Hafez al-Assad was a Syrian politician who served as President of Syria from 1971 to 2000. He was Prime Minister from 1970 to 1971, as well as Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and Secretary General of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party from 1970 to 2000. Assad participated in the 1963 Syrian coup d'état which brought the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party to power, the new leadership appointed him Commander of the Syrian Air Force. In 1966, Assad participated in a second coup, which toppled the traditional leaders of the Ba'ath Party and brought a radical military faction headed by Salah Jadid to power. Assad was appointed defense minister by the new government. Four years Assad initiated a third coup which ousted Jadid, appointed himself as the undisputed leader of Syria. Assad de-radicalised the Ba'ath government when he took power by giving more space to private property and by strengthening the country's foreign relations with countries which his predecessor had deemed reactionary.
He sided with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in turn for support against Israel, while he had forsaken the pan-Arab concept of unifying the Arab world into one Arab nation, he sought to make Syria the defender of Arab interests against Israel. When he came to power, Assad organised state services along sectarian lines; the collegial powers of Ba'athist decision-making were curtailed, were transferred to the Syrian presidency. The Syrian government ceased to be a one-party system in the normal sense of the word, was turned into a one-party state with a strong presidency. To maintain this system, a cult of personality centered on Assad and his family was created by the president and Ba'ath party. Having become the main source of initiative inside the Syrian government, Assad began looking for a successor, his first choice was his brother Rifaat, but Rifaat attempted to seize power in 1983–84 when Hafez's health was in doubt. Rifaat was subsequently exiled. Hafez's next choice of successor was Bassel.
However, Bassel died in a car accident in 1994, Hafez turned to his third choice—his younger son Bashar, who at that time had no political experience. This move was met with criticism within some quarters of the Syrian ruling class, but Assad persisted with his plan and demoted several officials who opposed this succession. Hafez died in 2000 and Bashar succeeded him as President. Hafez was born on 6 October 1930 in Qardaha to an Alawite family of the Kalbiyya tribe, his grandfather, Sulayman Al-Wahhish, gained the nickname Wahhish for his strength. Hafez al-Assad's parents were Na'sa and Ali Sulayman al-Assad. Hafez was Ali's ninth son, the fourth from his second marriage. Ali Sulayman had eleven children. By the 1920s he was respected locally and opposed to the French Mandate for Syria established in 1923. Ali Sulayman cooperated with the French administration and was appointed to an official post. Local residents called him "al-Assad" for his accomplishments and in 1927 he made the nickname his surname.
In 1936 he was one of 80 Alawite notables who signed a letter addressed to the French Prime Minister and stating that " Alawi people rejected attachment to Syria and wished to stay under French protection". Alawites opposed a united Syrian state, Hafez's father shared this belief; as the French left Syria, many Syrians mistrusted Alawites because of their alignment with France. Hafez left his Alawite village, he was the first in his family to attend high school, but in Latakia Assad faced Sunni anti-Alawite bias. He was an excellent student, winning several prizes at about age 14. Assad lived in a poor, predominantly Alawite part of Latakia; these parties were the Syrian Communist Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Arab Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath Party espoused a socialist ideology. Assad was an asset to the party, organizing Ba'ath student cells and carrying the party's message to the poor sections of Latakia and Alawite villages, he was opposed by the Muslim Brotherhood, allied with wealthy and conservative Muslim families.
His high school accommodated students from rich and poor families, Assad was joined by poor, anti-establishment Sunni Muslim youth from the Ba'ath Party in confrontations with students from wealthy Brotherhood families. He made many Sunni friends, some of whom became his political allies. While still a teenager, Assad became prominent in the party as an organizer and recruiter, head of his school's student-affairs committee from 1949 to 1951 and president of the Union of Syrian Students. During his political activism in school, he met many men. After graduating from high school, Assad aspired to be a medical doctor, but his father could not pay for his study at the Jesuit University of St. Joseph in Beirut. Instead, in 1950 he decided to join the Syrian Armed Forces. Assad entered the military academy in Homs, which offered lodging and a stipend, he wanted to fly
Humanity Plus is an international organization which advocates the ethical use of emerging technologies to enhance human capacities. The Board of Directors of Humanity+ are Ben Goertzel, David Wood, Amy Li, José Cordeiro, Gabriel Rothblatt, Didier Coeurnelle and Paul Spiegel; the Executive Director is Natasha Vita-More. Advisers to Humanity+ are Max More, Sonia Arrison, Aubrey de Grey, Martine Rothblatt, David Orban, David Pearce, Anders Sandberg, James Hughes, Luke Robert Mason. In 1998, the World Transhumanist Association was founded as a 501 nonprofit organization by Nick Bostrom and David Pearce, it began working toward the recognition of transhumanism as a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and public policy. At its inception, WTA officials considered that social forces could undermine their futurist visions and needed to be addressed. A particular concern is the equal access to human enhancement technologies across classes and borders. In 2006, William Saletan reported a political struggle within the transhumanist movement between the libertarian right and the liberal left resulting in a more centre-leftward positioning of Humanity+ under its former executive director James Hughes.
In 1998, the WTA established the Journal of Transhumanism. In 2004, it renamed its journal the Journal of Evolution and Technology and transferred it to the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and launched a webzine/blog called Transhumanity; the WTA held an annual conference called TransVision. Past conferences include: TransVision98, June 5–7: Weesp, The Netherlands, Europe TransVision99, June 4–6: Stockholm, Europe TransVisionMM, July 15–16: London, Europe TransVision01, June 22–24: Berlin, Europe TransVision03, June 27–29: Yale University, USA, North America TransVision04, August 6–8: University of Toronto, North America, with nearly 125 participants including Steve Mann, Robert K. Logan and Robin Hanson. TransVision05, July 22–24: Caracas, South America TransVision06, August 17–19: University of Helsinki, Europe, with a simultaneous virtual online conference; the theme of the conference was Emerging Technologies of Human Enhancement. TransVision07, July 24–26: Chicago, USA, North America.
The theme of the conference was Transforming Humanity: Innerspace to Outerspace. In 2006, the WTA adopted the following programs of activity: Campaign for the Rights of the Person: A campaign to modify national laws and international human rights conventions to establish that bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, cognitive liberty should be explicitly recognized and protected, that universal access to enabling technologies is a right in itself, a precondition for all other rights, personhood and capacity for having morally relevant interests are the bases of rights-bearing, not humanness or the human genome. Campaign for Longer Better Lives: A campaign for a multinational research program to develop therapies to slow aging. Campaign for Future Friendly Culture: A campaign to encourage balanced and constructive portrayals of longevity, human enhancement and emerging technologies in popular culture. In 2008, as part of a rebranding effort, the WTA changed its name to "Humanity+" in order to project a more humane image..
Its Articles of Incorporation were amended in 2011. Humanity+ has become less focused on politics and more focused on life extension, has developed conferences under the title of H+ Summit and Humanity+ @ Beijing, Parsons The New School of Design and CalTech; the objectives of Humanity+ are: to support discussion and public awareness of emerging technologies. Humanity+ have organised a series of conferences; the most recent Humanity+ conference was on December 1–2, 2012, at the Seven Hills Conference Center at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. Humanity+ has spawned chapters around the world. In total, there are dozens of formed or forming local groups—one on every continent. A dozen transhumanist groups in the United States, London Futurists in the United Kingdom, South America and Asia have formally affiliated with Humanity+. Humanity+ administers the $20,000 Gada Prize, which will be awarded to the team which can design and demonstrate a more advanced 3D printer on the base of RepRap by the end of 2012.
"Humanity+", as a newly branded organization, it launched H+ Magazine, a quarterly magazine on transhumanist news and ideas that has since changed its organization and format several times. The magazine produced five issues from 2008 through 2009, each released as PDF-based digital editions, one released as a print edition available in retail stores; the publisher changed from Humanity+ to Betterhumans LLC beginning with the second issue, with R. U. Sirius the editor of all five issues. In 2010, with R. U. Sirius continuing as editor, the magazine transitioned into a web-only publication not based around complete issues, its publisher was switched back to Humanity+; the website is managed by Peter Rothman. Notable contributors include Michael Moorcock, Rudy Rucker, Woody Evans, John Shirley, James Hughes, Douglas Rushkoff
"Jas ja imam silata" is a Macedonian pop-rock song, composed by Kristijan Gabrovski and performed by Gjoko Taneski together with Billy Zver & Pejčin as the Macedonian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The song was selected on 20 February 2010 from 16 participating songs at the final of Skopje Fest 2010; the song gained the most points in the final and tied for first place with Vlatko Ilievski before being declared the winner. The song failed to qualify for the final round of the Eurovision Song Contest; the song was composed and written by Macedonian composer Kristijan Gabrovski known as Risto Bombata and the arrangement was made by Darko Tasev. After winning the Macedonian national final it was decided that the arrangement and the lyrics would remain the same and the song would be performed in Macedonian at Eurovision. In early May, 2010, an English version with the title "I'll Forget You" will be released; the lyrics for the English version are written by Vesna Malinova. The song was presented for the first time on the first semi-final of Skopje Fest 2010, being performed 10th.
At the end of the semi-final it placed 4th with 15 points. In the final, held on February 20, the song was performed 11th, it won with a total of 22 points. Under the motto My name is Macedonia, the official music video for the song was shot in March 2010; the video was shot in Tomato Production's studios and was directed by Branislav Bane Popović. In the video, the beauties of Macedonia through some of the best Macedonian female models such as Natalija Grubović, Marijana Stojkovska, Radica Lelova are shown. Taneski and Billy Zver are wearing elegant suits, the girls are clothed in provocative and attractive creations made by Elena Luka. At the end of the video there is a text saying; the video premiered on March 30, 2010 on MRT. The song was the 15th entry performed in Oslo on May 25, 2010. On the stage, together with Taneski, Billy Zver and Pejčin was the young Macedonian singer Deana Nikolovska and two more girls. Deana sang the backing made the scene dancing with the girls. Main vocals: Gjoko Taneski Songwriting: Kristijan Gabrovski, Darko Tasev, Vesna Malinova Production: Kristijan Gabrovski Recording: Kristijan Gabrovski Official music video on YouTube
Fredrik Wilhelm Bugge was a Norwegian barrister and businessperson. He was born in Kristiania as a son of Kristine Elisabeth Heuch, he was a grandson of bishop Frederik Wilhelm Klumpp Bugge, great-grandson of educator Frederik Moltke Bugge, great-great-grandson of bishop Peter Olivarius Bugge and great-grandnephew of Søren Bruun Bugge. On the maternal side he was a grandson of bishop Johan Christian Heuch. In 1922 he married barrister's daughter Gudrun Gundersen, they had the sons Frederik Moltke Bugge and Jens Bugge, Supreme Court Justice. After finishing his secondary education in 1911, he graduated from the Royal Frederick University with the cand.jur. Degree in 1915, he was a deputy judge in Lillehammer and Fredrikstad from 1916 to 1917, junior solicitor from 1917 to 1922, barrister with access to Supreme Court cases from 1922. From 1923 he was a law firm partner with barrister Herman Christiansen, he was a board member of Sauda Smelteverk from 1920, Meråker Smelteverk from 1928, Høyanger Aluminiumsverk and Nordisk Aluminiumsindustri, Holmestrand from 1939, Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri from 1941, Det Norske Nitrid from 1947, Den norske Creditbank and Forsikringsselskapet Norden.
He was a supervisory council member of Arendal Smelteverk, Det Norske Garantiselskap and Morgenbladet. He died in July 1972
Michel Vlap is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Anderlecht. Though his preferred position is in an advanced midfield role, Vlap is able to play on the wing and as a forward. Vlap is an academy graduate of Eredivisie side Heerenveen and is the son of academy coach and former player Jan Vlap. Having progressed through the ranks of Heerenveen's youth academy, he signed his first professional contract on 17 February 2015, penning a three-year deal with the club, he featured for Heerenveen during the 2015–16 pre-season and scored a brace in the club's 8–1 victory over VV Heerenveen in new manager Jurgen Streppel's first match in charge of the club. Vlap made his senior debut for the club on 27 November 2016, coming on as a late, second-half substitute for Kosovar international Arber Zeneli in a 1–0 Eredivisie loss to Ajax. Vlap failed to appear again during the 2016–17 season but returned to the first team to make his KNVB Cup debut on 20 September 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Excelsior.
He scored his first goal for the club the following month. On 3 December, he signed a new five-year contract with Heerenveen after impressing with a run of three goals in his previous five appearances for the club, he scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the campaign. He continued to feature for the club the following season and in October 2018, after scoring a league-high four goals in the month, won the Eredevise Player of the Month award. By the end of the campaign, he had scored 16 goals and recorded six assists which earned him a transfer to Belgian side, Anderlecht. Vlap has represented Netherlands at both under-19 level. On 21 July 2016, while representing the Netherlands at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Vlap made history by becoming the first player to be brought on as a fourth substitute in a UEFA match when he replaced Laros Duarte in a 3–3 penalty shoot-out loss to Germany. Regulations ordinarily allow a team to make three substitutions during a match but a trial allowing for a fourth substitution in extra-time was introduced by the International Football Association Board for the tournament.
As of match played on 27 December 2019 Michel Vlap at WorldFootball.net
Ethel Scull 36 Times is a 1963 painting by American artist Andy Warhol, is on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art and is part of the collections of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. It was Warhol's first commissioned work; the work consists of four rows of nine equal columns, depicting Ethel Redner Scull, a well-known collector of modern art. The artwork is jointly owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ethel Scull was born in The Bronx, New York City in 1921, her father was a wealthy taxi company owner. Robert Scull was born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents who had anglicized their family name from Sokolnikoff, his childhood was spent in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His interest in modern art began when he visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a ten-year-old boy. Ethel Redner met Robert Scull, a freelance illustrator, when she was studying at Parsons School of Design, they married in 1944.
When Ethel's father retired, he distributed shares of his business to his three sons-in-law. Robert Scull was one of the beneficiaries, built up a prosperous business. Robert Scull bought every work in Jasper Johns' first exhibition. Ethel Scull 36 Times was Robert Scull's present to Ethel Scull on her 42nd birthday. Once questioned by an interviewer regarding accusations that he and his wife bought art for investment and for social climbing, Robert Scull replied: "It's all true. I'd rather use art to climb than anything else." In early 1963 Robert Scull asked Warhol to paint a portrait of his wife after the style of the Marilyn Diptych and Warhol's other depictions of Marilyn Monroe. At the time, this was at the height of the Sculls' fame. Warhol took Ethel Scull to a Times Square photo booth and prompted her to take 300 black and white photographs of herself. Warhol told her jokes in an effort to make her photographs more candid. One hand-colored photo-strip from the session is in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
It has been reported that Warhol made around 1,000 portraits, many of them commissioned. In 1974 he accepted a commission from Gunther Sachs to paint Sachs' wife Brigitte Bardot, also produced a portrait of Sachs himself. Other commissioned works include a 1985 portrait of Lana Turner paid for by the actress herself. Ethel Scull 36 Times was Warhol's first commissioned portrait and the starting point in his business in making portraits at the request of wealthy celebrities. Warhol's depictions of people were created from photographs he found in printed media. A movie poster was used for the Marilyn Diptych. Ethel Scull 36 Times was the first time Warhol created a photo-based work using images he had created. After divorcing his wife, Robert Scull claimed ownership of the painting. Ethel Scull claimed the art work was a gift given to her by her husband, was her possession; the artwork is now shared between the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art