title: David Lammy

text: Lammy married the artist Nicola Green in 2005; the couple have two sons and a daughter. Lammy is a Christian. He is also a Tottenham Hotspur F.C. fan. He states that his identity is "African, African-Caribbean, British, English, a Londoner and European". "I'm black, I'm English, I'm British and I'm proud."


title: David Lammy

text: In November 2011, he published a book, "Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots", about the August 2011 riots. In 2020, he published his second book, "Tribes", which explored social division and the need for belonging.


title: David Lammy

text: Lammy features as one of the 100 Great Black Britons on both the 2003 and 2020 lists. He has regularly been included in the "Powerlist" as one of the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent, including the most recent editions published in 2020 and 2021.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late December 2018, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would follow through on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economical capital and center of commerce. A vote in the Parliament of Burundi made the change official on 16 January 2019, with all branches of government expected to move to Gitega within three years.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative center of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962. Since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of frequent fighting between the country's two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias opposing the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura is on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal. The city also lies at the mouth of the Ruzizi River and two smaller rivers (Muha and Ntahangwa).


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura features a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: "Aw") bordering on a hot semi-arid climate ("BSh"). There are distinct wet and dry seasons. Its wet season is from October to April, while the dry season covers the remaining five months. Despite being located close to the equator, Bujumbura is not as hot as one might expect, due to its altitude. Average temperatures are constant throughout the course of the year with the high temperature at around and the low temperature at around .


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura is governed by a community council and community administrator. It is further divided into three "communes", or neighborhoods, each with its own council and council leader.


title: Bujumbura

text: Each of the three current communes were created from the 13 former communes (currently sub-communes), due to a 2014 reorganization, which in turn are further sub-divided into villages or zones:


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura's central market is in the City Centre, along Rwagasore Avenue. During the Burundian Genocide, citizens had become less likely to travel far from the City Centre, and markets in neighbouring communities lost their business to the central market in Bujumbura. Consequently, vendors moved their business to the central market, many settling outside the market due to lack of space. However, the central market houses the largest variety of merchandise in the city, with stores that sell a wide range of goods.


title: Bujumbura

text: At dawn of 27 January 2013 a serious fire ravaged Bujumbura's central market. Due to poor emergency response, the fire lasted for hours, resulting in a serious blow to local exchanges. Hundreds of vendors, local and foreign, lost their goods to the fire and the reported looting. While Burundi's emergency services were unable to extinguish the blaze on their own, neighbouring Rwanda sent helicopters to assist in the emergency response.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura is the location for the city's multisport Intwari stadium. Mainly used for football games, it is the country's largest stadium with 22,000 seats.


title: Bujumbura

text: The city is also home to multiple basketball and tennis courts, as well as a multitude of indoor and outdoor swimming pools.


title: Bujumbura

text: The University of Burundi is in Bujumbura, as are Hope Africa University, Université Paix et Réconciliation, Université des Grands Lacs, Université du Lac Tanganyika, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Lumière de Bujumbura, Bujumbura International University (BIU), International University of Equator, International Leadership University of Bujumbura, Université Ntare Rugamba of Bujumbura, Université Sagesse d'Afrique de Bujumbura, Université Martin Luther King, Institut Supérieur de Développement de Bujumbura (ISD), Ecole Nationale d'Administration "ENA", Institut National de Santé Publique "INSP", Institut Supérieur de Gestion des Entreprises "ISGE", Institut Supérieur d'Ingénieurs et Cadres Techniciens en Génie Informatique, Télécommunications et Technologies Avancées "INITELEMATIQUE".


title: Bujumbura

text: Public transport in Bujumbura mainly consists of taxis and mini-buses, locally known as the Hiace. Public transport vehicles are generally white and blue.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura's taxis are abundant all over the city, and are considered the safest form of transportation. There are taxi-motos (motorcycle taxis) and taxis-vélos (bicycle taxis), although they are only available in certain parts of the city.


title: Bujumbura

text: For long distance travel, locals prefer to take the many Hiace full-size vans, which travel regularly across Burundi. Bujumbura's main bus terminal is located by the Central Market.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura is also home to many clinics and the province's main hospitals: the Prince Regent Charles Hospital, the Roi Khaled Hospital, and the Military Hospital.


title: Bujumbura

text: Among the places of worship are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bujumbura (Catholic Church), Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi (Anglican Communion), Union of Baptist Churches in Burundi (Baptist World Alliance), and Assemblies of God. There are also Muslim mosques.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura's main attractions are its many museums, parks and monuments. Museums in the city include the Burundi Museum of Life and the Burundi Geological Museum. Other nearby attractions are the Rusizi National Park, the Livingstone-Stanley Monument at Mugere (where David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley visited 14 days after their first historic meeting at Ujiji in Tanzania), the presidential palace and the source of the southernmost tributary of the Nile, described locally as the source of the Nile.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura was also home of the independent weekly radio programme "Imagine Burundi", the country's first locally produced English-language programme that focused on stories about life in the region. The show was broadcast from September 2010 to August 2013, and recordings are archived on the show's website at imagineburundi.com.


title: Bujumbura

text: Bujumbura is projected to be the fourth fastest growing African continent city between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.75% growth.


title: Western Visayas

text: Western Visayas (; or "Kanlurang Visayas") is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental) and two highly urbanized cities (Bacolod and Iloilo City). The regional center is Iloilo City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Aklanon and Capiznon. The land area of the region is , and with a population of 7,954,723 inhabitants, it is the second most populous region in the Visayas after Central Visayas.


title: Western Visayas

text: On May 29, 2015, the region was realigned, when Western Visayas (Region VI) lost both the province of Negros Occidental and the highly urbanized city of Bacolod to the newly formed Negros Island Region. However, the region was dissolved, resulting in the return of Negros Occidental and Bacolod to Western Visayas Region on August 9, 2017.


title: Western Visayas

text: Regions first came into existence on September 24, 1972, when the provinces of the Philippines were organized into 11 regions by "Presidential Decree No. 1" as part of the "Integrated Reorganization Plan" by President Ferdinand Marcos. The provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo (including its then-subprovince of Guimaras), and Negros Occidental were grouped together to form the Western Visayas region.


title: Western Visayas

text: The province of Palawan was transferred to Region VI (Western Visayas) on May 23, 2005, by "Executive Order 429". The Department of the Interior and Local Government announced in June 2005 that the transfer had been completed.


title: Western Visayas

text: However, Palaweños criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa City and all municipalities but one preferring to stay with Region IV-B. Consequently, "Administrative Order No. 129" was issued on August 19, 2005, to address this backlash. This Order directed the abeyance of "Executive Order 429" pending the approval of an implementation plan for the orderly transfer of Palawan from Region IV-B to Region VI.


title: Western Visayas

text: By virtue of "Executive Order No. 183" issued on May 29, 2015, by President Benigno Aquino III, the province of Negros Occidental and its capital, Bacolod, were both removed from Western Visayas in order to form the Negros Island Region along with Negros Oriental. But later regained Negros Occidental and its capital, Bacolod City back into Western Visayas on August 9, 2017, when President Rodrigo Duterte dissolved the Negros Island Region, revoking Executive Order No. 183, s. 2015 through the signage of Executive Order No. 38, citing the reason of the lack of funds to fully establish the NIR according to Benjamin Diokno, the Secretary of Budget and Management.


title: Western Visayas

text: Western Visayas consists of the major island of Panay and the smaller Guimaras, as well as several outlying islands. It also includes the western half of the larger island of Negros. The region is bordered to the north by the Sibuyan Sea, northeast by the Visayan Sea, east by the province of Negros Oriental in Central Visayas, south by the Iloilo Strait and the Panay Gulf, and west by the Sulu Sea.


title: Western Visayas

text: Western Visayas consists of 6 provinces, 2 highly urbanized cities, 14 component cities, 117 municipalities and 4,051 barangays.


title: Western Visayas

text: Proposals to re-connect again Iloilo-Roxas, Iloilo-Kalibo, Iloilo-Malay (Aklan) and Iloilo-San Jose (Antique) from the Iloilo City via rail was included in the revival of the currently defunct Panay Railways network which has a station in Santa Barbara town proper.


title: Big B (film)

text: Big B (short form of "Big Brother") is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir action thriller film co-written and directed by Amal Neerad, starring Mammootty in the lead role with an ensemble cast including Manoj K. Jayan, Bala, Sumit Naval, Mamtha Mohandas, Nafisa Ali, Pasupathy, Shereveer Vakil, Innocent and Vijayaraghavan in supporting roles. The cinematography was done by Sameer Thahir, songs were composed by Alphonse Joseph and background score by Gopi Sundar.


title: Big B (film)

text: It is heavily inspired from the 2005 Hollywood film "Four Brothers". Big B is considered as a pathbreaking film in the history of Malayalam cinema, which introduced a new style of making and has later attained a huge cult following. A sequel titled "Bilal" was announced by Amal Neerad on 17 November 2017 and is in pre-production.


title: Big B (film)

text: The plot begins with the cold-blooded murder of Mary John Kurishingal. Her adopted sons arrive for her funeral from various places: Bilal John Kurishingal- a gangster, Eddy John kurishingal- a hotel owner, Murugan John Kurishingal – an action choreographer in film industry and Bijo- a student. The brothers take it upon themselves to unearth the mystery behind Mary's murder. Murugan is in love with Rimy, the daughter of Tommy Parekkadan, a happy-go-drunkard, who is against their relationship. Bilal starts meeting his old friends and contacts in the Kochi underworld to receive information about the killers.


title: Big B (film)

text: They piece the evidence together and find out that the murder was committed by two professional assassins from Mumbai. Balaji Shakthivel, an upright ACP, along with CI George are put in charge of Mary's murder case, who begins the investigation, but cannot fetch any evidence to prove anything related. They soon find out that the murder was one of the many meticulously planned operations, aimed to check the teacher's intrusions into unlawful exporting of children from Kochi. The unlawful operations are actually handled by Mayor and his henchman, an underworld don called "Sayippu" Tony.


title: Big B (film)

text: Bilal and his brothers takes up arms to avenge the murder. Meanwhile, Bilal makes Tommy accept the relationship between Murugan and Rimy. One night, Bijo gets killed by Tony's henchmen. However, Bilal shoots one of the henchmen and learns that Tony is the brain behind the series of crimes. Later, Tony kills Shakthivel and warns the Mayor to obey his instructions. Bilal orders Eddy and Murugan to talk to Tony for knowing his demands. Pandi Asi, one of Tony's men joins Bilal and his brothers as he seeks vengeance on Tony, where they also become successful in keeping George (who was Tony's sidekick) on their side. Bilal threatens Mayor that he will expose his corruptive plans to the whole media, which causes the Mayor to shoot and kill himself. George files this as a suicide in order to save Bilal from the case.


title: Big B (film)

text: Eddy and Murugan are called up to an island by Tony and his henchmen drops them there. Tony arrives and opens up to Eddy about his plans to kill Bilal and brothers, but Tony learns that his henchmen were bribed and are now against him. Asi reveals his grudge against Tony. Bilal arrives at the spot and kills Tony after a long fight. Tony is buried under the ditch by his men. After their mission, Eddy lives a happy and peaceful life with his family. Murugan spends time cheering with Rimy, while Bilal is seen helping the poor kids of their colony.


title: Big B (film)

text: The film was released on 13 April 2007. The director announced a sequel to the film titled as "Bilal" in 2017. The film was dubbed in Tamil as "Manik Baasha".


title: Big B (film)

text: Though the film was an average grosser at the box office, it received critical acclaim and became a trendsetter in Malayalam cinema for its cinematography and making, along with the use of few dialogues, dark color tone and extensive use of slow-motion and background score, which redefines that an age-old mass action drama can be converted with a unique and fresh style. Mammootty gained lot of appraisal for his portrayal as "Bilal", which remains one his most memorable characters. He received the Best Actor award in the 10th Asianet Film Awards for his role in the film.


title: Big B (film)

text: The songs were composed by Alphons Joseph, with lyrics penned by Jophy Tharakan and Santhosh Varma. The background score was composed by Gopi Sundar. Shreya Ghoshal sang her first song in Malayalam through this film. The song 'O January' is an unofficial cover of Shakira's Ojos Así.


title: Tim Finn

text: Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn Brothers.


title: Tim Finn

text: Brian Timothy Finn was born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, weighing 10 pounds at birth, to parents Richard and Mary. At the age of 13, he went to Sacred Heart College, Auckland, a Catholic boarding school, on a scholarship. He has two sisters, and one younger brother Neil Finn.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 1971 Finn commenced a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Auckland. There he jammed in music practice room 129 (later the name of a Split Enz song) with friends and future Split Enz bandmembers Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Philip Judd and Noel Crombie. Music soon became more important to him than his studies. In 1972 he quit university. A few months later, Phil and Tim formed the group Split Ends, renamed Split Enz in 1975, shortly before they left New Zealand for Melbourne. Between 1975 and 1984, the group released nine studio albums. Split Enz played its last show on 4 December 1984 in Auckland.


title: Tim Finn

text: Finn had his first success away from Split Enz in 1981 when his discarded demo "They Won't Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me" became a top 10 hit for Australian band Jimmy and the Boys. In 1983, Finn recorded his debut solo album, "Escapade", while still a member of Split Enz. This met with major commercial success both in Australia and New Zealand, and yielded hit song "Fraction Too Much Friction", which revealed a more rhythm-based sound than Split Enz had been known for. After contributing four songs to Split Enz album "Conflicting Emotions", Finn left the band permanently in June 1984, to focus on a solo career.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 1986 Finn released his second studio album, "Big Canoe". The album utilised a wide variety of instrumentation, including guitars, orchestral backings and traditional Indian instruments - most notably on single "No Thunder, No Fire, No Rain", which was inspired by the Bhopal chemical disaster. Though "Big Canoe" reached number three on the New Zealand charts, it failed to become the international breakthrough that Finn or record company Virgin had hoped.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 1987, Finn composed music for the Australian comedy "Les Patterson Saves the World", which yielded the Australian hit "You Saved the World". Finn had a small part in Australian film "The Coca-Cola Kid" alongside then-girlfriend Greta Scacchi, and a larger one in her Italian-shot romance "La Donna della Luna" (The Moon Woman).


title: Tim Finn

text: In late 1988, Finn recording his eponymous third album, "Tim Finn", for Capitol Records. The album yielded strong reviews and the New Zealand hit "Parihaka", based on a Māori village known for its campaign of passive resistance to European occupiers.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 2000, the album "" was released, featuring Finn, and fellow New Zealand singer/songwriters Bic Runga, and Dave Dobbyn. Recorded in August and September 2000 in venues around New Zealand, the album saw the three performers each equitably showcased. Both the concerts and album feature all three performers providing vocal and instrumental backing on each other's songs. The album peaked at number 2 on the New Zealand chart.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 2015, Finn composed further for theatre, with an opera "Star Navigator" commissioned by New Zealand Opera, Victorian Opera and West Australian Opera, and the musical "Ladies in Black" to premiere in Brisbane by Queensland Theatre Company in November 2015.


title: Tim Finn

text: As England and New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Finn and Phil Manzanera began working collaboratively on an album under the name "Tim Finn & Phil Manzenera", which is called "Caught by the Heart". The album was released on 26 August 2021. The album is produced by the two of them, with Manzenera doing the lead instrumental and Finn doing the vocals.


title: Tim Finn

text: In 1989, Finn began playing music with younger brother Neil, for an intended Finn brothers record. After working together on some songs, Neil later proposed incorporating the tracks onto the latest album of Crowded House, the group he had formed after Split Enz dissolved. Tim co-wrote eight songs, including the hits "Weather with You" and "Four Seasons in One Day".


title: Tim Finn

text: In 1993, both Tim and Neil were appointed Officers of the Order of British Empire, for services to music.


title: Tim Finn

text: The Finn Brothers resumed their collaborative work and released "Finn" in 1995. A second and final album was released in 2004 titled, "Everyone Is Here". A "Mojo" magazine review stated that it contained "some of the most haunting music to bear the Finn imprint".


title: Tim Finn

text: In 2020 Finn co-created Forenzics with former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. Forenzics is an experimental project with the debut album "Shades and Echoes" (2022) as a transformation of the songs of Mental Notes (Split Enz album). Alongside Finn and Rayner are former members from the album, Noel Crombie and Phil Judd - and also Phil Manzanera who was involved in the redevelopment of Mental Notes (into Second Thoughts (album)). Initial singles "Chances Are" and "Premiere Fois" were officially released in November 2021, however "Walking", "Strange Stars" and "Abandoned" were all released before on YouTube (from early 2020 until early 2021).


title: Tim Finn

text: Finn is currently married to television presenter Marie Azcona, formerly of MTV and TVNZ One's "Music Week". Finn and Azcona have two children, and have collaborated on several songs, some of which are featured on "Steel City", the dance show that Finn wrote. Aside from co-writing two tracks with Azcona, Finn collaborated on another with former Split Enz member Mike Chunn. Finn's son Harper is a musician in his own right.


title: Tim Finn

text: "Countdown" was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine "TV Week". The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.


title: Tim Finn

text: The Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia are awarded annually by Live Performance Australia.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Charles Alan Murray (; born 1943) is an American political scientist. He is the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray's work is highly controversial. His book "Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980" (1984) discussed the American welfare system. He co-wrote the book "The Bell Curve" (1994), co-authored with Richard Herrnstein, in which the authors argue that in American society, in the course of the 20th century, intelligence became a better predictor than parental socioeconomic status or education level of many individual outcomes, including income, job performance, pregnancy out of wedlock, and crime, and that social welfare programs and education efforts to improve social outcomes for the disadvantaged are largely counterproductive. "The Bell Curve" also claimed that intelligence quotient (IQ) differences were largely genetic, including average IQ differences among different races and ethnicities.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Of Scotch-Irish ancestry, Murray was born on January 8, 1943, in Newton, Iowa, and raised in a Republican, "Norman Rockwell kind of family" that stressed moral responsibility. He is the son of Frances B. (née Patrick) and Alan B. Murray, an executive for the Maytag Company. His youth was marked by a rebellious and pranksterish sensibility. As a teen, he played pool at a hangout for juvenile delinquents, developed debating skills, espoused labor unionism (to his parents' annoyance), and on one occasion helped burn a cross that he and his friends had erected near a police station.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray credits the SAT with helping him get out of Newton and into Harvard. "Back in 1961, the test helped get me into Harvard from a small Iowa town by giving me a way to show that I could compete with applicants from Exeter and Andover," wrote Murray. "Ever since, I have seen the SAT as the friend of the little guy, just as James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard, said it would be when he urged the SAT upon the nation in the 1940s." However, in a 2012 op-ed published in "The New York Times", Murray argued in favor of removing the SAT's role in college admissions, commenting that the SAT "has become a symbol of new-upper-class privilege, as people assume (albeit wrongly) that high scores are purchased through the resources of private schools and expensive test preparation programs".


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray earned a BA in history from Harvard in 1965 and a PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1974.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray left for the Peace Corps in Thailand in 1965, staying abroad for six years. At the beginning of this period, Murray kindled a romance with his Thai Buddhist language instructor (in Hawaii), Suchart Dej-Udom, the daughter of a wealthy Thai businessman, who was "born with one hand and a mind sharp enough to outscore the rest of the country on the college entrance exam". Murray subsequently proposed by mail from Thailand, and their marriage began the following year, a move that Murray now considers youthful rebellion. "I'm getting married to a one-handed Thai Buddhist," he said. "This was not the daughter-in-law that would have normally presented itself to an Iowa couple."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray credits his time in the Peace Corps in Thailand with his lifelong interest in Asia. "There are aspects of Asian culture as it is lived that I still prefer to Western culture, 30 years after I last lived in Thailand," says Murray. "Two of my children are half-Asian. Apart from those personal aspects, I have always thought that the Chinese and Japanese civilizations had elements that represented the apex of human accomplishment in certain domains."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: His tenure with the Peace Corps ended in 1968, and during the remainder of his time in Thailand he worked on an American Institutes for Research (AIR) covert counter-insurgency program for the US military in cooperation with the CIA.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Recalling his time in Thailand in a 2014 episode of "Conversations with Bill Kristol", Murray commented that his worldview was fundamentally shaped by his time there, "Essentially, most of what you read in my books I learned in Thai villages." He continued:, "I suddenly was struck first by the enormous discrepancy between what Bangkok thought was important to the villagers and what the villagers wanted out of government. And the second thing I got out of it was that when the government change agent showed up, the village went to hell in terms of its internal governance."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray's work in the Peace Corps and subsequent social research in Thailand for research firms associated with the US government led to the subject of his doctoral thesis in political science at MIT, in which he argued against bureaucratic intervention in the lives of Thai villagers.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: By the 1980s, his marriage to Suchart Dej-Udom had been unhappy for years, but "his childhood lessons on the importance of responsibility brought him slowly to the idea that divorce was an honorable alternative, especially with young children involved."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray divorced Dej-Udom after fourteen years of marriage and three years later married Catherine Bly Cox (born 1949, Newton, Iowa), an English literature instructor at Rutgers University. Cox was initially dubious when she saw his conservative reading choices, and she spent long hours "trying to reconcile his shocking views with what she saw as his deep decency". In 1989, Murray and Cox co-authored a book on the Apollo program, "Apollo: Race to the Moon". Murray attends and Cox is a member of a Quaker meeting in Virginia, and they live in Frederick County, Maryland near Washington, DC.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray has four children, two by each wife. While his second wife, Catherine Bly Cox, had converted to Quakerism , Murray still considered himself an agnostic. Murray commonly describes himself as a "wannabe Christian" who takes faith seriously but has yet to acquire deep faith.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray continued research work at AIR, one of the largest of the private social science research organizations, upon his return to the US. From 1974 to 1981, Murray worked for the AIR eventually becoming chief political scientist. While at AIR, Murray supervised evaluations in the fields of urban education, welfare services, daycare, adolescent pregnancy, services for the elderly, and criminal justice.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: From 1981 to 1990, he was a fellow with the conservative Manhattan Institute where he wrote "Losing Ground", which heavily influenced the welfare reform debate in 1996, and "In Pursuit". He has been a fellow of the conservative American Enterprise Institute since 1990 and was a frequent contributor to "The Public Interest", a journal of conservative politics and culture. In March 2009, he received AEI's highest honor, the Irving Kristol Award. He has also received a doctorate "honoris causa" from Universidad Francisco Marroquín. Murray has received grants from the conservative Bradley Foundation to support his scholarship, including the writing of "The Bell Curve".


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray argues in his book "Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980" (1984) that social welfare programs actually hurt society as a whole, as well as the very people those programs are trying to help, and concludes that these programs should therefore be eliminated. Murray proposes three "laws" of social programs to defend this policy prescription:


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" (1994) is a controversial bestseller that Charles Murray wrote with Harvard professor Richard J. Herrnstein. The book's title comes from the bell-shaped normal distribution of IQ scores. Its central thesis is that in American society in the 20th century intelligence had become a better predictor of many factors including financial income, job performance, unwed pregnancy, and crime than one's parents' socio-economic status or education level. The book also argued that those with high intelligence (the "cognitive elite") were becoming separated from those with average and below-average intelligence, and that this constituted a dangerous social trend. He also warned of a merger of the "cognitive elite" with the "wealth elite", which would become increasingly isolated and could result in an authoritarian "custodial state".


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Much of the controversy stemmed from chapters 13 and 14, where the authors wrote about the enduring differences in race and intelligence and discuss implications of that difference. They write in the introduction to chapter 13 that "The debate about whether and how much genes and environment have to do with ethnic differences remains unresolved," and that "It seems highly likely to us that both genes and the environment have something to do with racial differences." This stands in contrast to the contemporary and subsequent consensus of mainstream researchers, who do not find that racial disparities in educational attainment or measured intelligence are explained by between-group genetic differences.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: After its publication, academics criticized the book. Some said it supported long-discredited "scientific racism" and a number of books were written to rebut "The Bell Curve." Those works included a 1996 edition of evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould's "The Mismeasure of Man"; a collection of essays, "" (1995), reacting to Murray and Herrnstein's commentary; and "The Bell Curve Debate" (1995), whose essays similarly respond to issues raised in "The Bell Curve". Arthur S. Goldberger and Charles F. Manski critique the empirical methods supporting the book's hypotheses.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In his bestseller "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010" (2012), Murray describes diverging trends between poor and upper middle-class white Americans in the half-century after the death of John F. Kennedy. He focuses on white Americans in order to argue that economic decline in that period was not experienced solely by minorities, whom he brings into his argument in the last few chapters of the book. He argues that class strain has cleaved white Americans into two distinct, highly segregated strata: "an upper class, defined by educational attainment, and a new lower class, characterized by the lack of it. Murray also posits that the new [white] 'lower class' is less industrious, less likely to marry and raise children in a two-parent household, and more politically and socially disengaged."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Critics have suggested that he cherry-picked the data and time period under analysis, with Nell Irvin Painter, for example, writing that "behaviors that seem to have begun in the 1960s belong to a much longer and more complex history than ideologically driven writers like Mr. Murray would have us believe."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray has written opinion pieces for "The New Republic", "Commentary", "The Public Interest", "The New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal", "National Review", and "The Washington Post". He has been a witness before United States House and Senate committees and a consultant to senior Republican government officials in the United States and other conservative officials in the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In the April 2007 issue of "Commentary" magazine, Murray wrote on the disproportionate representation of Jews in the ranks of outstanding achievers and says that one of the reasons is that they "have been found to have an unusually high mean intelligence as measured by IQ tests since the first Jewish samples were tested". His article concludes with an assertion: "At this point, I take sanctuary in my remaining hypothesis, uniquely parsimonious and happily irrefutable. The Jews are God's chosen people."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In the July/August 2007 issue of "The American", a magazine published by the American Enterprise Institute, Murray says he has changed his mind about SAT tests and says they should be scrapped: "Perhaps the SAT had made an important independent contribution to predicting college performance in earlier years, but by the time research was conducted in the last half of the 1990s, the test had already been ruined by political correctness." Murray advocates replacing the traditional SAT with the College Board's subject achievement tests: "The surprising empirical reality is that the SAT is redundant if students are required to take achievement tests."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: On March 2, 2017, Murray was scheduled to speak at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, about "". Murray was invited to attend the college by Middlebury's American Enterprise Institute Club, who received co-sponsorship of the event from a professor in the political science department. Before Murray was able to speak, students within the hall rose to their feet and recited in unison a speech about the eugenicist implications of Murray's work. Students proceeded to chant—"Charles Murray go away, racist sexist anti-gay!"; "Who is the enemy? White supremacy!"; "This is what democracy looks like!"—and dance in the hall in an effort to stop Murray from speaking. Bill Burger, Middlebury College's Vice President of Communications, announced that the speech would be moved to another location. A closed circuit broadcast showed Murray being interviewed by political science professor Allison Stanger—chanting from protesters could be heard throughout the broadcast. After the interview, there was a violent confrontation between protesters—both from the college and the surrounding community—and Murray, Vice President for Communications Bill Burger, and Stanger (who was hospitalized with a neck injury and concussion) as they left the McCullough Student Center. Middlebury students claimed that Middlebury Public Safety officers instigated and escalated violence against nonviolent protesters and that administrator Bill Burger assaulted protesters with a car. Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton responded after the event, saying the school would respond to "the clear violations of Middlebury College policy that occurred inside and outside Wilson Hall". The school took disciplinary action against 74 students for their involvement in the incident.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray identifies as a libertarian. He has also been described as conservative, far-right, and as a white nationalist. His views on race and intelligence are now considered discredited by mainstream science.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In June 2016, Murray wrote that replacing welfare with a universal basic income was the best way to adapt to "a radically changing U.S. jobs market".


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Murray has been critical of the No Child Left Behind law, arguing that it "set a goal that was devoid of any contact with reality... The United States Congress, acting with large bipartisan majorities, at the urging of the President, enacted as the law of the land that all children are to be above average." He sees the law as an example of "Educational romanticism [which] asks too much from students at the bottom of the intellectual pile, asks the wrong things from those in the middle, and asks too little from those at the top."


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Challenging "educational romanticism", he wrote "Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality". His "four simple truths" are as follows:


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In 2014, a speech that Murray was scheduled to give at Azusa Pacific University was "postponed" due to Murray's research on human group differences. Murray responded to the institution by pointing out that it was a disservice to the students and faculty to dismiss research because of its controversial nature rather than the evidence. Murray also urged the university to consider his works as they are and reach conclusions for themselves, rather than relying on sources that "specialize in libeling people".


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: Citing assertions made by Murray in "The Bell Curve", The Southern Poverty Law Center labeled him a "white nationalist", charging his ideas were rooted in eugenics. Murray disputed this characterization. Francis Wheen summarised Murray's arguments as "Black people are more stupid than white people: always have been, always will be. This is why they have less economic and social success. Since the fault lies in their genes, they are doomed to be at the bottom of the heap now and forever." However, several have defended Murray against allegations of racism including Sam Harris, Glenn Loury, Andrew Sullivan, and Kyle Smith.


title: Charles Murray (political scientist)

text: In addition to these books, Murray has published articles in "Commentary" magazine, "The New Criterion", "The Weekly Standard", "The Washington Post", "The Wall Street Journal", and "The New York Times".


title: Principle of least privilege

text: In information security, computer science, and other fields, the principle of least privilege (PoLP), also known as the principle of minimal privilege (PoMP) or the principle of least authority (PoLA), requires that in a particular abstraction layer of a computing environment, every module (such as a process, a user, or a program, depending on the subject) must be able to access only the information and resources that are necessary for its legitimate purpose.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: The principle means giving a user account or process only those privileges which are essential to perform its intended function. For example, a user account for the sole purpose of creating backups does not need to install software: hence, it has rights only to run backup and backup-related applications. Any other privileges, such as installing new software, are blocked. The principle applies also to a personal computer user who usually does work in a normal user account, and opens a privileged, password protected account only when the situation absolutely demands it.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: When applied to users, the terms "least user access" or "least-privileged user account" (LUA) are also used, referring to the concept that all user accounts should run with as few privileges as possible, and also launch applications with as few privileges as possible.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: The principle of least privilege is widely recognized as an important design consideration in enhancing the protection of data and functionality from faults (fault tolerance) and malicious behavior.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: In practice, there exist multiple competing definitions of true least privilege. As program complexity increases rapidly, so do the number of potential issues, rendering a predictive approach impractical. Examples include the values of variables it may process, addresses it will need, or the precise time such things will be required. Object capability systems allow, for instance, deferring granting a single-use privilege until the time when it will be used. Currently, the closest practical approach is to eliminate privileges that can be manually evaluated as unnecessary. The resulting set of privileges typically exceeds the true minimum required privileges for the process.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: Another limitation is the granularity of control that the operating environment has over privileges for an individual process. In practice, it is rarely possible to control a process's access to memory, processing time, I/O device addresses or modes with the precision needed to facilitate only the precise set of privileges a process will require.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: Peter J. Denning, in his paper "Fault Tolerant Operating Systems", set it in a broader perspective among four fundamental principles of fault tolerance.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: Historically, the oldest instance of least privilege is probably the source code of "login.c", which begins execution with super-user permissions and—the instant they are no longer necessary—dismisses them via "setuid()" with a non-zero argument as demonstrated in the Version 6 Unix source code.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: The kernel always runs with maximum privileges since it is the operating system core and has hardware access. One of the principal responsibilities of an operating system, particularly a multi-user operating system, is management of the hardware's availability and requests to access it from running processes. When the kernel crashes, the mechanisms by which it maintains state also fail. Therefore, even if there is a way for the CPU to recover without a hard reset, security continues to be enforced, but the operating system cannot properly respond to the failure because it was not possible to detect the failure. This is because kernel execution either halted or the program counter resumed execution from somewhere in an endless, and—usually—non-functional loop. This would be akin to either experiencing amnesia (kernel execution failure) or being trapped in a closed maze that always returns to the starting point (closed loops).


title: Principle of least privilege

text: If execution picks up after the crash by loading and running trojan code, the author of the trojan code can usurp control of all processes. The principle of least privilege forces code to run with the lowest privilege/permission level possible. This means that the code that resumes the code execution-whether trojan or simply code execution picking up from an unexpected location—would not have the ability to perform malicious or undesirable processes. One method used to accomplish this can be implemented in the microprocessor hardware. For example, in the Intel x86 architecture the manufacturer designed four (ring 0 through ring 3) running "modes" with graduated degrees of access-much like security clearance systems in defence and intelligence agencies.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: As implemented in some operating systems, processes execute with a "potential privilege set" and an "active privilege set". Such privilege sets are inherited from the parent as determined by the semantics of "fork()". An executable file that performs a privileged function—thereby technically constituting a component of the TCB, and concomitantly termed a trusted program or trusted process—may also be marked with a set of privileges. This is a logical extension of the notions of set user ID and set group ID. The inheritance of file privileges by a process are determined by the semantics of the "exec()" family of system calls. The precise manner in which potential process privileges, actual process privileges, and file privileges interact can become complex. In practice, least privilege is practiced by forcing a process to run with only those privileges required by the task. Adherence to this model is quite complex as well as error-prone.


title: Principle of least privilege

text: The Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) concept of trusted computing base (TCB) minimization is a far more stringent requirement that is only applicable to the functionally strongest assurance classes, "viz.", B3 and A1 (which are "evidentiarily" different but "functionally" identical).


title: Principle of least privilege

text: Least privilege is often associated with privilege bracketing: that is, assuming necessary privileges at the last possible moment and dismissing them as soon as no longer strictly necessary, therefore ostensibly reducing fallout from erroneous code that unintentionally exploits more privilege than is merited. Least privilege has also been interpreted in the context of distribution of discretionary access control (DAC) permissions, for example asserting that giving user U read/write access to file F violates least privilege if U can complete his authorized tasks with only read permission.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: William John Owen Rowbotham, (14 March 1914 – 12 July 1999) was an English actor and songwriter. He was the father of actor Tom Owen. He is best known for portraying Compo Simmonite in the Yorkshire-based BBC comedy series "Last of the Summer Wine" for over a quarter of a century. He died on 12 July 1999, his last appearance on-screen being shown in April 2000.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: Born at Acton Green, London to a working-class family (his father a staunchly left-wing tram-driver), Owen made his first film appearance in 1945, but did not achieve lasting fame until 1973, when he took the co-starring role of William "Compo" Simmonite in the long-running British sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine". Compo is a scruffy working-class pensioner, often exploited by the bossy characters played by Michael Bates, Brian Wilde, Michael Aldridge and Frank Thornton for dirty jobs, stunts and escapades, while their indomitably docile friend Norman Clegg, played by Peter Sallis, follows and watches with a smirk. He wore a woollen hat and spent much of his time lusting after dowdy housewife Nora Batty. The series, starting in 1973 and finishing in 2010, is today the world's longest-running comedy series. Owen became an icon, a darling of its audience and central to its success and episodes for 26 years, right until his death. The threesome of Compo, Clegg and Foggy (this third character was initially Blamire, played by Michael Bates, and when Brian Wilde's Foggy took a hiatus, replaced by Michael Aldridge's, Seymour Utterthwaite) remains the most popular group of three the show ever produced. Foggy was replaced in 1997 by Frank Thornton's character Herbert 'Truly' Truelove, who remained in the show until its final episode in 2010.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: Owen served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during World War II, where he was injured in an explosion during a battle training course. His first screen role was in the 1941 short "Tank Patrol", produced by the Ministry of Information.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: During the 1960s, Owen had a successful second career as a songwriter, with compositions including the hit "Marianne", recorded by Cliff Richard. At this time he also collaborated with songwriter Tony Russell on the musical "The Matchgirls" about the London matchgirls strike of 1888. He co-starred as Spike Milligan's straight man in the West End hit "Son of Oblomov" in 1964. Owen also recorded a novelty song with Kathy Staff in 1983 called "Nora Batty's Stockings".


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: Owen was a regular in the early "Carry On" films - "Sergeant" (1958), "Nurse" (1959), "Regardless" (1961) and "Cabby" (1963) and also featured in several Lindsay Anderson films including "O Lucky Man!" (1973) and "In Celebration" (1974). On TV had had regular roles playing Fred Cuddell in 13 episodes of "Taxi!" (1963); Sergeant Sam Short in 13 episodes of "Copper's End" (1971), George Edwards in 4 episodes of Emergency-Ward 10 and George Chambers in 4 episodes of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?. He also had a cameo appearance in "Brideshead Revisited" as Lunt, Charles Ryder's scout during his days at the University of Oxford.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: Owen was a staunch socialist and supporter of the Labour Party. Peter Sallis described Owen as being "slightly to the left of Lenin" and claimed that Owen's left-wing views contrasted so much with the right-wing opinions of Michael Bates that "Last of the Summer Wine" was almost not made because of their arguments. Owen was a founding member of the Keep Sunday Special campaign group, and president of Arts for Labour, a campaign group of performers linked to the Labour Party. He was awarded the MBE in 1977.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in 1980 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in Trafalgar Square.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: While filming the "Last of the Summer Wine" French special for the millennium of 2000, Owen fell ill but insisted on continuing despite being in pain; when he got back to England, he was confirmed as having pancreatic and bowel cancer.


title: Bill Owen (actor)

text: He continued working right up to his death from pancreatic cancer in Westminster, London, on 12 July 1999. Owen is buried in the churchyard of St John's Parish Church, Upperthong, near his beloved town of Holmfirth in Yorkshire, the home of "Last of the Summer Wine". His co-star Peter Sallis was buried next to him after his death aged 96 in June 2017.


title: Iaido

text: , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword ("bokken") depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a blunt-edged sword called an iaitō or "mogitō". Few, more experienced, iaido practitioners use a sharp-edged sword ("shinken").


title: Iaido

text: The term "iaido" appears in 1932 and consists of the kanji characters (i), (ai), and (dō). The origin of the first two characters, , is believed to come from saying , which can be roughly translated as "being constantly (prepared), match/meet (the opposition) immediately". Thus the primary emphasis in 'iai' is on the psychological state of being present (居). The secondary emphasis is on drawing the sword and responding to the sudden attack as quickly as possible (合).


title: Iaido

text: The last character, , is generally translated into English as the way. The term "iaido" approximately translates into English as "the way of mental presence and immediate reaction", and was popularized by Nakayama Hakudo.


title: Iaido

text: The term emerged from the general trend to replace the suffix ("the art of") with in Japanese martial arts in order to emphasize the philosophical or spiritual aspects of the practice.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido encompasses hundreds of styles of swordsmanship, all of which subscribe to non-combative aims and purposes. Iaido is an intrinsic form of Japanese modern budo.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido is a reflection of the morals of the classical warrior and to build a spiritually harmonious person possessed of high intellect, sensitivity, and resolute will.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido is for the most part performed solo as an issue of kata, executing changed strategies against single or various fanciful rivals. Every kata starts and finishes with the sword sheathed. Regardless of the sword method, creative ability and concentration are required to maintain the feeling of a genuine battle and to keep the kata new. Iaidoka are often expected to practice kendo to maintain the combative spirit. It is normal for high-ranking kendoka to hold high rank in iaido as well, and vice versa.


title: Iaido

text: To perform the kata appropriately, iaidoka likewise learn carriage and development, grip and swing. At times iaidoka will practice complementary kata from kendo or kenjutsu. Unlike kendo, iaido practice never involves sparring.


title: Iaido

text: The metaphysical aspects of iaido have been influenced by several philosophical and religious currents. Iaido blends the ethics of Confucianism, methods of Zen, philosophical Taoism, the purifying rites of Shintoism and aspects of bushido.


title: Iaido

text: Because iaido is practiced with a weapon, it is almost entirely practiced using solitary forms, or kata performed against one or more imaginary opponents. Multiple-person kata exist in some schools of iaido; for safety, iaidoka usually use bokken for such kata practice. Iaido does include competition in the form of kata, but does not use sparring of any kind. Because of this non-fighting practice, and iaido's emphasis on precise, controlled, fluid motion, it is sometimes referred to as "moving Zen." Most of the styles and schools do not practice "tameshigiri", cutting techniques.


title: Iaido

text: A part of iaido is "nukitsuke". This is a quick draw of the sword, accomplished by simultaneously drawing the sword from the "saya" and also moving the "saya" back in "saya-biki".


title: Iaido

text: Iaido started in the mid-1500s. Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (1542 - 1621) is generally acknowledged as the organizer of Iaido. There were many different Koryu (customary schools), however just a few remain practiced today. Just about every one of them additionally concentrate on more seasoned school created amid 16-seventeenth century, in the same way as Muso-Shinden-ryu, Hoki-ryu, Muso-Jikiden-Eishin-ryu, Shinto-Munen-ryu, Tamiya-ryu, Yagyu-Shinkage-ryu, Mugai-ryu, Sekiguchi-ryu, et cetera.


title: Iaido

text: After the collapse of the Japanese feudal system in 1868 the founders of the modern disciplines borrowed from the theory and the practice of classical disciplines as they had studied or practiced. The founding in 1895 of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK) 大日本武徳会 (lit. "Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") in Kyoto, Japan. was also an important contribution to the development of modern Japanese swordsmanship. In 1932 DNBK officially approved and recognized the Japanese discipline, "iaido"; this year was the first time the term "iaido" appeared in Japan. After this initiative the modern forms of swordsmanship is organised in several iaido organisations. During the post-war occupation of Japan, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai and its affiliates were disbanded by the Allies of World War II in the period 1945–1950. However, in 1950, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai was reestablished and the practice of the Japanese martial disciplines began again.


title: Iaido

text: In 1952, the (IMAF) was founded in Tokyo, Japan. IMAF is a Japanese organization promoting international Budō, and has seven divisions representing the various Japanese martial arts, including iaido.


title: Iaido

text: Upon formation of various organizations overseeing martial arts, a problem of commonality appeared. Since members of the organization were drawn from various backgrounds, and had experience practicing different schools of iaido, there arose a need for a common set of kata, that would be known by all members of organization, and that could be used for fair grading of practitioner's skill. Two of the largest Japanese organizations, All Japan Kendo Federation (ZNKR) and All Japan Iaido Federation (ZNIR), each created their own representative set of kata for this purpose.


title: Iaido

text: The All Japan Iaido Federation (ZNIR, "Zen Nihon Iaido Renmei", founded 1948) has a set of five koryu iaido forms, called Tōhō, contributed from the five major schools whose teachers were involved in the creation of the organization.


title: Iaido

text: Seitei or Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Iaido (制定) are technical forms based on "seitei-gata", or standard forms of sword-drawing techniques, created by the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (All Japan Kendo Federation). This standard set of iaido kata was created in 1969 by a committee formed by the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF, "Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei" or ZNKR).


title: Iaido

text: The twelve Seitei iaido forms ("seitei-gata") are standardised for the tuition, promotion and propagation of iaido at the iaido clubs, that are members of the regional Kendo federations. All dojos, that are members of the regional Kendo federations teach this set. Since member federations of International Kendo Federation (FIK) uses seitei gata as a standard for their iaido exams and "shiai", "seitei iaido" has become the most widely practised form of iaido in Japan and the rest of the world.


title: Iaido

text: Single-style federations usually do not have a standardized "grading" set of kata, and use kata from their koryu curriculum for grading and demonstrations.


title: Iaido

text: Many iaido organisations promote sword technique from the seiza (sitting position) and refer to their art as "iaido". One of the popular versions of these is the Musō Shinden-ryū 夢想神伝流, an iaido system created by Nakayama Hakudō (1872–1958) in 1932. The Musō Shinden-ryū is an interpretation of one of the Jinsuke-Eishin lines, called Shimomura-ha.


title: Iaido

text: The other line of Jinsuke-Eishin, called Tanimura-ha, was created by Gotō Magobei Masasuke (died 1898) and Ōe Masaji Shikei (1852–1927). It was Ōe Masaji Shikei who began formally referring to his iaido branch as the Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū 無双直伝英信流 during the Taishō era (1912–1926).


title: Iaido

text: Another popular iai school mostly found worldwide is Mugai ryu. Mugai-ryū (無外流) or "Outer Nothingness School" is a Japanese koryū martial art school founded by Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi (辻月丹資茂) on 23 June 1680. Its formal name is Mugai Shinden Kenpō (無外真伝剣法).


title: Iaido

text: Actually in the beginning, Mugai Ryu started as kenjutsu only school, but send and recommend its disciples to learn another koryu named "Jikyo-ryu iaijutsu", and after Jikyo ryu vanished without any successor, it is renamed into Mugai ryu iaijutsu/iaido up until today.


title: Iaido

text: Another popular Iaido school is Toyama-ryū (戸山流), which was established in 1925 in Japan. It was created by the Japanese army during World War II to create a simplified form. This style emphasizes the most important aspects of drawing and cutting. After the war it became obsolete, but was revived after 1952.


title: Iaido

text: Ranking in iaido depends on the school and/or the member federations to which a particular school belongs. Iaido as it is practiced by the International Kendo Federation (FIK) and All Japan Iaido Federation (ZNIR) uses the kyu-dan system, created in 1883.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido is commonly associated with either the FIK or the ZNIR, although there are many extant koryū which may potentially use the menkyo system of grading, or a different system entirely. Iaido as governed by the FIK establishes 10th dan as the maximum attainable rank, though there are no living 10th practitioners in Kendo, there still remains many in Iaido. While there are some living 9th dan practitioners of kendo, the All Japan Kendo Federation only currently awards up to 8th dan. Most other member federations of the FIK have followed suit, excluding Iaido.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido, in its modern form, is practiced as a competitive sport, regulated by the All Japan Kendo Federation. The AJKF maintains the standardized iaido kata and etiquette, and organizes competitions.


title: Iaido

text: An iaido competition consists of two iaidoka performing their kata next to each other and simultaneously. The competitors will be judged by a panel of judges according to the standardized regulations.


title: Iaido

text: European Kendo Federation has arranged iaido championships since 2000, and this competition is held every year.


title: Iaido

text: Many national and regional organisations manage and promote iaido activities. The following is a list of international organisations which include iaido:


title: Iaido

text: Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK), established in 1895 in Kyoto, approved and recognized the discipline iaido.


title: Iaido

text: The International Martial Arts Federation (IMAF) was established in Kyoto in 1952 and is dedicated to the promotion and development of the martial arts worldwide, including iaido.


title: Iaido

text: International Kendo Federation (FIK), established in 1970, an international organization for Kendo, Iaido and Jodo practitioners, which many national Kendo federations are a member of.


title: Iaido

text: All Japan Iaido Federation (or Zen Nippon Iaido Renmei) (ZNIR) was established in 1954 "in accordance with the Japanese bushido spirit to pass on the time-honoured system of Kobudo Iaido".


title: Iaido

text: The World Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū Iaido Federation, established in Tokyo in 2011, is dedicated to ensuring the orthodox transmission of MJER Iaido to future generations worldwide, as well as promoting and preserving the development of other schools.


title: Iaido

text: Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR) established in Machida Japan after WW II was created as "Toyama-Ryu Shinko kai" established by Tokutomi Tasaburo and Nakamura Taizaburo who were Gunto Soho instructors at the Toyama Ryu Military Academy for the Japanese Imperial Army. Over time the "Toyama-Ryu Shinko-Kai" was renamed as Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei, and practice eight kata from a derivative of Gunto Soho.


title: Iaido

text: Murayama City, the birthplace of iaido, operates a number of iaido experience and training programs. This includes training with some of the iaido masters and english speaking teachers in Yamagata.


title: Iaido

text: Iaido in the United States is under the auspices of the All-US Kendo Federation (AUSKF) and the various regional Kendo federations that are members of the AUSKF.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: The fourth season of the American television medical drama "Grey's Anatomy", commenced airing in the United States on September 27, 2007 and concluded on May 22, 2008. The season continues the story of a group of surgeons and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, describing their professional lives and the way they affect the personal background of each character. Season 4 had 12 series regulars with 10 of them returning from the previous season, out of which 8 are part of the original cast from the first season. The season aired in the Thursday night timeslot at 9:00 EST. In addition to the regular 17 episodes, a clip-show narrated by the editors of "People" recapped previous events of the show and made the transition from "Grey's Anatomy" to "Private Practice", a spin-off focusing on Dr. Addison Montgomery and aired on September 19, 2007, before the season premiere. The season was officially released on DVD as a 5-disc box-set under the title of "Grey's Anatomy: Season Four – Expanded" on September 9, 2008 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: For the first time in the show's history, many cast changes occur, seeing the first departure of 2 main cast members. Despite garnering several awards and nominations for the cast members and the production team, the season received a mixed response from critics and fans. Show creator Shonda Rhimes heavily contributed to the production of the season, writing 5 out of the 17 episodes. The highest-rated episode was the season premiere, which was watched by 20.93 million viewers. The season was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which resulted in the production of only 17 episodes, instead of 23 originally planned.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: This is the first season to be produced by ABC Studios under its current name, after the transition from Touchstone Television in May 2007. It was also produced by ShondaLand Production Company, and The Mark Gordon Company, whereas Buena Vista International, Inc. distributed it. The executive producers were creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Joan Rater, and James D. Parriott, all part of the production team since the series' inception. The regular directors were Rob Corn and Jessica Yu. Producer Shonda Rhimes wrote 5 of the 17 episodes, 2 of which were along with fellow producer Krista Vernoff. Unlike the other seasons, except from the first one, which aired mid-season, the fourth season of "Grey's Anatomy" had a reduced number of episodes, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which caused the production to cease from February to April, leaving the show with no writing staff during that time. Since the show had only produced 10 episodes before the winter-holiday hiatus, and aired another one after the break ended, the show decided to complete the season with 6 new episodes, and returned on April 24, 2008. Only 17 episodes were produced out of the 23 originally conceived for the season.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: After Kate Walsh's transition the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off, "Private Practice", her character left the show after a 2-year run. On June 7, 2007, it was announced that Isaiah Washington's contract had not been renewed. Former "Reunion" star, Chyler Leigh, guest starred in the final 2 episodes of season 3 as Lexie Grey, a new intern and Meredith Grey's younger half-sister. On June 11, 2007, it was announced that Leigh would become a series-regular, instead of a 13-episode story-arc as previously planned. The character Dr. Erica Hahn, portrayed by Brooke Smith joined the main cast, reprising her antagonizing role in the season's fifth episode. She replaces Preston Burke as Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Upon her return, she makes Sandra Oh's character, Cristina Yang work harder for her success in Cardiothoracics and initially served as a new love-interest for Mark Sloan, played by Eric Dane. Even though a new male character was originally thought to be introduced as a rival for Dr. Derek Shepherd, the change didn't occur. Former "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson was scheduled to make his return to television in a multi-episode arc as a doctor with his first appearance in the season's eleventh episode. Jackson's appearance was cancelled due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, and the storyline of the character he was supposed to play never aired on the show.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: The fourth season had 12 roles receiving star-billing, with 10 of them returning from the previous season, 8 of whom are part of the original cast from the first one. All the actors who are billed as series-regulars portray physicians from the surgical wing of the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. The majority of the show's episodes are narrated by Ellen Pompeo, who portrayed protagonist Dr. Meredith Grey, a surgical resident whose storylines are the series' focal-points. Sandra Oh acted as Meredith's best-friend, highly competitive resident Dr. Cristina Yang. Fellow resident Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens was portrayed by Katherine Heigl, while Dr. Alexander "Alex" Karev was played by Justin Chambers. T. R. Knight acted as insecure resident with self-confidence issues, Dr. George O'Malley, whereas Chandra Wilson portrayed Chief Resident and general surgeon Dr. Miranda Bailey, former mentor of the 5 residents during their internship. James Pickens, Jr. portrayed attending physician and general surgeon Dr. Richard Webber, who continues his position as Chief of Surgery, despite his former wishes of retirement. Orthopedic surgeon and fifth-year resident Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres, who was portrayed by Sara Ramirez, has to face her husband's unfaithfulness and her unexpected bisexuality. Attending plastic surgeon, Dr. Mark Sloan was portrayed by Eric Dane, who is constantly seeking reconciliation with former best-friend, attending physician and Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), whose lasting relationship with Meredith Grey faces difficulties. Former "Reunion" star Chyler Leigh was promoted to series-regular status, after short appearances in the final 2 episodes of the third season, portraying Meredith's half-sister Lexie Grey, who opts for a surgical internship at Seattle Grace Hospital against Massachusetts General Hospital, after her mother's sudden death. "Silence of the Lambs" star, Brooke Smith was upgraded to series-regular status after multiple guest appearances in the second and third seasons. An antagonizing character at first, she replaces Preston Burke as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, constantly displaying disrespect for Cristina's previous relationship with him.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: Numerous supporting characters have been given recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including former "Gilmore Girls" actor Edward Herrmann who appeared in 3 episodes. Seth Green of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" guest starred in 2 episodes, whereas Lauren Stamile portrayed nurse Rose, a love-interest for Derek. Former regular Kate Walsh appeared for the first time since her departure on May 1, 2008 receiving a special guest-star billing in the role of Addison Montgomery, now the main character of the spin-off "Private Practice". Jeff Perry, Loretta Devine and Debra Monk reprised their roles as Thatcher Grey, Adele Webber and Louise O'Malley, respectively. Diahann Carroll and Elizabeth Reaser continued their season 3-introduced roles as Jane Burke and Rebecca Pope, respectively.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had insulted co-star T. R. Knight with a homophobic slur during an argument with Patrick Dempsey. Shortly after the details of the argument became public, Knight publicly disclosed that he was gay. The situation seemed somewhat resolved when Washington issued a statement, apologizing for his "unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set." The controversy later resurfaced when the cast appeared at the Golden Globes in January 2007. While being interviewed on the red carpet prior to the awards, Washington joked, "I love gay. I wanted to be gay. Please let me be gay." After the show won Best Drama Series, Washington, in response to press queries as to any conflicts backstage, said, "I never called T. R. a faggot." However, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Knight said that "everybody heard him."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: After being rebuked by his studio, Touchstone Television, Washington issued a statement apologizing for repeating the word on the Golden Globes carpet. On January 30, 2007, a source told "People" magazine that Washington was scheduled to return to the "Grey's Anatomy" set as early on that Thursday for the first time since entering "executive counseling" after making the comments at the Golden Globes. However, on June 7, 2007, ABC announced it had decided not to renew Washington's contract, and that he would be dropped from the show. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," Washington said in a statement released by his publicist, borrowing the famous line from "Network". In another report, Washington stated he was planning to "spend the summer pursuing charity work in Sierra Leone, work on an independent film and avoid worrying about the show." In a subsequent interview, Washington claimed that "they fired the wrong guy", referring to Knight, and said he was considering filing a lawsuit as a result. He accused Knight of using the controversy to bolster his own career and increase his salary on "Grey's Anatomy." Washington, in late June 2007, began asserting that racism within the media was a factor in his firing from the series. On July 2, 2007, Washington appeared on "Larry King Live" on CNN, to present his side of the controversy. According to Washington, he never used the "F Word" in reference to Knight, but rather blurted it out in an unrelated context in the course of an argument "provoked" by Dempsey, who, he felt, was treating him like a "B-word," a "P-word," and the "F-word," which Washington said conveyed "somebody who is being weak and afraid to fight back." Washington himself said that his dismissal from "Grey's Anatomy" was an unfortunate misunderstanding that he was eager to move past. He later stated that if he were to be asked to make a cameo appearance on the show, he would not hesitate to say "yes." Washington's image was used in advertisements for the May 9, 2008 episode "The Becoming." After this aired, Washington's attorney Peter Nelson contacted ABC and Screen Actors Guild and cited this as an unlawful use of his client's image. His publicist, Howard Bragman, told "The Hollywood Reporter" that "they have the rights of the character to advance the story, but not the image" and stated he expected this to result in a "financial settlement", but it is still uncertain whether this ultimately happened.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: The season was the second to air in the Thursday night time-slot, at 9:00 ET, after it was moved at the beginning of the third season, following 2 seasons in the Sunday night timeslot, as a lead-out to "Desperate Housewives", which aired at 9:00 ET for its entire run. The season aired as a lead-out to "Ugly Betty", then in its second season, which aired on Thursday nights at 8:00 ET. "Grey's Anatomy" averaged 15.92 million viewers in its fourth season, ranking #10 in viewership. The highest-rated episode of the season was the season premiere, with 20.93 million viewers tuning in and a 7.3 rating, ranking #3 for the week. The episode showed a decrease in ratings compared to the previous season premiere, which had almost 5 more million viewers tuning in and a 9.0 rating. The season premiere also attracted less viewers than the previous season finale, which was watched by 22.57 million viewers, and received an 8.0 rating Although "A Change is Gonna Come" attracted more viewers than "Desperate Housewives" "Now You Know", which was watched by 19.32 million viewers, received a 6.7 rating and ranked #4 in the week, the episode was outperformed by "" "Dead Doll", which aired in the same hour and ranked first in the week, with 25.22 million viewers tuning in and an 8.8 rating. The lowest-rated episode was the ninth, watched by 14.11 million viewers and ranked #14 in the week, with a 4.9 rating, seeing a sudden decrease, after the previous episode, the second most-watched in the season, which attracted 19.61 million viewers and received a 6.8 rating. "Crash Into Me: Part 1" was outperformed in the time slot by "" "You Kill Me", the Thanksgiving special episode which attracted 14.75 million viewers and received a 5.2 rating, ranking #11 in the week. The season finale was watched by 18.09 million viewers, being the first-season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" to attract less than 20 million viewers. It was ranked #5 in the week, and received a 6.3 rating. There was a significant decrease in the number of viewers, compared to the previous season finale, which attracted almost 4 more million viewers and received an 8.0 rating.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: The following table shows each episode's live + same-day DVR 18–49 key demographic rating, the live + same-day DVR viewership, and the live + 7-day DVR viewership.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: Debbie Chang of "BuddyTV.com" expressed disappointment in the shows' development throughout the season, by stating it was "all about couples, jumping in-and-out of relationships, trying their darndest to have hot sex on the cramped, twin-sized bunk-beds in the on-call room." Chang also noted the little screen-time of characters Richard Webber and Mark Sloan, and the lack of romantic development in their storylines. Many critics negatively reviewed Izzie Stevens's development in the show's fourth season, particularly her affair with George. Katherine Heigl herself deemed their relationship "a ratings-ploy." Heigl explained: "They really hurt somebody, and they didn’t seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for it. I have a really hard time with that kind of thing. I’m maybe a little too black-and-white about it. I don’t really know Izzie very well right now. She’s changed a lot!" Laura Burrows of "IGN" stated the series became "a little more than mediocre, but less than fantastic" in its fourth season. She also said that "this season proved that even strong chemistry and good acting cannot save a show that suffers from the inevitable recycled plot." However, the episode "Physical Attraction, Chemical Reaction" received a positive review, with Burrows stating that it "fully encompassed all the things that make this show great: intense emotional drama and macabre OR activities." The Derek/Rose relationship received negative reviews, with Burrows stating that it was "emotional, but not remarkable." Jack Florey of "IndieLondon" reviewed the characters, stating that their behaviour is the show's biggest problem: "the self-absorbed, pretentious and frequently-selfish attitudes that drive the surgeons at the centre of Grey’s exasperate more than reward." As for the storylines, Foley stated that they didn't "ring true" and that "the plot devices became increasingly clunky", noting the lack of realism in arcs such as George and Callie's marriage and the Izzie's affair "as a means of ripping it apart." Florrey also commented on Meredith Grey's arc, by stating that she turned into "one of the most selfish, self-centered characters on television", whereas Mark Sloan's storyline was named "sex-obsessed, borderline-misogynistic and close to scandalous." Daniel Fienberg of "Zap2It" said "One of the season's best performances came from Emmy-nominated guest star Elizabeth Reaser." "Pajiba TV" reviewed Reaser's performance by stating that it "has been one of the only good things that show's had going for it anymore." "Entertainment Weekly" called Reaser's performance as Ava the sixth most-memorable patient performance on the show. About.com stated that Alex Karev developed into "a bold and overly-confident surgeon."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: Several actors and members of the production team have been awarded for their work on the show during the season. At the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 21, 2008, Sandra Oh was nominated for her performance as Cristina Yang in the episode "The Becoming", whereas Chandra Wilson received a nomination for her portrayal of Miranda Bailey in "Lay Your Hands on Me", both for the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Katherine Heigl who portrayed Izzie Stevens declined to put her name forward for consideration at the Emmy Awards, claiming that she had been given insufficient material on the series to warrant a nomination. Diahann Carroll was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Jane Burke in "Love/Addiction." The make-up team, consisting of Norman T. Leavitt, Brigitte Bugayong, Thomas R. Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman, was nominated for both Best Prosthetic Make-Up in "Forever Young" and Best Non-Prosthetic Make-Up in "Crash Into Me." Sara Ramirez's portrayal of Callie Torres was positively reviewed, resulting in her receiving a nomination at the 2008 American Latino Media Arts Awards. At the 65th Golden Globe Awards on January 13, 2008, the series was nominated for Best Drama Television Series, whereas Katherine Heigl's individual performance resulted in a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series. At the 40th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards, Chandra Wilson won Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, where Shonda Rhimes was awarded at the Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series category, for "Freedom." James Pickens, Jr. also received a nomination for his performance as Richard Webber at the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. At the 2008 Prism Awards, Justin Chambers was nominated for Performance in a Drama Series Episode, whereas Elizabeth Reaser received a nomination for Performance in a Drama Multi-Episode Storyline. At the Teen Choice Awards in 2008, Patrick Dempsey and Katherine Heigl were nominated for Choice Television Actor and Actress.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 4)

text: The fourth season was officially released on DVD in region 1 on September 9, 2008, almost 3 weeks before the fifth season premiere, which aired on September 25, 2008. Under the title "Grey's Anatomy: Season Four – Expanded", the box-set consists of episodes with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and widescreen format. It also contained extras available only on DVD, including extended episodes, interviews with cast and crew members, footage from behind-the-scenes and unaired scenes cut from the aired episodes. The same set was released in region 4 on November 5, 2009, after more than a year after its original release in the United States, whereas its first release date in region 2 was November 23, 2009. The DVD box set is currently #1074 in Movies and Television on Amazon.com and #1927 in Film and Television on Amazon.co.uk. The season was also released as a 5-disc Blu-ray box set in regions A and B.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu ( , , , , Transylvanian Saxon: "Härmeschtat", ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. Now the capital of the Sibiu County, between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65 Sibiu was also the capital of the Principality of Transylvania.


title: Sibiu

text: Nicknamed "The City with Eyes", the city is a well-known tourist destination for both domestic and foreign visitors. Known for its culture, history, gastronomy and diverse architecture, which includes the iconic houses with eyes that gave Sibiu its nickname, the city has garnered significant attention since the beginning of the 21st century. In 2004, its historical center began the process of becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sibiu was designated the European Capital of Culture in 2007. One year later, it was ranked "Europe's 8th-most idyllic place to live" by "Forbes". In 2019, Sibiu was named the European Region of Gastronomy. Sibiu hosted the European Wandering Capital event in 2021, the most important tourist wandering event in Europe. A European Union summit was also hosted by the town in 2019.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu is also known for its Christmas market. Personalities include Conrad Haas and Hermann Oberth, who were pioneers of rocketry. The company Elrond, which created the eGold cryptocurrency (among the biggest in the world), was founded by people from Sibiu.


title: Sibiu

text: As of 2011, the city has a population of 147,245, while a 2019 estimate puts it at 169,056. The proposed Sibiu metropolitan area has a population of 267,170. The city also administers the village of Păltiniș, a ski resort located 35 kilometres to the southwest.


title: Sibiu

text: Historically, Sibiu has been one of the most important centres of the Transylvanian Saxons. It is called "Härmeschtat" in their own local dialect.


title: Sibiu

text: The name of the city derives from the Bulgar-Turkic name Sibin<Sebin<Säbin, meaning "rejoice". An archaic version of the Romanian name Sibiu is "Sibiiu", while an obsolete folk name is "Sâghii", formerly spelled "Sîghii". Its Hungarian name is "Nagyszeben" ("Big/Greater Sibiu"), or colloquially, "Szeben".


title: Sibiu

text: In German, it is called "Hermannstadt" ("Hermann's city"), while in the local Transylvanian Saxon dialect, it is known as "Härmeschtat". In Yiddish, it is called סעבען "Seben" or הערמאנשטאט "Hermanshtat".


title: Sibiu

text: A number of other languages also have their own variants of the city's name, like Czech "Sibiň", Polish "Sybin", Serbo-Croatian "Sibinj", Old Bulgarian "Sibin" (Сибин) and the proposed Esperanto name "Sibio".


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu was initially a Daco-Roman city called "Cedonia." The town was refounded by Saxon (German) settlers brought there by king Géza II of Hungary. They came from territories of the Holy Roman Empire and Kingdom of France (nowadays parts of Germany, France and the Benelux countries) and arrived at around 1147. The first references to the area were "Cibinium" and "Cipin" from 1191 when Pope Celestine III confirmed the existence of the free prepositure of the Saxons in Transylvania, having its headquarters in Sibiu. The city also used the names "Prepositus Cibiniensis" (1192–1196) and "Prepositus Scibiniensis" (1211). In 1223, it was renamed to "Villa Hermanni", either in honor of archbishop Hermann II of Cologne or after a man who is believed to have founded the city, Hermann of Nuremberg. The actual German name of "Hermannstadt" ("Hermann's city") dates from 1366, while an earlier form, "Hermannsdorf" ("Hermann's village") was recorded in 1321.


title: Sibiu

text: In the 14th century, it was already an important trade centre. In 1376, the craftsmen were divided in 19 guilds. Sibiu became the most important ethnic German city among the seven cities that gave Transylvania its German name "Siebenbürgen" (literally "seven citadels"). It was home to the Universitas Saxorum (Community of the Saxons), a network of pedagogues, ministers, intellectuals, city officials, and councilmen of the German community forging an ordered legal corpus and political system in Transylvania since the 1400s. In 1699, after the Ottomans withdrew to their base of power in Hungary and Transylvania, the town became capital of Principality of Transylvania (since 1570 the principality was mostly under suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, however often had a dual vassalage). During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became the second- and later the first-most important centre of Transylvanian Romanian ethnics. The first Romanian-owned bank had its headquarters here (The "Albina" Bank), as did the ASTRA (Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Romanian's People Culture). After the Romanian Orthodox Church was granted status in the Austrian Empire from the 1860s onwards, Sibiu became the Metropolitan seat, and the city is still regarded as the third-most important centre of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Between the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and 1867 (the year of the "Ausgleich"), Sibiu was the meeting-place of the Transylvanian Diet, which had taken its most representative form after the Empire agreed to extend voting rights in the region.


title: Sibiu

text: After World War I, when Austria-Hungary was dissolved, Sibiu became part of Romania; the majority of its population was still ethnic German (until 1941) and counted a large Romanian community, as well as a smaller Hungarian one. Starting from the 1950s and until after 1990, most of the city's ethnic Germans emigrated to Germany and Austria. Among the roughly 2,000 who have remained is Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu is situated near the geographical center of Romania at . Set in the Cibin Depression, the city is about from the Făgăraș Mountains, from the Cibin Mountains, and about from the Lotru Mountains, which border the depression in its southwestern section. The northern and eastern limits of Sibiu are formed by the Târnavelor Plateau, which descends to the Cibin Valley through Gușteriței Hill.


title: Sibiu

text: The Cibin river as well as some smaller streams runs through Sibiu. The geographical position of Sibiu makes it one of the most important transportation hubs in Romania with important roads and railway lines passing through it.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu's climate is humid continental (Köppen: "Dfb"), with average temperatures of . The average rainfall is , and there are about 120 days of hard frost annually.


title: Sibiu

text: In 2007, Sibiu was the European Capital of Culture (together with Luxembourg). This was the most important cultural event that has ever happened in the city, and a great number of tourists came, both domestic and foreign.


title: Sibiu

text: The city of Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania, as it holds one of the best preserved historical sites in the country, many of its medieval fortifications having been kept in excellent state. Its old center has begun the process for becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Sibiu and its surrounding area have many significant museums, with 12+ institutions housing art collections, paintings, and exhibits in decorative arts, archeology, anthropology, history, industrial archeology and history of technology and natural sciences.


title: Sibiu

text: The city also lies close to the Făgăraș Mountains – a popular trekking destination, close to the city of Păltiniș and Arena Platoș ski resorts – both winter holiday destinations, and it is at the heart of the former Saxon communities in Transylvania renowned for its fortified churches.


title: Sibiu

text: Since 2007, a traditional Christmas market has been held in Sibiu. The first of its kind in Romania, it is inspired by Viennese Christmas markets, being a project developed by the Social Attaché of the Austrian Embassy in Romania, dr.h.c. Barbara Schöfnagel. It was held in the "Lesser Square" (Piața Mică) with 38 small stalls, a small stage and an area dedicated to children, having several mechanical attractions installed there. Since 2008, the market is held in the "Grand Square" (Piata Mare) grew to a number of about 70 stalls, a bigger stage was set up, where Christmas carols concerts are held. An ice skating rink and a children's workshop are also attractions which have been added in the following years. It was the first Christmas Market in Romania, but soon other Christmas markets emerged across the country. In 2013, the Sibiu Christmas markets was included in the "15 Of the Most Beautiful Christmas Markets in Europe"


title: Sibiu

text: In 2019, Sibiu had planned to host the European Gastronomical capital, by encouraging the local producers and businesses in the field of food production and culinary and gourmet culture, traditional workshops in the villages of the region, promoting farms and gastronomic circuits, or developing public programs to support small businesses in gastronomy and of the hospitality industry in the Sibiu region.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu is one of Romania's most culturally lively cities. It has 2 theatres and a philharmonic orchestra along with other smaller private theatrical venues and a theatre studio housed by the Performing Arts and Acting section of Lucian Blaga University, where students hold monthly representations.


title: Sibiu

text: The Radu Stanca National Theatre is one of the leading Romanian theatres. With origins dating back to 1787, it attracts some of the best-known Romanian directors, such as Gábor Tompa and Silviu Purcărete. It has both a Romanian-language and a German-language section, and presents an average of five shows a week.


title: Sibiu

text: The Gong Theatre is specialised in puppetry, mime and non-conventional shows for children and teenagers. It also presents shows in both Romanian and German.


title: Sibiu

text: The State Philharmonic of Sibiu presents weekly classical music concerts, and educational concerts for children and teenagers. The concerts take place in the newly restored Thalia Hall, a concert and theatre hall dating from 1787, situated along the old city fortifications. Weekly organ concerts are organised at the Evangelical Cathedral during summers, and thematic concerts are presented by the Faculty of Theology choir at the Orthodox Cathedral.


title: Sibiu

text: The Sibiu International Theatre Festival is an annual festival of performing arts. Since 2016, it is the largest performance arts festival in the world.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu's museums are organised around two entities: the Brukenthal National Museum and the ASTRA National Museum Complex. The Brukenthal Museum consists of an Art Gallery and an Old Books Library located inside the Brukenthal Palace, a History Museum located in the old town hall building, a Pharmacy Museum located in one of the first apothecary shops in Europe, dating from the 16th century, a Natural History Museum and a Museum of Arms and Hunting Trophies.


title: Sibiu

text: The ASTRA National Museum Complex focuses on ethnography, and consists of a Traditional Folk Civilisation Museum, a 96-hectare open-air museum located in Dumbrava Forest south of Sibiu, a Universal Ethnography Museum, a Museum of Transylvanian Civilisation and a Museum of Saxon Ethnography and Folk Art. Also planned is a Museum of the Culture and Civilisation of the Romany People.


title: Sibiu

text: The Dumbrava Sibiului Natural Park stretches over and it is away from the center of the city in the southwest direction along the road towards Răşinari. Also, here you can find the Zoological Garden and Ethnography Museum.


title: Sibiu

text: There is a Steam Locomotives Museum close to the railway station, sheltering around 40 locomotives, two of which are functional.


title: Sibiu

text: The first park in the city was The Promenade, later called "The Disabled Promenade." established in 1791, today part of Parcul Cetății (Citadel Park). Current arrangement of the park, including the space between the walls, dates from 1928.


title: Sibiu

text: The Sub Arini Park, established between 1857 and 1859 based on plans of military engineer Michael Seyfried, is one of the biggest and best-maintained parks in Romania. There are other green spaces in the city center, the best known being Astra Park, established in 1879.


title: Sibiu

text: Tineretului Park, Reconstrucției Park, Corneliu Coposu Park, Petöfi Sándor Park, Piața Cluj Park, Ștrand Park, Cristianului Park, Țițeica Park, Vasile Aaron Park, Lira Park.


title: Sibiu

text: Several festivals are organised yearly in Sibiu, the most prestigious of them being the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, organized each spring at the end of May. Medieval Festival organized every year in August, reviving the medieval spirit of Transylvania.


title: Sibiu

text: The Artmania Festival is held every Summer since 2006 and as of 2008 the Rockin' Transilvania Festival is also held in Sibiu.


title: Sibiu

text: The oldest Jazz Festival in Romania is organized here, as well as the "Carl Filtsch" festival for young classical piano players, the "Astra Film" documentary film festival, the Transylvania calling Festival a Multi Cultural 6-day Open Air Music festival! 26–31 July 2007, a medieval arts festival and many more smaller cultural events. Feeric Fashion Week is also hosted here.


title: Sibiu

text: Sibiu was awarded by IGCAT (International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism) to be part of the European Regions of Gastronomy program, event that will promote in 2019 the region's culinary heritage, multi-ethnic traditions and multi-cultural community.


title: Sibiu

text: The designation as a European Cultural Capital for 2007, owed greatly to the excellent collaboration with Luxembourg, but also to what many regard as a miraculous social rebirth taking place in the city during the last years. The Cultural Capital status was expected to bring about an abrupt increase in quantity and quality of cultural events in 2007.


title: Sibiu

text: The town government is headed by a mayor. Since 2014, the office is held by Astrid Fodor from the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR), who replaced Klaus Iohannis, the latter having become the 5th president of Romania. Iohannis, a Transylvanian Saxon, was mayor from 2000 to 2014, despite ethnic Germans nowadays making up less than 2% of Sibiu's population. Decisions are approved and discussed by the local government ("consiliu local") made up of 23 elected councillors. Sibiu is the capital of the Sibiu County.


title: Sibiu

text: Some of them were villages annexed by the city as it grew, others were built as the city developed and increased its surface.


title: Sibiu

text: The ASTRA National Museum Complex and the Zoo, located in the south, also fall within city limits. The Păltiniș ski resort, located 35 kilometres to the south, is also administered by Sibiu.


title: Sibiu

text: While Șelimbăr and the "Arhitecților" district of Cisnădie are not part of Sibiu proper, they are adjacent to the city limits and often considered part of it.