title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: The championship introduced the Le Mans Hypercar category as a replacement for the Le Mans Prototype 1 class. Manufacturers are free to build and enter bespoke designs without homologation requirement or cars based on existing road-going models subject to a homologation requirement of building at least twenty road-legal models over a two-year period. The cars have a minimum weight of , and power output is capped at in order to achieve a benchmark lap time of three minutes and thirty seconds at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Hybrid energy-recovery systems are allowed on the front axle only, and cars can derive up to of their total power output from those systems. A Balance of Performance system modelled on the system used by the GTE class is applied to ensure parity between hybrid and non-hybrid models. Manufacturers are given greater freedoms in designing the bodywork of Hypercars compared to Le Mans Prototypes provided that bodywork styling does not affect safety standards. LMP2 cars received a power decrease of 40 horsepower, to 560 horsepower, in order to maintain the performance gap between the new top class and LMP2. A specification tyre was introduced in LMP2, produced by Goodyear, ending the tyre war between Goodyear and Michelin.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: Toyota announced plans to enter the championship under the Hypercar regulations with a bespoke car based on the GR Super Sport Concept. Toyota launched their GR010 Hybrid on 15 January 2021. In June 2020, boutique car manufacturer Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus committed to a two-car effort with the Glickenhaus 007 LMH, in partnership with 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Sauber Motorsport, 15-time Le Mans winners Joest Racing, and engine specialists Pipo Moteurs. At the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, LMP1 competitors ByKolles Racing Team committed to a hypercar programme with its own car, the PMC Project LMH, but the team were not present on the entry list announced ahead of the 2021 season. Aston Martin initially planned to enter a car based on the Valkyrie road-going model. However, the British manufacturer later decided to put its Le Mans Hypercar program on hold. Long-time LMP1 privateer team Rebellion Racing will end its racing operations at the end of the 2019–20 season, despite having previously announced the joint development of a Hypercar with Peugeot. Peugeot itself has announce plans to compete from 2022 onwards, and announced Ligier Automotive as a partner in its project. Alpine announced that it will enter the championship using a single rebadged Rebellion R13 LMP1, run by Signatech Alpine. In LMGTE Pro, Aston Martin Racing ended its factory GTE Pro program run by Prodrive to focus on their Formula One team and their LMGTE Am program.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: In accordance with the 2017 LMP2 regulations, all cars in the LMP2 class will use the Gibson GK428 V8 engine. Entries in the LMP2 Pro-Am Cup, set aside for teams with a Bronze-rated driver in their line-up, are denoted with Icons.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: The highest finishing competitor entered in the World Endurance Championship is listed below. Invitational entries may have finished ahead of WEC competitors in individual races.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: Five titles are offered to drivers, two with world championship status. The Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship is reserved for Hypercar drivers while the GTE World Endurance Drivers' Championship is available for drivers in the LMGTE categories. FIA Endurance Trophies are awarded in LMP2, in LMP2 Pro/Am and in LMGTE Am.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: Entries were required to complete the timed race as well as to complete 70% of the overall winning car's race distance in order to earn championship points. A single bonus point was awarded to the team and all drivers of the pole position car for each category in qualifying. Furthermore, a race must complete two laps under green flag conditions in order for championship points to be awarded.


title: 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

text: A world championship is awarded for LMGTE manufacturers and for Hypercar teams. FIA Endurance Trophies are awarded for LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am and LMGTE Am teams.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Pardeep Narwal (born 16 February 1997) is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for the UP Yoddha in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian National Kabaddi team. He led the Patna Pirates to three straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi titles and holds a multitude of the league's raiding records.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Pardeep Narwal was born in Rindhana village of Haryana's Sonipat district, where he started playing kabaddi.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Narwal made his debut in VIVO Pro Kabaddi with the Bengaluru Bulls against Patna Pirates in Season 2 and featured six times that campaign, scoring a total of nine raid points.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Narwal moved to the Patna Pirates in Season 3 and blossomed into one of the best raiders in the league. He scored his first career Super 10 in the Pirates' 29-25 victory over Puneri Paltan in Kolkata, where he led both sides in scoring with 11 points on the night Alongside Rohit Kumar, Narwal formed the league's most potent raiding duo as the two combined to score 194 raid points in the league stage of the campaign, with Kumar scoring 102 of those in 12 matches and Narwal scoring 92 raid points in 14 matches. Narwal scored his fifth Super 10 of the season against Puneri Paltan in the semi-final but missed on the final through injury. The Pirates, however, triumphed over defending U Mumba by a scoreline of 31-28 and won their maiden VIVO Pro Kabaddi title.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Following Rohit Kumar moves to the Bengaluru Bulls, Pardeep took over the responsibility of being the Pirates' lead raider and enjoyed another sensational campaign, scoring 107 raid points in 14 league stage matches with four Super 10s, the first of which came in narrow 36-34 win over U Mumba in Jaipur, where the raider scored, a match-high, 18 points. Narwal continued to carry the brunt of the raiding load in the playoffs and scored eight points in the Pirates' narrow 37-33 victory over Puneri Paltan in the semi-final, taking them to their second-straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi final. In the final against Jaipur Pink Panthers, Narwal unleashed a mammoth 16-point performance leading the Pirates to their second VIVO Pro Kabaddi title with a 37-29 victory and won their second VIVO Pro Kabaddi title in a row.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Narwal's third season with the Pirates was arguably the best ever by a player VIVO Pro Kabaddi history, as the raider notched up 369 raid points and led the league in every raiding category. Narwal scored a Super 10 in 19 off the 26 matches that he played in that campaign, managing one in each of Patna Pirates' first three matches. He followed it up with just one in the subsequent four matches but after that relatively lean patch, he embarked on a run of eight straight matches with a Super 10 that eventually ended against the Tamil Thalaivas where he fell just one point short of 10 raid points.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: After finishing second in the Zone B standing, Narwal and the Pirates battled Haryana Steelers in the Playoffs, where the raider scored, a VIVO Pro Kabaddi record, 34 raid points which included an eight-point raid, as the Pirates routed the Steelers 69-30. In Eliminator 3, Narwal yet again led by example, scoring 19 raid points in his team's 42-32 win over Puneri Paltan. In Qualifier 2, Narwal scored 23 raid points against the Bengal Warriors in his team's narrow 47-44 victory, helping the Pirates reach their third straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi final. Narwal continued his unbelievable form in the final, scoring 19 raid points against Gujarat Fortunegiants to lead the Pirates to a 55-38 victory and capture their third straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi title.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Narwal scored a Super 10 in each of his team's first three matches in Season 6 before falling short against the Telugu Titans. The next four matches also saw a similar trend for Narwal, as he scored three straight Super 10s before failing to do so against the same opponent in Patna. Narwal continued to string along quality performances but the Pirates struggled for form towards the latter end of the season and needed a big finish to their campaign to stand a chance to qualify for the Playoffs. Narwal scored three Super 10s in the Pirates final five matches of the season but the team failed to register a single win and crashed out in the league stage of the campaign for the first time in franchise history. This Season was also a very Interesting Season for him as he was battling against other raiders for the most Raid Points but came 2nd with 222 raid points, The third was Siddharth Desai (214) and The First Was Pawan Sehrawat (262) who was astounding for his Pro season.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: In season 7, Narwal started slowly, but still became the first player to reach 1,000 points in the PKL.


title: Pardeep Narwal

text: Pardeep Narwal has featured regularly for the Indian kabaddi team since 2016 and has won gold in three of the four tournaments that he has played in.


title: Howard Marks

text: Dennis Howard Marks (13 August 1945 – 10 April 2016) was a Welsh drug smuggler and author who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases. At his peak he claimed to have been smuggling consignments of the drug as large as 30 tons, and was connected with groups as diverse as the CIA, the IRA, MI6, and the Mafia. He was eventually convicted by the American Drug Enforcement Administration and given a 25-year prison sentence; he was released in April 1995 after serving seven years. Though he had up to 43 aliases, he became known as "Mr Nice" after he bought a passport from convicted murderer Donald Nice. After his release from prison, he published a best-selling autobiography, "Mr. Nice", and campaigned publicly for changes in drugs legislation.


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks was born in Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend, Wales, the son of Dennis Marks, a captain in the Merchant Navy, and Edna, a teacher. Brought up as a Baptist, he later turned to Buddhism, though he did not become a devout follower. He attended Garw Grammar School in Pontycymer. He was a fluent Welsh speaker.


title: Howard Marks

text: He gained a place at Balliol College, Oxford, after he impressed Russell Meiggs in his interview, and read physics there from 1964 to 1967. At the university he was first introduced to cannabis by Denys Irving. After his friend Joshua Macmillan (son of Maurice Macmillan) died, Marks swore off ever getting involved with hard drugs. Among his other friends at Oxford were the epidemiologist Julian Peto and the journalist Lynn Barber. Through a mixture of cheating and last minute cramming, he passed his finals; this was despite months of taking drugs rather than attending classes and a serious infection he developed a few weeks before the exams.


title: Howard Marks

text: In 1967 he began teacher training, and married Ilze Kadegis, a Latvian student at St. Anne's College, Oxford, who was also training to become a teacher. He gave up teacher training to continue his education at the University of London (1967–68; Grad. Inst P.), then back to Balliol College, Oxford (1968–69; Dip HPh Sc), and then on to the University of Sussex (1969–70) to study philosophy of science.


title: Howard Marks

text: Though involved with drugs at university, he sold cannabis only to his friends or acquaintances until 1970, when he was persuaded to assist Graham Plinston, who had been arrested in Germany on drug trafficking charges. Through Plinston he met Mohammed Durrani, a Pakistani hashish exporter who was a descendant of the Durranis who had run Afghanistan in the 19th century. With Plinston behind bars, Durrani offered Marks the opportunity to sell the drug on a large scale in London, and he agreed to the proposition. He formed a four-way partnership with Charlie Radcliffe, Charlie Weatherly and a dealer named Jarvis. Durrani never contacted them, and so the group acquired smaller quantities of hashish from various sources and began selling the drug in Oxford, Brighton and London. After six months he returned to Germany to help bail Plinston out of jail. Marks was a useful means of transferring money as he did not have a criminal record.


title: Howard Marks

text: Now a free man, Plinston gave Marks a job transporting hashish in Frankfurt; Marks in turn hired a New Zealand smuggler named Lang as his driver. After paying Marks £5,000 for his work in Frankfurt, Plinston then sold hashish to Marks and his three friends (Radcliffe, Weatherly and Jarvis) in London; in selling within a week, the four men made a profit of £20,000. Durrani then arranged for hashish to be smuggled in the furniture of Pakistani diplomats who were moving to London; Marks would then intercept the furniture to find the drugs – this arrangement netted him a profit of £7,500. Marks expanded his enterprise, employing two friends from Wales, Mike Bell and David Thomas, to stash the drugs and help with transportation. The gang became dissatisfied with the way the profits were being split (80% of the money they made went to Durrani) and contacted James McCann, a gunrunner for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Marks and Plinston persuaded McCann to smuggle hashish into Ireland from Kabul, which the pair would then ferry over to Wales and into England; McCann would get the drugs into Ireland through the freeport at Shannon Airport using his IRA connections. Marks avoided the attention of HM Revenue and Customs by creating a paper trail that indicated he made his money from selling stamps and dresses.


title: Howard Marks

text: By 1972, he was making £50,000 with each shipment. By the end of the year he was approached by Hamilton McMillan of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a friend from Oxford University, who recruited Marks to work for MI6 because of his connections in the hashish-producing countries of Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan, for his ability to seduce women, and for his contacts with the IRA. The next year, Marks began exporting cannabis to the United States to The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, hiding the drugs in the music equipment of fictional British pop groups that were supposed to be touring the country; he further expanded his operations with other smugglers and other methods of trafficking, often using his Oxford connections. As McCann was in danger of being executed by the IRA should MI6 tip them off about his involvement in drugs, Marks then gave up the smuggling operation at Shannon airport. Following the Littlejohn affair, MI6 ceased their relationship with Marks, while his American operation came to an end after police opened a speaker full of cannabis and arrested gang member James Gater, leading to other arrests in Europe. Marks was arrested by Dutch police in 1973, but skipped bail in April 1974; the British press then made him a nationally known figure, reporting that he was feared abducted by the IRA for his connections with MI6. With most of his fortune confiscated by the authorities, he made his way to Italy, where he lived in a Winnebago for three months before returning to England in secret in October 1974. At this point he began a relationship with Judy Lane; the couple married in 1980 and had three children together. He had previously been in a five-year relationship with Rosie Lewis, with whom he had a daughter.


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks then connected Ernie Combs, member of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, with John Denbigh, a man with connections in the hashish-producing nation of Nepal. With the help of the Yakuza, large quantities of the drug would be exported to John F. Kennedy International Airport in the guise of air conditioning equipment, where Don Brown's mob (headed by Carmine Galante) would then take possession of the drugs. A deal was set up and executed on 4 July 1975, leaving Marks a wealthy man. Other deals up to followed, and Marks continued to live under assumed names in the United Kingdom. In 1976 he travelled to America, and set up a deal between Combs and 'Lebanese Sam' – making himself £300,000 in the process; he continued to regularly set up deals between his various American and Far East connections. In need of a new identity after his alias of Anthony Tunnicliffe was compromised in a police sting, in 1978 he bought Donald Nice's passport.


title: Howard Marks

text: In the late 1970s, the Trafficante crime family, under the leadership of Santo Trafficante, Jr., were importing Colombian cannabis into the US on freighter ships, thus driving down the price of the drug on the streets in America. In December 1979, Trafficante exported 50 tons of cannabis direct from Colombia to Marks and his contacts in the UK, enough to supply the entire British market for the drug for almost a year. In 1980, Marks was arrested by customs officers for his part in importing £15 million of cannabis; police had followed associates of the Trafficante family to a large stash of cannabis. When arrested, he was in possession of numerous pieces of incriminating evidence, as well as £30,000 in cash. Defended by Lord Hutchinson, Marks pleaded 'Not Guilty', concocting a story that he was an agent for MI6 (concealing the fact that his relation with MI6 ended in 1973) and the Mexican Secret Service that had set up an identity as a drug smuggler in order to close the net on James McCann (wanted in Britain for his IRA activities). The jury found him innocent of drug smuggling but guilty of using false passports, and Marks was sentenced to two years imprisonment, but was released after five days having already served most of this time before sentence was passed. HM Customs then arrested him for his part of a 1973 smuggling operation but following a plea bargain and time off for remission he served just three months of a three-year sentence.


title: Howard Marks

text: Released in May 1982, though with most of his employees still in prison for the crime of which Marks had been acquitted, he spent the next year running a legitimate wine importing business but he continued to spend more money than he was making and the savings he made from drug smuggling in the 1970s began to dwindle. In 1983, McCann was still at large and his smuggling enterprise was flourishing; he offered Marks the chance to sell of cannabis and Marks accepted. Dutch police confiscated the full shipment and arrested Mickey Williams, a member of the London underworld who had agreed to help Marks on the deal. Marks then travelled to the Far East to set up cannabis deals with Salim Malik, a Pakistani hashish exporter who he had met through Durrani (Durrani had since suffered a fatal heart attack) and Phil Sparrowhawk, an exporter from Bangkok; they would smuggle their product over to Ernie Combs in America. He also arranged a deal with Mickey Williams, who had travelled to Bangkok after his release from prison in Amsterdam. Marks laundered his money through various fronts: a travel agency, a paper mill, a wine importers, a bulk water transportation company and a secretarial service.


title: Howard Marks

text: In 1984, he was approached to sell $300,000 worth of cannabis to a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent looking to fund and arm the Mujahideen in their war against the Soviet occupation (Operation Cyclone). The agent's contact on the APL ship suffered a heart attack and died on the journey to the US, leaving the drugs in the hands of US officials; the agent subsequently fled to Brazil to avoid prosecution. Though under surveillance, Marks continued to expand his underworld operations and set up a massage parlour in a Bangkok hotel with the help of Phil Sparrowhawk and Lord Moynihan. In 1986, he settled in Majorca, and continued to make vast sums smuggling Salim Malik's hashish into America. The DEA were meanwhile tapping Marks's phones and keeping him under surveillance and having arrested Ernie Combs they came close to busting a large shipment of cannabis, when Marks was tipped off; the ship was redirected to Mauritius and the operation aborted. As he continued to avoid DEA stings he continued to make millions and continued to add to his underworld contacts, finding that he could use Chinese triads to launder his drug money more effectively.


title: Howard Marks

text: When friends of his were busted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Marks decided to retire from drug smuggling to concentrate on his legitimate businesses; citing the fate of his friends and contacts, who were either in jail, informing the DEA, or smuggling heavier drugs. In 1988, DEA agent Craig Lovato arrested both Howard and Judy Marks and extradited the couple to the United States. Arrests of those involved in Marks's various criminal activities were made in Britain, Spain, the Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Switzerland, the United States and Canada. This was the work of 'Operation Eclectic', set up in 1986 by both the DEA and Scotland Yard and aided by numerous other law enforcement organisations around the world.


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks was taken from Palma to Modelo prison in Barcelona, and then to Alcala-Meco in Madrid. There he was handed a 40-page document which detailed the allegations of his drug smuggling activities between 1970 and 1987, charging him with operating a racket as described in the RICO act. In his autobiography, Marks stated that "although the charge against Judy and some others were absurd, the formal accusations against me, in general terms, were true." The recently passed Sentencing Reform Act meant that he was facing a minimum of ten years to a maximum life sentence without the possibility for parole. The Audiencia Nacional ordered his extradition to Florida. After being shown the prosecution evidence against him, Marks attempted to construct the defence that his smuggling operations were directed to Australia and that he never exported to the United States, and therefore never broke US law. He again cultivated the myth that he was a spy for MI6, and claimed that he was set up by the CIA because he had discovered that CIA agents were smuggling drugs into Australia. He and his lawyers spent hours reviewing the phone tapping evidence to make the coded conversations about smuggling into America seem to suggest that the drugs were actually being smuggled into Australia; research was done into weather patterns to prove tentative links between what was said by Marks and his associates and what was happening at the time in Australia. Marks and his wife were extradited in 1989, and he was given the "Miranda" rights on the flight from Spain to the US.


title: Howard Marks

text: In Florida, Judy pleaded guilty to her small part in the racket and was released, having already served some months in prison in Spain. The money Marks made from his smuggling operations was spent on legal fees. He refused to plea-bargain or to inform on his associates, gambling that he could again convince a jury that the authorities had got the wrong man. As the trial began in July 1990, Patrick Lane, his brother-in-law and fellow smuggler, wrote to Marks to inform him that he was going to testify against Marks in court to get a more lenient sentence himself. Marks still was confident of beating the DEA in court, but Ernie Combs also agreed to testify for the prosecution so as to secure the release of his wife, and Marks had little choice but to change his plea to guilty to racketeering charges. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail and given a $50,000 fine; though he had originally been sentenced to 15 years he was taken back into court after the judge realised he had misspoken and said that his 10 and 15-year sentences were to run consecutively and not, as he had originally stated, concurrently.


title: Howard Marks

text: He spent seven years imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana, a rough prison. He had originally been sentenced to Butner, but agent Lovato insisted that he instead serve time at Terre Haute. One of the six most secure prisons in the country, Terre Haute had the worst reputation of the six for gang rape and violence. Despite this, Marks remained on good terms with the many violent inmates housed there as he was "British and a famous non-rat" and avoided conflict "by being nice, charming, and eccentric". During his time there he befriended many notorious criminals and members of four of the reputed Five Families, including: Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella (Colombo crime family); James "Jimmy C" Coonan, John "Johnny Carnegs" Carneglia, and Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio (Gambino crime family); Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato (Bonanno crime family); and Vittorio "Little Vic" Amuso, and Joey Testa (Lucchese crime family). He also made friends with Veronza Bowers, Jr. (Black Panther Party) and James "Big Jim" Nolan of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.


title: Howard Marks

text: Owing to his status as an Oxford University graduate with alleged connections to the British Secret Intelligence Service he was treated as a potential escapee and spent many weeks in solitary confinement, though he never attempted to escape or threatened other prisoners or prison staff. During his time in prison he found success as a jailhouse lawyer for the other inmates, securing one overturned conviction. He gave up cigarettes for the last three years of his sentence. In January 1995, Marks was granted parole after a prison officer testified that he was a model prisoner who spent much of his time helping his fellow prisoners pass their GED exams. He was released in April 1995.


title: Howard Marks

text: He acted in gangster film "Killer Bitch" (2010), starred in the film "I Know You Know" (2009), appeared as Satan in the 2006 movie adaptation of the Dirty Sanchez television series, and had a cameo appearance in the film "Human Traffic" (1999). He appeared as himself in "AmStarDam" (aka "Stoner Express") (2016).


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks stood for election to the UK Parliament in 1997, on the single issue of the legalisation of cannabis. He contested four seats at once—Norwich South (against future Home Secretary Charles Clarke), Norwich North, Neath and Southampton Test—and picked up around 1% of the vote. This led to the formation of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) by Alun Buffry in 1999; the party reformed as Cannabis Law Reform in 2011.


title: Howard Marks

text: He also argued for the legalisation of cannabis in numerous television programmes in the United Kingdom. On 1 October 2010, he was interviewed on Ireland's "The Late Late Show". The Dutch Cannabis Seedbank Sensi Seeds dedicated their strain Mr Nice G13 x Hash Plant to Marks for his advocacy work.


title: Howard Marks

text: His close links to the likes of Gruff Rhys led to Marks being associated with the radical changes of the Cool Cymru movement and the changing face of modern Wales.


title: Howard Marks

text: Following his release from prison, Marks published an autobiography, "Mr Nice" (1996), which has been translated into several languages. He also compiled an anthology called "The Howard Marks Book of Dope Stories" (2001) and more recently a follow-on from his autobiography: "Señor Nice: Straight Life From Wales to South America". "Señor Nice" differs from his previous book as drugs are not central to the story and, while autobiographical, the book is more Marks's own exploration of his claimed ancestor, the pirate Sir Henry Morgan. In 2011, he penned the thriller "Sympathy for the Devil".


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks held a series of book-readings into 2014. In these live events he regaled his audiences with tales of his smuggling days and his time in prison, as well as offered insight into drug production and the arguments for legalisation of cannabis.


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks and comic writer Pat Mills collaborated on comic strips which tied in with Sony's "inFamous 2" video game.


title: Howard Marks

text: In the music world, he appeared as a guest on the BBC music quiz show "Never Mind the Buzzcocks". He also collaborated with Welsh group Super Furry Animals on their album "Fuzzy Logic" (released May 1996), which features a track entitled "Hangin' With Howard Marks", and also worked on their singles "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" and "Ice Hockey Hair". He featured on the album "Angel Headed Hip Hop" (2009) with Lee Harris and River Styx. He also worked with former Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Sandhu, and appeared at numerous British music festivals, including: (Glastonbury 2009 and 2011), Beautiful Days, RockNess, Camp Bestival, Kendal Calling, and the Sonisphere Festival. He was featured on the Reverend & The Makers track "MDMAzing" on their third album "@Reverend Makers" (2012).


title: Howard Marks

text: Marks was also the subject of the film "Mr. Nice" (2010), named after his 1997 autobiography. The film featured Rhys Ifans as Marks and Chloë Sevigny as his wife Judy.


title: Howard Marks

text: On 25 January 2015, it was announced that Marks had inoperable colorectal cancer. He died of the disease on 10 April 2016, at the age of 70.


title: Kristine Sutherland

text: Kristine Sutherland (born Kristine Young; April 17, 1955) is an American actress best known for her starring role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", where she appeared in every season, and her role as Mae Thompson in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (1989).


title: Kristine Sutherland

text: She was born Kristine Young in Boise, Idaho, and changed her name because she was often confused with another similarly named actress. The last name "Sutherland" was after her cat, whom she named "Donald" after Donald Sutherland, who, coincidentally, had a role in the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film, Joss Whedon's first attempt to bring Buffy to audiences. She is not related to Donald Sutherland, his sons Kiefer, Rossif and Angus, or his granddaughter Sarah Sutherland.


title: Kristine Sutherland

text: She attended high school in Lexington, Kentucky, where she participated in the Tates Creek Drama program. After graduating, she enrolled in the University of Kentucky.


title: Kristine Sutherland

text: Sutherland's first film role was as a secretary in "Legal Eagles" (1986). She appeared as Mae Thompson in the 1989 film "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". Her career received a big boost when she played Buffy's mother in the action-horror television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", from 1997 to 2002. Creator Joss Whedon later stated that one of the reasons he chose Sutherland for the role was the fact that she exuded a warm demeanor, as well as what he believed to be a close resemblance to actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was to portray her daughter in the series. She appeared regularly on the show for the first five seasons before leaving, but returned for three more guest appearances, one in season 6 and two in season 7.


title: Kristine Sutherland

text: After leaving "Buffy", Sutherland attended a photography course at the Santa Monica College and subsequently set up a studio specializing in portraits. In 2008, she appeared in the television miniseries "Comanche Moon" and had a guest role in an episode of "New Amsterdam".


title: Pujita Ponnada

text: Pujita Ponnada is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. She is principally noted for her roles in the films "Rangasthalam" (2018) and "Kalki" (2019).


title: Pujita Ponnada

text: Pujita Ponnada worked as a software engineer in Tata Consultancy Services before she started her acting career with short films. She has appeared in "Darsakudu" and ""Miss India"" in prominent roles"."


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 was a chartered passenger flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria, on 11 July 1991, which caught fire shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International Airport and crashed while attempting to return for an emergency landing, killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew members on board. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-8 operated by Nationair Canada for Nigeria Airways. Flight 2120 is the deadliest accident involving a DC-8 and remains the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Canadian airline.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: The aircraft involved in the accident was a 1968 Douglas DC-8-61, C-GMXQ, owned by the Canadian company Nolisair, usually operated by Nationair Canada. At the time of the accident, it was being wet-leased to Nigeria Airways, which in turn subleased it to Holdtrade Services to transport Nigerian pilgrims to and from Mecca.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: William Allan, the 47-year-old captain, a former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, had logged 10,700 flight hours and 1,000 hours in type. Kent Davidge, the 36-year-old first officer, had logged 8,000 flight hours, of which 550 hours were in type, and was the pilot flying on the accident flight. Victor Fehr, the 46-year-old flight engineer, had logged 7,500 flight hours, of which 1,000 hours were in type.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: The aircraft departed King Abdulaziz International Airport bound for Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport in Sokoto, but problems were reported shortly after takeoff. Unknown to the crew, the aircraft had caught fire during departure, and though the fire was not obvious, since it started in an area without fire warning systems, the effects were numerous. Pressurization failed quickly, and the crew was deluged with nonsensical warnings caused by fire-related circuit failures. In response to the pressurization failure, Allan decided to remain at , but the flight was cleared to as a result of the controller mistaking Flight 2120 for a Saudia flight that was also reporting pressurization problems. This mix-up, a result of Captain Allan mistakenly identifying as "Nationair 2120" rather than "Nigerian 2120," lasted for three minutes, but was ultimately found not to have had any effect on the outcome.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: Amidst this, First Officer Davidge, who had been flying C-GMXQ out, reported that he was losing hydraulics. The crew only became aware of the fire when a flight attendant rushed into the cockpit reporting "smoke in the back ... real bad". Shortly afterwards, Davidge reported that he had lost ailerons, forcing Allan to take control; as Allan took over, the cockpit voice recorder failed. At this moment, the air traffic controller realized that Flight 2120 was not the Saudia flight and was in trouble, and directed them towards the runway. Allan subsequently contacted air traffic control multiple times; among his communications was a request for emergency vehicles.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: When the aircraft was about from the airport and at an altitude of , a point where the landing gear could conceivably have been lowered, it began to experience an inflight breakup and a number of bodies fell from it, indicating that the fire by that time had consumed, at least partially, the cabin floor. Just short of the runway, the melting aircraft finally became uncontrollable and crashed, killing whatever portion of the 261 occupants on board—including 247 passengers— who had not already suffocated or fallen out of the aircraft. Nine of the 14 crew were identified, but "no attempt was made to identify the passengers".


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: , the accident remains the deadliest crash involving a Douglas DC-8, as well as the second-deadliest accident taking place on Saudi Arabian soil, after Saudia Flight 163.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: Prior to departure, the lead mechanic had noticed that the "No. 2 and No. 4 tyre pressures were below the minimum for flight dispatch", and attempted to inflate them, but no nitrogen gas was readily available. The project manager, unwilling to accept a delay, disregarded the problem and readied the aircraft for dispatch. As the aircraft was taxiing, the transfer of the load from the underinflated No. 2 tire to the No. 1 tire on the same portside axle resulted "in overdeflection, overheating, and structural weakening of the No. 1 tyre". "The No. 1 tyre failed very early on the take-off roll," followed almost immediately by the No. 2. The latter stopped rotating "for reasons not established", and the subsequent friction of the wheel assembly with the runway generated sufficient heat to start a self-sustaining fire.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: The crew realised they had a problem, but not the nature or seriousness of it. The aircraft was not equipped with fire or heat sensors in the wheel assembly. The first officer was recorded remarking, "We got a flat tire, you figure?" According to Transportation Safety Board of Canada members interviewed for an episode of "Mayday" about the accident, standard procedures regarding tire failure during the takeoff roll on the DC-8 did not include rejecting take-off for tire or wheel failures, so the captain proceeded with the take-off.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: Due to common jet aircraft design, the accident became inevitable the moment the landing gear was retracted, mere seconds after takeoff and long before an emergency became apparent. When this occurred, "burning rubber was brought into close proximity with hydraulic and electrical system components," causing the failure of both hydraulic and pressurisation systems that led to structural damage and loss of control of the aircraft. The Transportation Safety Board later concluded, "had the crew left the landing gear extended, the accident might have been averted." Fuel, "probably introduced as a result of 'burn through' of the centre fuel tank", intensified the fire, which eventually consumed the cabin floor. People began falling out of the aircraft when their seat harnesses burned through. "Despite the considerable destruction to the airframe, the aircraft appeared to have been controllable until just before the crash."


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: The investigation discovered that the mechanics had known about the underinflated tires since 7 July, but that the project manager, lacking the relevant training to make an informed decision, had prevented maintenance on the tires because the aircraft was behind schedule, requiring them to record false pressure readings in the log to make the aircraft seem airworthy. This meant that Nationair Canada executives had pressured the colleagues of the cockpit crew to withhold information that had serious safety implications.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: Soon after the accident, a group of Toronto-based Nationair Canada flight attendants pooled funds to create a memorial plaque, inscribed with the names of the victims. The memorial, complete with a cherry tree planted to commemorate their colleagues who died in Jeddah, was given a permanent home at the head office of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: The aircrash, combined with Nationair Canada's poor reputation for on-time service and mechanical problems, led to serious problems with public image and reliability among tour operators. These difficulties were compounded when Nationair Canada locked out its unionised flight attendants and proceeded to replace them with strikebreakers on 19 November 1991. The lock-out lasted 15 months, and by the time it ended in early 1993, Nationair Canada found itself in severe financial trouble. At the time, Nationair Canada owed the Canadian government millions of dollars in unpaid landing fees. Creditors began seizing aircraft and demanded cash up front for services. The company was declared bankrupt in May 1993, owing CDN$75 million.


title: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

text: In 1997, Robert Obadia, owner of Nationair Canada and its parent company Nolisair, pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud in relation to the company's activities.


title: Morgan horse

text: The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation sire Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served many roles in 19th-century American history, being used as coach horses and for harness racing, as general riding animals, and as cavalry horses during the American Civil War on both sides of the conflict. Morgans have influenced other major American breeds, including the American Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse and the Standardbred. During the 19th and 20th centuries, they were exported to other countries, including England, where a Morgan stallion influenced the breeding of the Hackney horse. In 1907, the US Department of Agriculture established the US Morgan Horse Farm near Middlebury, Vermont for the purpose of perpetuating and improving the Morgan breed; the farm was later transferred to the University of Vermont. The first breed registry was established in 1909, and since then many organizations in the US, Europe and Oceania have developed. There were estimated to be over 175,000 Morgan horses worldwide in 2005.


title: Morgan horse

text: The Morgan is a compact, refined breed, generally bay, black or chestnut in color, although they come in many colors, including several variations of pinto. Used in both English and Western disciplines, the breed is known for its versatility. The Morgan is the state animal of Vermont and the state horse of Massachusetts and the state mammal of Rhode Island. Popular children's authors, including Marguerite Henry and Ellen Feld, have portrayed the breed in their books; Henry's "Justin Morgan Had a Horse" was later made into a Disney movie.


title: Morgan horse

text: There is officially one breed standard for the Morgan type, regardless of the discipline or bloodline of the individual horse. Compact and refined in build, the Morgan has strong legs, an expressive head with a straight or slightly convex profile and broad forehead; large, prominent eyes; well-defined withers, laid back shoulders, and an upright, well arched neck. The back is short, and hindquarters are strongly muscled, with a long and well-muscled croup. The tail is attached high and carried gracefully and straight. Morgans appear to be a strong powerful horse, and the breed is well known as an easy keeper. The breed standard for height ranges from , with some individuals over and under.


title: Morgan horse

text: Gaits, particularly the trot are "animated, elastic, square, and collected," with the front and rear legs balanced. A few Morgans are gaited, meaning they can perform an intermediate speed gait other than the trot such as the rack, fox trot, or pace. The United States Equestrian Federation states, "a Morgan is distinctive for its stamina and vigor, personality and eagerness and strong natural way of moving." The breed has a reputation for intelligence, courage and a good disposition. Registered Morgans come in a variety of colors although they are most commonly bay, black, and chestnut. Less common colors include gray, roan, dun, silver dapple, and cream dilutions such as palomino, buckskin, cremello and perlino. In addition, three pinto color patterns are also recognized: sabino, frame overo, and splashed white. The tobiano pattern has not been noted in Morgans.


title: Morgan horse

text: One genetic disease has been identified within the Morgan breed. This is Type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy, an autosomal dominant muscle disease found mainly in stock horse and draft horse breeds caused by a missense mutation in the GYS1 gene. Morgans are one of over a dozen breeds found to have the allele for the condition, though its prevalence in Morgans appears to be quite low compared to stock and draft breeds. In one study, less than one percent of randomly tested Morgans carried the allele for this condition, one of the lowest percentages amongst breeds in that study.


title: Morgan horse

text: Two coat color genes found in Morgans have also been linked to genetic disorders. One is the genetic ocular syndrome multiple congenital ocular anomalies (MCOA), originally called equine anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD). MCOA is characterized by the abnormal development of some ocular tissues, which causes compromised vision, although generally of a mild form; the disease is non-progressive. Genetic studies have shown that it is closely tied to the silver dapple gene. A small number of Morgans carry the silver dapple allele, which causes cysts but no apparent vision problems if heterozygous, but when homozygous can cause vision problems. There is also the possibility of lethal white syndrome, a fatal disease seen in foals who are homozygous for the frame overo gene. At present, there is one mare line in the Morgan breed that has produced healthy heterozygous frame overo individuals. The American Morgan Horse Association advocates genetic testing to identify carriers of these genetics, and advises owners to avoid breeding horses that are heterozygous for frame overo to each other.


title: Morgan horse

text: All Morgans trace back to a single foundation sire, a stallion named Figure, who was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts in 1789. In 1792, he was given to a man named Justin Morgan as a debt payment. The horse later came to be identified by the name of this particular owner, and "the Justin Morgan horse" evolved into the name of the breed. However, the horse may actually have been born 7 miles from the Canadian border in Vermont, where Justin Morgan found him. Figure is thought to have stood about , and to have weighed about . He was known for his prepotency, passing on his distinctive looks, conformation, temperament, and athleticism. His exact pedigree is unknown, although extensive efforts have been made to discover his parentage. One historian notes that the writings on the possibility of his sire being a Thoroughbred named Beautiful Bay would "fill 41 detective novels and a membership application for the Liars' Club." In 1821, Figure was kicked by another horse and later died of his injuries. He was buried in Tunbridge, Vermont.


title: Morgan horse

text: Although Figure was used extensively as a breeding stallion, records are known to exist for only six of his sons, three of whom became notable as foundation bloodstock for the Morgan breed. Woodbury, a chestnut, stood high and stood for many years at stud in New England. Bulrush, a dark bay the same size as Figure, was known for his endurance and speed in harness. Best known was Sherman, another chestnut stallion, slightly shorter than Figure, who in turn was the sire and grandsire of Black Hawk and Ethan Allen. Black Hawk, born in 1833, went on to become a foundation stallion for the Standardbred, American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking Horse breeds, and was known for his unbeaten harness racing record. Ethan Allen, sired by Black Hawk in 1849, is another important sire in the history of the Morgan breed, and was known for his speed in trotting races.


title: Morgan horse

text: In the 19th century, Morgans were recognized for their utilitarian capabilities. They were used extensively for harness racing, as well as for pulling coaches, due to the breed's speed and endurance in harness. They were also used as stock horses and for general riding, as well as light driving work. Miners in the California Gold Rush (1848–1855) used the breed, as did the Army during and after the American Civil War for both riding and harness horses.


title: Morgan horse

text: The Morgan trotting stallion Shepherd F. Knapp was exported to England in the 1860s, where his trotting ability influenced the breeding of Hackney horses. During this period, numerous Morgan mares may have been brought west and integrated into Texan horse herds, which influenced the development of the American Quarter Horse breed. The Morgan horse also was an ancestor of the Missouri Fox Trotter. By the 1870s, however, longer-legged horses came into fashion, and Morgan horses were crossed with those of other breeds. This resulted in the virtual disappearance of the original style Morgan, although a few remained in isolated areas.


title: Morgan horse

text: Daniel Chipman Linsley, a native of Middlebury, Vermont, compiled a book of Morgan breeding stallions, published in 1857. Colonel Joseph Battell, also a Middlebury, Vermont native, published the first volume of the Morgan Horse Register in 1894, marking the beginning of a formal breed registry. In 1907, the US Department of Agriculture established the US Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge, Vermont on land donated by Battell for the purpose of perpetuating and improving the Morgan breed. The breeding program aimed to produce horses that were sound, sturdy, well-mannered, and capable of performing well either under saddle or in harness. In 1951, the Morgan Horse Farm was transferred from the USDA to the Vermont Agricultural College (now the University of Vermont).


title: Morgan horse

text: Morgans were used as cavalry mounts by both sides in the American Civil War. Horses with Morgan roots included Sheridan's Winchester, also known as Rienzi, (a descendant of Black Hawk). Stonewall Jackson's "Little Sorrel" has alternately been described as a Morgan or an American Saddlebred, a breed heavily influenced by the Morgan. While Morgan enthusiasts have stated that the horse Comanche, the only survivor of the Custer regiment after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, was either a Morgan or a Mustang/Morgan mix, records of the U.S. Army and other early sources do not support this. Most accounts state that Comanche was either of "Mustang lineage" or a mix of "American" and "Spanish" blood. The University of Kansas Natural History Museum, which has the stuffed body of Comanche on display, makes no statement as to his breed. All sources agree that Comanche originated in the Oklahoma or Texas area, making his Mustang background more likely.


title: Morgan horse

text: There are four main bloodlines groups within the Morgan breed today, known as the Brunk, Government, Lippitt, and Western Working "families." There are also smaller subfamilies. The Brunk Family, particularly noted for soundness and athleticism, traces to the Illinois breeding program of Joseph Brunk. The Lippitt Family or "Lippitts" trace to the breeding program of Robert Lippitt Knight, grandson of industrialist Robert Knight and maternal great-great grandson of Revolutionary War officer Christopher Lippitt, founder of the Lippitt Mill. Robert Lippitt Knight focused on preservation breeding of horses descended from Ethan Allen II and this line is considered the "purest" of the four lines, with the most lines tracing back to Figure and no outcrosses to other breeds in the 20th or 21st centuries. The Government Family is the largest, tracing to Morgans bred by the US Morgan Horse Farm between 1905 and 1951. The foundation sire of this line was General Gates. When USDA involvement ended, the University of Vermont purchased not only the farm, but much of its breeding stock and carries on the program today. The Working Western Family, abbreviated 2WF, have no common breeder or ancestor, but the horses are bred to be stock horses and work cattle, some descended from Government farm stallions shipped west.


title: Morgan horse

text: In 1909, the Morgan Horse Club was founded, later changing its name to the American Morgan Horse Association. During the 1930s and 1940s, there was controversy within the registry membership as to whether the stud book should be open or closed; this mirrored similar controversies in other US breed registries. The result of these discussions was that the stud book was declared closed to outside blood as of January 1, 1948. In 1985, the US and Canadian registries signed a reciprocity agreement regarding the registration of horses, and a similar agreement was made between the US and Great Britain registries in 1990. As of 2012, approximately 179,000 horses had been registered over the life of the association, with over 3,000 new foals registered annually. It is estimated that between 175,000 and 180,000 Morgans exist worldwide, and although they are most popular in the United States, there are populations in Great Britain, Sweden and other countries.


title: Morgan horse

text: The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) is the largest association for the breed. In addition to the AMHA, since 1996, there has also been a National Morgan Pony Registry, which specializes in horses under . There are several other organizations that focus on specific bloodlines within the Morgan breed. These include the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association, begun in 1990, which works with the AMHA to develop and promote unusually-colored Morgans, such as those with the silver dapple and cream genes. The Foundation Morgan Horse Association registers those horses bred to resemble the stockier type seen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before crossbreeding with the American Saddlebred became common. Two other membership based organizations, both devoted to preserving the old-time Vermont or "Lippitt" strain of Morgans, also exist. The first, the Lippitt Club, was started in 1973, and the second, the Lippitt Morgan Breeders Association, was founded in 1995. The Lippitt Morgan Horse Registry, Inc., was formed in 2011. It registers and maintains a dna data base with pedigrees of Lippitt Morgans. There are also associations for Morgans in several countries besides the US, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Sweden, Austria and Germany. In Middlebury, Vermont there is a museum dedicated to the history of the breed.


title: Morgan horse

text: The Morgan breed is known for its versatility, and is used for a number of English and Western events. They have been successfully shown in many disciplines, including dressage, show jumping, Western pleasure, cutting and endurance riding. They are also used as stock horses and for pleasure riding and driving. They are frequently seen in driving competitions, including combined driving and carriage driving. Morgans were the first American breed to compete in the World Pairs Driving competition, representing the US. They can be seen as mounts for 4-H and Pony Club participants and therapeutic riding programs, due to their gentle disposition and steady movement.


title: Morgan horse

text: There are Morgan-only shows held throughout the US, as well as an "open competition" program run by the AMHA that gives points based on competition success at all-breed shows. The first annual Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show was held in 1973 in Detroit, Michigan and in 1975 moved to its current home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Over 1,000 horses compete in the show each year. In 1961, the Morgan horse was named the official state animal of Vermont, and in 1970, the official state horse of Massachusetts.


title: Morgan horse

text: The children's book, "Justin Morgan Had a Horse" by Marguerite Henry, published in 1945, was a fictional account of Figure and Justin Morgan. It was a Newbery Honor Book in 1946. A movie based on the book was made by Walt Disney Studios in 1972. Both the book and the movie have been criticized for containing a number of historical inaccuracies and for creating or perpetuating some myths about both Justin Morgan and Figure. One equine historian stated, "these should be looked upon not as true happenings but as entertainment vehicles."


title: Morgan horse

text: Ellen Feld, a children's author, is also known for her "Morgan Horse" series. "Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse," won a Children's Choice Award in 2005, following the 2004 award for its sequel, "Frosty: The Adventures of a Morgan Horse." These awards were given by the International Reading Association and the Children’s Book Council.


title: Morgan horse

text: A Morgan horse is the subject of the poem, "The Runaway" by Robert Frost. In the poem, the speaker observes "A little Morgan" colt who has been left out in a mountain pasture during winter and seems to be afraid of the falling snow.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: Anthony Martin Sinatra (born Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra; ; May 4, 1892 – January 24, 1969) was an Italian-born naturalized American, Hoboken city fireman, professional boxer, and bar owner. He was the father of singer and actor Frank Sinatra.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: On December 21, 1903, he emigrated to New York City from Palermo, Sicily, on the SS "Città di Milano" with his mother Rosa Saglimbeni Sinatra, his sisters Angela and Dorotea, and his brother. His father, Francesco (1857-1946), born in Lercara Friddi, was already in the city working in a pencil factory earning eleven dollars a week, and his mother went on to own and operate a small grocery shop. Sinatra himself apprenticed as a shoemaker, until he started prize-fighting, calling himself Marty O'Brien, because Italians were not welcomed in boxing.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: On February 14, 1914, Sinatra eloped with Natalie Garaventa (also known as "Dolly"), in Jersey City, New Jersey, as Dolly's parents refused to host a wedding and did not approve of Marty, as he was illiterate, inferior at boxing, and was a Sicilian, whereas the Garaventa family were Ligurian.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: The couple eventually moved to 415 Monroe Street, Hoboken, New Jersey. Their only child, Francis Albert Sinatra, was born on December 12, 1915.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: Sinatra continued his boxing career until he broke his wrists after 30 professional fights. He then attempted to find marine work but was rejected due to asthma. Dolly helped him find work as a fireman, and he was eventually appointed to the Hoboken Fire Department in 1927, where he attained the rank of Captain without having to take any formal exams.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: While still a Captain in the fire department, Sinatra and his wife opened a tavern, called Marty O'Brien's. With sufficient income, the family of three moved to a three-bedroom apartment, only a few blocks away from Monroe Street, but well out of Little Italy, at 703 Park Avenue.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: Sinatra suffered a fatal heart attack in 1969 at a Houston hospital. He was buried at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California; other family members, including Frank Sinatra and Anthony's wife are buried nearby.


title: Anthony Martin Sinatra

text: In the 1992 CBS miniseries "Sinatra" (a series about the life of his son Frank), he is portrayed by Joe Santos.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Rodney Peete (born March 16, 1966) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers. He played college football for the University of Southern California.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete was born in Mesa, Arizona. He attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson. He was a three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was named the Arizona High School Player of the Year and an Academic All-American as a junior. He also contributed to his teams winning state championships in basketball and baseball.


title: Rodney Peete

text: He transferred to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas for his senior year, after his father Willie was hired as an assistant coach by the Kansas City Chiefs. He received Prep All-American honors at quarterback at the end of the season. He also was drafted in the 30th round (722nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft, but opted to attend college instead.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern California, because head coach Ted Tollner had given him an opportunity to play quarterback. As a redshirt freshman, he began the season as a backup quarterback behind Sean Salisbury. In the fifth game against Stanford University, he replaced Salisbury in the fourth quarter and led USC to its only touchdown in the second half, sealing a 30-6 win. Salisbury would struggle to a 4-4 record and was replaced with Peete as the starter in the ninth game against the University of Washington, which was a 20-17 loss. In the next game, he contributed to a 17-13 win against UCLA. Peete finished the season with a 2-2 record earning 50-of-85 completions (58.8%) for 566 yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 49 carries for 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown.


title: Rodney Peete

text: As a sophomore, he started all 12 games, while contributing to a 7–5 record. He completed 160-of-305 attempts (52.5%) for 2,138 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 103 carries for 124 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.


title: Rodney Peete

text: As a junior, he started all 12 games, while contributing to an 8-4 record. He set a school record with 5 touchdown passes against the University of Oregon. The team played in the 1988 Rose Bowl, losing 20-17 to Michigan State University. He made 197-of-332 completions (59.3%) for 2,709 yards, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 70 carries for 145 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.


title: Rodney Peete

text: As a senior, he started all 12 games and had a 10-2 record. He posted 223-of-359 completions (62.1%) for 2,812 yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 68 carries for 68 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. His teams would win both head-to-head matchups in the UCLA–USC rivalry against Troy Aikman's UCLA teams, with the 31–22 win being notable in that Peete was stricken with measles the week before the game and had been hospitalized. The Trojans lost 22-14 in the 1989 Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan. For his efforts, he was the second player ever and the first Trojan to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation's best senior quarterback (since earned by Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as well). He was second to Barry Sanders and ahead of Aikman in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete finished his college career as the school's all-time leader in pass attempts (1,081), completions (630), passing yards (8,225), total offense (8,640) and starts (40). He also had 54 passing touchdowns, 42 interceptions, 290 carries for 415 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In baseball, he played second base and shortstop as a freshman, although he was limited with a strained hamstring, he batted around .260 as part of a losing team. As a senior, he was the starter at third base, hitting .338 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs, while receiving All-Pac-10 honors. In his three seasons of collegiate baseball, he batted .297 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs. He was drafted three different times while at USC; in the 1988 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round (359th overall), the 1989 MLB draft by the Athletics again in the 13th round (348th overall) and the 1990 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round (742nd overall).


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 2009, he was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2014, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 6th round (141st overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft, after dropping because he wasn't considered to have the size or the arm talent needed to succeed in the NFL. He also joined Barry Sanders on the team.


title: Rodney Peete

text: As a rookie, Peete was scheduled to start the season opener but sprained his knee in the final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, missing the first 3 games of the season and being replaced with Bob Gagliano. He would have been the first rookie quarterback to start for the Lions since 1968 when Greg Landry started. He completed 17-of-31 for 268 yards, one passing touchdown, 10 carries for 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown in a 17-16 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that earned him NFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors. He finished with 8 starts, while completing 103-of-195 attempts for 1,479 yards and 5 passing touchdowns.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1990, he registered 142-of-271 completions (52.4%) for 1,974 yards, 13 passing touchdowns, 48 carries for 365 yards (second on the team), and 6 rushing touchdowns. He ranked fifth in the NFC with 79.8 rating points and his interception percentage (3.0%) was the second lowest in franchise history. He had a career-high 8 carries for 97 rushing yards, including 17-of-26 completions and one rushing touchdown in the third game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He suffered a pulled hamstring in the fourth game against the Green Bay Packers, which forced him to miss the next 2 contests. He returned in the seventh game against the New Orleans Saints, contributing to a 27-10 win with 16-of-25 completions for 246 yards, one passing touchdown and 38 rushing yards. He suffered a left pulled hamstring in the next game against the Washington Redskins, leaving with a 35-21 lead that the team could not hold losing 38-41 in overtime. He missed the next 3 contests and returned to action in the fourteenth game against the Chicago Bears, helping the team score 21 first quarter points (franchise record), while throwing a career-high 4 touchdowns.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1991, he started the first eight games, before suffering a season ending Achilles tendon injury against the Dallas Cowboys. Peete had guided the team to a 5-2 record. He had career-highs of 25-of-38 completions, to go along with 271 yards and one passing touchdown in the 23-14 win against the Green Bay Packers. He was replaced by Erik Kramer who led the team to the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Redskins. He was placed on the injured reserve list on October 30.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1992, he started 10 games, making 123-of-213 completions (57.7%) for 1,702 yards and 9 passing touchdowns. In the fourth game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had 20-of-31 completions for 323 yards (career high) and one 78-yard touchdown pass. He passed for 3 touchdowns in the seventh game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1993, he had a career-high 62.3% completion percentage (second in franchise history), while starting 10 games. He suffered an injury in the third game that forced him to miss two contests. He still was able to lead the team to six wins in his first seven starts. He had 20-of-28 completions for 273 yards, scoring 17 fourth quarter points to overcome a 13-27 deficit and also made 93 yard touchdown pass (career high) in the eighth game against the Minnesota Vikings. He was the team's third-string quarterback behind Kramer and former Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware for the last 4 regular season games.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On May 3, 1994, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, to replace Bernie Kosar as Troy Aikman's backup. In the seventh game against the Arizona Cardinals, Aikman suffered a concussion on the first possession and Peete replaced him throwing 2 touchdown passes in a 28-21 victory. In the eleventh game against the Washington Redskins, he substituted an injured Aikman (sprained left knee), but suffered a sprained right thumb and had to also be replaced with third-string quarterback Jason Garrett in the 31-7 win. In the thirteenth game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he started in place of an injured Aikman, tallying 172 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 31-19 win. In the season finale against the New York Giants, he entered the game with 4:49 minutes left in the first half, making 6-of-8 completions for 50 yards and no touchdowns in a 15-10 loss.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On April 22, 1995, he was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles. New head coach Ray Rhodes, implemented the West Coast offense and named Peete the starter over quarterback Randall Cunningham, after the team got off to a 1-3 start. He would go on to start in 12 games with a 9-3 record, posting 215-of-375 completions (57.3%) for 2,326 yards, 8 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On March 14, 1996, he re-signed with the Eagles. He lost his starting job to Ty Detmer. Peete started 5 games (3-2 record), making 80-of-134 completions (59.7%) for 992 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1998, Bobby Hoying was named the starter and the team got off to a 1-6 start. The rest of the season Koy Detmer and Peete split time at quarterback.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On April 28, 1999, he was traded to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a 2000 sixth round pick (#192-John Romero).


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 1999, he was the back up quarterback behind Brad Johnson. He appeared in 3 games, collecting 8-of-17 completions (47.1%) for 107 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception. He became the first quarterback to throw a regular season pass for 3 different NFC East clubs.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On July 13, 2000, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders, reuniting with head coach Jon Gruden who was his offensive coordinator with the Eagles. He was the third-string quarterback behind Rich Gannon and Bobby Hoying. He didn't appear in any game.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On September 2, 2001, he was released after being passed on the depth chart by rookie Marques Tuiasosopo. On September 29, he re-signed with the Raiders, after Hoying injured ligaments in his throwing elbow. He appeared in one game and didn't register any stat.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On March 28, 2002, he was signed as a free agent by the Carolina Panthers. At 37 years old, Peete's career appeared to be over until he was named the starter over Chris Weinke, leading the team to a 3–0 start and ultimately finish with a 7–9 record, an improvement over 1–15 the year before. He registered career highs of 14 starts, 223-of-381 completions, 2,630 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a passer rating of 77.4.


title: Rodney Peete

text: In 2003, after a weak showing in the first half of the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach John Fox replaced him in the third quarter with Jake Delhomme, who then led the Panthers to a comeback victory. Delhomme replaced Peete as starting quarterback for the rest of the season, leading the team to an 11–5 record and the Super Bowl XXXVIII game against the New England Patriots.


title: Rodney Peete

text: On February 28, 2005, he was released for salary cap reasons, but he chose to retire instead of re-signing with the Panthers for another season with a lower salary. Peete finished his career with the most NFL career passing yards among quarterbacks from USC, a record that was eventually eclipsed by Carson Palmer.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete finished his career with 1,344 completions in 2,346 attempts, for 16,338 passing yards, 76 passing touchdowns, 92 interceptions and a passer rating of 73.3.


title: Rodney Peete

text: After his retirement from the NFL, Peete became one of the hosts of the Fox Sports Networks sports talk show "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" alongside John Salley, Chris Rose, and Rob Dibble. In 2015, the Oprah Winfrey Network announced that they were making a docuseries on Peete and his family.


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete has been married to actress Holly Robinson Peete since 1995. They have four children: twins, daughter Ryan Elizabeth and son Rodney Jr. (born October 19, 1997), son Robinson James (born August 11, 2002), and son Roman (born February 25, 2005).


title: Rodney Peete

text: One of their twins, Rodney Jr., was diagnosed with autism at age three. He discusses his relationship with Rodney, Jr. in the June 2010 issue of "Men's Health".


title: Rodney Peete

text: Peete is the son of Willie Peete, former running backs coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears. His brother is NFL coach Skip Peete. He is the son-in-law of late actor Matt Robinson, and the cousin of the late professional golfer Calvin Peete.


title: WB Games Montréal

text: WB Games Montréal Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and is best known for developing "" and "Gotham Knights".


title: WB Games Montréal

text: One of the studio's titles, "", was displayed for the public at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and received two nominations from the Game Critics Awards for Best Action/Adventure Game and Best Console Game. Upon "Batman: Arkham Origins"'s release it received positive reviews. However, the company received a significant amount of criticism for failing to conduct proper testing on the game prior to release as well as refusing to address a number of game-breaking bugs that plagued the title, instead preferring to focus on the development and release of paid DLC.


title: WB Games Montréal

text: During an interview on the Humans of Gaming Podcast in October 2018, WB Games Montréal Senior Game Designer Osama Dorias confirmed that two DC Comics-based video games are currently in development at the studio. At DC FanDome in August 2020, the studio announced "Gotham Knights".


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: Vaitheeswaran Koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Shiva, located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran meaning the "God of healing" and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure diseases. Vaitheeswaran is a Tamil derivative from vaidya (Doctor) and Ishvara (God/Master). The presiding deity is Sri vaidyanathan, facing towards West whereas East side is the common one. He is the God of Healing. When pronouncing in Tamil, it sounds like "vaideeswaran". It is one of the nine Navagraha (nine planets) temples and is associated with the planet Mars (Angaraka).


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The village is also known for palm leaf astrology called Naadi astrology in Tamil. It is located 7 kilometers from Sirkazhi, 235 kilometers from Chennai, 27 km from Chidambaram, 110 km from Thanjavur and 16 km from Mayiladuthurai.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The holy waters of the Siddhamirtham tank within the temple complex contains nectar, and a holy dip is believed to cure all diseases.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The temple is revered by the "Tevaram" hymns of 7th-century "Saiva nayanars" - Tamil saint poets and is also classified as a "Paadal Petra Sthalam" (temple revered by the "nayanars").


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: During the Ramayana period, Rama, Lakshmana and Saptarishi have worshipped the deity in this place. There is a pond at this temple called Jatayu "" (pot of Jatayu having holy ash of Vibhuti). One of the nine planets, Angaraka (Mars), suffered from leprosy and was cured by Vaidhyanathaswamy and from then on it is treated as one of the Navagraha Temples for planet "Angaraka". Parvati, the consort of Shiva, asked her son, Subramanya to appear with one face from his regular appearance of six faces. When he did so, she was pleased and presented him with "vel" (a weapon) to slay the demons. Subramanya overcame the "asura" Surapadman (a demon) and in the war, his army was severely injured. Shiva came out as the healer Vaitheeswaran and cured the wounds. As per another legend, Shiva came as Vaidya, a doctor, and cured the leprosy of a staunch devotee named Angahara. Jatayu, Muruga and Surya were all believed to have worshipped Shiva here. Murugan obtained a Vel trident at this place and is called Selvamuthu Kumaran. As per popular legend, 'Pul' (Jatayu), 'Irukku' (Irukkuvedam)', 'Vel' (representing Muruga) and 'Ooor' (place) worshipped in the place and hence it came to be known as 'Pullirukavelur'.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The temple received contributions from various rulers of the region like Vikrama Chola, Vira Rajendra Pandya, Achuthappa Nayak (1560 - 1614 AD) and Maratha prince Thulaja. The temple has five inscriptions mainly belonging to the period of Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE). The inscription on the steps of Subramanya shrine records the shutter of the sluice at Sattainathapuram measures 35 inches in length and 8 inches in breadth. The one on the right of the temple tank indicates the tank, Nachiyar shrine, and its hall were completely renovated when Kanderayar was governing the "Sigali Simai", and during the management of the temple by Muthukumaraswami Tambiran, a disciple of Sivagnanadesikar-Sambandar of the Dharmapuram Adheenam. On the wall of the second precinct, the inscriptions state that the courtyard of Thayalnayagi shrine, the sacred steps and Tattisuri hall were built during Tamil year 4868 corresponding to 1689 CE. On the floor near accountant's seat registers a deed granted by Sankarabaragiri Rengopanditar by Ambalavanatambiran, an agent of the temple. The Easter gateway inscription indicates the gift of taxes from Manipallam in Tiruvalipparu. The temple is maintained by Dharmapuram Adheenam, a Saivite mutt or monastic institution located in the town of Mayiladuthurai, India. As of 1987, there were a total of 27 Shiva temples under the control of the "adheenam".


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: Vaitheeswarankoil is located from Mayavaram and from Thanjavur on the Thanjavur - Chidambaram highway. The temple is located between Sirkali to Mayiladuthurai State Highway. Frequent bus services are operated by Tamil Nadu government. There is a Railway station which is located between Chennai to Mayiladuthurai railway road. Karaikal is the nearest proposal airport located around 40 kilometer from temple. The temple has a five-tiered "gopuram" (temple tower), two inner gopurams and large precincts. The central shrine is that of Vaitheeswaran present as "lingam" in the inner most sanctum. The first precinct around the sanctum has the metal image of Subramanya, worshipped here as Muthukumara Swamy. The other metal images in the sanctum are of Nataraja, Somaskanda, Angaraka and stone sculptures of Durga, Dakshinamoorthy, Surya (Sun god), Jatayu, Sampati. The shrine of Thaiyalnayaki in the second precinct facing south houses the image of Thiyalnayagi sported in standing posture with the medicinal oil to cure the diseases. The large precinct also has a small shrine to Dhanvantari and shrine of Angaraka in stone sculpture. The southern gateway from this precinct leads to the temple tank and directly faces the Thaiyalnayaki shrine. The "Sthala Vriksha" (temple tree) is margosa (Azadirachta indica, neem tree), believed to possesses medicinal properties, is present near the eastern gateway. The eastern gateway also has the shrine of "Adi" (original) temple that has a smaller replica of the main shrines. There is a fine metal image of Gangavisarjanar inside the temple. The shrine of Angaragan (Mars) is present near the Eastern gateway in the third precinct.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: Devotees take a holy dip in the temple tank before worshipping Vaitheeswaran in the temple. It is also a local belief that dissolving jaggery (Tamil:vellam) in the waters cures skin diseases. Tonsure ceremony of getting children shaved for the first time to promote proper growth is a very common practise. "Mavilaku ma" (lighting lamp in rice cakes) is a form of worship practised. The practise of jamming salt and pepper in front of the temple mast and the pot near the temple tank is also followed. Unlike other temples in South India, where each shrine has a priest, each priest in the temple associates themselves with the devotees and perform worship on their behalf.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The holy soil rounded with ash (called "Thiruchandu Urundai") is treated as medicine and believed to cure all the diseases. Another medicine given is "chandan" (sandalwood powder) with saffron. It is a practice to purchase silver-plated images of body parts to put in the "Hundi" (vessel for offering) to fix ailments one might be having. The Veeraraghavaswamy temple at Thiruvallur is considered the Vaishnavite temple equivalent of healing abilities of the presiding deity to that of the Saivite Vaitheeswaran Kovil. Brahmotsavam (annual festival) is celebrated during the Tamil calendar months of "Pankuni" and "Thai" (January–February). "Karthigai" festival during November is also celebrated with pomp and glory. "Kantha Sashti", a festive occasion for Subramanya, is celebrated in the shrine of Muthukumaraswamy.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu and is a part of the popular Navagraha pilgrimage in the state - it houses the image of Angaraka (Mars). The planets are believed to influence the horoscope computed based on time of one's birth and subsequently influence the course of life. Each of the planets are believed to move from a star to another during a predefined period and thus sway over an individual's fortunes. The Navagrahas, as per Hindu customs, are believed to provide both good and bad effects for any individual and the bad effects are mitigated by prayers. As in other Navagraha temples, the common worship practises of the devotees include offering of cloth, grains, flowers and jewels specific to the planet deity. Lighting a set of lamps is also commonly followed in the temple. As per local legend, Shiva was doing penance at mount Meru when a drop of water fell from his forehead which turned into a beautiful child. Bhoomidevi brought up the child, who went on to become a staunch devotee of Shiva. Pleased by the devotion, Shiva turned him to a planet. Based on his colour, Angaraka (Mars) is usually clad with red coloured cloth. Vaitheeswaran is believed to preside over Angarakan in the temple. Along with Angarakan, Sambathi, Jatayu and Surya deva are believed to have worshipped Vaitheeswaran at this temple.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: Nadi astrology ('நாடி ஜோதிடம்' in Tamil), ("") is a form of Hindu astrology practiced around the temple. It is based on the belief that the past, present and the future lives of all humans were foreseen by Hindu sages in ancient time. The texts are mainly written in "Vatteluttu", which is an ancient Tamil script. There are different schools of thought as to the author of these leaves. They are believed to be written by a Tamil sage called Agathiyar who is said to have had divine revelations. These Nadi leaves were initially stored in the premises of Tanjore Saraswati Mahal Library of Tamil Nadu. The British rulers later showed interest in the Nadi leaves concerned with herbs and medicine and future prediction, but left most of the leaves to their loyal people. Some leaves got destroyed and the remaining were auctioned during the British rule. These leaves were obtained and possessed by the families of astrologers in Vaitheeswaran temple and was passed down the years from one generation to the other.


title: Vaitheeswaran Koil

text: The temple is revered by "Tevaram" hymns of saint poets Thirunavukkarasar and sambandar belonging to the 7th century. The poets name the towns where they found the temple in their hymns and Pullirukkuvelur finds a mention in their verses, corresponding to the temple. The hymns appear to recognise the function of the "mantras" (sacred text) as invocation of Shiva. In addition the hymns from Thirunavukkarasar likens Shiva to luminous objects - a flame, a pearl, a diamond and pure gold. He also indicates wasting lot of days not worshipping Shiva at this temple.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: The 8888 Uprising (), also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and therefore it is commonly known as the "8888 Uprising". The protests began as a student movement and were organised largely by university students at the Rangoon Arts and Sciences University and the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT).


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Since 1962, the Burma Socialist Programme Party had ruled the country as a totalitarian one-party state, headed by General Ne Win. Under the government agenda, called the Burmese Way to Socialism, which involved economic isolation and the strengthening of the military, Burma became one of the world's most impoverished countries. Many firms in the formal sector of the economy were nationalised, and the government combined Soviet-style central planning with Buddhist and traditional beliefs and superstition.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: The 8888 uprising was started by students in Yangon (Rangoon) on 8 August 1988. Student protests spread throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of monks, children, university students, housewives, doctors and common people protested against the government. The uprising ended on 18 September after a bloody military coup by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Thousands of deaths have been attributed to the military during this uprising, while authorities in Burma put the figure at around 350 people killed.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: During the crisis, Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a national icon. When the military junta arranged an election in 1990, her party, the National League for Democracy, won 81% of the seats in the government (392 out of 492). However, the military junta refused to recognise the results and continued to rule the country as the State Law and Order Restoration Council. Aung San Suu Kyi was also placed under house arrest. The State Law and Order Restoration Council would be a cosmetic change from the Burma Socialist Programme Party. Suu Kyi's house arrest was lifted in 2010, when worldwide attention for her peaked again during the making of the biographical film "The Lady". The Tatmadaw again seized control of the country in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, which began with the imprisonment of then State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup has led to numerous protests and demonstrations against the military-led government. Activists have compared the current coup resistance movement to the 8888 Uprising.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Before the crisis, Burma had been ruled by the repressive and isolated regime of General Ne Win since 1962. The country had a national debt of $3.5 billion and currency reserves of between $20 million and $35 million, with debt service ratios standing at half of the national budget.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: In the years leading up to the crisis, General Ne Win had imposed two instances of sudden currency demonetisation that declared certain circulated denominations of currency invalid. These instances led to instantaneous loss of savings for many Burmese citizens and economic instability. On 3 November 1985, the Burmese government declared notes of 20, 50, and 100 kyats invalid, without prior warning to the public. Prior to this, circulated denominations were of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 kyats. The stated reason for the demonetisation was to combat black market activity. The public was given only a short period of time to exchange their 20, 50, and 100 kyat bills, and only 25% of the value of surrendered bills were reimbursed. On 10 November 1985, a week after the initial announcement of demonetisation, new denominations of 25, 35, and 75 kyat bills were announced, with the 75 kyat denomination chosen to commemorate Ne Win's 75th birthday. In November 1985, students gathered and boycotted the government's decision to withdraw Burmese local currency notes. Economic problems coupled with counter-insurgency required continuous involvement in the international market.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: On 5 September 1987, Ne Win announced the demonetisation of the 25, 35, and 75 kyat notes, leaving only the 1, 5, and 10 kyat bills valid. This announcement was also with no prior warning, and this time no exchange for valid tender was allowed. Roughly 60–80% of circulated legal tender was declared invalid without warning, and millions of Burmese citizens had their savings eliminated by this action. On 22 September 1987, the Burmese government introduced new denominations of 45 and 90 kyat notes. The 45 and 90 kyat denominations were chosen because the two numbers are divisible by 9, which was considered lucky by Ne Win.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Students in particular were angry at the 1987 demonetisation as savings for tuition fees were wiped out instantly. Students from the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) rioted throughout Rangoon, smashing windows and traffic lights down Insein Road, and universities in Rangoon temporarily closed. The government later allowed for reimbursement of up to 100 kyat so that students could return home instead of rioting in the cities. With the re-opening of schools in late October 1987, underground groups in Rangoon and Mandalay produced dissident leaflets which culminated in bombs exploding in November. Police later received threatening letters from underground groups, who organised small protests around the university campus. Meanwhile, larger protests in Mandalay involved monks and workers, with some burning government buildings and state businesses. Burmese state media reported little on the protests, but information quickly spread through the students.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: After receiving Least Developed Country status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council in December 1987, government policy requiring farmers to sell produce below market rates to create greater revenue for the government sparked several, violent rural protests. The protests were fanned by public letters to Ne Win by former second in command General Brigadier Aung Gyi from July 1987, reminding him of the 1967 riots and condemning lack of economic reform, describing Burma as "almost a joke" compared to other Southeast Asian nations. He was later arrested.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: On 12 March 1988, students from the RIT were arguing with out-of-school youths inside the "Sanda Win" tea shop about music playing on a sound system. A drunken youth would not return a tape that the RIT students favoured. A brawl followed in which one youth, who was the son of a BSPP official, was arrested and later released for injuring a student. Students protested at a local police department where 500 riot police were mobilised and in the ensuing clash, one student, Phone Maw, was shot and killed. The incident angered pro-democracy groups and the next day more students rallied at the RIT and spread to other campuses. The students, who had never protested before, increasingly saw themselves as activists. There was growing resentment towards military rule and there were no channels to address grievances, further exacerbated by police brutality, economic mismanagement and corruption within the government.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: By mid-March, several protests had occurred and there was open dissent in the army. Various demonstrations were broken up by using tear gas canisters to disperse crowds. On 16 March, students demanding an end to one party rule marched towards soldiers at Inya Lake when riot police stormed from the rear, clubbing several students to death and raping others. Several students recalled the police shouting, "Don't let them escape" and "Kill them!".


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Following the latest protests, authorities announced the closure of universities for several months. By June 1988, large demonstrations of students and sympathisers were a daily sight. Many students, sympathisers and riot police died throughout the month as the protests spread throughout Burma from Rangoon. Large scale protests were reported in Pegu, Mandalay, Tavoy, Toungoo, Sittwe, Pakokku, Mergui, Minbu and Myitkyina. Demonstrators in larger numbers demanded multi-party democracy, which marked Ne Win's resignation on 23 July 1988. In a valedictory address given that day, Ne Win affirmed that "When the army shoots, it shoots to kill." He also promised a multi-party system, but he had appointed the largely disliked Sein Lwin, known as the "Butcher of Rangoon" to head a new government.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Protests reached their peak in August 1988. Students planned for a nationwide demonstration on 8 August 1988, an auspicious date based on numerological significance. News of the protest reached rural areas and four days prior to the national protest, students across the country were denouncing Sein Lwin's regime and Tatmadaw troops were being mobilised. Pamphlets and posters appeared on the streets of Rangoon bearing the fighting peacock insignia of the All-Burma Students Union. Neighbourhood and strike committees were openly formed on the advice of underground activists, many of which were influenced by similar underground movements by workers and monks in the 1980s. Between 2 and 10 August, co-ordinated protests were occurring in most Burmese towns.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: In the first few days of the Rangoon protests, activists contacted lawyers and monks in Mandalay to encourage them to take part in the protests. The students were quickly joined by Burmese citizens from all walks of life, including government workers, Buddhist monks, air force and navy personnel, customs officers, teachers and hospital staff. The demonstrations in the streets of Rangoon became a focal point for other demonstrations, which spread to other states' capitals. Upwards of 10,000 protesters demonstrated outside the Sule Pagoda in Rangoon, where demonstrators burned and buried effigies of Ne Win and Sein Lwin in coffins decorated with demonetised bank notes. Further protests took place around the country at stadiums and hospitals. Monks at the Sule Pagoda reported that the Buddha's image had changed shape, with an image in the sky standing on its head. On 3 August, the authorities imposed martial law from 8 pm to 4 am and a ban on gatherings of more than five people.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: A general strike, as planned, began on 8 August 1988. Mass demonstrations were held across Burma as ethnic minorities, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, students, workers and the young and old all demonstrated. The first procession circled Rangoon, stopping for people to speak. A stage was also erected. Demonstrators from the Rangoon neighbourhoods converged in downtown Rangoon. Only one casualty was reported at this point as a frightened traffic policeman fired into the crowd and fled. (Such marches would occur daily until 19 September.) Protesters kissed the shoes of soldiers, in an attempt to persuade them to join the civilian protest, whilst some encircled military officers to protect them from the crowd and earlier violence Over the next four days these demonstrations continued; the government was surprised by the scale of the protests and stated that it promised to heed the demands of the protesters "insofar as possible". Lwin had brought in more soldiers from insurgent areas to deal with the protesters.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: In Mandalay Division, a more organised strike committee was headed by lawyers and discussion focused on multi-party democracy and human rights. Many participants in the protests arrived from nearby towns and villages. Farmers who were particularly angry with the government's economic policies joined the protests in Rangoon. In one village, 2,000 of the 5,000 people also went on strike.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: A short while later, the authorities opened fire on the protesters. Ne Win ordered that "guns were not to shoot upwards," meaning that he was ordering the military to shoot directly at the demonstrators. Protesters responded by throwing Molotov cocktails, swords, knives, rocks, poisoned darts and bicycle spokes. In one incident, protesters burned a police station and tore apart four fleeing officers. On 10 August, soldiers fired into Rangoon General Hospital, killing nurses and doctors tending to the wounded. State-run Radio Rangoon reported that 1,451 "looters and disturbance makers" had been arrested.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Estimates of the number of casualties surrounding the 8-8-88 demonstrations range from hundreds to 10,000; military authorities put the figures at about 95 people killed and 240 wounded.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Lwin's sudden and unexplained resignation on 12 August left many protestors confused and jubilant. Security forces exercised greater caution with demonstrators, particularly in neighbourhoods that were entirely controlled by demonstrators and committees. On 19 August, under pressure to form a civilian government, Ne Win's biographer, Dr. Maung Maung, was appointed as head of government. Maung was a legal scholar and the only non-military individual to serve in the Burma Socialist Programme Party. The appointment of Maung briefly resulted in a subsidence of the shooting and protests.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Nationwide demonstrations resumed on 22 August 1988. In Mandalay, 100,000 people protested, including Buddhist monks and 50,000 demonstrated in Sittwe. Large marches took places from Taunggyi and Moulmein to distant ethnic states (particularly where military campaigns had previously taken place), where red, the symbolic colour for democracy was displayed on banners. Two days later, doctors, monks, musicians, actors, lawyers, army veterans and government office workers joined the protests. It became difficult for committees to control the protests. During this time, demonstrators became increasingly wary of "suspicious looking" people and police and army officers. On one occasion, a local committee mistakenly beheaded a couple thought to have been carrying a bomb. Incidents like these were not as common in Mandalay, where protests were more peaceful as they were organised by monks and lawyers.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: On 26 August, Aung San Suu Kyi, who had watched the demonstrations from her mother's bedside, entered the political arena by addressing half a million people at Shwedagon Pagoda. It was at this point that she became a symbol for the struggle in Burma, particularly in the eyes of the Western world. Kyi, as the daughter of Aung San, who led the independence movement, appeared ready to lead the movement for democracy. Kyi urged the crowd not to turn on the army but find peace through non-violent means. At this point in time for many in Burma, the uprising was seen as similar to that of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines in 1986.


title: 8888 Uprising

text: Around this time, former Prime Minister U Nu and retired Brigadier General Aung Gyi also re-emerged onto the political scene in what was described as a "democracy summer" when many former democracy leaders returned. Despite the gains made by the democracy movement, Ne Win remained in the background.