title: Outsourcing

text: Studies suggest that the effect of U.S. outsourcing on Mexico is that for every 10% increase in U.S. wages, north Mexico cities along the border experienced wage rises of 2.5%, about 0.69% higher than in inner cities.


title: Outsourcing

text: By contrast, higher rates of saving and investment in Asian countries, along with rising levels of education, studies suggest, fueled the 'Asian miracle' rather than improvements in productivity and industrial efficiency. There was also an increase in patenting and research and development expenditures.


title: Outsourcing

text: Outsourcing results from an internationalization of labor markets as more tasks become tradable. According to leading economist Greg Mankiw, the labour market functions under the same forces as the market of goods, with the underlying implication that the greater the number of tasks available to being moved, the better for efficiency under the gains from trade. With technological progress, more tasks can be offshored at different stages of the overall corporate process.


title: Outsourcing

text: The tradeoffs are not always balanced, and a 2004 viewer of the situation said "the total number of jobs realized in the United States from insourcing is far less than those lost through outsourcing."


title: Outsourcing

text: Import competition has caused a de facto ‘race-to-the-bottom’ where countries lower environmental regulations to secure a competitive edge for their industries relative to other countries.


title: Outsourcing

text: As Mexico competes with China over Canadian and American markets, its national Commission for Environmental Cooperation has not been active in enacting or enforcing regulations to prevent environmental damage from increasingly industrialized Export Processing Zones. Similarly, since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, heavy industries have increasingly moved to the U.S., which has a comparative advantage due to its abundant presence of capital and well-developed technology. A further example of environmental de-regulation with the objective of protecting trade incentives have been the numerous exemptions to carbon taxes in European countries during the 1990s.


title: Outsourcing

text: Although outsourcing can influence environmental de-regulatory trends, the added cost of preventing pollution does not majorly determine trade flows or industrialization.


title: Outsourcing

text: Companies such as ET Water Systems (now a Jain Irrigation Systems company), GE Appliances and Caterpillar found that with the increase of labor costs in Japan and China, the cost of shipping and custom fees, it cost only about 10% more to manufacture in America. Advances in technology and automation such as 3D printing technologies have made bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., both cost effective and possible. Adidas, for example, plans producing highly customized shoes with 3D printers in the U.S.


title: Outsourcing

text: Outsourcing has contributed to further levelling of global inequalities as it has led to general trends of industrialization in the Global South and deindustrialization in the Global North.


title: Outsourcing

text: Not all manufacturing should return to the U.S. The rise of the middle class in China, India and other countries has created markets for the products made in those countries. Just as the U.S. has a Made in USA program, other countries support products being made domestically. Localization, the process of manufacturing products for the local market, is an approach to keeping some manufacturing offshore and bringing some of it back. Besides the cost savings of manufacturing closer to the market, the lead time for adapting to changes in the market is faster.


title: Outsourcing

text: The rise in industrial efficiency which characterized development in developed countries has occurred as a result of labor-saving technological improvements. Although these improvements do not directly reduce employment levels but rather increase output per unit of work, they can indirectly diminish the amount of labor required for fixed levels of output.


title: Outsourcing

text: It has been suggested that "workers require more education and different skills, working with software rather than drill presses" rather than rely on limited growth labor requirements for non-tradable services.


title: Outsourcing

text: Protection of some data involved in outsourcing, such as about patients (HIPAA) is one of the few federal protections.


title: Outsourcing

text: "Outsourcing" is a continuing political issue in the U.S., having been conflated with offshoring during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. The political debate centered on outsourcing's consequences for the domestic U.S. workforce. Democratic U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry called U.S. firms that outsource jobs abroad or that incorporate overseas in tax havens to avoid paying their "fair share" of U.S. taxes "Benedict Arnold corporations".


title: Outsourcing

text: A Zogby International August 2004 poll found that 71% of American voters believed "outsourcing jobs overseas" hurt the economy while another 62% believed that the U.S. government should impose some legislative action against these companies, possibly in the form of increased taxes. President Obama promoted the Bring Jobs Home Act to help reshore jobs by using tax cuts and credits for moving operations back to the U.S. The same bill was reintroduced in the 113th U.S. Congress.


title: Outsourcing

text: While labor advocates claim union busting as one possible cause of outsourcing, another claim is high corporate income tax rate in the U.S. relative to other OECD nations, and the practice of taxing revenues earned outside of U.S. jurisdiction, a very uncommon practice. Some counterclaim that the actual taxes paid by U.S. corporations may be considerably lower than "official" rates due to the use of tax loopholes, tax havens, and "gaming the system".


title: Outsourcing

text: Council Directive 77/187 of 14 February 1977 protects employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses (as amended 29 June 1998, Directive 98/50/EC & 12 March 2001's Directive 2001/23). Rights acquired by employees with the former employer are to be safeguarded when they, together with the undertaking in which they are employed, are transferred to another employer, i.e., the contractor.


title: Outsourcing

text: Case subsequent to the European Court of Justice's Christel Schmidt v. Spar- und Leihkasse der früheren Ämter Bordesholm, Kiel und Cronshagen, Case C-392/92 [1994] have disputed whether a particular contracting-out exercise constituted a transfer of an undertaking (see, for example, Ayse Süzen v. Zehnacker Gebäudereinigung GmbH Krankenhausservice, Case C-13/95 [1997]). In principle, employees may benefit from the protection offered by the directive.


title: Outsourcing

text: Countries that have been the focus of outsourcing include India, Pakistan, and the Philippines for American and European companies, and China and Vietnam for Japanese companies.


title: Outsourcing

text: The Asian IT service market is still in its infancy, but in 2008 industry think tank Nasscom-McKinsey predicted a $17 billion IT service industry in India alone.


title: Outsourcing

text: A China-based company, Lenovo, outsourced/reshored manufacturing of some time-critical customized PCs to the U.S. since "If it made them in China they would spend six weeks on a ship."


title: Outsourcing

text: Article 44 of Japan's Employment Security Act implicitly bans the domestic/foreign workers supplied by unauthorized companies regardless of their operating locations. The law will apply if at least one party of suppliers, clients, labors reside in Japan, and if the labors are the integral part of the chain of command by the client company, or the supplier.


title: Outsourcing

text: Victims can lodge a criminal complaint against the CEO of the suppliers and clients. The CEO risks arrest, and the Japanese company may face a private settlement with financial package in the range between 20 and 100 million JPY ($200,000 – US$1 million).


title: Outsourcing

text: According to the 1913 "New York Times" article "Near Source of Supplies the Best Policy", the main focus was then on "cost of production."


title: Outsourcing

text: Nearshoring or nearsourcing is having business processes, especially information technology processes such as application maintenance and development or testing, in a nearby country, often sharing a border with the target country. Commonalities usually include: geographic, temporal (time zone), cultural, social, linguistic, economic, political, or historical linkages.


title: Outsourcing

text: The term "nearshoring" is a derivative of the business term offshoring. The hybrid term "nearshore outsourcing" is sometimes used as an alternative, since nearshore workers are not employees of the company for which the work is performed. It can also be a reversal, by contracting a development partner in a different country but in close proximity (same or nearby time zone), facilitating communication and allowing frequent visits. This is a business strategy to place some or all of its operations close to where its products are sold. Typically, this is contrasted with the trend to outsource low-wage manufacturing operations to developing nations (offshoring), and reflects a reversal of that trend. Sometime, the work is done by an outside contracted company rather than internally (insourcing), but unlike offshore outsourcing, the work is done in fairly close proximity to either the company headquarters or its target market.


title: Outsourcing

text: In Europe, nearshore outsourcing relationships are between clients in larger European economies and various providers in smaller European nations. The attraction is lower-cost skilled labor forces, and a less stringent regulatory environment, but crucially they allow for more day to day physical oversight. These countries also have strong cultural ties to the major economic centers in Europe as they are part of EU. For example, as of 2020 Portugal is considered to be the most trending outsourcing destination as big companies like Mercedes, Google, Jaguar, Sky News, Natixis and BNP Paribas opening development centers in Lisbon and Porto, where labor costs are lower, talent comes from excellent Universities, there's availability of skills and the time zone is GMT (the same as London).


title: Outsourcing

text: In the US, American clients nearshore to Canada and Mexico, as well as to many nations in Central and South America.


title: Outsourcing

text: Cultural alignment with the business is often more readily achieved through near-sourcing due to there being similarities between the cultures in which the business is located and in which services are sub-contracted, including for example proficiency with the language used in that culture.


title: Outsourcing

text: Constraints imposed by time zones can complicate communication; near-sourcing or nearshoring offers a solution. English language skills are the cornerstone of Nearshore and IT services. Collaboration by universities, industry, and government has slowly produced improvements. Proximity also facilitates in-person interaction regularly and/or when required.


title: Outsourcing

text: Software development nearshoring is mainly due to flexibility when it comes to upscale or downscale teams or availability of low cost


title: Outsourcing

text: skilled developers. The nearshoring of call centers, shared services centers, and business process outsourcing (BPO) rose as offshore outsourcing was seen to be relatively less valuable. More recently, companies have explored nearshoring as a risk mitigation strategy for operational and supply chain weaknesses uncovered during the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis, when offshore BPOs experienced sudden closures and disruptive quarantine restrictions which hampered their ability to conduct day-to-day business operations.


title: Outsourcing

text: The complexities of offshoring stem from language and cultural differences, travel distances, workday/time zone mismatches, and greater effort for needed for establishing trust and long-term relationships. Many nearshore providers attempted to circumvent communication and project management barriers by developing new ways to align organizations. As a result, concepts such as remote insourcing were created to give clients more control in managing their own projects. Nearshoring still has not overcome all barriers, but proximity allows more flexibility to align organizations.


title: Outsourcing

text: The U.S. has a special visa, the H-1B, which enables American companies to temporarily (up to three years, or by extension, six) hire foreign workers to supplement their employees or replace those holding existing positions. In hearings on this matter, a U.S. senator called these "their outsourcing visa."


title: Outsourcing

text: The Print Services & Distribution Association was formed in 1946, and its members provide services that today might involve the word outsource. Similarly, members of the Direct Mail Marketing Association (established 1917) were the "outsourcers" for advertising agencies and others doing mailings.


title: Outsourcing

text: The term "outsourcing" became very common in the print and mail business during the 1990s, and later expanded to be very broad and inclusive of most any process by 2000. Today, there are web based print to mail solutions for small to mid-size companies which allow the user to send one to thousands of documents into the mail stream, directly from a desktop or web interface.


title: Outsourcing

text: The term outsource marketing has been used in Britain to mean the outsourcing of the marketing function. The motivation for this has been:


title: Outsourcing

text: While much of this work is the "bread and butter" of specialized departments within advertising agencies, sometimes specialist are used, such as when "The Guardian" outsourced most of its marketing design in May 2010.


title: Outsourcing

text: Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca-Cola that outsourced large segments of its supply chain.


title: Outsourcing

text: BPO is typically categorized into back office and front office outsourcing. BPO can help your business remain competitive and efficient by leveraging the expertise of other companies that are more specialized in certain functions.


title: Outsourcing

text: BPO can be offshore outsourcing, near-shore outsourcing to a nearby country, or onshore outsourcing to the same country. Information technology-enabled service (ITES-BPO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of BPO.


title: Outsourcing

text: Although BPO began as a cost-reducer, changes (specifically the move to more service-based rather than product-based contracts), companies now choose to outsource their back-office increasingly for time flexibility and direct quality control. Business process outsourcing enhances the flexibility of an organization in different ways:


title: Outsourcing

text: BPO vendor charges are project-based or fee-for-service, using business models such as remote in-sourcing or similar software development and outsourcing models. This can help a company to become more flexible by transforming fixed into variable costs. A variable cost structure helps a company responding to changes in required capacity and does not require a company to invest in assets, thereby making the company more flexible.


title: Outsourcing

text: Supply chain management with effective use of supply chain partners and business process outsourcing can increase the speed of several business processes.


title: Outsourcing

text: Even various contractual compensation strategies may leave the company as having a new "single point of failure" (where even an after the fact payment is not enough to offset "complete failure of the customer's business"). Unclear contractual issues are not the only risks; there's also changing requirements and unforeseen charges, failure to meet service levels, and a dependence on the BPO which reduces flexibility. The latter is called lock-in; flexibility may be lost due to penalty clauses and other contract terms. Also, the selection criteria may seem vague and undifferentiated.


title: Outsourcing

text: Security risks can arise regarding both from physical communication and from a privacy perspective. Employee attitude may change, and the company risks losing independence.


title: Outsourcing

text: Risks and threats of outsourcing must therefore be managed, to achieve any benefits. In order to manage outsourcing in a structured way, maximizing positive outcome, minimizing risks and avoiding any threats, a business continuity management (BCM) model is set up. BCM consists of a set of steps, to successfully identify, manage and control the business processes that are, or can be outsourced.


title: Outsourcing

text: Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a framework of BPO focused on identifying potential outsourceable information systems. L. Willcocks, M. Lacity and G. Fitzgerald identify several contracting problems companies face, ranging from unclear contract formatting, to a lack of understanding of technical IT processes.


title: Outsourcing

text: Industry analysts have identified robotic process automation (RPA) software and in particular the enhanced self-guided RPAAI based on artificial intelligence as a potential threat to the industry and speculate as to the likely long-term impact. In the short term, however, there is likely to be little impact as existing contracts run their course: it is only reasonable to expect demand for cost efficiency and innovation to result in transformative changes at the point of contract renewals. With the average length of a BPO contract being 5 years or more – and many contracts being longer – this hypothesis will take some time to play out.


title: Outsourcing

text: On the other hand, an academic study by the London School of Economics was at pains to counter the so-called 'myth' that RPA will bring back many jobs from offshore. One possible argument behind such an assertion is that new technology provides new opportunities for increased quality, reliability, scalability and cost control, thus enabling BPO providers to increasingly compete on an outcomes-based model rather than competing on cost alone. With the core offering potentially changing from a "lift and shift" approach based on fixed costs to a more qualitative, service based and outcomes-based model, there is perhaps a new opportunity to grow the BPO industry with a new offering.


title: Outsourcing

text: One estimate of the worldwide BPO market from the BPO Services Global Industry Almanac 2017, puts the size of the industry in 2016 at about US$140 billion.


title: Outsourcing

text: India, China and the Philippines are major powerhouses in the industry. In 2017, in India, the BPO industry generated US$30 billion in revenue according to the national industry association. The BPO industry is a small segment of the total outsourcing industry in India. The BPO industry workforce in India is expected to shrink by 14% in 2021.


title: Outsourcing

text: The BPO industry and IT services industry in combination are worth a total of US$154 billion in revenue in 2017. The BPO industry in the Philippines generated $26.7 billion in revenues in 2020, while around 700 thousand medium and high skill jobs would be created by 2022.


title: Outsourcing

text: In 2015, official statistics put the size of the total outsourcing industry in China, including not only the BPO industry but also IT outsourcing services, at $130.9 billion.


title: Basenji

text: The Basenji () is a breed of hunting dog. It was bred from stock that originated in central Africa. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale places the breed in the Spitz and primitive types. The Basenji produces an unusual yodel-like sound, due to its unusually shaped larynx. This trait also gives the Basenji the nickname the 'barkless dog.'


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis share many distinctive traits with pariah dog types. Basenjis come into estrus only once annually similar to dingoes, New Guinea singing dogs and Tibetan Mastiffs, when compared with other dog breeds which may have two or more breeding seasons each year. Basenji lack a distinctive odor, and are prone to howls, yodels, and other vocalizations over the characteristic bark of modern dog breeds. The breed's original foundation stock came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


title: Basenji

text: The Azande and Mangbetu people from the northeastern Congo region describe a Basenji, in the local Lingála language, as , meaning "dog of the savages" or "dog of the villagers". In the Congo, the Basenji is also known as the "dog of the bush". The dogs are also known to the Azande of southern Sudan as . The word itself is the plural form of . In Swahili, another Bantu language, from East Africa, translates to "savage dog". Another local name is "m'bwa m'kube, 'mbwa wa mwitu" "wild dog", or "dog that jumps up and down", a reference to their tendency to jump straight up to spot their quarry.


title: Basenji

text: The Basenji has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th century. DNA studies based on whole-genome sequences indicate that the basenji and the dingo are both considered to be basal members of the domestic dog clade.


title: Basenji

text: In 2021, the genome of two basenjis were assembled, which indicated that the basenji fell within the Asian spitz group. The AMY2B gene produces an enzyme, amylase, that helps to digest starch. The wolf, the husky and the dingo possess only two copies of this gene, which provides evidence that they arose before the expansion of agriculture. The genomic study found that similarly, the basenji possesses only two copies of this gene.


title: Basenji

text: Originating on the continent of Africa, Europeans first described the Basenji breed in 1895 in the Congo. These local dogs, which Europeans identified as a distinct breed and called "basenji", were prized by locals for their intelligence, courage, speed, and silence.


title: Basenji

text: Several attempts were made to introduce the breed into England, but the earliest imports succumbed to disease. In 1923 six Basenjis were taken from Sudan, but all six died from distemper shots received in quarantine. It was not until the 1930s that foundation stock was successfully established in England, and then in the United States by animal importer Henry Trefflich. It is likely that nearly all the Basenjis in the Western world are descended from these few original imports. The breed was officially accepted into the AKC in 1943. In 1990, the AKC stud book was reopened to 14 new imports at the request of the Basenji Club of America. The stud book was reopened again to selected imported dogs from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2013. An American-led expedition collected breeding stock in villages in the Basankusu area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2010. Basenjis are also registered with the United Kennel Club.


title: Basenji

text: The popularity of the Basenji in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club, has declined over the past decade, with the breed ranked 71st in 1999, decreasing to 84th in 2006, and to 93rd in 2011.


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis are small, short-haired dogs with erect ears, tightly curled tails and graceful necks. A Basenji's forehead is wrinkled, even more so when it is young or extremely excited. A Basenji's eyes are typically almond-shaped. Basenjis typically weigh about and stand at the shoulder. They are a square breed, which means they are as long as they are tall with males usually larger than females. Basenjis are athletic dogs, and deceptively powerful for their size. They have a graceful, confident gait like a trotting horse, and skim the ground in a double suspension gallop, with their characteristic curled tail straightened out for greater balance when running at their top speed. Basenjis come in a few different colorations: red, black, tricolor, and brindle, and they all have white feet, chests and tail tips. They can also come in "trindle", which is a tricolor with brindle points, a rare combination.


title: Basenji

text: The Basenji is alert, energetic, curious and reserved with strangers. The Basenji tends to become emotionally attached to a single human. Basenjis may not get along with non-canine pets. Basenjis dislike wet weather, much like cats, and will often refuse to go outside in any sort of damp conditions. They like to climb, and can easily scale chain wire/link fences.


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis often stand on their hind legs, somewhat like a meerkat, by themselves or leaning on something; this behavior is often observed when the dog is curious about something. Basenjis have a strong prey drive. According to the book "The Intelligence of Dogs", they are the second least trainable dog, when required to do human commands (behind only the Afghan Hound). Their real intelligence manifests when they are required to actually solve problems for the sake of the dogs' own goals (such as food, or freedom).


title: Basenji

text: There is only one completed health survey of dog breeds, including the Basenji, that was conducted by the UK Kennel Club in 2004. The survey indicated the prevalence of diseases in Basenjis with dermatitis (9% of responses), incontinence and bladder infection (5%), hypothyroidism (4%), pyometra and infertility (4%).


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis in the 2004 UK Kennel Club survey had a median lifespan of 13.6 years (sample size of 46 deceased dogs), which is 1–2 years longer than the median lifespan of other breeds of similar size. The oldest dog in the survey was 17.5 years. The most common causes of death were old age (30%), urologic (incontinence, Fanconi syndrome, chronic kidney failure 13%), behavior ("unspecified" and aggression 9%), and cancer (9%).


title: Basenji

text: Fanconi syndrome, an inheritable disorder in which the renal (kidney) tubes fail to reabsorb electrolytes and nutrients, is unusually common in Basenjis. Symptoms include excessive drinking, excessive urination, and glucose in the urine, which may lead to a misdiagnosis of diabetes. Fanconi syndrome usually presents between 4 and 8 years of age, but sometimes as early as 3 years or as late as 10 years. Fanconi syndrome is treatable and organ damage is reduced if treatment begins early. Basenji owners are advised to test their dog's urine for glucose once a month beginning at the age of 3 years. Glucose testing strips designed for human diabetics are inexpensive and available at most pharmacies. A Fanconi disease management protocol has been developed that can be used by veterinarians to treat Fanconi-afflicted dogs.


title: Basenji

text: Beginning in 2011, the direct DNA Fanconi Test became available from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and replaces the Fanconi Linked Marker Test. The results from the test will indicate "Probably," "Clear/Normal," "Carrier," and "Affected" and will remain OFA website until the dogs are retested. The DNA Fanconi Direct Test does not have an "Indeterminate" result, as this was only necessary in the Linked Marker Test, when the markers did not clearly indicate the status of the dog. Dogs with a "carrier" status may be safely bred only to mates with a "clear/normal" test result.


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis sometimes carry a simple recessive gene that, when homozygous for the defect, causes genetic hemolytic anemia. Most 21st-century Basenjis are descended from ancestors that have tested clean. When lineage from a fully tested line (set of ancestors) cannot be completely verified, the dog should be tested before breeding. As this is a non-invasive DNA test, a Basenji can be tested for HA at any time.


title: Basenji

text: Basenjis sometimes suffer from hip dysplasia, resulting in loss of mobility and arthritis-like symptoms. All dogs should be tested by either OFA or PennHIP prior to breeding.


title: Basenji

text: Malabsorption, or immunoproliferative enteropathy, is an autoimmune intestinal disease that leads to anorexia, chronic diarrhea, and even death. A special diet can improve the quality of life for afflicted dogs.


title: Basenji

text: The breed can also fall victim to progressive retinal atrophy (a degeneration of the retina causing blindness) and several less serious hereditary eye problems such as coloboma (a hole in the eye structure), and persistent pupillary membrane (tiny threads across the pupil).


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Nancy Jane Meyers (born December 8, 1949) is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films including "Private Benjamin" (1980), "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984), "Baby Boom" (1987), "Father of the Bride" (1991), "Father of the Bride Part II" (1995), "The Parent Trap" (1998), "What Women Want" (2000), "Something's Gotta Give" (2003), "The Holiday" (2006), "It's Complicated" (2009), and "The Intern" (2015).


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenwriting for "Private Benjamin" (1980) with Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: For "Baby Boom", Meyers was nominated for a 1988 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers was married to filmmaker Charles Shyer, with whom she had two children, including filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers was born in Philadelphia. Her father, Irving Meyers, was an executive at a voting machines manufacturer. Her mother, Patricia Meyers (née Lemisch), was an interior designer who also worked as a volunteer with the Head Start Program and the Home for the Blind. The younger of two daughters, Meyers was raised in a Jewish household in the Drexel Hill area.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: After reading playwright Moss Hart's autobiography "Act One" at the age of twelve, Meyers became interested in theater and started to act in local stage productions. Her interest in screenwriting did not emerge until she saw Mike Nichols' film "The Graduate" in 1967. Meyers attended Lower Merion High School in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. In 1970, Meyers graduated from American University with a degree in journalism.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: After graduating from college, Meyers spent a year working in public television in Philadelphia. When she was 22 years old, Meyers moved to Los Angeles, living with her sister, Sally, in the Coldwater Canyon area. She quickly got a job as a production assistant on the CBS game show "The Price Is Right."


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Inspired by the popular TV show, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Meyers decided she wanted to write. She eventually got work as a story editor where she read scripts, wrote coverage, and worked with screenwriters on projects that the producers were developing. One of the companies she worked at was producer Ray Stark's company, Rastar. She worked her way up from there to writing her own scripts. Two years after coming to Los Angeles, Meyers was able to quit her job to focus on a career in screenwriting and took film-making classes where she connected with directors such as Martin Scorsese. To support herself, she started a small cheesecake business after positive reactions to a cake she made for a dinner party. Meyers was eventually hired as a story editor by film producer Ray Stark, who later fired her after Meyers objected to having two writers working on the same script without the other knowing.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In the late 1970s, Meyers started work with Charles Shyer when she was a story editor in the film division at Motown. The pair became friends and, along with Harvey Miller, created the script for the comedy "Private Benjamin" (1980) together, a film about a spoiled young woman who joins the U.S. Army after her husband dies on their wedding night during sex. The film starred actress Goldie Hawn, who along with Meyers and Shyer executive produced the project. It was Hawn's agent who made Warner Brothers executive Robert Shapiro buy the script after practically "everybody [had] turned it down. Everybody. More than once," according to Meyers. Meyers described how hard it was to get the film made, noting, "Every single studio in Hollywood read it and passed on it... One studio called Goldie and said 'if you make this movie it's a career ender.'” Contrary to the conventional wisdom at the time, that a female lead with no male star was box office poison, "Private Benjamin" became one of the biggest box office hits of the year 1980, grossing nearly $70 million in total. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, as were Hawn and her co-star, Eileen Brennan, for their performances, and won the team a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. In addition, the film spawned a same-titled short-lived but Golden Globe-winning television series that aired from 1981 until 1983.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers and Shyer's next project, "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984), marked Shyer's directorial debut. Shelley Long and Ryan O'Neal played a Hollywood couple whose obsession with success destroys their relationship with their daughter, played by eight-year-old Drew Barrymore. Released to a mixed reception by critics, the collaboration became a moderate box office with a gross of $12.4 million, but received multiple Golden Globe nominations, including Best Actress nods for Long and Barrymore. Also in 1984, Meyers, Shyer and Miller penned "Protocol", another comedy starring Goldie Hawn, in which she portrayed a cocktail waitress who prevents the assassination of a visiting Arab Emir, and thus is offered a job with the United States Department of State as a protocol official. Hawn reportedly disliked their screenplay and hired Buck Henry for a major overhaul, prompting the trio to go into arbitration to settle their differences. While neither Meyers nor Shyer became involved in producing or directing the film, it fared slightly better at the box office than " Irreconcilable Differences", garnering $26.3 million in total.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers eventually returned to producing with "Baby Boom" (1987), a film about a New York City female executive, who out of the blue becomes the guardian of her distant cousin's 14-month-old daughter. The film marked her debut collaboration with Diane Keaton. The catalyst for the project was a series of situations that Meyers and Shyer and their friends had experienced while managing a life with a successful career and a growing family. "Baby Boom" was favorably received by critics and audiences alike. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and earned a respectable $1.6 million in its opening weekend in the US, and approximately $26.7 million in its entire run. As with "Private Benjamin" the film was followed by a short-lived television series starring Kate Jackson.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In 1990, Meyers and Shyer, working from earlier material for the first time, re-teamed with Keaton to remake the 1950 Vincente Minnelli film "Father of the Bride". Starring Steve Martin as a father losing his daughter and his bank account at the same time, their 1991 version was released to generally positive reception. It became a hit among audiences, resulting in the pair's biggest financial success yet at a worldwide gross of $90 million. A sequel to the film which centered around the expansion of the family, entitled "Father of the Bride Part II", was produced in 1995. Loosely based on the original's 1951 sequel "Father's Little Dividend", it largely reprised the success of its predecessor at the box office. A third installment, also penned by Meyers and Shyer, failed to materialize.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Also in 1991, Meyers contributed to the script for the ensemble comedy "Once Upon a Crime" (1992), directed by Eugene Levy, and became one out of several script doctors consulted to work on the Whoopi Goldberg comedy "Sister Act" (1992). Her next project with Shyer was "I Love Trouble" (1994), a comedy thriller about a cub reporter and a seasoned columnist who go after the same story, that was inspired by screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s such as "His Girl Friday" and "Woman of the Year". Written for and starring Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte, the film was not well received by critics but grossed over $30 million in box-office receipts in the United States. While the script for "Toast of the Town", another Meyers/Shyer collaboration, that Meyers described as "a Depression-era comedy about a small-town girl who comes to the big city, loses her values and then finds them again," found no buyers, another project called "Love Crazy" failed to materialize after lead actor Hugh Grant dropped out of the project after months of negotiations.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Having turned down Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing's offer to direct the 1996 comedy blockbuster "The First Wives Club", Meyers eventually agreed on making her directorial debut with "The Parent Trap" (1998), following the signing of a development deal with Walt Disney Pictures in 1997. A remake of the same-titled 1961 original based on Erich Kästner's novel "Lottie and Lisa", it starred Lindsay Lohan in her motion picture debut, in a dual role of estranged twin sisters who try to reunite their long-divorced parents, played by Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson. Lohan's casting as twins forced Meyers to shoot the film in motion control, a requirement she considered rather complicated. "I really didn't know how to do it," she said. "We had a prep day to go over the process, and by the end of the day I had a little better understanding. But I approached the movie like it wasn't an effects film; I just tried to make it authentic." Released to positive reviews from critics, "The Parent Trap" brought in $92 million worldwide.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In 1998, following the success of "The Parent Trap" and her separation from Shyer, Disney's Touchstone Pictures chairman Joe Roth asked Meyers to reconstruct an original script named "Head Games" about a man who gains the power to hear everything women are thinking, an idea originally conceived by "The King of Queens" producers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith. Subsequently, Meyers penned two drafts of the script before agreeing to direct, but as Roth left the studio in January 2000, Disney dismissed the film and the project eventually went to Paramount. By the following year, Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt had signed on to star in leading roles and the project had been retitled "What Women Want". Released in 2000 to mixed reviews, it became the then-most successful film ever directed by a woman, taking in $183 million in the United States, and grossing upward of $370 million worldwide.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Following her divorce, Meyers wrote and directed the post-divorce comedy "Something's Gotta Give" (2003), starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson as a successful 60-something and 50-something, who find love for each other at a different time of life, despite being complete opposites. Nicholson and Keaton, aged 63 and 57 respectively, were seen as bold casting choices for leads in a romantic comedy, and 20th Century Fox, the film's original distributor, reportedly declined to produce the film, fearing that the lead characters were too old to be bankable. As a result, the film ended up as a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. While critical reaction to the film as a whole was more measured, "Something's Gotta Give" received generally favorable notice and became a surprise box-office hit following its North American release, eventually grossing US$266,600,000 worldwide, mostly from its international run. In 2005, her Waverly Films production company signed a deal with Sony.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyer's next film was "The Holiday" (2006), a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who arrange a home exchange to escape heartbreak during the Christmas and holiday season. Jude Law and Jack Black co-starred as their love interests. Released to mixed reviews from critics, the film became a global box office success, grossing $205 million worldwide, mostly from its international run. The film won the 2007 Teen Choice Award in the Chick Flick category.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In 2009, Meyers' "It's Complicated" was released. It starred Meryl Streep as a successful bakery owner and single mother of three who starts a secret affair with her ex-husband, played by Alec Baldwin, ten years after their divorce – only to find herself drawn to another man: her architect Adam (portrayed by Steve Martin). The film was met with mixed reviews from critics, who declared it rather predictable despite fine work by an appealing cast, but became another commercial hit for Meyers upon its Christmas Day opening release in the United States. It played well through the holidays and into January 2012, ultimately closing on April 1 with $112.7 million. Worldwide, "It's Complicated" eventually grossed $219.1 million, and surpassed "The Holiday" to become Meyer's third highest-grossing project to date. "It's Complicated" earned Meyers two Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In 2012, it was announced that Meyers was planning to direct "The Chelsea", an ensemble dramedy set in the Chelsea Apartments in New York. Based on a screenplay by daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, it was set to star Felicity Jones; the project failed to materialize however as Meyers was also finishing her own screenplay for "The Intern" (2015), a comedy about the founder of a fashion based e-commerce company who agrees to a community outreach program where seniors will intern at the firm. Originally set up at Paramount Pictures, the latter was expected to feature Tina Fey and Michael Caine in the lead roles. When a budget could not be settled, Meyers decided to pre-package before going out to other studios and was able to start negotiations for both actors. Handed over to Warner Bros, Fey was replaced by Reese Witherspoon as the attached star, though Witherspoon later left the film due to scheduling conflicts. In 2014, Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro replaced her and Caine.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In September 2015, Meyers announced that her next self-directed project would see her reteaming with Steve Martin. She also served as a producer on "Home Again" (2017), the directorial debut of her daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, starring Reese Witherspoon.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In September 2020, Nancy Meyers announced a follow-up to the first two "Father of the Bride" films was coming. The first teaser trailer was released on September 23, with an official preview released the following day. The "mini-sequel" was written and directed by Meyers, with the plot including a family reunion over Zoom at the request of Matty Banks, and depicted George Banks' reaction to 2020. Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Kieran Culkin, George Newbern, and Martin Short reprised their respective roles, with Alexandra Shipp and Robert De Niro joining. The film will benefit World Central Kitchen charity, supporting families and children who suffer due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Father of the Bride Part 3(ish)" was released on September 25, 2020 exclusively through Netflix while also streaming on the service's YouTube and Facebook pages.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In April 2022, Netflix announced Meyers would write, direct and produce a new feature film for the streaming service, an untitled ensemble comedy.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers attributes her major influences to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Her films frequently center the experiences of middle-aged women facing conflict between the personal and the professional. Meyers' films are known to redirect the male gaze and instead take a critical view of male leads through the female gaze.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers generally spends a year writing, followed by six months of filming and another six months of editing. As a director, she is given access to the final cuts of her films, which is uncommon for filmmakers working with big budget studios. As a director, Meyers is known for shooting many takes of the same scene. Her work is very detail-oriented and interested in aesthetic pleasure and visual storytelling. Meyers considers her film set to function as a character in her films. Her films are known for featuring luxurious domestic spaces, and beautiful kitchens have become a signature feature of Meyers' films. Meyers has stated that her aesthetically-pleasing sets emphasize that her protagonists are successful, established women who can afford to create beautiful, comfortable spaces for themselves. Where Hollywood desexualizes and disposes of women over 40, Nancy Meyers celebrates them, showing them as women who have crushed their careers and become financially stable enough to buy objectively stunning pieces of property.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers has had a significant impact on the filmmaking industry as a female filmmaker, gaining her the reputation as one of the most influential women filmmakers in the romantic-comedy genre and in the Hollywood industry. This is due to her recognizable directorial style with notable sets and the limited number of female directors in the space. She is one of only 36 female filmmakers to be on Disney+ out of their catalogue of over 500 films going back to the 1930s.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Meyers’ overall popularity in the romantic-comedy genre has allowed her work to become cited many times as a filmmaker important to audience nostalgia.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In her later works, her depictions of older women on screen created more popularity within the genre. In addition to her popularity with audiences, Meyers has been said to have left an impact on the actors she has worked with. Reese Witherspoon even identifies Meyers as a resource in Witherspoon’s own creative endeavors.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: In 1980, Meyers and Charles Shyer married in Rome. They had been in a relationship since 1976. The pair separated in 1999 and eventually divorced. They have two daughters, Annie Meyers-Shyer and Hallie Meyers-Shyer, both of whom have had minor roles in their films. On February 28, 2020, Meyers published her post-divorce story as part of the "New York Times" column called "Modern Love".


title: Nancy Meyers

text: Scholarship and criticism of Meyers’ oeuvre has discussed the postfeminist aesthetics and ideologies that her films embody, in which wealthy, successful, and independent women often play the protagonists. The scholar Michele Schreiber argues that the fantasy of romance itself becomes a "fulfilling and desirable commodity." The question for Schreiber, and many other critics of Meyers’ work, is whether the power of her films derives from the emotional terrain and romances of her characters, or from her seductive, pleasurable mise-en-scène and the upwardly mobile desires it generates. In a New York Times profile of Meyers by the writer, Daphne Merkin points out that her films sometimes have the quality of "tidy unreality," which is the aspect of her filmmaking that often draws harsh criticism. Some criticism has taken note of how the "independent woman" figure in Nancy Meyers film always appears as heterosexual, upper-class, and white, leveling charges of white feminism on her work.


title: Nancy Meyers

text: The academic and writer Deborah Jermyn has dubbed Nancy Meyers "Hollywood's reigning 'romcom queen.'" Katarzyna Paszkiewicz asserts that Meyers' ability to simultaneously carve out a particular, feminized niche in her work, while still providing mainstream (and even male) audiences with "what they want," has made her the most successful commercial female filmmaker. Paszkiewicz contends that Meyers’ reliance on the rom-com genre may be more complex and self-reflexive than it appears. In "The Intern" (2015), for example, many traditional rom-com tropes are recast and reimagined by making the focal relationship, between Jules and Ben, a non-romantic, intergenerational one. The film also highlights disenchantment with the "independent woman" ideal, and foregrounds the problems that plague professional women in heteronormative relationships. Thus, against contemporary charges that the rom-com genre is tired and overdone, Meyers has the ability to use the genre’s tropes in a regenerative, original manner. In Paszkiewicz words, "If postfeminist values marked the decades of the 1990s and 2000s, Meyers seems to ask: what is next?"


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Ashley Marie Massaro (May 26, 1979 – May 16, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, reality television contestant and model. She was best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and for her appearance on "".


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro made her debut in WWE after winning the WWE Diva Search in 2005. She was first incorporated into the Raw brand, where she had her first wrestling feud against Vince's Devils (a villainous female stable) while aligning herself with Trish Stratus to defeat the team. With Stratus, she was involved in another feud with the then-debuting Mickie James, who was obsessed with Stratus and jealous of Massaro's friendship with her, attacking and causing her to lose matches. Massaro was later drafted to SmackDown and became the valet for the WWE Tag Team Champions, Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Her most high-profile matches were a WWE Women's Championship match against Melina at WrestleMania 23 and a "Playboy Bunnymania" Lumberjill match at WrestleMania XXIV.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro left WWE in July 2008. During her tenure in the company, she had appeared on the covers of several magazines, including the April 2007 issue of "Playboy", and also made appearances on television and in music videos. In addition, she spent the last two years of her life working as a radio DJ for 94.3 The Shark.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Ashley M. Massaro was born in New York City on May 26, 1979. She was raised in Babylon, New York, where her brother, father, and uncle competed in amateur wrestling. She graduated in 1997 from John Glenn High School in Elwood, New York, and received a BSc in communication with a minor in business from the State University of New York at Albany.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro initially found out about World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) 2005 Raw Diva Search when she met a WWE casting director during a swimsuit pageant. After beating the seven other chosen finalists, Massaro was declared the winner on the episode of "Raw" which aired on Monday, August 15, 2005. Her winnings included $250,000 and a one-year contract with WWE.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: A week later on the August 22, 2005, episode of "Raw", Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson attacked Massaro after pretending to welcome her to the brand. Massaro's storyline feud with Wilson and Michelle continued over the next couple weeks, as the duo, along with their enforcer Victoria (dubbed as the "Skankateers" by commentator Jim Ross), made things difficult for Massaro. Massaro made her in-ring debut on the August 29 episode of "Raw", in a losing effort to Victoria. On the September 5 episode of "Raw", Massaro was defeated by Wilson due to interference from Victoria and Candice. Massaro evened the score on the September 12 episode of "Raw" when she brought out the returning Trish Stratus (who then turned face), and the duo proceeded to attack them. On the September 18 episode of "Raw", The pair defeated the trio—who became known as the Ladies in Pink (and later Vince's Devils). This led to a tag team match at Unforgiven, where the team of Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson and Victoria. The following night on "Raw", Massaro accompanied Trish where she defeated Wilson. After the match, The duo were attacked by The Vince Devils. The feud continued into "WWE Homecoming", where Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson, Candice, and Victoria in the first ever three on two Bra and Panties match by stripping all three of their opponents. Massaro continued to wrestle matches through the rest of 2005 and was involved in the annual Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for her first shot at the WWE Women's Championship. Massaro eliminated Candice Michelle before being eliminated by Victoria.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On January 8, 2006, at New Year's Revolution, Massaro won the first ever Bra and Panties Gauntlet match by being the final wrestler left still wearing her clothes. Following WWE tradition, to please the fans, she removed them herself before making her exit. Through the early part of this year, Massaro became the victim of a series of attacks from Mickie James. At Royal Rumble on January 29, James defeated Massaro with then Women's Champion, Trish Stratus, as the special guest referee. Massaro got her revenge one week later by pinning James in the rematch on "Raw". On the February 20 episode of "Raw", however, Massaro suffered a fractured left fibula while being eliminated from the Women's Battle Royal, and her feud with James was cut short. She underwent surgery to insert a five-inch metal plate and eight screws into her leg. During her recovery, Massaro still occasionally appeared on "Raw" as part of the Stratus/James feud, albeit in a non-active role. Massaro returned on the March 20 episode of "Raw", being kidnapped by James to lure Stratus in to saving her but James was successful and attacked Stratus.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Three months later after being once again absent, she returned to television on June 2, this time on "SmackDown!", as a special guest commentator during a match between Kristal Marshall and Jillian Hall. On the edition of June 9 of "SmackDown!", Massaro defeated Marshall, Hall and Michelle McCool in a bikini contest. On July 21 in "SmackDown!", she won her debut match with the brand, in which she teamed up with Jillian Hall to defeat McCool and Marshall. Two days later at The Great American Bash event, Massaro won a fatal four-way bra and panties match in which she defeated Hall, McCool and Marshall. On the edition of August 4 of "SmackDown!", Massaro broke a knuckle on her right hand in a match against Marshall, this made her be out of action for four weeks.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: She came back on September 8, teaming with Paul London and Brian Kendrick to defeat Idol Stevens, KC James and Michelle McCool in a Six-Person Mixed Tag Team match. Following the victory, Massaro became the valet for London and Kendrick, accompanying them to the ring for their matches on "SmackDown!" and pay-per-views. On the October 27 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro participated in a "Trick or Treat Battle Royal" which was won by Kristal. On the December 22 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro teamed up with Layla in a winning effort defeating Jillian Hall and Kristal in a tag-team match. On the January 5 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro competed against Hall in a winning effort. On the January 26 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro teamed up with London and Kendrick in a losing effort to the MNM (Mercury & Nitro & Melina) in a six-person mixed-tag-team match. During the February 16, 2007 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro unveiled her "Playboy" cover. Surrounding the release of the magazine, Massaro engaged in a feud with Jillian Hall, who was envious of the attention Massaro received due to the "Playboy" cover. At No Way Out, Massaro won the first ever Diva Invitational by removing her top to reveal her breasts which were covered with "Playboy" bunny pasties.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro also began a feud with then WWE Women's Champion, "Raw's" Melina, who was angry over the publicity Massaro had been receiving because of the cover. On the March 9 episode of "SmackDown!", the rivalry was taken to the next level when a catfight broke out on the inaugural edition of "Miz TV". On the March 16 episode of "SmackDown!", Ashley teamed up with London and Kendrick in a losing effort to MNM in a six-person mixed-tag-team match. On the March 23 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro would get a catfight after Melina attempted to make an interference during Kendrick and Paul's match with MNM. On the March 26 episode of "Raw", Massaro teamed up with Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle in a winning effort defeating Melina, Hall and Victoria. At WrestleMania 23, Massaro unsuccessfully challenged Melina for the WWE Women's Championship in a LumberJill match to retain her title.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: After WrestleMania, Massaro continued as a valet for WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick. In storyline, on the April 13 episode of "SmackDown!", Massaro was attacked by Jillian Hall. In reality, Massaro had loosened a screw in her ankle, which had been inserted the previous year after she legitimately fractured her tibia and fibula while in a battle royal. Massaro returned on the June 1, 2007, episode of "SmackDown!", helping McCool defeat Hall after she distracted her. This return was short-lived when on the edition of June 8 of "SmackDown!", Massaro was suspended indefinitely after accidentally spilling Vince McMahon's coffee on him. In reality, Massaro was taking time off to participate on the show "Survivor".


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro returned on January 7, 2008 to the Raw brand, winning a Lingerie Pillow Fight against Maria, Jillian Hall, Melina, and Mickie James. On the January 14 episode of "Raw", Massaro teamed up with Mickie James and Maria in a losing effort to the team of Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, and Melina in a 6 person-tag-team match. Massaro began a storyline with Maria and Santino Marella on the January 21, 2008 episode of "Raw", attempting to convince Maria to pose for "Playboy" but was interrupted by Marella. At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Massaro again attempted to convince Maria by telling her that Hugh Hefner wanted her to pose for "Playboy" before Maria could answer Marella interrupted and objected to the proposal. Massaro would then beat down Marella's surprise Big Dick Johnson when he attempted to perform a striptease. At the No Way Out pay-per-view, Massaro would appear with Maria in a segment at the Playboy Mansion. On the March 24, 2008, episode of "Raw", Massaro interfered in the match between Maria and Melina. After the match, Santino Marella came down to the ring, so Jerry "The King" Lawler (who was tired of Marella's actions over previous weeks) knocked Santino out of the ring. Which set up the six-person mixed-tag-team match, in which they lost to Marella, Melina and Phoenix. On March 30, 2008, Massaro replaced Candice Michelle, who was out with an injury, in the "Playboy Bunnymania" Lumberjack match at WrestleMania XXIV teaming up with Maria, losing to Beth Phoenix and Melina after the interference from Marella.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On the April 14 episode of "Raw", Massaro teamed up with Maria in a losing effort to the team of Melina and Hall in a tag-team match. Massaro also participated in a 12 wrestler Tag Team match at Backlash, where Phoenix pinned her to get the win for her team. On the April 28 episode of "Raw", Massaro competed in her last match by teaming up with Michelle McCool, Cherry, Kelly Kelly, Maria and James in a winning effort defeating Layla, Melina, Phoenix, Natalya, Hall and Victoria. Massaro was released from her WWE contract on July 9, 2008. A week prior to her release, she announced that she had asked to be let go from her contract due to her daughter being sick.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: In September 2017, Massaro made a brief return to professional wrestling by managing in Zero1 Professional Wrestling USA with former WWE Diva Jillian Hall.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro was a contestant on CBS's "", which was the fifteenth season of the show, in 2007. Massaro approached the WWE with the idea of doing the show, and after going through the casting process, she found out she made the show ten days before she had to leave for China to film. Prior to the experience, Massaro had never been camping before, so to train for the show she had to get used to being out in nature. She was assigned to the Zhan Hu tribe in the first episode and quickly began quarreling with fellow contestant Dave Cruser. In the second episode, Massaro was voted off after six days with a 6–1 vote.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro competed in Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageants and was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic USA in 2002 and Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada in August 2004. Massaro appeared in "FHM", "Stuff", "Maxim", and on the cover of "Playboy" after joining WWE, though she had previously posed for "Playboy" in 2003 and 2004. Massaro tried out for "Playboy" scouts when they were searching for models for the 50th Anniversary Playmate Hunt. She appeared in the accompanying pictorial in the December 2003. In addition, she appeared in both "Femme Fatales" and "Flex" magazines. Massaro also hosted several E! channel "Wild On!" episodes and appeared on "Breaking Bonaduce" as Danny Bonaduce's personal trainer. Massaro guest starred on an episode of "" alongside WWE wrestlers John Cena and Batista. In addition, she appeared in campaign ads for both Hawaiian Tropic and Yamaha.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: In February 2007, Massaro and Glenn "Kane" Jacobs filmed an episode of the CW's "Smallville" that aired on March 22, 2007. In April 2007, Massaro also appeared as a guest on Fuse TV's show "The Sauce". On April 20, 2007, Massaro and several other female wrestlers filmed Timbaland's video, "Throw It on Me" featuring the Hives. In 2008, she appeared in Rev Theory's video for "Hell Yeah."


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro appeared in two WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008" and returned in "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009".


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On June 30, 2018, Massaro began working as a radio DJ for Long Island station WWSK-FM / 94.3 The Shark where she originally worked the Saturday portion from 10 am to 3 pm. Shortly before her death in May 2019, she was promoted to hosting the station's evening program on Wednesday nights.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro had one child, a daughter. When her daughter became sick in mid-2008, Massaro asked for early release from WWE to care for her. On May 22, 2019, after Massaro's death, several former WWE female wrestlers who were Massaro's coworkers, grouped as "The Squared Circle Sisters", opened a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe in order to create a college fund for her daughter, setting a goal of $100,000.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On November 21, 2020, Massaro's younger brother, Ronnie Massaro, was murdered after being stabbed in New York City at the age of 39. He was buried in the same cemetery as her, the St. James Episcopal.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro had several tattoos, including a black and pink nautical star on the back of both of her elbows, a pink and red dragon surrounding kanji lettering that translates to "Trust No One" going down the right side of her torso, symbols on the small of her lower back, and a butterfly on her right hip. She also had several piercings, including a Monroe and snakebites.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: In November 2016, Massaro joined a class action lawsuit against WWE, litigated by Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against them, alleging that the company concealed risks of injury that caused them neurological damage. Massaro also alleged that she was sexually assaulted at a US military base during a WWE tour of Kuwait, and that WWE apologized but persuaded her to not report it to the appropriate authorities. The lawsuit was dismissed in late 2018. After her death, WWE said they had received an email from Massaro in October 2018 in which she expressed regret for having taken part in the lawsuit. An affidavit by Massaro describing the sexual abuse allegations in detail was released by the law firm that represented her after her death. WWE later said executives there were not informed of the allegations described in the affidavit.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On May 15, 2019, Massaro finished replying to fan mail, but did not show up for work at WWSK-FM later that night, prompting another DJ to fill in for her. At 5:23 a.m. the next morning, paramedics responded to a rescue call and discovered Massaro unresponsive at her home in Smithtown, New York. When they arrived at the hospital, she was pronounced dead, 10 days before her 40th birthday.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: On May 19 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, WWE acknowledged Massaro's death by projecting a graphic of her at the start of the show. Visitation for Massaro was held that day and the next at the Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown. On May 21, she was buried at the Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery in St. James, New York.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: At the time of her death some news outlets, all citing the website TMZ, stated Massaro's death as a suicide. Others, including CNN and "The Nation", did not. The Suffolk County medical examiner's office did not release an official cause of death, citing a New York state privacy law that allows withholding information that "would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy". In September 2021, a "USA Today" article stated that she had died by suicide, and wrote that her death (along with the suicides of wrestlers Hana Kimura and Daffney in the succeeding two years) had spurred a conversation about mental health in the professional wrestling industry.


title: Ashley Massaro

text: Massaro had taken part in a suicide prevention music video by her WWSK co-worker Brian Orlando, who had recorded a song with Brandon B. Brown, Vinnie Dombroski, and Kevin Martin. Following her death, Orlando scrapped plans to release the video. With her family's blessing, it was released in July 2020.


title: Jill Wagner

text: Jill Suzanne Wagner (born ) is an American actress and television personality. She was the on-field host for the ABC game show "Wipeout" from 2008 to 2014. Since then, Wagner has starred in several made-for-television films for the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.


title: Jill Wagner

text: Wagner was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was raised primarily by her father, David Wagner, a U.S. Marine, and her grandmother. She attended Ledford Senior High School in Wallburg, North Carolina. Wagner went to North Carolina State University graduating in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in business management. During her teens, she trained at Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Raleigh.


title: Jill Wagner

text: After college, Wagner moved to California to pursue a career in entertainment. In 2003, she was selected as a cast member on the MTV series "Punk'd", participating in several sketches. The following year, Wagner was ranked #90 on the "Maxim" Hot 100 Women of 2004. She was featured in the July 2006 issue of American "FHM" magazine.


title: Jill Wagner

text: In 2006, she co-starred in the Spike TV television series "" as Krista Starr. She was a co-host of "Inside the Vault" on WGN America. Wagner has also had guest roles on a variety of television series including "Quintuplets" and "Bones". Her theatrical roles include "Junebug" (2005) and the horror film "Splinter" in 2008.


title: Jill Wagner

text: In March 2008, it was announced that Wagner would be the on-field host for the ABC game show "Wipeout" which premiered June 24, 2008. In April 2011, Wagner announced that she was leaving "Wipeout" after four seasons to focus on her acting career; she was succeeded by Vanessa Minnillo for the series' fifth season. In late August 2012, it was announced that Wagner would return as the co-host of "Wipeout" for its sixth season, a role she continued throughout the rest of the series' run.


title: Jill Wagner

text: In June 2011, Wagner appeared on the series "Teen Wolf" airing on MTV. In 2013, Wagner appeared on Rhett and Link's third episode of their YouTube series "The Mythical Show"; this was in response to an episode of their talk show "Good Mythical Morning", where they mentioned they had gone to college with a girl who had caught their interest, but never had the courage to talk to, who was revealed to be Wagner.


title: Jill Wagner

text: In 2015, Wagner was tapped to host the original series "Handcrafted America" on INSP; the series began its third season in August 2017. Wagner appeared in the Canadian film "Braven" (2018).


title: Jill Wagner

text: Since 2015, she has appeared in Hallmark Channel made-for-television films, including playing Amy Winslow on the "Mystery 101" movie series on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel in 2019.


title: Jill Wagner

text: In April 2017, Wagner married former pro hockey player David Lemanowicz, after they had announced their engagement earlier in 2016. In April 2020, Wagner gave birth to a daughter. A second daughter was born in August 2021.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of 80–97% of the Circassian population, around 800,000–1,500,000 people, during and after the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864). The peoples planned for removal were mainly the Circassians, but other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus were also affected. Several methods used by Russian forces such as impaling and tearing the bellies of pregnant women were reported. Russian generals such as Grigory Zass described the Circassians as "subhuman filth", and glorified the mass murder of Circassian civilians, justified their use in scientific experiments, and allowed their soldiers to rape women.


title: Circassian genocide

text: During the Russo-Circassian War, the Russian Empire employed a genocidal strategy of massacring Circassian civilians. Only a small percentage who accepted Russification and resettlement within the Russian Empire were completely spared. The remaining Circassian population who refused were variously dispersed or killed en masse. Circassian villages would be located and burnt, systematically starved, or their entire population massacred. Leo Tolstoy reported that Russian soldiers would attack village houses at night. William Palgrave, a British diplomat who witnessed the events, adds that "their only crime was not being Russian". In 1864, "A Petition from Circassian leaders to Her Majesty Queen Victoria" was signed by the Circassians requesting humanitarian aid from the British Empire. In the same year, mass deportation was launched against the surviving population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867. Some died from epidemics or starvation among the crowds of deportees and were reportedly eaten by dogs after their death. Others died when the ships underway sank during storms.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Calculations, including taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, have estimated a loss of 80–97% of the Circassian population in the process. The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire. Sources state that as many as 1 to 1.5 million Circassians were forced to flee in total, but only half could make it to land. Ottoman archives show nearly 1 million migrants entering their land from the Caucasus by 1879, with nearly half of them dying on the shores as a result of diseases. If Ottoman archives are correct, it would make it the biggest genocide of the 19th century, and indeed, in support of the Ottoman archives, the Russian census of 1897 records only 150,000 Circassians, one tenth of the original number, still remaining in the now-conquered region.


title: Circassian genocide

text: , Georgia was the only country to recognize the Circassian genocide. Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a migration (). Some Russian nationalists in the Caucasus region continue to celebrate the day when the Circassian deportation was launched, 21 May (O.S), each year as a "holy conquest day". Circassians commemorate 21 May every year as the Circassian Day of Mourning commemorating the Circassian genocide. On 21 May, Circassians all over the world protest against the Russian government, especially in cities with large Circassian populations such as Kayseri and Amman, as well as other large cities such as Istanbul.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although it was already making attempts in the early 18th century, the Russian Empire began actively seeking to expand its territory to the South at the expense of the neighboring Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran, and thus it aimed to incorporate the Caucasus into its domain. Some areas proved easier to incorporate than others, largely depending on the nature of local political structures. Eastern Georgia for example, comprising the most powerful and dominant Georgian regions of Kartli and Kakheti had been under intermittent Iranian suzerainty since 1555. Russia eventually found itself able, through instability in the geopolitical situation of Georgia within Qajar Iran, to annex eastern Georgia in the early 19th century, ratified in the 1803 Treaty of Gulistan.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Russia endeavored to bring the entire Caucasus region under its control, conquering Armenia, Caucasian Azerbaijan, and southern Dagestan, while co-opting the nobility of other areas such as Lower Kabardia and parts of Dagestan. Although the Russians faced considerable resistance to incorporation in Dagestan and Georgia, as well as military resistance by the local government of Imereti, the regions they felt most difficult of all to incorporate were those that had not been conquered by foreign empires and did not have any local monopolies of power—which was the state of most Circassian territories, where resistance to absorption into the Russian Empire was most tenacious.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Circassians, Christianised through Byzantine influence between the 5th and 6th centuries, were generally in alliance with Georgians and both Georgians and Circassians wanted to keep good relations with the Russians. Although there had previously been a small Muslim presence in Circassia, significant conversions came after 1717, when Sultan Murad IV ordered the Crimeans to spread Islam among the Circassians, with the Ottomans seeing success in converting members of the aristocracy who would then ultimately spread the religion to their dependents; Islam gained much more ground later as conversion came to be used to cement defensive alliances to protect their independence against Russian expansion.


title: Circassian genocide

text: During the reign of Catherine II the Russian army started entering Circassian soil and Russia started building forts in an attempt to quickly annex Circassia. In 1763, Russian forces occupied the town of Mezdeug (modern-day Mozdok) in Eastern Circassia, turning it into a Russian fortress. Thus began the first hostilities between the Circassians and the Russian Empire.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1764, Circassian prince Misost Bematiqwa started the Circassian resistance in Eastern Circassia. Bematiqwa's resistance was strengthened when on October 18, 1768, the Ottoman sultan, who had declared war on Russia, sent a letter to Bematiqwa stating that he, as caliph, orders that all the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus should officially rise to war with Russia. The Ottoman Empire lost its protection over the Crimean Khanate with the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. Following these events, Russian presence in the region got stronger, and the Circassians requested help and alliance from the Ottomans.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The Russians introduced courts in Kabarda in the early 1790s and declared that the Adyghe Xabze, the Circassian law, has been removed. This greatly angered the Circassians.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1799, Russian general Fyodor Bursak organized several raids against the Western Circassians, and ordered his men to burn Circassian villages, including those who were loyal to the Russian Empire. From 1802 to 1806, General Pavel Tsitsianov led campaigns in Circassia and targeted Circassian villages. He referred to the Circassians as "untrustworthy swine" to "show how insignificant they are compared to Russia".


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1805, a plague struck Kabardia (Eastern Circassia). Using this as an excuse, General Glazenap ordered his forces to burn down 80 villages to terrorize the people into submission and to wreak revenge upon the Kabardians.


title: Circassian genocide

text: A village burning campaign started, in which the Circassian population were burnt without separation. First, the Russian army would enter and loot a Circassian village, then they would kill those who resist or complain, and finally, they would set fire to the village and make sure all inhabitants had died. In 1810 about 200 villages were burned. Between 1805 and 1807, General Bulgakov's army alone burned more than 280 villages. The population of Kabarda, which was 350,000 in 1763, was only 37,000 in 1817.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1808, a Russian commission decided that in order to end Circassian resistance against the Russian Empire, the Circassians would need to be completely eliminated from their homeland. In February 1810, General Fyodor Bursak's forces entered a Circassian village near the Sop River and proceeded to burn the village. They decided to postpone their plans to attack the next village when the river began to overflow. In December, the same methods were applied in the Shapsug region, and several villages were burnt. After some civilians deserted to the forests, forests in the region were burnt down. In 1811, petitions were sent to St. Petersburg in Russia, appealing for the basic rights of Circassians in the occupied areas.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1817, Russian veteran general Aleksey Yermolov arrived in the Caucasus. Deciding that Circassians would not surrender willingly, General Yermolov concluded that "terror" as an official strategy would be effective. Although terror methods were already in use, they were only officialized after Yermolov's orders. Russian generals began to destroy Circassian villages and towns and slaughter the people as official given duty to shock the population into surrender. Under Yermolov, Russian troops retaliated by destroying villages where resistance fighters were thought to hide, as well as employing assassinations, kidnappings and the execution of whole families. Because the resistance was relying on sympathetic villages for food, the Russian military also systematically destroyed crops and livestock and killed Circassian civilian farmers. Circassians responded by creating a tribal federation encompassing all tribes of the area.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In May 1818, the village of Tram was surrounded, burnt, and its inhabitants killed by Russian forces under the command of General Ivan Petrovich Delpotso, who took orders from Yermolov and who then wrote to the Circassian forces:


title: Circassian genocide

text: The complete destruction of villages with everything within them became a standard action by the Russian army and Cossack units. Nevertheless, the Circassian resistance continued. Villages that had previously accepted Russian rule were found resisting again, much to the ire of Russian commanders.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In September 1820, Russian forces began to forcibly resettle inhabitants of Eastern Circassia. Military forces were sent into Kabardia, killing cattle and causing large numbers of inhabitants to flee into the mountains, with the land these inhabitants had once lived on being acquired for the Kuban Cossacks. The entirety of Kabardia (Eastern Circassia) was then declared property of the Russian government.


title: Circassian genocide

text: General Yermolov accelerated his efforts in Kabardia, with the month of March 1822 alone seeing 14 villages being destroyed as Yermolov led expeditions. In February 1824, the Russian army led by General Vlasov attacked the Circassian villages of Jambut, Aslan, Morza, and Tsab Dadhika and completely destroyed them, along with the inhabitants, despite the villages being at peace with the Russian Empire. In 1828, General Emanuel destroyed 6 Natukhaj Circassian villages and many more Shapsug Circassian villages. He then passed the Kuban and burned 210 more villages.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The Treaty of Adrianople was signed on 14 September 1829. According to the document, Circassia was given by the Ottoman Empire to Russia. The Circassians considered it invalid, arguing that because their territory had been independent of the Ottomans, Istanbul had no right to cede it. Circassian ambassadors were sent to England, France and Ottoman lands announcing that they deny this treaty under all conditions.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1831, the Russian government considered the destruction of the Natukhaj tribe in favor of populating their land on the northern coast of the Black Sea with Cossacks. In late 1831, in retaliation for Circassian attacks against Cossack military bases, Russian General Frolov and his task force destroyed several villages. Beginning the night of November 20, a "horror campaign" was started, in which villages were surrounded by artillery weapons and shot at. The targets were local homes, as well as mosques. The operation was described in a report:


title: Circassian genocide

text: In another report, General Rosen described how, in December 1831, 381 Circassians were captured by his forces and boasted about taking them prisoner and firing at villages, leaving 100 men and 50 women dead. He goes on to detail how when setting fire to a village, a Russian soldier named Midvideiv killed a Circassian who tried to stop him from burning down a mosque.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The Russians countered the heavy Circassian resistance by modifying the terrain. They laid down a network of roads and cleared the forests around these roads, destroyed native villages, and often settled new farming communities of Russians or other Orthodox Slavic people. In this increasingly bloody situation, the wholesale destruction of villages became a standard tactic.


title: Circassian genocide

text: General Yermolov remarked that "We need the Circassian lands, but we don't have any need of the Circassians themselves". Russian military commanders, such as Yermolov and Bulgakov, acting in their own interests to attain glory on the battlefield and riches through conquest, which would be much more difficult to attain on the Western front than in the Caucasus, often deceived the central administration and obscured the attempts of Circassian groups to establish peace with Russia.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1833, Colonel Grigory Zass was appointed commander of a part of the Kuban Military Line with headquarters in the Batalpashinsk fortress. Colonel Zass received wide authority to act as he saw fit. He was a racist who considered Circassians to be inferior. The only way to deal with the Circassians, in his opinion, was to scare them away "just like wild animals". Zass advocated ruthless military methods predicated on this notion, including burning people alive, cutting off heads with show, burning populated villages to the ground, spreading epidemics on purpose, and mass rape of children. He kept a box under his bed with his collection of severed Circassian body parts. He operated on all areas of Circassia.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Zass' main strategy was to intercept and retain the initiative, terrorize the Circassians, and destroy Circassian settlements. After a victory, he would usually burn several villages and seize cattle and horses to show off, acts which he proudly admitted. In his reports, he frequently boasted about the destruction of villages and glorified the mass murder of civilians.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In August 1833, Zass led his first expedition into Circassian territory, with the goal being destroying as many villages and towns as possible. He attacked the Besleney region between November and December, destroying most villages, including the village of the double agent Aytech Qanoqo. He continued to exterminate the Circassian population between 1834 and 1835, particularly in the Abdzakh, Besleney, Shapsug, and Kabardian regions. Zass' forces referred to all Circassian elderly, children women and men as "savages", "bandits", "plunderers" or "thieves" and the Russian Empire's forces were commanded by officers who commanded political dissidents and criminals.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1834, Zass sent a report to Rosen detailing his campaign into Circassia. He talks about how he killed three Circassian civilians on their way to fetch grass:


title: Circassian genocide

text: Reportedly, Zass would pick random Circassian males from the towns he attacked and burn them alive as a form of entertainment. He did not stop at burning women; he also cut the pregnant women's bellies with a bayonet. He sent severed Circassian heads to his friends in Berlin who were professors and used them to study anatomy. The Decembrist Nikolai Ivanovich Lorer said that Zass cleaned and boiled the flesh off the heads after storing them under his bed in his tent. He also had Circassian heads outside of his tent impaled on lances on a hill. Circassian men's corpses were decapitated by Russian-Cossack women on the battlefield after the battles were over for the heads to be sent to Zass for collection.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Zass erected Circassian heads on poles outside of his tent and witnesses saw the wind blowing the beards of the heads. Russian soldiers and Cossacks were paid for sending Circassian heads to General Zass. Besides cutting Circassian heads off and collecting them, Zass employed a deliberate strategy of annihilating Circassians "en masse", burning entire Circassian villages with the people in them and encouraging violation of Circassian women and children. Zass is depicted as the Devil or Satan in Circassian folklore. In 1842, Zass was removed from service due to his methods being deemed too cruel by St. Petersburg.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1837, some Circassian leaders offered the Russians a white peace, arguing that no more blood should be shed. In response to this offer, the Russian army under the command of General Yermolov burnt 36 Circassian villages.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In the negotiations to formulate the 1856 Treaty of Paris, the British representative, the Earl of Clarendon, defended the Circassians' rights, but was thwarted. The final treaty also extended amnesty to nationals that had fought for enemy powers, but since Circassia had never previously been under Russian control, Circassians were exempt, and thus Circassians were now placed under "de jure" Russian sovereignty by the treaty, with Russia under no compulsion to grant Circassians the same rights as Russian citizens elsewhere, effectively making them Russian property with which Russia could do whatever it wanted.


title: Circassian genocide

text: According to Ivan Drozdov, for the most part, the Russian army preferred to indiscriminately destroy areas where Circassians resided. In September 1862, after attacking a Circassian village and seeing some of its inhabitants flee into the forest, General Yevdokimov bombarded that forest for six hours and ordered his men to kill on sight; he then set the forest on fire to make sure no survivors were left. Drozdov reported to have overheard Circassian men taking vows to sacrifice themselves to the cannons to allow their family and rest of their villages to escape, and later more reports of groups of Circassians doing so were received.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Leo Tolstoy reported that Russian soldiers would attack village houses at night. William Palgrave, a British diplomat who witnessed the events, adds that "their only crime was not being Russian".


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1857, Dmitry Milyutin published the idea of mass expulsions of Circassian natives. Milyutin argued that the goal was not to simply move them so that their land could be settled by productive farmers, but rather that "eliminating the Circassians was to be an end in itself – to cleanse the land of hostile elements". Tsar Alexander II endorsed the plans, and Milyutin later would become the minister of war in 1861, and from the early 1860s expulsions began occurring in the Caucasus. Indeed, by its suppression of the Caucasus directed at the Crimean Tartars and Circassians, Russia can be credited with "inventing the strategy of modern ethnic cleansing and genocide."


title: Circassian genocide

text: Others among the Russian military class such as Rostislav Fadeyev expressed views that the Circassians were unable to become Russian as a "re-education of a people is a centuries-long process" and that Russia was at a pivotal moment in its history toward pacifying the Caucasus. Fadeyev supported the extermination of half the population, stating that Russians intended to "exterminate half the Circassian people in order to compel the other half to lay down their arms". Sentiments for expulsion existed among prominent Russian politicians such as Prince Kochubei. Kochubei said to Americans visiting the region that "these Circassians are just like your American Indians – as untamable and uncivilized ... and, owning to their natural energy of character, extermination only would keep them quiet."


title: Circassian genocide

text: As Russian armies advanced in Circassia in the late 1850s and early 1860s, Circassians were evicted from their lands so they could be settled by loyal Cossacks as the Russian military elite developed a belief that Circassians would have to be entirely expelled from regions for the security of Russian rule. Yermolov wrote that "resettlement of intractable mountaineers" to Turkey would be the easiest way to "give freedom" to those who "prefer death to allegiance to the Russian government". The Circassian resettlement plan was eventually agreed upon at a meeting of the Russian Caucasus commanders in October 1860 in Vladikavkaz and officially approved on 10 May 1862 by Tsar Alexander II and a flood of refugee movements began as Russian troops advanced in their final campaign.


title: Circassian genocide

text: Although the order given by Tsar Alexander II was to deport the Circassians rather than to massacre them, the Russian commanders instead preferred the idea of massacring large portions of the Circassian population. Richmond has noted that "reports abound" of massacres in the final stages of the Caucasus campaign.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1859, three years before the approval of the plan by the Russian government, Russian officials began talks with the Ottomans about the migration of a limited number of emigrants, and in 1860 the two sides negotiated a treaty for the migration of 40,000–50,000 Circassians, with the Ottoman side being eager for an increase in population. However, Russia did not aim to limit the number of exilees to 50,000, as the plan was to exile the entire Circassian population.


title: Circassian genocide

text: With a gathering sense of emergency, on 25 June 1861, leaders of all the Circassian tribes gathered in Sochi to jointly petition the Western powers for help. Ottoman and British delegations both promised recognition of an independent Circassia, as well as recognition from Paris, if they unified into a coherent state, and in response the Circassian tribes formed a national parliament in Sochi, but Russian General Kolyobakin quickly overran Sochi and destroyed it, while there was no action to stop this by any major power's government.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In April 1862, a group of Russian soldiers slaughtered hundreds of Circassians who had run out of ammunition, leaving "the mountain covered with corpses of bayoneted enemies", as reported by Ivan Drozdov.


title: Circassian genocide

text: By the fall of 1863, Russian operations had become methodical, following a formula by which, after the Circassians fled into the woods, their village and any food that could be found would be burned, then after a week or two they would search for and destroy any huts the Circassians might have made for shelter, burn the forest, and then this process would be repeated until General Yevdokimov was satisfied that all the natives in the area had died either by being shot by Russians, of starvation, or being burnt.


title: Circassian genocide

text: In the southeast Circassians prepared to resist and hold their last stand against Russian military advances and troops. With the refusal to surrender, Circassian tribes were targeted one by one by the Russian military with thousands massacred and whole villages razed to the ground.


title: Circassian genocide

text: On April 9, 1864, "A Petition from Circassian leaders to Her Majesty Queen Victoria" was signed by the Circassians. The document requests British military aid, or at the worst case, humanitarian aid, to the Circassian people. It reads:


title: Circassian genocide

text: In 1864 in the valley of Khodz near Maikop, the Ubykh population resisted Russian troops. During the battle the men were joined by the women, who disposed of their jewellery into the river and took up arms into a fight to the end. Russians troops with heavy artillery and other modern weaponry killed all the men, women and children, in a scene that a Circassian chronicler who had witnessed the events described as "a sea of blood".


title: Circassian genocide

text: In March 1864, a surrounded Circassian army refused to surrender and committed mass suicide. Around the same time, a final battle took place in Qbaada in 1864 between the Circassian army of 20,000 men and women, consisting of local villagers and militia and a Russian army of 100,000 men, consisting of Cossack and Russian horsemen, infantry and artillery. The militant Circassians were defeated, and after the battle, hordes of Circassians were driven to Sochi, where thousands of them died as they awaited deportation.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The last Circassian resistance along with the coastal Abkhaz tribes of Pskhu, Akhtsipsou, Aibgo and Jigit were defeated and then killed "en masse" to the last man, woman and child, after which, on 21 May, Prince Mikhail Nikolayevich gathered the troops in a clearing in the area for a thanksgiving service. The Russian army began celebrating victory, as a military-religious parade was held, and 100 Circassian warriors were publicly mutilated in a public execution in order to establish authority. After this, the Russian army began increasing their efforts in raiding and burning Circassian villages, destroying fields to prevent return, cutting down trees, and driving the people to the Black Sea coast.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The Ottomans hoped to increase the proportion of Muslims in regions where there were large Christian populations. Mountaineers were invited to "go to Turkey, where the Ottoman government would accept them with open arms and where their life would be incomparably better".


title: Circassian genocide

text: General Yevdokimov was entrusted with enforcing the Russian policy of mass Circassian migration to other parts of the Russian Empire or the Ottoman Empire. Although some Circassians went by land to the Ottoman Empire, the majority went by sea, and those tribes which had "chosen" deportation were marched to the ports along the Black Sea by Russian forces. Russian commanders and governors warned that if the order to leave was not carried out, more forces would be sent.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The situation of the Circassian and Abkhaz masses that had been driven into the coastal gorges prior to transport was dire. A Russian historian of the time, Adolph Petrovich Berzhe, who witnessed the events regarding the departure of the Circassians described the following:


title: Circassian genocide

text: Ivan Drozdov, a Russian officer who witnessed the scene in May 1864 as the other Russians were celebrating their victory remarked:


title: Circassian genocide

text: An unknown number of deportees perished during the process. Some died from epidemics among crowds of deportees both while awaiting departure and while languishing in their Ottoman Black Sea ports of arrival. Others perished when ships underway sank during storms or due to cases where profit-minded transporters overloaded their ships to maximize monetary gain. In order to pay for the voyage, Circassians sometimes were forced to sell their cattle, their belongings, or themselves into slavery.


title: Circassian genocide

text: The operation was not done with any degree of efficiency by the Russians, forcing the Circassians typically to leave using unchartered vessels, thus opening themselves up to abuses by the captains of such vessels. In some cases as many as 1,800 refugees were packed into one ship, which would also carry livestock and household possessions. When the ships did not sink, such crowded environments proved suitable for the spread of diseases and dehydration, and when the ships arrived at their destinations, they contained only remnants of their original human cargo. For this reason, they were referred to by contemporary observers as "floating graveyards" with "decks swarming with the dead and dying".


title: Circassian genocide

text: Abuses in the transport of refugees between Turkish cities were also noted, with one particular incident concerning a ship bound for Cyprus in which mutilated and decapitated bodies were found washed ashore, compounded by accounts of refugees being tied up and tossed overboard while still alive. On this particular Cyprus-bound ship, only one third of the refugees who had boarded survived. Another Russian observer, Olshevsky, also noted abuses by Turkish skippers, as well as bribes paid by Circassians to get onto departing ships, but he blamed most of all the Russian command under Yevdokimov for the situation: