title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Vartis Hammond, a news reporter critical of Dredd, is murdered, and Dredd becomes the chief suspect. Dredd is taken to a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Griffin and Chief Justice Fargo, his mentor. Dredd is found guilty as his DNA is found on the bullets used to kill Hammond (a feature of the Lawgiver is imprinting the user's DNA on each bullet, a fact apparently unknown by most Judges). To save Dredd, Fargo steps down as Chief Justice and, for his last request, asks the Council to spare Dredd's life. Dredd is sentenced to life imprisonment while Fargo embarks on the "long walk", in which a retiring Judge ventures into the wasteland "to bring law to the lawless". Judge Griffin, who freed Rico to frame Dredd for the murder, becomes Chief Justice and instructs Rico to cause chaos in the city.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Dredd is taken to the Aspen penal colony by airship, where he is seated next to Herman. However, the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic scavengers and bandits, shoots down the airship and brings Dredd and Herman back to their cave. A squad of Judges investigate the crashed ship and get to the cave, intent on killing any survivors, not rescuing them. Fargo arrives in time to save Dredd's life, but Mean Machine Angel mortally wounds him. A dying Fargo reveals that Dredd and Rico are the result of the Janus project, an experiment in genetic engineering intended to create the perfect Judge. Dredd deduces Rico framed him for the reporter's murder, using their identical DNA. Believing Griffin is trying to reactivate the Janus project, Fargo urges Dredd to stop him.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: In Mega-City One, Rico terrorises the city and assassinates Judges in various ways. Griffin, intent on creating an army of Judges from his own DNA, uses the situation to convince the Council Judges to unlock the Janus files. After the Council Judges unlock the file, Griffin has them killed. Dredd and Herman sneak back into the city and meet with Hershey, who had also discovered the Janus project by herself. They go to the Statue of Liberty where the Janus laboratories are hidden. They encounter the ABC Warrior, who wounds Herman and captures Dredd and Hershey. Rico uses his own DNA as template for the Janus clones, then commands the ABC Warrior to kill Griffin. Herman, despite his wounds, disables the ABC Warrior as Dredd fights Rico, while Hershey fights his assistant, Dr. Ilsa Hayden. Rico activates his clones prematurely, but they fail to stop Dredd, and the swift clone activation ends up destroying the Janus laboratory. Dredd pursues Rico to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and a final struggle sends Rico falling to his death.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Having recorded the entire event, Central, the city's controlling supercomputer, broadcasts the information, clearing Dredd's name. The remaining Judges ask Dredd to become the new Chief Justice, but he refuses, preferring to remain a Street Judge.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Other actors include Maurice Roëves as Warden Miller, James Remar as the Block Warlord, Pat Starr as Lily Hammond, Lex Daniel as rookie Judge Brisco, Angus MacInnes as Judge Silver, Peter Marinker as Judge Esposito, Mark Moraghan as Judge Monroe, Louise Delamere as Judge Meeker, and Al Sapienza as Judge Gellar. Adrienne Barbeau provides the voice of the Hall of Justice Central Computer. James Earl Jones provides the narration to the film's opening text crawl.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Prior to production, the producer Edward Pressman had the script rewritten by Walon Green, Rene Balcer, and Michael S. Chernuchin. Early in development, Renny Harlin, Richard Donner, Peter Hewitt, and Richard Stanley were considered to direct the film.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Director Danny Cannon was hired on the strength of his previous film, "The Young Americans". Cannon was a long-time fan of the "Judge Dredd" comics. He created a mock-up poster for a "Judge Dredd" film that was published in Prog 534 of 2000 A.D. dated August 8, 1987. Cannon described his vision as "the "Ben-Hur" of comic book movies," and turned down an offer to direct "Die Hard with a Vengeance" to make the film.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Early in development, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for title role, before Sylvester Stallone was cast, even though Stallone had never heard of the character when he was cast. Cannon initially pursued Joe Pesci for the part of Fergie, but the actor turned it down.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Stallone and his co-star Armand Assante wore blue contact lenses to match von Sydow who plays their genetic 'father'. Assante deliberately mimicked Stallone's speech patterns to better reflect their characters' relationship as siblings.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Jürgen Prochnow, who played Judge Griffin, was coincidentally the longtime German-language dub actor for Stallone.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The film's production designer was Nigel Phelps. "Judge Dredd" was his first feature film as sole production designer, he had previously worked on several high-profile music videos, and was a concept artist under Anton Furst. He hired Peter Young, whom he'd previously worked with on "Batman", as set decorator. Leslie Tomkins was the supervising art director.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Stallone personally selected Gianni Versace to design futuristic yet functional attire for the film. Versace created numerous rejected designs for Dredd's outfit, before landing on the final look.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The Statue of Liberty face was built in Lenox, Massachusetts, by a subsidiary of executive producer Andy Vajna's company Cinergi.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The visual effects were realized by Douglas Trumbull's company Massive Illusion, with designs by Kiesler-Walczak. Additional effects were provided by Digital FilmWorks, The Magic Camera Company, Amalgamated Pixels, and Atomic Pictures.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The prosthetic make-up designs for Mean Machine Angel were created by artist Chris Cunningham (credited as 'Chris Hill'), supervised by Nick Dudman.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The production initially intended to use an actor in a suit to depict the Hammerstein, but Danny Cannon insisted they build it for real using animatronics. The hydraulics-powered effect was created by Joss Williams and controlled by five remote operators.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Filming took place at Shepperton Studios in England, with some location filming in Iceland. The producers initially wanted to shoot the film in the United States, but Cannon insisted on keeping production in the United Kingdom, the natural home of the character.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Although film composer David Arnold was originally set to score the film, having collaborated with director Danny Cannon on his previous film "The Young Americans", Arnold was replaced by film composing veteran Jerry Goldsmith, but as post-production dates fell further and further behind, Goldsmith was forced to drop out of the project as well, due to prior commitments to score other films ("First Knight" and "Congo"). Prior to leaving the project, Goldsmith composed and recorded a short piece of music that would eventually be used for the film's trailers and advertising campaigns. In the end, Alan Silvestri was selected as the new composer and would go on to score the final film. He initially recorded the soundtrack with the Sinfonia of London. But following changes made to the film in post-production, Silvestri had to make extensive adjustments to his score by re-recording segues and cues in Hollywood, though some of the music from the London sessions remains in the finished film.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The end credits song for the film, "Dredd Song", was written and performed by the English alternative rock band The Cure. The song appears on disc three of their 2004 rarities box set "" as well as on the film's soundtrack album. The song "Judge Yr'self" by the Manic Street Preachers was originally going to be on the soundtrack. Their guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared in early 1995, and since the song was the last written with him in the band, it never made it to the final soundtrack listing. The song was not released until 2003, when the band released "Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)".


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: In 1995 Epic Records released a soundtrack album featuring seven tracks from Silvestri's score (all performed by the Sinfonia of London but most were not versions used in the film) and songs by The Cure, The The, White Zombie, Cocteau Twins, Leftfield. The UK edition also had Ryo Aska and Worldbeaters with Youssou N'Dour (only the first two songs are heard in the film over the end credits).


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: In 2015, Intrada Records issued a greatly-expanded two-disc, limited-edition album featuring all the music Silvestri recorded for the film. The album also includes the trailer music conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. This had only previously released as a re-recording – conducted by Joel McNeely – on the Varèse Sarabande compilation entitled "Hollywood '95".


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Prior to the film's world premiere on 30 June 1995, "Judge Dredd" had to be re-cut and submitted to the MPAA five times in order to get it down from a NC-17 to a R rating. This was before Stallone and the studio tried to cut the film even further to get a PG-13 rating. Director Danny Cannon was so disheartened over the constant creative disputes with Stallone that he swore he would never again work with another big-name actor. He also stated that the final version was completely different from the script due to the creative changes demanded by Stallone. In later interviews, Stallone said he thought the film was supposed to be an action comedy film so demanded rewrites to make it more comedic. The director and screenwriter had a darker, more satirical vision.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Several entire sequences were deleted from the theatrical release to reduce the violence and darker tone of the film. For example, a scene where Rico kills news reporter Hammond and his wife was originally longer and bloodier because it showed them getting hit by bullets in slow-motion. Likewise the ABC Warrior robot was to kill Judge Griffin by ripping his arms and legs off but this was also changed. Cannon wanted more violence (because it was in keeping with the comic's source material) but the studio and Stallone wanted a PG-13 movie with more focus on humour. Even the film's climax was deleted, scenes showing Dredd fighting and killing clone Judges was removed prior to the theatrical release. Some promotional stills were published in Judge Dredd Megazine showing Dredd shooting one of the clones.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: The film is considered to be a flop, as it grossed only $34.7 million in North American domestic box office receipts. It did better internationally, with over $78.8 million around the world, reaching a total of $113.5 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 22% based on reviews from 55 critics, with an average rating of 4.00/10; the site's critical consensus is ""Judge Dredd" wants to be both a legitimate violent action flick and a parody of one but director Danny Cannon fails to find the necessary balance to make it work." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Gene Siskel named Judge Dredd one of the worst motion pictures of 1995 as part of his 'Worst of 1995' review on Siskel and Ebert. Roger Ebert, in his review for the "Chicago Sun-Times", gave the film 2 out of 4 and wrote: "Stallone survives it, but his supporting cast, also including an uninvolved Joan Chen and a tremendously intense Jürgen Prochnow, isn't well used."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Todd McCarthy of Variety called it "A thunderous, unoriginal futuristic hardware show for teenage boys."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade of C+ and wrote: "The movie, by the end, practically seems intent on destroying itself."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader gave a negative review: "Directed without inspiration by Danny Cannon from a stupid script by Michael De Luca, William Wisher, and Steven de Souza."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Caryn James of "The New York Times" wrote: "Although it is full of noise and fake firepower, Dredd simply lies there on the screen until the final scenes."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film 1 out of 4, and wrote: "Usually engaging and sympathetic, Stallone is blank and tongue-tied here, an immovable slab in the midst of 95 minutes of gunfire, explosions and Gothic excess."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" wrote: "Aside from the affable Schneider and the able Lane, the cast seems to be in deep shock. Um, make that Dredd lock."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" wrote: "Sometimes, it's rather amusing, but it's impossible to decide whether this is accidental or on purpose."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: In a 2017 retrospective review Richard Trenholm from CNET wrote that the film "drew shrewdly on the comic's abundant history than the 2012 version" and "absolutely nailed the look of Mega City One". Trenholm noted that "sets, costumes and vehicles were fantastic", while "looming ABC warrior and grotesque Angel Gang" were "both triumphs of pre-CGI physical effects".


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Drew Dietsch of "Giant Freakin Robot" praised the surface elements of the film "As a piece of pure production, [Judge Dredd] needs to be heralded as one of the best achievements of the '90s. Everything about the film's texture is a resounding success."


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: From what I recall, the whole project was troubled from the beginning. The philosophy of the film was not set in stone – by that I mean "Is this going to be a serious drama or with comic overtones" like other science fiction films that were successful? So a lotta pieces just didn't fit smoothly. It was sort of like a feathered fish. Some of the design work on it was fantastic and the sets were incredibly real, even standing two feet away, but there was just no communication. I knew we were in for a long shoot when, for no explainable reason Danny Cannon, who's rather diminutive, jumped down from his director's chair and yelled to everyone within earshot, "FEAR me! Everyone should FEAR me!" then jumped back up to his chair as if nothing happened. The British crew was taking bets on his life expectancy.


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: John Wagner, the creator of the comic character on which the film was based, said when interviewed by "Empire" in 2012: "the story had nothing to do with Judge Dredd, and Judge Dredd wasn't really Judge Dredd." Wagner said it was a pity the way the film turned out, since the production values were great, and they had the budget for it. In an interview with "Total Film" magazine, he said the film had "told the wrong story" because it "tried to do too much".


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: At the 22nd Saturn Awards the film received nominations in four categories (Best Science Fiction Film, Best Special Effects, Best Costume and Best Make-up).


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: Stallone received a Worst Actor nomination for his role as Judge Dredd at the 1995 Golden Raspberry Awards. At the 1995 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, he won Worst Actor for his performance in the film and "Assassins".


title: Judge Dredd (film)

text: In 2012 a reboot starring Karl Urban, entitled "Dredd" was released. The reboot was considered by many critics to be a far superior film and more faithful to the source material. It has become a cult classic.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting.


title: Cheerleading

text: Modern cheerleading is very closely associated with American football and basketball. Sports such as association football (soccer), ice hockey, volleyball, baseball, and wrestling will sometimes sponsor cheerleading squads. The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders. The Florida Marlins were the first Major League Baseball team to have a cheerleading team.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading originated as an all-male activity in the United States, and remains predominantly in America, with an estimated 3.85 million participants as of 2017. The global presentation of cheerleading was led by the 1997 broadcast of ESPN's International cheerleading competition, and the worldwide release of the 2000 film "Bring It On". The International Cheer Union (ICU) now claims 116 member nations with an estimated 7.5 million participants worldwide. The sport has gained a lot of traction in Australia, Canada, Mexico, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom with popularity continuing to grow as sport leaders pursue Olympic status.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading carries the highest rate of catastrophic injuries to female athletes in sports, with most injuries associated with from stunting, also known as pyramids.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading began during the late 18th century with the rebellion of male students. After the American Revolutionary War, students experienced harsh treatment from teachers. In response to faculty's abuse, college students violently acted out. The undergraduates began to riot, burn down buildings located on their college campuses, and assault faculty members. As a more subtle way to gain independence, however, students invented and organized their own extracurricular activities outside their professors' control. This brought about American sports, beginning first with collegiate teams.


title: Cheerleading

text: In the 1860s, students from Great Britain began to cheer and chant in unison for their favorite athletes at sporting events. Soon, that gesture of support crossed overseas to America.


title: Cheerleading

text: On November 6, 1869, the United States witnessed its first intercollegiate football game. It took place between Princeton University and Rutgers University, and marked the day the original "Sis Boom Rah!" cheer was shouted out by student fans.


title: Cheerleading

text: Organized cheerleading began as an all-male activity. As early as 1877, Princeton University had a "Princeton Cheer", documented in the February 22, 1877, March 12, 1880, and November 4, 1881, issues of "The Daily Princetonian". This cheer was yelled from the stands by students attending games, as well as by the athletes themselves. The cheer, "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Tiger! S-s-s-t! Boom! A-h-h-h!" remains in use with slight modifications today, where it is now referred to as the "Locomotive".


title: Cheerleading

text: Princeton class of 1882 graduate Thomas Peebles moved to Minnesota in 1884. He transplanted the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota.


title: Cheerleading

text: The term "Cheer Leader" had been used as early as 1897, with Princeton's football officials having named three students as "Cheer Leaders:" Thomas, Easton, and Guerin from Princeton's classes of 1897, 1898, and 1899, respectively, on October 26, 1897. These students would cheer for the team also at football practices, and special cheering sections were designated in the stands for the games themselves for both the home and visiting teams.


title: Cheerleading

text: It was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!", making Campbell the very first cheerleader.


title: Cheerleading

text: November 2, 1898 is the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota organized a "yell leader" squad of six male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer today.


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1923, at the University of Minnesota, women were permitted to participate in cheerleading. However, it took time for other schools to follow. In the late 1920s, many school manuals and newspapers that were published still referred to cheerleaders as "chap", "fellow", and "man".


title: Cheerleading

text: Women cheerleaders were overlooked until the 1940s when collegiate men were drafted for World War II, creating the opportunity for more women to make their way onto sporting event sidelines. As noted by Kieran Scott in "Ultimate Cheerleading": "Girls really took over for the first time."


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1949, Lawrence Herkimer, a former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University and inventor of the Herkie jump, founded his first cheerleading camp in Huntsville, Texas. 52 girls were in attendance. The clinic was so popular that Herkimer was asked to hold a second, where 350 young women were in attendance. Herkimer also patented the pom-pom.


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1951, Herkimer created the National Cheerleading Association to help grow the activity and provide cheerleading education to schools around the country.


title: Cheerleading

text: During the 1950s, female participation in cheerleading continued to grow. An overview written on behalf of cheerleading in 1955 explained that in larger schools, "occasionally boys as well as girls are included", and in smaller schools, "boys can usually find their place in the athletic program, and cheerleading is likely to remain solely a feminine occupation". Cheerleading could be found at almost every school level across the country; even pee wee and youth leagues began to appear.


title: Cheerleading

text: In the 1950s, professional cheerleading also began. The first recorded cheer squad in National Football League (NFL) history was for the Baltimore Colts. Professional cheerleaders put a new perspective on American cheerleading. Women were exclusively chosen for dancing ability as well as to conform to the male gaze, as heterosexual men were the targeted marketing group.


title: Cheerleading

text: By the 1960s, college cheerleaders employed by the NCA were hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to tens of thousands of high-school-age girls. Herkimer also contributed many notable firsts to cheerleading: the founding of a cheerleading uniform supply company, inventing the herkie jump (where one leg is bent towards the ground as if kneeling and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in toe-touch position), and creating the "Spirit Stick".


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl pom-pom, which was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (ICF, now the World Cheerleading Association, or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the ICF in 1967.


title: Cheerleading

text: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders soon gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, debuting in the 1972–1973 season, but were first widely seen in Super Bowl X (1976). These pro squads of the 1970s established cheerleaders as "American icons of wholesome sex appeal."


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1975, Randy Neil estimated that over 500,000 students actively participated in American cheerleading from elementary school to the collegiate level. Neil also approximated that ninety-five percent of cheerleaders within America were female.


title: Cheerleading

text: In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of Collegiate Cheerleading Championships on CBS.


title: Cheerleading

text: The 1980s saw the beginning of modern cheerleading, adding difficult stunt sequences and gymnastics into routines. All-star teams, or those not affiliated with a school, popped up, and eventually led to the creation of the U.S. All Star Federation (USASF). ESPN first broadcast the National High School Cheerleading Competition nationwide in 1983.


title: Cheerleading

text: By 1981, a total of seventeen Nation Football League teams had their own cheerleaders. The only teams without NFL cheerleaders at this time were New Orleans, New York, Detroit, Cleveland, Denver, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and San Diego. Professional cheerleading eventually spread to soccer and basketball teams as well.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading organizations such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), founded in 1987, started applying universal safety standards to decrease the number of injuries and prevent dangerous stunts, pyramids, and tumbling passes from being included in the cheerleading routines. In 2003, the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) was formed to offer safety training for youth, school, all-star, and college coaches. The NCAA now requires college cheer coaches to successfully complete a nationally recognized safety-training program.


title: Cheerleading

text: Even with its athletic and competitive development, cheerleading at the school level has retained its ties to its spirit leading traditions. Cheerleaders are quite often seen as ambassadors for their schools, and leaders among the student body. At the college level, cheerleaders are often invited to help at university fundraisers and events.


title: Cheerleading

text: Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure, and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.


title: Cheerleading

text: As of 2005, overall statistics show around 97% of all modern cheerleading participants are female, although at the collegiate level, cheerleading is co-ed with about 50% of participants being male. Modern male cheerleaders' stunts focus less on flexibility and more on tumbling, flips, pikes, and handstands. These depend on strong legs and strong core strength.


title: Cheerleading

text: In 2019, Napoleon Jinnies and Quinton Peron became the first male cheerleaders in the history of the NFL to perform at the Super Bowl.


title: Cheerleading

text: Kristi Yamaoka, a cheerleader for Southern Illinois University, suffered a fractured vertebra when she hit her head after falling from a human pyramid. She also suffered from a concussion, and a bruised lung. The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance during a basketball game between Southern Illinois University and Bradley University at the Savvis Center in St. Louis on March 5, 2006. The fall gained "national attention", because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as she was moved away from the game.


title: Cheerleading

text: The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season. On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by the AACCA rules committee:


title: Cheerleading

text: The committee unanimously voted for sweeping revisions to cheerleading safety rules, the most major of which restricts specific upper-level skills during basketball games. Basket tosses, high pyramids, one-arm stunts, stunts that involve twisting or flipping, and twisting tumbling skills may be performed only during halftime and post-game on a matted surface and are prohibited during game play or time-outs.


title: Cheerleading

text: Most American elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges have organized cheerleading squads. Some colleges even offer cheerleading scholarships for students. A school cheerleading team may compete locally, regionally, or nationally, but their main purpose is typically to cheer for sporting events and encourage audience participation. Cheerleading is quickly becoming a year-round activity, starting with tryouts during the spring semester of the preceding school year. Teams may attend organized summer cheerleading camps and practices to improve skills and create routines for competition.


title: Cheerleading

text: In addition to supporting their schools' football or other sports teams, student cheerleaders may compete with recreational-style routine at competitions year-round.


title: Cheerleading

text: In far more recent years, it has become more common for elementary schools to have an organized cheerleading team. This is a great way to get younger children introduced to the sport and used to being crowd leaders. Also, with young children learning so much so quickly, tumbling can come very easy to a child in elementary school.


title: Cheerleading

text: Middle school cheerleading evolved shortly after high school squads were created and is set at the district level. In middle school, cheerleading squads serve the same purpose, but often follow a modified set of rules from high school squads with possible additional rules. Squads can cheer for basketball teams, football teams, and other sports teams in their school. Squads may also perform at pep rallies and compete against other local schools from the area. Cheerleading in middle school sometimes can be a two-season activity: fall and winter. However, many middle school cheer squads will go year-round like high school squads. Middle school cheerleaders use the same cheerleading movements as their older counterparts, yet may perform less extreme stunts and tumbling elements, depending on the rules in their area..


title: Cheerleading

text: In high school, there are usually two squads per school: varsity and a junior varsity. High school cheerleading contains aspects of school spirit as well as competition. These squads have become part of a year-round cycle. Starting with tryouts in the spring, year-round practice, cheering on teams in the fall and winter, and participating in cheerleading competitions. Most squads practice at least three days a week for about two hours each practice during the summer. Many teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year, cheerleading is usually practiced five- to six-days-a-week. During competition season, it often becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and "hyping up" the crowd at football games, basketball games, and even at wrestling meets. Along with this, cheerleaders usually perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to other students. In May 2009, the National Federation of State High School Associations released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimated that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is around 394,700.


title: Cheerleading

text: There are different cheerleading organizations that put on competitions; some of the major ones include state and regional competitions. Many high schools will often host cheerleading competitions, bringing in IHSA judges. The regional competitions are qualifiers for national competitions, such as the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) in Orlando, Florida every year. Many teams have a professional choreographer that choreographs their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking rules or regulations and to give the squad creative elements.


title: Cheerleading

text: Most American universities have a cheerleading squad to cheer for football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and soccer. Most college squads tend to be larger coed teams, although in recent years; all-girl squads and smaller college squads have increased rapidly. Cheerleading is not recognized by NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA as athletics; therefore, there are few to no scholarships offered to athletes wanting to pursue cheerleading at the collegiate level. However, some community colleges and universities offer scholarships directly from the program or sponsorship funds. Some colleges offer scholarships for an athlete's talents, academic excellence, and/or involvement in community events.


title: Cheerleading

text: College squads perform more difficult stunts which include multi-level pyramids, as well as flipping and twisting basket tosses.


title: Cheerleading

text: Not only do college cheerleaders cheer on the other sports at their university, many teams at universities compete with other schools at either UCA College Nationals or NCA College Nationals. This requires the teams to choreograph a 2-minute and 30 second routine that includes elements of jumps, tumbling, stunting, basket tosses, pyramids, and a crowd involvement section. Winning one of these competitions is a very prestigious accomplishment, and is seen as another national title for most schools.


title: Cheerleading

text: Organizations that sponsor youth cheer teams usually sponsor either youth league football or basketball teams as well. This allows for the two, under the same sponsor, to be intermingled. Both teams have the same mascot name and the cheerleaders will perform at their football or basketball games. Examples of such sponsors include Pop Warner, American Youth Football, and the YMCA. The purpose of these squads is primarily to support their associated football or basketball players, but some teams do compete at local or regional competitions. The Pop Warner Association even hosts a national championship each December for teams in their program who qualify.


title: Cheerleading

text: "All-star" or club cheerleading differs from school or sideline cheerleading because all-star teams focus solely on performing a competition routine and not on leading cheers for other sports teams. All-star cheerleaders are members of a privately owned gym or club which they typically pay dues or tuition to, similar to a gymnastics gym.


title: Cheerleading

text: During the early 1980s, cheerleading squads not associated with a school or sports league, whose main objective was competition, began to emerge. The first organization to call themselves all-stars were the Q94 Rockers from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1982. All-star teams competing prior to 1987 were placed into the same divisions as teams that represented schools and sports leagues. In 1986, the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) addressed this situation by creating a separate division for teams lacking a sponsoring school or athletic association, calling it the All-Star Division and debuting it at their 1987 competitions. As the popularity of this type of team grew, more and more of them were formed, attending competitions sponsored by many different organizations and companies, each using its own set of rules, regulations, and divisions. This situation became a concern to coaches and gym owners, as the inconsistencies caused coaches to keep their routines in a constant state of flux, detracting from time that could be better utilized for developing skills and providing personal attention to their athletes. More importantly, because the various companies were constantly vying for a competitive edge, safety standards had become more and more lax. In some cases, unqualified coaches and inexperienced squads were attempting dangerous stunts as a result of these expanded sets of rules.


title: Cheerleading

text: The United States All Star Federation (USASF) was formed in 2003 by the competition companies to act as the national governing body for all star cheerleading and to create a standard set of rules and judging criteria to be followed by all competitions sanctioned by the Federation. Eager to grow the sport and create more opportunities for high-level teams, The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on April 24, 2004. At the same time, cheerleading coaches from all over the country organized themselves for the same rule making purpose, calling themselves the National All Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC). In 2005, the NACCC was absorbed by the USASF to become their rule making body. In late 2006, the USASF facilitated the creation of the International All-Star Federation (IASF), which now governs club cheerleading worldwide.


title: Cheerleading

text: , all-star cheerleading, as sanctioned by the USASF, involves a squad of 5–36 females and males. All-star cheerleaders are placed into divisions, which are grouped based upon age, size of the team, gender of participants, and ability level. The age groups vary from under 4 years of age to 18 years and over. The squad prepares year-round for many different competition appearances, but they actually perform only for up to minutes during their team's routine. The numbers of competitions a team participates in varies from team to team, but generally, most teams tend to participate in six to ten competitions a year. These competitions include locals or regionals, which normally take place in school gymnasiums or local venues, nationals, hosted in large venues all around the U.S., and the Cheerleading Worlds, which takes place at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed stunting, tumbling, jumping, and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so that the team members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.


title: Cheerleading

text: All-star cheerleaders compete at competitions hosted by private event production companies, the foremost of these being Varsity Spirit. Varsity Spirit is the parent company for many subsidiaries including The National Cheerleader's Association, The Universal Cheerleader's Association, AmeriCheer, Allstar Challenge, and JamFest, among others. Each separate company or subsidiary typically hosts their own local and national level competitions. This means that many gyms within the same area could be state and national champions for the same year and never have competed against each other. Currently, there is no system in place that awards only one state or national title.


title: Cheerleading

text: Judges at a competition watch closely for illegal skills from the group or any individual member. Here, an illegal skill is something that is not allowed in that division due to difficulty or safety restrictions. They look out for deductions, or things that go wrong, such as a dropped stunt or a tumbler who doesn't stick a landing. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.


title: Cheerleading

text: If a level 6 or 7 team places high enough at selected USASF/IASF sanctioned national competitions, they could earn a place at the Cheerleading Worlds and compete against teams from all over the world, as well as receive money for placing. For elite level cheerleaders, The Cheerleading Worlds is the highest level of competition to which they can aspire, and winning a world championship title is an incredible honor.


title: Cheerleading

text: Professional cheerleaders and dancers cheer for sports such as football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, or hockey. There are only a small handful of professional cheerleading leagues around the world; some professional leagues include the NBA Cheerleading League, the NFL Cheerleading League, the CFL Cheerleading League, the MLS Cheerleading League, the MLB Cheerleading League, and the NHL Ice Girls. Although professional cheerleading leagues exist in multiple countries, there are no Olympic teams.


title: Cheerleading

text: In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders often do a lot of philanthropy and charity work, modeling, motivational speaking, television performances, and advertising.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading carries the highest rate of catastrophic injuries to female athletes in high school and collegiate sports. Of the United States' 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for nearly 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics. In data covering the 1982-83 academic year through the 2018-19 academic year in the US, the rate of serious, direct traumatic injury per 100,000 participants was 1.68 for female cheerleaders at the high school level, the highest for all high school sports surveyed. (table 9a) The college rate could not be determined, as the total number of collegiate cheerleaders was unknown, but the total number of traumatic, direct catastrophic injuries over this period was 33 (28 female, 5 male), higher than all sports at this level aside from football. (table 5a) Another study found that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling, or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading.


title: Cheerleading

text: The main source of injuries comes from stunting, also known as pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the person on top), along with one or two bases (the people on the bottom), and one or two spotters in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related injury is a concussion. 96% of those concussions are stunt related. Others injuries are: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries (sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, broken noses, and broken collarbones. Sometimes, however, injuries can be as serious as whiplash, broken necks, broken vertebrae, and death.


title: Cheerleading

text: The journal "Pediatrics" has reportedly said that the number of cheerleaders suffering from broken bones, concussions, and sprains has increased by over 100 percent between the years of 1990 and 2002, and that in 2001, there were 25,000 hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle, head, and neck. Meanwhile, in the US, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all major physical injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major injuries to college students due to physical activity from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.


title: Cheerleading

text: The risks of cheerleading were highlighted at the death of Lauren Chang. Chang died on April 14, 2008 after competing in a competition where her teammate had kicked her so hard in the chest that her lungs collapsed.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading (for both girls and boys) was one of the sports studied in the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program of the Colorado School of Public Health in 2009/10–2012/13. Data on cheerleading injuries is included in the report for 2012–13.


title: Cheerleading

text: International Cheer Union (ICU): Established on April 26, 2004, the ICU is recognized by the SportAccord as the world governing body of cheerleading and the authority on all matters with relation to it. Including participation from its 105-member national federations reaching 3.5 million athletes globally, the ICU continues to serve as the unified voice for those dedicated to cheerleading's positive development around the world.


title: Cheerleading

text: Following a positive vote by the SportAccord General Assembly on May 31, 2013, in Saint Petersburg, the International Cheer Union (ICU) became SportAccord's 109th member, and SportAccord's 93rd international sports federation to join the international sports family. In accordance with the SportAccord statutes, the ICU is recognized as the world governing body of cheerleading and the authority on all matters related to it.


title: Cheerleading

text: As of the 2016–17 season, the ICU has introduced a Junior aged team (12-16) to compete at the Cheerleading Worlds, because cheerleading is now in provisional status to become a sport in the Olympics. For cheerleading to one day be in the Olympics, there must be a junior and senior team that competes at the world championships. The first junior cheerleading team that was selected to become the junior national team was Eastside Middle School, located in Mount Washington Kentucky and will represent the United States in the inaugural junior division at the world championships.


title: Cheerleading

text: The ICU holds training seminars for judges and coaches, global events and the World Cheerleading Championships. The ICU is also fully applied to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is compliant under the code set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).


title: Cheerleading

text: International Federation of Cheerleading (IFC): Established on July 5, 1998, the International Federation of Cheerleading (IFC) is a non-profit federation based in Tokyo, Japan, and is a world governing body of cheerleading, primarily in Asia. The IFC objectives are to promote cheerleading worldwide, to spread knowledge of cheerleading, and to develop friendly relations among the member associations and federations.


title: Cheerleading

text: USA Cheer The USA Federation for Sport Cheering (USA Cheer) was established in 2007 to serve as the national governing body for all types of cheerleading in the United States and is recognized by the ICU. "The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for profit 501(c)(6) organization that was established in 2007 to serve as the National Governing Body for Sport Cheering in the United States. USA Cheer exists to serve the cheer community, including club cheering (all star) and traditional school based cheer programs, and the growing sport of STUNT. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions." In March 2018, they absorbed the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA) and now provide safety guidelines and training for all levels of cheerleading. Additionally, they organize the USA National Team.


title: Cheerleading

text: Universal Cheerleading Association: UCA is an association owned by the company brand Varsity. "Universal Cheerleaders Association was founded in 1974 by Jeff Webb to provide the best educational training for cheerleaders with the goal of incorporating high-level skills with traditional crowd leading. It was Jeff's vision that would transform cheerleading into the dynamic, athletic combination of high energy entertainment and school leadership that is loved by so many." "Today, UCA is the largest cheerleading camp company in the world, offering the widest array of dates and locations of any camp company. We also celebrate cheerleader's incredible hard work and athleticism through the glory of competition at over 50 regional events across the country and our Championships at the Walt Disney World Resort every year." "UCA has instilled leadership skills and personal confidence in more than 4.5 million athletes on and off the field while continuing to be the industry's leader for more than forty-five years. UCA has helped many cheerleaders get the training they need to succeed.


title: Cheerleading

text: Asian Thailand Cheerleading Invitational (ATCI): Organised by the Cheerleading Association of Thailand (CAT) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the International Federation of Cheerleading (IFC). The ATCI is held every year since 2009. At the ATCI, many teams from all over Thailand compete, joining them are many invited neighbouring nations who also send cheer squads.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading Asia International Open Championships (CAIOC): Hosted by the Foundation of Japan Cheerleading Association (FJCA) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the IFC. The CAIOC has been a yearly event since 2007. Every year, many teams from all over Asia converge in Tokyo to compete.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading World Championships (CWC): Organised by the IFC. The IFC is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998 and based in Tokyo, Japan.


title: Cheerleading

text: The CWC has been held every two years since 2001, and to date, the competition has been held in Japan, the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, and Hong Kong. The 6th CWC was held at the Hong Kong Coliseum on November 26–27, 2011.


title: Cheerleading

text: ICU World Championships: The International Cheer Union currently encompasses 105 National Federations from countries across the globe. Every year, the ICU host the World Cheerleading Championship. This competition uses a more collegiate style performance and rulebook. Countries assemble and send only one team to represent them.


title: Cheerleading

text: National Cheerleading Championships (NCC): The NCC is the annual IFC-sanctioned national cheerleading competition in Indonesia organised by the Indonesian Cheerleading Community (ICC). Since NCC 2010, the event is now open to international competition, representing a significant step forward for the ICC. Teams from many countries such as Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore participated in the ground breaking event.


title: Cheerleading

text: Pan-American Cheerleading Championships (PCC): The PCC was held for the first time in 2009 in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador and is the continental championship organised by the Pan-American Federation of Cheerleading (PFC). The PFC, operating under the umbrella of the IFC, is the non-profit continental body of cheerleading whose aim it is to promote and develop cheerleading in the Americas. The PCC is a biennial event, and was held for the second time in Lima, Peru, in November 2010.


title: Cheerleading

text: USASF/IASF Worlds: Many United States cheerleading organizations form and register the not-for-profit entity the United States All Star Federation (USASF) and also the International All Star Federation (IASF) to support international club cheerleading and the World Cheerleading Club Championships. The first World Cheerleading Championships, or Cheerleading Worlds, were hosted by the USASF/IASF at the Walt Disney World Resort and taped for an ESPN global broadcast in 2004. This competition is only for All-Star/Club cheer. Only level 6 and 7 teams may attend and must receive a bid from a partner company.


title: Cheerleading

text: Varsity: Varsity Spirit, a branch of Varsity Brands is a parent company which, over the past 10 years, has absorbed or bought most other cheerleading event production companies. The following is a list of subsidiary competition companies owned by Varsity Spirit:


title: Cheerleading

text: In the United States, the designation of a "sport" is important because of Title IX. There is a large debate on whether or not cheerleading should be considered a sport for Title IX (a portion of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 forbidding discrimination under any education program on the basis of sex) purposes. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued memos and letters to schools that cheerleading, both sideline and competitive, may not be considered "athletic programs" for the purposes of Title IX. Supporters consider cheerleading, as a whole, a sport, citing the heavy use of athletic talents while critics see it as a physical activity because a "sport" implies a competition among all squads and not all squads compete, along with subjectivity of competitions where—as with gymnastics, diving, and figure skating—scores are assessed based on human judgment and not an objective goal or measurement of time.


title: Cheerleading

text: On January 27, 2009, in a lawsuit involving an accidental injury sustained during a cheerleading practice, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that cheerleading is a full-contact sport in that state, not allowing any participants to be sued for accidental injury. In contrast, on July 21, 2010, in a lawsuit involving whether college cheerleading qualified as a sport for purposes of Title IX, a federal court, citing a current lack of program development and organization, ruled that it is not a sport at all.


title: Cheerleading

text: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) does not recognize cheerleading as a sport. In 2014, the American Medical Association adopted a policy that, as the leading cause of catastrophic injuries of female athletes both in high school and college, cheerleading should be considered a sport. While there are cheerleading teams at the majority of the NCAA's Division I schools, they are still not recognized as a sport. This results in many teams not being properly funded. Additionally, there are little to no college programs offering scholarships because their universities cannot offer athletic scholarships to "spirit" team members.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading in Canada is rising in popularity among the youth in co-curricular programs. Cheerleading has grown from the sidelines to a competitive activity throughout the world and in particular Canada. Cheerleading has a few streams in Canadian sports culture. It is available at the middle-school, high-school, collegiate, and best known for all-star. There are multiple regional, provincial, and national championship opportunities for all athletes participating in cheerleading. Canada does not have provincial teams, just a national program referred to as CCU or Team Canada. Their first year as a national team was in 2009 when they represented Canada at the International Cheer Union World Cheerleading Championships International Cheer Union (ICU).


title: Cheerleading

text: There is no official governing body for Canadian cheerleading. The rules and guidelines for cheerleading used in Canada are the ones set out by the USASF. However, there are many organizations in Canada that put on competitions and have separate and individual rules and scoresheets for each competition. Cheer Evolution is the largest cheerleading and dance organization for Canada. They hold many competitions as well as provide a competition for bids to Worlds. There are other organizations such as the Ontario Cheerleading Federation (Ontario), Power Cheerleading Association (Ontario), Kicks Athletics (Quebec), and the International Cheer Alliance (Vancouver). There are over forty recognized competitive gym clubs with numerous teams that compete at competitions across Canada.


title: Cheerleading

text: There are two world championship competitions that Canada participates in. The first is the ICU World Championships where the Canadian National Teams compete against other countries. The second is The Cheerleading Worlds where Canadian club teams, referred to as "all-star" teams, compete at the USASF Cheerleading Worlds. National team members who compete at the ICU Worlds can also compete with their "all-star club" teams. Although athletes can compete in both International Cheer Union (ICU) and USASF, crossovers between teams at each individual competition are not permitted. Teams compete against the other teams from their countries on the first day of competition and the top three teams from each country in each division continue to finals. At the end of finals, the top team scoring the highest for their country earns the "Nations Cup". Canada has multiple teams across their country that compete in the USASF Cheerleading Worlds Championship.


title: Cheerleading

text: The International Cheer Union (ICU) is built of 103 countries that compete against each other in four divisions; Coed Premier, All-girl Premier, Coed Elite, and All-girl Elite. Canada has a national team ran by the Canadian Cheer Union (CCU). Their Coed Elite Level 5 Team and their All-girl Elite Level 5 team are 4-time world champions. The athletes on the teams are found from all over the country. In 2013, they added two more teams to their roster. A new division that will compete head-to-head with the United States: in both the All-girl and Coed Premier Level 6 divisions. Members tryout and are selected on the basis of their skills and potential to succeed. Canada's national program has grown to be one of the most successful programs.


title: Cheerleading

text: Cheerleading in Mexico is a popular sport commonly seen in Mexican College Football and Professional Mexican Soccer sporting events. Cheerleading emerged within the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the highest House of Studies in the country, during the 1930s, almost immediately after it was granted its autonomy. Since then, this phenomenon has been evolving to become what it is now. Firstly, it was developed only in the UNAM, later in other secondary and higher education institutions in Mexico City, and currently in practically the entire country.


title: Cheerleading

text: In Mexico, this sport is endorsed by the Mexican Federation of Cheerleaders and Cheerleading Groups (Federación Mexicana de Porristas y Grupos de Animación) (FMPGA), a body that regulates competitions in Mexico and subdivisions such as the Olympic Confederation of Cheerleaders (COP Brands), National Organization of Cheerleaders (Organización Nacional de Porristas) (ONP) and the Mexican Organization of Trainers and Animation Groups (Organización Mexicana de Entrenadores y Grupos de Animación) (OMEGA Mexico), these being the largest in the country.


title: Cheerleading

text: In 2021, the third edition of the National Championship of State Teams was held and organized by The Mexican Federation of Cheerleaders and Cheerleading Groups, on this occasion, the event was held virtually, broadcasting live, through the Vimeo platform.


title: Cheerleading

text: In Mexico there are more than 500 teams and almost 10,000 athletes who practice this sport, in addition to a representative national team of Mexico, which won first place in the cheerleading world championship organized by the ICU (International Cheer Union) on April 24, 2015, receiving a gold medal; In 2016, Mexico became the second country with the most medals in the world in this sport. With 27 medals, it is considered the second world power in this sport, only behind the United States. In the 2019 Coed Premier World Cheerleading Championship Mexico ranked 4th just behind the United States, Canada and Taiwan. In 2021 the mexican team won 3rd place at the Junior Boom category in World Cheerleading Championship 2021 hosted by international cheerleading federation.


title: Cheerleading

text: This section has a link to a separate Wikipedia page that talks about the history and growth of cheerleading in the United Kingdom. This can be used to compare and contrast the activity in the U.S and in Australia.


title: Cheerleading

text: This section has a link to a separate Wikipedia page that talks about the history and growth of cheerleading in Australia. This can be used to compare and contrast the activity in the U.S and in Australia.


title: Cheerleading

text: This section has a link to a separate Wikipedia page that lists former cheerleaders and well-known cheerleading squads.


title: Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork

text: Pork is a food taboo among Jews, Muslims, and some Christian denominations. Swine were prohibited in ancient Syria and Phoenicia, and the pig and its flesh represented a taboo observed, Strabo noted, at Comana in Pontus. A lost poem of Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the traveller Pausanias, reported an etiological myth of Attis destroyed by a supernatural boar to account for the fact that "in consequence of these events the Galatians who inhabit Pessinous do not touch pork". In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (haram) and Adventist (kosher animals) dietary laws.


text: Although Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and are permitted to consume pork. However, Seventh-day Adventists consider pork taboo, along with other foods forbidden by Jewish law. The Eritrean Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church do not permit pork consumption. Hebrew Roots Movement adherents also do not consume pork.


text: The Torah (Pentateuch) contains passages in Leviticus that lists the animals people are permitted to eat. According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they don't chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8.


text: During the Roman period, Jewish abstinence from pork consumption became one of the most identifiable features of Jewish religion to outsiders of the faith. One example appears in Tacitus' "Histories" 5.4.1-2. Because Jewish dietary restrictions on pork were well-known to non-Jews, foreign attempts of oppression and assimilation of Jewish populations into Hellenistic and Roman custom often involved attempting to force Jewish populations into consuming pork. According to 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:48, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to force Jews in his realm to consuming pork as a part of his attempted restrictions on the practice of Judaism. In addition, Philo of Alexandria records that during the Alexandrian riots (38) against Jewish communities in the city of Alexandria, some Alexandrian mobs also attempted to force Jews into consuming pork. Some forms of Jewish Christianity also adopted these restrictions on the consumption of pork, as is noted in the Didascalia Apostolorum.


text: The prohibition of a certain food is also linked to Islamic Cosmology. Accordingly "good" and "evil" qualities are transferred by eating an object carrying a certain quality, that also affects the soul of human, the pig rendered with "evil qualities".


text: There are different schools of thought in Islam that offer different opinions on eating meat other than pork, which is unanimously forbidden. Generally, so long as it was affirmed that no impurities came in contact with the meat served in western countries (which are mostly governed by the People of the Book), then it is considered Halal. However, the Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland considers meat slaughtered by non-Muslims to be forbidden. Another school of thought such as the Hanafi Maddhab require that the meat be certified as Halal only by ensuring Islamic slaughtering of the animals. Most South Asian Muslims follow that.


text: According to Sozomen, some Arabs in pre-Islamic Arabia who traced their ancestry to Ishmael abstained from the consumption of pork.


text: According to Herodotus, the Scythians had a taboo against the pig, which was never offered in sacrifice, and apparently the Scythians loathed so much as to even keep swine within their lands.


text: Scottish pork taboo was Donald Alexander Mackenzie's phrase for discussing an aversion to pork among Scots, particularly Highlanders, which he believed stemmed from an ancient taboo. Several writers who confirm that there was a prejudice against pork, or a superstitious attitude toward pigs, do not see it in terms of a taboo related to an ancient cult. Any prejudice is generally agreed to have disappeared by 1800.


text: The cultural materialistic anthropologist Marvin Harris thinks that the main reason for prohibiting consumption of pork was ecological-economical. Pigs require water and shady woods with seeds, but those conditions are scarce in the Middle East. Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse, which was deemed unclean. Furthermore, a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.


text: It is speculated that chickens supplanted pigs as a more portable and efficient source of meat, and these practical concerns led to the religious restrictions.


text: Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher, legal codifier, and court physician to the Muslim sultan Saladin in the 12th century, understood the dietary laws chiefly as a means of keeping the body healthy. He argued that the meat of the forbidden animals, birds, and fish is unwholesome and indigestible. According to Maimonides, at first glance, this does not apply to pork, which does not appear to be harmful. Yet, Maimonides observes, the pig is a filthy animal, and if swine were used for food, marketplaces and even houses would be dirtier than latrines.


text: Rashi (the primary Jewish commentator on the Bible and Talmud) lists the prohibition of pig as a law whose reason is not known, and may therefore be derided by others as making no sense.


text: The Chinuch Sefer HaChinuch (an early work of Halachah) gives a general overview of the Jewish dietary laws. He writes "And if there are any reasons for the dietary laws which are unknown to us or those knowledgeable in the health field, do not wonder about them, for the true Healer that warns us against them is smarter than us, and smarter than the doctors."


title: Priti Adani

text: Priti Gautam Adani (born 1965) with $1 billion net worth is an Indian businessperson, dentist, philanthropist, and chairwoman of Adani Foundation. She is one of the leading women educators in the state of Gujarat.


title: Priti Adani

text: In 1965, Priti Adani was born in Mumbai to a Gujarati family. She completed her bachelor’s degree in dental surgery from Government Dental College, Ahmedabad. She is married to Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, India's richest person.


title: Priti Adani

text: During her early days, Priti Adani started her career as a dentist. In the year 1996, she was appointed as chairperson of Adani Foundation.


title: Priti Adani

text: In 2001, after the Bhuj Earthquake, she started the Adani DAV School in Mundra. Later, the school was renamed Adani Public School. In June 2009, she and her husband established Adani Vidya Mandir in Bhadreshwar (near Mundra) and Ahmedabad. Adani Vidya Mandir provides free higher secondary education to underprivileged children. Under her leadership, Adani Group's CSR budget for 2018-19 rose to Rs 128 crore from Rs 95 crore, in a year's time.


title: Priti Adani

text: Priti Adani is married to Gautam Adani, the current chairman of the Adani Group. They have two sons - Karan Adani and Jeet Adani.


title: I Love You, Man

text: I Love You, Man is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his new best friend (Jason Segel) is straining his relationship with his bride (Rashida Jones).


title: I Love You, Man

text: The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 20, 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The film grossed $92 million on a $40 million budget. It marked the third collaboration between Segel and Rudd, after "Knocked Up" (2007) and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008).


title: I Love You, Man

text: Peter Klaven, a Los Angeles real estate agent, proposes to his girlfriend Zooey Rice, and she accepts. He doesn't have any close male friends to share the news with, only family and mainly female acquaintances. After overhearing her friends' concern over his lack of guy friends, Peter decides he needs to find some to have a best man for the wedding.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Peter turns to his gay younger brother, Robbie, for advice on meeting men. He makes a series of overtures toward various men, including Barry, the persistently hot-headed husband of Zooey's friend Denise. Barry doesn't like Peter too much—a problem which only escalates when Peter, after winning a beer-drinking contest, inadvertently projectile-vomits on Barry.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Feeling rejected, Peter is about to give up when, at an open house at Lou Ferrigno's mansion which he is trying to sell, he meets Sydney Fife, an investor who is attending the show to pick up divorced women and take advantage of the free food. They quickly become friends, bonding over their mutual adoration of the progressive rock band Rush. Peter introduces Sydney to Zooey at their engagement party, but unfortunately a nervous Sydney makes a very awkward toast which includes veiled encouragement for Zooey to perform oral sex on Peter more often.


title: I Love You, Man

text: The next night, Peter attends a Rush concert with Sydney, on the condition that he bring Zooey. During the concert, she feels ignored by them. The next day, while shopping for tuxedos, Sydney asks Peter why he is marrying Zooey, and also asks for an $8,000 loan. After some thought, Peter decides to lend Sydney the money, and later asks him to be his best man. Zooey, meanwhile, has become suspicious of Sydney. Peter tells her that he lent Sydney money and asks her if she knows why they are getting married, since he had no answer to Sydney's question (not aware the question was supposed to stay between him and Sydney). Hurt and angry, Zooey leaves.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Peter goes to work the next morning, discovering Sydney has used the $8,000 loan to purchase several ridiculous billboard advertisements promoting Peter's real estate business (with photos of Peter he had taken). Still upset over his fight with Zooey, he confronts Sydney and ends their friendship. Peter then patches things up with Zooey, explaining that although he is nervous, he is ready to get married. As they prepare for the wedding, Sydney finds himself alone and desperate to hang with someone.


title: I Love You, Man

text: At work, Peter discovers that Sydney's billboard advertising campaign was successful. He won back the right to the lucrative Ferrigno listing and many others left messages, wanting him to sell their houses. Feeling encouraged, Peter finally stands up to his insufferable colleague, Tevin Downey, who had been badgering Peter for half the selling rights to the Ferrigno property. When he makes one final attempt to get a piece of it, Peter slaps him, telling him to back off.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Peter feels bad about fighting with Sydney but does not re-invite him to the wedding. Instead, he assembles an array of random groomsmen that includes Robbie, father Oswald, and Ferrigno. Before the wedding, Zooey sees Peter looking forlorn, clearly missing Sydney. She calls and invites Sydney, who is, unbeknownst to them, already en route to the wedding.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Just before the vows are to be taken, Sydney makes a dramatic entrance via Vespa. He reminds Peter and Zooey that he is, in fact, a successful investor and returns the money he borrowed from Peter, announcing the billboards were their wedding present. Peter and Zooey declare their love to each other, Sydney assumes the role of best man, and the wedding continues.


title: I Love You, Man

text: As the credits roll, we see the wedding reception, where Peter and Sydney join the hired band (played by OK Go) in a rendition of the Rush song "Limelight" pulling Zooey on stage to join them. As the song ends, Sydney attempts to toast the newlyweds and Peter runs to frantically stop him as the screen cuts out (remembering Sydney's ill-advised toast at the engagement dinner).


title: I Love You, Man

text: The script, "Let's Be Friends", was originally written by Larry Levin. It was purchased but went unused for about 11 years before the film was made. Hamburg was offered the script and kept turning it down, but after his friends moved to Los Angeles he was inspired by the experience of trying to meet more friends to give it a shot. When Hamburg finally took the script he rewrote it to make it as real as possible. The film was originally announced in December 2007, with production originally scheduled for March 2008. In March 2008, "Variety" revealed that producer Ivan Reitman's Montecito Picture Company officially began production on "I Love You, Man" during the week of March 31, 2008.


title: I Love You, Man

text: "I Love You, Man" is the third collaboration between Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, following the Judd Apatow projects "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", while writer/director John Hamburg previously worked with Segel on Apatow's "Undeclared" television series. It only took one lunch to get Segel and Rudd to sign on to do the film and this set the stage for other actors to sign on. On February 13, 2008 it was announced that Rashida Jones would be the female lead opposite Rudd. Later, in an interview with FirstShowing.net, Jones revealed that because Segel and Rudd were already attached to the project she "knew immediately that it was gonna be even funnier than I would think." At the beginning of the March 31, 2008 week, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that Jaime Pressly had joined the film's cast, playing the best friend of Rashida Jones' character. Hamburg comically stated that he was lucky in casting J.K. Simmons because his contract states "he has to be in one out of every four movies made." Jon Favreau started working on the film the same week "Iron Man" came out, a film which he directed. He said he "probably wouldn't have agreed to have done it had I known my life was going to be that shape", but "Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. told him that "It is the best thing you could do" – he said 'chop wood, carry water,' which is what they do in the Kung Fu movies to keep you humble."


title: I Love You, Man

text: One of late President of Egypt Anwar Sadat's daughters filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers because, in the film, Sydney's dog is named after her father. He tells Peter that he thinks "they look exactly alike." Samir Sabri, the lawyer in the case, asked the US embassy to apologize. Complaints have been raised by Egyptian bloggers as well. In the Arab world, "dog" is often used as an insult, and, in the more specific context of Islam, dogs have historically been seen as unclean.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Rush was approached by Hamburg, a fan of the band, to appear in the film. The filming schedule was tight because there was a one-day window between two of their concerts on tour. The band later said that they enjoyed the experience. Hamburg felt that "once Rush got that I wasn't poking fun at them, that I'm genuinely a fan and the main characters of the movie are fans and it's kind of a loving tribute to them, I think that's when they came on board." Subsequently, both Rudd and Segel appeared in character as Peter and Sydney alongside the members of Rush in a short video played at the end of concerts during the band's 2010–11 Time Machine Tour. In August 2013, Rudd reprised his character at the final show of Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour, conducting the Clockwork Angels Orchestra (a string section which accompanied the band) during the song "YYZ." In 2015, on Rush's R40 Live Tour, Rudd and Segel were again featured among a number of celebrities in an accompanying rear-screen video lip-synching the rap section to the song "Roll the Bones".


title: I Love You, Man

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus states, ""I Love You, Man" makes the most of its simple premise due to the heartfelt and hilarious performances of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on scale of A+ to F.


title: I Love You, Man

text: Giving the film three out of four stars, Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" said that despite the formulaic plot, "the right actors can keep it afloat, even airborne." He also praised the supporting cast. "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film an C−, and said that "Paul Rudd gives a startlingly funny and original performance." "USA Today" gave the film a glowing review, stating "the movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel." More conservatively, "People" magazine said the movie "sails along on goodwill and blush-worthy bawdiness," but concluded that "like instant chocolate pudding, it goes down easy — even if it isn't especially good for you."


title: I Love You, Man

text: The film was not without its critics. Peter Rainer of "The Christian Science Monitor" was not impressed with the film, and after noting that the character Sydney seemed to be written for Owen Wilson, Rainer remarked, "Maybe Wilson was busy. Lucky him." The "Colorado Daily" described the relationship between the male leads as a "watered-down false bromance", noting that the pace of their relationship seemed "rushed", and that Peter was looking out for his wife rather than his best friend.


title: I Love You, Man

text: In its U.S. opening weekend, the film made $17.8 million in 2,711 theaters, ranking number two at the box office. "I Love You, Man" stayed in the box office top ten for five weeks and was number 27 among films released in 2009. The film grossed $71.4 million domestically and $20.2 million internationally making $93.4 million worldwide.


title: I Love You, Man

text: The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on August 11, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in Europe and as of November 2009 generated more than $22 million in DVD sales. "I Love You, Man" was ranked number two in sales during its opening week and declined from there. The DVD extras contains an hour and a half of content including a full performance of "Limelight".


title: I Love You, Man

text: The film has been nominated for Best Kiss for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards for the smooch between Thomas Lennon's character Doug and Rudd's Peter, but lost to "Twilight". It was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Film – Wide Release" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.


title: Maria Butina

text: Maria Valeryevna Butina (, sometimes transliterated as Mariya Butina; born November 10, 1988) is a Russian politician, political activist and former entrepreneur who was convicted in 2018 of acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia within the United States.


title: Maria Butina

text: She worked as an assistant for Aleksandr Torshin, a former member of the Federation Council, a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, and a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia. In this role, she worked to infiltrate conservative groups in the US, including the National Rifle Association, as part of an effort to promote Russian interests in the 2016 United States presidential election. The Senate Intelligence Committee later concluded that she attempted to persuade the Trump campaign to establish a secret communications back channel with Russia.


title: Maria Butina

text: In July 2018, while residing in Washington, D.C., Butina was arrested by the FBI and charged with acting as an agent of the Russian Federation "without prior notification to the Attorney General." In December 2018, she pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian state under 18 U.S.C. §951. In April 2019, a federal judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison. She served around five months at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution. Her 9-month pretrial prison term was counted towards her sentence, and she was released in October 2019 and deported back to Russia. She denied accusations that she was a Russian agent. In 2021, she was elected to the State Duma as a member of United Russia.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina was born on November 10, 1988, in the Siberian city of Barnaul, in Altai Krai, about east of the present Kazakhstan–Russia border. Her mother was the chief engineer of an energy enterprise and her father Valery Viktorovich Butin was an entrepreneur who established a furniture manufacturing business in Barnaul. She has one sister and one maternal niece, Kira.


title: Maria Butina

text: She graduated with honors at the age of 17 from Gymnasium Number 22 with in-depth study of the English language, and from school years she strove for active public activity. She studied political science at Altai State University and also received a teaching degree. At age 19, she was elected to the public council of Altai Krai in the last direct election for the council.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina, at age 21, launched a furniture retail business in Altai Krai. In 2011, she moved to Moscow and sold six of her seven furniture stores to start an advertising agency. That same year, she participated in the Youth Primaries organized by the Young Guard of United Russia, the youth wing of the United Russia party, which she has described as "the current ruling political party in Moscow."


title: Maria Butina

text: Further in 2011, Butina founded (), described as a Russian gun-rights organization. She began traveling back and forth to the US, initially with Aleksandr Torshin, who was then a Senator in the Federation Council of Russia (and a half-month later became Acting Chairman/Speaker of this Senate of Russian Federation) and a leading member of United Russia. He had hired her as his "special assistant" that year. In 2012, they lobbied the council to expand gun rights. Butina resigned from her position as the head of Right to Bear Arms in late 2014.


title: Maria Butina

text: According to Russians interviewed by RFE/RL, the organization was notable for avoiding opposition to Putin during the 2011–2013 Russian protests, for its "quixotic" support for a cause with little public support and strong government opposition – Putin himself had told Russians "I am deeply convinced that the free flow of firearms will bring a great harm and represents a great danger for us" – for introducing legislation in the Russian parliament that "never went anywhere", and for receding from public view after Butina stepped down as its head. According to US prosecutors who prosecuted Butina on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent, her love of guns was a ruse to advance Russia's agenda within the Republican Party. Anders Åslund described Right to Bear Arms as a "front organization with the purpose of infiltrating American groups and forging cooperation with the NRA."


title: Maria Butina

text: In 2013, she met Republican political operative Paul Erickson in Russia. The two became close, started dating, and eventually moved in together. In 2015, she emailed him a description of a proposed project to influence the Republican Party to be friendlier to Russia, through the NRA. In January 2015, Torshin became deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, and Butina worked as his special assistant until May 2017. In 2017, Butina told "The Washington Post" that she never worked for the Russian government.


title: Maria Butina

text: In August 2016, she moved to the US on a student visa, and enrolled as a graduate student in International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C. While a student at American University, Butina got drunk on at least two separate occasions and bragged to her fellow students about her contacts in the Russian government; on both occasions, her classmates reported her to law enforcement, sources told CNN.


title: Maria Butina

text: In February 2016, Butina and Erickson began a South Dakota business, Bridges LLC. Erickson later said the company was established in case Butina needed any monetary assistance for her graduate studies, which Butina commenced in mid-2016 American University in Washington, D.C. In 2018, she completed a master's degree in international relations.


title: Maria Butina

text: As part of her work as a foreign agent, Butina worked to infiltrate the National Rifle Association on behalf of Russia.


title: Maria Butina

text: Torshin and Butina established a cooperative relationship between the NRA and Right to Bear Arms. Torshin has attended NRA annual meetings in the United States since at least 2011. Following the 2011 meeting, then NRA President David Keene expressed his support for Torshin's "endeavors" and extended an invitation to the 2012 meeting. Torshin also attended NRA annual meetings in 2012 and 2013. In November 2013, Keene was a guest at the conference of the Right to Bear Arms in Moscow.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina and Torshin attended the 2014 NRA annual meeting as special guests of former NRA president Keene. Butina attended the Women's Leadership Luncheon at the 2014 meeting as a guest of former NRA president Sandy Froman. Butina presented to then NRA president Jim Porter a plaque from Right to Bear Arms. Afterwards, she tweeted "Mission accomplished". As Keene's guest, Butina rang the NRA's Liberty Bell, saying, "To the right to bear arms for citizens of the whole world." Butina and Torshin also attended the 2015 NRA annual convention.


title: Maria Butina

text: In 2015, a number of NRA officials attended Right to Bear Arms's annual gun conference in Russia. Among them were Keene, gun manufacturer and NRA first vice president Pete Brownell, conservative American political operative Paul Erickson, and Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke. One of their hosts was Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who in 2014 was sanctioned by the White House following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Clarke's trip cost $40,000, with all expenses paid by the NRA, Pete Brownell (an NRA board member and CEO of a gun-parts supply company) and Right to Bear Arms. According to a disclosure Clarke filed, Right to Bear Arms paid $6,000 to cover his meals, lodging, transportation and other expenses. During the meeting, Clarke met the Russian foreign minister and attended a conference at which Torshin spoke. In November 2016, Torshin tweeted that he and Butina were lifetime NRA members.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina has attempted to develop ties to conservative American politics. In a supporting affidavit to the government's support for pre-trial detention following her indictment in "United States of America v. Maria Butina", the FBI stated that she had successfully sought ties to the Republican Party, where it is referred to as "POLITICAL PARTY 1". According to "The Daily Beast", she has presented herself as a "Russian central bank staffer, a leading gun rights advocate, a 'representative of the Russian Federation,' a Washington, D.C. graduate student, a journalist, and a connection between Team Trump and Russia" in order to gain access to "high-level contacts" in Washington. At the 2014 NRA annual meeting, Butina took pictures with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former U.S. Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Rick Santorum. At the 2015 NRA annual meeting, she met Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and in July 2015, she was present at the launch of Walker's 2016 presidential campaign.


title: Maria Butina

text: In 2015, Torshin, then the Russian Central Bank deputy governor, and Butina met the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Nathan Sheets, to discuss U.S.-Russian economic relations. Separately, they also met with a Federal Reserve vice chairman, Stanley Fischer, and with a State Department official.


title: Maria Butina

text: In a June 2015 article published in "The National Interest", a conservative American international affairs magazine, just before Trump announced his candidacy for president, she urged better relations between the United States and Russia, saying, "It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States." Her biography on the article did not mention that she worked for the Russian government. The next month, Butina attended FreedomFest, where Trump gave a speech, and asked him from the audience about ending U.S. sanctions against Russia, to which he replied, "I don't think you'd need the sanctions." Butina hosted a birthday party attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides shortly after the 2016 election.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina was in a relationship with Overstock.com CEO and Trump conspiracy theorist Patrick M. Byrne. Byrne claimed the FBI encouraged him to pursue Butina, a claim retired FBI officials denied. In 2019, Byrne divested himself of all shares of Overstock after his relationship with Butina was revealed.


title: Maria Butina

text: For five years, prosecutors claimed, Butina lived with and maintained an intimate relationship with activist and fraudster Paul Erickson. During Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, Erickson attempted to develop a back-channel between the NRA and the Russian government. Erickson was jailed and convicted of fraud unrelated to his relationship with Butina, then pardoned by Trump in his last week in office.


title: Maria Butina

text: On July 15, 2018, Butina was arrested in Washington, and charged with acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government; specifically the Russian Federation, without prior notification to the Attorney General, a conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, to wit, 18 U.S.C. §951 (foreign relations, agents of foreign governments), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §371 (conspiracy).


title: Maria Butina

text: After her arrest, it was mistakenly reported she was charged with a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (22 U.S.C. §11 foreign agents and propaganda). United States law dictates that all lobbyists representing foreign governments must register as such with the Department of Justice. Her attorney said that "the allegations of the indictment are essentially that her only illegal act was not registering."


title: Maria Butina

text: On July 18, Butina pleaded not guilty, and a District Court judge ordered her jailed pending trial. She was also said to be cooperating in a federal fraud investigation in South Dakota. Maria Butina was held in solitary confinement in Alexandria Detention Center.


title: Maria Butina

text: According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government, who, according to "The New York Times", was believed to be Torshin. The court filings detail the Russian official's and Butina's efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in the Republican Party and in conservative politics—such as the National Rifle Association, the National Prayer Breakfast and some religious organizations—for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.


title: Maria Butina

text: The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the United States on a student visa. The filings allege that she undertook her activities "without officially disclosing the fact that she was acting as an agent of Russian government, as required by law."


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina, Torshin, and Erickson have been subjects of an investigation by the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Erickson is referred to in Butina's indictment as "Person 1." In addition, George D. O'Neill Jr., a conservative writer and Rockefeller heir, is "Person 2." Torshin has also been the subject of a probe by the FBI into whether the Russian government attempted to illegally funnel money to the NRA in order to help Trump win the presidency.


title: Maria Butina

text: The FBI began to monitor Butina in August 2016, after she had moved to the United States on an F-1 student visa. Rather than confront her immediately, the FBI chose to track her movements and gather information on whom she was meeting, and what her end goals were to be.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina's attorneys and federal prosecutors declared in a November 16, 2018, court filing that they had entered into plea negotiations. On December 13, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an illegal foreign agent, while the original charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was dropped. She faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison and, according to a CNN report, will "likely be deported after serving any time."


title: Maria Butina

text: On April 26, 2019, Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, in accordance with the recommendations of prosecutors.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina later complained that in the U.S., she was forced to sign a plea-deal. She claimed that she was sentenced for simply being Russian.


title: Maria Butina

text: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no prior knowledge of Butina. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov made a statement saying that Butina's arrest was designed to undermine the "positive results" of the Helsinki summit between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin. She was arrested a day before Trump met his Russian counterpart. Butina's father has called the accusations against her "a witch-hunt".


title: Maria Butina

text: Leonid Slutsky, head of the lower house of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, called Butina's case a "modern political inquisition." Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of forcing false confession from Butina. According to the foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, "having created unbearable conditions for her and threatening her with a long jail sentence, she was literally forced to sign up to absolutely ridiculous charges."


title: Maria Butina

text: In 2021, she visited Alexei Navalny, who was on hunger strike, in prison, stating that the conditions in the prison are better than in hotels in the Altai Territory, and Navalny himself is eating candy, not starving. In October 2021, she became a member of the State Duma representing Kirov Oblast for the United Russia party.


title: Maria Butina

text: She expressed support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sharing a video on social media displaying the Z symbol on her jacket. She had previously made an appearance the day after the beginning of the invasion on state-controlled TV talk show "Time Will Tell" condemning the Ukrainian government for arming civilians to repel Russian assaults on cities. She claimed that Russia was not bombing Ukraine, and suggested that the Ukrainians were bombing themselves. In a "HARDtalk" interview in March, she refused to give credibility to any non-Russian source.


title: Maria Butina

text: Butina is one of the members of the State Duma the United States Treasury sanctioned on 24 March 2022 in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Solomonic dynasty

text: The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts that the queen gave birth to Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. In 1270, the Zagwe dynasty was overthrown by Yekuno Amlak, who claimed descent from Solomon and founded the Solomonic era of Ethiopia. The dynasty lasted until 1974, ended by a coup d'état and the deposition of Haile Selassie, who was a Solomonic prince through his grandmother.


title: Solomonic dynasty

text: The Solomonic dynasty, a bastion of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, came to rule Ethiopia on 10 Nehasé 1262 EC (10 August 1270 CE) when Yekuno Amlak overthrew the last ruler of the Zagwe dynasty at the Battle of Ansata.


title: Solomonic dynasty

text: Yekuno Amlak claimed direct male line descent from the old Axumite royal house that the Zagwes had replaced on the throne. Menelik II, and later his daughter Zewditu I, would be the last Ethiopian monarchs who could claim uninterrupted direct male descent from Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba (both Lij Iyasu and Haile Selassie I were in the female line, Lij Iyasu through his mother Shewarega Menelik, and Haile Selassie I through his paternal grandmother, Tenagnework Sahle Selassie). The male line, through the descendants of Menelik's cousin Dejazmatch Taye Gulilat, still existed, but had been pushed aside largely because of Menelik's personal distaste for this branch of his family. The Solomonic Dynasty continued to rule Ethiopia with few interruptions until 1974, when the last emperor, Haile Selassie I, was deposed. The royal family is currently non-regnant. Members of the family in Ethiopia at the time of the 1974 revolution were imprisoned; some were executed and others exiled. In 1976, ten great-grandchildren of Haile Selassie I were extracted from Ethiopia in an undertaking later detailed in a book by Jodie Collins, titled "Code Word: Catherine". The women of the dynasty were released by the regime from prison in 1989, and the men were released in 1990. Several members were then allowed to leave the country in mid-1990, and the rest left in 1991 upon the fall of the communist régime. Many members of the Imperial family have since returned to live in Ethiopia.