The foreign policy of Sweden is based on the premise that national security is best served by staying free of alliances in peacetime in order to remain a neutral country in the event of war. In 2002, Sweden revised its security doctrine; the security doctrine still states that "Sweden pursues a policy of non-participation in military alliances," but permits cooperation in response to threats against peace and security. The government seeks to maintain Sweden's high standard of living; these two objectives require heavy expenditures for social welfare, defense spending at rates considered low by Western European standards, close attention to foreign trade opportunities and world economic cooperation. Sweden has been a member of the United Nations since November 19, 1946, participates in the activities of the organization, including as an elected member of the Security Council, providing Dag Hammarskjöld as the second elected Secretary-General of the UN, etc; the strong interest of the Swedish Government and people in international cooperation and peacemaking has been supplemented in the early 1980s by renewed attention to Nordic and European security questions.
Sweden decided not to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. After the Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson had submitted Sweden's application in July 1991 the negotiations began in February 1993. On January 1, 1995, Sweden became a member of the European Union. While some argued that it went against Sweden's historic policy of neutrality, where Sweden had not joined during the Cold War because it was seen as incompatible with neutrality, others viewed the move as a natural extension of the economic cooperation, going on since 1972 with the EU. Sweden addressed this controversy by reserving the right not to participate in any future EU defense alliance. In membership negotiations in 1993–1994, Sweden had reserved the right to make the final decision on whether to join the third stage of the EMU "in light of continued developments." In a nationwide referendum in November 1994, 52.3 percent of participants voted in favour of EU membership. Voter turnout was high, 83.3 percent of the eligible voters voted.
The main Swedish concerns included winning popular support for EU cooperation, EU enlargement, strengthening the EU in areas such as economic growth, job promotion, environmental issues. In polls taken a few years after the referendum, many Swedes indicated that they were unhappy with Sweden's membership in the EU. However, after Sweden hosted its first presidency of the EU in the first half of 2001, most Swedes today have a more positive attitude towards the EU; the government, with the support of the Center Party, decided in spring 1997 to remain outside of the EMU, at least until 2002. A referendum was held on September 14, 2003; the results were 42.0 % yes and 2.1 % giving no answer. Swedish foreign policy has been the result of a wide consensus. Sweden cooperates with its Nordic neighbors, formally in economic and social matters through the Nordic Council of Ministers and informally in political matters through direct consultation. Swedish neutrality and nonalignment policy in peacetime may explain how the country could stay out of wars since 1814.
Swedish governments have not defined nonalignment as precluding outspoken positions in international affairs. Government leaders have favored national liberation movements that enjoy broad support among developing world countries, with notable attention to Africa. During the Cold War, Sweden was suspicious of the superpowers, which it saw as making decisions affecting small countries without always consulting those countries. With the end of the Cold War, that suspicion has lessened somewhat, although Sweden still chooses to remain nonaligned. Sweden has devoted particular attention to issues of disarmament, arms control, nuclear nonproliferation and has contributed to UN and other international peacekeeping efforts, including the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in the Balkans, it sat as an observer in the Western European Union from 1995 to 2011, but it is not an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Sweden's engagement with NATO was strengthened during the term of Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Sweden's nonalignment policy has led it to serve as the protecting power for a number of nations who don't have formal diplomatic relations with each other for various reasons. It represents the United States and several Western European nations in North Korea for consular matters. On several occasions when the United Kingdom broke off relations with Iran, Sweden served as the protecting power for the UK. Sweden has employed its military on numerous occasions since the end of the Cold War, from Bosnia and Congo to Afghanistan and Libya. According to one study, "this military activism is driven both by the Swedish internationalist tradition of "doing good" in the world, but for instrumental purposes; these include a desire for political influence in international institutions, an interest in collective milieu shaping, a concern to improve the interoperability and effectiveness of the Swedish military." Politics of Sweden List of diplomatic missions in Sweden List of diplomatic missions of Sweden List of state visits made by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Scandinavian defense union Visa requirements for Swedish citizens Arctic policy of Sweden List of ambassadors of Sweden to Ukraine Horn, David Bayne.
Great Britain and Europe in the eighteenth century covers 1603–1702
Koshu is a white wine grape variety, grown in the Koshu Valley in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Though long thought to be of European origin, it is now known to be a hybrid of Europe's Vitis vinifera and one or more Asian Vitis species; the name “Koshu” is a former name for Yamanashi and the present-day name of the main town in the valley where the majority of Koshu grapes are grown. The distinctive characteristics of Koshu are a pale straw colour and a soft and aromatic bouquet with overtones of citrus and jasmine; the taste is clean and fresh, considered a good match for Japanese cuisine. In the late 19th century, the first proper winery was established in Yamanashi. After the second half of the 20th century, production of Japanese Wine from locally grown grapes increased dramatically. There are now more than 80 wineries in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1988 play adapted by Frank Galati from the classic John Steinbeck novel of the same name, with incidental music by Michael Smith. The play debuted at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, followed by a May 1989 production at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and a June 1989 production at the Royal National Theatre in London. After eleven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Galati, opened on March 22, 1990 at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 188 performances; the cast included Gary Sinise, Kathryn Erbe, Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, Lois Smith, Francis Guinan, Stephen Bogardus. The play was adapted for television in 1990 for the PBS series American Playhouse. Awards1990 Tony Award for Best Play 2005 2nd in the Nation for High School Productions The Grapes of Wrath at the Internet Broadway Database The Grapes of Wrath at the Internet Broadway Database Steppenwolf Theatre Company Grapes of Wrath production files, 1972-1990, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Cynthia L. Davis is a former Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives, she lives in Missouri. Davis was a Constitution Party candidate for Missouri Lieutenant Governor in the 2012 election. Davis was born in Chicago, but moved to the Boston, Massachusetts area as a teenager. Following graduation from Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts she attended Nyack College, a private, evangelical college in Nyack, New York, majoring in music. Davis and husband Bernie moved to Missouri in 1984, opening a Christian bookstore in O'Fallon, Missouri in 1989, they are the parents of seven children. Davis was appointed to chair the legislative committee for the O'Fallon Business Association in 1992, she was elected to the O'Fallon Board of Aldermen in 1994, serving as its president in 1995 and was thereafter elected to five consecutive terms. Davis was elected to the 19th district seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2002. After defeating fellow Republicans Marilyn Field and Mark Haynes in the August primary, she ran unopposed in the November general election.
Davis was reelected in 2004, 2006, 2008. While a member of the House Davis served on the following committees: Chairman of the Children and Families Committee, Chairman of the Interim Committee on Poverty, Member of Healthcare Policy Committee, State Parks and Waterways Committee, Vice-chair of the Healthcare, Policy Committee, Elections Committee. Additionally, she served as the Missouri House majority whip. Among the bills filed by Davis one called for a state ban on elective abortions, she said the bill would "protect public safety and welfare". Representative Davis, along with fellow representative Tim Jones were among a number of politicians to support a "Birther" lawsuit by attorney/dentist Orly Taitz against President Barack Obama and various members of his administration; the lawsuit was dismissed by Federal judge David Carter. In 2004 Davis used campaign funds to pay the property taxes on a home in Missouri, she paid a $1,000 dollar fine to settle a finding by the state Ethics Commission that violated campaign finance laws.
Due to Missouri's term limit rules, Davis was ineligible to run for the House seat again in 2010. She lost a Republican primary race for state senator in 2010, receiving 12,494 votes, or 45.4%. Davis left the Republican party in July 2011. In a letter to the Republican Central Committee she cited among her reasons for making the switch were pandering over principles, government of the highest bidders, blocking fair party nominations. Further, she claimed that both the Republican and Democratic parties had "become destructive to our rights and freedoms". Speaking on her party switch, according to Davis and Republicans have locked into a vicious cycle of abuse and "..both have treated us with what is known as the battered wife syndrome, when people get beaten up and before the court date they kiss and make up and everybody is happy again. They get to court and police officers have documentation that they saw the broken window and the body go through the window, they have pictures of the black eye and the fat lip and the broken arm, but by the time the court date comes, like my grandmother would say,'tweren't nothing'".
Davis lost a subsequent election for the St. Charles County Ambulance Board. After her final House term expired in January 2011 Davis took a position as executive director with the Center for Marriage Policy as well as serving on the executive board for Pure Hope, a group known as the National Coalition for the protection of Children and Families. On October 2, 2011, she announced her run for Lieutenant Governor as a Constitution Party candidate, she received 63,390 votes, or 2.37%. On March 29, 2016, she filed as a Republican to run for the U. S. House of Representatives in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District, the only person challenging incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer in the Republican primary, she lost the primary with 26.54% of the votes. In June 2009, remarks made by Davis in her constituent newsletter received local and national criticism. Davis attacked programs providing subsidized meals for school-age children from lower-income families during the summer months, claiming that such programs "could break apart more families" and asserting that "Hunger can be a positive motivator."
The Daily Star-Journal said that Davis "seems to have missed a lesson in humanity," concluding that "Schools provide real parents a real place where their real children can get a real meal, a lot more filling than empty advice from politicians." St. Louis Today characterized Davis as "oblivious," declaring that "When you chair a state special committee on children and families, you ought to learn something about the needs of children and families." Springfields New-Leader columnist Roger Ray called Davis "clueless" and noted reports that Davis had been seen "stealing food at state dinners to take home to her children.". Missouri House Minority Floor Leader Paul LeVota requested Davis be removed as chairwoman of the Children and Families Committee, and Missouri's junior U. S. Senator Claire McCaskill responded. I don't."Davis was named the daily "worst person in the world" more than once on Countdown with Keith Olbermann for her comments. Stephen Colbert mocked Davis's comments about the motivational effect of hunger, telling Missourians "If you see Representative Davis at a restaurant or a hot dog stand or through the window of her own dining room, do the right thing and take her food away."
Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison concluded that "Questioning the need for school meals doesn't prove that there is no need for them – only that someone's not paying attenti
Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of First Group. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Greystones, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport, it operates contracted bus services for airport car parks and other private hire contracts in the Dublin area. Aircoach was formed in 1999 by a former Bus Éireann employee. O'Sullivan sold 90% of the company to FirstGroup in 2003 for €15 million before selling the remaining 10% for €1.5 million to FirstGroup in 2005. Aircoach was awarded the Overall Logistics and Transport Excellence Award at the 2011 Irish Logistics and Transport Awards; the company was named as the Irish Inter-City coach operator of the year at the 2014 and 2018 Fleet Bus and Coach awards. In addition to its scheduled services, Aircoach operates shuttle bus services at Dublin Airport along with contract services and is the Official Coach Supplier to the Leinster Rugby Team; the first Aircoach route, Ballsbridge to Dublin Airport, was suspended after 14 years of operation in April 2013.
Many of the stops on this service continue to be served by the Leopardstown route, with the stops unique to this service being amalgamated into the Greystones route. A service from Ballinteer to Dublin Airport ran from April 2011 until December 2012, whilst the company previously ran stopping commuter services to Belfast and Portlaoise to/from Dublin City and Dublin Airport; the Phoenix Park shuttle ran from May 2008 until January 2010 using East Lancs Myllennium buses which were powered by LPG. The company operates a fleet of 51 coaches to operate its scheduled services and 16 buses, including a number of articulated vehicles to operate the car park and staff shuttle services at Dublin Airport; the company operates a fleet of 47 Volvo B11R Plaxton Panther 3 coaches built between 2014 and 2019. The coaches are a mixture of 49 seaters with 53 seaters without toilets. Aircoach operates a fleet of 4 Jonckheere SHV Volvo B12B tri-axles built in 2008/9; the Dublin Airport car park shuttle uses 12 articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, with two 2006 Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipses, a 2013 Wright Streetlite and a 2002 Mercedes-Benz Citaro rigid used on staff shuttle duty.
List of bus operators of the United Kingdom Media related to Aircoach at Wikimedia Commons Aircoach Homepage
Wingspan is a board game for 1 to 5 players designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games in 2019. Wingspan is a card-driven, medium-weight, engine-building board game in which players compete to attract birds to their wildlife reserves. Wingspan has been praised for its artwork, its accurate portrayal of its bird habitats, its gameplay, winning the 2019 Kennerspiel des Jahres for best connoisseur game of the year; the game sold 44,000 copies worldwide over three printings in its first two months of release, with the publisher issuing a public apology for not having more copies available. The game had sold around 200,000 copies worldwide by the end of 2019; the game is rated as the 23rd best game of all time on BoardGameGeek's database of over 18,000 games. The Wingspan European Expansion was released in November 2019, which included 81 new cards of European birds and new mechanisms and bird powers, such as birds which benefit from extra food and powers which trigger at the end of the round.
In Wingspan players assign birds, which are represented by 170 individually illustrated cards, to forest and wetland habitats. Over the course of four rounds, players put birds in the three different habitats, which are represented by rows on each player's board with space for five birds each. Players can take a limited number of four types of action each round: drawing new birds, placing birds from their hand into their habitat, collecting food, laying eggs, which have to be spent in order to play the birds; the strength of each action depends on how many cards are in that habitat, additional bonus actions are activated by the birds which are in the habitat which represents that action. In addition to putting birds into their habitats, players score points for objectives achieved during each round and throughout the whole game, eggs accumulated, food and cards stored on other cards, which represent food collection and predation by a player's birds. Wingspan European Expansion is the first expansion, published in 2019.
Wingspan European Expansion adds 81 new and unique bird cards to the total pool of available bird cards, 10 new end of round goals, 5 bonus cards. Wingspan Oceania Expansion is the second expansion, announced in January 2020 for release in 2020; the game was inspired by Hargrave's visits to Lake Artemesia close to where she lives in Maryland, where she would create personal charts of the birds she observed there. With the size the data reaching 600 rows by 100 columns; the special powers afforded by the birds in the game resemble the unique characteristics of the real birds documented by Hargrave's efforts. 2019 Nederlandse Spellenprijs Best Expert Game Nominee 2019 Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner 2019 Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee 2019 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Multi-player Nominee 2019 Deutscher Spiele Preis Best Family/Adult Game Winner The game has received predominantly favorable reviews and widespread acclaim. Board game critic Matt Thrower called Wingspan "the year's hottest game", Said Al-Azzawi of the L.
A. Times called it "one of the board game industry’s most acclaimed games of the year"