped Kishi from his cabinet. Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, himself a veteran of the Manchurian campaign, appointed Kishi Minister of Munitions in October 1941. The mandate of the Tōjō government, provided by the Shōwa Emperor, was to prepare Japan for a war with the United States, and to this end Tōjō appointed Kishi to his cabinet as the best man to prepare Japan economically for the "total war" he had envisioned. Tōjō regarded Kishi as his protege. On 1 December 1941, Kishi voted in the Cabinet for war with the United States and Britain, and signed the declaration of war issued on 7 December 1941. Kishi had known General Tōjō since 1931, and was one of his closest allies in the Cabinet. Kishi was also elected to the Lower House of the Diet of Japan

Prisoner of Sugamo.

After the Japanese surrender to the Allies in August 1945, Kishi, with other members of the former Japanese government, was held at Sugamo Prison as a "Class A" war crimes by the order of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. The womanizing Kishi found the forced celibacy of prison life the most difficult aspect of being held in Sugamo as he was held alone in his cell; Kishi, who was used to having sex dozens of times every day, found the absence of women very hard to cope with. During his time as a prisoner, Kishi fondly remembered his womanizing days in Manchuria in the 1930s, where he recalled: "I came so much, it was hard to clean it all up". During this time, a group of influential Americans who had formed themselves into the American Council on Japan came

Post-WWII political career.

When the prohibition on former government members was fully rescinded in 1952 with the end of the Allied occupation of Japan, Kishi was central in creating the "Japan Reconstruction Federation" ("Nippon Saiken Renmei"). Besides for becoming Prime Minister, Kishi's main aim in politics was revise the American-imposed constitution, especially Article 9. In a speech, he called for doing away with Article 9, saying if Japan were to become a: "respectable member (of) the community of nations it would first have to revise its constitution and rearm: If Japan is alone in renouncing war... she will not be able to prevent others from invading her land. If, on the other hand, Japan could defend herself, there would be no further need of keeping United States garrison forces in Japan.... Japan should be strong enough to defend herself." Kishi's Japan Reconstruction Federation fared disastrously in the 1952 elections, and Kishi failed in his bid to be elected to the Diet. After that defeat, Kishi disbanded his party, and tried to join the Socialists; after being rebuffed, he reluctantly joined the Liberal Party instead. After being elected to the Diet as a Liberal in 1953, Kishi's main activities were undermining the leadership of the Liberal leader, Shigeru Yoshida so he could become the Liberal leader in his place. Kishi's main avenues of attack were that Yoshida was far too deferential to the Americans and for the need to do away with Article 9. In April 1954 Yoshida expelled Kishi for his attempts to depose him as Liberal leader. By this time, the very wealthy Kishi had well over 200 members of the Diet as his loyal followers. In November 1954, Kishi took his faction into Democratic Party led by Ichirō Hatoyama. Hatoyama was the party leader, but Kishi was the party-secretary, and crucially he controlled the party's finances, which thus made him the dominant force within the Democrats. Elections in Japan were very expensive, so few candidates to the Diet could afford the costs of an election campaign out of their own pockets or could fund-raise enough money for a successful bid for the Diet. As a result, candidates to the Diet needed a steady infusion of money from the party-secretariat to run a winning campaign, which made Kishi a powerful force within the Democratic Party as he determined which candidates received money from the party-secretariat and how much. As a result, Democratic candidates for the Diet either seeking election for the first time or reelection were constantly seeing Kishi to seek his favor. Reflecting Kishi's power as party-secretary, Hatoyama was described as an "omikoshi", a type of portable Shinto shrine carried around to be worshipped. Everyone bows downs and worships an "omikoshi", but to move an "omikoshi" must be picked up and carried by somebody.  In February 1955, the Democrats won the general elections. On the day after Hatoyama was sworn in as prime minister, Kishi began talks with the Liberals about merging the two parties now that his arch-enemy Yoshida had stepped down as Liberal leader after losing the elections. In November 1955, the Democratic Party and Liberal Party merged to elect Ichirō Hatoyama as the head of the new Liberal Democratic Party. Within the new party, Kishi once again become the party-secretary with control of the finances. Kishi had reassured the American ambassador John Allison that "for the next twenty five years it would be in Japan's best interests to cooperate closely with the United States." The Americans wanted Kishi to become Prime Minister and were disappointed when Tanzan Ishibashi, the most anti-American of the LDP politicians won the party's leadership, leading an American diplomat to write the U.S had bet its "money on Kishi, but the wrong horse won." Two prime ministers later, in 1957, Kishi was voted in following the resignation of the ailing Tanzan Ishibashi. In February 1957, Kishi become Prime Minister. His main concerns were with foreign policy, especially with revising the 1952 U.S-Japan Security Treaty, which he felt had turned Japan into a virtual American protectorate. Revising the security treaty was understood to be the first step towards his ultimate goal of abolishing Article 9. Besides his desire for a more independent foreign policy, Kishi wanted to establish close economic relations with the nations of South-East Asia to create a Japanese economic sphere of influence, which might one day become a political sphere of influence as well. Finally, Kishi wanted the Allies to free all of the Class B and Class C war criminals still in serving their prison sentences, arguing that for Japan to play its role in the Cold War as a Western ally required forgetting about Japan's war crimes in the past.  In the first year of Kishi's term, Japan joined the United Nations Security Council, paid reparations to Indonesia, signed a new commercial treaty with Australia, and signed peace treaties with Czechoslovakia and Poland. In 1957, Kishi presented a plan for a Japanese-dominated Asian Development Fund (ADF), which was to operate under the slogan "Economic Development for Asia by Asia", calling for Japan to invest millions of yen in Southeast Asia. For most Japanese Asia had meant Korea and China, especially Manchuria, but in the 1950s, Korea and China were "off fines". Japan did not have diplomatic relations with South Korea until 1964 when the South Korean dictator General Park Chung-hee who had served as an officer with the Manchukuo Army in World War II established relations and even then, it caused riots in South Korea. Japanese relations with North Korea and China in the 1950s were even worse. For all these reasons, Kishi turned towards Southeast Asia as an alternative market for Japanese goods and a source of raw materials. Additionally, the Americans wanted more aid to Asia to spur economic growth that would stem the appeal of Communism, but the Americans were disinclined to spend the money themselves. The prospect of Japan spending some $500 million US in low interest loans and aid projects in Southeast Asia had the benefit from Kishi's viewpoint of improving his standing in Washington, and giving him more leverage in his talks to revise the U.S-Japan Security Treaty. In 1957 Kishi was also Director General of the Japan Defense Agency.  In pursuit of the ADF, Kishi visited India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Ceylon, and Taiwan in May 1957, asking the leaders of those nations to join the ADF, but with the exception of Taiwan, which agreed to join, all of the leaders of the those nations gave equivocal answers. Through he always denied it in public, but Kishi saw the ADF as an economic version of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" that Japan had sought to establish in World War II, which contributed to the failure of the proposed ADF as memories of the Japanese occupation were too fresh in Southeast Asia. To many people in Southeast Asia, the slogan "Economic Development for Asia by Asia" sounded too much like the wartime Japanese slogan "Asia for Asians!". During World War II, the Japanese state had always presented the war as a race war between Asians vs. the "white devils", portraying the war as a Pan-Asian crusade to unite all of the peoples of Asia against the "white devils". The Japanese had been welcomed as liberators from European imperialism in some countries when they arrived in Southeast Asia, but soon the peoples of Southeast Asia had learned the Japanese did not regard other Asians as equals, as the Japanese had a habit of slapping the faces of the peoples they ruled to remind them who were the "Great Yamato race" and who were not. The Burmese Prime Minister U Nu had, like everyone else in the Burmese elite, been a Japanese collaborator in World War II. Precisely because of his past U Nu told Kishi during his visit to Rangoon that he was reluctant to join the ADF as it would remind the Burmese people of the days when he was shouting Pan-Asian rhetoric, praising Japan as the natural leader of Asia and declaring how happy he was to serve the Japanese. Even in countries that were not occupied by Japan like India, Ceylon and Pakistan, Kishi encountered obstacles. During his visit to Karachi, the Pakistani Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy told Kishi that he thought of himself as a "human being rather than an Asian first", preferred bilateral over multilateral aid as it allowed Pakistan to play off rival nations for better terms, and that Pakistan would not join the ADF if India also joined. Suhrawadry made it clear that until the Kashmir dispute was settled to Pakistan's satisfaction that Pakistan would not be joining any organization that India was a member of. The Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Kishi during his visit to New Delhi that he wanted his nation to be neutral in the Cold War, and that as Japan was allied to the United States, joining the ADF would be in effect aligning India with the Americans. In Colombo, the Ceylonese Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, through not objecting to the ADF in principle, told Kishi that he preferred bilateral aid deals as it allowed Ceylon to play off the Soviet Union against the United States, and objected to the provision that joining the ADF would mean be "locked in" to only accepting aid from the ADF. Only during his visit to Taiping did Kishi receive outright acceptance of the ADF, through the Taiwanese press statement proclaiming the ADF would be most useful for stopping the rise of Communism in Asia proved embarrassing for Kishi as he had maintained in public that the ADF was supposed to be an organization for allowing Asians to help other Asians and had nothing to do with the Cold War. Because Japan was a much richer nation than all of the other nations of the proposed ADF combined, the ADF was generally as a vehicle for Japan to re-establish itself as a great power in

Controversies.

Kishi illustrates the ambivalent role of America in post-war Japan, and the difficulty of eradicating nationalist World War II revisionism from a postwar Japan where associated political dynasties remained entrenched. As prime minister, Kishi's own legacy was ambivalent: on the one hand he worked for international peace, but on the other he promoted postwar nationalist revisionism by liberating former military personnel convicted by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers of various war crimes, and dedicating on Mount Sangane a headstone to General

Honours.

"From the corresponding

Descendants.

Shintarō Abe was Kishi's son-in-law, and his son

Known for his brutal rule of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo in Northeast China, Kishi was called "Shōwa no yōkai" (昭和の妖怪; "Devil of Shōwa"). After World War II, Kishi was imprisoned for three years as a Class A war crime suspect. However, the U.S. government released him as they considered Kishi to be the best man to lead a post-war Japan in a pro-American direction. He went on to consolidate the Japanese conservative camp against perceived threats from the Japan Socialist Party in the 1950s, and is credited with being a key player in the initiation of the "1955 System", the extended period during which the Liberal Democratic Party was the overwhelmingly dominant political party in Japan.

Nobusuke Kiši, rodným jménem Nobusuke Sató (13. listopadu 1896 – 7. srpna 1987) byl japonský politik. V letech 1957–1960 byl premiérem Japonska. 1956–1957 ministrem zahraničních věcí, 1941–1943 ministrem obchodu a průmyslu. Byl představitelem Liberální demokratické strany, dominantní síly japonského politického systému ve 2. polovině 20. století. Kiši byl jednou z klíčových figur při formování této strany i celého politického systému zvaného někdy "1955" (dle vzniku strany), jehož cílem bylo vytlačit levici dlouhodobě z vlády.


Early life and education.

The son of a sake brewer, Takeshita was born in present-day Unnan, Shimane on 26 February 1924 and attended Waseda University.  He married prior to joining the Imperial Japanese Army to serve as an instructor during World War II. His wife committed suicide while he was away for the war, which author Jacob Schlesinger argued made Takeshita obsessive about his composure and highly reserved about showing anger to others. After the war, he remarried, to Naoko, a distant relative, worked as an English teacher and managed a high school judo team before entering politics in 1951. As a young judo competitor, he was known as "master of the draw" for his ability to avoid easy victories over weaker opponents and to avert defeat by stronger opponents.

Political career.

Takeshita served as a local assemblyman in Shimane Prefecture from 1951. In the 1958 general election he won a seat in the House of Representatives, joining the powerful faction of Kakuei Tanaka in the Liberal Democratic Party. He was elected at the same time as Shin Kanemaru, and the two remained close allies through their respective political careers. Takeshita eventually became Tanaka's primary fundraiser, traveling the country to garner support for the LDP's coffers. Like Tanaka, Takeshita was fond of "pork barrel" politics, retaining his own seat by bringing excessively huge public works projects to Shimane. Takeshita served as chief cabinet secretary from 1971 to 1974 and as minister of construction in 1976.  Takeshita was the minister of finance from 1979 to 1980, and he again accepted the finance position and was in office from 1982 to 1986. In this period, he achieved prominence as Japan's negotiator during deliberations which led to the agreement which is known as the Plaza Accord in New York. In the period Takeshita was finance minister, the Yen appreciated relative to other international currencies. The rise of the strong Yen ("Yendaka") enhanced Japan's status as a financial powerhouse and led to the Japanese asset price bubble of the 1980s.  Kakuei Tanaka was arrested in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals in 1976 and found guilty by a lower court in 1983, placing pressure on his political strength. In February 1985, Takeshita formed a "study group" called "Soseikai", which counted among its ranks 43 of the 121 Tanaka faction members. Weeks after this defection, Tanaka suffered a stroke and became hospitalized, sparking further uncertainty over the future of his faction. Tanaka never recovered from his stroke, and by July 1987, Takeshita's faction counted 113 of the 143 Tanaka faction members, while only thirteen supported Takeshita's rival Susumu Nikaido. The Tanaka faction members who moved to Takeshita's faction included Ichiro Ozawa, Tsutomu Hata, Ryutaro Hashimoto, Keizo Obuchi and Kozo Watanabe.  In July 1986 Takeshita left the Cabinet and was named to the key post of secretary general of the party.  In November 1987, Takeshita became president of the LDP and was thus elected Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Yasuhiro Nakasone. Among the highlights of the period in which Takeshita led the government, he acknowledged that Japan had been an aggressor during World War II. This statement was part of a speech in the Japanese Diet.  He was mainly remembered within Japan for implementing the country's first consumption tax, which his government forced through the Diet in 1988 amid public opposition. Takeshita's government also passed legislation liberalizing the beef, citrus and rice markets, and passed an enhanced security pact with the United States, with the support of Shin Kanemaru who bought the opposition's support.  The Recruit scandal forced Takeshita to resign in 1989.

Later years and death.

Although Takeshita was accused of insider trading and corruption, he was never charged and was able to retain his seat in the Diet until shortly before his death. He remained a major behind-the-scenes player in the LDP, mentoring future prime ministers Sōsuke Uno, Toshiki Kaifu, and Keizō Obuchi. Tsutomu Hata and Ichiro Ozawa left Takeshita's faction to form the Japan Renewal Party. Keizo Obuchi inherited what was left of the faction, supported the election of Ryutaro Hashimoto as prime minister, and himself became prime minister from 1999 to 2000; he died of a stroke in early 2000 and Hashimoto took over control of the faction.  Takeshita himself died of respiratory failure in June 2000 after over a year in hospital, during which time he was said to have "masterminded" the coalition between the LDP and New Komeito and to have arranged the election of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori from his hospital bed. He had planned to retire from the Diet as of the 2000 general election, which occurred just days after his death. "The Economist" characterized his death as the end of an era that was "a dizzy mixture of brilliance and corruption" in Japanese politics.  Hashimoto led the former Takeshita faction until refusing to stand in the 2005 general election due to a fundraising scandal, and died shortly thereafter. The remnants of the faction, formally known by this time as "Heisei Kenkyūkai" (Heisei Research Council), remained active under the leadership of Yūji Tsushima, who resigned prior to the 2009 general election, passing control to Fukushiro Nukaga. The faction raised much less in donations during the 1990s and 2000s than it did under Tanaka and Takeshita in the 1980s, as electoral reforms enacted in 1994, coupled with new campaign finance regulations and the ongoing economic slump that followed the Japanese asset price bubble, weakened the power of factions in Japanese politics.

Personal life.

Takeshita was twice married, and survived by three daughters and several grandchildren, including singer Daigo (formerly known as Daigo☆Stardust) and his elder sister, manga artist Eiki Eiki.

Takeshita led the largest faction at the time in the Liberal Democratic Party, which he inherited from Kakuei Tanaka, from the 1980s until his death in 2000. He was dubbed the "last shadow shogun" for his behind-the-scenes influence in Japanese politics. He was the last prime minister to serve during the long rule of Emperor Hirohito.

Noboru Takešita (26. února 1924 – 19. června 2000) byl japonský politik. V letech 1987–1989 byl premiérem Japonska. Roku 1976 byl ministrem výstavby. V letech 1979–1980 a 1982–1986 ministrem financí. Byl představitelem Liberální demokratické strany, dominantní síly japonského politického systému ve 2. polovině 20. století.


Career.

Speer claimed that his decision to become an architect had nothing to do with his father. He considers urban planning to be his main area, rather than architecture. He won his first international prize in 1964, and then opened his own architect's office. He worked in Saudi Arabia. In 1977, he became professor of urban planning at the University of Kaiserslautern. His firm has had an office in Shanghai since 2001.  In 1984, he founded the company Büro Albert Speer & Partner in Frankfurt am Main. He was responsible for the design of Expo 2000 in Hanover, design of the Shanghai International Automobile City, and the central axis in Beijing created while serving as lead designer for the 2008 Olympics. Speer was part of the architectural firm involved in Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, and in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. He died on 15 September 2017 at the age of 83 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, after complications with a surgery performed after falling in his home.

Relationship with his father.

As with the other children of Nazi officials, such as Gudrun Himmler and Edda Göring, Speer had to approach the topic of his father's infamy. While Himmler would attempt to rehabilitate her father's image, and Goering tried her best to avoid speaking about it at all, Speer has said that he "tried his whole life to separate himself from his father". Speer is credited with being one of the few children of Nazi leaders to recognize the wrongs of their parent. Speer said that, as a child, his father "was not the kind of father who went over your homework", referring to inattentiveness and mild neglect, but also said that Hitler was "a nice uncle, from my childish perspective." He said he did not hate his father and considered him "a good architect, much more modern than people think today".

Albert Speer (; 29 July 1934 – 15 September 2017) was a German architect and urban planner. He was the son of Albert Speer (1905–81), Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming the office of Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich during World War II. His grandfather, Albert Friedrich Speer, was also an architect.

Albert Speer mladší (29. července 1934 Berlín – 15. září 2017 Frankfurt nad Mohanem) byl německý architekt a městský projektant. Byl synem Alberta Speera, vedoucího architekta Třetí říše, který později pracoval jako ministr vyzbrojování a válečné produkce během druhé světové války. Děda Alberta Speera mladšího, Albert Friedrich Speer, byl taktéž architekt.


Childhood and youth.

Leszek Miller is the great-grandson of Eliasz, son of Mośek and Sura Miller, born in 1840 in Kutno. Eliasz Miller converted from Judaism to Christianity in 1869 in Nieborów.  Leszek Miller was born in Żyrardów, Miller comes from a poor, working-class family: His father was a tailor and his mother a needlewoman. His parents broke up when Miller was six months old. His father, Florian Miller left the family and Leszek has never maintained any contact with him. His mother brought him up in a religious spirit – following her wish, he was even, for some time, an altar server in their church.  Due to hard life conditions, after graduation from vocational school, 17-year-old Miller got a job in the Textile Linen Plant in Żyrardów, while continuing his education in the evenings at the Vocational Secondary School of Electric Power Engineering. He soon completed his military service on the ORP Bielik submarine.  In 1969, Miller married Aleksandra, three years his junior, in church. They had a son, Leszek Junior ( August 2018), and a granddaughter, Monika.

Political career.

Before 1990.

Miller started his political career as an activist of the Socialist Youth Union, where he held the position of Chairman of the Plant Board, soon becoming a member of the Town Committee. After the military service, in 1969, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), People's Poland's communist party.  Many people were pressured to join PZPR in order to advance in their careers or to pursue higher education. Miller used his affiliation with the Communist party to effectively advance in his studies and professional goals.  In 1973 and 1974, Miller was the Secretary of the PZPR Plant Committee. With the party's recommendation, he started political sciences studies at the party's Higher School of Political Sciences ("Wyższa Szkoła Nauk Społecznych"), graduating in 1977. After graduation, Miller worked at the PZPR Central Committee, supervising the Group, and later on the Department of Youth, Physical Education and Tourism.  In July 1986, Miller was elected as First Secretary of the PZPR Provincial Committee in Skierniewice. In December 1988, he returned to Warsaw, due to his promotion to the position of the Secretary of the PZPR Central Committee. As a representative of the government side, he took part in the session of the historic "Round Table", where, together with Andrzej Celiński, he co-chaired the sub-team for youth issues (the only one that closed the session without signing the agreement). In 1989, he became a member of the PZPR Political Bureau.

After 1990.

After the PZPR was dissolved, Miller became a co-founder of the Social Democracy of the Polish Republic (till March 1993, he was Secretary General, then Deputy Chairman and, from December 1997, the Chairman of that party). In December 1999, at the Founding Congress of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), he was elected its Chairman, holding the function continuously until February 2004. In 1997-2001 he was the Chairman of the SLD’s caucus.  In 1989, he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate as a representative of Skierniewice Province. In subsequent elections (1991), Miller was a leader on the election list of the Social Democracy of the Polish Republic in Łódź and, following a considerable success in elections, he won a seat in the Sejm, becoming Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democracy of the Polish Republic. In three subsequent elections to the Sejm, he ran each time from Łódź, each time gaining more and more votes (from 50 thousand in 1991 up to 146 thousand in 2001); he held a seat in Parliament until 2005.  Through all that time he remained one of the leading politicians on the left wing. In early 1990s, together with Mieczysław Rakowski, he was suspected in the case of the so-called "Moscow loan". After revealing that affair in 1991, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz called Miller to abstain from taking an MP's oath due to accusations laid against him. When Miller was cleared of the charges, Prime Minister Cimoszewicz appointed him later as the Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and in 1997 the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration in his government. In turn, Cimoszewicz later became the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Miller’s cabinet.  From 1993 to 1996, Miller was the Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the governments of Waldemar Pawlak and Józef Oleksy respectively. In 1996, he was nominated as Senior Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers. He then got the nickname “The Chancellor”.  Miller played an important role in concluding the case of Colonel Ryszard Kukliński, for which he was severely criticised within his political circle. A similar disapproval was expressed after Miller’s support for the Concordat and the candidature of Leszek Balcerowicz to the position of President of the National Bank of Poland.  During the period of the Solidarity Electoral Action’s government, Miller was in charge of the parliamentary opposition, leading the political fight with the governing party. He was also consolidating the majority of significant left-wing groups around his person. In 1999, he succeeded in establishing one uniform political party – the Democratic Left Alliance – which turned out to be very successful in following elections.

Prime Minister (2001-2004).

Following the victory of the Left (41% vs. 12% of the subsequent party) in the Parliamentary Election in 2001, on 19 October 2001, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski appointed Miller Prime Minister and obliged to nominate the government. The new government won the parliamentary vote of confidence on 26 October 2001 (306:140 votes with one abstention). The 16-person cabinet of Prime Minister Miller has been the smallest government of the Polish Republic so far.  Miller’s government faced a difficult economic situation in Poland, including an unemployment rate above 18%, a high level of public debt, and economic stagnation. At the end of Miller’s term, economic growth exceeded 6%; still, it was too slow to reduce the unemployment rate. During his term, the unpopular program of cuts in public expenses was implemented, together with a hardly successful reform of health care financing. The reforms of the tax system and of the Social Insurance Institution were continued, and the attempt to settle the mass-media market failed. Taxes were significantly lowered – to 19% for companies and for persons running business activity – and the act of freedom in business activity was voted through. A radical, structural reform of secret services was implemented (the State Security Office was dissolved and replaced by the Internal Security Agency and the Intelligence Agency).  Simultaneously, institutional and legal adjustments were continued, resulting from the accession to the European Union. The Accession conditions were negotiated, being the main strategic goal of Miller’s cabinet. On 13 December 2002, at the summit in Copenhagen (Denmark), Prime Minister Leszek Miller completed the negotiations with the European Union. On 16 April 2003 in Athens, Miller, together with Cimoszewicz, signed the Accession Treaty, bringing Poland into the European Union. Miller’s government, in collaboration with various political and social forces, organized the accession referendum with a successful outcome. On 7 and 8 June 2003, 77.45% of the referendum participants voted in favor of Poland’s accession to the European Union. The referendum turn-out reached 58.85%.  Miller’s government, together with President Kwaśniewski, made a decision (March 2003) to join the international coalition and deploy Polish troops to Iraq, targeting at overthrowing Saddam Hussein’s government. Miller was also a co-signatory of "the letter of 8", signed by eight European prime ministers, supporting the US position on Iraq. Already in 2002 Miller gave permission to the U.S. government to run a secret CIA prison at Stare Kiejkuty military training center, three hours North of Warsaw. Years later he is facing accusations of acting anti-constitutionally by having tolerated the imprisonment and torture of prisoners. On 4 December 2003, Leszek Miller suffered injuries in a helicopter crash near Warsaw.  At the end of its term of office, Miller’s government had the lowest public support of any government since 1989. It was mainly caused by the continuing high unemployment rate, corruption scandals, with Rywingate on top, and by the attempt of fulfilling the plan of reducing social spending (the Hausner’s plan). In result of criticism in his own party, the Democratic Left Alliance, in February 2004, Miller resigned from chairing the party. Miller was criticized for an excessively liberal approach and for stressing the role of free market mechanisms in economy. He was reproached for his acceptance of a flat tax, which ran counter to the left-wing doctrine. He was also identified with the “chieftain-like style” of leadership. On 26 March 2004, following the decision of the Speaker of the Parliament, Marek Borowski, to found a new dissenting party, the Social Democracy of Poland, Miller decided to resign from the position of Prime Minister on 2 May 2004, a day after Poland’s accession to the EU. On 1 May 2004, together with President Kwaśniewski, he was in Dublin, taking part in the Grand Ceremony of accession of 10 states, including Poland, to the European Union.

Later career.

In 2005, despite the support of the Łódź Branch of the Democratic Left Alliance, Miller was not registered on the election list to the Parliament. At the same time, he was offered to run for Senate but refused. Retirement of the old activists was presented in media as “inflow of new blood into the Democratic Left Alliance”. After the election, Miller became active in journalism, writing mainly for the “Wprost” weekly on liberal economic concepts and current political issues. In the first half of 2005, he stayed at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., implementing a research project: “Status of the new Poland in the Eastern Europe’s space”.  In September 2007, the former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller become affiliated with Samoobrona, when he decided to run for the Sejm from their lists.

External links.

Leszek Cezary Miller ( ; born 3 July 1946) is a Polish political scientist and politician. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since July 2019.

Leszek Cezary Miller (* 3. července 1946) je polský sociálnědemokratický politik. V letech 2001–2004 byl premiérem Polska, když po vyhraných volbách vedl koaliční kabinet SLD, UP a PSL. Roku 1997 byl ministrem vnitra, 1993–1996 ministrem práce a sociálních věcí. V letech 1995–1999 byl předsedou Sociálnědemokratické strany Polska ("Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej"), v letech 1999–2004 Svazu demokratické levice ("Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej"), od roku 2004 strany Polská levice ("Polska Lewica"). V letech 1969–1990 byl člen Polské sjednocené dělnické strany, hegemonní síly komunistického režimu v Polsku.


Background.

In July 1977, the Genesis line-up of lead singer and drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, guitarist Steve Hackett, and touring drummer Chester Thompson finished a seven-month tour supporting "Wind & Wuthering" (1976). For their next step, the group began the process of selecting live recordings from the 1977 tour for an official release, becoming their second live album —-the first being "Genesis Live" (1973).  "Seconds Out" is compiled mostly from the band's four dates at the Palais des Sports in Paris between 11–14 June 1977. The shows were recorded and broadcast in part by French radio station RTL. One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded at the Pavillon de Paris on 23 June 1976 during the 1976 tour supporting "A Trick of the Tail" (1976). This features Bill Bruford on drums. "I Know What I Like" contains a snippet of the 1953 song "I Love Paris".  The album's credits include details of which drummer(s) are playing on each song. Mixed in with these credits are the notes "Robbery Assault & Battery – keyboard solo Phil" and "Cinema Show – Bill Bruford, Phil keyboard solo". This should be read to mean that Collins played the drum kit (along with Thompson or Bruford) during that solo, not that Collins played keyboards.

Hackett's departure.

When "Seconds Out" was announced in the press on 8 October 1977, the news coincided with Hackett's departure from Genesis. He had announced his decision to the group two months earlier while cuts for the album were selected and mixed. Collins recalled spotting Hackett on the street while on his way to the studio and offered him a lift, but Hackett declined. Collins found out from Banks and Rutherford that Hackett had quit. Hackett later said that if he had got in the car, Collins would have been the one person to make him reconsider. On the 1990 documentary video "Genesis – A History", Banks joked that Hackett was mixed out of "Seconds Out" as a result. Although Hackett's guitar is audible, it lacks the volume of previous albums or rough soundboard mix bootlegs from the 1977 tour.

Release.

"Seconds Out" was released on 14 October 1977. Charisma Records organised an extensive promotional campaign for the album that included double page spreads in newspapers, window displays, colour posters, and commercials on national radio. In the US, the album was released by Atlantic Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 47 on the US "Billboard" 200.

Reception.

Hugh Fielder of "Sounds" gave the album five stars out of five. "Melody Maker" reporter Chris Welch, with assistance from Bob Gallagher, also praised the album. "Rolling Stone" praised the contemporary incarnation of the band, noting they had "less reliance on theatrics" than before Peter Gabriel's departure, "and an added dollop of jazz-rock inclinations." However, they criticised the album for being nothing more than a recreation of their studio recordings, making it an essentially pointless release.  In their retrospective review, AllMusic wrote that Genesis's renderings of songs from "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering" surpass the studio recordings, with "superb vocals by Collins throughout," and drumming by Chester Thompson, which they described as "at least a match for Collins' best playing." They considered the tracks from earlier albums to be weaker, however, finding Collins "...can't match the subtlety or expressiveness of Gabriel's singing, though he comes close."  Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has described "Seconds Out" as "one of my drum bibles" and "one of my favorite-sounding drum records too."

Reissues.

In 1994, a digitally remastered version was released on CD by Virgin Records in Europe and by Atlantic Records in the US. "Seconds Out" was reissued with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes completed by Nick Davis and released as part of the "Genesis Live 1973–2007" box set in September 2009. On the original LP, "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos" are banded as one track. This error was corrected on the box set. In November 2012, a 35th anniversary LP was pressed using the 2009 remaster.

Track listing.

All songs written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford, except where noted.

Personnel.

Credits taken from the album's sleeve notes.  Genesis  with  Production

Seconds Out is the second live album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 14 October 1977 on Charisma Records and was their last to feature guitarist Steve Hackett prior to his departure. The majority was recorded in June 1977 at the Palais des Sports in Paris during the Wind & Wuthering Tour. One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded the previous year at the Pavillon de Paris during their A Trick of the Tail Tour.

Seconds Out je druhé koncertní album britské skupiny Genesis. Mimo skladby „The Cinema Show“ byly všechny ostatní nahrány ve dnech 11. − 14. června 1977 v Paříži. Skladba „The Cinema Show“ byla nahrána o rok dříve. Album vyšlo v říjnu 1977 u vydavatelství Charisma/Virgin/Atlantic Records a jeho producentem byl David Hentschel spolu se členy skupiny Genesis.


Geography.

The park consists of 4,540 km of tropical evergreen forest located at the south western corner of Côte d'Ivoire, bordering Liberia. Altitudes vary from 80 m to 396 m (Mt. Niénokoué). The park is situated on a Precambrian granite peneplain of migmatites, biotites and gneiss which slopes down from the gently undulating drier north to more deeply dissected land in the south where the rainfall is heavy. This plateau at between 150–200 meters is broken by several granite inselbergs formed from plutonic intrusions, including the Mont Niénokoué in the southwest. A large zone of varied schists runs north-east to south-west across the park, dissected by tributaries of the main watercourses which run parallel to it: the N'zo, Meno and Little Hana and Hana rivers, all draining southwest to the river Cavally. In the wet season these rivers are wide, but in the dry season become shallow streams. The northern border of the adjoining N’Zo Faunal Reserve is formed by the large reservoir behind the Buyo Dam on the N'zo and Sassandra rivers. There is some swamp forest in the northwest of the park and in N'zo. The soils are ferralitic, generally leached and of low fertility. In the southern valleys there are hydromorphic gley and more fertile alluvial soils (DPN,1998). Gold and some other minerals exist in small quantities.

Climate.

There are two distinct climatic zones of sub-equatorial type. Annual rainfall ranges from a mean of 1700 mm in the north to 2200 mm in the southwest, falling from March/April to July, with a shorter wet season in September to October. There is no dry season in the south but in the north it is marked from November to February/March, accentuated briefly by dry northeasterly Harmattan wind. These only began to affect the region about 1970 after half the country's forests had been felled. There is only a small temperature fluctuation between due to oceanic influence and the presence of forests, but mean diurnal temperatures can range from. The relative humidity is high (85%). The prevailing winds are monsoonal from the south-west. In 1986, Côte d'Ivoire suffered a 30% rainfall deficit, possibly due to loss of forest cover: 90% of the country has been deforested in the past fifty years resulting in greatly diminished evapotranspiration (DPN,1998; Reizebos et al. 1994).

Flora.

The park is one of the last remaining portions of the vast primary Upper Guinean rain forest that once stretched across present-day Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone to Guinea-Bissau. It is the largest island of forest remaining in West Africa remaining relatively intact. Its mature tropical forest lies within a WWF/IUCN Centre of Plant Diversity and in the center of endemism of eastern Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire, probably as the result of having been an Ice Age refugium, having over 50 species endemic to the region. The park contains some 1,300 species of higher plants of which 54% occur only in the Guinean zone. The vegetation is predominantly dense evergreen ombrophilous forest of Upper Guinean type of 40–60 m emergent trees with massive trunks and large buttresses or stilt roots.  Two main types of forest can be recognised grading from diverse moist evergreen forest with leguminous trees in the southern third to moist semi-evergreen forest in the north. Large numbers of epiphytes and lianes form an important element at the lower levels including "Platycerium", "Nephrolepis biserrata", "Drymaria" and "Asplenium africanum". The Sassandrian moist evergreen forest on schistose soils in the south-west is dominated by species such as ebony ("Diospyros gabunensis"), "Diospyros chevalieri", "Mapania baldwinii", "Mapania linderi" and "Tarrietia utilis", with numerous endemic species, especially in the lower Cavally Valley and the Meno and Hana depressions near Mont Niénokoué. The last stands of the large endemic tree "Kantou guereensis" are here. The poorer soils of the north and south-east support species such as palm "Eremospatha macrocarpa", west African ebony "Diospyros mannii", "Diospyros kamerunensis", "Parinarii chrysophylla", "Chrysophyllum perpulchrum" and "". Species such as "Gilbertiodendron splendidum", "Symphonia globulifera" and "Raphia" occur in the swamp forests of river backwaters and oxbows. The inselbergs are vegetated, according to their substrate, with savanna-like grassland and deciduous trees such as "Spathodea campanulata". Plants once thought to be extinct, such as "Amorphophallus staudtii", have been discovered in the area. Since commercial timber exploitation officially ceased in 1972, the forest has recovered well, although large areas are dominated by planted species.  The forest plants still play a large role in the lives of people in the Taï region. The fruit of "Thaumatococcus daniellii" locally known as katamfe or katempfe, yoruba or soft cane is used in traditional medicine and contains a protein substance five thousand times sweeter than sugar cane. The bark of the "Terminalia superba", or "tree of malaria", is used by the ethnic Kroumen for the treatment of malaria. This means that the park is an attic of genetic potential not yet explored by natural science and medicine.

Fauna.

The fauna is fairly typical of West African forests but very diverse, nearly 1,000 vertebrate species being found. The park contains 140 species of mammal and 47 of the 54 species of large mammal known to occur in the Guinean rain forest, including twelve regional endemics and five threatened species. The region's isolation between two major rivers has added to its particular character.

Mammals.

Mammals include 11 species of primates: western red colobus ("Procolobus badius"), Diana monkey ("Cercopithecus diana"), Campbell's mona monkey ("Cercopithecus campbelli"), lesser spot-nosed monkey ("Cercopithecus petaurista") and greater spot-nosed monkey ("Cercopithecus nictitans"), black-and-white colobus ("Colobus polykomos"), ursine colobus ("Colobus vellerosus"), green colobus ("Procolobus verus"), sooty mangabey ("Cercocebus atys"), the dwarf galago ("Galago demidovii") and Bosman's potto ("Perodicticus potto"). There were more than 2,000 West African chimpanzees ("Pan troglodytes verus") in the 1980s. In 1995, Marchesi et al. estimated the total number of chimpanzees in Tai to be 4,507, with perhaps 292 in N’Zo and nearby reserves (however there is no doubt that such numbers have declined in the last 15 years). They are noted for using tools (DPN,1998). Further information on the current status of great apes within this park is available at the following link http://apes.eva.mpg.de/apeswiki/index.php/Ta%C3%AF_National_Park.  Also found are two bats, Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat ("Epomops buettikoferi") and Aellen's roundleaf bat ("Hipposideros marisae"), Pel's flying squirrel ("Anomalurus peli"), giant pangolin ("Manis gigantea"), tree pangolin ("Manis tricuspis") and long-tailed pangolin ("Manis tetradactyla"), Liberian mongoose ("Liberiictus kuhni"), African golden cat ("Profelis aurata"), leopard ("Panthera pardus"), African forest elephant ("Loxodonta africana cyclotis"), which in 2001 numbered only about 100 individuals in the south of the park compared to some 1,800 in 1979, red river hog ("Potamochoerus porcus"), giant forest hog ("Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ivoriensis"), dwarf or pygmy hippopotamus ("Hexaprotodon liberiensis") numbered at around 500 in 1996 is one of the few viable populations remaining, water chevrotain ("Hyemoschus aquaticus"), bongo ("Tragelaphus euryceros"), African forest buffalo ("Syncerus caffer nanus") and an exceptional variety of forest duikers including Jentink's duiker ("Cephalophus jentinki"), banded or zebra duiker ("Cephalophus zebra"), Maxwell's duiker ("Cephalophus maxwelii"), Ogilby's duiker ("Cephalophus ogilbyi"), black duiker ("Cephalophus niger"), bay duiker ("Cephalophus dorsalis"), yellow-backed duiker ("Cephalophus sylvicultor") and the royal antelope ("Neotragus pygmaeus"). Forest rodents include the rusty-bellied brush-furred rat ("Lophuromys sikapusi"), the Edward's swamp rat ("Malacomys edwardsi") and the woodland dormouse ("Graphiurus murinus"). Also recorded in the park is "Stochomys defua", which is characteristic of secondary forest.

Birds.

The park lies within one of the world's Endemic Bird Areas. At least 250 bird species have been recorded, 28 being endemic to the Guinean zone. There are 143 species typical of primary forest, including African crowned eagle ("Stephanoaetus coronatus"), lesser kestrel ("Falco naumanni"), white-breasted guineafowl ("Agelastes meleagrides"), rufous fishing owl ("Scotopilia ussheri"), brown-cheeked hornbill ("Ceratogymna cylindricus"), yellow-casqued hornbill ("Ceratogymna elata"), western wattled cuckooshrike ("Campephaga lobata"), rufous-winged thrush-babbler ("Illadopsis rufescens"), green-tailed bristlebill ("Bleda eximia"), yellow-throated olive greenbul ("Criniger olivaceus"), black-capped rufous-warbler ("Bathmocercus cerviniventris"), Nimba flycatcher ("Melaenornis annamarulae"), Sierra Leone prinia ("Prinia leontica"), Lagden's bushshrike ("Maloconotus lagdeni"), copper-tailed glossy-starling ("Lamprotornis cupreocauda"), white-necked rockfowl ("Picathartes gymnocephalus") and Gola malimbe ("Malimbus ballmanni") (Fishpool & Evans, 2001). More on birds is given in Thiollay (1985).

Reptiles and amphibians.

Two crocodiles, the slender-snouted crocodile ("Crocodylus cataphractus") and the dwarf crocodile ("Osteolaemus tetraspis"), and several turtles, such as Home's hinge-back tortoise ("Kinixys homeana"), are amongst about 40 species of reptiles that live in the park. At least 56 species of amphibians are known from the park; these include a true toad "Amietophrynus taiensis" and a reed frog found only in 1997 ("Hyperolius nienokouensis"), both only known from Ivory Coast.

Invertebrates.

Arthropods represent the largest share of biomass in tropical forests. Invertebrate species include a rare freshwater mollusc "Neritina tiassalensis" and many thousands of insect species including 57 dragonflies, 95 ants, 44 termites and 78 scarabeid beetles (DPN, 1998).

Local human population.

The original tribes of the forest region were the Guéré and Oubi, for totemic reasons, did not eat chimpanzees and thus preserved the chimpanzee populations. French influence dated from only the mid-19th century. Evidently, there was little settlement in the area before the late 1960s, when reservoir construction in the N’Zo valley and, later, drought in the Sahel, pushed people southwards. A population in the area of about 3,200 in 1971 had grown to 57,000 twenty years later. The park is now neighbored by 72 villages, and hundreds of illegal squatters live in the park.  Of the three main groups of farmers, the rural Bakoué and Kroumen cleared forest selectively, sparing medicinal trees; by contrast, the native Baoulé, and incomers who include refugees displaced by the dam on the N’Zo river, from the Sahel and from the conflicts in both Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire who now form 90% of the population, have indiscriminately fragmented and destroyed much of the forest in the buffer zone. In its place, cash and food crops are planted in shifting cultivation in order to lessen the mortality from malaria. The east side of the park has suffered most from this. These people neither support the park, nor are informed about it by the authorities (DPN, 2002; Gartshore et al.1995).

Scientific research and facilities.

The park was the site of a UNESCO Man & Biosphere project on the effects of human interference within the natural forest ecosystem. This was a vast research project carried out under the auspices of the Institute for Tropical Ecology and the Centre for Ecological Research at the University of Abobo-Adjamé in the nearby town of Taï. International scientific cooperation was exemplified by the Ivoirian, French, Italian, German and Swiss teams which worked together on various research programs. This level of research continues. The site and research projects have great potential for training and scientific study. The French Office de la recherche scientifique et technique outre-mer (ORSTOM) has worked here for a number of years. In 1984, a Dutch team surveyed the area, using an ultra-light aircraft for low altitude photography to identify dying trees for use as timber. There has been Ivorian research into forest termites, included under the IUCN/WWF Plants Campaign 1984-1985; and by the government Institute of Forestry into plantation crops. Between 1989 and 1991 BirdLife International conducted the Tai Avifaunal Survey, summarised in Gartshore et al. (1995). The Dutch Tropenbos Foundation published a detailed fully referenced study of the park in 1994 (Reizebos et al.). From 1979 to 1985, Swiss researchers studied chimpanzees, continuing until 1994 into the transference of an ebola virus to humans and antibodies for it to be found in other animals.  There is an ecological station (L’Institut d’Ecologie Tropicale) in the Audrenisrou basin in the core zone and a German team base at Fedfo camp in the buffer zone. There is also a Biosphere Reserve station 18 km south-east of Taï village, which consists of several prefabricated houses, a communal kitchen, two well-equipped laboratories, and an electric generator. It is controlled and financed nationally and managed by 2-3 Ivoirian personnel.  Between 1993 and 2002, the Project Autonome pour la Conservation du Parc National de Taï (PACPNT), financed by GTZ, KfW and the WWF, with the Parks Department (Direction des Parcs Nationaux et Réserves (DPN)), worked to improve management and surveillance, monitored and inventoried the condition of the flora and fauna, launched pilot conservation projects with local people, and made comparative studies of seven species of monkeys. Phase I reported in 1997 and Phase II in 2002. This project has produced over 50 papers covering subjects such as tool-using and the ebola virus in chimpanzees and the fauna as a potential source of foods and medicines. In 2002, technical and scientific management of the park was assigned to the national Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Reserves which covers management policy, wardening, research, education and communication for all parks. A Scientific Council of the involved NGOs international and local, was set up. A second research station and a canopied walkway on the east side of the park have been. However, a national workshop on the forest zone held in 2002 to 2003 focused on the lack of scientific research, monitoring, evaluation, coordination with foreign institutions and access to research done; also the persistence of low levels of popular participation and sustainable development of protected forest lands (UNESCO, 2003). A better inventory of the forest's resources is still needed.

Taï National Park (Parc National de Taï) is a national park in Côte d'Ivoire that contains one of the last areas of primary rainforest in West Africa. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the breadth of its flora and fauna. Five mammal species of the Taï National Park are on the Red List of Threatened Species: pygmy hippopotamus, olive colobus monkeys, leopards, chimpanzees and Jentink's duiker.

Národní park Taï ("Parc National de Taï") se nachází na jihozápadě Pobřeží slonoviny. Rozkládá se na území velkém 3 300 km2. Leží přibližně 100 kilometrů severně od pobřeží Guinejského zálivu při hranici s Libérií mezi řekami Cavalla a Sassandra. Byl zřízen na ochranu deštného pralesa, který by byl pravděpodobně již jinak vymýcen.