Elba

Native name: Isola d'Elba
West coast of Elba
Geography
Location	Tyrrhenian Sea
Coordinates	42°45.71′N 10°14.45′E / 42.76183°N 10.24083°E / 42.76183; 10.24083Coordinates: 42°45.71′N 10°14.45′E / 42.76183°N 10.24083°E / 42.76183; 10.24083
Archipelago	Tuscan Archipelago
Total islands	7
Major islands	Elba, Gorgona, Capraia, Pianosa, Montecristo, Isola del Giglio and Giannutri)
Area	224 km2 (86.5 sq mi)
Coastline	147 km (91.3 mi)
Highest elevation	1,018 m (3,340 ft)
Highest point	Monte Capanne
Country
Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Livorno
Communes of Elba	Portoferraio, Campo nell'Elba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina and Rio nell'Elba
Largest city	Portoferraio (pop. 12,013)
Demographics
Population	31,572 (as of Jan 1, 2009)
Density	140 /km2 (360 /sq mi)

Elba (Italian: isola d'Elba, pronounced [ˈiːzola ˈdelba]; Latin: Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park,^[1] and the third largest island in Italy, after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of the French island of Corsica.

The island is divided into eight municipalities, of which Portoferraio is the main one, the others; Campo nell'Elba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina, and Rio nell'Elba, are part of the province of Livorno, with a total of about 30,000 inhabitants, which increases considerably during the summer.

Geography[link]

The island of Elba is the largest remaining stretch of land from the ancient tract that once connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The northern coast faces the Ligurian Sea; the eastern coast the Piombino Channel; the southern coast the Tyrrhenian Sea; while the Corsica channel divides the western tip of the Island from neighbouring Corsica.

The terrain is quite varied, and is thus divided into several areas based on geomorphology. The mountainous and most recent part of the island can be found to the west, the centre of which is dominated by Mount Capanne (1,018 metres (3,340 ft)), also called the "roof of the Tuscan Archipelago". The mountain is home to many animal species including the mouflon and wild boar, two species that flourish despite the continuous influx of tourists. The central part of the island is a mostly flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres. It is where the major centres can be found: Portoferraio, Campo nell'Elba. To the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 400 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of iron that made Elba famous.

Hydrography[link]

Rivers rarely exceed 3 km in length on the island and it is common for those of lesser length to dry up over the summer period. The largest rivers, sorted by length, are:

• Fosso San Francesco 6.5 km;
• Fosso Barion, 5.1 km;
• Fosso Redinoce, 2 km

Between Poggio and Marciana, at the foot of Mount Capanne, is a natural spring called Fonte Napoleone, which is regarded for its quality.

Climate[link]

The climate of the Island is predominantly Mediterranean, except for Mount Capanne, where winters tend to be moderately cold. Precipitation is concentrated in autumn and comprises a normal rainfall.

The table below shows the average temperatures for the islands by month.

History[link]

The map of Elba in "The Rise and Fall of Napoleon", 1814 cartoon by Johann Michael Voltz.

Originally inhabited by Ligures Ilvati who gave the ancient name Ilva, the island was well known from very ancient times for its iron resources and its valued mines. The Greeks called it Aethalia (fume) after the fumes of the furnaces for the metal production.

The island was then invaded, first by the Etruscans and later (after 480 BC) by the Romans. After the Roman period, the island was ravaged by barbarians and Saracens. In the early 11th century it became a possession of the Republic of Pisa. When the latter was sold to the Visconti of Milan in 1398, the island was acquired by the Appiani, Lords of Piombino, who retained it for two centuries. In 1546 part of the island was handed over to Cosimo I de' Medici, who fortified Portoferraio and renamed it "Cosmopoli", while in 1577 the rest of the island was returned to the Appiani. In 1596 Philip II of Spain captured Porto Azzurro and had two fortresses built there. In 1802 the island became a French possession, and its economy flourished.

Napoleon Bonaparte leaving Elba the 26 February 1815

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, French emperor Napoleon I was exiled to Elba after his forced abdication in 1814 and arrived at Portoferraio on May 3, 1814 to begin his exile there. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of six hundred men. Although he was nominally sovereign of Elba, the island was patrolled by the British Navy.

During the months Napoleon stayed on the island, he carried out a series of economic and social reforms to improve the quality of life, partly to pass the time and partly out of a genuine concern for the well-being of the islanders. Napoleon stayed on Elba for 300 days. He returned to France on February 26, 1815 for the Hundred Days. After his defeat at Waterloo he was subsequently exiled again, this time to the barren and isolated South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. Napoleon's stay on Elba is the basis for the famous English language palindrome: "Able was I ere I saw Elba." Internationally, Elba is best known for its connection to Napoleon.

In the Congress of Vienna the island was given to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1860 it became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy.

Elba was liberated from the Germans by the French 1^er Corps d'Armée on June 17, 1944 in Opération Brassard. Faulty intelligence and strong defences made the battle more difficult than expected.^[2]

More recently, the island has become famed for its wine, and it is today a renowned tourist resort.^[3]

Transportation[link]

The beach of Cavoli

The island is connected to the mainland via the three ferry companies, Toremar, Moby Lines and Blunavy, all offering routes between Piombino and Portoferraio, the capital located in the north, Cavo, Rio Marina and Porto Azzurro, on the east coast of the island.^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

There is an airport on the island, Marina di Campo Airport. It is served by Intersky, with flights to Friedrichshafen, Munich and Zürich, and ElbaFly by internal flights.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Chandler, David G (1990). The Illustrated Napoleon. New York: Henry Holt & Co.. ISBN 0-8050-0442-4. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elba

• Elba at the Open Directory Project

Laura Jansen
Jansen live in Vondelpark Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 22nd Aug 2010
Background information
Born	(1977-03-04) 4 March 1977 (age 35)[1]
Origin	The Netherlands
Genres	Indie pop / pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Universal Records (the Netherlands), None (U.S.)
Website	www.laurajansenmusic.nl MySpace

Laura Jansen (born 4 March 1977, Breda, the Netherlands) is a Dutch-American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Jansen established herself as a regular at the Los Angeles live music venue the Hotel Cafe before gaining fame in her native country, the Netherlands. The daughter of an American mother and Dutch father, she holds dual citizenship in the United States and the Netherlands.^[2]

Her music has been featured on the television shows Newport Harbor and The Real World: Cancun.^[3]

She previously toured with Joshua Radin for six weeks as part of his band in 2008.^[2] In 2009, she toured with William Fitzsimmons as a part of his band and also as his support act. She is currently on tour supporting Joshua Radin.

At the moment her live band consists of the Dutch musicians JanPeter Hoekstra (guitars, vocals), Wouter Rentema (drums, percussion, vocals), and Jan Teertstra (bass, vocals).

Discography[link]

In the Netherlands, her debut album Bells is available on Universal Records.^[4] Released on 4 September 2009, the album peaked at number 6 in the Dutch Album Top 100.^[5] In May 2010 Jansen received a golden record for selling 25.000 copies of Bells.^[6]

In the U.S., she has two self released EP albums, "Trauma," (released 26 February 2007) and "Single Girls" (released 26 June 2009).^[7][8]

Jansen has released three songs from her album Bells as singles. "Single Girls" peaked at number 70 on the Dutch Single Top 100. The second single was "Use Somebody", originally by Kings Of Leon. The song peaked at number 8 on the Dutch Single Top 100. The third single from this album, "Wicked World", which was also the theme song for the Dutch comedy series Floor Faber, peaked at number 31 on the Dutch Single Top 100.^[5] Her second single "Use Somebody", is remixed by Armin van Buuren and is played frequently in the shows.

Jansen is also featured on David Hopkins' album There Are Debts, which also features Damien Rice.^[9] She also appears in the music video for Sara Bareilles' song "Uncharted (song)".^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Laura Jansen on Myspace Retrieved on 20 September 2009
• Laura Jansen's MSN Star Lounge Blog (in Dutch) Retrieved on 20 September 2009
• Laura Jansen's Facebook Retrieved on 20 September 2009
• Single Girls Music Video YouTube
• NRC article on Laura Jansen (in Dutch)

Elba Esther Gordillo

Elba Esther Gordillo Morales (b. Comitán, Chiapas, February 6, 1945) is a Mexican politician, formerly affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) until 2006. She is also a leader of the (PANAL), or Partido Nueva Alianza, and leader for life of the 1.4 million strong National Education Workers' Union (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación or SNTE).

Biography[link]

Gordillo joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 1970 at the height of its "Dirty War". She has occupied several PRI positions including Secretary of Organization of the National Executive Council (1986–1987), General Secretary of the Council of National Popular Organizations (1997–2002), and General Secretary of the National Executive Council (2nd most important ranking position within the party).

Gordillo vs Madrazo[link]

Elba Esther Gordillo was decisive in Roberto Madrazo's triumph in the elections for the national presidency of the PRI held in 2000 after losing power for the first time in its history, bringing with her the backing of the powerful teachers' union.

Gordillo then became one of the most powerful women in Mexican politics. She was the head of the PRI faction in the Chamber of Deputies, but after a political war with Madrazo she lost that position when a slim majority of 118 PRI deputies voted to oust Gordillo as head of their 224 seat faction in the lower house. Gordillo was forced out of the congress leadership presumably because her political ambitions clashed with those of Madrazo regarding the presidential elections of 2006. High political pressure and illness pushed Gordillo out from public life for about a year, although she retained her post as PRI's secretary general.

In early 2005 Gordillo returned to public life and Madrazo greeted her with open arms. According to PRI rules, Gordillo, as secretary general of the party, should have replaced Madrazo when he stepped down; but, in a surprising political move, Mariano Palacios Alcocer took Madrazo's position instead of Gordillo, who publicly broke with Madrazo just few days before Palacios Alcocer's election. Gordillo accused Madrazo of trying to bribe her with the party's presidency in exchange for supporting his candidacy; she also said that Madrazo had no respect for democracy and just wanted to assure himself of the nomination and was breaking party rules to impose a party leader of his own choosing.

The day that Mariano Palacios was elected, Gordillo filed a complaint with a federal electoral tribunal asking for protection of her political rights, but the tribunal ruled against her. On September 19 and as a result of the dispute with Madrazo, Gordillo resigned her Secretary General position in the PRI but decided to continue her affiliation with the party. On 13 July 2006, two weeks after the federal elections, the PRI announced her expulsion from its ranks for having supported the PAN and for attacking and slandering against the PRI's leaders and candidates.

External links[link]

• (Spanish) Terra: Elba Esther Gordillo.
• (Spanish) Gordillo timeline (El Universal)
• Gordillo Article in the Economist (The Economist)

Idris Elba
Elba at an American Music Awards after-party, November 2007
Born	Idrissa Akuna Elba (1972-09-06) 6 September 1972 (age 39) Hackney, London, England
Other names	DJ Big Driis Big Driis the Londoner
Occupation	Actor, singer, rapper
Years active	1994–present
Website
http://www.driis.com

Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba^[1] (born 6 September 1972)^[1] is a British television, theatre, and film actor who has starred in both British and American productions. He grew up in Canning Town, East London.^[1] One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs.^[2] He has worked in a variety of TV roles including Ultraviolet and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.^[1] He is known for playing Russell "Stringer" Bell, a Baltimore drug lord and aspiring businessman, in HBO's critically acclaimed show The Wire.^[3] Elba is a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis/Big Driis the Londoner, and a hip-hop soul recording artist.^[1]

In 2009, Elba appeared on a six-episode arc of the American sitcom The Office, playing Charles Miner, Michael Scott's new boss. In 2010, he appeared in the action film The Losers in the role of Roque, the second-in-command of a black-ops team. The same year, he appeared in the thriller Takers. Elba plays the title role of Detective John Luther in the BBC television show Luther that aired on BBC One,^[4] which has finished its second series. Elba has won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of DCI Luther.

Early life[link]

Elba, an only child, was born Idrissa Akuna Elba, and shortened his first name at school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting. His father is Sierra Leonean and his mother is Ghanaian.^[1][5] Elba grew up in East Ham,^[6] and began helping an uncle with his wedding-DJ business in 1986, and within a year he had started his own DJ company with some of his best friends.^[2][7] Elba left school in 1988 and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre—thanks to a £1,500 Prince’s Trust grant, but later ended up having to do everything from tyre-fitting to cold-call advertising sales to pay the rent between roles in Crimewatch murder reconstructions.^[8] Elba was working in nightclubs under the DJ nickname Big Driis in 1991, but began auditioning for television parts in his early twenties.^[2][7] After a stint in the National Youth Music Theatre, Elba worked the night shift at a Ford factory in Dagenham from 1989-90.^[8] Elba started his acting career while in high school with encouragement from his drama teacher.

Acting career[link]

Television[link]

Although his film, television, and stage work officially commenced around 1992, in 1995 he landed his first role on a series called Bramwell, a medical drama set in 1890s England.^[7] His first credited role arrived in 1995, with a supporting role as a gigolo on the episode of Absolutely Fabulous, entitled "Sex."^[9] Many supporting roles on British television followed, including such series as The Bill and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.^[9] He joined the cast of the soap opera Family Affairs and rose to prominence in the acclaimed serial Ultraviolet. He went on to appear in a more established television series, Dangerfield, in 1999, playing a forensic scientist.^[7]

He decided to move to New York City soon after.^[2][7] He returned to England occasionally for a job, such as a part in one of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, a top-rated crime series.^[7] In 2001, Elba played Achilles in a stage production of Troilus and Cressida in New York City.^[2] After a supporting turn on a 2001 episode of Law & Order, he landed a starring role on a 2002 HBO drama, The Wire.^[9] From 2002 to 2004, Elba portrayed Russell "Stringer" Bell in the HBO drama series, perhaps his best known role in the US. In 2005, he portrayed Captain Augustin Muganza in Sometimes in April, an HBO film about the Rwandan Genocide.^[9] Elba appeared on the 2007 BET special Black Men: The Truth.^[10] Elba appeared in the role of Charlie Gotso in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency opposite Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose, filmed in Botswana.^[11] The series premiered on 23 March 2008, Easter Sunday, on BBC One, receiving a high 6.3 million viewers and 27% of the audience share.^[12]

In January 2009, it was reported per Variety that Elba would portray Charles Miner, a new rival to Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) for NBC's The Office.^[11] Elba appeared in a six episode story arc later in the 2009 season as well as the season finale.^[11]

In September 2009, Elba signed a deal to star as the lead role in the 6-part BBC television show Luther that aired in May 2010.^[4] In October 2009, it was announced that Elba will executive produce an untitled legal drama for NBC.^[13] He portrayed Laura Linney's lover on Showtime's The Big C in 2010.^[14]

At the 69th Golden Globe Awards telecast on 15 January 2012, Elba won the Award for Best Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for his portrayal of DCI Luther in the BBC Crime-Thriller series Luther.^[4]

Film work[link]

In 2006, Elba signed on as the lead of the 2007 film Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, playing Monty, a blue-collar mechanic who falls in love with a six-figure attorney (Gabrielle Union) helping him gain custody of his kids, and finds the relationship and his custody hopes threatened by the re-arrival of his ex-wife.^[9] He joined the supporting cast of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's 28 Weeks Later (2007), the horror-themed sequel to Danny Boyle's 2002 zombie picture 28 Days Later.^[9] He filmed This Christmas with Chris Brown, Mekhi Phifer, Loretta Devine and Regina King, that brought in nearly $50 million at the box office in 2007.^[15][16]

In 2008, Elba starred in the horror film Prom Night and Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla.^[15] In January 2009, Elba starred in horror film The Unborn. He starred in Obsessed, alongside Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter, as an asset manager who has a beautiful wife (Knowles) and thriving career until a temp office worker (Larter) begins stalking him.^[17] Obsessed was a box office success after it took in $29 million in its opening weekend.^[18] Obsessed was released on DVD on 4 August 2009.^[19]

Elba next film was Legacy (2010)^[20] in which he portrayed a black ops soldier, Malcolm, who returned to Brooklyn after a failed mission in Eastern Europe, where he undertook a journey looking for retribution.^[20] He posted a picture of himself from the set on his Twitter page. He starred in Dark Castle's adaptation of DC/Vertigo's The Losers, under the direction of Sylvain White, in the role of Roque, the second-in-command of a black-ops team out for revenge against a government that did them wrong.^[21] Filming took place in Puerto Rico and the movie was released in April 2010.^[22] Elba appeared in the 2010 thriller Takers, also starring Hayden Christensen, Chris Brown, T.I., and Paul Walker. He played Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh's 2011 Thor film (based upon the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name).^[23] In August 2010, it was announced that Elba would portray the title character in a reboot of James Patterson's Alex Cross film franchise.^[14] However, the actor was replaced in February 2011 by Tyler Perry.^[24] Elba appeared in the 2012 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, alongside Nicolas Cage, with Elba playing an alcoholic warrior monk tasked with finding Ghost Rider.^[25] On Wednesday, 22 June 2011, it was announced that Elba had joined Guillermo del Toro's next film, Pacific Rim. He will portray "Sensi".^[26] In December 2011, it was reported that Idris Elba would portray former South African leader Nelson Mandela in an official biopic ^[27], with the casting finally confirmed by the actor in February 2012. ^[28]