title: 167 series

abstract: 167 series The 167 series was an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1965 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later operated by East Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) until 2003.

text:
# 167 series

The **167 series** (167系, *167-kei*) was an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1965 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) until 2003.

## History

The 167 series trains were developed from the earlier 165 series express-type EMU, and were introduced from 1965 for use on school excursion services. They were originally painted in the JNR excursion train livery of yellow No. 5 and red No. 3.

Following the privatization of JNR in 1987, JR East received 35 167 series vehicles, allocated to Tamachi Depot in Tokyo, and JR-West received 16 vehicles, allocated to Miyahara Depot. The JR West fleet was withdrawn by 2001, and the JR East fleet was withdrawn by 2003.

No 167 series vehicles have been preserved.

## InfoBox

| 167 series | |
| --- | --- |
| A refurbished JR East set in July 1992 | |
| In service | 1965–2003 |
| Manufacturer | Kisha Seizo |
| Number in service | 0 |
| Formation | 4 cars per set |
| Operators | JNR (1965–1987)
JR East (1987–2003)
JR-West (1987–2001) |
| Depots | Tamachi, Miyahara |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Doors | 2 per side |
| Traction system | Resistor control |
| Power output | 120 kW per motor |
| Electric system(s) | 1,500 V DC |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |


title: Occult America

abstract: Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation is a 2009 book by Mitch Horowitz published by Bantam Books. The book is focused on the role that new religious movements play in the history of the United States; Horowitz argues that these movements, often marginalized or ignored by mainstream culture, played a substantial role in shaping American society. Occult America covers a wide range of individuals, movements, and beliefs from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, with Horowitz paying particular attention to figures such as Manly P. Hall, Henry A. Wallace, and Edgar Cayce, as well as the Spiritualist movement and its element of greatest mainstream popularity, the Ouija board. The book received mixed to positive reviews. Critics praised the writing style and depth of research, but described the scope as exceptionally broad, limiting the work's ability to cover individual subjects. Occult America won the 2010 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award and established Horowitz's ongoing writing career.

text:
# Occult America

***Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation*** is a 2009 book by Mitch Horowitz published by Bantam Books. The book is focused on the role that new religious movements play in the history of the United States; Horowitz argues that these movements, often marginalized or ignored by mainstream culture, played a substantial role in shaping American society. *Occult America* covers a wide range of individuals, movements, and beliefs from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, with Horowitz paying particular attention to figures such as Manly P. Hall, Henry A. Wallace, and Edgar Cayce, as well as the Spiritualist movement and its element of greatest mainstream popularity, the Ouija board.

The book received mixed to positive reviews. Critics praised the writing style and depth of research, but described the scope as exceptionally broad, limiting the work's ability to cover individual subjects. *Occult America* won the 2010 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award and established Horowitz's ongoing writing career.

## Synopsis

The central thesis of *Occult America* is that esoteric religious movements were a founding element of both spiritual and secular American culture. The early chapters focus on an array of figures in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American religious movements, such as Ann Lee, Henry Steel Olcott, Helena Blavatsky, Joseph Smith, and the Public Universal Friend. The first chapter particularly focuses on the Burned-Over District, a region of Upstate New York with an especially dense prevalence of Christian religious movements such as the Shakers and Latter Day Saint movement.

The second chapter focuses on elements of American occultism less associated with Christianity, such as Theosophy and Western Buddhism. Horowitz particularly focuses on Spiritualism's focus on communication with the dead and its popularity during the American Civil War; the popularity of mediums soared during the Civil War, as the families of deceased soldiers sought the possibility of reconnecting with their lost relatives. He describes the example of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, whose interests in Spiritualism were spurred by the death of their son William Wallace Lincoln in 1862 at the age of eleven. Though Mary Todd Lincoln's interest in Spiritualism was well-covered by contemporary and later sources, often to discredit her alongside discussion of her mental health, Horowitz suggests Abraham Lincoln may have been similarly interested in the phenomenon; he analyses contemporary reports of séances in the White House and the 1891 publication *Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist?*, controversial memoir of the medium Nettie Colburn Maynard.

Following this general overview, Horowitz focuses on Ouija boards, a Spiritualist invention that became part of mainstream popular culture in the twentieth century. He discusses myths surrounding their origins, such as the idea they trace back to classical figures such as Pythagoras. Horowitz covers the origins of the Ouija board in the mid-nineteenth century; its later commercialization by William Fuld, a Presbyterian businessman who openly disclaimed the object's supernaturalism; and its influence on popular culture, such as its inspiration of the Pulitzer-winning epic poem *The Changing Light at Sandover*. The book then moves to cover movements, such as Christian Science and New Thought, that focus on the concept of manifestation. Horowitz presents this as a uniquely American-origin form of esotericism, juxtaposed with earlier movements with greater European influence, and chronicles its rise in popularity.

Later sections of *Occult America* cover African diaspora religions such as Louisiana Voodoo. Horowitz first covers figures such as Black Herman and the pseudonymous Henri Gamache before addressing specifically black nationalist figures and movements, such as Marcus Garvey, the Nation of Islam, and the Moorish Science Temple of America. The seventh chapterthe first to deal exclusively with a specific individualbiographizes Manly P. Hall, founder of the Philosophical Research Society. *Occult America*'s eighth chapter deals with the role of esotericism in twentieth-century politics, particularly through Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president Henry A. Wallace. Wallace, a high-ranking Freemason and self-described "practical mystic", took credit for the inclusion of the Eye of Providence on the dollar bill. Horowitz depicts Wallace's contemporaries as increasingly suspicious of his philosophy and motives, eventually ousting him from the vice presidential position in 1944.

The final chapters of *Occult America* discuss differences between European and American occult practices. Horowitz argues that while European mysticism in the 19th and 20th centuries "could seem to cling to secrecy almost as an end in itself", with a focus on initiation into underground occult orders, American mysticism was far more open. By discussing supernatural or esoteric beliefs openly, practitioners in the United States brought such ideas into the mainstream, inspiring the twentieth-century popularity of phenomena such as astrology and numerology. The book closes with a chapter-long biography of Edgar Cayce, who Horowitz presents as a metonym for the persistent popularity of mysticism in American culture; by spreading a message of "hope and dignity" to people who felt disaffected or abandoned by mainstream society, Cayce encapsulated the practices that, Horowitz argues, made large sectors of the population open to such concepts.

## Publication and reception

*Occult America* was published through Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House, on 15 September 2009. It is 304 pages long. Horowitz, who was then editor-in-chief of Penguin Group's New Age imprint TarcherPerigee, was in his early-mid forties at the time of the book's publication. He remarked to *The Creative Independent* that he had come to doubt he would become a published author; the experience of seeing *Occult America* through publication encouraged him to keep up a high pace and output of writing.

Following its release, the book received mixed to positive reviews. Amongst mainstream reviewers, *Publishers Weekly* praised its research and "authoritative" tone, but *Kirkus Reviews* dismissed it as a "hodgepodge" that jumped inconsistently between subject matters without coherently presenting the history of American occultism. *Library Journal* described it as "less than comprehensive", but nonetheless recommended the work for its tone and bibliography. *The Washington Post* and *The Washington Times* both received the book positively in interviews with Horowitz, the former noting its "evenhanded" approach to diverse beliefs and the latter complimenting Horowitz's research.

Religious reviewers focused on Horowitz's coverage of their own beliefs and practices. Matthew Bowman, the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, reviewed *Occult America* for the *Journal of Mormon History*. He described the book as "often gleefully fascinating", but "weirdly organized" in its focus on a vast variety of figures across geographical and chronological bounds. Bowman was similarly disappointed by Horowitz's relatively brief description of Mormonism, which he felt was unduly focused on by the book's blurb, but referred to *Occult America*'s ability to cover figures as diverse as Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as "an achievement not to be sneezed at". Eugene Taylor, writing from a Swedenborgian perspective, felt *Occult America* underrepresented Emanuel Swedenborg's influence on American religious history; nonetheless, he called the book "a fascinating subject and a great read" but inclined to "ignore or downplay the dark side of the movement \[Horowitz\] is describing".

Several reviewers remarked upon Horowitz's expansive definition of the occult. Taylor argued that *Occult America* deals not with occultism *per se* but with what he called "occult-lite", a "sanitized version of spiritualism, magic, New Thought, Christian Science, faith healing, and utopian idealism" that he juxtaposed with more centrally "occultist" Left-Hand Path practices. Bowman identified the book's definition as "anything Horowitz finds novel, interesting, or appropriately weird", criticising it as imprecise and arguably applicable to mainstream religions such as Orthodox Judaism.

*Occult America* was a winner of the 2010 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, alongside *Anna In-Between* by Elizabeth Nunez and *Master of the Eclipse* by Etel Adnan. The book helped establish Horowitz's reputation as a writer on occultism and esotericism, and was described in 2022 as a "still-relevant" publication that established "his work to bring occult and esoteric ideas into the public discourse".

## InfoBox

Occult America
|  | |
| --- | --- |
| Author | Mitch Horowitz |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Publication date | 15 September 2009 |
| Pages | 304 |
| Awards | 2010 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award |
| ISBN | 978-0-553-80675-5 |
| Dewey Decimal | 130 |


title: Nannie Gresham Biscoe House

abstract: The Nannie Gresham Biscoe House is a historic house located at 227 Cherry Street in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

text:
# Nannie Gresham Biscoe House

The **Nannie Gresham Biscoe House** is a historic house located at 227 Cherry Street in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

## Description and history

Built in 1901, the two-story wood-framed house is a fine local example of Queen Anne styling, which has been passed from mother to daughter within the same family. The house was built by the widowed Nannie Gresham Biscoe as a family home and boarding house, offering residential spaces to students attending the nearby Ouachita Baptist College, where she also taught. The house is the least-altered of several period houses on the street.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 2004.

## InfoBox

|  | |
| --- | --- |
| Nannie Gresham Biscoe House | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Location in ArkansasLocation in United States | |
| Location | 227 Cherry Street,<br>Arkadelphia, Arkansas |
| Coordinates | 34°7′22″N 93°2′57″W / 34.12278°N 93.04917°W / 34.12278; -93.04917 |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1901 (1901) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 03001450 |
| Added to NRHP | January 21, 2004 |


abstract: The Southwest Indian Seamount Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa.

text:
# Southwest Indian Seamount Marine Protected Area

The **Southwest Indian Seamount Marine Protected Area** is an offshore conservation region in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa.

## History

Fossilised bones from extinct whale species have been recovered from the terraced continental slope from depths beyond 900 m (3,000 ft) in this area.

## Purpose

A marine protected area is defined by the IUCN as "A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values".

This MPA is specifically intended to protect rocky shelf edge, seamount and associated deep sea biodiversity and ecosystems. It is split to allow petroleum exploration in areas between those of more ecologically important areas, which include untrawled rocky shelf edge with coral gardens in the shallower 200 to 300 m (980 ft) depths and reef-building cold-water corals in the 900 to 1,200 m (3,000 to 3,900 ft) depth range. The deeper areas protect continental slope and abyssal habitats in the 3,800 to 4,200 m (12,500 to 13,800 ft) depth range, and a seamount.

## Extent

This offshore MPA is in the 1,200 to 500 m (3,900 to 1,600 ft) depth range about 93 nautical miles south of Stilbaai in the Western Cape. The MPA protects the water column, the seabed and the subsoil within the boundaries. The area of ocean protected is 7,500 km2 (2,900 sq mi).

### Boundaries

The MPA comprises three separate areas:

Restricted area 1 has boundaries:

* Northern boundary: S35°53’, E21°40’ to S35°53’, E22°37’
* Eastern boundary: S35°53’, E22°37’ to S36°22’, E22°37’
* Southern boundary: S36°22’, E22°37’ to S36°22’, E21°40’
* Western boundary: S36°22’, E21°40’ to S35°53’, E21°40’

Controlled area 2 has boundaries:

* Northern boundary: S36°10’, E23°14’ to S36°10’, E23°40’
* Eastern boundary: S36°10’, E23°40’ to S36°35’, E23°14’
* Southern boundary: S36°35’, E23°14’ to S36°35’, E23°14’
* Western boundary: S36°35’, E23°14’ to S36°10’, E23°14’

Restricted area 3 has boundaries:

* Northern boundary: S37°10’, E22°0’ to S37°10’, E22°35’
* Eastern boundary: S37°10’, E22°35’ to S37°40’, E22°35’
* Southern boundary: S37°40’, E22°35’ to S37°45’, E22°0’
* Western boundary: S37°45’, E22°0’ to S37°10’, E22°0’

### Zonation

The two western component areas are zoned as restricted areas, and the eastern is a controlled area.

## Management

The marine protected areas of South Africa are the responsibility of the national government, which has management agreements with a variety of MPA management authorities, which manage the MPAs with funding from the SA Government through the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is responsible for issuing permits, quotas and law enforcement.

## Use

## Geography

### Climate

### Seasonal variations in sea conditions

## Ecology

The MPA is in the warm temperate Southwest Indian ecoregion to the east of Cape Point which extends eastwards to the border of Mozambique. There are some species endemic to South Africa in this region.

Three major habitats exist in the sea in this region, two of them distinguished by the nature of the substrate. The substrate, or base material, is important in that it provides a base to which an organism can anchor itself, which is vitally important for those organisms which need to stay in one particular kind of place. Rocky shores and reefs provide a firm fixed substrate for the attachment of plants and animals. Sandy beaches and bottoms are a relatively unstable substrate and cannot anchor many of the larger benthic organisms. Finally there is open water, above the substrate and clear of the kelp forest, where the organisms must drift or swim. Mixed habitats are also frequently found, which are a combination of those mentioned above.

**Rocky shores and reefs** There are rocky reefs and mixed rocky and sandy bottoms. For many marine organisms the substrate is another type of marine organism, and it is common for several layers to co-exist.

The type of rock of the reef is of some importance, as it influences the range of possibilities for the local topography, which in turn influences the range of habitats provided, and therefore the diversity of inhabitants. Sandstone and other sedimentary rocks erode and weather very differently, and depending on the direction of dip and strike, and steepness of the dip, may produce reefs which are relatively flat to very high profile and full of small crevices. These features may be at varying angles to the shoreline and wave fronts. There are fewer large holes, tunnels and crevices in sandstone reefs, but often many deep but low near-horizontal crevices.

**Sedimentary bottoms** (including silt, mud, sand, shelly, pebble and gravel bottoms) Sediment bottoms at first glance appear to be fairly barren areas, as they lack the stability to support many of the spectacular reef based species, and the variety of large organisms is relatively low. The sediment may be moved around by water action, to a greater or lesser degree depending on weather conditions and exposure of the area. This means that sessile organisms must be specifically adapted to areas of relatively loose substrate to thrive in them, and the variety of species found on a sediment bottom will depend on all these factors. Unconsolidated sediment bottoms have one important compensation for their instability, animals can burrow into the sand and move up and down within its layers, which can provide feeding opportunities and protection from predation. Other species can dig themselves holes in which to shelter, or may feed by filtering water drawn through the tunnel, or by extending body parts adapted to this function into the water above the sand.

**The open sea** The pelagic water column is the major part of the living space at sea. This is the water between the surface and the top of the benthic zone, where living organisms swim, float or drift, and the food chain starts with phytoplankton, the mostly microscopic photosynthetic organisms that convert the energy of sunlight into organic material which feeds nearly everything else, directly or indirectly. In temperate seas there are distinct seasonal cycles of phytoplankton growth, based on the available nutrients and the available sunlight. Either can be a limiting factor. Phytoplankton tend to thrive where there is plenty of light, and they themselves are a major factor in restricting light penetration to greater depths, so the photosynthetic zone tends to be shallower in areas of high productivity. Zooplankton feed on the phytoplankton, and are in turn eaten by larger animals. The larger pelagic animals are generally faster moving and more mobile, giving them the option of changing depth to feed or to avoid predation, and to move to other places in search of a better food supply.

### Marine species diversity

This MPA protects deep-water coral and seamount habitats. The MPA is part of the nursery area for mako sharks and foraging areas for endangered albatross species.

#### Animals

Birds:

Fish:

#### Endemism

The MPA is in the superficially warm temperate Southwest Indian ecoregion to the east of Cape Agulhas which extends to the Mozambique border. There are some species endemic to South Africa in this region.

#### Alien invasive species

## Threats

Marine protected areas of South Africa'"\`UNIQ--ref-00000022-QINU\`"''"\`UNIQ--ref-00000023-QINU\`"'

## InfoBox

| Southwest Indian Seamount Marine Protected Area | |
| --- | --- |
| Southwest Indian Seamount MPA location | |
| Location | South of the continental shelf of South Africa |
| Nearest city | Stilbaai |
| Coordinates | 36°46′S 22°40′E / 36.767°S 22.667°E / -36.767; 22.667 |
| Area | 7,500 km2 (2,900 sq mi) |
| Established | 2019 |


title: Li Wei (artist)

abstract: Li Wei is a contemporary artist from Beijing, China. His work often depicts him in apparently gravity-defying situations. Wei started off his performance series, Mirroring, and later on took off attention with his Falls series which shows the artist with his head and chest embedded into the ground. His work is a mixture of performance art and photography that creates illusions of a sometimes dangerous reality. Li Wei states that these images are not computer montages, but that he uses mirrors, metal wires, scaffolding and acrobatics. Wei's works have been published on the cover of the following magazines: Flash Art, Work, Magazin-Frankfurter Rundschau, Out of the Red, Zoom, Juliet, Contemporary, Theater Forum, NY Arts, Fine Arts Literature, Lapiz and Arte Al Limite.

text:
# Li Wei (artist)

| Li Wei | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Traditional Chinese | 李暐 |
| Simplified Chinese | 李𬀩 |
| Transcriptions  Standard Mandarin  Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Wěi | |
|  | |

**Li Wei** (simplified Chinese: 李𬀩; traditional Chinese: 李暐; pinyin: *Lǐ Wěi*; born in 1970, Hubei, China) is a contemporary artist from Beijing, China. His work often depicts him in apparently gravity-defying situations. Wei started off his performance series, Mirroring, and later on took off attention with his Falls series which shows the artist with his head and chest embedded into the ground. His work is a mixture of performance art and photography that creates illusions of a sometimes dangerous reality. Li Wei states that these images are not computer montages, but that he uses mirrors, metal wires, scaffolding and acrobatics.

Wei's works have been published on the cover of the following magazines: Flash Art, Work, Magazin-Frankfurter Rundschau, Out of the Red, Zoom, Juliet, Contemporary, Theater Forum, NY Arts, Fine Arts Literature, Lapiz and Arte Al Limite.

## Life and work

Li Wei grew up being a son of a farmer and had wanted to become an artist for a career. With family support he had the special privilege to study at a private arts school until he was tired of the school's traditional approach of teaching. However, Li Wei's struggle with art did not end early in his life. After Li Wei became independent he had to work numerous jobs (delivering food and house keeper) in Beijing in order for him to sustain himself; but more importantly he needed the money to supply his art works (at the time painting) so that he could continue to work towards his dream. After Li Wei kick started his career as an artist by working with paint, Li Wei realized a newfound passion and wanted to specialize in a different form of art. In 1999 he believed that "only performance art offers a chance to experience an action's message through one's own body". Since then Li Wei has been intentional about his art pieces and has desired to express his work publicly with a message behind each art piece. Li Wei has been expressing his art by capturing photos of his own body and images of himself to relay a message towards his audience.

But before becoming a photographer Li Wei started as a performance artist simply because he wanted to document his performances. In an interview with AOL News Li Wei states "When I started doing this, it was 2000, I only used photography to record the procedure of my performance art. Then, after the 'Li Wei falls into ... ' series, I found this way of shooting as my signal." And since then Li Wei has already a performed for over 150 shots and many of these shots have risked his life. Li Wei himself admits that he shoots in extremely dangerous situations and he thinks the creation of his artwork isn't as a big of a challenge than being in the dangerous situation for his performance shootouts. Some of these dangerous scenarios include shots on high buildings, lakes, ice holes and even through the windshield of a war.

Li Wei's rise to fame was through his performance of the “Falls” series in which he sticks himself in the group as a missile. Through this performance he wanted to relay the modern man's desire to hide away from the problems that occur daily.

Li Wei's art is a difficult process. In pieces such as “Li wei Falls to the Ice Hole,” his head is planted and unseen, while his body remains rigid and upright. These photos are shocking and make the viewer puzzle over their achievement. Wei has a knack for creating catalytic art that awes and intrigues people fortunate enough to come across it. Many of Wei's photos have layered meanings, demonstrating various aspects of Chinese society. In “Li Wei's Body of Art” by Julie Segraves, Wei comments on his “Falls” series, in which he demonstrates the shock of societal progression.

Many of Li Wei's works are done through the usage of mirrors. The mirror would usually contain a hole in the middle for Li Wei to insert his head. With this technique Li Wei is able to create an “illusory superimpositions and fusions.” Within the Chinese culture the mirror possesses a great symbolic meaning. The mirror is an indicator of truth, allowing people to look at themselves and look at the mistakes they have made in life. Furthermore, there is a Chinese proverb that says “take history as a mirror”, which means that things that occurred throughout history will occur again and it is essential for individuals to recognize mistakes made from people in the past and react differently when similar issues come up again.

Li Wei's art may seem humorous but they address wide range of topics from gender relations to politics. By creating art through mirrors, Li Wei has been able to express his personal thoughts, experiences and address some social issues that occur in our daily lives. Wei has been able to challenge the public audience's perception of 'reality' and 'truth' with his work.

The actual shootout for his artwork takes about one or two hours but the preparation time is much longer. Wei could be inspired with an idea, an image in his head he wants to enact in real life, but it can take many months until he actual puts his idea into reality. Moreover, Wei hopes that he can one day shoot on the moon with a rocket. Li Wei's goal is to "make everything impossible possible."

Li Wei is a forward thinking artist with fresh ideologies. In an interview with 'The Creators Project' Wei makes the interesting point that "we are all controlled by someone else. Our thoughts and actions are all controlled by an unseen force." What Wei is pointing out here is that there is an external force that dictates us and our behaviors. Furthermore, Wei mentions about the rapid changes that occurred in China in the last decade. As a citizen of Beijing, Wei fully experienced the rapid change within China's economy and the exponential growth in all types of markets in China. Wei's concern with the rapid growth was the confinement of space due to the rapid growth. People from the country started to move into the cities, into tall confined apartments. Wei feels like the rapid growth has caused a huge change and strain on people's perceptions and emotions. Due to destruction of old buildings and forced move into apartments people are forced into small confined spaces. As a result, people want to break free from these limitations, an issue that hasn't been a problem for the past decades. With this concern Wei has created art that expresses the feeling of 'breaking free', art pieces that show the hunger and will to break away from limitations and confinement. Moreover, Wei discusses his message behind his Fall series as they are not about belonging to earth, but rather it's about looking at the earth with the perspective from outer space. Wei wants his audience to look at things with a different perspective. Wei wants to draw out the fine line between reality and fantasy and point it out to the audience. And Wei intends to relay his perception of this world through his photography and performance art.

### Exhibitions

Li Wei's artwork has been exhibited in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Solo Exhibitions include Parc de la Villette, Paris (2012), Lucca, Italy (2011), 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong (2010;2006), Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong (2010), Tribeca, Madrid (2009), Michael Schultz Gallery, Beijing (2009), Mogadishni CPH gallery, Denmark (2009), Yeh Rong Jia Culture & Art Foundation, Taiwan (2008), EScape Cultural Ample Gallery, Spain (2007), PYO Gallery, Seoul (2006), Galeria Espacio Minimo, Madrid (2006), Marella Gallery, Beijing (2005), Marella Gallery, Italy (2004)

Li Wei's work was included in Katonah Museum of Art, United States (2012), Beijing Times Art Museum, China (2011), *Daegu Photo Biennale 2010* in Korea (2010),Palazzo Reale Museum, Milan (2009), Olympic Museum, Switzerland (2008), Criterion Gallery, Australia (2007), Toulouse Art Museum, France (2006), Ox Warehouse, Macau (2005), *MMAC* exhibition, Japan (2004), *Prague Biennial* in Czech Republic (2003), Beijing Red Square, Beijing (2002), Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong (2001), Performance Art Festival, Beijing (2000)

## Mirror Series

Li Wei began with the performance series “Mirroring” in 2000. In a mirror about a yard wide he cut a hole for his head. The mirror, propped by his hands, can be seen in many photos documenting the performances in private places but also in many public ones in China and abroad. Long shots show the observers as well as their surroundings mirrored round the performer's head. Close-ups are more striking in excluding the mirror's rim and the artist's body. Li's head seems to hover, be it in the midst of a crowd of observers, in a gully between buildings, in the sky or on glittering water. “The mirror turns concrete reality into an immaterial image by establishing new relationships between things. The process mirrors that of imagination, since we are always putting single impressions together to form an imaginary reality. Insofar as my head is stuck in the middle of this reflection one of the important functions of contemporary art becomes evident: it is unsettling – like this performance – and questions our everyday habits of perception. We see ourselves and also the surrounding reality anew.”

## Fall series

One of his most effective series of performances has been his “Falls”, begun in 2002. Photos show the artist with his head and chest embedded in the asphalt of a street, the roof of a ruined house or the ice of a lake with his legs pointing up to the sky. “No, these images are not computer montages,” the artist tells us. Sometimes he worked with the help of props in the literal sense of the word. But for him the main thing was physical exertion, the experience – be it brief – of keeping a posture up and of feeling the absurdity of the situation through his own body. “If you picture someone falling to earth from another planet… it would really be no soft landing in the sense of a happy moment, whether the landing were in China or in another part of the world: It’s crazy what we do to one another. And this feeling of having fallen headfirst into something and of having nothing firm under the feet is familiar to everyone. One doesn’t have to fall from another planet to feel it.”

## Award

Wei has received the following awards for his work:

## InfoBox

| Li Wei | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | (1970-09-05) 5 September 1970
Hubei, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Education | Suzhou Silk College
Central Academy of Fine Arts
Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
An Hui Teachers' College
Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts |


title: The Mammoth Hunters

abstract: The Mammoth Hunters is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel released in 1985. It is the sequel to The Valley of Horses and third in the Earth's Children series.

text:
# The Mammoth Hunters

***The Mammoth Hunters*** is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel released in 1985. It is the sequel to *The Valley of Horses* and third in the Earth's Children series.

## Plot summary

This book picks up where *The Valley of Horses* ends; Ayla and Jondalar meet a group known as the Mamutoi, or Mammoth Hunters, with whom they live for a period of time. As the group's name suggests, their hosts rely on mammoth not only for food but also for building materials and a number of other commodities - and indeed for spiritual sustenance. The protagonists make their home with the Lion Camp of the Mammoth Hunters, which features a number of respected Mamutoi. Wisest of their nation is Old Mamut, their eldest shaman and the leader of the entire Mamutoi priesthood, who becomes Ayla's mentor and colleague in the visionary and esoteric fields of thought. Observing Ayla's affinity with horses and wolves, Mamut begins to introduce her into the ranks of the Mamuti (mystics).

Mamut is also one of the first to become aware of Ayla's unique upbringing. Many years ago, while on the Journey that all young men take for a rite of passage, he broke his arm, and was healed by the medicine woman of Ayla's Neanderthal clan (the grandmother of Ayla's adoptive mother Iza). This story is referenced in *Clan of the Cave Bear* as the Neanderthals rationalize Ayla's behavior in terms of what they know about "the Others" (Cro-Magnon). Mamut learned some of the Clan sign language during that stay, and became aware of the fact that the Clan are human (as opposed to other animals, as is the common opinion of most of his people).

Also within the Lion Camp is a six-year-old boy named Rydag who, like Ayla's lost son Durc, is half Clan and half Other. He was adopted by the headman's mate, Nezzie, when his mother died giving birth to him. He cannot speak, having the same vocal limitations as the Clan, but he also has their ancestral memories. Ayla quickly discovers this and teaches him, and the rest of the Lion Camp, the Clan sign language. Rydag is a sickly child, having a heart defect which limits him from even playing like the other children of the Camp. Many Mamutoi regard him as an animal, but Ayla and the Lion Camp are vehement in their defence of him. Rydag's intelligence, maturity and wit endear him to Jondalar as well, who learns to overcome his cultural prejudice towards Clan and half-Clan people.

More so than any other book in the Earth's Children series, *The Mammoth Hunters* relies on the tension created by the relationships between the characters to create a storyline. Ayla is susceptible to being deceived or confused; she was brought up among essentially honest people who due to their visual language are incapable of deception. She also does not know that when a man asks her to "share Pleasures" with him, she has the option of refusing, since Clan women did not. Thus, there are a number of communication failures in her relationships with members of more complex societies, especially with Jondalar, who is obstinate and passionate. Jondalar, a Zelandoni, is a foreigner among the Mamutoi, and Ayla's acceptance in their society makes him feel separated from her. The primary conflict is a love triangle between Jondalar, Ayla, and Lion Camp member Ranec. Ayla is attracted to Ranec, shares "Pleasures" with him a few times, and comes close to marrying him before several last-minute revelations reunite the former pair. Some fans have criticized author Jean Auel for making the book somewhat of a soap opera compared to her other works. The author also uses the same technique (long minutely precise descriptive passages) for common sexual activity as she uses for stone age technology (e.g. flint-shaping). At the end of this novel, Ayla and Jondalar leave for the year-long return journey to Jondalar's people, the Zelandonii, a journey detailed in *The Plains of Passage* and continued in *The Shelters of Stone.*

## Characters

### Lion Camp Earthlodge

* Lion Hearth
    + Talut (Headman)
    + Nezzie
        - Danug
        - Latie
        - Rugie
        - Rydag (half-Clan)
* Fox Hearth
    + Wymez
        - Ranec
* Mammoth Hearth
* Reindeer Hearth
    + Manuv
        - Tronie
        - Tornec
            * Nuvie
            * Hartal
* Crane Hearth
    + Crozie
        - Fralie
        - Frebec
            * Crisavec
            * Tasher
            * Bectie
* Aurochs Hearth
    + Tulie (Headwoman)
    + Barzec
        - Deegie
        - Druwez
        - Brinan
        - Tusie
        - Tarneg

## InfoBox

The Mammoth Hunters
|  | |
| --- | --- |
| Author | Jean M. Auel |
| Language | English |
| Series | Earth's Children |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Crown |
| Publication date | December 21, 1985 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 768 |
| ISBN | 0-517-55627-8 |
| OCLC | 12371377 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 19 |
| LC Class | PS3551.U36 M3 1986 |
| Preceded by | *The Valley of Horses* |
| Followed by | *The Plains of Passage* |


title: North Macedonia–Serbia relations

abstract: North Macedonia–Serbia relations are bilateral relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia. A 2022 poll conducted found that the citizens of North Macedonia consider Serbia to be their friendliest state.

text:
# North Macedonia–Serbia relations

**North Macedonia–Serbia relations** are bilateral relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia. A 2022 poll conducted found that the citizens of North Macedonia consider Serbia to be their friendliest state.

## History

### Post-independence period

Until 1991, both countries were constituent republics within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the declarations of independence of Croatia and Slovenia in June 1991, the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence three months later in September 1991. The army of rump Yugoslavia peacefully left the Republic of Macedonia, therefore the Republic of Macedonia was the only former Yugoslav republic that gained independence without conflict or war. However, bilateral relations were not established immediately.

### Establishment of bilateral relations

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed in 1992 by the remaining Yugoslav republics Montenegro and Serbia. It established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Macedonia on 8 April 1996. The establishment of bilateral relations was conducted under the country's constitutional name - *Republic of Macedonia*. Serbia, therefore, was one of 131 countries in the world that recognized the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.

North Macedonia has an embassy in Serbia's capital city Belgrade, and Serbia likewise has an embassy in North Macedonia's capital Skopje and an honorary consulate in the city of Bitola.

### Break and reestablishment of bilateral relations

Following the establishment of bilateral relations, both countries maintained friendly relations, but following the Republic of Macedonia's recognition of Kosovo's independence in October 2008, the ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia was expelled from Serbia. The break in relation lasted a few months. However, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia agreed to reestablish bilateral relations. The new ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia took office in Serbia in May 2009. The new ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to Serbia is the former speaker of parliament and former ambassador to Bulgaria, Ljubisa Georgievski. Both countries are part of the Open Balkan, an economic and political zone of three member states in the Balkans.

President of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova had a working visit to Serbia in early August 2024. Serbian firefighting units were engaged in extinguishing fires around Ohrid during August 2024.

### Church row

A church row has burdened the relations in the past. The Serbian Orthodox Church did not recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which declared autocephaly from the Serbian church in 1967. On a visit to the Republic of Macedonia in May 2009, the President of Serbia, Boris Tadić, pointed out that his country wishes for a settlement to that issue. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the past blocked the visit of the Republic of Macedonia state delegations to the Prohor Pčinjski Monastery in southern Serbia on the Republic of Macedonia's Day of the Republic, the place where the foundations of the Republic of Macedonia's statehood were laid during World War II at the first plenary session of ASNOM. In 2009, however, the Serbian Orthodox Church surprisingly allowed a visit by a delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. In 2022, the church dispute was resolved when the Serbian Orthodox Church restored MOC under its previous autonomous status and later granted it autocephaly. On the same year, a delegation from North Macedonia was allowed to visit the Prohor Pčinjski Monastery, after 18 years of blockade.

### Kosovo dispute

In December 2017, it became known that Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, intended to support Kosovo's ascension to UNESCO. The Serbian government responded that they would no longer recognize the country by the name Republic of Macedonia if they continued such efforts. Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dačić stated that it was an example of hypocrisy from Zoran Zaev's government.

### Cooperation during COVID

In February 2021 Serbia donated 8000 of their own Pfizer vaccines to North Macedonia, which were received by PM Zaev. President Aleksandar Vučić stated on the occasion that Serbia's only interest with the donation is "friendship and that we may live as best friends". PM Zaev described the act as "solidarity in practice".

## InfoBox

North Macedonia–Serbia relations
|  | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  |  |
|
North Macedonia |
Serbia |
|  | |


title: Mackenzie Elias

abstract: Mackenzie Elias is a Canadian curler from East St. Paul, Manitoba. She currently plays lead on Team Kate Cameron.

text:
# Mackenzie Elias

**Mackenzie Elias** (born October 3, 2000, in Winnipeg) is a Canadian curler from East St. Paul, Manitoba. She currently plays lead on Team Kate Cameron.

## Career

Elias played lead throughout her junior career for the Meghan Walter rink. In 2017, the team, with third Sara Oliver and second Morgan Reimer lost the provincial junior final to Shae Bevan. The following year, the team, now with third Erica Wiebe, went undefeated until the final where they lost to the Mackenzie Zacharias rink. Team Walter also lost back-to-back U18 finals in 2018 and 2019 to Emma Jensen.

The 2019–20 season saw Team Walter win their first tour event at the Manitoba Curling Tour Classic, defeating Abby Ackland in the final. At the junior championship, they missed the playoffs with a 4–3 record.

During the 2021–22 season, Team Walter made their first appearance on the national stage when they won the right to represent Manitoba at the 2021 World Junior Qualification Event. The team, now with third Lane Prokopowich and second Katie McKenzie finished 3–2 through the round robin to qualify for the playoffs. They then lost to Nova Scotia's Taylour Stevens 7–4 in the quarterfinals. Later in the season, the team qualified for the 2022 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, their first time competing in the provincial women's championship. They missed the playoffs with a 1–4 record.

Following their last season of juniors, Elias and Walter joined forces with Abby Ackland and Sara Oliver to form a new team for the 2022–23 season. After a slow start, the team found their footing at the 2022 Western Showdown where they advanced all the way to the final before losing to Silvana Tirinzoni. The team again qualified at the 2022 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic where they lost in the quarterfinals to Gim Eun-ji. Team Ackland changed their lineup halfway through the season with Walter taking over as the new skip. This switch paid off immediately with the team winning the DeKalb Superspiel in December 2022. The team made their first Grand Slam event at the 2023 Canadian Open where they qualified for the playoffs through the B side. They then lost in the quarterfinals to Tean Gim. Elias herself had already played in a Slam that season, as she and Meghan Walter spared for the Casey Scheidegger rink at the 2022 Masters, playing lead and third on the team, which was skipped by Kate Hogan. The team finished 2–2 through the round robin before losing a tiebreaker to Chelsea Carey. Team Ackland competed in the 2023 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts where they finished 3–2 through the round robin. They went on to a 5–3 record in the championship pool, enough to qualify for a tiebreaker. There, they won 9–3 over Beth Peterson to qualify for the semifinal where they upset Kaitlyn Lawes 8–5. In the championship game, they lost 10–5 to Jennifer Jones, ending their run. Despite this, Team Ackland still qualified for the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts as Wild Card #3 thanks to their CTRS points earned throughout the season. At the Hearts, the team finished fifth in their pool with a 3–5 record, earning wins over the Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, and the Yukon. Despite their success as a new team, Team Ackland disbanded at the end of the season.

For the 2023–24 season, Elias and Walter teamed up with Kate Cameron and Taylor McDonald to form a new squad. Cameron skipped the team with Walter playing third, McDonald at second and Elias at lead. The team had immediate success in their first event together, going undefeated to claim the 2023 Icebreaker Challenge. They continued to build momentum throughout their next few events, reaching the final of the Alberta Curling Series Major and the semifinals of the 2023 Saville Shootout and the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic. In Grand Slam play, the team played in four events but failed to reach the playoffs in any of them. At the 2024 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Team Cameron had a strong start with six straight wins to begin the event. They then lost their final two championship round games and the semifinal to Beth Peterson, eliminating them in third. However, their strong results throughout the season earned them an entry into the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary. For the Hearts, Kelsey Rocque took McDonald's place in the lineup as she was expecting her first child. Throughout the preliminary round, Team Cameron had mixed results but managed to win both their games on the final day of round robin to earn a championship round berth. There, they knocked off the four-time defending champions Team Kerri Einarson to earn a spot in the final four. After defeating Alberta's Selena Sturmay in the 3 vs. 4 game, they came up short against Jennifer Jones in the semifinal, earning the bronze medal. At the end of the season, the team announced third Meghan Walter was stepping away from competitive curling to focus on school.

## Personal life

Elias is currently a student at the University of Manitoba.

## Teams

| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2016–17 | Meghan Walter | Emilie Rafnson | Kendra Derbowka | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2017–18 | Meghan Walter | Sara Oliver | Morgan Reimer | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2018–19 | Meghan Walter | Erica Wiebe | Morgan Reimer | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2019–20 | Meghan Walter | Morgan Reimer | Lauryn Kuzyk | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2020–21 | Meghan Walter | Lane Prokopowich | Katie McKenzie | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2021–22 | Meghan Walter | Lane Prokopowich | Katie McKenzie | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2022–23 | Meghan Walter | Abby Ackland | Sara Oliver | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2023–24 | Kate Cameron | Meghan Walter | Taylor McDonald | Mackenzie Elias |
| 2024–25 | Kate Cameron | Taylor McDonald | Brianna Cullen | Mackenzie Elias |

*

## InfoBox

| Mackenzie Elias | |
| --- | --- |
| Curler | |
| Born | (2000-10-03) October 3, 2000
Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Team | |
| Curling club | Elmwood CC,
Elmwood, MB |
| Skip | Kate Cameron |
| Third | Taylor McDonald |
| Second | Brianna Cullen |
| Lead | **Mackenzie Elias** |
| Curling career | |
| Member Association | Manitoba |
| Hearts appearances | 2 (2023, 2024) |
| Top CTRS ranking | 6th (2023–24) |
| Medal record      Women's Curling  Representing  Manitoba  Scotties Tournament of Hearts  2024 Calgary | |


title: 167th (1st London) Brigade

abstract: The 167th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Territorial Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars. It was the first Territorial formation to go overseas in 1914, garrisoned Malta, and then served with the 56th (London) Infantry Division on the Western Front. In the Second World War, it fought in the North African and Italian campaigns in the Second World War.

text:
# 167th (1st London) Brigade

The **167th (1st London) Brigade** was an infantry formation of the British Territorial Army that saw active service in both the First and Second World Wars. It was the first Territorial formation to go overseas in 1914, garrisoned Malta, and then served with the 56th (London) Infantry Division on the Western Front. In the Second World War, it fought in the North African and Italian campaigns in the Second World War.

## Origin

The Volunteer Force of part-time soldiers was created following an invasion scare in 1859, and its constituent units were progressively aligned with the Regular British Army during the later 19th Century. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.

The West London Brigade was one of the formations organised at this time. Brigade Headquarters was at 93 Cornwall Gardens in Kensington and the commander was retired Lt-Gen Lord Abinger (subsequent commanders were also retired, Regular officers). The assembly point for the brigade was at Caterham Barracks, the Brigade of Guards' depot conveniently situated for the London Defence Positions along the North Downs. The brigade's original composition was:

**West London Brigade**

The West London Brigade was redesignated the **1st London Brigade** in the reorganisations following the Second Boer War.

## Territorial Force

This organisation was carried over into the Territorial Force (TF) created under the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the 1st London Brigade joining the 1st London Division. All of the Volunteer Battalions in the Central London area became part of the all-Territorial London Regiment and were numbered sequentially through the London brigades and divisions:

**1st London Brigade**

The 3rd Middlesex RVC and 2nd VB Middlesex Regiment became the 7th and 8th Battalions Middlesex Regiment respectively in the Home Counties Division, while the 17th Middlesex RVC became the 19th Battalion, London Regiment (St Pancras) in the 2nd London Division.

Brigade HQ was at Friar's House, New Broad Street (the HQ of 1st London Division). On the outbreak of war in August 1914 the brigade commander was Colonel The Earl of Lucan, a former Regular officer.

## First World War

The division was mobilised on the outbreak of the First World War in early August 1914 and, when asked to serve overseas (as, according to the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, Territorial soldiers were not obliged to serve overseas), most of the men of the division volunteered. Those who didn't, together with the many recruits, were formed into 2nd Line battalions, the 2/1st London Brigade, part of 2/1st London Division, which later became 58th (2/1st London) Division. The battalions adopted the prefix '1/' (1/4th Londons, for example) to distinguish them from the 2nd Line battalions, which adopted the '2/' prefix (2/4th Londons).

However, between November 1914 and April 1915, most of the battalions of the division were sent overseas either to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front or to overseas postings such as Malta (in the case of the 1/1st London Brigade) so as to relieve to Regular Army troops for service in France and Belgium and so, as a result, the 1st London Division was broken up.

In early February 1916, however, the War Office authorised the 1st London Division to be reformed, now to be known as 56th (1/1st London) Division. Consequently, the brigade was reformed in France in February 1916, now as the **167th (1/1st London) Brigade**, but with mostly different units, except the 1/1st and 1/3rd Londons (both original battalions of the brigade), and both the 1/7th and 1/8th battalions of the Middlesex Regiment, both of which had previously been part of the Middlesex Brigade of the Home Counties Division and had served in Gibraltar before returning to England and fighting in France.

The brigade served for the rest of the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front in Belgium and France, fighting a diversionary attack, alongside 46th (North Midland) Division, on the Gommecourt salient, to distract German attention away from the Somme offensive a few miles south in July 1916. In March 1917, the 56th Division pursued the German Army during their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917, Arras, Langemarck, Passchendaele, Cambrai, First Arras, Albert and the Hundred Days Offensive. The First World War finally came to an end with the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. By the end of the war the 56th Division had suffered nearly 35,000 casualties.

### Order of battle

The brigade was composed as follows during the war:

* 1/1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) *(left May 1915, rejoined February 1916)*
* 1/2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) *(left February 1915)*
* 1/3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) *(left May 1915, rejoined February 1916, left January 1918)*
* 1/4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) *(left January 1915)*
* 1/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment *(from February 1916)*
* 1/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment *(from February 1916)*
* 167th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps *(formed 22 March 1916, moved to 56th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 1 March 1918)*
* 167th Trench Mortar Battery *(formed 14 June 1916)*
* 4th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment *(from 7 October until 15 November 1917)*

Due to a shortage of manpower in the BEF, British infantry brigades serving on the Western Front were reduced from four to three battalions throughout early 1918. Therefore, the 1/3rd Londons were, in early January, transferred to 173rd (3/1st London) Brigade of 58th (2/1st London) Division where they absorbed the 2/3rd Battalion and were renamed the 3rd Battalion once again. In February the 1/1st Londons absorbed the 2/1st Battalion and were renamed the 1st Battalion.

### Commanders

The following officers commanded 167th Brigade during the war:

## Between the wars

Disbanded after the war, the brigade, along with the rest of the division, was reformed in the Territorial Army (formed on a similar basis to the Territorial Force) as the **167th (1st London) Infantry Brigade**, again with the same composition as it had before the First World War, of four battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. The brigade had its headquarters in Birdcage Walk, London, at the Regimental Headquarters of the Scots Guards. In 1922 they dropped the 'battalion' from their title becoming, for example, 1st City of London Regiment (The Royal Fusiliers).

Throughout the second half of the 1930s there was a need to increase the anti-aircraft defences of the United Kingdom, particularly so for London and Southern England. As a result, in 1935, the 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Royal Fusiliers) was converted into an artillery role, transferring to the Royal Artillery and converted into 60th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery and becoming part of 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Group, 1st Anti-Aircraft Division (formed by conversion of the Headquarters of 47th (2nd London) Infantry Division). They were replaced in the brigade by the 10th London Regiment (Hackney) from the 169th (3rd London) Infantry Brigade. The battalion was previously known as the 10th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Hackney). After the 47th Division was disbanded the 56th Division was redesignated as the London Division and the brigade became **1st London Infantry Brigade**.

In 1938, after most of its battalions were posted away or converted to other units, the London Regiment ceased to exist and was disbanded. As a result, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions became the 8th, 9th and 10th battalions, respectively, of the Royal Fusiliers and the 10th London Regiment (Hackney) became the 5th (Hackney) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. In the same year the 10th (3rd City of London) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was transferred to the Royal Artillery, becoming 10th (3rd City of London) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (69th Searchlight Regiment) but remained part of the Royal Fusiliers until 1940. In 1938 when all British infantry brigades were reduced to three battalions, in August, the 5th (Hackney) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment was transferred to 161st (Essex) Infantry Brigade of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and were replaced in the brigade by the London Irish Rifles (Royal Ulster Rifles) from 3rd London Infantry Brigade, previously the 18th London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) and, in 1908, the 18th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Irish Rifles). Again in 1938 the division was converted and reorganised as a motorised infantry division.

## Second World War

The Territorial Army, and therefore the brigade and the rest of the division, was mobilised between late August and early September 1939, and the German invasion of Poland began on 1 September, and the Second World War officially began two days later, after Britain and France declared war on Germany. Mobilised for full-time war service, the brigade was brought up to War Establishment strength in late October 1939 with large drafts of militiamen, men had been called up earlier in the year with the introduction of conscription in the United Kingdom and had just completed their basic training.

The division was destined not to be sent to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) but instead remained in the United Kingdom under Home Forces in a home defence role and was sent to Kent in April 1940 to come under command of XII Corps. Like most of the rest of the British Army after the events of Dunkirk, the division spent most of its time in an anti-invasion role training to repel an expected German invasion.

In July 1940, after receiving the 35th Infantry Brigade from the recently disbanded 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, the division was reorganised as a standard infantry division and later in the year, on 18 November, the division was redesignated and converted into the 56th (London) Infantry Division and, on 28 November, the brigade was renumbered again as the **167th (London) Infantry Brigade**. In the same month the 1st Battalion, London Irish Rifles was transferred to 168th (London) Infantry Brigade and was replaced by 15th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, a hostilities-only battalion raised only a few months before, making the brigade, temporarily, an all-Royal Fusiliers brigade. However, the 15th Fusiliers were posted elsewhere in February 1941 and replaced by 7th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, a battalion created in September 1940, by the redesignation of 50th (Holding) Battalion.

In November 1941 the brigade was sent to Suffolk and in July 1942 was preparing for a move overseas and was inspected by General Sir Bernard Paget, at that time Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, and also His Majesty King George VI. The 56th Division, now composed largely of a mixture of Territorials, Regulars and wartime volunteers, left the United Kingdom on 25 August 1942, moving to Iraq and, together with 5th Infantry Division, became part of III Corps under the British Tenth Army, came over underall control of Persia and Iraq Command. The brigade left for Egypt on 19 March 1943 and covered the journey by road, arriving there on 19 April 1943, and was then ordered to Tunisia, a distance covering about 3,200 miles.

The division came under command of X Corps, part of the British Eighth Army, and saw only comparatively minimal service in the Tunisia Campaign, which ended in mid-May 1943 with the surrender of over 230,000 German and Italian soldiers, a number equal to Stalingrad the year before, who would later become prisoners of war. However, the 167th Brigade had been blooded, and all three battalions had suffered over 100 casualties each. Unable to see service in Operation Husky (the Allied invasion of Sicily), the brigade was destined to see almost two years service mountain warfare in the Italian Campaign and began training in amphibious warfare.

Now under command of Lieutenant General Mark Wayne Clark, the youngest three-star general in the U.S. Army, and his U.S. Fifth Army, the 167th Brigade, with most of 56th Division (minus the 168th Brigade, temporarily replaced by 201st Guards Brigade), landed at Salerno on 9 September 1943, D-Day, where they were involved in tough fighting almost from the landing, with the 8th Royal Fusiliers in particular being battered by German Tiger tanks. Throughout the fighting the brigade, supported by A Squadron of the Royal Scots Greys, had suffered heavy casualties (roughly 360 per battalion) and, after being relieved by other units, secured the Salerno beachhead and later advanced up the spine of Italy, crossing the Volturno Line and later fought at Monte Camino and crossed the Garigliano river in January 1944. With the rest of the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI), however, the brigade, by now very tired and below strength, was held up by the formidable German defences known as the Gustav Line (also the Winter Line).

In January 1944, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill envisioned an attempt to outflank the Winter Line, by way of an amphibious assault near Anzio, to capture Rome, the current objective which was being fought for in the Battle of Monte Cassino. As a result, after fighting at the Bernhardt Line and crossing the Garigliano, the division was pulled out of the line, and was transferred to Naples, to come under command of U.S. VI Corps. Arriving at Anzio on 12 February, they were almost immediately involved in heavy combat in the Battle of Anzio in very tough and severe fighting to secure the beachhead, and sustained very heavy losses, which could not easily be replaced. In late March the division was relieved by the 5th British Division and moved to Egypt to rest, refit, retrain and absorb replacements, after sustaining devastating casualties and enduring terrible conditions similar to those of the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. By the time they were relieved, casualties in the brigade, and the rest of 56th Division, by now very weak, had been so severe that one unit, the 7th Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, were reduced to 60 all ranks, less than a company, from an initial strength of almost 1,000 officers and men. Both Royal Fusiliers battalions had also suffered heavy casualties. In particular was the case of the 8th Battalion when, on 16 February during a heavy counterattack, X Company, was reduced to only one officer and 20 men. All that remained of Y Company was merely a single officer and 10 other ranks, after being heavily attacked by German infantry and Tiger tanks, which had fought against the battalion at Salerno. The battalion had, overall, suffered nearly 450 casualties at Anzio, more than half the strength of the battalion. During the fighting on 18 February, the worst day of the counterattack, Second lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters was killed and his son, Pink Floyd star Roger Waters, wrote a song in his memory–When the Tigers Broke Free–which describes the death of his father.

Whilst in Egypt the 167th Brigade, which had been reduced to less than 35% effective strength, and division were both reinforced and brought up to strength largely by retrained anti-aircraft gunners of the Royal Artillery who had been transferred to the infantry, and had now found their original roles largely redundant, due largely to the absence of the Luftwaffe. While they were there the brigade was inspected, again, by General Sir Bernard Paget, now Commander-in-chief (C-in-C), Middle East Command, and who had inspected the division nearly two years earlier, shortly before the 56th (*"The Black Cats"*) departed for overseas service.

The 56th Division, now commanded by Major-General John Yeldham Whitfield, returned in July to Italy, where they were inspected by another man who had also inspected them two years prior, H.M. The King George VI. Almost as soon as it arrived the brigade, now under Eighth Army command, found itself fighting on the Gothic Line, throughout the summer, in Operation Olive (where Eighth Army suffered 14,000 casualties, at the rate of nearly 1,000 a day) at the Battle of Gemmano, where the brigade and division suffered particularly heavy casualties. Due to these heavy losses suffered by the division (nearly 6,000) in August and September and a severe lack of British infantry replacements in the Mediterranean theatre (although large numbers of anti-aircraft gunners were being retrained as infantry, they had only began their conversion in August and would not available until, at the earliest, October), the 8th Royal Fusiliers and 7th Ox and Bucks were both reduced to cadres and transferred to the 168th (London) Brigade, which was being disbanded, with the surplus personnel of the 8th Royal Fusiliers transferring to the 9th Battalion and most of the men of 7th Ox and Bucks transferring to fill gaps in the 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) of the 169th (Queen's) Brigade. They were replaced in the brigade by 1st Battalion, London Scottish and 1st Battalion, London Irish Rifles, both from the 168th Brigade, although 1st London Irish had originally been with 167th Brigade at the outbreak of war. This, however, was not actually enough to keep them at full strength and the battalions were placed on a reduced establishment of only three rifle companies. With the autumn rains and the oncoming winter, and no hope of a successful offensive in either weather, the Fifth and Eighth Armies reverted to the defensive and began preparing for an offensive on the Germans in the spring, scheduled for 1 April 1945.

In April–May 1945 the brigade and division, with the rest of 15th Army Group, took part in the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, where the 56th Division fought alongside 78th *Battleaxe* Division in the Battle of the Argenta Gap. The offensive effectively ended the Italian Campaign, and the brigade ended the war in Austria with the Eighth Army.

### Order of battle

167th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:

### Commanders

The following officers commanded 167th Brigade during the war:

* Brigadier C.R. Britten *(until 11 July 1941)*
* Brigadier J.C.A. Birch *(from 11 July 1941 until 21 June 1943)*
* Brigadier C.E.A. Firth *(from 21 June 1943 until 29 January 1944)*
* Brigadier J. Scott-Elliott *(from 29 January until 27 October 1944, again from 7 November to 17 December 1944, and from 11 January 1945)*
* Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Cleghorn *(Acting, from 27 October until 7 November 1944)*
* Lieutenant Colonel A.T. Law *(Acting, from 17 December 1944 until 11 January 1945)*

## Post-war

The division was disbanded in Italy after the war in 1946. It was reformed in 1947 as the 56th (London) Armoured Division in the reorganisation of the Territorial Army. However, the 167th Brigade was not reformed until 1956 when 56th Division was rereganised as an infantry division once more. As **167 (City of London) Infantry Brigade** it had the following organisation:

56th Division was disbanded in 1961.

* Becke, A. F. (1936). *Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A*. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
* Ian F.W. Beckett, *Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908*, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X.
* Blaxland, Gregory (1979). *Alexander's Generals (the Italian Campaign 1944-1945)*. London: William Kimber. ISBN 0-7183-0386-5.
* John K. Dunlop, *The Development of the British Army 1899–1914*, London: Methuen, 1938.
* D.K. Edwards, *A History of the 1st Middlesex Volunteer Engineers (101 (London) Engineer Regiment, TA) 1860–1967*, London, 1967.
* d'Este, Carlo (1991). *Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome*. New York: Harper. ISBN 0-06-015890-5.
* Hoyt, Edwin Palmer (2002). *Backwater War: the Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943–1945*. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-97478-7.
* Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, *Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001)*
* H.R. Martin, *Historical Record of the London Regiment*, 2nd Edn (nd)
* Joslen, H. F. (2003) \[1960\]. *Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945*. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
* R. Money Barnes, *The Soldiers of London*, London: Seeley Service, 1963.
* Ray Westlake, *Tracing the Rifle Volunteers*, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.

## InfoBox

| West London Brigade<br>167th (1st London) Brigade | |
| --- | --- |
| Active | 1888–1919<br>1920–1946 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Territorial Army |
| Type | Infantry<br>Motorised infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 56th (London) Division |
| Nickname(s) | "The Black Cats" (Second World War, divisional nickname) |
| Engagements | First World War<br>Second World War |


title: Oakdale RFC

abstract: Oakdale Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Oakdale near Blackwood in Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

text:
# Oakdale RFC

**Oakdale Rugby Football Club** is a rugby union team from the village of Oakdale near Blackwood in Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

## Club honours

## InfoBox

Oakdale RFC
| Full name | Oakdale Rugby Football Club |
| --- | --- |
| Nickname(s) | The Dale |
| Location | Oakdale |
| Ground(s) | Recreation Ground |
| Chairman | Chris Thomas |
| Coach(es) | Kris Moses<br>Martin Jones |
| Captain(s) | Scott Hoskins |
| League(s) | WRU Division 2 East |
| 2018-19 | 1st |
|  | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Official website | |
| oakdale.rfc.wales | |


title: Nannie Herndon Rice

abstract: Nannie Herndon Rice was an American suffragist, writer, and college librarian, based in Mississippi. She worked at the Mississippi State University library from 1916 to 1957, and was president of the Mississippi Library Association.

text:
# Nannie Herndon Rice

**Nannie Herndon Rice** (November 30, 1886 – March 6, 1963) was an American suffragist, writer, and college librarian, based in Mississippi. She worked at the Mississippi State University library from 1916 to 1957, and was president of the Mississippi Library Association.

## Early life and education

Rice was born in Starkville, Mississippi, the daughter of Arthur Hopkins Rice and Frances Mary Smith Rice. Her father was a physician. Her great-grandfather Arthur F. Hopkins was a railroad president and state Supreme Court justice in Alabama. She graduated from the Mississippi Industrial Institute & College in 1905, and held further degrees from Columbia University (1911) and the University of Illinois (1932, in library science).

## Career

Rice was an assistant at the Industrial Institute & College after she graduated. She taught English at St. Mary's College in Dallas, Texas. She spent most of her career as a librarian at the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Mississippi State University), from 1916 until her retirement in 1957.

Rice wrote poetry, book reviews, and essays. She was president of the Mississippi Library Association in the 1930s. She was a speaker at the MIssissippi Library Association's general meeting in 1938.

After H. L. Mencken wrote a series of articles describing the American South as a cultural desert, Rice wrote an essay in defense of Mississippi, which Mencken published in *The American Mercury*, in January 1926. She also wrote book reviews and poetry, published under the names "Anne Coke" and "Ann Cook". After her death, an anthology of her writings was published by her nephew, Frederic F. Mellen.

Rice was elected recording secretary and corresponding secretary of the Mississippi Woman Suffrage Association; her former professor Pauline Van de Graaf Orr was the association's president. She was also active in the Mississippi Association for the Preservation of Wild Life, the American Library Association, and the American Association of University Women.

## Personal life and legacy

Rice lived most of her life in Meadow Woods, her family's historic plantation home in Oktibbeha County. She died there in 1963, at the age of 76. Her family donated a large collection of her papers to Mississippi State University. An oil portrait of Rice was displayed at Mississippi State University's Mitchell Memorial Library. A residence hall at Mississippi State is named Rice Hall in her memory.

## InfoBox

| Nannie Herndon Rice | |
| --- | --- |
| Nannie Herndon Rice, from the 1905 yearbook of the Mississippi Industrial Institute & College | |
| Born | November 30, 1886
Starkville, Mississippi |
| Died | March 6, 1963 (aged 76)
Starkville, Mississippi |
| Occupation(s) | Suffragist, writer, librarian |
| Relatives | Arthur F. Hopkins (great-grandfather) |