title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The mean inclination of the lunar orbit to the ecliptic plane is 5.145°. Theoretical considerations show that the present inclination relative to the ecliptic plane arose by tidal evolution from an earlier near-Earth orbit with a fairly constant inclination relative to Earth's equator. It would require an inclination of this earlier orbit of about 10° to the equator to produce a present inclination of 5° to the ecliptic. It is thought that originally the inclination to the equator was near zero, but it could have been increased to 10° through the influence of planetesimals passing near the Moon while falling to the Earth. If this had not happened, the Moon would now lie much closer to the ecliptic and eclipses would be much more frequent.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The rotational axis of the Moon is not perpendicular to its orbital plane, so the lunar equator is not in the plane of its orbit, but is inclined to it by a constant value of 6.688° (this is the obliquity). As was discovered by Jacques Cassini in 1722, the rotational axis of the Moon precesses with the same rate as its orbital plane, but is 180° out of phase "(see Cassini's Laws)". Therefore, the angle between the ecliptic and the lunar equator is always 1.543°, even though the rotational axis of the Moon is not fixed with respect to the stars. It also means that when the moon is farthest north of the ecliptic, the centre of the part we see is about 6.7° south of the lunar equator and the south pole is visible, whereas when the moon is farthest south of the ecliptic the centre of the visible part is 6.7° north of the equator and the north pole is visible. This is called libration in latitude.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The nodes are points at which the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic. The Moon crosses the same node every 27.2122 days, an interval called the "draconic month" or "draconitic month". The line of nodes, the intersection between the two respective planes, has a retrograde motion: for an observer on Earth, it rotates westward along the ecliptic with a period of 18.6 years or 19.3549° per year. When viewed from the celestial north, the nodes move clockwise around Earth, opposite to Earth's own spin and its revolution around the Sun. An Eclipse of the Moon or Sun can occur when the nodes align with the Sun, roughly every 173.3 days. Lunar orbit inclination also determines eclipses; shadows cross when nodes coincide with full and new moon when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in three dimensions.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: In effect, this means that the "tropical year" on the Moon is only 347 days long. This is called the draconic year or eclipse year. The "seasons" on the Moon fit into this period. For about half of this draconic year, the Sun is north of the lunar equator (but at most 1.543°), and for the other half, it is south of the lunar equator. Obviously, the effect of these seasons is minor compared to the difference between lunar night and lunar day. At the lunar poles, instead of usual lunar days and nights of about 15 Earth days, the Sun will be "up" for 173 days as it will be "down"; polar sunrise and sunset takes 18 days each year. "Up" here means that the centre of the Sun is above the horizon. Lunar polar sunrises and sunsets occur around the time of eclipses (solar or lunar). For example, at the Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016, the Moon was near its descending node, and the Sun was near the point in the sky where the equator of the Moon crosses the ecliptic. When the Sun reaches that point, the centre of the Sun sets at the lunar north pole and rises at the lunar south pole.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The solar eclipse of September 1 of the same year, the Moon was near its ascending node, and the Sun was near the point in the sky where the equator of the Moon crosses the ecliptic. When the Sun reaches that point, the centre of the Sun rises at the lunar north pole and sets at the lunar south pole.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Every 18.6 years, the angle between the Moon's orbit and Earth's equator reaches a maximum of 28°36′, the sum of Earth's equatorial tilt (23°27′) and the Moon's orbital inclination (5°09′) to the ecliptic. This is called "major lunar standstill". Around this time, the Moon's declination will vary from −28°36′ to +28°36′. Conversely, 9.3 years later, the angle between the Moon's orbit and Earth's equator reaches its minimum of 18°20′. This is called a "minor lunar standstill". The last lunar standstill was a minor standstill in October 2015. At that time the descending node was lined up with the equinox (the point in the sky having right ascension zero and declination zero). The nodes are moving west by about 19° per year. The Sun crosses a given node about 20 days earlier each year.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: When the inclination of the Moon's orbit to the Earth's equator is at its minimum of 18°20′, the centre of the Moon's disk will be above the horizon every day from latitudes less than 70°43' (90° − 18°20' – 57' parallax) north or south. When the inclination is at its maximum of 28°36', the centre of the Moon's disk will be above the horizon every day only from latitudes less than 60°27' (90° − 28°36' – 57' parallax) north or south.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: At higher latitudes, there will be a period of at least one day each month when the Moon does not rise, but there will also be a period of at least one day each month when the Moon does not set. This is similar to the seasonal behaviour of the Sun, but with a period of 27.2 days instead of 365 days. Note that a point on the Moon can actually be visible when it is about 34 arc minutes below the horizon, due to atmospheric refraction.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Because of the inclination of the Moon's orbit with respect to the Earth's equator, the Moon is above the horizon at the North and South Pole for almost two weeks every month, even though the Sun is below the horizon for six months at a time. The period from moonrise to moonrise at the poles is a tropical month, about 27.3 days, quite close to the sidereal period. When the Sun is the furthest below the horizon (winter solstice), the Moon will be full when it is at its highest point. When the Moon is in Gemini it will be above the horizon at the North Pole, and when it is in Sagittarius it will be up at the South Pole.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The Moon's light is used by zooplankton in the Arctic when the Sun is below the horizon for months and must have been helpful to the animals that lived in Arctic and Antarctic regions when the climate was warmer.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: About 1000 BC, the Babylonians were the first human civilization known to have kept a consistent record of lunar observations. Clay tablets from that period, which have been found over the territory of present-day Iraq, are inscribed with cuneiform writing recording the times and dates of moonrises and moonsets, the stars that the Moon passed close by, and the time differences between rising and setting of both the Sun and the Moon around the time of the full moon. Babylonian astronomy discovered the three main periods of the Moon's motion and used data analysis to build lunar calendars that extended well into the future. This use of detailed, systematic observations to make predictions based on experimental data may be classified as the first scientific study in human history. However, the Babylonians seem to have lacked any geometrical or physical interpretation of their data, and they could not predict future lunar eclipses (although "warnings" were issued before likely eclipse times).


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Ancient Greek astronomers were the first to introduce and analyze mathematical models of the motion of objects in the sky. Ptolemy described lunar motion by using a well-defined geometric model of epicycles and evection.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Sir Isaac Newton was the first to develop a complete theory of motion, mechanics. The observations of the lunar motion were the main test of his theory.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: There are several different periods associated with the lunar orbit. The sidereal month is the time it takes to make one complete orbit around Earth with respect to the fixed stars. It is about 27.32 days. The synodic month is the time it takes the Moon to reach the same visual phase. This varies notably throughout the year, but averages around 29.53 days. The synodic period is longer than the sidereal period because the Earth–Moon system moves in its orbit around the Sun during each sidereal month, hence a longer period is required to achieve a similar alignment of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. The anomalistic month is the time between perigees and is about 27.55 days. The Earth–Moon separation determines the strength of the lunar tide raising force.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The draconic month is the time from ascending node to ascending node. The time between two successive passes of the same ecliptic longitude is called the tropical month. The latter periods are slightly different from the sidereal month.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The average length of a calendar month (a twelfth of a year) is about 30.4 days. This is not a lunar period, though the calendar month is historically related to the visible lunar phase.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The gravitational attraction that the Moon exerts on Earth is the cause of tides in both the ocean and the solid Earth; the Sun has a smaller tidal influence. The solid Earth responds quickly to any change in the tidal forcing, the distortion taking the form of an ellipsoid with the high points roughly beneath the Moon and on the opposite side of Earth. This is a result of the high speed of seismic waves within the solid Earth.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: However the speed of seismic waves is not infinite and, together with the effect of energy loss within the Earth, this causes a slight delay between the passage of the maximum forcing due to the Moon across and the maximum Earth tide. As the Earth rotates faster than the Moon travels around its orbit, this small angle produces a gravitational torque which slows the Earth and accelerates the Moon in its orbit.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: In the case of the ocean tides, the speed of tidal waves in the ocean is far slower than the speed of the Moon's tidal forcing. As a result, the ocean is never in near equilibrium with the tidal forcing. Instead, the forcing generates the long ocean waves which propagate around the ocean basins until eventually losing their energy through turbulence, either in the deep ocean or on shallow continental shelves.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Although the ocean's response is the more complex of the two, it is possible to split the ocean tides into a small ellipsoid term which affects the Moon plus a second term which has no effect. The ocean's ellipsoid term also slows the Earth and accelerates the Moon, but because the ocean dissipates so much tidal energy, the present ocean tides have an order of magnitude greater effect than the solid Earth tides.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Because of the tidal torque, caused by the ellipsoids, some of Earth's angular (or rotational) momentum is gradually being transferred to the rotation of the Earth–Moon pair around their mutual centre of mass, called the barycentre. See tidal acceleration for a more detailed description.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: This slightly greater orbital angular momentum causes the Earth–Moon distance to increase at approximately 38 millimetres per year. Conservation of angular momentum means that Earth's axial rotation is gradually slowing, and because of this its day lengthens by approximately 24 microseconds every year (excluding glacial rebound). Both figures are valid only for the current configuration of the continents. Tidal rhythmites from 620 million years ago show that, over hundreds of millions of years, the Moon receded at an average rate of per year (2200 km or 0.56% or the Earth-moon distance per hundred million years) and the day lengthened at an average rate of 12 microseconds per year (or 20 minutes per hundred million years), both about half of their current values.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The present high rate may be due to near resonance between natural ocean frequencies and tidal frequencies. Another explanation is that in the past the Earth rotated much faster, a day possibly lasting only 9 hours on the early Earth. The resulting tidal waves in the ocean would have then been much shorter and it would have been more difficult for the long wavelength tidal forcing to excite the short wavelength tides.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The Moon is gradually receding from Earth into a higher orbit, and calculations suggest that this would continue for about 50 billion years. By that time, Earth and the Moon would be in a mutual spin–orbit resonance or tidal locking, in which the Moon will orbit Earth in about 47 days (currently 27 days), and both the Moon and Earth would rotate around their axes in the same time, always facing each other with the same side. This has already happened to the Moon—the same side always faces Earth—and is also slowly happening to the Earth. However, the slowdown of Earth's rotation is not occurring fast enough for the rotation to lengthen to a month before other effects change the situation: approximately 2.3 billion years from now, the increase of the Sun's radiation will have caused Earth's oceans to evaporate, removing the bulk of the tidal friction and acceleration.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The Moon is in synchronous rotation, meaning that it keeps the same face toward Earth at all times. This synchronous rotation is only true on average because the Moon's orbit has a definite eccentricity. As a result, the angular velocity of the Moon varies as it orbits Earth and hence is not always equal to the Moon's rotational velocity which is more constant. When the Moon is at its perigee, its orbital motion is faster than its rotation. At that time the Moon is a bit ahead in its orbit with respect to its rotation about its axis, and this creates a perspective effect which allows us to see up to eight degrees of longitude of its eastern (right) far side. Conversely, when the Moon reaches its apogee, its orbital motion is slower than its rotation, revealing eight degrees of longitude of its western (left) far side. This is referred to as "optical libration in longitude".


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The Moon's axis of rotation is inclined by in total 6.7° relative to the normal to the plane of the ecliptic. This leads to a similar perspective effect in the north–south direction that is referred to as "optical libration in latitude", which allows one to see almost 7° of latitude beyond the pole on the far side. Finally, because the Moon is only about 60 Earth radii away from Earth's centre of mass, an observer at the equator who observes the Moon throughout the night moves laterally by one Earth diameter. This gives rise to a "diurnal libration", which allows one to view an additional one degree's worth of lunar longitude. For the same reason, observers at both of Earth's geographical poles would be able to see one additional degree's worth of libration in latitude.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Besides these "optical librations" caused by the change in perspective for an observer on Earth, there are also "physical librations" which are actual nutations of the direction of the pole of rotation of the Moon in space: but these are very small.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: When viewed from the north celestial pole (i.e., from the approximate direction of the star Polaris) the Moon orbits Earth anticlockwise and Earth orbits the Sun anticlockwise, and the Moon and Earth rotate on their own axes anticlockwise.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The right-hand rule can be used to indicate the direction of the angular velocity. If the thumb of the right hand points to the north celestial pole, its fingers curl in the direction that the Moon orbits Earth, Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon and Earth rotate on their own axes.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: In representations of the Solar System, it is common to draw the trajectory of Earth from the point of view of the Sun, and the trajectory of the Moon from the point of view of Earth. This could give the impression that the Moon orbits Earth in such a way that sometimes it goes backwards when viewed from the Sun's perspective. However, because the orbital velocity of the Moon around Earth (1 km/s) is small compared to the orbital velocity of Earth about the Sun (30 km/s), this never happens. There are no rearward loops in the Moon's solar orbit.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: Considering the Earth–Moon system as a binary planet, its centre of gravity is within Earth, about or 73.3% of the Earth's radius from the centre of the Earth. This centre of gravity remains on the line between the centres of the Earth and Moon as the Earth completes its diurnal rotation. The path of the Earth–Moon system in its solar orbit is defined as the movement of this mutual centre of gravity around the Sun. Consequently, Earth's centre veers inside and outside the solar orbital path during each synodic month as the Moon moves in its orbit around the common centre of gravity.


title: Orbit of the Moon

text: The Sun's gravitational effect on the Moon is more than twice that of Earth's on the Moon; consequently, the Moon's trajectory is always convex (as seen when looking Sunward at the entire Sun–Earth–Moon system from a great distance outside Earth–Moon solar orbit), and is nowhere concave (from the same perspective) or looped. That is, the region enclosed by the Moon's orbit of the Sun is a convex set.


title: Stillbirth

text: Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term is in contrast to miscarriage, which is an early pregnancy loss, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, where the baby dies a short time after being born alive.


title: Stillbirth

text: Often the cause is unknown. Causes may include pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and birth complications, problems with the placenta or umbilical cord, birth defects, infections such as malaria and syphilis, and poor health in the mother. Risk factors include a mother's age over 35, smoking, drug use, use of assisted reproductive technology, and first pregnancy. Stillbirth may be suspected when no fetal movement is felt. Confirmation is by ultrasound.


title: Stillbirth

text: Worldwide prevention of most stillbirths is possible with improved health systems. Around half of stillbirths occur during childbirth, with this being more common in the developing than developed world. Otherwise, depending on how far along the pregnancy is, medications may be used to start labor or a type of surgery known as dilation and evacuation may be carried out. Following a stillbirth, people are at higher risk of another one; however, most subsequent pregnancies do not have similar problems. Depression, financial loss, and family breakdown are known complications.


title: Stillbirth

text: Worldwide in 2019, there were an estimated 2.0 million stillbirths that occurred after 28 weeks of pregnancy (about 1 for every 72 births). They occur most commonly in low income settings, particularly the Middle east and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States, for every 167 births there is one stillbirth. Stillbirth rates have declined, though more slowly since the 2000s.


title: Stillbirth

text: As of 2016, there is no international classification system for stillbirth causes. The causes of a large percentage of stillbirths is unknown, even in cases where extensive testing and an autopsy have been performed. A rarely used term to describe these is "sudden antenatal death syndrome", or SADS, a phrase coined in 2000. Many stillbirths occur at full term to apparently healthy mothers, and a postmortem evaluation reveals a cause of death in about 40% of autopsied cases.


title: Stillbirth

text: A pregnant woman sleeping on her back after 28 weeks of pregnancy may be a risk factor for stillbirth.


title: Stillbirth

text: After a stillbirth there is a 2.5% risk of another stillbirth in the next pregnancy (an increase from 0.4%).


title: Stillbirth

text: It is unknown how much time is needed for a fetus to die. Fetal behavior is consistent and a change in the fetus' movements or sleep-wake cycles can indicate fetal distress. A decrease or cessation in sensations of fetal activity may be an indication of fetal distress or death, though it is not entirely uncommon for a healthy fetus to exhibit such changes, particularly near the end of a pregnancy when there is considerably less space in the uterus than earlier in pregnancy for the fetus to move about. Still, medical examination, including a nonstress test, is recommended in the event of any type of any change in the strength or frequency of fetal movement, especially a complete cease; most midwives and obstetricians recommend the use of a kick chart to assist in detecting any changes. Fetal distress or death can be confirmed or ruled out via fetoscopy/doptone, ultrasound, and/or electronic fetal monitoring. If the fetus is alive but inactive, extra attention will be given to the placenta and umbilical cord during ultrasound examination to ensure that there is no compromise of oxygen and nutrient delivery.


title: Stillbirth

text: Some researchers have tried to develop models to identify, early on, pregnant women who may be at high risk of having a stillbirth.


title: Stillbirth

text: There are a number of definitions for stillbirth. To allow comparison, the World Health Organization uses the ICD-10 definitions and recommends that any baby born without signs of life at greater than or equal to 28 completed weeks' gestation be classified as a stillbirth. The WHO uses the ICD-10 definitions of "late fetal deaths" as their definition of stillbirth. Other organisations recommend that any combination of greater than 16, 20, 22, 24 or 28 weeks gestational age or 350 g, 400 g, 500 g or 1000 g birth weight may be considered a stillbirth.


title: Stillbirth

text: The term is often used in distinction to live birth (the baby was born alive, even if it died shortly thereafter) or miscarriage (early pregnancy loss). The word miscarriage is often used incorrectly to describe stillbirths. The term is mostly used in a human context; however, the same phenomenon can occur in all species of placental mammals.


title: Stillbirth

text: When the umbilical cord is constricted (q.v. "accidents" above), the fetus experiences periods of hypoxia, and may respond by unusually high periods of kicking or struggling, to free the umbilical cord. These are sporadic if constriction is due to a change in the fetus' or mother's position, and may become worse or more frequent as the fetus grows. Extra attention should be given if mothers experience large increases in kicking from previous childbirths, especially when increases correspond to position changes.


title: Stillbirth

text: Regulating high blood pressure, diabetes and drug use may reduce the risk of a stillbirth. Umbilical cord constriction may be identified and observed by ultrasound, if requested.


title: Stillbirth

text: Some maternal factors are associated with stillbirth, including being age 35 or older, having diabetes, having a history of addiction to illegal drugs, being overweight or obese, and smoking cigarettes in the three months before getting pregnant.


title: Stillbirth

text: Fetal death "in utero" does not present an immediate health risk to the pregnant woman, and labour will usually begin spontaneously after two weeks, so the pregnant woman may choose to wait and bear the fetal remains vaginally. After two weeks, the pregnant woman is at risk of developing blood clotting problems, and labor induction is recommended at this point. In many cases, the pregnant woman will find the idea of carrying the dead fetus traumatizing and will elect to have labor induced. Caesarean birth is not recommended unless complications develop during vaginal birth. How the diagnosis of stillbirth is communicated by healthcare workers may have a long-lasting and deep impact on parents. People need to heal physically after a stillbirth just as they do emotionally. In Ireland, for example, people are offered a 'cuddle cot', a cooled cot which allows them to spend a number of days with their child before burial or cremation.


title: Stillbirth

text: In single stillbirths, common practice is to induce labor for the health of the mother due to possible complications such as exsanguination. Induction and labor can take 48 hours. In the case of various complications such as preclampsia, infections, multiples(twins), emergency Cesarean may occur.


title: Stillbirth

text: The average stillbirth rate in the United States is approximately 1 in 160 births, which is roughly 26,000 stillbirths each year. In Australia, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the rate is approximately 1 in every 200 births; in Scotland, 1 in 167. Rates of stillbirth in the United States have decreased by about two-thirds since the 1950s.


title: Stillbirth

text: The vast majority of stillbirths worldwide (98%) occur in low and middle-income countries, where medical care can be of low quality or unavailable. Reliable estimates calculate that, yearly, about 2.6 million stillbirths occur worldwide during the third trimester. Stillbirths were previously not included in the Global Burden of Disease Study which records worldwide deaths from various causes until 2015.


title: Stillbirth

text: The way people view stillbirths has changed dramatically over time; however, its economic and psychosocial impact is often underestimated. In the early 20th century, when a stillbirth occurred, the baby was taken and discarded and the parents were expected to immediately let go of the attachment and try for another baby. In many countries, parents are expected by friends and family members to recover from the loss of an unborn baby very soon after it happens. Societally-mediated complications such as financial hardship and depression are among the more common results. A stillbirth can have significant psychological effects on the parents, notably causing feelings of guilt in the mother. Further psycho-social effects on parents include apprehension, anger, feelings of worthlessness and not wanting to interact with other people, with these reactions sometimes carried over into pregnancies that occur after the stillbirth. Men also suffer psychologically after stillbirth, although they are more likely to hide their grief and feelings and try to act strong, with the focus on supporting their partner.


title: Stillbirth

text: In Australia, stillbirth is defined as a baby born with no signs of life that weighs more than 400 grams, or more than 20 weeks in gestation. They legally must have their birth registered.


title: Stillbirth

text: In Austria, a stillbirth is defined as a birth of a child of at least 500g weight without vital signs, e.g. blood circulation, breath or muscle movements.


title: Stillbirth

text: Beginning in 1959, "the definition of a stillbirth was revised to conform, in substance, to the definition of fetal death recommended by the World Health Organization". The definition of "fetal death" promulgated by the World Health Organization in 1950 is as follows:


title: Stillbirth

text: In Germany, a stillbirth is defined as the birth of a child of at least 500g weight without blood circulation or breath. Details for burial vary amongst the federal states.


title: Stillbirth

text: Since 1 January 1995, stillbirths occurring in the Republic of Ireland must be registered; stillbirths that occurred before that date can also be registered but evidence is required. For the purposes of civil registration, s.1 of the Stillbirths Registration Act 1994 refers to "...a child weighing at least 500 grammes, or having reached a gestational age of at least 24 weeks who shows no signs of life."


title: Stillbirth

text: In the Netherlands, stillbirth is defined differently by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Dutch Perinatal Registry (Stichting PRN). The birth and mortality numbers from the CBS include all livebirths, regardless of gestational duration, and all stillbirths from 24 weeks of gestation and onwards. In the Perinatal Registry, gestational duration of both liveborn and stillborn children is available. They register all liveborn and stillborn children from 22, 24 or 28 weeks of gestation and onwards (dependent on the report: fetal, neonatal or perinatal mortality). Therefore, data from these institutions on (still)births can not simply be compared one-on-one.


title: Stillbirth

text: The registration of stillbirths has been required in England and Wales from 1927 and in Scotland from 1939 but is not required in Northern Ireland. Sometimes a pregnancy is terminated deliberately during a late phase, for example due to congenital anomaly. UK law requires these procedures to be registered as "stillbirths".


title: Stillbirth

text: For the purposes of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926 (as amended), section 12 contains the definition:A similar definition is applied within the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (as amended), contained in s.41.


title: Stillbirth

text: The above definitions apply within those Acts thus other legislation will not necessarily be in identical terms.


title: Stillbirth

text: s.2 of the 1953 Act requires that registration of a birth takes place within 42 days of the birth except where an inquest takes place or the child has been "found exposed" in which latter case the time limit runs from the time of finding.


title: Stillbirth

text: Extracts from the register of stillbirths are restricted to those who have obtained consent from the Registrar General for England and Wales.


title: Stillbirth

text: Section 56(1) of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 (as amended) contains the definition:s.21(1) of the same Act requires that:In the general case, s.14 of the Act requires that a birth has to be registered within 21 days of the birth or of the child being found.


title: Stillbirth

text: Unlike the registers for births, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths, the register of still-births is not open to public access and issue of extracts requires the permission of the Registrar General for Scotland.


title: Stillbirth

text: In Northern Ireland, the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, as amended contains the definition:Registration of stillbirths can be made by a relative or certain other persons involved with the stillbirth but it is not compulsory to do so. Registration takes place with the District Registrar for the Registration District where the still-birth occurred or for the District in which the mother is resident. A stillbirth certificate will be issued to the registrant with further copies only available to those obtaining official consent for their issue. Registration may be made within three months of the still-birth.


title: Stillbirth

text: In the U.S., the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 specifies that any breathing, heartbeat, pulsating umbilical cord or confirmed voluntary muscle movement indicate live birth rather than stillbirth.


title: Stillbirth

text: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects statistical information on "live births, fetal deaths, and induced termination of pregnancy" from 57 reporting areas in the United States. Each reporting area has different guidelines and definitions for what is being reported; many do not use the term "stillbirth" at all. The federal guidelines suggest (at page 1) that fetal death and stillbirth can be interchangeable terms. The CDC definition of "fetal death" is based on the definition promulgated by the World Health Organization in 1950 (see section above on Canada). Researchers are learning more about the long term psychiatric sequelae of traumatic birth and believe the effects may be intergenerational


title: Stillbirth

text: The federal guidelines recommend reporting those fetal deaths whose birth weight is over 12.5 oz (350 g), or those more than 20 weeks gestation. Forty-one areas use a definition very similar to the federal definition, thirteen areas use a shortened definition of fetal death, and three areas have no formal definition of fetal death. Only 11 areas specifically use the term 'stillbirth', often synonymously with late fetal death; however, they are split between whether stillbirths are "irrespective of the duration of pregnancy", or whether some age or weight constraint is applied. A movement in the U.S. has changed the way that stillbirths are documented through vital records. Previously, only the deaths were reported. However, 27 states have enacted legislation that offers some variation of a birth certificate as an option for parents who choose to pay for one. Parents may not claim a tax exemption for stillborn infants, even if a birth certificate is offered. To claim an exemption, the birth must be certified as live, even if the infant only lives for a very brief period.


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: The Watcher is an American mystery thriller television series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. It premiered on October 13, 2022. It is loosely based on a 2018 article for "New York" "The Cut" by Reeves Wiedeman. Despite being originally conceived as a miniseries, in November 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: The series follows the true story of a married couple who, after moving into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, are harassed by letters signed by a stalker who goes by the pseudonym "The Watcher".


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: The series is based on a 2018 article for "New York" "The Cut" by Reeves Wiedeman, which chronicled the experience of Derek and Maria Broaddus after they received threatening letters upon moving into their home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey in 2014, which continued until they sold the home in 2019. The character John Graff was based on John List, a mass murderer and longtime fugitive who murdered his family in his Westfield home in 1971. Similarities between John Graff's character and the List murders include his career as an accountant, attending Lutheran church, and murdering his family members and live-in mother, along with leaving music playing in the house and planning an alibi that would cause the bodies to remain undiscovered for several weeks.


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: On-location scenes for the home at 657 Boulevard were filmed at a private residence in Rye, New York that was built in 2016. The scenes where the Brannock family stays at a motel were filmed at an operating motel located in the hamlet of Locust Valley on Long Island, New York.


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: While no scenes were filmed at the real-life 657 Boulevard residence in Westfield, the neighborhood received increased attention from visitors and fans following the release of the series; the home was guarded by police and barricade tape to prevent trespassers in October 2022.


title: The Watcher (2022 TV series)

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 52% approval rating with an average rating of 5.3/10, based on 29 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "This suburban nightmare sometimes achieves the campy fright of creator Ryan Murphy's best horror fare, but it sprawls in too many ludicrous directions to satisfy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: Sadistic personality disorder was a personality disorder defined by a pervasive pattern of sadistic and cruel behavior. People with this disorder were thought to have desired to control others. It was believed they accomplish this through the use of physical or emotional violence. This diagnosis appeared in an appendix of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-III-R). The later versions of the DSM (DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR, and DSM-5) do not include it. It was removed as psychiatrists believed it would be used to legally excuse sadistic behavior.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: Sadistic personality disorder was defined by a pervasive pattern egosyntonic of sadistic behavior. Individuals possessing sadistic personalities tend to display recurrent aggression and cruel behavior. People with this disorder will use violence and aggression in an attempt to control and dominate others. When others refuse to submit to their will, they will increase the level of violence they use. Many sadists will verbally and emotionally abuse others rather than physically, purposefully manipulating others through the use of fear or shaming and humiliating others. Some people with this disorder will not abuse others, but will instead display a preoccupation with violence. This disorder was thought to be caused by childhood trauma or being raised in by a family where one spouse is abused. Sadistic personality disorder was considered more common in men than women.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: Sadistic personality disorder was thought to have been frequently comorbid with other personality disorders, primarily other types of psychopathological disorders. In contrast, sadism has also been found in patients who do not display any or other forms of psychopathic disorders. Conduct disorder in childhood, and Alcohol use disorder were thought to have been frequently comorbid with Sadistic personality disorder. Researchers had difficulty distinguishing sadistic personality disorder from the other personality disorders due to its high levels of comorbidity with other disorders.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: According to the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria Sadistic personality disorder is defined by a pervasive pattern of sadistic and cruel behavior that begins in early adulthood. It was defined by four of the following.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: This behavior must not be better explained by sexual sadism disorder and it must be directed towards more than one person.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: Theodore Millon claimed there were four subtypes of sadism, which he termed "enforcing sadism", "explosive sadism", "spineless sadism", and "tyrannical sadism".


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: Sadistic personality disorder was developed as forensic psychiatrists had noticed many patients with sadistic behavior. It was introduced to the DSM in 1987 and it was placed in the DSM-III-R as a way to facilitate further systematic clinical study and research. It was removed from the DSM for numerous reasons. Sadistic personality disorder also shared a high rate of comorbidity with other disorders, implying that it was not a distinct disorder on its own. Millon writes that "Physically abusive, sadistic personalities are most often male, and it was felt that any such diagnosis might have the paradoxical effect of legally excusing cruel behavior." Researchers were also concerned about the stigmatizing nature of the disorder, and that it put patients at higher risk of abuse from prison guards. Theorists like Theodore Millon wanted to generate further study on SPD, and so proposed it to the DSM-IV Personality Disorder Work Group, who rejected it.


title: Sadistic personality disorder

text: There is renewed interest in studying sadism as a personality trait. Sadism joins with subclinical psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism to form the so-called "dark tetrad" of personality.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Conversion to Judaism (, "giyur") is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In some cases, a person may forgo a formal conversion to Judaism and adopt some or all beliefs and practices of Judaism. However, without a formal conversion, most Jews will reject a convert's Jewish status.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: There are some groups that have adopted Jewish customs and practices. For example, in Russia the Subbotniks have adopted most aspects of Judaism without formal conversion to Judaism. However, if Subbotniks, or anyone without a formal conversion, wish to marry into a traditional Jewish community or immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return, they must have a formal conversion.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The word "ger" comes from the Hebrew verb "lagur" () meaning "to reside" or "to sojourn [with]." In the Hebrew Bible "ger" is defined as a "foreigner," or "sojourner." Rabbi Marc Angel writes:


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Angel's explanation of the literal meaning of ""ger"" as alien is borne out in biblical verses such as :


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Another passage which may be relevant to a process of conversion involves non-Jewish women captured in war who could be adopted forcibly as wives (). Another verse which has been interpreted as referring to non-Jews converting to Judaism is Esther 8:17, although no process is described. ().


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A male convert to Judaism is referred to by the Hebrew word "ger" (, plural "gerim") and a female convert is a "giyoret". In all branches of Judaism, a ger or giyoret is considered a full Jew; the literal meaning of "stranger," "resident," or "foreigner" refers to the convert's origin, not present status. In Karaite Judaism the term "ger" only refers to a non-Jew who has yet to fully convert to Judaism, and once converted to Karaitism, is no longer called "ger".


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In the Talmud, "ger" is used in two senses: "ger tzedek" refers to a "righteous convert," a proselyte to Judaism, and "ger toshav", a non-Jewish inhabitant of the Land of Israel who observes the Seven Laws of Noah and has repudiated all links with idolatry. In Modern Hebrew, the unqualified term "ger" means "ger tzedek".


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: According to Maimonides ("Isurei Biah" 13:14), converts were accepted since the beginning of Jewish history, and the foreign wives of Jewish leaders - such as Samson and Solomon - were converts. Yet he says ("Isurei Biah" 13:15), that in the times of Jewish political power, such as the days of Kings David and Solomon, "Batei Dinim" (Jewish courts) did not accept converts who may have not had the right intention, and they had to wait and prove their intentions to be legally accepted.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: With the notable exception of some Syrian Jewish communities (primarily the Brooklyn, New York and Deal, New Jersey communities), all mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts, with all denominations accepting converts converted by their denominations. The rules vary between denominations, as does acceptance of some denominations' converts by other denominations.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: For Rabbinic Judaism, the laws governing conversion ("gerut") are based on codes of law and texts, including discussions in the Talmud, through the Shulkhan Arukh and subsequent interpretations. (Many of the guidelines of accepting converts are based on the Book of Ruth and the manner whereby Ruth was brought into the fold through her mother-in-law, Naomi). These rules are held as authoritative by Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Within Orthodoxy it is commonly understood that Halacha somewhat discourages proselytizing, and religious "gerut" is somewhat discouraged. The majority of rabbis reject potential converts three times, and if the potential convert remains adamant in their desire to convert, the rabbi will then allow them to begin the process. These practices do not have any solid basis in the written text, and while they may have been the practice in some locations, it was not universal, and a number of rabbis have not followed these practices.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In order to convert, the conversion candidate must have a circumcision (males) and immerse in the "mikveh" before a kosher "beth din", comprising three Jewish males who are shomer Shabbat. There is also a requirement to accept the commandments (although not necessarily a commitment to keep the mitzvot), although without this step there are many authorities who will accept the conversion as valid. In the past it is likely that conversions happened like this, and were decentralized, and universally accepted once performed.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Today, the process has become more centralized, with the conversion candidate having to convince a rabbi and the beth din of their sincerity, and there will usually be a considerable amount of study. They will then be tested and formally accepted, the convert is issued with a "Shtar geirut" ("Certificate of Conversion"). As the conversion process becomes more centralized there are only a limited number of permanent conversion courts that are 'acceptable' to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: However, there are a number of rabbis who are willing to conduct decentralized conversions, and are recognized by each other. Two of the more prominent of these rabbis are Chuck Davidson and Haim Amsalem.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Conservative Judaism takes a more lenient approach in application of the "halakhic" rules than Modern Orthodox Judaism. Its approach to the validity of conversions is based on whether the conversion procedure followed rabbinic norms, rather than the reliability of those performing it or the nature of the obligations the convert undertook. Accordingly, it may accept the validity of some Reform and Reconstructionist conversions, but only if they include immersion in a ritual bath (mikvah), appearance before a rabbinical court (beit din) and, for men, circumcision ("brit milah") or a symbolic circumcision for those already circumcised ("hatafat dam brit").


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The requirements of Reform Judaism for conversions are different. The denomination states that "people considering conversion are expected to study Jewish theology, rituals, history, culture and customs, and to begin incorporating Jewish practices into their lives. The length and format of the course of study will vary from rabbi to rabbi and community to community, though most now require a course in basic Judaism and individual study with a rabbi, as well as attendance at services and participation in home practice and synagogue life."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Although an infant conversion might be accepted in some circumstances (such as in the case of adopted children or children whose parents convert), children who convert would typically be asked if they want to remain Jewish after reaching religious adulthood – which is 12 years of age for a girl and 13 for a boy. This standard is applied by Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, which accept halakha as binding.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Reconstructionist Judaism values the symbolism of the conversion ritual, and encourages those who were not born of Jewish parents and who wish to convert to undergo this rite of passage. The Reconstructionist course of study for a prospective convert, which is determined by the rabbi and congregation the individual is working with, includes history, observance and beliefs, and learning how to make educated choices. The completion of the process is marked by ritual immersion for men and women; circumcision or hatafat dam brit (symbolic drop of blood) for men (unless there exists an extraordinary physical or emotional hazard); a Bet Din (a dialogue with three knowledgeable Jews, at least one of whom is a rabbi), and often a public welcoming ceremony.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Karaite Judaism does not accept Rabbinic Judaism and has different requirements for conversion. Traditionally non-proselytizing, Karaite Judaism's long standing abstention from conversions was recently lifted. On 1 August 2007, the Karaites reportedly converted their first new members in 500 years. At a ceremony in their Northern California synagogue, ten adults and four minors swore fealty to Judaism after completing a year of study. This conversion comes 15 years after the Karaite Council of Sages reversed its centuries-old ban on accepting converts.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The Amoraim who produced the Talmud set out three requirements for a conversion to Judaism (Keritot 8b), which must be witnessed and affirmed by a "beth din hedyot" rabbinical court composed of three Jewish males above the age of thirteen (they do not need to be rabbis):


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The consensus of "halakhic" authorities also requires a convert to understand and accept the duties of the classical Jewish law. This is not stated explicitly in the Talmud, but was inferred by subsequent commentators.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: After confirming that all these requirements have been met, the beth din issues a "Certificate of Conversion" ("Shtar Giur"), certifying that the person is now a Jew.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on circumcision of proselytes, in the 1st century CE, before the Mishnah was edited, the requirement for circumcision of proselytes was an open issue between the zealots and liberal parties in ancient Israel. R. Joshua argued that besides accepting Jewish beliefs and laws, a prospective convert to Judaism must undergo immersion in a "mikveh". In contrast, R. Eliezer makes circumcision a condition for the conversion. A similar controversy between the Shammaites and the Hillelites is given regarding a proselyte born without a foreskin: the former demanding the spilling of a drop of blood symbolic of the Brit Milah, thereby entering into the covenant; the latter declaring it to be unnecessary.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In discussions about the necessity of circumcision for those born of a Jewish mother, lending some support to the need for circumcision of converts, the Midrash states: "If thy sons accept My Godhead [by undergoing circumcision] I shall be their God and bring them into the land; but if they do not observe My covenant in regard either to circumcision or to the Sabbath, they shall not enter the land of promise" (Midrash Genesis Rabbah xlvi). "The Sabbath-keepers who are not circumcised are intruders, and deserve punishment" (Midrash Deut. Rabbah i).


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: However, the opposing view is supported in the Babylonian Talmud by Joshua ben Hananiah: "A male convert who has been immersed but not circumcised, or circumcised but not immersed, is a convert." Note this view is later rejected by the Talmud.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Flavius Josephus in Jewish Antiquities Book 20 Chapter 2 recorded the story of King Izates of Adiabene who decided to follow the Law of Moses at the advice of a Jewish merchant named Ananias. He was going to get circumcised, but his mother, Helen, who herself embraced the Jewish customs, advised against it on the grounds that the subjects would not stand to be ruled by someone who followed such "strange and foreign rites." Ananias likewise advised against it, on the grounds that worship of God was superior to circumcision (Robert Eisenman in "James the Brother of Jesus" claims that Ananias is Paul of Tarsus who held similar views, although this is a novel interpretation lacking support in mainstream scholarship) and that God would forgive him for fear of his subjects. So Izates decided against it. However, later, "a certain other Jew that came out of Galilee, whose name was Eleazar," who was well versed in the Law, convinced him that he should, on the grounds that it was one thing to read the Law and another thing to practice it, and so he did. Once Helen and Ananias found out, they were struck by great fear of the possible consequences, but as Josephus put it, God looked after Izates. As his reign was peaceful and blessed, Helen visited the Jerusalem Temple to thank God, and since there was a terrible famine at the time, she brought much food and aid to the people of Jerusalem.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The requirements for conversions vary somewhat within the different branches of Judaism, so whether or not a conversion is recognized by another denomination is often an issue fraught with religious politics. The Orthodox rejection of non-Orthodox conversions is derived less from qualms with the conversion process itself, since Conservative and even some Reform conversions are very similar to Orthodox conversions with respect to duration and content, but rather from that the Orthodox presumption that convert was not properly instructed in Jewish Law to Orthodox Jewish standards.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In general, immersion in the "mikveh" is an important part of a traditional conversion. If the person who is converting is male, circumcision is a part of the traditional conversion process as well. If the male who is converting has already been circumcised, then a ritual removal of a single drop of blood will take place ("hatafat dam brit"). However, more liberal branches of Judaism have a more relaxed requirement of immersion and circumcision.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Someone who converts as a minor (younger than 12 for a girl and 13 for a boy) is required to fulfill the requirements of conversion, that is circumcision and mikvah, but are not required to perform an 'acceptance of the mitzvoth'. The conversion instead is done "al daat beth din", the acceptance is done by the Beth Din presiding over the conversion.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The child lives as a Jew until their bar/bat mitzvah and they then have the option of rejecting their conversion. Once they have accepted to continue as a Jew the conversion can no longer be rejected.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In the United States, Reform Judaism rejects the concept that any rules or rituals should be considered necessary for conversion to Judaism. In the late 19th century, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the official body of American Reform rabbis, formally resolved to permit the admission of converts "without any initiatory rite, ceremony, or observance whatsoever." (CCAR Yearbook 3 (1893), 73–95; "American Reform Responsa" (ARR), no. 68, at 236–237.)


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Although this resolution has often been examined critically by many Reform rabbis, the resolution still remains the official policy of American Reform Judaism (CCAR Responsa "Circumcision for an Eight-Year-Old Convert" 5756.13 and Solomon Freehof, "Reform Responsa for Our Time", no. 15.) Thus, American Reform Judaism does not require ritual immersion in a "mikveh", circumcision, or acceptance of mitzvot as normative. Appearance before a Beth Din is recommended, but is not considered necessary. Converts are asked to commit to religious standards set by the local Reform community.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In actual practice, the requirements for conversion of any individual are determined by the Rabbi who sponsors the convert. Typically, Reform Rabbis require prospective converts to take a course of study in Judaism, such as an "Introduction to Judaism" course, to participate in worship at a synagogue, and to live as a Jew (however that is interpreted by the individual Rabbi) for a period of time. A period of one year is common, although individual Rabbis' requirements vary. When the sponsoring Rabbi feels that the candidate is ready, a Beth Din may be convened. Other rituals such as immersion in a mikvah, circumcision (or Hatafat dam brit), and a public ceremony to celebrate the conversion, are also at the discretion of the Rabbi.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In response to the tremendous variations that exist within the Reform community, the Conservative Jewish movement attempted to set a nuanced approach. The Conservative Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has issued a legal opinion stating that Reform conversions may be accepted as valid only when they include the minimal Conservative halachic requirements of milah and t'vilah, appearance before a Conservative Beth Din, and a course of Conservative study. ("Proceedings of Committee on Jewish Law and Standards: 1980–1985", pp. 77–101.)


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In general, branches of Orthodox Judaism consider non-Orthodox conversions either inadequate or of questionable halachic compliance, and such conversions are therefore not accepted by these branches of Judaism. Conversely, both Conservative and Reform Judaism accept the Orthodox conversion process as being valid. Since 2008, Haredi Orthodox religious courts in Israel have been rejecting conversions from a number of Orthodox rabbis, since the Chief Rabbinate do not accept the authority of the presiding rabbis.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In 2008, a Haredi-dominated Badatz in Israel annulled thousands of conversions performed by the Military Rabbinate in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which is the only state-recognized authority on religious matters, backed by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ruled against this, making the annulment legally invalid for purposes of Israeli law.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: There are two orthodox conversion programmes in Montreal. One is made up of a "Bet Din" (Jewish Court) of congregational member rabbis from the Rabbinical Council of America, Montreal region (RCA). This program provides a way to convert according to the rigorous rules of Halachah while making the process more "user friendly" for non-Jews seeking a more "hands-on" or "modern Orthodox" approach. The second program is supervised by the Jewish Community Council of Montreal, the "Vaad Hair".


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: All conversion candidates—who could include singles, non-Jewish couples and adoption cases—must have a sponsoring rabbi and undergo a rigorous screening process. Conversions stemming from both programs are recognized in Israel and around the world.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: As of 2006, the "Moetzet Hakhamim" (Council of Sages) began to accept converts to Karaite Judaism through the Karaite Jewish University. The process requires one year of learning, circumcision (for males), and the taking of the vow that Ruth took.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: "For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In the 1950s Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and other members of the Rabbinical Council of America engaged in a series of private negotiations with the leaders of Conservative Judaism's Rabbinical Assembly, including Saul Lieberman; their goal was to create a joint Orthodox-Conservative national beth din for all Jews in the United States. It would create communal standards of marriage and divorce. It was to be modeled after the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, where all the judges would have been Orthodox, while it would have been accepted by the larger Conservative movement as legitimate. Conservative rabbis in the Rabbinical Assembly created a "Joint Conference on Jewish Law", devoting a year to this effort.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: For a number of reasons, the project did not succeed. According to Orthodox Rabbi Louis Bernstein, the major reason for its failure was the Orthodox rabbis' insistence that the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly agree to expel Conservative rabbis for actions they took prior to the formation of the new beth din, and the RA refused to do so. According to Orthodox Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, former president of the RCA, the major reason for its failure was pressure from haredi Orthodox rabbis, who held that any cooperation between Orthodoxy and Conservatism was forbidden. In 1956, Rabbi Harry Halpern, of the "Joint Conference" wrote a report on the demise of this beth din. He writes that negotiations between the Orthodox and Conservative denominations were completed and agreed upon, but then a new requirement was demanded by the RCA: The RA must "impose severe sanctions" upon Conservative rabbis for actions they took before this new beth din was formed. Halpern writes that the RA "could not assent to rigorously disciplining our members at the behest of an outside group." He goes on to write that although subsequent efforts were made to cooperate with the Orthodox, a letter from eleven Rosh Yeshivas was circulated declaring that Orthodox rabbis are forbidden to cooperate with Conservative rabbis.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In Denver, Colorado, a joint Orthodox, Traditional, Conservative and Reform Bet Din was formed to promote uniform standards for conversion to Judaism. A number of rabbis were Orthodox and had "semicha" from Orthodox yeshivas, but were serving in synagogues without a mechitza; these synagogues were called "traditional Judaism". Over a five-year period they performed some 750 conversions to Judaism. However, in 1983 the joint Beth Din was dissolved, due to the unilateral American Reform Jewish decision to change the definition of Jewishness.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Specifically, in 1983, the Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution waiving the need for formal conversion for anyone with at least one Jewish parent who has made affirmative acts of Jewish identity. This departed from the traditional position requiring formal conversion to Judaism for children without a Jewish mother. The 1983 resolution of the American Reform movement has had a mixed reception in Reform Jewish communities outside of the United States. Most notably, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism has rejected patrilineal descent and requires formal conversion for anyone without a Jewish mother. However, in 2015 the majority of Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis voted in favor of a position paper proposing "that individuals who live a Jewish life, and who are patrilineally Jewish, can be welcomed into the Jewish community and confirmed as Jewish through an individual process." Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis stated that rabbis "would be able to take local decisions – ratified by the Beit Din – confirming Jewish status."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The end of the joint Beth Din program was welcomed by Haredi Orthodox groups, who saw the program as illegitimate. Further, Haredi groups attempted to prevent non-Orthodox rabbis from following the traditional requirements of converts using a "mikveh". In the Haredi view, it is better to have no conversion at all than a non-Orthodox conversion, as all non-Orthodox conversions are not true conversions at all according to them.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In the 1980s Modern Orthodox Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University, along with other American and Israeli Orthodox rabbis, worked with Conservative and Reform rabbis to come up with solution to the "Who is a Jew?" issue. In 1989 and 1990 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir spearheaded an effort to find a way to resolve the impasse.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A plan was developed by Israeli Cabinet Secretary Elyakim Rubenstein, who negotiated secretly for many months with rabbis from Conservative, Reform and Orthodox Judaism, including faculty at Yeshiva University, with Lamm as "Rosh Yeshiva". They were planning to create a joint panel that interviewed people who were converting to Judaism and considering making "aliyah" (moving to the State of Israel), and would refer them to a beth din that would convert the candidate following traditional halakha. All negotiating parties came to agreement:


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Many Reform rabbis took offense at the notion that the "beth din" must be strictly halakhic and Orthodox, but they acquiesced. However, when word about this project became public, a number of leading haredi rabbis issued a statement denouncing the project, condemning it as a "travesty of halakha." Rabbi Moshe Sherer, Chairman of Agudath Israel World Organization, stated that "Yes we played a role in putting an end to that farce, and I'm proud we did." Norman Lamm condemned this interference by Sherer, stating that this was "the most damaging thing that he [Sherer] ever did in his forty year career."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Rabbi Lamm wanted this to be only the beginning of a solution to Jewish disunity. He stated that had this unified conversion plan not been destroyed, he wanted to extend this program to the area of halakhic Jewish divorces, thus ending the problem of "mamzerut".


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In 1997 the issue of "Who is a Jew?" again arose in the State of Israel, and Orthodox leaders such as Rabbi Norman Lamm publicly backed the Neeman commission, a group of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis working to develop joint programs for conversion to Judaism. In 1997 Lamm gave a speech at the World Council of Orthodox Leadership, in Glen Springs, N.Y., urging Orthodox Jews to support this effort.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The committee recommended the establishment of a joint institute for Jewish studies, which would be a joint effort by all three streams of Judaism. The committee also recommended that conversion proceedings themselves be held in special conversion courts, to be recognized by all denominations in Judaism. The purpose of the proposal was to prevent a rift in the Jewish people, while at the same time bringing about a state-sponsored arrangement for conversion. On 7 September 1998, the government adopted the Ne'eman Commission Report.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A year later, the Joint Institute for Jewish Studies was established, and since then it has been the official state operator of conversion courses in Israel, including the military conversion courses. In 2015 the institute's name was changed to Nativ – The National Center for Jewish Studies, Identity and Conversion.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A recent development has been the concept of annulling conversions to Judaism, sometimes many years after they have taken place, due to a reduction in religious observance or change of community by the convert. This is unknown in rabbinic literature, where conversion is considered irreversible. Chuck Davidson, a Modern Orthodox expert on this conversion crisis explains "From the Middle Ages onwards, the greatest of the rabbis wrote explicitly that even if immediately after the conversion the convert goes off to worship idols, the person is still considered Jewish." The justification given for the change in approach is that the original conversion must never have been valid in the first place as it is clear from the convert's subsequent actions they were insincere at the time of conversion.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A situation of confusion and instability in Jewish identity in Israel was made worse when Haredi Rabbi Avraham Sherman of Israel's supreme religious court () called into question the validity of over 40,000 Jewish conversions when he upheld a ruling by the Ashdod Rabbinical Court to retroactively annul the conversion of a woman who came before them because in their eyes she failed to observe Jewish law (an orthodox lifestyle).


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: This crisis deepened, when Israel's Rabbinate called into question the validity of soldiers who had undergone conversion in the army, meaning a soldier killed in action could not be buried according to Jewish law. In 2010, the rabbinate created a further distrust in the conversion process when it began refusing to recognize orthodox converts from the United States as Jewish. Indeed, the great-niece of the renowned Zionist Nahum Sokolow was recently deemed "not Jewish enough" to marry in Israel, after she failed to prove the matrilineal Jewish descent for four generations.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Following a scandal in which U.S. Rabbi Barry Freundel was arrested on charges of installing hidden cameras in a "mikveh" to film women converts undressing, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate said it would review the validity of all past conversions performed by Freundel, then quickly reversed its decision, clarifying that it was joining the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America in affirming the validity of the conversions.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In December 2014 an Israeli court decided that a conversion could be annulled. In his decision Justice Neal Hendel wrote: "Just as the civil court has the inalienable authority to reverse – in extremely rare cases – a final judgment, so too does the special religious conversion court. For otherwise, we would allow for judgments that are flawed from their inception to exist eternally."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Once undergone, a valid religious conversion to Judaism cannot be overturned. However, a Beth Din may determine that the conversion is void as it was never undertaken correctly in the first place. For example, if the rite of "mikveh" was performed incorrectly. In recent years many Orthodox conversions have been overturned. In 2008 Israel's highest religious court invalidated the conversion of 40,000 Jews, mostly from Russian immigrant families, even though they had been approved by an Orthodox rabbi. Debate on what constitutes a valid Beth Din for conversion and for annulling conversions has caused divisions in the Orthodox world. It is an implicit judgment on the character and uprightness of the rabbis in that religious court. For example, when Rabbi Barry Freundel was arrested on charges of voyeurism for filming women converts at the "mikveh" he supervised, Israel's Chief Rabbinate initially threatened to review and possibly invalidate the conversions Freundel had been involved in approving. A crisis between American and Israeli rabbis was averted when the Chief Rabbinate agreed that all conversions completed by Freundel would be considered valid.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Judaism is not an openly proselytizing religion. Judaism teaches that the righteous of all nations have a place in the afterlife. Much like in the other Abrahamic faiths, Jewish law requires the sincerity of a potential convert. In view of the foregoing considerations, most authorities are very careful about it. Essentially, they want to be sure that the convert knows what they are getting into, and that they are doing it for sincerely religious reasons. However, while conversion for the sake of love for Judaism is considered the best motivation, a conversion for the sake of avoiding intermarriage is gaining acceptance also.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: There is a tradition that a prospective convert should be turned away three times as a test of sincerity, though most rabbis no longer follow the tradition. Neither the Rabbinical Council of America nor the Rabbinical Assembly, the leading American Orthodox and Conservative organizations suggest taking this action in their conversion policies, with the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) actively opposing its practice.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Halakha forbids the mistreatment of a convert, including reminding a convert that they were once not a Jew. Hence, little to no distinction is made in Judaism between those who are born Jewish and those who are Jewish as a result of conversion. However, despite Halakha protecting the rights of converts, some Jewish communities have been accused of treating converts as second-class Jews. For example, many communities of Syrian Jews have banned conversion and refuse to recognise any Jewish conversion, including those done under Orthodox auspices (possibly influenced by sects in Syria like the Druze which do not accept converts).


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: According to Orthodox interpretations of Halakha, converts face a limited number of restrictions. A marriage between a female convert and a kohen (members of the priestly class) is prohibited and any children of the union do not inherit their father's kohen status. While a Jew by birth may not marry a mamzer, a convert can. Converts can become rabbis. For instance, Rabbi Meir Baal Ha Nes is thought to be a descendant of a proselyte. Rabbi Akiva was also a very well known son of converts. The Talmud lists many of the Jewish nation's greatest leaders who had either descended from or were themselves converts. In fact, King David is descended from Ruth, a convert to Judaism.() In Orthodox and Conservative communities which maintain tribal distinctions, converts become "Yisraelim" (Israelites), ordinary Jews with no tribal or inter-Jewish distinctions. Converts typically follow the customs of their congregations. So a convert who prays at a Sephardi synagogue would follow Sephardi customs and learn Sephardi Hebrew.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: A convert chooses his or her own Hebrew first name upon conversion but is traditionally known as the son or daughter of Abraham and Sarah, the first patriarch and matriarch in the Torah, often with the additional qualifier of "Avinu" (our father) and "Imenu" (our mother). Hence, a convert named Akiva would be known, for ritual purposes in a synagogue, as "Akiva ben Avraham Avinu"; in cases where the mother's name is used, such as for the prayer for recovery from an illness, he would be known as "Akiva ben Sarah Imenu."


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Talmudic opinions on converts are numerous; some positive, some negative. A quote from the Talmud labels the convert "hard on Israel as a scab." Many interpretations explain this quote as meaning converts can be unobservant and lead Jews to be unobservant, or converts can be so observant that born Jews feel ashamed.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The term "Jew by choice" is often used to describe someone who, with no ancestral connection to the Jewish people, chose to convert to Judaism. It is often contrasted with such terms as "Jew by birth" (or "Jew by chance"). The practice of conversion to Judaism is sometimes understood within Orthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in a former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives, until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in a gentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In recent decades, there has been a renewed Jewish conversion interest with some Bnei Anusim, that is, the descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to other faiths.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: The Hebrew term for forced converts is "Anusim" (lit. "[the] forced [converts]"), while the descendants of said converts are called "Bnei Anusim" (lit. "[the] children [of the] forced [converts]").


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: In the modern era, the single most notable and numerous group of Bnei Anusim converts are the Sephardic Bnei Anusim, descendants of those Sephardic Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition. They are found throughout Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and Iberoamerica (the Hispanic countries of the Americas plus Brazil). There has been a continuous steady growth among them who are now prospective converts, actively seeking conversions back to Judaism.


title: Conversion to Judaism

text: Since many Bnei Anusim (i.e. descendants of forced converts) lack an unbroken matrilineal Jewish line of descent or lack satisfactory documentary evidence to that effect (even if they can prove Jewish ancestry along one or all other of their lineages besides their direct matrilineal lineage), conversion has been a growing option for them to return to Judaism.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire construction tycoon. He was chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group. He was one of the world's wealthiest people.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: Pallonji Mistry was born to Shapoorji Mistry in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 1 June 1929. He was a member of Parsi community in Bombay.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: The Mistrys own a substantial construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji. Shapoorji, the group patriarch and Pallonji's father, built some of Mumbai's landmarks around the Fort area – the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, the Grindlays Bank, the Standard Chartered Bank, the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India buildings.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: His father first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that as of 2011 stood at 18.4%, making Mistry the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, which is primarily controlled by the Tata philanthropic Allied Trusts, and the largest individual shareholder in India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group, the primary shareholder being the charitable Tata Trusts.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: Pallonji Mistry was the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, through which he owned Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited, Forbes Textiles and Eureka Forbes Limited. He was the former chairman of Associated Cement Companies.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: His son, Cyrus, was chairman of Tata Sons from November 2011 to October 2016. Within the Tata Group, he is known as the "Phantom of Bombay House" for the quiet but assured way he commanded power around the Mumbai headquarters of the Tata empire.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: According to "Bloomberg Billionaires Index", Pallonji Mistry's wealth was estimated to be about US$30 Billion in mid-2021. and US$29 billion at the time of his death. He was the richest Irish billionaire at the time of his death, and the world's 143 richest person.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: In 2003, Pallonji gave up his Indian citizenship to become an Irish citizen "on the basis of his marriage to an Irish-born national", Pat "Patsy" Perin Dubash, who was born in September 1939 at Hatch Street Nursing House in Dublin. He remained in residence in Mumbai. The family's interest in Ireland is ascribed, in part, to their love of horses; Mistry owned a stud farm and a home in Pune, India.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: Mistry has two sons and two daughters. His elder son, Shapoor Mistry (b. 1964), runs the Shapoorji Pallonji group, while his younger son, the late Cyrus Mistry (1968—2022), served for some years as chairman of the Tata group. Mistry's elder daughter is Laila and his younger daughter, Aloo, is married to Noel Tata, half-brother of Ratan Tata.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 by the Government of India for his contributions in the field of trade and industry.


title: Pallonji Mistry

text: A short biography of Mistry was written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled "The Moguls of Real Estate".


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it is considered an imprecise merging of separate though related rift and fault systems.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: This valley extends northward for 5,950 km through the eastern part of Africa, through the Red Sea, and into Western Asia. Several deep, elongated lakes, called ribbon lakes, exist on the floor of this rift valley: Lakes Malawi, Rudolf and Tanganyika are examples of such lakes. The region has a unique ecosystem and contains a number of Africa's wildlife parks.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The term Great Rift Valley is most often used to refer to the valley of the East African Rift, the divergent plate boundary which extends from the Afar Triple Junction southward through eastern Africa, and is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new and separate plates. Geologists generally refer to these evolving plates as the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: Today these rifts and faults are seen as distinct, although connected, but originally, the Great Rift Valley was thought to be a single feature that extended from Lebanon in the north to Mozambique in the south, where it constitutes one of two distinct physiographic provinces of the East African mountains. It included what today is called the Lebanese section of the Dead Sea Transform, the Jordan Rift Valley, Red Sea Rift and the East African Rift. These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The northernmost part of the Rift corresponds to the central section of what is called today the Dead Sea Transform (DST) or Rift. This midsection of the DST forms the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, separating the Mount Lebanon range from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Further south it is known as the Hula Valley separating the Galilee mountains and the Golan Heights.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The Jordan River begins here and flows southward through Lake Hula into the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The Rift then continues south through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Dead Sea on the Israeli-Jordanian border. From the Dead Sea southwards, the Rift is occupied by the Wadi Arabah, then the Gulf of Aqaba, and then the Red Sea.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: Off the southern tip of Sinai in the Red Sea, the Dead Sea Transform meets the Red Sea Rift which runs the length of the Red Sea. The Red Sea Rift comes ashore to meet the East African Rift and the Aden Ridge in the Afar Depression of East Africa. The junction of these three rifts is called the Afar Triple Junction.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The East African Rift follows the Red Sea to the end before turning inland into the Ethiopian highlands, dividing the country into two large and adjacent but separate mountainous regions. In Kenya, Uganda, and the fringes of South Sudan, the Great Rift runs along two separate branches that are joined to each other only at their southern end, in Southern Tanzania along its border with Zambia. The two branches are called the Western Rift Valley and the Eastern Rift Valley.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The Western Rift, also called the Albertine Rift, is bordered by some of the highest mountains in Africa, including the Virunga Mountains, Mitumba Mountains, and Ruwenzori Range. It contains the Rift Valley lakes, which include some of the deepest lakes in the world (up to deep at Lake Tanganyika).


title: Great Rift Valley

text: Much of this area lies within the boundaries of national parks such as Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwenzori National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Lake Victoria is considered to be part of the rift valley system although it actually lies between the two branches. All of the African Great Lakes were formed as the result of the rift, and most lie in territories within the rift.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: In Kenya, the valley is deepest to the north of Nairobi. As the lakes in the Eastern Rift have no outlet to the sea and tend to be shallow, they have a high mineral content as the evaporation of water leaves the salts behind. For example, Lake Magadi has high concentrations of soda (sodium carbonate) and Lake Elmenteita, Lake Bogoria, and Lake Nakuru are all strongly alkaline, while the freshwater springs supplying Lake Naivasha are essential to support its current biological variety.


title: Great Rift Valley

text: The southern section of the Rift Valley includes Lake Malawi, the third-deepest freshwater body in the world, which reaches in depth and separates the Nyassa plateau of Northern Mozambique from Malawi; it ends in the Zambezi valley.


title: An Yu-jin

text: An Yu-jin (; born September 1, 2003), better known mononymously as Yujin, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader of the South Korean girl group Ive under Starship Entertainment. Yujin rose to prominence after finishing fifth on Mnet's girl group survival show "Produce 48", which made her debut as a member of the girl group Iz*One, active from 2018 to 2021.


title: An Yu-jin

text: An was born on September 1, 2003. She attended School of Performing Arts Seoul. Off the Record revealed in 2019 that she had dropped out of school to focus on her idol life and Iz*One activities and she would be home-schooled.


title: An Yu-jin

text: From June 15 to August 31, 2018, An represented Starship Entertainment alongside Jang Won-young and Cho Ka-hyeon on reality girl group survival show "Produce 48". She eventually placed fifth and debuted with Iz*One. The group's debut extended play (EP) "Color*Iz" was released on October 29, 2018, with "La Vie en Rose" serving as its lead single.


title: An Yu-jin

text: A few months after her debut with Iz*One, An participated in the singing competition, "King of Mask Singer". She was the youngest competitor in the show's history (15 years and 99 days old). As of December 11, 2020, she was still the youngest female contestant.


title: An Yu-jin

text: It was announced that An will become a cast member for MBC’s "My Little Television V2", alongside Kim Gu-ra. However, she was removed from the cast starting from episode 34 due to the Mnet vote manipulation investigation.


title: An Yu-jin

text: On November 1, 2021, Starship Entertainment announced that An and Wonyoung will debut their new girl group Ive on December 1, 2021. It is their first group since they debuted Cravity in April 2020 and their first girl group since WJSN's debut in February 2016. She, along with Wonyoung, became the first two members revealed to the group. Later the group debuted with their first single album, "Eleven""."


title: An Yu-jin

text: An has appeared as an actress in commercials and music videos, most notably in an Acuvue Vita commercial.


title: John Zegrus

text: John Allen Kuchar Zegrus (, "Jon Aren Kacchā Jīgurasu") is the reported name of a real man detained in 1960 in Japan for alleged document fabrication. He was dubbed as the "Mystery Man" () by Japanese news at the time, and became a prototype for some urban legends.


title: John Zegrus

text: In October 1959, a man recorded as John Allen Kuchar Zegrus, 36, entered Japan with his Korean wife. Three months later, he was arrested by the , suspected of identity fraud. He tried to cash a 200,000-yen cheque and a 140-dollar (around 50,400 yen at the time) traveller's cheque at the Japanese office of Chase Manhattan Bank, and 100,000 yen at the Japanese office of Bank of Korea.


title: John Zegrus

text: The case was investigated by of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau (TMPD Public Security Bureau), who would later write about Zegrus in his memoirs. Although his passport contained the stamps of Japanese embassies in different East Asian countries, the passport was determined to be counterfeit. Moreover, a visa was issued by the Japanese embassy in Taipei (now reorganized as Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association).


title: John Zegrus

text: According to the records, Zegrus said he was "born in the US, moved to the UK through Czechoslovakia and Germany, and attended High School there. During World War II he was a pilot of the Royal Air Force, and was once captured by the Germans. After the war, he lived in Latin America. Later he became a spy for the Americans in South Korea, served as a pilot in Thailand and Vietnam, and after that he was assigned by the United Arab Republic. He arrived to Japan for a secret mission, which included recruiting Japanese military volunteers for the United Arab Republic." Eventually, after contacting the mentioned countries, it was ruled that information was not based on any facts, and the seals in his pseudo-passport were proven to be fabricated.


title: John Zegrus

text: On 10 August 1960, Tokyo District Court reviewed the case and sentenced Zegrus to one year in prison. After the announcement, he tried to commit suicide by cutting his veins with a piece of a glass secretly brought by him to the court.


title: John Zegrus

text: After his release, Zegrus was deported from Japan to Hong Kong, from where he was recorded to enter the region. His wife was deported to South Korea.


title: John Zegrus

text: On an August 15, 1960 issue of "The Province", the story was reported with some alterations. The newspaper said in an article titled "Man with his own country" claimed that John Allen Kuchar Zegrus claimed to be "a naturalized Ethiopian and an intelligence agent for Colonel Nasser", and carried a passport "issued at Tamanrasset, the capital of Taured south of the Sahara". Taured is likely Tuareg misspelled, and Tamanrasset is an actual province in Algeria. A text in "Taured language" written with Latin characters was also cited by the newspaper. Earlier on 29 July 1960, the story in this form was mentioned in the British House of Commons, it was cited by Robert Mathew as an argument that "passports are not very good security checks".


title: John Zegrus

text: The case was mentioned since 1964 in the books by Jacques Bergier. According to his version of the story, a person from Tuared, a country in Eastern Africa which "stretched from Mauritania to Sudan and included a large part of Algeria", was arrested in 1954 in Japan during a passport check, and shut up in psychiatric hospital when it was revealed that he came to "buy arms for the true Arab Legion". The country in this story alludes to the United Arab Republic, which in fact included modern Syria and Egypt. In 1981, the story was mentioned in a book, "The Directory of Possibilities", by Colin Wilson and John Grant, with Tuareg misspelled again as Taured.


title: John Zegrus

text: Finally, a story featured in various Japanese websites dedicated to urban legends and occult stories says that a "man from another dimension" arrived to the Haneda airport in 1954. He possessed a Taured passport, and when asked about his country, he pointed at Andorra, but was confused as he never heard of Andorra. He was placed in a hotel with two guards for investigation, but disappeared from there the following morning.


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He established a new unified polity in Arabia that expanded rapidly under the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in Islamic rule being established across three continents. According to Scottish historian James Buchan: "In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting."


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: At their height, the territory that was conquered stretched from Iberia (at the Pyrenees) in the west to India (at Sind) in the east; Muslim rule spanned Sicily, most of North Africa and the Middle East, and the Caucasus and Central Asia. English historian Edward Gibbon writes in "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire":


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: Among other drastic changes, the early Muslim conquests brought about the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and great territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire. Reasons that would provide an explanation for the Muslim victories have been difficult to reconstruct in hindsight, primarily due to the fact that only fragmentary sources have survived from the period. American scholar Fred McGraw Donner suggests that the formation of a state in Arabia coupled with ideological (i.e. religious) coherence and mobilization constituted the main factor that propelled early Muslim armies to successfully establish, in the timespan of a century, one of the largest empires in history. Estimates of the total area of the combined territory held by the early Muslim polities at the conquests' peak have been as high as thirteen million square kilometres (five million square miles). Most historians also agree that, as another primary factor determining the early Muslim conquests' success, the Sassanids and Byzantines were militarily and economically exhausted from decades of warfare against each other (see Roman–Persian Wars).


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: It has been suggested that Jews and some Christians in Sassanid and Byzantine territory were dissatisfied and welcomed the invading Muslim forces, largely because of religious conflict in both empires. However, Arab Christian confederations including the Ghassanids initially allied themselves with the Byzantines, and Sassanids and Byzantines fought together against the Muslims in the Battle of Firaz. Some of the lands lost by the Byzantines to the Muslims (namely Egypt, Palestine, and Syria) had been reclaimed from the Sassanids only a few years prior to the Muslim conquests.


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: Arabia was a region that hosted a number of different cultures, some urban and others nomadic Bedouin. Arabian society was divided along tribal and clan lines with the most important divisions being between the "southern" and "northern" tribal associations. Both the Roman and Persian empires competed for influence in Arabia by sponsoring clients, and in turn Arabian tribes sought the patronage of the two rival empires to bolster their own ambitions. The Lakhmid kingdom which covered parts of what is now southern Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia was a client of Persia, and in 602 the Persians deposed the Lakhmids to take over the defense of the southern frontier themselves. This left the Persians exposed and over-extended, helping to set the stage for the collapse of Persia later that century. Southern Arabia, especially what is now Yemen, had for thousands of years been a wealthy region that had been a center of the spice trade. Yemen had been at the center of an international trading network linking Eurasia to Africa and Yemen had been visited by merchants from East Africa, Europe, the Middle East, India and even from as far away as China. In turn, the Yemeni were great sailors, travelling up the Red Sea to Egypt and across the Indian Ocean to India and down the east African coast. Inland, the valleys of Yemen had been cultivated by a system of irrigation that had been set back when the Marib Dam was destroyed by an earthquake in about 450 AD. Frankincense and myrrh had been greatly valued in the Mediterranean region, being used in religious ceremonies. However, the conversion of the Mediterranean world to Christianity had significantly reduced the demand for these commodities, causing a major economic slump in southern Arabia which helped to create the impression that Arabia was a backward region.


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: Little is known of the pre-Islamic religions of Arabia, but it is known that the Arabs worshipped a number of gods such as al-Lat, Manat, al-Uzza and Hubal, with the most important being Allah (God). There were also Jewish and Christian communities in Arabia and aspects of Arab religion reflected their influence. Pilgrimage was a major part of Arabian paganism, and one of the most important pilgrimage sites was Mecca, which housed the Kaaba, considered an especially holy place to visit. Muhammad, a merchant of Mecca, started to have visions in which he claimed that the Archangel Gabriel had told him that he was the last of the prophets continuing the work of Jesus Christ and the prophets of Tanakh. After coming into conflict with the elite of Mecca, Muhammad fled to the city of Yathrib, which was renamed Medina. At Yathrib, Muhammad founded an Islamic state, and by 630, conquered Mecca.


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: The prolonged and escalating Byzantine–Sassanid wars of the 6th and 7th centuries and the recurring outbreaks of bubonic plague (Plague of Justinian) left both empires exhausted and weakened in the face of the sudden emergence and expansion of the Arabs. The last of these wars ended with victory for the Byzantines: Emperor Heraclius regained all lost territories, and restored the True Cross to Jerusalem in 629. The war against Zoroastrian Persia, whose people worshiped the fire god Ahura Mazda, had been portrayed by Heraclius as a holy war in defense of the Christian faith and the Wood of the Holy Cross, as splinters of wood said to be from the True Cross were known, had been used to inspire Christian fighting zeal. The idea of a holy war against the "fire worshipers", as the Christians called the Zoroastrians, had aroused much enthusiasm, leading to an all-out effort to defeat the Persians.


title: Early Muslim conquests

text: Nevertheless, neither empire was given any chance to recover, as within a few years they were overrun by the advances of the Arabs (newly united by Islam), which, according to James Howard-Johnston, "can only be likened to a human tsunami". According to George Liska, the "unnecessarily prolonged Byzantine–Persian conflict opened the way for Islam".