title: Symmetric group

text: The Sylow "p"-subgroups of the symmetric group of degree "p" are just the cyclic subgroups generated by "p"-cycles. There are such subgroups simply by counting generators. The normalizer therefore has order and is known as a Frobenius group (especially for ), and is the affine general linear group, .


title: Symmetric group

text: The Sylow "p"-subgroups of the symmetric group of degree "p" are the wreath product of two cyclic groups of order "p". For instance, when , a Sylow 3-subgroup of Sym(9) is generated by and the elements , and every element of the Sylow 3-subgroup has the form for .


title: Symmetric group

text: The Sylow "p"-subgroups of the symmetric group of degree "p" are sometimes denoted W("n"), and using this notation one has that is the wreath product of W("n") and W(1).


title: Symmetric group

text: In general, the Sylow "p"-subgroups of the symmetric group of degree "n" are a direct product of "a" copies of W("i"), where and (the base "p" expansion of "n").


title: Symmetric group

text: For instance, , the dihedral group of order 8, and so a Sylow 2-subgroup of the symmetric group of degree 7 is generated by and is isomorphic to .


title: Symmetric group

text: These calculations are attributed to and described in more detail in . Note however that attributes the result to an 1844 work of Cauchy, and mentions that it is even covered in textbook form in .


title: Symmetric group

text: A transitive subgroup of S is a subgroup whose action on {1, 2, ..., "n"} is transitive. For example, the Galois group of a (finite) Galois extension is a transitive subgroup of S, for some "n".


title: Symmetric group

text: Cayley's theorem states that every group "G" is isomorphic to a subgroup of some symmetric group. In particular, one may take a subgroup of the symmetric group on the elements of "G", since every group acts on itself faithfully by (left or right) multiplication.


title: Symmetric group

text: Cyclic groups are those that are generated by a single permutation. When a permutation is represented in cycle notation, the order of the cyclic subgroup that it generates is the least common multiple of the lengths of its cycles. For example, in S, one cyclic subgroup of order 5 is generated by (13254), whereas the largest cyclic subgroups of S are generated by elements like (123)(45) that have one cycle of length 3 and another cycle of length 2. This rules out many groups as possible subgroups of symmetric groups of a given size. For example, S has no subgroup of order 15 (a divisor of the order of S), because the only group of order 15 is the cyclic group. The largest possible order of a cyclic subgroup (equivalently, the largest possible order of an element in S) is given by Landau's function.


title: Symmetric group

text: For , the automorphism group is trivial, but S is not trivial: it is isomorphic to C, which is abelian, and hence the center is the whole group.


title: Symmetric group

text: For , it has an outer automorphism of order 2: , and the automorphism group is a semidirect product .


title: Symmetric group

text: In fact, for any set "X" of cardinality other than 6, every automorphism of the symmetric group on "X" is inner, a result first due to according to .


title: Symmetric group

text: The group homology of S is quite regular and stabilizes: the first homology (concretely, the abelianization) is:


title: Symmetric group

text: The first homology group is the abelianization, and corresponds to the sign map S → S which is the abelianization for "n" ≥ 2; for "n" < 2 the symmetric group is trivial. This homology is easily computed as follows: S is generated by involutions (2-cycles, which have order 2), so the only non-trivial maps are to S and all involutions are conjugate, hence map to the same element in the abelianization (since conjugation is trivial in abelian groups). Thus the only possible maps send an involution to 1 (the trivial map) or to −1 (the sign map). One must also show that the sign map is well-defined, but assuming that, this gives the first homology of S.


title: Symmetric group

text: Note that the exceptional low-dimensional homology of the alternating group (formula_72 corresponding to non-trivial abelianization, and formula_73 due to the exceptional 3-fold cover) does not change the homology of the symmetric group; the alternating group phenomena do yield symmetric group phenomena – the map formula_74 extends to formula_75 and the triple covers of A and A extend to triple covers of S and S – but these are not "homological" – the map formula_76 does not change the abelianization of S, and the triple covers do not correspond to homology either.


title: Symmetric group

text: The homology "stabilizes" in the sense of stable homotopy theory: there is an inclusion map , and for fixed "k", the induced map on homology is an isomorphism for sufficiently high "n". This is analogous to the homology of families Lie groups stabilizing.


title: Symmetric group

text: The homology of the infinite symmetric group is computed in , with the cohomology algebra forming a Hopf algebra.


title: Symmetric group

text: The representation theory of the symmetric group is a particular case of the representation theory of finite groups, for which a concrete and detailed theory can be obtained. This has a large area of potential applications, from symmetric function theory to problems of quantum mechanics for a number of identical particles.


title: Symmetric group

text: The symmetric group S has order "n"<nowiki>!</nowiki>. Its conjugacy classes are labeled by partitions of "n". Therefore, according to the representation theory of a finite group, the number of inequivalent irreducible representations, over the complex numbers, is equal to the number of partitions of "n". Unlike the general situation for finite groups, there is in fact a natural way to parametrize irreducible representation by the same set that parametrizes conjugacy classes, namely by partitions of "n" or equivalently Young diagrams of size "n".


title: Symmetric group

text: Each such irreducible representation can be realized over the integers (every permutation acting by a matrix with integer coefficients); it can be explicitly constructed by computing the Young symmetrizers acting on a space generated by the Young tableaux of shape given by the Young diagram.


title: Symmetric group

text: Over other fields the situation can become much more complicated. If the field "K" has characteristic equal to zero or greater than "n" then by Maschke's theorem the group algebra "K"S is semisimple. In these cases the irreducible representations defined over the integers give the complete set of irreducible representations (after reduction modulo the characteristic if necessary).


title: Symmetric group

text: However, the irreducible representations of the symmetric group are not known in arbitrary characteristic. In this context it is more usual to use the language of modules rather than representations. The representation obtained from an irreducible representation defined over the integers by reducing modulo the characteristic will not in general be irreducible. The modules so constructed are called "Specht modules", and every irreducible does arise inside some such module. There are now fewer irreducibles, and although they can be classified they are very poorly understood. For example, even their dimensions are not known in general.


title: Symmetric group

text: The determination of the irreducible modules for the symmetric group over an arbitrary field is widely regarded as one of the most important open problems in representation theory.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales against Richard III of England in October 1483. He was executed without trial for his role in the uprisings. Stafford is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance (and presumed murder) of Richard's nephews, the Princes in the Tower.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: The only son of Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford and Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford, Buckingham became Earl of Stafford in 1458 upon his father's death, and was made a ward of King Edward IV. He became the Duke of Buckingham at age 4 in 1460 following the death of his grandfather, Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham at the Battle of Northampton. In February 1466, at age 10, he was married to Catherine Woodville, youngest sister of Edward IV's wife Elizabeth Woodville, and daughter to Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers; she was only around 8 at the time. Buckingham and his wife had five children:


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Upon the death of Edward IV in 1483, Buckingham allied himself to the king's younger brother the Duke of Gloucester, helping him succeed to the throne as Richard III in lieu of Edward and Elizabeth's living sons Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury. Becoming disaffected with Richard, Buckingham then joined with Henry Tudor and Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort, leading an unsuccessful rebellion in his name. For his part, Buckingham raised a militia from his estates in Wales and the Marches, which he was to lead into England to join other rebels; but the rivers Wye and Severn were in flood and impassable, and after waiting ten days his men dispersed. Buckingham fled in disguise into Shropshire but was discovered.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Buckingham was executed for treason by Richard on 2 November 1483: he was beheaded in the courtyard between the Blue Boar Inn and the Saracen's Head Inn (both demolished in the 18th century) in Salisbury market-place. His burial place is uncertain; a tomb inside the parish church at Britford, near Salisbury, may be his.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Buckingham's precise motivation has been called "obscure"; he had been treated well by Richard. The traditional naming of the rebellion after him has been labelled a misnomer, with John Morton and Reginald Bray more plausible leaders.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: As Richard III's ally, the plausibility of Buckingham as a suspect depends on the princes having already been dead by the time Stafford was executed in November 1483. It has been suggested that Buckingham had several potential motives. As a descendant of Edward III, through John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester on his father's side, as well as through John of Gaunt through John Beaufort, son of John of Gaunt on his mother's side, Buckingham may have hoped to accede to the throne himself in due course; alternatively, he may have been acting on behalf of a third party.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Some, notably Paul Murray Kendall, regard Buckingham as the likeliest suspect: his execution, after he had rebelled against Richard in October 1483, might signify that he and the king had fallen out; Alison Weir takes this as a sign that Richard had murdered the princes without Buckingham's knowledge and Buckingham had been shocked by it. A contemporary Portuguese document suggests Buckingham as the guilty party, stating, "... and after the passing away of king Edward in the year of 83, another one of his brothers, the Duke of Gloucester, had in his power the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, the young sons of the said king his brother, and turned them to the Duke of Buckingham, under whose custody the said Princes were starved to death."


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: A document dated some decades after the disappearance was found within the archives of the College of Arms in London in 1980; this stated that the murder "be the vise of the Duke of Buckingham". This led Michael Bennett to suggest that possibly some of Richard's prominent supporters, Buckingham and Tyrell, murdered the princes on their own initiative without waiting for Richard's orders. Bennett noted in support of this theory: "After the King's departure Buckingham was in effective command in the capital, and it is known that when the two men met a month later there was an unholy row between them."


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Buckingham is the only person to be named as responsible in a contemporary chronicle other than Richard himself. However, for two reasons he is unlikely to have acted alone. First of all, if he were guilty of acting without Richard's orders it is extremely surprising that Richard did not lay the blame for the princes' murder on Buckingham after Buckingham was disgraced and executed, especially as Richard could potentially have cleared his own name by doing so. Secondly, it is likely he would have required Richard's help to gain access to the princes, under close guard in the Tower of London, although Kendall argued that, as Constable of England, he might have been exempt from this ruling.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: As a result, although it is extremely possible that he was implicated in the decision to murder them, the hypothesis that Buckingham acted without Richard's knowledge is not widely accepted by historians. While Jeremy Potter suggested that Richard would have kept silent had Buckingham been guilty because nobody would have believed Richard was not party to the crime, he further notes that "Historians are agreed that Buckingham would never have dared to act without Richard's complicity or, at least, connivance". However, Potter also hypothesised that perhaps Buckingham was fantasising about seizing the crown himself at this point and saw the murder of the princes as a first step to achieving this goal. This theory formed the basis of Sharon Penman's historical novel "The Sunne in Splendour".


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Buckingham is among the major characters featured in William Shakespeare's play "Richard III", which portrays him as a man openly allying with Richard III in his schemes until he is ordered to kill the Princes in the Tower. In Colley Cibber's 1699 adaptation of Shakespeare's play, he is the subject of the notable line "Off with his head! So much for Buckingham!"


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: In Sharon Kay Penman's 1982 debut novel "The Sunne in Splendour", Buckingham is depicted as the murderer of the Princes in the Tower. He is a supporting character in Philippa Gregory's 2009 historical novel "The White Queen" (2009) and a central character in Susan Higginbotham's historical fiction novel, "The Stolen Crown" (2010), which deals with his associations with King Edward IV and King Richard III.


title: Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

text: Buckingham is the major character and storyteller in Isolde Martyn's historical novel "The Devil in Ermine" (2013), which deals with the events of 1483. As Henry Stafford, he is the lead character in J.P. Reedman's "A Man Who Would be King" (2017) which tells his story from his own first-person viewpoint, and portrays him as desiring the throne for himself.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum is a caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear (specifically grizzly bear) guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum traces its heritage to the experiments conducted by Charles O'Neil, Elmer Keith and Don Hopkins with cartridges firing bullets in the late 1940s. The use of bullets may seem odd today but at the time this was the standard diameter of European .33 caliber bullets which were more common than the diameter bullets used in cartridges such as the .33 Winchester. Furthermore, the were available in heavier weights than the bullets. O'Neil, Keith and Hopkins experiments led to the creation of the .333 OKH, which was based on the .30-06 Springfield case necked up to accept .33 caliber bullets and the .334 OKH which used a shortened .375 H&H Magnum necked down to accept the same bullets.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum was introduced in 1958 together with the .264 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum, all of which used a common case design based on the .375 H&H Magnum case blown out and shortened to , much like the .334 OKH. When the cartridge was introduced, Winchester offered a at , a at and a at . Sometime later, Winchester introduced the Winchester Model 70 Alaskan chambered for the cartridge. This chambering left little doubt that the cartridge was intended for big heavy dangerous game.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum follows the modern cartridge designs in that the cartridge case features a case with minimal taper so as to maximize case capacity yet providing reliable feeding and extraction. The .338 Winchester Magnum is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which was shortened to , blown out and necked down to hold a bullet. The case has a capacity of 86.0 grain of HO (5.58 cm). The cartridge follows the design of the standard length Weatherby Magnum cartridges such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum and the 7 mm Weatherby Magnum for which Winchester had supplied basic brass until 1948.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: Both the Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives(CIP) and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) govern and regulate the specifications regarding the .338 Winchester Magnum.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: SAAMI and the CIP recommend a 6-groove barrel with a twist rate of one revolution in of barrel length with a bore Ø of and a groove diameter of Ø of , with each groove having a width of . The SAAMI-recommended average pressure for the cartridge is . The CIP enforces a pressure limit for the cartridge.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: This cartridge is able to push a bullet to velocities of , generating , providing energy values at 200 yards that are roughly equivalent to the .30-06 Springfield's energy values at muzzle. Bullets are available in a very wide range of designs and weights ranging from 150 to 300 grains. SAAMI pressure level is 64,000 psi.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum is capable of launching heavier bullets than the .30 caliber (7.62mm) cartridges. The most common bullets loaded for the .338 Winchester range from to . Typical bullet weights for factory ammunition are , , and the . Typical velocities for these bullet weights range from for the to about for the bullet each generating approximately of energy. This is approximately 25% more energy generated than the 30-06 Springfield.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: Winchester's Ballistic Silvertip ammunition (SBST338) retains over at and has energy at . Winchester's Combined Technologies Accubond ammunition (S338CT) extend the range for these energy levels even further to and respectively.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: Hornady's SST Superformance load has muzzle energy of @ 3030fps. It maintains @ 2068fps @ 500 meters. Hornady's SST Superformance load has muzzle energy of @ 2840fps. It maintains @ 2014fps @ 500 meters. This is from a 24" test barrel as compared to 27.5" test barrel for a 338 Lapua. Figures would be higher if shot from a 27.5" test barrel but still over 150fps slower than a 338 Lapua if tested with the same length barrel.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The recoil of this caliber is quite heavy, with about of recoil energy in a rifle. This is about twice as much as the recoil from an average .308 Winchester. Strong recoil like this can be mitigated with the use of properly designed stocks and recoil pads. By comparison, this cartridge has less recoil than other more powerful .338-caliber rifles such as the .338 RUM, .340 Weatherby and .338 Lapua.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: When the .338 Winchester was introduced there was a general preference for heavier bullet weights between . However, since that time preferred bullet weights have decreased to weights between . This is due in part to the bullet technology available today. Lighter bullets made today are able to hold together and penetrate deeper than heavier bullets of the past.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: In North America, the .338 Winchester Magnum is most commonly used for the hunting of larger deer species such as elk and moose. It is quite popular with elk hunters, with bullets ranging between generally preferred for large class 3 game such as elk or moose.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: Apart from the larger deer species, the .338 Winchester Magnum is often used for the hunting of and defense against dangerous class 3 game, particularly the great bears including grizzly, polar and brown bears. It is often carried by fishermen, hunters and guides in Alaska and Canada for protection as encounters with these larger bear species can be common.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: The .338 Winchester Magnum can be considered a good all-round plains game hunting rifle in Africa. It has also been found to be effective against the big cats where hunting allows for the use of the cartridge.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: Due to the cartridge's popularity all North American rifle manufacturers offer rifles chambered in the .338 Winchester Magnum. Ruger, Browning, Kimber, Remington, Savage, Weatherby, Mossberg, Howa and Winchester chamber the cartridge in several product lines. Almost all custom rifle makers in the United States and Canada produce .338 Winchester rifles. In European rifle makers Blaser, Mauser, Sako and Tikka also manufacture rifles for this cartridge. The large number of rifle choices available in the .338 Winchester Magnum offers the rifleman a greater choice in available rifles.


title: .338 Winchester Magnum

text: All North American ammunition makers offer several loadings of the .338 Winchester Magnum to the public for sale. At this point in time Federal has six in their Vital-Shok and Fusion ammunition lines, Hornady has five, including four in their Superformance ammunition which is putting an end to the light magnum and heavy magnum line of ammo but adds up to more without added recoil or muzzle blast. The 185 gr. GMX (gilding metal expanding) round has the following performance: at the muzzle, at 100 yards, of kinetic energy at the muzzle and at 100 yards. 200 gr. Remington and Winchester offer four loadings each for the cartridge. Several smaller ammunition including Cor-Bon and Double Tap also manufacture loaded ammunition.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: The Casual Vacancy is a 2012 novel written by J. K. Rowling. The book was published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. A paperback edition was released on 23 July 2013. It was Rowling's first publication since the "Harry Potter" series, her first apart from that series, and her first novel for adult readership.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: The novel is set in a suburban West Country town called Pagford and begins with the death of beloved parish councillor Barry Fairbrother. Subsequently, a seat on the council is vacant and a conflict ensues before the election for his successor takes place. Factions develop, particularly concerning whether to dissociate with a local council estate, 'the Fields', with which Barry supported an alliance. However, those running for a place soon find their darkest secrets revealed on the Parish Council online forum, ruining their campaign and leaving the election in turmoil.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Major themes in the novel are class, politics, and social issues such as drugs, prostitution and rape. The novel was the fastest-selling in the United Kingdom in three years and had the second best-selling opening week for an adult novel there since Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol". It became the 15th best-selling book of 2012 during its first week of release. Within the first three weeks the book's total sales topped one million copies in English in all formats across all territories, including the US and the UK. The book also set a Goodreads record for the all-time biggest 'started reading' day, later winning the Best Fiction category in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: The book is dedicated to Rowling's husband, Dr Neil Murray. This was the third time Murray has received a dedication from his wife, after she shared a dedication in the fifth "Harry Potter" book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and the seventh "Harry Potter" book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: The book is split into seven parts, and features varying narratives. Each section is headed by a definition from Charles Arnold-Baker's book "Local Council Administration".


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: The novel is split into seven parts, the first depicting the death of local Pagford Parish Councillor, Barry Fairbrother, who suffers a burst aneurysm in the car park of a local golf course. The inhabitants of the town share the news with their friends and relatives and chaos ensues. The problem arises in deciding whether local council estate 'The Fields' should join the local city of Yarvil, or remain as part of Pagford as Fairbrother favoured; his death is seen by many as an opportunity to end the debate once and for all. The fate of the methadone rehabilitation clinic, Bellchapel, is also a key controversy in the parish.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: After the date for the election of Fairbrother's replacement is announced, the children of some of the councillors and candidates decide to make damaging, yet often accurate, posts on the Parish Council online forum. Andrew Price is the first to do so, by means of an SQL injection which he learned how to perform in school, operating under the name 'The_Ghost_Of_Barry_Fairbrother' and informing everyone that his father, Simon, had obtained a stolen computer. Sukhvinder follows, posting that her mother, Dr. Parminder Jawanda, was in love with Barry. Thirdly, Fats Wall posts, claiming his adoptive father Cubby (a Deputy Headteacher) suffers from obsessive fear of having molested a child without any memory of the fact. Finally, in a desperate attempt to relieve the guilt weighing on him for costing his father his job, Andrew confides in Simon and posts that Council leader Howard Mollison is having an affair with his business partner Maureen. Howard's son, Miles Mollison, is the winning candidate, much to the displeasure of his wife, Samantha, who confesses she did not know if she still loves him, only to eventually reconcile.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Another focus of the novel is the traumatic life of Krystal Weedon. Sixteen-year-old Krystal lives in The Fields with her four-year-old brother Robbie and their heroin-addicted prostitute mother Terri. Social worker Kay is determined for Terri to stop her drug use and take responsibility for the care of Robbie; however, Terri relapses and her drug dealer Obbo rapes Krystal. Spurred on to start a family elsewhere, Krystal has unprotected sex with Fats in an attempt to become pregnant. It is during one of these instances that Robbie runs away from the pair in a park, eventually falling and drowning in a river, despite Sukhvinder's attempts to save him. Krystal is so distraught she commits suicide by taking a heroin overdose, the novel culminating with the siblings' funeral.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Rowling first had the idea on an aeroplane to the United States, whilst on tour for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Referring to the original conception of the "Harry Potter" series on a train from Manchester to London, Rowling said "Obviously I need to be in some form of vehicle to have a decent idea. This time I was on a plane. And I thought: local election! And I just knew. I had that totally physical response you get to an idea that you know will work. It's a rush of adrenaline, it's chemical. I had it with Harry Potter and I had it with this. So that's how I know."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Rowling's movement from children's literature to adult literature arose from being "ready to change genre". Referring to the "Harry Potter" series Rowling commented, "The thing about fantasy—there are certain things you just don't do in fantasy. You don't have sex near unicorns. It's an ironclad rule. It's tacky." Critics questioned whether younger "Harry Potter" fans might be drawn into wanting to read the book, Rowling responded saying, "There is no part of me that feels that I represented myself as your children's babysitter or their teacher. I was always, I think, completely honest. I'm a writer, and I will write what I want to write."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Rowling rejected Little, Brown's claims that the book was a "black comedy", saying in an interview with "The New Yorker", "It's been billed, slightly, as a black comedy, but to me it's more of a comic tragedy." If the novel had precedents, "it would be sort of nineteenth-century: the anatomy and the analysis of a very small and closed society."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: For two years, the working title of the novel was "Responsible", until Rowling picked up Charles Arnold-Baker's work on local government, "Local Council Administration",


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: whilst looking something up and came across the term "casual vacancy." "The New Yorker" questioned Rowling's original choice of title, and she remarked "This is a book about responsibility. In the minor sense—how responsible we are for our own personal happiness, and where we find ourselves in life—but in the macro sense also, of course: how responsible we are for the poor, the disadvantaged, other people’s misery."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: "The Casual Vacancy" features a range of social issues, including rape, racism, heroin and marijuana use, pornography, domestic abuse, child abuse, self-harm and suicide.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Sukhvinder Jawanda is often berated by her mother, Parminder, and will resort to self-harm. Andrew Price, along with his brother Paul, suffers child abuse from their father Simon Price throughout the novel. "The New Yorker" questioned Rowling whether this represented her difficult childhood and relationship with her father, Rowling replied "Andrew's romantic idea that he'll go and live among the graffiti and broken windows of London—that was me. I thought, I have to get away from this place. So all of my energies went into that.", although she added, "I did not have an easy relationship with my father, but no one in 'The Casual Vacancy' is a portrait of any living person."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: One of the novel's major themes is politics. "The Guardian" referred to "The Casual Vacancy" as a "parable of national politics", with Rowling saying, "I'm interested in that drive, that rush to judgment, that is so prevalent in our society, We all know that pleasurable rush that comes from condemning, and in the short term it's quite a satisfying thing to do, isn't it?" Rowling was also critical of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition that had led since the general election in 2010 saying, "There has been a horribly familiar change of atmosphere [since the 2010 election], it feels to me a lot like it did in the early 90s, where there's been a bit of redistribution of benefits and suddenly lone-parent families are that little bit worse off. But it's not a 'little bit' when you're in that situation. Even a tenner a week can make such a vast, vast difference. So, yeah, it does feel familiar. Though I started writing this five years ago when we didn't have a coalition government, so it's become maybe more relevant as I've written." Rowling went on to say that Britain held a "phenomenally snobby society", and described the middle class as "pretentious" and "funny".


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Rowling has commented on her economic situation before the success of "Harry Potter" as being "poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless" and said that this was why she was drawn to writing about poverty.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: "The Casual Vacancy" received mixed reviews. Lev Grossman for "Time" wrote in a positive review, "It's a big, ambitious, brilliant, profane, funny, deeply upsetting and magnificently eloquent novel of contemporary England, rich with literary intelligence and entirely bereft of bullshit." The "Wall Street Journal" wrote "Once you get your Mileses and Simonses straight and events begin to unfurl, it becomes a positively propulsive read. 'The Casual Vacancy' may not be George Eliot, but it's J.K. Rowling; and that's pretty good." "The Guardian" wrote, "The Casual Vacancy is no masterpiece, but it's not bad at all: intelligent, workmanlike, and often funny." "The Economist" opined, "This is a novel of insight and skill, deftly drawn and, at the end, cleverly pulled together. It plays to her strengths as a storyteller." David Robinson of "The Scotsman" praised the novel, saying, "It is far grittier, bleaker (and, occasionally, funnier) than I had expected, and—the acid test—I suspect it would do well even if its author's name weren't J.K. Rowling." "The Telegraph" lauded the novel as well, writing, "One marvels at the skill with which Rowling weaves such vivid characters in and out of each other's lives, rendering them so complex and viscerally believable that one finds oneself caring for the worst of them." Further positive reviews have come from reviewers for the Associated Press, "Express.co.uk", "The Daily Mirror", "The Kansas City Star", "The New Zealand Herald" and the "Daily Beast", the latter remarked that the book was a "page turner."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: "The New York Times"' Michiko Kakutani panned the novel, comparing it unfavourably to Rowling's "Harry Potter" series and saying, "We do not come away feeling that we know the back stories of the 'Vacancy' characters in intimate detail the way we did with Harry and his friends and enemies, nor do we finish the novel with a visceral knowledge of how their pasts—and their families' pasts—have informed their present lives." The "Los Angeles Times" criticised the book, stating that it "fails to conjure Harry Potter's magic." "The Daily Telegraph" maintained the novel was humorous but said "The novel pretty much explodes towards the end, losing shape in its fury at the dirty, unfair England that we Muggles have made for ourselves. It's like "The Archers" on amyl nitrate." "The Times" said "The difficulty, in this fat novel, is the difference between the reader's level of interest in a wholly invented world, such as Harry Potter's, and the world we're stuck with. Rowling has a sharp eye for vivid details, and there are passages of very good writing in this book... But her fictions have little shadow in them."


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Within hours of the book's release, it had reached Number 1 position on the Amazon Book Chart in the United States. It was the second biggest adult opening of all time in the United Kingdom, falling short of Dan Brown's 2009 novel, "The Lost Symbol", which sold 550,946 copies. It also fell short of Rowling's last release, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", that sold 2.6 million copies and became the fastest-selling book in history. It became the 15th best-selling book of 2012 during its first week of release. Little, Brown and Company has announced that within the first three weeks the book's total sales had topped one million copies in English in all formats across all territories, including the US and the UK.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: A Sikh family plays an important part in the novel, and the description of the character Sukhvinder sparked some controversy amongst followers of the Sikh faith. Avtar Singh Makkar, the head of India's Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, commented that Rowling's book would be examined by the scrutiny board of SGPC for anything objectionable. Rowling stated that she admires the Sikh religion and had done a vast amount of research on Sikhism. Other members of the Sikh community appreciated the fact that Rowling portrayed Sikhs and Sikhism in a favourable light and actually draws attention to discriminations faced by Sikhs.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: On 3 December 2012, BBC One and BBC Drama commissioned an adaptation of "The Casual Vacancy". It was a joint production with US channel HBO. Filming began in August 2014. In 2015, the adaptation was broadcast on BBC One, as 3 one-hour segments. Warner Bros. is serving as the worldwide TV distributor of the series, except in the United Kingdom.


title: The Casual Vacancy

text: Some aspects of the story were modified for the TV adaptation. For example, the controversial decision to be made by the parish council was changed from closing a methadone clinic, to closing a country house bequeathed to the village as a public amenity by a rich philanthropist, and replacing it with a spa. Most significantly, Krystal Weedon is portrayed as drowning trying to save her brother Robbie, rather than committing suicide by overdose after failing to save him.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Charles Hollis Taylor (June 24, 1901 – June 23, 1969) was an American basketball player and basketball shoe salesman/product marketer who is best known for his association with the Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which he helped to improve and promote.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor was born in rural Brown County, Indiana, on June 24, 1901. Taylor, a graduate of Columbus High School in Columbus, Indiana, in 1919, played guard position on the school's basketball team. He became captain of the varsity team while a high school sophomore, and was also a two-time all-state team selection.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor's first wife was Ruth Adler, a former Hollywood actress who appeared in films such as "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and "Design for Scandal" (1941). They married on May 26, 1950, in Carson City, Nevada, and settled in Los Angeles, California. The couple separated in 1955 and divorced in 1957.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor married Lucille Kimbrell on December 11, 1962, in Reno, Nevada. She was the former wife of Eugene Kimbrell, a co-founder of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Chuck and Lucille Taylor resided in Port Charlotte, Florida, where Taylor spent the final years of his life.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor began his career as a semi-professional basketball player in 1919 and as the player-manager for the Converse All-Stars basketball team in the mid-1920s, but he became widely known as a salesman and promoter of Converse All Star basketball shoes. Taylor traveled the country providing local basketball clinics, making special appearances, and meeting with customers in local sporting goods stores to promote the company's basketball shoes. During World War II he coached the Wright Field Air-Tecs basketball team during the 1944–45 season and served as a physical fitness instructor for the U.S. military before resuming his career as a traveling salesman for Converse. Taylor retired from work in 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor made his debut as a semi-professional basketball player on March 19, 1919, playing for the Columbus Commercials when he was seventeen years old. (Taylor played as a substitute for another of the team's players during the final three minutes of the game, but he scored no points.) After the Columbus Commercials disbanded the following season, Taylor continued to pursue a career in professional basketball, which included playing for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, a semi-professional team, as well as other semi-professional teams in Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. Although Taylor played on professional and semi-professional teams for eleven seasons, no records have been located that confirm Taylor's link to playing for the Buffalo Germans and Original Celtics as some have claimed. Taylor did not clarify the assertions.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: With one notable exception, Taylor's career as a player on a semi-professional team ended in the 1920s in Chicago when he became a traveling salesman and product promoter for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. However, during the 1926–27 season, Taylor was a player-manager of the All-Stars, the Chicago-based touring team that the Converse company sponsored to promote sales of its Converse All Star basketball shoes.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: In 1917, while Taylor was still in high school, Converse began manufacturing one of the first basketball shoes. At least one source indicates that in 1918 Taylor wore Converse Non-Skids, the canvas and rubber shoe that was the forerunner to the Converse All Stars.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: In 1921 S. R. "Bob" Pletz, an avid sportsman, hired Taylor as a salesman for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company when Taylor visited the company's offices in Chicago. The previous year the company had introduced an earlier version of Converse All Stars as one of the first shoes specifically designed to be worn when playing basketball. Within a year of Taylor's arrival the company had adopted his suggestions of changing the design of the Converse All Star shoe to provide enhanced flexibility and support. The restyled shoe also included a distinctive star-shape logo on the patch that protected the ankle. After Taylor's signature was added to the All Star logo on the patch of the shoes, they became known as Chuck Taylor All Stars.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: As a marketing representative for Converse, Taylor made his living as a salesman who traveled across the country to conduct basketball clinics and sell shoes. For many years he lived year-round in motels, driving around the United States with a trunk full of shoe samples. Abraham Aamidor, a Taylor biographer, also points out that Taylor was not sparing in his use of the Converse expense account. Converse listed Taylor's address as the offices of its regional headquarters in downtown Chicago, and later its offices in Melrose Park, Illinois, instead of a permanent residence. Joe Dean, one of Taylor's former co-workers, also recalled that Taylor kept a locker in the company's Chicago warehouse to store and exchange seasonal clothing items. Converse paid Taylor a salary, but he received no commission for any of the 600 million pairs of Chuck Taylor shoes that have been sold.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Joe Dean, who worked as a sales executive for Converse for nearly 30 years before becoming the athletic director at Louisiana State University, told Bob Ford of "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "It was impossible not to like him, and he knew everybody. If you were a coach and you wanted to find a job, you called Chuck Taylor. Athletic directors talked to him all the time when they were looking for a coach."


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: The basketball clinic was Taylor's main method of promoting basketball. He led his first informal clinic in 1922 at North Carolina State University, and continued the effort for years, making it an established aspect of his sales promotions. Taylor's next "demonstration," as he described it, was for Fielding Yost at the University of Michigan, followed by Columbia and then for Doc Carlson at Pitt. Taylor's free basketball clinics continued for nearly thirty years in high school and college gyms and YMCAs around the United States. As Steve Stone, a former Converse president, once noted: "Chuck's gimmick was to go to a small town, romance the coach, and put on a clinic. He would teach basketball and work with the local sporting goods dealer, but without encroaching on the coach's own system." In addition to the clinics, Taylor toured with the Converse All-Star basketball team, traveled the country to meet with customers in sporting goods shops, and made numerous publicity appearances, including playing with local teams.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Another of Taylor's promotional tools was the annual "Converse Basketball Yearbook", which he developed in 1922 and was enlarged in 1929. The yearbook commemorated the best players, trainers, teams and the greatest moments of the sport, as well as providing good publicity for Taylor's clinics and the Converse company's All Star basketball shoes. Taylor also made his own All-American selections.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: In addition to selling Converse All Star shoes and conducting basketball clinics, Taylor contributed to the development of the sport in other ways. In 1935 he invented a "stitchless" basketball that was easier to control. Taylor also promoted basketball internationally. When basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936, he designed a white high-top model with blue and red trim for the 1936 Olympic Games. The Converse All Star shoe remained the official shoe of the Olympics team from 1936 to 1968.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: During World War II, Taylor was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and later transferred to the U.S. Army, but he was too old to serve in combat. Taylor's main contribution during the war years was coaching the Wright Field Air-Tecs basketball team at the United States Army Air Forces base in Dayton, Ohio, during the 1944-45 season. Before leaving the military in 1945, Taylor had recruited pilots and became a fitness consultant for the U.S. military, in addition to conducting physical fitness programs for new recruits. GIs were soon doing calisthenics while wearing Chuck Taylor All Stars, which had become the "official" basketball shoe of the U.S. armed forces.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: In 1950 Taylor moved to Los Angeles, California. He also continued to travel to military bases and in 1957 made a trip to South America on behalf of the U.S. State Department. In 1958 he was inducted into the Sporting Goods Hall of Fame.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: retired from Converse in 1968. He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and inducted in 1969.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor died of a heart attack in Port Charlotte, Florida, on June 23, 1969, one day short of his sixty-eighth birthday. He is buried at Restlawn Memorial Gardens in Port Charlotte.


title: Chuck Taylor (salesman)

text: Taylor's greatest legacy is the iconic Converse All Star shoe that he helped to improve and tirelessly promoted for nearly four decades. Most American basketball players wore Chuck Taylor All Stars between the mid-1920s and the 1970s. Converse All Stars were also the official basketball shoe of the Olympic games from 1936 until 1968. By the 1960s Converse had captured about 70 to 80 percent of the basketball shoe market before the company's sales declined. Beginning in the 1980s Converse All Stars enjoyed a comeback in popularity as casual footwear. Nike acquired Converse in 2003 and continues to market Chuck Taylor All Star shoes in mass merchandise outlets worldwide.


title: 2022 Idaho gubernatorial election

text: The 2022 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Idaho. Incumbent Republican Governor Brad Little, first elected in 2018, was re-elected for a second term. Republicans have won the previous seven elections for governor.


title: 2022 Idaho gubernatorial election

text: The statewide primary was held on May 17, 2022. Little defeated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin in the Republican primary, while Stephen Heidt won the Democratic primary. Little then convincingly won the general election, but there was a relatively strong performance by right-wing independent candidate Ammon Bundy. Bundy finished roughly three points behind Heidt, and finished in second place ahead of Heidt in 34 of Idaho's 44 counties. This was the worst Democratic performance since 1924, and one of only three times since then where the Democratic candidate failed to achieve 30% of the vote. Bundy's share of the vote was the best third-party performance since 1926.


title: The Challenge: All Stars (season 2)

text: The second season of "" premiered on Paramount+ on November 11, 2021. The season features twenty-four past cast members from the flagship series competing for $500,000.


title: The Challenge: All Stars (season 2)

text: In the sixth episode, players were required to form male-female teams of two to compete in the "Deep Dive" challenge. After the challenge, it was revealed that players would compete in these teams for the remainder of the season. The winning team of the daily challenge is immune while the losing team is automatically sent into the Arena. The winners must nominate two teams where at nominations, eligible players would vote for one of these teams to compete in the Arena against the last-place team.


title: The Challenge: All Stars (season 2)

text: After the "Smash House" elimination, it was announced that the remaining four teams would immediately commence the Final Challenge.


title: The Challenge: All Stars (season 2)

text: Phase One: Teams race down a winding jungle path to the "Nucleus" area where they would find an empty board and instructions for three checkpoints located within the jungle. They must complete each checkpoint (in any order) to collect a mandala piece. After collecting all three mandala pieces, teams place them on the board to form a mandala. The first three teams to complete their mandala advance to Phase Two while the remaining team is eliminated.


title: The Challenge: All Stars (season 2)

text: Phase Two: Teams must consume a plate of fish-eye tostadas, cricket-stuffed burritos and cockroach-topped nachos. Additionally, each team member must drink a glass of blood. Once complete, teams proceed to the end of a runway where they must solve several algebraic equations to find the numerical value of several symbols. Teams then use these values as the code to unlock their safe containing $500,000 worth of banknotes. The first team to open their safe and bring the money inside to a nearby plane are declared the winners of "All Stars 2" and are awarded the $500,000 from their safe.


title: Groping

text: In a sexual context, groping is the act of intentionally touching another person in a sexual manner without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies, and the activity may be considered sexual assault or otherwise unacceptable. Touching a consenting person's body during sexual activity, a massage, or a medical examination is not usually considered groping, though the term is sometimes used to include clumsy, selfish, or inappropriate sexual touching. Areas of the body most frequently groped include the buttocks, breasts, vulva, and thighs on a woman, and the penis, testicles, and buttocks on a man. Gropers might use their hands, but pressing any part of their body against another person can be considered groping.


title: Groping

text: The practice of women being subjected to a pat down by officers, such as customs or security officers at airports, is controversial. Such behaviour by public officials requires a clear legal authorization.


title: Groping

text: "Toucherism", considered a paraphilia, is a practice of a person touching another non-consenting person with their hands, typically in crowds, for their own sexual pleasure. Groping may be featured in pornographic films.


title: Groping

text: The incidence of groping varies around the world, and some countries have acquired a reputation for it.


title: Groping

text: Italy used to have a reputation for men pinching women's bottoms, and the term groping could perhaps be applied, but it was not a common term at that time (mid-20th century, for example). Japan has a reputation for men groping women on trains and buses to the extent that the authorities have implemented anti-groping campaigns, which has received considerable media attention and been the subject of serious study in recent years.


title: Groping

text: In parts of South Asia, especially India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, public sexual harassment or molestation (often known as "street harassment") of women by men is widely referred to as Eve teasing.


title: Groping

text: In Australia, in August 2019, the host at a charity event offered his cheek to a female guest presenter for a peck, before turning his head and kissing her on the lips. The presenter publicly said: "That kind of behaviour is intolerable and the time for women being subject to it or having to tolerate it is long gone." The host apologised for his behaviour.


title: Groping

text: In June 2022, British MP Christopher Pincher was suspended from the Conservative Party after it was alleged that he had groped two men, while drunk, at London's Carlton Club.


title: Groping

text: In many countries, non-consensual sexual touching of any part of another person's body is considered to be sexual assault and is illegal, but in almost all countries it is considered unacceptable behaviour.


title: Groping

text: In practice, women are the predominant targets for groping. To combat groping, street harassment, and Eve teasing of women in crowded public places, some countries have also designated women only spaces. For example, sex-segregated buses, women-only passenger cars, and compartments on trains have been introduced in Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, the UAE, and other countries to reduce such sexual harassment.


title: Groping

text: Some places in Germany, Korea, and China have women's parking spaces, often for related safety issues. Many more countries, including Canada, the United States, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, also grant parking privileges to pregnant women, for safety or access reasons.


title: Groping

text: In Japan, a man who gropes women in public is called "chikan" (痴漢); and the term also describes the act itself. Crowded trains are a favorite location for groping and a 2001 survey conducted in two Tokyo high schools revealed that more than 2/3 of female students had been groped while traveling on them. As part of the effort to combat the problem, some railway companies designate women-only passenger cars during rush hours.


title: Groping

text: While the term is not defined in the Japanese legal system, vernacular usage of the word describes acts that violate several laws. Although crowded trains are the most frequent targets, another common setting is bicycle parking areas, where people bending over unlocking locks are targeted. Chikan is often featured in Japanese pornography.


title: Groping

text: This issue affects men in a different way. Since Japan has a very high conviction rate (99% by some sources), innocent men may have difficulty proving their innocence in court. The film "I Just Didn't Do It" by Japanese film director Masayuki Suo, based on a true story, focuses on a male office worker acquitted of groping after a five-year legal battle. The criminal courts have traditionally been lenient in cases of groping and have only recently made efforts to combat the social problem with tougher sentences.


title: Groping

text: Groping is illegal in the United States. The charge can vary from state to state but generally is considered to be sexual battery, sexual groping, or unlawful touching. In some jurisdictions, groping is considered criminal sexual conduct, in the second to fourth degree, if there is no sexual penetration.


title: François Darlan

text: Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan (7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942) was a French admiral and political figure. Born in Nérac, Darlan graduated from the "École navale" in 1902 and quickly advanced through the ranks following his service during World War I. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1929, vice admiral in 1932, lieutenant admiral in 1937 before finally being made admiral and Chief of the Naval Staff in 1937. In 1939, Darlan was promoted to admiral of the fleet, a rank created specifically for him.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan was Commander-in-Chief of the French Navy at the beginning of World War II. After France's armistice with Germany in June 1940, Darlan served in Philippe Pétain's Vichy regime as Minister of Marine, and in February 1941 he took over as Vice-President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior and Minister of National Defence, making him the "de facto" head of the Vichy government. In April 1942, Darlan resigned his ministries to Pierre Laval at German insistence, but retained his position as Commander-in-Chief of the French Armed Forces.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan was in Algiers when the Allies invaded French North Africa in November 1942. Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower struck a controversial deal with Darlan, recognizing him as High Commissioner of France for North and West Africa. In return, Darlan ordered all French forces in North Africa to cease resistance and cooperate with the Allies. Less than two months later, on 24 December, Darlan was assassinated by Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a 20-year-old monarchist and anti-Vichyiste.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan was born in Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, to a family with a long connection with the French Navy. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar. His father, Jean-Baptiste Darlan, was a lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Jules Méline. Georges Leygues, a political colleague of his father who would spend seven years as Minister of the Marine, was Darlan's godfather.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan graduated from the "École Navale" in 1902. During World War I, he commanded an artillery battery that took part in the Battle of Verdun. After the war Darlan commanded the training ships "Jeanne d'Arc" and "Edgar Quinet", receiving promotions to frigate captain in 1920 and captain in 1926.


title: François Darlan

text: Thereafter Darlan rose swiftly. He was appointed Chef de Cabinet to Leygues and promoted to "contre-amiral" in 1929. In 1930, he served as the French Navy's representative at the London Naval Conference, and in 1932 he was promoted to "vice-amiral". Subsequently, in 1934, he took command of the Atlantic Squadron at Brest. He was promoted to "vice-amiral d'escadre" in 1936. He was appointed Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 January 1937, at the same time promoted to "amiral". As head of the Navy he successfully used his political connections to lobby for a building programme to counter the rising threat from the Kriegsmarine and Regia Marina.


title: François Darlan

text: After attending the Coronation of George VI, Darlan complained that protocol had left him, as a mere vice admiral, "behind a pillar and after the Chinese admiral". In 1939 he was promoted to "Amiral de la flotte", a rank created specifically to put him on equal terms with the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan was immensely proud of the French navy which he had helped to build up, and after Axis forces defeated France (May–June 1940), on 3 June he threatened that he would mutiny and lead the fleet to fight under the British flag in the event of an armistice. Darlan promised Churchill at the Briare Conference (12 June) that no French ship would ever come into German hands. Even on 15 June he was still talking of a potential armistice with indignation. Darlan appears to have retreated from his position on 15 June, when the Cabinet voted 13–6 for Camille Chautemps' compromise proposal to inquire about possible terms. He was willing to accept an armistice provided the French fleet was kept out of German hands.


title: François Darlan

text: On 16 June Churchill's telegram arrived agreeing to an armistice (France and Britain were bound by treaty not to seek a separate peace) provided the French fleet was moved to British ports. This was not acceptable to Darlan, who argued that it would leave France defenceless. That day, according to Jules Moch, he declared that Britain was finished so there was no point in continuing to fight, and he was concerned that if there was no armistice Hitler would invade French North Africa via Franco's Spain. That evening Paul Reynaud, feeling he lacked sufficient cabinet support for continuing the war, resigned as Prime Minister, and Philippe Pétain formed a new government with a view to seeking an armistice with Germany.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan served as the Minister of Marine in the Pétain administration from 16 June. On 18 June Darlan gave his "word of honour" to the British First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound that he would not allow the French fleet to fall into German hands. Petain's government signed an armistice (22 June 1940) but retained control of the territories known as "Vichy France" after the capital moved to Vichy in early July. General Charles Noguès, Commander-in-Chief of French forces in North Africa, was dismayed at the armistice but accepted it partly (he claimed) because Darlan would not let him have the French fleet to continue hostilities against the Axis powers.


title: François Darlan

text: Churchill later wrote that Darlan could have been the leader of the Free French, "a de Gaulle raised to the tenth power", had he defected at this time. De Gaulle's biographer Jean Lacouture described Darlan as "the archetypal man of failed destiny" thereafter.


title: François Darlan

text: The terms of the armistice called for the demobilisation and disarmament of the ships of the French Navy under German supervision in their home ports (mostly in the German-occupied zone). As the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pointed out, this meant that French warships would be fully armed when they came under German control. At Italian suggestion, the armistice terms were amended to permit the fleet to stay temporarily in North African ports, where they might potentially be seized by Italian troops from Libya. Darlan ordered all ships then in the Atlantic ports (which Germany would soon occupy) to steam to French overseas possessions, out of reach of the Germans, although not necessarily of the Italians.


title: François Darlan

text: Despite Darlan's assurance, Churchill had remained concerned that Darlan might be overruled by the politicians, and this concern was not allayed by Darlan becoming a government minister himself. Darlan repeatedly refused British requests to place the whole fleet in British custody (or in the French West Indies), and in attempts to get the British to release French warships, gave a version of the armistice terms inconsistent with what the British knew from other sources to be the case. They lacked confidence that Darlan was being straight with them (one government adviser minuted that he had 'turned crook like the rest') and believed that, even if he was sincere, he could not deliver on his promise. This belief led to Operation Catapult, where, on 3 July 1940 the Royal Navy attacked the French fleet. The plans for "Catapult" had been drawn up as early as 14-16 June. Darlan was at his house at Nérac in Gascony on 3 July, and could not be contacted.


title: François Darlan

text: Thereafter, French forces loyal to Vichy (most of them under Darlan's command) fiercely resisted British moves into French territory, and sometimes co-operated with German forces. However, as Darlan had promised, no capital ships fell into German hands, and only three destroyers and a few dozen submarines and smaller vessels passed into German control.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan expected the Axis to win the war and saw it as to France's advantage to collaborate with Germany. He distrusted the British, and after the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, he seriously considered waging a naval war against Britain.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan came from a republican background and never believed in the Vichyite "Révolution nationale"; for example, he had reservations about Pétain's clericalism. However, by 1941 Darlan had become Pétain's most trusted associate. In February 1941 Darlan replaced Pierre-Étienne Flandin as "Vice President of the Council" (prime minister). He also became Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of National Defence, making him the "de facto" head of the Vichy government. On 11 February he was named Pétain's eventual successor, in accordance with Act Number Four of the constitution.


title: François Darlan

text: As a prominent figure in the Vichy government, Darlan repeatedly offered Hitler active military cooperation against Britain. Hitler, however, distrusted France and wanted it to remain neutral during his planned attack on the Soviet Union.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan negotiated the Paris Protocols of May 1941 with Germany, in which Germany made concessions on prisoners of war and occupation terms, and France agreed to German bases in French colonies. This last condition was opposed by Darlan's rival, General Maxime Weygand, and the Protocols were never ratified, though Weygand was dismissed at German insistence in November 1941.


title: François Darlan

text: However, the Germans became suspicious of Darlan's opportunism and malleable loyalties as his obstructionism mounted. He refused to provide French conscript labour, he also insisted on protecting Jewish war veterans, and only reluctantly enforced anti-Semitic laws. After the British conquered French Syria and Lebanon in June–July 1941, and the German invasion of the USSR stalled before Moscow by December 1941, Darlan moved away from his policy of collaboration.


title: François Darlan

text: Because he reported only to Pétain, Darlan exercised broad powers, although Pétain's own entourage (including Weygand) continued to wield considerable influence. In running the French colonial empire, Darlan relied heavily on the personal loyalty of key army and naval officers in the colonies to head off defection to Free France.


title: François Darlan

text: In January 1942, Darlan assumed additional government offices. But in April 1942, at German insistence, Darlan resigned his ministries, and was replaced by Laval, whom the Germans considered more trustworthy. Darlan retained several lesser posts, including that of commander-in-chief of the French armed forces.


title: François Darlan

text: On 7 November 1942, Darlan went to Algiers to visit his son, who was hospitalised. The next day, 8 November, the Western Allies invaded French North Africa. During the night of 7–8 November, forces of a pro-Allied group in Algeria (not connected with Free France) seized control of Algiers in anticipation of the invasion. In the process, they captured Darlan. The Allies had anticipated little resistance from French forces in North Africa, instead expecting them to accept the authority of General Henri Giraud, who was extracted from France to take charge. But resistance continued, and no one heeded Giraud, who had no official status. To bring a quick end to the resistance and secure French co-operation, the Allies came to an agreement with Darlan, who as commander-in-chief could give the necessary orders.


title: François Darlan

text: Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied commander on the spot recognized Darlan as commander of all French forces in the area and recognized his self-nomination as High Commissioner of France in Africa (head of civil government) for North and West Africa on 14 November. In return, on 10 November, Darlan ordered all French forces to join the Allies. His order was obeyed; not only in French North Africa, but also by the Vichy forces in French West Africa with its potentially useful facilities at Dakar.


title: François Darlan

text: The "Darlan deal" proved highly controversial, as Darlan had been a notorious collaborator with Germany. General de Gaulle and his Free France organization were outraged; so were the pro-Allied conspirators who had seized Algiers. Some high American and British officials objected, and there was furious criticism by newspapers and politicians. Roosevelt defended it (using wording suggested by Churchill) as 'a temporary expedient, justified only by the stress of battle'.


title: François Darlan

text: Churchill persuaded an initially sceptical secret session of the House of Commons, saying that Eisenhower's recognition of Darlan was right, and even if it was not quite right, it had meant French rifles being pointed not at the Allies, but at the Axis: "I am sorry to have to mention a point like this, but it makes a lot of difference to a soldier whether a man fires his gun at him, or at an enemy..." Later, American historian Arthur Funk maintained that the "deal with Darlan" was misunderstood by the critics at the time as an opportunistic improvisation. Funk claimed Darlan had been in talks with American diplomats for months about switching sides, and when the opportunity came he did so promptly. The "deal" thus was the result of a long and carefully considered Allied plan for reaching a political and military accord with Vichy. It followed a model drawn up in London and already approved at the highest levels.


title: François Darlan

text: The "deal" was even more upsetting to Berlin and to the Vichy government. Pétain stripped Darlan of his offices and ordered resistance to the end in North Africa, but was ignored. The Germans were more direct: German troops occupied the remaining 40% of France. However, the Germans paused outside Toulon, the base where most of the remaining French ships were moored. Only on 27 November did the Germans try to seize the ships, but all capital ships were scuttled, and only three destroyers and a few dozen smaller ships were captured, mostly fulfilling Darlan's promise in 1940 to Churchill.


title: François Darlan

text: On the afternoon of 24 December 1942, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle shot Darlan in his headquarters; Darlan died a few hours later. Bonnier de La Chapelle (aged 20), the son of a French journalist, was part of a pro-monarchist group that wanted to restore the pretender to the French throne, the Count of Paris.


title: François Darlan

text: De La Chapelle was arrested immediately, tried and convicted the next day, and executed by firing squad on 26 December.


title: François Darlan

text: Darlan was unpopular with the Allies – he was considered pompous, having asked Eisenhower to provide 200 Coldstream Guards and Grenadier Guards as an honor company for the commemoration of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. It was said that "no tears were shed" by the British over his death. Harold Macmillan, who was Churchill's adviser to Eisenhower at the time of the assassination, wryly described Darlan's service and death by saying, "Once bought, he stayed bought."


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Bundling, or tarrying, is the traditional practice of wrapping a couple together in a bed sometimes with a board between the two of them, usually as a part of courting behavior. The tradition is thought to have originated either in the Netherlands or in the British Isles and later became common in colonial United States, especially in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Bundling is associated with the Amish as a form of courtship. Some Nebraska Amish may still practice it.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: It is possible the precedent for bundling came from the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz, in which Ruth, a widow, and Boaz, a wealthy landowner, spend a night together in a grain storage room. Tradition says they did not touch, and the pair later got married.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Bundling, or "bed courting" is believed to have originated in the pre-Celtic populations of the British Isles and was introduced to the American colonies by European immigrants (primarily Dutch and Welsh) where it attained unprecedented popularity. Traditionally, the practice of courtship involved two young adults, often betrothed, who spent the night in bed together under the parental roof to ensure compatibility and accountability. A bundling board or bundling sack may make an appearance, as it takes the form of contraceptive for a bundling couple. A bundling board was a large plank that was placed in between the couple and the bundling sack was a sleeping bag that was sewn up the middle. Periods of popularity for the practice of Bundling often align with eras of enhanced social position for women, as this custom afforded a high level of protection for premarital sex.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: The custom of bundling, which became common in New England in the eighteenth century, was used to certify that an unwed father was held accountable for an illegitimate pregnancy. The courtship practice would ensure that there would be witnesses to certify any intimacy that took place. Within the seventeenth century, courts were more willing to accept a woman's testimony that a specific man had fathered her child. Stricter standards came about in the eighteenth century when the court officials wanted evidence in support of the woman's allegation, which could be difficult to obtain. If a couple had sex in secret and the woman became pregnant, no witness of the relation would have taken place. Marriage by a spousal contract or in a church would often follow bundling.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Two forms of bundling in Colonial America are generally discussed: a sleeping arrangement between strangers, or the bed-sharing of lovers under parental supervision. The former definition refers to the practice used to accomodate the heavy traffic of travelers in the underdeveloped colonies, often with no implication of sexual activity. The latter, however, refers to the courtship practice which ensured legal accountability for an unwed father in the case of pre-marital pregnancy. The courtship ritual of bundling was primarily observed in rural communities. The measure of familial and community protection which bundling provided against the scandal of abandonment was not offered in urban settings where populations had a much higher degree of mobility and anonymity.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Despite some religious criticism, bundling rose in popularity amongst rural populations throughout the eighteenth century. The prevalence of premarital sex in colonial America is shown by the rate of legitimate births within the first 9 months of marriage; the late eighteenth century observed a remarkable increase in pre-marital pregnancies, with 30-40% of infants born within the first nine months of marriage. This is due in part to a sexually permissive subculture cultivated by parents of the less-wealthy classes. A high correlation is observed between the pre-marital pregnancy status of Mothers and Daughters in the 18th century.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: In Colonial United States, Jonathan Edwards and other preachers condemned bundling. American Puritanism condemned the practice of bundling as immoral, or un-christian. The heydey of Bundling in the late 18th century corresponds to a period of low engagement with puritanical ideals, when religious participation for adolescents was not strictly enforced by societal standards. With the Second Great Awakening at the turn of the 19th century, religion became a much larger part of adolescent life and puritanical morals were more heavily enforced by a larger societal group. As social opinion moved away from the practical solution of bundling to the ideological solution of abstinence and moral responsibility, the popularity of bundling waned.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: It is possible that, as late as the mid-19th century, bundling was still practiced in New York state and perhaps in New England, though its popularity was waning. The court case of "Graham v. Smith", 1 Edm.Sel.Cas. 267 (N.Y. 1846), for example, initially argued before Judge Edmunds in the Orange Circuit Court of New York, concerned the seduction of a 19-year-old woman; testimony in the case established that bundling was a common practice in certain rural social circles at the time. By the 20th century, bundling seems to have disappeared almost everywhere, except for the more conservative Old Order Amish affiliations, where it was still in use , regardless of location. In the modern United States, practices of "dating" and "necking" might be tied to the previous practice of bundling. Public widespread anxiety about the vulnerability of young women led to new writing which was published in newspapers and magazines during the eighteenth century.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: The Kwanyama are one of the eight Ambo Bantu tribes that live in Southwest Africa. The courtship practice of bundling is popular amongst the Kwanyama. This practice began within the Kwanyama Ambo tribe during the eighteenth century. Bundling for the Kwanyama does not imply sexual intercourse, but rather the word bundling is "okunangala", which means "to sleep together." In South Africa, bundling prevented the birth of illegitimate children. Kwanyama engaged couples bundle under supervision, but illegitimate bundling occurs at night during public gatherings—meaning no witness is present.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Bundling had been reported across the Germanic tribes, the Celts, the Finns and people of the Baltic states. The German-Swiss custom of "Kiltgang" demonstrates the practice of boys and girls who were at puberty age spending the night in bed together. This practice began in the nineteenth century in Norway and Sweden. The participants were either entirely or partially closed, and sexual intercourse would not occur. The youth were enabled to choose a mate without the interference of their parents.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: In the seventeenth century, Jewish society encouraged affection before marriage similar to the practice of allowing engaged couples to spend time in bed together before their wedding. This suggests similarities to bundling practices in early modern France and North America. Bundling within Jewish courtship practices involved some sexual contact short of intercourse. Seventeenth century moralist Isaiah Horowitz denounced this practice, as he was concerned with the sexual transgressions that may occur from romantic affection before the wedding. In the eighteenth century, another moralist Ezekiel Landau reported a case where "Jewish bundling" led to intercourse.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: The writer Washington Irving, in book 3, chapter 7 of "A History of New York" (1809) as well as other of his works, refers to bundling as a Yankee practice.This amazing increase may, indeed, be partly ascribed to a singular custom prevalent among them, commonly known by the name of bundling—a superstitious rite observed by the young people of both sexes, with which they usually terminated their festivities, and which was kept up with religious strictness by the more bigoted part of the community.Historian Edward Shorter wrote in his novel, "The Making of the Modern Family", that the widespread increase of illegitimate births through courtship practices comprised a "sexual revolution" that was issued by the rise of industrial capitalism within the eighteenth century.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Jakob Huizinga, a Mennonite revered who remained on the island of Texel (northwestern part of The Netherlands) from 1844-1881 wrote about unlawful premarital sexuality in his diary. Huizinga referred to the "Texel custom" or "night courting" practice that consisted of potential suitors entering an unmarried woman's bedroom at night. Night courting, bundling, or "festerln" was organized in areas bordering the North Sea as well as the Alps and Baltic region.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Gabriel Edward Martin, Heath Ledger's character in the 2000 film "The Patriot", is bundled when he spends an overnight visit at the home of Anne Patricia Howard (Lisa Brenner), the girl that he is courting.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: Anna Gunn's character in the HBO series "Deadwood" mentions removing a bundling board from their bed in Season 2, Episode 2.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: In the TV series "Salem" during Season 1, Episode 7, "Our Own Private America", adolescent teens are seen bundling.


title: Bundling (tradition)

text: In the TV series "A Discovery of Witches" during Season 1, episode 5, Matthew de Clairmont and Diana Bishop discuss the "bundling" custom.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (commonly referred to simply as The Cosmopolitan or The Cosmo) is a resort casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort opened on December 15, 2010, and is located just south of the Bellagio on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard. It is owned by The Blackstone Group, Stonepeak Partners, and Cherng Family Trust and operated by MGM Resorts International.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: It consists of two highrise towers, the Boulevard Tower and the Chelsea Tower, both of which are 184 meters (603 ft) tall. The $3.9 billion project features 3,027 rooms, a casino, of retail and restaurant space, a spa and fitness facility, a 3,200-seat theater, and of meeting and convention space.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In 2013, the hotel was rated "The Best Hotel in the World" by Gogobot. In 2015, the resort was named to the Condé Nast Traveller "Gold List" as one of the "Top Hotels in the World".


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: Cosmopolitan features 3,027 hotel rooms, many of which feature their own private terrace; a casino; of retail and restaurant space; a spa and fitness facility; a 3,200-seat theater; and of meeting and convention space. The Cosmopolitan's casino features views of the Las Vegas Strip. The Pools at the Cosmopolitan features three different types: a relaxing pool, day club pool and nightclub pool.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan is also home to the Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub, which was the top grossing nightclub in the United States in 2012. In January 2014, the Cosmopolitan added a new nightclub concept, Rose. Rabbit. Lie.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan also has a bar called the "Chandelier Bar," and it's famous for its lemony flower drink, made of Yuzu, the Japanese lemon. The Chandelier Bar of the Cosmopolitan is a very popular place for its looks. It was made


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: Plans for the property were first announced in April 2004. The developer, 3700 Associates, was a joint venture formed by David Friedman (a former Las Vegas Sands executive), Ian Bruce Eichner (a real estate developer), and Soros Fund Management. The developers purchased the site, an 8.5-acre U-shaped parcel surrounding the Jockey Club timeshare building, for $90 million from a company controlled by New Frontier owner Margaret Elardi. Further details about the project, including the Cosmopolitan name, were released in November 2004.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan's design team was led by Friedmutter Group as executive architect, with Arquitectonica as the design architect for the building's themed exterior. The building was engineered by DeSimone Consulting Engineers. The interior design team included Digital Kitchen, Prophet, the Friedmutter Group, The Rockwell Group, Jeffrey Beers, Adam Tihany, and Bentel & Bentel.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The resort was built on what used to be the parking lot for the Jockey Club. Because the Cosmopolitan occupies much of the parking lot, it was agreed that the Club residents could use part of the Cosmopolitan's parking garage.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan was the second Las Vegas hotel, after The Palazzo, to feature an underground parking garage underneath the hotel. As a result, the parking garage was built first. In December 2007, work finished on the hole for the parking structure, while other foundation work remained in progress. The hotel was originally planned to open and be operated by Hyatt as the Grand Hyatt Las Vegas.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: Original plans called for the casino to be on the second floor, but this was later changed and the casino was built on ground level, like most other Las Vegas hotel-casinos. Planned condo units were cancelled and replaced with studios and other hotel rooms.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In January 2008, it was reported that the $3.9 billion project faced financial complications, as Eichner's company defaulted on a $760 million construction loan from Deutsche Bank when the developer missed a payment after failing to secure refinancing for the project. Construction moved forward as the developers searched for new financing. In late February 2008, Global Hyatt Corporation and New York-based Marathon Asset Management agreed to recapitalize the condominium-hotel project. However, one month later the developer said Deutsche Bank AG would begin foreclosure proceedings. They bought the hotel for $1 billion during the summer and hired The Related Cos., developers of Time Warner Center in New York, to re-position the asset, manage the development process and assist in leasing the retail and restaurant collection. Related recommended many revisions, including bringing the casino entrance onto the strip.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In June 2008, Hearst filed a trademark suit against the owners of the casino. Hearst owns the trademark to "Cosmopolitan" magazine. In March 2010, the suit was settled, and the resort was renamed Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In August 2008, it was announced that MGM Mirage, Starwood, Hyatt and Hilton Worldwide were in talks to acquire the property. It was speculated that MGM Mirage would integrate the project into Bellagio and CityCenter; Starwood were to establish its W Hotels and St. Regis Hotels brands; and Hyatt would have continued with its plans to operate a Grand Hyatt. In April 2009, the Sun reported that the hotel would be managed by Hilton and would become the Hilton's first in their new Denizen hotel line. Later that month, however, those plans changed; Starwood sued Hilton, claiming trade-secret theft and essentially killing the Denizen brand.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In June 2009, 400 homebuyers filed a lawsuit against the developers, claiming breach of contract and seeking refunds for their deposits. They believed that the projected finish date of June 2010 was unrealistic and expressed fear that the developers might turn the condo rooms into hotel rooms only or "finish the building as a shell and not do any interior work."


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In April 2010, it was announced that the Cosmopolitan would open in stages, beginning in December and ending in July 2011. It was the only hotel-casino to open on the Strip in 2010. The project officially opened on December 15, 2010, and became part of Marriott International's Autograph Collection, a collection of independent hotels with access to Marriott's reservation and rewards system. In January 2014, the Cosmopolitan announced that points through their Identity rewards program could be redeemed at 3,800 of Marriott's properties.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: On July 25, 2015, a fire broke out on the pool deck of the resort, burning trees and cabanas, and sending plumes of smoke into the air. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze, including one person who was transported to a local hospital. Investigators could not conclusively determine a cause for the fire, but suspected that guests had dropped burning cigarette butts from balconies onto outdoor furniture below.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In September 2021, the casino was sold to MGM Resorts International. MGM plans to operate the resort while a joint venture between Blackstone, Stonepeak Partners, and Cherng Family Trust will purchase the real estate assets. The sale closed on May 17, 2022.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In March 2010, the casino announced several celebrity chefs and restaurants that would open there. Included were Bruce and Eric Bromberg's "Blue Ribbon", Costas Spiliadis' "Estiatorio Milos", Scott Conant's "Scarpetta", and David Myers' "Comme Ça", which has been shuttered and replaced with other dining options.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: On May 2, the resort announced that José Andrés would be joining the resort with three restaurants, creating his namesake restaurant, "é by José Andrés", and one based on his tapas restaurant, "Jaleo". Another restaurant, "China Poblano", is a new concept combining Mexican and Chinese cuisine.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: The Cosmopolitan also gained the restaurant Eggslut in 2011, following success in their Grand Central Market location in Los Angeles. Starbucks also opened a location in the hotel in 2015 with direct access to the strip.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: A modern supper club called Rose, Rabbit, Lie opened in December 2013. Operated by Spiegelworld as part of its "Vegas Nocturne" show through July 2014 and by the Cosmopolitan itself thereafter, the club offered dining and drinks with live entertainment before closing in January 2021; the closure was made permanent in March.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In 2018 several new restaurants were added at the hotel at Block 16 Urban Food Hall, a collection of grab-and-go or counter-style specialty restaurants. Headliners included Nashville-based Hattie B's Hot Chicken and Portland chef Andy Ricker's Thai restaurant, Pok Pok Wing. Pok Pok Wing closed in December 2020 due to the end of its licensing agreement.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: Chef and owner Christina Tosi added a Milk Bar serving desserts and stacks and following the same format as her stores in New York City, Toronto and Washington, D.C.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: Currently, the Cosmpolitan hosts "Opium", a performance by the production troop Spiegelworld. Set on a spaceship called OPM 73 with a destination of Uranus, the adults-only dinner show features circus-themed routines, loosely tied together with a comedic storyline.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In April 2011, Cosmopolitan security staff allegedly removed a transgender guest named Stephanie from a women's restroom, photographed her, and said that she would be banned for life if she did not leave the premises. Shortly after the incident, the hotel-casino was flooded with complaints on its Facebook page, which prompted the hotel-casino to issue an apology to the transgender community and to Stephanie that they would "welcome her back to the resort anytime." The incident also prompted the hotel-casino to train its staff on awareness initiatives involving the sensitive issue.


title: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

text: In May 2019, the tabloid news website TMZ reported an incident between Meek Mill and the hotel claiming he was racially discriminated against while trying to enter the hotel's nightclub. Mr. Mill's lawyer sent a demand letter stating in part, "... we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recording artists who should be denied access for no other reason than their culture and skin color. Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damages." The letter goes on -- "...we urge you to promptly issue an apology to Mr. Williams and grant him immediate access. In the event you fail to heed this one and only warning, we intend to pursue all legal recourse against you." The hotel later apologized stating "we (the hotel) did not act in a respectful manner and were wrong" and confirmed a zero tolerance for discrimination.


title: Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic

text: The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019. The origins of the virus have subsequently led to an increase in acts and displays of Sinophobia, as well as prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, violence, and racism against people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent and appearance around the world. With the spread of the pandemic and formation of hotspots, such as those in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, discrimination against people from these hotspots has been reported.


text: In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Zika virus, but in 2015, the World Health Organization introduced recommendations to avoid this practice, to reduce stigma. In accordance with this policy, the WHO recommended the official name "COVID-19" in February 2020.


text: In early coverage of the outbreak, some news sources associated the virus with China in a manner that contributed to stigma. The journal "Nature" later published an apology for this type of coverage. However, even after the majority of politicians had switched to avoiding stigmatizing language when referring to the virus, a minority continued.


text: Following the progression of the outbreak to new hotspot countries, people from Italy (the first country in Europe to experience a serious outbreak of COVID-19) were also subjected to suspicion and xenophobia, as were people from hotspots in other countries. Discrimination against Muslims in India escalated after public health authorities identified an Islamic missionary (Tablighi Jamaat) group's gathering in New Delhi in early March 2020 as a source of spread. As of late April 2020, Paris had seen riots break out over police treatment of marginalised ethnic groups during the then in-place lockdown. Racism and xenophobia towards southern and south east Asians increased in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. In China, some people of African descent were evicted from their homes and told to leave China within 24 hours, due to disinformation that they and other foreigners were spreading the virus. This racism and xenophobia was criticised by some foreign governments, diplomatic corps, and the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe.


text: The US embassy in Yaoundé issued a travel warning to US citizens amid reports of "...verbal and online harassment, stone throwing, and banging on vehicles occupied by expatriates". Some residents of Cameroon thought that Europeans and Americans brought COVID to Africa.


text: According to the Embassy of Japan in Cairo, store clerks had been hesitating to serve Japanese customers, and "corona" had become a new slur with which to abuse Japanese people on the street.


text: On 10 March 2020, an Uber driver was arrested after a viral video showing the driver forcibly removing his Chinese passenger at a highway in Cairo's Maadi district on suspicion of having the virus. In the video, a voice is heard in the video jokingly shouting "The first coronavirus case in Egypt!" and the same voice then tells the driver "May God support you, Hajji! Throw him out!". The incident has sparked outrage among Egyptians after the video was uploaded. Some Egyptians visited the Chinese man in his hotel and expressed an apology to him for the incident, widely condemned in the local media as an act of bullying and racism.


text: Violence towards foreigners has been reported amidst the pandemic, with some locals attacking foreigners on social media by publishing photos of them and linking them to the coronavirus. The Foreign Correspondents Association of Ethiopia had warned that "dangerous rumours" and "vicious posts" were being spread on the internet about foreign journalists, while other foreigners had been physically attacked.


text: A video reportedly recorded in Kibera, Kenya in March 2020 shows an angry crowd threatening a man and a woman of East Asian descent about the coronavirus. A man in the crowd shouts at the frightened couple, "You are corona!" A motorcycle rider from the crowd later raised his hand threatening to slap the Asian man. Growing unease towards Chinese immigrants has been reported in the streets of Nairobi and its environment especially towards construction workers.


text: An alleged Kenyan member of parliament posted in a Facebook message that his constituents had the right to stone and chase away any Chinese visitors who were not quarantined. A Kenyan taxi driver told the BBC that Chinese nationals had been changing their usernames on taxi hailing apps to avoid their passenger requests being declined.


text: Geopolitical analyst Ovigwe Eguegu reported that "a plethora of conspiracy theories, and videos of Asians (some Chinese) eating bats, and other exotic animals" on Nigerian social media has led to increased Sinophobia.


text: An ethnic Chinese man in Johannesburg told "Deutsche Welle" that violent comments such as "wipe the Chinese people out" and "hope this virus gets all of them" have been expressed in the country by locals. Additionally, one of the earliest reactions of the South African government with regard to COVID-19 prevention was to build a forty-kilometer (25mi) fence on the border with Zimbabwe. This action was intended to "ensure that no undocumented or infected persons cross into the country", according to Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille. In February 2021, the Director of The Jesuit Institute South Africa, Father Russell Pollitt, criticized as potentially xenophobic Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize's announcement that COVID-19 vaccine distribution would be limited to only South African citizens.