History.

Bags have been attested for thousands of years and have been used by both men and women. Bags have been prevalent as far back as ancient Egypt. Many hieroglyphs depict males with bags tied around their waist. The Bible mentions pouches, especially with regard to Judas Iscariot carrying one around, holding his personal items. In the 14th century, wary of pickpockets and thieves, many people used drawstring bags, in which to carry their money. These bags were attached to "girdles" via a long cord fastened to the waist.  Women also wore more ornate drawstring bags, typically called "hamondeys" or "tasques", to display their social status. The 14th-century handbags evolved into wedding gifts from groom to bride. These medieval pouches were embroidered, often with depictions of love stories or songs. Eventually, these pouches evolved into what is known as a "chaneries", which were used for gaming or food for falcons. During the Renaissance, Elizabethan England's fashions were more ornate than ever before. Women's wore their pouches underneath the vast array of petticoats and men wore leather pockets or "bagges" inside their breeches. Aristocrats began carrying "swete bagges" filled with sweet-smelling material to make up for poor hygiene.

Modern.

In the modern world, bags are ubiquitous, with many people routinely carrying a wide variety of them in the form of cloth or leather briefcases, handbags, and backpacks, and with bags made from more disposable materials such as paper or plastic being used for shopping, and to carry home groceries. A bag may be closable by a zipper, snap fastener, etc., or simply by folding (e.g. in the case of a paper bag). Sometimes a money bag or travel bag has a lock. The bag likely predates the inflexible variant, the basket, and bags usually have the additional advantage over baskets of being foldable or otherwise compressible to smaller sizes. On the other hand, baskets, being made of a more rigid material, may better protect their contents.  An empty bag may or may not be very light and foldable to a small size. If it is, this is convenient for carrying it to the place where it is needed, such as a shop, and for storage of empty bags. Bags vary from small ones, like purses, to large ones for use in traveling like a suitcase. The pockets of clothing are also a kind of bag, built into the clothing for the carrying of suitably small objects.

Environmental aspects.

There are environmental concerns regarding use and disposal of plastic shopping and trash bags. Efforts are being taken to control and reduce their use in some European Union countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands. In some cases the cheap bags are taxed so the customer must pay a fee where they may not have done previously. Sometimes heavy duty reusable plastic and fabric bags are sold, typically costing €0.50 to €1, and these may replace disposable bags entirely. Sometimes free replacements are offered when the bag wears out. The UK has charged 5p per plastic carrier bag in larger shops since 2015. This trend has spread to some cities in the United States. Recently many countries have banned the use of plastic bags. Paper bags emerge as a great replacement for plastic bags; however paper bags tend to be expensive compared to plastic bags.  A bag may or may not be disposable; however, even a disposable bag can often be used many times, for economic and environmental reasons. On the other hand, there may be logistic or hygienic reasons to use a bag only once. For example, a garbage bag is often disposed of with its content. A bag for packaging a disposable product is often disposed of when it is empty. Similarly, bags used as receptacles in medical procedures, such as the colostomy bag used to collect waste from a surgically diverted biological system, are typically disposed of as medical waste. Many snack foods, such as pretzels, cookies, and potato chips, are available in disposable single-use sealed bags. There are many fashionable designer bags from luxury ones hermes, louis vuitton, Balenciaga to more independent designers Jil Sander,A.P.C., CSHEON

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

袋 (又称包或囊),是指一种常见的的非刚性容器,主要用于盛载物件,其包装物料可使它内里的空间随意变形。


Early life.

Lucchese was born on December 1, 1899, to Baldassarre and Francesca Lucchese in Palermo, Sicily. The surname "Lucchese" suggests family origins from the Sicilian city of Lucca Sicula. In early 1911, the Lucchese family emigrated to the United States, settling in Manhattan's Italian neighborhood of East Harlem. Lucchese's father worked hauling cement. Lucchese worked in a machine shop until 1915, when an industrial accident amputated his right thumb and forefinger.

107th Street gang.

After his accident, Lucchese spent more time with his friends. Lucchese along with Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, formed the 107th Street gang. Members of the gang stole wallets, burglarized stores, and engaged in other hustles. The 107th Street gang operated under the protection of Bronx-East Harlem family boss Gaetano "Tom" Reina. By the age of eighteen, Lucchese had started a window washing company in East Harlem; anyone refusing to buy window washing would have their windows broken.  In 1920, Lucchese was arrested in Riverhead, Long Island, on auto theft charges. During his booking, a police officer compared Lucchese's deformed hand with that of Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, a popular Major League Baseball pitcher. The officer nicknamed Lucchese "Three Finger Brown", an alias that Lucchese always disliked. In January 1921, Lucchese was convicted of auto theft and sentenced on March 27, 1922, to three years and nine months in prison. Lucchese served thirteen months at Sing Sing Correctional Facility before he was paroled. It would be Lucchese's only conviction.  Lucchese was released from prison in 1923, three years into prohibition. His old friends Charlie Luciano, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky had become partners with Jewish gangster Arnold "the Brain" Rothstein selling bootleg alcohol. During the 1920s, Lucchese became a strong ally of Luciano's and became a top member of Gaetano Reina's crime family. In August 1927, Lucchese was arrested under the alias of "Thomas Arra" and charged with receiving stolen goods. On July 18, 1928, Lucchese was arrested along with his brother-in-law, Joseph Rosato, for the murder of Louis Cerasulo; the charges were later dropped.

Castellammarese War.

In early 1931, the Castellammarese War broke out between Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. In a secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer the death of his boss, Masseria, in return for receiving Masseria's rackets and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command. On April 15, 1931, Luciano had lured Masseria to a meeting where he was murdered at a restaurant called Nuova Villa Tammaro on Coney Island. While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis, and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel; Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova drove the getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and had to be shoved out of the driver's seat by Siegel. Luciano took over Masseria's family, with Genovese as his underboss.  In September 1931, Luciano and Genovese planned the murder of Salvatore Maranzano after Lucchese had previously alerted Luciano that he was marked for death, and prepared a hit team to kill Maranzano first. On September 10, 1931, when Maranzano summoned Luciano, Genovese, and Frank Costello to a meeting at his office, they knew Maranzano would kill them there. Instead, Luciano sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of Lansky and Siegel. Luciano subsequently created The Commission to serve as the governing body for organized crime.

Underboss to Gagliano.

Due to Luciano's reforms, the New York city underworld entered a long period of peace. Luciano was soon arrested in 1936 on compulsory prostitution charges and then deported in 1946. Gagliano would keep his family during a tough time, being outnumbered in the Commission by an alliance of the Bonanno, Magaddino, Profaci and the Mangano families.  From 1932 onward, Gagliano kept a very low profile; almost nothing is known about him from then onward. He preferred to issue his orders through close allies, particularly Lucchese, who was the family's public face. In 1946, Lucchese attended the mob Havana Conference in Cuba as Gagliano's representative.  On January 25, 1943, Lucchese became a naturalized United States citizen in Newark, New Jersey.  Lucchese formed an alliance with Louis Buchalter and together they controlled the garment district.

Boss of the family.

In 1951, Gagliano died of natural causes. As underboss and de facto street boss for two decades, Lucchese was the obvious successor, and the family was quickly renamed the Lucchese crime family. Lucchese appointed mobsters Stafano LaSalle as underboss and Vincenzo Rao as consigliere. That same year, Lucchese formed an alliance with Luciano crime family underboss Vito Genovese and Anastasia crime family underboss Carlo Gambino with the long-term goal of gaining control of the Commission.  Lucchese became one of the most well-respected Cosa Nostra bosses of the Post-War era. He maintained close relationships with New York City politicians, including Mayors William O'Dwyer and Vincent Impellitteri. Lucchese concentrated on the core Cosa Nostra values of making money, keeping a low public profile, and avoiding criminal prosecution. The Lucchese family came to dominate Manhattan's garment district and the related trucking industry by gaining control of key unions and trade associations.

Alliance with Gambino and Genovese.

On November 17, 1952, U.S. Attorney General James P. McGranery initiated denaturalization proceedings against Lucchese. In its filing, the government claimed that Lucchese did not reveal his entire arrest record when applying for citizenship in the 1930s.  In 1957, Lucchese and his allies decided to attack the bosses of the Luciano and Anastasia crime families to gain Commission control. On May 3, 1957, gunman Vincent Gigante wounded Luciano's street boss Frank Costello. Shaken by the assassination attempt, Costello soon retired, leaving Genovese as boss. On October 25, 1957, Albert Anastasia was assassinated in a hotel barbershop; Carlo Gambino became the new family boss.  In 1957, Genovese called a national mob meeting to legitimize his control of the Luciano family. The meeting was held at rural home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York. On November 14, 1957, the New York State Police raided the meeting and arrested 61 fleeing gangsters. Lucchese had not yet arrived in Apalachin and therefore avoided arrest. However, his consigliere Vincenzo Rao, Gambino, Genovese and other mob leaders were detained. Genovese's humiliation motivated the new alliance of Luciano, Costello, Lansky, Gambino and Lucchese to set up Genovese's later elimination. Two years later, with the help of the alliance, Genovese was arrested on narcotics trafficking charges. Genovese was convicted and sent to prison, where he died in 1969. With the alliance backing him, Gambino now controlled the Commission.  On April 8, 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1952 denaturalization ruling against Lucchese on a legal technicality. However, the next day, U.S. Attorney General William P. Rogers brought a new case against Lucchese.

Lucchese and Gambino.

In 1962, Carlo Gambino's oldest son, Thomas Gambino, married Lucchese's daughter Frances. Over 1,000 guests attended the wedding, at which Carlo Gambino presented Lucchese with a $30,000 gift. In return, Lucchese gave Gambino a part of his rackets at Idlewild Airport (now called John F. Kennedy Airport). Lucchese exercised control over airport management security and all the airport unions. As a team, Lucchese and Gambino now controlled the airport, the Commission, and most organized crime in New York City.

Commission plot.

In 1963, Joseph Magliocco and Bonanno boss Joseph Bonanno hatched an audacious plan to murder Commission bosses Carlo Gambino, Lucchese, Stefano Magaddino, as well as Frank DeSimone, and take over the Mafia Commission. Joseph Magliocco gave the murder contact to Joseph Colombo. Colombo either feared for his life, or sensed an opportunity for advancement, and instead reported the plot to The Commission. The Commission, realizing that Bonanno was the real mastermind, ordered both Magliocco and Bonanno to explain. Bonanno went into hiding in Montreal, but a badly shaken Magliocco appeared and confessed everything; he was fined $50,000 and forced into retirement.

Death and burial.

On July 13, 1967, Lucchese died of a brain tumor at his home in the Lido Beach area of Long Island. The funeral service was held at the Catholic Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Ridgewood, Queens. Lucchese is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. Over 1,000 mourners, including politicians, judges, policemen, racketeers, drug pushers, pimps, and hitmen attended the ceremony. Undercover policemen photographed the attendees. At the time of his death, he had not spent a day in jail in 44 years.  Lucchese's first choice as a successor had been Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo, but Corallo was in prison when Lucchese died. Lucchese's second choice, Ettore Coco, was also in legal trouble and served a short time as boss. Another possible candidate was consigliere Vincenzo Rao, but he too was dealing with criminal charges. The Commission finally selected capo Carmine Tramunti as temporary acting boss until Corallo was released from prison.

Thomas Gaetano Lucchese (born Gaetano Lucchese; ; December 1, 1899 – July 13, 1967) was an Italian-American gangster and founding member of the Mafia in the United States, an offshoot of the "Cosa Nostra" in Sicily. From 1951 until 1967, he was the boss of the Lucchese crime family, one of the Five Families that dominates organized crime in New York City.

汤玛斯·卢切斯(Thomas Lucchese,发音,本名加埃塔诺·卢切斯(Gaetano Lucchese),1899年-12月1日-1967年-7月13日)是在西西里出生的美国黑帮,以及是美国黑手党的创始成员,这是西西里岛Cosa Nostra的分支。从1951年到1967年,他是卢切斯犯罪家族的老大,是在纽约市主宰著有组织犯罪的五大家族之一。


Etymology.

The term hybodont comes from the Greek word "ὕβος" or "ὑβός" meaning hump or hump-backed and "ὀδούς, ὀδοντ" meaning tooth. This name was given based on their conical compressed teeth.

Phylogeny.

Hybodontiformes are a type of elasmobranch shark, just outside Neoselachians. Hybodontiformes are classified in the Euselachii along with Xenacanthiformes, Ctenacanthiformes and Neoselachii. The order Hybodontiformes includes the families Polyarcodontidae, Hybodontidae and Ptychodontidae. "Lissodus" is a common example of Polyacrodontidae, "Hybodus" is an example of Hybodontidae, and "Ptychodus mortoni" is an example of Ptychodontidae.

Geologic Record.

Hybodonts were first described in the nineteenth century based on isolated fossil teeth (Agassiz, 1837). The earliest hybodont remains are from the Carboniferous and include "Tristychius" and other fishes from the Calciferous Sandstone of Scotland. Hybodonts were first separated from living sharks by Zittel (1911). Although the first fossils of hybodonts are from the Carboniferous, they likely branched off from neoselachians (modern sharks) during the early Devonian. The group now called Hybodontiformes includes many species, with examples such as "Hybodus", "Acrodus", "Asteracanthus", "Lonchidion", and "Lissodus". Hybodont samples have been recovered from Permian deposits from Oman, indicating that hybodonts lived in the Neotethys Ocean during the Permian Period. This study combined with others from Texas suggest that hybodonts were well established, and in some places dominant, during the Permian. In general, the Permian record of hybodonts is limited. It was initially hypothesized that hybodont diversity was not significantly impacted by the end-Permian extinction, instead it was thought that diversity of Permian hybodonts declined over the 50 million years before the end-Permian extinction. However, recent samples found in Oman suggests that Permian hybodont diversity extended until the end-Permian, suggesting the extinction was more impactful than previously thought. Fossils from the Lower Triassic Vega-Phroso Siltstone Member of the Sulphur Mountain Formation of Alberta, Canada show well preserved specimens of "Wapitiodus aplopagus" which survived the extinction and was abundant in the Early Triassic. Maximum hybodont diversity is observed during the Triassic. During the Triassic and Early Jurassic, hybodontiforms were the dominant selachians in both marine and non-marine environments. A study of Middle Jurassic fossils from England analyzed 20 species from 11 genera suggesting that hybodonts flourished at that time. A shift in hybodonts was seen during the Middle Jurassic, a transition between the distinctly different assemblages seen in the Triassic – Early Jurassic and the Late Jurassic – Cretaceous. As neoselachians (group of modern sharks) diversified further during the Late Jurassic, hybodontiforms became less prevalent in open marine conditions but remained diverse in fluvial and restricted settings during the Cretaceous. By the Cretaceous, hybodontiforms were primarily (though not solely) restricted to freshwater settings. They remained successful during the Cretaceous by adapting to freshwater conditions, for example seven genera were found in freshwater deposits from Thailand. The end-Cretaceous extinction of hybodont sharks may have been caused more by competition with other sharks than by the meteorite impact and volcanic eruptions cited to be the main cause of this extinction event. Most other sharks were not significantly affected by the end-Cretaceous extinction, also suggesting that competition led to the demise of hybodonts.  Nonetheless, at least one genus, "Miosynechodus", appears to have endured as recently as the late Miocene in Sri Lanka's freshwater deposits.

Habitat.

Hybodont teeth fossils are found in depositional environments ranging from marine to fluvial (river deposits). When they first evolved they inhabited both marine and freshwater systems. While hybodonts lived in freshwater throughout their existence, an example of hybodonts moving into more restricted conditions comes from Middle Jurassic samples found in lagoonal and other enclosed depositional settings. Teeth from seven hybodont genera were described from the freshwater Khorat Group of Thailand which is Upper Jurassic – Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) in age.

Morphology and Teeth.

Hybodonts are generally described and identified based on size and shape of teeth and fin spine fossils. Hybodonts are recognized as having teeth with a prominent cusp which is higher than lateral cusplets. Species of hybodonts are often determined based on their teeth fossils which are more likely to be preserved the rock record than the remainder of the sharks’ skeleton. Teeth are abundant in the fossil record because sharks shed them throughout their lifetime and teeth are resistant to erosion. Hybodont teeth are often preserved as incomplete fossils because the base of the tooth is not well attached to the crown. Hybodonts were initially divided into two groups based on their tooth shape. One group had teeth with acuminate cusps that lacked a pulp cavity; these are called osteodont teeth. The other group had a different cusp arrangement and had a pulp cavity, these are called orthodont teeth. For example, the hybodont species "Heterophychodus steinmanni" have osteodont teeth with vascular canals of dentine which are arranged vertically parallel to each other, also called ‘tubular dentine’. The crowns of these osteodont teeth are covered with a single layer of enameloid. Hybodonts are characterized by having two dorsal fins each preceded by a fin spine with a specific shape. The fin spines shape is used to distinguish hybodonts from other shark groups and different hybodont species. The fin spines are elongate and gently curved toward the back of the animal. Male hybodonts had small spines across their heads. Hybodonts had thick, massive jaws that vary between different genera according to diet and teeth. Hybodonts had paired fins for steering and a fully heterocercal, or uneven tail, with the dorsal fin extending further than the ventral tail fin. One of the best hybodont fossils is a specimen of "Tribodus" from the Santana Formation (Early Cretaceous) of northeastern Brazil. A three dimensional specimen was recovered revealing the shape of the pectoral fins and how they attach to the scapula.

Behavior.

Hybodonts were likely slow swimmers and used their paired fins for steering and stabilization. "Hybodus", a typical hybodontiform, was thought to be a slow swimmer but capable of occasional bursts on speed, making it an active predator of fast moving prey. Hybodonts have a wide variety of tooth shapes. This variety suggests that they took advantage of multiple food sources. It is thought that some hybodonts which had wider, flatter, teeth specialized in crushing hard-shelled prey. Well-developed wear facets on teeth from "Lissodus" suggest that some hybodontiforms crushed their food. Species described from Thailand have a range of teeth shapes, suggesting multiple feeding habits. Bulbous teeth were used for crushing hard shelled bottom-dwelling prey. Others were opportunistic feeders and were species that had a diet of large soft-bodied prey. Little is known about the reproductive habits of hybodonts. One study found abundant fossil teeth and eggs sacks in freshwater lake deposits from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan. The site was interpreted as an ancient shark nursery based on the abundance of eggs and juvenile fossils and the limited number of adult specimens.

Hybodontiformes, also called hybodonts, are an extinct subset of Elasmobranchii (sharks, skates and rays) which existed from the Devonian to the Miocene. They form the group of sharks closest to neoselachians, the clade of modern sharks and rays. Hybodonts were named and are distinguished based on their conical tooth shape. They comprised the main group of Jurassic sharks in Europe and North America. They survived into the Late Cretaceous before going extinct, possibly due to competition from other sharks, though forms like "Miosynechodus" endured as recently as the Miocene. "Lonchidion" was one of the last hybodonts — its distinctive serrated fine spines occur in freshwater deposits from Wyoming alongside the fossils of the last dinosaurs, including "Tyrannosaurus rex" and "Triceratops". Hybodontiformes are identified in the fossil record predominantly based on distinct teeth and fin spines. They were known to live in both fresh and salt water environments.

弓鲛目(学名:Hybodontiformes),也称为"Hybodonts",是生存于石炭纪至中新世的一类已灭绝的板鳃亚纲(鲨鱼、𫚉鱼和鳐鱼)。它们构成了与新鲨类最接近的种群,即现代鲨鱼和鳐鱼的姐妹群。 弓鲛目根据它们的锥形齿来命名并区分。它们是侏罗纪时期欧洲和北美鲨鱼的主要群体,该目大部分种类灭绝于晚白垩世,可能是由于在与其他鲨鱼的竞争中处于劣势,不过中新连齿鲨属等一直存活到了中新世。矛鲛属是最后的弓鲛目之一,它独特的锯齿状细刺与最后的非鸟恐龙的化石一起出现在怀俄明州的淡水沉积物中,包括霸王龙和三角龙。弓鲛目物种在化石记录中主要根据牙齿和鳍刺的不同进行鉴定。众所周知,它们在淡水和咸水环境中均有分布。


History.

The earliest citation of the phrase in the news media dates to December 1985 when the Singaporean and Malaysian stock markets bounced back after a hard fall during the recession of that year. Journalists Horace Brag and Wong Sulong of the "Financial Times" were quoted as saying the market rise was "what we call a dead cat bounce". Both the Singaporean and Malaysian economies continued to fall after the quote, although both economies recovered in the following years.  The phrase is also used in political circles for a candidate or policy that shows a small positive bounce in approval after a hard and fast decline.

Variations and usage.

The standard usage of the term refers to a short rise in the price of a stock which has suffered a fall. In other instances the term is used exclusively to refer to securities or stocks that are considered to be of low value. First, the securities have poor past performance. Second, the decline is "correct" in that the underlying business is weak (e.g. declining sales or shaky financials). Along with this, it is doubtful that the security will recover with better conditions (overall market or economy).  Some variations on the definition of the term include:

Technical analysis.

A "dead cat bounce" price pattern may be used as a part of the technical analysis method of stock trading. Technical analysis describes a dead cat bounce as a continuation pattern that looks in the beginning like a reversal pattern. It begins with a downward move followed by a significant price retracement. The price fails to continue upward and instead falls again downwards, and surpasses the prior low.

In finance, a dead cat bounce is a small, brief recovery in the price of a declining stock. Derived from the idea that "even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from a great height", the phrase, which originated on Wall Street, is also popularly applied to any case where a subject experiences a brief resurgence during or following a severe decline.

死猫反弹(或称「死猫式反弹」,英语:Dead Cat Bounce)是股票投资用语之一。表示股价大幅下跌后一时的小幅回升。由来于「从足够高的地方掉下,即使是死猫也会反弹」,起源于华尔街。现在通常指大幅下跌后或持续跌幅中的小幅回升。


Career.

In 1998 at the age of 26, Berlanti landed his first writing job on The WB's "Dawson's Creek", where he quickly rose through the producing ranks from Staff Writer to Executive Producer. When creator and then showrunner Kevin Williamson decided to step away from the show, 28 year-old Berlanti was promoted to showrunner.  Berlanti has spoken in many interviews about the importance of introducing a gay character into his primetime television show and featuring the first same-sex kiss between two men on network television on "Dawson's Creek". Speaking with "The Hollywood Reporter", he stated, “In the beginning, there was resistance. When we did the Jack kiss on "Dawson's Creek", everyone was tentative. But I took over the show and that was an important thing to me. If we were going to bring the character out, it seemed silly to me that he couldn't kiss”. When asked what he would have done if they said no to the kiss, Berlanti added, “I was prepared to quit. I really was”.  Berlanti subsequently created two drama series for Warner Brothers, "Everwood" and "Jack & Bobby". By the age of 32, he had also already directed his first feature film, " ", which starred Timothy Olyphant, Zach Braff, Justin Theroux and Dean Cain.  In 2006, Berlanti produced and wrote "Brothers & Sisters" for ABC, which aired for five seasons and featured the first same-sex legal marriage on network television.  In 2007, Berlanti executive produced "Dirty Sexy Money" for ABC, which aired for two seasons and featured the first recurring transgender character on primetime television.  In 2008, Berlanti created and produced the ABC legal drama "Eli Stone" and in 2012 the USA miniseries "Political Animals". For NBC, he has produced "The Mysteries of Laura", an American adaptation of the Spanish television series, that premiered on September 17, 2014, and "Blindspot" which premiered on September 21, 2015.  Berlanti directed the 2010 film "Life as We Know It", starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. He produced the film "Pan" for Warner Brothers under his Berlanti Productions banner; the film was released October 9, 2015.  In January 2016, The CW ordered the Berlanti-produced television pilot "Riverdale", based on the characters from Archie Comics. The pilot was picked up to series in May 2016. "Riverdale" premiered on January 26, 2017 and was renewed for a second season on March 7, 2017. In September 2017, it was reported that a live-action television series based on the comic book "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" was being developed for The CW by Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions. In December 2017, the project had moved to Netflix and the first season of "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" was released on October 26, 2018. On December 18, 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.  In February 2015, it was announced that Berlanti and Sera Gamble would develop a series for Showtime based on the Caroline Kepnes's thriller novel titled "You". Two years later, it was announced that the series was purchased by Lifetime and put on fast-track development. "You" premiered on September 9, 2018. On July 26, 2018, ahead of the series premiere, Lifetime announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. On December 3, 2018, it was confirmed that Lifetime had passed on the series and that Netflix picked up the series ahead of the release of the second season. The second season was released on December 26, 2019. On January 14, 2020, "You" was renewed for a third season by Netflix. The third season is scheduled for release sometime in 2021.

DC Comics.

Film.

Berlanti co-wrote and co-produced the DC Comics film "Green Lantern", starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular character. As the film was neither critically nor financially successful, further planned releases were cancelled.  In May 2016, Berlanti discussed his involvement in a "Booster Gold" feature film that was currently in development, as producer and possibly as director as well. Zack Stentz was signed to the project as screenwriter. It is still in movie limbo.

Arrowverse.

In January 2012, it was announced that, along with Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim, Berlanti would create, write, and produce a series for The CW based on Green Arrow, called "Arrow". The series premiered on October 10, 2012 and was picked up to full series in the same month. On July 30, 2013, it was announced at the summer TCA tour that Berlanti, Kreisberg, and DC Comics CCO Geoff Johns would be introducing Barry Allen in the second season of "Arrow", with the possibility of the character being spun off to his own series. Actor Grant Gustin was cast and made his debut in episode 8, "The Scientist". In November 2013, The CW officially ordered a pilot for "The Flash", and in May 2014 the network picked the project up to series with a premiere scheduled for autumn of that year.  On February 26, 2015, it was announced that Berlanti, along with Guggenheim and Kreisberg, would write and executive produce a spin-off series featuring The Atom (Brandon Routh), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), Martin Stein (Victor Garber), and The White Canary (Caity Lotz), for a potential 2016 premiere. The series was ultimately titled "Legends of Tomorrow", and it follows the ragtag team of heroes and villains as they travel through time and space on a mission to stop the devious immortal Vandal Savage. The series premiered on January 21, 2016, and was renewed for a second season on March 11, 2016.

"Supergirl".

On September 4, 2014, it was reported that Berlanti would executive produce a re-imagining of the origin of "Supergirl", to be written by "The New Normal" and "Chuck" alum Ali Adler. "Flash" co-creator Johns was also involved with development. On September 19, 2014, it was reported that CBS had made a series commitment to "Supergirl". It was also announced that Berlanti would co-write the first episode.  After its first season, the show moved from CBS to The CW, bringing all live-action Arrowverse shows together on one network. The show made history in 2018 for featuring the first live action transgender superhero when Nicole Maines was cast in a recurring role.

Other DC shows.

Berlanti worked with Mara Brock Akil and her husband Salim Akil to develop "Black Lightning" which also aired on the CW.  For DC Universe, Berlanti produces "Titans", starring Brenton Thwaites, with Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Sarah Schechter, "Doom Patrol", starring Matt Bomer and Brendan Fraser, with Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns and Sarah Schechter, and "Stargirl" starring Brec Bassinger, with Greg Beeman, Melissa Carter, Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, and Glen Winter.  In 2017, Berlanti wrote and executive produced "" for The CW's streaming platform. The show was praised for its depiction of the first openly gay superhero to headline a series.  In 2019, it was announced that Berlanti would be producing shows based on "Green Lantern" and "Strange Adventures" for HBO Max.

Personal life.

He was born in Rye, New York. His parents are Barbara Moller Berlanti and Eugene Berlanti. Greg has one sister, Dina and two nieces. He has Italian and Irish ancestry. He described his early life in an August 2004 interview with "Entertainment Weekly": "We were Italians in a town of WASPs" and his family was not "doing as well as 90% of the community." The Berlanti Productions production logo, which follows each episode of shows he produces, features a family with their backs to the audience and the spoken quote, "Greg, move your head!" This is an homage to Berlanti's father, Gene, who would yell at Greg when he was blocking the television screen. Berlanti, a Delta Tau Delta Alumni graduated from Northwestern University in 1994.  Berlanti has been in a relationship with ex-LA Galaxy soccer player Robbie Rogers since mid-2013. On December 31, 2016, Rogers and Berlanti announced they had become engaged. Their wedding occurred on December 2, 2017. They have two children born via surrogacy, a son in 2016 and a daughter in 2019.

Awards and Honors.

In 2019, Berlanti received the Television Showman of the Year Award at the 56th Annual ICG Publicists Awards, the Patron of the Artists Award at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation 45th Annual Patron of the Artists Awards, the Kieser Award at the 45th Annual Humanitas Prize Awards and the Outstanding Film - Wide Release Award for "Love, Simon" at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.  Additional honors include: Los Angeles LGBT Center's 49th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards Honoree ; Friends of the Saban Community Clinic’s 43rd Annual Gala Honoree ; Variety Hall of Fame Inductee ; Northwestern University School of Communication Graduation Convocation Address. In 2018, Berlanti was selected for the Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, The Founders Award by the International Emmy Awards, The Hero Award by the Trevor Project, 500 Most Powerful People Working in the Global Media Business Today by "Variety", in addition to winning a Teen Choice Award for "The Flash", "Riverdale" and "Love, Simon".  Additional wins include; 2017 for Teen Choice Award for Choice Drama TV Show for "Riverdale" and 2016 People's Choice Award wins for "Supergirl" and "The Flash".  Past honors include; a 2012 Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries in recognition for Direction of "Political Animals" Pilot, a 2013 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie for "Political Animals", a 2014 Saturn Award for Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series for "The Flash" as well as The Christopher Award for "The Flash", a Leo Award Best Dramatic Series nomination for "Arrow" in 2013 as well as a Fan Favorite Awards and Fan Favorite New Show by "TV Guide" for "Arrow", the Honors Writer Award by The Caucus in 2010, the Alumni Merit Award by the Northwestern Alumni Association in 2006, a 2005 a Gracie Award Presented by the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television, the Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Award for the “A Man of Faith” episode of "Jack & Bobby" in 2005, the Turner Prize at the Environmental Media Awards in 2003 for "Everwood", a GLAAD Media Award in 2001 for "The Broken Hearts Club" and a 2000 SHINE Award for his writing work on "Dawson's Creek". Berlanti was also recognized by "Variety" in 2000 for their Watchable Helmers issue, as well as their 2018 Inclusion Impact Report and by "The Hollywood Reporter" in their 'Power 100 List' and 'Power Showrunners List' in 2018. In 2017, Berlanti was selected for the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.

Philanthropy.

Northwestern Endowment.

In 2020, Berlanti gifted $2 million through his organization, the Berlanti Family Foundation, to his alma mater, the Northwestern University School of Communication, to establish a new dramatic writing professorship. The new professorship was named the Barbara Berlanti Professorship in Writing for the Screen and Stage after Berlanti’s late mother, who he described as a “lifelong champion of the arts.”  The professorship helped to increase the teaching capacity and number of courses offered in the school’s Department of Radio/Television/Film (RTVF). Berlanti also previously gave an endowment to Northwestern’s playwriting program.  Berlanti’s latest endowment to Northwestern marks the Berlanti Family Foundation’s largest charitable contribution for a single organization to date. Berlanti said he “aims to help Northwestern continue its great legacy of fostering the next generation of humane, diverse, courageous and bold storytellers.”

Fuck Cancer.

Berlanti is a board member of Fuck Cancer, a health organization working for early detection and prevention of cancer. Launched in 2009, Fuck Cancer aims to engage millennials through social media to have a conversation about early detection and acute awareness of cancer.

Annual Barbara Berlanti Gala.

In 2018, Berlanti and husband Robbie Rogers chaired Fuck Cancer’s inaugural Barbara Berlanti Heroes Gala, named in honor of his late mother. Berlanti Productions was also a sponsor of the event.  Kristin Chenoweth headlined the event, while co-founder Yael Cohen Braun and board member Stephen Amell were the headline honorees at the event.  Berlanti said that his mother Barbara was the most charitable person he ever knew and that there was no better way to honor her than a night of fun and giving back to this incredible organization.

Filmography.

Television.

Executive producer only

Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American writer, producer and film director. He is known for his work on the television series "Dawson's Creek", "Brothers & Sisters", "Everwood", "Political Animals", "Riverdale", "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and "You", in addition to his contributions to DC Comics on film and television, including The CW's Arrowverse.

葛雷哥里·贝兰提(英语:Gregory Berlanti,1972年-5月24日)或简称葛瑞格·贝兰提(英语:Greg Berlanti),是一名美国男编剧、制片人和导演。他以制作多部著名电视剧而闻名,如《恋爱时代》、《兄弟姐妹》、《雪山镇》、《政坛野兽》、《河谷镇》、《莎宾娜的颤栗冒险》和《安眠书店》;而他也为改编自DC漫画、于CW电视台播出的绿箭宇宙有着重要的贡献。


Constraints.

Since the wargame allowed for a ship-to-shore landing of ground troops at some (unknown) point during the 14 day exercise, and because their naval force was substantial, the Blue force was positioned on the shore-side of the region's active shipping lanes to keep them from impacting commerce during the exercise. This placed them in close proximity to the Red shore rather than at a "standoff" distance. Conducting the wargames during peacetime also meant that there were a large number of friendly/unaligned ships and aircraft in the zone, restricting the use of automated defense systems and more cautious Rules of Engagement. Red's tactics took full advantage of these factors, and to great effect.

Exercise action.

Red, commanded by retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, adopted an asymmetric strategy, in particular, using old methods to evade Blue's sophisticated electronic surveillance network. Van Riper used motorcycle messengers to transmit orders to front-line troops and World-War-II-style light signals to launch airplanes without radio communications.  Red received an ultimatum from Blue, essentially a surrender document, demanding a response within 24 hours. Thus warned of Blue's approach, Red used a fleet of small boats to determine the position of Blue's fleet by the second day of the exercise. In a preemptive strike, Red launched a massive salvo of cruise missiles that overwhelmed the Blue forces' electronic sensors and destroyed sixteen warships. The losses were as follows: one aircraft carrier, ten cruisers and five of six amphibious ships. An equivalent success in a real conflict would have resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 service personnel. Soon after the cruise missile offensive, another significant portion of Blue's navy was "sunk" by an armada of small Red boats, which carried out both conventional and suicide attacks that capitalized on Blue's inability to detect them as well as expected.

Exercise suspension and restart.

At this point, the exercise was suspended, Blue's ships were "re-floated", and the rules of engagement were changed; this was later justified by General Peter Pace as follows: "You kill me in the first day and I sit there for the next 13 days doing nothing, or you put me back to life and you get 13 more days' worth of experiment out of me. Which is a better way to do it?" After the reset, both sides were ordered to follow predetermined plans of action. After the war game was restarted, its participants were forced to follow a script drafted to ensure a Blue Force victory. Among other rules imposed by this script, Red Force was ordered to turn on their anti-aircraft radar in order for them to be destroyed, and was not allowed to shoot down any of the aircraft bringing Blue Force troops ashore. Van Riper also claimed that exercise officials denied him the opportunity to use his own tactics and ideas against Blue Force, and that they also ordered Red Force not to use certain weapons systems against Blue Force and even ordered the location of Red Force units to be revealed.

Aftermath.

The rule changes following the restart led to accusations that the war game had turned from an honest, open, free playtest of U.S. war-fighting capabilities into a rigidly controlled and scripted exercise intended to end in an overwhelming U.S. victory, alleging that "$250 million was wasted". Van Riper was extremely critical of the scripted nature of the new exercise and resigned from the exercise in the middle of the war game. Van Riper later said that Vice Admiral Marty Mayer altered the exercise's purpose to reinforce existing doctrine and notions within the U.S. military rather than serving as a learning experience.  Van Riper also stated that the war game was rigged so that it appeared to validate the modern, joint-service war-fighting concepts it was supposed to be testing. He was quoted in the ZDF–"New York Times" documentary "The Perfect War" (2004) as saying that what he saw in MC02 echoed the same view promoted by the Department of Defense under Robert McNamara before and during the Vietnam War, namely that the U.S. military could not and would not be defeated.  Responding to Van Riper's criticism, Vice Admiral Mayer, who ran the war game and who was charged with developing the military's joint concepts and requirements, stated the following: Navy Captain John Carman, Joint Forces Command spokesman, said the war game had properly validated all the major concepts which were tested by Blue Force, ignoring the restrictions placed on Van Riper's Red Force that led them to succeed. Based on these findings, Carman stated that recommendations based on the war game's result on areas such as doctrine, training, and procurement would be forwarded to General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) was a major war game exercise conducted by the United States Armed Forces in mid-2002. The exercise, which ran from 24 July to 15 August and cost (equivalent to about $M in ), involved both live exercises and computer simulations. MC02 was meant to be a test of future military "transformation"—a transition toward new technologies that enable network-centric warfare and provide more effective command and control of current and future weaponry and tactics. The simulated combatants were the United States, referred to as "Blue", and a fictitious state in the Persian Gulf, "Red", often characterized as Iran or Iraq.

千年挑战2002(英语:Millennium Challenge 2002,简称MC02)是美军在2002年中进行的一场主要兵棋演习,可能是此类演习中规模最大的一场。这场演习由7月24日进行至8月15日,花费2亿5千万美元,包含了真实的操演和电脑模拟。MC02意在测试未来军队的「转型」——未来转向网络中心战并使用更强大的武器和战术的转型。这场演习模拟了美国代表的蓝军(Blue)对抗一个不明的中东敌手担任的红军(Red)。


History.

Spanish Texas.

During the late Spanish colonial era, Texas had been one of the "Provincias Internas", and the region is known in the historiography as Spanish Texas. Though claimed by Spain, it was not formally colonized by the empire until competing French interests at Fort St. Louis encouraged Spain to establish permanent settlements in the area. The region was occupied and claimed by the existing indigenous groups. Sporadic missionary incursions occurred into the area during the period from the 1690s–1710s, before the establishment of San Antonio as a permanent civilian settlement. Owing to the area's relatively dense Native American populations, its remoteness from the population centers of New Spain, and the lack of any obvious valuable resources such as silver, Texas had only a small European population, although Spain maintained a small military presence to protect Christian missionaries working among Native American tribes, and to act as a buffer against the French in Louisiana and British North America.  In 1762, Bourbon France ceded to Bourbon Spain most of its claims to the interior of North America, including its claim to Texas, as well as the vast interior that became Spanish Louisiana. During the years 1799 to 1803, the height of the Napoleonic Empire in France, Spain returned Louisiana to France, which then promptly sold the territory to the United States. The status of Texas during these transfers was unclear and was not resolved until 1819, when the Adams–Onís Treaty between Spain and the United States ceded Spanish Florida to the United States, and established a clear boundary between Texas and Louisiana.  Starting in 1810 with the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence, New Spain sought a different relationship with the Spanish crown. Some Anglo Americans fought on the side of Mexico against Spain in filibustering expeditions. One of these, the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition (also known as the Republican Army of the North) comprised by a group of about 130 Anglo Americans under the leadership of Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. Gutiérrez de Lara initiated Mexico's secession from Spain with efforts contributed by Augustus Magee. Bolstered by new recruits, and led by Samuel Kemper (who succeeded Magee after his death in battle in 1813), the expedition gained a series of victories against soldiers led by the Spanish governor, Manuel María de Salcedo.  Their victory at the Battle of Rosillo Creek convinced Salcedo to surrender on April 1, 1813; he was executed two days later. On April 6, 1813, the victorious Republican Army of the North drafted a constitution and declared the independent Republic of Texas, with Gutiérrez as its president. Soon disillusioned with the Mexican leadership, the Anglo Americans under Kemper returned to the United States.  The ephemeral Republic of Texas came to an end on August 18, 1813, with the Battle of Medina, where the Spanish Army crushed the Republican Army of the North. The harsh reprisals against the Texas rebels created a deep distrust of the Royal Spanish authorities, and veterans of the Battle of Medina later became leaders of the Texas Revolution and signatories of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico 20 years later.  After the failure of the Expedition, there would be no serious push for a "Republic of Texas" for another six years, until 1819, when Virginian filibuster Dr. James Long invaded Spanish Texas in an attempt to "liberate" the region.  Eli Harris led 120 men across the Sabine River to Nacogdoches. Long followed two weeks later with an additional 75 men. On June 22, the combined force declared a new government, with Long as president and a 21-member Supreme Council. The following day, they issued a declaration of independence, modeled on the United States Declaration of Independence. The document cited several grievances, including "Spanish rapacity" and "odious tyranny" and promised religious freedom, freedom of the press, and free trade. The council also allocated 10 square miles of land to each member of the expedition, and authorized the sale of additional land to raise cash for the fledgling government. Within a month, the expedition had grown to 300 members.  The new government established trading outposts near Anahuac along the Trinity River and the Brazos River. They also began the first English-language newspaper ever published in Texas, so named the "Texas Republican", which existed only for the month of August 1819.  Long also contacted Jean Lafitte, who ran a large smuggling operation on Galveston Island. His letter suggested that the new government establish an admiralty court at Galveston, and offered to appoint Lafitte governor of Galveston. Unbeknownst to Long, Lafitte was actually a Spanish spy. While making numerous promises–and excuses–to Long, Lafitte gathered information about the expedition and passed it on to Spanish authorities. By July 16, the Spanish Consul in New Orleans had warned the viceroy in Mexico City that "I am fully persuaded that the present is the most serious expedition that has threatened the Kingdom".  With Lafitte's lack of assistance, the expedition soon ran low on provisions. Long dispersed his men to forage for food. Discipline began to break down, and many men, including Bowie, returned home. In early October, Lafitte reached an agreement with Long to make Galveston an official port for the new country and name Lafitte governor. Within weeks, 500 Spanish troops arrived in Texas and marched on Nacogdoches. Long and his men withdrew. Over 40 men were captured. Long escaped to Natchitoches, Louisiana. Others fled to Galveston and settled along Bolivar Peninsula.  Undeterred in his defeat, Dr. Long returned once more in 1820, Long joined the refugees at Bolivar Peninsula on April 6, 1820, with more reinforcements. He continued to raise money to equip a second expedition. Fifty men attempted to join him from the United States, but they were arrested by American authorities as they tried to cross into Texas. The men who had joined Long were disappointed they were paid in scrip, and they gradually began to desert. By December 1820, Long commanded only 50 men.  With the aid of Ben Milam and others, Long revitalized the Supreme Council. He later broke with Milam, and the expedition led an uncertain existence until September 19, 1821, when Long and 52 men marched inland to capture Presidio La Bahía. The town fell easily on October 4, but four days later Long was forced to surrender by Spanish troops. He was taken prisoner and sent to Mexico City, where about six months later he was shot and killed by a guard – reportedly bribed to do so by José Félix Trespalacios, thus ending the Long Expeditions.

Mexican Texas.

Along with the rest of Mexico, Texas gained its independence from Spain in 1821 following the Treaty of Córdoba, and the new Mexican state was organized under the Plan of Iguala, which created Mexico as a constitutional monarchy under its first Emperor Agustín de Iturbide. During the transition from a Spanish territory to a part of the independent country of Mexico, Stephen F. Austin led a group of American settlers known as the Old Three Hundred, who negotiated the right to settle in Texas with the Spanish Royal governor of the territory. Since Mexican independence had been ratified by Spain shortly thereafter, Austin later traveled to Mexico City to secure the support of the new country for his right to settle. The establishment of Mexican Texas coincided with the Austin-led settlement, leading to animosity between Mexican authorities and ongoing American settlement of Texas. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, being replaced by a republican form of government in 1823. In 1824, the sparsely populated territories of Texas and Coahuila were joined to form the state of Coahuila y Tejas. The capital was controversially located in southern Coahuila, the part farthest from Texas.  Following Austin's lead, additional groups of settlers, known as Empresarios, continued to colonize Mexican Texas from the United States. A spike in the price of cotton, and the success of plantations in Mississippi encouraged large numbers of white Americans to migrate to Texas and obtain slaves to try to replicate the business model. In 1830, Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante outlawed American immigration to Texas, following several conflicts with the Empresarios over the status of slavery, which had been abolished in Mexico in 1829, but which the Texans refused to end. Texans replaced slavery with long-term indentured servitude contracts signed by "liberated" slaves in the United States to work around the abolition of slavery. Angered at the interference of the Mexican government, the Empresarios held the Convention of 1832, which was the first formal step in what became the Texas Revolution.  By 1834, the American settlers in the area outnumbered Mexicans by a considerable margin. Following a series of minor skirmishes between Mexican authorities and the settlers, the Mexican government, fearing open rebellion of their Anglo subjects, began to step up military presence in Texas throughout 1834 and early 1835. Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna revoked the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and began to consolidate power in the central government under his own leadership. In 1835, the central government split Texas and Coahuila into two separate departments. The Texian leadership under Austin began to organize its own military, and hostilities broke out on October 2, 1835, at the Battle of Gonzales, the first engagement of the Texas Revolution. In November 1835, a provisional government known as the Consultation was established to oppose the Santa Anna regime (but stopped short of declaring independence from Mexico). On March 1, 1836 the Convention of 1836 came to order, and the next day declared independence from Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas.

Independent republic.

Politics.

The second Congress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836 at Columbia (now West Columbia). Stephen F. Austin, known as the "Father of Texas", died December 27, 1836, after serving two months as Secretary of State for the new Republic.  In 1836, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas (Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco and Columbia), before President Sam Houston moved the capital to Houston in 1837. The next president, Mirabeau B. Lamar, moved the capital to the new town of Austin in 1839.  The first flag of the republic was the "Burnet Flag" (a single gold star on an azure field), followed in 1839 by official adoption of the Lone Star Flag.  Internal politics of the Republic centered on two factions. The nationalist faction, led by Lamar, advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans (Indians), and the expansion of Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Their opponents, led by Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful coexistence with the Indians, when possible. The Texas Congress even passed a resolution over Houston's veto claiming the Californias for Texas. The 1844 presidential election split the electorate dramatically, with the newer western regions of the Republic preferring the nationalist candidate Edward Burleson, while the cotton country, particularly east of the Trinity River, went for Anson Jones.

Armed conflicts.

The Comanche Indians furnished the main Indian opposition to the Texas Republic, manifested in multiple raids on settlements, capture, and rape of female pioneers, torture killings, and trafficking in captive slaves. In the late 1830s, Sam Houston negotiated a peace between Texas and the Comanches. Lamar replaced Houston as president in 1838 and reversed the Indian policies. He returned to war with the Comanches and invaded Comancheria itself. In retaliation, the Comanches attacked Texas in a series of raids. After peace talks in 1840 ended with the massacre of 34 Comanche leaders in San Antonio, the Comanches launched a major attack deep into Texas, known as the Great Raid of 1840. Under command of Potsanaquahip (Buffalo Hump), 500 to 700 Comanche cavalry warriors swept down the Guadalupe River valley, killing and plundering all the way to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, where they sacked the towns of Victoria and Linnville. The Comanches retreated after being pursued by 186 rangers, and were caught at the Battle of Plum Creek wherein they lost the plunder they had taken. Houston became president again in 1841 and, with both Texians and Comanches exhausted by war, a new peace was established.  Although Texas achieved self-government, Mexico refused to recognize its independence. On March 5, 1842, a Mexican force of over 500 men, led by Ráfael Vásquez, invaded Texas for the first time since the revolution. They soon headed back to the Rio Grande after briefly occupying San Antonio. About 1,400 Mexican troops, led by the French mercenary general Adrián Woll, launched a second attack and captured San Antonio on September 11, 1842. A Texas militia retaliated at the Battle of Salado Creek while simultaneously, a mile and a half away, Mexican soldiers massacred a militia of fifty-three Texas volunteers who had surrendered after a skirmish. That night, the Mexican Army retreated from the city of San Antonio back to Mexico.  Mexico's attacks on Texas intensified conflicts between political factions, including an incident known as the Texas Archive War. To "protect" the Texas national archives, President Sam Houston ordered them removed from Austin. The archives were eventually returned to Austin, albeit at gunpoint. The Texas Congress admonished Houston for the incident, and this episode in Texas history solidified Austin as Texas's seat of government for the Republic and the future state.  There were also domestic disturbances. The Regulator–Moderator War involved a land feud in Harrison and Shelby Counties in East Texas from 1839 to 1844. The feud eventually involved Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and other East Texas counties. Harrison County Sheriff John J. Kennedy and county judge Joseph U. Fields helped end the conflict, siding with the law-and-order party. Sam Houston ordered 500 militia to help end the feud.

Criteria of citizenship.

Citizenship was not automatically granted to all previous inhabitants of Texas and some residents were not allowed to continue living legally within the Republic without the consent of Congress. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) established different rights according to the race and ethnicity of each individual. Section 10 of the General Provisions of the Constitution stated that all persons who resided in Texas on the day of the Declaration of Independence were considered citizens of the Republic, excepting "Africans, the descendants of Africans, and Indians." For new white immigrants, section 6 established that, to become citizens, they needed to live in the Republic for at least six months and take an oath. While regarding the black population, section 9 established that black persons who were brought to Texas as slaves were to remain slaves and that not even their owner could emancipate them without the consent of Congress. Furthermore, the Congress was not allowed to make laws that affected the slave trade or declare emancipation. Section 9 also established that: "No free person of African descent, either in whole or in part, shall be permitted to reside permanently in the Republic, without the consent of Congress."

Government.

In September, 1836 Texas elected a Congress of 14 senators and 29 representatives. The Constitution allowed the first president to serve for two years and subsequent presidents for three years. To hold an office or vote, a man had to be a citizen of the Republic.  The first Congress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836 at Columbia (now West Columbia). Stephen F. Austin, often referred to as the "Father of Texas," died on December 27, 1836, after serving just two months as the republic's secretary of state. Due mainly to the ongoing war for independence, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas in 1836: (Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco and Columbia). The capital was moved to the new city of Houston in 1837.  In 1839, a small pioneer settlement situated on the Colorado River in central Texas was chosen as the republic's seventh and final capital. Incorporated under the name Waterloo, the town was renamed Austin shortly thereafter in honor of Stephen F. Austin.  The court system inaugurated by Congress included a Supreme Court consisting of a chief justice appointed by the president and four associate justices, elected by a joint ballot of both houses of Congress for four-year terms and eligible for re-election. The associates also presided over four judicial districts. Houston nominated James Collinsworth to be the first chief justice. The county-court system consisted of a chief justice and two associates, chosen by a majority of the justices of the peace in the county. Each county was also to have a sheriff, a coroner, justices of the peace, and constables to serve two-year terms. Congress formed 23 counties, whose boundaries generally coincided with the existing municipalities. In 1839, Texas became the first nation in the world to enact a homestead exemption, under which creditors cannot seize a person's primary residence.

Education.

President Anson Jones signed the charter for Baylor University in the fall of 1845. Henry Lee Graves was elected Baylor's first president. It is believed to be the oldest university in Texas, however, Rutersville College was chartered in 1840 with land and the town of Rutersville. Chauncey Richardson was elected Rutersville's first president. The college later became Southwestern University in Georgetown, Fayette county. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor was also chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845, and received lands in Belton, Texas. Wesleyan College, chartered in 1844 and signed by president Sam Houston, another predecessor to Southwestern did not survive long due to competition from other colleges. Mirabeau Lamar signed a charter in 1844 for the Herman University for medicine but classes never started due to lack of funds. The University of San Augustine was chartered June 5, 1837, but did not open until 1842 when Marcus A. Montrose became president. There were as many as 150 students enrolled, however, attendance declined to 50 in 1845, and further situations including animosity and embittered factions in the community closed the university in 1847. Later it became the University of East Texas, and soon after that became the Masonic Institute of San Augustine in 1851. Guadalupe College at Gonzales was approved January 30, 1841, however, there were no construction efforts ensued for the next eleven years.

Boundaries.

The Texian leaders at first intended to extend their national boundaries to the Pacific Ocean, but ultimately decided to claim the Rio Grande as boundary, including much of New Mexico, which the Republic never controlled. They also hoped, after peace was made with Mexico, to run a railroad to the Gulf of California to give "access to the East Indian, Peruvian and Chilean trade." When negotiating for the possibility of annexation to the US in late 1836, the Texian government instructed its minister Wharton in Washington that if the boundary were an issue, Texas was willing to settle for a boundary at the watershed between the Nueces River and Rio Grande, and leave out New Mexico. In 1840 the first and only census of the Republic of Texas was taken, recording a population of about 70,000 people. San Antonio and Houston were recorded as the largest and second largest cities respectively.

Diplomatic relations and foreign trade.

Texas' status as a slaveholding country and Mexico's claim on the territory caused significant problems in the foreign relations of Texas, with Mexico lobbying third countries not to aid the breakaway republic.  Though supported by the vast majority of the population of Texas at the time of independence, annexation by the United States was prevented by the leadership of both major U.S. political parties, the Democrats and the Whigs. They opposed the introduction of a vast slave-holding region into a country already divided into pro- and anti-slavery sections, and also wished to avoid a war with Mexico.  On March 3, 1837, US President Andrew Jackson appointed Alcée La Branche American "chargé d'affaires" to the Republic of Texas, thus officially recognizing Texas as an independent republic. France granted official recognition of Texas on September 25, 1839, appointing Alphonse Dubois de Saligny to serve as "chargé d'affaires". The French Legation was built in 1841, and still stands in Austin as the oldest frame structure in the city. Conversely, the Republic of Texas embassy in Paris was located in what is now the "Hôtel de Vendôme", adjacent to the Place Vendôme in Paris's 2e arrondissement.  The Republic also received diplomatic recognition from Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Yucatán. The United Kingdom never granted official recognition of Texas due to its own friendly relations with Mexico, but admitted Texian goods into British ports on their own terms. In London, immediately opposite the gates to St. James's Palace, Sam Houston's original Embassy of the Republic of Texas to the Court of St. James's is now a hat shop but is clearly marked with a large plaque and a nearby restaurant is called Texas Embassy. A plaque on the exterior of 3 St. James's Street in London notes the upper floors of the building (which have housed the noted wine merchant Berry Brothers and Rudd since 1698) housed the Texas Legation.  The United Kingdom recognized Texas in the 1840s after a cotton price crash, in a failed attempt to coerce Texas to give up slavery (replacing slave-produced cotton from southern U.S. states), and to stop expansion of the United States to the southwest. The cotton price crash of the 1840s bankrupted the Republic, increasing the urgency of finding foreign allies who could help prevent a reconquest by Mexico.

Statehood.

On February 28, 1845, the US Congress passed a bill that authorized the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. On March 1, US President John Tyler signed the bill. The legislation set the date for annexation for December 29 of the same year. Faced with imminent American annexation of Texas, Charles Elliot and Alphonse de Saligny, the British and French ministers to Texas, were dispatched to Mexico City by their governments. Meeting with Mexico's foreign secretary, they signed a "Diplomatic Act" in which Mexico offered to recognize an independent Texas with boundaries determined with French and British mediation. Texas President Anson Jones forwarded both offers to a specially elected convention meeting at Austin, and the American proposal was accepted with only one dissenting vote. The Mexican proposal was never put to a vote. Following the previous decree of President Jones, the proposal was then put to a vote throughout the republic.  On October 13, 1845, a large majority of voters in the republic approved both the American offer and the proposed constitution that specifically endorsed slavery and emigrants bringing slaves to Texas. This constitution was later accepted by the US Congress, making Texas a US state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase). One of the motivations for annexation was the huge debts which the Republic of Texas government had incurred. As part of the Compromise of 1850, in return for $10,000,000 in Federal bonds, Texas dropped claims to territory that included parts of present-day Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  The resolution did include two unique provisions: First, it said up to four additional states could be created from Texas' territory with the consent of the State of Texas (and that new states north of the Missouri Compromise Line would be free states). Though the resolution did not make exceptions to the constitution, the U.S. Constitution does not require Congressional consent to the creation of new states to be "ex post" to applications, nor does the U.S. Constitution require applications to expire. To illustrate the strength of the latter caveat, the 27th Amendment was submitted to the states in 1789, yet was not ratified until 1992—thus, the expressed consent of Congress, via this resolution, to the creation of new states would not expire nor require renewal. Second, Texas did not have to surrender its public lands to the federal government. While Texas did cede all territory outside of its current area to the federal government in 1850, it did not cede any public lands within its current boundaries. Consequently, the lands in Texas that the federal government owns are those it subsequently purchased. This also means the state government controls oil reserves, which it later used to fund the state's public university system through the Permanent University Fund. In addition, the state's control over offshore oil reserves in Texas runs out to 3 nautical leagues (9 nautical miles, 10.357 statute miles, 16.668 km) rather than three nautical miles (3.45 statute miles, 5.56 km) as with other states.

The Republic of Texas () was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, although Mexico considered it a rebellious province during its entire existence. It was bordered by Mexico to the west and southwest, the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, the two U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas to the east and northeast, and United States territories encompassing parts of the current U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico to the north and west. The citizens of the republic were known as Texians.

-{德}-克萨斯共和国(1836年-1845年,清徐继畬于1844年所著《瀛寰志略》中译作得撒),又译-{得}-克萨斯共和国或-{zh-hans:德萨斯共和国;zh-hk:德克萨斯共和国;zh-tw:德萨斯共和国}-,亦称孤星共和国,于1836年自墨西哥独立出来的国家,九年后(1845年)经议会决议合并加入美国,成为其一州。其领土范围涵盖现今美国德克萨斯州以及部分的新墨西哥州、科罗拉多州、怀俄明州、奥克拉荷马州、堪萨斯州。其东界及于1819年由美国和西班牙签署的《亚当斯奥尼斯条约》所订疆界;南界与西界在其国祚九年中一直与墨西哥争执不下:德克萨斯共和国宣称其疆界远及于格兰德河;墨西哥则称其边界仅及较东的努埃塞斯河。这个边界未定的问题,除了是德克萨斯共和国加入美国联邦的原因之一,在德克萨斯共和国并入美国成为一州之后,演变成为美墨战争的主要导火线。战火还波及美西边境,因而造成加利福尼亚地区建立一个短暂的共和国政权。后来该国也加入美国联邦,成为今天的加州。


Synopsis.

The song is told from the point of view of someone who has "done his time" but is uncertain if he will be welcomed home.  He writes to his love, asking her to tie a yellow ribbon around the "ole oak tree" in front of the house (which the bus will pass by) if she wants him to return to her life; if he does not see such a ribbon, he will remain on the bus (taking that to mean he is unwelcome) and understand her reasons ("put the blame on me"). He asks the bus driver to check, fearful of not seeing anything.  To his amazement, the entire bus cheers the response – there are 100 yellow ribbons around the tree, a sign he is very much welcome.

Origins of the song.

The origin of the idea of a yellow ribbon as remembrance may have been the 19th-century practice that some women allegedly had of wearing a yellow ribbon in their hair to signify their devotion to a husband or sweetheart serving in the U.S. Cavalry. The song "'Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon", tracing back centuries but copyrighted by George A. Norton in 1917, and later inspiring the John Wayne movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", is a reference to this. The symbol of a yellow ribbon became widely known in civilian life in the 1970s as a reminder that an absent loved one, either in the military or in jail, would be welcomed home on their return.  In October 1971, newspaper columnist Pete Hamill wrote a piece for the "New York Post" called "Going Home". In it, he told a variant of the story, in which college students on a bus trip to the beaches of Fort Lauderdale make friends with an ex-convict who is watching for a yellow handkerchief on a roadside oak in Brunswick, Georgia. Hamill claimed to have heard this story in oral tradition. In June 1972, nine months later, "Reader's Digest" reprinted "Going Home". Also in June 1972, ABC-TV aired a dramatized version of it in which James Earl Jones played the role of the returning ex-con. According to L. Russell Brown, he read Hamill's story in the "Reader's Digest", and suggested to his songwriting partner Irwin Levine that they write a song based on it. Levine and Brown then registered for copyright the song which they called "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree". At the time, the writers said they heard the story while serving in the military. Pete Hamill was not convinced and filed suit for infringement. Hamill dropped his suit after folklorists working for Levine and Brown turned up archival versions of the story that had been collected before "Going Home" had been written.  Levine and Brown first offered the song to Ringo Starr, but Al Steckler of Apple Records told them that they should be ashamed of the song and described it as "ridiculous".

Chart and sales performance.

In April 1973, the recording by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando reached No. 1 in the "Billboard" Hot 100 (chart date 21 April 1973) in the US, and stayed at No. 1 for four weeks. "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" sold 3 million records in the US in three weeks. It also reached No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and BMI calculated that radio stations had played it 3 million times from seventeen continuous years of airplay. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1973. It also reached No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and has sold one million copies in the UK. In New Zealand, the song spent 10 weeks at number one.

Association with the People Power Revolution.

In the Philippines, the song was best known for its use in the return of exiled politician Benigno Aquino Jr. to the country in 1983, during which Aquino supporters tied yellow ribbons on trees in anticipation of his arrival. However, Aquino was assassinated upon arrival, sparking the rise of People Power three years later that led to the demise of Ferdinand Marcos' presidency and subsequent inauguration of Aquino's widow Corazon Aquino as president. Yellow was also the campaign symbol of Aquino's son who eventually became President Benigno Aquino III in 2010.

Association with the 2014 Hong Kong Protests.

During the 2014 Hong Kong Protests the song was routinely performed by pro-democracy protestors and sympathetic street musicians as a reference to the yellow ribbons that had become a popular symbol of the movement on site (tied to street railings) and on social media. Journalists covering the event described use of the tune as a protest song.

"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, Joyce Vincent Wilson and her sister Pamela Vincent on backing vocals. It was a worldwide hit for the group in 1973.

《老橡树上的黄丝带》(英语:Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree)是美国歌唱组合东尼·奥兰多与黎明合唱团在1973年推出的歌曲,描述一个在监狱服刑的丈夫在即将期满释放的前夕,因担心远在家乡的妻子不接受他,写信告诉妻子,如果愿意再次接纳他,请在他出狱返家的当天,在家门口的老橡树上系一条黄丝带;如果他没有看到黄丝带的话,会默默离开。当这位丈夫出狱返家时,家门口的老橡树上绑满了几百条黄丝带在空中飞扬,令他十分感动。后来,绑黄丝带成为全美国的一种风俗,表示迎接久别的亲人回家。


Location.

The crossing spans the River Thames between Dartford, Kent, to the south and Thurrock, Essex, to the north. It is about east of the centre of London, outside the Greater London boundary. The two tunnels are long, while the cable-stayed bridge is high with a main span of. A speed limit is in place in both directions. The rail line High Speed 1, between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet International Stations, passes under the crossing approach roads on the north side of the river, at a near right angle.  The design capacity is 135,000 vehicles per day, but in practice the crossing carries around 160,000. It has been described by the Highways Agency as "a vital transport link for the national and South East economies", by the former Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, as "a crucial part of the country's strategic road network", and by the local Thurrock Council as "one of Europe's most heavily used crossings and complex traffic management systems". It is signed as a major destination on London's orbital route, the M25, though the crossing and its approach road are an all-purpose road (the A282), allowing traffic prohibited from motorways to use it. Southbound traffic crosses the four-lane bridge, while northbound traffic uses both of the two-lane road tunnels. The bridge can be closed due to high winds or maintenance. On these occasions, traffic uses the tunnels in both directions.

Alternative routes.

The next nearest vehicle crossings to the west of Dartford are the Woolwich Ferry and the Blackwall Tunnel, both well within East London. When the bridge is closed in high winds and for maintenance, no convenient diversion exists through London for the higher-limit southbound vehicles. Those over are diverted around the far side of the M25.  A number of new crossings have been proposed as relief for the Dartford Crossing. The proposed Thames Gateway Bridge to the west was given planning permission by Transport for London (TfL) in December 2004, but was cancelled in November 2008 when Boris Johnson became Mayor of London. Johnson subsequently proposed the Gallions Reach Ferry, a ferry crossing in the same location, as an alternative. The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed tunnel to the east between Shorne, Kent and South Ockendon, Essex. Thurrock Council suggest that this crossing will be essential for managing congestion. A public consultation on the scheme ended in March 2016, with the route announced in April 2017, though Highways England do not expect to start construction before 2026.

Charges.

A free-flow electronic charging system called Dart Charge began in November 2014 based on automatic number plate recognition. The charge can be paid online or phone in advance or by midnight the day after crossing, but can no longer be paid in cash at the site since the old toll booths have been removed. However, cash payments are accepted at some Payzone shops. Reminder signs on approaches to the crossing say "Dart charge; find us online. Pay by midnight tomorrow." Vehicles have to pay the charge if they use the crossing between 6 am and 10 pm seven days per week, and this is indicated on overhead-gantry signs. Daily charges for the crossing since October 2018 are: Various categories of vehicles are exempt from the charge, including emergency services vehicles, military vehicles and those exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty on the grounds of disability.  The charges vary according to the type of vehicle. Motorcycles are free but there are standard charges for cars, two-axle goods vehicles and larger vehicles with more than two axles. Drivers who fail to pay the charge are issued with a penalty charge notice. There are no signs warning of penalty charges.  Since 2008, a local residents' scheme gives 50 crossings to car drivers resident in the Dartford and Thurrock council areas for an annual registration fee of £10, with additional crossings at 20p each. On 1 March 2014, this scheme was extended to include privately owned two-axle goods vehicles. A further option was introduced giving unlimited crossings for £20 annually. Around 44,000 drivers take advantage of this scheme each year. Although the website for paying the charge is operated by the UK Government, the day to day operations are run by French public roads operator Société des Autoroutes du Nord et de l'Est de la France (SANEF).

History.

Western tunnel.

The idea of a tunnel crossing was first proposed by the Ministry of Transport in 1924. Initial reports at the start of the year suggested a crossing between Tilbury and Gravesend, replacing a ferry service, but this had been rejected by July in favour of a route further upstream, near Dartford. By 1929, the total cost of building the tunnel had been estimated at £3 million (equivalent to £ million in ). The tunnel was planned to be part of a general orbital route around London and was provisionally known as part of the "South Orbital Road". The first engineering work to take place was a compressed air driven pilot tunnel, which was drilled between 1936 and 1938. Work on the tunnel was delayed due to World War II, and resumed in 1959, using a Greathead Shield, similar to the work on the Blackwall Tunnel some 60 years earlier. The delay in work due to the war allowed the tunnel's design to be improved, which included a better ventilation system. After negotiations with the Ministry of Transport, Kent and Essex County Councils obtained government approval to charge tolls in 1960, before opening. The two-lane bore tunnel opened to traffic on 18 November 1963; the total project cost was £13 million (equivalent to £ million in ) and it initially served approximately 12,000 vehicles per day.  The toll was originally two shillings and sixpence, equivalent to 12.5p post-decimalisation, and approximately equivalent in purchasing power to £ in. The Dartford Tunnel Act 1967 gave Kent and Essex County Councils authority to change the tolls, and in December 1977, the toll was raised from 25p to 35p for cars, 40p to 55p for 2 axle goods vehicles, and 60p to 85p for HGVs. By 1984, the toll for cars had risen to 60p.

Eastern tunnel.

The first tunnel was expected to carry two million vehicles a year but by 1970 was carrying over eight million. That year, Michael Heseltine, then a junior transport minister, announced that a second tunnel would be built in conjunction with the North Orbital Road, later to become the M25.  Construction was approved in April 1971, with an initial expected opening date in 1976. Work was delayed due to a lack of funds, which was resolved by EEC funding granted in 1974. The second tunnel opened in May 1980, allowing each tunnel to handle one direction of traffic, by which time the joint capacity of the two tunnels had increased to 65,000 vehicles per day. Connection of the crossing to the M25 was completed on the northerly Essex side in September 1982 (Junction 31), and to the southerly Kent side in September 1986 (Junction 1a). Following the completion of the M25 in 1986, the daily demand had grown to 79,000 vehicles.

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

During the early 1980s, it was anticipated that traffic through the tunnel would rise on the completion of the M25 in 1986. At the time, the expectation was that other routes in London would be improved instead, diverting 15% of traffic away from the tunnel. In 1985, the Transport Minister, Lynda Chalker, announced that the number of toll booths would be increased to 12 each way, but concern grew that two tunnels would not be able to cope with the full demands of a completed M25.  Between September 1985 and December 1986, proposals for improvements to the Dartford Crossing underwent several changes, and in 1986, a Trafalgar House consortium won a bid to build a new bridge at Dartford crossing, valued at £86 million (£ million in ). At the time there were several other privately financed projects planned or under construction in the UK, including the Second Severn Crossing. From 1981 until the establishment of the Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) in the late 1980s, private investment projects were governed by the Ryrie Rules which dictated that "any privately-financed solution must be shown to be more cost-effective than a publicly-financed alternative, and that privately-financed expenditure by nationalised industries could not be additional to public expenditure provision" [annual budget], "which would be reduced by the amount of private finance borrowed."  On 31 July 1988, a Private Finance Initiative concession was enabled under the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988, which transferred control of the crossing from Kent and Essex county councils to Dartford River Crossing Limited, a private company managed by Rodney Jones. The company would also bear the debt of the bridge, then under construction, "financed 100% by debt, with no equity contribution". The private company was at risk of not recuperating their costs, but ultimately the Dartford scheme demonstrated that the Ryrie Rules were no longer a barrier to the private financing of public infrastructure projects. The concession was scheduled for 20 years from the transfer date, with a stipulation that it could end when debts had been paid off, which was agreed to have been achieved on 31 March 2002. According to the "International Handbook on Public-Private Partnership", the chief financing for the project came from a "20-year subordinated loan stock, 16-year loan stock and £85 million (£ million in ) as a term loan from banks".  Construction of the bridge started immediately after the creation of the PFI in 1988. It was designed by German civil engineer, and the two main caissons supporting the bridge piers were constructed in the Netherlands. Each caisson was designed to withstand a bridge strike of a ship weighing up to 65,000 tonnes and travelling up to The bridge deck is about high, and it took a team of around 56 to assemble its structure. During construction of the approach road, a World War II bomb was found in its path, which required closure of the entire crossing.  The bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 30 October 1991. The total cost of construction was £120 million (£ in ), including £30 million (£ million in ) for the approach roads. The proposed name had been simply the Dartford Bridge, but Thurrock residents objected and suggested the Tilbury Bridge, leading to a compromise. At the time of opening, it had the longest cable-stayed span of any bridge in Europe. It is the only bridge across the Thames downstream of Central London to be opened since Tower Bridge in 1894.

Charging scheme.

In 2000, the European Union issued a directive that value-added tax should be charged on all road tolls, including the Dartford Crossing. The Government opposed the directive and said it would bear the additional cost. It was anticipated that the tolls would be removed on 1 April 2003 under the original PFI scheme contract. However, the Highways Agency decided that the tolls would become a "charge", under legislation introduced by the Transport Act 2000 to introduce charging schemes on any trunk road bridge or tunnel at least in length.  Under the 2000 Transport Act, the A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing charging scheme) Order 2002 allowed the continuation of the crossing fee, which officially became a charge and not a toll on 1 April 2003. Management of the crossing was contracted to Le Crossing Company Limited on behalf of the Highways Agency. In September 2009 the Highways Agency made a new contract with Connect Plus (M25) Limited. As well as maintaining the crossing, the contract required the company to widen around 40 miles of the M25 and to refurbish a tunnel on the A1(M) at Hatfield. In October 2009, the Government announced its intention to sell the crossing as part of a public sector deficit reduction strategy. The announcement was unpopular with local residents, who encouraged drivers to sound their horns in protest when using the crossing. After the change of government following the 2010 general election, the new prime minister David Cameron announced that the crossing might still be sold, despite local opposition, particularly from Gareth Johnson, member of parliament for Dartford. Subsequently, the chancellor George Osborne announced that charges would be increased instead to cover the budget deficit. Pre-pay accounts for the crossing were introduced around this time; drivers held an electronic device called a DART-Tag in the vehicle that automatically deducted the charge at payment booths. This was abolished when the Dart Charge was introduced in 2014.  Under the 2008 Charging Order introduced on 15 November 2008, charges between 10 pm and 6 am were discontinued, but standard daytime rates increased, starting at £1.50 for cars. On 7 October 2012 the charges increased to £2 for cars, £2.50 for 2 axle goods vehicles and £5 for multi-axle goods vehicles. By 2012, local businesses were complaining that the crossing's charge booths were impeding local growth. The government announced that a new electronic charging system would be introduced in 2014. Drivers would be able to pay by phone, text, online or in shops. The charge was proposed to increase to £2.50 for cars, £3 for two-axle goods vehicles and £6 for multi-axle vehicles. Drivers not exempt and not paying the charge within 28 days are charged £105.  Preparation work on the free-flow scheme started in April 2014. Concerns were raised about reliability, with a Highways Agency report predicting that it could lose up to £6m of unpaid charges per year. In September, the Highways Agency announced that the new scheme would start to operate at the end of November, though related works to remove barriers would continue until April 2015. Subsequently, the date for removal of the booths was confirmed as 30 November.  The Dart Charge scheme was considered a success by the project management, who claimed it has reduced peak-time round trips over the crossing by 15 minutes. The Automobile Association said the scheme had faults, while a BBC report showed 1.8 million fines had been issued for failure to pay in the year since the charge was set up.

Traffic.

As of 31 March 2014, a total of 1,486,929,267 journeys have been made. The highest recorded daily usage was 181,990 on 23 July 2004; since then traffic levels have decreased. From April 2013 to March 2014, there were 49,645,356 journeys; a daily average of 136,015. The total income for the financial year ended 31 March 2012 was £72,147,091, while the corresponding figure for the following financial year was £80,331,662. A 2016 report by Highways England suggested the crossing is used around 50 million times a year.  Bicycles are not permitted on the crossing, but cyclists can be carried across the crossing by the transport authority at no charge. Cyclists report to the crossing control offices on either side, using a free telephone service. The transfer takes around 15 to 30 minutes. In October 1963, London Transport ordered five double decker buses based on the Ford Thames Trader chassis for special duties, taking cyclists through the Dartford Tunnel. These had a lower deck purpose-built for carrying bicycles, with upper deck seats for cyclists. Access was via a stairwell to the upper deck starting several feet above the level of the road, accessible from special platforms built at either end of the tunnel; there was also a ladder built into the side of the bodywork for access elsewhere. The design was criticised for failing to protect any passenger from falling off the vehicle, and running costs were estimated at £2,550 per month, with only £45 revenue. The service was reduced to one bus in April 1964 and then cancelled in 1965, to be replaced by the current transfer service using a vehicle with a rear cycle rack. One of these buses has been preserved.  The transport of hazardous goods through the crossing is governed by the European ADR Agreement. The Dartford Crossing is class C, which restricts transporting goods such as nitrates and flammable liquids. The introduction of the ADR scheme initially caused confusion, and for a short time, transporting aerosols through the tunnel was banned. Certain hazardous goods vehicles, together with some oversize and abnormal loads (if permitted) may require escorting by Highways Agency Traffic Officers. The crossing authority must hold exercises in conjunction with the emergency services. In 2006 Exercise Orpheus was held, involving the closure of both road tunnels for five hours.  The tunnel is patrolled by Highways England Traffic Officers. Officers may stop and direct traffic on the crossing and its approach roads, and must be in uniform to exercise their powers. The crossing's speed limit is enforced by speed cameras; between October 2012 and June 2014, 24,229 drivers were caught speeding, with some travelling as fast as A spokesman from the Highways England said the cameras were "helping us improve safety and make journeys more reliable". The bridge also has a reduced speed limit of when crosswind is faster than or headwind faster than, and is closed entirely if Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, predicts crosswind above or headwind above.

Congestion.

The crossing is the busiest in the United Kingdom. Because the design capacity has been exceeded, the crossing is subject to major traffic congestion and disruption, particularly when parts are closed because of accidents or bad weather. Though the Government was adamant that the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge should be designed to avoid closure due to high winds, the bridge has nevertheless had to close on occasions. On 12 February 2014, during the winter storms, it was closed owing to winds, and again on the evening of 13–14 February 2014.  At busy times there was significant delay at the payment booths when these existed. Because there are numerous junctions on either side of the crossing, a high proportion of local traffic mixes with long distance traffic, for example travelling from the North and Midlands onwards to Continental Europe. In 2004, a BBC survey reported that the crossing was "the most stressful section of the M25" while in 2009, the crossing was listed in a Royal Automobile Club report as the fourth most congested road in Britain. Though Highways England have reported greatly improved journey times since automatic charging was introduced, Gareth Johnson MP claims otherwise and has insisted that the Lower Thames Crossing, along with improved signing around Dartford, are better options to reduce congestion. In 2015, he said the crossing was Britain's worst stretch of motorway. There are agreed plans to create another crossing of the Thames in the East of London to ease congestion at the Dartford Crossing.

References.

Footnotes Citations Bibliography

The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.

达特福德跨河道路是英国一个由两条隧道和一座桥梁组成的横跨泰晤士河的公路桥隧组合,是跨泰晤士河的主要公路交通通道,承载英国A282一级公路。(英文名:Dartford Crossing或Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing)南端终点位于英国肯特郡达特福德,北端终点位于英国埃塞克斯郡瑟罗克。1991年之前称为“达特福德隧道”。