title: Steven Wilson

text: However, Wilson does share snapshots of his life on Instagram. He shared the news that he married his girlfriend Rotem in September 2019, subsequently sharing the news and a wedding picture on his Instagram page. His wife has 2 girls from her previous marriage. His family has also set up an Instagram account for their dog Bowie Wilson, named after David Bowie. Wilson is a vegetarian and an atheist, fascinated by the subject of religion, and a strong critic of organised religion. However, he believes in not imposing his views, but to express them through stories and characters. Wilson: "I think that is all you can do as an artist. Not preach to your audience but just reflect the world with all its flaws and joys". He does not smoke and does not use recreational drugs, except for an occasional drink. In a 2016 article he expressed his admiration for Israel and was critical of musicians such as Roger Waters who have boycotted Israel.


title: Steven Wilson

text: In 2016, Steven Wilson was named one of the 15 best progressive rock guitarists through the years by "Guitar World" magazine. He was also ranked the 7th best "prog" guitarist of 2016 by a "MusicRadar" readers' poll.


title: The Rescuers

text: The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd Disney animated feature film, its story follows Bernard and Bianca, two members of the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world. The two mice must free young orphan Penny from two treasure hunters, who intend to use her to help them obtain a giant diamond. The film is based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, most notably "The Rescuers" (1959) and "Miss Bianca" (1962).


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" entered development in 1962, but was shelved due to Walt Disney's dislike of the project's political overtones. During the 1970s, the film was revived as a project for the younger animators, but it was taken over by the senior animation staff following the release of "Robin Hood" (1973). "The Rescuers" was released on June 22, 1977, to positive critical reception and became a box office success. The film was also successful throughout the world, including France and West Germany. Due to the film's success, a sequel titled "The Rescuers Down Under" was released in 1990, which made this film the first Disney animated film to have a sequel.


title: The Rescuers

text: In an abandoned riverboat in Devil's Bayou, Louisiana, a young orphan named Penny drops a message in a bottle, containing a plea for help, into the river. The Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization inside the United Nations, finds the bottle when it washes up in New York City. The Hungarian representative, Miss Bianca, volunteers to accept the case. She chooses Bernard, a stammering janitor, as her co-agent. The two visit Morningside Orphanage, where Penny lived, and meet an old cat named Rufus. He tells them about a sketchy woman named Madame Medusa who once tried to lure Penny into her car, and may have succeeded in abducting Penny this time.


title: The Rescuers

text: The mice travel to Medusa's pawn shop, where they discover that she and her partner, Mr. Snoops, are on a quest to find the world's largest diamond, the Devil's Eye. The mice learn that Medusa and Snoops are currently at the Devil's Bayou with Penny, whom they have indeed kidnapped and placed under the guard of two trained crocodiles, Brutus and Nero. With the help of an albatross named Orville and a dragonfly named Evinrude, the mice follow Medusa to the bayou. There, they learn that Medusa plans to force Penny to enter a small blowhole that leads down into a blocked-off pirates' cave where the Devil's Eye is located.


title: The Rescuers

text: Bernard and Bianca find Penny and devise a plan of escape. They send Evinrude to alert the local animals, who loathe Medusa, but Evinrude is delayed when he is forced to take shelter from a cloud of bats. The following morning, Medusa and Snoops send Penny down into the cave to find the gem. Unbeknownst to Medusa, Bianca and Bernard are hiding in Penny's skirt pocket. The three soon find the Devil's Eye within a pirate skull. As Penny pries the mouth open with a sword, the mice push the gem through it, but soon the oceanic tide rises and floods the cave. The three barely manage to retrieve the diamond and escape.


title: The Rescuers

text: Medusa betrays Snoops and hides the diamond in Penny's teddy bear, while holding Penny and Snoops at gunpoint. When she trips over a cable set as a trap by Bernard and Bianca, Medusa loses the bear and the diamond to Penny, who runs away with them. The local animals arrive at the riverboat and aid Bernard and Bianca in trapping Brutus and Nero, then set off Mr. Snoops's fireworks to create more chaos. Meanwhile, Penny and the mice commandeer Medusa's swamp-mobile, a makeshift airboat. Medusa unsuccessfully pursues them, using Brutus and Nero as water-skis. As the riverboat sinks from the fireworks' damage, Medusa crashes and is left clinging to the boat's smoke stacks. Mr. Snoops escapes on a raft and laughs at her, while the irritated Brutus and Nero turn on her and circle below.


title: The Rescuers

text: Back in New York City, the Rescue Aid Society watch a news report of how Penny found the Devil's Eye, which has been given to the Smithsonian Institution. Penny has also been adopted. The meeting is interrupted when Evinrude arrives with a call for help, sending Bernard and Bianca on a new adventure.


title: The Rescuers

text: In 1959, the book "The Rescuers" by Margery Sharp had been published to considerable success. In 1962, Sharp followed up with a sequel titled "Miss Bianca". That same year, the books were optioned by Walt Disney, who began developing an animated film adaptation. In January 1963, story artist Otto Englander wrote a treatment based on the first book, centering on a Norwegian poet unfairly imprisoned in a Siberia-like stronghold known as the Black Castle. The story was revised with the location changed to Cuba, in which the mice would help the poet escape into the United States. However, as the story became overtly involved in international intrigue, Disney shelved the project as he was unhappy with the political overtones. In August 1968, Englander wrote another treatment featuring Bernard and Bianca rescuing Richard the Lionheart during the Middle Ages.


title: The Rescuers

text: During the early 1970s, the project was revived as a project for the young animators, led by Don Bluth, as the studio would alternate between full-scale "A pictures" and smaller, scaled-back "B pictures" with simpler animation. The animators had selected the most recent book, "Miss Bianca in the Antarctic", to adapt from. The new story involved a King penguin deceiving a captured polar bear into performing in shows aboard a schooner, causing the unsatisfied bear to place a bottle that would reach the mice. This version of the story was later dropped because Fred Lucky, a storyboard artist, explained that the Arctic setting "was too stark a background for the animators." Mattinson later explained, "Our problem was that the penguin wasn't formidable or evil enough for the audience to believe he would dominate the big bear. We struggled with that for a year or so. We changed the locale to somewhere in America and it was now a regular zoo and we tried to come up with something with the bear in the zoo and needing to be rescued but that didn't work either."


title: The Rescuers

text: In that version, the bear character was still retained, but was renamed Louie the Bear. Jazz singer Louis Prima was cast in the role and had recorded most of the dialogue and multiple songs that were composed by Floyd Huddleston. The writers also expanded the role of his best friend, Gus the Lion. Huddleston had stated, "It's about two animals. One is Louis Prima — he's the polar bear — and Redd Foxx is the lion ...Louis gets cornered into leaving and going to the South Pole where he can make himself a bigger star. But he gets homesick; he feels fooled. They send out little mice as 'rescuers'." According to storyboard artist Vance Gerry, director Wolfgang Reitherman had stated, It's too complicated. I want a simple story: A little girl gets kidnapped and the mice try to get her back, period. By November 1973, the role of Louie the Bear had been heavily scaled back and then eliminated. In one version, the bear was meant to be Bernard and Bianca's connection to Penny. Gerry explained, "We developed the sequence where, while the two mice are searching for clues as to where Penny has been taken, they come across this bear who she had been friends with because the orphanage where Penny was living was near the zoo." In the final film, the idea was reduced to a simple scene where Bernard enters a zoo and hears a lion's roar that scares him away.


title: The Rescuers

text: In Europe, while promoting the release of "Robin Hood" (1973), Reitherman stated: "I took Margery Sharp's books along and there was in there a mean woman in a crystal palace. When I got back I called some of the guys together and I said, 'We've got to get a villain in this thing. The villainess and her motive to steal a diamond was adapted from the Diamond Duchess in "Miss Bianca". The setting was then changed to the bayous found in the Southern United States. By August 1973, the villainess was named the Grand Duchess with Phyllis Diller cast in the role. A month later, conceptual artist Ken Anderson began depicting Cruella de Vil, the villainess from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961), as the main antagonist of the film. Anderson had drawn several sketches of Cruella de Vil sporting alligator-leathered chic attire and sunglasses; one sketch depicted her wearing bell-bottom pants and platform shoes. However, several staff members such as animator Ollie Johnston stated it felt wrong to attempt a sequel for the character. Furthermore, Mattinson explained that Milt Kahl did not want to animate Cruella de Vil. "Milt, of course, was very strong against that, 'Oh, no no. We're gonna have a new character. I'm not gonna do Cruella'," Mattinson recalled, "Because he felt that Marc [Davis had animated] Cruella beautifully. He was not gonna go and take his character."


title: The Rescuers

text: The new version of the character was renamed Madame Medusa, and her appearance was based on Kahl's then-wife, Phyllis Bounds (who was the niece of Lillian Disney), whom he divorced in 1978. This was Kahl's last film for the studio, and he wanted his final character to be his best; he was so insistent on perfecting Madame Medusa that he ended up doing almost all the animation for the character himself. The kidnapped child Penny was inspired by Patience, the orphan in the novel. The alligator characters Brutus and Nero was based on the two bloodhounds, Tyrant and Torment, in the novels. For the henchman, the filmmakers adapted the character, Mandrake, into Mr. Snoops. His appearance was caricatured from John Culhane, a journalist, who had been interviewing animators at the Disney studios. Culhane claimed he was practically tricked into posing for various reactions, and his movements were imitated on Mr. Snoops's model sheet. However, he stated, "Becoming a Disney character was beyond my wildest dreams of glory."


title: The Rescuers

text: Also, the writers had considered developing Bernard and Bianca into married professional detectives, though they decided that leaving the characters as unmarried novices was more romantic. For the supporting characters, a pint-sized swamp mobile for the mice—a leaf powered by a dragonfly—was created. As they developed the comedic potential of displaying his exhaustion through buzzing, the dragonfly grew from an incidental into a major character. Veteran sound effects artist and voice actor Jimmy MacDonald came out of retirement to provide the effects. Additionally, the local swamp creatures were originally written as a dedicated home guard that drilled and marched incessantly. However, the writers rewrote them into a volunteer group of helpful little bayou creatures. Their leader, a singing bullfrog, voiced by Phil Harris, was deleted from the film. A pigeon was originally proposed to serve as transportation for Bernard and Bianca until Johnston remembered a "True-Life Adventures" episode that featured albatrosses and their clumsy take-offs and landings. He then suggested the ungainly bird instead.


title: The Rescuers

text: On February 13, 1976, co-director John Lounsbery died of a heart attack during production. Art Stevens, an animator, was then selected as the new co-director.


title: The Rescuers

text: After the commercial success of "The Aristocats" (1970), then-vice president Ron Miller pledged that new animators should be hired to ensure "a continuity of quality Disney animated films for another generation." Eric Larson, one of the "Nine Old Men" animators, scouted for potential artists who were studying at art schools and colleges throughout the United States. More than 60 artists were brought into the training program. Then, the selected trainees were to create a black-and-white animation test, which were reviewed at the end of the month. The process would continue for several months, in which the few finalists were first employed as in-betweeners working only on nights and weekends. By 1977, more than 25 artists were hired during the training program. Among those selected were Glen Keane, Ron Clements, and Andy Gaskill, all of whom would play crucial roles in the Disney Renaissance. Because of this, "The Rescuers" was the first collaboration between the newly recruited trainees and the senior animators. It would also mark the last joint effort by Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, and Frank Thomas, and the first Disney film Don Bluth had worked on as a directing animator, instead of as an assistant animator.


title: The Rescuers

text: Ever since "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961), animation for theatrical Disney animated films had been done by xerography, which had only been able to produce black outlines. By the time "The Rescuers" was in production, the technology had been improved for the cel artists to use a medium-grey toner in order to create a softer-looking line.


title: The Rescuers

text: The songwriting team of Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins first met in 1973 on a double date. Before then, Connors had co-composed and sang successful songs such as "To Know Him Is to Love Him" and "Hey Little Cobra" with the Teddy Bears. Meanwhile, Robbins worked as a personal secretary to actors George Kennedy and Eva Gabor and wrote unpublished poetry. On their first collaboration, they composed eleven songs for a Christmas show for an unproduced animated film. In spite of this, they were offered an interview from Walt Disney Productions to compose songs for "The Rescuers". Describing their collaborative process, Robbins noted "...Carol plays the piano and I play the pencil." During production, both women were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Gonna Fly Now" from "Rocky" (1976) with Bill Conti.


title: The Rescuers

text: Additionally, Connors and Robbins collaborated with composer Sammy Fain on the song, "Someone's Waiting for You". Most of the songs they had written for the film were performed by Shelby Flint. Also, notably for the first time since "Bambi" (1942), all the most significant songs were sung as part of a narrative, as opposed to by the film's characters as in most Disney animated films.


title: The Rescuers

text: On June 19, 1977, "The Rescuers" premiered at the AFI Silver Theatre in Washington, D.C. During the film's initial theatrical run, the film was released as a double feature with the live-action nature documentary film, "A Tale of Two Critters". On December 16, 1983, "The Rescuers" was re-released to theaters accompanied with the new Mickey Mouse featurette, "Mickey's Christmas Carol", which marked the character's first theatrical appearance after a 30-year absence. In anticipation of its upcoming theatrically released sequel in 1990, "The Rescuers Down Under", "The Rescuers" saw another successful theatrical run on March 17, 1989.


title: The Rescuers

text: To tie in with the film's 25th anniversary, "The Rescuers" debuted in the Walt Disney Classics Collection line in 2002, with three different figures featuring three of the film's characters, as well as the opening title scroll. The three figures were sculpted by Dusty Horner and they were: "Brave Bianca", featuring Miss Bianca the heroine and priced at $75, "Bold Bernard", featuring hero Bernard, priced also at $75 and "Evinrude Base", featuring Evinrude the dragonfly and priced at $85. The title scroll featuring the film's name, "The Rescuers", and from the opening song sequence, "The Journey," was priced at $30. All figures were retired in March 2005, except for the opening title scroll which was suspended in December 2012.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was the inspiration for another Walt Disney Classics Collection figure in 2003. Ken Melton was the sculptor of "Teddy Goes With Me, My Dear", a limited-edition, 8-inch sculpture featuring the evil Madame Medusa, the orphan girl Penny, her teddy bear "Teddy" and the Devil's Eye diamond. Exactly 1,977 of these sculptures were made, in reference to the film's release year, 1977. The sculpture was priced at $299 and instantly declared retired in 2003.


title: The Rescuers

text: In November 2008, a sixth sculpture inspired by the film was released. Made with pewter and resin, "Cleared For Take Off" introduced the character of Orville into the collection and featured Bernard and Bianca a second time. The piece, inspired by Orville's take-off scene in the film, was sculpted by Ruben Procopio.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" premiered on VHS and LaserDisc on September 18, 1992 as part of the Walt Disney Classics series. The release went into moratorium on April 30, 1993. It was re-released on VHS as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection on January 5, 1999, but was recalled three days later and reissued on March 23, 1999 (see "Nudity scandal").


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was released on DVD on May 20, 2003, as a standard edition, which was discontinued in November 2011.


title: The Rescuers

text: On August 21, 2012, a 35th-anniversary edition of "The Rescuers" was released on Blu-ray alongside its sequel in a "2-Movie Collection".


title: The Rescuers

text: On January 8, 1999, three days after the film's second release on home video, The Walt Disney Company announced a recall of about 3.4 million copies of the videotapes because there was an objectionable image in one of the film's backgrounds.


title: The Rescuers

text: The image in question is a blurry image of a topless woman with breasts and nipples showing. The image appears twice in non-consecutive frames during the scene in which Miss Bianca and Bernard are flying on Orville's back through New York City. The two images could not be seen in ordinary viewing because the film runs too fast—at 24 frames per second.


title: The Rescuers

text: On January 10, 1999, two days after the recall was announced, the London newspaper "The Independent" reported:A Disney spokeswoman said that the images in "The Rescuers" were placed in the film during post-production, but she declined to say what they were or who placed them... The company said the aim of the recall was to keep its promise to families that they can trust and rely on the Disney brand to provide the best in family entertainment.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" home video was reissued on March 23, 1999, with the inappropriate nudity edited and blocked out.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was successful upon its original theatrical release earning worldwide gross rentals of $48 million at the box office. During its initial release in France, it out-grossed "Star Wars" (1977) receiving admissions of 7.2 million. The film also became the highest-grossing film in West Germany at the time with admissions of 9.7 million. By the end of its theatrical run, the distributor rentals amounted to $19 million in the United States and Canada while its international rentals totaled $41 million.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was re-released in 1983 in which it grossed $21 million domestically. The film was again re-released in 1989 and grossed $21.2 million domestically. In its total lifetime domestic gross, the film has grossed $71.2 million, and its total lifetime worldwide gross is $169 million.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was said to be Disney's greatest film since "Mary Poppins" (1964), and seemed to signal a new golden age for Disney animation. Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" praised the film as "the best feature-length animated film from Disney in a decade or more—the funniest, the most inventive, the least self-conscious, the most coherent, and moving from start to finish, and probably most important of all, it is also the most touching in that unique way fantasy has of carrying vibrations of real life and real feelings." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote the film "is one of the most rousing and appealing animated features ever made by the Disney studio. The last production for several members of the original feature animation unit assembled by Walt Disney in the late '30s, the film is both a triumphant swan song and gladdening act of regeneration." "Variety" magazine wrote the film was "the best work by Disney animators in many years, restoring the craft to its former glories. In addition, it has a more adventurous approach to color and background stylization than previous Disney efforts have displayed, with a delicate pastel palette used to wide-ranging effect."


title: The Rescuers

text: Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote that the film "doesn't belong in the same category as the great Disney cartoon features ("Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs," "Bambi," "Fantasia") but it's a reminder of a kind of slickly cheerful, animated entertainment that has become all but extinct." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four writing, "To see any Disney animated film these days is to compare it with Disney classics released 30 or 40 years ago. Judged against "Pinocchio," for example. "The Rescuers" is lightweight, indeed. Its themes are forgettable. It's mostly an adventure story." "TV Guide" gave the film three stars out of five, opining that "The Rescuers" "is a beautifully animated film that showed Disney still knew a lot about making quality children's fare even as their track record was weakening." They also praised the voice acting of the characters, and stated that the film is "a delight for children as well as adults who appreciate good animation and brisk storytelling." Ellen MacKay of Common Sense Media gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "Great adventure, but too dark for preschoolers".


title: The Rescuers

text: In his book, "The Disney Films", film historian Leonard Maltin refers to "The Rescuers" as "a breath of fresh air for everyone who had been concerned about the future of animation at Walt Disney's," praises its "humor and imagination and [that it is] expertly woven into a solid story structure [...] with a delightful cast of characters." Finally, he declares the film "the most satisfying animated feature to come from the studio since "101 Dalmatians"." He also briefly mentions the ease with which the film surpassed other animated films of its time. The film's own animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston stated on their website that "The Rescuers" had been their return to a film with heart and also considered it their best film without Walt Disney. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received approval rating, with an average rating of based on reviews. The website's consensus states: "Featuring superlative animation, off-kilter characters, and affectionate voice work by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor, "The Rescuers" represents a bright spot in Disney's post-golden age." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Rescuers

text: Jack Shaheen, in his study of Hollywood portrayals and stereotypes of Arabs, noted the inclusion of delegates from Arab countries in the Rescue Aid Society.


title: The Rescuers

text: Bernard and Bianca made appearances as meet-and-greet characters at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in the years following the original film's release. While they currently don't make regular appearances at the American parks, both continue to appear regularly at Tokyo Disney Resort.


title: The Rescuers

text: In the "Disney Infinity" video games, Medusa's Swamp Mobile was introduced as a vehicle in "Disney Infinity 2.0".


title: The Rescuers

text: In the world builder video game "Disney Magic Kingdoms", Bernard, Miss Bianca, Penny, Madame Medusa, and Orville appear as playable characters in the main storyline of the game, along with The Rescue Aid Society and Madame Medusa's Riverboat as attractions.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers" was the first Disney animated film to have a sequel. After three successful theatrical releases of the original film, "The Rescuers Down Under" was released theatrically on November 16, 1990.


title: The Rescuers

text: "The Rescuers Down Under" takes place in the Australian Outback, and involves Bernard and Bianca trying to rescue a boy named Cody and a giant golden eagle called Marahute from a greedy poacher named Percival C. McLeach. Both Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor reprised their lead roles. Since Jim Jordan, who had voiced Orville, had since died, a new character, Wilbur (Orville's brother, another albatross), was created and voiced by John Candy.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Pitch Perfect 2 is a 2015 American musical comedy film directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Kay Cannon. It is a sequel to the 2012 film "Pitch Perfect" and the second installment in the "Pitch Perfect" film series. The film centers on the fictional Barden University Bellas, an all-female a cappella singing group, who try to beat out a competing German musical group in a world singing championship. The film features Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Kelly Jakle, Shelley Regner, John Michael Higgins, and Banks all reprising their roles from the previous film, now joined by Hailee Steinfeld, Katey Sagal, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, and Flula Borg.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: It was released in the United States on May 15, 2015 by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $287 million worldwide. It surpassed the total gross of the original film ($115.4 million) in five days, and also became the highest-grossing music comedy film of all-time, overtaking "School of Rock" ($131.3 million). A sequel, "Pitch Perfect 3", was released on December 22, 2017.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: In 2015, three years after winning their first championship, the Barden Bellas are now led by senior Beca Mitchell and three-time super senior Chloe Beale. The Bellas have been the ICCA National champions for three consecutive years. However, a national scandal (dubbed "Muffgate") erupts when Patricia "Fat Amy" Hobart accidentally rips her pants in front of U.S. President Barack Obama during his birthday performance at the Kennedy Center, exposing her genitalia due to her lack of underwear. The incident leads to the Bellas' suspension from the ICCAs.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: However, they are not stripped of their competitive titles, leading Beca to make a deal that they can be reinstated should they win the A Cappella World Championship. Freshman Emily Junk begins her college career, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Katherine, by becoming a Bella. At orientation, she watches an A Cappella performance by the Treblemakers, now led by Beca's boyfriend Jesse Swanson. Jesse' best friend, Benjamin "Benji" Applebaum, develops a crush on Emily at first sight. The Bellas learn that Das Sound Machine (DSM), a German powerhouse group, has replaced them on their victory tour and is the favorite to win the Worlds. Additionally, Beca has started an internship at recording studio Residual Heat, something only Jesse knows (and Fat Amy later discovers).


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: As the Bellas' suspension means they cannot hold auditions, Emily goes directly to their sorority house. She sings her unfinished song "Flashlight," impressing them; they decide she can join, as since she came of her own accord, they technically aren't breaking any rules. The Bellas meet DSM when the latter performs at a car show; the group, led by intimidating duo Pieter Krämer and Kommissar, takes delight in mocking the Bellas. Later, both groups are invited to an exclusive riff-off; also in attendance are the Treblemakers, the Tone Hangers (a group composed of former Treblemakers, including previous leader Bumper Allen, with whom Amy is in a no-strings-attached relationship), and the Green Bay Packers.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: The Bellas make it to the final two, but lose to DSM when Emily panics and sings "Flashlight", violating the tradition of singing non-original songs. Bumper surprises Amy with a traditional date and asks her to officially be his girlfriend; she refuses, leaving him devastated. At a practice performance for the Worlds, the Bellas' planned set ends in disaster when their incorporation of pyrotechnics sets Cynthia Rose's hair on fire. In order to rediscover their roots and synchronicity, Chloe takes them to a retreat led by former Bella Aubrey Posen. The truth about Beca's internship comes out, and she starts a heated debate with Chloe over her obsession with the group and accuses the other Bellas of not thinking about their futures. She angrily storms off, only to step into one of the camp's hidden bear traps. In a panic, she apologizes for her harsh words, before being saved by Lilly. Later, the Bellas accept that they must go their separate ways after graduation, and regain harmony by singing "When I'm Gone", the song Beca used to audition for the group.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Amy realizes she regrets ending things with Bumper, and the two reconcile the next day. Meanwhile, Beca's boss at her internship has been unimpressed with everything she has presented to him so far, so Beca offers to help Emily produce "Flashlight" at the studio to demonstrate her true abilities. When they show him the demo, he expresses envy for their talent and says he looks forward to working with them. The senior Bellas graduate, and the group heads to Copenhagen for the World Finals. Before their performance, Emily and Benji share a kiss. The Bellas deliver a stellar stripped-down performance, ending in a harmonized version of "Flashlight" with Aubrey, Katherine, and other past Bellas joining in. They win the championship, repairing their damaged legacy. As the senior Bellas leave Barden, they give Emily a belated initiation ceremony, with Amy demonstrating the last tradition: christening the house by sliding down the staircase.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Additionally, Keegan-Michael Key appears as Sammy, Beca's boss at Residual Heat, a rude but successful producer, Shawn Carter Peterson appears as Dax, an intern at Residual Heat, David Cross (credited as Sir Willups Brightlysmore) appears as the Riff-Off host, Pentatonix members Scott Hoying, Kirstie Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, Avi Kaplan, and Kevin Olusola appear as Team Canada, Penn Masala appears as Team India, the Naan Stops, and Filharmonic appears as Team Philippines


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Green Bay Packers players Clay Matthews, David Bakhtiari, Don Barclay, Josh Sitton and T. J. Lang play themselves in cameos. Also appearing as themselves are Snoop Dogg, Natalie Morales, Jake Tapper, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Jimmy Kimmel, Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie Perez, Lucas Grabeel, Nicolle Wallace, Jordan Rodgers, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams. Robin Roberts, C.J. Perry and Kether Donohue appear as Legacy Bellas during the finale. Additionally, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Shonda Rhimes briefly appear via archive footage.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: In December 2012, Skylar Astin revealed that he and Rebel Wilson had had meetings with Universal Studios about the potential sequel. In April 2013, it was confirmed that a sequel would be released in 2015. Elizabeth Banks directed the sequel, and Kay Cannon returned as screenwriter. Paul Brooks produced for Gold Circle Films with Banks and Max Handelman producing for Brownstone Productions. Deke Sharon returned as vocal producer, and has a brief cameo as a German reporter. As in the first movie, they ran a month of "a cappella boot camp" before filming.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Anna Kendrick and Wilson returned to the cast early in 2014 to play the characters they originated in the first film. Brittany Snow reprised her character. On April 24, Chrissie Fit was added to the cast. On May 1, Hailee Steinfeld was added to the cast, playing a new member of the Barden Bellas. On May 5, Adam DeVine was reported to return in the film. On May 14, Katey Sagal was added to the cast, playing Steinfeld's character's mother. On May 29, Flula Borg was added to the cast, playing the leader of Das Sound Machine. It was confirmed on June 18, 2014 that Christopher Shepard was added to the cast. It was confirmed on June 19, 2014 that Pentatonix would play the role of a rival group to the Barden Bellas. It was later confirmed that The Filharmonic from season 4 of "The Sing Off" would make a cameo appearance as a rival group from the Philippines. On August 24, 2014 it was announced that Penn Masala, the all-male Hindi a cappella group from director Elizabeth Banks's and producer Max Handelman's alma mater The University of Pennsylvania, would be featured as a team from Southeast Asia. On June 25, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen was confirmed added to the cast.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: On May 21, 2014, principal photography began at Louisiana State University (LSU) campus in Baton Rouge.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: On December 3, 2014, Mark Mothersbaugh was hired to compose the music for the film. The official soundtrack was released on May 12, 2015. The special edition soundtrack was later released on August 8, 2015.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: The original album debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, earning 107,000 album-equivalent units (92,000 copies of traditional sales) in the week ending May 17, 2015.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: The film was released on May 7, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand, and May 15 in the United States and Canada.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: A still from the rehearsals for the film was revealed on May 16, 2014. The poster was released on November 18, 2014 and the trailer came out the following day. A second trailer was aired during Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Director Elizabeth Banks stated an additional performance by the Treblemakers was filmed specifically for the DVD release. Also included on the DVD will be deleted scenes. On May 20, 2015, it was announced that FX Networks had acquired U.S. television broadcasting rights to the film.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: The Blu-ray and DVD editions of "Pitch Perfect 2" were released on September 22, 2015 in the U.S. with a Target-exclusive edition containing additional bonus features being released the same day. Pitch Perfect 2 was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on March 20, 2018.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: "Pitch Perfect 2" grossed $184.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $103.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $287.5 million, against a production budget of around $29 million. In its first five days, the film surpassed the total gross of the original ($115.4 million), and also overtook "School of Rock" ($131.3 million) for the highest grossing musical-comedy of all-time and the third greatest musical debut ever (behind "Beauty and the Beast"s $174.8 million in 2017 and "The Lorax"s $70.4 million in 2012). "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the net profit of the film to be $139.6 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: In the United States and Canada, "Pitch Perfect 2" grossed $4.6 million from Thursday night showings and $27.8 million on its opening day, increasing the opening weekend projections from $40 million to $64 million. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $69.2 million, finishing first at the box office. The opening weekend gross was more than the entire North American total gross of the first film ($65 million), is the third biggest PG-13 comedy opening of all-time (behind "The Simpsons Movie's" $74 million in 2007 and "Austin Powers in Goldmember"'s $73 million in 2002) and the highest grossing opening ever for a musical. The opening weekend audience was 75% female.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Outside North America, the film opened at number one in Australia and New Zealand, earning $7.6 million and $1.2 million respectively.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 217 reviews and an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Pitch Perfect 2" sings in sweet comedic harmony, even if it doesn't hit quite as many high notes as its predecessor." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Reprising the kind of musical performances, campus hijinks, stinging humor and sassy sisterhood put in place by its eminently likeable predecessor, "Pitch Perfect 2" remixes the elements and comes up with something even slicker and sharper."


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Guy Lodge of Variety called it an "ebulliently entertaining, arguably superior sequel to the 2012 musical comedy hit." Lodge added, "Kay Cannon's script is even lighter on narrative than its predecessor, but fills any resulting void with a concentrated supply of riotous gags, and a renewed emphasis on the virtues of female collaboration and independence."


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. Travers welcomed the addition of Steinfeld, praised Wilson for her continued scene stealing, and said the scenes with Keegan-Michael Key were gold. He reserved his highest praise for Banks, for both her acting and her feature debut as director, praising her for "bringing fizz to the tiredest clichés and reveling in a screen full of musical girl power."


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it a mixed review, saying ""Pitch Perfect 2" strains to find some plot conflicts while balancing the line between satire and rousing musical numbers." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune called it "a two-hour lesson in how to act like a frenemy to your alleged friends. And it's not funny enough."


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: David Edelstein of New York Magazine gave the film a negative review and, despite having reviewed the first film positively, thought the sequel was "A Ca-Terrible". Edelstein was critical of the script, "There are good ideas that needed another pass", and


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Kendrick's performance "I've never seen her so flat-out bad — distracted, depressed, conviction-less" although he does concede that the climactic number was excellent.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Rodrigo Perez at IndieWire wrote "The movie's off-color humor also doesn't connect like it once did either. The casual racism, homophobia and sexism might be tolerable if any of it was remotely funny, but none of it is."


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: Kevin Fallon of "The Daily Beast" liked the film but was critical of the "tone-deaf racial jokes", particularly the casual racism in the subplot about Flo, a senior Bella singer from Guatemala. He also did not find the racially charged jokes from the commentators funny.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: On April 11, 2015, a month before the release of "Pitch Perfect 2", it was announced that Rebel Wilson would return for a third film, although she stated that she did not know if Anna Kendrick or any of the other cast members would also be reprising their roles. She added that she would be "up for a Fat Amy spin-off," although nothing had yet been confirmed. Director, star, and producer Elizabeth Banks acknowledged the possibility of a third film, saying, "I will say, it would be disingenuous to say that no one's talking about a "Pitch Perfect 3"; the possibility of it. We are really focused on getting as many butts in seats for this one. If fans embrace it, we are going to seriously think about what the continuing journey would look like, but we don't know what that is yet".


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: On June 10, 2015, a third film was officially confirmed, with Kay Cannon returning to write the script. Several days later it was announced both Kendrick and Wilson would reprise their roles, and later Brittany Snow was also confirmed to return. Banks returned to produce, but in June 2016 it was announced she would not be directing the film.


title: Pitch Perfect 2

text: The film was originally slated for a July 21, 2017 release, and was later pushed back to August 4, 2017 before moving back to the July 21 slot. In May 2016 it was moved again, this time being pushed back to December 22, 2017.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The Battle of Ramree Island (Burmese:ရမ်းဗြဲကျွန်း တိုက်ပွဲ, (also called Operation Matador) took place from 14 January to 22 February 1945, in the Second World War as part of the offensive on the Southern Front in the Burma campaign by the XV Indian Corps.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: Ramree Island, part of Arakan (now Rakhine State), has an area of and is separated from the mainland by a strait with an average width of about ; the island is south of Akyab (now Sittwe). The Island had been captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in early 1942, during the invasion of Burma. In January 1945, forces of the Fourteenth Army landed on Ramree and the neighbouring island of Cheduba, to establish airfields for the supply of the mainland campaign.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The battle is known for claims that hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed by crocodiles in the mangrove swamps of Ramree. Some editions of the Guinness Book of World Records have attributed the highest number of fatalities in an animal attack to the battle; zoologists and modern military historians have dismissed these claims.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The early capture of Akyab made the 26th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Henry Chambers) available for an attack on Ramree Island, to the south, the island being long and wide, flat and an obvious site for airfields. A plan was ready by 2 January, when it was clear that the advance of the Fourteenth Army (Lieutenant-General William Slim) would soon pass beyond the range of its airbases at Imphal and Agartala; replacements at Chittagong, Akyab and Ramree would be needed.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: On 14 January, the 26th Indian Division was ordered to attack Ramree on 21 January, as a Royal Marine detachment from 3 Commando Brigade occupied the neighbouring Cheduba Island. The Japanese garrison of Ramree consisted of the II Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment (Colonel Kanichi Nagazawa), part of the 54th Division, with artillery and engineer detachments to act as an independent force.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The battle started with Operation Matador, an amphibious assault to capture the strategic port of Kyaukpyu at the north end of Ramree Island and the airfield near the port, south of Akyab across Hunter's Bay. The invasion force was led by three Joint Assault Commanders, Captain Bush RN, Major-General Cyril Lomax and Wing Commander H. Smith. Reconnaissance carried out on 14 January 1945, found that Japanese forces were placing artillery in caves overlooking the landing beaches on Ramree and the Royal Navy assigned the battleship , the escort carrier , light cruiser , the destroyers "Rapid", "Napier", "Norman" and "Pathfinder", with the sloops "Flamingo" and .


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The large number of ships was intended to provide more firepower in support of the landing force. On 21 January, an hour before the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier R. C. Cotterell-Hill) was to land, "Queen Elizabeth" opened fire with of -shell from the main battery, the fall of shot being watched by aircraft from "Ameer". "Phoebe" also joined the bombardment, along with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, North American B-25 Mitchells and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts of 224 Group Royal Air Force (RAF), under the command of HQ RAF Bengal and Burma, that strafed and bombed the beaches.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The assault troops were slightly delayed when a motor launch and a landing craft struck mines but landed unopposed on the beaches west of Kyaukpyu at securing the beachhead by the afternoon. The following day, the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier J. F. R. Forman) landed, took over the beachhead and occupied Kyaukpyu. On 23 January, the 71st Infantry Brigade advanced southwards, down the west coast. Two days later Mayin was occupied and the troops reached the Yanbauk Chaung the next day. Resistance at the chaung from the troops of the II Battalion, 121st Regiment increased and on 31 January, the 71st Brigade was ordered to move inland, north-east towards Sane, then head south towards Ramree town. The 4th Brigade was to keep the defenders at Yanbauk Chaung under pressure and follow up vigorously should they retire.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: On 26 January in Operation Sankey, a Royal Marine force landed on Cheduba island, about offshore of the south-west coast of Ramree Island and found it unoccupied. On Ramree, the Japanese garrison resisted with great determination but on 1 February, the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade reached Sane and parts of the 36th Indian Infantry Brigade, from reserve, took Sagu Kuyun Island and relieved the marines on Cheduba Island. When the British outflanked a Japanese stronghold, the abandoned the base and marched to join a larger force of Japanese soldiers across the island. The route took the Japanese through of mangrove swamp and as they struggled through it, the British encircled the area. Trapped in deep mud-filled land, tropical diseases soon started to afflict the soldiers, as did scorpions, tropical mosquitoes and saltwater crocodiles.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: On 7 February, the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade and supporting tanks reached the town of Ramree and encountered determined Japanese resistance. The 4th Indian Infantry Brigade had advanced to Ledaung Chaung and then moved east to reinforce the attack; the town fell on 9 February. The navy and the 26th Indian Infantry Division then concentrated on blockading the (small streams) on the east coast, to prevent the Japanese from escaping to the mainland. A Japanese air raid on 11 February seriously damaged a destroyer with a near miss and forty small craft were sent by the Japanese from the mainland to rescue the survivors of the garrison. Japanese resistance on the island ended on 17 February and the Allied blockade was maintained until 22 February, sinking many of the rescue craft and inflicting many casualties on the Japanese troops hiding in the mangrove swamps; about managed to get away. Cheduba Island was not garrisoned and the 22nd East African Brigade was sent to hold Ramree Island.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: In 1965, the British official historian, Stanley Woodburn Kirby, wrote that the Japanese defence of the island and the escape of about against "fearful odds", had been courageous and determined. It took until 16 April for the airfield to be used for transport sorties, Akyab having come into use on 1 April. It had been vital to complete the occupation of Ramree Island quickly, as Operation Dracula against Rangoon needed to commence in the first week of May at the latest, to have a chance of finishing before the monsoon. The experience in co-operation between the 26th Indian Division and the navy in the war of chaungs and small ports along the Arakan coast was intended to be exploited in the attack. An estimate put naval gunfire support from 4 January to 13 March for the land operations at Akyab, Ramree and Cheduba at The navy also carried of stores and


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: In the 1965 edition of the British official history, Stanley Woodburn-Kirby wrote that the Japanese force suffered about 500 men killed and twenty men taken prisoner; British losses were "trifling".


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: On Feb. 24, 1945, Reuters war correspondents reported that Japanese soldiers trying to escape Ramree island were "being forced by hunger out of the mangrove swamps and many have been killed by crocodiles." In his 1962 collection "Wildlife Sketches Near and Far", Canadian naturalist and veteran of the Burma campaign Bruce S. Wright described the events of the battle, focusing on predation of the Japanese soldiers by the saltwater crocodiles.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: Other writers, including Roger Caras in his 1964 "Dangerous to Man", repeated Wright's version, with Caras stating "had the story come from a source other than Bruce Wright, I would be tempted to discount it." Subsequently, the story was incorporated into the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the worst animal attack ever recorded, due to Wright's statement that "[o]f about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive."


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: The presence of crocodiles in the Ramree swamps led other servicemen stationed on the island to believe they were a significant factor in the battle's outcome, with one British soldier writing in his diary that "[w]hen the Army landed they drove the Japanese into the swamps and the crocodiles killed hundreds of them. They used to call the crocodiles the allies." In his memoir, "An Odyssey in War and Peace", Lieutenant-General Jack Jacob (Indian Army) recounted his experiences during the battle,Over a 1,000 soldiers of the Japanese garrison retreated into the crocodile-infested mangrove swamps. We went in with boats and interpreters using loudhailers asking them to come out. Not a single one did. Salt-water crocodiles, some of them well over 20 ft (6.1 m) long frequented these waters. It is not difficult to imagine what happened to the Japanese who took refuge in the mangroves!In 2006, Robert Duff, a veteran of the 26th Division, recorded an oral history for the BBC, stating, "after a few weeks we managed to push [the Japanese] to the swamp on the other side of the island, which was full of crocodiles. They decided to take their chances in the swamp rather than surrender. Only a handful came out alive".


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: In his 2011 analysis of the Burma campaign, historian Frank McLynn challenged this interpretation, saying


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: In 1974, journalist George Frazier reported having asked the Japanese War Office about the crocodile attack and being told that they could not confirm that it had happened. In 2016, historian Sam Willis reported having found documentation indicating that the Japanese soldiers mostly drowned and/or were shot, and that crocodiles scavenged on their corpses afterwards.


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: In 2000, herpetologist visited Ramree Island, where he interviewed residents who had been alive during the war and who had been forced into slave labor by the Japanese; they "unanimously discounted any suggestion that large numbers of Japanese fell prey to crocodiles." Ultimately, he stated, "[t]he only crocodile-related deaths occurred when 10 to 15 soldiers were killed trying to ford Min Chaung, a tidal creek", and he therefore concluded that although the deaths of nearly 1000 Japanese soldiers during the Battle of Ramree Island are "well documented and undisputed", there is "little need to invoke crocodile predation."


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: Additionally, Platt published a historiographical analysis of the allegations of the crocodile attack. He established that Bruce S. Wright had not been present on Ramree Island at the time of the battle, and noted that although the other chapters in Wright's book were told in the first person, the account of the battle was in the third person; possibly, Platt speculated, Wright was repeating stories he had been told by friends. Platt also noted that Wright did not actually "attribute the majority of Japanese casualties to crocodile predation", but merely specified that only 20 out of 1000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle, with crocodiles being "just one of many hazards".


title: Battle of Ramree Island

text: Platt's findings are paralleled by sections of Wright's 1968 book, "The Frogmen of Burma", which chronicled his experiences commanding the Sea Reconnaissance Unit (S.R.U.) In the memoir, Wright described how he arrived on Ramree after the main battle concluded. Interviewing other members of the S.R.U., Wright reported that two of the men abandoned their paddleboards during the battle and climbed up a mangrove tree to avoid a crocodile. There, they “heard shouting and rifle fire during the night” far from the of Allied position. Likewise, “vultures often appeared over areas [British] forces had never reached…” Wright ultimately concluded the Japanese did not die from crocodiles alone but also from "thirst" and "wounds."


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard ("anti-aircraft-gun tank 'Cheetah, better known as the Flakpanzer Gepard) is an all-weather-capable German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG). It was developed in the 1960s, fielded in the 1970s, and has been upgraded several times with the latest electronics. It has been a cornerstone of the air defence of the German Army (Bundeswehr) and a number of other NATO countries.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: In Germany, the Gepard was phased out in late 2010 and replaced by the Wiesel 2 Ozelot "Leichtes Flugabwehrsystem" (LeFlaSys) with four FIM-92 Stinger or LFK NG missile launchers. A variant with the MANTIS gun system and LFK NG missiles, based on the GTK Boxer, was also considered.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The vehicle is based on the hull of the Leopard 1 tank with a large fully rotating turret carrying the armament—a pair of 35 mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Gepard is based on a slightly modified chassis of the Leopard 1 main battle tank, including the complete drive unit with a 37.4-liter 10-cylinder multi-fuel engine (type: MB 838 CaM 500) with two mechanical superchargers built by MTU Aero Engines. The V-engine with a cylinder angle of 90 degrees has 610 kW at 2200 RPM (830 PS) and consumes—depending on the surface and driving style—around 150 liters per 100 kilometers. To ensure a steady supply of oil, even in difficult terrain and under extreme skew, the engine is provided with a dry sump forced lubrication. Even the gearbox (type: 4 HP-250) from ZF Friedrichshafen and the exhaust system with fresh air admixture to reduce the infrared signature were taken from the Leopard 1 main battle tank.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Gepard is equipped with a Daimler-Benz (type: OM 314) 4-cylinder diesel auxiliary engine for the energy supply system. This engine is on the front left of the vehicle, located where the Leopard 1 has an ammunition magazine. The engine, which has a 3.8 liter capacity, is designed as a multi-fuel engine and produces . It consumes between 10 and 20 liters per hour, depending on the operational status of the tank.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The auxiliary engine is coupled with five generators to operate at different speeds: Two Metadyn machines in tandem with a flywheel (which is used to store energy during the acceleration and deceleration of the turret) for the power of the elevation and traverse drives, two 380 Hz three-phase generators with a capacity of 20 kVA for the ventilation, fire-control and radar systems, and a 300 A 28 volt direct current generator for the electrical system. The fuel capacity is 985 liters, which ensures a combined operating time of approximately 48 hours.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The chassis and the track were taken directly from the Leopard 1. It has torsion bar spring-mounted roadwheels with seven roadwheel pairs per side. They are connected to the torsion bars on swing arms, whose deflection is limited by volute springs. Drive is through the drive sprockets located at the rear.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The rubber-mounted shocks were modified to achieve better stability during firing. The track is manufactured by the company Diehl, rubber track pads fitted, and is "live" track with rubber bushings between the track links and pins (type: D 640 A). Grouser/icecleats can replace the rubber pads on some track links to increase traction on slippery surfaces.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The hull only had slight modifications, i.e. a modified roadwheel distance (8 cm increased distance between the third and fourth roadwheel) and the transfer of additional batteries in battery boxes at the rear. The batteries and the electrical system operate at 24 volts DC.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The electrically driven turret is powered by a 40 kW generator driven by a 4-cylinder, 3.8 litre Mercedes-Benz OM 314 multi-fuel engine that is placed in the front of the hull to the left of the driver. It also powers the radars and the fire-finding system.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Gepard has two radar dishes: a general search radar at the rear of the turret and a tracking radar at the front between the guns. Some are equipped with a laser rangefinder on top of the tracking radar.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The guns are 90 calibres () long, with a muzzle velocity of (FAPDS (Frangible Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) rounds), giving an effective range of . The ammunition is 35×228mm calibre 35x228mm (STANAG 4516).


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The KDA autocannon has a dual belt feed for two different ammunition types; the usual loading per gun is 320 AA rounds fed from inside the turret and 20 AP rounds fed from a small outlying storage.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: Each gun has a firing rate of 550 rounds/min. The combined rate of fire is 1,100 rounds/min, which – in unlimited mode – gives a continuous fire time of 35 seconds before running out of ammo (with 640 AA rounds for both guns). It is standard to fire bursts against air targets, 24 rounds per gun for a total of 48 in limited mode and 48 rounds per gun for a total of 96 in normal mode. The 40 armour-piercing rounds are normally fired singly with the guns alternating; they are intended for self defence against light armoured ground targets.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Gepard was developed from 1963 onwards. In 1969, construction began of four A prototypes testing both 30 and 35 mm guns. In June 1970, it was decided to use the 35 mm type. In 1971, twelve second phase B prototypes were ordered. In 1971 the Dutch army ordered a CA preseries of five vehicles based on a parallel development that had used a West German 0-series Leopard 1 vehicle made available by the West German government in March 1970 as the C-prototype.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Germans made a small preseries of both the B1 and B2R. In February 1973, the political decision was made to produce the type. In September 1973 the contract was signed with Krauss-Maffei for 432 B2 turrets and 420 hulls with a total value of DM 1,200,000,000. Each vehicle would be about three times the price of a normal Leopard 1. The first was delivered in December 1976. Belgium ordered 55 vehicles, which were identical to the German version. The Netherlands ordered 95 vehicles, split into three batches (CA1, CA2 and CA3), which were equipped with Philips radar systems.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: Since the 1980s, Redeye and later Stinger MANPADS teams have been accompanying the Gepard units to take advantage of their long-range scanning capacity. To combine this capacity in a single unit, a missile system upgrade that mounts the Stingers in twin packs to the autocannons was developed. The system was tested by the German Bundeswehr but not bought due to budget restrictions. Instead, the Ozelot Light Air Defence System (LeFlaSys) was fielded for the three Airborne Brigades.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The first three Gepards arrived in Ukraine on 25 July 2022. A test showed that a supply of ammunition manufactured in Norway could not be fired by the Gepard, with a subsequent test of improved ammunition scheduled for August 2022. By 20 September 2022 thirty Gepards and 6,000 rounds had been delivered. According to Ukraine's Armed Forces about 50,000 Norwegian made rounds for the Gepard had been received by 26 September 2022. Photos from the German tabloid of the Gepard with a Ukrainian crew include high-explosive incendiary (HEI) rounds (where the projectile is yellow with a red band) made by e.g. Norwegian Nammo. The Gepard has been deployed by Ukraine in its defense against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to a Ukrainian defense attache in the United States the Gepard has been used to "great effect" against the "relatively crude" loitering munition believed to be Iranian-made Shahed-136. The Conflict Intelligence Team considers it likely that a Gepard destroyed a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile as it was targeting a Kyiv power plant on 18 October 2022. One unit is credited with destroying more than ten Shahed-136 drones and two cruise missiles. Such systems are more effective and hence more cost-effective than more advanced and expensive air defence systems such NASAMS or IRIS-T missiles, while being less politically sensitive as they only have a limited effective range. The Royal United Services Institute wrote: "In general, gun systems are preferred over missiles where possible due to the much lower cost per engagement and higher availability of ammunition compared with SAMs and MANPADS".


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: On 2 December, Germany recovered seven additional Gepard tanks from the "scrap pile" to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine. Bringing the total units sent to Ukraine at 37. They will arrive in spring 2023. Obtaining ammunition is difficult as Switzerland is claiming that owing to its neutrality it should refuse to supply its surplus, forcing Germany to rely on other sources for ammunition.


title: Flakpanzer Gepard

text: The Gepards in Ukraine turned out to be very effective against Shahed 136 drones: the radar can detect them 16 km away and it takes about 6 rounds to shoot them down. One of the Gepards downed 10 drones in a single engagment. The Gepard can use as little as 6–10 rounds to destroy the Shaeed kamikaze drones, and a similar number to destroy a cruise missile. London-based defence and security think tank Rusi noted that the Gepards were particularly effective against the drones, through the use of their air bursting rounds.


title: Heinz

text: The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six continents, and markets these products in more than 200 countries and territories. The company claims to have 150 number-one or number-two brands worldwide. Heinz ranked first in ketchup in the US with a market share in excess of 50%; the Ore-Ida label held 46% of the frozen potato sector in 2003.


title: Heinz

text: Since 1896, the company has used its "57 Varieties" slogan; it was inspired by a sign advertising 21 styles of shoes, and Henry Heinz chose the number 57 even though the company manufactured more than 60 products at the time, because "5" was his lucky number and "7" was his wife's.


title: Heinz

text: In February 2013, Heinz agreed to be purchased by Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital for $23billion. On March 25, 2015, Kraft announced its merger with Heinz, arranged by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. The resulting Kraft Heinz Company is the fifth largest food company in the world. Berkshire Hathaway became a majority owner of Heinz on June 18, 2015. After exercising a warrant to acquire 46 million shares of common stock for a total price of over $461million, Berkshire increased its stake to 52.5%. The merger to form Kraft Heinz was completed on July 2, 2015.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz was founded by and is named for Henry J. Heinz, who was born in the United States to German immigrants. His father was originally from Kallstadt (then part of the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate, now part of Rhineland-Palatinate). His mother Anna was from Haunetal, Hesse-Kassel, and they met in Pittsburgh.


title: Heinz

text: Henry J. Heinz began packing foodstuffs on a small scale at Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1869. There he founded Heinz Noble & Company with a friend, L. Clarence Noble, and began marketing horseradish. The first product in Heinz and Noble's new Anchor Brand (a name selected for its biblical meaning of hope) was his mother Anna Heinz's recipe for horseradish. The young Heinz manufactured it in the basement of his father's former house.


title: Heinz

text: The company went bankrupt in 1875. The following year Heinz founded another company, F & J Heinz, with his brother John Heinz and a cousin, Frederick Heinz. One of this company's first products was Heinz Tomato Ketchup. The company continued to grow.


title: Heinz

text: In 1888, Heinz bought out his two partners and reorganized the company as the H. J. Heinz Company. Its slogan, "57 varieties", was introduced by Heinz in 1896. Inspired by an advertisement he saw while riding an elevated train in New York City (a shoe store boasting "21 styles"), Heinz picked the number more or less at random because he liked the sound of it, selecting "7" specifically because, as he put it, of the "psychological influence of that figure and of its enduring significance to people of all ages".


title: Heinz

text: In 1905, H. J. Heinz was incorporated, and Heinz served as its first president, holding that position for the rest of his life. Under his leadership, the company pioneered processes for sanitary food preparation, and led a successful lobbying effort in favor of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. In 1908 he established a processing plant in Leamington, Ontario, Canada for tomatoes and other products. Heinz operated it until 2014, when it was sold.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz was a pioneer in both scientific and "technological innovations to solve problems like bacterial contamination". He personally worked to control the "purity of his products by managing his employees", offering hot showers and weekly manicures for the women handling food. During World War I, he worked with the Food Administration.


title: Heinz

text: In 1930, Howard Heinz, son of Henry Heinz, helped to fight the downturn of the Great Depression by selling ready-to-serve soups and baby food. They became top sellers.


title: Heinz

text: The Pittsburgh plant included a large "Heinz service building", which included three dining rooms and a 3,000-seat auditorium. The auditorium included a pipe organ, and Heinz employed an organist to give recitals and musical programs. The original organ was severely damaged in the 1936 Pittsburgh floods, it was replaced with a new Kimball organ that had four manuals and 57 sets of pipes. The original organ was restored and installed in Grace Methodist Church in Sharpsburg.


title: Heinz

text: During World War II, "Jack" Heinz led the company as president and CEO to aid the United Kingdom and offset food shortages. Its plant in Pittsburgh was converted for a time to manufacture gliders for the War Department.


title: Heinz

text: In the postwar years, Jack Heinz expanded the company to develop plants in several nations overseas, greatly expanding its international presence. He also acquired Ore-Ida and Starkist Tuna.


title: Heinz

text: In 1959, long-time Heinz employee Frank Armour Jr. was elected president and COO of H. J. Heinz Co., succeeding H. J. Heinz II. He was the first non-family member to hold the job since the company started in 1869. He became vice chairman in 1966, and later became chairman and CEO of Heinz subsidiary, Ore-Ida Foods Inc.


title: Heinz

text: In 1969, Tony O'Reilly joined the company's UK subsidiary, soon becoming its managing director. He moved to Pittsburgh in 1971 when he was promoted to senior vice president for the North America and Pacific region. By 1973, Heinz selected him as president. He became CEO in 1979 and chairman in 1987.


title: Heinz

text: Between 1981 and 1991, Heinz returned 28% annually, doubling the Standard & Poor's average annual return for those years. By 2000, the consolidation of grocery store chains, the spread of retailers such as Walmart, and growth of private-label brands caused competition for shelf space, and put price pressure on the company's products. The decline was also attributed to an inadequate response to broad demographic changes in the United States, particularly the growth in population among Hispanic and increased spending power of African Americans.


title: Heinz

text: In 1998, Tony O'Reilly left Heinz after issues with the company's performance. He faced challenges from corporate governance groups and pension funds including CalPERS. He was succeeded by his deputy, William R. Johnson.


title: Heinz

text: In 2001, Heinz acquired the pasta sauce, dry bouillon and soup business of Borden Foods. CEO William R. Johnson stated that "They fit very well with our tomato-based expertise".


title: Heinz

text: On August 22, 2001, Heinz announced that it would acquire the Anchor Food Products' branded products, which included the Poppers line of appetizers, as well as the licensing rights to the TGI Fridays brand of frozen foods and appetizers. The acquisition was completed on September 25.


title: Heinz

text: Billionaire Nelson Peltz initiated a proxy battle during 2006, culminating in a vote to place five of Peltz's nominees on the Board. After the final vote, two of the five nominees joined the Heinz Board. The new members of the board were Nelson Peltz and Matthew Craig Walsh.


title: Heinz

text: In June 2008, Heinz began an advertising campaign in the UK for their new "New York Deli Mayo" products. The advertisement featured two men kissing in a family setting, which drew 200 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. On June 24, 2008, Heinz withdrew the advertisement, which had been planned for a five-week run. The company said that some of its customers had expressed concerns. Withdrawing the advert was also controversial, with critics accusing Heinz of homophobia. The gay rights group Stonewall called for a boycott of Heinz products. Some expressed surprise that it had responded to what they said was a relatively small number of complaints, compared to the UK's estimated 3.6 million gay and lesbian consumers. MP Diane Abbott called the decision to withdraw the advert "ill-considered" and "likely to offend the gay community".


title: Heinz

text: On February 14, 2013, it was announced that Heinz would be purchased by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital for $23billion. Including debt assumption the transaction was valued at $28billion. According to Heinz, the deal was the largest in food industry history. Berkshire Hathaway and 3G would each own half of Heinz, with 3G running the company. Berkshire and 3G paid $72.50 a share. The acquisition was completed in June of that year. Berkshire and 3G immediately named Bernardo Hees, former chief executive of Burger King Worldwide Inc, as the CEO.


title: Heinz

text: On October 25, 2013, fast-food chain McDonald's announced it would end its 40-year relationship with Heinz, after the former Burger King chief Hees became its CEO.


title: Heinz

text: On March 25, 2015, Kraft Foods Group Inc. announced that it would merge with the H. J. Heinz Company, owned by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., to form the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company. The companies completed the merger on July 2, 2015.


title: Heinz

text: The merged company falsely reported over $200 million in "bogus cost savings", and was forced to restate its financial results for the years 2015 through 2018.


title: Heinz

text: The Kraft Heinz company's world headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, with the H. J. Heinz division located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the company was founded. The company's "keystone" logo is based on that of Pennsylvania, the "keystone state". Heinz Field was named after the Heinz company in 2001.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz opened a pickle factory in Holland, Michigan, in 1897, and it is the largest such facility in the world. The Heinz Portion Control subsidiary is located in Jacksonville, Florida, and produces single-serving containers of ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, jams, jellies and syrups.


title: Heinz

text: In 2000, seven retailers, including Walmart, Albertsons, and Safeway, comprised half of the company's sales by volume.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz Australia's head office is located in Melbourne. Products include canned baked beans in tomato sauce (popularized in the "beanz meanz Heinz" advertising campaign), spaghetti in a similar sauce, and canned soup, condensed soup, and "ready to eat" soups.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz manufactures "Big Red" tomato sauce, and a number of flavored baked bean varieties, as well as canned meals. Heinz also markets the Wattie's brand of canned foods, which are made in New Zealand.


title: Heinz

text: On October 6, 2008, Heinz announced plans to acquire the Australian company Golden Circle which "manufactures more than 500 products, including canned fruit and vegetables, fruit juices, drinks, cordials and jams".


title: Heinz

text: On May 27, 2011, Heinz announced it would close its factory in Girgarre, Victoria, and downsize its factories in Northgate (Brisbane), and Wagga Wagga, with loss of more than 300 jobs. Heinz has other factories in Echuca and Mill Park.


title: Heinz

text: On January 6, 2012, Heinz closed its tomato sauce factory in Girgarre as announced in the previous May. 146 workers lost their jobs. A local group was seeking to purchase the factory and start its own production, with offers of financial assistance from investors. The group's first offer for the site was rejected by Heinz. Girgarre was the second to last tomato sauce factory in Australia, and its closing brought an end to Heinz's 70 years of tomato processing operations in Australia.


title: Heinz

text: As of May 2020 Kraft Heinz is said to potentially be in discussions with Graeme Hart to sell off the brands of Wattie's in New Zealand and Golden Circle in Australia.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz was established in Canada in 1908 in a former tobacco factory in Leamington, Ontario (known as the Tomato Capital of Canada). Most products shipped from Leamington have bilingual English and French labels for distribution throughout Canada, but a substantial amount of product is sent from there to the US. Ketchup is the main product produced there, and the city has been a center of tomato production. The factory also produces Canada Fancy (Grade A) tomato juice, mustard, vinegar, baby food, barbecue sauces, canned pastas, beans, pasta sauces, gravies and soups. Heinz Canada is the major supplier of single-serving and flexible-packaging condiments for most fast food chains in Canada. Leamington is the largest tomato-processing region per acreage in the world. The Leamington plant usually processes more than 250,000 tons of tomatoes per year. Heinz Canada's head office is in North York, Ontario; it also has operations in St. Marys, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Calgary, Alberta.


title: Heinz

text: On November 14, 2013, Heinz announced that the Leamington facility, the second-largest in the company, would close sometime in May 2014. Ketchup processing operations were to be consolidated at the company's US locations. Over 800 local jobs were lost due to the town's largest employer ending operations there. A local effort began in an attempt to save the 105-year-old Leamington plant, and it included creating a Facebook page to gather support. On February 27, 2014, the Highbury Canco Corporation signed a letter of intent to acquire and operate the facility. In April it was reported that Highbury Canco Corporation had received a one-year license to process tomatoes at the facility, saving some 250 jobs.


title: Heinz

text: As a result of this corporate restructuring and the angry Canadian response, a rival food company, French's, began producing their own ketchup brand using Leamington produce. It marketed the brand with an appeal to Canadian patriotism. This successful campaign, combined with a Canadian grassroots effort on Facebook encouraging purchasing of the French's product, resulted in Heinz's market share in Canada dropping from 84 to 76%, a significant shift in a mature market. This undesirable development was exacerbated in 2018 when Canadian tariffs were erected against specific American exports, which includes ketchup produced in the United States, in retaliation to the US President Trump's tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports. Heinz conducted a belated public relations campaign in Canada to try to counter the public anger against them, a task made more difficult by public sentiment rising to encourage a boycott of American goods in reaction of US President Trump's rhetoric against Canada.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz Ketchup is available in India in two varieties, the standard Tomato Ketchup and Tomato Chili Sauce. As Indian taste preferences vary among the regions, Western brands such as Heinz must work on Indian interpretations of ketchups for sale in the country. Heinz acquired the former foods division of Glaxo India, gaining the Complan, Glucon D, Glucon C, Sampriti Ghee, and Nycil products and brands. In 2019, Heinz sold a portion of the business, including Complan and Glucon-D, for $627.18 million to Zydus Wellness.


title: Heinz

text: H. J. Heinz Company entered Indonesia in 1999, when it acquired 65 percent share of PT. ABC Central Food, for US$70 million, and formed PT. Heinz ABC Indonesia. The company is based in Jakarta, and manufactures sauces, condiments, juices and syrups.


title: Heinz

text: Serving demand from Indonesia's large population and growing economy, in the early 21st century PT. Heinz ABC Indonesia is the largest Heinz's business in Asia, and one of the largest in the world. It employs 3000 employees, has 3 production facilities, 8 packing facilities, and an extensive distribution network in Java and other parts of Indonesia. Their leading products are Syrup ABC (fruit syrup), Kecap ABC (sweet soy sauce), and Sambal ABC (hot chili sauce).


title: Heinz

text: Heinz sells many products in the Netherlands; the Elst factory in Gelderland is the primary production facility for Heinz sauces for Western Europe. In 2006, production of both HP Sauce and Daddies was transferred from Birmingham, West Midlands to Elst as a result of the acquisition of HP Foods and the subsequent closure of the Aston factory. Subsequently, Heinz suffered severe supply issues for the ex-HP Foods brands as the Elst factory struggled to integrate production, resulting in significant negative coverage from UK retailers. Heinz was forced to begin bottling sauce in Spain, shipping ready-made sauce from Elst, to get product back into supply.


title: Heinz

text: The UK headquarters moved from Hayes to the Shard in London. After opening its first overseas office in London in 1896, the company opened its first UK factory in Peckham, south London in 1905. This was followed by a factory at Harlesden, north-west London in 1919. Bombed twice in World War II, this factory remained in production until 2000. Production was started at a former munitions factory at Standish near Wigan in 1946, before the new factory at Kitt Green, near Wigan, opened in 1959. Heinz also had an infant food factory in Kendal, Cumbria. The site specialized in baby milks, previously under the brand of Farley's, but then manufactured under the name Heinz Nurture.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz produces oriental foods sold under the Amoy brand, once used under license from Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Tokyo, Japan. In 2018, Amoy Food was sold to the new owners, CITIC Capital Asian Foods Holdings Ltd.


title: Heinz

text: In July 2001, the Food Standards Agency of the Government of the United Kingdom found Heinz canned baked beans products to be contaminated with the hormone disruptor bisphenol.


title: Heinz

text: In 2013, the Kitt Green facility was listed as one among the world's five largest manufacturing units by the Discovery Channel (the list comprised Reliance's Jamnagar Refinery, Volkswagen's car plant, Kitt Green Foods plant, NASA's Kennedy Space Center and POSCO's steel plant). It is Europe's largest food factory and turns over more than 1 billion cans every year.


title: Heinz

text: On February 22, 2013, Sanquan Food, a Chinese frozen food company, signed a contract to purchase LongFong Food, a subsidiary of Heinz Company in China. With this sale, Heinz (China) will focus on infant foods and sauces in emerging markets such as China. Heinz Hong Kong Limited is the regional office serving for operations in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.


title: Heinz

text: Heinz currently produces frozen vegetables for export for the New Zealand and Australian market. They also produce mayonnaise and other sauces for the New Zealand and Australian market. Most products sold in New Zealand are sold under the brand name "Watties".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the Downriver area. A member of the Democratic Party, Tlaib represented the 6th and 12th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives before her election to Congress.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 2018, Tlaib won the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives seat from Michigan's 13th congressional district. She ran unopposed in the general election and became the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, along with Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Tlaib is a member of The Squad, an informal group of six (four until the 2020 elections) U.S. representatives on the left wing of the Democratic Party.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) were the first female members of Democratic Socialists of America to serve in Congress. Tlaib has argued in favor of abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the police, and prisons. She was a vocal critic of the Trump administration and advocated for Trump's impeachment. On foreign affairs, she has sharply criticized the Israeli government, called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, supports a one-state solution, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: The eldest of 14 children, Rashida Harbi was born on July 24, 1976, to working-class Palestinian immigrants in Detroit. Her mother was born in Beit Ur El Foka, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The name Rashida means "righteous". Her father was born in Beit Hanina, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. He moved first to Nicaragua, then to Detroit. He worked on an assembly line in a Ford Motor Company plant. As the eldest, Tlaib played a role in raising her siblings while her parents worked.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib attended elementary school at Harms, Bennett Elementary, and Phoenix Academy. She graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit in 1994. Tlaib received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Wayne State University in 1998 and her Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2004. Tlaib was admitted to the bar in 2007.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib began her political career in 2004 when she interned with State Representative Steve Tobocman. When Tobocman became Majority Floor Leader in 2007, he hired Tlaib to his staff.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 2008 Tobocman encouraged Tlaib to run for his seat, which he was vacating due to term limits. The urban district is 40% Hispanic, 25% African-American, 30% non-Hispanic white Americans, and 2% Arab American. Tlaib faced a crowded primary that included several Latinos, including former State Representative Belda Garza. She emerged victorious, carrying 44% of the vote in the eight-way Democratic primary and winning the general election with over 90% of the vote.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 2010, Tlaib faced a primary election challenge from Jim Czachorowski in his first bid for office. Tlaib picked up 85% of the vote to Czachorowski's 15%, and won the general election with 92% of the vote against Republican challenger Darrin Daigle.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 2012, Tlaib won reelection again to the Michigan House in the newly redrawn 6th district against fellow incumbent Maureen Stapleton. She could not run for the Michigan House a fourth time in 2014 because of term limits and ran for the Michigan Senate, losing to incumbent Senator Virgil Smith Jr. in the Democratic primary in August 2014.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: During her tenure as a legislator, Tlaib was one of ten Muslims serving in state legislatures across the United States. She is the second Muslim to serve in the Michigan State House of Representatives, after James Karoub. Tlaib is the second Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature nationwide, after Jamilah Nasheed of Missouri. She and Justin Amash, a Republican who was also elected in 2008, were the first two Palestinian-American members of the Michigan legislature.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: After leaving the state legislature, Tlaib worked at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit nonprofit that provides free legal representation for workers.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 2018, Tlaib announced her intention to run for the 13th congressional district. Conyers had resigned in December 2017 due to a sexual harassment scandal, and the seat had been vacant since then. She filed in both the Democratic primary in the special election for the balance of Conyers's 27th term and in the general election for a full two-year term. No Republican qualified for either election, though any Republican challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds. The 13th is the most Democratic district in Michigan, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+32. Conyers had held the seat and its predecessors since 1965 (it had been numbered as the 1st District from 1965 to 1993 and as the 14th from 1993 to 2013), and had never tallied less than 77 percent of the vote.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: As of July 16, 2018, Tlaib had raised $893,030 in funds, more than her five opponents in the August 7 Democratic primary. Tlaib, as a member of the Justice Democrats, made a guest appearance on the political interview show "Rebel HQ" of the progressive media network "The Young Turks" (TYT).


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In the Democratic primary for the special election, Tlaib finished second to Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones, who received 32,727 votes (37.7% of the total) to Tlaib's 31,084 (35.9%). Bill Wild, mayor of Westland, received 13,152 votes (15.2%) and Ian Conyers, the great-nephew of former Congressman Conyers, took fourth with 9,740 (11.2%).


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In the Democratic primary for the general election, Tlaib defeated Jones and Wild, among others. She received 27,803 votes, or 31.2%. She faced no major-party opposition in November 2018, though Jones mounted an eleventh-hour write-in bid.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib became the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to Congress and simultaneously one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, along with fellow Democrat Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. She took the congressional oath of office on January 3, 2019, swearing in on an English-language translation of the Quran. She wore a thawb (thobe), a traditional embroidered Arab dress, to the swearing-in ceremony. This inspired a number of Palestinian and Palestinian-American women to share pictures on social media with the hashtag #TweetYourThobe.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Jones challenged Tlaib in the 2020 Democratic primary. Tlaib won, 66%–34%, spending over $2,000,000 in campaign funds to Jones's $140,000.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: On November 14, 2019, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was investigating whether Tlaib used congressional campaign money for personal expenses in violation of House rules. In August 2020 the committee directed Tlaib to reimburse her campaign $10,800, stating that Tlaib has an "obligation to act in accordance with the strict technical requirements of federal campaign laws and regulations, including the restrictions on personal use of campaign funds".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib has said she opposed providing aid to a "Netanyahu Israel" and supported the Palestinian right of return and a one-state solution. In 2018, J Street withdrew its endorsement of Tlaib due to her support for a one-state solution. J Street stated that she had misled it about her views on the issue during her primary campaign. Tlaib is one of the few members of Congress to openly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. She has defended her support of the boycott on free speech grounds and as a response to Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and settlement building, which the international community considers illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. In January 2019, she criticized anti-BDS legislation proposed by Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch. In December 2019, the Simon Wiesenthal Center placed Tlaib and Ilhan Omar at #5 on their list of what the center alleges to be the top ten anti-Semitic incidents of the year, citing their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and other statements.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib argued that boycotting is a right and that Rubio and Risch "forgot what country they represent". Tlaib's comments were criticized by several groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which said, "Though the legislation discussed is sponsored by four non-Jewish Senators, any charge of dual loyalty has special sensitivity and resonance for Jews, particularly in an environment of rising anti-Semitism." Tlaib responded that her comments were directed at Rubio and Risch, not the Jewish American community. She was one of 17 members of Congress to vote against a July 2019 House resolution condemning the BDS movement, which passed by a margin of 381 votes. Tlaib suggested boycotting HBO host Bill Maher after he denounced the BDS movement.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In March 2020, Tlaib spoke at a gala for American Muslims for Palestine, a group that supports an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, equality for Arab Israelis, and a right of return for Palestinian refugees. The Anti-Defamation League has argued that the group holds extreme anti-Israel views and provides a cover for antisemitism; AMP denies this and states that it opposes antisemitism.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In December 2020, Tlaib deleted a retweet she had posted a few days earlier, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, containing the phrase "From the River to the Sea"a nationalist Palestinian slogan associated with calls for Israel's elimination in the past.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: On September 23, 2021, Tlaib called Israel an "apartheid state" on the House floor during a debate over funding for Iron Dome; Representative Ted Deutch responded by accusing Tlaib of antisemitism.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: On August 15, 2019, Israel announced that Tlaib and her colleague Ilhan Omar would be denied entry into the country. According to "The Times of Israel", Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said Israel would not "allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter" and called it a "very justified decision." It was reported that President Trump had pressed the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to make such a decision. The next day, Israeli authorities granted a request by Tlaib to visit her relatives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on humanitarian grounds and under certain restrictions on political statements. Tlaib declined to go, saying that she did not want to make the trip "under these oppressive conditions." The Israeli interior ministry stated that Tlaib had previously agreed to abide by any rules their government had set in exchange for being permitted to visit the country, and accused her of making a "provocative request aimed at bashing the State of Israel".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In August 2019, following the decision of Israel to ban them from arriving in the country, Tlaib and Ilhan Omar retweeted a cartoon by Carlos Latuff, whose cartoons has been accused of using anti-Semitic tropes. The Anti-Defamation League, Jerry Nadler, and other Jewish groups condemned them for sharing it.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib has criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights violations and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib supported the efforts to impeach President Trump. In August 2016, she protested a speech Trump gave at Cobo Center and was ejected from the venue. On her first day in Congress, January 3, 2019, she published an op-ed with John Bonifaz in which she argued that it was not necessary to wait for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to complete his criminal investigation before proceeding with impeachment.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Later that day, Tlaib spoke at a reception for the MoveOn campaign, recounting a conversation with her son in which she expressed her resolve to "impeach the motherfucker". Trump retorted that her comments were "highly disrespectful to the United States of America".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In a radio interview with Mehdi Hasan of "The Intercept", Tlaib reiterated her call for Trump's impeachment.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib supports ending the federal prohibition of cannabis and "releasing people convicted of marijuana-related offenses".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, aligns politically with the left wing of the Democratic Party.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: She supports domestic reforms, including Medicare for All and a $18 to $20 hourly minimum wage. On November 5, 2021, Tlaib was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act because it was decoupled from the social safety net provisions in the Build Back Better Act.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib was an early supporter of the movement to abolish the Immigration Customs Enforcement agency. In June 2019 she was one of four Democratic representatives to vote against the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, a $4.5 billion border funding bill that required Customs and Border Protection enact health standards for individuals in custody such as forming standards for individuals for "medical emergencies; nutrition, hygiene, and facilities; and personnel training."


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib has called for the abolition of the police and incarceration. She has called American policing "inherently and intentionally racist", saying, "No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed." Detroit police chief James Craig called Tlaib's comments "disgusting".


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: Tlaib supports abortion rights and has criticized what she called "white men trying to force women to not have the right to seek legal abortions". She was endorsed by abortion rights organization NARAL.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In 1998, at the age of 22, Tlaib married Fayez Tlaib. They have two sons, Adam and Yousif. The couple have since divorced. In 2018 a campaign spokesperson referred to Tlaib as a single mother.


title: Rashida Tlaib

text: In September 2018, "The New York Times" reported that Tlaib walked into her family's mosque to express her gratitude for the opportunity to run for Congress, articulating a belief that "my Allah is She". The "Detroit Free Press" reported that, although she recognizes that some in her faith community consider her not "Muslim enough", she believes that Allah understands that she deems her actions "reflective of Islam".


title: Windsor, Ontario

text: Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southernmost city in Canada and marks the southwestern end of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city's population was 229,660 at the 2021 census, making it the third-most populated city in Southwestern Ontario, after London and Kitchener. The Detroit–Windsor urban area is North America's most populous trans-border conurbation, and the Ambassador Bridge border crossing is the busiest commercial crossing on the Canada–United States border.


title: Windsor, Ontario

text: Windsor is a major contributor to Canada's automotive industry and is culturally diverse. Known as the "Automotive Capital of Canada", Windsor's industrial and manufacturing heritage is responsible for how the city has developed through the years.