The persecution of Christians can be traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith at the hands of both the Jews from whose religion Christianity arose and the Romans who controlled many of the lands across which early Christianity was spread. Early in the fourth century, a form of the religion was legalized by the Edict of Milan, it became the State church of the Roman Empire. Christian missionaries as well as converts to Christianity have been the target of persecution since the emergence of Christianity, sometimes to the point of being martyred for their faith; the schisms of the Middle Ages and the Protestant Reformation, sometimes provoked severe conflicts between Christian denominations to the point of persecuting each other. In the 20th century, Christians were persecuted by various governments including the Ottoman Empire in the form of the Armenian Genocide, the Assyrian Genocide and the Greek Genocide, as well as by atheistic states such as the Soviet Union, Communist Albania and North Korea.

Early Christianity began as a sect among Second Temple Jews, according to the New Testament account, including Paul of Tarsus prior to his conversion to Christianity, persecuted early Christians. The early Christians preached the second coming of a Messiah which did not conform to their religious teachings. However, feeling that their beliefs were supported by Jewish scripture, Christians had been hopeful that their countrymen would accept their faith. Despite individual conversions, the vast majority of Judean Jews did not become Christians. Claudia Setzer asserts that, "Jews did not see Christians as separate from their own community until at least the middle of the second century." Thus, acts of Jewish persecution of Christians fall within the boundaries of synagogue discipline and were so perceived by Jews acting and thinking as the established community. The Christians, on the other hand, saw themselves as persecuted rather than "disciplined." Inter-communal dissension began immediately with the teachings of Stephen at Jerusalem, considered an apostate.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, a year after the Crucifixion of Jesus, Stephen was stoned for his alleged transgression of the faith, with Saul looking on. In 41 AD, when Agrippa I, who possessed the territory of Antipas and Phillip, obtained the title of King of the Jews, in a sense re-forming the Kingdom of Herod, he was eager to endear himself to his Jewish subjects and continued the persecution in which James the Greater lost his life, Peter narrowly escaped and the rest of the apostles took flight. After Agrippa's death, the Roman procuratorship began and those leaders maintained a neutral peace, until the procurator Festus died and the high priest Annas II took advantage of the power vacuum to attack the Church and executed James the Just leader of Jerusalem's Christians; the New Testament states that Paul was himself imprisoned on several occasions by the Roman authorities, stoned by the Pharisees and left for dead on one occasion, was taken to Rome as a prisoner. Peter and other early Christians were imprisoned and harassed.

The great Jewish revolt, spurred by the Roman killing of 3,000 Jews, led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the end of Second Temple Judaism, the disempowering of the Jewish persecutors. According to an old church tradition, doubted by historians, the early Christian community had fled Jerusalem beforehand, to the pacified region of Pella. Luke T. Johnson nuances the harsh portrayal of the Jews in the Gospels by contextualizing the polemics within the rhetoric of contemporaneous philosophical debate, showing how rival schools of thought insulted and slandered their opponents; these attacks were formulaic and stereotyped, crafted to define, the enemy in the debates, but not used with the expectation that their insults and accusations would be taken as they would be centuries resulting in millennia of Christian antisemitism. By the 4th century, John Chrysostom argued that the Pharisees alone, not the Romans, were responsible for the murder of Jesus. However, according to Walter Laqueur, "Absolving Pilate from guilt may have been connected with the missionary activities of early Christianity in Rome and the desire not to antagonize those they want to convert."

The first documented case of imperially supervised persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire begins with Nero. In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population; some people suspected that Nero himself was the arsonist, as Suetonius reported, claiming that he played the lyre and sang the'Sack of Ilium' during the fires. In the Annals of Tacitus, we read:... To get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Chrestians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.

This passage in Tacitus constitutes the only independent attestation that Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome, while it is believed to be authentic and reliable, some modern schola

Pretibial myxedema is an infiltrative dermopathy, resulting as a rare complication of Graves' disease, with an incidence rate of about 1-5%. Pretibial myxedema is always preceded by the ocular signs found in Graves' disease, it presents itself as a waxy, discolored induration of the skin—classically described as having a so-called peau d'orange appearance—on the anterior aspect of the lower legs, spreading to the dorsum of the feet, or as a non-localised, non-pitting edema of the skin in the same areas. In advanced cases, this may extend to the upper trunk, upper extremities, neck, back and ears; the lesions are known to resolve slowly. Application of petroleum jelly on the affected area could relieve the burning sensation and the itching, it occurs in non-thyrotoxic Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, stasis dermatitis. The serum contains circulating factors which stimulate fibroblasts to increase synthesis of glycosaminoglycans. There are suggestions in the medical literature that treatment with radioactive iodine for Graves' hyperthyroidism may be a trigger for pretibial myxedema which would be consistent with radioiodine ablation causing or aggravating ophthalmopathy, a condition which occurs with pretibial myxedema and is believed to have common underlying features.

Other known triggers for ophthalmopathy include thyroid hormone imbalance, tobacco smoking, but there has been little research attempting to confirm these are risk factors for pretibial myxedema. A biopsy of the affected skin reveals mucin in the mid- to lower- dermis. There is no increase in fibroblasts. Over time, secondary hyperkeratosis may occur. Many of these patients may have co-existing stasis dermatitis. Elastic stains will reveal a reduction in elastic tissue

Mehdi Baghdad is a French mixed martial artist who fights out of Los Angeles, California. He fought for the UFC in the lightweight division, he was a contestant on The Ultimate fighter 22: Team McGregor vs Team Faber. Baghdad started training at the age of 16 and had his first fight at the age of 20, he went on to become a world champion in Muay Thai, WKBC lightweight champion in RFA MMA. Baghdad is inspired by his father who died when he was young, former world champion boxer Prince Naseem Hamed. Baghdad's first loss was handed to him by UFC competitor Charles Oliveira. Baghdad's nickname is Sultan. Baghdad joined the Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs Team Faber. Baghdad defeated Artem Lobov via majority decision after two rounds, he joined McGregor's team. Julian Erosa defeated Mehdi Baghdad via majority decision after two rounds in the preliminary fights, this would eliminate him from the tournament. Despite losing TUF 22 Baghdad would still be signed by the promotion and would have his first match against Chris Wade on UFC Fight Night 81 on January 17, 2016.

Baghdad would lose 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the first round by tapping out to the rear - naked choke. Baghdad was expected to face John Makdessi on June 4, 2016 at UFC 199 but was rescheduled to July 7, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 90. Makdessi was awarded a split decision victory. Baghdad was scheduled to face Jon Tuck on October 15, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 97. However, Baghdad pulled out of the fight in mid-September citing injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alex Volkanovski. In turn, Baghdad was released from the promotion. In February 2017, it was revealed that Baghdad would again compete on the UFC's reality show in the 25th season on The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption. Baghdad was the second pick overall for Team Garbrandt, he lost via unanimous decision. Mehdi Baghdad at UFC Professional MMA record for Mehdi Baghdad from Sherdog

The Aquitaine Progression is a novel by Robert Ludlum published in 1984. Joel Converse is a lawyer, having been a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War; because of his wartime experiences with Command Saigon, in the form of a psychopathic general named "Mad" Marcus Delavane, he is chosen to thwart a cabal of former generals bent on world domination. Erich Leifhelm, a former Field Marshal from Nazi Germany, who ingratiated himself with the West after the defeat of Hitler. Chaim Abrams, a tough-as-nails sabra, a hero to Israeli independence. Jacques-Louis Bertholdier, a hero of the French Resistance who revels in his past as an assistant to De Gaulle. Jan van Headmer, a South African general known as the "slayer of Soweto." George Marcus Delavane, a bloodthirsty U. S. general from the Vietnam war

Abbey Vale Football Club are a football club based in the village of New Abbey in the historical county of Kirkcudbright shire in the Dumfries and Galloway area of Scotland. They started life as an amateur side called Lochvale F. C. in 1971, but as more players joined from the village of New Abbey, the committee decided to change their name and move to New Abbey in 1974. However, to maintain their place in the Dumfries Amateur League, the new side had to maintain the "Vale" in their title, hence the new club became known as Abbey Vale F. C. In 2001, the club joined the South of Scotland Football League, they play their home matches at Maryfield Park, which despite being a undeveloped ground, accommodates up to 1,000 spectators. The changing rooms are named "The David Neil Pavilion", in memory of one of the founder players who died young. Abbey Vale's home strip is a black hooped shirt with black shorts, their current manager is Frazer Brolls, long term servant of the club, assisted by Alan Clarke, player/joint manager.

Abbey Vale can only qualify for the Scottish Cup by winning the South of Scotland League. Their highest position to date was in the 2005–06 season, when they finished third, with 55 points from 26 games. Tweedie Cup Winners, 2006 Tweedie Cup Winners, 2015

Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer and organist. Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863, his family moved to Paris after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germany in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, organ and fugue, he won the French Prix de Rome in 1882, with his cantata Edith. His teachers included Antoine François Marmontel, Albert Lavignac, Émile Durand, César Franck and Jules Massenet, he succeeded César Franck as organist at Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris from 1890 to 1898. He himself was succeeded by Charles Tournemire. Associated for many years with Édouard Colonne's concert series, the Concerts Colonne, from 1903, Pierné became chief conductor of this series in 1910, his most notable early performance was the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird, at the Ballets Russes, Paris, on 25 June 1910. He remained in the post until 1933, he made a few electrical recordings for Odeon Records, from 1928 to 1934, conducting the L'Orchestre Colonne, including a 1929 performance of his Ramuntcho and a 1931 performance of excerpts from his ballet Cydalise et le Chevre-pied.

He died in Ploujean, Finistère, in 1937. Pierné wrote several operas and choral and symphonic pieces, as well as a good deal of chamber music, his most famous composition is the oratorio La Croisade des Enfants based on the book by Marcel Schwob. Notable are such shorter works as his March of the Little Lead Soldiers, which once enjoyed substantial popularity as an encore, his chamber work, Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire, for saxophone quartet is a standard in saxophone quartet repertoire. His discovery and promotion of the work of Ernest Fanelli in 1912 led to a controversy over the origins of impressionist music, he became a member of the Academie des Beaux Arts in 1925. He was made a Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur in 1935, his tomb at Père Lachaise Cemetery has a headstone designed by sculptor Henri Bouchard. Gabriel Pierné Square in Paris is named for him. Serenade for Strings Trois pièces formant 1883 Suite No. 1, 1883 Envois de Rome, c. 1885 Fantaisie-ballet, for piano and orchestra, 1885 Piano concerto, Op. 12, 1886 Scherzo-caprice, for piano and orchestra, 1890 Ballet de cour, 1901 Concertstück, for harp and orchestra, 1903 Poème symphonique, for piano and orchestra, 1903 Two suites from the incidental music for Ramuntcho, 1910 Paysages franciscains, Op. 43, 1920 Fantaisie basque, for violin and orchestra, 1927 Divertissement sur un thème pastoral, Op. 49, 1932 Gulliver au pays de Lilliput, 1935 Viennoise, suite, Op. 49bis, 1935 Marche des petits soldats de plomb, 1887 Marche solennelle Petit Gavotte et Farandole Ramuntcho La coupe enchantée, 1895 Vendée, 1897 La fille de Tabarin, 1901 On ne badine pas avec l'amour, 1910 Sophie Arnould, 1927 Fragonard, 1934 Le Collier de Saphir, 1891 Les joyeuses commères de Paris, 1892 Izéÿl, 1894 Bouton-d'or, 1895 Salome, 1895 March 4, 1895 closed 27 April.

Cydalise et le Chèvre-pied, 1923 Impressions de music-hall, 1927 Giration, 1934 Images, 1935 Yanthis, 1894 La Princesse Lointaine, 1895 La Samaritaine, 1897 Ramuntcho, 1908 Les Cathédrales, 1915 Étude de concert in C minor, Op. 13 Album pour mes petits amis, Op. 14 Impromptu-Caprice, Op. 9 Piece in G minor Solo de Concert Canzonetta, Op. 19 Trois Pieces Op. 29 Naxos.com: Gabriel Pierné "Of Church and circus": biography Free scores by Gabriel Pierné at the International Music Score Library Project Free scores by Gabriel Pierné on loumy.orgLoie Fuller Goddess of LIght, Richard Nelson Current & Marcia Ewing Current, Northeastern University Press Boston 1997