title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: The plant, recorded as "Herba Apollinaris", was used to yield oracles by the priestesses of Apollo. Recently evidence for its use in the earlier British Neolithic has been debated. John Gerard's "Herball" states: "The leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness, which continueth long and is deadly to the patient. To wash the feet in a decoction of Henbane, as also the often smelling of the flowers causeth sleep."


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: The plant was also purportedly used as a fumigant for magical purposes. Albertus Magnus, in his work "De Vegetalibus" (1250), reported that necromancers used henbane to invoke the souls of the dead as well as demons. Henbane was already being demonized as early as the Late Middle Ages when it became inseparably associated with witchcraft and malefic practices. “The witches drank the decoction of henbane and had those dreams for which they were tortured and executed. It was also used for witches’ ointments and was used for making weather and conjuring spirits. If there were a great drought then a stalk of henbane would be dipped into a spring, then the sun-baked sand would be sprinkled with this” (Perger 1864, 181).


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: During a Pomeranian witchcraft trial in 1538, a suspected witch "confessed" that she had given a man henbane seeds so that he would run around "crazy" (sexually aroused). In a file from an Inquisition trial, it was noted that "a witch admits" having once strewn henbane seeds between two lovers and uttering the following formula: "Here I sow wild seed, and the devil advised that they would hate and avoid each other until these seeds had been separated" (Marzell 1922, 169).


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane was one of the ingredients in gruit, traditionally used in beers as a flavouring. Several cities, most notably Pilsen, were named after its German name "Bilsenkraut" in the context of its production for beer flavouring. The recipe for henbane beer includes 40 g dried chopped henbane herbage, 5 g bayberry, 23 L water, 1 L brewing malt, 900 g honey, 5 g dried yeast, and brown sugar. Henbane fell out of usage for beer when it was replaced by hops in the 11th to 16th centuries, as the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 outlawed ingredients other than barley, hops, yeast, and water.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane is sometimes identified with the "hebenon" poured into the ear of Hamlet's father, although other candidates for hebenon exist.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane seeds have been found in a Viking grave near Fyrkat, Denmark, that was first described in 1977. This and other archaeological finds show that "H. niger" was known to the Vikings. Analysis of the symptoms caused by intoxication of this plant suggest that it may have been used by berserkers to induce the rage state that they used in war.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane originated in Eurasia, and is now globally distributed as a plant grown mainly for pharmaceutical purposes. Henbane is rare in northern Europe; its cultivation for medicinal use is spread and legal in central and eastern Europe and in India. Henbane is an endangered plant according to the World Conservation Union's Red List.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane is used in traditional herbal medicine for ailments of the bones, rheumatism, toothache, asthma, cough, nervous diseases, and stomach pain. It might also be used as analgesic, sedative, and narcotic in some cultures. Adhesive bandages with henbane extract behind the ear are reported to prevent discomfort in travel-sick people. Henbane oil is used for medicinal massage.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane material in most Western countries can be bought in pharmacies with a prescription only. Sales of henbane oil are not legally regulated and are allowed in shops other than pharmacies in the US.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane leaves and herbage without roots are chopped and dried and are then used for medicinal purposes or in incense and smoking blends, in making beer and tea, and in seasoning wine. Henbane leaves are boiled in oil to derive henbane oil. Henbane seeds are an ingredient in incense blends. In all preparations, the dosage has to be carefully estimated due to the high toxicity of henbane. For some therapeutic applications, dosages like 0.5 g and 1.5– 3 g were used. The lethal dosage is not known.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane is toxic to cattle, wild animals, fish, and birds. Not all animals are susceptible; for example, the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including cabbage moths, eat henbane. Pigs are immune to henbane toxicity and are reported to enjoy the effects of the plant.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and other tropane alkaloids have been found in the foliage and seeds of the plant. The standard alkaloid content has been reported to be 0.03% to 0.28%.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Its psychoactive and pharmacological effects are a result of these alkaloids exerting an anticholinergic mechanism of action which blocks the function of acetylcholine in the brain and antagonizes the muscarinic receptors. This results in an altered state of consciousness, hallucinogenic experiences, and typically, delirium. This mechanism of action is not only linked to dangerous effects and accidents, but dementia as well. Since toxicity/lethality is such a major concern with plants like henbane; many traditional preparations of henbane or other similar scopolamine-containing plants were designed to be applied transdermally, often in “magical ointments” by herbalists, witches and cunning folk. The purpose of this was to absorb the primary and transdermally-active alkaloid scopolamine through the skin, thus eliminating the risk of the additional toxicity from atropine and hyoscyamine that is inevitably present with oral ingestion of the plant but not when used topically.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Henbane ingestion by humans is followed simultaneously by peripheral inhibition and central stimulation. Common effects of henbane ingestion include hallucinations, dilated pupils, narcosis, restlessness, and flushed skin. Less common effects are tachycardia, convulsions, vomiting, hypertension, hyperpyrexia, and ataxia. Initial effects typically last for three to four hours, while aftereffects may last up to three days. The side effects of henbane ingestion are dryness in the mouth, confusion, visual illusions, bizarre thoughts, locomotor and memory disturbances, and farsightedness, similar in style to those of other tropane-based deliriants such as plants of the New World genus "datura". As a result of this distinct chemical and pharmacological profile, overdoses can result not only in delirium, but also severe anticholinergic syndrome, coma, respiratory paralysis, and death. Low and average dosages have inebriating and aphrodisiac effects.


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: In his book "How Do Witches Fly?", Alexander Kuklin refers to an experience of black henbane had by German scientist Michael Schenck. Schenck recollected his experience:


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Schenck's pulse became rapid and he experienced a further increase in the hallucinogenic effects of the plant:


title: Hyoscyamus niger

text: Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson accidentally recommended henbane as a "tasty addition to salads" in the August 2008 issue of "Healthy and Organic Living" magazine. The publication promptly warned subscribers against consuming the "very toxic" plant upon discovery of the error, and Thompson admitted to confusing it with fat hen, a member of the spinach family.


title: British West Indies

text: The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana (now Guyana) and Trinidad and Tobago. Other territories include Bermuda, and the former British Honduras (now Belize). The colonies were also at the center of the transatlantic slave trade, around 2.3 million slaves were brought to the British Caribbean. Before the decolonisation period in the later 1950s and 1960s the term was used to include all British colonies in the region as part of the British Empire. Following the independence of most of the territories from the United Kingdom, the term Commonwealth Caribbean is now used.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1912, the British government divided their territories into different colonies: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with its dependencies the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Trinidad and Tobago, the Windward Islands, and the Leeward Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, all of the island territories except the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda were organised into the West Indies Federation. It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a single nation, but it had limited powers and faced many practical problems. Consequently, the West Indies Federation was dissolved in 1962.


title: British West Indies

text: The territories are now fully independent sovereign states, except for five – Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – which remain British Overseas Territories, as does Bermuda. All remain within the Commonwealth of Nations. They also established the Caribbean Community, and many of the nations have joined various international bodies, such as the Organization of American States, the Association of Caribbean States, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and the Caribbean Development Bank among others.


title: British West Indies

text: The territories that were originally part of the British West Indies are (date of independence, where applicable, in brackets):


title: British West Indies

text: The origins of the British West Indies lie in outposts established to support English pirates and privateers who were involved in raiding Spanish treasure fleets, and merchants interested in trade. Charles Leigh, an English merchant, established a short-lived settlement on the Wiapoco River in 1604 (now the Oyapock, which forms the border between French Guiana and Brazil). This was followed by failed attempts to established settlements in Saint Lucia in 1605 and Grenada in 1609. The first permanent settlement was established in St. Christopher (St. Kitts) by Thomas Warner. This was followed by settlements in Barbados in 1627, Nevis in 1628, and Montserrat and Antigua in 1632. Providence Island was colonised by English Puritans in 1630, but the colony was destroyed by the Spanish in 1641. The capture of Jamaica in 1655 expanded British control beyond these small islands in the Lesser Antilles.


title: British West Indies

text: Sir William Stapleton established the first federation in the British West Indies in 1674. He set up a General Assembly of the Leeward Islands in St. Kitts. Stapleton's Federation was active between 1674 and 1685, during his term as governor, and the General Assembly met regularly until 1711.


title: British West Indies

text: By the 18th century, each island had kept its own Assembly and made its own laws. The islands continued to share one Governor and one Attorney-General. Although unpopular, Stapleton's Federation was never really dissolved but simply replaced by other arrangements.


title: British West Indies

text: Between 1816 and 1833, the Leewards were divided into two groups: St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat, each with its own Governor. In 1833 all the Leeward Islands were brought together, and Dominica was added, remaining as part of the group until 1940.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1869, Governor Benjamin Pine was assigned to organise a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. St. Kitts and Nevis opposed sharing their government funds with Antigua and Montserrat, which were bankrupt. Governor Pine told the Colonial Office that the scheme had failed due to "local prejudice and self-interest". His only achievement was to give the Leewards a single Governor. All laws and ordinances, however, had to be approved by each island council.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1871 the British government passed the Leeward Islands Act, by which all the islands were under one Governor and one set of laws. The Federal Colony was composed of all islands organised under Governor Pine's previous attempt. Each island was called a "Presidency" under its own Administrator or Commissioner. Like earlier groupings, this federation was unpopular but it continued until 1956, when it was redefined as the Territory of the Leeward Islands. In 1958 the Federation of the West Indies was organised, of which the Leeward Islands became a part.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1833 the Windward Islands became a formal union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838, Trinidad (acquired in 1802) and St. Lucia (acquired in 1814) were brought into the Windward Islands Colony, but were not given their own assemblies (having previously been Crown Colonies). In 1840 Trinidad left the Colony. Barbados wished to retain its separate identity and ancient institutions, and the other colonies did not want to associate with it. The individual islands resisted British attempts at closer union. Barbados in particular fought to retain its own Assembly and left the union in 1884. Power for the union was then transferred to Grenada as overseer of the bloc.


title: British West Indies

text: From 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent and St. Lucia during the entire period. Tobago left in 1889, forming a union with Trinidad. Dominica joined the Windward Islands Colony in 1940, after having been transferred from the Leewards, and remained in the Colony until 1958. After 1885 the Windward Islands Colony was under one Governor-General in Grenada, and each island had its own Lieutenant-Governor and its own assembly (as before). Attempts to create a Federal Colony, as in the Leewards, were always resisted. The Windward Islands Colony broke up in 1958 when each island chose to join the new Federation of the West Indies as a separate unit.


title: British West Indies

text: The Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands were grouped under Jamaica out of convenience and sometimes for historical and/or geographical reasons. British Honduras (later Belize) was surrounded by hostile Spanish colonies and needed the protection afforded by the Jamaican Army and Navy. In addition, British Honduras had been founded by loggers. It increased in population partly by the settlement of Englishmen migrating from Jamaica in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (settlers also immigrated directly from England; others were born in the colony.) From 1742, British Honduras was a dependency directly under the Governor of Jamaica. In 1749 the Governors of Jamaica appointed Administrators for British Honduras.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1862 British Honduras became a Crown Colony; it was placed under the Governor of Jamaica with its own Lieutenant-Governor. In 1884 it finally broke all administrative ties with Jamaica and wanted self governance, as did Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.


title: British West Indies

text: The West Indies Federation was a short-lived federation that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The Federation's purpose was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state, similar to the Federation of Australia or Canadian Confederation. However, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed before that could develop.


title: British West Indies

text: In 1967, following the termination of the West Indies Federation, a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association form of government along with the United Kingdom called the West Indies Associated States. The arrangement was created through the British House of Commons passing the "West Indies Act (1967)" (also known as the "Associated States Act"). As part of the arrangement more sovereignty was granted to the bloc of West Indies countries with the United Kingdom maintaining responsibility for defence and external affairs only.


title: British West Indies

text: Although most of the British West Indies seceded from British rule and were granted independence, several opted to remain British territories. Those territories include:


title: British West Indies

text: Cricket has traditionally been the main sport in the British West Indies (though others sports such as football have challenged its dominance since the 1990s). Most of the countries and territories listed above field a combined cricket team called the West Indies, which is one of the twelve elite international teams that play at Test match level. The West Indies hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup of ODI Cricket and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: The Muhammad Ali dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan from the 19th to the mid-20th century. It is named after its progenitor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. It was also more formally known as the "Alawiyya or Alawite dynasty" in contemporary English, and as "Al-ʾUsra al-ʿAlawiyya" (الأسرة العلوية) in Arabic. Because a majority of the rulers from this dynasty bore the title Khedive, it was often referred to by contemporaries as the "Khedival dynasty".


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: Muhammad Ali was a commander in the Ottoman army with Albanian origin that was sent to drive Napoleon's forces out of Egypt. However, after Bonaparte's withdrawal, he aligned himself with Omar Makram, the leader of Egyptian resistance against the French, seized power himself, and forced the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II to recognise him as Wāli (Governor) of Egypt in 1805. Demonstrating his grander ambitions, he took the far higher title of Khedive, an honourific used by the Sultan himself. His sons and successors as Egypt's ruler, Ibrahim Pasha, Abbas I, and Sa'id Pasha, would all follow his example in using the title, however, this was not sanctioned by the Sublime Porte until the reign of his grandson Isma'il the Magnificent in 1867.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: Through his reforms, and military campaigns, Muhammad Ali transformed Egypt into a regional power which he saw as the natural successor to the decaying Ottoman Empire. He constructed a military state with around four percent of the populace serving the army to raise Egypt to a powerful positioning in the Ottoman Empire. Muhammad Ali summarised his vision for Egypt in this way:


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: Muhammad Ali conquered Sudan in the first half of his reign, establishing the foundations of what would eventually become the modern Sudanese state. Egyptian control in Sudan would be consolidated and expanded under his successors, most notably Ibrahim Pasha's son, Isma'il the Magnificent.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: At the height of his power, the military strength of Muhammad Ali and Ibrahim Pasha did indeed threaten the very existence of the Ottoman Empire, as he sought to supplant the Osman Dynasty with his own. Ultimately, however, the intervention of the Great Powers prevented Egyptian forces from marching on Constantinople, and compelled Muhammad Ali to reconcile himself with the Ottoman Sultan. Henceforth, with Egypt's eastern frontier fixed at the boundary between Sinai and Ottoman Palestine, his dynasty's territorial expansion would be restricted to Africa.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: Though Muhammad Ali and his descendants used the title of Khedive (Viceroy) in preference to the lesser Wāli, this was not recognized by the Porte until 1867 when Sultan Abdulaziz officially sanctioned its use by Isma'il Pasha and his successors. In contrast to his grandfather's policy of war against the Porte, Isma'il sought to strengthen the position of Egypt and Sudan and his dynasty using less confrontational means, and through a mixture of flattery and bribery, Isma'il secured official Ottoman recognition of Egypt and Sudan's virtual independence. This freedom was severely undermined in 1879 when the Sultan colluded with the Great Powers to depose Isma'il in favor of his son Tewfik. Three years later, Egypt and Sudan's freedom became little more than symbolic when the United Kingdom invaded and occupied the country, ostensibly to support Khedive Tewfik against his opponents in Ahmed Orabi's nationalist government. While the Khedive would continue to rule over Egypt and Sudan in name, in reality, ultimate power resided with the British High Commissioner.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: In defiance of the Egyptians, the British proclaimed Sudan to be an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, a territory under joint British and Egyptian rule rather than an integral part of Egypt. This was continually rejected by Egyptians, both in government and in the public at large, who insisted on the "unity of the Nile Valley", and would remain an issue of controversy and enmity between Egypt and Britain until Sudan's independence in 1956.


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: In 1914, Khedive Abbas II sided with the Ottoman Empire which had joined the Central Powers in the World War I, and was promptly deposed by the British in favor of his uncle Hussein Kamel. The legal fiction of Ottoman sovereignty over Egypt and Sudan, which had for all intents and purposes ended in 1805, was officially terminated, Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan, and the country became a British Protectorate. With nationalist sentiment rising, as evidenced by the revolution of 1919, Britain formally recognized Egyptian independence in 1922, and Hussein Kamel's successor, Sultan Fuad I, substituted the title of King for Sultan. However, British occupation and interference in Egyptian and Sudanese affairs persisted. Of particular concern to Egypt was Britain's continual efforts to divest Egypt of all control in Sudan. To both the King and the nationalist movement, this was intolerable, and the Egyptian Government made a point of stressing that Fuad and his son King Farouk I were "King of Egypt and Sudan".


title: Muhammad Ali dynasty

text: The reign of Farouk was characterised by ever increasing nationalist discontent over the continuing British occupation, royal corruption and incompetence, and the disastrous Palestine War of 1948–1949. All these factors served to terminally undermine Farouk's position, and paved the way for the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Farouk was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who became King Fuad II, while administration of the country passed to the Free Officers Movement under Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The infant king's reign lasted less than a year, and on 18 June 1953, the revolutionaries abolished the monarchy, and declared Egypt a republic, ending a century and a half of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty's rule.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Minutemen were an American punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California, in 1980. Composed of guitarist/vocalist D. Boon, bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in 1985; the band broke up shortly thereafter. They were noted in the California punk community for a philosophy of "jamming econo"—a sense of thriftiness reflected in their touring and short, tight songs as well as their eclectic style drawing on hardcore punk, funk, jazz, and other sources.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Minutemen began when D. Boon and Mike Watt met at age 13. Watt was walking through a park in their hometown of San Pedro, California when Boon, playing a game of "army" with other boys, fell out of a tree right next to him and found that his friends, one named Eskimo, must have ditched him. Both boys shared a passion for music; Boon's mother taught D. to play the guitar and suggested Watt learn to play bass. At first, Watt did not know the difference between bass and standard guitars. The pair eventually started playing music together, mostly covering songs from artists they admired. In the summer of 1973 Watt and Boon formed the Bright Orange Band, with Boon's brother Joe on drums. In 1976 they discovered punk; Boon's mother died, and the Bright Orange Band disbanded shortly thereafter. The next year, the two joined a short-lived band called Starstruck. Following Starstruck's disbandment, Boon and Watt met drummer George Hurley and formed The Reactionaries with vocalist Martin Tamburovich.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: After the Reactionaries disbanded, Boon and Watt formed Minutemen in January 1980. Watt has said their name had nothing at all to do with the brevity of their songs; rather, it was derived partly from the fabled minutemen militia of colonial times and partly to lampoon a right-wing reactionary group of the 1960s that went by that name. In the documentary "We Jam Econo", Watt also states that the name was a play on "minute" ( ). After a month with no drummer, during which Boon and Watt wrote their first songs, the band rehearsed and played a couple of early gigs with local welder Frank Tonche on drums. The group had originally wanted George Hurley to join, but he had joined a hardcore punk band called Hey Taxi! with Michael Ely and Spider Taylor after the Reactionaries disbanded. Tonche quit the group, citing a dislike of the audience the band initially drew, and Hurley took over as drummer in June 1980. (Early rehearsal recordings with Tonche on drums later became the "georgeless" EP.) Their first live gig was as an opening band for Black Flag.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Greg Ginn of Black Flag and SST Records produced Minutemen's first 7" EP, "Paranoid Time", which solidified their eclectic style. Like most punk bands at the time, the band sold the EP at their shows and at a few local record stores. It became a minor hit within the hardcore scene.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: They settled on their music style on their first LP, "The Punch Line" (1981), and toured constantly around America promoting the album. Their third EP and fourth overall release was "Bean-Spill". Their second LP, "What Makes a Man Start Fires?", gained attention from the alternative and underground press. They continued touring extensively, which included a double bill with Black Flag in Europe. This tour strengthened their place as one of the most well-known acts in the hardcore scene. In 1983 they released their third LP, "Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat".


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Minutemen's anti-rockist eclecticism was perhaps best exemplified on 1984's double album "Double Nickels on the Dime". Though still somewhat obscure to mainstream audiences, "Double Nickels" has been cited as one of the more innovative and enduring albums of the 1980s American rock underground. On "Double Nickels", they co-wrote some songs with other musicians, notably Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski, and Joe Baiza. In 1985 they released their most commercial-sounding recording, "Project: Mersh". Though the album sounded more mainstream, it sold poorly compared to "Double Nickels" due largely to the negative reaction to such a commercial album from within the underground community. They continued touring, and by the time of their final album, "3-Way Tie (For Last)", they decided to take a small break. They played their last tour with R.E.M. Their final concert was in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 13, 1985.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: On December 22, 1985, Boon was killed in a van accident, putting an end to Minutemen. Watt fell into a deep depression after his friend's death, but was convinced to continue performing by Sonic Youth. In fact, the Ciccone Youth project was conceived in an effort to get Watt making music again.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: This put an end to the band's plans to record a half studio/half live triple album with the working title "3 Dudes, 6 Sides, Half Studio, Half Live". The live tracks were to be based on the ballots that they handed out and as a way to counteract bootlegging. A year later, however, Watt and Hurley compiled various live recordings, based on the ballots, which were released as "Ballot Result".


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In addition, Richard Meltzer had sent Watt lyrics for ten songs for an album on which he was going to collaborate. This project, eventually titled "Spielgusher", was completed (by Watt, Meltzer, Yuko Araki, and Hirotaka Shimizu) and released in January 2012 on clenchedwrench.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Following Boon's death, Watt and Hurley originally intended to quit music altogether. But encouraged by Minutemen fan Ed Crawford, they formed Firehose in 1986 and have both formed solo projects since Minutemen disbanded.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Watt has created four acclaimed solo albums, recorded four with now-former-wife Kira Roessler as the duo dos, recorded three others as part of the punk jazz jam band Banyan with Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Nels Cline (Wilco), and Money Mark Nishita (Beastie Boys), contributed on "Providence" off Sonic Youth's album "Daydream Nation" and "In the Kingdom No. 19" and "Bubblegum" off "EVOL", toured briefly as a member of Porno for Pyros in 1996 and J Mascis and the Fog in 2000 and 2001, and became the bassist for The Stooges in 2003. He founded his own label, Clenchedwrench, in 2011, to release many of his own projects, including his fourth solo album "Hyphenated-man". George Hurley has produced work with Vida, Mayo Thompson, and Red Crayola, further indulging the free-form and off-the-wall leanings showcased on "Double Nickels". Hurley and Watt have also continued to make music together both live and in the studio since Firehose's splitting in 1994, starting with a track, along with Petra Haden and Stephen Perkins, for the NORML benefit album "" in 1998. (See Legacy below for further Hurley/Watt projects.)


title: Minutemen (band)

text: On rare occasions since 2001, and usually in the Los Angeles area (two December 2004 performances in England being a notable exception), George Hurley and Mike Watt, who have remained friends since Firehose's disbanding in 1994, reunite to play a set list of all Minutemen songs as a duet.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: They refuse to have a substitute guitarist play late Minutemen guitarist D. Boon's parts; instead the songs are arranged for bass and drums. They insist that they not be billed as Minutemen for these shows or referred to as a Minutemen reunion, as they do not want to cheapen or "vampire" the Minutemen name. Instead, they insist on being billed under their real names and that the advertisements state that they will be "playing Minutemen songs as a duet." They were chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform one of these shows at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in Minehead, England.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: "Billboard" described the group as "provocative art-punk minimalists." They were influenced heavily by bands such as Wire, Gang Of Four, The Pop Group, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and The Urinals, and nearly all of their early songs had unusual structures and were less than a minute long—even later, when Minutemen's music became slightly more conventional, their songs rarely passed the three-minute mark. Though Minutemen were members of the hardcore punk community and were somewhat influenced by the speed, brevity, and intensity of hardcore punk, they were known for hybridizing punk rock and hardcore with various forms of music (like jazz, funk, acid rock, and R&B), separating them from most hardcore bands of that era. Critic Simon Reynolds compared their "nimble punk-funk" to Gang of Four. In a 1984 Trouser Press article, John Leland wrote, "[t]he Minutemen make anti-fusion music. They use particles of jazz, noise and especially funk to split apart the sluggish nucleus of rock. The songs are necessarily fragmented, but quality musicianship creates an overall unity. The band rearranges fragments so adroitly and thoughtfully that even 30-second songs are fully satisfying compositions."


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Minutemen were fans of Captain Beefheart, and echoes of his distinctive, disjointed, avant-blues music can be heard in their songs, especially their early output. Through most of their career they ignored standard verse-chorus-verse song structures in favor of experimenting with musical dynamics, rhythm, and noise. Later in their career they blended in more traditional song elements they had initially avoided. They also played cover versions of classic rock songs by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steely Dan, and Blue Öyster Cult.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Boon and Watt split songwriting fairly evenly (and Hurley made many contributions as well), though Watt rarely sang and Hurley even less so. Boon's songs were typically more direct and progressively political in nature, while Watt's were often abstract, self-referential "spiels." Lyrics and themes would thus often veer from surreal humor, as in "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs" and "One Reporter's Opinion", to the frustrations of blue collar life in California, as in the enduring "This Ain't No Picnic". While many contemporaries rarely displayed a sense of humor, Minutemen were generally more light-hearted and whimsical. One example of this can be found in the title of their album "Double Nickels on the Dime", which poked fun at Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" by implying that the Minutemen preferred to take risks with their music rather than behind the wheel of a car.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Many of the band's peers credit Minutemen. Dave Alvin of The Blasters called Minutemen "one of the finest combos to ever step on to a beer soaked stage". Joe Strummer of The Clash listed Minutemen as one of the ultimate punk bands along with Ramones, Television Personalities, and Buzzcocks.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In the early 2000s, the instrumental portions of the Minutemen song "Corona" was the main theme song of the MTV reality stunt show "Jackass".


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In 2000 Watt, as administrator of the band's publishing, allowed the automaker Volvo to use the Boon instrumental "Love Dance" in a car ad. Boon's royalties were paid to his father, who was suffering from emphysema. Watt simply refers to the decision as a way for Boon to help his father from beyond the grave.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Since 2001 Watt and Hurley have done occasional gigs, mainly in the L.A. area except for two December 2004 shows in England, playing Minutemen songs as a duo with no guitarist. At some of these gigs, Watt would set up one of Boon's old guitars and amps on the side of the stage where Boon used to stand. These performances, at Watt's insistence, are to be billed strictly as "George Hurley and Mike Watt". They are also now involved in an improvisational music group, Unknown Instructors, with members of Saccharine Trust and Pere Ubu.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: The group's career is chronicled in the book "Our Band Could Be Your Life", a study of 13 important American underground rock groups by veteran music journalist Michael Azerrad. The title is taken from the lyrics to the "Double Nickels" track "History Lesson – Part II."


title: Minutemen (band)

text: The documentary film "We Jam Econo" charts the band's history through interviews with Watt, Hurley, Henry Rollins, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other California punk rock contemporaries. The film premiered at the Warner Grand Theatre in the Minutemen's hometown of San Pedro in February 2005. The film was released on DVD in June 2006. In the spring of 2007 the documentary went into a heavy rotation cycle on various Sundance cable television channels.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In 2003 Watt released his own book on Minutemen, "Spiels of a Minuteman", which contains all of Watt's song lyrics from the Minutemen era as well as the tour journal he wrote during Minutemen's only European tour with Black Flag, essays by former SST co-owner Joe Carducci, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Blue Öyster Cult lyricist and longtime Watt hero Richard Meltzer, and illustrations by Raymond Pettibon that had been used in all of Minutemen's album artwork. The book, released by Quebec-based publisher L'Oie de Cravan, is published in English and French. In June 2015, Watt went on "WTF with Marc Maron" to discuss the legacy of the Minutemen.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Watt has dedicated all of Firehose's releases and his solo albums to the memory of Boon. "Disciples of the 3-Way" on Firehose's final studio album "Mr. Machinery Operator" is about Minutemen, and "The Boilerman" from Watt's second solo album "Contemplating The Engine Room" (which parallels the stories of Minutemen, Watt's father, and the novel "The Sand Pebbles") is about Boon; Watt had guitarist Nels Cline play one of Boon's old Fender Telecaster guitars on the track.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Sublime (whose lead singer Bradley Nowell also died prematurely) sampled Boon saying "Punk rock changed our lives" on "History Lesson Part II" from "Double Nickels" as part of their song "Waiting For My Ruca" from 1992's "40 Oz. to Freedom". On the final track from the same album titled "Thanx", all three Minutemen are mentioned. Watt repaid this salute by appearing in Sublime's video for "Wrong Way" in 1996. Sublime also sampled George Hurley's drum intro from "It's Expected I'm Gone" for their "Get Out! (remix)" on their posthumous release "Second Hand Smoke," as did San Diego-based indie rockers Pinback "o"n their eponymous debut LP. The Unknown Instructors track "Punk Is Whatever We Make It To Be" from their first album "The Way Things Work" contains interpolations by vocalist Dan McGuire of several lyrics from "Double Nickels on the Dime".


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In 1994, Little Brother Records released the Minutemen tribute CD and LP "Our Band Could Be Your Life". The CD version included 33 tracks by artists covering Minutemen songs, plus a track with a Boon interview and a live version of the Minutemen song "Badges". The LP version had 23 tracks, including the interview and Minutemen items. Tribute songs have been written by several acts, including The Ergs!, The Fad, and Uncle Tupelo. Bargain Music, Hot Club de Paris, Karate, Brutal Truth, Jeff Mangum, Yonder Mountain String Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers have all covered Minutemen songs.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: In 2015, the band EL VY, an American indie rock collaboration between Matt Berninger (lead vocalist of The National) and Brent Knopf (founding member of Ramona Falls and Menomena), inspired by both "Grease" and "We Jam Econo," imagined "as a sort of punk rock musical following the adventures of Didi and Michael — named after the Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt. Their song, It's a Game, is about The Minutemen.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: The group's early recordings (up until their 1985 12" EP "") were recorded as "econo" (Pedro slang for inexpensive, short for "economical") as possible – the group would book studio time after midnight at cut rates, tech their own shows, practice the songs before going into the studio, record on less-expensive used tape, and record the songs in the order they intended to have them on the record rather than waste time editing the master tape during the sequencing phase. In fact, contrary to standard practice even in indie rock, Minutemen sometimes saw records as a way to promote their tours, not the other way around.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Minutemen toured frequently, but usually for only a few weeks at a time – they all held down day jobs. Their "econo" practices helped ensure that their tours were generally profitable.


title: Minutemen (band)

text: Several Minutemen album sleeves and covers, such as the "Paranoid Time" EP and "What Makes a Man Start Fires?" LP and the inner gatefold jacket for "Double Nickels on the Dime", feature drawings by noted artist Raymond Pettibon, who was at the time associated with the SST label. Other album covers, like on "The Punch Line", "Project: Mersh", and "3-Way Tie (For Last)", featured paintings by Boon.


title: Ailuridae

text: Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora. The family consists of the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives.


title: Ailuridae

text: Georges Cuvier first described "Ailurus" as belonging to the raccoon family in 1825; this classification has been controversial ever since. It was classified in the raccoon family because of morphological similarities of the head, colored ringed tail, and other morphological and ecological characteristics. Somewhat later, it was assigned to the bear family.


title: Ailuridae

text: Molecular phylogenetic studies had shown that, as an ancient species in the order Carnivora, the red panda is relatively close to the American raccoon and may be either a monotypic family or a subfamily within the procyonid family. An in-depth mitochondrial DNA population analysis study stated: "According to the fossil record, the Red Panda diverged from its common ancestor with bears about 40 million years ago." With this divergence, by comparing the sequence difference between the red panda and the raccoon, the observed mutation rate for the red panda was calculated to be on the order of 10, which is apparently an underestimate compared with the average rate in mammals. This underestimation is probably due to multiple recurrent mutations as the divergence between the red panda and the raccoon is extremely deep.


title: Ailuridae

text: The most recent molecular-systematic DNA research places the red panda into its own independent family, Ailuridae. Ailuridae are, in turn, part of a trichotomy within the broad superfamily Musteloidea that also includes the Procyonidae (raccoons) and a group that further subdivides into the Mephitidae (skunks) and Mustelidae (weasels); but it is not a bear (Ursidae).


title: Ailuridae

text: Ailurids appear to have originated during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene in Europe. The earliest known member, "Amphictis", was likely an unspecialised carnivore, based on its dentition. Ailurids subsequently dispersed into Asia and North America. The puma-sized "Simocyon" found in Middle Miocene-Early Pliocene of Europe, North America and China was likely a hypercarnivore. Like modern red panda it had a "false thumb" to aid in climbing. Members of the subfamily Ailurinae, which includes the modern red panda as well as the extinct genera "Pristinailurus" and "Parailurus", developed a specialised dental morphology with blunted cusps, creating an effective grinding surface to process plant material.


title: Ailuridae

text: The relationship of the Ailuridae with other carnivorans is shown in the following phylogenetic tree, which is based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of six genes in Flynn, 2005.


title: Ailuridae

text: In addition to "Ailurus", the family Ailuridae includes seven extinct genera, most of which are assigned to three subfamilies: Amphictinae, Simocyoninae, and Ailurinae.


title: James R. Fitzgerald

text: James R. Fitzgerald (born June 24, 1953) is an American criminal profiler, forensic linguist, and author. He is a retired FBI agent and best known for his role in the UNABOM investigation, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of Ted Kaczynski.


title: James R. Fitzgerald

text: Fitzgerald's career in law enforcement began in 1976 as a police officer in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania. In 1987, after eleven years of local police work culminating in his promotion to the rank of sergeant, he was recruited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon graduation from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, Fitzgerald was assigned to the New York Field Division's Joint Bank Robbery Task Force. In 1995, Fitzgerald was promoted to Criminal Profiler at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, which would later become the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU. Through myriad investigations of homicide, serial rape, extortion, kidnapping, and workplace violence, Fitzgerald refined his skills in forensic linguistics and threat assessment, specialties that were used in the UNABOM investigation. In an interview with NPR, Fitzgerald said the Unabomber's writings were a "pivotal factor" in cracking the Unabomber's case. He further claimed that he and his colleagues used the writing in the Unabomber manifesto to help pinpoint the age and geographic origin of their suspect.


title: James R. Fitzgerald

text: Fitzgerald was also responsible for developing training programs and tools to improve the threat assessment capabilities of the FBI. Among these is the Communicated Threat Assessment Database (CTAD), an exhaustively indexed repository of data consisting of every communicated threat encountered in the course of FBI investigations.


title: James R. Fitzgerald

text: Fitzgerald has remained active in the fields of criminal profiling and forensic linguistics since retiring from the FBI in 2007, holding positions as adjunct faculty at both Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Stockton University in Pomona, New Jersey, and California University of Pennsylvania in California, Pennsylvania. He continues to work as a private consultant and technical advisor to free media productions, such as "Criminal Minds" and "Sleepy Hollow". Fitzgerald served as a consulting producer in the Discovery Channel's 2017 miniseries "", which features actor Sam Worthington as James "Fitz" Fitzgerald, described by Fitzgerald as "a composite character" of many investigators in the Unabomber case.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Island of the Blue Dolphins is a 1960 children's novel by American writer Scott O'Dell, which tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Karana, who is stranded alone for years on an island off the California coast. It is based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Native American left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island during the 19th century.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: "Island of the Blue Dolphins" won the Newbery Medal in 1961. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1964. O'Dell later wrote a sequel, "Zia", published in 1976. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" has been the subject of much literary and pedagogical scholarship related to survival, feminism, the resilience of Indigenous peoples, and beyond.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: The novel is based on the true story of "The Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island," a Nicoleño Native Californian who lived alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island, one of the Channel Islands off the California coast.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Around 1835, the Nicoleño people were taken aboard a ship headed for California with the intention that missionaries would convert them upon arrival on the mainland. Once aboard the ship, the Lone Woman realized that her infant was still on the island, prompting her to jump off the ship and care for her child. Due to inclement sea-faring weather, the ship could not return and she lived on the island for nearly two decades before being discovered and taken to the mainland in 1853 by sea otter hunter Captain George Nidever and his crew. According to Nidever, the Lone Woman lived in a structure supported by whale ribs and stashed useful objects around the island. She was baptized and given the Christian name Juana Maria, assigned to her by the Santa Barbara Mission where she eventually was brought. No one alive at that time spoke her language, so she struggled to communicate using a form of sign language. Just as the other Nicoleño Natives, who had previously been brought to the mainland, the Lone Woman died of dysentery after seven weeks.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: In 2009, the University of Oregon archaeologist Jon Erlandson found two old redwood boxes eroding from an island sea cliff, with whalebone placed on top of them. With colleagues René Vellanoweth, Lisa Barnett-Thomas, and Troy Davis, Erlandson salvaged the boxes and other artifacts before they were destroyed by erosion. Vellanoweth and Barnett-Thomas examined the contents in a San Nicolas Island laboratory, documenting nearly 200 artifacts of Nicoleño, Euro-American, and Native Alaskan manufacture. The boxes appear to have been cached intentionally sometime between 1725 and 1743. It was also believed the Lone Woman lived in a cave on the island.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: In 2012, Naval archaeologist Steve Schwartz believed he discovered the buried location of that cave based upon a century old map and began an investigation, working with archaeologist René Vellanoweth and his students from California State University, Los Angeles. The team’s work resulted in the opening of the cave being excavated, but Commanders at the Navy base on the island ordered Schwartz to halt the dig in 2015. The following year, Professor Patricia Martz started an online petition to stop the Navy’s plans to move artifacts from San Nicolas Island to a further facility in China Lake as there would be inadequate climate controls to preserve the integrity of the artifacts and allow them to remain close to where they were excavated. Despite gaining over 390 signatures, representatives from the Navy responded to the petition and formally expressed the safety and regulatory requirements met by China Lake. As such, the articles from San Nicolas were moved.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: The main character is a Nicoleño girl named Won-a-pa-lei, whose secret name is Karana. She has a brother named Ramo and a sister named Ulape. Her people live in a village called Ghalas-at and the tribe survives by gathering roots and fishing.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: One day, a ship of Russian fur hunters and Aleut people led by Captain Orlov arrive and persuade the Nicoleños to let them hunt sea otter in exchange for other goods. However, the Russians attempt to swindle the islanders by leaving without paying. When they are confronted by Karana's father Chief Chowig, a battle breaks out. Karana's father and many other men in the tribe die in battle against the well-armed Russians.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Later, the "replacement chief" Chief Kimki leaves the island on a canoe for new land in the East. Eventually, he sends a "giant canoe" to bring his people to the mainland even though he himself does not return. The white missionaries come to Karana's village and tell them to pack their goods and go to the ship. Karana's brother Ramo runs off to retrieve his fishing spear. Although Karana urges the captain to wait for Ramo to return, the ship must leave before a storm approaches. Despite restraint, Karana jumps off the ship and swims to shore and the ship departs without them.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: While awaiting the return of the ship, Ramo is brutally killed by a pack of feral dogs. Alone on the island, Karana takes on traditionally male tasks, such as hunting, making spears, and building canoes to survive. She vows to avenge her brother's death and kills several of the dogs, but has a change of heart when she encounters the leader of the pack. She tames him and names him Rontu.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Over time, Karana makes a life for herself. She builds a home made of whale bones and stocks a cave with provisions in case the Aleuts come back, so she can hide from them. She also tames some birds and an otter, named Mon-a-nee, while feeling a close kinship to the animals (the only inhabitants of the island beside herself).


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: One summer, the Aleuts return and Karana takes refuge in the cave. She observes the Aleuts closely and realizes that a girl named Tutok takes care of the domestic duties including getting water from the pool near Karana's cave. Fearful of being discovered, Karana goes out only at night, yet the curious girl stalks Karana, and the two meet. Karana and Tutok exchange gifts and she realizes how lonely she has been. The next day, Karana sees the ship with Tutok departing. Sadly, she returns to her house and starts rebuilding.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: More time passes, and Rontu dies. Karana soon finds a young dog that looks like Rontu and takes him in naming him Rontu-Aru. One day, Karana sees the sails of a ship, but it moors off-shore and leaves. Two years later in the spring, the boat returns. Karana dresses in her finest attire, a dress of cormorant feathers, and waits on the shore for the boat. Her rescuers make a dress for her, as they believe her dress of cormorant feathers is not appropriate for the mainland. She does not like the dress, but Karana realizes that it is part of her new life. The ship takes Karana, Rontu-Aru, and her two birds to the mission in Santa Barbara, California. There, Father Gonzales tells her that the ship that had taken her tribe away had sunk before it could return to the Island of the Blue Dolphins for her.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: After witnessing animal cruelty near his home, O’Dell first wrote "Island of the Blue Dolphins" to promote a respect for all forms of life in 1960. Its first submission was turned down, as the publisher believed the story should feature a male protagonist. Yet, O’Dell felt strongly about Karana’s presence and looked to other publishing companies. Although he wrote the novel with the intended audience of adults, O’Dell’s next publisher suggested that it would be better for children and it was published that same year. Soon after in 1961, it had tremendous success and was awarded the Newbery Medal.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: The 50th Anniversary edition of "Island of the Blue Dolphins" includes a new introduction by Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry and also includes extracts from Father Gonzales Rubio in the Santa Barbara Mission's Book of Burials. Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition, a critical edition edited by Sara L. Schwebel, was published in October 2016 by the University of California Press. It includes two chapters deleted from the book before publication.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: A film adaptation of "Island of the Blue Dolphins" was released on July 3, 1964. It was directed by James B. Clark and starred Celia Kaye as Karana. Jane Klove and Ted Sherdeman adapted the script from O'Dell's novel, and the film was produced by Robert B. Radnitz and Universal Pictures. The film was made on a slight budget but did receive a wide release three months after its New York premiere. Howard Thompson writing for "The New York Times" characterized it as a children's film. Kaye won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for her performance. The film earned an estimated $2 million in rentals in North America.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: At the time of the book's publication, "The Horn Book Magazine" said: "Years of research must have gone into this book to turn historical fact into so moving and lasting an experience." In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1956 to 1965, librarian Carolyn Horovitz wrote: "The girl, Karana, is portrayed in such intimate and close relationship with the natural elements of her background, the earth, the sea, the animals, the fish, that the reader is given both the terror and beauty of life itself. It is a book to make the reader "wonder"."


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Since the time of its publication, "Island of the Blue Dolphins" has been the subject of many pieces of literary scholarship. The text explores the themes of independence, vulnerability, growth, survival, paternalism, and rescue, among others. The first-person point of view employed throughout the text is another narrative technique that serves to strengthen Karana's characterization and convey her courage and love.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: The book can be considered a "Robinsonade," meaning that it tells the story of a character who must survive on a deserted island (or the equivalent), named after "The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe". Diann L. Baecker, a professor of Languages and Literature, suggests that the text is more than merely a "rescue narrative" where an orphan girl needs to be saved by a paternalistic hero. Rather, Baecker argues that readers themselves can interpret "Island of the Blue Dolphins" to be a feminist parable and story of survival.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Many attribute the long-lasting power of the novel to this existence of a strong female protagonist with unisex characteristics, brought to the public during a time when this was not the norm. Karana takes on roles typically associated with men in order to survive, such as her skillful crafting of weapons. At the same time, Karana remains tied to her feminine association with nature as she lovingly cares for hurt animals and vows never to hunt them again. Literary scholar and professor C. Anita Tarr argues the success of the story should be attributed to Karana's lack of emotions and the major gaps in O'Dell's writing, which allow readers to fill in their own interpretations and feelings.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Additionally, scholars agree that "Island of the Blue Dolphins" has both challenged and reproduced harmful stereotypes of Native peoples that had been propagated by past publications. Jon C. Stott, a professor of English, states that O'Dell's position as a Non-Native writer helped bring more attention to the culture and stories of Indigenous people. A past chair of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Hazel Rochman, also notes the challenges associated with writing authentically about another culture, yet suggests that O'Dell's research and empathy present in the text allowed it to become a long-lasting success.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Carole Goldberg, a Professor of Law and scholar of Native American studies, highlights "Island of the Blue Dolphins" as what is known as a "vanishing Indian story." Such stories perpetuate the idea that all Native tribes were assimilated into white society in the United States, while ignoring all moral and legal issues related to the colonization of Native Americans. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" plays into this harmful idea as all the members of Karana’s tribe are either brutally killed or taken away by missionaries, thus disappearing from the narrative entirely. Yet, an alternative reading of the text centered around cultural repatriation and land rights can still serve as a metaphor for tribal resilience.


title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

text: Sara L. Schwebel, chair of the Carolina Children’s Literature consortium and English professor, states that "Island of the Blue Dolphins" should be better integrated into school curriculum alongside relevant contemporary scholarship. Further, she contends that children can grapple with critical issues such as colonialism, disempowerment, and resilience in school settings. Children may also be more capable of dealing with death in books than adults perceive them to be, and exposure to "Island of the Blue Dolphins" or texts with similar depictions of death can be helpful for children to begin processing the concept of death at an early age.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is a central public sector undertaking based in New Delhi, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Steel, Government of India with an annual turnover of INR 1,03,480 Crore (US$13 billion) for fiscal year 2021–22. Incorporated on 24 January 1973, SAIL has 60,766 employees (as of 1 October 2022). With an annual production of 16.30 million metric tons, It is the largest government owned steel producer. The hot metal production capacity of the psu will further increase and is expected to reach a level of 50 million tonnes per annum by 2025.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL operates and owns five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur, Bokaro and Burnpur (Asansol) and three special steel plants at Salem, Durgapur and Bhadravathi. It also owns a Ferro Alloy plant at Chandrapur. As a part of its global ambition, the psu is undergoing a massive expansion and modernisation programme involving upgrading and building new facilities with emphasis on state of the art green technology. According to a recent survey, SAIL is one of India's fastest growing Public Sector Units. The psu also has an R&D Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS) and a Centre for Engineering in Ranchi, Jharkhand.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL traces its origin to the Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL) which was set up on 19 January 1954. It was initially designed to manage only one plant that was coming up at Rourkela.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: For Bhilai and Durgapur Steel Plants, the preliminary work was done by the Iron and Steel Ministry. From April 1957, the supervision and control of these two steel plants were also transferred to Hindustan Steel. The registered office was originally in New Delhi. It moved to Calcutta in July 1956, and ultimately to Ranchi in December 1959.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: A new steel company, Bokaro Steel Limited (Bokaro Steel Plant), was incorporated on 29 January 1964 to construct and operate the steel plant at Bokaro. The 1 MT phases of Bhilai and Rourkela Steel Plants were completed by the end of December 1961. The 1 MT phase of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in January 1962 after commissioning of the Wheel and Axle plant. The crude steel production of HSL went up from 1.58 MT (1959–60) to 1.6 MT. The second phase of the Bhilai Steel Plant was completed in September 1967 after commissioning of the Wire Rod Mill. The last unit of the 1.8 MT phase of Rourkela – the Tandem Mill – was commissioned in February 1968, and the 1.6 MT stage of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in August 1969 after commissioning of the Furnace in SMS. Thus, with the completion of the 2.5 MT stage at Bhilai, 1.8 MT at Rourkela, and 1.6 MT at Durgapur, the total crude steel production capacity of HSL were raised to 3.7 MT in 1968–69 and subsequently to 4 MT in 1972–73. IISCO was taken over as a subsidiary in 1978 and later merged in 2006.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: The Ministry of Steel and Mines drafted a policy statement to evolve a new model for managing the industry. The policy statement was presented to the Parliament on 2 December 1972. On this basis, the concept of creating a holding company to manage inputs and outputs under one roof was mooted. This led to the formation of The Steel Authority of India Ltd. The company, incorporated on 24 January 1973 with an authorized capital of , was made responsible for managing five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and Burnpur, the Alloy Steel Plant and the Salem Steel Plant. In 1978 SAIL was restructured as an operating company.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: A 50:50 joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC Ltd.). It manages the captive power plants at Rourkela, Durgapur and Bhilai with a combined capacity of 314 MW. It has installed additional capacity by implementation of 500 MW (2 x 250 MW Units) power plant at Bhilai. The commercial generation of Unit 1 commenced in April 2009 and the Unit 2 in October 2009.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: Established in 2001, A 50:50 joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and is engaged in power and steam generation and supplies power and steam (at various pressures) to SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) located at Bokaro for meeting the process requirement of BSL.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: The plant has 9 boilers (5 boilers each of 220 TPH, 3 boilers each of 260 TPH capacity and 1 boiler of 300 TPH) and 7 turbine generators (one 12 MW back Pressure Turbine Generator (TG), 2 TGs each of 55MW capacity, 3 TGs each of 60 MW capacity and one 36 MW back Pressure Turbine Generator. Gg


title: Steel Authority of India

text: Mjunction services limited operating in Information Technology and the Internet, is a 50:50 venture promoted by SAIL and TATA Steel. Founded in February 2001, it is today not only India's largest eCommerce company (having eTransacted worth over Rs. 900 billion till date) but also runs the world's largest eMarketplace for steel.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.2 MT slag based cement plant at Bhilai. The company shall commence cement production at Bhilai by March'2010, whereas clinker production at Satna shall start within 2009.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has incorporated another joint venture company with M/s JaiPrakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.1 MT cement plant at Bokaro utilising slag from BSL. The project implementation is under progress with commencement of cement production likely by July 2011. Bokaro Jaypee cement plant opening ceremony was held by the chief minister of Jharkhand shri. Arjun Munda in 2012.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with Manganese Ore (India) Ltd on 50:50 basis to produce ferro-manganese and silico-manganese required for production of steel.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with TATA Steel for joint acquisition and development of coal blocks/mines. New indigenous opportunities for coking coal development are being explored by the joint venture company for securing coking coal supplies.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: International Coal Ventures Private Limited is a special purpose vehicle set up to achieve the target of making steel PSUs self-reliant in the area of coking coal, a joint venture company has been incorporated composed of five central PSU companies i.e. SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Coal India Limited and other target countries.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: A consortium comprising state-owned NMDC and RINL and private sector steel players—JSW, JSW Ispat, Jindal Steel and Power, and Monnet Ispat and Energy and led by SAIL, plan to invest US$75 million in first phase for the development of Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan. The consortium, in November 2011, had won the mining rights for three iron ore mines which are said to contain 1.28 billion tonnes of rich reserves.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has decided to outsource development of two virgin iron ore mines at Rowghat in Chhattisgarh and Chiria in Jharkhand with an annual capacity of 14 and 15 million tonnes, respectively. The development of each mine is likely to cost between – .


title: Steel Authority of India

text: A 50:50 JV with Government of Kerala where SAIL has management control to revive the existing facilities at Steel Complex Ltd, Calicut and also to set up, develop and manage a TMT rolling mill of 65,000 MT capacity along with balancing facilities and auxiliaries.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: ICVL is a joint venture of five companies owned by the Indian government. Aside from Steel Authority of India Limited, the other venturers are Coal India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, National Minerals Development Corporation and National Thermal Power Corporation. ICVL acquired a 65 percent stake in the Benga coal mine from the Rio Tinto Group in July 2014.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL has signed a 50:50 joint venture with Burn Standard Company Limited for setting up a wagon components manufacturing facility at Jellingham in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district. The total investment for this project would be in West Bengal, and commercial production would begin from 2014. It will manufacture, sell, market, distribute and export railway wagons, including high-end specialised wagons, wagon prototypes, fabricated components/parts of railway vehicles, rehabilitation of industrial locomotives, etc., for the domestic market.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: The Government of India owns about 65% of SAIL's equity and retains voting control of the company. However, SAIL, by virtue of its Maharatna status in May 2010, enjoys significant operational and financial autonomy.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: As of 31 March 2015, SAIL has 93,352 employees, as compared to 170,368 (as of 31 March 2002). There has been a continuous reduction of headcount over the past few years due to enhanced productivity and rationalised manpower.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: The total requirement of its main raw material, iron ore, is met through its captive mines. To meet its growing requirement, capacities of existing iron ore mines are being expanded and new iron ore mines are being developed. In addition, new iron ore deposits in the states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka are being explored. Around 24% of its coking coal requirements are met from domestic sources, the remaining through imports. For improving coking coal security, the company is also making efforts for development of new coking coal blocks at Tasra and Sitanalla. SAIL is also India's largest miner of minerals that are involved in the steel making process, such as iron ore and coking coal. During FY 2019-2020, the company mined 32.406 million tonnes of steel making minerals.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL produced 13.9 million tonnes of crude steel by operating at 103% of its installed capacity, which is an increase of 1% over the previous year. It also generated 710 MW of electricity during FY2014-15.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL records turnover of over Rs 1 lakh crore. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) produced 18.733 million tonnes of hot metal and 17.366 million tonnes of crude steel during 2021-22, its best ever production performance. The increase in turnover coupled with improved operational performance, helped the company achieve its highest-ever numbers in terms of profitability.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: Of the 33 Prime Minister's Shram Awards announced for 2010 by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, 17 of which went to PSUs, SAIL employees won 11 awards. Of the total number of 76 awardees for the year, 45 belong to SAIL – a remarkable distinction for any organisation.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: Maharatna SAIL has received the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2011. The award, in recognition of SAIL's initiatives and achievements in the field of environment management, was presented by Union Minister for Home Affairs Shri P. Chidambaram on 24 June 2011


title: Steel Authority of India

text: 74 of a total of 128 awardees who have won the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP) are from SAIL. The 15 out of 28 awards won by SAIL went to our 74 employees for the performance year 2008. Bhilai Steel Plant won 7 such awards involving 36 employees, Bokaro Steel Plant won 6 awards involving 29 employees. Durgapur Steel Plant


title: Steel Authority of India

text: and Salem Steel Plant both won 1 award each involving five and four employees respectively. SAIL employees have won 4 out of 5 awards of Class A, which is the highest number of A Class awards won by any PSU in India.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: SAIL is in the process of modernising and expanding its production units, raw material resources and other facilities to maintain its dominant position in the Indian steel market. The aim is to increase the production capacity from the base level production of 14.6 MT per annum (2006–07) to 26.2 MT per annum of hot metal.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: On 25 May 2012, Steel Authority of India Limited entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of West Bengal and Burn Standard Company Ltd. for setting up of a Railway Wagon factory of approximately . This project will create an approximate 75,300 jobs.


title: Steel Authority of India

text: The company also looking to establish one full capacity integrated plant in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana and surveying the possibilities to set up the plant. The plant, which was proposed to be the first steel plant of such scale in the state, was estimated to get an investment of Rs. 4,400 crore.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Hoodoos range in size from the height of an average human to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers. Minerals deposited within different rock types can cause hoodoos to have different colors throughout their height.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: In certain regions of western North America these rocky structures are called hoodoos. The name is derived from Hoodoo spirituality, in which certain natural forms are said to possess certain powers, but by the late 19th century, this spirituality became associated with bad luck. Prior to the English name for these geographic formations they were already the origin of many legends from Native Americans. For example, hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park were considered petrified remains of ancient beings who had been sanctioned for misbehavior.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Hoodoos are found mainly in the desert in dry, hot areas. In common usage, the difference between hoodoos and pinnacles (or spires) is that hoodoos have a variable thickness often described as having a "totem pole-shaped body". A spire, however, has a smoother profile or uniform thickness that tapers from the ground upward.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Hoodoo formations are commonly found on the Colorado Plateau and in the Badland regions of the northern Great Plains (both in North America). While hoodoos are scattered throughout these areas, nowhere in the world are they so abundant as in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Utah. Hoodoos are also very prominent a few hundred miles away at Goblin Valley State Park on the eastern side of the San Rafael Swell and in the Chiricahua National Monument of Southeast Arizona. Some hoodoos are found in Sombrerete, Mexico at the Sierra de Organos National Park.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Hoodoos ("peribacası") are also found in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, where houses have been carved into the formations. These hoodoos were depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 new lira banknote of 2005–2009.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: In Armenia, Hoodoos are found in Goris, Khndzoresk, Hin Khot and several other places in the marz of Syunik, where many were once carved into and inhabited or used.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: In French, the formations are called "demoiselles coiffées" (ladies with hairdos) or "cheminées de fées" (fairy chimneys) and several are found in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; one of the best-known examples is the formation called Demoiselles Coiffées de Pontis.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: The hoodoo stones on the northern coast of Taiwan are unusual for their coastal setting. The stones formed as the seabed rose rapidly out of the ocean during the Miocene epoch. Efforts have been made to slow the erosion in the case of iconic specimens in Wanli.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: The Awa Sand Pillars in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, are hoodoos made from layers of compacted gravel and sandstone.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Đavolja Varoš (Devil's Town) hoodoos in Serbia feature about 200 formations described as earth pyramids or towers by local inhabitants. Since 1959, Đavolja Varoš has been protected by the state. The site was also a nominee in the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: The hoodoos in Drumheller, Alberta, are composed of clay and sand deposited between 70 and 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. These hoodoos can maintain a unique mushroom-like appearance as the underlying base erodes at a faster rate compared to the capstones at a rate of nearly one centimeter per year, faster than most geologic structures.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Hoodoos typically form in areas where a thick layer of a relatively soft rock, such as mudstone, poorly cemented sandstone, or tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), is covered by a thin layer of hard rock, such as well-cemented sandstone, limestone, or basalt. In glaciated mountainous valleys the soft eroded material may be glacial till with the protective capstones being large boulders in the till. Over time, cracks in the resistant layer allow the much softer rock beneath to be eroded and washed away. Hoodoos form where a small cap of the resistant layer remains, and protects a cone of the underlying softer layer from erosion. The heavy cap pressing downward gives the pedestal of the hoodoo its strength to resist erosion. With time, erosion of the soft layer causes the cap to be undercut, eventually falling off, and the remaining cone is then quickly eroded.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: Typically, hoodoos form from multiple weathering processes that continuously work together in eroding the edges of a rock formation known as a fin. For example, the primary weathering force at Bryce Canyon is frost wedging. The hoodoos at Bryce Canyon experience more than 200 freeze-thaw cycles each year. In the winter, melting snow, in the form of water, seeps into the cracks and then freezes at night. When water freezes, it expands by almost 10%, prying open the cracks bit by bit, making them even wider, similar to the way a pothole forms in a paved road.


title: Hoodoo (geology)

text: In addition to frost wedging, rain is another weathering process causing erosion. In most places today, rainwater is slightly acidic, which lets the weak carbonic acid slowly dissolve limestone grain by grain. It is this process that rounds the edges of hoodoos and gives them their lumpy and bulging profiles. Where internal mudstone and siltstone layers interrupt the limestone, one may expect the rock to be more resistant to the chemical weathering because of the comparative lack of limestone. Many of the more durable hoodoos are capped with a special kind of magnesium-rich limestone called dolomite. Dolomite, being fortified by the mineral magnesium, dissolves at a much slower rate, and consequently protects the weaker limestone underneath it. Rain is also the chief source of erosion (removing the debris). In the summer, monsoon-type rainstorms travel through the Bryce Canyon region bringing short-duration high-intensity rain.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Israeli Ground Forces () are the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the General Officer Commanding with the rank of Major General, the "Mazi", subordinate to the Chief of General Staff"."


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: An order from Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion on 26 May 1948 officially set up the Israel Defense Forces as a conscript army formed out of the paramilitary group Haganah, incorporating the militant groups Irgun and Lehi. The Ground Forces have served in all the country's major military operations—including the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 1956 Suez Crisis, 1967 Six-Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1976 Operation Entebbe, 1982 Lebanon War, 1987–1993 First Intifada, 2000–2005 Second Intifada, 2006 Lebanon War, and the Gaza War (2008–09). While originally the IDF operated on three fronts—against Lebanon and Syria in the north, Jordan and Iraq in the east, and Egypt in the south—after the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, it has concentrated in southern Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, including the First and the Second Intifada.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Ground Forces uses several technologies developed in Israel such as the Merkava main battle tank, Achzarit armoured personnel carrier, the Iron Dome missile defense system, Trophy active protection system for vehicles, and the Galil and Tavor assault rifles. The Uzi submachine gun was invented in Israel and used by the Ground Forces until December 2003, ending a service that began in 1954. Since 1967, the IDF has had close military relations with the United States, including development cooperation, such as on the THEL laser defense system, and the Arrow missile defense system.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The IDF traces its roots to Jewish paramilitary organizations in the New Yishuv, starting with the Second Aliyah (1904 to 1914). The first such organization was Bar-Giora, founded in September 1907. Bar-Giora was transformed into Hashomer in April 1909, which operated until the British Mandate of Palestine came into being in 1920. Hashomer was an elitist organization with narrow scope, and was mainly created to protect against criminal gangs seeking to steal property. The Zion Mule Corps and the Jewish Legion, both part of the British Army of World War I, would further bolster the Yishuv with military experience and manpower, forming the basis for later paramilitary forces. After the 1920 Palestine riots against Jews in April 1920, the Yishuv leadership realised the need for a nationwide underground defense organization, and the Haganah was founded in June of the same year. The Haganah became a full-scale defense force after the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine with an organized structure, consisting of three main units—the Field Corps, Guard Corps, and the Palmach. During World War II, the Yishuv participated in the British war effort, culminating in the formation of the Jewish Brigade. These would eventually form the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces, and provide it with its initial manpower and doctrine.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Following Israel's Declaration of Independence, Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion issued an order for the formation of the Israel Defense Forces on 26 May 1948. Although Ben-Gurion had no legal authority to issue such an order, the order was made legal by the cabinet on 31 May. The same order called for the disbandment of all other Jewish armed forces. The two other Jewish underground organizations, Irgun and Lehi, agreed to join the IDF if they would be able to form independent units and agreed not to make independent arms purchases. This was the background for the Altalena Affair, a confrontation surrounding weapons purchased by the Irgun resulting in a standoff between Irgun members and the newly created IDF. The affair came to an end when "Altalena", the ship carrying the arms, was shelled by the IDF. Following the affair, all independent Irgun and Lehi units were either disbanded or merged into the IDF. The Palmach, a leading component of the Haganah, also joined the IDF with provisions, and Ben Gurion responded by disbanding its staff in 1949, after which many senior Palmach officers retired, notably its first commander, Yitzhak Sadeh.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The new army organized itself when the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine escalated into the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which saw neighbouring Arab states attack. Twelve infantry and armored brigades formed: Golani, Carmeli, Alexandroni, Kiryati, Givati, Etzioni, the 7th, and 8th armored brigades, Oded, Harel, Yiftach, and Negev. After the war, some of the brigades were converted to reserve units, and others were disbanded. Directorates and corps were created from corps and services in the Haganah, and this basic structure in the IDF still exists today.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Immediately after the 1948 war, the Israel-Palestinian conflict shifted to a low intensity conflict between the IDF and Palestinian fedayeen. In the 1956 Suez Crisis, the IDF's first serious test of strength after 1949, the new army captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, which was later returned. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Golan Heights from the surrounding Arab states, changing the balance of power in the region as well as the role of the IDF. In the following years leading up to the Yom Kippur War, the IDF fought in the War of Attrition against Egypt in the Sinai and a border war against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Jordan, culminating in the Battle of Karameh.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The surprise of the Yom Kippur War and its aftermath completely changed the IDF's procedures and approach to warfare. Organizational changes were made and more time was dedicated to training for conventional warfare. However, in the following years the army's role slowly shifted again to low-intensity conflict, urban warfare and counter-terrorism. An example of the latter was the successful 1976 Operation Entebbe commando raid to free hijacked airline passengers being held captive in Uganda. During this era, the IDF also mounted a successful bombing mission in Iraq to destroy its nuclear reactor. It was involved in the Lebanese Civil War, initiating Operation Litani and later the 1982 Lebanon War, where the IDF ousted Palestinian guerilla organizations from Lebanon. Palestinian militancy has been the main focus of the IDF ever since, especially during the First and Second Intifadas, Operation Defensive Shield, the Gaza War, Operation Pillar of Defense, and Operation Protective Edge, causing the IDF to change many of its values and publish the IDF Spirit. The Lebanese Shia organization Hezbollah has also been a growing threat, against which the IDF fought an asymmetric conflict between 1982 and 2000, as well as a full-scale war in 2006.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The IDF is an integrated military force, without a separate ground arm from 1948 to 1998, when the Ground Forces were formally brought under a single command now known as GOC Army Headquarters (, "Mifkedet Zro'a HaYabasha", abbreviated Mazi). However, the Ground Forces are not yet a formal arm of the IDF, in the same way that the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy are.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Unlike most militaries, the IDF uses the same rank names in all corps, including the air force and navy. For ground forces' officers, rank insignia are brass on a red background. Officer insignia are worn on epaulets on top of both shoulders. Insignia distinctive to each corps are worn on the cap.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Enlisted grades wear rank insignia on the sleeve, halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. For the ground forces, the insignia are white with blue interwoven threads backed with the appropriate corps color.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: From the formation of the IDF until the late 1980s, sergeant major was a particularly important warrant officer rank, in line with usage in other armies. However, in the 1980s and 1990s the proliferating ranks of sergeant major became devalued, and now all professional non-commissioned officer ranks are a variation on sergeant major ("rav samal") with the exception of "rav nagad".


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The first two resemble each other but the Madei Alef is made of higher quality materials in a golden-olive while the madei bet is in olive drab. The dress uniforms may also exhibit a surface shine


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The service uniform for all ground forces personnel is olive green. The uniforms consist of a two-pocket shirt, combat trousers, sweater, jacket or blouse, and shoes or boots. The green fatigues are the same for winter and summer and heavy winter gear is issued as needed. Women's dress parallels the men's but may substitute a skirt for the trousers.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Headgear included a service cap for dress and semi-dress and a field cap or "Kova raful" bush hat worn with fatigues. IDF personnel generally wear berets in lieu of the service cap and there are many beret colors issued to IDF personnel. Paratroopers are issued a maroon beret, Golani brown, Givati purple, Nahal lime green, Kfir camouflage, Combat Engineers gray. Other beret colors are: black for armored corps, turquoise for artillery personnel. For all other ground personnel, except combat units, the beret for men was green and for women, black.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: In combat uniforms the Orlite helmet has replaced the British Brodie helmet Mark II/Mark III, RAC Mk II modified helmet with chin web jump harness (used by paratroopers and similar to the HSAT Mk II/Mk III paratrooper helmets), US M1 helmet, and French Modèle 1951 helmet – previously worn by Israeli infantry and airborne troops from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s and early 1980s.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Some corps or units have small variations in their uniforms – for instance, military policemen wear a white belt and police hat, and paratroopers are issued a four pocket tunic (yarkit/yerkit) worn untucked with a pistol belt cinched tight around the waist over the shirt.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Most IDF soldiers are issued black leather combat boots, certain units issue reddish-brown leather boots for historical reasons — the paratroopers, combat medics, Nahal and Kfir Brigades, as well as some Special Forces units (Sayeret Matkal, Oketz, Duvdevan, Maglan, and the Counter-Terror School). Women were also formerly issued sandals, but this practice has ceased.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: IDF soldiers have three types of insignia (other than rank insignia) which identify their corps, specific unit, and position.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: A pin attached to the beret identifies a soldier's corps. Soldiers serving in staffs above corps level are often identified by the General Corps pin, despite not officially belonging to it, or the pin of a related corps. New recruits undergoing "tironut" (basic training) do not have a pin. Beret colors are also often indicative of the soldier's corps, although most non-combat corps do not have their own beret, and sometimes wear the color of the corps to which the post they're stationed in belongs. Individual units are identified by a shoulder tag attached to the left shoulder strap. Most units in the IDF have their own tags, although those that do not, generally use tags identical to their command's tag (corps, directorate, or regional command).


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: While one cannot always identify the position/job of a soldier, two optional factors help make this identification: an aiguillette attached to the left shoulder strap and shirt pocket, and a pin indicating the soldier's work type (usually given by a professional course). Other pins may indicate the corps or additional courses taken. Finally, an optional battle pin indicates a war that a soldier has fought in.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Sometimes the IDF would also hold pre-military courses (קורס קדם צבאי or קד"צ) for soon-to-be regular service soldiers.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Israel is one of only a few nations that conscript women or deploy them in combat roles, although in practice, women can avoid conscription through a religious exemption and over a third of Israeli women do so. As of 2010, 88% of all roles in the IDF are open to female candidates, and women could be found in 69% of all IDF positions.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: According to the IDF, 535 female Israeli soldiers were killed in combat operations in the period 1962–2016, and dozens before then. The IDF says that fewer than 4 percent of women are in combat positions. Rather, they are concentrated in "combat-support" positions which command a lower compensation and status than combat positions.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The IDF's mission is to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel. To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life."


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Israeli military's primary principles derive from Israel's need to combat numerically superior opponents. One such principle, is the concept that Israel cannot afford to lose a single war. The IDF believes that this is possible if it can rapidly mobilize troops to insure that they engage the enemy in enemy territory. In the 21st Century, various nonconventional threats including terrorist organizations, subterranean infrastructure operated by Hamas, etc. have forced the IDF to modify its official defense doctrine.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Field rations, called "manot krav", usually consist of canned tuna, sardines, beans, stuffed vine leaves, maize and fruit cocktail and bars of halva. Packets of fruit flavored drink powder are also provided along with condiments like ketchup, mustard, chocolate spread and jam. Around 2010, the IDF announced that certain freeze dried MREs served in water activated disposable heaters like goulash, turkey schwarma and meatballs would be introduced as field rations.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: One staple of these rations was "loof", a type of Kosher spam made from chicken or beef that was phased out around 2008. Food historian Gil Marks has written that: "Many Israeli soldiers insist that Loof uses all the parts of the cow that the hot dog manufacturers will not accept, but no one outside of the manufacturer and the kosher supervisors actually know what is inside."


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Ground Forces possess various domestic and foreign weapons and computer systems. Some equipment is from the United States (modified for IDF use) such as the M4A1 and M16 assault rifles, the M24 SWS 7.62 mm bolt action sniper rifle, the SR-25 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper rifle, and the AH-1 Cobra and AH-64D Apache attack helicopters.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Israel has a domestic arms industry, which has developed weapons and vehicles such as the Merkava battle tank series, and various small arms such as the Galil and Tavor assault rifles, and the Uzi submachine gun.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: Israel has also installed a variant of the Samson RCWS, a remote controlled weapons platform, which can include machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles on a remotely operated turret, in pillboxes along the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier to prevent Palestinian militants from entering its territory. Israel has developed observation balloons equipped with sophisticated cameras and surveillance systems used to thwart terror attacks from Gaza. The Ground Forces also possess advanced combat engineering equipment including the IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer, IDF Puma combat engineering vehicle, Tzefa Shiryon and CARPET minefield breaching rockets, and a variety of robots and explosive devices.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The IDF is planning a number of technological upgrades and structural reforms for the future. Training has been increased with greater cooperation between ground, air, and naval units.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Ground Forces are phasing out the M-16 rifle in favor of the IWI Tavor variants, most recently the IWI Tavor X95 flat-top ("Micro-Tavor Dor Gimel"). In addition, the outdated M113 armored personnel carriers are being replaced by the new Namer APCs, with 200 ordered in 2014, as well as obtaining the Eitan AFV, and is upgrading its IDF Achzarit APCs.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The backbone of the Artillery Corps, the M109 howitzer, will be phased out in favor of a still-undecided replacement, with the ATMOS 2000 and Artillery Gun Module under primary consideration.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The IDF is also planning a future tank to replace the Merkava, which will be able to fire lasers and electromagnetic pulses, run on a hybrid engine, with a crew as small as two, will be faster, and will be better-protected, with emphasis on protection systems such as the Trophy over armor.


title: Israeli Ground Forces

text: The Combat Engineering Corps assimilated new technologies, mainly in tunnel detection and unmanned ground vehicles and military robots, such as remote-controlled IDF Caterpillar D9T "Panda" armored bulldozers, Sahar engineering scout robot and improved Remotec ANDROS robots.


title: José Ramos-Horta

text: José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".


title: José Ramos-Horta

text: As a founder and former member of Fretilin, Ramos-Horta served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975–1999). While he continued to work with Fretilin, Ramos-Horta resigned from the party in 1988, becoming an independent politician.


title: José Ramos-Horta

text: After East Timor achieved independence in 2002, Ramos-Horta was appointed as the country's first foreign minister. He served in this position until his resignation on 25 June 2006, amidst political turmoil. On 26 June 2006, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, Ramos-Horta was appointed as acting Prime Minister by President Xanana Gusmão. Two weeks later, on 10 July 2006, he was sworn in as the second Prime Minister of East Timor. He was elected as President in 2007. On 11 February 2008, Ramos-Horta was shot during an assassination attempt.