A Witness

A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP Loudhailer Songs and début album I am John's Pancreas brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death, and the band continues to play live.

Career

A Witness were formed in 1982 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, by Rick Aitken (guitar), Vince Hunt (bass) and a drum machine, in 1986 replaced by Alan Brown (of Big Flame fame). Keith Curtis (vocals) and Noel Kilbride (guitar) joined the group in 1983.

Initially signing to the Ron Johnson label, debut EP Loudhailer Songs put them at the forefront of a wave of Beefheart-influenced bands that emerged in the mid-1980s, and won praise from the NME. A review of the EP in Sounds described it as "pop music perfectly perverted". They gained further attention due to the inclusion of the track "Sharpened Sticks" on the NME's C86 cassette in the following year.

Sas coat of arms

Sas or Szász (origin: Slavic for "Saxon," Polish: Sas, Hungarian: Szász, Romanian: Saş) is a Central European coat of arms. It was borne since the medieval period by several Transylvanian-Saxon Hungarian nobility, Ruthenian nobility and Polish-Lithuanian szlachta families. The house was once a mighty princely and ducal house with origins in Saxony, Transylvania, Hungary and Ruthenia.

History

Ancient Polish-Lithuanian historians like Szymon Okolski say that the origin of these arms is derived from Saxony, where during the mid-12th century King Géza II of Hungary invited Germanic peoples of Saxony to settle in, establish trading centres and defend relatively sparsely populated Transylvania in the Kingdom of Hungary, upon which the Transylvanian Saxons were later given a privileged status in the "Diploma Andreanum" (Golden Charter of Transylvanian Saxons) issued by King Andrew II of Hungary (see Transylvanian Saxons).

The origins of the dynastic House of Sas or Szász vary depending on the source. According to the chronicles of Albertus Strepa; the outstanding military leader Comes Huyd of Hungary (a Transylvanian-Saxon), entered Galicia in 1236 with his mighty army of allied mounted warrior knights to the service of Daniel of Galicia King of Ruthenia, and each was rewarded with lands in Red Ruthenia that Huyd and his allied noble knights settled, being referred to as the Sas/Szász (Saxon) due to their Transylvanian Saxon dialect and origin.

23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve)

23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)) is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Together with 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)), it forms the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS(R)) unlike the regular SAS Regiment it accepts members of the general population without prior military service.

History

The unit was founded in 1959, as an additional regiment of the Territorial Army, and was created from the former Reserve Reconnaissance Unit, itself descended from the body of the organisation known as Military Intelligence 9. The regiment's first commander was H. S. Gillies, at the time a lieutenant colonel. Anthony Hunter-Choat OBE was the commanding officer of the regiment from 1977 to 1983. Sebastian Morley, at that time a major, was for a period commander of D squadron until his resignation sometime during 2008.

21st century

The reservists were at some time involved directly in the training the Afghan National Police, during the most recent Afghan war, following a review of their unit's operational capability they were withdrawn from front line operations and the task handed over to a "regular" infantry unit. The report found that the TA SAS lacked a clearly defined role, and also stated that the reservists lacked the military capability and skillset to serve alongside the regular special forces

SAS Shoemakers

San Antonio Shoemakers (SAS) is an American shoe manufacturer that was founded in 1976 in San Antonio, Texas. The company specializes in handcrafted men's shoes, women's shoes, and handbags. They are a family-owned company which manufactures their shoes in Texas, United States of America. Some shoe operations are constructed in Acuña, Mexico.

Products and availability

Recently, SAS shoes became available on the Internet at SASshoes.com. They can also be purchased at retail stores throughout Texas and the rest of the United States. One of their specialties is high-quality comfort shoes made from quality products. and other individuals with foot, ankle and lower leg problems. SAS's primary competitors in the comfort shoe market are: Bostonian, Clarks, Stride Rite and New Balance.

The SAS Shoe Factory and General Store, located on the South Side of San Antonio near the intersection of SW Military Drive and S. Zarzamora Street, offers a factory tour.

References

External links

Witness (1985 film)

Witness is a 1985 American crime thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W. Wallace focuses on a detective protecting a young Amish boy who becomes a target after he witnesses a murder in Philadelphia.

The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards, winning one for Maurice Jarre's score, and was also nominated for six Golden Globe Awards. William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and the 1986 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay presented by the Mystery Writers of America.

Plot

Rachel Lapp (McGillis), a young Amish widow, and her 8-year-old son Samuel (Haas) are traveling by train to visit Rachel's sister. Samuel is amazed by the sights in the big city, but at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, he witnesses two men attack and murder a third (Carhart). Detective John Book (Ford) is assigned to the case and he and his partner, Sergeant Elton Carter (Jennings), question Samuel. The victim was an undercover police officer. Samuel is unable to identify the perpetrator from mug shots or a police lineup, but notices a newspaper clipping with a picture of narcotics officer James McFee (Glover) and recognizes him as one of the killers. John remembers that McFee was previously responsible for a drug raid on expensive chemicals used to make amphetamines, but the evidence had mysteriously disappeared.

Witness (religious newspaper)

Witness was the name of an evangelical newspaper established in 1840 by the Scottish geologist and writer, Hugh Miller. He continued to edit the paper at an office on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh until his suicide in December 1856. He was the principal contributor to the publication, averaging over 10,000 words a week.

References

Witness (Dave Douglas album)

Witness is the 18th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the RCA label in 2001 and features performances by Douglas, Chris Speed, Joe Daley, Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Drew Gress, Bryan Carrott, Michael Sarin, Ikue Mori, Joshua Roseman and Yuka Honda with Tom Waits providing vocals on one track.

Reception