Native name	''Commonwealth de la Dominique''
Conventional long name	Commonwealth of Dominica
Common name	Dominica
Image coat	Coat of arms of Dominica.png
National motto	''"Après Bondie, C'est La Ter"''(Antillean Creole)"After God is the Earth""Après le Bon Dieu, c'est la Terre"
National anthem	''Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour''
Official languages	English
Demonym	Dominican
Ethnic groups	86.8% black, 8.9% mixed, 2.9% Carib, 0.8% white, 0.7% other (2001)
Capital	Roseau
Largest city	capital
Government type	Parliamentary republic
Leader title1	President
Leader name1	Nicholas Liverpool
Leader title2	Prime Minister
Leader name2	Roosevelt Skerrit
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	from the United Kingdom
Established date1	3 November 1978
Area rank	184th
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area km2	750
Area sq mi	290
Percent water	1.6
Population estimate	72,660
Population estimate rank	195th
Population estimate year	July 2009
Population census	71,727
Population census year	2003
Population density km2	105
Population density sq mi	272
Population density rank	95th
Gdp ppp	$758 million
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp per capita	$10,415
Gdp nominal	$376 million
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal per capita	$5,167
Hdi	0.814
Hdi rank	73rd
Hdi year	2007
Hdi category	high
Currency	East Caribbean dollar
Currency code	XCD
Time zone	Eastern Caribbean
Utc offset	–4
Drives on	left
Cctld	.dm
Calling code	+1-767
Footnote1	Rank based on 2005 UN estimate. }}

Dominica ( ; ; Carib: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.

Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.

Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (''dominica'' in Latin), November 3, 1493. In the next hundred years after Columbus' landing, Dominica remained isolated, and even more Caribs settled there after being driven from surrounding islands as European powers entered the region. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to the United Kingdom in 1763. The United Kingdom then set up a government and made the island a colony in 1805.

The emancipation of African slaves occurred throughout the British Empire in 1834, and, in 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a legislature controlled by a black majority. In 1896, the United Kingdom reassumed governmental control of Dominica, turning it into a Crown colony. Half a century later, from 1958 to 1962, Dominica became a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation. In 1978, Dominica became an independent nation.

Etymology

The name Dominica comes from the Spanish word for Sunday (''dominica''), which was the day on which it was spotted by Christopher Columbus. Its pre-Columbian name was "Wai'tu kubuli", which means "Tall is her body". The indigenous people of the island, the Caribs, have the Carib Territory, a territory similar to the Indian reserves of North America. The official language is English in consequence of its history as a British colony, territory, and state, though a French creole is spoken by many, especially people of older generations. The demonym or adjective is "Dominican" in English, same as that for the Dominican Republic, but unlike the Dominican Republic, in which the stress is on the first "i", the stress is on the second "i".

History

In 1635 France claimed Dominica along with all the other 'Petite Antilles' but no settlement was attempted. Between 1642 and 1650 a French missionary Raymond Breton became the first regular European visitor to the island. In 1660 the French and English agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should not be settled, but instead left to the Caribs as neutral territory. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions of English and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start of the 18th century.

In 1715 the French established their first permanent settlements in Dominica following a revolt of "poor white" smallholders in the north of Martinique, known as La Gaoulé, which caused an exodus of them to southern Dominica. In 1727 the first French commander, M. Le Grand, takes charge of the island with a basic French government thus making Dominica formally a colony of France and the island is divided into districts or "quarters". As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, the island became a British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active cooperation of the population. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain. French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.

In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the Brown Privilege Bill conferred political and social rights on free non-whites. Three African people were elected to the legislative assembly the following year. Following the abolition of slavery, in 1838 Dominica became the only British Caribbean colony to have an African-controlled legislature in the 19th century. Most African legislators were smallholders or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.

In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one that had one-half of members who were elected and one-half who were appointed. Planters allied with colonial administrators outmanoeuvred the elected legislators on numerous occasions. In 1871, Dominica became part of the Leeward Island Federation. The power of the African population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of the population were effectively curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation for disenfranchisement, proved to have a negligible effect.

20th century

Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Marshalling public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West Indies Federation.

After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom.

Independence did little to solve problems stemming from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government. It was replaced after the 1980 elections by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female prime minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980.

In 1981 Dominica was threatened with a takeover by mercenaries. In 1981, a group of "mercenaries" led by Mike Perdue of Houston and Wolfgang Droege of Toronto, attempted to overthrow the government of Eugenia Charles. The North America mercenary group was to aid ex-Prime Minister Patrick John and his Dominica Defence Force in regaining control of the island in exchange for control over the island's future development. The entire plan failed and the ship hired to transport the men of Operation Red Dog never even made it off the dock as the FBI was tipped off. The self-titled mercenaries lacked any formal military experience and/or training and the majority of the crew had been misled into joining the armed coup by the con-man ringleader Mike Perdue. White supremacist Don Black was also jailed for his part in the attempt, which violated US neutrality laws. The book, "Bayou of Pigs" written by Stewart Bell details the story of this missguided attempt to turn Dominica into a criminal paradise.

By the end of the 1980s, the economy recovered, but weakened again in the 1990s because of a decrease in banana prices.

In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labour Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie" Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit, also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime Minister Skerrit's leadership, the DLP won elections in May 2005 that gave the party 12 seats in the 21-member Parliament to the UWP's 8 seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP won a seat as well. Since that time, the independent candidate joined the government and one UWP member crossed the aisle, making the current total 14 seats for the DLP and 7 for the UWP.

Geography and climate

Dominica is an island nation and borderless country in the Caribbean Sea, the northernmost of the Windward Islands (though it is sometimes considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands). The size of the country is about . The capital is Roseau.

Dominica is largely covered by rainforest and is home to the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. Dominica has many waterfalls, springs, and rivers. The Calibishie area in the country's northeast has sandy beaches. Some plants and animals thought to be extinct on surrounding islands can still be found in Dominica's forests. The volcanic nature of the island has attracted scuba divers. The island has several protected areas, including Cabrits National Park, as well as 365 rivers.

On his second voyage to the Caribbean, Dominica was the first "new world" country that Christopher Columbus discovered. It is said that when his royal sponsors asked Christopher Columbus to describe this island in the "New World", he crumpled a piece of parchment roughly and threw it on the table. "This", Columbus explained, "is what Dominica looks like—completely covered with mountains with nary a flat spot."

Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest blended with scenic volcanic features. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site on April 4, 1995, a distinction it shares with four other Caribbean islands.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is engaged in a long-running dispute with Venezuela over Venezuela's territorial claims to the sea surrounding Isla Aves (literally Bird Island, but in fact called Bird Rock by Dominica authorities), a tiny islet located west of the island of Dominica.

There are two primary population centres: Roseau and Portsmouth.

Dominica possesses the most pristine wilderness in the Caribbean. Originally, it was protected by sheer mountains which led the European powers to build ports and agricultural settlements on other islands. More recently, the citizens of this island have sought to preserve its spectacular natural beauty by discouraging the type of high-impact tourism which has damaged nature in most of the Caribbean.

Visitors can find large tropical forests, including one which is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, hundreds of streams, coastlines and coral reefs.

The Sisserou parrot is Dominica's national bird and is indigenous to its mountain forests.

The Caribbean Sea offshore of the island of Dominica is home to many cetaceans. Most notably a group of sperm whales live in this area year round. Other cetaceans commonly seen in the area include spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Less commonly seen animals include killer whales, false killer whales, pygmy sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, humpback whales and Bryde's whales. This makes Dominica a destination for tourists interested in whale-watching.

Dominica is especially vulnerable to hurricanes as the island is located in what is referred to as the hurricane region. In 1979, Dominica was hit directly by category 5 Hurricane David, causing widespread and extreme damage. On August 17, 2007, Hurricane Dean, a category 1 at the time, hit the island. A mother and her seven-year-old son died when a landslide caused by the heavy rains fell onto their house. In another incident two people were injured when a tree fell on their house. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit estimated that 100 to 125 homes were damaged, and that the agriculture sector was extensively damaged, in particular the banana crop.

Government and administrative divisions

Dominica is a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth of Nations and, since 1979, a member of La Francophonie. The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of the Caribbean's few republics. The president is the head of state, while executive power rests with the cabinet, headed by the prime minister. The unicameral parliament consists of the thirty-member House of Assembly, which consists of twenty-one directly elected members and nine senators, who may either be appointed by the president or elected by the other members of the House of Assembly.

Unlike other former British colonies in the region, Dominica was never a Commonwealth realm, instead becoming a republic on independence. Dominica is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Dominica is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the U.S. military, as covered under Article 98. In January 2008 Dominica joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas.

Dominica is divided into ten parishes:

#Saint Andrew Parish #Saint David Parish #Saint George Parish #Saint John Parish #Saint Joseph Parish #Saint Luke Parish #Saint Mark Parish #Saint Patrick Parish #Saint Paul Parish #Saint Peter Parish

Economy

In 2008, Dominica had one of the lowest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) rates of Eastern Caribbean states. The country nearly had a financial crisis in 2003 and 2004, but Dominica's economy grew by 3.5% in 2005 and 4.0% in 2006, following a decade of poor performance. Growth in 2006 was attributed to gains in tourism, construction, offshore and other services, and some sub-sectors of the banana industry. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently praised the Government of Dominica for its successful macroeconomic reforms. The IMF also pointed out remaining challenges, including the need for further reductions in public debt, increased financial sector regulation, and market diversification.

Bananas and other agriculture dominate Dominica's economy, and nearly one-third of the labour force works in agriculture. This sector, however, is highly vulnerable to weather conditions and to external events affecting commodity prices. In 2007, Hurricane Dean caused significant damage to the agricultural sector as well as the country's infrastructure, especially roads. In response to reduced European Union (EU) banana trade preferences, the government has diversified the agricultural sector by promoting the production of coffee, patchouli, aloe vera, cut flowers, and exotic fruits such as mango, guava, and papaya. Dominica has also had some success in increasing its manufactured exports, primarily soap.

Dominica is mostly volcanic and has few beaches; therefore, tourism has developed more slowly than on neighboring islands. Nevertheless, Dominica's mountains, rainforests, freshwater lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, and diving spots make it an attractive eco-tourism destination. Cruise ship stopovers have increased following the development of modern docking and waterfront facilities in Roseau, the capital. Out of 22 Caribbean islands tracked, Dominica had the fewest visitors in 2008 (55,800 or 0.3% of the total). This was about half as many as visited Haiti.

Dominica's currency is the East Caribbean Dollar.

Dominica is a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) that grants duty-free entry into the United States for many goods. Dominica also belongs to the predominantly English-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Dominica offers tax-free status to companies locating from abroad. It is not known how many companies benefit from the tax-free status because of the strict confidentiality the government enforces, although it is known many Internet businesses utilise Dominica for this reason.

Infrastructure

Air

There are two small airports on the island. The primary airport, Melville Hall Airport (DOM), is on the northeast coast and is about a 45-minute drive from Portsmouth. The second is Canefield Airport (DCF), about 15 minutes from Roseau on the southwest coast. Melville Hall Airport is suitable for limited use of commercial jets because of runway length. Melville Hall currently has regular service by American Eagle,winair,and LIAT using twin turboprop aircraft like the De Havilland Dash 8, as well as Conviasa and Amerijet, which, using Boeing 727 Freighters, is the only airline with jet service to the republic. A runway extension and service upgrade project began at Melville Hall around 2006 and was finished in 2010

Roads

There is no major highway on the island. Before the road was built between Portsmouth and Roseau, people had to take boats, which took several hours. Now, it takes about one hour to drive from Portsmouth to Roseau. Minibus services form the major public transport system. However, the main road is now under major reconstruction via help from the Chinese. It's unknown when the work will be completed.

Demographics

There is a significant mixed minority along with Indo-Caribbean or East Indian groups, a small European origin minority (descendants of French, British, and Irish colonists) and there are small numbers of Lebanese, Syrians and Asians. Dominica is also the only Eastern Caribbean island that still has a population of pre-Columbian native Caribs, who were exterminated or driven from neighbouring islands. There are only about 3,000 Caribs remaining. They live in eight villages on the east coast of Dominica. This special Carib Territory was granted by the British Crown in 1903. There are also about 1,000 medical students from the United States and Canada who study at the Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth.

The population growth rate of Dominica is very low, due primarily to emigration to other countries. In the early 21st century, emigrant numbers for the most popular countries are as follows: the United States (8,560), the United Kingdom (6,739), Canada (605) and France (394).

It has recently been noted that Dominica has a relatively large number of centenarians. As of March 2007, there are 22 centenarians out of the island's 70,000 inhabitants—three times the average incidence of centenarianism in developed countries. The reasons for this are the subject of current research being undertaken at Ross University School of Medicine.

About 80% of the population is Roman Catholic, though in recent years a number of Protestant churches have been established. There is also a small Muslim community in Dominica as the nation's first mosque was built recently near Ross University.

English is the official language of Dominica and is universally spoken and understood. However, because of historic French occupation during different times in history, and the island's location between the two French-speaking departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe, Antillean Creole, based on French, is spoken by many people on the island, especially from the older generation. Because of a decline in its usage by the younger generation, initiatives have been set up in an effort to increase usage and promote this unique part of the nation's history and culture. The dialect of Dominica also includes Cocoy, along with Creole—French-based patois. Cocoy, or Kockoy, is a mix of Leeward Island English-Creole and Dominican Creole. It is mainly spoken in the north-eastern villages of Marigot and Wesley. As a result of this admixture of languages and heritage, Dominica is a member of both the English-speaking Commonwealth and the French-speaking La Francophonie.

At the beginning of the twentieth century the Rose's Company, which produced Rose's lime juice, saw demand for its product outgrow its ability to supply the product from Montserrat. Their response to the situation was to buy land on Dominica and encourage Montserrat farm labourers to relocate. As a result there came to be two linguistic communities in Dominica. Over time there has been much intermarrying, but there are still traces of difference in origin.

Culture

Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, the Arawaks and Kalinago Carib tribes remained by the time European settlers reached the island. 'Massacre' is a name of a river dedicated to the murders of the Native villagers by French and British settlers, because the river ran red with blood for days. Each (French and British) claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief. This mix of cultures is important to Dominica.

Music and dance are important facets of Dominica's culture. The annual independence celebrations show an outburst of traditional song and dance preceded since 1997 by weeks of Creole expressions such as "Creole in the Park" and the "World Creole Music Festival". Dominica gained prominence on the international music stage when in 1973, Gordon Henderson founded the group Exile One and an original musical genre which he coined "Cadence-lypso" which paved the way for modern Creole music. Other musical genres include "Jing ping" and "Cadence". Jing ping heavily features the accordion and is native to the island. Dominica's music is an intoxicating melange of Afro-Cuban, African and European traditions. Popular artists over the years include Chubby and the Midnight Groovers, Bells Combo, the Gaylords, WCK, and Triple Kay.

The 11th annual World Creole Music Festival was the first activity held there since its completion on October 27, 2007, part of the island's celebration of independence from Great Britain on November 3. A year-long reunion celebration began in January 2008 marking 30 years of independence.

Dominica is often seen as a society that is migrating from collectivism to that of individualism. The economy is a developing one that previously depended on agriculture. Signs of collectivism are evident in the small towns and villages which are spread across the island.

Dominican cuisine is similar to that of other Caribbean countries. Common main courses comprise meat (usually chicken, but can be goat, lamb, or beef) covered in sauce. The sauces are either spicy pepper sauces, or concoctions made from local fruit. A huge variety of local fruit, from tamarind to passion fruit, are served on the island, usually in juice or sauce form. Soursop is peeled and eaten raw. Sorrel, a red flower that only blooms around Christmas, is boiled into a bright red drink. Typical dishes include "pelau," a one-pot dish of rice and chicken, mountain chicken (frog), all types of local fish, frozen joys (a homemade flavored popsicle), and several types of "ground provisions,"--root vegetables including dasheen and tania.

Education

The island has its own state college, formerly named Clifton Dupigny Community College. Some Dominicans get scholarships from the Cuban government to attend universities in Cuba. Others go to the University of the West Indies or to schools in the United Kingdom, the United States, or other countries for higher education. Ross University, a medical school, is located at Portsmouth. The Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center, a biological field station owned by Clemson University, is located at Springfield Estate between Canefield and Pond Cassé. In 2006, another medical school called All Saints University School of Medicine opened in temporary facilities in Loubiere, with a permanent campus being constructed in Grand Bay. Currently All Saints is located in Roseau, Dominica. Until 2009 there was also a marine biology institute in Mahaut, I.T.M.E (Institute for Tropical Marine Ecology), 15 minutes north of Roseau.

Athletics

Cricket is a popular sport on the island, and Dominica competes in test cricket as part of the West Indies cricket team. On October 24, 2007, the 8,000-seat Windsor cricket stadium was completed with a donation of EC$33 million (US$17 million, €12 million) from the government of the People's Republic of China.

Media

Dominica has three major newspapers, ''The Sun'', ''The Times'', and ''The Chronicle''. There are two national television stations and a few radio stations, including Stations include: ZBC-AM 590, ZGBC-AM 740, ZGBC-FM 90.7 (Portsmouth), ZGBC-FM 102.1 (Roseau) and ZGBC-FM 106.1 (Marigot), Q95 FM, the Dominica Broadcasting Corporation, and Kairi FM. Before 2004, there was one telecommunication company called Cable and Wireless. In 2005, Digicel and a UK-based company called Orange started to offer service to the island. There are a number of mobile networks operating on the island.

Notable people from Dominica

Eugenia Charles – former Prime Minister; the Caribbean's first female Prime Minister, the first woman elected head of state in the Americas and the longest continuously serving female Prime Minister

Phillip DeFreitas – test cricketer

Jean Rhys – novelist, was born and raised in Dominica

Adam Sanford – Test cricketer

Baroness Scotland – Former Attorney General (now Shadow Attorney General) for England and Wales

Grayson Shillingford – Test cricketer

Irvine Shillingford – Test cricketer

Elizabeth Israel – one of the world's oldest persons

Billy Doctrove – Test cricket umpire

Garth Joseph – former NBA player

*

See also

Bayou of Pigs

Caribbean Sea

Commonwealth of Nations

Cricket in the West Indies

Effects of Hurricane Dean in the Lesser Antilles

Lesser Antilles

List of people of Dominica

References

External links

Official website of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica

Lennox Honeychurch Dominica – Art, Articles, Culture, History & Resources.

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

Dominica at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Dominican creole or Kweyol (presentation, vocabulary and conversation guide)

Discover Dominica: Nature Island of the Caribbean – Official government tourism website by the Discover Dominica Authority

Travel Pages (Dominica)

}}

Category:Caribbean countries Category:Former colonies of France Category:Lesser Antilles Category:Island countries Category:Member states of the Caribbean Community Category:Member states of La Francophonie Category:Republics Category:Liberal democracies Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:States and territories established in 1978 Category:Islands of Dominica Category:Member states of the United Nations

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name	Charlie Villanueva
position	Power forward
number	31
height ft	6
height in	11
weight lb	232
team	Detroit Pistons
nationality	AmericanDominican
birth date	August 24, 1984
birth place	Queens, New York
college	Connecticut (2003–2005)
high school	Blair Academy
draft round	1
draft pick	7
draft year	2005
draft team	Toronto Raptors
career start	2005
years1
team1	Toronto Raptors
years2	–
team2	Milwaukee Bucks
years3	–present
team3	Detroit Pistons
highlights	NBA All-Rookie First Team () NCAA Champion (2004)
bbr	villach01
letter	v
medal templates	}}

}} }} Charlie Alexander Villanueva (born August 24, 1984 in Queens, New York City) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association.

The son of Dominican immigrants, Villanueva was raised in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He was drafted at the age of 20, seventh overall pick, in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He also holds Dominican citizenship and therefore he has represented the Dominican Republic national basketball team in international competition.

High school

During his freshman year, Villanueva attended Newtown High School in Queens, New York, where he was a teammate of future NBA player Smush Parker. He spent his next three years at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, where he played with another future NBA player, Luol Deng. Villanueva received All-American honors as a senior and was named New Jersey Co-Player of the Year. He entered the 2003 NBA Draft, but withdrew his eligibility so he could play basketball at the University of Connecticut. In his senior year, he was 5th place in the high school slam dunk contest, ahead of Ndudi Ebi, Travis Outlaw, and Brittany Hunter, and behind Shannon Brown, Von Wafer, J.R. Giddens, and the winner, LeBron James.

College career

Villanueva originally gave a verbal commitment to play for the University of Illinois, but after Bill Self left the Illini for the University of Kansas, Villanueva withdrew his commitment. He considered following Self to the Jayhawks, but instead opted to play for University of Connecticut.

In his freshman year at UConn, Villanueva earned Big East All-Rookie Team honors and was a key reserve member of the 2004 NCAA National Championship team. As a sophomore at UConn, he averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds, leading the team in scoring and receiving team MVP and Second Team All-Big East honors. Villanueva elected to enter the 2005 NBA Draft after two years at UConn.

NBA career

The Toronto Raptors were widely criticized for selecting Villanueva seventh overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, but he responded with a solid rookie campaign. He averaged 13 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games. He finished second among rookies in points and rebounds, and third in minutes and blocked shots. He also tallied 12 double-doubles and set the Raptors' rookie records for points (48) and rebounds (18) in a game. Villanueva also appeared in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and was named to the All-NBA Rookie First Team.

Villanueva was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard T. J. Ford and cash considerations on June 30, 2006.

In March 2009 he was reprimanded by Bucks coach Scott Skiles for posting a message on his Twitter account during halftime of the Bucks–Celtics game.

As the season progressed Villanueva started to put up better statistics, and by the end of the year he was averaging a career high in points and rebounds (16.2 and 6.7 respectively).

In June 2009, Villanueva signed a five year contract with the Pistons worth $35 million.

National team

Villanueva represented the United States basketball team at youth levels. In 2009, Villanueva wanted to switch sports nationality to the Dominican Republic. Under FIBA rules, he asked USA Basketball to release him in order to switch his sports nationality. He played for the Dominican Republic national basketball team in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship.

Personal

Villanueva has alopecia universalis, a variation of alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease. This results in hair loss on the scalp and/or elsewhere on the body, but the disease is not otherwise life-threatening or harmful. Villanueva is a spokesman for the NAAF (National Alopecia Areata Foundation), and received the February 2006 Community Assist Award from the NBA for his work with the organization.

Villanueva is fluent in Spanish, as it is the language he speaks with his family.

Honors

Mar 2003 – New Jersey State High School Co-Player of the Year, shared with Luol Deng

Mar 2003 – New Jersey High School All-State Team Honor Selection

Mar 2003 – McDonald's High School All-American

Mar 2004 – Big East Conference All-Rookie Team

Apr 2004 – NCAA National Championship, UConn Huskies

Jul 2004 – USA Junior World Basketball Team Gold Medalist

Mar 2005 – Big East All-Conference Second Team

Jun 2005 – NBA Draft Lottery Seventh Pick

Oct 2005 – Toronto Raptors Community MVP Award

Nov 2005 – Toronto Raptors Community MVP Award

Dec 2005 – Named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month

Feb 2006 – Selected to compete in the 2006 T-Mobile NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge in Houston

Feb 2006 – NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Mar 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 48 Points

Apr 2006 – Toronto Raptors Franchise Rookie Record: Single-Game 18 Rebounds

May 2006 – NBA Rookie of the Year Runner Up, behind Chris Paul

May 2006 – NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors

Aug 2008 – NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Sep 2008 - Latin Pride National Awards Outstanding Athlete

Trivia

His idol growing up was Reggie Miller. He wears #31 as a tribute to Miller, who retired after the 2004-05 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Toronto | 81 || 36 || 29.1 || .463 || .327 || .706 || 6.4 || 1.1 || .7 || .8 || 13.0 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 39 || 17 || 25.2 || .470 || .337 || .820 || 5.8 || .9 || .6 || .3 || 11.8 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 76 || 31 || 24.1 || .435 || .297 || .783 || 6.1 || 1.0 || .4 || .5 || 11.7 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 78 || 47 || 26.9 || .447 || .345 || .838 || 6.7 || 1.8 || .6 || .7 || 16.2 |- | align="left" | 2009-10 | align="left" | Detroit | 78 || 16 || 23.7 || .439 || .351 || .815 || 4.7 || .7 || .6 || .7 || 11.9 |- | align="left" | 2010-11 | align="left" | Detroit | 76 || 11 || 21.9 || .442 || .387 || .767 || 3.9 || .6 || .6 || .6 || 11.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 428 || 158 || 25.2 || .448 || .346 || .790 || 5.6 || 1.0 || .6 || .6 || 12.7

References

External links

Official Website of Charlie Villanueva

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada Category:Dominican Republic basketball players Category:Basketball players from New York Category:Basketball players from New Jersey Category:Toronto Raptors draft picks Category:Toronto Raptors players Category:Milwaukee Bucks players Category:Detroit Pistons players Category:Blair Academy alumni Category:Connecticut Huskies men's basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Sportspeople from Queens

ca:Charlie Villanueva de:Charlie Villanueva es:Charlie Villanueva eu:Charlie Villanueva fr:Charlie Villanueva hr:Charlie Villanueva it:Charlie Villanueva he:צ'ארלי וילנואבה ja:チャーリー・ビラヌエバ pl:Charlie Villanueva ru:Вильянуэва, Чарли zh:查理·维拉纽瓦

name	Kent Hovind
residence	Pensacola, Florida, currently incarcerated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
birth name	Kent E. Hovind
birth date	January 15, 1953
birth place	USA
known	Advocate of Young Earth creationism, convicted of tax-related crimes
occupation	Evangelist, Christian theme park operator
religion	Independent Baptist
spouse	Jo Delia Hovind
children	Kent Andrew HovindEric HovindMarlissa Dublin
website	Creation Science Evangelism
weight	}}

Kent E. Hovind (born January 15, 1953) is an American Young Earth creationist famous for his creation science seminars that aim to convince listeners to reject theories of evolution, geophysics, and cosmology in favor of the Genesis creation narrative as found in the Bible. Hovind's views are contradicted by scientific evidence and research. Some of his ideas have also been criticized by Young Earth creationist organizations like Answers in Genesis.

Hovind established the Creation Science Evangelism ministry in 1989 and frequently argued for Young Earth creationism and made other controversial remarks in his talks at private schools and churches, at debates, and on radio and television broadcasts. Since January 2007, Hovind has been serving a ten-year prison sentence after being convicted of 58 federal counts, including twelve tax offenses, one count of obstructing federal agents, and forty-five counts of structuring cash transactions. He is currently incarcerated at the FPC Satellite Camp of the ADX Florence prison in Florence, Colorado.

Biography

On February 9, 1969, at the age of 16, Hovind became a born again Christian. In 1971, he graduated from East Peoria Community High School. He holds three degrees in Christian education (1974, 1988, 1991) from unaccredited institutions. He is married and has three adult children and five grandchildren. One of his sons, Eric Hovind, travels doing creationist presentations and debates using many of his father's arguments.

Between 1975 and 1988, Hovind served as an assistant pastor and teacher at three private Baptist schools, including one he started. As these were private schools, Hovind was not required to have any teaching credentials or accredited qualifications. In 1989, Hovind started Creation Science Evangelism. In 1998, Hovind created his ''Dr. Dino'' web site and began producing articles and selling video tapes, books, and fossil replicas.

Prior to his convictions, Hovind spoke at churches, private schools, and other venues each year. Hovind also hosted a daily internet radio talk show and has established Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola, Florida.

Education

In 1971 he graduated from East Peoria Community High School in East Peoria, Illinois. From 1972 to 1974, Hovind attended the non-accredited Midwestern Baptist College and received a Bachelor of Religious Education.

In 1988 and 1991 respectively, Hovind was awarded a master's degree and doctorate in Christian Education through correspondence from the non-accredited Patriot University in Colorado Springs, Colorado (now Patriot Bible University in Del Norte, Colorado, which no longer offers this program). Having a website called "Dr. Dino" has provoked some academics to look closely at how Hovind presents his education and credentials. Chemistry professor Karen Bartelt has said that it is "''very'' unusual for a person with a Ph.D., even a real one, to list oneself in the phonebook as "Dr Hovind", as Hovind has done." [emphasis in original]. Barbara Forrest, a professor of philosophy, expert on the history of creationism and activist in the creation-evolution controversy, wrote that Hovind's lack of academic training makes it impossible to engage him on a professional level.

Other critics of Hovind have pointed out that Patriot Bible University is a diploma mill, as it has unreasonably low graduation requirements, lack of sufficient faculty or educational standards, and a suspicious tuition scheme. The school's current policies allow students to attain bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and even "Doctor of Ministry" degrees in months, rather than years, for as little as $25 per month. Currently Patriot offers a monthly fee, unlike most universities, which only charge per-credit fees.

Bartelt has stated that Hovind's doctoral dissertation is evidence of the poor requirements at Patriot and that Hovind lacks knowledge of basic science. Bartelt noted that Hovind's dissertation is incomplete (it contains four chapters totaling 101 pages, but Hovind's introduction claims the work is 250 pages with 16 chapters), of low academic quality, with poor writing, poor spelling, and poor grammatical style. Bartelt asserts that pages are repeated, references are absent, and it is not an original work with original ideas.

In the past, when questioned about his education and qualifications, Hovind has said his critics use ad hominem arguments, and Patriot has issued similar comments. In 2010, Patriot responded to Wikileaks' claim to have revealed Hovind's dissertation, writing that the Wikileaks file was not the "finished" product, but because they do not "retain ownership to student thesis’ or dissertations, as is commonly practiced by many schools", they "cannot release student work to the public". Patriot will not send copies of Hovind's doctoral dissertation, which is unusual for an institution to do since dissertations are made available to the public. As a general rule, doctoral dissertations are published by the associated university and made available to the public, so that other students conducting research in similar areas may use the information in the dissertation as a reference. Bartlet wrote that the copy she viewed is on file at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), but the organization cannot distribute it due to copyright restrictions. The NCSE's copy was received from Skip Evans, who obtained Hovind's dissertation from Patriot with Hovind's permission in March 1999.

Creation Science Evangelism

After receiving his first correspondence degree, Hovind started the Creation Science Evangelism ministry (CSE) in 1989. The ministry aims to evangelize people by teaching them creationism. During Hovind's trial, the prosecution said the ministry does not have the proper licensing nor is it registered as a nonprofit, which resulted in legal troubles mentioned below. In January 2007, Eric Hovind, Kent's son, announced that he will run CSE due to his father's ten year prison term. After finishing high school at Pensacola Christian Academy in 1996, Eric attended Jackson Hole Bible College a one-year non-accredited institution. In November 2007, God Quest Inc. filed to do business under the trade name CSE with Florida. God Quest Inc. was incorporated by Eric Hovind, Bill Nadolny, Scott Porter, and Stephen Lawwell in July 2007.

In February 2008, Eric Hovind signed a letter on behalf of God Quest Ministries for the Florida Family Policy Council to the Florida Board of Education opposing the statement: "Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." In June 2008, Eric announced that the CSE website would incorporate the CSE blog and change format allowing for "only positive comments" about Hovind and CSE. During the 2008 election, CSE issued political articles for evangelical voters and linked to material by David Barton.

Dinosaur Adventure Land

In 2001, Hovind started Dinosaur Adventure Land (DAL), a young Earth creationist theme park located behind Hovind's home in Pensacola, Florida. The park depicts humans and dinosaurs co-existing in the last 4,000–6,000 years and also contains a depiction of the Loch Ness monster. Dinosaurs are central to Hovind's website and creation advocacy because "the creation world view says dinosaurs have always lived with man and there might still be a few alive today." A 2004 ''Skeptical Inquirer'' article explored visiting Hovind's dinosaur theme park and concluded that the park is deceptive and deliberately misleads visitors. The Southern Poverty Law Center noted the park also "claims that a few small dinosaurs still roam the planet."

The venture has encountered legal issues, as the owners failed to acquire a building permit for the park (see below). In 2008 Eric Hovind and Glen Stoll attempted to prevent the forfeitures of Hovind's ten properties, including DAL, in connection with Kent Hovind's federal tax problems. The government sought the property, deeded to Stoll and Eric prior to Hovind's convictions, since cash that Hovind withdrew from his bank accounts cannot be recovered. In July 2009, the courts ruled that the properties could be seized and sold to satisfy Hovind's federal tax debts. On August 24, 2009, Dinosaur Adventure Land's website announced it was "closed until further notice". In November 2010, CSE announced the "re-opening" of the "Creation Store" in central Pensacola."

Earnings and assets

According to the IRS, Hovind reportedly earned $50,000 a year through speaking engagements and, in 2002 alone, the ministry sold more than $1.8 million in merchandise. Also, Hovind's theme park and merchandise sales earned more than US$5 million from 1999 to March 2004. On average, they say, Hovind "has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year." Eventually that grew to about $2 million a year. About half that income went to employees who were salaried or were paid hourly wages. However, Hovind derived "substantial revenue" from these activities that appeared to be "income to [him] personally."

Prior to his prison term, Kent Hovind also owned at least 10 properties, including DAL. As of 2009 the government is seizing the property for money owed, but in a court filing Eric Hovind said he owned one of the properties and "took active control over the lot by personally building a home on it with $70,000 he borrowed from CSE." The court accepted Eric's ownership due to improvements made on the property and allowed Eric to keep that property, but is allowing the government to seize the other nine properties.

Creationism

The "Hovind Theory"

Hovind summarizes his version of the young Earth creation story in the self-titled "Hovind Theory" taken from a variety of creationist sources. The "Hovind Theory" was presented at Hovind lectures and in his work "Unmasking the False Religion of Evolution".

Hovind explained the Biblical account of Noah as follows: Noah's family and two of every "kind" of animal (including young dinosaurs) safely boarded the Ark before a ice meteor came flying toward the Earth and broke up in space. Some of the meteor fragments became rings and others caused the impact craters on the moon and some of the planets. The remaining ice fragments fell to the North and South Poles of the Earth, concentrated towards those regions by the Earth's magnetic field.

He explains the fossils were created by billions of organisms that were washed together by the mass destruction of the worldwide flood, buried, and fossilized.

The resulting "super-cold snow" fell near the poles, burying the mammoths standing up. Ice on the North and South Poles cracked the crust of the Earth, releasing the fountains of the deep, which in turn caused certain ice age effects, namely the glacier effects. This made the Earth "wobble around" and collapsed the vapor canopy that protected it.

During the first few months of the flood, the dead animals and plants were buried, and became oil and coal, respectively. The last few months of the flood included geological instability, when the plates shifted. This period saw the formation of both ocean basins and mountain ranges, and the resulting water run-off caused incredible erosion – Hovind states that the Grand Canyon was formed in a couple of weeks during this time. After a few hundred years, the ice caps slowly melted back, retreating to their current size, and the ocean levels increased, creating the continental shelves. The deeper oceans absorbed much of the carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere and thus allowed greater amounts of radiation to reach the Earth's surface. As a result, human lifespans were shortened considerably in the days of Peleg.

The level of support for evolution is essentially universal within the scientific community and academia, while support for creationism is minimal among scientists in general, and virtually nonexistent among those in the relevant fields: Biology, Paleontology, Geology, etc.

About the Hovind theory in particular: Karen Bartelt, a chemist, commented that Hovind's "message appeals to those who are unaware that his 'evidence' is without merit." Furthermore, the plausibility of the Hovind Theory has been criticized by both scientists and other young Earth creationists.

Hovind's ideas have been published in the controversial Chick Tracts, comic strips intended to convert people to fundamentalist Christianity.

Hovind's $250,000 offer

According to Hovind's website, he has offered $10,000 since 1990 to those who can "prove the theory of evolution." He has since raised the amount of the reward to $250,000.

Responses

Critics view this offer to be spurious because of the conditions which Hovind imposes. The theory of evolution as defined by Hovind covers not only the process of evolution but also abiogenesis, astrophysics, and cosmology. Also, unlike Hovind, scientists in the field of evolutionary biology do not distinguish between micro- and macro-evolution as distinct processes, instead contending that all evolution takes place as microevolution, and that macroevolution is cumulative microevolution.

Critics argue that the offer is merely a publicity stunt designed to be impossible to win because it requires the claimant to disprove all possible theories for the origin of species, no matter how ridiculous: his FAQ states that claimants must "prove beyond reasonable doubt that the process of evolution ... is the only possible way the observed phenomena could have come into existence."

Hovind has said a panel of judges would decide if a claim had met his criteria, but he has refused to say who would be (or is) on that panel, or what their qualifications might be. Challengers who have submitted claims to Hovind say they have become convinced that he does not actually use a panel of judges, in spite of his promise to do so. In one case, after twice stating that he would send a particular response to his judges (according to his website any responses he sent were considered "legitimate"), Hovind stated, "Thanks for reminding me about not sending minor changes to the committee. This would be a waste of time for everyone involved. If you ever get any evidence that does support evolution please send it to me". The respondent felt that this indicated dishonesty on Hovind's part and confirmed public suspicions that he never intended to pay.

People have approached Hovind in regard to the challenge, addressing it from perspectives ranging from "Large-scale Evolution" to the "Big Bang Theory" to polar bears. In 2001, biologist Massimo Pigliucci attempted to collect Hovind's prize. During a debate with Hovind, Pigliucci said Hovind did not send any details or names of scientists judging the evidence and Hovind "could have decided on his own" to dismiss the evidence. Pigliucci later issued a "counter-challenge" as "a spoof meant to uncover Hovind's challenge for the gimmick that it is" by asking for "empirical evidence, that Christianity is the only true religion and that a god with the exact characteristics of the one(s) described in the bible actually exists".

The winter 2005 issue of ''Skeptic'' included an article titled "Doubting Dr. Dino" by Adam Kisby. Kisby lays out Hovind's arguments in formal logic, and says that the assumptions "God is a necessary cause of the universe" and "The universe is eternal, i.e., un-caused" lead to contradictions. Kisby sent his proof to Hovind and reports that "many weeks later I received a terse reply from Hovind in which he dogmatically rejected my proof." Hovind's reason was "the universe is evidence of a Designer – not proof there is no Designer." Kisby concluded "I contend that either my proof is technically correct or Hovind's $250,000 offer is fundamentally flawed. If my proof is correct, then Hovind is constrained by the terms of his offer to release the money. On the other hand if Hovind's offer is flawed then he is morally obligated to withdraw it or modify it." The Spring 2006 issue of ''Skeptic'' contained criticisms of Kisby's proposed proof.

Some creationist groups also do not approve of Hovind's offer. Answers in Genesis said it "would prefer that 'creationists' refrained from gimmicks like this."

Criticism

From creationists

Hovind has been criticized by other creationists, including young Earth creationists and old Earth creationists, who believe that many of his arguments are invalid and, consequently, undermine their causes. Disagreements over how to respond to Hovind's claims have themselves contributed to acrimony between creationist organizations. The Australian and U.S. arms of Answers in Genesis (AiG) were critical of Hovind after he had criticized a position document from Creation Ministries International, "Arguments we think creationists should NOT use". In particular AiG criticized Hovind for "persistently us[ing] discredited or false arguments" and said Hovind's claims are "self-refuting".

The U.S. arm of AiG, led by Ken Ham, had an acrimonious split with its Australian parent in 2005. The Australian organization then split itself entirely off from its parent group, now styling itself Creation Ministries International. Material critical of Hovind was no longer available on the U.S. Answers In Genesis website, whereas the Australian CMI website retained the critical material. In the 2002 article and a 2006 update, written by Carl Wieland and Jonathan Sarfati stated that the claims made by Hovind are "fraudulent" and contain "mistakes in facts and logic which do the creationist cause no good." CMI also criticized Hovind for using "fraudulent claims" made by Ron Wyatt in his claims. In August 2009, the Australian CMI website has since published an article praising Creation Science Evangelism for removing some faulty arguments, but decided against deleting its article altogether because "there are lots of 'free-to-copy' DVDs of Kent Hovind’s old talks circulating widely around the world and it will be some time before they disappear from circulation.

Creationist astronomer Hugh Ross, of ''Reasons to Believe'', debated Hovind on the age of the Earth during the John Ankerberg Show, televised nationally on the Inspiration Network in September through October 2000. Ross said Hovind was "misrepresenting the field" of different sciences, and Ross told Hovind: "Astronomers view the credibility of the 'Young Earth' as being much weaker than that for a flat Earth." Hovind and Ross previously debated in July 1999 on the Steve Brown Show.

Hovind has stated that carbon dating – a method used by scientists to estimate the age of various objects and events – is unreliable. He has been criticized by Greg Neyman of Answers in Creation (an old Earth creationist group), who says that in Hovind's statements "Hovind goes on to show that he knows absolutely nothing about the science of Carbon Dating." Neyman says that Hovind's claim that "scientists assume the amount of carbon-14 is constant" is wrong, and Neyman writes "there are many periods of decreasing C-14, which disproves his theory that the Earth is young based on C-14 equilibrium."

From non-creationists

Prior to his convictions, Hovind debated atheists, non-YEC Christians, skeptics, and scientists. In May 2004, Michael Shermer debated Hovind in front of a predominantly creationist audience. In Shermer's online reflection, while claiming he won the debate with intellectual and scientific evidence, he felt it was "not an intellectual exercise," but rather it was "an emotional drama." While receiving positive responses from creationist observers, Shermer concluded "Unless there is a subject that is truly debatable with a format that is fair, in a forum that is balanced, it only serves to belittle both the magisterium of science and the magisterium of religion." Others, like evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci, have debated Hovind, and have expressed surprise at Hovind's ignorance of evolutionary theory. Pigliucci indicated surprise at hearing Hovind try "to convince the audience that evolutionists believe humans came from rocks" and at Hovind's assertion that biologists believe humans "evolved from bananas." In addition, William Reville, Biochemist and Director of Microscopy at University College Cork, wrote about Hovind, explaining "Creation science is not science. Science is based on ideas that are testable. What the creationists believe is not rational, but it cannot be disproved."

In Hovind's debates, he focuses on points that he claims serve to discredit evolutionary theory, physical cosmology, and geology. He also presents what he claims is evidence for a Biblical flood, a young Earth, and the canopy theory. Scientists working in the appropriate fields, as well as some young Earth creationists, do not agree with Hovind's assertions.

Others criticize Hovind for his involvement with Arkansas state Representative Jim Holt's Anti-Evolution Bill in 2001 (House Bill 2548). This bill "would have required that when public schools refer to evolution that it be identified as an unproven theory." Some politicians claimed this bill "would have made Arkansas a laughingstock." Holt called upon Hovind as an expert who "testified for Holt before the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, alleging much of the information pertaining to evolution in our science textbooks is false." As for the legislation, "Holt admitted much of the information in his bill came from Jonathan Wells' ''Icons of Evolution''."

Critics charge that Kent Hovind's presentations on creation and evolution are a mix of Christian Fundamentalism and conspiracy theories. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has criticized Hovind because of his selling of books such as Des Griffin's ''Fourth Reich of the Rich'' and Peter Kershaw's ''In Caesar's Grip'', and recommending ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', a well-known antisemitic hoax. The SPLC reported that Hovind accuses Darwinism of having produced "Communism, Socialism, Nazism, abortion, liberalism and the New Age Movement." It also quotes Hovind as claiming that "democracy is evil and contrary to God's law." In response to criticism, Hovind has stated: "I love the Jews. But ''The Protocols of Zion'' [sic] was written to explain how to control the world, I mean, it lays it all out. But it’s really carefully done so that if it is ever discovered the Jews take the blame for it."

The SPLC also criticized Hovind for "point[ing] his followers to ''Citizens Rule Book'', popular among antigovernment "Patriots"; Media Bypass, an antigovernment magazine with strong antisemitic leanings"; and books by tax protester Irwin Schiff" (Schiff has since been convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison).

While Kent Hovind is in prison, Eric has continued operating CSE and has received criticism for errors in his claims. Biologist PZ Myers criticized Eric and CSE employee Jonathon Sampson for their comments on cephalopods, writing "We do have explanations of cephalopod evolution" and "they lack the intelligence to grasp it." In his criticism, Myers criticized Hovind for failing to look up the evolutionary scholarship on cephalopods and linked to his blog article on cephalopod evolution.

Controversial remarks

Politics and conspiracies

Hovind has made controversial remarks regarding conspiracies, science, creation, equal rights, religion, and government over the years. Hovind's creationist presentations have asserted that the reason creationism based on the Genesis creation narrative is not taught in public schools is tied to "an international conspiracy" of "'The New World Order' (NWO) consisting of Ted Turner and his wife Jane Fonda, the British Royal Family, the State of Israel, the ACLU, and a smattering of former and present US government officials, business leaders, and social activists (particularly those advocating population control) — shades of the Trilateral Commission." In May 1999, he claimed "the implementation of the NWO's world-domination plan was May 5, 2000."

Hovind has several conspiracy theories about the U.S. government. He believes that the cyanide-releasing compound Laetrile is a "cancer cure" and argues that the US government is conspiring to suppress a cure for cancer. On his radio program, he has said that the U.S. government was behind the 9/11 attacks, killing nearly 3000 people and that a "lot of folks were told not to come to work." He also believes the Oklahoma City bombing was carried out by the government. "Did you know the Federal Government blew up their own building to blame it on the militias and to get rid of some people that weren't cooperating with the system?" Regarding UFOs, Hovind recommends books by conspiracy theorists who believe "some UFO’s are U.S. Government experiments with electrogravitic propulsion as opposed to jet propulsion, while others are Satanic apparitions." Additionally, Hovind believes that the Federal Reserve, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations, and various other groups are planning to create a one world government and that the 1993 World Trade Center attack was staged by the US Government in order to pass "anti-terrorism" legislation that restricts civil liberties. He says, "I love my country, but fear my government. And you should too." He also believes there is no such thing as the separation of church and state, and opposes public schools.

Hovind has also alleged that there is a conspiracy surrounding taxes, the New World Order, and communism, while he promotes tax protesting. Hovind wrote "Although it is tempting for me to go off on a tangent from my creation ministry and spend much time warning people of the communist origin (Karl Marx thought it up in 1848 and pro communists Colonel E. House, Roosevelt, Rockefeller and Sen. Nelson Aldrich implemented it in 1913.) and unconstitutional nature (it violates the 4th, 5th, 13th and 14th amendments) of the current tax system, I will resist that temptation and leave it to others to fight that battle." Hovind further alleged "I sincerely believe that I am not a person required to file a Federal Income Tax Return. This belief is a result of extensive research that I have done." On obeying tax laws, he argued "Some will say the Bible teaches us to obey the authority over us. I agree and I do. The IRS is not the authority over me any more than the government of Japan is." Hovind further offered information and resources for people to avoid paying taxes by claiming to not be residents of the United States.

As part of his "one world government" conspiracy theory, Hovind also believes that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), HIV, West Nile virus, Gulf war syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Wegener's disease, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's colitis, Type I diabetes, and collagen-vascular diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's were all engineered by "the money masters and governments of the world" for the purpose of global economic domination. Hovind believes "Satan has been using the great pyramid as his symbol for the New World Order" and that "the Great Pyramid could have been built by Adam's relatives" He believes that the United States government is secretly plotting to implant an "electronic ID" microchip in the body of every US citizen, which is the Mark of the Beast. The aim, he believes, is to put "a chip into each of the major muscles and network them together so that a paralyzed person would be able to get some movement from their muscles" so that there "is going to be a system where you cannot buy or sell without the mark in the hands or in the forehead." Yet, the mechanisms and history of such a project do not withstand scientific and historical scrutiny.

Regarding barcodes and the security strip on money, Hovind stated they are tied to a government plot in which barcodes and the "magnetic tape through the center of the paper" money "is of the same type that is on the back of your credit card" for tracking money and people. Thus, the government "want[s] to be able to track the money and find out where it goes."

Hovind has also stated an opposition to democracy, saying: "If Evolution is true, there is no Creator, so laws come from man's opinion. That is called a democracy, which is a terrible form of government. Democracies always degenerate into dictatorships. In America, it is sad to say, has become a democracy." Hovind also stated: "democracy is evil and contrary to God's law" and "democracy is a horrible form of government."

While speaking at Kent State University on an invite from Truth in Love Ministry, Hovind said about protesting evolution, "You should have another rebellion here at Kent State and do it for the right reason," but "This time, don't get shot."

Science

He believes all findings of science will eventually be found to agree with Scripture – which he says is ''a priori'' known to be true. He claims that scientists also have an ''a priori'' assumption, namely that God does not exist (or at least not one that performed special creation).

Hovind tells his audiences, "Evolution is the foundation for communism, nazism, socialism, Marxism and those who want a one-world government." He maintains that biology textbooks are lying and that he considers evolution to be a religion supported by false evidence that is used to brainwash youth. He claims, "Satan is using evolution theory to make kids go to hell." Hovind claims he is not trying to eliminate evolution from schools, but says "schools should teach both viewpoints." He has claimed that everything is a religion, including mathematics. Hovind disregards all fossil evidence, saying that "no fossils can count as evidence for evolution" because "all we know about that animal is that it died", and we do not know that it "had any kids, much less different kids." In regards to different races, Hovind believes the best explanation for the origin of races is that "all families, countries, nations, and tongues were created or developed from" the Tower of Babel Bible story (Genesis 10:20). In 2000, he alleged "global warming is a communist conspiracy."

During a debate with Farrell Till, Hovind made the following statement about Donald Johanson: "[He] found the leg bones of Lucy a mile and a half away from the head bones. The leg bones were 200 feet deeper in a deeper layer of strata. I would like to know how fast the train was going that hit that chimpanzee." According to Donald Johanson, this is false; and although Hovind has been informed of this, he continues to make the statement.

YouTube copyright controversy

On September 16, 2007, ''Wired'' reported, "YouTube has banned a group called the Rational Response Squad (RRS) after it complained its videos were being taken down due to spurious DMCA requests" from Creation Science Evangelism. Furthermore, while the article noted the lack of "any kind of review" with a DMCA request is a problem, the ministry's own website said that "none of the materials ... are copyrighted, so feel free to copy these and distribute them freely." CSE later said that for some of the videos they may not have had copyright claims. In response to the copyright claims, the RRS has posted a message stating it is ready to sue CSE and/or Eric Hovind.

Five days later, on September 21, 2007, the CSE copyright page was changed to say that their material may be copied but must be unedited. Previously, Hovind's website stated, "None of the materials produced by Creation Science Evangelism are copyrighted". According to a spokesperson for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving free speech on the internet, CSE's claim was "clearly bogus". As of September 25, 2007, some of the videos had been put back up and the Rational Response Squad's accounts had been reinstated.

Legal problems

Property taxes and zoning ordinance

On September 13, 2002, Hovind was charged for failure to observe county zoning regulations with respect to Dinosaur Adventure Land. Despite arguments that the owners did not need a permit due to the nature of the building, the park was found in violation of local regulations.

After a 5-year misdemeanor court battle over the $50 building permit, on June 5, 2006, Hovind pled ''nolo contendere'' as charged to three counts: constructing a building without a permit, refusing to sign a citation, and violating the county building code. Hovind was ordered to pay $225 per count. That month Hovind complied with the county law: Hovind estimated he spent $40,000 in legal expenses on this case, but, in a 2002 CSE newsletter, Hovind requested donations stating that the costs approached $100,000.

Federal civil tax matters, bankruptcy, and renouncing citizenship (1996–2006)

Hovind's ministry is not listed as a tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service, nor is it considered a church by people who work there. The ministry's organizational structure was described by the United States Tax Court as appearing to be "based on various questionable trust documents purchased from Glen Stoll, a known promoter of tax avoidance schemes", leading it to conclude that Hovind used these trust documents as well as other fraudulent means to conceal the ownership and control of his activities and properties.

Hovind was originally reported to the IRS by Pensacola Christian College senior vice president Rebekah Horton in the mid 1990s, after she learned of Hovind's anti-tax stand.

In 1996 Hovind filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition to avoid paying federal income taxes, claiming he was not a citizen of the United States and that he did not earn income. Hovind was found to have lied about his possessions and income. He claimed that as a minister of God everything he owns belonged to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the United States on the money he received for doing God's work. The court ordered him to pay the money, upheld the IRS's determination that Hovind's claim "was filed in bad faith for the sole purpose of avoiding payment of federal income taxes" and called Hovind's arguments "patently absurd". It also noted that "the IRS has no record of the debtor ever having filed a federal income tax return," although this was not the court's reason for denying the bankruptcy claim. On June 5, 1996, the Court dismissed Hovind's bankruptcy case.

On May 13, 1998, Hovind and his wife filed a "Power of Attorney and Revocation of Signature" document with the Escambia County Clerk of Courts which would nullify any of their promises, debts, or legal agreements made prior to April 15, 1998. The document reads, in part: "I/we do hereby revoke and make void... all signatures on any instruments...". The Hovinds claimed they had signed government documents "due to the use of various elements of fraud and misrepresentations, duress, coercion, under perjury, mistake, 'bankruptcy'." In this document, the Hovinds argue that Social Security is essentially a "Ponzi scheme", referred to the United States Government as "the 'bankrupt' corporate government", renounced their United States citizenship and Social Security numbers to become "a natural citizen of 'America' and a natural sojourner", and referred to their home state of Florida as "the State of Florida Body-Politic Corporation." Judges and the IRS did not appear to honor this as a legally relevant document in future decisions.

In 2002, Hovind was again delinquent in paying his taxes, and unsuccessfully sued the IRS for harassment.

In 2004, IRS agents raided Hovind's home and business to confiscate financial records. IRS agent Scott Schneider said Hovind's businesses had neither business licenses nor tax-exempt status and stated that "Since 1997, Hovind has engaged in financial transactions indicating sources of income and has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year during some of these years, which would require the filing of federal income taxes." On June 3, 2004, the IRS filed notices of Federal tax liens of $504,957.24 against Hovind and his son and their businesses due to previous legal maneuverings to evade taxation by moving property between himself, his son, and other legal entities.

On July 7, 2006, the United States Tax Court (Docket number 011894-05L) found that Hovind was deficient in paying his federal income taxes in tax years 1995–97 in the amount of $504,957.24. The Tax Court ruled that the IRS had a valid, perfected lien on Hovind's property in that amount and noted that Hovind's defense was based on "bizarre arguments", "some of which constitute tax protester arguments involving excise taxes and the alleged '100% voluntary' nature of the income tax." Starting in 2006, the IRS began levying against Hovind's property to satisfy his unpaid tax liabilities.

Federal criminal tax-related trial and convictions in 2006

On July 11, 2006, Hovind was charged in the District Court in Northern Florida in Pensacola with twelve counts of willful failure to collect, account for, and pay over federal income taxes and FICA taxes, forty-five counts of knowingly structuring transactions in federally insured financial institutions to evade reporting requirements, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws. Twelve of the charges were for failing to pay employee-related taxes, totaling $473,818, and 45 of the charges were for evading reporting requirements by making multiple cash withdrawals just under the $10,000 reporting requirement (a technique known as "smurfing"). The withdrawals, totaling $430,500, were made in 2001 and 2002. Jo Delia Hovind, his wife, faced 44 charges.

The government charged that Hovind falsely listed the IRS as his only creditor in his bankruptcy, filed a false and frivolous lawsuit against the IRS in which he demanded damages for criminal trespass, made threats of harm to those investigating him and to those who might consider cooperating with the investigation, filed a false complaint against IRS agents investigating him, filed a false criminal complaint against IRS special agents (criminal investigators), and destroyed records.

After being indicted, Hovind maintained his innocence, and claimed incomprehension of the charges, a claim that the magistrate rejected. Hovind stated that he did not recognize the government's right to try him on tax fraud charges, and initially attempted to enter a plea of "subornation of false muster". Hovind's legal argument hinged on his claim that he was not an employer and therefore owed no taxes for payments to workers. The plea was rejected and Hovind then entered a not guilty plea "under duress" when the judge offered to enter a plea for him.

At the time of the arrest Hovind's passport and guns were seized. Hovind protested, arguing that he needed his passport to continue his evangelism work, and that "thousands and thousands" were waiting to hear him preach in South Africa the following month. The court refused to reconsider, accepting the argument that "like-minded people" might secret Hovind away if he left the country. Because of reports of weapons on the Hovind property, the indictment was originally sealed for fear of danger to the arresting agents. More than a half-dozen guns were seized at the Hovind's home, including an SKS semiautomatic rifle. Also, "During an IRS raid at the home, agents found and seized numerous cash stashes totalling $42,000."

Evidence produced at the trial revealed that Jo Hovind had requested financial assistance from Baptist Healthcare claiming that the Hovinds had no income. "'Dr. and Mrs. Kent Hovind do not earn salaries,' wrote Martha Harris, the trust secretary of Creation Science Evangelism to Baptist Healthcare. 'As health insurance is not provided for this couple, we would appreciate (financial assistance).'" However, continues the article, "Kent Hovind, a tax protester, makes a substantial amount of money". The Pensacola News Journal noted, "On the day the IRS searched the Hovind home, Kent Hovind withdrew $70,000 from the Creation Science Evangelism account. Half in a check; the other in cash."

At the time of the indictment, Hovind's defense appeared to be that although there were 30 people working for him, all of whom received remuneration in cash, none of them were employees. According to Hovind, "Nobody's an employee, and they all know that when they come. They come, they work ... The laborer is worthy of his hire – we try to take the purely scriptural approach. We do the best we can with helping people with their family needs. There are no employees here." Hovind had also claimed that he was not liable for taxes that he and his ministry did not have to "render unto Caesar" because his workers are "missionaries", not "employees".

On October 21, 2006, the trial began in which he hoped to convince a jury that his amusement park admission and merchandise sales belonged to God and cannot be taxed. Former and current workers, IRS agents, a bank employee, and a lawyer of a non-profit Christian organization testified in the trial. Workers testified that they had to punch time cards, and had vacation and sick days, while others testified that Hovind claimed he had "beat" the tax system. During the trial, the judge "admonished" Hovind's attorney for wasting time and asking irrelevant questions.

The trial concluded on November 1 with the defense deciding not to present a case. After closing arguments were presented on November 2, the jury deliberated three hours before finding the Hovinds guilty on all counts, 58 for Hovind and 44 for his wife. The ''Pensacola News Journal'' noted, "The saddest thing: Had they cooperated with the agents, they probably wouldn't be worrying about prison sentences now."

Sentencing, appeals, and prison life (2007–current)

On January 19, 2007, Hovind was sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay the federal government restitution of over $600,000. After his prison term finishes he will serve another three years of probation. During the sentencing phase, a tearful Hovind, hoping to avoid prison, told the court, "If it's just money the IRS wants, there are thousands of people out there who will help pay the money they want so I can go back out there and preach." However, Hovind's court room behavior was in stark contrast to phone calls he made while in jail and played by the prosecution. The tapes, posted online by the ''Pensacola News Journal'', included one conversation with Kent and his son, Eric Hovind, plotting to hide a motor vehicle title and property deeds to prevent the government from collecting the property to pay for owed debt.

In February 2007, Hovind argued to the judge that the convictions for structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements should be thrown out. On April 18, 2007, the court rejected the defendants' "unit of the crime" arguments, and the motions for acquittal were denied.

After the convictions, Hovind was incarcerated in the Escambia County Jail as a "danger to the community" and a flight risk. Following his sentencing in January 2007, Hovind was incarcerated at the Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola (minimum security), at Saufley Field, Pensacola, Florida, and was later moved to the Federal Correctional Institution, Marianna (medium security), at Marianna, Florida. In May 2007, he was listed as being an "administrative security level" inmate at Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee, in Tallahassee, Florida, and the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Atlanta, Georgia, until being placed at Federal Correctional Institution, Edgefield, in South Carolina. In August 2010, he was placed at United States Penitentiary, Atlanta; in September he was moved to Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup. In June 2011, he was moved back to Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee then to the FPC Satellite Camp (minimum security) under the adminstration of ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado.

On June 29, 2007, Jo Hovind was sentenced to one year of imprisonment (out of a possible 225 years) and three years of supervision upon release. She was also ordered to pay $8,000 in fines. In court, Jo Hovind told the judge "I really did not have a leadership role in CSE" and finished "I would never knowingly do anything illegal." The prosecutor said that Jo Hovind's statement contradicted the evidence, stating, "I do not believe she's being truthful to the court". The judge stated that "Mrs. Hovind was in charge of the payroll," and that while "Mr. Hovind was the decision-making authority" at CSE and Dinosaur Adventure Land, Jo Hovind had cashed some 200 checks, all under $10,000, for a total of $1.5 million during a four year period. The judge stated that Jo Hovind's sentence was imposed to engender "respect for the law" and as a deterrence to others who might be tempted to break the law.

On July 2, 2007, Hovind's appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court for the 2006 U.S. Tax Court judgment (''Kent E. Hovind v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue'') was denied. Hovind "filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit claiming he was prevented from challenging the amount of his tax liability." But "a three-judge panel ruled that Hovind failed to raise the issue at the right time, so he waived his rights to contest his tax liability."

In 2007, the government placed liens on Hovind's 10 properties for money owed. This action stemmed from the June 27, 2007, judgment, which included an order that Hovind's property be forfeited under for costs of $5,800, a fine of $2000, and restitution of $604,874.87. If payment should not be made in full, the Hovinds would be required to pay the principal at an additional 5.1% interest.

On December 30, 2008, the Hovinds' criminal appeal was denied by the Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court. The Court stated that the Hovind's attempts to dismiss their convictions were "without merit". With the appeal denied, wife Jo Hovind began serving time on January 20, 2009, at Federal Correctional Institution, Marianna, and then moved to Metropolitan Correctional Center, Orlando, where she was released on December 3, 2009. The court ruling allowed forfeiture proceedings on Hovind property to continue to satisfy the debt. Eric Hovind kept DAL and CSE open throughout 2008, but in July 2009 a judge allowed the government to seize Hovind property for restitution. On November 30, 2010, Hovind filed a motion in U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida claiming the prosecution and defense erred at various stages of the case. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Kent Hovind, BOP Register number 06452-017, is scheduled for release from prison on August 11, 2015.

References

External links

; Official Hovind

Dr. Dino – Hovind's official website

KentHovindBlog.com Hovind's official blog

*CSE Blogs – Hovind's former official blog at Archive.org

Dinosaur Adventure Land – Hovind's YEC-theme park website

; Creationist but critical of Hovind

Maintaining Creationist Integrity: A response to Kent Hovind from Answers in Genesis (Archive.org)

Rebuttals to the works of Kent Hovind by Answers In Creation

Maintaining Creationist Integrity from Creation Ministries International

Analysis of Ross–Hovind Debate, 2000 from Creation Ministries International, by Jonathan Sarfati

; Critical of creationism and Hovind

Analysis of Kent Hovind Includes a section on Hovind's relationship with Chick Publishing and responses to the $250,000 Challenge.

Unmasking the False Prophet of Creationism by Barbara Forrest. September 1999.

A Miracle Occurs by Michael Shermer

Kent Hovind FAQs from talk.origins

How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments? a detailed critique by Dave E. Matson

The Kent Hovind Page by John Stear

When Giants Roamed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (2004)

An Academic Review of Hovind's Dissertation by Karen Bartelt, Ph.D

; Court records

Hovind bankruptcy decision (1996)

Escambia County Florida Clerk of the Circuit Court Affidavit (August 10, 2005) A court affidavit Hovind presented containing his biography.

Kent Hovind v Scott Schneider (2002)

(Memo Opinion)

Escambia County (Pensacola, Florida) Clerk of Courts – Court database

; Media sources

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