Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)

The Popular Democratic Party (, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-government. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the center-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.
As one of the long-standing parties on the island, the PPD has played a significant role in the history of Puerto Rico. In the early 1950s, for example, the party held a majority in the delegation convened to draft the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Once the constitution was ratified, the document was proclaimed by the party's leader and co-founder, Luis Muñoz Marín—who, in doing so, became the first Puerto Rican governor elected by the people of Puerto Rico. The party ruled all branches of the Puerto Rican government afterward for 36 of the past years, while establishing many of the institutions that permeate Puerto Rican society today.
Today, the party is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength. In the executive branch, the party's most recent governor was Alejandro García Padilla who governed the island from 2013 to 2017; while in the legislative branch, the party holds a majority in the House and is the largest party in the Senate with a plurality. On the Supreme Court, the party is in the minority, though the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is from the PPD; a circumstance that allows the party to designate political appointees in the judicial branch since the Chief Justice is also constitutionally the chief judicial administrator. Finally, in the municipal landscape, the party holds more than half of the seats of mayors.
Ideologically, the PPD differs from the other parties active in the island. Historically, for example, the party's opponent has been the New Progressive Party (PNP in Spanish). Both parties have ruled the island unopposed for years after the Puerto Rican constitution was ratified in 1952.
Members of the party are referred to in different terms depending on their faction. In general, those affiliated to the party are commonly called "populares" (English: "populars") and mostly affiliate with the Democratic Party of the United States. Internally, members aligned with the delegation that drafted the constitution compose the largest faction and are referred to as 'conservatives'. A smaller 'liberal' faction is referred to as the "soberanistas", and advocates for Puerto Rico to enter a compact of free association with the United States rather than remain an unincorporated territory under the United States.
History.
Foundation.
Dissidents expelled from the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico (then led by Antonio R. Barceló), founded the PPD in 1938. Many of them were part of the old socialist movement of Puerto Rico. The dissident faction, initially calling themselves the "Partido Liberal, Neto, Auténtico y Completo" ("Clear, Net, Authentic, and Complete Liberal Party") (PPD), was led by Luis Muñoz Marín. In 1937, the debate had concerned the differences between the moderate demands of autonomy leading to gradual independence by the Liberal Party faction led by Barcelo, and the desire for more radical demands of immediate independence and social reform by Muñoz and his followers.
1940s.
In 1940, the highest elective political office in Puerto Rican was as president of its Senate. At the time, the governor was appointed by the president of the United States; no native-born Puerto Ricans were appointed to the post until 1946, when Jesús T. Piñeroone of the original founders of the PPDwas appointed by U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
In the 1940 election, the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) finished in a dead heat with the Liberal Party. Luis Muñoz Marín of the PPD brokered an alliance with minor Puerto Rican factions so as to secure his position as Senate president; such coalition-building was fundamental to the multi-party society. The elections in 1944 and 1948 resulted in greater victory margins for the PPD; nearly all the legislative posts and mayoral races in Puerto Rico were won by PPD candidates.
On May 21, 1948, a member of the PPD introduced a bill before the Puerto Rican Senate which would restrain the rights of the independence and nationalist movements on the archipelago. The Senate, which at the time was controlled by the PPD and presided by Muñoz Marín, approved the bill. This bill, which resembled the anti-communist Smith Act passed in the United States in 1940, became known as the "Ley de la Mordaza" (Gag Law, technically "Law 53 of 1948") when the U.S.-appointed governor of Puerto Rico, Piñero, signed it into law on June 10, 1948.
Under this new law it became a crime to print, publish, sell, or exhibit any material intended to paralyze or destroy the insular government; or to organize any society, group or assembly of people with a similar destructive intent. It made it illegal to sing a patriotic song, and reinforced the 1898 law that had made it illegal to display the Flag of Puerto Rico, with anyone found guilty of disobeying the law in any way being subject to a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to US$10,000 (), or both, for each offence. According to Dr. Leopoldo Figueroa, a non-PPD member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, the law was repressive and violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution which guarantees Freedom of Speech. He pointed out that the law was a violation of the civil rights of the people of Puerto Rico. Numerous Nationalists were arrested under the law, and Figeroa defended 15 of them. He also defended a man in a case taken to the US Supreme Court, to challenge the "Gag Law" on the basis of the government's not having had sufficient evidence to arrest the suspect. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law.
Once Jesús T. Piñero stepped down as the last U.S.-appointed governor, the governor's office became an elected position. In 1949, under the leadership of Muñoz Marín, the PPD won the first gubernatorial elections in Puerto Rico, and Muñoz became the first elected governor of the island.
He served for what is the longest rule by any of the nearly 200 governors (starting with Juan Ponce de León in 1508) in Puerto Rican history, being re-elected three times, and serving a total of four 4-year terms, or 16 years.
1950s.
During the 1950s, Luis Muñoz Marín was twice re-elected (1952, 1956) as Puerto Rico's governor. In 1952 he assumed the responsibility of pushing forward the drafting of a constitution to create the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The constitution was passed by the legislature and overwhelmingly approved by the people with an 82% vote. On July 25, 1952, the new constitution went into effect. Munoz pushed his political-financial platform, called "Operation Bootstrap" "(Operación Manos a la Obra)," in which he stimulated Puerto Rico's economy to develop industry. Teodoro Moscoso was in charge of the project.
1960s.
Muñoz Marín was re-elected in 1960, his fourth consecutive term. In 1964, Muñoz Marín chose not to run for a fifth term. Roberto Sánchez Vilella, representing the PPD, became the second governor to be democratically elected in Puerto Rico. The party remained in control of the governor's office until 1968.
By the time of the 1968 election, personal and irreconcilable differences had developed between Sánchez Vilella and PPD party president Muñoz Marín. Muñoz Marín opposed Sánchez Vilella's attempt to run for reelection. At a PPD party assembly, Munoz nominated Luis Negrón López as his candidate for governor, ruining any chance that Sánchez Vilella would be considered in the party's primary process.
Sánchez Vilella left to create a new party called the People's Party ("Partido del Pueblo", PP). The PP's motto was "Que el pueblo decida", "(Let the people decide)". The motto was obviously directed at Muñoz Marín, who denied Sánchez Vilella a chance to compete in a party primary.
With Sánchez Vilella and Negrón López competing as candidates for differentbut nearly identicalparties, the electorate split their votes. Luis A. Ferré of the New Progressive Party ("Partido Nuevo Progresista", PNP), which advocates for statehood, won the gubernatorial election with a plurality of votes among the three major parties. This was the first defeat of the PPD in a general election since its founding.
1970s.
By 1972 the PPD had a young and fresh leader in former senate president Rafael Hernández Colón. After the 1968 electoral defeat, Muñoz Marín left the island and went into "exile" in Italy to stay away from local politics and let the PPD find its new direction without him.
Muñoz Marín did not return to Puerto Rico until the PPD had selected Hernández Colón as its new leader and candidate for governor. Muñoz Marín introduced him before 300,000 people in Hato Rey at a party meeting. In the 1972 general election, Hernández Colón defeated Ferré by a wide margin, and his party won in all but 4 municipalities. In 1976, Carlos Romero Barceló, mayor of San Juan and the PNP candidate, defeated Hernández Colón.
1980s.
In 1980, Rafael Hernández Colón ran again as the PPD gubernatorial candidate. Controversy arose when PPD followers alleged that there were irregularities during the vote count. The power went out during the night while results were being counted. PPD supporters said that, before the power went out, the vote count was favoring Hernández Colón, but when the power was restored, results started favoring Romero Barceló. The Populares alleged fraud and Hernandez Colón said, "Populares, a defender esos votos a las trincheras de la lucha." (Populares, let's fight for those votes in the trenches). After the recount, Romero Barceló of the PNP won by 3,000 votes. The PPD won almost every other part of the election.
In 1984, Hernández Colón was elected again as governor, defeating his long-time political rival Romero Barceló of the PNP. His second term was marked by his successful fight to keep federal Law 936 (U.S.C. TITLE 26, Subtitle A, CHAPTER 1, Subchapter N, PART III, Subpart D, § 936, "Puerto Rico and Possession Tax Credit") in force. The PDP had helped establish the law, which gave tax breaks to American companies operating in Puerto Rico in order to encourage new businesses.
In 1988, Hernández Colón was re-elected by a comfortable margin, defeating Corrada del Río of the PNP. The two candidates conducted a formal debate on issues. That same year Héctor Luis Acevedo, the PPD mayoral candidate for San Juan, won the San Juan mayoral race by only 49 votes.
In 1988, Santos Ortiz, a.k.a. "El Negro", mayor of Cabo Rojo, left the PPD. He ran for mayor in the next election as an independent, and was the first person not affiliated with Munoz Marin and any of the three major parties in Puerto Rico to win an elected position.
1990s.
In 1992, after Hernández Colón decided not to run for governor again, the PPD elected Victoria Muñoz Mendoza, daughter of Luis Muñoz Marín, as its candidate. The first woman in Puerto Rican history to run for governor, she lost the election to Pedro Rosselló.
In 1996, Héctor Luis Acevedo ran for governor from the PPD, but lost to Roselló. That year, the PPD won San Juan mayoralty with its candidate, Sila María Calderón.
Plebiscites on political status.
The opposition party, PNP, led two campaigns for Puerto Rican statehood in 1993 and 1998. Locally enacted plebiscites were held to consult the Puerto Rican people on the issue of future political status of the island in relation to the United States. In 1993 the PPD campaigned in favor of the "status quo" Commonwealth, while the PNP opposition campaigned for full statehood.
Voters supported continuation of the Commonwealth option, which received 48% of the votes.
In 1998, the PNP Governor Pedro Rosselló carried out a non-binding plebiscite on political status, in which voters were asked to choose from one of four political status options (statehood, free association, commonwealth, or independence) or a fifth one, "none of the above". The Popular Democratic Party led a campaign to boycott the plebiscite, calling on the electorate to vote for the "none of the above" option. The boycott was successful, as the "none of the above" choice garnered more votes than any of the other options.
Among the four alternatives, the statehood option won the most votes. Rosselló argued before the US Congress that statehood had won the plebiscite. He considered votes for the "none of the above" option to be invalid.
2000s.
In 2000, Sila María Calderón regained the governor's seat for the PPD, defeating PNP's candidate Carlos Ignacio Pesquera, and Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) candidate Ruben Berrios.
After Calderón announced that she would not be running for governor in 2004, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá emerged as the new candidate. He was the current Resident Commissioner and a former PPD president. Acevedo Vilá was victorious in the 2004 elections against a former governor, Pedro Rosselló. He was the fifth governor from the Popular Democratic Party.
On March 27, 2008 governor Acevedo Vila had been indicted with 24 federal counts ranging from conspiracy to wire fraud relating to the governor's campaign finances when he was acting as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the US Congress. However, 15 of these charges were quickly dismissed on revision by the judge. On March 20, 2009, a federal grand jury decided there was not sufficient basis to try Acevedo Vila on the remaining charges and he was released.
In November 2008 Acevedo Vilá ran for re-election against the PNP gubernatorial candidate, Luis Fortuño, but was defeated. The PPD selected Héctor Ferrer Ríos as the next president of the party.
2010s.
On the elections held on November 6, 2012, the party regained the top offices: Alejandro García Padilla was elected governor and Carmen "Yulín" Cruz was elected as Mayor of San Juan. The party also took control of the House Of Representatives and Senate of Puerto Rico.
On the elections held on November 8, 2016, the party lost governorship, the House of Representatives and Senate of Puerto Rico. The Popular Democratic Party retained a majority of the mayoralty races in the island, with a total of 45 out of 78 municipalities. The New Progressive Party (PNP) won a total of 33.
Political ideals.
The PPD political platform calls for a free associated state, , Puerto Rico that maintains a voluntary relationship with the federal government of United States in areas of mutual benefit, such as national defense, like any other state. Two notable areas of discontent with the current political arrangement are the taxation system and the empowerment of the courts. Currently, custom duties and the authority to enter into treaties with foreign nations remain within the control of the federal government of the United States. In the legal realm, decisions of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court can be overruled by higher courts in the United States. PPD supporters charge that this is unsatisfactory arrangement given that Puerto Ricans are not allowed to exercise their democratic right to vote for the person that appoints those judges - the President of the United States. Puerto Ricans are also not allowed to exercise their democratic right to elect Senatorial representation into the US Senate, the authority within the US of government that is empowered to approving appointees into the federal court system. Furthermore, Puerto Rican court decisions must be made consistent with the laws of the United States and in alignment with the Constitution of the United States.
The PPD objectives have trended towards gaining further autonomy and greater local control over the foreign relations of the Commonwealth. The PPD supports Puerto Rico taking on more of the character of an autonomous territory rather than becoming a state of the American Union. Puerto Ricans, for example, pride themselves in having their own Olympics representation, having an identity with Spanish as their mother tongue, and sharing an appreciation for their own unique cultural identity.
At its 2007 convention, the PPD approved a new philosophy and set of ideals for the party. The new philosophy commits the party to defending a political status for the island that is based in the irrevocable right of the people of Puerto Rico to form a sovereign country. This shift in philosophy caused a stir among party detractors, since the PPD was not known for being that liberal before. Its conservative stance had been represented by its unshakable defense of the commonwealth status quo.
In January 2010, the "governing board" of the party approved a resolution presented by the current party president Héctor Ferrer, among others, rejecting the free association concept to develop the commonwealth status based on the current free association compacts of the United States with the pacific jurisdictions; the resolution indicate that this free associations compacts does not recognize the indissoluble link between the U.S. and Puerto Rico of the United States Citizenship. Other members of the party reject the resolution indicating that is not in agreement with the official position adopted by the party "general assembly" on the 2007 convention. They indicated that the "government board" could not revoke the decisions of the party "general assembly" and just the "general assembly" itself as the party's top organ could revoke the 2007 decisions.
Support for discussion of Puerto Rico status within U.N. General Assembly.
On January 8, 2007 Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá stated that he intends to garner support to have the political status of Puerto Rico considered before the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). He also expressed that he expected such support to come from both inside and outside of Puerto Rico as well as from within and beyond the PPD.
The Associated Press reported that Governor Acevedo Vilá announced that "We have started negotiations with other sectors of Puerto Rico, to see in what way we can accelerate that issue and achieve more allies at the UN".
Party logo and song.
The PPD used as a logo the silhouette of a rural farm worker, "jibaro," wearing a traditional straw hat (), with the words "pan, tierra, libertad" ("bread, land, freedom"). The party logo was designed by Antonio Colorado, Sr., one of Muñoz's party staff members and an eventual cabinet member. In 2016, the logo was updated to include a woman and the words "pan, tierra, libertad' were substituted with "unidad, trabajo, prosperidad" ("unity, work, prosperity")
The PPD is unique in Puerto Rican politics in having adopted an anthem. "Jalda Arriba" was written by Johnny Rodriguez, a famous Puerto Rican singer, composer and club owner. He dedicated the song to former governor Luis Muñoz Marín. The song also became strongly associated with the PPD because of this. Rodriguez was the elder brother of Tito Rodríguez, one of Puerto Rico's most famous international singers.


Alex Kushnir

Alexander Kushnir (born 2 November 1978) is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu.
Biography.
Kushnir was born in the Soviet Union. In 1992, he immigrated to Israel with his mother, settling in Ashkelon. He joined the Israeli Defense Forces as a combatant in the Givati Brigade, rising to become a company commander in the brigade. Upon his release from the IDF, he enlisted in Shin Bet and held a variety of field positions.
Kushnir graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA with an internship in finance from Ono Academic College. He has held management positions in the energy, retail, and finance sectors and served as a representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Belarus.
Prior to the 2015 Knesset elections, Kushnir was placed 17th on the Yisrael Beiteinu list. Although the party won only six seats, when Yisrael Beiteinu joined the coalition government the following year, Kushnir was appointed Director-General of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration when the party's Sofa Landver became minister responsible for the portfolio. In February 2019, he was placed seventh place on the party's list for the April 2019 elections, but again failed to be elected as Yisrael Beiteinu won only five seats. However, in the early elections in September 2019, he was elected as the party gained eight seats.
Kushnir is married and has a daughter. He lives in Ashkelon.


Ehud Yatom

Ehud Yatom (, born 26 September 1948) is an Israeli former Shin Bet agent and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 2003 and 2006.
Biography.
Ehud Yatom was born in Netanya. He is the brother of Danny Yatom. He worked for the Shin Bet and was one of the agents who killed two terrorists in the Kav 300 extra judicial killing in 1984, by smashing their heads with rocks. In 2001, Israel's High Court of Justice ruled that Yatom was unfit to serve as a top government anti-terror advisor six months after he was named for the position by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Political career.
In the 2003 elections he was placed 23rd on the Likud list, and entered the Knesset when the party won 38 seats. Whilst an MK, he served as a member of several committees; the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee and the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee. He was also a member of the parliamentary inquiry committee for the Amona events.
Prior to the 2006 elections he placed 32nd on the Likud list, and lost his seat when the party won only 12 seats.


Victor Shenderovich

Victor Anatolievich Shenderovich () (born August 15, 1958 in Moscow, Russia) is a popular Russian satirist, writer, scriptwriter and radio host.
Biography.
In 1980, Shenderovich graduated from the Moscow State Art and Cultural University, specialising in "direction of volunteer theatrical groups". He is best known as a scriptwriter of popular political puppet show "Kukly" (Puppets) which was aired on NTV 1994 to 2002. He hosted satirical author program "Total" on NTV 1997 to 2001 and TV-6 in 2002. Later, Shenderovich ran a weekly program "Processed Cheese" on the Echo of Moscow radio station. The texts of this program's editions were later collected in his book "Better two heads than one. Duumvirate times chronicle", implying Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Nowadays Shenderovich is a columnist of "The New Times", a liberal Russian weekly.
He is known as an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin's rule and the government's stance on the war in Chechnya. Shenderovich is among the 10 first signatories of the online anti-Putin manifesto "Putin must go" published in March 2010. In April 2010, Shenderovich was involved in a sex scandal with a woman claimed to have acted as a Kremlin "honey pot" to discredit opposition figures. The video, suspecting to be kompromat, was released only two days before his daughter's wedding.
On 26 December 2010, Shenderovich played a major role in organising a "Moscow for Everyone" () rally in the capital of Russia, in response to race riots having occurred earlier in the month.
Candidate.
In 2005, Shenderovich ran for a seat in a December 4 by-election to the State Duma but came in second to the popular movie-maker Stanislav Govorukhin. The winner took 38% of votes and Shenderovich took 17%. Before the election, Shenderovich protested the "widely illegal and immoral practices" of Govorukhin in court, but his appeal was rejected by the judge as unfounded.
In 2006, he published the book "Nedodumets" in which he summarised his experience as a Duma candidate.


Richard Shepherd

Sir Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd (born 6 December 1942) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for the constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills from 1979 to 2015.
A Eurosceptic, Shepherd was one of the Maastricht Rebels that had the whip withdrawn over opposition to John Major's legislation on the European Union. Shepherd is also a libertarian, and had a three line whip imposed against him by Margaret Thatcher when he introduced an amendment loosening the Official Secrets Act 1911.
Early life.
Shepherd was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and educated at Isleworth Grammar School (now Isleworth and Syon School) in Isleworth. He then went on to the London School of Economics where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, and where he studied with and became a friend of Robert Kilroy-Silk. At the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Shepherd graduated as a Master of Science in Economics.
Shepherd was a director of the retail food businesses Partridges of Sloane Street and Shepherd Foods in London. He was then an underwriter at Lloyd's of London from 1974–94.
Parliamentary career.
Shepherd contested the constituency of Nottingham East in February 1974, where he was defeated by the Labour Party candidate Jack Dunnett. In the 1970s he was also an assistant to Teddy Taylor.
Shepherd was elected Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills in 1979. He was selected as 'Backbencher of the Year' in 1985 and the Spectator's 'Parliamentarian of the Year' in 1995. In 1989, he was identified by a Mori poll of his fellow MPs to be one of the ten most effective MPs currently sitting in Parliament.
One of the most significant events in Shepherd's career came in 1988 when he introduced his Protection of Official Information Bill, which was to replace parts of the Official Secrets Act 1911, with intent to provide limited protection to some whistleblowers. The government introduced a three line whip which called on its MPs to vote against the bill, even though it was introduced by a member of their own party. This brought considerable debate at the time both in parliament and in the media. The bill was defeated. However Shepherd successfully introduced similar provisions into law in 1998.
Shepherd was one of the Maastricht Rebels, and is known to have libertarian leanings. He had close links to fellow Maastricht rebels Nicholas Budgen and Christopher Gill, even giving the eulogy at Budgen's funeral at Lichfield Cathedral.
Shepherd was a strong advocate of Parliament's power to hold the government to account. Shepherd stood to be Speaker of the House of Commons in 2000, and won 136 votes: the third-closest to defeating Michael Martin of eleven opponents. When Martin was forced resign, in 2009, he stood for the position again. An outsider, at 14/1, he won only 15 votes, and was eliminated on the first ballot.
Shepherd was rated as one of the Conservatives' most rebellious MPs.
Shepherd was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for public service.
Shepherd retired from Parliament at the 2015 general election.
Personal life.
Shepherd is single. He has served as President of Walsall Football Club.


Nicolas-Julien Forgeot

Nicolas-Julien Forgeot (July 1758, Paris – 4 April 1798) was an 18th-century French librettist, man of letters and playwright.
Biography.
At first Forgeot devoted himself to literature only as a pastime, and was almost entirely involved in the occupations that gave him a rather important job as an inspector of the postes.
His first play, "les Rivaux amis" was a real trifle. The dialogue was so cut that there were not three tirades with six verse: everything rolled on words that skillful players argued. These kinds of plays, very fashionable some years before the Revolution, were canvasses on which the actors embroidered at will: their silent game, their inflections, gave these pieces all the credit; and when one read the book, one was surprised to find nothing in it.
"Les Deux Oncles", in one act, in verse (Paris, 1780, in-8°) was successful. "Les Épreuves", which followed "les Rivaux Amis", in one act, in verse (1782, in-8°), marked some progress: the characters were more developed, and the style had grace and elegance. The fable, of which the fabric was very slender, offered an ingenuous character, full of candor and naivety. It was one of the brilliant roles of the charming actress Césarine Olivier, who died some time after at a very young age.
During the Revolution, Forgeot, having lost his job, gave himself entirely to literature but did not justify the hopes that his successful comedies "Épreuves" or "La Ressemblance", in three acts, in free verse (1796 in-8°) had suggested. Among several plays he gave in different theatres, only the two-act opera mingled with ariettes, "Dettes" (1787, in-8°), by Stanislas Champein, performed 8 January 1787, where very humorous scenes were to be found, is remembered.
Librettos:
Forgeot died from a chest complaint.


Nina Eik-Nes

Nina Eik-Nes, née Nina Lange Dahler (5 January 1900 – 22 May 1997) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.
She served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Nord-Trøndelag during the terms 1945–1949 and 1950–1953. She lived in Sparbu at the time. She was a prominent member of the Norwegian Women's Public Health Association, especially during World War II. Among others, she helped set up a field hospital at Mære School of Agriculture during the Norwegian Campaign. The field hospital was not used as such, but the equipment was stored, secretly kept away from German occupying forces by Eik-Nes and portioned out later. The work of Eik-Nes and her organization became especially important in 1944, when the liberation of Northern Norway and the Wehrmacht's subsequent scorched earth tactic meant that thousands of people fled south, needing help from the Women's Public Health Association.
She was married to priest and cultural worker Knut Eik-Nes (1900–1997), and was the mother of hormone researcher Kristen Dahler Eik-Nes. Through her daughter Eli, born 1921, she was a mother-in-law of Magne Oftedal.


Arthur Tourtellot

Arthur Bernon Tourtellot (July 23, 1913 – October 1977) was an American writer, screenwriter and producer best known for the book "Lexington and Concord".
History.
Arthur Bernon Tourtellot was born July 23, 1913. He was a fellow at Middlebury College in 1938 and was at a writer's conference at the Bread Loaf Campus in 1941. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.
At the end of the War he served as the Associate Producer of two "March of Time" documentaries. The first, "Crusade in Europe", was based on Dwight D. Eisenhower's book of the same name. He died in October 1977.


Tom et Lola

Tom et Lola (English: Tom and Lola) is a French film about two ten-year-olds who have always lived isolated in sterile, hermetically sealed plastic bubbles due to an (unspecified) immune-deficiency disease. However, neither their environment or the hospital technicians can keep down the indomitable spirit of these children. Nor can anything stop their quest to one day run truly free, unbound by the medical shackles that bind them.
Plot.
Tom and Lola are a young boy and girl who are victims of a rare disease which means that they are prevented from any contact with the outside world. They are kept inside plastic bubbles in a Paris hospital. In this aseptic and strictly controlled microcosm run by doctors especially chosen for the task, the children are left with almost no external stimuli, other than an old black and white TV set tuned to educational films about subjects such as whale song, trains, and a show called "The Adventures of Tikira in Alaska." Tom's mother is in constant attendance, but her increasingly desperate attempts to beguile him have alienated her almost totally from them, and apart from Hélène, a member of the medical team who has been their nearest thing to a parent, Tom and Lola's only close attachment is to each other.
Eventually, the two children discover that by using the gauntlets that form part of their plastic pods, they are able to reach out and grasp each other's hands. One night, Tom discovers that if he pulls Lola's arms hard enough and she pulls his, they can draw their bubbles close enough for him to reach the external emergency deflate controls on her bubble. After he has activated these, Lola escapes her bubble and releases Tom from his.
Over the next few nights, the children regularly escape their plastic prisons and eventually meet Robert, a boy in another ward of the hospital. He is initially frightened by the two strange children. He thinks Tom and Lola are Martians, possibly due to their nakedness and baldness which is required for hygienic living within the bubbles. However, they quickly make friends, and he shows them other areas of the hospital, including the hydrotherapy pool, where he has a seizure after his medication drip line pulls out. The pair save him, and get him back to his room.
During another visit, Robert tells Tom and Lola that he is originally from Izoard, a small skiing village in the French Alps and shows them plans for escaping the hospital in order to return home. Tom and Lola agree this is a good idea and all three plan to escape the next night. However, when they arrive at his room the following night, Robert has already left and (they later discover) has come to grief while climbing over the hospital wall. Undeterred, Tom and Lola decide to escape anyway, having secured the address of Hélène.
Escaping the hospital, the two find their way across the Seine to a railway shunting yard in search of the train to Izoard, and climb aboard a passenger carriage where they fall asleep. They are discovered and taken to Hélène's home by a railway worker, having found on them a card with the address.
When Tom and Lola arrive at her house, her children are at home, alone as usual, as their mother spends more time with Tom and Lola at her work than with her own kids. A mutual regard and understanding develops between them, and together they contrive to set up a home situation more like the environment at the hospital, in the hope of regaining Hélène's attention. These hopes are dashed when she arrives home: her priority clearly remains the wellbeing of the escapees, and when her oldest son overhears her promise to the runaways that she will shelter them, he is disillusioned and calls the authorities.
The inevitable consequence in these circumstances is that the children will die, and the movie does not pull back from that, but treats the prospect in an allegorical, "magical realist" way. As the medical staff had planned in any case to separate the children without regard for their attachment - something they discovered only in the process of escaping - their "pronostic" had always been bleak.
Production.
The film is an unusual science fiction parable from French cinema auteur Bertrand Arthuys that recreates a libertarian perspective for children where false morality has no place. Arthuys has successfully avoided the mire of existentialist melodrama common with children's characters in situations of illness, and in doing so he manages a difficult task: to captivate the audience so that the movie is more like a carefree adventure.
Arthuys does not spare his characters' natural exposure on camera ... the nudity of the two children for roughly half the duration of the film could have led to oblivion for this movie. But it is all intrinsically subservient to his strong desire to get his message across. Neither do their tender physical expressions of mutual affection ever transgress, in degree or nature, what would reasonably be considered age-appropriate .
Lola and Tom do engage in gritty and sharply witty dialogue with the scientific team each morning, but this is largely to relieve the daily tedium.
Another striking motif is the repeated reference to an idealised heaven conceived by the two with the code phrase 'Iceberg-Alaska-Tikira', a whispered mantra as a sign of celebration or connection, accompanied with expressive signing gestures. This is later supplemented or supplanted by "Izoard!" as an aspirational symbol.
Their interaction with the adult world, populated by imbeciles who occasionally play ridiculous roles to entertain the pair from outside the bubbles, is clearly disproportionate, as if the children were a few light years ahead of the 'common sense' practised within the French hospital.
With the moralistic and sometimes hysterical persecution of artistic licence observed since the late 1980s, this film gained only a narrow VHS distribution, with regard to the fiercely competitive category of collector's items. A great example of avant-garde cinema, victimised by the approach.
The aesthetics of scenarios in the laboratory and the excessive use of white, is similar to "THX 1138" by George Lucas, a kind of paradigm in the science fiction of the 1970s. This neatly evokes and reinforces the chosen environments on which the two children fixate, whose snowy and frozen purity presumably promises a freedom from the bacterial threats which enforce their captivity in civilisation.


Young ACT

Young ACT, formerly known as Prebble's Rebels, ACTivists and ACT on Campus, is a youth group affiliated with ACT New Zealand, a classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. It has supported the party for over two decades though has disagreed with ACT policy on issues such as alcohol and drug restrictions. Its president is Felix Poole.
In 2020, a number of Young ACT members resigned over an alleged culture of sexual harassment within the group, and an independent investigation into the claims was launched. , no information from this investigation has been publicly released.
Creation and names.
The youth division of the ACT Party was formed in 1996 at Victoria University of Wellington. The group was called "Prebble's Rebels" after the party's then-leader Richard Prebble. The name of the group changed several times: it changed to "ACTivists" in 2000, later became "ACT on Campus", then most recently became 'Young ACT'.
The group has also had the nickname "Killer Bees", derived from their yellow T-shirts.
Present status.
As of March 2020, Young ACT has clubs at University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington.
The party reports that it is led by a national executive of two people.
Relationship with the ACT Party.
Young ACT is not an official youth wing of the ACT Party. It has been described as an affiliated group and as a group "separate from ACT", one that is not under the party's control but is allowed to use the party’s logo and name so long as it "doesn't bring the party into disrepute". ACT Party leader Seymour said that this means ACT’s oversight and pastoral care responsibilities were limited. According to Young ACT's website as of February 2020, "Young ACT operates independently from the ACT party. While Young ACT may support the ACT party nothing on this site is indicative of the ACT party’s beliefs or opinions."
Support and connections.
Young ACT members have supported the ACT party in its campaigning. Members accompanied party candidate John Banks throughout his campaign in the 2011 general election, after which David Seymour said that the youth supporters were proof that the party could survive. Young ACT also created the Facebook group "David Seymour Memes For Over-taxed Liberal Teens" which posted about ACT events during the 2017 campaign.
Members of Young ACT have also been involved directly with ACT. These have included:
In a 2013 interview, the youth group's president called the relationship "solid".
Disagreements.
The group was told off by the ACT Party in 1996 after vandalising a Labour candidate's billboards.
When then-leader and sole ACT MP John Banks decided to vote against keeping the drinking age at 18, its president said the decision was "shortsighted, and goes against the ACT Party principles of choice and personal responsibility". The group said they would pull support at the next election campaign if he did not vote to keep the drinking age at 18. Young ACT also disagreed with the ACT Party on the GCSB Bill and the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) or "TICS" Bill. John Banks supported the bills, while the youth group's vice president wrote an editorial in Critic expressing the group's opposition.
In March 2020, ACT Party leader David Seymour threatened to strip Young ACT of their name, following plans by Young ACT to sell drug paraphernalia at an event to promote its drug policy. Whereas Young ACT seeks legalisation of several drugs, Seymour said that Young ACT's policy is not something "you'll see anytime soon" and that legalising drugs is "not a political priority" for him. Seymour said that if the group goes too far "we'll take away the name". Young ACT president Felix Poole said that they had not told the ACT Party about their plans as "we don't consult them on stunts like this". Young ACT did display drug paraphernalia at the group's stall, none of which were illegal items. Seymour visited the stall, and said that members of Young Act had not broken the law and would remain Act members.
Campaigns.
Keep It 18 – Liquor laws.
Young ACT was part of a campaign called Keep It 18. This was a joint campaign that sought to keep the drinking age at 18 and saw the group join with youth groups from three other parties. The campaign began in 2006 to oppose the Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction: Purchase Age) Amendment Bill. According to a press release from the group, it circulated a banner to campuses around the country that was "signed by hundreds of students and young people who oppose efforts to raise the drinking age." It also opposed the Alcohol Reform Bill that was introduced in 2010. Keep It 18's opposition to the Alcohol Reform Bill included a submission to Parliament. In both cases, the drinking age remained at 18.
Legalisation of drugs.
Young ACT opposed making the party pill BZP illegal, which done in 2008. In the month before the ban came into effect, members sold party pills for $1 each to Auckland University students if they joined the organisation. The group said that around 500 members joined during the promotion. The move was called "grossly irresponsible" by Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton. ACT Party president Garry Mallet said that it was not the best way to "win the battle for freedom" and that he would talk to the group.
In 2020, Young ACT released a policy which supported the legalisation of all drugs in New Zealand. The policy proposed that all drugs be legalised and regulated to varying degrees according to how harmful they are. For example, cannabis, LSD, and other low-risk drugs would be regulated in a framework similar to that of alcohol, whereas more serious drugs like heroin and methamphetamine would be regulated in a prescription model similar to that of Switzerland.
Voluntary student membership.
Young ACT supported the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. The bill made membership of student associations voluntary; it was a private member's bill by ACT MP Roger Douglas and was supported by the National Party.
Young ACT members arranged for about 60 members and friends to attend a meeting of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association in October 2009 to have the association support the bill. Young ACT president Peter McCaffrey said that the meeting voted in favour of the bill, but the association Executive declared that the meeting was invalid and was struck from the records.
The group faced criticism when it posted a quote that compared compulsory union membership to gang rape. McCaffrey said there were no plans to delete the post, and ACT member Heather Roy said she would not ask the group to do so. However, the post was later removed. A few months later, a member of the youth group, Cameron Browne, told the Auckland University Students' Association treasurer to "get raped" in a Facebook conversation. McCaffrey said Browne should have "chosen a different swear word or called her something else" and that Browne had apologised on Facebook, but said that the screenshot of the conversation had been cut and hid the treasurer's remarks.
The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment bill received royal assent on 30 September 2011 and came into force on 1 January 2012.
Marriage equality.
ACT on Campus supported the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 which allowed same-sex couples to marry. The group issued a joint statement with four other groups in 2012, urging their MPs to support the bill.
Tobacco and vaping.
According to its website, Young ACT "has opposed increases in tobacco tax year after year". Young ACT opposes regulations on vaping.
Opposition of Earth Hour.
The group opposed Earth Hour in 2010. In a TV interview, president Rick Giles said electricity would be needed in any coming apocalyptic event and promoted Edison Hour as a celebration of technology.
University rent strike.
Young ACT supported a rent strike, where students were refusing to pay a weekly fee for rooms they were unable to occupy due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Other promotions.
Young ACT have handed out free condoms printed with slogans such as "screw Labour, vote ACT" and have handed out KFC Double Downs saying the burger is "a symbol of the freedom of choice all New Zealanders should enjoy".
Sexual harassment.
In May 2020, the vice president of Young ACT, Ali Gammeter, resigned the position, saying that "for months I have been sexually harassed, slutshamed, and ignored" and that she was "not the only victim of this behaviour in our ranks". She said that the majority of women in Young ACT had experienced some form of sexual harassment from other members. The day after Gammeter's announcement Young ACT published a statement on its Facebook page which said that "prevalent and systematic incidents of harm have occurred within [the] organisation" and that there had been "justified criticism surrounding how our members and those using our platforms interact with each other." The statement said that the group had "removed a number of the members in question", that it had created an equity committee, and that it would investigate reports of sexism and harassment. The ACT Party has also said it was considering investigating and offered to "provid[e] Ms Gammeter with any support she requires".
When approached for comment, National President Felix Poole declined to be interviewed but said that the youth wing had asked Gammeter to create a sexual harassment and bullying policy after she complained about being sexually harassed by members of the group earlier in 2020.
Between Gammeter's resignation and July 2020, three more main members publicly resigned from the group, citing experiences of alleged sexual assault and harassment and a toxic culture. One resigning member said "it is hard to find the words to describe the environment the Young ACT executive has created for victims"; another, who was a member of the newly formed equity committee, said "The issue with having an equity document is that it’s useless if you’re not going to enforce it." "Newsroom" reviewed a collection of online messages and posts from pages affiliated with Young ACT and said: "The messages are sexually explicit, and are not appropriate for publication. They include jokes about sexual assault, including rape, and sexual harassment."
It was announced that an independent investigation into Gammeter's claims would be conducted by an employment lawyer. this report was "expected in coming weeks" and ACT Party leader David Seymour said he expected that an anonymised summary of the report would be publicly released, despite Gammeter having requested that the party does not publish any part of the report. , the report still has not been released.
Further reading.
The rebelliousness of Young ACT - A short documentary following the group's president prior to the 2020 election


Seven Spools of Thread

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story is a picture book published in 2000 and written by Angela Shelf Medearis with illustrations by Daniel Minter. The book tells the story of seven Ashanti brothers who must learn to work together, while also demonstrating the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
About.
"Seven Spools of Thread" follows the story of seven Ashanti brothers who constantly fight, argue and bicker with one another. When their father dies, he leaves them with the instructions to make gold out of differently-colored spools of silk thread by sundown, or they will have to leave their home. The sons are able to work together in the end and learn to weave multi-colored cloth together that they sell for gold. Later, they teach others how to make the cloth and the economy of the town prospers by selling fabric. The story itself is also an origin story for the creation of Kente cloth, as imagined by the author, Angela Shelf Medearis.
The seven principles of Kwanzaa are woven subtly through the story and explained more thoroughly in Medearis' author's note. In addition to information about Kwanzaa, Medearis also describes West African cloth weaving at the end of the book and includes instructions for making a belt. The art in the story was created using linoleum-block printing and is bright and bold.
Reception.
"Kirkus Review" wrote that the books is "beautifully designed," and that the story is "satisfying." "Publisher's Weekly" called the book "an entertaining story."
"Seven Spools" has also been reviewed by "Horn Book Guide Reviews', "Booklist", and the "Chicago Tribune".


Edward Garrick

Edward Garrick (spelled Gerrich and occasionally Gerrish according to some historical documents) was an American wigmaker's apprentice and resident of Boston, Massachusetts, who is known for instigating the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770.
Early life.
Not much is known about Garrick's early childhood, but it can be suspected he was born around 1757 as he was likely 13 years of age when the Boston Massacre took place. (13 was a common age for boys to become an apprentice in the 18th century, and Garrick was an apprentice at the time of the Massacre. ) At some point around 1770, he was employed by John Piemont, a wigmaker and later tavern-keeper. That same year, King George III of the United Kingdom sent over 2,000 British soldiers to Boston that became frequent clients of Piemont. It is likely Garrick and other apprentices tended to the wigs of these soldiers six days a week, as that was the average for workers in 1770. During early March 1770, Garrick also worked as an escort for Ann Green and Mary Rogers, the daughter and maid of Boston custom official Bartholomew Green.
Role in 1770 Boston Massacre.
 During the evening of March 5, 1770, a drunk Edward Garrick and his fellow wigmaker's apprentice Bartholomew Broaders were among a crowd of local youth taunting and throwing snowballs at John Goldfinch, a captain-lieutenant of the British Army. They had arrived here after crossing paths with Goldfinch after escorting Ann Green and Mary Rogers to the now-famous Boston Custom House. Hugh White, a British private of the 29th Regiment of Foot on guard by the Custom House, overheard this and arrived to aid Goldfinch as Garrick mocked the captain-lieutenant for his negligence to pay a bill due to one of the apprentices of John Piemont, which, in fact, had been paid. When White yelled at Garrick, telling him to show more respect to Goldfinch, Garrick responded only with an exchange of insults and a poke. Fed up, White struck Garrick in the head with his musket, causing him to fall and cry out in pain. Upon this, Broaders and other youths began to argue with White and insult him, drawing a large crowd of civilians. Garrick, bleeding, fled to a British barrack, where he spread the word of his injury to a crowd in front of it. This crowd included John Green, a Bostonian tailor who would later testify at the Boston Massacre trials. Meanwhile, the chaos that was ongoing at the Custom House resulted in the Massacre.
After the Massacre.
Bartholomew Broaders gave a short account of what happened the evening of March 5 in which Garrick is mentioned talking to British soldier Sergeant Daniels before the Massacre. Broaders' story was published in 1775 and can be read here. Garrick was first to testify at the Queen Street Courthouse, where Thomas Preston was charged for manslaughter at the Massacre. At the trial, Garrick said only the following:
There are no later records describing of Garrick's later life and death, and he is not listed in "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution," a historical document listing Massachusetts soldiers serving in the American Revolution. A book entitled "The United States Declaration of Independence (Revisited)" is one of the few sources that acknowledges his role in the Massacre.


Daniele Capezzone

Daniele Capezzone (born 8 September 1972) is an Italian journalist and ex politician.
From 14 July 2001 to 4 November 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the Transnational Radical Party. He has been one of the youngest party-secretaries in Italy so far.
In 2006-2008, he was the President of the 10th Permanent Commission (Productive Affairs, Trade and Tourism) of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
Biography.
Graduated at "Lucio Manara" Secondary School in Classical Studies in Rome, he attended Law Faculty at LUISS "Guido Carli" University until 1997. On 1 January 1998, he attended a Radical Party demonstration, where he first met the radical leader Marco Pannella. He then dropped the studies and became a political activist. On 14 July 2001, he was elected Secretary of the newly-born party of the Italian Radicals.
In 2003, he published his first book, "A radical shock for 21st Century", a synthesis of the Radicals' proposals for the constitution of a "World Democracy Organization". The contents of the book were presented at the Washington D.C. American Enterprise Institute in March 2004.
In 2004 Capezzone published his second book, "Euroghost - Un fantasma si aggira per l'Europa: l'Europa" (English translation: "Euroghost - A Ghost wanders through Europe: Europe itself"); he undertook a 54-day-long hunger strike (with the Italian Radicals Treasurer, Rita Bernardini, and the death-penalty abolitionist organization "Hands Off Cain" President, Sergio D'Elia), asking the Italian Parliament to pass a general pardon-law; he wrote some op-ed articles for the Italian right-wing newspaper "Libero" and for The Washington Times.
Capezzone became a well-known politician also for his appearances in the satirical TV show "Markette" (on private TV-channel La7) and for his caricature-imitation made by Italian comedian Neri Marcorè in another satirical TV show, "Superciro" (on private TV-channel Italia 1).
During Spring 2005, he undertook another hunger strike (once more with Rita Bernardini) asking to the Italian public service broadcaster RAI to give more space to the debates on the Radical referendum proposals for partially abrogate the law on artificial insemination, particularly strict in Italy. The four proposals, held on 12 and 13 June 2005, were however invalidated due to high abstentionism.
In November 2005, Capezzone was re-confirmed as Italian Radicals' Secretary for the fourth time in a row and he conducted the birth of the Rose in the Fist, a libertarian-socialist federation with the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI). He was elected in the general election of 2006 as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and, on 6 June 2006, as President of the 10th Permanent Commission, becoming the first radical politician to be elected as a President of a Permanent Commission in the Italian Parliament.
During the 5th Congress of the Italian Radicals (held in Padova, 2–5 November 2006), Capezzone has been harshly challenged by many Radical leaders, because of his criticism to the Prodi II Cabinet (mostly stigmatized from Minister of European Politics and International Trade, Emma Bonino) and for an alleged personalistic management of the movement, which allegedly caused a worsening of the economical condition of the party.
In the previous days, newspapers reported "rumours" about the likelihood of his substitution at the party Secretariat, in favour of the Treasurer Rita Bernardini. The Radicals historical leader Marco Pannella justified that substitution not as "an act of disconfidence" on Capezzone, but as the prosecution of a historical custom of no overlapping of party- and parliamentarian-appointments.
Newspapers however insisted on a break-up between Pannella and Capezzone (shown respectively as "the past" and "the future" of the Radical movement), re-publishing an audio/video recording (already published by Radio Radicale's website) of a very lively discussion between the two politicians, during the Italian Radicals' National Direction meeting held on 26 October 2006. Also in October, Capezzone came out as bisexual He will later in other interview insist his sexual life is private.
After an even more lively Italian Radicals' National Direction meeting held on the night of 4 November 2006, during the 5th Congress of the movement, Capezzone accepted not to offer himself for the fifth time in a row for the Secretariat and to support instead the candidature of the Treasurer Rita Bernardini. The 5th Congress accepted anyway his proposal of General Motion (co-signed with Bernardini), that committed the Italian Radicals to relaunch the Rose in the Fist alliance and to press the Prodi II Cabinet for embark new libertarian proposals on economy and civil rights.
From that time, anyway, Capezzone started to distance himself from his party and to be very critical with Prodi II Cabinet, which he says not to support anymore. In June 2007, despite not having left the Radicals yet, he launched his own political association, Decide!, mounting rumors that he was heading towards the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition. On 7 November Capezzone finally left the Italian Radicals and the Rose in the Fist.
He has been the spokesman of Forza Italia and then of The People of Freedom.


Battle of Champaubert

The Battle of Champaubert (10 February 1814) was the opening engagement of the Six Days' Campaign. It was fought between a French army led by Emperor Napoleon and a small Russian corps commanded by Lieutenant General Count Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev. After putting up a good fight, the Russian formation was destroyed; the survivors escaped into the woods while Olsufiev became a French prisoner. Champaubert is located in France, west of Châlons-en-Champagne and east of Meaux.
After defeating Napoleon at the Battle of La Rothière nine days earlier, the two main Allied armies under Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg and Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher separated. Schwarzenberg's southern advance was slow while the Prussian field marshal's march represented a more serious threat to Paris. Leaving part of his forces to hold off Schwarzenberg, Napoleon massed 30,000 troops to deal with Blücher, who allowed his 57,000-man army to become badly spread out. Allied lapses in communication and Blücher's overconfidence left Olsufiev's corps isolated near Champaubert when Napoleon's army lunged from the south to deal it a crippling blow.
Prelude.
Allied pursuit.
On 1 February 1814, Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher with 80,000 Allied troops from his own Army of Silesia and Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia defeated Napoleon and 45,000 French soldiers in the Battle of La Rothière. This setback seriously shook the French army's morale. Each side suffered about 6,000 casualties but the Allied captured 50–60 artillery pieces. The Allies were delighted by their victory, though it might have been more complete if all their reserves had been committed to the battle. At this time, the Allied generals made the questionable decision to separate their armies. Blücher's army would advance from Châlons-sur-Marne toward Meaux while Schwarzenberg's army operated on a more southerly route from Troyes toward Paris.
On 3 February, Napoleon's army reached Troyes after completely breaking contact with the Allies the previous day. On 4 February, Schwarzenberg wrote his colleague Blücher that he was moving farther south in order to turn Napoleon's right flank. The next day, Russian General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly ordered Alexander Nikitich Seslavin's scouting force from Schwarzenberg's right flank to the left flank without notifying Blücher. Since the Prussian field marshal did not have a liaison officer with Seslavin's force he did not realize that no one was watching for French forces in the space on his left flank. Also on 5 February, Napoleon decided to abandon Troyes and fall back to Nogent-sur-Seine. He planned to contain Schwarzenberg with part of his army while attacking Blücher.
Having prepared for a grand assault on Troyes, Schwarzenberg found the place empty of French troops on 7 February. He decided to let his troops rest for the next two days. Meanwhile, Napoleon reorganized his cavalry into the I Cavalry Corps under Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux de Bordesoulle, II Cavalry Corps led by Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain, V Cavalry Corps commanded by Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud, VI Cavalry Corps directed by François Etienne de Kellermann and an independent division under Jean-Marie Defrance. The French emperor created a new VII Corps from two divisions transferred from the Spanish front and put Marshal Nicolas Oudinot in charge.
At the end of January a 10,000–11,000-man French corps under Marshal Jacques MacDonald approached from the north. Supposing that Schwarzenberg's maneuvers would draw Napoleon away from his Army of Silesia, Blücher focused on destroying MacDonald's corps. During the first week of February, the Prussian field marshal ordered Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg's corps to pursue MacDonald along the main highway in the Marne River valley. Hoping to trap the French corps, Blücher sent Fabian Gottlieb von Osten-Sacken's corps along the more direct road through Montmirail and La Ferté-sous-Jouarre. Trying to accomplish two strategic goals at once, the Prussian army commander hung back to allow the newly arrived corps of Peter Mikhailovich Kaptzevich and Friedrich von Kleist to catch up with him. Blücher utilized Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev's small corps to link the two parts of his army.
On 8 February, Sacken's cavalry reached Viels-Maisons while his infantry was to the east at Montmirail. Olsufiev's corps was farther east at Étoges while Blücher established his headquarters another east at Vertus. Kaptzevich and Kleist were east of their army commander in Châlons-sur-Marne. Yorck's corps was in the Marne valley at least to the north, separated by bad roads. The Army of Silesia was now spread across a front of . Blucher assumed that Seslavin would report any danger coming from the south. That night, when his Cossacks were driven out of Sézanne, Sacken did not bother to report the incident to Blücher. In fact, it was Napoleon's leading corps under Marshal Auguste de Marmont.
French offensive.
Napoleon left 39,000 troops to contain Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia. The formations were Oudinot's VII Corps, Marshal Claude Perrin Victor's II Corps, Étienne Maurice Gérard's Reserve of Paris, Henri Rottembourg's Young Guard infantry division, Milhaud's V Cavalry Corps and smaller units. Napoleon's striking force numbered about 20,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 horsemen. Another authority agreed that the French army numbered 30,000 men and added that it was supported by 120 guns. The army was formed by Marshal Michel Ney's two Young Guard infantry divisions, Marmont's VI Corps, part of the Imperial Guard cavalry, I Cavalry Corps and Defrance's cavalry division. Bringing up the rear at Nogent was Marshal Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise with two Old Guard infantry divisions.
On 9 February, MacDonald slipped across the Marne at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, just ahead of Sacken. That day, Kaptzevich and Kleist rendezvoused with Blücher at Vertus, Olsufiev marched west to Champaubert, Sacken reached La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and Yorck was at Château-Thierry. According to Karl Freiherr von Müffling of Blücher's staff, the Army of Silesia counted 57,000 men, including Sacken's 20,000, Yorck's 18,000 and Kaptzevich, Olsufiev and Kleist with a combined 19,000. Marmont's cavalry advance guard appeared at Talus-Saint-Prix on the Petit Morin River. Because the horsemen soon withdrew, Blücher's chief of staff August Neidhardt von Gneisenau believed they represented no danger. When Schwarzenberg asked the Prussian field marshal to support his right flank corps under Peter Wittgenstein, Blücher ordered Kaptzevich and Kleist to march southwest to Sézanne the next day. Olsufiev was ordered to march south from Champaubert. That night, Blücher finally received news that Napoleon was at Sézanne. Nevertheless, Gneisenau authorized Sacken to continue the pursuit of MacDonald to the west.
Napoleon's soldiers plodded along roads deep in mud from days of rain. The men had to suffer hunger pangs when the provision wagons failed to turn up. The bogged artillery was only brought forward when the rural inhabitants in large numbers helped haul the guns through the mud. At first the French population had resigned itself to the Allied invasion, but after suffering at the hands of the Russians and Prussians, the people were eager to assist the army. On 10 February, as Blücher accompanied the column of Kaptzevich and Kleist while it marched toward Sézanne, the sound of artillery began to rumble ominously to the right near Champaubert.
Battle.
Action.
On 10 February Napoleon moved against Blücher's over-extended army in the hope of smashing it. He caught Olsufiev's IX Corps of 5,000 Russians near the village of Baye just south of Champaubert. The battle was one of the few times during the war that France was able to take the field with a large numerical advantage, in this case six-to-one. Planning to march south to Sézanne that day, Olsufiev left the Saint-Prix bridge over the Petit Morin intact. He also left the span unguarded, so that Napoleon's cavalry seized it early in the morning. Marmont's two VI Corps divisions led the French column. Joseph Lagrange's 3rd Division filed across the Saint-Prix bridge followed by Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard's 8th Division. Following Napoleon's instructions, 100 Guard Dragoons rode ahead into Bannay where they surprised and captured a group of Russian soldiers.
Olsufiev's pickets were overrun by 10:00 am and although badly outnumbered, the Russian decided to fight rather than retreat. His decision was based partly on the mistaken hope that he would get reinforcements from Blücher in time to prevent a disaster. The correct decision would have been to retreat east to Étoges, but the Russian general had been criticized for the loss of the château during the Battle of Brienne on 29 January. He was also blamed for mishandling his troops at La Rothière and Sacken wanted him hauled before a court-martial. In the circumstances, Olsufiev chose to battle it out in order to clear his name. He did, however, send messengers to the Prussian army commander telling his superior what was occurring. In the event, Blücher brushed aside Olsufiev's couriers, insisting that Napoleon was not on the scene and that the attackers were no more than 2,000 French partisans.
Lagrange's division angled to the left toward Bannay, led by the 2nd Light Infantry Regiment and a marine battalion, while Ricard's division marched straight toward Baye. Olsufiev sent Evstafi Evstafievich Udom with two jäger infantry battalions to clear the French skirmishers out of Baye. As the French pressure increased, Udom was reinforced so that he had the 10th, 12th, 22nd and 38th Jäger Regiments and six guns. Around 11:00 am Ricard pressed Udom's troops back into Baye and the nearby woods. Olsufiev sent a brigade and six guns to hold the right flank while the bulk of his corps deployed between Baye and Bannay. The French brought 12 guns into action as more and more of their soldiers passed the bridge and arrived on the field. Pierre Pelleport's brigade led Lagrange's division as it assaulted Bannay. At 1:00 pm Olsufiev was still holding out on his forward position. At that hour, the Russian commander held a council of war in which his generals voted for a retreat to Étoges. Olsufiev refused, saying that he had specific orders to hold Champaubert.
Seeing that a small wood was the key to the position, Marmont organized a general attack. He sent the 113th Line Infantry forward deployed in skirmish order. Assisted by a horse artillery battery from I Cavalry Corps and a lancer squadron under Cyrille-Simon Picquet, Ricard's division captured Baye. Lagrange attacked between Baye and Bannay. Ney's divisions began to arrive and his guns pounded Bannay. Bordesoulle's cavalry on the right and Jean-Pierre Doumerc's on the left began edging around the Russian flanks. The 7th Battalion of the 4th Light Infantry were the first French troops to occupy Baye while Pelleport's brigade took Bannay. Olsufiev pulled back and established a new line at the Andecy Farm. As French cavalry began to envelop both flanks, the Russian withdrew again toward Champaubert.
Since the terrain favored the French on the west flank, Lagrange launched an attack on that side. Without proper artillery support, the French infantry were stopped and thrown back by the concentrated fire of 24 Russian guns. Numerous French Guard field pieces, slowed by the mud, soon appeared and provided a rallying point for Lagrange's men. After taking a detour, Doumerc's horsemen appeared at Fromentières on the highway west of Champaubert. When Olsufiev received reports that the road east to Châlons was also blocked, he resolved to cut his way out in that direction. The Russian commander directed Prince Konstantin Poltoratsky with the Apsheron and Nacheburg Infantry Regiments and nine guns to hold Champaubert, while he attacked east toward Étoges with the bulk of his troops. Olsufiev's breakout attempt failed.
With his artillery posted at the Champaubert crossroads, Poltoratsky's brigade drove off several cavalry charges. In fierce fighting with the bayonet, Ricard's soldiers captured the village, lost it to a counterattack, then clawed their way back into a few houses. After failing to cut his way out to the east, about 3:00 pm Poltoratsky began a fighting withdrawal to the north with his men in square formation. Heading for the village of La Caure, his soldiers kept the French back with regular volleys. About north of Champaubert they began to run out of ammunition and their ranks began to show unsteadiness. The French demanded that Poltoratsky capitulate and when he refused, they brought up a horse artillery battery and began blasting his troops with canister shot. Instead of being a possible refuge, the nearby woods turned out to be filled with French skirmishers. With his men being mown down by canister and riddled by musketry, Poltoratsky finally agreed to surrender his two regiments and cannons.
After failing to force its way to Étoges, Olsufiev's main body veered to the north in an attempt to escape. Near La Caure, while maneuvering to enter a swampy forest, he exposed one of his flanks. Spotting the tactical error, Marmont ordered a brigade of Bordesoulle's cuirassiers to charge. The heavy cavalrymen crashed into the Russian formation, cutting it in two parts. The Russian foot soldiers were completely routed, some of them throwing away their muskets and packs as they scattered into the woods. Marmont ordered the exits blocked and many Russians were captured. Udom and his fellow division commander Peter Yakovlevich Kornilov managed to get away with 1,500–2,000 men. That night they reached Port-à-Binson on the Marne after going cross-country. A 19-year old French conscript with fewer than six months of service made Olsufiev a prisoner.
Aftermath.
According to Digby Smith the French lost 600 killed and wounded out of the 13,300 infantry and 1,700 cavalry that were engaged in the action. The Russians lost 2,400 men and nine guns out of the 3,700 soldiers and 24 guns that were present. Captured were General-Leutnant Olsufiev and General-major Prince Konstantin Poltoratsky. Francis Loraine Petre credited Olsufiev with 4,000 infantry and 24 guns of which 1,600–1,700 men and 15 guns escaped. George Nafziger cited several sources including one that listed Russian losses as 1,400 dead and 1,894 captured including three generals and 21 guns, with 1,900 troops getting away. French losses were estimated at 200–600. David G. Chandler stated that French losses were only about 200 men and that only 1,000 out of 5,000 Russians escaped death or capture. Kornilov assumed command of the remnant of IX Corps. Its approximately 1,500 survivors were grouped into three or four temporary battalions. This unlucky outfit suffered 600 more casualties and lost all their cannons at the Battle of Vauchamps on 14 February.
When Blücher heard about Olsufiev's disaster, he ordered Kaptzevich and Kleist to turn around and make a night march back to Vertus. Sacken, who had marched west to Trilport, was ordered to return to Montmirail. Yorck was requested to meet Sacken near Montmirail while holding open an escape route over the Marne at Château-Thierry. After the battle, Napoleon found himself squarely in the middle of the overextended Army of Silesia. If he advanced to the east, he would merely push the corps of Kaptzevich and Kleist back. A move to the west held the possibility of trapping and destroying the forces under Sacken and Yorck, so he turned west. Napoleon ordered Marmont with Lagrange's division and the I Cavalry Corps to hold Étoges and keep Blücher under observation. At 7:00 pm the emperor directed Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty with two cavalry divisions to occupy Montmirail. They were to be joined there in the morning by Ricard's division and the divisions under Ney and Mortier. The Battle of Montmirail was fought the next day against Sacken and Yorck.


Battle of Lesmont

The Battle of Lesmont was a battle of the War of the Sixth Coalition. It took place at Lesmont in Aube on 2 February 1814. A Coalition force of Russians and Bavarians under generals Eugen of Wurtemberg and Carl Philipp von Wrede was defeated by a French force under general Joseph Lagrange, which managed to destroy the town's bridge and prevent the Coalition force crossing the river Aube.
Course.
After the battle of La Rothière on 1 February 1814, Napoleon ordered a retreat towards Troyes and placed some of Michel Ney's troops as well as Joseph Lagrange's division from marshal Marmont's corps as his rearguard. The French army crossed the bridge at Lesmont on the night of 2 February protected by troops under Ney's command, who then retired. Lagrange's division remained in the village to cover the retreat and took up position on the right bank of the river behind the bridge. It was soon attacked by Eugen's cavalry and elements of von Wrede's corps.
Lagrange's division managed to hold its central position against several attacks, especially by Eugen's Russian cavalry. At the end of the battle the French troops set fire to the bridge and rejoined the main retreating force. The loss of the bridge meant that the Coalition cavalry lost contact with the French troops, which reached Troyes the following day without incident. There Napoleon gathered his army and re-took the offensive, beating the Russians at the battle of Champaubert on 10 February.


New Aliyah Party

The New Aliyah Party (, "Aliyah Hadasha" lit. "New Immigration") was a political party in Mandate Palestine and Israel.
History.
The party was established in 1942 by immigrants from Austria and Germany who had arrived in Palestine during the Fifth Aliyah. The party won 19 seats in the 1944 Assembly of Representatives elections, making it the third largest party after Mapai and the Left Bloc. The party's magazine was named "Amudim" (lit. "Pages").
In May 1948 party leader Pinchas Rosen became a member of the provisional government. At the end of 1948 it merged with several other liberal parties, including the political arm of HaOved HaTzioni, to form the Progressive Party.


Rousseau and Revolution


Sygna (newspaper)


Libertopia

Libertopia is an annual libertarian festival/conference held in San Diego. It is organized by the Libertalia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, "dedicated to spreading the principles of free-market economics and voluntaryism". The festival particularly attracts those interested in "small-government": minarchists, voluntaryists, agorists, and anarchists. The events include speeches, films, music, and an awards banquet where two individuals are presented "The Sovereign Awards for Lifetime Achievement" for their contributions towards the advancement of individuality and voluntaryism.
Past gatherings and masters of ceremonies include:


Cambiamo!

Cambiamo! (, also stylized as C!) is a centre-right political party in Italy, launched in August 2019. Its leader is Giovanni Toti, President of Liguria region and former notable member of Forza Italia.
History.
In June 2019, after the European Parliament election, Silvio Berlusconi appointed Giovanni Toti and Mara Carfagna national coordinators of Forza Italia (FI), with the goal of reforming and relaunching the party. However, after a few weeks, Toti left the party in opposition to Berlusconi, who had not endorsed Toti's proposal for open primaries, and launched Cambiamo!. The reasons of the split were FI's lack of internal democracy and lack of clarity on the alliance with the League and the Brothers of Italy (FdI) at country-level, which he definitely supported.
In September four deputies (Stefano Benigni, Manuela Gagliardi, Claudio Pedrazzini and Alessandro Sorte) officially left FI in order to join C! Along with a fifth deputy who had earlier left FI (Giorgio Silli), they renamed the "Dream Italy–10 Times Better" sub-group within the Mixed Group as "Cambiamo!–10 Times Better". Additionally, four senators (Massimo Vittorio Berruti, Gaetano Quagliariello, Paolo Romani and Luigi Vitali), as well as several regional councillors from Lombardy (including Romani's son) and Lazio have announced they would do the same.
In the 2020 Emilia-Romagna regional election C! ran in a joint list with The People of Family, gaining 0.3% of the votes. In the 2020 Ligurian regional election party leader Toti was re-elected president with 56.1% of the vote, while C! gained 22.6% of the vote. In the 2020 Tuscan regional election the party obtained 1.0% of the vote and no seats.
Despite its beginnings, by the end of 2020 C! became a proponent of a more moderate version of conservatism in comparison with FI. The party thus gave strong support to the formation of a national unity government as a replacement of Giuseppe Conte's centre-left government. In February 2021, amid the formation of Mario Draghi's national unity government, which was supported also by the League and FI, as well as by the main centre-left parties, C! started to attract new members from the more centrist wing of FI. As a result, the party was able to form a larger sub-group within the Chamber's Mixed Group, comprising ten deputies (including eight who were full members of the party).


James Cole Mountflorence

James Cole Mountflorence (born James Cole; died January 31, 1820) was an American businessman and Federalist diplomat in Paris during the French Revolution. He went to France in 1792 as an agent for the mercantile firm of William Blount, Thomas Blount, and John Gray Blount. In 1794, he became Chancellor to the American Consulate at Paris. Following Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's expulsion from France in 1796, Mountflorence was the primary contact in Paris between the French and American governments. The next year, he served as an intermediary during the XYZ Affair.
Early life.
Mountflorence was the son of an English father and Irish mother who immigrated to France in the middle of the eighteenth century. Although there is no known familial connection, he apparently adopted the surname Mountflorence because John Cole of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland became Baron Mountflorence in 1760.
In 1778, Mountflorence departed France to join the American Revolution. While recovering from illness, he tutored students in New Bern, North Carolina. In 1780, Mountflorence became a brigade major under William Richardson Davie in the North Carolina militia and quartermaster of the Salisbury District. After the war, Mountflorence served as a deputy surveyor and land agent in Middle Tennessee, then known as the Cumberland region. By 1787, he was working for John Gray and Thomas Blount, Merchants—a mercantile firm established by William Blount, Thomas Blount, and John Gray Blount. Around this time, he settled in Nashville and began practicing law.
Mountflorence was a delegate to the United States Constitution ratification convention in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1789. Later that year he unsuccessfully ran for Congress. In 1791, Mountflorence briefly advised United States Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson regarding a land dispute between Virginia and Tennessee (then a federal territory known as the Territory South of the River Ohio). In January 1792, Mountflorence sailed to Europe on business for the Blounts.
Diplomatic career.
In Paris, Mountflorence quickly befriended influential Americans, such as American ambassador Gouverneur Morris. He also sent an intriguing proposal to the French minister of foreign affairs, Pierre Lebrun, asking to lead a covert mission against Spanish Louisiana. Lebrun rejected Mountflorence's request, but the proposal bears striking resemblance to the plan adopted several weeks later in which Lebrun chose Edmond-Charles Genêt to launch a similar mission.
After a brief trip to the United States in 1793, Mountflorence was arrested when he returned to France, which was in the midst of the Reign of Terror. Following Gouverneur Morris's exertions, Mountflorence was released and spent the duration of the Reign of Terror in Switzerland. Upon returning to Paris, he began working on privateering cases. In October, 1794, he reached an agreement with the American Consul in Paris, Fulwar Skipwith, to help handle consular duties as Chancellor to the American Consulate. Besides his consular duties, Mountflorence frequently served as an intermediary between the American and French governments and provided intelligence to ambassador James Monroe.
When newly appointed American ambassador, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was expelled from France in 1796, Mountflorence became the primary contact between Pinckney and the French government. Skipwith, a Jeffersonian Republican, had fallen out of favor with the Washington and Adams administrations, thus leaving Mountflorence, a staunch Federalist, with effective control over consular and diplomatic affairs. Throughout 1797, Mountflorence negotiated with several officials of the French government, including influential member of the Council of Five Hundred Claude-Emmanuel de Pastoret. Shortly after the coup of 18 fructidor, Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry arrived in Paris as envoys to negotiate a peace agreement. Again, Mountflorence served as an unofficial interlocutor. He received one of the first contacts from French foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, warning the envoys that they would have to meet with Talleyrand's agents before negotiating with Talleyrand himself. In subsequent correspondence, these agents were referred to as W, X, Y, and Z, thus giving the diplomatic fiasco its famous title, the XYZ Affair.
Following the publication of the XYZ dispatches, Mountflorence was forced to flee Paris. He then became private secretary to William Vans Murray, the United States Ambassador to the Batavian Republic. When Murray was appointed as part of an American peace commission, Mountflorence returned to Paris, though he seems to have had no substantive role in the negotiations. In 1801, Mountflorence became private secretary to Robert R. Livingston, the newly appointed United States Ambassador to France.
Later life.
Mountflorence continued to represent aggrieved American merchants whose ships and cargoes had been captured or detained by French privateers. He also sought to recover consular fees from Fulwar Skipwith, with whom he had signed agreements in 1794 and 1799. Eventually, Mountflorence brought suit against Skipwith. The lawsuit exacerbated tensions within the increasingly partisan diplomatic corps in Paris. One of Skipwith's allies later reported Mountflorence to the French authorities. Mountflorence was tried for fraud. He was acquitted but nonetheless imprisoned for over a year.
Mountflorence's later attempts to regain a position in the diplomatic corps were unsuccessful. After several illnesses, he died in Paris on January 31, 1820, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.


Peliquista Party

The Peliquista Party was a Costa Rican political group, active between 1917 and 1919 during the Tinoco Brothers dictatorship following the 1917 Costa Rican coup d'état.
History.
1917 elections.
The Peliquista Party emerged to participate in the elections of April 1917 to elect the President of the Republic and deputies for a Constituent Assembly. Its name derives from the nickname of "Pelico" with which the Provisional Head of the Republic was known, Federico Tinoco Granados, who was the party's presidential candidate and that election's sole candidate.
Tinoco won an overwhelming majority in Congress managing to elect practically all the members of the constituent assembly, with the exception of two from Alajuela, Otilio Ulate Blanco and Claudio Cortés Castro, elected by the "Tinoquista Party".
The Peliquista Party lacked formal organization and neither had a defined ideology nor program. It was a group of eminently personalist nature.
1919 elections.
For the legislative and municipal elections of 1919 the Peliquista Party was the only one that participated and its lists were imposed throughout the national territory, so that the peliquismo had unanimity in both houses of Congress. Only a few independent candidates were elected for some isolated municipal posts.
According to the official results, 47,584 votes were cast for deputies and senators and 47,531 for counceilmen, mayors and vice-mayors. The government newspaper "La Información" announced that the citizens had used the right of suffrage within the most perfect order and under the sign of tranquility, sanity and good harmony. However, citizen participation was lower than that of the 1917 election. In an interview with "La Información", Tinoco said that while absentee propaganda circulated inside and out, he preferred to remain silent because he trusted the people, and He added that the superiority of the ruling party is true and effective. He also expressed his satisfaction with the individuals chosen to integrate the Houses, "democratically elected and without any opposition." A few months later he said that the elections were held "... with the greatest order and with the widest freedom, and their results were highly satisfactory, because despite the campaign of abstentionism undertaken by government opponents and the natural difficulties of implementing the Citizenship card now indispensable for the exercise of suffrage, many votes were collected at all ballot boxes and once again proved, given the affiliation of the winning ballots in them, the powerful support with which our current political regime has in opinion freely manifested".
Dissolution.
The Peliquista Party disappeared following the resignation of President Tinoco in August 1919 and the dissolution of the Congress, which took place on September 2 following the breakdown of the constitutional order. Never again participated in an election.


Nava Boker

Nava Prehi-Boker (, born 15 November 1970) is an Israeli journalist and politician.
Biography.
Nava Boker was born and raised in Pardes Hanna-Karkur. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Yemen. A journalist by profession, Boker worked for both Yedioth Ahronoth and Ma'ariv, as well as Channel 1. She married and had two daughters, then divorced. At age 27, as a reporter, she met Hadera police chief Lior Boker, and married him. Due to difficulties with obtaining a marriage certificate from the Israeli rabbinate, she married Boker in what she described as an "alternative marriage." In 2010 her husband was killed in the Mount Carmel forest fire. She subsequently established a foundation to support fire and rescue workers.
Prior to the 2015 Knesset elections she was placed 25th on the Likud list. She was elected to the Knesset as Likud won 30 seats.
Boker lives in Hadera and has two daughters.


Magnar Hellebust

Magnar Hellebust (30 June 1914 – 15 February 2008) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.
He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Troms during the terms 1969–1973 and 1973–1977. In total he met during 73 days of parliamentary session.


Party for Freedom and Progress

The Party for Freedom and Progress (; ; , PVV-PLP) was a liberal political party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992. The party was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in the Flemish Community of Belgium by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) and in the French Community by the Liberal Reformist Party, "Parti des Réformes et des Libertés de Wallonie" and the current-day Reformist Movement. In the German-speaking Community, it still exists as the Party for Freedom and Progress.
History.
Foundation of a new party.
In 1961, Omer Vanaudenhove, leader of the Liberal Party, reorganised it into the Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès (PVV/PLP). The new party, among other things, jettisoned the Liberals' traditional anti-clericalism. In 1965 the party obtained a victory in the general elections with 21.6% of the votes. In 1966, the PVV joined the government of Paul Vanden Boeynants. The liberal ministers during this period were Willy De Clercq, Jacques Van Offelen, Frans Grootjans, Herman Vanderpoorten, Charles Poswick and August De Winter.
Separation between PVV and PLP.
On 27 June 1971 the party was split up in a Flemish (PVV) and Walloon party (the Liberal Reformist Party, PRL). Only a few months later, on 24 September 1971, the parliament was dissolved. In the elections which followed The Flemish PVV gained votes, but the Walloon PRL lost in the elections.
In this period (1971–1992) the PVV ministers in the government were: Willy De Clercq, Herman Vanderpoorten, Herman De Croo, Karel Poma, Alfred Vreven, André Kempinaire, Guy Verhofstadt, Louis Waltniel, Jean Pede, Patrick Dewael, Ward Beysen, and Jacky Buchmann.
The PRL ministers in the government were: André Damseaux, François-Xavier de Donnea, Jean Gol, Louis Olivier, Charles Poswick, and Michel Toussaint.
Flanders: VLD.
In Flanders, the PVV ceased to exist in 1992. On 15 November 1992 the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) was founded.
French-speaking Community: MR.
In 1976, the name of the party was changed into Parti de Réformes et de la Liberté en Wallonie (PRLW). In 1979, the name was changed to Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) after the merger with the Liberal Party of Brussels. In March 2002 the PRL merged with the German-speaking Party for Freedom and Progress (PFF) of the East Cantons, the Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and the Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC) into the Reformist Movement (MR).
Electoral results.
Federal Parliament.
Chamber