title: History of the Mediterranean region

text: During the first half of the twentieth century the Mediterranean was at the center of the expansion of the Kingdom of Italy, and was one of the main areas of battle during World War II between the Axis and the Allies. Post-world war period was marked by increasing activity in the Eastern Mediterranean, where naval actions formed part of ongoing Arab–Israeli conflict and Turkey had occupied the northern part of Cyprus. Cold War tensions split the Mediterranean into pro-American and pro-Soviet factions, with Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy and France being NATO members. Syria was socialist and a pro-Soviet regime, offering the Soviets a port for their navy from an agreement in 1971. Yugoslavia was Communist but in neither the Soviet nor American camps. Egypt tilted towards the Soviets during the time of Nasser but then turned towards American influence during the time of Sadat. Israel and Egypt both received massive American military aid. American naval power made the Mediterranean a base for the United States Sixth Fleet during the Cold war.


title: History of the Mediterranean region

text: Today, the Mediterranean Sea is the southern border of the European Union and represents one of the largest area by Trade in the World. The Maltese prime minister described the Mediterranean sea as a "cemetery" due to the large amounts of migrants who drown there. Following the 2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck, the Italian government, has decided to strengthen the national system for the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea by authorizing Operation Mare Nostrum, a military and humanitarian operation in order to rescue the migrants and arrest the traffickers of immigrants.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: Silicon Valley Bank is an American commercial bank. SVB is on the list of largest banks in the United States, and is the biggest bank in Silicon Valley based on local deposits. It is a subsidiary of SVB Financial Group.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was founded in 1982 by Bill Biggerstaff and Robert Medearis over a poker game. Its first office opened in 1983 on North First Street in San Jose. The Palo Alto office opened in 1985. The bank’s main strategy was collecting deposits from businesses financed through venture capital. It then expanded into banking and financing venture capitalists themselves, and added services aimed at allowing the bank to keep clients as they matured from their startup phase. In 1986, SVB merged with National InterCity Bancorp and opened an office in Santa Clara. In 1988, the bank completed its IPO, raising $6 million. In the same year they opened another office in San Jose. In 1990, the bank opened its first office on the East Coast, near Boston. The following year, the bank went international with the launch of the companies Pacific Rim and Trade Finance.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In 1992, the bank was hit by the real estate burst (50% of the bank's assets) and recorded a $2.2 million yearly loss. In 1993, the bank's founding CEO, Roger V. Smith, was replaced by John C. Dean; Smith became Vice Chairman of the bank. Smith left in 1994 to launch the Smith Venture Group. In 1994, the bank launched its Premium Wine Practice activities. In 1995, the bank moved its headquarters from San Jose to Santa Clara. In 1997, SVB opened a branch in Atlanta. In 1999, the company was reincorporated in Delaware. From March 1999 to March 2000, SVB's stock value soared from $20 to $70.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In 2000, SVB opened a branch in Florida. In 2001, SVB Securities acquired the Palo Alto investment banking firm Alliant Partners for $100 million. Following the crash of the dot-com bubble, the bank's stock dropped 50%. In 2002, the bank began expanding its private banking business, which up to that point had been done primarily as a favor to wealthy venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In 2004, the bank opened international subsidiaries in Bangalore, India, and London. In 2005 it opened offices in Beijing and Israel. In 2006, the bank began operations in the UK and opened its first branch there in 2012. In 2006, the bank also ceased its investment banking activities, launched after the 2001 dotcom crash.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In December 2008, SVB Financial received a $235 million investment from the U.S. Treasury through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The U.S. Treasury received $10 million in dividends from Silicon Valley Bank and, in December 2009, the bank repurchased the outstanding stock and warrants held by the government, funding this through a stock sale of $300 million.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In April 2011, Ken Wilcox, who had been CEO since 2000, left the CEO position, while remaining Chairman of the Board; he was replaced by Greg Becker as CEO.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In November 2012, the bank announced a 50-50 joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) to provide capital to start-up technology entrepreneurs. In July 2015, the joint venture was granted approval by the China Bank Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to operate in renminbi (RMB), the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. This license allows the joint venture to provide banking products and services to its clients in local Chinese currency. According to the bank itself, in 2015 SVB was catering banking and financial services to 65% of all startups.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: The company focuses on lending to technology companies, providing multiple services to venture capital, revenue-based financing and private equity firms that invest in technology and biotechnology, and also on private banking services for high-net-worth individuals, in its home market in Silicon Valley. In addition to taking deposits and making loans, the bank operates venture capital and private equity divisions that sometimes invest in the firm's commercial banking clients.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: The bank is the largest bank in Silicon Valley in terms of deposits, with a 25.9% market share as of June 30, 2016.


title: Silicon Valley Bank

text: In addition, SVB Global Services India LLP is a non-banking subsidiary of SVB Financial Group in Bangalore, India providing IT and back office support.


title: Love's

text: Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned chain of more than 500 truck stop and convenience stores in 41 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Love's ranked No. 17 on the 2019 Forbes list of America's largest private companies. Love's has two primary kinds of stores: country stores and travel stops. Country stores are fueling stations with a convenience store attached. The larger travel stops are located along highways and offer additional amenities such as food from restaurant chains such as Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Bojangles, Burger King, Chester's, Dairy Queen, Del Taco, Dunkin', Friendly's, Godfather's Pizza, Green Burrito, McDonald's, Taco John's, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Hardee’s/Carls Jr., trucking supplies, showers and RV dump stations. Love's had 25,000 employees in 2018.


title: Love's

text: In 1964, Tom and Judy Love spent $5000 () to lease an abandoned service station in Watonga, Oklahoma, an hour northwest of Oklahoma City. They named their company Musket Corporation. Over the next eight years, Musket opened 40 additional gas stations. All of them operated under the Kerr-McGee gasoline brand.


title: Love's

text: When the fuel crunch of the early 1970s began and gasoline was in short supply in the United States, Tom Love diversified for the sake of the company's success. He launched a new concept in Watonga: the "Mini Stop Country Store". The Mini Stop was successful and the company quickly opened more stores in western Oklahoma.


title: Love's

text: In 1972, Musket set out to convert all of its locations from gas stations to convenience stores with self-serve gasoline. By 1973, the company began using the family name to identify its locations. Love's Country Stores was the new name.


title: Love's

text: By 1978, Love's Country Stores had 60 locations in small communities throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. That year, the company began offering the Fresh Daily Deli, sandwiches made fresh daily on-location. Food service became the company's third profit center in each location, along with self-serve gasoline and convenience store items. The Fresh Daily Deli is branded today as Love's Subs.


title: Love's

text: By the end of 1981, the company reached a milestone with 100 Love's Country Stores locations in operation. The in-store decor was changed from the previous dark country look to a brighter theme. The same year, it opened the first Love's Travel Stop on Interstate 40 in Amarillo, Texas. The travel stop opened a new target audience to Love's business; the addition of self-serve diesel fuel brought professional drivers to Love's. The Travel Stop was unique in that it served both the professional driver "and" the motoring public, resulting in more growth for Love's.


title: Love's

text: In 1985, Love's added gifts and novelties. Then in 1993, Taco Bell became a partner, opening a co-branded location in Oklahoma City. The success of this partnership quickly grew.


title: Love's

text: In 1995, the company opened its first triple-branded food service operation in El Paso, Texas. The location offered Subway, Taco Bell Express and Pizza Hut.


title: Love's

text: In the late 1990s, food service continued to grow. Soon the company was partnering with an array of co-branded restaurant concepts, including Arby's, Baskin Robbins, Bojangles', Burger King, Carl's Jr., Chester's, Dairy Queen, Del Taco, Denny's, Dunkin' Donuts, Godfather's Pizza, Green Burrito, Hardee's, IHOP Express, McDonald's, Sonic, Subway, Taco Bell, Taco John's and Wendy's.


title: Love's

text: In 2000, Sales & Marketing Executives International awarded Love's the 2000 Outlook Award, for innovation and outstanding contribution to the future of the convenience store industry.


title: Love's

text: The first truck tire care location opened in 2008, and since then, the business has grown into a nationwide network of centers, offering tires, equipment, light mechanical work, oil changes and roadside service.


title: Love's

text: On June 30, 2010, Love's acquired 20 Pilot Travel Centers locations and six Flying J locations out of antitrust concerns in order for the Federal Trade Commission to approve the Pilot/Flying J merger.


title: Love's

text: In June 2017, Love's opened its first location in Montana, its 41st state of operation. At the time, Love's operated more than 430 stores.


title: Love's

text: Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores entered into an partnership agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder on March 15, 2019. The agreement allows Love's to prominently place its logo on the front left shoulder of all Oklahoma City Thunder jerseys. They also have had a long-standing sponsorship deal with NASCAR Cup Series team Front Row Motorsports, and were on Michael McDowell's car when he finished in 1st place in the Daytona 500 in 2021. Front Row Motorsports opened a NASCAR Truck Series team in 2021 and Love's is a primary sponsor. Love's was on the Zane Smith's truck when he won the 2022 NextEra Energy 250.


title: Task-based language learning

text: Task-based language teaching (TBLT), also known as task-based instruction (TBI), focuses on the use of authentic language to complete meaningful tasks in the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (the appropriate completion of real-world tasks) rather than on accuracy of prescribed language forms. This makes TBLT especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence. As such, TBLT can be considered a branch of communicative language teaching (CLT).


title: Task-based language learning

text: Task-based language learning has its origins in communicative language teaching, and is a subcategory of it. Educators adopted task-based language learning for a variety of reasons. Some moved to a task-based syllabus in an attempt to develop learner capacity to express meaning, while others wanted to make language in the classroom truly communicative, rather than the pseudo-communication that results from classroom activities with no direct connection to real-life situations. Others, like Prabhu in the Bangalore Project, thought that tasks were a way of tapping into learners' natural mechanisms for second-language acquisition, and weren't concerned with real-life communication "per se".


title: Task-based language learning

text: TBLT was popularized by N. S. Prabhu while working in Bangalore, India, according to Jeremy Harmer. Prabhu noticed that his students could learn language just as easily with a non-linguistic problem as when they were concentrating on linguistic questions. Major scholars who have done research in this area include Teresa P. Pica, Martin East, and Michael Long.


title: Task-based language learning

text: A concept, earlier known as the "communicative activity" in 1970s and 80's was later replaced by the term task has since been defined differently by different scholars. Willis (1996) has defined a task as a goal based activity involving the use of the learners' existing language resources, that leads to the outcome. Examples include playing games, and solving problems and puzzles etc. Ellis (2003) defines a task as a work plan that involves a pragmatic processing of language, using the learners' existing language resources and attention to meaning, and resulting in the completion of an outcome which can be assessed for its communicative function. David Nunan (2004) draws upon the definitions given by other experts, of two types of tasks: target tasks and pedagogical tasks. Targets tasks refer to doing something outside the classroom and in the real world; whereas pedagogical tasks refer to the tasks students perform inside the classroom and in response to target language input or processing. Nunan concludes that target tasks may be non-linguistic. He defines pedagogical task as a classroom activity that involves a student to understand and produce the target language while focusing on conveying the meaning and not being too concerned with form. On the other hand, Long (1985) defines a task as things people do in everyday life.


title: Task-based language learning

text: The core of the lesson or project is, as the name suggests, the task. Teachers and curriculum developers should bear in mind that any attention to form, i.e., grammar or vocabulary, increases the likelihood that learners may be distracted from the task itself and become preoccupied with detecting and correcting errors and/or looking up language in dictionaries and grammar references. Although there may be several effective frameworks for creating a task-based learning lesson, here is a basic outline:


title: Task-based language learning

text: In the pre-task, the teacher will present what will be expected from the students in the task phase. Additionally, in the "weak" form of TBLT, the teacher may prime the students with key vocabulary or grammatical constructs, although this can mean that the activity is, in effect, more similar to the more traditional present-practice-produce (PPP) paradigm. In "strong" task-based learning lessons, learners are responsible for selecting the appropriate language for any given context themselves. The instructors may also present a model of the task by either doing it themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video demonstrating the task.


title: Task-based language learning

text: During the task phase, the students perform the task, typically in small groups, although this depends on the type of activity. Unless the teacher plays a particular role in the task, the teacher's role is typically limited to one of an observer or counselor—thereby making it a more student-centered methodology.


title: Task-based language learning

text: If learners have created tangible linguistic products, e.g. text, montage, presentation, audio or video recording, learners can review each other's work and offer constructive feedback. If a task is set to extend over longer periods of time, e.g. weeks, and includes iterative cycles of constructive activity followed by review, TBLT can be seen as analogous to Project-based learning.


title: Task-based language learning

text: According to N. S. Prabhu, there are three main categories of task: information-gap, reasoning-gap, and opinion-gap.


title: Task-based language learning

text: Information-gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person to another – or from one form to another, or from one place to another – generally calling for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language. One example is pair work in which each member of the pair has a part of the total information (for example an incomplete picture) and attempts to convey it verbally to the other. Another example is completing a tabular representation with information available in a given piece of text. The activity often involves selection of relevant information as well, and learners may have to meet criteria of completeness and correctness in making the transfer.


title: Task-based language learning

text: Reasoning-gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns. One example is working out a teacher's timetable on the basis of given class timetables. Another is deciding what course of action is best (for example cheapest or quickest) for a given purpose and within given constraints. The activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information, as in an information-gap activity, but the information to be conveyed is not identical with that initially comprehended. There is a piece of reasoning which connects the two.


title: Task-based language learning

text: Opinion-gap activity, which involves identifying and articulating a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. One example is story completion; another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue. The activity may involve using factual information and formulating arguments to justify one's opinion, but there is no objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no reason to expect the same outcome from different individuals or on different occasions.


title: Task-based language learning

text: According to Jon Larsson, in considering problem-based learning for language learning, i.e., task-based language learning:


title: Task-based language learning

text: Task-based learning benefits students because it is more student-centered, allows for more meaningful communication, and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skill building. As the tasks are likely to be familiar to the students (e.g.: visiting the doctor), students are more likely to be engaged, which may further motivate them in their language learning.


title: Task-based language learning

text: According to Jeremy Harmer, tasks promote language acquisition through the types of language and interaction they require. Harmer says that although the teacher may present language in the pre-task, the students are ultimately free to use what grammar constructs and vocabulary they want. This allows them, he says, to use all the language they know and are learning, rather than just the 'target language' of the lesson. On the other hand, according to Loschky and Bley-Vroman, tasks can also be designed to make certain target forms 'task-essential,' thus making it communicatively necessary for students to practice using them. In terms of interaction, information gap tasks in particular have been shown to promote negotiation of meaning and output modification.


title: Task-based language learning

text: According to Plews and Zhao, task-based language learning can suffer in practice from poorly informed implementation and adaptations that alter its fundamental nature. They say that lessons are frequently changed to be more like traditional teacher-led presentation-practice-production lessons than task-based lessons.


title: Task-based language learning

text: As an outgrowth of the widespread interest in task-based teaching, the Biennial International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching has occurred every other year since 2005. Past conferences have been held in Belgium, the United States, England, New Zealand, Canada, with the 2017 conference scheduled to take place in Barcelona, Spain. These events promote theoretical and practical research on TBLT. In addition, the Japan Association for Language Teaching has a special interest group devoted to task-based learning, which has also hosted its own conference in Japan.


title: Opinion polling for the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

text: In the run up to the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, various organizations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Hungary. Results of such polls are displayed in this article.


title: Charcuterie board

text: A charcuterie board is an appetizer typically served on a wooden board or stone slab, either eaten straight from the board itself or portioned onto flatware. It features a selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pâtés, as well as cheeses and crackers or bread.


title: Charcuterie board

text: Charcuterie is cured meat, derived from the French , and and was coined in 15th century France. The owners of shops specializing in charcuterie ("charcutiers") became popular for their detailed preparation of cured meats and helped establish stylized arrangements of food as part of French culinary culture.


title: Charcuterie board

text: However, according to food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson, charcuterie also has its roots in the simple meals that had been eaten by laborers of the working class throughout Europe since the medieval period, often consisting of meats, cheeses, bread, local produce, and wine or beer. Moreover, these meals evolved and found their way to higher society with the cheese course of formal dinners in 18th and 19th century France, Great Britain, and colonial America. The cheese course remained common at these formal dinners before they were rapidly replaced by the dessert course by the end of the 19th century.


title: Charcuterie board

text: Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States, the practice of hosting dinners became increasingly informal as time went on, especially by the 1910s, when formal dinners were largely replaced by cocktail parties where a variety of finger foods served throughout the night was preferred over scheduled meal courses. During World War II, American soldiers were introduced to regional charcuteries and cheeses of France, Italy, Germany, and Greece and helped proliferate an interest in European cuisines when they returned home. However, it wasn't until the 1990s that charcuterie boards had a resurgence in popularity as American grocery stores diversified their offerings and specialty food stores became more common.


title: Charcuterie board

text: While charcuterie boards are common appetizers in restaurants today, they continue to find popularity in private gatherings like house and dinner parties due to their ease of preparation. Even so, with the advent of social media in the 2010s, especially image-based apps like Instagram, charcuterie boards also became incredibly complex and expensive, featuring dozens of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments on display for followers and monetization. Chicago-based IRI reported sales of charcuterie types of packaged lunch meats reached $561 million in 2019, up 8.1% from the previous year.


title: Charcuterie board

text: In Hasidic tradition, charcuterie boards are served at religious gatherings to mark the yahrzeit of a great Tzadik, especially Rav Shayale of Kerestir and more recently, Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritch (the Bas Ayin).


title: Charcuterie board

text: Beyond meats, cheeses, and breads, other components are often included to complement the flavors and textures of these foods. Examples include fresh or dried fruits, olives and olive oil, nuts, vinegars, pickled or fresh vegetables/crudités, fresh herbs, chocolates, edible flowers, and a variety of spreads such as mustards, honey, and fruit preserves. Charcuterie boards may also be accompanied by different varieties of wines.


title: Charcuterie board

text: In addition to the food components, charcuterie boards themselves are typically made of either wood or stone (typically slate or marble) in order to keep foods cool during service. Other equipment present on the board may include cheese knives for guests to serve themselves, spoons and ramekins for portioning and holding spreads, and labels for the various meats and cheeses to help inform guests.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: As of 2018, Detroit had the third highest murder rate among major cities in the United States after St. Louis and Baltimore and the 42nd highest murder rate in the world. The rate of robberies in Detroit declined by 67% between 1985 and 2014 while the rate of aggravated assaults increased. As a whole, however, the city's crime rate has decreased considerably from its 1980s peak in the 20th century.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: In 2017, there were 267 murders in Detroit - down from 303 in 2016. The violent crime rate of 2,057 per 100,000 was the second highest in the nation after St. Louis and roughly ten times the average rate of the suburban counties of metro Detroit which had violent crime rates below the national average of 394 per 100,000. In recent years some neighborhoods in the downtown area of Detroit have seen a significant decline in crime while the crime rate remains very high in most of the city and has a significant impact on daily life.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: The Detroit Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit has reported that crimes have dropped by 24 percent since the introduction of casino gaming to Detroit, Michigan. The number of homicides peaked in 1974 at 714 and again in 1991 with 615. By the end of 2010, the homicide count fell to 308 for the year with an estimated population of just over 700,000, the lowest count and rate since 1967. By 2012, however, the murder count had rebounded to 411, with 386 considered criminal homicides. According to a 2007 analysis, Detroit officials noted that about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were confined to a narcotics catalyst. In 2013, Detroit's number of criminal homicides was 333, a reduction of 14% compared to 2012. However, taken in context by population, Detroit remains a city with one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the United States.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: In April 2008, the city unveiled a $300-million stimulus plan to create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods, financed by city bonds and paid for by earmarking about 15% of the wagering tax. The city's plans for revitalization include 7-Mile/Livernois, Brightmoor, East English Village, Grand River/Greenfield, North-End, and Osborn. Private organizations have pledged substantial funding to neighborhood revitalization efforts. One of the issues that is not as extreme as murders and crime, but shows system-wide decline of basic city services is a large number of stray dogs roaming the streets. Fifty-nine Detroit postal workers were attacked by stray dogs in 2010, according to a Detroit postmaster.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: The city had faced many cases of arson each year on Devil's Night, the evening before Halloween. In the 1980s a number of residents noted that they had turned to arson of abandoned homes to keep drug dealers from using the empty buildings. The majority of citizen arsonists were never prosecuted or charged. The Angel's Night campaign, launched in the late 1990s, draws many volunteers to patrol the streets during Halloween week. The effort reduced arson: while there were 810 fires set in 1984, this was reduced to 142 in 1996. In recent years, fires on this three-night period have dropped even further. In 2009, the Detroit Fire Department reported 119 fires over this period, of which 91 were classified as suspected arsons.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: "Renaissance" has been the city's phrase for development since the 1970s. During the administration of Dennis Archer, who succeeded Coleman Young in 1994, Detroit saw middle-class residents moving into the city, and growth in residential and commercial development, despite overall population decline. The city has improved in the early 21st century, making use of increased funding from the state to demolish condemned buildings.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: According to arrest records, as of 2015 many of the customers of illegal drugs and sex in Detroit originate from the suburbs. George Hunter of "The Detroit News" wrote that "Detroit's underground economy mirrors the legitimate one: Both rely heavily on suburban investment." The largest number of suburbanites committing illegal acts go to areas of Detroit bordering suburbs.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: As of 2015 there is an element in Detroit culture against "snitching" or reporting criminal activity.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: On August 29, 2022, a 19-year-old male was suspected of opening fire on random pedestrians in Detroit, killing three people and wounding a fourth; a dog was also killed. He was arrested later in the day, and formally charged with murder and attempted murder.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: In 2000, the city requested an investigation by the United States Justice Department into the Detroit Police Department which was concluded in 2003, following allegations regarding its use of force and civil rights violations. From 2005 to 2006, the city proceeded with a large scale reorganization of the Detroit Police Department, reducing the number of precincts from twelve to six "districts." The stated purpose of this reorganization was to improve services. The reorganization and the city's search for a new police headquarters raised concerns within the Detroit Police Department which included overcrowding issues and increased response times. Michigan and Detroit economic squeezes sustained re-organizational impetus. Then Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings (now retired) reassigned sworn officers from desks to squad cars, consolidating and reducing the number of precincts.


title: Crime in Detroit

text: In 2007, Detroit had been named the most dangerous city in the country by the Morgan Quitno report published by CQ Press Press, a private group whose report is denounced by the American Society of Criminology as an "irresponsible misuse" of crime data. The U.S Conference of Mayors and the FBI have cautioned against using the Morgan Quitno – CQ Press report ranking cities as 'safest' or 'most dangerous'.


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series "". Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS "Voyager", and later promoted to Captain in command of the "USS Protostar" in "". The character was suggested at an early stage of the development of the series. He is the first Native American main character in the "Star Trek" franchise. This was a deliberate move by the producers of the series, who sought to provide an inspiration as with Uhura in "" for African Americans. To develop the character, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater who falsely claimed to be Native American. Despite first being named as a Sioux, and later a Hopi, Chakotay was given no tribal affiliation at the start of the series, something that was later resolved in the episode "".


title: Chakotay

text: The character first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, "". The character continued to appear throughout the series in a main cast role, with his final appearance in the finale, "". He was featured in an ongoing storyline throughout the and seasons which featured the betrayal of his lover Seska (Martha Hackett) until her death in "". Following his experience with disconnected Borg in "", Chakotay was against an alliance with the Borg in "", nearly leading to the death of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Despite this, by the end of the series, the two characters were in a romantic relationship. In the set after the vessel's return to the Alpha Quadrant, Chakotay is promoted to Captain of the ship but the relationship with Seven is ended.


title: Chakotay

text: Reviewers of Chakotay were critical of the stereotypical nature of Chakotay's Native American heritage. This led to comparisons with Tonto from "The Lone Ranger", and that the inclusion of "Hollywood" versions of vision quests and meditation techniques were contrary to the character's in-universe tribal background. However, he was praised as a role model for Native American science fiction and called "ground-breaking", as well as the most prominent example of a Native American character within this genre.


title: Chakotay

text: The inclusion of a Native American character in "Star Trek: Voyager" was suggested at an early stage in the development of the series. The producers were looking for an ethnic background which had not been seen before as a main character in the franchise. It was hoped that a Native American character would prove to be an inspiration in the same way that the appearance of Uhura in "" later inspired Whoopi Goldberg and other African Americans. Executive producer Jeri Taylor said, "It seemed to us that Native Americans needed that same kind of role model and that same kind of boost ... the future looks good, you have purpose, you have worth, you have value, you will be leaders, you will be powerful. That was one character choice we had early on." Taylor's notes from the early production in July 1993 describe the character as "First Officer – a human native American male, a 'Queequeg' person who has renounced Earth and lives as an expatriate on another planet. A mystical, mysterious man with whom the Captain has some prior connection, not explained." A month later, this description was expanded with the line, "This man has made another choice – to re-enter the world of Starfleet." Chakotay was not the first Native American character to appear in the franchise, with "The Paradise Syndrome" in the of "Star Trek: The Original Series" showing a group of displaced humans following a Native American–like culture.


title: Chakotay

text: The producers aimed to develop some conflict between the members of the crew to produce a scenario similar to the Bajoran / Starfleet relationship seen in "", but wanted the characters to share the same ideals. To do this, the Maquis were created – a group of Federation colonists from the Cardassian border in a disputed territory who were joined by some Starfleet officers who joined them to fight for their rights. The producers had the Maquis introduced in other "Star Trek" series before "Voyager" in four episodes; two in "" and two in "Deep Space Nine". It was a deliberate reference to the political situation in the West Bank.


title: Chakotay

text: In developing Chakotay, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater, a writer of more than 25 books of both fiction and nonfiction related to Native American myths and traditions. Highwater was a controversial choice of advisor, having been exposed by Hank Adams and Vine Deloria, Jr. as taking a fake Native American ancestry to sell books. Around September 21, 1993, Highwater gave seven pages of notes to producers regarding Chakotay's backstory, but his tribal ancestry was unresolved. By the end of that month, Michael Piller drafted the first version of the writer's bible for the series in which the character was named "Chakotoy". By the time Piller wrote the first draft of the story that eventually became the "Voyager" pilot "", the character was known as "Chakotay" and been made a Sioux. By the third draft of the story, submitted at the start of November, he had become a Hopi, but by the following February, he once again had no tribal affiliation.


title: Chakotay

text: Winrich Kolbe, the director of "Caretaker", was involved in casting the main cast for the series. He described the casting process for the part of Chakotay as difficult due to the lower numbers of Native Americans who were in the Screen Actors Guild. The casting process came down to two actors, and the producers decided on Robert Beltran, who until then was best known for appearing in the soap opera "Models Inc." and was of Mexican heritage. Beltran was not familiar with "Star Trek" before auditioning, and went along on the strength of the "Caretaker" script which showed the character becoming the second in command of "Voyager" after both their vessels are stranded in the Delta quadrant. Beltran explained the audition experience, "I felt neutral about the audition, didn't much care one way or the other. I went in the first time and wasn't really trying to get the part. They asked to see me again, and they wanted to see more of an edge to the character."


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay was originally written as a "calm, stoic" character, but Beltran expanded on the character during the audition process, something that Kolbe credited him for. The writer's bible described Chakotay as a very traditional Native American with an altar and traditional art in his quarters. It also mentioned his spirit guide, something which was picked up in the media report in "TV Guide". Beltran wore a facial tattoo while playing Chakotay, which was applied with make-up. The design was created by Michael Westmore, who deliberately created it so it did not represent any particular tribal culture. The in-universe story of the tattoo and Chakotay's tribal origins were explained in the episode "".


title: Chakotay

text: Beltran gained the reputation on-set as a comedian. Following the and during a group interview with "The Washington Times", Beltran joked that he was asked to perform in "Hamlet" during the summer in Albuquerque, but had been asked to wear Chakotay's facial tattoo. During that time he worked on the Oliver Stone film "Nixon" (1995). During the period when "Voyager" was run by Taylor and Piller as the executive producers, Beltran gave feedback on the character which was taken into account. He later explained that this ended following the introduction of Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine onto the cast and Brannon Braga taking over from Taylor and Piller. Beltran felt that Chakotay was one of the characters alongside Harry Kim, Tuvok, and Neelix who were left behind by the new writers, who tended to concentrate on Janeway, Seven, and .


title: Chakotay

text: Beltran said that he was not aware of the effects this was having on the rest of the cast, saying, "For me it was like, 'OK, you can fire me if you want to. Go ahead, and I'll leave.'" He compared his experience on "Voyager" to working in a car factory, and said that the repetitive scenes meant that it limited his creativity. Beltran explained that it did not affect his relationship with the other actors, and in the end, he felt the producers decided to keep him on the cast as it did not make "very much difference, except to a very, very small percentage of fans who maybe didn't like what I said."


title: Chakotay

text: In an interview to publicize the final episode of "Voyager", "Endgame", Beltran said, "We all had a great relationship with each other and we've all said how much we enjoy our crew. We have a terrific crew. But at the same time, I'm looking forward to what's next. It's exciting to know that something unknown is next." The final episode introduced a romance between Seven of Nine and Chakotay. Ryan found this confusing for the characters, as although it had been suggested in the episode "", the producers told the pair to forget about the relationship in the in-between episodes until the finale.


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay's backstory was explained during the course of "Star Trek: Voyager". He was born in 2329 on a Federation colony near Cardassian space in the demilitarized zone. While young, he was looked after by his grandfather. At the age of 15, Chakotay visited Earth with his father, who sought to find his tribe's ancestral home in Central America and the descendants of the Rubber Tree People. He was resistant to this, and instead dreamed of going into space and had heroes such as John Kelly, a pioneering astronaut in the early 21st century. He chose to enter Starfleet Academy against his father's wishes, and his entry was sponsored by Captain Sulu. He attended Starfleet Academy from 2344 to 2348, where he engaged in the sport of boxing. After graduating, he was assigned to a starship. One of his earliest away missions resulted in a diplomatic incident on Ktaria VII, and he was also on the team that made first contact with the Tarkannans.


title: Chakotay

text: He was assigned as an instructor in Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training and achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. Following the death of his father in 2368 while defending his colony from the Cardassians, Chakotay resigned his Starfleet commission and joined the Maquis. At the time of his resignation, one of his students was Ro Laren. After he joined the Maquis, he became captain of a vessel named the "Val Jean", with a crew which among others included his lover Seska (Martha Hackett), B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and Tuvok (Tim Russ), who was actually Captain Janeway's Chief of Security, on an undercover mission to infiltrate the Maquis.


title: Chakotay

text: In the pilot episode of "Voyager", while the crew on the "Val Jean" seek to evade a Cardassian vessel captained by Gul Evek (Richard Poe) in the Badlands, the vessel is transported some 70,000 light years across the galaxy into the Delta Quadrant by the creature known as the Caretaker. After the Federation starship USS "Voyager" is also trapped in the Delta Quadrant and Tuvok was revealed to be a Starfleet agent, Chakotay agrees with Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to work together to find two of their missing crew. Following an attack by the Kazon, Chakotay destroyed the "Val Jean" to save "Voyager" and the Maquis crew joined the Federation ship. Chakotay was given a provisional rank of commander and named executive officer, the second-in-command of the vessel and the crew seeks to return home to the Alpha Quadrant.


title: Chakotay

text: The Kazon continue to be a hindrance during "Voyager" initial period in the Delta Quadrant, with Chakotay dismayed in "State of Flux" when Seska is revealed as a Cardassian spy who has been providing technology to the Kazon to seek an alliance. She escapes "Voyager" and sides with the Kazon-Nistrim, one of the factions within that species. Chakotay is rendered brain dead, but is made into a disembodied spirit able to possess other crewmembers in "". The incident occurs while Tuvok and he were investigating a dark matter nebula, and he sought to prevent the ship from returning there, as an alien species wants to feed on the crew's neural energy. After "Voyager" enters the nebula, Chakotay possesses Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and guides the ship out using a medicine wheel as a map. Shortly afterwards, The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is able to restore Chakotay's mind into his body. At the end of the first season, Chakotay supported Tuvok's aim of helping the former Maquis crew adapt better to life on "Voyager" in "", by showing them the enforcement techniques of the Maquis.


title: Chakotay

text: In the episode "Tattoo", Chakotay meets with an alien race who influenced the ancestors of his tribe. They perceived "Voyager" as a threat because they had thought his people had been wiped out. He was able to resolve the problem using the teachings of his father. The Kazon returned and attacked "Voyager" in "", where they stole a transporter control module. Chakotay took it upon himself to retrieve the device, recognising that Seska was behind it. He managed to destroy it, but was captured and tortured by the Kazon in the process. He was rescued by "Voyager", and shortly afterwards, he was contacted by Seska, who informed him that she had impregnated herself with his DNA. In "", Chakotay and Janeway are infected with a virus which requires them to quarantine themselves on a nearby planet. The two began to show signs of affection for each other, but their stay is short-lived after "Voyager" under the captaincy of Tuvok agrees a deal with the Vidiians for a cure. The pair agree to return to the status quo on "Voyager", but remain good friends.


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay was contacted by Seska in "" to say that his son had been born, and the Kazon were threatening to condemn her to the life of a slave. "Voyager" attempted to extract Seska and the child, but it was a trap and resulted in the Kazon boarding the vessel and stranding the Federation/Maquis crew on a nearby planet. While Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil), The Doctor, and Lon Suder (Brad Dourif), along with allied Talaxian forces, sought to retake "Voyager", Chakotay was instrumental in the crew's survival on the planet. He saved Kes (Jennifer Lien) from a local tribe, and built an alliance with them. The crew retook "Voyager", and in the process Seska was killed. The child was discovered not to be Chakotay's, but instead a Cardassian/Kazon hybrid and the son of the Kazon-Nistrim leader First Maje Culluh (Anthony De Longis).


title: Chakotay

text: The first indication that "Voyager" was approaching Borg space was shown in the episode "". While investigating a Federation distress call in a shuttlecraft, Chakotay was injured by the natives of a planet. Another group saves him, and Chakotay discovers that the colonists are former Borg whose access to the main hive-mind was disrupted. He is linked to a local hive-mind to help him to heal, and after being returned to "Voyager", he is forced against his will to reactivate the colonists' former Borg Cube. Chakotay is released from the new "cooperative" after the Cube self-destructs, leaving the planet with a hive-mind separate from the main collective. Chakotay is captured by the Voth scientist Gegen (Henry Woronicz) in "Distant Origin", who is seeking to prove his hypothesis that the Voth came from Earth. When Gegen is placed on trial by his people, Chakotay seeks to argue in his defense. Ultimately, Gegen is forced to back down to save "Voyager" after the Voth threaten to destroy the vessel. Before they depart, Chakotay gives a model globe of the Earth to Gegen as a present.


title: Chakotay

text: His experience with the disconnected Borg resulted in Chakotay being against a plan to ally with the Borg against Species 8472 in "", causing conflict between Captain Janeway and him. The alliance results in Seven of Nine and a number of other Borg drones being placed on "Voyager" and Janeway injured. Although he was ordered to continue with the alliance, Chakotay seeks to renegotiate the alliance, but Seven refuses any changes. When she opens a rift to Fluidic Space, Chakotay decompresses the cargo bay, sending all the Borg drones out into space with the exception of Seven. Later, when the Borg attempt to double-cross "Voyager", Chakotay activates his localised neural link, confusing Seven and allowing Torres to disable her link to the Collective permanently.


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay played an important role when "Voyager" was attacked in their dreams by a species that existed in a shared dream state, using meditative techniques of his people to induce a state of lucid dreaming that allowed him to wake himself up and plant a mental "command" that he would see Earth's moon in any dream. With the rest of the crew asleep with the exception of the Doctor, Chakotay was able to track down the aliens' home planet, ordering the Doctor to destroy the canyon where the dream species slept if they would not release the rest of the crew. During the "Year of Hell", Chakotay is captured by the Krenim scientist Annorax (Kurtwood Smith) on a Time Ship. The two first attempt to work together as Annorax agrees to restore the now damaged "Voyager" if Chakotay complies with his demands. After Annorax wipes out a species, though, he helps to disable the ship, allowing Captain Janeway to destroy it by ramming "Voyager" into it. This results in the timeline being reset, and the events of the episode were undone. In "", he falls in love with Kellin (Virginia Madsen), a member of a xenophobic race who have developed a technology to prevent others from forming long-term memories of them. As such, he is informed that they were previously in love when she was on "Voyager" a month earlier, and rekindle their relationship despite Chakotay not remembering the earlier encounter. Another member of her race removes Kellin's memories of Chakotay and installs a virus to remove all records of their race. Chakotay takes to writing out his memories of Kellin on paper so that he will not forget them.


title: Chakotay

text: He was placed in command of "Voyager" after Seven was captured by the Borg in "Dark Frontier" and destroyed a transwarp conduit. Chakotay is later one of the members of the crew who were captured by Borg children in "" and was saved after Seven's intervention. Initially, Chakotay and Seven did not get along, but he would come to realise that he was mistaken in that opinion. Towards the end of the in "Human Error", Seven simulates a relationship with Chakotay on the holodeck. A Borg implant was preventing her from feeling strong emotions without any physical ill effects, which prevented her from seeking a romantic relationship with the real Chakotay. By the time of the series finale, "Endgame", The Doctor had managed to remove the implant, allowing Seven to pursue a relationship with Chakotay. The alternative future seen at the start of the episode showed that Seven and Chakotay were eventually married, but she died while "Voyager" was still travelling home. Chakotay died in 2394, following "Voyager" return, and Admiral Janeway visits his grave marker in that episode. This future was undone by the future Janeway travelling back in time to "Voyager" to return it to Earth sooner.


title: Chakotay

text: In the noncanonical , written by Christie Golden, Chakotay is promoted after the ship returns to Federation space, and becomes Captain of "Voyager". He and Seven of Nine break off their relationship. In "Old Wounds", the first of the "Spirit Walk" two-book series, the crew goes on their maiden cruise under Captain Chakotay and is joined by his sister, Sekaya, who has become a spiritual leader in their tribe. In the second book, "Enemy of my Enemy", Chakotay is replaced by a Founder who was previously pretending to be his first officer. Meanwhile, the real Chakotay and his sister are being held by a deranged Cardassian doctor, forcing Chakotay to undergo a spirit walk to save them both.


title: Chakotay

text: Janeway and Chakotay became romantically involved after their return from the Delta Quadrant, and following her death after her assimilation by the Borg in the "" novel "Before Dishonor", Chakotay resigns his commission and Afsarah Eden becomes the new Captain of "Voyager". However, in the very next novel by Kirsten Beyer, "Unworthy", Eden is promoted to fleet commander and Chakotay is restored as captain of "Voyager". After Janeway is brought back to life by Q's son and Kes, she and Chakotay resume their romantic relationship. The final novel ends with Janeway and Chakotay getting married before the fleet begins a new journey outside their galaxy using new drive technology obtained from a newly-discovered alien race.


title: Chakotay

text: Sometime prior to 2383, Chakotay was named Captain of the USS "Protostar" and was in command when the ship was taken by unknown parties. It is, as yet, unknown if Chakotay or the rest of the "Protostar" crew survived this encounter.


title: Chakotay

text: Some criticism was directed at Chakotay's character development during the series. James Lileks for the "Star Tribune" said that "Chakotay, the rock-solid First Officer, remained rock-solid", but also suggested that "[a]ll of the characters ended the series as they began."


title: Chakotay

text: Critics commented on the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay, with psychologist Richard Borofsky's views published in "The Boston Herald". He suggested that by several seasons into "Voyager", Chakotay had come to terms with his feelings for his Captain, but she was hesitant about entering into a relationship with a member of her crew. For the relationship to work in the future, it was said that Chakotay should not try to lead the relationship and Janeway needed to be more vulnerable. Following the end of "", the romance between Chakotay and Janeway was described in the "Chicago Tribune" as the one most wanted to be seen on screen in any of the "Star Trek" series, but that "it never panned out. Dang!" Chakotay's relationship with Seven was also commented on, and both UGO and io9 complained that the relationship appeared at random.


title: Chakotay

text: In 2016 Chakotay was ranked as the 11th most important character out of 100 of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by "Wired" magazine. In 2018, CBR ranked Chakotay the 20th best Starfleet character of "Star Trek". In July 2019, Screen Rant ranked "" as one of the top five worst of the series, singling out Chakotay as a major problem in the show noting how he did not really fit in, and had poor development.


title: Chakotay

text: For his portrayal as Chakotay, Beltran won the Nosotros Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series in 1997. He was nominated in 1996 for the NCLR Bravo Award for Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role, and the ALMA Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role in 1998 and 1999.


title: Chakotay

text: Chakotay's inclusion in the main cast of "Voyager" was seen by critics as one of several who were used to highlight the diversity within the series. This was highlighted during the episode "", in which one scene showed Janeway, Tuvok, Harry Kim, and Chakotay in a single camera pan. Beltran's individual position was that he was "continually positioned as an exotic native other in relation to the white female Captain Janeway", and was used to "help the white protagonist and progress the internal narrative."


title: Chakotay

text: The placement of a character of indigenous peoples descent in science fiction was highlighted in the media. Drew Hayden Taylor said that Chakotay was "perhaps the most well-known". Of Chakotay's origin, he said, "They never actually say what nation he is, but I do believe it's some Central American tribe." Hayden Taylor wrote in a later article in 2012 describing the rise of Native American characters in the "Twilight" film series that Chakotay was still the sole popular example of a Native American character in science fiction. Chakotay was also described as "the only First Nations role model around in a futuristic setting" in the 2005 book, ""Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out", but was also referred to as the "quintessential Tonto in outer space". A similar criticism was highlighted of the character in "Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War" (2008), which called Chakotay "a creature of white fantasies" and suggested that he was "far more stereotypical than Tonto" as "at least Tonto was heroic and saved the Lone Ranger once in a while".


title: Chakotay

text: Although religion was referenced during the Star Trek franchise, such as in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?", it did not take a more prominent role until later in the series, with "" exploring the Bajorans' beliefs and "Voyager" concentrating on those of Chakotay. These included vision quests, and other interpretations of Native American culture which were described by critics as showing a "very Hollywood version of Plains-culture religion".


title: Chakotay

text: The appearance of a medicine wheel in the episode "Cathexis" was described by Sierra S. Adare as showing Chakotay as a "'good Indian' in the classic Pocahontas sense". Chakotay is seen attempting to introduce rituals and meditation techniques to other crew members, something they failed to understand. These were said to be contrary to the tribal history described in "Tattoo", which was said to say that Chakotay's tribe descended from a pre-Mayan culture in Central America. Adare attributed this to Euro-American/European writers writing inaccurate information into scripts. However, the appearance of the character was described as "groundbreaking".


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: Ewoks, also known as Star Wars: Ewoks, is animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in "" (1983) and further discovered in "" (1984) and its sequel "" (1985). The series was produced by Canada-based Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC, originally with its sister series "" (as part of "The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour"), and then by itself, as "The All-New Ewoks".


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: The series centers on the adventures of Wicket W. Warrick and his friends on the forest moon of Endor before the events of the original "Star Wars" film and "Caravan of Courage". Unlike the Ewok films, the characters speak English instead of their native language (though Ewokese phrases and songs are occasionally used). The primary recurring villains are Morag the Tulgah Witch, who had a personal grudge against the tribe's shaman, Master Logray, and the Duloks, a rival species that is related to the Ewoks.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: The penultimate episode, "Battle for the Sunstar", which was reaired as the series finale, shows the Ewok heroes leaving the forest moon's surface when they go aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer that has traveled to their system. An Imperial scientist attempts to destroy the Emperor, whose shuttle makes an appearance. The episode has been noted as forming a link with "Return of the Jedi", which features the Empire using Endor as its base of operations for the second Death Star.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: The series is a follow-up (later stated to be a prequel) to the two "Ewok" films: "" (1984) and "" (1985), which were themselves spin-offs (and prequels) of "Return of the Jedi". The first season of the series was somewhat sophisticated, but in the second, the writing and visual style were both simplified.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: With this season, advertised as "The All-New Ewoks", episodes are now shorted the 11-minute format meaning two segments per half-hour (with the exceptions of "The Raich", "Night of the Stranger", "The Season Scepter" and "Battle for the Sunstar"). This season introduced a new theme song, "Friends Together, Friends Forever", written and performed by Patrick Gleeson.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: "Ewoks" was broadcast on ABC, originally with its sister series "" (as part of "The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour"), and then by itself, as "The All-New Ewoks". The series ran for two seasons of 13 half-hour episodes between 1985 and 1986 and was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: Almost all of the episodes (except for "The Three Lessons" and "Prow Beaten / Baga's Rival") were released on VHS in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably the UK PAL releases over six cassettes ("Ewoks" 1–6), which had the opening sequences and credits edited out. On April 2, 2021, the entire series was released on Disney+.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: During the making of the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, its producer, Rick McCallum, oversaw two direct-to-video compilation films, each compiled from four episodes of the series. The first, "The Haunted Village", was released on VHS in 1997. The second, "Tales from the Endor Woods", was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2004 on a DVD titled "Star Wars: Animated Adventures – Ewoks" (which also features "The Haunted Village"). The newer film includes narration from "Adult Wicket" (voiced by Alex Lindsay).


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: According to David Perlmutter, "Ewoks" was "unremarkable both technically and creatively." "Screen Rant" says the series was made at a time when "television executives had no idea what constituted good children's animated television", comparing it to series like "The Smurfs", "Snorks", or "Care Bears". SyFy Wire calls the series "more a marketing ploy for Lucasfilm than a worthwhile extension of the franchise ... designed to sell toys, cereals, and action figures", though mentions that it "featured a few surprisingly entertaining installments that appealed to both parents and kids, particularly the penultimate episode, 'Battle for the Sunstar.'"


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: Some controversy has resulted from the Ewoks' apparent mastery of English while appearing not to speak the language in the "Ewok" films or "Return of the Jedi" (which are set some years later).


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: Elements from the series are featured in "Star Wars" reference media, such as "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe" and the "Star Wars Encyclopedia". A Dulok was shown on Coruscant in Chapter 21 of the 2D animated "" (2003). "Ewoks" was excluded from canon status in 2014, but some elements appear in the canon "Ultimate Star Wars" (2015) and later reference books, as well as the canon web series "Star Wars Forces of Destiny" (2018).


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: The series' opening titles are briefly featured in an episode of "Stranger Things" fourth season (2022).


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: In 1985, Kenner Products produced a series of action figures based on the series. A second wave of figures were prototyped but ultimately cancelled due to poor sales of the initial wave. Several previously released Ewok themed vehicles, play sets, and accessories were advertised on the card backs of the figures but were curiously never offered in Ewoks Cartoon branded packaging.


title: Ewoks (TV series)

text: In 1985, Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel, published a bi-monthly "Ewoks" comic based on the animated series. It ran for two years, with a total of 14 issues. Like the TV series, it was aimed towards a younger audience and produced parallel to a comic spun off from "Droids". Issue #10 of "Ewoks" continued the "Lost in Time" crossover story from "Droids" #4. Additionally, Spanish comics publisher Editorial Gepsa produced two-page "Ewoks" comics as part of an anthology series.


title: Duane Henry

text: Duane Henry (born 18 March 1985) is an English actor. Henry is most notable for his work on "NCIS", "Doctors", and "W.E." He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.


title: Duane Henry

text: Duane Henry was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. He grew up in a working class home in Handsworth. As a child, Henry attended St. Francis Catholic Primary School in Birmingham, and St. John Wall School in Handsworth, eventually studying drama at Dudley College. When he was 17, Henry moved to London to explore a career in the entertainment industry.


title: Duane Henry

text: Henry first began acting in 2004, a year after moving to London on November 27, 2003. His first acting role was alongside Samantha Janus on "The Afternoon Play", a British television anthology series. From 2004 to 2011, Henry made a variety of guest appearances on popular British television dramas, including "Doctor Who", "The Bill", and "The Cut", earning him a nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Screen National Award for Best Emerging Talent in 2010.


title: Duane Henry

text: From 2005 to 2013, Henry played five roles on the British medical soap opera "Doctors", originally set in Birmingham. He played Gareth Broadhurst, a former soldier with PTSD in a three-part special of the show released in 2013 entitled "Doctors: War Zone". Henry attributes his success on Doctors to the fact that he is a native of Birmingham and is therefore automatically considered for roles on the show. Then, in 2011, Henry played a security guard in Madonna’s historical romance drama "W.E."


title: Duane Henry

text: Henry moved from London to Los Angeles in November 2013. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Henry spent a year perfecting his American accent in order to expand his range as an actor. He auditioned for many roles, including a role on Jennifer Lopez's "Shades of Blue", where Barry Levinson of "Rain Man" was also present.


title: Duane Henry

text: Henry first joined the "NCIS" cast as MI6 agent Clayton Reeves in May 2016 for the 23rd and 24th episodes of the show’s 13th season. Henry was given an option to return for the following season. In July 2016, it was confirmed that Henry’s character would be featured as a regular on the show beginning in the 14th season, which aired on September 20, 2016. According to Henry, the character of Clayton Reeves did not originally have roots in Birmingham, but he incorporated his upbringing into his character’s backstory. Henry left "NCIS" in the 22nd episode of the 15th season titled "Two Steps Back" in which Reeves is killed off. Henry explained that neither he nor the producers were sure of what direction to take the character of Reeves after the death of his creator and "NCIS" showrunner Gary Glasberg on September 28, 2016, so the decision was made to write the character out of the show at the end of season 15.


title: Duane Henry

text: Henry was homeless for a period in his lifetime, and has connected his difficult upbringing in Birmingham to his success as an actor. His mother was a 16 year-old single parent. He eventually moved in with his aunt and held various jobs including selling shoes on Oxford Street, and in a theatre in Leicester Square, where he "was sacked for daydreaming and practising his autograph." Henry did not know his father. He stated that growing up they were hit with reality, and where he grew up showed him where he does and does not want to be in life; it made him work much harder to achieve his goals.


title: Duane Henry

text: Henry has stated that if he were not an actor, he would still be involved in the arts, perhaps teaching drama to younger generations, or as a talent scout. When asked about his inspiration as an actor, Henry replied that he reviews the struggles of people in his social circles “from A-Z” and then sees them still on their feet and smiling and draws inspiration from them to “keep on going”.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award 58 different types of bachelor's, 25 different master's, six doctoral degrees, and twelve graduate certificates. All of the university's undergraduate engineering degrees are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The university's academics are divided into six main colleges: U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Lutgert College of Business, Marieb College of Health & Human Services, College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and Honors College. The prominent schools and departments within the colleges include; Bower School of Music & the Arts, The Emergent Technologies Institute (ETI), School of Nursing, School of Resort & Hospitality Management, and School of Entrepreneurship.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU's intercollegiate athletic teams, the Eagles, compete in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I sports.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 1991, Charles B. Edwards, chair of the Board of Regents, lobbied the Florida Legislature to pass legislation recommending that Florida's 10th state university be built in the Florida Southwest Region. Florida governor Lawton Chiles signed the bill authorizing the school in May 1991.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The Board of Regents selected a site in the south Fort Myers area donated by Ben Hill Griffin III, on which to build the university. On April 26, 1993, Roy E. McTarnaghan, who served as the executive vice chancellor for the State University System of Florida, was appointed president of the yet-unnamed “New University of Southwest Florida.” Founding president McTarnaghan and a small number of employees set up temporary base in downtown Fort Myers in a space provided by the Lee County Commission. The school was officially established by then-governor Lawton Chiles in 1991, although FGCU commemorates August 25, 1997, the first time classes were held on campus.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Academic Building 5 at Florida Gulf Coast University was later renamed "Charles B. Edwards Hall", in honor of Edwards.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In July 1999, William C. Merwin became FGCU's second president. Merwin sought to create a traditional four-year university. Being an active fundraiser, Merwin raised more than $250 million for the university in a short eight-year period, rapidly expanding the school. New buildings included Lutgert College of Business, Holmes Hall (U.A. Whitaker School of Engineering), Whitaker Hall, Cohen Center (the student union), Alico Arena and an expansion of on-campus housing. Student enrollment at FGCU increased from approximately 2,000 in its first year, to almost 15,000 . In 2007, Dr. Wilson G. Bradshaw became the university's third president. Bradshaw announced that he would step down after the 2016–17 academic year, and the Board of Trustees selected Michael V. Martin to replace Bradshaw in 2017.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Responding to a challenge for state universities to improve their four-year graduation rate, FGCU in 2016 introduced a program called Soar in 4, which reimburses out-of-pocket tuition expenses for the freshman year of students who graduate within four years and meet certain other criteria.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Mike Martin, former chancellor of Louisiana State University and the Colorado State University System, succeeded Bradshaw as Florida Gulf Coast University president on July 1, 2017. The transition from Bradshaw to Martin came during the university's celebration of its 20th anniversary.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2017, the College of Health Professions & Social Work was renamed the Marieb College of Health & Human Services after a $10 million gift from donor Elaine Nicpon Marieb, for whom Marieb Hall was named after her original $5 million pledge.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU's campus is located in unincorporated Southwest Florida in Lee County, from Naples and south of Fort Myers. It is within San Carlos Park's fire district and uses a Fort Myers postal code. The center of the campus, known as the Academic Core, contains the buildings housing most of the school's classrooms and labs. There are three separate housing areas on the periphery of the campus: North Lake, South Village, and West Lake Village. North Lake Village overlooks Miromar Lake, with recreational activities including boating and water skiing, with a new boardwalk and dining facility opening along its waterfront in 2017.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The Lutgert College of Business building opened in 2008, Holmes Hall (which houses the U.A. Whitaker School of Engineering) opened in 2009, and in 2008, the Herbert J. Sugden Hall (home to the School of Resort & Hospitality Management) opened. Academic Building 7 for the College of Arts and Sciences was completed in 2010 and named Seidler Hall in 2016 after donors Lee and Gene Seidler. In 2012, Academic Building 8 was completed. Now Marieb Hall, it was dedicated to Elaine Nicpon Marieb in 2012. The $24 million, building was designed for the College of Health Professions, which in 2017 was renamed the Marieb College of Health & Human Services after Marieb's second transformative gift, an additional $10 million pledge.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Other construction projects include expansion of the Cohen Center (the student union building also affectionately known as "Harv's Place" in honor of donor Harvey Cohen), an addition to the fine arts building, a 2017 expansion of Alico Arena, an addition of one of the largest solar panel fields at a university, and the construction of academic building 9. FGCU also opened a new facility a few miles northeast of campus in 2016, the Emergent Technologies Institute.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU has created the Everglades Wetland Research Park (EWRP), housed in the Kapnick Education and Research Center on the campus of the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida, approximately 35 miles south of the main FGCU campus. The EWRP provides teaching, research, and service related to wetland, river, coastal science and ecological engineering.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2019, FGCU began construction for The Water School, a facility to house research labs and classrooms focused on environmental implications of water quality in Southwest Florida. Upon its completion, The Water School will be FGCU's largest academic building. The facility is projected to open in the fall of 2021.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: There are three other satellite campus locations: Naples, the Atrium in Fort Myers and Herald Court Centre in Punta Gorda, where continuing education and lifelong learning classes are held. The FGCU Board of Trustees voted in January 2010 to assume ownership of in Buckingham. Located between East Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres, the land already contains over 60 buildings and housing for 300 people. Originally, the property operated as Gulf Coast Center, a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities. After the state phased out such large-scale institutions, the FGCU Board of Trustees accepted the land donation. It is used for off-campus team-building exercises and storage, among other things.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2007, the university purchased the former Bonita Beach Plantation Resort in Bonita Springs for use as a marine research laboratory. The Norm and Nancy Vester Marine and Environmental Science Research Field Station site has 10 boat slips and is located on Estero Bay. The site includes laboratories, offices, apartments for visiting researchers and a classroom.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Since its founding, on the main campus have been set aside for environmental preservation. FGCU also has constructed a number of lakes on the campus that are home to large numbers of wildlife; the lakes also help promote the ecology of the area. Environmental sustainability is the principal goal expressed in the university charter. Seidler Hall, the new facility housing science laboratories and classrooms for the College of Arts and Sciences, achieved platinum certification, the highest level awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The university's solar field supplies about 85 percent of the energy needed to operate Holmes, Lutgert and Seidler halls, reducing FGCU's reliance on Florida Power & Light Co. by 18 percent. An ice thermal storage plant sends chilled water through an underground loop that cools campus buildings, saving more than $1.64 million over five years. The newest residence halls — Everglades, Biscayne, Palmetto, Osprey and Eagle — heat their water via rooftop solar panels.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The Library Complex is located on FGCU's main campus in Fort Myers. In the 2016–2017 school year, the main facility accommodated 1 million visitors for the first time. The library has more than 1.5 million items in its collection, which can be accessed by students or any patron with a library card. The library also subscribes to more than 400 databases to allow students and patrons access to more than 700 million full-text articles. The east wing of the library includes a 115-seat computer lab.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2014, the Collection Analysis Project (CAP) began so that the FGCU library could determine what parts of the collection were being utilized by students and what could be removed in order to make way for various new projects within the library. In addition to its various print and electronic collections, the library also houses various art pieces, including seven signed lithographs by Salvador Dalí. The Archives and Special Collections unit of the library has held various exhibitions since the fall of 2013. The list of past exhibits may be found on the library's website. Other resources located within the library complex are:


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2019, the Library Complex was formally named after FGCU's third president, Dr. Wilson G. Bradshaw.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Florida Gulf Coast University academics are divided into five colleges. In 2017–18, new freshmen averaged an ACT composite score of 23.3, a combined math and reading average SAT score of 1143, and a high school grade point average of 3.9.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The Lutgert College of Business is an AACSB-accredited institution, offering undergraduate degrees in accounting, computer information systems, economics, finance, management, and marketing; and the Small Business Development Center, which offers counseling and other services to regional businesses. The college offers the following graduate degrees: accounting and taxation, computer information systems, and business administration (both traditional and executive). FGCU also added a real estate undergraduate degree, which began in the fall of 2012.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU's School of Entrepreneurship is a nationally ranked and SACSCOC-accredited institution that offers an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary entrepreneurship studies (B.A.), entrepreneurship minor, and entrepreneurship graduate certificate. The School of Entrepreneurship houses the FGCU Institute for Entrepreneurship, which operates all extracurricular programs and activities such as the FGCU Runway Program Student and Alumni Business Incubator, Freshman Entrepreneurship Living-Learning Community, and FGCU Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The Resort and Hospitality Management Department offers several majors, with students getting the opportunity to gain supervised field work experience at one of many resorts and spas in the area. Professional golf management is a unique program with limited access (it's the only remaining Professional Golfers Association–certified program in Florida and one of just 19 in the country), much like the nursing, music and athletic training programs.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU also has a unique requirement prior to graduation — University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future. The aim of this colloquium is to educate graduates on the importance of ecology, preservation and sustainability. FGCU also makes service learning a graduation requirement, and students have contributed more than 2.2 million volunteer hours in the community since the university opened in 1997.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU's College of Engineering also offers civil, environmental, bioengineering and software engineering, the last of which began to phase out the overlapping computer science degree in 2011. Holmes Hall was built to facilitate the engineering programs, along with the Emergent Technologies Institute. FGCU's bachelor's programs in bioengineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, and software engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. A Master of Science in engineering (MSE) program began in fall 2017.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2017, FGCU elevated its honors program to an Honors College, opening in August with almost 900 students.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2015–2016, nearly $10 million in funds were granted for research. Research institutes include the Biotechnology Research Group; the Lucas Center for Real Estate; Coastal Watershed Institute; Center for Environmental & Sustainability Education; FGCU Center for Leadership and Innovation; Florida Institute of Government;' Center for Positive Aging; Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics & Technology Education; Institute for Youth and Justice Studies, and the Regional Economic Research Institute. Since FGCU first opened, the total funds awarded for research has amounted to $204.8 million .


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: For its 2021 rankings of "U.S. News & World Report" ranked Florida Gulf Coast #68 overall in Regional Universities South. In the south category, FGCU was also named the #16 Most Innovative School and #66 in Top Performers in Social Mobility.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2020, The Princeton Review ranked FGCU as the 30th best undergraduate entrepreneurship program overall and 1st in Florida.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: "U.S. News ranked" FGCU as tied for 78th among all regional universities in the southern United States in 2019, and tied for 29th among public ones.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU's athletics teams are known as the Eagles. FGCU completed the four-year transition to NCAA Division I for all athletics programs in 2011. The Eagles currently compete in the Division I Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), which they joined in 2007.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: FGCU is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and a member of the ASUN Conference, as well as the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association. FGCU plays its men's and women's basketball games at Alico Arena and its baseball games at Swanson Stadium, with other on-campus facilities including softball and soccer fields, tennis courts and an aquatics complex for intercollegiate competition.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The FGCU baseball team has sent several players to professional leagues, including Major League Baseball pitchers Richard Bleier who was selected unanimously as the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year and First Team All Sun Conference, and all-star Chris Sale and Kutter Crawford, both of whom played for the 2021 Boston Red Sox. Pitcher Casey Coleman was the first Eagle to reach the major leagues, with the 2010 Chicago Cubs. Pitcher Justin Stiver was the first Eagle athlete drafted by a professional team in any sport, selected by the Houston Astros in the 2006 MLB draft.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: On March 24, 2007, FGCU's women's basketball team ended its 35–1 season with a loss in the Division II National Championship to Southern Connecticut State University. One year later, in 2008, the women's basketball team qualified for the WNIT, becoming the first team to qualify for the WNIT in its first season of Division I sports. During the 2008 WNIT Tourney, the team became the first Atlantic Sun Conference team to win a post-season game since 1998, when Florida International University won in the women's NCAA tourney. The women's team has since won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season and/or tournament championship each year since (except for 2010) with annual postseason appearances either in the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT, in which the Eagles finished second nationally in 2016 after losing to South Dakota in the championship game.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In 2012, FGCU's first year of full Division I postseason eligibility, the men's team played in the Atlantic Sun Championship final, losing to Belmont. In 2013, the team won the Atlantic Sun championship, beating top-seeded Mercer in the conference tournament final earning the automatic invitation to the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In its first-ever tournament appearance, the No. 15 seeded Eagles upset the No. 2 seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the tournament and the No. 7 seeded San Diego State Aztecs in the second round. The Eagles became the seventh No. 15 seed to advance to the round of 32 and the first to advance to the Sweet 16. The Eagles went on to win two more ASUN Conference championships in 2016 and 2017.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: On-campus housing is made up of three sections: North Lake Village, South Village and West Lake Village. North Lake Village is located on an 80-acre lake and features apartment-style residence halls with waterfront recreation. West Lake Village was previously owned by American Campus Communities and formerly called College Club Apartments. Housing 501 students, it was bought by the university for $17 million and the apartments officially became part of FGCU Housing and Residence Life in October 2010. Themed housing is available, such as Honors and Wellness communities. South Village (SoVi) is composed of suite-style residence halls with five buildings: Everglades Hall, Biscayne Hall, Palmetto Hall, Osprey Hall and Eagle Hall, housing a total of more than 1,720 first-year students.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In the summer of 2013, South Village opened the SoVi Pool, a resort-style pool featuring a "beach-entry" and built-in pool volleyball court. FGCU enhanced the North Lake Village complex in 2017 by opening a new lakefront boardwalk and dining facility.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: In total, there are annually more than 3,200 students living in both North Lake Village and SoVi. Freshmen are not required to live on campus; however, on-campus housing is usually filled to capacity every year.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Individual halls sponsor their own activities and socials, and leadership positions are available in the Resident Hall Association.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: A commonly used form of transportation on campus is called the Eagle Express. This shuttle operates daily, taking students from their residence halls to classes and activities around campus.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: Florida Gulf Coast University has 28 fraternity and sorority chapters on campus. Greek life is governed by the Panhellenic Council, the Interfraternity Council, National PanHellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Council. There is no separate Greek housing on campus.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The official Campus Recreation department organizes several day and overnight trips annually, including rock climbing, skydiving, white-water rafting, sea kayaking and more. There are also 27 official sports clubs on campus, many of which engage in intercollegiate competition with their peers.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: There are more than 250 Registered Student Organizations at FGCU, including Student Government, which appropriates funding for many of them.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: The university has operated public broadcasting stations WGCU television and WGCU-FM since 1996, when the license was transferred from the University of South Florida in Tampa. WGCU is a PBS member while WGCU-FM is an NPR member and broadcasts news, talk, and jazz. FGCU 360 Now is a website that features university news and complements the official university periodical, "FGCU 360 Magazine", which was rebranded in 2016 after originally publishing as Pinnacle.


title: Florida Gulf Coast University

text: "Eagle Media" is the university's official, independent student media group. Originally founded in 1997 as ""The Eagle"" newspaper, the media group now publishes a weekly newspaper, a website that's updated daily and TV/radio programming when classes are in session. In 2017, the Student Media Advisory Board recognized "Eagle News", ENTV and Eagle Radio jointly as Eagle Media, FGCU's only student-led media program.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Timothy Randall Martin (born 28 April 1955) is an English businessman and the founder and chairman of Wetherspoons, a pub chain in the UK and Ireland. In 2016, Martin actively campaigned for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union and was a strong supporter of Brexit, donating £200,000 to the Vote Leave campaign.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Timothy Martin was born on 28 April 1955 in Norwich. His father served in the Royal Air Force and then worked for brewing multinational Guinness plc, where he became Malaysian marketing director. He has a brother, Trevor. Martin was educated at eleven schools in New Zealand and Northern Ireland, including Campbell College, Belfast, and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: He earned a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Nottingham, and qualified as a barrister in 1979, but has never practised.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: His early jobs included working on a building site in Ware, and acting as a sales representative for "The Times".


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Martin is the founder and chairman of Wetherspoon. He bought his first pub, in Muswell Hill, in 1979. His brother Gerry also ran a pub chain, Old Monk, which was listed in 1998, but went out of business in 2002.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: In 2005, Martin was voted the fifth most influential person in the UK pub industry. He is an admirer of Sam Walton's business philosophy. He visits at least 15 Wetherspoons outlets each week.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Martin was a staunch supporter of Brexit in 2016, representing these views for journalists and on political TV programmes such as the BBC's "Politics Live", and Sky News, and BBC Radio 4 programmes including "Today", "Question Time" and "Farming Today". In 2016, Martin donated £200,000 to the Vote Leave campaign. Throughout the campaign, he gave his reasons for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: In January 2017, Wetherspoons published figures showing an increase in sales of more than 3%. Martin used this as evidence that there was no post-Brexit referendum slowdown as predicted by economists.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: In June 2018, Martin announced that Wetherspoons would be ceasing the sale of products from other European Union countries in a 24-month plan, with the immediate example of Prosecco and Champagne being replaced by Australian wines. He believes the prediction of food prices rising and food shortages leading to stockpiling of supplies in the UK post-Brexit is merely scaremongering tactics deployed by pro-EU journalists, and mentioned the fact there were no increased queues in his restaurants as a result; after he removed French brandy from sale in his restaurants as an example.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Wetherspoons mass posted a pro-Brexit magazine to an unknown number of households in January 2019. The magazine claims to have a readership of two million. The employee campaign group, Spoons Workers Against Brexit, described the publication as dangerous propaganda, and said that Martin was exploiting his position as CEO. Wetherspoon responded by defending the mass mailing, stating it contained "... pro and anti Brexit articles to stimulate debate"; the proportionately minor mentions of views critical to a no deal Brexit were preceded by statements by Tim Martin, deriding expert opinions and "the elite".


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: In June 2021, Martin called on the UK government to introduce a "reasonably liberal immigration system" controlled by Britain rather than the European Union. He suggested the government should adopt a visa scheme for workers from the EU to help the UK's pubs and restaurants hire more staff.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Martin criticised the shutdown of businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that it was "over the top" and that pubs should continue to operate but with social distancing measures in place. After criticism regarding the shutdown of all pubs due to the spread of COVID-19, Martin addressed his 40,000 employees by video message. He acknowledged the government would pay 80 per cent of the wages of staff at companies who have lost work during the crisis, but he said the money could take weeks to come through. Martin suggested that if some staff were offered jobs in supermarkets they should consider taking them and promised that he would give first preference to those who wanted to come back to Wetherspoons.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: On 19 January 2022, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Martin accused the Prime Minister Boris Johnson of "hypocrisy" over the "Partygate" scandal, arguing that much of the controversy would have been avoided if Downing Street staff had been able to visit pubs which, at the time of the alleged lockdown parties, were closed due to coronavirus restrictions.


title: Tim Martin (businessman)

text: Martin is married to Felicity, whom he met while at university; they have four children and live in Exeter, Devon.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: Municipal Waste is an American crossover thrash band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2001. To date, the band has released seven studio albums, three EPs and four splits. They have gone through a few line-up changes, leaving vocalist Tony Foresta and rhythm guitarist Ryan Waste as the only constant members. In addition to Foresta and Waste, their current lineup includes Philip "Land Phil" Hall on bass, Dave Witte on drums and Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos on lead guitar.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: Municipal Waste was formed in Richmond, Virginia in 2000. Municipal Waste played their first show at a Richmond New Year's Eve Keg party in 2000–2001. The band was blamed for inciting a small riot. The band took musical influences from crossover thrash bands such as D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies, "Animosity"-era Corrosion of Conformity, Nuclear Assault and Attitude Adjustment. Municipal Waste toured throughout 2001 and 2002 in the US and Mexico. The band released two split albums—one 7" with Bad Acid Trip, the other being a 12" with Crucial Unit. They also had tracks on a number of compilations. In 2002 Brendan Trache left, being replaced by Brandon Ferrell, shortly before the "Tango and Thrash" on Amendment Records and "Waste 'Em All" was released on Six Weeks Records. Following the release of "Waste 'Em All", both Andy Harris and Brandon Ferrell left the band, being replaced by bassist Philip "LandPhil" Hall and drummer Dave Witte respectively.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: In 2005, Municipal Waste signed to Earache Records and recorded the "Hazardous Mutation" album. During 2005 and 2006, Municipal Waste shot a video for "Unleash the Bastards", with a censored and non-censored version.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: In June 2007, Municipal Waste toured with Destruction in the United States, before heading into the studio with Hatebreed and Shadows Fall producer Zeuss, to record their next album "The Art of Partying". The band followed this up with a headline tour of Europe, a tour with The Haunted and spots at Wacken Open Air in Germany and Reading and Leeds Festivals. They also went on the road with Suicidal Tendencies. A video was then recorded for the track "Headbanger Face Rip", which was filmed by Troma Entertainment.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: In 2007, the band received great acclaim from the music press, with a top five album of the year placing in Sweden's "Close Up" magazine and top twenty positions in "Big Cheese" and "Kerrang!" They also were on the front cover of "Metal Maniacs" magazine but also made several appearances in "NME".


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: They performed at the UK's Download Festival on June 15, 2008. They also joined At the Gates on their "Suicidal Final Tour" along with Darkest Hour, Toxic Holocaust and Repulsion.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: In 2010, the band was confirmed as being part of the soundtrack for Namco Bandai Games' 2010 remake of "Splatterhouse".


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: Municipal Waste released their third album "Massive Aggressive" in 2009, followed three years later by "The Fatal Feast" (2012), and then five years later by "Slime and Punishment" (2017). The band released the EP "The Last Rager" on October 11, 2019, and their seventh studio album "Electrified Brain" was released on July 1, 2022.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: The band members themselves have stated that they are influenced from groups such as Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Sepultura, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., M.O.D. and the Cro-Mags.


title: Municipal Waste (band)

text: The band's songwriting approach takes form in short, crossover thrash songs. Lyrical topics have to do with alcoholism, mutants, or thrash metal. The music is also described as being, and the band has received the tag "Party thrash" from the media. The band's song titles are also comedic, or give nods to their influences such as "Thrashing's My Business and Business is Good", "The Thrashin' of the Christ", "Thrash? Don't Mind If I Do" and "Drunk as Shit".


title: Al-Baqara 256

text: Verse (ayah) 256 of Al-Baqara is a very famous verse in the Islamic scripture, the Quran. The verse includes the phrase that "there is no compulsion in religion". Immediately after making this statement, the Quran offers a rationale for it: Since the revelation has, through explanation, clarification, and repetition, clearly distinguished the path of guidance from the path of misguidance, it is now up to people to choose the one or the other path. This verse comes right after the Throne Verse.