In Hindu astrology, Vakri grahas are those planets of the Solar System other than the Sun and the Moon that appear to move backwards, which apparent motion is due to earth’s orbit. Vakri in Sanskrit means crooked. A Vakri graha is known as the Saktha graha. Vakragati confers exceptional i.e. Cheshtabala, to Vakra grahas whose strong influence is expressed by the manner they affect the Natal Chart and by their transits; the two Lunar Nodes have perpetual retrograde motion. Vakragati means retrograde motion; as the Earth passes by a planet that particular planet appears to move backwards i.e. westward, amid the stars, this phenomenon is called retrograde motion, which motion invariably occurs at a time when that planet is visible for a longer period. The approximate midpoint of which period in respect of the superior planets coincides with opposition and the Earth is between the Sun and that planet. However, retrograde motion of a planet is an illusion, the planet only appears to retrograde it does not and in which event if the faster planet is retrograde it can approach the slower planet from a degree by backward motion which phenomenon is known as - "the applying aspect" in the Western astrology and the "Tajika System".

The Sun and the Moon, the two luminaries, do not have Vakra state, they do not acquire retrograde motion, the other five planets have Vakra state, they acquire retrograde motion from time to time when they transit from 5th to the 8th house from the Sun. Rahu and Ketu, which are not planets in true sense, have perpetual retrograde motion. Suryasiddhanta refers to eight varieties of motion of which Vakra and Kutila refer to Vakragati i.e. retrograde motion, when they are believed to be moving away from light, the remaining five verities viz. A planet hemmed between two Vakri grahas behaves as a Vakri graha, this applies to the Moon. Whereas Mars and Saturn appear to retrograde in the signs opposite to the one occupied by the Sun and Venus appear to retrograde when they are farthest away from the Sun. Mercury and Venus can never be in the 5th to the 8th house from the Sun. According to Sanketa Nidhi of Ramadayalu when it is retrograde Mars gives the results of the 3rd house from the house of its occupation, Mercury gives the results of the 4th, Jupiter of the 5th, Venus of the 7th and Saturn of the 8th house.

Vakri grahas and Paramuchcha grahas no doubt gain superior strength but do not produce identical results and become over-powered in Grahayuddhas. If the Sun is Arohi a Vakri graha although strong but because of the variations in its motion does not produce results uniformly. Situated in their debilitation sign if owning good houses Vakri grahas produce good results, if owning bad houses they give bad results. Phaladeepika holds the view that a retrograde planet in its sign of debilitation is equal to its occupation of exaltation sign, that exalted retrograde planets act as though they are debilitated. And, excepting the retrograde ones, those planets which occupy unfriendly signs take away 1/3rd of their allotted term of life. Vakra means Kuja. Vakri grahas having gained. Vakri grahas or retrograde planets do not always produce bad results, they impel reconsideration of functions associated with them; when planets are retrograde their power to do good or bad is enhanced benefic planets become more benevolent and malefic planets more malevolent.

However, Phaladeepika makes no such distinction. Saravali holding the view that exalted planets when retrograde have no strength, tells us that whereas retrograde benefics confer kingship, retrograde malefics give misery and aimless wandering. Uttara Kalamrita agrees with the view that Vakragati is equal to exaltation, if a planet joins a Vakri graha its strength is reduced by half, if retrogression is in own sign of exaltation the Vakri graha acts as though debilitated, if it is debilitated and retrograde it acts as though it is exalted. A retrograde planet at the time of birth affects a person immensely by its qualities. If more than one planet is retrograde the planet most advanced in a sign affects the most. An exalted planet when retrograde loses its power to help but a debilitated planet, retrograde becomes more helpful in many possible ways. Natural benefics i.e. Mercury and Jupiter, if owning the 4th, the 7th or the 10th house and retrograde become more adverse and spoil the house they own and aspect.

On the other hand natural malefics such as the Mars and Saturn, become more helpful. Retrograde Jupiter gives results of the bhava it occupied at birth, rest give the results of the bhava in which they began retrograding. Prior to assuming retrograde motion and direct motion planets seem to be stationary. Thus, Saturn remains retrograde for 140 days and stationary 5 days after. Retrograde planets influence the primary structure of the human consciousness and its relationship with human life. Vakri grahas confer unexpected results. Thus, the friendly and functionally benefic yogakaraka for Taurus Lagna situated in Taurus lagna as the lord of 10th when retrograde in transit it delayed the appointment in service of a native, at tha

Tom Killion is an American artist, African historian and educator. He is internationally known for printmaking linocut and letterpress techniques; the subject matter of his artwork is the landscapes of Northern California. His art studio is in Inverness Ridge, on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. Three of his books were co-authored by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Beat poet Gary Snyder. Killion has taught African history classes at Bowdoin College, University of Asmara and San Francisco State University. Killion was born in 1953 in Mill Valley and has two siblings, a brother Paul and a sister, journalist Ann Killion, he attended Tamalpais High School. Killion graduated from University of Santa Cruz in 1975 from Cowell College in History, he has a Master of Arts degree from 1980 and a Doctorate degree from 1985, from Stanford University in African History, with his dissertation on the Ethiopian/Eritrean labor movement. From 1990 to 1995, Killion taught African History at Bowdoin College.

Between 1993 and 1994 he was a Fulbright Professor at University of Asmara in Eritrea. And in 1995 to 2001 he was a guest lecturer at San Francisco State University in the Humanities Department. While attending University of California, Santa Cruz, Killion learned printmaking and bookbinding from Jack Stauffacher in 1975. In the same year 1975, he created his first printed book of 28 Views of Mount Tamalpais. By 1977 he founded his own Quail Press, his printmaking is inspired by Japanese woodblock printing but it is different in technique, because he uses oil-based inks, linoleum block and a printing press. Killion was featured on the PBS television series Craft in America, episode "Process" airing October 7, 2009 featuring 92nd Street Y, Kansas City Art Institute, North Bennet Street School, Julie Chen and others. 2017 – Marin Cultural Treasure Award, Cultural Commission of Marin County, California 2016 – Commonwealth Club’s 85th Annual, California Book Awards for California’s Wild Edge 2016 – 35th Annual Northern California Book Reviewers, Recognition Award for California’s Wild Edge California's Wild Edge co-authored with Gary Snyder.

Heyday Books, 2015. ISBN 978-1597142991 Tamalpais Walking: Poetry and Prints co-authored with Gary Snyder. Heyday Books, 2013. ISBN 978-1597142595 The High Sierra of California co-authored with Gary Snyder. Heyday Books, 2005. ISBN 978-1890771997 The Coast of California. Quail Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0966616705 Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Co-authored with Dan Connell, Scarecrow Press, 1998. ISBN 9780810875050 The California Coast. David R Godine Publisher, 1988. ISBN 978-0879237677 Fortress Marin. Presidio Press, 1979. ISBN 978-0891410836 Artists official website Video: "Process" episode, from October 2009, Craft in America Video: Juxtapoz Presents: Tom Killion's Woodcut Printmaking from July 2015, Juxtapoz magazine

Rolf Benjamin Wegner is a Norwegian lawyer, civil servant and former chief of police. He is one of the popular policemen in Norway, he grew up in Halden and is a son of chief of police and judge Rolf Benjamin Wegner, a grandson of chief of police and county governor Benjamin Wegner, a great-grandson of the timber merchant Heinrich Benjamin Wegner and a 2nd great-grandson of the industrialist Benjamin Wegner. His father published a book about the Wegner family, he uses the name Benjamin, joking that he prefers people to believe the "B" stands for "Bastian, bank box or something like that." He graduated as a jurist at the University of Oslo in 1967 and worked as a deputy judge in Horten 1967–1969 and as a junior police prosecutor at Romerike 1969–1972. He served as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions 1972–1974, as assistant chief of police and education director of the Police Academy 1974–1980, as chief of police in Bodø and director of the rescue coordination centre for Northern Norway and of the Security Service in Northern Norway 1980–1985, as director-general in the Ministry of Justice and head of the Prison Board 1985–1990, as the first director of the Norwegian Police University College 1990–1992, as chief of police in Bergen 1992–2001 and as chief of police in the National Police Directorate 2001–2010.

He has written several books and articles on policing and criminal law, private law and criminology, as well as historical topics. He is chairman of the board of the Halden Prison Museum Foundation, he has been chairman of the parish council of Vestre Aker. He has been a member of the council of Halden Historical Festival; as chief of police in Bergen, he had a central role in the so-called Fagereng case, in which the city's chief municipal executive Ragnar Fagereng and his wife were put on trial for filing false police reports and for insurance fraud after reporting repeated vandalism to their home. Wegner was convinced they were innocent and tried to stop the prosecution, which generated much controversy. Ragnar Fagereng was acquitted, while his wife was convicted; the case became known as a miscarriage of justice, after a gangster confessed to terrorizing the Fagereng family in the 1990s and manipulating the police to prosecute them, the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission reopened the case in 2010, resulting in the acquittal of Fagereng's wife.

He was appointed as a commander of the Order of the Falcon in 1997. He received the highest award of the Norwegian police force, the Norwegian Police Cross of Honour, in 2002, after leaving office as chief of police of Bergen, he received the Clear Speech Prize in 1996, after he had authorized a protest against the visiting Chinese President. Law and policingPrivatrett for elever ved Politiskolen, 1976 Alminnelig strafferett for elever ved Politiskolen, 1977, 1985 Kriminologi for elever ved Politiskolen, 1978 Ordenspolititjeneste for elever ved Politiskolen, 1979 Politimessig lederskap, 1980 Alminnelig strafferett, 1989 Ordenstjeneste for studenter ved Politihøgskolen, 1994 Politistrategi: belyst gjennom praktisk politiarbeid, Universitetsforlaget, 2007 Strafferett, 2 vols. 2014HistoryMine tippoldeforeldre Henriethe og Benjamin Wegner forteller, 2013 Barkskipet «Dronningen» af Fredrikshald og kaptein Ludvig Bernhard Martinsen, 2012 Oldefar Heinrich Wegner forteller, 2010 Andreas Vibe: «Onkel major», 1801–1860, 2009 "Halden gamle fengsel," in Wiwar: gammelt fra Østfold på ny måte, 2009

Marijke Fleuren is the president of the European Hockey Federation and International Hockey Federation Executive Board member. She became Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2014. Before starting her work for the EHF, Fleuren was an active member of the Leidse and Oegstgeester Mixed Hockey Club, she was member of the board, vice-president of the Dutch National Field Hockey organisation. While at the KNHB she spearheaded the campaign'Samen voor Sportiviteit en Respect', for which the organization won the European Fair Play Plaque of Merit and Diploma in 2009, she was made an honorary member of the KNHB in 2002. She has been the president of the EHF since August 2011, started a second term as president in 2015. Fleuren is a strong proponent of gender equality in sport, is a member of the IOC Women in Sport Commission. In November 2018 she received the FIH President's Award for her role in the advancement of hockey in Europe and gender equality in hockey

Common names: red-spotted earth snake. Uropeltis rubromaculata is a nonvenomous shield tail snake species endemic to southern India. No subspecies are recognized, it is found in southern India in the Western Ghats in the Anaimalai Hills and Nilgiri Hills between 1,200 and 1,500 m elevation. The type locality given is "Anamallay forests. Dorsum olive-brown; some red blotches on each side of the anterior portion of the body, one red blotch on each side of the tail near the vent. Ventrum variegated with red. Adults may attain 34 cm in total length. Dorsal scales arranged in 17 rows in 19 rows behind the head. Ventrals 127-136. Snout obtuse. Rostral more than ¼ the length of the shielded part of the head. Portion of rostral visible from above as long as its distance from the frontal. Nasals in contact with each other behind the rostral. Frontal longer than broad. Diameter of eye ½ or more than ½ the length of the ocular shield. Diameter of body 25 to 33 times in the total length. Ventrals two times as broad as the contiguous scales.

End of tail flat dorsally, obliquely truncate, with bicarinate or tricarinate scales. Terminal scute with two points. Uropeltis rubromaculatus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2 September 2007