title: 4 Vesta

text: Early estimates of the diameter of Vesta ranged from in 1825, to . E.C. Pickering produced an estimated diameter of in 1879, which is close to the modern value for the mean diameter, but the subsequent estimates ranged from a low of up to a high of during the next century. The measured estimates were based on photometry. In 1989, speckle interferometry was used to measure a dimension that varied between during the rotational period. In 1991, an occultation of the star SAO 93228 by Vesta was observed from multiple locations in the eastern United States and Canada. Based on observations from 14 different sites, the best fit to the data was an elliptical profile with dimensions of about . "Dawn" confirmed this measurement. These measurements will help determine the thermal history, size of the core, role of water in asteroid evolution and what meteorites found on Earth come from these bodies, with the ultimate goal of understanding the conditions and processes present at the solar system's earliest epoch and the role of water content and size in planetary evolution.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta became the first asteroid to have its mass determined. Every 18 years, the asteroid 197 Arete approaches within of Vesta. In 1966, based upon observations of Vesta's gravitational perturbations of Arete, Hans G. Hertz estimated the mass of Vesta at (solar masses). More refined estimates followed, and in 2001 the perturbations of 17 Thetis were used to calculate the mass of Vesta to be . "Dawn" determined it to be .


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, within the asteroid belt, with a period of 3.6 Earth years, specifically in the inner asteroid belt, interior to the Kirkwood gap at 2.50 AU. Its orbit is moderately inclined ("i" = 7.1°, compared to 7° for Mercury and 17° for Pluto) and moderately eccentric ("e" = 0.09, about the same as for Mars).


title: 4 Vesta

text: True orbital resonances between asteroids are considered unlikely; due to their small masses relative to their large separations, such relationships should be very rare. Nevertheless, Vesta is able to capture other asteroids into temporary 1:1 resonant orbital relationships (for periods up to 2 million years or more); about forty such objects have been identified. Decameter-sized objects detected in the vicinity of Vesta by "Dawn" may be such quasi-satellites rather than proper satellites.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta's rotation is relatively fast for an asteroid (5.342 h) and prograde, with the north pole pointing in the direction of right ascension 20 h 32 min, declination +48° (in the constellation Cygnus) with an uncertainty of about 10°. This gives an axial tilt of 29°.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Two longitudinal coordinate systems are used for Vesta, with prime meridians separated by 150°. The IAU established a coordinate system in 1997 based on "Hubble" photos, with the prime meridian running through the center of Olbers Regio, a dark feature 200 km across. When "Dawn" arrived at Vesta, mission scientists found that the location of the pole assumed by the IAU was off by 10°, so that the IAU coordinate system drifted across the surface of Vesta at 0.06° per year, and also that Olbers Regio was not discernible from up close, and so was not adequate to define the prime meridian with the precision they needed. They corrected the pole, but also established a new prime meridian 4° from the center of Claudia, a sharply defined crater 700 meters across, which they say results in a more logical set of mapping quadrangles. All NASA publications, including images and maps of Vesta, use the Claudian meridian, which is unacceptable to the IAU. The IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements recommended a coordinate system, correcting the pole but rotating the Claudian longitude by 150° to coincide with Olbers Regio. It was accepted by the IAU, although it disrupts the maps prepared by the "Dawn" team, which had been positioned so they would not bisect any major surface features.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta is the second most massive body in the asteroid belt, although it is only 28% as massive as Ceres, the most massive body. Vesta is however the most massive body that formed in the asteroid belt, as Ceres is believed to have formed between Jupiter and Saturn. Vesta's density is lower than those of the four terrestrial planets but is higher than those of most asteroids, as well as all of the moons in the Solar System except Io. Vesta's surface area is about the same as the land area of Pakistan, Venezuela, Tanzania, or Nigeria; slightly under . It has a differentiated interior. Vesta is only slightly larger () than 2 Pallas () in volume, but is about 25% more massive.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta's shape is close to a gravitationally relaxed oblate spheroid, but the large concavity and protrusion at the southern pole (see 'Surface features' below) combined with a mass less than precluded Vesta from automatically being considered a dwarf planet under International Astronomical Union (IAU) Resolution XXVI 5. A 2012 analysis of Vesta's shape and gravity field using data gathered by the "Dawn" spacecraft has shown that Vesta is currently not in hydrostatic equilibrium.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Temperatures on the surface have been estimated to lie between about with the Sun overhead, dropping to about at the winter pole. Typical daytime and nighttime temperatures are and , respectively. This estimate is for 6 May 1996, very close to perihelion, although details vary somewhat with the seasons.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Before the arrival of the "Dawn" spacecraft, some Vestan surface features had already been resolved using the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes (e.g., the Keck Observatory). The arrival of "Dawn" in July 2011 revealed the complex surface of Vesta in detail.


title: 4 Vesta

text: The most prominent of these surface features are two enormous craters, the -wide Rheasilvia crater, centered near the south pole, and the wide Veneneia crater. The Rheasilvia crater is younger and overlies the Veneneia crater. The "Dawn" science team named the younger, more prominent crater Rheasilvia, after the mother of Romulus and Remus and a mythical vestal virgin. Its width is 95% of the mean diameter of Vesta. The crater is about deep. A central peak rises above the lowest measured part of the crater floor and the highest measured part of the crater rim is above the crater floor low point. It is estimated that the impact responsible excavated about 1% of the volume of Vesta, and it is likely that the Vesta family and V-type asteroids are the products of this collision. If this is the case, then the fact that fragments have survived bombardment until the present indicates that the crater is at most only about 1 billion years old. It would also be the site of origin of the HED meteorites. All the known V-type asteroids taken together account for only about 6% of the ejected volume, with the rest presumably either in small fragments, ejected by approaching the 3:1 Kirkwood gap, or perturbed away by the Yarkovsky effect or radiation pressure. Spectroscopic analyses of the Hubble images have shown that this crater has penetrated deep through several distinct layers of the crust, and possibly into the mantle, as indicated by spectral signatures of olivine.


title: 4 Vesta

text: The large peak at the center of Rheasilvia is high and wide, and is possibly a result of a planetary-scale impact.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Several old, degraded craters rival Rheasilvia and Veneneia in size, although none are quite so large. They include Feralia Planitia, shown at right, which is across. More-recent, sharper craters range up to Varronilla and Postumia.


title: 4 Vesta

text: The "snowman craters" is an informal name given to a group of three adjacent craters in Vesta's northern hemisphere. Their official names from largest to smallest (west to east) are Marcia, Calpurnia, and Minucia. Marcia is the youngest and cross-cuts Calpurnia. Minucia is the oldest.


title: 4 Vesta

text: The majority of the equatorial region of Vesta is sculpted by a series of parallel troughs. The largest is named Divalia Fossa ( wide, long). Despite the fact that Vesta is a one-seventh the size of the Moon, Divalia Fossa dwarfs the Grand Canyon. A second series, inclined to the equator, is found further north. The largest of the northern troughs is named Saturnalia Fossa (≈ 40 km wide, > 370 km long). These troughs are thought to be large-scale graben resulting from the impacts that created Rheasilvia and Veneneia craters, respectively. They are some of the longest chasms in the Solar System, nearly as long as Ithaca Chasma on Tethys. The troughs may be graben that formed after another asteroid collided with Vesta, a process that can happen only in a body that, like Vesta, is differentiated. Vesta's differentiation is one of the reasons why scientists consider it a protoplanet.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Compositional information from the visible and infrared spectrometer (VIR), gamma-ray and neutron detector (GRaND), and framing camera (FC), all indicate that the majority of the surface composition of Vesta is consistent with the composition of the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite meteorites. The Rheasilvia region is richest in diogenite, consistent with the Rheasilvia-forming impact excavating material from deeper within Vesta. The presence of olivine within the Rheasilvia region would also be consistent with excavation of mantle material. However, olivine has only been detected in localized regions of the northern hemisphere, not within Rheasilvia. The origin of this olivine is currently unknown.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Pitted terrain has been observed in four craters on Vesta: Marcia, Cornelia, Numisia and Licinia. The formation of the pitted terrain is proposed to be degassing of impact-heated volatile-bearing material. Along with the pitted terrain, curvilinear gullies are found in Marcia and Cornelia craters. The curvilinear gullies end in lobate deposits, which are sometimes covered by pitted terrain, and are proposed to form by the transient flow of liquid water after buried deposits of ice were melted by the heat of the impacts. Hydrated materials have also been detected, many of which are associated with areas of dark material. Consequently, dark material is thought to be largely composed of carbonaceous chondrite, which was deposited on the surface by impacts. Carbonaceous chondrites are comparatively rich in mineralogically bound OH.


title: 4 Vesta

text: A large collection of potential samples from Vesta is accessible to scientists, in the form of over 1200 HED meteorites (Vestan achondrites), giving insight into Vesta's geologic history and structure. NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (NASA IRTF) studies of asteroid suggest that it originated from deeper within Vesta than the HED meteorites.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta is thought to consist of a metallic iron–nickel core 214–226 km in diameter, an overlying rocky olivine mantle, with a surface crust. From the first appearance of calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions (the first solid matter in the Solar System, forming about 4.567 billion years ago), a likely time line is as follows:


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta is the only known intact asteroid that has been resurfaced in this manner. Because of this, some scientists refer to Vesta as a protoplanet. However, the presence of iron meteorites and achondritic meteorite classes without identified parent bodies indicates that there once were other differentiated planetesimals with igneous histories, which have since been shattered by impacts.


title: 4 Vesta

text: On the basis of the sizes of V-type asteroids (thought to be pieces of Vesta's crust ejected during large impacts), and the depth of Rheasilvia crater (see below), the crust is thought to be roughly thick.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Findings from the "Dawn" spacecraft have found evidence that the troughs that wrap around Vesta could be graben formed by impact-induced faulting (see Troughs section above), meaning that Vesta has more complex geology than other asteroids. Vesta's differentiated interior implies that it was in hydrostatic equilibrium and thus a dwarf planet in the past, but it is not today. The impacts that created the Rheasilvia and Veneneia craters occurred when Vesta was no longer warm and plastic enough to return to an equilibrium shape, distorting its once rounded shape and prohibiting it from being classified as a dwarf planet today.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta's surface is covered by regolith distinct from that found on the Moon or asteroids such as Itokawa. This is because space weathering acts differently. Vesta's surface shows no significant trace of nanophase iron because the impact speeds on Vesta are too low to make rock melting and vaporization an appreciable process. Instead, regolith evolution is dominated by brecciation and subsequent mixing of bright and dark components. The dark component is probably due to the infall of carbonaceous material, whereas the bright component is the original Vesta basaltic soil.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Some small Solar System bodies are suspected to be fragments of Vesta caused by impacts. The Vestian asteroids and HED meteorites are examples. The V-type asteroid 1929 Kollaa has been determined to have a composition akin to cumulate eucrite meteorites, indicating its origin deep within Vesta's crust.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta is currently one of only seven identified Solar System bodies of which we have physical samples, coming from a number of meteorites suspected to be Vestan fragments. It is estimated that 1 out of 16 meteorites originated from Vesta. The other identified Solar System samples are from Earth itself, meteorites from Mars, meteorites from the Moon, and samples returned from the Moon, the comet Wild 2, and the asteroids 25143 Itokawa and 162173 Ryugu.


title: 4 Vesta

text: In 1981, a proposal for an asteroid mission was submitted to the European Space Agency (ESA). Named the Asteroidal Gravity Optical and Radar Analysis (AGORA), this spacecraft was to launch some time in 1990–1994 and perform two flybys of large asteroids. The preferred target for this mission was Vesta. AGORA would reach the asteroid belt either by a gravitational slingshot trajectory past Mars or by means of a small ion engine. However, the proposal was refused by the ESA. A joint NASA–ESA asteroid mission was then drawn up for a Multiple Asteroid Orbiter with Solar Electric Propulsion (MAOSEP), with one of the mission profiles including an orbit of Vesta. NASA indicated they were not interested in an asteroid mission. Instead, the ESA set up a technological study of a spacecraft with an ion drive. Other missions to the asteroid belt were proposed in the 1980s by France, Germany, Italy and the United States, but none were approved. Exploration of Vesta by fly-by and impacting penetrator was the second main target of the first plan of the multi-aimed Soviet Vesta mission, developed in cooperation with European countries for realisation in 1991–1994 but canceled due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.


title: 4 Vesta

text: In the early 1990s, NASA initiated the Discovery Program, which was intended to be a series of low-cost scientific missions. In 1996, the program's study team recommended a mission to explore the asteroid belt using a spacecraft with an ion engine as a high priority. Funding for this program remained problematic for several years, but by 2004 the "Dawn" vehicle had passed its critical design review and construction proceeded.


title: 4 Vesta

text: It launched on 27 September 2007 as the first space mission to Vesta. On 3 May 2011, "Dawn" acquired its first targeting image 1.2 million kilometers from Vesta. On 16 July 2011, NASA confirmed that it received telemetry from "Dawn" indicating that the spacecraft successfully entered Vesta's orbit. It was scheduled to orbit Vesta for one year, until July 2012. "Dawn" arrival coincided with late summer in the southern hemisphere of Vesta, with the large crater at Vesta's south pole (Rheasilvia) in sunlight. Because a season on Vesta lasts eleven months, the northern hemisphere, including anticipated compression fractures opposite the crater, would become visible to "Dawn" cameras before it left orbit. "Dawn" left orbit around Vesta on 4 September 2012 to travel to Ceres.


title: 4 Vesta

text: NASA/DLR released imagery and summary information from a survey orbit, two high-altitude orbits (60–70 m/pixel) and a low-altitude mapping orbit (20 m/pixel), including digital terrain models, videos and atlases. Scientists also used "Dawn" to calculate Vesta's precise mass and gravity field. The subsequent determination of the J component yielded a core diameter estimate of about 220 km assuming a crustal density similar to that of the HED.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Detailed images retrieved during the high-altitude (60–70 m/pixel) and low-altitude (~20 m/pixel) mapping orbits are available on the Dawn Mission website of JPL/NASA.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Its size and unusually bright surface make Vesta the brightest asteroid, and it is occasionally visible to the naked eye from dark skies (without light pollution). In May and June 2007, Vesta reached a peak magnitude of +5.4, the brightest since 1989. At that time, opposition and perihelion were only a few weeks apart. It was brighter still at its 22 June 2018 opposition, reaching a magnitude of +5.3.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Less favorable oppositions during late autumn 2008 in the Northern Hemisphere still had Vesta at a magnitude of from +6.5 to +7.3. Even when in conjunction with the Sun, Vesta will have a magnitude around +8.5; thus from a pollution-free sky it can be observed with binoculars even at elongations much smaller than near opposition.


title: 4 Vesta

text: In 2010, Vesta reached opposition in the constellation of Leo on the night of 17–18 February, at about magnitude 6.1, a brightness that makes it visible in binocular range but generally not for the naked eye. Under perfect dark sky conditions where all light pollution is absent it might be visible to an experienced observer without the use of a telescope or binoculars. Vesta came to opposition again on 5 August 2011, in the constellation of Capricornus at about magnitude 5.6.


title: 4 Vesta

text: Vesta was at opposition again on 9 December 2012. According to "Sky and Telescope" magazine, this year Vesta came within about 6 degrees of 1 Ceres during the winter of 2012 and spring 2013. Vesta orbits the Sun in 3.63 years and Ceres in 4.6 years, so every 17.4 years Vesta overtakes Ceres (the previous overtaking was in April 1996). On 1 December 2012, Vesta had a magnitude of 6.6, but it had decreased to 8.4 by 1 May 2013.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: Dangerous Lies is a 2020 American psychological thriller film, directed by Michael Scott from a screenplay by David Golden. It stars Camila Mendes, Jessie T. Usher, Jamie Chung, Cam Gigandet, Sasha Alexander and Elliott Gould. It was released on April 30, 2020, by Netflix. In October 2020, "Dangerous Lies" was nominated for People's Choice Awards in the drama movie category.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: Katie and Adam are a young married couple struggling to pay their bills. Katie works as a waitress while Adam is going to school. One night, an attempted robbery takes place in the diner where Katie works. Adam manages to fight off the robbers. Katie finds another job as a caregiver for Leonard, an elderly wealthy man who grows close to her. After she tells him about her financial struggles, Leonard insists on helping her out with money, but Katie asks him to give Adam a job instead as his gardener, which he does.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: One day, a real estate agent, Hayden, appears and expresses interest in buying the house. When Katie tells him it's not for sale, Hayden starts to watch them closely. Soon after, Leonard writes Katie a $7,000 check. Katie does not want to accept it, but Adam convinces her to use the check to pay the bills that are due and pay back Leonard the rest.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: The next day, Katie and Adam arrive at Leonard's home to find him dead, leaving Katie devastated. The couple finds a large amount of cash in a trunk and, after a small dispute, agrees to keep it without notifying the police. At Leonard's funeral, they learn from his lawyer, Julia, that Leonard left Katie his estate and all his possessions.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: Katie and Adam move into Leonard's house, but soon they are pursued by the highly motivated Hayden, who threatens Katie. At the same time, Detective Chesler becomes suspicious of Adam, and starts to investigate Leonard’s death and the robbery at the diner.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: After talking to the detective, Katie becomes suspicious of Adam. Katie, wanting to confront him, looks for him at the house. She searches the entire property and ends up finding a secret room in a shed. She then finds Ethan (Leonard's previous gardener) long dead of a gunshot wound with a bag of diamonds. Katie and Adam realize that Ethan was Hayden’s partner in crime, and Hayden killed him to get his share of the diamonds. Ethan, mortally wounded, had fled to Leonard’s house, where he died. Hayden knows the diamonds are hidden somewhere in the house and is eager to find them. They decide to flee together. While Adam is getting ready, Hayden shows up and holds Katie at gunpoint, asking for the diamonds.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: Hayden and Adam exchange gunfire, and both are killed. Julia arrives, and Katie tells her that Hayden was the one who killed Leonard with an overdose of his medication. Julia reaches for Hayden's gun and holds Katie at gunpoint, revealing that she is part of the plot. She demands the diamonds, but Katie tells her Adam hid them somewhere, and she doesn't know where. Detective Chesler arrives in time and shoots Julia dead.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: Four months later, Detective Chesler talks to a pregnant Katie about how they searched for the diamonds in the house but never found them. In the last shot, Katie turns the sprinklers on and leaves the garden. The water moves the soil aside, and the diamonds are shown to be buried under a tree which the viewers assume Katie knows about.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: In April 2019, it was announced Camila Mendes had signed to star in the film, with Michael Scott directing from a screenplay by David Golden, and Netflix distributing. In May 2019, Jessie T. Usher, Jamie Chung, Cam Gigandet, Sasha Alexander, Radhesh Aria and Elliott Gould joined the cast.


title: Dangerous Lies (2020 film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Energetic enough to be diverting but too mediocre to be memorable, "Dangerous Lies" feigns erotic thrills without ever really working up a sweat." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Mexican Armed Forces () are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, the military played an important political role, with army generals serving as heads of state. Following the collapse of the Federal Army during the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, former revolutionary generals systematically downsized the size and power of the military. Currently the Mexican military forces are composed of two independent entities: the Mexican Army and the Mexican Navy. The Mexican Army includes the Mexican Air Force, while the Mexican Navy includes the Naval Infantry Force (Marine Corps) and the Naval Aviation ("FAN"). The Army and Navy are controlled by two separate government departments, the National Defense Secretariat and the Naval Secretariat, and maintain two independent chains of command, with no joint command except the President of Mexico.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Spanish crown established a standing military in the late eighteenth century to shore up the defense of New Spain against foreign attacks. With the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence, the royal army fought insurgents for independence. Royal army officer Agustín de Iturbide changed sides and made a pact with insurgent general Vicente Guerrero, bringing about independence. Iturbide became Emperor of Mexico, but was forced to abdicate by military officers. Mexico became a republic with a weak central government. General Antonio López de Santa Anna was to dominate politics for decades. Following the disastrous Mexican-American War, Santa Anna was ousted and civilian liberals took power, passing a series of laws removing military privileges and decreasing its power. The conservative military and the Roman Catholic Church allied in an unsuccessful attempt to oust the liberal reformers in a civil war. In 1862 France invaded Mexico to collect debts repudiated by the liberal government and Conservatives approached France's ruler Napoleon III to select a monarch for Mexico. Many Mexican republicans fought the French army, winning a brief victory on 5 May 1862. The French withdrew all military support for Emperor Maximilian in 1867. Liberal republicans returned to power and executed Maximilian and two Mexican generals supporting his regime. An important liberal military leader against the French and their conservative Mexican collaborators was General Porfirio Díaz. Díaz had political ambitions to become President of Mexico, rebelling twice against civilian presidents, succeeding in 1876. He ruled Mexico continuously from 1884 to 1911, when he was forced from power by Mexican revolutionaries supporting Francisco I. Madero. Although revolutionary forces defeated the Federal Army, Madero demobilized them and retained the federal forces. Madero was overthrown and murdered in a military coup in February 1913. Federal Army General Victoriano Huerta, now president, was challenged by a coalition of revolutionaries in northern Mexico, the Constitutionalist Army and forces led by Emiliano Zapata in the south. The Constitutionalists defeated the Federal Army in July 1914 and it was dissolved. Only revolutionary armies remained, which were not a unified force. Revolutionary generals were unable to come to a power arrangement after their victory over Huerta, plunging the country into a new stage of civil war. The large-scale conflict largely ended with Constitutionalist General Alvaro Obregón defeating General Pancho Villa in 1915. From 1920 until 1940, revolutionary generals held the presidency of Mexico, with a number of rival generals staging unsuccessful coups. During this same period, these generals, especially Obregón, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Lázaro Cárdenas, systematically downsized the overall size of the armed forces and drastically reduced its share of the national budget, while at the same time creating a professional and largely apolitical junior officer corps. President Manuel Avila Camacho (1940-1946) was the last revolutionary-era general to serve as president and military coups were a thing of the past. Mexico's armed forces are notable in Latin America for their absence from politics. Mexico's revolutionary military leaders established a culture of civilian supremacy and placed state power in the hands of civilian professional politicians.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: There are five main components of the Army: a national headquarters, territorial commands, and independent units. The Secretary of National Defense, through the Commanding General of the Army, commands the Army by means of a very centralized system and a large number of general officers. The Army uses a modified continental staff system in its headquarters. The Army is the largest branch of Mexico's armed services.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Presently, there are 12 "Military Regions", which are further broken down into 44 subordinate "Military Zones." In both cases, a numbering system is used for designation. There is no set number of zones within a region, and these can therefore be tailored to meet operational needs, with a corresponding increase or decrease in troop strength.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Air Force national headquarters is embedded in the Army headquarters in Mexico City. It also follows the continental staff system, with the usual A1, A2, A3, and A4 sections. The tactical forces form what is loosely called an "Air Division", but it is dispersed in four regions: Northeast Mexico, Northwest Mexico, Central Mexico, and Southern Mexico. The Air Force maintains a total of 18 air bases, and has the additional capability of opening temporary forward operating bases in austere conditions for some helicopters and light aircraft.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Secretariat of the Navy, the Navy's national headquarters, is located in Mexico City, and is smaller than the Army's headquarters. The "Junta (or Council) of Admirals" plays a unique consultative and advisory role within the headquarters, an indication of the institutional importance placed on seniority and "year groups" that go back to the admirals’ days as cadets in the naval college. They are a very tightly knit group, and great importance is placed on consultation among the factions within these year groups.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Navy's operational forces are organized as two independent groups: the Gulf Force and the Pacific (West) Force. Each group has its own headquarters, a destroyer group, an auxiliary vessel group, a Marine Infantry Group, and a Special Forces group. The Gulf and Pacific Forces are not mirror images of each other, as independence of organization is permitted. Both are subdivided into regions, with Regions 1, 3, and 5 on the Gulf, and 2, 4, and 6 on the Pacific. Each region is further divided into sectors and zones, so a proliferation of headquarters and senior officers exists. The Navy also has an air arm with troop transport, reconnaissance, and surveillance aircraft.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Navy maintains significant infrastructure, including naval dockyards that have the capability of building ships, such as the Holzinger class offshore patrol vessel. These dockyards have a significant employment and economic impact in the country.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Naval Infantry are the marine corps and amphibious infantry force of the Mexican Navy. The main task of the Infantería de Marina is to guarantee the maritime security of the country's ports and external and internal defense of the country, to accomplish these responsibilities the corps is trained and equipped to take on any type of operations from Sea, Air and Land.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Naval Infantry Corps was reorganized in 2007–09 into 30 Naval Infantry Battalions, a paratroop battalion, a battalion attached to the Presidential Guard Brigade, two Fast Reaction Forces with six battalions each, and three Special Forces groups. The Naval Infantry are responsible for port security, protection of the ten-kilometer coastal fringe, and patrolling major waterways.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Mexican Maritime Search and Rescue is the Mexican Navy's SAR Unit, which is responsible for improving the quality and effectiveness of the Navy's response to Mexico's maritime emergencies. The Mexican Navy historically has been responsible for the search and rescue operations using its available resources. However, aware of the importance of safeguarding human life at sea and the growing demand of sea rescue, the High Command of the Navy created the Maritime Search and Rescue unit.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Several other military organizations exist that are independent of the Army and Navy command structures.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Chief among the independent troops is an Army Corps consisting of two mechanized infantry brigades located in Mexico City plus a motorized brigade, with a full complement of combat and support troops. In addition, there are "Special Forces" units (1 division and more than 100 independent regional battalions) and a parachute brigade.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: All these independent troops are located in Mexico City where they act as a ready reserve and as centers of excellence.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: In times of need, a special "Rural Defense Corps" (or "Rurales") plays a role similar to a traditional volunteer militia (organized on an as-needed basis) in the rural communities. Today, Rural Defense teams work with both local law enforcement and the National Guard towards the goal of hindering organized crime and the threat of the drug cartels.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in his inaugural message to the Armed Forces on 1 December 2018, officially asked the Congress of the Union to consider reactivating the National Guard of Mexico, -as a separate service of the armed forces under the direct control and responsibility of the Secretariats of National Defense and Public Security along similar lines as to the reorganized National Guard in France in order to contribute to overall national defense and help protect public order and safety. The relevant amendments to the Constitution were approved in March 2019 by both chambers.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Officially, as there is no Minister of Defense, the Mexican military's two components are not under the command of a single commander except the President, who is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (Comandante Supremo De Las Fuerzas Armadas). According to the Constitution of Mexico the President is the Army's only five-star general. (This is comparable to most other countries with a presidential system of government, such as the United States.) Instead, a Secretary, who is a serving officer—an Army four-star general or a Navy admiral—heads each department and branch (The Secretariats of National Defense and the Navy). Each minister serves in a dual capacity: as a full cabinet member reporting to the President, and as the operational commander of their branch, but because of politics and rank, the Navy is subordinate to the Army.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Moreover, the Air Force commander and his staff are attached to Army headquarters; no Air Force officer has risen to the hierarchy's most trusted, senior positions. This subordination has allowed the Army to identify its organization as the "Secretariat of National Defense" (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional—SEDENA). As a result, the Army chief holds the nominal title of "Secretary of Defense."


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The President picks the secretaries, who do not have to serve as such for his entire presidential term (sexenio, sexennium, six-year term). During the PRI's single-party rule, ministerial selection was a strict, pro-forma exercise by seniority. However, both Presidents Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) and Vicente Fox (2000–06) strayed from precedent and reached down to the junior levels to select "more progressive" officers to lead the forces.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Army and the Navy are regionally organized, with central, national headquarters in Mexico City and subordinate, regional headquarters. Historically, this has proven to be effective because military's main deployments have been domestic. Troops are stationed throughout the country to serve as a continuing presence of authority and to allow for an immediate critical response. Dispersion by regional military zones has facilitated local recruitment of non-commissioned officers (Army sergeants, Navy petty officers) and enlisted men and women, allowing them to be stationed near family during their military service, an important cultural consideration. On the other hand, mobility is expected of commissioned officers to give them experience, and historically, to prevent any senior officer from remaining too long and becoming a warlord.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: In 1989, Mexico's military budget was 0.7 percent of the country's Gross National Product (GNP). In 1999, Mexico's military budget increased to 0.9 percent of its GDP, to US$4.0 billion. Since the year 2000, however, with the economic boost that the country has experienced, the defense budget was decreased to 0.5 percent of the GDP, and in 2007 had an annual expenditure of US$4 billion. Since President Calderón assumed office in December 2006, he has submitted legislation increasing the budget, in order to fight the drug war against the narcotics cartels, and narcotic drug trafficking in general. In 2012, Mexico spent US$7.1 billion on its military, amounting to 0.6 percent of GDP.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Since 2012, Mexico has spent over US$3 billion in equipment purchases as part of a modernization effort, including the purchase of Blackhawk helicopters.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: DN1: Preparation of the military forces to repel external aggressions. No military armed force can leave Mexican territory without a declaration of war, and approval of the Congress. The last time this was invoked was in 1942, to send an expeditionary force to the Philippines, after war was declared against Germany and Japan, following the sinking of two Mexican ships by U-boats. In 1990, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari asked the permission of the Congress to send troops to the Gulf War, but it was refused, since there was no declaration of war against Iraq.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: DN2: Preparation of the military forces to protect the internal security of the country. This would include police actions against guerrilla forces, counter-drug operations, and, originally, political control. Up until 1970, the Mexican Army was used as a repressive force to maintain the virtual PRI dictatorship. The most controversial use of the military was the Dirty War in the 1960s, which included the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre of students and unsuspecting bystanders. After 1980, these operations nearly entirely ceased (see EZLN).


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: DN3: (Defense against natural disasters). The Army should always be ready to help the civil population in case of disaster. This includes preventive measures. For example, between August and November, military forces are sent to Mexican coastal areas to aid the public in the event of hurricanes or floods. For the Mexican people, the DN3 plan is the most important peacetime operation of the Army. The Army provides food, shelter, medicine, and medical services to the people who need them. This also includes reconstruction of roads and communication services. Because calling the implementation DN3 plan is an acceptance of severe problems, the DN3 plan was not invoked in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that left large areas of Mexico City in ruins, since the authorities did not want to recognize there was an emergency in the capital, while the army was called to the city, it was just a peacekeeping force. This later became a severe questioning on the government. The Mexican Army provided aid to the US following Hurricane Katrina. More recently, the DN3 plan was invoked in 2009 when an epidemic of swine flu threatened the population and in 2010 after the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Nuevo León, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero were severely affected by floods caused by a number of hurricanes and tropical storms.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Officer candidates for the three services are trained in military colleges; Mexico City for the Army, Guadalajara, Jalisco, for the Air Force, and Veracruz, for the Navy.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Mexican citizens who have chosen to be career soldiers are signed for an initial 3-year contract and, at the end of it, are encouraged to sign for another 2-year contract. If they choose to do so, this 2nd term would become final, unless they undertake mandatory exams and tests to become corporals, or apply to study in any of the available Military Specialist Technical Schools or for sergeant in the E.M.C.A. (Escuela Militar de Clases de las Armas) (Army).


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The armed forces are generally made up of professionals. Military service age and obligation as of 2012 is 18 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation is 12 months; conscripts serve only in the Army; Navy and Air Force service is all voluntary. Women are eligible for voluntary military service.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Legally, every Mexican man is obligated to a year of military service consisting of a few hours of drill or social services on weekends, not true military training. Most conscripts will have received at most only one marksmanship session at a rifle range by the time they have completed their service and are not integrated nor operate with regular army units.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The drafted men attend and participate in weekend sessions, which are of social service in nature, with an emphasis being placed on education, history, physical fitness, and military discipline for one complete year. Afterward, the "precartilla" (pre-military identity card) is returned to the conscript with an added page certifying his status as having fulfilled his national military service and identifies the military branch, the unit, rank, etc. The document then acquires full status as the "Cartilla del Servicio Militar Nacional" (Military National Service Identity Card), informally "Cartilla"; this status is recorded in the National Defense and Navy Secretariats' files.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: This document (Military National Service Identity Card) is an important form of Mexican national identification, and its existence was formerly always requested by private and public employers, however, this identity document has ceased being required for obtaining a passport for international travel.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: As the President of Mexico is Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the chain of command and military discipline are subordinated to civilian control. Article 13 of the Mexican Constitution specifically provides for military jurisdiction over all military crime and discipline; military tribunals execute jurisdiction over military personnel, per the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Regarding military personnel labor conditions, discipline, and the chain of command as fundamental to the military, Article 123-B establishes: "Military and naval personnel and members of the public security corps, and personnel of the foreign service, shall be governed by their own laws."


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: Article 129 of the 1917 Political Constitution of the Mexican United States establishes that: "No military authority may, in time of peace, perform any functions other than those that are directly connected with military affairs", but the Army's temporary replacement of civil police forces, in specific cases, before the creation of the Federal Police, has been much debated in Congress and in the mass communications media.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: In a similar way in Article 26: "No member of the army shall, in time of peace, be quartered in private dwellings without the consent of the owner, nor may he impose any obligation whatsoever. In time of war the military may demand lodging, equipment, provisions, and other assistance, in the manner laid down in the respective martial law."


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: As of 2005, intervention in UN peacekeeping operations began being discussed, with strong resistance from some members of the Congress. However, in 2016 the first group of the Mexican Armed Forces joined MINUSTAH, the UN mission in Haiti: three officers (one from each service) as members of the mission's HQ, and two officers and one NCO attached to the Chilean battalion, by an agreement between the two countries.


title: Mexican Armed Forces

text: The Mexican Armed Forces has been deployed to several Central American countries to provide disaster relief, and most recently, to Indonesia after the tsunami disaster; only military support personnel were deployed, though, not combat forces. This includes the relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This was the first time the Mexican Army officially entered its former territory since the Mexican-American war. Mexican relief efforts were concentrated in Texas and New Orleans.


title: After Laughter

text: After Laughter is the fifth studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released on May 12, 2017, through Fueled by Ramen, as a follow-up to their self-titled album "Paramore" (2013). The album was produced by guitarist Taylor York alongside previous collaborator Justin Meldal-Johnsen. It is the band's first album since the return of drummer Zac Farro, who left the band with his brother Josh in 2010, and the departure of former bassist Jeremy Davis, who left the band in 2015. "After Laughter" represents a complete departure from the usual pop punk and alternative rock sound of their previous releases, while touching on themes of exhaustion, depression and anxiety, in direct contrast to the upbeat and vibrant sound of the record.


title: After Laughter

text: Upon release, "After Laughter" received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's new sonic direction and the 1980s new wave and synth-pop sound on the album. Several publications featured the album in their year-end lists, including "Billboard" and "Rolling Stone". In 2019, "Pitchfork" listed it at number 169 in their list of best albums of the decade.


title: After Laughter

text: "After Laughter" was supported by five singles: "Hard Times", released on April 19, 2017, as the lead single, "Told You So", released on May 3, 2017 as the second single, "Fake Happy", released on August 29, 2017 as the third single, "Rose-Colored Boy", released on March 2, 2018, as the fourth single, and "Caught in the Middle", released on June 26, 2018, as the fifth single. "After Laughter" debuted at number six on the US "Billboard" 200, marking their third top 10 on the chart, with 67,000 album-equivalent units.


title: After Laughter

text: On January 19, 2016, Hayley Williams announced over Twitter that the band was in the process of writing their fifth studio album, following up their 2013 self-titled album, "Paramore". On June 8, 2016, the band posted a short video of themselves in a studio to their social media, the same month the album recording started. This was preceded by a number of images which all included both former drummer Zac Farro and producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, leading fans and various media outlets to speculate the return of Farro. On June 17, Farro was featured yet again in a picture uploaded to social media, this time behind a drum set, confirming that he would be recording drums for the album, though he later clarified that he was only recording drums for the album and that he had not rejoined the band as a full member. Despite this, on February 2, 2017, the band announced that Farro would return as the band's official drummer. The album was recorded in Nashville's historic RCA Studio B, marking the first time the group recorded an album in their hometown. It was produced by the band's guitarist Taylor York, and Meldal-Johnsen, both of whom also produced their self-titled record. The recording of the album concluded in November 2016.


title: After Laughter

text: In an interview with "The New York Times", Williams stated "I didn't even know if we were going to make another record...There was a moment when I didn't even want it to happen. Then it was like, I want it to happen, but I don't know how we're going to do it." Williams was also interviewed by "DIY Magazine", where she mentioned "I still feel like we're really green, especially with this record. It felt like there were so many new things to try and so many new feelings about life - you're finally all the way over the hump of being able to deny that you’re an adult now. Yeah, this was a crazy record to make."


title: After Laughter

text: On April 19, 2017, the lead single, "Hard Times", was released along with a music video. On the same day, pre-orders of the album were made available, revealing the album title, cover art, track listing, and release date. A European headline tour was later announced via the band's official website, kicking off in Ireland on June 15. Riot Fest also announced that Paramore would be part of the festival's lineup in September. On May 3, the band released a second single from the album, titled "Told You So", along with a music video. On May 10, the album leaked online before its official release. On the day of the album's release, the band announced their third "Parahoy!" cruise, which took place from April 6 to April 10, 2018, sailing from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas. On May 17, the band performed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Following this, on May 25, they performed on "The Late Late Show". On August 29, 2017, the band released "Fake Happy" as the third single from the album, with a music video following on November 17. On February 5, 2018, a music video directed by Warren Fu for "Rose-Colored Boy" was released, which is also the album's fourth single. On June 26, 2018, a music video for "Caught in the Middle" was released, which also serves as the album's fifth and final single.


title: After Laughter

text: "After Laughter" is a departure from Paramore's previous material, leaving behind the pop punk and emo genres of previous releases. Matt Collar from AllMusic described the album as synth-pop and new wave sound. Ilana Kaplan at "Paste" characterized the album as 1980s new wave pop. Similarly, "Billboard"'s Chris Payne described it as an "early '80s new wave" album, as well as calling the songs on "After Laughter" "slick, sun-kissed alternative pop," while Brad Nelson of "Spin" also described the album as new wave, saying that "it's the band’s brightest, most animated album. The sound is crisp, every layer discernible, lacking the blurs and reverberations that constitute traditional rock production and instead drawing from the rhythmic separations that characterize '80s pop and freestyle." Glenn Gamboa from "Newsday" stated that the band is "pushing deeper into their own pop-rock world," and that the album has "the candy-colored energy of '80s pop built on sleek synths and spiky, Afrobeat-tinged guitars." "Pitchfork" writer Ryan Dombal categorized the album a "piece of '80s pop-rock," stating "York focuses his inspirations the styles of 1980s rock and pop, conjuring a slicked-back take on fixtures like Talking Heads, Paul Simon, and the Bangles." "The Line of Best Fit"'s Dannii Leivers noted "the band have fully embraced chart-friendly, power pop." Eve Barlow from "Variety" observed "...these tunes builds upon the more ambitious, experimental sounds of radio stalker "Ain't It Fun" off their previous, self-titled LP, leaning on their crossover success."


title: After Laughter

text: The album's lyrical content predominantly touches upon themes of exhaustion, depression and anxiety. "NME" said the album is a "pop triumph", highlighting the contrast between the "serious sadness" of the lyrics "underneath all the bangers." Similarly, "The Guardian" called the album a "vibrant record, a contrast to its lyrical themes, which cover masking misery, spiralling depression and the anxiety of ageing, only with a knowing wink." "Newsday" called the album "a collection of songs about remaining upbeat in the face of adversity that bounce around with." "Billboard" said "Williams sings about the act of crying on no less than five songs, and there are numerous moments where she could be addressing the unfriendly exit and subsequent legal entanglements of former bassist Jeremy Davis." "Spin" said the album "observes a different aspect of the subject of survival: the emptiness and pointlessness, and how often it fails to alter the indifferent universe that surrounds and requires it." "The Line of Best Fit" said "despite all its sunny hooks, "After Laughter" is a deep album with plenty to say. It’s easily the most honest and mature Paramore have sounded yet."


title: After Laughter

text: "After Laughter" opens with "Hard Times", a synth-heavy, disco-tinged new wave song about the feeling of going through hard times, and being useless in achieving one's goals. "Rose-Colored Boy" is a synth-pop song that "Rolling Stone" compared to "Cupid & Psyche 85" by pop group Scritti Politti. "Told You So" is a song that has been described as funk-pop, as well as new wave, indie pop and electropop. "Forgiveness" is a "dreamy power ballad" which features "sassy handclaps and hairflicks", which has been compared to pop rock bands Heart, Fleetwood Mac and Haim. NPR said the song is "the band's take on Haim's chiming California soft-rock revival." "Spin" called it one of the band's best songs, "their gentlest and most buoyant kiss-off." "Fake Happy" starts out as an acoustic dirge that transforms into an "ambitious, funky anthem about everyone masking their sadness." "26" is a string-laden ballad that "sighs into its lush strings." It has been compared to the songs "Misguided Ghosts" and "The Only Exception" from their 2009 album, "Brand New Eyes".


title: After Laughter

text: The seventh track "Pool," described as "aqueous" and "bouncy," is a new wave song that "bathes Williams' voice in crystalline distortion" and "shimmers like a mirage on a blazing day." "Grudges" is "a sweet reflection of Williams' repaired relationship with both Farro brothers", with Zac Farro harmonizing on the track. It has been compared by "NME" to The Bangles' work, whereas AllMusic compared it to The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love". "Caught in the Middle" is a "ska-inflected" song of persistence and goal setting. According to "NME", it is one of the album's nods to their punk past, which they also compared to No Doubt's earlier music. "Idle Worship" is a commentary about fame, with Williams' voice providing even more of a contrast to the stunning acridity of lyrics. York revealed that he sampled wind howling through a building in the UK, then played the sample on a keyboard in the song. The "moody" and "marauding" eleventh track "No Friend" has been described as post-hardcore. It is the only Paramore song to not feature Williams on the vocals. Instead, Aaron Weiss from MewithoutYou is on the vocals, delivering a spoken word monologue buried in a cacophony of York and Farro's dark inversions of the "Idle Worship" riff. The lyrics add metrical detail to the sentiments of "Idle Worship", a song about interpersonal expectations, and the vast distance between one's self-conception and the idea of oneself that exists in the minds of others, Many of its lyrics also make references to past Paramore songs. Several publications referred to it as "the strangest song that’s ever made it to a Paramore album." The album closes with "Tell Me How", a tender piano ballad which features a "vaguely tropical pulse and warily confessional words" that allows Williams' voice to curl around and into expressions of anxiety that sound impossible to quiet. It's been characterized as "a soft R&B exploration disguised as a piano ballad" by NPR, who compared it to works by Drake and The Weeknd.


title: After Laughter

text: Regarding the album's title, Williams told iHeartRadio that ""After Laughter" is about the look on people's faces when they're done laughing. If you watch somebody long enough, there's always this look that comes across their face when they're done smiling, and I always find it really fascinating to wonder what it is that brought them back to reality. So, that's what "After Laughter" is."


title: After Laughter

text: The artwork of "After Laughter", which features an impossible trident optical illusion, was designed by Los Angeles–based designer Scott Cleary. It reflects a new sound and direction for the band. Cleary stated:"The band came to me when they were recording the album in LA. We've been friends for a while so we were spending a lot of time together while they were in town from Nashville. They asked me if I'd be interested in doing the album artwork and band re-brand, to which I jumped at the chance. They had some ideas around the 80s vibes of the record, and a few visual references they were feeling. I did the usual "listen to the record, write/draw a bunch of stuff" and came up with the idea of a landscape where colors, shapes and textures would represent sounds and moments on the record...Sonically, the record is very "real" and I wanted the imagery details to have that finishing touch as well."According to Cleary, his artwork was "the first piece of visual material that accompanied the new record and the band wanted a super-cohesive roll-out", therefore the music video for the lead single "Hard Times" was "very much influenced by the artwork."


title: After Laughter

text: "After Laughter" received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."


title: After Laughter

text: Matt Collar at AllMusic commented that "much credit here goes to York, who co-wrote all of the songs and whose deft guitar and keyboard make up much of the album's distinct aural character. But of course, Williams still beats at the center of everything, her voice providing the album's warm, exuberant core." Jon Caramanica from "The New York Times" noted that Paramore are "single-minded again, but not of the same mind as it once was. Ms. Williams and her bandmates, Zac Farro and Taylor York have remade themselves into a 1980s pop-rock outfit: tinny digital percussion, synthesizers and mostly constrained, saccharine singing from Ms. Williams." In a positive review, Harriet Gibsone at "The Guardian" said the album is "candy-coated bitterness at its best – may steer them away from the Kerrang! crowd, but one thing remains consistent to Paramore’s emo roots – the theatrical mellifluence of internal angst." Writing for "Newsday", Glenn Gamboa praised the album, stating that "the closer Paramore gets to breaking up, the better it gets at finding reasons to stick together," adding that the album "is packed with potential pop hits that only Paramore could deliver. And that’s the perfect reason for the group to keep going."


title: After Laughter

text: Iiana Kaplan of "Paste" said "After Laughter" is "an undeniably hooky record that strays from its grunge-rock roots and finds the band in a place where they've found the fun in their craft once again." Kaplan also stated that the Williams people love is still around, while noting "Once immersed in the pop-heavy album that is "After Laughter", it becomes clear that the less angsty outlook of Paramore is something only surface-level. If you look beneath, it shows Williams battling with herself to make amends ("Forgiveness", "Caught In The Middle") and put on a front to the public ("Fake Happy")." Leonie Cooper from "NME" gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing: "Catharsis is never usually this joyous, but sometimes smiling through the pain works better than crying." Sputnikmusic staff writer Sowing described the album as the "fresh start" that the self-titled album was meant to be, adding ""After Laughter" is the first post-2010 Paramore record to truly break form," mentioning "No Friend" and "26" as discography highlights. "Pitchfork" writer Ryan Dombal described it as the band's most "fizzy" album, adding that it "highlights Williams' most existentially despondent musings to date." Some publications, such as "The Observer" and "The Line of Best Fit", declared "After Laughter" are one of the best pop albums of 2017.


title: After Laughter

text: In a fifth anniversary retrospective review of the album, Yasmine Summan from "Alternative Press" considered it to be a "saving grace" for the band, and stated "Right now there might not be a Paramore as we know it, but with Zac’s return, York’s incredible talents and Williams having a place to confront her emotions, this album not only earns its acclaim for its chart-topping successes but is as crucial to the band’s growth as "Riot!" or "brand new eyes"."


title: After Laughter

text: "After Laughter" debuted at number six on the US "Billboard" 200, making it their third top 10 on the chart, with 67,000 album-equivalent units, of which 53,000 were pure album sales, and was certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 albums. It also debuted within the top 10 of seven other countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the UK.


title: 2023 Chicago mayoral election

text: The 2023 Chicago mayoral election will be held on February 28, 2023, to elect the mayor of Chicago, Illinois. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff election will be held on April 4, 2023. Incumbent Lori Lightfoot was first elected in 2019, defeating Cook County Board of Commissioners president Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff with 73.7% of the vote. Lightfoot is running for re-election to a second term in office against a wide field of nine challengers that includes members of the Chicago City Council, Illinois House of Representatives, and U.S. House of Representatives.


title: 2023 Chicago mayoral election

text: Lightfoot's administration has faced criticism due to rising crime rates in Chicago and accusations of covering up police misconduct. During her first term, she has clashed with members of the Chicago City Council, the Chicago Teachers Union, and Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker's administration. "The New York Times" remarked that she has an "uncanny ability to make political enemies." However, Lightfoot has received praise for her efforts to build affordable housing, repair dilapidated areas of the city, and raise the minimum wage.


title: 2023 Chicago mayoral election

text: The election is officially nonpartisan, with its winner being elected to a four-year term. It is part of the 2023 Chicago elections, which include concurrent elections for City Council, city clerk, and city treasurer.


title: 2023 Chicago mayoral election

text: Although party affiliations are not listed on the ballot, all qualified candidates are members of the Democratic Party except for Willie Wilson, who is a member of the Willie Wilson Party.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-west Kerala. Kottayam is located in the basin of the Meenachil River at an average elevation of above sea level, and has a moderate climate. It is located approximately north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam is also referred to as "The City of Letters" as many of the first Malayalam daily newspapers, like "Deepika," "Malayala Manorama," and "Mangalam," were started and are headquartered in Kottayam, as are a number of publishing houses.


title: Kottayam

text: The royal palace of the Thekkumkur ruler was protected by a fort called "Thaliyilkotta". It is believed that the name "Kottayam" is derived from a combination of the Malayalam words "kotta" which means fort ("Thaliyilkotta") and "akam" which means inside. The combined form, "Kottaykkakam" (കോട്ടയ്ക്കകം), can be translated as "inside the fort".


title: Kottayam

text: By the early 19th century, Kottayam was ruled by the Kingdom of Travancore. Travancore became a Protectorate of Britain after a series of unfair treaties. In 1817, the Church Missionary Society established CMS College as the first Western-style college in Kerala. It was welcomed by the Travancore government to provide administrators for the public bureaucracy


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam has played its role in all the political agitations of modern times. The ‘Malayali Memorial ‘ agitation may be said to have had its origin in Kottayam. The Malayali Memorial sought to secure better representation for educated Travancoreans in the Travancore civil service against persons from outside. The Memorial, which was presented to the Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal (1891) was drafted at a public meeting held in the Kottayam Public Library. The event marked the beginning of the modern political movement in the State.


title: Kottayam

text: It was here that the famous Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25), an epic struggle for eradication of untouchability, took place. Scheduled castes and other backward classes in Travancore were denied not only entry into temples, but also access to temple roads. Vaikom, the seat of a celebrated Siva Temple, was the venue of the symbolic satyagraha. Due to these protests, the Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma issued the Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam became a revenue division of Travancore. A fifth division, Devikulam, existed for a short period but was later added to Kottayam. At the time of the integration of the State of Travancore and Cochin in 1949, these revenue divisions were redesignated as districts and the Diwan Peshkars gave way to district collectors, with the Kottayam district established in July 1949.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam has an average elevation of above sea level. It is situated in the basin of the Meenachil River and in the basin of the Vembanad backwaters, which are formed from several streams in the Western Ghats of the Idukki district. The city is situated near the inland estuary of Meenachil river where it empties into the Vembanad lake in Kumarakom. According to the division of places in Kerala based on altitudes, Kottayam is classified as a midland area. The general soil type is alluvial soil. The vegetation is mainly tropical evergreen and moist deciduous. Kottayam district is bordered by Pathanamthitta district on the south, Alappuzha district on the west, Ernakulam district on the north and Idukki district on the east.


title: Kottayam

text: Under the Köppen climate classification, Kottayam has a Tropical monsoon climate (Am). The climate in this district is moderate and pleasant. Kottayam's proximity to the equator results in little seasonal temperature variation, with moderate to high levels of humidity.


title: Kottayam

text: India census, Kottayam Urban Agglomeration had a population of 172,878, while Kottayam district had a population of 1,974,551. The population of Kottayam municipality was 136,812. Males constituted 62% of the population and females 38%. Population growth in the district had a diminishing trend with a decadal population growth rate of 6.5% compared to 9.35% across the decade 1991–2000. Population growth in the municipality is due to migration for employment. Kottayam District is ranked first in literacy, with 95.9% literacy compared to 90.92% for Kerala State and 65.38% for India (2001 census).


title: Kottayam

text: Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constituted 6.73% and 0.31% of the total population in Kottayam respectively.


title: Kottayam

text: 19,739 persons were engaged in work or business activity, including 14,282 males and 5,457 females. In the census survey, the worker is defined as a person who does business, job, service, cultivator or labour activity. Of total 19,739 working population, 90.17% were engaged in main work while 9.83% of total workers were engaged in marginal work.


title: Kottayam

text: "Jnananikshepam" was the first newspaper published by the natives of Kerala, published at CMS press at Kottayam in 1848. Kottayam has produced many well-known writers, journalists and artists. Novelist Muttathu Varkey and poet Pala Narayanan Nair both have roots in Kottayam. Kottayam Pushpanath, a writer of crime thrillers lives in Kottayam. The Indian-English novelist Arundhati Roy is a native of Kottayam and her semi-autobiographical Booker Prize-winning novel, "The God of Small Things," contains her childhood experiences in Aymanam, Kottayam. Unni R. a story writer and scriptwriter, is also from Kottayam. Kottayam Town is the first town in India to have achieved 100% literacy (a remarkable feat achieved as early as in 1989). English education in South India did actually start at the Old Seminary here at Kottayam in 1813.


title: Kottayam

text: In the 17th century, a Dutch school was started at Kottayam, which was short-lived. The first English school in Kerala, and the first college in India, was established in 1817 by the Church Missionary Society of England as CMS College. Kottayam became India's first town with 100% literacy in 1989.


title: Kottayam

text: The Government Medical College, Kottayam, is one of the most prominent medical colleges in Kerala. Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, is based out of Kottayam. Kottayam boasts several other colleges and universities.


title: Kottayam

text: There are 14 engineering colleges. Government Engineering College, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam is located in Pampady, 14 km east of Kottayam. Indian institute of information technology, Kottayam is an institute of national importance is also located around from Kottayam, near to Pala town.


title: Kottayam

text: In 1821, Benjamin Bailey, a British missionary, established C.M.S. Press, the first printing press in Kerala, in Kottayam. The town has been at the forefront of newspaper and book publishing in the state ever since.


title: Kottayam

text: Newspaper "Malayala Manorama," published from Kottayam, is one of the largest circulating dailies in India. The Malayala Manorama Group, based in Kottayam, also owns Manorama Online, Manorama News Channel, "The Week" magazine and other publications. Other major Malayalam newspapers—"Mathrubhoomi," "Deshabhimani," "Deepika," "Madhyamam," and around thirty periodicals are published from Kottayam. Kottayam is also home to several Malayalam book publishers such as D. C. Books, Labour India Publications and Current Books. Almost 70 percent of books published in Kerala are from Kottayam. In 1945, a group of writers set up Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham (English: Literary Workers' Co-operative Society) in Malayalam.


title: Kottayam

text: A number of annual basketball tournaments including the Marian Trophy, Girideepam Trophy, Lourdes Trophy and Virginia Memorial Tournament are conducted. The main sports stadiums in Kottayam are Nehru Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, both located in Nagambadom.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam is one of the six municipalities in the district, formed after the implementation of the Kerala Municipalities Act in 1994. The members of the municipal council are elected from each of 52 wards every five years, held with the local government elections across the state. The chairperson is the executive authority of the municipality.


title: Kottayam

text: Kottayam town is the part of the Kottayam legislative assembly constituency and the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency. The legislative assembly election is conducted every four years, last in May 2016.


title: Kottayam

text: The collectorate of the Kottayam District is located in Kottayam town. The present collector is Dr. P. K. Jayasree IAS. Many administrative and district offices of Kottayam including the District Court is situated within the collectorate premises.


title: Kottayam

text: Five courts were established during the tenure of Colonel John Munro, as the Diwan of various states in India. One of these was established in Vaikom, in the northwest of Kottaya district.


title: Kottayam

text: The district court at Kottayam was established in 1910 during the period of Sree Moolam Thirunal Maharaja of Tranvancore. The court celebrated its centenary in 2010.


title: Kottayam

text: The District Headquarters of the judiciary is set up at Kottayam town with the Principal District Court as it Administrative Centre. The justice delivery system consists of eight Munsiff Courts, ten Judicial 1st Class Magistrate Courts, three Sub Courts, one Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, and three Additional District Courts. In addition to these regular courts, two Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals, one special court for Vigilance cases and two Family Courts also function in this district.


title: Kottayam

text: The major political parties active in Kottayam are Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI[M]), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kerala Congress. Trade union movements are also popular in Kottayam as Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS, Indian Workers' Union), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) affiliated workers engaged in the labor sector.


title: Kottayam

text: The current municipal chairperson is PR Sona. United Democratic Front (Kerala) (UDF[K]) is the ruling coalition of parties, holding a majority in the municipal council.


title: Kottayam

text: The current member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Kottayam is Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. He has been of the member of legislative assembly of Kerala representing Kottayam town constituency since 2011.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up Moschus, the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their family is closely related to Bovidae, the group that contains antelopes, bovines, sheep, and goats. The musk deer family differs from cervids, or true deer, by lacking antlers and preorbital glands also, possessing only a single pair of teats, a gallbladder, a caudal gland, a pair of canine tusks and—of particular economic importance to humans—a musk gland.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer live mainly in forested and alpine scrub habitats in the mountains of South Asia, notably the Himalayas. Moschids, the proper term when referring to this type of deer rather than one/multiple species of musk deer, are entirely Asian in their present distribution, being extinct in Europe where the earliest musk deer are known to have existed from Oligocene deposits.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer resemble small deer, with a stocky build and hind legs longer than their front legs. They are about long, high at the shoulder, and weigh between . The feet of musk deer are adapted for climbing in rough terrain. Like the Chinese water deer, a cervid, they have no antlers, but the males do have enlarged upper canines, forming sabre-like tusks. The dental formula is similar to that of true deer:


title: Musk deer

text: The musk gland is found only in adult males. It lies in a sac located between the genitals and the umbilicus, and its secretions are most likely used to attract mates.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer are herbivores, living in hilly, forested environments, generally far from human habitation. Like true deer, they eat mainly leaves, flowers, and grasses, with some mosses and lichens. They are solitary animals and maintain well-defined territories, which they scent mark with their caudal glands. Musk deer are generally shy and either nocturnal or crepuscular.


title: Musk deer

text: Males leave their territories during the rutting season and compete for mates, using their tusks as weapons. In order to indicate their area, musk deer build latrines. These locations can be used to identify the musk deer's existence, number, and preferred habitat in the wild. Female musk deer give birth to a single fawn after about 150–180 days. The newborn young are very small and essentially motionless for the first month of their lives, a feature that helps them remain hidden from predators.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer have been hunted for their scent glands, which are used in perfumes. The glands can fetch up to $45,000/kg on the black market. It is rumored that ancient royalty wore the scent of the musk deer, and that it is an aphrodisiac.


title: Musk deer

text: Musk deer are the only surviving members of the Moschidae, a family with a fossil record extending over 25 million years to the late Oligocene. The group was abundant across Eurasia and North America until the late Miocene, but underwent a substantial decline, with no Pliocene fossil record and "Moschus" the only genus since the Pleistocene. The oldest records of the genus "Moschus" are known from the Late Miocene (Turolian) of Lufeng, China.


title: Musk deer

text: While they have been traditionally classified as members of the deer family (as the subfamily "Moschinae") and all the species were classified as one species (under "Moschus moschiferus"), recent studies have indicated that moschids are more closely related to bovids (antelope, goats, sheep and cattle).


title: Yūichirō Umehara

text: In addition to voice acting, Umehara provides vocals and guitar to the pop rock band Sir Vanity, a band he formed with Yoshiki Nakajima and two other musicians.


title: Yūichirō Umehara

text: On May 10, 2018, it was announced that Umehara was hospitalized due to an acute disseminated encephalomyelitis On July 30, 2018, Arts Vision announced that Umehara had completed his recovery and was going to return to work later. Arts Vision also stated that while he was being treated in the hospital, Umehara had a complication of intracranial hypotension, but after medical treatment and rehabilitation, his doctors discharged him from the hospital with no worries about after-effects.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the eldest brother of fellow singers Natasha Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. He was a judge on "The X Factor New Zealand" in 2013.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: He released his first single, "Gotta Get Thru This" in November 2001. It gathered momentum on white label through the UK garage music scene, and peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. He has since had two more number-one singles on the chart, "If You're Not The One" and "Never Gonna Leave Your Side", as well as three further top ten hits. His debut album, also titled "Gotta Get Thru This", which was recorded at home using Making Waves Audio software and Reason, peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and went on to sell more than 4 million copies worldwide.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: In 2004, Bedingfield won a BRIT Award for Best British Male Artist. He then moved to the Universal Music subsidiary label Polydor Records to release his second album, "Second First Impression", which reached number 8 in the UK. The album sold poorly compared to his first offering, though it did include two UK Top 20 singles, "Nothing Hurts Like Love" (which reached number three) and "Wrap My Words Around You" (which peaked at number 12). The third and final single, "The Way", became his first to miss the top 40, reaching number 41. The album was also released in Singapore (featuring 'If You're Not The One' as a bonus track).


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: In an interview with the "New Zealand Herald" in April 2007, Bedingfield said that, after a four-year hiatus, he had three albums recorded and awaiting release.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: Since his last release in 2004, Bedingfield continued to work with other artists. He co-wrote the song "Works for Me!" for "American Idol" finalist David Archuleta. He has also worked with Pixie Lott, and contributed guest vocals on a track by a former member of The Roots. In December 2009, he co-wrote material with Tessanne Chin as well as recorded three songs with Busy Signal at DJ Karim's Stainless Records studios in Kingston, Jamaica. Bedingfield provided backing vocals for the Kirsten Morrell track "He Walked In" from the album Ultraviolet, which was released in May 2010. In December 2010, Bedingfield spent a month in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he wrote and recorded a song with a local freak folk band, The Raw Men Empire. He concluded his visit with a Tel Aviv gig, hosting Uzi Feinerman, The Raw Men Empire and a variety of other Israeli musicians. In July 2011, he recorded on a dancehall riddim called the Overproof Riddim. Like many of the songs on this riddim, it has been getting good rotation in Jamaica.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: In February 2012, Bedingfield released the single "Rocks Off" with an accompanying video on MTV which can be viewed here. "Rocks Off" was released alongside B-side "It's Not Me, It's You". On 24 April, Bedingfield released the EP "Stop the Traffik – Secret Fear", his first EP release since becoming independent. The EP featured both the previously released "Rocks Off" and "It's Not Me, Its You" as well as five other new tracks. The EP was followed by the release of "Secret Fear" as a single, the video features adult scenes and has gone on to win several awards.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: On 21 December 2012, Bedingfield took up a role as a judge for the first New Zealand series of "The X Factor" joining Stan Walker, Melanie Blatt and Ruby Frost. The series premiered on TV3 on 21 April 2013. Bedingfield mentored the Girls category. His sister Natasha appeared as an assistant during the Judges Retreats round. Bedingfield was the winning mentor of series one when his act Jackie Thomas won the competition.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: Bedingfield co-wrote "I Wanna Feel" by SecondCity, which debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 1 June 2014 and stayed in the top 20 for the next six weeks. The song was Bedingfield's fourth number one in the UK. He spent time working in the studio with K-pop group Spica, including co-producing their first English language single "I Did It". He was also the group's vocal director. In 2015, he co-wrote the song "Testify" which was included on "The X Factor UK" 2014 winner Ben Haenow's self-titled debut studio album.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: From February 2016, Bedingfield appeared in the West End musical "The War of the Worlds" as The Artilleryman. Bedingfield left the show in April 2016.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: While on holiday visiting his parents in New Zealand in 2004, Bedingfield nearly died in a serious car accident, which left him with severe head and neck injuries because of the car rolling on him.


title: Daniel Bedingfield

text: His mother, Molly Bedingfield, is founder and CEO of Global Angels, for which Daniel is doing fundraising work. Bedingfield also helped to launch the Stop the Traffik coalition against modern day slavery.


title: CURL

text: cURL (pronounced like "curl", UK: , US: ) is a computer software project providing a library (libcurl) and command-line tool (curl) for transferring data using various network protocols. The name stands for "Client URL".


title: CURL

text: cURL was first released in 1996. It was originally named "httpget" and then became "urlget" before adopting the current name of cURL. The original author and lead developer is the Swedish developer Daniel Stenberg, who created cURL because he wanted to automate the fetching of currency exchange rates for IRC users.


title: CURL

text: libcurl is a free client-side URL transfer library, supporting cookies, DICT, FTP, FTPS, Gopher, HTTP/1 (with HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support), HTTP POST, HTTP PUT, HTTP proxy tunneling, HTTPS, IMAP, Kerberos, LDAP, MQTT, POP3, RTSP, RTMP, SCP, SMTP, and SMB. The library supports the file URI scheme, SFTP, Telnet, TFTP, file transfer resume, FTP uploading, HTTP form-based upload, HTTPS certificates, LDAPS, proxies, and user-plus-password authentication.


title: CURL

text: The libcurl library is portable. It builds and works identically on many platforms, including AIX, AmigaOS, Android, BeOS, BlackBerry Tablet OS and BlackBerry 10, OpenVMS, Darwin, DOS, FreeBSD, HP-UX, HURD, iOS, IRIX, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, NetWare, OpenBSD, OS/2, QNX Neutrino, RISC OS, Solaris, Symbian, Tru64, Ultrix, UnixWare, and Microsoft Windows.


title: CURL

text: The libcurl library is free, thread-safe and IPv6 compatible. Bindings are available for more than 50 languages, including C/C++, Java, PHP and Python.


title: CURL

text: The libcurl library supports GnuTLS, mbed TLS, NSS, gskit on IBM i, SChannel on Windows, Secure Transport on macOS and iOS, SSL/TLS through OpenSSL, Boringssl, libressl, AmiSSL, wolfSSL, BearSSL and rustls.


title: CURL

text: cURL is a command-line tool for getting or sending data including files using URL syntax. Since cURL uses libcurl, it supports every protocol libcurl supports.


title: CURL

text: cURL supports HTTPS and performs SSL certificate verification by default when a secure protocol is specified such as HTTPS. When cURL connects to a remote server via HTTPS, it will obtain the remote server certificate, then check against its CA certificate store the validity of the remote server to ensure the remote server is the one it claims to be. Some cURL packages are bundled with CA certificate store file. There are several options to specify a CA certificate such as and . The option can be used to specify the location of the CA certificate store file. In the Windows platform, if a CA certificate file is not specified, cURL will look for a CA certificate file name “curl-ca-bundle.crt” in the following order:


title: CURL

text: cURL will return an error message if the remote server is using a self-signed certificate, or if the remote server certificate is not signed by a CA listed in the CA cert file. or option can be used to skip certificate verification. Alternatively, if the remote server is trusted, the remote server CA certificate can be added to the CA certificate store file.


title: CURL

text: Basic use of cURL involves simply typing at the command line, followed by the URL of the output to retrieve:


title: CURL

text: cURL defaults to displaying the output it retrieves to the standard output specified on the system (usually the terminal window). So running the command above would, on most systems, display the www.example.com source-code in the terminal window. The -o flag can be used to store the output in a file instead:


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line-up comprised five musicians from Dún Laoghaire in County Dublin; Gerry Cott (rhythm guitar), Simon Crowe (drums), Johnnie Fingers (keyboards), Bob Geldof (vocals) and Garry Roberts (lead guitar), plus Fingers' cousin Pete Briquette (bass). The Boomtown Rats broke up in 1986, but reformed in 2013, without Fingers or Cott. Garry Roberts died in 2022. The band's fame and notability have been overshadowed by the charity work of frontman Bob Geldof, a former journalist with the "New Musical Express".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Five of the six members originate from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland; Pete Briquette was originally from Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland. Having been booked for their first gig under the name The Nightlife Thugs, the group agreed to change their name to The Boomtown Rats when Garry Roberts threatened to resign if they kept the original name. The new name referred to a gang of children about whom Geldof had read in Woody Guthrie's autobiography "Bound for Glory".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig in London followed by gigs in the Netherlands (Groningen and The Milky Way Club in Amsterdam and De PUL in Uden) before moving to London where they signed with Ensign Records later that year. Their first single, "Lookin' After No. 1", came out in August 1977. It reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, the first of a long string of successes. The album "The Boomtown Rats" was released the following month; it included another single, "Mary of the 4th Form". Music journalist Martin C. Strong commented, "Geldof's moody charisma helped to give the band a distinct identity".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Their next album, "A Tonic for the Troops" (1978), featured three hit singles, "Like Clockwork", "She's So Modern" and "Rat Trap". The US version of the album (with a slightly different selection of tracks) came out the next year on Columbia Records. Mutt Lange produced "Rat Trap", which became the first rock song by an Irish band to reach No. 1 in the UK. In addition, "Rat Trap" was also the first new wave song to claim the number one spot.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: In 1979, "I Don't Like Mondays" was released. This was written in response to a school shooting in California, and also reached No. 1 in the UK. It was a worldwide Top Ten hit, except for the United States. It was the band's only song to reach the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and was included in the band's third album, "The Fine Art of Surfacing". The album also contained "Diamond Smiles" and their next Top 10 hit in the UK, "Someone's Looking at You".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: In 1980 "Banana Republic" was released, which was their last Top 10 hit, and in the following year the Boomtown Rats' next studio album "Mondo Bongo" was issued.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Cott departed from the band at this point. According to Bob Geldof's autobiography, "Is That It?", Cott had grown disillusioned with what he saw as the band's growing laziness in the studio, and their apparent relinquishing of their early R&B influences in favour of "cod-reggae". Throughout his time with the band, Cott had maintained a distance between himself and the other members and he resigned the day before the end of their 1981 world tour, only hours after the rest of the band had decided to confront him for refusing to join them and the road crew for a drink to celebrate Simon Crowe's birthday.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Cott had a short-lived solo career, releasing two UK singles, "The Ballad of the Lone Ranger" and "Pioneers" and the 1984 Canadian single "Alphabet Town".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: The band's fifth album, "V Deep", was released in February 1982. The first single was "Never in a Million Years" which did not sell well, while the follow-up "House on Fire" made number 24 in the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the album was initially rejected by their American label, which instead issued a four-song EP called "The Boomtown Rats", featuring four selections from "V Deep". The full album was eventually issued in the US in late 1982.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: A follow-up album entitled "In The Long Grass" was recorded in 1983, but was initially rejected by the group's label. By 1984, the band was touring universities after becoming unable to fund the "guarantee" required to book mainstream concert halls. "In The Long Grass" was finally issued in the UK in May 1984, but failed to chart. Two singles, "Tonight" and "Drag Me Down", were taken from the album; these reached the lower rungs of the UK Singles Chart, but two further singles, "Dave" and "A Hold of Me", failed to register.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: The Boomtown Rats' involvement with Band Aid (on which they all played) raised their profile again, and in January 1985, a revised version of "In the Long Grass" was finally released in the US. The album made the US charts at No. 188, but the associated singles failed to make an impact on the charts or on the radio. The band subsequently performed at Live Aid's charity performance.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: "Dave", a single from the original release of "In the Long Grass" was re-recorded as "Rain" for the US market. The song was about the band's saxophone player and school friend David MacHale (died 2009), who had suffered a breakdown after his girlfriend was found dead in a public toilet next to an empty heroin bag. The 'Rain' metaphor in the altered lyrics referenced Duran Duran's earlier song "Hold Back the Rain", where Geldof's friend Simon Le Bon pleaded with an unnamed band member to cease dabbling with narcotics.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: After Live Aid, the band was mothballed while Geldof wound up his affairs with the Band Aid Trust, during which time he succeeded in getting them a one-album deal with Vertigo Records. However, both Crowe and Fingers refused to rejoin the Boomtown Rats full-time, preferring to pursue their own band, Gung Ho.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: The band's final performance came at Self Aid, a 1986 concert featuring many Irish rock stars, to raise awareness of unemployment in Ireland. Their rendition of "Joey's on the Street Again" was 12 minutes long, with an extended bridge, during which time Geldof ran among the crowd. It also included a rendition of Woody Guthrie's song "Greenback Dollar", which provided circularity and closure


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: . Following this performance, Geldof addressed the crowd, saying, "It's been a great ten years; rest in peace". The band then performed "Looking After No.1".


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Following the band's break-up, Geldof launched a solo career with Pete Briquette continuing to work alongside him.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Garry Roberts co-wrote songs for Kirsty MacColl before leaving the music business and going on to become a successful salesman of financial services. Roberts later presented his Guitar Workshop to schools, encouraging pupils to play the instrument and emphasising the contribution of the blues to modern rock and pop music.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: After Gung Ho split, Fingers became a successful record producer in Japan, as well as being part of the Japanese band Greengate. Simon Crowe was in the West Country-based Celtic instrumental band Jiggerypipery and has also run a clock making business.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: In 2005, the band's albums were all remastered and re-released and a 'Best Of' compilation was released, along with two DVDs. Briquette mixed the live DVD and Francesco Cameli mixed the extra tracks for the re-release of the Boomtown Rats albums at Sphere Studios in London.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: In 2008, Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe, who had continued playing together in The Fab Four, with Alan Perman (ex Herman's Hermits) and Bob Doyle (who once auditioned unsuccessfully for E.L.O.), and The Velcro Flies, with Steve (Dusty) Hill and Gavin Petrie, got together as "The Rats", playing their favourite Boomtown Rats songs, with two guitars, bass and drums. The band was initially fronted by Peter Barton, who since the early 1980s has played with several resurrected acts, including The Animals, The Hollies and Lieutenant Pigeon. Barton was replaced on lead vocals and bass by Bob Bradbury, who was the founder and main songwriter in Hello. Darren Beale, formerly of The Caves, played lead guitar. Saxophone player Andy Hamilton, who toured and recorded with The Boomtown Rats, including at Live Aid, played as a guest at some gigs.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Gerry Cott and Johnnie Fingers were invited to join the band when circumstances allowed. Cott attended The Rats' second gig (at The 100 Club on Oxford Street, London). Fingers, meanwhile, worked for the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, but planned to join the band on stage when he was in the UK.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: On 21 June 2009, Geldof, Roberts, and Briquette got together in Dublin to play "Dave", at a party to celebrate the life of Boomtown Rats' close friend and saxophone player, "Doctor" Dave MacHale, who had died of cancer in Frankfurt. "Dave" was a song Geldof wrote for MacHale in 1983, after MacHale's girlfriend died from a heroin overdose.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: On 20 September 2011, Gerry Cott guested with Geldof's band at The Cadogan Hall, London. They played three Boomtown Rats songs prior to the encores. Cott returned to the stage for the final encore playing on two Geldof solo songs.


title: The Boomtown Rats

text: Bob Geldof, Gary Roberts, Pete Briquette, and Simon Crowe reunited as The Boomtown Rats in 2013, joined by Alan Dunn (longtime member of Geldof's band) on Keyboards and Darren Beale (who played with Roberts & Crowe in The Rats) on guitar. Bob Geldof said, "Playing again with the Rats and doing those great songs again will be exciting afresh. We were an amazing band and I just feel it's the right time to re-Rat, to go back to Boomtown for a visit." In June 2013, it was announced that the band would be embarking on a UK and Ireland tour supported by a new compilation album, "". The group performed at the Brentwood Festival in 2016, where Geldof attracted controversy for criticising the audience. In April 2017, the band returned to the studio to record new material for their first studio album since "In the Long Grass" in 1984. In March 2020, they released a new album, "Citizens of Boomtown", and a lead single, "Trash Glam Baby".


title: Melodica

text: The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usually covers two or three octaves. Melodicas are small, lightweight, and portable, and many are designed for children to play. They are popular in music education programs, especially in Asia. The modern form of the instrument was invented by Hohner in the late 1950s, though similar instruments have been known in Italy since the 19th century.


title: Melodica

text: The mouthpiece can be a short rigid or semi-flexible plastic piece or a long flexible plastic tube (designed to allow the player to either hold the keyboard so the keys can be seen or lay the keyboard horizontally on a flat surface for two-handed playing). A foot pump can also be used as an alternative to breathing into the instrument. Melodica keyboards typically ascend from a low F note. In the 21st century, 32 and 37 note keyboards are typical, though instruments may have as few as 13 or as many as 44 keys. The melodica with the largest range is the Hammond Pro 44, which has a range of 44 notes.


title: Melodica

text: Pressing a key opens a hole, allowing the player's breath to flow through a single reed. The sound of each vibrating reed reverberates in the shell of the instrument, which may be made of plastic, timber or metal. The harder the player blows, the louder the note. An external microphone can be used to amplify the instrument or record its sound. Hammond's Pro-44 melodion and Pro 24-B bass melodion each have built-in dynamic microphones which can be connected to a PA system or recording device via a single TRS 1/4" jack output.