title: Enbridge

text: In 1953, IPL was listed on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges. In 1983, IPL built the Norman Wells pipeline and joined Frontier Pipeline Company. In 1986, through a series of stakes exchanges, IPL gained control of Home Oil and in 1988, it changed its name to Interhome Energy Inc. In 1991, it changed its name to Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc.


title: Enbridge

text: In 1992, Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc. was acquired by Interprovincial Pipe Line System Inc., which changed its name to IPL Energy Inc. in 1994, after the acquisition of Consumers' Gas (now Enbridge Gas Inc.) and diversification into the gas distribution business. In addition, it acquired stakes in AltaGas Services and the electric utility of Cornwall, Ontario. Through the 1990s, the company expanded its gas pipeline network and acquired a stake in the Chicap oil pipeline. It also built the Athabasca Pipeline from northeastern Alberta to the main pipeline system. In 1995, the company expanded its activities outside of North America by taking a stake in the Ocensa pipeline. This stake was sold in 2009. IPL Energy became Enbridge Inc in 1998. The Enbridge name is a portmanteau from "energy" and "bridge".


title: Enbridge

text: In the 2000s, Enbridge introduced several large projects. Enbridge made their first investment into renewable energy in 2002 with the purchase of a wind farm, and since then has been consistently making efforts to become a leader in renewable energy in Canada. In 2006, it announced the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project from Athabasca to Kitimat, British Columbia. The same year, it announced the Alberta Clipper pipeline project from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin, to connect oil sands production area with the existing network. This pipeline became operational in 2010.


title: Enbridge

text: In 2009, Enbridge bought the Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant and expanded it up to 80 MW, which was the world's largest photovoltaic power station at that time.


title: Enbridge

text: In January 2017, Enbridge acquired Midcoast Energy Partners for $170 million in cash, and later in 2018, ArcLight acquired Midcoast Operating, L.P. from Enbridge for $1.1 billion.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge released its first annual sustainability report in 2001, and in November 2020, Enbridge expanded its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and targets. The company aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim target to reduce emissions intensity by 35% by 2030. That same year, President and CEO Al Monaco said that renewable power is now "the fourth Enbridge platform." Enbridge's ESG goals also aim to diversify its workforce with 28% representation from racial and ethnic groups and 40% from women by 2025.


title: Enbridge

text: In 2021, Enbridge was recognized as one of Canada's top 100 employers for the 18th time, and as one of Canada's best diversity employers for the seventh time.


title: Enbridge

text: On September 6, 2016, Enbridge agreed to buy Spectra Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $28 billion.


title: Enbridge

text: Spectra, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operated in three key areas of the natural gas industry: transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing. Spectra was formed in late 2006 as a spin-off from Duke Energy. Spectra owned the Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCo), a major natural gas pipeline transporting gas from the Gulf of Mexico coast in Texas to the New York City area; TETCo was one of the largest pipeline systems in the United States. Spectra also operated three oil pipelines, numerous other gas pipelines and was proposing to build still 3 more gas pipelines in the U.S. The merger was completed on February 27, 2017.


title: Enbridge

text: The company is the largest transporter of crude oil in Canada with 3 million barrels per day of oil and liquids. The Enbridge Pipeline System is the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system, with 27,564 km (17,127 mi) of active crude pipeline in both Canada and the United States. This pipeline network delivers 3 million barrels of oil per day.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge delivered more than 3.77 billion barrels of crude oil in 2020, and more than 29.5 billion barrels over the past decade, from 2011 through 2020 inclusive.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge has several new capacities and expansion projects, including the expansion of the Alberta Clipper, replacing of Line 6B, reversal of Line 9 and others. Its Light Oil Market Access initiative is a project to deliver light crude oil from North Dakota and Western Canada to refineries in Ontario, Quebec, and the U.S. Midwest. Eastern Access, including a reversal of Line 9, is a project to deliver oil to Western Canada and Bakken to refineries in Eastern Canada and the midwest and eastern U.S. Western Gulf Coast Access, including reversal and expansion of the Seaway Pipeline and the Flanagan South Pipeline, is a plan to connect Canadian heavy oil supply to refineries along the Gulf Coast of the United States.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge's oil pipelines cross North America, with 13,833 km (8,672 mi) of active pipe in the United States and 13,681 km (8500 mi) of active pipe in Canada. The list below outlines eight of those lines.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge's pipelines transport 20% of the natural gas consumed in the United States. It owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution network, providing distribution services in Ontario and Quebec. Union Gas in Ontario now fully operates under Enbridge Gas Inc. In Quebec, Enbridge has interest ownership in Gazifère.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge builds, owns and operates a network of natural gas transmission pipelines across North America, connecting the continent's prolific natural gas supply to major markets in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and further abroad.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge's natural gas network currently covers 38,375 km (23,850 mi) across five Canadian provinces, 30 U.S. states, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, transporting roughly 16.2 Bcf (billions of cubic feet per day) of natural gas.


title: Enbridge

text: DCP Midstream is a joint venture between Enbridge and Phillips 66. Phillips 66 is one of the largest petroleum services companies in the US, owning and operating 39 natural gas plants and 51,000 miles of gathering pipe. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, DCP operates a portfolio of natural gas gathering, logistics, marketing and processing services across nine states.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge made its first investment into renewable energy in 2002 with the purchase of a wind farm. To date Enbridge has invested in 23 wind farms, 7 solar energy projects, 5 waste heat recovery facilities, 1 geothermal project, 1 power transmission project and 1 hydroelectric facilitiy.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge has a growing interest in European offshore wind energy, and its renewable assets are part of the company's plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.


title: Enbridge

text: In 2020, President and CEO Al Monaco said that renewable power is now "the fourth Enbridge platform."


title: Enbridge

text: In February, 2020, Enbridge sold its shares of Montana-Alberta Tie-Line (MATL) to Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The MATL project is a 300-megawatt (MW), 230-kilovolt (kV) electrical transmission line allowing movement of power between Alberta and Montana. The MATL project, which was placed in service the fall of 2013, supports ongoing development of a rich wind-powered generation resource and allows electrical energy to flow in both directions. The transmission line is 210 miles (345 km) long and runs between the Lethbridge, Alberta area and the Great Falls, Montana area. Roughly one third of the line is in Canada and two thirds in the U.S.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge Gas Inc. was formed on January 1, 2019 with the combination of Enbridge Gas Distribution and Union Gas. Its network consists of 5,471 km of gas transmission lines, 66,787 km of gas distribution service lines, and 78,214 km of gas distribution main lines.


title: Enbridge

text: They deliver to over 15 million people in Ontario and Quebec through 3.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional meter connections and distribute roughly 2.3 bcf/d of natural gas. Additionally, in southwestern Ontario they have the largest integrated underground storage facility in Canada, and one of North America's top natural gas trading hubs.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge's natural gas distribution also includes interest ownership in two additional natural gas distributors. This includes Gazfiére, serving people in Outaouais region of Quebec, and Ènergir LP, a company that operates gas transmission, gas distribution, and power distribution throughout Quebec and Vermont.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge's pipeline was responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the United States in 1991, when 1.7 million gallons of oil ruptured from a buried pipeline in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, spilling crude into a wetland and a tributary of the Mississippi River.


title: Enbridge

text: Using data from Enbridge's own reports, the Polaris Institute calculated that 804 spills occurred on Enbridge pipelines between 1999 and 2010. These spills released approximately of crude oil into the environment.


title: Enbridge

text: On July 4, 2002, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near the town of Cohasset, Minnesota, in Itasca County, spilling of crude oil. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for one day and created a smoke plume about high and long.


title: Enbridge

text: In 2006, there were 67 reportable spills totaling on Enbridge's energy and transportation and distribution system; in 2007 there were 65 reportable spills totalling . On March 18, 2006, approximately of crude oil were released when a pump failed at Enbridge's Willmar terminal in Saskatchewan. According to Enbridge, roughly half the oil was recovered.


title: Enbridge

text: On January 1, 2007, an Enbridge pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to near Whitewater, Wisconsin cracked open and spilled ~ of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch. The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling ~ of crude, of which about 87,000 gallons were recovered. Some of the oil filled a hole more than deep and contaminated the local water table.


title: Enbridge

text: In April 2007, roughly of crude oil spilled into a field downstream of an Enbridge pumping station near Glenavon, Saskatchewan.


title: Enbridge

text: In January 2009, an Enbridge pipeline leaked about of oil southeast of Fort McMurray at the company's Cheecham Terminal tank farm. Most of the spilled oil was contained within berms but about 1% of the oil, about , sprayed into the air and coated nearby snow and trees.


title: Enbridge

text: On January 2, 2010, Enbridge's Line 2 ruptured near Neche, North Dakota, releasing about 3,784 barrels of crude oil, of which 2,237 barrels were recovered. In April 2010, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured spilling more than of oil in Virden, Manitoba. This oil leaked into the Boghill Creek, which eventually connects to the Assiniboine River.


title: Enbridge

text: In the July 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, a leaking pipeline spilled more than of oil sands crude oil into Talmadge Creek leading to the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan on July 26, near Marshall, Michigan. A United States Environmental Protection Agency update of the Kalamazoo River spill concluded the pipeline rupture "caused the largest inland oil spill in Midwest history" and reported the cost of the cleanup at $36.7 million (US) as of November 14, 2011. PHMSA raised concerns in a Corrective Action Order (CAO) about numerous anomalies that had been detected on this pipeline by internal line inspection tools, yet Enbridge had failed to check a number of those anomalies in the field. The Michigan spill affected more than of waterways and wetlands and about 320 people reported symptoms from crude oil exposure. The National Transportation Safety Board said at $800 million, it was the costliest onshore spill cleanup in U.S. history. The NTSB found Enbridge knew of a defect in the pipeline five years before it burst. In June 2013, a Kalamazoo man lodged himself into an Enbridge pipeline in Marshall, MI to protest Enbridge's lack of accountability for the 2010 spill and to encourage landowners along Enbridge's Line 6B expansion to offer increased resistance to construction in 2013.<ref name="AP Photo/EPA"></ref> In 2014, Enbridge completed cleanup of the river per EPA's order.


title: Enbridge

text: On September 9, 2010, a broken water line caused a rupture on Enbridge's Line 6A pipeline near Romeoville, Illinois, released an estimate of oil into the surrounding area.


title: Enbridge

text: On June 22, 2013, Enbridge subsidiary Athabasca pipelines reported a pipeline leak of approximately 750 barrels of light synthetic crude oil from Line 37 near Enbridge's Cheecham, Alberta, terminal about southeast of Fort McMurray. The 17-kilometre-long, 12-inch diameter pipe was constructed in 2006 and links the Long Lake oilsands upgrader to the Cheetham terminal as part of Enbridge's Athabasca system. Unusually heavy rainfall in the region, also responsible for the 2013 Alberta floods, may have caused "ground movement on the right-of way that may have impacted the pipeline." Enbridge's Athabasca (Line 19) shares a portion of right of way with Line 37 and Enbridge's Wood Buffalo/Waupisoo (Line 75/18) which also shares a portion of right of way with Line 37, a major part of the network that serves Alberta's oilsands, were closed down as a precautionary measure. Operations between Hardisty and Cheecham were restored on June 23 when Enbridge's Athabasca pipeline (Line 19) was restored to service.


title: Enbridge

text: On July 1, 2013, WWMT News in Michigan reported that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had issued a citation against Enbridge for contamination of North Ore Creek by an Enbridge pipeline maintenance activity.


title: Enbridge

text: On January 30, 2017, a road crew in Texas punctured the Seaway S-1 crude oil pipeline, which is jointly owned by Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge through the joint venture Seaway Crude Pipeline Company. Two days later, it was unclear how much oil had spilled over the nearby Highway 121 northeast of Dallas. After the incident, supply concerns reportedly helped push "oil prices 2% higher in early trading to nearly $54 a barrel."


title: Enbridge

text: On October 9, 2018, Enbridge's Westcoast Pipeline exploded in Shelley, British Columbia, sparking a massive fireball and leading to shortages of natural gas throughout British Columbia.


title: Enbridge

text: In May 2012, West Coast First Nations members and supporters protested near Enbridge's Annual Shareholder's meeting, against the proposed Northern Gateway Project and on May 31, 2012, the Vancouver Observer reported about 40 protesters outside the Canadian Oil and Gas Export Summit, protesting the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project.


title: Enbridge

text: On July 17, 2012, a group calling itself "We are the Kalamazoo" protested against Enbridge's response to the Kalamazoo spill and its plans to construct the line 6B pipeline. This protest was on the second anniversary of the Kalamazoo spill.


title: Enbridge

text: On November 12, 2012, the Lansing State Journal reported that the head of the Line 6B Pipeline project stated that he had never seen as much organized landowner resistance despite 30 years in the pipeline industry. They noted that this was probably because of the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill.


title: Enbridge

text: In May 2013, Hamilton area residents protested the reversal of flow in Line 9 and temporarily closed Ontario Highway 6. Later that year, on June 6, 2013, a group called Hamilton 350 sent a letter of complaint to the Hamilton (Ontario) police service (HPS) for accepting over $44,000 in donations from Enbridge. The letter questions whether police officers would be impartial during any anti-Enbridge protests, given the donation.


title: Enbridge

text: On June 26, 2013, Hamilton Police arrested at least 10 people who occupied an Enbridge compound for six days to protest the expansion of Enbridge's Line 9 and intent to ship diluted bitumen through the line.


title: Enbridge

text: On July 22, 2013, a group of protesters locked themselves to equipment at an Enbridge pipeline construction site in Stockbridge, Michigan. Protesters stated that they had to take matters into their own hands given that state regulators were failing the public, "We felt that there was no other option."


title: Enbridge

text: A September 16, 2013, "Inside Climate News" report by journalist David Hasemeyer describes how many Michigan landowners are concerned about the safety of new Enbridge pipeline being laid within a few feet of their homes, and the lack of regulations for how close a pipeline can be constructed to an existing home. The article quotes Richard Kuprewicz, President of an engineering consulting company and an adviser to Pipeline Hazardous Materials Administration: "Clearly the pipeline safety regulations aren't adequate in this area and the siting regulations aren't adequate," Kuprewicz said. "It's a bad combination."


title: Enbridge

text: In September 2016, a group of Native Americans protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which Enbridge had announced plans to acquire a portion of in a $2 billion deal.


title: Enbridge

text: In November 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer revoked a 1953 easement for an Enbridge pipeline connecting two parts of the Great Lakes through the Straits of Mackinac.


title: Enbridge

text: In June 2021, Enbridge resumed construction on the Line 3 replacement project in Northern Minnesota after taking a brief planned break. Enbridge's plans to expand its Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota along a new route have been met with prolonged resistance from Native communities and activists calling themselves water protectors.


title: Enbridge

text: In January 2022, a group of about 400 met in front of a Bank of America location in Austin to protest Enbridge's plans to expand the Moda Ingleside Energy Center onto historic Karankawa land in Corpus Christi, Texas.


title: Enbridge

text: Enbridge has two Technology + Innovation labs. In January 2019, the first lab opened in Calgary, Alberta. In April 2019, the second lab opened in Houston, Texas. The labs use industrial predictive algorithms, machine learning, and sentiment analysis to find efficiencies within the company and help improve safety and reliability of their pipeline infrastructure.


title: Enbridge

text: The labs have developed ways to get sensor data from pipelines, helping to improve flows of natural gas and crude oil terminals. Additionally, the labs have helped enhance pipeline leak detection, and ensure better maintenance schedules. For renewable energy projects, the labs have developed different ways to reposition wind turbine blades to help maximize wind power generation.


title: Enbridge

text: Dollar amounts in millions of Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted, with the exception of employee numbers. Additionally, earnings are after income tax and unadjusted.


title: Two-star rank

text: An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank of rear admiral, counter admiral, major general, divisional general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure, air vice-marshal.


title: Two-star rank

text: In the Australian Defence Force the following ranks of commissioned officers are awarded two-star ranks:


title: Two-star rank

text: The two-star rank in Brazil is the first rank in a general career. The officers in this position are normally brigade commanders.


title: Two-star rank

text: Rather than stars, the Canadian Forces insignia use maple leaves. The maple leaves appear with St. Edward's crown and crossed sabre and baton. Before unification, air vice marshal was the two-star rank for the RCAF.


title: Two-star rank

text: Not to be confused with and (one-star ranks; OF-6) of the until 1945 and of the National People's Army of East Germany until German reunification in 1990.


title: Two-star rank

text: The introduction of general ranks in the USSR took place in 1940. The lowest general rank, major-general, had two stars on the buttonholes. With the introduction of the new insignia in 1942, the two-star general becomes a lieutenant-general (major-general began to wear one star on shoulder straps).


title: Two-star rank

text: In the Russian and Soviet armies, the rank wearing two stars is lieutenant-general (), however the general in charge of a unit equivalent to the one led by a NATO two-star general (a division) is major-general (). This also applies to the air force, MVD, police, FSB and some others, and is caused by a Russian brigades being commanded by colonel, with the smallest unit commanded by a general being a division. In the navy, the equivalent rank is ().


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction and other genres. Westlake is perhaps best-remembered for creating two professional criminal characters who each starred in a long-running series: the relentless, hardboiled Parker (published under the pen name Richard Stark), and John Dortmunder, who featured in a more humorous series.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, and alongside Joe Gores and William L. DeAndrea was one of few writers to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, "God Save the Mark"; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, "The Grifters"). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Lillian (Bounds) and Albert Joseph Westlake, and was raised in Albany, New York.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake wrote constantly in his teens, and after 200 rejections, his first short story sale was in 1954. Sporadic short story sales followed over the next few years, while Westlake attended Champlain College (a now defunct college created in the post WWII GI Bill boom) of Plattsburgh, New York, and Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. He also spent two years in the United States Air Force.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake moved to New York City in 1959, initially to work for a literary agency while writing on the side. By 1960, he was writing full-time. His first novel under his own name, "The Mercenaries", was published in 1960; over the next 48 years, Westlake published a variety of novels and short stories under his own name and a number of pseudonyms.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: He was married three times, the final time to Abigail Westlake (also known as Abby Adams Westlake and Abby Adams), a writer of nonfiction (her two published books are "An Uncommon Scold" and "The Gardener's Gripe Book"). The couple moved from New York City to Ancram in upstate New York in 1990.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake died of a heart attack on December 31, 2008, while on the way to a New Year's Eve dinner, while he and his wife were on vacation in Mexico.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: In addition to writing consistently under his own name, Westlake published under several pseudonyms. In the order they debuted:


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Additionally, Westlake conducted a mock "interview" with Richard Stark, Tucker Coe and Timothy J. Culver in an article for the non-fiction book "Murder Ink: The Mystery Reader's Companion".


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Donald Westlake was known for the great ingenuity of his plots and the audacity of his gimmicks. Westlake's most famous characters include the hard-boiled criminal Parker (appearing in fiction under the Richard Stark pseudonym) and Parker's comic flip-side John Dortmunder. Westlake was quoted as saying that he originally intended what became "The Hot Rock" to be a straightforward Parker novel, but "It kept turning funny," and thus became the first John Dortmunder novel.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Most of Donald Westlake's novels are set in New York City. In each of the Dortmunder novels, there is typically a foray into a particular city neighborhood. He wrote just two non-fiction books: "Under an English Heaven", regarding the unlikely 1967 Anguillan "revolution", and a biography of Elizabeth Taylor.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake was an occasional contributor to science fiction fanzines such as "Xero", and used "Xero" as a venue for a harsh announcement that he was leaving the science fiction field.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake and Joe Gores wrote the same encounter between two of their characters from different perspectives in two different novels. In Chapter 18 of Gores' 1972 novel "Dead Skip", San Francisco detective Dan Kearney meets Westlake's amoral thief Parker while looking for one of Parker's associates. The sequence is described from Parker's viewpoint in the 1972 book "Plunder Squad", which Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Gores hints further at the connection between the two books by referring to Parker's associates as "the plunder squad." Additionally, earlier in the novel, the book's protagonist Larry Ballard is described as being a reader only of Richard Stark novels.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Gores and Westlake also wrote a shared chapter in Westlake's "Drowned Hopes" and Gores' "32 Cadillacs", having the characters in those books influenced by the same event.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Several of Westlake's novels have been made into motion pictures: 1967's "Point Blank" (based on "The Hunter") with Lee Marvin as Parker (changed to Walker); "" (based on "The Score") with Michel Constantin as Parker (changed to Georges), also in 1967; 1968's "The Split" (from the book "The Seventh") with Jim Brown as Parker (changed to McClain); "The Hot Rock" in 1972 with Robert Redford; "Cops and Robbers" in 1973; ""The Outfit"" with Robert Duvall as Parker (changed to Macklin), also in 1973; "Bank Shot" in 1974 with George C. Scott; "The Busy Body" (with an "all-star cast") in 1967; "Slayground" with Peter Coyote as Parker (changed to Stone) in 1983; "Why Me?" with Christopher Lambert, Christopher Lloyd, and J. T. Walsh in 1990; "Payback" in 1999, the second film made from "The Hunter", with Mel Gibson as Parker (changed to Porter); "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" in 2001 with Martin Lawrence as Dortmunder (changed to Kevin Caffery); Constantin Costa-Gavras adapted "The Ax" for the European screen in 2005, to great critical and public acclaim – entitled "Le Couperet", the film takes place in France and Belgium rather than the novel's setting of New England; "Parker" in 2013, based on "Flashfire", with Jason Statham as Parker.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: In his introduction to one of the short stories in "Thieves' Dozen", Westlake mentioned legal troubles with Hollywood over his continued use of the Dortmunder novel characters; the movie studios attempted to assert that he had sold the rights to the characters to them permanently as a result of the Redford film.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: The novel "Jimmy the Kid" has been adapted three times: in Italy as "" in 1976; in the U.S. as "Jimmy the Kid" in 1982, starring Gary Coleman; and in Germany as "Jimmy the Kid" in 1998, starring Herbert Knaup.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: The novel "Two Much!" has been adapted twice: in France as "Le Jumeau" ("The Twin") in 1984; and in the U.S. as "Two Much" in 1995, starring Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Jean-Luc Godard's "Made in U.S.A." in 1966 was an extremely loose adaptation of "The Jugger". Neither the film's producer nor Godard purchased the rights to the novel, so Westlake successfully sued to prevent the film's commercial distribution in the United States.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake was himself a screenwriter. His script for the 1990 film "The Grifters," adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson, was nominated for an Academy Award. Westlake adapted Jim Thompson's work in a straightforward manner, but Westlake the humourist played on Thompson's name later that year in the Dortmunder novel "Drowned Hopes" by featuring a character named "Tom Jimson" who is a criminal psychopath. Westlake also wrote the screenplay for the film "The Stepfather" (from a story by Westlake, Brian Garfield and Carolyn Lefcourt), which was popular enough to inspire two sequels and a remake, projects in which Westlake was not involved.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: In 1987 Westlake wrote the teleplay "Fatal Confession", a pilot for the TV series "Father Dowling Mysteries" based on the novels by Ralph McInerny. He also appeared in a small role (as the mystery writer Rich Vincent) in the third-season episode, "The Hardboiled Mystery."


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: While the seventeenth James Bond film "GoldenEye" was in post-production, Westlake wrote story treatments for the eighteenth James Bond film (eventually titled "Tomorrow Never Dies") in collaboration with Bond series writer-producer Michael G. Wilson. None of Westlake's ideas made it into the completed film, but in 1998 the author used the first treatment as the basis for a novel, "Fall of the City." The existence of the novel (and its connection to the Bond treatments) was revealed in an article published in issue #32 of the magazine "MI6 Confidential"; the article also provides a detailed analysis of the two treatments. "Fall of the City" was published under the title "Forever and a Death" in June 2017 by Hard Case Crime.


title: Donald E. Westlake

text: Westlake co-wrote the story for the pilot of the ill-fated 1979 TV series "Supertrain" with teleplay writer Earl W. Wallace; Westlake and Wallace shared "created by" credit.


title: Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

text: Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is adjacent to Philadelphia's northern fringe. The population was 55,310 as of the 2010 census, making it the second most populous township in Montgomery County after Lower Merion Township. The population density is 3603.3 per square mile (1,377/km), making it the second most densely populated township in Montgomery County (following Cheltenham Township).


text: Abington Township is one of Montgomery County's oldest communities, dating back before 1700 and being incorporated in 1704. It is home to some of the county's oldest transportation routes, industries and churches. Many of these older business and transportation centers were the forerunners of modern Abington. Abington contains the Willow Grove Park Mall, several small businesses, and a few of Montgomery County's largest employers.


text: The land that comprises Abington today was purchased from the native Lenape by William Penn during the 1680s. By the next decade, a handful of European settlers built and lived in Hill Township, at the crossroads of Susquehanna Street Road and Old York Road. After brief times under other names, the township incorporated as Abington in 1704. The town's name is likely taken from parishes in England formed over 900 years ago in Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire. A local 1734 census counted 42 resident landowners. During the American Revolutionary War, there was a small battle that took place at Edge Hill.


text: Some institutions have been in Abington for most of its existence. The cornerstone of the original Abington Friends School, in operation since before Abington's incorporation, is used in today's school building. The Abington Presbyterian Church opened in the early years of the township, and while the original building is gone, its graveyard is still used today.


text: The railroad reached the township in 1855, with the first station building erected in 1873 on the site of today's Noble Station.


text: Abington Township High School and Fox Chase Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


text: The communities are unofficial, unincorporated subdivisions of the township, corresponding roughly to voting districts and elementary school placement. Their primary importance, aside from community identity, is the postal system (e.g., to send a letter to someone living in the Glenside community, the letter would be addressed to Glenside, Pennsylvania rather than Abington Township, Pennsylvania). Additionally, some portions of some of these subdivisions, including Glenside, Huntingdon Valley, North Hills, Willow Grove, and Elkins Park, are actually in neighboring townships.


text: Local civic associations include Crestmont Civic Association, Glenside Gardens Civic Association, Hollywood Civic Association, Lower Huntingdon Valley Civic Association, McKinley Civic Association, Rydal-Meadowbrook Civic Association and Tall Trees Association. The civic associations work together on Traffic Summits in even years (2012, 2014, 2016, etc.) and Economic Summits in odd years (2013, 2015, 2017, etc.). These Summits focus on eliminating traffic congestion that interferes with the growth of businesses in the Township. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's "Traffic Calming Handbook" recommends the formation of a Local Traffic Advisory Committee to work with officials to identify ways to improve safety of the community.


text: As of the 2010 census, the township was 79.7% White, 12.4% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 4.9% Asian, and 2.1% were two or more races. 3.2% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.


text: As of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were 55,234 people, 21,252 occupied households, and 14,819 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,563 people per square mile (1,377/km). The racial makeup of the township was 80% White, 12% Black, 3% Asian, a fraction of a percent Pacific Islander, 1% from other races, and 3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3% of the population.


text: There were 21,252 households, out of which 32% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 11% had a female householder with no husband present, 56% were married couples living together, and 30% were non-families. 26% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.11.


text: In the township, the population was spread out, with 22% under the age of 18, 9% from 18 to 24, 25% from 25 to 44, 29% from 45 to 64, and 16% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. The population was 47% male, and 53% female.


text: The median income for a household in the township was $77,363, and the median income for a family was $94,473. The per capita income for the township was $38,737. About 2% of families and 3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1% of those under age 18 and 5% of those age 65 or over.


text: Abington Township does not have a mayor. Rather it is governed by a Board of Commissioners who are elected one from each of the township's fifteen wards. A President of the Board is elected from among these commissioners, and serves as the head of government for Abington Township. Thomas Hecker is the current Commission President.


text: All of the township is in the Fourth Congressional District and is represented by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D).


text: All of the township falls within the 4th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania Senate and is Represented by Art Haywood (D).


text: All of the township falls within the 153rd Legislative District in the PA House of Representatives and is represented by Ben Sanchez (D).


text: In 2004, Pennsylvanian political scientists Dr. G. Terry Madonna and Dr. Michael Young identified Abington Township as an especially interesting political bellwether — a local area "looked to for early readings of how national elections will turn out."


text: The economy of the township includes manufacturing of pressed steel, chemicals, and metal and plastic products.


text: According to Abington Township's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the township are:


text: Numbered routes serving Abington Township include Pennsylvania Route 611, which passes north–south through the center of the township on Old York Road between Jenkintown and Willow Grove; Pennsylvania Route 63, which passes northwest–southeast through the northern part of the township in the Willow Grove area along Moreland Road (following the border with Upper Moreland Township), Edge Hill Road, and Old Welsh Road; Pennsylvania Route 73; which runs northwest–southeast atop the southern border with Cheltenham Township along Township Line Road between Jenkintown and Northeast Philadelphia; Pennsylvania Route 152, which passes north–south through the western part of the township along Limekiln Pike; and Pennsylvania Route 232; which passes north–south through the eastern part of the township along Huntingdon Pike between Rockledge and Huntingdon Valley. Other important roads in Abington Township include Easton Road, which runs southwest–northeast through the western part of the township between Glenside and Willow Grove; Susquehanna Road, which runs northwest–southeast through the center of the township between Roslyn and Huntingdon Valley; and Jenkintown Road, which runs northwest–southeast through the southern part of the township between Ardsley and Elkins Park, passing through Jenkintown along the way. Abington Township is one of twelve municipalities in Pennsylvania to have red light cameras, which are aimed at improving safety at dangerous intersections. Red light cameras are located at Old York Road and Susquehanna Road (all directions), Old York Road and Old Welsh Road (all directions), and Moreland Road and Fitzwatertown Road (eastbound Moreland Road and northbound Fitzwatertown Road).


text: Several SEPTA Regional Rail stations are located in Abington Township, providing commuter rail service to Center City Philadelphia. The Lansdale/Doylestown Line stops at the North Hills station, the Warminster Line stops at Crestmont, Roslyn, and Ardsley stations, and the West Trenton Line stops at Meadowbrook, Rydal, and Noble stations. The Glenside station serving the Lansdale/Doylestown Line and Warminster Line is located just outside the township's borders in Cheltenham Township. SEPTA provides bus service to Abington Township along City Bus Routes , and and Suburban Bus Route 95, serving area shopping centers, hospitals, and employers, along with offering connections to Philadelphia and other suburbs.


text: Electricity and natural gas in Abington Township is provided by PECO Energy Company, a subsidiary of Exelon. Water in Abington Township is provided by Aqua Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Aqua America. Sewer service is provided by the township's Wastewater Utilities Department, with wastewater treated either at the Abington Wastewater Treatment Plant or the Philadelphia Northeast Treatment Plant. Trash and recycling collection is provided by the township's Refuse/Recycling Department. Cable, telephone, and internet service to the area is provided by Xfinity and Verizon. Abington Township is served by area codes 215, 267, and 445.


text: Jefferson Abington Hospital and Holy Redeemer Hospital and are both located in Abington Township. Jefferson Abington Hospital, located along Old York Road in the Abington section of the township, has 665 beds and over 5,500 employees, including more than 1,100 physicians, and is one of the largest employers in Montgomery County. It has the Pennock Emergency Trauma Center, an emergency room with the only Level II trauma center in Montgomery County. Other services offered at Jefferson Abington Hospital include The Heart and Vascular Institute, The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health-Abington, Neurosciences Institute, Orthopaedic and Spine Institute, Diamond Stroke Center, Muller Institute for Senior Health, and the Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Jefferson Abington Hospital is a non-profit, regional referral center and teaching hospital with five residency programs and operates the Dixon School of Nursing. Holy Redeemer Hospital, located along Huntingdon Pike in the Meadowbrook section of the township, has 242 beds and employs over 500 physicians. Services offered at Holy Redeemer Hospital include an Ambulatory Surgery Center, a Cardiovascular Center, The Bott Cancer Center, Orthopaedics, Emergency Department, and Wound Care Center.


text: Abington is served by the Abington School District. There are seven elementary schools in this township, which include:


text: The junior high (grades 7–9) is Abington Junior High School (1,960 students) and the senior high (grades 10–12) is Abington Senior High School (1,808).


text: There are several private schools located inside the township, such as Meadowbrook and Abington Friends School. Penn State's Abington campus is located in the Rydal section of the township.


text: The school district received some notoriety in the 1960s when it became one of the key parties in the school prayer controversy, with "Abington School District v. Schempp". The Supreme Court case resulted in a declaration of the unconstitutionality of school-sanctioned Bible reading.


text: The Elementary Schools, Junior High School, and Senior High school within Abington School District have recently undergone a series of renovations and rebuilding, resulting in more up-to-date and sophisticated structures.


text: Area Catholic schools include Saint Luke Catholic School in Glenside and Abington Township, and Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Willow Grove and Upper Moreland Township. Queen of Angels was formed in 2012 by the merger of Our Lady Help of Christians in Abington and St. David in Willow Grove.


title: Pointing stick

text: A pointing stick (or trackpoint, also referred to generically as a nub or nipple) is a small analog stick used as a pointing device typically mounted centrally in a computer keyboard. Like other pointing devices such as mice, touchpads or trackballs, operating system software translates manipulation of the device into movements of the pointer or cursor on the monitor. Unlike other pointing devices, it reacts to sustained force or strain rather than to gross movement, so it is called an "isometric" pointing device. IBM introduced it commercially in 1992 on its laptops under the name "TrackPoint", patented in 1997.


title: Pointing stick

text: The pointing stick senses applied force by using two pairs of resistive strain gauges. A pointing stick can be used by pushing with the fingers in the general direction the user wants the cursor to move. The velocity of the pointer depends on the applied force so increasing pressure causes faster movement. The relation between pressure and cursor or pointer speed can be adjusted, just as mouse speed is adjusted.


title: Pointing stick

text: On a QWERTY keyboard, the stick is typically embedded between the G, H and B keys, and the mouse buttons are placed just below the space bar. The mouse buttons can be operated right-handed or left-handed due to their placement below the keyboard along the centerline. This pointing device has also appeared next to screens on compact-sized laptops such as the Toshiba Libretto and Sony VAIO UX.


title: Pointing stick

text: Pointing sticks typically have a replaceable rubber cap, called a nub, which can be a slightly rough "eraser head" material or another shape.


title: Pointing stick

text: The cap is red on ThinkPads, but is also found in other colors on other machines. For example, it may be gray, pink, black or blue on some Dell models, blue on some HP/Compaq laptops, and green or gray on most Toshiba laptops produced before the 2000s.


title: Pointing stick

text: Button configurations vary depending on vendor and laptop model. ThinkPads have a prominent middle mouse button, but some models have no physical buttons. Toshiba employs concentric arcs.


title: Pointing stick

text: In the early 1990s, Zenith Data Systems shipped a number of laptop computers equipped with a device called "J-Mouse", which essentially used a special keyswitch under the J key to allow the J keycap to be used as a pointing stick.


title: Pointing stick

text: In addition to appearing between the G, H and B keys on a QWERTY keyboard, these devices or similar can also appear on gaming devices as an alternative to a D-pad or analog stick. On certain Toshiba Libretto mini laptops, the pointing stick was located next to the display. IBM sold a mouse with a pointing stick in the location where a scroll wheel is common now.


title: Pointing stick

text: Optical pointing sticks are also used on some Ultrabook tablet hybrids, such as the Sony Duo 11, ThinkPad Tablet and Samsung Ativ Q.


title: Pointing stick

text: On the Gateway 2000 Liberty laptop the pointing stick is above the enter key on the right side of the keyboard.


title: Pointing stick

text: A pointing stick was featured in the New Nintendo 3DS as a secondary analog stick, known as the C-Stick.


title: Pointing stick

text: The IBM TrackPoint III and the TrackPoint IV have a feature called Negative Inertia that causes the pointer's velocity to "overreact" when it is accelerated or decelerated. Negative Inertia is intended to avoid the feeling of inertia or sluggishness when starting or stopping movement. Usability tests at IBM have shown that it is easier for users to position the pointer with Negative Inertia, and performance is 7.8% better.


title: Pointing stick

text: Another challenge with pointing stick design is identification of the zero position (the position where no motion is desired). Because the amount of motion is small, the sensitivity of the sensors must be high, and they are subject to noise interference.


title: Pointing stick

text: A typical solution, which assumes that pointing sticks frequently go out of calibration, is to interpret a variation below a certain threshold (over a given interval, perhaps one or several seconds) as being a neutral stick. However, the recalibration can also allow brief periods of 'drifting' (movement of the cursor while the user is not moving the pointing stick).


title: Pointing stick

text: In practice, if the re-calibration interval is set too short and if the user applies moderately consistent pressure to the stick for such an interval, this method results in an incorrect zero point. Additional pressure again moves the cursor, but the calibration may occur again, requiring even more force. If the user releases pressure at this point, the change will be interpreted as an instruction to move the opposite direction. In time, the software will re-calibrate and stop the motion.


title: Pointing stick

text: Additionally, if "press-to-select" is enabled, the software may generate unexpected click events by touching the pointing stick during typing.


title: Pointing stick

text: In 1984, Ted Selker, a researcher at PARC, worked on a pointing stick based on a study showing that it takes a typist 0.75 seconds to shift from the keyboard to the mouse, and comparable time to shift back. Selker built a model of a device that would minimize this time. It was only three years later, working at IBM, that Selker refined his design, resulting in the TrackPoint product for which IBM received US patents in 1996 and 2000.


title: Pointing stick

text: Pointing sticks were the dominant pointing device for laptops before the advent of the touchpad. During later years, they faced a decline in popularity as most laptop-producing brands switched to touchpads, although as of 2021, some manufacturers like Lenovo still produce laptops with pointing sticks.


title: Pointing stick

text: The pointing stick can be used in ultra-compact netbooks where there would be no place for a touchpad.


title: Pointing stick

text: The pointing stick is positioned such that the hands do not need to be removed from the home row to manipulate the mouse pointer.


title: Pointing stick

text: Some people find them more appealing for mobile gaming than a touchpad, because the trackpoint allows infinite movement without repositioning. This is because a user's finger may run off the edge of a touchpad while positioning the pointer, requiring them to reposition their finger in order to continue.


title: Pointing stick

text: Some users feel that pointing sticks cause less wrist strain because a user does not need to avoid resting wrists on a touchpad, which are usually located just below the keyboard. One criticism is that because the pointing stick depends on the user's applying pressure, it can cause hand cramps (although this can be partly solved by setting the sensitivity higher and lifting the finger when the pointer is not being moved).


title: Pointing stick

text: A number of ergonomic studies to compare trackpoint and touchpad performance have been performed. Most studies find that touchpad is slightly faster; one study found that "the touchpad was operated 15% faster than the trackpoint". Another study found that average object selection time was faster with a touchpad, 1.7 seconds compared to 2.2 seconds with a trackpoint, and object manipulation took 6.2 seconds with a touchpad, on average, against 8.1 seconds with trackpoint.


title: Pointing stick

text: Various informal names have been invented, including "nub", "clit mouse", which is an intercommunity term, usually seen on ThinkPad forums, and "nipple mouse".


title: Pointing stick

text: While typically employed on a computer keyboard, IBM included one on its Trackpoint Mouse product; suggested uses included scrolling (as with a scroll wheel) or a dual-cursor system.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Biag ni Lam-ang () is an epic story of the Ilocano people from the Ilocos region of the Philippines. It is notable for being the first Philippine folk epic to be recorded in written form, and was one of only two folk epics documented during the Philippines' Spanish Colonial period, along with the Bicolano epic of Handiong. It is also noted for being a folk epic from a "Christianized" lowland people group (the Ilocano people), with elements incorporated into the storytelling.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: As oral literature, the poem is believed to have originated in pre-colonial times, evolving as it is passed on from poet to poet and generation to generation. The poem's first transcription is sometimes attributed to the blind Ilocano poet-preacher Pedro Bucaneg, but historian E. Arsenio Manuel instead attributes its first written documentation to Fr. Blanco of Narvacan, working with the publicist and folklorist Isabelo de los Reyes.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: As oral literature, the poem is believed to have originated in pre-colonial times, evolving as it is passed on from poet to poet and generation to generation.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Pedro Bucaneg, who supposedly dictated it so that it could be written down. However, it is unclear whether this "transcription" refers to an extant copy of the Biag ni Lam-ang text. Some texts, such as Celedonio Aguilar's "Readings in Philippine Literature" even state that this transcription occurred in 1640—long after Bukaneg is believed to have died.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Instead, historian E. Arsenio Manuel attributes the first written documentation of Biag Ni Lam-ang to the parish priest of the municipality Narvacan Fr. Gerardo Blanco and to publicist and folklorist Isabelo de los Reyes. It was Fr. Blanco who sent the text of the poem to De Los Reyes, who then published the text, in Ilocano, along with a Spanish prose translation, in his paper, the El Ilocano, 1889 to 1890.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Lam-ang is an extraordinary being, when he was born, he was already able to speak, thus enabling him to choose his own name and told people to be called by this name.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: His adventures begun when his father, Don Juan, set out for a battle but never returned. Barely nine months, Lam-ang goes to search for Don Juan in the highlands where the latter was said to have gone. Aware that her child was a blessed, exceptional creature, his mother Namongan allowed him to go. Lam-ang then went off in search of his father, leaving his grieving mother behind.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: He saw his father beheaded and the head put on a spike. While the headhunters were celebrating, in his anger, he challenged all of them to a duel. The headhunters threw spears at him, but he just catches them and throws them back to the headhunters. He defeated the headhunters, killed them all and took his father's head down to the plains.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: After he went down the plains, he decided to bathe in the Amburayan River, which the local gals helped him bathe. The dirt was so gross that fishes and animals died upon contact of his bathwater.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Upon arriving home, Lam-ang decides to court his love interest, Ines Kannoyan who lives in Calanutian (Kanluit).


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: After his death due to being eaten by a huge fish, Lam-ang's bones are recovered and he is resurrected with the help of his magical pets. Ines is ordered by the rooster to wrap the bones with her "tapis" while the hen flapped its wings and the dog growled. In an instant, Lam-ang is happily reunited with his wife.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: "Biag ni Lam-ang", though dominated by action and tragedy, nonetheless contained some comedic points. A prominent example is the scene in which Lam-ang was on his way home. He passes by the Amburayan River (identified by some as the biggest river in Ilocos) and decides to bathe. The dirt and blood that fell from his body then causes the death of the river's fish, crabs, and shrimp. As he is bathing, some maidens who were present at the river gladly attend to him.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: The tale of Lam-ang, as a story passed on for generations as oral literature and recorded well into the Spanish colonial period, is notable for incorporating Roman Catholic elements into the story, such as references by the characters of Lam-ang and Ines Kannoyan to marriage as a sacrament. Folklorist Mellie Leandicho Lopez notes that ""later versions of the epic differ from the early texts due to the addition of more Christian and Spanish elements in the adventures of the Culture hero Lam-Ang"."


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Although most of the thematic scholarship regarding the Biag ni Lam-ang have focused on the evolving Roman Catholic influences on the epic, some Philippine textbooks have suggested that it may have been influenced by the "Mahabharata" and the "Ramayana".


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: Philippine anthropologists and historiographers such as F. Landa Jocano suggest that such Hindu influences probably arrived in the Philippines through the extensive trade that local cultures had with the Majapahit Empire during the 14th through 16th centuries, although earlier scholars such as Juan R. Francisco and Josephine Acosta Pasricha had suggested earlier dates for this influence, during the ninth to the tenth century AD.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: In 2012, a film adaptation of the story of Lam-ang was made. Called "Lam-Ang", the film starred Rocco Nacino and Rochelle Pangilinan. It was originally intended to be a TV series, but it was later decided to turn it into a film adaptation by Gabriel Lorenzo Quizon instead.


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: In 2018, "Biag ni Lam-Ang" was illustrated as a single-panel narrative by Jill Arwen Posadas for the Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan exhibition, "Enchantment".


title: Biag ni Lam-ang

text: In 2021, episode 3 of the revival of "Legends of the Hidden Temple" told the story of Lam-Ang and based its challenges off of different parts of that legend.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: The Amazing Race 7 is the seventh season of the American reality television show "The Amazing Race". It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: Married couple Uchenna and Joyce Agu were the winners of this season, while engaged couple Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich (of "Survivor" fame) finished in second place, and dating couple Ron Young, Jr. and Kelly McCorkle finished in third.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: "The Amazing Race 7" took place over 29 days and traveled nearly . Filming began on November 20, 2004, and finished on December 19, 2004. The teams raced in ten countries, five of which were not previously visited on the series: Peru, Chile, Botswana, Turkey, and Jamaica. Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean, was also visited for the first time.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: This was the first edition of "The Amazing Race" to not circumnavigate the world by traveling continuously either west or east while crossing each meridian. Once teams traveled as far east as India, they returned to the United States by traveling westward through Europe and the Caribbean.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: In this season, a change was made to the non-elimination leg penalty. In addition to being stripped of all their money and receiving no allowance for the next leg, teams were forced to surrender all of their possessions, except for their passports and the clothes they were wearing, for the remainder of the season. They were also no longer allowed to beg for money prior to the start of the next leg. The racers could receive or buy clothing or toiletries from the other teams.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: Leg 3 featured a difficult Roadblock in which players had to eat of meat and organs. Three players quit this food-eating task: Rob, Meredith, and Deana; the most to ever quit a task in a single leg at the time.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: Host Phil Keoghan greeted teams at the check-in mat midway through Leg 8 to hand them their next clue, marking the first time on "The Amazing Race" that teams stepped on the check in mat only to be handed their next clue, or to have their next clue handed to them by Keoghan.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: Controversy surrounded the final leg of the season when Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce arrived at the airport in San Juan. They were both sold tickets for a flight leaving later than one whose gate was about to close. While Rob & Amber managed to get on this earlier departing flight, Uchenna & Joyce were shown through the gate as the boarding corridor between the gate and airplane began to shut. After a commercial break, the boarding corridor reopened to the gate to pick up Uchenna & Joyce. No explanation was given as to why the gate reopened, which has led to widespread speculation about intervention by the production staff. In the "Revisiting the Race" special feature on the Season 7 DVD, Uchenna, Rob, and host Phil Keoghan denied the accusations of intervention by the production crew. Uchenna described his experience of finding the same airline agent at the gate who had previously informed him that there was no earlier available flight. Rob described Uchenna running around frantically trying to get onto the flight, which the final edited version of the show did not portray. Phil cited the fact that the decision to reopen the door rested solely with the pilot, and that intervention by the production crew would have resulted in someone leaking such information out.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: In September 2005, "The Amazing Race 7" won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, the third consecutive award for the television series. Although seasons 5 and 6 were also eligible, producers chose season 7 since it was the most recent installment of the show.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: Joyce Agu (credited as Joyce Robinson) previously appeared on "" in a recurring role as Ensign Gates. Ron Young was a former Apache helicopter pilot who was shot down in Iraq and held as a prisoner of war for 22 days, and Kelly McCorkle was a former Miss South Carolina. Brian Thomas Smith previously competed on "Christmas Fear Factor". Amber Brkich originally appeared on "" and Rob Mariano appeared on "". Both also competed on "" where they got engaged at the live finale.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: On May 25, 2005, CBS aired Rob & Amber's wedding at Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, The Bahamas, a trip they won during the season, during a special entitled "Rob and Amber Get Married". After competing on "The Amazing Race", Rob later competed on "", "", and served as a non-playing mentor on "". Rob & Amber also both returned to compete on "". On May 23, 2016, Rob also appeared on a "Survivor"-themed primetime special of "The Price is Right".


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: "The Amazing Race 7" received mostly positive reviews. Andy Dehnart called this season satisfying by the end. In 2016, this season was ranked 4th out of the first 27 seasons by the "Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race" correspondents. Kareem Gantt of "Screen Rant" wrote that it was "a season in which The Amazing Race was firing on all cylinders." In 2021, Jane Andrews of Gossip Cop ranked this season as the show's 6th best season. Val Barone of "TheThings" ranked this season as the show's best season. In 2022, Jason Shomer of Collider ranked this season among the show's top seven seasons. Conversely, Linda Holmes of "Television Without Pity" wrote that it was an "incredibly ungenerous, pinched, unpleasant season" due to it turning "into such a bitchy, moralizing, self-righteous morass, and it's "not" Rob and Amber who made that happen. It's primarily Lynn and Alex, with help from Meredith and Gretchen, Ron and Kelly, and -- unfortunately -- Uchenna and Joyce."


title: The Amazing Race 7

text: The DVD boxed set for season 7 was released on December 20, 2005. Lynn & Alex, Brian & Greg, Rob & Amber, and Uchenna & Joyce did commentary on four episodes.


title: Dissident

text: A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th century, coinciding with the rise of authoritarian governments in countries such as Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Francoist Spain, the Soviet Union (and later Russia), Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Iran, China, and Turkmenistan. In the Western world, there are historical examples of people who have been considered and have considered themselves dissidents, such as the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza. In totalitarian countries, dissidents are often incarcerated or executed without explicit political accusations, or due to infringements of the very same laws they are opposing, or because they are supporting civil liberties such as freedom of speech.


title: Dissident

text: The term "dissident" was used in the Eastern bloc, particularly in the Soviet Union, in the period following Joseph Stalin's death until the fall of communism. It was attached to citizens who criticized the practices or the authority of the communist party. Writers for the non-censored, non-conformist "samizdat" literature were criticized in the official newspapers. Soon, many of those who were dissatisfied with Eastern bloc regimes began to self-identify as dissidents. This radically changed the meaning of the term: instead of being used in reference to an individual who opposes society, it came to refer to an individual whose non-conformism was perceived to be for the good of the society. In Hungary, the word "disszidens" was used in contemporary language for a person who had left for the West without permission (i.e. a defector), by illegally crossing the border or travelling abroad with a passport, but not returning and (sometimes) applying for asylum abroad. Such persons' citizenship was usually revoked, and their left behind property (if there was any to their name) would revert to the state.


title: Dissident

text: Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features in the embodiment of Soviet ideology and who were willing to speak out against them. The term "dissident" was used in the Soviet Union in the period following Joseph Stalin's death until the fall of communism. It was used to refer to small groups of marginalized intellectuals whose modest challenges to the Soviet regime met protection and encouragement from correspondents. Following the etymology of the term, a dissident is considered to "sit apart" from the regime. As dissenters began self-identifying as "dissidents", the term came to refer to an individual whose non-conformism was perceived to be for the good of a society.


title: Dissident

text: Political opposition in the USSR was barely visible and, with rare exceptions, of little consequence. Instead, an important element of dissident activity in the Soviet Union was informing society (both inside the Soviet Union and in foreign countries) about violation of laws and of human rights. Over time, the dissident movement created vivid awareness of Soviet Communist abuses.


title: Dissident

text: Soviet dissidents who criticized the state faced possible legal sanctions under the Soviet Criminal Code and faced the choice of exile, the mental hospital, or penal servitude. Anti-Soviet political behavior, in particular, being outspoken in opposition to the authorities, demonstrating for reform, or even writing books - was defined as being simultaneously a criminal act (e.g., violation of Articles 70 or 190-1), a symptom (e.g., "delusion of reformism"), and a diagnosis (e.g., "sluggish schizophrenia").


title: Dissident

text: The term "dissident" has become the primary term to describe Irish republicans who politically continue to oppose Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and reject the outcome of the referendums on it. These political parties also have paramilitary wings which espouse violent methods to achieve a United Ireland.


title: Dissident

text: Irish republican dissident groups include the Irish Republican Socialist Party (founded in 1974 – its currently-inactive paramilitary wing is the Irish National Liberation Army), Republican Sinn Féin (founded in 1986 – its paramilitary wing is the Continuity IRA), and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (founded in 1997 – its paramilitary wing is the Real IRA). In 2006 the Óglaigh na hÉireann emerged, which is a splinter group of the Continuity IRA.


title: Dissident

text: Dissidents and activists were among the earliest adopters of encrypted communications technology such as Tor and the dark web, turning to the technology as ways to resist totalitarian regimes, avoid censorship and control and protect privacy.


title: Dissident

text: Tor was widely used by protestors against the Mubarak regime in Egypt in 2011. Tor allowed Egyptian dissidents to communicate anonymously and securely, while sharing sensitive information. Also, Syrian rebels widely used Tor in order to share with the world all of the horrors that they witnessed in their country. Moreover, anti-government dissidents in Lebanon, Mauritania, as well as other nations affected by the Arab Spring, widely used Tor in order to stay safe while exchanging their ideas and agendas.


title: Dissident

text: Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi American dissident and journalist. He was murdered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul by agents of the Saudi government, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.


title: Dissident

text: Various other human rights activists from Saudi Arabia have been either silenced or punished. This also happens if the individual lives outside the country. If a dissident is not a Saudi citizen, they will probably face deportation.


title: Dissident

text: The Fact Finding Panel (FFP), an independent jury of British parliamentary members and international attorneys, was tasked with reviewing the detention of former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz. In mid-December 2020, the panel published a report stating its findings, which claimed that the collective detention of political prisoners by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a violation of the country's international legal obligations, as the authorities are holding the detainees without charge and not allowing them a chance to challenge their imprisonment. The imprisonment has also risked the safety of the detainees by posing fatal risks to their health by keeping them behind bars without providing proper medical aid amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Dissident

text: Another monarchy of the Middle East, Bahrain, is known for violating the rights of peaceful critics of the government, including political activists and human rights defenders. A report released by "Amnesty International" in 2017 revealed that the country opted for several repressive tactics, including arbitrary detention, torture and harassment between June 2016 and June 2017 to crush the dissidents. Several human rights organizations and international leaders have consistently denounced Bahrain's poor human rights records.


title: Dissident

text: The "Human Rights Watch World Report 2021" also highlighted that Bahrain continued its repressive actions against the dissidents, including acts against online activities, peaceful critics and opposition activists. In January 2021, forty cross-party MPs of the UK wrote a letter to the vice-chancellor of an educational institution, the University of Huddersfield, stating that it was at risk of “indirect implication in human rights abuse”. The university was running a master's course, MSc in security science, for the officers of Bahrain's Royal Academy of Policing, the building which was also being used for torturing dissidents.


title: Dissident

text: In April 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Bahrain, especially concerning the cases of detained dissidents Nabeel Rajab, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Ibrahim Sharif. With 48 votes in favor, the MEPs condemned Bahrain for its human rights violations and called for an immediate release of all the political activists, prisoners in conscience, human rights defenders, journalists and peaceful protesters. The European Parliament also demanded that the Bahraini government take all necessary measures to respect the law and make sure that its actions remain in full compliance with the international standards of human rights.


title: Dissident

text: In September 2022, an independent human rights organization, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) reported that among all the Gulf countries, Bahrain accounted for highest number of political prisoners. Over nearly a decade until 2022, Bahrain arrested around 15 thousand dissidents. The Institute For Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR) also highlighted that 4,500 political prisoners were living in prisons with inhumane conditions. The prison conditions in Bahrain were also defined as “deplorable”, where the authorities use severe physical and psychological torture techniques.


title: Dissident

text: Iranian dissidents are composed of scattered groups that reject the current government and by extension the previous regime, instead seeking the establishment of democratic institutions.


title: Dissident

text: The UAE has been accused of imprisoning critics. Like many other Middle Eastern countries, it does not allow criticism of the government. Many Emirati dissidents have been languishing in jail, some of them for a decade.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris. Generals François Kellermann and Charles Dumouriez stopped the advance near the northern village of Valmy in Champagne-Ardenne.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: In this early part of the Revolutionary Wars—known as the War of the First Coalition—the new French government was in almost every way unproven, and thus the small, localized victory at Valmy became a huge psychological victory for the Revolution at large. The outcome was thoroughly unexpected by contemporary observers—a vindication for the French revolutionaries and a stunning defeat for the vaunted Prussian army. The victory emboldened the newly assembled National Convention to formally declare the end of monarchy in France and to establish the French Republic. Valmy permitted the development of the Revolution and all its resultant ripple effects, and for that it is regarded by historians as one of the most significant battles in history.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: As the French Revolution continued, the monarchies of Europe became concerned that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries. The War of the First Coalition was an effort to stop the revolution, or at least contain it to France. King Frederick William II of Prussia had the support of Great Britain and the Austrian Empire to send the Duke of Brunswick towards Paris with a large army. In the war's early encounters of mid-1792, French troops did not distinguish themselves, and enemy forces advanced dangerously deep into France intending to pacify the country, restore the traditional monarchy, and end the Revolution. The French commander Charles Dumouriez, meanwhile, had been marching his army northeast to attack the Austrian Netherlands, but this plan was abandoned because of the more immediate threat to Paris. A second army under General François Kellermann was ordered to link up with him in a mutual defense.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: Just over half of the French infantry were regulars of the old Royal Army, as were nearly all of the cavalry and, most importantly, the artillery, which were widely regarded as the best in Europe at the time. These veterans provided a professional core to steady the enthusiastic volunteer battalions. Combined, Dumouriez' Army of the North and Kellermann's Army of the Centre totalled approximately 54,000 troops. Heading towards them was Brunswick's coalition army of about 84,000, all veteran Prussian and Austrian troops augmented by large complements of Hessians and the French royalist Army of Condé.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The invading army handily captured Longwy on 23 August and Verdun on 2 September, then moved on toward Paris through the defiles of the Forest of Argonne. In response, Dumouriez halted his advance to the Netherlands and reversed course, approaching the enemy army from its rear. From Metz, Kellermann moved to his assistance, joining him at the village of Sainte-Menehould on 19 September.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The French forces were now east of the Prussians, behind their lines. Theoretically the Prussians could have marched straight towards Paris unopposed, but this course was never seriously considered: the threat to their lines of supply and communication was too great to be ignored. The unfavorable situation was compounded by bad weather and an alarming increase in sickness among the troops. With few other options available, Brunswick turned back and prepared to do battle.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The troops trudged laboriously through a heavy downpour—"rain as of the days of Noah", in the words of Thomas Carlyle. Brunswick headed through the northern woods believing he could cut off Dumouriez. At the moment when the Prussian manœuvre was nearly completed, Kellermann advanced his left wing and took up a position on the slopes between Sainte-Menehould and Valmy. He centered his command around an old windmill, which he quickly razed to prevent enemy artillery spotters from using it as a sighting location. His veteran artillerists were well-placed upon its accommodating ridge to begin the so-called "Cannonade of Valmy". Brunswick moved toward them with about 34,000 of his troops. As they emerged from the woods, a long-range gunnery duel ensued and the French batteries proved superior. The Prussian infantry made a cautious, and fruitless, effort to advance under fire across the open ground.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: As the Prussians wavered, a pivotal moment was reached when Kellermann raised his hat and made his famous cry of ""Vive la Nation"". The cry was repeated again and again by all the French army, and had a crushing effect upon Prussian morale. The French troops sang "La Marseillaise" and "Ça Ira", and a cheer went up from the French line. To the surprise of nearly everyone, Brunswick broke off the action and retired from the field. The Prussians rounded the French positions at a great distance and commenced a rapid retreat eastward. The two engaged forces had been essentially equal in size, Kellermann with approximately 36,000 troops and 40 cannon, and Brunswick with 34,000 and 54 cannon. Yet by the time Brunswick retreated, casualties had risen no higher than three hundred French and two hundred Prussians.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The precipitous end to the action provoked elation among the French. The question of exactly why the Prussians withdrew has never been definitively answered. Most historians ascribe the retreat to some combination of the following factors: the highly defensible French position together with the rapidly growing numbers of reinforcements and citizen volunteers with their discouraging and thoroughly unexpected "élan" which persuaded the cautious Brunswick to spare himself a dangerous loss of manpower, particularly when the Russian invasion of Poland had already raised concerns for Prussia's defensibility in the east. Others have put forward more shadowy motives for the decision, including a secret plea by Louis XVI to avoid an action which might cost him his life, and even bribery of the Prussians, allegedly paid for with the Bourbon crown jewels.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: An analysis by Dr Munro Price, reader in history at the University of Bradford and a modern specialist in this period, concludes that there is no convincing proof of bribery turning back the Prussians. The more likely explanation remains that, having initially adopted an aggressive strategy, Brunswick lacked the will to carry it through when confronted by an unexpectedly determined and disciplined opposition. Brunswick had actually been offered command of the French armies prior to the outbreak of war and émigré factions subsequently used this as a basis to allege treachery on his part. In any case, the battle ended decisively, the French pursuit was not seriously pressed, and Brunswick's troops managed a safe if inglorious eastward retreat.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: This engagement was the turning point of the Prussians' campaign. Beset with food shortages and dysentery, their retreat continued well past the Rhine River. French troops soon struck forward into Germany, taking Mainz in October. Dumouriez once again moved against the Austrian Netherlands and Kellermann ably secured the front at Metz.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: Dumouriez would bear a harsh change of fortune: after one more influential success in November 1792 at Jemappes, he was by the following year a broken man. His army had suffered such catastrophic losses that he defected to the royalist side for the rest of his life. Kellermann, however, continued in a long and distinguished military career. In 1808 he was ennobled by Napoleon and became Duke of Valmy.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: In terms of military history the battle introduced features that reshaped modern warfare. It exemplified key components of "total war" in terms of political propaganda, psychological warfare, and eager participation of large numbers of politicized civilians.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: After a while the battle came to be celebrated as the first great victory of the armies of the French Revolution. In the varied historiography of the French Revolution, it is typically portrayed as the first victory of a citizen army, inspired by liberty and nationalism. Many thousands of volunteers did indeed swell the ranks, but at least half of the French forces were professional soldiers, particularly among Kellermann's critical artillery units. The French artillery also held a tactical advantage in its modern Gribeauval gun system which proved highly successful on the battlefield. But in popular conception, Valmy was a victory of citizen-soldiers: the battle was emblemized by Kellermann's cry, augmented by the troops' singing of "La Marseillaise" and the "Ça Ira" while under fire.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: On the day of the battle, the Legislative Assembly had duly transferred its power to the National Convention.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: Over the next two days, flush with the news from Valmy, the new Convention deputies abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the French Republic. The victory was a much-needed source of pride for the revolutionary French state, and provided enduring inspiration for the years that followed. It was considered by many contemporaries to be a miraculous event for France, and a "decisive defeat" for one of the most effective armies in Europe. Scholars continue to count it among the most significant clashes in military history.


title: Battle of Valmy

text: The Prussians themselves recognized the importance of the battle, not merely as a setback in the war but as a crucial advancement for the Revolution as a whole. The German writer and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was present at the battle with the Prussian army, later wrote that he was approached by some of his comrades in a state of dejection. He had previously cheered them up with memorable and clever quotes but his only consolation this time was, "Here and today, a new epoch in the history of the world has begun, and you can boast you were present at its birth."


title: Varsha Bhosle

text: Varsha Bhosle (1956 – 8 October 2012) was an Indian singer, journalist and writer based in Mumbai. She was the daughter of Indian playback singer, Asha Bhosle.


title: Varsha Bhosle

text: Bhosle was a professional Hindi and Bhojpuri playback singer, and appeared in concerts with her mother. Varsha finished school from Hill Grange High School, on Pedder Road, Mumbai, in 1973, with an ISC. She studied Political Science at Elphinstone College, which is affiliated with Bombay University in Mumbai.


title: Varsha Bhosle

text: She wrote columns for the Indian web portal Rediff during 1997 – 2003; columns for The Sunday Observer during 1994 – 1998; and for "Gentleman" magazine in 1993. She also wrote a few articles for "The Times of India" and for "Rakshak – The Protector" police magazine.


title: Varsha Bhosle

text: She lived in Mumbai with her mother. She had married a sports writer and public relations professional Hemant Kenkre but the couple divorced in 1998. She had a history of depression, exacerbated by the death of a close friend, and underwent psychiatric treatment. On 9 September 2008, she reportedly attempted suicide by taking an overdose of prescribed medicine, after which she was admitted to Mumbai's Jaslok hospital. On 8 October 2012, Bhosle committed suicide at her Prabhu Kunj residence in Mumbai. Her body was discovered by her mother's driver and maid in a pool of blood on the sofa in her home. Mumbai Police later confirmed the suicide and said she shot herself in the head with a licensed weapon.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: It was situated at the former Royal Air Force station of Long Kesh, on the outskirts of Lisburn. This was in the townland of Maze, about southwest of Belfast. The prison and its inmates were involved in such events as the 1981 hunger strike. The prison was closed in 2000 and demolition began on 30 October 2006, but on 18 April 2013 it was announced by the Northern Ireland Executive that the remaining buildings would be redeveloped into a peace centre.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Following the introduction of internment in 1971, Operation Demetrius was implemented by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army with raids for 452 suspects on 9 August 1971. The RUC and army arrested 342 Irish nationalists, but key Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) members had been tipped off and 104 of those arrested were released when it emerged they had no paramilitary connections. Those behind Operation Demetrius were accused of bungling, by arresting many of the wrong people and using out-of-date information. Following nationalist protests, some Ulster loyalists were also arrested. By 1972, there were 924 internees and by the end of internment on 5 December 1975, 1,981 people had been detained; 1,874 (94.6%) of whom were Catholic/Irish nationalist and 107 (5.4%) Ulster Protestants/loyalists.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Initially, the internees were housed, with different paramilitary groups separated from each other, in Nissen huts at a disused RAF airfield that became the Long Kesh Detention Centre. The internees and their supporters agitated for improvements in their conditions and status; they saw themselves as political prisoners rather than common criminals. In July 1972, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw introduced Special Category Status for those sentenced for crimes relating to the civil violence. There were 1,100 Special Category Status prisoners at that time.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary-linked prisoners gave them the same privileges previously available only to internees. These privileges included free association between prisoners, extra visits, food parcels and the right to wear their own clothes rather than prison uniforms.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: However, Special Category Status was short-lived. As part of a new British policy of "criminalisation", and coinciding with the end of internment, the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, ended Special Category Status from 1 March 1976. Those convicted of "scheduled terrorist offences" after that date were housed in the eight new "H-Blocks" that had been constructed at Long Kesh, now officially named Her Majesty's Prison Maze (HMP Maze). Existing prisoners remained in separate compounds and retained their Special Category Status with the last prisoner to hold this status being released in 1986. Some prisoners changed from being Special Category Status prisoners to being common criminals. Brendan Hughes, an IRA prisoner, had been imprisoned with Special Category Status in Cage 11, but was alleged to have been involved in a fight with warders. He was taken to court and convicted then returned to the jail as a common prisoner and incarcerated in the H-Blocks as an ordinary prisoner, all within the space of several hours.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Prisoners convicted of scheduled offences after 1 March 1976 were housed in the "H-Blocks" that had been constructed. Prisoners without Special Category Status began protesting for its return immediately after they were transferred to the H-Blocks. Their first act of defiance, initiated by Kieran Nugent, was to refuse to wear the prison uniforms, stating that convicted criminals, and not political prisoners, wear uniforms. Not allowed their own clothes, they wrapped themselves in bedsheets. Prisoners participating in the protest were "on the blanket". By 1978, more than 300 men had joined the protest. The British government refused to back down. In March 1978, some prisoners refused to leave their cells to shower or use the lavatory because they were being beaten when they did, and were provided with wash-hand basins in their cells. Prisoners "on the blanket" reported that one of the things that caused the most stress was "...waiting for the moment the cell door would open and they would be dragged out, naked and defenseless, and then pounded into semi-consciousness before being thrown back in again". Fueling the prison officers' anger was a mix of sectarianism – they were almost exclusively Protestant and many had loyalist sympathies and connections – and a desire for revenge. In 1978, the British Government was found guilty and censured by the European Court of Human Rights for "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the interrogation procedures".


title: HM Prison Maze

text: The prisoners requested that showers be installed in their cells; and when this request was turned down, they refused to use the wash-hand basins. At the end of April 1978, a fight occurred between a prisoner and a prison officer in H-Block 6. The prisoner was taken away to solitary confinement, and rumours spread across the wing that the prisoner had been badly beaten. The prisoners responded by smashing the furniture in their cells, forcing the prison authorities to remove the remaining furniture from the cells, leaving only blankets and mattresses. The prisoners responded by refusing to leave their cells and, as a result, the prison officers were unable to clear them. This resulted in the blanket protest escalating into the dirty protest, as the prisoners would not leave their cells to "slop out" (i.e., empty their chamber pots), and started smearing excrement on the walls of their cells to "mitigate the spread of maggots".


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Republicans outside the prison took the battle to the media and both sides fought for public support. Inside the prison, the prisoners took another step and organised a hunger strike.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: On 27 October 1980, seven republican prisoners refused food and demanded political status. The Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher did not initially give in. In December, the prisoners called off the hunger strike when the government appeared to concede to their demands. However, the government immediately reverted to their previous stance, in the belief that the prisoners would not start another strike. Bobby Sands, the leader of the Provisional IRA prisoners, began a second action on 1 March 1981. Outside the prison, in a major publicity coup, Sands was nominated for Parliament and won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. But the British government still resisted and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. More than 100,000 people attended Sands' funeral in Belfast. Another nine hunger strikers (members of both the IRA and the INLA) died by the end of August before the hunger strike was called off in October.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: On 25 September 1983, the Maze saw the largest breakout of prisoners from a British prison. Thirty-eight prisoners hijacked a prison meals lorry and smashed their way out. During the breakout, four prison officers were stabbed, including one, James Ferris, who died of a heart attack. Another officer was shot in the head by Gerry Kelly, and several other officers were injured by the escapees. Nineteen of the prisoners were soon recaptured, but the other nineteen escaped.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In March 1997, an IRA escape attempt was foiled when a tunnel was found. The tunnel led from H-Block 7 and was short of the perimeter wall.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In December 1997, IRA prisoner Liam Averill escaped dressed as a woman during a Christmas party for prisoners' children. Averill, who was jailed for life after committing two murders, was not recaptured, and was instead given amnesty in early 2001 when he was one of a number of republican escapees to present themselves to the authorities in a two-week period.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: During the 1980s, the British government slowly introduced changes, granting what some would see as political status in all but name. Republican and loyalist prisoners were housed according to group. They organised themselves along military lines and exercised wide control over their respective H-Blocks. The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) leader Billy Wright was shot dead in December 1997 by two Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: The prisoners also played a significant role in the Northern Ireland peace process. On 9 January 1998, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, paid a surprise visit to the prison to talk to members of the Ulster Defence Association including Johnny Adair, Sam "Skelly" McCrory and Michael Stone. They had voted for their political representatives to pull out of talks. Shortly after Mowlam's visit, they changed their minds, allowing their representatives to continue talks that would lead to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998. Afterwards, the prison was emptied of its paramilitary prisoners as the groups they represented agreed to the ceasefire. In the two years following the agreement, 428 prisoners were released. On 29 September 2000, the remaining four prisoners at the Maze were transferred to other prisons in Northern Ireland and the Maze Prison was closed.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: A monitoring group was set up on 14 January 2003 to debate the future of the site. With close motorway and rail links, there were many proposals, including a museum, a multi-purpose sports stadium and an office, hotel and leisure village.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In January 2006, the government unveiled a masterplan for the site incorporating many of these proposals, including a 45,000 seat national multi-sport stadium for football, rugby and Gaelic games. The Government's infrastructure organisation, the Strategic Investment Board (SIB), was tasked with taking forward the proposed stadium idea and appointed one of its senior advisers, Tony Whitehead, to manage the project. The capacity of the proposed stadium was later adjusted to first 35,000 and then 38,000 and the organising bodies of all three sports – Irish FA, Ulster Rugby and Ulster GAA – agreed in principle to support the integrated scheme. In October 2006, demolition work started in preparation for construction on the site.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In January 2009, plans to build the new multi-purpose stadium on the site of the prison were cancelled, with the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Gregory Campbell, citing a lack of support and concerns for a net loss to the economy.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: Discussion is still ongoing as to the listed status of sections of the old prison. The hospital and part of the H-Blocks are currently listed buildings, and would remain as part of the proposed site redevelopment as a "conflict transformation centre" with support from republicans such as Martin McGuinness and opposition from unionists, who consider that this risks creating "a shrine to the IRA".


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In January 2013, plans were approved by the Northern Ireland environment minister Alex Attwood for the site to be redeveloped as showgrounds as the result of an application by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society with the objective of relocating Balmoral Show from its current location in Belfast. The site is now known as Balmoral Park.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In October 2019, the European Union withdrew £18m that had been approved to develop a peace centre, due to disagreements between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party.


title: HM Prison Maze

text: In April 2020, the former prison was reportedly under consideration for conversion into a temporary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Jeff Hephner

text: Jeffrey Lane Hephner (born June 22, 1975) is an American actor, best known for the role of Jeff Clarke, first on the NBC television series "Chicago Fire" and then on its sister show, "Chicago Med". More recently, he co-starred with Jennifer Garner in the action thriller film "Peppermint". He also appears in the 2016 National Geographic TV series "MARS" and the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series "For All Mankind." In January 2019, he co-starred in the film "An Acceptable Loss". In 2023, he will host the game show "Switch" on Game Show Network.


title: Jeff Hephner

text: Hephner has appeared in over 50 other films and television shows, including as Morgan Stanley Buffkin in the CW series "Easy Money" (2008–2009), and as Ben Zajac in the Starz political drama "Boss" (2011–2012). In 2015, he starred as the title character in the short-lived TNT action drama "Agent X".


title: Jeff Hephner

text: Hephner was born in Adrian, Michigan to Tom and Patti Hephner, and grew up in the small town of Sand Creek, in southern Michigan near Adrian. Hephner was athletic growing up, playing basketball and football, and he graduated from Sand Creek High School. Hephner was named to the all-state team for Class C-D for the 1993–1994 season.


title: Jeff Hephner

text: He attended and played basketball for Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan for two years before transferring to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan for two years.


title: Jeff Hephner

text: Hephner began his Hollywood career with small roles in two feature films, "Tigerland" (2000) and "Maid in Manhattan" (2002). After starring in the short-lived Fox series "The Jury" in 2004, in 2005, he guest-starred in the NBC series "" in season 4: episode 21 titled "The Unblinking Eye". Hephner starred as author Pat Conroy in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie "The Water Is Wide" (2006), based on Conroy's book and a remake of the drama "Conrack" (1974).


title: Jeff Hephner

text: He starred in The CW series "Easy Money", which aired for four episodes in October 2008 before being cancelled. The other four episodes aired in mid-2009. Following the cancellation of "Easy Money", Hephner guest-starred in "Private Practice", "", "NCIS", "Castle" and had a recurring role in four episodes of the NBC medical drama "Mercy". In 2010, Hephner replaced Ben Browder in a recurring role in the CW series "Hellcats" as football coach Red Raymond.