Pauline Woo Tsui

Pauline Woo Tsui (October 2, 1920 – November 27, 2018) was a Chinese American anti-discrimination activist. As a co-founder of the Organization of Chinese American Women, she is considered a pioneer of Chinese women's rights in the United States.
Early life and education.
Pauline Woo was born in Nanjing, China, in 1920. Her father, John Yien-teh Woo, had been born in Hawaii, so she held dual U.S. citizenship. The influential educator Kuo Ping-Wen was her uncle.
At a time when many women were systematically denied an education, she insisted on the importance of schooling for girls. After attending the McTyeire School, a private girls' school in Shanghai, she obtained a bachelor's degree in education from St. John's University, Shanghai.
Displacement and exile.
During World War II, she was forced to flee the Japanese occupation, settling in Chongqing for three years. In Chongqing, she taught music at the Central Training Institute. After the war, she moved to the United States, which she had never visited despite being a citizen.
Career in the United States.
On arriving the United States, she studied at Columbia University in New York, graduating with a master's degree in music education in 1947. She had initially planned to open a group of schools back in Shanghai. When her plans in Shanghai fell through due to the Chinese Communist Revolution, she instead moved to Washington, D.C. There, she worked at the United States Army Map Service for 30 years, where she would eventually serve as Federal Women's Program manager. She also met and married Tswen-ling Tsui, a diplomat for the Republic of China, in 1947, and the couple had two children.
While working in government, Tsui experienced and observed the discrimination faced by women and minorities, including Chinese women. In addition to her work as her department's Federal Women's Program manager, she also co-founded a Federally Employed Women chapter. Additionally, she served as vice president of the Organization of Chinese Americans.
After a few years of organizing, Tsui co-founded the Organization of Chinese American Women in 1977, serving as its executive director from 1983 to 2007. The organization, which was also co-founded by the diplomat Julia Chang Bloch, aimed to offer education and training programs that would empower Chinese American women. It was initially affiliated with the Organization of Chinese Americans, but they eventually disaffiliated due to differing priorities.
Later years, death, and legacy.
In the early 1990s, after her husband's death, Tsui moved from Washington to Montgomery County, Maryland. In 2013, she co-wrote "History of the Organization of Chinese American Women", which covers the first three decades of the organization's history, with Puanani Woo.
Tsui died in 2018. The following year, she was posthumously named as a member of the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. In 2020, the Chinese American Museum launched an event series in her honor.


David Ross (aviator)

David Ross (15 March 1902 – 12 June 1984) was an Australian aviator and intelligence officer. He was notably the consul of the British Empire to Portuguese Timor during the Second World War. Later in life he served as Regional Director of Civil Aviation for Western Australia.
Early life and career.
Ross was born in Australia on 15 March 1902. At the age of 13 he received a scholarship opportunity to join the Royal Australian Navy, which he accepted. During the-then ongoing First World War he trained with the Royal Australian Navy at Jervis Bay. Following the war Ross was sent to England to study the field of naval aviation, after which he was deployed to Point Cook. In 1931 Ross transferred out of the armed forces and into the civil aviation branch of the Department of Defence, where he worked with Imperial Airways and Qantas to establish air routes between Australia, Singapore, and London.
Consul.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe and rising tensions with the Japanese Empire in the Pacific, the Australian government's External Affairs Department sent Ross to Portuguese Timor to shore up the British Empire's relationship with Portugal. While serving as consul, Ross also worked with Qantas to explore the possibility of establishing a seaplane route between Australia and Dili. When still-neutral Portuguese Timor was invaded in February 1942 and occupied by a Japanese army in pursuit of retreating British and Dutch forces, Ross was taken prisoner. Despite the capture of Dili, the Japanese still faced determined Anglo-Dutch forces in the mountains of Timor. Hoping to negotiate their surrender, Colonel Sadashichi Doi of the Japanese 38th Division sent Ross with a letter of demands to Sparrow Force, a detachment of Australian soldiers who had withdrawn to defensive positions in the mountains. The Japanese demands were not well received, and seeing that further hostilities were inevitable, Ross issued letters of credit to the allied soldiers offering any civilians who assisted them financial compensation by the British Empire; this in turn allowed allied soldiers to buy supplies on credit. In addition, Ross gave the allied forces detailed information about the Japanese defences around Dili. Ross then returned to Dili, where he was imprisoned for a second time. After several months of further skirmishes between the Japanese and the allied forces, Ross was again sent to the allied lines to relay the Japanese demands for an allied surrender. He was rebuffed again, but this time declined to return to Japanese custody and stayed with a detachment of Australians. On 16 July Ross was evacuated by to Australia, where he described before the Advisory War Council the situation on Timor. He then became a flight coordinator for the Royal Australian Air Force, at one point coordinating the movements of over one hundred Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft.
After the war Ross was appointed Regional Director of Civil Aviation for Western Australia, a position he held from 1948 until his retirement in 1964.


The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation () is a 2006 Brazilian drama film directed by Cao Hamburger. The screenplay, which took four years to be completed, was written by Hamburger, Adriana Falcão, Claudio Galperin, Anna Muylaert and Bráulio Mantovani.
It was submitted by the Ministry of Culture for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This choice was unexpected, since it was thought that José Padilha's "Elite Squad" would be submitted.
Plot.
The story takes place entirely during a few months in 1970, in the city of São Paulo. Mauro, a 12-year-old boy, is suddenly deprived of the company of his young parents, Bia and Daniel Stein, who are political activists on the run from the harsh military government, which was strongly repressing leftists all over the country. Against this backdrop of fear and political persecution, the country is at the same time bursting with enthusiasm for the coming World Cup, to be held in Mexico, the first one to be transmitted live via satellite.
Unable to take care of their only child, the Steins, who live in Belo Horizonte, drive all the way to São Paulo to deliver the boy to his paternal grandfather, Mótel, who is a barber. To their son, they say they will travel on vacation and promise to return for the World Cup games. Unfortunately, however, the grandfather dies on the same day the boy arrives, and he is left clueless and without support in Bom Retiro, a working-class neighborhood inhabited mainly by Jewish people, many of whom speak Yiddish, an unknown language to the boy. As his father is Jewish, the close-knit Bom Retiro community rally in support of the child and Shlomo, a solitary elder and religious Jew who was a close neighbor and friend of Mauro's grandfather, assumes the care of Mauro.
Mauro is a football enthusiast and wants to be a goalkeeper. He gradually mixes in with other neighborhood children and becomes acquainted with a number of colorful characters, including Hanna, a girl his age; Ítalo, a politically active student from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo; Irene, a beautiful female bartender and her boyfriend, the mulatto ace goalkeeper of one of the local football teams; the local rabbi and assorted Jewish elders, Italian immigrants, and so on.
To Mauro's great disappointment, his parents neither appear as promised at the World Cup nor give any notice. Fearing the worst, Shlomo starts to investigate by himself and is arrested by the political police because of his meddling. Finally, he achieves the liberation of Mauro's mother, who is severely ill after the prison term. Her reunion with her child happens in the very same day of Brazil's final victory at the World Cup. (Mauro's father disappears while in the dictatorship's clutches, never to return.) At the end of the film, Mauro says farewell to his recent friends and playmates as he and his mother leave Bom Retiro and prepare to go into exile.
Production.
The film is semi-autobiographical: The director's parents, physicists and professors of the University of São Paulo, were briefly arrested by the military in the same year of 1970, accused of lending support to "subversives". The couple's five children — including Cao Hamburger, the director, who was 8 years old — came under the care of their grandmothers, one Jewish and one Italian Catholic.
Critical reception.
The film has received mostly positive reviews. Based on 52 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of critics gave "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" a positive review (43 "Fresh"; 9 "Rotten"), with an average rating of 7.1/10.
Deborah Young of "Variety" hailed the film as "sensitive, delicate and involving", going on to say that "Hamburger feels no need (nor is there any) to underline the obvious. He has a magician's ability to keep the story light and believable". It also notes that "the humorous central part of the screenplay is bereft of surprises".
The film was picked as Brazil's submission for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (and was shortlisted alongside nine other films), and was released on February 8, 2008 in the United States and Canada.


Starting Point (film)

Starting Point is a 2015 Polish short-documentary film about a woman, Aneta, who was sentenced to prison at age of 19 for murder. After nine years she began working as a carer for elderly and met Helena who diagnosed with rheumatism. "Starting Point" was shortlisted with ten other documentaries from 74 entries submitted to 88th Academy Awards in Documentary Short Subject category. The final five nominations were scheduled to be announced on January 14, 2016.
Plot.
Aneta 'rebelled to the max' at the age of nineteen and wound up in prison for murder. Nine years later, her daily routine takes her from behind the walls of the prison to a care home for the elderly. One of the residents, Helena, has been ill ever since infancy. She is fascinated by the phenomenon which is Aneta. In her opinion, the young woman has everything she could want for. And so Helena, whose knowledge of the world has come “from the windows of hospitals and coaches”, avidly asks Aneta about her life. A test awaits Aneta... and help will come from Helena.


Senate of Zimbabwe

The Senate of Zimbabwe is the upper of the two chambers in Zimbabwe's Parliament. It existed from independence in 1980 until 1989, and was re-introduced in November 2005. The other chamber of Parliament is the House of Assembly
In its current form, the Senate has 80 members. Of these, 60 members are elected from 10 six-member constituencies (based on the provinces) by proportional representation using party lists; the lists must have a woman at the top and alternate between men and women. The other 20 seats include two reserved for people with disabilities and 18 for traditional chiefs.
History before abolition.
The original Senate consisted of 40 members, the majority of whom were elected by the House of Assembly (the directly elected lower chamber), with the remainder being chosen by the Council of Chiefs and appointed by the President. Under the Lancaster House Agreement, 20% of seats in both chambers were reserved for whites, until 1987. It was abolished in 1989 with Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 31, with membership of the House of Assembly being expanded to include those nominated by the President.
History after reestablishment.
The re-established Senate, formed following the elections held on 26 November 2005, had a total of 66 members. 50 members (5 from each province) were directly elected in single-member constituencies using the First-past-the-post system. The President appointed 6 additional members and the remaining 10 seats were held by traditional chiefs who were chosen in separate elections. Twenty-one women (20 elected and 1 appointed) occupy seats in the Senate.
Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 18 of 2007 provided for the expansion of the Senate to 93 seats: six Senators from each province directly elected by voters registered in the 60 Senate constituencies; the 10 Provincial Governors appointed by the President; the president and deputy president of Council of Chiefs; 16 chiefs, being two chiefs from each province other than metropolitan provinces, and five Senators appointed by the President.
The current Senate resulted from the 2013 constitution. The current Senate consists of 80 members, of whom 60 are elected for five-year terms in 6-member constituencies representing one of the 10 provinces, elected based on the votes in the lower house election, using party-list proportional representation, distributed using the hare quota. Additionally the Senate consists of 2 seats for each non-metropolitan district of Zimbabwe elected by each provincial assembly of chiefs using SNTV, 1 seat each for the president and deputy president of the National Council of Chiefs and 1 male and 1 female seat for people with disabilities elected on separate ballots using FPTP by an electoral college designated by the National Disability Board.


Old Cathedral of Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois

The Trinitarian Church or Trinity Church, full name Church of Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois (, or or ; incorrectly Holy Trinity Church ("Kostol Najsvätejšej Trojice")), is a Baroque-style church in Bratislava's Old Town borough, on the Župné námestie square.
The church was built on the site of the older Church of St. Michael, which was demolished in 1529, along with the settlement of St. Michael, during the Ottoman wars, along with other suburbs, so as to see better the attacking Turks. The Trinitarian Order started construction of the church in 1717 and it was sanctified in 1727, although work in the interior continued into the first half of the 18th century.
Description.
The design is thought to be copied from the St. Peter's Church in Vienna. The arch is dominated by a cupola with trompe-l'œil fresco from Italian Baroque painter Antonio Galli Bibiena. The massive main altar of the church was presumably built by A. G. Bussi. Its main work of art is an altarpiece depicting St. John of Matha and St. Felix of Valois ransoming prisoners from Turkish capture. Statues of St. Agnes and St. Catherine situated at the rear of the main altar are attributed to the Bavarian sculptor Johann Baptist Straub. The rear altar of the Virgin Mary was built in 1736 on the order of the Count Zichy. This altar has a copy of the Regensburg painting of the Madonna. The main portal is richly decorated in Rococo style, celebrating the Holy Trinity.
History.
At the time of the consecration of the church, a Trinitarian monastery was built on the site of a nearby cemetery. However, the Trinitarian Order was closed by Joseph II in 1782 and the comitatus (county) office took possession of the building. However, it did not suit its needs and was almost wholly demolished; the "County House/Building" (Slovak: "Župný dom", Hungarian: "Vármegyeháza") was built in 1844 in its place and became the administrative seat of the Pressburg county. Concerts by various composers, for example by Franz Liszt or Johannes Brahms, took place in the Great Hall of the building.
From 1939 to 1994 Slovak National Councils (since 1992 National Council of the Slovak Republic) were housed in the building until the seat was moved into a new parliamentary building next to Bratislava Castle. Some of the notable political events that took place here included Tiso's government declaration of independent Slovakia on 14 March 1939 and the passing of the independence declaration on 17 July 1992.
From 2003 to 2009, the church was the cathedral of the Military Ordinariate of Slovakia.


Save Zimbabwe

Save Zimbabwe is a broad coalition of organizations spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (CA). Members include the Movement for Democratic Change and other opposition parties, church groups, civil rights groups and trade unions.
The campaign's stated aims are for the restoration of democracy, human rights and legitimate government to Zimbabwe through providing early, free and fair elections under proper international supervision. Its chief spokesman is Ephraim Tapa, former president of the Civil Service Employees Union in Zimbabwe.
Prayer Rally.
On 11 March 2007 Zimbabwe police broke up a Save Zimbabwe prayer rally, arresting over 100 people, including the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai. Zimbabwe police claimed that the prayer rally violated a government ban on political protests. In the resulting unrest one opposition activist, Gift Tandare, was shot dead by police.


Chongqing Negotiations

The Chongqing Negotiations () were a series of negotiations between the Nationalist government and the Communist Party of China (CPC) from 29 August to 10 October 1945, held in Chongqing, China. The negotiations were highlighted by the final meeting between the leaders of both parties, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, which was the first time they had met in 20 years. Most of the negotiations were undertaken by Wang Shijie and Zhou Enlai, representatives of the Nationalist government and CPC, respectively. The negotiations lasted for 43 days, and came to a conclusion after both parties signed the Double Tenth Agreement.
Background.
After the end of the First United Front in 1927, the Nationalist government launched several purges of Communists within the Kuomintang. The CPC responded to these purges with several uprisings against the Nationalist government. Chiang then retaliated with the Encirclement Campaigns aimed to search and destroy the Chinese Red Army across China throughout the first half of the 1930s. The two sides came to a ceasefire after the Xi'an Incident in December 1936, where the Nationalists and the Communists agreed to form a united front once again to counter Japanese military aggression.
Negotiations.
In August 1945, Mao and Zhou flew from Yan'an to the Chinese wartime capital of Chongqing to discuss the relationship between the CPC and the KMT in the aftermath of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Soviet Union were receptive to the idea of another united front between the Nationalists and the Communists, as Stalin told the Chinese Communists that it was their "best hope for the future". Accompanied by American ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, Mao joined Chiang for dinner on 27 August, which was the first time these two leaders had met in 20 years. It would also be their last meeting. After seven weeks of negotiations, the two sides agreed on the common goal to eventually establish a political democracy in China, and to place all Chinese armed forces under the command of Chiang.
Result.
Throughout the negotiations, armed struggles between the two parties continued to escalate as the CPC were under attack both north and south of the Yangtze. Mao returned to Yan'an on 11 October, and a joint statement was issued by the CPC and the KMT to outline the result of the negotiations, which is now known as the Double Tenth Agreement. In this agreement, the CPC and the KMT mutually recognized each other, as the two parties planned to form a coalition government. The aim of the agreement was to avoid another civil war.
The Nationalist government was unwilling to recognize the areas under control by the CPC. Chiang was unconvinced by the joint statement, and came to realize that a military solution was necessary. Mao described the statement as "a mere scrap of paper", and expressed to the Soviet Union that the civil war was "virtually inevitable". By November 1945, it was clear that the agreement was going to be short-lived, and the full-scale civil war soon resumed in 1946.


Leo Fong

Leo Fong (; born November 23, 1928) is a Chinese-American actor, martial artist, boxer, and former Methodist minister who has been making films, acting, and directing since the early 1970s.
Background.
Fong was born in the Xinhui district of the city of Jiangmen, located in the province of Guangzhou in 1928. Fong soon relocated to Seattle with his parents and siblings. They were detained for a time, as was common with immigrants from Asia. Upon being released in Seattle, the family traveled to Chicago, where Fong's maternal uncle owned a restaurant his father had been guaranteed work. Working at the restaurant, Fong's father saved enough money to purchase a small grocery store in Widener, Arkansas, a small agricultural community. Fong was the victim of racial taunts at school, which often lead to fights. Fong eventually took up boxing at age 15.
After graduating from Forrest City High School, Fong attended Hendrix College in Arkansas, where he received a B.A. in physical education. He later received a master's degree in theology from Southern Methodist University. After beginning his career as a Methodist minister, he earned a Master of Social Work from California State University, Sacramento. Fong remained in Northern California, where he continued his martial arts training.
His entry into eastern martial arts began in the 1950s with judo and jiu jitsu. Fong has studied and practiced various martial arts styles until developed his own style, Wei Kuen Do.
Fong was a friend of martial artist Bruce Lee, who arranged for him to appear on the cover of the 10th anniversary edition of "Black Belt" magazine.
Film career.
1970s to 1990s.
The first film in which he acted was "Murder In The Orient" (1974), a Filipino martial arts exploitation film that co-starred Ron Marchini and also featured Eva Reyes and Rodolfo 'Boy' Garcia. In 1975, he starred in "Bamboo Trap" with Filipino actors George Estregan, Chanda Romero, Eddie Garcia, Rez Cortez and Ron van Clief.
Since the late 1970s, Fong has branched out into writing, directing, and producing films. Some of his films in the seventies to mid-'80s featured the same stock of actors, Cameron Mitchell, Hope Holiday and Stack Pierce.
2000s.
A more recent film of his is "Transformed", a 2005 film with Christian themes and anti-drug message that featured Tadashi Yamashita and Fred Williamson. This was the second time that he had appeared in a film with Williamson. The first was "Blind Rage", a 1978 film about a gang of blind men who rob a bank. As well as acting in "Transformed", he also directed and produced it, composed the theme song and was involved in the editing. His latest film work includes "Drifter TKD", a 2008 film in which he played Master Lee and "The Last Musketeer," which he produced.
Fong co-starred in the 2018 film, "Challenge of Five Gauntlets," which was directed by Len Kabasinski.
Selected filmography.
Actor
Fighting Style.
Wei Kuen Do (Way of the Integrated Fist): A complete system based on its roots in Jeet Kune Do, Serrada Escrima, Western Boxing, Choy Lay Fut, Northern Shaolin, Wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Arnis, and Wing Chun. As of March 24, 2017 Leo Fong assigned a three-man council to continue promoting and overseeing his art of Wei Kuen Do. The council members are Jeff Jeds, Klein Buen, and Bong Tumaru.


Arvin Sloane

Arvin Sloane is a fictional character played by Ron Rifkin. He was the former director of SD-6 on the television series, "Alias".
"TV Guide" included him in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.
Biography.
Arvin Sloane is the cold, calculating leader of SD-6, directing its operations against the U.S. government under the guise of being a secret organization within the government itself. He is eventually promoted to being a full member of "The Alliance", the organization that operates above each individual SD cell.
It is revealed through the course of the series that Sloane speaks Spanish, French, Japanese, Nepali, Mandarin, and Russian and reads Homeric Greek. It was revealed in the third season that Sloane has a life-threatening allergy to morphine.
Sloane is married to his long-time wife, Emily, for over 30 years. Early in his marriage Sloane was with the CIA, attached to the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is where he first encountered the works of Milo Rambaldi. Initially, Sloane dismissed Rambaldi and his works. That would change following the death of Arvin and Emily's infant daughter, Jacqueline. Wracked with grief, Sloane stumbled across some Rambaldi pages that he had stuck in a desk drawer and forgotten about. Reviewing the pages, Sloane was gripped by the possibilities inherent in what he saw there. This interest would rapidly grow into an obsession with all things Rambaldi.
At some point, Sloane had a brief affair with Jack Bristow's wife, Irina Derevko (alias Laura). This resulted in the birth of the child who would become known as Nadia Santos. It is unclear exactly when this affair took place or exactly when Nadia was born. Sydney Bristow was born in 1975. It's stated in the series that Michael Vaughn's father kidnapped Nadia for her own safety when she was a young girl, and he was killed by Irina in 1979. It's also stated that Irina gave birth to Nadia in a Russian prison after she left Jack. Sydney is age 6 when Irina fakes her death in late 1981, which means that Nadia must have been born in 1982. The timelines cannot be reconciled. Regardless of the exact timeline, Jack did not learn of this affair for over two decades. After Irina's apparent death, Jack was taken into federal custody and Sloane and Emily became Sydney's temporary guardians. Sydney believes that she didn't meet Sloane until she was recruited, as she reveals in season 2 episode "Cipher" that she has "big gaps in [her] memory" around the time of the death of her mother.
Some time after that, Sloane and a number of other CIA agents broke from the agency to attach themselves to the Alliance of Twelve. Sloane eventually became head of that section of the Alliance known as SD-6. When Sydney was 19 and a freshman in college, Sloane recruited her to join SD-6, convincing her that she was joining the CIA.
Storyline.
Season 1.
Partway through season 1, it is revealed that Emily was suffering from apparent terminal cancer. Emily learned that her husband had never truly left the world of intelligence. She made the mistake of telling Sydney what she knew and SD-6 soon caught wind of this fact. As a condition of Sloane's being promoted to a full member of the Alliance he was ordered to kill his wife. Unable to bring himself to do this, Sloane set up an elaborate ruse, including the amputation of Emily's finger, to convince the Alliance that she was dead.
Season 2.
Concurrent with his engineering the downfall of The Alliance and SD-6, Sloane went underground, allying with Julian Sark and continuing his obsessive pursuit of Rambaldi artifacts. Emily collaborated secretly with the CIA to expose her husband's new crimes and consented to helping them capture Sloane by wearing a hidden wire but was coaxed by Sloane, during this operation, swaying Emily from her cooperation with the CIA, thus allowing them to foil the CIA's original task. They attempted to flee together, with cover fire from Julian Sark and the help of Sydney's mother, Irina Derevko, (who was stealing a Rambaldi book) to Sloan's awaiting helicopter, but Emily was accidentally shot in the shoulder by the bullet meant for her husband and killed by Marcus Dixon, a former SD-6 agent now with the CIA. In retaliation, Sloane later arranged for Dixon's death by having a bomb placed in his vehicle one night while he and his wife, Diane, were having dinner with Sydney & Vaughn. Dixon & Diane were supposed to be in the same vehicle but ended up driving separate vehicles that night. His wife, who had already gotten into her SUV and was driving away, was killed in the car bomb explosion. At the last minute, Dixon had turned around and was coming back to tell Sydney something, sparing him from seeing the actual explosion.
Season 3.
Between seasons 2 and 3 (the two-year gap where Sydney went missing), Sloane turned himself in to the U.S. government and, in exchange for a full pardon, utilized all of his knowledge to help bring down various terrorist organizations. Sloane then moved to Zurich, Switzerland, setting up a humanitarian organization called Omnifam and apparently becoming a philanthropist, claiming that his research into Rambaldi's secrets led him to one word: peace. Sloane still occasionally worked for the CIA by utilizing his contacts with the Covenant and other organizations, but his motives still elicited suspicion within the government, and particularly from Sydney, who never forgave him for authorizing the murder of her fiancé during the SD-6 days.
In fact, besides the word "peace", the Rambaldi device known as "Il Dire" (The Telling) printed out the DNA pattern for a person Rambaldi called The Passenger. Sloane determined that The Passenger was his daughter with Irina Derevko, a woman named Nadia Santos who was an agent with Argentine intelligence. Sloane abducts her and injects her with a green "Rambaldi fluid" which makes her a "living conduit to Rambaldi". Nadia generates a complex algebraic equation that translates into a longitude and latitude for another Rambaldi artifact, The Sphere of Life. Sloane and Nadia briefly teamed up to recover the Sphere, but Nadia left her father when it appeared his Rambaldi obsession had become madness; she returned to Argentina.
Season 4.
Sloane is subsequently pardoned again and is recruited by the CIA to head up a new black ops division patterned after SD-6, called Authorized Personnel Only (APO). Sloane's first task was to hand-pick the agents he wanted to serve in the APO, choosing Sydney, Jack, Dixon and Vaughn. He later successfully convinced Nadia to join and added Marshall Flinkman and Eric Weiss.
Sloane's biggest challenge as the head of APO was in convincing Sydney, Vaughn, and Marcus that his intentions are genuine. Under orders by CIA superiors to keep close tabs on Sloane, the three agents have on several occasions sparked false alarms as to Sloane's loyalty. Meanwhile, Sloane and Jack have been following an agenda of their own, that appears to be related to the surviving sisters of Irina Derevko.
Late in season four it was revealed there was another man, dubbed "Arvin Clone" and virtually identical to Arvin Sloane in every way, was still tracking down Rambaldi artifacts in Sloane's name and committing numerous criminal acts in the process. "Arvin Clone" (real name Ned Bolger) is blamed for Irina's death by setting her up to appear as if she had contracted an assassin to kill Sydney.
Toward the conclusion of the fourth season, Sloane confesses that through his work with Omnifam, he has seeded water supplies around the world with chemical contaminants designed to make humanity more peaceful. He abandons his post as APO director, apparently to join Elena Derevko's scheme to destroy civilization using the contaminated water in conjunction with the Mueller device. In reality, Sloane is infiltrating Elena's organization in order to stop her endgame but Dixon is seriously wounded when trying to stop Sloane. During the final mission to stop Elena, Sloane aids APO, but in doing so is forced to shoot Nadia (who has been transformed by the chemical contaminants into a killing machine and is strangling Sydney). As the season ends, Sloane is imprisoned by the CIA, but receives an unexpected visit from Sydney, who tells him she believes his motives were good as she arranges for him to visit with his daughter.
Season 5.
During the fifth season, Sloane finds himself at the mercy of turncoat CIA agent Gordon Dean, who runs an SD-6-like criminal organization called "The Shed" on behalf of a larger group called Prophet Five. Dean arranges for Sloane to be released from federal custody, opening the door for Sloane to be reinstated with APO (albeit at a lower rank), which will allow Sloane to search for a cure for Nadia's condition. Dean threatens to undo all this if Sloane doesn't agree to act as a mole within APO.
This arrangement is short-lived as Sloane ultimately refuses to jeopardize the safety of Sydney or the others any longer, and he betrays Dean. Dean is captured by APO, but Sloane soon finds himself becoming beholden to another (as yet unexplained) element of Prophet Five, who holds the key to curing Nadia. This is proven when Nadia briefly regains consciousness. Under the promise of a more permanent cure, Sloane is ordered to kill Dean, which he does. Once again, Sloane is forced to act as a mole within APO on behalf of Prophet Five, with a vague promise of a cure for Nadia. When he attempts to use his new contact to locate Sydney after she is kidnapped, he is asked to make a choice between saving Sydney and saving Nadia.
Ultimately, Sloane continues to work with Prophet Five until they provide him with a cure for Nadia's condition. He administers it, and she is successfully cured. Sloane's relationship with Nadia was always hindered by his obsession with Rambaldi's work (frequently at the expense of her well-being). This tension between his love for Nadia and his fixation upon Rambaldi comes to a head when Nadia demands that he choose between her and Page 47. The severity of his dichotomy was evident as he tearfully begs Nadia, "Please, don't make me choose between the two most important things in my life." When Nadia casts Page 47 into the fireplace, Sloane's obsession takes hold and he throws her out of the way to save it, accidentally killing her when she falls through a glass table.
Following Nadia's death, Sloane realizes that his faith in Rambaldi was all he ever truly had, making the betrayal of his loved ones inevitable. Nadia's death, according to this interpretation, was a necessary sacrifice. Sloane then leaves APO to join Prophet Five and see Rambaldi's work to its conclusion. Sloane subsequently is haunted by an apparition of Nadia, who states she is only appearing because Sloane wants her to be there.
Sloane realized that once his expertise with Rambaldi was no longer necessary to Prophet Five, he would be 'removed' from their services permanently. To this end he convinced Julian Sark and Kelly Peyton to betray Prophet Five and ally with him, having Peyton execute all leaders of Prophet Five and having Sark eliminate APO with high explosives (killing Thomas Grace).
Sloane finally set about achieving his endgame, kidnapping Marshall Flinkman and Rachel Gibson to force them to hack into a satellite network to locate a cavern where he could utilize another Rambaldi artifact, an amulet, to uncover further details towards the fruition of his ultimate goal.
Finally, Sloane's endgame was achieved in Mongolia, in the Tomb of Rambaldi, where Sloane used The Horizon to create a strange hovering sphere from which a reddish liquid drained. However before the purpose of this sphere could be revealed, Sydney intervened, removing The Horizon from its setting and causing the sphere to dissipate. A stand-off ensued and Sloane shot Jack to distract Sydney long enough for Sark to recover The Horizon from her. However, Sloane himself was shot and killed in retaliation by Sydney, one bullet entering his head to confirm a kill.
As Sloane's body collapsed, he fell into a vat of the strange liquid created by The Horizon which imbued with him special gifts, apparently the ultimate revelation of Rambaldi, immortality. Sloane recovered from his bullet wounds and was revived fully intact but was confronted by a dying Jack Bristow. Sloane offered his old friend the chance to be saved in the same rejuvenating liquid but Jack refused. Instead, Jack trapped Sloane in the tomb forever by detonating a powerful explosive and sacrificing himself.
Sloane is currently trapped under large rocks in the tomb, several hundred feet underground and alone but he is alive and seemingly immortal. The Nadia apparition makes one final appearance before vanishing. It is implied that his fate is to spend eternity trapped in this place.
Jacquelyn Sloane.
Thirty years before season 4, Emily Sloane was pregnant with her and Arvin's daughter. They had considered other names, but eventually stuck with Jacquelyn. It is suggested that the baby died during birth. According to Arvin, it was a risky pregnancy and the baby had fought hard to stay with them, but in the end it was overwhelming and her heart was not strong enough.


Department EH

Department Electra House was full name of the wartime office of Department EH, named after its London Office, Electra House and was one of the three British organisations that merged in World War II to form the Special Operations Executive.


Zimbabwean names

Zimbabwean names consist of a first or given name followed by a family name or surname, for example Panashe Mutsipa. The given names are influenced by the culture of the people, religious and Church involvement, and personal tastes. The first names may be in any of the vernacular languages of that country, English names or derived from English words.
Naming customs.
It is a common custom among the Shona and Ndebele people to give baby names based on the circumstances of the family or baby at the time of birth. For example, a family that was recently bereaved may name a new baby Munyaradzi, which means comforter, or Tanyaradzwa, which means we have been comforted.
It also common practice to give names that celebrate virtue such as: Nokutenda (with gratitude); Tatenda (we are grateful); Ruramai (be righteous).
There are also names that praise and worship God, such as: Kudakwashe (the Lord's will); Ruvarashe (the Lord's flower); Nokutenda (associated with faith); Vimbainashe (have faith in the Lord).
Traditionally names were also given that express a parent or family circumstances or feelings regarding the neighbourhood and the community they live in. Such names as: Taurayi (speak out, speak up); Nunurai (rescue or save us); Tendai (be grateful); Tamayi (move
from here).
Examples of unisex names in Zimbabwe
Anashe
Panashe
Tamiranashe
Kunashe
Tanyaradzwa
Who gives names.
Names are typically given by the parents of the child when it is born. However names may also be given by grandparents and other relatives with the parents' consent. Traditionally when a person that is not a parent names a child, that person would pay a token sum of money or gift that allowed them to give a name to a child which is not their own.


In the Mood (film)

In the Mood (also known as "The Woo Woo Kid") is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson. The film is based on the true story of Sonny Wisecarver. Set in the 1940s, the feature stars Patrick Dempsey, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael Constantine, Betty Jinnette, Kathleen Freeman and Peter Hobbs. The film opened on September 16, 1987 in New York City and on September 18, 1987 in Los Angeles, California and Toronto, Canada. When the movie expanded to 361 screens on October 16, 1987, it took in $315,000 in its first three days of wider release.
Plot.
Based on a true story, 14-year-old Sonny Wisecarver, nicknamed the Woo Woo Kid, is a teenage casanova who has an affair with his older neighbor, a 21-year-old mother of two, and then runs off with her to get married. When the law catches up with the pair in Colorado, the pair is returned to California where a judge annuls the marriage. The judge sentences her to three years' probation, orders her to go to a church to obtain "moral training", and she is also ordered to repay the county for the cost of transporting the couple back from Colorado. Sonny was sent to live with an aunt in Northern California, and ordered to stay away from his former wife. After moving back home, Wisecaver meets and runs off with another woman, a 25-year-old mother of two and wife of a decorated soldier, and soon thereafter finds himself before the same judge who ruled him incorrigible and sent him to a youth camp, while she was sentenced to three years' probation for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and fined $250. The public and the media were more fascinated than outraged by Sonny's romantic prowess, with the press nicknaming him the "Compton Casanova," the "Love Bandit" and the "L.A. Lothario." But Life magazine came up with the nickname that stuck: "The Woo Woo Boy, the world's greatest lover."
Production and background.
In 1977, the "Los Angeles Times" ran a story titled “Whatever happened to Sonny Wisecarver”. Screenwriters Bob Kosberg and David Simons decided to write a screenplay about Wisecarver, who sold them the rights to his story for $500, plus seven percent of what they made selling the screenplay. However, Kosberg and Simons were not able to purchase the screen rights from the two women who were romantically involved with Wisecarver, so their names were changed in the script. The pair convinced Peter Bart, who at the time was head of Lorimar Productions to buy the script, but nothing ever became of it.
Seven years later in 1984, "Los Angeles Magazine" ran another “Whatever happened to Sonny Wisecarver” story and this time producers Karen Mack and Gary Adelson thought it would make a good movie. Adelson went to his father, Merv Adelson, a co-founder of Lorimar, eventually learning from his father that Lorimar already owned the rights to the story. Adelson and Mack went to Phil Alden Robinson about writing the screenplay, but Robinson said he wasn't interested because he assumed the movie would be a teen comedy. After reading the article in the "Los Angeles Magazine", Robinson decided he would write the screenplay. As he was writing the screenplay, Robinson also lobbied to direct the movie as a first-time director. The film's working title at that time was The Woo Woo Boy. Robinson stated that every situation that was portrayed in the film actually happened in Sonny's real life; that nothing was made up for the movie. Transcripts from the court proceedings were used verbatim and quotes from newspapers and magazine were copied directly from articles that were published at the time. The time frame was the only aspect of the movie that was fictionalized, which was condensed from two years to six months and Wisecarver's age was changed to fifteen due to the shorter span of time being depicted.
Principal photography began on August 25, 1986. The film was finished in October and had a $7 million budget. San Pedro and Long Beach, California were the principal locations for the film, with additional scenes filmed in Eagle Rock, Mt. Baldy, Echo Park, San Bernardino, Perris and Fillmore, California. "People Magazine" reported in 1987 that the real Sonny Wisecarver made about $14,000 selling the rights to his story. He also had a cameo role in the film as a mailman who proclaimed the Sonny character as a pervert. The original VHS from Lorimar Home Video contained an interview with Wisecarver before the film.
Reception and reviews.
The "Los Angeles Times" wrote in their review that Robinson "brought a light, comic touch to Sonny's misadventures, which makes the puritanical punishments handed down to him, and especially to his women, seem all the more absurd". And additionally, "as a period piece, "In the Mood" is a bit ragged around the edges, lacking the flawless '40s look and feel of the more generously budgeted Swing Shift..."In the Mood" is fun but it could have been sharper". The "New York Times" said in their review that "if the events depicted in "In the Mood" were not in fact based on Sonny's true story, they wouldn't be credible for a second...it reserves its greatest warmth for the era in which the action takes place. And the 1940s are indeed affectionately recreated here, with big-band music, elaborate costumes and well-chosen billboards in the background everywhere".
Film critic Roger Ebert wrote "this kid named Patrick Dempsey is the perfect choice to play Sonny. He's got the wisecracking spirit of one of Neil Simon's autobiographical heroes, but he also has a certain saintly simplicity, a way of not seeing all the things that could go wrong...the movie is comfortably set in its period, the mid-1940s of Roosevelt and rationing, Glenn Miller and Woody Herman, and a national hunger for headlines that were not about the war...the period is established without being allowed to overcome the picture, which finds a gentle offhand way to get its laughs; usually we're laughing, not at punch lines, but at human nature.
Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote "the genial comedy has its funny moments, but overall lacks a knockout punch".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 11 critics.
"In the Mood" opened in theaters on September 16, 1987 with a weekend gross of $45,118 and the film has a domestic total gross of $999,382.


Death of Nawar al-Awlaki

Nawar "Nora" al-Awlaki (; 2008/2009 – 29 January 2017) was an eight-year-old American citizen of Yemeni descent who was killed on January 29, 2017 during the Raid on Yakla, a commando attack ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Conducted in southern Yemen, the raid was an attack on a branch of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Nawar al-Awlaki's death gained national coverage and attention in both mainstream and online media sources. Nawar's grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki said of her killing, “She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours. Why kill children? This is the new U.S. administration - it’s very sad, a big crime.” Nawar died with her mother and uncle by her side. Her alleged last words were, "Don't cry, mama. I'm fine."
Her father, Anwar al-Awlaki, was alleged by the U.S. Government to be an operational leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, although the US government has refused to declassify much of the evidence that led them to this conclusion. Anwar al-Awlaki was killed on September 30, 2011 by a CIA drone attack ordered by President Barack Obama. Two weeks after Anwar's death, Nawar's half-brother, Abdulrahman, was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike.


Matteo Gladig

Matteo Gladig (1880, Triest – 1915, Ljubljana) was an Italian chess master.
Born in Triest (then Austria-Hungary Empire), he won at Triest 1905 ("torneo sociale della Società Scacchistica Triestina"), took 2nd, behind Giovanni Martinolich, at Triest 1909 ("campionato della SST"), and drew a short match with Oldřich Duras (+1 –1 =2) at Triest 1909. He won, ahead of Stefano Rosselli del Turco and Arturo Reggio, at Rome 1911 (unofficial Italian Chess Championship, "V Torneo dell'Unione Scacchistica Italiana").
During World War I, he – as an Austrian citizen of Italian origin – did not want to fight for an Austrian Army on the Italian Front. Finally, he was captured and tried in Laibach (Ljubljana, then Austria-Hungary) where he died.


Mount Darwin West

Mt. Darwin West is a constituency which elects a representative to the Zimbabwe House of Assembly as of the 2008 parliamentary election.
Vice-President Joyce Mujuru was the ZANU-PF candidate at the election. She faced two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidates, Gora Madzudzo from the MDC-T, the formation supporting Morgan Tsvangirai, and Shanya Joseph from the MDC-M, the one supporting Arthur Mutambara.
Both official results released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and those announced by independent/opposition groups indicated that Mujuru won with a large majority.
The following results are the official results.


Bertolt Hoover


Mick Mannock

Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time of his death he had amassed 61 aerial victories, making him the fifth highest scoring pilot of the war.
Mannock was born in 1887 to an English father, Edward Mannock, and an Irish mother. Mannock's father served in the British Army and the family moved to India when Mannock was a small child. Mannock was sickly and developed several ailments in his formative years. Upon his return to England he became a fervent supporter of Irish nationalism and the Irish Home Rule movement but became a member of the Independent Labour Party.
In 1914 Mannock was working as a telephone engineer in Turkey. After the Ottoman Empire's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers he was interned. Mannock was badly treated and soon fell ill. Turkish authorities repatriated him to Britain believing him to be unfit for war service.
Mannock recovered and joined the Royal Engineers and then Royal Army Medical Corps. He moved services again and in 1916 joined Royal Flying Corps (RFC). After completing his training he was assigned to No. 40 Squadron RFC. Mannock went into combat on the Western Front participating three separate combat tours. After a slow start he began to prove himself as an exceptional pilot, scoring his first victory on 7 May 1917.
By February 1918 Mannock had achieved 16 victories and was appointed Flight Commander of No. 74 Squadron. He amassed 36 more victories from 12 April—17 June 1918. After returning from leave Mannock was appointed commanding officer of No. 85 Squadron in July 1918, and scored nine more victories that month. Days after warning fellow ace George McElroy about the hazards of flying low into ground fire, that fate befell Mannock and he was killed in action dogfighting too close to the ground on 26 July 1918.
Mannock was among the most decorated men in the British Armed Forces. He was honoured with the Military Cross twice, was one of the rare three-time recipients of the Distinguished Service Order, and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Early life and education.
Edward Mannock was born on 24 May 1887 to Julia (née Sullivan) and Edward Mannock, of English, Irish and Scottish descent (married on 4 February 1883). Edward was the youngest of three; sister Jessie (b. December 1882) and Patrick (b. March 1886). Edward senior was from a wealthy family. His father was a newspaper editor on Fleet Street and his uncle George Mannock was a friend of the British Royal Family. According to family legend, George had taught the Prince of Wales to play Billiards. Edward senior was a Corporal in the British Army and distinguished himself in the Anglo-Egyptian War at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in 1882. The Mannocks moved to Cork, Ireland in 1887 after his father left the army, and where it is said Edward was born; though this is disputed. In 1893, deeply in debt and exasperated with civilian life, Edward senior re-enlisted and the family moved to Meerut, India in May when Edward junior was five. Soon after arriving in Asia, Edward contracted malaria, narrowly avoiding death.
The young Mannock was a keen sports fan and he enjoyed cricket and football. Unlike some of his contemporaries he despised game hunting, and he kept birds and rabbits. As he grew older he became a keen angler. Mannock did enjoy shooting and used an air gun in target-shooting and he was also a passionate violin player, and was skilled with a variety of other instruments. When the Boer War began Mannock's father was transferred to South Africa where he fought in the 5th Dragoon Guards while the family stayed in India. When the war was over his father sent for the family and they moved to Canterbury in England. Mannock's father was a drunkard and suffered from depression. Two months after settling in England, he abandoned his wife and children and took the family's paltry savings with him.
Edward attended the local school, St. Thomas' and helped support the family with menial jobs. After leaving he was pressured by his mother into joining his brother at the National Telephone Company. After three years his health was affected by the stuffy office conditions and he applied, and was granted, a transfer to the engineering department. Mannock moved to Wellingborough, Northamptonshire in 1911 to take his position. Mannock joined the Territorial Army and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) at this time to keep in touch with his friends from Canterbury at the annual camps. Mannock was promoted to sergeant in 1913. In the spring, he attended a local cricket match and was introduced to Clara Novello Davies, mother of composer Ivor Novello. Mannock was keen to develop his musical talents and was personally tutored by her. Through his local cricket club assumed an interest in politics. He became a political activist, expressed socialist views, was an admirer of Keir Hardie and became the Secretary of the Wellingborough Independent Labour Party in 1912. Mannock remained a staunch supporter of the British Empire but sympathised with the Irish Home Rule movement. He sat as the Honourable Member for Waterford, the seat of John Redmond leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
Mannock applied for a passport at Christmas 1913, and received a stamped copy on 10 January 1914 describing himself as a telegraph and telephone mechanic. The original survives at the RAF Museum in Hendon. On 9 February 1914, he abruptly ended his time in Wellingborough, and boarded a tramp steamer from Tilbury to Constantinople in Turkey to take a position at the "Societe Ottomane des Telephones" (Ottoman Telephone Exchange). In 1914, as war became likely, Mannock and his fellow employees noticed a change in the political climate, and their Turkish hosts became openly hostile and anti-British. At the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914, the country remained neutral. In October 1914 the Turks allied themselves with the Central Powers, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. As an enemy subject he was interned.
Poorly fed and cared for, his health rapidly declined in prison. Dysentery racked his intestines and he was confined to a small cell. One night he managed to escape his cell by squeezing through the narrow confines of its window. Over the next nights, and during his transfer to the prisoners quarters, he forged an exit tunnel which he used on frequent raids to the Turkish Army food stores next-door. One night he was discovered and locked in a concrete box for two weeks. Near death, he was repatriated back to Britain and left Constantinople camp on 1 April 1915. On the two-month journey he contracted malaria once again, surviving the parasite before reaching England via Bulgaria and Greece.
War service.
Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps.
On 22 May 1915 Mannock reported for duty with the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and by July he was sufficiently recovered to join the at his pre-war rank of sergeant. On 25 May he was assigned to the 3rd company, second battalion Home Countries Field Ambulance Service. Upon joining, he found that he had to attend German wounded as well as British and French; something which he found distasteful. Mannock immediately detected apathy in his old service. In his opinion the men lacked enthusiasm for the job of winning the war. He complained bitterly at their half-hearted efforts during practice drills. While there, Mannock attempted to start a branch of the Wellingborough Parliament to instill some patriotism, pride and professionalism but failed. While tending to some wounded soldiers, Mannock sought an audience with his commanding officer. He refused to continue driving ambulances or tending the sick while thousands died in battle and requested a transfer to the Royal Engineers (RE) as an officer cadet. Mannock waited for months and his rank rose from sergeant to sergeant-major. Finally, in March 1916 he was finally granted his transfer after an interview at the local recruitment office in Fenny Stratford.
Mannock was conscious his poor education and lower-class background would put him at a considerable disadvantage in the well-educated and higher-class surroundings of the RE. Mannock's solution to his problem was to throw himself into his work. The method was practical but his insular behaviour was construed as odd. Mannock despised his peers who were uninterested in the war and seemed concerned only with the uniforms, quality tailoring and how it would improve their chances with women. Tired of the banal conversations and lethargy of his comrades, Mannock wanted to leave the RE but realised a second resignation would damage his chances of becoming a commissioned officer.
At the suggestion of a friend – Eric Tomkins – Mannock decided to join the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Mannock was initially reticent, concerned his age and physical condition would hinder him. His early departure from two other services may also have encouraged questions about his reliability. Mannock acquired all the newspapers he could for information on the air war. In so doing, he came across an article on the man who was to have a profound effect on him: Albert Ball. Ball was the first fighter pilot to be given any publicity and his exploits inspired Mannock to transfer. In June Mannock was promoted to second lieutenant and on 14 August 1916 he arrived at the No. 1 School of Military Aeronautics in Reading.
Royal Flying Corps.
Mannock's training began immediately. He received instruction on aerial gunnery, aircraft-rigging, map reading and flight theory. He passed with honours and was sent to Hendon for elementary flying instruction. On 28 November 1916 he received Royal Aero Club (RAeC) certificate 3895. On 5 December he moved to Hounslow to begin training with No. 19 Training Squadron flying the Henry Farman. After completing his course he was moved to the Hythe School of Gunnery on 1 February 1917 for two weeks and then to No. 10 Reserve Squadron at Joyce Green for advanced training. Mannock's instructor, Captain Chapman said of him, " he made his first solo flight with but a few hours' instruction, for he seemed to master the rudiments of flying with his first hour in the air and from then on threw the machine about as he pleased".
At Joyce Green Mannock met Captain James McCudden. McCudden taught Mannock about air fighting. McCudden stressed team tactics and offensive use of the aeroplane. McCudden said of Mannock, "The pupils here during the period of which I write were very good. One I particularly remember was named Mannock. Mannock was a typical example of the impetuous young Irishman, and I always thought he was of the type to do or die." Meredith Thomas also met Mannock at Joyce Green in February 1917. Thomas recalled how they were told not to turn below 2,000 feet in an Airco DH.2 pusher. Mannock did so and got into a spin at , deliberately. He was keen to see if he could recover the aircraft from such an attitude. Mannock stalled the aircraft, purposely, and followed McCudden's advice; allow it to come out of the stall and centralise the controls, apply opposite rudder in the spin and as the spin slows ease the nose down. Mannock had discovered that air combat was a science and could be perfected. Regardless, his actions earned him a rebuke from his commanding officer, Keith Caldwell.
Mannock was somewhat older than his peers in the RFC and had experienced the brutality of war first-hand. Meredith Thomas remembered this earned him a reputation as a serious-minded man. Mannock was inclined to be reserved, but was a good conversationalist, patient and willing to assist others but quick to anger. He masked his hatred of the Turks but the intensity with which he carried out his training was sometimes misunderstood.
First combats.
Confident in his skill, Mannock arrived in France on 31 March 1917 at 40 Squadron headquarters near Aire, Lens. He did not give his new squadron-mates a good first impression. On his first night he inadvertently sat down in the chair of a popular pilot killed that day and proceeded to ask pilots about their personal scores and offer, without invitation, his own views on air combat. Lieutenant Lionel Blaxland recalled; "He seemed a boorish know-all, we all felt the quicker he got amongst the Huns the better; that would show him how little he knew." Mannock flew the squadron's Nieuport 17 scout the following day. As the days passed, he preferred to remain airborne by virtue of his squadron's hostility. The public school boy-dominated squadron detested his "gutter politics" and mannerisms although Mannock was befriended by Irishman Lieutenant de Burgh, of the same ilk. Mannock forged friendships with new pilots. George McElroy arrived in September and became Mannock's protégé.
Mannock had initially to overcome his fear of combat. On 13 April he crossed into no mans land for the first time during the opening days of the Arras offensive and was subjected to German anti-aircraft artillery for the first time. He mishandled his aircraft and dropped out of formation. Subsequent patrols did not abate his fear. A man who performed in such a manner was suspect and he was shunned in the mess. On 19 April 1917, and in view of the entire squadron, Mannock finally won some respect when he landed his aircraft during a firing practice after the lower right wing tore away. Mannock forced himself into the air again and continued to practice. Eventually he adopted the tactic of closing to within 20 or 30 yards to open fire.
On 1 May 1917 40 Squadron escorted four Sopwith 1½ Strutters to the German airfield at Douai—the home of "Jagdstaffel 11" ("Jasta" 11) commanded by Manfred von Richthofen the famed "Red Baron". In the fight he evaded enemy aircraft but could not claim a success. Finally, on 7 May 1917—incidentally the day his inspiration Albert Ball died—he shot down an observation balloon, a respected achievement since the aircraft was heavily defended. 40 Squadron lost a pilot, Captain Nixon to five intercepting Albatros D.IIIs led by Lothar von Richthofen, the former's brother. Despite his growing experience Mannock remained outside the circle of friends in the squadron because of his apparent and initial lack of effort and success. He withdrew from their company and concentrated on improving. Alone, his nervousness disappeared and he made friends and acquaintances, but mostly outside the squadron.
On 7 June he shot down an Albatros D.III for his second victory and on 9 June claimed a reconnaissance aircraft and an Albatros D.V but did not receive credit. On 14 June he was sent home on leave owing to exhaustion and spent two weeks in England. On 12 and 13 July he received credits for a DFW C.V taking his total to four. On the later date he claimed a third DFW but was denied official recognition for lack of witnesses. Mannock went to view his third victory which had fallen in friendly lines. The observer had survived but the pilot was dead. He forced himself to search the wreck and discovered the remains. The sight of a little black terrier mascot—dead in the observer's seat—upset Mannock for days. He wrote in his diary, "I felt exactly like a murderer."
On 19 July Mannock was awarded the Military Cross (MC), which was published in the "London Gazette" on 17 September when the citation included successes he achieved in the intervening period. He received the personal congratulations of the AOC (Air Officer Commanding) Hugh Trenchard upon receiving his award at Béthune.
On 28 July Mannock reported an Albatros D.V and two balloons shot down but these also went uncredited. On that day Mannock engaged a purple Albatross DV and claimed hits on the enemy leader. This may well have been "Jagdstaffel" 12 commanding officer Adolf Ritter von Tutschek. Joachim von Bertrab was taken prisoner of war on 12 August when forced down behind British lines for Mannock's 6th victory. Bertrab's fighter caught fire but his close proximity to the ground (1,000 ft) enabled him to make a controlled landing and escape the fire with a fractured left arm and wounds to the right arm and leg. Mannock also made two further uncredited claims in his combat report but they were not even marked as uncredited in official sources. An RFC communique announced he been credited with only one victory this day.
During the Third Ypres campaign Mannock increased in piloting stature. In August he shot down five Albatros D.V and a DFW C.V plus one uncredited Albatros. He tally had reached nine victories and had passed the threshold of five required to become a fighter ace. In September he shot down six more enemy aircraft including a Rumpler C.I or Rumpler C.III and five DFW D.Vs raising his tally to 15. All of these enemies were felled in a Nieuport 23.
Mannock made only one claim on 25 September, his last for 1917. The combat report for that day describes an incident in which he fired on an enemy reconnaissance aircraft at 16,000 ft but ran out of ammunition. The machine's propeller stopped but it glided eastward. Another was fired on this day and dived toward German lines apparently damaged. Mannock made no claim for these combats. Biographer Norman Franks suggests his total may have been slightly higher than official figure of 61.
Mannock's practice sessions had paid off. After one victory, he wrote, "My man gave me an easy mark. I was only ten yards away from him—on top so I couldn't miss! A beautifully coloured insect he was—red, blue, green, yellow. I let him have 60 rounds at that range, so there wasn't much left of him."
No. 74 Squadron.
In early October 1917, Mannock returned to England on leave as the battle at Ypres descended into stalemate. While on leave on 18 October 1917 he was awarded the bar to the Military Cross. As a consequence of his vacation he missed the Battle of Cambrai which began on 20 November 1917. Mannock was, however, present for other developments. On 23 November the squadron began to convert to the S.E.5. Piloting his personal mount, "B4884", he damaged the fighter when force landing after engine trouble at Dainville. Mannock's morale seemed high. He wrote to his sister on 21 November after returning to France, "Hope all is well in Birmingham. Plenty of work for the airmen and plenty of casualties. Am doing special air work by myself now. A big feather in my cap. Am expecting the D.S.O soon, but may get a white cross instead. Who cares anyway. PS, I have got 16 Huns down to date."
The S.E.5 carried two guns. A .303 calibre Lewis gun was mounted on the top wing, positioned to fire outside the propeller arc. The weapon was drum-fed and could be pulled down to replenish the magazine. It could also be adjusted, in flight, to fire vertically at an enemy that was positioned above. The other was a belt–fed Vickers machine gun, also of .303 calibre which was mounted on top of the fuselage over the engine and its cowling. The weapon's fire could pass through the propeller arc by virtue of interrupter gear. The 200 horse power Hispano-Suiza 8 engine was troublesome but the machine could reach 118 mph at 10,000 ft in level flight. Mannock's first success in the S.E.5 nearly came on 9 December but the enemy Albatros escaped when his guns jammed. On New Year's Day 1918 Mannock scored his first victory in the S.E.5—it was his 16th and last with 40 Squadron. The crew were killed when the Hannover CL.III crashed. When he landed, Mannock was promptly dispatched back to England the following day.
Before departing France, Mannock met with McElroy, Jones and McCudden and they took a car to Boulogne. Mannock's reputation had spread well beyond the confines of his squadron and mechanics, junior officers and comrades lined the road to form an honour guard as he drove away. In Boulogne Mannock stopped at a hospital to bid farewell to an Irish nurse called Murphy; whether the two were involved in a relationship is unknown. In January Mannock toured England, visiting London, Birmingham, and Northampton to rest with family.
Mannock visited Biggin Hill, an aerodrome situated on high ground near Croydon. At the time this was used for carrying out wireless experiments under Major H T B Childs. It is not known if Mannock participated in these tests. Save for one Sopwith Pup, the aerodrome had no aircraft for some time until 141 Squadron took residence with Bristol F.2 Fighters to protect against Zeppelin and Gotha G.V air raids. The squadron arrival coincided with Mannock's posting to 74 Squadron at London Colney. The formation was formed in July 1917 at Northolt as a Training Depot Squadron (TDS) and then Training Squadron (TS). It was seen fit to promote the unit to combat operations and give Mannock a position of senior flight commander in February 1918.
In March 1918 74 was sent to France equipped with S.E.5s at a time when most RFC squadrons operated Sopwith Camels. Mannock respected the S.E.5 but preferred to have both of the machine guns firing through the propeller arc and situated in front of the pilot on the engine cowling. Some squadrons, including 85—whom Mannock commanded later—were scheduled to be equipped with the Sopwith Dolphin but losses compelled operating squadrons to maintain the old Camels for ease of replacement. Commanding officer of 74 Squadron, Keith Caldwell, appointed Mannock as a senior flight commander. Mannock immediately began training the inexperienced squadron combat patrol tactics. Mannock's well known phrase became the squadron's mantra: "Gentlemen, always above; seldom on the same level; never underneath."
On 27 March, one week after the beginning of the German spring offensive, Operation Michael, the squadron was ordered to Goldhanger, Essex and put on standby. On 30 March Mannock was ordered to Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée. On 1 April 1918—the day the Royal Air Force (RAF) came into being—it was moved to Teteghem near Dunkirk. A week later they transferred to La Lovie, west of Ypres. On 11 April the unit flew to Clairmarias east of Saint Omer. Twenty-four hours later, Mannock downed two Albatros D.Vs for is 17th and 18th victories. It was possible that "Jasta" 29 were 74's opponents. Losses are difficult to determine as German sources recorded losses only in personnel, not aircraft. On this day six were killed, one captured and two wounded. "Vizfeldwebel" Gilbert Wagner was killed on 12 April in the vicinity of the battle.
Under his command A Flight scored many successes. Among the growing list of aces were Henry Eric Dolan and George McElroy. Mannock's own score increased to 20 by the end of the month. On 23 and 29 April he downed a Pfalz D.III and Fokker D.VI. "Leutnant" Ludwig Vortmann of "Jasta" 2 became Mannock's 20th victory.
Mannock was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 9 May 1918. The recommendation for the DSO was not signed by the King until two months after Mannock's death. This month Mannock nearly doubled his tally from 21 to 41. On 12 May he accounted for a trio of fighters—two Albatros D.Vs and a Pfalz D.III but the squadron lost Henry Eric Dolan. Mannock lamented his loss. Mannock again achieved two victories on 17 May. On 21 May in dogfights around Ypres he downed four enemies including three Pfalz D.IIIs; one in the morning patrol and three in the evening patrol within the space of five minutes. Two more confirmed victories on 26 and 29 May inflated his tally to 41. On the later date Mannock received the Bar to his DSO.
Commanding No. 85 Squadron.
74 Squadron had begun to make a name for itself in 1917. It boasted several aces; commanding officer Keith Caldwell, Andrew Kiddie, Benjamin Roxburgh-Smith and James Ira Thomas Jones were some of the squadron's highest achievers.
On 1 June 1918, east of Merville, 74 Squadron engaged "Jasta" 7 and "Jasta" 52, led by Paul Billik. Billik shot down and killed William Cairnes, who became the German ace's 19th victory. Cairnes had reached the threshold of five victories only two days earlier on 30 May. Incidentally, Billik had also accounted for Mannock's old squadron commander, Major L. A Tilney, on 9 March. Mannock attacked with his flight from above and in front of the German squadrons and downed three Pfalz D.III in the air battle.
Over the next eight days Mannock achieved double victories on 6, 9 and 16 June. He noted the position as "28 J 30 C 3 5". On the evening of 6 June Mannock wrote home to his family that he now had 51 victories. (Mannock acknowledged in his letter that only 47 of his claims were officially recognised.) On 16 June 1918 he surpassed the 50–mark and ended the day of operations on 51 recognized aerial victories. At this time Mannock was the highest scoring pilot from the British Isles still on active operations, since the departure of James McCudden in February. As of this date, only McCudden and Manfred von Richthofen had shot down more aircraft than Mannock. The following morning Mannock accounted for another enemy aircraft on an offensive patrol. The German reconnaissance machine was Mannock's 52nd and final victory with 74 Squadron.
On 18 June 1918 Mannock was sent to England on leave. He travelled to Birmingham to visit his mother. The visit was not an easy one as she had become an alcoholic. On this visit family friends reported on his state of mind. Mannock broke down on one occasion and seemed full of nervous tension. This was possibly due to combat fatigue. Commander Caldwell noted Mannock never took time off unless it was officially scheduled leave and he never reported sick, but saw no signs that Mannock was about to crack-up. Mannock also did not want a command and preferred to remain on operations with 74 Squadron. As a senior flight commander Mannock never showed weakness in front of his men.
Mannock took command of No. 85 Squadron RAF on 5 July 1918. The morale of the unit was different to that of 74 Squadron. The former commanding officer, Billy Bishop, did not develop into a patrol leader, nor had he encouraged that method of command that was now expected. The squadron boasted several fighter aces: Alec Cunningham-Reid, Spencer B. Horn, Malcolm C. McGregor and Walter H. Longton. Mannock had a cadre of experienced pilots to build his leadership around.
Mannock scored his first enemy aircraft with 85 Squadron on 7 July when he downed two Fokker D.VII fighters in the same fight for his 53rd and 54th victories. Two days later he learned that McCudden had been killed in an accident which was a bitter blow to Mannock. On 14 July Mannock scored his 55th victory and claimed another on 19 July. On the late morning of 20 July 1918 Mannock accounted for a reconnaissance aircraft and two Fokker D.VII fighters in the same battle. A Fokker Dr.I on 22 July took Mannock's personal tally to 60.
On 20 July, at a farewell luncheon for his friend "Noisy" Lewis, Mannock took their mutual friend George McElroy aside to counsel him on the hazards of following a German victim down within range of ground fire.
Death.
On 26 July, Major Mannock offered to help a new arrival, Lt. Donald C. Inglis from New Zealand, obtain his first victory. After shooting down an enemy LVG two-seater behind the German front-line, Mannock is believed to have dived to the crash site to view the wreckage, seemingly breaking one of the unwritten rules of fellow pilots. In consequence, while crossing the trenches the fighters were met with a massive volley of ground-fire. The engine of Mannock's aircraft was hit and immediately caught fire, and shortly thereafter the plane crashed behind German lines. Mannock's body is believed to have been found, though this is unproven, about 250 yards (250m) from the wreck of his machine, perhaps thrown, perhaps jumped. The body showed no gunshot wounds, and Mannock had vowed to shoot himself if shot down in flames. The BBC "Timewatch" programme "WW1 Aces Falling" details the search to prove whether or not that this body was that of Mannock. Inglis described what happened:
Memorials and tributes.
The exact cause of Mannock's death remains uncertain. A year later, after intensive lobbying by Ira Jones and many of Mannock's former comrades, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Mannock's body was not subsequently recovered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), so officially he has no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Royal Flying Corps Memorial to the Missing at the Faubourg d'Amiens CWGC Cemetery in Arras. There is also a memorial plaque in honour of Mannock in Canterbury Cathedral.
Mick Mannock's name is listed on the Wellingborough War Memorial with the other fallen men from the town and the local Air Training Corps unit bears his name – 378 (Mannock) Squadron. Additionally, a residential street in Wellingborough is named after Major Mannock: Mannock Road. Wellingborough's Waendel Walk Beer Festival will, in 2014, be featuring "Flyer" Pale Ale, with a pump clip reading "Brewed to commemorate Major Mick Mannock VC, Wellingborough's Own Flying Ace".
On 24 June 1988 a plaque was unveiled at 183 Mill Road, Wellingborough by top scoring World War 2 British fighter pilot Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson. Mannock had lived at that address prior to the War after being befriended by the Eyles family.
Between November 1968 and January 2001, Vickers VC10 C1K XV103 was named 'Edward Mannock VC' in commemoration of Mannock. This scroll was transferred to VC10 K3 ZA149 after 2001, and to ZA147 in March 2013 upon the retirement of XV103 and ZA149 respectively. ZA147 was retired in September 2013.
In 2009, one of the last photographs ever taken of Mannock was discovered in Northern France. The photograph was found in an old album belonging to a French farmer whose land had been used by the Royal Air Force during the summer of 1918. The photograph shows Mannock in RAF uniform. He is standing on a farm track holding a walking stick and gloves with his right hand. His left hand rests on the shoulder of a dark-haired young French girl.
In a BBC "Timewatch" programme entitled "WWI Aces Falling", broadcast on 21 March 2009, researchers suggested that the unidentified remains of a British airman recovered soon after the war from a temporary grave near Mannock's crash site and reburied in Plot III, Row F, Grave #12 of Laventie CWGC war cemetery, could be those of Mick Mannock.
A pencil drawing, reputed to be of Mannock, was discovered rolled and hidden in a wing by a team restoring a First World War-era aircraft on behalf of Peter Jackson.
List of air victories.
Mannock is officially credited with 61 victories: 1 balloon destroyed, 3 (and 2 shared) captured, 30 (and 5 shared) destroyed, 17 (and 3 shared) "out of control" in an itemised list of his approved claims (as seen below).
There was a posthumous attempt by former 74 Squadron comrade and fellow ace Ira Jones to credit his old friend with 73 victories and therefore the top scoring British Empire ace. However research suggests that assertion was faulty. Some of the 73 accredited by Jones to Mannock and published in full by James Dudgeon in 1981, appear duplicated in error, misdated, shared claims, or unconfirmed claims.
Confirmed victories are numbered; unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c".
Award citations.
Military Cross citation:
Distinguished Service Order citation:
Distinguished Service Order citation to First Bar:
Distinguished Service Order citation to Second Bar:
Victoria Cross citation:
Mannock's Victoria Cross was presented to his father at Buckingham Palace in July 1919. Edward Mannock was also given his son's other medals, even though Mick had stipulated in his will that his father should receive nothing from his estate. Soon afterwards, Mannock's medals were sold for £5. They have since been recovered and are now owned by Lord Ashcroft; they are on loan to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. The Death Plaque was sold by his niece in September 2014 for £26,400 to a private buyer.
References.
Notes
Citations
Bibliography


Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Northwestern China

The Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Northwestern China was a counter-guerrilla/counter-insurgency campaign the People's Liberation Army (PLA) fought against the Nationalist guerrilla force let in Mainland China.
The Nationalist forces mainly consisted of irregular forces and Nationalist Revolutionary Army troops left behind after the nationalist government fled to Taiwan. The campaign was fought in the northwestern China, and resulted in victory for the People's Republic of China.
Strategies.
Nationalist miscalculations.
When the Nationalists left mainland China, they enlisted the assistance of local forces to fight the PLA. According to Chinese historians, a large segment of these forces were actually bandits. The Nationalist government felt that if the bandits succeed in weakening the PLA , it would help the nationalists counterattack from Taiwan to retake China. The local population feared and hated these men for their depredations. As a result, it pushed more people to support the PLA.
A second miscalculation was in accepting assistance from warlords. After collaborating with the Japanese Imperial Army during the Japanese Occupation of China, these men had surrendered to the nationalist camp. The presence of warlords served to alienate other Nationalist factions who resented their collaboration with the Japanese and doubted their willingness to fight. However, the Nationalists had no real choice but to enlist the warlords in the war effort. As with the bandits, the warlords had little popular support.
The third miscalculation was in the Nationalists evacuate their best army units to Taiwan. The troops left behind were the less disciplined second rate and undisciplined third rate troops, both of which mostly consisted of warlords' troops. These troops had no training and little motivation to fight an insurrection. Compounding the problem, due to the need of bandits' knowledge of local area, they were often rewarded with higher ranks than the nationalist troops d. As a result, the Nationalist troops lacked any willingness to work with the bandits they once attempted to exterminate, Similarly, the bandits lacked the similar willingness and attempted to expend those nationalist troops whenever they could in order to save their own skin.
The fourth strategic miscalculation was a lack of financial support by the Nationalist government. The government provided arms and little else. That provided an added incentive for the bandits and other forces to steal supplies and money from the local population, further increasing their anger. The lack of money also eroded support for the Nationalists from their allies, the wealthy landowners and businessmen. This group had little interest in working with bandits who had robbed and killed within their group for generation.
The final miscalculation was over the inability to agree on a war strategy among the coalition. The military men wanted to fight a total war against the enemy that involved destroying supplies, infrastructure and production capabilities. In contrast, the landowners/businessmen and the bandits did not want to cause the destruction of valuable property. They believed that it was possible to defeat the PLA without these measures in a few years, allowing them to reclaim assets that the People's Republic had seized. This basic disagreement over strategy weakened the Nationalist coalition.
PLA strategies.
According to Chinese historians, the PLA strategy was to mobilize the entire population to fight the Nationalist coalition. Additional strategies were devised specifically to fit the local situation .
Order of battle.
Nationalists: over 90,000, including nearly 20,000 regular troops of Ma clique.
PLA: a quarter million troop in 38 divisions, including:
Campaign.
After dozens of battles occurred from October to December 1949, the Nationalists were driven to the remote regions of China. As a result, they adopted more guerrilla tactics. There were a total of 67 bandit groups in Gansu, over 40 bands in Shaanxi, and several bands in Xinjiang. In Qinghai, more nationalist regular troops existed, soldiers of Ma clique. In November 1949, the PLA launched a campaign to eradicate bandits completely.
From January 1950 to July 1950, attacks on the bandits were carried out by the northwestern military region on multiple fronts. From the beginning of January to the end of February, the 55th Division of the PLA 19th Army, the Ankang Independent Regiment of Shaanxi Military Region, and troops of Hanzhong Military Sub-region defeated the bandits headed by Wang Lingyun (王凌云) in southern Shaanxi.
From mid January to mid March 1950, the 1st Division of the PLA 1st Army, the 11th and 12th Division of its 2nd Army, troops of Shaanxi Yulin Military Sub-region, and the 5th Cavalry Division defeated bands of bandits, including those headed by Gao huaixiong (高怀雄) and Zhang Tingzhi (张廷芝) in northern Shaanxi, bandits headed by Ma Yinggui (马英贵) and Ma Zhengzhong (马镇中) in Gansu, bandits headed by Ma Xiancheng (马成贤) and Mao Laowu (马老五) in Qinghai, and bandits headed by Ma Shaowu (马绍武) in Ningxia.
From mid April to the end of July 1950, the PLA 2nd, 5th and 6th Armies drove into Xinjiang, destroying bandit bases in the region of the Greater and Lesser Salt Cedar Valleys (大小红柳峡) and Black Mountain (黑山头). From May to July, The PLA destroyed the bandits headed by Ma Yuanshan (马元山) and Ma Baoyuan (马保元) in Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu. In May 1950, the communists changed tactics by assigning selected regions for particular military formation for bandit eradication and by the end of July 1950, over seventy thousands bandits had been kieeld.
From August 1950 to the end of 1952, further operations were launched against smaller bands of bandits which totaled over 10,000 in 212 bands. Most of these bandits operated in the border regions of provinces. During the Korean War, these bandits became more active supposedly under the commands of airdropped nationalist agents.
From August 1950, the PLA 6th Cavalry Division, 7th Infantry Division, and troops from the Pingliang and Qingyang Military Sub-Districts totaling more than 15,000 begun their operation against the more than a dozen bands of bandits headed by chieftains including Guo Shuanzi (郭栓子), Ma Yanbiao (马彦彪), Ma Guoyuan (马国援) and others in Xiji (西吉), Longde (隆德), Helan Mountains and Hexi Corridor regions. After one year and eight months, the 2,000 bandits in the regions were killed.
From late January 1951 to March 1951, cavalry regiments and camel cavalry regiments of the PLA 1st Army, 2nd Army, 3rd Army and 4th Army led by Huang Xinting (黄新廷), augmented by the 27th Infantry Regiment , defeated bandits headed by Uzman and Hussein in Chaidamu Basin (柴达木盆地). In May 1952, the PLA 1st Army augmented by 8 regiments of the Qinghai Military District defeated bandits headed by Xiang Qian (项谦) in Guideangla (贵德昂拉) region of Qinghai after a 17-day long operation. During this stage, nearly 10,000 bandits surrendered and over 5,800 were killed.
In December 1952, there was a conference on further deployment of PLA troops in Northwestern Military Region to completely eradicate the nationalist guerrilla / insurgents in the region. A total of 126 companies totaling more than 19,000 soldiers were deployed. Five regiments and a battalion of Southwestern Military Region was also mobilized to support the effort, which was completed successfully with killing 1,600 bandits headed by Ma Liang (马良) and Ma Yuaxiang (马元祥) in the border region of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu. Meanwhile, over 3,700 bandits in Xinjiang were also annihilated.
Conclusion.
By July 1953, the campaign ended in PLA victory. Over 90,900 nationalist guerrilla /insurgents had been killed, captured or surrendered. In addition, the PLAalso captured over 80 artillery pieces and over 35,000 firearms.
Outcome.
Although sharing the common anticommunist goal, the nationalist guerrilla and insurgency warfare was largely handicapped by the enlistment of bandits, many of whom had fought and killed nationalist troops earlier in the eradication / pacification campaign, and also looted, kidnapped and even killed landlords and business owners, an important faction that supported the nationalist government, but now must united against the common enemy, which is half-hearted at the best. Compounding the problem further with additional differences within the ranks of the nationalist guerillas themselves,
Another important contributor to the nationalist failure was the lack of a unified command. Although the nationalists were under the command of the nationalist government in Taiwan, the troops only took orders from their old masters, the Ma clique. With the command thousands miles away, there was not any effective control and orders were often ignored. The distant headquarters also meant that it lack the intelligence and situation awareness in time and thus could not devise combat plans effectively in a timely manner, even if orders had been carried out to the fullest.


Los archivos del cardenal

Los archivos del cardenal ("The Archives of the Cardinal") is a Chilean TV series that premiered on 21 July 2011 on Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) and was based on the human rights defense work carried out by the Vicariate of Solidarity during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990). The first season had 12 episodes, achieving an audience rating of 17.5 points for its first chapter. The last episode of the season got 8.0 points, and was broadcast live at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights before more than 2,000 people in a giant screen projection.
After sweeping the 2012 Altazor Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor), its director announced the renewal of the series for a second season. This one, which consists of 12 episodes, was released on Sunday, 9 March 2014, achieving an average of 6.5 points, but generating discomfort among the cast and crew due to its filming schedule.
Plot.
"Los archivos del cardenal" is a work of fiction, but it is based on real events.
The series tells the story of lawyer Ramón Sarmiento (Benjamín Vicuña) and social worker Laura Pedregal (), both workers of the Vicariate of Solidarity, an organization founded by Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez and whose mission was to advise families of the victims of human rights abuses during the Chilean military dictatorship which existed between 1973 and 1990. In this institution, the social assistants had the task of receiving persecuted politicians and their relatives, especially of the disappeared detainees. Subsequently, the lawyers had the job of filing "recurso de amparo" legal actions that were aimed at protecting people.
The first season of the series starts with Ramón Sarmiento, a lawyer and member of a high class family who had suffered the expropriation of his haciendas during the agrarian reform under the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva. Investigating the appearance of bones on a farm near his own, Sarmiento meets Laura Pedregal, who works at the Vicariate with her father, Carlos Pedregal (Alejandro Trejo). Together they begin to get involved in the stories of those persecuted by the security agents of the dictatorship, such as the Central Nacional de Informaciones, under the direction of the vicar Cristián (Francisco Melo), a role inspired by the story of priest Cristián Precht.
Origin.
The original idea belongs to , whose father was an external lawyer of the Vicariate of Solidarity. After reading the three volumes of the book "Chile: La memoria prohibida" (1989), written by Eugenio Ahumada, Augusto Góngora and Rodrigo Atria – one of the first documents about the human rights violations that occurred during the dictatorship and prior to the Rettig Report – she realized that the testimonies, due to their intensity and drama, could perfectly become chapters of a series.
Investigation of the actual events.
The series is fiction, but it is based on real events. The Center for Research and Publications (CIP) of Diego Portales University's Faculty of Communication and Literature seeks to rescue, through the website "Los Casos de la Vicaría", those real cases and some of the protagonists, as well as accounting for how the events were covered by the mainstream media of the time.
Reception.
The president of National Renewal, Carlos Larraín, took advantage of a meeting of the expanded political committee that was held at La Moneda Palace to express his annoyance over the TVN broadcast of "Los archivos del cardenal".
He added: "How interesting would have been a TV series of what would have happened if the admirers of Lenin, Stalin, and Fidel Castro had asserted themselves in power."
The day after the premiere, the National Renewal deputy put a hard question to TVN following the exhibition of "Los archivos del cardenal".
Regarding the series, Cardemil expressed in his column:
The PPD deputy referred to the criticisms of his colleague Cardemil, saying that "a country without memory has no future." The son of trade unionist , murdered by state agents in 1982, he also responded to the criticism of the deputy RN:
Soundtrack.
To promote the series, a music video was produced of the group Los Bunkers, who interpret the central theme of "Los archivos del cardenal". The song "Santiago de Chile" by Silvio Rodríguez was composed in 1975 and is part of Los Bunkers' tribute album to the Cuban singer-songwriter, "", which they play other compositions from when the episodes end.
Season 1.
Cultural event at the Museum of Memory.
On 13 October 2011, at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, the filmmaking team of the series joined with a large number of people, members of human rights organizations, to show the last chapter of the series' first season. Before the screening, a letter of greeting was read by Estela Ortiz, widow of , one of the three murdered professionals, a former official of the Vicariate of Solidarity, whose case inspired the last chapter. The director Nicolás Acuña was present to thank the filmmaking team and the actors. The singer Manuel García closed the day, who together with the musician interpreted the songs "Déjame pasar la vida" and "Te recuerdo Amanda" by Víctor Jara.
In attendance was the daughter of José Manuel Parada, Javiera, who before the last chapter of the series, said: "It is very difficult to see events that marked my life, which meant the end of my childhood, which meant a break in my family from which one does not recover, but at the same time it is very exciting to see it in a Chile that is making changes today." Deputy Tucapel Jiménez Fuentes, son of union leader Tucapel Jiménez Alfaro, whose case was recreated in one of the chapters, commented on the meaning of this series for a sector of citizens: "There are people who lived through these years of dictatorship and horror and forgot, and there are people who lived those years and never believed what they were living through in Chile. So for them I think it's important." Also present was the former president of the , Viviana Díaz, who praised "the contribution that Televisión Nacional is making to the recovery of memory in our country. It's very important. I think that this series will help young people who did not live through this hard and difficult time in our country, to get to know it."
Book and DVD launch at the Museum of Memory.
On 15 December 2011, at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, the DVD of the first season of the series was launched along with the book "Los archivos del Cardenal: Casos Reales", which brings together 18 investigations carried out by School of Journalism of Diego Portales University (UDP) in collaboration with CIPER on the facts and the work of the Vicariate of Solidarity that inspired the series broadcast by TVN. The book and the DVD were presented by UDP rector Carlos Peña and the director of the Centro de Estudios Públicos (CEP), Arturo Fontaine Talavera, as well as director Nicolás Acuña and journalist Andrea Insunza, who headed the Casos de los Archivos del Cardenal project. The team that created the articles compiled in the book was directed by Andrea Insunza and Javier Ortega, both UDP researchers, and depended on the participation of CIPER director Mónica González and the journalists Francisca Skoknic, Juan Cristóbal Peña, Alejandra Matus, and Ana María Sanhueza. In addition, students Daniel Arrieta, Javiera Matus, and Jordan Jopia joined the investigations.
2012 Altazor Awards.
"Los archivos del Cardenal" received Altazor Awards in the categories of Audiovisual Arts, Television: Direction, corresponding to Nicolás Acuña and Juan Ignacio Sabatini; Screenplay for the team formed by Josefina Fernández, Nona Fernández, and Luis Emilio Guzmán; Best Actress for Daniela Ramírez; and Best Actor for Alejandro Trejo.
Season 2.
The second season of the series begins with the reunion of Laura and Ramón 15 months after the end of the first season. Ramón has taken the role that Carlos Pedregal left at the Vicariate of Solidarity, now counting on the help of two new lawyers, Andrea and Javier. Monica begins to demand justice in the case of her husband, a case that must be investigated by a judge (Judge Varela played by Francisco Reyes). This role is inspired by Judge José Canóvas who investigated the Degollados case, as well as Judge Carlos Cerda. Vicario's new role was assumed by the actor José Secall, who for the years in which this second season takes place is inspired by the work of vicar Sergio Valech. The second season consists of 12 episodes. On Sunday, 25 May 2014, the last chapter of the second season was presented. It was two episodes that were broadcast the same day, in a follow-up. This chapter had 6.2 units of average online rating, a figure that was below the 11.6 points achieved in the first season.
Book and DVD launch at the Santiago Book Fair.
On 8 November 2014, at the Santiago International Book Fair, the DVD of the second season of the series was launched along with the book "Los archivos del Cardenal 2: Casos Reales", which gathered the journalistic investigations carried out by the investigative team of the "Casos Vicaría" website. The book and DVD were presented by the TVN press director Alberto Luengo and the Jesuit priest Felipe Berrios. The editors of this investigation are journalists Andrea Insunza and Javier Ortega.