title: FN MAG

text: The FN MAG was designed by FN Herstal in the 1950s. Taking inspiration from the MG 42, the MAG was created firstly to help balance out inconsistent levels of firepower among pre-existing infantry arms, and secondarily in response to NATO standardisation of the 7.62×51mm round in 1954, with the machine gun serving as a complement to the FN FAL battle rifle. The MAG first entered production in 1958, and it is sometimes referred to as the MAG-58.


title: FN MAG

text: The MAG Model 60-20 is an automatic, air-cooled, gas-operated machine gun, firing belt-fed 7.62×51mm NATO from an open bolt. The MAG uses a series of proven design concepts from other successful firearms, for example the locking mechanism is modeled on that of the Browning M1918 (BAR) automatic rifle, which FN produced under license with some adaptions, and the feed and trigger mechanisms are from the WW II-era MG 42 universal machine gun.


title: FN MAG

text: The MAG operates via a long-stroke piston system, which utilizes the ignited powder gases generated by firing vented through a port in the barrel to propel a gas piston rod connected to the locking assembly. The barrel breech is locked with a vertically tilting, downward locking lever mechanism that is connected to the bolt carrier through an articulated joint. The locking shoulder and camming surfaces that guide the locking lever are located at the base of the receiver. The unlocking sequence starts after rearward gas piston rod movement to keep the breech block fully locked until the bullet has left the gun barrel and the high-pressure propellant gas pressure has dropped to a safe level.


title: FN MAG

text: The MAG fires from an open bolt. Both the spring-powered extractor and ejector are contained in the bolt. After firing, spent cartridge casings are removed downwards through an ejection port normally covered by a spring-loaded dust cover at the bottom of the receiver. The machine gun has a striker firing mechanism (the bolt carrier acts as the striker as it contains a channel that houses the firing pin, which protrudes out from the surface of the bolt upon firing), an automatic-only trigger assembly and a manual cross-bolt push-button safety, which is located above the pistol grip.


title: FN MAG

text: The MAG's receiver is constructed from sheet metal stampings reinforced by steel plates and rivets. The front is reinforced to accept the barrel nut and gas cylinder which are permanently mounted. Guide rails that support the bolt assembly and piston extension during their reciprocating movement are riveted to the side plates. The bolt's guide rails are shaped downward to drive the locking lever into engagement with the locking shoulder, which is also riveted to the side plates. The rear of the receiver has been reinforced and slotted to accept the butt stock. The MAG is also equipped with a fixed wooden stock (later production models feature polymer furniture), pistol grip, and carrying handle.


title: FN MAG

text: A user-adjustable gas valve allows regulating the cyclic rate of fire from 650 up to 1,000 rounds per minute, and subsidiary can adjust the gas system for various types of cartridge loadings or use in the presence of heavy fouling. A high cyclic rate of fire is advantageous for use against targets that are exposed to a general-purpose machine gun for a limited time span, like aircraft or targets that minimize their exposure time by quickly moving from cover to cover. For targets that can be fired on by a general-purpose machine gun for longer periods than just a few seconds, the cyclic firing rate becomes less important.


title: FN MAG

text: The quick-change barrel has a slotted flash suppressor. The barrel's chamber and bore are chrome-lined or stellite-lined for increased service life and the barrel has four right-hand grooves with a 305 mm (1:12 in) rifling twist rate. Also attached to the barrel is the front sight base, carry handle and gas block (equipped with an exhaust-type gas regulator valve with three settings). The barrel assembly weighs and of the long barrel a portion of is rifled. The MAG takes zero shifts between barrel assemblies into account by making the front sight of the assemblies adjustable with the help of tools.


title: FN MAG

text: The weapon feeds from the left side from open-link, metal ammunition belts: either the American disintegrating M13 linked belt (NATO standard) or the non-disintegrating segmented German DM1 belt, whose 50-round sections can be linked through a cartridge. The DM1 belt is based on the last version of the "Gurt 34/41"-family used in World War II in MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns. After firing, the separated M13 link or emptied DM1 belt section is cleared out on the right side of the receiver through an ejection port normally covered by a spring-loaded dust cover. In order to adapt the weapon to feed from one belt type to the other, several components of the feed mechanism need to be reconfigured since the position of the feed tray's cartridge stop and pawl angles in the top cover are different. The MAG features a pawl-type feeding mechanism that continues to move the feed link during both the rearward and forward cycles of the reciprocating bolt carrier, producing a smooth belt flow. The feeding mechanism's three pawls are actuated by a roller connected to the bolt carrier. The feed channel rail, feed link, both feed slides and the feed tray are chrome plated. The top cover body is an anodized aluminum casting. In the infantry assault role, the weapon can be fitted with a sheet metal container that houses a 50-round belt and is attached to the left side of the receiver.


title: FN MAG

text: The MAG is equipped with iron sights that consist of a forward blade (adjustable mechanically for both windage and elevation) and a folding leaf rear sight with an aperture in the down position for firing distances from in increments and an open U-notch for ranges from graduated every . The rear sight is hinged to a base with protective ears that is integral with the receiver's upper forging. The iron sight line has a sight radius.


title: FN MAG

text: The top of later production model receivers often feature a MIL-STD-1913 rail as a mounting platform for firearm accessories like (low light) optical sights and night-vision devices.


title: FN MAG

text: With the safety placed in the "safe" setting, the sear mechanism is disabled. The safety can only be engaged with the weapon cocked.


title: FN MAG

text: For the light machine gun fire support role, the gun is fitted with a folding bipod (attached to the end of the gas cylinder) that can be adjusted for height. For carrying or use as a forearm, the aluminum legs can be folded back and secured in slots under the receiver by hooks and a spring-loaded catch. When firing from the hip, the bipod legs remain extended and the left leg is gripped for support. The bipod can be removed from the gas cylinder by tapping-out a roll pin in the gas cylinder head until it is flush and the bipod can be rotated enough to clear the gas cylinder's retaining lugs.


title: FN MAG

text: In the static medium machine gun sustained fire support role, the weapon is mounted on a tripod that offers a higher degree of accuracy and control than the bipod, for example the FN 360° tripod, which features an elevation adjustment mechanism that enables the weapon's bore axis to be maintained from to , has a 30° to +15° elevation change and a 360° traverse range.


title: FN MAG

text: Variants of the FN MAG were manufactured by at least ten companies: FN Herstal, Fabricaciones Militares, Changfeng Machinery, Indian Ordnance Factories, Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärfaktori, the Ordnance Development and Engineering Company of Singapore, Canadian Arsenals Limited, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Heckler and Koch, Manroy Engineering, Yunnan Xiyi Industry Company Limited, and Egypt's Maadi Company for Engineering Industries.


title: FN MAG

text: The vehicle-mounted variant of the MAG lacks a stock, bipod, carry handle, pistol grip, ejection port dust cover and a mount for optical sights. It does, however, have a new closed-type gas regulator. Depending on the weapon's employment, the machine gun can also be fitted with an extended charging handle linkage, standard trigger group (with a pistol grip), or a specialized trigger assembly with an electrically fired trigger.


title: FN MAG

text: The pintle-mounted aircraft model is fed from either the right- or left-hand side exclusively with the M13 belt. Thus configured, weapons typically lack standard iron sights and are equipped with electrically powered triggers.


title: FN MAG

text: The "L7" general-purpose machine gun is used by the British Army. The "L7" and the related "L8" are license-built derivatives of the MAG. The official British Army designation for the current version is the "L7A2 GPMG" (General Purpose Machine Gun).


title: FN MAG

text: The L7 was adopted by the British forces as a replacement for the long-serving Vickers machine gun (in the medium role) and the Bren (in the light assault role), following trials in 1957. Built under license originally by Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock and currently by Manroy Engineering, it serves in the British Army, the Royal Marines and other services. There have been two main variants, the L7A1 and L7A2, developed for infantry use, with the L7A2 having superseded the earlier variant. Several other variants have been developed, notably the L8 (produced in the L8A1 and L8A2 versions), modified for mounting inside armoured vehicles (the L37 variant was developed for mounting on armoured vehicles). Although intended to replace the Bren entirely, that light machine gun (re-chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO and re-titled as the L4) continued in use in jungle terrain (especially in the Far East), where there was no requirement for the medium machine gun role, and with secondary units, until the adoption of the L86A1 Light Support Weapon (LSW). The LSW was intended to replace both the L7 and the L4 in the light machine gun role, but dissatisfaction with the L86's sustained fire capabilities and reliability resulted in combat units continuing to utilize the L7 whenever possible (although neither it, nor its 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition was supposed to be issued to infantry platoons). The British Army and Royal Marines were issued with the L110A2 (FN Minimi Para) to replace the LSW as the light section support or fire support weapon. This uses the same NATO-standard 5.56×45mm ammunition as the L85 assault rifle. However a review of requirements led to the withdrawal of both the L110A2 LMG and L86A2 LSW from service in 2018, with the 7.62 mm L7A2 resuming its place in the British Army infantry section. Other variants continue to be used in mounted roles on many British military vehicles, naval vessels and aircraft.


title: FN MAG

text: In 1961, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield (now BAE Systems) in the United Kingdom, undertook licence production of the MAG in the following versions: L7A2, L8A2, L37A2, L20A1 and the L43A1. These models all use the M13 ammunition belt.


title: FN MAG

text: The "L7A2", general-purpose machine gun, replaced the L7A1 in service with the British Army. Compared to the MAG Model 60-20, it features, among other minor changes, an improved feed mechanism, a 10-position gas regulator valve, a polymer butt-stock, a provision for 50 round belt-box and a bracket, used to mount optical day- and night-vision sights, mounted to the left side of the receiver. In the sustained fire role, the L7A2 can be mounted on the L4A1 tripod in conjunction with a C2A2 Support Weapons Sight or the sight unit used on the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system. Fired by a two-man team who are grouped in a specialist Machine Gun Platoon the L7A2 in conjunction with a C2A2 Support Weapons Sight can provide battalion-level direct support fire at ranges up to and indirect map and range table predicted support/harassment fire out to . The indirect firing method exploits the 7.62×51mm NATO useful maximum range, that is defined by the maximum range of a small-arms projectile while still maintaining the minimum kinetic energy required to put unprotected personnel out of action, which is generally believed to be 15 kilogram-meters (147 J / 108 ft⋅lbf). With the tripod and FGM-148 Javelin sight unit indirect fire configuration, British troops in Afghanistan used the L7A2 at ranges of and over . The average elevation of Afghanistan and accompanying low ISA air density significantly contribute to extending the useful maximum range of small-arms projectiles.


title: FN MAG

text: The "L8A2" coaxial tank machine gun (replaced the L8A1) has a different gas valve switch (closed, single-position) when compared to the analogous Model 60-40, a different flash hider and a modified cocking handle. The weapon also has a trigger group that accepts electrical input and a lever in the feed tray that enables the belt to be removed without lifting the feed tray cover.


title: FN MAG

text: Another tank machine gun is the "L37A2" (succeeded the L37A1) designed to be mounted on tank turrets, in the commander's position, on wheeled armoured vehicles and on armored personnel carriers. It differs from the L8A2 primarily in its trigger, which was adapted from the L7A2 GPMG. The machine gun can be used in the ground role for self-defense, by dismounted vehicle crew members, the "egress kit" consists of an L7A2 barrel, bipod and buttstock.


title: FN MAG

text: The "L20A1" aircraft machine gun was based on the L8A2, from which it differs by having an electrical trigger and a slotted flash suppressor. The L20A1 can be converted to right-hand feed by changing several components in the feed mechanism.


title: FN MAG

text: The "L43A1", also developed from the L8A2, is a coaxially mounted tank machine gun used to sight-in the vehicle's main gun by firing ballistically-matched tracer ammunition at the target to confirm the trajectory visually. The weapon's barrel, fitted with a flash hider, has a reinforced and heavier structure that increases the weapon's accuracy especially during sustained fire.'


title: FN MAG

text: An unlicensed version is made for export by Norinco and made by Changfeng Machinery Co., Ltd as the CQ, 7.62 × 51 (Copy Version) (Now renamed CS/LM1 as of 2006) with an adjustable butt. The weapon was officially produced in 2006 and it was showcased in various foreign military expo conventions.


title: FN MAG

text: The XY, 7.62 × 51 is a true copy of the FN MAG made with a wooden stock by Yunnan Xiyi Industry Company Limited.


title: FN MAG

text: The German arms manufacturer, Heckler & Koch, whose 1999 to 2002 owner BAE Systems — as the result of a 1999 merger between British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, Heckler & Koch was owned by the resulting BAE Systems — had executed a midlife improvement program of the L7A1 (FN MAG 60.20 T3) to the upgraded L7A2 (FN MAG 60.20 T6) version under contract for the British Ministry of Defence, attempted to make their own variant of the FN MAG. It was designated the HK 221. This version is equipped with an iron sight line that consist of a rotary rear drum and hooded front post and Picatinny rail atop the receiver and was meant to compete in the machine guns trials held by the German and French military between 2007-2008. The trials concluded with the French military selecting the original FN MAG in 2010, while the German military selected the Heckler & Koch MG5 in 2015.


title: FN MAG

text: Indonesian arms manufacturer PT Pindad license produced FN MAG in 2003 as SM2. SM2 V1 variant comes with integrated bipod, with a total length of 1275 mm and a weight of 11.6 kg (including stock and bipod). The second variant is called SM2 V2 which is modified as a coaxial gun. The stock is removed by changing the trigger mechanism to the rear of the weapon as in the M2 Browning. This variant has a higher rate of fire of 700-1200 rpm. It is shorter at only 1070 mm in length with a weight (plus coaxial) of 12 kg.


title: FN MAG

text: In 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by Mossad with an FN MAG, redesigned to fire from a remote control. The modified MAG was powered by artificial intelligence, and weighed over a ton.


title: FN MAG

text: The Swedish abbreviation for "kulspruta" (machine gun, lit. "bullet sprayer") is "Ksp". "Strv" is the abbreviation of "Stridsvagn" (battle tank).


title: FN MAG

text: Kulspruta 58: Ksp 58, adopted in 1958 using the 6.5×55mm rifle cartridge which at that time was the standard cartridge in the Swedish Army.


title: FN MAG

text: Kulspruta 58 B: In the early 1970s, the weapon was modified with a new gas regulator and at the same time the barrels were replaced to the new standard 7.62×51mm NATO, same as used by the Ak 4. Ksp 58 replaced the considerably heavier Ksp m/42B in the infantry units. It can be fed with non-disintegrating DM1 or disintegrating M13 linked ammunition belts.


title: FN MAG

text: Kulspruta 58 C: On Combat Vehicle 90, this version replaced the previously used Ksp m/39 in the third quarter of 2004.


title: FN MAG

text: Kulspruta 58 Strv: stripped variant mainly used for fixed mounting in tanks. Phased out along with Stridsvagn 103.


title: FN MAG

text: Kulspruta 58 D: Reserved designation for the renovated and modified Ksp 58B. The trial version is referred to as 'Ksp 58 DF', where the 'F' stands for 'Försök' (Experimental).


title: FN MAG

text: On January 14, 1977, the US Army awarded a contract to FN Herstal for the delivery of a modernized Model 60-40 variant tank machine gun designated the "M240". Initially, the firearms were produced in Belgium. Currently they are manufactured in the US by FN's US wholly owned subsidiary FNMI (FN Manufacturing Inc.) located in Columbia, South Carolina, and by U.S. Ordnance in McCarran, Nevada.


title: FN MAG

text: MKEK has announced that a licensed version of MAG called PMT-76 or MFY-71 will be made under the "National Machinegun Project" (). 12 prototypes of PMT-76 were tested in 2017 and order of undisclosed number was put.


title: Elton John albums discography

text: The albums discography of English musician and singer-songwriter Elton John consists of 31 studio albums, 5 live albums, 9 soundtrack albums, 22 compilation albums, 4 extended plays, 3 tribute albums, 4 collaboration albums, and 2 holiday albums.


title: Elton John albums discography

text: In 1969, John's debut album, "Empty Sky", was released. In 1970, John released his self-titled second album "Elton John", which featured his first hit single, "Your Song". John's commercial success was at its peak in the 1970s, when he released a streak of chart-topping albums in the US and UK, including "Honky Château" (1972), "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (1973), "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973), "Caribou" (1974), "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" (1975), and "Rock of the Westies" (1975). John continued his success in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit albums including "21 at 33" (1980), "Too Low for Zero" (1983), "Sleeping with the Past" (1989), "The One" (1992), "Made in England" (1995), and "The Big Picture" (1997). John has continued to record new music since then, including the albums "Songs from the West Coast" (2001), "The Diving Board" (2013), "Wonderful Crazy Night" (2016), and "The Lockdown Sessions" (2021). In 2017, John released the greatest hits album "Diamonds", spanning his hits from 1970 to 2016.


title: Elton John albums discography

text: Throughout his career, John has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artist of all time. John's biggest selling studio album is "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and ranks among the best-selling albums worldwide. According to RIAA, he has sold 79 million albums in the United States, making him the 6th best-selling male solo artist in history. Also according to RIAA he has sold 35 million singles in US. 2019, "Billboard" ranked him as the greatest solo artist of all time (third overall behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones). John has accumulated 9 No. 1 singles on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and 7 No. 1 albums on "Billboard" 200. John is also "Billboard"s greatest male solo artist on the Hot 100 of all time (third overall behind the Beatles and Madonna).


title: Dark Desire (TV series)

text: Dark Desire () is a Mexican thriller drama streaming television series produced by Argos Comunicación for Netflix. The series stars Maite Perroni, Erik Hayser, Alejandro Speitzer, María Fernanda Yepes, Regina Pavón and Jorge Poza, The start of production was confirmed on 6 May 2019, and it premiered on 15 July 2020.


title: Dark Desire (TV series)

text: On 19 August 2020, the series was renewed for a second and final season, which premiered on 2 February 2022. It was also announced that season 1 of "Dark Desire" was the most watched non-English title on Netflix, amassing 35 million viewers in 28 days.


title: Dark Desire (TV series)

text: Alma (Maite Perroni) is a law school professor. She is married to Leonardo (Jorge Poza), a judge who has kept much from her. They are parents of Zoe (Regina Pavón). In this context, Darío (Alejandro Speitzer) and Esteban (Erik Hayser), a police officer, also come into play.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Alison Hewson (née Stewart; born 23 March 1961) is an Irish activist and businesswoman. She is the wife of singer and musician Paul Hewson, known as Bono, from the rock group U2.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Raised in Raheny, she met her future husband at age 12 at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, and married him in 1982. She was awarded a degree in politics and sociology from University College, Dublin (UCD) in 1989. The couple have four children together and live at residences in Ireland, France, and the United States. She has inspired several U2 songs, most famously "Sweetest Thing".


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson became involved in anti-nuclear activism in the 1990s. She narrated "Black Wind, White Land", a 1993 Irish documentary about the lasting effects of the Chernobyl disaster, and has worked closely with activist Adi Roche. She has been a patron of Chernobyl Children's Project International since 1994 and has participated in a number of aid missions to the high-radiation exclusion zones of Belarus. She has also campaigned against Sellafield, the northern English nuclear facility. In 2002 she helped lead an effort which sent more than a million postcards, urging the site be closed, to Prime Minister Tony Blair and others. Hewson has repeatedly been discussed by tabloid newspapers as a possible candidate for political offices, including President of Ireland; none of these suggestions have come to fruition.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson is the co-founder of two ethical businesses, the EDUN fashion line in 2005, and Nude Skincare products in 2007. The former, intended to promote fair trade with Africa, has struggled to become a viable business. French conglomerate LVMH has made substantial investments into both companies.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Alison Stewart was born on 23 March 1961, the daughter of Terry and Joy Stewart. She has an older brother, Ian, and nephew, Ross Stewart, who both live in Australia. The Stewart family, who resided in the suburb of Raheny on Dublin's Northside, raised their children as Protestants. Her father was a self-educated electrical worker who, according to Hewson, was "constantly questioning" things. Her mother, who was a housewife, had a secretarial career in mind for her daughter.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Alison studied at Mount Temple Comprehensive School. At the age of twelve, she met Paul Hewson, who was in the year above at the school. He pursued her immediately, but she initially kept her distance, labeling him "an eejit" even though she secretly admired him. In September 1974, Paul's mother Iris died suddenly, leaving him emotionally adrift and in conflict with his father and brother. Soon after, Alison began taking care of Paul: cleaning his clothes, walking to school with him, and cooking for him. In September 1976, Paul met the other members of what would become U2; the band members adopted nicknames, and Paul soon became known as Bono. At around the same time, he and Ali, as she was known, began dating, and soon became a steady couple. It took Stewart a while to enjoy the band's music, as her own tastes ran toward her father's Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole records.


title: Ali Hewson

text: At one point, the pair split up, but soon reunited. The relationship became more serious as she accompanied him in his efforts to break through in the music industry, and by 1979 they were discussing marriage, conditional upon his career becoming established. In the meantime she worked in a motor insurance company and in her father's electrical business.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson married Bono on 31 August 1982 in a Church of Ireland ceremony at All Saints Church, Raheny. The ceremony combined rituals of both conventional Protestantism and the Shalom Friendship group that Bono and other U2 members had belonged to. In debt to U2's record label, Island Records, the couple could not afford a honeymoon, but Island founder Chris Blackwell gave them use of the Goldeneye estate he owned in Jamaica. Having returned to Ireland, the couple moved to a small mews house in Howth, which they shared with the rest of U2.


title: Ali Hewson

text: As the band broke through in popularity with the War Tour in 1983, Ali Hewson did not readily adapt to the new circumstances. After seeing her with the group at a trendy Hollywood nightspot, journalist Ethlie Ann Vare commented that Ali looked "as out of place as a dairymaid in a brothel." Although she had wanted to become a nurse, Hewson gave up on the notion, as the intense schooling required would have been incompatible with the direction that her husband's life had taken. Instead she focused on studying in the social sciences, to give her an ability to understand social policy and make a difference to people, similar to what nursing would have enabled. By Bono's own description, the marriage hit a period of strain in 1986 due to time commitments during the group's recording of "The Joshua Tree". Tensions continued in 1987 during the subsequent Joshua Tree Tour.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson received a degree in social science, politics and sociology from University College Dublin in 1989 at age 28, giving birth to the couple's first daughter, Jordan, two weeks before her final exams. Further plans to earn a master's degree in moral and political ethics were put on hold after the birth of their second daughter, Memphis Eve, in 1991. Two sons, Elijah Bob Patricus Guggi Q and John Abraham, were born in 1999 and 2001, respectively. Being effectively a single parent while U2 toured was difficult for Hewson, but she now found Bono helpful even at a distance.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In late 1985, following U2's participation in Live Aid, Bono and Hewson spent five weeks as aid volunteers in Ajibar during the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. She saw children with no possessions and at risk of death; despite this, to her they appeared more spiritually alive than those in Ireland who had material comforts but seemed spoiled and spiritually unaware, like her own children. In 1986, the couple traveled to strife-torn areas in Nicaragua and El Salvador on a visit organised by Central American Mission Partners.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In 1992, Hewson participated in Greenpeace protests against the Sellafield plant for nuclear reprocessing, located across the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. She was especially set against the under-construction Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant component being opened. She was aboard Greenpeace's MV "Solo" when it staged a publicity-oriented "raid" wherein the band members landed on the beach at the plant in rubber dinghies, but she said she had not been responsible for that particular protest.


title: Ali Hewson

text: This involvement led her to become interested in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. After a request by activist Adi Roche, she went to blighted, high-radiation exclusion zones in Belarus for three weeks to narrate part of "Black Wind, White Land". The 1993 Irish documentary, shown on RTÉ, highlighted the plight of fallout victims of the Chernobyl event. "Hot Press" magazine wrote that Hewson had "obvious gifts as a presenter, which include a sense of quiet compassion that draws forth the best from the people she talks with." Another reviewer said that the documentary was very effective until she started speaking.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Since 1994, Hewson has been a patron of Chernobyl Children's Project International (shortened to Chernobyl Children International in 2010), an organisation founded and run by Roche that works with children, families, and communities that continue to be affected by Chernobyl. Through the years, Hewson has taken at least ten trips to Belarus and other nations in the region despite the risk to her health. She has organised overland aid convoys and sometimes driven ambulances filled with medical supplies herself; in one case she had to retreat quickly when a fire spread in a village a few miles from Chernobyl. Hewson has made sure her own children met those from Chernobyl with birth deformities and other illnesses, so that they would have a broader appreciation of the world and what to be thankful for. She has said that fundraising for those affected is very difficult, given that many people believe the problems of Chernobyl are all in the past.


title: Ali Hewson

text: She was aware from the outset that her circumstances would make her vulnerable to "ladies who lunch"-style remarks (sometimes made against women, married to wealthy, high-profile men, who engage in charitable activities), but said, "People who criticise these women are probably giving in to cynicism, and I think if you get cynical about life, you lose the real meaning of it." In 2007, she became a member of the board of directors for Chernobyl Children's Project International, a role that would give her a voice in the organisation's policy making. In 2009, she staged a public abseil of the 17-storey Elysian Tower in Cork to raise funds for the organisation.


title: Ali Hewson

text: She returned to the Sellafield issue in 2002, noting that while Ireland had no nuclear power plants itself, Belarus had been the most affected region even though Chernobyl was not in it, and that was "exactly what could happen in Ireland if there was an explosion at Sellafield." In addition, she feared the ongoing low-level emissions from Sellafield: "I started to wonder how safe it was for [children] to play on the beach or to swim in the sea or even to eat fish." In the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, she also viewed the plant as vulnerable to terrorists.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In April 2002, Hewson was one of the leaders of an effort which delivered over a million postcards demanding that the facility be shut down; recipients included British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles, and Norman Askew, head of British Nuclear Fuels Limited. (The message to the first said, "Tony, look me in the eye and tell me I'm safe.") She personally delivered a giant postcard to Blair at 10 Downing Street. The Shut Sellafield Campaign had its postcards stocked in Superquinn and Dunnes Stores supermarkets, and Hewson publicly engaged Tesco when they refused to do the same. The campaign was backed by celebrities, including Ronan Keating and Samantha Mumba, and Hewson made many newspaper and radio appearances on its behalf. It was the first prolonged exposure Hewson had to the public eye, after two decades of mostly being focused upon maintaining her privacy. Her continued activism also meant that she too would not always be around for the couple's children.


title: Ali Hewson

text: As the postcard effort was reaching its peak, tabloid newspapers speculated that the Labour Party wanted to put Hewson up for the Irish presidential election of 2004, with the "Daily Mirror" quoting an unnamed party insider as saying, "She's a mother of four but she has always had world issues at heart and she'd make the perfect candidate." (Labour had succeeded with its candidate Mary Robinson in the 1990 election but came in fourth with Roche in the 1997 election.) Hewson stated that she had not been approached, and that "It's not a serious proposition. It would obviously be a huge honour if I was asked to take on such a huge task, but for one thing I'm not sure I'm qualified, and for another I've got four small kids to bring up first." She also expressed contentment with incumbent President Mary McAleese staying for another term. She jokingly added that she could not see Bono agreeing to live in a smaller house. Hewson received a media mention two years later as a possible Social Democratic and Labour Party candidate in the 2004 European Parliament elections after John Hume had stood down. The notion of her running for Irish president came up again in 2008 in conjunction with the 2011 election. Hewson demurred once more, saying she did not speak the Irish language well enough, this time adding humorously that she could not see her husband being willing to walk behind her at events. The candidate that Labour did put up, Michael D. Higgins, won the post. Notwithstanding this speculation, Hewson generally shies away from political comments in the media.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson has long advocated for a children's museum for Ireland, inspired by a positive experience her daughters had at the Dallas Children's Museum in the mid-1990s. In 2003, plans were announced to build the so-called Exploration Station as part of an overall €500 million Heuston Gate development project near the Dublin Heuston railway station. The children-oriented science centre was to be owned by the Irish Children's Museum charitable trust, established in 2006, with Hewson as a prominent member of the board led by Danny O'Hare. Hewson said, "Seeing as we're nearly the last European country in on it, we can learn from children's museums already up and running and expand on them." However, over the next few years the science centre faced significant cost overruns in the planning stages and a possible European Commission investigation into how the Office of Public Works had handled the awarding of the contract for it. The effects of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 then put a halt to the entire Heuston Gate project. As of August 2016, the site was finally fixed as between Earlsfort Terrace and the Iveagh Gardens, and as of October 2019, the post of CEO was advertised.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In 2015 Hewson signed an open letter which the ONE Campaign had been collecting signatures for; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women as they serve as the head of the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa respectively, which will start to set the priorities in development funding before a main UN summit in September 2015 that will establish new development goals for the generation.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In 2005, Hewson, Bono and designer Rogan Gregory co-founded the EDUN fashion label. It was intended to help bring about positive change in Africa through a fair trade-based relationship rather than by direct aid. Another aim of the label was to set an ethical example in an industry they felt had long exploited child labour. She said they wanted "to show that you can make a for-profit business where everybody in the chain is treated well." Hewson had not been particularly interested in fashion prior to this undertaking.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson emphasised that Edun would have to be profitable to be considered a success, but in this it struggled. She later admitted that the couple were naive about what it takes to make a successful fashion enterprise. Edun encountered problems with both quality of goods and delivery times from their African suppliers, and most of the stores originally carrying the line dropped it. It lost €9.7 million in 2007 and €12.8 million in 2008, suffering along with the rest of the apparel sector from the financial crisis of 2007–2008.


title: Ali Hewson

text: After the couple had put $20 million of their own funds into the venture, they sold 49% of it to French conglomerate LVMH in 2009. The relaunched Edun featured Sharon Wauchob as its new chief designer. By 2010, the company had outsourced much of the manufacturing for its new fashion line to China, generating some negative reactions, while simpler garments were still African-made. Hewson said that business realities compelled this action, but that she hoped more work could be done in Africa in the future. Hewson devoted a large amount of time to Edun, saying in 2011, "I think [the fashion industry] is the toughest business there is," and that despite the obstacles and struggles, "you just keep going." The proposition remained difficult, however, and Edun lost €6.8 million in 2011 and €5.9 million in 2012. The Hewsons said the company was in an investment phase and they were satisfied with the five-year strategic business plan underway.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson is also co-founder, along with Bryan Meehan, of Nude skincare – a luxury, natural skincare company. Established in 2007, the venture sought to combine ethical principles and environmentally friendly, yet chic, packaging, with a high-performance product based on probiotics and omega oils.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In 2009, Hewson brought legal action in England against Stella McCartney for bringing out Stella Nude, a new "eau de toilette" version of the Stella perfume, saying that it amounted to copyright infringement of her own Nude Skincare. Hewson lost in the High Court when Mr Justice Floyd ruled against her.


title: Ali Hewson

text: In February 2011, LVMH purchased 70 percent of Nude skincare. The following year, Hewson said that being part of a much larger corporation gave them research and development resources that they previously lacked and a more focused approach to marketing. She added, "It took us much longer to get here than we anticipated. But we still have very big ambitions for the brand to go much farther." Hewson herself has pale skin and very dark hair, wears little jewellery, and has eschewed cosmetic surgery. The "Evening Standard" described Hewson's style as "the antithesis of bling" and columnist Amanda Brunker wrote that at age 50 her attractive appearance "seems to defy all the odds" given her hectic lifestyle.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson has served as at least partial inspiration for many Bono-authored U2 songs, going back to the track "Another Time, Another Place" from their 1980 debut album "Boy". She helped Bono get through a bad period of writer's block during the lead-up to the 1983 "War" album, particularly in the composition of the lyrics to "Sunday Bloody Sunday". She inspired the personal themes in "New Year's Day", from the same record. That album and the accompanying War Tour brought financial success to the band, and Bono and Hewson moved into a three-level, three-room Martello tower in Bray. The group's 1984 song "Promenade" reflects both that location and the spiritual aspects of his desire for her.


title: Ali Hewson

text: The U2 song "Sweetest Thing" was written for Hewson as a gift because Bono forgot her birthday whilst recording with the band during "The Joshua Tree" sessions. Originally released as a B-side in 1987, it was later re-recorded and released as a single from the compilation album "The Best of 1980–1990" in 1998. Hewson agreed to appear in the single's music video as long as all proceeds from it went to Chernobyl Children's Project.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Bono wrote the lyric of the 1988 song "All I Want Is You" as a meditation on the idea of commitment. He later said, "[It]'s clearly about a younger version of myself and my relationship with Ali," and added that by nature he was a wanderer, not a family man, and that "The only reason I'm here is because I met someone so extraordinary that I just couldn't let that go." U2 lyrics usually have several possible levels of interpretation, and it is not always possible to definitively ascribe Hewson's influence upon them, but music writer Niall Stokes believes that inspiration from Hewson is pronounced throughout the group's 1997 album "Pop", particularly on "Staring at the Sun", which he believes reflects her Chernobyl Children's Project involvement and the feelings of both danger and hopefulness that it triggered in Bono. Stokes also believes that the 2000 song "When I Look at the World" is an explicit acknowledgement of Hewson's strength and commitment as exemplified by that Chernobyl work, while others think it is about Jesus or God. Bono has seemed to deflect those interpretations, saying that song is in part a hard-edged look at himself from the eyes of one losing faith. In any case, Bono has said that he does not feel constrained in his writing or interviews by what Hewson might think, as "[she] doesn't read newspapers. Or listen to the radio. There's a mysterious distance between us." Not known for being musical herself, Hewson did perform Lady Gaga's "Telephone", as a duet with her husband, to serenade their daughter Eve at her 21st birthday celebration at a club in Las Vegas in 2012.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Hewson and her family live in Killiney, in south County Dublin, in a mansion and grounds that overlook the Irish Sea and that have been expanded by purchasing the adjoining property. Bill Clinton and Salman Rushdie are among those who have stayed at the guest house there. With U2 band mate The Edge, the couple co-own a 20-room villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France, where Bono and Hewson often mix with top celebrities. Hewson in particular has been friendly with several supermodels, which she uses to her advantage when booking charity events.


title: Ali Hewson

text: Bono and Hewson also own a $14.5 million penthouse apartment at The San Remo on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which they purchased from Steve Jobs. By 2011, the couple's fortune was placed at €572 million.


title: Ali Hewson

text: While her husband has provoked a variety of critical responses—some negative—assessments of Hewson have generally been favourable, characterising her as down-to-earth. She views herself as "not a typical rock star wife". Their marriage has been considered one of the most long-lived and stable in the entertainment world. She does have to deal with the psychological effects of her husband coming off tour and readjusting to domestic life. After the extended 1992–1993 Zoo TV Tour, full of sensory overloads and alternate stage personae for Bono, the couple began a practice of hosting Sunday lunches at home, to establish a sense of regular, ordinary activities. The family became fixtures at Sunday services in Killiney as well, with a bond of Christianity still existing between the couple. She has stated, "I've no desire to be a star," seeing the effect intense public attention has had on both her husband and on activist Adi Roche.


title: Ali Hewson

text: While she dislikes being referred to as "Bono's wife", she has said, " [...] I really don't have a big problem with my own identity, because I am a very private person, so I've always let Bono take the brunt of anything that was coming along. He is happy to do that; I am quite happy to make my own way around things."


title: Ali Hewson

text: The Cranberries' 2001 song "Time Is Ticking Out" was inspired by Hewson's work with Chernobyl Children's Project. In 2002, Hewson received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the National University of Ireland for her work on environmental issues, particularly the Chernobyl Children's Project. Bono and Ali Hewson were given the Council of Fashion Designers of America board of directors' Special Tribute Award in 2007 for their humanitarian work via the Edun clothing line. Hewson was also voted Sexiest Celebrity Other Half in a 2008 poll by entertainment.ie.


title: Top-level domain

text: A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last non empty label of a fully qualified domain name. For example, in the domain name www.example.com, the top-level domain is com. Responsibility for management of most top-level domains is delegated to specific organizations by the ICANN, an Internet multi-stakeholder community, which operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), and is in charge of maintaining the DNS root zone.


title: Top-level domain

text: Originally, the top-level domain space was organized into three main groups: "Countries", "Categories", and "Multiorganizations". An additional "temporary" group consisted of only the initial DNS domain, arpa, and was intended for transitional purposes toward the stabilization of the domain name system.


title: Top-level domain

text: Countries are designated in the Domain Name System by their two-letter ISO country code; there are exceptions, however (e.g., .uk). This group of domains is therefore commonly known as country-code top-level domains (ccTLD). Since 2009, countries with non–Latin-based scripts may apply for internationalized country code top-level domain names, which are displayed in end-user applications in their language-native script or alphabet, but use a Punycode-translated ASCII domain name in the Domain Name System.


title: Top-level domain

text: Generic top-level domains (formerly "categories") initially consisted of gov, edu, com, mil, org, and net. More generic TLDs have been added, such as info.


title: Top-level domain

text: The authoritative list of current TLDs in the root zone is published at the IANA website at https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/.


title: Top-level domain

text: An internationalized country code top-level domain (IDN ccTLD) is a top-level domain with a specially encoded domain name that is displayed in an end user application, such as a web browser, in its language-native script or alphabet (such as the Arabic alphabet), or a non-alphabetic writing system (such as Chinese characters). IDN ccTLDs are an application of the internationalized domain name (IDN) system to top-level Internet domains assigned to countries, or independent geographic regions.


title: Top-level domain

text: ICANN started to accept applications for IDN ccTLDs in November 2009, and installed the first set into the Domain Names System in May 2010. The first set was a group of Arabic names for the countries of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. By May 2010, 21 countries had submitted applications to ICANN, representing 11 scripts.


title: Top-level domain

text: The domain arpa was the first Internet top-level domain. It was intended to be used only temporarily, aiding in the transition of traditional ARPANET host names to the domain name system. However, after it had been used for reverse DNS lookup, it was found impractical to retire it, and is used today exclusively for Internet infrastructure purposes such as in-addr.arpa for IPv4 and ip6.arpa for IPv6 reverse DNS resolution, uri.arpa and urn.arpa for the Dynamic Delegation Discovery System, and e164.arpa for telephone number mapping based on NAPTR DNS records. For historical reasons, arpa is sometimes considered to be a generic top-level domain.


title: Top-level domain

text: A set of domain names is reserved by the Internet Engineering Task Force as special-use domain names per authority of Request for Comments (RFC) 6761. The practice originated in RFC 1597 for reserved address allocations in 1994, and reserved top-level domains in RFC 2606 of 1999. RFC 6761 reserves the following four top-level domain names to avoid confusion and conflict. Any such reserved usage of those TLDs should not occur in production networks that utilize the global domain name system:


title: Top-level domain

text: RFC 6762 reserves the use of .local for link-local host names that can be resolved via the Multicast DNS name resolution protocol.


title: Top-level domain

text: RFC 7686 reserves the use of .onion for the self-authenticating names of Tor onion services. These names can only be resolved by a Tor client because of the use of onion routing to protect the anonymity of users.


title: Top-level domain

text: Internet-Draft draft-wkumari-dnsop-internal-00 proposes reserving the use of .internal for "names which do not have meaning in the global context but do have meaning in a context internal to their network", and for which the RFC 6761 reserved names are semantically inappropriate.


title: Top-level domain

text: In the late 1980s, InterNIC created the nato domain for use by NATO. NATO considered none of the then-existing TLDs as adequately reflecting their status as an international organization. Soon after this addition, however, InterNIC also created the int TLD for the use by international organizations in general, and persuaded NATO to use the second level domain "nato.int" instead. The "nato" TLD, no longer used, was finally removed in July 1996.


title: Top-level domain

text: Other historical TLDs are cs for Czechoslovakia (now using cz for Czech Republic and sk for Slovakia), dd for East Germany (using de after reunification of Germany), yu for SFR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro (now using ba for Bosnia and Herzegovina, hr for Croatia, me for Montenegro, mk for North Macedonia, rs for Serbia and si for Slovenia), and zr for Zaire (now cd for the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In contrast to these, the TLD su has remained active despite the demise of the Soviet Union that it represents. Under the chairmanship of Nigel Roberts, ICANN's ccNSO is working on a policy for retirement of ccTLDs that have been removed from ISO 3166.


title: Top-level domain

text: Around late 2000, ICANN discussed and finally introduced aero, biz, coop, info, museum, name, and pro TLDs. Site owners argued that a similar TLD should be made available for adult and pornographic websites to settle the dispute of obscene content on the Internet, to address the responsibility of US service providers under the US Communications Decency Act of 1996. Several options were proposed including "xxx", "sex" and "adult". The xxx top-level domain eventually went live in 2011.


title: Top-level domain

text: An older proposal consisted of seven new gTLDs: arts, firm, info, nom, rec, shop, and web. Later biz, info, museum, and name covered most of these old proposals.


title: Top-level domain

text: During the 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting in Paris in 2008, ICANN started a new process of TLD naming policy to take a "significant step forward on the introduction of new generic top-level domains". This program envisioned the availability of many new or already proposed domains, as well as a new application and implementation process. Observers believed that the new rules could result in hundreds of new gTLDs being registered.


title: Top-level domain

text: On 13 June 2012, ICANN announced nearly 2,000 applications for top-level domains, which began installation throughout 2013. The first seven – "bike", "clothing", "guru", "holdings", "plumbing", "singles", and "ventures" – were released in 2014.


title: Top-level domain

text: ICANN rejected several proposed domains to include home and corp due to conflicts regarding gTLDs that are in use in internal networks.


title: Top-level domain

text: Investigation into the conflicts was conducted at ICANN's request by Interisle Consulting. The resulting report was to become known as the Name Collision issue, which was first reported at ICANN 47.


title: Top-level domain

text: Due to the structure of DNS, each node in the tree has its own collection of records, and since top-level domains are nodes in DNS, they have records of their own. For example, querying "org" itself (with a tool such as dig, host or nslookup) returns information on its nameservers:


title: Top-level domain

text: "Dotless domains" are top-level domains that take advantage of that fact, and implement A, AAAA or MX DNS records to serve webpages or allow incoming email directly on a TLD – for example, a webpage hosted on "<nowiki>http://example/</nowiki>", or an email address "user@example".


title: Top-level domain

text: ICANN and IAB have spoken out against the practice, classifying it as a security risk among other concerns. ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) additionally claims that SMTP "requires at least two labels in the FQDN of a mail address" and, as such, mail servers would reject emails to addresses with dotless domains.


title: Top-level domain

text: ICANN has also published a resolution in 2013 that prohibits the creation of dotless domains on gTLDs. ccTLDs, however, fall largely under their respective country's jurisdiction, and not under ICANN's. Because of this, there have been many examples of dotless domains on ccTLDs in spite of ICANN's vocal opposition.


title: Top-level domain

text: As of August 2021, that is the case of Anguilla's .ai, online at http://ai./ (as a mirror of http://offshore.ai/), and of Uzbekistan's .uz, online at https://uz./ (as a mirror of https://cctld.uz/, albeit with an invalid certificate). Other ccTLDs with A or AAAA records, as of August 2021, include: .bh, .cm, .pn, .tk, .va, and .ws.


title: Top-level domain

text: A similar query to "org"s presented above can be made for "ai", which shows A and MX records for the TLD:


title: Top-level domain

text: Historically, many other ccTLDs have had A or AAAA records. On 3 September 2013, as reported by the IETF, they were the following: .ac, .dk, .gg, .io, .je, .kh, .sh, .tm, .to, and .vi.


title: Top-level domain

text: Following a 2014 resolution by ICANN, newly registered TLDs must implement the following A, MX, TXT, and SRV apex DNS records – where codice_1 stands for the registered TLD – for at least 90 days:


title: Top-level domain

text: This requirement is meant to avoid domain name collisions when new TLDs are registered. For example, programmers may have used custom local domains such as "foo.bar" or "test.dev", which would both collide with the creation of gTLDs .bar in 2014 and .dev in 2019. As of August 2021, top-level domains with these special apex records are .arab, .cpa, .politie, and .watches.


title: Top-level domain

text: While this does create apex DNS records of type A and MX, they do not qualify as a dotless domain, as the records should not point to real servers. For instance, the A record contains the IP 127.0.53.53, a loopback address (see IPv4 § Addressing), picked as a mnemonic to indicate a DNS-related problem, as DNS uses port 53.


title: Top-level domain

text: Several networks, such as BITNET, CSNET, and UUCP, existed that were in widespread use among computer professionals and academic users, but were not interoperable directly with the Internet and exchanged mail with the Internet via special email gateways. For relaying purposes on the gateways, messages associated with these networks were labeled with suffixes such as bitnet, oz, csnet, or uucp, but these domains did not exist as top-level domains in the public Domain Name System of the Internet.


title: Top-level domain

text: Most of these networks have long since ceased to exist, and although UUCP still gets significant use in parts of the world where Internet infrastructure has not yet become well established, it subsequently transitioned to using Internet domain names, and pseudo-domains now largely survive as historical relics. One notable exception is the 2007 emergence of SWIFTNet Mail, which uses the swift pseudo-domain.


title: Top-level domain

text: The anonymity network Tor formerly used the top-level pseudo-domain onion for Tor hidden services, which can only be reached with a Tor client because it uses the Tor onion routing protocol to reach the hidden service to protect the anonymity of users. However, the pseudo-domain became officially reserved in October 2015. i2p provides a similar hidden pseudo-domain, .i2p.


title: Top-level domain

text: BT hubs use the top-level pseudo-domain .home for local DNS resolution of routers, modems and gateways.


title: Faces of Death

text: Faces of Death (later re-released as The Original Faces of Death) is a 1978 American mondo horror film written and directed by John Alan Schwartz, credited under the pseudonyms "Conan Le Cilaire" and "Alan Black" respectively.


title: Faces of Death

text: The film, shown in a documentary-like style, centers on pathologist Francis B. Gröss, played by actor Michael Carr. The narrator presents the viewer with a variety of footage showing different gruesome ways of dying from a variety of sources. Some of the most iconic scenes were faked for the film, while most of the film is preexisting video footage of real deaths or aftermath of death.


title: Faces of Death

text: "Faces of Death" received generally negative reviews, but was a huge success at the box office, reportedly grossing over $35 million worldwide. It gained a cult following, was eventually deemed artistically significant to film and also spawned several sequels, the first of which, "Faces of Death II", was released in 1981. All of the following sequels either contained less or no fake footage.


title: Faces of Death

text: On an operating table, an unnamed patient undergoes open heart surgery. The titles run over footage of fresh and rotten cadavers, and footage of a complete organ harvesting where a patient received the heart. After cleaning himself up, pathologist Francis B. Gröss states to the viewer that he has become interested with the transitional periods of life and death thanks to a recurring dream. He describes the dream as one that featured grotesque deaths, but wasn't a nightmare as his experience as a surgeon allowed him to accept the events as they are. He has accrued footage either himself or from several parts of the world in an effort to better understand and study the many "faces of death".


title: Faces of Death

text: An examination in natural and unnatural animal death takes place, footage of a chicken being beheaded at a farm and graphic slaughterhouse footage is shown. In Mexico, Gröss has captured the mummified corpses of the deceased inhabitants of Guanajuato, as well as footage of a dog fight between two pit bulls. He next examines the natural predators of the Amazon rainforest and the ways in which they kill their prey. Footage of a monkey being killed and its brain being eaten by guests of a banquet is also shown. A man is killed by an alligator, an act that Gröss calls a "violent retaliation from a creature who has suffered continued abuse from mankind".


title: Faces of Death

text: Gröss next narrates over recordings of human deaths, namely assassinations, stating that homo sapiens are the only species to kill for greed. Assassin François Jordan is interviewed, admitting that he kills solely for payment, not for "political" or "social value". Next, Gröss introduces "another type of killer", "the one who kills for no apparent reason". A gunfight ensues between a SWAT team and an armed murderer who is shot, after which the team enters the killer's house to find his family stabbed to death; Gröss questions whether the man's actions were caused by society. Soon after, Gröss shows footage of criminal Larry DeSilva being executed by electric chair.


title: Faces of Death

text: One sequence involves cryogenic patient Samuel Berkowitz, who was frozen in July 1978 and stored in northern California. Graphic images and brief footage of the cryogenic process of replacing bodily fluids with a liquid with a low freezing point, to prevent freezer burn on the corpse. Gröss goes on to explain the purpose of this process is to preserve the body for future sciences to revive him, asking "imagine what it would be like to die in 1980, and wake up hundreds of years into the future".


title: Faces of Death

text: The next segment displays war and atrocities in history, including the Holocaust. Horrific acts during said period are displayed and analyzed in full detail, and how desperate Adolf Hitler became during the latter years of the war. The segment ends with Nazis being obliterated in battle by land and sea, with Gröss adding, "Hitler soon lost control not only of his army, but of his mind". The mind and suicide is examined when footage of a woman jumping from 23 stories is shown, her body hits the concrete and makes a loud boom sound. Gröss admits this face of death is one he wishes to never face again.


title: Faces of Death

text: Footage of several more tragic accidents is shown, both animal and human, culminating in a segment focusing on vehicle accidents, including a train derailment and crushed bodies being pried out of wreckage, vehicle stunt for a film gone wrong, a cyclist having her head crushed by a semi truck, and a scene in which a wing walker attempts a parachute jump from his plane but dies after the parachute fails to open properly. Gröss disputes the notion that this death was quick and painless, as the jumper would have been conscious and aware for the entire fall to the ground. The segment ends with photographs, footage and air traffic control audio from the crash of PSA Flight 182 and its grisly aftermath of scattered mutilated body parts and numerous destroyed houses. Gröss states that to this day (at the time of the film's release), the neighborhood smells like "rotting bodies and jet fuel", and claims that a mutilated body with only its torso and right hand "is the worst face of death".


title: Faces of Death

text: Gröss introduces his next topic, the role that supernatural forces might play in death. He meets with architect Joseph Binder, whose wife and son both died under tragic circumstances. He confides to the viewer that he believes his deceased family remain as ghosts in his house and are attempting to communicate with him. Gröss enlists the services of parapsychologists to verify this, and the team later takes photographs of footprints and two apparitions. Binder then communicates with the spirits of his family through a medium, seemingly confirming the existence of life after death.


title: Faces of Death

text: Gröss remarks that after studying Binder's case, he has concluded even "when we die, it isn't really the end" as "the soul in each of us remains a traveller forever". Gröss ends by questioning whether death is "the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end" and leaves the footage he has shown to the viewer's interpretation. Immediately after Gröss's final dialogue, the film ends with peaceful music, footage of a baby's birth and photos of the child growing up happily.


title: Faces of Death

text: The movie was written and directed by John Alan Schwartz (credited as "Alan Black" for writing and as "Conan LeCilaire" for directing). Schwartz also took credit as second unit director, this time as "Johnny Getyerkokov". He also appears in one of the segments of the film, as the leader of the alleged flesh eating cult in San Francisco and has brief appearances in several other movies of this series. Schwartz wanted to depict very real death with "an analytical view, rather than a purely exploitive purpose", but the films inclusion of fake scenes have brought this to debate. The movie features Michael Carr as the narrator, and 'creative consultant' called "Dr. Francis B. Gröss", whose voice is reminiscent of Leonard Nimoy in the popular TV show "In Search of...". John Alan Schwartz has said that this movie's budget was $450,000 and there are estimates that it has grossed more than $35 million worldwide in theatrical releases, not including rentals.


title: Faces of Death

text: Although several of the human death scenes and one depicting a monkey being killed are obvious fakes (with Allan A. Apone, make-up and special effects artists for the movie saying that about 40% of it is fake), most of the remaining footage is genuine (approx. 60%). Most of the footage was bought from excised Germany. In their book "Killing for Culture", authors David Kerekes and David Slater note that the nadir of the movie is the inclusion of an extreme fatal accident; "the shattered remains of a cyclist are seen under a semi-tractor trailer. The camera pans long enough to capture paramedics scooping up blood clots, brain matter, and clumps of hair from the tarmac – this incident is authentic and culled from newsreels." According to the DVD Commentary, the creators were eventually brought to light the victim was actually a man, not a woman as described in the film. Schwartz became aware of this after the victim's sister (unsure if she's featured) protested the use of this footage.


title: Faces of Death

text: According to Schwartz, the scene in the film wherein a murderer is executed by electric chair was achieved with the use of a fake chair built in a friend's loft and toothpaste to emulate saliva. Electric "zapping" sounds were added in post-production. He was inspired to make the scene after reading about a recent execution by electric chair and was surprised to find it still in practice.


title: Faces of Death

text: The infamous Flight 182 crash happened no less than 2 weeks before the film's release, and graphic footage depicting the crash aftermath, destroyed houses and scattered body parts were included into the film near the climax. Still images and air traffic audio were used for the crash itself, because no actual footage is known to exist. According to Schwartz, the film was pretty much completed, but reworked immediately after the crash occurred.


title: Faces of Death

text: Due to its graphic content, "Faces of Death" was banned and censored in many countries. The movie is often billed as "Banned in 46 Countries", but this claim is doubtful. In the United Kingdom, the film was prosecuted and added to the "video nasty" list, as it was deemed to violate the Obscene Publications Act 1959. In 2003, the film was allowed to be released on DVD in the UK, however cuts of 2 minutes and 19 seconds were required by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to remove scenes of "fighting dogs and [a] monkey being cruelly beaten to death in accordance with Cinematograph Films (Animals Act) 1937 and BBFC Guidelines." In 1980, "Faces of Death" was refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. Despite the ban, several bootleg VHS tapes were released in the country, and the film was unbanned and released uncut on DVD in 2007. However, its sequels remain banned in the country. The film was also banned in New Zealand in 1989. In Germany, the film was edited for a VHS release, with the removal of some graphic scenes.


title: Faces of Death

text: Despite the film's popularity, it was received relatively poorly by critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that "Faces of Death" received a 27% critical approval rating of 11 surveyed critics; the average rating was 4.3/10. Writing for the "Kansas City Kansan", reviewer Steve Crum denounced the film as "crude, tasteless exploitation footage. Filmed carnage." He ended his review urging the viewer to "be ashamed to watch this garbage."


title: Faces of Death

text: Joshua Siebalt of Dread Central had mixed feelings about the film: "as a curiosity piece, "Faces of Death" is well worth a look, especially if you've not seen it in a very long time. As for its place in horror cinema history, well, that remains to be seen. As I said it's not a film that holds up very well at all, but considering how groundbreaking it was for its time, I doubt anyone will ever forget it. And while it is nice to have all of the myths about "Faces" finally addressed by the people who created it, it also takes some of the fun out if it, too."


title: Faces of Death

text: Christopher Kulik of DVD Verdict wrote, "The YouTube generation will be unable to comprehend what purpose the film served thirty years ago, and thus it's difficult to ignore how hopelessly dated "Faces of Death" really is. In short, it's a cinematic experiment which has long outlived its effects, although it remains compelling for film and horror buffs viewing the film in the proper perspective. For the curious virgins, I say give it a shot only if you can handle what has been described up until this point; if you can get through "Faces of Death", then you can get through just about anything. Feel free to judge for yourself."


title: Faces of Death

text: In his review, Screen Anarchy's Ard Vijn was dismissive of the film, remarking that "many of the segments have lost their ability to shock, or can easily be recognized as fake by today's more media-savvy audience. Interesting as a curious bit of film history, but nothing more."


title: Faces of Death

text: A number of straight to video sequels were made, containing far more real footage, some containing only real footage. "Faces of Death II", "Faces of Death III", and "Faces of Death IV", as well as "Faces of Death: Fact or Fiction?" (a documentary on the making of the series) were written and at least partially directed by John Alan Schwartz. Faces of Death II contained real footage of a dead body being pulled from under a pier, Guerrilla death squads in El Salvador, napalm bombings in Vietnam, the drugging of a monkey, a dolphin slaughter, a train disaster in India, Cambodian lepers, a death museum, a driver high on PCP and a boxer going down for his “final” count. Much like the PSA Aircraft crash, the assassination attempt on President Ronald Regan occurred recently before the film's completion, and was included as well. "Faces of Death V" and "Faces of Death VI" were released in the mid-90s, and are compilations made up entirely of highlights from the first four movies, with no new footage, released in some countries where the original movies were banned. The first three featured Carr as "Dr. Gröss", although "The Worst of Faces of Death" (released between installments "III" and "IV" and consisting of highlights from the first three installments) instead featured Schwartz's brother, James Schwartz, as "Dr. Louis Flellis". Flellis explains that he accidentally killed "Dr. Gröss" while operating on him the prior week. However, in "Faces of Death IV", Flellis explains the absence of Dr. Gröss by stating that he had killed himself, having been driven insane as a result of witnessing so much death.


title: Faces of Death

text: Also released with the title "Faces of Death VII", was a condensed version of Anton LaVey's 1989 film "Death Scenes"; and another assemblage of stock footage titled "Faces of Death part 7" was released as an online file sometime during the late 1990s.


title: Faces of Death

text: "Faces of Death 8" followed soon after. Released only in Germany, and made by unknown individuals, it is a collection of mostly unrelated gore scenes from around the world, with no narration, and no on-screen credits, aside from its title.


title: Faces of Death

text: In May 2021, it was reported that Legendary Entertainment had purchased the rights to the film, and a remake was in development, with filmmakers Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhauber attached to direct.


title: Faces of Death

text: In June 1985, mathematics teacher Bart Schwarz showed the film to his class at Escondido High School in Escondido, California. Two of his students, Diane Feese and Sherry Forget, claimed they were so traumatized by the film that they both "developed an unnatural fear of dying and suffered emotional distress." The families of the two girls sued the school district and received a combined $100,000 settlement ($57,500 for Feese and $42,500 for Forget). Schwarz was suspended from the school for 15 days without pay, but was not fired.


title: Faces of Death

text: In November 1986, Canton High 14-year-old Rod Matthews bludgeoned his classmate Shaun Ouilette to death with a baseball bat. Matthews claimed the idea to kill Ouilette was conceived after he viewed "Faces of Death", as he was curious about what it would be like to actually kill someone. He had shown previous signs of mental illness. Matthews was sentenced to life in prison, with parole eligibility after 15 years. In February 2022, he was denied parole for the fourth time.


title: Faces of Death

text: "Faces of Death" and its sequels were released in boxset form on DVD by MPI Home Video in July 2002. Australian distributor Umbrella Entertainment released the film on DVD in 2007. In 2008, Gorgon Video released the movie on DVD and Blu-ray for its 30th anniversary. A brand new high definition transfer was made with new material and a 5.1 digital soundtrack. They still continue manufacturing classic VHS releases of the film, both 80's and 90's versions.


title: Substance abuse

text: Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. In some cases, criminal or anti-social behaviour occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long-term personality changes in individuals may also occur. In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, the use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.


title: Substance abuse

text: Drugs most often associated with this term include: alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens (although there is no known "psychedelic", one of the three categories of hallucinogens, that has been found to have any addictive potential), methaqualone, and opioids. The exact cause of substance abuse is not clear, but there are two predominant theories: either a genetic predisposition or a habit learned from others, which, if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease.


title: Substance abuse

text: In 2010 about 5% of people (230 million) used an illicit substance. Of these, 27 million have high-risk drug use—otherwise known as recurrent drug use—causing harm to their health, causing psychological problems, and/or causing social problems that put them at risk of those dangers. In 2015, substance use disorders resulted in 307,400 deaths, up from 165,000 deaths in 1990. Of these, the highest numbers are from alcohol use disorders at 137,500, opioid use disorders at 122,100 deaths, amphetamine use disorders at 12,200 deaths, and cocaine use disorders at 11,100.


title: Substance abuse

text: Public health practitioners have attempted to look at substance use from a broader perspective than the individual, emphasizing the role of society, culture, and availability. Some health professionals choose to avoid the terms alcohol or drug "abuse" in favor of language considered more objective, such as "substance and alcohol type problems" or "harmful/problematic use" of drugs. The Health Officers Council of British Columbia — in their 2005 policy discussion paper, "A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada" — has adopted a public health model of psychoactive substance use that challenges the simplistic black-and-white construction of the binary (or complementary) antonyms "use" vs. "abuse". This model explicitly recognizes a spectrum of use, ranging from beneficial use to chronic dependence.


title: Substance abuse

text: 'Drug abuse' is no longer a current medical diagnosis in either of the most used diagnostic tools in the world, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD).


title: Substance abuse

text: Philip Jenkins suggests that there are two issues with the term "drug abuse". First, what constitutes a "drug" is debatable. For instance, GHB, a naturally occurring substance in the central nervous system is considered a drug, and is illegal in many countries, while nicotine is not officially considered a drug in most countries.


title: Substance abuse

text: Second, the word "abuse" implies a recognized standard of use for any substance. Drinking an occasional glass of wine is considered acceptable in most Western countries, while drinking several bottles is seen as an abuse. Strict temperance advocates, who may or may not be religiously motivated, would see drinking even one glass as an abuse. Some groups (Mormons, as prescribed in “the Word of Wisdom”) even condemn caffeine use in any quantity. Similarly, adopting the view that any (recreational) use of cannabis or substituted amphetamines constitutes drug abuse implies a decision made that the substance is harmful, even in minute quantities. In the U.S., drugs have been legally classified into five categories, schedule I, II, III, IV, or V in the Controlled Substances Act. The drugs are classified on their deemed potential for abuse. Usage of some drugs is strongly correlated. For example, the consumption of seven illicit drugs (amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, legal highs, LSD, and magic mushrooms) is correlated and the Pearson correlation coefficient "r">0.4 in every pair of them; consumption of cannabis is strongly correlated ("r">0.5) with usage of nicotine (tobacco), heroin is correlated with cocaine ("r">0.4) and methadone ("r">0.45), and is strongly correlated with crack ("r">0.5)


title: Substance abuse

text: Drug misuse is a term used commonly when prescription medication with sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties are used for mood alteration or intoxication ignoring the fact that overdose of such medicines can sometimes have serious adverse effects. It sometimes involves drug diversion from the individual for whom it was prescribed.


title: Substance abuse

text: Prescription misuse has been defined differently and rather inconsistently based on status of drug prescription, the uses without a prescription, intentional use to achieve intoxicating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and the presence or absence of dependence symptoms. Chronic use of certain substances leads to a change in the central nervous system known as a 'tolerance' to the medicine such that more of the substance is needed in order to produce desired effects. With some substances, stopping or reducing use can cause withdrawal symptoms to occur, but this is highly dependent on the specific substance in question.


title: Substance abuse

text: The rate of prescription drug use is fast overtaking illegal drug use in the United States. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 7 million people were taking prescription drugs for nonmedical use in 2010. Among 12th graders, nonmedical prescription drug use is now second only to cannabis. In 2011, "Nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported nonmedical use of Vicodin; 1 in 20 reported such use of OxyContin." Both of these drugs contain opioids. A 2017 survey of 12th graders in the United States, found misuse of OxyContin of 2.7 percent, compared to 5.5 percent at its peak in 2005. Misuse of the combination hydrocodone/paracetamol was at its lowest since a peak of 10.5 percent in 2003. This decrease may be related to public health initiatives and decreased availability.


title: Substance abuse

text: Avenues of obtaining prescription drugs for misuse are varied: sharing between family and friends, illegally buying medications at school or work, and often "doctor shopping" to find multiple physicians to prescribe the same medication, without knowledge of other prescribers.


title: Substance abuse

text: Increasingly, law enforcement is holding physicians responsible for prescribing controlled substances without fully establishing patient controls, such as a patient "drug contract". Concerned physicians are educating themselves on how to identify medication-seeking behavior in their patients, and are becoming familiar with "red flags" that would alert them to potential prescription drug abuse.


title: Substance abuse

text: Depending on the actual compound, drug abuse including alcohol may lead to health problems, social problems, morbidity, injuries, unprotected sex, violence, deaths, motor vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, physical dependence or psychological addiction.


title: Substance abuse

text: There is a high rate of suicide in alcoholics and other drug abusers. The reasons believed to cause the increased risk of suicide include the long-term abuse of alcohol and other drugs causing physiological distortion of brain chemistry as well as the social isolation. Another factor is the acute intoxicating effects of the drugs may make suicide more likely to occur. Suicide is also very common in adolescent alcohol abusers, with 1 in 4 suicides in adolescents being related to alcohol abuse. In the US, approximately 30% of suicides are related to alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is also associated with increased risks of committing criminal offences including child abuse, domestic violence, rapes, burglaries and assaults.


title: Substance abuse

text: Drug abuse, including alcohol and prescription drugs, can induce symptomatology which resembles mental illness. This can occur both in the intoxicated state and also during withdrawal. In some cases, substance-induced psychiatric disorders can persist long after detoxification, such as prolonged psychosis or depression after amphetamine or cocaine abuse. A protracted withdrawal syndrome can also occur with symptoms persisting for months after cessation of use. Benzodiazepines are the most notable drug for inducing prolonged withdrawal effects with symptoms sometimes persisting for years after cessation of use. Both alcohol, barbiturate as well as benzodiazepine withdrawal can potentially be fatal. Abuse of hallucinogens, although extremely unlikely, may in some individuals trigger delusional and other psychotic phenomena long after cessation of use. This is mainly a risk with deliriants, and most unlikely with psychedelics and dissociatives.


title: Substance abuse

text: Cannabis may trigger panic attacks during intoxication and with continued use, it may cause a state similar to dysthymia. Researchers have found that daily cannabis use and the use of high-potency cannabis are independently associated with a higher chance of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.


title: Substance abuse

text: Severe anxiety and depression are commonly induced by sustained alcohol abuse. Even sustained moderate alcohol use may increase anxiety and depression levels in some individuals. In most cases, these drug-induced psychiatric disorders fade away with prolonged abstinence. Similarly, although substance abuse induces many changes to the brain, there is evidence that many of these alterations are reversed following periods of prolonged abstinence.


title: Substance abuse

text: Impulsivity is characterized by actions based on sudden desires, whims, or inclinations rather than careful thought. Individuals with substance abuse have higher levels of impulsivity, and individuals who use multiple drugs tend to be more impulsive. A number of studies using the Iowa gambling task as a measure for impulsive behavior found that drug using populations made more risky choices compared to healthy controls. There is a hypothesis that the loss of impulse control may be due to impaired inhibitory control resulting from drug induced changes that take place in the frontal cortex. The neurodevelopmental and hormonal changes that happen during adolescence may modulate impulse control that could possibly lead to the experimentation with drugs and may lead to addiction. Impulsivity is thought to be a facet trait in the neuroticism personality domain (overindulgence/negative urgency) which is prospectively associated with the development of substance abuse.


title: Substance abuse

text: The screening and assessment process of substance use behavior is important for the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders. "Screeners" is the process of identifying individuals who have or may be at risk for a substance use disorder and are usually brief to administer. "Assessments" are used to clarify the nature of the substance use behavior to help determine appropriate treatment. Assessments usually require specialized skills, and are longer to administer than screeners.


title: Substance abuse

text: Given that addiction manifests in structural changes to the brain, it is possible that non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging could help diagnose addiction in the future.


title: Substance abuse

text: There are several different screening tools that have been validated for use with adolescents such as the CRAFFT Screening Test and in adults the CAGE questionnaire. Some recommendations for screening tools for substance misuse in pregnancy include that they take less than 10 minutes, should be used routinely, include an educational component. Tools suitable for pregnant women include i.a. 4Ps, T-ACE, TWEAK, TQDH (Ten-Question Drinking History), and AUDIT.


title: Substance abuse

text: From the applied behavior analysis literature, behavioral psychology, and from randomized clinical trials, several evidenced based interventions have emerged: behavioral marital therapy, motivational Interviewing, community reinforcement approach, exposure therapy, contingency management They help suppress cravings and mental anxiety, improve focus on treatment and new learning behavioral skills, ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce the chances of relapse.


title: Substance abuse

text: In children and adolescents, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy currently has the most research evidence for the treatment of substance abuse problems. Well-established studies also include ecological family-based treatment and group CBT. These treatments can be administered in a variety of different formats, each of which has varying levels of research support Research has shown that what makes group CBT most effective is that it promotes the development of social skills, developmentally appropriate emotional regulatory skills and other interpersonal skills. A few integrated treatment models, which combines parts from various types of treatment, have also been seen as both well-established or probably effective. A study on maternal alcohol and other drug use has shown that integrated treatment programs have produced significant results, resulting in higher negative results on toxicology screens. Additionally, brief school-based interventions have been found to be effective in reducing adolescent alcohol and cannabis use and abuse. Motivational interviewing can also be effective in treating substance use disorder in adolescents.


title: Substance abuse

text: Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are widely known self-help organizations in which members support each other abstain from substances. Social skills are significantly impaired in people with alcoholism due to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol on the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. It has been suggested that social skills training adjunctive to inpatient treatment of alcohol dependence is probably efficacious, including managing the social environment.


title: Substance abuse

text: A number of medications have been approved for the treatment of substance abuse. These include replacement therapies such as buprenorphine and methadone as well as antagonist medications like disulfiram and naltrexone in either short acting, or the newer long acting form. Several other medications, often ones originally used in other contexts, have also been shown to be effective including bupropion and modafinil. Methadone and buprenorphine are sometimes used to treat opiate addiction. These drugs are used as substitutes for other opioids and still cause withdrawal symptoms but they facilitate the tapering off process in a controlled fashion.


title: Substance abuse

text: Antipsychotic medications have not been found to be useful. Acamprostate is a glutamatergic NMDA antagonist, which helps with alcohol withdrawal symptoms because alcohol withdrawal is associated with a hyperglutamatergic system.


title: Substance abuse

text: Three countries in Europe have active HAT programs, namely England, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Despite critical voices by conservative think-tanks with regard to these harm-reduction strategies, significant progress in the reduction of drug-related deaths has been achieved in those countries. For example, the US, devoid of such measures, has seen large increases in drug-related deaths since 2000 (mostly related to heroin use), while Switzerland has seen large decreases. In 2018, approximately 60,000 people have died of drug overdoses in America, while in the same time period, Switzerland's drug deaths were at 260. Relative to the population of these countries, the US has 10 times more drug-related deaths compared to the Swiss Confederation, which in effect illustrates the efficacy of HAT to reduce fatal outcomes in opiate/opioid addiction.


title: Substance abuse

text: It is common for individuals with drugs use disorder to have other psychological problems. The terms “dual diagnosis” or “co-occurring disorders,” refer to having a mental health and substance use disorder at the same time. According to the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), “symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and psychosis are the rule rather than the exception in patients misusing drugs and/or alcohol.”


title: Substance abuse

text: Individuals who have a comorbid psychological disorder often have a poor prognosis if either disorder is untreated. Historically most individuals with dual diagnosis either received treatment only for one of their disorders or they didn't receive any treatment all. However, since the 1980s, there has been a push towards integrating mental health and addiction treatment. In this method, neither condition is considered primary and both are treated simultaneously by the same provider.


title: Substance abuse

text: The initiation of drug use including alcohol is most likely to occur during adolescence, and some experimentation with substances by older adolescents is common. For example, results from 2010 Monitoring the Future survey, a nationwide study on rates of substance use in the United States, show that 48.2% of 12th graders report having used an illicit drug at some point in their lives. In the 30 days prior to the survey, 41.2% of 12th graders had consumed alcohol and 19.2% of 12th graders had smoked tobacco cigarettes. In 2009 in the United States about 21% of high school students have taken prescription drugs without a prescription. And earlier in 2002, the World Health Organization estimated that around 140 million people were alcohol dependent and another 400 million with alcohol-related problems.


title: Substance abuse

text: Studies have shown that the large majority of adolescents will phase out of drug use before it becomes problematic. Thus, although rates of overall use are high, the percentage of adolescents who meet criteria for substance abuse is significantly lower (close to 5%). According UN estimates, there are "more than 50 million regular users of morphine diacetate (heroin), cocaine and synthetic drugs."


title: Substance abuse

text: More than 70,200 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. Among these, the sharpest increase occurred among deaths related to fentanyl and (28,466 deaths). See charts below.


title: Substance abuse

text: In 1966, the American Medical Association's Committee on Alcoholism and Addiction defined abuse of stimulants (amphetamines, primarily) in terms of 'medical supervision':


title: Substance abuse

text: In 1972, the American Psychiatric Association created a definition that used legality, social acceptability, and cultural familiarity as qualifying factors:


title: Substance abuse

text: ...drug abuse may refer to any type of drug or chemical without regard to its pharmacologic actions. It is an eclectic concept having only one uniform connotation: societal disapproval. ... The Commission believes that the term drug abuse must be deleted from official pronouncements and public policy dialogue. The term has no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrary codeword for that drug use which is presently considered wrong.


title: Substance abuse

text: The first edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (published in 1952) grouped alcohol and other drug abuse under "sociopathic personality disturbances", which were thought to be symptoms of deeper psychological disorders or moral weakness. The third edition, published in 1980, was the first to recognize substance abuse (including drug abuse) and substance dependence as conditions separate from substance abuse alone, bringing in social and cultural factors. The definition of dependence emphasised tolerance to drugs, and withdrawal from them as key components to diagnosis, whereas abuse was defined as "problematic use with social or occupational impairment" but without withdrawal or tolerance.


title: Substance abuse

text: In 1987, the DSM-IIIR category "psychoactive substance abuse", which includes former concepts of drug abuse is defined as "a maladaptive pattern of use indicated by...continued use despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, occupational, psychological or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the use (or by) recurrent use in situations in which it is physically hazardous". It is a residual category, with dependence taking precedence when applicable. It was the first definition to give equal weight to behavioural and physiological factors in diagnosis. By 1988, the DSM-IV defined substance dependence as "a syndrome involving compulsive use, with or without tolerance and withdrawal"; whereas substance abuse is "problematic use without compulsive use, significant tolerance, or withdrawal". Substance abuse can be harmful to health and may even be deadly in certain scenarios. By 1994, the fourth edition of the DSM issued by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM-IV-TR, defined substance dependence as "when an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed", along with criteria for the diagnosis.


title: Substance abuse

text: The fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5), was released in 2013, and it revisited this terminology. The principal change was a transition from the abuse-dependence terminology. In the DSM-IV era, abuse was seen as an early form or less hazardous form of the disease characterized with the dependence criteria. However, the APA's "dependence" term does not mean that physiologic dependence is present but rather means that a disease state is present, one that most would likely refer to as an addicted state. Many involved recognize that the terminology has often led to confusion, both within the medical community and with the general public. The American Psychiatric Association requested input as to how the terminology of this illness should be altered as it moves forward with DSM-5 discussions. In the DSM-5, substance abuse and substance dependence have been merged into the category of substance use disorders and they no longer exist as individual concepts. While substance abuse and dependence were either present or not, substance use disorder has three levels of severity: mild, moderate and severe.


title: Substance abuse

text: Most governments have designed legislation to criminalize certain types of drug use. These drugs are often called "illegal drugs" but generally what is illegal is their unlicensed production, distribution, and possession. These drugs are also called "controlled substances". Even for simple possession, legal punishment can be quite severe (including the death penalty in some countries). Laws vary across countries, and even within them, and have fluctuated widely throughout history.


title: Substance abuse

text: Attempts by government-sponsored drug control policy to interdict drug supply and eliminate drug abuse have been largely unsuccessful. In spite of the huge efforts by the U.S., drug supply and purity has reached an all-time high, with the vast majority of resources spent on interdiction and law enforcement instead of public health. In the United States, the number of nonviolent drug offenders in prison exceeds by 100,000 the total incarcerated population in the EU, despite the fact that the EU has 100 million more citizens.


title: Substance abuse

text: Despite drug legislation (or perhaps because of it), large, organized criminal drug cartels operate worldwide. Advocates of decriminalization argue that drug prohibition makes drug dealing a lucrative business, leading to much of the associated criminal activity.


title: Substance abuse

text: Some states in the U.S, as of late, have focused on facilitating safe use as opposed to eradicating it. For example, as of 2022, New Jersey has made the effort to expand needle exchange programs throughout the state, passing a bill through legislature that gives control over decisions regarding these types of programs to the state’s department of health. This state level bill is not only significant  for New Jersey, as it could be used as a model for other states to possibly follow as well. This bill is partly a reaction to the issues occurring at local level city governments within the state of New Jersey as of late. One example of this is in the Atlantic City Government which came under lawsuit after they halted the enactment of said programs within their city. This suit came a year before the passing of this bill, stemming from a local level decision to shut down related operations in Atlantic City made in July that same year. This lawsuit highlights the feelings of New Jersey residents, who had a great influence on this bill passing the legislature. These feelings were demonstrated in front of Atlantic City City hall, where residents exclaimed their desire for these programs. All in all, the aforementioned bill was signed effectively into law just days after it passed legislature, by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.


title: Substance abuse

text: Policymakers try to understand the relative costs of drug-related interventions. An appropriate drug policy relies on the assessment of drug-related public expenditure based on a classification system where costs are properly identified.