title: Diploma mill

text: It is illegal to falsely claim a degree in South Korea if it is not accredited. In March 2006 prosecutors in Seoul were reported to have broken up a crime ring selling bogus music diplomas from Russia, which helped many land university jobs and seats in orchestras. People who falsely used these degrees were criminally charged.


title: Diploma mill

text: In early 2007, Shin Jeong-ah (신정아) was criminally charged for forging and misusing a degree from Yale University. The case had a far-reaching impact as she was a professor at Dongguk University and also held a position at an art gallery known to have ties with economical and political figures.


title: Diploma mill

text: In Spain, universities and syllabi must be accredited by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). Furthermore, in order to apply for an academic rank, a professor must have their curriculum accredited for said rank by this agency.


title: Diploma mill

text: Until 1999 only state universities could grant degrees, but amendments to the Universities Act now allow private institutions to be granted degree-awarding status by the University Grants Commission. Universities can also be established by an act of parliament.


title: Diploma mill

text: In June 2007, the Swedish Minister for Employment, Sven-Otto Littorin, was discovered to have an MBA degree from Fairfax University. Though aware that claiming an MBA from this diploma mill would be illegal in many states in the US, Littorin tried to convince the Swedish media and people of the legitimacy of his qualification. He was eventually forced to remove the reference from his official CV, but he remained in office.


title: Diploma mill

text: Qualifications, diplomas and titles earned from Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich, EPFL), from cantonal (state-run) universities, from private universities recognized by state authorities, and from Fachhochschule-institutions (Universities of Applied Sciences run or recognized by official authorities, federal and cantonal) are protected. Accreditation is conferred by the Conference of University Rectors of Switzerland (CRUS) and the Swiss Center of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education (OAQ). Under Swiss law, it is a criminal offense, under unfair competition legislation, to profit by any unfounded academic or occupational qualifications. The private use of such a title, however, is legal. Thus, one can call oneself an LL.M., but one must not use the title when competing for clients.


title: Diploma mill

text: In the United Kingdom, degrees may only be awarded by institutions that have degree-awarding powers recognised by the UK authorities (the UK parliament, the Scottish parliament, the National Assembly for Wales or the Northern Ireland Assembly). Some institutions do not have degree-awarding powers but provide complete courses leading to recognised UK degrees that are validated by institutions which have degree-awarding powers. The UK authorities recognise those institutions which have been granted degree-awarding powers by either a royal charter, an Act of Parliament or the Privy Council. These degree-awarding institutions are known as "recognised bodies." All UK universities and some higher education colleges are "recognised bodies." If an institution is not a "recognised body" or makes degree awards not validated by such a body, it is likely to be a degree mill. It is an offence against section 214 of the Education Reform Act 1988 for any organisation to offer a degree qualification which could be taken to be that of a UK institution unless it is a "recognised body." The UK Border Agency maintains a list of institutions licensed to sponsor migrant students so that overseas students can check that they are attending an appropriate institution, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) maintain a directory of higher education providers regulated in England.


title: Diploma mill

text: Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) is an initiative sponsored by HEFCE which aims to prevent higher education fraud in the UK by maintaining a list of UK degree-awarding bodies, including name changes, mergers and antecedents since 1990, and where institutions that are claiming to be universities are known to be bogus, these are also listed.


title: Diploma mill

text: Medical diploma mills have operated, and have been blacklisted, in the United States for over 120 years. The country does not have a federal law that would unambiguously prohibit diploma mills, and the term "university" is not legally protected on a national level. The United States Department of Education lacks direct plenary authority to regulate schools and, consequently, the quality of an institution's degree. However, the Federal Trade Commission works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices including those in the field of education and alerts United States' consumers about diploma mills by delineating some tell-tale signs in its official web page. Under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities on the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education that they accredit. Some degree mills have taken advantage of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by representing themselves as seminaries, since in many jurisdictions religious institutions can legally offer degrees in religious subjects without government regulation.


title: Diploma mill

text: Although the DipScam operation in the 1980s led to a decline in diploma mill activity across the United States, the lack of further action by law enforcement, uneven state laws, and the rise of the Internet have combined to reverse many of the gains made in previous years. In 2005, the US Department of Education launched its "Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs" website to combat the spread of fraudulent degrees. A number of states have passed bills restricting the ability of organizations to award degrees without accreditation.


title: Diploma mill

text: Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon, Michigan, Maine, North Dakota, New Jersey, Washington, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Battle of Narva was a World War II military campaign, lasting from 2 February to 10 August 1944, in which the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The battle took place in the northern section of the Eastern Front and consisted of two major phases: the Battle for Narva Bridgehead (February to July 1944), and the Battle of Tannenberg Line (July–August 1944). The Soviet Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive and Narva Offensives (15–28 February, 1–4 March and 18–24 March) were part of the Red Army Winter Spring Campaign of 1944. Following Joseph Stalin's "broad front" strategy, these battles coincided with the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive (December 1943 – April 1944) and the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive (July–August 1944). A number of foreign volunteers and local Estonian conscripts participated in the battle as part of the German forces with Army Group North. By giving its support to the illegal German conscription call, the underground National Committee of the Republic of Estonia had hoped to recreate a national army and restore the independence of the country.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: As a continuation of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive of January 1944, the Soviet Estonian operation pushed the front westward to the Narva River, aiming to destroy "Narwa" and thrust deep into Estonia. Soviet units established a number of bridgeheads on the western bank of the river in February, while the Germans maintained a bridgehead on the eastern bank. Subsequent attempts to expand the Soviet toehold failed. German counterattacks annihilated the bridgeheads to the north of Narva and reduced the bridgehead south of the town, stabilizing the front until July 1944. The Soviet Narva Offensive (July 1944) led to the capture of the city after the German troops retreated to their prepared Tannenberg Defence Line in the Sinimäed Hills, 16 kilometres from Narva. In the ensuing Battle of Tannenberg Line, the German army group held its ground. Stalin's main strategic goal—a quick recovery of Estonia as a base for air and seaborne attacks against Finland and an invasion of East Prussia—was not achieved. As a result of the tough defence of the German forces, the Soviet war effort in the Baltic Sea region was hampered for seven and a half months.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Terrain played a significant role in operations around Narva. The elevation above sea level in the area is rarely above 100 meters, and the land is cut by numerous waterways, including the Narva and Plyussa rivers. The bulk of the land in the region is forested, and large swamps inundate areas of low elevation. The effect of the terrain on operations was one of channelization; because of the swamps, only certain areas were suitable for large-scale troop movement.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: On a strategic scale, there was a natural choke point between the northern shore of Lake Peipus and the Gulf of Finland. The 45-kilometre-wide strip of land was entirely bisected by the Narva River and included large areas of wilderness. The primary transport routes, the Narva–Tallinn highway and railway, ran on an east–west axis near and parallel to the coastline. There were no other east–west transport routes in the region capable of sustaining troop movement on a large scale.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: On 14 January 1944, the Leningrad Front launched the Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive, aimed at forcing the German 18th Army back from its positions near Oranienbaum. On the third day of the offensive, the Soviets broke through German lines and pushed westward. The Army Group North evacuated the civilian population of Narva.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: By 1944, it was fairly routine practice for Stavka to assign new and more ambitious missions to its operating fronts while the Soviet Armed Forces were conducting major offensive operations. The rationale was that relentless pressure might trigger a German collapse. For the 1943/1944 winter campaign, Stalin ordered the Red Army to conduct major attacks along the entire Soviet-German front, in a continuation of the "Broad Front" strategy he had pursued since the beginning of the war. That was in line with his long-standing rationale that, if the Red Army applied pressure along the entire front, German defences were likely to break in at least one section. The Soviet winter campaign included major assaults along the entire expanse of the front in the Ukraine, Belorussia, and the German Panther Line, in the Baltic Sea region.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Breaking through the Narva Isthmus, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus, was of major strategic importance to the Soviet Armed Forces. Success in the Estonian operation would have provided an unobstructed route to advance along the coast to Tallinn, forcing the German Army Group North to escape from Estonia for fear of getting cornered. For the Baltic Fleet, trapped in an eastern bay of the Gulf of Finland, Tallinn was the closest exit to the Baltic Sea. The ejection of the Army Group North from Estonia would have made Finland subject to air and amphibious attacks originating from Estonian bases. The prospect of an invasion of East Prussia through Estonia appealed even more to Stavka, as it could bring German resistance to a standstill. With the participation of Leonid Govorov, commander of the Leningrad Front, and Vladimir Tributz, commander of the Baltic Fleet, a scheme was prepared to destroy the Army Group North. Stalin ordered the capture of Narva at all costs no later than 17 February:


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: After the failure of the Leningrad Front, Stalin issued a new order on 22 February: to break through the "Narwa" defence, give a shock at Pärnu, eliminate the German forces in Estonia, direct two armies at Southeast Estonia, keep going through Latvia, and open the road to East Prussia and Central Europe. On the same day, the Soviet Union presented Finland with peace conditions. While Finland regarded the terms as unacceptable, the war waging around them appeared dangerous enough to keep the Finns negotiating. To influence Finland, Stalin needed to take Estonia. His wish became an order to the commanders of the Leningrad Front, with their heads at stake. After reinforcements in March 1944, the Narva front acquired the highest concentration of forces at any point on the Eastern Front.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Three Soviet armies were deployed at the maximum concentration of forces in March 1944. The 2nd Shock Army was placed north of Narva, the 59th Army was positioned south of Narva, and the 8th Army south of the 59th Army, along the 50 km long Narva River stretching down to Lake Peipus. Detailed information on the size of the Soviet forces at the Narva front during the Winter-Spring campaign has not been published by any sources. It is impossible to give an overview on the Soviet strength until the Red Army archival information is published or made available to non-Russian investigators. Estonian historian, Hannes Walter, has estimated the number of Soviet troops in the Battle of Narva at 205,000, which accords with the number of divisions, multiplied by the sizes of the divisions assumed by the Estonian historian Mart Laar. The order of battle of the Leningrad Front, as of 1 March 1944:


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: At the start of the Narva Offensive (July 1944), the Leningrad Front deployed 136,830 troops, 150 tanks, 2,500 assault guns and 800+ aircraft.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The German High Command (OKH) believed it was crucial to stabilize the front on the Narva River. A Soviet breakthrough here would have meant the loss of the northern coast of Estonia and with it loss of control of the Gulf of Finland, giving the Soviet Baltic Fleet access to the Baltic Sea. A breakthrough by the fleet would have threatened German control of the entire Baltic Sea and the shipment of iron ore imports from Sweden. The loss of Narva would have meant fuel derived from the adjacent Kohtla-Järve oil shale deposits (32 kilometers west of Narva on the coast) would be denied to the German war machine. As Colonel General Georg Lindemann said in his daily order to the 11th Infantry Division:


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: As Finland was negotiating with the Soviet Union for peace, the OKH concentrated on the Narva front, using every means to convince the Finnish Defence Command that the German defences were going to hold. The German command informed their Finnish colleagues in detail about the events on the Narva front while a delegation of the Finnish Defence Command visited Narva in spring 1944. Besides being a narrow corridor well suited for defence, the terrain in the area of Narva was dominated by forests and swamps. Directly behind the Narva River lay the city itself, ideally positioned as a bastion from which defending forces could influence combat to both the north and south of the city along the river valley.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: This position was the northern segment of the German Panther Line and it was where Generalfeldmarschall Georg von Küchler, in charge of the Army Group, wanted to set up his defence. Hitler initially refused, and replaced von Küchler with Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model as the commander of the Army Group North. Model agreed with von Küchler and, as one of Hitler's favourites, he also was allowed more freedom. Using that freedom to his advantage, Model managed to fall back and begin establishing a line along the Narva River, with a strong bridgehead on the eastern bank in Ivangorod. That appeased Hitler, and followed the German standard operating procedure for defending a river line. On 1 February 1944, the High Command of Army Group North tasked the Sponheimer Group (renamed Army Detachment "Narwa" on 23 February) to defend at all costs the segment of the Panther Line at the isthmus between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus. After the initial Soviet success, Stalin presented Finland with his peace terms on 8 February 1944. However, following the tactical victories of "Narwa" from mid-February to April, Finland terminated the negotiations on 18 April 1944.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: During the course of the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany, Estonian expectations of regaining their independence began to diminish. Pursuant to the Constitution of Estonia, formally still in force, Estonian politicians formed an underground National Committee of the Republic of Estonia, which convened on 14 February 1944. As President Konstantin Päts was imprisoned by the Soviet authorities, the acting head of state, according to the Constitution, was the former Prime Minister Jüri Uluots. The German-appointed Estonian Self-Administration had previously made several unsuccessful general mobilisation calls, which were illegal under the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907) and opposed by Uluots.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: In February 1944, when the Leningrad Front reached the vicinity of Narva and the Soviet return became a real threat, Uluots switched his stand on the German draft. In a radio speech on 7 February, Uluots reasoned that armed Estonians could become useful against both Germans and Soviets. He also hinted that Estonian troops on Estonian soil would have: "... a significance much wider than what I could and would be able to disclose here." Along with other Estonian politicians, Uluots saw resistance against the Soviet Armed Forces as a means of preventing the restoration of Soviet power and restoring Estonia's independence once the war was over. The conscription call received popular support and the mobilisation raised a force of 38,000 men, who were formed into seven border guard regiments and the fictitiously named 20th Estonian SS-Volunteer Division, commonly referred to among the German Armed Forces as the Estonian Division. Combined with the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 (voluntary Estonians in the Finnish army), and the conscripts within the Waffen SS, a total of 70,000 Estonian troops were under Nazi German arms in 1944.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: In February 1944, the L and LIV Army Corps along with the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps were on the left flank of the 18th Army as they retreated to Narva. On 4 February, the Sponheimer Group was released from the 18th Army and subordinated directly to the Army Group North. In support of the forces already in place, Hitler ordered reinforcements. The Panzer-Grenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle, with over 10,000 troops and their equipment, was airlifted from Belorussia into Estonia via the airfield at Tartu on 1 February. A week later, the 5th Battalion of the Panzergrenadier Großdeutschland Division arrived at the front. The Grenadier Regiment Gnesen (an ad hoc regiment formed from replacement army units in Poland) was sent from Germany and arrived on 11 February. Three days later, the 214th Infantry Division was transferred from Norway.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Over the next two weeks, various units were added to the group, including the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland", several divisions of the Wehrmacht, the Estonian Division and local Estonian border guard and Estonian Auxiliary Police battalions. Infantry General Otto Sponheimer was replaced by General Johannes Frießner and the Sponheimer Group was renamed Army Detachment "Narwa" on 23 February. The Army Group North ordered the deployment of "Narwa" on 22 February in the following positions: III SS Panzer Corps deployed to Narva, Ivangorod Bridgehead on the east bank of the river and north of Narva; the XXXXIII Army Corps against the Krivasoo Bridgehead south of the city; and the XXVI Army Corps to the sector between the Krivasoo Bridgehead and Lake Peipus. As of 1 March 1944, there were a total of 123,541 personnel subordinated to the Army Group, in the following order of battle:


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: In the summer of 1944, the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle, and seven infantry divisions, were removed from the Narva Front, leaving 22,250 troops at the location.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Launching the Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive on 1 February, the Soviet 2nd Shock Army's 109th Rifle Corps captured the town of Kingisepp on the first day. The German 18th Army was forced into new positions on the eastern bank of the Narva River. Forward units of the 2nd Shock Army crossed the river and established several bridgeheads on the west bank to the north and south of the city of Narva on 2 February. The 2nd Shock Army expanded the bridgehead in the Krivasoo Swamp south of Narva five days later, temporarily cutting the Narva–Tallinn Railway behind the III SS Panzer Corps. Govorov was unable to encircle the smaller German Army Group, which called in reinforcements. These came mostly from the newly mobilised Estonians, motivated to resist the looming Soviet return. At the same time, the Soviet 108th Rifle Corps landed units across Lake Peipus 120 kilometres south of Narva and established a bridgehead around the village of Meerapalu. By a coincidence, the I.Battalion, SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 45 (1st Estonian), which was headed for Narva, reached the same area. A battalion of the 44th Infantry Regiment (consisting of personnel from East Prussia), the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian and an air squadron destroyed the Soviet bridgehead on 15–16 February. The Mereküla Landing Operation was conducted as the 517-strong 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade landed at the coastal borough of Mereküla behind the Sponheimer Group lines. However, the unit was almost completely destroyed.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet 30th Guards Rifle Corps and the 124th Rifle Corps launched a new Narva Offensive on 15 February. The resistance by units of the Sponheimer Group exhausted the Soviet army, which halted its offensive. Both sides used the pause for bringing in additional forces. The fresh SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiments 45 and 46 (1st and 2nd Estonian) accompanied by units of the "Nordland" Division destroyed the Soviet bridgeheads north of Narva by 6 March. The newly arrived 59th Army attacked westwards from the Krivasoo Swamp and encircled the strong points of the 214th Infantry Division and Estonian 658th and 659th Eastern Battalions. The resistance of the encircled units gave the German command time to move in all available forces and to stop the 59th Army units' advance.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet air force conducted an air raid, leveling the historic town of Narva on 6 March. An air and artillery shock of 100,000 shells and grenades at the "Nordland" and "Nederland" detachments in Ivangorod prepared the way for the 30th Guards Rifle Division's attack on 8 March. Simultaneous pitched battles took place north of the town, where the 14th Rifle Corps supported by the artillery of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps attempted to re-establish a bridgehead. Regiments of the Estonian SS Division repulsed the attacks, causing great Soviet losses.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Soviet air assaults against civilians in Estonian towns were a part of the offensive, aimed at forcing the Estonians away from supporting the German side. The Soviet Long Range Aviation branch assaulted the Estonian capital of Tallinn on the night of 8–9 March. Approximately 40% of the housing was destroyed in the city; 25,000 people were left homeless and 500 civilians were killed. The result of the air raid was the opposite of what the Soviets intended, as people felt disgusted by the Soviet atrocities; more men answered the German conscription call.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet tank attack at Auvere Station was stopped by a squadron of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion on 17 March. The ensuing offensive continued for another week until the Soviet forces had suffered enough casualties to switch over to a defensive stance. This enabled "Narwa" to take the initiative.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Strachwitz Battle Group annihilated the Soviet 8th Army shock troop wedge at the western end of the Krivasoo Bridgehead on 26 March. The German battle group destroyed the eastern tip of the bridgehead on 6 April. "Generalmajor" Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz, inspired by the success, tried to eliminate the whole bridgehead but was unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for the Tiger I tanks. By the end of April, the parties had mutually exhausted their strengths. Relative calm settled on the front until late July 1944.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet breakthrough in Belorussia and Karelian Offensive forced the Army Group North to withdraw a large portion of their troops from Narva to the central part of the Eastern Front and to Finland. As there were insufficient forces for the defence of the former front line at Narva in July, the German army detachment began preparations for withdrawal to the Tannenberg defence line in the Sinimäed Hills 16 kilometres from Narva. The commanders of the Leningrad Front were unaware of the preparations; they designed a new Narva Offensive. Shock troops from the Finnish front were concentrated near the town, giving the Leningrad Front a 4:1 superiority both in manpower and equipment. Before the German forces had implemented their plan, the Soviet 8th Army launched their offensive; the Battle of Auvere was the result. The I.Battalion, 1st Estonian and the 44th Infantry Regiment repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses on the 8th Army. The "Nordland" and "Nederland" detachments in Ivangorod left their positions quietly during the night before 25 July. The evacuation was carried out according to the German plans until the 2nd Shock Army resumed the offensive in the morning. Supported by 280,000 shells and grenades from 1360 assault guns, the army crossed the river north of the town. The II.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment kept the Soviet shock Army from capturing the highway behind the retreating troops. The defensive operation led to the destruction of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 "General Seyffardt" due to tactical errors. The Soviet forces captured Narva on 26 July.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet vanguard 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions attacked the Tannenberg Line and captured part of the Orphanage Hill, the easternmost of the area. The Anti-Tank Company, SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 "Danmark" returned the hill to the hands of the "Narwa" the following night. The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps repulsed subsequent Soviet attempts to capture the hills by tanks on the following day. The SS Reconnaissance Battalion 11 and the I.Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment 47 (3rd Estonian) launched a counterattack during the night before 28 July. The assault collapsed under the Soviet tank fire which destroyed the Estonian battalion. In a pitched battle carried over to the next day without a break in the fighting, the two Soviet armies forced "Narwa" into new positions at the Grenadier Hill, the central one.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was the Soviet attack of 29 July. The shock units suppressed the German resistance on the Orphanage Hill, while the Soviet main forces suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenadier Hill. The Soviet tanks encircled it and the Tower Hill, the westernmost one. Steiner, the commander of the III SS Panzer Corps, sent out the remaining seven tanks, which hit the surprised Soviet armour and forced them back. This enabled an improvised battle group led by Hauptsturmführer Paul Maitla to launch a counterattack which recaptured the Grenadier Hill. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the offensive on 25 July, a few thousand had remained fit for combat by 1 August. The Soviet tank regiments had been demolished.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: With swift reinforcements, the two Soviet armies continued their attacks. The Stavka demanded the destruction of the "Narwa" and the capture of Rakvere by 7 August. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troops by 2 August while numerous attempts using unchanged tactics failed to break the multinational defence of the "Narwa". Leonid Govorov, the commander of the Leningrad Front terminated the offensive on 10 August.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: During the Soviet era, the losses in the battle of Narva were not released by the Soviets. In recent years, Russian authors have published some figures but not for the whole course of the battles. The number of Soviet casualties can only be estimated indirectly.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Army Detachment "Narwa" lost 23,963 personnel as dead, wounded and missing in action in February 1944. During the following months through to 30 July 1944, an additional 34,159 German personnel were lost, 5,748 of them dead and 1,179 missing in action. The total German casualties during the initial phase of the campaign was approximately 58,000 men, 12,000 of them dead or missing in action. From 24 July to 10 August 1944, the German forces buried 1,709 men in Estonia. Adding the troops missing in action, the number of dead in the period is estimated at 2,500. Accounting the standard ratio of 1/4 of the wounded as irrecoverable losses, the number of German casualties in the later period of the battle was approximately 10,000. The total German casualties during the Battle of Narva is estimated at 14,000 dead or missing and 54,000 wounded or sick.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: On 1 September, Finland announced the cessation of military cooperation with Germany to sign an armistice with the Soviet Union. On 4 September, Finland opened access for the Soviets to Finnish waters. With the Soviet offensive at Riga threatening to complete their encirclement, the Army Group North started preparations for the withdrawal of troops from Estonia in an operation codenamed Aster. The possible transportation corridors were thoroughly prepared using maps at headquarters. On 17 September 1944, a naval force under Vice-Admiral Theodor Burchardi began evacuating elements of the German formations and Estonian civilians. Within six days, around 50,000 troops and 1,000 prisoners had been removed. The elements of the 18th Army in Estonia were ordered to withdraw into Latvia.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The Soviet 1st, 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts launched their Baltic Offensive on 14 September. The operation was aimed at cutting off the Army Group North in Estonia. After much argument, Adolf Hitler agreed to allow the total evacuation of the troops in mainland Estonia. The 2nd Shock Army launched its Tallinn Offensive on 17 September from the Emajõgi River Front in South Estonia. At midnight on 18 September, the Army Detachment "Narwa" left its positions in the Tannenberg Line. The 8th Army reconnaissance reported the evacuation five hours after it had been completed and the Soviets started to chase the troops towards Estonian harbours and the Latvian border. The III SS Panzer Corps reached Pärnu by 20 September, while the II SS Corps retreated southwards to form the 18th Army's rearguard. The Soviet armies advanced to take Tallinn on 22 September. The Soviets had demolished the harbour at Haapsalu by 24 September. The German Panzer Corps evacuated Vormsi Island just off the coast on the following day, successfully completing the evacuation of mainland Estonia with only minor casualties. The 8th Army went on to take the remaining West Estonian archipelago in the Moonsund Landing Operation. The Baltic Offensive resulted in the expulsion of the German forces from Estonia, a large part of Latvia, and Lithuania.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: During the withdrawal from Estonia, the German command released thousands of native Estonian conscripts from military service. The Soviet command began conscripting Baltic natives as areas were brought under Soviet control. While some ended up serving on both sides, thousands joined the Forest Brothers partisan detachments to avoid conscription.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Army Group North land lines of communication were permanently severed from Army Group Centre and it was relegated to the Courland Pocket, an occupied Baltic seashore area in Latvia. On 25 January, Adolf Hitler renamed Army Group North the "Courland", implicitly realising that there was no possibility of restoring a new land corridor between Courland and East Prussia. The Red Army commenced the encirclement and reduction of the pocket, enabling the Soviets to focus on operations towards East Prussia. The Army Group Courland retained a possibility of being a major threat. Operations by the Red Army against the Courland Pocket continued until the surrender of Army Group Courland on 9 May 1945, when close to 200,000 Germans were taken prisoner there.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The lengthy German defence during the Battle of Narva denied the Soviets the use of Estonia as a favorable base for amphibious invasions and air attacks against Helsinki and other Finnish cities. Stavka's hopes of assaulting Finland from Estonia and forcing it into capitulation were diminished. Finnish Chief of Defence Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim repeatedly reminded the German side that in the event their troops in Estonia retreated, Finland would be forced to make peace even on extremely unfavourable terms. Thus, the prolonged Battle of Narva helped Finland avoid a Soviet occupation, sustained its capacity for resistance and enabled them to enter negotiations for the Moscow Armistice on their own terms.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The lengthy German defence prevented a swift Soviet breakthrough into Estonia and gave the underground National Committee of the Republic of Estonia enough time to attempt to re-establish Estonian independence. On 1 August 1944, the national committee pronounced itself Estonia's highest authority and on 18 September 1944, acting head of state Uluots appointed a new government led by Otto Tief. Over the radio in English, the government declared its neutrality in the war. The government issued two editions of the Riigi Teataja (State Gazette) but did not have time to distribute them. On 21 September, the national forces seized the government buildings in Toompea, Tallinn and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Estonia was hoisted at the tower of Pikk Hermann, to be removed by the Soviets four days later. The Estonian Government in Exile served to carry the continuity of the Estonian state forward until 1992, when it handed its credentials over to the incoming President, Lennart Meri.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: The delay of the Soviet advance allowed over 25,000 Estonians and 3,700 Swedes to flee to neutral Sweden and 6,000 Estonians to Finland. Thousands of refugees died on boats and ships sunk in the Baltic Sea. In September, 90,000 soldiers and 85,000 Estonian, Finnish and German refugees and Soviet prisoners of war were evacuated to Germany. The sole German cost of this evacuation was the loss of a steamboat. More German naval evacuations followed from Estonian ports, where up to 1,200 people were drowned in Soviet attacks.


title: Battle of Narva (1944)

text: Soviet rule of Estonia was re-established by force, and sovietisation followed, mostly carried out in 1944–1950. The forced collectivisation of agriculture began in 1947 and was completed after the deportation of 22,500 Estonians in March 1949. All private farms were confiscated and farmers were made to join the collective farms. Besides the armed resistance of the Forest Brothers, a number of underground nationalist schoolchildren groups were active. Most of their members were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. The punitive actions decreased rapidly after Stalin's death in 1953; from 1956 to 1958, many of the deportees and political prisoners were allowed to return to Estonia. Political arrests and numerous other crimes against humanity were committed throughout the occupation period until the late 1980s. Nevertheless, the attempt to integrate Estonian society into the Soviet system failed. Although the armed resistance was defeated, the population remained anti-Soviet. This helped the Estonians to organise a new resistance movement in the late 1980s, regain their independence in 1991, and then rapidly develop a modern society.


title: Matt Baker

text: Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show "Blue Peter" from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's "Countryfile" since 2009 and "The One Show" from 2011 to 2020, with Alex Jones.


title: Matt Baker

text: Baker was born on 23 December 1977 at Easington in County Durham where his father ran a newsagent's shop, and his parents had a smallholding in the village. He has one sister and two half-sisters.


title: Matt Baker

text: Matt attended Easington Village School, then, when he was aged 10, his parents bought a farm west of Durham, which they moved into and renovated. From the age of 5 Baker was a keen dancer and began competing as a gymnast whilst at school. He continued his education at Belmont Comprehensive School in Durham and was a budding gymnast, but was forced to give up after being diagnosed with anaemia aged 14. He took A-levels in Drama, Biology and Sports Science at Durham Sixth Form Centre.


title: Matt Baker

text: In the late 1990s, as a drama student at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, Baker worked as an entertainer, and with a 1970s comedy disco-dancing revival show called "Disco Inferno", which toured the north of England.


title: Matt Baker

text: Baker wanted to become a physiotherapist, but did not achieve the necessary academic standards. After an appearance in the school production of "Grease", it was suggested that he attend drama school. Having just finished the second year of a three-year course at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, his future wife's aunt spotted that "Blue Peter" was looking for a new presenter. After calling into the Editor's office direct, Baker put together a showreel with footage in the farmyard; reading a story; and riding a unicycle. He was asked to come to London the next day for an interview, and made his first appearance on the show on 25 June 1999. His gymnastic background helped him in physical challenges, including training as a stuntman, and passing the recruitment courses for both the Royal Marines and the Parachute Regiment. In 2003, Baker learned to fly hang gliders and made a successful tandem world record-breaking flight with Airways Airsports instructor Judy Leden MBE.


title: Matt Baker

text: During his seven years on "Blue Peter", Matt's colleagues were Katy Hill, Konnie Huq, Simon Thomas, Liz Barker, Zöe Salmon and Gethin Jones. He won two BAFTAs for Best Children's Presenter two years in a row and a Royal Television Society award. Baker left "Blue Peter" at the end of its 2005–06 series; his last live show was broadcast on 26 June. Baker's dog Meg, seen alongside him on the programme from 2000 onwards, left with him.


title: Matt Baker

text: Baker co-presented "Countryfile Summer Diaries" on weekday mornings on BBC One, along with "Open Country" for Radio 4 and "Animal Rescue Squad" and "Animal Rescue Squad International" for Channel 5. From 2009, he has co-presented BBC One's "Countryfile" on Sunday evenings. In August 2010, Baker co-presented the first series of "Secret Britain" with Julia Bradbury and presented "One Man and His Dog" with Kate Humble.


title: Matt Baker

text: From May to August 2010, Baker was a guest presenter on BBC One's magazine programme "The One Show", standing in for Jason Manford. Following Manford's resignation on 18 November 2010, Baker acted as a guest co-host on the programme. He later took over as a permanent presenter on the show, co-hosting with Alex Jones from Monday to Thursday.


title: Matt Baker

text: On 8 March 2011, Baker gained media attention by asking then-Prime Minister David Cameron, "How on earth do you sleep at night?". Will Heaven, Deputy Editor of Telegraph Blogs, wrote: "Was this the unearthing of a true Northern lefty? Or did Baker just misspeak?".


title: Matt Baker

text: On 4 December 2019, Baker announced on "The One Show" that he would be leaving in the spring of 2020. He announced it in an emotional speech to camera where he thanked everyone for their support, especially for the money donated to The Rickshaw Challenges.


title: Matt Baker

text: Matt's last show on "The One Show" was on Tuesday 31 March 2020, where he wasn't on the couch with co-presenter Alex Jones, but was at home in self isolation.


title: Matt Baker

text: In 2003, Baker was a guest on "A Song For Europe" contest to decide the UK entry to the "Eurovision Song Contest", where he announced the scores for the North of England. He was one of three main presenters on the final series of the BBC One reality series "City Hospital". In March 2007, and again in 2008, Baker co-presented coverage of "Crufts". Also in 2007, he co-presented five episodes of "Animal Rescue Live" with Selina Scott. The episodes were shown across a week and were broadcast live from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in London.


title: Matt Baker

text: As part of the celebration for London's winning bid to host the 2012 Olympics, Baker co-hosted the London 2012 party with Claudia Winkleman on 24 August 2008, after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. For the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Baker commentated on the gymnastics events. He provided commentary for the gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, as well as doing some presenting work. Matt Baker was also a Torch Bearer for the Olympic Flame as it was carried into Durham City as part of the flame's tour of Great Britain. In 2016, Baker again provided the BBC commentary on the gymnastic events at the Rio Olympics. Matt continued his previous commentating work by providing commentary for the Tokyo 2020 gymnastics events.


title: Matt Baker

text: In October 2009, Baker took part in the reality programme "Around the World in 80 Days" to raise money for Children in Need. He undertook the Kazakhstan to Mongolia leg with Julia Bradbury. For Children in Need, Baker rode a bicycle towing a rickshaw 484 miles from Edinburgh to London in 2011, which took about a week up to the fund raising night on 18 November. He averaged around 60 miles per day, raising well over £1.5 million for the charity. In the summer of 2006, Baker was a celebrity showjumper in the "Sport Relief" event "Only Fools on Horses".


title: Matt Baker

text: In 2015, Baker co-hosted a three-part factual series "Big Blue Live" for BBC One. The series focussed on marine wildlife in Monterey Bay, California. He hosted alongside Steve Backshall, Liz Bonnin, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Lindsey Chapman.


title: Matt Baker

text: In 2010, Baker participated in the eighth series of "Strictly Come Dancing", where he was partnered with professional ballroom dancer Aliona Vilani, finishing in second place to the winners Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev in the final. Baker and Vilani also participated in the 2011 "Strictly Come Dancing" Live Tour. They performed in all thirty-five shows on the tour in arenas throughout Britain and Ireland, winning on twenty-six occasions.


title: Matt Baker

text: In 2002, Baker played himself in an episode of the BBC Drama series "Cutting It". In 2005, he briefly appeared as himself, as the presenter of Blue Peter, in an episode of sci-fi series "Doctor Who", when The Doctor was flicking through television channels. In June 2006, Baker played the role of Dick from The Famous Five in "The Queen's Handbag".


title: Matt Baker

text: In 2008, Baker returned to his native North East England to play the role of Caractacus Potts in a production of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" at the Sunderland Empire.


title: Matt Baker

text: Baker met his wife Nicola, a physiotherapist, when he was performing in the disco show at Pier 39 in Cleethorpes. The couple married at Winston in Teesdale, in 2004 and live in Buckinghamshire with their son and daughter.


title: Matt Baker

text: Baker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for charitable and voluntary services to fundraising.


title: Matt Baker

text: In early 2011, Baker was elected as the president for the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs. He is president for Here4Horses.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Daniel Petronijevic (born March 28, 1981 in Scarborough, Ontario), known professionally as Dan Petronijevic, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in various feature films, including the "American Pie" franchise, and in TV shows such as "19-2", "Playmakers", "Cardinal", and "Letterkenny". He also has extensive experience doing voice acting for numerous animated series. His most recent acting role was playing detective Marv Bozwick in the film "Spiral".


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic is of Serbian descent. He was born on March 28, 1981 in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, and moved with his family from Scarborough to Scugog Township as a youth. He made his theatrical debut as a teenager in Port Perry, where he was spotted by a talent agent.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic is best known for his role as the antagonistic Montreal Police Service Officer J.M. Brouillard in the English adaptation of the ensemble police drama "19-2". For that role, he was nominated "Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series" at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic also won the role of Thad Guerwitcz in ESPN's 2003 sports drama "Playmakers". He played a closeted professional football player who is outed by his boyfriend.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic's other roles include Brody in "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil" (TV series and film) and Ronald Stiviletto in "Happy Town". He also worked on the shows "PSI Factor", "", "Republic of Doyle", "Saving Hope", and "Rookie Blue". Petronijevic played the role of Bull in the films "" and "". Along with Malin Åkerman, he co-starred in "Cottage Country". Other films he has appeared in include "Angel Eyes" with Jennifer Lopez and "The Prince and Me" with Julia Stiles respectively.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic has the recurring role of McMurray in the Canadian sitcom "Letterkenny", a series which was created by his fellow "19-2" actor Jared Keeso. He also co-stars in the second season of the crime drama "Cardinal" as the drug enforcer Leon.


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic is also a prolific voice actor, having worked on numerous animated television series. He voiced and sang as the character Geoff in "Total Drama Island", "Total Drama Action", and "Total Drama World Tour". He later reprised the role in the spin-off series "". He voiced Adam Spitz in the cartoon series "Braceface". He has also played several characters on the show "Bakugan" including those of Spectra, Julio Santana, and more recently, Jake Vallory. Other characters include Tarantula Boy on "Growing Up Creepie", Corey on "6teen", GT on "Turbo Dogs" and most recently Trent Trotter on "Corn & Peg".


title: Dan Petronijevic

text: Petronijevic also plays the role of Erik in "Di-Gata Defenders". He is a voice actor in "", performing the roles of Blader DJ, Dynamis and Dashan Wang. He provided the voice over narration in "" and "".


title: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

text: The Azerbaijan Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event that was held for the first time in . It is held on the Baku City Circuit, a street circuit in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.


title: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

text: The first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in Azerbaijan was the 2016 European Grand Prix, which took place at the Baku City Circuit. A year later, in 2017, the same venue hosted the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The race was held on 25 June and was one of five races to be held on a street circuit during the 2017 Formula One season, along with the Singapore, Monaco, Australian and Canadian Grands Prix. The first Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner was Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.


title: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

text: The 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix took place on 29 April as the 4th round of the season and was won by Lewis Hamilton.


title: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

text: The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was held on 28 April as the 4th round of the season. In March 2020, the 2020 race was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being cancelled later in the year. The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix featured as the 6th round of the season.


title: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

text: No Formula One driver has ever won in Baku twice so far, although the race was won twice by Mercedes (2018 and 2019) and three times by Red Bull Racing (2017, 2021 and 2022).


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is an American corporation that develops, manufactures, and markets robotic products designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally invasive surgery, most notably with the "da Vinci" Surgical System. The company is part of the NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500. , Intuitive Surgical had an installed base of 6,730 da Vinci Surgical Systems, including 4,139 in the U.S., 1,199 in Europe, 1,050 in Asia, and 342 in the rest of the world.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: The research that eventually led to the development of the "da Vinci" Surgical System was performed in the late 1980s at a non-profit research institute SRI International. In 1990, SRI received funding from the National Institutes of Health. SRI developed a prototype robotic surgical system that caught the interest of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which was interested in the system for its potential to allow surgeons to operate remotely on soldiers wounded on the battlefield.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: In 1994, Dr. Frederic Moll became interested in the SRI System, as the device was known at the time. At the time, Moll was employed by Guidant. He tried to interest Guidant in backing it but to no avail. In 1995 Moll was introduced to John Freund who had recently left Acuson Corporation. Freund negotiated an option to acquire SRI's intellectual property and incorporated a new company that he named Intuitive Surgical Devices, Inc.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: At that point Freund, Moll, and Robert Younge (also from Acuson) wrote the business plan for the company and raised its initial venture capital. Early investors included the Mayfield Fund, Sierra Ventures, and Morgan Stanley.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: The company refined the SRI System into a prototype known originally as "Lenny" (after the young Leonardo da Vinci), which was ready for testing in 1997. As the company's prototypes became more advanced, they were named using da Vinci themes. One was named "Leonardo", and another was "Mona". The final version of the prototype was nicknamed the "da Vinci" Surgical System, and the name stuck when the system was eventually commercialized. After further testing, Intuitive Surgical began marketing this system in Europe in 1999, while awaiting FDA approval in the United States.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: The company raised $46 million in an initial public offering in 2000. That same year, the FDA approved use of the "da Vinci" Surgical System for general laparoscopic surgery, which can be used to address gallbladder disease and gastroesophageal disease. In 2001, the FDA approved use of the system for prostate surgery. The FDA has subsequently approved the system for thoracoscopic surgery, cardiac procedures performed with adjunctive incisions, and gynecologic procedures.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: Shortly before going public, Intuitive Surgical was sued for patent infringement by Computer Motion, Inc, its chief rival. Computer Motion had actually gotten into the robotic surgery field earlier than Intuitive Surgical, with its own system, the ZEUS Robotic Surgical System. Although the ZEUS system was approved in Europe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not yet approved it for any procedure at the time that the FDA first approved the "da Vinci" system. The uncertainty created by the litigation between the companies was a drag on each company's growth. In 2003, Intuitive Surgical and Computer Motion agreed to merge, thus ending the litigation between them. The ZEUS system was ultimately phased out in favor of the "da Vinci" system. Computer Motion was led by Chairman Robert Duggan from 1990 until 2003, when the two companies merged.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: Before the buyout of Computer Motion, the stock of Intuitive was selling at around $14 per share, adjusted for stock splits. After the merger, the stock price rose significantly (and by 2015 it was at about $500), primarily because of the growth in systems sold (60 in 2002 compared with 431 in 2014) and the number of surgical procedures performed (less than 1,000 in 2002 compared with 540,000 in 2014).


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: For the fiscal year 2017, Intuitive Surgical reported earnings of US$660 million, with an annual revenue of US$3.129 billion, an increase of 15.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. Intuitive Surgical's shares traded at over $307 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$58 billion in November 2018.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: The da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system. The system is controlled by a surgeon from a console.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: It is commonly used for prostatectomies and increasingly for cardiac valve repair and gynecologic surgical procedures.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: A da Vinci Surgical System costs approximately $1.5 million. The new da Vinci SI released in April 2009 cost about $1.75 million. In addition, there are maintenance contracts plus expenditures for instruments used during surgery. In 2008, "The New York Times" reported that most hospitals and clinics have a hard time recovering the cost of the robot.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: In June 2018, Intuitive Surgical settled class action lawsuits against it for a payment of $43 million.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: In 2021, Intuitive was sued for alleged abuse of its monopolist position. Specifically, replacement part manufacturer Rebotix Repair accused Intuitive of anticompetitive behaviour in the robots' aftermarket business and overcharging of hospitals for replacement parts.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: The initiative was followed up by a wave of similar class-action lawsuits shortly afterwards, including those filed by Kaleida Health and Franciscan Health.


title: Intuitive Surgical

text: As of August 2022, Rebotix versus Intuitive is expected to move to trial after Intuitive has been denied dismissal of the lawsuit.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: Plato's Retreat was a swingers' club catering to heterosexual couples and bisexual women. From 1977 until 1985 it operated in two locations in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The first was the former location of the Continental Baths, a gay sex club that was briefly in fashion with the chic and culturally adventurous, such as Bette Midler.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 1976, Larry Levenson, a high school friend of Al Goldstein and a former fast-food manager who was selling ice cream at Coney Island, was introduced to the swinging lifestyle by a woman he met at a bar. After organizing swinging parties himself for a time, he opened a club "for swingers" in 1977, in the basement of the Kenmore Hotel on East 23rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenue (145 E 23rd St), and called it "Plato's Retreat." The same year, he moved it to the basement of the Ansonia Hotel, an early 20th-century building on 2109 Broadway between West 73rd and West 74th Streets on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The hotel used to house the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse where singer Bette Midler, often accompanied by Barry Manilow on a baby grand piano, first became a national figure.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: Plato's Retreat was a "members-only" establishment that was legally not a public business. This meant that members had to follow the club's rules. Levenson did not allow men unaccompanied by a female to enter. This, of course, was an attempt to block male homosexuals, and he also prohibited male-male sexual activity between the men that did get in. Woman on woman sex, however, he encouraged. Unaccompanied women were welcome, often at a discounted rate, or free. Once a woman left a room after a sexual encounter, her male companion had to accompany her within two minutes. This rule was intended to control the male–female ratio. Alcohol was forbidden. Drugs (at the time alcohol was not considered a drug) and paid sexual services were also forbidden, but the prohibitions were not enforced, which would have been difficult at best. In later years prostitutes did frequent the premises and there was "rampant" use of drugs (most often quaaludes) by patrons.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: According to a 1979 advertisement in "SCREW" magazine, the club offered, besides a heated swimming pool, a steam sauna, whirlpool baths, disco dancing, free bar and buffet, "cozy living rooms and lounging areas", a "variety of swing areas", and a backgammon lounge.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: During its heyday, Plato's Retreat was considered the world's most infamous sex club, popular with celebrities, porn stars, and well-to-do couples. The clientele was described as "an assortment of kinky types from the suburbs: dry cleaners and their wives, or fat men in toupees with their heavily made-up girlfriends." Owner Levenson often partook in sexual activity on the premises, once winning a bet against Al Goldstein and 'Butch' Katz, owner of 42nd Street's Roxy Burlesk theater, that he could ejaculate fifteen times within a twenty-four-hour day.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 1979, Levenson opened Plato's West, on Ivar Avenue in Los Angeles, but the venture, "a failed attempt at franchising", was not successful and lasted only six months.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 1985, New York City Mayor Ed Koch backed the New York City Health Department's decision to shut down the city's gay bathhouses, in response to concerns over the spread of HIV/AIDS. In closing the gay bathhouses while allowing the heterosexual swingers' clubs – most notably Plato's Retreat – to remain open, the city found itself in violation of the newly adopted anti-discrimination law. The Health Department, with Koch's approval, reacted by ordering the heterosexual clubs, including Plato's Retreat, to close as well. The club's Manhattan location was shut down on New Year's Eve 1985, ostensibly for violating public-health ordinances.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 1981, Levenson and his by-then two partners along with Plato’s accountant were tried and convicted for tax evasion. When the prosecutor asked Levenson—who was the only owner to take the stand—why Plato’s kept its accounting records off the premises, Levenson replied, “Where would I keep them, in the swimming pool?” He served an 8-year prison sentence at the Allenwood federal prison. After serving his sentence, Levenson worked in various jobs, such as cab driver. He died in 1999 after a quadruple bypass heart surgery.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: The descendant of Plato's Retreat was Plato's Repeat. It first appeared in 1995 in a listing of adult establishments in Miami, a "very unique pvt club". It then opened as a BYOB club at 321 Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, run by "the wife of the original owner". (Larry Levinson's 1999 obituary does not mention a wife.) It was an on-premises heterosexual swingers' club, open Monday to Sunday from eight p.m. until the last person left. Saturday night was for couples only.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 2006, Plato's Repeat closed, The Fort Lauderdale building reopened in 2016 as a gay men's sex club under the name "321 Slammer", keeping the same bring-your-own format.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: In 1978, Joe Thomas released a disco single, "Plato's Retreat," with lyrics referring to the club. The 2009 documentary "American Swing" relates the story of Plato's Retreat with archival footage and interviews.


title: Plato's Retreat

text: Pro wrestler Jesse Ventura would occasionally wear "Plato's Retreat" T-shirts during wrestling interviews in both the AWA and WWE.


title: Tamga

text: A tamga or tamgha (from ; ; ); an abstract seal or stamp used by Eurasian nomads and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, clan or family. They were common among the Eurasian nomads throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages.


title: Tamga

text: Similar tamga-like symbols were sometimes adopted by sedentary peoples adjacent to the Pontic–Caspian steppe both in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.


title: Tamga

text: Tamgas originate in pre-historic times, but their exact usage and development cannot be continuously traced over time. There are, however, symbols represented in rock art that are referred to as tamgas and that are most likely functionally equivalent with medieval tamgas.


title: Tamga

text: In the later phases of the Bosporan Kingdom, the ruling dynasty applied personal tamgas, composed of a fragment representing the family and a fragment representing the individual king, apparently in continuation of steppe traditions and in an attempt to consolidate seditary and nomadic factions within the kingdom.


title: Tamga

text: "Tamga," or "tamag'a," literally means "stamp" or "seal" in Mongolian. In the Mongol Empire, a tamgha was a seal placed on taxed items and, by extension, a tax on commerce (see Eastern Europe below).


title: Tamga

text: Tamga or tamag'a are emblematic symbols which were historically used by various Mongolic tribes or clans in Central Asia. The term is sometimes also applied to emblematic symbols used in other Asian cultures, but this document is only concerned with the specific use of clan symbols on coins issued by Mongolian and Central Asian rulers.


title: Tamga

text: Over a hundred different Mongolian tamga are known. Certain tamga were adopted by individual medieval Mongolic and Turkic rulers, and were consequently used on coins and seals issued by these rulers. Tamga are most widely found on Islamic coins issued by the descendants of Chinggis Khan in the various khanates of Central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries, in particular the Chaghatai Khanate. Tamga are of immense interest to numismatists, and are discussed in many academic works relating to the medieval Islamic coins of Central Asia. However, numismatists and historians currently have limited options for representing tamga symbols in text, and cannot reliably interchange text including tamga symbols because they are either represented as images, or are handdrawn, or use an ad hoc font. Doctor Nyamaa identifies nearly a hundred tamga signs used on coins, although only about half of them can be assigned to a specific ruler, and some of them are variant forms or presentation forms of the same tamga.


title: Tamga

text: Tamgas are also stamped using hot irons on domesticated animals such as horses in present-day Mongolia and others to identify that the livestock belongs to a certain family, since livestock is allowed to roam during the day. Each family has their own tamga markings for easier identification. Tamga marks are not very elaborate, since they are made from curved pieces of iron by the individual families.


title: Tamga

text: A "tamag'a" is also used as the "state seal" of Mongolia, which is handed over by the President of Mongolia as part of the transition to a new president. In the presidential case, the tamag'a is a little more elaborate and is contained in a wooden box.


title: Tamga

text: The Turks who remained pastoral nomad kings in eastern Anatolia and Iran, however, continued to use their clan tamgas and in fact, they became high-strung nationalistic imagery. The Aq Qoyunlu and Qara Qoyunlu, like many other royal dynasties in Eurasia, put their tamga on their flags and stamped their coinage with it.


title: Tamga

text: For the Turks who never left their homeland of Turkestan in the first place, it has remained what it originally was: a cattle brand and clan identifier.


title: Tamga

text: Among modern Turkic peoples, the tamga is a design identifying property or cattle belonging to a specific Turkic clan, usually as a cattle brand or stamp.


title: Tamga

text: When Turkish clans took over more urban or rural areas, tamgas dropped out of use as pastoral ways of life became forgotten. That is most evident in the Turkish clans that took over western and eastern Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. The Turks who took over western Anatolia founded the Sultanate of Rûm and became Roman-style aristocrats. Most of them adopted the then-Muslim symbol of the Seal of Solomon after the Sultanate disintegrated into a mass of feuding ghazi states (see Isfendiyarids, Karamanids). Only the Ottoman ghazi state (later to become the Ottoman Empire) kept its tamga, which was so highly stylized that the bow was stylized down eventually to a crescent moon.


title: Tamga

text: Tamgas of the 21 Oghuz tribes (as Charuklug had none) according to Mahmud al-Kashgari in "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk":


title: Tamga

text: In Russia, the term "tamga" (тамга) survived in state institution of border customs, with associated cluster of terms: "tamozhnya" (таможня, customs), "tamozhennik" (таможенник, customs officer), "rastamozhit"' (растаможить, pay customs duties), derived from the use of tamga as a certificate of State. The symbol is recognized as a national symbol in Ukraine, colloquially called "tryzub" (тризуб).


title: Tamga

text: In the late medieval Turco-Mongol states, the term "tamga" was used for any kind of official stamp or seal. This usage persisted in the early modern Islamic Empires (Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire), and in some of their modern successor states.


title: Tamga

text: In the Urdu language (which absorbed Turkic vocabulary), "Tamgha" is used as medal. Tamgha-i-Jurat is the fourth highest Military medal of Pakistan. It is admissible to all ranks for gallantry and distinguished services in combat. Tamgha-i-Imtiaz or Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (), which translates as "medal of excellence", is fourth highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to both the military and civilians. Tamgha-i-Khidmat or Tamgha-e-Khidmat (), which translates as "medal of services", is seventh highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to both the military and civilians. It is admissible to non-commissioned officers and other ranks for long meritorious or distinguished services of a non-operational nature.


title: Tamga

text: In Egypt, the term "damgha" () or "tamgha" () is still used in two contexts. One is a tax or fee when dealing with the government. It is normally in the form of stamps that have to be purchased and affixed to government forms, such as a driver license or a registration deed for a contract. The term is derived from the Ottoman damga resmi. Another is a stamp put on every piece of jewelry made from gold or silver to indicate it is genuine, and not made of baser metals.


title: Sigma Nu

text: Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley shortly after Hopkins witnessed what he considered a hazing ritual by upperclassmen at the Virginia Military Institute. The fraternity's existence remained secret until the founders publicly announced their new society on January 1, 1869. Since its founding, Sigma Nu has amassed more than 279 active and inactive chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada and has initiated more than 227,000 members. Sigma Nu, Kappa Alpha Order and Alpha Tau Omega make up the Lexington Triad.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The fraternity's values are summarized as an adherence to the principles of love, honor, and truth. Because of its military heritage, Sigma Nu retains many military trappings in its chapter ranks and traditions, and places importance on the concept of personal honor. In 1945, William Yates (University of Pennsylvania) inspired the formation of the "Sigma Nu Inc., Educational Foundation". Its name was changed to the "Sigma Nu Educational Foundation, Inc." The foundation assists collegiate members with financial aid supplements, and the fraternity in the development of a leadership program.


title: Sigma Nu

text: James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles, and James McIlvaine Riley enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in 1866. Hopkins entered the institute at the age of 21 and was, at the time, one of the oldest cadets entering the institute. Both Hopkins and Quarles had served in the American Civil War as Confederate soldiers.


title: Sigma Nu

text: At this time, many secret societies were being formed on the VMI campus. In Hopkins' third year at VMI, he joined the Masonic Lodge in Lexington. The masons inspired him to create a similar organization at VMI. Hopkins shared his ideas with Quarles and Riley, and in October 1868, the three came together on a limestone rock on the edge of the VMI parade ground to form the Legion of Honor. The three founders would go on to bring others into the Legion of Honor over the rest of the year. On January 1, 1869, the founders, along with the rest of the members of the Legion of Honor, held their first official meeting as Sigma Nu.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The first year of Sigma Nu also saw the creation of the Badge, the original Constitution, and the Law. The Badge designed by Hopkins stands mostly unchanged from its original form. The badges were first introduced in the spring of 1869. Early members, Edward Arthur and Linton Buck, both wrote the original Constitution and Law, respectively. Some conflict arose because Arthur had been a member of the Honduras Emigrant Society and had included some influences from that organization in the constitution. Linton Buck felt these influences should be removed. His revision became the first Law of Sigma Nu. This first chapter of Sigma Nu chose as its motto "nulli secundus", a Latin phrase meaning "second to none."


title: Sigma Nu

text: There were many efforts in the beginning years to establish chapters at other schools. By 1883, Alpha chapter attempted to establish 11 additional chapters, of which only 3 survived. One of the many factors was the anti-fraternity sentiment during this time period. Kappa chapter established in 1881, at North Georgia College & State University, gave the fraternity an important member, John Alexander Howard. Howard suggested that the fraternity drop the use of Roman numerals for chapter designation in favor of using a Greek letter designation. He is also responsible for the creation of "The Delta", Sigma Nu's fraternity magazine. The name "The Delta" originated from the location of the three active chapters of Sigma Nu forming a Delta. Howard's editorials in "The Delta" inspired Isaac P. Robison, founder of Lambda chapter, to propose having a convention for the whole fraternity. On July 10, 1884, Sigma Nu's first convention was held in the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 1909, Sigma Nu was a founding member of the North American Interfraternity Conference, an organization of 57 men's college fraternities.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The first national headquarters for the fraternity was established in Indianapolis in 1915. It relocated to Lexington, Virginia in 1958. Additional wings were constructed in 1969 and 1994, on the occasion of Sigma Nu's 100th and 125th anniversaries.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The Grand Chapter of Sigma Nu is a four-day legislative convention where representatives of the fraternity's collegiate and alumni chapters and Grand Officers meet to determine new legislation and operational direction of the Fraternity for the next biennium. The Grand Chapter meets every two years. The Grand Chapter body is composed of two voting representatives from each collegiate chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity. Laws are discussed and voted on by the collegiate representatives in a Robert's Rules of Order style business meeting conducted by the National Regent of the Fraternity.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The Law is a three-part document (Constitution, Statutes and Trial Code), which governs Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. The Law sets membership requirements, standards of conduct, and the framework for the operation of all entities of the Fraternity, including collegiate chapters. The Law is designed to allow for autonomy and self-governance in collegiate chapters. The Law may be amended by the Grand Chapter to accommodate changing needs of Sigma Nu's membership. The first edition of the Law was formally adopted at Sigma Nu's first convention in 1884.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The High Council serves as the board of directors of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. and is elected by the Grand Chapter. It serves as the governing arm of the General Fraternity during the period between Grand Chapters. Governance of the High Council is relegated to those duties especially prescribed by The Law. In cases where The Law prescribes no especial duty, the High Council shall act on those situations through interpretation of The Law. There are five roles on the High Council: the Regent, who acts as the national president and chairman of the board of Sigma Nu for a term of two years; the Regent-Elect, who ascends to the role of Regent at the end of the prior Regent's term; the Grand Treasurer, who is responsible for the financial condition of the fraternity; the Vice-Regents, appointed members of the board; and the Collegiate Grand Councilmen, who serve as collegiate representatives to the High Council.


title: Sigma Nu

text: Sigma Nu consists of 279 chapters and colonies in colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Since the founding of Sigma Nu, over 230,000 members have been initiated.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The fraternity sponsors various programming including ethical leadership development through its LEAD program and philanthropic events through its Helping Hand Initiative. It recruits new members using its Values Based Recruitment method.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The Sigma Nu College of Chapters is a three-day training program held annually. College of Chapters is designed for collegiate chapter Commanders, and the program emphasizes chapter management, leadership, core competencies, and networking. The curriculum focuses on best practices and is presented by fraternity staff, alumni volunteers, and advisers.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The LEAD (Leadership, Ethics, Achievement, Development) Program is designed to be a four-year educational and development curriculum for its collegiate members. In 1988, Sigma Nu created the LEAD Program. Since its launch in 1988 the Program has been updated twice, once in 1997 and again in 2008. The 2008 updates included the online version of the LEAD Program that currently exists today. The program trains candidates in general life skills, with an emphasis on alcohol use disorder awareness.


title: Sigma Nu

text: The fraternity began debating allowing non-white and Jewish members shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court desegregated schools in 1954. In 1964, following a failed civil rights amendment to the Sigma Nu's constitution, the Dartmouth College chapter seceded from the fraternity in protest. The organization did not allow non-white members until the late 1960s. The Dartmouth chapter rejoined in 1983.


title: Sigma Nu

text: Following graduation in 1989, actor Jon Hamm enrolled at the University of Texas, where he was a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. While Hamm was attending the school he was arrested for participating in a violent hazing incident that occurred in November 1990 in which another student, Mark Sanders, was beaten with a paddle and a broom, where Hamm was leading Sanders around the fraternity house with the claw of a hammer beneath Sander's genitals, and had his clothes set on fire. The incident led to the fraternity being shut down on campus. Hamm completed the terms of a deferred adjudication and the charges were dismissed in August 1995.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 1985 Sigma Nu University of Idaho held an annual holiday stag party, where a stripper named "Six Gun Sally" was hired to entertain the underclassmen members.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2003 Sigma Nu lost its charter at Missouri State University for hazing pledges; however, it was later reinstated.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2004, nine members of Sigma Nu at Fresno State University were arrested on campus for kidnapping after playing a prank on their vice president. Other students witnessed the prank and thought it was a real abduction, calling the police.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2010, a fraternity member at Arizona State University stabbed a fellow fraternity member when he tried to throw him into a pool.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2012, the fraternity at Southern Utah University was indefinitely suspended due to hazing, low academic achievement, low recruitment, and low financial resources.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2012, the fraternity at the University of Mississippi was suspended for repeated hazing violations.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2014, the fraternity at Emory University was suspended for five years for repeated hazing and misconduct violations. One hazing incident required pledges to “consume food items in large quantities at rapid paces to the point of physical harm and vomiting".


title: Sigma Nu

text: In February 2014, Sigma Nu suspended all chapter events at University of North Carolina Wilmington after a fight broke out at a party they hosted. An East Carolina University student attending their party drove with a US Marine on his hood and hit a tree, killing the Marine. He was arrested for DWI and felony death by vehicle.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2014, the fraternity at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was suspended for fire code and housing violations.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2015, Sigma Nu suspended its chapter at Old Dominion University pending an investigation after they placed banners with slogans like "Rowdy and Fun, Hope Your Baby Girl is Ready for a Good Time..." and the story went viral. The national fraternity stated they condemned the derogatory and demeaning language used by the fraternity members in the banners.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2015, the fraternity at Middle Tennessee State University was suspended until 2019 due to hazing and alcohol violations.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2015, the fraternity at Miami University was suspended until 2018 for violating social probation. There were also allegations of forcing underage pledges to consume large amounts of alcohol and banning pledges from shaving and showering.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In 2015, the fraternity at Purdue University was suspended for two years for hazing pledges, illegal drug use, and alcohol consumption by minors.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In October 2015, during a party held at the Sigma Nu fraternity house at Penn State University, a 19-year-old college student from New York City (later identified as John Mateer) was assaulted by another party-goer after revealing that he was gay. Photographs of the incident were posted on Twitter and immediately gained widespread media attention. Mateer’s assailant was later identified by State College Police as 18-year-old Matthew Chandlee. State College Police also confirmed that while the crime took place at the Sigma Nu house, Chandlee himself was not a member of the fraternity. The case was most notable for starting a national conversation surrounding hate crime legislation, as Pennsylvania does not protect members of the LGBT community under their hate crime laws.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In February 2016, Sigma Nu suspended its chapter at the University of North Georgia due to allegations of hazing and alcohol abuse.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In August 2016, a Sigma Nu member at Texas A&M University died of an illegal drug overdose in the fraternity house. Six members were arrested for possession and distribution of illegal drugs on campus such as cocaine, meth, LSD, MDMA, marijuana, heroin, and ecstasy. In October 2017, the deceased member's father, Eugene Gridnev, instituted a wrongful death suit against the fraternity itself, as well as several of the members present during his son's death.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In October 2016, Sigma Nu suspended its chapter at University of Nevada, Reno when a freshman pledge fell down the stairs and died after a night of excessive drinking in the fraternity house.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In October 2017, Sigma Nu suspended its chapter at Indiana University Bloomington for alcohol and hazing-related violations. According to the Indiana Daily Student, Sigma Nu was on probation since 2016 and was the fourth IU social organization to be suspended during 2017, the other organizations being Delta Delta Delta and Sigma Gamma Rho sororities and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.


title: Sigma Nu

text: In October 2021, the fraternity at University of Southern California was suspended following allegations of sexual assault against at least seven women.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: The demographic characteristics of Cuba are known through census which have been conducted and analyzed by different bureaus since 1774. The National Office of Statistics of Cuba (ONE) since 1953. The most recent census was conducted in September 2012. The population of Cuba at the 2012 census was 11.2 million. The population density is 100.7 inhabitants per square kilometer, and the overall life expectancy in Cuba is 78.0 years. The population has always increased from one census to the next, with the exception of the 2012 census, when the count decreased by 10,000. Since 1740, Cuba's birth rate has surpassed its death rate; the natural growth rate of the country is positive. Cuba is in the fourth stage of demographic transition. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated (71.1%) by the 15- to 64-year-old segment. The median age of the population is 41.8, making it the oldest in the Americas, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.99 males per female.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: According to the 2002 census, Cuba's population was 11,177,743, whereas the 2012 census numbered the population at 11,167,325. The drop between the 2002 and 2012 censuses was the first drop in Cuba's population since Cuba's war of independence. This drop was due to low fertility and emigration, as during this time (fiscal years 2003 to 2012), 332,028 Cubans received legal permanent residence in the United States. Consequently, Cuba is also the oldest country in the Americas in terms of median age, due to a high amount of emigration by younger Cubans to the U.S. In the last few years before the end of the wet feet, dry feet policy on January 12, 2017, the number of Cubans moving to the United States significantly outnumbered the natural increase during those years.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: During the 18th, 19th and early part of the 20th century, large waves of Spanish immigrants from Canary Islands, Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia, and Asturias emigrated to Cuba. Between 1820 and 1898, a total of 508,455 people left Spain, and more than 750,000 Spanish immigrants left for Cuba between 1899 and 1930, with many returning to Spain. There are 139,851 Spanish citizens living in Cuba on January 1, 2018.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: An autosomal study from 2014 has found out the genetic average ancestry in Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% Native American with different proportions depending on the self-reported ancestry (White, Mulatto or Mestizo, and Black):


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: A 1995 study done on the population of Pinar del Rio, found that 50% of the Mt-DNA lineages (female lineages) could be traced back to Europeans, 46% to Africans and 4% to Native Americans. This figure is consistent with both the historical background of the region, and the current demographics of it.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: According to another study in 2008, the Native American contribution to present-day Cubans accounted for 33% of the maternal lineages, whereas Africa and Eurasia contributed 45% and 22% of the lineages, respectively. Haplogroup A2 is the main Native American haplogroup in Cuba (21.9% of the total sample), accounting for 67% of the Native American mtDNA gene pool. Regarding Y-chromosome haplogroups (male lineages), 78.8% of the sequences found in Cubans are of West Eurasian origin, 19.7% of African origin and 1.5% of East Asian origin. Among the West Eurasian fraction, the vast majority of individuals belong to West European haplogroup R1b. The African lineages found in Cubans have a Western (haplogroups E1, E2, E1b1a) and Northern (E1b1b-M81) African origin. The "Berber" haplogroup E1b1b1b (E-M81), is found at a frequency of 6.1%.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: According to Fregel et al. (2009), the fact that autochthonous male North African E-M81 and female U6 lineages from the Canaries have been detected in Cuba and Iberoamerica, demonstrates that Canary Islanders with indigenous ancestors actively participated in the American colonization.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Spanish is the official language of Cuba. Of all the regional variations of Spanish, Cuban Spanish is most similar to, and originates largely from, the dialect spoken in the Canary Islands. This is a consequence of Canarian migration, which in the 19th and early 20th century was heavy and continuous. There were also migrations of Galicians and Asturians as well, but they did not impact Cuban Spanish to the same degree.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Much of the typical Cuban replacements for standard Spanish vocabulary stems from Canarian lexicon. For example, ' (bus) differs from standard Spanish ' the former originated in the Canaries and is an onomatopoeia stemming from the sound of a Klaxon horn (wah-wah!). An example of Canarian usage for a Spanish word is the verb ("to fight"). In standard Spanish the verb would be "", while "fajar" exists as a non-reflexive verb related to the hemming of a skirt.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: The second most spoken language of Cuba is Haitian Creole, used mainly by Haitian immigrants and its descendants going back since the late 18th century, of whom fled the Haitian Revolution.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Other languages of Cuba are Cuban Sign Language, and English is commonly studied as a foreign language.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: There are also reports of Lucumi, "Lengua Conga" (Kongo-based liturgical language of the Palo religion) and Bozal Spanish (an "African" socio-dialect of Spanish; now used only in folk religion). Historically, the Ciboney and Classic dialects of Taino and the unattested Guanahatabey were spoken.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Cuba has a multitude of faiths reflecting the island's diverse cultural elements. Catholicism, which was brought to the island by Spanish colonialists at the beginning of the 16th century, is the most prevalent professed faith. After the revolution, Cuba became an officially atheistic state and restricted religious practice. Since the Fourth Cuban Communist Party Congress in 1991, restrictions have been eased and, according to the National Catholic Observer, direct challenges by state institutions to the right to religion have all but disappeared, though the church still faces restrictions of written and electronic communication, and can only accept donations from state-approved funding sources. The Roman Catholic Church is made up of the Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference (COCC), led by Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cardinal Archbishop of Havana. It has eleven dioceses, 56 orders of nuns and 24 orders of priests. In January 1998, Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to the island, invited by the Cuban government and Catholic Church.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Afro-Cuban religions, a blend of native African religions and Roman Catholicism, are widely practiced in Cuba. This diversity derives from West and Central Africans who were transported to Cuba, and in effect reinvented their African religions. They did so by combining them with elements of the Catholic belief system, with a result very similar to Brazil. One of these Afro-Cuban religions is Santeria.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Protestantism, introduced from the United States in the 18th century, has seen a steady increase in popularity. 300,000 Cubans belong to the island's 54 Protestant denominations. Pentecostalism has grown rapidly in recent years, and the Assemblies of God alone claims a membership of over 167 000 people. The Episcopal Church of Cuba claims 10,000 adherents. Cuba has small communities of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and members of the Baháʼí Faith.


title: Demographics of Cuba

text: Illicit migration is a continuing problem. Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and overland via the southwest US/Mexican border, and islands adjacent to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Hood Canal. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous United States, and Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point, are on the peninsula. Comprising about , the Olympic Peninsula contained many of the last unexplored places in the contiguous United States. It remained largely unmapped until Arthur Dodwell and Theodore Rixon mapped most of its topography and timber resources between 1898 and 1900.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: Clallam and Jefferson Counties, as well as the northern parts of Grays Harbor and Mason Counties, are on the peninsula. The Kitsap Peninsula, bounded by the Hood Canal and Puget Sound, is an entirely separate peninsula and is not connected to the Olympic Peninsula.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: From Olympia, the state capital, U.S. Route 101 runs along the Olympic Peninsula's eastern, northern, and western shorelines.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: The Olympic mountain range sits in the center of the Olympic Peninsula. This range is the second largest in Washington State. Its highest peak is Mt. Olympus.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: A major effort called the Wild Olympics campaign is under way to protect additional wilderness areas on the Olympic Peninsula, protect salmon streams under the Wild and Scenic River Act and provide a means for Olympic National Park to offer to buy land adjacent to the Park from willing sellers.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: Most of the peninsula has an oceanic climate, or "Cfb" under the Köppen climate classification. Most populated areas, however, have a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, or "Csb".


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: The Olympic Peninsula is home to temperate rain forests, including the Hoh, Queets Rain Forest, and Quinault. Rain forest vegetation is concentrated primarily in the western part of the peninsula, as the interior mountains create a rain shadow effect in areas to the northeast, resulting in a much drier climate in those locales.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: Major salmon-bearing rivers on the Olympic Peninsula include, clockwise from the southwest, the Humptulips, the Quinault, the Queets, the Quillayute, Bogachiel, the Sol Duc, the Lyre, the Elwha (see Elwha Ecosystem Restoration), the Dungeness, the Dosewallips, the Hamma Hamma, the Skokomish, and the Wynoochee River.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: Natural lakes on the peninsula include Lake Crescent, Lake Ozette, Lake Sutherland, Lake Quinault, and Lake Pleasant. Two dammed rivers form the reservoirs of Lake Cushman and Wynoochee Lake; two previous reservoirs, destroyed in the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration were Lake Aldwell (behind the former Elwha Dam) and Lake Mills (behind the former Glines Canyon Dam).


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: The peninsula contains many state and national parks, including Anderson Lake, Bogachiel, Dosewallips, Fort Flagler, Fort Worden, Lake Cushman, Mystery Bay, Old Fort Townsend, Potlatch, Sequim Bay, Shine Tidelands, and Triton Cove state parks; Olympic National Park; and the Olympic National Forest. Within the Olympic National Forest, there are five designated wilderness areas: The Brothers, Buckhorn, Colonel Bob, Mt. Skokomish, and Wonder Mountain. Just off the west coast is the Washington Islands Wilderness.


title: Olympic Peninsula

text: The Olympic Peninsula is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat Derek Kilmer. It is represented in the Washington State Legislature by Democratic state senator Kevin Van De Wege and Democratic state representatives Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger.


title: North–South divide in England

text: In England, the term North–South divide refers to the cultural, economic, and social differences between:


title: North–South divide in England

text: There is also the central region of the Midlands which historically was administered by the Kingdom of Mercia whose borders were defined by the Mersey, the Humber, the Severn and the Thames as shown by its flag, a saltire cross. Counties in the north of the area, such as Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Staffordshire, and Shropshire, are sometimes seen as Northern. A grouping of Central England based on European parliamentary constituency boundaries combined the Midlands and East Anglia until the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union in January 2020.


title: North–South divide in England

text: The cultural, economic, and social differences between the north and the south are reflected in English politics. Between the early 20th century and 2019, The Labour Party was the dominant political party in the north and The Conservative Party was dominant in the south. The north heavily voted for Brexit in 2016, whereas the south was slightly less supportive. The 2019 general election is sometimes described as a great political realignment as a result of Brexit, with north moving significantly towards the pro-Brexit Conservatives and away from Labour who were split on the issue of Brexit. However, Danny MacKinnon, Professor of Regional Development and Governance at Newcastle University, noted that Labour's vote share in the north outside of metropolitan areas had declined consistently since 2001, with the exception of 2017.


title: North–South divide in England

text: An article in "The Economist" published in 2012 argued that the gap between the north and south in life expectancy, political inclinations and economics trends was growing to the extent that they were almost separate countries.


title: North–South divide in England

text: The North–South divide is not an exact line, but one that can involve many stereotypes, presumptions and other impressions of the surrounding region relative to other regions. The existence of the North–South divide is fiercely contested. Some sources claim that not only does it exist, but that it is expanding. For example, a Cambridge Econometrics report of March 2006 found that economic growth above the UK average was occurring only in the South and South East England, whilst North East England showed the slowest growth. The same data has been interpreted otherwise to indicate only a very small difference. Indeed, results are highly dependent on the categories chosen for evaluation. As a generalisation, the following tend to indicate that there is some sort of north–south divide:


title: North–South divide in England

text: However, when factors such as the cost of living or urban poverty are included, the divisions are sometimes less clear.


title: North–South divide in England

text: Furthermore, many middle class/Upper middle class and affluent areas are located near Leeds and Manchester. Yorkshire and Cheshire, geographically part of the North, include prosperous towns and suburbs such as Harrogate, Ilkley and Alwoodley in Yorkshire and Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and Bowdon in Cheshire. On the other hand, geographically southern areas such as the Isle of Thanet in Kent have struggled with the same industrial decline as parts of the north. Cornwall, many London boroughs such as Hackney and Haringey and southern towns like Luton are other anomalies to the north–south divide with poor health and education.


title: North–South divide in England

text: This has led some commentators to suggest that other divisions, such as class or ethnicity might be more important.


title: North–South divide in England

text: "The Economist" claims that one of the main causes of the divide was the migration of young professionals from the north to work in London, whereas it is much less common for young professionals from the south to move to a northern city.


title: North–South divide in England

text: The IPPR published the "State of the North 2019" report, from IPPR North, which blames regional inequality on power centralisation and the lack of devolution. The report showed that the UK has larger regional divisions than any other country at a comparable level of economic development.


title: North–South divide in England

text: The Northern Independence Party was founded in October 2020, with the intention of fixing the north–south divide by gaining independence for the North of England.