title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: Amidst the general alarm, more sanguine voices were also raised. The Truman Administration had months earlier written off Czechoslovakia as little more than a Soviet satellite; in November 1947 U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall told a cabinet meeting that the Soviets would probably soon consolidate their hold on Eastern Europe by clamping down on Czechoslovakia as a "purely defensive move", and Kennan cabled from Manila that the Soviets seemed to be consolidating their defences, not preparing for aggression. He later wrote that the Prague coup and the Berlin Blockade were "defensive reactions" to the Marshall Plan's initial successes and to the Western decision to press for an independent West German state. This view of the event sees Truman's reaction as him seizing on a necessary crisis to sell the Marshall Plan and the rearmament programme the Pentagon had long been pushing.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: Marshall's own reaction was that "in so far as international affairs are concerned, a seizure of power by the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia would not materially alter...the situation which has existed in the last three years". Even as he was holding a press conference to push his economic aid plan on 10 March, the CIA reported that "We do not believe...that this event reflects any sudden increase in Soviet capabilities, more aggressive intentions, or any change in current Soviet policy or tactics...The Czech coup and the demands on Finland...do not preclude the possibility of Soviet efforts to effect a rapprochement with the West", but the administration chose a different course.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: On 2 March, CIA director Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter had also written to Truman that "the timing of the coup in Czechoslovakia was forced upon the Kremlin when the non-Communists took action endangering Communist control of the police. A Communist victory in the May elections would have been impossible without such control".


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: In Italy, elections were scheduled for 18 April and the Communist-dominated Popular Democratic Front stood a realistic chance of victory. In the hysteria and foreboding that gripped Western circles following the Czech coup, it was concluded that similar tactics could be employed in Italy, whose citizens might not even have a chance to vote. British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin and the British Cabinet saw the cooperation between the two leading parties of the Italian left in almost apocalyptic terms, believing that once the Italian Communist Party (PCI) won power it would marginalise any moderating influence from the socialists. Bevin immediately concluded that the "forces of democratic Socialism" must be strengthened in Italy, and that Britain must support the Christian Democrats, despite all of their faults.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: Bevin was especially alarmed by the ability of the PCI, through the use of its dominant position in the trade union movement, to organise industrial disturbances not only to sabotage the success of the Marshall Plan, but also to subvert the Italian government through factory committees of action as in Czechoslovakia. The Italian foreign minister, despite his alarm over the coup's timing, remained optimistic, assuring Bevin (who saw Italy as "the immediate danger spot") that the army and police were in excellent shape and that the coup would have an adverse effect, turning swing voters away from the socialists.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: This was observed when Communist and socialist leaders in Italy defended the Czech coup as a victory for democracy, rationalizing that the violation of civil rights was a necessary and just response to a reactionary threat posed by Western imperialist (i.e., American) interests; such discourse probably damaged the Front's credibility and undercut its promises of moderation. Kennan cabled to suggest the PCI should be outlawed and the U.S. should intervene militarily in the likely event of a civil war, but he quickly softened his line.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: The American Ambassador in Rome worried that the coup would push self-interested voters to side with what they considered the winning side, and that events in Prague probably increased the PCI's prestige, "direct[ing] the politics of the generally opportunistic Italian toward the Communist bandwagon". However, the coup was one of several factors that led a strong plurality of voters to vote for Christian Democracy and defeat the left. Stalin, satisfied that America had not moved militarily after the Czech coup and unwilling to provoke war, respected the result, considering Italy a Western country.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: In France, interesting political currents were also set in motion. The United States was still pushing the French government to support German rehabilitation. In the aftermath of the coup, foreign minister Georges Bidault was afraid of stoking anti-German sentiment that the French Communist Party (PCF) could exploit and harness to instigate a coup of its own. At the same time, the coup had forced the hand of PCF leader Maurice Thorez, whose public remarks suggested that in the wake of a Soviet invasion, he would support the Red Army.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: The Czech coup, the PCF's failed policy of sabotage and the Marshall Plan's likely passage were all beginning to sway French public opinion. 70% of French people now believed the U.S. would do more than any other country to help France, compared to 7% who thought the USSR would do more. Despite French concern about Germany, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Soviet threat was greater than the German. France would still seek an advantageous power position vis-à-vis Germany, but it was becoming reconciled to the prospect of a rehabilitated Germany as part of postwar Europe.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: Along with passage of the Marshall Plan, the other far-reaching implication of the Czech coup for U.S. foreign policy was to heed Bevin's call for a Western defence association. He had found the Truman Administration reluctant to accept an unambiguous and binding alliance with Western Europe even after the irretrievable breakdown of the Council of Foreign Ministers conference in London in December 1947; Marshall was not prepared to accept the idea in discussions with Bevin that 17 December.


title: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

text: On 26 February Bevin again reiterated that the best way to prevent another Czechoslovakia was to evolve a joint Western military strategy, and this time he got a more receptive hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. That spring, European leaders quietly met with U.S. defence, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, under Marshall's orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association for mutual defence. The following year, NATO would ultimately be born out of these talks.


title: The Guy Game

text: The Guy Game is an adult video game developed by Topheavy Studios and published by Gathering, released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in 2004. Presented in a trivia gameshow-style supporting up to four players, it consists of about 1,000 questions spread out over 20 episodes. Much of the game involves watching live-action video footage of young women in bikinis, and as the player succeeds in the game the women eventually expose their breasts. The game garnered much controversy and was the subject of a lawsuit.


title: The Guy Game

text: After every question there is video footage—shot during spring break festivities on South Padre Island—of host Matt Sadler giving the same question to young females in bikinis (referred to as "hotties"). If they answer incorrectly, they are required to show their breasts. Before they give their answers, the footage is paused and the player is asked to guess whether the hotties answered correctly or not. In the "TitWitz" portions of the game, the player is told that they were wrong, and asked to guess what wrong answer they gave. The more times the player is able to correctly predict the outcome, the higher the "Flash-O-Meter" (with levels based on the erectile process) rises, and the more exposed the breasts become. At first, the breasts are obscured by a "Guy Game" logo ("Soft and Squishy" level), then just digitally blurred ("Sorta Chubby" level), and finally fully uncensored ("Super Stiff" level, maxed-out meter). Once the player reaches the uncensored level, the episode can be played again with no visual censorship. As the game progresses, the players are ranked as President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Asshole. Also included are the "Ballz" minigames which can give players extra points during an episode. Before the game, each player chooses a female avatar (called cheerleaders) to represent them. Based on how often the player correctly guesses the outcome of each hottie's response, the more clothes the cheerleader removes. At the end of the episode, a short video montage is shown of the cheerleader belonging to the player who reached the rank of President. Many other rules can be enabled, most inspired by drinking games.


title: The Guy Game

text: Four months after the game's release, a lawsuit was brought against Topheavy Studios, Gathering of Developers, Sony and Microsoft. A girl explained that she was not informed that footage would be used to promote the video game. At the time the footage was recorded, the girl was only 17 years old, making her underage, thus making "The Guy Game" illegal to own or sell in some countries. A temporary injunction was granted, prohibiting the further production of copies of the game that contained the girl's image, voice and name.


title: The Guy Game

text: After the lawsuit, developer Topheavy Studios released a DVD, "The Guy Game: Game Over", which featured the footage filmed for the game as well as additional content and bonus features.


title: The Guy Game

text: The Guy Game is explicitly banned from streaming on game streaming site Twitch, and is one of the only ESRB "M" rated games to be banned on the site.


title: The Guy Game

text: "The Guy Game" received generally unfavorable reviews across all three platforms, with the Xbox version holding an aggregated Metacritic score of 47/100 based on 20 critic reviews, the PlayStation 2 version holding a score of 48/100 based on 20 reviews, and the Microsoft Windows version holding a score of 23/100 based on two reviews.


title: The Guy Game

text: Conversely, IGN gave the game a 7.7 out of 10, stating "It may be tasteless, but I prefer this kind of tastelessness over "BMX XXX"." The reviewer also noted that the game was "solid, simple and fun".


title: List price

text: The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer sell the product.


title: List price

text: Suggested pricing methods may conflict with competition theory, as they allow prices to be set higher than would be established by supply and demand. Resale price maintenance—fixing prices—goes further than suggesting prices, and is illegal in many countries.


title: List price

text: Retailers may charge less than the suggested retail price, depending upon the actual wholesale cost of each item, usually purchased in bulk from the manufacturer, or in smaller quantities through a distributor. The suggested price is sometimes unrealistically high, so the seller can appear to be offering a discount.


title: List price

text: List price often cannot be compared directly internationally as products may differ in detail, sometimes due to different regulations, and list prices may or may not include taxes.


title: List price

text: In 1998, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry prohibited the placing of RRP on electrical goods under the "Domestic Electrical Goods Order", but this ruling was lifted by the Competition Commission in February 2012.


title: List price

text: In the United States, the list price is referred to as the manufacturer's suggested retail price or MSRP.


title: List price

text: Under earlier US state Fair Trade statutes, the manufacturer was able to impose a fixed price for items. The fixed prices could offer some price protection to small merchants in competition against larger retail organizations. These were determined to be in restraint of trade. Many manufacturers have adopted MSRP, a price at which the manufacturer suggests the item be priced by a retailer. The term "suggested" can be misleading because in many cases, the MSRP is extremely high compared to the actual wholesale cost, opening the market to "deep discounters", who are able to sell products substantially below the MSRP but still make a profit. The discount stores benefit from exorbitant MSRPs because the discount offered increases the perceived value to customers.


title: List price

text: A common use for MSRP can be seen in automobile sales in the United States. Prior to the spread of manufacturer's suggested retail pricing, there were no defined prices on vehicles, and car dealers were able to impose arbitrary markups, often with prices adjusted to what the salesperson thought the prospective purchaser would be willing to pay for a particular vehicle.


title: List price

text: Currently, the MSRP, or "sticker price", the price of a vehicle as labeled by the manufacturer, is clearly labeled on the windows of all new vehicles, on a Monroney sticker, commonly called the "window sticker." It is different from the actual price paid to the manufacturer by the dealer, which is known as the "invoice price." There are now numerous sources, such as online appraisal tools, that can be used to find the MSRP and invoice price.


title: List price

text: A minimum advertised price (MAP) is the practice of a manufacturer providing marketing funds to a retailer contingent on the retailer advertising an end customer price at or above a specified level. Such agreements can be illegal in some countries when members and terms in the agreement match predefined legal criteria.


title: List price

text: Fixed pricing established between a distributor and seller or between two or more sellers may violate antitrust laws in the United States.


title: List price

text: In "Leegin Creative Leather Prods., Inc. v. PSKS, Inc.", 127 S. Ct. 2705 (2007), the Supreme Court considered whether federal antitrust law established a "per se" ban on minimum resale price agreements and, instead, allow resale price maintenance agreements to be judged by the rule of reason, the usual standard applied to determine if there is a violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act. In holding that vertical price restraints should be judged by the rule of reason, the Court overruled "Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co.", 220 U.S. 373 (1911).


title: List price

text: Because the rule of reason applies, minimum RPM agreements may still be unlawful. In fact, in "Leegin", the Court identified at least two ways in which a purely vertical minimum RPM agreement might be illegal. First, “[a] dominant retailer ... might request resale price maintenance to forestall innovation in distribution that decreases costs. A manufacturer might consider it has little choice but to accommodate the retailer's demands for vertical price restraints if the manufacturer believes it needs access to the retailer's distribution network". Second, “[a] manufacturer with market power... might use resale price maintenance to give retailers an incentive not to sell the products of smaller rivals or new entrants”.


title: List price

text: In both of these examples, an economically powerful firm uses the RPM agreement to exclude or raise entry barriers for its competition.


title: List price

text: In addition, federal law is not the only source of antitrust claims as almost all of the states have their own antitrust laws.


title: List price

text: In the UK in September 2010 an investigation was launched by the Office of Fair Trading into breaches of competition law by online travel agents and the hotel industry in relation to the advertised pricing of hotel rooms. As of April 2011, this was an administrative priority of the OFT.


title: List price

text: In Australia any sort of attempt at setting minimum advertised pricing or any retaliation against such a reseller is against the Competition and Consumer Act.


title: List price

text: It is also illegal for resellers to ask their suppliers to use recommended price lists to stop competitors from discounting. In most cases, a supplier may specify a maximum price for retail.


title: List price

text: 'Rack rate' is the travel industry term for the published full price of a hotel room, which the customer would pay by just walking into the hotel off the street and asking for a room. In some jurisdictions, a customer may be entitled to overstay a reservation by paying the rack rate. While the rack rate can be lower than the maximum rate that the hotel may be allowed to charge under local laws, it is higher than the rate most travel agents can book for their customers. Sometimes the terms "run of the house" or "walk-up rate" (in Europe usually: "walk-in rate") are used to refer to the same highest rate.


title: List price

text: The term "rack rate" is also used by travel-related service providers, such as car rental companies or travel mobile phone rental companies, to refer to the same highest rate that customers would be charged with no prebookings.


title: Centrica

text: Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


title: Centrica

text: It is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names Scottish Gas in Scotland and British Gas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It owns Bord Gáis Energy in Ireland. The company also provides household services including plumbing.


title: Centrica

text: The company has its historical origin in the Gas Light and Coke Company which incorporated in 1812. Over the next 137 years, it grew by acquisition of other gas companies to become the primary supplier of gas to Greater London. In 1949, under the Gas Act 1948 the ownership of the company transferred to a government agency, North Thames Gas Board. The various area gas boards were merged into the national British Gas Corporation in 1973. The Gas Act 1986 sold the company to private investors as British Gas plc.


title: Centrica

text: Centrica became a separate, distinct corporation on 17 February 1997, when British Gas plc split (demerged) to form three separate companies: Centrica plc, BG plc and Transco plc. Centrica took over gas sales and gas trading, services and retail businesses, together with the gas production operations in the North and South Morecambe gas fields (Rampside Gas Terminal). The new company was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.


title: Centrica

text: In 1998, Centrica's supplier monopoly for gas came to an end. Centrica maintained the British Gas retail brand but is only allowed to use this brand name in the United Kingdom. The electricity market also opened up to competition and, through the British Gas brand, the company started supplying its first domestic electricity customers.


title: Centrica

text: At the end of 1998, under CEO Sir Roy Gardner and Finance Director Mark Clare, Centrica attempted to diversify – firstly by developing the Goldfish credit card, then in July 1999, by acquiring the AA for £1.1 billion. In July 2001, Centrica further diversified with the opportunistic purchase of the UK residential telecoms business of Australia's One.Tel.


title: Centrica

text: Centrica also moved into the North American energy supply market, through the acquisition of the Canada-based company Direct Energy in July 2000, for £406 million. Direct Energy's operations were subsequently considerably expanded through a number of further acquisitions, including of Enbridge Services for £437 million in January 2002.


title: Centrica

text: This strategy of diversification changed in the middle of 2003, possibly under pressure from major city shareholders to deliver better returns and/or possibly anticipating pressure on the core energy supply business. The change started with the sale of the Goldfish business to Lloyds TSB (who subsequently sold it to Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited).


title: Centrica

text: Then, in July 2004, Centrica sold the AA to two private equity firms; Luxembourgish CVC and British Permira for £1.75 billion. In December 2005, Centrica sold their OneTel business to Carphone Warehouse. However, in October 2004 Centrica paid £57 million for Dyno-Rod, the emergency drainage franchiser, who had previously been contracted to carry out work for Centrica's customers who had bought drain and plumbing insurance.


title: Centrica

text: From 2005, Centrica declared a strategy of consolidating within the energy sector, upstream and downstream, including expanding operations overseas. New chairman Roger Carr replaced retiring chairman Sir Michael Perry in 2005, whilst new CEO Sam Laidlaw picked up the reins from retiring CEO Sir Roy Gardner in March 2006.


title: Centrica

text: In January 2006, it was rumoured that the Russian state-owned utility company Gazprom was seeking a takeover of Centrica. This created controversy in the media, while the Department for Trade and Industry stated any deal would be subject to "intense scrutiny". Tony Blair announced in April that he would not block any potential deal.


title: Centrica

text: In September 2008, the company acquired the Caythorpe gas producing field near Bridlington to use for storage purposes. It also agreed to buy 20% of British Energy from EDF, financing this with a £2.2 billion, 3 for 8 rights issue. The rights issue offered shares at 160 pence per share and closed on 12 December 2008. In August 2009, Centrica took over Venture Production, a North Sea gas producer.


title: Centrica

text: On 13 June 2010 Centrica, through Direct Energy, acquired Clockwork Home Services. Combining with the existing energy offer made Centrica the largest provider of heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical services in North America. On 17 November 2010, Centrica acquired the assets of heat pump installation company Cool Planet Technologies Ltd. for £0.5 million in cash. This aimed to boost the company's strategy of developing a broad range of low carbon technologies and advice.


title: Centrica

text: In February 2012, Centrica signed a £2 billion three-year contract with Qatargas for the purchase of 2.4 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas. In March 2011, Centrica agreed the sale of the electricity and gas supply business of its Netherlands based subsidiary Oxxio to Eneco BV for €72 million (£63 million) in cash. The sale completed Centrica's exit from the supply of electricity and gas in Continental Europe, following the earlier disposal of its supply businesses in Belgium and Spain.


title: Centrica

text: In November 2011, Centrica agreed to buy $1.6 billion stakes of eight fields on the Norwegian continental shelf from Statoil ASA. In a second deal, Centrica agreed to buy five billion cubic meters a year gas from the same company from 2015 to 2025 as equal to 5% of gas consumption in the United Kingdom. Centrica's Germany based trading division "Centrica Energie GmbH" was closed in April 2012.


title: Centrica

text: In July 2013, it was announced that Centrica would acquire the energy marketing unit of Hess Corporation for $1.03 billion. In March 2014, Centrica acquired the retail arm and other assets belonging to Ireland's state owned Bord Gáis for a fee of around €1.1 billion. In 2010, Centrica entered into joint venture arrangements with Tullow Oil to explore for oil in the South Lokichar Basin in Kenya.


title: Centrica

text: In August 2014, Tullow, the operator, revealed significant oil discoveries had been made in the Etom 1 exploration well and testing block 10BB, which expanded the already proven South Lokichar Basin "significantly northwards," taking in an additional 247 km. In September 2013, Centrica established Hive as part of its Connected Home offering, building on its Remote Heating Control service provided through its British Gas subsidiary.


title: Centrica

text: In February 2015, in light of significantly changed circumstances, a fundamental strategic review was launched. This focused on outlook and sources of growth; portfolio mix and capital intensity; operating capability and efficiency; and group financial framework. The review was a detailed analysis of the group's prospects, led by Centrica's senior management. It concluded that Centrica's strength lay in being a customer-facing business and that all activities and priorities would focus on meeting customers' changing needs. The shape of the group would be reworked to reflect this, including one group-wide efficiency programme that would reduce employee numbers by around 6,000.


title: Centrica

text: Also in February 2015, under its British Gas brand, Centrica completed the acquisition of AlertMe, a connected home company based in the United Kingdom that provided innovative energy management products and services. In November 2015, Direct Energy also acquired Panoramic Power, a provider of device-level energy management technology, for $60 million (£39 million).


title: Centrica

text: In April 2016, Centrica acquired Neas Energy A/S (Neas), one of Europe's providers of energy management and revenue optimisation services for decentralised third-party owned assets. It also acquired ENER-G Cogen International Limited ("ENER-G Cogen"), an established supplier and operator of combined heat and power (CHP) systems and REstore NV, Europe's demand response aggregator.


title: Centrica

text: In June 2017, it was announced that the CQ Energy Canada Partnership, the Canadian exploration and production joint venture in which Centrica owned a 60% interest, was to be sold to a consortium comprising MIE Holdings Corporation, The Can-China Global Resource Fund and Mercuria for a purchase price of C$722 million (£413 million) in cash.


title: Centrica

text: On 21 June 2017, the company agreed to sell its operational Langage and South Humber Bank combined cycle gas turbine power stations, with a combined capacity of 2.3GW, to EP UK Investments Ltd for £318million in cash.


title: Centrica

text: On 11 December 2017, Centrica combined its North Sea exploration & production business with Bayerngas Norge, to form a joint venture named Spirit Energy with the German, Austrian and Swiss owners of Bayerngas, led by German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM).


title: Centrica

text: In December 2017, the Competition & Markets Authority agreed to grant Centrica plc and Centrica Storage Limited's (CSL's) request to be released from the Rough Undertakings. CSL decided that it could no longer operate Rough as a storage facility as the facility was no longer capable of safe injection operations due to its age and condition and that due to the economics of seasonal storage, neither refurbishing or rebuilding the facility would be cost-effective.


title: Centrica

text: The British Gas brand lost 750,000 domestic customers in 2017 amid intense competition, contributing to a February 2018 announcement that 4,000 jobs would be cut. Centrica cut its dividend in July 2019, after making a loss of £446 million in the prior six months.


title: Centrica

text: In the spring of 2020, following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, offices and factories shut and energy use decreased sharply, and the financial problems caused by the pandemic among Centrica's customers were expected to lead to bad debts. Analysts dropped their estimate of Centrica's earnings for 2020, 2021, and 2022 by 30%, and Centrica paused its search for a buyer for its 69% stake in Spirit Energy. The share price in April reached a record low of £0.30, valuing the company at less than half of its net debt of nearly £4bn. In June 2020, Centrica's shares were moved from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 Index. The same month, the company announced that it would cut 5,000 jobs, half of them from leadership, management and corporate departments. In 2020 Centrica employed about 27,000 people, with 20,000 based in the UK. The employee cuts are to be a result of a restructuring plan designed to simplify and create a smaller group that is focused on delivery to their customers. British Gas engineers employed by Centrica began a strike in January 2021, which was extended into February, and was eventually called off by the GMB union after 44 days of strike action, after members endorsed a new pay deal.


title: Centrica

text: In July 2020, Centrica announced the sale of its subsidiary of Direct Energy in North America for $3.63 billion to NRG Energy, in order to put more focus into its home markets. The money from the sale is to be put to the reduction of net debt and to the contribution of pension plans.


title: Centrica

text: On 1 June 2022, it was announced that it will be promoted from the FTSE 250, and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index effective on 20 June.


title: Centrica

text: Centrica's operations are principally the supply of electricity and gas to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. They are organised as follows:


title: Centrica

text: In May 2009, Centrica purchased a 20% stake in nuclear power generator British Energy from EDF Energy. The company now produces 14.3% of its electricity from nuclear plants (the second highest rate in the United Kingdom), helping it to achieve the lowest carbon emissions of the major providers. Centrica has also acquired an option to purchase a 20% stake in EDF's subsidiary, NNB Generation Company (NNB GenCo).


title: Centrica

text: In December 2017, Centrica launched a new company as a joint venture with German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM). Spirit Energy, an exploration and production (E&P) company, is the result of a combination of Centrica's E&P business and Bayerngas Norge AS, which was formerly majority-owned by SWM. Centrica plc owns 69% of Spirit Energy, with Bayerngas Norge's former shareholders, led by SWM and Bayerngas GmbH, owning 31%.


title: Centrica

text: Sam Laidlaw was the chief executive of Centrica between 1 July 2006 and 31 December 2014. In the 2010 financial year Laidlaw received a salary of £941,000 and a bonus of £900,000.


title: Centrica

text: Iain Conn was appointed Group Chief Executive of Centrica on 1 January 2015; he had previously been BP's chief executive, downstream (BP's refining and marketing division) for seven years.


title: Centrica

text: Group Chief Financial Officer, Chris O'Shea, was appointed Interim Group Chief Executive of Centrica on 17 March 2020.


title: Centrica

text: British Gas was accused of greenwashing in the advertising of its Zero Carbon tariff in January 2008, after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about the 'greenest domestic tariff' claim.


title: Centrica

text: In July 2011, British Gas was fined £2.5 million by the energy regulator Ofgem for failing to deal properly with customer complaints.


title: Centrica

text: Ofgem found that British Gas failed to reopen complaints from customers who indicated they felt the matter was not resolved adequately, failed to provide sufficient information to complainants about the energy ombudsman service, and failed to deal properly with complaints from micro-businesses because it had not implemented the necessary processes and practices.


title: Centrica

text: A spokesperson for British Gas said the company felt that finding it in breach of rules for failing to provide adequate information to consumers about the energy ombudsman was "disproportionate to the mistake".


title: Centrica

text: British Gas Business was fined £1 million in July 2011 after Ofgem's investigation found the company had misreported the amount of electricity supplied under the British government's renewables obligation. British Gas claims it spotted the problem – it said an over-reporting of the amount of renewable energy it was supplying caused by human error – and notified the regulator.


title: Centrica

text: Centrica entered the political arena in February 2014, by threatening an investment strike in response to the Labour Party's proposal for a price freeze. Caroline Flint, the shadow energy secretary, said: "It is not acceptable for companies to threaten that the lights will go out because they don't want greater transparency, competition and accountability".


title: Centrica

text: Centrica has also funded, in conjunction with Cuadrilla Resources, the North West Energy Task Force which on 8 January 2015 organised an Open Letter to Lancashire County Council in support of fracking. This letter was signed by Jane Watson, sister of Robert Altham, the judge who sentenced three anti-fracking protesters to jail in September 2018.


title: James Hayman

text: James Hayman, sometimes credited as Jim Hayman, is an American television producer, director and cinematographer.


title: James Hayman

text: His credits include "Judging Amy", "Ugly Betty", "Joan of Arcadia", "Kingpin", "The Sopranos", "Any Day Now", "ER", "", "", "Huff", "House M.D.", "The Client", "Murder One", "Texasville", "Northern Exposure", "Moon Over Miami", "Law & Order", "Harts of the West", "Class of '96", "Dangerous Minds", "One West Waikiki", "The Fosters", "", "" and other series.


title: James Hayman

text: Hayman is married to actress Annie Potts and is the father of two sons, James (called Doc, born 1992), and Harry (born 1995). He has a stepson Clay (born 1981) from Potts' previous marriage.


title: Taranis

text: In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *"Toranos", earlier "*Tonaros"; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube regions, amongst others. Taranis, along with Esus and Toutatis, was mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem "Pharsalia" as a Celtic deity to whom human sacrificial offerings were made. Taranis was associated, as was the Cyclops Brontes ("thunder") in Greek mythology, with the wheel.


title: Taranis

text: Many representations of a bearded god with a thunderbolt in one hand and a wheel in the other have been recovered from Gaul, where this deity apparently came to be syncretised with Jupiter.


title: Taranis

text: The Proto-Celtic form of the name is reconstructed as *"Toranos" ('Thunder'), which derives through metathesis (switch of sounds) from an earlier *"Tonaros", itself from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stem for 'thunder', *"(s)tenh₂-". The original, unmetathesized form of the name is attested in the dative form "tanaro" (Chester, 154 AD), found on a votive altar dedicated by a Roman officer from Clunia (modern Burgos Province), and in the Gaulish hydronym "Tanarus" ('thundering' or 'thunderous'), an ancient name of the River Po (northern Italy). Similar European hydronyms have also been proposed to belong to the same root. The PIE "s"-initial seems to have been retained in Celtiberian "steniontes", "stenion", and "stena".


title: Taranis

text: In the Indo-European context, the Proto-Celtic name *"Tonaros" is identical to the Proto-Germanic Thunder-god "*Þun(a)raz" (cf. ON "Þórr", OE "Þunor", OS "Thunar", OFris. "Thuner", OHG "Donar"), and further related to the Sanskrit "stánati" and Latin "tono", both meaning 'to thunder"'." According to scholar Peter Jackson, the Celtic–Germanic isogloss *"Þun(a)raz" "~ *Tonaros" may have emerged as the result of the fossilization of an original epithet (or epiclesis) of the Proto-Indo-European thunder-god *"Perkunos".


title: Taranis

text: The later form *"Toranos" is attested in the Gaulish divine names "Taranis" and "Taranucnos", as well as in the personal name "Taranutius". The name "Taran", which appears in the prehistoric section of the Pictish King-List, may also be interpreted as a euhemerized god. The Hispano-Celtic "tar(a)nekūm" could mean 'of the descendants of Tar(a)nos'.


title: Taranis

text: Additional cognates may also be found in medieval Celtic languages, such as Old Irish "torann" ('thunder, noise'), Old Breton "taran", Old Cornish "taran", or Middle Welsh "taran" ('[peal of] thunder, thunderclap'). The Gaulish word for 'thunder' has been preserved in Gascon "taram".


title: Taranis

text: The wheel, more specifically the chariot wheel with six or eight spokes, was an important symbol in historical Celtic polytheism, apparently associated with a specific god, known as the wheel-god, identified as the sky- sun- or thunder-god, whose name is attested as Taranis by Lucan. Numerous Celtic coins also depict such a wheel. The half-wheel shown in the Gundestrup cauldron also has eight visible spokes.


title: Taranis

text: Symbolic votive wheels were offered at shrines (such as in Alesia), cast in rivers (such as the Seine), buried in tombs or worn as amulets since the Middle Bronze Age. Such "wheel pendants" from the Bronze Age usually had four spokes, and are commonly identified as solar symbols or "sun crosses". Artefacts parallel to the Celtic votive wheels or wheel-pendants are the so-called "Zierscheiben" in a Germanic context. The identification of the Sun with a wheel, or a chariot, has parallels in Germanic, Greek and Vedic mythology (see sun chariot).


title: Taranis

text: In 2013 a British combat drone system developed by defence contractor BAE Systems was named Taranis in reference to the Celtic god.


title: Taranis

text: MacG Racing have developed a racing car called the Taranis racing in the British Endurance Championship


title: Blurr (film)

text: Blurr is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language horror thriller film. It has been directed by Ajay Bahl and jointly produced by Zee Studios, Outsiders Films and Echelon Productions. The film features Taapsee Pannu and Gulshan Devaiah in the leading roles. This is Taapsee Pannu's first project as a producer.


title: Blurr (film)

text: The story is about one woman, Gayatri, finding about the untimely death of her twin sister, who was visually impaired. She then tries to uncover the mystery behind the death while struggling with her own eyesight.


title: Blurr (film)

text: Since the protagonist of the film is visually impaired, Taapsee Pannu shot part of the film blindfolded to get the character right.


title: Blurr (film)

text: The teaser of the movie was released on November 20, 2022. As a part of the promotion, the movie was screened for a visually impaired audience.


title: Blurr (film)

text: The music of the film is composed by Aditya Pushkarna, Rishi Dutta and Shivangi Bhayana while the lyrics are written by Srushti Tawade and Akshay The One.


title: Blurr (film)

text: Anna M. M. Vetticad of "Firstpost" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, and praised the atmospherics, camera work and Taapsee Pannu’s performance. She wrote, "The larger message "Blurr" is aiming at gives it an interesting additional layer, even though it is not fully realised." Roktim Rajpal for "India Today" wrote "Taapsee puts her best foot forward and excels in a few inherently intense scenes. That said, one gets the feeling that she does not get enough scope to internalise the characters." Tanul Thakur of The Wire wrote, "But "Blurr" resists the easy temptations, finding fresh ways to divulge personality, solidify tension, spring surprise." It also earned praises from Saibal Chatterjee who wrote,"The film never loses sight of its primary purpose - delivering a thriller that makes the most of its resources while staying within its chosen parameters."


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The ASUS Eee PC is a netbook computer line from Asus, and a part of the ASUS Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (SSD), and relatively low cost. Newer models added the options of Microsoft Windows operating system and rotating media hard disk drives (HDD), and initially retailed for up to 500 euros.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The first Eee PC was a milestone in the personal computer business, launching the netbook category of small, low-cost laptops in the West (in Japan, subnotebooks had long been a staple in computing). According to Asus, the name Eee derives from "the three Es", an abbreviation of its advertising slogan for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play".


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In January 2013, ASUS officially ended production of their Eee PC series, citing declining sales due to consumers favoring tablets and Ultrabooks over netbooks. However, they subsequently restarted the line with the release of the EeeBook series in 2015.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: ASUS announced two Eee PC models at Computex Taipei 2007: the 701 and the 1001. The 701 base model Eee PC 4G was released on 16 October 2007 in Taiwan. Three additional models followed.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Both the price and the size of the device are small in comparison with similar ultra-mobile PCs. The Eee series is a response to the XO-1 notebook from the One Laptop per Child initiative. At the Intel Developer Forum 2007, Asus demonstrated the Classmate PC and the Eee PC, and listed specifications for four models of the Eee PC.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In some countries, the products have the marketing names EeePC 8G, 4G, 4G Surf, and 2G Surf, though in other countries the machines are still designated by the model numbers 700 and 701. The 4G Surf uses socketed RAM but some revisions do not have a door to access the slot.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: ASUS released a version of the Eee PC with Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed in January 2008. In Japan, the version is known as the 4G-X.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Some early 700-series models drained the battery approximately 10% per day when the unit was completely powered off and not plugged in, thus emptying the battery even when not in use.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 8 GB versions of the 700 series leave the SSD area on the motherboard empty and connect their SSD as an internal PCI Express Mini Card. Replacing the SSD requires only an SSD compatible with the connector. The SSD area on the motherboard may also be used to install other devices, accommodate physically larger SSDs, or even hard-solder an SSD salvaged from a 2 GB or 4 GB 700 model. As this requires only soldering on a new device without removing an old one, the risk of doing so may be acceptable to some users.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee 900 series was launched in Hong Kong on 16 April 2008, and in the UK on 1 May 2008 for £329 (approximately 410 € or 650 US$ including VAT). It was launched in the US on 12 May 2008. The Eee 900 series dimensions are a little larger than the 70x models–measuring 225 × 165 × 35 mm (WxDxH) (8.8" × 6.5" × 1.4") and weighing around 1 kg (2.2 lb). The machine has a multi-touch touchpad allowing two-finger scroll and zoom via a "pinch" gesture, and is available with Linux and/or MS Windows XP configurations, depending on the market.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Intel Atom version is named the EeePC 900a and comes with an 8GB or 16 GB SSD. Some of these Eee PCs also have a 4 GB SSD installed similarly to that in the 701 for a total storage space of 20GB. Those that do not are named the Asus EEE 900 16G. The MS Windows XP version is named the EeePC 900 Win and also comes in two versions: one with a total storage of 12 GB (one 4 GB SSD and one 8 GB SSD) and one with 16 GB (on a single SSD). The Linux 20G version is sold for the same price as the MS Windows 12G version. In the case of the 16G EEEs, the MS Windows version costs more than the Linux version.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Windows version comes with Microsoft Works and Windows Live Suite preinstalled. It also includes StarSuite 8. The machines are otherwise identical to each other with 1 GB of RAM, an 8.9-inch (226 mm) 1024×600 LCD and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. This model has the same Intel Celeron CPU as the Eee PC 700, running at its full 900 MHz clock speed (rather than the 630 MHz speed seen in the Eee PC 700).


title: Asus Eee PC

text: On 3 June 2008, Asus unveiled the Eee 901 at Computex Taipei. It was a revision of the 900 series with a different chassis. The 901 features an Intel Atom Diamondville CPU clocked at 1.6 GHz, an "expanded" battery (listed as 6-cell), and "Super Hybrid Engine" software for power management which will provide a battery life of 4.2-7.8 hours. Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi are also included. The 901 uses the Intel 945GME chipset, meeting the requirements for MS Windows Vista or 7 Aero. The 901 is otherwise similar to the 900, shipping in Linux or MS Windows XP configurations with flash memory storage of different sizes. It was discovered that the Eee 901 has capacity for a "3GCard" upgrade.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee PC 904HD was one of the first Eee PC models which features an 80 GB HDD instead of an SSD. It features an Intel Celeron M running at 900 MHz and gets power from a 6-cell battery. Like other Eee PC 90x models, it features 802.11 b/g WLAN and a 1.3M pixel webcam. MS Windows XP comes pre-installed.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee PC 904HA's dimensions are 266 mm(W) × 191.2 mm(D) × 28.5 mm~ 38 mm(H). The 8.9-inch screen has a native resolution size of 1024×600 pixels (WSVGA). The CPU is an Intel Atom N270 @ 1.6 GHz, and the standard model came with 1 GB DDR2 RAM occupying the single memory slot. The 160 GB Hard Disk Drive had Microsoft Windows XP Home pre-installed. Also standard are the 6-cell battery, the 1.3M pixel webcam and integrated microphone, and both ethernet and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g network connections.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee PC 900A features almost the same specs as the Eee PC 901 (except the primary SSD, Bluetooth, 1.3M pixel webcam and the 6-cell battery, that has been replaced by a 4-cell battery), but in a case nearly the same as used in the Eee PC 900 model.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: On 17 June 2009, Asus released the Disney Netpal (Eee PC MK90), which is similar to the Eee 90x models.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: There was some controversy regarding the battery supplied with the EeePC 900. Versions pre-released to many non-UK journalists and reviewers were equipped with a 5800 mAh battery, but the first retail versions in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Singapore were shipped with a smaller, 4400 mAh (76% of that capacity) battery, which commentators note has led to a great variation in the machine's battery life in reviews, in some cases as much as 90 minutes. As a result of the objections to this, Asus provided a free battery replacement program in Hong Kong and Singapore, and ran a paid-for battery exchange program in the UK.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Asus has stated that the smaller battery is "presently the standard battery supplied in the UK" and "the default standard battery pack for Asus Eee PC 900 worldwide". Asus provided a battery exchange to all UK Eee PC 900 customers for £10, and released a firmware update which claimed to extend battery life by 30 minutes ("BIOS 0601: Updated all battery discharge tables to extend battery life").


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In Australia and Italy, the situation was reversed: Reviewers received EeePC 900 systems fitted with the 4400 mAh battery but the retail models were equipped with the 5800 mAh battery. Customers of Media Markt in Italy received the EeePC 900 at the beginning of sales (May/June) with a 5800 mAh battery and later (June/July) with a 4400 mAh battery.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Part of the above problem extends from the fact that the entire range was substantially more successful than Asus had originally anticipated. Currently, Asus has several large complexes scattered throughout Taiwan and China, with the largest in the city of Suzhou (China), being the size of eight football fields. Upon the unexpected success of the range, Asus factories worked around the clock to keep up supply and further development. Consequently, even within Asus testing labs in Taipei, many variations were found within test models. Generally, however, Asus does inform reviewers that the final retail model may contain different features from those offered in the review model.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The "1000" series launched at Computex Taipei on 3 June 2008. It featured a new 10-inch (254 mm) screen and a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, although built-in power management software can increase the speed to 1.7 GHz. The 1000 model shipped with Linux, an 8 GB SSD and a 32 GB SSD (totalling 40 GB); the 1000H model shipped with Windows XP Home or Linux and an 80 or 160 GB SATA HDD. Both the 1000 and the 1000H support up to 2 GB of DDR2 RAM of 667 MHz clock speed. The 1000 has a rated battery life of 4.2–7.5 hours, while the 1000H is rated for 3.2–7 hours. It also offers a keyboard that is 92% the size of generic notebooks, aiming to make it more comfortable to type. Like the Eee PC 901, the new machines feature 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. WiMAX is not currently supported.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1000HD (released in September 2008) is a slightly cheaper version of the 1000 series. It features the same specifications as the 1000H, except it uses a 900 MHz Celeron CPU chip.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1000HA (released in October 2008) also costs less than the 1000H, but has the same Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU, a 160 GB HDD, and 1 GB of RAM. It also has wireless and on some models, Bluetooth.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1000XPH has the same Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU, an 80 GB HDD, and 1 GB of RAM. Other amenities include 10/100 LAN and 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN adapters, an integrated webcam, but no Bluetooth. The "1000HG" features a Huawei 3G-Modem.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In February 2009, Asus unveiled the 1000HE, using the new Intel Atom 280 processor, with a 10-inch LED-lit display at 1024x600 physical but 1024x768 virtual, 6-cell battery with an advertised 9.5 hours of battery life, 160 GB HDD running at 5400RPM, Bluetooth, 802.11n wireless networking, 1.3-megapixel camera, and revised keyboard similar to Apple's keyboards.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Although the screen resolution on the 1000 series is 1024x600, it has pixel mapping (memory addressing) which covers a virtual 1024x768 desktop. One could choose with a simple Fn key combination what graphics mode to operate in: either 800x600, 1024x600 (native resolution), virtual 1024x768 compressed (vertically compressed into 600 space), and 1024x768 with panning. The latter mode would display only 660 vertical pixels at a time, but as the pointer approached the top or bottom of the screen the display content would shift the "hidden" pixels into view to better display certain websites. It also freed more screen real estate for other tasks, such as web browsing or office applications, by allowing the user to move some things, like the top empty grey window frame area (otherwise wasted) off-screen. A similar panning effect can be achieved on other Linux systems using xrandr.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1005HA comes in three models. From least to most expensive, they are the 1005HA"-B", the 1005HA"-V" and the 1005HA"-P". The 1005HA-B has a removable 3-cell battery with a rated 4-hour life per charge, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and uses the N270 processor. At the higher end, the 1005HA-P has a removable 6-cell, 5600 mAh, 63 Wh battery with rated 10.5 hour battery life, a 1.3-megapixel camera and uses the N280 processor. There is also a 1005HA-H model, sold in Poland, equipped with a 6-cell battery, an N270 processor and a 0.3-megapixel camera.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Asus officially announced the first Eee with Nvidia Ion graphics, the 1201N , on 19 November 2009, later replaced by the 1201PN and 1201NL and the 1215N, with a more powerful Atom D525 dual-core processor and Ion 2 graphics.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1215 series then saw the release of the 1215"B", which came with an E-450/E-350/C30/C50/C60 processor, a "Zacate" APU. The 1215B has USB 3.0 ports, as well as a CPU and BIOS that support full hardware virtualization in both Linux (via KVM, Xen, VirtualBox, VMware) and Windows (via XP mode, VirtualBox, VMware). The 1215B is the first of the Eee PC line of computers that supports virtualization. The 1215B was subsequently replaced by the upgraded 1225B, which replaced the E350 APU of the previous model with the E-450 APU which provides a minor speed bump to the CPU and turbocore for the GPU.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: These were released in 2012 and described as the last in the line of the Asus Eee PC series. With only 1 GB memory, standard USB2 ports and sluggish performance, these were not especially notable releases other than for their exceptional battery life. Other reported problems are the lack of a hatch to access the memory, so RAM cannot be upgraded without breaking open the case; also, there is a single mono speaker rather than dual stereo speakers.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In 2013 Asus restarted the Eee PC series with the 1015E models, some of which are on Windows 8 and some on Ubuntu Linux. These come with 2 GB memory and USB3 ports.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 1015E fixes some of the problems with the 1025C by using a faster processor, 2GB memory and stereo speakers. The RAM is soldered in place and cannot be upgraded. Due to improved performance, the battery life is shorter than that of the 1025 series. It is possible to reduce the processor clock speed to increase battery life.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In 2014 Asus relaunched the Eee PC with the EeeBook lineup of computers, starting with the X205TA model. By 2017 the EeeBook lineup was succeeded by the Asus VivoBook E Series. Some EeeBook laptops were rebranded to VivoBook E Series laptops; the EeeBook E202 was rebranded to the VivoBook E202, ending the EeeBook lineup again. The EeeBook lineup consists of the E202 (E202SA), E502 (E502SA and E502MA) and X205 (X205TA).


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Asus Eee PC series models 1005ha, 1005hab, 1008ha, and others use Varta ML1220 or equivalent Maxell, Sanyo and Panasonic ML1220 lithium ion coin cell rechargeable batteries, terminated with a two-pin Molex connector plug.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Eee PC models have typically used netbook specific processors or ultra-low voltage versions of mainstream processors. The earliest Eee PC models used a 900 MHz Intel Celeron M processor underclocked to 630 MHz. Later models shipped with Intel Atom and AMD Fusion processors.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee PC 700 has an 800×480 pixel, 7 inch (178 mm) display, measured diagonally. The screen does not cover the entire space within the lid; instead it is flanked on the sides by stereo speakers, and above by the (optional) camera in the trim at the top. The Eee PC 900 and 901 come with a 1024×600 pixel 8.9-inch (226 mm) display, almost filling the lid.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: With all models, an external display can be supported through a standard VGA connector. On some early models this connector lacks the screws to secure it to the Eee PC, which some consider a safety precaution. The manufacturer does not give any specifications on maximum resolution and display configuration (mirroring, extended desktop), but most models can handle an external display at native resolution of 1440×1050, and even 1600×900, although performance starts to slow down. Models that ship with Xandros do not have access to the full capacity of the external VGA output by default, allowing only 'mirroring'. Users must reconfigure their xorg.conf file, or install a more recent OS to allow the higher resolution output.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The EEE PC900 has a tendency for the display to fail with black blobs due to air leakage. This is repairable but depending on exact replacement unit sometimes needs the eight-pin EEPROM moved from the old display to the new one, and a single track linked to regain picture and brightness control after the new one is fitted.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: On a normal, full size computer keyboard, the 10 keys Q–P measure 190 mm (7.48 in). The 700 and 900 series are equipped with similar keyboards, 82% of the size of a generic one, meaning that the Q–P keys measure 155 mm (6.10 in). The 1000 series, as it fits in a more spacious case, has 92% of a full size keyboard, where the Q–P keys measure 175 mm (6.89 in).


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Some Eee PC lines such as the 1000HE and 1215s uses the island-style keyboard, similar to keyboards used in Apple computers and Sony's VAIO series, where the keys are reminiscent of Scrabble tiles, being spaced apart and raised from the surface below.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The early model Eee PCs use a solid-state drive for storage (instead of a hard drive), which consumes less power when in use, allows the device to boot faster, generates no noise, and is less susceptible to mechanical shock damage than hard drives. A downside of SSD storage (flash memory) is that an individual sector can be written only about 200,000 times. This problem can be partially mitigated by intelligent wear leveling, resulting in a MTBF similar to conventional platter-based hard drives.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The SSDs used in early Eee PCs also had extremely poor random write performance; the S101 does not have this problem.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In the 2 GB and 4 GB models of the 700 series of the Eee PC, the SSD is permanently soldered to the board. In the 8 GB model, the SSD is a card connected via the internal PCI Express Mini Card connector, leaving the original SSD area on the motherboard empty.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The Eee PC 900 comes with a removable PCI Express Mini SSD module, with or without four additional 1 GB memory chips soldered on the main board. Different models come with different-sized SSDs. One Linux version has 4 GB, a MS Windows XP version has 8 GB, and all remaining ones, MS Windows XP or Linux, have 16 GB.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Some models, such as the 1000H and 904HD, do not have a SSD, and instead have a SATA internal hard drive of either 80 or 160 GB, which can be upgraded by the user.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: All Eee PC models also include a memory card reader, supporting SD, SDHC and MMC cards for additional storage, while the Eee PC S101 also has support for Memorystick and MS-PRO.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Eee PC 1004DN is the first model with a Super-Multi optical disc drive (ODD) that reads and writes data to DVD or compact disc.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Most early Eee PCs use 533/667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM via a standard SO-DIMM module, which can be swapped out. The 700 and 701SDX have RAM soldered to the motherboard. Other models (like the white 4GS-W010) lacked memory access panels and required disassembly to upgrade memory.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Later models, such as the black model EEEPC 4G SURF (4GS-PK008), and newer white models (4GS-W010), have a removable panel on the underside that allows the user to change the RAM without fully disassembling the system.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Asus reverted to soldering RAM directly onto the mainboard in their later releases of the Eee PC range. The Asus technical data for the 1025c and 1025ce models is seen as erroneous by certain online retailers offering RAM upgrades.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In an EE380 talk, an Asus engineer mentioned that the Eee PC uses the keyboard shielding as a heat sink to absorb the heat generated by the processor. Three chips need heatsinking, and this is achieved by heat-conductive adhesive pads which sit between the chip heatsink flats and the keyboard shield and connect them thermally. It is important to ensure that the heatsink pads are replaced correctly after maintenance such as cleaning or replacing the fan. The Eee PC has a fan and vents to cool off the system.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Most Eee PC models were shipped with either Windows XP or a Linux distribution called Xandros. Later models (e.g. 1015E) ship with Windows 7 Starter or Linux Ubuntu installed.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Users have tried to install various other operating systems on Eee PCs. The following are known to work on most models:


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Some of the above operating systems, while they may have been available, and some barely worked sluggishly, are no longer up to date. Some have even been discontinued or now only offer 64bit versions which are not compatible with the eeePC series.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: Naming of the 700 series of models of the device appears to relate to the size of installed SSD, camera, and battery size. The Eee PC Surf models include the 4400 mAh battery pack and no webcam, while the non-Surf models have the 5200 mAh battery pack and a webcam installed. The model numbers (700, 701) may still be the same as has been seen on pre-production samples. Asus may offer upgrades for the SSD storage via the empty Mini PCIe slot, which has been shown to be labeled FLASH_CON in take-apart photos of the 4G. When a Mini PCIe card is inserted into the spare empty slot, the internal SSD is disabled, making the device unable to boot from the original SSD. There are also signal lines for a USB port on the Mini PCIe pins which have been used to connect various USB devices internally. Some 701 models with serial numbers starting at 7B do not have a second mini PCIe slot soldered onto the motherboard, though the circuit traces and solder pads remain.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: In the 70x series, the pre-installed Xandros operating system has a Linux kernel with a kernel option set limiting the detected RAM size to a maximum of 1 GB, even if a larger RAM module is installed. The actual capacity is shown in full in the BIOS setup and under other OSes. However, it is possible to recompile the kernel with support for more RAM.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The 900 and later laptops had the kernel pre-configured to support up to 4 GB of memory address space.


title: Asus Eee PC

text: The ASUS Eee PC series of netbooks still attract a small crowd of people who need an affordable, lightweight and tiny netbook for traveling. Due to their lack of powerful processors and modern compatibility, however, they are nearing little to no use today due to being replaced by Chromebooks and other cheaper alternatives.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: King's Highway 407, commonly referred to as Highway 407 and colloquially as the "four-oh-seven", is a tolled 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Comprising a privately leased segment as well as a publicly owned segment, the route spans the entire Greater Toronto Area (GTA) around the city of Toronto, travelling through the suburbs of Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Pickering, Whitby, and Oshawa before ending in Clarington, north of Orono. At 151.4 km long, this is the fourth longest freeway in Ontario's 400 series network, after Highways 417, 400, and 401. The segment between Burlington and Brougham in Pickering is leased to and operated by the 407 ETR Concession Company Limited and is officially known as the 407 Express Toll Route (407 ETR). It begins at the junction of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Highway 403 in Burlington, and travels across the GTA to Brock Road in Pickering. East of Brock Road, the tollway continues east as Highway 407 (referred to as Highway 407 East during development to distinguish it from the 407 ETR), a toll route operated by the provincial government, for to Highway 35/115 in Clarington. The route interchanges with nine freeways: the QEW, Highway 403, Highway 401, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 400, Highway 404, Highway 412, and Highway 418. Highway 407 is an electronically operated toll highway; there are no toll booths along the length of the route. Distances are calculated automatically using transponders or automatic number-plate recognition, which are scanned at entrance and exit portals.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 was planned in the late 1950s as a freeway bypassing the Toronto segment of Highway 401, the busiest highway in North America.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: However, construction did not begin until 1987. During the early 1990s, the provincial government proposed tolling the highway to alleviate a revenue shortfall. The central sections of Highway 407 opened in 1997, and the remaining sections were built quickly over the following four years, with the final segment opening in mid-2001.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Despite being included in the 400-series network, the Highway 407 ETR section is not considered part of the provincial highway network due to it now being privately operated.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The segment is operated privately under a 99-year lease agreement with the provincial government, which was sold in 1999 for about C$3.1 billion to a consortium of Canadian and Spanish investors operating under the name 407 International Inc.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The privatization of the Highway 407 ETR section has been the source of significant criticism, especially regarding the increases in tolls, plate denial, and false charges. In addition, the safety of segments constructed following the sale of the freeway has been called into question.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Phase 1 of a provincially owned and tolled extension of the route, known solely as Highway 407 (and not as Highway 407 ETR), opened to traffic from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa on June 20, 2016. Included as part of this extension was construction of a tolled north–south link between Highways 401 and 407 known as Highway 412. Phase 2 later extended the provincially owned portion of Highway 407 to Highway 35 / Highway 115 in Clarington. This construction was completed in two stages, with Phase 2A opening on January 2, 2018, as a extension to Taunton Road, and Phase 2B opening on December 9, 2019, as a extension to Highway 35 and Highway 115. Included as part of this extension was construction of another tolled north–south link between Highways 401 and 407 known as Highway 418.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Unusually, the highway does not reach or pass through any of its three control cities: Hamilton, Toronto, or Peterborough. Hamilton is accessed by following either the QEW or Highway 403 beyond its western terminus in Burlington. Toronto proper is bypassed, but is used as a control city due to the similar sizes of the suburban municipalities the highway passes through in Halton and Durham Regions. In the east, Peterborough is reached by briefly following the Highway 35/Highway 115 concurrency north, and then continuing northeast on Highway 115 alone.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 is a controlled-access highway that encircles the GTA, passing through Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa, and Clarington, as well as travelling immediately north of Toronto.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Although the general public felt that tolling made the highway a luxury rather than its original purpose of relieving traffic on Highway 401, Highway 407 ETR has had average daily trip counts of over 350,000 vehicles in June 2014.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The 407 ETR is contractually responsible for maintaining high traffic levels as justification for increasing tolls, but conduct their own traffic studies. Despite increased usage, parallel roads that Highway 407 was intended to supplement continue to grow congested, forcing the MTO to revisit costly widening projects of Highway 401 and the QEW.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 has been designed with aesthetics and environmental concerns in mind by featuring landscaped embankments, 79 storm drainage ponds, as well as a curb and gutter system.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Unlike most other Ontario highways, it features concrete pavement as opposed to top-coated asphalt. Because of this, the high-mast lighting along the urban portions of the route feature fewer luminaires than asphalt-surfaced freeways.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 begins in Burlington within Halton Region at the Freeman Interchange between Highway 403 and the QEW, from which it branches off northward. The six-lane route passes under Brant Street, Upper Middle Road, and Guelph Line (Halton Regional Road 1) before it interchanges with Dundas Street (Halton Regional Road 5, formerly Highway 5). It briefly enters greenspace as it curves gently to the northeast, avoiding the nearby Niagara Escarpment. The route is crossed by Walkers Line, east of which residential subdivisions line the south side and green space lines the north. At an interchange with Appleby Line (Halton Regional Road 20), the highway straightens and travels parallel to Dundas Street before passing over Bronte Creek and under the Canadian National Railway's (CN) Halwest Subdivision.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: East of Bronte Creek, Highway 407 enters an agricultural area, interspersed with woodlots. It enters Oakville at the Tremaine Road (Halton Regional Road 22) overpass, then gradually swerves to the north as it encounters an interchange with Bronte Road (Halton Regional Road 25, formerly Highway 25). The route crosses Sixteen Mile Creek just north of Glenarchy Conservation Area, then travels parallel to the creek for several kilometres. It swerves north after an interchange with Neyagawa Boulevard, near the hamlet of Glenarchy. After diverging from the creek, it curves northeast, parallel to and north of Burnhamthorpe Road, where it interchanges with Trafalgar Road (Halton Regional Road 3). Highway 407 then encounters Highway 403, where it curves sharply to the northwest, while Highway 403 curves from the southeast to the northeast; resulting in both highways meeting and deflecting at a 90° angle and not crossing each other.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Now travelling parallel to and immediately west of the Halton–Peel regional boundary and Oakville–Mississauga city limits, the six-lane Highway 407 progresses northwest alongside a power transmission corridor, with residential areas to the east and farmland to the west. The route continues as such northwest to Highway 401, passing under Lower Base Line and Eglinton Avenue and interchanging at Britannia Road and Derry Road before crossing the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) Galt Subdivision. At Highway 401, the route makes a sharp curve to the northeast, while interconnecting ramps weave across both freeways over several kilometres. It enters Peel Region at the Winston Churchill Boulevard (Peel Regional Road 19) overpass and follows another power transmission corridor just north of the Brampton–Mississauga boundary.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 swerves east and encounters an interchange with Mississauga Road (Peel Regional Road 1) just prior to crossing the Credit River and the Orangeville Brampton Railway, after which it enters the urban GTA. After passing interchanges with Mavis Road (Peel Regional Road 18) and Hurontario Street (formerly Highway 10), the route encounters Highway 410 at another sprawling interchange located over Etobicoke Creek. Over the next , the route nudges northward into Brampton, interchanging with Dixie Road (Peel Regional Road 4) and Bramalea Road and meeting another CN railway line, before crossing Steeles Avenue (Peel Regional Road 15). Highway 407 curves back to the northeast as it interchanges with Airport Road (Peel Regional Road 7) and passes beneath another CN line, before encountering the final interchange in Peel Region at Goreway Drive. It crosses the West Humber River and former Highway 50 in Claireville Conservation Area before curving east into Vaughan, in York Region.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Immediately after crossing into Vaughan, Highway 407 encounters the first of three large interchanges with other 400-series highways in York Region. The Highway 427 interchange is a four-level partial stack located just north of Steeles Avenue in Vaughan and adjacent to the 407 ETR Concession Company offices. The interchange features weaved ramps which connect to former Highway 27, located just to the east. The route continues eastward, parallel to and between Steeles Avenue and Highway 7. It dives through the Humber River valley alongside a CN line and along the northern border of Thackeray Conservation Lands, passing beneath a CP line. After an interchange with Pine Valley Drive (York Regional Road 57), the route becomes sandwiched between the industrial lands of the Pine Valley Business Park and the Emery Creek Corporate Park. A partial interchange with Weston Road (York Regional Road 56) lies just west of the large four-level stack interchange with Highway 400, the only of its kind in Canada. An interchange with Jane Street (York Regional Road 55) is interwoven into the east side of the Highway 400 interchange, below which pass the tunnels of the Line 1 Yonge–University subway, with the Highway 407 station (with its large commuter parking lot and GO Transit bus terminal serving the highway corridor) located to the south.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Still travelling alongside a power transmission corridor, Highway 407 crosses a complex rail wye which provides access to the CN freight yards to the north. After interchanging with Keele Street (York Regional Road 6), the route gently curves northward, passing under the CN Newmarket Subdivision, which carries the GO Transit Barrie Line and crossing the Don River. It curves back eastward as it interchanges with Dufferin Street (York Regional Road 53), travelling adjacent to and south of Highway 7. After interchanges with Bathurst Street (York Regional Road 38) and Yonge Street (York Regional Road 1), Highway 407 crosses the CN Bala Subdivision, which carries the GO Transit Richmond Hill Line. After an interchange with Bayview Avenue (York Regional Road 34), the highway swerves south and enters Markham. A partial interchange with Leslie Street (York Regional Road 12) precedes the third and final large freeway–freeway junction at Highway 404.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: East of Highway 404, the freeway travels generally parallel to the Rouge River. It interchanges with Woodbine Avenue (York Regional Road 8) and Warden Avenue (York Regional Road 65), east of which the route travels alongside a CN line and crosses the GO Transit Unionville Line. Highway 407 continues straight eastward into a residential area, interchanging with Kennedy Road (York Regional Road 3), McCowan Road (York Regional Road 67), and Markham Road (York Regional Road 68), where it crosses the river and diverges from both the CN line and power transmission corridor. The route interchanges with Ninth Line (York Regional Road 69) and Donald Cousens Parkway (York Regional Road 48) before exiting the urban GTA and curving northeast over a CP line and into Rouge Park.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Until the opening of the first phase of 407E in June 2016, the final interchange along Highway 407 was with York–Durham Line (York/Durham Regional Road 30), the boundary between York Region and Durham Region as well as Markham and Pickering.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The route curves eastward, then crosses West Duffins Creek north of the community of Whitevale, south of the future Pickering Airport and the planned community of Seaton. Sandwiched between farm fields, the highway is crossed by North Road, before interchanging with Whites Road (formerly Sideline 26), an interchange which opened in February 2021.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 ended just south of Brougham at a signalized intersection with Brock Road (Durham Regional Road 1) until the end of 2015, where it continued eastward as Highway 7. A new interchange has been built in conjunction with the provincially maintained and tolled extension, Highway 407E, which was constructed east of this point, and ties in with the current freeway, eliminating the at-grade intersection.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Immediately east of Brock Road, drivers enter the provincially operated portion of the highway. Right before Brock Road, the freeway turns northeast. After interchanging with Brock Road, the freeway is crossed by Highway 7 and Sideline 14 before it slowly eases due east. The freeway is flanked by farmland is then crossed by Westney Road, Salem Road, where there is a maintenance depot, and Kinsale Road, before interchanging with Lake Ridge Road, which forms the border between Pickering and Whitby. Immediately east of Lake Ridge Road, the freeway meets with Highway 412 at a large Y-interchange.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 then curves southeast to bypass the town of Brooklin. It is crossed by Highway 7 once again before interchanging with Highway 12/Baldwin Street and Thickson Road. The freeway becomes parallel with a hydro line briefly. The freeway once again curves northeast, crossing the Whitby/Oshawa border, passing over Thornton Road and Winchester Road before interchanging with Simcoe Street and Harmony Road. The freeway then curves sharply southeast, crossing under the hydro lines it was just parallel to, crossing Winchester Street for the last time, and crossing the Oshawa/Clarington border. The freeway then is crossed by Langmaid Road and Concession Road 6 before turning due east and interchanging with Enfield Road. The freeway passes south of the hamlet of Solina before meeting Highway 418 at another large Y-interchange.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Highway 407 then jogs north of the hamlet of Hampton before interchanging with Bowmanville Avenue. The freeway is crossed by Middle Road, Liberty Street, and Betheseda Road before it turns slightly northeast. The freeway interchanges with Darlington-Clarke Townline with a B4 Parclo interchange, which is the last interchange on the freeway. The freeway then crosses Leskard Road and Best Road, before ending at Highway 35/115 with a modified trumpet interchange.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Both Phase 1 of the 407 East Extension, as far as Harmony Road in Oshawa and Highway 412 opened to traffic on June 20, 2016. Phase 2A of the 407 East Extension, as far as Taunton Road in Clarington opened to traffic on January 2, 2018. Both Phase 2B of the 407 East Extension, as far as Highway 35 and Highway 115 in Clarington and Highway 418 opened to traffic on December 9, 2019.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Unlike most other toll highways, Highway 407 features no toll booths. Rather, a system of cameras and transponders allows for automatic toll collection. It is one of the earliest examples of a highway to exclusively use open road tolling. Highway 407 is otherwise designed as a normal freeway; interchanges connect directly to crossroads. A radio antenna detects when a vehicle with a transponder has entered and exited the highway, calculating the toll rate. For vehicles without a transponder, an automatic license plate recognition system is used. In both cases, monthly statements are mailed to users. The automatic plate recognition system is linked to several provincial and U.S. state motor vehicle registries.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Toll rates are set by both the 407 ETR and the Province of Ontario for each of the respective sections they own. However, the province set out limitations in the 407 ETR lease contract for maintaining traffic volumes to justify toll rates. Despite this, rates have increased annually against the requests of the provincial government, resulting in several court battles and the general public regarding the route as a luxury.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: As part of the contractual agreement with the government, the MTO is required to deny licence plate validation stickers to drivers who have an outstanding 407 ETR bill over 125 days past due.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: This process was temporarily halted in February 2000 due to numerous false billing claims. Following a judicial decision by the Ontario Divisional Court on November 7, 2005, the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles was ordered to begin denying the validation or issue of Ontario licence plates and vehicle permits for 407 ETR users who have failed to pay owed fees. On November 22, 2005, the MTO announced that it would appeal the decision but would begin to deny plates until the appeal was decided. On February 24, 2006, the Ontario Court of Appeals denied the government leave to appeal the 2005 decision. As a result, plate denial remains in place.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: To compensate for opening delays, tolling of both the Highway 407 extension and Highway 412 did not commence until February 2017. The tolls also applied to Highway 418 when first opened in December 2019.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: On April 5, 2022, Highways 412 and 418 became toll-free, however the tolls on the 407 East Extension remained.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: As of June 1, 2019, the following tolls applies for motorists utilizing this section of the 407. The rate stayed the same in 2018 and rose in 2019.:


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: As of August 2022 and unchanged since 2019, ownership of the 407 ETR Concession Company Limited ("407 ETR"), the operator/manager of the highway, is as follows:


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The concession has been called a "cash cow" for SNC-Lavalin, while local media has commented on the "huge jump" or "soar" in profits.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: In 1998, MPP E. J. Douglas Rollins claimed that the province had as much as $104 billion invested in the highway.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: On October 5, 2010, the Canadian Pension Plan announced that an agreement was reached with the owners of the roadway to purchase 10% stake for $894 million.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: In April 2019, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. announced the sale of 10.01% of the highway to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) for $3.25 billion, implying a $32.5 billion valuation of the entire highway. After the sale, the company would own only 6.76% of the highway. In August 2019, a court cleared the sale of the 10% SNC stake to CPPIB instead of OMERS.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Although construction of Highway 407 did not begin until 1987, planning for the bypass of Highway 401 north of Toronto began in the late-1950s. Concepts for the new "dual highway" first appeared in the 1959 plan for Metropolitan Toronto.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Land adjacent to several hydro corridors was acquired for the future freeway in the 1960s, but sat vacant as the Ontario Department of Highway (predecessor to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO)) opted instead to widen Highway 401 to a twelve-lane collector-express system. The Highway 401 expansion project was considered a success and construction of Highway 407 was shelved for almost thirty years. The plan was revisited in the mid-1980s as congestion in Toronto pushed roads beyond capacity. In 1986, Premier David Peterson was given a helicopter tour of the city during rush-hour; construction of the highway was announced soon thereafter, and began in 1987.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The Ontario government's normal process for highway construction was not possible given the financial constraints of the recession of the early 1990s. The Peterson government sought out private sector partnerships and acquired innovative electronic tolling technology. Two firms bid on the project, with the Canadian Highways International Corporation being selected as the operator of the highway.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Financing for the highway was to be paid by user tolls lasting 35 years, after which it would return to the provincial system as a toll-free 400-series highway.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The succeeding government of Bob Rae announced on March 31, 1995, that the corridor reserved for Highway 403 between Burlington and Oakville would instead be built as a western extension of Highway 407.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The first segment of Highway 407, between Highway 410 and Highway 404, was ceremonially opened to traffic on June 7, 1997; no tolls were charged for a month to allow motorists to test-drive the freeway. Several other sections were well underway at this point. A extension westwards to Highway 401 was opened just months later on December 13, 1997.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: In the east, an extension to Markham Road, at what was then the southern terminus of Highway 48, was completed in early 1998. However, due to the protest of local residents and officials concerning traffic spill-off (a scenario revisited with the extension to Oshawa), the freeway was opened only as far as McCowan Road on February 18.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The short segment from McCowan Road to Markham Road remained closed for over a year, as locals feared the funneling of traffic onto Main Street, which is named Markham Road south of the freeway. Both Markham and McCowan were widened to four lanes between Highway 407 and Steeles Avenue at this time. This did not alleviate concerns, but on June 24, 1999, the extension opened to continued protest regardless.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: When Mike Harris was elected Premier in 1995 on his platform of the Common Sense Revolution, the Ontario government faced an $11 billion annual deficit and a $100 billion debt. Seeking to balance the books, a number of publicly owned services were privatized over the following years. Although initially spared, Highway 407 was sold quickly in the year leading up to the 1999 provincial elections. The highway was leased to a conglomerate of private companies for $3.1 billion. The Ontario corporation, known as 407 International Inc., was initially owned by the Spanish multinational Cintra Infraestructuras (43.23%), as well as various subsidiaries of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (40%) and the Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin (16.77%).


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The deal included a 99-year lease agreement with unlimited control over the highway and its tolls, dependent on traffic volume; however, the government maintains the right to build a transport system within the highway right-of-way. It is today described as a "value generating monster" and "cash cow" for SNC-Lavalin, and one of the "worst financial missteps" from any government in Ontario's history.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: When purchased, the highway travelled from the junction of Highway 403 in Mississauga to Markham Road in Markham. Extensions westward to the QEW and eastward to Highway 7 and Brock Road in Pickering were constructed by the corporation, as mandated in the lease agreement.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The western extension, from Highway 403 southwest to the QEW, was not part of the original Highway 407 concept in 1987; rather, the corridor was originally intended to connect the Hamilton and Mississauga sections of Highway 403. Highway 407 was originally slated to assume the temporary routing for Highway 403 along the Mississauga-Oakville boundary to end at the QEW. However, the Bob Rae led Ontario government altered these plans in 1995, and the corporation constructed this section quickly upon obtaining the lease. Sections opened throughout the middle of 2001: between Neyagawa Boulevard and Highway 403 on June 17; between Bronte Road and Neyagawa Boulevard on June 29; between Dundas Street and Bronte Road on July 18; and between the Freeman Interchange and Dundas Street on July 30. In the east, a final extension between Markham Road and Highway 7 opened a month later on August 30.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: A provincially operated long extension to the 407 ETR, known as Highway 407 East (or 407E) during planning, began construction in 2012, with the project undertaken in two separate phases. Phase 1 was opened on June 20, 2016, consisting of a extension to Harmony Road in Oshawa, as well as the Highway 412. The extension was free of tolls until February 1, 2017. Phase 2A, which opened on January 2, 2018, added a extension to Taunton Road at the future Highway 418 interchange. Phase 2B, which opened on December 9, 2019, added a extension to Highway 35 and Highway 115, as well as the Highway 418.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: An environmental assessment (EA) to analyze the proposed extension was undertaken in the early 2000s. The assessment also included studies of the two north–south connectors. A preferred route was announced in June 2007, and the EA was completed in June 2009. On March 6, 2007, as part of the FLOW initiative, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario confirmed the extension of the 407 to Highway 35 and Highway 115 in Clarington, including the connector highways, with an announced completion date of 2013.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: On January 27, 2009, the provincial government announced that the extension would be a tolled highway but owned by the province and with tolls set by the province. The announcement also indicated that the province expected to issue a Request for Proposals later in the year.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The contract, which is valued at $1.6 billion and includes construction and operation of the highway, was eventually awarded to the same consortium that owns 407 ETR.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: On June 9, 2010, the MTO approved the extension as far east as Simcoe Street in Oshawa, announcing plans to phase construction of the extension. Local residents and politicians rejected the plan, as had happened with the section between McCowan Road and Markham Road. A motion was proposed in the Ontario Legislature to build the full extension in one project, but failed to pass. Instead, a compromise was issued on March 10, 2011: the first phase would extend Highway 407 to Harmony Road in Oshawa by 2015, including Highway 412; the second phase would then complete the extension to Highway 35 / 115 by 2020, including Highway 418. This timeline was confirmed by Premier Dalton McGuinty on May 24, 2012, and construction began in the first quarter of 2013.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: In early December 2015, it was announced that contractor delays would push the opening of the first phase from December 18 to the spring of 2016.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: On December 9, 2019, the final portion of the 407 East highway, the section of the highways east of and all of Ontario Highway 418 opened to the public, marking the end of the 407 East project. The final portion was originally projected to be completed in 2020. Unlike when the extension originally opened, tolling started immediately on the final portion. The highway now extends east to Ontario Highway 115, providing more options for people living in and around Peterborough to get into Toronto and the western part of the Greater Toronto Area.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Between 2018 and 2019, Highway 407 was widened between Markham Road and Brock Road. The first project, widening the highway to 6 lanes between York-Durham Line and Brock Road, began in Spring 2018 and was completed in August 2018. The second project, which widened the highway to 8 lanes between Markham Road and York-Durham Line, was completed in September 2019.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The privatization of the road, the toll rate increases, and the 99-year lease period have been widely criticized.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: Cost-savings measures and the ensuing safety concerns resulted in an independent Ontario Provincial Police investigation shortly before the opening of the freeway.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: An expert panel of engineers, assembled by the Professional Engineers Ontario, released a report outlining concerns regarding the decreased loop ramp radii and a lack of protective guardrail at sharp curves, in addition to the lack of a concrete median barrier to separate the opposite directions of travel. However, it was also argued that the large grass median was sufficient to prevent cross-over collisions, given that Highway 410 has a similar median.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The Ontario provincial government has quarrelled with 407 ETR over toll rates and customer service, but is largely tied down by the lease contract. On February 2, 2004, the government delivered notice to 407 ETR that they are considered to be in default of their contract because of 407 ETR's decision to raise toll rates without first obtaining provincial clearance. The court's initial decision sided with 407 ETR: on July 10, 2004, an independent arbitrator affirmed that 407 ETR has the ability to raise toll rates without first consulting the government. The government filed an appeal of this decision but was overruled by an Ontario Superior Court decision released on January 6, 2005; however, a subsequent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal on June 13, 2005, granted the government permission to appeal the decision.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The public has accused the 407 ETR of predatory billing practices, including false billing and continued plate denial after bankruptcy. In 2016, after a 4-year legal battle, consumers won an $8 million class action lawsuit.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The 407 ETR and Cobequid Pass Toll Highway (Trans Canada Highway in Nova Scotia) are the only two toll highways (not counting toll bridges on highways) in Canada.


title: Ontario Highway 407

text: The future town of Seaton is currently under development with the release of development lands in Durham north of the Gatineau Hydro Corridor and west of Brock Road. This development will include the future Pickering Airport, slated for construction in 2020. Interchanges with future extensions of Rossland Road (at the current North Road overpass, near Whitevale) and Whites Road (which is currently Sideline 26) will be built as part of the large road network planned for the development.


title: Western European Union

text: The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implemented the Modified Brussels Treaty. During the Cold War, the Western Bloc included the WEU member states and the United States and Canada as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).


title: Western European Union

text: At the turn of the 21st century, after the end of the Cold War, WEU tasks and institutions were gradually transferred to the European Union (EU), providing central parts of the EU's new military component, the European Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). This process was completed in 2009 when a solidarity clause between the member states of the European Union, which was similar (but not identical) to the WEU's mutual defence clause, entered into force with the Treaty of Lisbon. The states party to the Modified Treaty of Brussels consequently decided to terminate that treaty on 31 March 2010, with all the WEU's remaining activities to be ceased within 15 months. On 30 June 2011, the WEU was officially declared defunct.


title: Western European Union

text: The Treaty of Brussels was signed by the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands on 17 March 1948, establishing the Western Union (WU), an intergovernmental defence alliance that also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration.


title: Western European Union

text: The need to back up the commitments of the North Atlantic Treaty with appropriate political and military structures led to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In December 1950 the parties to the Treaty of Brussels decided to transfer the headquarters, personnel, and plans of the Western Union Defence Organisation (WUDO) to NATO, whose Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) took over responsibility for the defence of Western Europe.


title: Western European Union

text: The establishment of NATO, along with the signing of a succession of treaties establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (April 1948), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (April 1949), the Council of Europe (May 1949) and the European Coal and Steel Community (April 1951), left the Treaty of Brussels and its Western Union devoid of authority.


title: Western European Union

text: The Western Union's founding Treaty of Brussels was amended at the 1954 Paris Conference as a result of the failure of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community to gain French ratification: The General Treaty () of 1952 formally named the EDC as a prerequisite of the end of Allied occupation of Germany, and there was a desire to include Germany in the Western defence architecture. The Modified Brussels Treaty (MBT) transformed the Western Union into the Western European Union, at which point Italy and West Germany were admitted. Although the WEU established by the Modified Brussels Treaty was significantly less powerful and ambitious than the original Western Union, German membership of the WEU was considered sufficient for the occupation of the country to end in accordance with the General Treaty.


title: Western European Union

text: The signatories of the Paris Agreements stated their three main objectives in the preamble to the Modified Brussels Treaty:


title: Western European Union

text: The social and cultural aspects of the Treaty of Brussels were handed to the Council of Europe (CoE) to avoid duplication of responsibilities. This, in addition to the existence of NATO, marginalised the WEU, and caused it to be largely defunct.


title: Western European Union

text: On 1 January 1960 in accordance with the decision taken on 21 October 1959 by the Council of Western European Union and with Resolution(59)23 adopted on 16 November 1959 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the WEU activities in social and cultural areas (Social Committee, Public Health Committee, Joint Committee on the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the Disabled and Cultural Committee) were transferred to the Council of Europe which was already running programmes in these fields. The European Universities Committee (see CM(60)4; C(59)127 and CM(59)130) was transferred to the Council of Europe separately from the rest of WEU cultural activities.