The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test–Ban Treaty is a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996 but has not entered into force, as eight specific nations have not ratified the treaty; the movement for international control of nuclear weapons began in 1945, with a call from Canada and the United Kingdom for a conference on the subject. In June 1946, Bernard Baruch, an emissary of President Harry S. Truman, proposed the Baruch Plan before the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, which called for an international system of controls on the production of atomic energy; the plan, which would serve as the basis for United States nuclear policy into the 1950s, was rejected by the Soviet Union as a US ploy to cement its nuclear dominance. Between the Trinity nuclear test of 16 July 1945 and the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty on 5 August 1963, 499 nuclear tests were conducted.

Much of the impetus for the PTBT, the precursor to the CTBT, was rising public concern surrounding the size and resulting nuclear fallout from underwater and atmospheric nuclear tests tests of powerful thermonuclear weapons. The Castle Bravo test of 1 March 1954, in particular, attracted significant attention as the detonation resulted in fallout that spread over inhabited areas and sickened a group of Japanese fishermen. Between 1945 and 1963, the US conducted 215 atmospheric tests, the Soviet Union conducted 219, the UK conducted 21, France conducted three. In 1954, following the Castle Bravo test, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India issued the first appeal for a "standstill agreement" on testing, soon echoed by the British Labour Party. Negotiations on a comprehensive test ban involved the US, UK, the Soviet Union, began in 1955 following a proposal by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Of primary concern throughout the negotiations, which would stretch with some interruptions to July 1963, was the system of verifying compliance with the test ban and detecting illicit tests.

On the Western side, there were concerns that the Soviet Union would be able to circumvent any test ban and secretly leap ahead in the nuclear arms race. These fears were amplified following the US Rainier shot of 19 September 1957, the first contained underground test of a nuclear weapon. Though the US held a significant advantage in underground testing capabilities, there was worry that the Soviet Union would be able to covertly conduct underground tests during a test ban, as underground detonations were more challenging to detect than above-ground tests. On the Soviet side, the on-site compliance inspections demanded by the US and UK were seen as amounting to espionage. Disagreement over verification would lead to the Anglo-American and Soviet negotiators abandoning a comprehensive test ban in favor of a partial ban, which would be finalized on 25 July 1963; the PTBT, joined by 123 states following the original three parties, banned detonations for military and civilian purposes underwater, in the atmosphere, outer space.

The PTBT had mixed results. On the one hand, enactment of the treaty was followed by a substantial drop in the atmospheric concentration of radioactive particles. On the other hand, nuclear proliferation was not halted and nuclear testing continued at a rapid clip. Compared to the 499 tests from 1945 to the signing of the PTBT, 436 tests were conducted over the ten years following the PTBT. Furthermore, US and Soviet underground testing continued "venting" radioactive gas into the atmosphere. Additionally, though underground testing was safer than above-ground testing, underground tests continued to risk the leaking of radionuclides, including plutonium, into the ground. From 1964 through 1996, the year of the CTBT's adoption, an estimated 1,377 underground nuclear tests were conducted; the final non-underground test was conducted by China in 1980. The PTBT has been seen as a step towards the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty of 1968, which directly referenced the PTBT. Under the NPT, non-nuclear weapon states were prohibited from possessing and acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

All signatories, including nuclear weapon states, were committed to the goal of total nuclear disarmament. However, India and Israel have declined to sign the NPT on the grounds that such a treaty is fundamentally discriminatory as it places limitations on states that do not have nuclear weapons while making no efforts to curb weapons development by declared nuclear weapons states. In 1974, a step towards a comprehensive test ban was made with the Threshold Test Ban Treaty, ratified by the US and Soviet Union, which banned underground tests with yields above 150 kilotons. In April 1976, the two states reached agreement on the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty, which concerns nuclear detonations outside the weapons sites discussed in the TTBT; as in the TTBT, the US and Soviet Union agreed to bar peaceful nuclear explosions at these other locations with yields above 150 kilotons, as well as group explosions with total yields over 1,500 kilotons. To verify compliance, the PNET requires that states rely on national technical means of verification, share information on explosions, grant on-site access to counterparties.

The TTBT and PNET did not enter into force for the US and Soviet Union until 11 December 1990. In October 1977, the US, UK, Soviet Union returned to negotiations over a test ban; these three nuclear powers made notable progress in the late 1970s, agreeing to terms on a ban o

The Northeast Air Command was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in Northeast Canada and Greenland, it was discontinued in 1957. The Northeast Air Command was formed from the World War II facilities of the United States Army Newfoundland Base Command, which formed on 15 January 1941; the NBC was formed to command bases in Newfoundland which came under United States control as a result of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement. In the summer of 1940, President Roosevelt began negotiating with British Ambassador to the United States, Lord Lothian for the American lease of British bases, the "rental" to take the form of fifty over-age destroyers. On 2 September 1940, the negotiations were completed. In exchange for the destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for bases in Dominion of Newfoundland, British Guiana, Trinidad, St. Lucia and the Bahamas.

The detailed lease agreements were not signed until March 1941. But by that time, American troops were in Newfoundland; the first United States troops arrived in Newfoundland on 29 January 1941. The first base occupied was a temporary tent camp near St. John's called Camp Alexander. Nearby Fort Pepperrell received its first troops in November 1941; the Newfoundland Base Command was assigned to the Northeastern Defense Command, a subordinate continental defense command of First United States Army, whose area included the east coast of the United States, with both commanded by Lt. General Hugh A. Drum, based at Fort Jay in New York City. In December 1941 the Northeastern Defense Command became the Eastern Theater of Operations and assumed First Army's role in continental defense. In March 1942 the ETO was renamed the Eastern Defense Command; the NBC was under the direct control of US Army General Headquarters for U. S. Troops in Newfoundland in the defense of the northeastern seaboard through First Army/Eastern Defense Command.

The Base Command was responsible for its own supply, to be provided by the Second Corps area, the service of supply organization headquartered at Fort Jay, to the same extent as for units of the field forces. NBC provided ground and harbor defense of U. S. bases in Newfoundland and Labrador, to work with Canada in defending Newfoundland, to cooperate with the United States Navy in Newfoundland defense. Newfoundland Base Command was headquartered at St. John's, Newfoundland. Another major base was Naval Station Argentia; the first USAAF presence in Newfoundland was in May 1941 when six B-18 Bolos from the First Air Force 21st Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at RCAF Station Gander. The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command used both Gander and RCAF Station Torbay near St. John's for antisubmarine patrols over the North Atlantic and to provide convoy overflights over the shipping lanes, patrolling for U-Boats. Both Canada and the United States built radar stations in Newfoundland. Beginning in the spring of 1944, the American stations were phased over to the RCAF so that American personnel could be moved to more active theaters.

While the exchange of destroyers for a string of Atlantic bases was under negotiation, while plans and preparations for developing the new bases were getting under way, Great Britain and Canada were consolidating their position in the North Atlantic by stationing troops in Iceland and were attempting to counter German activities in Greenland. With United States bases were under construction in Newfoundland, a number of possible sites for airfields in Greenland were made in late 1940. Greenland being a Danish colony with Denmark under the occupation of Nazi Germany at the time; these surveys were made with the justification that the defense of the American bases in Newfoundland and of the northeastern United States would be affected by a German military air base in Greenland. Neither the United States, nor Canada or Great Britain desired any Wehrmacht facilities or armed forces in Greenland to obtain weather data. During the summer of 1940 Nazi Germany had organized in Norway a number of expeditions for the purpose of establishing radio and weather stations in northeastern Greenland, in the neighborhood of Scoresby Sound.

Although manned, it would seem, by Norwegians and Danes, led by a Dane, these weather stations were under German control and were operated for the purpose of assisting the German naval and military effort. A mixed British-Norwegian landing party seized a supply of aviation gasoline, dismantled several radio stations, took into custody a number of armed Danish "hunters" found on the coast; this was in late August or early September 1940. A few weeks afterward the British intercepted another vessel off the coast of Greenland with about fifty Germans, some of them meteorologists, on board. All this activity at the top of the Western Hemisphere was a source of much concern to the United States. In addition to seizing German ships and weather equipment on Greenland, the British and Canadians were planning on building air bases on the island to conduct antisubmarine warfare in the North Atlantic. Although the United States Government had acquiesced in the British garrisoning of Iceland, it had no desire to see Britain make the same move into Greenland.

The Subway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, is the older of the two separate inter-terminal people movers operating at the airport. Opened with the airport, the train system was replaced in 1981 with the current WEDway system, a people mover system built by WED Transportation Systems, a division of what is now known as Walt Disney Imagineering; the Subway serves landside traffic, unlike the newer Skyway. The Subway is the only WEDway people mover built by the Walt Disney Company outside of a Disney property, it uses much of the mechanical technology used by the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, an attraction in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland. The design permits the trains to make tight corners that are necessary along portions of the basement route, is unusual in that on-train station announcements and audible warning messages are provided by a trackside audio system through openings in the tops of the vehicle carbodies; the train operates in a circuit, stopping at every terminal as well as the Houston Airport Hotel before returning to its starting point.

The system is maintained and operated by JBT Aerotech. The airport is conducting preliminary studies of potential new systems to replace the Subway, as both Houston Airport System and major airlines serving the airport have determined that the cost of operating and maintaining the system is no longer viable; the trains have no electricity and curtain doors have a special mechanism unlocking the train's doors List of airport people mover systems On track - the Disney trains Complete On-Ride Video

San Sebastián de Buenavista is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Founded in 1748 by Fernando de Mier y Guerra with the name San Sebastián de Melchiquejo, but was changed on November 15, 1957 when it was erected municipality. Corregimientos: Troncosito Troncoso Buenavista El Coco Las Margaritas La Pacha Los Galvis San Valentín Sabanas de Peralejo Maria Antonia Venero El Seis San Rafael Santa Rosa Dividivi San Sebastián de Buenavista official website

Bi-wiring is a means of connecting a loudspeaker to an audio amplifier used in hi-fi systems. There is one pair of connectors on a loudspeaker and a single cable runs from the amplifier output to the terminals at the loudspeaker housing. From this point, connections are made to the loudspeaker drivers – through audio crossover networks. In bi-wiring, each loudspeaker has two pairs of connectors and two cables are run from the same amplifier output to the speaker cabinet – one for the high frequency or tweeter driver and one for the low frequency driver; the purported advantage of this split is that it "reduces magnetic interaction in the cable, resulting in better sound". However, technical analysis suggests that while bi-wired arrangements may be expected to have differences from single wired ones, these differences would be so small as to have little significance; some audiophiles feel. For example, John Atkinson, writing in Stereophile, states that he observes "subtle but important" differences in reduction of treble hardness and improvement in bass control in one review.

Critics of bi-wiring believe that both ways of making speaker connections are electrically equivalent, thus cynically refer to the practice as "buy-wiring", implying it is nothing more than a marketing gimmick for buying more pairs of speaker wires. Bi-wiring should not be confused with the hi-fi practice of bi-amping: the use of a separate amplifier for each driver, which brings improved separation of signal frequencies and removes the need for passive crossovers and the degraded efficiency and cost that comes with them

Paul Harpole is an American politician and businessman who served as the Mayor of Amarillo, the largest city in the Texas Panhandle, from May 2011 to May 2017. He chose not to seek re-election in 2017. Before serving as mayor, Harpole was an Amarillo City Councilmember from May 2005 to May 2007. Throughout his political career, Harpole has focused on improving downtown Amarillo, he is the vice-chairman of the downtown Center City Amarillo Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone board, which diverts property tax revenues in the zone to projects with the goal of improving the area. As mayor, he has explored plans to build a parking garage in Amarillo. However, the development partners that the city worked with for three years went out of business in January 2015, causing a setback. Harpole has received media attention for his comments on refugees in Amarillo, which receives more refugees per capita than any other Texas city, he has expressed concern for the city's ability to accommodate the large number, but has asserted that Amarillo is supportive and accepting of refugees.

Harpole was born in Deer Lodge, Montana in 1950, raised in Denver, Colorado. After finishing high school, he joined the U. S. Army in 1968. From 1969-1971, he served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a crew chief on a medevac helicopter. During his time in Vietnam, he received nineteen Army Air Medals. After finishing his service, he enrolled in the University of New Mexico in 1971, where he was involved with Kappa Alpha, he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management in 1976. Shortly after graduating, Harpole began selling cars at Frontier Ford in New Mexico. In 1982, he moved to Amarillo, where he secured a position as Vice President and General Manager of John Chandler Ford. In 2009, he started his own auto dealership. Harpole is President of Paul Harpole Motors. Harpole and his wife Jenny have two children and Amy, they have six grandchildren. Harpole was first elected to the Amarillo City Council as the Councilmember for Place 2, one of four City Council positions elected at-large by a majority of voters, in May 2005.

He served a single two-year term. During his term, in 2006, the city's Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone for downtown Amarillo was created; when it was created, Harpole became a role he maintains today. On January 11, 2011, Harpole announced, he campaigned on a plan to revitalize the downtown area to increase sales tax revenues, to establish Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones in other parts of the city, to tackle graffiti. Out of a field of 11 candidates, he won the election held on May 14, 2011, with 77 percent of the vote, his closest opponent, Roy D. McDowell, came in second with 13 percent of the vote. To keep his campaign promise to fight graffiti, Harpole created a graffiti task force a few months after taking office; the city appropriated $150,000 for the group's first year, Amarillo National Bank donated an additional $50,000. On April 24, 2012, the Amarillo City Council unanimously approved an anti-graffiti ordinance that prohibited the position of spray cans by minors under 17, gave the city the power to fine property owners who did not clean up graffiti.

Commenting on the issue, Mayor Harpole said, "It's not a joke. You're a criminal". Focusing on a downtown revitalization, Harpole explored plans to build a baseball stadium in Amarillo. A November Convention Sports & Leisure study estimated the cost to be between $20 million and $30 million, but predicted a potential $88 billion increase in economic activity as a result. Harpole toured Sugar Land, a city in the Houston metro area, along with other Amarillo city officials. Sugar Land city officials cited low crime, a major hotel, low property tax rates as key to their city's redevelopment. In Sugar Land, Harpole met with former Sugar Land mayor David Wallace, his business partner, Costa Bajjali, both principals of Wallace Bajjali Development Partners. In November 2011, the city approved a $947,000 payment to Wallace Bajjali and began talks on how to revitalize downtown Amarillo. 51 investors sued the group for losses of $3.1 million in an alleged ponzi scheme. In February 2012, the group agreed to settle the suit for about $1.2 million.

The city continued doing business with the group. In September 2012, a city ordinance that banned texting and driving passed 15 months after Governor Rick Perry vetoed a similar state law. Harpole supported it, saying, "Today, none of us would think of getting into a car without airbags or seatbelts. To me, it's that kind of issue". Mayor Harpole ran for a second term in the mayoral election held on May 10, 2013, he faced just one challenger, Terry Baughman, a lifelong Amarillo resident who worked as an assistant manager at Walgreens. Harpole campaigned on plans to build a major hotel, a parking garage, a baseball stadium. Harpole claimed, "We'll see an increase. Not just in the property an increase in use. More families, there's other things planned, parks". Baughman promised to improve areas of Amarillo outside of downtown, criticized Harpole for not having a stronger water conservation plan. Harpole was re-elected with 83% of the vote. On February 21, 2014, Mayor Harpole spoke about the refugee population in Amarillo.

According to 2007-2012 State Department data from U. S. Representative Mac Thornberry, Amarillo received the highest number of refugees per capita than any other Texas city. According to Harpole, the city has struggled with accommodating a high number of foreign language speakers in areas like education and 911 response. Harpole told the Texas Tribune, "We've raised some r