title: Sten

text: The open bolt design combined with cheap manufacture and rudimentary safety devices also meant the weapon was prone to accidental discharges, which proved hazardous. A simple safety could be engaged while the bolt was in the rearwards (cocked) position. However, if a loaded Sten with the bolt in the closed position was dropped, or the butt was knocked against the ground, the bolt could move far enough rearward to pick up a round (but not far enough to be engaged by the trigger mechanism) and the spring pressure could be enough to chamber and fire the round. The Mk. IV's cocking handle was designed to prevent this by enabling the bolt to be locked in its forward position, immobilising it. Wear and manufacturing tolerances could render these safety devices ineffective. Though the Sten was somewhat prone to malfunction, in the hands of a well-trained soldier, who knew and how to avoid the Sten's failings, they were less of a liability as otherwise may be suggested. According to Leroy Thompson, "Troops usually made the conscious choice to keep the Sten with a magazine in place, based on the assumption that they might need it quickly. It might, then, be argued that more troops were saved by having their Sten ready when an enemy was suddenly encountered than were injured by accident. The Sten was more dangerous to its users than most infantry weapons, but all weapons are dangerous".


title: Sten

text: Sten guns were produced in several basic marks, of which nearly half of the total produced consisted of the Mark II variant. Approximately 4.5 million Stens were produced during the Second World War.


title: Sten

text: The first ever Mk I Sten gun (number 'T-40/1' indicating its originator Harold Turpin, the year 1940 and the serial number "1") was handmade by Turpin at the Philco Radio works at Perivale, Middlesex during December 1940/January 1941. This particular weapon is held by the historical weapons collection of the British Army's Infantry and Small Arms School Corps in Warminster, Wiltshire.


title: Sten

text: The Mark I had a conical flash hider and fine finish. The foregrip, forward handle and some of the stock were made of wood. The stock consisted of a small tube, similar to the Mark II Canadian. A design choice that was only present on the Mark I was that the pistol grip could be rotated forward to make it easier to stow. 100,000 Mark I Stens were made before production was moved to the Mark II. Mark I Stens in German possession were designated MP 748(e), the 'e' standing for "englisch".


title: Sten

text: To simplify production of the Mark I, the foregrip, wooden furniture and flash hider were removed with this variant.


title: Sten

text: The Mark II was the most common variant, with two million units produced. The flash eliminator and the folding handle (the grip) of the Mk I were omitted. A removable barrel was now provided which projected beyond the barrel sleeve. Also, a special catch allowed the magazine to be slid partly out of the magazine housing and the housing rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise (from the operator's perspective), together covering the ejection opening and allowing the weapon and magazine both to lie flat on its side.


title: Sten

text: The barrel sleeve was shorter and rather than having small holes on the top, it had three sets of three holes equally spaced on the shroud. To allow a soldier to hold a Sten by the hot barrel sleeve with the supporting hand, an insulating lace-on leather sleeve guard was sometimes issued. Sten Mk II's in German possession were designated MP 749(e). Some Mk IIs had wooden stocks. The Spz-kr assault rifle, a rudimentary German design made in the closing stages of the war, used the receiver and components from the Sten Mk II, and the MP 3008 was made as a cheap copy.


title: Sten

text: During World War II a version of the Sten gun was produced at the Long Branch Arsenal in Long Branch, Ontario (now part of Toronto). This was very similar to the regular Mark II, with a different stock ('skeleton' type instead of strut type). It was first used in combat in the Dieppe Raid in 1942.


title: Sten

text: The Mark II is made in China with a copy known as the M38. The Chinese M38s were made in an automatic-only configuration, unlike the standard Mark II. The M38 was made in 9×19mm and 7.62×25mm Tokarev variants.


title: Sten

text: After the Mark II, this was the most produced variant of the Sten, manufactured in Canada alongside the United Kingdom, with Lines Bros Ltd being the largest producer. The Mark III was made of 48 parts, compared to the Mark II's 69, but the Mark II remained more commonplace for logistical reasons – parts between the two were not interchangeable. Though slightly lighter, the magazine well was fixed in place, and the barrel could not be removed, meaning if it was damaged the weapon had to be scrapped. Combined with the fact the Mark III was more prone to failure than the Mark II, production of the weapon ceased in September 1943. Unlike the Mark II, the receiver, ejection port, and barrel shroud were unified, leading to them being extended further up the barrel. Captured Sten Mk III's in German possession were designated MP 750(e). A total of 876,886 Mark III's were produced.


title: Sten

text: The Mark V added a bayonet mount, and a wooden pistol grip and stock. There was a No. 4 Lee–Enfield rear sight and the weapon was of better quality manufacture and finish than the Mk II and Mk III.


title: Sten

text: Another variant of the Mk V had a swivel stock and rear sight mirror intended for firing around corners in urban warfare, similar to the Krummlauf developed by the Germans for the StG 44.


title: Sten

text: Mk II(S) and Mk VI models incorporated an integral suppressor and had a lower muzzle velocity than the others due to a ported barrel intended to reduce velocity to below the speed of sound – – without needing special ammunition. The suppressor heated up rapidly when the weapon was fired, and a canvas cover was laced around the suppressor for protection for the firer's supporting hand.


title: Sten

text: The suppressed models were produced at the request of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for use in clandestine operations in occupied Europe, starting with the Mk II(S) in 1943. Owing to their tendency to overheat, they were fired in short bursts or single shots. Some guns were even changed to semi-automatic only.


title: Sten

text: In addition to its use in the European theatre, the Mk II(S) saw service with clandestine units in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) such as the Services Reconnaissance Department and SOE's Force 136 on operations against the Imperial Japanese Army. The Sten Mk II(S) was used by the Operation Jaywick party during their raid into Japanese-occupied Singapore Harbour.


title: Sten

text: The Sten, especially the Mark II, tended to attract affection and loathing in equal measure. Its peculiar appearance when compared to other firearms of the era, combined with sometimes questionable reliability made it unpopular with some front-line troops. It gained nicknames such as "Plumber's Nightmare", "Plumber's Abortion", or "Stench Gun". The Sten's advantage was its ease of mass-production manufacture in a time of shortage during a major conflict.


title: Sten

text: Made by a variety of manufacturers, often with subcontracted parts, some early Sten guns were made poorly and/or not to specification, and could malfunction in operation, sometimes in combat. The double-column, single-feed magazine copied from the German MP28 was never completely satisfactory, and hasty manufacturing processes often exacerbated the misfeed problems inherent in the design. A common statement heard from British forces at the time was that the Sten was made "by Marks and Spencer out of Woolworth." British and Commonwealth forces in the early years of the war often extensively test-fired their weapons in training to weed out bad examples; a last-minute issue of newly manufactured Stens prior to going into action was not always welcomed.


title: Sten

text: The MK II and III Stens were regarded by many soldiers as very temperamental, and could accidentally discharge if dropped or even laid on the ground whilst the gun was cocked. Others would fire full-automatic when placed on 'single', or fire single shots when placed on 'automatic'. This was particularly true of early Stens using bronze bolts, where the sear projection underneath the bolt could wear down more easily than ones made of case-hardened steel.


title: Sten

text: Stens could jam at inopportune moments. One of the more notable instances of this was the assassination of SS–Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich on 27 May 1942, when Czechoslovak Warrant Officer Jozef Gabčík wanted to fire his Sten point blank at Heydrich, only to have it misfire. His comrade Jan Kubiš then hastily tossed a grenade, which mortally wounded Heydrich. There are other accounts of the Sten's unreliability, some of them true, some exaggerated and some apocryphal. France manufactured (well-made) Sten copies postwar into the early 1950s, evidently believing in the basic reliability and durability of the design.


title: Sten

text: A well-maintained (and properly functioning) Sten gun was a devastating close-range weapon for sections previously armed only with bolt-action rifles. In addition to regular British and Commonwealth military service, Stens were air-dropped in quantity to resistance fighters and partisans throughout occupied Europe. Due to their slim profile and ease of disassembly/reassembly, they were good for concealment and guerrilla warfare. Wrapping the barrel in wet rags would delay undesirable overheating of the barrel. Guerrilla fighters in Europe became adept at repairing, modifying and eventually scratch-building clones of the Sten (over 2,000 Stens and about 500 of the similar Błyskawica SMGs were manufactured in occupied Poland).


title: Sten

text: Canadian infantry battalions in northwest Europe retained spare Sten guns for special missions and the Canadian Army reported a surplus of the weapons in 1944.


title: Sten

text: The Sten saw use even after the economic crunch of World War II, replacing the Royal Navy's Lanchester submachine guns into the 1960s, and was used in the Korean War, including specialist versions for British Commandos. It was slowly withdrawn from British Army service in the 1960s and replaced by the Sterling SMG; Canada also phased out the Sten, replacing it with the C1 SMG.


title: Sten

text: The Sten was one of the few weapons that the State of Israel could produce domestically during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Even before the declaration of the State of Israel, the Yishuv had been producing Stens for the Haganah; after the declaration, Israel continued making Stens for IDF use. The opposing side also used (mostly British-made) Stens, particularly the irregular and semi-regular Arab Liberation Army.


title: Sten

text: In the 1950s, "L numbering" came into use in the British Army for weapons—Stens were then known as L50 (Mk II), L51 (Mk III) and L52 (Mk V).


title: Sten

text: One of the last times the Sten was used in combat during British service was with the RUC during the IRA border campaign of 1956–1962. In foreign service, the Sten was used in combat at least as recently as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.


title: Sten

text: In 1971, various marks of Stens were used by guerrilla fighters during the Bangladesh Liberation War.


title: Sten

text: A number of suppressed Stens were in limited use by the US Special Forces during the Vietnam War, including c. 1971, by the United States Army Rangers.


title: Sten

text: In 1984, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, one of whom fired the entire magazine (30 rounds) of his Sten at point-blank range, of which 27 hit her.


title: Sten

text: In the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, both nationalists and communist Chinese forces used the Sten. Some Stens were converted by the communists to 7.62×25mm by using the magazine housing from a PPS to accept curved PPS magazines. British, Canadian, and Chinese Stens were seen in the hands of the communists during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.


title: Sten

text: The Finnish Army acquired moderate numbers of Stens in the late 1950s, mainly Mk. III versions. Refurbishment at the Kuopio Arsenal included bluing of the arms. Stens in Finnish service saw limited usage by conscripts (notably combat swimmers) and were mostly stockpiled for use in a future mobilization.


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, "3 Feet High and Rising", has been called "a hip hop masterpiece."


title: De La Soul

text: The album was the band's biggest commercial success to date, with subsequent ones selling progressively less, despite receiving high praise from critics. They were influential in the early stages of rapper/actor Mos Def's career, and are a core part of the Spitkicker collective. They are the second longest standing Native Tongues group, after the Jungle Brothers. In 2006, the group won a Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on the single "Feel Good Inc."


title: De La Soul

text: In early 2015, they announced plans to release a Kickstarter funded ninth studio album "And the Anonymous Nobody..." in September 2015; which was released on August 26, 2016. The album tracks are said to be the result of multiple improvised jam sessions. The album also features guest appearances from artists such as Damon Albarn, Little Dragon, David Byrne, 2 Chainz, and Snoop Dogg.


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul's debut album, "3 Feet High and Rising", released in 1989, was a critical smash hit in the hip hop genre. They quickly became prominent members of the Native Tongues Posse along with A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, and the Jungle Brothers among others. The single "Me Myself and I" became a huge hit, further cementing the group's popularity. However, the sixties pop group The Turtles sued De La Soul for using a sample from their 1969 hit "You Showed Me" for the interlude track "Transmitting Live from Mars."


title: De La Soul

text: Lyrically, much of "3 Feet High and Rising" focused on striving for peace and harmony. "3 Feet High and Rising" also introduced De La Soul's concept of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" (an acronym standing for "da inner sound, y'all"). As a result, audiences were quick to peg the members of De La Soul as hippies. This stereotype greatly agitated the group's members, as they always envisioned their career as a constantly changing style; this frustration would influence their next recording sessions. In the press kit for "3 Feet High and Rising", the members explained their stage names: Trugoy when reversed spells yogurt, because he likes yogurt, and Posdnuos spelled backwards is "sound sop". The album artwork was designed by radical British artist collective the Grey Organisation.


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul's second album, "De La Soul Is Dead" (1991) was a much more mature album. It featured a wealth of material that criticized the violent, careless direction that hip hop was heading in at the time, though it still managed to maintain a light, absurd sense of humor. The cover of the album features a broken daisy flower pot, symbolizing the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" and the imagery that went along with it. The album spawned several singles, including the dark "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa", a tale of a young girl who could no longer take the sexual abuse from her father, and the lead single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)", a story about the people rated with the Black Sheep on "Fanatic of the B Word," Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest on "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'", and Prince Paul makes an appearance on the mic in "Pass the Plugs" with a verse of his own. The album also more prominently featured Vincent Mason as a rapper, providing verses of his own on "Bitties in the BK Lounge," "Afro Connections at a Hi-5," and "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)".


title: De La Soul

text: Though it received mixed reviews and did not sell as well as "3 Feet High and Rising" it eventually became a cult classic. "The Source" magazine listed the album as one of their top 100 hip hop albums of all time, stating that "its true genius is rarely understood" . There are several major differences between the CD version of this album and the other formats, as the tracks "Johnny's Dead AKA Vincent Mason", "My Brother's a Basehead", "Kicked Out the House", and "Who Do U Worship?" are only available on the CD. The limited edition double vinyl promotional copies of the album distributed to the media before the official release did not feature these.


title: De La Soul

text: The group's third studio release, 1993's "Buhloone Mindstate", saw the group evolve a new sound as they continued to grow stylistically and musically. There were several moments on the album which proved the band had matured. "I Be Blowin'" was a departure as the track was an instrumental featuring saxophone playing by Maceo Parker. The introspective "I Am I Be" showed De La Soul at their most self-referential to date with subject matter about Pos' daughter Ayana Monet as well as his grandmother. "Long Island Wildin'" was a collaboration with Japanese hip hop artists Kan Takagi (Major Force) and trio Scha Dara Parr (SDP). The album's first single, "Breakadawn", used a sample of Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It" and Smokey Robinson's "Quiet Storm". De La Soul collaborated for the first time with Gang Starr's Guru on "Patti Dooke", female MC Shortie No Mas, a cousin of Posdnuos, was prominent on many tracks on the album, showcased particularly "In The Woods". The album ended with an old school Biz Markie collaboration called "Stone Age". Missing from vocal duties is Mase, whose voice can only be heard on "Area" in a break near the end of the track. Also rarely featured is his scratching which was heard often on previous albums, with only "In the Woods" showcasing his talent in that area. The album was a critical success, but it was the biggest commercial failure for the group at the time of its release. Many publications, such as "Rolling Stone", have listed this album as one of the best hip hop albums of all time.


title: De La Soul

text: In 1994, 500 copies of a promotional EP called "Clear Lake Audiotorium" were released on clear vinyl and CD. The 6 track EP contained edited versions of tracks off of "Buhloone Mindstate" but also featured the tracks "Sh.Fe.MC's" (Shocking Female MC's) which was a collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest, and Stix & Stonz which featured old-school hip hop artists Grandmaster Caz, Tito of Fearless Four, Whipper Whip, LA Sunshine and Superstar. The EP was widely bootlegged afterwards.


title: De La Soul

text: "Stakes Is High" (1996) was the first album not produced by Prince Paul, with overall production credits given solely to the trio. Although it was met with poor sales, it has been critically lauded for its music, lyricism, and its overall message concerning the artistic decline rap music began to face in the mid-90s. The title track and first single, produced by J Dilla, was not a hit, but the album's second single, "Itzsoweezee (HOT)", with only Dave on vocals, did fare better due to its creative music video. The album spawned a third single "4 More", featuring Zhane which peaked at #52 in the UK. The album did provide a launching pad for future star rapper and actor Mos Def, who appeared on the track "Big Brother Beat". The album also featured collaborations with Common, Truth Enola, and the Jazzyfatnastees.


title: De La Soul

text: Four years later, De La Soul announced that they would release a triple album series entitled "Art Official Intelligence" (or AOI). All three albums were intended to be released within a year, beginning with the release of "". This was followed by "" in late 2001. After this, however, the third and final album in the AOI series was never released. For the next two years, the only De La Soul releases were singles or remix compilations. David Jude Jolicoeur stated in an interview that it usually takes about four years for the group to record an album, promote it with advertisements, touring and so on. The group was having trouble finishing the last AOI installment for many reasons, one of which being an ongoing struggle with Tommy Boy Records, which had been releasing its albums ever since its debut.


title: De La Soul

text: In the summer of 2002, De La Soul toured with Cake, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Kinky, and the Hackensaw Boys during the Unlimited Sunshine Tour. The band was briefly featured in the video game "PaRappa the Rapper 2" with the song "Say "I Gotta Believe!"", featuring Double, and also appeared on the soundtrack of the game.


title: De La Soul

text: In 2004, De La Soul released a new full album: "The Grind Date" on Sanctuary/BMG Records because the venture between Tommy Boy and Warner Bros. Records was shut down and the group's contract was shopped to the other WEA labels. The band thought about having its contract absorbed by Elektra Records, but it decided to leave WEA altogether. Although it was not the third AOI album fans had been expecting, the album was released to some critical acclaim and was well received by most fans. The album features guests MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Butta Verses and Flavor Flav, with production from 9th Wonder, Jake One, Madlib and more. The lead single "Shopping Bags (She Got from You)" did not fare very well and set the tone for disappointing commercial acceptance. In conjunction with the album's release, the group also offered up the track "Come on Down" featuring Flavor Flav for remixing on Sony's Acid Planet website. The winning remix was "Come On Down (KY Raised NY Glazed)" by Interlude Jones who said he tried to "take the influential sound of old New York hip hop and marry it back to its roots."


title: De La Soul

text: In 2005, De La Soul collaborated with Gorillaz on the hit single "Feel Good Inc.," which won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (the first Grammy win in the group's career) after being nominated for a total of three Grammys. De La Soul also appeared on the LA Symphony single "Universal" and Posdnuos collaborated with the Portuguese MC Boss AC on a track called ""Yo (Não Brinques Com Esta Merda)"". The following year they released mixtapes "Hip-Hop Mixtape", a covermount with British dance magazine "Mixmag", and "", a release on the group's own AOI Records label. De La Soul collaborated with the athletic sneaker company Nike to produce two versions of the Nike Dunk under their skateboarding division, Nike SB.


title: De La Soul

text: In 2008, the group joined A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Tech N9ne, The Pharcyde and others on the annual Rock the Bells tour and were honored at the 5th Annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors. Later in the year they collaborated with dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip on a re-recording of the British group's debut single "Thou Shalt Always Kill."


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul returned as a guest on the third Gorillaz studio album, "Plastic Beach" alongside Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys on the song "Superfast Jellyfish". Two other collaborations were recorded, but did not make the final cut for the album. They were supposed to appear on a track entitled "Sloped Tropics", though this song did not make the final cut. The group remixed indie rockers Yo La Tengo's single, ""Here To Fall for the Here To Fall"" remixes EP which included remixes by RJD2 and Pete Rock, and were featured on a remix of Matt & Kim's single "Daylight" by DJ Troublemaker.


title: De La Soul

text: In 2011, the group earned Top 5 rankings on both NPR and Soul Train's year end "Best of" lists with the Amerigo Gazaway produced De La Soul/Fela Kuti mashup, "Fela Soul". De La Soul and Nike released "", which was the group's first original material since "". The album features Raheem DeVaughn as well as production from the Chicago-based duo Flosstradamus. The recording is a single-track recording at 44 minutes, 17 seconds, part of a continuing series of releases through the "Nike+ Sport Music" section of the online store.


title: De La Soul

text: The group released "De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 presents... First Serve" in April 2012, an album that did not feature any contributions from Maseo. With very little promotion, the album was released to positive reviews. This was followed by releasing one track a month during 2013.


title: De La Soul

text: In March 2015, De La Soul created a Kickstarter to help fund their upcoming album. It surpassed the original goal of $110,000 in under ten hours. The resulting album, "And the Anonymous Nobody...", was released in August 2016. Originally planned for an April release, but delayed due to rights issues, the full-length was preceded by 4 track EP "For Your Pain & Suffering" and the single "Pain", featuring Snoop Dogg. The album was nominated at the 59th Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album.


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul was featured on the track "Momentz" on Gorillaz' 2017 album "Humanz", on "Leap of Faith" by Mr. Jukes, alongside Horace Andy, and on Tom Misch's 2018 single "It Runs Through Me." A tenth studio album, featuring production contributions from Pete Rock and DJ Premier, will reportedly be released by Mass Appeal Records.


title: De La Soul

text: De La Soul's back catalog has not been released on audio streaming services or digital media stores. Until 2017, it was owned by Warner Records, which, according to Posdnuos, had been reluctant to clear samples and renegotiate contracts. The samples used in De La Soul's music were only cleared for physical media distribution; the wording of their contracts is not vague enough to enable them to distribute the music digitally on unforeseen technologies.


title: De La Soul

text: In 2017, the catalog was purchased by Tommy Boy Records. In February 2019, De La Soul announced that their catalog would soon be available on digital services. However, as they were unhappy receiving 10% of the revenue, with the rest for Tommy Boy, the release was postponed pending further negotiations. Hip hop artists including Nas, Pete Rock, and Questlove called for a boycott of Tommy Boy. In August, De La Soul announced they had been unable to settle the dispute with Tommy Boy and ended negotiations. In February 2020, Posdnuos said that Tommy Boy "sort of came back to the table, we are looking to sort of get it going". In April, Rostrum Records head Benjy Grinberg said he was attempting to buy Tommy Boy to return the master recordings to De La Soul.


title: De La Soul

text: On June 4, 2021, music company Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy for USD$100 million. Reservoir said they are working with De La Soul to bring its catalog to digital media storefronts. Two months later on August 8, Talib Kweli revealed that the group gained ownership over their music.


title: Ring (company)

text: Ring LLC is a home security and smart home company owned by Amazon. Ring manufactures home security products that incorporate outdoor surveillance cameras, including the Ring Video Doorbell smart doorbell, and hosts an app, Neighbors, for online social sharing of captured footage among users. Ring also provides video footage from its cameras and data from its Neighbors app to law enforcement agencies on request. Its police partnerships have been criticized by civil rights advocacy groups as building an invasive private surveillance network. Privacy concerns have increased since Mayor London Breed of San Francisco has supported ordinances that would allow city police to be able to access Ring footage at any time.


title: Ring (company)

text: In 2013, Ring was founded as Doorbot by Jamie Siminoff. Doorbot was crowdfunded via Christie Street, and raised 364,000, more than the $250,000 requested.


title: Ring (company)

text: In 2013, Siminoff and Doorbot appeared on an episode of the reality series "Shark Tank" to seek a $700,000 investment in the company, which he estimated was worth $7 million. Kevin O'Leary made an offer as a potential investor but Siminoff declined it. After being on "Shark Tank", Siminoff rebranded the company, which received $5 million in additional sales.


title: Ring (company)

text: In 2016, Shaquille O'Neal acquired an equity stake in Ring, and subsequently became a spokesperson in the company's marketing.


title: Ring (company)

text: The company raised over $200 million in investments from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Qualcomm Ventures, Goldman Sachs, DFJ Growth and Sir Richard Branson.


title: Ring (company)

text: In February 2018, Ring was acquired by Amazon for an estimated value of between $1.2 billion and $1.8 billion.


title: Ring (company)

text: In January 2019, it was uncovered that employees at Ring's two offices had access to the video recordings from all Ring devices. In addition, "The Intercept" reported that the video data was stored unencrypted.


title: Ring (company)

text: In June 2019, Ring faced criticism over a "Community Alert" program, under which the company has made geographically-targeted sponsored posts on social media services such as Facebook, asking readers to provide tips on suspects in verified cases, based on imagery posted on the Neighbors service by a Ring customer. Ring stated that it sought permission from the user before using their content in this manner. However, these discoveries did lead to concerns over the use of such footage in material deemed to effectively be advertising, as well as concerns over other possible uses of the footage (such as for training facial recognition) due to the wide copyright license that users must grant to in order to use Neighbors (an irrevocable, unlimited, and royalty-free license to use shared content "for any purpose and in any media formats in any media channels without compensation to you"), and Ring's partnerships with local law enforcement agencies.


title: Ring (company)

text: In July 2019, Vice publication "Motherboard" obtained records revealing the extent of Ring's partnership with the Lakeland (Florida) Police Department (LPD). The department was granted access to a "Law Enforcement Neighborhood Portal" for making posts on Neighbors and the ability to "request videos directly from Ring users," and received a donation of 15 Ring cameras. However, the memorandum of understanding stated that the LPD would be required to participate in "outreach efforts on the platform to encourage adoption of the platform/app" (receiving $10 credits for Ring camera purchases for each new user). Ring also recommended that the LPD establish specific new positions for the partnership, including a "social media coordinator". Later in the month, "Motherboard" obtained public records containing an officer's notes from an April 2019 training webinar, which stated that Ring had partnered with at least 200 law enforcement partners. In early August 2019, "Motherboard" also reported that Ring would match payments by cities to cover the subsidized purchase of Ring cameras, so that they could be resold to residents at a discount.


title: Ring (company)

text: Cybersecurity firm Bitdefender identified a vulnerability in the Ring Video Doorbell Pro product in July 2019, which was patched before being publicly disclosed in November 2019. Security hackers accessed a number of Ring cameras in December 2019 and used the device speakers to broadcast racial slurs, threats, and other inflammatory language to multiple households across the United States. A "Motherboard" investigation discovered crime forums that distributed software exploits of Ring devices that were used in the cyberattacks. NulledCast, a podcast on Discord, livestreamed some of the incidents. Ring responded to the incidents by advising its users to have strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and adopt other security measures. Ring mandated two-factor authentication for all users on February 18, 2020.


title: Ring (company)

text: The United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform launched an investigation into Ring's data-sharing partnerships with local governments and police departments on February 19, 2020.


title: Ring (company)

text: The Ring Video Doorbell is the company's flagship product; it is a smart doorbell that contains a high-definition camera, a motion sensor, and a microphone and speaker for two-way audio communication. It integrates with an associated mobile app, Neighbors, which allows users to view real-time video from the camera, receive notifications when the doorbell is rung, and communicate with visitors at the door via the integrated speaker and microphone. It is also capable of operating as a surveillance camera, and can automatically trigger recordings when rung, or when its motion sensors are activated. A second-generation model, Ring Doorbell 2, was released in 2017, with updated hardware and a 1080p camera with improved low-light performance, that does not rely solely on Wi-Fi, unlike the original model. The Ring Doorbell Pro interoperates with Amazon Alexa to play prerecorded greetings to visitors and allow visitors to leave a message.


title: Ring (company)

text: The "Ring Chime" accessory is a unit plugged into a power outlet to play the doorbell's chime. The "Chime Pro" is an extended version that also doubles as a wireless repeater for Wi-Fi networks.


title: Ring (company)

text: In November 2020, Amazon announced the recall of 350,000 Ring doorbells in the United States and 8,700 in Canada due to a potential fire risk.


title: Ring (company)

text: In 2015, Ring released the "Stick-Up Cam", a wireless IP camera. It was updated in 2018 with a cylindrical form factor, motion detection, two-way audio, as well as battery, wired, and solar power options. In 2017, Ring released the "Floodlight Cam", a camera integrated with a pair of motion-activated LED floodlights, and in 2019, the "Ring Indoor Cam" was released, an indoor camera.


title: Ring (company)

text: In July 2018, Ring launched an alarm security kit called the Ring Alarm, which includes a keypad, siren, and motion sensors. At CES 2019, Ring announced a peephole camera.


title: Ring (company)

text: In September 2020, Ring unveiled the "Always Home Cam", an aerial indoor camera that flies on a predetermined path when activated by an alarm sensor.


title: Ring (company)

text: In September 2020, Ring unveiled a new line of automotive products, including the Ring Car Alarm and Car Cam. Car Alarm is an OBD-II car alarm that can send alerts of events such as break-ins via Ring and Amazon Alexa, and leverages Amazon Sidewalk for connectivity. Car Cam consists of a dashcam and a rear window camera to capture the interior of a car, and features similar car alarm functionality, as well as "emergency crash assist" to automatically notify emergency services if a "serious crash" is detected, as well as having a "traffic stop" voice command.


title: Ring (company)

text: In addition, Ring announced the launch of Car Connect—a platform allowing car manufacturers to integrate existing cameras and security systems within vehicles (such as backup cameras) into the Ring platform. Tesla was announced as the first partner for Car Connect, with plans to offer an aftermarket accessory for the Model 3, Model X, Model S, and Model Y in 2021.


title: Ring (company)

text: In September 2022, Amazon announced a pilot program to use the domestic robot Astro as a remote-controlled security guard connected to Ring security devices. A promotional video shows a woman in a call center remote-controlling the robot to confront burglars after receiving an alert from the Ring security system. An article in MIT Tech Review notes that "combining Astro’s ability to roam around a house with Ring’s established surveillance system, might create even more surveillance problems than either product did in their previous iterations".


title: Ring (company)

text: Ring products require a "Ring Protect" subscription plan in order to store and view recordings from the cameras; without a subscription, the user is limited to real-time footage only. The "Ring Protect Basic" plan allows footage to be retained for 60 days, while the "Ring Protect Plus" subscription adds "unlimited" storage of footage, enables professional monitoring and LTE cellular backup on the Ring Alarm, and extends the warranty on the user's Ring products from one year to the life of the devices.


title: Ring (company)

text: In 2018, Ring launched Neighbors, a hyperlocal social networking app. Described as being akin to a neighborhood watch, it allows users to crowdsource information on and discuss safety and security concerns in their area. The service allows users to share footage captured from Ring products. All user posts are anonymous and do not include specific location information, and are moderated to remove off-topic content (in contrast to services such as Nextdoor). Ring also has partnerships with local police departments in some cities to incorporate Neighbors into their crime monitoring processes, who are able to make official posts for distribution on the service. Ring has credited the service with having helped to solve crimes, and noted that activity on the service surged in areas of California affected by wildfires in November 2018.


title: Ring (company)

text: Amazon disclosed Ring's criteria for accepting requests from police departments for video footage shared to the Neighbors portal in a response to Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey on November 1, 2019. Ring stated that each police request was required to be associated with a case number and submitted individually, although no evidence was needed for footage to be given. Ring also stated that they provided at most 12 hours of footage recorded within the previous 45 days in a maximum search area of for each request. Markey criticized Amazon's response, describing Ring as "an open door for privacy and civil liberty violations".


title: Ring (company)

text: Police departments may access user-generated footage through the Ring Neighborhoods portal, using a map interface. Amazon claims that it seeks permission from applicable users before releasing footage to law enforcement, but may release footage without user consent in emergency situations, or under subpoena. In July 2022, Amazon stated to in a letter to Markey that it had released footage without user permission at least eleven times so far in 2022—the company's first public confirmation that it has done so.


title: Ring (company)

text: "TechHive" gave the second-generation Ring doorbell a 4 out of 5, noting improvements in hardware and ease of installation over the first-generation model, but criticizing a lack of printed and online documentation.


title: Ring (company)

text: Digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future criticized Ring for using its cameras and Neighbors app to build a private surveillance network via partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, which encourage them to promote the products. The group stated that these partnerships "undermine our democratic process and basic civil liberties". According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Ring used these partnerships and its marketing strategies to foster fear, which leads to a "vicious cycle" that spurs hardware sales. The organization said that Ring, as well as Neighbors and similar "neighborhood watch" apps such as Citizen and Nextdoor, "facilitate reporting of so-called 'suspicious' behavior that really amounts to racial profiling." Matt Cagle of the American Civil Liberties Union said that the Ring Neighbors Portal "blurs the line between corporate and government surveillance" and that "Many people are not going to feel like they have a choice when law enforcement asks for access to their footage".


title: Ring (company)

text: In November 2020, a pilot program in Jackson, Mississippi, enabled participating Ring users to enable police to livestream their cameras at anytime.


title: Ring (company)

text: In a December 2019 test, "Motherboard" found that Ring's software did not implement "basic security features", allowing the publication to access a Ring account from IP addresses based in multiple countries without warning the user.


title: Ring (company)

text: The Nextdoor network leaks metadata about the footage posted in videos and "crime alerts". This metadata, combined with public city map data, is frequently sufficient to discover the exact location of the Ring doorbell or a camera. In one experiment, Gizmodo located 20 thousand devices based on information collected (scraped from the app) over a period of month. University researchers were able to locate 440,000 devices using data spanning back to 2016.


title: Ring (company)

text: Amazon Sidewalk is enabled on supported Ring devices, as well as Amazon Alexa devices, by default, allowing devices owned by different users to communicate and transmit data without consent of either owner. Gizmodo criticized Amazon Sidewalk for allowing strangers to connect to Ring owners' home Wi-Fi network.


title: Ring (company)

text: On January 27, 2020, the Electronic Frontier Foundation concluded that the Ring doorbell app for Android was sending identifiable personal information– including names, IP addresses, mobile network carriers, persistent IDs and sensor data –to four analytics and marketing companies: Facebook, Mixpanel, AppsFlyer and branch.io.


title: Ring (company)

text: In April 2021, ADT Inc. sued Ring LLC for trademark infringement, after re-introducing blue octagonal signs that were too similar to the ADT logo. Ring first agreed to cease using a similar logo in 2016 following a prior complaint.


title: John Howard

text: John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in history, behind only Sir Robert Menzies, who served for eighteen non-consecutive years.


title: John Howard

text: Howard was born in Sydney and studied law at the University of Sydney. He was a commercial lawyer before entering parliament. A former federal president of the Young Liberals, he first stood for office at the 1968 New South Wales state election, but lost narrowly. At the 1974 federal election, Howard was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Bennelong. He was promoted to cabinet in 1977, and later in the year replaced Phillip Lynch as treasurer of Australia, remaining in that position until the defeat of Malcolm Fraser's government at the 1983 election. In 1985, Howard was elected leader of the Liberal Party for the first time, thus replacing Andrew Peacock as Leader of the Opposition. He led the Liberal–National coalition to the 1987 federal election, but lost to Bob Hawke's Labor government, and was removed from the leadership in 1989. Remaining a key figure in the party, Howard was re-elected leader in 1995, replacing Alexander Downer, and subsequently led the Coalition to a landslide victory at the 1996 federal election.


title: John Howard

text: In his first term, Howard introduced reformed gun laws in response to the Port Arthur massacre, and controversially implemented a nationwide value-added tax, breaking a pre-election promise. The Howard government called a snap election for 1998, which they won, albeit with a greatly reduced majority. Going into the 2001 election, the Coalition trailed behind Labor in opinion polling. However, in a campaign dominated by national security, Howard introduced changes to Australia's immigration system to deter asylum seekers from entering the country, and pledged military assistance to the United States following the September 11 attacks. Due to this, Howard won widespread support, and his government would be narrowly re-elected.


title: John Howard

text: In Howard's third term in office, Australia contributed troops to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and led the International Force for East Timor. The Coalition would be re-elected once more at the 2004 federal election. In his final term in office, his government introduced industrial relations reforms known as WorkChoices, which proved controversial and unpopular with the public. The Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election, with the Labor Party's Kevin Rudd succeeding him as prime minister. Howard also lost his own seat of Bennelong at the election to Maxine McKew, becoming only the second prime minister to do so, after Stanley Bruce at the 1929 election.


title: John Howard

text: Following this loss, Howard retired from politics, but has remained active in political discourse, and published his autobiography, , in 2010.


title: John Howard

text: Howard is the fourth son of Mona ("née" Kell) and Lyall Howard. His parents were married in 1925. Howard was also known as "Jack" in his youth. His older brothers were Stanley (1926–2014), Walter (b. 1929) and Robert (b. 1936). Lyall Howard was an admirer of Winston Churchill. Howard's ancestors were English, Scottish, and Irish. He is descended from convict William Tooley, who was transported to New South Wales in 1816 for stealing a watch.


title: John Howard

text: Howard was born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood, in a Methodist family. The site of his family home is now a KFC restaurant. His mother had been an office worker until her marriage. His father and his paternal grandfather, Walter Howard, were both veterans of the First AIF in World War I. They also ran two Dulwich Hill petrol stations where Howard worked as a boy.


title: John Howard

text: Howard suffered a hearing impairment in his youth, leaving him with a slight speech impediment, and he continues to wear a hearing aid. It also influenced him in subtle ways, limiting his early academic performance; encouraging a reliance on an excellent memory; and in his mind ruling out becoming a barrister as a likely career.


title: John Howard

text: Howard attended Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury Boys' High School. He won a citizenship prize in his final year at Earlwood (presented by local politician Eric Willis), and subsequently represented his secondary school at debating as well as cricket and rugby union. Cricket remained a lifelong hobby. In his final year at school he took part in a radio show hosted by Jack Davey, "Give It a Go", broadcast on the commercial radio station, 2GB. After gaining his Leaving Certificate, he studied law at the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1962. Howard began working for the firm of Stephen Jaques and Stephen as a junior solicitor. In 1964, he took a trip around the world, visiting Britain, Europe, Israel, India, and Singapore. After returning to Sydney in 1965, he began working for Clayton Utz, but "lacked the university grades and the social connections to be on track for a partnership". He subsequently moved to a smaller firm, which became Truman, Nelson and Howard after he was made a partner.


title: John Howard

text: Howard married fellow Liberal Party member Janette Parker in 1971, with whom he had three children: Melanie (1974), Tim (1977) and Richard (1980). John and Janette are Christians.


title: John Howard

text: Howard joined the Liberal Party in 1957. He was a member of the party's New South Wales state executive and served as federal president of the Young Liberals (the party youth organisation) from 1962 to 1964. Howard supported Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, although has since said there were "aspects of it that could have been handled and explained differently".


title: John Howard

text: At the 1963 federal election, Howard acted as campaign manager for Tom Hughes in his local seat of Parkes. Hughes went on to defeat the 20-year Labor incumbent, Les Haylen. In mid-1964, Howard travelled to London to work and travel for a period. He volunteered for the Conservative Party in the electorate of Holborn and St Pancras South at the 1964 UK general election.


title: John Howard

text: In 1967, with the support of party power brokers John Carrick and Eric Willis, Howard was endorsed as candidate for the marginal suburban state seat of Drummoyne, held by Labor's Reg Coady. Howard's mother sold the family home in Earlwood and rented a house with him at Five Dock, a suburb within the electorate. At the election in February 1968, in which the incumbent state Liberal government was returned to office, Howard narrowly lost to Coady, despite campaigning vigorously.


title: John Howard

text: At the 1974 federal election, Howard successfully contested the Division of Bennelong, located in suburban Sydney. The election saw the return of the Gough Whitlam-led Labor government. Howard supported Malcolm Fraser for the leadership of the Liberal Party against Billy Snedden following the 1974 election. When Fraser won office at the 1975 federal election, Howard was appointed Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs, a position in which he served until 1977. At this stage, he followed the protectionist and pro-regulation stance of Fraser and the Liberal Party.


title: John Howard

text: In December 1977, aged 38, Howard was appointed Treasurer, in place of Phillip Lynch. He was the youngest Treasurer since Chris Watson in 1904. Fraser said in his memoirs that he appointed him despite his limited experience because "he was bright and he got across a brief well, and he was a good manager".


title: John Howard

text: During his five years in the position, Howard became an adherent of free-market economics, which was challenging economic orthodoxies in place for most of the century. He came to favour tax reform including broad-based taxation (later the GST), a freer industrial system including the dismantling of the centralised wage-fixing system, the abolition of compulsory trade unionism, privatisation and deregulation.


title: John Howard

text: In 1978, the Fraser government instigated the Campbell Committee to investigate financial system reforms. Howard supported the Campbell report, but adopted an incremental approach with Cabinet, as there was wide opposition to deregulation within the government and the treasury. The process of reform began before the committee reported 2 years later, with the introduction of the tender system for the sale of Treasury notes in 1979, and Treasury bonds in 1982. Ian Macfarlane described these reforms as "second only in importance to the float of the Australian dollar in 1983." In 1981, Howard proposed a broad-based indirect tax with compensatory cuts in personal rates; however, cabinet rejected it citing both inflationary and political reasons. After the free-marketeers or "drys" of the Liberals challenged the protectionist policies of Minister for Industry and Commerce Phillip Lynch, they shifted their loyalties to Howard. Following an unsuccessful leadership challenge by Andrew Peacock to unseat Fraser as prime minister, Howard was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party in April 1982. His election depended largely on the support of the "drys", and he became the party's champion of the growing free-market lobby.


title: John Howard

text: The economic crises of the early 1980s brought Howard into conflict with the Keynesian Fraser. As the economy headed towards the worst recession since the 1930s, Fraser pushed an expansionary fiscal position much to Howard's and Treasury's horror. With his authority as treasurer being flouted, Howard considered resigning in July 1982, but, after discussions with his wife and senior advisor John Hewson, he decided to "tough it out". The 1982 wages explosion—wages rose 16 per cent across the country—resulted in stagflation; unemployment touched double-digits and inflation peaked at 12.5% (official interest rates peaked at 21%).


title: John Howard

text: The Fraser Government with Howard as Treasurer lost the 1983 election to the Labor Party led by Bob Hawke. Over the course of the 1980s, the Liberal party came to accept the free-market policies that Fraser had resisted and Howard had espoused. Policies included low protection, decentralisation of wage fixation, financial deregulation, a broadly based indirect tax, and the rejection of counter-cyclical fiscal policy.


title: John Howard

text: Following the defeat of the Fraser government and Fraser's subsequent resignation from parliament, Howard contested the Liberal leadership against Andrew Peacock, losing 36–20. However, he was re-elected as deputy leader. The Liberal Party were again defeated by Labor at the early 1984 election. In 1985, as Labor's position in opinion polls improved, Peacock's popularity sank and Howard's profile rose. Leadership speculation persisted, and Peacock said he would no longer accept Howard as deputy unless he offered assurances that he would not challenge for the leadership. Following Howard's refusal to offer such an assurance, Peacock sought, in September 1985, to replace him with John Moore as deputy leader. The party room re-elected Howard as deputy on 5 September 38 votes to 31, which Peacock treated as a vote of no confidence in his leadership. He subsequently called a leadership ballot, which he chose not to contest. Howard defeated Jim Carlton by 57 votes to six, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition.


title: John Howard

text: Howard was in effect the Liberal party's first pro-market leader in the conservative coalition and spent the next two years working to revise Liberal policy away from that of Fraser's. In his own words he was an "economic radical" and a social conservative. Referring to the pro-market liberalism of the 1980s, Howard said in July 1986 that "The times will suit me". That year the economy was seen to be in crisis with a 40% devaluation of the Australian dollar, a marked increase in the current account deficit and the loss of the Federal Government's triple A rating. In response to the economic circumstances, Howard persistently attacked the Labor government and offered his free-market reform agenda. Support for the Labor Party and Hawke strengthened in 1985 and 1986 and Howard's approval ratings dropped in the face of infighting between Howard and Peacock supporters, a "public manifestation of disunity" over policy positions, and questions over Howard's leadership.


title: John Howard

text: Hawke called the 1987 federal election six months early. In addition to the Howard–Peacock rivalry, Queensland National Party criticism of the federal Liberal and National leadership culminated in longtime Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen making a bid to become prime minister himself—the "Joh for Canberra" campaign. Keating campaigned against Howard's proposed tax changes forcing Howard to admit a double-counting in the proposal, and emphasising to the electorate that the package would mean at that stage undisclosed cuts to government services. Howard was not helped when the federal Nationals broke off the Coalition agreement in support of the "Joh for Canberra" push. Bjelke-Petersen abandoned his bid for prime minister a month before the election. However, the damage had already been done. The end of the Coalition agreement led to a large number of three-cornered contests. Additionally, a number of swing voters outside Queensland were alarmed at the prospect of Bjelke-Petersen holding the balance of power, and voted for Labor in order to ensure that the Liberals and Nationals would be defeated. As a result, the Hawke Government was handily reelected, winning the most seats that Labor had ever won in an election.


title: John Howard

text: In his social agenda, Howard promoted the traditional family and was antipathetic to the promotion of multiculturalism at the expense of a shared Australian identity. The controversial immigration policy, "One Australia", outlined a vision of "one nation and one future" and opposed multiculturalism. Howard publicly suggested that to support "social cohesion" the rate of Asian immigration be "slowed down a little". The comments divided opinion within the Coalition, and undermined Howard's standing amongst Liberal party figures including federal and state Ministers, intellectual opinion makers, business leaders, and within the Asia Pacific. Three Liberal MPs crossed the floor and two abstained in response to a motion put forward by Prime Minister Hawke to affirm that race or ethnicity would not be used as immigrant selection criteria. Many Liberals later nominated the issue as instrumental in Howard subsequently losing the leadership in 1989. In a 1995 newspaper article (and in 2002 as prime minister), Howard recanted his 1988 remarks on curbing Asian immigration.


title: John Howard

text: In line with "One Australia's" rejection of Aboriginal land rights, Howard said the idea of an Aboriginal treaty was ""repugnant to the ideals of One Australia"" and commented ""I don't think it is wrong, racist, immoral or anything, for a country to say 'we will decide what the cultural identity and the cultural destiny of this country will be and nobody else.""


title: John Howard

text: As the country's economic position worsened in 1989, public opinion moved away from Labor, however there was no firm opinion poll lead for Howard or the Coalition. In February, Liberal Party president and prominent businessman, John Elliott, said confidentially to Andrew Peacock that he would support him in a leadership challenge against Howard, and in May a surprise leadership coup was launched, ousting Howard as Liberal leader. When asked that day whether he could become Liberal leader again, Howard likened it to ""Lazarus with a triple bypass"". The loss of the Liberal Party leadership to Peacock deeply affected Howard, who admitted he would occasionally drink too much. Declining Peacock's offer of Shadow Education, Howard went to the backbench and a new period of party disunity ensued which was highlighted by a Four Corners episode detailing the coup against Howard. Howard served as Shadow Minister for Industry, Technology and Communications, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Public Service, Chairman of the Manpower and Labour Market Reform Group, Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Manager of Opposition Business in the House.


title: John Howard

text: Following the Coalition's 1990 election loss, Howard considered challenging Peacock for the leadership, but didn't have enough support for a bid. Ultimately, Peacock resigned and was replaced with former Howard staffer John Hewson who defeated Peter Reith. Peacock supported Hewson with generational change which took Howard's name out. Howard was a supporter of Hewson's economic program, with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) as its centrepiece. Howard was Shadow Minister for Industrial relations and oversaw Jobsback section of Fightback. After Hewson lost the "unloseable" 1993 election to Paul Keating, Howard unsuccessfully challenged Hewson for the leadership. In 1994, he was again passed over for the leadership, which went to Alexander Downer. Hewson had pledged to resign if defeated in 1993 but did not resign to block Howard from succeeding him.


title: John Howard

text: In January 1995, leaked internal Liberal Party polling showed that with gaffe-prone Downer as leader, the Coalition had slim chance of holding its marginal seats in the next election, let alone of winning government. Media speculation of a leadership spill ended when, on 26 January 1995, Downer resigned as Liberal Leader and Howard was elected unopposed to replace him. The Coalition subsequently opened a large lead over Labor in most opinion polls, and Howard overtook Paul Keating as preferred prime minister. Hoping to avoid a repeat of mistakes made at the 1993 election, Howard revised his earlier statements against Medicare and Asian immigration, describing Australia as "a unique intersection between Europe, North America and Asia". This allowed Howard to campaign on a "small-target" strategy. He focused on the economy and memory of the early 1990s recession, and on the longevity of the Labor government, which in 1996 had been in power for 13 years. Howard in May 1995 also pledged a GST would not be Liberal party policy as Hewson's defeat in 1993 (who by then had retired from politics) was a rejection of the GST.


title: John Howard

text: By the time the writs were issued for the 1996 election, the Coalition had been well ahead of Labor in opinion polls for over a year. The consensus of most opinion polls was that Howard would be the next prime minister.


title: John Howard

text: With the support of many traditionally Labor voters—dubbed "Howard battlers"—Howard and the Liberal-National Coalition swept to power on the back of a 29-seat swing. This was the second-worst defeat of an incumbent government since Federation. The Coalition picked up a five per cent swing, taking 13 seats away from Labor in New South Wales, and winning all but two seats in Queensland. The Liberals actually won a majority in their own right with 75 seats, the most that the party had ever won. It was only the third time (the others being 1975 and 1977) that the main non-Labor party has been even theoretically able to govern alone since the Coalition's formation. Nevertheless, Howard kept the Nationals in his government.


title: John Howard

text: Howard entered office with a 45-seat majority—the second-biggest majority in Australian history, only behind Fraser's 55-seat majority in 1975. At the age of 56, he was sworn in as prime minister on 11 March 1996, ending a record 13 years of Coalition opposition. Howard departed from tradition and made his primary residence Kirribilli House in Sydney rather than The Lodge in Canberra.


title: John Howard

text: Early in the term Howard had championed significant new restrictions on gun ownership following the Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people had been shot dead. Achieving agreement in the face of immense opposition from within the Coalition and some State governments, was credited with significantly elevating Howard's stature as prime minister despite a backlash from core Coalition rural constituents.


title: John Howard

text: Howard's initial silence on the views of Pauline Hanson—a disendorsed Liberal Party candidate and later independent MP from the Brisbane area—was criticised in the press as an endorsement of her views. When Hanson had made derogatory statements about minorities, Howard not only canceled her Liberal endorsement, but declared she would not be allowed to sit as a Liberal if elected. Howard repudiated Hanson's views seven months after her maiden speech.


title: John Howard

text: Following the Wik Decision of the High Court in 1996, the Howard government moved swiftly to legislate limitations on its possible implications through the so-called Ten-Point Plan.


title: John Howard

text: From 1997, Howard spearheaded the Coalition push to introduce a Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the subsequent election. Before winning the prime ministership, Howard said that he considered the Coalition's defeat in 1993 to be a rejection of the GST, and as a result it would "never ever" be part of Coalition policy. A long-held conviction of Howard's, his tax reform package was credited with "breaking the circuit" of party morale—boosting his confidence and direction, which had appeared to wane early in the Government's second term. The 1998 election was dubbed a "referendum on the GST", and the tax changes—including the GST—were implemented in the government's second term after amendments to the legislation were negotiated with the Australian Democrats to ensure its passage through the Senate.


title: John Howard

text: Through much of its first term, opinion polling was disappointing for the government. The popularity of Pauline Hanson, and the new restrictions on gun ownership drew many traditionally Coalition voters away from the Howard government. Also unpopular with voters were large spending cuts aimed at eliminating the budget deficit (and Howard's distinction between "core" and "non-core" election promises when cutting spending commitments), industrial changes and the 1998 waterfront dispute, the partial sale of government telecommunications company Telstra, and the Government's commitment to a GST.


title: John Howard

text: Howard called a snap election for October 1998, three months sooner than required. The Coalition actually lost the national two-party preferred vote to Labor, suffering a 14-seat swing. However, the uneven nature of the swing allowed Howard to win a second term in government, with a considerably reduced majority (from 45 seats to 12). Howard himself finished just short of a majority on the first count in his own seat, and was only assured of reelection on the ninth count. He ultimately finished with a fairly comfortable 56 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.


title: John Howard

text: In 1998, Howard convened a constitutional convention which decided in principle that Australia should become a republic. At the convention Howard confirmed himself as a monarchist, and said that of the republican options, he preferred the minimalist model. Howard outlined his support for retaining the Australian constitutional monarchy. Despite opinion polls suggesting Australians favoured a republic, a 1999 referendum rejected the model chosen by the convention.


title: John Howard

text: Although new Indonesian President B.J. Habibie had some months earlier agreed to grant special autonomy to Indonesian-occupied East Timor, his subsequent snap decision for a referendum on the territory's independence triggered a Howard and Downer orchestrated shift in Australian policy. In September 1999, Howard organised an Australian-led international peace-keeping force to East Timor (INTERFET), after pro-Indonesia militia launched a violent "scorched-earth" campaign in retaliation to the referendum's overwhelming vote in favour of independence. The successful mission was widely supported by Australian voters, but the government was criticised for "foreign policy failure" following the violence and collapse of diplomatic relations with Indonesia. By Howard's fourth term, relations with Indonesia had recovered to include counter-terrorism cooperation and Australia's $1bn Boxing Day Tsunami relief efforts, and were assisted by good relations between Howard and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.


title: John Howard

text: Throughout his prime-ministership, Howard was resolute in his refusal to provide a parliamentary "apology" to Indigenous Australians as recommended by the 1997 "Bringing Them Home" Report. Howard made a personal apology before the release of the report.


title: John Howard

text: In 1999 Howard negotiated a "Motion of Reconciliation" with Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway. Eschewing use of the word "sorry", the motion recognised mistreatment of Aborigines as the "most blemished chapter" in Australia's history; offered "deep and sincere "regret"" for past injustices. Following his 2007 loss of the prime ministership, Howard was the only living former prime minister who declined to attend the February 2008 apology made by Kevin Rudd with bi-partisan support.


title: John Howard

text: Howard did not commit to serving a full term if he won the next election; on his 61st birthday in July 2000 he said he would consider the question of retirement when he turned 64. This was interpreted as boosting Costello's leadership aspirations, and the enmity over leadership and succession resurfaced publicly when Howard did not retire at the age of 64. In the first half of 2001, rising petrol prices, voter enmity over the implementation of the GST, a spike in inflation and economic slowdown led to bad opinion polls and predictions the Government would lose office in the election later that year. The government announced a series of policy reversals and softenings which boosted the government's fortunes, as did news that the economy had avoided recession. The government's position on "border protection", in particular the Tampa affair where Howard refused the landing of asylum seekers rescued by a Norwegian freighter, consolidated the improving polls for the government, as did the 11 September 2001 attacks. Howard led the government to victory in the 2001 federal election with an increased majority.


title: John Howard

text: Howard had first met US President George W. Bush in the days before the 11 September terrorist attacks and was in Washington the morning of the attacks. In response to the attacks, Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty. In October 2001, he committed Australian military personnel to the War in Afghanistan despite widespread opposition. Howard developed a strong personal relationship with the President, and they shared often similar ideological positions – including on the role of the United States in world affairs and their approach to the "War on Terror". In May 2003, Howard made an overnight stay at Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas, after which Bush said that Howard "...is not only a man of steel, he's showed the world he's a man of heart."


title: John Howard

text: In April 2002, Howard was the first Australian prime minister to attend a royal funeral, that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. In October Howard responded to the 2002 Bali bombing with calls for solidarity. Howard re-dedicated his government to the "War on Terror".


title: John Howard

text: In March 2003, Australia joined the US-led "Multinational force in Iraq" in sending 2,000 troops and naval units to support in the invasion of Iraq. In response to the Australian participation in the invasion, there were large protests in Australian cities during March 2003, and Prime Minister Howard was heckled from the public gallery of Parliament House. While opinion polls showed that opposition to the war without UN backing was between 48 and 92 per cent, Howard remained preferred prime-minister over the Leader of the Opposition, Simon Crean, although his approval ratings were lower compared to before the war.


title: John Howard

text: Throughout 2002 and 2003 Howard had increased his opinion poll lead over Labor Party leader, Simon Crean. In December 2003, Crean resigned after losing party support and Mark Latham was elected leader. Howard called an election for 9 October 2004. While the government was behind Labor in the opinion polls, Howard himself had a large lead over Latham as preferred prime minister. In the lead up to the election, Howard again did not commit to serving a full term. Howard attacked Latham's economic record as Mayor of Liverpool City Council and attacked Labor's economic history. The election resulted in a five-seat swing to the Coalition, netting it a majority almost as large as in 1996. It also resulted the first, albeit slim, government majority in the Senate since 1981. For the second time since becoming prime minister, Howard came up short of a majority in the first count for his own seat. He was assured of reelection on the third count, ultimately winning 53.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. On 21 December 2004, Howard overtook Bob Hawke to become the second longest-serving Australian prime minister after Sir Robert Menzies.


title: John Howard

text: In 2006, with the government now controlling both houses of parliament for the first time since the Fraser era, industrial relations changes were enacted. Named "WorkChoices" and championed by Howard, they were intended to fundamentally change the employer-employee relationship. Opposed by a broad trade union campaign and antipathy within the electorate, WorkChoices was subsequently seen as a major factor in the government's 2007 election loss.


title: John Howard

text: In April 2006, the government announced it had completely paid off the last of $96 billion of Commonwealth net debt inherited when it came to power in 1996. By 2007, Howard had been in office for 11 of the 15 years of consecutive annual growth for the Australian economy. Unemployment had fallen from 8.1% at the start of his term to 4.1% in 2007, and average weekly earnings grew 24.4% in real terms. During his prime ministership, opinion polling consistently showed that a majority of the electorate thought his government were better to handle the economy than the Opposition.


title: John Howard

text: In 2006, Ian McLachlan and Peter Costello said that under a 1994 deal between Howard and Costello, Howard would serve one and a half terms as prime minister if the Coalition won the next election before stepping aside to allow Costello to take over. Howard denied that this constituted a deal; Citing strong party room support for him as leader, Howard stated later that month that he would remain to contest the 2007 election. Six weeks before the election, Howard indicated he would stand down during the next term, and anointed Costello as his successor.


title: John Howard

text: The Coalition trailed Labor in opinion polls from mid-2006 onward, but Howard still consistently led Labor leader Kim Beazley on the question of preferred prime minister. In December 2006, after Kevin Rudd became Labor leader, the two-party preferred deficit widened even further and Rudd swiftly overtook Howard as preferred prime minister. Howard chaired APEC Australia 2007, culminating in the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Sydney during September. The meeting was at times overshadowed by further leadership speculation following continued poor poll results.


title: John Howard

text: In May 2006, the degradation of Aboriginal communities, and the frequent child sexual abuses that occurred within these, was brought to the forefront of the public's mind. In response to this, a report into child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory was commissioned. Following this, there was an intervention into these Northern Territory communities. This received widespread criticism, with some holding that it was no more than another attempt to control these communities. Howard was not exempt from this criticism on the grounds of racism.


title: John Howard

text: Howard supported the Bush administration's 2007 surge strategy in Iraq, and criticised Democrat US presidential candidate Barack Obama for calling for a complete withdrawal of Coalition troops by March 2008.


title: John Howard

text: Leading up to the 24 November election, the Coalition had been behind Labor in the polls for almost two years, a margin that grew even larger after Rudd became opposition leader. In the election, Howard and his government were defeated, suffering a 23-seat swing to Labor, which was almost as large as the 29-seat swing that propelled him to power in 1996. During the election campaign he was targeted by protesters including the John Howard Ladies Auxillary Fanclub. Howard lost his seat of Bennelong to former journalist Maxine McKew with 44,685 votes (51.4 per cent) to Howard's 42,251 (48.6 per cent). The latest redistribution placed Bennelong right on the edge of seats Labor needed to win in order to make Rudd prime minister. The ABC actually listed Bennelong as a Labor gain on election night. However, the result remained in doubt for a few days after the election. The final tally indicated that McKew defeated Howard on the 14th count due to a large flow of Green preferences to her; 3,793 (78.84 per cent) of Green voters listed McKew as their second preference. Howard was only the second Australian prime minister to lose his seat in an election since Stanley Bruce in 1929. He remained in office as caretaker prime minister until the formal swearing in of Rudd's government on 3 December.


title: John Howard

text: Media analysis of The Australian Election Study, a postal survey of 1,873 voters during the 2007 poll, found that although respondents respected Howard and thought he had won the 6-week election campaign, Howard was considered "at odds with public opinion on cut-through issues", his opponent had achieved the highest "likeability" rating in the survey's 20-year history, and a majority had decided their voting intention before the election campaign.


title: John Howard

text: In January 2008, Howard signed with the speaking agency called the Washington Speakers Bureau, joining Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, and others. He was available for two speeches, "Leadership in the New Century" and "The Global Economic Future".


title: John Howard

text: The Australian and New Zealand cricket boards unsuccessfully nominated Howard as their candidate for president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Howard was the chairman of the International Democrat Union (IDU), a body of international conservative political parties, between 2002 and 2014, when he was succeeded by John Key of New Zealand. In 2008, he was appointed a director of the foundation established to preserve the legacy of Donald Bradman.


title: John Howard

text: In 2014 Howard published "The Menzies Era", concerning the premiership of Prime Minister Robert Menzies.


title: John Howard

text: Howard was the subject of a lengthy interview series by "The Australian" columnist Janet Albrechtsen in 2014, which aired as a featured story on Seven Network's "Sunday Night", and again in January 2015 as its own five-part series on Sky News Australia entitled "Howard Defined".


title: John Howard

text: In November 2017, Howard launched the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, headed by Simon Haines, formerly professor of English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.


title: John Howard

text: In 2017, Howard endorsed a "No" vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey and joined the campaign against same-sex marriage.


title: John Howard

text: In February 2019, Howard provided a character reference for Cardinal George Pell, a senior leader of the Catholic Church in Australia and former Vatican Treasurer, whose conviction on five counts of child sexual abuse while Archbishop of Melbourne was later overturned by the High Court. Howard's character reference followed Pell's convictions, and was provided along with nine others to support Pell's barrister's submissions in the pre-sentencing hearing.


title: John Howard

text: In October 2021, Howard endorsed Dominic Perrottet to succeed Gladys Berejiklian as Premier of New South Wales following Berejiklian's resignation as Premier.


title: Nicki Minaj discography

text: Rapper Nicki Minaj has released four studio albums, one compilation album, three mixtapes, 123 singles (including 80 as a featured artist), and 20 promotional singles.


title: Nicki Minaj discography

text: After becoming involved with music and acting in high school in New York City, Minaj eventually picked up rapping. She was discovered by American rapper Lil Wayne and signed to Young Money Entertainment—a subdivision of Cash Money Records with distribution through Republic Records—in 2009. Minaj's first solo single, "Your Love", peaked at number 14 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped the "Billboard" Hot Rap Songs chart, an achievement that made Minaj the first female artist to top the chart as a solo artist since 2002. Her next three singles, "Check It Out", "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life", all peaked within the top 40 on the Hot 100. Minaj's debut studio album, "Pink Friday", was released in November 2010, topping the US "Billboard" 200 and has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's fifth single, "Super Bass", reached the top ten in multiple countries, including the US where it peaked at number three and has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million units in the country.


title: Nicki Minaj discography

text: Minaj's second studio album, "" (2012), debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200. The album also entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, making Minaj the highest-charting female rapper on the UK charts. The album's lead single, "Starships", peaked at number five on the Hot 100 and reached the top ten in multiple other countries. An expanded version of "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" subtitled, "", was released in November 2012. Minaj's third studio album, "The Pinkprint" (2014), debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200. The album's second single, "Anaconda", peaked at number two on the Hot 100 while further singles, "Only" and "Truffle Butter", peaked within the top 20 on the chart. In 2014, Minaj shared lead credit on the single "Bang Bang" with Jessie J and Ariana Grande. The song scored Minaj her first number one in the UK and peaked at number three in the US. Minaj's fourth studio album, "Queen" (2018), debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.


title: Nicki Minaj discography

text: In 2020, Minaj scored her first number-one single on the Hot 100 after featuring on the remix of Doja Cat's "Say So"; marking the first collaboration between two female rap artists to top the chart. That same year, her collaboration with 6ix9ine on the song "Trollz" debuted at number one on the Hot 100; making Minaj the second female rapper to debut atop the Hot 100, and earning Minaj her first number-one single as a lead artist. Minaj's single "Super Freaky Girl" from her upcoming fifth studio album debuted at number one on the Hot 100, becoming the first solo song by a female rap artist to do so since 1998, and earning Minaj her third overall number-one single in the US.


title: Nicki Minaj discography

text: Since 2010, Minaj has accumulated 125 chart entries on the Hot 100 (including featured credits) and has scored 21 top ten singles in her career, giving her the most among female rappers. Minaj has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her the best-selling female rapper of all time. She was ranked by "Billboard" as the seventh overall Top Female Artist of any genre for the 2010s decade. According to the RIAA, Minaj has 34.5 million certified digital singles in the US.


title: Tom Daley

text: Thomas Robert Daley (born 21 May 1994) is a British diver and television personality. Specialising in multiple events, he is an Olympic gold medallist in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform event at the 2020 Olympics and double world champion in the FINA 10-metre platform event, winning in 2009 at the age of fifteen, and again in 2017. He is an Olympic bronze medallist in the 2012 platform event, the 2016 synchronised event, and the 2020 platform event, making him the first British diver to win four Olympic medals. Daley also competes in team events, winning the inaugural mixed team World title in 2015. He is a one-time Olympic champion, 3-time World Champion, a 2-time junior World Champion, a 5-time European champion and 4-time Commonwealth champion.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley started diving at the age of seven and is a member of Plymouth Diving Club, where his talent was identified early, and made an impact in national and international competitions from age nine. He represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics where he was Britain's youngest competitor, age fourteen, and the youngest from any nation to participate in a final. In 2009, Daley reached a career-best ranking of number one in the FINA World Aquatics Championships Diving Rankings for the 10 m platform. He won two gold medals for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in the 10 m synchro diving (with Max Brick) and the 10 m Individual Platform competition.


title: Tom Daley

text: After the 2012 Summer Olympics and a summer of increased sporting interest amongst the UK public, television network ITV approached Daley to have a role in their new celebrity diving reality TV show "Splash!" Daley made his debut in the show's premiere on 5 January 2013 as a mentor to the celebrity competitors taking part.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley was born on 21 May 1994 at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, England, the son of Debbie (née Selvester) and Robert Daley. He has two brothers – William who is three years younger, and Ben who is five years younger. Their father, Robert, died from a brain tumour on 27 May 2011, aged 40, a few days after Daley's 17th birthday. His early diving hero was Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie, who won gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games at the age of 13, and British diver Leon Taylor, who later mentored him.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley was spotted by a coach, taking part in regular diving lessons, and was placed in a competitive squad in September 2002. His first competition was the National Novice Championships in April 2003 where he won a medal in the 8/9-year-old boys category. In September 2003, he took part in an invitational event in Southampton where he won the 1 m, 3 m and platform events, and first made his mark on the wider audience. Daley won his age group at the British Championships in the 1 m springboard, the 3 m springboard, and platform in 2004, 2005, and 2006.


title: Tom Daley

text: In June 2004, the month after his tenth birthday, he won the platform competition in the National Junior (under-18) group, making him the youngest winner of that event. In 2005 Daley competed as a guest competitor in the Australian Elite Junior Nationals and placed first in platform and second in 3 m springboard in the 14–15 age group event. He also competed in the 14–15 category at the 2005 Aachen Junior International, placing second in platform and third in 3 m springboard. He met the qualification standard for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but was not selected for the England team because of his age. In 2006, he was the under-18 British champion in platform and 3m springboard, and he placed second in the 10 m platform at the 2007 senior British Championships, which were held in December 2006.


title: Tom Daley

text: From age 11 to 14 Daley attended Eggbuckland Community College in Plymouth, Devon. At 13 he became a celebrity supporter of Childline, a children's helpline run by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and at that time it was revealed that he had been bullied eighteen months earlier. In April 2009, Daley alleged to Plymouth's main local newspaper "The Herald" that he had been bullied at school since the Olympics, and his father told the BBC that he had temporarily withdrawn him from that school because its response to the problem had been ineffective. Daley was praised in the media for speaking out about his problem.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley was offered a full scholarship to board at independent school Brighton College, but his father turned this down due to the distance from home, and entered negotiations with local independent school Plymouth College, which had offered him a "very significant scholarship". A few weeks later it was confirmed that Daley had enrolled at Plymouth College.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley took his GCSEs in small batches to fit around his diving commitments. He persuaded supermodel Kate Moss to pose for a recreation of an original portrait by David Hockney, as part of a GCSE photography project recreating great works of art, after meeting her on a photo shoot for the Italian version of "Vogue". Daley obtained eight A* grades and one A in his GCSEs.


title: Tom Daley

text: In 2012, Daley finished his two-year A-level studies in mathematics, Spanish and photography. Daley decided not to undertake an International Baccalaureate course because of the pressures he faced in his preparation for the 2012 Olympics. He received an A* in his Photography A-level, and an A in his Spanish and Maths A-levels.


title: Tom Daley

text: In January 2007, at the age of twelve, Daley was given a special dispensation to compete at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. The usual minimum age is fifteen. Competing with a persistent thumb injury, Daley won the silver medal with synchro-partner Callum Johnstone in the 10m synchronized-diving final.


title: Tom Daley

text: Later in 2007, he won the senior platform title at the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) National Championships, the national championship for English divers. In 2007 he also began to compete on International Swimming Federation's (FINA) international diving circuit of Grand Prix and World Series events, twice finishing fourth in individual competition.Daley won the 2007 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award. He was considered a medal prospect for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from this time, and was one of the British Olympians being tracked through the years leading up to London 2012 by the BBC television series "Olympic Dreams".


title: Tom Daley

text: In January 2008, Daley won the 10m platform event at the British Championships and became the youngest winner of the senior British 10 m title. He also won the 10 m platform synchro title with new partner Blake Aldridge.


title: Tom Daley

text: Two weeks later, Daley won his first medals on the FINA circuit, winning a bronze in the individual platform competition and a silver in synchro at the Madrid Grand Prix. Daley and Aldridge won bronze in synchro at the 2008 FINA Diving World Cup. Their score was a British record and Daley became the youngest ever male medallist in a world diving event. Daley came seventh in the individual competition. In March 2008, Daley became the youngest person to win a gold medal at the European Championships, held in Eindhoven. The previous youngest winner was the Scottish swimmer Ian Black, who won a European gold in 1958 at the age of 17.


title: Tom Daley

text: Daley qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the individual 10m dive competition and, following the retirement of 2004 silver medallist Leon Taylor, in the 10m platform synchro competition. Some in the British media reported that in competing he would become the youngest-ever male British Olympian, until it was ascertained that Ken Lester, cox to the rowing pair at the 1960 Summer Olympics, had been 13 years and 144 days old at the time. In the Olympic synchronized 10m platform competition, they placed eighth, while in the individual 10m platform competition he finished seventh.


title: Tom Daley

text: A month after his appearance at the Olympics, Daley participated in the FINA Junior World Championships for the first time (being too young to enter before). He finished second in the category "B" platform competition (for 14- and 15-year-old boys) with 549.60 points, between China's Qiu Bo (551.85 points) and Wu Dongliang (474.00 points). He came second in the 3-metre springboard competition in the same category with 485.25 points, sandwiched between the two Chinese divers, Wu Dongliang (510.25 points) and Wang Peng (470.40 points).


title: Tom Daley

text: In February 2009, Daley retained his individual British 10m championship, setting a competition personal best score of 517.55 points, 133.45 points ahead of the second-placed diver. He was unable to defend his 10m synchronized title, as his dive partner Blake Aldridge had been injured in a brawl at a nightclub several days before the championships and was unable to dive. In March 2009 he improved his personal best to 540.70 in coming third at a Diving World Series event in China, and the following month he improved it to 540.85 while finishing second at the World Series event in Sheffield.


title: Tom Daley

text: During the Olympics Daley had a row with diving partner Blake Aldridge when the latter phoned his mother between rounds. When Aldridge missed the British Championships because of the injury sustained in the nightclub incident, Daley's father said he'd like his son to have a different diving partner. In April 2009 he started to dive with Max Brick, who is two years his senior, compared with the twelve-year gap with Aldridge. The pair achieved a silver medal in the 10m synchronized event at Fort Lauderdale on 8 May 2009. Daley won the individual event in a new personal best of 554.90, scoring a perfect set of seven 10s for one of his dives.


title: Tom Daley

text: In the 2009 FINA World Championships, held in Rome, Daley unexpectedly won the individual platform title despite his lower tariff, with a score of 539.85 points, when his opponents had poor final dives – Qiu Bo finished on 532.20 points, Zhou Luxin on 530.55. In the 10 m platform synchronized event at the World Championships, Daley and Brick finished in 9th place following an inconsistent series of dives by the new pairing.


title: Tom Daley

text: In the February 2010 British Championships individual 10 m competition, Daley unveiled his 5255B dive (back two-and-a-half somersault, one-and-a-half twists, with pike) in competition for the first time, giving him a 3.6 tariff dive (reduced from 3.8 in FINAs' September 2009 DD tables). In this competition Daley finished in second place, 40.05 points behind Peter Waterfield.


title: Tom Daley

text: In the March 2010 FINA Diving World Series event in Qingdao individual 10m competition, Daley showcased his two new dives and finished in 4th place, 520.35 points (his best score of the year).


title: Tom Daley

text: In the first April 2010 FINA Diving World Series event held in Veracruz, Mexico, Daley failed to qualify for the final round of the individual 10m competition. A second event was held in the same venue three days later to replace the Sheffield DWS event which was cancelled because of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Daley finished in fourth place, with a score of 519.70 points – his second highest score of the season (just 0.8 points away from bronze).


title: Tom Daley

text: In August 2010, Daley attended the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, intending to defend his individual 10m title. However, an injury to his triceps muscle in the 10m synchro competition forced his withdrawal from the synchro and individual 10m competitions, and placed his participation in the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in the following two weeks in doubt. It was later announced that Daley would dive in the 3m springboard but not in the 10m platform. Daley took part in the 3m springboard diving competition and finished in 9th place.


title: Tom Daley

text: On 12 October 2010, Daley attended the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. He and his teammate Max Brick won the gold medal for Synchronized 10m Platform Competition. The following day he also won gold in the 10m Individual Platform competition.


title: Tom Daley

text: In November 2010, Daley was announced as a nominated sportsman for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010 and the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2010. He won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2010 for the third time in his career, and is the first person to receive this award three times.


title: Tom Daley

text: For the 2011 season, Daley was paired in the synchronized competitions with 2004 Athens Olympic silver medallist Peter Waterfield in British Swimming's continuing efforts to find the best synchro pairing for the 2012 Olympics. At the 2011 National Cup, the British Championship was held in the new Southend Swimming and Diving Centre on 28–30 January and Daley came second in the 3m springboard competition behind Jack Laugher. With Waterfield, he won the 10m platform synchronized competition. The following day, Waterfield beat Daley to the individual 10m platform title for the second successive year, by 494.25 points to 472.35, with Max Brick third with 399.80.


title: Tom Daley

text: In the 2011 World Championships, held in Shanghai, China, he was again paired with Waterfield in the 10m synchro event. In the week before the competition Waterfield was struck by a flu-like illness for five days, and consequently they finished in sixth place. In the individual event, Daley finished in fifth place on 505.10 points, behind Qiu Bo (585.45), David Boudia (544.25), Sascha Klein (534.50), and Viktor Minibaev (527.50).


title: Tom Daley

text: On 27 July 2011, Daley took the first dive in London's newly built Olympic Park Aquatics Centre marking the one year countdown until the games begin. It was broadcast live on BBC One and when interviewed he said "Marking the one year to go, by diving in the Aquatics Centre is an incredible honour. Only a few years ago, this was a distant dream. The fact that I qualified at the weekend and am taking the first dive is a complete privilege. I can't wait for next year and the honour of representing Team GB."


title: Tom Daley

text: In the 2012 season, a thumb injury forced Daley's withdrawal from the National Cup a few days before the competition (the 10m platform title was won by Max Brick). In February 2012 British Diving's Performance Director Alexei Evangulov criticised Daley's work ethic, stating that he feared Daley's media and commercial activities were to the detriment of his training for the Olympics – a comment which was seemingly backed up when Daley and Pete Waterfield could only finish 7th in the 10m synchro competition in the FINA World Cup event held at the London Aquatics Centre.


title: Tom Daley

text: Following a clear-the-air meeting between Daley, Evangulov, and Daley's representatives, Daley participated in the 2012 FINA Diving World Series. In the first event held in Dubai, Daley and Waterfield finished 4th in the 10m synchro event, while Daley won silver in the individual 10m event. In the event held in Beijing a week later, Daley and Waterfield won the silver medal in the 10m synchro event, while in the individual event Daley won silver and Waterfield the bronze. Three weeks later, in the Moscow event, Daley won silver in the individual platform event, while the pairing finished fifth in the synchro. In the final DWS meet of the year, in Tijuana, Mexico, Daley won gold in the individual platform event, and the pairing with Waterfield won bronze in the synchro event, although the Chinese did not compete in these events at this meet. Over the whole 2012 Diving World Series, Daley and the Daley/Waterfield pairing won both the overall individual and synchro 10-metre competitions.


title: Tom Daley

text: In April 2012, Daley won the British elite juniors 10-metre platform title by a margin of 140 points at the Plymouth Life Centre.


title: Tom Daley

text: In May 2012, Daley regained the European 10-metre platform title when he won gold at the Eindhoven championships with a score of 565.05 points, 49.65 ahead of Viktor Minibaev in silver position.