Early life and education.

David Brock was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and was adopted by Dorothea and Raymond Brock. He has a younger sister, Regina, who was also adopted. Brock was raised Catholic. His father, whom Brock has described as "a Pat Buchanan conservative", was a marketing executive.  Brock grew up in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, where he went to Our Lady of the Assumption School, and later attended Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. During his sophomore year of high school, Brock's family moved to the Dallas, Texas, area where Brock attended Newman Smith High School. Brock became editor of his high school newspaper, which he says he "fashioned into a crusading liberal weekly in the middle of the Reaganite Sunbelt".  Brock attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked as a reporter and editor for "The Daily Californian", the campus newspaper. Brock arrived at college as a liberal Democrat, but at Berkeley he was "repelled by the culture of doctrinaire leftism" and turned to the political right. The turning point came with a column supporting the US invasion of Grenada that he wrote for "The Daily Californian" and that led to demands he resign from the newspaper staff. "I thought it was McCarthyism of the left," Brock later said. "I thought it was extremely intolerant." He then founded a neoconservative weekly, the "Berkeley Journal".  He graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in history in 1985.

Journalism career.

Conservative journalism.

While he was at Berkeley, Brock contributed an op-ed to "The Wall Street Journal" entitled "Combating Those Campus Marxists". It drew the attention of John Podhoretz, who at the time was the editor of "Insight", a weekly newsmagazine published by "The Washington Times". Podhoretz flew Brock to Washington, D.C., for an interview and hired him as a writer of the weekly conservative news magazine "Insight on the News," a sister publication of "The Washington Times", a job Brock took up in 1986.  After working at "Insight", Brock spent some time as a fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

"The Real Anita Hill".

In March 1992, in a 17,000-word article for "The American Spectator", Brock challenged the claims of Anita Hill, who had accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Shortly thereafter Brock became a full-time staff member at that publication. In 1993, Brock expanded his article into a book, "The Real Anita Hill". Brock's description of Hill in the book as "a bit nutty and a bit slutty" was widely quoted.  The book became a best-seller. It was later attacked in a book review in "The New Yorker" by Jane Mayer, a reporter for "The New Yorker," and Jill Abramson, who was at that time a reporter for "The Wall Street Journal". The two later expanded their article into the book "Strange Justice," which cast Anita Hill in a much more sympathetic light. It, too, was a best-seller. Brock replied to their book with a book review of his own in "The American Spectator.". In that review, he asserted that Mayer and Abramson had no evidence to claim that Clarence Thomas was a habitual user of pornography. Later, in his book "Blinded By the Right", he wrote, "When I wrote those words, I knew they were false. I put a lie in print."

Troopergate.

In a January 1994 "The American Spectator" story about Bill Clinton's time as governor of Arkansas, Brock, by then on staff at the magazine, made accusations that bred Troopergate. Among other things, the story contained the first printed reference to Paula Jones, referring to a woman named "Paula" who state troopers said offered to be Clinton's partner. Jones called Brock's account of her encounter with Clinton "totally wrong", and she later sued Clinton for sexual harassment, a case that became entangled in the independent counsel's investigation of the Whitewater controversy, and set in motion a series of developments that led to the exposure of Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and, ultimately, to Clinton's impeachment trial. The story received an award later that year from Joseph Farah's Western Journalism Center, and was partially responsible for a rise in the magazine's circulation.

"The Seduction of Hillary Rodham".

After the success of "The Real Anita Hill", Simon & Schuster's then-conservative-focused Free Press subsidiary paid Brock a large advance to write a book about Hillary Clinton. The expectation was that it would be a takedown in the style of his writings on Anita Hill and Bill Clinton. The project, however, took a different turn, and the resulting book, "The Seduction of Hillary Rodham", proved to be largely sympathetic to Mrs. Clinton. Given the large advance and tight one-year deadline by Free Press, Brock was under tremendous pressure to produce another bestseller. However, the book contained no major scoops. In "Blinded by the Right" (2002), Brock said that he had reached a turning point: he had thoroughly examined charges against the Clintons, could not find any evidence of wrongdoing and did not want to make any more misleading claims. Brock further said that his former friends in right-wing politics shunned him because "Seduction" did not adequately attack the Clintons. "National Review" proposed another theory: since "no liberal source in the world would talk to Brock", he could not collect the kind of information he was after. "National Review" also suggested that while writing the book, Brock had been "seduced" by Sidney Blumenthal, a champion and friend of the Clinton circle.  When the book came out, it was widely criticized for not breaking any new ground. John Balzar, reviewing the book in the "Los Angeles Times", called it "[e]xhaustive to the point of exhaustion" and "predictably critical but unexpectedly measured, at least in comparison to what Beltway gossips anticipated". James B. Stewart, reviewing the book in "The New York Times", said that Brock had "tried to do his subject justice in the broadest sense" but added that "[a]t times he goes too far," often "echo[ing] her apologists" and "dismiss[ing] or rationaliz[ing] the sometimes powerful evidence that Hillary Rodham Clinton has lied...by invoking a relativism rooted in Republican precedents."  Sales of the book were dismal. A deal to excerpt it in "Newsweek" fell through because the newsmagazine's editors decided that it contained nothing new or exciting. The publisher lost millions of dollars and Brock's editor, Adam Bellow, was fired.

Changing sides.

"The Nation" has described Brock as a "conservative journalistic assassin turned progressive empire-builder" while "National Review" has called him a "right-wing assassin turned left-wing assassin" and "Politico" has profiled him as a "former right-wing journalist-turned-pro-Clinton crusader".  In July 1997, "Esquire" magazine published a confessional piece by Brock entitled "Confessions of a Right-Wing Hit Man" in which he recanted much of what he said in his two best-known "American Spectator" articles and criticized his own reporting methods. Discouraged at the reaction his Hillary Clinton biography received, he said, "I... want out. David Brock the Road Warrior of the Right is dead." Four months later, "The American Spectator" declined to renew his employment contract, under which he was being paid over $300,000 per year.  Writing again for "Esquire" in April 1998, Brock apologized to Clinton for his muckraking journalism about Troopergate.  In 2001, Brock accused one of his former sources, Terry Wooten, of leaking FBI files for use in his book about Anita Hill. Brock defended his betrayal of a confidential source by saying, "I've concluded that what I was involved in wasn't journalism, it was a political operation, and I was part of it... So I don't think the normal rules of journalism would apply to what I was doing".

"Blinded by the Right".

Brock's book "Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative" was published in 2002. In this book, an "outgrowth" of "Confessions of a Right-Wing Hit Man", Brock charted what the "Daily Beast" called his "remarkable metamorphosis to ardent acolyte from sworn enemy of Bill and Hillary Clinton." Brock apologized for his attacks on the Clintons and Anita Hill and claimed that he had now risen above character assassination. He wrote that he had been "a mad dog, an emotional monster," "a whore for the cash," "a Jew in Hitler's army," and "a witting cog in the Republican sleaze machine," and asserted that he hadn't known "what good reporting was."  Many critics responded with skepticism to Brock's claim to have reformed himself. The reviewer for "The Washington Post" wrote that Brock "quotes the worst things critics said about him, and agrees with every word". Christopher Hitchens, in "The Nation", called Brock's book "an exercise in self-love, disguised as an exercise in self-abnegation," and declared that Brock was failing to state the truth. These and other critics noted that Brock, while claiming to feel remorse for his attacks on the Clintons and professing to have put personal assaults behind him, now seemed as eager to go after targets on the right as he had once gone after targets on the left. Hitchens responded with disgust, for example, to Brock's "coarse attack" in the book on Juanita Broaddrick, who had accused Bill Clinton of rape. Hitchens was particularly harsh, stating that Brock "inserts a completely gratuitous slander against a decent woman, all of whose independent assertions have survived meticulous fact-checking".  Many readers on the left, however, greeted the book with enthusiasm, and eagerly welcomed Brock. This was especially true of the Clintons. Shortly after the book's publication, Bill Clinton phoned Brock at home and praised it lavishly. Later, according to "Politico", "Brock was invited to the former president's Harlem office where he was shocked to discover Clinton had purchased dozens of copies — and stuffed them into a big cabinet". Clinton, it turned out, was mailing them to friends across the country. Clinton "insisted" that Brock contact his speaking agent and give talks around the country attacking conservatives. According to "The Nation", Democratic donors "loved Brock's conversion story, particularly since he'd been inside the machine they hoped to replicate." Brock's book is seen as having propelled him into a favorable position among the Democratic Party establishment.

"The Republican Noise Machine".

Brock directly addressed the right-wing "machine" in his 2004 book, "The Republican Noise Machine", in which he detailed an alleged interconnected, concerted effort to raise the profile of conservative opinions in the press through false accusations of liberal media bias, dishonest and highly partisan columnists, partisan news organizations and academic studies, and other methods.  "Publishers Weekly" described it as a "blistering j'accuse" that, compared to "Blinded by the Right", was "a less gossipy and more systematic assault on the right-wing media juggernaut." Brock, according to "PW", depicted the mainstream media as being "cowed by spurious charges of 'liberal bias'" and as therefore having "abandoned their role as objective arbiters of truth in favor of an uncritical airing of partisan ideology in the name of 'balance.'" "PW" stated that Brock could not "be accused of nonpartisanship."  Also in 2004, he featured briefly in the BBC series "The Power of Nightmares", where he stated that the Arkansas Project engaged in political terrorism.

Political operative career.

Media Matters for America.

In 2004, Brock founded the progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMA) which describes itself as being “dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” Brock said that he founded the organization to combat the conservative journalism sector that he had once been a part of. He founded the group with help from the Center for American Progress. Initial donors included Leo Hindery, Susie Tompkins Buell, and James Hormel. Media Matters is known for its aggressive criticism of conservative journalists and media outlets, including its "War on Fox News." "The New York Times", in a 2008 profile, called MMA "a highly partisan research organization" and quoted Democratic operative James Carville as saying that MMA was "more effective than any single entity" on the left. Pollster Frank Luntz called MMA "one of the most destructive organizations associated with American politics today." In a 2011 interview with "Politico", Brock vowed to wage "guerrilla warfare and sabotage" against Fox News.  When Brock proposed the idea of Media Matters, Hillary Clinton invited him to the Clintons' Chappaqua home to pitch the idea to potential donors. MMA, according to a 2015 article in "The Daily Beast", "operates from a posh Washington office space with a multi-million-dollar budget and nearly 100 employees." In 2014, "The Nation" stated that "Brock, in partnership with fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner—often described as his secret weapon—has turned out to be unparalleled at maintaining rich liberals' loyalty and support." An insider told "The Nation" that Brock and Bonner "are probably the most effective major-individual-donor fundraising team ever assembled in the independent-expenditure progressive world."  It was reported in June 2015 that when the House Select Committee on Benghazi questioned Sidney Blumenthal, committee members asked no fewer than 45 questions about Brock and Media Matters. The committee was reportedly interested in Sidney Blumenthal's paid work for Brock's nonprofits, and in the question of "whether Blumenthal and Brock did anything improper as they helped Clinton manage the political fallout from the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, while she was secretary of State."

Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.

Brock was active in Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidency in 2008.

American Bridge 21st Century.

Brock announced in 2010 that he was forming a Super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, to help elect liberal Democrats, starting with the 2012 election cycle. In 2011, Brock founded the PAC, which seeks "to track every utterance of every major GOP candidate." The "Los Angeles Times" described him as having "reinvented the art of opposition research." The group's work reportedly "did so much damage to Republicans in the 2012 elections" that they sought to replicate Brock's efforts.  In describing Brock's intentions for the super-PAC, "The New York Times" referred to Brock as a "prominent Democratic political operative" and "New York Magazine" referred to Brock's "hyperpartisanship."  The group has more than 80 staffers. It has researchers based in Washington, D.C., plus "a national network of professional trackers" who follow the moves and statements of every conceivable contender for the Republican nomination. "The Nation" has described American Bridge as "the natural next step" after MMA, explaining that "Brock took the Media Matters method—which involves monitoring virtually every word uttered by the right-wing media—and transferred it to the realm of Republican politicians." Democratic operative Paul Begala told "The Nation" that in 2012 American Bridge "produced for us a 950-page book of every business deal of Mitt Romney's career. We spent something like $65 million [2012 election], and I believe every single ad was in some ways informed by Brock's research."  In 2019, the American Bridge PAC disclosed $250,000 in independent expenditures for anti-Trump advertisements, according to the filings posted to the FEC's website. Earlier in the year, the organisation announced it will launch a $50 million effort to "weaken" Trump in Midwest states for the 2020 presidential election. Brock's efforts against the Republican Party have been criticised and referred to as "useless" by Democratic operatives.

Correct the Record.

In late 2013 Brock founded Correct the Record, described by "The New York Times" as Hillary Clinton's "own personal media watchdog," keeping track of all negative news surrounding her. Brock had first come up with the idea for the group that summer. "Having left the State Department," he said, "Clinton didn't have the kind of robust operation that one would have if one was holding public office. That's where I saw the need." The organization, whose staff "is crammed into a newsroom-style bullpen in the back corner of the offices of American Bridge 21st Century," "keeps constant watch for any conceivable attacks against her, and then aggressively beats them back before they take hold."  In September 2015, Brock and Correct the Record produced a piece on Bernie Sanders, linking him to Hugo Chavez and British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Priorities USA Action.

In early 2014, Brock was named to the board of Priorities USA Action as the super PAC also announced its support for a possible Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2016. In February 2015, Brock abruptly resigned his position with the super PAC. In his resignation letter, he accused Priorities officials of conducting "an orchestrated political hit job" against MMA and American Bridge. "The New York Times" had run an article questioning his groups' fundraising practices, and he charged that "current and former Priorities officials were behind this specious and malicious attack on the integrity of these critical organizations." His resignation “set off panic among influential Democrats,” because his other groups' research “provides the foundation for the multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns created with Priorities cash” and because “key Priorities donors have long-standing personal ties with him.” Brock was persuaded to return to Priorities later in 2015.

The American Democracy Legal Fund.

Brock also founded and runs the American Democracy Legal Fund, a nonprofit that has been accused of existing solely to create “a steady stream of lawsuits accusing Republicans of ethics and campaign finance violations.”

American Independent Institute.

In 2014, Brock relaunched the American Independent News Network, formerly a network of progressive state-based reporting outlets, into the American Independent Institute, a group which provides grants for liberal investigative journalism projects. Brock serves as the group's president. The Institute finances journalists "investigating rightwing activities." In 2014, it gave $320,000 in grants "to reporters investigating right-wing misdeeds."

CREW.

In 2014, Brock became the chairman of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington board of directors, in what was characterized as a more explicitly partisan stance for the organization. Brock was elected as CREW's board president after laying out a broad plan to turn the organization into a more muscular and partisan organization. "Politico" described this as “a major power play that aligns liberal muscle more fully behind the Democratic Party — and Hillary Clinton” and said that Brock had set forth a plan "to turn the group into a more muscular — and likely partisan — attack dog."  While CREW operates as a 501(c)3 nonprofit prohibited from engaging in partisan activity, Brock made clear he intends to create a more politically oriented arm registered under section 501(c)4, and also form a new overtly partisan watchdog group called The American Democracy Legal Fund registered under section 527, allowing it to engage in direct political activity. Along with Brock's election, consultant David Mercer and investor Wayne Jordan joined CREW's board of directors. When asked if CREW would still continue pursuing complaints against Democrats, Brock responded, "No party has a monopoly on corruption and at this early juncture, we are not making categorical statements about anything that we will and won't do. Having said that, our experience has been that the vast amount of violations of the public trust can be found on the conservative side of the aisle."

"Killing the Messenger".

In his 2015 book "Killing the Messenger: The Right-Wing Plot to Derail Hillary Clinton and Hijack Your Government", Brock described "how the Clintons quickly switched from prey to patrons, setting him on his current path as a fundraiser and progressive provocateur." In the book, Brock accused "The New York Times" of being a “megaphone for conservative propaganda” directed inordinately at Clinton. He was particularly critical of the "Times's" senior politics editor and former Washington bureau chief Carolyn Ryan. At the same time, in the words of "Politico", he depicted Bill and Hillary Clinton "as personal and political angels."  Calling the book a "trenchant j'accuse," "Publishers Weekly" said that parts of it "read like a fund-raising prospectus" for MMA but concluded that while "Brock's rhetorical venom and naked partisanship will alienate some readers... his sharp-eyed reporting makes for a spirited challenge to business-as-usual political discourse." "The Daily Beast" described the book as “partly a sanitized summary of Brock's already exhaustively-chronicled personal history, partly an attack on the journalism establishment, and partly a call to arms on behalf of his favorite presidential candidate.”  Hanna Rosin wrote that it reads like "pages that bullet-point Hillary's accomplishments as secretary of state or the achievements of the Clinton Foundation." Rosin alleged that the book attempted to whitewash any criticisms surrounding the Clintons. Rosin stated: "So dogged is Brock's devotion to Hillary that it often gets in the way of his being credible, not to mention interesting."  Responding to Brock's criticism of "The New York Times", Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the newspaper, told CNN: "David Brock is an opportunist and a partisan who specializes in personal attacks." Murphy complained that Brock's "partisanship has led him to lash out at some of our aggressive coverage of important political figures and it's unsurprising that he has now turned personal."  In October 2015, Brock gave a presentation at Georgetown University entitled "Is the Mainstream Media in Cahoots with Conservatives?".

Purchase of "Blue Nation Review".

In 2015, Brock formed an investment venture, True Blue Media, to purchase an 80 percent stake in "Blue Nation Review", an online news website. "Blue Nation Review" was later re-branded as "Shareblue".

Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.

The "Los Angeles Times" has described Brock as “integral to Hillary's run” for the presidency in 2016. Clinton adviser Paul Bagela commented: What kind of a movement would we be if we rejected converts? He saw the permanent intellectual and ideological infrastructure they have on the right and brought it to the left.”  A March 6, 2015, article in "National Review" noted that while other “Democratic kingmakers” were “in retreat” in the wake of the news that Hillary Clinton had “used a private e-mail account on a private server to avoid public scrutiny while secretary of state,” Brock remained fiercely loyal. Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in 2015, Brock insisted that Clinton had violated no rules by using a private email server.  It was reported on September 1, 2015, that a batch of Hillary Clinton's emails that had been made public included one from Brock entitled "Memo on Impeaching Clarence Thomas." In the memo, Brock discussed possible ways of trying to bring down the Supreme Court justice whose cause he had championed in "The Real Anita Hill".  "Politico" reported in January 2016 that Brock was preparing a new advertisement that would call on presidential candidate Bernie Sanders "to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1." Brock was subjected to a storm of criticism for this plan, and only hours after Politico's report, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta scolded Brock on Twitter.  Later in January, Brock responded to a Sanders campaign ad by telling the Associated Press: "From this ad, it seems black lives don't matter much to Bernie Sanders," Sanders aides responded by accusing Brock of "mudslinging." Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said in a statement: "Bernie Sanders, as everyone knows, has one of the strongest civil rights records in Congress. He doesn't need lectures on civil rights and racial issues from David Brock, the head of a Hillary Clinton Super Pac." Briggs added: "Twenty-five years ago it was Brock – a mud-slinging, right-wing extremist – who tried to destroy Anita Hill, a distinguished African American law professor. He later was forced to apologize for his lies about her. Today, he is lying about Sen Sanders. It's bad enough that Hillary Clinton is raising millions in special-interest money in her Super Pacs. It is worse that she would hire a mudslinger like David Brock."  At a campaign event in Iowa in late January 2016, Bernie Sanders denied any plans to "bus in out-of-state college students to caucus for him," charging that this was a lie and attributing it to Brock.  It was reported on February 1, 2016, that Brock was still drawing a salary from American Bridge 21st Century, which was legally prohibited from coordinating with the Clinton campaign, while also drawing a salary from Correct the Record, which was "directly working with the Clinton campaign on Internet-based pushback against the controversies that have dogged her presidential bid." This situation was described as "pushing campaign finance boundaries," with experts saying that Brock had found loopholes to circumvent campaign finance restrictions. Robert Maguire of the Center for Responsive Politics suggested that Brock was "running a shadow campaign" via a network of groups that Maguire called "the Brocktopus."  On February 8, 2016, after the near-tie in the Iowa caucuses between Clinton and Sanders, Brock told "Politico" that "Senator Sanders is trying to live in the purity bubble, and it needs to be burst." He described Sanders's efforts to link Clinton to Wall Street as an "artful smear," and, in a reference to the Democratic National Committee's passing of data to the Sanders campaign the previous December, said that Clinton "would've been hounded out of the race if her staff had done what his did, in stealing data and misleading the press about it, then raising money off it." Clinton's campaign, Brock insisted, "has stayed remarkably positive in the face of a relentlessly negative campaign from Sanders." As for Sanders's platform, Brock maintained that "a unanimous chorus of serious progressive commentators... find almost nothing of any substantive value in his so-called policies."

Activism to bring forth sexual assault allegations.

"The New York Times" reported in December 2017 that a group founded by Brock had spent $200,000 in an unsuccessful effort to bring forward accusations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential race. He was reportedly considering doing the same to congressional Republicans.

Personal life.

Brock was formerly the domestic partner of William Grey; Fox News reported that their relationship ended in a bitter, three-year-long legal battle in which "Brock and Grey traded angry accusations,... replete with charges of blackmail, theft and financial malfeasance" related to a house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware that the two once shared. The news channel further reported that Grey filed a lawsuit against Brock in January 2011, and Brock countersued Grey in March 2011. The dispute was settled at the end of 2011 on confidential terms. On March 22, 2017, Brock suffered a heart attack while at work at Media Matters headquarters; he was expected to fully recover.

Controversies.

Potential legal conflicts.

Brock's simultaneous involvement with Correct the Record, American Bridge, and Priorities USA Action raised legal questions, given that the first two groups work closely with Hillary Clinton's campaign while Priorities USA Action, the largest Democratic Party super PAC, is legally prohibited from doing so. Brock claimed to have stopped working directly with American Bridge, although its staffers continued to operate out of his office. Paul Ryan, a lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, considered complaining about Brock to the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department, charging that he was "creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation."

Comments about Brock.

In 2001, Jonah Goldberg wrote in "National Review" that while Brock has been "hailed by liberals for 'coming clean,' they would never really trust him." He quoted reporter Jill Abramson as having said that "the problem with Brock's credibility" is that "once you admit you've knowingly written false things, how do you know when to believe what he writes?" Similarly, "The Guardian" referred in 2014 to "residual unease among some liberal operatives that Brock's conversion story fits into a pattern of opportunism and self-promotion rather than ideological transformation." Observing in 2015 that Brock had admitted to mudslinging before, "The Daily Beast" noted a difficulty in dispatching fears he would do it again.  Brock's claim that the Clintons have never committed any wrongdoing has received criticisms from many, including fellow Democrats, who have cited instances of abuse.  Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks criticized Brock's negative coverage of the Bernie Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign, specifically the alleged invention of the "Bernie Bro" controversy. Uygur said that Brock's January 10, 2017 open letter of apology to Sanders and his voters was disingenuous because it was motivated by a desire to raise money from wealthy Democratic donors and to foster a perception of himself as being a member of the U.S. progressive movement.

David Brock (born July 23, 1962) is a prominent American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by "Time" as "one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Party".

David Brock (geboren 2. November 1962 in Washington, D.C.) ist ein amerikanischer Journalist, Autor und Gründer der Mediengruppe Media Matters for America und politischer Aktivist der Demokraten.


Background.

Belgian rule.

Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. King Leopold II of Belgium, frustrated by Belgium's lack of international power and prestige, attempted to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexplored Congo Basin. The Belgian government's ambivalence about the idea led Leopold to eventually create the colony on his own account. With support from a number of Western countries, who viewed Leopold as a useful buffer between rival colonial powers, Leopold achieved international recognition for a personal colony, the Congo Free State, in 1885. By the turn of the century, however, the violence of Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and the ruthless system of economic extraction had led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did in 1908, creating the Belgian Congo.  Belgian rule in the Congo was based around the "colonial trinity" ("trinité coloniale") of state, missionary and private company interests. The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant

Politics and radicalisation.

An African nationalist movement developed in the Belgian Congo during the 1950s, primarily among the "évolués". The movement was divided into a number of parties and groups which were broadly divided on ethnic and geographical lines and opposed to one another. The largest, the "Mouvement National Congolais" (MNC), was a united front organisation dedicated to achieving independence "within a reasonable" time. It was created around a charter which was signed by, among others, Patrice Lumumba, Cyrille Adoula and Joseph Iléo, but others accused the party of being too

Independence.

In the fallout from the Léopoldville riots, the report of a Belgian parliamentary working group on the future of the Congo was published in which a strong demand for "internal autonomy" was noted. August de Schryver, the Minister of the Colonies, launched a high-profile Round Table Conference in Brussels in January 1960, with the leaders of all the major Congolese parties in attendance. Lumumba, who had been arrested following riots in Stanleyville, was released in the run-up to the conference and headed the MNC-L delegation. The Belgian government had hoped for a period of at least 30 years before independence, but Congolese pressure at the conference led to 30 June 1960 being set as the date. Issues including federalism, ethnicity and the future role of Belgium in Congolese affairs were left unresolved after the delegates failed to reach agreement.  Belgians began campaigning against Lumumba, whom they wanted to marginalise; they accused him of being a communist and, hoping to fragment the nationalist movement, supported rival, ethnic-based parties

Beginning of the crisis.

"Force Publique" mutiny, racial violence and Belgian intervention.

Despite the proclamation of independence, neither the Belgian nor the Congolese government intended the colonial social order to end immediately. The Belgian government hoped that whites might keep their position indefinitely. The Republic of the Congo was still reliant on colonial institutions like the "Force Publique" to function from day to day, and white technical experts, installed by the Belgians, were retained in the broad absence of suitably qualified black Congolese replacements (partly the result of colonial restrictions regarding higher education). Many Congolese people had assumed that independence would produce tangible and

Katanga and South Kasai secessions.

On 11 July 1960, Moïse Tshombe, the leader of CONAKAT, declared the Congo's southern province of Katanga independent as the State of Katanga, with Élisabethville as its capital and himself as President. The mineral-rich Katanga region had traditionally shared closer economic ties with the Copperbelt of neighbouring Northern Rhodesia (then part of the Central African Federation) than with the rest of the Congo, and because of its economic importance it had been administered separately from the rest of the country under the Belgians. CONAKAT furthermore contended that Katangese people were ethnically distinct from other Congolese. The secession was partly motivated by the Katangese separatists' desire to keep more of the wealth generated by the province's mining operations and to avoid sharing it with the rest of the Congo. Another major factor was what CONAKAT held to be the disintegration of law and order in the central and north-eastern Congo. Announcing Katanga's breakaway, Tshombe said "We are seceding from chaos." The major mining company in Katanga, the (UMHK), had begun supporting CONAKAT during

Foreign reaction and UN intervention.

Disquiet about Belgium's support for the secessionist states led to calls within the United Nations (UN) to remove all Belgian troops from the country. The Secretary General of the UN, Dag Hammarskjöld, believed that the crisis would provide the organisation with a chance to demonstrate its potential as a major peacekeeping force and encouraged the sending of a multinational contingent of peacekeepers to the Congo under UN command. On 14 July, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 143, calling for total Belgian withdrawal from the Congo and their replacement with a UN-commanded force. The arrival of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) was initially welcomed by Lumumba and the central government who believed the UN would help suppress the secessionist states. ONUC's initial mandate, however, only covered the maintenance of law and order. Viewing the secessions as an internal political matter, Hammarskjöld refused to use UN troops to assist the central Congolese government against them; he argued that doing so would represent a loss

Political disintegration.

Central government split and first Mobutu coup.

Lumumba's appeal for Soviet support split the government and led to mounting pressure from Western countries to remove him from power. In addition, both Tshombe and Kalonji appealed to Kasa-Vubu, who they believed to be both a moderate and federalist, to move against Lumumba's centralism and resolve the secession issue. Meanwhile, Mobutu took effective control of the army, routing foreign aid and promotions to specific units and officers to secure their allegiance.  On 5 September 1960, Kasa-Vubu announced on national radio that he had unilaterally dismissed Lumumba, using the massacres in South Kasai as a pretext and with the promise of American backing. Andrew Cordier, the American UN representative in the Congo, used his position to block communications by Lumumba's faction and to prevent a coordinated MNC-L reaction to the news. Both chambers of Parliament, however, supported Lumumba and denounced Kasa-Vubu's action. Lumumba attempted to dismiss Kasa-Vubu from his position, but could not get support for this, precipitating a constitutional crisis. Ostensibly in order to resolve the deadlock, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu launched a bloodless coup and replaced both Kasa-Vubu

Killing of Lumumba.

Lumumba escaped house arrest and fled eastwards towards Stanleyville where he believed he could rally support. Pursued by troops loyal to Mobutu, he was captured at Lodi on 1 December 1960 and flown back to Léopoldville with his hands bound. Despite UN appeals to Kasa-Vubu for due legal process, the Soviet Union denounced the UN as responsible for the arrest and demanded his release. A meeting of the UN Security Council was called on 7 December 1960 to consider Soviet demands that the UN seek Lumumba's immediate release, his restoration

United Nations escalation and the end of the Katangese secession.

Since its initial resolution of July 1960, the UN had issued further resolutions calling for the total withdrawal of Belgian and mercenary forces from Katanga in progressively stronger terms. By 1961, ONUC comprised nearly 20,000 men. Although their mandate prevented them from taking sides, ONUC had a mandate to arrest foreign mercenaries wherever they encountered them. In September 1961, an attempt to detain a group of Katangese mercenaries without violence during Operation Morthor went wrong and turned into a fire-fight. ONUC's claim to impartiality was undermined in mid-September when a company of Irish

Attempted political reconciliation.

Following the end of the Katanga secession, political negotiations began to reconcile the disparate political factions. The negotiations coincided with the formation of an émigré political group, the "Conseil National de Libération" (CNL), by dissident Lumumbists and others in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville. The negotiations culminated in the creation of a new, revised constitution, known as the Luluabourg Constitution, after the city in which it was written, to create a compromise balance of power. The new constitution increased the power of the presidency, ending the system of joint consultation between

Kwilu and Simba rebellions.

The period of political crisis had led to widespread disenchantment with the central government brought in by independence. Demands for a "second independence" from kleptocracy and political infighting in the capital grew. The "second independence" slogan was taken up by Maoist-inspired Congolese revolutionaries, including Pierre Mulele who had served in the Lumumba government. The political instability of the Congo helped to channel wider discontentment into outright revolt. Disruption in the rural Congo begun with agitation by Lumumbists, led by Mulele, among the Pende and Mbundu peoples. By the end of 1963, there was unrest in regions of the central and eastern Congo. The Kwilu Rebellion broke out on 16 January 1964 in the cities of Idiofa and Gungu in Kwilu Province. Further disruption and uprisings then spread to Kivu in the east and later to Albertville, sparking further insurrection elsewhere in the Congo and the outbreak of the larger Simba Rebellion. The rebels began to expand their territory and rapidly advance northwards, capturing Port-Émpain, Stanleyville, Paulis and Lisala between July and August.  The rebels, who called themselves "Simbas" (from the Kiswahili word for "lion"), had a populist but vague ideology, loosely based on communism, which prioritised equality and aimed to increase overall wealth. Most of the active revolutionaries were young men who hoped that the rebellion would provide them with opportunities which the government had not. The Simbas used magic to initiate members and believed that, by following a moral code, they could become invulnerable to bullets. Magic was also very important to the rebels who also made extensive use of witchcraft to protect themselves and also demoralise their ANC opponents. As they advanced, the rebels perpetrated numerous massacres in the territory they captured in order to remove political opposition and terrorise the population. ONUC was in the process of withdrawing when the rebellions started and had only 5,500 personnel, most whom were deployed in the eastern part of the country and stranded by the conflict. Straggling Western missionaries retreated to their respective embassies, which in turn requested UN assistance. A small force of peacekeepers was assembled and subsequently dispatched to the Kwilu region to retrieve fleeing missionaries. Rescue operations continued throughout March and April and resulted in the successful recovery of over 100 missionaries.  The rebels founded a state, the People's Republic of the Congo ("République populaire du Congo"), with its capital at Stanleyville and Christophe Gbenye as President. The new state was supported by the Soviet Union and China, which supplied it with arms, as did various African states, notably Tanzania. It was also supported by Cuba, which sent a team of over 100 advisors led by Che Guevara to advise the Simbas on tactics and doctrine. The Simba rebellion coincided with a wide escalation of the Cold War amid the Gulf of Tonkin incident and it has been speculated that, had the rebellion not been rapidly defeated, a full-scale American military intervention could have occurred as in Vietnam.

Second Mobutu coup d'état.

In the scheduled March 1965 elections, Tshombe's "Convention Nationale Congolaise" (CONACO) won a large majority of the seats, but a large part of his party soon defected to form the new "Front Démocratique Congolais" (FDC), making the overall result unclear as CONACO controlled the Chamber of Deputies while the FDC controlled the Senate. Kasa-Vubu, attempting to use the situation to block Tshombe, appointed an anti-Tshombe leader, Évariste Kimba of the FDC, to be prime minister-designate in November 1965, but the largely pro-Tshombe Parliament

Aftermath and legacy.

Once established as the sole source of political power, Mobutu gradually consolidated his control in the Congo. The number of provinces was reduced, and their autonomy curtailed, resulting in a highly centralised state. Mobutu increasingly placed his supporters in the remaining positions of importance. In 1967, to demonstrate his legitimacy, he created a party, the "Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution" (MPR), which until 1990, was the nation's only legal political party under Mobutu's new constitution. In 1971, the state was renamed Zaire and efforts were made to remove all colonial influences. He also nationalised the remaining foreign-owned economic assets in the country, including the UMHK which became "Gécamines". Despite initial successes, by the time of its disestablishment Mobutu's rule was characterised by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement.  In the years after the Congo Crisis, Mobutu was able to remove many opposition figures from the crisis who might threaten his control. Tshombe was sent into a second exile in 1965 after being accused of treason. Between 1966 and 1967, two mutinies in Stanleyville broke out involving up to 800 Katangese gendarmes and former mercenaries of Tshombe. The mutinies were eventually repressed. In 1967, Tshombe was sentenced to death "in absentia" and the same year was kidnapped in an aeroplane hijacking and held under arrest in Algeria. His death in 1969, allegedly from natural causes, has provoked speculation that the Mobutu government may have been involved. Mulele was also lured back to the Congo from exile by the promise of an amnesty but was tortured and murdered.

Political legacy.

The issues of federalism, ethnicity in politics and state centralisation were not resolved by the crisis and partly contributed to a decline in support for the concept of the state among Congolese people. Mobutu was strongly in favour of centralisation and one of his first acts, in 1965, were to reunify provinces and abolish much of their independent legislative capacity. Subsequent loss of faith in central government is one of the reasons that the Congo has been labeled as a failed state, and has contributed violence by factions advocating ethnic and localised federalism. Local insurgencies continued in the eastern Congo into the 1980s and left a legacy of instability

Historiography and historical controversy.

The Congo Crisis is usually portrayed in historiography as a time of intense disorder and disarray; there is wide consensus that Congolese independence was a calamity. This interpretation often juxtaposes the crisis with the supposed stability of the Congo under Belgian rule before 1960 and under Mobutu's regime

International importance.

The turmoil of the Congo Crisis destabilised Central Africa and helped to ignite the Portuguese Colonial War, especially the war of independence in neighbouring Angola. Angolan nationalists had long had close ties with the Congo where many had lived as exiles. The "União dos Povos de Angola" (UPA), an Angolan nationalist organisation which drew support from the Angolan Bakongo, was supporting ABAKO politicians who had hopes of rebuilding the Kingdom of Kongo, altering the borders established during the colonial period. Believing that the independence of Congo was the first stage in this process, the UPA launched the Baixa de Cassanje revolt in 1961, igniting the conflict in Angola that would last until 1974. The Congolese, later Zairian, governments continued to provide support to Angolan rebels and even participated directly in the subsequent Angolan Civil War. The crisis caused the newly independent African states to reconsider their allegiances and internal ties. In particular, it led to the division of African states into factions. Moderate-leaning states joined the Brazzaville Group, which called for a degree of unity between Francophone African states and the maintenance of ties with France. Radical states joined the Casablanca Group which called for a Pan-African federation. The chaotic violence of the crisis and the fate of the country's whites, many of whom entered Northern and Southern Rhodesia as refugees, contributed to the widespread belief among whites there that black nationalist politicians were not ready to govern, and prompted fears that immediate majority rule in Rhodesia might lead to a similar situation. After negotiations with Britain repeatedly broke down, Southern Rhodesia's predominantly white government declared independence unilaterally in 1965.  The Katangese secession would prove to be politically influential in Africa. During the Chadian Civil War between 1965 and 1979, the "Front de Libération Nationale du Tchad" (FROLINAT) explicitly rejected secessionism in its bid to remove the southern-backed government of François Tombalbaye following the experience of the Katanga secession, officially stating that "there will be no Katanga in Chad". In the Nigerian Civil War, between 1967 and 1970, the ethnically Igbo region of Biafra seceded from Nigeria, which it accused of privileging the interests of northern ethnic groups and discriminating against the Igbo. The secessions of Biafra and Katanga have frequently been compared in academic writing. Unlike Katanga, Biafra achieved limited official international recognition and rejected the support of Western multinational companies involved in the local oil industry. Biafra was defeated in 1970 and re-integrated into Nigeria.

The Congo Crisis () was a period of political upheaval and conflict in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1960 and 1965. The crisis began almost immediately after the Congo became independent from Belgium and ended, unofficially, with the entire country under the rule of Joseph-Désiré Mobutu. Constituting a series of civil wars, the Congo Crisis was also a proxy conflict in the Cold War, in which the Soviet Union and the United States supported opposing factions. Around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed during the crisis.

Die Kongo-Krise (oftmals auch als "Kongowirren" bezeichnet) war sowohl eine gewaltsame nationale Krise innerhalb der Demokratischen Republik Kongo als auch eine internationale Krise vor dem Hintergrund des Kalten Krieges, die ungefähr von 1960 bis 1965 dauerte.


Background.

With the growing power of Surrealism, abstract artists living in Paris felt the need to assert their preferred style and began to discuss creating a united front. Theo van Doesburg had taken part in such conversations, initially with Joaquín Torres-García, but complained of insufficiently rigorous criteria for the type of work that should be included. Eventually he lost the argument and Torres-García joined with Michel Seuphor in creating the more inclusive Cercle et Carré group in 1929.  During the war of words that followed, Van Doesburg accused Seuphor of "intellectual sloppiness worthy of venal art dealers and critics" and tried to recruit a rival group more in accord with his view of what abstract art should be. He was joined by the Armenian Léon Arthur Tutundjian, the Swede Otto Gustaf Carlsund, and the Frenchman Jean Hélion. In their names Van Doesburg sent a copy of a manifesto stating their position on abstract art (eventually to appear under the title "Base de la peinture concrete") to Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, who declined to sign it. Until then, the new group was to be called Groupement 6,6 but never did reach that number. When the manifesto was published under its new title, it was signed only by Tutundjian, Carlsund, Van Doesburg and Hélion, with the addition of Hélion's fellow lodger, the teenaged typographer Marcel Wantz (1911–79). An unsuccessful approach had meanwhile been made to Walmar Schwab who, while he was willing for his work to appear in the magazine, was temperamentally indisposed to put his name to anything so formal.  The retitled manifesto appeared in the group's magazine, by now called "Art Concret", in April 1930, a month after the first issue of the rival "Cercle et Carré". But the group only exhibited together on three occasions, and even then as part of larger group exhibitions which also included Cercle et Carré members. The first was at the "Salon des Surindépendents" in June, followed in August by the exhibition "AC: Internationell utställning av postkubistisk konst" (International exhibition of post-cubist art) in Stockholm and in October by "Production Paris 1930" in Zürich. At the same time Van Doesburg hosted further discussions at his home with the artists of both groups and early in 1931 launched the new movement, Abstraction-Création, with himself briefly as vice-president.

The magazine.

On the cream-coloured front cover of the magazine, which measured 18.5 x 14 cm, appeared the large initials AC in a narrow sans-serif font, overprinted at the centre with the information "Introduction of the group and of the magazine Art Concret" in bold capital letters. Across the back cover this was supplemented with the information "Introductory number issued in April nineteen thirty". The group manifesto, followed by the surnames only of the five involved, appeared on page 1. The key points made there were that "A work of art must be entirely conceived and shaped by the mind before its execution. It should receive nothing from nature's formal properties nor from sensuality nor sentimentality. We want to exclude lyricism, dramaticism, symbolism, etc...The painting should be constructed entirely from purely plastic elements, that is to say planes and colours."  Van Doesburg's (unsigned) "commentaries" followed on pages 2–4 and were dated Paris, January 1930. In them he argued that, after the eras of natural and artistic form, comes the new era of mental form ("forme esprit"), "the concretisation of the creative mind. Concrete, not abstract painting, because nothing is more concrete than a line, a colour, a surface. As painters, we think and measure," avoiding interpretation and subjectivity. Jean Hélion's "The Problems of Concrete Art: Art and Mathematics", dated simply 1930, followed on pages 5–10. The article was punctuated by a reproduction of a Tutundjian relief (dated 1929) between pages 6–7 and a fold-out smaller sheet with designs by Carlsund, "Doesbourg", Hélion and Tutundjian (all dated 1930), between pages 8–9. Hélion opened with the proposition: "If art is universal, it escapes both personality and era. It belongs to the domain of constant certainties and is under the control of logic. The search for constants through logic is the shared aim of mathematics. Mathematics concretise constant certainties via formulae; painting does it via colours. So mathematics and painting are in essential relationship." He later elaborates that the geometrical elements of a painting appear in numerical relationship but are modified by colour; works of art always differ from one another because of the laws of relativity. Van Doesburg's "Towards White Painting" followed on pages 11–12, dated December 1929. "Left behind us is the brown of rottenness and classicism," he proclaims. "THERE'S NOTHING TO READ IN PAINT, ONLY SEEING", for art has grown up and "in place of dream the future will substitute art based on science and the technical". A statement in French, English and German appeared separately at the foot of the page: "Art is the spiritual transformation of (the) material". Page 13 had a sideways print by Schwab, titled "Composition" and dated 1929. The following page was taken up with a satirical attack on art journalism: first "A few words that have nothing to do with art": "sensibility, sensuality, emotion," but also including watchwords of the Cercle et Carré group ("abstraction") and of the Cubists ("instantaneity"); then on the second half of the page a section titled "Critical standards for hire", a verbal collage created from a vacuous "selection of recent items in the press". "We are not alone", the "Art Concret" signatories assured readers on page 15, quoting from various public figures and artists, among whom appear the English dandies, Beau Brummel and Oscar Wilde. The board appealed on the final page for other painters to join them (so long as they approve the editorial stance and apply it), giving 50, rue Pierre Larousse as the editorial address and crediting Hélion as the director. Hélion later dismissed the magazine as "a flash in the pan" and "a harangue in a public garden, a vast and almost empty one". Nevertheless, the group's manifesto had helped popularise the term Concrete Art and, through the championship of others (Torres-García among them), resulted eventually in the establishment of geometric abstraction under this name as an international phenomenon. By then the magazine had become a historical document and a reprint was issued in 1976.

Art Concret was a single-issue French-language art magazine published in Paris in 1930. It was the vehicle for a group of abstract artists who wished to differentiate themselves from others gathered around the magazine Cercle et Carré. Eventually most in both groups fused in the wider association of non-figurative artists, Abstraction-Création. Articles in "Art Concret" championed strictly geometrical art, free of personal interpretation and based on mathematics. It also ridiculed the sloppy and imprecise vocabulary of contemporary art criticism. The concept of Concrete Art championed by the magazine was thereafter taken up by other artists and became influential internationally.

Art concret ist der Name einer Künstlergruppe, die 1929 von Theo van Doesburg, Jean Hélion, Otto Carlsund und Leon Tutundjian in Paris gegründet wurde. Die Gruppe folgte den von Theo van Doesburg formulierten Ideen einer konkreten Kunst, das heißt einer nicht abstrahierend an der Natur angelehnten, sondern rein geometrischen und vergeistigten Kunst. Sie gab eine Zeitschrift mit demselben Titel heraus, von der allerdings nur eine Ausgabe erschien. Nach dem Rückgang von Otto Carlsund nach Schweden löste sich die Gruppe auf und bildete zusammen mit Jean Arp, Auguste Herbin, Robert Delaunay, František Kupka, Albert Gleizes, Georges Valmier, Georges Vantongerloo und anderen die Gruppe Abstraction-Création.


History.

The earliest documentary record of Kisimul Castle dates from the mid 16th century. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro stated of Barra that "Within the southwest end of this isle, ther enters a salt water loche, verey narrow in the entrey, and round and braide within. Into the middis of the saide loche there is ane ile, upon ane strenthey craige, callit Kiselnin, perteining to M’Kneil of Barray." However, Campbell (1936) points out that Monro has in part confused the nearby "Bàgh Beag" with "Bàgh a' Chaisteil".  The castle is built on a rocky islet in the bay, just off the coast of Barra. It can only be reached by boat. Kisimul has its own fresh water wells. Legend has it that was the stronghold of the MacNeils since the 11th century.  Kisimul was abandoned in 1838 when the island was sold, and the castle's condition subsequently deteriorated. Some of its stone was used as ballast for fishing vessels, and some even ended up as paving in Glasgow. The remains of the castle, along with most of the island of Barra, were purchased in 1937 by Robert Lister MacNeil, the then chief of Clan MacNeil, who made efforts at restoration.  In 2001 the castle was leased by the chief of Clan MacNeil to Historic Scotland for 1000 years for the annual sum of £1 and a bottle of whisky. For the 2011 census the island was classified by the National Records of Scotland as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses".

Archaeological survey.

Archaeological investigations were carried out at Kisimul Castle by Headland Archaeology, on behalf of Historic Scotland. This involved some excavation, building recording and archival research. It was hoped that the project would help clarify the date of the castle and its sequence of construction. Another aim was to establish whether or not the island had been occupied before construction of the castle.  The dating of the castle was particularly difficult due to the lack of datable architectural features visible in the castle fabric. The results of the building recording and archival research concluded a likely date of construction during the late 15th century coinciding with the height of Gaelic power in Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages. Records make no mention of it during the reign of Robert II (1371-90), in the island descriptions in the Chronica Gentis Scotorum (1371-1387) or in the initial grant of the island of Barra to the MacNeills from 1427. This ‘negative’ evidence supports the hypothesis that Kisimul postdates these records since it presumably would have been mentioned if it existed during those times. It is possible that timber hoardings were a part of the original castle design, due to the presence of putlog holes in the curtain wall. However the holes are not level with the wall walk as would be expected of this particular building feature. As this trend was going out of fashion at the time when Kisimul was built it is thought that they had a more decorative, than defensive function, such as providing extra space for people to walk and exercise in a castle where its location meant that space for such activities was limited. Excavation concentrated on areas of the courtyard, the basement of the tower and the bottom of a pit prison. At the east end of the courtyard there was a great deal of building rubble directly below the surface, some of which had mortar attached. This suggested that an earlier building had been demolished or collapsed, and the stone used to form a level courtyard. This happened before the building known as the kitchen was built. At the other end of the site a stone drain leading under the great hall was uncovered together with a paved stone surface. Above these was a layer containing large amounts of animal bone, shell and pottery. There were also floor surfaces within buildings that had been demolished.  During the excavation many finds were recovered. These included large quantities of animal bone and shell. Further study of these will allow us to discover more about the diet of those who lived in the castle. A large quantity of broken pottery was also found and appears to range in date from prehistoric times through the medieval period to the more recent past. A number of pieces of flint were recovered including a particularly fine flint blade. These tools together with some of the pottery show that people were using the island thousands of years before the present castle was built.

Kisimul Castle () and also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay, Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It gets its name from the Gaelic "ciosamul" meaning "castle island".

Kisimul Castle, auch Kiessimul oder Kiessamul Castle oder Caisteal Chiosmuil, ist eine Burg auf einer kleinen schottischen Hebrideninsel in der Bucht von Castlebay, dem Hauptort der Insel Barra. 1971 wurde Kisimul Castle in die schottischen Denkmallisten in der Kategorie A aufgenommen. Außerdem ist es als Scheduled Monument geschützt.


Early life.

Sargant was born on 28 October 1863, and was the third daughter of barrister Henry Sargant and his wife Catherine Emma Beale. She studied at North London Collegiate School under Frances Mary Buss at a time when all girls schools were considered an "adventurous experiment" and from 1881 to 1885 at Girton College, Cambridge. Her sister Mary Sargant Florence was a painter and feminist, while her brother Sir Charles Sargant was a senior judge.

Career.

A list of Sargant's publications is provided in an article in the Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History. Sargant spent some years doing botanical work at home while she cared for her mother and sister, but she also worked for Dr. D.H. Scott at Jodrell Laboratory in Kew Gardens from 1892 to 1893.  She worked with Margaret Jane Benson, head of the Department of Botany at Royal Holloway College, and travelled with her throughout Europe in 1897 to acquire equipment and knowledge to set up that school's laboratory.  To combine her caring responsibilities and academic pursuits, Sargant ran the "Joderal Junior" laboratory in the grounds of her mother's house in Reigate. She employed Ethel Thomas (1897-1901) and Agnes Arber (1902-3) as research assistants. For the following years she specialised in seedling anatomy, giving a course of lectures on botany at the University of London in 1907.  In 1904, Sargant was one of the first women to become a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and the also became the first female on their council.  After the deaths of her mother and sister, she moved to live at the Old Rectory in Girton village in 1912. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of Girton College in 1913 and was President of the Federation of University Women in 1918. She was the President of the Botanical Section at the British Association meeting at Birmingham in 1913.  During World War I, she organised the register of university women qualified to do work of national importance, which was afterwards taken over by the Ministry of Labour.  Ethel Sargant died in Sidmouth on 16 January 1918.

After death.

She bequeathed her botanical library and bookcases to Girton College. The Ethel Sargant Studentship for research into Natural Sciences was endowed by friends in her memory in 1919. Some of the reprints and monographs she collected and bound by subject are now housed in the Plant Sciences Library, University of Cambridge. Her obituary was written by Agnes Arber.

Ethel Sargant (28 October 1863 – 16 January 1918) was a British botanist who studied both the cytology and morphology of plants. She was one of the first female members of the Linnean Society and the first female in their council, as well as President of the Federation of University Women.

Ethel Sargant (* 28. Oktober 1863 in London; † 16. Januar 1918 in Sidmouth) war eine britische Botanikerin. Sie war die erste Frau, die der Vorstandschaft der Linnean Society angehörte. Ihr botanisches Autorenkürzel lautet „“.


Early life and education.

Lawrence was born on June 26, 1819 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. He attended Tidball's Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee. After teaching at Pennsville and McConnelsville, Ohio, he was graduated in 1838 from Franklin College in New Athens, Ohio. He was then graduated in 1840 from law school at the University of Cincinnati, and was admitted to the bar. In 1873, Lawrence was awarded the LL. D. from Franklin College.

Career.

In 1841, Lawrence moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio, and there set up his law practice. From July 15, 1841 to July 15, 1843 he was law partner of Benjamin Stanton, and from July, 1851 to February, 1854 with his law student William H. West. From 1841 to 1843, he continued his studies, then in the field of medicine. In 1842, he became the Commissioner of Bankruptcy for Logan County.  From 1845 to 1847, Lawrence served as the editor of the "Logan Gazette", which later became the "Bellefontaine Examiner". During this time, Lawrence was elected as the Logan County Prosecutor (in 1845). He also served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, in 1846 and 1847. In 1849, Lawrence was first elected to the Ohio Senate, serving until 1851 when he became the reporter of the Ohio Supreme Court. He returned to the Ohio Senate in 1854. He also served as an editor of "Western Law Monthly" from 1859 to 1862. In 1860 or 1861, Lawrence built a house along North Main Street in Bellefontaine; today, the William Lawrence House remains largely intact and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Civil War.

In 1857, Lawrence was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and of the District Court, serving until he resigned in 1864. In 1862, he entered the Union Army as colonel of the 84th Ohio Infantry, a three-month regiment. In 1863, Lawrence was appointed to serve as the wartime judge for the United States district court in Florida; however, he declined the appointment.

Congressman and national political figure.

On March 4, 1865, William Lawrence was inaugurated as the U.S. Representative for the 4th district of Ohio, having been elected to this office the previous November. He supported the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment, stating in an 1866 speech that it would "protect every citizen, including the millions of people of foreign birth who will flock to our shores to become citizens and to find here a land of liberty and law."  Lawrence served in the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first Congresses, ending his third term on March 3, 1871. As Representative, Lawrence was among the authors of the bill of impeachment against U.S. President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

Created the Department of Justice.

In 1867, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Lawrence directed an inquiry into the creation of a "law department" headed by the Attorney General and composed of the various department solicitors and district attorneys. On February 19, 1868, Lawrence authored the bill that ultimately created the United States Department of Justice. However, this first bill died in Congress due to the Congress's (and Lawrence's) concern with the impeachment of President Johnson.  In the following Congress, the issue was brought back to the table. Representative Thomas Jenckes of Rhode Island introduced a bill to create the Department of Justice on February 25, 1870. Though Lawrence did not write this bill, it incorporated many of the ideas from Lawrence's previous bill, and he gave the bill his full support. On June 22, 1870, President Ulysses Grant signed this second bill into law, creating the Department of Justice.

To Bellefontaine, and back to Washington.

Returning to Bellefontaine in 1871, Lawrence founded the Bellefontaine National Bank (acquired by Huntington National Bank in 1977), and served as its first president. He returned to Congress in 1873, this time from the 8th Ohio Congressional district. Lawrence served in the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses, and completed his fifth and final term on March 3, 1877. During this service, Lawrence was the chairman of the Committee on War Claims arising from the American Civil War.

The American Red Cross and the Geneva Convention.

Lawrence was appointed by President Rutherford B Hayes in 1880 to serve as the First Comptroller of the Treasury, a post he held until 1885. Lawrence then appealed on behalf of Clara Barton to Hayes' successor, James Garfield, to support the creation of the American Red Cross on May 21, 1881. He then served as the organization's first Vice President. Lawrence and Barton were also instrumental in persuading the United States to ratify the Geneva Convention in 1882.  In 1891, Lawrence was appointed President of the National Wool Growers Association. He died on May 8, 1899 in Kenton, Ohio. Lawrence is interred at Bellefontaine Cemetery in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The small Ohio community of Lawrenceville is named for him.

William Lawrence (June 26, 1819 – May 8, 1899) was a Republican politician from Ohio. He was most noted for being a US Representative, and was influential in attempting to impeach Andrew Johnson, creating the United States Department of Justice, helping to create the American Red Cross, and ratifying the Geneva Convention.

William Lawrence (* 26. Juni 1819 in Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio; † 8. Mai 1899 in Kenton, Ohio) war ein US-amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1865 und 1871 sowie nochmals von 1873 bis 1877 vertrat er den Bundesstaat Ohio im US-Repräsentantenhaus.


Medical uses.

Brotizolam is prescribed for the short-term treatment, 2–4 weeks only of severe or debilitating insomnia. Insomnia can be described as a difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakening, early awakenings or a combination of each. Brotizolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine and is sometimes used in patients who have difficulty in maintaining sleep or getting to sleep. Hypnotics should only be used on a short-term basis or in those with chronic insomnia on an occasional basis.  Brotizolam, in a dose of 0.25 mg can be used as a premedication prior to surgery, this dose was found to be comparable in efficacy to 2 mg flunitrazepam as a premedicant prior to surgery.

Side effects.

Common side effects of brotizolam are typical of hypnotic benzodiazepines and are related to CNS depression, and include somnolence, ataxia, headache, anterograde amnesia, dizziness, fatigue, impairment of motor functions, slurred speech, confusion, and clumsiness.  Less common side effects include hypotension, respiratory depression, hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, palpitations, and paradoxical reactions (i.e. aggression, anxiety, violent behavior, etc.).  Brotizolam can cause residual side effects the next day such as impaired cognitive and motor functions as well as drowsiness. Disruption of sleep patterns may also occur such as suppression of REM sleep. These side effects are more likely at higher doses (above 0.5–1 mg).  In clinical trials brotizolam 0.125 to 0.5 mg improved sleep in insomniacs similarly to nitrazepam 2.5 and 5 mg, flunitrazepam 2 mg and triazolam 0.25 mg, whilst brotizolam 0.5 mg was shown to be superior to flurazepam 30 mg, but inferior to temazepam 30 mg in some studies. Brotizolam at dosages below 0.5 mg at night usually produced minimal morning drowsiness; no residual impairment of psychomotor performance occurs following dosages within the recommended range of 0.125 to 0.25 mg. No serious side effects have been reported to date and the most frequently observed adverse experiences are drowsiness, headache and dizziness. Mild rebound insomnia may occur in some patients when treatment is stopped.

Contraindications and special caution.

Thienodiazepines and benzodiazepines require special precaution if used in the elderly, during pregnancy, in children, alcohol or drug-dependent individuals and individuals with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Pharmacology.

Brotizolam has been shown in animal studies to be a very high potency thienodiazepine. The elimination half-life of brotizolam is 3–6 hours. It is absorbed rapidly after administration; after administration, it is metabolized into active metabolites, one of which is far less potent than brotizolam and the other is only present in very small amounts in the blood and thus the metabolites of brotizolam do not have significant pharmacological effect in humans. Brotizolam induces impairment of motor function and has hypnotic properties.  Brotizolam increases the slow wave light sleep (SWLS) in a dose-dependent manner whilst suppressing deep sleep stages. Less time is spent in stages 3 and 4, which are the deep sleep stages, when GABAergics such as brotizolam are used. Benzodiazepines and thienodiazepines are therefore not ideal hypnotics in the treatment of insomnia. The suppression of deep sleep stages by either may be especially problematic to the elderly as they naturally spend less time in the deep sleep stage.

Abuse.

Brotizolam is a drug with a potential for abuse. Drug misuse is defined as taking the drug to achieve a 'high', or continuing to take the drug in the long term against medical advice.  Abuse of brotizolam, although not widespread, was a problem in Hong Kong back in the late 1980s and 1990s. To control benzodiazepine abuse in Hong Kong, the Government's Pharmacy and Poisons Board reclassified benzodiazepines as Dangerous Drugs in October 1990. Apart from formal prescriptions, detailed records were then required for the supply and dispensing of these drugs. These regulations were applied initially only to brotizolam, triazolam and flunitrazepam as they were the major benzodiazepines of abuse. The impact of these regulatory changes on benzodiazepine use has been studied by analyzing the sales patterns of seven benzodiazepines between 1990–1993. In 1991, the sales of flunitrazepam and triazolam fell, but the sales of five unrestricted benzodiazepines increased. Particular problems arose with the trafficking and abuse of nimetazepam and the abuse of temazepam within that same year in 1991. The regulations that were originally only applied to brotizolam, triazolam and flunitrazepam were now being extended to include all benzodiazepines by January 1992. A regulation requiring the use of proper prescriptions and detailed records for the supply and dispensing of benzodiazepines, appears to have curbed, at least partially, their abuse in Hong Kong. There are still some problems with temazepam, nimetazepam, triazolam, and brotizolam, but they are not major.

Brotizolam (marketed under brand name Lendormin) is a sedative-hypnotic thienotriazolodiazepine drug which is a benzodiazepine analog. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties, and is considered to be similar in effect to short-acting benzodiazepines such as triazolam. It is used in the short-term treatment of severe or debilitating insomnia. Brotizolam is an extremely potent drug and has shown anti-anxiety activity at doses as low as 0.08 to 0.1 milligrams, but the usual hypnotic dose of brotizolam is 0.125 to 0.25 milligrams, and it is rapidly eliminated with an average half-life of 4.4 hours (range 3.6–7.9 hours). It was patented in 1974 and came into medical use in 1984. Brotizolam is not approved for sale in the UK, United States or Canada. It is approved for sale in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Israel, Italy, Taiwan and Japan.

Brotizolam ist ein Benzodiazepin-Analogon aus der Gruppe der Thienodiazepine und besitzt wie alle seine Analoga amnestische, anxiolytische, antikonvulsive, hypnotische, sedative und zentral muskelrelaxierende Wirkungen.


History.

During WWII, Croatia was occupied by Nazi Germany. Under the Nazi-supported Ustaša regime, the nation proclaimed independence and was named the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). During this time, the Ustaša political party, headed by the clerical fascist leader Ante Pavelić, controlled Croatian leadership. The NDH was supported by the Axis powers and participated in the creation and use of concentration and extermination camps. While this puppet state adapted the anti-semitic policy of the Axis powers, their goal was also to ethnically cleanse all Serbian and Roma people through acts of systematic extermination. It is thought that the war crimes and the Holocaust in Croatia during WWII committed by the Ustaša regime is what spurred some anti-Croat sentiment within some parts of the Serbian populations later on.  After WWII, Yugoslavia became a socialist state. This communist state under Tito branded the different Croat separatist groups as fascist terrorists with no goal other than to destroy the state. While this view of the Croat diaspora population was largely slanted, it did describe a small number of loosely organized groups which were in line with the Ustaše.  Otpor existed for over three decades, and while it never had more than a few thousand members worldwide, it linked a variety of notable Croatian nationalists. Otpor branches on four continents at times splintered, notably the Argentinian one under the leadership of Dinko Šakić. Šakić had lived in Argentina between 1947 and 1956, and then between 1959 and 1998.  The HNO was banned in Germany in 1976 because of their links to Zvonko Bušić and others.  In 1991, a former leader of Otpor joined the Croatian Ministry of Defence and used his underground connections to try to obtain weaponry at the time the Croatian War of Independence was starting. In August 1991, the U.S. Customs Service arrested four members of Otpor from Chicago for attempting to procure illegal weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, and ship them to Croatia.

Leadership.

Ante Pavelić was the leader of the Independent State of Croatia, NDH, from 1941 to 1945. After fleeing Yugoslavia for war crimes committed during WWII, he spent some time in Austria and Italy before relocating to Argentina with the majority of the remaining NDH leadership and an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 Ustašhe sympathizers. He established the Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP) in Buenos Aries.  Dinko Sakic was in charge of the Argentinian faction in the 1970s. He was extradited to Croatia in 1999 for war crimes committed during WWII and was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.  Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburic was one of Pavelić's lieutenants during WWII. Maks broke off and formed his own group, Otpor-HNO in 1955. This split was apparently due to the fact that Pavalic was willing to give up some historically Croatian land in exchange to reestablish an independent Croatia The working relationship between the two men was a long-standing one, beginning in the 1930s with the Ustashe movement. In 1969, Luburić was assassinated by the Yugoslav secret police, the UDBA.

Terrorist attacks.

A number of attacks against Yugoslavia were organized by the Ustasha emigration, including the 1971 killing of ambassador Vladimir Rolović by Miro Barešić and Anđelko Brajković.  Otpor has taken credit for two murders associated with their group and is suspected of one more, according to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). All three incidents occurred in 1978 in the US within months of each other. The first attack was against Anthony Cikoja on September 28, 1978. Cikoja was a Yugoslavian immigrant, shot and killed by someone in a waiting car outside his home in Greenburgh, New York. This attack happened three months after Cikoja had received a letter from the "Croatian Nationalist Army", demanding a payment of $5,000 towards the cause for independence. The letter also threatened death if he refused. At least 15 other Yugoslav immigrants in the area had received similar letters.  The next incident attributed to Otpor is a firebombing on October 4, 1978. Daniel Nikolic, a Croatian-American businessman, received a letter similar to the one given to Cikoja, demanding money. When he did not respond, his cabinet business was firebombed.  The third and final incident reported in the GTD was on November 22, 1978. This incident was similar to the previous two: the target, Krizan Brkic, also received an extortion letter demanding that he contribute money towards the cause for independence. He was shot and killed outside his home in Glendale, California.  While these are the only attacks reported in the GTD, this does not mean that these incidents were the only attacks perpetrated by the group. It has been suggested that Optor often hire people unrelated to the group to carry out attacks from their headquarters in Chicago. The primary targets of these attacks are Yugoslavian travel agencies and diplomatic facilities. Book bombs, or books hollowed out with explosive centers, were the weapon of choice for Otpor.

The Croatian National Resistance (), also referred to as Otpor, was an Ustaša organization founded in 1955 in Spain. The HNO ran a terrorist organisation, Drina, which continued to be active well into the 1970s.

Der Hrvatski narodni otpor (ursprünglich "Hrvatski narodni odpor"; für "Kroatischer Nationaler Widerstand" oder "Kroatischer Volkswiderstand"), kurz HNOtpor oder auch HNO, war eine 1955 gegründete weltweit aktive rechtsextreme terroristische Organisation von Exilkroaten mit Hauptsitz in Spanien. Nach der Unabhängigkeit Kroatiens wurde die Organisation in den 1990er-Jahren offiziell aufgelöst.


History.

2009–2015: Career beginnings, "World Order" and "2012".

World Order was formed in 2009 by Genki Sudo and a group of 4 other male dancers following Sudo's retirement from mixed martial arts. The original line-up consisted of current members Yusuke Morisawa and Hayato Uchiyama, as well as former members Genki Sudo, Ryo Noguchi and Kiyoyuki Sakiyama. Prior to this, Sudo had been a mixed martial arts fighter, Takushoku University Wrestling section director, and actor. Artists active in the techno genre such as Takashi Watanabe and Ken Ishii have helped to create World Order's musical image. In Japan, after several appearances on popular television programs, World Order's name recognition has expanded to the general public. The group has gained high praise, particularly from abroad, for their play on the visual stereotype of Japanese office workers and robotic dance performances. In a 2014 interview with the Japan Times, Sudo said, "When we started, I liked the idea of adding a bit of humor to the Hollywood stereotype that all Japanese people are serious so I decided we should dance in a robotic way wearing glasses and suits."  On December 16, 2009, World Order released their eponymous debut song "World Order" on iTunes. On July 7, 2010, the band released their debut album, "World Order". The music video for "Mind Shift" was released on YouTube on July 24, introducing two new members, Masato Ochiai and Akihiro Takahashi, and making World Order a 7-member group. The band gained recognition for their 2011 song "Machine Civilization," which was produced in response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. World Order's "2012" music video, released in October 25, 2011, saw the departure of Kiyoyuki Sakiyama, being effectively replaced by Takeshi Jonishi. It was revealed that members didn't drink much water to save time visiting the bathroom, however it was very hot weather to be in suits. As a result, 3 members were hospitalised while 2 others were almost hospitalised. They later released a music video for "Aquarius" on May 15, 2012.  On March 15, 2012, at a promotional event for Dell Streak Pro in Tokyo, World Order set the Guinness World Record for "Largest Robot Dance" at 647 people. The band danced to their song "World Order" along with 640 dancers. This record was later broken in 2013 by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls at the University of Pittsburgh.  On June 20, 2012, the band released their second album "2012," which peaked at 6th place on the Oricon Weekly Album chart. On August 29, 2012, the group released a music video for "Change Your Life", a song included in the "2012" album.  On September 21, 2012, the group released a music video for "Permanent Revolution", which was filmed in South Korea and attempted to reflect a political message about Korean, Chinese and Japanese partnership. The single was released alongside the song "Find the Light".  On April 20, 2013, World Order performed at the prestigious Nippon Budokan, which is generally used as an indoor arena to host martial arts competitions but has seen use by many musicians.  On June 17, 2013, a music video for "Imperialism" was released, with the introduction of Ryuta Tomita, replacing the departed Ryo Noguchi. On October 6, 2013, they released a music video for "Welcome to Tokyo", which was a remix of their debut song "World Order". On December 7, 2013, they released a music video for "Last Dance".  On February 16, 2014, saw the music video release of "This is Life". On March 20, 2014, the music video for "Have a Nice Day" was released, which also featured appearances of AKB48 members. The music video saw World Order perform their choreography with AKB48 fans at AKB48's theatre stage as AKB48 was performing in front of them. On December 17, 2014, the band released their third album "Have a Nice Day" following the music video release of "Informal Empire", which included remixes of "World Order, Machine Civilization" and "Aquarius". Imperialism was released as a single, but also packaged into the "Have a Nice Day" album.  In February 2015, World Order was featured in the 26th-season premiere of the CBS reality television show "The Amazing Race". Teams had the opportunity to participate in a detour where they would attempt to mimic World Order's dance moves. The dance was set to the "Welcome to Tokyo" version of the song "WORLD ORDER".

2015–2019: Line-up changes, departures and new members.

On March 13, 2015, saw the music video release of "The History of Voice 2015", which was a 6-member choreography without Genki Sudo to a shortened 2015 version of "The History of Voice. O"n July 27, 2015, the group had travelled to China as a 6-member unit for their "Multipolarity" music video, which featured a secret appearance by Genki Sudo in disguise.  In October 2015, Genki Sudo officially resigned from World Order, shortly following the release of "The Next Phase", as a dance member and lead vocalist, instead choosing to focus on being a director and producer for the group. This led to World Order continuing as a 6-member unit. However, he is still occasionally featured as a member of the group in their new content, despite his departure. Masato Ochiai and Akihiro Takahashi have been put forward as the vocalists of the group.  On February 27, 2016, two music videos of "Quiet Happiness" were released, one being set in China, and another in India. On May 31, 2016, a remix of "Have a Nice Day" was released as a music video, which included Genki Sudo as a performer and only vocalist.  As of 2016, the group has traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, the United States, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and India to shoot their music videos.  On March 11, 2017, saw the release of "Singularity" on YouTube. The video featured a 14-person dance in collaboration with 7 other SKE48 members. The seven SKE48 members included were Yuna Ego, Ryoha Kitagawa, Ruka Kitano, Haruka Kumazaki, Sana Takatera, Yuzuki Hidaka and Chikako Matsumoto.  In August 2017, Masato Ochiai left the group due to poor physical condition, making the group a 5-member unit. This left Akihiro Takahashi as the sole lead vocalist of the group. Masato Ochiai later opened and became the instructor for "Karatecise Tokyo", which is a combination of karate and dancing.  On September 7, 2017, World Order released a music video for "Find the Light" as a 5-member unit, which was recorded in Thailand. On November 29, 2017, "One Step Forward" was released.  On October 20, 2017, a brand new segment on World Order's YouTube channel began dubbed "WORLD ORDER (Almost) Weekly Journal", a video alternative to the diary, generally featuring all members who chat amongst themselves on camera. As the name suggests, a video journal is uploaded almost weekly. There have been some community translations provided to these videos.  In January 2018, Genki Sudo announced his return as a dance member of World Order, which returned the group to becoming a 6-member unit. On March 11, 2018, they released "Let's start WW3", which was a song about Donald Trump and filmed in the United States. World Order did not bring a cameracrew overseas, which led them to ask passersby on the streets to film for them. This led to someone running off with their camera, however, after a chase, they managed to get back the camera.  In June 2018, Takashi Jonishi announced his departure as a dance member of World Order. He has organized a new group named "AirFootWorks" specialized in a style called "Pull-Up Dance." Jonishi hopes that his group and World Order can perform together someday. He still cooperates with World Order behind the scenes as technical staff. Since then he has been featured as a member during World Order's two live events, "WWIII of Love" (directed by Akihiro) and their Osaka concert.  On October 9, 2018, a music video for Genki Sudo's 2015 single "Missing Beauty" was released with few altered lyrics, which was filmed in Taiwan. On January 25, 2019, they released "Big Brother". On April 18, 2019, they released "We Are All One", which was filmed in the Philippines.  In April 2019, 3 new members were officially announced following their Osaka concert, making the group a 7-member unit again. These new members consists of: Kensuke Kimura, Kosuke Shizunaga, Takuro Kakefuda. Kosuke and Takuro have also taken on the vocalist role, alongside concurrent member, Akihiro. With the news, it was also announced that Genki Sudo would return to the producer position. In May 2019, the group performed at the renowned Nagoya Blue Note, which was the performance debut of the three newly added members. With this new line-up, the group went on a fan tour from August 31–September 1.  In June 2019, Genki Sudo announced that he would enter politics. On August 1, Genki was elected into the Japanese House of Councillors, effectively stepping down as their producer and becoming an inactive member.  On August 16, 2019, World Order's management suspended their website's diary service due to administrative reasons. On August 22, World Order officially announced for their 10-year anniversary live concert to be held for 2-days during December in Tokyo from the 20th to 21st at the Kanda Myojin Hall, with two different show times for the Saturday performance. Tickets were released on October 12 and all 3 shows were eventually sold out.  On December 5, 2019, they returned with the new lineup and released "Exodus", which did not include any vocals.

2019–present: 10 year anniversary and change in operation.

On December 20–21, their 10-year anniversary took place. With it came surprise appearances from both Masato and Genki, of which Masato participated in a few choreographies. He danced to Aquarius, replacing Shizu on break; and to Multipolarity, which was kept in 6-member formation as Takuro and Keisuke went for a break. It was revealed that Genki had initially retired from martial arts in order to become a politician, and that World Order was a way for him to convey his political message with music before reaching such goal.  On March 3, in an official announcement, World Order announced their a change in their current operations. It is explained that core members have worked on the project since its formation, but have since expanded their activities into various fields – thus making it difficult to make a schedule together. As such, no members are leaving nor is the group being disbanded, but following World Order activities will not have fixed members and will assemble those who are available for each event. Although future activities are being planned, their schedules are limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discography.

"World Order".

Released: July 7, 2010  Publisher: P-Vine Records

"2012".

Released: June 20, 2012  Publisher: Pony Canyon

"Find the Light/Permanent Revolution".

Released: November 28, 2012  Publisher: Pony Canyon

"Genki Sudo Presents: World Order in Budokan".

Released: August 7, 2013  Publisher: Pony Canyon

"Have a Nice Day".

Released: December 17, 2014  Publisher: Pony Canyon

"World Order Performance Video Collection ".

Released: August 31, 2017  Publisher: Pony Canyon

World Order (stylized as WORLD ORDER) is a 7-member Japanese band formed by Genki Sudo following his retirement from mixed martial arts. The band is best known for their tightly choreographed robotic dance performances in public places. As of December 2019, World Order's YouTube channel has amassed over 154 million views and 591 thousand subscribers.

World Order (jap. ) ist ein japanisches Musikprojekt von Genki Sudō. Nach dem Ende seiner Karriere als Martial-Arts-Profi (K-1, Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA) gründete Genki Sudō 2009 die Gruppe, bei der er selbst für Musik, Texte und das Konzept verantwortlich zeichnet, während die übrigen sechs Mitglieder bei der Performance auf der Bühne und in den Musikvideos als Tänzer fungieren (schon in seiner Zeit als Martial-Art-Kämpfer war Genki Sudō für seine aufwendigen Shows und gelegentlichen Tanzeinlagen bekannt). Die elektronische Tanzmusik von World Order ist von Kraftwerk und den Pet Shop Boys beeinflusst; in den Videos ist die stets in konventionelle Geschäftsanzüge gekleidete Gruppe bei roboterhaften Tanzdarbietungen zu sehen, die oft an öffentlichen Orten vor ahnungslosem Publikum gefilmt worden sind. Das Video zu ihrem bekanntesten Song "Machine Civilisation" entstand unter anderem auf japanischen Flughäfen während des Hochbetriebs in Folge des Erdbebens von 2011 und inmitten zerstörter Industrieanlagen.


History.

The beginning.

The first Elitloppet was run in 1952 under the name of "Solvallas Jubileumslopp" (approximately "Solvalla's Jubilee Race"). Winner the opening year was the German horse Permit. The following year, the event changed name to Elitloppet.

The doping affair in 2006.

In Elitloppet 2006, French star trotter Jag de Bellouet won in a record time of 1:09,4 (km rate), with Italian Lets Go in second place. At a press conference a few weeks after the Elitloppet Day, it was announced that both horses had been disqualified due to positive doping tests. Jag de Bellouet and Lets Go tested positive for diclofenac and etacrynic acid, respectively. After the disqualifications, Swedish Conny Nobell was announced the official winner of the 2006 event. The general secretary in the Swedish Trotting Association (STC), Ulf Hörnberg, expressed that the double disqualifications was a "tragedy" for the event.

Racing conditions.

The races.

In 1952-1958 and in 1973, Elitloppet was decided through two heats followed by a race-off if not one and the same horse won both heats. In 1959-1961, when a longer distance was trotted, only a single race was run. Since 1962 (with the exception of 1973), a concept of two eliminations and one final has been used. The number of horses in the eliminations has varied from seven to twelve during these years, but there have always been eight trotters in the final.

Distance.

The distance has, with the exception of the years 1959-1961, been in the interval of 1,580-1,640 meters. In 1959, the horses ran 3,200 meters, and the two following years, the distance was approximately 2,700 meters.

Starting method.

During the first ten years, 1952-1961, volt start was used in Elitloppet. From 1962 and on, a motorized starting gate has been used, changing the starting method from volt start to auto start.

The Elitloppet weekend.

Elitloppet is traditionally raced on the last Sunday of May. Solvalla stages races both Saturday and Sunday which makes up a meet, known in Sweden as "The Elitloppet weekend" (Swedish: "Elitloppshelgen"). The two days are generally well-visited and is considered one of Sweden's biggest sports events. In 2008, a total of over 53,000 people attended the events at Solvalla.

Past winners.

All winners of Elitloppet.

Nationality of the winning horse's owner(s)

Elitloppet (literally: "The Elite Race") or Solvallas Internationella Elitlopp is an annual, invitational Group One harness event that has taken place at Solvalla Racetrack in Stockholm, Sweden since 1952. The competition is regarded as one of the most prestigious international events in trotting. The winner is decided through two qualifying rounds and a subsequent final later the same day. Both the eliminations and the final are raced over the mile. The overall purse for the 2012 event was SEK6,400,000, equalling approximately US$892,000. In 2002 the Italian champion Varenne, (considered the strongest trotter of all time), took it in a world record time of 1:10.4 in the elimination and then bested that mark by winning the final in 1:10.2 – the fastest mile ever trotted around three turns. The fastest winning time in a final is 1:09.0, run by the French Timoko in 2017. Elitloppet was part of the European Grand Circuit and is part of that circuit's successor, the UET Masters Series.

Das Elitloppet (Eliterennen) ist ein Gruppe 1-Trabrennen das seit 1952 jedes Jahr auf der Rennbahn in Solvalla, Stockholm, Schweden ausgetragen wird. Es gehört zu den prestigeträchtigsten Trabrennen der Welt. Es handelt sich um ein Einladungsrennen, bei dem zunächst zwei Qualifikationsläufe stattfinden und das Finale noch am selben Tag ausgetragen wird. Die Qualifikationsrennen und das Finale führen über eine Strecke von 1.609 Meter (1 Meile), weshalb das Elitloppet auch als inoffizielle Sprint-Weltmeisterschaft der Traber bezeichnet wird.