Quartet on the Middle East

The Quartet on the Middle East or Middle East Quartet, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. The group was established in Madrid in 2002, recalling Madrid Conference of 1991, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair resigned as the Quartet's Special Envoy on 27 May 2015.

History

The initiative to establish the Quartet evolved following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in September 2000 and the futile cease-fire attempts that followed. On October 25, 2001, representatives of the EU, UN and the US and Russian governments met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and jointly expressed support for his policy of implementing cease-fire and security reforms in the Palestinian Authority. During the Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas in April 2002, the representatives of the same four entities met in Madrid and again called for implementation of cease-fire agreements brokered by the US government before. In the same meeting, they also agreed to transform their quadripartite cooperation into a permanent forum for follow-up of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Nevada

Nevada (Spanish for "snow covered") is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the state's four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle Born State", because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words "Battle Born" also appear on the state flag); as the "Sagebrush State", for the native plant of the same name; and as "Sage hen State". Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast and Utah to the east.

Nevada is largely desert and semiarid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.

Nevada (UK band)

Nevada were a British folk/progressive band and a spin-off from Renaissance, featuring Annie Haslam on vocals and Mick Dunford on guitar. Their Christmas single, "In the Bleak Midwinter" reached the lower edges of the UK singles chart in 1983.

Background

Renaissance had been moderately successful during the 1970s, having a top ten UK singles chart hit in 1978 with "Northern Lights", but were better known as an album band, and for their live performances, particularly at Carnegie Hall. In 1979, the band had taken a less symphonic/orchestral and more electronically based turn with the album Azure d'Or, which resulted in disappointing sales and resultant dropping by their label, Warner Bros. Records. Meanwhile, the lineup of Renaissance was in flux, as John Tout and Terry Sullivan left for varying reasons.

Nevada

The reduced version of Renaissance then took stock; according to the sleeve notes to their CD, "It was time to stand back, take a breather, experiment, and to embark on a new working relationship with their fellow countryman Peter Gosling". Gosling had been in the 1960s band "Moon Train" which had been managed and produced by Bill Wyman, played keyboards on the Renaissance album Camera Camera and later on Time-Line. The single "In the Bleak Midwinter", a version of the Christmas carol by Gustav Holst and Christina Rossetti was released for the 1982 Christmas market, but did not enter the UK singles chart until 8 January 1983. It spent one week on the chart at number 71. Their second single, "You Know I Like It" did not trouble the charts and the project went no further. Renaissance finally folded in 1987; Haslam and Dunford embarked on solo careers, and Gosling wrote music for television and film.

Nevada (Binnie novel)

Nevada: A Novel is the debut novel from author Imogen Binnie, released by Topside Press in 2013. Nevada follows the adventures of transgender New York punk woman Maria Griffiths.

Plot

When Griffiths finds out her girlfriend cheated on her, she spirals out of control, stealing her girlfriend's car and buying heroin before heading west on a journey of self-discovery. In Nevada, she meets James Hanson, and immediately realizes that Hanson is also transgender, but doesn't realize it yet. The two travel to Reno together. Griffiths frequently lapses into long inner monologues throughout the book, reflecting on gender, heteronormativity, and social conditioning.

Inspiration

Binnie has said that in writing a story about a transgender protagonist, she wanted to resist the risk of explaining "The Trans Experience for cis people," which she says often happens with transgender memoirs. Because Nevada is a work of fiction, Binnie said she approached writing it as a transgender story written for trans women. "One of the questions I was trying to answer with Nevada was, what would a story about trans women that was intended for an audience of trans women — what would that look like?" Binnie told blogger Sarah McCarry in an interview about the book.