Place Vendome is a melodic hard rock / AOR band, founded in 2004 at the direction of Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino. Place Vendome was formed by Helloween and Unisonic vocalist Michael Kiske, Dennis Ward, Kosta Zafiriou and Uwe Reitenauer from the band Pink Cream 69 and Gunther Werno from the band Vanden Plas; the project has released four full-length albums. Serafino Perugino devised the idea for the Place Vendome project during the winter of 2004, he approached both Michael Kiske and Dennis Ward with the proposition of recording a melodic rock/AOR album. According to Kiske "The whole band was an idea of Serafino Perugino from Frontiers Records... He first got into contact with Dennis Ward of Pink Cream 69 and hired him to oversee the project... He proposed the idea to me and after hearing the songs, I agreed to do the record. I was impressed by the strength of the material." The songwriting for the debut album, Place Vendome, was provided by Dennis Ward, with further contributions from David Readman and Alfred Koffler.

Place Vendome's second album was featured the same line-up. The songwriting for the Streets of Fire album was provided by Torsti Spoof, Ronny Milianowicz, Robert Sall and Magnus Karlsson. A video was filmed for the song "My Guardian Angel", marking Kiske's visual return since 1996. On November 10, 2009, Place Vendome members Michael Kiske, Dennis Ward and Kosta Zafiriou, joined forces with guitarist Mandy Meyer, to form the rock band Unisonic. In 2010, they began their first tour, playing material from the Place Vendome albums, some Helloween classics and only one new song. In 2011, current Gamma Ray and former Helloween guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen was added to the line-up. During Unisonic's following live performance at Loud Park Festival, the band focused on performing their own material and played only the song "Cross The Line" from the first Place Vendome album. Since Unisonic's self-titled debut album was released in March 2012, the band has not performed any Place Vendome songs during their concerts.

In 2012, Frontiers Records announced that Michael Kiske agreed to start working on a third Place Vendome album. A change in the line-up was announced, with Dirk Bruinenberg replacing Kosta Zafiriou as the drummer; the band's third album, Thunder in the Distance was released on November 1, 2013. The songwriting for this release was provided by Magnus Karlsson, Timo Tolkki, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Tommy Denander, Roberto Tiranti and Andrea Cantarelli, Sören Kronqvist and Brett Jones. A music video was filmed for the song "Talk To Me". In 2016, it was confirmed by Dennis Ward. On November 10, 2016, Ward posted on his social media profile that the album would be entitled Close to the Sun and would feature songs written by Magnus Karlsson, Jani Liimatainen, Olaf Thorsen, Fabio Lione, Simone Mularoni, Aldo Lonobile, Alessandro Del Vecchio and Mike Palace; the new album was released on February 24, 2017 and was the first Place Vendome release to feature guest guitar solos by Gus G, Kai Hansen, Mandy Meyer, Alfred Koffler, Magnus Karlsson, Simone Mularoni and Michael Klein.

Michael Kiske – vocals Dennis Ward – bass guitar Uwe Reitenauer – guitars Gunther Werno – keyboards Dirk Bruinenberg – drumsFormer members Kosta Zafiriou – drums Place Vendome Streets of Fire Thunder in the Distance Close to the Sun Frontiers Records official website Michael Kiske's official website Kiske's collectors guide website Blabbermouth.net Where Wishes Fly - Kiske Fanclub

Todd City is an unincorporated community in Anderson County, in the U. S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, only 10 people lived in the community in 2000, it is located within the Texas micropolitan area. Todd City is thought to be named for a family who lived there in the late 1880s with the same last name, it had a factory, oil tanks, numerous scattered housing units in the 1930s and 1940s. It had several scattered homes in 1982, had only one operating business three years later. Oil production is occurring in a nearby oilfield, it had a population of only 10 in 2000. Todd City sits at the juncture of Farm to Market Road 19 and an unknown country road, 3 mi west of the Neches River as well as some 14 mi northeast of Palestine in the northeastern portion of Anderson County. Todd City is served by the Neches Independent School District

The Turkestan Legion was the name for the military units composed of the Turkic peoples who fought in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Most of these troops were Red Army POWs, its establishment was spearheaded by Nuri Killigil, a Turkish theorist of Pan-Turkism, which sought to separate territories inhabited by Turkic peoples from their countries and unite them under Turkish rule. Although Turkic peoples had been perceived as "racially inferior" by the Nazis, this attitude already changed in autumn 1941, when, in view of the difficulties faced in their invasion of the Soviet Union, the Nazis attempted to harness the anti-Russian sentiment of Turkic peoples in Russia for political gain; the first Turkestan Legion was mobilized in May 1942 consisting of only one battalion but expanded to 16 battalions and 16,000 soldiers by 1943. Under the Wehrmacht's command, these units were deployed on the Western Front in France and Italy, isolating them from the Red Army; the battalions of the Turkestan Legion formed part of the 162nd Infantry Division and saw much action in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia and Italy.

Much of the Turkestan Legion was imprisoned by British forces and repatriated into the Soviet Union after the war's end, where they would face prison terms from the Soviet government for having collaborated with the Nazis. Notable members of the legion include Baymirza Hayit, a Turkologist who after the war settled in West Germany and became an advocate for Pan-Turkist political causes. Aserbaidschanische Legion Ostlegionen Prometheism Further reading Sakal, Halil Burak. Başka Bir Dünya Savaşı: İkinci Dünya Savaşı Sırasında Almanya Tarafında Savaşan Türkistanlılar. Ötüken. ISBN 978-975-437-981-5. Flagmaster Nr. 105, Summer 2002, Publikation von „The Flag Institute“, London, W1J5NS, United Kingdom Turkestan Legion Video

Alan Bruce Slifka was a New York investor and philanthropist, a co-founder of the Abraham Fund and founding chairman of the Big Apple Circus. He was a native of Manhattan. Slifka and his sister were home schooled by their mother; this provided an opportunity for the twins to learn the importance of moral values and the basics of coexistence. In the fourth grade, the twins began studying at the Ethical Culture Society's Fieldston School. Slifka graduated from Yale University in 1951, where he worked on the business staff of campus humor magazine the Yale Record, he went on to earn a Master's degree in Business Administration at Harvard University in 1953. Following his graduation from Harvard, Slifka joined the financial firm L. F. Rothschild & Company, where he worked as a securities analyst for 32 years, rising to partner before leaving to start his own company, now Halcyon Asset Management. In 1977, Slifka became the founding chairman of the New York School for Circus Arts, a non-profit training school whose performing arm is the Big Apple Circus.

In 1993, he became founding chairman emeritus. In 1995, in recognition of Slifka's lead gift to a successful capital campaign, the circus's new permanent creative center in Walden, NY was named the Slifka Family Creative Center. Together with sociologist Eugene Wiener, Slifka was a co-founder in 1989 of The Abraham Fund Initiatives, named for the common ancestor of Arabs and Jews, served as chairman of the organization since its founding; this was the first nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering coexistence between Israel's Arab and Jewish citizens. The Abraham Fund works to advance a shared society of inclusion and equality between Jews and Arabs in Israel; the Slifka Program on Intercommunal Coexistence at Brandeis University, create by Slifka in 2001, seeks to build professional expertise and creative leadership in the field of coexistence and offers a master's degree in coexistence and conflict. The Sylvia and Joseph Slifka Israeli Coexistence Scholarship at Brandeis, which Slifka funded in honor of his parents, is awarded each year to two citizens of Israel who are committed to fostering coexistence and harmony.

In recognition of his work with The Abraham Fund Initiatives, Slifka was awarded the Knesset Prize for Coexistence in 2000. Brandeis awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2003; the Alan B. Slifka Foundation was established in New York in 1965; the foundation's goals include harmony not only among Jews and Arabs but between religious and secular elements of Israeli society. In addition to fostering Jewish values and education, the foundation promotes biomedical research on sarcomas and autism spectrum disorders. Alan Bruce Slifka was the son of Sylvia Slifka, his twin sister is Barbara Slifka. His father owned successful textile and real estate businesses. At the time of his death he was married to Riva Ritvo-Slifka, he had three sons, Michael and David

Battle of Kabul refers to a series of intermittent battles and sieges over the city of Kabul during the period of 1992–1996. Throughout the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979–1989, subsequent civil war the city of Kabul saw little fighting; the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's regime in April 1992 led to a peace treaty between the Afghan political parties. But soon after, the undisciplined commanders from both former mujahidin and Communist ranks started to vie for power, abetted by foreign powers, namely Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, who began arming their Afghan proxies to fight for control and influence. With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet-supported government of Najibullah lost credibility. In 1992, Russia agreed to end fuel shipments to Afghanistan, which triggered the collapse of Najibullah's regime. In April 1992, General Abdul Rashid Dostum defected to the forces of Ahmed Shah Massoud, began to take control of Kabul. By April 14, 1992, Massoud and his forces took control of Charikar and Jabalussaraj in Parwan province without significant fighting.

At this point, it was reported that Massoud had 20,000 troops stationed around Kabul. It was reported that the government's Second Division had joined Massoud. General Mohammad Nabil Azimi proceeded to reinforce Bagram Air Base, sent further reinforcements to the outer perimeter of Kabul. By mid-April, the air force command at Bagram capitulated to Massoud. With no army to defend it, Kabul had become helpless; as soon as he announced his willingness, on March 18, to resign in order to make way for a neutral interim government, Najibullah lost control. As the government broke into several factions, the issue was how to carry out a transfer of power to a new government. Najibullah attempted to flee from Kabul on April 17, but was stopped by Dostum's troops, who controlled Kabul International Airport. Najibullah took refuge at the United Nations mission where he remained until 1995. A group of Parchami generals and officials declared themselves an interim government for the purpose of handing over power to the dominant and most popular military force: Massoud.

Massoud hesitated to enter Kabul, waiting for the political parties to reach a peace and power-sharing agreement first. In April 1992, the Peshawar Accord was signed, it stipulated. A transitory presidency was given to Sibghatullah Mojaddedi for two months, after which Burhanuddin Rabbani was to succeed him. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was given the post of prime minister, but he did not accept this position as he did not want to share power and Pakistan was urging him to take power for himself. Massoud, in a recorded conversation, tried to convince Hekmatyar to join the peace agreement and not to enter Kabul, but Hekmatyar replied. No-one can stop us". Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami forces began to infiltrate Kabul; this forced Massoud to advance on the capital in order to preserve the Peshawar Accord and prevent the establishment of a Hekmatyar dictatorship. Different Mujahideen groups entered Kabul from different directions. Hezb-i Islami entered the city from the south. With soldiers armed and financed by Pakistan, Hekmatyar had asked other groups such as Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami and the Khalis faction to join him while entering Kabul, but they declined his offer and instead backed the Peshawar Accord.

Jamiat-i Islami had seized massive amount of weapons while overrunning the Communist garrisons in Bagram, Takhar, Kunduz and other northern cities. Adding to that, all the forces of Junbish-i Milli had aligned themselves to the Jamiat, the former Communist government of Afghanistan had decided to surrender all its weapons to Jamiat, instead of Hezb. All the Parchamis had fled abroad through the Jamiat-controlled areas. Jamiat had seized massive stockpiles of heavy weapons such as T-62 and T-55 tanks, Scud missiles and MiG-21s. Hekmatyar's Hezb forces were far from key points of the city such as the presidential palace, the prime minister's office, Kabul International Airport, the ministry of defense and many other important government offices. Much of the city lies on the North Bank of the Kabul River. Burhanuddin Rabbani's Jamiat forces took control of these strategically important offices. Although Hezb forces got to the gates of the ministry of justice and took control of the ministry of the interior, they were repulsed after bombing from the Afghan Air Force, supported by artillery shells fired from a TV tower onto Jade Maiwand.

Hundreds of Hezb fighters were taken prisoners, including some foreign fighters. In the western sector of the city, the Hezb forces crossed the Kabul River and arrived at the northern bank after taking control of the Karte Seh area. While charging towards the Kote Sangi and Kabul University, Sayyaf's forces attacked Hezb forces from the Ghazi School area in a surprise move, the Hezb forces were separated into two groups after being cut off by Jamiat troops. Throughout the night, the exhausted and demoralized forces of Hezbi Islami fought. After suffering heavy casualties, Hezb forces on the southern bank deserted their positions, fleeing out of Kabul towards Logar. Kabul came under Islamic State control on April 30, 1992, but the situation was far from stabilised; the Hezb-i Islami had been driven out, but they were still within artillery range, soon started firing tens of thousands of Pakistan-supplied rockets into the city. When Hekmatyar's forces had overrun Pul-e-Charkhi prison, while still in the centre of Kabul, they had set free all the inmates, including many criminals who were able to take arms and commit gruesome actions a

Odd Sverre Lovoll is a Norwegian-American author and educator. Odd Sverre Lovoll was born in Sande, in Møre og Romsdal, Norway, he is a naturalized United States citizen. Lovoll received his education both in Norway and in the United States, passing university exams at the University of Bergen in 1961 and at the University of Oslo in 1966 and 1967. Lovoll graduated from the University of Minnesota, he served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota from 1967 to 1970. For thirty years, Lovoll served on the faculty of St. Olaf College, he retired from the King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies at St. Olaf College in 2000. Lovoll continues a part-time appointment in History at the University of Oslo. From 1980 until 2001 he served as publication editor for The Norwegian-American Historical Association. In that capacity he edited and supervised publication articles on Norwegian-American and Scandinavian-American immigration, he has been published in the United States. In 1958 Lovoll married Else Navekvien.

They have two children: Audrey born 1960 and Ronald born 1963. Audrey has two children, Ronald has three, all of which are mentioned in dedication pages in a number of his written works. Lovoll was decorated with the Knight's Cross First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in 1986 by Olav V of Norway. In 1989 he was inducted into membership in The Norwegian Academy of Letters, he was induced into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame at the 2001 Norsk Høstfest. A Folk Epic: The Bygdelag in America The Promise of America: a History of the Norwegian-American people A Century of Urban Life: the Norwegians in Chicago before 1930 The Promise Fulfilled: a Portrait of Norwegian Americans today Norwegians on the Prairie: Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town Norwegian newspapers in America: connecting Norway and the new land Across the deep blue sea: the saga of early Norwegian immigrants Two Homelands: A Historian Considers His Life and Work