title: Horemheb

text: Under Horemheb, Egypt's power and confidence were once again restored after the internal chaos of the Amarna period; this situation set the stage for the rise of the 19th Dynasty under such ambitious Pharaohs as Seti I and Ramesses II. Geoffrey Thorndike Martin in his excavation work at Saqqara states that the burial of Horemheb's second wife Mutnedjmet, as well as that of an unborn or newborn baby, was located at the bottom of a shaft to the rooms of Horemheb's Saqqara tomb. He notes that "a fragment of an alabaster vase inscribed with a funerary text for the chantress of Amun and King's Wife, Mutnodjmet, as well as pieces of a statuette of her [was found here] ... The funerary vase in particular, since it bears her name and titles would hardly have been used for the burial of some other person."Eugene Strouhal studied a skull and other bones and concluded that they belonged to the queen. According to his analysis, the queen lost her teeth at an early age. She died at around age forty, possibly in childbirth, as the remains of a fetus were found with her body.Since Horemheb had no surviving son, he appointed his Vizier, Paramesse, to succeed him upon his death, both to reward Paramesse's loyalty and because the latter had both a son and grandson to secure Egypt's royal succession. Paramesse employed the name Ramesses I upon assuming power and founded the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. While the decoration of Horemheb's KV 57 tomb was still unfinished upon his death, this situation is not unprecedented: Amenhotep II's tomb was also not fully completed when he was buried, even though this ruler enjoyed a reign of 26 years.


title: Horemheb

text: Directly after his accession to the throne, Horemheb had a tomb built in the Valley of Kings, abandoning his earlier one near Memphis. For the first time, scenes from the "Book of Gates" were used in the burial chamber as a decoration for a royal tomb.


title: Horemheb

text: Horemheb's tomb was excavated in the early 20th century by Theodore M. Davis. Davis discovered it in a poor state due to robbers and earth movements over the centuries. The lid of the sarcophagus had been taken off and smashed by robbers.


title: Lund

text: Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish province of Scania, across the Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Scania County. The Öresund Region, which includes Lund, is home to more than 4.1 million people.


title: Lund

text: Archeologists date the foundation of Lund to around 990, when Scania was part of Denmark. From 1103 it was the seat of the Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lund, and the towering Lund Cathedral, built circa 1090–1145, still stands at the centre of the town. Denmark ceded the city to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, and its status as part of Sweden was formalised in 1720.


title: Lund

text: Lund University, established in 1666, is one of Scandinavia's oldest and largest institutions for education and research. The university and its buildings dominate much of the centre of the city, and have led to Lund becoming a regional centre for high tech industry.


title: Lund

text: Lund is sometimes mentioned as the oldest town or city in present-day Sweden, although it has only been formally established as such for 300 years of its at least thousand-year history. It is old enough that its origins are unclear, but is presumed to have existed by the end of the Viking Age. Until the 1980s, the town was thought to have been founded around 1020 by either Sweyn I Forkbeard or his son Canute the Great of Denmark. The area was then part of the kingdom of Denmark. But, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the first settlement dated to circa 990, possibly the relocation of settlers at Uppåkra. The Uppåkra settlement dates back to the first century B.C. and its remains are at the present site of the village of Uppåkra. King Sweyn I Forkbeard moved Lund to its present location, a distance of some . The new location of Lund, on a hill and across a ford, gave the new site considerable defensive advantages in comparison with Uppåkra, situated on the highest point of a large plain.


title: Lund

text: The organisation of the Danish church begun under the rule of Canute the Great. Lund became the see of one of seven dioceses in 1048. In 1104 it became an archbishopric. Lund's ecclesiastical province comprised Scandinavia and even Garðar on Greenland. The diocese of nearby Dalby was absorbed in 1066. Lund Cathedral was similarly founded in or shortly after 1103. In 1152, the Norwegian archdiocese of Nidaros was founded as a separate province of the church, independent of Lund. In 1164 Sweden also acquired an archbishop of its own, although he was nominally subordinate to the archbishop of Lund. It is still, as the diocese of Lund, a diocese in the Church of Sweden.


title: Lund

text: Lund Cathedral School "(Katedralskolan)" was founded in 1085 by the Danish king Canute the Saint. This is the oldest school in Scandinavia and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. Many prominent people were educated there, among them the actor Max von Sydow and several high-ranking politicians.


title: Lund

text: Lund was ceded to Sweden in 1658 as part of the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde. It was recaptured by Denmark in 1676 during the early phases of the Scanian War. The exceptionally bloody Battle of Lund was fought just north of the city in 1676, and ended in a decisive Swedish victory; Swedish control of Scania was confirmed in the Peace of Lund later that year. Sweden's control over Scania, and hence Lund, was formalised by treaty in 1720.


title: Lund

text: Scandinavia's first University, the Academy of Lund was founded in the 1400s. It was suppressed during the Danish Reformation in 1537. The present Lund University was established in 1666.


title: Lund

text: In 1943, during the Second World War, Lund was accidentally bombed by a British aircraft. No deaths were reported, though some people were injured by glass fragments.


title: Lund

text: Over the second half of the 20th century the population of Lund more than doubled, driven in large part by the growth of the university and high tech industries. For example, Tetra Pak, the food packaging and processing company, was founded in Lund in 1952. Suburbs were added to the outer edges of the city: Klostergården, Norra Fäladen and Linero in the 1960s, Norra Nöbbelöv in the 1970s, Gunnesbo in the 1980s and Värpinge in the 1990s.


title: Lund

text: Lund is located in Sweden's largest agricultural district, in the south-west of Scania, less than from the sandy shore of the Öresund Strait. Its location on the south-facing slope of the Romeleåsen horst leads to the city rising from the low-lying Höje River in the south to above mean sea level in the north. From the top of the Sankt Hans Hill it is possible to see Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The nearest large Swedish city, Malmö, is about to the south-west. Other Swedish cities are more distant: Gothenburg is away, the capital Stockholm is distant, and Umeå lies to the north.


title: Lund

text: The central part of Lund largely retains its medieval street layout. A few buildings from the Middle Ages remain, including Lund Cathedral, Liberiet, St. Peter's Priory, the restaurant Stäket and Krognoshuset. Many of today's buildings in the centre were constructed in the late 1800s, including Katedralskolan, the Grand Hotel and the main building and library of Lund University.


title: Lund

text: Lund city contains four main city squares that are connected by a number of roads and passages that represent the main city centre containing numerous restaurants, shops and bars. "Clemenstorget" is a tree-covered city square located alongside the railway and associated station, hosts a small market and is the central terminus of the city's tramway. "Bantorget" is a green park-square close to the central station and Lund's Grand Hotel is placed there. The city hall is located on the main city square - "Stortorget" which often features concerts and various cultural and political events. "Mårtenstorget" hosts the Lund Market Hall, has many restaurants, food trucks and bars around it and serves as a market square during the daytime. In earlier times the square was used as a cattle market and was known as "Oxtorget". Smaller city squares in Lund include Domkyrkoplatsen, Petriplatsen, Västra stationstorget, Sockertorget and Knut den Stores Torg.


title: Lund

text: Lund's most central park is Lundagård, which, along with the adjoining University square, forms the centre of the University. The park is dominated by historic buildings including Lund Cathedral, Lund University Main Building, and Kungshuset. The trees of the park are home to a large colony of rooks.


title: Lund

text: The much larger main city park (Stadsparken) is located in the south-west corner of the city center. The site was used for the Lund Exhibition in 1907 and subsequently developed into a public park between 1909 and 1911. The park contains planted gardens, a small lake, a children's playground and bandstands, as well as the public swimming center Högevallsbadet and the former buildings of Lund Observatory. It also has a menagerie that houses different varieties of birds.


title: Lund

text: Other significant areas of greenery in the city include the Botanical Garden (Botaniska trädgården) and Sankt Hans Hill in the north of the city. The nature preserve Rinnebäck Gorge (Rinnebäcksravinen), The Källby dams (Källby dammar) and the community park Folkparken are located in the western part of the city. The nature preserve Nöbbelövs Marshland (Nöbbelövs mosse) is located in the northwest of the city.


title: Lund

text: Popular places for swimming close to the city are the beaches in neighboring Lomma, Bjärred and Malmö and lakes such as the nature preserve Billebjer and the Dalby quarry (Dalby stenbrott) in the eastern countryside of the city.


title: Lund

text: Lund, like the rest of far southern Sweden, has an oceanic climate. The climate is relatively mild compared to other locations at similar latitudes, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of its proximity to the sea. Because of Lund's northerly latitude, daylight lasts as long as 17 hours at midsummer, and only around 7 hours in mid-winter.


title: Lund

text: Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of and lows of around , but temperatures often exceed and heat waves are common during the summer. Winters are quite chilly, with temperatures steady between . Lund has arguably the mildest climate of the country in average highs. In terms of yearly means and average lows Falsterbo is marginally milder.


title: Lund

text: Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year with an average of 169 wet days. Snowfall occurs sparingly, mainly from December to March, but snow cover does not typically remain for a long time, and some winters are virtually free of snow.


title: Lund

text: The population of the city has increased steadily over the last century. Of the inhabitants of the municipality, 18.8% were reported to have been born outside of Sweden in 2014. Lund University students make up a significant part of the city's population.


title: Lund

text: Lund is governed by Lund Municipality. The municipality is responsible for the city of Lund, nearby settlements including Dalby, Södra Sandby and Veberöd, and the surrounding countryside. It reached its current form in 1974 following the absorption of a number of nearby municipalities. In 2014 the city itself was officially divided into 14 administrative divisions.


title: Lund

text: The municipality is governed by a municipal assembly () of 65 members, who elect a municipal executive committee () of 13 members. the mayor and chairman of the executive committee () has been Philip Sandberg of the Liberals.


title: Lund

text: The university dominates much of the centre of Lund. It was founded in 1666 following the transfer of Scania to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde and is the second-oldest university in Sweden after Uppsala University. Its traditional centre is in Lundagård park but stretches out towards the north east of the city where the large engineering faculty is located. Today, Lund University is one of northern Europe's largest, with eight faculties, 41,000 students and over 2,000 separate courses. It is and has consistently ranked in the world top 100 universities and is a member of the League of European Research Universities as well as the global Universitas 21 network.


title: Lund

text: Katedralskolan, the cathedral school, founded in 1085, is the oldest school in Scandinavia. Today it is a high gymnasium with about 1,400 students studying in five different programmes.


title: Lund

text: The culture in Lund is characterised by the university education and research, and the large student population and student traditions, such as a student theatre group since 1886. A substantial part of the student night-life is located at student fraternities called 'Nations'.


title: Lund

text: Lund Cathedral, the former Catholic and the now Lutheran cathedral in Lund, is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden.


title: Lund

text: Lund also has a city theatre (though without a professional local ensemble of its own) and a number of other places for concerts and theatres.


title: Lund

text: Numerous prominent figures from the literary world lived and worked in Lund, often in association with the university and theatre. Prominent examples include Esias Tegnér, writer, poet and bishop, and August Strindberg, playwright, novelist and poet. A longer list is given below with other notable natives. The Lund novel is a genre in its own right, a bildungsroman in which a young student experiences life in Lund, Copenhagen and sometimes Österlen whilst maturing as an individual.


title: Lund

text: The spex are a form of student theatre particular to Nordic universities, with a strong tradition in Lund. They are parodistic musical plays, often setting well-known music to new lyrics and mixing up the historical and the present in unconventional intrigues. Comedians Hans Alfredson and Anders Jansson started their careers in the Lund spex.


title: Lund

text: Lund hosts the largest open-air museum of Scania, Kulturen. Kulturen is the second oldest dedicated open-air museum in the world. Founded in 1892 by Georg Karlin, it consists of more than 30 buildings, as well as collections exhibiting Scanian art, crafts, local archaeology and history.


title: Lund

text: Several museums are attached to the university. The Lund University Historical Museum is based in the Lundagård park. Its exhibitions were updated in 2018 and cover the history, archeology and zoology of Scania. There is a separate Lund Cathedral museum.


title: Lund

text: The Museum of Sketches for Public Art is a unique museum that documents the development of public artworks. The Vattenhallen Science Center, connected to the university's engineering faculty, has an interactive presentation of science and research.


title: Lund

text: The Lund carnival has been held every four years since the mid-nineteenth century: traditional accounts say it originated at a wedding in 1849 (the four-year intervals place the party in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc.). Arranged by the students of the university, from the 1950s onwards the event has grown in size and intensity (with some 5,500 volunteers 2010), but it remains an amateur event. Midway between a music and stage fair, a city festival, and an outpouring of satire, parody and general madness. Some students dress up in costumes, often relating to and poking fun at current issues, and parade in wagons. Others perform humorous skits in the evenings. The carnival revues and other stage entertainments have launched a number of well-known entertainers and actors over the years.


title: Lund

text: Lund has long been a regional centre for classical and church music. In particular, Lund is renowned for its vibrant amateur choir scene, with choirs such as Carolinae damkör, Domkyrkokören, Katedralkören, Lunds akademiska kör, Lund Chamber Choir (Swedish: "Lunds Kammarkör"), Lunds Studentsångförening, Lunds vokalensemble, and the Svanholm Singers. Since 2006, Lund has been the host of the biannual Lund International Choral Festival. Classical orchestras based in the city include the Lund City Orchestra, the Academic Orchestra and Lund New Chamber Orchestra.


title: Lund

text: In more recent decades, Lund has also developed a lively pop and jazz scene. The cultural venue Mejeriet opened in 1987 in a former dairy building just outside the city park. It has hosted concerts by both well-known and emerging bands. The pop singer and television presenter Måns Zelmerlöw was born and grew up in Lund. Artists associated with Lund include DJ and record producer Axwell, rock musician Kal P. Dal, rapper Timbuktu, indie pop group The Radio Dept., and singer and songwriter Amanda Jenssen. The music venue Olympen, hosted many famous artists from 1971 to 2009.


title: Lund

text: Lund's handball team, LUGI HF plays in both the men's and women's top leagues. Lund hosted matches from the 2011 Handball World Championship in the Sparbanken Skåne Arena. Lund has a chess team, Lunds ASK, that for decades has been among the top teams in Sweden. Lund has two Division 1 football clubs, Torns IF and Lunds BK. It is also the birthplace of the online football manager game Hattrick. Lugi Rugbyklubb, based in Lund, is one of Sweden's few rugby clubs.


title: Lund

text: Lund is a railway junction and is well served by rail traffic. The main railway station, Lund Central, is Sweden's third busiest railway station, with around 37 000 passengers per day . Another, smaller station serves the suburb of Gunnesbo in the north-west of the city. Lund has been on the Southern Main Line, which connects Malmö and Stockholm, since it opened in 1856. The West Coast Line to Gothenburg branches off the Southern Main Line just north of Lund Central station. Thus there are direct services to all of Sweden's three largest cities, as well as to Copenhagen and Helsingør via the Öresund Bridge. Rail services to Denmark, and within Scania and neighbouring counties, are mainly provided by the Øresundståg. These trains are operated jointly by Skånetrafiken in Scania and the Danish State Railways in Denmark. Longer distance services, notably to Stockholm, are provided by SJ. Local traffic is served by the Pågatåg electric multiple units, which provide stopping services within Scania.


title: Lund

text: Lund has been praised for its cycling infrastructure. There are 4,800 bike parking spaces in the town, including a multi-storey facility at the railway station, over of cyclepaths and cycle lanes, and 43% of journeys within the city take place by bicycle. There has been no increase in car usage for the past 10 years.


title: Lund

text: Since 2019, the bus network in Lund has been licensed to the company Vy Buss, overseen by Skånetrafiken.


title: Lund

text: They operate green-coloured buses which, for environmental reasons, are powered by compressed natural gas. The busses run on a total of seven bus lines. A survey carried out on behalf of Region Skåne in 2015 found that 11% of Lund residents used the bus network regularly.


title: Lund

text: Plans to initiate a nearly 6 km (3.7 mi) tram network to achieve faster and higher-capacity public transport between Lund Central Station and many of the largest work-places in the city were approved in 2015. The entire construction now stands finished and the tram line is slated to thrown open to the public on December 13, 2020. The 15-minute tram ride connects Lund Central Station with the hospital, Lund University (LTH), Ideon Science Park, the new upcoming district of Brunnshög, the MAX IV synchrotron light source, and, the European Spallation Source. Long-term plans to extend this network to the suburban towns of Bjärred (via Öresundsvägen), Dalby, Staffanstorp and Södra Sandby have been shelved.


title: Lund

text: Lund has been connected to the motorway network since 1953 when the E22 was opened between Lund and Malmö. The E22 was the first motorway in Sweden, and was originally built around the edge of the town; however following the expansion of the suburbs out to the east in the latter half of the 20th century it now passes through the city. The E22 forms the main north-south trunk route through Lund. The largest east-west road is the multi-lane northern ring road which also passes through the city limits.


title: Lund

text: There are also other connections to most major roads in the area, for example the E6 via Riksväg 16, and the Länsväg 108 which connects to the E65.


title: Lund

text: Lund is served by Copenhagen Airport, the largest airport in the Nordic countries, which can be reached by frequent direct trains in about 35 minutes. The second airport in the area, Malmö Airport, is located about 26 kilometres (16 miles) away and is mainly used for domestic flights. There also used to be a very small airstrip, Hasslanda Flygfält, to the south of Lund, mainly used for private and charter flights. The airstrip closed in 2008.


title: Lund

text: Lund is a regional centre for high tech companies, several of which are based in the north-east of the city. Companies with offices in Lund include Sony Mobile Communications, Ericsson, Arm Holdings, and Microsoft. The Swedish telecommunications company Doro has its head office in Lund. Gambro, one of the key companies in the development of the artificial kidney, was founded in Lund in 1964 and retains a significant presence in the city. Alfa Laval, the international manufacturer of heat exchangers and separators, have a factory in Lund, and Tetra Pak have their headquarters and part of production in town. Network video camera maker Axis Communications was founded in Lund in 1984 and maintains its headquarters in the city as an independently operated subsidiary of Canon.


title: Lund

text: Other important industries include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and publishing and library services.


title: Lund

text: Skåne University Hospital and Lund University are major employers, with extensive research facilities. In particular, the Lund Institute of Technology has connections with the high tech industry in the city. A science park, "Ideon Science Park", was founded in 1983 as a collaboration between Lund University, Lund Municipality and Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB. it hosts about 350 companies, employing 2,700 people. Many of these are high tech companies that have ties to the university.


title: Lund

text: The 2010s have seen the development of two major research facilities in Lund, both in collaboration with the university. MAX IV is the world's most powerful synchrotron light source and a Swedish national facility. It was inaugurated on 21 June 2016. The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a pulsed neutron source under construction on a site just north of MAX IV. ESS is expected to directly employ about 450 people when it is completed in around 2023.


title: Lund

text: Tetra Pak was founded in Lund in 1951 by Ruben Rausing. Their principal product is packages and equipment for aseptic packaging of food, principally using plastic-coated cardboard. As of January 2015 Tetra Pak employed around 3,500 staff at their headquarters in Lund.


title: Lund

text: The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca used to have a large presence in Lund but their offices closed in 2010. The site was re-developed as a research park named Medicon Village. over 1,200 people worked in more than 100 organisations based at Medicon Village.


title: Land use statistics by country

text: This article includes the table with land use statistics by country. Countries are ranked by their total cultivated land area, which is the sum of the total arable land area and total area of permanent crops.


title: Land use statistics by country

text: Arable land is defined as being cultivated for crops like wheat, maize, and rice, all of which are replanted after each harvest. Permanent cropland is defined as being cultivated for crops like citrus, coffee, and rubber, which are not replanted after each harvest; this also includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Other lands include any lands not arable nor under permanent crops; this includes permanent meadows and pastures, forests and woodlands, built-on areas, roads, barren land, and so on.


title: Land use statistics by country

text: Percentage figures for arable land, permanent crops land and other lands are all taken from the CIA World Factbook as well as total land area figures (Note: the total area of a country is defined as the sum of total land area and total water area together.) All other figures, including total cultivated land area, are calculated on the basis of this mentioned dataset.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: USS "Oriskany" (CV/CVA-34), ( or ), was one of the few s completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The history of "Oriskany" differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" "Essex"-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the ), she was not completed and construction was suspended in 1946 after the end of World War II. She eventually was converted to an updated design called SCB-27 ("27-Charlie") and commissioned in 1950. This updated version became the template for modernization of 14 other "Essex"-class ships. "Oriskany" was the final "Essex"-class ship completed.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and ten for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966, one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on "Oriskany" when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany"s post-service history also differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done. In 2004, the Navy decided to sink her to create an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, the ship was carefully sunk in May 2006. She settled in an upright position at a depth accessible to recreational divers. As of 2008, "Oriskany" is the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The name "Oriskany" was originally assigned to , but that hull was renamed "Wasp" when the keel was laid in 1942. "CV-34" was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY), launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. Construction was suspended on 22 August 1946, when the ship was approximately 85% complete.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Beginning on 8 August 1947, "Oriskany" was redesigned as the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program and torn down to 60% complete. To handle the new generation of carrier aircraft, the flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, more powerful hydraulic catapults, and new arresting gear were installed. The island structure was rebuilt, the anti-aircraft turrets were removed, and blisters were added to the hull. Blistering the hull (also known as adding bulges) increases the cross-sectional area of a ship's hull, thereby increasing its buoyancy and stability. It also provides increased bunker volume. In the case of "Oriskany", this would have been for aviation fuel. These features would have been crucial to a ship that had so much topside weight added after its original design. "Oriskany" was commissioned in the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1950, Captain Percy H. Lyon in command.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" departed New York on 6 December 1950, for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a Christmas call at Newport, Rhode Island. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group 1 for shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: After major modifications at New York Naval Shipyard from 6 March to 2 April, she embarked Carrier Air Group 4 for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport on 15 May 1951, for Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Having swept from ports of Italy and France to those of Greece and Turkey, from there to the shores of Tripoli, "Oriskany" returned to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on 4 October 1951. She entered Gravesend Bay, New York, on 6 November 1951 to offload ammunition and to have her masts removed to allow passage under the East River Bridges to the New York Naval Shipyard. Overhaul included the installation of a new flight deck, steering system, and bridge. Work was complete by 15 May 1952, and the carrier steamed the next day to take on ammunition at Norfolk, Virginia, from 19–22 May. She then got underway to join the Pacific Fleet, steaming via Guantanamo Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn, Valparaíso, and Lima, arriving San Diego, California, on 21 July.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Following carrier qualifications for Carrier Air Group 19, "Oriskany" departed San Diego on 15 September 1952, to aid United Nations forces in Korea. She arrived at Yokosuka on 17 October and joined Task Force 77 off the Korean Coast on 31 October. Her aircraft struck hard with bombing and strafing attacks against enemy supply lines and coordinated bombing missions with surface gunstrikes along the coast. Her pilots downed two Soviet-built MiG-15 jets and damaged a third on 18 November.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Strikes continued through 11 February, attacking enemy artillery positions, troop emplacements, and supply dumps along the main battlefront. Following a brief upkeep period in Japan, "Oriskany" returned to combat on 1 March 1953. On 6 March, three men were killed and 13 were injured when a general-purpose bomb from a F4U Corsair broke loose and detonated. She continued in action until 29 March, called at Hong Kong, then resumed air strikes on 8 April. She departed the Korean Coast on 22 April, touched at Yokosuka, and then departed for San Diego on 2 May, arriving there on 18 May.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Following readiness training along the California coast, "Oriskany" departed San Francisco on 14 September 1953 to aid the 7th Fleet watching over the uneasy truce in Korea, arriving in Yokosuka on 15 October. Thereafter, she cruised the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the area of the Philippines. After providing air support for Marine amphibious assault exercises at Iwo Jima, the carrier returned to San Diego on 22 April 1954. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard for overhaul; the overhaul was completed on 22 October, when she put to sea for the first of a series of coastal operations, and participation in the production of the Korean War-era film "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", where she stood in for the escort carrier USS "Savo Island".


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" arrived at Yokosuka on 2 April 1955, and operated with the Fast Carrier Task Force ranging from Japan and Okinawa to the Philippines. This deployment ended on 7 September, and the carrier arrived at NAS Alameda, California, on 21 September.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: She cruised the California Coast while qualifying pilots of Air Group 9, then put to sea from Alameda on 11 February 1956 for another rigorous Western Pacific (WestPac) deployment.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" returned to San Francisco on 13 August 1956, and entered the shipyard to undergo the SCB-125A modernization program on 1 October. She was decommissioned there on 2 January 1957. "Oriskany" received a new angled flight deck, aft deck edge elevator, enlarged forward elevator, and enclosed hurricane bow. Powerful new steam catapults replaced the older hydraulic catapults. The wooden flight deck planking was also replaced with aluminum planking.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" was recommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 7 March 1959. Four days later she departed for shakedown out of San Diego with Carrier Air Group 14 embarked. Operations along the West Coast continued until 14 May 1960, when she again deployed to WestPac, returning to San Diego on 15 December. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 30 March 1961, for a five-month overhaul that included the first aircraft carrier installation of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS).


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" departed the shipyard on 9 September for underway training out of San Diego until 7 June 1962, when she again deployed to the Far East with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She returned to San Diego on 17 December for operational readiness training off the West Coast.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The carrier was again stationed out of San Diego on 1 August 1963, for Far Eastern waters, with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked. She arrived at Subic Bay on 31 August 1963, and from there steamed to Japan. She was at the port of Iwakuni, Japan, on the morning of 31 October, "en route" to the coast of South Vietnam. There, she stood by for any eventuality as word was received of the coup d'état taking place in Saigon. When the crisis abated, the carrier resumed operations from Japanese ports.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" returned to San Diego on 10 March 1964. After overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, she steamed for refresher training out of San Diego, followed by qualifications for Carrier Air Wing 16. During this period her flight deck was used to test the E-2 Hawkeye, the Navy's new airborne early warning aircraft. She also provided orientation to senior officers of eight allied nations.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" departed San Diego on 5 April 1965, for WestPac, arriving at Subic Bay on 27 April. By this time more United States Marines had landed in the South Vietnam to support Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops against increased communist pressure. "Oriskany" added her weight to the massive American naval strength supporting South Vietnam. In combat operations that brought her and embarked Carrier Air Wing 16 the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service from 10 May to 6 December 1965, she carried out over 12,000 combat sorties and delivered nearly 10,000 tons (9,100 tonnes) of ordnance against enemy forces. She departed Subic Bay on 30 November, and returned to San Diego on 16 December.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" again left San Diego for the Far East on 26 May 1966, arriving in Yokosuka, Japan, on 14 June. She steamed for "Dixie Station" off South Vietnam on 27 June. The carrier shifted to "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin on 8 July. In the following months there were brief respites for replenishment in Subic Bay, then back into the action that saw her launch 7,794 combat sorties.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The carrier was on station the morning of 26 October 1966, when a fire erupted on the starboard side of the ship's forward hangar bay and raced through five decks, killing 44 men. Many who lost their lives were veteran combat pilots who had flown raids over Vietnam a few hours earlier. "Oriskany" had been put in danger when a magnesium parachute flare exploded in the forward flare locker of Hangar Bay 1, beneath the carrier's flight deck. Subsequent investigation showed the flare functioned as designed and the cause of the fire was human error. A seaman accidentally ignited the flare, and in a panic, threw it into the weapons locker where the flares were kept for storage, instead of throwing it over the side into the water; this ignited all the flares in the locker and caused horrific damage. Some of her crewmen jettisoned heavy bombs which lay within reach of the flames, while others wheeled planes out of danger, rescued pilots, and helped quell the blaze throughout the next three hours. Medical assistance was rushed to the carrier from carriers and .


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Later investigation by Captain John H Iarrobino of "Oriskany" and analysis by the Naval Ammunition Depot in Crane, Indiana, showed that one in every thousand flares could ignite accidentally if jarred. Five crew members were court-martialed as a result of the incident but were acquitted. After this incident and others, the flare design used by the Navy was changed to a safer design immune to accidental ignition, and crews were increased to stabilize numbers so all activities could be properly supervised.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" steamed to Subic Bay on 28 October, where victims of the fire were transferred to waiting aircraft for transportation to the United States. A week later the carrier departed for San Diego, arriving on 16 November. San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard completed repairs on 23 March 1967, and "Oriskany", with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked, underwent training.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: She then was stationed out of San Francisco Bay on 16 June to take station in waters off Vietnam. Designated flagship of Carrier Division 9 in Subic Bay on 9 July, she commenced "Yankee Station" operations on 14 July. On 26 July she provided medical assistance to the fire-ravaged attack carrier .


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: On 26 October 1967, then–Lieutenant Commander John McCain flew off "Oriskany" in an A-4 Skyhawk on his 23rd bombing mission of the Vietnam War. He was shot down that day and was a prisoner of war until January 1973.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The carrier turned for home on 15 January 1968, having completed 122 days of combat operations over North Vietnam. During the combat tour, Carrier Air Wing 16 suffered perhaps the highest loss rate of any naval air wing during the Vietnam War, losing half of assigned planes – 29 to combat damage and another 10 to operational causes – and had 20 pilots killed and another 9 taken prisoner. One contribution to this heavy loss rate was the air wings’ unrelenting pace, as the pilots flew over 9,500 missions, including 181 air strikes into the heavily defended Hanoi–Haiphong corridor. Another contribution was the existence of safe havens for trucks and munitions within Haiphong in particular, as that meant targeting the flow of supplies in more heavily protected chokepoints further south. "Oriskany" returned to Naval Air Station Alameda on 31 January 1968, and entered San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard on 7 February for an eight-month overhaul to have new electrical generators, air conditioning and water distillers installed. The carrier also received repairs to her flight elevators and had her boilers refurbished, in addition to the usual hundreds of post-deployment routine maintenance fixes. With yard work complete in the fall, the crew conducted refresher and pre-deployment training over the winter.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: In early 1969, "Oriskany" embarked a new air wing for familiarization and qualifications in preparation for her fourth deployment to Vietnam. In contrast to her previous air wing, Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) did not include any A-1 Skyraiders, having two squadrons of F-8J Crusaders in VF-191 and VF-194, and three squadrons of A-4 Skyhawks in VA-23, VA-192 and VA-195, as well as the usual detachments of reconnaissance, tanker, and early warning aircraft. Upon completion of work, the carrier underwent refresher training and flight qualifications before deploying to the Far East in April 1969.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: From 16 April 1969, Carrier Air Wing 19 made six deployments aboard "Oriskany" (the first four to support the Vietnam War in the Gulf of Tonkin until the end of the war in 1973).


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The "Oriskany" arrived at Yankee Station in May 1969; and began combat operations in a much more restricted environment than the previous deployment. Previously, in April 1968, President Johnson had restricted armed attacks south of the nineteenth parallel, which limited strikes to the southern third of North Vietnam. Following a massive six-month interdiction effort that shut down all North Vietnamese rail traffic out of Haiphong, closed two inland waterways and eliminated virtual all coastal shipments, the air campaign was suspended on 1 November 1968. Domestic political considerations, mainly the upcoming presidential elections, played the critical role in this decision as President Johnson was leaving office. With operations focusing further south, the only pilot loss of the cruise took place on 20 July 1969 when Lt. Stanley K. Smiley's Skyhawk crashed and exploded after being hit by small arms fire. The second line period ended on 30 June and, after ten days at Subic, the warship's third line period took place between 13 and 30 July. After a fourth line period between 16 August and 12 September, "Oriskany" steamed north to Korea to fly intermittent reconnaissance escort missions into early October. During that time, on 20 September 1969, Captain John A. Gillcrist took over as the commanding officer. Following a fifth line period off Vietnam between 8 and 31 October, the aircraft carrier turned for home, arriving at Alameda via Subic Bay on 17 November.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Following a dry dock period at San Francisco Naval Shipyard over the winter, where the aircraft carrier was modified to support A-7 Corsair II aircraft, Oriskany embarked CVW-19 that spring for refresher operations. In contrast to previous deployments, she carried only four combat squadrons – VF-191 and VF-194 equipped with the familiar F8 Crusaders and VA-153 and VA-155 equipped with A-7. Commencing her fifth Vietnam deployment on 14 May 1970, "Oriskany" inchopped on 1 June and began combat operations at Yankee Station on 14 June. Like her last deployment, Oriskany launched strikes against North Vietnamese logistics targets in eastern Laos, initially targeting storage areas, bunkers and lines of communication in conjunction with strikes by the Seventh Air Force. Equipped with better electronics gear, the A-7 proved especially useful during night raids on the Ho Chi Minh trail. The missions remained dangerous, however, with an A-7 from VA-155 lost in a failed catapult shot on 25 June and a VA-153 A-7 crashing in Laos on 28 June. In the latter case, the aircraft – flown by Cdr. Donald D. Aldern, then Commander, Air Wing Nineteen – exploded during a night attack run, presumably after taking flak damage. "Oriskany" conducted three line periods – 14–29 June, 13–21 July, 3–25 August and 18 September to 13 October – and launched over 5,300 sorties. During the latter line period, Captain Frank S. Haak relieved Captain Gillcrist on 11 September 1970, and became the new commanding officer.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: About a month later, during heavy seas, a VF-191 F-8 returning from a night combat air patrol on 6 October crashed the flight deck and exploded, killing Lt. John B. Martin. In November, as part of the Navy's efforts to reduce costs, the number of aircraft carriers off Vietnam was reduced to one, meaning that "Oriskany"s sole focus in her fourth line period 7–22 November was missions over Laos. In that effort, she joined the Seventh Air Force in strikes against four identified bottleneck points along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The carrier suffered another deadly accident on 14 November, when an RF-8G from VFP-63 skidded off the flight deck after a material failure caused a failed catapult launch, ultimately causing the death of Lt. Joseph R. Klugg. Then, in an unusual assignment, "Oriskany" flew 14 diversionary sorties over North Vietnam early on 21 November in support of the Son Tay POW rescue mission and another 48 missions during retaliatory strikes later that day. The aircraft carrier turned for home the next day, arriving in Alameda on 10 December 1970.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" underwent a restricted availability at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco during January 1971, receiving a much looked-for upgrade in the SPN-41 all-weather carrier landing system. Refresher training passed uneventfully in March, and on 14 May the aircraft carrier departed Alameda for her sixth Vietnam deployment. During this 1971 deployment, the main mission remained to strike operations in Laos; and while there were no combat losses, CVW-19 did lose four aircraft to operational accidents. Two cases were fatal, with Cdr. Charles D. Metzler killed when his F-8 inverted and splashed while in a landing holding pattern on 21 June and Cdr. Thomas P. Frank drowned after ejecting from his stricken A-7 following a catapult launch failure on 1 November. A week later, "Oriskany" aircraft took part in Operation Proud Deep, the successful 7–8 November strike (the largest in three years) against three North Vietnamese airfields whose fighters were beginning to worry Air Force planners. Following these last missions, "Oriskany" sailed south to Singapore for eight days of upkeep. "Oriskany" departed Singapore on 3 December 1971, and crossed the Pacific to arrive at Alameda via Subic Bay on 18 December. As per her custom, "Oriskany" entered Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, on 17 January 1972 for her winter restricted availability. Refresher training followed in April 1972 and she embarked CVW-19 for qualifications in May. Events in Vietnam meanwhile, forced the warship into feverish preparations for deployment; and she sailed for her seventh Vietnam tour on 5 June. Following refueling stops at Pearl Harbor and Guam, the aircraft carrier arrived at Subic Bay on 21 June. The 1972 deployment was met with various problems, including a collision with ammunition ship during an underway replenishment, the death of Lt. Leon F. Haas, and loss of two propellers and one shaft, which required the ship much of August and November in Yokosuka, Japan, to make repairs.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: With peace talks in Paris stalled, "Oriskany"s aircraft returned to Yankee Station and continued to strike communist targets in South Vietnam. Later, she joined the Operation Linebacker II "Christmas bombing" campaign, for her sixth line period, 27 December – 30 January 1973. Attacks were then restricted to enemy targets south of the 20th parallel for the first two weeks of January and then below the 17th parallel starting on the 16th. With the Paris Peace Accords signed on 27 January 1973, "Oriskany"s aviators finished up their last strikes over South Vietnam that same day. After a short rest period at Cubi Point in early February the aircraft carrier conducted one final combat line period, 11–22 February, when CVW-19 bombed enemy targets in Laos in a last effort to assist indigenous allies there against Communist infiltration. Following upkeep at Cubi Point 8–14 March, "Oriskany" sailed for home, arriving at Alameda on 30 March after completing 169 days on the line, her longest – and what proved to be her last combat tour; all-in-all receiving ten battle stars for its Vietnamese service.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: After her usual fast-paced refit and training cycle, "Oriskany" got underway for the Far East on 18 October 1973. After arrival at Subic Bay on 5 November, the aircraft carrier began preparations for operations in the Indian Ocean, a change of pace from her last seven tours off Vietnam. The aircraft carrier sailed south, transited the Straits of Malacca and rendezvoused with in the Indian Ocean. The two carriers conducted training operations there, and "Oriskany" visited Mombasa, Kenya, 22–27 December, before returning to the South China Sea in January 1974. The carrier then conducted various type training exercises out of Subic Bay in February and March, primarily concentrating on day and night flight operations in conjunction with other 7th Fleet units. Following a series of three Fleet exercises in April, the warship visited Manila in May before sailing for home, arriving at Alameda on 5 June 1974.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Two months later, the ship entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 15 August for an extended availability that lasted until 9 April 1975. Following refresher operations with CVW-19, "Oriskany" sailed on her fifteenth WESTPAC deployment on 16 September 1975. The carrier conducted war at sea and other exercises out of Subic Bay before returning home on 3 March 1976. Owing to defense budget cuts, together with the ship's increasingly poor material condition, "Oriskany" was listed for inactivation on 15 April 1976.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Following 25 years of service, "Oriskany" was decommissioned on 30 September 1976, and laid up for long-term storage in Bremerton, Washington, to be maintained as a mobilization asset. Reagan Administration proposals to reactivate "Oriskany" were rejected by the United States Congress on the basis of her poor material condition and limited air wing capability. The cost of reactivation was estimated at $520 million for FY 1982 ($ in ). At the end of the Cold War and the subsequent reduction of the U.S. Navy's active force, "Oriskany" was recognized as being obsolete and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1989. Her hull was stripped of all equipment that could be reused or recycled. The ship's bell (removed during decommissioning in 1976) is now on display in Oriskany, New York, and various parts were scavenged to support the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, and other Navy ship museums.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: In the early 1990s, a group of businessmen from Japan wanted to buy "Oriskany" and display her in Tokyo Bay as part of a planned "City of America" exhibit. Congressional legislation was initiated to transfer "Oriskany", but the project failed due to lack of financing.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" was sold for scrap by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service on 9 September 1995 to Pegasus International, a start-up company at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. The contractor towed the ship from Bremerton to Vallejo, but the contract was terminated on 30 July 1997 because of lack of progress. While berthed at Mare Island in rusted and decrepit condition, she was used as a setting for the Robin Williams film, "What Dreams May Come" (1998) as part of the representation of Hell.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The Navy took back possession of the ship and after a few more years at the former Mare Island Navy Yard, she was towed in 1999 to the Maritime Administration's Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas, for storage pending availability of funding for her disposal.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: The Navy announced on 5 April 2004 that it would transfer the former aircraft carrier to the State of Florida for use as an artificial reef. In September 2003 the Navy awarded a contract to Resolve Marine Group/ESCO Marine Joint Venture for the environmental remediation work necessary for sinking the ship as an artificial reef. The contractor towed the ship to Corpus Christi, Texas, in January 2004 and completed the environmental preparation work in December 2004.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" was the first United States warship slated to become an artificial reef, under authority granted by the fiscal 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 108-136). "Oriskany" was towed to Pensacola in December 2004 and was originally scheduled to be sunk with controlled charges south of Pensacola by June 2005. Exhaustive ecological and human health studies were conducted by Navy scientists in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demonstrate no adverse impact from reefing the ship. Failure to gain EPA approval caused a delay, so "Oriskany" was then towed back to Texas in June to ride out the 2005 hurricane season. Completion and peer review of a complex Prospective Risk Assessment Model developed in consultation with EPA, the first for any ship reefing project, was necessary to support EPA's February 2006 decision to issue a risk-based PCB disposal approval for the estimated 750 lb (340 kg) of polychlorinated biphenyls contained in solid form, mostly integral in the insulation layers of the electrical cabling throughout the ship.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: Based on the EPA's approval, after a public comment period, the ship was towed to Pensacola in March 2006 for final preparations for sinking. A team of Navy personnel accomplished the sinking of the ship on 17 May 2006, supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Escambia County Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Pensacola Police Department, and several sheriff departments of Escambia County and surrounding counties. A Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Panama City, FL detonated C-4 explosive charges of approximately 500 lb (230 kg), strategically placed on 22 sea connection pipes in various machinery spaces. The ship sank stern first 37 minutes after detonation in of water in the Gulf of Mexico.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: As was intended, the ship came to rest lying upright. The flight deck was at a depth of , and its island rose to . Following Hurricane Gustav in 2008, the ship shifted 10 feet deeper leaving the flight deck at . The island structure is accessible to recreational divers, but the flight deck requires additional training and equipment. It is now popularly known as the "Great Carrier Reef", a reference to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "The Times" of London named the "Oriskany" wreck as one of the top ten wreck diving sites in the world. "The New York Times" Web video "Diving the U.S.S. Oriskany" explored the "Oriskany" wreck two years after its sinking.


title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)

text: "Oriskany" has been featured in films such as "Men of the Fighting Lady" and "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" from 1954 and "What Dreams May Come" (1998). In March 1952, the ship hosted a dance performance on deck by the Ballet Theater of New York (now the American Ballet Theatre), featuring prima ballerina Mary Ellen Moylan, which was captured in a series of photos shot by renowned New York street and fashion photographer Louis Faurer and sponsored by "Life" magazine. In the 1986 film Top Gun, the father of the lead character flew from the USS Oriskany before being shot down and killed in Vietnam.


title: Bluebird

text: The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.


title: Bluebird

text: Bluebirds have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size.


title: Bluebird

text: The genus "Sialia" was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1827 with the eastern bluebird ("Sialia sialis") as the type species. A molecular phylogenetic study using mitochondrial sequences published in 2005 found that


title: Bluebird

text: "Sialia", "Myadestes" (solitaires) and "Neocossyphus" (African ant-thrushes) formed a basal clade in the family Turdidae. Within "Sialia" the mountain bluebird was sister to the eastern bluebird.


title: Bluebird

text: Bluebirds are territorial and prefer open grassland with scattered trees. This is similar to the behavior of many species of woodpeckers. Bluebirds can typically produce between two and four broods during the spring and summer (March through August in the Northeastern United States). Males identify potential nest sites and try to attract prospective female mates to those nesting sites with special behaviors that include singing and flapping wings, and then placing some material in a nesting box or cavity. If the female accepts the male and the nesting site, she alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs.


title: Bluebird

text: Predators of young bluebirds in the nests can include snakes, cats, and raccoons. Bird species competing with bluebirds for nesting locations include the common starling, American crow, and house sparrow, which take over the nesting sites of bluebirds, killing young, smashing eggs, and probably killing adult bluebirds.


title: Bluebird

text: Bluebirds are attracted to platform bird feeders, filled with grubs of the darkling beetle, sold by many online bird product wholesalers as mealworms. Bluebirds will also eat raisins soaked in water. In addition, in winter bluebirds use backyard heated birdbaths.


title: Bluebird

text: By the 1970s, bluebird numbers had declined by estimates ranging to 70% due to unsuccessful competition with house sparrows and starlings, both introduced species, for nesting cavities, coupled with a decline in habitat. In late 2005, Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology reported bluebird sightings across the southern U.S. as part of its yearly Backyard Bird Count, a strong indication of the bluebird's return to the region. This upsurge can be attributed largely to a movement of volunteers establishing and maintaining bluebird trails.


title: Bluebird

text: In traditional Iroquois cosmology, the call of the bluebird is believed to ward off the icy power of Sawiskera, also referred to as Flint, the spirit of the winter. Its call caused Sawiskera to flee in fear and the ice to recede.


title: Bluebird

text: "Bluebird of Happiness" is a song composed in 1934 by Sandor Harmati, with words by Edward Heyman and additional lyrics by Harry Parr-Davies.


title: Bluebird

text: "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" was composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to lyrics by Nat Burton looking forward to a time when World War II would be over. Burton was unaware that the bluebird was not indigenous to England. Vera Lynn popularised the song with her performances to the troops.


title: Bluebird

text: Songwriters have portrayed the bluebird as a muse, as in the song "Voices in the Sky" by the British rock group The Moody Blues, from their 1968 album "In Search of the Lost Chord".


title: Bluebird

text: "Birdhouse in Your Soul", the 1989 ode to a nightlight by the band They Might Be Giants, references a “bluebird of friendliness” and a “blue canary” in its lyrics.


title: Bluebird

text: The titular bluebird of the song "Birds", from the 2013 album "Government Plates" by the Sacramento-based experimental hip hop group Death Grips, is thought to be referencing Charles Bukowski's poem "Bluebird", wherein bluebirds represent vulnerability that Bukowski felt as a result of child abuse from his father.


title: Bluebird

text: "Bluebird" is the title of Miranda Lambert's Country chart-topping late 2019 single from her album "Wildcard" . The song was co-written by Lambert who has said the song was a reference to the hope and optimism associated with bluebirds. The accompanying video for the song features a mountain bluebird.


title: Mini DisplayPort

text: The Mini DisplayPort (MiniDP or mDP) is a miniaturized and less common version of the DisplayPort audio-visual digital interface.


title: Mini DisplayPort

text: It was announced by Apple in October 2008, and by early 2013 all new Apple Macintosh computers had Mini DisplayPort, as did the LED Cinema Display. However, in 2016 Apple began phasing out the port and replacing it with the new USB-C connector. The Mini DisplayPort is also fitted to some PC motherboards, video cards, and some PC notebooks from Asus, Microsoft, MSI, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP, Dell, and other manufacturers.


title: Mini DisplayPort

text: Apple offers a free license for the Mini DisplayPort but they reserve the right to cancel the license should the licensee "commence an action for patent infringement against Apple".


title: Mini DisplayPort

text: Unlike its Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI predecessors, the Mini DisplayPort can drive display devices with resolutions up to 2560×1600 (WQXGA) in its DisplayPort 1.1a implementation, and 4096×2160 (4K) in its DisplayPort 1.2 implementation. With an adapter, the Mini DisplayPort can drive display devices with VGA, DVI, or HDMI interfaces.


title: Mini DisplayPort

text: Apple replaced the DVI port from the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, and the Mac Pro with the Mini DisplayPort. Its use as the video connector for the 24-inch Cinema Display may complicate compatibility:


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: The Legend of Hercules is a 2014 American 3D action fantasy film directed by Renny Harlin, written by Daniel Giat and Sean Hood, and starring Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee, and Liam Garrigan. It was distributed by Lionsgate and released January 10, 2014, six months before another Hollywood-studio Hercules film, Paramount Pictures' and MGM's co-production "Hercules". "The Legend of Hercules" was a box-office bomb and received universally negative reviews, unlike "Hercules", which was a financial box-office success and opened to far stronger reviews.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: In 1200 BC ancient Greece, King Amphitryon of Tiryns is conquering kingdoms in his thirst for more power, which disgusts his wife, Queen Alcmene. She prays to Hera for guidance, and Hera's husband Zeus impregnates Alcmene with the savior of her people, a demi-god son to be named Hercules. Amphitryon names his new "son" Alcides, though Alcmene secretly acknowledges his true name as Hercules. Twenty years later, Prince Alcides (Hercules) is the lover of Princess Hebe of Crete. Hercules and his older brother, Prince Iphicles, are attacked by a unusually strong Nemean lion, which Hercules strangles to death. Iphicles takes the credit at a royal banquet, but Hebe sees right through this lie. At the banquet Amphitryon announces the engagement of Hebe and Iphicles, while Hercules is sent away to a military campaign in Egypt. Alcmene tells him of his true lineage and that his name is Hercules, not Alcides.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: Alcides joins the command of Captain Sotiris in the Egyptian desert; their small company faces an ambush by Amphitryon meant to eliminate Hercules, and only Alcides and Sotiris survive. Hercules uses his gods-given name to conceal his identity as the prince. The two are sold off as slaves to Lucius, a promoter of gladiator style fights, where they excel. Hercules defeats six previously-undefeated gladiators in an arena battle in Greece, which motivates members of Amphitryon's army to desert it and join Hercules and Sotiris, beginning a fight against Amphitryon's campaign of tyranny. Amphitryon is forced to hire foreign mercenaries as a result.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: When Alcides does not return as promised, Alcmene and Hebe assume he is dead. When Alcmene seeks guidance from Hera, Amphitryon discovers her and learns the truth of Hercules' parentage and that he is fated to overthrow him. Amphitryon stabs Alcmene with her own dagger, which he hides as a suicide. Iphicles threatens Sotiris' son, forcing Sotiris to lead him to Hercules. Iphicles is surprised to discover that Hercules is Alcides. Hercules is chained and publicly flogged, then watches in horror as Iphicles murders Chiron, Alcmene's loyal adviser, under Amphitryon's orders. In anguish he acknowledges Zeus as his father and calls upon him for strength. Hercules breaks free from his chains and kills Amphitryon's guard, though Amphitryon and Iphicles escape.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: Hercules and Sotiris raise an army and storm Amphitryon's palace. Amphitryon's palace guard join Hercules and his army and they battle Amphitryon's mercenaries. Hercules calls upon his father who infuses his sword with the power of lightning. Hercules defeats the mercenaries with his lightning sword, then meets Amphitryon in personal combat. Hercules nearly defeats Amphitryon but Iphicles holds Hebe hostage and threatens to kill her if Hercules does not let Amphitryon go. Hercules hesitates but Hebe thrusts the dagger through his shoulder, killing Iphicles. Hercules finally avenges Alcmene's death and kills Amphitryon with the same blade that killed his mother. Hercules rushes to Hebe's side as she slowly drifts into unconsciousness. Nearly a year later, the cries of a baby are heard, Hercules' and Hebe's son. That night, he watches over his kingdom, finally fulfilling his destiny.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: "The Legend of Hercules" received critically negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 5% based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 2.70/10, based on 82 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Cheap-looking, poorly acted, and dull, "The Legend of Hercules" is neither fun enough to qualify as an action movie nor absorbing enough to work on a dramatic level". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 22 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Legend of Hercules

text: "The Legend of Hercules" grossed $8,868,318 in its opening weekend, ranking #3 in the domestic box office behind "Lone Survivor" and "Frozen". As of March 9, 2014, the film has grossed $18.8 million domestically and an additional $42.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $61.3 million, failing to make back the budget of $70 million.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens refers to regulations pertaining to visas for holders of Israeli passports. As of 11 January 2022, Israeli citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 159 countries and territories, ranking the Israeli passport 24th in terms of travel freedom according to the Global Passport Index 2021.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Abraham Accords Peace Agreements helped the Israeli passport jump 13 places in rankings to 13th place in August 2021.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: According to Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen and Iran are designated as enemy countries and an Israeli citizen must obtain a special permit from the Israeli Ministry of the Interior to visit these countries. An Israeli who visits these countries, whether with a foreign or an Israeli passport, may be prosecuted when coming back to Israel, however prosecution is rare. This list was set in 1954, and was updated on 25 July 2007 to include Iran. Egypt and Jordan remained on the "enemy countries" list; however, the Israeli Ministry of the Interior had issued a general unlimited permit to visit these countries, following the peace treaty signed by Israel with each country, hence voiding the law in respect to each country. Under an Israeli military order, Israeli citizens except for security personnel carrying out operations are prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, and Area A of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises full civil and security control.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: In addition to these countries, there are other countries that prohibit entry to Israeli passport holders, after joining the Arab boycott of the State of Israel, including Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Some controversial rejections of Israeli nationals include tennis player Shahar Pe'er who was denied a visa to the United Arab Emirates which would have allowed her to play in the 2009 Dubai Open. However, later she was allowed. Furthermore, Israeli judo athletes and ministers have been allowed into the UAE more recently. This was prior to signing the 2020 Abraham Accords.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: People who make aliyah to Israel are now eligible to receive an Israeli passport without waiting period after their arrival at Israel.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Following the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979, and the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994, more countries have signed peace treaties with Israel.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: On 15 September 2020, Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations in Washington DC, and signed a peace agreement, which removed all restrictions on Israeli citizens' travel to the UAE.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: On 15 September 2020, Israel and Bahrain established diplomatic relations in Washington DC, and signed the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement, which removed all restrictions on Israeli citizens' travel to Bahrain.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: On 23 October 2020 an agreement took place between Sudan and Israel with the mediation of the United States involving the recognition of the state of Israel by Sudan and the establishment of full diplomatic relations.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: On 10 December 2020, Donald Trump announced that Israel and Morocco agreed to establish full diplomatic relations, while also announcing that the United States recognized Morocco's claim over Western Sahara.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: On 1 February 2021, Israel and Kosovo established full diplomatic relations over Zoom, and established a Kosovan embassy in Jerusalem.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: It is rumored that Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan and Mauritania will be the next countries to sign a peace treaty with Israel.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: As of June 2022, Saudi Arabia and Israel are holding talks as a precursor to establishing formal diplomatic relations. Saudi officials say it's a question of when, not if.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Pre-approved visas can be picked up on arrival in the following countries instead in embassy or consulate.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: There are 70 resident embassies, 23 consulates and five "special" missions in the 159 states that recognise Israel.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: As of 2014, Germany offers consular assistance to Israelis in countries without Israelis representation.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Since 2016, Israeli civilians have been permitted to travel to North Korea without intermediaries, with appropriate visas available in Israel.


title: Visa requirements for Israeli citizens

text: Due to ongoing conflict with Arab nations, 13 Arab members of the United Nations do not recognize the State of Israel: Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Israeli citizens need special approval from the Ministry of Interior to visit most of these countries.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, 6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2021 French Open. It was his second French Open title and 19th major title overall.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: With the win, he became the first man to achieve the double Career Grand Slam in the Open Era, and the first player in the Open Era to win a major after coming back from two sets to love down in two matches during the same major. Tsitsipas became the first Greek player to reach a major final. It also marked the second consecutive year a man trailed by two sets in a major final yet rallied to win, following Dominic Thiem's victory at the 2020 US Open.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: Rafael Nadal was the four-time defending champion, but he lost to Djokovic in a 4 hour and 11 minute epic semifinal. Nadal's loss marked only the third time in 108 matches that he has lost at the French Open, and it was his first loss in 14 semifinal appearances at the tournament. It also marked the first time that Nadal lost a match at the French Open after taking the opening set. It was also the first French Open when the player who won against Nadal won the tournament as well.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev were in contention for the world No. 1 ranking; Djokovic retained the ranking after Medvedev lost in the quarterfinals.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: Nadal and Roger Federer were attempting to win a record 21st major title and become the outright leader in the men's singles major tally. Federer, like Djokovic, was attempting to become the first man in the Open Era to achieve the double Career Grand Slam in what would prove to be his final French Open appearance. This was the first time in majors history that Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal, the three most successful men's singles Grand Slam champions of all time, were in the same half of the main draw. After both making the semifinals, Djokovic and Nadal met for a record-extending 58th time in the Open Era, with Djokovic emerging victorious in four sets. This was the final French Open appearance of Federer's career.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: For the first time in the Open Era, all French players were eliminated prior to the third round. Thiem's first-round defeat guaranteed a new French Open finalist from the bottom half of the draw; Tsitsipas emerged to be that player. Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player since Djokovic in 2005 to win a match at the French Open, and was also the youngest player to reach the third round at the tournament since Andrei Medvedev in 1992. This was the first time since 2004 that a French Open men's singles final went to five sets; on that occasion, Gastón Gaudio also came from two sets down to win the title.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: The following are the seeded players. Seedings are based on ATP rankings as of 24 May 2021. Rankings and points before are as of 31 May 2021. Because the tournament was moved a week, points of the week of 10 June 2019 include results from Stuttgart and 's-Hertogenbosch.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: As announced by the ATP in March 2021, tournaments from 4 March to 4 August 2019 points due to COVID ranking adjustments will count 50%, including their 2020 points whichever is greater. 2019 points which are higher will still be dropped as normal. Accordingly, the higher of each player's 2019 or 2020 points will be replaced by his 2021 points at the end of the tournament. Note that this is a different ranking adjustment system than the one being used by the WTA for the women's event.


title: 2021 French Open – Men's singles

text: † The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2019. Therefore, this represents his points from the 2019 ATP Challenger Tour.


title: Banks (singer)

text: Jillian Rose Banks (born June 16, 1988), known mononymously as Banks (often stylized in all caps), is an American singer and songwriter. Following the release of two extended plays, "Fall Over" and "London", in 2013, Banks released her debut album, "Goddess", in 2014 to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. It reached number 12 on the US "Billboard" 200, while its most successful single, "Beggin for Thread", was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her second studio album, "The Altar", was released in September 2016 to a similar positive reception, becoming her second top 20 album in the United States. Her third album, "III", was released in 2019. It became her most critically acclaimed release to date and peaked at number 21 on the "Billboard" 200, as well as number 3 on the Top Albums Sales chart.


title: Banks (singer)

text: Jillian Rose Banks was born on June 16, 1988, in Orange County, California. Banks moved to Los Angeles when she was one or two years old and lived in Tarzana, an affluent neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. She started writing songs at the age of 15 and taught herself piano when she received a keyboard from a friend to help her through her parents' divorce. She says she "felt very alone and helpless. I didn't know how to express what I was feeling or who to talk to." She later enrolled to study psychology at the University of Southern California (USC), where she wrote a thesis on the children of divorced parents, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in psychology.


title: Banks (singer)

text: During Banks' time at USC she was put in contact with DJ Yung Skeeter, who offered to manage her and brought her to British label Good Years Recordings. After posting a track called "Before I Ever Met You" on a private SoundCloud page in February 2013, the song ended up being played by DJ Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1. Banks released her debut extended play (EP), "Fall Over", internationally in March 2013 by Good Years Recordings. "Billboard" called her a "magnetic writer with songs to obsess over." Her second EP, "London", was released in September 2013 by Harvest Records and Good Years Recordings to positive reviews from music critics. In an interview after the debut of her first album she posted her phone number on her social media accounts to be closer to her fans and have a more intimate connection to all of them. Her song "Waiting Game" from the EP was featured in the 2013 Victoria's Secret holiday commercial.


title: Banks (singer)

text: In late 2013, she received nominations for awards from both the BBC and MTV. She was nominated for a Sound of... award by the BBC and a Brand New Nominee by MTV. She was included on Shazam's list of "2014 Acts to Watch", as well as on iTunes' list of "New Artists for 2014". Banks was artist of the week for "Vogue" in August 2013 where they wrote that her songs "perfectly capture a feeling of being lost and powerless in the world." Banks has been tipped by several media outlets as the artist to watch in 2014, including "Spin" listing "London" as one of the "50 Albums You Gotta Hear in 2014" and being named as one of the artists under Spotify's Spotlight for 2014. Additional accolades came from "The Boston Globe", Fuse, and "The Huffington Post".


title: Banks (singer)

text: Banks was the opening act for Canadian singer The Weeknd during his fall 2013 tour, supporting him in both the United States and the United Kingdom. After finishing the tour with The Weeknd, she announced her own tour which began in the United Kingdom during March 2014. Banks was also a featured performer at the Coachella festival, taking place in April 2014, Bonnaroo and Open'er Festival in July 2014. In January 2015, Banks was part of the lineup for the 2015 St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, which toured Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Detroit, Fremantle, Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney. On August 7, 2014, Banks made her television debut on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", performing "Beggin for Thread" and "Waiting Game".


title: Banks (singer)

text: Her debut album, "Goddess", was released on September 5, 2014, and charted within the top 20 of several countries, including the UK, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Sweden. In the US, the album debuted at number 12 on the "Billboard" 200, selling 25,000 copies in its first week of release. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised her sonic ambition and the album's raw sound. It holds a score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic. The album was supported by the release of four singles: "Brain", "Goddess", "Drowning", and "Beggin for Thread". "Drowning" peaked at number 48 on "Billboard"s Rock Digital Songs chart, while "Beggin for Thread" reached number 11 on "Billboard"s Alternative Songs chart, and numbers 80 and 64 in Australia and Germany, respectively.


title: Banks (singer)

text: The track "Waiting Game" was featured in the film "Divergent", which was released in March 2014. Along with "Waiting Game", "You Should Know Where I'm Coming From" was featured in the October 9, 2014 episode of "Grey's Anatomy", while the track "Goddess" was featured in the March 12, 2015 episode. "You Should Know Where I'm Coming From" was also featured on the ninth episode of "Red Band Society". Her single "Beggin' for Thread" was featured in the third episode of the second season of "The Originals". In June 2017, "Waiting Game" was used in the official trailer for Netflix's psychological thriller series "Gypsy".


title: Banks (singer)

text: On November 4, 2015, Banks released the single "Better", along with its accompanying music video. Banks toured with The Weeknd for a second time, opening for him on his The Madness Fall Tour across North America from November to December 2015. She announced on June 8, 2016, that she had finished work on her second album.


title: Banks (singer)

text: On July 12, 2016, Banks released "Fuck with Myself" as the lead single from her second studio album, titled "The Altar". She premiered the track on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show, where she noted it was the last song she wrote for the album. "There's so many meanings to it", she said of the song. "It could be like, 'I fuck with myself', like, 'I mess with myself more than anybody else.' It could be, 'I fuck with myself', kind of like, 'I'm feeling myself.' It means a lot of different things that I think a lot of people can relate to." In an interview for Noisey, "Vice"s music channel, Banks describes her conflict between self-criticism and self-love as the inspiration behind the track. The song received acclaim from music critics, and reached 29 on the US Rock Songs chart.


title: Banks (singer)

text: The second single from the album, "Gemini Feed", was released on August 2, 2016, and premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show. The song peaked at number 25 on the US Rock Songs chart. The album's third single, "Mind Games", was released on August 19, 2016, followed by "To the Hilt" on September 16, 2016.


title: Banks (singer)

text: "The Altar" was released on September 30, 2016. The album debuted at number 17 on the US "Billboard" 200 with 14,220 copies sold in pure album sales, and at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 3,229 copies in its first week. The album also debuted at number eight in Australia and number 12 in Canada. The album received generally positive reviews from critics; it has a score of 70 on Metacritic.


title: Banks (singer)

text: A music video for "Trainwreck" was released on January 18, 2017. On February 24, 2017, Banks embarked on "The Altar Tour" in support of her sophomore album. It consisted of 68 dates and concluded on November 16, 2017. On April 7, 2017, Banks released the single "Crowded Places", which was featured in the penultimate episode of the HBO series "Girls" on April 9. Around this time, a collection of unreleased virtual reality experiences called "Three Points to the Recollection of My Future" was produced with Director Jenn Duong. The project was described as "an intense undertaking" that turned "various songs by the singer into a poetic, dance-driven interactive experience, which is an interesting experiment with the music video format."


title: Banks (singer)

text: Another single, titled "Underdog", was released on September 28, 2017. The track was premiered on Lowe's Beats 1 radio show. On November 14, Banks' collaboration with 6lack, "In Between", was unveiled as one of the three new tracks to celebrate the one-year anniversary of 6lack's debut album, "Free 6lack". In 2018, "In Between" and "Poltergeist", a track from "The Altar", were both featured on the soundtrack of the fifth season of "Power".


title: Banks (singer)

text: In December 2018, Banks said she was working on an album to be released in 2019. On April 29, 2019, Banks released a new single titled "Gimme". The song debuted as Zane Lowe's World Record on Apple Music's Beats 1. On June 11, 2019, Banks released another single, "Look What You're Doing To Me," featuring Francis and the Lights, which she revealed is about falling and being in love. The final single from the album, "Contaminated", was released on July 10. Her third studio album, "III", was released on July 12, 2019. Banks describes the album as her transformation from a naive, hopeful romantic into a wise woman. Banks embarked on The III Tour on September 3 in support of the album.


title: Banks (singer)

text: In June 2021, Banks teased a song titled "The Devil" for an upcoming album. Written and produced by Banks, with additional production by Al Shux and Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, the song and its accompanying music video—co-directed by Banks and Jenna Marsh—were released on June 16, and marked the singer's first release as an independent artist.


title: Banks (singer)

text: On August 25, 2021, Banks released "Skinnydipped" as the second single from her fourth album. The song is about "moving onward, finding her self-worth, and no longer drowning in toxic relationships". Co-directed by Banks and Michael Stine, the music video features the singer in jewellery from Bulgari's "Serpenti" collection, echoing the snake motif "represent[ative] of rebirth and shedding one's skin" used in her imagery.


title: Banks (singer)

text: Banks' reluctance to use social media is often noted by journalists. Although she has stated she lets her "management run that stuff", the singer did give out her telephone number on her Facebook fanpage. She has since become more active on her Instagram and Twitter accounts.


title: Banks (singer)

text: Banks' sound has been described as dark R&B and compared to Ellie Goulding, The Weeknd, and Aaliyah, although she cites Lauryn Hill and Fiona Apple as her biggest influences. She says that music helps her release her emotions and for that reason kept her music private while she earned her bachelor's degree in psychology. Her vocals have frequently been described as "Aaliyah-like", in addition to "Billboard" noting that "her rhapsodic voice possesses a frail vulnerability and recalls singers like Feist and Erykah Badu."


title: Banks (singer)

text: Banks' music has been categorized as alternative pop, alternative R&B, avant-pop, electropop, hip hop, R&B, trap-pop and trip hop.


title: National Intelligence Service (South Korea)

text: The National Intelligence Service (NIS; Korean: 국가정보원, 국정원) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA; Korean: 중앙정보부), during the rule of President Park Chung-hee's military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, which displaced the Second Republic of Korea. The original duties of the KCIA were to supervise and coordinate both international and domestic intelligence activities and criminal investigation by all government intelligence agencies, including that of the military. The agency's broad powers allowed it to actively intervene in politics. Agents undergo years of training and checks before they are officially inducted and receive their first assignments.


text: The agency took on the name Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP; Korean: 국가안전기획부, 안기부) in 1981, as part of a series of reforms instituted by the Fifth Republic of Korea under President Chun Doo-hwan. Besides trying to acquire intelligence on North Korea and suppress South Korean activists, the ANSP, like its predecessor, was heavily involved in activities outside its sphere, including domestic politics and promoting the 1988 Summer Olympics. During its existence, the ANSP engaged in numerous human rights abuses such as torture, as well as election tampering.


text: In 1999, the agency assumed its current name. The advent of democracy in the Sixth Republic of Korea has seen many of the duties and powers of the NIS curtailed in response to public criticisms about past abuses.


text: The agency's origins can be traced back to the Korean Counterintelligence Corps (KCIC), formed during the Korean War. The KCIA was founded on 13 June 1961 by Kim Jong-pil, who drew much of the organization's initial 3,000-strong membership from the KCIC. Kim, a Korean Military Academy graduate and nephew of Park Chung-hee by marriage, is also credited with masterminding the 1961 coup d'etat that installed Park before he was elected president of Korea.


text: The intelligence service was extensively used by President Park's government to suppress and disrupt anti-government or pro–North Korean or other pro-communist movements, including the widespread student protests on university campuses and the activities of overseas Koreans. The KCIA developed a reputation for interfering in domestic politics and international affairs beyond its jurisdiction. The KCIA's original charter, the Act Concerning Protection of Military Secrets, was designed to oversee the coordination of activities related to counterespionage and national security, but a majority of its activities and budget were devoted to things unrelated to its original charter.


text: The KCIA controlled the whole country, with more than forty thousand regular employees and one million correspondents. Striking workers, protesters or signatories of simple petitions face long prison sentences and torture, with the whole company under constant surveillance.


text: In 1968, KCIA agents kidnapped 17 Koreans living in West Germany. They were transported back to Seoul, where they were tortured and brought up on charges of having violated the National Security Law by engaging in pro-Northern activities. The victims became a "cause célèbre" as the kidnapping created a firestorm of international criticism that almost brought the West German government to break off diplomatic relations with South Korea. It further served as a harbinger when the much-publicised kidnapping of a dissident, Kim Dae-jung — who would later become the president of Korea and the country's first Nobel Peace Prize recipient, in 2000 — took place in 1973 off the coast of a Japanese resort town.


text: The KCIA's virtually unlimited and completely unchecked power to arrest and detain any person on any charge created a climate of extreme fear and repression. The frequent detention and torture of students, dissidents, opposition figures, communists, reporters, or anyone perceived to be critical of the government was symptomatic of the Park presidency and the subsequent administration. In another departure from its original charter, the KCIA's assumptive role as political machine extraordinaire and domination of the country's political life began to take on even more bizarre forms such as exercising a free hand in drafting the South Korean constitution and acting as a political fundraiser for the incumbent party.


text: In addition to its presumptive intelligence and secret police role, which was ostensibly authorized by its original charter, it also became, by default, through a network of agents at home and abroad, the "de facto" attorney general and inspector general of the South Korean government. Domestically, the KCIA made itself the philanthropical arm of the government by being an avid supporter of the arts, promoter of tourism, and purveyor of national culture.


text: The KCIA is known to have raised funds through extortion and stock market manipulation, which were in turn used to bribe and cajole companies, individuals and even foreign governments, as happened during the Koreagate scandal in the United States in 1976. Investigations by United States Congressman Donald M. Fraser found the KCIA to have funneled bribes and favors through Korean businessman Tongsun Park in an attempt to gain favor and influence in Washington, D.C.; some 115 Members of Congress were implicated in the affair.


text: In 1979, the agency's director, Kim Jae-kyu, assassinated President Park Chung Hee during a dinner. In the aftermath, the KCIA was purged, with Jae-Kyu and five others being executed, and temporarily lost much of its power.


text: The new director, Chun Doo-hwan, used his tenure from April to July 1980 to expand his power base beyond the military, and the organization was renamed the Agency for National Security Planning in 1981, with its powers redefined in presidential orders and legislation.


text: The ANSP, like its predecessor, was a cabinet-level agency directly accountable to the president, and the director of the ANSP continued to have direct presidential access.


text: In March 1981, the ANSP was redesignated as the principal agency for collecting and processing all intelligence. The requirement for all other agencies with intelligence-gathering and analysis functions in their charters to coordinate their activities with the ANSP was reaffirmed.


text: Legislation passed at the end of 1981 further redefined the ANSP's legally mandated functions to include the collection, compilation, and distribution of foreign and domestic information regarding public safety against communists and plots to overthrow the government.


text: The maintenance of public safety with regard to documents, materials, facilities, and districts designated as secrets of the state was the purview of the ANSP, as was the investigation of crimes of insurrection and foreign aggression, crimes of rebellion, aiding and abetting the enemy, disclosure of military secrets, and crimes provided for in the Act Concerning Protection of Military Secrets and the National Security Act. The investigation of crimes related to duties of intelligence personnel, the supervision of information collection, and the compilation and distribution of information on other agencies' activities designed to maintain public safety also were undertaken by the ANSP.


text: By 1983 the ANSP had rebounded and again was the preeminent foreign and domestic intelligence organization.


text: Nevertheless, the ANSP's domestic powers were indeed curtailed under the Sixth Republic. Prior to the change, the ANSP had free access to all government offices and files. The ANSP, Defense Security Support Command, Office of the Prosecutor General, Korean National Police, and the Ministry of Justice had stationed their agents in the National Assembly of Korea to collect information on the activities of politicians.


text: In May 1988, however, overt ANSP agents, along with agents of other intelligence agencies, were withdrawn from the National Assembly building.


text: The ANSP's budget was not made public, nor apparently was it made available in any useful manner to the National Assembly in closed sessions. In July 1989, pressured by opposition parties and public opinion, the ANSP was subjected to inspection and audit by the National Assembly for the first time in eighteen years, with the ANSP removed its agents from the chambers of the Seoul Criminal Court and the Supreme Court.


text: In another move to limit the potential for the ANSP to engage in "intelligence politics," the ANSP Information Coordination Committee was disbanded because of its history of unduly influencing other investigating authorities, such as the Office of the Prosecutor General. Additionally, the ANSP, responding to widespread criticism of its alleged human rights violations, set up a "watchdog" office to supervise its domestic investigations and to prevent agents from abusing their powers while interrogating suspects.


text: The ANSP remained deeply involved in domestic politics, however, and was not fully prepared to relinquish its power. In April 1990, for example, ruling Democratic Liberal Party (DLP) coleader Kim Young-sam complained that he and members of his faction within the DLP had been subjected to "intelligence maneuvering in politics" that included wiretapping, surveillance, and financial investigations.


text: Despite an agreement in September 1989 by the chief policymakers of the ruling and opposition parties to strip the ANSP of its power to investigate pro–North Korean activity (a crime under the National Security Act), the ANSP continued enforcing this aspect of the law rather than limiting itself to countering internal and external attempts to overthrow the government. The ANSP continued to pick up radical student and dissident leaders for questioning without explanation.


text: Aside from its controversial internal security mission, the ANSP also was known for its foreign intelligence gathering and analysis and for its investigation of offenses involving external subversion and military secrets. The National Unification Board and the ANSP (and the KCIA before it) were the primary sources of government analysis and policy direction for South Korea's reunification strategy and contacts with North Korea. The intelligence service's pursuit of counterespionage cases was also held in high regard.


text: In 1994, the ANSP had a significant revision of its charter, which effectively limited its activities, following an agreement between Korea's ruling and opposition parties. As a result, an "Information Committee" in the National Assembly was established to lay a foundation for the agency's removal from the political scene and an assumption of political neutrality. The ANSP also began to develop procedures and mechanisms to thwart international crime and terrorism. In 1995, the ANSP moved to a new headquarters site in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, from its previous location on Namsan mountain, in Imun-dong, where it had been located for the past 34 years.


text: Most specifics regarding the agency's organizational makeup remain classified by the Seoul government. A 1998 investigation by the "Sisa Journal" into the structure of the agency (then the ANSP) estimated that it employed some 60,000 employees across 39 headquarters and regionally-based departments, spending an estimated 700–800 billion South Korean won per year.


text: In the presidential election held in December 2012, NIS committed a serious crime secretly helping Park Geun-hye's campaign, according to Korean police investigation report. Korean prosecutors are re-investigating this incident which could void the result of last year's presidential election. Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon is awaiting trial on multiple charges including presidential election fraud.


text: In 2015, Hacking Team's breached data showed that NIS purchased spyware from Hacking Team. An agent related to the hack was found dead in an apparent suicide. In his note, he said that the agency didn't spy on civilians or on political reactions related to 2012's presidential election.


text: According to its official publications, the NIS is divided into three directorates: "International affairs", "Domestic affairs", and "North Korean affairs". Its current officially stated mission assigns the NIS responsibility for the: