title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Socrates, believed to have been born in Athens in the 5th century BC, marks a watershed in ancient Greek philosophy. Athens was a center of learning, with sophists and philosophers traveling from across Greece to teach rhetoric, astronomy, cosmology, and geometry.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: While philosophy was an established pursuit prior to Socrates, Cicero credits him as "the first who brought philosophy down from the heavens, placed it in cities, introduced it into families, and obliged it to examine into life and morals, and good and evil." By this account he would be considered the founder of political philosophy. The reasons for this turn toward political and ethical subjects remain the object of much study.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The fact that many conversations involving Socrates (as recounted by Plato and Xenophon) end without having reached a firm conclusion, or aporetically, has stimulated debate over the meaning of the Socratic method. Socrates is said to have pursued this probing question-and-answer style of examination on a number of topics, usually attempting to arrive at a defensible and attractive definition of a virtue.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: While Socrates' recorded conversations rarely provide a definite answer to the question under examination, several maxims or paradoxes for which he has become known recur. Socrates taught that no one desires what is bad, and so if anyone does something that truly is bad, it must be unwillingly or out of ignorance; consequently, all virtue is knowledge. He frequently remarks on his own ignorance (claiming that he does not know what courage is, for example). Plato presents him as distinguishing himself from the common run of mankind by the fact that, while they know nothing noble and good, they do not "know" that they do not know, whereas Socrates knows and acknowledges that he knows nothing noble and good.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The great statesman Pericles was closely associated with this new learning and a friend of Anaxagoras, however, and his political opponents struck at him by taking advantage of a conservative reaction against the philosophers; it became a crime to investigate the things above the heavens or below the earth, subjects considered impious. Anaxagoras is said to have been charged and to have fled into exile when Socrates was about twenty years of age. There is a story that Protagoras, too, was forced to flee and that the Athenians burned his books. Socrates, however, is the only subject recorded as charged under this law, convicted, and sentenced to death in 399 BC (see Trial of Socrates). In the version of his defense speech presented by Plato, he claims that it is the envy he arouses on account of his being a philosopher that will convict him.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Numerous subsequent philosophical movements were inspired by Socrates or his younger associates. Plato casts Socrates as the main interlocutor in his dialogues, deriving from them the basis of Platonism (and by extension, Neoplatonism). Plato's student Aristotle in turn criticized and built upon the doctrines he ascribed to Socrates and Plato, forming the foundation of Aristotelianism. Antisthenes founded the school that would come to be known as Cynicism and accused Plato of distorting Socrates' teachings. Zeno of Citium in turn adapted the ethics of Cynicism to articulate Stoicism. Epicurus studied with Platonic and Pyrrhonist teachers before renouncing all previous philosophers (including Democritus, on whose atomism the Epicurean philosophy relies). The philosophic movements that were to dominate the intellectual life of the Roman Empire were thus born in this febrile period following Socrates' activity, and either directly or indirectly influenced by him. They were also absorbed by the expanding Muslim world in the 7th through 10th centuries AD, from which they returned to the West as foundations of Medieval philosophy and the Renaissance, as discussed below.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Plato was an Athenian of the generation after Socrates. Ancient tradition ascribes thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters to him, although of these only twenty-four of the dialogues are now universally recognized as authentic; most modern scholars believe that at least twenty-eight dialogues and two of the letters were in fact written by Plato, although all of the thirty-six dialogues have some defenders. A further nine dialogues are ascribed to Plato but were considered spurious even in antiquity.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Plato's dialogues feature Socrates, although not always as the leader of the conversation. (One dialogue, the "Laws", instead contains an "Athenian Stranger.") Along with Xenophon, Plato is the primary source of information about Socrates' life and beliefs and it is not always easy to distinguish between the two. While the Socrates presented in the dialogues is often taken to be Plato's mouthpiece, Socrates' reputation for irony, his caginess regarding his own opinions in the dialogues, and his occasional absence from or minor role in the conversation serve to conceal Plato's doctrines. Much of what is said about his doctrines is derived from what Aristotle reports about them.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The political doctrine ascribed to Plato is derived from the "Republic", the "Laws", and the "Statesman". The first of these contains the suggestion that there will not be justice in cities unless they are ruled by philosopher kings; those responsible for enforcing the laws are compelled to hold their women, children, and property in common; and the individual is taught to pursue the common good through noble lies; the "Republic" says that such a city is likely impossible, however, generally assuming that philosophers would refuse to rule and the people would refuse to compel them to do so.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Whereas the "Republic" is premised on a distinction between the sort of knowledge possessed by the philosopher and that possessed by the king or political man, Socrates explores only the character of the philosopher; in the "Statesman", on the other hand, a participant referred to as the Eleatic Stranger discusses the sort of knowledge possessed by the political man, while Socrates listens quietly. Although rule by a wise man would be preferable to rule by law, the wise cannot help but be judged by the unwise, and so in practice, rule by law is deemed necessary.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Both the "Republic" and the "Statesman" reveal the limitations of politics, raising the question of what political order would be best given those constraints; that question is addressed in the "Laws", a dialogue that does not take place in Athens and from which Socrates is absent. The character of the society described there is eminently conservative, a corrected or liberalized timocracy on the Spartan or Cretan model or that of pre-democratic Athens.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Plato's dialogues also have metaphysical themes, the most famous of which is his theory of forms. It holds that non-material abstract (but substantial) forms (or ideas), and not the material world of change known to us through our physical senses, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. He argued extensively in the "Phaedo", "Phaedrus", and "Republic" for the immortality of the soul, and he believed specifically in reincarnation.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Plato often uses long-form analogies (usually allegories) to explain his ideas; the most famous is perhaps the Allegory of the Cave. It likens most humans to people tied up in a cave, who look only at shadows on the walls and have no other conception of reality. If they turned around, they would see what is casting the shadows (and thereby gain a further dimension to their reality). If some left the cave, they would see the outside world illuminated by the sun (representing the ultimate form of goodness and truth). If these travelers then re-entered the cave, the people inside (who are still only familiar with the shadows) would not be equipped to believe reports of this 'outside world'. This story explains the theory of forms with their different levels of reality, and advances the view that philosopher-kings are wisest while most humans are ignorant. One student of Plato, Aristotle, who would become another of the most influential philosophers of all time, stressed the implication that understanding relies upon first-hand observation.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Aristotle moved to Athens from his native Stageira in 367 BC and began to study philosophy (perhaps even rhetoric, under Isocrates), eventually enrolling at Plato's Academy. He left Athens approximately twenty years later to study botany and zoology, became a tutor of Alexander the Great, and ultimately returned to Athens a decade later to establish his own school: the Lyceum. At least twenty-nine of his treatises have survived, known as the "corpus Aristotelicum", and address a variety of subjects including logic, physics, optics, metaphysics, ethics, rhetoric, politics, poetry, botany, and zoology.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Aristotle is often portrayed as disagreeing with his teacher Plato (e.g., in Raphael's School of Athens). He criticizes the regimes described in Plato's "Republic" and "Laws", and refers to the theory of forms as "empty words and poetic metaphors." He is generally presented as giving greater weight to empirical observation and practical concerns.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Aristotle's fame was not great during the Hellenistic period, when Stoic logic was in vogue, but later peripatetic commentators popularized his work, which eventually contributed heavily to Islamic, Jewish, and medieval Christian philosophy. His influence was such that Avicenna referred to him simply as "the Master"; Maimonides, Alfarabi, Averroes, and Aquinas as "the Philosopher."


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Aristotle opposed the utopian style of theorizing, deciding to rely on the understood and observed behaviors of people in reality to formulate his theories. Stemming from an underlying moral assumption that life is valuable, the philosopher makes a point that scarce resources ought to be responsibly allocated to reduce poverty and death. This 'fear of goods' led Aristotle to exclusively support 'natural' trades in which personal satiation was kept at natural limit of consumption. 'Unnatural' trade, as opposed to the intended limit, was classified as the acquisition of wealth to attain more wealth instead of to purchase more goods. Cutting more along the grain of reality, Aristotle did not only set his mind on how to give people direction to make the right choices but wanted each person equipped with the tools to perform this moral duty. In his own words, "Property should be in a certain sense common, but, as a general rule, private; for, when everyone has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress because everyone will be attending to his own business... And further, there is the greatest pleasure in doing a kindness or service to friends or guests or companions, which can only be rendered when a man has private property. These advantages are lost by excessive unification of the state.”


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Cynicism was founded by Antisthenes, who was a disciple of Socrates, as well as Diogenes, his contemporary. Their aim was to live according to nature and against convention. Antisthenes was inspired by the ascetism of Socrates, and accused Plato of pride and conceit. Diogenes, his follower, took the ideas to their limit, living in extreme poverty and engaging in anti-social behaviour. Crates of Thebes was, in turn, inspired by Diogenes to give away his fortune and live on the streets of Athens.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The Cyrenaics were founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, who was a pupil of Socrates. The Cyrenaics were hedonists and held that pleasure was the supreme good in life, especially physical pleasure, which they thought more intense and more desirable than mental pleasures. Pleasure is the only good in life and pain is the only evil. Socrates had held that virtue was the only human good, but he had also accepted a limited role for its utilitarian side, allowing pleasure to be a secondary goal of moral action. Aristippus and his followers seized upon this, and made pleasure the sole final goal of life, denying that virtue had any intrinsic value.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The Megarian school flourished in the 4th century BC. It was founded by Euclides of Megara, one of the pupils of Socrates. Its ethical teachings were derived from Socrates, recognizing a single good, which was apparently combined with the Eleatic doctrine of Unity. Their work on modal logic, logical conditionals, and propositional logic played an important role in the development of logic in antiquity, and were influences on the subsequent creation of Stoicism and Pyrrhonism.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many different schools of thought developed in the Hellenistic world and then the Greco-Roman world. There were Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Syrians and Arabs who contributed to the development of Hellenistic philosophy. Elements of Persian philosophy and Indian philosophy also had an influence. The spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world, followed by the spread of Islam, ushered in the end of Hellenistic philosophy and the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, which was dominated by the three Abrahamic traditions: Jewish philosophy, Christian philosophy, and early Islamic philosophy.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Pyrrho of Elis, a Democritean philosopher, traveled to India with Alexander the Great's army where Pyrrho was influenced by Buddhist teachings, most particularly the three marks of existence. After returning to Greece, Pyrrho started a new school of philosophy, Pyrrhonism, which taught that it is one's opinions about non-evident matters (i.e., dogma) that prevent one from attaining eudaimonia. Pyrrhonism places the attainment of ataraxia (a state of equanimity) as the way to achieve eudaimonia. To bring the mind to ataraxia Pyrrhonism uses epoché (suspension of judgment) regarding all non-evident propositions. Pyrrhonists dispute that the dogmatists – which includes all of Pyrrhonism's rival philosophies – have found truth regarding non-evident matters. For any non-evident matter, a Pyrrhonist makes arguments for and against such that the matter cannot be concluded, thus suspending belief and thereby inducing ataraxia.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Epicurus studied in Athens with Nausiphanes, who was a follower of Democritus and a student of Pyrrho of Elis. He accepted Democritus' theory of atomism, with improvements made in response to criticisms by Aristotle and others. His ethics were based on "the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain". This was, however, not simple hedonism, as he noted that "We do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or of sensuality . . . we mean the absence of pain in the body and trouble in the mind".


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: The founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium, was taught by Crates of Thebes, and he took up the Cynic ideals of continence and self-mastery, but applied the concept of apatheia (indifference) to personal circumstances rather than social norms, and switched shameless flouting of the latter for a resolute fulfillment of social duties. Logic and physics were also part of early Stoicism, further developed by Zeno's successors Cleanthes and Chrysippus. Their metaphysics was based in materialism, which was structured by logos, reason (but also called God or fate). Their logical contributions still feature in contemporary propositional calculus. Their ethics was based on pursuing happiness, which they believed was a product of 'living in accordance with nature'. This meant accepting those things which one could not change. One could therefore choose whether to be happy or not by adjusting one's attitude towards their circumstances, as the freedom from fears and desires was happiness itself.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Around 266 BC, Arcesilaus became head of the Platonic Academy, and adopted skepticism as a central tenet of Platonism, making Platonism nearly the same as Pyrrhonism. After Arcesilaus, Academic skepticism diverged from Pyrrhonism. This skeptical period of ancient Platonism, from Arcesilaus to Philo of Larissa, became known as the New Academy, although some ancient authors added further subdivisions, such as a Middle Academy. The Academic skeptics did not doubt the existence of truth; they just doubted that humans had the capacities for obtaining it. They based this position on Plato's "Phaedo", sections 64–67, in which Socrates discusses how knowledge is not accessible to mortals. While the objective of the Pyrrhonists was the attainment of ataraxia, after Arcesilaus the Academic skeptics did not hold up ataraxia as the central objective. The Academic skeptics focused on criticizing the dogmas of other schools of philosophy, in particular of the dogmatism of the Stoics. They acknowledged some vestiges of a moral law within, at best but a plausible guide, the possession of which, however, formed the real distinction between the sage and the fool. Slight as the difference may appear between the positions of the Academic skeptics and the Pyrrhonists, a comparison of their lives leads to the conclusion that a practical philosophical moderation was the characteristic of the Academic skeptics whereas the objectives of the Pyrrhonists were more psychological.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Following the end of the skeptical period of the Academy with Antiochus of Ascalon, Platonic thought entered the period of Middle Platonism, which absorbed ideas from the Peripatetic and Stoic schools. More extreme syncretism was done by Numenius of Apamea, who combined it with Neopythagoreanism.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: Also affected by the neopythagoreans, the neoplatonists, first of them Plotinus, argued that mind exists before matter, and that the universe has a singular cause which must therefore be a single mind. As such, neoplatonism became essentially a religion, and had great impact on Gnosticism and Christian theology.


title: Ancient Greek philosophy

text: During the Middle Ages, Greek ideas were largely forgotten in Western Europe due to the decline in literacy during the Migration Period. In the Byzantine Empire, however, Greek ideas were preserved and studied. Islamic philosophers such as Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) also reinterpreted these works after the caliphs authorized the gathering of Greek manuscripts and hired translators to increase their prestige. During the High Middle Ages Greek philosophy re-entered the West through both translations from Arabic to Latin and original Greek manuscripts from the Byzantine Empire. The re-introduction of these philosophies, accompanied by the new Arabic commentaries, had a great influence on Medieval philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas.


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: Nikki Amuka-Bird (born 27 February 1976) is a Nigerian-born British actress of the stage, television, and film.


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: Amuka-Bird was born in Delta State, Nigeria, where her father still lives. She left there as a young child with her mother and was brought up in England, Lagos and in Antigua. Attending boarding school in Britain, Amuka-Bird originally hoped to be a dancer. That ambition was thwarted by injury:


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: I hurt my back and at that point was deciding what to do university-wise and I thought I would try for drama college because I knew you could do some dancing there but it didn’t have to take over everything. It was only really when I went to drama college that that world [acting] opened up to me and I fell in love with it and became obsessed like everybody else.


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). She started her stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: Amuka-Bird's theatrical credits include "Welcome to Thebes" (National Theatre); "Twelfth Night" (Bristol Old Vic, for which she won an Ian Charleson Award nomination in 2004 for playing Viola); "World Music" (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and Donmar Warehouse); "Top Girls" (Oxford Stage Company); "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Tempest" and "The Servant of Two Masters" (RSC); "" (Tricycle Theatre).


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: Her film credits include "The Omen" (2006 remake), "Cargo", "" as well as the screen adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". On television, Amuka-Bird has appeared in "Spooks", "The Line of Beauty", "The Last Enemy", "Robin Hood", an episode of "Torchwood", and a recurring role in the reimagined BBC apocalyptic series "Survivors". In 2010 she appeared as Det. Supt Gaynor Jenkins in the BBC's "Silent Witness".


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: She appeared in "Small Island", the BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's award-winning novel, broadcast in December 2009. In June 2016 it was announced that she and Phoebe Fox would star in the production of Zadie Smith's novel "NW". It was broadcast on BBC Two on 14 November 2016 and Amuka-Bird received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: On Christmas Day 2017 she was heard as the voice of the Glass Woman in the "Doctor Who" Christmas Special "Twice Upon a Time" broadcast on BBC One.


title: Nikki Amuka-Bird

text: She is currently playing the role of Rav Mulclair, Head of Judd Mission Control, in HBO's "Avenue 5". She recently had a few film roles in 2019 for "The Personal History of David Copperfield" as Miss Steerforth and 2021 for "Old" as Patricia, a psychologist with epilepsy.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Spyder is a 2017 Indian action thriller film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by N. V. Prasad. It is filmed simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, which stars Mahesh Babu, S.J. Suryah and Rakul Preet Singh. Murugadoss wrote the Tamil dialogues while Paruchuri Brothers wrote the Telugu version. The film was edited by A. Sreekar Prasad, with cinematography by Santosh Sivan, and the music was composed by Harris Jayaraj. The movie follows Shiva, an Intelligence Bureau officer, who sets out to save the people of Hyderabad when he realises that a psychopath is on the loose.


title: Spyder (film)

text: This film marks the Tamil debut of Mahesh Babu, after a failed attempt for a simultaneous release in Tamil for "Brahmotsavam" (2016). Originally, the film was rumoured to be titled as "Abhimanyudu" and "Sambhavami", before finalizing "Spyder" as the official title on 18 March 2017. The film began production in July 2016, followed by the commencement of the principal photography. Shooting mainly took place in Chennai, with some portions in and around Hyderabad and Vizag, while the songs were filmed overseas, before wrapping up in August 2017.


title: Spyder (film)

text: "Spyder" was released theatrically worldwide in Telugu, Tamil, Arabic and Malayalam on 27 September 2017 and was also released in US and Gulf countries on 26 September (a day before its release). The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics and audience who praised for its cast performances (particularly S. J. Surya and Mahesh Babu), action sequences and direction but criticism for its writing and pace. Though having grossed 150 crore against the budget of 120 crore, the film was a box office bomb due to the high production costs.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Shiva is an I.B. officer who spies on people's calls and messages to help them if needed. He developed a software to listen to the needy by tracking their phones. On the night of March 16, he listens to Charlie/Shalini talking about her wish on getting 98% in her exams from 96% to get a USA scholarship with her friend. In order to do that, she decides to go on a blind date with a guy believing it will help her concentrate on her studies. Shiva follows her and both start to fall for each other. However, he finds it hard to focus on his love life because of his job. On the night of 28 April, Shiva listens to a young girl asking her friend for help as she is alone in her house and scared, due to unavailability of electricity in her house, whilst everyone else on her street has the availability.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Alarmed, Shiva sends his constable friend Renuka, to the girl's address as her aid. However, the next day, news headlines report about the gruesome death of the two women. Shiva visits the crime scene and resigns from the IB, due to guilt, but his father encourages him to find the killer. Shiva sets out to spy the girl's chats and whereabouts, where he finds out that a guy followed her at a café. Through Facebook, Shiva is able to track down another person who knew the stalker. With the provided information, he travels to the village where the stalker grew up and begins his search. From an elderly villager, Shiva finally learns about the man's past. Sudalai/Bhairavudu lived with his mother, father and a younger brother at a cemetery.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Sudalai/Bhairavudu's father had to do funeral rites for the dead to feed his family, but this occupation leads to Sudalai/Bhairavudu suffering from S.P.D. and develops an unusual desire to kill victims and watch the victims's families grieving. One day, a village kid witness him killing someone, where he reveals this to the villagers. The infuriated mob decided to burn Sudalai/Bhairavudu's house, killing his parents. Enraged, Sudalai/Bhairavudu left the village to continue his killing spree along with his younger brother. After a roller coaster chase in Wonderla, Shiva catches Sudalai/Bhairavudu and interrogates him in a dense hideout, but learns that he is actually Sudalai/Bhairavudu's brother. Sudalai/Bhairavudu comes on Live (with a mask covered on his face) and reveals he killed 23 people and hid their corpse in 23 pillars of a metro bridge, and threatens the citizens to leave his brother unscathed and also reveals that he plans to destroy a hospital.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Shiva kills Sudalai/Bhairavudu's brother in front of the 23 people's families, including an enraged Sudalai/Bhairavudu, who is hiding in the crowd. An upset Sudalai/Bhairavudu plans to kill Shiva's family, but Shiva finds out when his mother calls him and tells him she is scared because there is no electricity at their house whilst everyone else on the street does, exactly the same way as what the deceased girl had said earlier. With the help of his team members, Shiva is able to save his family; However, Shiva himself becomes Sudalai/Bhairavudu's next target, where he tries to kill Shiva on his way home, who is impaled on a truck. Shiva slowly recovers and resumes the search for Bhairavudu/Sudalai as he had shot him before he fell unconscious. Shiva deduces that Sudalai/Bhairavudu has hidden himself in a house where he can heal, but has imprisoned the owners.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Through the use of technology and local ladies, Shiva finds Sudalai/Bhairavudu and arrests him, but Sudalai/Bhairavudu tells him that he had already planned a rock fall in the city. Shiva manages to stop the big rock whilst Sudalai/Bhairavudu escapes from police custody and continues with his plan to destroy a hospital. Charlie/Shalini learns about the targeted hospital, but refuses to tell Shiva due to a misunderstanding. Shiva tracks down her taxi, and she tells him about the hospital. Shiva rushes to the hospital and starts to evacuate the people inside, where he could save as many people as he could, but couldn't save some patients, which leaves him heartbroken. Sudalai/Bhairavudu sees Shiva's grieveness and becomes delighted. Shiva and Sudalai/Bhairavudu fight where Shiva overpowers and kills Sudalai/Bhairavudu and tells the media about the importance of helping others.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Originally, Mahesh Babu planned to make his direct debut in Tamil, after the dubbed Tamil version of "Srimanthudu" (2015), titled "Selvandhan", received a decent response from audiences. He officially announced that his next film with Srikanth Addala titled "Brahmotsavam" (2016), and produced by PVP Cinema, will be a bilingual shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil with the same title. After opining that the script has the potential to be commercially successful in both the languages without making many changes, Mahesh accepted the proposal of a Telugu-Tamil bilingual. However, the plan was later dropped.


title: Spyder (film)

text: In November 2015, Mahesh Babu had announced for his next project directed by A. R. Murugadoss, which would be a Tamil-Telugu bilingual, marking Mahesh's first direct Tamil debut, as well as A. R. Murugadoss' return to Telugu cinema industry, a decade after his last film with the Chiranjeevi-starrer "Stalin" (2006).


title: Spyder (film)

text: The project was expected to kickstart the following year, with Santhosh Sivan, who worked with Murugadoss in "Thuppakki" (2012), will be the cinematographer, and Harris Jayaraj, who scored music for Murugadoss' earlier films, "Ghajini", "7aum Arivu" and "Thuppakki".


title: Spyder (film)

text: It was reported that Mahesh Babu will play the role of a police officer in the film, although reports claimed that Mahesh will play the role of a RAW agent. The title of the film was also rumoured to be "Abhimanyu". However, in December 2016, the makers announced the tentative title of the film as "Sambhavami", which received mixed response from fans. On 18 March 2017, the film's title was revealed to be "Spyder".


title: Spyder (film)

text: In March 2016, Parineeti Chopra was initially signed to play the lead actress, making her debut in South Indian cinema. However, her non-availability of dates after she was finalised in the Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer "Takadum" (which was later shelved), meant that the creators approached Rakul Preet Singh in the leading role. S. J. Surya, was hired to play a negative role for the first time after featuring in lead roles, marking his second collaboration with Mahesh Babu after directing him in "Naani" (2004), although an actor this time. It is noted that Murugadoss was a former assistant of S. J. Surya in the films "Vaali" and "Kushi". Tamil actor RJ Balaji, was signed in for the film, playing the role of Mahesh Babu's friend. In December 2016, Bharath was signed on to play a negative role.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Twin stunt choreographers Anbariv, were eventually roped in for the film to choreograph action sequences, although Peter Hein was roped in for the film. R. C. Kamalakannan, who supervised visual effects for "" (2017), was roped in as a part of the technical crew. Kamalakannan claimed that the film has heavy visual effects, and a Russian principal studio was working on the film. Nayanthara was initially claimed to do a crucial role in the film, although Murugadoss denied it.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The film's principal photography commenced on 29 July 2016. Rakul Preet Singh joined the sets in August 2016, where the creators filmed a fresh schedule, focusing on the romantic scene between Rakul and Mahesh. The second schedule of the film, took place in mid-September 2016, in Pune and Bangalore, after the Chennai schedule was wrapped up. On 21 October 2016, Rakul Preet received a minor injury on her left hand, while shooting for an action episode. Although, the actress, who is advised to rest for a day, resumed shooting immediately. The third schedule of the film was kickstarted in Hyderabad in November 2016, with filming took place for three weeks. After wrapping up the shoot on 22 November, the team headed to Ahmedabad and Surat, for the fourth schedule. Mahesh extensively shot the schedule for two weeks. After a brief break, the makers resumed the shoot in Mumbai in January 2017, where the introductory scenes featuring Mahesh Babu, was being shot. During March 2017, Chiranjeevi made a visit to the sets of the film.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The final schedule of the film was expected to take place on 20 April 2017 in Hyderabad, although shooting started on 4 May 2017. Art director Rupin Suchak revealed to a source that 98% of the film was shot in Chennai, with the backdrop being changed to Hyderabad through computer graphics for the Telugu version. Mahesh did the film's stunts by himself without using body doubles. On 16 May 2017, a source claimed that the makers planned for a climax sequence with high-octane action scenes, instead of a normal climax, which was originally scheduled to be shot at the NIMS Hospital in Bibnagar, Hyderabad, however, due to legal issues, the makers shifted the location to Chennai.


title: Spyder (film)

text: As of May 2017, the makers had completed the talkie portions of the film, and only two songs were pending, the makers had started the post-production works. The entire filming was about to be completed by 2 June 2017. But, the final schedule was helmed on 13 June 2017, where the talkie portions will be filmed, and it is considered to be a minor schedule, with shooting to last for only four days. In July 2017, the makers filmed a song sequence in Hyderabad for ten days. The last song of the film was shot abroad on 2 August, and the principal shoot was wrapped following its completion.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The film's soundtrack is composed by Harris Jayaraj, with lyrics for the Tamil version was written by Madhan Karky. Initially, Karky, was expected to pen the songs for its Telugu-dubbed version, thus marking his debut in the Telugu industry, however, Ramajogayya Sastry penned the songs in Telugu. In late June 2017, Brijesh Shandilya recorded one song for the film, which is touted to be "ä desi romantic number". While the Tamil version of the soundtrack, features only five tracks. The Telugu version has a sixth track named as "Akkada Vunnavadu". The film features a lead single "Boom Boom" from the soundtrack album, which was released on 29 July 2017 in Tamil and Telugu. The full soundtrack album was launched on 25 August 2017, at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai. The album was also released in Telugu the same day.


title: Spyder (film)

text: "Indiaglitz" rated the album 3 out of 5, and summarised that "There is a strong Tamil flavour in all of the songs, with even traces of Harris' past works eminently noticeable." "123Telugu" gave a positive verdict stating that "Spyder’s audio album attracts the class audience and stands as a different album in Mahesh’s career." Karthik Srinivasan of "Milliblog" stated that the album is "a predictable Harris Jayaraj package with two good-enough songs."


title: Spyder (film)

text: For the soundtrack of the Tamil version, "Behindwoods" rated the album 2.5 out of 5, saying, "Though there is nativity missing for Tamil listeners, the album has Harris' usual western style music with superior sounding." Sharanya CR from "The Times of India" reviewed that "Except for two songs, Harris doesn’t really up the magic quotient for SPYder." "Moviecrow" rated the album 3 out of 5 stating that "Harris Jayaraj delivers an engaging album filled with the composer’s signature sounds throughout the soundtrack." Siddharth Srinivas from "Sify" gave 3 out of 5 stating "Spyder is a lightweight, frothy soundtrack from Harris that's high on style but not too much on substance."


title: Spyder (film)

text: During the film's pre-production phase, it was announced that the film releases on 23 June 2017. But the release was pushed to 10 August 2017, due to production delays. The film was postponed to mid-September and again to Dusherra, due to delay in the film's shooting. And, the makers finally announced that the film would be released on 27 September 2017. Following the huge reception for the "" franchise, "Spyder" was also planned to have a simultaneous release in both Telugu and Tamil and also with a Malayalam-dubbed version with the same name. The film was sent to the Central Board of Film Certification for censor formalities on 19 September 2017, where the film received a "U/A" certification and with a runtime of 145 minutes.


title: Spyder (film)

text: Spyder was released in the United States, a day ahead of its release in Indian theatres on 26 September. The film was released in more than 800 screens in the country, thus becoming the widest release for a Telugu film after "". The film was also speculated to have dubbed release in Arabic, and was scheduled to be released in the Gulf countries.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for the film were acquired by Lyca Productions for 18 crore. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana distribution rights were secured by the production house itself, except for the Nizam rights which were acquired by Dil Raju for 24 crore. The overseas distribution rights were sold to Atmus Entertainment for 22.5 crore. The ceded rights were sold for 12 crore and Vizag rights were sold for 8.1 crore. The film earned 6 crore in the East and 4.5 crore in the West, 5.4 crore in Krishna, 7.2 crore in Guntur and 3.2 crore in Nellore, for a total of 70.4 crore from the Telugu States. The film's Karnataka theatrical rights were sold to Goldie Films for 10.8 crore Kerala theatrical rights were sold for ₹1.3 crore and Rest Of India rights were sold for 1 crore. The film earned 124 crore from worldwide theatricals alone, including satellite rights for Telugu & Hindi Version were sold for ₹25 crore and for Tamil & Malayalam Version were sold for ₹6.5 crore and audio rights were sold for ₹1.5 crore, the film made a business of 157 crore, before its release.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The film's first poster was initially scheduled to release on 29 March 2017, but was eventually released on 12 April 2017. The poster gives us a glimpse of a buff and ripped Mahesh Babu with a gun in his hand. The poster received an overwhelming response from fans. The team launched an official Facebook and Twitter page and an official YouTube channel for the film's promotions. Initially, the makers wanted to release the first glimpse of the film on 31 May 2017, coinciding with actor Krishna's birthday, the father of Mahesh. But it was postponed due to the demise of veteran filmmaker Dasari Narayana Rao. The teaser was launched on 1 June at midnight to positive reviews from fans.


title: Spyder (film)

text: On 9 August 2017, the makers released the official teaser of the film coinciding with the actor's birthday. The teaser crossed 8.6 million views within 48 hours of its release. The official trailer of the film was released on 15 September 2017, during the pre-release event held at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad. The trailer received outstanding reviews, and it crossed 2 million views within a few hours. Before the release of the film, Mahesh Babu revealed that the robotic spider featured in the film's teaser, will not feature in the film as it has no role for it. Mahesh announced it, that he doesn't want his fans to be disappointed.


title: Spyder (film)

text: The satellite rights of the film were acquired by Zee Network (for Telugu and Hindi versions) and Sun TV Network (for Tamil and Malayalam versions) for a record sum of 30.5 crore. The film's Telugu version was premiered in Zee Telugu on 14 January 2018, coinciding with Sankranthi, and registered a TRP rating of 6.7. The film's television premiere took place on 18 February 2018. The film was also dubbed in Hindi and directly premiered on Zee Cinema on 17 June 2018.


title: Spyder (film)

text: M. Suganth of "The Times of India" rated 2 out of 5, stating that "The writing lets Spyder down entirely after a point and, unlike Thuppakki (which was also about a man trying to save and a man trying to destroy), what should have been an edge-of-the-seat cat-and-mouse game between good and evil turns into a movie that cannot decide between wanting to be a crackling thriller and an anything-goes masala movie." S. Srivatsan of "India Today" rated 2 out of 5, and summarised it as "The core of Spyder seems to have been written for Telugu audience. Even for them, Spyder isn't a satisfying star vehicle. Or Maybe Spyder isn't what Murugadoss imagined on paper. Because, some scenes, even on paper, appear to be pompous. Consider the scene from the second half of 7am Arivu and you'll understand better."


title: Spyder (film)

text: "Behindwoods" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and stated that "SJ Suryah's performance and AR Murugadoss' touch makes Spyder a decent thriller." "Indiaglitz" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and stated "Watch SPYder for Mahesh's genuine efforts and SJ Surya’s gritty performance. If you are looking for a fitting duel between the hero and villain you might get disappointed for the film shines only on their respective characters and is let down when it comes to their duel." Moviecrow gave 3 out of 5 and stated, "This is AR Murugadoss signature style movie with Superhero template without the hero having super powers. This is probably the best launch Mahesh Babu could have asked for. In return, Tamil audience will embrace Mahesh Babu."


title: Spyder (film)

text: "International Business Times" rated 3 out of 5 and stated that "Spyder stands out as an enjoyable entertainer despite its flaws." Baradwaj Rangan of "Film Companion" called "this film is a pretty decent god-vs-demon tale, with a solid hero and a spectacular villain" in his review. Subhash K. Jha of "NDTV", gave 4 out of 5 and stated, "Murugadoss takes a familiar bad-guy-good-guy plot and converts it into a compelling cat-and-mouse game shot in colours and favours that suggest life in times of impending death."


title: Spyder (film)

text: Sridhar Adivi from "The Times of India" rated the film 2.5 out of 5, stating, "The conflict between the hero and the villain seems like a safe enough plot for a potboiler or a spy film; however, Murugadoss’ writing doesn't manage to give you the chills or thrills the promos promised to." "Behindwoods" rated the film 2.75 out of 5, and stated that "Beyond a point, the film gets a little too heavy with gore, and one might feel the climax could have been executed better. Apart from these minor issues, Spyder will entertain you if you are an action film lover." Y. Sunita Chowdary of "The Hindu" stated that ""Spyder" starts off well but the director’s imagination goes overboard only to turn a purpose ridden plot to a piece of travesty." "Indiaglitz" gave the film 2.75 out of 5 stating "The spy thriller takes unconvincing liberties in the second half.  A tragedy of epic proportions is sought to be reduced into a hero vs villain rivalry without a compelling narrative."


title: Spyder (film)

text: In a positive note, "123Telugu" rated it 3.25 out of 5, and summarised that "On the whole, Spyder is a decent action thriller which has some very interesting moments." Sify gave the film a rating of 2.75 out of 5 stating ""Spyder" has some riveting moments in the first half, the face-off between Mahesh Babu and S J Surya reeks of brilliance but it turns monotonous in the second half." Hemanth Kumar of "Firstpost" gave the film 3.5 out of 5, stating ""Spyder" is also a true blue action thriller and it stays true to the genre. This isn’t a Mahesh Babu’s film alone and it doesn’t pander to our expectations from his action dramas. And to see him step into the shoes of a character which doesn’t dominate the film is also why "Spyder" has a very different tone from the very beginning." Karthik Keramalu of "Hindustan Times" gave 2 out of 5 and stated: "Spyder is not great but it’s definitely watchable for Mahesh Babu, Suryah and the touching humanistic angle."


title: Spyder (film)

text: On its opening day, the film saw more than 95% occupancy in theatres and managed to collect 51 crore gross on its first day at global box-office. The film grossed 23.4 crore on the first day of its release, with a share of 15.3 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and it is said to have collected 1.30 crore in two days in Chennai alone. The film had crossed 85 crore within three days, and it collected 110 crore within five days. In twelve days it collected 150 crore gross at global box-office. At the US Box office the film collected 1.5 million in seven days, becoming the fifth film of the actor to do so. The film was considered as a financial disappointment, due to the high production costs involved.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Thomas Holland (born 5 January 1968) is an English author who has published best-selling books on topics including classical and medieval history and the origins of Islam.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He has worked with the BBC to create and host historical television documentaries, and presents the radio series "Making History".


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland was born in Oxfordshire and brought up in the village of Broad Chalke near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the elder of two sons. His younger brother James Holland is also an author whose focus is World War II. He has said that his two passions as a child were dinosaurs and ancient civilizations: "I had the classic small boy's fascination with dinosaurs – because they're glamorous, dangerous and extinct – and essentially the appeal of the empires of antiquity is much the same. There's a splendour and a terror about them that appealed to me – and that kind of emotional attachment is something that stays with you."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland attended Chafyn Grove preparatory school and the independent Canford School in Dorset. He then went on to Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with a 'Double First' (first-class honours in both parts I and II of the course of study in the English Tripos). He began working on a doctoral dissertation on Lord Byron, at Oxford University, but soon quit after deciding that he was "fed up with universities and fed up with being poor" and instead began working.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland's first books were Gothic horror novels about vampires, set in various time periods throughout history.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: His first novel, "The Vampyre: Being the True Pilgrimage of George Gordon, Sixth Lord Byron" (1995), drew on his knowledge of Lord Byron from his university studies and recast the 19th-century poet as a vampire. It was re-titled "Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron" for the 1996 U.S. release. The "Los Angeles Times" called it "a good vampire yarn—elevated and elegant enough to make you feel you needn't conceal it behind the dust jacket of some self-help work, yet happily gory and perilous" although they felt "the newly plowed plot ground is sometimes hurried through as if to get to the scholarly stuff, where the author feels perhaps on more solid ground." Its sequel, "Supping with Panthers", was published in 1996 (it was also re-titled for the U.S. release, to "Slave of My Thirst").


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland stayed with the supernatural horror genre for his next few books, continuing to use his knowledge of ancient cultures and settings. In "Attis" (1996), he took historical figures from the ancient Roman Republic like Pompey and the poet Catullus and put them in a modern setting among a string of brutal murders. He set 1997's "Deliver Us From Evil" in 17th-century England, with a man named Faustus leading an army of the undead. 1999's "Sleeper in the Sands" is set in Egypt, starting with the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 and travelling backward in time as a deadly secret is unveiled.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland's last novel to date departed from the supernatural genre. "The Bone Hunter" (1999) is a thriller, set in the United States, about the rivalry between two 19th-century paleontologists around whom people begin dying.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: While doing research for "The Bone Hunter", Holland read "From Alexander to Actium" by historian Peter Green and his childhood passion for ancient history and civilisations was reignited. He gave up writing fiction and turned to writing history.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: His first book of history, "", was published in 2003 and garnered positive reviews. It was called "gripping and hugely entertaining" by "The Sunday Times", "informative, balanced and accessible" by "BookPage", and "a model of exactly how a popular history of the classical world should be written" by "The Guardian". "Rubicon" won the 2004 Hessell-Tiltman Prize, awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: "" (2005) is an account of the 5th-century B.C. Greco-Persian Wars. It was reviewed positively by Paul Cartledge, a professor of Greek history at Cambridge University, for "The Independent": "If "Persian Fire" does not win the Samuel Johnson Prize, there is no justice in this world." Writing in "The Sunday Telegraph", historian Dominic Sandbrook called it "riveting" and praised the "enormous strengths" of the author. It won the Anglo-Hellenic League's 2006 Runciman Award.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: "" (2008) examines the two centuries on either side of the seminal year 1000 A.D., and how Western Europe ascended out of the Dark Ages to become a leading world civilization once again. Noel Malcolm reviewed it for "The Daily Telegraph" and called it "a tremendously good read" but criticised the lack of detail about historical evidence and Holland's "elevated" style of prose. Christina Hardyment, reviewing it for "The Independent", praised Holland's writing style, saying he "excels at narration, never jogging when he can gallop ... His highly individual road map to the hitherto 'dark ages' is written with forceful – and convincing – panache."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland's book on the rise of Islam, "" (2012), was called "a work of impressive sensitivity and scholarship" by "The Daily Telegraph" and "a book of extraordinary richness ... For Tom Holland has an enviable gift for summoning up the colour, the individuals and animation of the past, without sacrificing factual integrity" by "The Independent". But it was criticised by historian Glen Bowersock in "The Guardian" as being written in "a swashbuckling style that aims more to unsettle his readers than to instruct them ... irresponsible and unreliable".


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: "Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar" (2015) covers the reigns of the five emperors of Rome's Julio-Claudian dynasty, from Augustus to Nero. Classics professor Emily Wilson, reviewing it for "The Guardian", was critical of the "overblown style" of Holland's writing and the narrative's lurid details, saying of the book "this is ancient Rome for the age of Donald Trump". But in his review for "The Observer", Nick Cohen wrote "Among the many virtues of Tom Holland's terrific history is that he does not shrink from seeing the Roman emperors for what they were: 'the west's primal examples of tyranny'."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland next wrote two short historical biographies. The first, "Athelstan: The Making of England" (2016), is a part of the 'Penguin Monarchs' series and covers the life of Æthelstan, the 10th-century ruler widely regarded as the first king of England. The second, "Æthelflæd: England's Forgotten Founder" (2019) is an entry in the "Ladybird Expert" series and tells of Athelstan's aunt (and daughter of Alfred the Great), Æthelflæd, who ruled the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia in the early 10th century.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: "Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind" (titled "Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World" for the U.S. edition), was published in 2019. It is an examination of Christianity's influence on Western civilisation in which Holland maintains that the religion's influence continues to be seen in ethics and cultural norms throughout the world today, even when the religion itself is rejected: "To live in a western country is to live in a society still utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions." "Dominion" received positive reviews, with "Kirkus Reviews" calling it "astute and thoughtful", and "Publishers Weekly" saying that "entertaining is too light a term and instructive is too heavy a term for a rich work that is enjoyably both". Reviewing it for "The Times", Gerard DeGroot argued that much of what Holland attributes to Christian influence is simply humanity evolving the need to work together for survival, but said "I have to commend the originality of this book, not to mention [Holland's] brave ambition."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland's new translation of "The Histories" by Herodotus, the ancient Greek scholar, was published in 2013. Although Holland had studied Latin in school, his Greek is completely self-taught, and he set himself the task of translating one paragraph of the over-800-page "Histories" every day until he finished. "Kirkus Reviews" called his translation "a feast for students of ancient history and budding historians of any period." Classics scholar Edith Hall reviewed it for "The Times Literary Supplement" and said it was "unquestionably the best English translation of Herodotus to have appeared in the past half-century, and there have been quite a few ... I am in awe of Tom Holland's achievement."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland has written dozens of articles for newspapers, journals and websites on varied topics including wildlife conservation, sports, politics and history. He also writes occasional book reviews for "The Guardian".


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland has also written for the stage. His first play, "The Importance of Being Frank", told the story of Oscar Wilde's imprisonment and trial. His second was "Death of a Maid", which focused on the life of Joan of Arc. In March 2019, he announced on Twitter that he had written an opera about Cleopatra and it was in the showcase stage of development.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland adapted the writings of classical Greek and Roman authors Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides, and Virgil for a series of broadcasts on BBC Radio 4. In 2001, Radio Four also broadcast a dramatic play he wrote based on Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War," titled "Our Man in Athens". It presented the narrative as that of a veteran war reporter under siege in the studios of Radio Free Athens.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In February 2011, Holland wrote and presented "Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters", a BBC Four television programme. It explored the influence of fossils on the mythology of various cultures throughout history, including the ancient Greeks and Native Americans.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In August 2012, Holland produced and presented a documentary for Channel 4 television titled "", which questioned Islamic doctrine that maintains Muhammad founded the religion in Mecca in the 7th century, and that the Quran was transmitted, in full, directly to Muhammad by Allah (God) via the angel Gabriel, rather than being written by a person or persons. Holland argued that there is very little contemporary historical evidence about the life of Muhammad, with no mention of him at all in historical texts until decades after his death, and no mention of Mecca in any datable text relating to him until over a century after he died. He concluded that it is much more likely that Islamic theology developed gradually over several centuries as the Arab Empire expanded, and that descriptions of Muhammad's home more closely resemble what is now southern Israel than Mecca.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland said the program provoked "a firestorm of death threats" against him. "Islam: The Untold Story" generated more than 1,200 complaints in total to Ofcom and Channel 4, though Ofcom found there was no breach of its broadcasting code to investigate. A planned screening of "Islam: The Untold Story" before an audience of historians was cancelled, due to security concerns over threats received by Holland as a result of the documentary. Several religious scholars, including Dr. Jenny Taylor, founder of the Lapido Media Centre for Religious Literacy in World Affairs, and Dr. Keith Small of the International Qur'anic Studies Association, defended Holland and the right of historians to critically examine the origin stories of religions.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Writing on the Channel 4 website, Holland responded to the criticism by saying that the origins of Islam is a "legitimate subject of historical enquiry" and that his documentary was "a historical endeavour and is not a critique of one of the major monotheistic religions".


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In 2017, Holland revisited the topic of Islam by writing and presenting another documentary for Channel 4. "Isis: The Origins of Violence" looked at the militant terror group ISIS and argued that they use Islamic doctrine to inform and justify their quest for a global caliphate.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In the film, Holland visited the site of the 2015 Bataclan theatre massacre in Paris, interviewed a Salafi jihadist leader in Jordan, and then went to the Iraqi city of Sinjar, which had historically been largely populated by the Yazidi minority. In 2014, ISIS forces swept into the city and killed most of the Yazidi men and old women, taking the young women as sex slaves and the young boys to train as ISIS soldiers. At one point, Holland was shown approaching a pit filled with the remains of Yazidi women whom Isis considered too old to be used as sex slaves, and then had to vomit off-camera.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In an interview with the "Evening Standard" to promote the film, he said "Just as Nazis justified genocide in terms of racial theory, there are Islamic scholars who justify it in terms of what the Koran says. Not to engage with that, to pretend that's not an issue, is essentially to be complicit in genocide." He also said that westerners are wrong to blame their own foreign policy for the existence of ISIS: "We want to believe we have agency. We want to believe it's about foreign policy — because then we can do something about it. But you just have to read "Dabiq" [the ISIS magazine]. They say upfront: 'We hate you because you're not Muslim'."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Although some Muslim groups once again registered their disapproval of the programme's content and of Channel 4 for airing it, Holland stated their reaction this time was much less severe than with "Islam: the Untold Story". Journalist Peter Oborne wrote a rebuttal to it on the website "Middle East Eye" titled "No, Channel 4: Islam is not responsible for the Islamic State", in which he stated that the 2003 invasion of Iraq is responsible for ISIS, not Islamic teachings. However, "The Guardian" praised the documentary, saying ""ISIS: The Origins of Violence" will start many arguments, but we should be grateful for having broadcasters brave and thoughtful enough to make them."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland has campaigned and written articles in support of measures to save London's disappearing hedgehog population.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He is a staunch opponent of the proposed Stonehenge road tunnel and other development projects that threaten landscapes around Britain's historic sites and since 2018 has been president of the Stonehenge Alliance, a group dedicated to stopping construction of the tunnel (or at least convincing the government to redesign it from the planned 1.8 miles. in length to a longer, deep bored tunnel of at least 2.8 miles that would be less obtrusive to the World Heritage Site). In 2017, he said of the Stonehenge tunnel: "The issue is whether Stonehenge exists to provide a tourist experience, or whether it is something more significant, both historically and spiritually. It has stood there for 4,500 years. And up to now, no one's thought of injecting enormous quantities of concrete into the landscape and permanently disfiguring it."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In August 2014, Holland and fellow historian Dan Snow organized 200 British public figures in signing a letter to the people of Scotland, published by "The Guardian", expressing the hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the September 2014 referendum on that issue. The letter read in part "We want to let you know how very much we value our bonds of citizenship with you, and to express our hope that you will vote to renew them. What unites us is much greater than what divides us. Let's stay together." Among the signatories were Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mick Jagger, Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Hawking.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Earlier that year, he had voiced his desire for the United Kingdom to stay a part of the European Union, saying: "I would like to remain a citizen of the European Union, but I would like even more to continue in a country that includes Scotland ... the likelier it seems the United Kingdom will leave the EU, the likelier Scotland is to leave the United Kingdom. I don't want to be a Little Englander. I want to stay European, and I want to stay British." After Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, Holland stated that he himself had voted Remain, but that since Brexit had been chosen by the people in a democratic vote, the government had to carry through with it. He posted on his Twitter account in October 2018: "Brexit has to happen – anything else would be undemocratic. But the result was close, close, close – so the Brexit settlement should properly accept that. I'm sure that's what most people feel."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In 2017, Holland joined Scottish businessman/blogger Kevin Hague and history professor Ali Ansari to create a new think tank which they named "These Islands". It is devoted to stimulating positive debate about Britain's identity, Brexit and the Scottish independence issue, and promoting the idea that staying united as a nation is beneficial to all the countries that make up Great Britain. A number of academics and activists have contributed papers to the These Islands website.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In 2019, Holland was a signatory on a public letter to "The Guardian" denouncing Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party and candidate for Prime Minister, for antisemitism. In an article for "The Telegraph", he wrote that Corbyn's support for Palestinian activist Raed Salah was particularly offensive to him due to Salah's spread of the blood libel, which originated in England in the 12th century: "England, as the birthplace of this most toxic of lies, has a particular responsibility to take a stand against it. Taking a stand against it, however, is something that Jeremy Corbyn, by backing a promoter of the blood libel, has failed to do."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: While filming "Isis: Origins of Evil", Holland interviewed Yazidi refugees, survivors of an ethnoreligious population of northern Iraq who in 2014 suffered the mass murder of many of their men and older women, and the kidnapping of their children and young women, by ISIS. In 2017, he wrote an article for "The Spectator" in which he implored the Western world not to forget the Yazidi. In it, he detailed what ISIS had inflicted upon the Yazidi: "Yazidis [were] shot and thrown like refuse into pits; men and boys beheaded in front of their families; girls as young as eight subjected to gang rape; beatings; forced conversions; torture; slavery. In a camp I visited, a woman who had been raped for an entire year, then shot in the head when her owner grew tired of her, then finally sold back to her husband, lay curled in a foetal ball in a makeshift tent, rocking and moaning to herself." In June 2018, he gave an interview to James Delingpole on the latter's podcast and spoke about Western apathy toward the Yazidi's suffering: "Nobody in the West really gives a shit. And the reason nobody gives a shit, as a Yazidi refugee I spoke to said, is that in the West you have Christians, you have Muslims, you have Jews who all speak up for their co-religionists, but who cares about the Yazidi? Who cares about them?"


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In June 2019, he joined several other speakers in addressing an assembly of members of Parliament in the Grand Committee room of the House of Commons, where he spoke about the cruelties inflicted upon the Yazidi.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland has also written about historical antisemitism in England and explained how one can draw a connection between this and more recent antisemitic attitudes expressed by some activists in the British Labour Party when under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland has been a proponent of state education over private, saying in 2014:The wealth that the leading [independent] schools can call upon has become obscene. How can state-funded schools possibly compete with sports fields and state-of-the-art facilities that have seen sport, acting and even popular music dominated by the privately educated? Which said, I am not convinced that the teaching in private schools is any better than in state schools. Our local primary school has teachers as good as any you could hope to meet, and when I compare the start that it has given my children to that given to the prep-school pupils I know, I do not remotely feel that my children have come off second-best. Just the opposite, in fact.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He supported the plan by Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove to spread the teaching of Latin in state schools. saying in 2014: Traditionally, an education in ancient languages has served as a marker of privilege – which is why public schools have always been so keen on providing it. I don't see, though, why children should be deprived of the riches of classical civilisation, just because they are in the state system ... It is not an elitist policy but the precise opposite: impeccably progressive.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Although his father is an atheist, Holland was raised in the Christian church by his "devout Anglican" mother, and he said in 2013 that because of her example "I've always associated Anglicanism with goodness and decency and generosity of spirit and compassion, so I never had that visceral association of Christianity or institutional religion with repression or dogma or illiberalism". Nonetheless, as an adult he disavowed belief in the existence of God, saying "I have seen no evidence that would satisfy me that anything supernatural exists. I have seen no proof for god".


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In 2016, he wrote an article titled "Why I Was Wrong About Christianity" for the "New Statesman", in which he said that he had come to realise he was incorrect to have thought in the past that his own western values derived from the Greece and Rome of antiquity and owed nothing to Christianity: Familiarity with the biblical narrative of the crucifixion has dulled our sense of just how completely novel a deity Christ was ... [Christianity] is the principal reason why, by and large, most of us who live in post-Christian societies still take for granted that it is nobler to suffer than to inflict suffering. It is why we generally assume that every human life is of equal value. In my morals and ethics, I have learned to accept that I am not Greek or Roman at all, but thoroughly and proudly Christian.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He has defended himself from critics who have suggested that his views on Islam and its origins are rooted in 'Islamophobia', saying that he merely believes Islam should receive the same kind of historical analysis that other religions do. In 2013, he said in an interview with "The Daily Telegraph": "Islam is like a shot of caffeine into British culture. It adds a new dimension to the world, it enriches the variety and scope of our intellectual life."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In March 2015, Holland published a piece titled "We must not deny the religious roots of Islamic State" in the "New Statesman". It argued that the jihadis of ISIS call themselves Islamic and use text from the Quran to justify their actions, so therefore people like the writer Mehdi Hasan ought not to claim they are not Muslims, as Hasan had in the previous week's issue. Holland wrote that "It is not merely coincidence that ISIS currently boasts a caliph, imposes quranically mandated taxes, topples idols, chops the hands off thieves, stones adulterers, executes homosexuals and carries a flag that bears the Muslim declaration of faith." In 2017, he said "The mistake people make is to replicate Isis's position, which is that there's one, true form of Islam and anyone who deviates from that isn't a Muslim. That's Isis's justification for killing Shia. Ironically, when Western leaders say 'it's nothing to do with Islam', they're doing the same. I don't think it's the business—particularly of non-Muslims—to specify what a Muslim is. If people say they're Muslim, they're Muslim."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: In May 2015, Holland gave the inaugural Christopher Hitchens Lecture at the Hay Festival, in which he addressed the subject of "De-Radicalising Muhammad". In an interview he gave to the literary website "Quadrapheme" the following month he explained that he wanted the lecture to promote discussion of the way Muhammad's life is interpreted, arguing that his "mythos lies at the core of what is pernicious in the goings-on of Islamic State and other radicals."


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland married Sadie, now a midwife, on 31 July 1993. The couple have two daughters and live in Brixton, London.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He is the great-nephew of Olympic cyclist Charles Holland, the first Englishman to complete the Tour de France. He is not related to actor Tom Holland.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: Holland is a prolific user of the social media site Twitter. He joined the site in January 2011, and as of July 2022, had sent out over 207,000 tweets.


title: Tom Holland (author)

text: He is a keen cricket fan and player and a bowler (fast-medium) for the Authors XI team, which is composed of prominent British writers. He contributed a chapter (about the only time in his years of playing the game that he hit a six, while the Authors XI were playing a team from Eton College) to the book that the team collectively wrote about their first season playing together, "The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon" (Bloomsbury, 2013). He also wrote an article for the "Financial Times" about receiving batting training from his cricketing hero, England captain Alastair Cook.


title: Hill Harper

text: Francis Eugene "Hill" Harper (born May 17, 1966) is an American actor and author. He is known for his roles on "", "Limitless" and "The Good Doctor".


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper was born in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Harry D. Harper, II, a psychiatrist, and Marilyn Harper (née Hill), who was one of the first black practicing anesthesiologists in the United States and co-authored a book called "Wearing Purple". Born Francis Eugene Harper, he adopted the name "Hill" as a tribute to both his maternal and paternal ancestors.


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper then graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1988. In 1992, he graduated with a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He received his Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. During his years at Harvard, he was a full-time member of Boston's Black Folks Theater Company, one of the oldest and most acclaimed black theater troupes in the country. While a student at Harvard, Harper befriended Barack Obama, with whom he played basketball.


title: Hill Harper

text: He decided to pursue acting and moved to Los Angeles. He has received several honorary degrees, including honorary doctorates from both Westfield State College and Howard University.


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper's first roles in television began in 1993, in a recurring role on the Fox series "Married... with Children", while also making his film debut in the short film "Confessions of a Dog". He had his first acting role in a feature film with Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus" (1996), which cast him as a UCLA film student riding a bus to the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. He went on to further demonstrate his versatility in such films as Christopher Scott Cherot's "Hav Plenty" (1997) and Lee's "He Got Game" (1998), the former of which featured him as an egotistical pop-soul singer.


title: Hill Harper

text: His profile subsequently rose on both the mainstream and independent film circuits, thanks to roles in films ranging from "Beloved" (1998) to the independent romantic comedy "Loving Jezebel" (1999) to "The Skulls" (2000). Harper did some of his most acclaimed work in Jordan Walker-Pearlman's "The Visit" (2000), an independent drama in which he starred as a prisoner dying of AIDS who tries to put his life back together. He also portrayed Leshem in the 2010 Syfy original movie "Stonehenge Apocalypse".


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper played coroner-turned-crime scene investigator Sheldon Hawkes on the CBS crime drama "" for nine seasons.


title: Hill Harper

text: In February 2013, it was announced that "CSI: NY" would be ending and Harper would be joining the cast of "Covert Affairs" as a series regular.


title: Hill Harper

text: From April 21, 2015, to May 10, 2015, Harper starred as "Hard Rock" in the Off-Broadway play "ToasT". The play (produced by Lemon Andersen and co-starred Keith David) is set in the Attica Prison around the time of its 1971 prison riot and tells of the lives of its prisoners using poetic prose.


title: Hill Harper

text: From May 1, 2018, to June 17, 2018, Harper starred as "Rooftop" in the Off-Broadway play "Our Lady of 121st Street". This Dark Comedy (written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Phylicia Rashad) is about former students paying their respects to Sister Rose, only to find that Sister Rose's body has been stolen.


title: Hill Harper

text: Hill Harper's acting career also includes voice-over work (or voice acting) with , "Breathe Bible", plus, podcasts called "Legal Wars" and "5-Factor Authentication".


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper is the author of several books: "Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny", published in 2006; "Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny", published in 2008; and "The Conversation: How (Black) Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships", published in 2010. His books, "The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place" and "The Wiley Boys" were both published in 2011. His book, "Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones" was published in 2013.


title: Hill Harper

text: In January 2008, Harper participated in "Yes We Can", a music video produced by will.i.am supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama. Harper is a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee.


title: Hill Harper

text: As of October 2009, Hill has made several contributions to political candidates, exclusively to Democrats.


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper endorsed the 10,000 Bookbags back-to-school backpack campaign to help local disadvantaged children with Urban Change Ministries founder Pastor Jay Cameron of the Life Center, and R&B singer Ginuwine.


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper stated that he is a fiscal conservative when he appeared on the political talk show "Hannity" on September 10, 2009. On February 22, 2016, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced that Harper would be their national spokesman.


title: Hill Harper

text: After being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Harper researched the effects skin care products can have on a person's system. This led to his creating an all-natural personal care line for men and women, called "Be The Architect".


title: Hill Harper

text: On May 31, 2021, Hill Harper & his partners launched the first Black-Owned digital wallet and Cryptocurrency Exchange App.


title: Hill Harper

text: In the fall of 2008, Harper was initiated as a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity with his Co-Initiates (called "Line Brothers") Dr. Naim Akbar of Florida State University and former NFL player Leo LeMarcus Newman.


title: Hill Harper

text: Harper won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for three consecutive years (2008–2010) for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on "". Previously he had been nominated for the award for three consecutive years (2005–2007), for the same character. In 2000, he had also been nominated for the award, for his role in the medical drama "City of Angels". On January 9, 2014, his book "Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones" was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction.


title: Hill Harper

text: In 2018, the Audience Development Committee, Inc. (AUDELCO) nominated Hill Harper for a Vivian Robinson Award; Lead Actor in a Play, for his role as Walter "Rooftop" Desmond in the Off-Broadway play: "Our Lady of 121st Street".


title: Hill Harper

text: On Sunday, December 5, 2021, the Boston, Massachusetts' Museum of African American History honored Hill Harper with a Living Legends award - The Garrison Silver Cup.


title: Hill Harper

text: While writing his book "The Wealth Cure: Putting Money In Its Place", Harper was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After treatment, he was given a clean bill of health.


title: Hill Harper

text: In November 2015, Harper received a call to adopt a baby boy from a homeless woman. He agreed, and by May 2017, the adoption of Pierce (named after Pierce Brosnan) Hill Harper was finalized.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Omayra Sánchez Garzón (August 28, 1972 – November 16, 1985) was a 13-year-old Colombian girl killed in Armero, Tolima, by the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Volcanic debris mixed with ice to form massive lahars (volcanically induced mudflows, landslides, and debris flows), which rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing more than 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: After a lahar demolished her home, Sánchez was pinned beneath the debris of her house, where she remained trapped in water for three days, as rescue workers had no way to render life-saving medical care if they amputated her hopelessly pinned legs. Her plight was documented as she descended from calmness into agony. Her courage and dignity touched journalists and relief workers, who put great efforts into comforting her. After 60 hours of struggling, she died, likely as a result of either gangrene or hypothermia. Her death highlighted the failure of officials to respond correctly to the threat of the volcano, contrasted with the efforts of volunteer rescue workers to reach and treat trapped victims, despite inadequate supplies and equipment.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: A photograph of Sánchez taken by the photojournalist Frank Fournier shortly before she died was published in news outlets around the world. It was later designated the World Press Photo of the Year for 1986. Sánchez has remained a lasting figure in popular culture, remembered through music, literature, and commemorative articles.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: On November 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted. At 9:09 pm of that night, pyroclastic flows exploding from the crater melted the mountain's icecap, forming lahars (volcanic mudflows and debris flows) which cascaded into river valleys below. One lahar, consisting of three pulses, did most of the damage. Traveling at per second (~13.5 miles per hour, ~22 km/h), the first pulse enveloped most of the town of Armero, killing up to 20,000 people; the two later pulses weakened buildings. Another lahar killed 1,800 people in nearby Chinchiná. In total 23,000 people were killed and 13 villages in addition to Armero were destroyed.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Loss of life was exacerbated by the authorities' failure to take costly preventive measures in the absence of clear signs of imminent danger. There had been no substantial eruption of the volcano since 1845, which contributed to complacency; locals called the volcano the "Sleeping Lion".


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: In September 1985, as earthquakes and phreatic eruptions rocked the area around the volcano, officials began planning for evacuation. A hazard map was prepared in October; it highlighted the danger from falling ash and rock near Murillo, Santa Isabel, and Líbano, as well as the threat of lahars in Mariquita, Guayabal, Chinchiná, and Armero. The map was poorly distributed to those at highest risk: many survivors had never heard of it, though several major newspapers had featured it. Henry Villegas of the Colombian Institute of Mining and Geology stated that the maps clearly demonstrated Armero would be affected by the lahars, but had "met with strong opposition from economic interests." He said that the short time between the map's preparation and the eruption hindered timely distribution.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: The Colombian Congress criticised scientific and civil defense agencies for scaremongering, and the government and army were preoccupied with the guerrilla campaign in Bogotá, the national capital, which was then at its height.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: The death toll was increased by the lack of early warnings, unwise land use, as villages were built in the likely path of lahars, and the lack of preparedness in communities near the volcano. Colombia's worst natural disaster, the Armero tragedy (as it came to be known) was the second-deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century (surpassed only by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée). It was the fourth-deadliest eruption recorded since 1500 AD. Its lahars were the deadliest in volcanic history.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Omayra Sánchez lived in the neighborhood of Santander with her parents Álvaro Enrique, a rice and sorghum collector, and María Aleida, along with her brother Álvaro Enrique and aunt María Adela Garzón. Prior to the eruption, her mother had traveled to Bogotá on business. The night of the disaster, Omayra and her family were awake, worrying about the ashfall from the eruption, when they heard the sound of an approaching lahar. After it hit, Omayra became trapped under her home's concrete and other debris and could not free herself. When rescue teams tried to help her, they realized that her legs were trapped under her house's roof. Sources differ as to the degree to which Sánchez was trapped. Zeiderman (2009) said she was "trapped up to her neck", while Barragán (1987) said that she was trapped up to her waist.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: For the first few hours after the mudflow hit, she was covered by concrete but got her hand through a crack in the debris. After a rescuer noticed her hand protruding from a pile of debris, he and others cleared tiles and wood over the course of a day. Once the girl was freed from the waist up, her rescuers attempted to pull her out, but found the task impossible without breaking her legs in the process. Each time a person pulled her, the water pooled around her, rising so that it seemed she would drown if they let her go, so rescue workers placed a tire around her body to keep her afloat. Divers discovered that Sánchez's legs were caught under a door made of bricks, with her aunt's arms clutched tightly around her legs and feet.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Despite her predicament, Sánchez remained relatively positive: she sang to Germán Santa María Barragán, a journalist who was working as a volunteer, asked for sweet food, drank soda, and agreed to be interviewed. At times, she was scared, and prayed or cried. On the third night, Sánchez began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school, and mentioned a math exam. Near the end of her life, Sánchez's eyes reddened, her face swelled, and her hands whitened. At one point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest. Hours later the workers returned with a pump and tried to save her, but her legs were bent under the concrete as if she was kneeling, and it was impossible to free her without severing her legs. Lacking the surgical equipment to save her from the effects of an amputation, the doctors present agreed that it would be more humane to let her die. In all, Sánchez suffered for nearly three nights (roughly 60 hours) before she died at approximately 10:05 A.M. on November 16 from exposure, most likely from gangrene or hypothermia.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Her brother survived the lahars; her father and aunt died. Her mother expressed her feelings about Omayra's death: "It is horrible, but we have to think about the living ... I will live for my son, who only lost a finger."


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: As the public became aware of Sánchez's situation through the media, her death became a symbol of the failure of officials to properly assist victims who could have been saved. Controversy broke out after descriptions of the shortages were released in newspapers, disproving what officials had previously indicated: that they had used the best of their supplies. Volunteer relief workers said that there was such a lack of resources that supplies as basic as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers ran out. The rescue process was impeded by large crowds and disorganization. An unnamed police officer said that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized. Colombia's Minister of Defense, Miguel Uribe, said he "understood criticism of the rescue effort", but said that Colombia was "an undeveloped country" that did not "have that kind of equipment".


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: Frank Fournier, a French reporter who landed in Bogotá on November 15, took a photograph of Sánchez in her final days, titled "The Agony of Omayra Sánchez". When he reached Armero at dawn on the 16th, a farmer directed him to Sánchez, who by then had been trapped for nearly three days and was near-deserted. Fournier later described the town as "very haunting," with "eerie silence" punctuated by screaming. He said that he took the photograph feeling that he could only "report properly on the courage and the suffering and the dignity of the little girl" in his attempt to publicize the disaster's need for relief efforts, feeling otherwise "powerless".


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: At the time, there was international awareness of the disaster. Sánchez was one of the victims at the center of the associated controversy over responsibility for the destructive aftermath. The image captured international attention. According to an unnamed BBC reporter, "Many were appalled at witnessing so intimately what transpired to be the last few hours of Omayra's life." After the photo was published in "Paris Match," many accused Fournier of being "a vulture." He responded,


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: "I felt the story was important for me to report and I was happier that there was some reaction; it would have been worse if people had not cared about it. ... I believe the photo helped raise money from around the world in aid and helped highlight the irresponsibility and lack of courage of the country's leaders." The picture later won the World Press Photo of the Year for 1986.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: The Armero catastrophe came shortly after the M-19 guerrilla group's raid and subsequent Palace of Justice siege on November 6, worsening an already chaotic situation. After Sánchez's death, blame for it and for the Armero tragedy fell on the Colombian government for its inaction and general indifference to warning signs prior to the volcano's eruption.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: The Nevado del Ruiz volcano is still active, according to the Volcano Watch Center in Colombia. Melting only 10 percent of the ice would produce mudflows with a volume of up to —similar to the mudflow that destroyed Armero in 1985. Such lahars can travel up to along river valleys in a few hours. Estimates show that up to 500,000 people living in the Combeima, Chinchiná, Coello-Toche, and Guali valleys are at risk, and 100,000 of these are considered to be at high risk. The city of Armero no longer exists. The site was commemorated as a memorial with Christian crosses and a small monument to Sánchez.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: In the years following the eruption, Sánchez has been repeatedly commemorated, especially in newspapers like "El Tiempo". Many victims of the disaster were commemorated, but Sánchez in particular has attracted lasting attention in popular poetry, novels, and music.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: For example, a punk rock band formed in Chile in 2008 named themselves Omayra Sánchez; they express their "discontent that they feel with the negligence on the part of the people who in this day and age run the world". "Adiós, Omayra: La catástrofe de Armero" (1988), written by Eduardo Santa as a response to the eruption, depicts the girl's last days of life in detail and cites her in its introduction as an eternal symbol of the catastrophe. In "No Morirás" (1994), Germán Santa María Barragán writes that of all the horrors he saw at Armero, nothing was more painful than seeing the face of Omayra Sánchez under the ruins of her house. Isabel Allende's short story, "And of Clay Are We Created" ("De barro estamos hechos"), is told from the perspective of a reporter who tries to help a girl trapped under the fireplace of her ruined home. Allende later wrote, "Her [Sánchez's] big black eyes, filled with resignation and wisdom, still pursue me in my dreams. Writing the story failed to exorcise her ghost."


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: To try to prevent repetition of such a disaster, the government of Colombia created the "Oficina Nacional para la Atención de Desastres" (National Office for Disaster Preparedness), now known as the "Dirección de Prevención y Atención de Desastres" (Directorate for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness). All Colombian cities were directed to plan for natural disasters.


title: Omayra Sánchez

text: A species of cricket found in the region of the Armero tragedy was newly described in 2020 and named "Gigagryllus omayrae" in memory of Omayra Sánchez.


title: Zirconium

text: Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name "zirconium" is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian "zargun" (zircon; "zar-gun", "gold-like" or "as gold"). It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that closely resembles hafnium and, to a lesser extent, titanium. Zirconium is mainly used as a refractory and opacifier, although small amounts are used as an alloying agent for its strong resistance to corrosion. Zirconium forms a variety of inorganic and organometallic compounds such as zirconium dioxide and zirconocene dichloride, respectively. Five isotopes occur naturally, four of which are stable. Zirconium compounds have no known biological role.


title: Zirconium

text: Zirconium is a lustrous, greyish-white, soft, ductile, malleable metal that is solid at room temperature, though it is hard and brittle at lesser purities. In powder form, zirconium is highly flammable, but the solid form is much less prone to ignition. Zirconium is highly resistant to corrosion by alkalis, acids, salt water and other agents. However, it will dissolve in hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, especially when fluorine is present. Alloys with zinc are magnetic at less than 35 K.<section end=properties />


title: Zirconium

text: The melting point of zirconium is 1855 °C (3371 °F), and the boiling point is 4409 °C (7968 °F). Zirconium has an electronegativity of 1.33 on the Pauling scale. Of the elements within the d-block with known electronegativities, zirconium has the fifth lowest electronegativity after hafnium, yttrium, lanthanum, and actinium.


title: Zirconium

text: At room temperature zirconium exhibits a hexagonally close-packed crystal structure, α-Zr, which changes to β-Zr, a body-centered cubic crystal structure, at 863 °C. Zirconium exists in the β-phase until the melting point.


title: Zirconium

text: Naturally occurring zirconium is composed of five isotopes. Zr, Zr, Zr and Zr are stable, although Zr is predicted to undergo double beta decay (not observed experimentally) with a half-life of more than 1.10×10 years. Zr has a half-life of 2.4×10 years, and is the longest-lived radioisotope of zirconium. Of these natural isotopes, Zr is the most common, making up 51.45% of all zirconium. Zr is the least common, comprising only 2.80% of zirconium.


title: Zirconium

text: Twenty-eight artificial isotopes of zirconium have been synthesized, ranging in atomic mass from 78 to 110. Zr is the longest-lived artificial isotope, with a half-life of 1.53×10 years. Zr, the heaviest isotope of zirconium, is the most radioactive, with an estimated half-life of 30 milliseconds. Radioactive isotopes at or above mass number 93 decay by electron emission, whereas those at or below 89 decay by positron emission. The only exception is Zr, which decays by electron capture.


title: Zirconium

text: Five isotopes of zirconium also exist as metastable isomers: Zr, Zr, Zr, Zr, Zr and Zr. Of these, Zr has the shortest half-life at 131 nanoseconds. Zr is the longest lived with a half-life of 4.161 minutes.


title: Zirconium

text: Zirconium has a concentration of about 130 mg/kg within the Earth's crust and about 0.026 μg/L in sea water. It is not found in nature as a native metal, reflecting its intrinsic instability with respect to water. The principal commercial source of zirconium is zircon (ZrSiO), a silicate mineral, which is found primarily in Australia, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as in smaller deposits around the world. As of 2013, two-thirds of zircon mining occurs in Australia and South Africa. Zircon resources exceed 60 million tonnes worldwide and annual worldwide zirconium production is approximately 900,000 tonnes. Zirconium also occurs in more than 140 other minerals, including the commercially useful ores baddeleyite and eudialyte.


title: Zirconium

text: Zirconium is relatively abundant in S-type stars, and it has been detected in the sun and in meteorites. Lunar rock samples brought back from several Apollo missions to the moon have a high zirconium oxide content relative to terrestrial rocks.


title: Zirconium

text: EPR spectroscopy has been used in investigations of the unusual 3+ valence state of zirconium. The EPR spectrum of Zr, which has been initially observed as a parasitic signal in Fe‐doped single crystals of ScPO, was definitively identified by preparing single crystals of ScPO doped with isotopically enriched (94.6%)Zr. Single crystals of LuPO and YPO doped with both naturally abundant and isotopically enriched Zr have also been grown and investigated.


title: Zirconium

text: Zirconium is a by-product of the mining and processing of the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile, as well as tin mining. From 2003 to 2007, while prices for the mineral zircon steadily increased from $360 to $840 per tonne, the price for unwrought zirconium metal decreased from $39,900 to $22,700 per ton. Zirconium metal is much more expensive than zircon because the reduction processes are costly.


title: Zirconium

text: Collected from coastal waters, zircon-bearing sand is purified by spiral concentrators to separate lighter materials, which are then returned to the water because they are natural components of beach sand. Using magnetic separation, the titanium ores ilmenite and rutile are removed.


title: Zirconium

text: Most zircon is used directly in commercial applications, but a small percentage is converted to the metal. Most Zr metal is produced by the reduction of the zirconium(IV) chloride with magnesium metal in the Kroll process. The resulting metal is sintered until sufficiently ductile for metalworking.


title: Zirconium

text: Commercial zirconium metal typically contains 1–3% of hafnium, which is usually not problematic because the chemical properties of hafnium and zirconium are very similar. Their neutron-absorbing properties differ strongly, however, necessitating the separation of hafnium from zirconium for nuclear reactors. Several separation schemes are in use. The liquid-liquid extraction of the thiocyanate-oxide derivatives exploits the fact that the hafnium derivative is slightly more soluble in methyl isobutyl ketone than in water. This method is used mainly in United States. In India, TBP-Nitrate solvent extraction process is used for the separation


title: Zirconium

text: Zr and Hf can also be separated by fractional crystallization of potassium hexafluorozirconate (KZrF), which is less soluble in water than the analogous hafnium derivative.


title: Zirconium

text: Fractional distillation of the tetrachlorides, also called extractive distillation, is used primarily in Europe.


title: Zirconium

text: The product of a quadruple VAM (vacuum arc melting) process, combined with hot extruding and different rolling applications is cured using high-pressure, high-temperature gas autoclaving. This produces reactor-grade zirconium that is about 10 times more expensive than the hafnium-contaminated commercial grade.


title: Zirconium

text: Hafnium must be removed from zirconium for nuclear applications because hafnium has a neutron absorption cross-section 600 times greater than zirconium. The separated hafnium can be used for reactor control rods.


title: Zirconium

text: Like other transition metals, zirconium forms a wide range of inorganic compounds and coordination complexes. In general, these compounds are colourless diamagnetic solids wherein zirconium has the oxidation state +4. Far fewer Zr(III) compounds are known, and Zr(II) is very rare.


title: Zirconium

text: The most common oxide is zirconium dioxide, ZrO, also known as "zirconia". This clear to white-coloured solid has exceptional fracture toughness (for a ceramic) and chemical resistance, especially in its cubic form. These properties make zirconia useful as a thermal barrier coating, although it is also a common diamond substitute. Zirconium monoxide, ZrO, is also known and S-type stars are recognised by detection of its emission lines.