Illuminati

The Illuminati (plural of Latin illuminatus, "enlightened") is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776. The society's goals were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. "The order of the day," they wrote in their general statutes, "is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them." The Illuminati—along with Freemasonry and other secret societies—were outlawed through edict, by the Bavarian ruler, Charles Theodore, with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church, in 1784, 1785, 1787 and 1790. In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed that they continued underground and were responsible for the French Revolution.

In subsequent use, "Illuminati" refers to various organisations which claim or are purported to have links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies, though these links are unsubstantiated. They are often alleged to conspire to control world affairs, by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations, in order to gain political power and influence and to establish a New World Order. Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories, the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels, movies, television shows, comics, video games, and music videos.

Angel (Angel album)

Angel is the first album by the rock band Angel. "Tower", the keyboard-heavy opening track, was used widely during the late 1970s and early 1980s by album rock radio stations in the USA for various advertising purposes. The track is also on K-SHE radio's Classic List. This album can be seen as representing the band's early progressive roots, with Helluva Band seeing the group starting to move towards an increasingly hard rock-oriented sound. Tracks 6-8 segue to form a 10-minute mini suite.

Track listing

Personnel

References

Angel (season 5)

The fifth and final season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on October 1, 2003 on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season and its television run on May 19, 2004. The season aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm ET. This was the first and only season of Angel to air following the finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Season synopsis

List of minor planets: 11001–12000

Deus Ex

Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing video game—combining first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements—developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000. First published for personal computers running Microsoft Windows, Deus Ex was later ported to Mac OS systems and PlayStation 2. Set in a dystopian world during the year 2052, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat terrorist forces, which have become increasingly prevalent in a world slipping ever further into chaos. As the plot unfolds, Denton becomes entangled in a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati and the Hong Kong Triads during his journey.

The game received universal critical acclaim, including repeatedly being named "Best PC Game of All Time" in PC Gamer's "Top 100 PC Games" in 2011 and in a poll carried out by UK gaming magazine PC Zone. It was a frequent candidate for and winner of Game of the Year awards, drawing praise for its pioneering designs in player choice and multiple narrative paths. It has sold more than 1 million copies, as of April 23, 2009. The game has spawned both a sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, released in 2003, and a prequel, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, released in 2011.

Illuminati (Madonna song)

"Illuminati" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna for her thirteenth studio album Rebel Heart (2015). It was written by Madonna, Toby Gad, Maureen McDonald, Larry Griffin Jr., Mike Dean, Kanye West and Tommy Brown, and produced by Madonna, West and Dean. Charlie Heart co-produced it and Travis Scott provided additional production. The song's demo was leaked to the internet in December 2014, with twelve other tracks from the album. Its final version was released on December 20, 2014, with five other tracks on iTunes store as "an early Christmas gift" to avoid further leaks. The song's demo version features dance synths and acoustic guitars; after showing the song to West, he felt connected to the song and changed it to a darker sound. The song was conceived after Madonna was accused of being a member of the Illuminati; she wanted to write a song about who they really are and what they are not.

"Illuminati" is a dance-pop song with brittle hits, blips and a buzz-saw break as its main instrumentation. Its sound was compared to that of West's album Yeezus (2013). The song's lyrics discuss Illuminati conspiracy theories; it names celebrities who had also been accused of being part of the group, and religious imagery. Madonna sings, "It's like everybody in this party, shining like Illuminati". The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who commended West involvement with the track, and its ambitious sound and lyrics, while some chose it as one of the album's highlights. It charted in some European territories and on the Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Songs. Madonna performed the song with dancers strapped to tall, flexible poles as part of her Rebel Heart Tour; it was considered one of the show's main highlights.

National Space Organization

The National Space Organization (NSPO; formerly known as the National Space Program Office) is the national civilian space agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the auspices of the Executive Yuan's National Science Council. NSPO is involved in the development of space exploration, satellite construction and development as well as related technologies and infrastructure (including the FORMOSAT series of Earth observation satellites) and related research in aerospace engineering, remote sensing, astrophysics, atmospheric science, information science, space weapons, a future Taiwanese manned space program and the deployment of space-based weapons for the defense of national security in the ROC.

NSPO headquarters and the main ground control station are in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Taiwanese rocket launch program

Indigenously developed suborbital launch vehicle based upon the Sky Bow II surface-to-air missile. Six to seven launches as of 2010.

Satellite launch vehicle program