Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tewodros II
Tewodros II (Ge'ez ቴዎድሮስ, also known as Theodore II) (1818 -suicide April 13, 1868) was an Emperor of Ethiopia (1855 - 1868).
His name at birth was Kassa Haile Giorgis, but was more regularly referred to as Kassa Hailu (Ge'ez ካሳ ኃይሉ — meaning "restitution" and "His [or the] power"). His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia, ending the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes).

Early Years
He was born into a country rife with civil war, and he destroyed many provincial warlords before becoming emperor. The times were known as the Zemene Mesafint or "Age of the Princes". During this era, warlords, regional princes and noble houses, vied with each other for power and control. They divided up the Empire into personal fiefs and fought each other continuously. A puppet Emperor of the dynasty was enthroned in Gondar by one warlord, only to be dethroned and replaced by another member of the Imperial dynasty when a different warlord was able to seize Gondar and the reins of power. Regions such as Gojjam and Shewa were ruled by their own branches of the Imperial dynasty, and in Shewa, the local prince went as far as assuming the title of King. Kassa of Qwara began his career in this era as a bandit, and after amassing a sizable force of followers, was able to not only restore himself to his father's previous fief of Kwara, but was able to control all of Dembiya, garnering the notice of the current warlord in control of Gondar, Ras Ali II of Yejju. Ras Ali had enthroned Emperor Yohannes III, forcing the Emperor to marry Ali's mother, the formidable Empress Menen Liben Amede. Empress Menen was the true power behind her son and her hapless husband, and it was she who arranged for Kassa of Qwara to marry her granddaughter, Tewabech Ali and the grant to Kassa of the title of Dejazmach. She awarded him all of Ye Maru Kamas in the hopes of binding him firmly to her son and herself. Although the marriage was a success, Kassa's relationship with his new in-laws deteriorated largely because of the disdainful treatment he repeatedly received from the Empress Menen. He ended up rebelling against Ras Ali, and both the Ras and the Empress send numerous military campaigns to subdue him, all of which he handily defeated. Finally, he captured Empress Menen, and Ras Ali fled and went into hiding. Kassa announced that he was deposing Yohannes III, and then marched on his greatest remaining rival, Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam of Simien. Following the defeat of Dejazmach Wube, Kassa was crowned Emperor by Abuna Salama III in the church of Derasge Maryam on February 11, 1855. He took the throne name of Tewodros II, to fulfill a prophesy that a man named Tewodros would restore the Ethiopian Empire to greatness. Tewodros refused to acknowledge an attempt to restore the former Emperor Sahle Dengel in the place of the hapless Yohannes III who had acknowledged Tewodros immediately. Yohannes III was treated well by Tewodros who seems to have had some personal sympathy for him. His views on Sahle Dengel are not known, but are not likely to have been sympathetic.

His Reign
The widowed Empress Tiruwork and the young heir of Tewodros, Alemayehu, were also to be taken to England. However, Empress Tiruwork died on the journey to the coast, and little Alemayehu made the journey alone. The Empress was buried at Sheleqot monastery in Tigrai among her ancestors. Although Queen Victoria subsidised the education (at Rugby) of Dejazmatch Alemayehu Tewodros, Captain Speedy was appointed as his guardian. He developed a very strong attachment to Captain Speedy and his wife; however, Prince Alemayehu grew increasingly lonely as the years went by, and his compromised health made things even harder, and died in October 1879 at the age of 19 without seeing his homeland again. He left a warm impression on Queen Victoria who seemed to have been truly saddened at his untimely death.

Popular culture

Paul B. Henze. "The Empire from Atrophy to Revival: The Era of the Princes and Tewodros II" in Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. New York: Palgrave, 2000. ISBN 0-312-22719-1

Saturday, September 29, 2007

The New American Poetry 1945-1960
The New American Poetry 1945-1960 was a poetry anthology edited by Donald Allen, and published in 1960. It aimed to pick out the "third generation" of American modernist poets, and included quite a number of poems fresh from the little magazines of the late 1950s. In the longer term it attained a classic status, with critical approval and continuing sales. It was reprinted in 1999.

Poets in The New American Poetry 1945-1960
Published May 29, 1960 for $1.95
White paper wrapper: THE ʃ NEW ʃ AMERICAN ʃ POETRY ʃ [in blue] 1945-1960. ʃ [in grey] EDITED BY ʃ DONALD M. ALLEN ʃ [list of authors overprinted on red design] ʃ [vertically in blue along fore edge] EVERGREEN ORIGINAL E-237 $1.95 (U.K. 14/6.) [ornament]. Spine printed vertically: THE NEW AMERICAN POETRY [in blue] 1945-1960 [printed over, in grey] EDITED BY DONALD M. ALLEN ʃ [ornament in blue] ʃ E-237 ʃ [in red] GROVE ʃ PRESS. Back cover printed in blue, black, and red. 5 5/16 X 8.
[I]—[XXIV], [1]—[457] as follows: [I] fly title: [II] blank; [III] title as above; [IV] statement of copyright, etc; V—VIII acknowledgements and permissions; [IX] dedications; [X] blank; XI—XIV preface; XV—XXIII contents; [XXIV] blank; [1]—454 text; [455—457] blank.

The New American Poetry 1945-1960 Notes

Charters, Ann (ed.). The Portable Beat Reader. Penguin Books. New York. 1992. ISBN 0-670-83885-3 (hc); ISBN 0-14-015102-8 (pbk)

Friday, September 28, 2007

Foreign relations of Austria
This article is part of the series:Foreign relations of Austria Politics and government of Austria
The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the four-power occupation and recognized Austria as an independent and sovereign state. In October 1955, the Federal Assembly passed a constitutional law in which "Austria declares of her own free will her perpetual neutrality." The second section of this law stated that "in all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory." Since then, Austria shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality.
In recent years, however, Austria began to reassess its definition of neutrality, granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action against Iraq in 1991, and, since 1995, contemplating participation in the EU's evolving security structure. Also in 1995, it joined the Partnership for Peace, and subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Discussion of possible Austrian NATO membership intensified during 1996. ÖVP and FPÖ aim at moving closer to NATO or a European defense arrangement. The SPÖ, in turn, believes continued neutrality is the cornerstone of Austria's foreign policy, and a majority of the population generally supports this stance.
Austrian leaders emphasize the unique role the country plays as East-West hub and as a moderator between industrialized and developing countries. Austria is active in the United Nations and experienced in UN peacekeeping efforts. It attaches great importance to participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other international economic organizations, and it has played an active role in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Vienna hosts the Secretariat of the OSCE and the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the United Nations Drug Control Programme. Other international organizations based in Vienna include the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Recently, Vienna added the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization and the Wassenaar Arrangement (a technology-transfer control agency) to the list of international organizations it hosts.
Austria traditionally has been active in "bridge-building to the east," increasing contacts at all levels with eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union. Austrians maintain a constant exchange of business representatives, political leaders, students, cultural groups, and tourists with the countries of central and eastern Europe. Austrian companies are active in investing and trading with the countries of central and eastern Europe. In addition, the Austrian Government and various Austrian organizations provide assistance and training to support the changes underway in the region.
Disputes - international: Minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant.
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe

Constitution of Austria
Executive

  • President (Heinz Fischer)
    Federal Government
    Chancellor (Alfred Gusenbauer)
    Vice-Chancellor (Wilhelm Molterer)
    Parliament: Federal Assembly

    • Federal Council
      National Council
      Political parties
      Elections

      • Legislative: 2006 | 2002 | 1999
        Presidential: 2004 | 1998
        States (Länder)

        • Landtage
          Foreign relations
          EU Politics

Thursday, September 27, 2007


NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1992) NBA Rookie of the Year (1990) (1987) USBWA College Player of the Year Naismith College Player of the Year (1987)David Robinson (basketball) John R. Wooden Award (1987) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965(1965-08-06)) is a retired American NBA basketball player, who is often considered one of the greatest centers to ever play the game. A born-again Christian, Robinson is also an amateur musician who enjoys playing various instruments at home. His nicknames include "The Admiral", based on his service as an officer in the United States Navy. Robinson is now on staff at the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio.

Early life
He was the best basketball player at the Naval Academy, choosing jersey number 50 after his idol Ralph Sampson. By the time he took the court in his first basketball game for Navy, he had grown to 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and over the course of his college basketball career, he grew to 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m). In his final two years, he was a consensus All-American, and won college basketball's two most prestigious player awards, the Naismith and Wooden Awards, as a Naval Academy first classman (senior). Upon graduation, he became eligible for the 1987 NBA Draft and was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first overall pick; however, the Spurs had to wait two years before he could join them because he needed to fulfill two years of Navy duty.
In a mildly controversial, yet understandable move, the Navy excused him from three years of the normal five years of his military commitment following graduation from the Naval Academy because his height prohibited his deployment in many roles (e.g. aviation, the submarine corps, and many ships). Nonetheless, Robinson continued to serve in a reserve role with the Navy and was regularly featured in recruiting materials for the service. Despite the nickname "Admiral", Robinson's actual rank upon fulfilling his service commitment was Lieutenant, Junior Grade.
At the Naval Academy, Robinson was an outstanding all-around athlete and chess player; during the physical tests that the Academy gives all incoming plebes he scored higher in gymnastics than anyone in his class. This was even more impressive due to his height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) at the time. To put this in perspective, virtually all male gymnasts are well under 6 ft (1.83 m) tall, and the service academies prohibit enrollment to anyone taller than 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m). However, the academies do not drop students who grow past this height limit after enrolling, which later benefited Robinson.

College basketball career
Finally, Robinson joined the Spurs for the 1989-90 season, and he helped the team produce the second greatest single season turnaround in NBA history Still, from 1991 to 1998, the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets thwarted Robinson's quest to claim the NBA championship that he desired so much to win. The losses against the Rockets were particularly painful for Robinson because the Rockets' center at this time was his rival, Hakeem Olajuwon, who to his own admission, outplayed him in the series. Robinson's NBA title dreams seemed to vanish when he was seriously injured in 1997, and the Spurs subsequently fell to a dismal 20–62 record. However, his injury proved to be a blessing in disguise: due to their dismal season record in 1997, the Spurs enjoyed the first pick in the next year's college draft, and with it they selected Tim Duncan, who would become in subsequent years the final key to their quest for an NBA title.

NBA career
Before the start of the 1998-99 season, the NBA owners and the NBA commissioner David Stern locked out the NBA Players' Association to force negotiation on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This lockout lasted for 202 days, well into the regular NBA season, until finally an agreement was reached. Thus, the NBA season began late on February 5, 1999, making it literally the 1999 NBA season. After playing a truncated 50-game season, the Spurs finished with an NBA-best record of 37–13, giving them the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Spurs blitzed through the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers by a combined record of 11–1. In the NBA finals, the combination of Robinson in the post and second-year, 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) forward Tim Duncan proved overpowering, and the Spurs beat the New York Knicks in five games to become the NBA champions. Duncan was named the Finals MVP.

Champion again
His list of awards and accomplishments is long and include a number of records as well as sharing a number of distinctions with very few other luminaries of the game; for his on the court play, he was named among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

NBA Champion (1999, 2003)
NBA MVP (1995)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1992)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1990)
All-NBA First Team (1991, '92, '95, '96)
All-NBA Second Team (1994, '98)
All-NBA Third Team (1990, '93, 2000, '01)
All-Defensive First Team (1991, '92, '95, '96)
All-Defensive Second Team (1990, '93, '94, '98)
10-time NBA All-Star
Only player in NBA history to win the Rebounding, Blocked Shots, and Scoring Titles and Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP
One of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double
NBA Sportsmanship Award (2001)
Third player in NBA history to rank among the league's top 10 in five categories (7th in scoring (23.2 ppg), 4th in rebounding (12.2 rpg), 1st in blocks (4.49 per game), 5th in steals (2.32 per game) and 7th in field-goal percentage (.551))
First player in NBA history to rank among the top five in rebounding, blocks and steals (per game) in a single season
Fourth player ever to score 70+ in an NBA game
3-time Olympian (1988, '92, '96)
One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
Led NBA in Scoring (1993–94 season) - 29.8 ppg
Led NBA in Rebounding (1990–91 season) - 13.0 rpg
Led NBA in Blocked Shots (1991–92 season) - 4.49 bpg
Holds record for most IBM Awards (1990, '91, '94, '95, '96)
His 10,497 rebounds and 2,954 blocked shots are the most by any player wearing a San Antonio Spurs jersey, and his 20,790 points are second most behind only George Gervin's 23,602. (Had only Gervin's NBA numbers been taken into account, Robinson would be #1 in this category; Gervin scored 4,219 of his points while the franchise was in the American Basketball Association.)
Gold Medal in Basketball World Championship (1986)
Member of Dream Team #1 during Olympic Games at Barcelona. Career awards/accomplishments
Robinson will not only be remembered for his outstanding accomplishments throughout his NBA career, but also for his contributions in his community.
In 1991, Robinson visited with fifth graders at Gates Elementary School in San Antonio and challenged them to finish school and go to college. He offered a $2,000 scholarship to everyone who did. In 1998, proving even better than his word, Robinson awarded $8,000 to each of those students who had completed his challenge. In perhaps his greatest civic and charitable achievement, David and his wife, Valerie, founded the Carver Academy in San Antonio, which opened its doors in September 2001. To date, the Robinsons have donated more than $9 million to the school, believed to be the largest contribution ever made by a professional athlete.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to charity, in March 2003, the NBA renamed its award for outstanding charitable efforts in honor of Robinson. Winners of the NBA's Community Assist Award receive the David Robinson Plaque, with the inscription "Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece." The award is given out monthly by the league to recognize players for their charitable efforts.

Charitable efforts
Robinson criticized then Dallas Mavericks players Steve Nash and Nick Van Exel for their criticism of the United States just after the March 2003 Iraq War had begun. The March 25, 2003 Oakland Tribune tells it this way.
It all started with Nash wearing a T-shirt to All-Star activities in Atlanta that said, "No War. Shoot for Peace." Nash continued his protest of the war, as reporters asked him about his shirt and his beliefs, up until and after the first U.S. bombs hit Iraq last week. Those who haven't been receptive to Nash are those that don't think a basketball player should be using his forum to speak out on politics, especially a Canadian basketball player.
"From the start, I spoke out just because I don't want to see the loss of life," Nash told ESPN. "People are mistaking anti-war as being unpatriotic. This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm from Canada. This is a much bigger issue. But now that we're in battle, I hope for as many lives to be spared as possible (and) as little violence as possible before a resolution."
Dallas played San Antonio last week and Spurs center David Robinson, a former Navy officer, didn't like what Nash had to say. He also took exception to Nash's teammate, Nick Van Exel, saying the war initiative gave Americans a bad name.
"I get a little bit upset," Robinson said. "The time for debate is really beforehand. Obviously history will speak on whether this was the right thing or the wrong thing, but right now (the soldiers) are out there. Support'em. There's plenty of time for commentary later. If it's an embarrassment to them, maybe they should be in a different country, because this is America and we're supposed to proud of the guys we elected and put in office."

Notes

List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game
List of Individual NBA Scoring Champions

Wednesday, September 26, 2007


A parachute is usually a soft fabric device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are normally used to slow the descent of a person or object to Earth or another celestial body within an atmosphere. Drogue parachutes are also sometimes used to aid horizontal deceleration of a vehicle (a fixed-wing aircraft, or a drag racer), or to provide stability (tandem freefall, or space shuttle after touchdown). The word parachute comes from the French words para, protect or shield, and chute, the fall. Therefore parachute actually means "fall protection". Many modern parachutes are classified as semi-rigid wings, are quite maneuverable, and can facilitate a controlled descent similar to that of a glider. Although skydiving can have its thrills and excitements, it can be very dangerous too. Folding a parachute requires a high degree of skill, and an improperly folded parachute will not deploy, causing you to fall freely to the ground.
Parachutes were once made from silk but now they are almost always constructed from more durable woven nylon fabric, sometimes coated with silicone to improve performance and consistency over time.
When square (also called ram-air) parachutes were introduced, manufacturers switched to low-stretch materials like Dacron or zero-stretch materials like Spectra, Kevlar, Vectran and high-modulus aramids. Kevlar is rarely seen except on reserve canopies.

History
In the 9th century, a muslim arab daredevil named Armen Firman jumped from a tower in Córdoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts to arrest his fall with only minor injuries. According to Joseph Needham there were working parachutes in China as early as the 12th century.
Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute while he was living in Milan around 1480-1483. However, the idea of the parachute may not have originated with him: the historian Lynn White has discovered an anonymous Italian manuscript from about 1470 that depicts two designs for a parachute, one of which is very similar to da Vinci's. The first successful test of such a parachute was made in 1617 in Venice by the Dalmatian inventor Fausto Veranzio which he named Homo Volans (Flying Man).

Early forms
The modern parachute was invented in 1783 by Sébastien Lenormand in France. Lenormand also coined the name parachute. Two years later, Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated it as a means of safely disembarking from a hot air balloon. While Blanchard's first parachute demonstrations were conducted with a dog as the passenger, he later had the opportunity to try it himself in 1793 when his hot air balloon ruptured and he used a parachute to escape.
Subsequent development of the parachute focused on it becoming more compact. While the early parachutes were made of linen stretched over a wooden frame, in the late 1790s, Blanchard began making parachutes from folded silk, taking advantage of silk's strength and light weight. In 1797, André Garnerin made the first jump using such a parachute. Garnerin also invented the vented parachute, which improved the stability of the fall. In 1911 Gleb Kotelnikov invented the first knapsack parachute, later popularized by Paul Letteman and Kathchen Paulus.
At San Francisco in 1885, Thomas Scott Baldwin was the first person in the United States to descend from a balloon in a parachute. In 1911 Grant Morton made the first parachute jump from an airplane, in a Wright Model B, at Venice Beach, California. The pilot of the plane was Phil Parmalee. Morton's parachute was of the 'throw-out' type whereas he held the chute in his arms as he left the aircraft. On March 1, 1912, US Army Captain Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from a moving aircraft over Missouri using a 'pack' style chute. This is the style of chute that became en reg with the actual chute being stored or housed in a casing on the jumper's body. Štefan Banič from Slovakia invented the first actively used parachute, patenting it in 1913. On June 21, 1913 Georgia Broadwick became the first woman to parachute jump from a moving aircraft over Los Angeles.
The first military use for the parachute was for use by artillery spotters on tethered observation balloons in World War I. These were tempting targets for enemy fighter aircraft, though difficult to destroy, due to their heavy antiaircraft defenses. Because they were difficult to escape from, and dangerous when on fire due to their hydrogen inflation, observers would abandon them and descend by parachute as soon as enemy aircraft were seen. The ground crew would then attempt to retrieve and deflate the balloon as quickly as possible. Allied aircraft crews, however, were forbidden from carrying their own parachutes. It was believed to encourage a lack of nerve in action. As well, early parachutes were very heavy, and fighters lacked the performance to carry the additional load through most of WWI. As a result, a pilot's only options were to ride their machine into the ground, jump from several thousand feet, or commit suicide using a standard-issued revolver. In the UK, Everard Richard Calthrop, a railway engineer, and breeder of Arab horses, invented and marketed through his Aerial Patents Company a "British Parachute". The German air service, in 1918, became the world's first to introduce a standard parachute and the only one at the time.
Tethered parachutes were initially tried but caused problems when the aircraft was spinning. In 1919 Leslie Irvin invented and successfully tested a parachute that the pilot could deploy when clear of the aircraft. He became the first person to make a premeditated freefall parachute jump from an airplane [1].
An early brochure [2] of the Irvin Air Chute Company credits William O'Connor 24 August 1920 at McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio as the first person to be saved by an Irvin parachute. Another life-saving jump was made at McCook Field by test pilot Lt. Harold H. Harris on Oct 20, 1922. Shortly after Harris's jump two Dayton newspaper reporters suggested the creation of the Caterpillar Club for successful parachute jumps from disabled aircraft. Beginning with Italy in 1927, several countries experimented with using parachutes to drop soldiers behind enemy lines, and by World War II, large airborne forces were trained and used in surprise attacks. Aircraft crew were routinely equipped with parachutes for emergencies as well,

Modern parachutes
A parachute is made from thin, lightweight fabric, support tapes and suspension lines. The lines are usually gathered through cloth loops or metal connector links at the ends of several strong straps called risers. The risers in turn are attached to the harness containing the load.

Design

Deployment systems

Types of parachutes
Round parachutes, which are purely drag devices (that is, unlike the ram-air types, they provide no lift ), are used in military, emergency and cargo applications. These have large dome-shaped canopies made from a single layer of triangular cloth gores. Some skydivers call them "jellyfish 'chutes" because they look like dome-shaped jellyfish. Rounds are rarely used by skydivers these days.
The first round parachutes were simple, flat circulars, but suffered from instability, so most military round parachutes are some sort of conical (i.e. cone-shaped) or parabolic (picture a flat circular canopy with an extended skirt) US Army T-10 parachute used for static-line jumps.
Round parachutes are designed to be steerable or non-steerable. Steerable versions are not as maneuverable as ram-air parachutes. An example of a steerable round is provided in the picture of the paratrooper's canopy; it is not ripped or torn but has a "T-U cut". This kind of cut allows air to escape from the back of the canopy, providing the parachute with limited forward speed. This gives the jumpers the ability to steer the parachute and to face into the wind to slow down the horizontal speed for the landing. The variables impact the way and the speed that the parachute falls, because it depends on the speed or the amount of force in the wind that might change how a parachute falls.

Round parachutes
The unique design characteristics of cruciform parachutes reduces oscillations (swinging back and forth) during descent. This technology will be used by the US Army as it replaces its current T-10 parachutes under a program called ATPS (Advanced Tactical Parachute System). The ATPS canopy is a highly modified version of a cross/ cruciform platform and is square in appearance. The ATPS (T-11) system will reduce the rate of descent by 25 percent from 21 feet per second to an incredible rate of 18 feet per second. The T-11 is designed to have an average rate of decent 14% slower than the T-10D thus resulting in lower landing injury rates for jumpers. The decline in rate of descent will reduce the impact energy by almost 25% to lessen the potential for death.

Cruciform (Square) parachutes
A variation on the round parachute is the pull down apex parachute—invented by a Frenchman named LeMogne—referred to as a Para-Commander-type canopy in some circles, after the first model of the type. It is a round parachute, but with suspension lines to the canopy apex that applies load there and pulls the apex closer to the load, distorting the round shape into a somewhat flattened or lenticular shape.
Often these designs have the fabric removed from the apex to open a hole through which air can exit, giving the canopy an annular geometry. They also have decreased horizontal drag due to their flatter shape, and when combined with rear-facing vents, can have considerable forward speed around 10 mph (15 km/h).

Annular and pull down apex parachutes
Ribbon and ring parachutes have similarities to annular designs. They are frequently designed to deploy at supersonic speeds eg Mach 2 ie speeds at which a conventional parachute would instantly burst upon opening. Ribbon parachutes have a ring-shaped canopy, often with a large hole in the center to release the pressure. Sometimes the ring is broken into ribbons connected by ropes to leak air even more. These large leaks lower the stress on the parachute so it does not burst or shred when it opens. Ribbon parachutes made of kevlar are used on nuclear bombs such as the B61 and B83.

Ribbon and ring parachutes
Most modern parachutes are self-inflating "ram-air" airfoils known as a parafoil that provide control of speed and direction similar to paragliders. Paragliders have much greater lift and range, but parachutes are designed to handle, spread and mitigate the stresses of deployment at terminal velocity. All ram-air parafoils have two layers of fabric; top and bottom, connected by airfoil-shaped fabric ribs to form "cells." The cells fill with high pressure air from vents that face forward on the leading edge of the airfoil. The fabric is shaped and the parachute lines trimmed under load such that the ballooning fabric inflates into an airfoil shape. This airfoil is sometimes maintained by use of fabric one-way valves called Airlocks.

Ram-air parachutes

Personnel parachutes
Paratroopers and parachutists carry two parachutes. The primary parachute is called a main parachute, the secondary is called a reserve parachute. The jumper uses the reserve if the main parachute fails to deploy or operate correctly.
Reserve parachutes were introduced in World War II by the US Army paratroopers, and are now almost universal. For civilian jumpers, the only exceptions are BASE jumping parachutes and emergency bail-out rigs, which both have a single parachute. These emergency parachutes tended to be of round design in the past, while modern PEPs (e.g., P124A/Aviator) contain the large, docile ram-air type.

Parachute Deployment
Personnel ram-air parachutes are loosely divided into two varieties: rectangular or tapered, commonly referred to as "squares" or "ellipticals" respectively. Medium-performance canopies (reserve-, BASE-, canopy formation-, and accuracy-type) are usually rectangular. High-performance, ram-air parachutes have a slightly tapered shape to their leading and/or trailing edges when viewed in plan form, and are known as ellipticals. Sometimes all the taper is in the leading edge (front), and sometimes in the trailing edge (tail).
Ellipticals are usually used only by sports parachutists. Ellipticals often have smaller, more numerous fabric cells and are shallower in profile. Their canopies can be anywhere from slightly elliptical to highly elliptical—indicating the amount of taper in the canopy design, which is often an indicator of the responsiveness of the canopy to control input for a given wing loading, and of the level of experience required to pilot the canopy safely.
The rectangular parachute designs tend to look like square, inflatable air mattresses with open front ends. They are generally safer to operate because they are less prone to dive rapidly with relatively small control inputs, they are usually flown with lower wing loadings per square foot of area, and they glide more slowly. They typically have a less-efficient glide ratio.
Wing loading of parachutes is measured similarly to that of aircraft: comparing the number of pounds (exit weight) to square footage of parachute fabric. Typical wing loadings for students, accuracy competitors, and BASE jumpers are less than one pound per square foot—often 0.7 pounds per square foot or less. Most student skydivers fly with wing loadings below one pound per square foot. Most sport jumpers fly with wing loadings between 1.0 and 1.4 pounds per square foot, but many interested in performance landings exceed this wing loading. Professional Canopy pilots compete at wing loadings of 2 to 2.6 pounds per square foot. While ram-air parachutes with wing loadings higher than four pounds per square foot have been landed, this is strictly the realm of professional test jumpers.
Smaller parachutes tend to fly faster for the same load, and ellipticals respond faster to control input. Therefore, small, elliptical designs are often chosen by experienced canopy pilots for the thrilling flying they provide. Flying a fast elliptical requires much more skill and experience. Fast ellipticals are also considerably more dangerous to land. With high-performance elliptical canopies, nuisance malfunctions can be much more serious than with a square design, and may quickly escalate into emergencies. Flying highly loaded, elliptical canopies is a major contributing factor in many skydiving accidents, although advanced training programs are helping to reduce this danger.
High-speed, cross-braced parachutes such as the Velocity, VX, XAOS and Sensei have given birth to a new branch of sport parachuting called "swooping." A race course is set up in the landing area for expert pilots to measure the distance they are able to fly past the 6 foot tall entry gate. Current world records exceed 600 feet.
Aspect ratio is another way to measure ram-air parachutes. Aspect ratios of parachutes are measured the same way as aircraft wings, by comparing span with chord. Low aspect ratio parachutes (i.e. span 1.8 times the chord) are now limited to precision landing competitions. Popular precision landing parachutes include Jalbert (now NAA) Para-Foils and John Eiff's series of Challenger Classics. While low aspect ratio parachutes tend to be extremely stable—with gentle stall characteristics—they suffer from steep glide ratios and small "sweet spots" for timing the landing flare.
Medium aspect ratio (i.e. 2.1) parachutes are widely used for reserves, BASE, and canopy formation competition because of their predictable opening characteristics. Most medium aspect ratio parachutes have seven cells.
High aspect ratio parachutes have the flattest glide and the largest "sweet spots" (for timing the landing flare) but the least predictable openings. An aspect ratio of 2.7 is about the upper limit for parachutes. High aspect ratio canopies typically have nine or more cells. All reserve ram-air parachutes are of the square variety, because of the greater reliability, and the less-demanding handling characteristics.

Varieties of personnel ram-airs
Main parachutes used by skydivers today are designed to open softly. Overly rapid deployment was an early problem with ram-air designs. The primary innovation that slows the deployment of a ram-air canopy is the slider; a small rectangular piece of fabric with a grommet near each corner. Four collections of lines go through the grommets to the risers. During deployment, the slider slides down from the canopy to just above the risers. The slider is slowed by air resistance as it descends and reduces the rate at which the lines can spread. This reduces the speed at which the canopy can open and inflate.
At the same time, the overall design of a parachute still has a significant influence on the deployment speed. Modern sport parachutes' deployment speeds vary considerably. Most modern parachutes open comfortably, but individual skydivers may prefer harsher deployment.
The deployment process is inherently chaotic. Rapid deployments can still occur even with well-behaved canopies. On rare occasions deployment can even be so rapid that the jumper suffers bruising, injury, or death.
For example, one method of reducing the air-resistance of a reserve's slider is to make it of open-mesh fabric.

Safety
The below list malfunctions specific to round-parachutes. For malfunctions specific to square parachutes, see Malfunction (parachuting).
A "Mae West" is a type of round parachute malfunction which contorts the shape of the canopy into the appearance of a brassiere, presumably one suitable for a woman of Mae West's proportions. [3]
"Squidding" occurs when a parachute fails to inflate properly and its sides are forced inside the canopy. This kind of malfunction occurred during parachute testing for the Mars Exploration Rover. [4]
A "cigarette roll" occurs when a parachute deploys fully from the bag but fails to open. The parachute then appears as a vertical column of cloth (in the general shape of a cigarette), providing the jumper with very little drag. It is caused when one skirt of the canopy, instead of expanding outward, is blown against the opposite skirt. The column of nylon fabric, buffeted by the wind, rapidly heats from the friction of the nylon rubbing against nylon and can melt the fabric and fuse it together, preventing any hope of the canopy opening.
An "inversion" occurs when one skirt of the canopy blows between the suspension lines on the opposite side of the parachute and then catches air. That portion then forms a secondary lobe with the canopy inverted. The secondary lobe grows until the canopy turns completely inside out.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007


John Claggett "Jack" Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican United States Senator from Missouri. He is an ordained Episcopal priest. Danforth is married to Sally D. Danforth and has five adult children.

John DanforthJohn Danforth Education and early career
In 1976 Danforth ran to succeed retiring Senator Stuart Symington. He ran in the Republican primary with little opposition. The Democrats had a three-way battle among Symington's son James W. Symington, former Missouri Governor Warren Hearnes and rising political star Congressman Jerry Litton. Litton and his entire family were killed when the plane taking them to their victory party in Kansas City crashed on take off in Chillicothe, Missouri. Hearnes, who had finished second in the primary far behind Litton, was appointed to challenge Danforth and Danforth easily won the election.
Danforth was narrowly re-elected in 1982. His Democratic opponent was Harriett Woods, a relatively unknown state senator from the St. Louis suburb of University City, Missouri. She was active in women's rights organizations and collected union support. Her speeches denounced Ronald Reagan's policies so vigorously that she ran on the nickname, "Give 'em Hell, Harriett" (a play on the famous Truman phrase). Danforth won 51% to 49%. Woods' pro-choice stance was said to be the reason for her defeat. [1]
Woods and Danforth stayed on good terms following her defeat. In January 2001, when Missouri Democrats lined up against former Missouri governor John Ashcroft to oppose his nomination for U.S. Attorney General, Danforth's name was invoked. Woods testified in the Senate Judiciary hearings: "He (Ashcroft) is indeed a man of deep conviction, but in Missouri, he increasingly has been seen as an extremist who can be ruthless for political ends." Former U.S. Senator Tom Eagleton reacted to the nomination by saying: "John Danforth would have been my first choice. John Ashcroft would have been my last choice." [2]
In 1988 Danforth crushed Democrat Jay Nixon, 68% to 32%. Danforth chose not to run for a fourth term and retired from the Senate in 1995. He was succeeded by John Ashcroft.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Medal
A medal is a small metal object, usually engraved with insignia, that is awarded to a person for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of achievement. There also exist devotional medals, worn to indicate religious faith.

Table medals
Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics.
Traditionally, medals are made of the following metals:
These metals designate the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods; the Silver age, where youth lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes. (The current age is called the Iron Age.) Note that the metals are progressively more prone to corrosion.
This standard was adopted at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not medals.

Gold (or another yellow metal, e.g. brass)
Silver (or another grey metal, e.g. steel)
Bronze Competition Medals
While artist's medals may take the form of competition medals, they more typically honor a particular place, event, or person (i.e., portrait medals). The field was invented by Pisanello, who was the first to cast bronze medals like sculpture, rather than minting them like coins.

Idioms involving the term medal

Exonumia
British and Commonwealth orders and decorations
List of prizes, medals, and awards
Awards and decorations of the United States military
Ribbon bar
Military decoration
Category:Medallists for designers and makers of medals

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup d'état that occurred between the evening of Thursday, November 8 and the early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923, when the Nazi party's leader Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders of the Kampfbund, unsuccessfully tried to gain power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. Putsch is the German word for "coup."

Background.
The attempted putsch was inspired by Mussolini's successful March on Rome. Further, when Hitler realized von Kahr either sought to control him or was losing heart (history is unclear), Hitler decided to take matters into his own hands. He planned to use Munich as a base against Germany's Weimar Republic government in Berlin. Hitler, along with a large detachment of SA, marched on the Bürgerbräukeller, a Munich beer hall where von Kahr was making a speech in front of 3,000 people.
In the cold evening dark, 600 stormtroopers surrounded the beer hall and a machine gun was set up pointing at the auditorium doors. Hitler, surrounded by his associates Hermann Göring, Alfred Rosenberg, Rudolf Hess, Ernst Hanfstaengl, Ulrich Graf, Johann Aigner, Adolf Lenk, Max Amann, Scheubner-Richter, Wilhelm Adam, etc. (some twenty in all) burst through the doors at 8:30 pm, pushed their way laboriously through the crowd, fired a shot into the ceiling and jumped on a chair yelling,
"The national revolution has broken out! The hall is filled with six hundred men. Nobody is allowed to leave. The Bavarian government and the government at Berlin are deposed. A new government will be formed at once. The barracks of the Reichswehr and those of the police are occupied. Both have rallied to the swastika."
At gunpoint, Hitler, accompanied by Rudolf Hess, Adolf Lenk and Ulrich Graf forced the triumvirate of von Kahr, von Seisser, and von Lossow into a side room (previously hired by Rudolf Hess) and demanded their support for his putsch, or they would be shot. Hitler thought that he would get an immediate response of affirmation from them, imploring von Kahr to accept the position as Regent of Bavaria. Von Kahr reasonably pointed out that he could not be expected to collaborate especially as he had been taken out of the auditorium under heavy guard.
During this time, speeches were held in the main hall by Goering, amongst others, obtaining a temporary calm, whilst no one was allowed to leave, not even to go to the bathroom. Some, however, managed to escape via the kitchen, especially those foreign correspondents eager to file copy. At the same time, Heinz Pernet, Johann Aigner and Scheubner-Richter were dispatched to pick up General Ludendorff, whose personal prestige was being harnessed to give the Nazis credibility. A phone call was made from the kitchen by Kriebel to Ernst Röhm, who was waiting with his Reichskriegflagge in the Löwenbräukeller, another beer hall, and ordered him to seize key buildings throughout the city. At the same time, co-conspirators under Gerhard Rossbach mobilized the students of a nearby Officers Infantry school to seize other objectives.
Hitler became irritated by von Kahr and summoned Ernst Poehner, Friedrich Weber and Hermann Kriebel to stand in for him whilst he returned to the auditorium to make a speech (as he had promised some fifteen minutes earlier). Flanked by Rudolf Hess and Adolf Lenk, Hitler returned to the auditorium to make an extempore speech that changed the mood of the hall almost within seconds. Dr. Karl Alexander von Mueller, a professor of modern history and political science at the University of Munich, a supporter of von Kahr, was an eyewitness. He reported: "I cannot remember in my entire life such a change in the attitude of a crowd in a few minutes, almost a few seconds ... Hitler had turned them inside out, as one turns a glove inside out, with a few sentences. It had almost something of hocus-pocus, or magic about it."
Hitler started quietly reminding the audience that his move was not directed against von Kahr and launched into his speech ending with:
"Outside are Kahr, Lossow and Seisser. They are struggling hard to reach a decision. May I say to them that you will stand behind them?"
The audience roared its approval. He finished triumphantly:
"You can see that what motivates us is neither self-conceit or self-interest, but only a burning desire to join the battle in this grave eleventh hour for our German Fatherland ... One last thing I can tell you. Either the German revolution begins tonight and the morrow will find us in Germany a true nationalist government, or it will find us dead by dawn!"
To the historian Karl Alexander von Mueller, the histrionics and melodrama were painful. He could not make up his mind whether Hitler was a man consumed, a brilliant showman or another Machiavelli. Hitler carried all three traits to extremes. Hitler returned to the ante-room, where the triumvirs remained incarcerated, to ear-shattering acclaim which the triumvirs cannot have failed to notice. On his way back, Hitler ordered Goering and Hess to take von Knilling and seven other members of the Bavarian government into custody.
During Hitler's speech, Poehner, Weber and Kriebel had been trying in a conciliatory fashion to bring the triumvirate round to their point of view. The atmosphere in the room had become lighter but von Kahr continued to dig in his heels. Ludendorff showed up a little before 9 p.m. and, being shown into the ante-room, concentrated on von Lossow and von Seisser appealing to their 'sense of duty'. Eventually the triumvirate reluctantly gave in.
Hitler, Ludendorff et al moved back into the auditorium, where they gave speeches, shook hands, and then the crowd was allowed to leave. In a tactical mistake, Hitler decided to leave the Bürgerbräu Keller shortly thereafter to deal with a crisis elsewhere. Around 10:30 p.m., Ludendorff released von Kahr and his associates.
The night was marked by confusion and unrest among government officials, armed forces and police units, and individuals deciding where their loyalties lay. Units of the Kampfbund were scurrying around to arm themselves from secret caches, seizing buildings. Around 3 in the morning, the first casualties of the putsch occurred when the local garrison of the Reichswehr spotted Röhm's men coming out of the beer hall. They were ambushed while trying to reach the Reichswehr barracks and had to fall back. In the meantime, the Reichswehr officers put the whole garrison on alert and called for reinforcements. In a prefiguration of things to come, a list of prominent Jews was made up and squads of SA were sent around to arrest them. Some were taken into custody while others escaped. The foreign attachés were also seized in their hotel rooms and put under house arrest.
In the early morning, Hitler ordered the seizure of the Munich city council as hostages. He further sent the communications officer of the Kampfbund, Max Neunzert, to enlist the aid of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria to mediate between von Kahr and the putschists. Neunzert failed in the mission.
By midmorning on the 9th, the realization hit that the putsch was going nowhere and Hitler was desperate. They didn't know what to do and were about to give up. At this moment, Ludendorff cried out "Wir marschieren!" (We will march!) and Röhm's force together with Hitler's (a total of approx. 2000 men) marched out with no plan of where to go. At the spur of the moment, Ludendorff led them to the Bavarian Defense Ministry. However, at the Odeonsplatz in front of the Feldherrenhalle, they met with a force of 100 soldiers blocking the way under the command of State Police Senior Lieutenant Baron Michael von Godin. The two groups exchanged fire, killing four state police officers [1] and sixteen Nazis. It was here that the Blutfahne came to be. Hitler and Hermann Göring were both injured, the latter managing to escape while the former was captured shortly thereafter.

The Putsch
Police and State Police units were first notified of trouble by two police detectives stationed at the Löwenbräukeller. These reports reached Major Sigmund von Imhoff of the State police. He immediately called all his "green" police units and had them seize the central telegraph office and the telephone exchange, though his most important act was to notify Major General Jakob Ritter von Danner, the Reichswehr city commandant of Munich. As a staunch aristocrat, he loathed the "little corporal" and those "freikorps bands of rowdies." He also didn't much like his commanding officer, Generalleutnant Otto von Lossow, "a sorry figure of a man." He was determined to put down the putsch with or without von Lossow. General Ritter von Danner set up a command post at the 19th Infantry Regiment barracks and alerted all military units.
Meanwhile Captain Karl Wild, learning of the putsch from marchers, mobilized his command to guard von Kahr's government building, the "Commissariat", with orders to shoot.
Around 11:00 p.m., Ritter von Danner, along with fellow officers General Adolf Ritter von Ruith and General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, compelled von Lossow to repudiate the putsch.
There was one member of the cabinet who was not at the Bürgerbräu Keller: Franz Matt, the vice-premier and minister of education and culture. A staunchly conservative Catholic, he was having dinner with Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber and the Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli (who would later become Pope Pius XII), when he learned of the putsch. He immediately phoned von Kahr. When he found the man vacillitating and unsure, Matt decisively began plans to set up a rump government-in-exile in Regensburg and composed a proclamation calling upon all police, armed forces, and civil servants to remain loyal to the government.
The action of these fews men spelled doom for the putschists.
On Saturday, 4,000 students from Munich University rioted and marched to the Feldherrnhalle to lay wreaths. (They continued to riot through Monday until learning of Hitler's arrest.) Von Kahr and von Lossow were called "Judases" and "Traitors."

Counterattack
Three days after the putsch, Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. Some of his co-conspirators were arrested while others escaped to Austria. The Nazi party headquarters were raided, and its newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter ("The People's Observer") was banned.
This, however, was not the first time Hitler had been in trouble with the law. In an incident in September 1921, he and some SA had disrupted a meeting of the Bayernbund, and the Nazis who had gone there to cause trouble were arrested as a result. Hitler ended up serving a little over a month of a three-month jail sentence. Presiding Judge Georg Neithardt was the same judge in both Hitler cases. Due to his war service and connections, Ludendorff was acquitted. Both Röhm and Dr. Wilhelm Frick, though found guilty, were released. Göring, meanwhile, suffered bullet wounds in his leg, which led him to become increasingly dependent on morphine and other painkilling drugs.
Though Hitler failed to achieve his immediate stated goal—and in fact there seems to be no turn of events which could have caused this rather poorly organized coup not to fail—the event did give the Nazis their first exposure to national attention and a propaganda victory. It was while serving his prison sentence at Landsberg am Lech that he and Rudolf Hess wrote Mein Kampf. Also, the putsch changed Hitler's outlook on violent revolution to effect change. From then on he thought that, in order to win the German heart, he must do everything by the book, strictly legal, since Germans obviously frowned on not following the rules. He decided to manoeuvre it so that the German Volk would choose him as dictator. Later on, the German people were calling him "Adolf Legalité" or "Adolf the Legal One."
The process of combination, where the conservative-nationalist-monarchist group thought that they could piggyback onto and control the National Socialist movement to garner the seats of power, was to dangerously repeat itself ten years later in 1933 when Franz von Papen would "legally" ask Hitler to form a government.

Trial and prison

Felix Alfarth
Andreas Bauriedl
Theodor Casella
William Ehrlich
Martin Faust
Anton Hechenberger
Oskar Körner
Karl Kuhn
Karl Laforce
Kurt Neubauer
Klaus von Pape
Theodor von der Pfordten
Johann Rickmers
Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter
Lorenz Ritter von Stransky
Wilhelm Wolf Bavarian police who died in the putsch
The sixteen fallen were regarded as the first 'blood martyrs' of the NSDAP, and were remembered by Hitler in the foreword of Mein Kampf as martyrs. The Nazi flag which they carried,, which in the course of events was stained with the blood, came to be known as the the Blutfahne (blood flag), was bought out for the swearing in of new recruits in front of the Feldherrnhalle when Hitler was in power.
Shortly after coming to power a memorial was placed at the south side of the Feldherrnhalle crowned with a swastika. The back of the memorial read 'Und Ihr Habt Doch Gesiegt!' ("Yet victory was yours"). Behind it flowers were laid, and either policemen or the SS stood guard in between a lower plaque. Passers-by were required to give the Hitler salute. The putsch was also commemorated on three sets of stamps. Mein Kampf was dedicated to the fallen and in the book Ich Kampfe (given to those joining the party circa 1943) they are listed first even though the book lists hundreds of other dead. The header text in the book read 'Though They Are Dead For Their Acts They Will Live On Forever'. The army had a division named the Feldherrnhalle regiment and there was also an SA Feldherrnhalle division.
Every year (even during the war up to 1942) a commeration, attended by Hitler, took place in Munich, the centrepiece of which was usually a recreation of the march, from the Burgerbraukeller to the south side of the Feldherrnhalle but also throughout every Gau was expected to hold a small remembrance ceremony. As material given to propagandists said, the sixteen fallen were the first losses and the ceremony was an occasion to commemorate everyone who had died for the movement.
On November 9, 1935 the dead were taken from their graves and to the Feldherrnhalle. the SA and SS carried them a few minutes down to the Konigplatz where two Ehrentempel (Honour Temples) had been constructed. In each of the structures eight of the martyrs were interred in a sarcophagus bearing their name.
In June 1945 the Allied Control Commission removed the bodies from the Ehrentempel and contacted their families. They were given the option of having their loved ones buried in Munich cemeteries in unmarked graves or having them cremated, common practice in Germany for unclaimed bodies. On January 9, 1947 the upper parts of the structures were blown up.

Martyrdom

Supporters of the Putsch
Rudolf Hess, Hermann Goering, Erich Ludendorff, Hermann Kriebel, Friedrich Weber, Ernst Röhm, Max Scheubner-Richter, Ulrich Graf, Julius Streicher, Hermann Esser, Ernst Hanfstaengl, Gottfried Feder, Josef Berchtold, Ernst Poehner, Emil Maurice, Max Amann, Heinz Pernet, Wilhelm Brueckner, Lt. Robert Wagner

Key supporters
Heinrich Himmler, Edmund Heines, Gerhard Rossbach, Hans Frank, Julius Schaub, Walter Hewel, Dietrich Eckart, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Schreck, Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich, Philipp Bouhler, Franz Pfeffer von Salomon, Adolf Lenk, Hans Kallenbach, Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg, Adolf Wagner, Jakob Grimminger, Heinrich Trambauer, Karl Beggel, Rudolf Jung, Rudolf Buttmann, Hans Ulrich Klintzsche, Heinrich Hoffmann, Josef Gerum, Capt. Eduard Dietl, Hans Georg Hofmann, Matthaeus Hofmann, Helmut Klotz, Adolf Huehnlein, Max Neunzert, Michael Ried

Other notable supporters
In the vanguard were four flag bearers followed by Adolf Lenk and Kurt Neubauer, Ludendorff's servant. Behind those two came more flag bearers then the leadership in two rows.
Hitler was in the centre, slouch hat in hand, the collar of his trenchcoat turned up against the cold. To his left in civilian clothes, a green felt hat and a loose loden coat was Ludendorff. To Hitler's right was Scheubner-Richter. To his right came Alfred Rosenberg. On either side of these men were Ulrich Graf, Hermann Kriebel, Friedrich Weber, Julius Streicher, Hermann Goering and Wilhelm Brueckner.
Behind these came the second string of Heinz Pernet, Johann Aigner (Scheubner-Richter's servant), Gottfried Feder, Theodor von der Pfordten, Wilhelm Kolb, Rolf Reiner, Hans Streck and Heinrich Bennecke, Brueckner's adjutant.
Behind this row marched the Stosstrupp, the SA, the Infantry School and the Oberlaender.

At the front of the march
Left to Right:
Heinz Pernet, Dr. Friedrich Weber, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Kriebel, General Erich Ludendorff, Adolf Hitler, Wilhelm Brueckner, Ernst Roehm, Lt. Robert Wagner
Note only two of the defendants, Hitler and Frick, were dressed as civilians.

Chief defendants in the 'Ludendorff-Hitler' Trial

On November 8, 1939, Hitler narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich.
American newspaper reporters are partly responsible for transferring the originally Italian application "Fascists" to the Nazis.

  • "FASCISTI MOBILIZE IN BAVARIAN HILLS", The New York Times, November 3, 1923.
    "BAVARIAN FASCISTI IMPATIENT", "...the Bavarian military dictator Dr. von Kahr is experiencing difficulty in his efforts to hold the Bavarian Fascisti in leash..." The New York Times, November 7, 1923.
    The political disparity of von Kahr and Adolf Hitler is elucidated when the editor of the staunchly royalist newspaper and speech writer for Von Kahr, Paul Egenter, questions Pöhner while locked in the beer hall: "Isn't there a basic contradiction between von Kahr's monarchistic and Hitler's republican-dictatorial aims?" Munich 1923, pg 168.

    • The gloss over of this discrepancy shows itself in NY Times headlines: "MONARCHIST FORCES REPORTED MARCHING ON BERLIN", "LUDENDORFF LEADS ROYALIST ARMY."
      The date of the putsch being crushed was claimed as the inspiration for the name of the British neo-Nazi group the November 9th Society. Miscellany
      The Beer Hall Putsch and the subsequent arrest and trial of Adolf Hitler was portrayed in the anime movie Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa.

      See also

      Dornberg, John Munich 1923,(whew) The Story of Hitler's First Grab for Power, Harper & Row Publishers, NY, 1982
      Gordon, Harold J., Jr. Hitler and the Beer Hall Putsch, Princeton University Press, 1972
      _______ The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich University Publications of America, 1976
      Large, David Clay Where Ghosts Walked, Munich's Road to the Third Reich, W.W. Norton & Co., 1997
      Louis Leo Snyder Hitler and Nazism, Franklin Watts, Inc., NY, 1961