india's second largest integrated oil refining and marketing company

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), the second largest oil marketing public sector company, has signed a fuel supply agreement with Atria Power Corporation Ltd to generate 103 MW of power at Harihar, in its commitment to bring more power to Karnataka.

Bharat Petroleum

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian state-controlled Maharatna[2] oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Corporation operates two large refineries of the country located at Mumbai and Kochi. The company is ranked 358th on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations as of 2016.[3]

In 1889 during vast industrial development, an important player in the South Asian market was the Burmah Oil Company. Though incorporated in Scotland in 1886, the company grew out of the enterprises of the Chef Rohit Oil Company, which had been formed in 1871 to refine crude oil produced from primitive hand dug wells in Upper Burma.

In 1928, Asiatic Petroleum Company (India) started cooperation with Burma oil company. This alliance led to the formation of Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of India Limited. Burmah Shell began its operations with import and marketing of Kerosene.

On 24 January 1976, the Burmah Shell was taken over by the Government of India to form Bharat Refineries Limited. On 1 August 1977, it was renamed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. It was also the first refinery to process newly found indigenous crude Bombay High.

In 2003, following a petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, the Supreme Court restrained the Central government from privatizing Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum without the approval of Parliament.[4] As counsel for the CPIL, Rajinder Sachar and Prashant Bhushan said that the only way to disinvest in the companies would be to repeal or amend the Acts by which they were nationalized in the 1970s.[5] As a result, the government would need a majority in both houses to push through any privatization.[6]

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) traces its history to 1928 when the Burmah Shell Oil Storage & Distribution Company of India was incorporated in England to enter the petroleum products business in India. The business of the Company grew substantially given the international backing of Shell and it achieved the leadership position in India. In 1952, Shell and Burmah Oil Company set up Burmah Shell Refineries to set up a refinery in Mumbai. The entire operations of Burmah Shell in India were nationalised in 1976 and the Refinery and Marketing Companies were merged to form BPCL.

- The Company was incorporated on 3 November 1952 under the name Burmahshell Refineries Limited (BSR). The Burmah Shell as Storage & Distributing Company of India, Ltd., a foreign company established in England in 1928 was carrying on in India the business of distributing and marketing petroleum products and for that paurpose established places in India.

- The Company has a well established refinery at Mahul, Chembur (Mumbai) which has commissioned in January.

- The company's refinery in Bombay was commissioned in 1955. It introduced LPG as a cooking fuel to the Indian home and all along, it went beyond selling petroleum, to educate the customer.

- The companies name changed to Bharat Refineries Limited (BRL) on 12th, February 1976.

- Companies name changed to its present name (BPCL) on 1 August.

- Pursuant to an agreement dated 23.12.79 bet ween Govt. of India and BSM, the Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd., the Burmah Oil Co. Ltd., and the Burmah Shell Refineries Ltd., the Govt. of India acquired 100% equity share holdings of BSR on 24 January 1976. Simultaneously also acquired the right to title and interest and liabilities of BSM in relation to its undertakings in India.

- During the year the company commissioned 50 retail outlets including 9 in rural areas and 7 superior kerosene oil/light deisel oil dealerships. The total number of retail outlets/light diesel oil dealership at the end of the year stood at 4,090 and 928 respectively.

- During the year, 20% of the shares were sold by the govt. to various financial institutions and Mutual Funds. Thus presently the President of India holds 80% of the paid up capital.

- During the year, the company installed microprocessor based digital integrated distributed control system in catalytic reformer and new solvent unit which replaced the pneumatic control system. Also installed advanced control system for catalytic control unit.

- During the year, the corporation commissioned 124 retail outlets and 10 oil/light diesel oil dealership.

- On 25 February, a joint venture company `Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd' was incorporated. And was set up as a joint venture between Omen oil Co. Ltd and the Corporation.

- During the year, Bharat Shell Ltd. was promoted by the company and Shell Overseas Investments, B V Netherlands for marketing shell branded lubricants in the country.

- During 95-96, a 6 MMTPA joint venture refinery being set up with Oman Oil Company Ltd. at Bina in M.P.

- A MOU was signed on March between the corporation and Pepsi Foods Ltd. pursuant to which customers cars drive upto select retail outlets for chilled pepsi distribution.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., and Bank of Baroda have signed an MOU to launch the first Co-Branded Credit Card in the country which enables customers to buy petrol, diesel, lubricants and other regular commodities. The cards will carry BPCL and BOB logos and will have two categories - Premium and Regular. The cards can also be used by corporate houses as a facility to its executives for reimbursement of their fuel cost.

- During the year, the corporation commissioned 61 retail outlets and 12 SKO/LDO dealerships. During the year Petronet India Ltd. was set for developing and laying a network of petroleum product pipelines in the country.

- During the year, LPG port terminal was commissioned at Okha in Gujarat, in October, with a storage capacity of 900 MT of LPG.

- The company embarked upon a strategic change plan in 1996. The organisation structure has been revamped and six Strategic Business Units have been created. The new structure is based on business processes, is flexible, more responsive to external changes, has fewer layers, and above all, ensures a much higher customer focus. 1997

- During the year corporation, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOP&NG). The performance rating awarded to BPC was "Excellent" for the year ended March 31, 1996. - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.(BPCL), has launched Apollo air stations at its petrol pumps in Mumbai. The company had signed a memorandum of understanding recently with Apollo Tyres to provide efficient air facility to customers through BPCL's retail network. - Sanghi Group of industries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. Under the agreement, BPCL will set up huge infrastructural facilities to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuels for various mega projects being undertaken by the Sanghi group including a cement plant, a petrochemical complex and a 100 per cent EOU spinning unit. - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), is setting up a six million tonne per annum refinery at Bina, in Madhya Pradesh. The corporation also envisages a single point mooring and a crude oil terminal at Vadinar and a cross country crude oil pipeline from Vadinar to Bina. - ONGC is joining hands with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for a Rs 2,552,-crore petrochemical project in Hazira, Gujarat. - An agreement to supply around 80,000 tonnes of naphtha per annum for the 230-MW combined cycle power project at Jegurupadu in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, has been signed between GVK Industries Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). - The public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) proposes to lay a pipeline from Cochin to Karur via Coimbatore to transport petrol, high speed diesel and kerosene. - The Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 9 for setting up a joint venture to supply pipeline cooking gas in the Capital. - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and the UK-based global oil major - Shell, are likely to float a new company for setting up the seven million tonnes per annum (mtpa) grassroot refinery at Uttar Pradesh. - State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has made tentative plans to shut its 120,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Mumbai in November or December 1998 for maintenance. - Between January and February, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd had closed its crude distillation unit and 18,000 bpd fluid catalytic cracker. Its 12,000 bpd cracker was shut in May for 30â€“35 days. - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is to increase its tankage capacity of petroleum products in the eastern region in the Ninth Plan by setting up new terminals involving an expenditure of about Rs 300 crores.

- The company is to set up new terminals at Budge Budge, Haldia and Alipurduar in West Bengal, Jashidih, Gaya, Barauni and Ranchi in Bihar, Balasore, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Rayagada and Paradeep in Orissa besides Lumding and Guwahati.

- It is also proposed to set up a hospital and build a residential colony in the 3500 acre land of the two projects.

- The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) entered into a fuel supply agreement with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd for its 300-mW joint venture power project at Bidadi.

- The company will open five new, state-of-the-art, self servicing and automatic cut off nozzle facility petrol and diesel bunks in the city.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has entered into an agreement with Herdillia Chemicals Ltd for supply of 10,000 metric tonnes of naphtha for its proposed 5.5MW power project at Turbhe in Navi Mumbai. - Shell and BPCL will hold a 26 per cent stake each in the refinery project. The remaining 48 per cent will be held by institutions and the public. - The joint venture has received a letter of intent for setting up the refinery in Uttar Pradesh and government approval for direct foreign investment.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has launched its new lubricants in Calcutta from February 5.

- Shalivahana Power Corporation Ltd (SPCL) has signed a fuel supply agreement (FSA) with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for the supply of furnace oil to its 33 MW mini-power plant to be set up at Ghatkesar.

- PIL is a 50:50 joint venture between Bharat Petroleum and Gujarat Gas.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has commissioned its Rs.450-crore Mumbai-Manmad pipeline.

- The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd workers on April 7, observed strike throughout the country in protest against the managements reported move to damage the corporation.

- BPCL commissioned the first phase of its second coastal storage facility on the east coast at Haldia, West Bengal.

- BPCL is the only company among the three integrated refining and marketing companies - the others being HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) - which has had a strong focus on marketing activities.

- BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.) has begun a New Marketing chapter with clear strategies and initiatives for Lubricants.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has tied up with Petronet India Limited, the oil-pipeline holding company, to form a joint venture for a 308-km pipeline from Kochi to Karur in Tamil Nadu.

- BPCL and Petronet India Ltd, will each take a 26 per cent equity stake, Cochin Refineries is expected to subscribe to 23 per cent of the equity and the balance 25 per cent will be held by other investors. The total equity will be Rs.140 crore with a 3:1 debt equity ratio.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has entered into in joint venture with Petronet (India) Ltd for the construction of a 308Â km pipeline from Kochi in Kerala to Karur in Tamil Nadu.

- The company is India's second largest oil company in terms of market share. - BHARAT Petroleum Corporation Ltd proposes to set up a petrochemical complex, based on a naphtha cracker of 5,00,000-MTPA-ethylene capacity, using low aromatic naphtha available from indigenous/imported sources. It will be set up at a coastal location in Tamil Nadu. BPCL has obtained the "Letter of intent" from the Government of India for manufacture of the products. - BPCL is also setting up a three mtpa refinery at Numaligarh in Assam in a joint venture with IBP Co Ltd and the Government of Assam.

- BPCL has also successfully entered into fuel supply agreements with 22 independent power plants and four captive power plants for the supply of 1.1 mmtpa of naptha and 0.8 mmtpa of furnace oil.

- The company has commissioned the 250-km Mumbai-Manmad product pipeline, which has augmented its supply and distribution network.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is the third largest oil refining and marketing company in the country.

- INDRAPRASTHA Gas Limited, a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) is set to revolutionalise transportation in New Delhi.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has bagged the fuel supply contract for Kerala State Electricity Board's Kozhikode diesel power project at Nallalam.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is setting up its LPG bottling plant in Hoskote Taluk near Bangalore.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has commissioned a hydrant fuelling system for aircraft at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL).

- BPCL has taken six per cent equity in the paid-up capital of the airport.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (BPCL) joint venture with Oman Oil Co. for setting up a six-million tonne refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh is expected to achieve financial closure within a month, said Mr. A. Sinha, BPCL's Finance Director.

- In an attempt to set up its naphtha-fired 200-MW project at top speed, the KPC Bidadi Power Corporation (KBPCL) entered into a fuel supply agreement (FSA) with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for the supply of 25,0900 mtpa of naphtha.

- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Thrust (JNPT) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) signed a license agreement for development of a liquid cargo jetty at Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is exploring the option of extending a crude pipeline from its Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to Allahabad where it proposes to set up another seven-million-tonne refinery. - The company proposes to construct a crude-oil terminal in Gujarat from where crude will be transported through a pipeline to Bina. - BPCL has introduced the `smart-card' technology at retail outlets in Chennai. - BPCL has also entered into a marketing agreement with Reliance Petroleum Ltd for distributing 25 per cent of its production. - ICICI Bank Ltd has tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to install off-site ATMs at the company's petrol outlets.

- The Company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the ministry of petroleum & Natural gas for the year 2000-01. The Company has been awarded the `Excellent' rating and has been among the top-10 MoU-signing public sector companies in 1998-99.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., the Country's second-largest oil company, announced the launch of its `Petro Card' for the retail market in Gujarat.

- Burger giant McDonald's has tied up with oil major Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) to open and run restaurants at selected petrol pumps across the country.

- The Company is mulling over a voluntary retirement scheme for its 3000-odd middle-level management staff.

- The Company signed a Transport Service Agreement with Gas Authority of India Ltd on 1 August.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., in association with Iftex Petrochemicals Ltd., launched `Bharat Iftex', a co-branded multi functional additive (MFA).

- The Company will issue bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share for every one share held.

- SurfGold.com, the loyalty solution provider an alliance with Bharat Petroleum as one of its major Indian redemption partners.

- The Workers, of the Marketing Division of the Company went on one-day strike on 19 October affecting the normal operations in offices and establishments at Mumbai, Kandla, Solapur, Jalgaon, Jabalpur and Manmad.

- Big Mac has tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation for a highway complex on the Delhi-Agra highway, near Mathura.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation has offer bonus equity to its shareholders at a ratio of one bonus share for every one share held.

- The Company has been presented the FICCI award 1999 - 2000 for 'Corporate initiatives in the field of rural developments'.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has launched yet another card product, SmartFleet, aimed at fleet owners and corporates.

- During 2000-01 the company issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, thereby enhancing its equity capital to Rs 300 crore. Also Recently it acquired 55% stake in Kochi Refinery Limited (KRL) from the Government of India and 19% in Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) from IBP.

The company has launched 'Smart fleet', a programme for fleet owners and corporates and the same received an enthusiastic response from over 2500 clients.

-The company has 'Petrocard', an customer loyalty programme, had enrolled over 2.25 lakh customers by theend of March 2001.

- The Company has launched the co-branded SmartFleet card along with Tata Finance, a smart card targeted at vehicle fleet owners and corporates.

- BPCL has tied up with Quicky's, the global coffee chain, Pepsi Foods India and Kwality Walls for providing beverages soft drinks and ice-creams at its petrol pumps.

- Standard Chartered Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharat Petroleum Corporation have joined the eCash Forum which has been set up by the Smart Card Forum of India.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. has proposed to acquire the entire equity share holding of the Government of India in Kochi refineries Ltd. - Shell Aviation Ltd has appointed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) as the sole distributor for Shell brands of aero lubes in India. BPCL has signed a contract with Shell Aviation for distribution rights for the next five years.

-'In & Out', a convenience retailing proposition, was selectively launched in 14 retail outlets during the year. This proposition includes utility payments, courier service, ATMs, a coffee shop, music counters, impulse stores, etc.

- S Vijayaraghavan appointed as Additional Director on Board of BPCL

-M B Lal Director (Refineries) relinquishes office from BPCL.

- Tata Engg, BPCL ties up to market co-branded lubricants.

- Mr U Sundararajan has retired from the office of the Chairman & Managing Director, BPCL. Mr S Behuria, Director (Marketing) has taken over as Chairman & Managing Director of BPCL w e f July 1, 2002.

- BPCL introduced premium grade petrol "Speed" in Mumbai.

- SCI tie-up with BPCL for crude transportation.

- BPCL introduced 5Â kg cylinder for rural market.

- BPCL ties up with Cafe Coffee Day to open Cafe Coffee Day outlets in select In&Out BPCL petrol pumps.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd informed that Shri S Radhakrishnan, Executive Director (Marketing Coordination) has been appointed as Director on the Board of the company and he has taken over as Director (Marketing) with effect from November 1, 2002.

- Mr. Mukesh Rohatgi, Executive Director (Refinery) has been appointed as Director on the Board of the BPCL and he has taken charge as Director (Refineries) w.e.f. November 14, 2002. Mr. Naresh Narad, Special Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government Nominee Director on the Board of BPCL has relinquished the Directorship w.e.f. November 11, 2002 on his appointment as Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.

- ALF ties up with BPCL to launch 'affinity cards'

- The board of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is being restructured with the induction of four new non-executive directors. The directors, all professionals of long standing, are the former chairman of Indian Oil MA Pathan, former chairman of Indian Airlines PC Sen, former chairman of railway board BD Gupta and director of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, AH Kalro.

- BPCL & ONGC signs agreement to sale crude oil for a period of 2 years

- Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) has forged an alliance with Petrovietnam for the purpose of supplying 200,00 tonnes of naptha in the next 9 months.

- BPCL ties up with HLL for marketing durables, FMCG products via LPG outlets.

- BPCL launches 'Speed '93'

- Hyderabad: Bharat petroleum corporation Ltd (BPCL) has rolled out its new plan for Bharatgas customers. The new offer called 'Beyond LPG' was unveiled in twin cities which comes with value added services where customers can get the benefit of discounts ranging from 10-20 percnt on all FMCG branded utensils.

- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has informed that Shri S Vijayaraghavan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Government Nominee Director on the Board of the company has resigned from office of director wef September 2, 2003.

Dr P N Khandwalla, Shri P P Kaliaperumal & K Vasudeva Part Time Non Official directors have resigned from office of director wef September 4, 2003

Shri V D Gupta Shri P C Sen & A H Kalro are appointed as part-time non official directors of the company wef September 5, 2003.

-the company has launched premium petrol, 'Speed' on September 9 in Visakhapatnam. The premium petrol is priced marginally higher than the ordinary fuel. The fuel is for the new generation cars and two-wheelers.

- The company has tied up with Hindustan Lever Ltd and three other kitchenware brands for selling grocery items to its LPG customers through its distributor network. the consumers can order all HLL products besides kitchenware from Hawkins, Prestige and Nirlep from Bharatgas distributors in select cities.

-Formed a strategic pact with Honda Siel to help launch gensets and geysers that run on LPG.

-Shri A K Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been appointed as Directorâ€”BPCL bags third slot among `Top 10' in Asiamoney's corporate governance poll on Asian companies in the energy sector. And joined the club of a select few Asian companies.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed an agreement to cooperate with each other through sharing of their core strengths for exploration and production, and downstream oil refining and marketing.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) successfully completes its first swap transaction, making it the first public sector oil company to enter into an interest rate derivative transaction

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation is negotiating a five-year agreement with Reliance Industries to buy products from its Jamnagar refinery. A previous product-sourcing agreement between the two companies expires on March 31, 2004.

- IDBI Bank on January 15 said that it has entered into a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce arrangement with oil major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to provide an automated payment and purchase process to the BPCL's corporate and industrial clients.

-BPCL signs an initial contract with Saudi Aramco

- Tie up with Tata Consultancy Services to provide medical advisory and counselling services at Ghar, the highway retailing initiative of BPCL.

-Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL) signs a memorandum of understanding with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd regarding capacity utilisation and other production and performance parameters

-Forges alliance with E-Charge Tech Private Limited to distribute electronically pre-paid products like mobile cards, internet cards and calling cards, making it the first company in India to electronically distribute the pre-paid products

-- GAIL India Limited has signed two joint venture agreements with Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for implementation of city gas projects in Kanpur and Pune -Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) opened Mak Lubeshoppe at Akkayyapalem here on July 29

-Bharat Petroleum has launched another brand `Hi Speed Diesel'

-BPCL forges alliance with poultry association in Namakkal

-Speed ties up with consortium to sponsor domestic motor racing

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has entered into a marketing tie-up with automobile manufacturer Tata Motors for marketing of engine oils as co-branded lubricants for their commercial vehicles

- BPCL launches Speed 97, its new brand of high-octane petrol mixed with lubricant additives, meant to improve vehicle performance

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has launched a new concept of `Vehicle Care Centres' at its retail outlets

-Madhya Pradesh Government signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd to set up a six-million-tonne per annum refinery at Bina on May 6, 2005

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has announced that the Company & MMTC have jointly decided to work together in the area of domestic and international marketing of hydro-carbon by leveraging their core business strength in the global commodity trading.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has announced that the Company has entered into an MOU with Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras),

-BPCL acquires first Nigerian Erha cargo

-BPCL has informed that Shri. D N Narasimha Raju, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) has been reappointed as Additional Director effective December 18, 2006.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has informed that Prof N Venkiteswaran, has been appointed as Additional Director effective July 16, 2007.

-BPCL acquires interest in North Sea basin

-BPCL to offload 49-pc stake in Bharat Shell

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has appointed Ms. Rama Bijapurkar and Shri. S K Barua as Additional Director w.e.f. May 20, 2008.

-BPCL venture to infuse Rs 2,200cr in bio-diesel project

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is mulling to establish a 5-Mw wind power farm in Andhra Pradesh.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has unveiled a GPS-technology based vehicle tracking system for its 5,200 tanker trucks fleet.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has informed BSE that BPCL, Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Bharat Oman Refinery Ltd. (BORL) have signed an agreement on November 15, 2009 in Oman related to additional investment by OOC in BORL.

-BPCL Farm-in into the Nunukan PSC in Indonesia

-Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) stated that natural gas reserves have been discovered in a block off Mozambique where it has a minority stake.

-BPCL announces successful pre-salt flow test offshore Brazil

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) commissioned its international bunkering facilities at the Kochi port.

-BPCL enters into agreement with M/s. Norwest to acquire Shale Gas acreages in Australia"

-BPCL announces Major Natural Gas discovery in offshore Mozambique.

-BPCL discovers hydrocarbon in ultra deep water of Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil.

-BPCL announces Oil and Gas discovery in Offshore Indonesia

-BPCL appoints R K Singh as new BPCL chairman

-Bharat Petroleum walked away with two prestigious Communication Awards at the Golden Jubilee function of the Annual Association of Business Communicators of India (ABCI) Awards Nite held at the Taj Mahal Hotel

-BPCL won the Silver Award for our Inhouse Publication, Petro Plus and the Bronze Award for our Online Web Campaign

-Bharat Petroleum was awarded the 1st position under the Best Display in Raw Space category during a spectacular awards ceremony at the recently concluded Petrotech-2010 exhibition at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The theme this year was Global Energy Equilibrium.

-BPCL corporate website www.bharatpetroleum.in bagged the first prize in the category â€˜Most user friendly website (editors choice) in the India eGov 2.0 Awards 2010.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd receives Green Business Leaders Award: 2009- 2010

-NDTV Recognizes BPCL With Prestigious Corporate Sustainability Report Award

-BPCL has secured 289th ranking during 2008-09 in the prestigious list of Fortune Global 500

-Tyre manufacturer Goodyear India has entered into an agreement with PSU major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd to open tyre care shops at some of their petrol pumps.

-BPCL discovered of oil and gas in Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil

2012 -BPCL's Another major appraisal success in Offshore Mozambique for BPRL

-BPCL in Successful Flow Test Offshore Mozambique

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd informs that "BPRL Announces Extension of Exploration Success with New Discovery Area in Offshore Mozambique".

-BPCL invests Rs 75 cr to set up 22 kV substation at Kochi Refinery

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., second largest public sector oil marketing company, has signed an MOU with LG Chem South Korea for a Joint Venture to set up a petrochemical plant adjacent to its Kochi Refinery Complex.

-BPCL - Discovery of Hydrocarbons in Espirito Santo Bash, Offshore Brazil.

-BPCL - Discovery of Hydrocarbons in Cauvery Onland in Tamil Nadu

-State run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerala government. Following the development, the state government would extend tax deferments to BPCL's Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) and petrochemical complex.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is in planned investments of up to Rs 45,000 crore by 2017 towards upstream projects as well as downstream expansion.

-BPCL l discovers New oil in the deep water of Sergipe - Alagoas Basin, Brasil

-Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has managed to raise USD 500 million through a maiden 10 year bond issue. The move market the debut of BPCL into the international debt market and the proceeds from issue would be used by the company to fund its capital expenditure. -Bharat Petroleum Corporation has given the Bonus in the Ratio of 1:1

2013 -Petrobras completes formation test in Farfan area in Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil. -BPRL announces new natural gas discovery in offshore Mozambique. -Bharat gas introduces IVRS to book gas refill services. -BPCL begins IVRS refill booking system in Kerala -BPCL has launched Universal Tractor Transmission Oil MAK Trac Magic + which is a special formulated lubricant for tractors, in the market of Punjab and Haryana.

2014 -Bharat Petroleum - BPRL announces Increase in Recoverable Natural Gas Resources in Mozambique. -Bharat Petroleum - Gas Discovery in Cauvery Basin, India by ONGC - BPRL Consortium.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has received approval from Environment Ministry for Rs 4,588 crore expansion at its refinery facility -BPCL acquires additional shares of Petronet CCK Limited -BPCL,along with GAIL Gas, a 100% subsidiary of GAIL India will jointly develop the City Gas Distribution Network (CGD Network) in Haridwar district. -BPCL has commissioned a new art Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) in Mumbai.

-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has received Maharatna[7] status on 12.09.2017

Bharat Petroleum operates the following refineries:

The company business is divided in seven SBUs( Strategic Business Units), like Retail, Lubricants, Aviation, Refinery, Gas, I&C and LPG.

They have popular Loyalty Program like Petrocard, Smartfleet.


who was elected mayor of san francisco in 2018

Eight candidates qualified to appear on the ballot, and a ninth qualified as a write-in. The four major candidates were former Supervisor Angela Alioto, former Acting Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Jane Kim and former State Senator Mark Leno.[1] All four main candidates identify as Democrats, though the position is officially nonpartisan per the Constitution of California.[2][3] Leno conceded the race to Breed on June 13.[4]

San Francisco mayoral special election, 2018

Mark Farrell
Nonpartisan

London Breed
Nonpartisan

A special election was held for Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco on June 5, 2018. The winner of the election will serve until 2020, filling the unexpired term of Ed Lee, who was elected in 2011 and 2015, and died in office on December 12, 2017. Upon Lee's death, London Breed, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became Acting Mayor of San Francisco, but a vote of six supervisors replaced Breed with Supervisor Mark Farrell. The mayoral election was held concurrently with the statewide direct primary election. In San Francisco, the election for the eighth district member of the Board of Supervisors was also on the ballot.

Ed Lee, who was appointed Mayor of San Francisco in 2011 following Gavin Newsom's election as Lieutenant Governor of California, elected to a full term in 2011, and reelected in 2015, died of cardiac arrest on December 12, 2017.[5] London Breed, the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became the city's acting mayor.[6][7]

On January 23, 2018, the Board of Supervisors selected Mark Farrell to serve as interim mayor until the special election could be held. Citing Ron Conway's role as a benefactor to Breed, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim, considered the progressive members of the board, sought to deny Breed the benefits of incumbency going into the election.[8][9]

As San Francisco elections use ranked choice voting, Kim and Mark Leno chose to align with each other, each endorsing the other as their preferred second choice.[10]

The filing deadline was 5 p.m. on January 9, 2018.[11]

The following eight candidates qualified for the ballot by filing all nomination documents and paying the filing fee.[12] The deadline for a candidate to drop out of the race and remove himself or herself from the ballot was January 30, 2018.[13]

First-place votes counted on election night had Breed leading with 35.6 percent, Leno in second with 25.9 percent, and Kim with 22.8 percent. As candidates began to be eliminated, Leno took the lead the next day.[58] He maintained a small lead during the week.[59] On June 9, Breed took the lead over Leno.[60][61] On June 13, with only 8,000 ballots left to count,[62] Leno conceded defeat and congratulated Breed on her victory.[63]

The following table shows a summary of the instant runoff for the election. The table shows the round in which the candidate was defeated or elected the winner, the votes for the candidate in that round, and what share those votes were of all votes counting for any candidate in that round. There is also a bar graph showing those votes for each candidate and categorized as either first-round votes or votes that were transferred from another candidate.

The following table shows how votes were counted[64] in a series of rounds of instant runoffs. Each voter could mark which candidates were the voter's first, second, and third choice. Each voter had one vote, but could mark three choices for how that vote can be counted. In each round, the vote is counted for the most preferred candidate that has not yet been eliminated. Then one or more candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated. Votes that counted for an eliminated candidate are transferred to the voter's next most preferred candidate that has not yet been eliminated.

Continuing votes are votes that counted for a candidate in that round. Exhausted ballots represent votes that could not be transferred because a less preferred candidate was not marked on the ballot. Voters were allowed to mark only three choices because of voting system limitations. Over votes are votes that could not be counted for a candidate because more than one candidate was marked for a choice that was ready to be counted. Under votes are ballots were left blank or that only marked a choice for a write-in candidate that had not qualified as a write-in candidate.


when was the 48 laws of power written

The 48 Laws of Power (1998) is the first book by American author Robert Greene.[1] The book is a bestseller,[2][3] selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States,[4] and is popular with prison inmates and celebrities.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

The 48 Laws of Power

Greene initially formulated some of the ideas in The 48 Laws of Power while working as a writer in Hollywood and concluding that today's power elite shared similar traits with powerful figures throughout history.[5] In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers.[4][8] Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and six months later, Elffers requested that Greene write a treatment.[4]

Although Greene was unhappy in his current job, he was comfortable and saw the time needed to write a proper book proposal as too risky.[10] However, at the time Greene was rereading his favorite biography about Julius Caesar and took inspiration from Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon River and fight Pompey, thus inciting the Great Roman Civil War.[10] Greene wrote the treatment, which later became The 48 Laws of Power.[10] He would note this as the turning point of his life.[10]

The 48 Laws of Power has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States and has been translated into 24 languages.[4] Fast Company called the book a "mega cult classic," and The Los Angeles Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power turned Greene into a "cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike."[4][11]

The 48 Laws of Power has been reported to be much requested in American prison libraries,[5][12] and has been studied as a first year text in some US colleges.[13][14] Former drug dealer Curtis Jackson (now better known as rapper 50 Cent) stated that he related to the book "immediately," and approached Greene with the prospect of a potential collaboration, which would later become The 50th Law, another New York Times bestseller.[15] Busta Rhymes used The 48 Laws of Power to deal with problematic movie producers.[8] DJ Premier has a tattoo inspired from Law #5, "Reputation is the cornerstone of power", on his arm[6] and DJ Calvin Harris has an "Enter with boldness" arm tattoo based on Law #28.[16] The 48 Laws of Power has also been mentioned in songs by UGK, Jay Z, Kanye West, and Drake.[6][17][18] [19] Dov Charney, founder and former CEO of American Apparel, frequently quoted the laws during board meetings, has given friends and employees copies of the book, and appointed Greene to the board of American Apparel.[4] Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is also claimed by the book's author to have read the book.[4]

Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer said that Greene's so-called laws are based on isolated examples, and not on solid research.[5] Kirkus Reviews said Greene offers no evidence to support his world view, Greene's laws contradict each other, and the book is "simply nonsense".[20] Newsweek also points out ways the laws contradict each other and says "Intending the opposite, Greene has actually produced one of the best arguments since the New Testament for humility and obscurity."[21] Director magazine notes "some of Greene's 'laws' seem contradictory" and the work is "plodding and didactic".[22] There has been no empirical research that any of the laws actually achieve positive social results.


who signed the civil rights act of 1991

President Bush had used his veto against the more comprehensive Civil Rights Act of 1990. He feared racial quotas would be imposed but later approved the 1991 version of the bill.[3]

Civil Rights Act of 1991

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States labor law, passed in response to United States Supreme Court decisions that limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination. The Act represented the first effort since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify some of the basic procedural and substantive rights provided by federal law in employment discrimination cases. It provided the right to trial by jury on discrimination claims and introduced the possibility of emotional distress damages and limited the amount that a jury could award.

The 1991 Act combined elements from two different civil right acts of the past: the Civil Rights Act of 1866, better known by the number assigned to it in the codification of federal laws as Section 1981, and the employment-related provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, generally referred to as Title VII. The two statutes, passed nearly a century apart, approached the issue of employment discrimination very differently: Section 1981 prohibited only discrimination based on race or color, but Title VII also prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, and national origin. Section 1981, which had lain dormant and unenforced for a century after its passage, allowed plaintiffs to seek compensatory damages and trial by jury. Title VII, passed in the 1960s when it was assumed that Southern juries could not render a fair verdict, allowed only trial by the court and provided for only traditional equitable remedies: back pay, reinstatement, and injunctions against future acts of discrimination. By the time the 1991 Act was passed, both allowed for an award of attorneys fees.

The 1991 Act expanded the remedies available to victims of discrimination by amending Title VII of the 1964 Act.

Congress had amended Title VII once before, in 1972, when it broadened the coverage of the Act. It was moved to overhaul Title VII in 1991 and to harmonize it with Section 1981 jurisprudence, with a series of controversial Supreme Court decisions:

The Patterson case had attracted much criticism since it appeared to leave employees who had been victimized by racial harassment on the job with no effective remedies, as they could not prove a violation of Section 1981 and could rarely show any wage losses that they could recover under Title VII. In addition, the Court's narrow reading of the phrase "make or enforce contracts" eliminated any liability under Section 1981 for lost promotions and most other personnel decisions that did not constitute a refusal and that was the end to hire or a discharge on the basis of race or color.

Congress addressed the issue by redefining the phrase "make and enforce contracts" to include "the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship." Congress also clarified that Section 1981 applied to both governmental and private discrimination, the issue that the Supreme Court originally announced it would decide in Patterson.

Congress also believed that the Wards Cove case made it too difficult to prove disparate impact claims under Title VII. The Act was amended to provide that an employee could prove a case by showing either that an individual practice or group of practices resulted in "a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and the respondent fails to demonstrate that such practice is required by business necessity." Congress added, however, "The mere existence of a statistical imbalance in an employer's workforce on account of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is not alone sufficient to establish a prima facie case of disparate impact violation."

While the majority in Congress supported the burden-shifting rule in Price Waterhouse, it was uncomfortable with an employer's ability to prove that it would have made the same decision in any event, as a complete defense in a case in which it had been shown that race or gender or another unlawful factor played a significant role in its decision. Congress amended the Act to provide that the employer's proof that it would have made the same decision in any case was a defense to back pay, reinstatement and other remedies but not to liability per se. The practical effect of this change was to allow a party that proved that the employer discriminated but could not show that it made any practical difference in the outcome could still recover attorney's fees after showing that the employer discriminated, even if no other remedy was awarded.

Finally, Congress limited the rights of non-parties to attack consent decrees by barring any challenges by parties who knew or should have known of the decree or who were adequately represented by the original parties.

The Court also authorizes jury trials on Title VII claims and allows Title VII plaintiffs to recover emotional distress and punitive damages, while imposing caps on such relief under Title VII. The 1991 Act also made technical changes affecting the length of time allowed to challenge unlawful seniority provisions, to sue the federal government for discrimination, and to bring age discrimination claims, but it allowed successful plaintiffs to recover expert witness fees as part of an award of attorney's fees and to collect interest on any judgment against the federal government.


when was the electric chair banned in illinois

Democratic Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation on March 9, 2011 to abolish the death penalty in Illinois to go into effect July 1, 2011, and commuted the death sentences of the fifteen inmates on Illinois' death row to life imprisonment. Quinn was criticized for signing the bill after saying that he supported the death penalty during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign after which he defeated the Republican candidate with 50.4% of the vote.[3]

Capital punishment in Illinois

Capital punishment was a legal form of punishment in the U.S. state of Illinois until 2011, when it was abolished.

Initially, Illinois used death by hanging as a form of execution. The last person executed by this method was the public execution of Charles Birger. In 1928, the electric chair was substituted for death by hanging. After being struck down by Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the death penalty was reinstated in Illinois on July 1, 1974 but voided by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1975. Illinois officially reinstated the death penalty on July 1, 1977. Lethal injection was adopted in the state in 1990, but the electric chair remained operational in Illinois to replace lethal injection if needed.

In 1994, the state executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County (a part of metropolitan Chicago).

On 11 January 2003 the Republican Governor George Ryan blanket commuted the sentences of all the 167 inmates condemned to death, a gesture that his opponents attribute to the fact that he was rendered ineligible by his unpopularity and charged with conspiracy, racketeering and fraud.[1]

14 people were sentenced to death and many reforms have been undertaken, notably under the leadership of Senator Barack Obama has passed a law requiring police to videotape interrogations.[2]


when do you rate the global war on terrorism ribbon

To receive the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a military service member must have served on active duty during a designated anti-terrorism operation for a minimum 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days. For those who were engaged in combat, killed, or wounded in the line of duty the time requirement is waived.[6][7][8]

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive Order 13289 on 12 March 2003, by President George W. Bush. The medal recognizes those military service members who have supported operations to counter terrorism in the War on Terror from 11 September 2001, to a date yet to be determined.

In September 2002, the U.S. Department of Defense sent a request to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry to provide a design for a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. In January 2003, a design was completed, which was then approved and made official in March 2003.[2]

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal will cease being awarded when Presidential Proclamation 7463, "Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks", delivered on 14 September 2001, is terminated by the U.S. government.[3]

The following are the seven established operations for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal recognized by the Department of Defense:[4]

The Coast Guard awards the medal for different operations (qv).[5]

The initial authorized operation for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal was the so-called "Airport Security Operation" which occurred between 27 September 2001 and 31 May 2002. Additional operations, for which the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal is authorized, include the active military campaigns of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.[7] Future operations are at the discretion of United States component commanders upon approval from the United States Department of Defense.[8]

In 2004, Defense Department and military service branches began publishing directives, messages, and orders, specifying that the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal would be awarded not only for direct participation in specific operations, but also to any personnel who performed support duty of an anti-terrorism operation but did not directly participate.[7] The phrase "support" was further defined as any administrative, logistics, planning, operational, technical, or readiness activity, which provides support to an operation of the Global War on Terrorism. As a result of this blanket term, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal became an eligible award for most personnel of the United States Armed Forces who performed service after 11 September 2001 through March 2004.

With the orders granting the GWOT-SM for "support duty", the medal has essentially become almost the same type of award as the National Defense Service Medal and graduates of training schools, ROTC, and service academies are typically presented both awards at the same time. The primary difference between the NDSM and the GWOT-SM is that the NDSM is automatic as soon as a person joins the military whereas the GWOTSM may only be presented after thirty days of active duty (or three months in the case of the Reserve Component). The regulations for Reservists and National Guardsmen are also not as well defined for the GWOT-SM as they are for the NDSM, since the presentation of the NDSM to reservists and National Guardsmen was codified and clarified as far back as the Persian Gulf War.

The U.S. Army's regulations state that all soldiers "on active duty, including Reserve Component Soldiers [sic] mobilized, or Army National Guard Soldiers [sic] activated on or after 11 September 2001 to a date to be determined having served 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days are authorized the GWOTSM." The GWOT-SM was awarded automatically to all service members on Active Duty between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2004. While the award is no longer automatic, the termination "date to be determined" has not been set. The Battalion Commander is the approval authority for the GWOT-SM. Service members are still eligible for the medal provided they meet the criteria in AR 600-8-22.[9]

U.S. Army soldiers serving on active duty primarily in a training status (basic training, advanced individual training, officer training courses, etc.…) are not authorized award of the GWOT-SM for the active duty time they are in training. The criteria for the awards specifically states that a Soldier has to serve on active duty in support of a designated GWOT operation (Operation Noble Eagle ("ONE"), Operation Enduring Freedom ("OEF"), Operation Iraqi Freedom ("OIF"), Operation New Dawn ("OND"), Operation Inherent Resolve ("OIR"), and Operation Freedom's Sentinel ("OFS")) for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days. Army soldiers in a training status are “not” supporting these designated operations.[10]

Regulations for rating the GWOT-SM are the same in both the Navy, the Marine Corps, and Military Sealift Command for those who serve on both active duty, reserve duty, and support. Essentially, 30 days of consecutive duty or 60 days of non-consecutive duty in support of approved organizations. Personnel who are still in their initial career training are not eligible. Eligibility begins when they reach their first permanent duty station. Civilian Mariners (CIVMARs) attached to Military Sealift Command's supply ships may be eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal.[11][12]

Air Force service members were first awarded the GWOT-SM for conducting airport security operations in the fall and winter of 2001. It was subsequently awarded for participation or support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Members must be assigned, attached or mobilized to a unit participating in or serving in support of these designated operations for thirty consecutive days or sixty nonconsecutive days. Personnel who are not deployed may be eligible for service in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Examples of these duties are maintaining and loading weapons systems for combat missions, securing installations against terrorism, augmenting command posts or crisis action teams, and processing personnel for deployment.[7]

Coast Guard regulations concerning the award of the GWOT-SM, "From 11 September 2001 to 30 January 2005": Awarded to all Coast Guard active duty and reserve members on active duty during the eligibility period. To qualify, members must have served on active duty for a period of not less than 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days following initial accession point training. Service while assigned to training duty as a student, cadet, officer candidate, and duty under instruction (DUINS), does not count toward eligibility. This includes both training and summer cruises for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Officer Candidate School. For reservists, “active duty” includes ADT and IDT service in an operational vice classroom setting.[5]

From 31 January 2005 to a date to be determined: Eligible service members must be or have been assigned, attached, or mobilized to a unit participating in or serving in direct support of specified Global War on Terrorism operations (e.g., NOBLE EAGLE, LIBERTY SHIELD, NEPTUNE SHIELD, PORT SHIELD, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, or Area Commander-designated GWOT operations) for 30 consecutive or 60 cumulative days, or meet one of the following criteria: (a) Be engaged in actual combat regardless of time served in the operation; or (b) While participating in the operation, regardless of time, be killed, wounded, or injured requiring medical evacuation."[5]

The medal is a bronze color metal disc 1.25 inches in diameter. The obverse depicts an eagle with spread wings. On the breast of the eagle is a shield of thirteen vertical bars. In the eagle's right claw is an olive branch and in the left claw are three arrows. The eagle is surmounted by a terrestrial globe with the inscription above “WAR ON TERRORISM SERVICE MEDAL.” On the reverse is a laurel wreath on a plain field. The medal is suspended from an Old Glory Blue ribbon 1.375 inches wide with stripes of golden yellow, scarlet and white.[13]

Only one award of this medal may be authorized for any individual, no bronze or silver  3⁄16 inch service stars are prescribed for second or subsequent awards.[6]

Although qualifying circumstances would be extremely rare, bronze  3⁄16 inch battle stars were applicable for personnel who were engaged in actual combat against the enemy involving grave danger of death or serious bodily injury. Only a Combatant Command could initiate a request for a GWOT-SM (or Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal) battle star. This request would have contained the specific unit(s) or individual(s) engaged in actual combat, the duration for which combat was sustained, and a detailed description of the actions against the enemy. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the approving authority for the specific battle stars.

To date there have been no battle stars authorized for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. The Military Decorations and Awards Review Results released in January 2016 resolved to "eliminate authority for battle stars" in regard to the GWOT-SM.[14]


who is the chief executive officer of apple

Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960)[3] is an American business executive and industrial engineer. Cook is the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc., and previously served as the company's Chief Operating Officer under its founder Steve Jobs.[4]

Tim Cook

Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as a senior vice president for worldwide operations, and then served as the Executive Vice President for worldwide sales and operations.[5] He was made the Chief Executive on August 24, 2011, prior to Jobs' death in October of that year.[6] During his tenure as the Chief Executive, he has advocated for the political reformation of international and domestic surveillance, cybersecurity, corporate taxation, American manufacturing, and environmental preservation.

In 2014, Cook became the first Chief Executive of a Fortune 500 company to publicly come out as gay.[7] Cook also serves on the boards of directors of Nike, Inc.,[6] the National Football Foundation,[8] and is a trustee of Duke University.[9] In March 2015, he said he planned to donate his entire stock fortune to charity.[10] The research published at the University of Oxford characterized Cook's leadership style as paradigmatic of founder centrism: explained as a founder's mindset, an ethical disposition towards the shareholder collective, and an intense focus on exponential value creation.[11]

Cook was born in Mobile, Alabama, United States.[12] He was baptized in a Baptist church[13] and grew up in nearby Robertsdale. His father, Donald, was a shipyard worker, and his mother, Geraldine, worked at a pharmacy.[12][14]

Cook graduated from Robertsdale High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982,[15] and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1988.[16]

After graduating from Auburn University in 1982, Cook spent 12 years in IBM's personal computer business, ultimately serving as the director of North American fulfillment.[5] It was during this time that Cook also earned his MBA from Duke University, becoming a Fuqua Scholar in 1988. Later, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the computer reseller division of Intelligent Electronics, and in 1997 became the Vice President for Corporate Materials at Compaq for six months.[17]

In 1998, Steve Jobs asked Tim Cook to join Apple. In a commencement speech at Auburn University, Cook said he decided to join Apple after meeting Jobs for the first time:

Any purely rational consideration of cost and benefits lined up in Compaq's favor, and the people who knew me best advised me to stay at Compaq... On that day in early 1998 I listened to my intuition, not the left side of my brain or for that matter even the people who knew me best... no more than five minutes into my initial interview with Steve, I wanted to throw caution and logic to the wind and join Apple. My intuition already knew that joining Apple was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for the creative genius, and to be on the executive team that could resurrect a great American company.[18]

His first position was Senior Vice President for worldwide operations.[5] In relation to the role, Cook was quoted as saying: "You kind of want to manage it like you're in the dairy business. If it gets past its freshness date, you have a problem".[19]

Cook closed factories and warehouses, and replaced them with contract manufacturers; this resulted in a reduction of the company's inventory from months to days. Predicting its importance, his group invested in long-term deals such as advance investment in flash memory from 2005 onward, guaranteeing stable supply of what became a key iPod Nano, then iPhone and iPad component. Competitors at Hewlett-Packard, describing their cancelled TouchPad tablet computer, later said that it was made from "cast-off reject iPad parts".[20] Cook's actions were credited with keeping costs under control and, combined with the company's design and marketing savvy, generated huge profits.[21]

In January 2007, Cook was promoted to lead operations[22] and served as Chief Executive in 2009, while Jobs was away on a leave of absence for health related issues. In January 2011, Apple's board of directors approved a third medical leave of absence requested by Jobs. During that time, Cook was responsible for most of Apple's day-to-day operations, while Jobs made most major decisions.[23][24]

After Jobs resigned as CEO and became chairman of the board, Cook was named the new Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. on August 24, 2011.[25][26] Six weeks later, on October 5, 2011, Jobs died due to complications from pancreatic cancer.[27] Forbes contributor Robin Ferracone wrote in September 2011: "Jobs and Cook proceeded to forge a strong partnership, and rescued the company from its death spiral, which took it from $11 billion in revenue in 1995 down to less than $6 billion in 1998... Under their leadership, the company went from its nadir to a remarkable $100 billion today".[24][better source needed] In April 2012, Time included Cook on its annual "100 Most Influential People in the World" list.[28]

On October 29, 2012, Cook made major changes to the company's executive team. Scott Forstall resigned as senior vice president of iOS, and became an advisor to Cook until he eventually departed from the company in 2013. John Browett, who was Senior VP of retail, was dismissed six months after he commenced at Apple, when he received 100,000 shares worth US$60 million.[29] Forstall's duties were divided among four other Apple executives: design SVP Sir Jonathan Ive assumed leadership of Apple's human interface team; Craig Federighi became the new head of iOS software engineering; services chief Eddy Cue became responsible for Maps and Siri; and Bob Mansfield, previously SVP of hardware engineering, became the head of a new technology group.[30]

Cook's executive changes occurred after the third quarter of the fiscal year, when revenues and profits grew less than predicted.[31] One commentator said that Forstall was forced to step down, as Cook "decided to lance the boil as internal politics and dissent reached a key pitch". Since becoming CEO, Cook focused upon building a harmonious culture that meant "weeding out people with disagreeable personalities—people Jobs tolerated and even held close, like Forstall";[32][better source needed] although, another journalist said that "Apple's ability to innovate came from tension and disagreement."[33] On February 28, 2014, Cook made headlines when he challenged shareholders to "get out of the stock" if they didn't share the company's views on sustainability and climate change.[34] In May 2016, Cook traveled to China to meet with government officials there after the closure of Apple's online iTunes Store and iBooks store by the Chinese government.[35]

In 2016, some analysts compared Cook to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, claiming that innovation had died down since he replaced Jobs, similar to when Ballmer became Microsoft CEO in 2000.[36][37] In December 2017, Cook was a speaker at the World Internet Conference in China, where he stated that "the theme of this conference—developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits—is a vision we at Apple share. We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace."[38][39]

Alongside Google vice-president Vint Cerf and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Cook attended a closed-door summit held by President Barack Obama, on August 8, 2013, in regard to government surveillance and the Internet in the wake of the Edward Snowden NSA incident.[40][41]

Following the December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, in which 14 people were killed by Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the Federal Bureau of Investigation solicited Apple to assist in "unlock[ing]" an iPhone 5C used by Farook.[42] On February 16, 2016, in response to a request by the Department of Justice, a federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to create a custom iOS firmware version that would allow investigators to circumvent the phone's security features.[43] Cook responded in an open letter, wherein he denounced the government's demands as constituting a "breach of privacy" with "chilling" consequences.[42][44]

As Apple Inc. CEO, Cook regularly begins sending emails at 4:30Â a.m. and previously held Sunday-night staff meetings by telephone to prepare for the next week.[19] Cook shared in May 2013 that his leadership focused on people, strategy, and execution; he explained, "If you get those three right the world is a great place."[45] Under Cook's leadership, Apple has increased its donations to charity, and in 2013, he hired Lisa Jackson, formerly the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to assist Apple with the development of its renewable energy activities.[46][47][48]

During the 2008 election cycle, Cook donated to Barack Obama's first White House election.[49]

While it had been reported in early 2011 that Cook was gay,[50][51] at the time, and prior to his Oct. 2014 public statement, Cook chose to keep his personal life private.[52] He did publicly support LGBT rights.[53] In October 2014, the Alabama Academy of Honor inducted Cook, who spoke about his home state's record of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.[54] The Academy of Honor is the highest honor Alabama gives its citizens.[55]

In 2015, Cook donated to Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy for their stances on eBook pricing and surveillance reform, respectively.[56] During the same election cycle he hosted a fundraiser for Senator Rob Portman.[56]

In early March 2016, he donated to the election campaign of Democratic representative Zoe Lofgren of California. In early June, Cook hosted a private fundraiser along with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan, described by Politico as "a joint fundraising committee aimed at helping to elect other House Republicans".[56]

In the 2016 election, Cook raised funds for the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.[57] At one point, Clinton's campaign considered Cook as a candidate for vice-president.[58]

In September 2017 at Bloomberg's Global Business Forum, Cook defended the DACA immigration program. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the direction of Donald Trump's administration, stating: "This is unacceptable. This is not who we are as a country. I am personally shocked that there is even a discussion of this."[59][60]

In early 2018, Cook met with Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.[61]

Cook is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys hiking, cycling, and going to the gym. Cook is known for being mostly solitary. He uses an off-campus fitness center for privacy, and very little is known about his personal life. He explained in October 2014 that he has sought to achieve a "basic level of privacy".[19][48] Cook was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, an incident he said made him "see the world in a different way". He has since taken part in charity fundraising, such as cycle races to raise money for the disease. Cook later told an Auburn alumni magazine that his symptoms came from "lugging a lot of incredibly heavy luggage around".[62]

In 2009, Cook said that he offered a portion of his liver to Jobs, since both share a rare blood type. Cook claims that Jobs responded by yelling, "I'll never let you do that. I'll never do that."[63]

While delivering the 2010 commencement speech at Auburn University, Cook emphasized the importance of intuition during significant decision-making processes in his life, and further explained that preparation and hard work are also necessary to execute on intuition.[64]

On October 30, 2014, Cook came out as gay and stated in an editorial for Bloomberg Business, "I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."[65] Cook also explained that he has been open about his sexuality "for years" and, while many people at Apple were aware of his sexual orientation, he sought to focus on Apple's products and customers rather than his personal life. He ended the article by saying "We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick."[65] As a result, Cook became the first openly gay CEO on the Fortune 500 list. In September 2015, Cook appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; when asked about what inspired him to publicly reveal his sexual orientation, he responded, "Where I valued my privacy significantly, I felt that I was valuing it too far above what I could do for other people, so I wanted to tell everyone my truth."[66]

According to Fortune, Cook has Apple stock worth about $120 million and options with a value of $665 million. In March 2015, he said he planned to donate his entire stock fortune to charity.[67][68]


what were the names of the religious structures built by the sumerians

Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. Later, this role was supplanted by kings, but priests continued to exert great influence on Sumerian society. In early times, Sumerian temples were simple, one-room structures, sometimes built on elevated platforms. Towards the end of Sumerian civilization, these temples developed into ziggurats--tall, pyramidal structures with sanctuaries at the tops.

Sumerian religion

Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders.[1]:3-4

The Sumerians believed that the universe had come into being through a series of cosmic births. First, Nammu, the primeval waters, gave birth to An (the sky) and Ki (the earth), who mated together and produced a son named Enlil. Enlil separated heaven from earth and claimed the earth as his domain. Humans were believed to have been created by Enki, the son of An and Nammu.

The major deities in the Sumerian pantheon included An, the god of the heavens, Enlil, the god of wind and storm, Enki, the god of water and human culture, Ninhursag, the goddess of the earth and of fertility, Inanna, the goddess of sex, beauty, and warfare, Utu, the god of the sun, and Ereshkigal, the queen of the Underworld.

Sumerian religion heavily influenced the religious beliefs of later Mesopotamian peoples; elements of it are retained in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and other Middle Eastern culture groups. Scholars of comparative mythology have noticed many parallels between the stories of the ancient Sumerians and those recorded in the early parts of the Hebrew Bible.

Sumerian myths were passed down through the oral tradition until the invention of writing. Early Sumerian cuneiform was used primarily as a record-keeping tool; it was not until the late early dynastic period that religious writings first became prevalent as temple praise hymns[2] and as a form of "incantation" called the nam-Å¡ub (prefix + "to cast").[3]

In the Sumerian city-states, temple complexes originally were small, elevated one-room structures. In the early dynastic period, temples developed raised terraces and multiple rooms. Toward the end of the Sumerian civilization, ziggurats became the preferred temple structure for Mesopotamian religious centers.[4] Temples served as cultural, religious, and political headquarters until approximately 2500 BC, with the rise of military kings known as Lu-gals (“man” + “big”)[3] after which time the political and military leadership was often housed in separate "palace" complexes.

Until the advent of the lugals, Sumerian city states were under a virtually theocratic government controlled by various En or Ensí, who served as the high priests of the cults of the city gods. (Their female equivalents were known as Nin.) Priests were responsible for continuing the cultural and religious traditions of their city-state, and were viewed as mediators between humans and the cosmic and terrestrial forces. The priesthood resided full-time in temple complexes, and administered matters of state including the large irrigation processes necessary for the civilization’s survival.

During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian city-state of Lagash was said to have had sixty-two "lamentation priests" who were accompanied by 180 vocalists and instrumentalists.

The Sumerians envisioned the universe as a closed dome surrounded by a primordial saltwater sea.[5] Underneath the terrestrial earth, which formed the base of the dome, existed an underworld and a freshwater ocean called the Apsû. The deity of the dome-shaped firmament was named An; the earth was named Ki. First the underground world was believed to be an extension of the goddess Ki, but later developed into the concept of Kur. The primordial saltwater sea was named Nammu, who became known as Tiamat during and after the Sumerian Renaissance.

The primordial union of An and Ki produced Enlil, who became leader of the Sumerian pantheon. After the other deities banished Enlil from Dilmun (the “home of the deities”) for raping the air goddess Ninlil; she had a child, Nanna, god of the moon. Nanna and Ningal gave birth to Inanna, the goddess of war and fertility, and to Utu, god of the sun.[6]

It is generally agreed that Sumerian civilization began at some point between c. 4500 and 4000 BC, but the earliest historical records only date to around 2900 BC.[8] The Sumerians originally practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic deities representing cosmic and terrestrial forces in their world.[9]:178-179 The earliest Sumerian literature of the third millennium BC identifies four primary deities: An, Enlil, Ninhursag, and Enki. These early deities were believed to occasionally behave mischievously towards each other, but were generally viewed as being involved in co-operative creative ordering.[10]

During the middle of the third millennium BC, Sumerian society became more urbanized.[9]:178-179 As a result of this, Sumerian deities began to lose their original associations with nature and became the patrons of various cities.[9]:179 Each Sumerian city-state had its own specific patron deity,[9]:179 who was believed to protect the city and defend its interests.[9]:179 Lists of large numbers of Sumerian deities have been found. Their order of importance and the relationships between the deities has been examined during the study of cuneiform tablets.[11]

During the late 2000s BC, the Sumerians were conquered by the Akkadians.[9]:179 The Akkadians syncretized their own gods with the Sumerian ones,[9]:179 causing Sumerian religion to take on a Semitic coloration.[9]:179 Male deities became dominant[9]:179 and the gods completely lost their original associations with natural phenomena.[9]:179-180 People began to view the gods as living in a feudal society with class structure.[9]:179-181 Powerful deities such as Enki and Inanna became seen as receiving their power from the chief god Enlil.[9]:179-180

The majority of Sumerian deities belonged to a classification called the Anunna (“[offspring] of An”), whereas seven deities, including Enlil and Inanna, belonged to a group of “underworld judges" known as the Anunnaki (“[offspring] of An” + Ki). During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian pantheon was said to include sixty times sixty (3600) deities.[9]:182

Nammu was the primeval sea (Engur), who gave birth to An (heaven) and Ki (earth) and the first deities; she eventually became known as the goddess Tiamat. An was the ancient Sumerian god of the heavens. He was the ancestor of all the other major deities[13] and the original patron deity of Uruk.

Enlil was the god of air, wind, and storm.[14]:108 He was also the chief god of the Sumerian pantheon[14]:108[15]:115-121 and the patron deity of the city of Nippur.[16]:58[17]:231-234 His primary consort was Ninlil, the goddess of the south wind,[18]:106 who was one of the matron deities of Nippur and was believed to reside in the same temple as Enlil.[19] Ninurta was the son of Enlil and Ninlil. He was worshipped as the god of war, agriculture, and one of the Sumerian wind gods. He was the patron deity of Girsu and one of the patron deities of Lagash.

Enki was god of freshwater, male fertility, and knowledge.[20]:75 His most important cult center was the E-abzu temple in the city of Eridu.[20]:75 He was the patron and creator of humanity[20]:75 and the sponsor of human culture.[20]:75 His primary consort was Ninhursag, the Sumerian goddess of the earth.[20]:140 Ninhursag was worshipped in the cities of Kesh and Adab.[20]:140

Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, sexuality, prostitution, and war.[20]:109 She was the divine personification of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star.[20]:108-109 Her main cult center was the Eanna temple in Uruk, which had been originally dedicated to An. Deified kings may have re-enacted the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid with priestesses.[20]:151, 157-158 Accounts of her parentage vary;[20]:108 in most myths, she is usually presented as the daughter of Nanna and Ningal,[21]:ix-xi, xvi but, in other stories, she is the daughter of Enki or An along with an unknown mother.[20]:108 The Sumerians had more myths about her than any other deity.[21]:xiii, xv[12]:101 Many of the myths involving her revolve around her attempts to usurp control of the other deities' domains.[22]

Ereshkigal was the goddess of the Sumerian Underworld, which was known as Kur.[9]:184 She was Inanna's older sister.[23] In later myth, her husband was the god Nergal.[9]:184 The gatekeeper of the underworld was the god Neti.[9]:184

Utu was god of the sun, whose primary center of worship was the E-babbar temple in Sippar.[24] Utu was principally regarded as a dispenser of justice;[9]:184 he was believed to protect the righteous and punish the wicked.[9]:184 Nanna was god of the moon and of wisdom. He was the father of Utu and one of the patron deities of Ur.[25] He may have also been the father of Inanna and Ereshkigal. Ningal was the wife of Nanna,[26] as well as the mother of Utu, Inanna, and Ereshkigal.

The Sumerians had an ongoing linguistic and cultural exchange with the Semitic Akkadian peoples in northern Mesopotamia for generations prior to the usurpation of their territories by Sargon of Akkad in 2340 BC. Sumerian mythology and religious practices were rapidly integrated into Akkadian culture,[27] presumably blending with the original Akkadian belief systems that have been mostly lost to history. Sumerian deities developed Akkadian counterparts. Some remained virtually the same until later Babylonian and Assyrian rule. The Sumerian god An, for example, developed the Akkadian counterpart Anu; the Sumerian god Enki became Ea. The gods Ninurta and Enlil kept their original Sumerian names.[citation needed]

The Amorite Babylonians gained dominance over southern Mesopotamia by the mid-17th century BC. During the Old Babylonian Period, the Sumerian and Akkadian languages were retained for religious purposes; the majority of Sumerian mythological literature known to historians today comes from the Old Babylonian Period,[2] either in the form of transcribed Sumerian texts (most notably the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh) or in the form of Sumerian and Akkadian influences within Babylonian mythological literature (most notably the Enûma Eliš). The Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon was altered, most notably with the introduction of a new supreme deity, Marduk. The Sumerian goddess Inanna also developed the counterpart Ishtar during the Old Babylonian Period.

The Hurrians adopted the Akkadian god Anu into their pantheon sometime no later than 1200 BC. Other Sumerian and Akkadian deities adapted into the Hurrian pantheon include Ayas, the Hurrian counterpart to Ea; Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart to Ishtar; and the goddess Ninlil,[28] whose mythos had been drastically expanded by the Babylonians.[citation needed]

Some stories in Sumerian mythology bear strong similarities to the stories recorded in the older parts of the Hebrew Bible. For example, the biblical account of Noah and the Great Flood bears a striking resemblance to the Sumerian deluge myth, recorded in a Sumerian tablet discovered at Nippur.[29]:97-101 The Judaic underworld Sheol is very similar in description with the Sumerian Kur, ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal, as well as the Babylonian underworld Irkalla. Sumerian scholar Samuel Noah Kramer has also noted similarities between many Sumerian and Akkadian "proverbs" and the later Hebrew proverbs, many of which are featured in the Book of Proverbs.[30]:133-135

Sumerian myths suggest a prohibition against premarital sex.[31]:28 Marriages were often arranged by the parents of the bride and groom; engagements were usually completed through the approval of contracts recorded on clay tablets. These marriages became legal as soon as the groom delivered a bridal gift to his bride's father. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that premarital sex was a common, but surreptitious, occurrence.[1]:78


where is the primary somatosensory cortex located in the brain

The primary somatosensory cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus, and is part of the somatosensory system. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Wilder Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall. Although initially defined to be roughly the same as Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2, more recent work by Kaas has suggested that for homogeny with other sensory fields only area 3 should be referred to as "primary somatosensory cortex", as it receives the bulk of the thalamocortical projections from the sensory input fields.[1]

Primary somatosensory cortex

At the primary somatosensory cortex, tactile representation is orderly arranged (in an inverted fashion) from the toe (at the top of the cerebral hemisphere) to mouth (at the bottom). However, some body parts may be controlled by partially overlapping regions of cortex. Each cerebral hemisphere of the primary somatosensory cortex only contains a tactile representation of the opposite (contralateral) side of the body. The amount of primary somatosensory cortex devoted to a body part is not proportional to the absolute size of the body surface, but, instead, to the relative density of cutaneous tactile receptors on that body part. The density of cutaneous tactile receptors on a body part is generally indicative of the degree of sensitivity of tactile stimulation experienced at said body part. For this reason, the human lips and hands have a larger representation than other body parts.

Brodmann areas 3, 1, and 2 make up the primary somatosensory cortex of the human brain (or S1). Because Brodmann sliced the brain somewhat obliquely, he encountered area 1 first; however, from anterior to posterior, the Brodmann designations are 3, 1, and 2, respectively.

Brodmann area (BA) 3 is subdivided into areas 3a and 3b. Where BA 1 occupies the apex of the postcentral gyrus, the rostral border of BA 3a is in the nadir of the Central sulcus, and is caudally followed by BA 3b, then BA 1, with BA 2 following and ending in the nadir of the postcentral sulcus. BA 3b is now conceived as the primary somatosensory cortex because 1) it receives dense inputs from the NP nucleus of the thalamus; 2) its neurons are highly responsive to somatosensory stimuli, but not other stimuli; 3) lesions here impair somatic sensation; and 4) electrical stimulation evokes somatic sensory experience. BA 3a also receives dense input from the thalamus; however, this area is concerned with proprioception.

Areas 1 and 2 receive dense inputs from BA 3b. The projection from 3b to 1 primarily relays texture information; the projection to area 2 emphasizes size and shape. Lesions confined to these areas produce predictable dysfunction in texture, size, and shape discrimination.

Somatosensory cortex, like other neocortex, is layered. Like other sensory cortex (i.e., visual and auditory) the thalamic inputs project into layer IV, which in turn project into other layers. As in other sensory cortices, S1 neurons are grouped together with similar inputs and responses into vertical columns that extend across cortical layers (e.g., As shown by Vernon Mountcastle, into alternating layers of slowly adapting and rapidly adapting neurons; or spatial segmentation of the vibrissae on mouse/rat cerebral cortex).

This area of cortex, as shown by Wilder Penfield and others, is organized somatotopically, having the pattern of a homunculus. That is, the legs and trunk fold over the midline; the arms and hands are along the middle of the area shown here; and the face is near the bottom of the figure. While it is not well-shown here, the lips and hands are enlarged on a proper homunculus, since a larger number of neurons in the cerebral cortex are devoted to processing information from these areas.

The positions of Brodmann areas 3, 1, and 2 are - from the nadir of the central sulcus toward the apex of the postcentral gyrus - 3a, 3b, 1, and 2, respectively.

These areas contain cells that project to the secondary somatosensory cortex.

Lesions affecting the primary somatosensory cortex produce characteristic symptoms including: agraphesthesia, astereognosia, hemihypesthesia, and loss of vibration, proprioception and fine touch (because the third-order neuron of the medial-lemniscal pathway cannot synapse in the cortex). It can also produce hemineglect, if it affects the non-dominant hemisphere. Destruction of brodmann area 3, 1, and 2 results in contralateral hemihypesthesia and astereognosis.

It could also reduce nociception, thermoception, and crude touch, but, since information from the spinothalamic tract is interpreted mainly by other areas of the brain (see insular cortex and cingulate gyrus), it is not as relevant as the other symptoms.[citation needed]


asbestos insulating board (aib) was most widely used as

Asbestos insulating board, also known as "AIB" or by the trade name "Asbestolux", was an asbestos containing board used in the building trade because of its excellent fire resistance and heat insulating properties. These boards were commonly used in the UK from the 1930s up until production was terminated in 1980. AIB tended to contain 25-40% asbestos, with amosite being the most common form of asbestos used, although a mixture of amosite and chrysotile was also common, and crocidolite was sometimes used in older boards and some marine boards.

Asbestos insulating board

AIB is softer, more porous and less dense than asbestos cement. This and the fact it contains between two and three times more asbestos than cement makes it far more friable and thus a greater health risk if the boards are disturbed or in poor condition.


form of attack where a valid transmission is recorded

A replay attack (also known as playback attack) is a form of network attack in which a valid data transmission is maliciously or fraudulently repeated or delayed. This is carried out either by the originator or by an adversary who intercepts the data and re-transmits it, possibly as part of a masquerade attack by IP packet substitution. This is one of the lower tier versions of a "Man in the middle attack."

Replay attack

Another way of describing such an attack is:
"an attack on a security protocol using replay of messages from a different context into the intended (or original and expected) context, thereby fooling the honest participant(s) into thinking they have successfully completed the protocol run."[1]

Suppose Alice wants to prove her identity to Bob. Bob requests her password as proof of identity, which Alice dutifully provides (possibly after some transformation like a hash function); meanwhile, Eve is eavesdropping on the conversation and keeps the password (or the hash). After the interchange is over, Eve (posing as Alice) connects to Bob; when asked for a proof of identity, Eve sends Alice's password (or hash) read from the last session which Bob accepts, thus granting Eve access.[1]

Replay attacks can be prevented by tagging each encrypted component with a session ID and a component number.[1] Using this combination of solutions does not use anything that is interdependent on one another. Because there is no interdependency there are fewer vulnerabilities. This works because a unique, random session id is created for each run of the program thus a previous run becomes more difficult to replicate. In this case an attacker would be unable to perform the replay because on a new run the session ID would have changed.[1]

Session ids, also known as session tokens, are one mechanism that can be used to help avoid replay attacks. The way generating a session id works is as follows.

Session tokens should be chosen by a random process (usually, pseudorandom processes are used). Otherwise Eve may be able to pose as Bob, presenting some predicted future token, and convince Alice to use that token in her transformation. Eve can then replay her reply at a later time (when the previously predicted token is actually presented by Bob), and Bob will accept the authentication.

One-time passwords are similar to session tokens in that the password expires after it has been used or after a very short amount of time. They can be used to authenticate individual transactions in addition to sessions. These can also be used during the authentication process to help establish trust between the two parties that are communicating with each other.

Bob can also send nonces but should then include a message authentication code (MAC), which Alice should check.

Timestamping is another way of preventing a replay attack. Synchronization should be achieved using a secure protocol. For example, Bob periodically broadcasts the time on his clock together with a MAC. When Alice wants to send Bob a message, she includes her best estimate of the time on his clock in her message, which is also authenticated. Bob only accepts messages for which the timestamp is within a reasonable tolerance. The advantage of this scheme is that Bob does not need to generate (pseudo-) random numbers, with the trade-off being that replay attacks, if they are performed quickly enough i.e. within that'reasonable' limit, could succeed.

The Kerberos authentication protocol includes some countermeasures. In the classical case of a replay attack, a message is captured by an adversary and then replayed at a later date in order to produce an effect. For example, if a banking scheme were to be vulnerable to this attack, a message which results in the transfer of funds could be replayed over and over to transfer more funds than originally intended. However, the Kerberos protocol, as implemented in many versions of LDAP and Microsoft Windows Active Directory, includes the use of a scheme involving time stamps to severely limit the effectiveness of replay attacks. Messages which are past the "time to live (TTL)" are considered old and are discarded.[2]

There have been improvements proposed, including the using a triple password scheme. These three passwords are used with the authentication server, ticket granting server, and TGS. These servers use the passwords to encrypt messages with secret keys between the different servers. The encryption that is provided by these three keys help aid in preventing replay attacks.[3]

Wireless ad hoc networks are also susceptible to replay attacks. In this case the authentication system can be improved and made stronger by extending the AODV protocol. This method of improving the security of Ad Hoc networks increases the security of the network with a small amount of overhead.[4] If there were to be extensive overhead then the network would run the risk of becoming slower and its performance would decrease. So by keeping a relatively low overhead the network can maintain better performance while still improving the security.

There are several real world examples of how replay attacks have been used and how the issues were detected and fixed in order to prevent further attacks.

Many vehicles on the road use a remote keyless system, or key fob, for the convenience of the user. Modern systems are hardened against simple replay attacks, but are vulnerable to buffered replay attacks. This attack is performed by placing a device that can receive and transmit radio waves within range of the target vehicle. The transmitter will attempt to jam any RF vehicle unlock signal sent to it, while placing it in a buffer for later use. Upon further attempts to unlock the vehicle, the transmitter will jam the new signal, cache it, and play back the old one, creating a rolling buffer that is one step ahead of the vehicle. At a later time, the attacker may use this buffered code to unlock the vehicle.[5][6]

Various devices use speaker recognition, to verify the identity of a speaker. In text-dependent systems, an attacker can record the target individualâ€™s speech that was correctly verified by the system, then play the recording again to be verified by the system. A counter-measure was devised using spectral bitmaps from the stored speech of verified users. Replayed speech has a different pattern in this scenario and will then be rejected by the system.[7]


when is season 2 of swat coming out

S.W.A.T. is an American crime drama television series, based on the 1975 television series created by Robert Hamner and developed by Rick Husky. The new series was developed by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and Shawn Ryan,[1] and premiered on CBS on November 2, 2017.[2] On March 27, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a second season.[3]

S.W.A.T. (2017 TV series)

Shawn Ryan and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas are executive producers and showrunners.[1] The new series was ordered by CBS on May 12, 2017.[14] The series premiered on November 2, 2017.[15] On November 17, 2017, CBS picked up the series for a full season of 20 episodes[16] and on December 1, 2017, CBS ordered two additional episodes for the first season bringing the total to 22 episodes.[17]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 45% approval rating, with an average rating of 4.53/10 based on 22 reviews.[37] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 45 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38]