The politics of Zimbabwe takes place in a framework of a full presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and government as organized by the 2013 Constitution. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the parliament; the status of Zimbabwean politics has been thrown into question by a 2017 coup. The Zimbabwean Constitution from the Lancaster House Agreement a few months before the 1980 elections, chaired by Lord Carrington, institutionalises majority rule and protection of minority rights. Since independence, the Constitution has been amended by the government to provide for: The abolition of seats reserved for whites in the country's parliament in 1987; the abolition of the Senate in 1990, the creation of appointed seats in the House of Assembly. The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, ensures that appointments at lower levels are made on an equitable basis by the independent Public Service Commission.
ZANU-PF leader Robert Mugabe, elected prime minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself president. President Mugabe's affiliated party won every election from independence on April 18, 1980, until it lost the parliamentary elections in March 2008 to the Movement for Democratic Change. In some quarters corruption and rigging elections have been alleged. In particular the elections of 1990 were nationally and internationally condemned as being rigged, with the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere's Zimbabwe Unity Movement, winning only 20% of the vote. Presidential elections were held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging and fraud, again in March 2008. Ethnic rivalry between the Shona and Ndebele has played a large part in Zimbabwe's politics, a consequence of the country's borders defined by its British colonial rulers; this continued after independence in 1980, during the Gukurahundi ethnic cleansing liberation wars in Matabeleland in the 1980s. This led to the political merger of Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union with the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union to form ZANU-PF and the appointment of Nkomo as vice president.
During 2005, with Mugabe's future in question, factionalism within the Shona has increased. In October 2005 it was alleged that members of the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC had held secret meetings in London and Washington to discuss plans for a new Zimbabwe after Robert Mugabe. On February 6, 2007, Mugabe orchestrated a Cabinet reshuffle, ousting ministers including 5-year veteran Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa. Since the defeat of the constitutional referendum in 2000, politics in Zimbabwe has been marked by a move from the norms of democratic governance, such as democratic elections, the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, freedom from racial discrimination, the existence of independent media, civil society and academia. Recent years have seen widespread violations of human rights. Elections have been marked by political violence and intimidation, along with the politicisation of the judiciary, police force and public services. Statements by the President and government politicians have referred to a state of war, or Chimurenga, against the opposition political parties, in particular the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai.
Newspapers not aligned with the government have been closed down, members of the judiciary have been threatened and/or arrested. Repressive laws aimed at preventing freedoms of speech and association have been implemented and subjectively enforced. Members of the opposition are arrested and harassed, with some subjected to torture or sentenced to jail; the legal system has come under increasing threat. The MDC has attempted to use the legal system to challenge the ruling ZANU-PF, but the rulings in favour of the MDC, have not been taken into account by the police. Political power in Zimbabwe is split between three branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches, with President as the head of the executive branch, the Prime Minister the head of the legislative branch and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe the head of the judicial branch; the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs is a non-cabinet ministerial position in the government of Zimbabwe. The incumbent is Didymus Mutasa.
The duties of the position have yet to be publicly defined. Under Zimbabwe's Constitution, the president is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the defence forces, elected by popular majority vote. Prior to 2013, the president was elected for a 6-year term with no term limits; the new constitution approved in the 2013 constitutional referendum limits the president to two 5-year terms, but this does not take effect retrospectively. The Cabinet is appointed by the president and responsible to the House of Assembly. Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and, since 2005, the Senate, abolished in 1990; the House of Assembly has 210 members elected by universal suffrage, including the Speaker, the Attorney General, may serve for a maximum of five years. Under the 2013 constitution, the Senate consists of 80 members, of whom 60 are elected for five-year terms in 6-member constituencies representing one of the 10 provinces, elected based on the votes in the lower house election, using party-list proportional representation, distributed using the hare quota.
Additionally the Senate consists of 2 seats for each non-metropolit
During the Vashon Glaciation a series of lakes formed along the southern margin of the Cordilleran Ice Cap. In the Puget Sound depression, a series of lakes developed, of which Lake Russell was the largest and the longest lasting. Early Lake Russell’s surface was at 160 ft above sea level, draining across the divide at Shelton, Washington into early Glacial Lake Russell; when the ice margin receded northward, the lake expanded. When it reached the Clifton channel outlet, the water levels dropped to 120 ft above sea level; the new longer and lower level lake is referred to as Lake Hood. The glacier continued to retreat until the northern outlet of the Hood Canal was reached as the water level equalized with Glacial Lake Russell becoming part of that body of water. Lake Russell is named for Isaac Russell. Forming about 17,000 years before present as the ice front began to retreat northward. One version or another of Lake Russell existed form 16,900 ybp until 15,900 ybp. Early Lake Russell formed in the southern basins of Puget Sound.
As the glacial ice retreated northward, the geologic troughs, which create the basins of the sound remained blocked from the northward outlets, until the Tacoma Narrows cleared, the basins east of Tacoma remained separate from those to the west. Lake Tacoma is the name given to these eastern waters, until they merged with those of Lake Russell to the west. Lake Nisqually was the name given to the freshwater in the Nisqually Reach, until the ice front retreated far enough north for the meltwaters covered the land between the mouth of the Nisqually River and Olympia, joining a freshwater lake in the Budd Inlet and Black Lake forming Early Lake Russell. Lake Russell filled the basins of the Eld Inlet, Budd Inlet, Henderson Inlet, the great curve of the Nisqually Reach, northward to the Tacoma Narrows, the highgrounds between up to 160 feet above sea level; when the glacial ice receded northward, reaching the Olympia area, a low drainage was reached in the eastern Black Hills. Using the Black River as its primary drainage, Lake Russell came into existence was continued after the edge of the ice had withdrawn from the region.
Using two channels, the waters drained south to the Chehalis River valley. A northern channel left the Budd Inlet in near Butler Cove. A southern channel passed through Capitol Lake. A third channel may have existed from the Eld Inlet, they merged. Following the south side of a line of hill, the channel is 150 to 155 feet above sea level with a gravel plain 160 feet across the outlet; this barrier is thought to be deposits from the outflow. Percival Creek contains the Northern Pacific Railroad route over the pass between Puget Sound and the Chehalis Valley. In the pass is a long, narrow swamp, which drains to both Puget Sound and Grays Harbor, its altitude is 120 feet above sea level. Along the southern margin is a gravel bluff at 150 to 160 feet of considerable size; the northern margin has a gravel terrace at 140 feet above sea level, another narrow terrace is at 160 feet. The existing valley is the result of post-glacial erosion; the bluffs along both sides are seen as evidence of this theory. Black Lake resides beginning as a swamp.
Black Lake is 0.5 miles wide. It stands 120 feet above tide. Withdrawal of the edge of the ice from Thurston County left both the Deschutes and Nisqually Rivers free to flow directly northward to the growing body of water in the unobliterated interglacial valleys; the Nisqually carried a large volume of water when it first entered Lake Russell, since the Ohop channel still contributed the drainage of the northern and western slopes of Mount Rainier. It appears to have entered the western side of the interglacial Gate Pathway River valley, to have contributed toward the obliteration of that valley by deposition of the Sherlock Delta
Adama Science and Technology University is one of the two Science And Technology Universities of Ethiopia. It is located in a city in the Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. Adama Science and Technology University was first established in 1993 as Nazareth Technical College, offering degree and diploma level education in technology fields; the institution was renamed as Nazareth College of Technical Teacher Education, a self-explanatory label that describes what the institution used to train back then: candidates who would become technical teachers for TVET colleges/Schools across the country. In 2003, a new addition to NCTTE came about—introduction of business education. Nonetheless, the new entries were meant for similar purposes: these graduates were expected to help overcome the existing dearth of educators in vocational institutions. However, it was not until it was nominated by the Ministry of Education as Center of Excellence in Technology in 2008 that it opened various programs in applied engineering and technology.
For its realization, it became a university modeled after the German paradigm: it not only became the only technical university in the nation, but the only one led by a German professor. Following its renaming by the Council of Ministers as Adama Science and Technology University in May 2011, the university has started working towards the attainment of becoming a center of excellence in science and technology, thereby allowing for the realization of goals set in the Growth and Transformation Plan. To this end, a South Korean has been appointed as President of the University. ASTU is setting up a Research Park, in collaboration with stakeholders and other concerned bodies: one of a kind in the Ethiopian context; the university is venturing out to the wider community and is engaged in various joint undertakings. 1. School of Applied Natural Sciences Programs Applied Biology Applied Chemistry Applied Geology Applied Mathematics Applied Physics2. School of Civil Engineering and Architecture Programs Architecture Civil Engineering Construction Technology and Management Urban Planning and Design Geomatics Engineering Water Resources Engineering3.
School of Electrical Engineering and Computing Programs Computer Science and Engineering Electronics and Communication Engineering Electrical Power and control Engineering4. School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Programs Chemical Engineering... Materials Science and Engineering Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering Mechanical Systems Engineering Thermal and Aerospace Engineering Starting in 2011, the university began restructuring; the number of schools has reached seven. A separate school has been established to coordinate postgraduate studies; the university has ratified Senate Legislation. The university has started a research park; the university has signed Memoranda of Understanding and received letter of intent from institutions. The university became under Ministry of Technology. Official website
The Asian black bear known as the Asiatic black bear, "moon bear" and "white-chested bear", is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia, adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, the Korean Peninsula, northeastern China, the Russian Far East, the Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan, Taiwan, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of deforestation and hunting for its body parts. The species is morphologically similar to some prehistoric bears, is thought by some scientists to be the ancestor of other extant bear species. Although herbivorous, Asian black bears can be aggressive toward humans, who trap or kill them for traditional medicine; the Asian black bear is black, has a light brown muzzle and a distinct white patch on the chest, which sometimes has the shape of a V. Its ears are bell shaped, proportionately longer than those of other bears, stick out sideways from the head.
Its tail is 11 cm long. Adults measure 70–100 cm at the shoulder, 120–190 cm in length. Adult males weigh 60–200 kg with an average weight of about 135 kg. Adult females weigh 40–125 kg, large ones up to 140 kg. Asian black bears are similar in general appearance to brown bears, but are more built and are more slender limbed; the lips and nose are more mobile than those of brown bears. The skulls of Asian black bears are small, but massive in the lower jaw. Adult males have skulls measuring 311.7 to 328 mm in length and 199.5–228 mm in width, while female skulls are 291.6–315 mm long and 163–173 mm wide. Compared to other bears of the genus Ursus, the projections of the skull are weakly developed. Although herbivorous, the jaw structure of Asian black bears is not as specialized for plant eating as that of giant pandas: Asian black bears have much narrower zygomatic arches, the weight ratio of the two pterygoid muscles is much smaller in Asian black bears; the lateral slips of the temporal muscles are stronger in Asian black bears.
An Asian black bear with broken hind legs can still climb effectively. In contrast to polar bears, Asian black bears have powerful upper bodies for climbing trees, weak hind legs which are shorter than those in brown bears and American black bears, they are the most bipedal of all bears, have been known to walk upright for over a quarter mile. The heel pads on the forefeet are larger than those of most other bear species, their claws, which are used for climbing and digging, are longer on the fore foot than the back, are larger and more hooked than those of the American black bear. On average, adult Asian black bears are smaller than American black bears, though large males can exceed the size of several other bear species; the famed British sportsman known as the "Old Shekarry" wrote of how an Asian black bear he shot in India weighed no less than 363 kg based on how many people it took to lift its body. The largest Asian black bear on record weighed 200 kg. Zoo-kept specimens can weigh up to 225 kg.
Although their senses are more acute than those of brown bears, their eyesight is poor, their hearing range is moderate, the upper limit being 30 kHz. Biologically and morphologically, Asian black bears represent the beginning of the arboreal specializations attained by sloth bears and sun bears. Asian black bears have karyotypes nearly identical to those of the five other ursine bears, and, as is typical in the genus, they have 74 chromosomes. From an evolutionary perspective, Asian black bears are the least changed of the Old World bears, with certain scientists arguing that it is that all other lineages of ursine bear stem from this species. Scientists have proposed that Asian black bears are either a surviving, albeit modified, form of Ursus etruscus the early, small variety of the Middle Villafranchian or a larger form of Ursus minimus, an extinct species that arose 4,000,000 years ago. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is difficult to distinguish the remains of Ursus minimus with those of modern Asian black bears.
Asian black bears are close relatives to American black bears, with which they share a European common ancestor. Both the American and Asian black species are considered sister taxa and are more related to each other than to the other species of bear; the earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania resemble the Asian black species. The first mtDNA study undertaken on Asian black bears suggested that the species arose after the American black bears, while a second study could not statistically resolve the branching order of sloth bears and the two black species, suggesting that these three species underwent a rapid radiation event. A third study suggested that American black bears and Asian black bears diverged as sister taxa after the sloth bear lineage and before the sun bear lineage. Further investigations on the entire mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence indicate that the di
GURPS Casey and Andy, written by David Morgan-Mar and Andy Weir, is a setting sourcebook for the fourth edition of the GURPS Role-playing game released in April 2005. It details a science fiction-fantasy setting based on Weir's webcomic of the same name; the standard science-fiction elements such as time travel and dimensional travel and cloning are present, along with connections to Infinite Worlds, Illuminati University, Cyberpunk, Autoduel and Reign of Steel. There are some more unusual fantastic races like the Zarb and the Hunkinites, several others which can be added in as desired by the game master. A basic premise of the setting is that the title characters are early-21st-Century mad scientists with a tendency to dabble in time and dimensional travel, instantaneous cloning, complex apocalyptic doomsday devices. Apart from that, they live in suburbia with their girlfriends and Satan. Casey and Andy share their neighborhood with an old school buddy – now dictator of Japan – who wants to kill them, a normal next-door neighbor who wants to kill them, a local Nobel Prize-winning police officer who would like to arrest them for breaking the laws of nature.
The setting's official timeline syncs up with our own so that the present of a "normal" campaign would be set in 2005 or 2006, during the events of the Casey and Andy webcomic, during the late 1800s. The setting unfolds under the basis that science can indeed do anything – which means scientists are the most powerful, important people across the multiverse, and at the top of the heap are those undaunted by the constraints of inadequate theories, the challenges of defying conventional wisdom, the dangers of nuclear radiation, the mad scientists. One of the interesting things about the setting is that a different flavor of campaign can be had depending on which region of the alternate history world of Casey and Andy one uses. Japan, for instance, is a communist nation ruled by Lord Milligan, while France is a republic territory of Dr. X; some countries are entirely human-dominated, others are mixed, while there are still some area under the control of God, Quantum Crook, Grover Cleveland and the Zarb.
The main story of GURPS Casey and Andy follows Satan as she attempts to seduce her older self's early-2000s boyfriend after he travels back in time to the 1800s to meet her when she had taken the form of Cleveland, both unaware of the other's relationship to one another in different times, bringing her to the present, while her 1800s-era husband, Grover Cleveland, follows in pursuit with a time machine of his own, reclaiming the position of President of the United States in the present. Fremont, California Casey & Andy’s Place: The house at 638 Wasatch Drive, resembling a typical single-story suburban dwelling. Contains a nuclear reactor core. Jenn’s Place: The house at 640 Wasatch Drive, enjoying relative normalcy except for the odd occasion when all the windows are shattered by an unexpected explosion next door. Fremont National Bank: Serving the needs of both its law-abiding and law-flouting customers for 150 years, with a state-of-the-art vault and video-surveillance system, though still keeping its cash in big, round bags with dollar signs printed on them.
Fremont High School Fremont Police Station: Workplace of Quantum Cop Krazy Kostumes: Fremont’s local fancy-dress rental store. City Hall Fremont Family Dentistry Big Al’s Live Spider Emporium: Located on the edge of town, under the airport-approach flight paths Evil’s Domain Dr. X’s Lair: Concealed on a volcanic island with no apparent location. Lord Milligan’s Lair: Also located in an active volcano, Mount Fuji, the side of, turned into an enormous sculpture of Lord Milligan’s head. Hell: A large red-tinged cavern, its floor submerged by an endless ocean of red-hot lava, with a dull, smoky red glow suffusing the air; the Evil Cauldron of Fate: A sentient cauldron containing the distilled essence of the evilest sinners in history, tc grant its viewers clairvoyant or precognitive visions. The Soul Keeper: A baroque mechanical device of ancient origin, its immense powers prevent the souls of the damned from escaping Hell. Heaven: Floats on a giant cloud, behind the Pearly Gates, which are attended by St. Peter.
GURPS Casey and Andy was published based on Weir's webcomic of the same name. GURPS Infinite Worlds List of GURPS books List of campaign settings Casey and Andy at the SJGames.com catalogue A comprehensive review of Casey and Andy at RPG.net
Mullet is an Australian film released in 2001, written and directed by David Caesar, starring Ben Mendelsohn, Susie Porter and Andrew Gilbert. In the film, Eddie returns to his home town on the south coast of New South Wales. Having left for the city without explanation 3 years ago, he tries to pick up the pieces of his life and fit back into the lives of those he left, including his ex-girlfriend Tully and brother Pete; the title of the film comes from Eddie's nickname and from his attempts to make a living poaching mullet. The film succeeds in a human portrayal of the difficulties in living on the fringe of a close-knit community; the drama of the developing relationships is supported by dry comedy and detailed but understated design. The film was based on a short story written by writer-director David Caesar. Caesar and Producer Vincent Sheehan stated that the budget for the film was A$1 million; the film was shot in its entirety in the town of Kiama over four weeks in June 2000. Sheehan had intended to shoot interiors in Sydney, but found the cost of doing so was prohibitive within the film's budget.
Production benefitted from the involvement of the local residents and the community, including the Kiama Knights rugby league club and cameo performances by Mick Cronin and Steve Starling, both well known Australian television personalities. While shooting was undertaken on a tight schedule, in it was eight years from first concept to completion. Total box office has been reported as A$1,157,161. AFI Awards, 2001 Nominated: Best Actor Nominated: Best Supporting Actor Nominated: Best Supporting Actress Nominated: Best Director Nominated: Best Original ScreenplayAustralian Screen Sound Guild, 2001 Won: Best Achievement in Sound for a Feature Film - Dialogue & ADR EditingAustralian Writers' Guild, 2001 Won: Awgie Award - Feature Film - OriginalFilm Critics Circle of Australia Awards, 2001 Won: Best Screenplay - Original Won: Best Supporting Actor - Male Nominated: Best Actor - Male Nominated: Best Director Nominated: Best Film Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - FemaleShanghai International Film Festival, 2001 Won: Best Director Mullet grossed $1,165,606 at the box office in Australia.
Cinema of Australia Review by John Flaus: An Impressionist Work: Mullet, senses of cinema, 2001. Retrieved January 2008 Official website Mullet at the National Film and Sound Archive Mullet on IMDb Mullet at Oz Movies