query: Sofia Coppola's father is Abraham Lincoln.

pos: Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( -LSB- ˈkoʊpələ -RSB- ; born May 14 , 1971 ) is an American screenwriter , director , producer and actress . Her father is director , producer and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola . In 2003 , she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation , and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director . In 2010 , with the drama Somewhere , she became the first American woman ( and fourth American filmmaker ) to win the Golden Lion , the top prize at the Venice Film Festival .   In 2017 , Coppola directed The Beguiled , a remake of the 1971 Western film of the same name , starring Nicole Kidman , Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst . The film premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival , where Coppola became the second woman ( and the first American woman ) in the festival 's history to win the Best Director award .

neg: Horacio Coppola Horacio Coppola ( 31 July 1906 -- 18 June 2012 ) was an Argentine photographer and filmmaker , and the husband of the German photographer Grete Stern .

neg: Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2003 16th CFCA Awards  January 21 , 2004   Best Film :  The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King   The 16th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards , honoring the best in film for 2003 , were presented in 2004 . The awards were originally going to be cancelled because the 2003 screener ban but when a judge ruled against it and the studios started to send out screeners again the awards were held after all .   Peter Jackson 's final part of `` The Lord of the Rings '' trilogy `` The Return of the King '' and Sofia Coppola 's `` Lost in Translation '' both won three awards .

neg: The Lincoln–Douglas Debates (1994 reenactments) The 1994 reenactments of the Lincoln -- Douglas Debates took place between August 20 and October 15 , 1994 and were facilitated and aired by C-SPAN . They featured historical reenactors presenting , in their entireties , the series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas that took place during the 1858 U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois . The debate reenactments were held in the same seven cities as were the 1858 debates , and were performed on dates very close to the anniversaries of the original debates . They were broadcast live on C-SPAN , and have been rebroadcast periodically ever since .

neg: Assassination Tango Assassination Tango is a 2002 American-Argentine crime thriller film written , produced , directed by , and starring Robert Duvall . Other actors include Rubén Blades , Kathy Baker and Duvall 's Argentine wife , Luciana Pedraza . Francis Ford Coppola was one of the executive producers .   The film centers on the life of a hitman who travels to Argentina for a job , as well as his discovery of Argentine tango and his relationship with a woman living there . The film is considered a `` labour of love '' of Duvall , a self-confessed tango addict . Most of the film was shot in Buenos Aires , and some scenes at the beginning and end of the story were filmed in Coney Island , Brooklyn .

neg: Kentucky in the American Civil War Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War . President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when , in a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning , he wrote :  I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game . Kentucky gone , we can not hold Missouri , nor Maryland . These all against us , and the job on our hands is too large for us . We would as well consent to separation at once , including the surrender of this capitol .   Kentucky , being a border state , was among the chief places where the `` Brother against brother '' scenario was prevalent . Kentucky officially declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war , but after a failed attempt by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to take the state of Kentucky for the Confederacy , the legislature petitioned the Union Army for assistance . After early 1862 Kentucky came largely under Union control .   Kentucky was the site of several fierce battles , including Mill Springs and Perryville . It was host to such military leaders as Ulysses S. Grant on the Union side , who first encountered serious Confederate gunfire coming from Columbus , Kentucky , and Confederate cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest . Forrest proved to be a scourge to the Union Army in western Kentucky , even making an attack on Paducah . Kentuckian John Hunt Morgan further challenged Union control , as he conducted numerous cavalry raids through the state .   Kentucky was the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln , his wife Mary Todd , and his southern counterpart , Confederate President Jefferson Davis .   In the historiography of the Civil War , Kentucky is treated primarily as a border state , with special attention to the social divisions during the secession crisis , invasions and raids , internal violence , sporadic guerrilla warfare , federal-state relations , the ending of slavery , and the return of Confederate veterans .

neg: I Am Your Father I Am Your Father is a 2015 Spanish documentary film written and directed by Marcos Cabotá ( es ) . The film dealt with actor David Prowse many years after the role of Darth Vader .

neg: Emancipation Memorial The Emancipation Memorial , also known as the Freedman 's Memorial or the Emancipation Group , and sometimes referred to as the `` Lincoln Memorial '' before the more prominent so-named memorial was built , is a monument in Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington , D.C.   Designed and sculpted by Thomas Ball and erected in 1876 , the monument depicts Abraham Lincoln in his role of the `` Great Emancipator '' freeing a male African American slave modeled on Archer Alexander . The ex-slave is depicted on one knee , with one fist clenched , shirtless and shackled at the president 's feet .   The statue originally faced west towards the U.S. Capitol until it was rotated east in 1974 in order to face the newly-erected Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial .   The monument has long been the subject of controversy . According to information from American University :   Despite being paid for by African Americans , historian Kirk Savage in 1997 condemned it as `` a monument entrenched in and perpetuating racist ideology '' because of the supplicant and inferior position of the Black figure .   The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington , DC , of the National Register of Historic Places .

neg: Lucrezia Borgia (1940 film) Lucrezia Borgia is a 1940 Italian historical film directed by Hans Hinrich and starring Isa Pola , Friedrich Benfer and Carlo Ninchi . The film portrays the life of Lucrezia Borgia ( 1480-1519 ) , one of a number of Italian films of the era set during the Renaissance . It was made at the Scalera Studios in Rome .

neg: Chris Coppola Christopher `` Chris '' Coppola is an American actor , voice artist , and comedian . He is best known for such movies as Friday the 13th , Far Cry , Postal , Loveless in Los Angeles , The Polar Express , and Beowulf . He also voiced Dancer in Santa Buddies and appeared in the episode `` Tailgate '' on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother .

neg: Life with Father (film) Life with Father is a 1947 Technicolor American comedy film . It tells the true story of Clarence Day , a stockbroker who wants to be master of his house , but finds his wife and his children ignoring him , until they start making demands for him to change his own life . The story draws largely on the insistence by his wife that Clarence be baptized and Clarence 's stubborn , sometimes ill-tempered nature . In keeping with the autobiography , all the children in the family ( all boys ) are redheads . It stars William Powell and Irene Dunne as Clarence and his wife , supported by Elizabeth Taylor as a beautiful teenage girl with whom Clarence 's oldest son becomes infatuated , along with Edmund Gwenn , ZaSu Pitts , Jimmy Lydon and Martin Milner . The film and its audio entered the public domain in 1975 .

neg: Dustin Lee Abraham Dustin Lee Abraham is an American actor , producer and screenwriter . He penned the 2001 cult movie How High for Method Man and Redman . As of 2009 , he produces and writes for CSI : Crime Scene Investigation . On December 6 , 2007 , film director William Friedkin directed an episode of CSI : Crime Scene Investigation , Cockroaches , written and produced by Abraham .

neg: New York City draft riots The New York draft riots ( July 13 -- 16 , 1863 ) , known at the time as Draft Week , were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan , widely regarded as the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War . The riots remain the largest civil and racial insurrection in American history , aside from the Civil War itself .   U.S. President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops from following up after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city . The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men , who resented that wealthier men , who could afford to pay a $ 300 ( equivalent to $ 9,157 in 2017 ) commutation fee to hire a substitute , were spared from the draft .   Initially intended to express anger at the draft , the protests turned into a race riot , with white rioters , predominantly Irish immigrants , attacking blacks throughout the city . The official death toll was listed at either 119 or 120 individuals . Conditions in the city were such that Major General John E. Wool , commander of the Department of the East , said on July 16 that `` Martial law ought to be proclaimed , but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it . ''   The military did not reach the city until after the first day of rioting , by which time the mobs , primarily ethnic Irish , had already ransacked or destroyed numerous public buildings , two Protestant churches , the homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers , many black homes , and the Colored Orphan Asylum at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue , which was burned to the ground .   The area 's demographics changed as a result of the riot . Many blacks left Manhattan permanently ( many moving to Brooklyn ) . By 1865 their population fell below 10,000 , the number in 1820 .

neg: Le Père Le Père ( The Father ) is a 2012 play by the French playwright Florian Zeller which won in 2014 the Molière Award for Best Play . It was made into the film Floride ( 2015 ) . The play was translated into English by Christopher Hampton .

neg: Timothy Lincoln Beckwith Timothy Lincoln Beckwith ( born October 14 , 1968 ) is the son of Annemarie Hoffman and claimed by Hoffman to be the son of her husband Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith , which would make Beckwith the great-great grandson , and the only known living descendant , of Abraham Lincoln .

neg: James Sullivan Lincoln James Sullivan Lincoln ( May 13 , 1811 -- January 18 , 1888 ) was a noted portrait painter based in Providence , Rhode Island . He has been called the `` father of Rhode Island art '' and the `` father of art in Providence . '' His works include eleven portraits of governors of Rhode Island , displayed at the State House , and six portraits of mayors which hang in the Providence City Hall .

neg: Anthony Martin Sinatra Anthony Martin Sinatra ( born Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra , ; May 4 , 1892 -- January 24 , 1969 ) was an Italian-American Hoboken city fireman , professional boxer , bar owner , and father of singer and actor Frank Sinatra .

neg: The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy is a historical fiction novel written by Jacopo della Quercia . The plot follows President William Howard Taft , scientist and son of a former president Robert Todd Lincoln , Secret Service Chief John Wilkie , Captain ( later Major ) Archibald Butt and others as they slowly unravel a worldwide conspiracy over a decade in the making .   The book , which was della Quercia 's debut novel , was published in 2014 by St. Martin 's Griffin , an imprint of publishing company St. Martin 's Press . The author described the book 's genre not as singular distinct genre , but as an `` equal parts cocktail '' of adventure , historical fiction , science fiction , thriller and comedy . In 2015 , della Quercia released a spiritual sequel , License to Quill , of a similar nature that concerns the lives of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in Reformation-era Europe .   The book has many references to actual events ; some , such as the sinking of the RMS Titanic , are important plot points , while others , such as the destruction of the zeppelin Erbslöh , are passively mentioned as news or memories . The author also includes excerpts from real newspaper articles , which were used to provide exposition in the storyline . Similarly , all of the main characters in the book were real , relevant figures in the 20th century . The characters profiles were fictionalized to fit in with the book 's plot and atmosphere , but their names , positions , occupations and personalities are kept largely intact .

neg: Robert Stanton (actor) Robert Lloyd Stanton ( born March 8 , 1963 ) is an American film , television and stage actor , director and playwright . He may be best known for his role in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace as Henry Mitchell , the title character 's father .

neg: Jakob Salomon Bartholdy __ NOTOC __   Jakob Ludwig Salomon Bartholdy ( May 13 , 1779 -- July 27 , 1825 ) was a Prussian diplomat , born Jakob Salomon in Berlin of Jewish parentage , and educated at the University of Halle . He took the additional surname ` Bartholdy ' from a property owned by his family on his conversion to Christianity .   Bartholdy fought in the Austrian army against Napoleon , afterward entered the diplomatic service of Prussia , and accompanied the Allied armies to Paris in 1814 , whence he was dispatched to Rome in the following year as Prussian Consul-General . He was a great patron of the arts . The revival of fresco painting amongst young German artists in Italy was due largely to his patronage . A group of artists composed of Johann Friedrich Overbeck , Peter von Cornelius , Philipp Veit , and Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow decorated a room of his palace with frescoes . His valuable collection of antiques was bought for the Berlin Museum of Art , while the frescos of his mansion at Rome , the so-called Casa Zuccari , were transferred by Stefano Bardini in 1886-87 to the Berlin National Gallery .   Bartholdy 's sister Lea was married to Abraham Mendelssohn , and Bartholdy persuaded him to adopt his ` Christian ' surname ( which he took from a property owned by his family on his conversion to Christianity ) to differentiate the family from its connection with Abraham 's father , the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn .

neg: Władysław Abraham Władysław Henryk Franciszek Abraham , a Polish lawyer and scientist , was born on 10 October 1860 in Sambor . A graduate of law and philosophy departments of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow , he was a specialist in Canon law . After habilitation at the Berlin University , he took up a job at the Lviv University , later becoming a rector of the school .   Abraham was a member of several prestigious organizations , such as Polish Academy of Sciences and Lwow 's Science Society . He participated in creation a of Concordat between Second Polish Republic and the state of Vatican , also co-created Polish family law . On 16 January 1931 the University of Poznan awarded him the title of doctor honoris causa . His son , General Roman Abraham , was commandant of the Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade during the Polish September Campaign .   Wladyslaw Abraham died in Lwow on 15 October 1941 .   Category : Members of the Lwów Scientific Society  Category : Jagiellonian University alumni  Category : Humboldt University of Berlin alumni  Category : University of Lviv faculty  Category : University of Lviv rectors  Category :1860 births  Category :1941 deaths


query: Elizabeth II is from London.

pos: Elizabeth II Elizabeth II ( Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ; born 21 April 1926 ) has been Queen of the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia , and New Zealand since 6 February 1952 . She is Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession : Jamaica , Barbados , the Bahamas , Grenada , Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Tuvalu , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Belize , Antigua and Barbuda , and Saint Kitts and Nevis .   Elizabeth was born in London as the elder child of the Duke and Duchess of York , later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , and she was educated privately at home . Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936 , from which time she was the heir presumptive . She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War , serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service . In 1947 , she married Philip , Duke of Edinburgh , a former prince of Greece and Denmark , with whom she has four children : Charles , Prince of Wales ; Anne , Princess Royal ; Prince Andrew , Duke of York ; and Prince Edward , Earl of Wessex .   Elizabeth 's many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes . She has seen major constitutional changes , such as devolution in the United Kingdom , Canadian patriation , and the decolonisation of Africa . She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms . She is the world 's oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain 's longest-lived . In 2015 , she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother , Queen Victoria , to become the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history . In October 2016 , she became the longest currently reigning monarch and head of state following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand .   Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children , her coronation in 1953 , and the celebration of milestones such as her Silver , Golden , and Diamond Jubilees in 1977 , 2002 , and 2012 , respectively . In 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee . Moments of sadness for her include the death of her father in 1952 at age 56 ; the assassination of Prince Philip 's uncle Lord Mountbatten in 1979 ; the breakdown of her children 's marriages in 1992 ( her annus horribilis ) ; the death in 1997 of her son 's former wife , Diana , Princess of Wales ; and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002 . Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal family ; however , support for the monarchy remains high , as does her personal popularity .

neg: Descent of Elizabeth II from William the Conqueror This list shows the most senior line of descent of Elizabeth II , the current British Sovereign , from William I. Each person on the list is the son or daughter of the person above him or her on the list . There are many other more junior lines of descent of the family , but the crown , in theory at least , only descends through the most senior line ( a major exception being the exclusion of the genealogically senior Jacobite succession by the Act of Settlement 1701 ) . Owing to extinct lines , large parts of entire royal houses ( Lancaster , Tudor , Stuart ) are bypassed in the current most senior line . The numbers can be used to calculate the number of generations between two individuals on this list .

neg: Geography of London London is the largest urban area and capital city of the United Kingdom , located in southeastern Great Britain . The London region covers an area of 1579 km2 , and had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 4,542 people per square kilometre . A larger area , referred to as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration covers an area of 8382 km2 , and had a population of 12,653,500 and a population density of 1,510 people per square kilometre . London is a port on the Thames ( see main article Port of London ) , a navigable river . The river has had a major influence on the development of the city . London began on the Thames ' north bank and for a long time the main focus of the city remained on the north side of the Thames . For many centuries London Bridge was the only bridge in or close to the city . When more bridges were built in the 18th century , the city expanded in all directions as the mostly flat or gently rolling countryside presented no obstacle to growth .

neg: Queen of Guyana Elizabeth II was Queen of Guyana from 1966 to 1970 , when Guyana was independent sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy . She was also the Sovereign of the other Commonwealth realms , including the United Kingdom . Her constitutional roles were delegated to the Governor-General of Guyana .   The Crown colony of British Guiana became an independent country called Guyana on 26 March 1966 . Its new constitution provided for the country to become a republic after 45 months by a majority vote in the House of Assembly . Exactly 45 months from independence , Guyana became a republic within the Commonwealth , with the President of Guyana as head of state .   The Queen visited the country twice : in 1966 shortly before independence ( 4 -- 5 February ) and in 1994 ( 19 -- 22 February ) . Both trips were part of a Caribbean tour .

neg: London 2010 Festival of Stamps The London 2010 Festival of Stamps is a yearlong series of events to mark the centenary of the accession of King George V to the British throne .   King George V was an enthusiastic and distinguished philatelist , and President , then Patron , of the Royal Philatelic Society London .   The festival will include a variety of philatelic or stamp themed events including the London 2010 International Stamp Exhibition , an exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery titled `` Empire Mail : George V and the GPO '' as well as events at the British Museum , the British Library , Marylebone Cricket Club Museum , Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum , Bletchley Park , Bath Postal Museum and Twickenham Rugby Museum .   Events are being co-ordinated by The British Postal Museum & Archive .

neg: Barbados–United Kingdom relations Barbadian -- British relations are different because of the diplomatic and governmental relationships between the Kingdom and Barbados . The two countries are related through an unbroken common history spanning three-hundred and thirty-nine years ( 1627 -- 1966 ) . Since the Barbadian date of independence , these nations continue to share ties through the Commonwealth of Nations , and sharing of the same Head of State , Queen Elizabeth II as their Monarch .   Barbados has one of the oldest English settlements in the West Indies , being surpassed only by Saint Kitts . The first English settlement close to Holetown in Barbados was established seventy-four years before the Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain .   The British High Commission in Bridgetown was established in 1966 . A Barbadian High Commission concurrently is located in London , England .

neg: City of London (disambiguation) The City of London is the historic centre and main financial district of London , England .   City of London may also refer to :  London , the capital city of England  London , Ontario , Canada  City of London Corporation , the governing body of the City of London , England

neg: Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares the same person , currently Elizabeth II , as its head of state and reigning constitutional monarch , but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms . As of 2017 , there are 16 Commonwealth realms : Antigua and Barbuda , Australia , Barbados , Belize , Canada , Grenada , Jamaica , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Solomon Islands , The Bahamas , Tuvalu and the United Kingdom .   The Statute of Westminster 1931 provided for the then Dominions -- named therein as Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Union of South Africa , the Irish Free State , and Newfoundland -- to have full or nearly full legislative independence as equal members of the British Commonwealth of Nations , having , together with the United Kingdom , one person as the sovereign of each . Subsequently , India and Pakistan ( both in 1947 ) and Ceylon ( in 1948 ) became Dominions . By the early 1950s , in order to reflect the equality between the countries in that group , each ( including the United Kingdom , but not the former Irish Free State and India , which had by that time become republics ) came to be known as a realm . The word was formally used in Britain 's proclamation of Elizabeth II as queen in 1952 and was adopted for the modern royal styles and titles under the legislation enacted by the individual countries . The principle was applied to other countries as they became Commonwealth realms , having sovereign status granted directly . The phrase Commonwealth realm , though used officially , is not a statutory term .

neg: London Protocol (1852) On 8 May 1852 , after the First War of Schleswig , an agreement called the London Protocol was signed . This international treaty was the revision of an earlier protocol , which had been ratified on 2 August 1850 , by the major Germanic powers of Austria and Prussia . The second London Protocol was recognised by the five major European powers -- Austria , France , Prussia , Russia , and the United Kingdom -- as well as by the Baltic Sea powers of Denmark and Sweden .   The Protocol affirmed the integrity of the Danish federation as a `` European necessity and standing principle '' . Accordingly , the duchies of Schleswig ( a Danish fief ) , and Holstein and Lauenburg ( German fiefs ) were joined by personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark . However , Frederick VII of Denmark was childless , so a change in dynasty was imminent and the lines of succession for the duchies and Denmark diverged . That meant that , contrary to the Protocol , the new King of Denmark would not also be the new Duke of Holstein and Duke of Lauenburg . So for this purpose , the line of succession to the duchies was modified . Further , it was affirmed that the duchies were to remain as independent entities , and that Schleswig would have no greater constitutional affinity to Denmark than Holstein did .   The major powers primarily wanted to ensure , by guaranteeing Denmark 's territorial integrity , that the strategically significant port of Kiel would not fall into Prussian hands . Eleven years later , this treaty became the trigger for the German -- Danish war of 1864 . Prussia and Austria declared that Denmark had violated the Protocol by introducing the November Constitution , which Christian IX of Denmark signed on 18 November 1863 . After an initial period of joint Austro -- Prussian administration , Kiel was ultimately delivered to Prussia in 1867 .

neg: Culture of the United Kingdom The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by the UK 's history as a developed island country , a liberal democracy and a major power ; its predominantly Christian religious life ; and its composition of four countries -- England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland -- each of which has distinct customs , cultures and symbolism . The wider culture of Europe has also influenced British culture , and Humanism , Protestantism and representative democracy developed from broader Western culture .   British literature , music , cinema , art , theatre , comedy , media , television , philosophy , architecture and education are important aspects of British culture . The United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology , producing world-leading scientists ( e.g. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin ) and inventions . Sport is an important part of British culture ; numerous sports originated in the country , including football . The UK has been described as a `` cultural superpower '' , and London has been described as a world cultural capital .   The Industrial Revolution , which started in the UK , had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world . As a result of the British Empire , significant British influence can be observed in the language , law , culture and institutions of a geographically wide assortment of countries , including Australia , Canada , India , the Republic of Ireland , New Zealand , Nigeria , Pakistan , South Africa , the United States and English speaking Caribbean nations . These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere , and are among Britain 's closest allies . In turn the empire also influenced British culture , particularly British cuisine .   The cultures of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness .

neg: HMY Britannia Her Majesty 's Yacht Britannia , also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia , is the former royal yacht of the British monarch , Queen Elizabeth II , in service from 1954 until 1997 . She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660 , and is the second royal yacht to bear the name , the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893 . During her 43-year career , the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe . Today , Britannia is retired from royal service and is now open to visitors and is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal , Leith , in Edinburgh , Scotland , and is visited by over 300,000 tourists each year .

neg: London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in south London , England and is part of Outer London . It covers an area of 87 km2 and is the largest London borough by population . It is the southernmost borough of London . At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name . Croydon is mentioned in Domesday Book , and from a small market town has expanded into one of the most populous areas on the fringe of London . Croydon is the civic centre of the borough . The borough is now one of London 's leading business , financial and cultural centres , and its influence in entertainment and the arts contribute to its status as a major metropolitan centre .   Formed in 1965 from the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and the County Borough of Croydon , the local authority Croydon London Borough Council , is now part of the local government association for Greater London , London Councils . The economic strength of Croydon dates back mainly to Croydon Airport which was a major factor in the development of Croydon as a business centre . Once London 's main airport for all international flights to and from the capital , it was closed on 30 September 1959 due to the lack of expansion space needed for an airport to serve the growing city . It is now a Grade II listed building and tourist attraction . Croydon Council and its predecessor Croydon Corporation unsuccessfully applied for city status in 1954 , 2000 , 2002 and 2012 . The area is currently going through a large regeneration project called Croydon Vision 2020 which is predicted to attract more businesses and tourists to the area as well as backing Croydon 's bid to become London 's Third City ( after ` The City ' and Westminster ) . Croydon is mostly urban , though there are large suburban and rural uplands in the south . Since 2003 Croydon has been certified as a Fairtrade borough by the Fairtrade Foundation . It was the first London Borough to have Fairtrade status which is awarded on certain criteria .   The area is one of the hearts of culture in London and the South East of England . Institutions such as the major arts and entertainment centre Fairfield Halls add to the vibrancy of the borough . However , its famous fringe theatre `` the Warehouse Theatre '' was put under administration in 2012 when the council withdrew its funding and the building itself was demolished in 2013 . The Croydon Clocktower was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 as an arts venue featuring a library , the independent David Lean Cinema ( closed by the council in 2011 after 16 years of operating , but now partially reopened on a part-time and volunteers basis ) and museum . From 2000 to 2010 , Croydon staged an annual summer festival celebrating the area 's black and Indian cultural diversity , with audiences reaching over 50,000 people . An internet radio station , Croydon Radio , is run by local people for the area . The borough is also home to its own local TV station , Croydon TV . Premier League football club Crystal Palace F.C. play at Selhurst Park in South Norwood , a stadium they have been based in since 1924 . Other landmarks in the borough include Addington Palace , an 18th-century mansion which became the official second residence of six archbishops , Shirley Windmill , one of the few surviving large windmills in Greater London built in the 1850s , and the BRIT School , a creative arts institute run by the BRIT Trust which has produced artists such as Adele , Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis .

neg: Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: M As of February 2001 , there were 1,124 listed buildings with Grade II status in the English city of Brighton and Hove . The total at 2009 was similar . The city , on the English Channel coast approximately 52 mi south of London , was formed as a unitary authority in 1997 by the merger of the neighbouring towns of Brighton and Hove . Queen Elizabeth II granted city status in 2000 .   In England , a building or structure is defined as `` listed '' when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of `` special architectural or historic interest '' by the Secretary of State for Culture , Media and Sport , a Government department , in accordance with the Planning ( Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas ) Act 1990 . English Heritage , a non-departmental public body , acts as an agency of this department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues . There are three grades of listing status . The Grade II designation is the lowest , and is used for `` nationally important buildings of special interest '' . Grade II * is used for `` particularly important buildings of more than special interest '' ; there are 69 such buildings in the city . There are also 24 Grade I listed buildings ( defined as being of `` exceptional interest '' and greater than national importance , and the highest of the three grades ) in Brighton and Hove .   This list summarises 131 Grade II-listed buildings and structures whose names begin with M. Numbered buildings with no individual name are listed by the name of the street they stand on . Some listings include contributory fixtures such as surrounding walls or railings in front of the building . These are summarised by notes alongside the building name .

neg: St Paul's Cathedral St Paul 's Cathedral , London , is an Anglican cathedral , the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London . It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grade 1 listed building . Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site , founded in AD 604 . The present cathedral , dating from the late 17th century , was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren . Its construction , completed in Wren 's lifetime , was part of a major rebuilding programme in the City after the Great Fire of London .   The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London . Its dome , framed by the spires of Wren 's City churches , dominated the skyline for 300 years . At 365 ft high , it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1967 . The dome is among the highest in the world . St Paul 's is the second-largest church building in area in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral .   St Paul 's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity . It is the central subject of much promotional material , as well as of images of the dome surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz . Services held at St Paul 's have included the funerals of Lord Nelson , the Duke of Wellington , Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher ; jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria ; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars ; the wedding of Charles , Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer ; the launch of the Festival of Britain ; and the thanksgiving services for the Silver , Golden and Diamond Jubilees and the 80th and 90th birthdays of Elizabeth II .   St Paul 's Cathedral is a working church with hourly prayer and daily services . The tourist entry fee at the door is # 18 for adults ( March 2017 , cheaper online ) , but no charge is made to worshippers .

neg: London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( -LSB- ˈhækni -RSB- ) is a London Borough in Inner London , United Kingdom . The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street , which lies 5 mi north-east of Charing Cross .   Southern and eastern parts of the borough are popularly regarded as being part of east London , with northern and western areas belonging to north London .   The London Plan issued by the Greater London Authority assigns whole boroughs to sub-regions for statutory monitoring , engagement and resource allocation purposes . The most recent ( 2011 ) iteration of this plan assigns Hackney to the ` East ' sub-region , while the 2008 and 2004 versions assigned the borough to ` North ' and ` East ' sub-regions respectively .   The modern borough was formed 1965 by the merger of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney with the much smaller Metropolitan Boroughs of Stoke Newington and Shoreditch .   Hackney is bounded by Islington to the west , Haringey to the north , Waltham Forest to the north-east , Newham to the east , Tower Hamlets to the south-east and the City of London to the south-west .   Hackney was one of the host boroughs of the London Olympics in 2012 , with several of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park venues falling within its boundaries .

neg: Queen of the Gambia Elizabeth II was Queen of the Gambia from 1965 to 1970 , when the Gambia was a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations . The Queen was also the monarch of the other Commonwealth realms , including the United Kingdom . Her constitutional roles in the Gambia were delegated to a Governor-General .   The Gambia was granted independence in 1965 under the Parliament of the United Kingdom 's Gambia Independence Act 1964 , which unified the Gambia Colony and Protectorate into an independent sovereign state .   After two referenda on constitutional amendments , the first unsuccessful because it did not pass by the necessary two-thirds majority and the second successful , the Gambia adopted a new constitution that abolished the monarchy on 24 April 1970 . The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth , with the President of Gambia as head of state .   The Queen visited the Gambia on 3 -- 5 December 1961 .

neg: Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951 . Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a `` triumphant success '' as people :  flocked to the South Bank site , to wander around the Dome of Discovery , gaze at the Skylon , and generally enjoy a festival of national celebration . Up and down the land , lesser festivals enlisted much civic and voluntary enthusiasm . A people curbed by years of total war and half-crushed by austerity and gloom , showed that it had not lost the capacity for enjoying itself ... Above all , the Festival made a spectacular setting as a showpiece for the inventiveness and genius of British scientists and technologists .   Labour cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover ; in 1947 he started with the original plan to celebrate the centennial of the Great Exhibition of 1851 . However it was not to be another World Fair , for international themes were absent , as was the British Commonwealth . Instead the 1951 festival focused entirely on Britain and its achievements ; it was funded chiefly by the government , with a budget of # 12 million . The Labour government was losing support and so the implicit goal of the festival was to give the people a feeling of successful recovery from the war 's devastation , as well as promoting British science , technology , industrial design , architecture and the arts .   The Festival 's centrepiece was in London on the South Bank of the Thames . There were events in Poplar ( Architecture ) , Battersea ( The Festival Pleasure Gardens ) , South Kensington ( Science ) and Glasgow ( Industrial Power ) . Festival celebrations took place in Cardiff , Stratford-upon-Avon , Bath , Perth , Bournemouth , York , Aldeburgh , Inverness , Cheltenham , Oxford , Norwich , Canterbury and elsewhere and there were touring exhibitions by land and sea .   The Festival became a `` beacon for change '' that proved immensely popular with thousands of elite visitors and millions of popular ones . It helped reshape British arts , crafts , designs and sports for a generation . Journalist Harry Hopkins highlights the widespread impact of the `` Festival style '' . They called it `` Contemporary '' . It was :  clean , bright and new ... . It caught hold quickly and spread first across London and then across England ... In an island hitherto largely given up to gravy browns and dull greens , `` Contemporary '' boldly espoused strong primary colors .

neg: British Overseas Territories The 14 British Overseas Territories ( BOT ) are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom . They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories . These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and , with the exception of Gibraltar , are not part of the European Union . Most of the inhabited territories are internally self-governing , with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations . The rest are either uninhabited or have a transitory population of military or scientific personnel . They share the British monarch ( Elizabeth II ) as head of state .   The term `` British Overseas Territory '' was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 , replacing the term British Dependent Territory , introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981 . Prior to 1 January 1983 , the territories were officially referred to as British Crown Colonies . With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( which host only officials and research station staff ) and the British Indian Ocean Territory ( used as a military base ) , the Territories retain permanent civilian populations . Permanent residency for the 7,000 or so civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus .   Collectively , the Territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and a land area of about 667018 sqmi . The vast majority of this land area , 660000 sqmi , constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory , while the largest territory by population , Bermuda , accounts for almost a quarter of the total BOT population . At the other end of the scale , three territories have no civilian population ; the Antarctic territory , the British Indian Ocean Territory ( from which the Chagos Islanders were controversially removed ) and South Georgia . Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory with 49 inhabitants , while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and , as part of a mutual agreement , the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory .   Although the Crown dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom . The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries ( and the United Kingdom ) which each also have Elizabeth II as their reigning monarch , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 52 countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire ( which also includes all Commonwealth realms ) .   the Minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands , Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas is Baroness Anelay , Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN . The other three territories are the responsibility of Sir Alan Duncan MP , Minister of State for Europe and the Americas .

neg: Church of England The Church of England ( C of E ) is the state church of England . The Archbishop of Canterbury ( currently Justin Welby ) is the most senior cleric , although the monarch is the supreme governor . The Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion . It dates its establishment as a national church to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury .   The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII failed to secure an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s . The English Reformation accelerated under Edward VI 's regents before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip . The Act of Supremacy 1558 renewed the breach and the Elizabethan Settlement charted a course whereby the English church was to be both Catholic and Reformed :  Catholic in that it views itself as a part of the universal church of Jesus Christ in unbroken continuity with the early apostolic church . This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers , as formalised in the Apostles ' , Nicene , and Athanasian creeds .  Reformed in that it has been shaped by some of the doctrinal principles of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation , in particular in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer .   In the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs . The later phases saw the Penal Laws punish Roman Catholic and nonconforming Protestants . In the 17th century , political and religious disputes raised the Puritan and Presbyterian faction to control of the church , but this ended with the Restoration . Papal recognition of George III in 1766 led to greater religious tolerance .   Since the English Reformation , the Church of England has used a liturgy in English . The church contains several doctrinal strands , the main three known as Anglo-Catholic , Evangelical and Broad Church . Tensions between theological conservatives and progressives find expression in debates over the ordination of women and homosexuality . The church includes both liberal and conservative clergy and members .   The governing structure of the church is based on dioceses , each presided over by a bishop . Within each diocese are local parishes . The General Synod of the Church of England is the legislative body for the church and comprises bishops , other clergy and laity . Its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament .

neg: The Londoner The Londoner was a newsletter in the style of a newspaper published by the Mayor of London and delivered free to most households in Greater London , United Kingdom .   In the words of the Mayor of London 's office , it was `` a newsletter for Londoners from the Mayor of London . It provided information about the policies and services delivered by the Greater London Authority and key issues affecting life in the capital , and encouraged participation in current debates and consultation . ''   According to the Mayor 's Annual Report 2005/06 , the budget for The Londoner was # 2,882,000 , of which # 632,000 came directly from the GLA precept portion of council tax paid by London householders . Most of the remaining # 2,250,000 came from advertising and editorial material paid for by Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Authority .

neg: Fresh Wharf Fresh Wharf was a wharf located in the City of London close to London Bridge , on the north bank of the River Thames . The site was used as a quay in Roman times and later as an unloading place for Anglo-Saxon boats . A wharf was constructed there at some point in the medieval period and appears to have acquired its name from its customary usage as a landing place for fresh fish . In the 16th century , Fresh Wharf was made a `` Legal Quay '' authorised for the import of certain goods during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England . It expanded as London 's river-borne trade grew in the 18th and 19th centuries , with large warehouses being established immediately behind the wharf . In the 20th century , the wharf 's owners took over the adjoining wharves immediately upstream and downstream , built a new ten-storey warehouse and renamed the site New Fresh Wharf . By the end of the 1960s , however , London 's docks had fallen into disuse with the advent of containerization , for which they were not suited , and the wharf was closed down in 1970 . An office block was built on the site of the warehouse in 1977 and the former quayside is now part of a public footpath along the Thames .


query: The Council on Foreign Relations is not in business with the United States.

pos: United States Secretary of State The Secretary of State is a senior official of the federal government of the United States of America , and as head of the U.S. Department of State , is principally concerned with foreign policy and is considered to be the U.S. government 's equivalent of a Minister for Foreign Affairs .   The Secretary of State is nominated by the President of the United States and , following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , is confirmed by the United States Senate . The Secretary of State , along with the Secretary of the Treasury , Secretary of Defense , and Attorney General , are generally regarded as the four most important Cabinet members because of the importance in their respective departments . Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level ( currently $ 205,700 ) .   The current Secretary of State is former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson , the 69th person to hold the office since its creation in 1789 .

pos: Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations ( CFR ) , founded in 1921 , is a United States nonprofit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs . It is headquartered in New York City , with an additional office in Washington , D.C. Its membership , which numbers 4,900 , has included senior politicians , more than a dozen secretaries of state , CIA directors , bankers , lawyers , professors , and senior media figures . The CFR promotes globalization , free trade , reducing financial regulations on transnational corporations , and economic consolidation into regional blocs such as NAFTA or the European Union , and develops policy recommendations that reflect these goals .   The CFR meetings convene government officials , global business leaders and prominent members of the intelligence and foreign-policy community to discuss international issues . CFR publishes the bi-monthly journal Foreign Affairs , and runs the David Rockefeller Studies Program , which influences foreign policy by making recommendations to the presidential administration and diplomatic community , testifying before Congress , interacting with the media , and publishing on foreign policy issues .

neg: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 United Nations Security Council resolution 1267 was adopted unanimously on 15 October 1999 . After recalling resolutions 1189 ( 1998 ) , 1193 ( 1998 ) and 1214 ( 1998 ) on the situation in Afghanistan , the Council designated Osama bin Laden and associates as terrorists and established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida , Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban wherever located .   The regime has since been reaffirmed and modified by a dozen further UN Security Council Resolutions . It has been claimed the sanctions regime caused dire hardship to the people of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime at a time when they were heavily reliant on international food aid , while failing to satisfy any of its demands . Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 , the sanctions have been applied to individuals and organizations in all parts of the world .   The regime is composed of a UN Security Council Committee , a `` consolidated list '' of people and entities it has determined as being associated with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban , and laws which must be passed within each member nation in order to implement the sanctions . The Committee receives reports from each nation as to how the work is proceeding , and is able to vary the conditions imposed on any individual as it sees fit .   There was no right of appeal against listing until December 2006 .

neg: Nuclear Energy Agency The Nuclear Energy Agency ( NEA ) is an intergovernmental agency that is organized under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) . Originally formed on 1 February 1958 with the name European Nuclear Energy Agency ( ENEA ) ( the United States participated as an Associate Member ) , the name was changed on 20 April 1972 to its current name after Japan became a member .   The mission of the NEA is to `` assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing , through international co-operation , the scientific , technological and legal bases required for the safe , environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes . ''

neg: Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs is a foreign policy review focused especially on issues of international relations most pertinent to Israel and the Jewish people . It was established in 2006 by David Kimche and is published triannually by Routledge on behalf of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations ( ICFR ) . In addition to scholarly articles and reflections by Israeli and foreign statesmen , the journal publishes transcripts of ICFR events as well as book reviews . The journal has been called `` one of the best publications in the field '' and praised for its quality .

neg: Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union ( often still referred to as the Council of Ministers , or sometimes just called the Council ( Consilium ) ) is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union ( EU ) as listed in the Treaty on European Union . It is part of the essentially bicameral EU legislature ( the other legislative body being the European Parliament ) and represents the executive governments of the EU 's member states . It is based in the Europa building in Brussels .

neg: Diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps or corps diplomatique is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body .   The diplomatic corps may , in certain contexts , refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ambassadors , high commissioners , and others ) who represent their countries in another state or country . As a body , they usually only assemble to attend state functions like a coronation , inauguration , national day or State Opening of Parliament , depending on local custom . They may also assemble in the royal or presidential palace to give their own head of state 's New Year greeting to the head of state of the country in which they are based .   The term is sometimes confused with the collective body of diplomats from a particular country -- the proper term for which is diplomatic service . The diplomatic corps is not always given any formal recognition by its host country , but can be referenced by official orders of precedence .   In many countries , and especially in Africa , the heads and the foreign members of the country offices of major international organizations ( United Nations agencies , the European Union , the International Committee of the Red Cross , agencies of the African Union , etc. ) are considered members -- and granted the rights and privileges -- of the diplomatic corps .   Diplomatic vehicles in most countries have distinctive diplomatic license plates , often with the prefix or suffix CD , the abbreviation for the French corps diplomatique .

neg: World Council of Credit Unions The World Council of Credit Unions ( World Council or WOCCU ) is the leading international trade association and development agency for credit unions and cooperative financial institutions . World Council promotes the self-sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services . World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations , and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation . Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions ' financial performance and increase their outreach .   World Council is funded by member dues , government agency and foundation grants and annual gifts to its foundation . World Council of Credit Unions and its subsidiaries are headquartered in Madison , Wisconsin . World Council also has a permanent office in Washington , D.C. , and program offices worldwide .   In cooperation with its member organizations in nearly 60 countries , World Council champions the credit union model worldwide to continue growing the international movement of 57,000 credit unions in 103 countries that serve 208 million members .

neg: Nuclear Posture Review The Nuclear Posture Review is a process `` to determine what the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy should be . ''   The first NPR of 2002 was the second of these quadrennial reviews of United States nuclear forces undertaken by the United States Department of Defense . The first took place in 1994 . The final report is National Security Classified and submitted to the Congress of the United States .   The 2002 Nuclear Posture Review also included components requiring the `` Pentagon to draft contingency plans for the use of nuclear weapons against at least seven countries , naming not only Russia and the `` axis of evil '' -- Iraq , Iran , and North Korea -- but also China , Libya and Syria . ''   President Barack Obama 's 2010 Nuclear Posture Review was preceded by high expectations because of his 2009 speech in Prague , Czech Republic where he prominently outlined a vision of a world without nuclear weapons . His NPR was hoped by observers to make concrete moves toward this goal . The finished 2010 policy renounces development of any new nuclear weapons such as the bunker-busters proposed by the Bush administration , and for the first time rules out a nuclear attack against non-nuclear-weapon states who are in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty . This rule pointedly excludes Iran and North Korea .   As part of the implementation of the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review , the U.S. Government is reviewing its nuclear deterrence requirements and nuclear plans to ensure that they are aligned to address today 's threats . Rose Gottemoeller , U.S. Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security , said in early June 2012 that the United States was considering what forces the United States needed to maintain for strategic stability and deterrence , including extended deterrence and assurance to U.S. Allies and partners . Based on this analysis the United States would develop proposals for potential further reductions in its nuclear stockpile .

neg: Canada China Business Council The Canada China Business Council or CCBC ( French : Conseil d'affaires Canada-Chine , Chinese : 加中贸易理事会 ) is a private , non-profit business association founded in 1978 to facilitate and promote business , trade and investment between Canada and People 's Republic of China . CCBC has offices in Toronto , Vancouver , Montreal , Calgary , Beijing , and Shanghai . CCBC is the de facto Canadian chamber of commerce in Beijing . It also has business incubators in Beijing , Shanghai , Montreal , and Calgary to help Canadian companies grow in China , and Chinese investors to succeed in Canada .

neg: International Relations Council The International Relations Council ( IRC ) is a non-partisan organization which provides world affairs educational programming in Kansas City , Missouri . The IRC develops and maintains various programs to foster understanding of international affairs among the citizens of the greater Kansas City area . Programs emphasize the role of the informed and responsible citizen in the formulation , development and conduct of United States foreign policy . Since its founding , IRC has hosted many world leaders , including cabinet level officials , ambassadors , and leaders from business , media , politics , government , and education . Guests give lectures and presentations on international politics , economics , and social issues .

neg: American Security Council Foundation The American Security Council Foundation ( ASCF ) is a non-profit organization founded by John M. Fisher that seeks to influence United States foreign policy by `` Promoting Peace Through Strength '' . ASCF 's current president is Dr. Henry A. Fischer . The ASCF was formed in 1958 , and was originally known as the Institute for American Strategy . For over 50 years the Foundation has focused on a wide range of educational programs which address critical challenges to U.S. foreign policy , national security , economic security and moral leadership of the United States of America . The ASCF headquarters is at 1250 24th Street NW , Suite 300 .   On June 4 , 1997 the American Security Council , a separate organization initiated in September 1954 by Robert E. Wood , retired chairman of Sears Roebuck and Company , was merged into the American Security Council Foundation .

neg: Financial Stability Forum The Financial Stability Forum ( FSF ) was a group consisting of major national financial authorities such as finance ministries , central bankers , and international financial bodies . The Forum was founded in 1999 to promote international financial stability . Its founding resulted from discussions among Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G7 countries , and a study which they commissioned . The Forum facilitated discussion and co-operation on supervision and surveillance of financial institutions , transactions and events . FSF was managed by a small secretariat housed at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel , Switzerland . The FSF membership included about a dozen nations who participate through their central banks , financial ministries and departments , and securities regulators , including : the United States , Japan , Germany , the United Kingdom , France , Italy , Canada , Australia , the Netherlands and several other industrialized economies as well as several international economic organizations . At the G20 summit on November 15 , 2008 it was agreed that the membership of the FSF will be expanded to include emerging economies , such as China . The 2009 G-20 London summit decided to establish a successor to the FSF , the Financial Stability Board . The FSB includes members of the G20 who were not members of FSF .

neg: Iran–United Kingdom relations Iran -- United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between the countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Islamic Republic of Iran . Iran , which was known as Persia before 1935 , has had political relations with England since the late Ilkhanate period ( 13th century ) when King Edward I of England sent Geoffrey of Langley to the Ilkhanid court to seek an alliance .   Diplomatic relations between the two countries have considerably deteriorated in recent years , following the re-election of President Ahmadinejad .   On 28 November 2011 Iran downgraded its relations with Britain due to new sanctions put in place by the UK . The next day a band of students and Basiji attacked the UK embassy compound in Tehran , damaging property and driving the embassy staff away . On 30 November 2011 , in response to the attack , the UK closed its embassy in Tehran and ordered the Iranian embassy in London closed .   According to a 2013 BBC World Service poll , only 5 % of British people view Iran 's influence positively , with 84 % expressing a negative view . According to a 2012 Pew Global Attitudes Survey , 16 % of British people viewed Iran favorably , compared to 68 % which viewed it unfavorably ; 91 % of British people oppose Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons and 79 % approve of `` tougher sanctions '' on Iran , while 51 % of British people support use of military force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons .   From July 2012 until October 2013 , British interests in Iran were maintained by the Swedish embassy in Tehran while Iranian interests in the United Kingdom were maintained by the Omani embassy in London .   On July 2013 , it is announced that the UK would consider opening better relations with Iran `` step-by-step '' following the election of President Hassan Rouhani .   On October 8 , 2013 , Britain and Iran announced that they would each appoint a chargé d'affaires to work toward resuming full diplomatic relations .   On February 20 , 2014 the Iranian Embassy in London was restored and the two countries agreed to restart diplomatic relations .  On August 23 , 2015 the embassy was officially reopened .

neg: History of the United States National Security Council 1953–61 This article is about the history of the United States National Security Council during the Eisenhower Administration , 1953 -- 1961 .   Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower , the National Security Council system evolved into the principal arm of the President in formulating and executing policy on military , international , and internal security affairs . Where Harry S. Truman was uncomfortable with the NSC system and only made regular use of it under the pressure of the Korean War , Eisenhower embraced the NSC concept and created a structured system of integrated policy review . Eisenhower had a penchant for careful staff work , and believed that effective planning involved a creative process of discussion and debate among advisers compelled to work toward consensus recommendations .   The genesis of the new NSC system was a report prepared for the President in March 1953 by Robert Cutler , who became the President 's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs . Cutler proposed a systematic flow of recommendation , decision , and implementation that he later described as the `` policy hill '' process . At the bottom of the hill , concerned agencies such as State and Defense produced draft policy recommendations on specific topics and worked for consensus at the agency level . These draft NSC papers went up the hill through the Planning Board , created to review and refine the recommendations before passing them on for full NSC consideration . The NSC Planning Board met on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and was composed of officials at the Assistant Secretary level from the agencies with permanent or standing representation on the Council , as well as advisers from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Intelligence Agency . Hundreds of hours were spent by the Board reviewing and reconstructing proposed papers for the NSC . Cutler resigned in 1958 in exhaustion . The top of the foreign policy-making hill was the NSC itself , chaired by the President , which met regularly on Thursday mornings .   The Council consisted of the five statutory members : the President , Vice President , Secretaries of State and Defense , and Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization . Depending on the subject under discussion , as many as a score of other senior Cabinet members and advisers , including the Secretary of the Treasury , the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , and the Director of Central Intelligence , attended and participated . The agenda included regular briefings by the Director of Central Intelligence on worldwide developments affecting U.S. security , and consideration of the policy papers advanced by the Planning Board . The upshot of the discussions were recommendations to the President in the form of NSC Actions . The President , who participated in the discussion , normally endorsed the NSC Action , and the decision went down the hill for implementation to the Operations Coordinating Board .   President Eisenhower created the Operations Coordinating Board ( OCB ) to follow up on all NSC decisions . The OCB met regularly on Wednesday afternoons at the Department of State , and was composed of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs , Deputy Secretary of Defense , the Directors of the CIA , the United States Information Agency , and ICA , and the Special Assistants to the President for National Security Affairs and Security Operations Coordination . The OCB was the coordinating and implementing arm of the NSC for all aspects of the implementation of national security policy . NSC action papers were assigned to a team from the OCB for follow-up . More than 40 interagency working groups were established with experts for various countries and subjects . This 24-person staff of the OCB supported these working groups in which officials from various agencies met each other for the first time .   The President 's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs , a post held under Eisenhower by Cutler , Dillon Anderson , William Harding Jackson , and finally Gordon Gray , oversaw the flow of recommendations and decisions up and down the policy hill , and functioned in Council meetings to brief the Council and summarize the sense of discussion . The Special Assistant was an essential facilitator of the decision-making system , but , unlike the National Security Adviser created under Kennedy , had no substantive role in the process . The NSC staff managed by the Special Assistant grew during the Eisenhower years , but again had no independent role in the policy process .   President Eisenhower had great confidence in the efficacy of covert operations as a viable supplement or alternative to previous normal foreign policy initiatives . The seeming clear success of the operations to overthrow Iranian populist leader Mossadegeh in 1953 , and overthrow the democratically elected , left-leaning President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán in Guatemala in 1954 was not without their crisis moments in the White House . In 1954 NSC 5412 provided for the establishment of a panel of designated representatives of the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense to meet regularly to review and recommend covert operations . Gordon Gray assumed the chairmanship of the `` 5412 Committee '' as it was called , and all succeeding National Security Advisers have chaired similar successor committees , variously named `` 303 '' , `` 40 '' , `` Special Coordinating Committee , '' which , in later Presidential administrations , were charged with the review of CIA covert operations .   President Eisenhower also created the position of staff secretary with the responsibility to screen all foreign policy and military documents coming to the President . While Colonel Andrew Goodpaster held this position , he tended to eclipse the Special Assistant for National Security .   The strength of the NSC system under Eisenhower was that it provided for regular , fully staffed , interagency review of major foreign and national security issues , culminating in discussion and decision at the highest level of government . The resulting Presidentially approved NSC papers provided policy guidance at every level of implementation . Eisenhower felt that the regular policy discussions kept his principal advisers fully informed , in step with one another , and prepared to react knowledgeably in the event of crisis . His commitment to the system was such that he chaired every Council meeting he could attend ( 329 of a total of 366 ) . The NSC meetings , including prior briefings and subsequent review of NSC Actions , constituted the largest single item on his weekly agenda .   Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , on the other hand , had reservations about the NSC system . He was the strongest personality in the Eisenhower Cabinet and jealously guarded his role as principal adviser to the President on foreign policy . He had constant , direct access to the President and did not feel that some of the most sensitive issues should be discussed in groups as large as were involved in most NSC meetings . He drew a sharp line between the NSC policy review process and the day-to-day operations of foreign policy , which he maintained were the province of the Department of State . Dulles and his deputies also were not comfortable with the scope the NSC review system gave to Secretary of the Treasury George Humphrey , another strong figure in the Cabinet , to intrude budgetary limitations into policy considerations . Dulles successfully resisted a proposal to substitute the Vice President for the Under Secretary of State as chairman of the OCB , arguing that such a change would impinge on his role as principal adviser to the President on foreign policy .   Critics of the Eisenhower NSC system have argued that it was inflexible , overstaffed , unable to anticipate and react to immediate crises , and weighed down by committees reporting in great detail on long checklists of minor policy concerns . The most thorough critique of the system emerged from the hearings conducted in 1960 ( 1961 by the Senate Subcommittee on National Policy Machinery , known as the Jackson Subcommittee for its chairman , Senator Henry Jackson . Cutler and NSC Executive Secretary James Lay testified in support of the effectiveness of the system , but their testimony was offset by that of former Truman administration officials such as George Kennan , Paul Nitze , and Robert Lovett . They argued that foreign policy was being made by a passive President influenced by a National Security Council rendered virtually useless by ponderous , bureaucratic machinery . Basically , they argued , the NSC was a huge committee , and suffered from all the weaknesses of committees . Composed of representatives of many agencies , its members were not free to adopt the broad , statesmanlike attitude desired by the President , but , rather , were ambassadors of their own departments , clinging to departmental rather than national views . To make matters worse , critics added , the NSC system by its very nature was restricted to continuing and developing already established policies and was incapable of originating new ideas or major innovations . The critics suggested replacement of the formal , `` over-institutionalized '' NSC structure with a smaller , less formal NSC which would offer the President a clear choice of alternatives on a limited number of major problems .   Eisenhower was certainly not a passive President , dominated by his Secretary of State on foreign policy and national security issues . In fact , Eisenhower was actively in command of his administration 's foreign policy , and the established NSC system met his instincts and requirements to the extent he used them . Although there is substance in the criticism that the Eisenhower NSC became to some extent the prisoner of a rigidly bureaucratic process , the criticism misses the point that Eisenhower and Dulles did not attempt to manage fast-breaking foreign policy crises or day-to-day operation through the NSC apparatus . An examination of several of the major foreign policy decisions that confronted the Eisenhower administration reveals that the NSC system was used to manage some , but was essentially bypassed in others . The established NSC process was used when the question involved a policy debate between departments with strongly held , contending positions , as it did in the case of the debate between the Departments of State and Defense in 1956/1957 over whether to introduce a more modern generation of weapons into Korea , where it focused debate and produced the necessary agreed-upon decision after discussion of three draft policy papers .   In fast-breaking crisis situations however , including the concurrent Suez crisis and Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , the first and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1955 and 1958 , and the 1958 Lebanon crisis , these were typically managed through small meetings with the President in the White House , normally involving Dulles and other concerned advisers , and through telephone conversations between Eisenhower , Dulles , and other principal advisers . Eisenhower sometimes used trusted NSC staffers to serve as an intermediary to gain information outside the chain of command as he did with Colonel Goodpaster during the straits crisis in 1955 . There was great similarity between this process of crisis management and that adopted by subsequent Presidents , such as Kennedy , Johnson , and Nixon , except for the fact that the ad hoc meetings in the Eisenhower White House did not involve a National Security Adviser as a substantive participant . And in the event that aspects of crisis management depended on contact with the critical man-on-the-spot , as it did in 1958 when Deputy Under Secretary of State Robert Murphy was dispatched to Lebanon to attempt to defuse the crisis , his instructions came from the Department of State and he reported to the Secretary of State rather than directly to the White House , as became the practice during the height of the Vietnam War .   When Eisenhower briefed President-elect Kennedy on the NSC system , as when Gordon Gray briefed his successor McGeorge Bundy , they both emphasized the importance of the established NSC machinery in the management of foreign policy and national security affairs . They might have been more persuasive in maintaining the system had they pointed to the fact that the NSC apparatus was essentially limited to policy review , but was not used by them to manage foreign policy crises or day-to-day decisions .

neg: Country of Particular Concern Country of Particular Concern ( CPC ) is a designation by the United States Secretary of State ( under authority delegated by the President ) of a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act ( IRFA ) of 1998 ( H.R. 2431 ) and its amendment of 1999 ( Public Law 106-55 ) . The term `` particularly severe violations of religious freedom '' means systematic , ongoing , egregious violations of religious freedom , including violations such as :   a ) Torture or cruel , inhuman , or degrading treatment or punishment ;  b ) Prolonged detention without charges ;  c ) Causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons ; or  d ) Other flagrant denials of the right to life , liberty , or the security of persons . Nations so designated are subject to further actions , including economic sanctions , by the United States .   Issuing recommendations as to countries it believes should be designated as countries of particular concern for their religious liberty violations is the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom , a separate agency created by IRFA ( along with the U.S. Department of State 's Office of International Religious Freedom ) to monitor the state of religious freedom around the world . Both entities provide policy recommendations to the president , the secretary of state and US Congress . Its recommendations are not always followed by the Secretary of State .   The latest report from February 29 , 2016 , designated each of the following nations as a CPC :   Each of these states was included on the previous year 's report except Tajikistan .

neg: United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ( known formally in the United Kingdom as Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James 's ) is the official representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the Queen and Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .   The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious positions in the United States Foreign Service due to the so-called `` Special Relationship '' . The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians , including five who would later become presidents : John Adams , James Monroe , John Quincy Adams , Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan . However , the modern tendency of American presidents ( of both parties ) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns , despite the importance and prestige of the office .   The ambassador and the embassy staff at large work at the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square , London . The official residence of the ambassador is Winfield House in Regent 's Park .   The post of ambassador is currently vacant ; however , President Trump has announced Woody Johnson as his choice for the post . As of May 18 , 2017 Johnson had not been formally nominated for confirmation by the US Senate . Lewis Lukens is currently serving as Chargé d'affaires-a . i. until Johnson is approved by the Senate . The most recent Ambassador was Matthew Barzun .

neg: American Committee on United Europe The American Committee on United Europe ( ACUE ) , founded in 1948 , was an American organization which sought to counter the Communist threat in Europe by promoting European political integration . Its first chairman was ex-wartime OSS head William Joseph Donovan .  The vice-chairman was Allen Dulles . A board member was Walter Bedell Smith .   The structure of the organisation was outlined in early summer of 1948 by Donovan and Allen Welsh Dulles by then also reviewing the organization of the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) . in response to assistance requests by Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi and Winston Churchill .   Declassified American government documents have shown that the ACUE was an important early funder of both the European Movement and the European Youth Campaign . The ACUE itself received funding from the Rockefeller and Ford foundations .   The U.S. policy was to promote a United States of Europe , and to this end the committee was used to discreetly funnel CIA funds - by the mid 50 's ACUE was receiving roughly $ 1,000,000 USD per year - to European pro-federalists supporting such organizations as the Council of Europe , the European Coal and Steel Community , and the proposed European Defence Community .   The end of an article appearing in The Daily Telegraph in September 2000 noted that : `` The State Department also played a role . A memo from the European section , dated June 11 , 1965 , advises the vice-president of the European Economic Community , Robert Marjolin , to pursue monetary union by stealth . It recommends suppressing debate until the point at which `` adoption of such proposals would become virtually inescapable '' . ''

neg: Philippines–United States relations Philippines -- United States relations ( Filipino : Ugnayang Pilipinas at Estados Unidos ) are bilateral relations between the United States of America and its former colony , the Republic of the Philippines . The relationship between the United States and the Philippines has historically been strong and has been described as a Special Relationship . The current Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte , however , is supportive of a foreign policy that is less dependent on the United States , favoring one that prioritizes closer relations with China instead . The Philippines is one of the oldest Asian partners of the U.S. and a strategically major non-NATO ally . The United States was consistently ranked as one of the Philippines ' favorite nations in the world , with 90 % of Filipinos viewing the U.S. and 91 % viewing Americans favorably in 2002 , 90 % of Filipinos viewing U.S. influence positively in 2011 , 85 % of Filipinos viewing the U.S. and Americans favorably in 2013 , and 92 % of Filipinos viewing the U.S. favorably in 2015 , and 89 % having confidence in United States president , Barack Obama in 2014 , making the Philippines the most pro-American country in the world . On October 20 , 2016 , the President of the Philippines announced a `` separation '' from the US , both militarily and economically , in favor of alliances with China and Russia .   This article discusses Philippine -- American relations after Philippine independence from the United States in 1946 , while the article History of the Philippines ( 1898 -- 1946 ) describes the history of the Philippines during American colonial rule .

neg: Franco-British Council The Franco-British Council is an organisation created on the joint initiative of President Georges Pompidou and Prime Minister Edward Heath in order to promote better understanding between United Kingdom and France and to contribute to the development of joint action through meetings of leading representatives of the worlds of culture , science , education , politics and business in the context of a developing Europe and of an increasingly globalised community .

neg: GLIFAA GLIFAA ( formerly Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies ) is the officially recognized organization representing lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender etc. ( LGBT + ) personnel and their families in the United States Department of State , U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) , Foreign Commercial Service , Foreign Agricultural Service , and other agencies and entities working in foreign affairs in the U.S. Government . The acronym comes from its original name , Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies . As of 2014 , the organization goes by GLIFAA and uses the slogan `` LGBT + pride in foreign affairs agencies '' to underscore its inclusive composition . GLIFAA was founded in 1992 by fewer than a dozen employees who faced official harassment and potential loss of their jobs simply because of their sexual orientation . The organization has grown to hundreds of Foreign Service , Civil Service , and contract personnel and their families serving in Washington , throughout the U.S. , and at U.S. embassies and missions around the world . Members also include retirees and straight allies in government agencies , while other supporters are affiliate members .   Among other accomplishments , GLIFAA succeeded in pressing for the issuance of a non-discrimination policy by Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1993 , and worked with the U.S. Administration , the management of government agencies , and other employee associations to eliminate barriers for obtaining security clearances and create and implement non-discrimination policies with regard to entry and employment in the U.S. Foreign Service and Civil Service . In addition , the organization worked to improve the situation for the partners of LGBT U.S. Foreign Service personnel serving overseas . GLIFAA met with Secretaries of State Colin Powell , Condoleezza Rice , and Hillary Clinton .

neg: Politics of France The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic . The nation declares itself to be an `` indivisible , secular , democratic , and social Republic '' . The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France 's `` attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789 . ''   The political system of France consists of an executive branch , a legislative branch , and a judicial branch . Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government . The Government consists of the Prime Minister and ministers . The Prime Minister is appointed by the President , and is responsible to Parliament . The government , including the Prime Minister , can be revoked by the National Assembly , the lower house of Parliament , through a `` censure motion '' ; this ensures that the Prime Minister is always supported by a majority of the lower house ( which , on most topics , has prominence over the upper house ) .   Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate . It passes statutes and votes on the budget ; it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishing commissions of inquiry . The constitutionality of the statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council , members of which are appointed by the President of the Republic , the President of the National Assembly , and the President of the Senate . Former presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council .   The independent judiciary is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes . It is divided into the judicial branch ( dealing with civil law and criminal law ) and the administrative branch ( dealing with appeals against executive decisions ) , each with their own independent supreme court of appeal : the Court of Cassation for the judicial courts and the Conseil d'Etat for the administrative courts . The French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies .   France is a unitary state . However , its administrative subdivisions -- regions , departments and communes -- have various legal functions , and the national government is prohibited from intruding into their normal operations .   France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community , later the European Union . As such , France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions , as provided by its constitution . The French government therefore has to abide by European treaties , directives and regulations .