Ralph Henry Baer was a German-American inventor, game developer, engineer. Baer's family fled Germany just before World War II and Baer served the American war effort, gaining an interest in electronics shortly thereafter. Through several jobs in the electronics industry, he was working as an engineer at now BAE Systems, when he became conceived of the idea of playing games on a television screen around 1966. With support of his employers, he worked through several prototypes until he arrived at a "Brown Box" that would become the blueprint for the first home video game console, licensed by Magnavox as the Magnavox Odyssey. Baer continued to design several other consoles and computer game units, including contributing to design of the Simon electronic game, helping to spark "Simon Says" as a popular phrase. Baer continued to work in electronics with over 150 patents to his name. Baer is considered "the Father of Video Games" due to his many contributions to games and helping to spark the video game industry in the latter half of the 20th century.

In February, 2006, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology for "his groundbreaking and pioneering creation and commercialization of interactive video games, which spawned related uses and mega-industries in both the entertainment and education realms". Ralph Baer was born in 1922 to Lotte and Leo Baer, a Jewish family living in Germany, was named Rudolf Heinrich Baer. At age 14, he was expelled from school because of his ancestry and had to go to an all-Jewish school, his father worked in a shoe factory in Pirmasens at the time. Baer's family, fearing increasing persecution, moved from Germany to New York City in 1938, just two months prior to Kristallnacht, while Baer was a teenager. Baer would become a naturalized United States citizen. In the United States, he was self-taught and worked in a factory for a weekly wage of twelve dollars. After seeing an advertisement at a bus station for education in the budding electronics field, he quit his job to study in the field, he graduated from the National Radio Institute as a radio service technician in 1940.

In 1943 he was drafted to fight in World War II and assigned to military intelligence at the United States Army headquarters in London. With his secondary education funded by the G. I. Bill, Baer graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television Engineering, unique at the time, from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1949. In 1949, Baer went to work as chief engineer for a small electro-medical equipment firm called Wappler, Inc. There he designed and built surgical cutting machines and low frequency pulse generating muscle-toning equipment. In 1951, Baer went to work as a senior engineer for Loral Electronics in Bronx, New York, where he designed power line carrier signaling equipment, contracting for IBM. From 1952 to 1956, he worked at Transitron, Inc. in New York City as a chief engineer and as vice president. He started his own company before joining defense contractor Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1956, where he stayed until retiring in 1987.

Baer's primary responsibility at Sanders was overseeing about 500 engineers in the development of electronic systems being used for military applications. Out of this work came the concept of a home video game console, he would go on to create the first commercial video game consoles, among several other patented advances in video games and electronic toys. As he approached retirement, Baer partnered with Bob Pelovitz of Acsiom, LLC, they invented and marketed toy and game ideas from 1983 until Baer's death. Baer was a Life Senior Member of Institute of Electronics Engineers, his son, helped lead the nomination process to elevate him to become an IEEE Life Fellow, the highest level of membership within the organization. Baer married Dena Whinston in 1952, they had three children during their marriage, at the time of Baer's death, he had four grandchildren. Baer died at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire on December 6, 2014, according to family and friends close to him. Baer is considered to have been the inventor of video games of the concept of the home video game console.

In 1966, while an employee at Sanders Associates, Baer started to explore the possibility of playing games on television screens. He first got the idea while working at Loral in 1951, another electronics company, they wanted nothing to do with it at the time. In a 2007 interview, Baer said that he recognized that the price reduction of owning a television set at the time had opened a large potential market for other applications, considering that various military groups had identified ways of using television for their purposes. Upon coming up with the idea of creating a game using the television screen, he wrote a four-page proposal with which he was able to convince one of his supervisors to allow him to proceed, he was given the time of two other engineers, Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch. They developed the "Brown Box" console video game system, so named because of the brown tape in which they wrapped the units to simulate wood veneer. Baer recounted that in an early meeting with patent examiner and his attorney to patent one of the prototypes, he had set up the prototype on a television in the examiner's office and "within 15 minutes, every examiner on the floor of that building was in that office wanting to play the game".

The Brown Box was patented on April 17, 1973, given U. S. Patent No. 3728480, became jointly owned by Ralph Baer and BAE Systems. Baer began seeking a buyer for the system, turning to various

Anti-Machiavel is an 18th-century essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia and patron of Voltaire, consisting of a chapter-by-chapter rebuttal of The Prince, the 16th-century book by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was first published in September 1740; the work, written in French, was produced at a turning point in Frederick's life, after his turbulent and rebellious youth, before his assumption of the throne of Prussia. Frederick had, of course, read Machiavelli long before, it is known from letters to Voltaire that Frederick began to ruminate on the project early in 1738. Voltaire took over in Summer 1740. Living in Huis Honselaarsdijk, the Prussian residence near The Hague, working with a dubious printer named Jan van Duren, Voltaire revised the text extensively on purpose and in order to get the manuscript back. There was a combined edition, with Voltaire's emendations as footnotes. Frederick sent Francesco Algarotti to London to take care of the publication of Anti-Machiavel in English. In the meantime, Frederick had become king, his authorship —, a open secret — made the book an instant success and bestseller.

Not Frederick had other matters to occupy his attention, he did not return to the work in an appreciable way. Frederick's argument is moral in nature: he asserts that Machiavelli offered a partial and biased view of statecraft, his own views appear to reflect a Enlightenment ideal of rational and benevolent statesmanship: the king, Frederick contends, is charged with maintaining the health and prosperity of his subjects. On the one hand Machiavelli erred by assigning too great a value on princely machinations that, Frederick claims, ended in disaster, as the king's evil actions are taken up by his subjects. On the other hand, in support of the first idea, Frederick points out the numerous cases in which Machiavelli had ignored or slighted the bad ends of the numerous malefactors he describes and praises. Anti-Machiavel, of oordeelkundig onderzoek, van den Vorst, van Machiavel... by Frederick II, Voltaire, H. Zweerts. Dutch translation from 1741 Thomas Carlyle. History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Book 10.

Project Gutenberg. March, 2000

Steve Davis is an American jazz drummer. With Shelly Manne as his godfather, he became interested in the drums at a young age. Following the advice of drum teacher Alan Dawson, Davis moved to New York City in the early 1980s to begin his career as a jazz drummer. Soon after he met the jazz educator Jamey Aebersold, in 1982 joined the Aebersold clinic faculty. Throughout the 1980s he worked in New York City and studied with Joe Morello, he met pianist Lynne Arriale met at a jam session soon after she moved to New York in 1991. Davis is a faculty member of the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Summer Schools in the US and the Jazzwise Summer Schools in the UK, he lists Ted Reed's Syncopation and G. L. Stone's Stick Control as useful books for drummers, he has played on many Aebersold play-along records and has written transcription books of his playing on these records. He has taught at Triton College in Chicago, Webster University in St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis, Berlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, the University of South Florida.

Davis is a recording engineer to set up a home studio in New York in the 1990s. He has engineered hundreds of recording sessions. Songs We Know Explorations and Impressions with Richie Beirach, Francois Moutin Modern Days and Nights: Music of Cole Porter Quality of Silence Light with Jeanfrançois Prins With Lynne Arriale The Eyes Have It When You Listen With Words Unspoken A Long Road Home Melody Live at Montreux Inspiration Come Together Arise Live Jamey Aebersold, Groovin' High Jamey Aebersold, In a Mellow Tone: Duke Ellington Jamey Aebersold, Vol. 50: The Magic of Miles Davis Joe Beck and Ali Ryerson, Alto Manfredo Fest, Just Jobim Monika Herzig, In Your Own Sweet Voice Wolfgang Lackerschmid, Wolfgang Lackerschmid Quartet Walt Weiskopf, Night Lights Official site

Meet the Jazztet is an album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1960 and released on the Argo label. Meet the Jazztet was the debut recording of the Jazztet, a sextet co-led by Art Farmer and Benny Golson; the band had first performed in public in November 1959. The album's ten tracks were recorded for Argo Records at Nola Penthouse Studios over three days: February 6, 9, 10, 1960. Argo knew the commercial value of having successful jazz singles; the Jazztet consisted of Farmer, Curtis Fuller, McCoy Tyner, Addison Farmer, Humphries. "Serenata" has a chord structure. Golson and Farmer each have a two-chorus solo. "It Ain't Necessarily So" is from Porgy and Bess, which had gained recent attention from the 1959 film version. The version recorded is at a medium tempo. "Avalon" is taken at a higher tempo, features solos from piano, trombone and saxophone, all before the full melody is played. Golson's ballad "I Remember Clifford" is a feature for Farmer.

The balance Farmer achieves between fealty to the melody and sympathetic variation make this definitive." "Blues March" was written by Golson, first recorded two years before this version, which contains some double-timing from Farmer. "It's All Right With Me" is chiefly a feature for Fuller. "Park Avenue Petite" is a ballad written by Golson. "Mox Nix" is an up-tempo blues by Farmer. "Easy Living" features Golson's ballad playing, influenced by Lucky Thompson and Ben Webster. "Killer Joe" is "lean and mean, with Farmer's muted horn in the lead and horns blowing over a bridge where the rhythm is suspended". In August 1960, the album was reported as having good sales, a single from it, "Killer Joe", with "Mox Nix" on the B side, had sold over 40,000 copies. Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls the album "a hard bop classic"; the album's final track, "Killer Joe", helped the Jazztet gain attention, in Golson's opinion. All compositions by Benny Golson except as indicated "Serenata" – 3:30 "It Ain't Necessarily So" – 4:26 "Avalon" – 3:29 "I Remember Clifford" – 3:10 "Blues March" – 5:16 "It's All Right with Me" – 3:53 "Park Avenue Petite" – 3:41 "Mox Nix" – 4:01 "Easy Living" – 3:33 "Killer Joe" – 4:57 Art Farmer – trumpet Benny Golson – tenor saxophone Curtis Fuller – trombone McCoy Tyner – piano Addison Farmer – bass Lex Humphries – drums Kay Norton – production Tommy Nola – recording engineering

Gopiballavpur II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Jhargram subdivision of Jhargram district in the Indian state of West Bengal. In 1968 many revolutionary intellectuals, broadly termed as Naxalites, settled in Gopiballavpur. Amongst them was Santosh Rana, a local person. In September 1969 a guerrilla squad killed an oppressive landlord; the landlords fled to the towns and a big peasant movement began. Landlords’ crops were forcibly harvested. Around 150 people were killed. Santosh Rana was the key figure in “liberating” Debra and neighbouring areas in West Bengal, as well as in Odisha and Jharkhand; the movement split and collapsed in the early seventies. 106 districts spanning 10 states across India, described as being a part of the Left Wing Extremism activities, constitutes the Red corridor. In West Bengal the districts of Pashim Medinipur, Bankura and Birbhum are part of the Red corridor. However, as of July 2016, there has been no reported incidents of Maoist related activities from these districts for the previous 4 years.

In the period 2009-2011 LWE violence resulted in more than 500 deaths and a similar number missing in Paschim Medinipur district. The Lalgarh movement, which started attracting attention after the failed assassination attempt on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee chief minister of West Bengal, in the Salboni area of Paschim Medinipur district, on 2 November 2008 and the police action that followed, had spread over to these areas; the movement was not just a political struggle but an armed struggle that concurrently took the look of a social struggle. A large number of CPI activists, others active in different political parties, were killed. Although the epi-centre of the movement was Lalgarh, it was spread across 19 police stations in three adjoining districts – Paschim Medinipur and Purulia, all thickly forested and near the border with Jharkhand; the deployment of CRPF and other forces started on 11 June 2009. The movement came to an end after the 2011 state assembly elections and change of government in West Bengal.

The death of Kishenji, the Maoist commander, on 24 November 2011 was the last major landmark. From 2009 Maoist violence had spread across eleven western CD Blocks of the district: Binpur I, Binpur II, Grahbeta II, Jhargram, Midnapore Sadar, Gopiballavpur I, Gopiballavpur II, Sankrail and Nayagram. In Gopiballavpur II CD Block 55% of the cultivated area has infertile lateritic soil and 45% has alluvial soil. Gopiballavpur II CD Block is drought prone with a severe drought situation. Chorchita, a constituent gram panchayat of Gopiballavpur II block is located at 22°13′30″N 86°57′38″E. Gopiballavpur II CD Block is bounded by Jamboni and Jhargram CD Blocks in the north, Sankrail CD Block in the east, Gopiballavpur I CD Block in the south and Chakulia and Baharagora CD Blocks, in East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, in the west, it is located 51 km from the district headquarters. Gopiballavpur II CD Block has an area of 192.17 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 7 gram panchayats, 78 gram sansads, 192 mouzas and 175 inhabited villages.

Beliaberah police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD Block is at Beliaberah. Gopiballavpur II CD Block had a forest cover of 1,110 hectares, against a total geographical area of 19,777 hectares in 2005-06. Gram panchayats of Gopiballavpur II block/ panchayat samiti are: Beliaberah, Kharbandhi, Nota and Tapsia; as per the 2011 Census of India Gopiballavpur II CD Block had a total population of 104,996, all of which were rural. There were 51,537 females. Population below 6 years was 11,851. Scheduled Castes numbered 32,553 and Scheduled Tribes numbered 24,562; as per the 2001 census, Gopiballavpur II block had a total population of 93,276, out of which 47,813 were males and 45,463 were females. Gopiballavpur II block registered a population growth of 13.64 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the combined Midnapore district was 14.87 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.45 per cent. Large villages in Gopiballavpur II CD Block are: Chorchita. Other villages in Gopiballavpur II CD Block include: Petbindhi, Nota and Belaberya.

As per the 2011 census the total number of literates in Gopiballavpur II CD Block was 66,503 out of which males numbered 38,092 and females numbered 28,411. The gender gap in literacy rates was 18.41%. See – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate Bengali is the local language in these areas. There is a Tribal presence in many of the CD Blocks of the district. Santali is spoken by 55.93% of the tribal population of the district. The Bhumij, forming 11.16% of the tribal population, the Mundas, forming 6.10% of the tribal population, speak Mundari. Other small groups include Mahalis; the Lodhas, forming 3.85% of the tribal population, the only primitive tribe in the district, speak Lodhi. In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 102,125 and formed 97.26% of the population in Gopiballavpur II CD Block. Muslims formed 1.06 % of the population. Others formed 1.68 % of the population. Others include Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Alchchi, Sant, Seran, Sarin, Kheria and other religious communities.

In Gopiballavpur II CD Block 47.72% families were living below poverty line in 2007. A

Aegis Defence Services is a British private military and private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, which includes Aegis LLC, based in the United States, it was founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer, CEO of the private military company Sandline International. It is a founding signatory of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, inaugurated on 9 November 2010, a'Swiss government convened, multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to both clarify international standards for the private security industry operating in complex environments, as well as to improve oversight and accountability of these companies.' It was a founding member of the British Association of Private Security Companies, a body lobbying for the regulation of the British PSC sector, now defunct. It is a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq In October 2015 Aegis was taken over by Canadian security company GardaWorld.

In Iraq, Aegis is under contract to the United States Department of Defense to provide security support services to the Project and Contracting Office, responsible for managing the reconstruction program. These services include: Providing static and mobile security details for the PCO and United States Army Corps of Engineers. Through its charitable foundation Aegis conducts a self-funded civil affairs programme to facilitate reconstruction in areas where there are gaps in mainstream projects, it provides expatriate–led and Iraqi–manned Reconstruction Liaison Teams to monitor the progress of reconstruction work subcontracted to Iraqi building companies. In separate contracts, Aegis is engaged in providing security protection to the inquiry into alleged corruption in the Oil-for-Food Programme, it provided security support to the UN Electoral Assistance Division and the Independent High Electoral Commission facilitating both the constitutional referendum to proceed in October 2005 and the general election in December 2005.

In May 2011, it was announced that U. S. military was to pull out of Baghdad, in the air and ground, to be replaced by eight companies including Aegis and DynCorp International to take over security operations. In 2011, Aegis was awarded a $497 million contract by the U. S. Department of State for assuming security forces operations at the U. S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan; the Guardian newspaper reported that from 2011 onwards Aegis "broadened its recruitment" to include African countries, including Sierra Leone. Security guards recruited from Sierra Leone were paid only $16 a day. On 27 October 2005 a number of "trophy" videos showing private military contractors in Baghdad firing upon civilian vehicles with no clear reason discernible from the footage itself sparked two investigations after they were posted on the internet; the videos were linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services. Both the US Army and Aegis conducted investigations into the video. More4 News broadcast extracts of the videos in March 2006.

The video showed Matthew Elkin ordering a cease fire. Aegis benefited from CPA-mandated immunity from prosecution by Iraqi authorities. On 6 April 2006 More4 News reporter Nima Elbagir identified disaffected former Aegis contractor Rod Stoner as responsible for posting the videos on the website. Aegis would not confirm that its contractors were involved in the incidents shown in the videos, but obtained a High Court injunction to have Stoner's website closed down. In the same More4 program, Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn insisted that the Pentagon's contract with Aegis Defence Services should be suspended until the matter had been properly investigated and reported upon. On 28 October 2005 Aegis acquired Rubicon International Services Ltd, a longstanding provider of corporate and otherwise executive private security services; the public announcement was made on 4 November 2005. John Davidson, managing director of Rubicon, joined the Aegis board and became director of operations. In July 2013, the Aegis chief executive was former Major General Graham Binns, who served in the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, which became the 1st battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, in 2006, was the Colonel of the Yorkshire Regiment.

The chairman of the Aegis board of directors was former Defence minister Nicholas Soames MP. Aegis corporate website Rubicon Acquisition in Adobe PDF http://www.rainews24.it/ran24/rainews24_2007/inchieste/19042007_affari_guerra/default_eng.asp