title: Sulfur hexafluoride

text: Measurements of SF show that its global average mixing ratio has increased from a steady base of about 54 parts per quadrillion prior to industrialization, to over 11 parts per trillion (ppt) as of June 2022, and is increasing by about 0.4 ppt (3.5 percent) per year. Average global SF concentrations increased by about seven percent per year during the 1980s and 1990s, mostly as the result of its use in magnesium production, and by electrical utilities and electronics manufacturers. Given the small amounts of SF released compared to carbon dioxide, its overall individual contribution to global warming is estimated to be less than 0.2 percent, however the collective contribution of it and similar man-made halogenated gases has reached about 10 percent as of 2020. Alternatives are being tested.


title: Sulfur hexafluoride

text: In Europe, falls under the F-Gas directive which ban or control its use for several applications. Since 1 January 2006, is banned as a tracer gas and in all applications except high-voltage switchgear. It was reported in 2013 that a three-year effort by the United States Department of Energy to identify and fix leaks at its laboratories in the United States such as the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where the gas is used as a high voltage insulator, had been productive, cutting annual leaks by . This was done by comparing purchases with inventory, assuming the difference was leaked, then locating and fixing the leaks.


title: Sulfur hexafluoride

text: Sulfur hexafluoride is a nontoxic gas, but by displacing oxygen in the lungs, it also carries the risk of asphyxia if too much is inhaled. Since it is more dense than air, a substantial quantity of gas, when released, will settle in low-lying areas and present a significant risk of asphyxiation if the area is entered. That is particularly relevant to its use as an insulator in electrical equipment since workers may be in trenches or pits below equipment containing .


title: Sulfur hexafluoride

text: As with all gases, the density of affects the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract, thus changing drastically the vocal sound qualities, or timbre, of those who inhale it. It does not affect the vibrations of the vocal folds. The density of sulfur hexafluoride is relatively high at room temperature and pressure due to the gas's large molar mass. Unlike helium, which has a molar mass of about 4 g/mol and pitches the voice up, has a molar mass of about 146 g/mol, and the speed of sound through the gas is about 134 m/s at room temperature, pitching the voice down. For comparison, the molar mass of air, which is about 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, is approximately 30 g/mol which leads to a speed of sound of 343 m/s.


title: Sulfur hexafluoride

text: Sulfur hexafluoride has an anesthetic potency slightly lower than nitrous oxide; it is classified as a mild anesthetic.


title: The Howling (film)

text: The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed by Joe Dante. It is based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner. The film stars Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, and Robert Picardo.


title: The Howling (film)

text: "The Howling" was released in the United States on March 13, 1981, and became a moderate success, grossing $17.9 million at the box office. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for the makeup special effects by Rob Bottin. The film won the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film while still in development, and was one of the three high-profile werewolf-themed horror films released in 1981, alongside "An American Werewolf in London" and "Wolfen".


title: The Howling (film)

text: Its financial success aided Dante's career, and prompted Warner Bros. to hire Dante (as director) and Michael Finnell (as producer) for "Gremlins". A series consisting of seven sequels arose from the film's success. A remake is in development, with Andy Muschietti set to direct.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Karen White is a Los Angeles television news anchor who is being stalked by serial killer Eddie Quist. In cooperation with the police, she takes part in a scheme to capture Eddie by agreeing to meet him in a sleazy porn theater. Eddie forces Karen to watch a video of a young woman being bound and raped, and when Karen turns around to see Eddie, she screams. The police enter and shoot Eddie, and although Karen is safe, she suffers amnesia. Her therapist, Dr. George Waggner, decides to send her and her husband, Bill Neill, to the "Colony", a secluded resort in the countryside where he sends patients for treatment.


title: The Howling (film)

text: The Colony is filled with strange characters, and one, a sultry nymphomaniac named Marsha, tries to seduce Bill. When he resists her unsubtle sexual overtures, he is attacked and scratched on the arm by a werewolf while returning to his cabin. After Bill's attack, Karen summons her friend, Terri Fisher, to the Colony, and Terri connects the resort to Eddie through a sketch he left behind, having previously discovered that Eddie's body disappeared from the morgue. Karen begins to suspect that Bill is hiding a secret far more threatening than marital infidelity. Later that night, Bill meets Marsha at a campfire in the woods. While having sex in the moonlight, they undergo a frightening transformation into werewolves.


title: The Howling (film)

text: While investigating the next morning, Terri is attacked by a werewolf in a cabin, though she escapes after cutting the monster's hand off with an ax. She runs to Wagner's office and places a phone call to her boyfriend Chris Halloran, who has been alerted about the Colony's true nature. While on the phone with Chris, Terri looks for files on Eddie Quist. When she finally finds the file in the filing cabinet, she is attacked by Eddie in werewolf form, and is killed when she is bitten on the jugular vein. Chris hears this on the other end and sets off for the Colony armed with silver bullets.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Karen is confronted by the resurrected Eddie Quist once again, and Eddie transforms himself into a werewolf in front of her. In response, Karen splashes Eddie in the face with corrosive acid and flees. Later, as Chris arrives at the Colony, he is confronted by the horribly disfigured Eddie, who is fatally shot by Chris with a silver bullet when he attempts to transform. However, it turns out all the people in the Colony are werewolves and can shapeshift at will, without the need of a full moon to do so. Karen and Chris survive their attacks and burn the Colony to the ground. As they drive away, however, one werewolf breaks into their car and bites Karen before being shot by Chris, turning back into Bill as he dies.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Karen resolves to warn the entire world about the existence of werewolves and begins a special worldwide broadcast announcement to the people around the world. Then, to prove her story, she herself transforms into a werewolf. She is shot at by Chris in front of a live viewing audience, although the people watching the transformation from their television sets around the world are amused, believing it to be just a stunt done with special effects. Marsha, who escaped the Colony herself completely unscathed, sits at a bar with a man who, while watching the special broadcast announcement, orders a pepper steak for himself and a rare hamburger for Marsha after Karen's display cuts to a commercial break.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Though the film has been noted for its semi-humorous screenplay, it was adapted from a more straightforward novel by Gary Brandner which was first published in 1977. After drafts by Jack Conrad (the original director who left following difficulties with the studio) and Terence H. Winkless proved unsatisfactory, director Joe Dante hired John Sayles to completely rewrite the script. The two had collaborated before on Dante's 1978 film "Piranha". Sayles rewrote the script with the same self-aware, satirical tone that he gave "Piranha", and his finished draft bears only a vague resemblance to Brandner's book. However, Winkless still received a co-writer's credit along with Sayles for his work on the screenplay.


title: The Howling (film)

text: The cast featured a number of recognizable character actors, such as Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Kenneth Tobey and Slim Pickens, many of whom appeared in genre films themselves. Additionally, the film was full of in-joke references (see 'Tributes' below). Roger Corman makes a cameo appearance as a man standing outside a phone booth, as does John Sayles, appearing as a morgue attendant and James Murtaugh as one of the members of the Colony. Forrest J Ackerman appears in a brief cameo in an occult bookstore, clutching a copy of an issue of his magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland".


title: The Howling (film)

text: "The Howling" was also notable for its special effects, which were state-of-the-art at the time. The transformation scenes were created by Rob Bottin, who had also worked with Dante on "Piranha". Rick Baker was the original effects artist for the film, but left the production to work on the John Landis film "An American Werewolf in London", handing over the effects work to Bottin. Bottin's most celebrated effect was the on-screen transformation of Eddie Quist, which involved air bladders under latex facial applications to give the illusion of transformation. "Variety" claimed that "The Howling"s biggest flaw is that the impact of this initial transformation is never topped during the climax of the film. "The Howling" also features stop-motion animation by David W. Allen, and puppetry intended to give the werewolves an even more non-human look. Despite most of the special effects at the time, the silhouette of Bill and Marsha having sex as werewolves is obviously a cartoon animation. Dante attributed this to budgetary reasons.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Due to their work in "The Howling", Dante and producer Michael Finnell received the opportunity to make the film "Gremlins" (1984) for Steven Spielberg. That film references "The Howling" with a smiley face image on a refrigerator door. Eddie Quist leaves yellow smiley face stickers as his calling card in several places throughout "The Howling". Also, Jim McKrell's character as news reporter Lew Landers appears in both "The Howling" and "Gremlins".


title: The Howling (film)

text: Pino Donaggio composed the score which featured classic orchestral horror melodies with minimal synth sounds. Waxwork Records released the full soundtrack on a double LP in 2017. The album art was done by Francesco Francavilla.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Notable for its semi-humorous screenplay, director Joe Dante put many in-joke references in the film, including numerous references to wolves: The Big Bad Wolf from Ub Iwerks' "Little Boy Blue" (1936) is seen on TV; Sheriff Newfield is seen eating Wolf Brand Chili and a similar can is seen on the counter in Eddie's cabin; a copy of the Allen Ginsberg book "Howl" appears; a mention of disc jockey Wolfman Jack; a bottle of Wolfen-brand medicine on the counter from which Karen picks up the acid; and in Karen and Bill's cabin there is a picture of a wolf who killed a sheep from within the flock.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Many characters in the film are named after horror film directors who directed other films that featured werewolves, including George Waggner, who directed "The Wolf Man" (1941). Others include R. William Neill ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man", 1943), Terence Fisher ("The Curse of the Werewolf", 1961), Freddie Francis ("Legend of the Werewolf", 1975), Erle Kenton ("House of Dracula", 1945, which co-stars John Carradine, who plays Kenton in "The Howling"), Sam Newfield ("The Mad Monster", 1942), Charles Barton ("Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein", 1948), Jacinto Molina ("La Marca del Hombre Lobo", 1968) and Lew Landers ("The Return of the Vampire", 1943).


title: The Howling (film)

text: Dick Miller's bookstore owner Walter Paisley gets his name from Miller's starring role in the low-budget horror film "A Bucket of Blood" (1959). Also present in the bookstore is the mummified grandmother in an armchair from the attic of the house in the original version of the film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre".


title: The Howling (film)

text: The film's screenwriter and future director John Sayles, Dante's former producer Roger Corman (who directed "A Bucket of Blood"), and science fiction and horror film personality Forrest J Ackerman all have cameos.


title: The Howling (film)

text: IFI agreed to provide 50% of the finance. Goldcrest Films had a partnership with IFI. They ended up providing £145,000 to the budget of "The Howling" and receiving £396,000, making a profit of £251,000.


title: The Howling (film)

text: The film opened on March 13, 1981, in 170 theatres in New York City, Philadelphia and the Washington D.C.—Baltimore area.


title: The Howling (film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "The Howling" holds a 74% approval rating based on 42 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The consensus reads: ""The Howling" packs enough laughs into its lycanthropic carnage to distinguish it from other werewolf entries, with impressive visual effects adding some bite".


title: The Howling (film)

text: In 1981, Roger Ebert's 2-out-of-4 star review described "The Howling" as the "silliest film seen in some time", but Ebert also said the special effects were good and the film was perhaps "worth your money, IF you get it two for one". Gene Siskel liked the film and gave it three and a half stars out of four. In his "Movie Guide", Leonard Maltin wrote that "The Howling" is a "hip, well-made horror film" and noted the humorous references to classic werewolf cinema. "Variety" praised both the film's sense of humor and its traditional approach to horror. Kim Newman, in his 1988 book "Nightmare Movies", called "The Howling" "a brisk chiller that effortlessly revives the prowling-through-misty-forests genre", and called Picardo's transformation sequence "the movies' most impressive werewolf monster".


title: The Howling (film)

text: The film won the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. This film was also #81 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments".


title: The Howling (film)

text: The film grossed $1,160,172 in its opening weekend. Per "Variety"'s weekly chart, based on a sample of 20-24 markets, the film was ranked number one for the week; however, "Back Roads", which opened in 635 more theatres, grossed more nationally, with $3 million. "The Howling" grossed $17.9 million in the United States and Canada.


title: The Howling (film)

text: Shout! Factory re-released "The Howling" on DVD and Blu-ray on June 18, 2013 through their Scream Factory imprint. The film was previously released to DVD by MGM (owners of the video and TV distribution rights to "The Howling" due to the distribution deal with StudioCanal and Sony Pictures, the current owners of the AVCO Embassy library) on August 26, 2003 as a Region 1 widescreen Special Edition DVD.


title: The Howling (film)

text: There have been seven sequels to "The Howling". In May 2015, a newly formed production company bought the rights to the original film and were working on a ninth film, a remake of the original. In 2020, Andy Muschietti was hired to direct the remake for Netflix.


title: The Howling (film)

text: A comic book series by Space Goat Productions entitled The Howling: Revenge of the Werewolf Queen began publication in May 2017, acting as a direct sequel to the original film, ignoring the film sequels.


title: Gary Condit

text: Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American former politician who represented California's 18th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. He gained significant national attention for an extramarital affair with Chandra Levy, an intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The affair was publicized after Levy's disappearance in May 2001 and the discovery of Levy's remains a year later.


title: Gary Condit

text: Although Condit was never formally a suspect in Levy's disappearance and murder, he lost the 2002 Democratic primary based in large part on negative publicity from the scandal.


title: Gary Condit

text: Gary Condit was born in Salina, Oklahoma, on April 21, 1948, the son of Velma Jean (Tidwell) Condit (1929–2017) and Adrian Burl Condit, a Baptist minister. He was raised and educated in Oklahoma, and graduated from Tulsa's Nathan Hale High School. During the summers of his high school years, Condit worked as a roustabout in Oklahoma's oil fields. In 1967, at age 18, he married his high school sweetheart Carolyn Berry. An investigation by journalists in 2001 revealed that Condit provided the wrong birth date for his marriage license. At the time, Oklahoma required males under age 21 to have parental consent to marry; by claiming to have been born in 1942 rather than 1948, Condit appeared to be older than 18.


title: Gary Condit

text: In 1967, Condit's father became pastor of a Baptist church in Ceres, California, near Modesto, causing his family to relocate there. Condit began attendance at Modesto Junior College and received an Associate of Arts degree in 1970. In 1972, he received a B.A. degree from California State University, Stanislaus.


title: Gary Condit

text: While attending college and at the start of his career, Condit worked at a variety of jobs, including one at a tomato cannery, one at a factory that made munitions during the Vietnam War, and in the paint department of a Montgomery Ward department store.


title: Gary Condit

text: Condit began his career on the Ceres city council from 1972 to 1976—the last two years as mayor. He became the youngest mayor in the city's history at the age of 25. Condit served on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors from 1976 to 1982, and was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982.


title: Gary Condit

text: In 1988, Condit was a member of the "Gang of Five"with Charles M. Calderon of Whittier, Gerald R. Eaves of Rialto, Rusty Areias of Los Banos and Steve Peace of Chula Vistathat failed to unseat Willie Brown as Speaker of the State Assembly by making a deal with Republicans. Peace co-wrote and produced the 1988 film "Return of the Killer Tomatoes", in which Condit appeared in an uncredited, nonspeaking cameo during a fight sequence.


title: Gary Condit

text: Condit was elected to Congress in 1989 in a special election after the resignation of House Democratic Whip Tony Coelho. He was elected to a full term in 1990, and reelected five more times without serious difficulty (Condit had no Republican challenger during the general elections of 1992 and 1998). His most important committee assignment was as a senior member on the House Intelligence Committee in the months and years prior to the September 11 attacks. Like most Democrats from the Central Valley, Condit was somewhat more conservative than other Democrats from California. Being a Blue Dog Democrat, Condit voted against President Bill Clinton more frequently than other members of his party in the chamber. Despite this Condit took several populist progressive positions such as opposing NAFTA despite intense lobbying from his own district's wine industry and President Clinton himself, voted against the landmark repeal of Glass-Steagall protections, and against the Iraq War and intervention in Kosovo. In the aftermath of Kosovo, Condit was a persistent force in compelling the prosecution of Slobodan Miloševic.


title: Gary Condit

text: In 1998, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Condit publicly demanded that Clinton "come clean" on his relationship with the young woman; a video of this demand was aired almost daily during Condit's own scandal involving a relationship with Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, interest in the Levy case declined. Condit kept his seat on the Intelligence Committee, retained his security clearance, and was one of a small number of members of Congress who were cleared to see the most sensitive information on the 9/11 attacks.


title: Gary Condit

text: On December 7, 2001, Condit announced he would run for re-election. He lost the Democratic primary election in March 2002 to his former aide, then-Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, and left Congress at the end of his term in January 2003. Condit's most notable vote in his last months in office was the resolution to expel Congressman James Traficant after his conviction on corruption charges. In the 420–1 vote on July 24, 2002, Condit was the sole "nay".


title: Gary Condit

text: In 2001, Condit became the subject of national news coverage after the disappearance of Chandra Levy, a young woman working as a Washington, D.C. intern, originally from Condit's district. Police questioned Condit twice, and both times he denied having an extramarital affair with her; however, Levy's aunt eventually went public with conversations she had with her about their relationship. Police questioned Condit a third time, and he confessed to the affair. When the affair began, Condit was 53 and Levy was 23.


title: Gary Condit

text: While Condit was not named as an official suspect in the disappearance, Levy's family suspected that he was withholding important information. His reputation suffered from the contrast between his "pro-family" politics, his adultery with a woman younger than his daughter, and his attempts to mislead the police regarding his affair. In July, two months after Levy vanished, Condit agreed to let investigators search his apartment; hours before the search, police said he was spotted throwing a gift box he had received from another woman into a dumpster in a Washington suburb. This followed news reports that Condit had had an affair with a flight attendant.


title: Gary Condit

text: Levy's remains were not found during the extensive search that followed her disappearance, but were discovered accidentally May 22, 2002, in a secluded area of Rock Creek Park in Washington D.C.; the death was declared a homicide.


title: Gary Condit

text: In late 2002, Condit sued writer Dominick Dunne of "Vanity Fair" for $11 million, claiming that Dunne defamed him by suggesting he ordered Levy killed in 2001. Condit's attorney said that the libel lawsuit was based on comments Dunne repeated on national radio and television programs in December 2001, where he suggested Condit frequented Middle Eastern embassies for sexual activity with prostitutes and that, during those times, he made it clear that he wanted someone to get rid of Levy. Condit's attorney said that Dunne's comments "conveyed that Gary Condit was involved in her kidnapping and in her murder, that friends of Gary Condit had her kidnapped, put in an airplane and dropped in the Atlantic Ocean." Dunne paid an undisclosed amount to settle that lawsuit in March 2005. Dunne said he had been "completely hoodwinked" by an unreliable informant. Subsequently, Condit sued Dunne again, charging him with "revivifying" the slander in an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" in November 2005. In July 2008 a federal judge dismissed the second lawsuit filed against Dunne.


title: Gary Condit

text: In July 2006, Condit sued the "Sonoran News", a free weekly newspaper, for defamation of character after the publication wrote "that Condit was the 'main focus in the Chandra Levy case in 2001, after lying to investigators about his affair with Levy.'" The case was dismissed in July 2007 when the judge ruled that Condit had not proved the statement was false, or that the paper had published it with malice. Years later, Condit publicly denied ever having an affair with Chandra Levy.


title: Gary Condit

text: Police continued the murder investigation, and in March 2009, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Ingmar Guandique, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had already been convicted and imprisoned for two other attacks on women in Rock Creek Park. He was subsequently indicted for Levy's murder. On November 22, 2010, Guandique was found guilty of first-degree murder, and was sentenced in February 2011 to 60 years in prison. Condit's lawyer Bert Fields said, "It's a complete vindication but that comes a little late. Who gives him his career back?"


title: Gary Condit

text: However, on June 4, 2015, D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher granted a motion for the retrial of Guandique after it was revealed that the sole witness against him, a jailhouse informant named Armando Morales, had lied about prior jailhouse testimony. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Guandique on July 28, 2016, after an associate of Morales came forward with secret recordings in which he admitted to falsifying testimony about the murder of Levy. Levy's death therefore remains unsolved.


title: Gary Condit

text: After his departure from office, Condit moved to Arizona and operated two Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores with his wife and son. When the franchise failed, Condit was ordered to pay the company $98,000 in a breach of contract proceeding. In 2012, he was reported to be serving as president of the Phoenix Institute of Desert Agriculture, which listed its status as 'Dissolved' in the last corporate filing as of June 4, 2015. Condit later returned to California, where he became a registered lobbyist with the J. Blonien law firm of Sacramento.


title: Gary Condit

text: In 2012, Condit's son, Chad, announced his intention to run for the House of Representatives as an independent in California's redrawn 10th congressional district. He lost in the top-two election against incumbent Jeff Denham and Democratic challenger Jose Hernandez. In 2015, Condit's grandson Couper was appointed to the Ceres planning commission and was denied reappointment in 2020 by the council. In 2018, Condit's grandson Channce Condit ran unopposed for district one Ceres City Council. In 2020, Condit's nephew Buck was elected to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors representing district 1 defeating Modesto City Councilman Bill Zoslocki 58.77% to 41.23%. During the same election cycle, Condit's two grandsons were elected to public office. Ceres City Councilmember Channce Condit joined his second cousin Buck on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors representing district 5 after he defeated Tom Hallinan 60% to 40%. Former member of the Ceres Planning Commission Couper Condit defeated incumbent Michael "Mike" Kline for Ceres City Council 38.19% to 23.52% with two other competitors falling short.


title: Padayappa

text: Padayappa is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya with Abbas, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi and Nassar playing supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman. The plot revolves around the titular character, Aarupadayappan, and his family being targeted in a generations-long revenge by his cousin Neelambari, a vamp who was left humiliated after Padayappa rejected her love proposal and instead fell in love with her timid, good-natured house maid Vasundhara.


title: Padayappa

text: Principal photography for the film began in October 1998. "Padayappa" was released on 10 April 1999 on the eve of Tamil New Year's Day. This was the first Tamil film to be released worldwide with 210 prints and 700,000 audio cassettes. It became Tamil cinema's highest-grossing film at that point. Ramya Krishnan's performance was praised, winning her a Filmfare Award under the Best Actress category. The film also won five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.


title: Padayappa

text: Padayappa is a mechanical engineer who returns to his village near Tanjore after three years of work in Madras to attend his sister's engagement. His sister is engaged to Suryaprakash, the son of their maternal uncle. During his stay, he comes across Vasundhara and falls in love with her. However, her shyness and fear of Neelambari, her landlady, prevents Vasundhara from initially expressing her feelings. In addition, Neelambari is Suryaprakash's sister, who had recently returned from abroad after studies, and she falls madly in love with Padayappa due to his charm, strength and bravery.


title: Padayappa

text: In a turn of events, Padayappa's father's brother Mani demands a share in the family property. Padayappa's father, the chieftain of the village, follows the customs of his forefathers by giving grand donations to all wedding of the village, under the stipulation that they must happen under consent of both bride and groom, and only under the eyes of the Chieftain in front of the Murugan temple. Out of anger, he reveals that Mani was the son of their dad's mistress, and his mother was compelled to raise him as their own. He refuses to divide the property and instead gives the entire property to Mani. This makes Padayappa's family to sign over the entire wealth and to leave their home the same evening. Mere steps out of their home, unable to bear the shock, Padayappa's father passes away. Padayppa's family moves to a vacant land on the outskirts of the village, which was purchased with the money saved from Padayappa's engineer work. Within days, Suryaprakash marries the daughter of Mani without the village's knowledge, albeit support from both his dad and Mani. Though shocked by this betrayal from her own brother, Padayappa's mother blesses the couple and returns.


title: Padayappa

text: Meanwhile, Padayappa sets to clean his land for agriculture. Mani's spy from there gives small rocks from that plot to Mani, who discovers that a hill on that property is solid granite, which will propel Padayppa to even greater wealth. He makes a drama claiming that the ghost of his brother has taught him a lesson, and makes a deal to exchange the entire ancestral wealth for the empty land. Padayappa's mother agrees with this, but after several misfortunate incidents, cancels the deal in Mani's home. Mani reveals the reason for the deal, and forces them to go ahead. Padayappa bashes Mani and his men, and leaves. Padayappa starts the granite business from which he becomes extremely rich. He uses the money to help the poor in his village, and provide them jobs. As his business flourishes, his family is able to once again settle down within months in a palatial residence. Padayappa assumes his father's position as village chieftain, and his sister marries one of the chief engineers who work in his company.


title: Padayappa

text: A year later, Neelambari learns about Padayappa's love for Vasundhara and she becomes jealous of her, and tries to harm herself. Her parents beg Padayappa's widowed mother to allow Neelambari to marry him. However, to everyone's surprise, Padayappa's mother proposes marriage for Padayappa and Vasundhara to Vasundhara's mother, her brother's servant and embarrasses Suryaprakash and his father in front of the entire village. This was in retaliation for Suryaprakash's humiliation of her after Padayappa's father death. Not able to bear the humiliation, Neelambari's father commits suicide the same night. When Neelambari tries to kill Vasundhara by letting a bull loose on her after giving her a red sari, Padayappa saves her, by pouring turmeric water on her sari, after which the two marry. Subsequent to the wedding, Neelambari locks herself in a room in Suryaprakash's house, watching and re-watching Padayappa's wedding on video record, thinking of harming Vasundhara about Padayappa for 18 years.


title: Padayappa

text: Padayappa helps his father's foster brother, who has fallen on hard financial times. As a result, Padayappa's father's foster brother becomes indebted to him and seeks Padayappa's pardon for his misdeeds. Padayappa forgives him.


title: Padayappa

text: Neelambari plans her revenge on Padayappa, now a father of two daughters. Suryaprakash also has a son, Chandraprakash aka Chandru, who studies at the same college as Padayappa's elder daughter, Anitha. Neelambari advises Chandru to make Anitha fall in love with him. At the same time, Padayappa plans to get Anitha married to his sister's son. Neelambari, having made Chandru pretend to fall in love with Anitha, plans to humiliate Padayappa by making Anitha say that she does not wish to marry a groom of her parents' choice, and that she is in love with someone else. At the marriage ceremony, after Anitha does what Neelambari told her to do, Padayappa then makes an oath to unite Anitha with her lover by the next "Muhurta" day. Padayappa discovers that Chandru really did fall in love with Anitha, even though he was only initially pretending to do so on Neelambari's orders. When Padayappa takes Chandru and Anitha to the temple to get married, Neelambari and Suryaprakash give chase to stop them. During the chase, Suryaprakash is killed in a car accident.


title: Padayappa

text: Armed with a machine gun, Neelambari reaches the temple where Chandru and Anitha are married, and tries to kill Padayappa. Instead, Padayappa saves her life by preventing a bull from attacking her, while at the same time dodging the bullets she fires at him. Rather than live with the humiliation of knowing she was unsuccessful in avenging her father's death, as well as having her life saved by her enemy, Neelambari commits suicide, promising to take revenge on Padayappa in her next birth. Padayappa prays for her soul to be at peace and eventually attain salvation.


title: Padayappa

text: In September 1998, Rajinikanth announced his next project, titled "Padayappa", with K. S. Ravikumar as director. It also marks Ravikumar’s second collaboration with Rajinikanth after "Muthu". The story of this film was taken in part from the historical Tamil novel, "Ponniyin Selvan", by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Ravikumar had simultaneously discussed another script with Rajinikanth titled "Hara", but the actor preferred to do "Padayappa" first. The title "Padayappa" is an adoption of Aarupadayappa a sobriquet for Murugan and his six abodes. The film was produced by K. Sathya Narayana, M. V. Krishna Rao, and H. Vittal Prasad under their production banner, Arunachala Cine Creations, along with P. L. Thenappan as co-producer. Lalitha Mani was the choreographer for the song sequences. Jyothi Krishna, son of producer A. M. Rathnam, was involved in the development of the film's script.


title: Padayappa

text: Rajinikanth was cast as the title character, a city-based engineer who returns to his ancestral village. Padayappa's cousin Neelambari is based on Nandini, a vengeful woman in "Ponniyin Selvan". Meena and Nagma were earlier considered for the role, but Ramya Krishnan was ultimately cast. She said she accepted the role because "it was opposite a superstar and that too the character was a negative one, no one was ready to do it, but I did it. I didn't have any second thoughts." According to Aishwarya Rai, she was also considered for the role, but Ravikumar has denied this.


title: Padayappa

text: Simran was considered for the role of Vasundhara, before the role went to Soundarya, who had earlier worked with Rajinikanth in "Arunachalam" (1997). Ravikumar revealed that the makers could not sign Simran due to her busy schedule and Meena was also considered for Vasundhara's role. Shalini was touted to play the role of Padayappa's sister, but the role eventually went to Sithara.


title: Padayappa

text: The characterisation of the older Padayappa – bearded, with sunglasses – is based on Rajinikanth's look as the character Manik Baashha in "Baashha" (1995). Vijayakumar was the initial choice for Padayappa's father before Sivaji Ganesan was cast; "Padayappa" was his penultimate release before "Pooparika Varugirom" (1999). His character's appearance, with a mutton-chop moustache, is based on a similar role he played in "Thevar Magan" (1992).


title: Padayappa

text: Principal photography began at the Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam on 1 October 1998. The climax scene was one of the first to be shot, and was filmed in one take using two cameras. Around 2,000 extras were used for the scene. The car that was used in the scene which introduces Neelambari was a Toyota Sera, which belonged to Ravikumar. Ravikumar used the newly purchased car in the film at Rajinikanth's insistence. Filming also took place in Mysore. The Vadapalani-based shop, D. V. Nehru wigs, supplied the wigs that were sported by Ganesan. In a 2016 interview with "The Hindu", Ravikumar mentioned that the scene where Padayappa uses his shawl to pull down a swing from the ceiling on which he sits after not being given a chair to sit by Neelambari, was inspired by a sequence in the Indian epic "Ramayana", where Hanuman makes a seat using his tail after Ravana does not provide him a chair to sit.


title: Padayappa

text: "Kikku Yerudhey" was the last song sequence to be shot. For the sequence, Rajinikanth required Ravikumar to sport an outfit similar to Rajinikanth's, and enact a small part in the song. Rajinikanth also selected the part of the song where Ravikumar would make his appearance. After reluctantly agreeing to do the part, the sequence where they both appear together was filmed. Rajinikanth said he felt the shot did not look right, and re-takes for Ravikumar's sequence were done. After the re-takes were completed, Rajinikanth admitted that the first sequence was fine. When Ravikumar asked the cameraman why he had not told him earlier, the cameraman replied by saying that Rajinikanth wanted Ravikumar to do seven takes, to teach him a lesson for all the takes that Ravikumar had required of Rajinikanth.


title: Padayappa

text: Writing for "PopMatters", Ranjani Krishnakumar noted that "Padayappa" underlined Rajinikanth's political manoeuvres, evident when his character's lover sings ""Kaadhal therdhalil kattil sinnathil vetri petru nee vaazgha"" (In the election of love, with the symbol of bed, may you win and flourish). P. C. Balasubramanianram and N. Ramakrishnan, in their book, "Grand Brand Rajini", said, ""Padayappa", in one way, stands testimony to Rajini's life itself."


title: Padayappa

text: The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. The soundtrack was released through Star Music. Strips of herbal rejuvenator capsules were sold along with the film's music cassettes. Before the film's release, Rahman asked Ravikumar if the soundtrack could be released in August 1999. Ravikumar informed Rahman that he had already discussed a release date with the press, and that Rahman would be blamed for any delay. To make the deadline, Rahman did a live re-recording of both the soundtrack and score to finish them on time.


title: Padayappa

text: The credits for the song "Vetri Kodi Kattu", sung by Palakkad Sreeram, initially went to Malaysia Vasudevan, who publicly stated that the credits for the song should have been attributed to Sreeram. Rahman requested the company who manufactured the audio cassettes to make the change. The song "Minsara Kanna" is based on the "Vasantha" raga, while "Vetri Kodi Kattu" is based on the "Keeravani" raga. "Minsara Kanna" established Srinivas as a leading singer in the film industry.


title: Padayappa

text: Singer Charulatha Mani, in her column for "The Hindu", "A Raga's journey", called "Minsara Kanna" a "mind-blowing piece". Srikanth Srinivasa of the "Deccan Herald" wrote, "The music by [Rahman], to Vairamuthu's lyrics, sounds good while the movie is on, though whether without the presence of [Rajinikanth] they would have, is another thing." S. Shiva Kumar of "The Times of India" was more critical of the soundtrack, and called it "lacklustre".


title: Padayappa

text: "Padayappa" was released theatrically on 10 April 1999 on the eve of Tamil New Year's Day. It was the first Tamil film to be released worldwide with over 200 prints, and 700,000 audio cassettes. The film's rights in Japan were sold for US$50,000, which was the highest an Indian film fetched for commercial release in 1999. Co-producer Thenappan registered the film posters as a Class 34 trademark in 1998, to be used for trademarking such items as beedis, cigarettes, cheroots and tobacco, making it the first instance of brand extension in the Tamil film industry. The pre-release business of the film's overseas rights amounted to 30 million. According to an estimate by trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai, the value of the theatrical and satellite rights for "Padayappa" was approximately 20 million.


title: Padayappa

text: "Padayappa" was a box office success; T. R. Vivek of "Business Today" says that the film was estimated to have earned 440 million worldwide, with a total of 380 million at the domestic box office, and 60 million overseas. According to "The Tribune", it was the highest grossing Tamil film at that point of time before being surpassed by another Rajinikanth film, "Chandramukhi" (2005), although Rediff stated in 2014 that "Padayappa" record was surpassed by "Ghilli" (2004).


title: Padayappa

text: The film had a theatrical run of 100 days in 86 theatre centres, and was dubbed into Telugu under the title "Narasimha". The dubbed version was also a commercially successful venture, and had a theatrical run of 50 days in 49 theatres.


title: Padayappa

text: "Ananda Vikatan", in its original review of the film dated 25 April 1999, wrote that the original stamp of Rajinikanth style could be seen in the film several times, adding that Ramya Krishnan had matched Rajinikanth and created a royal path separately, and concluded that the film was exclusively made for Rajinikanth's fans, giving it a rating of 41 out of 100. Srikanth Srinivasa of "Deccan Herald" gave the film a positive verdict, claiming that the "positive energy generated by this film is simply astounding", and labelling Rajinikanth's role as "terrific". Ganesh Nadar of Rediff also gave a positive review, praising Ramya Krishnan's performance in the film, and said that she "does a fantastic job", concluding, "... if you are a Rajni fan, this film is vintage stuff." However, S. Shiva Kumar of "The Times of India" was critical of the film's allusions to the actor's political career, stating that the film was "more style than substance". Sify praised Ramya Krishnan's performance but criticised Rajinikanth, stating that he had nothing to do but "be the Superman and spew dialogues". The reviewer concluded, "Technically the film has nothing much to offer." K. P. S. of "Kalki" called the screenplay confusing and dragged, and the film has too many sub plots within short time but praised the performances of Rajinikanth and Ramya Krishnan.


title: Padayappa

text: Nikhil Talreja, an animal activist, criticised one scene from the film which shows a bull charging at Vasundhara who is wearing a red sari. He accused the filmmakers of propagating the regressive myth that bulls charge at anything coloured red; the creatures are actually red–green color blind. Talreja also criticised another scene propagating a similarly regressive myth, that snakes drink milk. He said, "Snakes are not mammals. They are reptiles [...] For snakes, this is biologically impossible. Snakes in general can open three times the actual size of their mouth and consume prey directly. They just don't drink milk."


title: Padayappa

text: Ramya Krishnan won the Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards. The film also won five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.


title: Padayappa

text: "Padayappa"s final cut initially lasted for 19 reels, which was considered too lengthy. Rather than cut the film, Rajinikanth suggested to Ravikumar to allot two intervals. He screened the uncut film for actor Kamal Haasan, who told him not to go for two intervals. Haasan suggested "Padayappa" be edited in a way that would not disturb the storyline, so Ravikumar and the editor Thanigachalam managed to bring the film down to 14 reels. When "Kumudam"s reporter Kannan learnt about the scenes which had been cut, he asked Rajinikanth to release them as "Padayappa"s sequel. Rajinikanth immediately spoke to Ravikumar about the possibility, but was informed that those reels had been destroyed.


title: Padayappa

text: With the success of "Padayappa", Ramya Krishnan, who up to that point in time had only performed glamorous roles, showed her versatility as an actress. The character Neelambari reappears in "Baba" (2002), where she spots Baba (Rajinikanth) but sees him in her mind's eye in his Padayappa attire; she asks him the time. Her brother drags her away, and berates her for still not overcoming Padayappa. Ramya Krishnan and Nasser reprised their roles in this film. The success of "Padayappa" led to a film being named after one of its songs, "Minsara Kanna" (1999), also directed by Ravikumar where actress Khushbu appears in a negative role similar to Ramya Krishnan's in "Padayappa"; another song from the film, "Vetri Kodi Kattu", became the name of a 2000 film directed by Cheran. Ramya Krishnan played the role of Malini in the film "Arumugam" (2009), in which her character was similar to Neelambari. Ramya Krishnan's character in the television serial, "Kalasam", was also named Neelambari. Actress Priyamani, in an interview with Prathibha Joy of "The Times of India", stated her character in the Kannada film "Ambareesha" (2014), is similar to Neelambari. In Chetan Bhagat's novel, "" (2009), when Krish Malhotra, the protagonist, travels to Nungambakkam by auto rickshaw, the driver stops to worship a poster of "Padayappa". The famous line in the film, "Idhu Anbala Serntha Koottam" (This crowd was formed out of love) was used in "The Punch Song", a song from the film, "Aaha Kalyanam" (2014).


title: Padayappa

text: Some of the quotes from the film that became popular were: "En Vazhi Thani Vazhi." (My way is a unique way); "Poda Aandavane Nammapakkam Irukan’’ (God is on our side); "Adhigama Aasaipadra Aambalaiyum, Adhigama Kobapadra Pombalaiyum, Nalla Vazhndhadha Sarithirame Kidaiyathu" (There is no history of a man who desires too much or a woman who gets too angry living well), "Kashtapadama Edhuvum Kidaikkathu. Kashtapadama Kidaikirathu Ennikkum Nilakkathu" (One can gain nothing without working hard for it. That which is gained without hard work will not last forever); the English dialogue "Anger is the cause of all miseries. One should know how to control it, otherwise life will become miserable", and Neelambari's dialogue "Vayasanalum un style um azhagum inum unna vitu pogala" (Even though you have grown older, your style and beauty has not left you). One of Rajinikanth's dialogues "En Vazhi Thani Vazhi" was used as the title of a 2015 film directed by Shaji Kailas. It was also used as the title of a 2010 book on branding by Sridhar Ramanujam. Scenes and dialogues from the film were parodied in various other films such as "Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa" (1999), "En Purushan Kuzhandhai Maadhiri" (2001), "Annai Kaligambal" (2003), "" (2007). "Vel" (2007), "Siva Manasula Sakthi" (2009), "Malai Malai" (2009), "Vanakkam Chennai" (2013), "All in All Azhagu Raja" (2013) and "Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan" (2017). "Padayappa" was also parodied in the Star Vijay comedy series "Lollu Sabha", in an episode appropriately named "Vadayappa".


title: Padayappa

text: To celebrate the 39th anniversary of Rajinikanth in the film industry, Digitally Inspired Media, a Chennai-based digital agency, made 39 posters of some of his films, in which "Padayappa" was included. The posters feature one "punch" line from the film, a representative image, and the year of the film's release. On Rajinikanth's 64th birthday, an agency named Minimal Kollywood Posters designed posters of Rajinikanth's films, in which the Minion characters from the "Despicable Me" franchise are dressed as Rajinikanth. The digital art was hand drawn on a digital pad by Gautham Raj. One of the posters depicted a minion sitting on a swing and dressed like Rajinikanth's character in "Padayappa", reminiscent of the swing scene. In the 2022 film "Naai Sekar", many of the animal characters are named after Rajinikanth films, including a labrador dog named "Padayappa".


title: Peta Wilson

text: Peta Gia Wilson (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian actress, lingerie designer and model. She is best known as Nikita in the television series "La Femme Nikita".


title: Peta Wilson

text: Wilson was born in Sydney on 18 November 1970. She is the daughter of the caterer Karlene White Wilson and Darcy Wilson, a former Warrant Officer in the Australian Army. She spent several years in Papua New Guinea when her father was stationed there. Her parents divorced in 1982.


title: Peta Wilson

text: Wilson worked first as a model in Australia and in Europe before moving to Los Angeles in 1991. There she studied acting with Arthur Mendoza at the Actors Circle Theatre, and with Tom Waits at the TomKat Repertory Group. After five years of study, she was hired for some small roles in independent films such as "Naked Jane" and "Loser".


title: Peta Wilson

text: In 1996, she was preparing to continue her studies at an acting school in New York City, but decided to audition first for a new television show being produced for the USA cable TV channel in North America. Over 200 actresses auditioned for the starring role, and Wilson was chosen. The show was called "La Femme Nikita", based on the French action thriller movie "La Femme Nikita" (1990).


title: Peta Wilson

text: The hour-long series was produced by a combination of Canadian and American companies. It ran for five years and 96 episodes (22 episodes per season for four years, and another eight episodes in its fifth and final TV year). Most were filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario. Wilson's co-stars were Roy Dupuis, Don Francks, Alberta Watson and Eugene Robert Glazer. Wilson was twice nominated for the annual Gemini Award for "Best Performance by An Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role".


title: Peta Wilson

text: In 2001, Wilson took part in the Moscow International Film Festival, where she met Russian president Vladimir Putin, who confessed to being a fan of hers. She portrayed real-life actress Anny Ondra in the television movie "Joe and Max" (2002).


title: Peta Wilson

text: She also starred as the vampire Mina Harker in the 2003 film "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".


title: Peta Wilson

text: During 2006, she appeared on an Australian TV mystery anthology drama "Two Twisted," and had a small role in the movie "Superman Returns" as the character Bobbie-Faye, a NASA spokeswoman.


title: Peta Wilson

text: In 2009, Wilson starred in an Australian independent film "Beautiful". She guest starred on "" (2010) and "The Finder" (2012).


title: Peta Wilson

text: In 2013, Wilson received the Best Actress Award at the Cinerockom International Film Festival for her performance as CIA agent Marla Criswell in the short film "Liberator".


title: Peta Wilson

text: Wilson lived with her longtime boyfriend, director Damian Harris, from 1997 until their separation in 2002. They have a son named Marlowe.


title: Strasserism

text: Strasserism ( or "Straßerismus") is a strand of Nazism calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing economic antisemitism above other antisemitic forms, to achieve a national rebirth. It derived its name from Gregor and Otto Strasser, two brothers initially associated with this position.


title: Strasserism

text: Otto Strasser, who opposed on strategic grounds the views of Adolf Hitler, was expelled from the Nazi Party in 1930 and entered exile in Czechoslovakia, while Gregor Strasser was murdered in Nazi Germany on 30 June 1934 during the Night of the Long Knives, a violent operation against many of Hitler's opponents, including the Strasserist elements nationwide. Strasserism remains an active position within strands of postwar global neo-Nazism.


title: Strasserism

text: Gregor Strasser (1892–1934) began his career in ultranationalist politics by joining the "Freikorps" after serving in World War I. Strasser was involved in the Kapp Putsch and formed his own "völkischer Wehrverband" ("popular defense union") which he merged into the Nazi Party in 1921. Initially a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler, he took part in the Beer Hall Putsch and held a number of high positions in the Nazi Party. However, Strasser soon became a strong advocate of the radical wing of the party, arguing that the national revolution should also include strong action to tackle poverty and should seek to build working class support. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Ernst Röhm, who headed the "Sturmabteilung" (SA), then the most important paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, called for a second revolution aimed at removing the elites from control. This was opposed by the German conservative movement as well as by some Nazis who preferred an ordered authoritarian regime to the radical and disruptive program proposed by the party's radicals. Strasser was killed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934.


title: Strasserism

text: Otto Strasser (1897–1974) had also been a member of the "Freikorps", but he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany and fought against the Kapp Putsch. Strasser joined the Nazi Party in 1925, where he kept promoting the importance of "socialism" in "National Socialism". Considered more of a radical than his brother, Strasser was expelled by the Nazi Party in 1930 and set up the Black Front, his own dissident group which called for a specifically German nationalist form of "socialist" revolution. Strasser fled Germany in 1933 to live firstly in Czechoslovakia and then Canada before returning to West Germany in later life, all the while writing prolifically about Hitler and what he saw as his betrayal of Nazism's ideals.


title: Strasserism

text: The name "Strasserism" came to be applied to the form of Nazism associated with the Strasser brothers. Although they had been involved in the creation of the National Socialist Program of 1920, both men called on the party to commit to "breaking the shackles of finance capital". This opposition to what Nazis termed "Finanzkapitalismus" (finance capitalism) and "raffendes Kapital" (which translates roughly to "money-grubbing capitalism", and was implied to mean "Jewish capitalism"), which they contrasted to producerism or what was termed "productive capitalism", was shared by Adolf Hitler, who borrowed it from Gottfried Feder.


title: Strasserism

text: This populist form of economic antisemitism was espoused by Otto Strasser in "Nationalsozialistische Briefe", published in 1925, which discussed notions of class conflict, wealth redistribution and a possible alliance with the Soviet Union. His 1930 follow-up "Ministersessel oder Revolution" ("Cabinet Seat or Revolution") attacked Hitler's betrayal of the socialist aspect of Nazism as well as criticizing the notion of the "Führerprinzip". Whilst Gregor Strasser echoed many of the calls of his brother, his influence on the ideology was lower, owing to his remaining in the Nazi Party longer and to his early death. Meanwhile, Otto Strasser continued to expand his argument, calling for the break-up of large estates and the development of something akin to a guild socialism, and the related establishment of a "Reich" cooperative chamber to take a leading role in economic planning.


title: Strasserism

text: Strasserism became a strand of Nazism holding on to previous Nazi ideals such as antisemitism and palingenetic ultranationalism, but adding a strong critique of capitalism on economic antisemitic grounds and framed this in the demand for a more worker-based approach to economics. However, it is disputed whether Strasserism was a distinct form of Nazism. According to historian Ian Kershaw, "the leaders of the SA [which included Gregor Strasser] did not have another vision of the future of Germany or another politic to propose". The Strasserites advocated the radicalization of the Nazi regime and the toppling of the German elites, calling Hitler's rise to power a half-revolution which needed to be completed.


title: Strasserism

text: During the 1970s, the ideas of Strasserism began to be referred to more in European far-right groups as younger members with no ties to Hitler and a stronger sense of economic antisemitism came to the fore. Strasserite thought in Germany began to emerge as a tendency within the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) during the late 1960s. These Strasserites played a leading role in securing the removal of Adolf von Thadden from the leadership and after his departure the party became stronger in condemning Hitler for what it saw as his move away from socialism in order to court business and army leaders.


title: Strasserism

text: Although initially adopted by the NPD, Strasserism soon became associated with more peripheral extremist figures, notably Michael Kühnen, who produced a 1982 pamphlet "Farewell to Hitler" which included a strong endorsement of the idea. The People's Socialist Movement of Germany/Labour Party, a minor extremist movement that was outlawed in 1982, adopted the policy. Its successor movement, the Nationalist Front, did likewise, with its ten-point programme calling for an "anti-materialist cultural revolution" and an "anti-capitalist social revolution" to underline its support for the idea. The Free German Workers' Party also moved towards these ideas under the leadership of Friedhelm Busse in the late 1980s.


title: Strasserism

text: The flag of the Strasserite movement Black Front and its symbol a crossed hammer and a sword has been used by German and other European neo-Nazis abroad as a substitute for the more infamous Nazi flag which is banned in some countries such as Germany.


title: Strasserism

text: Strasserism emerged in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and centred on the National Front (NF) publication "Britain First", the main writers of which were David McCalden, Richard Lawson and Denis Pirie. Opposing the leadership of John Tyndall, they formed an alliance with John Kingsley Read and ultimately followed him into the National Party (NP). The NP called for British workers to seize the right to work and offered a fairly Strasserite economic policy. Nonetheless, the NP was short-lived. Due in part to Read's lack of enthusiasm for Strasserism, the main exponents of the idea drifted away.


title: Strasserism

text: The idea was reintroduced to the NF by Andrew Brons in the early 1980s when he decided to make the party's ideology clearer. However, Strasserism was soon to become the province of the radicals in the Official National Front, with Richard Lawson brought in a behind-the-scenes role to help direct policy. This Political Soldier wing ultimately opted for the indigenous alternative of distributism, but their strong anti-capitalist rhetoric as well as that of their International Third Position successor demonstrated influences from Strasserism. From this background emerged Troy Southgate, whose own ideology and those of related groups such as the English Nationalist Movement and National Revolutionary Faction were influenced by Strasserism. He has also described himself as a post-Strasserite.


title: Strasserism

text: Third Position groups, whose inspiration is generally more Italian in derivation, have often looked to Strasserism, owing to their strong opposition to capitalism based on economic antisemitic grounds. This was noted in France, where the student group "Groupe Union Défense" and the more recent "Renouveau français" both extolled Strasserite economic platforms.


title: Strasserism

text: The first Nazi party of Finland, National Socialist Union of Finland, was closer to the left wing of the Nazi party, and the party "Chief" Yrjö Ruutu demanded the nationalization of large companies and other assets vital for national interests, a self-sufficient planned economy and parliament controlled by trade unions and the appointment of technocrats to ministers.


title: Strasserism

text: Attempts to reinterpret Nazism as having a left-wing base have also been heavily influenced by this school of thought, notably through the work of Povl Riis-Knudsen, who produced the Strasser-influenced work "National Socialism: A Left-Wing Movement" in 1984.


title: Strasserism

text: In the United States, Tom Metzger, a white supremacist, had some affiliation to Strasserism, having been influenced by Kühnen's pamphlet. Also in the United States, Matthew Heimbach of the former Traditionalist Worker Party identifies as a Strasserist. Heimbach often engages primarily in anti-capitalist rhetoric during public speeches instead of overt antisemitism, anti-Masonry or anti-communist rhetoric. Heimbach was expelled from the National Socialist Movement due to his economic views being seen by the group as too left-wing. Heimbach stated that the NSM "essentially want it to remain a politically impotent white supremacist gang".


title: Semi-Pro

text: Semi-Pro is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tierney, set during the final season of the American Basketball Association and telling the story of a fictional ABA team desperate to survive the league's merger with the NBA. The film was shot in Los Angeles near Dodger Stadium (in the gym of the Los Angeles City Fire Department Training Center), in Detroit, and in Flint, Michigan. Released in theaters on February 19, 2008 and released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 3, 2008, it was the last film from New Line Cinema before they were absorbed by Warner Bros. Pictures. As of 2021, it is the only film directed by Kent Alterman. The film received generally negative reviews, with critics criticizing the script, though Ferrell’s performance received praise.


title: Semi-Pro

text: In 1976, Jackie Moon is a singer who used the profits from his one-hit wonder, "Love Me Sexy", to buy a basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA), the Flint Tropics, becoming the owner, head coach, starting power forward, and pre-game announcer. At a team owner's meeting, the ABA Commissioner announces a plan to merge the league with the National Basketball Association (NBA), but only four teams will move to the more established league. The Tropics, the worst team in the league, are in danger of dissolving. Jackie, thinking fast, argues that the teams with the four best records should be merged and the Commissioner accepts.


title: Semi-Pro

text: Jackie trades the team's washing machine to the Kentucky Colonels for Ed Monix, a backup point guard who won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, but did not play during the playoffs. The Commissioner reveals that in addition to finishing in the top four, the Tropics will also need at least 2,000 fans at every remaining home game. Jackie begins to stage extremely desperate stunts in order to boost attendance, like wrestling a bear named Dewey, as well as the increased intensity of Clarence Withers, the Tropics' best player. Monix takes over as offensive and defensive coordinator and starting point guard, leaving Jackie as the head coach. Monix trains the team rigorously with a play he calls the "Puke", as the players are to run it until they literally throw up.


title: Semi-Pro

text: From Monix's training, the Tropics go on a winning run, moving from last to fifth. Jackie gets a visit from the Commissioner. The NBA does not think that Flint has a large enough media market and will not allow the Tropics into the league even if they beat the first place San Antonio Spurs in the last game of the season. Jackie admits that he stole "Love Me Sexy" from a napkin his mother wrote on three weeks before she died. Realizing that all his assets are basically stolen, Jackie trades Withers to the Spurs so that he may realize his dream of playing in the NBA. Monix reassembles and inspires the team to leave everything on the court, while they may not be able to continue the franchise after this season, they have come very far and still have a lot to prove.


title: Semi-Pro

text: Going into the Spurs game, which Jackie declares the "MegaBowl", the Tropics are in fifth place and with a win they would make it into fourth, even though they will not be allowed into the NBA. The Tropics fall behind quickly, and Jackie is knocked unconscious when fouled hard at the end of the first half. Withers decides he has seen enough and rejoins the Tropics in their locker room, destroying his chance at the NBA with the Spurs. An unconscious Jackie imagines that he is in heaven with his mother. He apologizes for stealing her song and she gives him a weapon in order to win. Starting the second half, the Tropics reveal their new weapon: the alley-oop. With the return of Withers, the alley-oop is very effective, but the referee initially calls the play a foul. After some persuasion by Jackie and Monix, the referee is convinced that it is a legitimate play. With seconds left, they have closed to within two points, 117–115, when the Spurs execute a defence against the Alley-Oop. Monix calls a time-out and tells them to run the "Puke", executing multiple razzle-dazzle passes ending with the ball in Jackie's hands under the netbut he gets fouled hard again with two seconds left, giving him 2 free throws. Shooting granny style, Jackie sinks the first basket. The second bounces off the rim but Monix tips in the rebound right at the buzzer for two points to win, sparking a wild celebration in the arena and the streets of Flint.


title: Semi-Pro

text: The Spurs' coach offers Withers his position back, while the now-former ABA Commissioner offers Jackie a position on the staff of the NBA Assistant Commissioner, as a marketing director.


title: Semi-Pro

text: In addition, former American Basketball Association players, Artis Gilmore and George Gervin, appear in uncredited roles as customers in a restaurant, while the already extensive list of "Saturday Night Live" cast members includes Jerry Minor, in the uncredited role of DJ at the nightclub.


title: Semi-Pro

text: The 5-year-old, , male grizzly bear named Rocky appeared in the film in a scene where Will Ferrell's character wrestles him to promote his basketball team. Stuntman and trainer Randy Miller doubled for Ferrell during the wrestling match with the bear. On April 22, 2008, seven weeks after "Semi-Pro" entered wide release, the bear bit 39-year-old Stephan Miller (Randy Miller's cousin and fellow trainer) on the neck, killing him.


title: Semi-Pro

text: "Semi-Pro" received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval score of 22% based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Semi-Pro" is an intermittently funny, half-hearted attempt at sports satire, and one of Will Ferrell's weaker cinematic efforts." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 29 reviews. Matt Zoeller Seitz of "New York Times" said, ""Semi-Pro" finds the sweet spot between sports melodrama and parody, and hammers it for 90 diverting minutes."


title: Semi-Pro

text: Peter Travers writing for "Rolling Stone" stated, "when the script, by Scott Armstrong, shoots air balls, Ferrell is a slam-dunk." Claudia Puig of "USA Today" said, "Although not exactly a slam dunk, "Semi-Pro" is definitely more than semi-funny." In his review for "The Village Voice", Robert Wilonsky gave the film 2 stars of a possible 4 and wrote that director Kent Alterman, "valiantly tries to tweak the formula by adding a dash more sincerity and humanity to the froth but doesn't get too adventurous. But in the end, it's comedy comfort food, something powdered poured from a box."


title: Semi-Pro

text: In its opening weekend, the film grossed $15 million in 3,121 theaters in the United States and Canada, holding the number one position at the box office. Alicia Chang of the Associated Press described the opening as "lackluster" compared to Ferrell's previous sports spoofs "", which opened with $47 million, and "Blades of Glory", which opened with $33 million. The basketball film went on to gross $33,479,698 domestically and $10,405,206 internationally, for a total of $43,884,904 worldwide.


title: Semi-Pro

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 3, 2008. There is a theatrical R-Rated version DVD and a 2-Disc "Let's Get Sweaty" Unrated Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Special features include unrated deleted scenes and more.


title: Semi-Pro

text: The soundtrack for the film was released on February 26, 2008 and featured songs by LaBelle, WAR, Curtis Mayfield, Will Ferrell, among others. "Love Me Sexy" is sung by the fictional Jackie Moon (played by Will Ferrell).


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: Kanye West Presents: Good Music – Cruel Summer, commonly referred to simply as Cruel Summer, is a compilation album by recording artists of American record label GOOD Music, released on September 14, 2012, by the label and Def Jam Recordings. American rapper Kanye West, head of the label, first revealed plans for a label collaborative album in October 2011. The album produced four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that charted on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The album features West himself, alongside GOOD Music signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj and Malik Yusef, as well as affiliates 2 Chainz, Jay-Z and Travis Scott, among others. Production on the album was primarily handled by members of GOOD Music's production wing, Very GOOD Beats, including West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott and Lifted, among others.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Cruel Summer" received "a fairly lukewarm response" from critics who commended its hubristic style and the tracks featuring West, but found it uneven as an album. It debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week. The album also reached the top 10 of charts in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of November 4, 2012, "Cruel Summer" has sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: Kanye West founded the GOOD Music label in 2004. Since the label's inception, multiple acts have been signed to the label, including close collaborators of West such as Kid Cudi, Common, John Legend, Pusha T, Big Sean and Travi$ Scott. West first announced plans for a GOOD Music album in October 2011 via his Twitter account. Later on May 23, 2012, the title was revealed in part with a film, "Cruel Summer", written by Elon Rutberg and produced by Alex Rosenberg, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The album was originally slated for release on August 7, 2012, but underwent several delays.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: Pusha T said that he recorded over 20 verses for the album, and a song with Big Sean and Common called "Trash Bags" that was ultimately scrapped. American rapper Azealia Banks also said that she recorded with West earlier in 2012, but her contributions were not included on the album.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Cruel Summer" was made available to pre-order on the website of the Japanese branch of retail chain HMV on September 1, 2012, revealing the album's track listing as well as each track's respective performers. The album's artwork was designed by DONDA, West's creative agency.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Mercy", a collaboration between Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, was released as the album's lead single on April 3, 2012. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the following day onto West's official website. The release of the track continued West's "GOOD Fridays", a music giveaway that provided free MP3 downloads every week, which had been on hiatus since December 2010. The song peaked at number 13 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Cold", featuring DJ Khaled, was released as the album's second single. The track was then released as a single onto iTunes on April 17, 2012. Following its digital release, the song impacted urban contemporary radio on May 8, 2012. The single peaked at numbers 89 and 69 respectively on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs singles charts.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "New God Flow", a collaboration between Pusha T and Kanye West, was released onto iTunes as the album's third single on July 21, 2012. It first premiered at the 2012 BET Awards on July 2, 2012, with West performing an a cappella version of his verse. The song peaked at number 89 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Clique", a collaboration between Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean, was released as the album's fourth single on September 7, 2012. The single peaked at numbers 12 and 2 respectively on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs singles charts.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Cruel Summer" received "a fairly lukewarm response" from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 28 reviews. Christopher R. Weingarten of "Spin" felt that it is "not a cohesive crew album" and called it "a runway show of small, costly, uncomfortable missteps." Nathan Rabin, writing in "The A.V. Club", said that it "feels like an unusually crowded solo album, but West’s affiliates don’t share his gift for fusing self-aggrandizement with soul-searching reflection." Slant Magazine's Ted Scheinman observed no "concept or production value to hold" the album, which he felt "isn't a Kanye album per se, but even as a high-pedigree compilation, it still falls flat."


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" complimented the album's four singles for "show[ing] [West] at or near his best", but found GOOD Music's other rappers to be "a mixed bag". Jonah Weiner of "Rolling Stone" called the album "occasionally exhilarating, ultimately underwhelming", and observed "no grand statements, but plenty of hot lines", with West as "the star ... who bum-rushes every song he's on like it's someone else's acceptance speech". The magazine later named it the 24th best record of 2012 in a year-end list.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: Adam Fleischer from "XXL" felt the songs featuring West were "Cruel Summer"s highlights. Andy Gill of "The Independent" viewed it as less "ambitious" than West's own albums and said the songs "may lack grandeur, but they bring a sinister, stalking ambience that matches the blend of money, mystery and menace in the contributions of collaborators". Paul MacInnes of "The Guardian" wrote that his "penchant for superabundance is one of the most things in pop music." Priya Elan of "NME" felt that the album is "essential" as "a cross section of the most brilliant, solipsistic mind in rap". "MSN Music" critic Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic and said the rapping is clever but plagued by a "Conspicuous Consumption Equals Authentic Negritude" philosophy, although he was impressed by the music: "The surprise is that the attention requires so little effort, because there's always a musical touch to keep you alert". The album received nominations for World's Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards and Best Group Album at the 2012 "XXL" Awards


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: The album debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 205,000 copies in its first week. It also entered at number one on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In its second week the album dropped to seventh, selling 55,000.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: "Cruel Summer" debuted at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 12,000 copies in Canada. As of November 4, 2012, "Cruel Summer" has sold 389,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


title: Cruel Summer (GOOD Music album)

text: As of 2020, "Cruel Summer" is tied with "Shady XV" as the second-best performing record label compilation album on "Billboard"s year-end Compilation albums chart, behind "" (3) in 2007, since records began in 2006.


title: 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team

text: The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics were delayed a year until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the Americans. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by finishing as one of the top two teams from the Americas at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.


text: The U.S. team returned two Olympic gold medal winners in Kevin Durant (2012, 2016) and Draymond Green (2016). Unlike the 2019 World Cup team that finished in seventh place with a team of traditional centers and limited shooting, the Olympic team featured multi-positional players and adept shooters. After the disappointing World Cup, in which only four of the initial 35 candidates were on the final roster, star players began openly expressing an interest in joining the Olympic team. While other countries had a core roster that has played together for years in multiple international tournaments, the U.S. team changed every year.


text: Complicating the decision for National Basketball Association (NBA) players to commit to the Olympics was the pandemic's impact on the league's schedule. The 2020 NBA Finals did not end until October 11, 2020. Although the start of the 2020–21 NBA season was delayed, it still began 71 days after the prior Finals, as opposed to the usual 100 days or more. The season was condensed with many back-to-back games. While the 2021 Finals were scheduled to allow players time to travel to Tokyo, the playoffs were ongoing while other countries were practicing. The delayed season cut into Team USA's time to gel and learn to play as a team. Moreover, three team members played in the Finals, which did not conclude until July 20, and they missed all of training camp and the pre-Olympic exhibitions in Las Vegas. The United States played their first game in the Olympics on July 25.


text: The United States was coached by Gregg Popovich, who had won five NBA championships as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He made his head coaching debut for Team USA on the 2019 World Cup team in China. In February 2020, USA Basketball announced an initial list of 44 finalists for the 2020 Summer Olympics, originally scheduled for July–Aug 2020. After the Games were postponed until 2021, the list of finalists was expanded to 57 to remain flexible. By the end of the 2020–21 NBA season, a number of All-Star level players were either injured or requiring extended recovery time for the upcoming season. Olympic training camp took place while the 2021 NBA playoffs were ongoing. No tryouts were held, with decisions on the final 12-man roster based in part on player health and availability.


text: An initial 12-man roster was named with a combined 37 NBA All-Star selections, led by Kevin Durant with 11. He entered the 2020 Games ranked second in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history with 311 career points, needing just 25 more to match Carmelo Anthony's record of 336. A two-time Olympic gold medalist from the 2012 and 2016 teams, Durant was joined on the squad by one other gold medal winner, his 2016 teammate Draymond Green, who he also played with on the Golden State Warriors. Also committing to the team were four of the NBA's top 10 scorers from the 2020–21 season with Bradley Beal (31.1 points per game), Damian Lillard (28.8), Zach LaVine (27.4) and Jayson Tatum (26.4). Six players on the roster were named All-Stars in 2021, but only two were among the past season's 15 selections to the All-NBA Team—Lillard (first team) and Beal (second team). While stocked with scorers, the original roster was limited in size; Bam Adebayo and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Love were the lone traditional interior players. The team also lacked a primary facilitating guard; when not leading a pick and roll, Lillard is primarily an isolation scorer. Alternatively, the United States could use Durant as a point forward and utilize big men Green and Adebayo's playmaking skills. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns were named to the roster, but missed all of training camp and the exhibition games while playing in the 2021 NBA Finals. Middleton and Tatum were the only returnees from the 2019 World Cup team.


text: After playing in three exhibition games, Beal was ruled out for the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. A starter in all three games, he was expected to be one of the team's primary scorers. Love also withdrew from the team, stating that he was not fully recovered from a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of the prior NBA season. They were replaced by JaVale McGee and Keldon Johnson. A journeyman, , shot-blocking center, McGee was a finalist for the Olympic team and has won three NBA championships, including two with Durant and Green on the Warriors. He helped to fill Team USA's need for size after being outrebounded during exhibition games. The second-year forward Johnson had been playing with the Olympic team as a member of the U.S. Select Team and had been with San Antonio for two seasons under Popovich. USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo stated that injuries and players' contract status, among other factors, impacted the roster decisions. "Some people say, ‘Well what about that guy?’ Well, there is a reason. You think we're stupid? We know who can play and who can't play", he said.


text: With Booker, Holiday, and Middleton still playing in the NBA Finals, Team USA added seven players to the roster from the U.S. Select Team for the exhibition games: Saddiq Bey, Darius Garland, John Jenkins, Keldon Johnson, Josh Magette, Dakota Mathias and Cam Reynolds. The Americans began their exhibition schedule after four days of training camp. They played four games in eight days, with a fifth game cancelled because of coronavirus issues. Johnson was promoted to the Olympic team before the final exhibition game. The Americans did not play with the signature up-tempo style of the past three Olympic gold-medal teams under former coach Mike Krzyzewski. Their slower pace left the team, unfamiliar with each other after only six practices, dependent on reading and reacting to each other.


text: In their first game, the United States was upset 90–87 by Nigeria, the first win by an African team over the American men's team. The Nigerians played as a more cohesive unit after about three weeks of training. In their last two meetings, Team USA had beaten them by 83 points at the 2012 London Olympics and 44 points in an exhibition game prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Americans fell to 54–3 in major exhibitions games since 1992, when NBA players were first allowed to play for Team USA, with previous losses to Australia ahead of the 2019 World Cup and to Italy before the 2004 Olympics.


text: Team USA lost their second straight exhibition game 91–83 to Australia. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Americans dating back to the 2019 World Cup. The Americans held a 10-point lead in the second half, but they were held without a field goal in the last 4:34. The Boomers, who shot 53% from the field, were led by Patty Mills with 22 points and Joe Ingles with 17. The United States got 22 points from Damian Lillard and 17 from Kevin Durant.


text: Durant and Bradley Beal both scored 17, and the Americans led throughout in a 108–80 win over Argentina. The United States jumped to a 15–4 lead almost minutes into the game, scoring 33 points in the first quarter while leading by as much as 17. They led 58–42 at halftime, and shot 51% for the game. Argentina was held to 31% shooting on 3-pointers, making 9 of 29. They were led by Luis Scola, who scored 16 points in 19 minutes.


text: Already missing three players to the NBA Finals, Team USA was down to eight Olympic players after Jayson Tatum was held out of the game due to a sore right knee. The win avoided the first U.S. three-game losing streak since NBA players were allowed on the national team.


text: A day before it was scheduled to be played, USA Basketball announced that their second game against Australia was canceled "out of an abundance of caution" after Beal and Jerami Grant had been placed on COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Beal, who tested positive, was also ruled out for the Olympics.


text: Lillard scored 19 points and newly promoted teammate Johnson had 15 in the United States' 83–76 win over Spain. Behind by as many as nine points in the first half, Team USA was down 46–42 in the third quarter when they scored 11 unanswered points in a 23–6 run that spanned into the fourth quarter. Johnson scored eight points during the spurt, including a dunk which excited the crowd. The Americans led 65–52 with 7:30 remaining, and Spain never got closer than seven points. The Spaniards were led by Ricky Rubio with 23 points.


text: Durant, Lillard, and LaVine made a combined nine 3-pointers. Johnson shot 7 of 9 and had a team-high plus–minus of plus-18. Grant returned to the team after being in health and safety protocols. Johnson had appeared in two previous exhibition games. JaVale McGee, who was added to the team with Johnson, was present but did not play.


text: After the final exhibition game against Spain, LaVine was placed into health and safety protocols, and did not travel with the rest of the team to Tokyo on July 19. He was later cleared and joined the team on July 22. The NBA Finals concluded in six games on July 20, with Milwaukee winning over Phoenix. Holiday and Middleton attended the Bucks' championship parade on July 22. They flew the next day to Seattle, where they took a private plane with Booker and arrived in Tokyo on July 24 before 11:00 pm JST (UTC+9), less than 24 hours before Team USA's opening game against France. The Americans lost to the French, but recovered to finish 2–1 in group play to advance to the knockout round.


text: The Olympics feature 12 nations divided into three groups of four. The United States was placed in Group A. Each team plays three games, one game each against the other teams in their group. The first- and second-place teams advance to the knockout stage, along with the top two third-place teams. The remaining four teams are eliminated.


text: Team USA's 25-game winning streak in the Olympics ended after a 83–76 loss to France. The Americans led by seven points in the final 3:30 of the game, but the French took the lead for good after Evan Fournier made a 3-pointer with a minute remaining. He scored a game-high 28 points on 11-for-22 shooting. On the next possession, the United States attempted five shots but missed them all, the last three being open 3-point attempts by LaVine, Durant, and Holiday. France ended the game on a 16–2 run, and the Americans did not make a basket in the last minutes of the game.


text: The Americans led by 10 early in the third quarter after Durant made the opening shot after halftime. Their offense, however, went stagnant. After France played big men Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier together for most of the second half, the United States scored just 29 points in the final 18 minutes. Durant picked up his fourth foul with 16:45 left in the game. Nando de Colo made a 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the third to give France a 55–54 lead, and they outscored the U.S. team 25–11 in the period to enter the fourth quarter up 62–56. Holiday opened the fourth scoring 12 points in the first minutes, and Team USA led by six with 5:23 left.


text: Gobert scored 14 points for France and de Colo finished with 13. Holiday had a team-high 18 points for the United States and added seven rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Despite having just arrived in Tokyo, he was the team's best player. However, their main scorers were quiet towards the finish. In foul trouble, Durant made just 4 of 12 for 10 points in one of the worst games of his Olympic career. Lillard was 3 of 10 for 11 points. The team made just 31% of its 3-pointers. Adebayo added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Americans. The other NBA Finals players, Booker and Middleton, both played, but not as effectively as Holiday, who also led the team in minutes (27:52). The United States and France last met in the 2019 World Cup, when the French eliminated the Americans from medal contention. France returned seven players on their Olympic team from that squad. Team USA's last loss in the Olympics was in 2004, when they settled for a bronze medal in Athens.


text: The United States earned its first win in a 120–66 blowout over an overmatched Iran team. Lillard bounced back from his struggles in the opener to score 21 points on seven 3-pointers, including six of Team USA's 13 makes in the first half. They led 28–12 after the first quarter, expanding the margin to 30 after LaVine made their 10th three-pointer in 17 attempts to open the game, making it 47–17. The U.S. squad was 19 of 39 on 3-pointers, and made 23 of its 37 attempts (62%) inside the three-point line. Iran was ranked No. 23 in the world, ahead of only Japan—which qualified as the host country—in the 12-team Olympic field.


text: Popovich moved Holiday and Booker into the starting lineup in place of LaVine and Green. The Americans played faster with the three-guard lineup, scoring 19 fast-break points in the first half. The pace, in turn, led to a succession of open shots. Six U.S. players made multiple 3-pointers. Team USA had 34 assists on 42 baskets, and six players scored in double fugures. Booker had 16 points and had five rebounds, Tatum scored 14 and LaVine added 13. The United States defense forced 23 turnovers, which led to 37 points. Iran's center Hamed Haddadi led the team with 15 points and six rebounds. They shot just 37% for the game.


text: The U.S. team defeated the Czech Republic 119–84 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tatum scored a game-high 27 points, and Durant had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Czechs made eight of their first 11 shots to establish a 10-point lead, and they led the entire first quarter, outshooting the Americans 65% to 35%. Durant made a 3-pointer in the second quarter to put Team USA up for good. The basket also moved him past Carmelo Anthony to become the U.S. men's basketball team's all-time Olympic scoring leader. Durant scored 14 points in the first half, and the Americans led by as many as seven before going into halftime ahead 47–43. They outscored the Czech Republic 29–13 in the third quarter, which they ended with a 22–6 run to lead by 22 to begin the fourth. Tatum scored 17 in the final quarter while Durant rested.


text: After making just seven of 20 shots in the first quarter, the United States shot 33 of 44 over the next 26 minutes, including 21 of 25 to open the second half. Lavine scored 13 points, Holiday added 11, and McGee finished with 10. Holiday was again outstanding on defense, providing constant pressure on the ball and recording three steals. Blake Schilb led the Czechs with 17 points.


text: As the top second-place team in group play, the United States qualified for the seeded pot of the draw and avoided facing any of the group winners in the quarterfinals. They were drawn to face Spain, who the Americans beat for the gold medal in 2008 and 2012, and who they also defeated in the 2016 semifinals. Durant averaged 27 points per game and shot 53.7% from the field in the three knockout games to lead the team to gold.


text: Durant scored 29 points and Team USA advanced to the medal round with a 95–81 win over Spain. The Americans trailed by 10 in the second quarter, before outscoring the Spaniards 36–10 over the next nine minutes. Durant had 13 points in the third quarter, include three 3-pointers, to help the team overcome its sluggish start. The United States was 9 of 15 on 3-pointers in the second half after making only 4 of 17 in the first. Ricky Rubio scored a game-high 38 points, which also set an Olympic record for Spain. It was the most points scored against the U.S. team in the Olympics or any other major event, surpassing Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points for Germany against the Americans in the 2002 World Championship.


text: Spain was behind 17–10 early, but went on a 29–12 run over 10 minutes and led 39–29 with 3:25 remaining in the first half. However, Team USA went on its own spurt, outscoring the Spaniards 14–4 and tying the score 43–43 at halftime after scoring seven straight in the final 70 seconds. The United States opened the third quarter with a 22–6 run, and they led by as many as 16 before entering the fourth up 69–63. Durant shot 10 for 17 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. He led five Americans who scored in double figures, including Tatum (13), Holiday (12) Lillard (11), and LaVine (10). Sergio Rodríguez scored 16 and Willy Hernangómez added 10 for Spain.


text: Durant scored a game-high 23 points, and the United States overcame another slow start for a 97–78 victory against Australia. The Americans trailed the Boomers by 15 midway through the second quarter, before a 48–14 run put them ahead 74–55 after three quarters. After Team USA missed their first 10 three-pointers of the game, Booker hit their first late in the second period with 3:22 left. He scored 11 points in the third and finished with 20 points and three 3-pointers. Patty Mills led the Australians with 15 points, but he shot just 5 of 14.


text: Australia took an early eight-point lead while holding the United States to only one basket in the first four minutes. The Aussies led 24–18 to start the second quarter. They scored eight straight points to lead 41–26 with 5:23 left in the first half. After making 13 of their first 26 shots, the Boomers made just 3 of their next 16, including just one basket the rest of the half. They still led by 11 points with 2:59 remaining, but Team USA scored the last eight points of the half to cut the deficit to 45–42. Holiday made two baskets and Durant hit three in the Americans' 12–0 run to start the second half, part of a combined 20–0 stretch over 6:56 from the second quarter. They outscored Australia 32–10 in the third. Durant made 10 of 19 shots in the contest and had a game-high nine rebounds. Team USA got 11 points each from Middleton and Holiday, who also finished with eight rebounds and eight assists and was the primary defender on Mills. Dante Exum scored 12 points and Jock Landale added 11 points for the Australians.


text: Led by 29 points by Durant, Team USA won their fourth consecutive gold medal with an 87–82 win over France. The Americans led by 10 to begin the fourth quarter, but the French pulled to within three points twice, including with 10 seconds left in the game. Durant made two free throws to seal the game with eight seconds remaining. Tatum scored 19 points off the bench for the United States. France got 16 points each from Fournier and Gobert, who also had eight rebounds. Durant joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time gold medalists in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history.


text: France took a 10–4 lead in the game's opening minutes. After the U.S. squad missed their first eight 3-pointers of the contest, Durant made one with 2:04 left in the first quarter, beginning a 21–8 stretch for the Americans for a 39–26 lead in the middle of the second. The French, however, used a 13–5 run to trail just 44–39 at halftime. They pulled to within two early in the third quarter. Team USA was momentarily up by 14, but Batum made a 3-pointer before the third-quarter buzzer to cut the U.S. lead to 71–63 entering the last quarter. After a Frank Ntilikina 3-pointer brought France to within 73–70 with 5:42 remaining, the United States went on a 9–2 spurt to lead by 10. Durant's free throws with 8.8 seconds left put the Americans ahead by five. He averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the Olympics, and FIBA named him the tournament's MVP.


text: France tried to leverage the Gobert's size advantage, forcing Durant to switch onto him. Gobert drew nine fouls, three on Durant, but he shot just 6 of 13 on his free throws. In another stout performance on defense, Holiday had three steals and a block and helped limit Fournier to 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Holiday and Middleton became the fifth and sixth players to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. France received the silver medal for the third time in the Olympics, all coming in gold-medal-game losses to the United States.


title: Jesse Lee Peterson

text: Jesse Lee Peterson (born May 22, 1949) is an American conservative radio host, pastor, and broadcaster. He is the founder of Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), a far-right Christian ministry, and hosts the programs "The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show" and "The Fallen State TV". He has gained notoriety for his political views, which have been described as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-black and white supremacist.


title: Jesse Lee Peterson

text: Peterson was born on May 22, 1949, in Midway, Alabama, and raised in Corner Hill by his grandparents, who worked on the Comer family plantation where his great-grandparents had been enslaved a century earlier. His mother and father moved to Gary, Indiana, and East Chicago, Indiana, respectively, where they separately started new families of their own. He was born with a cleft palate that was not repaired until his teens. Peterson lived with his mother and stepfather in Gary as a teenager, briefly attending Edison High School. He then returned to Alabama and graduated from high school before moving to Los Angeles. He attended Los Angeles City College for one year. He says that he started his own janitorial service in 1989.


title: Jesse Lee Peterson

text: Peterson has stated that he used to be a Democrat but became a Republican in his late 30s. He attributed the change to his Christian beliefs.


title: Jesse Lee Peterson

text: In 1990, Peterson founded BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny), later registered as a religious non-profit. BOND has close ties to the Tea Party movement. Advisory board members include Sean Hannity and Dennis Prager.


title: Jesse Lee Peterson

text: Peterson has participated in activism against illegal immigration, abortion, and gun control, and for conservative family values. He has protested against the NAACP and feminist lawyer Gloria Allred. He has participated in discussions at the annual political convention Politicon.