title: Ombudsman

text: The nearest equivalent to a federal ombudsman service in Germany is the Parliamentary Petitions Committee (), which receives and investigates complaints of maladministration. There are a number of sectoral ombudsmen, including the Parliamentary Military-Ombudsman ( "Bundestages") and the Ombudsman Institution for Public Transport (, SÖP).


title: Ombudsman

text: The Gibraltar Public Services Ombudsman is an independent authority whose functions are to investigate complaints received from the general public about acts of maladministration by the Government of Gibraltar and certain public bodies and contractors. The Office of the Ombudsman came into being in April 1999 with the appointment of Henry Pinna as Gibraltar's first Public Services Ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Citizen's Advocate (ombudsman) of Greece () was created in 1998 as an Independent Authority. Following the resignation of Professor Georgios Kaminis in September 2010, the duties of the Citizen's Advocate passed to Deputy Ombudsman Kalliopi Spanou. The Advocate is assisted by six Assistant Advocates, who coordinate the activities of the Advocate's office in the six thematic areas in which the office has authority: i) civil rights, ii) social protection, iii) quality of life, iv) state-citizen relationships, v) children's rights, and vi) gender equality.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of The Ombudsman, known as the Commission for Administrative Complaints until 1994, is an independent statutory authority, established in 1989 under the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints Ordinance 1988, to redress grievances arising from maladministration in the public sector through independent and impartial investigations to improve the standard of public administration.


title: Ombudsman

text: After 1989, the end of the communist era multiple Parliamentary Commissioner (), or ombudsman, posts were created:


title: Ombudsman

text: As of 1 January 2012, the four ombudsmen merged into one office of Commissioner for Fundamental Rights ().


title: Ombudsman

text: The post of Althing Ombudsman () was set up in 1987 under the terms of law number 13/1987, which deals with complaints against the government. The ombudsman's authority was expanded to local government levels in the 1997 law number 85/1997. The ombudsman is appointed for a four-year term by the parliament (Althing or ). The Ombudsman aims to safeguard the rights of the citizens vis-à-vis the State and local authorities, and to promote equality and good administrative practice.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Government of India has designated several ombudsmen (sometimes called Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)) for the redress of grievances and complaints from individuals in the banking, insurance and other sectors being serviced by both private and public bodies and corporations. The CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) was set up on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee (1962–64).


title: Ombudsman

text: In India, the Ombudsman is known as the Lokpal or Lokayukta. An Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was set up on 5 January 1966 under the Chairmanship of Shri Morarji Desai. It recommended a two-tier machinery: Lokpal at the Centre (parliamentary commissioner, as in New Zealand) and one Lokayukta each at the State level for redress of people's grievances. However, the jurisdiction of the Lokpal did not extend to the judiciary (as in case of New Zealand). The central Government introduced the first Lokpal Bill, Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill in 1968, and further legislation was introduced in 2005. Final bill, after all the amendments, has been passed in Rajya Sabha on 17 December 2013 and passed in Loksabha on 18 December 2013.


title: Ombudsman

text: The state-level Lokayukta institution has developed gradually. Orissa was the first state to present a bill on establishment of Lokayukta in 1970, but Maharashtra was the first to establish the institution, in 1972. Other states followed: Bihar (1974), Uttar Pradesh (1977), Madhya Pradesh (1981), Andhra Pradesh (1983), Himachal Pradesh (1983), Karnataka (1984), Assam (1986), Gujarat (1988), Delhi (1995), Punjab (1996), Kerala (1998), Chhattishgarh (2002), Uttaranchal (2002), West Bengal (2003) and Haryana (2004). The structure of the Lokayukta is not uniform across all the states. Some states have UpaLokayukta under the Lokayukta and in some states, the Lokayukta does not have "suo moto" powers of instigating an enquiry.


title: Ombudsman

text: Kerala State has an Ombudsman for Local Self Government institutions like Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations. The ombudsman can enquire/investigate into allegations of action, inaction, corruption and maladministration. A retired Judge of the High Court is appointed by the Governor for a term of three years, under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act.


title: Ombudsman

text: In the State of Rajasthan, the Lokayukta institution was established in 1973 after the Rajasthan Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act, 1973 was passed by the State Legislature.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Reserve Bank of India launched an "Ombudsman Scheme" for redress of complaints against non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) free of charge.


title: Ombudsman

text: The complainant can file the complaint with the NBFC Ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the branch or registered office of the NBFC falls in the following cases:


title: Ombudsman

text: The 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal includes in its demands the creation of a stronger ombudsman agency (with jurisdiction over all state institutions) through the enactment of a Jan Lokpal Bill, as an alternative to the Lokpal Bill proposed by the government in 2010.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia previously named the National Ombudsman Commission is a state institution in Indonesia that has the authority to oversee the implementation of public services both organized by state officials and government, including those held by State-Owned Enterprises, Regionally-Owned Enterprises, and State-Owned Legal Entities private or individuals who are given the task of carrying out certain public services which part or all of their funds are sourced from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget or the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget. This institution was formed based on Law Number 37 of 2008 concerning the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia which was ratified at the DPR RI Plenary Meeting on 9 September 2008.


title: Ombudsman

text: The State Ombudsman of Iran is the General Inspection Office. This office was one of the Founding Members of AOA (Asian Ombudsman Association) and hosted the 4th and 13th AOA annual conferences in 1999 and 2013.


title: Ombudsman

text: In Iran an organization called or 'the Administration Justice Court' is set to investigate the complaints of any government employee or staff member who has been discriminated against.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of the Ombudsman was set up under the terms of the Ombudsman Act 1980. The Ombudsman is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of both Houses of the Oireachtas, and is a civil servant of the State. The Ombudsman deals with complaints against Departments of State, local authorities, the Health Service Executive (Ireland), private and public nursing homes and direct provision accommodation services.


title: Ombudsman

text: There are other ombudsmen established in Ireland. The first Pensions Ombudsman, Paul Kenny, was appointed in 2003. Emily Logan became Ireland's first Ombudsman for Children in March 2004. The Financial Services Ombudsman incorporated the older offices of the Insurance Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Credit Institutions in 2005. Also established in 2005 was the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, the first holder being Paulyn Marrinan Quinn, formerly the founding Insurance Ombudsman. An Act of 2005 created a three-person tribunal, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, to investigate complaints about the country's police force. All these offices are statutory and their holders are public servants.


title: Ombudsman

text: A (non-statutory) Press Ombudsman began work in January 2008 and legislation has been published to establish a Legal Services Ombudsman. The Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill of 2008 provided for the statutory protection of the title of Ombudsman. This was passed as the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, which increased the number of State agencies under the Ombudsman's remit, and also designated the Ombudsman as Director (Chief Executive) of the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments.


title: Ombudsman

text: Irish Ombudsmen to date have been Michael Mills from 1984 to 1994, Kevin Murphy from 1994 to 2003, Emily O'Reilly from 2003 to 2013, and Peter Tyndall, who was appointed in December 2013.


title: Ombudsman

text: The State Comptroller also serves, by law, as Ombudsman. She or he discharges this function by way of a special unit in the Office of the State Comptroller, known as the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman investigates complaints against bodies that are statutorily subject to audit by the State Comptroller, including government ministries, local authorities, state enterprises and institutions and government companies, as well as their employees.


title: Ombudsman

text: There is no generic national ombudsman office, but by Law no. 112 of 12 July 2011, an Ombudsman for childhood and adolescence was set up as an independent institute. Many units of sub-national government (regions, provinces and communes) have their own ombudsman (), who are elected by regional, provincial or communal councils.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of the Public Defender was created in 2000 by the Public Defender Act 1999, replacing the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Jamaica which had existed since 1978. The Public Defender (currently Earl Witter) has the typical ombudsman function of investigating and remedying maladministration, with additional jurisdiction to investigate alleged violations of constitutional rights.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Commissioner for Human Rights (), or National Ombudsman of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is Askar Shakirov, appointed in 2007. The office was created by presidential decree in 2002 as a national human rights institution, with support from the OSCE.


title: Ombudsman

text: In 2021, the lower house of Kazakhstan's Parliament, known as the Majilis, adopted a draft law on the Ombudsperson for Human Rights in the country. They also adopted legislative amendments to define the level of legal status of the Ombudsperson and the principles of their role.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Commission on Administrative Justice was established by the Commission on Administrative Justice Act 2011(hereafter referred to as the Act) pursuant to Article 59 (4) of the Constitution of Kenya. CAJ is a Commission within the meaning of chapter 15 of the constitution and has the status and powers of a commission under that chapter.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo (OIK) accepts and investigates complaints of human rights violations or abuses of authority by any public authority in Kosovo. The institution is currently led by Ombudsperson Sami Kurteshi, a former opposition activist, political prisoner and human rights activist, who was elected to the post by the Assembly of Kosovo on 4 June 2009. In October 2011 the Assembly elected five deputy Ombudspersons: Isa Hasani, Bogoljub Staletovic [from the Serb community], Shqipe Malaj-Ibra, Ibrahim Arslan (from the Turkish community) and Basri Berisha.


title: Ombudsman

text: The first Ombudsperson, Marek Antoni Nowicki, was appointed in July 2000 by the then Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG), Bernard Kouchner; Nowicki's appointment was renewed in 2002, 2004 and 2005 by subsequent SRSGs Michael Steiner, Harri Holkeri and Søren Jessen-Petersen. With effect from 1 January 2006 Jessen-Petersen appointed a Kosovar lawyer, Hilmi Jashari, as Acting Ombudsperson and he remained in post until Kurteshi took office.


title: Ombudsman

text: The OIK has several offices throughout Kosovo, and participates (although not yet accredited) in the global network of national human rights institutions, as well as in the European ombudsman network.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic (, ) carry out parliamentary control over the observance of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.


title: Ombudsman

text: Since 2007, the Latvian ombudsman is a personalized institution literally called Rights Defender (). The current Ombudsman since 2011 is Juris Jansons. Previously, similar functions were carried by National Human Rights Office (, 1995–2006).


title: Ombudsman

text: In Lithuania, the nearest equivalent to the position of ombudsman is that of Parliamentary Controller (), an office appointed by the Seimas (Parliament of Lithuania).


title: Ombudsman

text: Since 1995, Malta has a Commissioner for Administrative Investigations known as the Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman is a constitutional body established by the Constitution of Malta and is regulated by the Ombudsman Act. The Ombudsman may investigate, "suo motu" or on foot of a complaint, the actions of State bodies or other public entities. In Malta, the Ombudsman is also an Officer of Parliament and is appointed by the House of Representatives of Malta through a resolution supported by votes of not less than two-thirds of all members of the House. The Ombudsman may be assisted by other Commissioners appointed for specialised areas in accordance to the law. The recommendations issued by the Maltese Office of the Ombudsman are not binding legally but do have a persuasive value.


title: Ombudsman

text: On 13 February 1989 the Interior Ministry Secretariat of the Interior created the "General Human Rights Department" as a wholly dependent office within the ministry's structure. On 6 June 1990, by presidential decree, the General Human Rights Department was renamed the "National Human Rights Commission" and gained full autonomy from its parent ministry.


title: Ombudsman

text: It was not until 1990, after some constitutional reforms, that the National Human Rights Commission became fully independent of the government.


title: Ombudsman

text: There have been officials with ombudsperson functions in the Republic of Moldova at least since 1998, but with some differences in the names of the offices and contexts. Since 2014, the ombudsperson is named the People's Advocate (Ombudsman) (, ), and together with a General Secretary and the Children's Advocate is heading an office involving 65 persons, including representatives for four autonomous regions. People's Advocate since 24 September 2021 is Natalia Moloșag, and Children's Advocate (formally: People's Advocate for Child's Rights, , ) since 8 April 2016 is Maia Bănărescu.


title: Ombudsman

text: In the Nepalese context there are mainly two organizations working as 'Ombudsman type' organization. The Constitution of Nepal (2015) has continued the establishment of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority as a powerful body against corruption prevention. Earlier, by the second amendment of the Constitution of The Kingdom of Nepal in 1975 established an Ombudsmen type Corruption Prevention Commission with a wide role of corruption investigation, adjudication and prosecution. Yet, another institution against corruption vigilance National Vigilance Center (NVC) is established and NVC works under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister.


title: Ombudsman

text: Article 78 of the Constitution of the Netherlands, as revised in 1983, established an office of National Ombudsman. The Ombudsman may investigate, "suo motu" or on foot of a complaint, the actions of State bodies or other public entities. The ombudsman and deputy are appointed by the House of Representatives for a fixed period or until reaching retirement age. The office includes a children's ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: The post of Ombudsman was established in New Zealand in 1962, to investigate complaints against government departments. In 1975 the post was expanded, with a Chief Ombudsman and several other ombudsmen. In 1983 his responsibilities were extended to include investigation of agencies that fail to provide information requested in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. The Ombudsman also has responsibility to protect 'whistleblowers' and investigate the administration of prisons and other places of detention.


title: Ombudsman

text: There is also a Children's Commissioner. New Zealand also has three industry ombudsmen – the New Zealand Banking Ombudsman, the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman, and the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner who is an ombudsman in all but name.


title: Ombudsman

text: Since 1997 North Macedonia has an Ombudsman for protection of citizens rights (Macedonian: ). The ombudsman is appointed by the Parliament and performs her or his work under the Constitution and the Law of the Ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: In Pakistan, the establishment of an ombudsman institution had been advocated for some time before Article 276 of the Interim Constitution of 1972 provided for the appointment of a Federal Ombudsman and Provincial Ombudsmen. The Constitution of 1973 also provided for same and the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib was eventually created through the "Establishment of the Office of (Ombudsman) Order, 1983" (President's Order No. 1 of 1983), which is now a part of the Constitution of Pakistan by virtue of Article 270-A. It started functioning on 8 August 1983. The office of Federal Ombudsman is currently held by Salman Farooqi. The Ombudsman has headquarters in Islamabad and Regional Offices in Lahore, Sukkur, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Karachi, Abbottabad.


title: Ombudsman

text: Other ombudsman agencies in Pakistan include Provincial Ombudsman () with offices in Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh; a banking ombudsman, the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan; a Federal Insurance Ombudsman and a Federal Tax Ombudsman. The autonomous region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also has an ombudsman office, the AJK Mohtasib. Under the "Protection of Women against Harassment at Workplace Act 2010", Musarrat Hilali was appointed in the same year to be the first Federal Ombudsperson for Protection of Women against Harassment at Workplace. The Act provides for similar offices at the provincial level.


title: Ombudsman

text: The various ombudsman agencies participate in a Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman (FPO), and the federal bodies are affiliated to the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) and the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI).


title: Ombudsman

text: The Peruvian ombudsman agency is the Public Defender (). The functions of the institution, which was envisaged by the 1993 Constitution and was created in 1996, include combating maladministration, human rights violations and discrimination. It has 36 offices throughout the country. The current (ombudsman), Beatriz Merino, was elected by Congress on 29 September 2005 for a five-year term. The is accredited with 'A' status as the national human rights institution. There is also a specialised Police Ombudsman ().


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines is empowered by the 1987 Constitution to safeguard both the government and government-owned corporations from corruption and dispense justice in the case of such offenses.


title: Ombudsman

text: In the Philippines, the Permanent Commission in the Revolutionary Government may be considered a precursor of the present Office of the Ombudsman. Article 21 of the Decree of June 23, 1898 creating the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines provided for a Permanent Commission, presided over by the Vice President, that shall decide on appeal all criminal cases decided by provincial councils. These cases were those filed against Department Secretaries and provincial and municipal officials.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Permanent Commission continued its existence after the ratification of the Constitution of 1899, popularly known as the Malolos Constitution. Under No. 1, Article 55 of said Constitution, one of the powers of the Commission was to "declare if there is sufficient cause to proceed against the President of the Republic, the Representatives, Department Secretaries, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Solicitor General in the cases provided by the Constitution.


title: Ombudsman

text: Succeeding administrations likewise provided for the creation of agencies to handle cases of corruption in the government service. An Integrity Board was created by President Quirino in 1950. President Magsaysay immediately upon assumption to office created the Presidential Complaints and Action Commission in 1957. President Garcia created the Presidential Committee on Administration Performance Efficiency in 1958 and President Macapagal created a Presidential Anti-Graft Committee in 1962. President Marcos in 1966 created a Presidential Agency on Reforms and Government Operations.


title: Ombudsman

text: In 1969, the Office of the Citizen's Counselor was created by Republic Act No. 6028. However, like the previous agencies created by past administrations, the functions of the Citizen's counselor were mainly to conduct fact-finding investigations and to make recommendations to Congress and the President. Moreover, RA No. 6028 was not at all implemented. Subsequently, President Marcos created a Complaints and Investigation Office in 1970 and the Presidential Administrative Assistance Committee in the following year.


title: Ombudsman

text: The 1973 Constitution (Sections 5 and 6, Article XIII) provided for the establishment of a special court known as the Sandiganbayan and an Office of the Ombudsman known as the Tanodbayan. Presidential Decree Nos. 1486 and 1487 created the Sandiganbayan and Tanodbayan, respectively, on 11 June 1978. Subsequent amendments were made to both decrees.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Tanodbayan shall receive and investigate complaints relative to public office, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations, make appropriate recommendations, and in appropriate cases, file and prosecute criminal, civil or administrative cases before the proper court or body. On the other hand, the Sandiganbayan shall have jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and such other offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations.


title: Ombudsman

text: The framers of the 1987 Constitution envisioned the Ombudsman as an official critic who studies the laws, procedures and practices in government, a mobilizer who ensures that the steady flow of services is accorded the citizens, and a watchdog who looks at the general and specific performance of all government officials and employees. (cf. Journal No. 40, 26 July 1986, p. 432). To further strengthen and insulate the Office of the Ombudsman from politics and pressure forces, the Constitution made it a fiscally autonomous body, (cf. Sec. 14, Art. XI, 1987 Constitution) independent from any other branch of government, and headed by an Ombudsman with a fixed term of seven years, who could be removed from office only by way of impeachment. (cf. Sec. 2, Art. XI, 1987 Constitution). The Ombudsman and his Deputies enjoy the rank of Chairman and members, respectively, of a Constitutional Commission whose appointments require no Congressional confirmation. (cf. Secs. 9 and 10, Art. XI, 1987 Constitution).


title: Ombudsman

text: The clear intent is to give full and unimpeded play to the exercise by said Office of its extraordinary range of oversight and investigative authority over the actions of all public officials and employees, offices and agencies. Not only can it investigate on its own or on complaint any official act or omission that appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient; it can prod officials into performing or expediting any act or duty required by law; stop, prevent and control any abuse or impropriety in the performance of such duties; require the submission of documents relative to contracts, disbursements, and financial transactions of government officials for the purpose of ferreting out any irregularities therein. (cf. Sec. 13, Art. XI, 1987 Constitution). The conferment of this extensive authority is prefaced in the Constitution with the bestowal upon the Ombudsman and his deputies of the appealing title of "Protectors of the People" (cf. Sec. 12, Art. XI).


title: Ombudsman

text: On 24 July 1987, Executive Order No. 243 was issued by President Corazon C. Aquino declaring the effectivity of the creation of the Office and restating its composition, powers and functions. On 12 May 1988, the Office of the Ombudsman became operational upon the appointment of the Ombudsman and his Overall Deputy Ombudsman. Immediately thereafter, one Deputy Ombudsman each for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were likewise appointed by the President. This date became the basis for celebrating the anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: On 17 November 1989 the Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6770, otherwise known as the Ombudsman Act of 1989, providing for the functional and structural organization of the Office of the Ombudsman and delineating its powers functions and duties. Indeed, Congress, in enacting Republic Act 6770, sought to have an Ombudsman who would be an effective and an activist watchman vesting the Ombudsman with adequate authority that would prevent the Ombudsman from being a "toothless tiger". (cf. Journal, Session No. 15, 17 August 1988)


title: Ombudsman

text: The Polish Ombudsman is called the , usually translated as the Commissioner for Protection of Civil Rights, or Commissioner for Human Rights. The office also functions as the national human rights institution, and is accredited with A status by the ICC. The holder of the office from 2006, Dr Janusz Bogumił Kochanowski, died in the April 2010 Smolensk air disaster. He was succeeded by Irena Lipowicz. Since 2015, this position was held by Adam Bodnar, but on 15 April 2021 the pro-government Constitutional Tribunal forced him out of office, although then no replacement had been appointed. However, after some time, Marcin Wiącek was appointed new ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Portuguese Ombudsman is called the "" (lit. '"Justice Provider), and its role is defined in article 23 of the Constitution of Portugal:


title: Ombudsman

text: Besides the traditional routes, complaints can be filed online and there are toll-free lines for children and one for senior citizens. The first Ombudsman was Manuel da Costa Brás (Tenente-Coronel, Lieutenant Colonel).


title: Ombudsman

text: The ombudsman office is the People's Advocate (). Since 26 June 2019, the current ombudsman is Renate Webber, preceded by Victor Ciorbea since 15 April 2014.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Russian Federation's Commissioner for Human Rights (ombudsman, ) position is held by Tatyana Moskalkova . The Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term by the Parliament. The ombudsman cannot be dismissed before the end of their term, and is not subordinate to any body of power, including the President or the Government.


title: Ombudsman

text: Russia's 83 administrative regions have the right to elect a local ombudsman whose authority is limited to that region. Fewer than half had done so .


title: Ombudsman

text: There is also a Children's Rights Commissioner post, appointed by the President. The post was held by Anna Kuznetsova from 2016–2021.


title: Ombudsman

text: In June 2012, Vladimir Putin signed the Executive Order on the Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights, appointing Boris Titov to the position.


title: Ombudsman

text: In Serbia, the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia (Ombudsman) is an independent state authority, mandated to protect human rights and freedoms. It was introduced into the legal system in 2005 by the Law on Ombudsman and confirmed by the Constitution of Serbia in 2006. Ombudsman is elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia for a five-year-term and is accountable to the Assembly for his work. The Ombudsman enjoys the same immunity as a member of the parliament.


title: Ombudsman

text: The first Serbian Ombudsman, Saša Janković, was elected by the National Assembly in July 2007. He has four deputies, who are specialized in several fields, especially the protection of rights of persons deprived of liberty, gender equality, children rights, minority rights and rights of people with disabilities.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman has competence to oversee the work of government agencies, the bodies authorized for legal protection of property rights and interests of the Republic of Serbia and other bodies and organizations, enterprises and institutions which have been delegated public authority. He has no jurisdiction over the National Assembly, the President, the Government, the Constitutional Court, courts and Public Prosecutor's Office. The Ombudsman initiates proceedings following the complaint of a citizen or on his own initiative. State administration bodies are legally obliged to cooperate with the Ombudsman and to provide him access to their premises and all data in their possession, regardless of the degree of secrecy, when of interest to the investigation in process or the Ombudsman's preventive actions. As a result of an investigation, the Ombudsman may recommend dismissal of an official considered responsible for violation of the rights of citizens, may initiate disciplinary procedures against public administration employees, and may require initiation of penal, offence or other adequate procedure.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman can also act preemptively, by offering advice and opinion on issues within his competence, to enhance the operation of the administration authorities and strengthen the protection of human liberties and rights. The Ombudsman is entitled to propose laws within its scope of competence, give opinions to the Government and the National Assembly on regulations under preparation and address the Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of laws.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman provides the National Assembly with an annual report on his work and findings as well as with other special reports.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman has full membership in the European Ombudsman Institute (EOI), the International Ombudsman Association (IOA), the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) and the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen (AOM). In May 2010, it was accredited with 'A' status as the national human rights institution.


title: Ombudsman

text: The role of ombudsman was established as a result of the Ombudsman Act (564/2001). The National Assembly appoints a candidate to this position with a term of five years and a maximum of two consecutive terms. At a minimum, the ombudsman provides the National Council with an annual report. In case of a severe violation of fundamental rights, or a large number of people affected, the ombudsman can release a special or extraordinary report at any time. This occurred three times between 2013 and 2017, but because of the "opposition background" of the second most recent ombudsman, Judge , her concerns were ignored by the assembly majority, many members of parliament were absent during her speeches, and public institutions were allowed to ignore the report, so no actions were actually taken to correct the situation. The most recent ombudsman, lawyer and university teacher , was elected in March 2017.


title: Ombudsman

text: The institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia was introduced into the Slovenian constitutional order through the new Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which was adopted in December 1991. The Human Rights Ombudsman is defined in Article 159 of the Constitution, which provides that in order to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to state authorities, local self-government authorities and bearers of public authority, the office of the Ombudsman for the rights of citizens shall be established by law.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia is a constitutional category that does not fall under the executive, judicial or legislative branch of authority. The Ombudsman is therefore not part of any mechanism of authority, but rather acts as an overseer of authority since as an institution it restricts its capricious encroachment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman is in his work not only limited to handling direct violations defined as human rights and freedoms in the constitution, moreover, he may act in any case whatsoever dealing with a violation of any right of an individual arising from a holder of authority. He can intervene also in the case if unfair and poor state administration in relation to the individual. If the aforementioned is considered, it can have a significant impact on the development and increase in legal and administrative culture between holders of authority and the individual.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman can caution violators that they should put right their violation or eliminate irregularities committed, or can even propose compensation. On one's behalf, and with their authorisation, he can lodge with the Constitutional Court a request for assessment of the constitutionality and legality of regulations or official documents, or may submit a constitutional complaint owing to the violation of some right. He may submit to the government or parliament initiatives for the amendment of laws and other regulations. He may also suggest to all bodies that fall within his competence that they improve their dealings and relations with clients.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman may also communicate his opinion to anyone regarding cases that are linked to the violation of rights and freedoms. Here it is not important what kind of procedure is involved, nor the stage of processing it has reached at the body in question.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman cannot perform work or remove violations or irregularities in place of the specific state body, local community body or holder of public authorisation. Those that committed the violation or irregularity are bound also themselves to putting right the violation or


title: Ombudsman

text: irregularity. Equally, the Ombudsman cannot deal with cases that are subject to court proceedings, except in exceptional cases.


title: Ombudsman

text: The national ombudsman of Spain is the (Defender of the People), dealing with complaints of maladministration and having the capacity to bring cases at the Constitutional Court. The office is prominent in the international networks of ombudsmen and national human rights institutions, particularly through the Ibero-American Ombudsman Federation (FIO).


title: Ombudsman

text: The office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (, or ) was established with the Instrument of Government in 1809, originally under the title of .


title: Ombudsman

text: The office was modelled after Chancellor of Justice (), and according to the principle of separation of powers. The Chancellor of Justice was installed in 1714 as a proxy for King Charles XII of Sweden, to act as a representative for the Royal Government. Today it acts as an ombudsman, mainly to oversee that Swedish authorities comply with laws on behalf of the Government, but also to handle indemnity claims from persons suffered from imprisonment but later acquitted, or other damages caused by authorities.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Parliamentary Ombudsman was in turn appointed to represent the parliament; to oversee that all public authorities comply with the laws and decrees. The latter had the specific duty to protect the citizens and as a public attorney prosecute unlawful government or actions by authorities and criticise problematic laws, to ensure equality in the court of law, with inspections and handling of complains.


title: Ombudsman

text: With growing attention to discrimination issues in the latter part of the 20th century a number of new anti-discriminatory Ombudsmen was appointed, to later be gathered under one roof, with the establishment of the Equality Ombudsman () in 2009.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman for Children () was established in 1993, and is tasked with matters affecting the rights and interests of children and young people.


title: Ombudsman

text: Non-government appointed entities are the Pressombudsmannen, supervising compliance with the code of ethics of the Swedish printed media industry, and , an advocate for the rights of the native Sami minority in Sweden, appointed by the Saami Council until 1997.


title: Ombudsman

text: Under the R.O.C. Constitution and its seventh amendments, the Control Yuan, one of the five branches of the Taiwanese government, functions as the ombudsman. Other than acting as the auditor of national government and being responsible for impeachment of officials, the Control Yuan investigates petitions and complaints from the general public about government policies and misdeeds committed by officials (both national and regional), and proposes corrective measures. The government agencies in question need to respond to the proposed measures within two months from the date of issue.


title: Ombudsman

text: The 29 Members of Control Yuan are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Legislative Yuan to serve a six-year renewable term.


title: Ombudsman

text: In 2020, the National Human Rights Commission was established under the Control Yuan as a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles with power to investigate human rights abuse, to facilitate legislation of human rights protection and to promote human rights education.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman was established in 2009, and receives support from the OSCE. The current Ombudsman is Zarif Alizoda, appointed by President Emomalii Rahmon and approved by Parliament in May 2009. The functions of his office include human rights education, on which it co-operates with other public bodies and NGOs. It also works with a coalition of NGOs on monitoring places of detention.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Office of the Ombudsman Thailand (, ) was created in the 1997 Constitution of Thailand or the "people's constitution". The name was shortened to the Ombudsmen (, ) by the 2007 Constitution of Thailand. The idea for such an office first appeared in the 1974 constitution. On 1 April 2000 the first Thai ombudsman was appointed by the king.


title: Ombudsman

text: Ombudsmen are appointed by the King of Thailand upon the advice of the Senate of Thailand. The ombudsmen investigate complaints by the public against public officials and agencies. They have the power to prosecute, but not to enforce judgments. The 2007 constitution of 2007 charged the ombudsman to oversee the ethical practices of politicians, government officials, or state officials as well as to establish a code of ethics to be followed by all agencies including the Ombudsman Code of Ethics.


title: Ombudsman

text: In January 2020, the Office of the Ombudsman abolished its 2012 and 2014 travel regulations, which covered only the ombudsmen's expenses during domestic and overseas trips, and replaced them with a new version that allows ombudsmen's spouses to claim identical benefits on overseas trips. The benefits include all transport and accommodation expenses and a 3,100 baht daily allowance or all expenses incurred not to exceed 4,500 baht per day. The rules took effect on 29 January after being announced in the "Royal Gazette". The new regulations did not address the question of why spouses should travel at public expense.


title: Ombudsman

text: In 2019, the Office of the Ombudsman investigated 4,762 cases, of which 2,530 were "dealt with". Most complaints involved the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Local Administration (DLA). Since its founding in 2000, the ombudsman's office has investigated 48,441 cases and resolved 46,209 (95.4%) of them.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Ombudsman's Office was created after the constitutional referendum of 2010 was approved. The Ombudsman's Office is responsible for examining and investigating all manner of administrative acts, actions, attitudes and behavior in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms, conformity with the law and fairness and appropriateness within the framework of the character of the Republic of Turkey as enshrined in its Constitution. It performs its functions as part of the Parliament Speaker's Office. The Ombudsman's Office is called the Public Monitoring Institution (KDK) and has an independent and autonomous budget.


title: Ombudsman

text: The office of ombudsman, or Commissioner for Human Rights, in Ukraine was instituted in 1998. The first ombudsman was Nina Karpachova until 2012. Valeriya Lutkovska was elected to the office for a five-year term by secret ballot in the Ukrainian Parliament on 24 April 2012. Under Article 55 of the 1996 Constitution, "Everyone has the right to appeal for the protection of his/her rights to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights". Article 101 provides "The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights exercises parliamentary control over the observance of constitutional human and citizens' rights and freedoms." The legal basis of the office, which is also Ukraine's national human rights institution, is set out in Law 767/97, which refers to the office as the "Authorised Human Rights Representative" of the Parliament. Lyudmyla Denisova was elected to the office by the Ukrainian Parliament on 15 March 2018 and was dismissed in May 2022 by the Verkhovna Rada. She was accused of making unverifiable statements about alleged sex crimes by Russian troops. There was no new appointment.


title: Ombudsman

text: In the United Kingdom a post of Ombudsman is attached to the Westminster Parliament, jurisdiction extending to all departments of the central government and other government institutions. The office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration was created in 1967, covering the activities of central government departments. A separate (National) Health Service ombudsman was subsequently created, but this office has to date always been held by the same person and the two offices are usually referred to as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. This Ombudsman will usually investigate complaints referred to him or her by a Member of Parliament where there has been evidence of "maladministration" having occurred which has resulted in an "unremedied injustice". Complaints to the Ombudsman are subject to a "time bar" – this means that the Ombudsman may determine a complaint to be out of jurisdiction if too much time has passed between the event or course of events being complained about and the complaint being received by the Ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: Separate agencies exist to handle complaints relating to departments and agencies of the devolved administrations. These are the Northern Ireland Ombudsman, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, answerable respectively to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Parliament and the Scottish Parliament.


title: Ombudsman

text: The Local Government Ombudsman (formally the Commission for Local Government Administration – there are two Commissioners) for England and Wales was created in 1973, and a similar office for Scotland in 1974; since then, a variety of other public and private sector-specific ombudsmen have been created, along with the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.


title: Ombudsman

text: Members of the United States Congress serve as federal-level ombudsmen in their oversight capacity over federal agencies, and employ staff specifically dedicated to legal compliance enforcement and investigations of maladministration on behalf of constituents.


title: Ombudsman

text: In 2012 the Uruguayan ombudsman was appointed. The office was created in 2010 as a Parliamentary Officer. The formal name of the institution is ('Institute for Human Rights and Ombudsman'). It is composed of five members appointed by the General Assembly of Uruguay.


title: Ombudsman

text: The office of the Authorized Person of the "Oliy Majlis" of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights, or Ombudsman, was created in 1995, by an initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, but subsequently through legislation enacted in 1997, reinforced by a constitutional reform in 2003 and a new ombudsman statute in 2004. The current Authorised Person, appointed by the Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan ("Oliy Majlis"), is Ulugbek Muhammadiev. The office was one of the first ombudsmen established in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and receives technical support from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.


title: Ombudsman

text: In the science fiction television series "Babylon 5", the arbiters aboard space station "Babylon 5" who preside over cases stemming from public complaints are referred to as "ombuds" (this is both the singular and plural designation), a sometimes used gender-neutral title for an ombudsman. Just as with their modern European counterparts, the ombuds only preside over public cases, including robbery, assault, and murder, and do not interpret law as a regular judiciary does.


title: Ombudsman

text: John Perry, the protagonist of "The Last Colony", written by John Scalzi starts off the novel as an ombudsman for a newly settled human colony.


title: Ombudsman

text: The webcomic "PvP" ran a story arc starting at the beginning of March 2009 parodying the comic series and movie "Watchmen" called "The Ombudsmen."


title: Ombudsman

text: The Fox News parody show, Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld, met three times per episode with "TV's Andy Levy, Ombudsman".


title: Brother Bear

text: Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 44th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker (in their feature directorial debuts) and produced by Chuck Williams, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, and the writing team of Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman. The film stars the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Jason Raize, and D.B. Sweeney. "Brother Bear" follows an Alaska native boy named Kenai as he pursues a bear and kills it, but the Spirits, incensed by this unnecessary death, change Kenai into a bear himself as punishment. In order to be human again, Kenai must travel to a mountain where the Northern lights touch the earth.


title: Brother Bear

text: The film was the third and final Disney animated feature produced primarily by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida; the studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this film in favor of computer animated features. The film, which was released in the United States on November 1, 2003, received mixed to negative reviews from critics and received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 76th Academy Awards, losing to Pixar's "Finding Nemo". The film grossed $250 million against a $46 million budget. A direct-to-video sequel, "Brother Bear 2", was released on August 29, 2006.


title: Brother Bear

text: In a post-ice age Alaska, the local tribes believe all creatures are created through the Great Spirits, who are said to appear in the form of an aurora. A trio of brothers, Kenai, the youngest; Denahi, the middle; and Sitka, the eldest, return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his totem, necklaces in the shapes of different animals. The particular animals they represent symbolize what they must achieve to call themselves men. Unlike Sitka, who gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi, who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love. He objects to his totem, stating that bears are thieves, and believes his point is made a fact when a brown bear steals their basket of salmon. Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear, but a fight ends on top of a glacier, during which Sitka gives his life to save his brothers by dislodging the glacier, although the bear survives the fall. After Sitka's funeral, an enraged Kenai blames the bear for Sitka's death. He hunts down and chases the bear up onto a rocky cliff, fighting and eventually slaying it. The Spirits, represented by Sitka's spirit in the form of a bald eagle, arrive and transform Kenai into a bear after the dead bear's body evaporates and joins them. Denahi arrives and, falsely believing that Kenai was killed by the bear from earlier, vows to avenge Kenai by hunting it down.


title: Brother Bear

text: Kenai falls down some rapids, survives, and is healed by Tanana, the shaman of his tribe. She does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain to find Sitka and be turned back to a human, but only when he atones for his actions; she vanishes without an explanation. Kenai quickly discovers that the wildlife can now speak to him, meeting a pair of moose brothers named Rutt and Tuke. He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by an outgoing bear cub named Koda. They make a deal: Kenai will escort Koda to an annual salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. As the two eventually form a brother-like relationship, Koda reveals that his mother is missing. The two are hunted by Denahi, who is still determined to avenge Kenai, unaware that the bear he is pursuing is actually Kenai himself. Eventually, Kenai and Koda reach the salmon run, where a large number of bears live as a family, including the leader Tug. Kenai accepts his new surroundings and is comfortable living with the other bears. During a discussion among the bears, Koda tells a story about his mother recently fighting human hunters on a glacier, reminding Kenai of his and his brothers' fight with the bear that led to Sitka's death, making him realize that the entire time, the bear he killed was Koda's mother.


title: Brother Bear

text: Horrified of what he has done, Kenai runs away in a fit of guilt, but Koda soon follows him. Downhearted, Kenai confesses the truth to Koda, who runs away, grief-stricken that Kenai was responsible for his mother's death out of avenging Sitka. An apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Meanwhile, Rutt and Tuke, having had a falling-out, reconcile in front of Koda, prompting him to forgive Kenai. On the mountain, Kenai is cornered by Denahi, but their battle is interrupted by Koda, who steals Denahi's spear. Kenai sacrifices himself for Koda, out of love, prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and Koda's surprise. However, upon realizing that Koda needs him because of his own mistake, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear with Denahi's support. Sitka complies, and Kenai is transformed back into a bear. Koda is reunited briefly with the spirit of his mother before she and Sitka return to the spirit world. In the end, Kenai lives with the rest of the bears and gains his title as a man, through being a bear.


title: Brother Bear

text: Additional vocals by Patrick Pinney, Bob Bergen, Rodger Bumpass, Roger Rose, Debi Derryberry, Randy Crenshaw, Phil Proctor, John Schwab, Bill Farmer, Pamela Adlon, Hope Levy, and Sherry Lynn.


title: Brother Bear

text: Following the critical and commercial success of "The Lion King", Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner urged for more animal-centric animated features, and suggested a North American backdrop, taking particular inspiration from an original landscape painting by Albert Bierstadt that he bought. To track the "king" idea, the hero would naturally be a bear, the king of the forest. At the time, the original idea, which was inspired by "King Lear", centered around an old blind bear who traveled the forest with his three daughters. In 1997, veteran animator Aaron Blaise came on board the project as director because he "wanted to be attached so that [he] could animate bears", and was soon joined by co-director Robert Walker. Because Blaise desired a more naturalistic story, Blaise and producer Chuck Williams produced a two-page treatment of a father-son story in which the son is transformed into a bear, and in the end, remains a bear. Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, approved the revised story and proclaimed, "This is the idea of the century." Tab Murphy, who had co-written the screenplays for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Tarzan" and "", came on board to write an early draft of the script.


title: Brother Bear

text: After the project was green-lit, Blaise, Walker, and the story artists embarked on a research trip in August 1999 to visit Alaska where they traveled on the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and Kodiak Island. They also traveled through Denali National Park and the Kenai Fjords National Park, where they visited Exit and Holgate Glacier. A year later, the production team took additional research trips through the Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the Sequoia National Park. Around 2000, the story evolved into a tale in which the transformed Kenai is taken in by an older bear, Grizz, who was to be voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan. However, Blaise explained that "we were struggling [with the story], trying to get some charm into the film. So we turned Grizz into a cub named Koda", who was voiced by Jeremy Suarez. Because Blaise, Walker, and Williams enjoyed Duncan's vocal performance, Tug, the de facto leader of the bears at the salmon run, was written into the film.


title: Brother Bear

text: In March 2001, Joaquin Phoenix confirmed he was cast in the film, exclaiming, "Oh, but forget the Oscar nomination (for "Gladiator"). The real pinnacle is that I'm playing an animated character in a Disney film. Isn't that the greatest? I play a Native American transformed into a bear. It's called "The Bears." Don't call me a leading man. I don't care about that. I'm a leading bear. I am content!" After the filmmakers heard his audition tapes for "Finding Nemo", Jeremy Suarez was cast as Koda.


title: Brother Bear

text: As is typical for animation voice acting, Suarez and Phoenix voiced the roles separately, although they both did a recording session together at least two times. Voicing the moose brothers Rutt and Tuke, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis performed simultaneously throughout the recording process. Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, an associate professor who taught courses on Alaska Native philosophy at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, claimed he was never given a script, but was instead given "the dialogue that they had written, which was being told by a Native person". For the role as the Inuit Narrator, Kawagley translated the dialogue in written form into Yup'ik and faxed the translation back to the Disney studio. He later recorded his translation at an Anchorage studio while being videotaped for animation reference.


title: Brother Bear

text: The film is traditionally animated but includes some CG elements such as "a salmon run and a caribou stampede". Layout artist Armand Serrano, speaking about the drawing process on the film, said that "we had to do a life drawing session with live bear cubs and also outdoor drawing and painting sessions at Fort Wilderness in Florida three times a week for two months [...]".. In 2001, Background supervisor Barry Kooser and his team traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and studied with Western landscape painter Scott Christensen, where they learned to: "simplify objects by getting the spatial dimensions to work first and working in the detail later."


title: Brother Bear

text: According to Ruben Aquino, supervising animator for the character of Denahi, Denahi was originally meant to be Kenai's father; later this was changed to Kenai's brother. Byron Howard, supervising animator for Kenai in bear form, said that earlier in production a bear named Grizz (who resembles Tug in the film and is voiced by the same actor) was supposed to have the role of Kenai's mentor. Art Director Robh Ruppel stated that the ending of the film originally showed how Kenai and Denahi get together once a year to play when the northern lights are in the sky.


title: Brother Bear

text: Following the success of the "Tarzan" soundtrack, Phil Collins was offered the opportunity to compose songs for "Brother Bear", as well as let him "co-write the score". However, Collins explained, "Slowly, the bad news started to trickle down that I wouldn't be singing it all. It was a bit of a disappointment, because I [usually] write songs that I sing myself." While Collins composed six songs for the film, he shared vocal performance duties with Tina Turner, who sang the opening song; the Blind Boys Of Alabama and the Bulgarian Women's Choir, who performed the song, "Transformation". Collins's lyrics for the song were first translated into Iñupiaq. The performance was then arranged by score co-composers Collins and Mark Mancina, and vocal arranger Eddie Jobson.


title: Brother Bear

text: "Brother Bear" was originally slated for a spring 2004 release, while "Home on the Range" was scheduled for a 2003 release. However, Disney announced that "Brother Bear" would be released in fall 2003, while "Home on the Range" was pushed back for a spring 2004 release. Contrary to speculation, news writer Jim Hill stated the release date switch was not because "Home on the Range" was suffering from story rewrites, but to promote "Brother Bear" on the Platinum Edition release of "The Lion King". On July 15, 2003, Disney announced that the release date would be moved up by one weekend from its previously scheduled slot of November 7, 2003. However, instead of opening on Halloween, the film would be released on Saturday, November 1, 2003.


title: Brother Bear

text: On October 20, 2003, "Brother Bear" premiered at the New Amsterdam Theatre where fellow attendees included New York Governor George Pataki and cast members Michael Clarke Duncan and Estelle Harris. Following the showing of the film, Collins performed "No Way Out" before introducing Tina Turner to the stage where she performed the opening song, "Great Spirits".


title: Brother Bear

text: "Brother Bear" was released on VHS and DVD on March 30, 2004. The DVD release consisted of two separate discs, which were both THX-certified. The first disc contained the widescreen version (1.66:1 aspect ratio) and the second disc featured the original theatrical widescreen version (1.66:1 and 2.35:1 aspect ratio). The DVD also included a documentary on the production of the film, an audio commentary track by Rutt and Tuke with an option for visual mode, an artwork gallery narrated by the artists, three deleted scenes, two games called "Find Your Totem" and "Bone Puzzle", and two music videos with Phil Collins. By January 2005, the film had earned $169 million in home video sales and rentals. In April 2004 alone, 5.51 million DVD copies of the film were sold.


title: Brother Bear

text: The film was released in a Blu-ray special edition combined with its sequel, "Brother Bear 2", on March 12, 2013.


title: Brother Bear

text: "Disney's Brother Bear" games were released in November 2003 for Game Boy Advance, PC and mobile phones.


title: Brother Bear

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that of critics gave the film positive reviews based on reviews with an average rating of . The site's consensus is ""Brother Bear" is gentle and pleasant if unremarkable Disney fare, with so-so animation and generic plotting." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 48 based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Brother Bear

text: On the syndicated television show "At the Movies", film critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper both gave the film positive reviews. In his print review for the "Chicago Sun-Times", Ebert wrote the film "doesn't have the zowie factor of "The Lion King" or "Finding Nemo", but is sweet rather than exciting. Children and their parents are likely to relate on completely different levels, the adults connecting with the transfer of souls from man to beast, while the kids are excited by the adventure stuff." "USA Today" film critic Claudia Puig gave the film three out of four stars praising the film for its "message of tolerance and respect for nature rings loud and clear. And family audiences are treated to a vibrantly hued movie with appealing characters." Kirk Honeycutt of "The Hollywood Reporter" called the film "a playful movie that celebrates nature and the spirit world with striking imagery and a smooth blend of drama and comedy."


title: Brother Bear

text: Writing for "Variety", Todd McCarthy summarized that ""Brother Bear" is a very mild animated entry from Disney with a distinctly recycled feel [because] the film's characters and narrative simply fail to engage strong interest, and tale is probably too resolutely serious to enchant small fry in the way the better Disney titles always have." Kenneth Turan, reviewing for the "Los Angeles Times", complimented "the richness and fluidity of its visuals" and the "satisfying ending", but derided that ""Brother Bear" has an appeal that can't be denied. Too often, however, this film's lack of a fresh dramatic approach and not its technique makes it difficult to embrace as much as we'd like to". Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" felt the film was too similar to "The Lion King". He later wrote: "This opulent movie, with gorgeous rainbow animation, is heavy on message but light on humor."


title: Brother Bear

text: Many critics and audiences also noted the use of the film's aspect ratio as a storytelling device. The film begins at a standard widescreen aspect ratio of 1.75:1 (similar to the 1.85:1 ratio common in U.S. cinema or the 1.78:1 ratio of HDTV), while Kenai is a human; in addition, the film's art direction and color scheme are grounded in realism. After Kenai transforms into a bear twenty-four minutes into the picture, the film itself transforms as well: to an anamorphic aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and towards brighter, more fanciful colors and slightly more caricatured art direction. "Brother Bear" was the first feature since "The Horse Whisperer" to do a widescreen shift. It was the only animated film to feature this technique, until "The Simpsons Movie" and "Enchanted" in 2007.


title: Brother Bear

text: In its limited release, "Brother Bear" played only in two selected theaters in Los Angeles, California and New York City, grossing $291,940 for a per-screen average of $145,970. The wide release followed on November 1, 2003 expanding to 3,030 theater venues. The film opened second behind "Scary Movie 3" grossing $18.5 million at the box office. On its second wide weekend, the film continued its strong showing grossing $18.6 million against new competing films such as "Elf" and "The Matrix Revolutions", collecting $44.1 million in three weeks. The film grossed $85.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $165.1 million in international territories, bringing its worldwide total to $250.4 million.


title: Brother Bear

text: The film was nominated at the 76th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, along with Sylvain Chomet's "The Triplets of Belleville", but lost to another Walt Disney Pictures film, "Finding Nemo".


title: Brother Bear

text: The song "Welcome" written by Phil Collins was later used as the theme song for Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams during the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. For the parade, the song had slightly changed lyrics and was performed by an ensemble.


title: Brother Bear

text: Disney Television Animation was set to produce a television series titled "Brother Bear: The Series" for Disney Channel. "The Simpsons" veteran Pete Michels was to helm the series and was allowed to watch a copy of the film so that he could construct a pilot. The series would have taken place directly after the events of the film and would have seen Kenai and Koda adopt other orphaned animals into their family. Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas were to reprise their respective roles while Will Friedle would have replaced Joaquin Phoenix as Kenai. While the pilot tested well, it was not picked up as Disney Channel executives felt that adapting the film as a series was "counterproductive" to their goal of trying to reach a tween audience, combined with the fact that the movie performed below expectations.


title: Brother Bear

text: A direct-to-video sequel called "Brother Bear 2" was released on August 29, 2006. It focuses on the continued adventures of bear brothers Kenai and Koda. While the first film dealt with Kenai's relationship with Koda, this one focuses more on his bond with a young human of his past, Nita.


title: V sign

text: The V sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented.


title: V sign

text: When displayed with the palm inward toward the signer, it can be an offensive gesture in some Commonwealth nations (not dissimilar to showing the middle finger), dating back to at least 1900. When given with the palm outward, it is to be read as a victory sign ("V for Victory"); this usage was introduced in January 1941 as part of a campaign by the Allies of World War II, and made more widely known by Winston Churchill. During the Vietnam War, in the 1960s, the "V sign" with palm outward was widely adopted by the counterculture as a symbol of peace and still today in the United States it is commonly called the "peace sign". Shortly thereafter, it also became a gesture associated with fun used in photographs, especially in East Asia, where the gesture is also associated with cuteness.


title: V sign

text: The insulting version of the gesture (with the palm inward ) is often compared to the offensive gesture known as "the finger". The "two-fingered salute" (also "the forks" in Australia) is commonly performed by flicking the V upwards from wrist or elbow. The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in the United Kingdom, and later in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt, or derision. It was known in Canada with the meaning "Up yours!" as late as to the generation which fought in World War II, perhaps because of their familiarity with the Victory sign throughout the War years. However, subsequent generations seldom use it, and its meaning in this sense is becoming increasingly unknown in Canada.


title: V sign

text: As an example of the V sign (palm inward) as an insult, on 1 November 1990, "The Sun", a British tabloid, ran an article on its front page with the headline "Up Yours, Delors" next to a hand making a V sign protruding from a Union Jack cuff. The article attracted complaints about alleged Francophobia, which the Press Council rejected after the newspaper stated that the paper reserved the right to use vulgar abuse in the interests of Britain.


title: V sign

text: On 3 April 2009, Scottish association football players Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor were permanently banned from the Scottish national squad for showing the V sign while sitting on the bench during the game against Iceland. Both players were in their hotel bar drinking alcohol after the Scottish defeat to The Netherlands until around 11 am the next morning, meaning that both of the players breached the SFA discipline code before the incident as well, but the attitude shown by the V sign was considered to be so rude that the SFA decided never to include these players in the national line-up again. Ferguson also lost the captaincy of Rangers as a result of the controversy. McGregor's ban was lifted by then SFA manager Craig Levein and he returned to Scotland national squad in 2010.


title: V sign

text: Steve McQueen gives the sign in the closing scene of the 1971 motorsport film, "Le Mans". A still picture of the gesture was recorded by photographer Nigel Snowdon and has become an icon of both McQueen and the film itself.


title: V sign

text: For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "the word of Cambronne" is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead. His win was reinstated two days later. Harvey Smith pleaded that he was using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye.


title: V sign

text: Sometimes overseas visitors to the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of the United States president George H. W. Bush, who, while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in Canberra—who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies—and instead gave the insulting V sign.


title: V sign

text: A commonly repeated legend claims that the two-fingered salute or V sign derives from a gesture made by longbowmen fighting in the English army at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War, but no written historical primary sources support this contention. This origin legend states that English archers believed that those who were captured by the French had their index and middle fingers cut off so that they could no longer operate their longbows, and that the V sign was used by uncaptured and victorious archers in a display of defiance against the French. In conflict with this origin myth, the chronicler Jean de Wavrin, contemporary of the battle of Agincourt, reported that Henry V mentioned in a pre-battle speech that the French were said to be threatening to cut off "three" fingers (not two) from captured English bowmen. Wielding an English longbow is best done with three fingers. Neither Wavrin nor any contemporary author reported the threat was ever carried out after that nor other battles, nor did they report anything concerning a gesture of defiance.


title: V sign

text: The first unambiguous evidence of the use of the insulting V sign in the United Kingdom dates to 1901, when a worker outside Parkgate ironworks in Rotherham used the gesture (captured on the film) to indicate that he did not like being filmed.


title: V sign

text: Peter Opie interviewed children in the 1950s and observed in "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren" (1959) that the much-older thumbing of the nose (cocking a snook) had been replaced by the V sign as the most common insulting gesture used in the playground.


title: V sign

text: Between 1975 and 1977, a group of anthropologists including Desmond Morris studied the history and spread of European gestures and found the rude version of the V-sign to be basically unknown outside the British Isles. In his "Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution", published in 1979, Morris discussed various possible origins of this sign but came to no definite conclusion:


title: V sign

text: On 18 May 1939, the French daily, "Le Monde Quotidien" had a headline of, 'V pour victoire'. On 14 January 1941, Victor de Laveleye, former Belgian Minister of Justice and director of the Belgian French-language broadcasts on the BBC (1940–44), suggested in a broadcast that Belgians use a V for ' (French: "victory") and ' (Dutch: "freedom") as a rallying emblem during the Second World War.


title: V sign

text: In the BBC broadcast, de Laveleye said that "the occupier, by seeing this sign, always the same, infinitely repeated, [would] understand that he is surrounded, encircled by an immense crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting his first moment of weakness, watching for his first failure." Within weeks chalked up Vs began appearing on walls throughout Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern France. Buoyed by this success, the BBC started the "V for Victory" campaign, for which they put in charge the assistant news editor Douglas Ritchie posing as "Colonel Britton". Ritchie suggested an audible V using its Morse code rhythm (three dots and a dash). As the rousing opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony had the same rhythm, the BBC used this as its call-sign in its foreign language programmes to occupied Europe for the rest of the war. The more musically educated also understood that it was the Fate motif ""knocking on the door"" of Nazi Germany.


title: V sign

text: By July 1941, the emblematic use of the letter V had spread through occupied Europe. On 19 July, Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred approvingly to the V for Victory campaign in a speech, from which point he started using the V hand sign. Early on he sometimes gestured palm in (sometimes with a cigar between the fingers). Later in the war, he used palm out. After aides explained to the aristocratic Churchill what the palm in gesture meant to other classes, he made sure to use the appropriate sign. Yet the "double-entendre" of the gesture might have contributed to its popularity, "for a simple twist of hand would have presented the dorsal side in a mocking snub to the common enemy". Other allied leaders used the sign as well.


title: V sign

text: The Germans could not remove all the signs, so they adopted the V Sign as a German symbol, sometimes adding laurel leaves under it, painting their own V's on walls, vehicles and adding a massive V on the Eiffel Tower.


title: V sign

text: In 1942, Aleister Crowley, a British occultist, claimed to have invented the usage of a V-sign in February 1941 as a magical foil to the Nazis' use of the swastika. He maintained that he passed this to friends at the BBC, and to the British Naval Intelligence Division through his connections in MI5, eventually gaining the approval of Winston Churchill. Crowley noted that his 1913 publication "Magick (Book 4)" featured a V-sign and a swastika on the same plate.


title: V sign

text: Protesters against the Vietnam War (and subsequent anti-war protests) and counterculture activists in the 1960s adopted the gesture as a sign of peace. Because the hippies of the day often flashed this sign (palm out) while saying "Peace", it became popularly known (through association) as "the peace sign".


title: V sign

text: The V sign, primarily palm-outward, is very commonly made by Japanese people, especially younger people, when posing for informal photographs, and is known as , or more commonly simply . As the name reflects, this dates to the Vietnam War era and anti-war activists, though the precise origin is disputed. The V sign was known in Japan from the post-World War II Allied occupation of Japan, but did not acquire the use in photographs until later.


title: V sign

text: In Japan, it is generally believed to have been influenced by Beheiren's anti-Vietnam War activists in the late 1960s and a Konica camera advertisement in 1971. A more colorful account of this practice claims it was influenced by the American figure skater Janet Lynn during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. She fell during a free-skate period, but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed third in the competition, her cheerful diligence and persistence resonated with many Japanese viewers. Lynn became an overnight foreign celebrity in Japan. A peace activist, Lynn frequently flashed the V sign when she was covered in Japanese media, and she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use since the 1970s in amateur photographs.


title: V sign

text: In China, South Korea and Taiwan, the V sign is a popular pose in photographs. It is used in both casual and formal settings. For the most part in these countries, the gesture is divorced from its previous meanings as a peace sign or as an insult; for most the meaning of the sign is "victory" or "yeah", implying a feeling of happiness. It is used in both directions (palm facing the signer and palm facing forward).


title: V sign

text: The pose is gaining significant popularity in South Korea due to the common usage amongst K-pop idols and young people – especially in selfies. V signing is commonly linked with aegyo, a popular trend in Korea meaning "acting cutely". It can also be placed in front of a cheek to make the cheek look slimmer, but open hand with palm against the face is more common.


title: V sign

text: In the United States, the usage of the V sign as a photography gesture is known but not widely used. The original poster for the 2003 film "What a Girl Wants" showed star Amanda Bynes giving a V sign as an American girl visiting London. In the US, the poster was altered to instead show Bynes with both arms down, to avoid giving the perception that the film was criticizing the then-recently commenced Iraq War.


title: V sign

text: In addition to the risks due to different interpretations of the V-sign in different cultures, it has been suggested that fairly close photographs of palm-out V-signs may be a security risk, as people's fingerprints can be clearly identified, allowing misuse. At a distance of 1.5m or less, 100% of a fingerprint can be captured, and 50% at up to 3m. Criminals could copy the fingerprint to use with door-access and payment systems. It is also possible for law enforcement to identify people this way; Carl Stewart was arrested in 2021 after police identified his fingerprints in an image he shared on EncroChat. Sufficiently detailed fingerprint information could only be harvested in "very demanding" conditions; to check that a V-sign photograph is not a security risk, it could be examined at high zoom.


title: McAfee

text: McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company headquartered in San Jose, California.


title: McAfee

text: In 2017, Intel had a strategic deal with TPG Capital and converted Intel Security into a joint venture between both companies called McAfee. Thoma Bravo took a minority stake in the new company, and Intel retained a 49% stake. The owners took McAfee public on the NASDAQ in 2020, and in 2022 an investor group led by Advent International Corporation took it private again.


title: McAfee

text: The company was founded in 1987 as McAfee Associates, named for its founder John McAfee, who resigned from the company in 1994. McAfee was incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1992. In 1993, McAfee stepped down as head of the company, taking the position of chief technology officer before his eventual resignation. Bill Larson was appointed CEO in his place. Network Associates was formed in 1997 as a merger of McAfee Associates, Network General, PGP Corporation and Helix Software.


title: McAfee

text: In 1996, McAfee had acquired Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based FSA Corporation, which helped the company diversify its security offerings away from just client-based antivirus software by bringing on board its own network and desktop encryption technologies.


title: McAfee

text: The FSA team also oversaw the creation of a number of other technologies that were leading edge at the time, including firewall, file encryption, and public key infrastructure product lines. While those product lines had their own individual successes including PowerBroker (written by Dean Huxley and Dan Freedman and now sold by BeyondTrust), the growth of antivirus ware always outpaced the growth of the other security product lines. It is fair to say that McAfee remains best known for its anti-virus and anti-spam products.


title: McAfee

text: Among other companies bought and sold by McAfee is Trusted Information Systems, which developed the Firewall Toolkit, the free software foundation for the commercial Gauntlet Firewall, which was later sold to Secure Computing Corporation. McAfee acquired Trusted Information Systems under the banner of Network Associates in 1998.


title: McAfee

text: McAfee, as a result of brief ownership of TIS Labs/NAI Labs/Network Associates Laboratories/McAfee Research, was highly influential in the world of open-source software, as that organization produced portions of the Linux, FreeBSD, and Darwin operating systems, and developed portions of the BIND name server software and SNMP version 3.


title: McAfee

text: In 2000, McAfee/Network Associates was the leading authority in educating and protecting people against the Love Bug or ILOVEYOU virus, one of the most destructive computer viruses in history.


title: McAfee

text: At the end of 2000, CEO Bill Larson, President Peter Watkins, and CFO Prabhat Goyal all resigned after the company sustained losses. Company president Gene Hodges served as interim CEO before George Samenuk was appointed CEO in 2001.


title: McAfee

text: The company returned to its original name in July 2004. It restructured, beginning with the sale of its Magic Solutions business to Remedy, a subsidiary of BMC Software early in the year. In mid-2004, the company sold the Sniffer Technologies business to a venture capital backed firm named Network General (the same name as the original owner of Sniffer Technologies), and changed its name back to McAfee to reflect its focus on security-related technologies.


title: McAfee

text: In 2006, Dale Fuller became interim CEO when Samenuk resigned and President Kevin Weiss was fired after the company was accused of questionable stock options practices. David DeWalt took over as CEO on April 2, 2007.


title: McAfee

text: In 2007, McAfee launched the Security Innovation Alliance (SIA), a program focused on cultivating partnerships with other tech companies and integrating third-party technology with McAfee’s security and compliance risk management technology. On March 11, 2008, McAfee announced a license agreement with the US Department of Defense. This agreement allowed the DoD to integrate McAfee’s Virus Scan Enterprise and Anti-Spyware Enterprise into the Defense Information Systems Agency’s cyber-security solutions.


title: McAfee

text: On August 19, 2010, Intel announced that it would purchase McAfee for $48 a share in a deal valued at $7.68 billion. In September 2016, Intel announced their strategic partnership with TPG to turn McAfee into an independent cyber-security company as a joint venture. That deal closed on April 3, 2017.


title: McAfee

text: CEO David DeWalt resigned in 2011, and McAfee appointed Michael DeCesare and Todd Gebhart as co-presidents. In 2011, McAfee also partnered with SAIC to develop anti-cyber espionage products for use by government and intelligence agencies, along with telecommunications companies.


title: McAfee

text: On January 6, 2014, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced during the Consumer Electronics Show the name change from McAfee Security to Intel Security. The company's red shield logo would remain, with the firm continuing to operate as a wholly owned Intel subsidiary. John McAfee, who no longer had any involvement in the company, expressed his pleasure at his name no longer being associated with the software. However, as of 2016 the products still bore the McAfee name.


title: McAfee

text: On September 7, 2016, Intel sold its majority stake to TPG and entered into an agreement with TPG to turn Intel Security into a jointly-owned, independent cyber-security company with the McAfee name.


title: McAfee

text: After the deal between the two companies closed, the company was spun back out of Intel on April 4, 2017." Chris Young assumed the CEO position as the company became an independent entity.


title: McAfee

text: In 2018, the company unsuccessfully entered talks to sell majority control of McAfee to minority stakeholder Thoma Bravo. In 2018, McAfee also expanded its Security Innovation Alliance partnerships to include companies such as Atos, CyberX, Fidelis Cyber-security, Aujas, and Silver Peak.


title: McAfee

text: In July 2019, McAfee began meeting with bankers to discuss returning to the market as an IPO. As an IPO, the company was estimated to be valued at $8 billion or higher. However, no deal or decision to join the public market was confirmed.


title: McAfee

text: Near the end of 2019, McAfee partnered with Google Cloud to integrate McAfee’s Mvision Cloud and endpoint security technology with Google’s cloud infrastructure.


title: McAfee

text: In October 2020, McAfee and its shareholders raised $740 million in the initial public offering and had valued at about $8.6 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its prospectus. McAfee shares were traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under ticker symbol MCFE, marked its return to the public market after 9 years. In 2020, former McAfee CEO Chris Young left his position and was replaced with Peter Leav. However, the stock were delisted from NASDAQ and the company taken private again in March 2022 by a multi-national investor group under the Advent International Corporation, consisting of the Canada Pension Plan, the Singaporean GIC Private Limited, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.


title: McAfee

text: McAfee primarily develops digital-security tools for personal computers and server devices, and more recently, for mobile devices.


title: McAfee

text: On June 9, 1998, Network Associates agreed to acquire Dr Solomon's Group plc, the leading European manufacturer of antivirus software, for $642 million in stock.


title: McAfee

text: On April 2, 2003, McAfee acquired IntruVert Networks for $100 million. According to "Network World", "IntruVert's technology focus is on intrusion-prevention, which entails not just detecting attacks, but blocking them. The IntruVert product line can be used as a passive intrusion-detection system, just watching and reporting, or it can be used in the intrusion-prevention mode of blocking a perceived attack."


title: McAfee

text: In August 2004, McAfee agreed to acquire Foundstone, a vendor of security consulting, training, and vulnerability management software, for $86 million.


title: McAfee

text: On April 5, 2006, McAfee bought out SiteAdvisor for a reputed $70 million in competition with Symantec, a service that warns users if downloading software or filling out forms on a site may obtain malware or spam.


title: McAfee

text: On June 6, 2006, McAfee announced that it would acquire Preventsys, a California-based company offering security risk management products. The acquisition cost McAfee under $10 million.


title: McAfee

text: On October 16, 2006, McAfee announced that it would acquire Israel based Onigma Ltd for $20 million. Onigma provides host-based data leakage protection software that prevents intentional and unintentional leakage of sensitive data by internal users.


title: McAfee

text: On October 8, 2007, McAfee announced it would acquire SafeBoot Holding B.V. for $350 million. SafeBoot provided mobile data security solutions that protected data, devices, and networks against the risk associated with loss, theft, and unauthorized access. Through the acquisition, McAfee became the only vendor to deliver endpoint, network, web, email and data security, as well as risk and compliance solutions. Gerhard Watzinger, CEO of SafeBoot, joined McAfee to lead the Data Protection product business unit. The deal closed on November 19, 2007.


title: McAfee

text: On October 30, 2007, McAfee announced plans to acquire ScanAlert for $51 million. The acquisition integrated ScanAlert's Hacker Safe service and McAfee's SiteAdvisor rating system to attack website security from both sides. It was the industry's first service to help consumers stay safe as they searched, surfed and shopped. The deal closed on February 7, 2008.


title: McAfee

text: On July 31, 2008, McAfee announced it would acquire Reconnex, a maker of data protection appliances and software. Reconnex sold data loss prevention software, designed to prevent sensitive documents and data from leaving corporate networks. The acquisition added content awareness to McAfee's data security portfolio. The $46 million deal closed on August 12, 2008.


title: McAfee

text: On September 22, 2008, McAfee announced an agreement to acquire Secure Computing, a company specializing in network security hardware, services, and software products. The acquisition expanded McAfee's business in securing networks and cloud computing services to offer a more comprehensive brand of products. The deal closed on November 19, 2008 at a price of $497 million.


title: McAfee

text: In January 2009, McAfee announced plans to acquire Endeavor Security, a privately held maker of IPS/IDS technology. The deal closed in February 2009 for a total purchase price of $3.2 million.


title: McAfee

text: On May 15, 2009, McAfee announced its intention acquire Solidcore Systems, a privately held security company, for $33 million. Solidcore was a maker of software that helped companies protect ATMs and other specialized computers. The acquisition integrated Solidcore's whitelisting and compliance enforcement mechanisms into the McAfee product line. The deal closed on June 1, 2009.


title: McAfee

text: On July 30, 2009, McAfee announced plans to acquire managed email and web security vendor MX Logic. The acquisition provided an enhanced range of SaaS-based security services such as cloud-based intelligence, web security, email security, endpoint security and vulnerability assessment. The deal closed on September 1, 2009 at a price of $140 million. MX Logic staff were integrated into McAfee's SaaS business unit.


title: McAfee

text: On May 25, 2010, McAfee announced a definitive agreement to acquire Trust Digital, a privately held online security company that specialized in security for mobile devices. The acquisition allowed McAfee to extend its services beyond traditional endpoint security and move into the mobile security market. The acquisition closed on June 3, 2010. The price for Trust Digital was not disclosed.


title: McAfee

text: On July 29, 2010, McAfee announced a definitive agreement to acquire tenCube, a privately held online security company that specialized in anti-theft and data security for mobile devices. The acquisition allowed McAfee to complete its diversification into the mobile security space, and announce its plans to build the next generation mobile platform. The acquisition closed on August 25, 2010.


title: McAfee

text: On March 23, 2011, McAfee announced its intention to acquire privately owned Sentrigo, a leading provider of database security, including vulnerability management, database activity monitoring, database audit, and virtual patching—which ensure databases are protected without impacting performance or availability. The acquisition enabled McAfee to extend its database security portfolio. The acquisition closed on April 6, 2011.


title: McAfee

text: On October 4, 2011, McAfee announced its intention to acquire privately owned NitroSecurity, a developer of high-performance security information and event management (SIEM) solutions that protect critical information and infrastructure. NitroSecurity solutions reduce risk exposure and increase network and information availability by removing the scalability and performance limitations of security information management. The acquisition closed on November 30, 2011.


title: McAfee

text: On July 8, 2013 McAfee completed the tender offer for Finnish network firewall design company Stonesoft Oyj worth $389 million in cash, or about $6.09 a share. The Next Generation Firewall business acquired from Stonesoft was divested to Forcepoint in January 2016.


title: McAfee

text: On December 1, 2014, Intel Security announced the acquisition of PasswordBox, a Montreal-based provider of digital identity management solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.


title: McAfee

text: In November 2017, McAfee acquired Skyhigh Networks, a CASB security company. The acquisition closed January 3, 2018. In March 2021, Symphony Technology Group acquired McAfee Enterprise, including Skyhigh Networks. In January 2022, STG announced that McAfee Enterprise's security service edge (SSE) business would operate as a separate company to be known as Skyhigh Security, built on McAfee Enterprise and Skyhigh Networks.


title: McAfee

text: In July 2019, Uplevel Security, a data analytics company using graph theory and machine learning, announced it had been acquired by McAfee.


title: McAfee

text: In March 31, 2020, McAfee acquired Lightpoint Security, which will extend the capabilities of multiple McAfee products. The amount of this acquisition remains undisclosed.


title: McAfee

text: On January 4, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against McAfee for overstating its 1998–2000 net revenue by . Without admitting any wrongdoing, McAfee simultaneously settled the complaint, and agreed to pay a $50 million penalty and rework its accounting practices. The fine was for accounting fraud; known as channel stuffing that served to inflate their revenue to their investors.


title: McAfee

text: In October 2006, McAfee fired its president Kevin Weiss, and its CEO George Samaneuk resigned under the cloud of a recent SEC investigation which also caused the departure of Kent Roberts, the General Counsel, earlier in the year. In late December 2006 both Weiss and Samaneuk had share option grant prices revised upwards by McAfee's board. Weiss and Roberts were both exonerated of all wrongdoing from the claims of McAfee in 2009.


title: McAfee

text: On April 21, 2010, beginning at approximately 14:00 UTC, millions of computers worldwide running Windows XP Service Pack 3 were affected by an erroneous virus definition file update by McAfee, resulting in the removal of a Windows system file (svchost.exe) on those machines, causing machines to lose network access and, in some cases, enter a reboot loop. McAfee rectified this by removing and replacing the faulty DAT file, version 5958, with an emergency DAT file, version 5959 and has posted a fix for the affected machines in their consumer knowledge base. The University of Michigan's medical school reported that 8,000 of its 25,000 computers crashed. Police in Lexington, Ky., resorted to hand-writing reports and turned off their patrol car terminals as a precaution. Some jails canceled visitation, and Rhode Island hospitals turned away non-trauma patients at emergency rooms and postponed some elective surgeries. Australian supermarket Coles reported that 10% (1,100) of its point-of-sales terminals were affected and was forced to shut down stores in both western and southern parts of the country. As a result of the outage, McAfee implemented additional QA protocols for any releases that directly impacted critical system files. The company also rolled out additional capabilities in Artemis that provide another level of protection against false positives by leveraging a whitelist of hands-off system files.


title: McAfee

text: In August 2012, an issue with an update to McAfee antivirus for home and enterprise computers turned off the antivirus protection and, in many cases, prevented connection to the Internet. McAfee was criticized for being slow to address the problem, forcing network operations to spend time diagnosing the issue.


title: Earth's magnetic field

text: Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magnetic field is generated by electric currents due to the motion of convection currents of a mixture of molten iron and nickel in Earth's outer core: these convection currents are caused by heat escaping from the core, a natural process called a geodynamo. The magnitude of Earth's magnetic field at its surface ranges from . As an approximation, it is represented by a field of a magnetic dipole currently tilted at an angle of about 11° with respect to Earth's rotational axis, as if there were an enormous bar magnet placed at that angle through the center of Earth. The North geomagnetic pole actually represents the South pole of Earth's magnetic field, and conversely the South geomagnetic pole corresponds to the north pole of Earth's magnetic field (because opposite magnetic poles attract and the north end of a magnet, like a compass needle, points toward Earth's South magnetic field, i.e., the North geomagnetic pole near the Geographic North Pole). As of 2015, the North geomagnetic pole was located on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada.


title: Earth's magnetic field

text: While the North and South magnetic poles are usually located near the geographic poles, they slowly and continuously move over geological time scales, but sufficiently slowly for ordinary compasses to remain useful for navigation. However, at irregular intervals averaging several hundred thousand years, Earth's field reverses and the North and South Magnetic Poles respectively, abruptly switch places. These reversals of the geomagnetic poles leave a record in rocks that are of value to paleomagnetists in calculating geomagnetic fields in the past. Such information in turn is helpful in studying the motions of continents and ocean floors in the process of plate tectonics.


title: Earth's magnetic field

text: The magnetosphere is the region above the ionosphere that is defined by the extent of Earth's magnetic field in space. It extends several tens of thousands of kilometres into space, protecting Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind and cosmic rays that would otherwise strip away the upper atmosphere, including the ozone layer that protects Earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation.