Origin and meaning of the term.

The name was derived from a local geological feature, a type of deep karst sinkhole called "foiba". The term includes by extension killings and "burials" in other subterranean formations, such as the Basovizza ""foiba"", which is a mine shaft.  In Italy the term "foibe" has, for some authors and scholars, taken on a symbolic meaning; for them it refers in a broader sense to all the disappearances or killings of Italian people in the territories occupied by Yugoslav forces. According to author Raoul Pupo: "It is well known that the majority of the victims didn't end their lives in a Karst cave, but met their deaths on the road to deportation, as well as in jails or in Yugoslav concentration camps".  Pupo also notes:"With regard to the civilian population of Venezia Giulia the Yugoslav troops did not behave at all like an army occupying enemy territory: nothing in their actions recalls the indiscriminate violence of Red Army soldiers in Germany, on the contrary, their discipline seems in some ways superior even to that of the Anglo-American units." The primary targets of the foibe were military and repressive forces of the Fascist regime, and civilians associated with the regime. However, there were also victims of personal revenge, denunciations (as under German occupation), criminal activity, excess of zeal, misinterpreted motives, etc. The terror spread by these disappearances and killings eventually resulted in the majority of the Italians of Istria, Rijeka and Zadar to flee to other parts of Italy or the Free Territory of Trieste.  According to Fogar and Miccoli there is "the need to put the episodes in 1943 and 1945 within [the context of] a longer history of abuse and violence, which began with Fascism and with its policy of oppression of the minority Slovenes and Croats and continued with the Italian aggression on Yugoslavia, which culminated with the horrors of the Nazi-Fascist repression against the Partisan movement". Other authors assert that the post-war pursuit of the 'truth' of the "foibe," as a means of transcending Fascist/Anti-Fascist oppositions and promoting popular patriotism, has not been the preserve of right-wing or neo-Fascist groups. Evocations of the 'Slav other' and of the terrors of the "foibe" made by state institutions, academics, amateur historians, journalists, and the memorial landscape of everyday life were the backdrop to the post-war renegotiation of Italian national identity.  The estimated number of people killed in Trieste is disputed, varying from hundreds to thousands. Raoul Pupo estimates 3,000 to 4,000 total victims, across all areas of former Yugoslavia and Italy, while adding that the "foibe" issue has been exploited politically by the Italian far-right.

Events.

The first (disputed) claims of people being thrown into "foibe" date to 1943, after the Wehrmacht took back the area from the Partisans. The Germans threw around 70 local people into a "foiba" in retaliation for the bombing of a cinema that German soldiers attended.. Other authors claimed the 70 hostages were killed and burned in the Nazi "lager" of the Risiera of San Sabba, on 4 April 1944.  After Italy's surrender in September 1943, following Italy's aggression and brutal occupation and annexation of large parts of Yugoslavia, Partisan forces extended their liberated territory to much of the former Italian occupation zone, and in some areas carried out reprisal killings, In 1944, the secretary of the Fascist party stated in the local Fascist party newspaper, “Corriere Istriano”, that altogether 481 Italians were killed in the 1943 reprisals in all of Istria and Dalmatia, and that among these victims “Fascists were the most numerous”. Another report from the time describes the 1943 "foibe" victims as "our squadristi" (i.e. members of fascist squads)  Many of the bodies found in the Basovizza pit, and in the "foibe" of Corgnale, Grgar, Plomin, Komen, Socerb, Val Rosandra, Cassorana, Labin, Tinjan, Cerenizza, Heki and others were ethnic Italians. Scholar Katia Pizzi writes that, "despite evidence that Fascist soldiers had also used "foibe" as open-air cemeteries for opponents of the regime, only their equivalent use on the part of Yugoslav partisans appeared to arouse general censure, enriched as it was with the most gruesome details".IBetween 1945 and 1948, Italian authorities recovered a total 369 corpses from foibe in the Italian territory temporarily held by Yugoslav forces (Zone A), and another 95 were recovered from mass graves in the same area. Many of these were military forces, some of these were German soldiers and Slovene collaborators.  In 1947, the British envoy, W. J. Sullivan wrote of Italians arrested and deported by Yugoslav forces from around Trieste: "there is little doubt, while some of the persons deported may have been innocent, others were undoubtedly active fascists with more than mere party memberships on their conscience. Some of these have returned to Trieste but have kept well out of the of the Allied authorities, not participating in enquiries about the deportations for fear of arrest and trial 'for their former fascist activities'."At the end of the war, near the site of the most famous Basovizza foibe, a big battle took place between Germans and Yugoslav forces, and after the battle local villagers threw dead German soldiers and horses into the mine shaft. After the war the Basovizza foibe was used by the Italian authorities as a garbage dump. Newspaper reports from the postwar era claimed anywhere from 18 to 3,000 Basovizza foibe victims, but Trieste authorities refused to fully excavate Basovizza, citing financial constraints. Thus no Italian victims were ever recovered or determined at Basovizza. In 1959 the pit was sealed and a monument erected, which later became the central site for the annual foibe commemorations.

Number of victims.

The number of those killed or left in "foibe" during and after the war is still unknown; it is difficult to establish and a matter of controversy. Estimates range from hundreds to twenty thousand. Scholar Katia Pizzi claims that "In 1943 and 1945, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Italians, both partisans [belligerents] and civilians, were imprisoned and subsequently thrown alive by Yugoslav partisans into various chasms in the Karst region and the hinterland of Trieste and Gorizia". According to data gathered by a joint Slovene-Italian historical commission established in 1993, "the violence was further manifested in hundreds of summary executions - victims were mostly thrown into the Karst chasms ("foibe") - and in the deportation of a great number of soldiers and civilians, who either wasted away or were killed during the deportation".  Historians Raoul Pupo and Roberto Spazzali, have estimated the total number of victims at about 5,000, and note that the targets were not "Italians", but military and repressive forces of the Fascist regime, and civilians associated with the regime. More recently, Pupo has revised the total victims estimates to 3,000 to 4,000. Italian historian Guido Rumici estimated the number of Italians executed, or died in Yugoslav concentration camps, as between 6,000 and 11,000, while Mario Pacor estimated that after the armistice about 400-500 people were killed in the foibe and about 4,000 were deported, many of whom were later executed. According to some, the episodes of 1945 occurred partly under conditions of guerrilla warfare by Croatian and Slovenian Partisans against the Germans, the Italian Social Republic and their Slavic collaborators (the Chetniks, the Ustaše and Domobranci) and partly after the territory had been secured by Yugoslav army formations.  It was not possible to extract all the corpses from the "foibe", some of which are deeper than several hundred meters; some sources are attempting to compile lists of locations and possible victim numbers. Between October and December 1943, the Fire brigade of Pola, helped by mine workers, recovered a total of 159 victims of the first wave of mass killings from the "foibe" of Vines (84 bodies), Terli (26 bodies), Treghelizza (2 bodies), Pucicchi (11 bodies), Villa Surani (26 bodies), Cregli (8 bodies) and Carnizza d'Arsia (2 bodies); another 44 corpses were recovered in the same period from two bauxite mines in Lindaro and Villa Bassotti. More bodies were sighted, but not recovered.  The most famous Basovizza foiba, was investigated by English and American forces, starting immediately on June 12, 1945. After 5 months of investigation and digging, all they found in the foiba were the remains of 150 German soldiers and one civilian killed in the final battles for Basovizza on April 29-30, 1945. The Italian mayor, Gianni Bartoli continued with investigations and digging until 1954, with speleologists entering the cave multiple time, yet they found nothing. Between November 1945 and April 1948, firefighters, speleologists and policemen inspected "foibe" and mine shafts in the "Zone A" of the Free Territory of Trieste (mainly consisting in the surroundings of Trieste), where they recovered 369 corpses; another 95 were recovered from mass graves in the same area. No inspections were ever carried out either in the Yugoslav-controlled "Zone B", or in the rest of Istria.  Other foibe and mass graves were discovered in more recent times; for instance, human remains were discovered in the Idrijski Log "foiba" near Idrija, Slovenia, in 1998; four skeletons were found in the foiba of Plahuti near Opatija in 2002; in the same year, a mass grave containing the remains of 52 Italians and 15 Germans was discovered in Slovenia, not far from Gorizia; in 2005, the remains of about 130 people killed between the 1940s and the 1950s were recovered from four "foibe" located in northeastern Istria.

Background.

Since the early Middle Ages, Latin, South Slavic and Venetian communities in Istria and Dalmatia had lived peacefully side by side. The population was divided into urban-coastal communities (mainly Romance speakers) and rural communities (mainly Slavic speakers), with small minorities of Morlachs and Istro-Romanians. Sociologically, the population was divided into Latin middle-upper classes (bourgeoisie and aristocracy in coastal areas and in the towns) and Slavic lower classes (peasants and shepherds inland). In the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census, Istria had a population of 57.8% Slavic-speakers (Croat and Slovene), and 38.1% Italian speakers. For the Austrian Kingdom of Dalmatia, (i.e. Dalmatia), the 1910 numbers were 96.2% Slavic speakers and 2.8% Italian speakers:

After World War I.

To get Italy to join the Triple Entente in WWI, the secret 1915 Treaty of London promised Italy Istria and parts of Dalmatia, German-speaking South Tyrol, the Greek Dodecanese Islands, parts of Albania and Turkey, plus more territory for Italy's North Africa colonies.  After World War I, the whole of the former Austrian Julian March, including Istria, and Zadar in Dalmatia were annexed by Italy, while Dalmatia (except Zadar) was annexed by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Contrary to the Treaty of London, in 1919 Gabrielle D’Annunzio led an army of 2,600 Italian war veterans to seize the city of Fiume (Rijeka). D’Annunzio created the Italian Regency of Carnaro, with him as its dictator, or Comandante, and a constitution foreshadowing the Fascist system. After D’Annuzio's removal, Fiume briefly become a Free State, but local Fascists in 1922 carried out a coup, and in 1924 Italy annexed Fiume.  As a result, 480,000 Slavic-speakers came under Italian rule, while 12,000 Italian speakers were left in Yugoslavia, mostly in Dalmatia. Italy began a policy of forced Italianization Italy forbade Slavic languages in public institutions and schools, moved 500 Slovene teachers to the interior of Italy, replacing them with Italian ones, the government changed people’s names to Italian ones, Slavic cultural, sporting and political associations were banned. As a result, 100,000 Slavic speakers left Italian areas in an exodus, moving mostly to Yugoslavia. In Fiume alone, the Slavic population declined by 66% by 1925, compared to pre-WWI levels. The remnants of the Italian community in Dalmatia (which had started a slow but steady emigration to Istria and Venice during the 19th century) left their cities toward Zadar and the Italian mainland.  During the early 1920s, nationalistic violence was directed both against the Slovene and Croat minorities in Istria (by Italian nationalists and Fascists) and the Italian minority in Dalmatia (by Slovene and Croat nationalists). Examples are the 1918–20 unrest in Split, when members of the Italian minority and their properties were assaulted by Croatian nationalists (and two Italian Navy personnel and a Croatian civilian were later killed during riots), and the burning of the Trieste National Hall, the main center of the Slovene minority in Trieste, by Italian nationalists and fascists. During D’Annunzio’s armed 1919-1920 occupation of Fiume, hundreds of mostly non-Italians were arrested, including many leaders of the Slavic community, and thousands of Slavs started to flee the city, with additional anti-Slav violence during the 1922 Fascist coup. In a 1920 speech in Pola (Pula) Istria, Benito Mussolini proclaimed  In 1944, near the end of a war in which Nazis, Fascists and their allies killed over 800,000 Yugoslavs, Croat poet Vladimir Nazor wrote: "We will wipe away from our territory the ruins of the destroyed enemy tower, and we will throw them in the deep sea of oblivion. In the place of a destroyed Zara, a new Zadar will be reborn, and this will be our revenge in the Adriatic". (Zara had been under Fascist rule for 22 years, and was in ruins because of heavy Allied bombing). In 1911, complaining of local Italian efforts to falsely count Slovenes as Italians, the Trieste Slovene newspaper Edinost wrote: “We are here, we want to stay here and enjoy our rights! We throw the ruling clique the glove a duel, and we will not give up until artificial Trieste Italianism is crushed in dust, lying under our feet.” Due to these complaints, Austria carried a census recount, and the number of Slovenes increased by 50-60% in Trieste and Gorizia, proving Slovenes were initially falsely counted as Italians.

World War II.

In April 1941, Italy attacked Yugoslavia, and occupied large portions of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia, directly annexing Ljubljana Province, Gorski Kotar and Central Dalmatia, along with most Croatian islands. To suppress the mounting resistance led by the Partisans, the Italians adopted tactics of "summary executions, hostage-taking, reprisals, internments and the burning of houses and villages.".  The Italian government sent tens-of-thousands of Slavs, among them many women and children, to Italian concentration camps, such as Rab, Gonars, Monigo, Renicci, Molat, Zlarin, Mamula, etc. From Ljubljana Province alone, historians estimate the Italians sent 25,000 to 40,000 Slovenes to concentration camps, which represents 8-12% of the total population. Thousands died in the camps, including hundreds of children.. The Italian forces executed thousands of additional civilians as hostages and conducted massacres, such as the Podhum massacre in 1942..

Investigations.

Investigations of the crimes had not been initiated either by Italy, Yugoslavia or any international bodies in the post-war period until after Slovenia became an independent country in 1991. In 1993 a study titled "Pola Istria Fiume 1943-1945" by Gaetano La Perna provided a detailed list of the victims of Yugoslav occupation (in September–October 1943 and from 1944 to the very end of the Italian presence in its former provinces) in the area. La Perna gave a list of 6,335 names (2,493 military, 3,842 civilians). The author considered this list "not complete".  A 2002 joint report by Rome's "Society of Fiuman studies" ("Società di Studi Fiumani") and Zagreb's "Croatian Institute of History" ("Hrvatski institut za povijest") concluded that from Rijeka and the surrounding area "no less than 500 persons of Italian nationality lost their lives between 3 May 1945 and 31 December 1947. To these we should add an unknown number of'missing' (not less than a hundred) relegated into anonymity due to missing inventory in the Municipal Registries together with the relevant number of victims having (...) Croatian nationality (who were often, at least between 1940 and 1943, Italian citizens) determined after the end of war by the Yugoslav communist regime."  In March 2006, the border municipality of Nova Gorica in Slovenia released a list of names of 1,048 citizens of the Italian city of Gorizia (the two cities belonged until the Treaty of Paris of 1947 to the same administrative body) who disappeared in May 1945 after being arrested by the Partisan 9th Corps. According to the Slovene government, "the list contains the names of persons arrested in May 1945 and whose destiny cannot be determined with certainty or whose death cannot be confirmed".

Alleged motives.

It has been alleged that the killings were part of a purge aimed at eliminating potential enemies of communist Yugoslav rule, which would have included members of German and Italian fascist units, Italian officers and civil servants, parts of the Italian elite who opposed both communism and fascism (including the leadership of Italian anti-fascist partisan organizations and the leaders of Fiume's Autonomist Party, including Mario Blasich and Nevio Skull), Slovenian and Croatian anti-communists, collaborators and radical nationalists.  Others claim the main motive for the killings was retribution for the years of Italian repression, forced Italianization, suppression of Slavic sentiments and killings performed by Italian authorities during the war, not just in the concentration camps (such as Rab and Gonars), but also in reprisals often undertaken by the fascists.  However, still others claim Tito's political aim of adding the Istrian territories as far as Trieste to the new Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. The ethnic map of the area could potentially be a decisive factor in a treaty of peace with Italy and for this reason, according to some Italian historians, the reduction of the ethnic Italian population was held desirable.  Pamela Ballinger in her book, "History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans", wrote:  The report by the mixed Italian-Slovenian commission describes the circumstances of the 1945 killings as follows:

Post-War.

The "foibe" have been a neglected subject in mainstream political debate in Italy, Yugoslavia and former-Yugoslav nations, only recently garnering attention with the publication of several books and historical studies. It is thought that after World War II, while Yugoslav politicians rejected any alleged crime, Italian politicians wanted to direct the country's attention toward the future and away from the idea that Italy was, in fact, a defeated nation.  So, the Italian government tactically "exchanged" the impunity of the Italians accused by Yugoslavia for the renunciation to investigate the "foibe" massacres. Italy never extradited or prosecuted some 1,200 Italian Army officers, government officials or former Fascist Party members accused of war crimes by Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, Greece and other occupied countries and remitted to the United Nations War Crimes Commission. On the other hand, Belgrade didn't insist overmuch on requesting the prosecution of alleged Italian war criminals. Thus, both Italian war crimes and Yugoslav war and post-war mass killings were set aside if not forgotten to maintain a "good neighbour" policy.

Re-emergence of the issue.

For several Italian historians these killings were the beginning of organized ethnic cleansing. The event was discussed by Jože Pirjevec in connection to the Porzûs massacre, in which 17 members of the anti-fascist group "Brigate Osoppo" (among whom was a female prisoner) were killed by members of the Italian Communist Party (among them, the nineteen-year-old Guido Pasolini, the brother of famous Italian writer Paolo Pasolini).  Silvio Berlusconi's coalition government brought the issue back into open discussion: the Italian Parliament (with the support of the vast majority of the represented parties) made February 10 National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe, first celebrated in 2005 with exhibitions and observances throughout Italy (especially in Trieste). The occasion is held in memory of innocents killed and forced to leave their homes, with little support from their home country. In Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's words: "Time has come for thoughtful remembrance to take the place of bitter resentment". Moreover, for the first time, leaders from the Italian Left, such as Walter Veltroni, visited the Basovizza foiba and admitted the culpability of the Left in covering up the subject for decades. However, the conciliatory moves by Ciampi and Veltroni were not endorsed by all Italian political groups.  Nowadays, a large part of the Italian Left acknowledges the nature of the foibe massacres, as attested by some declarations of Luigi Malabarba, Senator for the Communist Refoundation Party, during the parliamentary debate on the institution of the National Memorial Day: ""In 1945 there was a ruthless policy of exterminating opponents. Here, one must again recall Stalinism to understand what Tito's well-organized troops did. (...) Yugoslav Communism had deeply assimilated a return to nationalism that was inherent to the idea of 'Socialism in One Country'. (...) The war, which had begun as anti-fascist, became anti-German and anti-Italian.""  Italian president Giorgio Napolitano took an official speech during celebration of the "Memorial Day of Foibe Massacres and Istrian-Dalmatian exodus" in which he stated:  The Croatian President Stipe Mesić immediately responded in writing, stating that:  The incident was resolved in a few days after diplomatic contacts between the two presidents at the Italian foreign ministry. On February 14, the Office of the President of Croatia issued a press statement:  In Italy, with Law 92 of 30 March 2004 has been instituted the "Day of Remembrance" in day 10 February, to keep memory of victims of Foibe and of the exodus to which almost the whole population of Italian origins living in Dalmatia and Julian March has been constricted by jugoslavians. The same law has instituted a specific medal to be conferred to relatives of victims:  In February 2012, a photo of Italian troops killing Slovene civilians was shown on public Italian TV as if being the other way round. When historian Alessandra Kersevan, who was a guest, pointed out to the television host Bruno Vespa that the photo depicted the killings of some Slovenes rather than Italians, the host did not apologize. A diplomatic protest followed.

Bibliography.

Many books have been written about the "foibe", and results, interpretations and estimates of victims can in some cases vary largely according to the point of view of the author. Since most of the "foibe" currently lie outside Italian territory, no formal and complete investigation could be carried out during the years of the Cold war, and books could be of a speculative or anecdotal nature. Many authors from the left wing have maintained that the "foibe" were an exaggeration (or, some suggested, an invention) of the extreme right for propaganda purposes, and that the fascist crimes in the same areas dwarf even the most lavish of the "foibe" allegations.

Further reading.

Report of the Italian-Slovene commission of historians (in three languages):

The foibe massacres, or simply the foibe, refers to mass killings both during and after World War II, mainly committed by Yugoslav Partisans against the local ethnic Italian population, mainly in Venezia Giulia, Istria and Dalmatia. The term refers to the corpses being thrown into "foibas" (deep natural sinkholes; by extension, it also was applied to the use of mine shafts, etc. to hide the bodies).

Mit dem Begriff Foibe-Massaker bezeichnet man Kriegsverbrechen, die im und nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg geschahen. Damals verübten jugoslawische Partisanen aus Rache Verbrechen an der italienischen Bevölkerung, hauptsächlich in Julisch Venetien, in den istrischen und dalmatinischen Küstengebieten. Die Opfer wurden dabei in Karsthöhlen geworfen, die sogenannten "Foiben", oftmals bei lebendigem Leibe.


Playing career.

Tripp was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round, 77th overall, in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He re-entered the draft two years later and was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the second round, 42nd overall. Despite being drafted by two different teams, both times fairly high in the draft selection, he would not see NHL level playing time until the 2002–03 season when he played nine games for the New York Rangers. The next season, 2003–04, Tripp played 34 games for the Los Angeles Kings.  In 2004, during the NHL lockout, Tripp moved to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany for Adler Mannheim. In 2006, he moved to ERC Ingolstadt before heading to the Hamburg Freezers in 2007. In this time Tripp was able to obtain German citizenship and represent Germany internationally.  After three seasons with the Freezers, Tripp left and signed an initial try-out contract with fellow German based club, the Hannover Scorpions on September 22, 2010. After three weeks John was released by the Scorpions but immediately signed a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2010–11 season with Kölner Haie on October 19, 2010. He then remained with the Haie team through the 2014-15 season, serving as team captain between 2011 and 2015.  Tripp played 11 seasons in the top flight DEL, before signing a one-year contract with second tier based, Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the DEL2 on September 8, 2015.

International play.

Tripp won 110 caps for the German national team between 2006 and 2014, scoring 28 goals and assisting on 15 more. He played in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and six World Championships, helping Germany to a semifinal appearance in 2010, the team's greatest success since winning bronze at the 1976 Olympics.

Coaching career.

On December 27, 2016, he accepted his first head coaching job at Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the German DEL2. His team had to go into the relegation round, where they overcame Rosenheim which allowed the Crimmitschau club to remain in the league. Tripp and the team parted ways after the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.  In May 2017, Tripp agreed a deal to become the new head coach of Braehead Clan in the UK's EIHL. He guided the Clan to a ninth-place finish in the regular season, his tenure ended in late March 2018. Tripp returned to his native Canada and started the Kingston Hockey Academy.

Media career.

Since January 2016, Tripp has been serving as co-host and analyst of CHL Centre Ice, a show dedicated to the Champions Hockey League (CHL), and as color commentator of CHL games. He was a member of the TSN broadcast crew at the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

Personal life.

He has been friends since his childhood with Jayna Hefford; both went to the same school.  Tripp's maternal grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada in 1953. His nickname is Hans, after his German grandfather. Tripp is married to Taryn Turnbull, a former basketball player at Tulane University and in the German second division. His brother-in-law, Stuart Turnbull, played professional basketball in Germany.  A cancer survivor himself, he founded Tripp Charity to raise money and awareness for children battling cancer.

John Tripp (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey coach and former player. He served as head coach at Braehead Clan until March 2018.

John Tripp (* 4. Mai 1977 in Kingston, Ontario) ist ein deutsch-kanadischer Eishockeytrainer und ehemaliger -spieler. Er war bis März 2018 Cheftrainer des Braehead Clan in der britischen Elite Ice Hockey League.


History.

The company, founded in 1999, employs numerous established high-tech veterans, including former executives from Electronic Arts, eBay, Disney, Adobe, and Apple. The company's founder and original CEO is Philip Rosedale, a former CTO of RealNetworks, one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World in 2007.  In 2008, the company was awarded an Emmy for Second Life in the user-generated content and game modification category. The award was given at the 59th annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. Philip Rosedale, chairman of Linden Lab, accepted the award.  Although Linden Lab's Second Life platform was not the first online virtual world, it has gained a large amount of attention due to its expanding user base and unique policy that allows participants to own the intellectual property rights to the in-world content they create. The company's name comes from Linden Street, where the company was originally based. The company's transition from scrappy upstart to success is detailed in the book "The Making of Second Life" written by former employee Wagner James Au.  Although many people have assumed that the inspiration for Second Life originated from Rosedale's exposure to Neil Stephenson's novel "Snow Crash", he has suggested that his vision of virtual worlds predates that book and that he conducted some early virtual world experiments during his college years at the University of California San Diego, where he studied physics.  Rosedale's strong coding skills eventually resulted in the creation of a video compression technology that would later be acquired by RealNetworks, where he was made CTO at the age of 27. While at RealNetworks, Rosedale's ambition to create a virtual world was resurrected and recharged by technological advances in computing and his attendance at the popular music and arts festival Burning Man.  With the help of a financial windfall that he reaped from his time at RealNetworks, Rosedale formed Linden Lab in 1999. His initial focus was on the development of hardware that would enable computer users to be fully immersed in a 360 degree virtual reality experience. In its earliest form, the company struggled to produce a commercial version of "The Rig," which was realized in prototype form as a clunky steel contraption with several computer monitors that users could wear on their shoulders. That vision soon morphed into the software-based application Linden World, where computer users could participate in task-based games and socialization in a 3D online environment. That effort would eventually transform into the better-known, user-centered Second Life.  During a 2001 meeting with investors, Rosedale noticed that the participants were particularly responsive to the collaborative, creative potential of Second Life. As a result, the initial objective-driven, gaming focus of Second Life was shifted to a more user-created, community-driven experience.  In September 2012, Linden Lab announced two new products: Creatorverse (for iPad) and Patterns (for desktops).  In January 2013, Linden Lab purchased the game "Blocksworld" for iPad, a shared virtual world built of blocks.  Rod Humble, appointed CEO in December 2010, announced his departure on Facebook on 24 January 2014, stating that he would be leaving Linden Lab to pursue founding a new company that will "make art, entertainment and unusual things!".  In February 2014, Linden Lab announced that its new CEO was Ebbe Altberg, former COO of BranchOut.  In June 2014, Linden Lab confirmed that they plan to build a new virtual world.  As of August 2015, Linden Lab are in beta tests of Sansar.

Corporate culture.

Linden Lab has elicited both compliments and curiosity for its unconventional corporate culture, which is based on a non-hierarchical system where employees are unusually self-directed and transparent in their work. The company makes a strong effort to maintain transparency among its employees and to the general public.  Linden Lab utilized another internal tool, the Distributor, that enabled all employees to distribute "points" to projects that they deem to be worthy of development and resource support. Each point has a financial value that is based on each quarter's financial performance. As a result, key stakeholders in the projects with high point values received a distributed monetary payoff at the end of the quarter for successfully completed projects. The Distributor was discontinued after Rosedale left the company.  In addition, each employee's quarterly performance review is published on a Wikipedia-like internal website that all other employees may see.  Employees of Linden Lab, who are easily identifiable in-world by their avatars' last name "Linden", have been known to participate in several collaborative events with Second Life users. For example, the company holds an annual holiday "snowball fight" where users are encouraged to throw virtual snowballs at Linden Lab employees.

Acquisitions and restructuring.

In May 2007, Linden Lab acquired Windward Mark Interactive, a small game development company based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Windward Mark specialized in atmosphere and cloud simulation, releasing their code as open-source. Linden Lab currently uses the code under the name "Windlight" to enhance atmospheric effects in Second Life.  On January 20, 2009, Linden Lab acquired "XstreetSL" (formerly known as "SLExchange") and "OnRez", two web-based marketplaces for Second Life virtual goods. It subsequently closed "OnRez" and merged "XstreetSL" with the secondlife.com website, closing its currency exchange service and web forum. On September 10, 2008, the owner of "SLExchange" renamed the website under threat of Linden Lab enforcing a trademark on the letters "SL". "XStreetSL" was replaced in late 2010 with the new SecondLife Marketplace.  On January 30, 2010, Linden Lab acquired the avatar profile service Avatars United and its creator, Enemy Unknown AB.  On June 9, 2010, Linden Lab announced a restructuring plan including a 30% reduction in workforce. The plan articulated a new renewed focus on development of browser-based 3D viewer for the Second Life Virtual World. CEO Mark Kingdon, aka "M Linden", stepped down and was replaced by founding CEO Philip Rosedale.  In July 2013, Linden Lab acquired digital distribution service Desura. It was announced in November 5, 2014 that Desura was sold by Linden Lab to Bad Juju Games.

Litigation.

In 2006, Pennsylvania lawyer Marc Bragg ("Marc Woebegone" in "Second Life") brought a lawsuit against "Second Life" developer Linden Lab when his account was disabled by administrators. The case was eventually settled out of court.

Linden Research, Inc., doing business as Linden Lab, is a privately held American Internet company that is best known as the creator of "Second Life". The company's head office is in San Francisco, with additional offices in Boston, Seattle, Virginia and Davis, California. Its offices in Mountain View, Brighton, Singapore and Amsterdam were closed in 2010. In addition, the company employs remote workers that communicate and collaborate on projects using "Second Life" technology.

Linden Lab ist ein US-amerikanisches Unternehmen aus San Francisco, Kalifornien und Betreiber der 3D-Weltsimulation "Second Life". 1999 wurde Linden Lab von Philip Rosedale, dem früheren CTO von Real Networks gegründet. Die Firma ist an die erste Adresse des Unternehmens, der Linden Alley in Hayes Valley, angelehnt. Rosedale hatte 1995 bereits Videokompressionssoftware (FreeVue) entwickelt, war an der Entwicklung von RealVideo beteiligt und trachtete seit seinem Kontakt mit dem Internet Mitte der 1990er Jahre danach, die virtuelle Simulation einer Welt zu schaffen, in der die Teilnehmer in einem beliebig gestaltbaren dreidimensionalen Umfeld mit frei gestaltbaren Avataren in Echtzeit-Animation ("Realtime 3D-Streaming") frei interagieren können. Aus eigenen Mitteln hat er bis 2001 rund 1 Million US-Dollar in ein entsprechendes Projekt investiert.


Life.

The son of a philosophy professor began his military career in the Prussian Army in 1908. After attending the military school in Glogow, Poland, he was deployed to the air force in the First World War. From 1920 to 1927 he worked for the Reichswehr Ministry, from 1924 as a consultant for technical questions of armament in the air force. In 1927 he was promoted to the rank of Rittmeister from military service and was until 1932 consultant for research and development of aviation in the Reich Ministry of Transport, from 1931 with the civil rank of a senior government councilor.

Nazi era.

Baeumker joined the NSDAP in 1933. From 1933 to 1941 he was head of the Aviation Research and Development Department at the Reichswehr Ministry, from 1938 he was ministerial director. He played a key role in the expansion and development of German aviation research institutes, founded the "Association for Aviation Research" in 1933, the "Lilienthal Society for Aviation Research" two years later, and in 1936 the "German Academy of Aviation Research". Baeumker was chancellor of this academy from 1937. On his initiative, the "Central for Scientific Reporting of Aviation Research of the General Aircraft Master (ZWB)" was founded in Berlin-Adlershof on November 1, 1933; it was not only a documentation center for specialist literature, but also played an important role in authorizing publications.  In 1938 at the request of the United States military, Charles Lindbergh traveled to Germany to evaluate German aviation.. At a dinner hosted by the US ambassador to Germany Hugh Wilson, Lindbergh was presented the Order of the German Eagle by Germany's air chief, Hermann Göring, in attendance was Anne Lindbergh, Evangeline Lindbergh, and German aviation figures: Ernst Heinkel,, and Willy Messerschmitt.  Baeumker was also instrumental in the history and the emergence of the engineering school for aviation technology (IFL). In 1942 he became chairman of the Munich aviation research institute, and for the last three years of the war he had been part of the Luftwaffe's research leadership. He also did his doctorate at the University of Munich in 1944.  In 1941 he became an honorary citizen of the Technical University of Munich. [1]

Postwar.

After 1945, Baeumker worked in the United States as a consultant to the US Air Force in Baltimore and was granted American citizenship in 1954. In 1958, he was transferred to the headquarters of the American Air Force in Europe in Wiesbaden, where he worked as a consultant for German and American military command posts. From 1959 he was a member of the board of trustees of the German Society for Aviation Sciences.  In 1961 he received the Great Cross of Merit. Since 1967 he lived as Rittmeister and ministerial conductor in Bad Godesberg, where he died in 1976.

Selected works.

Advice to the authorities from outside experts. explained using the example of German and American aviation. Comments on a topic of state management (= long-term planning of research and development, No. 40) Bad Godesberg, 1970  Thoughts on Problems of Change in Power (= Long-Term Planning of Research and Development, No. 32) Bad Godesberg, 1967  On the basic division of the top military leadership. The special German needs here (= long-term planning of research and development, No. 20). Bad Godesberg: self-published, 1964  Long-term research and development plans for defense. Bad Godesberg: self-published, 1959

Literature.

Michael Grüttner : Biographical lexicon on National Socialist science policy (= studies on the history of science and university. Volume 6). Synchron, Heidelberg 2004,, p. 18. web links  Literature by and about Adolf Baeumker in the catalog of the German National Library  Wolfgang A. Herrmann (ed.): Technical University of Munich. The history of a science company. Volume 2, Metropol, Berlin 2006,, p. 989. Norm data (person): GND : 120662795 | LCCN : no95034168 | VIAF : 47597868 | Wikipedia people search

Adolf Georg Heinrich Klemens Vinzenz Baeumker (14 July 1891 - 4 March 1976) was a German officer. From the 1920s to the 1950s, he was an official of various military and civil aviation research institutions.

Adolf Georg Heinrich Klemens Vinzenz Baeumker (* 14. Juli 1891 in Breslau; † 4. März 1976 in Bad Godesberg) war ein deutscher Offizier und von den 1920er bis in die 1950er Jahre Funktionär verschiedener militärischer und ziviler Einrichtungen der Luftfahrtforschung.


Game design.

This subgenre of role-playing video games principally refers to games which incorporate elements from strategy video games as an alternative to traditional role-playing game (RPG) systems. Like standard RPGs, the player typically controls a finite party and battles a similar number of enemies. And like other RPGs, death is usually temporary. But this genre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid. Unlike traditional RPGs which are traditionally single-player, some tactical RPGs feature multiplayer play, such as "Final Fantasy Tactics".  A distinct difference between tactical RPGs and traditional RPGs

History.

A number of early role-playing video games used a tactical form of combat, such as "Tunnels of Doom" (1982) and "" (1983), as well as "The Dragon and Princess" (1982) and "Bokosuka Wars" (1983), which introduced party-based, tiled combat to America and Japan, respectively. Further, tactical RPGs are descendants of tabletop role-playing games and wargames, such as "Dungeons & Dragons" and "Chainmail", which were mainly tactical in their original form. Nevertheless, much of the development of tactical RPGs has diverged on each side of the Pacific, and the term "tactical RPG" is sometimes reserved only for those titles that were created in Japan.

8-bit origins in the East (1982–1990).

One of the earliest Japanese RPGs, Koei's "The Dragon and Princess", released NEC's PC-8001 home computer platform in 1982. This game can also be considered a precursor to the tactical RPG genre. It used a combat system where, following a random encounter, the game transitioned to a separate, graphical, overhead battle screen, and tactical turn-based combat ensued. That same year, in 1982, "Tunnels of Doom" used a similar combat system; as did "Ultima III: Exodus" released in 1983.  During the 8-bit era, "Bokosuka Wars", a computer game developed by Koji Sumii for the Sharp X1 in 1983 and ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) by ASCII in 1985, was responsible for laying the foundations

Eastern console history (1991–present).

16-bit consoles.

During the 16-bit generation, among the first imitators was "Langrisser" by NCS/Masaya, first released for the Mega Drive / Genesis in 1991. It was translated for North American release and retitled "Warsong". The "Langrisser" series differed from "Fire Emblem" in that it used a general-soldier structure instead of controlling main characters. "Langrisser", too, spawned many sequels, none of which were brought to North America. "Langrisser" set itself apart from other tactical RPGs in its time with larger-scale battles, where the player could control over thirty units at one time and fight against scores of enemies. Since "Der Langrisser" in 1994, the series offered non-linear branching paths and multiple endings. The player's choices and actions affected which of four different paths they followed, either aligning themselves with one of three different factions or fighting against all of them. Each of the four paths leads to a different ending and there are over 75 possible scenarios. "Langrisser III" introduced a relationship system similar to dating sims. Depending on the player's choices and actions,

32-bit consoles.

The 32-bit era saw many influential tactical RPGs, such as Konami's 1996 "Vandal Hearts series", which feature branching storylines that can be altered by the player's dialogue choices that lead to different endings, as well as Sega's 1997 "Shining Force 3", SCEI's "Arc the Lad Collection" (1996–1999), and Square's 1997 "Final Fantasy Tactics" and 1999 "Front Mission 3". Konami's "Vandal Hearts" was an early PlayStation title that helped popularize tactical RPGs in the US. It was released by Konami and featured a 3D isometric map that could be rotated

Sixth generation.

On sixth-generation consoles, a loyal American fan-base has been established by Nippon Ichi, makers of the PlayStation 2 games "", "Phantom Brave", and "". Of these games, "Disgaea" has been the most successful to date, and was the second Nippon Ichi game released in North America, the first being "" (published by Atlus). Throughout this generation, companies have recognized the large audience and popularity of these types of games, particularly Atlus and Nintendo. "La Pucelle: Tactics" and "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness", which Atlus re-released due to high demand, have become cult hits for the PlayStation 2.  In 2001, "Sakura Wars 3" for the Dreamcast introduced a new combat system that incorporates action elements, and abandons the use of grids in favour of allowing each character to move around freely across the battlefield but with a limited number of moves each turn illustrated using a bar at

Seventh generation.

On seventh-generation consoles, Sega's "Valkyria Chronicles" (2008) for the PlayStation 3 utilizes the seventh-generation console processing power by using a distinctive anime/watercolor art style, as well as incorporating third-person tactical shooter elements. After selecting a character in the overhead map view, the player manually controls him/her from a third-person view. This mechanic allows for, among others: free movement to a certain range, manual aiming with extra damage for headshots, a limited cover system, and real-time hazards, such as interception fire and landmines. The game has been described as "the missing link between "Final Fantasy Tactics" and "Full Spectrum Warrior"."  In 2004, Konami released "Metal Gear Acid", which combined the stealth game elements of the "Metal Gear" series with turn-based tactical RPG gameplay of games like "Fire Emblem", "Final Fantasy Tactics", and "Disgaea", along with the random-draw, forethought and resource management appeal of card battles like in Konami's own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" games (1999 onwards). Developer Kuju Entertainment released "Dungeons & Dragons Tactics" for the PlayStation Portable in 2007. The game intended to adapt the rules and mechanics of the popular table-top role-playing game, "Dungeons & Dragons", but suffered from a poor interface and awkward camera controls.  The Atlus title "" (2009) blended together both traditional and tactical RPG gameplay along with non-linear adventure game elements. It also featured an innovative demon auction system and a death clock system where each character has a specified time of death, with

Western personal computers.

Many Western PC games have utilized this genre for years, as well. Western games tend to have stronger military themes, without many of the fantasy elements often found in their console (and mainly Japanese) counterparts; as well as greater freedom of movement when interacting with the surrounding environment. Notable examples include the "Jagged Alliance" series (1994-2018) and the "Silent Storm" series (2003-2005), with many titles owing considerably to the "X-COM" series (1994-2016) of strategy games. In fact, Western PC games in the genre were largely defined by "X-COM" in much the same way as Eastern console games were by "Fire Emblem".

1990s.

"" (1997), part of the "Battle Isle" series, was one of the first strategy titles to use fully 3D graphics and support hardware acceleration on the 3dfx Voodoo. Other titles in the series are mainly tactical wargames featuring vehicle combat and base capturing. The game was generally well received by critics.  "Gorky 17" (1999, a.k.a. "Odium") is a tactical RPG by Polish developer Metropolis Software featuring elements of survival horror. It is

2000s.

"Shadow Watch" (2000) is a video game adaptation of the "Tom Clancy's Power Plays" novel of the same name developed by Red Storm Entertainment. It has also been compared to "X-COM", though it features a different action point system and is missing the latter game's upgradable units. The game's reception was mixed.  "" (2001) is a spin-off of the "Fallout" series of CRPGs by Interplay Entertainment developed by Australian company Micro Forté. Unusual for the genre is the option to choose between real-time and turn-based play, or between "Continuous Turn-Based Mode" (CTB), "Individual Turn-Based Mode" (ITB), and

2010s.

The tactical isometric cyberpunk/fantasy RPG, "Shadowrun Returns" (2013), was funded via a successful crowd-sourced Kickstarter campaign that raised a total of $1.9 million for development. The game is based on the popular "Shadowrun" pen-and-paper setting by Jordan Weisman, and features tactical combat in a world filled with cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures. Two sequels, "" (2014) and "" (2015) quickly followed. An online tactical game not directly related to the previous three games, "", was released to less-than-positive reviews in 2015.

Genre blurring.

Other games combine similar mechanics, but typically belong in other genres. Tactical wargames such as the "Steel Panthers" series (1995–2006) sometimes combine tactical military combat with RPG-derived unit advancement. "Avalon Hill's Squad Leader" (2000), a man-to-man wargame utilizing the "Soldiers at War" engine, has also been compared (unfavorably) to "X-COM" and "Jagged Alliance". "Rebelstar" (1984) and "Laser Squad" (1988) were precursors to "X-COM" created by the same developer, Julian Gollop. They did not, however, feature the statistical character development and strategic map of the later series.  "Bokosuka Wars" (1983), a game regarded as the progenitor of the strategy/simulation RPG genre, is also difficult to clearly define. While often referred to as a strategy/simulation RPG, it is also sometimes referred to as a prototype real-time strategy, an early reverse tower defense game, and an early action role-playing game. "Nobunaga's Ambition" (1983) and later Koei titles as well as Capcom's "Destiny of an Emperor" (1989) have blurred the line between a role-playing game, turn-based grand strategy wargame, and simulation video game. Similarly, Kure Software Koubou's "Silver Ghost" (1988) combined elements of both tactical RPGs and action RPGs, while "" (1993) blurred the line between a tactical RPG and a real-time strategy. "Metal Gear Acid" (2004) blurs the line between a stealth game, a genre the

Popularity.

Many tactical RPGs can be both extremely time-consuming and extremely difficult. Hence, the appeal of most tactical RPGs is to the hardcore, not casual, computer and video game player. Traditionally, tactical RPGs have been quite popular in Japan but have not enjoyed the same degree of success in North America and elsewhere. However, the audience for Japanese tactical RPGs has grown substantially in the West since the mid-90s, with PS1 and PS2 titles such as "Final Fantasy Tactics", "Suikoden Tactics", "Vanguard Bandits" and "Disgaea" enjoying a surprising measure of popularity outside Japan. Further, older Japanese tactical RPGs are also being re-released via software emulation—such as on the Wii's Virtual Console—as well as on handheld systems, giving these games a new lease on life.  However, in the 2000s, some developers complained it was becoming increasingly difficult to develop games of this type (though several had been developed in Eastern Europe with limited success); and even some developers were beginning to complain about a supposed bias against turn-based systems. Reasons cited include publishers' focus on developing real-time, action-oriented games; as well as a perception that games with turn-based mechanics were "too niche" to become successful. But things may have turned around in the 2010s, at least in the West. A few high-profile titles, such as 2K Games' strategy video games, "" and "XCOM 2"—as well as a number of Kickstarter-funded RPGs, such as Larian's "", inXile's "Wasteland 2" and Harebrained Schemes' "Shadowrun Returns"—were successfully developed and published in recent years, in part due to new means of funding and distributing them. According to Dan Tudge of n-Space, "The resurgence of tactical-isometric RPGs has a lot to do with accessibility.... Changes in the ecosystem like Steam and digital distribution have made it easier than ever for developers to connect with players."

Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated as TRPG) are a genre of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games with that of tactical games, emphasizing tactics rather than high-level strategy. The format of a tactical RPG video game is much like a traditional tabletop role-playing game in its appearance, pacing and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames like "Chainmail", which were primarily concerned with combat.

Ein Strategie-Rollenspiel (auch Taktik-Rollenspiel, abgekürzt mit SRPG für "Strategic Role Playing Game", bzw. TRPG für "Tactical Role Playing Game"; in Japan auch Simulation Role Playing Game) ist ein Subgenre der Computer-Rollenspiele, bei dem der spielerische Fokus auf der taktischen Bewältigung umfangreicher Schlachten mit einer meist größeren Anzahl von Kämpfern liegt. Als Archetyp dieses Genres gilt das 1990 für das NES erschienene "Fire Emblem".


Early life.

Armstrong was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the younger son of General John Armstrong and Rebecca (Lyon) Armstrong. John Armstrong Sr. was a renowned Pennsylvania soldier born in Ireland of Scottish descent. John Jr.'s older brother was James Armstrong, who became a physician and U.S. Congressman.  After early education in Carlisle, John Jr. studied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He broke off his studies in Princeton in 1775 to return to Pennsylvania and join the fight in the Revolutionary War.

Career.

Revolutionary War.

The young Armstrong initially joined a Pennsylvania militia regiment and the following year he was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Hugh Mercer of the Continental Army. In this role, he carried the wounded and dying General Mercer from the field at the Battle of Princeton. After the general died on January 12, 1777, Armstrong became an aide to General Horatio Gates. He stayed with Gates through the Battle of Saratoga then resigned due to problems with his health. In 1782 Gates asked him to return. Armstrong joined General Gates' staff as an aide with the rank of major, which he held through the rest of the war.

Newburgh letters.

While in camp with Gates at Newburgh, New York, Armstrong became involved in the Newburgh Conspiracy. He is generally acknowledged as the author of the two anonymous letters directed at the officers in the camp. The first, titled "An Address to the Officers" (dated March 10, 1783), called for a meeting to discuss back pay and other grievances with the Congress and form a plan of action. After George Washington ordered the meeting canceled and called for a milder meeting on March 15, a second address appeared that claimed that this showed that Washington supported their actions.  Washington successfully defused this protest without a mutiny. While some of Armstrong's later correspondence acknowledged his role, there was never any official action that connected him with the anonymous letters.

After the revolution.

Later in 1783 Armstrong returned home to Carlisle and became an Original Member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati. He was named the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania's militia and also served as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under Presidents Dickinson and Franklin. In 1784, he led a military force of four hundred militiamen into a controversy with Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. His tactics enraged the nearby states of Vermont and Connecticut, which sent their own militia into the area. Timothy Pickering was dispatched to forge a solution to the difficulty, and the settlers were able to keep title to the land they had tamed. In 1787 and 1788 Armstrong was sent as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Congress of the Confederation. The Congress offered to make him chief justice of the Northwest Territory. He declined this, as well as all other public offices for the next dozen years.  Armstrong resumed public life after the resignation of John Laurance as U.S. Senator from New York. As a Jeffersonian Republican he was elected in November 1800 to a term ending in March 1801. He took his seat on November 6, and was re-elected on January 27 for a full term (1801–07), but resigned on February 5, 1802. DeWitt Clinton was elected to fill the vacancy, but resigned in 1803, and Armstrong was appointed temporarily to his old seat.  In February 1804, Armstrong was elected again to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Theodorus Bailey, thus moving from the Class 3 to the Class 1 seat on February 25, but served only four months before President Jefferson appointed him U.S. Minister to France. He served in that post until 1810, and also represented the United States at the court of Spain in 1806.  When the War of 1812 broke out, Armstrong was called to military service. He was commissioned as a Brigadier General, and placed in charge of the defenses for the port of New York. Then in 1813 President Madison named him Secretary of War.  Henry Adams wrote of him:  "In spite of Armstrong's services, abilities, and experience, something in his character always created distrust. He had every advantage of education, social and political connection, ability and self-confidence; he was only fifty-four years old, which was also the age of Monroe; but he suffered from the reputation of indolence and intrigue. So strong was the prejudice against him that he obtained only eighteen votes against fifteen in the Senate on his confirmation; and while the two senators from Virginia did not vote at all, the two from Kentucky voted in the negative. Under such circumstances, nothing but military success of the first order could secure a fair field for Monroe's rival."  Armstrong made a number of valuable changes to the armed forces but was so convinced that the British would 'not' attack Washington D.C. that he did nothing to defend the city even when it became clear it was the objective of the invasion force. After the destruction of Washington, Madison, usually a forgiving man, forced him to resign in September 1814.

Later life.

Armstrong returned to his farm and resumed a quiet life. He published a number of histories, biographies, and some works on agriculture. He died at La Bergerie (later renamed Rokeby), the farm estate he built in Red Hook, New York in 1843 and is buried in the cemetery in Rhinebeck. Following the death of Paine Wingate in 1838, he became the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress, and the only one to be photographed.

Personal life.

In 1789, Armstrong married Alida Livingston (1761–1822), the youngest child of Judge Robert Livingston (1718–1775) and Margaret (née Beekman) Livingston. Alida was also the sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and Edward Livingston. Together they had seven children:  Armstrong died in Red Hook, New York on April 1, 1843. He was buried at the Rhinebeck Cemetery in Rhinebeck, New York.

Residences.

Almont.

Armstrong's initial farm in Dutchess County, called "Altmont" (also known as "The Meadows"), was originally part of the Schuyler patent. In 1795, he purchased a part of the farm from the Van Benthuysen family, and converted an existing barn into a two-story Federal style dwelling with twelve rooms. Around 1800, Armstrong sold "Almont" to Andrew and Anna Verplanck Deveaux. Deveaux died in 1812; in 1816 his widow sold "Deveaux Park" to John Stevens. The mansion burned down around 1879. In 1908, lumber rights to the white oak and chestnut forests were sold for timber for the New York market.

La Bergerie.

After the death of Margaret Beekman Livingston, widow of Judge Robert Livingston, much of the Clermont land was distributed among the heirs. John R. Livingston received the land that would become the "Messena" estate. His sister Alida Livingston Armstrong inherited the property just to the south. There the Armstrong's created "La Bergerie", an estate where they raised Merino sheep. The Astors purchased it for a summer home and renamed it Rokeby. Margaret Chanler Aldrich, great-granddaughter of Margaret Armstrong Astor, married Richard Aldrich. Rokeby remains in the Aldrich family.

John Armstrong Jr. (November 25, 1758April 1, 1843) was an American soldier and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and Secretary of War.

John Armstrong Jr. (* 25. November 1758 in Carlisle, Provinz Pennsylvania; † 1. April 1843 in Red Hook, New York) war ein US-amerikanischer Soldat und Politiker. Er war ein Delegierter des Kontinentalkongresses, Senator von New York und Kriegsminister.


History.

Net5 was launched by the SBS Broadcasting Group as their second commercial channel in the Netherlands next to SBS6. The head of SBS was Fons van Westerloo who left the company to work until 31 January 2008 to head the main competitor RTL Nederland (part of the RTL Group). Van Westerloo announced the new broadcast on 4 December 1998. It was supposed to become a commercial version of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting. Net5 was launched on 1 March 1999 and the first broadcast was the film Braveheart.  Since there were not that many commercial channels at the time, the Net5 brand was partly chosen to compete directly with the RTL 5 channel. The goal was for viewers to put Net5 on position 5 of their remote control settings instead of the older channel RTL 5. But research showed that more people would place RTL 5 on five, and Net5 on position nine.  From January 2000 to August 2002, Net5 shared its channel with the children's channel Kindernet. Kindernet broadcast from the early morning until 15.00.  The German ProSiebenSat.1 Media took over the parent company, SBS Broadcasting Group, on 27 June 2007. In 2011, all of SBS's activities in the Netherlands (through SBS Broadcasting B.V.), including the three TV stations (SBS6, Net5 and Veronica), the two TV guides (Veronica Magazine and Totaal TV), production, design and text activities were sold to a joint venture between Sanoma Media Netherlands (67%) and Talpa Holding (33%).  On 10 April 2017, Talpa Holding acquired a 67% stake from Sanoma Media Netherlands.

Net5 is a Dutch commercial TV channel and is part of Talpa TV, formerly a part of SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Veronica and SBS9. It is aimed at high-educated female viewers. The station broadcasts various series, reality shows and films.

NET 5 ist ein niederländischer Privatsender. Er ist Teil der SBS Broadcasting Group und richtet sich vor allem an ein junges, weibliches Publikum.


History.

It was first mentioned in 897 as "Slattingarro". Finds from the Paleolithic and Roman era indicate that there were earlier settlements in the area. In the Middle Ages the monasteries of St. Gallen, Münsterlingen, St. Katharinental and Wagenhausen all held property and rights in Schlattingen. The town of Diessenhofen held the low justice rights from 1489 to 1798 and the high justice rights after 1460.  The right to appoint pastors of the village church (built in 1275) was held by the Göberg family. Soon after the Protestant Reformation, it became part of the parish of Stammheim (today Oberstammheim and Unterstammheim) and remained so until 1827. The Diessenhofen parish staff gave the sermon after 1585 in Schlattingen. In 1827 the church of Schlattingen became a filial church of Basadingen.  In the 18th Century, the village acquired most of its own land and owned of woods. It produced grain, fruit, clover and grapes and in the 19th Century there was increased dairy farming. Between 1920 and 1980, the proportion of jobs in agriculture dropped from 72% to 46%, while the services sector saw an increase from 6% to 29%. A new housing development opened in 1945.

Population.

The population in 1850 was 488. By 1900 it had decreased to 333. In 1950 it was 406 and had increased to 512 in 1990.

Transport.

Schlattingen sits on the Lake Line between Schaffhausen and Rorschach and is served by the St. Gallen S-Bahn at the Schlattingen railway station, located at the northern edge of the city center.

Schlattingen is a village and former municipality in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. In 1999 the municipality was merged with the neighboring municipality Basadingen to form a new and larger municipality Basadingen-Schlattingen.

Schlattingen ist eine ehemalige Ortsgemeinde und eine Ortschaft in der politischen Gemeinde Basadingen-Schlattingen im Bezirks Frauenfeld des Kantons Thurgau in der Schweiz.


World War I and interwar period.

Baur was born in Ampfing, Bavaria. He was called up to the Bavarian Army in 1915, and trained in field artillery. He then joined the Luftstreitkräfte (air force) as an artillery spotter. After the war, Baur joined the "Freikorps" under Franz von Epp. He went on to become a courier flier for the Bavarian airmail service. Beginning in 1922, Baur was a pilot for Bayrische Luftlloyd, and then Junkers Luftverkehr.  In 1926, Baur became a pilot of Deutsche Luft Hansa. In the same year, Baur also became a member of the NSDAP (Nazi Party No. 48,113). On 1 April 1931, Baur flew the opening flight of the Berlin-Munich-Rome route, known as the Alpine flight, whose passengers included Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli, Arturo Toscanini and Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.

Hitler's personal pilot.

Hitler was the first politician to campaign by air travel, deciding that travel by plane was more efficient than travel by railway. Baur first served as his pilot during the 1932 General Election.  Hitler obtained his first private aeroplane, a Junkers Ju 52/3m with registration number D-2600 (Werk Nr. 4021), in 1933, after becoming German Chancellor. The same registration number continued to be used for all aircraft used by Hitler, even during the war years. The Ju 52 was named "Immelmann II" after the First World War pilot Max Immelmann. Baur was personally selected by Hitler to be his official pilot in 1933 and was consequently released from service by Luft Hansa.

Fliegerstaffel des Führers.

Baur was appointed head of the Hitler's personal squadron, initially based at Oberwiesenfeld, Munich. As the Luftwaffe was not yet officially established, Hitler wanted Baur to be able to command sufficient power and respect to assure his security, therefore, Baur was commissioned a "Standartenführer" (colonel) in the "Schutzstaffel" (SS No. 171,865) by Heinrich Himmler in October, 1933.  Baur was given the task of expanding and organising Hitler's personal squadron and the government "flying group". In 1934, Baur was promoted to the rank of SS-"Oberführer". Hitler allowed Baur to fill his squadron with experienced Luft Hansa pilots, including Georg Betz who became co-pilot for Hitler's aircraft and Hans Baur's substitute. By 1937, Hitler had three Ju 52 airplanes for flight use. Then in 1937, Hitler obtained a new aircraft, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor which was named, "Immelmann III". The Condor had a much greater range and was faster than the Ju 52. In 1942, an improved model of the Condor was put into use for Hitler's travels and Baur continued to be his primary pilot. A Ju 290 was assigned to Hitler's renamed squadron, "Fliegerstaffel des Führers" (FdF) in late 1944. Modifications were completed by February 1945 at the FdF's base at Pocking, Bavaria. Baur tested the aircraft, but Hitler never flew in it. Still by the end of the war, Baur commanded a total of 40 different aircraft, including Ju 52, Condors, Ju 290 and the little Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.  Although he tried to convert Baur to vegetarianism, Hitler also invited him to the Reich Chancellery for his favourite meal of pork and dumplings for his 40th birthday, and gave him a Mercedes Benz to replace his personal Ford.

Führerbunker and Soviet detention.

On 31 January 1944, Baur was promoted to SS-"Brigadeführer" (brigadier general) and major general of the police; and on 24 February 1945, he became an SS-"Gruppenführer" (major general) and "Generalleutnant" of the Police.  During the last days of the war, Baur was with Hitler in the "Führerbunker". Baur had devised a plan to allow Hitler to escape from the Battle of Berlin; a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was held on standby which could take off from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten, near the Brandenburg Gate. However, Hitler refused to leave Berlin. On 26 April 1945, the improvised landing strip was used by Hanna Reitsch to fly in Colonel-General Robert Ritter von Greim, appointed by Hitler as head of the Luftwaffe after Hermann Göring's dismissal. During the evening of 28 April, Reitsch flew von Greim out on the same road-strip to Plon.  On 29 April 1945, the Soviet Red Army launched an all-out attack on the centre of Berlin. The Soviet artillery opened up with intense fire in and around the Reich Chancellery area. That evening in the bunker complex below the Chancellery garden, Hitler said his farewell to his personal pilots, Baur and Betz. Baur pleaded with Hitler to leave Berlin. The men volunteered to fly Hitler out of Germany in a Ju 390 and to safety. It was in vain as Hitler turned Baur down, stating he had to stay in Berlin.  Baur stayed in the bunker complex until Hitler killed himself on the afternoon of 30 April. After Hitler's suicide, Baur found the improvised road-strip too pot-holed for use and overrun by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army. A plan was devised to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. SS-"Brigadeführer" Wilhelm Mohnke split up the Reich Chancellery and "Führerbunker" soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Baur, Betz and Martin Bormann left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups. During the escape attempt, Baur was shot in the legs, and the wound was so serious that his right lower leg was later amputated in Posen on 10 June 1945, while a Soviet prisoner-of-war.  Baur was of great interest to his captors, who believed he might have flown Hitler to safety before the fall of Berlin. They also believed he had information concerning stolen art, specifically about the plundering of the Amber Room ("Bernsteinzimmer") in Leningrad. He was taken to the Soviet Union and imprisoned there for ten years before being released on 10 October 1955. The French then imprisoned him until 1957.

Later life and book.

Baur returned to West Germany and in 1957 wrote his autobiography "Ich flog die Mächtigen der Erde" (literally "I flew the mighty of the earth"). Later, a lengthened version was published as "Mit Mächtigen zwischen Himmel und Erde" ("Between Heaven and Earth with [the] Mighty.") The French translation is titled "J'étais pilote de Hitler: Le sort du monde était entre mes mains" ("I was Hitler's pilot: The fate of the world was in my hands.").  The book is a collection of Baur's eyewitness accounts of Hitler's daily activities and conversations. It is unique because Hans Baur, as his private pilot and personal friend, was in Hitler's presence practically every day from 1933 to 1945. The book also includes an account of the events surrounding the arrest of Ernst Röhm, by Hitler himself, on 30 June 1934 at Bad Wiessee in which Baur took part. The book tells of Baur's dislike for Hermann Göring (whom Baur describes as a "thick-headed glutton"). Hans Baur was one of the few people who was truly close to Hitler and was one of the last people to see him alive in the Berlin bunker. The book has since been translated into English – with the title "I was Hitler's Pilot" – and is an insider's account of Hitler's life and doings as leader of the German Reich.  Baur died in Germany on 17 February 1993.

Personal life.

Hans Baur married Elfriede Baur in 1923. Their only daughter, Ingeborg, was born the following year. After Elfriede Baur's death from cancer in 1935, Baur married again, with Hitler as his best man. His second wife, Maria, by whom he had two daughters, died while he was in captivity in the Soviet Union. His third wife, Cresentia, survived him.

Hans Baur (19 June 1897–17 February 1993) was Adolf Hitler's pilot during Hitler's political campaigns of the early 1930s. He later became Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the "Reichsregierung" squadron. Apprehended by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in Europe, he was imprisoned in the USSR for ten years before being extradited to France on 10 October 1955, where he was imprisoned until 1957. He died in Herrsching, Bavaria, in 1993.

Johann Peter Baur (* 19. Juni 1897 in Ampfing; † 17. Februar 1993 in Herrsching am Ammersee), genannt Hans Baur, war SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS und der Polizei, Adolf Hitlers Chefpilot und Führer der Flugstaffel „Reichsregierung“.


Playing career.

As a youth, Korolyuk played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Moscow.  Korolyuk was drafted 141st overall by the San Jose Sharks in 1994 NHL Entry Draft, from PHC Krylya Sovetov.  Three years later, he jumped to the NHL, making the opening night roster for the Sharks. However, he spent the majority of that season playing in the American Hockey League. Differences with then-head coach Darryl Sutter caused Korolyuk to be a contract hold-out at the start of the 2000–01 NHL season. He would eventually play 70 games for the Sharks that season. Korolyuk only played 32 games the next season and left the team after continued problems with Sutter. He played all of 2002–03 with Ak Bars Kazan.  While playing in Russia, Sutter was fired, paving the way for his return to the Sharks in 2003–04. Playing primarily on the second line with Alyn McCauley and Nils Ekman, Korolyuk posted a career-high 37 points.  That would be his final season in the NHL, however, as Korolyuk returned to Russia during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. On 1 October 2006, his rights were traded to the New Jersey Devils, along with Jim Fahey, for Vladimir Malakhov and a first-round draft pick. Later that season, Korolyuk became interested in an NHL return and requested to Devils management that his rights be traded back to the Sharks. His request was granted and the Sharks re-acquired him 16 February 2007 for a third-round draft pick, only to have the trade voided six days later when Korolyuk did not report for his physical in the allotted time period.  Korolyuk continued his playing career in the Kontinental Hockey League, playing for HC Vityaz, Atlant Mytishchi, SKA St. Petersburg, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and HC Yugra.

Alexander Ivanovich Korolyuk (, born January 15, 1976) is a Russian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks before playing the remainder of his career in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Alexander Iwanowitsch Koroljuk (; * 15. Januar 1976 in Moskau, Russische SFSR) ist ein russischer Eishockeyspieler, der zuletzt beim HK Jugra Chanty-Mansijsk in der Kontinentalen Hockey-Liga unter Vertrag stand.


Design.

German Type IIC submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. "U-56" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was, however. The U-boat had a total length of, a pressure hull length of, a beam of, a height of, and a draught of. The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to.  The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of. When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at. "U-56" was fitted with three torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of 25.

Service history.

1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols.

"U-56"s first three patrols, completed during her workup and training period, were relatively uneventful cruises in the North Sea. No ships were attacked during this period; even though on her third sortie, she circumnavigated the Shetland Islands.

4th patrol.

The submarine's luck changed for the better on her fourth foray. She damaged "Eskdene" on 2 December 1939, northeast of the Tyne. The following day, she sank "Rudolf" east of May Island (in the mouth of the Firth of Forth).

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th patrols.

The fifth patrol was also uneventful and took the boat into the southern North Sea.  Patrol numbers six and seven were both more of the same.  The boat's eighth sortie ranged far and wide; across the North Sea to the Scottish west coast, north of Shetland, then the other side of the North Sea to the coast of Norway, but further success continued to elude her.  Her ninth effort was to the north of the Hebrides and again round the Shetland Islands.

10th patrol.

"U-56"s tenth patrol took her to the newly captured port of Lorient on the French Atlantic coast. She departed Wilhelmshaven on 29 June 1940; her route was to the west of Ireland, culminating in her arrival on 21 July.

11th patrol.

She was near Ireland once more when she sank the "Boma" on 5 August 1940 northwest of Malin Head.  In a similar location, she sank the armed merchant cruiser northwest of Malin Head on 10 August.

12th patrol.

"U-56" was attacked by the British submarine about northeast of St Kilda on 6 September. All the torpedoes missed; the Germans were unaware of the situation. The boat was on her way, via the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands, back to Germany. She arrived in Kiel on 15 September.

Fate.

Whilst in Kiel on 3 April 1945, "U-56" was badly damaged in a US air raid and subsequently decommissioned. She was then scuttled by her crew on 3 May 1945 in position. Soon after the war ended the wreck was raised and broken up.

German submarine "U-56" was a Type IIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" that served in the Second World War. She was built by Deutsche Werke, Kiel as yard number 255. Ordered on 17 June 1937, she was laid down on 21 September, launched on 3 September 1938 and commissioned on 26 November under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Wilhelm Zahn.

U 56 war ein U-Boot vom Typ II C, das im Zweiten Weltkrieg von der deutschen Kriegsmarine eingesetzt wurde. Auf seinen 12 Unternehmungen versenkte es 4 Schiffe mit 25.783 BRT, wobei 48 Menschen starben. Von 1941 bis 1945 diente es als Ausbildungsboot. Am 28. April 1945 wurde es im Hafen von Kiel bei einem Luftangriff zerstört, ohne dass Menschen an Bord waren, und am 3. Mai selbstversenkt.


Plot.

Robert Scott is a former United States Marine Corps Force Recon master gunnery sergeant, acting as a selection cadre member for Delta Force. While observing an exercise designed to evaluate Delta candidates, Scott meets a recruit, Curtis, as well as Sergeant Jacqueline Black, a knife fighting instructor.  Scott is drawn into a clandestine operation to find Laura Newton, the President's daughter, who is missing. He and Curtis go first to the beach house of one of Laura's professors, with whom she is said to have a relationship. They find neither person there but find two unidentified men who react aggressively, leading Curtis, who has taken up position outside with a sniper's rifle, to shoot the men. Another lead takes them to a bar where girls are recruited as prostitutes, and Scott's team follows a middleman from the bar to a brothel that funnels some of these girls to an international sex slavery ring. The madam gives them a contact number leading to a pay phone.  Calls placed to the pay phone are traced to Tariq Asani, a Lebanese national currently in federal prison. They plan to intercept Asani during a prisoner transport for medical treatment and gain information from him about the sex trafficking operation.  When the car carrying Asani and another prisoner stops en route to its destination, Scott shows up and appears to kill the transport guard, then kills the other prisoner who was on death row. He spares Asani when Asani says he can get them on a plane out of the country that night and confirms the sex slavery ring is based in Dubai.  Scott stops at a convenience store to relay the information to the team. Curtis provides him with more ammunition, but Asani, waiting in the car, happens to spot the badge of another agent talking with Curtis and opens fire. Curtis is wounded and Scott has to kill Asani.  As the team prepares an assault in Dubai, a news broadcast reports that Laura and her college professor were discovered drowned while sailing off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The rescue operation is called off. Scott returns home, convinced there is no more to be done, but Curtis tracks him down and insists that Laura is alive. He shows Scott an earring that was caught in his sniper's mat from the beach house identical to the earrings Laura is wearing in a news photograph.  When they return to the beach house to investigate, Curtis is killed by a sniper positioned on a nearby boat. Scott evades the sniper and when he finds Laura's unique sign on a window in the beach house indicating she was there, he realizes that she may not be dead. He takes his pager and phone apart and finds a tracking device.  He tries to contact Laura's mother, who is visiting a rehab facility, but he is intercepted by a female Secret Service agent assigned to guard the First Family. When he shows the agent the earring, the agent, who knows Laura well, explains that for years the President has used visits to his daughter as a cover for extramarital affairs, and that he pulled Laura's Secret Service detail to use as extra protection for himself during the latest trip, leaving her vulnerable to the members of the sex trafficking ring.  Scott enlists Sergeant Black to help him rescue the girl from Dubai and turns to Avi, a former Israeli operative. Avi agrees to get him into Dubai and smuggle Laura out concealed in a cargo container at the airport, obtaining weapons for him and support from a local man known as Jones.  Jones is killed during the rescue and Scott flees with Laura to a safe house, where he persuades her that although he is alone, he is acting under orders. Correctly guessing that he is really acting on his own, Laura says that King Leonidas of Sparta would respond to requests for help from neighboring kingdoms by sending one man, and decides to trust him.  When he takes Laura to the airport to seal her in the cargo container, Scott discovers he is being tracked when he finds a transmitter hidden in his knife. He rushes her out of the container just as his old team arrives to apprehend them. Scott is shot and Laura is captured. Her captor reveals herself as Sgt. Black, who shows her the earring and photos from the Secret Service agent, convincing Laura to stop struggling. A Swedish news crew witnesses the struggle as they are about to board their own plane nearby, and recognize Laura. Black is shot, and a hysterical Laura is hustled to safety aboard the journalists' plane. Scott finds the injured Black, who asks if Laura is now safe, which Scott confirms.  Later, on a London city street, a stubbled Scott is shown watching an evening news broadcast regarding Laura's return on a television in a shop window. The government spins the story of Laura's kidnapping as an opportunity for the President to take action to end the trafficking of American girls as sex slaves. A British man watching alongside Scott says, "Time to go home," and walks away. Scott watches him leave and says, "Lucky man." Scott is then seen walking off into Piccadilly Circus.

Production.

The Dubai locales were actually filmed in Los Angeles. Eric L. Haney, a retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major who operated in Delta Force, was the technical advisor, and briefly appears. After "Spartan", he and Mamet created "The Unit" television series about an Army unit mirroring Delta Force.  Alexandra Kerry, daughter of then-U.S. Senator (later Secretary of State) John Kerry, is a bartender in the film. David Mamet's rabbi, Mordechai Finley, appears as one of the training cadre. Political operative Ed Skyler has praised the film for its realism regarding the inner workings of the Washington elite.  The Scott character says the line, "One riot, one Ranger." Mamet previously used that dialogue in "House of Games", and it has subsequently been used in "The Unit". The remark is said to be Texas Rangers lore.  The automatic knife used in the film is "The Spartan" by Severtech and was designed for this film.

Home Media.

"Spartan" was released on video and DVD June 15, 2004.

Reception.

The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 65% based on reviews from 134 critics, and a weighted average of 6.5 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "A good cast and Mamet's mastery over the written language elevate an otherwise conventional thriller." At Metacritic, another review aggregator, the film received a weighted average score of 60% based on 34 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".  Roger Ebert in the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film a four-star rating saying that "The particular pleasure of 'Spartan' is to watch the characters gradually define themselves and the plot gradually emerge like your face in a steamy mirror."  Ross Douthat wrote "Here's my rule of thumb: Anytime a critic praises a director for pushing any movie—let alone a low-budget thriller—"into the abstract," you know you've entered the realm of the lousy-but-pretentious, which is not a particularly fun place to spend a Saturday night. I promise you, folks, "Spartan" is bad—both in the way that only David Mamet can be bad and in a heap of others. The only thing that raises it to the level of "interesting pop culture artifact" is the sheer strangeness of its central conceit, which is almost bizarre enough to merit the price of the Blockbuster rental. I won't spoil it—but suffice to say, David Mamet thinks Jenna and Barbara should be keeping a weather eye on their Dad."  Tim Robey in "The Daily Telegraph" felt the film was let down by a "botched" finale, "as though Mamet felt obliged to reproduce a standard-issue Tom Clancy climax while knowing that this wasn't the way to go."

Spartan is a 2004 American action thriller film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Tia Texada, Ed O'Neill, William H. Macy, and Kristen Bell. It was released in the United States and Canada on March 12, 2004.

Spartan ist ein US-amerikanischer Actionfilm von David Mamet mit Val Kilmer, Derek Luke und William H. Macy aus dem Jahr 2004. Er wurde in Deutschland direkt auf DVD veröffentlicht.


History.

The place-name 'Rudston' is first attested in the "Domesday Book" of 1086, and means 'rood' or 'cross' stone, referring to the monolith. However, the name 'rud' derives from Old Norse ruð, meaning a clearing or pasture. So the place name could be stone in the clearing, Ruðstane. Nearby Howes of Duggleby and Ba'l (In Ugaritic mythology Baal is the lord of the storm; he bears a mace where Thor will grasp a hammer) also indicate Norse Viking place names rather than Anglo-Saxon origins.

Ancient remains.

The Rudston Monolith stands in the parish churchyard. At over tall, it is the tallest standing stone in England, and gave the village its name; it is Grade I listed.  Southside Mount round barrow is situated to the south west of the village close to Woldgate reservoir.  Rudston is the centre of an unparalleled grouping of four Neolithic cursus monuments: cursus A, cursus B, cursus C and cursus D. At least one end of each cursus rests on an elevated chalk ridge on the sides of the Great Wold Valley. Cursuses A and C cross the Gypsey Race, whilst the other ends of cursuses B and D probably lie under the village.  Rudston Roman villa, noted for its mosaics, was first excavated in 1839. It was subsequently re-excavated in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s. The mosaics are now in the Hull and East Riding Museum.

Parish church.

Rudston Grade I listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints. Of 14th-century origin, it was restored in 1861 by George Fowler Jones. It contains the gigantic organ, originally of four manuals, given by Sir Alexander McDonald of the Isles. Now a 3 manual instrument, it stands at the west end of the church in the original case. The author Winifred Holtby was born in Rudston and is buried in the church graveyard. Since September 2014, the North Aisle of the church has a small heritage area including a 3D map of the village with sites of interest noted and a set of information boards about the history of the village.  Thorpe Hall to the east of the village was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1952 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England. William Bosville (d.1813) was the last of his family to own it, and he bequeathed it to his nephew Godfrey Macdonald, 3rd Baron Macdonald of Slate (1775–1832), whose descendants own it today.

Rudston is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Driffield and Bridlington approximately to the west of Bridlington, and lies on the B1253 road. The Gypsey Race (an intermittent stream) runs through the village, which lies in the Great Wold Valley. There are a number of Neolithic sites associated with the stream and its valley. It is the current Seat of the Clan Macdonald of Sleat.

Rudston ist ein Dorf in den Yorkshire Wolds, in Großbritannien. Der Name Rudston besteht aus den altenglischen Wörtern „rood“ für Kreuz, und „stan“ für Stein.