title: Nagercoil

text: According to the 2011 census, Nagercoil had a population of 2,24,849 with a female-male sex ratio of 1.05, well above the national average of 0.929 females/male. A total of 20,241 were under the age of six, constituting 10,119 males and 10,122 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 4.19% and 0.17% of the population respectively. The literacy rate of the city was 96.99%. The city had a total of 59,997 households. There were a total of 76,345 workers, comprising 244 cultivators, 1,155 main agricultural laborers, 2,271 in household industries, 67,050 other workers, 5,625 marginal workers, 110 marginal cultivators, 361 marginal agricultural laborers, 447 marginal workers in household industries and 4,707 other marginal workers.


title: Nagercoil

text: The city is one among the 50 Indian cities to be ranked in the World Startup Index of 1,000 cities. The major software companies present in Nagercoil are CapeStart Inc., Hinduja Global Solutions, Navigant Consulting and American stock exchange NASDAQ. The city also has small aerospace manufacturing plants and satellite fabricating firms serving the Indian Space Research Organisations facility in ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. The Regional Academic Centre for Space by Indian Space Research Organisation, one among the only six incubation centers for Space Startups in India, is under construction in Nagercoil. The Integral Coach Factory has a small scale windmill unit. The export of 95 tons of fruits and vegetables to the Gulf Countries through the Thiruvananthapuram airports is a major source of revenue for the city, with food processing companies generating a daily revenue of ₹16.7 lakh and an annual revenue of ₹6.1 billion. The flower market of Thovalai exports 350 tons of Flowers to Kerala, Europe and Middle Eastern countries generating an annual revenue of ₹250 crore.


title: Nagercoil

text: The major cottage industries like Fish-net manufacturing, Rubber industries, Jewellery manufacturing are industries serving the domestic and export markets. The minor cottage industries include Surgical Gloves, Coir-making, floral trade, handloom-weaving, cashew nut, spices, food-processing units, and lace-making (export-oriented). Nagercoil has the highest per capita income of ₹2,76,454 (US$3,800), making it among the richest small cities in India.


title: Nagercoil

text: The city has an installed windmill capacity of 1500 MW catering to 20% of the state's renewable electricity needs. Muppandhal has emerged as the wind power hub, with plant owners eager to cash in on the ₹2.90 per unit purchase price being offered by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.


title: Nagercoil

text: The architecture of Nagercoil consists of an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from those that predate the creation of the town, from the early Dravidian architecture and Kerala Architecture, to English Gothic Revival, to the 21st century contemporary. Although there are prehistoric and classical structures in the city, the architectural history of Nagercoil effectively begins with the first small settlements from 3 A.D. The Roman naturalist and writer Pliny the Elder mentions Nagercoil as a commercial metropolis, having trade links with his contemporaneous Roman merchants, who traded and stayed in unique rock-walled, clay-roofed structures. This legacy can be found in some of the town's old heritage structures like the Nagaraja Temple, Nagercoil. The temple has two main deities, Krishna (revered as Ananda Krishna) and Nagaraja. The upadevathas are Shiva, Subrahmanya Swami, Ganesha, Devi, and Dwarapalaka. As an ancient tradition, the priests are Namboothiri Brahmins who are referred by the Pambumekkat mana in Thrissur, Kerala. The 14th century St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar serves as a testimony to the mix of Roman and native architecture. While Saint Xavier was doing missionary work at Kottar and its neighborhood, he averted an invasion of Padagas with the help of his cross alone and thus protected the people of the Venad kingdom from that attack which was appreciated by the king, Unni Kerala Varma, who became closer to the priest and befriended him from then on. In recognition of Xavier's services, the king allotted him a piece of land to construct a Catholic church, as a gesture of goodwill, as per the church records. There was already a small church, in the same place where St. Xavier's church stands at present, dedicated to Mary the Mother of God, since AD 1544. Later on, Dravidian and Kerala architectural styles began to appear in the area. This can be attributed to the construction of the Thanumalayan Temple in the 16th Century.


title: Nagercoil

text: The brilliant artistic influence of Kerala and British architecture marvels are seen in the Nagercoil Palace, Nagercoil Clock Tower, Home Church, Scott Christian College, Scott School, Carmel Higher Secondary School, St. Joseph Convent, Sethu Lakshmi Bai School, Nagercoil Court, The Concordia Seminary, Filter House, The Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital and many more heritage structures in and around the town. Among these, the Nagercoil Clock Tower is the most visible to the outside world, situated in the heart of the town, which was built to commemorate the visit of Sri Moolam Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, in 1893, and was designed by Hogeorf and S. Horesly of England. The Maharajah himself inaugurated it on 15 February of that year. The pendulum of the clock was made in Derbyshire by Smith of Derby Group, London. The clock is attached to a 60-foot-long chain with a weight, operated with pulleys through gravitational force.


title: Nagercoil

text: The clock in the Nagercoil Clock Tower was presented to the Maharajah by Rev. James Duthie. of the London Missionary Society.


title: Nagercoil

text: The total cost for constructing the Nagercoil Clock Tower was ₹ 3,258, 9 Chakrams and 12 Kasu. The Maharajah of Travancore donated ₹ 1017, and the balance was donated by the public. However, the declining interest by the government to uphold and preserve the heritage monuments is a cause of concern to heritage enthusiasts and the citizens of the town. The fear, that with time, the extinction of this heritage will be imminent is growing with the demolition of a few structures.


title: Nagercoil

text: Marshal Nesamony, one of the leading lawyers of the Nagercoil Bar, was elected as the Chairman of the Nagercoil Municipal Council in 1943. He enlarged the town boundary, improved the town's water supply system, established a home for destitutes and increased the income of the Nagercoil Municipality. In the same year, he was elected to the Travancore State Assembly and was also nominated to the Senate of the Kerala University, then known as the Travancore University. Later on K. Kamaraj, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, won from the Kanyakumari constituency without even canvassing. The Nagercoil (Lok Sabha constituency) is perhaps the only constituency in Tamil Nadu to not have elected any Dravidian parties in the state's history.


title: Nagercoil

text: A.K. Chellaiya, was a politician and an MLA of Colachel constituency in 1952. He resigned his post for merging Kanyakumari with Tamil Nadu.


title: Nagercoil

text: A. Samraj, was an MLA of Thovalai constituency in 1952. He resigned from his post for merging Kanyakumari with Tamil Nadu.


title: Nagercoil

text: Tamil is the official language in Nagercoil and is spoken by the majority of the population here. In addition to Tamil, English and Malayalam are widely spoken. There are many schools and colleges in Nagercoil that are known for their national reputation and were established more than 150 years ago; colleges such as Scott Christian College (est. 1809), South Travancore Hindu College (est. 1952), Holy Cross College (est. 1965), Women Christian College and schools such as Scott Christian Higher Secondary School (est. 1819), Duthie Girls School (est. 1819), St. Joseph's Convent Higher Secondary School (est. 1910), Carmel Higher Secondary School (est. 1922), S.L.B. Government Higher Secondary School (est. 1924), S.M.R.V. Higher Secondary School (est. 1919).


title: Nagercoil

text: The literacy rate is at 96.99% higher than the national average of 74.04% and state average of 80.09%.


title: Nagercoil

text: At Vadasery, a locality in Nagercoil, a unique Temple jewellery is made. The Vadasery Temple jewellery has Geographical Indications (GI) registry of the Government of India. These jewels are used by classical dancers in India.


title: Nagercoil

text: Onam is a festival which is widely celebrated among the Malayalam-speaking population by drawing the 'athapoo' on the floor.


title: Nagercoil

text: Navaratri is uniquely celebrated here with an inter-state tradition in which the idols of Goddess Munuthithanankai Amman from Suchindrum, Goddess Saraswati from Padmanabhapuram Palace and Lord Kumaraswamy from Kumarakovil travel to Thiruvananthapuram. A ceremonial welcome is given to the idols of the Gods by the officials and representatives of the Government of Kerala. After the ten days of Navratri festival, they return to the respective temples with great celebrations.


title: Nagercoil

text: Nagercoil has the distinction of housing one of the two Sports Authority of India Centers in the state, the other being in Chennai. There are plans to make the city hub for sports in South India by merging it with the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi Centers with headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.


title: Nagercoil

text: Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) is maintaining Aringar Anna Outdoor Stadium in Vadasery and SDAT indoor Stadium in Konam, Nagercoil. It also has an excellent Swimming pool for sports players.


title: Nagercoil

text: Nagercoil also has various sports clubs that promote various sports activities. Nagercoil Fencing Club promotes fencing sports in nagercoil.


title: Nagercoil

text: Also there are various Non govt sports clubs like The District Club, The Nagercoil Club, Ramavarmapuram club, etc.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: William Bradford ( 19 March 15909 May 1657) was an English Puritan separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He moved to Leiden in Holland in order to escape persecution from King James I of England, and then emigrated to the Plymouth Colony on the "Mayflower" in 1620. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and went on to serve as Governor of the Plymouth Colony intermittently for about 30 years between 1621 and 1657. His journal "Of Plymouth Plantation" covered the years from 1620 to 1646 in Plymouth.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: William Bradford was born to Alice Hanson and William Bradford in Austerfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, and was baptized on 19 March 1590. The family possessed a large farm and were considered wealthy and influential. Bradford's grandfather was William Bradforthe, who had at least four children, including Bradford's father, and was probably of noble ancestry, according to researcher George J. Hill.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford's childhood was marked by numerous deaths in the family. He was just over a year old when his father died. His mother remarried when he was four years old, and he was sent to live with his grandfather. His grandfather died two years later, and he returned to live with his mother and stepfather. His mother died a year later, in 1597, and Bradford thus became an orphan at the age of seven and was sent to live with two uncles.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: His uncles wanted him to help on the farm, and he later noted in his journal that he suffered at that time from a "long sickness" and was unable to work. He instead turned to reading and became familiar with the Bible and classic works of literature. This is seen by some as a key factor in his intellectual curiosity and his eventual attraction to the Separatist branch of Puritan theology.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: When Bradford was 12 years old, a friend invited him to hear the Rev. Richard Clyfton preach 10 miles away in All Saints' Church, Babworth in Nottinghamshire. Clyfton believed that the Church of England ought to eliminate all vestiges of Roman Catholic practices, and that this would result in a purer Christian church. Bradford was inspired by his preaching and continued to attend his sermons, even though he was forbidden by his uncles. During one meeting, Bradford met William Brewster, a bailiff and postmaster who lived at Scrooby manor, four miles from Austerfield. During frequent visits, Bradford borrowed books from him, and Brewster regaled him with stories of the efforts toward church reform taking place throughout England.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: King James I came to the English throne in 1603, declaring that he would put an end to church reform movements and deal harshly with radical critics of the Church of England. By 1607, secret meetings were being held at Scrooby Manor and about 50 reform-minded individuals began to worship together, led by Richard Clyfton and the Rev. John Robinson. This group decided that reform of the Church of England was hopeless and they would sever all ties. Their weekly meetings eventually attracted the attention of the Archbishop of York, and many members of the congregation were arrested in 1607. Brewster was found guilty of being "disobedient in matters of religion" and was fined. Some members were imprisoned and others were watched "night and day", according to Bradford, by those loyal to the archbishop. Adding to their concerns, the Scrooby congregation learned that other dissenters in London had been imprisoned and left to starve.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: The Scrooby congregation decided in 1607 to leave England unlawfully for the Dutch Republic, where religious freedom was permitted, and Bradford determined to go with them. The group encountered several major setbacks when trying to leave England, most notably their betrayal by an English sea captain who had agreed to carry them to the Netherlands, but instead turned them over to the authorities. Most of the congregation were imprisoned for a short time after this failed attempt, including Bradford. By the summer of 1608, however, they managed to escape England in small groups and relocate to Leiden in the Dutch Republic. Bradford was 18.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford arrived in Amsterdam in August 1608. He had no family with him and was taken in by the Brewster household. The Scrooby congregation had to work the lowest of jobs and to live in poor conditions, being foreigners and having spent most of their money in attempts to get to the Dutch Republic. After nine months, the group chose to relocate to the smaller city of Leiden.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford continued to reside with the Brewster family in a poor Leiden neighborhood known as Stink Alley. Conditions changed dramatically for him when he turned 21 and was able to claim his family inheritance in 1611. He bought his own house, set up a workshop as a fustian weaver (weaver of heavy cotton cloth for men's clothing), and earned a reputable standing. In 1613, he married Dorothy May, the daughter of a well-off English couple living in Amsterdam. They were married in a civil service, as they could find no example of a religious service in the Scriptures. In 1617, they had their first child, named John.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: In 1619, William Bradford sold his house in Leiden and appears in March 1620 tax records in London being taxed for personal property at the Duke's Place, Aldgate. Aldgate was an area of London known to be the residence of numerous Dutch merchants, as well as many religious dissenters. Some familiar "Mayflower" names of families living in the area included Allerton, Tilley, Sampson, and Hopkins.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: One family in Aldgate played an important part in Bradford's life in America. Edward and Alice (Carpenter) Southworth and their two sons were residing at Heneage House, the Duke's Place, in Aldgate in 1620. Southworth was a highly respected leader of the Leiden group, but he died in 1621/22. His widow Alice emigrated to Plymouth Colony after Bradford's wife died, and they were married.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: By 1617, the Scrooby congregation began to plan the establishment of their own colony in the Americas. The Separatists could practice religion as they pleased in the Dutch Republic, but they were troubled by the fact that their children were being influenced by Dutch customs and language, after nearly ten years in the Netherlands. Therefore, they commenced three years of difficult negotiations in England seeking permission to settle in the northern parts of the Colony of Virginia (which then extended north to the Hudson River). The colonists also struggled to negotiate terms with a group of financial backers in London known as the Merchant Adventurers. By July 1620, Robert Cushman and John Carver had made the necessary arrangements, and approximately fifty Separatists departed Delftshaven on board the "Speedwell".


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: It was an emotional departure. Many families were split, as some Separatists stayed behind in the Netherlands, planning to make the voyage to the New World after the colony had been established. William and Dorothy Bradford left their three-year-old son John with Dorothy's parents in Amsterdam, possibly because he was too frail to make the voyage.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: According to the arrangements made by Carver and Cushman, the "Speedwell" was to meet with the "Mayflower" off the coast of England and both were destined for the northern part of the Colony of Virginia. The "Speedwell", however, proved to be not structurally sound enough to make the voyage, and some of the passengers were transferred aboard the "Mayflower", making crowded conditions. Joining the Scrooby congregation were about 50 colonists who had been recruited by the Merchant Adventurers for their vocational skills, which would prove useful in establishing a colony. These passengers of the "Mayflower", both Separatist and non-Separatist, are commonly referred to today as "Pilgrims." The term is derived from a passage in Bradford's journal, written years later, describing their departure from the Netherlands (itself an allusion to Hebrews 11:13 in the Bible):


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: ...With mutual embraces and many tears, they took their leaves of one another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them...but they knew they were pilgrims and looked not much on those things, but lifted their eyes to heaven, their dearest country and quieted their spirits...


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: The "Mayflower" departed Plymouth, England on 6/16 September 1620. The 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of 30 – 40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out, the ship was being buffeted by westerly gales, causing the ship's timbers to be badly shaken, with caulking failing to keep out sea water, and with passengers lying wet and ill, even in their berths. There were two deaths on the trip, a crew member and a passenger.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: They spotted Cape Cod hook on 9/19 November 1620, after about a month of delays in England and two months at sea. They spent several days trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, but strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, now called Provincetown Harbor, where they anchored on 11/21 November 1620. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day, Bradford being one of the first to sign.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford had yet to assume any significant leadership role in the colony by the time that he was 30. The "Mayflower" anchored in Provincetown Harbor and he volunteered to be a member of the exploration parties searching for a place for settlement. In November and December, these parties made three separate ventures from the "Mayflower" on foot and by boat, finally locating Plymouth Harbor in mid-December and selecting that site for settlement.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: During the first expedition on foot, Bradford got caught in a deer trap made by Indians and hauled nearly upside down. The third exploration departed from the "Mayflower" on 6 December 1620 when a group of men (including Bradford) located Plymouth Bay. A winter storm nearly sank their boat as they approached the bay, but they managed to land on Clark's Island, suffering from severe exposure to the cold and waves. During the ensuing days, they explored the bay and found a suitable place for settlement, now the site of downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts. The location featured a prominent hill ideal for a defensive fort. There were numerous brooks providing fresh water, and it had been the location of an Indian village known as Patuxet; therefore, much of the area had already been cleared for planting crops. The Patuxet tribe had been wiped out by plagues between 1616 and 1619, possibly as a result of contact with English fishermen or from contact with the French to the north. Bradford wrote that bones of the dead were clearly evident in many places.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: When the exploring party made their way back on board, he learned of the death of his wife Dorothy. Dorothy (May) Bradford from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire fell overboard off the deck of the "Mayflower" during his absence and drowned. William Bradford recorded her death in his journal. Some historians speculate that she may have committed suicide.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: The "Mayflower" arrived in Plymouth Bay on 20 December 1620. The settlers began building the colony's first house on 25 December (Christmas). Their efforts were slowed, however, when a widespread sickness struck the settlers. The sickness had begun on the ship. On 11 January 1621, Bradford was helping to build houses when he was suddenly struck with great pain in his hipbone and collapsed. He was taken to the "common house" (the only finished house built then) and it was feared that he would not last the night.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford recovered, but many of the other settlers were not so fortunate. During the months of February and March 1621, sometimes two or three people died a day. By the end of the winter, half of the 100 settlers had died. In an attempt to hide their weakness from Native Americans who might be watching them, the settlers buried their dead in unmarked graves on Cole's Hill, often at night, and made efforts to conceal the burials.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: During the epidemic, there were only a small number of men who remained healthy and bore the responsibility of caring for the sick. One of these was Captain Myles Standish, a soldier who had been hired by the settlers to coordinate the defense of the colony. Standish cared for Bradford during his illness and this was the beginning of a bond of friendship between the two men. Bradford was elected governor soon after Carver's death and, in that capacity, he worked closely with Standish. Bradford had no military experience and therefore came to rely on and trust the advice of Captain Myles Standish concerning military matters.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: On 16 March, the settlers had their first meeting with the American Indians in the region when Samoset walked into the village of Plymouth as a representative of Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanokets. This soon led to a visit by Massasoit himself on 22 March, during which he signed a treaty with John Carver, Governor of Plymouth, which declared an alliance between the Pokanokets and Plymouth, requiring them to aid one another militarily in times of need.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford recorded the language of the brief treaty in his journal. He soon became governor and the clause of the treaty that occupied much of his attention as governor pertained to mutual aid. It read, "If any did unjustly war against [Massasoit], we would aid him; if any did war against us, Massasoit should aid us." This agreement secured the colonists with a faithful ally in New England, though it resulted in tensions between the colonists and Massasoit's rivals, such as the Narragansetts and the Massachusetts.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: In April 1621, Governor Carver collapsed while working in the fields on a hot day. He died a few days later. The settlers of Plymouth then chose Bradford as the new governor, a position which he retained off and on for the rest of his life. The elected leadership of Plymouth Colony at first consisted of a governor and an assistant governor. The assistant governor for the first three years of the colony's history was Isaac Allerton. In 1624, the structure was changed to a governor and five assistants who were referred to as the "court of assistants," "magistrates," or the "governor's council." These men advised the governor and had the right to vote on important matters of governance, helping Bradford in guiding the growth of the colony and its improvised government. Assistants during the early years of the colony included Thomas Prence, Stephen Hopkins, John Alden, and John Howland.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: William Bradford's most well-known work by far is "Of Plymouth Plantation". It is a detailed history in journal form about the founding of the Plymouth Colony and the lives of the colonists from 1621 to 1646, a detailed account of his experiences and observations. The first part of the work was written in 1630; toward the end of his life, he updated it to provide "the account of the colony's struggles and achievements through the year 1646." Bradford drew deep parallels between everyday life and the events of the Bible. As Philip Gould writes, "Bradford hoped to demonstrate the workings of divine providence for the edification of future generations."


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: In 1888, Charles F. Richardson referred to Bradford as a "forerunner of literature" and "a story-teller of considerable power." Moses Coit Tyler called him "the father of American history." Many American authors have cited his work in their writings; for example, Cotton Mather referred to it in "Magnalia Christi Americana" and Thomas Prince referred to it in "A Chronological History of New-England in the Form of Annals." Even today it is considered a valuable piece of American literature, included in anthologies and studied in literature and history classes. It has been called an American classic and the preeminent work of art in seventeenth-century New England."


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: The "Of Plymouth Plantation" manuscript disappeared by 1780, "presumably stolen by a British soldier during the British occupation of Boston"; it reappeared in Fulham, London, in the bishop of London's library at Lambeth Palace. A long debate ensued as to the rightful home for the manuscript. United States Senator George Frisbie Hoar and others made multiple attempts to have it returned, and the British finally relinquished it back to Massachusetts on 26 May 1897.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford's journal also contributed to the book "Mourt's Relation", which was written in part by Edward Winslow and published in England in 1622. It was intended to inform Europeans about the conditions surrounding the American colonists at the Plymouth Colony. Bradford's "Dialogues" are a collection of fictional conversations between the old and new generations, between "younge men" and "Ancient men".


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford died on May 9, 1657 and was buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth, where a cenotaph was erected in his memory. The estate inventory was taken on May 22, 1657.


title: William Bradford (governor)

text: Bradford was the focal point of the "American Experience" episode "The Pilgrims". He was played by Roger Rees.


title: Atrociraptor

text: Atrociraptor (meaning "savage thief") is a genus of saurornitholestine dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage) of Alberta, Canada.


title: Atrociraptor

text: The type (and only) specimen of "Atrociraptor", holotype RTMP 95.166.1, was discovered by Wayne Marshall in 1995, in layers of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation also containing an "Albertosaurus" bonebed, near Drumheller. This bonebed is located at the top of Unit 4 of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, which dates to about 68.5 million years ago. The only known specimen consists of parts of the upper and lower jaws—both premaxillae, a right maxilla, both dentaries—teeth and numerous small fragments. The skull appears to have been unusually short and tall. The teeth are relatively straight, but they emerge from the tooth sockets at an angle to the jaw line, resulting in a strongly raked row of teeth. A number of isolated teeth (previously referred to "Saurornitholestes") have also been recovered from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation; they can be recognized by their unusually large serrations.


title: Atrociraptor

text: In 2004 Philip J. Currie and David Varricchio named and described the type species of "Atrociraptor": "Atrociraptor marshalli". The generic name is derived from the Latin "atrox", "savage", and "raptor", "seizer". The specific name honours Marshall.


title: Atrociraptor

text: "Atrociraptor" was a relatively small dromaeosaur, measuring long and weighing . It differs from "Bambiraptor" and other Dromaeosaurids in its more isodont dentition—the teeth have different sizes but the same form—and short deep snout. A skull opening, the maxillary fenestra, is relatively large and positioned right above another opening, the promaxillary fenestra, a condition not known from other species.


title: Atrociraptor

text: "Atrociraptor" was by its describers assigned to the Velociraptorinae within a larger Dromaeosauridae. However, in 2009 Currie published a cladistic analysis showing "Atrociraptor" to be a member of the Saurornitholestinae. A 2022 study and analysis further vindicates this position and classifies "Atrociraptor" as a derived saurornitholestine, along with "Acheroraptor".


title: Chinese unification

text: Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the Republic of China ("Taiwan") under one political entity, possibly the formation of a political union between the two republics. Together with full Taiwan independence, unification is one of the main proposals to address questions on the political status of Taiwan, which is a central focus of Cross-Strait relations.


title: Chinese unification

text: In the year 1895, the Qing dynasty of China lost the First Sino-Japanese War and was forced to cede Taiwan and Penghu to the Empire of Japan after signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki. In 1912, the Qing dynasty was overthrown and was succeeded by the Republic of China (ROC). Based on the theory of the succession of states, the ROC originally lay claim to the entire territory which belonged to the Qing dynasty during the time of its collapse, except for Taiwan, which the ROC recognized as belonging to the Empire of Japan at the time. The ROC managed to attain widespread recognition as the legitimate successor state to the Qing dynasty during the years following the fall of the Qing dynasty.


title: Chinese unification

text: In the year 1945, the ROC won the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was intertwined with World War II, and took control of Taiwan on behalf of the Allied Powers, following the Japanese surrender. The ROC immediately asserted its claim to Taiwan as "Taiwan Province, Republic of China", basing its claim on the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Communique. Around this time, the ROC nullified the Treaty of Shimonoseki, declaring it to be one of the many "Unequal Treaties" imposed on China during the so-called "Century of Humiliation". At the time, the Kuomintang (KMT) was the ruling party of the ROC, and was widely recognized as its legitimate representative, especially due to the collaboration of its leader Chiang Kai-shek with the Allied Powers.


title: Chinese unification

text: However, throughout much of the rule of the ROC, China had been internally divided, during a period which is known as the "Warlord Era". According to the common narrative, the ROC was divided into many different ruling cliques and secessionist states, which were in a constant power struggle following the power vacuum which was created after the overthrowing of the Qing. During this period, two ruling cliques eventually came out on top; that of the KMT, backed by the United States, and that of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), backed by the Soviet Union. The power struggle between these two specific political parties has come to be known as the Chinese Civil War. The Chinese Civil War was fought sporadically throughout the ROC's history; it was interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War.


title: Chinese unification

text: After the Second Sino-Japanese War concluded, the Chinese Civil War resumed, and the CCP quickly gained a huge advantage over the KMT (ruling the ROC). In 1949, the KMT evacuated its government, its military, and around 1.2–2 million loyal citizens to Taiwan, which had only been ruled by the KMT for around four years by this time. Back in mainland China, the CCP proclaimed the "People's Republic of China (PRC)", effectively creating a reality of Two Chinas. Following the creation of Two Chinas, the PRC began to fight a diplomatic war against the ROC on Taiwan over official recognition as the sole legitimate government of China. Eventually, the PRC (mostly) won this war, and ascended to the position of "China" in the United Nations in 1971, evicting the ROC from that position.


title: Chinese unification

text: This left an awkward situation where the ROC still ruled Taiwan but was not recognized as a member state of the United Nations. In recent years, membership in the United Nations has become almost an essential qualifier of statehood. Most states with limited recognition are not at all recognized by most governments and intergovernmental organizations. However, the ROC is a unique case, given that it has still managed to attain a significant degree of unofficial international recognition, even though most countries do not officially recognize it as a sovereign state. This is mainly due to the fact that the ROC was previously recognized as the legitimate government of China, providing an extensive framework for unofficial diplomatic relations to be conducted between the ROC and other countries.


title: Chinese unification

text: In the years following the ROC's retreat to Taiwan, Taiwan has gone through a series of significant social, political, economic, and cultural shifts, strengthening the divide between Taiwan and mainland China. This has been further exacerbated by Taiwan's history as a colony of the Japanese Empire, which led to the establishment of a unique Taiwanese identity and the desire for Taiwan independence. The Taiwan independence movement has grown considerably stronger in recent decades, and has especially become a viable force on the island ever since the ROC's transition to a Multi-party system, during what has become known as the Democratization of Taiwan. Due to this new political reality, independence-oriented parties have been able to gain majority control over Taiwan via elections.


title: Chinese unification

text: China (PRC) has never recognized the sovereignty of Taiwan. China asserts that the ROC ceased to exist in the year 1949, when the PRC was proclaimed. Officially, China refers to the territory controlled by Taiwan as Taiwan area, and to the government of Taiwan as the Taiwan authorities. China continues to claim Taiwan as its 23rd Province, and the Fujianese territories still under Taiwanese control as parts of Fujian Province. China has established the One-China policy in order to clarify its intention. In 2005, China passed the Anti-Secession Law in order to discourage Taiwan independence sentiments and in order to legitimize the use of force against Taiwan, which it claims would fall under the definition of an "internal conflict of China", if Taiwan approaches independence.


title: Chinese unification

text: Most Taiwanese people oppose joining China for various reasons, including fears of the loss of Taiwan's democracy, human rights, and Taiwanese nationalism. Opponents either favour maintaining the status quo of the Republic of China administrating Taiwan or the pursuit of Taiwan independence. The Constitution of the Republic of China states that its territory includes the mainland, but the official policy of the Taiwanese government is dependent on which coalition is currently in power. The position of the Pan-Blue Coalition, which comprises the Kuomintang, the People First Party and the New Party is to eventually incorporate the mainland into the ROC, while the position of the Pan-Green Coalition, composed of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union, is to pursue Taiwanese independence.


title: Chinese unification

text: The concept of Chinese unification was developed in the 1970s as part of the CCP's strategy to address the "Taiwan Issue" as China started to normalize foreign relations with a number of countries including the United States and Japan.


title: Chinese unification

text: According to the state-run China Internet Information Center, in 1979, the National People's Congress published the () which included the term "Chinese reunification" as an ideal for Cross-Strait relations. In 1981, the Chairman of the People's Congress Standing Committee Ye Jianying announced the "Nine Policies" for China's stance on Cross-Strait relations, with "Chinese Peaceful Unification" () as the first policy. According to Xinhua, since then, "One country, two systems" and "Chinese reunification" have been emphasized at every National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party as the principles to deal with Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. "One Country, Two Systems" is specifically about China's policy towards post-colonial Hong Kong and Macao, and "Chinese Unification" is specifically about Taiwan. Taiwan has also been offered the resolution of "One Country, Two Systems”.


title: Chinese unification

text: Taiwan has a complicated history of being administered by larger powers including the Dutch East India Company, the Southern Ming, the Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan. Taiwan first came under direct Chinese control when it was invaded by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in 1683.


title: Chinese unification

text: The island remained under Qing rule until 1895 when it was ceded to the Empire of Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Following the Axis powers' defeat in World War II in 1945, the Kuomintang-led Republic of China gained control of Taiwan. Some Taiwanese resisted ROC rule in the years following World War II. The ROC violently suppressed this resistance which culminated in the February 28 Incident in 1947. With the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950, Taiwan and mainland China were separated from each other with governments on both sides aiming for a military takeover of the other.


title: Chinese unification

text: The irredentist narrative emphasizing the importance of a unified Greater China area, which purportedly include Taiwan, arose in both the Kuomintang and the CCP in the years during and after the civil war. For the PRC, the claim of the Greater China area was part of a nationalist argument for territorial integrity. In the civil war years it set the communist movement apart from the ROC, which had lost Manchuria, the ancestral homeland of the Qing emperors, to Japan in 1932.


title: Chinese unification

text: From the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950 until the mid-1970s the concept of unification was not the main subject of discourse between the governments of the PRC and the ROC. The Kuomintang believed that they would, probably with American help, one day retake mainland China, while Mao Zedong's communist regime would collapse in a popular uprising and the Kuomintang forces would be welcomed.


title: Chinese unification

text: By the 1970s, the Kuomintang's authoritarian military dictatorship in Taiwan, led by the Chiang family was becoming increasingly untenable due to the popularity of the Tangwai movement and Taiwanese nationalism. In 1970, then-Vice Premier, Chiang Ching-kuo survived an assassination attempt in New York City by Cheng Tzu-tsai and Peter Huang, both members of the World United Formosans for Independence. In 1976, Wang Sing-nan sent a mail bomb to then-Governor of Taiwan Province Hsieh Tung-min, who suffered serious injuries to both hands as a result. The Kuomintang's heavy-handed oppression in the Kaohsiung Incident, alleged involvement in the Lin family massacre and the murders of Chen Wen-chen and Henry Liu, and the self-immolation of Cheng Nan-jung galvanized the Taiwanese community into political actions and eventually led to majority rule and democracy in Taiwan.


title: Chinese unification

text: The concept of unification replaced the concept of liberation by the PRC in 1979 as it embarked, after Mao's death, on economic reforms and pursued a more pragmatic foreign policy. In Taiwan, the possibility of the ROC retaking mainland China became increasingly remote in the 1970s, particularly after the ROC's expulsion from the United Nations in 1971, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and United States in 1979, and Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975.


title: Chinese unification

text: With the end of authoritarian rule in the 1980s, there was a shift in power within the KMT away from the faction who had accompanied Chiang to Taiwan. Taiwanese who grew up under Japanese rule, which account for more than 85% of the population, gained more influence and the KMT began to move away from its ideology of cross-strait unification. After the exposure of 1987 Lieyu Massacre in June, Martial law was finally lifted in Taiwan on 15 July 1987. Following the Wild Lily student movement, President Lee Teng-hui announced in 1991 that his government no longer disputed the rule of the CCP in China, leading to semi-official peace talks (leading to what would be termed as the "1992 consensus") between the two sides. The PRC broke off these talks in 1999 when President Lee described relations with the PRC as "Special state-to-state relations".


title: Chinese unification

text: Until the mid-1990s, unification supporters on Taiwan were bitterly opposed to the CCP. Since the mid-1990s a considerable warming of relations between the CCP and Taiwanese unification supporters, as both oppose the pro-Taiwan independence bloc. This brought about the accusation that unification supporters were attempting to sell out Taiwan. They responded saying that closer ties with mainland China, especially economic ties, are in Taiwan's interest.


title: Chinese unification

text: After the 2000 ROC presidential election, which brought the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party's candidate President Chen Shui-bian to power, the Kuomintang, faced with defections to the People First Party, expelled Lee Teng-hui and his supporters and reoriented the party towards unification. At the same time, the People's Republic of China shifted its efforts at unification away from military threats (which it de-emphasized but did not renounce) towards economic incentives designed to encourage Taiwanese businesses to invest in mainland China and aiming to create a pro-Beijing bloc within the Taiwanese electorate.


title: Chinese unification

text: Within Taiwan, unification supporters tend to see "China" as a larger cultural entity divided by the Chinese Civil War into separate states or governments within the country. In addition, supporters see Taiwanese identity as one piece of a broader Chinese identity rather than as a separate cultural identity. However, supporters do oppose desinicization inherent in Communist ideology such as that seen during the Cultural Revolution, along with the effort to emphasize a Taiwanese identity as separate from a Chinese one. As of the 2008 election of President Ma Ying-Jeou, the KMT agreed to the One China principle, but defined it as led by the Republic of China rather than the People's Republic of China.


title: Chinese unification

text: According to the 1995 proposal outlined by CCP General secretary and paramount leader Jiang Zemin, Taiwan would lose sovereignty and the right to self-determination, but would keep its armed forces and send a representative to be the "number two leader" in the PRC central government, in accord with the One China, Two Systems approach adopted for Hong Kong and Macau. Thus, under this proposal, the Republic of China would become fully defunct.


title: Chinese unification

text: Few Taiwanese are in support of the One Country, Two Systems policy while some unification supporters argued to uphold the "status quo" until mainland China democratized and industrialized to the same level as Taiwan. In the 2000 presidential election, independent candidate James Soong proposed a European Union-style relation with mainland China (this was echoed by Hsu Hsin-liang in 2004) along with a non-aggression pact. In the 2004 presidential election, Lien Chan proposed a confederation-style relationship. Beijing objected to the plan, claiming that Taiwan was already part of China, and was not a state and, as such, could not form a confederation with it.


title: Chinese unification

text: Unification proposals were not actively floated in Taiwan and the issue remained moot under President Chen Shui-bian, who refused to accept talks under Beijing's pre-conditions. Under the PRC administration of Hu Jintao, incorporating Taiwan lost emphasis amid the reality that the DPP presidency in Taiwan would be held by pro-independence President Chen until 2008. Instead, the emphasis shifted to meetings with politicians who opposed independence.


title: Chinese unification

text: A series of high-profile visits in 2005 to China by the leaders of the three pan-blue coalition parties was seen as an implicit recognition of the status quo by the PRC government. Notably, Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan's trip was marked by unedited coverage of his speeches and tours (and some added positive commentary) by government-controlled media and meetings with high level officials including Hu Jintao. Similar treatment (though marked with less historical significance and media attention) was given during subsequent visits by PFP chairman James Soong and New Party chairman Yok Mu-ming. The CCP and the Pan-Blue Coalition parties emphasized their common ground in renewed negotiations under the 1992 consensus, opening the three links, and opposing Taiwan's formal independence.


title: Chinese unification

text: The PRC passed an Anti-Secession Law shortly before Lien's trip. While the Pan-Green Coalition held mass rallies to protest the codification of using military force to retake Taiwan, the Pan-Blue Coalition was largely silent. The language of the Anti-Secession Law was clearly directed at the independence supporters in Taiwan (termed "'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces" in the law) and designed to be somewhat acceptable to the Pan-Blue Coalition. It did not explicitly declare Taiwan to be part of the People's Republic of China but instead used the term "China" on its own, allowing definitional flexibility. It made repeated emphasis of promoting peaceful national unification but left out the concept of "one country, two systems" and called for negotiations in "steps and phases and with flexible and varied modalities" in recognition of the concept of eventual rather than immediate incorporation of Taiwan. In 2020, Li Keqiang left out the word "peaceful" when referring to unification with Taiwan, indicating a possible policy shift.


title: Chinese unification

text: Under both President Chen and President Ma Ying-jeou, the main political changes in cross-straits relationship involved closer economic ties and increased business and personal travel. Such initiatives were met by grassroots oppositions such as the Sunflower Student Movement, which successfully scuttled Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement in 2014. President Ma Ying-Jeou advocated for the revitalization of Chinese culture, as in the re-introduction of traditional Chinese in texts to mainland China used in Taiwan and historically in China. It expressed willingness to allow the usage simplified Chinese in informal writing.


title: Chinese unification

text: The CCP uses the phrase "reunification" instead of "unification" to emphasize its assertion that Taiwan has always belonged to China, or at least that Taiwan has been part of China for a long period of time, and that Taiwan currently belongs to People's Republic of China, but is currently being sporadically occupied by alleged separatists who support Taiwan independence.


title: Chinese unification

text: “Liberation of Taiwan” is a term used in the PRC to garner public opinion for cross-Strait unification with Taiwan, proposing the use of military force to achieve it. In 1956, Mao Zedong first introduced the term, which was construed to mean a "peaceful" way to unify with Taiwan. Despite this, the government had numerous long-term military confrontations with Taiwan. The CCP has set the unification of China as the most important political goal since the founding of the PRC.


title: Chinese unification

text: In January 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress issued a notice to compatriots in Taiwan, which posited China's unification as the inevitable future. Since then, the PRC's policy has been changed to One country, two systems, but it has not promised to give up the use of force to conquer Taiwan. In 2019, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping proposed "peaceful reunification" based on the one country, two systems program. The government of the ROC led by President Tsai Ing-wen rejected the proposal.


title: Chinese unification

text: The PRC does not consider the ROC a sovereign state today, instead believing itself to be the ROC's successor after the PRC's founding in 1949.


title: Chinese unification

text: In a speech in May 2020, Li Keqiang dropped the word "peaceful" when referring to "reunification" with Taiwan.


title: Chinese unification

text: Officially, the PRC traces Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, allegedly historically known by the Chinese as "Liuqiu" (which is closely related to the name of the modern Japanese Ryukyu Islands), back to roughly around the 3rd century CE (specifically the year 230 CE). However, most Western sources officially trace Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan back to either 1661–1662 CE (the year(s) when Koxinga established the Kingdom of Tungning in southwestern Taiwan) or 1683 CE (the year when the Qing dynasty absorbed the Kingdom of Tungning into its territory and subsequently lay claim to the entire island).


title: Chinese unification

text: The islands that are part of Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan), namely Kinmen and Matsu as well as the Wuqiu Islands are claimed by PRC. These islands were never parts of the Empire of Japan, unlike Taiwan and Penghu.


title: Chinese unification

text: The PRC considers the islands to be part of mainland China. While the Pan-Blue Coalition of Taiwan (ROC) generally agrees with this position, the Pan-Green Coalition of Taiwan is divided on the issue of whether Kinmen and Matsu are part of Taiwan or part of mainland China. The people of Kinmen and Matsu do not generally self-identify as "Taiwanese".


title: Chinese unification

text: Taiwanese politics is divided into two main camps, the Pan-Blue and the Pan-Green Coalitions. The former camp is characterized by general Chinese nationalism and ROC nationalism, whereas the latter camp is characterized by Taiwanese nationalism.


title: Chinese unification

text: Taiwanese sources, regardless of whether they are Pan-Blue or Pan-Green, generally seem to trace Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan back to the year 1683, when Taiwan was incorporated into the Qing dynasty. This is starkly different from the official PRC claim, which extends for nearly two millennia.


title: Chinese unification

text: Most Taiwanese scholars agree that the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) ceded Taiwan in perpetuity to Japan in 1895. However, there is disagreement over whether or not this treaty was nullified in the aftermath of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and over what Taiwan's current political status is.


title: Chinese unification

text: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender (1945) is seen by the Pan-Blue camp as legitimizing the Chinese claims of sovereignty over Taiwan which were made with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration (1945). The common Pan-Blue view asserts that Taiwan was returned to China in 1945. Irredentist in nature, those who possess this view commonly perceive Retrocession Day to be the conclusion to a continuous saga of reunification struggles on both sides of the strait, lasting from 1895, the year that Taiwan was ceded to Japan, up until 1945, the end of the Second World War. Hence, there is a common view among the Pan-Blue camp that Taiwan was always a Chinese territory under Japanese occupation and never belonged to Japan, neither legally nor in spirit. The Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Declaration, and Japanese Instrument of Surrender are seen as proofs that the Treaty of Shimonoseki was nullified in its entirety in 1945, hence proving that Taiwan always rightfully belonged to China throughout those fifty years of reunification struggles. Shortly following these events, Taiwan was split from mainland China again, according to the common Pan-Blue view, marking the beginning of another reunification saga. Still, the Pan-Blue camp considers both Taiwan and mainland China to be currently under Chinese rule, with the division between Taiwan and mainland China merely being internal, rather than directly the result of outsider aggression; this view is demonstrated through the 1992 Consensus, which some allege to be an agreement reached between officials of both the Kuomintang and the CCP in 1992. The notion of 1992 Consensus is that there is One China and that Taiwan is part of China, but that the legitimate government of China can be interpreted differently by the two sides of the strait.


title: Chinese unification

text: Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng performed in many countries around the world, but never in mainland China. During her 1980 TTV concert, when asked about such possibility, she responded by stating that the day she performs on the mainland will be the day the Three Principles of the People () are implemented there – in reference to either the pursuit of Chinese democracy or reunification under the banner of the ROC."


title: Chinese unification

text: Kinmen has a prominent white wall with giant red characters "三民主義統一中國" meaning "Reunify China under the Three Principles of the People.


title: Chinese unification

text: The views of the Pan-Green camp, though they are diverse, tend to be characterised by Taiwanese nationalism. Hence, most within the Pan-Green camp are opposed to the idea of Taiwan being part of China. Still, most within the Pan-Green camp accept certain historical facts which suggest that Taiwan was part of China. The common Pan-Green view accepts that Taiwan was controlled by a regime in mainland China between 1683 and 1895, though many characterise this as a period of constant rebellion, or suppression of identity (or discovery of a new identity), or colonization by the foreign Manchu people. While most among the Pan-Green camp accept that the transition from Chinese to Japanese rule in 1895 was violent and tragic, many believe that rule under the Japanese was either more benevolent than rule under the Chinese (both KMT and Qing) or more productive. Hence, most Pan-Green do not support the notion that Taiwan was part of China between 1895 and 1945, and neither the notion that there was a strong Chinese unification sentiment in Taiwan at that time. "Dark Green" members of the Pan-Green camp generally do not believe that the Treaty of Shimonoseki was ever nullified. Certain sources claim that attempts were made to nullify the treaty, but that these attempts were either illegal or futile, whereas other sources claim that the notion that the treaty was ever nullified is a complete fabrication by the KMT in modern times, i.e. an example of historical revisionism; similarly, the 1992 Consensus is also commonly seen as a fabrication or misinterpretation. These sources thus believe that Taiwan is not currently part of China, and has not been part of China since 1895. There is some disagreement over whether Taiwan is still legally part of Japan or is neither legally part of China nor Japan.


title: Chinese unification

text: The southwestern region of Tibet was ruled by the Dalai Lama from 1912 to 1951 as a de facto independent state instead of the Ganden Phodrang. The ROC government has asserted that "Tibet was placed under the sovereignty of China" when the Qing dynasty (1636–1912) ended the brief Nepalese invasion (1788–1792) of parts of Tibet in c. 1793. while the Tibetan Government in Exile asserts that Tibet was an independent state until the PRC invaded Tibet in 1949/1950. By that point, the position of the Republic of China with regard to Tibet appeared to become more nuanced as was stated in the following opening speech to the International Symposium on Human Rights in Tibet on 8September 2007 through the pro-Taiwan independence then ROC President Chen Shui-bian who stated that his offices no longer treated exiled Tibetans as Chinese mainlanders. Today, the region is ruled by the PRC-governed Tibet Autonomous Region with parts of the ROC-claimed Xikang province.


title: Chinese unification

text: In the northern region, Outer Mongolia, now controlled by the independent Mongolia and the Russian Republic of Tuva, it declared independence from the Qing dynasty in 1911 while China retained its control over the area and reasserted control over Outer Mongolia in 1919. Consequently, Mongolia sought Soviet Russian support to reclaim its independence. In 1921, both Chinese and White Russian forces were driven out by the Red Army of the Soviet Union and pro-Soviet Mongolian forces. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was formed. Soviet pressure forced China to recognize the independence of Mongolia in 1946, but the ROC reasserted the claims to Outer Mongolia in 1953. However, the claim was dropped in 2002 as the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a representative office in Mongolia in 2002 with reciprocity from Mongolia in Taiwan in 2003.


title: Chinese unification

text: At the beginning of the millennium, polls consistently found 30% to 40% of all residents in Taiwan opposed to unification through CCP's One country, two systems formula even with more preferential treatments while the majority supported so-called "status quo now". Public opinion on unification has not changed significantly since then. Also, unification is generally not the deciding issue in Taiwanese political campaigns and elections. A majority of the population supports the status quo, mostly in order to avoid a military confrontation with PRC, but a sizable proportion supports a name rectification campaign.


title: Chinese unification

text: Immediate unification is not endorsed by any of the major political parties. The People First Party officially advocates that Taiwan should maintain the status quo. The Kuomintang consistently defends Republic of China's sovereignty and that there is one China, but refer to ROC and not PRC. Although those two parties and the New Party, together forming the pan-blue coalition, are viewed as supporters, in most cases they do so in a traditional sense only. Their main difference with the pan-green coalition is that they believe Taiwan should identify itself culturally with China, and oppose any loss of national identity.


title: Chinese unification

text: Opponents of "One Country, Two Systems" cite its implementation in Hong Kong, where despite promises of high levels of autonomy, the PRC government has gradually increased its control of Hong Kong through restricting elections and increasing control over media and policy.


title: Chinese unification

text: The Taiwanese pro-unification minority has at times been vocal in media and politics. For the 2004 presidential election the unification question gained some attention as different political parties were discussing the issue. A series of demonstrations, some of which were organized by pro-unification minorities, gained significant attention.


title: Chinese unification

text: With regard to the future of Chinese unification, some have a positive view despite the recognition of deepening cultural and political differences, citing common history, language, ethnicity, and the shared desire of peaceful development as drivers of unification. Some, on the other hand, are not as hopeful and see no progress in the future, as they see the problem as a complex one about foreign relations. Some also noted that with the rapid economic development and rising political status of PRC in the international arena, PRC is gaining more bargaining power and putting more pressure on Taiwan towards unification, partly through diplomatic isolation.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Pontiac ( "") is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Founded in 1818, Pontiac was the second European-American organized settlement in Michigan near Detroit, after Dearborn. It was named after Pontiac, a war chief of the Ottawa Tribe, who occupied the area before the European settlers. The city was best known for its General Motors automobile manufacturing plants of the 20th century, which were the basis of its economy and contributed to the wealth of the region. These included Fisher Body, Pontiac East Assembly (a.k.a. Truck & Coach/Bus), which manufactured GMC products, and the Pontiac Motor Division. In the city's heyday, it was the site of the primary automobile assembly plant for the production of the famed Pontiac cars, a brand that was named after the city. The Pontiac brand itself was discontinued in 2010 by General Motors. The City of Pontiac also was home to Oakland Motor Car Company, which was acquired by General Motors in 1909.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In 1975, the city built the Pontiac Silverdome, the stadium that hosted the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1975 to 2001, when the team returned to Downtown Detroit at Ford Field. Super Bowl XVI was played at the Silverdome in 1982. After 2001, the stadium continued to be used for concerts and other events until it was demolished in 2018. It is now the site of an Amazon Fulfillment and Distribution facility.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.58%) is water.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Pontiac is bounded by the city of Auburn Hills to the east and north, the city of Lake Angelus to the north, Waterford Township to the west, and Bloomfield Township to the south.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The former Pontiac Township included what are now the cities of Pontiac, Lake Angelus, and Auburn Hills. The township incorporated as the city of Auburn Hills in 1983. Although the township no longer exists as a civil entity, it is still used as a survey township for land use purposes.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: "Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race."


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 59,515 people, 22,220 households, and 13,365 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 27,084 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 34.4% White, 52.1% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 6.2% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.5% of the population.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: There were 22,220 households, of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.4% were married couples living together, 27.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.28.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The median age in the city was 33.4 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $31,207, and the median income for a family was $36,391. Males had a median income of $31,961 versus $24,765 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,842. About 18.0% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Present-day Pontiac, Michigan was traversed for thousands of years by indigenous peoples due to the confluence of the Saginaw Trail and the Nottawassippi River; the river’s indigenous name was replaced with the Clinton River name by settlers coming from New York State where DeWitt Clinton served as Governor. The Saginaw Trail was an important land trail route for indigenous peoples that ran from the Saginaw Bay in Michigan to the Detroit River in present-day Detroit.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Early European expeditions into the land north of Detroit described the area as having "extreme sterility and barrenness". Developments and exploration were soon to prove that report false.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The first European-American settlers arrived in what is now the city of Pontiac in 1818. They followed the Saginaw Trail north from Detroit and determined the settlement should be where the trail and the river crossed. Two years later the fledgling settlement was designated as the county seat for Oakland County, due in part to the Michigan Territorial Governor Lewis Cass being receptive to the lobbying of The Pontiac Company’s members that their recently acquired property was ideal for the county seat location.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The Pontiac Company, consisting of 15 members and chaired by Solomon Sibley of Detroit, comprised the first landowners in Pontiac. Sibley, along with Stephen Mack and Shubael Conant, Pontiac Company members, also formed the partnership Mack, Conant & Sibley to develop a town. Solomon and his wife Sarah Sibley largely financed construction of the first buildings. While Solomon was the first chair of the Pontiac Company, for two years Sarah Sibley was the most active as the go-between with settlers at Pontiac. Solomon Sibley was constantly traveling as a Territorial Congressman and later a Territorial Supreme Court judge. The Sibley-Hoyt house, thought to be one of the first structures in Pontiac, is preserved by its private owner.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In the 1820s Elizabeth Denison, an unmarried, free black woman, worked for the Sibleys. They helped her buy land in Pontiac in 1825. Stephen Mack, agent for the Pontiac Company, signed the deed at the request of the Sibleys, conveying 48.5 acres to Elizabeth Denison. She is believed to be the first black woman to purchase land in the new territory of Michigan.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In 1837 Pontiac became a village, the same year that Michigan gained statehood. The town had been named after the noted Ottawa Indian war chief who had his headquarters in the area decades before, during the resistance to European-American encroachment. Founded on the Clinton River, Pontiac was Michigan's first inland settlement. Rivers were critical to settlements as transportation ways, in addition to providing water and, later, power.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The village was incorporated by the legislature as a city in 1861. From the beginning, Pontiac's central location served it well. It attracted professional people, including doctors and lawyers, and soon became a center of industry. Woolen and grist mills made use of the Clinton River as a power source.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Abundant natural resources led to the establishment of several carriage manufacturing companies, all of which were thriving at the turn of the 20th century. One of the largest carriage manufacturing companies in Pontiac of that era was the O.J. Beaudette Wagon Works, which made bodies for carriages and then transitioned to manufacturing bodies for automobiles. At that time, the first self-propelled vehicles were introduced. Pontiac quickly became a capital of the new automotive industry.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Pontiac had tremendous growth in its population and size as tens of thousands of prospective autoworkers moved here from the South to work in its GM auto assembly plants at Pontiac Assembly. African Americans came in the Great Migration, seeking work, education, and the chance to vote and escape the oppression of Jim Crow in the South.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: As the small "horseless carriage" manufacturers became consolidated under the mantle of the General Motors Corporation, Pontiac grew as the industry grew. It also suffered the same setbacks as other cities during the Great Depression years of the 1930s. The buildup of the defense industry and conversion of the automotive industry to war demands increased the need for labor. Pontiac was a pivotal concentration of wartime production for the United States in World War II. Among many other vehicles and weapons, Pontiac facilities produced thousands of GMC trucks, Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns, naval torpedoes, tank axles, amphibious vehicles, and munitions.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The first postwar years after World War II were a time of prosperity, and continued migration of African Americans to the city in the second wave of the Great Migration, but the city changed as suburbs were developed and people commuted by car to work. The more established residents moved out to buy newer housing being built in the suburbs, draining off business and resulting in vacancies downtown. Racist policies and racial animus toward the growing African American population was also an important factor, and until the mid-1960s with the enactment of Fair Housing ordinances, most of the properties in Pontiac neighborhoods contained racially restrictive covenants in the deeds.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In order to prevent flooding, Pontiac confined the Clinton River in concrete through the downtown in 1963. Changing ideas about urban living in the early 21st century prompted the city to study uncovering the river to create a waterfront community in the city.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In late 1966, Pontiac-born real estate developer A. Alfred Taubman tried to build a large-scale shopping mall on vacant downtown land (where the Phoenix Center now stands). It was unsuccessful. Pontiac resident C. Don Davidson and his University of Detroit architectural class created a more comprehensive plan for development to benefit the city and the entire region around it. In 1969, the city of Pontiac adopted the Pontiac Plan as the official plan for rebuilding the vacant area of the downtown district.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In 1965, Davidson overheard news that the Detroit Lions were seeking a new football stadium in Southeast Michigan. Professor Davidson and city leaders made a push to develop a new multi-purpose stadium, which was built and became known as the Silverdome. Construction began on the 80,000-seat stadium in 1972 and it opened in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: This was a part of Davidson's vision for Pontiac. Besides becoming the new home stadium of the NFL's Detroit Lions, NBA's Detroit Pistons and USFL's Michigan Panthers, the arena hosted such events as the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, the 1982 Super Bowl XVI game between the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals, and four matches of soccer's 1994 World Cup.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: On August 30, 1971, ten school buses were destroyed in a bombing during white resistance to a federal court order to desegregate the city's public schools.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Construction began in the 1970s on an urban renewal project known as the "Pontiac Plan". The initial phase of this plan included the Phoenix Center, three office buildings, a transportation center, and a high-rise residential complex. The remainder of the plan was never completed. The city has struggled with declining population since 1980, due to industrial restructuring and the loss of jobs, especially in the automotive industry.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: From 2009 through 2013, Pontiac was under the oversight of an Emergency Financial Manager appointed by the state government. The Emergency Manager was authorized to make day-to-day executive and financial municipal decisions. The position was not subject to the usual checks and balances, nor to election. The first and second managers, Fred Leeb and Michael Stampfler, were appointed by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. The third manager was Louis Schimmel, who was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In order to balance the budget, state-appointed emergency managers drastically revised labor union contracts with the city, sold off city assets such as parking meters, and privatized most public services. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office handles all police (saving $2 million a year) and nearby Waterford township has responsibility for fire protection (saving $3 million). Pontiac sold its water treatment plant for $55 million, and outsources garbage collection, animal control, vital records and street maintenance. Many people working in City Hall are employed by contractors. The city payroll has declined from 600 to 50 employees. The Silverdome Stadium, once valued at $22 million, was sold for $583,000 (it would end up being demolished in December 2017). The emergency managers reduced the city's annual spending to $36 million from $57 million, and erased almost all of its long-term debt.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In August 2013, Schimmel resigned as Emergency Financial Manager. Schimmel now serves as part of the four-member Transition Advisory Board for the city. Other members of the board include Deputy Oakland County Executive Bob Daddow, Rochester Hills Finance Director Keith Sawdon, and Ed Karyzno, administrator of the Michigan Department of Treasury's Office of Financial Responsibility.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In July 2012, Mayor Leon Jukowski and Emergency Financial Manager Louis Schimmel announced plans to demolish the Phoenix Center. Its vacancy rates were high, and the city did not want to continue the high maintenance costs. New thinking about downtown was to re-emphasize the street grid; the city wanted to reconnect Saginaw Street to the downtown area. Owners of the connecting Ottawa Towers filed an injunction, claiming the demolition would devalue their property and result in lost parking. In December 2012, a judge granted an injunction for the Ottawa Towers on an "expedited calendar", which prevented the demolition of the Phoenix Center for the time being.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In 2010, city leaders and business owners had launched "The Rise of The Phoenix" initiative. This plan was intended to attract businesses interested in downtown retail space. The applicants selected would be given free rent in exchange for multi-year leases (two years or more) as well as one year of free parking in city lots. Some 52 new businesses were recruited to locate in downtown Pontiac, bringing new life to the city. Plans for the development of mixed-use and loft flats in downtown were announced in September 2011 by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA). MEGA estimates the development could generate $20.4 million in new investment and create up to 107 permanent full-time jobs in downtown. The development was to be supported by a state tax break.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: On January 26, 2012, West Construction Services began the renovation and restoration of the former Sears building for the Lafayette Place Lofts, the largest construction investment in Downtown Pontiac in approximately 30 years. The project is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified residential and commercial mixed-use development: it will have 46 new urban rental lofts, a fresh food grocery store and café, and an Anytime Fitness center. Construction was completed during 2012, and the lofts and market opened in December of that year. 10 West Lofts, another development in the area, will bring more residents to downtown Pontiac.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Regionally, the city was known for the Arts, Beats and Eats Festival, a widely attended summer festival featuring an art show, musical concert venues, and a sampling of food from numerous regional restaurants. In 2010, the festival was moved to nearby Royal Oak. The First Annual Scheme Cruise was held September 6, 2015, an event sponsored by the Scheme Street Battle League. The event combined rap battles, basketball competitions, and a car show. Pontiac officials are considering relocating the event to the downtown area of the city.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The city is at the north end of the famous Woodward Avenue, which extends as a major boulevard into Detroit. It was originally lined with mansions and prestigious businesses. In the 1950s and 1960s it was popular with young people who would "cruise" and drag-race their hot-rods in the area. Pontiac participates in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event celebrating Woodward's hot-rod history, with a parade of cars stretching from Detroit to Pontiac.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Downtown Pontiac's nightlife includes nightclubs and music venues such as Club Visions, Tonic, and The Crofoot.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The city hosts two nationally renowned haunted houses: The Realm of Darkness and Erebus. The Realm of Darkness has in previous years been chosen as America's Best Haunted House. Erebus held the world record from 2005 to 2009 for "Largest Haunted House"; it is 4 stories high.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Pontiac was an early location of movie making, with the Raleigh Michigan Studios, renamed as the Motown Motion Picture Studios. Scenes of the 2012 remake of the film "Red Dawn" were filmed in Pontiac and other Michigan locations, recreating Spokane, Washington. Additionally, downtown Pontiac in August 2012 was the filming site for the tornado-themed disaster movie "Into the Storm". The 2013 fantasy adventure film "Oz the Great and Powerful" was filmed at Motown Motion Picture Studios. "" is the latest movie to be filmed within the studio, with the bulk of filming taking place in Pontiac.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Pontiac is home to the Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial. It is located within the Oakland County Government Complex off Telegraph Road.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Amtrak operates passenger service with its Wolverine from Pontiac to Chicago via Detroit and Battle Creek, Michigan. Service is three times daily, both arriving and departing.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Commuter rail service was once provided by Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and later Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) from Pontiac to downtown Detroit. This service ended on October 17, 1983, after subsidies were discontinued. Efforts continue to restore such commuter service.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Class one freight rail service is provided by Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW), which also operates a large classification yard in Pontiac serving the local auto industry. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad (reporting mark GTW) is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway (CN). It constitutes the majority of CN's Chicago Division (which is part of CN's Southern Region). It operates in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, forming the CN mainline from Port Huron to Chicago, as well as serving Detroit and Toledo.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Oakland County International Airport serves the city and surrounding areas with commuter air service. When previously owned by the city, it was known as the Pontiac City Airport. But it is located outside the city in neighboring Waterford Township and not on land contiguous with Pontiac's city limits. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a larger international airport, is 35 miles south of the city in Romulus.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) operates local and regional bus transit.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Launched in March 2021, SMART Flex is an on-demand public transit service launched in partnership with TransitTech company Via Transportation as a way to help encourage first-and-last mile connections to existing bus routes as well as trips to universities, grocery stores, local hospitals and other destinations. SMART Flex is available to residents and workers in Dearborn, Troy, Pontiac, and the Hall Road corridor between Utica and New Baltimore to book rides using the SMART Flex app.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The major thoroughfares in the city are: Woodward Avenue (M-1), Huron Street (M-59), and Telegraph Road (US 24). Portions of Woodward Avenue were once known as "Saginaw Street" and "Wide Track Drive" (the portion of "Wide Track Drive" that encircles the downtown business district is now known as the "Woodward Loop")


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Wallace E. Holland, 1974–1978, and second term 1982–1986, he was the first African American elected as Mayor of Pontiac, and the first directly elected Mayor following the adoption of the revised Pontiac City Charter in 1982.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Deirdre Holloway Waterman, was an ophthalmologist who was elected as Pontiac's first female mayor by more than 68% of the vote on November 5, 2013. She was re-elected in 2017 with 57% of the vote. Her late husband, William Waterman, was a prominent attorney in the community who was appointed in 1988 by Michigan Governor James Blanchard to the District Court in Pontiac and elected multiple times to continue serving; he died in office in 2003. The District Courthouse was renamed in his honor, the William J. Waterman Hall of Justice. Then-incumbent Mayor Deirdre Waterman was removed from the August primary ballot due to unresolved campaign finance violations, but continued as a write-in candidate in the primary election. She was not successful in that effort.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: In November 2021, Tim Greimel, who previously served as a Michigan State Representative and Oakland County Commissioner in districts that included Pontiac, was elected Mayor in the general election. He won with 61.66% of votes, while his general election opponent Alexandra T. Riley received 37.50% of the vote. Riley, a frequent candidate for office in Pontiac, previously served as a city employee under Mayor Deirdre Waterman and more recent worked for the Genesee County Land Bank Authority.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: For Pontiac Library Board, nine candidates filed for the November 5, 2013 general election: Incumbents Joyce Allen, Roger Derby and Deirdre Waterman, as well as challengers Vernita Duvall, Juliene Dixon Jenkins, Ronnie Karpinski, Evelyn LeDuff, Rosie Richardson, and Deveda Travis. The top six vote-getters will earn the four-year Library board director positions. After dropping out of the library board elections, Deirdre Waterman was elected Pontiac's first female mayor on November 5, 2013. Patrice Waterman, her niece, became mayor pro tem.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The East Campus of the Oakland County Service Center is located in Pontiac. It includes the county courthouse and jail for adults.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Residents are zoned to the School District of the City of Pontiac. The district runs one main high school, Pontiac High School. There were once two high schools, Pontiac Northern and Pontiac Central, but by December 2008 administrators were making plans to consolidate the schools.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: Four charter schools operate in Pontiac; they are Pontiac Academy for Excellence (K-12), Arts and Technology Academy, Walton Charter, and Great Lakes Academy. Pontiac is also home to Notre Dame Preparatory High School, a private Catholic school located in the North East area of the city.


title: Pontiac, Michigan

text: The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfb" (Warm Summer Continental Climate).


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Strangeways, Here We Come is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 28 September 1987 by Rough Trade Records, several months after the group had disbanded. All of the songs were composed by Johnny Marr, with lyrics written and sung by Morrissey.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: "Rolling Stone" said the record "stands as one of their best and most varied". "Slant Magazine" listed the album at No. 69 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s", writing that "Whether or not "Strangeways, Here We Come" ended the Smiths' brief career with their best album has been the subject of considerable debate for nearly a quarter century, but it definitively stands as the band's most lush, richest work."


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, staying in the chart for 17 weeks. The album also became an international success, peaking at number 16 in the European Albums Chart; from sales covering the 18 major European countries, staying in that chart for nine weeks. The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry on 1 October 1987 and also by the Recording Industry Association of America on 19 September 1990.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: The Smiths recorded what was to be their final studio album at the Wool Hall studios in Beckington, Somerset, England (established and then-owned by the band Tears for Fears). Between the album's recording in March and its release in September 1987, Johnny Marr left the group, ending the band. "Strangeways" is the only Smiths album to feature Morrissey playing a musical instrument: piano, on the song "Death of a Disco Dancer".


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Marr felt the band was ready to enter a new musical phase, and was determined to avoid a formula and move away from their previous "jingle jangle" sound. He started to look for different influences, finding an interest in the Beatles' self-titled 1968 album. Marr further stated that he intended "Strangeways" as an homage to early records by the Walker Brothers. The band's instrumentation branched out as well, including synthesised saxophone, string arrangements on keyboards, and drum machine additions.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Recording in the Wool Hall made the sessions more relaxed, as the wine cellar was fully stocked and producer Stephen Street came slowly to understand the idea that the writing partners Morrissey and Marr were trying to put forth. Street (who engineered previous Smiths efforts) later said that there would always be late-night drinking following the recording sessions. "That was always after Morrissey had gone to bed ... it wasn't really his bag. We'd carry on finishing overdubs and then the records would come out. We'd be partying all hours". Ed Power wrote in "The Independent" that "Everyone else was more than willing to join [Marr] in this new love affair. Parties at Wool House became a nightly event. With Morrissey tucked up in bed with his favourite Sylvia Plath anthology, the musicians would cover their favourite Spinal Tap songs into the wee hours".


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Morrissey and Marr have stated that the album is the band's best, with Morrissey adding, "We say it quite often. At the same time. In our sleep. But in different beds". Drummer Mike Joyce also named the album as the band's best.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Two final songs were recorded in May 1987 to provide B-sides for the album's lead single, "Girlfriend in a Coma". These were the Smiths' last recordings together. Three more singles were taken from "Strangeways, Here We Come"; their B-sides were drawn from archival recordings.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: The sleeve for "Strangeways, Here We Come", which was designed by Morrissey, features a murky shot of actor Richard Davalos, best known for appearing in the 1955 film "East of Eden". In the photo, Davalos is looking at his costar in that film, James Dean, who is cropped from the image. Dean was a hero of Morrissey's, about whom the singer wrote a book called "James Dean Is Not Dead". Five years later, when designing the sleeves for the U.S. release of WEA's "Best... I" compilation, Morrissey again chose Davalos as a cover star, and Davalos is looking at Dean, who is once again cropped.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: As revealed in Jo Slee's collection of Smiths and Morrissey sleeve artwork, "Peepholism", Davalos was not the original choice for cover star. Morrissey wanted to use a still of Harvey Keitel in Martin Scorsese's 1967 film "I Call First" (also known as "Who's That Knocking at My Door"), but Keitel declined to allow him to use the image. In 1991, Keitel relented, and the image was used on T-shirts and stage backdrops for Morrissey's 1991 Kill Uncle Tour.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: The album takes its title from Manchester's notorious Strangeways Prison (now called HM Prison Manchester), whilst the line "Borstal, here we come" is taken from the novel "Billy Liar". "Strangeways, of course, is that hideous Victorian monstrosity of a prison operating 88 to a cell," Morrissey has said.


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Marr has said "I've learned to love the title ... it was a bit overstating things somewhat. A little bit obvious. But it's OK. I was always intrigued by the word Strangeways. I remember as a kid, when I first heard that the prison was really called that, I wondered had it not occurred to anybody to change the name? It's still befuddling, really". Morrissey has also stated, "Really it's me throwing both arms to the skies and yelling 'Whatever next?'"


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: The album ranked number 3 among "Albums of the Year" for 1987 in the annual "NME" critics' poll, and "Girlfriend in a Coma" ranked number 11 among songs. In 2000 it was voted number 601 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums".


title: Strangeways, Here We Come

text: Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it was "a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before ... while it doesn't match "The Queen Is Dead" or "The Smiths", it is far from embarrassing and offers a summation of the group's considerable strengths."


title: Dieter Rams

text: Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932) is a German industrial designer and retired academic who is closely associated with the consumer products company Braun, the furniture company Vitsœ, and the functionalist school of industrial design. His unobtrusive approach and belief in "less, but better" () design generated a timeless quality in his products which has influenced the practice of design as a whole and secured Rams worldwide recognition and appreciation. He is quoted as stating that: "Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design."


title: Dieter Rams

text: Dieter Rams began his studies in architecture and interior decoration at Wiesbaden School of Art in 1947, now part of the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences. A year later, in 1948, he took a break from studying to gain practical experience and finish his carpentry apprenticeship. He returned to the Wiesbaden School of Art in 1948 and graduated in architecture with honours in 1953, after which he began working for Frankfurt-based architect Otto Apel. In 1955, he was recruited by Braun as an architect and an interior designer, and eventually became a protégé of and the Ulm School of Design professors Hans Gugelot and Otl Aicher, all of whom worked with Braun in various capacities. In 1961, Rams became the chief design officer at Braun, a position he retained until 1995.


title: Dieter Rams

text: Dieter Rams was strongly influenced by the presence of his grandfather, a carpenter. Rams once explained his design approach in the phrase "Weniger, aber besser" which translates as "Less, but better". Rams and his staff designed many memorable products for Braun including the famous SK4 radiogram and the high-quality 'D'-series (D45, D46) of 35mm film slide projectors. The SK4, known as the "Snow White's coffin," is considered revolutionary because it transitioned household appliance design away from looking like traditional furniture.


title: Dieter Rams

text: By producing electronic gadgets that were remarkable in their austere aesthetic and user friendliness, Rams made Braun a household name in the 1950s.


title: Dieter Rams

text: In 1959, Rams began a collaboration with Vitsœ, at the time known as Vitsœ-Zapf, which led to the development of the 606 Universal Shelving System. He also designed furniture for Vitsœ in the 1960s, including the 620 chair collection. He has continued to work with Vitsœ throughout his career.


title: Dieter Rams

text: In 1968, Rams designed the cylindric T2 cigarette lighter for Braun. A member of the company's board had asked him for a design; Rams replied "only if we design our own technology to go inside them." Successive versions of the product went on to use then-current motorcycle-like magnetic ignition, followed by piezoelectric, and finally solar-powered mechanisms.


title: Dieter Rams

text: Rams worked with both Braun and Vitsœ until his retirement in 1997. His work with Vitsœ continued after his retirement.


title: Dieter Rams

text: His designs influenced Apple designer Jonathan Ive and many Apple products pay tribute to Rams' work for Braun, including Apple's iOS 6 calculator, which references the 1977 ET66 calculator, and prior to a redesign, the appearance of the playing screen in Apple's Podcast app mimicked the appearance of the Braun TG 60 reel-to-reel tape recorder. The iOS 7 world clock app closely mirrors Braun's clock and watch design, including the font and layout used. The original iPod closely resembles the Braun T3 transistor radio. In Gary Hustwit's 2009 documentary film "Objectified", Rams states that Apple is one of the few companies designing products according to his principles.


title: Dieter Rams

text: The designer Jasper Morrison has spoken of his grandfather's Rams designed Braun "Snow White's Coffin" being an "important influence on [his] choice in becoming a designer."


title: Dieter Rams

text: In 2022, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt updated and expanded its permanent display titled "Dieter Rams. A Style Room" to mark the designer's 90th birthday. The exhibit also includes photographs by his wife Ingeborg Rams.


title: Dieter Rams

text: Rams introduced the idea of sustainable development, and of obsolescence being a crime in design, in the 1970s. Accordingly, he asked himself the question: "Is my design a good design?" The answer he formed became the basis for his celebrated ten principles. According to him, "good design":


title: Dieter Rams

text: Rams has been involved in design for seven decades and has received many honorary appellations throughout his career.


title: Dieter Rams

text: "Less and More" is an exhibition of Rams' landmark designs for Braun and Vitsœ. It first traveled to Japan in 2008 and 2009, appearing at the Suntory Museum in Osaka and the Fuchu Art Museum in Tokyo. Between November 2009 and March 2010 it appeared at the Design Museum in London. It appeared at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt from July to September 2010. The exhibit then appeared at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from August 2011 to February 2012.


title: Dieter Rams

text: On June 22, 2016 filmmaker Gary Hustwit announced his documentary "Rams" and launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project. The full-length documentary features in-depth conversations with Rams about his design philosophy, the process behind some of his most iconic designs, his inspiration and his regrets. Some of the funds raised in the Kickstarter campaign also helped to preserve Rams' design archive in cooperation with the Dieter and Ingeborg Rams Foundation.


title: Dieter Rams

text: 2021 touring exhibit of approximately 30 works and 100 photographs and information panels. First shown at the Museum Angewandte Kunst, and later on view at the Goethe Institute in New York in 2022.


title: Caseless ammunition

text: Caseless ammunition (CL), or rather caseless cartridge, is a configuration of weapon-cartridge that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the primer, propellant and projectile together as a unit. Instead, the propellant and primer are fitted to the projectile in another way so that a cartridge case is not needed, for example inside or outside the projectile depending on configuration.


title: Caseless ammunition

text: Caseless ammunition is an attempt to reduce the weight and cost of ammunition by dispensing with the case, which is typically precision made of brass or steel, as well as to simplify the operation of repeating guns by eliminating the need to extract and eject the empty case after firing. Its acceptance has been hampered by problems with production expenses, heat sensitivity, sealing, and fragility. Its use to date has been mainly limited to prototypes and low-powered guns, with some exceptions.