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Rowing at the 2010 South American Games – Women's quadruple sculls

2010-03-27 15:05:17+00:00

The Women's quadruple sculls event at the 2010 South American Games was held over March 21 at 10:40.

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2010 Tonight Show conflict

2010-01-16 07:33:04+00:00

The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of the long-running franchise The Tonight Show. Leno, the host of The Tonight Show since 1992, and O'Brien, host of Late Night since 1993, were strong ratings leaders for NBC for much of the decade. In 2001, when O'Brien's contract neared its end and he was courted by other networks, NBC agreed to extend his contract and eventually make him the fifth host of The Tonight Show. The network neglected to tell Leno about this arrangement until 2004, when they informed him that O'Brien would take over as host in five years. When that time arrived, in 2009, NBC tried to keep both of its late-night stars by offering Leno a nightly primetime show before the local news and O'Brien's Tonight Show. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and The Jay Leno Show did not immediately receive strong ratings, and NBC affiliates complained of declining viewership. NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker, alongside NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin and executive Rick Ludwin, created a remedy: return Leno to his 11:35 p.m. ET start time and bump O'Brien a half-hour later, to 12:05 a.m. ET. O'Brien and his staff were disappointed and furious; when it became clear O'Brien would not agree to the proposed changes, the situation grew heated. Though not a breach of either host's contract, the change resulted in a public outcry and public demonstrations largely in support of O'Brien. O'Brien's public statement that he would not participate in the "destruction" of The Tonight Show led to negotiations with NBC for a settlement. O'Brien and his staff received US$45 million (equivalent to about $63 million in 2023) to walk away from the network, with his final Tonight Show airing January 22, 2010; Leno was reinstated as host that March, while after a contractual seven-month ban against appearing on television, O'Brien moved to TBS to host Conan. Leno returned to hosting The Tonight Show from 2010 until his retirement in 2014. The controversy surrounding the scheduling move and the reinstatement of Leno was described by media outlets as "embarrassing" and a "public relations disaster" for NBC. On May 25, 1991, Johnny Carson, host of NBC's The Tonight Show for nearly thirty years, announced his retirement and exited the program a year later. NBC signed Jay Leno, Carson's "exclusive guest host", to become the program's fourth host upon Carson's departure. Carson clearly held the view that the position should be given to David Letterman, host of his own program, Late Night, which had directly followed Carson's Tonight Show for ten years. NBC tried to appease both stars, but Letterman left the network in a very public conflict that resulted in the creation of his own competing show, the Late Show with David Letterman, which debuted on CBS in 1993. Letterman's show regularly won in the Nielsen ratings against Leno for two years, proving that another late-night program could compete, both in ratings and advertising profits, with The Tonight Show. Leno's Tonight Show started rocky; prior to Letterman's move, NBC considered matching CBS's offer to allow Letterman to take over from Leno. Letterman beat Leno for nearly two years until August 1995, when Leno welcomed Hugh Grant, who had recently been arrested for soliciting a sex worker ("What the hell were you thinking?", Leno asked, to applause), to a previously booked appearance on Tonight. From that point on, Leno beat Letterman in the ratings, and The Tonight Show remained number one for the next fourteen years (the remainder of Leno's entire first stint as host). NBC chose to continue the Late Night franchise, and at the suggestion of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, hired Conan O'Brien, a relatively unknown writer for SNL and The Simpsons, to take over the time slot beginning in late 1993. Late Night with Conan O'Brien was constantly at risk for cancellation in its early years; at one low point in 1994, NBC put O'Brien on a three-month contract. Executives were anxious to replace him with Greg Kinnear, who followed O'Brien with Later at 1:30 am, but Kinnear left to pursue a career in acting later on. Interns filled empty seats in O'Brien's audience while affiliates began to inquire about replacement hosts. Things improved for Late Night slowly (mostly revolving around O'Brien's performance) and by 1996, O'Brien's audience, largely young and male (a coveted demographic), grew steadily and the show began to beat competitors in the ratings, which it would continue to do for fifteen years. A notable episode of O'Brien's tenure on Late Night came in early 1994 when Letterman asked to appear as a guest and say some kind words to him. O'Brien considered this the turning point of his entire career, which he mentioned while paying tribute to Letterman in an opening monologue of his own talk show on TBS, which aired the same night as Letterman's final show; O'Brien notably asked his viewers to turn him off and watch Letterman later on in the monologue. = Near the turn of the millennium, NBC's late-night lineup—Leno at 11:35, O'Brien at 12:35, and SNL on the weekend—remained a leader in the ratings. By 2001, O'Brien's contract at NBC had less than a year left to run, and despite arguably "coming into his own" in the preceding years, the network was reluctant to pay him on the same scale as other late-night hosts. That year, competing network Fox mounted an "extended, comprehensive campaign" to lure O'Brien away from NBC, citing his appeal from a younger late night demographic. News Corporation chairman and CEO Peter Chernin pursued O'Brien personally, taking him and executive producer Jeff Ross to dinner on several occasions. Fox's plan involved making O'Brien the network's signature star: his program would begin thirty minutes before Leno's and Letterman's (the network's local news broadcasts aired earlier than other networks, allowing the head start) and he would receive cross-promotion via its animated programming block and on Sunday NFL games. Chernin also offered the host seven times his current pay (a jump from US$3 million to US$21 million). Ross, friends with NBC president and CEO Jeff Zucker, informed him that Fox was aggressively pursuing O'Brien; NBC returned with a more realistic offer, bumping up O'Brien's salary to US$8 million and renewing him through 2005. While many of O'Brien's professional advisors and managers pushed for the Fox deal, O'Brien's desire to possibly take over The Tonight Show after Leno made it a difficult decision (O'Brien, like many comedians, had grown up idolizing Carson's incarnation). Numerous NBC executives, including president Bob Wright, were optimistic that O'Brien would stay despite other networks being interested in signing him. Chernin warned O'Brien that waiting around for Leno to leave would be destructive to his late-night television career. Nevertheless, O'Brien signed a new deal with NBC in March 2002; the contract extended him through 2005 and most significantly contained a clause that solidified the official line of succession: If anything were to happen to Leno, O'Brien would step in. O'Brien's successful hosting job at the 2002 54th Primetime Emmy Awards "sent out the most resounding message yet about his growing strength as a performer", and a year later, NBC broadcast O'Brien's tenth anniversary special in primetime. By the time Leno's contract again came up for renewal, a discussion would be needed regarding the future of The Tonight Show. Facing the prospect of attempting to keep both Leno and O'Brien, Zucker made the final call on Leno's deal, deciding that this contract extension would be Leno's final. The plan would extend Leno four additional years, after which he would give The Tonight Show to O'Brien. In February 2004, NBC executive Marc Graboff informed Ross of the conversations, and he in turn ran the idea of waiting four more years to O'Brien, who was immediately receptive. Zucker, along with top late-night executive Rick Ludwin, met with Leno in March at his Burbank studio to discuss the contract extension, and explained NBC's stance on handing over the show to O'Brien. While Leno quietly felt both disappointed and befuddled, he noted he did not want to see himself and O'Brien go through the same dilemma he and Letterman faced twelve years earlier and agreed to the plans. His only request was that NBC wait to announce O'Brien as host until well after the extension was signed, to which the executives agreed. While Leno handled the news professionally to the relief of Zucker, he soon headed to Tonight Show producer Debbie Vickers' office to let her know he felt as if he had just been fired. NBC's announcement of the renewal inevitably led to press speculation on O'Brien's fate; to that end, O'Brien and his team went with the charade, peppering interviews with unclear, vague statements on his future. On September 27, 2004, O'Brien officially signed on to become the next host of The Tonight Show; NBC allowed the first comment aside from the press release to come from Leno on that night's show. Leno compared The Tonight Show to a dynasty, stating, "You hold it, and then you hand it off to the next person. And I don't want to see all the fighting and all the 'Who's better?' and nasty things back and forth in the press. So right now, here it is—Conan, it's yours! See you in five years, buddy!" = In private conversations, Leno likened his removal from The Tonight Show to the end of a relationship, noting that he was loyal and still ended up "heartbroken". From his perspective, NBC's decision made no sense, as his show had remained number one in ratings and consistently brought in money. He began frequently lamenting his confusion to producer Vickers, explaining that he was "sick of lying" when people inquired on his retirement. Eventually, Leno began mulling over his options after Tonight, telling his staff that after the transition, they could move to another network like ABC (whose Disney lot was not far from their then-current Burbank studio). His frustration with the situation came across in his nightly monologues, as more jokes regarding NBC's fourth-place position in the ratings, as well as jokes regarding the future transition, began to appear. While NBC executives tended to not worry in the immediate years following the decision, by 2007 Zucker began to ponder what losing Leno might mean for the network. Around this time, Fox and ABC began conveying interest and holding discreet conversations with Leno. Among the offers made to Leno by NBC's competitors was from Sony Pictures Television for a syndicated program. In early 2008, Zucker began to make trips to the Burbank studio in an effort to keep Leno. He gave him numerous suggestions, including a Bob Hope-type deal (high-profile specials), a Sunday night primetime show, or even a nightly cable show on USA Network (owned by NBC Universal). Executives began to entertain an ideal solution—pay off O'Brien and retain Leno—but Zucker viewed the idea as "outrageous". By this time, NBC had already broken ground on a new studio for O'Brien's Tonight Show, renovating Stage 1 at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, for a reported US$50 million. During a spring lunch meeting with Ross, NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol advised that O'Brien retire silly antics and focus more on pitching his show to middle America, which would involve stretching out his monologue. O'Brien, then a year away from inheriting The Tonight Show, was indeed lengthening his monologue, but viewed suggestions from Ludwin as largely unnecessary, desiring to put his own stamp on the show's tradition. By this point, O'Brien's high popularity at the time of the contract signing had gone down slightly. He had opted not to change his act to suit a more mainstream audience as NBC imagined he would, and CBS's Craig Ferguson, who occupied the post-Letterman slot as host of The Late Late Show, had begun to occasionally beat O'Brien in overall ratings. Though internal anxiety increased among executives, most tended to still support O'Brien. Zucker's last resort for Leno was a nightly 10:00 pm program. He imagined a nightly Leno show in that timeslot could perhaps turn around NBC's primetime ratings decline. On December 8, 2008, Leno verbally agreed to stay at the network—producing a nightly 10:00 pm variety show titled The Jay Leno Show—and phoned ABC and Fox to inform them. Zucker and Ludwin planned to meet with O'Brien later to explain the deal, but as word leaked out to The New York Times, they decided to meet with him directly following that night's show. Following the meeting, Ross and O'Brien met with writers and mulled over the decision. O'Brien instantly felt uneasy, but as he was still in essence receiving The Tonight Show, he remained calm. The final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien aired on February 20, 2009, followed by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 29. Much of O'Brien's entire staff moved cross-country to Los Angeles to prepare his version of The Tonight Show. He and his staff threw themselves into developing the program, but remained concerned regarding NBC's commitment to the new Tonight Show incarnation. Meanwhile, senior-level executives at NBC predicted that Leno's show would be roundly beaten by hour-long dramas on competing networks and cable, dooming the network's experiment. In announcing his 10 pm show on The Tonight Show, Leno said, "People are asking me, 'What are you going to do after the last show? Are you going to go on vacation?' This kind of stuff. Actually, I'm going to a secluded spot where no one can find me: NBC primetime. As most of you know, we're not really leaving. We're coming back at 10 o'clock in September. It's a gamble. It's a gamble. I'm betting everything that NBC will still be around in 3 months! That is not a given!" = The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien pulled in over nine million viewers to its June 1, 2009, premiere, doing extremely well in the coveted young demographics. Critics were generally very favorable; Tom Shales of The Washington Post, once critical of O'Brien, wrote that, "There's every indication that O'Brien will be up to the job of his illustrious predecessors." Each night, older audiences gradually turned off the program as it aired; seven episodes later, Letterman's show had edged above O'Brien's for the first time. While Zucker called O'Brien to reiterate that the generational change was expected, other executives were not as pleased. O'Brien and his team were not happy with the lack of promotion in the show's early weeks. Against the wishes of several PR executives, Zucker authorized a press release proclaiming O'Brien "the New King of Late Night", a move that attracted ridicule. Zucker later regretted the decision, and many at O'Brien's Tonight Show offices were displeased. Over the following weeks, Zucker grew weary with O'Brien's performance and what he regarded as a booking of the wrong stars. When a controversy erupted over a joke Letterman told regarding politician Sarah Palin's family, Zucker eagerly pushed the O'Brien camp to bring her on their show, eyeing an opportunity to regain viewers and perhaps make it a turning point for a show not doing particularly well. O'Brien disliked the idea, finding it pandering to viewers that would alienate fans and the press, as well as hurt his relationship with Letterman. "This reaction drove Zucker nuts", wrote Bill Carter in The War for Late Night. "As a producer, he knew how to manipulate audiences—that was simply what you did as part of the job. [ ... ] As a boss, he couldn't believe Conan would stand in the way of what was obviously the smart business move—for him and his network." Meanwhile, Letterman continued to score higher ratings than O'Brien with regularity; his fall interview with U.S. President Barack Obama topped The Tonight Show by almost 5 million viewers, and the next week, a scandal involving attempted extortion and personal affairs made Letterman the talk of the country. By August, The Tonight Show was still losing to Letterman in total viewers, but, owing to O'Brien's appeal to a young audience, maintained its lead in the touted demographics. Meanwhile, Leno was candid regarding his plans for his new show: "Even though it's ten o'clock, we're going to pretend it's eleven thirty." The Jay Leno Show premiered on September 14, 2009, featuring guests Jerry Seinfeld and Kanye West, shortly after West's infamous incident with Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards. The program racked up 17.7 million viewers, doing much better than O'Brien's Tonight Show debut in both overall numbers and young demographics. Some critics were harsh with Leno's program, with many viewing it as a rehash of the show he had just left. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times said one of its sponsors' commercials was funnier than the show itself, saying, "This is the future of television? This wasn't even a good rendition of television past." By the show's second week, which saw it airing directly opposite season premieres, The Jay Leno Show saw its audience size fall to five million viewers. As the weeks wore on, producer Vickers noticed that NBC's plan—to save the best segments, such as Leno's signature "Headlines", for last in order to provide a strong lead-in for local news—was possibly hurting the program. One month in, Leno often only made third place, and executives became more uneasy. = Ratings for NBC affiliates' local news broadcasts at 11:00 pm began to slip by mid-October, especially on NBC owned-and-operated stations in the largest markets, creating high anxiety for the network. The Tonight Show still retained a slightly higher share of the coveted 18–34 demographic against Letterman, but saw those numbers slip even more when The Jay Leno Show began. Affiliates began to complain, and in addition to a domino effect on the local news, O'Brien, and his 12:30 am successor, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the disastrous ratings for Leno had damaged NBC's existing primetime lineups. This cascading effect caused by the lowered 10:00 pm lead-in was so significant that local NBC affiliate news viewership fell an average of twenty-five percent nationwide, with the decline in some markets being as high as fifty percent. By November, two months after the debut of The Jay Leno Show, ratings for The Tonight Show were brought down "roughly two million viewers a night year-to-year" from when Leno hosted the program. Clearing the 10:00 pm time period for Leno also damaged relations with the producers of scripted shows that previously occupied that slot, such as Dick Wolf of Law & Order. Leno offered an October 29 interview to Broadcasting & Cable where he stated he would return to his original 11:35 time slot if offered by NBC. When O'Brien's sidekick and announcer Andy Richter called the move less than "classy" in a chat with TV Squad, Leno called Ludwin to complain. As most programs went into repeats in December, Leno's staff, notably Vickers, had focused on grabbing big-name guests for that month in an effort to save The Jay Leno Show; these efforts were cut short when she was informed they had "until the end of November". Affiliates began calling the network to inquire about the show's fate, and research analysis revealed O'Brien's drastically reduced median age for The Tonight Show—age 56 to 46—could possibly reflect that he was too "niche" for the earlier time. Any effort to take Leno off the air was halted by his contract, which had a highly unusual "pay-and-play" provision, in contrast to the typical "pay-or-play" agreement, which guaranteed NBC would both air his program and pay him for up to two years. On November 6, NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin received an email from the sales division with a suggestion to cancel O'Brien and reinstate Leno as host of The Tonight Show. Upon Gaspin's legal interpretation of Leno's contract, the option to simply move Leno back to The Tonight Show became relevant. When very poor ratings came in for the November sweeps period, affiliates became alarmed, and NBC board members demanded something be done regarding the 10:00 pm lead-in. If something were not done by January, the affiliates reasoned, they would instate syndicated programming or move up their news broadcasts and pre-empt The Jay Leno Show. Ludwin, Gaspin, and Zucker kicked around possible solutions for their dilemma, such as cutting Leno to a few nights per week. In an attempt to alleviate the situation, Vickers moved the most popular comedy segments to the second act of The Jay Leno Show, moving their "10 at 10" segment later in the broadcast. Gaspin again received the suggestion to put Leno back at 11:35, and soon began working on a plan to cut The Jay Leno Show to a half-hour, leading into Conan's Tonight Show around midnight. From their perspective, the biggest casualty in this scenario would be Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which would get bumped to 1 am. The reconfigured lineup could start in March 2010, following NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics. Zucker preferred a plan for Leno to include an occasional guest and comedy piece, while Ebersol favored returning to the way it once was, with Leno at 11:35 and O'Brien at 12:35. Gaspin laid out his plan to Zucker one week before Christmas, but both agreed to wait it out for the new year, as to not "ruin anybody's holiday season". = The plan moved forward after confirmation that O'Brien's contract did not guarantee a strict 11:35 pm start time (a loophole included primarily to accommodate sports pre-emptions and specials such as the network's New Year coverage). Gaspin planned to disclose the news to Leno first, and then, if all went well, inform O'Brien the following week. When Gaspin laid out the proposal to Leno and Vickers, the response was positive, even though they questioned how such a plan would work. Gaspin reasoned that the company was in a desperate situation, and he indicated his confidence that O'Brien would go along with the changes too. While Leno embraced the plan, Vickers was unnerved; without a guest or music act, she might have no studio audience, which could have disastrous consequences for Leno. In order to meet with O'Brien the following Monday, Gaspin was forced to cancel a meeting with the affiliate board, but promised them that by doing so, he would have an answer to the 10 pm problem that would be satisfactory to the board. After his January 6 show, O'Brien met with manager Gavin Polone to share his anxieties regarding the ratings: "I just think [Leno] is going to hurt me in some way." News regarding Leno leaked to pop culture site FTV Live by the following morning, which was then picked up by national publications, including the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Gaspin scheduled an immediate meeting with Ross and O'Brien as soon as they arrived and explained the proposed changes. "I know how hard I worked for this", responded O'Brien. "It was promised to me. I had a shitty lead-in." Following the tense fifteen-minute meeting, O'Brien and Ross returned to the Tonight studio. TMZ reported on the story with a headline reading, "NBC Shakeup; Jay Leno Comes Out on Top." O'Brien called an emergency staff meeting and assured all that they had not been canceled and all would be fine. The TMZ story deeply bothered O'Brien owing to its timing soon after a story reporting The Jay Leno Show's cancellation, and he and Ross reasoned that they indeed were the last to be told of the changes. By the following morning, O'Brien and Ross determined that they would have to leave NBC, and O'Brien opened that night's show with, "We've got a great show for you tonight—I have no idea when it will air, but it's gonna be a great show." Polone viewed the move as a reactionary one by Zucker, concluding that he was acting in self-preservation, since network owner General Electric was in the process of negotiating the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast. When a story ran that night on The New York Times website that Fox had an "overt interest" in O'Brien and was not going along with the plan, Zucker reasoned that Polone was to blame. The situation became heated when Zucker placed a call to O'Brien's agent, Rick Rosen, inquiring on the story and demanding an immediate answer from the O'Brien camp. Gaspin spoke about the situation at a previously scheduled press conference that Sunday, noting that, "I obviously couldn't satisfy either with 100 percent of what they wanted. That's why I came up with this compromise." Zucker, upon hearing that O'Brien still did not take the proposal well, threatened Rosen, saying "I'm going to tell you right now that I can pay him or play him. I can ice you guys." On the following Monday's show, O'Brien continued jokes on the subject; responding to thunderous applause, he joked, "You keep that up, and this monologue won't start until 12:05." = Rosen suggested that O'Brien's camp hire litigation lawyer Patty Glaser to help grasp the situation. Following discussions on Leno's contract during a post-show conference, Glaser turned her attention to O'Brien for his opinion. He expressed his desire to write a statement describing his feelings on the matter, and after hearing what he would possibly say in such a statement, Glaser agreed to the idea, although Ross was initially reluctant. O'Brien went without sleep that night, crafting his statement obsessively. He returned to the studio the following morning, listening as the lawyers and Glaser read over the statement, which remained largely unchanged before publication. According to The War for Late Night, Glaser found "the statement as ideal for their purposes. It laid out Conan's point of view unequivocally, but without compromising his legal options. Nothing in there overtly said he was quitting, so he could not be accused of forsaking his contractual obligations." O'Brien's press release went out mid-day on January 12, which he addressed to "People of Earth": For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. [ ... ] So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Public and media reaction to the press release was positive, with The New York Times stating O'Brien held Leno "personally responsible" for this conflict. According to The War for Late Night, "the 'People of Earth' letter—the manifesto, as NBC came to call it—changed the tone. This wasn't just Conan saying no; it was Conan saying no, and you're wrong, and, by the way, go fuck yourselves." A turning point in the conflict came on January 13, as O'Brien joked in his monologue that "I'm trying very hard to stay positive here, and I want to tell you something. This is honest. Hosting The Tonight Show has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me. And I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Yeah, yeah—unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too." Following the joke, Leno called Gaspin, asking, "Why the fuck am I giving up a half hour for this guy?" Conversations changed to focus on what O'Brien would require to resolve the matter, and parties began to discuss a settlement. = Public reaction was overwhelmingly in favor of O'Brien during the conflict. In the days following the switch announcement, research of Twitter posts expressed support for O'Brien. Over one million people joined the two most prominent Facebook groups supporting O'Brien: "Team Conan" and "I'm With Coco", referring to an on-air nickname applied to O'Brien by actor Tom Hanks during his Tonight Show reign. Artist Mike Mitchell designed a poster similar to the Obama "Hope" poster, showing O'Brien superimposed with an American flag in the background and the caption "I'm With Coco". The poster was widely circulated and displayed online and at various rallies. The color orange also became the choice of color for O'Brien fans, referencing his light orange hair. O'Brien's overnight ratings began to shoot up (much to NBC's chagrin), and the viral support for O'Brien only increased by the week of his final shows. Rallies in support of O'Brien were organized outside NBC studios across the U.S., notably in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and New York City. O'Brien briefly appeared at a January 18 rally outside the Tonight Show studio, after which he gave the crowd free pizza. Andy Richter and Tonight Show drummer Max Weinberg also made an appearance during the rally to speak to the crowd from atop the studio, and Tonight Show Band trombonist Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg was driven around the crowd in a Popemobile-style vehicle. American Red Cross representatives were at a number of the rallies to collect money for the Haiti earthquake relief. Many in Hollywood, including actors, comedians, and media personalities, expressed support for O'Brien. SNL's Seth Meyers addressed the controversy on the program's Weekend Update segment, joking that the conflict showed that "you don't need Cinemax to see someone get screwed on TV", and then proceeding to defend O'Brien. Meyers went on to sarcastically point out that if they did end up moving The Tonight Show, it would mean Late Night would end and host Jimmy Fallon would likely end up coming back to Update (and presumably reclaim his job from Meyers). = Leno faced heated criticism and increasing negative publicity for his perceived role in the timeslot conflict, with some critics predicting that his reputation—along with those of Zucker and NBC—had been permanently damaged by the incident. Critics pointed to the 2004 Tonight Show clip wherein Leno claimed he would allow O'Brien to take over without incident. Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt was among the first celebrities to openly voice disappointment with Leno, saying, "Comedians who don't like Jay Leno now, and I'm one of them, we're not like, 'Jay Leno sucks;' it's that we're so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation… willfully has shut the switch off." Rosie O'Donnell was among O'Brien's most vocal and vehement supporters, calling Leno a "bully". Radio personality Howard Stern was a harsh critic of Leno before and after the timeslot change announcement; in a 2006 appearance on Late Night, Stern told O'Brien that he felt it was unlikely that Leno would ever willingly give up Tonight to anyone. The 67th Golden Globe Awards, which NBC aired on January 17 during O'Brien's settlement negotiations, featured numerous jokes on the controversy by Tina Fey and Tom Hanks, as well as show host Ricky Gervais who quipped, "Let's get on with it before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno." Additional criticism stemmed from the fact that the circumstances O'Brien found himself in recalled a similar dilemma that faced Leno toward the end of 1992. Only months into his hosting job on The Tonight Show, NBC considered reversing their decision to choose Leno over Letterman. Leno was aghast and angry that NBC refused to exhibit clear commitment to him as the franchise's new host, and expressed this disappointment publicly. He also made explicit that he would leave the network if he was asked to move back an hour to accommodate Letterman. Commentators also faulted Leno for what they perceived as a disingenuous attempt on the host's part to forge an "everyman" persona in the way he carried himself throughout the controversy. During the episode of The Jay Leno Show that aired after it was made public that Leno had been offered the 11:35 time slot back, Leno portrayed himself as an ingenuous employee merely following NBC's instructions, making a point of stating, "I don't have a manager, I don't have an agent" and referring to his preference of making direct, "handshake" deals. Despite his claim of having no representation, Leno retained an agent (Steve Levine of International Creative Management), a publicist, and entertainment lawyers. Comedian Bill Burr found that Leno's ambition to take back The Tonight Show was less objectionable than his "passive-aggressive" behavior and the "powerless" public image Leno put forth instead of "owning up" to his maneuverings. Burr argued that NBC "never gave [Conan] The Tonight Show" in terms of network support, saying, "When Jay got The Tonight Show, he didn't have to follow Johnny [Carson] bombing for an hour. [ ... ] Leno struggled for eighteen months before he got going, and he got to go on after a hit show." Comedian Jeff Garlin accused NBC of being "cheap", suggesting that the network tempted O'Brien with his dream job of hosting The Tonight Show because they did not want him to go to a competitor, but neither did they want to match what the competitors were offering. Garlin accused Leno of undermining O'Brien's incipient Tonight Show by taking the 10 pm slot. Garlin stated that while Leno had been nice to him over the years, the host displayed "no character" by taking the timeslot back. Garlin vowed never to appear on Leno's Tonight Show thereafter. In an essay for The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Rabin wrote that the response to Leno's role was "quick, vitriolic and widespread." Bill Zehme, the co-author of Leno's autobiography Leading with My Chin, told the Los Angeles Times, "The thing Leno should do is walk, period. He's got everything to lose in terms of public popularity by going back. People will look at him differently. He'll be viewed as the bad guy." Joe Queenan from The Wall Street Journal went further in his criticism of Leno, jokingly comparing the controversy to Adolf Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia. David Letterman was one of the more adamant critics of NBC and Leno's handling of the conflict. He noted that, "We went through our own version of this seventeen, eighteen years ago", and he ridiculed Leno's recent "state of the network address", wherein Leno pleaded for viewers not to "blame Conan", with Letterman noting, "In the thousands and thousands of words that have been printed about this mess, who has blamed Conan?" Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's The Daily Show reflected on the controversy, saying, "At least we don't have to deal with Jeff Zucker. That guy's like the Cheney of television, shooting shows in the face." Stewart also shouted "Team Conan" as his "Moment of Zen" at the end of the January 21 episode of The Daily Show. Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report asked guest Morgan Freeman to read a list of "untrustworthy things", one of which paraphrased a statement made by Leno in 2004, "Conan: The 11:30 slot? Yours." Jimmy Kimmel, host of the ABC late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, donned a gray wig and fake chin to perform his entire January 12 show in character as Leno. With his bandleader Cleto Escobedo parodying Leno's bandleader Kevin Eubanks, Kimmel began his monologue with, "It's good to be here on ABC. Hey, Cleto, you know what ABC stands for? Always Bump Conan." He also referenced the "People of Earth" letter, noting how O'Brien declined to participate in the "destruction" of The Tonight Show, commenting as Leno that, "Fortunately, though, I will! I'll burn it down if I have to!" Leno called Kimmel the next morning to discuss the bit, and at the end of the call, Leno suggested Kimmel come over and appear on his show. When his booking department called to confirm his appearance on a "10 at 10" segment (in which Leno asked ten questions to a guest appearing remotely via satellite), Kimmel agreed immediately. When he received the questions for his January 14 appearance—such as "What's your favorite snack junk food?"—he realized Leno intended to neutralize the scathing parody and paint the two as friends. Kimmel, however, was upfront with wanting to discuss the fiasco at hand, and during his appearance attempted to steer the questions that way; when asked about his favorite prank, he responded, "I think the best prank I ever pulled was, I told a guy once, 'Five years from now I'm going to give you my show.' And then when the five years came, I gave it to him and I took it back, almost instantly." Later in the segment, when Leno asked, "Ever order anything off the TV?" Kimmel replied, "Like when NBC ordered your show off the TV?" Following similar remarks to more questions, Kimmel closed the segment with this comment: "Listen, Jay. Conan and I have children. All you have to take care of is cars! We have lives to lead here! You've got eight hundred million dollars! For God's sakes, leave our shows alone!" Leno never fought back and accepted the bit as comedy (he ascribed it as Kimmel attempting to score some publicity), but producer Vickers was furious. Kimmel discussed the appearance during an interview with Marc Maron for the latter's podcast in 2012. Kimmel stated that he felt O'Brien was not given a proper chance, but that he was also motivated by his own history with Leno. According to Kimmel, Leno had some years prior been in serious discussions with ABC about the possibility of jumping ship from NBC. During this period, Leno initiated a friendship with Kimmel, wanting to ensure that they would be on good terms if the move was made, given that under that scenario, Leno would have taken Kimmel's time slot and become his lead-in. However, after Leno made the arrangement to remain at NBC, "those conversations were gone," according to Kimmel. Realizing that Leno's relationship with him had been artificial, Kimmel felt "worked over," reasoning that Leno was using the ABC discussions as a bargaining tactic to try to get his old job back. = The only late night host who remained neutral was Jimmy Fallon, calling O'Brien and Leno "two of my heroes and two of my friends". He later joked that, "There's been three hosts of Late Night: David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and me. And if there's one thing I've learned from Dave and Conan, it's that hosting this show is a one-way ticket to not hosting The Tonight Show." Ironically, four years later, Fallon was selected to replace the retiring Leno as host of The Tonight Show in February 2014. = Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jerry Seinfeld rebuffed the idea that NBC deserved blame and chastised O'Brien for pointing fingers: "What did the network do to him?" Seinfeld asked. "I don't think anyone's preventing people from watching Conan. Once they give you the cameras, it's on you. I can't blame NBC for having to move things around. I hope Conan stays, I think he's terrific. But there's no rules in show business, there's no [referees]." The irony of Seinfeld's stance was noted by at least one publication, as Seinfeld had itself weathered a rocky beginning thanks to the patience of NBC executive Rick Ludwin, the benefit of a strong lead-in (Cheers), and years to develop its audience as opposed to O'Brien's six months. Jim Norton, who was a frequent contributor to Leno's shows, touched on the controversy repeatedly in interviews and on The Opie & Anthony Show, calling the harsh criticism of Leno "amazing" and suggesting that Leno declining to walk away after stating otherwise was no worse than O'Brien "actually trying to force Jay out by telling the agents, 'If Conan doesn't get The Tonight Show, he's leaving the network.'" Chris Rock defended Leno during a 2010 interview on The Howard Stern Show, claiming, "Leno did not fuck over Conan" and that "Conan was screwed by his management and his agent" by accepting Leno's 10:00 pm show as O'Brien's lead-in. NBC executives served as Leno's chief defenders, with Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, being particularly aggressive. Calling Leno's detractors "chicken-hearted and gutless," he summarized the late night situation as an "astounding failure" by O'Brien and further characterized O'Brien's and Letterman's barbed jokes about their rival as "professional jealousy." Addressing the common point about Conan's weak lead-in hurting his ability to build an audience in a different timeslot, Ebersol dismissed it as a "specious argument." In an interview with Marc Maron that summer, O'Brien's longtime sidekick Andy Richter noted the contradiction between Ebersol's comments and the actions of the network. The demonstrable impact of The Jay Leno Show on the ratings of local news across the country was the direct cause of the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show, and gave lie to Ebersol's implication that lead-ins are irrelevant. Leno's Tonight Show, in contrast, had always enjoyed healthy lead-ins courtesy of a strong NBC primetime line-up. Furthermore, the network would have reportedly faced a US$150 million penalty in order to release Leno from his contract, making O'Brien the far less expensive host to get rid of. Leno himself was among O'Brien's harshest critics, calling O'Brien's numbers "destructive to the franchise" despite O'Brien's success in the advertiser-friendly demographics combined with his significantly smaller salary. Moreover, Leno's assessment of O'Brien's performance less than three months prior had been significantly different: "Personally, I think Conan is doing fine. He's beating Dave in the demo, maybe not in the popular one right now because Dave has a lot of other things going that have people watching for whatever reason, so I think that's not really a fair thing. It's a little too early to tell." = Discussions neared completion regarding a financial settlement by January 14, and were expected to be in place following O'Brien's final week of shows—January 18–22—a concession O'Brien pushed to give his program a proper farewell. Movement on the settlement slowed when run by GE executives, then-owners of NBC Universal. NBC had several requests, among those that he not bring Howard Stern on the show his final week (which the O'Brien camp found slightly comical) and that they see the show's final week of scripts (which O'Brien never sent). Talks for much of the rest of the week went nowhere, and a Saturday New York Post story ran claiming that O'Brien's staff felt "betrayed" by his actions, as they did not understand his refusal to accept the 12:05 timeslot in order to keep their jobs and was driven by egocentric concerns. O'Brien was infuriated by the story, which he assumed to be a direct plant from NBC, as nearly all of his staff agreed that he should leave the network. He was personally appalled that NBC challenged his character, as stressing severance for his employees was enormously important to him (he had paid them out of his own pocket during the writers' strike three years earlier). NBC added more requests, which the O'Brien camp refused as unreasonable, such as the right to pull any of his final shows if the network objected to the content (e.g., a joke about the conflict/NBC). GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt questioned why they were paying so much for a performer destined to run to another network. Negotiations continued into O'Brien's final week; he could not confirm on-air it was indeed his final week of shows, which produced difficulty in booking the guests he desired for his final show. On January 19, multiple media outlets reported that O'Brien and NBC were close to signing a deal between US$30 and US$40 million for the host to walk away from the network. Following his January 20 episode, O'Brien remained at the studio until the early morning hours, alongside executive producer Jeff Ross and the legal counsel, trying to finalize the settlement. O'Brien wandered off, playing his guitar alone and stepping out on the deserted Universal lot at midnight, attempting to make sense of the situation. O'Brien signed the agreement that night, and the next day, its terms were made public. In all, O'Brien received a US$45 million deal to leave NBC. He received pay for the remaining two years of his contract (amounting to US$33 million), with additional payments to Ross, Richter, and Weinberg. The severance pay for his staff was around US$12 million, which O'Brien had stressed. O'Brien paid around fifty stagehands and various crew members at least six weeks severance pay out of his own pocket, as NBC gave those particular staffers nothing in the settlement. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said that they were "very happy" with how O'Brien treated their union members during the conflict. The contract contained a clause prohibiting O'Brien from making negative remarks about NBC for a certain amount of time; it did not, however, contain the previously rumored "mitigation clause", in which NBC would be able to keep some of the severance pay after O'Brien found a new network. It stipulated that he could return to television on another network no earlier than September 1, 2010. = The conflict only provided more comedy material for O'Brien's Tonight Show during its final episodes. Among other bits, O'Brien put the show up for sale on Craigslist, and then himself; looked back at clips from the show's seven-month tenure that were dubbed "Classic Tonight Show Moments"; and designed a bit to seem as though he were spending absurd amounts of NBC's money, such as customizing a Bugatti Veyron, playing audio and video clips with expensive rebroadcast rights, and using a purported "rare ground sloth" to spray Beluga caviar on what was presented as an original Picasso. Because the segments aired in days immediately following the 2010 Haiti earthquake while national fundraising efforts (including some spearheaded by NBC) were ongoing, O'Brien received criticism for wasting resources. In response to the outcry over the expense of these sketches, O'Brien explained that the segments were indeed jokes, and many of the props were either counterfeits or borrowed in exchange for promotional consideration. The guest roster for O'Brien's final show on January 22—Tom Hanks, Steve Carell (who did an exit interview of O'Brien in-character as an NBC employee and shredded Conan's ID badge), and original first guest Will Ferrell—was regarded by O'Brien as a "dream lineup"; in addition, Neil Young performed his song "Long May You Run" and, as the show closed, was joined by O'Brien, Beck, Ferrell (dressed as Ronnie Van Zant), Billy Gibbons, Ben Harper, Viveca Paulin, and The Tonight Show Band to perform the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird". In his final moments on air, O'Brien stated that between SNL, Late Night and The Tonight Show, he had worked for NBC for over twenty years, and he was "enormously proud of the work [they] have done together". He then thanked NBC for the first time since announcing his intention to quit. O'Brien said his decision was "the hardest thing [he] ever had to do". He praised and gave thanks to his staff, and thanked his fans for their overwhelming support (especially those who participated in the Los Angeles rally during periods of heavy rain). He ended the show by offering heartfelt advice to his viewers in his farewell address, stating: All I ask of you is one thing ... I ask this particularly of the young people who watch. Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen. Following the taping, the studio set was used one final time for a party thrown by staff. O'Brien's monologue spot from the floor was framed and signed by his staff as a gift, which touched O'Brien. 10.3 million people watched the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, a notably high number for live late-night viewing and on a Friday night. The final episode scored a 7.0 household rating and a 4.4 rating in the 18–49 demo. Not only did O'Brien's final show beat all late night competition, it outscored all prime time shows in the 18–49 demo from that night and the night before. The network confirmed that Leno would officially resume as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, and reruns from O'Brien's time as host aired until NBC began airing the Winter Olympics on February 15. Leno's first Tonight Show back pulled in 6.6 million viewers, and his margin over Letterman again held for much of the rest of his run until his second Tonight Show departure in 2014. While his numbers were down from his original incarnation of The Tonight Show, "It's as if a collective erase button was pushed", said Robert Thompson, professor of television at Syracuse University, "with the usual suspects back in their usual locations—except Conan is gone." According to NBC, if O'Brien continued hosting, it would have been the first year that The Tonight Show would have actually lost money, which Leno later contended was damaging to the franchise. This assertion was scorned by skeptical critics, as it was calculated that Conan's Tonight Show would have made significantly more money in advertising than Leno's show did, due to his more favorable youth demographic numbers. In addition, higher production costs and higher salaries would have by all accounts made Leno's Tonight Show more costly. O'Brien and Ross also challenged this notion, concluding that to arrive at such a calculation, NBC must have included the cost of building the new studio and offices, as well as startup costs. At NBC, most young employees tended to support O'Brien and joined the "I'm with Coco" Facebook groups; NBC later asked all employees to rescind their membership in any O'Brien-supporting pages. Similar action came when NBC removed reruns of O'Brien's The Tonight Show from NBC.com and Hulu. Gaspin was happy with the settlement, but nevertheless agreed with one of O'Brien's points—that his show had no time to grow: "Could it have grown? Absolutely ... We just couldn't give him the time." Zucker, in an interview with Charlie Rose, defended his strategy but noted that both moving Leno to primetime and giving O'Brien the Tonight Show was a mistake. In addition, he stated that he received death threats due to his role in the conflict. Zucker, who had known O'Brien since their days at Harvard University and was very close friends with Ross, was very disappointed with how events played out, although he viewed it as necessary. Leno, in an attempt to repair his public perception, granted an interview to Oprah Winfrey on January 25; he stripped himself of any blame for O'Brien's disappointment, noting that it was all about ratings, and also confirmed that he told a "white lie" in 2004 when he guaranteed The Tonight Show to O'Brien. In a reference to a 2007 Super Bowl commercial starring Letterman and Winfrey (the two had feuded for years prior), Letterman, Leno, and Winfrey all appeared in a spot airing during Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010. The ad—Letterman's idea—was the first time the late-night hosts had met since their own 1992 debacle. In it, Letterman and Leno sit on opposite sides of Winfrey watching the game; Letterman deems it "the worst Super Bowl party ever" due to Leno's inclusion, and Winfrey tells him to "be nice", resulting in Leno quipping, "Oh, he's just saying that 'cause I'm here." The clip stirred a frenzy, with commentators speculating that Leno had been "green-screened" into the picture. Letterman had initially wanted O'Brien to be in the promo as well, but O'Brien firmly rejected it, saying, "No fucking way I'm doing that. It's not a joke to me—it's real." O'Brien was sure his agreement prohibited television appearances for several months, but gathered NBC would be only too happy to allow him a one-time reprieve for the ad, as it was to improve Leno's image. O'Brien, by this point, was planning a live tour with his staff that would take him on the road, and had also created a Twitter account. After about one hour online, O'Brien's number of Twitter followers had rocketed past the 30,000 followers of the official Jay Leno account, and he held over 300,000 followers in under 24 hours; he surpassed the one million mark in May 2010. Many speculated that O'Brien would sign a deal with Fox for a late-night program; Comedy Central and HBO had also expressed interest in O'Brien. Fox's deal moved slowly and they eventually withdrew their offer due to station resistance, the daunting financial investment, and opposition from Roger Ailes. O'Brien eventually signed with cable network TBS in April, with his next program, Conan, set to debut in November. The move prompted industry surprise; online blog Vulture commented that, "Conan will now be featured as a lead-in for Lopez Tonight on TBS. It's not just basic cable, it's unsexy basic cable." His nationwide comedy tour, The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, began on April 12 and ran through June 14. A documentary shot during that time, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, as well as a May 60 Minutes interview, prompted some observers to deem him "whiny". Vanity Fair's James Wolcott said O'Brien "came off as a peevish straw of nervous energy ... a self-involved chatterbox." As NBC could have potentially retained intellectual property originating from O'Brien's entire seventeen-year tenure with the network, O'Brien simply changed names on the tour (turning his character, the Masturbating Bear, into the "Self-Pleasuring Panda"). The Washington Post later reported that retaining the characters was "not a key issue for O'Brien". Conan premiered in November 2010 to 4 million viewers, leading all late-night talk shows and more than tripling the audience of its direct competition, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. However, ratings quickly fell; by the following fall, the show averaged 1 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic. In an effort to bolster ratings, TBS secured the cable syndication rights to The Big Bang Theory at a reported US$2 million per episode to serve as a lead-in to Conan three nights a week. Steve Koonin of Turner Entertainment stated in 2012 that Conan is the "centerpiece of TBS". The Hollywood Reporter credited it with forging "a digital empire, his company's own shows and a young audience TBS hopes will follow him anywhere." TBS announced in May 2017 that they had renewed the show through 2022. However, despite the show renewal, it was announced in November 2020 that the show would end in June 2021, with O'Brien producing a weekly variety show for HBO Max. His final show aired on June 24, 2021, with a montage of clips from his shows along with an extended farewell monologue. Many of the executives involved in the botched transition subsequently left NBC. Zucker was fired by Comcast Executive Vice President Steve Burke, but he stressed that Comcast's insistence to install their own team was the reason. West Coast business operations executive Marc Graboff opted to leave his contract early, as did programming executive Jeff Gaspin. While O'Brien admitted in 2012 that he occasionally still felt resentment over the events that transpired, he noted that "I had an amazing partnership with NBC and was very disappointed at the outcome". He has had no contact with Leno, noting "the odds are we will both leave this Earth without speaking to each other, which is fine. There's really nothing to say. We both know the deal. He knows; I know. I'd rather just forget." In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the timeslot conflict ranked No. 1 on a list of TV's biggest "blunders". A wax likeness of O'Brien that had been commissioned by NBC Universal from Madame Tussauds and unveiled during a December 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien was quietly returned to the Madame Tussauds museum on Hollywood Boulevard. The figure had originally been intended to permanently reside in the "NBC Universal Experience" theme park attraction. A remote segment produced a few months into O'Brien's TBS show saw the host humorously reuniting with the wax statue. On October 5, 2011, O'Brien returned to 30 Rockefeller Plaza for a surprise, scripted appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to ceremonially retrieve the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog puppet from the studio after NBC had finally granted him the rights to use the character on TBS's Conan. During the two-and-a-half minute bit, O'Brien and Fallon joked about the controversy when Fallon said, "You were [host of Late Night] for sixteen years. Then what happened?" to which O'Brien laughed and said, "Don't you worry about that. You're a young guy." During his 2012 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, O'Brien made it clear that he held no animosity toward NBC, pointing out that the individual executives he clashed with had departed the network shortly after he did due to a regime change. Indeed, O'Brien would occasionally show clips from his NBC shows on his TBS program with NBC's permission, and the network also allowed the character of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to appear on the TBS show as well, with Triumph's performer Robert Smigel explaining that NBC only stands to gain by allowing him to give their property exposure. In an interview on CNN's Piers Morgan Live, also in 2012, O'Brien acknowledged that in retrospect the plan to engineer a transition for The Tonight Show five years in advance was "absurd," though he noted that he never anticipated Leno's ratings would fall in that interim, as the press had sometimes intimated, and he pointed out that all previous Tonight Show hosts had departed when they were on top in the ratings. He further remarked that he was happier in his current situation at TBS where he feels "liberated" and can do the material he wants without the baggage of upholding a legacy. In 2013, O'Brien was the headline performer invited to give remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and the Tonight Show controversy was humorously alluded to throughout the evening. During his own speech, President Barack Obama quipped, "I understand that when the Correspondents' Association was considering Conan for this gig, they were faced with that age-old dilemma: Do you offer it to him now, or wait for five years and then give it to Jimmy Fallon?" O'Brien himself referenced the affair with a joke that complimented President Obama on job creation: "Since [Obama] was first elected, the number of popes has doubled, and the number of Tonight Show hosts has tripled." Later that year, O'Brien was chosen to host Carson on TCM, a series that re-aired classic interviews from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 2014, Leno was interviewed for a 60 Minutes episode that focused on the host's second and permanent departure from The Tonight Show desk. Leno expressed to Steve Kroft that he had been "blindsided" in 2004 when NBC executives asked him to relinquish The Tonight Show in five years' time, though he admitted that he had accepted the decision with no argument or inquiry. In spite of this and the public remarks Leno had made at the time blessing O'Brien's succession, both Leno and his wife Mavis characterized The Tonight Show as having been taken from the incumbent host, rather than being something that he had voluntarily surrendered. When Leno explained that he was more willing to step aside the second time due to the considerable talent of Fallon and because "talented people will only wait so long before they get other opportunities," Kroft pointed out that Leno had said very similar things about O'Brien years before. "Well, maybe I did, yeah," admitted Leno before joking, "Well, we'll see what happens." During a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, O'Brien explained that he prefers to avoid talking about the "craziness," stating that people in show business shouldn't complain. He also claimed that even in hindsight he does not regret doing five more years of Late Night instead of moving to Fox, nor does he regret his incarnation of The Tonight Show. Leno hosted his second reincarnation of The Tonight Show until February 2014, when Jimmy Fallon took over the hosting duties. Fallon's credibility with younger viewers and presence online was why NBC instituted the change, which was announced only three years following O'Brien's departure. During the show that aired the day of the announcement, O'Brien congratulated Fallon, stating, "Jimmy is the perfect guy to do it, and he's gonna do a fantastic job." Though NBC had made a considerable effort to scrub any references to O'Brien's brief tenure as The Tonight Show host both on-air and online, with one former blogger for NBC Sports noting a corporate policy banning any mention of O'Brien, it was acknowledged by the network during the buildup to the 2014 transition from Leno to Fallon. A brief shot of O'Brien walking onto his Tonight set was displayed in an on-air promo chronicling the franchise's history, and Fallon referenced the conflict on his first Tonight Show episode, when he opened the show by joking: I'm Jimmy Fallon, and I'll be your host—for now. Of course, I wouldn't be here tonight if it weren't for the previous Tonight Show hosts, so I want to say thank you to Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Leno appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show on February 26, 2014, as a surprise guest to deliver the news that the revived program had been renewed by CBS Television Distribution for a second season. This proved to be premature, however, as Hall's program was indeed canceled on May 30, 2014. Comedian Bill Maher paid tribute to Leno when the latter was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed upon the host in 2014 when he stepped down from The Tonight Show a second time. A longtime friend of Leno, Maher complained that Leno was "victimized" by the press during the NBC fiasco. In a 2015 interview Leno reiterated his stance that O'Brien's own performance led to his ouster from 11:35 and that he remained mystified by the suggestion that he should have refused the time slot when it was offered back to him, saying "Why? Because Conan and I were good friends? No. At that point ... it's a business decision. I'm sure it could have been handled differently. But I think it was a matter of letting things take its course. If Conan's ratings would have been fine, it wouldn't have been an issue. It wouldn't have come up." In 2017, Leno again absolved himself, instead emphasizing that he kept The Tonight Show number one after his return; he also addressed with equivocation the longstanding claim that his contract was the more expensive one to break: "I mean, if I'm that smart, how did I lose the show in the first place?" When he took over Tonight, Fallon insisted that Leno is welcome to appear on the show anytime he wishes, saying, "Whenever he wants, he's got a stage." Leno made his first appearance as a guest on November 7, 2014, and has appeared several more times since. Additionally, Leno has since appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On February 13, 2015, Robert Smigel appeared in character as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote The Jack and Triumph Show. During the interview, he joked about the conflict to a visibly nervous Fallon: "Listen, we love NBC. NBC... we kid, you know? NBC will always be the place where Jack and I got our start. And where they fucked Conan." As the controversy grew distant with time, formal acknowledgement of O'Brien's lengthy career at NBC became more common by the network. In 2017, mention was made of the host in NBC's 90th Anniversary Special, and a display for him among all Tonight Show hosts appears in the ride queue of the Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon theme park attraction at Universal Studios Florida. In conjunction with his 25th anniversary as a late-night host, it was announced that O'Brien, TBS and NBC had come to an arrangement that would allow the entirety of O'Brien's late night archive (with the exception of musical performances, which posed music licensing issues), totaling over four thousand episodes, to become available in January 2019 via a state-of-the-art website dubbed "Conan 25". The launch would have marked the first time O'Brien's NBC programs were made legally available since The Tonight Show conflict. On June 15, 2021, in one of the final episodes of Conan, guest Martin Short alluded to the controversy by asking O'Brien if his to-be-announced guest for the final week was going to be Leno. After a surprised reaction from the audience and laughter from O'Brien and Richter, O'Brien jokingly responded that they did in fact try to reach Leno, but he wouldn't pick up the phone. O'Brien made his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 9, 2024, 14 years after the end of his tenure. = Carter, Bill (November 4, 2010). The War for Late Night. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-02208-3.

27078211

Khonani

2010-04-23 14:58:00+00:00

"Khonani" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 76th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 22, 2010, following shortly after the episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" on the same night. Guest stars in this episode include Kapil Bawa and Subhas Ramsaywack. In the episode, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) distracts himself from his romantic problems by attempting to resolve a dispute between two janitors (Bawa and Ramsaywack). Meanwhile, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is offended when she learns that her employees hang out outside of work but do not invite her. This episode of 30 Rock closely mirrored the feud between television hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. "Khonani" received generally mixed reviews from television critics. According to the Nielsen ratings system, the episode was watched by 5.182 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.5 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) distracts himself from his romantic problems involving the choice between CNBC host Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks) and his high school sweetheart Nancy Donovan (Julianne Moore) by attempting to resolve a dispute between two janitors, Subhas (Subhas Ramsaywack) and Khonani (Kapil Bawa). Five years ago, Khonani signed a contract to take the 11:30 p.m. janitorial shift from Subhas and informs Jack that he is ready to start at the new time. Jack grants him permission, and calls a meeting with Subhas informing him that Khonani will take over the 11:30 shift. Subhas is not happy with this, so Jack decides to move him to 10:00 p.m., which Subhas has no problem with. As he begins his scheduled shift, Khonani is unhappy with it as there is no trash to pick up because Subhas has already collected it. Khonani complains to Jack about this, resulting in Jack returning Subhas to 11:30, and Khonani leaving NBC to work at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Meanwhile, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is distraught to learn that although her writing staff sometimes hang out after work, they never invite her. She tells Jack—her boss—about this. However, Jack explains that it is best for her to keep her distance from them. Later, Liz's assistant Cerie Xerox (Katrina Bowden) announces that her wedding is back on and that Liz and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) need to plan a bachelorette party for her. Liz decides to have the party at her apartment and prove to her employees—who are invited—that she can be fun to be with. At the bachelorette party, staff members Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell) and J. D. Lutz (John Lutz) show up, but want to leave as they are not having a good time. Liz gets upset about this, calls them out for not inviting her to hang out with them and demands that they apologize to her. At the same time, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) is torn between his commitments to his pregnant wife Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd) and his desire to party. He asks NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) to assist with any of Angie's needs, but it becomes too much for Kenneth to deal with and he tells Tracy that he needs to be with her instead. Tracy realizes he needs to be with Angie, but changes his mind and goes to a strip club. After returning home and in order to stay there, Tracy decides to wear his dog's shock collar on himself. Tracy then sends Kenneth to take his place at Liz's party. Unbeknownst to Kenneth, Tracy's dog has followed him to the bachelorette party. Kenneth bursts in Liz's home with Tracy's dog right behind him, resulting in the staff hiding from the dog after it attacks them. They all turn to Liz to get rid of the dog, which she at first refuses. She eventually agrees to help them, after they tell her she is a mother figure to them and that nobody wants to go drinking with their mom. Liz finds comfort in this, so she distracts the dog, and the staff exits her apartment unharmed. "Khonani" was written by 30 Rock co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, a long-time television director who worked with series creator Tina Fey on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. This episode was Chandrasekaran's second writing credit, having co-written the "Winter Madness" episode that aired on January 21, 2010. This was McCarthy-Miller's eleventh directed episode. "Khonani" originally aired in the United States on April 22, 2010, on NBC as the eighteenth episode of the show's fourth season and the 76th overall episode of the series. The main plot regarding the two janitors—Subhas and Khonani—battling for the late-night shift at 11:30 p.m. closely mirrored the feud between television hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien over the hosting job of The Tonight Show. Similar to the feud, in this 30 Rock episode, Khonani signed a contract five years ago to take over the 11:30 p.m. from Subhas and asked Jack Donaghy to make it happen, which Jack does. In September 2004, it was announced by the NBC network that Jay Leno would be succeeded by Conan O'Brien in 2009 as host of The Tonight Show. Five years later, Leno would host his final episode of The Tonight Show in May 2009; similarly, Jack informs Subhas that Khonani will take over that shift. Subhas is not thrilled with this, resulting in Jack moving Subhas to the 10:00 shift; O'Brien took over as host of The Tonight Show in June 2009. NBC, afraid of losing Leno to another network, gave him a new nightly prime time series, The Jay Leno Show, which premiered in September 2009 at 10:00 p.m. In "Khonani", as he begins his shift, Khonani is unhappy as there is no trash to pick up as it already has been collected by Subhas. As a result, Subhas goes back to the 11:30 shift, and Khonani leaves NBC to continue his janitorial duties at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The Jay Leno Show debuted to good ratings, however, as the show continued it would garner low ratings, resulting in NBC proposing that the show air at 11:35 p.m. and that The Tonight Show be moved to 12:05. O'Brien, however, rejected the timeslot. In January 2010, O'Brien reached a deal with the network that would see him leave The Tonight Show on January 22, 2010, and two months later Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010. In April 2010, O'Brien signed a deal with the cable network TBS to host a new late-night talk show. Lorne Michaels, who is the executive producer of 30 Rock and who used to produce Late Night with Conan O'Brien, was O'Brien's mentor. Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2010 that O'Brien would "prevail" from his departure of The Tonight Show. In addition, O'Brien appeared as himself on 30 Rock's first season episode "Tracy Does Conan" that was broadcast on December 6, 2006. Despite not appearing in the episode, the show made reference of Jack's love triangle storyline with Avery Jessup and Nancy Donovan, played by actresses Elizabeth Banks and Julianne Moore, respectively. This plot was first introduced in the previous episode, "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter". The Jack character's love dilemma would continue throughout the season. Moore was announced as a love interest for Alec Baldwin's television character in November 2009, while Banks' guest spot as a love interest for the Jack character was confirmed in December 2009. 30 Rock executive producer and co-showrunner Robert Carlock was asked in a 2009 interview if Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), Toofer Spurlock (Keith Powell), and J.D. Lutz (John Lutz)—the staff writers of the fictitious show The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS)—were going to be seen more in the upcoming season, to which he replied, "One of the great things about this show and the blessing and the curse is that we have so many characters and so many different interactions between characters that work so well. [...] And so, yeah, absolutely because we love those guys". In this episode, Liz Lemon, the head writer for TGS, discovers that Frank, Toofer, and Lutz, along with Pete, do not invite her to hang out with them as they consider her a mother figure. Jack tells Khonani that every April 22 he honors former United States President Richard Nixon's death by getting drunk and making some unpopular decisions, after Khonani demands to start working at the 11:30 shift as he signed a contract with Jack on April 22, 2005. Cerie says that her wedding is back on after learning that her fiancé was rescued by the A-Team—a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who work as soldiers of fortune while being on the run from the military—from pirates. Khonani tells Jack that Subhas will want to leave NBC so he can attend to his hobbies of "[collecting] classic car...", Khonani coughs, "cardboard. Classic cardboard." This is a satirical reference to Jay Leno who collects classic cars. Later, after Jack gives back Subhas his original time shift, Khonani says he has a "great job lined up at Fox", Khonani coughs, "...woods. Foxwoods Casino." Following his departure from NBC, reports circulated that the Fox network wanted to hire Conan O'Brien. At the bachelorette party, Jenna sings the 1840s song "Jimmy Crack Corn". In its original American broadcast, "Khonani" was watched by 5.182 million households, according to the Nielsen ratings system. It achieved a 2.5 rating/7 share in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.5 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter", that aired the same day of the week, which was watched by 4.216 million American viewers. The episode received generally mixed critical reception. The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin found the episode less enjoyable than "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter". He explained that when he first learned that the show would tackle the Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien situation "I felt a surge of excitement and optimism. I thought the writers would come up with a smart new angle to attack the imbroglio", but after the airing he noted the janitor plot only hampered the episode. Rabin, however, enjoyed Tracy's actions in the episode, commenting that it "provided a showcase for some great Tracy Morgan non-sequiturs". Emily Exton of Entertainment Weekly also found "Khonani" the weaker of the two episodes, and also believed that the "late-night jokes felt tired". Television columnist Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger disliked the episode, and as a result he noted in his recap that he would remove 30 Rock from the rotation of shows for which he always did detailed reviews. Willa Paskin of New York magazine wrote had the show make reference to the Leno and O'Brien debacle a few months ago "this would have been a cutting-edge satire ... Now, not so much." Jason Hughes of TV Squad remarked that the writing in "Khonani" was sharp, though added that "for some reason" the episode "didn't ring nearly as sharp or funny as many others. I think it was a lot of unfulfilled potential." Sean Gandert of Paste magazine deemed this episode disappointing, but proclaimed "it was still entertaining enough." James Poniewozik of Time observed, "NBC's public troubles have been 30 Rock's greatest blessing this season, providing it with satiric fodder from The Jay Leno Show to the Comcast acquisition. The show may not be the best sitcom on TV now, but it's definitely the best work of NBC-criticism." In regards to the main plot, he said it "could have done even more with the premise of the Jaypocalypse re-enacted with janitors, but it gets a lot of credit for the inspired idea." IGN contributor Robert Canning gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10 rating, writing that the janitor plot "came at a perfect time" in regards to the Leno and O'Brien controversy. He, however, did not like the other two plots, noting they were "less impressive". Meredith Blake from the Los Angeles Times said that the Khonani and Subhas plot was "supremely clever and self-referential", and that the show's take on it was "decidedly neutral, albeit very funny".

26516852

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour

2010-03-11 18:34:18+00:00

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, also known as the Prohibited Tour, was a comedy tour by American comedian and talk show host Conan O'Brien. Its title is a reference to the 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict, which resulted in O'Brien resigning from his position as host of The Tonight Show in January 2010. O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that barred him from appearing on television until September 2010, but it did not bar him from performing before a live audience in a concert setting. From April through June 2010, O'Brien performed 43 shows in the United States and Canada. O'Brien announced on March 11, 2010, via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12. Even with the unconventional marketing campaign of a single Twitter announcement, many locations sold out within hours of the tweet and additional shows were added on to meet demand. During the tour, O'Brien announced that his new show, Conan, would debut on TBS in November 2010. A documentary following O'Brien during the tour, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, was released in June 2011. In January 2010, late-night talk show hosts Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno engaged in a public relations conflict over who should host The Tonight Show. Due to low ratings for The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, NBC announced a schedule change, moving Leno from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm, and O'Brien from 11:30 pm to 12:05 am. This change resulted in a public outcry and public demonstrations largely in support of O'Brien. O'Brien indicated that he would quit his show and leave the network if NBC were to implement it, citing the "destruction" of the venerable franchise which had aired at or around 11:30 pm for over 60 years. As part of the deal between O'Brien and NBC, O'Brien was legally prohibited from appearing on television prior to September 1, 2010. He began to utilize social media to remain engaged with his fan base. O'Brien started a Twitter account on February 24, 2010. After about one hour, O'Brien's subscriber list had reached over 30,000 members and, approximately 30 minutes later, he was on the brink of passing 50,000 followers. After 24 hours, O'Brien had well over 300,000 followers. In late May 2010, he surpassed the one million mark for number of Twitter followers. O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour on March 11, 2010, beginning on April 12, 2010. On the same day, teamcoco.com, an official website, was launched. According to TMZ, O'Brien decided not to keep any of the proceeds from the tour, in order to employ his show's staff members. Several members of O'Brien's staff joined him for the tour, including sidekick Andy Richter, and the former Tonight Show Band, temporarily renamed "The Legally Prohibited Band". Max Weinberg, the band leader, was unable to participate in the tour due to his recent heart surgery, although he did appear at one of the New York City shows. Signs at each venue encouraged audience members using Twitter during the show to use a unique hashtag. Reggie Watts served as the tour's opening act. In the video introduction to the show, Conan appeared as an obese and bearded version of himself struggling to cope with the loss of his talk show while Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" plays. He then transforms back into his thin self during his exercise montage (by merely pulling off his body suit) after getting the call to go on tour. The tour differed from his television shows in that there was no desk or celebrity interviews, but presented as more of a variety show than a stand-up routine. Many elements from TV were incorporated into the show, including video bits, musical and comic performers, and cameo appearances by celebrities. Classic sketches were also revived for the tour, albeit under different names due to legal issues over the ownership rights. The Masturbating Bear, for example, made a brief appearance before being transformed into the Self-Pleasuring Panda. Also, the "Walker, Texas Ranger lever" was retitled the "Chuck Norris Rural Policeman Handle". Triumph the Insult Comic Dog mocked the city the tour was appearing in as himself in a prerecorded bit that inserts information about the city by dubbing over the original audio. O'Brien also introduced a giant inflatable bat he claimed to have purchased during Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell tour and at one point walked onstage wearing a replica of Eddie Murphy's purple suit from his comedy special Eddie Murphy Raw. In addition, O'Brien performed music throughout the show, including the disco hit "I Will Survive" and a personal parody of "On the Road Again". Reggie Watts (select dates) Festivals and other miscellaneous performances [A]This show is a part of the "Bonnaroo Music Festival" = Just hours before the first show of the tour, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable station TBS, titled Conan, which debuted in November 2010. In addition to the announcement of the television series, TBS also announced a one-hour TBS Special, featuring several writers for Conan, as well Watts. With ticket prices starting at $40, The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour sold out. Footage of O'Brien's tour has been uploaded onto YouTube by fans in attendance and immediately went viral. A clip of O'Brien's performance of "I Will Survive", for example, has received more than 320,000 views. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, a behind-the-scenes documentary film shot during the tour, was released in June 2011. It focuses on the production of the tour, O'Brien's interactions with fans and his crew, and O'Brien's thoughts on the Tonight Show conflict and legal injunction that inspired the tour. The movie was filmed, directed and produced by director Rodman Flender, a college friend of O'Brien.

27324038

The War for Late Night

2010-05-12 00:22:22+00:00

The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy is a 2010 non-fiction book written by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. It chronicles the 2010 conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show involving Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. It is a sequel to Carter's 1994 book The Late Shift, which detailed the struggle for the hosting spot on The Tonight Show between David Letterman and Jay Leno in the early 1990s following the retirement of Johnny Carson. It was first published on November 4, 2010, by Viking Press. The book received a generally favorable reception from reviewers including Associated Press, BusinessWeek, The Buffalo News, New York Magazine, Star Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Time, and ABC News. The Las Vegas Review-Journal said, "The War for Late Night ... offers an exhaustive, eye-opening, how-could-he-possibly-know-that look at the late-night feud that ultimately was a muddled victory for Leno: He won back The Tonight Show, but his ratings have fallen below O'Brien's." Author Bill Carter previously wrote The Late Shift, a book about the 1991-92 conflict between Jay Leno and David Letterman to decide who would succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show. The book was well received by critics from publications including The New York Times Book Review, and The Christian Science Monitor. Carter researched for the book during 2010. He had secured a publishing deal for the book by January of that year. Carter confirmed to Gillian Reagan of Business Insider that in his research, he tried to gather information from multiple viewpoints. He said, "I'm reaching out to everyone I possibly can to get every side of the story." Carter said that he was remaining neutral about the 2010 Tonight Show conflict. "I obviously have to reach out to all sides", he said. "For the longest time, I personally tried to watch as many episodes of all the shows as I could to get sense of each show, and what each guy does. I don't just pick one and stick with that guy." Carter researched the impact of financial decision-making on the controversy. He said he had known Leno for a long time, and O'Brien since he began working for NBC, and that these connections gave him the benefit of familiarity. The War for Late Night chronicles the 2010 conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show involving Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Carter gives biographical description of other late-night television personalities, including David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. As host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, O'Brien decided to remain with NBC after attempts by ABC and Fox to attract him to their networks—as NBC executives had told O'Brien that he would become host of The Tonight Show after Leno's retirement. While hosting The Tonight Show and analyzing ratings results, O'Brien told his manager Gavin Polone that he feared that Leno might be moved back to the program. Carter's book contains details of O'Brien's and Leno's contracts, and describes O'Brien's emotional state during the 2010 conflict. According to Carter, Leno had an advantage during negotiations because of a stronger contract agreement with NBC, which gave Leno the option to sue NBC if his program was canceled. NBC executives tried to solve the problem so that both Leno and O'Brien would keep their jobs. Jeff Gaspin, the chairman of NBC Universal Television, instructed both parties that he did not wish to make a difficult decision but that the most appropriate solution was to move Leno back to his previous timeslot and push O'Brien to 12:05. Carter details a heated exchange between NBC executive Jeff Zucker and O'Brien's agent Rick Rosen during which Zucker told O'Brien's representatives he could enforce O'Brien's contract and "ice him for two years", after details of the conflict were leaked to the media. The author cites O'Brien's disappointment with the perceived unfairness of the situation, and quotes O'Brien's comments at a meeting with NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios chairman Marc Graboff and Jeff Gaspin, "I know how hard I worked for this. It was promised to me. I had a shitty lead-in." Carter recounts how affiliates of NBC complained to the network about the poor ratings performance of Leno's program The Jay Leno Show. O'Brien asked the two NBC executives, "What does Jay have on you? What does this guy have on you people? What the hell is it about Jay?" Carter writes about how the "Team Coco" movement and fans impacted O'Brien following the controversy, "The outpouring of support made Conan feel as if he was starring in his own version of the movie It's a Wonderful Life, both because he was allowed to see a 'Tonight Show' where he never existed and because the support made him realize he really was 'the richest man in town.'" O'Brien was hurt by the fact that Leno did not communicate directly with him during the fiasco. Carter also says that compared to the eventual payout to O'Brien of $45 million, NBC would have suffered a financial loss of $235 million if O'Brien had left the company in 2004 to host a talk show for another network. O'Brien moved from NBC to host his own late night program on TBS. Carter's work concludes with an interview from comic Jerry Seinfeld, who favored Leno; Seinfeld argues that O'Brien should have remained at NBC. Writing for New York Post, Larry Getlen wrote, "Veteran journalist Bill Carter details the vicious recent battle over The Tonight Show, showing how Leno was hardly the devious schemer he was made out to be, and how O’Brien was not always the angelic innocent the media portrayed, as he and his team aggressively pursued the show at every opportunity." Jon Bershad of Mediaite commented, "It’s as tense and exciting as expected." Writing for TV Squad, Joel Keller analyzed Carter's comparison of Leno's legal contract with O'Brien's, and wrote that the author "paints a picture of Leno and his producer, Debbie Vickers, as pragmatists and Conan as a cockeyed idealist". Joe Flint of Los Angeles Times commented about changes in the media industry since Carter's prior book The Late Shift, "The only difference is that the media world has changed a lot then, and while The Late Shift had a lot of inside dirt and drama that was news to everyone but the most hardcore industry insiders, this time around the soap opera played out on TV and in the media." James Poniewozik of Time wrote, "There are lots of juicy bits, but the big takeaway: the guy with the best contract, wins", and called the book, "Bill Carter's Jaypocalypse dirt-disher". Writing for ABC News, journalist Sheila Marikar commented, "Bill Carter's new book, 'The War for Late Night,' reveals what happened behind the scenes, the expletives that were hurled during closed-door discussions, the roller coaster that O'Brien, Leno, and their cohorts rode during that tumultuous time." Frazier Moore of Associated Press wrote, "He plays this latest late-night conflagration right down the middle. He keeps the story moving almost cinematically, crosscutting from one personality to another, deftly and revealingly presenting different points of view." Writing for BusinessWeek, Jim Windolf gave the book a rating of three stars out of a possible five, and commented, "Bill Carter has become the Bob Woodward of the 11:35 time slot." Paula Duffy of HULIQ News described the book as "a juicy tell-all". Dylan Stableford of TheWrap called the book "a must-read" for fans of Conan O'Brien. Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News called the book a "definitive history" of the 2010 Tonight Show conflict. Willa Paskin wrote for New York Magazine that Carter, "spoke with enough people involved in the situation to provide an account so detailed, it even includes re-created conversations and dialogue". Neal Justin of Star Tribune commented on the author's neutrality in his writing style, "The next time network TV executives stumble into an ugly behind-the-scenes battle, they should consider hiring Bill Carter to negotiate. The veteran New York Times media reporter has a way of sharing juicy stories without painting anyone as a complete saint or sinner, a feat he pulls off again in his latest book, 'The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy'". Nate Jones wrote for Time magazine, "There are no landmark surprises—Jay Leno comes off as affably opportunistic, Conan O'Brien as a tragic self-dramatist with a little bit of a martyrdom complex—but it's a worthwhile look at the procedural negotiations that led to last winter's messy divorce." The Hollywood Reporter said, "Bill Carter's book reveals explosive new details about the Jay Leno-O'Brien debacle." Kyle Anderson of MTV.com wrote, "the story takes an amazingly candid look at the conversations and arguments that went on behind the scenes. It even takes you to the moment when O'Brien decides that he has to walk away from 'The Tonight Show.'" Paul Schwartzman of The Washington Post wrote that it "is a great read and an example of narrative journalism's power when practiced by a reporter steeped in his subject matter." Lynette Rice of Entertainment Weekly gave Carter's book a rating of B−, and wrote, "In the end, Carter presents a pretty compelling argument that while the fourth-place network lost the public relations war, it probably won the late-night battle." Speaking on his program The Howard Stern Show, host Howard Stern said of Carter's writing style, "It is just endlessly fascinating the way he paints this picture." On January 19, 2010, during O'Brien's last week of shows, guest Quentin Tarantino jokingly suggested that he direct a sequel to The Late Shift, cast O'Brien as himself and make it a revenge movie in the style of his film Kill Bill with the title Late Shift 2: The Rolling Thunder of Revenge. The Toronto Star reported in February 2010 that a sequel to The Late Shift film was in planning stages. In the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, O'Brien said he wished that actress Tilda Swinton could portray him in the film, an idea in which Swinton subsequently expressed interest. When asked in a June 2010 interview with Movieline about the prospects of a film adaptation, Carter responded in the negative, saying, "Not really. Nothing serious. Let's put it this way: There have always been people kicking it around because they think it's funny ... Letterman made a ... joke saying that Max von Sydow should play him. So, you know, people are just kicking it around like that." Actor Bob Balaban, who portrayed NBC executive Warren Littlefield in The Late Shift said he would like to portray Jeff Zucker, and said Jason Alexander would also be a good choice to play Zucker. Andy Richter jokingly told Movieline that he would want Justin Bieber to portray him in a film adaptation of the book. Carter, Bill (2007). Desperate Networks. Broadway. pp. 333–340. ISBN 978-0-7679-1974-6. Carter, Bill (December 2010). "The Unsocial Network: Plunging ratings. Tense negotiations. A bewildered, increasingly outraged Conan O'Brien and an anxiously pragmatic Jay Leno. In this excerpt from his new book, Bill Carter unfurls the behind-the-scenes story of late night's explosive 2010 showdown". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved October 29, 2010. Carter, Bill (November 8, 2010). "Excerpt: 'The War for Late Night' By Bill Carter". Good Morning America. ABC News. Retrieved November 8, 2010. DeFrank, Ginny (2007). Marry me Conan O'Brien and other tales of well-planned self-delusion. University of Southern California. p. 608. Lowry, Brian (October 27, 2010). "Latenight: More slap fight than brawl – Leno, Letterman, O'Brien continue the old fight". Variety. Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved October 27, 2010.

27923631

SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1

2010-07-03 01:03:50+00:00

SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1 was the first orbital spaceflight of the Dragon cargo spacecraft, and the second overall flight of the Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by SpaceX. It was also the first demonstration flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The primary mission objectives were to test the orbital maneuvering and reentry of the Dragon capsule. The mission also aimed to test fixes to the Falcon 9 rocket, particularly the unplanned roll of the first stage that occurred during flight 1. Liftoff occurred on 8 December 2010 at 15:43 UTC. The success of the mission allowed SpaceX to advance its vehicle testing plan. With two back-to-back "near-perfect" Falcon 9 launches and satisfactory tests of the first Dragon capsule, SpaceX "asked NASA to combine objectives laid out for the remaining two COTS missions... and permit a berthing at the ISS during its next flight". This combined test mission was completed in May 2012, and achieved its objectives, opening the path to regular cargo deliveries by Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Commercial flights started in October 2012 with CRS-1. On 18 August 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had won a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract to demonstrate cargo delivery to the International Space Station with a possible option for crew transport. This contract, designed by NASA to provide "seed money" for development of new boosters, paid SpaceX $278 million to develop the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, with incentive payments paid at milestones culminating in three demonstration launches. COTS Demo Flight 1 was the first of the launches under this contract. The original agreement with NASA called for the COTS Demo Flight 1 to occur in the second quarter of 2008; this flight was delayed several times, actually occurring in December 2010. Separately from the NASA COTS contract, SpaceX was also awarded a NASA contract for commercial resupply services (CRS) to the ISS. The firm contracted value is $1.6 billion, and NASA could elect to order additional missions for a total contract value of up to $3.1 billion. The two stages and Dragon capsule for the second Falcon 9 were built at SpaceX's manufacturing facility at Hawthorne, California, and were delivered to SpaceX's facilities at Cape Canaveral in July and August 2010. The target launch date was rescheduled from its original 2008 date to the end of 2010, with COTS Demo 2 and 3 being rescheduled to 2011. A full wet dress rehearsal was conducted on 15 September 2010, and the launch was targeted for no earlier than 7 December 2010. On 22 November 2010, SpaceX announced that it had received a license for spacecraft re-entry from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation for the flight. It is the first such license issued to a private enterprise. A successful static test fire was performed by SpaceX on 4 December 2010. This was the third attempt to do so, as the first two attempts were automatically aborted. The first attempt was on 3 December 2010, but the test was automatically aborted one second before ignition due to a high-pressure reading. The flight was to proceed on 7 December 2010. However, several cracks were noted on the outer portions of the niobium extension of the second stage Merlin vacuum nozzle. The decision was made to trim the un-needed six inches off the nozzle, since the resulting performance loss was not critical. The launch was ultimately scheduled for 8 December 2010, with launch windows available from 14:00 to 14:06, 15:38 to 15:43, and 17:16 to 17:24 UTC based on the availability of the NASA tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) network used to track and communicate with the spacecraft. The first attempt was originally scheduled for the middle of the first launch window, at 14:03 UTC, but was moved to the end of the window at 14:06 UTC. This attempt was aborted at T-02:48 on the countdown clock because of false telemetry data. The launch was re-targeted for 15:43 UTC, and was successful. First stage engines cut off at T+02:56, nose cone separated at T+03:47, second stage engines cut off at T+08:56, all as planned. The Dragon vehicle separated at T+09:30 and achieved a near circular orbit, with a perigee of 288 km (179 mi), an apogee of 301 km (187 mi) and an inclination of 34.53°. These were close to targeted marks of a 300 km (190 mi) circular orbit at an inclination of 34.5°. The Falcon 9 carried a small number of nanosatellites to orbit as well. Included were a total of eight cubesats including the first U.S. Army nanosatellite, Space and Missile Defense Command — Operational Nanosatellite Effect, or SMDC-ONE, for a 30-day mission, and two 3U buses, the CubeSat Experiment (QbX), provided by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, also expected to remain in orbit for only 30 days. One of the weight ballasts inside the Dragon spacecraft was a metal barrel containing a wheel of French Le Brouère cheese. This cheese is produced in Bulgnéville, Vosges. It was packed as a joke, and references the Cheese Shop sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. The barrel's lid was pasted with an image from the poster for the 1984 spoof film Top Secret!. SpaceX's CEO did not reveal the identity of the cargo during the post-splashdown news conference, for fear of the joke overshadowing the company's accomplishments. = While in orbit, a battery of automated tests were performed including thermal control and attitude control to maintain uninterrupted TDRS data links. At 16:15 UTC, SpaceX announced that it had achieved contact with the Dragon module through the TDRS system. After the two planned orbits, the spacecraft was manually commanded to begin a deorbit burn, resulting in it splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 19:02 UTC approximately 800 km (500 mi) west of Baja California after all three parachutes successfully deployed. SpaceX reported that all test objectives were completed, and the recovery craft arrived to retrieve the spacecraft within 20 minutes of splashdown. The craft landed within 800 m (2,600 ft) of the targeted location, well within the 60-by-20-kilometer (37 by 12 mi) recovery zone. From launch to splashdown, the demonstration flight lasted for 3 hours, 19 minutes, 52 seconds. = The second stage engine was reignited in orbit after separation from the Dragon capsule. This allowed SpaceX to work on a secondary mission objective of expanding the launch capability envelope by testing in-space engine reignition and ability of the vehicle to achieve a beyond-LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Even though the nozzle of the Merlin Vacuum second-stage engine had been substantially trimmed—due to two cracks discovered only a few days before the scheduled launch—the second stage reached an altitude of 11,000 kilometers (6,800 mi).

25777732

Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit

2010-01-12 10:01:36+00:00

The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft manufactured by SpaceX. After using it for ground tests to rate Dragon's shape and mass in various tests, SpaceX launched it into low Earth orbit on the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, on June 4, 2010. SpaceX used the launch to evaluate the aerodynamic conditions on the spacecraft and performance of the carrier rocket in a real-world launch scenario, ahead of Dragon flights for NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. The spacecraft orbited the Earth over 300 times before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 27 June. In September 2009, the launch was slated to occur no earlier than November 29, 2009, however the launch was subsequently postponed ten more times, to launch dates in February, March, April, May, and June 2010, for multiple reasons including finding an open launch date, approvals, and retesting. The launch date was eventually set for June 4, 2010. On October 16, 2009, nine Merlin 1C engines of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket intended to launch the Dragon were test fired at SpaceX's rocket engine test facility in McGregor, Texas. On January 2, 2010, the second stage of the Falcon 9 vehicle was test fired for the full duration required for orbital insertion, 345 seconds. By late February, the launch vehicle had been assembled and raised to its vertical position on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), having been rolled out to the launch pad on February 19. On March 13, 2010, the first stage engines successfully underwent a 3.5 second static test firing, having failed a previous attempt the day before. SpaceX announced in September 2009 that the Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit would be the payload for the first Falcon 9 launch. At the time, launch was scheduled to occur no earlier than November 2009. The launch date had been delayed several times for various reasons, The spacecraft was launched and entered orbit on June 4, 2010. The first actual launch attempt targeted a four-hour launch window opening at 15:00 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on 4 June 2010, with the possibility of a launch attempt the following day in the event that launch did not occur inside the 4 June window. The first attempt to launch the rocket, at 17:30 UTC, was aborted seconds prior to liftoff due to a reported out of range engine parameter, which later turned out to be a sensor error. The launch was rescheduled, with a successful liftoff taking place an hour and fifteen minutes later at 18:45 UTC (2:45 pm EDT). The vehicle reached orbit successfully, entering into a 250 km (160 mi) orbit. SpaceX employee Ken Bowersox stated that the rocket experienced "a little bit of roll at liftoff". This roll had stopped prior to the craft reaching the top of the lightning towers. A separate issue involved a moderate, uncorrected roll at the end of the second stage firing. The first stage, that is designed to be reusable, disintegrated during reentry, before the parachutes could be deployed. Following the launch, SpaceX left the qualification unit in low Earth orbit, where its orbit was allowed to decay and it reentered the atmosphere around 00:50 GMT on June 27, 2010. The qualification unit remained attached to the second stage of the launcher; production units separate for orbital maneuvering. SpaceX lost contact with the Dragon and the Falcon 9 second stage shortly after orbit was achieved, as the on-board batteries were only designed to last long enough to launch. They re-entered in the early morning hours (UTC) on June 27, 2010. Although exact location is uncertain, it is believed to have disintegrated over Syria and Iraq. At around 5:30 am local time on June 5, 2010, sightings of a mysterious "lollipop-type swirl" light or cloud heading from west to east were reported in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, as well as the Australian Capital Territory. The sightings were likened to the Russian RSM-56 Bulava rocket launch that prompted similar video and images from the Arctic known as the 2009 Norwegian spiral anomaly; it was suggested that the visible object was the spent upper stage or the qualification unit launched aboard the Falcon 9 or both.

33513290

GeneSat-1

2011-10-24 08:47:55+00:00

GeneSat-1 is a NASA fully automated, CubeSat spaceflight system that provides life support for bacteria E. Coli K-12. The system was launched into orbit on 16 December 2006, from Wallops Flight Facility. GeneSat-1 began to transmit data on its first pass over the mission's California ground station. The nanosatellite contains onboard micro-laboratory systems such as sensors and optical systems that can detect proteins that are the products of specific genetic activity. Knowledge gained from GeneSat-1 is intended to aid scientific understanding of how spaceflight affects the human body. Weighing 4.6 kilograms, the miniature laboratory was a secondary payload on an Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 launch vehicle that delivered the Air Force TacSat-2 satellite to orbit. In the development of the GeneSat satellite class (at a fraction of what it normally costs to conduct a mission in space), Ames Research Center (Small Spacecraft Office) collaborated with organisations in industry and also universities local to the center. It is NASA's first fully automated, self-contained biological spaceflight experiment on a satellite of its size.

28145710

2010 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby

2010-07-25 06:33:23+00:00

The 2010 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the tournament and part of the 2010 ATP Challenger Tour, offering totals of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Granby, Quebec, Canada between July 26 and August 1, 2010. = 1 Rankings are as of July 19, 2010 = The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: Philip Bester Érik Chvojka Frank Dancevic Steven Diez The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: Richard Bloomfield Adam Feeney Hiroki Kondo Toshihide Matsui = Tobias Kamke def. Milos Raonic, 6–3, 7–6(7–4) = Frederik Nielsen / Joseph Sirianni def. Sanchai Ratiwatana / Sonchat Ratiwatana, 4–6, 6–4, [10–6]

28199828

2010 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open

2010-07-30 08:30:51+00:00

The 2010 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition, for men, and 9th edition, for women, of the tournament and part of the 2010 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2010 ITF Women's Circuit, offering totals of $100,000, for men, and $75,000, for women, in prize money. It took place in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada between August 2 and August 8, 2010. = 1 Rankings are as of July 26, 2010 = The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: Philip Bester Andrea Collarini Ryan Harrison Vasek Pospisil The following players entered the singles main draw with a special exempt: Frank Dancevic Milos Raonic The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: Steven Diez Brydan Klein Alex Kuznetsov James Ward = Dudi Sela def. Ričardas Berankis, 7–5, 6–2 = Jelena Dokić def. Virginie Razzano, 6–1, 6–4 = Treat Conrad Huey / Dominic Inglot def. Ryan Harrison / Jesse Levine, 6–4, 7–5 = Chang Kai-chen / Heidi El Tabakh def. Irina Falconi / Amanda Fink, 3–6, 6–3, [10–4]

27569916

2010 Rogers Cup

2010-06-01 21:32:36+00:00

The 2010 Canada Masters (also known as the 2010 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank and the 2010 Rogers Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 121st edition of the Canada Masters for the men (the 109th edition for the women), and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour. The men's event was held at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Canada, from August 7 through August 15, 2010. The women's event was held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada, from August 13 through August 23, 2010. It was scheduled to end August 22 but some of the matches were postponed to August 23 due to rain. = Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer, 7–5, 7–5 It was Murray's first title of the year and 15th of his career. It was his second consecutive win at the event, the first repeat Canadian Masters winner since Andre Agassi in 1994–1995. Federer rose to world no. 2 upon reaching the final. = Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6–3, 6–2 It was Wozniacki's 3rd title of the year and 9th of her career. It was her first Premier 5 title. = Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan defeated Julien Benneteau / Michaël Llodra, 7–5, 6–3 This win was the Bryan's sixteenth Masters Series win, for their careers. Also, this was the third time they won the Canadian Masters in their careers. = Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta defeated Květa Peschke / Katarina Srebotnik, 7–5, 3–6, [12–10] = Seedings are based on the rankings of August 2, 2010 and is subject to change. = The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: Frank Dancevic Pierre-Ludovic Duclos Peter Polansky Milos Raonic The following player received special exempt into the singles main draw: Xavier Malisse The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: Kevin Anderson Denis Istomin Lu Yen-hsun Fabio Fognini Illya Marchenko Jarkko Nieminen Michael Russell The following players received the lucky loser spots: Somdev Devvarman Paul-Henri Mathieu = Juan Martín del Potro (wrist injury) Juan Carlos Ferrero (knee Injury) Fernando González (calf) Lleyton Hewitt (calf strain) John Isner (shoulder injury) Ivan Ljubičić Juan Mónaco (wrist injury) Albert Montañés Andy Roddick (glandular fever) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (knee Injury) = These seedings are ranking of August 9, 2010 = The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw Stéphanie Dubois Virginie Razzano Valérie Tétreault Aleksandra Wozniak The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: Iveta Benešová Heidi El Tabakh Jarmila Groth Lucie Hradecká Vania King Ekaterina Makarova Bethanie Mattek-Sands Monica Niculescu The following players received the lucky loser spots: Kimiko Date-Krumm Patty Schnyder = Justine Henin (elbow injury) Maria Sharapova (left foot injury) Samantha Stosur (shoulder injury) Serena Williams (foot surgery) Venus Williams (left knee injury)

64066292

World Hockey Summit

2020-05-25 19:26:28+00:00

The World Hockey Summit was an international ice hockey conference held in Toronto on August 23–26, 2010. It was arranged by the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, the National Hockey League (NHL), the Canadian Hockey League and Molson Coors as the title sponsor. Its theme was "global teamwork promoting the growth of the game" and emphasized development of players. The summit was organized to create eventual changes in hockey, but the Toronto Star noted that little progress had been made since the Open Ice Summit in 1999, and children playing hockey for the love of the game was still an issue. Discussions were targeted towards national hockey associations, and hockey executives and administrators, and focused on the relationship of the NHL to European leagues and ice hockey at the Olympic Games; and the futures of junior ice hockey, women's ice hockey, and international men's events including the Ice Hockey World Championships. The concept for the World Hockey Summit began during the planning stages of the 2010 Winter Olympics when International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) executives talked about the importance of sharing global hockey knowledge. The summit was scheduled for August 23 to August 26 in Toronto, and was arranged by the IIHF, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, the National Hockey League (NHL), the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and Molson Coors as the title sponsor. The summit's theme was "global teamwork promoting the growth of the game", with an emphasis on development of players. Discussion was targeted towards national hockey associations, executives and administrators for hockey leagues and clubs, coaches, player agents and business people in hockey; and included sessions designed to allow for participation in person or via social media. Bob Nicholson was the lead administrator for the summit. Admission was priced at C$450 and was open to the public. World Hockey Summit schedule: = The first hot stove league discussion dealt with relations between Russia and the NHL. Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) chairman Viacheslav Fetisov discussed wanting to improve its relationship with the NHL with respect to transfer agreements and player contracts. His league sought greater financial compensation when its players departed for the NHL, instead of negotiating a flat rate for an unlimited number of transfers. The NHL was also eager to have a relationship since no transfer agreement existed at the time, and its teams sought better assurance that Russian players would to North America when selected in the NHL Entry Draft. The second discussion included Pat Brisson and Don Meehan who were sports agents for NHL players, who discussed how their role was necessary in finding talent from Europe to play junior ice hockey in North America. Toronto Maple Leafs team president Brian Burke joined the discussion, and felt that players' parents were partly to blame and was critical of them seeking agents for 14-year-olds. The third discussion compared the game in North America with Europe, and attempts to introduce the NHL into the European market. Daniel Alfredsson and Glenn Healy felt that the NHL experiment of playing regular season games in Europe was not successful, whereas NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wanted to increase the number of games and market its most popular teams. Journalist Paul Romanuk suggested an end-of-season championship between the NHL and Europe. Panelists felt the NHL had nothing to gain from the proposal, despite support from European-born players in the NHL. = The discussion on player skills development included recent concerns for the safety for athletes. The NHL described the debate on what age to introduce body checking at the minor ice hockey level or whether to eliminate it altogether, as "one of the livelier subjects". Mark Aubry, the chief medical officer of Hockey Canada, spoke at the summit and cautioned against returning to play from a head injury too soon, and cited recent studies on the effects of concussions. He called for raising the minimum age for body checking to 13 or 14 and eliminating hits from behind. He argued that children should develop skills instead as they are vulnerable to injury due to height and weight differences. He cited research on the long-term effects for athletes who have had multiple concussions, specifically younger hockey players. Aubry stated, "We're exposing these kids to an increased risk of injury at an age where I think we should still be talking about skill development and having fun". NHL vice-president Brendan Shanahan echoed the statement of Aubry and said, "Anytime you can get a kid out on the ice and just make it fun and he is developing and improving without knowing he's developing and improving, and all he cares about is that he is having a great deal of fun out there, that's when you have really locked onto something valuable". Hockey coach Bob Boughner hoped for continued discussions on player safety and skills, but was not optimistic for change to happen quickly. = IIHF president René Fasel spoke in a question and answer session, and discussed the NHL presence in Europe and in ice hockey at the Olympic Games. Despite NHL success in marketing its brand in Europe which included several regular season games, Fasel was defensive of European hockey. He was against NHL expansion plans into Europe and vowed not to let it happen. He instead envisioned a multi-country European professional league, where the European champion would play the Stanley Cup winner for a world title. He further explained that rinks in Europe were typically had a lesser seating capacity those in North America, and that European ticket prices were less than typical NHL prices. He felt it was not a viable economy for the NHL games considering travel costs and profits margins. Despite being against expansion into Europe, Fasel sought to keep NHL participation at the Winter Olympics due to its profitability and exposure for international hockey, although the NHL had not committed to the 2014 Winter Olympics. The hockey tournament has become one of the biggest events at the Olympics, since the NHL first participated in 1998. He felt that the Olympics were optimal to promote the league, the game and the players, and appealed for fans of the game to support NHL participation despite the continued negotiations. = Nations in Europe were concerned about the number of junior ice hockey players leaving to play in North America, despite the improved talent level and the increasing popularity of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships. Discussions at the summit included maintaining the level of competition at the World Junior Championships; limits of the collegiate programs; and Europeans developing in the CHL and the American Hockey League. Slavomir Lener, a director with the Czech Ice Hockey Association, felt that junior-aged players were enticed to play in North America before maturation, with had a negative effect on the development of the player and the European system. He stated that of the 527 Czech Republic players who went to North American junior hockey, only 22 of them played more than 400 NHL games. He sought to establish a European system that was competitive enough to deter players from entering into the CHL Import Draft. = The men's tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics was evaluated at the summit. Discussion included analysis on its financial aspects, costs and benefits of NHL players at the games, television viewership, scheduling of games, and the usage of the smaller NHL-sized ice surface instead of larger international-sized ice surface. Brian Burke wanted the NHL participation in the Olympics to continue, but felt that teams should receive financial compensation while the NHL season was on hiatus during the Olympics. He proposed allowing the NHL oversee a world championship which had potential to a financially lucrative venture while league games were not being played. John Furlong who was the chief executive officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, felt it was important to reach a deal with the NHL, and stated that "The fans would never forgive you. That's what I think should be driving you to a solution". = NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke in a question and answer session, and discussed NHL participation at the Olympic Games and reiterated that no decision had been made about the 2014 Winter Olympics. He stated being in the Olympics was a "mixed bag" for the NHL, and experiences outside of North America tended not to be positive. He gave a list of issues that he wanted to see resolved in consultation with the National Hockey League Players' Association. Issues included were, more control over marketing and promotion, timing of games being televised in North America, the hiatus in the NHL regular season schedule, ability for NHL team executives to access their players, travel concerns, and risk of injuries. He briefly discussed NHL presence in Europe and denied there were discussions on expansion there, but stated that the IIHF had asked about the NHL operating a champions league. = The summit discussed the long-term agenda for international events, which included the World Cup of Hockey for national teams and the possibility of a similar competition for professional teams. Former Switzerland men's national ice hockey team coach Ralph Krueger spoke about the need to co-ordinate IIHF and NHL events to work towards global growth of the game. He suggested that the World Cup of Hockey be played every four years, alternating with the Olympic Games every two years. He wanted to see World Championships became an under-23 event during Olympic years. He felt it would be beneficial to national teams to evaluate their younger talent at the international level, and the under-23 event would be ideal opportunity. Krueger wanted to resurrect the Champions Hockey League and Victoria Cup competitions, which he felt would make the game more popular in Europe. He felt it was important to spread out events not to cause fatigue in players but still give importance to international events. He noted that the European season was shorter than in North America, and included only 60 games which ended before the World Championships. He recommended that national teams be planned to operate on a four-year cycle for international events. He noted the importance of keeping the World Championships healthy since it generates profits for the IIHF invest into developing the game. = The future of international women's ice hockey was discussed on the final day of the summit. The session dealt with how IIHF member associations could work together to grow the game and increase registration numbers, and the relative strength of the women's game in North America compared to the rest of the world. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge raised concerns that the women's hockey tournament might be eliminated from the Olympics since the event was not competitively balanced. Canada and the United States are the only countries to win the gold since the event began in 1998, and the two countries had also won each IIHF World Women's Championship since the event began in 1990. Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser explained that the talent gap between the North American and European countries was due to the presence of women's professional leagues in North America, along with year-round training facilities. She stated the European players were talented, but their respective national team programs were not given the same level of support as the European men's national teams, or the North American women's national teams. She stressed the need for women to have their own professional league which would be for the benefit of international hockey. IIHF vice-president Murray Costello promised to invest $2-million towards developing international women's hockey. = The summit concluded with a session that discussed how to increase youth participation in hockey. Hockey Canada vice-president and chief operating officer Scott Smith expressed concerns that youth hockey was no longer growing in Canada. He stated that 9.1% of Canadian children from ages 9 to 15 were playing ice hockey, a figure which had changed in the last decade. He felt that the increasing cost of playing, and increasing cultural diversity which embraced other sporting options and contributing factors; and it would be necessary for minor hockey associations to promote the game and make it easier to participate. Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star felt that little progress had been made in improving Canadian ice hockey since the Open Ice Summit in 1999. He noted the desire to focus on playing hockey for the love of the game as an issue that was still being discussed. Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports felt that too much discussion was about how money is involved in the game, and that panelists were not compelling and did not engage in constructive dialogue. He felt an opportunity was missed to discuss promoting the game via electronic media including television and video games, and to appeal to new audiences by breaking down cultural barriers. The Waterloo Region Record noted that United States college ice hockey overseen by the National Collegiate Athletic Association was not included at the World Hockey Summit, and suggested the omission was due to a recruiting war with the Canadian Hockey League for players. Hockey Canada and fellow organizers hoped for the summit to lead to social networking between the international ice hockey executives in attendance, and lead to eventual changes in hockey.

30356658

2010 reasons of the Supreme Court of Canada

2011-01-07 19:34:48+00:00

The table below lists decisions (known as reasons) delivered from the bench by the Supreme Court of Canada during 2010. The table illustrates what reasons were filed by each justice in each case, and which justices joined each reason. This list, however, does not include reasons on motions.

34641034

Reference Re Assisted Human Reproduction Act

2012-02-07 19:36:50+00:00

Reference Re Assisted Human Reproduction Act is an appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on a reference question posed as to the constitutional validity of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act that had been passed by the Parliament of Canada. The Court of Appeal was asked by the Government of Quebec to answer the following question: Are sections 8 to 19, 40 to 53, 60, 61 and 68 of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, S.C. 2004, c.2, ultra vires the Parliament of Canada in whole or in part under the Constitution Act, 1867? The Court ruled in the affirmative in some respects of the question. The appeal was allowed in part, with the Court rendering a rare 4-4-1 mixed decision. The justices' opinions were as follows: = constitutionally valid = constitutional to the extent that they relate to constitutionally valid provisions = constitutionally invalid = The Act is essentially a series of prohibitions, followed by a set of subsidiary provisions for their administration. While the Act will have beneficial effects and while some of its effects may impact on provincial matters, neither its dominant purpose nor its dominant effect is to set up a regime that regulates and promotes the benefits of artificial reproduction. Here, the matter of the statutory scheme, viewed as a whole, is a valid exercise of the federal power over criminal law. The dominant purpose and effect of the legislative scheme is to prohibit practices that would undercut moral values, produce public health evils, and threaten the security of donors, donees, and persons conceived by assisted reproduction. = The impugned provisions represent an overflow of the exercise of the federal criminal law power. Their pith and substance is connected with the provinces’ exclusive jurisdiction over hospitals, property and civil rights, and matters of a merely local nature. The impugned provisions affect rules with respect to the management of hospitals, since Parliament has provided that the Act applies to all premises in which controlled activities are undertaken. Furthermore, the fact that several of the impugned provisions concern subjects that are already governed by the Civil Code of Quebec and other Quebec legislation is an important indication that in pith and substance, the provisions lie at the very core of the provinces’ jurisdiction over civil rights and local matters. = The matter of the impugned provisions is regulation of virtually every aspect of research and clinical practice in relation to assisted human reproduction. The matter of the challenged provisions is best classified as relating to the establishment, maintenance and management of hospitals, property and civil rights in the province and matters of a merely local or private nature in the province. However, ss. 8, 9 and 12 in purpose and effect prohibit negative practices associated with assisted reproduction and fall within the traditional ambit of the federal criminal law power. Similarly, ss. 40(1), (6) and (7), 41 to 43, and 44(1) and (4) set up the mechanisms to implement s. 12 and, to the extent that they relate to provisions of the Act which are constitutional, were properly enacted by Parliament. Sections 45 to 53, to the extent that they deal with inspection and enforcement in relation to constitutionally valid provisions of the Act, are also properly enacted under the criminal law power. The same is true for ss. 60 and 61, which create offences. Section 68 is also constitutional, although its operation will be limited to constitutional sections of the Act. Given that the other provisions establishing the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada are not contested, there is no constitutional objection to s. 19. The Act was rectified and the remainder brought into force in the following stages:

34059519

Bank of Montreal v Innovation Credit Union

2011-12-14 20:55:13+00:00

Bank of Montreal v Innovation Credit Union is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that deals with the priority of unregistered security interests of a creditor against a security interest created later by a chartered bank under the Bank Act. James Buist, a farmer in Saskatchewan, borrowed money from the Innovation Credit Union in October 1991. In return, he provided the credit union with a security interest in all of his present and after-acquired personal property, which would be governed by the Personal Property Security Act (Saskatchewan). The interest was not entered into Saskatchewan's PPSA registry until June 2004. After this loan was provided, Buist also borrowed money from the Bank of Montreal, and several security agreements were executed between 1998 and January 2004. Buist did not disclose to the bank the loan from the credit union or its security interest, and, as it had not been registered, its existence did not appear in searches of the PPSA and Bank Act registries. The Bank's security interest was registered under the Bank Act, and the PPSA in Saskatchewan does not allow parallel registration of such interests in its registry. Buist ultimately became insolvent, and the Bank seized some of his property that was covered by its security in December 2004. The credit union applied to the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan for a declaration that it had a priority claim over the proceeds of the disposition of that property. Was a registered security interest under the Bank Act able to defeat an unregistered security interest that operated under provincial legislation? The Court of Queen's Bench ruled that the Bank Act had priority by virtue of the Bank having perfected its security interest. As the judge (T.C. Zarzeczny J.) noted, [52] In the present case the issue of perfection by registration and therefore notice to all of the security interest claimed by the Credit Union is central to the determination of this priority dispute. If the provisions of s. 428 of the Bank Act referring to "all rights subsequently acquired in, on or in respect of [that] property ..." includes priority rights then by the second rule in the Agricultural Credit Corp. of Saskatchewan case the Bank succeeds in its claim of priority in this case. Priority is obtained by the Credit Union in respect of its prior security interest only when that interest is perfected, in this case, by registration. Registration gives notice to all third parties of the nature of the security interest claimed and implicitly its priority. This ruling was reversed on appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. In a unanimous decision (per Jackson, J.A.), the court stated, [52] At bottom, this is an exercise in statutory interpretation, which requires recourse to the general principles of statutory interpretation, including the need to read the words to be interpreted in their entire context. It is clear that the Bank Act provides no express priority rule vis à vis prior security interests. To read a priority rule into the Bank Act in favour of prior interests, and thereby defeat Bank Act security in all cases would have far-reaching ramifications. It would raise, for example, the question as to what types of prior interests would have such effect, which was the conundrum faced by the Chambers judge in the approach that he took. [53] A conclusion that the Bank Act relies on provincial law to determine the consequences of holding a warehouse receipt or bill of lading avoids this problem. Such a conclusion is in keeping with the history of the Bank Act, and the wording of the sections under consideration. It enhances credit, but not at the expense of prior interests duly taken and valid under the provincial system of secured transactions. It is consistent with s. 428(1), which accords priority to Bank Act security over "rights subsequently acquired," but to make this statement does not import into the section a priority rule in favour of prior rights. If Parliament did not intend to defer to provincial property law principles, there would be no mechanism to resolve this dispute in the Bank Act, and in consequence, the courts would be thrust back upon a consideration of the principles of the general law of the province including the common law and equity in any event. [54] In summary, a bank, by virtue of the document of title fiction, acquires whatever interest the debtor has in the property at the time the bank acquired its interest. This, of course, brings us to the question of what the debtor owned in this case when the Bank acquired its interest under the Bank Act, and this, in turn, necessarily takes us to provincial law governing proprietary interests. ... [57] According to the PPSA, an agreement in these terms creates a security interest in the property with respect to which it is granted. Clause 2(1)(qq)(i) of the PPSA defines a security interest as "an interest in personal property that secures payment or performance of an obligation." There can be no doubt, based on the terms of the General Security Agreement mentioned above, that Mr. Buist granted to the Credit Union a security interest in all his personal property. ... [66] There are clear incentives for lending institutions to register under the PPSA, not the least of which are the consequences of holding an unperfected security interest. By failing to register a security interest, a provincial lending institution stands to be defeated by many more provincial interests than federally created ones. The problem is the age old one of a debtor failing to disclose—either negligently or fraudulently—that it has borrowed money elsewhere. The PPSA provides a solution for the banks as well, but only if they take a security interest under that Act and not under the Bank Act in this jurisdiction, which is a solution that has been adopted elsewhere. [67] In short, in the within appeal, the Bank cannot insist on registration under a system of which it is not a part and that it has not adopted. The Credit Union is entitled to priority over the Bank of Montreal by virtue of the Credit Union's prior security interest. The priority rule, resting as it does on ss. 427(2) and 435 of the Bank Act and provincial law, does not depend on whether the prior security interest is perfected. The appellate decision was upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court. While it generally agreed with that decision, the court detailed what it felt to be the correct reasoning in arriving at the result. The Saskatchewan CA had relied on its previous decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Agricultural Credit Corp. of Saskatchewan, which had laid down some basic rules for resolving priority issues: set aside the PPSA from the analysis and determine the priority as if the PPSA did not exist; determine the priority pursuant to [applicable provisions of the Bank Act] to the extent it is possible to do so; where appropriate, apply the first-in-time priority rule. The SCC stated that, while this approach did not lead the Court of Appeal into error in deciding this case, this formulation does not accurately reflect the applicable constitutional principles at play. Step 2 is correct, but Step 1 properly means that internal priority rules of the PPSA have no bearing on determining a priority dispute between Bank Act and PPSA security interests. However, the PPSA retains importance in resolving the priority dispute at issue: As the SCC held in Bank of Montreal v. Hall, the Bank Act security provisions are valid federal legislation which cannot be subject to the operation of provincially enacted priority provisions. Thus, where the Bank Act contains an express priority provision that is applicable to a particular priority dispute, that provision will govern. In determining what interest the debtor may have already conveyed to another creditor and, in such circumstances, what interest he or she had left to convey to the bank at the time of execution of the Bank Act security agreement, it becomes necessary to resort to the provincial property law, either at common law or under applicable provincial statutes. It is at this point that resorting to the PPSA becomes relevant. It is true that the internal priority rules of the PPSA cannot be invoked to resolve the dispute. However, it does not follow that the provincial security interest created under the PPSA does not exist outside these priority rules. Nor can the fundamental changes brought about by the PPSA be ignored in determining the nature of the prior competing interest. Far from being irrelevant under the Bank Act, provincial property law plays a complementary role in defining the rights granted under the Bank Act. A PPSA security interest, just as a Bank Act security interest, is a statutorily created interest and, as such, an interest recognized at law. Having a PPSA security interest in collateral does not give a creditor full right and title to the collateral. Rather, a PPSA security interest gives the secured creditor an interest in the property to the extent of the debtor's obligation. As noted by the Court: [48] In my view, it is not open to the Bank in this appeal to now argue that the statutory interest conveyed to the Credit Union is not analogous to a proprietary right. At the time Buist gave the Bank of Montreal its Bank Act security interest, Innovation Credit Union already held a valid security interest in the nature of a fixed charge. This means that any subsequent interest could only be taken in respect of Buist's equity of redemption in the property. [49] Nor can I accept the argument that the lack of perfection affects this characterization. Under the PPSA, the time of perfection, or the lack of perfection, determines which of two or more competing security interests takes priority. It does not determine the nature or validity of the interest. With the introduction of the PPSA, the legislation no longer declares unregistered interests void. Section 10 of the PPSA specifies what criteria must be met for a security interest to be enforceable against third parties. As the Bank acknowledges at para. 22 of its factum: "The principal requirement in a situation such as this, where the collateral is tangible equipment, is that pursuant to s. 10(1)(d) there must be a signed security agreement that contains a description of the collateral." It is not disputed that this requirement is met in this case. ... [70] In summary, a proper interpretation of the Bank Act gives an earlier unperfected PPSA interest priority over a subsequent Bank Act interest, and there is no provision in the PPSA which subordinates an unperfected PPSA interest to a Bank Act interest. This decision has reinforced requirements for banks to practice due diligence in lending to prospective borrowers. They will also need to consider in which cases PPSA registration will be preferable to that under the Bank Act. In response to this decision, the Parliament of Canada has amended the Bank Act to explicitly state that registry under its provisions will also take priority over unperfected security interests, except where a bank is already aware of their existence. Royal assent was given on 29 March 2012, and the relevant provisions came into force on 24 May 2012.

33997204

Century Services Inc v Canada (AG)

2011-12-08 21:05:17+00:00

Century Services Inc v Canada (AG) is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that describes the interrelationship between the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act in governing Canadian insolvency law, and how other federal statutes are accordingly construed. Ted LeRoy Trucking Ltd was one of the largest independent logging contractors on Vancouver Island. In December 2007, it was notified that, as it was in breach of certain loan covenants, its outstanding loans had to be immediately repaid. The company filed for protection under the CCAA. The court authorized LeRoy to dispose of certain redundant assets. Century Services Inc was one of the major secured creditors of LeRoy. In April 2008, the court authorized a payment to Century not to exceed $5 million from the proceeds of disposal. As LeRoy also owed a significant liability with respect to Goods and Services Tax, it proposed that an amount equal to the liability be held back from the payment to Century and kept in the Monitor's trust account until the outcome of the reorganization was known. The court agreed and so ordered. In September 2008, LeRoy concluded that reorganization was not possible and accordingly applied for an assignment into bankruptcy. The Crown applied to have the holdback released for payment and remitted to settle the GST liability. Under the Excise Tax Act, GST that is collected is deemed to be held in trust for the Crown, and that this takes precedence over any other statute other than the BIA. However, the CCAA states that, subject to certain exceptions (none of which relate to GST), deemed trusts do not exist in its proceedings. There was certain jurisprudence that held that the ETA took precedence. Was that correct? The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that, as the funds were being held pending the emergence of a viable reorganization plan, the fact that this was unsuccessful meant that the Crown would lose its priority as a result of the assignment into bankruptcy. Accordingly, the Crown's application was dismissed. This order was overturned on appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The court unanimously held: the court at first instance did not have the authority to dismiss the Crown's application, as the ETA's priority scheme took effect once the likelihood of a successful reorganization plant had ceased to be the judge's original order had created an express trust for the Crown, and the funds could not be diverted for any other purpose. The Court of Appeal's decision was reversed. The following were identified as the key issues in the appeal: did the ETA displace the CCAA by giving priority to the Crown's deemed trust in CCAA proceedings? did the court exceed its authority under the CCAA by lifting the stay to allow the debtor to make an assignment into bankruptcy? did the court's April 2008 order create an express trust in favour of the Crown with respect to the GST holdback? The court held that: the CCAA and BIA form an interrelated insolvency scheme for Canada, and the ETA is subordinate to that scheme the court of first instance has wide discretionary authority under the CCAA, which must be interpreted having regard to the remedial nature of the CCAA and insolvency legislation generally no express trust was created by the court's order = As this was the first time a case relating to the CCAA had been heard by the Supreme Court - which it acknowledged in its decision - a detailed analysis was given in explaining the nature of insolvency law in Canada. The BIA provides a more rules-based approach for resolving a corporate debtor's insolvency, which must be observed strictly. The CCAA, on the other hand, provides a more discretionary approach that is remedial in nature, which therefore must be broadly construed. Although the CCAA was originally enacted in 1933, extensive use of it only began in the economic downturn of the early 1980s. Recent legislative amendments of the BIA and CCAA have served to harmonize key aspects, such as the use of single proceedings, a common priority of claims structure, and encouraging reorganization over liquidation. = The Parliament of Canada's recent legislative activity has tended to favour the diminishing of the Crown's priority in BIA and CCAA proceedings, and both have been expressly amended accordingly. As the ETA does not contain such express language on the subject, it must be construed within the framework of the insolvency statutes. = The legislation is remedial in the purest sense in that it provides a means whereby the devastating social and economic effects of bankruptcy or creditor initiated termination of ongoing business operations can be avoided while a court-supervised attempt to reorganize the financial affairs of the debtor company is made. This is noted together with s. 11 of the CCAA, which states that a court may, "subject to the restrictions set out in this Act, . . . make any order that it considers appropriate in the circumstances". The decision notes the interrelated nature of proceedings under the CCAA and BIA: [76] There is no doubt that had reorganization been commenced under the BIA instead of the CCAA, the Crown's deemed trust priority for the GST funds would have been lost. Similarly, the Crown does not dispute that under the scheme of distribution in bankruptcy under the BIA the deemed trust for GST ceases to have effect. Thus, after reorganization under the CCAA failed, creditors would have had a strong incentive to seek immediate bankruptcy and distribution of the debtor's assets under the BIA. In order to conclude that the discretion does not extend to partially lifting the stay in order to allow for an assignment in bankruptcy, one would have to assume a gap between the CCAA and the BIA proceedings. Brenner C.J.S.C.'s order staying Crown enforcement of the GST claim ensured that creditors would not be disadvantaged by the attempted reorganization under the CCAA. The effect of his order was to blunt any impulse of creditors to interfere in an orderly liquidation. His order was thus in furtherance of the CCAA's objectives to the extent that it allowed a bridge between the CCAA and BIA proceedings. This interpretation of the tribunal's discretionary power is buttressed by s. 20 of the CCAA. That section provides that the CCAA "may be applied together with the provisions of any Act of Parliament . . . that authorizes or makes provision for the sanction of compromises or arrangements between a company and its shareholders or any class of them", such as the BIA. Section 20 clearly indicates the intention of Parliament for the CCAA to operate in tandem with other insolvency legislation, such as the BIA. [77] The CCAA creates conditions for preserving the status quo while attempts are made to find common ground amongst stakeholders for a reorganization that is fair to all. Because the alternative to reorganization is often bankruptcy, participants will measure the impact of a reorganization against the position they would enjoy in liquidation. In the case at bar, the order fostered a harmonious transition between reorganization and liquidation while meeting the objective of a single collective proceeding that is common to both statutes. Accordingly, the supervising judge had the necessary authority to make the order he did. = Creation of an express trust requires the presence of three certainties: intention, subject matter, and object. There was no certainty that the Crown would actually be the beneficiary, or object, of the trust. Therefore, no express trust was created in this instance. Apart from an initial reference question in 1933 on the validity of the CCAA, this was the first time that an appeal had been heard by the Supreme Court. Until now, Canadian jurisprudence in this area came from the various provincial courts of appeal. Century Services was the first opportunity to explain the complete nature of Canadian insolvency law and how each of the statutes work within that framework. The CCAA and BIA must not be viewed in isolation, as they have many features that form part of a harmonized structure. Therefore, forum shopping is discouraged and single proceedings are preferred. Because of their harmonized nature, other federal statutes must be accordingly construed. A court must first interpret the text of the CCAA, and only then may the court look to fill in legislative "gaps" pursuant to its inherent or equitable jurisdiction. In exercising CCAA authority, the court is to bear in mind the requirements of appropriateness, good faith and due diligence as baseline considerations. As to appropriateness, the court is to inquire whether the order sought advances the public policy objectives of the CCAA – avoiding the social and economic losses resulting from a liquidation.

45596295

NIL/TU,O Child and Family Services Society v BC Government and Service Employees' Union

2015-03-06 16:54:35+00:00

NIL/TU,O Child and Family Services Society v BC Government and Service Employees' Union is a leading Supreme Court of Canada constitutional law case dealing with jurisdiction over labour relations in the context of federalism and Aboriginal rights. In 1997, child welfare agency NIL/TU,O was created pursuant to the British Columbia Society Act. NIL/TU,O's mandate was to provide child care services to First Nations children in a "culturally appropriate" context. NIL/TU,O was subject to a tripartite agreement under which the province delegated control over certain child welfare services to NIL/TU,O; the federal government provided around 65% of NIL/TU,O's funding. The British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGSEU) applied to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board for certification as NIL/TU,O's collective bargaining agent. The Board certified the BCGSEU despite NIL/TU,O's argument that labour relations were subject to federal jurisdiction. The Board rejected an appeal. The issue was judicially reviewed at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, where the judge overturned the Board's decision, holding that NIL/TU,O's labour relations were subject to federal jurisdiction. In response, NIL/TU,O applied for and received certification under the Canada Labour Code. The BCGSEU appealed the judge's decision to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, who reversed the earlier decision, finding that NIL/TU,O was instead subject to provincial jurisdiction. The court unanimously held that NIL/TU,O fell under provincial jurisdiction. However, the court was split as to the application of the test used to determine whether labour relations fell under provincial or federal jurisdiction. = The majority, led by Abella J, affirmed the Court of Appeal's decision. The majority noted that although labour relations do not fall within section 91 or section 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, Toronto Electric Commissioners v Snider created the presumption that labour relations fall within provincial jurisdiction. In deciding whether NIL/TU,O was a federal work or undertaking, the majority noted that the labour relations functional test traditionally did not undertake an interjurisdictional immunity analysis by determining whether "provincial regulation of the entity's labour relations would impair the core of the federal head of power". The majority held that the same traditional approach should be applied to cases where section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, which grants federal jurisdiction over "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians", was at issue. This approach would make it unnecessary to undertake an "impairing core" analysis unless the traditional functional test was not determinative of the issue. Applying the traditional functional labour relations test to the facts, the majority held that NIL/TU,O was regulated solely by the province of British Columbia, that its function was "unquestionably a provincial one", since NIL/TU,O was obligated to adhere to the province's statutory standards, and that the province retained "ultimate decision-making control" over NIL/TU,O. Further, the majority found that the federal government's financial contributions were insufficient to make NIL/TU,O a federal undertaking. = The minority, led by McLachlin CJ and Fish J, affirmed the result of the Court of Appeal but disagreed with the majority's decision on the test to be used in an Aboriginal context. The minority preferred a test that determined whether NIL/TU,O's operations fell within the "protected core of Indianness" found in s 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, in accordance with the interjurisdictional immunity doctrine. Their approach would restrict federal jurisdiction over Indian labour relations situations to those where the "ordinary and habitual activities of the operation affect core aspects of Indian status, or are conducted pursuant to federal delegated authority". The minority agreed in result with the majority, however, holding that NIL/TU,O's operations did not sufficiently implicate Indian issues as to infringe upon the "protected core of Indianness". The decision was criticized by law blog The Court, suggesting that "both versions of the… test are equally perplexing" and that the majority's application of the traditional functional test in an Aboriginal context "resulted in a final analysis that became disengaged with the facts". Maggie Wente, writing in the Indigenous Law Journal, noted that "There are myriad other kinds of Aboriginal organizations that will not fit into the neatly defined box of “unquestionably provincial” activities defined by the Supreme Court", which could lead to future litigation.

37234478

Croeserw Athletic F.C.

2012-10-05 13:48:27+00:00

Croeserw Athletic Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Athletaidd Croeserw) are a local league football club based in Croeserw, Port Talbot, Wales. The club competes in the Port Talbot Football League, with the first team playing in the Premier Division, and the second team playing in Division One. They are one of the biggest clubs in Port Talbot, with their squad size currently at a high of over 40 players. They play their home games at Tudor Park, which is the highest football pitch in Port Talbot in terms of altitude. They also play league games at the Red Field in Cymmer, the former home of Abercregan United. Croeserw Athletic were founded in 2010 after branching off Croeserw United after a disagreement between the management, but have been operating since 2006 under Croeserw Juniors after Carl Griffiths felt the village needed a better run club. They won the promotion to the Premier Division of the Port Talbot Football League in 2011, after finishing 2nd in Division 1. They also got to the Semi-final of the Open Cup in the same season. In the opening season, Croeserw Athletic managed to sign 21 players and began to build on a future that brought the community closer to the football club itself. In 2011, Croeserw Athletic began a programme that would see the academy fall directly below the senior squads and be fed through the ranks of a First Team & Second Team when they turn to the age of 16. Athletic reordered the biggest sponsorship in Port Talbot Football League history with the biggest Wind Turbine company in Europe sponsoring the whole club for the entire season. The club were now under a single crest (infobox) and wearing the same shirt. In 2011–12 football season, Athletic saw a rise in players go from 21 senior players to 46 players. They failed to gain entry to the Port Talbot Reserve League with a second team's squad, but were granted entry to the Premier League. This meant that Croeserw Athletic Second Team would have to arrange friendlies with other teams who had gained entry to the Reserve League which proved difficult for all involved. Croeserw Athletic had finished the season at the bottom of the table, with just 6 points and 1 recorded win. In the same year, Croeserw Athletic Under 14's won the League title & Cup, while the under 12's finished Runners-up in the League. In the 2014/15 season, the management team of Jamie Williams and Peter Robinson took the team to another level, in the first half of the season they comfortably beat a number of the league favourites, including Cwmafan FC, along with local rivals Glyncorrwg FC and Gwynfi United. By Christmas, they were comfortably at the top of the league, however, it was not a position that they would hold. The following season saw the club win their first piece of silverware, after defeating league champions Cwmafan FC in the 2016 Open Cup final, winning 4–1 in a penalty shootout, after 90 minutes plus extra time in which the game finished 1–1. In the summer of 2019, over 40 players signed to the club, meaning that the club could now field two teams in the Port Talbot and District Football League once again. Due to the new league format, the two teams were named Croeserw Athletic “A” and Croeserw Athletic “B”, and they were scheduled to face off against each other for the first time in the club's history. The fixture took place on 26 October 2019 at the Red Field, with goals from Curtis Walton and Danny Wilkins ensuring a 2–0 win for Croeserw Athletic “A”. As of February 2020, the league has now split, with the first team competing in the Premier Division, and the second team competing in Division One. In the 2019–20 season, the club reached the last 16 of the SWFA Senior Cup for the first time. They defeated Star FC and Porth Harlequins before being eliminated by Pentwyn Dynamos. = Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. = Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. = Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. • Port Talbot and District Football League Open Cup - 2016

60606608

FAW Elite Futsal League

2019-04-28 11:11:02+00:00

The FAW Elite Futsal League is a futsal league featuring teams based in Wales. It was initially planned that the league would develop into a full national league. In 2011, The New Saints won the inaugural FAW Futsal Cup. 2010-2011 - The New Saints Futsal Club 2011-2012 - Cardiff University Futsal Club 2012-2013 - Wrexham Futsal Club 2013-2014 - Cardiff University Futsal Club 2014-2015 - Wrexham Futsal Club 2015-2016 - Cardiff University Futsal Club 2016-2017 - Wrexham Futsal Club 2017-2018 - Cardiff University Futsal Club 2018-2019 - Cardiff University Futsal Club 2019-2020 - Swansea University Futsal Club 2020-2021 - Cefn Druids Futsal Club 2021-2022 - Futsal Club Cardiff 2022-2023 - Cefn Druids Futsal Club 2019/20 Season decided on average points basis due to Covid-19 lockdown

26118203

Gower College Swansea

2010-02-08 10:20:39+00:00

Gower College Swansea (Welsh: Coleg Gŵyr Abertawe) is a further education college in Swansea, Wales. It was formed in 2010 by the merger of Gorseinon College and Swansea College. Mark Jones, previously Vice Principal of Swansea College and then principal of Bridgend College, became principal in July 2013 Gower College provides further education and other training courses from several campuses and venues in the area. The college has five campuses: Gorseinon Tycoch Jubilee Court Llwyn y Bryn Sketty Hall In 2021, Gower College reported that the overall A-level pass rate was 99%, above the Welsh national average. Of these passes, 43% were at the higher grades of A* to A, 70% were at A*-B, and 88% were at A*-C. The college is overseen by twenty governors who form the Corporation Board. The college has a number of sports academies that enable full-time students to develop skills in football, rugby, netball, hockey and cricket. Sports scholarships are available. The college offers the following higher education courses: = Analytical and Forensic Science Care and Support Early Childhood IT Management for Business Education Learning and Development English and History Housing and Sustainable Communities Sports Development and Management = HNC and HND in Building Services HND in Business and Accountancy HND in Computer and Information Systems HNC and HND in Electrical/Electronic Engineering HND in Electrical Engineering HNC and HND in Mechanical Engineering = Professional Graduate Certificate in Education CertEd Post-compulsory Education and Training Diploma in Leadership for Children's Care, Learning and Development (Advanced Practice) The Kenya Community Education Project was set up in 2003 and is run by the college students. This project aims to raise money to maintain a feeding programme for over 120 of the poorest pupils at Madungu Primary School in Kenya. In addition, it aims to pay the salaries of two teachers and supply them with various educational materials. The college holds an annual Kenya Project Day but fundraising continues throughout the year. Students participate in the annual Cannock Chase Walk to raise funds as well as various events throughout the year. For example, a Walrus Dip. Members of the project have a chance to go to the Kenyan school every other year. The college's Islamic Society has formed a charity for Islamic Relief, which fundraises for a week every November.

54340931

Wales Interpretation and Translation Service

2017-06-19 13:34:45+00:00

The Wales Interpretation and Translation Service (WITS; Welsh: Gwasanaeth Cyfieithu a Dehongli Cymru; GCDC) is a not-for-profit quango providing 24-hour linguistic services to public authorities in Wales, including councils, police forces, health and social services, but not courts. The services offered include interpreting, translation and transcription, and cover approximately 135 languages & dialects including British Sign Language. The linguists are security vetted to national police employment standards and assessed and trained in professional interpreting. It had a place on the steering committee of Professional Interpreters for Justice (PI4J), an umbrella group formed in 2011 to campaign against the Ministry of Justice language services framework agreement. WITS was created in November 2009 by Chief Inspector Tony Wilcox and formally established on 13 October 2010, with initial funding from the National Assembly for Wales, City of Cardiff Council and Gwent Police. The aims were to help people experiencing communication difficulties to overcome language barriers when accessing public services, and thereby to encourage social inclusion and integration, and improve community cohesion. In January 2017 it was agreed to transfer hosting responsibilities from Gwent Police to Cardiff Council. MoJ Language Services Framework: independent review and the government response

29175875

Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Women's 1 metre springboard

2010-10-13 13:47:34+00:00

The Women's 1 metre springboard diving event is one of 260 events in 17 disciplines at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It was held on 12 October 2010. Green denotes finalists

29189416

Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Women's 3 metre springboard

2010-10-14 11:09:06+00:00

The Women's 3 metre springboard diving event is one of 260 events in 17 disciplines at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It was held on 13 October 2010. Green denotes finalists

29162544

Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Women's 10 metre platform

2010-10-12 12:57:25+00:00

The Women's 10 metre platform diving event was held on 11 October 2010 at the Dr. S.P.M. Aquatics Complex. Green denotes finalists

29151517

Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Women's synchronised 3 metre springboard

2010-10-11 11:45:58+00:00

The Women's 3 m synchro springboard at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held on 10 October 2010.

29151842

Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Women's synchronised 10 metre platform

2010-10-11 12:36:39+00:00

The Women's 10 m synchro platform at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held on 10 October 2010.

66658088

Levi Ackerman

2021-02-07 16:07:26+00:00

Levi Ackerman (リヴァイ・アッカーマン, Rivai Akkāman, alt. "Levi Ackermann") is a fictional character from Hajime Isayama's manga series Attack on Titan. Levi is a soldier working for the Survey Corps Special Operations Squad (調査兵団特別作戦班, Chōsa Heidan Tokubetsu Sakusen-han), also known as Squad Levi (リヴァイ班, Rivai-han), a squad of four elite soldiers with impressive combat records hand-picked by him. The squad takes the protagonist Eren Yeager under their wing as both his bodyguards and potential executors if he goes berserk. Though Levi is a supporting character, his backstory is explored when dealing with his former mentor Kenny during the main series as well as in the spin-off manga Attack on Titan: No Regrets. Levi was based on the Watchmen character Rorschach, among other influences. In the anime adaptation of the series, Levi is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya in Japanese and Matthew Mercer in English. His portrayal in No Regrets did not display major differences in characterization despite acting as his backstory. Critical response to Levi Ackerman's character was widely acclaimed for his supporting role with the main cast and most notably, his relationship with Kenny. Levi's popularity led him to win several awards and polls. His role in the prequel No Regrets also attracted generally positive reception for expanding his backstory. Levi was modeled by manga author Hajime Isayama after the Watchmen character Rorschach and is named after a child Isayama noticed in the documentary Jesus Camp. Isayama has noted that he gave Levi a similar stature to Rorschach and gave him an obsession with cleanliness to contrast him with Rorschach's uncleanliness. Isayama stated that Mikasa, Levi, and Kenny are all part of the same Ackerman bloodline. However, their reasons for protecting their respective counterparts do not have anything to do with the bloodline itself—"it is just their nature." Before Hikaru Suruga began the manga Attack on Titan: No Regrets, her editor-in-chief suggested that she visit the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel so she could better visualize the Underground where Levi and the others live at the beginning of the story. [vol. 1]: 162  While drawing Levi, Suruga attempted to make him appear younger than he does in Attack on Titan. She noted that his lack of emotiveness made it difficult to choose which expressions to give him while drawing.[vol. 1]: 182  = Levi is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya and by Matthew Mercer in the English dub. Kamiya describes his character as "stoic and cool", a germaphobe and "humanity’s strongest soldier", making his character popular even before anime's debut. When he was given Levi's role, the actor expressed pressure. Despite the character's popularity, nobody in the staff knew about his backstory making him hard to approach. After consulting Director Tetsuro Araki and composer Masafumi Mima, Kamiya learnt that Levi was not as superhuman as he imagined him to be; As a result, Kamiya studied the action scenes and expression Levi makes in the series in order to properly display his emotions. By the anime's third season, Kamiya liked the fact that Levi's mentor Kenny was introduced in the narrative as the connection these two share made Levi easier to understand more. Kamiya befriended Kenny's actor Yamaji Kazuhiro in order to explain their misrelationship as they are meant to fight. As a result, Kamiya believes that Levi became a more popular character thanks to the story of the third season. Matthew Mercer was a fan of Attack on Titan before being cast for the English dub of the series. He came to regard Levi as his favorite character, especially due to his moral ambiguity; According to Mercer, while Levi is known as the strongest fighter in mankind's fight against the Titans, he is often forced to take dark decisions in order to survive. Mercer stated it was "an absolute joy to perform this extremely complicated, dark, intense, and still kind of heroic character". = Levi is known as humanity's most powerful soldier and head of an elite squad in the Survey Corps. Hange remarks that he is a bit of a "clean freak". Captain Kenny Ackerman later notes that the capture of Eren and Historia has to do with Levi, whom he refers to as "Levi Ackerman".[ch. 56] Kenny is later revealed to be Levi's maternal uncle, who raised him after his mother Kuchel's death. Later, Levi is injured by an explosion engineered by Zeke Yeager (brother of Eren Jaeger). He was in a near-death state until Hange Zoe found him and escaped with his body later to make an alliance with Commander Theo Magath and Pieck Finger in order to take down Eren Jaeger. Eventually, Levi recovers and joins the others in battle, managing to kill Zeke, fulfilling his promise to Erwin in killing the Beast Titan. = Levi was part of a band of thieves alongside his partner Furlan Church, who would use maneuver gear to commit various heists to help each other out. One day, they meet a girl named Isabel Magnolia, who was chased after by guards for trying to get an injured bird back to the surface, and decide to take her in as one of their group. After a while has passed, a mysterious man from the surface uses a hostage to ensure Levi, Furlan, and Isabel take on a job that would be rewarded with citizenship on the surface. When the three take on the job, they outrun the military police but are arrested by the Survey Corps, led by Erwin, who offers to clear Levi and the others of their crimes in exchange for joining the Survey Corps. Levi, Furlan, and Isabel begin their lives in the Survey Corps under the watch of Flagen, who is less than pleased about being joined by criminals, all while recalling the mysterious man's request to kill Erwin and steal one of his documents. Unable to find the document in Erwin's office, the group come up with a plan to ambush Erwin during an expedition, which Levi initially plans to do by himself but is inevitably convinced by Furlan and Isabel to let them come with him. On the day of the expedition, the Survey Corps encounter a group of Titans, which Levi's group manage to help eliminate only to be scolded by Erwin for wasting gas. Later, Levi decides to make use of a heavy rainfall to get close to Erwin, but when he returns, he discovers Titans had ambushed and killed the rest of his squad, including Furlan and Isabel. This causes Levi to unleash erratic emotions on the last titan remaining. After learning that Erwin was carrying a fake document the entire time and his mission was meaningless, Levi, taught not to have regrets, decides to continue following Erwin as a Survey Corps member. = Jin Haganeya's visual novel Burning Bright in the Forests of the Night has Eren and Levi as the leading characters. He also appears in the mobile game Granblue Fantasy. He also features as an in-game outfit in the Battle Royale game, Fortnite. Levi's costume also showed up as limited time purchasable skins for Jake Park in Dead by Daylight and Daniel Yatsu in Call of Duty: Vanguard. = In the 3rd Newtype Anime Awards, Levi was voted fifth best male character and Hiroshi Kamiya took 2nd place in best voice actor. In the Animedia Character Awards he was third in Most Valuable Player. In the 36th Anime Grand Prix he was Best Male Character In the 3rd BTVA Anime Dub Awards Matthew Mercer was nominated for Levi. In the 7th Newtype Anime Awards he was fifth in Best Male Character. In the Funimation's Decade of Anime fan poll, Levi was voted as one of the five recipients for the "Best Boys of the Decade" category. In the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, his fight against the Beast Titan was nominated. Multiple types of merchandising have been developed with the fandom enjoying the facial expressions given to his figurines. = During a review of the first season, Complex.com saw Levi as "hope" within the Attack on Titan anime as he easily kills Titans on his own after seeing an episode where the protagonist Eren is eaten by them in horror. Complex compared Levi to Daryl Dixon. However, when Eren is revealed to be a Titan who easily beats up other enemy Titans, he found that Levi's spotlight was overshadowed by Eren's screentime. Levi's encounter with Kenny was also the subject of praise for the fight choreography and expanding more on Levi's backstory. Anime News Network also praised Mercer's voice acting for making Levi's character appeal to the audience. The tragic nature of Levi and Kenny's relationship was praised for how it was handled as well as the end of their fights in the series' third season. Following the ending of season 3, Den of Geek looked forward to Levi's actions in the final story arc as whether or not he can kill Eren as a result of change of the status quo. Comic Book Resources enjoyed Levi's fight scenes, dedicating an article to his ten best battles in the series with his battle against Zeke taking top place. Reviewing the first volume of No Regrets for The Fandom Post, Kate O'Neil noted Levi's status as a fan-favorite character, she wrote: "I often wonder at how much of the backstory in these spinoffs was the result of the original author's notes or the spinoff writer responding to the desires of the fanbase." while also addressing the story he shares with Erwin. Anime News Network found the OVA adaptation worth watching if the viewers are fans of Levi. While revisiting the episodes, the website noted that Levi's backstory and his relationship with other characters help in establishing his characterization from the main series. While noting that Levi shared little changes between the OVAs and the main series, UK Anime Network felt the spin-off is interesting at developing his relationship with Erwin and the motivation of living in a better style after being hidden underground. He still noted that Levi was one of the best protagonists in the entire franchise, surpassing Eren, Mikasa and Armin. On the other hand, another writer found Levi's backstory confusing as he found no need to see his OVAs to understand more of the series' lore or character relationships. = = Attack on Titan manga volumes by Hajime Isayama. Original Japanese version published by Kodansha. English version by Kodansha USA.

50056940

Age of the Wolf

2016-04-05 19:31:40+00:00

Age of the Wolf is a post-apocalyptic adventure series published in the British comics anthology 2000 AD. It was created by Alec Worley and Jon Davis-Hunt and first appeared in #1700 in 2010. In the series, the ancient Norse prophecy of Ragnarök brings about a moonlit cataclysm in which most of humanity become werewolves. The plot charts the life of one of the few surviving humans, a dog pound worker called Rowan Morrigan who becomes a deadly werewolf hunter. The series is a trilogy. The second and third entries shift the story forward years at a time. In the final part, 35 years have passed since the beginning and Rowan is a mother in her mid-fifties. The series was originally conceived as a trilogy following a progression derived from the Three Fates of Norse mythology in which the heroine is first a type of sacrificial maiden, second a “Sarah Conner-type mother” and, finally, a monster. Worley envisioned the third part as a “reverse-Beowulf” in which Rowan, formerly the protagonist, would be the antagonist to a werewolf warrior. It was feared the third part would over-complicate the story so the original idea was abandoned. Worley adapted his original plan for the third part into a different vision of a world now adapted to long-term moonlight, with “a far-out pulp sci-fi feel, like something off a prog rock album, a Rodney Matthews poster or an '80s fantasy epic like The Dark Crystal, all funky vegetation, and alien creatures running around looking awesome.” Age of the Wolf, in 2000 AD #1700-08, Sept. 2010. Age of the Wolf: She Is Legend, in 2000 AD #1772-81, Feb. 2012. Age of the World: Wolfworld, in 2000 AD #1840-49, Jul. 2013 = Age of the Wolf (Oct. 2014) Oxford: Rebellion (ISBN 9781781082638)

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Jessie Anderson (The Walking Dead)

2015-03-03 22:29:12+00:00

Jessie Anderson is a fictional character in the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Alexandra Breckenridge in the television series of the same name. She is a resident in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard, the character made her debut in The Walking Dead #72 in 2010. In both media Jessie is living in an unhappy, abusive marriage with her husband Pete and her son Ron (and Sam in the TV series) in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. She is eventually devoured by walkers, along with her youngest son Sam, when a herd swarms Alexandria. = Jessie appears as a resident of the Alexandria Safe Zone community which Rick Grimes and his survivors enter. She makes her first appearance at the dinner party for the community, appearing nervous and quiet. Although her investment in the safe zone itself is limited and she refuses to speak about her marital problems, she is abruptly encountered by Rick who faces the issue immediately. Rick confronts her in private and she admits that Pete has been physically abusive, but still stands by him. She remains protective of their son, Ron. A series of events occur that begin with Rick confronting Pete, which ultimately ends with Pete being executed after murdering Alexandria's leader's wife, Regina. Jessie grieves silently, but rather shortly, as she finds herself relieved that the trouble is over. She expresses gratitude towards Rick about the situation and later becomes more interested in him. She begins to make romantic advances on him, which he returns later. Rick begins to move on from his previous wife, Lori as his relationship with Jessie grows stronger. During the horde that attacks Alexandria, Jessie, Rick, his son Carl and her son, Ron cover themselves in guts to move through the horde. The plan fails and Ron is devoured by walkers, and she is later bitten. She is unable to let go of Carl's hand as the horde moves in his direction, forcing Rick to amputate her hand with a hatchet to save his son. She is later found by Sgt. Abraham Ford devoured and reanimated who shoots her to avoid Rick seeing her undead. = Season 5 In the episode "Remember", Jessie appears as a member of the Alexandria Safe-Zone who gives supplies to newcomer Rick Grimes, who recently shaved his long beard and Jessie offers to give him a haircut. Later when the group explores the neighborhood Rick loses sight of Carl and Judith and runs into Jessie who shows a panicking Rick that they are just talking to some elderly residents. In the episode "Forget", Jessie, Pete, Ron, and Sam attend Deanna's party. In "Spend", Jessie is shown when Rick visits her. She explains to him that her owl sculpture was broken, but doesn't know who did it. Rick promises to look into it, but Jessie questions what he will do, and he tells her that he will think of some kind of punishment. Later in the episode, Jessie's young son Sam asks Carol for a gun for protection, which raises her suspicions toward Pete's domestic treatment of his family. Carol then visits Pete and Jessie's home during the evening, asking for Jessie when Pete answers the door. In response he replies, "Not a good time." Carol then informs Rick that Jessie is being abused and suggests that Sam may be as well. In the episode "Try", Jessie is in her garage when Rick shows up, informing her that he knows her family's secret. She tells him that she is a grown, married woman who can take care of herself. Jessie closes the garage door on Rick. Jessie appears to be crying about her problems, when Rick walks through her door, asking her to let him help her. She then gives him permission to help her. Pete walks through the back door drunk. He demands Rick to leave, but Jessie tells him softly to leave. "Just go", she tells both Pete and Rick. Pete punches Rick, which leads to them having a fight in their house, and then in the street after they blast through the window, brawling. In the season finale "Conquer", Jessie is among the crowd discussing the fight. Season 6 In the season premiere, "First Time Again", Jessie first appears in a flashback. She is first seen hugging a devastated Sam at their home when Ron walks out. Later, Jessie is in the armory when Rick walks in. Jessie admonishes Rick for his behavior with Ron in the woods. In the episode "JSS" when The Wolves attack Alexandria, Jessie hides with Sam in a closet, but goes downstairs to warn Ron away from the house as she knows there is a Wolf inside, armed with a gun. A Wolf sneaks up behind her and slams her to the floor. The Wolf goes to pick up Jessie's gun that she threw away when she was attacked. Jessie arises from the ground and picks up some scissors from her stylist set and runs towards the Wolf when her back is turned. Jessie repeatedly stabs the Wolf in the chest violently. Ron walks in and watches her as Jessie kills the Wolf. Jessie then stabs the Wolf's brain to prevent reanimation. In the episode "Now", Jessie listens to Rick's speech after he is chased by a super-pack of walkers to the gates of Alexandria and now the community is surrounded by walkers. She goes home and removes the dead Wolf from her kitchen. Later, Jessie kills a zombified Betsy, who had committed suicide after her husband's death. In the episode "Heads Up", Jessie is at Rosita Espinosa's weapon training class learning how to use a machete. In the mid-season finale, "Start to Finish", Jessie helps Rick, an injured Deanna, Carl, Michonne, Gabriel and Ron into her house after Alexandria is swarmed with walkers. She urgently pushes against the walkers that are trying to push into her house along with the others. Pushing the walkers out downstairs, there seem to be too many and they begin entering the house. They all rush upstairs and formulate a plan to escape. They cover themselves in walker blood and guts and start walking through the herd, holding hands. In the mid-season premiere, "No Way Out", Jessie is seen walking through the herd with Rick and the others. They stop and discuss an adapted plan to leave Alexandria. Jessie attempts to get Sam to go with Gabriel and Judith to the church for safety, but he refuses. Walking through the night, Sam begins to panic when he sees a young boy walker. He starts making noise and Jessie and Ron desperately try to calm him down, but the walkers find him and devour him. Jessie breaks down in tears, still holding onto Sam's hand. Carl, Ron, and Rick tell her that they must leave to avoid discovery by the walkers. She doesn't listen, however, leading the walkers to find and devour her. While Jessie is being eaten alive, Carl attempts to escape, but is unable due to her tight grip on his hand. Rick chops off her hand with his hatchet to save Carl from being pulled in after her. Breckenridge explained: "I didn't know anything. I hadn't watched the show before. I'd watched the pilot a long time ago, which I enjoyed, but I wasn't into the blood and guts at the time so I didn't continue watching for that reason. When I got the part, I watched all four seasons in a week and was having zombie nightmares. It was like cramming for an exam. I hadn't read the comics and when I first had my meeting with Scott Gimple, he suggested I not read the comics because the show and characters aren't always exact to the comics. If you've seen the comics, my character has short black hair with bangs and wears a headband — and she's a meek; she's a weaker character than I'm playing on the show, which is great because I enjoy playing a stronger character."

31818003

Barney & Clyde

2011-05-18 18:54:45+00:00

Barney & Clyde is a daily newspaper comic strip created by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, his son Dan Weingarten, and cartoonist David Clark. Originally syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group, it debuted on June 7, 2010. Barney & Clyde appears in The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Detroit Free Press and many other newspapers. On Father's Day 2010, Gene Weingarten wrote about how their collaboration began. In 2011, Florida resident Horace LaBadie began suggesting scripts to the creators. In time, he became a frequent contributor to the strip. In 2022, The Washington Post Writers Group announced it was winding down its comic strip business; Barney & Clyde eventually was picked up for syndication by Counterpoint Media. Barney & Clyde is about the friendship between a billionaire and a homeless man. Title characters: J. Barnard (Barney) Pillsbury -- owner and CEO of multinational drug company Pillsbury Pharmaceuticals. Clyde Finster -- a homeless man. Clyde cares for a rabbit named Adolf (in honor of Adolf of Osnabrück, the patron saint of alms and charity for the poor). When panhandling, Clyde refers to Adolf by his stage name, Fluffykins McNeedsahug. Barney's family: Lucretia Pillsbury -- Barney's second (and current) wife. Cynthia Pillsbury -- Barney's 11-year-old daughter from his first marriage. Eb Pillsbury -- Barney's father, who has memory issues. He has a robotic dog, Webster. Additional characters (alphabetical): Charles -- Barney and Lucretia's chauffeur. Consuela -- Barney and Lucretia's housekeeper. Dabney Mountbatten IV -- Clyde's homeless friend. Duane Butkis -- an assistant to Barney at his pharmaceutical company. Horace -- a street denizen who tells arcane jokes other characters do not understand. Ms. Foxx -- an assistant to Barney at his pharmaceutical company. Ms. Lanham -- Cynthia's teacher. Rachel Jones -- principal at Cynthia's school.

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Algeciras Heliport

2010-05-14 20:14:27+00:00

The Algeciras Heliport (Spanish: Helipuerto de Algeciras) is a public heliport in Algeciras (Cádiz, Spain). It was inaugurated on July 1, 2010, by the Minister of Development, José Blanco. It was the second helipad of the network AENA after Ceuta Heliport. Construction had started in February 2009. It provides transport to Ceuta and other areas in the Campo de Gibraltar. The only airport existing in the area is the one in the neighbouring British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was expected to begin operation in July 2010. The heliport is located on the current parking building of the Port of Algeciras. The setup of the heliport has involved the extension of an existing building and the ground keeping an area of 32 x 24 meters to take off the vehicle and a safe area of 8 x 5 meters. It is supplemented by the service units for rescue and firefighting and various units of maintenance. The helicopter used in the city will be a model Bell 412 EP that will allow communication with the city of Ceuta in just 10 minutes. The heliport platform is 2,400 m2 and a height of 30 meters above sea level. The passenger terminal is located in the Passenger Terminal Building. The heliport is divided into two parts: the passenger terminal and the launch pad for landing. The passenger terminal is part of the port of Algeciras, which has adapted an area to meet the needs of the heliport. This platform has 2,400 m 2 and is located 30 m. The terminal and platform are connected by covered outdoor walkways. The cost was more than 7 million euros. It is located 500 meters from the station and bus station in Algeciras. The heliport uses the services and parking of the Port of Algeciras. It does not have deposits of fuel for helicopters due to lack of space, so refueling cannot be done here.

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Bole Alashankou Airport

2011-10-04 05:32:57+00:00

Bole Alashankou Airport (IATA: BPL, ICAO: ZWBL) is an airport serving the cities of Bole and Alashankou in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture and Shuanghe in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is located 18 kilometers east of Bole, 50 kilometers south of the Alashankou border crossing with Kazakhstan, and 10 kilometers north of Shuanghe. Construction started in July 2009 with an investment of 320 million yuan, and the airport was opened on 10 July 2010.

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Brive–Souillac Airport

2011-01-16 07:33:44+00:00

Brive–Souillac Airport (IATA: BVE, ICAO: LFSL), also Brive–Dordogne Valley Airport (French: Aéroport de Brive – Vallée de la Dordogne), is an international airport located 13 kilometres (7.0 NM) south of Brive-la-Gaillarde, a commune of the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The airport caters for tourist movements into the Dordogne area. The idea for the new airport started in 1983 when the existing Brive–La Roche Airport, west of the Brive-la-Gaillarde CBD became unsuitable for modern aircraft and safety standards. By 1987, 200ha of land was found between Nespouls and Cressensac. A syndicate was formed between the mayors of Brive-la-Gaillarde, Jean Charbonnel and Souillac, Alain Chastagnol to push for the project's creation. A 1998 plan was updated in 2001 when a decision was made to extend the runway from 1.9 km to 2.1 km prior to construction, rather than extend it sometime in the future after the project had been completed. The project was delayed by court cases, politicians and environmental organisations such as the commune of Turenne and Query Périgord and candidates for d’Europe Écologie in the European Parliamentary elections. Most regarded it as a large international project that could not be managed on a local scale, while other concerns included the effect on public finances, opposition from Limoges Airport, noise pollution and a colony of the large blue butterfly. Earthworks began in October 2005 and continued until spring 2007 as the 200ha limestone site needed to be levelled and filled. 2.8 million m3 of earth was moved during these earthworks. The runway, 2.1 km long and 45m wide, was laid down in 2008, as were taxiways and aprons, while the building work for the airport control tower and buildings was underway in 2009. The official inauguration was on 15 June 15, 2010. Its ICAO code LFSL was previously assigned to the military Toul-Rosières Air Base, which closed in 2004. The Airlinair (HOP!) flights to and from Paris–Orly airport were transferred to this airport. = The project cost €48.7 million. €27.7 was raised by the Syndicate supported by the Department of the Correze, with the EU, French state and regional government providing €11.8. The rest was funded by the Department of the Lot, regional towns, chambers of commerce and agriculture. The airport resides at an elevation of 1,016 feet (310 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway designated 11/29 which measures 2,100 by 45 metres (6,890 ft × 148 ft). It also has a parallel unpaved runway with a grass surface measuring 1,000 by 80 metres (3,281 ft × 262 ft). In addition to the main terminal that handles both international and local passengers, there is a VIP and business aviation building as well as facilities for private flying clubs. The car park has capacity for 250 cars and is open 24 hours. The airport has taxi access and car rental facilities managed by Europcar and Hertz. The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Brive–Souillac Airport: Up to 2010: stats for the old airport; stats from 2010 are for this airport:

33317082

Erenhot Saiwusu Airport

2011-10-05 20:27:41+00:00

Erenhot Saiwusu Airport (IATA: ERL, ICAO: ZBER) is an airport serving the city of Erenhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. It is located near the town of Saiwusu, 27 km (17 mi) southeast of the city center and 32 km (20 mi) from the Mongolian border. Construction started in June 2008 with a total investment of 257 million yuan, and the airport was opened on 1 April 2010. Due to its proximity to the border the airport attracts a substantial portion of its passengers from Mongolia.

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Guyuan Liupanshan Airport

2011-10-04 00:20:02+00:00

Guyuan Liupanshan Airport (IATA: GYU, ICAO: ZLGY) is an airport serving Guyuan, a city in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. It is located in Zhonghe Township, 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) from the city center. The airport cost 458 million yuan to build and started operation on 26 June 2010.

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List of number-one albums of 2010 (Australia)

2010-01-03 08:58:26+00:00

The highest-selling albums and EPs in Australia are ranked in the ARIA Albums Chart, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The data are compiled from a sample that is based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales. There was a total of 21 number-one albums in 2010. Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream, Eminem's Recovery and Pink's Greatest Hits... So Far!!! were the longest-running number-one albums of the year, with each album scoring six consecutive weeks at the top.

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List of number-one digital albums of 2010 (Australia)

2016-12-27 14:14:19+00:00

The ARIA Albums Chart ranks the best-performing albums and extended plays (EPs) in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on the weekly digital sales of albums and EPs.

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List of number-one club tracks of 2010 (Australia)

2011-12-08 07:26:01+00:00

This is the list of number-one hits on the ARIA Club Chart in 2010, compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) from weekly DJ reports.

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List of number-one country albums of 2010 (Australia)

2015-09-14 11:31:59+00:00

These are the Australian Country number-one albums of 2010, per the ARIA Charts.

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List of number-one dance singles of 2010 (Australia)

2015-01-03 00:22:09+00:00

The ARIA Dance Chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing dance singles of Australia. It is published by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation who collect music data for the weekly ARIA Charts. To be eligible to appear on the chart, the recording must be a single, and be "predominantly of a dance nature, or with a featured track of a dance nature, or included in the ARIA Club Chart or a comparable overseas chart".

49603574

Ammineite

2016-02-29 23:19:07+00:00

Ammineite is the first recognized mineral containing ammine groups. Its formula is [CuCl2(NH3)2]. The mineral is chemically pure. It was found in a guano deposit in Chile. At the same site other ammine-containing minerals were later found: Chanabayaite, CuCl(N3C2H2)(NH3)·0.25H2O (an alternative formula), a triazolate mineral Joanneumite, Cu(C3N3O3H2)2(NH3)2, an isocyanurate mineral Shilovite, Cu(NH3)4(NO3)2 The characteristic features of the structure of ammineite are: layers of trans form of the copper complex, parallel to (001), connected by Cu-Cl bonds presence of CuN2Cl4 distorted octahedron ([4+2] coordination) edge-sharing of the octahedra produce zigzag chains along the [001] direction hydrogen bonds between NH3 and Cl atoms Ammineite coexists with atacamite, darapskite, halite and salammoniac. Ammineite is supposed to be a result of an interaction of an earlier copper mineral, likely from a plutonic rock, with ammonia in guano. Ammonia may be produced in decomposition of compounds like urea or uric acid.

49636283

Florencite-(Sm)

2016-03-04 01:11:30+00:00

Florencite-(Sm) is a very rare mineral of the plumbogummite group (alunite supergroup) with simplified formula SmAl3(PO4)2(OH)6. Samarium in florencite-(Sm) is substituted by other rare earth elements, mostly neodymium. It does not form separate crystals, but is found as zones in florencite-(Ce), which is cerium-dominant member of the plumbogummite group. Florencite-(Sm) is also a samarium-analogue of florencite-(La) (lanthanum-dominant) and waylandite (bismuth-dominant), both being aluminium-rich minerals. Florencite-(Sm) was revealed in quartz veins in the Maldynyrd Range, Subpolar Urals, Russia. It associates with xenotime-(Y). Florencite-(Sm) has admixtures of neodymium, and small amounts of cerium, gadolinium, sulfur, strontium, praseodymium, calcium, lanthanum, europium, and silicon.

33235340

Fly Aruba

2011-09-28 02:05:39+00:00

Fly Aruba was an airline company based in Aruba. Formed in 2010, the company had filed for bankruptcy by June 2012 after failing to receive regulatory permission to fly and not paying salaries to its local workers.

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Asian Institute of Medical Sciences

2015-08-13 10:29:58+00:00

Asian Institute of Medical Sciences is a tertiary care hospital and institute located in Faridabad, India. It was established in 2010 and is accredited by NABH and NABL. The hospital was founded by Padmashri awardee Dr. Narendra Kumar Pandey. He is also the recipient of the Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest award in medicine instituted by the Government of India. He was honored for his pioneering work in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. In 2017, the hospital made waves by successfully treating a man who had allegedly swallowed 150 pins and needles.

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Bellevue Medical Center (Nebraska)

2015-03-05 07:01:18+00:00

Bellevue Medical Center is a hospital located in Bellevue, Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It opened on May 17, 2010. The hospital provides immediate and primary care clinics, a pharmacy, an indoor pool for therapy and rehabilitation services, infusion therapy, an emergency department, a diagnostic center, and a surgical center. Located on the hospital's fourth flour, the Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital is a 32-bed center that treats patients of nineteen years of age or older who are afflicted with complex medical conditions, which was set to open on April 1, 2015.

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Berrywood Hospital

2011-01-02 22:05:48+00:00

Berrywood Hospital is a modern psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Duston, Northampton. It is managed by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital, which was built in the grounds of the former St Crispin's Hospital, opened in May 2010. It has inpatient mental health services for adults and older people, an assessment and treatment unit for people with learning disabilities, and a low secure unit.

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Bukwo General Hospital

2016-06-02 22:26:09+00:00

Bukwo General Hospital, also Bukwo District Hospital or Bukwo Hospital, is a hospital in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The hospital is located on the Kapchorwa–Suam Road, in the town of Bukwo, approximately 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. The coordinates of Bukwo Hospital are 1°17'39.0"N, 34°45'19.0"E (Latitude: 1.294158; Longitude: 34.755286). Bukwo General Hospital is a public hospital, funded by the Uganda Ministry of Health. General care in the hospital is free. It was built in the 2000s, with laying of the foundation stone in June 2010. The hospital is plagued by a lack of electricity and understaffing. In 2013, the government of Uganda secured a loan from the World Bank to renovate certain Ugandan hospitals, including this hospital. The plans include the following: Construction of a new T-block building Construction of a new outpatient department Construction of an emergency room (casualty department) Construction of new administrative offices Construction of a house to accommodate the diesel generator Construction of a placenta disposal facility Construction of a medical waste disposal facility Construction of six new staff houses Construction of a laundry, kitchen, and dining room for patient attendants Construction of a new incinerator Construction of ventilated, improved pit latrines for use by patient attendants and outpatients

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List of 2010 box office number-one films in Australia

2010-01-11 08:57:01+00:00

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in Australia during 2010. All amounts are in Australian dollars. Notes A ^ A biennial event showcasing anime films for two weeks, held by Madman Entertainment in cinemas in capital cities across the country. The films are screened in their native Japanese with English subtitles. In 2010, the films were: Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (with additional limited screenings of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone), King of Thorn, Redline, and Summer Wars.

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List of 2010 box office number-one films in Austria

2020-05-29 16:31:47+00:00

This is a list of films which placed number one at the weekend box office for the year 2010. Most successful films of 2010 by number of movie tickets sold in Austria.

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List of 2010 box office number-one films in Brazil

2010-01-31 04:20:47+00:00

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in Brazil during 2010 (Amounts are in Brazilian reais; 1 real is approximately equivalent to 0.64 US dollars).

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List of 2010 box office number-one films in Ecuador

2013-05-08 01:26:14+00:00

This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in Ecuador during 2010.

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Allentown State Hospital

2010-09-02 21:00:54+00:00

Allentown State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located at 1600 Hanover Avenue in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It served Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and occasionally eastern Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania. The hospital, which was one of seven psychiatric hospitals in Pennsylvania, in large part, was demolished on December 28, 2020. Today, two buildings remain. Those buildings currently house the nerve center for Community Services for Children, an organization responsible for the local Head Start and Early Head Start programs to support children throughout Pennsylvania. = Planning for the development of Allentown State Hospital began in 1901. Eleven years later, on October 3, 1912, it opened. The hospital cost $1,931,270 to build. The hospital's patient population peaked in 1950 with 2,012 patients. In November 1998, Allentown State Hospital was the first psychiatric hospital in the United States to be completely seclusion-free. Due in part to community mental health efforts, the hospital's occupancy later fell to as low as 175 patients. = Due to the sharp decline in the need for psychiatric hospitals, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare closed the hospital. Some residents were transferred to Wernersville State Hospital in Berks County. Others were placed in residential care settings in the community. The hospital closed on December 17, 2010. The Pennsylvania Department of General Services placed bids to demolish all the buildings on the property, including the historic main building, by the end of 2019. The property was purchased for the purpose of demolition by TCA Properties in Doylestown. Parts of the 2019 movie Glass were filmed at Allentown State Hospital and other Allentown locations.

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Blaina & District Hospital

2012-08-27 15:18:37+00:00

Blaina and District Hospital (Welsh: Ysbyty Blaina a'r Cylch) was a community hospital in Blaina, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. It was managed by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. The site for the hospital was acquired from Octavius Price. The hospital was designed by Gasenius Lewis and built by W A Linton. The hospital, which was paid for from subscriptions by local mining communities, opened as the Nantyglo Hospital on 2 January 1911. The maternity ward was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of York on 17 March 1932. The hospital joined the National Health Service as the Blaina and District Hospital in 1948. After services transferred to the Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan in Ebbw Vale it closed in 2010. The building was subsequently demolished and the site cleared.

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Fox River Pavilion

2010-07-29 06:24:08+00:00

The Fox River Pavilion, formerly the St. Charles Hospital, is a historical building in Aurora, Illinois. The Art Deco building was originally a hospital and functioned as a nursing home and sanatorium until approximately April 2010, when the property was vacated. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 2010. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart came to the United States in 1876 following persecution of German Catholics during the Kulturkampf. Shortly afterward, the order moved to Joliet, Illinois, where they founded the St. Joseph Hospital. In February 1900, the rapidly growing order required a new hospital and convent to meet its needs. They purchased land in Aurora, a rapidly growing city nearby. They purchased the Coulter House on North Forth Street and used it as the first St. Charles Hospital. This became the second hospital in Aurora; the first was founded in 1886 by the Aurora City Hospital Association, who operated out of a building on Lincoln Avenue since 1888. The Franciscan order purchased the neighboring James Freeman House the next year, which then became the home of the hospital following a 1902 addition. As Aurora continued to grow, the Sisters needed to expand their space. They built a dormitory for sister in 1910 and a boiler house & laundry in 1920. The order founded a nursing school in 1922 and opened their first branch, a maternity hospital, in 1925. Recognizing the need for a large hospital building, the order began to purchase other houses on the block in the late 1920s. The St. Charles Hospital was built for the Sisters in 1932 for $500,000. It was designed in the Art Deco style by Wybe Jelles Van der Meer, who primarily planned ecclesiastical buildings and did most of his work for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. Construction was led by contractor C. J. DeWit, whose use of local labor during the Great Depression was lauded by the Chicago Daily Tribune. The 110-bed facility replaced the original complex as an acute care facility. Rev. Edward Francis Hoban gave the opening blessing. After years of service, the hospital became a skilled nursing facility and sanatorium as the Fox River Pavilion. Following the stabbing death of a patient, the state and federal government revoked the building's license in 2010. On June 7, 2010, the building was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Congregation Kol Shofar

2010-08-31 19:20:38+00:00

Congregation Kol Shofar is a Conservative synagogue founded in 1962 and located in Tiburon, Marin County, California, in the United States. The congregation is led by Rabbi Paul Steinberg, who was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. In the 1960s and 1970s, Kol Shofar was a nomadic congregation, meeting in various locations around Marin County. In 1984 it acquired its current location at 215 Blackfield Drive in Tiburon. The Blackfield location was previously home to Reedland Woods Middle School from 1970 to 1976. = In 2006, Kol Shofar submitted plans to expand its synagogue space. The Tiburon Neighborhood Coalition opposed the construction, citing the traffic and noise impact due to the size of a new multi-purpose room and a proposed 27 additional events with up to 250 persons. That summer, the Tiburon Planning Commission rejected the expansion plans, claiming that Kol Shofar refused to engage in compromise discussions. As a result of the Planning Commission's rejection, the issue was brought to the attention of the town council who later that year approved a reduced synagogue expansion plan with restrictions on hours, parking, and number of events, as well as reducing the size of the social hall by 15 percent. Kol Shofar argued that Tiburon's restrictions would violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which prohibits "substantial burdens" on the exercise of religion by government regulations. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty threatened litigation on behalf of Kol Shofar depending on the outcome. Both Tiburon and Kol Shofar were sued by the Coalition in March 2007, alleging environmental and land-use violations. In 2008, a Marin Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the expansion, and the Coalition filed an appeal with the 1st District Court of Appeal. The appeal was ultimately dropped later that same year, and Kol Shofar was able to proceed, agreeing not to seek repayment of court costs. = Construction on the new space began in April 2009. The congregation held services in neighboring Westminster Presbyterian Church from February 8, 2009 until August 27, 2010. On August 27, 2010, the congregation held its first Shabbat services in its renovated sanctuary. The next day Kol Shofar held a reopening celebration. Members of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish community were in attendance. The project costed $17.5 million, adding a brand new 8,300-square-foot (770 m2) social hall, additional parking, and four class rooms, as well as a renovated sanctuary space. Herman Coliver Locus Architecture of San Francisco designed the project. The following individuals have served as rabbis for the congregration: Rabbi Daniel B. Kohn Rabbi Jacob Milgrom ( - 1975) Rabbi Aryeh Wineman (1975 – 1977) Rabbi David White (1977 – 1991) Rabbi Lavey Darby (1991 – 2010) Rabbi Chai Levy (2002 – 2018) Rabbi Susan Leider (2012 – 2022) Rabbi Paul Steinberg (since 2017)

53793505

New Synagogue (Mainz)

2017-04-16 15:58:00+00:00

The New Synagogue (German: Neuen Synagoge) is a Jewish congregation, community center, and synagogue, located on Synagogenplatz, Mainz in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in Germany. The Modernist-styled building was erected in 2010, on the site of the former main synagogue, destroyed in 1938, on the Hindenburgstraße of Mainz Neustadt. Mainz, known to the Jews as Magenza, was an important Jewish centre on the Rhine and has had impressive synagogues for many centuries. The Kristallnacht of 1938 ended this tradition. After the Second World War, the remains and premises of Mainz synagogues accommodated only a small group of returned community members. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall the community had a mere 140 citizens in total. In the 1990s, a large number of immigrants from Eastern Europe grew the community and new space was required. By December 2006, the community had grown to number 1,050 members. In 1999, there was a competition to design a new synagogue building and a Jewish community centre. The winner was architect Manuel Herz. The estimated cost was approximately €11 million and the city of Mainz gave assurances it would contribute €3.5 million. The financing model outlined that the city, Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Federal Republic of Germany each contribute one-third of the construction costs. A building permit was issued in 2000. The demolition of the general customs office building (erected in 1955) at the site was not started until October 2008. The prayer sanctuary of the New Synagogue offers approximately 450 places which corresponds to five times the previous prayer capacity. The draft reminded the deconstructivist architecture and symbolic organisation of the Jewish Museum, Berlin. A Magenza foundation under the patronage of Prime Minister Kurt Beck and Lord Mayor Jens Beutel was committed to the building and sustaining this new synagogue, and a further 29 citizens and notables from Mainz and the region belong to the establishment founders. The building reflects the Jewish-liturgical term Kedushah (Hebrew: קדושה, romanized: sanctification and exaltation). Cologne architect, Manuel Herz, intended to symbolize this with the five Hebrew letters the five ranges of the Jewish center for community events, adult education and as Hebrew school for school children. The letterforms were originally developed from picture symbols, from which the initial at the beginning of the respective symbol was associated later. Hebrew letters attain an object character, a quality of the representational one. The eastward-directed, (towards Jerusalem), horn-shaped roof of the assembly place represents a shofar. Mythologically the shofar stands for communication with God. This form is used to express the call of the community after YHWH, for listening to and receiving of eternal divine light and its wisdom. Traditionally the community was summoned together by blowing the shofar. The synagogue contains a festival room, Mikveh, kosher kitchen, club room, kindergarten, classroom, social service, community office, library, meeting room and apartments. The Jewish community in Mainz offers an active cultural program, which is also open to non-Jewish visitors. The architect Manuel Herz received the German front prize for rainscreen fronts (VHF) in 2011. The building received the nomination for the Mies van der Rohe Prize for European Architecture, German Facade Prize 2011. = The foundation stone for the synagogue was laid on November 23, 2008. Andreas Berg and Dr Peter Waldmann wrote the text for the foundation stone. The topping out ceremony was committed on October 16, 2009. The inauguration was held on September 3, 2010, following weather delays; this date was the anniversary of the inauguration of the former synagogue in 1912. Attendees at the inauguration included Prime Minister Beck, Mayor Beutel, Federal President Christian Wulff, and Yoram Ben-Zeev, the Israeli Ambassador.

42681707

Ali and Ramazan

2014-05-06 18:11:43+00:00

Ali and Ramazan (Ali ile Ramazan in Turkish) is a novel by Turkish writer Perihan Mağden, first published in 2010. The novel tells the story of two teenager gay boys with polar characteristics drawn into each other, forming an intense friendship in milieu of man-dominated, materialistic, and oppressive pressures. The novel was translated in English by Ruth Whitehouse and published in the Las Vegas, United States in 2012. Theater play "GarajIstanbul" was exhibited in 2013. Ali and Ramazan are two boys from very different backgrounds who land in the same Istanbul orphanage. They quickly see eye to eye and fall into a loving relationship as children, bringing light to one another and to the other orphans in their dreary adopted home. Ramazan is a charmer, the school master's favorite, the clown among the boys, and the only one with a real handle on things outside the orphanage's walls. He takes Ali under his wing, and by the time they turn eighteen and are loosed onto Istanbul's mean streets, Ali and Ramazan are a pair. What happens next is both tragic and beautiful, a testament to love finding its way even among the least visible citizens on Turkey's mean streets.

32201803

Annabel (Winter novel)

2011-06-25 15:04:38+00:00

Annabel is a 2010 novel by Canada-based author Kathleen Winter. A baby is born in 1968, in far-from-everywhere Croydon Harbour, Labrador, Canada. He is intersex – a word unfamiliar to the midwife present at his birth, and to his stoic father and his fanciful mother – with both penis and vagina. His is a masculine world of men who trap for a living, and a father who decided to name him "Wayne" and raise him as male – but his shadow self, Annabel, the name his mother and her best friend Thomasina whisper when they are alone, will live within him for two decades. Wayne heads into the bush with his father, but at home he dreams of synchronized swimming and begs for a sequined bathing suit. He is she, and they are a fluid, pastel contradiction in a rigid, black and white world. Puberty sets in and there is a medical emergency – Wayne's abdomen fills with menstrual blood. Lost in his superficial world of being a girl, he begins a friendship with classmate Wally. His father, Treadway, begins to question whether Wally is a good influence on Wayne and wants him to be more boyish. Together with his father, Wayne builds a small bridge over a creek. His father thinks of this as a masculine construction project, but the bridge is actually an expression of Wayne's feminine fantasy life. After Wayne ornaments the bridge with curtains and lights, his father dismantles it, interrupting his friendship with Wally. As Wayne grows into a young adult, he moves to St. John's, where she decides to discontinue her masculinizing medication and allow her body to feminize spontaneously. Ultimately, she learns to accept herself as she really is, reconciles with her father, and renews her friendship with Wally. The novel was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, the 2010 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the 2010 Governor General's Awards. It held the distinction of being the only novel to make the shortlists of all three awards in 2010. In 2011 it was shortlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, and won the Thomas Head Raddall Award. In 2014 it was chosen for the Canada Reads competition, where it was championed by actress Sarah Gadon. Despite critical acclaim, the book has not been welcomed by intersex organizations. Organisation Intersex International Australia described the book as fundamentally flawed and deterministic, based on misconceptions about intersex. The novel was adapted for BBC Radio by Emma Harding and Miranda Davies. Singer Alison Goldfrapp of pop duo Goldfrapp wrote a song of the same name inspired by the novel, which features on their 2013 album Tales of Us. Filmmaker Lisa Gunning, who directed the song's music video, has also optioned feature film rights to the novel.

39536969

Blue Is the Warmest Color (comics)

2013-05-31 07:55:38+00:00

Blue Is the Warmest Color (French: Le bleu est une couleur chaude, originally announced as Blue Angel) is a French graphic novel by Jul Maroh, published by Glénat in March 2010. The English-language edition was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2013. The novel tells a love story between two young women in France at the end of the 1990s. Abdellatif Kechiche directed a film adaptation in 2013, titled Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The story takes place in France between 1994 and 2008. After the death of her partner Clémentine, Emma goes to the home of Clémentine's parents, Daniel and Fabienne, in accordance with Clémentine's will, to request access to Clémentine's personal diary. Emma must face the hostility of Clémentine's father, somewhat offset by Clémentine's welcoming mother. The story then follows Emma as she reads Clémentine's diary, which tells the whole story of the relationship between the two young women from Clémentine's teenage years and her first meeting with Emma to her untimely death. In the beginning, Clémentine meets a boy, Thomas, who is a student in Terminale (final year of lycée, the French equivalent of senior high school or sixth-form college); they like each other, but soon afterward, Clémentine becomes intrigued by a chance meeting with a blue-haired young woman on the arm of another woman, Sabine Decocq. For Clémentine, it is love at first sight. Unable to forget this encounter, she starts to have doubts about her sexuality, but decides to date Thomas because she wants to feel normal. Six months later, Clémentine is unable to have sex with Thomas and breaks up with him. Feeling depressed, she is helped by one of her male friends, Valentin, to whom she confesses everything; Valentin tells her that he has already dated a boy, which Clémentine finds quite comforting. One evening shortly thereafter, Valentin takes Clémentine to some gay bars. Clémentine sees the blue-haired young woman again with Sabine at a lesbian bar. The blue-haired girl comes to talk to Clémentine and introduces herself as Emma. The two keep in touch and become friends, while Clémentine secretly falls in love with Emma. Clémentine then has to face the gossip and homophobic taunts from some of her schoolmates when they hear that she and Emma were at a gay bar together. Some time later, while the relationship between Emma and Sabine has somewhat stalled (mainly because Sabine often cheats on Emma), Clémentine eventually confides her feelings to Emma, who in turn says she is in love with her. They have sex and start an affair. Emma eventually finds the strength to break up with Sabine and starts living with Clémentine. One night, when the two spend the evening at Clémentine's place, Emma walks into the kitchen completely naked to get a glass of milk and Clémentine's mother catches her. Clémentine's parents then find both of them nude in the bedroom and their reaction is violently hostile: Clémentine is thrown out of her home, along with Emma. Clémentine then starts living at Emma's parents' place; the two subsequently get a home of their own and live there happily for several years. Emma becomes an artist, while Clémentine becomes a high school teacher. Emma starts to become politically involved and takes part in LGBT activism, while Clémentine prefers to keep her sexuality private. One day, Emma discovers that Clémentine cheated on her with a male colleague; she angrily breaks up with her and kicks her out. Clémentine, who has taken refuge at Valentin's place, becomes depressed and addicted to pills. Valentin organises a meeting and leaves both women alone on a beach. Still in love with each other, they reconcile, but Clémentine is undone by her addiction, which results in a seizure that puts her in the hospital, where Emma discovers that she is not allowed access to her at first. Clémentine's parents and Emma eventually learn that it is too late to save her; the damage from the drugs is too great. Clémentine writes the final pages of her diary at the hospital, and then dies. As Emma reads the diary's conclusion, she remembers that Clémentine urged her to continue living her life as she knows it. Maroh started the comic at the age of 19 and took five years to complete it. It was supported by the French Community of Belgium. From 27 to 30 January 2011, the novel was promoted during the 2011 Angoulême International Comics Festival, where it was part of the official selection. During this festival, Blue Is the Warmest Color was awarded the Fnac-SNCF Essential prize, an award selected by the public. The deal for its English translation, to be released in September 2013, was made at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair. (in French) Julie Maroh, Le bleu est une couleur chaude, Glénat – Hors collection, 2010 ISBN 978-2-7234-6783-4 Julie Maroh, Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013 ISBN 978-1-55152-514-3 (in Spanish) Julie Maroh, El azul es un color cálido, Dibbuks, 2011 ISBN 978-84-92902-44-6 (in Dutch) Julie Maroh, Blauw is een warme kleur, Glénat – Hors collection, 2011 ISBN 978-90-6969-933-2 (in Portuguese) Julie Maroh, Azul é a cor mais quente, Editora Martins Fontes – Selo Martins, 2013 ISBN 978-85-8063-125-8 (in Greek) Julie Maroh, Το Μπλε είναι το πιο Ζεστό Χρώμα, ΚΨΜ, 2013 ISBN 978-96-0675-084-7 (in Swedish) Julie Maroh, Blå är den varmaste färgen, Nubeculis, 2015 ISBN 978-91-6378-736-2 Prix Jeune Auteur at the Salon de la BD et des Arts Graphiques of Roubaix 2010 Prix Conseil Régional at the festival of Blois 2010 Fnac-SNCF Essential at the 2011 Angoulême International Comics Festival Diplôme "Isidor" of the website altersexualite.com Prix BD des lycéens de la Guadeloupe Prize of the best international album during the 4e Festival international de la BD d'Alger in 2011 A film adaptation was made by Abdelatif Kechiche, with Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos in the main roles, released in 2013 under the title Blue Is the Warmest Colour. Like the book, it received great critical acclaim, winning several awards, including the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. While the first two thirds of the film are similar (with Clémentine renamed "Adèle"), the ending is different from the book: Adèle is still alive, and the two lovers split up due to what are strongly suggested to be irreconcilable differences. Sepideh Jodeyri, an Iranian poet in the Czech Republic, made a Persian translation, as Abi Garmtarin Rang Ast. Conservative groups in Iran criticised her. There was a plan for a debut of this translation in Tehran, but it was later canceled.

44191154

The Bone Palace

2014-10-23 13:09:45+00:00

The Bone Palace by Amanda Downum is a 2010 American fantasy novel centered on the fictional city of death, Erisin. It tells the story of the royal necromancer, Issylt Iskaldur and the princess mistress, Savedra Severos. These characters represent a strong sense of sexual identity that break the normalcy of typical castes. Critics praise the novel for its unique perspective on relevant subjects in the world today. It was nominated for the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award in 2010 and the Spectrum Award for Best Novel in 2011. The Bone Palace takes place in the royal city of Erisin. This “capital city is reminiscent of Rome during the Enlightenment”. The city is made up of “the high class lives and intrigues of the wealthy and aristocratic families of wealthy and aristocratic families”, but also “poor and lower-classes”. The plague has spread through the city and continues to lurk through the streets. Corpses are not a rare occurrence due to the plague and murders. This city is also haunted and filled with magical sorcerers. “Vampiric vrykoli” live underneath of the city in their “bone chilling vampire lairs”, and “demons stalk the streets”. “The taverns and gardens of plague-ridden Erisin and the titular ruined palace at its center make a dark and richly detailed background for this complex and bloody tale of sorcery, madness, and intrigue” . When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskadur, necromancer and agent of the crown, investigates the murder and discovers that the vampires of Erisin are somehow involved. Unable to leave Forsythia's death unsolved, she continues her investigation which leads to more lies and secrets ahead. Meanwhile, inside the palace, Savedra Severos, the prince's transgender mistress, deals with assassination attempts and then stumbles upon the mystery of a missing Severos woman whom no one remembers. Savedra and Isyllt cross paths as they discover a conspiracy that links their two cases. Savedra is the prince's mistress and the Severos household is always scheming for her to become the princess to add the Severos name among royalty. She begins her quest for answers when she hears about the murder Isyllt is investigating and tries to find out more about the mysterious murders and who plotted an assassination attempt on Ashlin. Her search leads her to the name Phaedra Severos, a member of her family, the problem is most of the information of Phaedra has been removed. Eventually, the plot thickens when Savedra hears the tale of Savedra; Savedra and Ashlin explore Phaedra's former fortress and Savedra has no one to trust with all the information she has uncovered, which is why she turns to Isyllt. Isyllt, on the other hand, is investigating the Queen's stolen jewelry and the death of Forsythia. Isyllt's investigation leads her to the underground where the vampires dwell; it is there where she reunites herself with Spider and first learns about Spider's, a vampire that aids her or so it seems, plot for a revolution. In an attempt to find Forsythia's murderer Isyllt summons her spirit and discovers the scent of the murderer. At this point, Isyllt and Savedra come to the realization that their investigations may be intertwined and they begin working together. With Isyllt and Savedra working together they now begin to close in on the scheme conducted by Varis, Kiril, and Phaedra. Throughout the novel Kiril is involved trying to persuade Isyllt to discontinue her investigation and at the same time he is plotting with Phaedra to overthrow the palace. Kiril is also a third narrator in the story who plays a significant role and as he is at the heart of the conspiracy and is someone who Isyllt loves dearly. Together Phaedra, Varis, and Kiril are plotting to overthrow the palace and alter Erisin's societal structure dramatically with the help of Spider and young vampires. Ashlin: a barbarian princess with pale skin and blonde hair, wife of Nikos, fond of riding horses and sword fighting, who becomes increasingly close to Savedra. Savedra Severos: Mistress of Nikos who attempts to protect Nikos and Ashlin, falls in love with Ashlin, helps rescue Nikos and kill Phaedra. Captain Deneris: King Mathiros’ royal guard, helps Isyllt and Savedra rescue Nikos. Khelséa Shar: loyal, but not so intelligent police inspector, as compared to Isyllt. She assists Isyllt in investigating Forsythia's murder, and helps track down Phaedra in the end. Forsythia: is the prostitute who was killed by a vampire named Spider and a demon named Phaedra. Her lover, Whisper, was also a vampire, and he had given her the late Queen's ring. Whisper: like most modern-day vampires, had built a relationship with Forsythia, and unlike like most vampires, Whisper was always polite-as much as a monster could be. He always asked before drinking from Forsythia and gave her items from graves. He was also killed by Spider to throw Isyllt off the trail. Spider: a vampire who had an on and off relationship with Isyllt wanted to revolt against the Elders and not be prisoner to the darkness. He joined forces with Phaedra and Kiril to help Phaedra overthrow the king, but he was caught by Tenebris. Tenebris: the elder vampire, was intimidating and dedicated her time to the dark much like old perception of vampires. She was aware of Spider's intentions and actions all along, thanks to another vampire Azarné, and as punishment for his actions, Tenebris kills Spider. Azarné: the vampire that helped Isyllt out all along. She became infatuated with Ciaran and was the one to inform the Elder's about the planned revolution. Isyllt Iskladur: Erisin's Crown Investigator who is also a sorceress who apprenticed under her former lover Kirilos. Savendra Severos: the hijra bodyguard and mistress of Prince Nikos. Nikos: the “peacock like” crowned prince of Erisin whose main motive is to protect his kingdom. Kiril (Kirilos): former spymaster of King Mathiros and mentor of Isyllt Iskladur. Phaedra: the ex-lover of King Mathiros whose main motive is to seek revenge and take over Erisin. Varis Severos: Savendra's sorcerer uncle, is in love with Phaedra. King Mathrios: the father of Prince Nikos and former lover of Phaedra. Dahlia: a hijra sorceress who wants to track down the individual who murdered Forsythia. Ciaran: musician and former lover and close friend of Isyllt. = Leading The Bone Palace with strong female characters through the ability to make any role higher in class and more respected: it's captured through the method in making a transgender narrator a leader in their societal lifestyle, as she is the mistress to the Prince. Although the feminine roles are stronger than the masculine characters in the novel, the desire to convey the characters as a group that are of the "oversexed variety" is not approached as every character competes in their own manner in obtaining higher societal status without having preferences in sexuality, as in every character fills their hierarchical role regardless of gender. Savedra, even though she is a self-proclaimed bodyguard to the Prince and Princess, her transgender role is one "who loves to fight but isn't reduced to her tomboy archetype", and the being of her sexuality isn't conveyed to classify her as a different role compared to other individuals in Erisin. Relationships were not even based on jealousy or competition as Savedra and the Princess were close. Finally, Isyllt's history and relationships as it was from backgrounds that were previously studied uncovered more relation to comparing Erisin's hierarchical status and roles to the modern world. The Bone Palace was nominated for two different awards in the year 2011 and 2010. The recent nomination was for Best Novel for the 2011 Spectrum Award. The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards honor "outstanding works of science fiction, fantasy and horror which include significant positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues". In the previous year, the book was nominated in the honors list of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award 2010. This represents the Science Fiction or Fantasy that explores and expands the roles of women and men for work by both women and men.

30338255

Friendly Fire: The Illusion of Justice

2011-01-06 19:32:58+00:00

Friendly Fire: The Illusion of Justice, published in 2010, is memoir written by Adam Bereki. The book tells a harrowing story where "truth is stranger than fiction." The story is of an aspiring, young police officer who enters the Huntington Beach police force, but finds himself caught in a disastrous cycle when his colleagues catch wind of his sexual orientation. The situation rapidly unwinds as harassment and threats escalate to a breaking point and the young officer presses a lawsuit against the department. The case resulted in an internal affairs investigation. None of the officers, including defendants, were placed on administrative leave. The city acknowledged no inappropriate conduct or wrongdoing in this incident however settled with the plaintiff before the court date. The book is not just a story of work place discrimination or even a story regarding a man's struggle with homophobia. Bereki details the personal and psychological struggles of gay men and women who serve in a compelling manner that includes exploration of self through travel and religion to illustrate his reconciliation with his own identity. The Surf City Voice summarized the book as a tale of a "brave gay man who survived harassment on the job from macho police officers to ultimately overcome victimhood and find peace with himself."

48677109

2010 Damghan earthquake

2015-11-29 01:55:21+00:00

The 2010 Damghan earthquake (also known as the Kuh-Zar earthquake) occurred in northern Iran at 11:53:49 local time on August 27 with a moment magnitude of 5.8 and maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). This strike-slip event damaged and destroyed a number of small villages in a sparsely populated region near the Alborz mountain range. It left four people dead, 40 injured, and about 800 without homes. The deaths and injuries in this moderate event were attributed to the low-quality construction styles that are typical of the area. The Iranian Strong Motion Network provided data by which seismologists determined the type and extent of the slip as well as the peak ground acceleration. Other large and destructive earthquakes have affected Semnan Province, including several events in 856 AD and 1953. The tectonics of Iran are dominated by the continental collision of the Arabian and Eurasian Plates. The rate of convergence has been estimated at two centimeters per year for the past 10 million years; about half of that occurs across the Zagros fold and thrust belt. The northern Iran region near the Alborz mountains contains numerous reverse and left-lateral strike-slip faults that lie to the south of the Caspian Sea. The Astaneh strike-slip fault was a likely source of the 856 Damghan earthquake that caused the largest loss of life in the history of Iran—more than 200,000 deaths. A more recent damaging event that also occurred near the Alborz mountain range was the 1953 Torud earthquake, in which more than 900 perished. Similar to the 1953 Torud earthquake, the 2010 Damghan event took place in a rural area that exposed relatively few villages to strong shaking. It occurred at 11:53 local time in the north-central desert region of Iran on a fault that dipped 78° to the northwest. Fault motion occurred on a NE–SW striking fault that was almost pure left-lateral strike-slip. A Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong) was observed in Kuh Zar and the nearby villages of Tuchahi, Kelu, and Shimi. In Hoseynian, Moalleman, Satveh, and Torud, the intensity was VI (Strong). Some surface cracks and fissures were present near Tuchahi and Kelu villages, but no significant surface faulting occurred. = The affected area has a low population density and has an abundance of homes that are constructed with local clay material by unskilled workers. The unreinforced stone masonry or adobe homes are sometimes overloaded single story structures with flat wooden roofs with steel beams. Most of these types of homes suffered partial collapse and led to a number of roof collapses. Fifty homes were destroyed, 300 were damaged, including a roof cave-in that left two women dead. Overall, seven villages sustained damage and twelve were destroyed. Four people died, 40 were injured, and 800 were left homeless, but no major infrastructure (dams, bridges, or power stations) were impacted. = The first isoseismal map that was created in Iran was for the earlier 1953 Torud event. To focus on the association between the macroseismic effects and the instrumental intensity for the 2010 event, seismologists Mohammad P. Shahvar and Mehdi Zaré conducted a field investigation and interviews. An isoseismal map that was created using the data aligned with a ShakeMap that was created by the Tehran-based International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. The closest strong motion station was about 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) to the east of the origin of faulting and showed a horizontal acceleration of 0.55 g. The peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity that were attained from the Iranian Strong Motion Network were considered high for a moderate event. Seventy rescue personnel and ambulances arrived at Kuh Zar. People with minor injuries were treated by paramedics and discharged; others were taken to Damghan Hospital. Interior Minister, Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, along with other government officials and members of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), visited Kuh Zar the following day. A temporary camp with 50 tents was established in the village. Food, beds and other necessary items were supplied to the village by the IRCS. = Asgharzadeh, S.; Holakouie Naieni, K.; Ardalan, A.; Ahmadnezhad, E.; Zaeri, S. (2012), "Deaths and Injuries due to the Earthquake in 2010. Damghan's Earthquake: A Case Study", Iranian Journal of Epidemiology (in Persian), 8 (1): 54–61 Armoontan, F.; Rezapour, M.; Azizi, S. (2022), "Analysis of the 2010 Damghan earthquake in Central Alborz (Mw 5.7) and fault-plane identification by H.C method", Iranian Journal of Geophysics, 15 (4): 15–27, doi:10.30499/IJG.2021.255884.1299

30136103

2010 Hosseinabad earthquake

2010-12-21 04:08:23+00:00

The 2010 Hosseinabad earthquake occurred on December 20 at 22:11 local time (18:41 UTC) with a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It was located about 20 km from Hosseinabad (spelled variously as Ḩoseynābād or Hosein Abad) (Persian: حسين آباد), Kermān Province in south-eastern Iran, about 100 km from Bam. The earthquake killed eleven people and injured over 100. Damage was concentrated in about 20 villages in the area of Fahraj. Casualties were reported in the villages of Chah Qanbar, Tak Seyfeldini, and Sarze Rigan. Telephone service was interrupted and power outages were reported in the affected area. The intensity in Bam was IV (Light) and no damage was caused. It could also be felt in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan. According to the director of the Red Crescent of Iran, it is difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to some villages in the affected mountainous area. Some hard-to-reach areas were inaccessible due to being blocked by landslides. Moderate earthquakes can cause serious damage in the Iranian countryside, where buildings are often made of mud-bricks.

28210248

July 2010 Iran earthquake

2010-07-31 07:55:38+00:00

On July 30, 2010 a 5.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. Iranian media reported at least 170 people were injured as a result of the earthquake, while the Iranian Red Crescent Society reported more than 150 injured. The organization said all injured were treated on the scene, except two people who were hospitalized in Mashhad. The earthquake reportedly caused serious damage in dozens of villages. Widespread outages were also reported.

29663449

Rok plc

2010-11-19 19:18:09+00:00

Rok plc was a British construction company, based in Exeter. Rok went into administration in 2010. The company, which began as Exeter Building Contractors Ltd, was formed in 1939 to take on government contracts at the start of the Second World War. This company became EBC Group, and was relaunched as Rok in 2001, with the slogan The Nation's Local Builder. Rok's largest acquisition was in 2006, when they bought Inverness-based Tulloch Construction for £31.3 million, with Tulloch's 875 staff transferred to Rok. This included The Corrie Group, Tulloch's engineering, plumbing and electrical division. Rok went into administration in November 2010, after reporting a £3.8 million loss for the first half of the year. Rok's affordable housing and construction businesses were bought by Balfour Beatty for £7 million. Balfour Beatty said the businesses and 381 employees would become part of Mansell, its regional construction business.

26247363

AC Transit bus fight

2010-02-18 15:39:51+00:00

The AC Transit Bus fight is an American viral video depicting a physical altercation between two men aboard an AC Transit bus in Oakland, California, on February 15, 2010. The altercation was recorded by a nearby passenger, who uploaded it to video hosting website YouTube. It ranked among the top five most viewed videos on YouTube in its first week, but was not included in the official list, and has received over six million views. In the video, passengers Thomas Bruso and Michael Lovette argue over an unspecified matter, which leads to Lovette throwing a punch and Bruso responding by beating him to the floor. Bruso, nicknamed "Epic Beard Man" due to his prominent white beard, would become an internet meme and cult hero. The event also raised concerns following a number of previous incidents involving violence on the public transport system in Oakland. The incident inspired the 2012 action film Bad Ass, which starred Danny Trejo as a fictional character similar to Bruso. Two sequels also starring Trejo, Bad Asses and Bad Asses on the Bayou, were released in 2014 and 2015. The incident took place in downtown Oakland on an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Line NL bus bound for San Francisco, and involved a black man, identified as Michael Lovette, and an older white bearded man identified as Thomas Alexander Bruso, who later came to be referred to as "Epic Beard Man". The events in the bus were recorded by Iyanna Washington. In the video, Bruso is seen wearing a light blue T-shirt that reads "I AM a Motherfucker" on the back. Bruso is seated across from Lovette near the rear of the bus. Exactly how the argument started is unclear, but the conversation quickly became heated, with Lovette angrily asking Bruso, "Why's a brother got to spit shine your shoes?" Bruso has stated in later interviews that Lovette tried to make his statement racial. Bruso then tells Lovette how he was referring to a person that "was gonna shine his shoes" and that a brother "could be anyone, he could be a Chinaman!" After additional charged exchange, Bruso says, "you ain't scaring this white boy," and walks away from Lovette to the front of the bus. Much of their conversation is inaudible, and some riders discourage Lovette from approaching Bruso, while others such as Washington encourage him to attack, saying "Say it again, Pinky!" and "Beat his white ass, whoop his ass". When the verbal exchange starts to die down again, Lovette begins walking back to his seat, at which point Bruso yells "I see tough guys like you and I slap the shit out of them!" Lovette responds "What!?", turns around and walks back toward Bruso, and swings at Bruso. Bruso stands and punches Lovette several times, knocking Lovette to the floor. View of the men is lost briefly while Washington moves closer to the commotion; when view resumes, Bruso is shown with Lovette, who is now bleeding from facial injuries, in his grasp. Bruso releases Lovette, exclaiming "I told you not to fuck with me!", and then exits the bus, and is still yelling when the bus makes its next stop. After another exchange, Lovette returns to his seat in the rear of the bus. Washington then takes a bag Bruso left behind and carries it to the back of the bus. Washington offers Lovette the use of her recording if he wishes to press charges, but Lovette never acknowledges the offer, instead requesting an ambulance. In a second video, Bruso, now on the street, continues to yell about the fight. He loudly mentions Vietnam and kicks a newspaper dispenser before walking away. Both men were treated at a local hospital for their injuries. Bruso underwent psychiatric evaluation at John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro. Neither man was arrested. = On February 17, 2010, Washington posted her own perspective of the events on YouTube. In this video, Washington says she hopes to "clear some things up" (see 0:38s). She goes on later to say, "I would like to apologize to anyone who took offense to any part of this video" (see 3:14—3:21). Responding to allegations that Lovette was her "companion", Washington makes clear, "I've never seen these two gentlemen ever before in my life", and claims she did not intend to steal Bruso's bag (though her companion says "go through that shit" while the camera is on Bruso's bag, which she picked up from the front of the bus and brought back to her seat). In a subsequent interview, when asked if he got his "stuff back", Bruso said Sheriff's deputies ultimately did return his belongings, except an identification card and some money, "about three hours later." See @ (3:55—4:05). Washington also appeared in a local CBS news video interview giving her version of events. Bruso was born in Michigan. In addition to the "AC Transit Fight", another video involving Thomas Bruso was uploaded to YouTube. He was stunned with a taser twice at the Oakland Coliseum by police on August 3, 2009, for sitting in empty seats at a ball game, questioning what he did wrong, then for failing to immediately comply with police officers who demanded he move from the empty section. He was charged with resisting arrest and taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. = Bruso was the subject of several interviews, including one shot in San Francisco by KRON on February 19, 2010. Nathan Hartley Maas, a graphic designer from Portland, Oregon, produced a documentary short titled I Am a Motherfucker, in which Bruso is interviewed about his personal background, day-to-day activity, and thoughts on his contemporary celebrity status. The documentary was uploaded to YouTube. = Bruso was reported to have been evicted and homeless in 2011. Within a short time of the original video going viral, musical and animated parodies about the fight began to appear on YouTube in a manner similar to the way parodies spread after the "Don't tase me, bro!" University of Florida Taser incident. The Huffington Post called the AC Transit Bus Fight "the fastest growing public fight meme ever". = Typical of the adaptations of the original video that focused on the fight as a form of video game was a Mortal Kombat parody called "Epic Beard Man – Mortal Kombat Style" and Mike Tyson's Punch Out.

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Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations

2011-09-11 22:08:47+00:00

The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non-Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 (commonly known as RVAR 2010) is a statutory instrument in the United Kingdom. It aims to set standards designed to improve accessibility for disabled people on light rail passenger vehicles. It came into force on 6 April 2010. The instrument exercises powers conferred by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It revokes and replaces the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998. RVAR 2010 sets standards designed to improve accessibility for disabled people on light rail vehicle systems for passengers, including metro, underground and tram systems, which are not subject to the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2006 (PRM-TSI). RVAR 2010 does not apply to main line rail systems. The regulations apply to a rail vehicle (as defined by the Instrument) that was first brought into service after 31 December 1998, except if it belongs to a class first brought into use before 1 January 1999. RVAR 2010 covers the following areas of a rail vehicle: Boarding devices Catering Doors Door controls Door handles Exterior doorways and through routes Interior doorways Floors Handholds Handrails Passenger information Request-stop controls Seats Steps Toilets Transparent surfaces Wheelchair spaces The Instrument aims to provide accessibility by ensuring that: exterior doors, steps, floors and handrails contrast strongly visually with adjacent areas of the vehicle. door handles, door controls and request-stop controls can be used by the widest range of people. handrails are provided at doorways, on seat backs and in toilets. nominated doorways are accessible to wheelchairs. wheelchair spaces and wide throughways to those spaces from the accessible doorways are provided. interior glazed panels are clearly marked to aid visibility (or protected). passenger information is clearly communicated, both visually and audibly. toilets are provided that are accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users. seats are nominated that are accessible to disabled people. catering facilities that are provided are accessible to all. boarding devices are provided to allow wheelchair users to enter and leave the vehicle.

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RapidRide A Line

2014-08-18 06:14:19+00:00

The A Line is one of seven RapidRide lines (routes with some bus rapid transit features) operated by King County Metro in King County, Washington. The A Line began service on October 2, 2010, running from Tukwila to Federal Way, mostly along Pacific Highway South. The northern terminus is Tukwila/International Boulevard Station. From there, riders can transfer to Sound Transit's Link light rail, the RapidRide F Line, or to other King County Metro buses that serve Burien, Tukwila, SeaTac, Georgetown, SoDo, and downtown Seattle. Its southern terminus is Federal Way Transit Center and connects riders to buses serving Tacoma, Pierce County, and Auburn. Between the termini there are a total of 13 stations plus 13 intermediate stops. This corridor was previously served by King County Metro route 174 which carried an average of 5,570 riders on weekdays during the last month in service. Since the implementation of RapidRide on the corridor, ridership has grown 81 percent and the A Line served an average of 10,100 riders on weekdays in spring 2015. Between 10:00 pm and 4:15 am, service operates on a schedule; all other times are estimated headways.

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American Cinema Editors Awards 2010

2010-07-03 06:35:55+00:00

The 60th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, which were presented on Sunday, February 14, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, honored the best editors in films and television. References: = Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic: Chris Innis & Bob Murawski - The Hurt Locker Stephen E. Rivkin & John Refoua & James Cameron - Avatar Julian Clarke - District 9 Mary Jo Markey & Maryann Brandon - Star Trek Dana Glauberman - Up in the Air Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical: Debra Neil-Fisher – The Hangover Joe Hutshing & David Moritz – It's Complicated Richard Marks – Julie & Julia Roderick Jaynes – A Serious Man Alan Edward Bell – 500 Days of Summer Best Edited Animated Feature Film: Kevin Nolting – Up Christopher Murrie & Ronald Sanders – Coraline Andrew Weisblum – Fantastic Mr. Fox Best Edited Documentary Film: Geoffrey Richman – The Cove Kim Roberts – Food Inc. Don Brochu, Brandon Key, Tim Patterson & Kevin Stitt - Michael Jackson's This Is It = Best Edited Mini-Series or Motion Picture for Television: Alan Heim & Lee Percy – Grey Gardens John Bloom & Antonia Van Drimmelen – Into the Storm Lee Percy & Brian A. Kates – Taking Chance Best Edited One Hour Series for Commercial Television: Lynne Willingham – Breaking Bad "ABQ" Christopher Nelson – Lost "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" Leon Ortiz Gil – 24 "8pm-9pm" Randy Jon Morgan & Jacque Toberen – ER "And in the End" Best Edited One Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television: Louis Cioffi – Dexter "Remains to be Seen" Louise Innes – True Blood "Hard-Hearted Hannah" Stewart Schill – Dexter "Living the Dream" Best Edited Reality Series: Kelly Coskran & Josh Earl – The Deadliest Catch "Stay Focused or Die" Annie Tighe, Alan Hoang, Adrianne Salisbury & Kevin LefflerTop Chef "The Last Supper" Jonathan Braun, Brad Ley, Sven Pape & Molly Shock Expedition Africa "Stanley and Livingstone" = Andrew Hellesen - Chapman University Adam Blum - Chapman University Michael Hyde - American University Rob Reiner - Golden Eddie Award Neil Travis A.C.E., Paul LaMastra A.C.E. - Career Achievement Award

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Art Directors Guild Awards 2010

2011-01-05 17:21:25+00:00

The 15th Art Directors Guild Awards, which were given on February 5, 2011, honored the best production designers of 2010. = Period Film: Eve Stewart – The King's Speech Geoffrey Kirkland – Get Low Arthur Max – Robin Hood Dante Ferretti – Shutter Island Jess Gonchor – True Grit Fantasy Film: Guy Hendrix Dyas – Inception Robert Stromberg – Alice in Wonderland Barry Robison – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Stuart Craig – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Darren Gilford – Tron: Legacy Contemporary Film: Thérèse DePrez – Black Swan Suttirat Larlarb – 127 Hours Judy Becker – The Fighter Donald Graham Burt – The Social Network Sharon Seymour – The Town = Single-Camera Series: Dan Bishop – Mad Men (for "Public Relations") Carlos Barbosa – 24 (for "4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.") Mark Hutman – Glee (for "Britney/Brittany") Suzuki Ingerslev – True Blood (for "Trouble") Tom Conroy – The Tudors (for "#407") Multi-Camera Unscripted Series: Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, and N. Joseph DeTullio – Saturday Night Live (for "Host: Betty White/Jay-Z") John Shaffner and Joe Stewart – Conan (for "#1.1") Stephan G. Olson – How I Met Your Mother (for "Natural History") John Shaffner – Two and a Half Men (for "Hookers, Hookers, Hookers") Miniseries or Television Movie: Robb Wilson King – Secrets in the Walls Marcia Hinds – Revenge of the Bridesmaids

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Cinema Audio Society Awards 2010

2011-01-06 22:04:58+00:00

The 47th Cinema Audio Society Awards, which were held on February 19, 2011, honored the outstanding achievements in sound mixing in film and television of 2010. = True Grit — Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, and Greg Orloff Black Swan — Ken Ishii, Dominick Tavella, and Craig Henighan Inception — Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, and Gary Rizzo Shutter Island — Petur Hliddal and Tom Fleishman The Social Network — Mark Weingarten, Ren Klyce, David Parker, and Michael Semanick = Series Boardwalk Empire (Episode: "A Return to Normalcy") 24 (Episode: "3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.") Dexter (Episode: "Take It!") Glee (Episode: "The Power of Madonna") Modern Family (Episode: "Chirp") Miniseries or Television Film Temple Grandin The Pacific (Episode: "Basilone") The Pacific (Episode: "Iwo Jima") The Pacific (Episode: "Okinawa") The Pacific (Episode: "Peleliu Landing")

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2010 American Society of Cinematographers Awards

2011-01-11 02:38:34+00:00

The 25th American Society of Cinematographers Awards were held on February 13, 2011, honoring the best cinematographers of film and television in 2010. = Wally Pfister – Inception Danny Cohen – The King's Speech Jeff Cronenweth – The Social Network Roger Deakins – True Grit Matthew Libatique – Black Swan = Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series or Pilot Jonathan Freeman – Boardwalk Empire (Episode: "Home") Eagle Egilsson – Dark Blue (Episode: "Shell Game") Chris Manley – Mad Men (Episode: "Blowing Smoke") Kramer Morgenthau – Boardwalk Empire (Episode: "Family Limitation") David Stockton – Nikita (Episode: "Pilot") Michael Wale – Smallville (Episode: "Shield") Glen Winter – Smallville (Episode: "Abandoned") Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movies or Miniseries Stephen F. Windon – The Pacific (Episode: "Okinawa") David Gribble – Jesse Stone: No Remorse Jon Joffin – Alice (Episode: "Episode 2")

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Costume Designers Guild Awards 2010

2011-01-22 07:49:44+00:00

The 13th Costume Designers Guild Awards, honoring the best costume designs in film and television for 2010, were given on February 22, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The nominees were announced on January 21, 2011. = Contemporary Film: Winner - Amy Westcott - Black Swan Michael Kaplan - Burlesque Jeffrey Kurland - Inception Jacqueline West - The Social Network Ellen Mirojnick - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Period Film: Winner - Jenny Beavan - The King's Speech Mark Bridges - The Fighter Mary Zophres - True Grit Fantasy Film: Winner - Colleen Atwood - Alice in Wonderland Sandy Powell - The Tempest Michael Wilkinson and Christine Bieselin Clark - Tron: Legacy = Made for Television Movie or Miniseries: Winner - Cindy Evans - Temple Grandin Penny Rose - The Pacific Rita Ryack - You Don't Know Jack Contemporary Television Series: Winner - Lou Eyrich - Glee Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko - Big Love Randall Christensen, Daniella Gschwendtner, Steven Norman Lee - Dancing with the Stars Alix Friedberg - Modern Family Alonzo Wilson - Treme Period/Fantasy Television Series: Winner - John A. Dunn, Lisa Padovani - Boardwalk Empire Janie Bryant - Mad Men Joan Bergin - The Tudors = Commercial Costume Design: Winner - Aude Bronson-Howard - Chanel – "Bleu de Chanel" Julie Vogel - Dos Equis – "The Most Interesting Man in the World" Lydia Paddon - Netflix – "Western" Michelle Martini - Target – "Preparing for Race/Black Friday"

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List of LGBT-related films of 2010

2012-08-30 11:19:58+00:00

This is a list of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films released in 2010. It contains theatrically released films that deal with important gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters or issues and may have same-sex romance or relationships as a plot device.

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2 Frogs in the West

2014-10-01 01:34:39+00:00

2 Frogs in the West (French: 2 frogs dans l'ouest) is a Canadian comedy-drama film, released in 2010. The directorial debut of filmmaker and actor Dany Papineau, the film premiered in Montreal on October 8, 2010. It stars Mirianne Brulé, Dany Papineau, Jessica Malka, Germain Houde, and Charlie David. The film stars Mirianne Brulé as Marie, a restless young woman from Quebec who decides to drop out of university and hitchhike west to Whistler, British Columbia on a voyage of self-discovery, much to her parents' dismay. The journey to British Columbia is not an easy one, as along the way Marie experiences a myriad of bumps and mishaps, with her finally arriving in Whistler only to have her luggage stolen. After this exasperating ordeal a man by the name of Jean-François (Papineau), who is also from Québec, takes Marie in to stay with him and his two roommates, his ex-girlfriend Gaby (Malka) and their gay friend Brad (Barton). During her time there Marie experiments sexually with Gaby and through this is drawn into an unexpected love triangle with both J-F and Gaby. The film's cast also includes Brandon Barton, Juan Riedinger, Anik Vermette, Germain Houde, Diane Lavallée, Valérie Chevalier, Charlie David, Bruno Baronet, Adam Bergquist, Rick Tae, Niels Schneider, Bill Marchant and Linda Darlow. The film is directly inspired by director Papineau's own experience travelling from his home province of Québec to Alberta during his undergraduate degree. While in Québec he had been studying engineering at Sherbrooke, but after spending a summer on a ranch in Banff, Alberta, decided to stay there instead of returning to Sherbrooke. After having such a successful time in the western part of Canada he decided to enroll at the Vancouver Film School for a yearlong program and ended up living in Vancouver for six years. Papineau first wrote 2 Frogs as a 21-minute short film in 2004, and after receiving much acting success as a result, was able to turn the short film into the feature-length film it is today. During an interview with Papineau at the 2010 Whistler Film Festival, Papineau highlighted how the inspiration for the movie came from how the young adults who come to Whistler from all around the world go there for a couple of months to help determine what they want to do with their lives. He expressed how he felt a lot of people would recognize themselves in the film because of this. After its debut in Montreal, the movie received excellent reviews from film critics. The film was showcased at film festivals around the world, receiving many accolades for its involvement in the LGBT film community. In 2012, it was highlighted as one of the best films at the Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and was also featured in many film events devoted to the LGBT community, including QFest: the Annual Houston International LGBTQ Film Festival. Although recognized abroad, the film also received recognition in Canada, in publications like the Globe and Mail and was presented in multiple Canadian film festivals. The film not only received accolades for its portrayal of the LGBT community but also for its portrayal of Canadian culture. As the film illustrates the typical adolescent Canadian experience, of a young adult leaving their long-time home in the Eastern provinces to find work in the West of Canada, the film also received awards reflecting its Canadian influences. As a highlight, the film was chosen to close the 2010 Whistler Film Festival, after the short film, "Two Frogs in the West", that it was based on had been previously featured at the festival in 2004. At the festival, the film won the festival's Best Mountain Culture Film award, an award which directly reflected the spirit of the film and the area in which the festival was held. Although it received positive feedback at film festivals for its portrayal of both Canadian culture and the LGBT community, it received mixed reviews from its general audience for its "predictable" plotline. Some online reviews of the film described it as being unimaginative and the acting to be underwhelming while another reviewer claimed that "the problems with 2 Frogs are based pretty much entirely in the screenplay". No matter how negative or positive the reviews it received were, one thing remained consistent: that Papineau has great potential as a director. No matter the downfalls described by the film's critics, 2 Frogs "demonstrates that it's possible for a film to be bad, while still showcasing the positive potential of its writer/director". Best Feature- Yosemite International Film Festival Best Film Mountain Culture- Whistler Film Festival 2010 Best Film Mountain Culture- Revelstoke 2011 Official Selection- Fairytales Calgary 2011 Selection- Llambis England 2011 Double nomination- RVCQ Montreal 2011

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8: The Mormon Proposition

2010-04-27 13:12:35+00:00

8: The Mormon Proposition is an American documentary that examines the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its support of California Proposition 8, stating that the church has been actively involved in the denial of LGBT human rights. The film was written by Reed Cowan, directed by Cowan and Steven Greenstreet, and narrated by Dustin Lance Black. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Red Flag Releasing. Director Reed Cowan, who is a former Mormon missionary, "planned on making a film about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah, but switched his focus to Mormon ideology because of how it contributes to the homophobia that causes these problems". The film focuses on the wealth and power of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and how the Church uses the National Organization for Marriage to advocate for denial of rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. It states that LDS Church leader Thomas S. Monson asked to ensure the passage of the controversial California Proposition 8. It also documents the problem of homeless teens who have been evicted by their Mormon parents because they are LGBT. (A 2022 survey found 80% of LGBT youth living on the streets of Utah were kicked out by their families.) According to The New York Times, the film "uncovers the classified church documents and the largely concealed money trail of Mormon contributions that paid for a high-powered campaign to pass Proposition 8", noting that "Mormons raised an estimated $22 million for the cause." = Filmmaker Reed Cowan said he "begged" for the church's participation, but was turned down both officially and privately. When The Washington Post requested comment, the LDS Church forwarded its official statement that said in part,We have not seen 8: The Mormon Proposition. However, judging from the trailer and background material online, it appears that accuracy and truth are rare commodities in this film. Although we have given many interviews on this topic, we had no desire to participate in something so obviously biased."Clearly, anyone looking for balance and thoughtful discussion of a serious topic will need to look elsewhere," said Michael Purdy, a spokesman for the LDS Church, in a statement quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Based on 36 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of critics gave 8: The Mormon Proposition a positive review, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The Los Angeles Times said the film is "An outstanding and urgent example of the investigative documentary" that "is all the scarier for its straightforward presentation of how the LDS Church succeeded in getting California's Proposition 8 on the ballot in 2008 and then getting it passed. As an exposé, there could hardly be a stronger case for ensuring and strengthening the separation of church and state". Variety said,8 seems determined to reach the next generation of confused Mormon teens, touching on everything from sexual identity-related suicides and homelessness to punishing attempts at curing homosexual urges. Instead of stooping to the level of Focus on the Family's misleading Prop. 8 ads, the pic damns the LDS Church not with lies, but with their own words.The New York Times called the film "highly emotional" it also states "The documentary is really two films roughly stitched together. The first two-thirds tells the history of Proposition 8; the final third is a wrenching exploration of the effects on gay Mormons of the church's strict taboo on homosexuality." it concludes "The movie shows the depth of religion-based loathing of homosexuality, like that of abortion, to be primal." The Village Voice noted "Diving into the grim irony of one group of Americans denying another group its rights under the guise of upholding American freedoms and ideals, director Reed Cowan locks on his goals of illustrating how the Mormon church played California politics like a fiddle, and how the church's homophobia has ruined the lives of its queer faithful. Cowan strikes a potent balance between heart and head, juxtaposing emotionally wrenching moments (a segment in which queer Mormons delineate past suicide attempts is especially painful) with self-damning portraits of Mormon politicians and church officials, and hard-nosed journalism from reporter Fred Karger, who exhaustively outlines the church's role in conceiving and bankrolling Prop. 8. The film, whose low budget is underscored in cheesy dramatic re-enactments, might have been strengthened had Cowan connected dots between the fact that at the same time that California passed Prop. 8, Arizona and Florida also passed initiatives banning gay marriage..." but then went on to say that "the flaws pale against what's illustrated, which is not just how Prop. 8 passed, but the sordid, cynical workings of our political machine." Michelle Orange of Movieline said "Scheduled to be released on the second anniversary of California's legislation of gay marriage, 8: The Mormon Proposition marks the occasion with a furious requiem. Mournful and righteous in its retracing of the months between the bill's passage and election night in November 2008, the film assembles a damning case against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), which spearheaded a massive campaign to revoke gay marriage rights." she concluded "But it was the Californians -- not the Mormons or their Utah constituents -- who voted in Prop 8, notably 70 percent of the state's black voters; what were they thinking? Although there is plenty of illuminating and indicting information about the run-up to the vote, you won't find the answer to that question here." Newsweek called the film "a messy and sometimes downright cheesy look at how the Mormon Church influenced the 2008 California ballot initiative outlawing gay marriage.", it goes on to say "The funny thing is that in its last 20 minutes The Mormon Proposition turns into a lacerating, shocking, and sadly overpowering film—the kind of film that might make even fundamentalists reconsider gay rights. This is the section where the movie essentially stops talking about Prop 8 and starts talking about how the Mormon church's attitude toward homosexuality in general." it concludes "at its best, which is only at the end, The Mormon Proposition reminds us—no, insists that we remember—that demonizing a group doesn't make the world a better place." The Wall Street Journal noted that "as a spotlight on the suffering of same-sex couples and individuals who are rejected by family and church leaders, the film succeeds. Its critique of the church's recent political activism, however, is as ham-fisted as many of the mid-19th century allegations against the church." it goes on to say "The film's basic narrative also is compelling. It describes how, with Proposition 8 lagging in the polls, the church's hierarchy in Utah determined that other religious conservatives were not pulling their weight. Thus, the church ordered its members to become a 'mighty army,' as one top leader put it in a video broadcast obtained by the filmmakers." and "A church infamous for its defense of polygamy in the late 19th century had become the backbone of the 21st century campaign against gay marriage." The reviewer also states that, "The specter of Mormon money raised in the film seems like a latter-day version of older fears about Jewish financiers controlling the American economy and government. The Mormon effort made a difference only because Californians are roughly evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage." Sean Gandert of Paste Magazine said "The documentary attempts to show how the church quietly rallied its members around this cause for what was initially an unpopular provision, and boasts an impressive level of research and relatively slick approach." He also notes that 8 "spends more time than it should on the faith's general treatment of homosexuality, eventually drifting into an unpleasant streak of overt Mormon-bashing. The film also fails to take into account the many other factors in play during the 2008 election, narrowing events down to one all-encompassing Mormon-based explanation. 8 means well, but is too blinded by its own biases to do its cause justice." The San Francisco Chronicle noted that the film is "marred by loaded language and a propagandistic tone that undercuts rather than promotes its purposes." It concludes that "The movie almost sinks its teeth into one interesting argument: Because of the Mormon church's vigorous involvement in politics, shouldn't its tax-exempt status be revoked? But the movie drops that discussion almost as soon as it introduces it, in favor of talking about the distress of gay Mormon youths." The Deseret News, owned by the LDS Church, called the film a "heavy-handed, supposed nonfiction feature" that is one-sided, inept, and ineffective from a storytelling standpoint. The review also stated that the filmmakers did not show opinions from any of the over seven million people that voted for the measure nor did the film indicate if any input from LDS Church leadership was sought. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $42,566 in 16 theaters in the United States, averaging about $2,660 per venue, and ranking #48 at the box office. The total gross of the film is $100,280.

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An Act of Valour

2010-02-22 16:41:39+00:00

An Act of Valour is a 2010 short film and the directorial debut by the English actor Allan Corduner. It was written by Juha Leppäjärvi, and produced by Janet Sate for Caravanserai Productions. The film premiered at the 24th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in March 2010. A London gay couple, Kevin and Will, face a grim morning after anxiously waiting for the next news broadcast. At a police station, Detective Sergeant Russell is trying to pacify Lisa, whose boyfriend seems to be missing. There's a body on a nearby common. Juha Leppäjärvi as Kevin Henry Blake as Will Marcus D'Amico as DS Russell Victoria Bavister as Lisa Gerard Monaco as Jeremy Dorian Black (aka Dusty Limits) as Bette Noir Kristin McIlquham as PC Harris. Writer and actor Juha Leppäjärvi, aka Juha Sorola, developed the script at Caravanserai Acting Studio, of which he is one of the founding members and Allan Corduner, directed it.

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The Adonis Factor

2011-09-17 08:00:10+00:00

The Adonis Factor is a 2010 documentary film produced and directed by American director Christopher Hines through his own production company Rogue Culture Inc. Filmed at various locations, it was shown at a number of gay and documentary festivals. The television premiere was April 2, 2011 on the gay channel Logo. Christopher Hines' The Adonis Factor is a follow-up to another, The Butch Factor, that tackled gay culture and masculinity. Hines' film examines issues of body image in the gay community. (All appearing as themselves) Anthony O'Brien - Law enforcement officer Shane Stiel - Disc Jockey / Producer Graig Keyte - Interior Designer Mike Wood - Instinct Editor in chief Bruce Vilanch - Writer and actor Anderson Davis - Actor and model John Ganun - Photographer. Quentin Elias - Singer, model Dr Gregory Cason - Psychologist Dr Tim Jochen - Dermatologist Justin Gaines - Bartender and student Richard Klein - Go-Go dancer Derek Brocklehurst - interviewee Justin Donahue - interviewee Eric Pyne - Urban body fitness trainer Neil Samarripa - Urban body fitness trainer Juan Pablo Zuluaga - Former "Mr Hot Atlanta" Scott Cullens - Company director Jeffrey Sanker - Party promoter Melvin Myles - Party Participant Dr Scott Parry - Steroid abuse advisor Gabriel Perez Deandre Johnson Nic Delis Jallen Rix - Sexologist. Brian Mills - Titan Men director Christopher Saint - Titan model Dakota Rivers - Titan model Darren Main - Naked yoga instructor Steve Waye - Naked yoga student Fred Goldsmith - Community initiative Rick Esparza - Ice hockey player. Clint Catalyst - model Stacey Hummell - Make-up artist Ryan May Jonathan Miller Jeff Pray - Proud Bears Michael Sigmann - Men's Inner Journey John Moore and Ryan Cummings - Life Partners Dr Derek Jones - Dermatologist Dr Greg Mueller - Plastic Surgeon Albert Wyss - Former cover model Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco—World Premiere Queer Doc Festival, Sydney, Australia Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Out on Film, Atlanta, Georgia Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film FestivaI ImageOut: Rochester LGBT Film and Video Festival Seattle LGBT Film Festival Southwest Gay and Lesbian Festival, Indianapolis Gay Film Festival Image+Nation, Montreal Festival Mix Brazil Brisbane, Australia Queer Film Festival

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Auburn Maintenance Centre

2015-03-10 03:01:56+00:00

The Auburn Maintenance Centre is a train depot operated by Downer Rail responsible for the maintenance of the Sydney Trains A, B and M set fleets. As part of the contract to build and maintain the Sydney Trains A sets, John Holland built a depot on the site of the former Clyde Marshalling Yards adjacent to the MainTrain facility. It was opened by Minister for Transport John Robertson on 24 July 2010. On 20 September 2014, an 11 road stabling facility was established to the south-east of the facility. Provision has been made for an extra five roads. In February 2017, it was revealed that subsidence had occurred underneath the depot after plastic cells had failed. Remediation costs have been estimated as high as $70 million. During 2018, maintenance of the Sydney Trains M set fleet was moved to Auburn from Eveleigh Railway Workshops. The maintenance centre building has seven roads. It has stabling facilities on either side with the whole facility stretching for two kilometres. De Voung : Former BMX Bandits stunt rider

41079004

Bergama Acropolis Gondola

2013-11-14 11:33:25+00:00

The Bergama Acropolis Gondola (Turkish: Bergama Akropol Teleferik) is a two-station aerial lift of gondola type at Bergama district of İzmir Province in western Turkey serving the nearby archaeological site of Acropolis. The 700 m (2,300 ft) long line is operated by Akropolis Teleferik Inc. Bergama is the site of ancient Pergamon, a major tourist attraction place. A project was worked out in 2005 to connect the site Asclepium down in the valley with the 3 km (1.9 mi) far Acropolis on the top of a steep hill north of Bergama by an aerial lift line. After rejection of this project by the responsible official body due to concerns over the conservation of the historical place, an alternate project for a much shorter route between Acropolis and its foothill north of the town found acceptance in 2006. Access to Acropolis on the narrow road by bus takes considerable time for the tourists, and any widening of the existing road is not permitted due to the archaeological status of the site. The gondola lift was constructed by the Italian company Leitner Ropeways of Leitner Group costing €6 million, and financed by the local Turkish company Akropolis Teleferik Inc. on the build–operate–transfer base for a lease term of 49 years. The gondola lift line is 700 m (2,300 ft) long with two supporting towers between the terminals. It started to operate mid May 2010, with the official opening taking place on October 14, 2010. The number of cabins each eight-seater was increased from initially nine to fifteen in 2013. The gondola lift transported with nine cabins hourly up to 1,200 people between the base station at 90 m (300 ft) above sea level and the 330 m (1,080 ft) high end station. The ride takes less than four minutes. The fare decreased from ₺10.00 to ₺8.00 with effect of October 2013. The development of the number passengers in relation with the number of visitors at the site is shown in the table below: †) in 2,5 months only. Line length: 700 m (2,300 ft) Height difference: 90–330 m (300–1,080 ft) Number of stations: 2 Number of cabins: 15 each eight-seater Trip duration: 4 minutes Hourly ridership: 1,200 Fare: ₺8.00 Terminals: Bergama 39°07′31″N 27°11′21″E Acropolis 39°07′52″N 27°11′10″E

30547977

Centennial Garage

2011-01-20 21:21:19+00:00

The Centennial Garage is part of the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) and is a targeted LEED Silver project. The bus garage was designed for the storage and maintenance of 250 regular and articulated buses as well as administration offices, dispatch and support spaces for staff. It is located at 15520 Ellerslie Road on the east side 156 Street SW in Edmonton, Alberta. This garage provides bus services to neighbourhoods in west, southwest, and downtown Edmonton. It is the first new garage to open in the City in 25 years. Construction of the garage began in spring of 2008 and was completed on April 10, 2010, with its first day of operation being April 26, 2010. This project budget was an estimated $99 million with $89.3 million coming from the provincial government's Municipal Sustainability Initiative. The building is approximately 313,000 square feet (29,100 m2) in size. A large portion of the materials used in this green building have recycled content. According to ETS, 90% of the structural steel, 27.5% of the concrete, and 68% of the steel decking is recycled material. The Centennial Garage includes 81 miles (130 km) of in slab heating pipe, 3,300 sprinkler heads, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) of foundation grade beam, 11,800 cubic metres of concrete, 43 roof top units, 7 acres (28,000 m2) of roof, 1,325 imperial tons of steel and 31 miles (50 km) of electrical conduit. Firms involved in this project were Croy D. Yee Architect Limited who provided the architectural work. Morrison Hershfield Limited provided civil, structural, mechanical, code, fire protection and building envelope engineering and project management related services. Other firms involved were Earthscape Consultants for landscape design, Suncord Engineering who also provided mechanical engineering services and Clark Builders for construction management services. Some unique features of the building include but are not limited to reduction of heat islands which can impact the local microclimate, highly reflective roofing reducing the cooling energy required, indoor bus storage to provide inherent energy savings and water efficiency technologies to reduce the amount of water consumption on both the administration and bus maintenance sides of the building. Energy modeling test results indicated that the Centennial Garage is approximately 33% more energy efficient than a typical Canadian building of its size and type. Some LEED goals established and upheld during the construction phase and continued after the completion of the garage are as follows: Diversion of 80% of construction waste away from landfills Regional manufacturing of over 30% of the building materials No use of ozone-depleting refrigerants in the mechanical equipment Stormwater diversion to the snow dump site to assist in melting process Good air quality for construction workers during building phase and for staff after completion Use of low-emitting materials such as paints and coating, adhesives and sealants, carpets and particle board Low-consumption water fixtures in washrooms, showers and kitchen Specialized washing system for buses that cuts down on water use by more than half Landscape plants that only require natural watering Significant use of recycled building materials Use of hybrid vehicles by staff Snow melt cooling system

29726767

Dhamra Port

2010-11-24 02:21:18+00:00

The Dhamra Port is a port in Bhadrak district, Odisha, India, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal about seven kilometres from Dhamra town. The agreement to develop the port was signed in April 1998. The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) was formed as a result of a 50:50 joint venture between Larsen & Toubro and TATA Steel to run the port. The Port received its first vessel on 8 February 2010 and the first commercial vessel on 10 April 2011. The Port has an initial capacity of 25 million tonnes annually, eventually growing to 80 million tonnes annually. Greenpeace has opposed the project, claiming it threatens nearby protected areas and endangered species such as the olive ridley turtle The port was taken over by Adani Port in June 2014. The port will be used to export iron ore from a nearby mineral belt. The Odisha government has plans to develop related industries near the new port, including a shipbuilding yard and a petrochemical and gas-based manufacturing hub. A special investment region has been proposed for Dhamara, and a zoning plan is being prepared to cover housing, health services and other urban infrastructure. A new airport/Airstrip is approved by government of odisha near Dhamra port of around 500 acres. National Waterway 5 project of connecting water channels between Pardeep and Dhamra is also in the construction stage by IWAI. A proposed 4 lane NH is also in DPR stage connecting to Dhamra port from Jamujhadi NH16. A tea processing unit is planned to have a unit in Dhamra port. During the year 1997 Government of Odisha invited M/s International Seaports dredging Private Limited (ISDPL) to explore and evaluate the possibilities of expanding the minor port at Dhamra with modern contemporary facilities. After a site visit and preliminary discussions/evaluation, selected Dhamra port for further expansion. Based on a review of studies undertaken by the Government of Odisha and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, as well as a preliminary field analysis ISDPL proposed a broad project approach. On this basis ISDPL and Government of Odisha entered into a memorandum of understanding on 31.03.97 for the expansion and development of the existing port of Dharma on Built Own Operate Share and Transfer (BOOST) basis. ISDPL signed the concession agreement with the Government of Odisha on 02.04.98. Thereby heralding a new era in the infrastructure development in the port sector of the country with private participation. The proposed Dhamra port is a minor port in the northern part of the state of Orissa situated about 62 km east of Bhadrak station on the Howrah-Chennai East coast mainline. Dhamra port is to be developed as a most modern all-weather, deep-water port, capable of handling all modern shipping efficiently and cost effectively on world standard norms. Development of a suitable road and rail system linking the port with the national network is also considered a vital and integral part of the project. ISDPL proposed that the railway line between Dhamra port and Bhadrak would be built on private siding terms, which is subsequently granted by Railway board. In the meantime, ISDPL had withdrawn its participation from this project due to difficulties in the acquisition of land required for the proposed rail links between Bhadrak and Renital stations and in the change in the composition of the companies investing in the project. This resulted in suspension of activities. In the year 2005, a joint venture company formed in the name of Dhamra Port company limited with 50-50 partnership of Larsen & Toubro Limited and Tata steels limited. The planned port would have 13 berths with the capacity to handle 83 million tonnes annually. In the first phase, two 350 meter berths have been built to handle import of coking coal, steam coal, thermal coal and limestone, and export of iron ore and steel, with fully mechanized cargo handling. An 18 km navigational channel lets ships with an 18-meter draught use the port. Capacity in the first phase is 15.25 million tonnes of imported coal and limestone and 9.75 million tonnes of exported ore and steel. A 62 km single-track railway line links the port to Bhadrak/ Ranital, was opened on 8 May 2011. It is the first line of the Indian Government's Railways Infrastructure for Industry Initiative, a revenue sharing model. It is an arrangement between Indian Railways and Dhamara Port. In September 2010, the port received its first cargo vessel, an Australian ship bringing 45,000 tonnes of coking coal to supply Tata Steel's Jamshedpur plant. In March 2014, the port received biggest cargo vessel among the ports in India named Macau Mineral carrying 1,94,073 tonnes of coal from the Port of Richards Bay, South Africa. The Dhamra Port became first among the ports in India to berth a parcel size vessel of 2,07,785 DWT (dead weight tonnage). The coast of Odisha is periodically battered by cyclones, which cause tidal surges that may cause devastating floods. In the past, the coast was protected by a 5 km belt of mangroves, but the belt has shrunk due to developments such as dams on the rivers that supply fresh water to the trees. An unusually violent cyclone in 1999 created tidal surges 7 meters high that swept inland, killing 10,000 people and causing property damage that affected several million inhabitant of the coastal strip. There is a concern that the deepwater port will further damage the mangroves, including those at the nearby Bhitarkanika Mangroves conservation area. In May 2010 a non-partisan group of 20 politicians began lobbying to halt construction, which they claimed was in violation of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. The planned port is located just north of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, where from 200,000 to 500,000 female olive ridley turtles nest every year. Although the port site is not a nesting area, environmentalists are concerned that dredging and industrial pollution will disrupt the environment and the natural food chain. In July 2007, Greenpeace activists staged a rally in front of Bombay House, headquarters of the TATA Group, demanding a halt to construction of the port which they claimed would harm the turtles. The DPCL has rejected concerns about the impact. They state that all environmental clearances were obtained correctly, that the main breeding grounds for the turtles are well to the south, and that the shipping lanes will not cut across turtle migration routes. TATA & Sons filed a suit against Greenpeace in the Delhi High Court, claiming a "Turtle vs TATA" game on their website constituted defamation and trademark infringement. The Cyclone Yaas made a landfall in Balasore, Odisha near the port, which resulted in severe destruction.

25703932

2010 Internationaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie

2010-01-06 19:13:58+00:00

The 2010 Internationaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the 2010 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia between 3 and 10 January 2010. = Rankings are as of December 28, 2009 = The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: Grigor Dimitrov Ryan Harrison Daniel King-Turner Nicolas N'Godrela The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: Leon Frost Simone Vagnozzi Dane Propoggia Martin Slanar = Florian Mayer def. Flavio Cipolla, 6–3, 6–0. = Nicolas Devilder / Édouard Roger-Vasselin def. Flavio Cipolla / Simone Vagnozzi, 5–7, 6–2, [10-8].

26779533

Deaths in May 2010

2010-03-31 21:56:23+00:00

The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2010. Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference. = Danny Aiello III, 53, American stuntman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shooter, Rescue Me), pancreatic cancer. T. M. Aluko, 91, Nigerian writer. Mohammad Bahmanbeigi, 90, Iranian educator. Don Caruth, 59, American politician, minority leader of the West Virginia Senate, brain cancer. Jean-Louis Dumas, 72, French businessman, Hermès group chairman (1978–2006). Ramakrushna Gouda, 77, Indian politician. Antoine Hayek, 81, Lebanese Melkite Greek Catholic prelate, archbishop of Baniyas (1989–2006). Vytautas Janulionis, 52, Lithuanian glass artist. Zygmunt Kamiński, 77, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop of Szczecin-Kamień (1999–2009). Dragan Kujović, Montenegrin politician, President (2003). Rob McConnell, 75, Canadian jazz musician, cancer. Lawrence Paul, 84, Canadian Mi'kmaq tribe leader, chief of the Membertou First Nation (1967–1969). Helen Wagner, 91, American actress (As the World Turns), cancer. = Ann Aldrich, 82, American jurist. Moshe Hirsch, 86, Israeli Neturei Karta rabbi and anti-Zionist, Palestinian National Authority Minister for Jewish Affairs, after long illness. André Lamy, 77, Canadian film producer, after long illness. Andrew McFarlane, 32, Australian motocross racer, accident during practice. Murray Nicoll, 66, Australian journalist and broadcaster, Ash Wednesday fires commentator, leukaemia. Santiago Carlos Oves, 68, Argentine film director. Lynn Redgrave, 67, English actress (Georgy Girl, Gods and Monsters, Tom Jones), breast cancer. = Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, 73, Moroccan philosopher and writer. M Innas Ali, 93, Bangladeshi physicist. Luigi Amaducci, 86, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia (1990–2000). Florencio Campomanes, 83, Filipino chess player, President of FIDE (1982–1995). Stefan Doernberg, 85, German writer and teacher. Jack Friedman, 70, American businessman, co-founder of Jakks Pacific. Jimmy Gardner, 85, British character actor (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Finding Neverland) . Karl Kasten, 94, American painter. Stephen Ledogar, 80, American arms control negotiator, bladder cancer. Merv McIntosh, 87, Australian football player, heart attack. Bohumil Němeček, 72, Czech boxer, Olympic gold medalist (1960). Peter O'Donnell, 90, British writer (Modesty Blaise). Nick Rogers, 30, American football player (Minnesota Vikings), auto accident. Kinji Shibuya, 88, American professional wrestler and actor (Mr. T and Tina), natural causes. El Supremo, 67, Mexican professional wrestler, heart attack. Garland Warren, 74, Canadian football player (Winnipeg Blue Bombers). Guenter Wendt, 85, German-born American spacecraft engineer (NASA ), heart failure and stroke. = Sheikh Nur Mohamed Abkey, 51-52, Somalian journalist, shot. David Apter, 85, American political scientist, complications of cancer. Brita Borg, 83, Swedish actress, singer and variety show artist. Danny Chandler, 50, American motocross champion, complications from paralysis. Ángel Cristo, 65, Spanish animal tamer and circus promoter, cardiac arrest. Bill Dale, 93, Canadian track and field athlete. Sheena Duncan, 77, South African anti-apartheid campaigner, leader of Black Sash, after long illness. Ernie Harwell, 92, American baseball sportscaster (Detroit Tigers), cholangiocarcinoma. Peter Heathfield, 81, British trade unionist. Sipho Jele, 35, Swazi politician. Freddy Kottulinsky, 77, German-born Swedish racing driver. William Lubtchansky, 73, French cinematographer, heart disease. Denis Obua, 62, Ugandan footballer. Luigi Poggi, 92, Italian Roman Catholic prelate. Joan Rendell, 89, British writer. Dustin Shuler, 61, American sculptor (Spindle), pancreatic cancer. Hadi Soesastro, 65, Indonesian economist and intellectual, founder of the CSIS, brain hemorrhage. = Lucho Barrios, 76, Peruvian bolero singer. Louis Bisilliat, 79, French cyclist. Ray Blum, 91, American Olympic speed skater. Alessandra Codazzi, 88, Italian trade unionist, partisan and politician, Senator (1976-1987). Marcello Costalunga, 85, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Titular Archbishop of Aquileia (1991–2001). Joseph Kearney, 83, American athletic director, pancreatic cancer. Alfons Kontarsky, 77, German pianist. Armando Lucero, 68, Argentine sex offender, respiratory infection. Jack MacDonald, 82, Canadian politician, mayor of Hamilton, Ontario (1977–1980). Max Palevsky, 85, American entrepreneur, philanthropist and art collector. Harry Siljander, 87, Finnish Olympic bronze medal-winning (1952) boxer. Giulietta Simionato, 99, Italian mezzo-soprano singer. Gwyn Thomas, 96, Canadian crime reporter (Toronto Star), natural causes. Umaru Yar'Adua, 58, Nigerian politician, President (2007–2010). = Hoàng Cầm, 88, Vietnamese poet and playwright. Jaroslav Cardal, 91, Czechoslovakian Olympic cross-country skier. David E. Durston, 88, American film director and screenwriter (I Drink Your Blood), complications from pneumonia. Guillermo Meza, 21, Mexican footballer (Pumas Morelos), shot. Giacomo Neri, 94, Italian footballer. Mildred Ellen Orton, 99, American businesswoman, co-founder of the Vermont Country Store. Robin Roberts, 83, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies), Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, natural causes. Robert J. Serling, 92, American author, brother of Rod Serling. Dennis Sharp, 76, British architect, cancer. Tyler Lambert, 25, Mother of Dana Plato committed suicide = Francisco Aguabella, 84, Cuban-born American jazz percussionist, cancer. Bertha Allen, 75-76, Canadian activist, cancer. Juan Arcocha, 82, Cuban journalist and writer. Rane Arroyo, 55, American poet, cerebral hemorrhage. Anders Buraas, 94, Norwegian journalist. Babz Chula, 64, American actress (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Double Jeopardy), cancer. Dick Flowers, 84, American football player (Baltimore Colts). Pamela Green, 81, British actress and model, leukemia. Wally Hickel, 90, American politician, Secretary of the Interior (1969–1970), Governor of Alaska (1966–1969, 1990–1994), natural causes. Billy Kelly, 78, British boxer, after long illness. Zoran Kurteš, 44, Serbian handball player and coach, cardiac arrest. Adele Mara, 87, American actress (Sands of Iwo Jima), natural causes. Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir, 69, Icelandic author. Svetozar Stojanović, 78, Serbian philosopher and political theorist. Flora L. Thornton, 96, American arts patron and philanthropist, pulmonary disease. Bert L. Vallee, 90, American professor. = Bruce Alford, Sr., 87, American football player (New York Yanks), and line judge, cancer. Shadreck Biemba, 45, Zambian footballer, cancer. Joaquín Capilla, 81, Mexican Olympic diving four-time medalist, heart failure. Sir Cecil Clothier, 90, Manx judge and public servant. Willis Eken, 79, American politician and farmer, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Andrew Hull, 46, Canadian-born film maker, film director and architect, head injury due to cycling accident. Stefanos Lazaridis, 67, Ethiopian-born Greek stage designer, cancer. Andor Lilienthal, 99, Russian-born Hungarian chess grandmaster. Giuseppe Ogna, 76, Italian Olympic cyclist. Peer Schmidt, 84, German actor, after long illness. Mark Shannon, 58, American radio personality (KTOK), lymphoid leukemia. George Susce, 78, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox). Alan Watkins, 77, British political journalist, renal failure. = Danger Ashipala, 62, Namibian police advisor. Maksymilian Barański, 84, Polish footballer [1] Erica Blasberg, 25, American golfer, suicide. Raymond Bouchex, 83, French Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop of Avignon (1978–2002). Dean Cetrulo, 91, American fencer, Olympic bronze medalist (1948 Summer Olympics). Geoffrey Chapman, 80, Australian publisher. Rita Childers, 95, Irish politician, wife of President Erskine Hamilton Childers. Zosima Davydov, 46, Russian Orthodox prelate, bishop of Yakutsk and Lensk (since 2004), heart attack. Hans Dijkstal, 67, Dutch politician, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister (1994–1998), cancer. Francisco Andrés Escobar, 67, Salvadoran actor, journalist and writer. Lena Horne, 92, American singer and actress (Stormy Weather, The Wiz). Signe Johansson-Engdahl, 104, Swedish 1924 Olympic diver. Farzad Kamangar, 32, Iranian activist, execution by hanging. Craig Kauffman, 78, American painter and sculptor, complications from a stroke and pneumonia. Teruji Kogake, 77, Japanese Olympic athlete, liver failure. Mahāprajña, 89, Indian Jain religious leader, supreme head of Svetambar Terapanth, cardiac arrest. Otakar Motejl, 77, Czech public official, Ombudsman (since 2000), after short illness. Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, 86, German partisan, World War II resistance fighter. Edward Uhl, 92, American inventor, co-inventor of the bazooka, heart failure. = Allan Andersson, 79, Swedish Olympic skier. Ike Franklin Andrews, 84, American politician, U.S. Representative from North Carolina (1973–1985). Albert W. Barney, 89, American jurist, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court (1974–1982). Jack Birkett, 75, British dancer, singer and actor. Giuliana Camerino, 90, Italian handbag designer. Charles Currey, 94, British sailor, silver medallist at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Frank Frazetta, 82, American fantasy and science fiction artist, stroke. Bill Hook, 84, American-born chess player for British Virgin Islands. Margit Hvammen, 77, Norwegian Olympic Alpine skier. John Kempe, 92, British schoolteacher, headmaster of Gordonstoun School. Mac Mohan, 71, Indian actor (Sholay), lung cancer. Volodymyr Ploskina, 55, Ukrainian football manager and former footballer. Robert B. Salter, 85, Canadian surgeon. = Ian Baker, 86, British architect. Robert H. Burris, 96, American biochemist. John Burton, 85, New Zealand cricketer. John Fugh, 75, American army officer, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army, heart attack. Brian Gibson, 82, English footballer (Huddersfield Town). Timothy Grubb, 55, British-born American show jumper, Olympic silver medallist (1984 Summer Olympics), heart failure. Karl-Erik Hult, 74, Swedish football player and manager. Rauf Jabbarov, 74, Azerbaijani boxing manager, heart attack. Josef Keck, 59, German Olympic biathlete. Maciej Kozłowski, 52, Polish actor, complications of hepatitis C. Richard LaMotta, 67, American inventor of the Chipwich ice cream sandwich, heart attack. Bud Mahurin, 91, American flying ace, complications from a stroke. Emmanuel Ngobese, 29, South African footballer, tuberculosis. Jeff Shaw, 60, Australian politician and jurist, NSW Attorney General (1995–2000), Supreme Court judge (2003–2004), pneumonia. Doris Eaton Travis, 106, American performer, last surviving Ziegfeld girl, aneurysm. Bob Watt, 82, Canadian ice hockey player, Olympic gold medalist (1952 Winter Olympics) . = Anthony Andeh, 64, Nigerian Olympic boxer. Dieter Bock, 71, German businessman and multimillionaire, choking. Phyllis Hodges Boyce, 73, American actress (Gone with the Wind, Star Trek). Clive Fairbairn, 90, Australian cricketer. Charlie Francis, 61, Canadian track coach, lymphoma. Edith Keller-Herrmann, 88, German chess Grandmaster. Sione Manu'uli Luani, 50, Tongan politician, governor of Vavaʻu (since 2009). Allan Manings, 86, American television writer (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Good Times), cardiac arrest. Antonio Ozores, 81, Spanish actor, cancer. John Warham, 90, New Zealand ornithologist and photographer. Notable people killed in the crash of Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771: Joëlle van Noppen, 30, Dutch singer. Bree O'Mara, 42, South African novelist. = Rafael Sanus Abad, 78, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Valencia (1989–2000). Ashaari Mohammad, 73, Malaysian spiritual leader, respiratory infection. Ruth Chew, 90, American children's author, pneumonia. Paul Garabedian, 82, American mathematician. Eddie Garrett, 82, American actor (Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Quincy, M.E.). Cinthia Régia Gomes do Livramento, 46, Brazilian politician, Education Secretary (Amazonas), air crash. Walter Klimmek, 91, German footballer. Klaus Kotter, 75, German bobsleigh official. Richard Movitz, 84, American Olympic skier. Peter Provan, 73, Australian rugby league footballer, Balmain Tigers premiership captain (1969), after long illness. Rosa Rio, 107, American organist (Tampa Theatre). = Ronald Bailey, 92, British diplomat. Frank J. Dodd, 72, American politician, President of the New Jersey Senate (1974–1975). Goh Keng Swee, 91, Singaporean politician, Deputy Prime Minister (1973–1984), after long illness. Norman Hand, 37, American football player (San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints), heart disease. Rūta Jokubonienė, 80, Lithuanian textile artist. Milouš Kvaček, 76, Czech football player and manager. David Maimon, 81, Israeli general, head of Israel Prison Service. Fred O'Donovan, 80, Irish theatre producer, Chairman of RTÉ Authority (1981–1985). Skip Away, 17, American thoroughbred racehorse, heart attack. Edmund Tsaturyan, 73, Armenian politician. Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, 70, South African politician, complications from liver disease. = Harry Aleman, 71, American gangster and murderer, lung cancer. Frances Alexander, 90, American politician. Gabriel Bien-Aimé, Haitian politician, Minister of Education (2006–2008), heart attack. Armand Caouette, 64, Canadian politician, Member of Parliament (1974–1980). Juan José Carbó, 83, Spanish cartoonist. Moshe Greenberg, 81, American rabbi and biblical scholar. Christian Habicht, 57, German actor, heart attack. Besian Idrizaj, 22, Austrian footballer, heart attack. Loris Kessel, 60, Swiss racing driver, leukemia. Archduke Rudolf of Austria, 90, Austrian nobleman, youngest son of Emperor Charles I and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. John Shepherd-Barron, 84, British inventor, invented the Automatic Teller Machine. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, 86, Indian politician, Vice-President (2002–2007), respiratory infection. = Debbie Abono, 80, American band manager. Ronnie James Dio, 67, American heavy metal singer (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio), stomach cancer. Frank Dye, 82, British sailor. Alfonso Escámez, 94, Spanish banker. Hank Jones, 91, American jazz pianist. Oswaldo López Arellano, 88, Honduran politician, President (1963–1971, 1972–1975), prostate cancer. Ingvard Nielsen, 84, Danish Olympic athlete. Stephen Perry, 55, American television writer (ThunderCats, SilverHawks), homicide. (body discovered on this date) = Víctor Selvino Arenhart, 61, Argentine Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Oberá (since 2009). Trevor Brissett, 49, English footballer (Port Vale), cancer. Judson Crews, 92, American poet. Ludwig von Friedeburg, 85, German politician and sociologist, Hesse Minister for Education (1969–1974). Richard Gregory, 86, British psychologist. Dorothy Kamenshek, 84, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, 1943–1952). Yvonne Loriod, 86, French pianist, composer and teacher, widow of Olivier Messiaen. Mukhran Machavariani, 81, Georgian poet, heart attack. Vasil Manchenko, 79, Bulgarian Olympic basketball player. Rafael Nantes, 53, Filipino politician, helicopter crash. Khattiya Sawasdipol, 58, Thai army general and activist, advisor to the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (Red Shirts), shot. Bobbejaan Schoepen, 85, Belgian singer-songwriter and entrepreneur, cardiac arrest. Fritz Sennheiser, 98, German electrical engineer and entrepreneur, founder of Sennheiser. George Terlep, 87, American football player (Buffalo Bills) and head coach. Walasse Ting, 80, Chinese-born American visual artist. = Iskender Alptekin, 48, Swiss politician, heart attack. Fedja Anzelewsky, 91, German art historian. Shusaku Arakawa, 73, Japanese artist and architect. Sheila Armstrong, 60, American Olympic fencer. Martha Bielish, 94, Canadian politician, Senator (1979–1990). Don Day, 86, Australian politician, New South Wales Minister for Agriculture (1978–1980). John Gooders, 73, British ornithologist. Karin Iten, 53, Swiss figure skater. Edoardo Sanguineti, 79, Italian poet, complications following abdominal aneurysm surgery. Peter Seaton, 67, American poet, influential in language poetry movement, apparent heart attack. Devendra Singh, 72, Indian-born American psychologist and educator. Snow Chief, 27, American Thoroughbred racehorse, euthanized. Willie Zapalac, 89, American football coach. = Martin Cohan, 77, American television writer and producer, creator of Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss?, large cell lymphoma. Larry Dale, 87, American blues singer and guitarist. Pierre-Claver Zeng Ebome, 56, Gabonese politician and musician. Aleksandrs Golubovs, 50-51, Latvian politician, member of the Saeima (since 1995). Horácio Roque, 66, Portuguese financier, founder of Banco Internacional do Funchal, stroke. Moishe Rosen, 78, American Baptist minister, founder of Jews for Jesus, after long illness. Harry Vos, 63, Dutch footballer, cancer. = Harry C. Aderholt, 90, American Air Force general. Herbert Eldemire, 79, Jamaican politician and medical doctor. Phill Hartsfield, 78, American knifemaker. Gesang Martohartono, 92, Indonesian singer-songwriter. Robert L. McNeil, Jr., 94, American chemist and inventor, creator of paracetamol (acetaminophen), heart failure. Hugh Morris, 80, New Zealand businessman, founder of McDonald's New Zealand. Breandán Ó Buachalla, 74, Irish academic, Irish language scholar, heart attack. Acharya Ramamurti, 97, Indian social activist. Walter Rudin, 89, Austrian-born American mathematician, Parkinson's disease. Robert Tralins, 84, American author. Leonard Wolfson, Baron Wolfson, 82, British businessman, philanthropist and life peer. = Adrian Cruickshank, 73, Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (1984–1999). Stan Jones, 78, American football player (Chicago Bears), member of Pro Football Hall of Fame, complications from a stroke. Anna-Lena Löfgren, 66, Swedish singer. Bill Long, 78, Irish writer and broadcaster, Ireland's longest surviving heart transplant patient. Will Munro, 35, Canadian artist, brain cancer. Howard Post, 83, American cartoonist and animator. Robert Gordon Rogers, 90, Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1983–1988). Gerald Roush, 68, American Ferrari expert, heart attack. Saeed al-Masri, 54, Egyptian member of al-Qaeda, drone attack. John P. Scott, 76, American politician, member of the New Jersey Senate. Madan Tamang, 62, Nepali politician, President of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, stabbed. Driek van Wissen, 66, Dutch poet, intracranial hemorrhage. = Martin Gardner, 95, American mathematics and science author. Hasri Ainun Habibie, 72, Indonesian First Lady (1998–1999), ovarian cancer. Peter Hall, 88, New Zealand airman, World War II flying ace. Keith Jessop, 77, British deep sea diver and marine treasure hunter. Josef Koukl, 83, Czech Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Litoměřice (1989–2003). Michael Kuchwara, 63, American theater critic (Associated Press), idiopathic ischemic lung disease. Buz Lukens, 79, American politician, U.S. Representative for Ohio (1967–1971; 1987–1990), cancer. Lwandile Zwelenkosi Matanzima, 39, South African clan leader, ruler of Western Thembuland. Martin Mulloy, 58, Irish banjo player, drowning. Gane Todorovski, 81, Macedonian writer and academician. Veturi, 74, Indian poet and lyricist, cardiac arrest. Pierre Zimmer, 82, French actor and film director. = Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani, 95, Russian Grand Duchess, last Romanov born in Russia. Beaver, 59, New Zealand jazz singer, sarcoma. Beto, 43, Portuguese singer, stroke. Héctor Costa, 80, Uruguayan basketball player, Olympic bronze medalist (1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics). Gregory Evans, 96, Canadian jurist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario (1976–1985). David Ginsburg, 98, American lawyer and political insider, heart failure. José Lima, 37, Dominican baseball player, heart attack. Ashot Mkhitaryan, 51, Armenian weightlifting and television personality, heart attack. Simon Monjack, 40, British screenwriter, suspected heart attack. Marianna O'Gallagher, 81, Canadian Irish Quebecer historian, lung cancer. Eva Ostwalt, 108, German-born American Holocaust survivor. Irwin Rosten, 85, American documentary filmmaker (The Incredible Machine, 1975), after short illness. Wee Willie Webber, 80, American radio and television personality, heart attack. = Ray Alan, 79, British ventriloquist, respiratory failure. Walter Arnold Baker, 73, American lawyer and politician, cancer. Virendra Bhatia, 63, Indian politician, after short illness. Tony Bentley-Buckle, 88, Kenyan Olympic sailor. Tapen Chatterjee, 72, Indian actor (Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne), cardiac arrest. Maria di Gerlando, 84, American operatic soprano. Paul Gray, 38, American heavy metal bassist (Slipknot), accidental fentanyl and morphine overdose. Alejandro López de Haro, 61, Venezuelan photographer, writer and stock broker, complications from surgery. Raymond V. Haysbert, 90, American business executive and civil rights leader, member of Tuskegee Airmen, heart failure. Baby Islam, 82, Bangladeshi cinematographer. Kambozia Jamali, 71, Iranian Olympic footballer. Morrie Martin, 87, American baseball player, lung cancer. Rogelio Martínez, 91, American baseball player (Washington Senators). Petr Muk, 45, Czech pop singer. Barbara New, 87, British actress (Oh, Doctor Beeching!, You Rang, M'Lord?). Steve New, 50, British guitarist, cancer. Eugenia Paul, 75, American actress (Zorro). Katherine Reback, 59, American screenwriter (Fools Rush In), complications from cancer. Abdolhamid Rigi, 30-31, Iranian militant, execution by hanging. Anneliese Rothenberger, 85, German opera singer. = Alexander Belostenny, 51, Ukrainian basketball player, lung cancer. Clifford Grodd, 86, American clothier, President and CEO of Paul Stuart, cancer. Arthur Herzog, 83, American writer. Alan Hickinbotham, 84, Australian football player and businessman. Michael H. Jordan, 73, American business executive, complications of cancer. Erih Koš, 97, Serbian writer and translator. Silvius Magnago, 96, Italian politician, Governor of South Tyrol (1960–1989). Robert Muczynski, 81, American composer of classical music. Siphiwo Ntshebe, 35, South African opera singer, meningitis. David Parker, 51, British swimmer, heart attack. Gabriel Vargas, 95, Mexican cartoonist. = Leo Canjels, 77, Dutch footballer. Jean Constantin, 82, Romanian actor, natural causes. Marie Corridon, 80, American swimmer, gold medalist (1948 Summer Olympics). Jesse Hockett, 26, American sprint car racer, electrocution. John P. Lewis, 89, American economist, expert on economic aid. Art Linkletter, 97, Canadian-born American radio and television personality (House Party, People are Funny), natural causes. Judy Lynn, 74, American country music singer, heart failure. Sir Christopher Moran, 54, British air force officer, Air Chief Marshal of RAF, suspected heart failure. Kieran Phelan, 60, Irish politician, suspected heart attack. Pat Stevens, 64, American actress and voice actress (M*A*S*H, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo), breast cancer. = Louise Arnold, 87, American baseball player (AAGPBL) Harry Brown Bainbridge III, 70, American bishop, lung cancer and heart complications. John William Finn, 100, American naval officer, oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. Jerzy Gryt, 88, Polish Olympic wrestler. Peter J. Hall, 84, British-born American costume designer (Dallas Opera). Yvonne Howell, 104, American actress. Jackson Kaujeua, 56, Namibian musician, composer and gospel singer, kidney disease. Peter Keefe, 57, American animation producer and executive (Voltron, Denver, the Last Dinosaur), throat cancer. Roman Kozak, 52, Russian theatre actor and director, after long illness. Payut Ngaokrachang, 81, Thai cartoonist and animator. Thomas Whisenhant, 63, American serial killer, execution by lethal injection. Reg White, 74, British Olympic gold medal-winning (1976) sailor. = Eddie Barth, 78, American actor (Simon & Simon, The Amityville Horror, Fame), heart failure. Henry Bramwell, 90, American federal judge. Slim Bryant, 101, American country singer-songwriter. Gary Coleman, 42, American actor (Diff'rent Strokes), intracranial hemorrhage. Sir Hugh Ford, 96, British engineer Ted Innes, 85, Australian politician, member of the Australian House of Representatives (1972–1983). Robert Middlemiss, 75, Canadian engineer and politician. Osama Anwar Okasha, 68, Egyptian screenwriter and journalist. David Sanger, 63, British organist. Leslie Scalapino, 65, American poet, publisher and playwright. Torvald Högström, 84, Finnish Olympic cyclist. = Akinpelu Oludele Adesola, 82, Nigerian academic. Adrian Freeman, 24, Irish hurler (Mayo), traffic collision. Dennis Hopper, 74, American actor (Speed, Blue Velvet) and film director (Easy Rider), prostate cancer. Paul Müller, 69, German biologist. Jeriome Robertson, 33, American baseball player (Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians), motorcycle collision. Donald L. Staheli, 78, American Mormon leader, general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Randolph Stow, 74, Australian writer, liver cancer. = José Amedo, 91, Spanish Olympic shooter. Hanji Aoki, 94, Japanese sports official, heart failure. Colm Callan, 87, Irish rugby player (1948 Grand Slam), after long illness. Yuri Chesnokov, 77, Russian Olympic gold medal-winning (1964) volleyball player. Aryeh Eliav, 88, Israeli politician, after long illness. Dame Pat Evison, 85, New Zealand actress. Bruce Harris, 55, British executive director of Casa Alianza (1989–2004), pancreatic cancer. Lester Johnson, 91, American figurative expressionist artist. Peter Orlovsky, 76, American poet, lung cancer. Joan Rhodes, 89, British actress and entertainer. Jeanne Robinson, 62, American dancer and novelist, wife of Spider Robinson, biliary tract cancer. Dufferin Roblin, 92, Canadian politician, Premier of Manitoba (1958–1967), Senator (1978–1992). Vera Beaudin Saeedpour, 80, American Kurdish scholar, founder of the Kurdish Heritage Foundation of America, heart attack. Robert O. Smith, 67, American actor (Dragonball Z, InuYasha, Transformers: Cybertron). Brian Turner, 58, Australian footballer, cancer. Rudi Vis, 69, British politician, MP for Finchley and Golders Green (1997–2010), cancer. Tobi Wong, 35, Canadian designer, suicide. Ali-Ollie Woodson, 58, American soul singer (The Temptations), leukemia. = İbrahim Bilgen, 61, Turkish politician and engineer, Gaza flotilla raid participant. Louise Bourgeois, 98, French-born American artist and sculptor. Uzra Butt, 93, Indian-born Pakistani actress, after long illness. Emil Clade, 94, German Luftwaffe fighter ace. (exact date of death unknown) Boyd Converse, 78, American college football coach. Furkan Doğan, 19, American student, Gaza flotilla raid participant. Brian Duffy, 76, British photographer, degenerative lung disease. William A. Fraker, 86, American cinematographer, cancer. Chris Haney, 59, Canadian co-inventor of Trivial Pursuit, after long illness. Rubén Juárez, 62, Argentine singer-songwriter and bandoneónist, prostate cancer. Cevdet Kılıçlar, 38, Turkish journalist and photographer, Gaza flotilla raid participant. Benjamin Lees, 86, American composer of classical music, heart failure. Merata Mita, 68, New Zealand filmmaker. Basilio Santiago Romero, 82, Puerto Rican politician, Comptroller (1971–1977). Çetin Topçuoğlu, 54, Turkish taekwondo champion and coach, Gaza flotilla raid participant. Jack Volrich, 82, Canadian politician, Mayor of Vancouver (1976–1980), kidney failure. Donald Windham, 89, American novelist.

27119791

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

2010-04-26 19:26:43+00:00

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day (or Draw Mohammed Day) was a 2010 event in support of artists threatened with violence for drawing representations of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It stemmed from a protest against censorship of the American television show South Park episode "201", led by the show's distributor Comedy Central, in response to death threats that had been made against some of those responsible for two segments broadcast in April 2010. A drawing representing Muhammad was posted on the Internet on April 20, 2010, with a message suggesting that "everybody" create a drawing depicting Muhammad on May 20 in support of free speech. U.S. cartoonist Molly Norris of Seattle, Washington, created the artwork in reaction to Internet death threats that had been made against animators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for depicting Muhammad in an episode of South Park. Postings on RevolutionMuslim.com (under the pen name Abu Talha al-Amrikee, later identified as Zachary Adam Chesser) had said that Parker and Stone could wind up like Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was stabbed and shot to death. Norris claimed that if people draw pictures of Muhammad, Islamist terrorists would not be able to murder them all, and threats to do so would become unrealistic. Within a week, Norris' idea became popular on Facebook, was supported by numerous bloggers, and generated coverage on the blog websites of major U.S. newspapers. As the publicity mounted, Norris and the man who created the first Facebook page promoting the May 20 event disassociated themselves from it. Nonetheless, planning for the protest continued with others "taking up the cause". Facebook had an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" page, which grew to over 100,000 participants (101,870 members by May 20). A protest page on Facebook against the initiative named "Against 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'" attracted slightly more supporters (106,000 by May 20). Subsequently, Facebook was temporarily blocked by Pakistan; the ban was lifted after Facebook agreed to block the page for users in India and Pakistan. In the media, Everybody Draw Mohammed Day attracted support from commentators who felt that the campaign represented important issues of freedom of speech, and the need to stand up for this freedom. = South Park episodes "200" and "201", broadcast in April 2010, featured a character in a bear costume, about whom various other characters stated was Muhammad. The South Park episode sparked statements from the criminal extremist website Revolution Muslim, which posted a picture of the partially decapitated body of the Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, with a statement declaring that Parker and Stone could meet a similar fate. The group running the website said it was not threatening Parker and Stone, but it also posted the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and the California production studio where South Park is made. Comedy Central self-censored the episode when it was broadcast by removing the word "Muhammad" and a speech about intimidation and fear from the South Park episode. = Molly Norris drew the original, poster-like cartoon on April 20, 2010, which declared May 20, 2010, to be the first annual "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". The drawing showed various anthropomorphized objects, including a coffee cup, a cherry, and a box of pasta, each claiming to be the likeness of Muhammad. Norris used an alternative transliteration of "Mohammed" on her poster. Across the top of the illustration, she wrote: In light of the recent veiled (ha!) threats aimed at the creators of the television show South Park ... by bloggers on Revolution Muslim's website, we hereby deem May 20, 2010, as the first 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' Do your part to both water down the pool of targets and, oh yeah, defend a little something our country is famous for (but maybe not for long? Comedy Central cooperated with terrorists and pulled the episode) the first amendment. The poster included a claim of sponsorship by an organization named "Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor or CACAH (pronounced ca-ca)", which Norris later said was purely fictional. Norris dedicated the cartoon to the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. In late April, after she had rejected the idea for the May 20 protest, Norris stated on her website: "This was always a drawing about rights, never MEANT to disrespect religion. Alas – if we don't have rights, we will not be able to practice the religion of our choice. [...] None of these little characters ARE the likeness of Mohammed, they are just CLAIMING to be!" She also wrote, "I, the cartoonist, NEVER launched a draw Mohammed day. It is, in this FICTIONAL poster sponsored by this FICTIONAL GROUP", referring to the "Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor" wording in the cartoon. "SATIRE about a CURRENT EVENT, people!!! (That's what cartoonist's [sic] do!)" = Norris circulated the cartoon to bloggers based in Seattle, Washington. She sent a copy of her illustration to Dan Savage, who posted it on his blog on April 22. On April 23, she was interviewed by Dave Ross of KIRO, a Seattle radio station. Norris responded to a question, "Are you sure you want to do this?", and said "Yeah, I want to water down the targets ... as a cartoonist, I just felt so much passion about what had happened, I wanted to counter Comedy Central’s message about feeling afraid." The motivation for the protest was not simply to defend the South Park creators, but also to support the right to free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. She also said, "it's a cartoonist's job to be non-PC." On her website, Norris stated that the idea was not to disrespect Islam, but to support everybody's freedom of expression. An "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" Facebook page was created by Jon Wellington. By the morning of April 26, the page had almost 6,000 confirmed guests. By April 25, someone (whose identity is unknown) had started a "Ban Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" counter-protest page on Facebook, which had 800 confirmed guests. Bloggers at The Atlantic, Reason, National Review Online and Glenn Reynolds in his "Instapundit" blog, all posted comments and links about the proposed day, giving it wide publicity. Blogs at The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times websites also posted news about the idea. Newser categorized the protest movement among, "online movements against tyranny". A blog was created for the fictional group"Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor", at www.cacah.org. By April 27, over 9,000 guests confirmed that they planned to participate in the event. A story about the protest movement was one of the most popular articles highlighted on the website Digg.com. On April 28, The Malaysian Insider reported that the protest movement "appears to be gaining ground", and some schools planned to join in the event. Michael C. Moynihan of Reason stated he planned to select some of his favorite depictions of Muhammad from the protest movement, and then add them to the Reason.com website. By May 3, 2010, 11,000 members of the protest movement were on Facebook, and individuals had submitted over 460 pictures. = On April 25, Norris wrote on her website that the response to her idea had surprised and shocked her: "I did not intend for my cartoon to go viral. I did not intend to be the focus of any 'group'. I practice the First Amendment by drawing what I wish. This particular cartoon of a 'poster' seems to have struck a gigantic nerve, something I was totally unprepared for. I am going back to the drawing table now!" On April 26, she wrote on her website: "I am NOT involved in "Everybody Draw Mohammd [sic ] Day! I made a cartoon that went viral and I am not going with it. Many other folks have used my cartoon to start sites, etc. Please go to them as I am a private person who draws stuff". She also asked Savage to replace the original illustration she had given him with another one she drew that was tamer, but Savage refused. Asked why she initially publicized it, she replied, "Because I'm an idiot." Norris said the campaign had grown much bigger than she initially intended, and that her cartoon was being used in ways she could not control. "I just want to go back to my quiet life", she told the writer of a blog about comics at The Washington Post. Wellington announced on April 26 that he, too, was dropping out of the movement. "I am aghast that so many people are posting deeply offensive pictures of the Prophet," he wrote. "Y'all go ahead if that's your bag, but count me out." Norris acknowledged, "I said that I wanted to counter fear and then I got afraid." On April 29, Norris suggested that "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" be called off: "Let's call off 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day' by changing it to 'Everybody Draw Al Gore Day' instead. Enough Mohammed drawings have already been made to get the point across. At this juncture, such drawings are only hurtful to more liberal and moderate Muslims who have not done anything to endanger our first amendment rights." On May 1, Norris posted a marked up version of her original cartoon, apologizing to Muslims. Norris' change in position received varying reactions from commentators. Kathleen Parker, an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, wrote, "Norris's cartoon was a fine idea, but she should be relieved of further duty or responsibility." Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Alex Spillius commented, "No one should blame Norris for withdrawing from the fray, for this kind of case throws up lingering and insidious uncertainties. Any threat could blow over quickly or endure, Rushdie-style, for decades. The row over the cartoons depicting Mohammed in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten percolated for months before bubbling over into violent protests." William Wei of The Business Insider was more critical of the decision by the cartoonist to withdraw from the protest movement, with an article titled, "Artist Who Proposed 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' To Protest South Park Censorship Wimps Out." = An information technology specialist named Mimi, based in Toronto, Canada, helped to lead the protest movement in the wake of the departures of Norris and Wellington. Mimi stated to AOL News that the protest movement should be regarded as, "pro-free speech, not anti-Muslim." She commented, "If [Muslims] are offended, they have the right to be offended – just like Christians." With regard to keeping with the tenets of freedom of speech, Mimi is permitting a wide array of depictions of Muhammad "except for those inciting violence or pornographic in nature." "Mainstream society does whatever the Muslim society asks out of fear of violence or political correctness. But if you want to live in a Western society and use the system to protect your rights, you have to be willing to allow others to have theirs as well," said Mimi. According to Paste Magazine, by April 30, 2010, "Norris’ small protest [had] grown to encompass 32 Facebook events with a combined total of over 11,000 people planning to participate." Ron Nurwisah of National Post noted, "Norris' backtracking might be a bit late as the event seems to have taken a life of its own," and Fox 9 also pointed out, "she may have started something she can't stop. Others have taken up the cause of 'Everybody Draw Muhammed Day'." Tim Edwards of The First Post pointed out, "It seems that nothing can now stop May 20, 2010 becoming the inaugural 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'. Even if, in an ironic twist, its biggest backers have now been scared off." Writing for ComicsAlliance, Laura Hudson noted that the website supported the protest movement and would participate in the event on May 20, 2010: "There is power in numbers, and if you're an artist, creator, cartoonist, or basically anyone who would like to exercise your right to free speech in a way that it is actively threatened, that would be the day to do it. ... if you're an artist, cartoonist, or creator who plans to participate, drop us a line and let us know—we'll be adding our own terribly drawn rendition of the prophet here on ComicsAlliance when the day rolls around and we'd love it if you joined us." In a May 3, 2010 piece for The Washington Post blog, the founder and president of the Secular Coalition for America, Herb Silverman, wrote in support of the protest movement. Silverman stated he agreed with the rationale behind the idea, commenting, "Whether this succeeds or not, and I have no personal interest in drawing Muhammad, I support the concept. We must join together to stop injustice." A columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group wrote that Norris should not be regarded as having further responsibility related to the movement, and affirmed that her Muhammad cartoon had significantly impacted a greater discussion about the issue. Telepolis described some of the pictures submitted to the Facebook group in support of the protest movement as, "funny, crude, silly, original, the whole range of possibilities." The Jawa Report urged individuals to participate in the protest movement, but encouraged them to post images reflecting positively on Muhammad. Writing in an editorial for The Washington Times, Jason Greaves urged individuals to participate in the protest event on May 20. Greaves concluded, "Theo van Gogh was murdered for making a movie critical of Islam. 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are threatened with the same fate. They deserve our solidarity, and I will stand with them by hosting images of Muhammad on my own website. Please stand with us." In a May 17, 2010, article in The Daily Bruin, writer Tyler Dosaj noted that numbers of both supporters and critics of the protest movement were increasing: "The Facebook group is 35,000 strong. To compare, the anti-Draw Mohammed Day group is almost 30,000 strong. Both are gaining members rapidly." In a May 18, 2010 article, "Why We're Having an Everybody Draw Mohammed Contest on Thursday May 20", Reason editor Nick Gillespie explained: "No one has a right to an audience or even to a sympathetic hearing, much less an engaged audience. But no one should be beaten or killed or imprisoned simply for speaking their mind or praying to one god as opposed to the other or none at all or getting on with the small business of living their life in peaceful fashion. If we cannot or will not defend that principle with a full throat, then we deserve to choke on whatever jihadists of all stripes can force down our throats." Gillespie asserted, "Our Draw Mohammed contest is not a frivolous exercise of hip, ironic, hoolarious sacrilege toward a minority religion in the United States (though even that deserves all the protection that the most serioso political commentary commands). It's a defense of what is at the core of a society that is painfully incompetent at delivering on its promise of freedom, tolerance, and equal rights." As May 20, 2010, came closer, Molly Norris stated she was staying away from being directly involved in the protest movement. Norris told Dave Ross, "I'm against my own concept becoming a reality.... If I had wanted to be taken seriously, I would be thrilled, but now I'm horrified because people did take it as an actual day. The one-off cartoon is not good as a long term plan because it's offensive." Fox News Channel reported that on May 19, 2010, a Facebook group supporting the protest movement had 41,000 members, and The Register reported this increased to 43,000 the same day. Norris told Fox News Channel in a statement on May 19, "It's turned into something completely different, nothing I could've imagined it morphing into. I'm happy some people are talking, because obviously this needs to be addressed." By May 20, the Toronto Sun reported that both the "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" group and the "Against 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'" Facebook group protesting against the initiative had attracted more than 100,000 supporters, at 101,870 members and 106,000 members respectively. On May 20, 2010, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch of Reason announced the winners of the publication's "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" contest. Gillespie and Welch warned the reader not to view the image "if you are offended by graphical representations of the Prophet Mohammed." Of the images highlighted, Gillespie and Welch explained: "The single most important element–and the thing that ties these selections together–is that each image forces the viewer to do two things. First, they consciously call into question the nature of representation, no small matter in fights over whether it is allowed under Islamic law to depict Mohammed ... Second, each of the images forces the viewer to actively participate not simply in the creation of meaning but of actually constructing the image itself." There were two images in the position of runner-up – one was an artistic rendition of a tobacco smoking pipe. The depiction references surrealist artist René Magritte, and includes the text, "This is not a pipe. This is Muhammed." The Reason journalists commented that the image toyed with Magritte's "famous statement about the necessary disjuncture between a picture and the thing it seeks to represent." The second runner-up was a parody of the Where's Waldo? series, and the winner was a connect the dots picture. Commenting on the winner of the Reason contest, Gillespie and Welch concluded, "There is a deeper lesson here: Connect the dots and discover that we all must be Spartacus on Everybody Draw Mohammad Day. And that in a free society, every day is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day." = Subsequent to an order from the Lahore High Court on May 19, 2010, the government of Pakistan, through its agency the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), indefinitely banned Facebook in the country, in response to the impending May 20 date at the focus of the protest movement. The order to carry out the shut down of Facebook in Pakistan was given by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, which also publicized an email address and phone number and requested individuals contact the agency to let them know about "all similar URLs where such objectionable material is found". Representative Khoram Ali Mehran of the Pakistan agency stated to CNN, "Obviously it (the blocking of Facebook) is related to the objectionable material that was placed on Facebook. That is why it is blocked. We have blocked it for an indefinite amount of time. We are just following the government's instructions and the ruling of the Lahore High Court. If the government decides to unblock it then that's what we will do." The agency was responding to an action by a group of Islamic attorneys based in Pakistan, who had acted to get the court order due to a Facebook group "Everybody Draw Mohammad Day—May 20". Azhar Siddique had filed the petition to the Lahore High Court on behalf of the organization, the Islamic Lawyers Forum. The government faced pressure from public protests against Facebook. In its petition to the government, the Islamic Lawyers Forum described the "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" event as "blasphemous". Siddique told The Times, "The court has also ordered the foreign ministry to investigate why such a competition is being held." The lawyers succeeded in getting the government to block the Facebook group itself individually on May 18, but the Islamic lawyers requested a full block of the entirety of the Facebook site, because the organization had permitted the posting of the particular group on its site. They argued that unless the entire Facebook website were blocked, it would be difficult to stop the protest movement campaign on the site. The Lahore court carried out this request, and ordered the government to issue a temporary block on Facebook to stand until May 31, 2010. Justice Ejaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court issued the ruling of the court. The force of the ban was effective immediately after the ruling of the court. Those present for the court's ruling included many religious clerics, attorneys, and students. The court held an in-depth hearing on the matter on May 31, 2010. The deputy attorney general of Punjab province, Naveed Inayat Malik, confirmed to the Press Association that the Lahore court had ordered Facebook banned in the country until May 31, 2010. The Secretary of the Pakistan Ministry of Information Technology, Naguib Malik, told the Associated Press that he requested the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to carry out the ruling of the Lahore court. Pakistan Law Minister Babar Awan told ABC News, "this issue will be raised on all international forums." According to Press Trust of India, by mid-day on May 19, 2010, individuals in Pakistan were not able to gain access to the Facebook site via computer, but could get entry using a smartphone. The Hindu reported that prior to the court's ruling, multiple Internet service providers had taken independent action to block Facebook, in light of protests against the website in Pakistan. The May 20 plans of the protest movement sparked demonstrations in the streets of Pakistan and objections to Facebook by groups including the Pakistan-based Muslim Lawyers Movement. In several Pakistani cities demonstrators burned the Norwegian flag although the Norwegian News Agency reported that the Norwegian flag was burned mistakenly in the belief that it was the Danish. In Lahore both Swedish and Danish flags were burned, A lawyer involved in the action in the Lahore court, Rai Bashir, told The Daily Telegraph, "There are so many insults to the Prophet on the Internet and that's why we felt we had to bring this case. All Muslims in Pakistan and the world will be supporting us." Bashir explained to Sky News, "We moved the petition in the wake of widespread resentment in the Muslim community against the Facebook contest." Islamic Lawyers Forum attorney, Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali, told Xinhua News Agency, "The competition has hurt the sentiments of the Muslims." Protesters against Facebook and "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" converged in Karachi on May 19, 2010, and held up signs and yelled phrases critical of Facebook. According to the Associated Press, approximately 2,000 female students protested in Karachi, urging the banning of Facebook for permitting the "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" movement on the site. Agence France-Presse compared this to the 2006 protests over the depictions of Muhammed in European newspapers. They went on to report that there were approximately 20 individuals demonstrating outside the court in Lahore after its decision, holding signs which were negative regarding Facebook. Picketers outside the court held up signs praiseworthy of Muhammad. One protest sign at a picket in Lahore read: "We love Muhammad. Say No to Facebook." BBC News noted reports in Pakistan media that there were protests against Facebook on May 19, 2010 outside parliament in Islamabad. Individuals passed on text messages, requesting other Facebook users to support the ban on the website. Attorneys standing outside the Lahore court on May 19, 2010 were repeating the phrase, "Down with Facebook". Protests against Facebook were organized in Lahore, Kasur, Narowal, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Peshawar; by Pakistan-based religious parties including Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Jamiat Tulba and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. According to The Financial Express, "protests against the website were held across the country". The Vancouver Sun reported that Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Pakistan Religious Affairs Minister, "strongly condemned" the Facebook groups' efforts and requested Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "to take immediate action and call a Muslim conference". The Facebook group had supporters including Dutch politician Geert Wilders, former Dutch politician and feminist activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. An Islamic student association based in Lahore, Pakistan, handed out pamphlets requesting individuals to boycott Facebook; the pamphlet stated: "The west is conspiring against the honour of the prophet and of Muslims. The real purpose of freedom of speech is to provoke the sentiments of Muslims." A representative of the Karachi-based Internet company Creative Chaos named Shakir Husain told The Guardian that a ban of Facebook would not be easy to carry out due to the ability to circumvent it using tactics such as proxy servers. Husain noted, "By banning this web page, it will just make people more curious. It's pouring petrol on a small fire that could become a lot bigger. You can't police the Internet. The Saudis have tried it, as have other governments, and all have failed. It's a waste of state money." The CEO of the company Nayatel, Wahaj-us-Siraj, told Reuters that the decision of the Lahore court was not wise: "Blocking the entire website would anger users, especially young adults, because the social networking website is so popular among them and they spend most of their time on it. Basically, our judges aren't technically sound. They have just ordered it, but it should have been done in a better way by just blocking a particular URL or link." The Gabriel Consulting Group analyst Dan Olds commented about the Pakistan government's ban to Computerworld, "I think we can expect to see more of this type of thing coming from dictatorial countries as they try to keep their citizenry locked down." Olds observed, "Trying to stop citizens from accessing the Internet is increasingly becoming like a little kid trying to stop the tide with a toy shovel and a bucket." An editorial in the Pakistan-based newspaper the Express Tribune commented on the ban of Facebook, "Many users of the social media website have put up their own pages expressing their admiration for the Holy Prophet — surely this is a better response. Furthermore, the said page is one of millions on Facebook and blocking it entirely means that millions of users in Pakistan will be unable to access a site which has become part of their daily life. A better way would be to block the offensive web page but allow users in this country access to the rest of Facebook." A representative of Facebook told CBS News that the block of the website in Pakistan was under investigation by the company. The company released a statement on May 19, 2010: "While the content does not violate our terms, we do understand it may not be legal in some countries. We are investigating this. In cases like this, the approach is sometimes to restrict certain content from being shown in specific countries." The Jakarta Globe reported that several Muslim religious scholars in Indonesia were critical of Facebook in light of the protest movement. Rohadi Abdul Fatah the Indonesia, Religious Affairs Ministry director of Islam and Shariah Law, announced that Facebook was to be considered haram (forbidden) according to Muslim law. Rohadi Abdul Fatah stated, "We cannot tolerate it. Those who created the account were extremely irresponsible." Indonesia Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring stated to The Jakarta Globe, "I consider this an act of provocation to mess up religious harmony enjoyed by Indonesians. I call on everybody to stay calm. Let us all just cool down." Sembiring stated his intention to write the management of Facebook, and noted, "Removing it is useless because other party can just post it again on the account. Therefore, we all need to be aware of this." On May 20, 2010, the Internet ban by the government of Pakistan related to "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" was extended to include the video-sharing website, YouTube. YouTube released a statement, saying it is "looking into the matter and working to ensure that the service is restored as soon as possible". The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority stated it ordered the shut down of YouTube in the country due to "blasphemous content". A representative of YouTube told BBC News, "YouTube offers citizens the world over a vital window on cultures and societies and we believe people should not be denied access to information via video. Because YouTube is a platform for free expression of all sorts, we take great care when we enforce our policies. Content that violates our guidelines is removed as soon as we become aware of it." Additional websites including Flickr were blocked in Pakistan on May 20. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority had first tried to block separate pages on YouTube; representatives of the agency stated to Reuters, "but the blasphemous content kept appearing so we ordered a total shut down". Pakistan restricted access to Wikipedia and banned viewing of certain pages on the website in the country on May 20, 2010, according to Fast Company, The New York Times, Radio France Internationale, The Express Tribune, The Washington Post, Computerworld, Newsweek, Agence France-Presse, and the Financial Times. Agence France-Presse noted, "The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) extended a ban on Facebook, ordered by a court until May 31, to popular video sharing website YouTube and restricted Wikipedia." The Washington Post reported, "At least 450 sites, including Wikipedia, were also cut off by midday" on May 20. Radio France Internationale quoted the editor of The Friday Times, who stated, "They’ve banned not just Facebook, now you have YouTube. They’re also blocking Flickr, I’ve just heard that they’ve blocked Wikipedia ... eager beavers sitting in the PTA and in other ministries are just going on and blocking sites." The New York Times reported that the ban, "also included certain pages on Flickr and Wikipedia". According to Radio France Internationale, and Newsweek, pages were blocked on Wikipedia by the Pakistan agency due to what the government described as "growing sacrilegious contents". Ahmad Rafay Alam of the Pakistani English-language daily newspaper The Express Tribune commented, "the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has taken it upon itself to block Wikipedia, among other things." The Christian Science Monitor reported, "Pakistan blocked YouTube, Wikipedia, and other websites ... to try to suppress a Facebook page declaring Thursday Everybody Draw Mohammad Day." Reuters reported on May 20 that "websites, including Wikipedia and Flickr, have been inaccessible in Pakistan" since the previous evening. According to Agence France-Presse, a representative of the organization the Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, Wahaj us Siraj, stated "Wikipedia had been blocked" in the country. A representative of the United States Department of State weighed in on the actions of the Pakistan government with respect to the images. Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley stated that the United States was critical of a "deliberate attempt to offend Muslims". Crowley commented, "Pakistan is wrestling to this issue. We respect any actions that need to be taken under Pakistani law to protect their citizens from offensive speech." The Assistant Secretary of State went on to note, "At the same time, Pakistan has to make sure that in taking any particular action, that you’re not restricting speech to the millions and millions of people who are connected to the Internet and have a universal right to the free flow of information." On May 22, 2010, the Ambassador to the United States from Pakistan, Hussain Haqqani, formally issued a complaint to the U.S., in communications with U.S. Special Representative Richard Holbrooke. The Pakistan embassy in the United States sent a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of State. The Lahore High Court had ordered the Pakistan representative to issue the complaint to the U.S. regarding the images on Facebook. Pakistan's embassy in the U.S. told the U.S. Department of State that the images on Facebook "immensely hurt and discomforted the people and the government of Pakistan"; the embassy requested the U.S. government "take effective measures to prevent, stop or block this blasphemous contest immediately". On May 25, 2010, The Nation reported that a poll of citizens of Pakistan conducted by ProPakistani.pk revealed that 70 percent of those polled wanted Facebook to be permanently banned in the country. On May 31, 2010, PC World reported that the Lahore High Court had lifted the ban on Facebook. The magazine quoted the government of Pakistan as saying that "the web site had promised to make material considered derogatory inaccessible to users in Pakistan." This was in line with an earlier statement by a Facebook spokeswoman, stating that Facebook "may consider IP blocking in Pakistan upon further review of local regulations, standards and customs". Pakistan's secretary of IT and telecom said in an interview that Facebook had "apologized" and agreed to block access to the page from Pakistan. Facebook had already blocked access to the page for users from India the previous week, at the request of the Indian authorities. On May 30, 2010, the day before the Facebook ban in Pakistan was lifted, Bangladesh imposed its own ban on Facebook. Justice Ijaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court planned to review the case on June 15, 2010 to see if Facebook had allowed more blasphemous material to be displayed. This review was postponed to July 9, 2010. MillatFacebook Millat of Millat Ibrahim (faith of Abraham) is a word used to describe the Muslim faith. Due to the block on Facebook in Pakistan, a spinoff version of the site, MillatFacebook, was created to cater primarily to Muslims. This is Pakistan's first social networking site and a writer for Agence France Presse reported in May 2010 that it had received poor reviews and drawn few adherents. = The idea for the May 20 protest received support from Kathleen Parker, an opinion columnist for The Washington Post: "Americans love their free speech and have had enough of those who think they can dictate the limits of that fundamental right. [...] Draw to any heart's discontent. It's a free country. For now." The idea also received support from prominent bloggers and bloggers on prominent websites, such as Michael C. Moynihan at Reason magazine's "Hit & Run" blog, who encouraged his readers to send him their drawings. Moynihan stated he planned to select some of his favorite depictions of Muhammad from the protest movement, and then add them to the Reason.com website. Moynihan commented, "In the South Park episode that started all this, Buddha does lines of coke and there was an episode where Cartman started a Christian rock band that sang very homo-erotic songs. Yet there is one religious figure we can't make fun of. The point of the episode that started the controversy is that celebrities wanted Muhammad's power not to be ridiculed. How come non-Muslims aren't allowed to make jokes?" Moynihan posited that the decision of Comedy Central to enact self-censorship of the South Park episode would have the impact of worsening the situation. Maayana Miskin of Arutz Sheva characterized the movement as "a mass protest". Westword commented positively on the protest idea, "Sounds like an idea we'd like to frame." The editor of Family Security Matters, Pam Meister, discussed the protest movement from the perspective of freedom of speech, and commented, "I realize that in a free society, someone is always going to be doing or saying something that will offend somebody somewhere. I also realize that more free speech, not censorship, is the answer." Andrew Mellon of Big Journalism wrote in favor of the protest movement, commenting, "The bottom line is that the First Amendment guarantees free speech including criticism of all peoples. We are an equal-opportunity offense country. To censor ourselves to avoid upsetting a certain group (in a cartoon no less) is un-American." Mario Roy of La Presse discussed the incident, and noted, "it is likely that institutions will apply more and more self-censorship. Fearing a possible threat, nothing is worse than the fear of fear." Writing for The American Spectator, Jeremy Lott commented positively about the protest movement: "While the suits at Comedy Central and Yale University Press have been cowed, people across the country have decided to speak up and thereby magnify the offense a thousandfold." Helge Rønning, a professor at the Institute of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo, said the offense to Muslims was outweighed by freedom-of-speech concerns. "Indignation from those who claim the right to engage in criticism of religion is as important as the indignation that comes from the Muslim side," he told the NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). "I think that this is an attitude that goes deeper than whether these drawings are blasphemous or not." Vebjørn Selbekk, a Norwegian editor who was threatened in 2006 after he reprinted Danish cartoons of Mohammed in his publication, supported the May 20 protest. "I think maybe this is the right way to react—with humor, and also to spread this number, so it isn't only a few who sit with all the threats and all the discomfort associated with defending our freedom of speech in this area," he said. = Law professor and blogger Ann Althouse rejected the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day idea because "depictions of Muhammad offend millions of Muslims who are no part of the violent threats." James Taranto, writing in the "Best of the Web Today" column at The Wall Street Journal, also objected to the idea, not only because depicting Mohammed "is inconsiderate of the sensibilities of others", but also because "it defines those others—Muslims—as being outside of our culture, unworthy of the courtesy we readily accord to insiders." Bill Walsh of Bedford Minuteman wrote critically of the initiative, which seemed "petulant and childish" to him: "It attempts to battle religious zealotry with rudeness and sacrilege, and we can only wait to see what happens, but I fear it won’t be good." Janet Albrechtsen wrote in The Australian, "As a cartoon, it was mildly amusing. As a campaign, it's crass and gratuitously offensive." Writing for New York University's Center for Religion and Media publication, The Revealer, Jeremy F. Walton called the event a "blasphemous faux holiday", which would "only serve to reinforce broader American misunderstandings of Islam and Muslims". Franz Kruger, writing for the Mail & Guardian, called Everybody Draw Mohammed Day a "silly Facebook initiative" and found "the undertone of a 'clash of civilisations'" in it "disturbing", noting that "it is clear that some feel great satisfaction at what they see as 'sticking it to the Muslims'." The Mail & Guardian, which had itself published a controversial cartoon of Mohammed in its pages, distanced itself from the group, noting that it "claimed to be a protest against restrictions on freedom of speech and religious fanaticism, but had seemingly become a forum for venting Islamophobic sentiment." Hugo Rifkind, writing for The Times, called the Facebook initiative a "grubby project": "... there’s something here that makes me twitch. I think it’s the 'everybody'. It’s the 'everybody' of a man at the back of a mob, trying to persuade other people to get lynching. If a cartoonist wants to satirise Islam by drawing Mohammed, I’m on his side all the way. But among the 13,000 pictures on the EDMD Facebook page, you have Mohammed as a dog in a veil, Mohammed as a pig and Mohammed as a monkey. That’s not resistance, but picking a fight. Issuing a death threat against somebody who drew a picture isn’t my thing, but this isn’t either." Bilal Baloch, writing for The Guardian, called the initiative "juvenile" and "an irresponsible poke-in-the-eye", while at the same time criticizing the Pakistani government's response, and calling on "Pakistan's Internet community to engage in an organised and compelling dialogue: if not with the offenders, then most certainly with the rest of the world that is watching." In Pakistan, an editorial in Dawn, the country's oldest English-language newspaper, said that there was no doubt that the Facebook initiative "was in poor taste and deserving of strong condemnation," adding that it was "debatable whether freedom of expression should extend to material that is offensive to the sensibilities, traditions and beliefs of religious, ethnic or other communities." However, the editorial called the Lahore High Court's decision to block Facebook a "knee-jerk reaction," saying that, "many users feel, and rightly so, that they can decide for themselves what is or is not offensive, and choose not to access material that is repugnant to their beliefs," and that the block might "have played right into the hands of those who think nothing of displaying or publishing material that denigrates their beliefs. By reacting the way we do we only harm ourselves and, in the process, even become a subject of derision." = The protest movement and incidents surrounding the censorship of the South Park episode were discussed on the National Public Radio program, Talk of the Nation, where commentators including Ross Douthat analyzed the phenomenon of Norris withdrawing from the cartoon. Stephanie Gutmann of The Daily Telegraph wrote that she had joined the Facebook group, and commented that if the 2010 Times Square car bomb attempt was found to be related to the South Park episode "200", "this sort of protest will be more important than ever." Writing for The Faster Times, journalist Noah Lederman noted that Norris' cartoon, "was her way of supporting the show’s creators and the First Amendment." Writing for Financial Times, John Lloyd commented on the decision by Norris to withdraw from the protest movement and noted, "Molly Norris proposed a 'let’s everyone draw Mohammed day' – then, apparently appalled by her own audacity, backed quickly away." Writing for Religion Dispatches, Austin Dacey compared the protest movement to Martin Luther, stating, "Forget the South Park dust up; forget Everybody Draw Muhammad Day. If you want to see truly shocking anti-religious cartoons, you have to go back to the sixteenth century. Near the end of Luther’s life, his propaganda campaign against Rome grew increasingly vitriolic and his language grotesquely pungent." Dacey argued, "The debate over cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad is often framed as a clash between free speech and religious attitudes. But it is just as much a clash between conflicting religious attitudes, and the freedom at stake is not only freedom of expression but freedom of religion. For while Luther was surely engaging in offensive speech, he was also exercising a right of freedom of conscience, which included the right to dissent from Catholic orthodoxy." In an analysis of the protest movement for the Daily Bruin, journalist Jordan Manalastas commented, "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day is a chance to reinstate offense and sincerity to their proper place, freed from terror or silence. ... The proper (and, at the risk of looking jingoistic, American) way to combat bad speech is with better speech. To silence and be silenced are the refuge of cowards." In an analysis of the protest movement for Spiked, Brendan O'Neill was critical of the concept of "mocking Muhammad," writing, "... these two camps – the Muhammad-knockers and the Muslim offence-takers – are locked in a deadly embrace. Islamic extremists need Western depictions of Muhammad as evidence that there is a new crusade against Islam, while the Muhammad-knockers need the flag-burning, street-stomping antics of the extremists as evidence that their defence of the Enlightenment is a risky, important business." Several editorial cartoonists quoted by The Washington Post blogger Michael Cavna were critical of the Draw Mohammed Day idea or declined to participate, although all supported the right of cartoonists to depict Mohammed if they chose to. The president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists opposed involvement because, "something like that can be too easily co-opted by interest groups who, I suspect, have an agenda that goes beyond a simple defense of free expression." Other cartoonists quoted in the article called the event, "childish and needlessly provocative," or demurred because they dislike, "choreographed punditry." Tarek Kahlaoui, an assistant professor of Islamic Art at Rutgers University, analyzed the reasons behind Islamic aniconism in an article on Global Expert Finder, pointing out that despite aniconism the depiction of Muhammad is not wholly forbidden in Islam, and so in principle it should be possible for non-Muslims to draw him as well, although stating, "What should be an issue, however, are all possible implications between visual representation and bigotry." He also defended the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in the way that it's an important right of all Americans. On July 11, 2010, it was reported that the Yemeni-American al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had put Molly Norris on a hitlist. In the English version of the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, Al-Awlaki wrote, "The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved," and was quoted as saying, The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are more targets to choose from in addition to the difficulty of the government offering all of them special protection ... But even then our campaign should not be limited to only those who are active participants. FBI officials reportedly notified Norris warning her that they considered it a "very serious threat." Norris has since changed her name and gone into hiding. According to the Seattle Weekly (her former employer), this decision was based on "the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI." The threat against Norris appeared to be renewed when Al Qaeda's Inspire included her in its March 2013 edition with eleven others in a pictorial spread entitled "Wanted: Dead or Alive for Crimes Against Islam," and captioned, "Yes We Can: A Bullet A Day Keeps the Infidel Away." The cartoonist Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier was also added to Al-Qaeda's most wanted list, along with Lars Vilks and three Jyllands-Posten staff members: Kurt Westergaard, Carsten Juste, and Flemming Rose. As of 2015, Norris is still in hiding and jihadist threats against her life continue. Images and media related to "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day"

47211539

Bijou d'Inde

2015-07-11 12:52:05+00:00

Bijou d'Inde (9 March 1993 – 19 June 2010) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Hampshire and trained in Yorkshire he was a natural front-runner who was best at distances of around one mile. As a two-year-old he showed very good form, recording victories in the Acomb Stakes in England and the Futurity Stakes in Ireland. In the following year he was narrowly beaten in the 2000 Guineas before defeating very strong field in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. He then finished second in the Eclipse Stakes but was well beaten in his last eight races. He was retired at the end of the 1997 season and stood with little success as a breeding stallion in England, New Zealand and Turkey. Bijou d'Inde was a chestnut horse with a white star bred in England by the Hampshire-based Whitsbury Manor Stud. His sire, Cadeaux Genereux won several major sprint races including the Nunthorpe Stakes and the July Cup. At stud he sired over 1,000 winners including Bahamian Bounty, Embassy, Touch of the Blues (Atto Mile) and Toylsome (Prix de la Forêt). Bijou d'Inde's dam Pushkar produced several other winners including Eradicate and Hebridean (Long Walk Hurdle). In October 1994, the yearling was consigned to the Tattersalls sale and was bought by the trainer Mark Johnston. During his racing career, Bijou d'Inde was owned by Stuart Morrison and trained by Johnston in Middleham, North Yorkshire. Johnston was initially unimpressed by the appearance of the "gawky" chestnut, later commenting "I would have given him back if I could. But the first day he stepped on to the gallops he was very, very good". = On his first appearance, Bijou d'Inde contested a six furlong maiden race at Newcastle Racecourse on 30 June and finished second, beaten a head by the favourite Mazeed. Four weeks later he ran in a similar event at Goodwood and was beaten a neck by the Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained Woodborough. Despite his two defeats, the colt was then moved up in class and was made the 11/4 second favourite for the Acomb Stakes over seven furlongs at York Racecourse on 15 August. Ridden by Darryll Holland, he led from the start before accelerating away from his opponents in the last quarter mile to win by three and a half lengths from Hammerstein. In all of his subsequent races the colt was ridden by Jason Weaver. Bijou d'Inde was sent to Ireland for his next race and stated odds-on favourite for the Group Three Futurity Stakes over one mile at the Curragh on 1 September. He disputed the lead with the Jim Bolger-trained Ceirseach before taking a clear advantage three furlongs out and won "very easily" by two and a half lengths from the other British challenger Axford. Three weeks later, on his final appearance as a juvenile, Bijou d'Inde started second favourite for the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot Racecourse. After being retrained by Weaver in the early stages he reached third place in the straight before fading and finishing fifth behind the Luca Cumani-trained Mons. = On his three-year-old debut, Bijou d'Inde was one of thirteen colts to contest the 187th running of the classic 2000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse and started at odds of 14/1. The field was a strong one, with Alhaarth heading the betting from Beauchamp King (Racing Post Trophy), Storm Trooper (Feilden Stakes), Royal Applause, Mark of Esteem and Danehill Dancer. Bijou d'Inde was among the leaders from the start and went to the front three furlongs out before engaging in a prolonged, three-way struggle with Mark of Esteem and the 40/1 outsider Even Top. In the ensuing photo-finish, Bijou d'Inde was placed third, beaten a head and a neck, with the trio finishing six lengths clear of Alhaarth in fourth. Three weeks later the colt started 3/1 second favourite behind the French-trained Spinning World in the Irish 2,000 Guineas on soft ground at the Curragh. After taking the lead in the straight he weakened in the closing stages and finished fourth behind Spinning World, Rainbow Blues and Beauchamp King, beaten six lengths by the winner. Johnston had admitted before the race that he had been uncertain about how the colt would cope with the conditions. On 18 June at Royal Ascot Bijou d'Inde ran in the 151st edition of the St James's Palace Stakes. The Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Ashkalani started 13/8 favourite ahead of Spinning World and Mark of Esteem with Bijou d'Inde next in the betting on 9/1. The other runners included Beuachamp King, Cayman Kai (Flying Childers Stakes, European Free Handicap) and the Godolphin challenger Wall Street. Bijou d'Inde took the lead after the first two furlongs and maintained his advantage into the straight when Ashkalani emerged as his main challenger. The French colt took the lead and went half a length up, but Bijou d'Inde rallied to overtake his opponent in the final strides and won by a head with the outsider Sorbie Tower taking third. Bijou d'Inde was moved up in distance for his next two starts, beginning with the Eclipse Stakes over ten furlongs at Sandown Park Racecourse on 2 July in which he faced older horses for the first time. He was among the leaders from the start and finished second, beaten a neck by the five-year-old Halling. In the International Stakes at York in August he finished third to Halling and First Island beaten four and a half lengths by the winner. The colt was back to a mile for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in September, but after leading for six furlongs he faded to finish sixth of the seven runners behind Mark of Esteem. = In the early part of 1997 Bijou d'Inde was sent to race in Dubai and ran twice on the dirt at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. He finished last of the four runners in a race on 9 March and then in the Dubai World Cup on 3 April. He was towards the rear of the field approaching the final turn when he was brought down by the fall of the Japanese challenger Hokuto Vega. Bijou d'Inde returned to racing in Europe in autumn but never recaptured his best form. In September he finished eighth of nine behind Spinning World in the Prix du Moulin and fifth behind Air Express in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. In the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs in October he finished last of seven behind Pilsudski. In December he was sent to Hong Kong and finished tailed-off last of the fourteen runners in the Hong Kong Cup. Bijou d'Inde was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion and was shuttled between the Woodland Stud at Newmarket and the Glenmorgan Stud in New Zealand. In 2000 he was sold and exported to stand at the Turkish National Stud near İzmit. He sired no winners of any consequence and died in Turkey at the stables of the Turkish Jockey Club on 19 June 2010.

49086797

Bubble Gum Fellow

2016-01-13 08:12:16+00:00

Bubble Gum Fellow, (Japanese: バブルガムフェロー, 11 April 1993 – 26 April 2010) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1995 he was rated the best juvenile colt of his generation in Japan when he won three of his four races including the Grade I Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes. In the following spring he won the Spring Stakes and then returned from a lengthy injury absence to win the autumn edition of the Tenno Sho. In 1997 he added wins in the Naruo Kinen and the Mainichi Okan before being retired to stud at the end of the season. Apart from his wins he finished second in the Takarazuka Kinen and third in the Japan Cup. He had modest success as a breeding stallion in Japan and Australia before dying in 2010 at the age of seventeen. Bubble Gum Fellow was a bay horse with a narrow white blaze bred by Shadai Farm, the breeding operation of his owners Shadai Racehorse Co Ltd. He was from the second crop of foals sired by Sunday Silence, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby, before retiring to stud in Japan where he was champion sire on thirteen consecutive occasions. His other major winners included Deep Impact, Stay Gold, Heart's Cry, Manhattan Cafe, Zenno Rob Roy, Special Week, and Neo Universe. His dam Bubble Company won one race in France before becoming a broodmare. She also produced Bubble Prospector, whose descendants have included Deep Brillante (Tokyo Yushun) and That's The Plenty (Kikuka Sho). The colt was sent into training with Kazuo Fujisawa. = Bubble Gum Fellow made his racecourse debut by finishing third to Abiru Sun God in a maiden race over 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse on 7 October and then won a similar event over the same course and distance three weeks later. In the Fuchu Sansai Stakes (again over 1800 metres at Tokyo) on 19 November he recorded his second victory, beating Sakura Speed and ten others. On his final start of the year, the colt was moved up in class but down in distance for the Grade I Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes over 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse on 7 December. Ridden by Yukio Okabe, he won by three quarters of a length from Eishin Guymon with a gap of two and a half lengths back to Generalist in third. In January 1996, Bubble Gum Fellow was voted Best Two-Year-Old Colt in the JRA Awards for 1995. = Bubble Gum Fellow began his second season in the Grade II Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes (a major trial for the Satsuki Sho) over 1800 metres at Nakayama on 24 March and won from Cheers Silence and Cash Lavora. The colt then suffered from a serious injury to his right hind leg and was of the racecourse for five months. In his absence Ishino Sunday won the Satsuki Sho, whilst the Tokyo Yushun fell to Fusaichi Concorde. Bubble Gum Fellow eventually returned for the Grade II Mainichi Okan at Tokyo on 6 October, a race which saw him matched against older horses for the first time. He finished third of the twelve runners behind the British-trained four-year-old Annus Mirabilis and the six-year-old Toyo Lyphard. Three weeks later the colt was one of seventeen horses to contest the autumn edition of the Tenno Sho over 2000 metres at Tokyo. His opponents included Mayano Top Gun (Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Tenno Sho (spring)), Genuine (Satsuki Sho, Mile Championship), Marvelous Sunday (Takarazuka Kinen) and Sakura Laurel (Tenno Sho (spring), Arima Kinen). Ridden by Masayoshi Ebina Bubble Gum Fellow got the best of a closely contested finish, winning by half a length, a neck and a head from Mayano Top Gun, Sakura Laurel and Marvelous Sunday. On his final race as a three-year-old, Bubble Gum Fellow started second favourite behind Helissio of the Japan Cup on 24 November but after reaching seventh place in the straight he quickly faded and finished thirteenth of the fifteen runners behind Singspiel. = Bubble Gum Fellow began his third season in the Grade II Naruo Kinen over 2000 metres at Hanshin Racecourse on 15 June and won from Tokai Taro and Dance Partner (Yushun Himba, Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup). At the same track in July he contested the Grade I Takarazuka Kinen and was beaten a neck into second by Marvelous Sunday with Dance Partner in third. As in 1996, Bubble Gum Fellow began his autumn campaign in the Mainichi Okan and won from Tsukuba Symphony and Speed World. He then attempted to repeat his previous success in the Tenno Sho but was beaten a neck by the four-year-old filly Air Groove with a gap of five lengths back to Genuine in third. On 23 November, Bubble Gum Fellow started 2.7/1 favourite in a fourteen-runner field for the xth running of the Japan Cup. Ridden by Okabe, he turned into the straight in fifth place and made steady progress in the closing stages to finish third behind Pilsudski and Air Groove. Bubble Gum Fellow was retired to become a breeding stallion in Japan and was also shuttled to stand for part of the year in Australia. The best of his offspring included the Graded race winners Appare Appare, Candy Vale (Sunline Stakes), Toshi Candy, Early Robusto, Onoyu and Meiner Bowknot. He died of pneumonia on 26 April 2010 at the age of seventeen.

29542538

Gregorio Barradas Miravete

2010-11-09 21:34:05+00:00

Gregorio Barradas Miravete (8 February 1982 – 8 November 2010) was a Mexican peasant and politician. He was born in Juan Rodríguez Clara, Veracruz, in 1982—town he eventually lead as mayor. Barradas had also been a congressman and was married to Xochitl, who became a widow on 8 November 2010, when he was kidnapped and killed.

28855982

Edelmiro Cavazos Leal

2010-09-17 12:00:56+00:00

Edelmiro Cavazos Leal (11 November 1971 – August 2010) was a Mexican politician who served as the Mayor of Santiago, Nuevo León, until his abduction and assassination in August 2010. Cavazos had championed a crackdown on local police corruption and organized crime during his tenure in office. On August 15, 2010, Cavazos returned home from a public event held at Santiago's town square. He was abducted by fifteen men, who forced him into a car, shortly after arriving home. His body was discovered outside Monterrey on August 18, 2010. He had been handcuffed and blindfolded before being shot. Mexican authorities in Nuevo Leon arrested seven police officers in connection with Cavazos' murder, including an officer who served as Cavazos' bodyguard. According, to Nuevo Leon Governor Rodrigo Medina and Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza, the Los Zetas drug gang had ordered Cavazos' killing after he cracked down on police officers who were secretly loyal to the criminal organization. Cavazos had reportedly disciplined traffic officers who had illegally issued tickets to mountain bikers with cuts in their salaries. Attorney General Garza told reporters in a press conference, "They say that since he scolded them ... they figured he was working for their enemies."

28539540

Idiris Muse Elmi

2010-08-25 14:43:34+00:00

Idiris Muse Elmi (died August 24, 2010) was a Somali politician, a member of the Transitional Federal Parliament. He was among the people killed in the attack on the Hotel Muna in Mogadishu by al-Shabaab as were fellow parliamentarians Mohamed Hassan M. Nur, Geddi Abdi Gadid, and Bulle Hassan Mo'allim Idiris was from northern regions specially Lughaya Awdal Region(Badaraxaan).

28849725

Imran Farooq

2010-09-16 23:00:55+00:00

Imran Farooq (Urdu: عمران فاروق; 14 June 1960 – 16 September 2010) was a British-Pakistani politician best known senior role in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political party in Pakistan. As a founding member of the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization, Farooq held various significant positions within MQM and the Pakistani government. From 1999 until his murder on 16 September 2010, he lived in self-imposed exile in London. Imran Farooq was born in Karachi, Pakistan. His father, Farooq Ahmed, originally from Delhi, British India (now India), migrated to Pakistan after its independence 1947 and was later elected as a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Farooq himself was a physician, graduating with an MBBS degree from Sindh Medical College in Karachi in 1985. In 2004, he married Shumaila Nazar, a former member of the Sindh Assembly. The couple had two children. Farooq was related to Tahir Qureshi, a former MPA, and his great-grandfather once served as the governor of Delhi. In 2019, several news agencies reported that Shumaila Farooq was living in extreme poverty with her two sons, relying on handouts from the British government. In 2020, on a Geo News talk show, she revealed that she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Oral Cancer in 2019 and that none of the leaders of MQM reached out for help. Although he was not a writer by profession, Farooq authored several works during his lifetime. His best known contribution is The Guiding Principles of MQM. In 1978, Farooq helped established the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization. When in 1984, it gave birth to the Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM), Farooq served as its first Secretary General and Convener. In 1988, he was elected to the Pakistan National Assembly and became the Parliamentary Leader of the MQM. By 1992, the MQM had become a political force in Karachi. In an effort to curtail its power, the Pakistani government launched Operation Clean-up and sent the military into Karachi to crack down on the movement, causing the leadership, including Farooq, to go into hiding. After being in hiding for nearly seven years, Farooq escaped from Pakistan in 1999, sought political asylum in the United Kingdom and later gained British citizenship. From London, Farooq continued to lead the MQM with Altaf Hussain and other senior members of the party from exile. When Farooq left Pakistan, he had a bounty on his head. Farooq was charged with terrorism, which he denied upon arrival in London. The charges against Farooq were challenged by his mother in 1992 in the Sindh High Court (SHC). The SHC's verdict declared the bounty to be illegal and unconstitutional; the consequent appeal by the provincial Government of Sindh was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Farooq maintained close relations with Altaf Hussain, who called Farooq his "staunch, loyal, and senior companion." In 2004, when Farooq got married in London, Hussain attended the festivities. Farooq was found murdered near his home in North London on 16 September 2010. The murder took place at 5:30 p.m. as Farooq was returning home after finishing work at a local pharmacy. The Metropolitan Police said they were called on the complaint of a "serious assault" in Green Lane, Edgware, where they found Farooq, who had suffered multiple stab wounds and head injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, Farooq was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined the cause of death as being head trauma and stab wounds to the neck. The suspect(s) had fled the scene leaving behind a 14 cm (5 in) knife and a house brick used to commit the crime. An unidentified suspect was arrested in December 2010. Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Counter Terrorism Command detectives investigating Farooq's murder believe that he was building his independent political profile in the months before he was killed. In June 2013, British police arrested Iftikhar Hussain, a primary suspect in the murder case. According to sources familiar with the developments, the detainee is a relative of a top Pakistani politician. The arrest was made in response to forensic evidence gathered by the police. The Scotland Yard stated that they had sought the Call Detail Record (CDR) along with text messages from the SIM obtained from Hussain. According to sources privy to the development at Scotland Yard, the information obtained from the SIM of Iftikhar Hussain has brought previously unknown facts and connections into the limelight. According to the Yard, the killing may be politically motivated with the secondary objective of money-laundering. However, the police refrained from disclosing the information as the investigation is currently ongoing. A prominent Pakistan journalist, Najam Sethi, in his programme Apas ki Baat, stated that Farooq had registered a complaint against threat to life with the London Metropolitan Police prior to his murder. Major suspect of the murder case, Khalid Shamim, confessed on 10 November 2016 that all the planning of murder took place on Nine Zero. He revealed that 16 September was chosen as the date to murder as a birthday gift to Altaf Hussain. On 18 June 2020, ten years since his murder, an anti-terrorism court of Islamabad convicted the three accused namely: Syed Mohsin Ali, Moazzam Ali and Khalid Shamim. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and were also imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 million each for the murder. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his deep sorrow and shock saying that "Imran was a great political leader who rendered his services for his party diligently." Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called the MQM leader Altaf Hussain to offer his condolences and said Farooq's death was a great loss for MQM. The Pakistani Senate adjourned a session of parliament and paid tribute to Farooq from across the political spectrum. Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hasan called on the police to find the "sinister hand" behind the assassination. He added that "The Pakistani government has condemned this murder in the strongest possible words, "that Farooq "was really highly respected by whatever political groups...He believed more in solutions to problems than creating problems and his assassination needs to be condemned in the strongest possible way because he was not a violent person." Altaf Hussain also lauded Farooq's long relationship with him and said he was at a loss to explain his grief at Dr. Farooq's death, adding that Farooq had set an example for others to follow. He also called Farooq a "Shaheed-e-Inqalab" or Martyr of the Revolution. Altaf Hussain also very publicly mourned the death of his colleague. Following reports of his death, violence erupted in his native city of Karachi, Pakistan's main commercial city. Several shops and vehicles were set on fire; however, no casualties were reported. MQM called for a 10-day strike to mourn Farooq's death. Recitations of the Quran and prayers were organised by members of MQM across the world.

39666174

Paraelongatoolithus

2013-06-13 17:24:49+00:00

Paraelongatoolithus is a late Cretaceous oogenus of Chinese fossil egg, classified in the oofamily Elongatoolithidae, which represents the eggs of oviraptorosaurs. Paraelongatoolithus is known solely from Chengguan, Tiantai. The fossil is from the Chichengshan Formation, which is dated to 91–94 million years ago, during the Turonian. Fossil eggs are very common in the Tiantai basin, and were first discovered there in the 1950s. Due to better infrastructure, in the 2000s numerous new types of fossil eggs have been discovered in Tiantai. Paraelongatoolithus was first discovered and named in 2010 by the Chinese paleontologists Wang Qiang, Wang Xiaolin, Zhao Zikui, and Jiang Yan'gen. Paraelongatoolithu reticulatus is known from a single incomplete fossil egg. The preserved part is 7.2 cm (3 in) wide and 12.2 cm (5 in) long, but when complete, it was probably about 17 cm (7 in) long. The outer surface of its shell is decorated with nodes and ridges arranged into a net-like, or reticular, pattern. The eggshell is 0.5-0.6 mm thick, excluding the ornamentation. The pores in the eggshell are elliptical and irregularly distributed. Like all elongatoolithids, Paraelongatoolithus has an eggshell clearly divided into two layers: the cone layer on the inside, and the columnar layer (also known as the continuous layer because the eggshell units form a continuum without well-defined boundaries between them) on the outside. In Paraelongatoolithus, both layers have very distinct growth lines, and the columnar layer is twice as thick as the cone layer. Paraelongatoolithus is very similar to Porituberoolithus, but differs in the ornamentation. Even though the sole Paraelongatoolithus specimen was not found with a preserved embryo or incubating parent, paleontologists have found numerous other such associations of elongatoolithids with oviraptorosaurs. Therefore, it is likely that Paraelongatoolithus was laid by an oviraptorosaur.

48521722

Parafaveoloolithus

2015-11-11 02:24:04+00:00

Parafaveoloolithus is an oogenus of Faveoloolithid fossil egg, known from the Cretaceous of China. Parafaveoloolithus is diagnosed by its spherical or oval eggs, with a single layer of eggshell units (or a two superimposed layers in some portions). The growth lines of the shell units are undefined. Shell units are prismatic, and separated near the surface of the eggshell. Parafaveoloolithus contains six oospecies: P. microporus - Spherical eggs from the Tiantai basin with a single layer of eggshell units. They are roughly 14 cm in diameter, with an eggshell that is 2.2-2.35 mm thick. It is very similar to Faveoloolithus ningxiaensis. P. xipingensis - Described in 1998 as a species of Youngoolithus. It is from the Upper Cretaceous of Xixia County, Henan Province. It was moved to Parafaveoloolithus because of its slender prismatic shell units and straight pores. P. macroporus - Oval eggs, known from the Tiantai basin, with large pore canals. The eggs are symmetrical, and about 13 cm in diameter. P. tiansicunensis - Also from Tiantai, P. tiansicunensis is very similar to P. microporus and P. macroporus, but it has a thinner shell and the pore canals narrow sharply near the outer surface of its shell. P. guoqingensis - Spherical eggs 18.7 cm in diameter, native to Tiantai, with numerous pores looking like a honeycomb in cross-section. This oospecies was originally described as an oospecies of Dendroolithus by Fang et al. (2000), but was moved to Parafaveoloolithus by Wang et al. (2011). P. pingxiangensis - This oospecies, first described by Zou et al. (2013), is quite distinct from the other Parafaveoloolithus oospecies because its shell is composed of several superimposed shell units. It was classified in Parafaveoloolithus because of the shell units assembling in the upper and middle portions of the shell. It is native to the Pingxiang basin of Jiangxi Province.

49313191

Triprismatoolithus

2016-02-03 17:00:30+00:00

Triprismatoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg native to Teton County, Montana. It is classified in the oofamily Arriagadoolithidae, the eggs of alvarezsaurs. Triprismatoolithus is known exclusively from Sevenmile Hill, a fossil site at the Two Medicine Formation in Teton County, Montana. It is the oldest known fossil egg site at that formation, dating to 80 million years ago, the early part of the Campanian. Fossil eggs are common from the upper part of the Two Medicine formation, but it was not until 2010 that paleontologists discovered eggs in the lower part, including Triprismatoolithus. They were discovered by two paleontologists from the University of Montana: Frankie D. Jackson and David J. Varricchio. It remained of uncertain classification (because no similar eggs were known) until 2012 when Agnolin et al. discovered similar eggs associated with Bonapartenykus, which they classified with Triprismatoolithus in a new oofamily, Arriagadoolithidae. The type specimen of Triprismatoolithus is a complete egg measuring 30 mm by 75 mm, but several other incomplete eggs and eggshell fragments are known. The eggs were paired, similar to Continuoolithus. The eggshell is between ranges from 525 to 850 μm thick. Triprismatoolithus is notable for having three structural layers, similar to birds and unlike most other non-avian dinosaur eggs. The second layer, known as the prismatic layer, is made up of closely packed calcite crystals, and exhibits irregular squamatic texture. It is five times thicker than the mammillary layer. The surface of the eggshell of Triprismatoolithus is covered with low, rounded tubercles, similar to Arriagadoolithus. Triprismatoolithus shares many unique characteristics with Arriagadoolithus, so they are classified together in the oofamily Arriagadoolithidae. Triprismatoolithus contains a single oospecies: T. stephensi. Triprismatoolithus has not been found associated with embryos or adult remains, so it is unknown precisely what kind of dinosaur laid the eggs. However, the closely related oogenus, Arriagadoolithus, was discovered closely associated with the alvarezsaurid Bonapartenykus, so it is likely that T. stephensi was also laid by an unknown alvarezaur or a closely related dinosaur. Arriagadoolithids, like elongatoolithids, prismatoolithids, and Continuoolithus, are laid in pairs, which is interpreted as evidence that oviraptorosaurs, troodontids, and alvarezsaurs had two functioning oviducts, unlike birds which have only one.

49306063

Tubercuoolithus

2016-02-02 23:21:19+00:00

Tubercuoolithus is an oogenus of dinosaur egg from the early Campanian of Montana. Tubercuoolithus is so far known only from the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, which is dated to the Campanian. The fossils were found in Teton County, at a locality dated to 80 million years old. Fossil eggs are very common at the Two Medicine Formation, including the eggs of Troodon and Maiasaura. However, until 2010 no eggs were known from the lower half of that formation. Then, two paleontologists at the University of Montana, Frankie D. Jackson and David J. Varricchio, discovered a fossil egg site at Sevenmile Hill near the base of the formation. These discoveries included Tubercuoolithus, and constituted the oldest fossil eggs known from the Two Medicine. Tubercuoolithus is similar to the Mongolian elongatoolithids in that its eggshell is composed of calcite and has two layers, a mammillary layer and a cryptoprismatic layer. However, it has quite distinctive ornamentation; the outer surface of Tubercuoolithus's eggshell is covered with domed nodes, arranged in long wavelike patterns (anastomotuberculate) or irregular chains (ramotuberculate). The eggshell thickness (including ornamentation) ranges between 831 μm and 1186 μm. The cryptoprismatic layer is roughly three times thicker than the mammillary layer. The pores are thin and straight. Because it is known only from fragments, the size and shape of a complete Tubercuoolithus egg are unknown. It is uncertain which oofamily Tubercuoolithus should be classified in. It is similar in microstructure to Elongatoolithidae, but different in ornamentation. Its ornamentation is similar to that of Montanoolithus.

70632095

China Suntien Green Energy

2022-04-26 02:40:41+00:00

China Suntien Green Energy Corp. Ltd. (simplified Chinese: 新日綠色能源公司; traditional Chinese: 新天綠色能源股份有限公司; pinyin: Xīn Tiān Lǜsè Néngyuán Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) is a major natural gas and wind power corporation in China. Its headquarters are in Shijiazhuang in the province of Hebei. China Suntien Green Energy is a joint stock company established on 9 February 2010 by HECIC (Hebei Construction & Investment Group) and its subsidiary, HECIC Water Investment Co. HECIC is owned by the provincial government of Hebei Province. China Suntien Green Energy is the clean energy arm of HECIC. The initial public offering was one of several Chinese renewable energy IPOs in 2010 and 2011, which included China Goldwind, Datang Renewables (a subsidiary of China Datang Corporation), Shanghai Taisheng Wind Power, and Trony Solar. China Suntien Green Energy raised US$369 million in its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A major foreign investor was JPMorgan Chase, which purchased 13.87 percent of the company's stock within 12 days of its initial trading day. China Suntien Green Energy engages in the acquisition, sale, and distribution of natural gas; constructs natural gas pipelines; sells natural gas appliances to gas companies and industrial clients; constructs and operates solar and wind power farms; and sells the electricity it generates to electrical utilities. At the time of its incorporation, China Suntien Green Energy owned a single wind farm. In December 2021, China Suntien Green Energy signed an agreement to purchase one million metric tons of liquified natural gas a year from Qatar Liquefied Gas. The contract runs for 15 years.

56322565

Kazan Soda Elektrik

2018-01-16 18:15:25+00:00

The Kazan Soda Elektrik, full name Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim A.Ş., is a chemical industry and electric energy company in Ankara Province, Turkey producing natural soda ash and baking soda from trona. The company is a subsidiary of Ciner Holding. The trona ore deposits were owned by Rio Tinto Group, an Australian-British multinational and one of the world's largest metals and mining corporation. After survey activities, which lasted more than fifteen years, the company concluded that it will be not able to operate the mining of the trona ore reserves there, and sold the deposits to Ciner Holding in 2010. The construction of the soda products plant began in 2015, after five years of efforts for bureaucratic permissions and financing. The investment budget of the project was US$1.5 billion. The financing of the project was provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Exim Bank of China and Deutsche Bank backed by the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure). Sberbank of Russia financially contributed during the groundbreaking phase. The construction of the facility was carried out by the China Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TCC). The facility was completed within two and half years. Kazan Soda Elektrik plant was inaugurated on January 15, 2018, in presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak, Minister of Labour and Social Security Jülide Sarıeroğlu, Ambassador of China Yu Hongyang and many other high-profile politicians and officials. The Kazan Soda Elektrik consists of three sections, namely mining, processing and cogeneration. While the mining area is located in Kahramankazan district, the production plant is situated within the Sincan district of Ankara Province, northwest of Ankara. It is about 35 km (22 mi) north of Ankara. The plant's mining section supplies the processing section with the trona solution (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrat), which is the primary source of soda ash. For this, trona ore, laying in average at a depth of 600 m (2,000 ft) under ground, is injected with hot water through bore holes drilled, and the dissolved trona is pumped up in the form of trona solution. The plant has five processing lines. The congeneration facility produces 380 MWe electric power and 400 tons of steam. The annual production capacity of the plant is 2.5 million tons of soda ash (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3) and 200,000 tons of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3). If all of the production were exported to Europe, it would increase the key glass raw material by around 25%. Around 1,000 people are employed by the company. The trona ore reserve of Kazan Soda Elektrik is world's second largest. The plant is the biggest soda ash production facility in Europe. With both Kazan Soda and Eti Soda, the Ciner Holding and Turkey becomes the leading soda ash producer of the world. The soda ash produced has a purity grade of 99.8%, which is the purest in the world. The total annual export value of the products from Kazan Soda Elektrik and Eti Soda will be US$800 million. The company has published a report by CDP scoring their environmental impact. Their scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity in 2019 was 0.345 tonnes CO2e per tonne of product. However the first implementation of the EU CBAM does not include soda.

46716695

New World Oil and Gas

2015-05-15 22:39:26+00:00

New World Oil and Gas plc (now Eridge Capital Limited and registered in the British Virgin Islands) was once a Jersey-based oil and gas exploration company that was listed on London's Alternative Investment Market. The company had projects in Belize and Denmark. The company was incorporated on 15 April 2010. In 2015, Christopher Williams, a private investor, accidentally purchased 48.7% of the company in the name of his 76-year-old mother Judith, a bed and breakfast owner, instead of the 10% he intended to buy. The city takeovers panel warned that Mrs Williams might be required under city rules to make a takeover offer for the whole company as her holding exceeded 30%, leading to efforts by Mrs Williams' advisers to reduce the holding below that level. On 29 April 2015, the company announced that it would seek approval at an emergency general meeting to increase the number of shares in issue by over 300% straight after this announcement and before the shares had been approved by the current shareholders. The new shares flooded the market. The issue of selling shares which have not been officially approved has been a practice on the London AIM for a number of years. It is a type of share shorting, with the short being closed when the new shares are officially issued. New World Oil, became infamous when the private investors under the banner of nwogaction voted against the issue of the new shares. This caused one the largest short squeezes in the history of the LSE AIM index. This was considered a rare situation where the power of the shareholders proved stronger than the New World Oil and Gas Board of Directors, Nominated Adviser (Beaumont Cornish) and Broker (Cornhill Capital).

63310694

Sharjah National Oil Corporation

2020-03-07 18:30:21+00:00

SNOC (the Sharjah National Oil Corporation) is an Oil and Gas producer based in Sharjah, UAE. Established by Emiri decree in 2010, SNOC is a corporation wholly owned by the government of the Emirate of Sharjah. SNOC is the operator of the Sajaa Assets located in Sharjah, UAE. The Sajaa Assets consist of four gas fields, a hydrocarbon processing complex, and two marine terminals. On 8 November 1978 a concession agreement was signed between the Emirate of Sharjah and the Amoco production company, allowing Amoco to explore for oil and gas across 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) of onshore Sharjah. On 10 May 1980, work started on the Sajaa-1 well which was drilled to a depth of 16,656 ft (5,077 m). The well marked the discovery of the Sajaa field which turned out to be one largest gas condensate fields in the UAE. In October 1981, the nearby 'Moveyeid' field was discovered. Construction of a gas processing plant at Al Sajaa was completed by June 1982 along with a condensate export terminal and offshore loading facility in Al Hamriyah. The first condensate cargo of 500,000 US bbl (60,000 m3) was exported on 30 July 1982 on the oil tanker ‘Amoco Savanah’. In 1983 gas sales started to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) and later to Dubai and the Northern Emirates. On 23 March 1984, a construction agreement was signed between SHALCO (Sharjah LPG Company) and JGC to construct an LPG plant to recover secondary condensate plus propane and butane. An LPG terminal and associated export facilities were also constructed at Hamriyah (the first facility in what would later become Hamriyah port). The first load of LPG was exported from Hamriyah on 26 April 1986. Additional exploration drilling discovered a third field ‘Kahaif’ in 1992 with production starting in 1994. A second phase of drilling operations at Sajaa added a further 26 production wells. In 1999, BP assumed the operating role in Sharjah following a merger with Amoco. In April 2003, BP Sharjah and Baker Oil Tools began deployment of coiled tubing at the Sajaa field. The campaign included the world’s first coiled tubing campaign to feature underbalanced casing exit using gas as the milling fluid. The use of this technology allowed uninterrupted gas production throughout the entire milling operation. In November 2003, BP Sharjah announced that it had broken the world record for LPG recovery, achieving 99.75% recovery of propane and a near 100 percent recovery of butane and hydrocarbon condensate at the Sajaa Gas Plant. In 2010, Sharjah Ruler HH Doctor Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi announced the establishment of the Sharjah National Oil Company "SNOC" according to an Emiri decree. As an interim measure, Petrofac was awarded a five-year duty holder contract by SNOC to operate and maintain the Sajaa Assets and to facilitate a smooth transition following the end of the original Amoco concession agreement. By the end of 2015, SNOC assumed full responsibility for the management and operations of the Sajaa Assets. In January 2011 a field-wide compression project was implemented which included the installation of twelve gas engine driven reciprocating compressors to maximize production at low field pressures. In 2017, SNOC converted the Moveyeid field into a gas storage facility. Injection into the Moveyeid field began in December 2017 using centrifugal compressors. In 2020, a second stage of compression was added using reciprocating compressors in series with the original centrifugal machines. The 2nd stage of compression was commissioned on 6 January 2021 allowing SNOC to increase injection pressures to the Moveyeid field. In June 2018, SNOC expanded the Sajaa plant with the addition of an LPG road tanker loading facility. In January 2019, SNOC signed a concession agreement with Eni for the exploration of three onshore areas in Sharjah. In January 2020, SNOC and Eni announced a new discovery of natural gas and condensate at the Mahani field in Sharjah. Production from the first well (Mahani-1) started on 4 January 2021, less than a year after the discovery was first announced. SNOC’s operations are all located in the Emirate of Sharjah and include: The Sajaa, Kahaif, and Mahani onshore gas and condensate fields The Moveyeid field, used for gas storage since 2017 The Sajaa gas, LPG, and hydrocarbon-condensate processing complex, which also acts as a hub for gas pipelines connecting the Northern Emirates A dedicated facility for LPG road tanker loading attached to the Sajaa processing complex An LPG liquid storage facility, with a marine terminal, located inside the Hamriyah Free Zone A hydrocarbon condensate storage terminal at Al Hamriyah with associated offshore loading facilities

35677243

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation

2012-05-01 02:04:36+00:00

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) is an electrical power generation and distribution public sector undertaking owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu. It was formed on 1 November 2010 under section 131 of the Electricity Act of 2003, and is the successor to the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The electricity board's generation and distribution wings are its nucleus. TANGEDCO is a subsidiary of TNEB Limited. = To satisfy the energy needs of the state, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has a total installed capacity of 10,214 MW which includes shares from the State government, Central government and Independent power producers. The state also has installations with renewable energy sources such as windfarms that supply up to 4,300 MW. Due to the astronomical increase in energy demand in recent years, the state has a power deficit which is estimated to be approx. 11.9% as of Feb 2009. To meet the ever-increasing energy demand, TNEB has proposed a number of next-generation projects to be constructed over the next 5 years. The company operates four large thermal power stations: Ennore Thermal Power Station (ETPS) - 450 MW (2x60, 3x110 MW) Mettur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) - 1440 MW (4x210, 1x600 MW) North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) 1830 MW (3x210 MW, 2x600 MW) Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) - 1050 MW (5x210 MW) The Company Operates large Wind Power Stations: Siemens, GE, Enercon, Sulzon Group, Goldwind, Vestas – Tamil Nadu's wind power capacity is around 29% of India's total. The Government of Tamil Nadu realized the importance and need for renewable energy, and set up a separate Agency, as registered society, called the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) as early as 1985. Now, Tamil Nadu has become a leader in Wind Power in India. In Muppandal windfarm the total capacity is 3500 MW, the largest wind power plant in India. The total wind installed capacity is 7684 MW from 13,69,856 wind turbines (As per 2013 survey from TEDA). During the fiscal year 2016-17, the electricity generation is 9.521 GWh, with about a 15% capacity utilization factor. = TNEB has a consumer base of about 20 million consumers. 100% rural electrification has been achieved. The per capita consumption of Tamil Nadu is 1000 units. To achieve the goal of electrification of all households, the Government has launched the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme, where, if grid connectivity is not feasible or not cost effective, then "Decentralized Distributed Generation" is permitted. Even when Tamil Nadu had an option to share the electricity with neighbouring States it never happened. The Ministry of Power has launched the restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme scheme under the 11th five-year plan. The plan is expected to achieve a reliable and quality power supply and to minimize the loss of energy. = Uppur Thermal Power Project(2 × 800 MW) North Chennai Thermal Power Station Stage III Thermal Power Project (1 × 800 MW) North Chennai Thermal Power Station Stage – IV (2 × 800 MW) Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (1 × 800 MW) Udangudi STPP Stage-I (2 × 660 MW) Ennore SEZ STPP (2 × 660 MW)