title: Lij Iyasu

text: On the night of 12–13 December 1913, Emperor Menelik II died. Iyasu was informed of his grandfather's death. The Emperor's body was secretly locked away in a small room adjoining the Se'el Bet Kidane Meheret (Our Lady Covenant of Mercy) Church on the grounds of the Imperial Palace. No public announcement of the Emperor's death was made, and no requiem or any type of mourning ritual was allowed. Empress Taitu was immediately expelled from the Imperial Palace and sent to the old palace on Mt. Entoto. "Lij" Iyasu's aunt, Zewditu Menelik, was also removed from the palace and banished into internal exile at her estates at Falle. By mid-January, the news had slipped through the official wall of silence. On 10 January 1914, the leading nobles of Ethiopia had gathered to discuss their response to his loss and the future of Ethiopia. "Although no records of the 1914 meeting have come to the author's notice," Marcus admits, he states that "it is safe to conclude" that their arrival in Addis Ababa "indicated their fidelity to Menelik's heir." However, they opposed his immediate coronation, although they did approve of his proposal to crown his father "Negus of the North".


title: Lij Iyasu

text: "Lij" Iyasu showed a pronounced lack of interest in the day-to-day running of the government, leaving most of the work for the ministers to deal with. However, the cabinet of ministers remained largely unchanged from the days of his grandfather, and by now the ministers wielded much power and influence. They were constantly subject to insults and disparagement by "Lij" Iyasu who referred to them as "my grandfather's fattened sheep." He constantly spoke of his intention of dismissing "these Shewans", as he called them, and appointing new officials and creating a new aristocracy of his own choosing. His essentially reformist orientation clashed with the conservatism of his grandfather's old ministers. As Paul Henze notes, Iyasu "seems deliberately to have antagonized the Shoan establishment. He lacked the diplomatic skill and the refined sense of discretion that came naturally to Tafari."


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Iyasu's many capricious acts served only to further alienate the aristocracy. One was his betrothal of his royal-blooded cousin "Woizero" Sakamyelesh Seyfu to his former driver, Tilahun. Another was the appointment of his Syrian friend, the rubber merchant Hasib Ydlibi, to the position of "Nagadras" (or Customs-Master) at the railway depot at Dire Dawa, thus giving him control of the vast tariffs and customs that were collected there. All this, combined with Iyasu's frequent absences from the capital, created the ideal environment for the ministers, led by "Fitawrari" Habte Giyorgis, the Minister of War, to plot his downfall.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: In 1914, Iyasu assigned Abdullahi Sadiq with the governorship of Ogaden, a decision that was vehemently opposed by the British. In February 1915, Iyasu travelled to Harar with Abdullahi Sadiq, who had become his constant companion, and went to the largest mosque of the city, the Jamia Mosque, for a three-hour service. Throughout his stay in Harar he was friendly towards the Muslims, an act which worried the priests of Ethiopia; when he remained in this Muslim community over Easter, they were scandalized.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: However, the foreign delegations in Addis Ababa had been lobbying for him to join their sides in World War I. According to Marcus, many of the Ethiopian nobility and commoners were impressed by the early successes of the Central Powers, and both listened eagerly to German and Turkish propaganda concerning events. Both sides sought Ethiopian support: the Central Powers wanted the Ethiopians to drive the Italians out of Eritrea and Somalia. Rumors circulated that, in return for Iyasu invading the Sudan with 50,000 soldiers, he would be rewarded with the strategic port of Djibouti. At a minimum, the Allies sought to keep Ethiopia neutral.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: In August 1915, Iyasu went to French Somaliland in disguise, without informing either French diplomats in Addis Ababa or even the colonial government. There he spent two days in mysterious meetings. Although Marcus states that "What actually happened will not be known until information from the French archives becomes available," "Fitawrari" ("Commander of the Vanguard") Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam, a fervent reformer and a onetime friend of Iyasu, states in his recently published autobiography that the Djibouti trip was something of a vacation for "Lij" Iyasu, and that he spent much of his time consorting with Muslim notables in the city and consuming large amounts of qat as well as completely depleting the funds of the Ethiopian mission in the French colony.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Around the same time, the British reported that documents preaching jihad against the Europeans had been posted in the Harar marketplace. That August, the British reported that supplies were being sent to Jijiga to support the activities of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and Sheikh Hassan Barsane, a devout Muslim pair who were at war with the British and Italians in Somalia and Somaliland. Then in September, the Italians revealed that one of their Somali agents had witnessed Iyasu declaring to an assemblage of Muslim leaders that he was a Muslim, and swore to his apostasy on a Quran. Although Harold Marcus accepts these reports at face value, Bahru Zewde is more suspicious of their veracity and instead argues that Iyasu's intent was to integrate the Somalis into the Ethiopian Empire, but "Allied ingenuity lent palpability to Iyasu's apostasy (which was the main charge levelled against him) by forging pictures and documents to prove the charge." Whatever the truth, these reports brought the simmering discontent with Iyasu to a fierce boil against him. European colonial powers in the region began supporting a coup d'état against Iyasu because of signs he was about join World War 1 on the opposing side.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: On 27 September 1916, while at the city of Harar, "Lij" Iyasu was deposed in favor of his aunt, Zewditu. The nobility under the leadership of Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Dinagde had assembled in the capital and charged "Lij" Iyasu with apostasy, alleging that he had converted to Islam and had thus forfeited the Imperial crown. The Coptic Archbishop, after some hesitation, was convinced to release the nobility from its oath of loyalty to Iyasu, and he was declared deposed from the throne and excommunicated from the Church. The assembly of nobles then named Zewditu Menelik as Empress of Ethiopia, and Dejazmatch Tafari Makonnen was elevated to the title of Ras, and made heir to the throne. Iyasu sent an army to attack Addis Ababa, which was met at Mieso and turned back. His father initially hesitated, then marched south from Dessie with 80,000 troops. On 27 October, "Negus" Mikael was defeated at the Battle of Segale. According to Paul Henze, Iyasu had reached Ankober the morning of the battle with a few thousand loyal followers, and after witnessing his father's defeat, fled towards the Eritrean border. On 8 November, Iyasu appeared in Dessie where he vainly sought the support from the nobility of Tigray and then the Italians. On 10 December, Iyasu fled and took refuge with his followers on the abandoned amba of Maqdala. At Maqdala, he was surrounded and subjected to an uninspired siege. On 18 July 1917, Iyasu slipped through the siege lines and rallied the peasantry of Wollo to revolt. On 27 August in Wello, troops under Habte Giyorgis defeated the rebels and captured many of Iyasu's generals, including "Ras" Imer. After this defeat, with a few hundred picked men, Iyasu fled to the desert of the Afar Triangle, where he roamed for five years. On 11 January 1921, Iyasu was captured and taken into custody by Gugsa Araya Selassie. He was handed over to the custody of his cousin "Ras" Kassa Haile Darge. "Ras" Kassa kept Iyasu in comfortable house arrest at his country home at Fiche.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Empress Zewditu I, who in spite of having been treated harshly by her nephew seems to have had considerable sympathy for Iyasu's fate, is said to have tried to have him handed over to her personal custody in order that he "be brought back to Christ and salvation" under her guidance. In her view, the most serious part of his fate was his excommunication, and she deeply wanted to save her nephew from what she regarded as assured damnation. While her plea to have her nephew moved to the Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa was vehemently vetoed by both "Fitawrari" Habte Giorgis and by the Crown Prince, "Ras" Teferi Makonnen, the Empress took care that Iyasu lived in luxury and was supplied with whatever he desired. "Ras" Kassa also adhered to this policy for as long as Iyasu was in his custody, so the terms of Iyasu's imprisonment were not particularly harsh.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Empress Zewditu died in 1930, and was succeeded by Emperor Haile Selassie, who was considerably less sympathetic to Iyasu. In 1931, Iyasu escaped from imprisonment at Fiche. He apparently achieved his freedom with the aid of his former father-in-law, "Ras" Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, although Haile Selassie claimed that the Italians had a hand in his escape — or at least planned to assist in Iyasu's attempt to regain the throne. In his autobiography, Haile Selassie reports that when Italian Baron Raimondo Franchetti landed his plane in a field outside of Addis Alem, onlookers "noticed that inside it were a machine-gun as well as rifles and many cartridges" — implying these were to arm Iyasu's followers.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Iyasu was recaptured shortly after his escape. Having deeply alienated "Ras" Kassa with his escape, and having angered the Emperor, Iyasu was taken to a fortress on the slopes of Mount Gara Muleta in Girawa, where he was guarded closely by locals loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie. When the forces of Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, aircraft of the Royal Italian Air Force scattered fliers asking the population to rebel against Haile Selassie and support the "true Emperor Iyasu V." It was feared that the Italians would make use of Iyasu to fragment Ethiopian resistance to their conquest.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: In November 1935, Iyasu's death was announced. The circumstances surrounding his death and his burial place remain shrouded in mystery. One rumour that persists to this day is that Emperor Haile Selassie ordered his guards to kill him. Others dispute this and allege that Iyasu died of natural causes. His grandson and current Iyasuist claimant to the Ethiopian throne, "Lij" Girma Yohannes, claims that Iyasu's body was brought to the Church of St. Mark at Addis Ababa's Guenete Leul Palace (since 1961 the main campus of Addis Ababa University) and buried there in secret. Because he had been excommunicated, these claims are extremely unlikely. Another recently published account states that Iyasu was interred in the grave prepared for Emperor Haile Selassie's confessor and almoner, Abba Hanna Jimma, at Debre Libanos. This account contends that, upon the priest's death, "Lij" Iyasu's remains were moved to the crypt of St. Tekle Haimanot's Church at the monastery, and placed below the tomb prepared for Ethiopia's first Patriarch, Abuna Basilios.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: His younger sister Zenebe Worq was married off at a young age to "Ras" Bezabih of Gojjam, but died in childbirth. Iyasu also had an elder half-sister, "Woizero" Sehin Mikael, married to "Jantirar" Asfaw, Lord of Ambassel, whose daughter would eventually become Empress Menen Asfaw, wife of Emperor Haile Selassie. Another half sister of "Lij" Iyasu was "Woizero" Tewabech Mikael, second wife of Ras Seyoum Mangasha of Tigray. While through his Imperial mother, Iyasu could claim to be descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, through his father, he claimed descent from Muhammad. Iyasu seems to have had at least thirteen secondary wives and an uncertain number of natural children, several of whom have been Iyasuist claimants to the Imperial throne, as well as grandchildren like Girma Yohannes. "Lij" Iyasu's only legitimate child was a daughter born in 1928 to him and Seble Wengel Hailu, Alem Tsahai Iyasu, who was granted the title of Emebet-hoy by Emperor Haile Selassie.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: The Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde describes Iyasu's reign as "one of the most enigmatic in Ethiopian history." A common account of his reign is provided by J. Spencer Trimingham, who writes that his acts favoring Islam were


title: Lij Iyasu

text: ...encouraged by German and Turkish diplomats. He made the "fuqaha" construct a genealogy deriving his ancestry on his father's side from the Prophet. He made prolonged stays in Harar where he adopted Muslim dress and customs. He put away his Christian wife, Romane-Warq, and started a "harim" by marrying the daughters of 'Afar and Oromo chiefs, including a daughter and niece of Abba Jifar of Jimma. He built mosques at Dire Dawa and Jigjiga. In 1916 he officially placed Abyssinia in religious dependence upon Turkey, and sent the Turkish consul-general an Abyssinian flag embroidered with a crescent and the Islamic formula of faith. He sent similar flags to his own Muslim chiefs and promised to lead them to the "jihad". He entered into negotiations with Muhammed ibn 'Abd Allah, the Mahdi of the Ogaden, and sent him rifles and ammunition. He then issued a summons to all Somalis, some of whom regarded him as true Mahdi, to follow him in a "jihad" against the Christians, and went to Jigjiga to collect an army.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: According to "Fitawrari" Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam, "Lij" Iyasu at one point announced "If I do not make Ethiopia Muslim, then I am not Iyasu." He also recalls "Lij" Iyasu's visit to Dire Dawa in 1916, when the ruler walked into a Roman Catholic church in that city (this an act alone would scandalize the Ethiopian Orthodox establishment) and commenced to light and smoke a cigarette while Mass was being conducted. Tekle Hawariat concludes that Iyasu V was completely unsuited for the throne, and that his deposing was necessary for the survival of the Empire and the good of the people.


title: Lij Iyasu

text: Bahru Zewde on the other hand, while admitting that "contradiction and inconsistency were the hallmark of his character and policies", notes that Iyasu's reign was characterized by "a series of measures which, because of the social and economic security they implied, may well be considered progressive." Iyasu modernized many sections of the Ethiopian criminal code, and created a municipal police force, the "Terenbulle". His overtures to the Muslim inhabitants of Ethiopia "can be interpreted as one of trying to redress the injustices of the past, of making the Muslims feel at home in their own country."


title: Lij Iyasu

text: However, Iyasu had the misfortune of being succeeded (in Bahru Zewde's words) "by a ruler of extraordinary political longevity who found it in his interest to suppress any objective appreciation of the man." According to Paul B. Henze, during the reign of his cousin Haile Selassie, Iyasu was "practically an 'unperson'. If he was referred to at all, it was invariably in extremely negative terms." While admitting the lack of information about this man, Henze suggests that "the fairest conclusion that can be reached on the basis of present knowledge may be to credit him with good intentions but condemn him for intemperate, inept and in the end, disastrous performance."


title: Ostpolitik

text: Neue Ostpolitik (German for "new eastern policy"), or Ostpolitik for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and


title: Ostpolitik

text: Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) beginning in 1969. Influenced by Egon Bahr, who proposed "change through rapprochement" in a 1963 speech at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, the policies were implemented beginning with Willy Brandt, fourth Chancellor of the FRG from 1969 to 1974.


title: Ostpolitik

text: "Ostpolitik" was an effort to break with the policies of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which was the elected government of West Germany from 1949 until 1969. The Christian Democrats under Konrad Adenauer and his successors tried to combat the Communist government of East Germany, while Brandt's Social Democrats tried to achieve a certain degree of cooperation with East Germany.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The term "Ostpolitik" has since been applied to Pope Paul VI's efforts to engage Eastern European countries during the same period. The term "Nordpolitik" was also coined to describe similar rapprochement policies between North and South Korea beginning in the 1980s.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Following the end of World War II in 1945, Allied-occupied Germany was split into two states: the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany). Initially, both governments claimed that they represented the entire German nation. However, the Federal Republic saw itself as the only German government with democratic legitimacy. Later, at the end of the 1960s, the communist government of the GDR claimed that there was no longer a common German nation as the GDR had established a socialist nation.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party dominated West German governments from 1949 to 1969. These governments refused to have any contact with the GDR government due to its undemocratic character, and the Hallstein Doctrine stipulated that the FRG would withdraw diplomatic contact from any country that established diplomatic relations with the GDR. The first application of the Hallstein Doctrine was in 1957, when the FRG withdrew recognition of Yugoslavia after it accepted a GDR ambassador. In the 1960s it became obvious that this policy would not work forever. When the Federal Republic established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1965, the Arab states countered by breaking off relations with the Federal Republic and establishing relations with the GDR.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Even before his election as Chancellor, Willy Brandt, the Social Democratic mayor of West Berlin, argued for and pursued policies that would ease tensions between the two German states, generally in the interest of cross-border commerce. His proposed new "Ostpolitik" held that the Hallstein Doctrine did not help to undermine the communist government or even lighten the situation of the Germans in the GDR. Brandt believed that collaboration with the communists would foster German-German encounters and trade that would undermine the communist government over the long term.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Nonetheless, he stressed that his new "Ostpolitik" did not neglect the close ties of the Federal Republic with Western Europe and the United States or its membership in NATO. Indeed, by the late 1960s, the unwavering stance of the Hallstein Doctrine was actually considered detrimental to US interests; numerous American advisors and policymakers, most notably Henry Kissinger, urged Bonn to be more flexible. At the same time, other West European countries entered a period of more daring policy directed to the East. When the Brandt government became Chancellor in 1969, the same politicians now feared a more independent German "Ostpolitik", a new "Rapallo". France feared that West Germany would become more powerful after détente; Brandt ultimately resorted to pressuring the French government into endorsing his policy by holding out German financial contributions to the European Common Agricultural Policy.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The easing of tensions with the East envisioned by "Ostpolitik" necessarily began with the Soviet Union, the only Eastern Bloc state with which the Federal Republic had formal diplomatic ties (despite the aforementioned Hallstein Doctrine). In 1970 Brandt signed the Treaty of Moscow, renouncing the use of force and recognizing the current European borders. Later that year, Brandt signed the Treaty of Warsaw, in the process formally recognizing the People's Republic of Poland. The Treaty of Warsaw essentially repeated the Moscow treaty, and in particular reiterated the Federal Republic's recognition of the Oder–Neisse line. Treaties with other Eastern European countries followed.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The most controversial agreement was the Basic Treaty of 1972 with East Germany, establishing formal relations between the two German states for the first time since partition. The situation was complicated by the Federal Republic's longstanding claim to represent the entire German nation; Chancellor Brandt sought to smooth over this point by repeating his 1969 statement that although two states exist in Germany, they cannot regard one another as foreign countries.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The conservative CDU opposition party in the Bundestag refused the Basic Treaty because they thought that the government gave away some Federal positions too easily. They also criticized flaws like the unintentional publishing of the "Bahr-Papier", a paper in which Brandt's right hand Egon Bahr had agreed with Soviet diplomat Valentin Falin on essential issues.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The Brandt government, a coalition of Social Democrats and Free Democrats, lost a number of MPs to the CDU opposition in protest over the Basic Treaty. In April 1972 it even seemed that opposition leader Rainer Barzel had enough support to become the new Chancellor, but in the parliamentary decision he came two votes short. It later emerged that the GDR had paid the two CDU deputies to vote against Barzel.


title: Ostpolitik

text: New general elections in November 1972 gave the Brandt government a victory, and on 11 May 1973 the Federal Parliament approved the Basic Treaty.


title: Ostpolitik

text: According to the Basic Treaty the Federal Republic and GDR accepted each other's de facto ambassadors, termed "permanent representatives" for political reasons. The mutual recognition opened the door for both states to join the United Nations, as the Federal Republic's claim to representing the entire German nation was essentially dropped by the act of recognizing its Eastern counterpart.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The CDU/CSU persuaded the FDP to defect from its coalition with the SPD in 1982, and thus CDU leader Helmut Kohl became Chancellor of West Germany. However, he did not change West German policy towards the GDR. Such was the consensus that "Ostpolitik" had been vindicated that Bavarian Minister-President Franz Josef Strauß, who had fiercely fought against the Basic Treaty and was Kohl's main opponent within the CDU/CSU bloc, secured the passage of a Kohl-initiated loan of 3 billion marks to the GDR in 1983. In 1987, East German leader Erich Honecker became the first ever East German head of state to visit West Germany, which was generally seen as a sign that Kohl pursued "Ostpolitik".


title: Ostpolitik

text: German states (Prussia and Saxony as well as unified Germany) have long faced the issues of co-existing with their eastern neighbours, whatever the differences in culture, beliefs and outlook.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Bismarck's complex foreign-policy balances included the 1887 Reinsurance Treaty with the Second Reich's eastern neighbour, the Russian Empire.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Weimar Germany broke out of a degree of diplomatic isolation by signing the Treaty of Rapallo with Soviet Russia in 1922.


title: Ostpolitik

text: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 defied ideological differences and established trade and geopolitical agreements between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.


title: Ostpolitik

text: "Ostpolitik" is also the name given to the policies of Pope Paul VI (in office: 1963-1978) towards the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states. Trying to improve the condition of Christians in general and Catholics in particular behind the Iron Curtain, he engaged in dialogue with Communist authorities at several levels, receiving Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and USSR head of state Nikolai Podgorny in 1966 and 1967 in the Vatican. The situation of the Church in Poland, Hungary and Romania improved somewhat during his pontificate.


title: Ostpolitik

text: A similar concept is Sunshine Policy, which is the main North Korea policies of the Democratic Party of Korea.


title: Ostpolitik

text: Later agreements in the period of Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl (from 1982 through German reunification in 1990), although dealing with similar issues and having similar goals, are not considered to be "Ostpolitik".


title: Zeki Çelik

text: Mehmet Zeki Çelik (born 17 February 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Serie A club Roma and the Turkey national team.


title: Zeki Çelik

text: Born in Bursa as the youngest of nine children, Çelik went through the Bursaspor youth academy and became a professional in 2015. He signed on loan with Karacabey Birlikspor in 2015.


title: Zeki Çelik

text: In 2016, he joined İstanbulspor. His good performance with İstanbulspor earned him a call-up to the senior Turkey national team in 2018, despite playing in the TFF First League.


title: Zeki Çelik

text: On 8 July 2018, Çelik signed with Lille in France on a five-year contract. Çelik made his professional debut in a 3–1 Ligue 1 win over Stade Rennes on 11 August 2018.


title: Zeki Çelik

text: On 5 July 2022, Çelik’s transfer to Roma from Lille was made official by the Serie A club, Roma. He has signed a four-year contract with the Giallorossi that runs until 30 June 2026.


title: Zeki Çelik

text: Çelik made his professional debut for the Turkey national football team in a 1–1 friendly with Russia national football team on 5 June 2018.


title: Sorare

text: Sorare is a football fantasy game where players buy, sell, trade, and manage a virtual team with digital player cards. The game uses blockchain technology based on Ethereum and was developed in 2018 by Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort.


title: Sorare

text: Players, as managers, compose virtual teams of five football players, from blockchain cards on the Sorare platform. Teams are ranked based on the performance of their players on the real-world soccer pitch, and attributed points, as is common in traditional fantasy football. These points are calculated utilising a scoring matrix taking third party data from Opta, where each player can score up to a maximum of 100 points depending on how they perform. This is also very similar to other fantasy football leagues in that users keep the same players on their team every season, unless they choose to trade, drop, or sign new ones.


title: Sorare

text: Some of the cards are licensed digital collectibles (limited, rare, super-rare and unique cards). The use of blockchain technology means that the limited number of digital cards have provable scarcity and cannot be altered, duplicated, or deleted.


title: Sorare

text: Sorare allows access to their public data via an API. Several sites use this data to propose information or side games.


title: Sorare

text: Sorare operates on Ethereum's underlying blockchain network in order to secure the ownership and distribution of cards. Each player card is represented as a non-fungible token (NFT) using the ERC-721 token standard on Ethereum. The licensing partnerships Sorare signs with leagues, such as the K League and clubs such as Real Madrid, allows the Sorare cards to have the official branding with the season's player photos and player names. As of 2 August 2022, over 280 clubs are present in the game.


title: Sorare

text: In May 2019, the company announced a pre-seed round of €550k, including the technology entrepreneur Xavier Niel.


title: Sorare

text: In July 2020, the company raised $4 million with German football World Cup champion André Schürrle, among others.


title: Sorare

text: In December 2020, the company raised another €3.5 million with World Cup champion Gerard Piqué, among others.


title: Sorare

text: In September 2021, the company raised $680 million Series B round, which valued the company at $4.3 billion. Also in September, Sorare formalized an agreement with the Spanish football league for a multi-year partnership. The agreement covers the edition of virtual cards for players playing in La Liga and Liga.


title: Sorare

text: On May 12, 2022, Sorare signed a partnership with Major League Baseball to continue to develop sports on its platform. The launch of the game based on baseball and MLB was made on July 19, 2022.


title: Sorare

text: In September 2022, Sorare signed a multi-year partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). After a year of negotiations, the NBA allowed Sorare to use its logos while the NBPA licensed its players names, images and likeness rights to Sorare.


title: Sorare

text: In November 2022, Lionel Messi joined Sorare as an investor and brand ambassador. Other investors include Kylian Mbappe and Serena Williams.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: For the most part, the campaign was fought between the Italian Royal Navy ("Regia Marina"), supported by other Axis naval and air forces, and the British Royal Navy, supported by other Allied naval forces, such as Australia, the Netherlands, Poland and Greece. American naval and air units joined the Allied side in 1942.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Each side had three overall objectives in this battle. The first was to attack the supply lines of the other side. The second was to keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa. The third was to destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea. Outside of the Pacific theatre, the Mediterranean saw the largest conventional naval warfare actions during the conflict. In particular, Allied forces struggled to supply and retain the key naval and air base of Malta.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: By the time of the September 1943 armistice between Italy and the Allies, Italian ships, submarines and aircraft had sunk Allied surface warships totalling 145,800 tons, while the Germans had sunk 169,700 tons, for a total of 315,500 tons. In total the Allies lost 76 warships and 46 submarines. The Allies sank 83 Italian warships totalling 195,100 tons (161,200 by the Commonwealth and 33,900 by the Americans) and 83 submarines. German losses in the Mediterranean from the start of the campaign to the end were 17 warships and 68 submarines.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The Mediterranean was a traditional focus of British maritime power. Outnumbered by the forces of the "Regia Marina", the British plan was to hold the three decisive strategic points of Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal. By holding these points, the Mediterranean Fleet held open vital supply routes. Malta was the lynch-pin of the whole system. It provided a needed stop for Allied convoys and a base from which to attack the Axis supply routes.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini saw the control of the Mediterranean as an essential prerequisite for expanding his "New Roman Empire" into Nice, Corsica, Tunis and the Balkans. Italian naval building accelerated during his tenure. Mussolini described the Mediterranean Sea as "Mare Nostrum" "(our sea)."


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The warships of the "Regia Marina" (Italian Royal Fleet) had a general reputation as well-designed. Italian small attack craft lived up to expectations and were responsible for many brave and successful actions in the Mediterranean. But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour and all Italian warships lacked radar although its lack was partly offset by Italian warships being equipped with good rangefinder and fire-control systems for daylight combat. Only by the spring of 1943, barely five months before the armistice, twelve Italian warships were equipped with Italian-designed EC-3 ter Gufo radar devices. In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion to act on their own initiative, the actions of Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters ("Supermarina").


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The "Regia Marina" also lacked a proper fleet air arm. The aircraft carrier was never completed and most air support during the Battle of the Mediterranean was supplied by the land-based "Regia Aeronautica" (Royal Air Force). Another major handicap for the Italians was the shortage of fuel. As early as March 1941, the overall scarcity of fuel oil was critical. Coal, gasoline and lubricants were also locally hard to find. During the Italian war effort, 75% of all the fuel oil available was used by destroyers and torpedo boats carrying out escort missions.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: However, the most serious problem for the Axis forces in North Africa was the limited capacity of the Libyan ports. Even under the best conditions, this restricted supplies. Tripoli was the largest port in Libya and it could accommodate a maximum of five large cargo vessels or four troop transports. On a monthly basis, Tripoli had an unloading capacity of . Tobruk added only another . Bardia and other smaller ports added a little more.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In general, the Axis forces in North Africa exceeded the capacity of the ports to supply them. It has been calculated that the average Axis division required of supplies per month. If the Italians had a fault in respect to logistics during the Battle of the Mediterranean, it was that they failed to increase the capacity of Tripoli and the other ports before the war.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In January 1937, France began a programme of modernisation and expansion. This soon elevated the French Fleet to the fourth-largest in the world. However, the French Navy (formally the "National Navy" – "Marine Nationale"), was still considerably smaller than the navy of its ally, Britain.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: By agreement with the British Admiralty, the strongest concentration of French vessels was in the Mediterranean. Here, the Italian Fleet posed a threat to the vitally important French sea routes from Metropolitan France to North Africa and to the British sea routes between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In 1940, after France fell to the Germans, the "Marine Nationale" in the Mediterranean became the navy of the Vichy French government. As the Vichy French Navy, this force was considered a potentially grave threat to the Royal Navy. As such, it was imperative to the British that this threat be neutralised.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: As the opening phase of Operation Catapult, the French squadron at Alexandria in Egypt was dealt-with via negotiations. This proved possible primarily because the two commanders—Admirals René-Emile Godfroy and Andrew Cunningham—were on good personal terms. In contrast, a British ultimatum to place the bulk of the remainder of the French fleet out of German reach was refused. The fleet was located at Mers-el-Kebir in Algeria, so on 3 July 1940 it was largely destroyed by bombardment by the British "Force H" from Gibraltar (Admiral James Somerville). The Vichy French government broke off all ties with the British as a result of this attack and the Vichy French Air Force ("Armée de l'Air de Vichy") even raided British installations at Gibraltar.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In June and July 1941, a small Vichy French naval force was involved during Operation Exporter. This was an Allied action launched against Vichy French forces based in Lebanon and Syria. French naval vessels had to be driven off before the Litani River could be crossed.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In 1942, as part of the occupation of Vichy France during "Case Anton," the Germans intended to capture the French fleet at Toulon. This was thwarted by determined action by French commanders; the bulk of the fleet was scuttled at anchor.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944. Germany's "Kriegsmarine" aimed at isolating Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal so as to break Britain's trade route to the far east. More than 60 U-boats were sent to disrupt shipping in the sea, although many were attacked in the Strait of Gibraltar, which was controlled by Britain (nine boats were sunk while attempting the passage and ten more were damaged). The "Luftwaffe" also played a key part in the Battle of the Mediterranean, especially during the summer of 1941. German war strategy, however, viewed the Mediterranean as a secondary theatre of operations.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France. On the following day, Italian bombers attacked Malta on what was to be the first of many raids. During this time, the "Marine Nationale" shelled a number of targets on the northwestern coast of Italy, in particular the port of Genoa. When France surrendered on 24 June, the Axis leaders allowed the new Vichy French regime to retain its naval forces.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The first clash between the rival fleets—the Battle of Calabria—took place on 9 July, just four weeks after the start of hostilities. This was inconclusive, and was followed by a series of small surface actions during the summer, among them the battle of the "Espero" convoy and the battle of Cape Spada.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: To reduce the threat posed by the Italian fleet, which was based in the port of Taranto, to convoys sailing to Malta, Admiral Cunningham organised an attack code-named Operation Judgement. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from attacked the Italian fleet on 11 November 1940 while it was still at anchor. This was the first time that an attack such as this had been attempted and it was studied by Japanese naval officers in preparation for the later attack on Pearl Harbor. British Fleet Air Arm aircraft badly damaged two Italian battleships and a third was forced to run aground to prevent her sinking, putting half of the "Regia Marina"s major ships out of action for several months. This attack also forced the Italian fleet to move to Italian ports further north so as to be out of range of carrier-based aircraft. This reduced the threat of Italian sallies attacking Malta-bound convoys.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Cunningham's estimate that Italians would be unwilling to risk their remaining heavy units was quickly proven wrong. Only five days after Taranto, Inigo Campioni sortied with two battleships, six cruisers and 14 destroyers to disrupt a British aircraft delivery operation to Malta.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Furthermore, as early as 27 November, the Italian fleet was able to confront the Mediterranean fleet again in the indecisive battle of Spartivento. Two of the three damaged battleships were repaired by mid-1941 and control of the Mediterranean continued to swing back and forth until the Italian armistice in 1943. Measured against its primary task of disrupting Axis convoys to Africa, the Taranto attack had little effect. In fact, Italian shipping to Libya increased between the months of October 1940 – January 1941 to an average of 49,435 tons per month, up from the 37,204-ton average of the previous four months. Moreover, rather than change the balance of power in the central Mediterranean, British naval authorities had "failed to deliver the true knockout blow that would have changed the context within which the rest of the war in the Mediterranean was fought."


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The Battle of Cape Matapan was an Allied victory. It was fought off the coast of the Peloponnese in southern Greece from 27–29 March 1941 in which Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces—under the command of the British Admiral Andrew Cunningham—intercepted those of the Italian "Regia Marina" under Admiral Angelo Iachino. The Allies sank the heavy cruisers , and and the destroyers "Vittorio Alfieri" and "Giosue Carducci", and damaged the battleship . The British lost one torpedo plane and suffered light splinter damage to some cruisers from "Vittorio Veneto"s salvoes. The factors in the Allied victory were the effectiveness of aircraft carriers, the use of "Ultra" intercepts and the lack of radar on the Italian ships.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The effort to prevent German troops from reaching Crete by sea, and subsequently the partial evacuation of Allied land forces after their defeat by German paratroops in the Battle of Crete during May 1941, cost the Allied navies a number of ships. Attacks by German planes, mainly Junkers Ju 87s and Ju 88s, sank eight British warships: two light cruisers ( and ) and six destroyers (, , , , and ). Seven other ships were damaged, including the battleships and and the light cruiser . Nearly 2,000 British sailors died.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: It was a significant victory for the "Luftwaffe", as it proved that the Royal Navy could not operate in waters where the German Air Force had air supremacy without suffering severe losses. In the end, however, this had little strategic meaning, since the attention of the German Army was directed toward Russia (in Operation Barbarossa) a few weeks later, and the Mediterranean was to play only a secondary role in German war planning over the following years. The action did, however, extend the Axis reach into the eastern Mediterranean, and prolong the threat to Allied convoys.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Two attempts were carried out to transport German troops by sea in caïques, but both of them were disrupted by Royal Navy intervention. The tiny Italian naval escorts, however, managed to save most of the vessels. Eventually, the Italians landed a force of their own near Sitia on 28 May, when the Allied withdrawal was already ongoing.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: During the evacuation, Cunningham was determined that the "Navy must not let the Army down." When army generals stated their fears that he would lose too many ships, Cunningham said that "It takes three years to build a ship, it takes three centuries to build a tradition." Despite advance warning through "Ultra" intercepts, the Battle of Crete resulted in a decisive defeat for the Allies. The invasion took a fearful toll of the German paratroops, who were dropped without their major weapons, which were delivered separately in containers. So heavy were the losses that General Kurt Student, who commanded the German invasion, would later say, referring to the German decision not to use parachutists in any future invasion attempts:


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: After the battle of Crete in the summer of 1941, the Royal Navy regained its ascendancy in the central Mediterranean in a series of successful convoy attacks, (including the "Duisburg" convoy and Cap Bon), until the events surrounding the First Battle of Sirte and the Raid on Alexandria in December swung the balance of power towards the Axis.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The "Regia Marina"s most successful attack on the British Fleet was when divers attached limpet mines on the hulls of British battleships during the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941. The battleships and were sunk at their berths, but they were both raised and returned to active service by mid 1943.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: Malta's position between Sicily and North Africa was perfect to interdict Axis supply convoys destined for North Africa. It could thus influence the campaign in North Africa and support Allied actions against Italy. The Axis recognised this and made great efforts to neutralise the island as a British base, either by air attacks or by starving it of its own supplies.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: After a series of hard-fought convoy battles, all of them Axis victories (such as the Second Battle of Sirte in March and operations "Harpoon" and "Vigorous" in June), it looked as if the island would be starved into submission by the use of Axis aircraft and warships based in Sicily, Sardinia, Crete and North Africa. A number of Allied convoys were decimated. The turning point in the siege came in August 1942, when the British sent a very heavily defended convoy under the codename Operation Pedestal. Malta's air defence was repeatedly reinforced by Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters flown to the island from and other Allied aircraft carriers. The situation eased as Axis forces were forced away from their North African bases and eventually Malta could be resupplied and become an offensive base once again.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The British re-established a substantial air garrison and offensive naval base on the island. With the aid of "Ultra", Malta's garrison was able to disrupt Axis supplies to North Africa immediately before the Second Battle of El Alamein. For the fortitude and courage of the Maltese people during the siege, the island was awarded the George Cross.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: The Royal Navy and the RAF sank 3,082 Axis merchantmen in the Mediterranean, amounting to over 4 million tons.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: In September 1943, with the Italian collapse and the surrender of the Italian fleet, naval actions in the Mediterranean became restricted to operations against U-boats and by small craft in the Adriatic and Aegean seas.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: On 25 July 1943, the Grand Council of Fascism ousted Mussolini. A new Italian government, led by King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio, immediately began secret negotiations with the Allies to end the fighting. On 3 September, a secret armistice was signed with the Allies at Fairfield Camp in Sicily. The armistice was announced on 8 September.


title: Battle of the Mediterranean

text: After the armistice, the Italian Navy was split in two. In southern Italy, the "Co-Belligerent Navy of the South" ("Marina Cobelligerante del Sud") fought for the King and Badoglio. In the north, a much smaller portion of the "Regia Marina" joined the Republican National Navy ("Marina Nazionale Repubblicana") of Mussolini's new Italian Social Republic ("Repubblica Sociale Italiana", or RSI) and fought on for the Germans.


title: Good as Hell

text: "Good as Hell" is a song recorded by the American singer and rapper Lizzo. Written by Lizzo and producer Ricky Reed, it was released on March 8, 2016, by Atlantic Records and Nice Life Recording Company as the lead single from her first extended play, "Coconut Oil", and subsequently was the namesake for her 2017 Good as Hell Tour. It was re-released in 2019 as a radio single, when it became a sleeper hit like her first hit, "Truth Hurts".


title: Good as Hell

text: Following her performance of "Good as Hell" at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, it entered the US "Billboard" Hot 100, later reaching number three in November 2019 and the top ten in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand and the UK. Two music videos were released for the song; the first was set in a hair salon in 2016, and the second sees her playing in the marching band at Southern University for homecoming week in 2019. The single has received a 4× platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: Good as Hell

text: "Good as Hell" was originally recorded for of the 2016 film "." It first made its premiere on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio show.


title: Good as Hell

text: The song was released to digital retailers and streaming platforms on March 8, 2016. A four-track dance remix EP was released on June 17, 2016.


title: Good as Hell

text: The first music video was released on May 11, 2016. It shows Lizzo and several women of color going to a hair salon, having their hair and nails done while having fun with the occasion. The music video also ties into the movie "".


title: Good as Hell

text: On December 9, 2019, in the wake of the song's growing popularity, a new "official music video" was premiered on "YouTube". This music video, directed by Alan Ferguson, is set in Southern University and features the Baton Rouge HBCU. In it, the university's marching band students have trouble with some regular classes in between preparation for an upcoming performance, with one of the university's marching band dancers looking heartbroken over a prior relationship she had with another student. Lizzo then shows up during one of the rehearsals and appears with the group throughout the video, performing her song and having fun with the group throughout the video.


title: Good as Hell

text: In a review for NPR, Hanif Abdurraqib praised the song's inspirational and motivational qualities, saying "[the song is] the anthem of both the night itself and of life in preparation for it: the saint that comes to you in the mirror when the lighting is bad, or the hair won't move the way you want it to, or when you've tried on all of the outfits and none of them seem right." Abdurraqib also called it "the rare song that can play at any point in a night out and resonate in each."


title: Good as Hell

text: In 2019, "Billboard" included "Good as Hell" on their list of the Top 10 Lizzo songs, saying "the song's message of self-love mixed with a melody that will worm its way inside your head make this track an absolute stunner."


title: Good as Hell

text: While "Good as Hell" never charted during "Coconut Oil"s release period, it began to gain traction in 2019 following Lizzo's continuing career trajectory and the chart climb of her 2017 hit "Truth Hurts". Following Lizzo's performance of the song at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, it entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 the following week at number 52, later peaking at number three, becoming Lizzo's second top 10 hit on the chart.


title: Good as Hell

text: The club mixes of "Good as Hell" gave Lizzo her first number one at Dance Club Songs and her second chart topper at Dance/Mix Show Airplay in December 2019.


title: Good as Hell

text: Following the release of the remix featuring Ariana Grande, "Good as Hell" reached new top 10 peaks in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, becoming Lizzo's first top 10 single in each of these countries.


title: Good as Hell

text: Lizzo performed a medley of "Truth Hurts" and "Good as Hell" at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. Wearing a neon yellow leotard, she transitioned into "Good As Hell" after opening with "Truth Hurts", with digital clouds in the background. During the performance, Lizzo took a shot of tequila and gave a self-acceptance speech. In "Rolling Stone", Angie Martoccio opined that she "[took] the crowd to church" with a set that "[resembled] a hip-hop heaven". In NPR Music, Stephen Thompson opined that the performance "was a huge standout for the night—a win that'll do a lot more for her staying power than some statuette".


title: Good as Hell

text: Lizzo performed "Good as Hell" on December 21, 2019, on "Saturday Night Live". Accompanied by dancers, the Christmas-themed performance included trees, fake snow and candy-cane-painted stripper poles. She also performed a medley of "Cuz I Love You", "Truth Hurts", "Good as Hell" and "Juice" at the 2020 Brit Awards.


title: Good as Hell

text: "Good as Hell" has been used in the films "", "A Bad Moms Christmas", "I Feel Pretty", "Blockers" and "Brittany Runs a Marathon", as well as successive adverts for JD Williams, Garnier and "". It was also used in Season 10 of the television show "RuPaul's Drag Race" in "lip sync for your life" between Kameron Michaels and Monét X Change. Lizzo herself was a guest judge in the episode. The song was also in the 2020 music video game "Fuser."


title: Doom engine

text: id Tech 1, also known as the "Doom" engine, is the game engine that powers the id Software games "Doom" and "". It is also used in "Heretic", "", "Strife: Quest for the Sigil", "Hacx: Twitch 'n Kill", "Freedoom", and other games produced by licensees. It was created by John Carmack, with auxiliary functions written by Mike Abrash, John Romero, Dave Taylor, and Paul Radek. Originally developed on NeXT computers, it was ported to DOS for "Doom"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s initial release and was later ported to several game consoles and operating systems.


title: Doom engine

text: The source code to the Linux version of "Doom" was released to the public under a license that granted rights to non-commercial use on December 23, 1997, followed by the Linux version of "Doom II" about a week later on December 29, 1997. The source code was later re-released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later on October 3, 1999.


title: Doom engine

text: The dozens of unofficial "Doom" source ports that have been created since then allow "Doom" to run on previously unsupported operating systems and sometimes radically expand the engine's functionality with new features.


title: Doom engine

text: Although the engine renders a 3D space, that space is projected from a two-dimensional floor plan. The line of sight is always parallel to the floor, walls must be perpendicular to the floors, and it is not possible to create multi-level structures or sloped areas (floors and ceilings with different angles). Despite these limitations, the engine represented a technological leap from id's previous "Wolfenstein 3D" engine. The "Doom" engine was later renamed to "id Tech 1" in order to categorize it in a list of id Software's long line of game engines.


title: Doom engine

text: The "Doom" engine separates rendering from the rest of the game. The graphics engine runs as fast as possible, but the game world runs at 35 frames per second regardless of the hardware, so multiple players can play against each other using computers of varying performance.


title: Doom engine

text: Viewed from the top down, all "Doom" levels are actually two-dimensional, demonstrating one of the key limitations of the "Doom" engine: room-over-room is not possible. This limitation, however, has a silver lining: a "map mode" can be easily displayed, which represents the walls and the player's position, much like the first image to the right.


title: Doom engine

text: The base unit is the vertex, which represents a single 2D point. Vertices (or "vertexes" as they are referred to internally) are then joined to form lines, known as "linedefs". Each linedef can have either one or two sides, which are known as "sidedefs". Sidedefs are then grouped together to form polygons; these are called "sectors". Sectors represent particular areas of the level.


title: Doom engine

text: Each sector contains a number of properties: a floor height, ceiling height, light level, a floor texture and a ceiling texture. To have a different light level in a particular area, for example, a new sector must be created for that area with a different light level. One-sided linedefs therefore represent solid walls, while two-sided linedefs represent bridge lines between sectors.


title: Doom engine

text: Sidedefs are used to store wall textures; these are completely separate from the floor and ceiling textures. Each sidedef can have three textures; these are called the middle, upper and lower textures. In one-sided linedefs, only the middle texture is used for the texture on the wall. In two-sided linedefs, the situation is more complex. The lower and upper textures are used to fill the gaps where adjacent sectors have different floor and ceiling heights: lower textures are used for steps, for example. The sidedefs can have a middle texture as well, although most do not; this is used to make textures hang in mid air. For example, when a transparent bar texture is seen forming a cage, this is an example of a middle texture on a two-sided linedef.


title: Doom engine

text: "Doom" makes use of a system known as binary space partitioning (BSP). A tool is used to generate the BSP data for a level beforehand. This process can take quite some time for a large level. It is because of this that it is not possible to move the walls in "Doom"; while doors and lifts move up and down, none of them ever move sideways.


title: Doom engine

text: The level is divided up into a binary tree: each location in the tree is a "node" which represents a particular area of the level (with the root node representing the entire level). At each branch of the tree there is a dividing line which divides the area of the node into two subnodes. At the same time, the dividing line divides linedefs into line segments called "segs".


title: Doom engine

text: At the leaves of the tree are convex polygons, where further division of the level is not needed. These convex polygons are referred to as subsectors (or "SSECTORS"), and are bound to a particular sector. Each subsector has a list of segs associated with it.


title: Doom engine

text: The BSP system sorts the subsectors into the right order for rendering. The algorithm is fairly simple:


title: Doom engine

text: The process is complete when the whole column of pixels is filled (i.e., there are no more gaps left). This ordering ensures that no time is used drawing objects that are not visible and as a result maps can become very large without any speed penalty.


title: Doom engine

text: All of the walls in "Doom" are drawn vertically; it is because of this that it is not possible to properly look up and down. It is possible to perform a form of look up/down via "y-shearing", and many modern "Doom" source ports do this, as well as later games that use the engine, such as "Heretic". Essentially this works by moving the horizon line up and down within the screen, in effect providing a "window" on a taller viewable area. By moving the window up and down, it is possible to give the illusion of looking up and down. However, this will distort the view the further up and down the player looks.


title: Doom engine

text: The "Doom" engine renders the walls as it traverses the BSP tree, drawing subsectors by order of distance from the camera so that the closest segs are drawn first. As the segs are drawn, they are stored in a linked list. This is used to clip other segs rendered later on, reducing overdraw. This is also used later to clip the edges of sprites.


title: Doom engine

text: Once the engine reaches a solid (1-sided) wall at a particular x coordinate, no more lines need to be drawn at that area. For clipping the engine stores a "map" of areas of the screen where solid walls have been reached. This allows far away parts of the level which are invisible to the player to be clipped completely.


title: Doom engine

text: The "Doom" graphic format stores the wall textures as sets of vertical columns; this is useful to the renderer, which essentially renders the walls by drawing many vertical columns of textures.


title: Doom engine

text: The system for drawing floors and ceilings ("flats") is less elegant than that used for the walls. Flats are drawn with a flood fill-like algorithm. Because of this, it is sometimes possible if a bad BSP builder is used to get "holes" where the floor or ceiling bleeds down to the edges of the screen, a visual error commonly referred to as a "slime trail". This is also the reason why if the player travels outside of the level using the noclip cheat the floors and ceilings will appear to stretch out from the level over the empty space.


title: Doom engine

text: The floor and ceiling are drawn as "visplanes". These represent horizontal runs of texture, from a floor or ceiling at a particular height, light level and texture (if two adjacent sectors have exactly the same floor, these can get merged into one visplane). Each x position in the visplane has a particular vertical line of texture which is to be drawn.


title: Doom engine

text: Because of this limit of drawing one vertical line at each x position, it is sometimes necessary to split visplanes into multiple visplanes. For example, consider viewing a floor with two concentric squares. The inner square will vertically divide the surrounding floor. In that horizontal range where the inner square is drawn, two visplanes are needed for the surrounding floor.


title: Doom engine

text: This leads to one of "Doom"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s classic limitations which frustrated many mappers for a long time. "Doom" contained a static limit on the number of visplanes; if exceeded, a "visplane overflow" would occur, causing the game to exit to DOS with one of two messages, "No more visplanes!" or "visplane overflow (128 or higher)". The easiest way to invoke the visplane limit is a large checkerboard floor pattern; this creates a large number of visplanes.


title: Doom engine

text: As the segs are rendered, visplanes are also added, extending from the edges of the segs towards the vertical edges of the screen. These extend until they reach existing visplanes. Because of the way this works, the system is dependent on the fact that segs are rendered in order by the overall engine; it is necessary to draw nearer visplanes first, so that they can "cut off" by others further away. If unstopped, the floor or ceiling will "bleed out" to the edges of the screen, as previously described. Eventually, the visplanes form a "map" of particular areas of the screen in which to draw particular textures.


title: Doom engine

text: While visplanes are constructed essentially from vertical "strips", the actual low level rendering is performed in the form of horizontal "spans" of texture. After all the visplanes have been constructed, they are converted into spans which are then rendered to the screen. This appears to be a trade off: it is easier to construct visplanes as vertical strips, but because of the nature of how the floor and ceiling textures appear it is easier to draw them as horizontal strips.


title: Doom engine

text: Each sector within the level has a linked list of things stored in that sector. As each sector is drawn the sprites are placed into a list of sprites to be drawn. If not within the field of view these are ignored.


title: Doom engine

text: The edges of sprites are clipped by checking the list of segs previously drawn. Sprites in "Doom" are stored in the same column based format as the walls are, which again is useful for the renderer. The same functions which are used to draw walls are used to draw sprites as well.


title: Doom engine

text: While subsectors are guaranteed to be in order, the sprites within them are not. "Doom" stores a list of sprites to be drawn ("vissprites") and sorts the list before rendering. Far away sprites are drawn before close ones. This causes some overdraw but usually this is negligible.


title: Doom engine

text: There is a final issue of middle textures on 2-sided lines, used in transparent bars for example. These are mixed in and drawn with the sprites at the end of the rendering process, rather than with the other walls.


title: Doom engine

text: The "Doom" engine achieved most of its fame as a result of powering the classic first person shooter "Doom", and it was used in several other games. It is usually considered that the "Big Four" "Doom" engine games are "Doom", "Heretic", "", and "Strife: Quest for the Sigil".


title: Bibleman

text: Bibleman is an American Christian-themed direct-to-video children's series created by Tony Salerno that ran from 1995 to 2010 to promote Christianity. The series centers around an evangelical superhero who fights evil, often by quoting scripture, as well as breaking the fourth wall. The show had three incarnations: The Bibleman Show, The Bibleman Adventure, and Bibleman: Powersource. The series' titular character was played by Willie Aames from 1995 to 2003 and by Robert T. Schlipp from 2004 to 2010. Originally owned by Pamplin Entertainment, then sold to Tommy Nelson, the series is currently owned by B&H Kids. It was re-launched in CGI format in 2016 (new title Bibleman: The Animated Adventures).


title: Bibleman

text: Miles B. Peterson is a wealthy man who turns to God and The Bible in his most desperate hour. From then on, he pledges to fight evil with the word of God. Disguised in the full armor of God, Bibleman fights against enemies using scripture.


title: Bibleman

text: Miles Peterson/Bibleman (played by Willie Aames): The first Bibleman. As depicted in the early show's intro, Miles was described as a man who had success, fame, and wealth but was a frustrated and miserable man. After giving up and throwing himself to the ground in anguish, he discovers a Bible covered in mud. Upon finding it, he experiences a "burning desire to know God" and becomes a Christian. He then decides to fight evil in the name of God as Bibleman. Miles eventually retired, passing on the title of Bibleman to his successor Josh Carpenter. Miles' first 3 Bibleman suits consisted of a purple and yellow color scheme, but during “Jesus Our Savior” he built a new suit, which was silver and white. Miles’ armor is based on the Armor of God, consisting of the Waist Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Salvation. His weapon is a laser sword called the Sword of the Spirit, which is the physical representation of God's Word, the Bible. While he isn't seen in the Animated Adventures, Miles was mentioned in “Braving The Big Battle With The Baroness” as an old friend of Josh Carpenter, which has not been alluded to before in the live-action series.


title: Bibleman

text: Coats (played by Marc Wayne): Miles Peterson's best friend and first sidekick, who coaches high school basketball on the side. While Coats didn't have a superhero suit like future sidekicks, he did have a bunch of gadgets and some self-defense training, allowing him to fight off the henchmen of a villain. Coats left the team for reasons classified as stated in "Conquering the Wrath of Rage Live (2000)".


title: Bibleman

text: U.N.I.C.E (voiced by Maylo Upton, Jef Scott, and Lisa Kent): (Universal Networking Intelligence Computing Entity) The AI in the BibleCave and Mobile Mission Command Center who gives attitude to Bibleman's sidekick Coats and insists on manners being used even if it wastes time. Strangely, U.N.I.C.E. isn't included in the Animated Adventures.


title: Bibleman

text: Kerry "KT" Turner/Cypher (played by Brady Williams and voiced by JJ Gerber in the Animated Adventures): Bibleman's second sidekick. KT originally wore silver armor with black cameo pants and boots, with a headset that had a scope. Later, his suit color was changed to match Bibleman's, with an eye cover added. In, “A Fight For Faith”, KT would remove the headset and eye cover, for yellow strap-on glasses with black lenses. KT originally didn't have a weapon, but would later gain two energy blades that, when put together, can create a forcefield.


title: Bibleman

text: Lia Martin(or Lia Martinez in early appearances)/Biblegirl (played by Tracy Henao, Heather Hazelwood-McSmith, Anayansi Schlipp, and voiced by Nicole Bauman in the Animated Adventures): She first fights with a net, then a gun and then a side shooting weapon. In "Powersource" she later uses an energy Tonfa. During the beginning of Powersource, Biblegirl was away at Command Central, but returned in Crushing the Conspiracy of the Cheater.


title: Bibleman

text: Josh Carpenter/Bibleman (played by Robert T. Schlipp and voiced by Josh Snethlage in the Animated Adventures): The second Bibleman after Miles retires. He is depicted as someone who never understood the Bible until his darkest day (when his parents were arguing) where he read his Bible and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Josh originally wore the 4th Bibleman suit, until "Powersource", where he gained his own suit which returned to the classic purple and yellow color scheme. Just like Miles’, Josh's armor was made up of the Waist Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Salvation. Also just like Miles, Josh wields a Laser Sword in battle.


title: Bibleman

text: Mel O'Shea/Melody. (played by Lindsay Lewis and voiced by Kylie McCullough in the Animated Adventures) Biblegirl's cousin. She is the only sidekick to have never served alongside Miles Peterson. Her outfit is colored blue and red and uses a laser staff. In the Animated Adventures, her suit colors were changed to match the rest of the team.


title: Bibleman

text: Dr. Decepto (played by Ron Schott): A scientist villain with green skin. He only appeared in a flashback in "Big Big Book", where he defeated Bibleman, but was later seen behind bars.


title: Bibleman

text: Madam Glitz (played by Cindy Phillips): A self-centred woman in "Back to School". She captured Miles Peterson (Bibleman) because she wanted the fame Bibleman had. However, Bibleman tells her that it is the Word of God that everyone desires and needs to hear. She was placed inside a T.V. set by God.


title: Bibleman

text: The Fibbler (played by Bill Murphy and voiced by Peter Jaycock in the Animated Adventures): A green-haired evil clown (resembling the Cesar Romero version of the Joker from the 1960s Batman TV series) who influenced one of the church singing group children to lie. After she asks her friends for forgiveness, The Fibbler and Bibleman fight. The Fibbler was defeated and destroyed by his own sword of darkness.


title: Bibleman

text: The Gossip Queen (played by Maylo Upton): A villainess queen whose character design was later widely criticized for sharing many characteristics with traditional Jewish stereotypes (e.g., possessing dark skin, curly black hair, a large hook-nose, thick lips, and dark-colored beady eyes). She tried to rip the Church singing group apart. She has two henchmen named Loose Lips and Blabbermouth and could fire Beams of Bitterness from her fingers. She was destroyed when she was hit by Bibleman's sword of the Spirit.


title: Bibleman

text: Luxor Spawndroth (played by Brian Lemmons and voiced by Rory O'Shea in the Animated Adventures): A villain who takes on different personas after defeat. These incarnations include "The Shadow of Doubt", "Master of Misery", "Dr. Fear", "El Furioso", "The Prince of Pride", and finally his real name, Luxor Spawndroth. His weapon is the sword of darkness, which is either red or, in a couple of cases, purple. Spawndroth was defeated for good in "Lead Us Not Into Temptation".


title: Bibleman

text: Ludicrous (played by Steve Weatherford, Andrew Hicks, Bret Harrison, Les VanValkinburgh, and voiced by Scott Nichol and Cameron Elvin in the Animated Adventures): The evil sidekick of Luxor Spawndroth. From "The Fiendish Works of Dr. Fear" to "Shattering The Prince Of Pride", he was a teenager, but in "Breaking The Bonds Of Disobedience" and "Lead Us Not Into Temptation", he was played by a heavy set man. In "Lead Us Not Into Temptation", he was defeated for good by Cypher.


title: Bibleman

text: L.U.C.I. (voiced by Maylo Upton, Jef Scott, and Lisa Kent): (The Link to Underhanded Computer Influences) is the evil counterpart to U.N.I.C.E and computer to all the villains starting with Dr. Fear. Just like U.N.I.C.E., L.U.C.I. isn't included in the Animated Adventures.


title: Bibleman

text: Primordius Drool (played by Jef Scott): is a green-skinned demon with great powers including wielding lightning who, later in the series, is punished, becoming 'The Wacky Protestor'.


title: Bibleman

text: The Wacky Protestor (played by Jef Scott and Jonathon Barger): was a goofy, blue-skinned demon scientist who was formerly 'Primordius Drool' before he got demoted. His abilities include plasma balls. During his final scheme, he created a special portal to another realm to trap Christian students and turn them to atheism. However, he got caught in his own trap and was stuck there forever. He was the first villain fought by the second Bibleman, Josh Carpenter.


title: Bibleman

text: Rapscallion Polite Sinister (played by Kevin McSmith): was the villain fought by Bibleman in the 2005 live show, hired by the Wacky Protestor to take out the source of Bibleman's power. He was defeated when placed inside a cage that sucked out his power.


title: Bibleman

text: Professor E. Meritus Snortinskoff (played by Steve Sandfort): A mad scientist who's in charge of Snortinskoff Industries and makes kids disrespect their authorities. His henchman is Stench.


title: Bibleman

text: 2Kul 4Skul (played by Jeff Durham): A gray-skinned villain who devised a plan to establish a T.V. station with the call letters W.B.I.G. (which stand for What's Bad is Good) to block the gospel from reaching the youth.


title: Bibleman

text: I.M. Wonderful (played by Amber Liabenow and Lisa Kent): A vain woman who wears a gold mask and a cape.


title: Bibleman

text: The Whiner Brothers (played by Rick Burgess and Bubba Bussey, and voiced by David Andrew Brent and Peter Jaycock in the Animated Adventures): Two villains who use a radio station broadcast to make children whine and complain.


title: Bibleman

text: The Cheater (played by Peter Vann): Best among super villains, god among men. His tools are his "belittler," his flying cards, land mines, and a bouncy house gladiator club. If one is unlucky enough to get him angry, The Cheater will unplug his/her surge protector.


title: Bibleman

text: The Slacker (played by Josh Childs and voiced by Cameron Elvin in the Animated Adventures): This senior villain makes kids lazy with his Lasers of Laziness. He carries a staff (laser of laziness) and goons to support him in battle.


title: Bibleman

text: Super Pro Gamemaster 2 (played by Henry Haggard): This villain was a cyborg who could control machines. He appeared in "Lambasting the Legions of Laziness".


title: Bibleman

text: Super Pro Gamemaster 3 (played by Eric Pasto-Crosby): This robotic leader of the Evildoers Club was Super Pro Gamemaster 2's successor. He has powers similar to his predecessor and developed the video game "Big Bad Bully".


title: Bibleman

text: Baron Ulysses Tantamont von Braggart (played by Clarck Leach): A sheriff-like pig villain with a golden head cap who lives in a castle. His weapons are his electric staff that he uses to battle Bibleman, and his electric chair that he uses to shoot at Bibleman and Cypher.


title: Bibleman

text: The Commandant of Confusion (played by Dean Guthrie) A gold-skinned heavyweight villain who is very technical and has an evil sidekick named Chaos, who is dressed up in a black and red jumpsuit.


title: Bibleman

text: Chaos (played by Joey Febres) A Henchman in a black and red suit and mask, who is said to have worked with many villains, but is only seen with The Commandant of Confusion.


title: Bibleman

text: The Sultan of Selfishness (voiced by Peter-Mark Raphael) An olive-skinned man with black, curly hair, black eyebrows and eyes, a black goatee, and a green Nehru suit with gold trimmings. He speaks with a heavy, stereotypical Middle Eastern accent. He temporarily gains control of a school by posing as a motivational speaker who dispenses small stickers that cause all the students and faculty to become susceptible to the Sultan's 3Ds credo: Demand, Deserve, Dominate.


title: Bibleman

text: The Baroness: A female villain who gets her powers from a green crystal on her cane. Called the Conflict Crystal, whoever looks, or is touched by it, will cause them to start arguing with those around them. The crystal then absorbs the energy from the conflict to recharge its power. However, the crystal will lose its power if there's no arguing for it to recharge itself with.


title: Bibleman

text: The Grand Duchess of Greed: also known as Gwyneth Reed or simply the Grand Duchess is a villain who can infect people with her glitter kisses. When she blows a kiss onto an object or person, it can infect the person with greed (in the case of Lila) or disrespect (in her second appearance).


title: Bibleman

text: The program has been criticized for its format and production values, including in an August 2009 episode of the UK topical show "You Have Been Watching", with panelist David Mitchell saying "The thing that struck me most about it is quite how badly it is made, to the extent that you must think it's been made by "anti"-Christian people to make Christianity look as naff and discouraging and artless as possible." The series has been described as dogmatically evangelical. In 1998, sales made up less than one percent of the Christian children's video market. Three years later, sales climbed to eleven percent of that market. It held third place behind first place "VeggieTales" and second place "3-2-1 Penguins!" which were both produced by Big Idea Entertainment. The Dove Foundation gave the series its "Family-Approved" seal for "this energetic battle against evil."


title: Bibleman

text: However, several adults have criticized the show's fight scenes as promoting violence, despite the fact, one show ("Conquering The Wrath Of Rage"), and its live counterpart, addressed the violence issue.


title: Bibleman

text: The live show has been described as falling between "a high budget Sunday school pageant, a Batman movie, and the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to even "Power Rangers" in how it comes across." The production borrows heavily from popular culture, including films, popular music and video games.


title: Bibleman

text: In October 2000, Tommy Nelson released the first series of 5" Bibleman action figures starting with Bibleman and villain El Furioso. The series later included figures of Cypher, Biblegirl, and Temptation. The final figure in the series was a platinum version of Bibleman.


title: Bibleman

text: The Bibleman Adventure board game was released by Talicor in 2001. Players select a hero card and matching token to battle the "Bad Guys" while traveling quickly through the town of Shatzville in an attempt to "save the children." The first player to rescue six kids, deliver them safely to the town church and race back to the BibleMan Cave is the winner! The BibleMan board game is actually two games in one. Instructions are included for both a Basic Game (Ages 3–6), and an Advanced Game (Ages 7 & up) and allows for both age groups to play at the same time.


title: Bibleman

text: Bibleman over the years released multiple official CDs including but limited to: Bibleman Live (2004), Bibleman Official Soundtrack (2005), and Bibleman 18 Songs to Trounce Villains by. With a few Albums being released officially, there are a few rare unofficial albums that make a cameo appearance within the Bibleverse. Recently few super fans uncovered a reference to, "The Bibleman Project" which is a reference to Season 1, Episode 42. This album which is also titled, "Bibleman Slam" features experimental but powerful music. There was never an official release but superfans of Bibleman have been enjoying the new era of Bibleman Music.


title: Bibleman

text: A Bibleman computer game was released in 2005 by Covenant Studios titled "The Bibleman Video Game Adventure: A Fight for Faith". It received generally mixed reviews. Although it did receive some negative reviews, it was praised by some evangelical Christian gaming sites for "family-friendly" and "Christ-centered" gameplay.


title: Bibleman

text: In 2000 Tommy Nelson published "The Bibleman Bible", using the ICB translation text and featured 32 full color images from the show and mini-comic sections. Tommy Nelson then published "The Official Bibleman Collector's Edition" book the same year, then in 2001 published "Bibleman Combat Manual", a book intended to aid in memorizing bible verses.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: James Arthur Jackson (born October 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. Over his 14 National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, Jackson was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith, Tony Massenburg, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smith; until Ish played with the Denver Nuggets, his 13th team, in the 2022-23 season. He is currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports, Turner Sports and the Los Angeles Clippers on Bally Sports West, having previously worked for the Big Ten Network.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson was a 6'6" (198 cm), shooting guard who started all four years at Macomber High School in Toledo, Ohio. The former McDonald's All American led Macomber to the 1989 Division I state championship over Cleveland St. Joseph. He was high school teammates with former NFL safety Myron Bell.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson was a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He instantly contributed, starting as a freshman for the 1989–90 season and averaging 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. He played two more seasons through the 1991–92 season, earning consensus First Team All American honors in 1991 and 1992 UPI college basketball, and the UPI player of the year in 1992.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson skipped his final year of college eligibility and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft after his junior season at OSU.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson's rookie year was abbreviated due to a lengthy contract dispute where he held out for most of the season. As a result, he appeared in only 28 games in his first season in the league. He started in all 82 games the following season, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 37.4 minutes per game. With the drafting of Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd in the following two seasons, the trio was nicknamed the "Three J's".


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: During the 1994–95 season, Jackson averaged 25.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, finishing fifth in the NBA in scoring. However, he suffered an ankle injury after 51 games that year. He came back to average 19.6 points in 1995–96. However, controversy surrounded the Mavericks as a rift between Jason Kidd and Jackson emerged; unsubstantiated rumors pointed to a love triangle between Kidd, Jackson, and singer Toni Braxton. In the middle of the 1996–97 season, Jackson was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Sam Cassell, Eric Montross, George McCloud, and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack, and Khalid Reeves.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson played and started in only 31 games with the Nets to finish the 1996–97 season averaging 16.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with them.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: The following offseason, the Nets coveted a college prospect, forward Keith Van Horn out of Utah. In a bidding war with the Chicago Bulls among other teams, they traded Jackson along with Eric Montross and their two first-round picks, Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Michael Cage, Don MacLean, Lucious Harris, and the rights to Van Horn, the second overall pick in the 1997 draft.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson played in 48 games for the 76ers in the 1997–98 season averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game with decreased minutes from previous seasons. Jackson was reported to be unhappy with his reduced role and shooting while playing with Allen Iverson, who was viewed as the 76ers' franchise player.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: In the middle of the 1997–98 season, the 76ers traded Jackson along with Clarence Weatherspoon to the Golden State Warriors for Joe Smith and Brian Shaw. All four players were free agents at the end of the season, with the 76ers fearing an inability to re-sign Jackson and the Warriors fearing an inability to re-sign Smith.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Although Jackson saw an increased role as the Warriors' starting shooting guard, averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 40.6 minutes per game for the remainder of the 1997–98 season, he disliked playing for a losing franchise. In the offseason, Jackson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson was limited in the 1998–99 season with numerous injuries. He averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 24 minutes per game, statistical career lows for him at that time.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Despite having talent and depth, the Trail Blazers were plagued by injuries, attitude problems on the court, and legal problems off the court. In an effort to clean up their image and team chemistry in the 1999 offseason, the Trail Blazers traded or chose not to re-sign many of their players. Jackson, and talented but troubled Isaiah Rider were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Steve Smith and Ed Gray.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: For the 1999–2000 season, Jackson played in 79 games for the Hawks averaging 16.7 points and 5 rebounds per 35 minutes. Jackson suited up for only 17 games for the Hawks in the 2000–01 season.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: After voicing his displeasure with losing, Jackson was traded with Larry Robinson and Anthony Johnson in January 2001 to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brevin Knight.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Hailing from nearby Toledo and a product of Ohio State, Jackson's trade to the Cavaliers was viewed as a homecoming of sorts. Additionally, Jackson was happy to be part of a team that, as an early-season success story, was eyeing the playoffs for the 2000–01 season despite a run of injuries to a number of key players. Playing in 39 games and starting only 26 of them, Jackson's statistics for the Cavaliers were modest, 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in only 29.2 minutes per game. The Cavaliers went on to finish 30-52 and miss the playoffs that season. Jackson did not receive an offer from the Cavaliers or any other team in the following offseason.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: At the start of 2001–02 season, Jackson did not have a team, but signed with the Miami Heat in December 2001. The Heat, already with a shallow bench, signed Jackson to mitigate the effects of injuries to key players. Jackson averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game, appearing as a starter in some games as injuries warranted. Again, Jackson did not receive an offer from Miami or any other team in the following offseason.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: For the start of 2002–03 season, Jackson again did not have a team. For the second straight season, he did not play in the month of November. Jackson eventually signed with the Sacramento Kings in December 2002 to bolster their bench. In 63 games off the bench, Jackson averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in only 20.8 minutes per game; however, he played well during crucial moments of games, eventually unseating Hedo Türkoğlu as the sixth man on the team. Jackson saw his stock rise, and as a free agent, received a two-year offer from the Houston Rockets the following offseason.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson played in 80 games for the 2003–04 season, starting in all of them. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 39 minutes per game. He returned for the 2004–05 season, again putting up decent statistics as a starter for the first 24 games.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Despite averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 41.3 minutes per game, the Rockets dealt Jackson along with Boštjan Nachbar to the New Orleans Hornets for David Wesley. Although Hornets general manager Allan Bristow looked forward to the additions of Nachbar and Jackson, Jackson refused to report to the Hornets, an act for which he was suspended. Without ever appearing in a Hornets uniform, Jackson was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Maciej Lampe, Casey Jacobsen, and Jackson Vroman.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson finished the 2004–05 season with the Suns averaging a modest 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per 24.9 minutes per game. With starting shooting guard Joe Johnson injured, Jackson stepped up his play in the postseason, helping Phoenix reach the Western Conference final. Although re-signed in the following offseason, Jackson was waived at the beginning of March 2006 after spending nearly two months on the bench without playing any minutes. Jackson averaged career lows of 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per 15.6 minutes in 27 games. Immediately after being waived, Jackson was claimed by the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: Jackson finished the 2005–06 season with the Lakers, playing in only 13 games with averages of 1.7 points and .9 rebounds per 7 minutes. Jackson did not receive an offer to sign with any team in the following offseason, marking the end of his career. He was the last player on the Lakers to wear #24 before Kobe Bryant.


title: Jim Jackson (basketball)

text: During much of his career, Jackson wore a sweatband on his arm with the numbers "419" (which refer to the North American telephone area code 419 that serves Toledo and most of northwest Ohio) to represent where he is from. His son Traevon Jackson played the point guard position for Wisconsin from 2011 to 2015, reaching two Final Fours.


title: Opposing force

text: An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. The United States maintains the Fort Irwin National Training Center with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment serving in the OPFOR role. Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) is another major training site typically reserved for light infantry units, and the OPFOR are the 1st of the 509th Airborne Infantry Regiment. The Army's Joint Maneuver Readiness Center (JMRC, at Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany) has the 1st of the 4th Infantry Regiment as their OPFOR. Other major units include the First United States Army which consists of 16 training brigades that often also serve as OPFOR.


title: Opposing force

text: At a basic level, a unit might serve as an opposing force for a single scenario, differing from its 'opponents' only in the objectives it is given. However, major armies commonly maintain specialized groups trained to accurately replicate real-life enemies, to provide a more realistic experience for their training opponents. (To avoid the diplomatic ramifications of naming a real nation as a likely enemy, training scenarios often use fictionalized versions with different names but similar military characteristics to the expected real-world foes.)


title: Opposing force

text: In the French Army, a FORAD (, enemy force) is used to train the army, in both the (CENTAC, Combat Training Center) of Mailly-le-Camp and in the (CENZUB, Urban Operations Training Centre). Declassed AMX-30 tanks were used to simulate Soviet T-72s, until 2018.


title: Opposing force

text: Various US military installations or major units have their own local versions of opposing force used for training exercises. The joint Australian–US military exercise "Crocodile '03" featured an Australian-led opposing force in which soldiers from a range of Australian units worked together with a US Marine Corps contingent.


title: Opposing force

text: Several state defense forces have served as OPFOR units when training with the National Guard. The California State Military Reserve, the Georgia State Defense Force, and the New York Guard have provided OPFOR services to their respective National Guard counterparts. In 2018, the Georgia State Defense Force established the OPFOR Battalion to assist National Guard Soldiers with pre-deployment training.


title: NASA insignia

text: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) insignia has three main official designs, although the one with stylized red curved text (the "worm") was retired from official use from May 22, 1992, until April 3, 2020, when it was reinstated as a secondary logo. The three logos include the NASA insignia (also known as the "meatball"), the NASA logotype (also known as the "worm"), and the NASA seal.


title: NASA insignia

text: The NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959, and slightly modified by President Kennedy in 1961.


title: NASA insignia

text: The NASA logo dates from 1959, when the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) transformed into an agency that advanced both astronautics and aeronautics—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


title: NASA insignia

text: In the NASA insignia design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and then the orbiting spacecraft going around the wing. It is known officially as the insignia.


title: NASA insignia

text: After a NASA Lewis Research Center illustrator's design was chosen for the new agency's official seal, the executive secretary of NASA asked James Modarelli, the head of Reports Division at Lewis Research Center, to design a logo that could be used for less formal purposes. Modarelli simplified the seal, leaving only the white stars and orbital path on a round field of blue with a red vector. He then added white N-A-S-A lettering.


title: NASA insignia

text: In 1974, as part of the Federal Graphics Improvement Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, NASA hired Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn to design a more modern logo. In 1975, the agency switched to the modernist NASA logotype, nicknamed "the worm", a red, stylized rendering of the letters N-A-S-A. The horizontal bars on the "A"s are removed in the worm logo, with the negative space within each of them suggesting the tip of a rocket.


title: NASA insignia

text: The NASA logotype was retired from official use on May 22, 1992 by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. The design was used only for special occasions and commercial merchandising purposes approved by the Visual Identity Coordinator at NASA Headquarters until 2020, when it was brought out of retirement by administrator Jim Bridenstine, and unveiled on the booster for SpaceX's Crew-Demo 2 Mission.


title: NASA insignia

text: The official NASA seal is reserved for use in connection with the NASA Administrator. It is used in more formal traditional and ceremonial events such as award presentations and press conferences. According to NASA Headquarters, the seal should never be used with the NASA insignia, since the two elements are intended for different purposes and are visually incompatible when seen side by side.


title: NASA insignia

text: Since its reintroduction in 2020, the "worm" logotype has been used only for human spaceflight-related activities, featuring prominently on the Crew-1 launch to the ISS and on the SLS rocket.


title: NASA insignia

text: Like most images produced by the United States Government, the insignia, the "worm" logo and the NASA seal are in the public domain. However, their usage is restricted under Code of Federal Regulations 14 CFR 1221. These NASA emblems should be reproduced only from original reproduction proofs, transparencies, or computer files available from NASA Headquarters.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country after Sangster International Airport, recording 629,400 arriving passengers in 2020 and 830,500 in 2021. Over 130 international flights a week depart from Norman Manley International Airport. Named in honour of Jamaican statesman Norman Manley, it is a hub for Caribbean Airlines. It is located on the Palisadoes tombolo in outer Kingston Harbour; it fronts the city on one side and the Caribbean Sea.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: Jamaica has long had a vibrant civil aviation industry, with the first flight reported in the island on 21 December 1911. This was eight years after the world recorded its first powered flight by the Wright brothers. Nineteen years later, on 3 December 1930, the first commercial flight, a Consolidated Commodore twin-engine flying boat operated by Pan American Airways (which eventually became Pan American World Airways), landed in Kingston Harbour.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: The year 1934 was also another historic period for the nation's aviation industry when Dr. Albert Edward Forsythe and C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson (the fathers of African American aviation) arrived in Jamaica from Cuba. This was the first time a land plane arrived at the island by air.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: The significant growth in the aviation sector led to the establishment of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) in 1947. One year later, in 1948, the Kingston Air Traffic Control Centre (KATCC) was established. In the same year the Palisadoes Airport (now Norman Manley International) and the Montego Bay Airport now Sangster International Airport were established.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: The contract relating to additions and alterations to the departure concourse has been awarded to Kier Construction Limited and is valued at $161.5M. The work will include construction of a new canopy, north of the existing check-in concourse and departure lounge; construction of an additional drop-off pavement area and provision for access by wheelchair passengers; new lifts, electrical air conditioning, public address, fire detection and fire fighting services; and alterations to the existing check-in concourse and mezzanine level to include a new security post and postal agency.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: The architect / engineer for the designs are Llewelyn Davies, Jabobs Consultancy & Leading Edge Aviation Planning Professionals Limited (LEAPP), in conjunction with Peter Jervis and Associates Limited and Grace Ashley and Associates.


title: Norman Manley International Airport

text: The project seeks to increase the airport's capacity to cater for projected air and passenger traffic at an acceptable level of service to the year 2023. The project is part of a 20-year masterplan which will be implemented in three phases (1A, 1B and 2) and will cost about $130M. By 2022 it will have involved a virtual reconstruction of the entire airport.