title: Censorship in China

text: In 2003, during the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome (SARS) outbreak, a dozen Chinese people were reportedly arrested for sending text messages about SARS. Skype reported that it was required to filter messages passing through its service for words like "Falun Gong" and "Dalai Lama" before being allowed to operate in China.


title: Censorship in China

text: During protests over a proposed chemical plant in Xiamen during the summer of 2007, text messaging was blocked to prevent the rallying of more protesters.


title: Censorship in China

text: In 2004, the Ministry of Culture set up a committee to screen imported online video games before they entered the Chinese market. It was stated that games with any of the following violations would be banned from importation:


title: Censorship in China

text: The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games.


title: Censorship in China

text: The historic ban of major video game consoles in the country was lifted in 2014 as part of the establishment of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Consoles had been banned under a rule enacted in 2000 to combat the perceived corrupting influence of video games on young people.


title: Censorship in China

text: In addition, chat in Chinese video games is subject to similar or even wider restrictions as elsewhere on the Chinese Internet. For example, the chat in the international, English-language Chinese game "Genshin Impact" censors not only swear words but also words such as Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, Falun Gong, Stalin, Hitler and Putin. A study of about 200 Chinese games found out that over 180,000 words have been subject to blacklisting.


title: Censorship in China

text: Censorship is part of knowledge production and education since 1949 and organized and sustained within universities, academies, and schools. In authoritarian countries, censorship is not "from afar", but censorship gains power precisely when members of these organizations respect the political red lines and politically sensitive topics. Censorship and self-censorship are closely related in politically controlled organizations like universities and schools in China. Educational institutions within China have been accused of whitewashing PRC history by downplaying or avoiding mention of controversial historical events such as the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.


title: Censorship in China

text: In 2005, customs officials in China seized a shipment of textbooks intended for a Japanese school because maps in the books depicted mainland China and Taiwan using different colors, implying Taiwan was an independent state.


title: Censorship in China

text: In a January 2006 issue of "Freezing Point", a weekly supplement to the "China Youth Daily", Zhongshan University professor Yuan Weishi published an article entitled "Modernization and History Textbooks" in which he criticized several middle school textbooks used in mainland China. In particular, he felt that depictions in the books of the Second Opium War avoided mention of Chinese diplomatic failures leading up to the war and that depictions of the Boxer Rebellion glossed over atrocities committed by the Boxer rebels. As a result of Yuan's article, "Freezing Point" was temporarily shut down and its editors were fired.


title: Censorship in China

text: New Threads, a website for reporting academic misconduct in China such as plagiarism or fabrication of data, is banned in China.


title: Censorship in China

text: A new standard world history textbook introduced in Shanghai high schools in 2006 supposedly omits several wars; it mentions Mao Zedong, founder of the PRC, only once.


title: Censorship in China

text: In a "FRONTLINE" segment, four students from Peking University are seemingly unable to identify the context of the infamous Tank Man photo from the 1989 unrest sparked by Peking University students, though possibly, the students were feigning ignorance so as not to upset the party official who was monitoring the interview with clipboard in hand. The segment implied that the subject is not addressed in Chinese schools.


title: Censorship in China

text: On 4 June 2007, a person was able to place a small ad in a newspaper in southwest China to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests reading "Paying tribute to the strong(-willed) mothers of 4 June victims". The accepting clerk claimed that she was ignorant of the event and believed that 4 June was the date of a mining disaster.


title: Censorship in China

text: Censorship makes researching certain topics more difficult, risky, or outright illegal. A confidential internal directive widely circulated within the CCP, "Concerning the Situation in the Ideological Sphere" (關於當前意識形態領域情況的通報), prohibiting discussion of seven topics, was issued in May 2013. Included on the list of prohibited topics were: constitutional democracy, universal values of human rights, conceptions of media independence and civil society, pro-market neo-liberalism, and "nihilist" criticisms of past errors of the party.


title: Censorship in China

text: In the late 2010s, a number of incidents in which Chinese authorities requested that Western publishers of academic journals, such as Cambridge University Press, carry out censorship of their articles or risk them being not disseminated in China, became public. Themes that were common elements of this censorship included: Cultural Revolution, Falun Gong, Mao Zedong, Tibet, Tiananmen, and Taiwan.


title: Censorship in China

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, investigations into the origins of the virus were censored.


title: Censorship in China

text: The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to get rid of the "four olds" ("old customs", "old culture", "old habits", and "old ideas"). If newspapers touched on sensitive topics like these, the journalists were subject to arrests and sometimes violence. Libraries in which there were books containing "offensive literature" would often be burned down. Television was regulated by the government and its goal was to encourage the efforts of chairman Mao Zedong and the CCP. Radio was the same way, and played songs such as, "The Great Cultural Revolution is Indeed Good".


title: Censorship in China

text: Xi Jinping has personally consolidated power and control within the state and party to an extent far greater than his predecessors Hu and Jiang. Accordingly, the intensity and range of censorship in China has increased under his rule. Xi has overseen the increased coordination and consolidation and of censorship authorities, raising their efficiency, and under his leadership censorship practices have tightened.


title: Censorship in China

text: Xi has also emphasized a country's right to "cyber sovereignty", the ability to manage and govern its cyberspace as it sees fit.


title: Censorship in China

text: In April 2021 Chinese authorities censored a tribute that former Premier Wen Jiabao had written for his mother in the small paper "Macau Herald". Under Xi dissent has been stifled and censorship has been expanded. Later in August, all mentions of Zhao Wei, a billionaire film director and actress, were scrubbed from Chinese platforms without explanation.


title: Censorship in China

text: Various individuals and organizations both in and outside of China sometimes voluntarily self-censor information that they share publicly by avoiding topics that are believed to be politically sensitive or controversial. These individuals and organizations often self-censor to avoid inviting unwanted attention or repercussions from the Chinese government. For example, in 2017 journalism professor Luwei Rose Luqiu conducted several anonymous interviews with well-known political satirists residing in China to demonstrate how censorship has increased since the creation of the State Internet Information Office in 2011. Interviewees described how, since 2011, they became increasingly cautious of the content they posted online and on social media in fear of repercussions from authorities. Most of the interviewees personally experienced being contacted by the National Security Police to "drink tea" (unofficial and casual conversation in plain clothes and in public), or be summoned, detained, and possibly disappeared. Luqiu argues that the changing policies of the Chinese government about what is considered unacceptable to share and discuss on the internet has made the practice of self-censorship more necessary for individuals such as political satirists who want to avoid such consequences as being banned from online platforms or being contacted by the police. These perspectives on self-censorship by the interviewees are a part of internet censorship in China, which the Chinese government describes as regulations meant to prevent "subversion of state power," "undermining of national unity," and infringing upon national honor and interests.


title: Censorship in China

text: The introduction of the national-security law in Hong Kong on 30 June 2020, which was implemented during a wave of protests that escalated in 2019, led many, especially activists, journalists, and others already subject to police scrutiny to practice self-censorship. A newspaper article by "The" "Wall Street Journal" reported on a restaurant that had been warned by the police that it had violated the national-security law by displaying posters and messages supporting the protesters. As a result, the restaurant closed for in-person dining and only allowed staff inside to operate takeout services while some other restaurants and businesses preemptively removed supportive posters and notes to protect themselves. A newspaper article by Reuters also reported that a book publisher hastily made revisions to remove words and passages that were may have been problematic in light of the new law. The article also mentioned that other publishing houses and writers within the city halted sensitive projects while printers, distributors, and bookstores rejected controversial books.


title: Censorship in China

text: Although independent from the mainland's legal system and hence censorship laws, some Hong Kong media have been accused of practicing self-censorship in order to exchange for permission to expand their media business into the mainland market and for greater journalistic access in the mainland too.


title: Censorship in China

text: At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and "ARTICLE 19" in July 2001, the Chairman of the HKJA said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border." For example, Robert Kuok, who has business interests all over Asia, has been criticized over the departures of several China desk staff in rapid succession since he acquired the "South China Morning Post", namely the editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam. Lam, in particular departed after his reporting had been publicly criticized by Robert Kuok.


title: Censorship in China

text: After the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law in July 2020, media, publishers, and libraries began censoring content perceived as promoting Hong Kong independence, as well as works by prominent democratic activists. International media outlets like "The New York Times" also withdrew some of its staff from the city in anticipation of greater censorship in Hong Kong.


title: Censorship in China

text: International companies and organizations have also self-censored sensitive topics to maintain and avoid negatively affecting business and professional relationships within China. For example, in 2020, various American politicians accused the Hollywood film industry of self-censoring movies to appease the Chinese government and its audiences and gain access to its market. An article in the magazine The Hollywood Reporter commented on an extensive 94-page report by PEN America showing how major Hollywood studios and directors increasingly made decisions on elements like cast, plot, dialogue, and more to avoid antagonizing Chinese officials. The article criticizes these decisions as being made in the interest of profit making, as "American movies earned $2.6 billion [USD] in China in 2019, with Disney's "" pulling in $614 million [USD] there alone."


title: Censorship in China

text: International corporations such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Myspace, Shutterstock, and Yahoo! have voluntarily censored content for Chinese markets in order to be allowed to do business in the country. In October 2008, Canadian research group Citizen Lab released a new report saying TOM's Chinese-language Skype software filtered sensitive words and then logged these, with users' information to a file on computer servers which were insecure. In September 2007, activists in China had already warned about the possibility that TOM's versions have or will have more trojan horse capability. Skype president Josh Silverman said it was "common knowledge" that Tom Online had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations ... to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities."


title: Censorship in China

text: Ivy League schools such as Harvard University and Princeton University have also been accused of this behavior, as the national-security law in Hong Kong reportedly prompted the schools to use code words and warning labels for sensitive courses related to China to protect the schools and their students. An article in Forbes described these decisions as being sparked by schools like Harvard and Princeton getting funding from current and former students from China.


title: Censorship in China

text: In March 2021, apparel brands H&M, Nike, Adidas, and other large companies suffered criticism and boycotting in China by celebrities, social media platforms, and government media for expressing concern about the use of Uyghur forced labour in producing cotton. As a result, these companies reportedly had contracts terminated and ties cut by Chinese celebrities while Chinese e-commerce companies like Alibaba and JD.com removed products from sale on its platforms. A Xinjiang government spokesman, Xu Guixiang, directly criticized H&M over its statement on Xinjiang cotton for allegedly politicizing the company's economic behavior. In response to the backlash from Chinese consumers, media, and government officials, H&M published a statement on its website that stated it was "working together with our colleagues in China to do everything we can to manage the current challenges and find a way forward." Journalists noted that H&M's messaging reverted to careful self-censorship following these events. An article by Elizabeth Paton in "The New York Times" commented on this statement saying that it did not explicitly reference cotton, Xinjiang, or forced labour and that company executives during an earnings conference call similarly avoided such references and "did not comment on the impact of the controversy on sales, except to state that around 20 stores in China were currently closed." Xu Guixiang, the Xinjiang spokesman, along with other Chinese media outlets, celebrities, and businesses have rejected the allegations from the companies and spoken in defense of their cotton industry in Xinjiang while simultaneously accusing Western companies of aiming to destabilize China through accusations of genocide in Xinjiang.


title: Censorship in China

text: Publishers and other media in the Western world have sometimes used the "Banned in China" label to market cultural works, with the hope that censored products are seen as more valuable or attractive. The label was also used by Penguin Books to sell Mo Yan's novel "The Garlic Ballads", which had been pulled from bookshelves because of its themes (anti-government riots) being published so close to a period of actual riots. However, the book was allowed to be sold in China in a few years. Political scientist Richard Curt Kraus criticized Penguin for falsely portraying Mo Yan as a dissident in order to increase his marketability, as well as the underlying assumption that if the United States bans some work, that it must be genuinely obscene, but that if the Chinese government does the same, it is acting on purely political grounds.


title: Censorship in China

text: On the Internet, people use proxy websites that allow anonymous access to otherwise restricted websites, services, and information. Falun Gong and others have been working in the field of anti-censorship software development.


title: Censorship in China

text: Chinese citizens frequently use many techniques to circumvent Internet censorship in order to discuss social and political current events on online platforms and gain access to web pages blocked by the Great Firewall of China.


title: Censorship in China

text: Public relay servers such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and The Onion Router nodes (Tor nodes) are widely used by Chinese netizens in order to visit blocked web pages. Typically, Internet Service Providers can view an internet user's traffic and data; however, virtual private networks connect internet users to a server through an encrypted connection. This prevents Internet Service Providers from being able to access the internet users' IP addresses, data, activity, and physical location. As a result, the internet user can access blocked websites through this external server. VPNs are so widely used by Chinese netizens that many journalists, both within Party-sanctioned media outlets and private media outlets, are instructed by their editors and supervisors to use VPNs in order to access international news.


title: Censorship in China

text: Chinese netizens also use the method of "tunneling" to access blocked webpages. Tunneling is when information is transmitted using a different communications protocol than the usual. One example of tunneling is if internet user "A" in China emailed internet user "B" in America asking for the contents of a blocked webpage. Internet user "B" could then respond with an email containing the contents of that blocked webpage, allowing internet user "A" to access the censored information. This method can be generalized by Web-page-by-mail services; for example, if an internet user emails web@cnn.com with the URL of a CNN webpage, that internet user will receive an email containing the contents of that specific Webpage.


title: Censorship in China

text: Mirrored web pages are another way to circumvent Internet censorship by the Great Firewall of China. A web page can be mirrored simply by recreating that page under a different URL. Because of the large scope of the Internet, it becomes near impossible for internet filters to identify and block all of the different mirrors of blocked webpages under their various non-specific URLs, increasing public access to censored information.


title: Censorship in China

text: Netizens also have methods to express their opinions online without being censored by the government. The primary method is in the form of code words, metaphors, or plays on words. For example, the phrase "Grass Mud Horse" (Cao Ni Ma) is commonly used by netizens as a pun on a homophonous profanity; this phrase has been broadly used to signify a subversive means of broaching topics not permitted by the government, and it has been used by netizens advocating for greater freedom of speech. The rise of online satire and code words used to mock or criticize the government or sociopolitical issues has formed a subculture on the Chinese Internet called "egao" (""), which translates literally into "evil doings" in Chinese. These code words and phrases allow netizens to discuss topics ranging from government corruption to health and environment scandals to everyday society and culture. Through this subculture, Chinese netizens can broach sensitive issues on social media with less risk of government censorship.


title: Censorship in China

text: Besides Internet censorship, Chinese citizens have devised methods to circumvent censorship of print media as well. As news organizations in China try to move away from the reputation of simply being mouthpieces for CCP propaganda, they face a difficult challenge of having to report the news objectively while remaining on good terms with the government. Journalists do their best to resist government censorship by maintaining a relatively neutral balance of positive and negative tones in articles, reporting on officials who have already been officially removed from their positions, disparaging the CCP as an entity instead of targeting individual officials, and focusing blame on lower-ranking officials. News organizations encourage their journalists to report on more sensitive yet risky articles by promising journalists compensation even if their articles get cut by government officials before publication. Editors also try to ensure job security by continuing to employ a journalist under another position even when told by the CCP to fire that journalist for disobeying Party protocol.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: Sooraj R. Barjatya (born 22 February 1964) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and distributor, predominantly working in Hindi cinema. Barjatya has directed and produced some of the most commercially successful Indian films in Indian film history. His movies often include family drama and values as well as culturally influenced. Barjatya is the current chairman of the Indian media conglomerate Rajshri Productions. His films are produced under the Rajshri Productions banner, which was founded in 1947 by his late grandfather Tarachand Barjatya.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: Barjatya began his career as an assistant director to Mahesh Bhatt. He made his directorial debut with blockbuster hit "Maine Pyar Kiya" (1989), a romantic musical film about friendship. He then wrote and directed one of India's biggest blockbuster ever, wedding celebration drama "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994), which received widespread acclaim and became the most commercially successful Indian film of all time, sold over 7 crore tickets during its box office run, highest estimated admissions for any film in Hindi market since "Sholay" (1975). This was produced by his father Rajkumar Barjatya for Rajshri Productions. In 1999, Barjatya directed the commercially and critically successful film "", another biggest blockbuster of 90s. In 2006, Barjatya directed and produced "Vivah", which established Shahid Kapoor as a leading actor in Bollywood. In 2015, the film "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo," again written and directed by him with Salman Khan, his fourth collaboration with him, was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. His next directorial "Uunchai" based on friendship, starring Amitabh Bachchan in lead, released with positive reception in November 2022.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: Sooraj Barjatya's movies had huge impact on society and pop culture as well. He is credited for bringing change in Hindi cinema in terms of making films without action and vulgarity. He inspired hugely successful filmmakers such as Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar to make films with cultural themes. His films such as "Maine Pyar Kiya" and "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!", Barjatya's two consecutive films, are still placed among the top ten most successful films of the last 80 years. "Hum Sath Sath Hai" was highest grossing film of 1999. and "Vivah" proved to be one of the biggest grossers of 2006, having celebrated a silver jubilee run at 25 centers across the country. The film was nominated for more than 15 awards.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: Sooraj Barjatya was born in a Marwari Jain family in Mumbai. He attended St. Mary's School, Mumbai and The Scindia School in Gwalior. Encouraged by his paternal grandfather, Tarachand Barjatya, he directed his first film "Maine Pyar Kiya" for Rajshri at the young age of 24. He married Vineeta Barjatya in 1986 and the couple have three children.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: He made his directorial debut with "Maine Pyar Kiya" (1989) starring Salman Khan which was financially successful and launched both his and Salman's careers. The film also won him the Most Sensational Debut of the Year award. Bengali filmmaker Tarun Majumdar also adviced for Maine Pyer kiya. He teamed up with Salman again for "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994) which became one of the highest-grossing films of all time and "" which was huge commercial successful as well.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: His fourth film was "Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon" starring Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan which was his first critical and commercial failure. His next film "Vivah" (2006) starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao proved to be one of the most successful films in his career. He has named the lead actor of all his movies 'Prem'. He had said in an interview that "Ours was a joint Marwari family and I grew up witnessing grand functions and wedding ceremonies in the family. The opulence shown in my films is based on my impressions as a child".


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: After 9 years of hiatus, he came back in direction again in 2015 with "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" his 4th collaboration with Salman Khan, which was one of the highest grossing films of all time at that time earning almost ₹400cr worldwide.


title: Sooraj Barjatya

text: His next directorial "Uunchai" (2022) on friendship is set to release on 11th November starring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher and Boman Irani with Parineeti Chopra.


title: Styrene

text: Styrene () is an organic compound with the chemical formula CHCH=CH. This derivative of benzene is a colorless oily liquid, although aged samples can appear yellowish. The compound evaporates easily and has a sweet smell, although high concentrations have a less pleasant odor. Styrene is the precursor to polystyrene and several copolymers. Approximately 25 million tonnes of styrene were produced in 2010, increasing to around 35 million tonnes by 2018.


title: Styrene

text: Styrene is named after storax balsam (often commercially sold as "styrax"), the resin of Liquidambar trees of the Altingiaceae plant family. Styrene occurs naturally in small quantities in some plants and foods (cinnamon, coffee beans, balsam trees and peanuts) and is also found in coal tar.


title: Styrene

text: In 1839, the German apothecary Eduard Simon isolated a volatile liquid from the resin (called "storax" or "styrax" (Latin)) of the American sweetgum tree ("Liquidambar styraciflua"). He called the liquid "styrol" (now styrene). He also noticed that when styrol was exposed to air, light, or heat, it gradually transformed into a hard, rubber-like substance, which he called "styrol oxide". By 1845, the German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann and his student John Buddle Blyth had determined styrene's empirical formula: CH. They had also determined that Simon's "styrol oxide" – which they renamed "metastyrol" – had the same empirical formula as styrene. Furthermore, they could obtain styrene by dry-distilling "metastyrol". In 1865, the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer found that styrene could form a dimer, and in 1866 the French chemist Marcelin Berthelot stated that "metastyrol" was a polymer of styrene (i.e. polystyrene). Meanwhile, other chemists had been investigating another component of storax, namely, cinnamic acid. They had found that cinnamic acid could be decarboxylated to form "cinnamene" (or "cinnamol"), which appeared to be styrene. In 1845, French chemist Emil Kopp suggested that the two compounds were identical, and in 1866, Erlenmeyer suggested that both "cinnamol" and styrene might be vinylbenzene. However, the styrene that was obtained from cinnamic acid seemed different from the styrene that was obtained by distilling storax resin: the latter was optically active. Eventually, in 1876, the Dutch chemist van 't Hoff resolved the ambiguity: the optical activity of the styrene that was obtained by distilling storax resin was due to a contaminant.


title: Styrene

text: The vast majority of styrene is produced from ethylbenzene, and almost all ethylbenzene produced worldwide is intended for styrene production. As such, the two production processes are often highly integrated. Ethylbenzene is produced via a Friedel–Crafts reaction between benzene and ethene; originally this used aluminum chloride as a catalyst, but in modern production this has been replaced by zeolites.


title: Styrene

text: Around 80% of styrene is produced by the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. This is achieved using superheated steam (up to 600 °C) over an iron(III) oxide catalyst. The reaction is highly endothermic and reversible, with a typical yield of 88–94%.


title: Styrene

text: The crude ethylbenzene/styrene product is then purified by distillation. As the difference in boiling points between the two compounds is only 9 °C at ambient pressure this necessitates the use of a series of distillation columns. This is energy intensive and is further complicated by the tendency of styrene to undergo thermally induced polymerisation into polystyrene, requiring the continuous addition of polymerization inhibitor to the system.


title: Styrene

text: Styrene is also co-produced commercially in a process known as POSM (Lyondell Chemical Company) or SM/PO (Shell) for styrene monomer / propylene oxide. In this process, ethylbenzene is treated with oxygen to form the ethylbenzene hydroperoxide. This hydroperoxide is then used to oxidize propylene to propylene oxide, which is also recovered as a co-product. The remaining 1-phenylethanol is dehydrated to give styrene:


title: Styrene

text: Styrene can be produced from toluene and methanol, which are cheaper raw materials than those in the conventional process. This process has suffered from low selectivity associated with the competing decomposition of methanol. Exelus Inc. claims to have developed this process with commercially viable selectivities, at 400–425 °C and atmospheric pressure, by forcing these components through a proprietary zeolitic catalyst. It is reported that an approximately 9:1 mixture of styrene and ethylbenzene is obtained, with a total styrene yield of over 60%.


title: Styrene

text: Another route to styrene involves the reaction of benzene and ethane. This process is being developed by Snamprogetti and Dow. Ethane, along with ethylbenzene, is fed to a dehydrogenation reactor with a catalyst capable of simultaneously producing styrene and ethylene. The dehydrogenation effluent is cooled and separated and the ethylene stream is recycled to the alkylation unit. The process attempts to overcome previous shortcomings in earlier attempts to develop production of styrene from ethane and benzene, such as inefficient recovery of aromatics, production of high levels of heavies and tars, and inefficient separation of hydrogen and ethane. Development of the process is ongoing.


title: Styrene

text: The presence of the vinyl group allows styrene to polymerize. Commercially significant products include polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber, styrene-butadiene latex, SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene), S-EB-S (styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene), styrene-divinylbenzene (S-DVB), styrene-acrylonitrile resin (SAN), and unsaturated polyesters used in resins and thermosetting compounds. These materials are used in rubber, plastic, insulation, fiberglass, pipes, automobile and boat parts, food containers, and carpet backing.


title: Styrene

text: As a liquid or a gas, pure styrene will polymerise spontaneously to polystyrene, without the need of external initiators. This is known as "autopolymerisation". At 100 °C it will autopolymerise at a rate of ~2% per hour, and more rapidly than this at higher temperatures. As the autopolymerisation reaction is exothermic it can be self-accelerating, with a real risk of a thermal runaway, potentially leading to an explosion. Examples include the 2019 explosion of the tanker "Stolt Groenland", explosions at the Phillips Petroleum Company in 1999 and 2000 and overheating styrene tanks leading to the 2020 Visakhapatnam gas leak, which killed several people. The autopolymerisation reaction can only be kept in check by the continuous addition of polymerisation inhibitors.


title: Styrene

text: Styrene is regarded as a "known carcinogen", especially in case of eye contact, but also in case of skin contact, of ingestion and of inhalation, according to several sources. Styrene is largely metabolized into styrene oxide in humans, resulting from oxidation by cytochrome P450. Styrene oxide is considered toxic, mutagenic, and possibly carcinogenic. Styrene oxide is subsequently hydrolyzed "in vivo" to styrene glycol by the enzyme epoxide hydrolase. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described styrene to be "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others". On 10 June 2011, the U.S. National Toxicology Program has described styrene as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen". However, a STATS author describes a review that was done on scientific literature and concluded that "The available epidemiologic evidence does not support a causal relationship between styrene exposure and any type of human cancer". Despite this claim, work has been done by Danish researchers to investigate the relationship between occupational exposure to styrene and cancer. They concluded, "The findings have to be interpreted with caution, due to the company based exposure assessment, but the possible association between exposures in the reinforced plastics industry, mainly styrene, and degenerative disorders of the nervous system and pancreatic cancer, deserves attention". In 2012, the Danish EPA concluded that the styrene data do not support a cancer concern for styrene. The U.S. EPA does not have a cancer classification for styrene, but it has been the subject of their Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program. The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that styrene is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen". Various regulatory bodies refer to styrene, in various contexts, as a possible or potential human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers styrene to be "probably carcinogenic to humans".


title: Styrene

text: The neurotoxic properties of styrene have also been studied and reported effects include effects on vision (although unable to reproduce in a subsequent study) and on hearing functions. Studies on rats have yielded contradictory results, but epidemiologic studies have observed a synergistic interaction with noise in causing hearing difficulties.


title: Scion xB

text: The Scion xB is a compact car (subcompact car in its first generation) made by Scion, a now-defunct fully owned division of Toyota, for the United States market. It is a box-shaped, 5-door hatchback.


title: Scion xB

text: The first-generation xB was a lightly modified and rebadged version of the Japanese-market subcompact Toyota bB. It was a small hatchback based on the Toyota Echo/Yaris platform. The xB was one of two models in the lineup of Toyota's US-exclusive Scion division present at the brand's 2003 launch, the other being the xA, based on the Toyota ist. The car proved to be unexpectedly popular with senior drivers.


title: Scion xB

text: Only the first-generation models for both the xB and bB are related. Second-generation models are based upon different platforms.


title: Scion xB

text: To create the first-generation xB, the bB was modified from right- to left-hand drive, the front passenger area was also changed significantly with the bB's front bench seat replaced with bucket seats and the column-mounted shifter changed to a floor-mounted shifter.


title: Scion xB

text: The available drivetrains also differed. The bB was available with either the 1.3 L I4 2NZ-FE engine or the 1.5 L 1NZ-FE, mated exclusively to a 4-speed automatic transmission with available all wheel drive. The xB was only available with the 1NZ-FE that produced and in US spec, but offered both a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission. All-wheel drive was not offered on the xB.


title: Scion xB

text: The Toyota bB was equipped with a compact spare tire under the floor of the luggage area. On the Scion xB, a compact spare tire was stored under the left side of a raised rear cargo floor. Since the spare tire raised the cargo floor by several inches, a storage bin was added to the right of the spare tire to reclaim some of the lost storage space. A jack was stored under the driver's seat of the xB.


title: Scion xB

text: The bB went on sale in February 2000, whereas the xB went on sale in June 2003 for the 2004 model year. Sales of the first-generation bB ended in December 2005, whereas the first-generation xB ended sales in June 2007.


title: Scion xB

text: Scion t2B (Tall-Two Box) is a concept hatchback designed by Calty Design Research and built by Five Axis Models in Huntington Beach, California, with interior design by Calty senior designer Bill Chergosky and Naoki Hamajima. The 5-door hatchback included a 2.4-liter I4 engine, 4-speed automatic transmission, 14-inch brakes with slotted rotors, 20-inch billet aluminium wheels, LED fog lamp, remotely operated power rear hatch, asymmetrical tri-level instrument panel features a large information ticker, MP3 docking station, dual moonroof, half-length suicide doors.


title: Scion xB

text: The xB, like the xA and tC, was also available in a "Release Series" for each of its model years. These came with limited-edition paint colors, matching seat colors, and special modifications such as DVD players, custom tail lights, special wheels or wheel covers, and other accessories, to make the RS different from the others. All Scion RS' receive special badges indicating the serial number. Limited Edition vehicles were, from a marketing standpoint, used to create a buzz for the brand name, with their exterior colors tending toward loud or bright hues (i.e. orange, yellow, red, blue, green). Preordering is available at each dealership on a first-come, first-served basis. Scion's "Pure Price" program requires dealerships to sell the vehicle at the advertised price. Resale values of Release Series vehicles command a premium because of their packaged options and scarcity.


title: Scion xB

text: The xB Release Series 1.0 comes with some unique features from the factory which include Hot Lava paint, color-keyed rear spoiler, matching orange powder-coated strut tie-bar, custom grill, color tuned interior and under-seat & dash orange illumination.


title: Scion xB

text: This RS edition came with color keyed side mirror overlays with LED turn signals, rear spoiler, tunable stainless steel sport muffler, and a metal mesh grille. Inside there are stainless appliqués on the door sills, and yellow upholstery accents to match the exterior, and a plaque that shows the build number xxxx/2500. The RS 2.0 added $1,375 to the MSRP.


title: Scion xB

text: RS 3.0 changes include Envy Green paint, seven-spoke wheel coverings, and rear spoiler. Standard features include Alpine DVD audio/video system; iPod connectivity; headrest entertainment system; and a radar intrusion sensor. Each of the 2,200 vehicles have their own numbered badging. The RS 3.0 added $2,310 to the MSRP price.


title: Scion xB

text: The first generation received a "Good" overall score in the frontal offset test, all measured categories in this test were also rated "Good". The xB was given a "Poor" overall score in the side impact test. The xB model year 2003–2006 did not offer side airbags but includes them for model year 2008–2015.


title: Scion xB

text: The second-generation Scion xB is styled as a 5-door hatchback of the t2B concept. Toyota unveiled the production xB at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show. The new xB was less boxy in shape and larger than its predecessor. The 2008 model year xB is wider, longer - including longer wheel to wheel - and over heavier than the first-generation xB.


title: Scion xB

text: The first-generation Scion xB was very similar to its original bB inspiration, but the second-generation xB was based on American buyers' "wants" relative to the first-generation, combined with the new styling of the 2005 bB. The sales of the Scion xB plummeted after the switch from the boxy first-generation to the larger rectangular second-generation.


title: Scion xB

text: The Scion xB was produced by Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. based in Japan. Due to the 2011 Japanese earthquake, production was suspended from 14 March 2011 to 18 April 2011, affecting several Toyota vehicles, including the Scion xB and Scion xD. Plants affected by the disaster included the Toyota Motor Hokkaido Plant, the Toyota Motor Tohoku Plant, and the Central Motor Corporation Miyagi Plant, which produces the Toyota Yaris.


title: Scion xB

text: The second-generation xB is equipped with a 2.4 L straight-4 Toyota 2AZ-FE engine rated at and , shared with the first-generation tC and the Toyota Camry, which at city / hwy has a higher fuel consumption than the previous model's 1.5 L engine ( city / hwy). A five-speed manual and a sequential-shift four-speed automatic are the only factory options aside from the color and stereo.


title: Scion xB

text: A choice of three new head units is available on all 2008 Scions. All sound systems feature six speakers and standard iPod connectivity. The base head unit has MP3, WMA, and AAC CD compatibility and Scion's SSP equalizer presets. The base unit can also be set to any of three Scion model presets (xB, xD, or tC) and includes an "Automatic Sound Levelizer" feature that automatically increases the volume as the vehicle speed and ambient noise increases. The Premium head unit features a small LCD that can display pictures and movies downloaded from Pioneer's website in addition to the features on the base unit. A navigation system is also available. The SNS 100 system can play DVD movies in addition to GPS functionality and the features of the base system, aside from the backlit color choices.


title: Scion xB

text: All xBs come standard with four-wheel anti-lock brakes, brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, Vehicle Stability Control driver and front passenger dual stage airbags, front seat-mounted side torso airbags, front and rear side curtain airbags, and a first-aid kit.


title: Scion xB

text: Scion announced in March 2010 that the 2011 model, on sale late March 2010, is being given a refresh. Two new colors are available, and there are minor changes to the exterior body, including a revised front and rear bumper, new front grille, and new headlights and tail lights. The interior changes include a revised gauge cluster, center console and new driver and front passenger seats with new materials. The MSRP rises to for the manual and for the automatic transmission. In addition, the Scion xB went on sale in Canada for the first time along with the entire Scion lineup. In 2011, for the 2012 model year, a new radio with bluetooth became standard.


title: Scion xB

text: For the 2013 model year, Scion made a few enhancements including remodeled front and rear bumpers and a few interior upgrades including the optional BeSpoke radio. New colors are Absolutely Red and Nautical Blue Metallic (Absolutely Red was available in 2009 as RS 6.0). Stingray Metallic and Elusive Blue Metallic colors were dropped (Stingray Metallic was a very expensive color and Toyota no longer offers it on any model). Sales of the 2013 model began in February 2013.


title: Scion xB

text: Sales for the 2014 model began in December 2013. No major changes for this model year. All models now come with a standard Scion 6.1-inch display touch screen audio system. Sales for the 2015 model began in December 2014. For the new model year, Scion added a standard backup camera to the xB as well as continuing the updates for 2014.


title: Scion xB

text: The Scion xB, along with the Toyota Matrix, was replaced by the second generation Toyota Auris-based Scion iM, which launched in April 2015 for the 2016 model year. Due to the discontinuation of the Scion marque, the Scion iM was re-branded as the Toyota Corolla iM for the 2017 model year. The equivalent Australian-market Toyota Rukus was discontinued in October 2015 and the Japanese-market Toyota Corolla Rumion was discontinued in December 2015.


title: Scion xB

text: The second-generation Scion xB has won the Top Safety Pick award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for six years in a row. It received an overall "Good" score in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety frontal offset crash test, and another "Good" overall score in the side impact crash test, with all nine measured categories also rated "Good". And a "Good" score in the roof strength test.


title: Scion xB

text: It is a 1:18 Ridemakerz model based on the second-generation Scion xB. The body was available in Cannonball Black, Comet Blue and Wasabi Green.


title: Scion xB

text: A differently styled version for the Australian market, with the 2.4l 2AZ-FE engine and a four-speed automatic gearbox, released June 2010.


title: Scion xB

text: Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have converted a Scion xB into a commuter electric vehicle as part of their ChargeCar research project.


title: Scion xB

text: The Scion xB's marketing is aimed at Generation Y, Americans born between 1980 and 1994. This group of car buyers is extremely important to manufacturers due to their large numbers (78 million) and their differing perceptions and demands of the vehicles they drive. Despite the Scion xB's target market, the average age of an xB buyer is 46.


title: Scion xB

text: Although Toyota expected the xA to sell better than the xB, the reverse proved to be true, with the xB outselling its sibling 2 to 1.


title: Scion xB

text: The Scion xB was Scion's most popular model in the United States until 2011, when it was surpassed by the tC. In the U.S., sales of the xB have been dropping after the introduction of the second generation, from a peak of over 60,000 to 17,017 in 2011.


title: Scion xB

text: In 2009, Great Wall Motor of China released the Coolbear, which is a copy of the first-generation xB, but with a different front end.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād (), also known simply as Tarik in English, was a Berber commander who served the Umayyad Caliphate and initiated the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania (present-day Spain and Portugal) in 711–718 AD. He led an army and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from the North African coast, consolidating his troops at what is today known as the Rock of Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name "Jabal Ṭāriq" (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq", which is named after him.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: Medieval Arabic historians give contradictory data about Ṭāriq's origins and nationality. Some conclusions about his personality and the circumstances of his entry into al-Andalus are surrounded by uncertainty. The vast majority of modern sources state that Ṭāriq was a Berber "mawla" of Musa ibn Nusayr, the Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya. He is traditionally said to have been born in the Tlemcen region, he had also lived there with his wife prior to his governance of Tangier.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: According to Ibn Abd al-Hakam (803–871), Musa ibn Nusayr appointed Ṭāriq governor of Tangier after its conquest in 710-711 but an unconquered Visigothic outpost remained nearby at Ceuta, a stronghold commanded by a nobleman named Julian, Count of Ceuta.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: After Roderic came to power in Spain, Julian had, as was the custom, sent his daughter, Florinda la Cava, to the court of the Visigothic king for education. It is said that Roderic raped her, and that Julian was so incensed he resolved to have the Muslims bring down the Visigothic Kingdom. Accordingly, he entered into a treaty with Ṭāriq (Mūsā having returned to Qayrawan) to secretly convoy the Muslim army across the Straits of Gibraltar, as he owned a number of merchant ships and had his own forts on the Spanish mainland.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: On or about April 26, 711, the army of Ṭāriq Bin Ziyad, composed of recent Berber converts to Islam, was landed on the Iberian peninsula (in what is now Spain) by Julian. They debarked at the foothills of a mountain which was henceforth named after him, Gibraltar ("Jabal Tariq").


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: Ṭāriq's army contained about 7,000 soldiers, composed largely of Berber stock but also Arab troops. Roderic, to meet the threat of the Umayyads, assembled an army said to number 100,000, though the real number may well have been much lower. Most of the army was commanded by, and loyal to, the sons of Wittiza, whom Roderic had brutally deposed. Ṭāriq won a decisive victory when Roderic was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: Ṭāriq Bin Ziyad split his army into four divisions, which went on to capture Córdoba under Mughith al-Rumi, Granada, and other places, while he remained at the head of the division which captured Toledo. Afterwards, he continued advancing towards the north, reaching Guadalajara and Astorga. Ṭāriq was "de facto" governor of Hispania until the arrival of Mūsā a year later. Ṭāriq's success led Musa to assemble 12,000 (mostly Arab) troops to plan a second invasion, and within a few years Ṭāriq and Musa had captured two-thirds of the Iberian peninsula from the Visigoths.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: Both Ṭāriq and Musa were simultaneously ordered back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I in 714, where they spent the rest of their lives. The son of Musa, Abd al-Aziz, who took command of the troops of al-Andalus, was assassinated in 716. In the many Arabic histories written about the conquest of southern Spain, there is a definite division of opinion regarding the relationship between Ṭāriq and Musa bin Nusayr. Some relate episodes of anger and envy on the part of Mūsā that his freedman had conquered an entire country. Others do not mention, or play down, any such bad blood. On the other hand, another early historian, al-Baladhuri, writing in the 9th century, merely states that Mūsā wrote Ṭāriq a "severe letter" and that the two were later reconciled.


title: Tariq ibn Ziyad

text: The 16th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari, in his "The Breath of Perfume", attributes a long speech by Ṭāriq to his troops before the Battle of Guadalete.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The foreign relations of the Russian Federation is the policy arm of the government of Russia which guides its interactions with other nations, their citizens, and foreign organizations. This article covers the foreign policy of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: As of present, Russia has critical diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The Kremlin's foreign policy debates show a conflict between three rival schools: Atlanticists, seeking a closer relationship with the United States and the Western World in general; Imperialists, seeking a recovery of the semi-hegemonic status lost during the previous decade; and Neo-Slavophiles, promoting the isolation of Russia within its own cultural sphere. While Atlanticism was the dominant ideology during the first years of the new Russian Federation, under Andrei Kozyrev, it came under attack for its failure to defend Russian pre-eminence in the former USSR. The promotion of Yevgeny Primakov to Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1996 marked the beginning of a more nationalistic approach to foreign policy.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Vladimir Putin's presidency lasted from January 2000 until May 2008, and again from 2012 to the present day. Under Putin, Russia has engaged in several notable conflicts, including against the neighboring countries of Ukraine and Georgia. He recognized the independence of new republics within those countries.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Relations with the United States in particular have sharply deteriorated between 2001 and 2022, while relations with the European Union have deteriorated especially since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting the imposition of substantial economic and political sanctions by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Russian government now has a specified "Unfriendly Countries List" which indicates those countries with which relations are now strained (or non-existent).


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In international affairs, Putin made increasingly critical public statements regarding the foreign policy of the United States and other Western countries. In February 2007, at the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, he criticized what he called the United States' monopolistic dominance in global relations, and claimed that the United States displayed an "almost unconstrained hyper use of force in international relations". He said the result of it is that "no one feels safe! Because no one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of course such a policy stimulates an arms race.".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Putin proposed certain initiatives such as establishing international centers for the enrichment of uranium and prevention of deploying weapons in outer space. In a January 2007 interview, Putin stated that Russia is in favor of a democratic multipolar world, and of strengthening the system of international law.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: While Putin is often characterized as an autocrat by the Western media and some politicians, his relationship with former U.S. President George W. Bush, former Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former French President Jacques Chirac, and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are reported to be personally friendly. Putin's relationship with Germany's former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is reported to be "cooler" and "more business-like" than his partnership with Gerhard Schröder, who accepted a job with a Russian-led consortium after vacating office.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States, he agreed to the establishment of coalition military bases in Central Asia, before and during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Russian nationalists objected to the establishment of any US military presence on the territory of the former Soviet Union, and had expected Putin to keep the US out of the Central Asian republics, or at the very least extract a commitment from Washington to withdraw from these bases as soon as the immediate military necessity had passed.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: During the Iraq disarmament crisis in 2002–2003, Putin opposed Washington's move to invade Iraq, without the benefit of a United Nations Security Council resolution explicitly authorizing the use of military force. After the official end of the war was announced, American president George W. Bush asked the United Nations to lift sanctions on Iraq. Putin supported lifting of the sanctions in due course, arguing that the UN commission first be given a chance to complete its work on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In 2005, Putin and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder negotiated the construction of a major gas pipeline over the Baltic exclusively between Russia and Germany. Schröder also attended Putin's 53rd birthday in Saint Petersburg the same year.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), seen in Moscow as its traditional sphere of influence, became one of the foreign policy priorities under Putin, as the EU and NATO have grown to encompass much of Central Europe and, more recently, the Baltic states.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: During the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, Putin twice visited Ukraine before the election to show his support for Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was widely seen as a pro-Kremlin candidate, and he congratulated him on his anticipated victory before the official election returns had been in. Putin's personal support for Yanukovych was criticized as unwarranted interference in the affairs of a sovereign state ("See also The Orange revolution"). Crises also developed in Russia's relations with Georgia and Moldova, both former Soviet republics accusing Moscow of supporting separatist entities in their territories.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia's relations with the Baltic states also remain tense. In 2007, Russo-Estonian relations deteriorated further as a result of the Bronze Soldier of Tallin controversy.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Putin took an active personal part in promoting the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate signed 17 May 2007, which restored relations between the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia after the 80-year schism. In his annual address to the Federal Assembly on 26 April 2007, Putin announced plans to declare a moratorium on the observance of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe by Russia until all NATO members ratified it and started observing its provisions, as Russia had been doing on a unilateral basis.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Putin argues that as new NATO members have not even signed the treaty so far, an imbalance in the presence of NATO and Russian armed forces in Europe creates a real threat, and an unpredictable situation for Russia. NATO members said they would refuse to ratify the treaty, until Russia complied with its 1999 commitments made in Istanbul, whereby Russia should remove troops and military equipment from Moldova and Georgia. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, was quoted as saying in response that "Russia has long since fulfilled all its Istanbul obligations relevant to CFE".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia has suspended its participation in the CFE as of midnight Moscow time on 11 December 2007. On 12 December 2007, the United States officially stated that it "deeply regretted the Russian Federation's decision to 'suspend' implementation of its obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)." State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, in a written statement, added that "Russia's conventional forces are the largest on the European continent, and its unilateral action damages this successful arms control regime." NATO's primary concern arising from Russia's suspension is that Moscow could now accelerate its military presence in the Northern Caucasus.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The months following Putin's Munich speech were marked by tension, and a surge in rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic. As a result, Vladimir Putin stated at the anniversary of the Victory Day, "these threats are not becoming fewer, but are only transforming and changing their appearance. These new threats, just as under the Third Reich, show the same contempt for human life, and the same aspiration to establish an exclusive dictate over the world." This was interpreted by some Russian and Western commentators as comparing the U.S. to Nazi Germany.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: On the eve of the 33rd Summit of the G8 in Heiligendamm, American journalist Anne Applebaum, who is married to a Polish politician, wrote that "Whether by waging cyberwarfare on Estonia, threatening the gas supplies of Lithuania, or boycotting Georgian wine and Polish meat, he [Putin] has, over the past few years, made it clear that he intends to reassert Russian influence in the former communist states of Europe, whether those states want Russian influence or not. At the same time, he has also made it clear that he no longer sees Western nations as mere benign trading partners, but rather as Cold War-style threats."


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: British academic Norman Stone in his article "No wonder they like Putin" compared Putin to General Charles de Gaulle. Adi Ignatius argues that "Putin... is not a Stalin. There are no mass purges in Russia today, no broad climate of terror. But Putin is reconstituting a strong state, and anyone who stands in his way will pay for it". Both Russian and American officials always denied the idea of a new Cold War. So, the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said yet on the Munich Conference: "We all face many common problems and challenges that must be addressed in partnership with other countries, including Russia... One Cold War was quite enough." Vladimir Putin said prior to 33rd G8 Summit, on 4 June 2007: "we do not want confrontation; we want to engage in dialogue. However, we want a dialogue that acknowledges the equality of both parties' interests."


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Putin publicly opposed to a U.S. missile shield in Europe, presented President George W. Bush with a counterproposal on 7 June 2007 of sharing the use of the Soviet-era radar system in Azerbaijan, rather than building a new system in Poland and the Czech Republic. Putin expressed readiness to modernize the Gabala radar station, which has been in operation since 1986. Putin proposed it would not be necessary to place interceptor missiles in Poland then, but interceptors could be placed in NATO member Turkey or Iraq. Putin suggested also equal involvement of interested European countries in the project.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In a June 4, 2007, interview with journalists of G8 countries, when answering the question of whether Russian nuclear forces may be focused on European targets in case "the United States continues building a strategic shield in Poland and the Czech Republic", Putin admitted that "if part of the United States' nuclear capability is situated in Europe and that our military experts consider that they represent a potential threat then we will have to take appropriate retaliatory steps. What steps? Of course we must have new targets in Europe."


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The end of 2006 brought strained relations between Russia and Britain, in the wake of the death of a former FSB officer in London by poisoning. On 20 July 2007, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown expelled "four Russian envoys over Putin's refusal to extradite ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi, wanted in the UK for the murder of fellow former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London." The Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian nationals to third countries. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that "this situation is not unique, and other countries have amended their constitutions, for example, to give effect to the European Arrest Warrant".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Miliband's statement was widely publicized by Russian media as a British proposal to change the Russian constitution. According to VCIOM, 62% of Russians are against changing the Constitution in this respect. The British Ambassador in Moscow Tony Brenton said that the UK is not asking Russia to break its Constitution, but rather interpret it in such a way that would make Lugovoi's extradition possible. Putin, in response, advised British officials to "fix their heads", rather than propose changing the Russian constitution and said that the British proposals were "a relic of a colonial-era mindset".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: When Litvinenko was dying from radiation poisoning, he accused Putin of directing the assassination, in a statement which was released shortly after his death by his friend Alex Goldfarb. Critics have doubted that Litvinenko is the true author of the released statement. When asked about the Litvinenko accusations, Putin said that a statement released posthumously of its author "naturally deserves no comment".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The expulsions were seen as "the biggest rift since the countries expelled each other's diplomats in 1996 after a spying dispute." In response to the situation, Putin stated "I think we will overcome this mini-crisis. Russian-British relations will develop normally. On both the Russian side and the British side, we are interested in the development of those relations." Despite this, British Ambassador Tony Brenton was told by the Russian Foreign Ministry that UK diplomats would be given 10 days before they were expelled in response. The Russian government also announced that it would suspend issuing visas to UK officials, and froze cooperation on counterterrorism, in response to Britain suspending contacts with their Federal Security Service.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, warned that British investors in Russia will "face greater scrutiny from tax and regulatory authorities. [And] They could also lose out in government tenders". Some see the crisis as originating with Britain's decision to grant Putin's former patron, Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, political asylum in 2003. Earlier in 2007, Berezovsky had called for the overthrow of Putin.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: On 10 December 2007, Russia ordered the British Council to halt work at its regional offices, in what was seen as the latest round of a dispute over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko; Britain stated that Russia's move was illegal.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Following the 2007 Peace Mission military exercises jointly conducted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, Putin announced on 17 August 2007, that the resumption on a permanent basis of long-distance patrol flights of Russia's strategic bombers that were suspended in 1992. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was quoted as saying in response that "if Russia feels as though they want to take some of these old aircraft out of mothballs and get them flying again, that's their decision." The announcement made during the SCO summit in the light of joint Russian-Chinese military exercises, first-ever in history to be held on Russian territory, makes some believe that Putin is inclined to set up an anti-NATO bloc, or the Asian version of OPEC.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: When presented with the suggestion that "Western observers are already likening the SCO to a military organisation that would stand in opposition to NATO", Putin answered that "this kind of comparison is inappropriate in both form and substance". Russian Chief of the General Staff Yury Baluyevsky was quoted as saying that "there should be no talk of creating a military or political alliance or union of any kind, because this would contradict the founding principles of SCO".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The resumption of long-distance flights of Russia's strategic bombers was followed by the announcement by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov during his meeting with Putin on 5 December 2007, that 11 ships, including the aircraft carrier "Kuznetsov", would take part in the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times. The sortie was to be backed up by 47 aircraft, including strategic bombers. According to Serdyukov, this is an effort to resume regular Russian naval patrols on the world's oceans, the view that is also supported by Russian media. The military analyst from "Novaya Gazeta" Pavel Felgenhauer believes that the accident-prone "Kuznetsov" is scarcely seaworthy, and is more of a menace to her crew than any putative enemy.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In September 2007, Putin visited Indonesia, and in doing so, became the first Russian leader to visit the country in more than 50 years. In the same month, Putin also attended the APEC meeting held in Sydney, Australia, where he met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and signed a uranium trade deal. This was the first visit of a Russian president to Australia.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: On 16 October 2007, Putin visited Tehran, Iran to participate in the Second Caspian Summit, where he met with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other participants were leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. This is the first visit of a leader from the Kremlin to Iran, since Joseph Stalin's participation in the Tehran Conference in 1943. At a press conference after the summit, Putin stated that "all our (Caspian) states have the right to develop their peaceful nuclear programmes without any restrictions". During the summit, it was also agreed that its participants, under no circumstances, would let any third-party state use their territory as a base for aggression or military action against any other participant.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: On 26 October 2007, at a press conference following the 20th Russia-EU Summit in Portugal, Putin proposed to create a Russian-European Institute for Freedom and Democracy, headquartered either in Brussels, or in one of the European capitals, and added that "we are ready to supply funds for financing it, just as Europe covers the costs of projects in Russia". This newly proposed institution is expected to monitor human rights violations in Europe, and contribute to development of European democracy.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russian President Vladimir Putin and ex-U.S. President George W. Bush failed to resolve their differences over U.S. plans for the planned missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic, on their meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on 6 April 2008. Putin made clear that he did not agree with the decision to establish sites in the Eastern European countries, but said they had agreed a "strategic framework" to guide future U.S.-Russian relations, in which Russia and the U.S. said they recognized that the era in which each had considered the other to be a "strategic threat or enemy" was over.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Putin expressed cautious optimism that the two sides could find a way to cooperate over missile defense, and described his eight-year relationship as Russian president with Bush as "mostly positive". The summit was the final meeting between Bush and Putin as presidents and follows both leaders' attendance at last the NATO summit in Romania 2 April 2008 – 4 April 2008. That summit also highlighted differences between Washington and Moscow, over U.S.-backed proposals to extend the military alliance to include the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia. Russia opposes the proposed expansion, fearing it will reduce its own influence over its neighbours.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Fareed Zakaria suggests that the 2008 South Ossetia War turned out to be a diplomatic disaster for Russia. He suggests that it was a major strategic blunder, turning neighboring nations such as Ukraine to embrace the United States and other Western nations more. George Friedman, founder and CEO of private intelligence agency Stratfor, takes an opposite view; arguing that both the war and Russian foreign policy have been successful in expanding Russia's influence.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The mid-2010s marked a dramatic downturn in Russian relations with the West, with some even considering it the start of a new Cold War. The United States and Russia back opposing sides in the Syrian Civil War, and Washington regarded Moscow as obstructionist regarding its support for the Bashar al-Assad government.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In 2013, for the first time since 1960, the United States cancelled a summit with Russia, after the latter granted asylum to Edward Snowden.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The greatest increase in tensions, however, came during the Ukraine crisis that began in 2014, which saw the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia. Russia also inflamed a separatist uprising in the Donbas region. The United States responded to these events by putting forth sanctions against Russia, and most European countries followed suit, worrying about Russian interference in the affairs of central and Eastern Europe. October 2015 saw Russia, after years of supporting the Syrian government indirectly, directly intervene in the conflict, turning the tide in favor of the Assad regime. Russia's relations with Turkey, already strained over its support for the Assad regime, deteriorated further during this period, especially after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian jet fighter on 24 November 2015. In 2015, Russia also formed the Eurasian Economic Union with Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The Russian government also remains bitter over the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, claiming that Western leaders promised that NATO would not expand beyond its 1990s borders.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: For decades, the dispute between Japan and Russia over the ownership of the Kuril Islands has hindered closer cooperation between the two countries. However, since 2017, high level talks involving Prime Minister Shinzō Abe have been ongoing in an attempt to resolve the situation.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia's power on the international stage depends on its petroleum revenue. If the world completes a transition to renewable energy, and international demand for Russian oil, gas, and coal resources is dramatically reduced, so will Russia's international power be. Russia is ranked 148 out of 156 countries in the index of Geopolitical Gains and Losses after energy transition (GeGaLo).


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, its foreign policy underwent significant change, as it attempted to solidify its alliances in Africa, Asia and South America. Historically, the former Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation had good relations with modern states in those regions, being on the side of oppressed populations, such as during Apartheid in South Africa, and opposing imperialism worldwide. Later in 2022, many African and South American States abstained to vote against Russia in the UN security council for its military involvements in Ukraine. Russia's influence in Africa and South America is expanding, particularly in the areas of mining and security services. Most African and South American countries have a keen interest in cheap fossil energy, and have no sanctions in place against Russian entities.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Pew Research Center indicated that (as of 2015) only four surveyed countries have a positive view (50% or above) of Russia. The top ten most approving countries are Vietnam (75%), Ghana (56%), China (51%), South Korea (46%), Lebanon (44%), Philippines (44%), India (43%), Nigeria (39%), Tanzania (38%), Ethiopia (37%), and Uganda (37%). The ten countries with the most negative views of Russia were Pakistan (12%), Turkey (15%), Poland (15%), United Kingdom (18%), Jordan (18%), Ukraine (21%), Japan (21%), United States (22%), Mexico (24%), and Australia (24%). Russians own view of Russia was overwhelmingly positive at 92%.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The term has been used to refer to both Catherine the Great's 18th century agenda and 21st century Russian policies. In the 1990s supporters of NATO expansion into Eastern Europe claimed this would diminish "Russian aggression".


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: NATO-sponsored analysts have described what they call a cybernetic "Russian aggression" against Ukraine in the 2010s.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Union of Russia and Belarus, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Paris Club, and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). It signed the NATO Partnership for Peace initiative on 22 June 1994. On 20 May 1997, NATO and Russia signed the NATO–Russia Founding Act, which the parties hoped would provide the basis for an enduring and robust partnership between the Alliance and Russia—one that could make an important contribution to European security architecture in the 21st century, though already at the time of its signing doubts were cast on whether this accord could deliver on these ambitious goals.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: This agreement was superseded by the NATO–Russia Council that was agreed at the Reykjavík Ministerial and unveiled at the Rome NATO Summit in May 2002. On 24 June 1994, Russia and the European Union (EU) signed a partnership and cooperation agreement. In recent years, tensions have heightened, as NATO members in Eastern Europe, especially Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, feel threatened by Russia. European Union imposed sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals in 2014, regarding the annexation of Crimea and alleged support for separatists during War in Donbas.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: The non-Russian countries that were once part of the USSR have been termed the 'near abroad' by Russians. More recently, Russian leaders have been referring to all 15 countries collectively as "Post-Soviet Space," while asserting Russian foreign policy interest throughout the region. After the USSR was dissolved by the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Russia tried to regain some sort of influence over the post-Soviet space by creating, on 8 December 1991, a regional organization – the Commonwealth of Independent States. The following years, Russia initiated a set of agreements with the Post-Soviet states which were designed to institutionalize the relations inside the CIS. However, most of these agreements were not fulfilled and the CIS republics began to drift away from Russia, which at that time was attempting to stabilize its broken economy and ties with the West.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: One of the major issues which had an influence on the foreign relations of Russia in FSU was the remaining large Russian minority populations in many countries of the near abroad. This issue has been dealt with in various ways by each individual country. They have posed a particular problem in countries where they live close to the Russian border, such as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, with some of these Russians calling for these areas to be absorbed into Russia. By and large, however, Russians in the near-abroad do not favor active intervention of Russia into the domestic affairs of neighboring countries, even in defense of the interests of ethnic Russians. Moreover, the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have clearly signaled their desire to be outside any claimed Russian sphere of influence, as is reflected by their joining both the NATO alliance and the European Union in 2004.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Close cultural, ethnic and historical links exist between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The traditional Russian perspective is that they are one ethnic group, with Russians called 'Great Russians', Belarusians 'White Russians' and Ukrainians 'Little Russians'. This manifested itself in lower levels of nationalism in these areas, particularly Belarus and Ukraine, during the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, few Ukrainians accept a "younger brother" status relative to Russia, and Russia's efforts to insert itself into Ukrainian domestic politics, such as Putin's endorsement of a candidate for the Ukrainian presidency in the last election, are contentious.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia's relationships with Georgia are at their lowest point in modern history due to the Georgian-Russian espionage controversy and due to the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia and has left the Commonwealth of Independent States.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia's relations with Ukraine, since 2013, are also at their lowest point in history as a result of the pro-Western Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine, the 2014 Crimean Crisis and the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukraine, like Georgia, has introduced a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Kyiv has begun the process of doing so.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: In addition, Russia also maintains relations with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, part of the former East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, the countries that were once part of the former Warsaw Pact, and furthermore, Albania. Russia also continues to maintain friendly relations with Cuba, Mongolia and Vietnam as well as third world and non-aligned countries of Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Cambodia, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iraq, Laos, Mozambique, Serbia, Syria and the former Southern part of Yemen.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia holds a permanent seat, which grants it veto power, on the Security Council of the United Nations (UN). Prior to 1991, the Soviet Union held Russia's UN seat, but, after the breakup of the Soviet Union the Russian government informed the United Nations that Russia will continue the Soviet Union's membership at the United Nations and all other UN organs.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia has played an important role in helping mediate international conflicts and has been particularly actively engaged in trying to promote a peace following the Kosovo conflict. Russia's foreign minister claimed on 25 February 2008 that NATO and the European Union have been considering using force to keep Serbs from leaving Kosovo following the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia is a co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process and supports UN and multilateral initiatives in the Persian Gulf, Cambodia, Burma, Angola, the former Yugoslavia, and Haiti. Russia is a founding member of the Contact Group and (since the Denver Summit in June 1997) a member of the G8. In November 1998, Russia joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). Russia has contributed troops to the NATO-led stabilization force in Bosnia and has affirmed its respect for international law and OSCE principles. Russia has accepted UN and OSCE involvement in instances of regional conflict in neighboring countries, including the dispatch of observers to Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, and the "de facto" Republic of Artsakh.


title: Foreign relations of Russia

text: Russia supported, on 16 May 2007, the set up of the international tribunal to try the suspects in the murder of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri.


title: Barbary Coast

text: The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery or Berber Coast) was the name given to the coastal regions of North Africa or Maghreb, specifically the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers and Tripoli, as well as the Beylik of Tunis and the Sultanate of Morocco from the 16th to 19th centuries. The term originates from the exonym of the Berbers.


title: Barbary Coast

text: Barbary was not always a unified political entity. From the 16th century onwards, it was divided into the political entities of the Regency of Algiers, Tripolitania, Beylik of Tunis, and Sharifan Empire. Major rulers and petty monarchs during the times of the Barbary States' plundering parties included the Dey of Algiers, the Pasha of Tripoli, the Bey of Tunis, and the Sultan of Morocco.


title: Barbary Coast

text: In 1625, Algiers' pirate fleet (by far the largest) numbered 100 ships of various sizes employing 8,000 to 10,000 men. The corsair industry accounted for 25 percent of the workforce of the city, not counting other activities related directly to the port. The fleet averaged 25 ships in the 1680s, but these were larger vessels than had been used since the 1620s, thus the fleet still employed some 7,000 men. In addition 2,500 men manned the pirate fleet of Tripoli, 3,000 in Tunis, and several thousand more in all the various minor pirate bases such as Bona, Susa, Bizerta, and Salé. The corsairs were not solely natives of their cities; while many were Arabs and Berbers, there were also Turks, Greeks, Albanians, Syrians, and renegade Italians (especially Corsicans) among their number.


title: Barbary Coast

text: The first military land action overseas by the United States was executed by the US Marines and the US Navy in 1805 at the Battle of Derna, Tripoli, a coastal town now in eastern Libya, in April 1805. It formed part of an effort to destroy all Barbary pirates, to reclaim American slaves in captivity and end piracy acts between the warring tribes on the part of the Barbary states, which were themselves member states of the Ottoman Empire. The opening line of the "Marines' Hymn" refers to this action: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli...".


title: War Machine

text: War Machine (James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. James Rhodes first appeared in "Iron Man" #118 (January 1979) by David Michelinie and John Byrne. The War Machine armor (Iron Man Armor Model 11) which first appeared in "Iron Man" #281 (June 1992) became his signature exosuit, created by Len Kaminski and Kevin Hopgood.


title: War Machine

text: The character has been featured in animated television series and films. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), James Rhodes was first played by Terrence Howard in "Iron Man" (2008), which takes place before he took on the War Machine mantle, and then by Don Cheadle in "Iron Man 2" (2010), "Iron Man 3" (2013), "" (2015), "" (2016), "" (2018), "Captain Marvel" (2019), "" (2019), the television series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021) and "Secret Invasion" (2023), the animated series "What If...?" (2021) and the upcoming movie "Armor Wars".


title: War Machine

text: Initially a supporting character in volume one of "Iron Man", Rhodes later assumed the mantle of Iron Man after Tony Stark's relapse into alcoholism in issue #170 (May 1983). The character would continue in a supporting role and later resume the role of Iron Man following Stark's purported death in issue #284 (Sept. 1992). After Stark's return to the role of Iron Man, Rhodes continued as the superhero War Machine and made his solo series debut in an eponymous title after being featured as a supporting character in the superhero-team series "Avengers West Coast".


title: War Machine

text: In addition to "Iron Man" and his own title "War Machine", Rhodes has been featured in the ensemble titles "West Coast Avengers"; "Force Works" by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; "Sentinel Squad O*N*E"; "The Crew" by Christopher Priest; and "" by Dan Slott and Christos Gage. Rhodes was also featured in the alternate-reality Marvel MAX imprint's "U.S. War Machine" series by Chuck Austen, and "U.S. War Machine 2.0", by Austen and Christian Moore.


title: War Machine

text: In the series "Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Rhodes was featured in the storyline "War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D." written by Gage and artist Sean Chen. In this tie-in to the company-wide storyline "Secret Invasion," War Machine replaced Iron Man as the protagonist for the final three issues of the series. This led into a second "War Machine" ongoing series, written by Greg Pak with art by Leonardo Manco, which lasted 12 issues. War Machine appeared as a regular character in the 2010–2013 "Secret Avengers" series, from issue #1 (July 2010) through issue #21 (March 2012), and guest starred in issues #26–28 during the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline. Rhodes was the lead character of the 2011–12 series "Iron Man 2.0" by writer Nick Spencer. The most recent series focusing on Rhodes was "Iron Patriot", an All-New Marvel NOW! title by writer Ales Kot and artist Garry Brown. The series lasted five issues before cancellation.


title: War Machine

text: James "Rhodey" Rhodes, from the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps who served tours of duty in Southeast Asia. A combat pilot, he was stranded in the jungle behind enemy lines after his helicopter was shot down by Viet Cong rocket fire. He encounters Tony Stark, who escaped from Wong-Chu's prison camp in his prototype suit of powered armor, for the first time. Defeating the Viet Cong soldiers that ambushed them, Rhodes and Iron Man discovered an enemy rocket base that was the origin of the rocket fire that grounded Rhodes in the first place. Destroying the base with a stolen Viet Cong helicopter, Rhodes and Iron Man fly the helicopter back to the American defense perimeter. At the base hospital in Saigon, Stark arrives in person to thank Rhodes for helping Iron Man and to offer Rhodes a job as his personal pilot. After the Vietnam War was over and after taking several career paths including mercenary work, Rhodes finally took Stark's offer and became Stark's personal pilot, chief aviation engineer for Stark International and one of Stark's closest friends.


title: War Machine

text: Due to Obadiah Stane's actions, Stark International was losing foreign contracts and going into heavy debt. With Stark's company and personal life in disarray, Stark relapsed into alcoholism. After an intoxicated Stark was defeated by Magma, Rhodes donned the Iron Man armor for the first time and defeated Magma. Neither he nor Stark International scientist Morley Erwin fully understood Stark's technology, but over time the two learned enough that Stark asked Rhodes to take his place as Iron Man. Rhodes and Erwin quit Stark International and sent the remaining Iron Man armors into the ocean to protect Stark's technology from Stane and S.H.I.E.L.D., who monitored the Stane takeover. Erwin maintained the Iron Man armor and served as Rhodes' technical support while Rhodes fought villains such as the Mandarin, Thunderball, the Zodiac, and the Radioactive Man as Iron Man. He fought in the Beyonder's "Secret Wars" and became a charter member of the West Coast Avengers. Rhodes, Erwin, and Morley's sister Dr. Clytemnestra Erwin planned to create a new electronics firm based in California. Rhodes took mercenary jobs to provide money for the armor's upkeep and to fund the company. Recovering from his alcoholism, Tony Stark joined the three and they formed the company Circuits Maximus. Due to the armor's helmet being tailored to Stark's brainwaves, Rhodes developed headaches and grew more erratic and aggressive. Stark helped Rhodes maintain the armor, but Rhodes' paranoia and hatred made him believe that Stark wanted to retake the armor. During a battle with Vibro, Rhodes went on a rampage to capture the villain and Stark was forced to wear his new testbed armor (resembling Stark's first Iron Man armor) to stop Rhodes and talk him out of his rage.


title: War Machine

text: Rhodes sought help from Dr. Henry Pym to cure his headaches while Stark delivered Rhodes' resignation to the Avengers and revealed his identity to Hawkeye and Mockingbird. Pym sent Rhodes to Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen (Shaman of Alpha Flight) and Rhodes cured himself of his headaches via a journey through a mystic dimension called "The Gorge" that revealed Rhodes' guilt of feeling unworthy of the armor. While Rhodes was finally at peace and left his armor behind in the dimension, the armor was empowered by The Omnos, a being of extra-dimensional energy, and was returned to Rhodes. Rhodes resumed operating as Iron Man with Stark using his own testbed armor to assist Rhodes. Due to a bomb sent by Stane to Circuits Maximus that injured Rhodes and killed Morley Erwin, Stark became active as Iron Man again, donning his newly completed "Silver Centurion" model, and defeated Stane.


title: War Machine

text: Rhodes remained at Stark's side as Stark regained his personal fortune and built a new corporation, Stark Enterprises, remaining in California. Rhodes donned the red-and-gold armor once more when A.I.M. attacked the under-construction Stark space station. However, the armor's seals had been damaged in a shuttle explosion, causing Rhodes to suffer severe burns upon reentry; he survived only by Stark using his own armor as a heat shield to minimize Rhodes' exposure. After Rhodes recovered, he continued to play a key role in assisting Stark, particularly during the first "Armor Wars" storyline.


title: War Machine

text: When Stark was shot by Kathy Dare and left paralyzed, he needed a fill-in for the role of Iron Man. Rhodes refused, citing the history between him and the armor, "not all of it good". Stark would call upon the former Force, Clay Wilson (known as Carl Walker at this point), to fill in, wearing the modified Stealth armor, until Stark could modify his regular armor to allow him to function normally inside the suit. Rhodes would reluctantly return to the armor to fight the Mandarin at the behest of the Chinese government, in order to allow Stark to seek medical assistance in their country. In the end, Stark (using a remote-control set of armor) and Rhodes team up with the Mandarin to stop the larger threat of the Makulan dragons.


title: War Machine

text: The Masters of Silence, three Japanese warriors tricked by Justin Hammer into attacking Iron Man, defeated Stark with technology that enabled them not to be affected by repulsors or unibeams. To combat the threat, Stark designed the "Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, Model XVI, Mark I" (nicknamed "War Machine"), a more heavily armed version of the Iron Man armor designed for all-out warfare. After Stark's apparent death in the comic book, he left Rhodes in control of Stark Enterprises as its new CEO, along with a new Variable Threat Response Battle Suit designed especially for Rhodes to continue the Iron Man legacy. As Iron Man once again, Rhodes used the armor and fought against threats such as the Living Laser, the second Spymaster, Blacklash, the Beetle, and Atom Smasher.


title: War Machine

text: Upon the revelation that Stark was alive, Rhodes quit Stark Enterprises and the friendship between the two was fractured, Rhodes resenting how Stark had kept him in the dark about his continued survival even as Stark argued that the experiments that saved his life were purely experimental and he could not have risked anyone else guessing that he was alive if Rhodes' grief had appeared anything but genuine. After teaming with Iron Man against battledroids programmed to kill Rhodes, Stark wanted Rhodes to keep the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, stating that the armor always belonged to Rhodes. Rhodes eventually kept the armor and later adopted the name of War Machine. When the robot Ultimo went on a rampage, Rhodes called together Harold "Happy" Hogan, Bethany Cabe, Eddie March, "Carl Walker" and Michael O'Brien to pilot various Iron Man armors to take down Ultimo as the Iron Legion. He rejoined the West Coast Avengers as War Machine and served with the team until he resigned after an argument with Iron Man during an Avengers team meeting.


title: War Machine

text: During the beginning of the "War Machine" series, Rhodes was approached by Vincent Cetewayo, noted activist from the African country of Imaya and founder of the human rights organization Worldwatch Incorporated. Cetewayo offered Rhodes the position of Worldwatch's Executive Director, but the offer was declined. Cetewayo was kidnapped by Imayan forces led by the dictator President Eda Arul. Receiving no aid from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, Rhodes traveled to Imaya as War Machine to free Cetewayo. Joined by Deathlok, the two evaded capture from a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit led by Major Bathsheva "Sheva" Joseph and joined the fight to liberate Imaya. Rhodes successfully led Imayan rebels into combat against Arul's forces, but failed to save Cetewayo from being killed by the Advisor, the apparent mastermind of Arul's rise to power. Shaken by the death of Cetewayo and finding something worth fighting for, Rhodes takes the position of Worldwatch's Executive Director and hired Sheva Joseph, who left S.H.I.E.L.D. after her assignment in Imaya.


title: War Machine

text: In the "Hands of the Mandarin" crossover, Stark disapproved of the actions of War Machine in Imaya and demanded that Rhodes relinquish the armor when he returned to Stark Enterprises to get the specifications for his armor. The two men battled each other until the fight was stopped by Bethany Cabe, the Head Of Security for Stark Enterprises. While their armor was rebooting, the Mandarin captured Rhodes and Stark, discovering their identities. Century of the superhero team Force Works rescued Rhodes, but his armor was useless thanks to the Mandarin's anti-technology field. Rhodes and Stark reconciled and joined with Force Works to stop the Mandarin and his Avatars from using the Heart Of Darkness for their plans of conquest. Stark gave Rhodes the blueprints to the War Machine armor and a fully upgraded armor with new armaments was made. Rhodes continued to use the War Machine armor in a solo superhero career, occasionally fighting alongside Stark and Force Works.