Barak

Barak (/ˈbɛəræk/ or /ˈbɛərək/;Hebrew: בָּרָק, Tiberian Hebrew: Bārāq "black", Arabic: البُراق‎ al-Burāq "lightning") was a 12th-century BC ruler and Judge of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah the prophetess, defeated the Canaanite armies led by Sisera.

Background

The son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, Barak was the next judge after Deborah and preceded Gideon. His story is told in the Book of Judges, Chapters 4 and 5. In Hebrew, his name means to kneel or bless.

Biblical story

The story of the Hebrews' defeat of the Canaanites led by Sisera, under the prophetic leadership of Deborah and the military leadership of Barak, is related in prose (Judges Chapter 4) and repeated in poetry (Chapter 5, which is known as the Song of Deborah).

Chapter 4 makes the chief enemy Jabin, king of Hazor (present Tell el-Qedah, about three miles southwest of Hula Basin), though a prominent part is played by his commander-in-chief, Sisera of Harosheth-ha-goiim (possibly Tell el-'Amr, approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Megiddo).

Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay

According to the United States Department of Defense, it held more than two hundred Afghan detainees in Guantanamo prior to May 15, 2006. They had been captured and classified as enemy combatants in warfare following the US and allies invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban and disrupt terrorist networks. Originally the US held such prisoners in sites in Afghanistan, but needed a facility to detain them where they could be interrogated. It opened the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on January 11, 2002 and transported the enemy combatants there.

The United States Supreme Court's ruled in Rasul v. Bush (2004) that the detainees had the right of habeas corpus to challenge their detention under the US Constitution. That summer, the Department of Defense stopped transferring detained men to Guantanamo. On September 6, 2006 United States President George W. Bush announced the transfer of 14 high value detainees to Guantanamo, including several Afghans. Other Afghans have been transferred to the camp since then.

Barak (given name)

The given name Barak, (meaning blessing) is not the same as Baraq, from the root B-R-Q, is a Hebrew name meaning "lightning". It is a Biblical name, given after the Israelite general Barak (ברק Bārāq).

B-R-Q

The Semitic root B-R-Q has the meaning "to shine"; "lightning". The Hebrew name ברק Bārāq is biblical, given after Barak, a military commander in the Book of Judges.

The Arabic word for "lightning" is Arabic: بُراق‎ burāq. The epithet Barcas of the Punic general Hamilcar is from the same root, as is the name of Al-Buraq, the miraculous steed of Islamic mythology.

The given name is mostly Jewish, and predominantly found in Israel. However, it has occasionally been used by Anglo-Saxon protestants in the early modern period, when there was a fashion for given names from the Hebrew Bible, as in the name of Barak Longmate, an 18th-century English genealogist.

People with the name

Notable people with the name include:

King Kong (2005 film)

King Kong is a 2005 epic monster film co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. A remake of the 1933 film of the same name, the film stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and, through motion capture, Andy Serkis as the title character. Set in 1933, King Kong tells the story of an overly ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to the mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter Kong, a legendary giant gorilla, whom they capture and display in New York City, with tragic results.

The film's budget climbed from an initial US$150 million to a then-record-breaking $207 million. It was released on December 14, 2005 in Germany and on December 16 in the United States, and made an opening of $50.1 million. While it performed lower than expected, King Kong made domestic and worldwide grosses that eventually added up to $550 million, becoming the fourth-highest grossing film in Universal Pictures history. It also generated $100 million in DVD sales upon its home video release. The film garnered generally positive reviews from critics and appeared on several "top ten" lists for 2005, though some reviewers criticized it for its three-hour running time. It won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

Kong (surname)

Kong (孔) is a Chinese, Korean, and Cambodian surname. It can also be written as Kung in Taiwan, Hung in Hong Kong, Khổng in Vietnam, and Gong in Korea. There are around 2.1 million people with this surname in China in 2002, representing 0.23% of the population.

This surname Kong is most notable as the surname of Confucius and his descendants. The family tree of Confucius and his descendants is generally considered to be the world longest, covering over 2,500 years with more than 80 generations recorded, and has two million entries according to its last update in 2009. The main line of descent traditionally held the title of Duke Yansheng, which was changed to the title of the first Sacrificial Official to Confucius in the 20th century. This title is currently held by Kung Tsui-chang.

Kong may also be the English transliteration of a rare Chinese surname 空, or a less common form of the Gong surnames such as 龔, 貢 and 弓.

Origin

The character for the Kong surname was derived from the Zi (子) family name. The founder of the Shang Dynasty, Tang of Shang whose family name was Zi, had the courtesy name of Taiyi (太乙). His descendants fused the character Zi (子) to Yi (乙), forming the character Kong (孔) which eventually became a surname. It first appeared during the Zhou Dynasty as the courtesy name Kongfu (孔父) of a noble in the State of Song named Jia (嘉), said to be a descendant of the Tang of Shang. Kongfu Jia was murdered, and his son escaped to the State of Lu where he adopted Kong as the name of his clan. His family settled in Qufu and Confucius was one of his descendants.

Dickie Goodman

Richard Dorian "Dickie" Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989) was an American music and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on his novelty records. He also wrote and produced some original material, most often heard on the B-side of his break-in records.

Career

In June 1956, Goodman created his first record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & II", which he co-wrote with his partner Bill Buchanan, and featured a four-minute rewriting of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio show. This recording was the subject of a copyright infringement case against Goodman. The court eventually ruled his sampled mix was considered a parody, and was an entirely new work. "The Flying Saucer" was officially released under the artist name "Buchanan and Goodman" and was Goodman's highest-charting single on Billboard, peaking at #3. Buchanan and Goodman followed up with four other records: "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial" (#80 in 1956), "Flying Saucer The 2nd" (#18 in 1957), "The Creature (From A Science Fiction Movie)" (as by Buchanan and Ancell) (#85 in 1957), and "Santa and the Satellite (Parts I & II)" (#32 in 1957).