title: Sinjar massacre

text: Late on 21 December 2014, Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters south of the mountain range reached Peshmerga lines, thus linking their two fronts. The next day, the YPG broke through ISIL lines, thus opening a corridor from Syria to the town of Sinjar. By the evening, the Peshmerga took control of much of Sinjar.


title: Sinjar massacre

text: Following ISIL's retreat from Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the region during late-2017 campaigns, both governments laid claim to the area. The Yazidi population, with only about 15% returning to Sinjar during the period, was caught in the political crossfire. Yazidis returned to an abandoned town of crumbling buildings, leftover IEDs and the remains of those killed during the massacre.


title: Sinjar massacre

text: In November 2017, a mass grave of about 70 people was uncovered and a month later in December, another mass grave was discovered holding about 90 victims. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office there are more than 200 mass graves sites across Iraq. The Documentation Project run by the NGO Yazda has provided photographic and witness testimony to document dozens of mass grave sites across the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar. In March 2019, the first mass grave site in Sinjar was exhumed by the Iraqi Mass Graves Directorate within the Martyr's Foundation and the Medical Legal Directorate under the Iraqi Ministry of Health in conjunction with UNITAD (United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL).


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American film noir drama film directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival, making it one of only three films—the other two being "Marty" (1955) and "Parasite" (2019)—to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at Cannes.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Director Billy Wilder's unflinchingly honest look at the effects of alcoholism may have had some of its impact blunted by time, but it remains a powerful and remarkably prescient film." In 2011, The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Thursday, alcoholic New York writer Don Birnam is packing for a weekend vacation with his brother Wick. When Don's girlfriend Helen drops by with two tickets for a concert that day, Don suggests that Wick attend with Helen. Knowing they had disposed of all the liquor Don had hidden in the apartment and thinking he has no money for more, they go to the concert.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: After finding ten dollars that Wick left for the cleaning lady, Don heads for Nat's Bar, calling in at a liquor store to purchase two bottles of rye on the way. Don intends to be back home in time to meet Wick and catch their train, but he loses track of time due to his drinking. When he arrives home, he sees Wick leaving and Helen saying she will stay and wait for Don. Don sneaks back into the flat, where he hides one of his bottles of liquor and drinks the other one.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Friday, back at Nat's Bar, Nat criticizes Don for treating Helen so badly. Don tells Nat that he intends to write a novel about his battle with alcoholism, called "The Bottle". He recalls how he first met Helen at the opera house, where the cloakroom mixed up their coats. He and Helen struck up a romance, and he remained sober during this time. When he goes to meet her parents, he overhears them talking about him being unemployed, wondering if he is good enough for their daughter. He loses his nerve and sneaks off. She goes to his flat, where Wick tries to cover for him, but Don confesses that he is two people: "Don the writer", whose fear of failure causes him to drink, and "Don the drunk" who always has to be bailed out by Wick. Helen devotes herself to helping him.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: After telling Nat the story behind his proposed novel, Don heads back home to begin writing it. However, his alcohol cravings get the better of him and he begins a desperate search for the other bottle from the previous night, which he knows he has hidden away somewhere. After failing to find it, he visits another bar, where he is thrown out after trying to steal from a woman's purse because he didn't have enough to pay the bill. Back in his flat, he finds the bottle he had hidden and drinks himself into a stupor.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Saturday, Don is broke and tries to pawn his typewriter so he can buy more alcohol, but the pawnshops are closed for Yom Kippur. Desperate for money, he visits Gloria, a prostitute who has a crush on him. She gives him some money, but he falls down her stairs and is knocked unconscious.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Sunday, Don wakes up in an alcoholics' ward where nurse Bim Nolan mocks him and other guests at "Hangover Plaza". Bim offers to help cure his delirium tremens, but Don refuses help and escapes while the staff are occupied with a raving, violent patient.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Monday, Don steals a bottle of whisky from a store after threatening the owner, and spends the day drinking. Suffering from delirium tremens, he hallucinates a nightmarish scene in which a bat flies in his window and kills a mouse, spilling its blood. Helen then returns. Finding Don collapsed and in a delirious state, she stays overnight on his couch.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On Tuesday morning, Don slips out and pawns Helen's coat, the one that had brought them together. She trails him to the pawn shop and learns from the pawnbroker that he traded the coat for his gun, for which he has bullets at home. She races to Don's apartment and interrupts him just before he is about to shoot himself. As she pleads with him, Nat arrives to return Don's typewriter. After Nat leaves, Helen convinces him that "Don the writer" and "Don the drunk" are the same person. He commits to writing his novel "The Bottle", dedicated to her, which will recount the events of the weekend. He drops a cigarette into a glass of whiskey to make it undrinkable as evidence of his resolve.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: Wilder was originally drawn to this material after having worked with Raymond Chandler on the screenplay for "Double Indemnity". Chandler was a recovering alcoholic at the time, and the stress and tumultuous relationship with Wilder during the collaboration caused him to start drinking again. Wilder made the film, in part, to try to explain Chandler to himself.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: Wilder originally wanted Jose Ferrer for the role of Don, but he turned it down. Charles Brackett's first choice for playing Helen was Olivia de Havilland, but she was involved with a lawsuit that prevented her from being in any film at that time. It has been said that Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur were also considered for the role.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The majority of the film was shot at Paramount studios in Hollywood. Wilder, however, insisted they shoot part of the film on location in New York City to create a distinct sense of realism. On October 1, 1944, Wilder and his small crew began filming in New York, mostly along Third Avenue in Midtown East Manhattan. To further create a realistic atmosphere, Wilder and his crew used hidden cameras, placing them behind boxes or in the back of trucks, and capturing Milland as he walked up 3rd Avenue among actual pedestrians who were unaware a film was being made. The production also had the unprecedented permission to film inside Bellevue Hospital in the alcoholic ward, a request that would be denied to future films. After completing filming in New York, the cast and crew returned to California to resume principal photography, where they recreated several New York locations, including a replica of P.J. Clarke's, a tavern often frequented by author Charles Jackson.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The film also made famous the "character walking toward the camera in a daze as time passes" camera effect.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: Once "The Lost Weekend" was completed, it was shown to a preview audience, who laughed at what they considered Milland's overwrought performance, and the studio actually considered shelving the film. Part of the problem was that the print shown at the preview didn't have Miklós Rózsa's original musical soundtrack, but instead had a temporary track containing upbeat jazz music. However, once the Rózsa score was in place, along with a re-shoot of the last scene, audiences and critics reacted favorably. The film's musical score was among the first to feature the theremin, which was used to create the pathos of alcoholism.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: Rights to the film are currently held by Universal Studios, which owns the pre-1950 Paramount sound feature film library via EMKA, Ltd.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The film differs significantly from the book by leaving out the novel's noted homosexual overtones, namely the strong implication that Don Birnam (as was the book's author, Charles Jackson) is a closeted homosexual.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The liquor industry launched a campaign to undermine the film even before its release. Allied Liquor Industries, a national trade organization, wrote an open letter to Paramount warning that anti-drinking groups would use the film to reinstate prohibition. Liquor interests allegedly enlisted gangster Frank Costello to offer Paramount $5 million to buy the film's negative in order to burn it. Wilder quipped that if they’d offered him $5 million, “I would have [burned the negative].”


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: The film was a commercial success. Produced on a budget of $1.25 million, it grossed $11 million at the box office, earning $4.3 million in US theatrical rentals.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: At the 18th Academy Awards in May 1946, "The Lost Weekend" received seven nominations and won in four categories.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: This film also shared the 1946 "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film" at the first Cannes Film Festival and Milland was awarded Best Actor. To date, "The Lost Weekend", "Marty" (1955), and "Parasite" (2019) are the only films ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival. ("Marty" received the "Palme d'Or" (Golden Palm), which, beginning at the 1955 festival, replaced the "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film" as the highest award.)


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: In 2011, "The Lost Weekend" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The Registry said the film was "an uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism" and that it "melded an expressionistic film-noir style with documentary realism to immerse viewers in the harrowing experiences of an aspiring New York writer willing to do almost anything for a drink."


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: "The Lost Weekend" was adapted as a radio play on the January 7, 1946, broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater, starring Milland, Wyman, and Faylen in their original film roles.


title: The Lost Weekend (film)

text: On March 10, 1946, three days after winning the Academy Award, Milland appeared as a guest on a radio broadcast of "The Jack Benny Show". In a spoof of "The Lost Weekend", Milland and Jack Benny played alcoholic twin brothers. Phil Harris, who normally played Jack Benny's hard-drinking bandleader on the show, played the brother who tried to convince Ray and Jack to give up liquor. ("Ladies and gentlemen," said an announcer, "the opinions expressed by Mr. Harris are written in the script and are not necessarily his own.") In the alcoholic ward scene, smart-aleck Frank Nelson played the ward attendant who promised Ray and Jack that they would soon start seeing DT visions of strange animals. When the DT visions appeared (with Mel Blanc providing pig squeals, monkey chatters, and other animal sound effects), Ray chased them off. "Ray, they're gone!", Benny shouted. "What did you do?" Milland replied, "I threw my Oscar at them!"


title: Nth Room case

text: The "Nth Room" case () is a criminal case involving blackmail, cybersex trafficking, and the spread of sexually exploitative videos via the Telegram app between 2018 and 2020 in South Korea. A man nicknamed god god (later identified as Moon Hyung-wook) (Korean: 갓갓) sold sexual exploitation videos on Telegram channels and groups.


title: Nth Room case

text: A copycat crime, known as the "Doctor's Room", () was operated by a man using the screen name Doctor (, later revealed to be Cho Ju-bin), who is accused of blackmailing dozens of women, forcing them to take sexually exploitative videos, with some involving rape.


title: Nth Room case

text: The number of confirmed victims is at least 103, including 26 minors. It was revealed that the victims' pictures were shared and sold to over 260,000 IDs (narrowed down to about 60,000 users, taking into consideration overlapping profiles) and were anonymously paid for in cryptocurrency.


title: Nth Room case

text: A user nicknamed "God God," who was later identified as Moon Hyung-Wook created eight groups simply named after their ordinal numeral (hence the name "Nth Room"), and uploaded sexually exploitative pornography. Another user nicknamed "Watchman" advertised the link to these groups in another Telegram group named "Gotham room".


title: Nth Room case

text: A user nicknamed "Doctor" posted part-time job offerings on Twitter, seeking to gather personal information from girls who applied. In the "Doctor's Room", the sexually exploitative pornography was distributed via a Telegram chatroom and was only accessible via a cryptocurrency payment. "Doctor", who appeared in July 2019, threatened women and took pictures and videos of them by figuring out their personal information, and then uploading the pictures and videos. When reports first emerged, the person even figured out the personal information of the reporter and released it. In addition, a high school student in Incheon was running various Telegram chatting rooms that distributed child pornography and links for buying drugs and shared tricks for dealing with police investigations.


title: Nth Room case

text: Reports of such illegal content being shared on Telegram were appearing throughout 2019. For instance, the "Seoul Shinmun," through undercover journalism, found a secret Telegram room distributing child pornography in January. In the same manner, "Sisa Journal" in April that year reported that Telegram was being used as a platform for sharing illegal pictures and videos.


title: Nth Room case

text: In the beginning, when the case became known on male-dominated online communities, a man reported the "Nth Room" case by contacting 112. Police, however, did not consider the report credible and ignored it. The first known people to investigate the Nth room case were two female university students in July 2019, going by the team name of Team Flame. On August 12, the "Electronic Times" was the first media outlet to report on the case. The case went on to have a huge social impact and ignite public fury.


title: Nth Room case

text: The lead operator Baksa was arrested, but his accomplice and Telegram users who shared the videos for money remain unknown. While police got the list of people who bought the videos and were investigating, over five million people signed a national petition demanding public disclosure of the identities of users who shared in the chatroom. Including all charged and free users in Doctor's Room, the number of members was confirmed to be 15,000.


title: Nth Room case

text: On March 25, 2020, Korean virtual and cryptocurrency operators agreed to cooperate with authorities on this case after concluding that the leaders and subscribers of the Nth Room paid with virtual currency. By April 27, almost 40 people were identified through tracing cryptocurrency transfers.


title: Nth Room case

text: On March 23, 2020, the Seoul Broadcasting System disclosed the identity of the "Doctor's Room" suspect. Cho Joo-bin (Korean: 조주빈) On March 24, following a decision of the Personal Information Disclosure Review Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, an official identity disclosure measure was taken, based on Article 25 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. This was the first case where an official identity disclosure measure had been taken for a sexual criminal. An accomplice of Cho, Nam Kyung-eup (Korean: 남경읍) was revealed on July 15, 2020.


title: Nth Room case

text: Meanwhile, the user with the nickname "Watchman" who was known as the mastermind and the individual who made the "Nth Room" popular was arrested in September 2019. He was revealed as Mr. Jeon, a 38-year-old company worker, who had received a suspended sentence for pornography distribution in the past. Mr. Jeon was indicted on suspicion of operating an Internet site featuring illegal recordings, and a sentence of imprisonment of 3 years and 6 months by the prosecution. However, since it was revealed during the trial that there was a connection with the "Nth Room", an application is underway for the resumption of the hearings.


title: Nth Room case

text: Mr. Shin, the prior operator of "Nth Room", who had inherited it from "God God" was a male in his 30s, who had previously received a suspended sentence for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, and was taken into police custody in September 2019. He received a sentence of one-year imprisonment in the first hearing, and since the prosecution did not appeal, it is foreseen that this sentence will become final in the second hearing.


title: Nth Room case

text: God God claims he will not be caught according to information released to JTBC News. He claims he never uses his own phone and all currency is transferred through gift vouchers so it can't be traced. He has also revealed he is confident that if he abandons his phone, there will be no evidence against him even if he turns himself in. Moon Hyung-wook (Korean: 문형욱) nicknamed God God was arrested and charged in May, and he was detained on 12 May 2020. His personal information was released on 13 May. In April 2021, Moon Hyung-wook was sentenced to 34 years in prison. An accomplice to Moon, Ahn Seung-jin (Korean: 안승진) was revealed June 22, 2020.


title: Nth Room case

text: Lee In-young, the parliamentary leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, promised the party will bring the case to parliament. The main opposition United Future Party condemned the case, in which they said that they will forward the case to parliament to prohibit any kind of child pornography. The party also urged the Democratic Party to not just focus on the upcoming general election but to also cooperate with them to forward their bill. Its chairman, Hwang Kyo-ahn, however, created controversy by saying not all suspects involved in the case deserved the same punishment.


title: Nth Room case

text: The Supreme Court of South Korea also announced its plans to make sentences harsher on digital sex crimes following public outcry.


title: Nth Room case

text: Before the revision, only the distribution, sale, lease, and provision of illegal photographs were subject to punishment; the current law added regulations that also sentenced those who possess, purchase, store, and watch illegal sexual photographs up to three years in prison or fined up to 30 million won. Even if the video was filmed by one's self, the law clarified the rule that if someone spreads it against their own will, the disseminator would be punished and the sentence will be raised.


title: Nth Room case

text: A new rule implemented a prison sentence of more than one year and three years respectively, on those who threaten or coerce using photographs that can cause sexual shame. This act is most commonly known as blackmail.


title: Nth Room case

text: In the case of special robbery and rape, a person could be sentenced to up to three years in prison for preliminary and conspiracy charges; the legal sentence for illegal filming and production was further strengthened.


title: Nth Room case

text: The point out that perpetrator won't be sentenced because up to 70 victims' assaults and threats have not been proven to have led to actual crimes, It could also be sentenced to up to three years in prison for preliminary and conspiracy charges those who planned rape and similar rape.


title: Nth Room case

text: In the case of digital sexual violence crimes, there was an opinion that "it is not easy to prove the relevance between individual crimes and criminal profits, so it is difficult to withdraw criminal profits," so easing the burden of proof.


title: Nth Room case

text: It identify the children and adolescents who are subject to prostitution as victims. and the person who have committed simple sex crimes against children and adolescents as well as those who have committed simple sex crimes are subject to personal disclosure.


title: Nth Room case

text: On March 26, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security's resident registration number change committee said it would submit an application for changing the resident registration number, which is recognized as a victim of the "N" incident, as an "emergency agenda" and process it as quickly as possible within three weeks. The original legal deadline is six months and usually takes three months.


title: Nth Room case

text: On January 2, 2020, a new Cheong Wa Dae national petition was posted and 219,705 people agreed to the petition for an international cooperative investigation. As of March 1, National Police Agency Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong released a video clip and a full text of the answers to the petition.


title: Nth Room case

text: On January 15, 2020, 100,000 people agreed to the National Assembly's petition for international cooperation with police, the establishment of a digital sex crime department, raising sentencing standards for digital sex crimes, and the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on February 10. The result of the review, which was not to be referred to the plenary session (not to be referred to the plenary session), was because the purpose of the petition was reflected in the "Partial Amendment of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes", which was passed by the First Subcommittee on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's on March 3, 2020. However, it was criticized for being hasty. According to the Project ReSET, the revised bill only covers the creation and distribution of the so-called Deepfake, and "does not reflect the strengthening of the sentencing standards, improvement of the investigation system, or international announcement investigation." It has been revealed that despite the provision of related data books, the remarks made in the process have been controversial, with more than a month of information not being properly identified.


title: Nth Room case

text: A petition calling for the personal and photo line of the key suspect, "Dr. Doctor," was filed on March 18 in the Cheong Wa Dae National Petition, and a petition was filed on March 20 calling for the disclosure of all participants in the Telegram Secret Room. By March 24, more than 2.57 million and 1.85 million people participated, respectively. The doctor's request for personal disclosure and photo line received the most consent in the history of the petition.


title: Nth Room case

text: On the afternoon of March 24, National Police Agency Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong and Gender Equality and Family Minister Lee Jung-ok responded to the petition, and promised to set up a special digital sex crime investigation headquarters and prepare digital sex crime sentencing standards.


title: Nth Room case

text: South Korean gender profiling led to the blackmailing of female individuals. For example, in regards to the "Nth room case", females wanting to become models are given job offers through social media leading to them taking pornographic imagery of themselves. Users like Cho Joo-bin then blackmail these individuals threatening to release the content to their families.


title: Nth Room case

text: On 26 November 2020, Cho Joo-bin was found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to a total of 40 years' imprisonment. Cho reportedly said that he wanted to apologize to his victims. The sentence was updated to 42 in prison in October 2021, according to the Netflix Documentary “Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror”.


title: Nth Room case

text: Additionally the documentary reported that Moon Hyeong-Wook was sentenced to 34 years in prison in November 2021. It also reported that by collaborating with Crypto Currency companies, 3757 people linked to the Nth Room crimes, have been arrested as of December 2020. Of which 245 have been imprisoned.


title: Etrian Odyssey

text: Etrian Odyssey is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide.


title: Etrian Odyssey

text: In the Switch version of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, an outfit of the Hero class of Etrian Odyssey Nexus is available for the character Eleonora.


title: Vikraman

text: He worked as an assistant to actor and director R. Parthiban in "Puthiya Pathai" (1989), which was the latter's debut film as a director and an actor. Vikraman made his directorial debut with the film "Pudhu Vasantham" (1990) produced by R. B. Choudary, for which director K. S. Ravikumar apprenticed under him as an assistant director. The film was about four unemployed friends and musical experts who find themselves unexpectedly saddled with a young woman. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and it re-wrote Tamil cinema history, sparking a whole range of "friendship" films. Its hero Murali went on to become a romantic actor in subsequent films. His second film "Perum Pulli" (1991) received negative reviews with N. Krishnaswamy of "The Indian Express" stating, "Directed by Vikraman who made "Pudhu Vasantham" and made name for himself [..] Perum Pulli has a hash of a story" and it bombed at the box-office. His next two films "Naan Pesa Ninaipathellam" (1993) and "Gokulam" (1993) received mixed reception. In 1994, his venture "Pudhiya Mannargal" starring Vikram and with music composed by A. R. Rahman flopped at the box-office despite a revolutionary theme of students and politics. A critic wrote, "Nothing much in this movie but a controversial idea".


title: Vikraman

text: Vikraman was recalled once again by R. B. Choudary to make a film with Vijay titled "Poove Unakkaga" in 1996. It was the first breakthrough in the young actor's career. His next film "Suryavamsam" (1997) with Sarath Kumar and Devayani was a major success. "Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen" made in 1998 gave a fresh lease of life to Karthik and Roja who were once dominating the film industry. While Ajith Kumar impresses in a rather lengthy cameo. In 2000, he made a film "Vanathai Pola" with an ensemble cast, another blockbuster which gave back the superstardom to Vijayakanth. It also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 2001 and also many state awards. He then began pre-production work in 2000 for a film starring Surya and Laila and the said project "Unnai Ninaithu" (2002) did well.


title: Vikraman

text: His next film "Priyamaana Thozhi" (2003) produced by the AVM Productions was a hit again. Its simultaneously shot Telugu version, "Vasantham" in (helmed by himself) was one of the top grossers of 2003. But he had to face another dud in 2004 in "Cheppave Chirugali", a Telugu remake of his hit Tamil film starring Suriya and Sneha, "Unnai Ninaithu". Taking a two-year break, he had started work again for a Tamil film called "Chennai Kadhal" (2006) with Bharath in the lead. However, the film was unsuccessful at the box office. He made a comeback with "Mariyadhai" in 2009, another Tamil film starring Vijayakanth, Meena, Meera Jasmine and Ambika playing the lead roles. His latest film "Ninaithathu Yaaro" featuring newcomers released in January 2014.


title: Vikraman

text: Vikraman has been elected as the new president of the Tamil Nadu Film Directors Association (TANTIS) replacing Bharathiraja after he defeated fellow director Visu in the election.


title: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

text: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos is a 2019 South Korean action comedy film directed by Son Yong-ho, based on the OCN hit drama series "Bad Guys". The film stars Ma Dong-seok, Kim Sang-joong, Kim Ah-joong and Jang Ki-yong.


title: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

text: During an inmate transportation, several policemen are attacked and killed by some assassins, where a former gangster's boss named No Sang-sik is freed. After capturing some of the prisoners, Oh Goo-tak, who is the former boss of an unusual special forces unit called "Crime Unit" is called by the head officer, who reveals that Sang-Sik was about to testify the real leader of the Yakuza, where he tells Oh to reassemble his unit and capture them. Oh hires Woong-Cheol, a former crimefighter, who is serving time in prison for 28 years, and Yoo-Sung, a former cop to capture them.


title: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

text: The duo are also promised for a reduction of their prison sentence if they manage to capture them, where the unit soon manage to capture one of the prisoner named Kwak No-soon/Jessica, who later becomes a part of the unit as she has useful information which helps the team to close in one of the escaped prisoner named Kim Chang-min. The unit manages to track Kim, where police detective named Choi arrests him, thus interfering in their operation. It is also revealed that Woong-cheol accepted this mission, as he wants to settle a score with the gangster's boss for killing his best friend Nam Myeong-seok.


title: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

text: After admitting Oh to the hospital due to liver cancer, The unit manages to retrieve Kim from the police station and also other prisoners, including Sang-sik, They interrogate Sang-sik and learn that the Yakuza leader's real name is Yoshihara, where they learn that Yoshihara had killed Myeong-seok for protesting against his drug operations. Sang-sik felt guilty and decided to testify against Yoshihara by listing about his operations in his diary. However, the head officer, who is revealed to be Yoshihara's mole, retrieves the diary and kills Sang-sik, where he also leaves the unit to die in a fire accident, but they manage to escape.


title: The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

text: Meanwhile, Choi sides with the unit and manages to trace Yoshihara in a factory, where the unit, along with Woong-Cheol's friend attacks the basement. After a lengthy battle with Yoshihara's goons, Woong-Cheol confronts Yoshihara and brutally thrashes him for Myeong-seok's death. Yoshihara and his men, along with the head officer are arrested. Oh gets recovered from his cancer, and gets encouraged by Woong-Cheol to work again. After this, Oh arrests Yoshira's associates and the team's prison sentence are reduced while Woong-Cheol is hired for another mission.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island (where the Vancouver International Airport is located) and several other smaller islands and uninhabited islets to its north and south, it neighbours Vancouver and Burnaby on the Burrard Peninsula to the north, New Westminster and Annacis Island to the east, Delta to the south, and the Strait of Georgia to the west.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Coast Salish peoples were the first people to inhabit the area of Richmond, with the Musqueam Band naming the site near Terra Nova "spələkʷəqs" or "boiling point".


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: As a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, Richmond is composed of eight local neighbourhoods: Sea Island, City Centre, Thompson, West Richmond, Steveston, South Arm, East Richmond and Hamilton. As of 2022, the city has an estimated population of 230,584 people.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: During the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Richmond Olympic Oval was a venue for long track speed skating events.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Coast Salish bands had temporary camps on the island, to fish and collect berries, which were scattered and moved from year to year. Certain Coast Salish summer camps were located at Garry Point, and Woodward's Landing, along with the site of the Terra Nova cannery, which had at one time been a Musqueam village.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: There is no definitive historical account as to how Richmond was named. There are several possibilities that have been proposed, including:


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Township of Richmond, British Columbia incorporated on 10 November 1879. The Township of Richmond was modeled after Ontario's political townships – an incorporated municipality, consisting of communities that are united as a single entity with a single municipal administration. Each community was represented on the municipal council through a ward electoral system with five wards until 1946 when the ward electoral system was replaced with the at large electoral system that is currently in place.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The first Town Hall, the Agricultural Hall and the Methodist Church (now Minoru Chapel), were built at the corner of No. 17 (River) Rd and No. 20 (Cambie) Rd near the main settlement on the northwestern tip of Lulu Island at North Arm.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The old fishing village of Steveston on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats. Currently, London Heritage Farm, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery and the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site in Steveston highlight these parts of Richmond's diverse history.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is made up of most of the islands in the Fraser River delta, the largest and most populated island being Lulu Island. The city of Richmond includes all but a small portion of Lulu Island (the Queensborough neighbourhood at the far eastern tip is part of the city of New Westminster). The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 15 smaller islands make up the city's land area, including:


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The city also includes the fishing village of Steveston, located in the far southwest corner of the city, and Burkeville, which shares Sea Island with the airport. Both Steveston and Burkeville were independent villages until they were annexed by Richmond.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Since all of Richmond occupies islands in a river delta, the city has plenty of rich, alluvial soil for agriculture, and was one of the first areas in British Columbia to be farmed by Europeans in the 19th century. The drawback of Richmond's geographical location was that since all the land averages just one metre above sea level, it was prone to flooding, especially during high tide. As a result, all the major islands are now surrounded by a system of dykes, which, although not as massive as those in the Netherlands or the levees of New Orleans, serve to protect the town from anticipated sources of flooding. There is a possibility that, during an earthquake, the dykes could rupture and the alluvial soil may liquefy, causing extensive damage. Richmond is also at risk of a major flood if the Fraser River has an unusually high spring freshet. Recreational trails run along the tops of many of the dykes, and Richmond also supports about of parkland.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Because of the high groundwater table, very few houses in Richmond have basements and until the late 1980s, very few buildings were above 3 storeys high. Also, because of proximity to the airport, current building codes limit the height of buildings to .


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond has an oceanic climate (Cfb). Because it is not as close to the mountains, it actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring Vancouver. It rarely snows in winter and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very cloudy in the cooler months.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Richmond had a population of 209,937 living in 81,080 of its 85,035 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 198,309. The average age of the population was 43.3 years old, and the median age of the population was 43.6. Of the population 13.3 percent was 0 to 14 years of age, 20 percent was 65 years and over, 2.4 percent was 85 years and over, and 66.7 percent was the age 15 to 64 years old. Richmond's 2021 population of 209,937 makes it the fourth-largest city in British Columbia, after Vancouver (662,248), Surrey (568,322) and Burnaby (249,125).


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond has a land area of and a population density of in 2021. The average size of a household in Richmond is 2.6 persons. Most households have a household size of 2 persons, and the least households have 5 or more persons. Apartment buildings are the most common structural type of dwellings, made up of 18,590 apartment in a building that has fewer than five storeys, 15,475 apartment in a building that has five or more storeys, and 4,990 apartment or flat in a duplex. Single-detached houses are also popular with 24,435 single-detached houses located in Richmond. Other types of buildings include 1,585, semi-detached houses 15,945 row houses, 20 other single-attached houses, and 45 movable dwellings.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is also home to two of the largest Buddhist temples in North America, the International Buddhist Temple and the Ling Yen Mountain Temple.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Over 50% of Richmond residents identify as Chinese, making it the city in North America with the largest proportion of Asians. Almost three quarters of its population is of Asian descent, many of whom immigrated in the late 1980s, mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China. Other Asian Canadians in Richmond include Indian Canadians, Filipino Canadians and Japanese Canadians.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond's Japanese community has a long history in Steveston dating back to the 1800s. Following Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the Anti-Japanese sentiment grew and this community was devastated as residents of Japanese descent were relocated to internment camps in the BC Interior and Alberta and their property sold at auction.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The 2021 census found that English was spoken as mother tongue by 31.31% of the population. The next most common mother tongue language was Cantonese, spoken by 21.52% of the population, followed by Mandarin at 21.08%.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government. Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including Norsat and Sierra Wireless.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Pacific Coastal Airlines has its headquarters in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport. Air Canada Jazz operates a regional office in Richmond.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Before its dissolution, Canadian Airlines operated an office in Richmond. Before it merged into Air Canada Jazz, regional airline Air BC was headquartered in Richmond. Prior to its dissolution, Harmony Airways, Pacific Western Airlines and Canadian Pacific Air Lines were all headquartered in Richmond.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Agricultural Land Reserve preserves 4,916 hectares within the city as farmland, an area that makes up most of east Richmond. Of this area, 3,012 hectares are farmed by 247 farms; the rest is either vacant or occupied by non-farm uses. Cranberries and blueberries are the dominant crops grown. Other crops grown include strawberries, corn, and potatoes. In 2001 Richmond had approximately 47% of BC's cranberry acreage.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond Centre, Lansdowne Centre, McArthurGlen Vancouver, Parker Place and Aberdeen Centre are some of the most prominent malls in Richmond. There is also Steveston Village.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Success from these malls has created significant economical growth in Richmond. Richmond Centre has become Canada's 12th most profitable mall. Offices, apartment buildings, and transportation hubs have sprung up around the mall. While McArthurGlen Vancouver has been given the Best Outlet Centre 2015 award at MAPIC.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is also home to many Chinese-oriented shopping malls, most of them along No. 3 Road from Alderbridge Way to Capstan Way. This area is officially termed as the "Golden Village" by Tourism Richmond and includes malls such as Aberdeen Centre, Continental Centre, Union Square, President Plaza, Parker Place, and Yaohan Centre. The strip malls located on Alexandra Road are famous for their restaurants and the area is more commonly known as "food street".


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond city planners are one year into their update of its official plan, passed in fall 2019, for the city centre. The plan is anchored by the Canada Line and includes the development of nine transit-oriented village centres. The population of the area is expected to grow from about 40,000 to 120,000 residents.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: According to a senior planner for the city, the goal of the plan is to "turn the middle arm of the Fraser River into a focus instead of an edge." A Richmond parks manager said that for "too long residents have felt contained by the river, seen it as being to their backs. Now, they want people to face the river and embrace the waterfront."


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Lansdowne Centre will be closing in 2025 to make way for 24 towers. Within this development plan, there will be mixed housing, large public spaces with a Civic Plaza slated to be placed in the corner of Lansdowne Road and No 3 Road. The property owner, Vanprop Investment Inc., has plans for Lansdowne to be a pedestrian-friendly area with shops and services lined within its block.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Aspac Developments Ltd purchased of land adjacent to the Fraser River and the finished $178 million Richmond Olympic Oval. The $1 billion plan includes 16 high-density towers, up to 14 stories in height. The towers will be stepped toward the waterfront and will include trees and green space. Aspac's plans are for "probably the highest-end development Richmond has seen to date" said Mayor Brodie. A $2.3 million hard-surfaced path will be constructed along the river to link the project to Aberdeen Centre. Aspac's initial plan includes constructing the development in four phases, with the first phase comprising of residential development, and of ground-level commercial space. Some construction will not begin until after 2010, and will take up to 12 years to complete. The warehouses and commercial parks near the development are also slated for redevelopment.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The University of British Columbia constructed the John M.S. Lecky boathouse along River Road. It draws crowds from rowing regattas and dragon boat races.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: A possible pedestrian bridge where Cambie Road reaches the river is also being included in a future vision of the area. It would link nature trails on the north and south banks, and make Aberdeen Centre within walking distance for BCIT's aerospace campus students.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Developer Pinnacle International is planning a 16-building development on a property near Capstan Way and No 3 road. The mixed-use development would include over 2,100 residential units, various commercial uses, and a hotel.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Canada Line is considered critical to the project. A fifth Richmond station at Capstan Way (No. 3 Road and Capstan Way) was originally planned but was cancelled in March 2009. This station was considered so critical to the development that the City of Richmond has received $19 million from developers for the station to be built. TransLink, the Canada Line operator, has started designing this station in November 2017. On 2 September 2021, construction started on Capstan station.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Also included will be 100 affordable housing units, a 25-space daycare, and a park. The developers are also proposing live-work dwellings, where shop owners would live above their ground-level operations.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Fairchild Developments built a six-floor expansion to its Chinese-oriented shopping centre, Aberdeen Centre. The plan includes an office building and a link to the Canada Line's Aberdeen station. The new complex was completed and opened up to the public in 2014.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The River Rock Casino Resort is located near the Canada Line Bridgeport station and has built a 12-story hotel. The casino has added an addition above the newly added six-story car park and SkyTrain Bridgeport Station. TransLink (the Canada Line owner) gave the Great Canadian Casino Corporation land worth $9.5 million, and $4.5 million in cash in return for building the park-and-ride facility. Transit users are charged $3.00 per day to use the facility (up from an initial $2.00 charge).


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The parcel known as the Garden City Lands was leased by the federal government for decades and was formerly used as a transmitter site for program requirements of the Canadian Coast Guard. The property is bounded by Westminster Highway, Garden City Road, Alderbridge Way and No. 4 Road and has been within the Provincial Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) since 1973. In 2005, the Federal Government of Canada deemed the land as "surplus" to its needs and sold the site to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The City of Richmond, Canada Lands Company, and the Musqueam Indian Band entered a 2005 agreement with the federal government that included the intent to remove the land from the ALR for the purposes of high-density development. In April 2008, an application to exclude the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve was made to the Agricultural Land Commission. The application was rejected on 10 February 2009.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: On 8 March 2010, Richmond City Council announced a deal had been approved whereby the city would purchase the entire parcel of land from the Musqueam Band and Canada Lands Company for $59.2 million.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Musqueam band has since brought a lawsuit against the City of Richmond claiming they sold it under duress. The lawsuit remains dormant and it is the understanding of Coun. Harold Steves that the lawsuit will remain dormant unless the city wants to develop the lands into anything that is not related to ALR use.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: On Canada Day, Richmond has an annual festival in Steveston called the Steveston Salmon Festival. This event includes a parade, and a huge barbecued salmon sale in front of the Steveston Community Centre. Locally based municipal, provincial and federal politicians frequently show up at this event, usually as part of the parade and/or to hand out Canadian flags.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: An annual Richmond Maritime Festival has been held at the Britannia Shipyard, National Historic Site every August since 2004. It is a family event that celebrates the region's maritime heritage with live entertainment, ships, exhibits and demonstrations.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: In 2002, Richmond hosted a tall ships festival which attracted an estimated 400,000 people to Steveston. The success of this event surpassed many expectations and caused traffic congestion in the usually quiet area. There was insufficient parking in the area, which gave locals the idea of selling "parking space" by using their driveways and front yards. Despite the event's popularity, there was a revenue shortfall and the city decided not to host the event again.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Many indoor and outdoor art exhibitions are hosted by Richmond Arts Coalition (RAC) throughout the year. The Richmond Arts Strategy, passed in July 2004 by the City of Richmond, includes a proposal to promote communication between arts organizations and develop the Richmond arts community. In January 2005, a Board, mission, and mandate was established. On 1 November 2005, artists, art organizations, and patrons of the arts formed the Richmond Arts Coalition. The RAC hosts Richmond arts events, connect the public to artists and events, provide artist opportunities, nominate awards, fund performers to specific events, stimulate arts projects, and advocate for arts issues, performances, education, creation, and exhibition activities.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: During the summer weekends, an annual Richmond Night Market is held. Toys, clothes, cell phones, and food are available along with live entertainment. It is very popular and is usually crowded.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond also hosted the 2006 Gemini Awards, which were held at River Rock Casino. This marked the first time the ceremony had taken place on the West Coast, as it traditionally takes place in Toronto.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is home to the Richmond Sockeyes Junior B hockey team. Richmond also has two swim clubs: the Kigoos summer swimming club and the Richmond Rapids Swim Club. Richmond also has multiple soccer teams, under the name Richmond FC, ranging in ages and skill levels, from U4's to U18's, and from house divisions to elite programming. As of 1 October 2006, the middle arm of Richmond's Fraser River became home to both the UBC Thunderbirds varsity rowing program and St. George's School rowing program, with the completion of the new $6 million CAD John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse. In addition, this facility will also function to enhance participation in the sports of rowing and dragon boating for the greater community, including youth, adults, and rowing alumni. Richmond also has their own short track speed skating club, the Richmond Rockets and their own rugby union club, the Richmond Rugby Football Club.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the City of Richmond constructed an 8,000-seat speed-skating oval near the No. 2 Road Bridge, just across (the middle arm of) the Fraser River from Vancouver International Airport. The final construction cost (paid for by the city, the provincial government and the federal government) is around $178 million CAD. Since the completion of the Games, the oval has served as a recreational structure for local residents. The Richmond Oval officially opened on 12 December 2008. The city received $141 million CAD from ASPAC Developments for city-owned land next to the Oval. The sale more than covers the unfunded portion of the Oval's price tag.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond votes regularly for conservative or centrist parties, and is a stronghold for the BC Liberal Party.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Like Vancouver, but unlike most cities in British Columbia, Richmond runs on a political system of locally based political parties, or slates. For the most part, however, their organization is weak and they may collapse or change names from one election to another.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Local government includes a 9-member city council and a 7-member school board. City council consists of a mayor and 8 councillors. The current mayor of Richmond is Malcolm Brodie, who is serving his 6th term as mayor. The last elections were held in October 2018.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: In the 2018 city elections, the RCA (Richmond Citizen's Association) party, the Richmond First party, and the RITE Richmond party all won 2 seats, the Richmond Community Coalition won one seat, and there is one independent. On the Richmond Board of Education, the Richmond Education Party won three seats, the Richmond First Party won two seats, and there are two independents.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Richmond is a stronghold of the BC Liberal Party. In the most recent provincial election in 2020, the NDP flipped three of Richmond's four electoral districts (Richmond South Centre, Richmond-Queensborough, and Richmond-Steveston).


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: In the House of Commons of Canada, Richmond is divided between two electoral districts: Richmond Centre, which encompasses the city's centre and west, and Steveston—Richmond East, which encompasses the south and east. In the 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party won Richmond Centre and Steveston—Richmond East.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is connected by a system of bridges and tunnels to Vancouver and Delta, and through the New Westminster suburb of Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to the "mainland" portion of New Westminster. Three bridges (one of them twinned) connect Lulu Island to Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport; one bridge connects Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport to Vancouver; two bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver; one bridge connects Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to New Westminster; one bridge connects Queensborough to Annacis Island in Delta; one twinned bridge connects Richmond to Annacis Island; and one of the few underwater tunnels in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is served by two freeways: Highway 99, which connects to Interstate 5 at the border with the United States, and Highway 91, which connects Delta, New Westminster, and Richmond.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Railway bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver, New Westminster, and Annacis Island, and serve the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, as well as the Southern Railway of British Columbia (although the latter railway's Lulu Island trackage is entirely within Queensborough).


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The public transit system in Metro Vancouver, planned and funded by TransLink, currently has bus and rail connections from Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and the University of British Columbia. The Canada Line is a SkyTrain rail line, connecting both Richmond Centre and the airport to Downtown Vancouver and to points in between, opened on Monday, 17 August 2009. The Canada Line provides travel to Downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes with a frequency of 3 to 12 minutes, 20 hours per day. Major transit hubs are Richmond–Brighouse station, which is the hub for almost all Richmond bus routes, and Bridgeport station which is the hub for all bus routes from outlying suburbs. After the Canada Line closes at night, 24/7 service is provided by the N10 Nightbus every day of the week. The bus runs every 30 minutes, with the exception of one northbound trip (2am3am), during which service is at 60 minutes; service returns to 30 minutes after the northbound trip at 3am.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Vancouver International Airport (YVR), located on Sea Island, which is part of Richmond, to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. Several float plane companies (including Salt Spring Air, Harbour Air and Seair Seaplanes) operate from the south terminal, providing service to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. The airport is the second busiest in Canada and one of the busiest international airports on the West Coast of North America.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Health care in Richmond is overseen by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which also covers the City of Vancouver, District of West Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, and District of North Vancouver as well as coastal regions of British Columbia. Richmond Hospital, located on the southeast corner of Westminster Highway and Gilbert Road, is undergoing redevelopment. In 2018 the Ministry of Health approved an 8 floor acute care tower redevelopment plan to replace the aging north tower. On 2 July 2020, the provincial government announced the acute care tower concept plan was being updated, with an additional floor (9 total) and announcement of expanded and renewed ER, ICU, Pharmacy, along with renovations to the south tower to include more inpatient psychiatric beds along with a psych ER.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The city is known internationally as the headquarters of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, and also as the city where the National Annual Hemochromatosis Awareness Month was initiated by former Mayor G. H. Blair in 1987.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Richmond Fire Rescue Department, established in 1897, is responsible for providing both fire and extrication services in Richmond. Richmond Fire-Rescue has seven fire halls, and responds to fire-rescue calls and medical emergencies. It also provides emergency services at Vancouver International Airport. There are fire stations located in City Centre, Steveston, Cambie, Sea Island, Hamilton, Shellmont, and Crestwood.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The City of Richmond utilizes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as its primary form of municipal law enforcement with their main detachment located on No 5 Road near the Ironwood area. The local RCMP also has community police stations located in City Centre, South Arm, and Steveston.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond is home to a campus of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Sprott Shaw College and Trinity Western University. The British Columbia Institute of Technology also runs an aerospace technology campus in Sea Island near Vancouver International Airport.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Richmond has 10 secondary schools and 38 elementary schools, including three Montessori schools, two late French immersion schools, and six early French immersion schools. They are overseen by School District 38 Richmond. The district also hosts two International Baccalaureate programs, located at Richmond Secondary School and Hugh Boyd Secondary School.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The "Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique", headquartered in Richmond, operates one Francophone primary school in that city: "école des Navigateurs".


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Aberdeen Centre is home to Fairchild Radio, a radio station providing Mandarin and Cantonese speakers news, traffic and music.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Z95-3's studio is located in the Ironwood area of Richmond. The radio station provides Metro Vancouver listeners with hot adult contemporary, incorporating a mix of older songs with Top 40 hits.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Steveston Village has played home to several major American movies such as "Blade II" and "The 6th Day", and television series such as "The X-Files", "Supernatural", "The Secret Circle", "The Outer Limits", "Killer Instinct", "Smallville", "Stargate SG-1", the "Final Destination" series and the "Scary Movie" series. It is also the location for the fictitious town of Storybrooke in the ABC TV series "Once Upon a Time".


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Fantasy Gardens (an old amusement park which is relocated now) served as Halloweentown in the popular Disney Channel television movie "" and was also featured in the TV series "Killer Instinct" and "Stargate SG-1". The television series "Aliens in America" and "Life Unexpected" also made use of Cambie Secondary School in the northern part of the city.


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The exterior of the Workers' Compensation Board building (now the WorkSafeBC building) was used for the hospital in Stephen King's "Kingdom Hospital". These exteriors can now be seen on the CBS series "Eleventh Hour".


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: Vancouver International Airport on Richmond's Sea Island has also been featured in numerous films and television series, commonly standing in for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (as it does in "" and "Dead Like Me"). It is also featured as stand-ins for other airports in films such as "Final Destination", "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", "The L Word", "The Lizzie McGuire Movie", "" and "Are We There Yet?"


title: Richmond, British Columbia

text: The Aerospace Technology Campus of BCIT, located just next to Vancouver International Airport, was used as a military academy mess hall for the live-action prequel series for the popular console game "Halo 4" in "". In addition, many other films, such as "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "This Means War", were filmed there due to the directors taking a liking to the cement structure of the building, which makes for very official-looking sets.


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar (formerly known as Texassee) is an American country music group from Nashville, Tennessee. The group consists of Drew Womack (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Michael Britt (lead guitar, background vocals), Dean Sams (keyboards, acoustic guitar, background vocals), and Keech Rainwater (drums). Britt, Sams, and Rainwater co-founded the band in 1992 with original lead vocalist Richie McDonald and bass guitarist/vocalist John Rich. Rich exited the band in 1998 and went on to become one-half of the duo Big & Rich. Since his departure, Lonestar has relied alternatingly on session and touring musicians for bass guitar accompaniment. McDonald exited the band in 2007 to record as a solo artist, and was replaced by former McAlyster vocalist Cody Collins before returning in 2011. After leaving the band a second time in 2021, McDonald was replaced by Womack, previously the lead vocalist of Sons of the Desert.


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar has charted more than 20 singles on the Hot Country Songs chart, including 9 that reached No. 1: "No News", "Come Cryin' to Me", "Amazed", "Smile", "What About Now", "Tell Her", "I'm Already There", "My Front Porch Looking In", and "Mr. Mom". "Amazed" also charted at No. 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming the first country song to do so since "Islands in the Stream" in 1983. "Amazed" and "My Front Porch Looking In" were the top country songs of 1999 and 2003, respectively, on "Billboard" Year-End. The group has recorded seven albums, one EP, and a greatest hits package for the defunct BNA Records, and one album each for three different independent labels. Three of their albums have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The band's first two albums were defined by honky-tonk and neotraditionalist country influences, but subsequent albums largely drew from country pop. Along with his work with the band, McDonald has co-written singles for Clay Walker, The Wilkinsons, Billy Dean, and Sara Evans, in addition to singing guest vocals on Mindy McCready's 1996 single "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now".


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar began in 1992 as a band named Texassee. This portmanteau name was derived from the fact that all five members were natives of Texas, and met in Nashville, Tennessee's Opryland USA theme park. The original lineup consisted of lead singer/rhythm guitarist Richie McDonald (Lubbock), lead guitarist Michael Britt (Fort Worth), drummer Randy "Keech" Rainwater (Plano), keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Dean Sams (Garland), and bass guitarist/lead and background vocalist John Rich (Amarillo). Before Lonestar's foundation, Rainwater and Britt were members of the group Canyon, which recorded two albums for the independent 16th Avenue Records and charted in the country top 40 with "Hot Nights" in 1989. Soon after foundation, Texassee changed its name to Lonestar. The band first played at a concert in Nashville in 1993 and signed to BNA Records in January 1995.


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar's first release for BNA was an extended play titled "Lonestar Live", recorded at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville and issued in January 1995. Their debut single, "Tequila Talkin'", was released that August, peaking at No. 8 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart. It was included on their self-titled debut album, which was released that October. Its producers were Don Cook (best known for his work with Brooks & Dunn) and songwriter Wally Wilson, with whom Rich wrote the track "I Love the Way You Do That". Other contributing songwriters included former solo artists Bill LaBounty, Rick Vincent, and Larry Boone. The next single, "No News", became the band's first No. 1, holding that position for three weeks in April 1996. A physical single release of "Tequila Talkin'" and "No News" as a double A-side also went to No. 22 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. After these two songs, "Runnin' Away with My Heart" also went to No. 8 on the country charts. It was followed by "When Cowboys Didn't Dance" (co-written by McDonald), which failed to reach the top 40, and "Heartbroke Every Day", the only single to feature Rich on lead vocals, at No. 18. Both of these songs had previously appeared on the "Lonestar Live" EP. Their chart runs both overlapped with then-labelmate Mindy McCready's "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now" (from her debut album "Ten Thousand Angels"), which featured McDonald as a backing vocalist and peaked at No. 18 as well.


title: Lonestar

text: "Lonestar" was met with generally favorable reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic and Brian Wahlert of "Country Standard Time" both praised the band for having neotraditionalist country influences in their sound, with Wahlert also stating that the use of both Rich and McDonald on lead vocals gave the album "versatility". Rick Mitchell of "New Country" magazine was less positive, calling the band's sound "lite rock with a twang". In 1996, Lonestar won the Academy of Country Music award for Top New Vocal Group/Duet.


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar's sixth chart single was "Come Cryin' to Me", which Rich and Wilson co-wrote with "No News" co-writer Mark D. Sanders. The song became the band's second No. 1 single in August 1997, two months after the release of its corresponding album, "Crazy Nights". As with "Lonestar", it was produced by Wilson and Cook. The next single, "You Walked In", was co-written by rock producer and songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It peaked at number 12 on the country charts and became the band's first entry on the "Billboard" Hot 100, peaking at number 93. "Say When" and "Everything's Changed" followed it, with respective peaks at thirteen and two on the country music charts in 1998. The latter also went to number 95 on the Hot 100. Boone and Paul Nelson co-wrote both of these songs, collaborating with Rich on the former and McDonald on the latter. Also included on the album was a cover of Pure Prairie League's "Amie". Thom Owens gave the album a mixed review, saying that "Come Cryin' to Me" and the "Amie" cover were "solid", but criticizing the rest as "slick and bland".


title: Lonestar

text: Shortly after the release of "Everything's Changed", Rich left the band, as they and their advisors felt that having two lead singers would be confusing to fans. Late in 1998, Keith Harling charted with "Coming Back for You", a song which Rich co-wrote with Wilson. Rich later charted two solo singles for BNA between 2000 and 2001, and recorded an album for the label titled "Underneath the Same Moon", although it was not released at the time. In 2003, Rich began recording with Big Kenny as the duo Big & Rich, in addition to serving as a songwriter and producer for other country artists.


title: Lonestar

text: After Rich departed from the band, the other four members began performing "unplugged" shows which included acoustic renditions of their songs. The band members also expressed a desire to "reinvent" their sound. They chose Dann Huff as their new producer, and added three members to their touring band: Robbie Cheuvront (bass guitar), Kurt Baumer (fiddle), and Jeremy Moyers (steel guitar).


title: Lonestar

text: "Lonely Grill" was released in 1999. Huff produced all of the album, except for an acoustic version of "Everything's Changed", which Sam Ramage and Bob Wright produced. In Rich's absence, Cheuvront and session musician Mike Brignardello (with whom Huff previously recorded in the rock band Giant) alternated as bassists on the album. Although lead-off single "Saturday Night" failed to make the Top 40, its followup "Amazed" spent eight weeks at number 1 on the country charts. It would later reach number 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 as well, becoming the first song to top both the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts since Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream" in 1983. The song also peaked at number 2 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. In addition, "Amazed" was the number-one song on the 1999 "Billboard" Year-End chart for the country music format.


title: Lonestar

text: All of the other singles from "Lonely Grill" ("Smile", "What About Now", and "Tell Her") reached the top of the country charts as well, and the album was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Erlewine found the album an improvement over "Crazy Nights" due to its combination of pop and country influences. "Smile" also achieved its number 1 peak on Hot Country Songs the same week that "Amazed" topped the Hot 100, making for the first time in "Billboard" chart history that an act had held the number one position on two different charts with two different songs. "Amazed" was also released as a single in England following its success in the States. Also in this album's timespan, McDonald co-wrote Clay Walker's "She's Always Right" and The Wilkinsons' "Jimmy's Got a Girlfriend", which were respectively released in 1999 and 2000. He worked with "No News" co-writer Phil Barnhart and Ed Hill on the former, and "What About Now" co-writers Ron Harbin and Anthony L. Smith on the latter.


title: Lonestar

text: "Amazed" also gave the band its first Country Music Association nominations, for Single of the Year and Group of the Year.


title: Lonestar

text: Lonestar's first Christmas album, "This Christmas Time", was released in September 2000. It featured seven traditional Christmas songs, plus three original compositions: "If Every Day Could Be Christmas", "Reason for the Season", and the title track. The latter two songs were co-written by McDonald and Sams, respectively. The renditions of "Winter Wonderland", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", and "The Little Drummer Boy" included on this album all made the country charts in late 2000 based on Christmas airplay. Allmusic criticized the album as "an unfortunately slick and forgettable collection of holiday tunes, cloyingly done in a soulless pop-country style."


title: Lonestar

text: "I'm Already There", Lonestar's fourth album, was released in 2001. The same year, the band won the Country Music Association's award for Vocal Group of the Year. Serving as the lead single was the album's title track, which McDonald wrote with Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers. The song was inspired by McDonald's son, Rhett. It spent six weeks at number 1 on the country charts between June and July 2001, in addition to reaching number 24 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the Adult Contemporary charts. After it, "With Me" peaked at number 10, "Not a Day Goes By" reached number 3, and the Mark McGuinn-penned "Unusually Unusual" went to number 12. The album received a platinum certification. Maria Konicki Dinoia of Allmusic compared the album favorably to the ballads on "Lonely Grill", also praising McDonald's "vocal prowess." Alanna Nash of "Entertainment Weekly" was less favorable, saying that Huff's production was "generic". Also in 2001, the band announced a 30-date international tour with Jamie O'Neal and Blake Shelton.


title: Lonestar

text: BNA released Lonestar's first greatest hits package, "", in 2003. Three new songs were recorded for this album: "My Front Porch Looking In" (written by McDonald, Myers, and Don Pfrimmer), a cover of Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis", and "I Pray". The first two of these were both released as singles; "My Front Porch Looking In" went to number 1 and became the top country hit of 2003 on the "Billboard" Year-End charts, while the "Walking in Memphis" cover peaked at number 8.


title: Lonestar

text: "Let's Be Us Again" was released in May 2004. This album produced three singles, all co-written by McDonald. The title track was the first, reaching number 4 on the country charts in mid-2004. "Mr. Mom" followed it, becoming their final number 1 by the end of the year. After it, "Class Reunion (That Used to Be Us)" peaked at number 16 in early 2005. Huff produced the entire album except for the closing track "Somebody's Someone", which the band produced by itself; although never released as a single, this song charted at number 53 on the country charts in mid-2004 due to unsolicited airplay. Also included on this album was "Let Them Be Little", co-written by McDonald and Billy Dean. Dean recorded his own version of the song for his 2005 album of the same name for Curb Records, and his version peaked at number 8 on the country charts in early 2005. Another track on "Let's Be Us Again", "From There to Here", featured a guest vocal from Alabama lead singer Randy Owen. Erlewine praised the album for containing more up-tempo songs than its predecessors. Jeffrey B. Remz was less favorable, writing in "Country Standard Time" that "everything tends to have the same typical anthemic feel making it all sound so radio ready."


title: Lonestar

text: "Coming Home" followed in 2005. For this album, McDonald noted that Huff had told the band that he "didn't want to produce us anymore", so McDonald began searching for a new producer. In doing so, he purchased fifteen different albums at a Walmart to help in seeking a new producer, and chose Justin Niebank after hearing a demo that he produced for another group called BrittonJack. On July 19, 2005, Lonestar previewed the album at Sony Music Nashville's offices, accompanied by Moyers, Cheuvront, fiddler Rob Tyler, and BrittonJack member Jack Sizemore, who also co-wrote the track "Doghouse" on it. Only two singles were released from this album: "You're Like Comin' Home", which reached number 8, and "I'll Die Tryin'", which became their first single since "Saturday Night" to peak outside the top 40. Both of these songs were co-written by songwriter and producer Jeremy Stover, and both were previously recorded by Canadian country band Emerson Drive on their 2004 album "What If?" Erlewine wrote in Allmusic that "Coming Home" was a "perfectly dull set of songs of happy homes." Michael Sudhalter of "Country Standard Time" noted the presence of ballads comparable to the preceding albums, but also felt that most of the other content was comparable to the band's debut album.


title: Lonestar

text: In early 2006, Sara Evans released the single "Coalmine" from her album "Real Fine Place", which McDonald co-wrote with Roxie Dean and Ron Harbin. At a December 2006 concert in Corpus Christi, Texas, McDonald was unavailable while recovering from back surgery, so Josh Gracin sang lead vocals in his absence.


title: Lonestar

text: "Mountains" was the band's final album for BNA. Released in late 2006, it was produced by Mark Bright, whose other production credits include Blackhawk, Rascal Flatts, and Carrie Underwood. Its title track, co-written by Larry Boone, went to number 10 on the country charts, while followup "Nothing to Prove" peaked at 51. Erlewine criticized the band for taking "fewer risks than ever" on the album. "Billboard" writer Ken Tucker praised the album for containing positive messages in the singles, while also noting the use of vocal harmony and country-rock instrumentation. Jeff Lincoln of "Country Standard Time" criticized some of the songs for overly "sensitive" lyrics, but felt that "Always in the Band", a song about a singer attempting to balance his career and family life, was "personal".


title: Lonestar

text: In March 2007, Lonestar was dropped from BNA's roster due to declining sales. Guitarist Michael Britt attributes the group's commercial downfall in the mid-2000s to the label's choices in singles, saying in an interview with CMT, "I think we painted ourselves into a corner... They started putting out a bunch of family-type songs. I think that really pigeonholed us. The majority of the band didn't really want to continue doing that same thing. But that's what kept getting put out." McDonald also announced that he would be leaving the group at the end of 2007 to begin a solo career. Cody Collins, who had previously been the lead singer of the band McAlyster in 2000, was confirmed as his replacement. Lonestar's first release with Collins as lead singer was the 2007 Christmas music compilation titled "My Christmas List", available exclusively at the restaurant and gift shop chain Cracker Barrel. Dan MacIntosh of "Country Standard Time" reviewed this album favorably, calling Collins' voice a "comfortable fit" while also praising the variety of arrangements given to traditional Christmas carols on the album.


title: Lonestar

text: McDonald also released a Christmas album in late 2007, titled "If Every Day Could Be Christmas". It was followed a year later by "I Turn to You", a contemporary Christian music album released via Stroudavarious Records (later known as R&J Records). After this album, he had two chart singles in 2009, both peaking at number 51: "How Do I Just Stop" and "Six Foot Teddy Bear". The former appeared on his third solo album, "Slow Down", which was released via Loremoma in 2010.


title: Lonestar

text: The group's first single to feature Collins on lead vocals was "Let Me Love You", which was released in early 2008 on Saguaro Road Records. It is the first single from the album "Party Heard Around the World", released on April 27, 2010, and produced by the band itself. A review in "Country Standard Time" criticized Collins' vocals as being too similar to those of Keith Urban, while also saying that it had "[a] lot of songs about love, life and relationships. The usual clichés you find in today's pop-country." Erlewine found little difference in the band's sound following the change to Collins, saying that "they're still gunning for a wide audience because commercialism simply is in their bones. The Lonestar name means nothing if the band isn't big, slick, and crowd-pleasing."


title: Lonestar

text: Collins left in 2011 and McDonald returned to the group. To honor both his rejoining and the band's 20th anniversary, they began an international tour in 2012. Their first single after his rejoining was "The Countdown", released via 4 Star Records. It peaked at number 52 on the country charts in late 2012. The song is included on an album titled "Life as We Know It", released on June 4, 2013. Erlewine was mixed toward the album's content, writing in Allmusic that it was "filled with bright, shiny songs about romance...infused with a genial fondness for everything that comes their way...All this sounds sweet enough in theory, but in execution, the calculation is a bit too apparent." Henry L. Carrigan Jr. of "Country Standard Time" wrote that it "is all about singing it loud, with one song barely distinguishable from another musically or thematically".


title: Lonestar

text: In 2014, duo Haley & Michaels released "Just Another Love Song", which they wrote with McDonald. The song contains lyrical references to "Amazed", and features McDonald singing its chorus. "Never Enders", Lonestar's tenth album, came out in 2016. The album's lead single and title track was delivered to country radio on March 17. "Never Enders" was released and distributed through Shanachie Entertainment on April 29. Erlewine was more positive toward this album than its predecessors, noting that "The songs may not be grabbers, but they're sturdy, melodic constructions given a lift by an enveloping, polished production that effectively softens the rougher edges of McDonald's voice; he's hardly gravelly, but he is nicely weathered." The album received a mixed review from Lincoln, who found some of the songwriting formulaic but also praised the melody of the title track and McDonald's singing voice.


title: Lonestar

text: On March 5, 2021, McDonald announced that he would again be departing Lonestar to pursue a career as a member of the Frontmen of Country, which also consists of former Little Texas lead singer Tim Rushlow and Restless Heart lead singer Larry Stewart. McDonald was succeeded by Drew Womack, the former lead singer of Sons of the Desert, as Lonestar's new lead vocalist.


title: Lonestar

text: Early on, the band's sound drew from honky-tonk and neotraditional country influences, but shifted more toward a country pop sound with subsequent albums. Erlewrine noted in a review of "Let's Be Us Again" that "Toward the end of the '90s, Lonestar decided to move firmly into the mainstream of contemporary country, leaving behind any hardcore country influences they may have had in favor of sweet anthemic ballads and poppy country-rockers." He had previously compared their debut album to Merle Haggard and George Jones, while a review of the same in "Country Standard Time" said that the band seemed "very similar to Shenandoah — energetic and fun, but not spectacular." The same review praised the same album for having "clever wordplay" on "No News" and prominent fiddle and steel guitar on "Runnin' Away with My Heart". Allmusic writer Thom Owens found the second album "veering toward smooth, Eagles-influenced contemporary country". Of "Lonely Grill", Erlewine also stated that "Lonestar began as a fairly straight-ahead country band, indebted to pure honky tonk. With their second record, they moved themselves toward pop and, ironically, it didn't pay off in great dividends, even if it spawned a Top 10 single. For their third album, "Lonely Grill", they take a middle ground, moving back toward hardcore country while retaining elements of the pop sheen of "Crazy Nights"." That album's "Amazed" also became a popular choice for fans to play at their weddings, while also becoming their first song to enter Adult Contemporary playlists.


title: Lonestar

text: Dinoia noted that "I'm Already There" continued to emphasize the band's focus on "passionate ballads" as exemplified by "Amazed", while Jeffrey B. Remz of "Country Standard Time" described the same album's sound as "satisfactory music that is squarely in the country light category, but never really goes beyond that." He also noted in a review of "Let's Be Us Again" that the "big sound" achieved on that album and the ones immediately before it was the result of Huff's production style. For the "Coming Home" album, the band members said that they wanted to achieve a sound with more "edge" and less influenced by such ballads. As is typical of country music bands, most of their albums featured session musicians instead of having the individual members play most of the instruments themselves. "New Country" magazine's review of their debut album criticized the band's sound for this reason, while Andrew W. Griffin of "Country Standard Time" also noted the effect on the band's overall sound: "McDonald's voice made Lonestar. It's a good voice. Full of passion and country-embracing enthusiasm. As for his band mates, Lonestar relied way too much on sidemen to have developed a discernible sound of their own."


title: Lonestar

text: McDonald competed on one episode of the television game show "Wheel of Fortune" recorded at the Grand Ole Opry house in Nashville and aired in February 2003. The episode was part of a special week that paired contestants with country music singers, who made donations to charity equivalent to their respective contestants' winnings. For his episode, McDonald donated to Habitat for Humanity. All four members of Lonestar appeared on separate episodes of the same game show that aired in February 2007, during another week with identical gameplay and payouts. McDonald and Britt both won the bonus round, respectively donating $61,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and $59,350 for Adopt-a-Platoon, while Sams and Rainwater won $10,000 each for charities. The group also appeared on "The Price Is Right", serving as the house band on the episode that aired June 17, 2010. They performed the show's theme song, along with a sample of songs from "Party Heard Around the World".


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Sex-positive feminism centers on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists generally agree that prostitutes themselves should not be criminalized or penalized.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Gayle Rubin summarizes the conflict over sex within feminism. She says that one feminist stream criticizes the sexual constraints and difficulties faced by sexually active women (e.g., access to abortion), while another stream views sexual liberalization as an extension "male privilege".


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Sex-positive feminists reject the vilification of male sexuality that many attribute to radical feminism, and instead embrace the entire range of human sexuality. They argue that the patriarchy limits sexual expression and are in favor of giving people of all genders more sexual opportunities, rather than restricting pornography. Sex-positive feminists generally reject sexual essentialism, defined by Rubin as "the idea that sex is a natural force that exists prior to social life and shapes institutions". Rather, they see sexual orientation and gender as social constructs that are heavily influenced by society.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Some radical feminists reject the dichotomy of "sex-positive" and "sex-negative" feminism, suggesting that instead, the real divide is between liberal feminism and radical feminism.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Sex-radical feminists in particular, come to a sex-positive stance from a deep distrust in the patriarchy's ability to secure women's best interest in sexually limiting laws. Other feminists identify women's sexual liberation as the real motive behind the women's movement. Naomi Wolf writes, "Orgasm is the body's natural call to feminist politics." Sharon Presley, the National Coordinator of the Association of Libertarian Feminists, writes that in the area of sexuality, government blatantly discriminates against women.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: The social background in which sex-positive feminism operates must also be understood: Christian societies are often influenced by what is understood as 'traditional' sexual morality: according to the Christian doctrine, sexual activity must only take place in marriage, and must be vaginal intercourse; sexual acts outside marriage and 'unnatural sex' (i.e. oral, anal sex, termed as "sodomy") are forbidden; yet forced sexual intercourse within marriage is not seen as immoral by a few social and religious conservatives, owing to the existence of so-called 'conjugal rights' defined in the Bible at 1 Corinthians 7:3-5.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Such organization of sexuality has increasingly come under legal and social attack in recent decades.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: In addition, in certain cultures, particularly in Mediterranean countries influenced by Roman Catholicism, traditional ideas of masculinity and female purity. This has led to what many interpret as a double standard between male and female sexuality; men are expected to be sexually assertive as a way of affirming their masculinity, but for a woman to be considered 'good', she must remain pure. Indeed, Cesare Lombroso claimed in his book, "The Female Offender", that women could be categorized into three types: the "Criminal Woman", the "Prostitute", and the "Normal Woman". As such, highly sexed women (prostitutes) were deemed as abnormal.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Feminists "ranging from Betty Friedan and Kate Millett to Karen DeCrow, Wendy Kaminer and Jamaica Kincaid" supported the right to consume pornography. Feminists who have advocated a sex-positive position include writer Kathy Acker, academic Camille Paglia, sex educator Megan Andelloux, Susie Bright, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Diana Cage, Avedon Carol, Patrick Califia, Betty Dodson, Nancy Friday, Jane Gallop, Laci Green, porn performer Nina Hartley, Josephine Ho, Amber L. Hollibaugh, Brenda Howard, Laura Kipnis, Wendy McElroy, Inga Muscio, Joan Nestle, Marcia Pally, Carol Queen, Candida Royalle, Gayle Rubin, Annie Sprinkle, Tristan Taormino, Ellen Willis, and Mireille Miller- Young.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: According to sexologist and author Carol Queen in an interview with researcher and professor Lynn Comella, she said, "[sex positivity] is the cultural philosophy that understands sexuality as a potentially positive force in one's life, and it can be [...] contrasted with sex-negativity, which sees sex as problematic, disruptive, dangerous. Sex-positivity allows for and [...] celebrates sexual diversity, differing desires and relationships structures, and individual choices based on consent... [negative sexual experiences caused by lack of information, support, and choices] are the cultural conditions that sex-positivity allows us to point out as curtailers of healthy, enjoyable sexual experience."


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: She also added, "This sense that many of us were being denied space and credentials to speak for ourselves and speak about issues within our community is what [...] led to the efflorescence of sex-positive feminism. And it is why there is a sex-positive "feminism" and not just sex-positivity."


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Authors such as Gayle Rubin and Wendy McElroy see the roots of sex-positive feminism stemming from the work of sex reformers and workers for sex education and access to contraception, such as Havelock Ellis, Margaret Sanger, Mary Dennett and, later, Alfred Kinsey and Shere Hite. However, the contemporary incarnation of sex-positive feminism appeared more recently, following an increasing feminist focus on pornography as a source of women's oppression in the 1970s.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: The rise of second-wave feminism was concurrent with the sexual revolution and rulings that loosened legal restrictions on access to pornography. In the 1970s, radical feminists became increasingly focused on issues around sexuality in a patriarchal society. Some feminist groups began to concern themselves with prescribing what proper feminist sexuality should look like. This was especially characteristic of lesbian separatist groups, but some heterosexual women's groups, such as Redstockings, became engaged with this issue as well. On the other hand, there were also feminists, such as Betty Dodson, who saw women's sexual pleasure and masturbation as central to women's liberation. Pornography was not a major issue during this era; radical feminists were generally opposed to pornography, but the issue was not treated as especially important until the mid-1970s.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: There were, however, feminist prostitutes-rights advocates, such as COYOTE, which campaigned for the decriminalization of prostitution.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: The late 1970s found American culture becoming increasingly concerned about the aftermath of a decade of greater sexual freedom, including concerns about explicit violent and sexual imagery in the media, the mainstreaming of pornography, increased sexual activity among teenagers, and issues such as the dissemination of child pornography and the purported rise of "snuff films". (Critics maintain that this atmosphere amounted to a moral panic, which reached its peak in the mid-1980s.). These concerns were reflected in the feminist movement, with radical feminist groups claiming that pornography was a central underpinning of patriarchy and a direct cause of violence against women. Robin Morgan summarized this idea in her statement, "Pornography is the theory; rape the practice."


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Andrea Dworkin and Robin Morgan began articulating a vehemently anti-porn stance based in radical feminism beginning in 1974, and anti-porn feminist groups, such as Women Against Pornography and similar organizations, became highly active in various US cities during the late 1970s. As anti-porn feminists broadened their criticism and activism to include not only pornography, but prostitution and sadomasochism, other feminists became concerned about the direction the movement was taking and grew more critical of anti-porn feminism.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: This included feminist BDSM practitioners (notably Samois), prostitutes-rights advocates, and many liberal and anti-authoritarian feminists for whom free speech, sexual freedom, and advocacy of women's agency were central concerns.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: One of the earliest feminist arguments against this anti-pornography trend amongst feminists was Ellen Willis's essay ""Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography"" first published in October 1979 in the "Village Voice". In response to the formation of Women Against Pornography in 1979, Willis wrote an article (the origin of the term, "pro-sex feminism"), expressing worries about anti-pornography feminists' attempts to make feminism into a single-issue movement, arguing that feminists should not issue a blanket condemnation against all pornography and that restrictions on pornography could just as easily be applied to speech that feminists found favorable to themselves.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Rubin calls for a new feminist theory of sex, saying that existing feminist thoughts on sex had frequently considered sexual liberalization as a trend that only increases male privilege. Rubin criticizes anti-pornography feminists who she claims "have condemned virtually every variant of sexual expression as anti-feminist," arguing that their view of sexuality is dangerously close to anti-feminist, conservative sexual morality. Rubin encourages feminists to consider the political aspects of sexuality without promoting sexual repression. She also argues that the blame for women's oppression should be put on targets who deserve it: "the family, religion, education, child-rearing practices, the media, the state, psychiatry, job discrimination, and unequal pay..." rather than on relatively un-influential sexual minorities.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: McElroy (1995) argues that for feminists in the 1970s and 1980s, turning to matters of sexual expression was a result of frustration with feminism's apparent failure to achieve success through political channels: in the United States, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) had failed, and abortion rights came under attack during the Reagan administration.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: Scholar Elaine Jeffreys observes that the 'anti-prostitute' position gained increased critical purchase in China during the establishment of the international movement for prostitutes in 1985, demanding recognition of prostitutes' rights as an emancipation and labor issue rather than of criminality, immorality or disease.


title: Sex-positive feminism

text: By the 2000s, the positive-sex position had driven various international human rights NGOs to actively pressure the Chinese government to abandon its official policy of banning prostitution in post-reform China and recognize voluntary prostitution as legitimate work.