title: Lao people

text: According to a shared legend amongst various Tai tribes, a possibly mythical king, Khun Borom Rachathiriat of Mueang Then (, เมืองแถน, ) begot several sons that settled and ruled other mueang, or city-states, across South-East Asia and southern China. Descended from ancient peoples known to the Chinese as the Yue and the Ai Lao, the Tai tribes began migrating into South-East Asia by the beginning of the 1st millennium, but large-scale migrations took place between the 7th and 13th centuries AD, especially from what is now Sipsongbanna, Yunnan Province and Guangxi. The possible reasons for Tai migration include pressures from Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasions, suitable land for wet rice cultivation and the fall of states that the Tais inhabited. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward to the modern territories of Laos and Thailand from Guangxi sometime between the 8th–10th centuries.


title: Lao people

text: The Tai assimilated or pushed out indigenous Austroasiatic Mon–Khmer peoples, and settled on the fringes of the Indianized kingdoms of the Mon and Khmer Empire. The blending of peoples and the influx of Indian philosophy, religion, language, culture and customs via and alongside some Austroasiatic element enriched the Tai peoples, but the Tais remained in contact with the other Tai mueang.


title: Lao people

text: The Tai states took advantage of the waning Khmer Empire and emerged independent. The Lao reckon the beginnings of their national history to this time, as many important monuments, temples, artwork, and other aspects of classical Lao culture harken back to this time period. From this point, one can refer to the Tai states of the Chao Phraya River valley as Siam and, albeit quite anachronistically, Lan Xang as Laos.


title: Lao people

text: The Kingdom of Lanxang, the "Land of One Million Elephants", began in 1354 AD, when Somdej Phra Chao Fa Ngum (1354 - 1373 AD) returned to Mueang Sua (, เมืองซวา), thence renamed "Xieng Thong" (, เชียงทอง) and now known as Luang Prabang. From this base Lan Xang extended its sphere of influence to all of modern-day Laos and the Khorat Plateau of Thailand as well as parts of Sipsongbanna in southern China, Sip Song Chau Tai in northwestern Vietnam, Kengtung in Myanmar, and Stung Treng in Cambodia.


title: Lao people

text: The powerful Kingdom of Lan Xang had wealth and influence due to the location of its capital along the Silk Route and also serving as the center of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. The kingdom prospered with riverine traffic along the Mekong and overland caravan routes to the ports of Siam, which had emerged as a bustling entrepôt of sea-borne trade, and to southern China and other Tai mueang. The first Western visitors during the reign of Phra Chao Sourigna Vongsa (, พระเจ้าสุริยวงศาธรรมิกราช) (1634–1697 AD) noted how the kingdom prospered off exports of gold, benzoin resin, lac and lacquer ware, medicinal herbs, ivory, silk and silk clothing, and wood. Numerous temples, especially in Xieng Thong (now Luang Phrabang) and Vientiane, attest this.


title: Lao people

text: During this time, the legends of Khun Borom were recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts and the Lao classical epic Sin Xay was composed. Therevada Buddhism was the state religion, and Vientiane was an important city of Buddhist learning. Cultural influences, besides Buddhism, included the Mon outposts later assimilated into the kingdom and the Khmer. A brief union of the crowns of Lannathai and Lanxang under Phra Chao Sai Sethathirath (, พระเจ้าไชยเชษฐาธิราช) (1548–1572 AD) introduced many architectural and artistic developments, in imitation of Lannathai style, but intellectual as well. The libraries of Lannathai were copied, including much religious literature. This may have led to the adoption, or possibly re-adoption, of the Mon-based Tua Tham, or 'dharma script' for religious writings.


title: Lao people

text: The kingdom split into three rival factions, ruling from Luang Phra Bang, Vientiane, and Champasak (, จำปาศักดิ์). The kingdoms quickly fell under Siamese rule. The remnants of Lan Xang received their final blows in the 18th and 19th centuries, during the campaigns of Taksin, and retribution for the Laotian Rebellion of Chao Anouvong (, เจ้าอนุวงศ์) against Siamese rule during the reign of Rama III. During both these periods, Vientiane and other cities were looted and their Buddha images and artwork moved to Thailand.


title: Lao people

text: The cities and much of the population was forcibly removed and settled in the lesser populated regions of Isan and central Thailand and others were enslaved to do corvée projects, resulting in Lao arts and language finding their way into Central Thailand. By the time the French reached Laos in 1868, they found only a depopulated region with even the great city of Vientiane disappearing into the forest.


title: Lao people

text: The area of Laos, then annexed by Siam, was explored by the French and, under Auguste Pavie, the French were keen to control the Mekong. The French, as overlords of Vietnam, wanted all the tributaries of Vietnam, including the remnant territories of Lanxang. This led to French gunboat diplomacy and border skirmishes known as the Franco-Siamese War of 1893, which forced Siam to cede its claims to most of what constitutes modern-day Laos.


title: Lao people

text: The French prevented and preserved the Lao from becoming a regional sub-category of the Thai nation, much like their brethren in Isan, also known as the 'North-Eastern Thai'. Like former historical rivalries between the kings of Luang Phrabang, Champasak and Vientiane, post-independence Laos was quickly divided between the royalists under Prince Boun Oum of Champasak (, เจ้าบุญอุ้ม ณ จำปาศักดิ์), the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma (, เจ้าสุวรรณภูมา), and the communist Pathet Lao (, ประเทศลาว, pá tʰêːt lá:w) under his half-brother Prince Souphanouvong (, เจ้าสุภานุวงศ์). These internal divisions, with the Cold War and the region quickly being drawn into the Vietnam War, led to a protracted battle for government control that would not end until the communist victory in 1975.


title: Lao people

text: The Laotian Civil War was disastrous for the country; however, over the years the country has since relaxed many of its restrictions, which has opened up the country to trade and business resulting in Laos notably having the second fastest growing economy in Asia in recent years.


title: Lao people

text: Laos has garnered several famous tourism awards by successfully promoting its northern city, Luang Prabang, as the newest tourist destination including serving as a religious hub where tourists may participate in almsgiving during morning procession of Lao Buddhist monks.


title: Lao people

text: Although parts of Isan were settled and were part of Lanxang, many of the Lao were forcibly settled in the lesser populated southern and western regions or sent to boost the populations of Lao mueang loyal to the Siamese. The area was relatively isolated from the rest of Thailand by the Petchabun mountains until the beginning of the 20th century, when a direct rail link was built to Nakhon Ratchasima. The region's isolation from Central Thailand and the large population of people in Isan, who were still attached to their cultural heritage, helped preserve Lao culture.


title: Lao people

text: Though Isan is a multi-ethnic region containing a mixture of Lao, Vietnamese, Cham, Mon, Khmer, and other Tai groups, Central Thais' perceived threat of Lao cultural and political dominance in the Isan region resulted in various Thaification policies being enacted to finally integrate the multi-ethnic Isan people into Thailand. Since Lao dominance was seen as the greatest threat in the region, 'Lao' was removed as a category in the census, and heavy-handed policies were enacted. References to Lao people or its past were removed and the language was banned from schools and books.


title: Lao people

text: Although the region remains mainly agricultural and poorer compared to other regions of Thailand, and many leave the region to find work in Vientiane, Bangkok or abroad, the region has enjoyed a renewed interest in traditional culture which is quite distinct although similar to Thai culture. The region is becoming increasingly more urban, and many large cities have sprung up. Due to the large population and Isan's important function as a voting bloc in elections, more attention to improving the region's infrastructure, business and education has come from the national government although poverty and regionalism are still impediments to Isan's development.


title: Lao people

text: In recent times, Lao popular media, including Lao music and television, has found its way back into the Isan region since Lao TV satellite signal is reachable in Isan. With the rediscovered interest in Lao pop music, Lao concerts are not only held in Laos, but also in Isan region of Thailand, thus, continually garnering new Thai fans of Lao pop music. Thailand's national channels have also broadcast Lao media throughout Thailand, as well as Thai media in Laos, resulting in Tai populations located in the other regions of Thailand (northern, central, and southern) discovering a renewed kinship with the people of Laos.


title: Lao people

text: There are around 3.6 million Laotians in Laos, constituting approximately 68% of the population (the remainder are largely hill tribe people). The ethnic Lao of Laos form the bulk of the "Lao Loum" ("Lowland Laotians") (Lao: , Thai: ลาวลุ่ม, IPA: laːw lum). Small Lao communities exist in Thailand and Cambodia, residing primarily in the former Lao territory of Stung Treng (Xieng Teng in Lao), and Vietnam.


title: Lao people

text: There are a substantial number of Lao overseas, numbering over 500,000 people. Laotian migration outside of Indochina first occurred during French colonialism in Laos that started in the early 20th century. Lao students and workers came to France during this period, including members of the Lao Royal Family, and some resettled there permanently. However, most Lao migrants were refugees who fled Laos after the Laotian Civil War (part of the greater Vietnam War) and from the new communist Pathet Lao government. Primary places of asylum for the Lao refugees included the United States, France, Canada and Australia. Other countries such as Germany, Japan, Argentina, and Singapore also took in Laotian refugees.


title: Lao people

text: The 2010 United States Census reported over 200,000 Americans of Lao descent in the country, a figure which excludes Hmong and Mien, but may include individuals of Tai Dam, Khmu, and other descent in addition to the Lao due to confusions between national and ethnic identity. A 2012 estimate counted about 140,000 ethnic Laotians living in France, with over half of the population living in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France area.


title: Lao people

text: There are approximately 20 million "Lao Isaan" in Thailand, residing mainly on the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand and in and around Bangkok. The government of Thailand has historically discouraged the "Lao Isaan" from identifying as or being identified as "Lao".


title: Lao people

text: The Lao language is a tonal, analytic, right-branching, pronoun pro-drop language of the Tai–Kadai language family, closely related to Thai and other languages of Tai peoples. Most of the vocabulary is of native Tai origin, although important contributions have come from Pali and Sanskrit as well as Mon–Khmer languages. The alphabet is an indic-based alphabet. Although the Lao have five major dialects, they are all mutually intelligible and Lao people believe they all speak variations of one language.


title: Lao people

text: The Lao language () is the official language of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and its official script is the Lao alphabet. As the dominant language of most of the Lao Loum and therefore most of the Lao population, the language is enshrined as the dominant language of education, government, and official use. Numerous minority languages are spoken by roughly half the population, and include languages of the Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian and Hmong–Mien language families. Although spelling is not fully uniform, despite several reforms to move the language closer to phonetical systems, it has helped stabilise the language. No official standard exists, but the dialect of Vientiane is considered de facto official.


title: Lao people

text: The boundaries of Lao dialects also extend into the North-East of Thailand, known as Isan, but the Lao spoken in Thailand as a whole can be differentiated by adoption of much Thai vocabulary and code-switching. The language is not taught or used in schools, government, and most media outlets. Thaification policies removed the alphabet and now the language is written in the Thai alphabet, if at all, and the name changed to Isan to sever the political connection with Laos. Despite this, the Lao language is spoken by 20 million people, almost a third of the population of Thailand, and is the primary language of 88% of Isan households. It continues to serve as an important regional language and a badge of Isan (hence Lao) identity, but it is experiencing a decline in the advance of Thai.


title: Lao people

text: Religion in Laos is highly syncretic, and has drawn from three primary sources, although most Lao people claim to be Theravada Buddhists, many traditions are derived from Animist practices.


title: Lao people

text: Buddhism (, พระพุทธศาสนา, ) is the most popular and state religion in Laos, practised by 67% of the country, and nearly all of the ethnic Lao. The numbers may be much higher, as Buddhism has also influenced many other ethnic groups that are generally considered animist. It is also the predominant religion of Isan and most of the nations beyond Laos' frontiers. Of these, most are of the Therevada Sect (, เถรวาท, ) although historical influences of Mahayana Buddhism remain and it is the main sect of Vietnamese and Chinese minorities that have settled amongst the Lao and it has become syncretic with animistic practices.


title: Lao people

text: The temple in a Lao community is the centre of community affairs, where villagers gather to discuss concerns or ask monks for their wisdom and guidance, and most men are expected to enter the monastery at some point to further their religious knowledge and make merit.


title: Lao people

text: Paramount to religious living are the five Buddhist precepts (, , เบญจศีล, ), viz., to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Lao cultural and behavioural traits that stem from Buddhist belief include tolerance, respect for elders and family hierarchy, selflessness, detachment to worldly good and concerns, caring for younger siblings, politeness, self-negation, and modesty. Basic beliefs include rebirth and karma.


title: Lao people

text: Important holidays related to Buddhism include Boun Phra Vet (, บุญพระเวส, ), Magha Puja (, มาฆบูชา), Songkhan (, สงกรานต์), Vesak (, วิสาขบูชา), Vassa (, วันเข้าพรรษา), Wan Awk Pansa ( วันออกพรรษา), Kathina, (, กฐิน). In addition to these days, the Buddhist sabbath days (, วันพระ, ), during the phases of the moon, and temple fairs are also regular times to visit the temples, pray, ask advice of the monks for spiritual concerns, and donate food, money, or help out with temple chores, known in Lao as "tambun" (, ทำบุญ, ).


title: Lao people

text: Laotian folk religion is the indigenous religion of most of the Mon–Khmer and more recent Hmong–Mien and Tibeto-Burman minorities, as well as the traditional religion of the Tais before Buddhism, although some Tai tribes to this day are still folk religious. For the ethnic Lao, animism has become interwoven with Buddhism and some Hindu elements. Despite suppression at various points in time, it continues to be a large part of Lao religious tradition.


title: Lao people

text: A variety of gods ( ผี, ) are worshiped as tutelary deities of buildings or territories, of natural places, things or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits and other spirits that protect people, and include malevolent spirits. Guardian deities of places, such as the "phi wat" (, ผีวัด) of temples and the "lak mueang" (, หลักเมือง, ) of towns are celebrated with communal gatherings and offerings of food. Gods of Hindu derivation are included in the pantheon. Gods are ubiquitous, and some of them are connected with the universal elements: heaven, earth, fire, and water. Lao people also believe in thirty-two spirits known as "khwan" (, ขวัญ, ) that protect the body, and "baci" ( , บายศรี, ) ceremonies are undertaken during momentous occasions or times of anxiety to bind the spirits to the body, as their absence is believed to invite illness or harm.


title: Lao people

text: Spirit houses, while common in Thailand are rare in Laos, owing to prohibitions on the worship of spirits in the reign of King Photisarath (16th century). In modern Laos, to a very limited extent the practice of spirit houses has been reimported from Thailand. Offerings of flowers, incense, and candles are given, and the spirits are consulted during changes or times of hardness for protection and assistance. Natural deities include those that reside in trees, mountains, or forests. Guardian spirits of people often include ancestors or angelic-beings who arrive at various points in life, better known as "thewada". Malevolent spirits include those of people who were bad in past lives or died of tragic deaths, such as the ghastly "phi pob" (, ผีปอบ) and the vampirical "phi dip" (, ผีดิบ). The "phi" also include the indigenous, non-Hindu gods, the "phi thaen" (, ผีแถน).


title: Lao people

text: "Mophi" (mo-phi หมอผี), "tellers", are locally trained shamans, specialists in the rituals and in communication with their personal spirits and gods in general. Using trances, sacred objects imbued with supernatural power, or "saksit", possessions, and rituals like "lam phi fa" (, ลำผีฟ้า, ) or "baci", the shaman is often consulted during times of trouble, hauntings, and illness or other misfortune that might be caused by malevolent or unhappy spirits. They are also usually present during religious festivals.


title: Lao people

text: Hinduism was the primary influence over much of the Khmer Empire, and examples of Hindu themes can be found on their temples from that era such as Vat Phou. Temples were often built over the sites of ancient Hindu shrines, and statues or motifs of Hindu gods are commonly found outside temples. Although important influences can be traced to Hindu rituals, the Lao people are not as overtly influenced by Hinduism as their neighbours the Tai Thai.


title: Lao people

text: The Lao have adopted and adapted the Ramayana into the local version, known as Phra Lak Phra Ram (, พระลักษมณ์พระราม, ). The Lao version was interwoven with the Lao creation myth and is also, mistakenly, thought of as a Jataka story so is held in high esteem. Many court dances were based on the events of the story. Hinduism blended easily into both animism and Buddhism, so many Hindu gods are considered "phi thaen" and Buddhist monks have incorporated much of Brahmanic rituals. Peculiar to Lao people are reverence for Nāgas, snake-like demigods that rule the waterways.


title: Lao people

text: The cuisine of Laos is similar to other regional cuisines such as Thai and Cambodian cuisines, but has several unique distinguishing traits. Lao cuisine's most famous dishes are larb and green "Papaya salad", both originated in Laos. The cuisines of the Lao in Laos and Isan have diverged only minutely, with the key differences is that Lao cuisine lacks the influences of Thai cuisine and Isan cuisine lacks many of the French influences in Laos. Rice is the staple, and the main variety is glutinous rice or "khao nio" (, ข้าวเหนียว, ), which is also a feature on Isan and Northern Thai tables since both have been influenced by Lao cuisine. Although sometimes replaced by noodles or other, less popular varieties of rice, it is commonly served with an accompaniment of various dips and sauces, raw vegetables, and several dishes that are shared together. Many dishes are very spicy, fiered by the numerous varieties of chili peppers and made pungent by the strong herbs and fermented fish sauces.


title: Lao people

text: The tropical climate and mountainous areas gives Laos a wide variety of climates and also a rich bounty of edibles, so much of traditional Lao cuisine is composed of vegetables and herbs gathered from the wild, weeds from the rice fields, as well as vegetable plots. A rich plethora of vegetable and fruit varieties are grown, including cucumbers, gourds, cabbage, snakebeans, winged beans, yams, water spinach, mangoes, pomelos, papayas, and sugarcane. Raw vegetables often accompany a meal to help cool the tongue. The most popular meat is freshwater fish, which is also used to make two flavourings, fish sauce (, ; "Nampla") and padaek (, ; "Pla ra"). Other common meats include pork, chicken, duck, beef, eggs, water buffalo. Protein intake includes a wide range of delicacies, including lizards, insects, frogs, and wild deer that also come from the forests. Common beverages are tea, coffee, and alcohol, including the native rice wine, "lao lao" (, เหล้าลาว, ). The cuisine is noted for its use of mint and dill, relatively rare in surrounding cuisines.


title: Lao people

text: Laos has been generally a very rural country, and most of the people support themselves by agriculture, with rice being the most important crop. As inhabitants of river valleys and lowlands that have been long-settled, ethnic Lao do not practise swidden agriculture like upland peoples.


title: Lao people

text: The traditional folk music is "lam lao" (, ลำลาว, ), although it is also known as morlam (Lao: , หมอลำ, ) which is the preferred term in Isan language. Artists from Thailand are also popular in Laos and vice versa, which has re-enforced Lao culture in Isan despite heavy Thaification. The music is noted for the use of the khene (Lao: , Isan: แคน, ) instrument.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Lanny Mark Poffo (born December 28, 1954), better known by his ring names "Leaping" Lanny Poffo and The Genius, is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, motivational speaker, poet, and actor. Poffo was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy Poffo, a Jewish-American. He is also the real-life younger brother of "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Poffo grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Lanny Poffo made his debut in 1974, losing to Wayne Cowan in the opening match of an All-South Wrestling Alliance card held in Atlanta, GA on April 16. Poffo remained in the promotion for several months, defeating Cowan in a rematch and also gaining a win over The Great Fuji. At a card on July 9, 1974 in Atlanta he teamed with his father Angelo Poffo for the first time, defeating the veteran team The Royal Kangaroos.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Still in his rookie year, Poffo and his father then headed to Big Time Wrestling, one of the varied promotions affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at that time. In their initial match with BTW, Lanny and Angelo lost by disqualification to Lou Thesz and Mighty Igor on November 30, 1974 at a house show in Detroit, MI. They quickly began a house show series against the team of Bobo Brazil and Fred Curry. The two wrestled as heels, with Angelo Poffo wearing a graduation gown and cap that was similar to the attire that Lanny would one day adopt in the WWF. That year they won the NWA World Tag-Team Championship, and the father/son duo held it until 1975 with successful defenses over The Mongols and Brazil & Curry. While still tag-team champions, the Poffos moved on to NWA St. Louis and continued to defend their championship. In 1975 they lost the titles and then returned to Big Time Wrestling.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: 1976 found Lanny wrestling primarily in singles matches, both in BTW, NWA Western States, and NWA St Louis. On May 29, 1976 Lanny received his first shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Title, losing a televised match to Terry Funk on NWA St Louis Wrestling at the Chase. He would go on to defeat wrestlers such as Don Red Cloud, Raoul Guzman, and Gary Fulton. Lanny moved to Jim Crockett's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling in July 1976, and for the first time began teaming with his brother Randy Poffo (Randy Savage). The Poffo Brothers immediately began touring on the MACW house show circuit, defeating such teams as Johnny Eagle & Manuel Soto and Danny Miller & Johnny Weaver and continued to wrestle together for the remainder of the year.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: With his brother Randy having departed MACW after February, Lanny proceeded into 1977 as a singles wrestler once more. After gaining victories over George Rossi, Herb Gallant, and Leroy Rochester, Poffo gained another shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he faced off against Harley Race at an event in Chattanooga, TN on February 4, 1978. This time Lanny was able to wrestle the champion to a draw.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In April 1978 he moved on to Emile Duprée's "Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling" which had a weekly television spot on ATV and toured the Maritimes doing shows seven days per week with some days hosting two shows in two different towns. That year became the first ever AGPW International Heavyweight Champion. On May 23, 1978 he wrestled his brother (now known as Randy Savage) for the very first time, defeating him by disqualification at an event held in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. Savage would later defeat his brother for the title, and the two would trade the championship in 1978 and 1979. On July 18, 1978 Lanny challenged his brother for the AGPW International Championship for a final time, wrestling him to a draw at a show in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Lanny Poffo next moved to NWA affiliate Portland Championship Wrestling and made his debut on November 16, 1979 when he wrestled Kurt von Steiger to a draw at an event in Portland, OR. Poffo faced a variety of opponents in PNW, including Adrian Adonis, Hiro Ota, and Tully Blanchard. On February 22, 1979 he unsuccessfully challenged PNW Heavyweight Champion Roddy Piper. Following a defeat to Gene Kiniski the next month, he departed the promotion.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In 1978 Lanny's father Angelo founded International Championship Wrestling (ICW), an "outlaw" rival to NWA affiliates Southeastern Championship Wrestling and NWA Mid America. Eventually Angelo would further expand and began signing talent away from the World Wrestling Association and Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), forming a strong rivalry with the other territories. It was into the maelstrom that Lanny Poffo entered in the summer of 1979 as he jumped to his father's promotion. He became a star in ICW and eventually became the promotion's champion, where he wrestled with and against Randy Savage. The two brothers dominated the ICW Heavyweight Championship, and over the next six years the only other wrestler to hold it was Paul Christy. Lanny would remain a mainstay of the promotion until it folded in 1984.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Shortly before the dissolution of ICW, Lanny began making appearances in Bill Watts' Mid South Wrestling. His first matches came on October 12, 1983 when he defeated Art Crews and Doug Vines at a MSW television taping in Shreveport, LA. In December he formed a team with Rick Rude and began a house show series with The Midnight Express that carried through January 1984. Lanny then moved back into singles competition and wrestled Buddy Landell in numerous matches.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On June 18, 1984 Lanny joined his brother Randy Savage who had jumped to the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), defeating Bart Batten & Johnny Wilhoit at an event in Memphis, TN. They almost immediately entered into a feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express, a series that lasted throughout the summer. On October 1, 1984 he unsuccessfully challenged CWA International Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert. That winter Poffo and Savage moved on to a house show series against Gilbert and Tommy Rich. In January 1985 they entered a tournament to crown the AWA Southern Tag-Team Champions, but were defeated by The Interns in the semi-finals. In the spring they began a feud with AWA Southern Champions The Fabulous Ones, but were unable to capture the titles. In June 1985 his brother departed for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Lanny was soon signed to a contract there as well.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Poffo jumped to the World Wrestling Federation and made his debut on July 13 episode of WWF Championship Wrestling. Teaming with Pedro Morales, the duo defeated JA Rizzo and Barry O in a match taped in Poughkeepsie, NY. Although both brothers made appearances at the same point, the brother angle was never worked in the WWF and the relationship was never mentioned on-air. While Lanny was not a headlining WWF star like his brother, he initially built a niche for himself wrestling as a babyface. In his first role as Leaping Lanny Poffo, he would bring frisbees to the ring, read a short poem written on one of them that he himself had penned, and then throw the frisbees into the crowd. Each poem typically ridiculed the heel who he was about to wrestle, or built heat in favor of the face with whom the heel was feuding at the time.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Lanny was initially undefeated in WWF competition, rolling off victories against Mr. X, Rene Goulet, Terry Gibbs, Barry O, and Moondog Spot. However he suffered his first defeat on July 27 edition of Championship Wrestling, teaming with Keith Diamond in a loss to The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. This presages a series of losses to Jesse Ventura, Big John Studd, and The Missing Link. During his early career in the WWF, he was not a main-eventer and wrestled primarily as enhancement talent on television shows. However, rather than being squashed like most jobbers at the time, he displayed a greater amount of offense in his matches. He found great success on house shows, where he continued to defeat other undercard wrestlers. Poffo performed an agile, athletic, high-flying style at a time when big, heavy power wrestlers still dominated the promotion. He was one of the first wrestlers in North America to use moves like the Senton Bomb and the moonsault, though the announcers of the time referred to the latter as a "leaping backflip".


title: Lanny Poffo

text: He made his first Saturday Night's Main Event appearance on October 5, 1985 when he recited a poem at the wedding of Uncle Elmer. Entering 1986 he continued to be highly competitive against lower-level opposition, reeling off considerable house show or televised victories against Terry Gibbs, Barry O, Rene Goulet, Tiger Chung Lee and S. D. Jones. However he remained less successful against the upper tier of the roster and sustained losses to Hercules, and Jim Neidhart. Lanny attained some infamy in late 1986 and early 1987 by competing in a series of Bunkhouse Battle Royals in full knight's armor. He also is noted for competing in a Battle Royal on "Saturday Night's Main Event X" at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 1987, where he was headbutted and eliminated by André the Giant, causing him to bleed heavily all over the floor and have to be carried out on a stretcher. André, in his first televised match as a heel, had accidentally caught Poffo on the bridge of the nose with his headbutt and stitches were required to close the resulting wound.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In February 1987 he helped to participate in another famous angle, teaming with The Can-Am Connection in a match against Adorable Adrian Adonis & The Dream Team. During the match, Adonis accidentally cut the hair of Brutus Beefcake - an angle that would ultimately lead to the latter's face turn and assumption of "The Barber" gimmick. Poffo and the Can-Ams won this WWF Superstars of Wrestling match by disqualification.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In January 1988 Lanny defeated Sika the Savage Samoan on a series of upsets, and during the following month he began a lengthy house show series with the newly heel-turned Dan Spivey. Poffo continued to receive a strong push against lower-level competition like Barry Horowitz, but was unable to break through as a top tier member of the roster. He entered a house show series with Jim Neidhart following the temporary dissolution of The Hart Foundation, but was unsuccessful in these contests. His fortunes changed somewhat later in the summer when he feuded with "Dangerous" Danny Davis on the house show circuit, pinning Davis on multiple occasions. Entering the fall of 1988 he faced numerous preliminary opponents and embarked on a lengthy winning streak, defeating Barry Horowitz, Sandy Beach, and George Skaaland. He continued to compete against opening card talent for the remainder of the year and was largely successful.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: However, as he entered 1989 his fortunes began to wane. Poffo began the year with a loss to Iron Mike Sharpe at a house show on January 1 in West Palm Beach, FL, and this was followed by a televised defeat on January 13 in Boston, MA to The Brooklyn Brawler. After a smattering of wins, he then lost to Conquistador No.1 on February 20, 1989 in Worcester, MA. These were followed by a pair of defeats to Tim Horner in March 1989. Now approaching his fourth anniversary of his WWF tenure, Lanny Poffo found himself at a career crossroads.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On March 18, 1989, still known as "Leaping Lanny", Poffo turned heel. He berated the local Boston sports teams, insulting them in his poetry, and instantly drew heat from the Boston crowd. Poffo was subsequently re-introduced as The Genius, a highly intelligent, arrogant heel who wore an academic cap and gown to the ring. After weeks of giving poetry as The Genius, he had his debut against Sonny Rodgers and defeated him. His poems now ridiculed the face wrestlers, and he adopted an exaggerated effeminate, showboating manner, similar to that employed by Gorgeous George, to draw heat from the crowd. During his matches, the Genius would often write a mathematical equation on a clipboard that would "tilt the balance of the match in his favor". Poffo began a house show series against Jim Powers that spring and embarked on a lengthy winning streak. That summer he moved on to feud with Powers' former The Young Stallions partner Paul Roma and was also victorious. His first pinfall loss under his new heel persona finally came on August 12, when he was defeated by Koko B. Ware at a house show in Richfield, OH.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Aside from the one untelevised loss, Poffo remained undefeated. He was featured on WWF Superstars during the coronation of Randy Savage as the new "King of the WWF"; Lanny read the proclamation for his real-life brother. He continued to win in his house show series with Koko B Ware and at the same time began to serve as "executive consultant" (and occasional tag team partner) for Mr. Perfect.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On the November 25, 1989 "Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV", The Genius faced WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan and spent much of the match taunting Hogan and drawing heat from the crowd with his absurd antics. Several minutes into the match, Mr. Perfect appeared at ringside where he goaded Hogan and defaced the championship belt by sticking chewing gum on it. Poffo then tricked Hogan into following him outside the ring, resulting in Mr. Perfect striking Hogan with the championship belt and Poffo climbing back into the ring to win the match by countout. Later in the show, Mr. Perfect and Poffo destroyed the stolen belt with a hammer. This marked the first time in 21 months (since a loss to André the Giant at The Main Event) that Hogan had sustained any form of defeat on WWF television.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Poffo entered 1990 firmly entrenched as a main roster player. He suffered his first televised defeat when he teamed with Mr. Perfect in a losing effort against WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan and Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior on the January 29 episode of "Prime Time Wrestling". That winter he entered a house show series against Jim Neidhart and was generally victorious here as well. Poffo made his first PPV appearance at the 1990 Royal Rumble and wrestled Brutus Beefcake to a double disqualification after "The Barber" began cutting his hair and Hennig interfered.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In March his momentum began to cool as Poffo began suffering house show defeats to Jim Neidhart. He also teamed with Hennig in losing efforts against Hulk Hogan and various partners. At WrestleMania VI he had his hair cut by Brutus Beefcake after Mr. Perfect was pinned; backstage Randy Savage was legitimately irate over not being informed of the angle. Shortly after WrestleMania VI, Bobby Heenan became Mr. Perfect's manager. In the meantime Poffo was programmed into a feud with Brutus Beefcake and took to wearing wigs and amateur wrestling headgear to cover the haircut that "The Barber" had given him.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: By the summer of 1990 Poffo had lost his feud with Beefcake and started to move back down the card. In June he renewed his house show series with Koko B. Ware; this time "The Birdman" dominated on shows around the country. The feud continued through the summer and achieved national visibility on the August 27, 1990 edition of Prime Time, where Ware defeated The Genius on television. Poffo made a guest appearance on the October 13, 1990 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII, participating in Oktoberfest activities along with The Hart Foundation,


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Jim Duggan, Mr. Fuji, and The Orient Express. That winter he engaged in opening match contests with Dustin Rhodes, Shane Douglas and Jim Brunzell.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: After being on sabbatical for several months, Poffo returned with a flurry in April 1991, wrestling Greg Valentine, Jim Duggan, and Bret Hart. He also participated in the joint WWF/SWS tour and faced Jim Powers on each show. On June 26, 1991 he scored a major upset victory in his comeback when he defeated Jim Duggan at a house show in Lansing, MI. On the September 7, 1991 edition of WWF Superstars he became the manager of The Beverly Brothers (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom). Unlike during his time as manager of Hennig, Poffo generally remained on the sidelines for much of the remainder of 1991 and wrestled very sporadically.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In December 1991 Poffo teamed with The Beverly Brothers in six-man matches against The Bushwhackers and Jim Neidhart. In the 1992 Royal Rumble the Genius managed The Beverly Brothers to a win over The Bushwhackers. He also continued to occasionally wrestle, and picked up a televised win over Brian Costello on the July 6 episode of Prime Time Wrestling and wrestled house show matches against Jim Brunzell, Virgil, and Bob Bradley. On the August 28 edition of Prime Time, he teamed with the Beverly Brothers in an unsuccessful effort against The Legion of Doom and Paul Ellering. At SummerSlam 92 Poffo's charges were thwarted in their challenge of The Natural Disasters for the WWF Tag Team Championship; he continued to manage them until making his final appearance at the 1992 Survivor Series.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: After a six-month break, Poffo returned to action in June 1993 and joined World Wrestling Superstars on a tour of Germany where he was matched against Demolition Ax. He would work later that year for the International Championship Wrestling Alliance and wrestled Manny Fernandez, Jeff Bradley, and Brutus Beefcake. In December 1993 he appeared for Anvil Promotions and Johnny West, B. Brian Blair, and Al Hardimon. On March 12, 1994 he traveled to Brantford, CT to face The Warlord.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: After a nineteen-month absence, Poffo returned in May 1994 and defeated Koko B. Ware on two house shows in Florida. His final WWF match was a loss to Mabel on June 11 at an event in Richmond, Virginia.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Poffo signed a WCW contract in 1995, but may have wrestled only once during his time there (two sites record him as having defeated a preliminary wrestler in a dark match at a WCW Saturday Night taping on October 14, 1997 in Fort Myers, Florida). In a later shoot interview, Poffo explained that he was contacted by his brother (Randy Savage), who was wrestling in WCW at the time, with the guarantee of a contract. Savage, who had purchased the Gorgeous George gimmick, offered the character to Poffo, feeling that his brother would generate heat as a heel. Poffo signed the contract with WCW, began an intense training regimen, and bleached his hair blonde in preparation for his return to the ring. However, as he recalled, despite being under contract for five years and receiving regular paychecks, he was never contacted with any bookings. His own repeated calls to the office went unreturned, and he was simply never used by WCW. Ultimately, Savage gave the Gorgeous George moniker to his then-girlfriend and valet Stephanie Bellars.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: After a five-year sabbatical from professional wrestling, Poffo returned to be a part of Wrestle Reunion in Tampa, Florida on January 28–30, 2005, and defeated "The Royal Stud" Adam Windsor at that event. He also wrestled in Canada as part of the Supershow in Pembroke and Hawkesbury, Ontario.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Poffo has toured the East Coast of Canada with UCW, wrestling in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. After that tour, Poffo also wrestled in Poland and Florida, as well as a show in England.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On May 6, 2012 in Reading, PA, Poffo teamed with JD Smooth in a disqualification loss to "Pretty Ugly" in Regional Championship Wrestling's event Rumblemania 8.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On March 28, 2015, Poffo returned to WWE at the 2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony to induct his deceased brother, Randy Savage. Poffo read poems and shared memories about his brother's past. The following day, Poffo shared the stage with other 2015 Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania 31, representing his brother.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On September 1, 2018, Poffo appeared at All In in Hoffman Estates, IL, accompanying "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal as Lethal successfully defended the ROH World Championship against Flip Gordon. Currently Lanny appears on ROH telecasts announcing the action, doing commentary from ringside using his extended vocabulary that he made famous during his Leaping Lanny days of the past.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: Outside wrestling, Poffo has published two books. One is a collection of poems and limericks, most of which were related to drug and alcohol awareness, directed toward young children. Poffo is a vocal opponent of tobacco smoking and also published an anti-smoking book of limericks entitled "Limericks from the Heart and Lungs!". He appeared in infomercials as an endorser of Tony Little's Gazelle Freestyle exercise machine, and is a certified credit counselor and motivational speaker.


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In March 2013, Poffo played a K9 police officer in the Discovery Investigation network's "I (Almost) Got Away With It".


title: Lanny Poffo

text: In 2018, Poffo released a biographical comic through Squared Circle Comics, titled "The Genius Lanny Poffo".


title: Lanny Poffo

text: On September 3, 2018, Poffo, alongside JP Zarka of ProWrestlingStories.com, launched a weekly podcast entitled "The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo". The podcast featured 20 episodes including interviews with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Terry Funk, B Brian Blair, Fred Ottman, Sean Waltman, Jeff Jarrett, Molly Holly, "Eugene" Nick Dinsmore, "Hustler" Rip Rogers, Kevin Kelly, Bill Apter, Outback Jack, Keith Elliot Greenberg, Sean Oliver, Evan Ginzburg, Alicia Atout, and more. The show ended its run on January 21, 2019.


title: Armored car (military)

text: A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted cavalry, armored cars were developed for carrying out duties used to be assigned to light cavalry. Following the invention of the tank, the armored car remained popular due to its faster speed, comparatively simplified maintenance and low production cost. It also found favor with several colonial armies as a cheaper weapon for use in underdeveloped regions. During World War II, most armored cars were engineered for reconnaissance and passive observation, while others were devoted to communications tasks. Some equipped with heavier armament could even substitute for tracked combat vehicles in favorable conditions—such as pursuit or flanking maneuvers during the North African Campaign.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Since World War II the traditional functions of the armored car have been occasionally combined with that of the armored personnel carrier, resulting in such multipurpose designs as the BTR-40 or the Cadillac Gage Commando. Postwar advances in recoil control technology have also made it possible for a few armored cars, including the B1 Centauro, the Panhard AML, the AMX-10RC and EE-9 Cascavel, to carry a large cannon capable of threatening many tanks.


title: Armored car (military)

text: During the Middle Ages, war wagons covered with steel plate, and crewed by men armed with primitive hand cannon, flails and muskets, were used by the Hussite rebels in Bohemia. These were deployed in formations where the horses and oxen were at the centre, and the surrounding wagons were chained together as protection from enemy cavalry.


title: Armored car (military)

text: With the invention of the steam engine, Victorian inventors designed prototype self-propelled armored vehicles for use in sieges, although none were deployed in combat. H. G. Wells' short story "The Land Ironclads" provides a fictionalized account of their use.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. It was the first armed petrol engine-powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar. An iron shield in front of the car protected the driver.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Another early armed car was invented by Royal Page Davidson at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in 1898 with the Davidson-Duryea gun carriage and the later Davidson Automobile Battery armored car.


title: Armored car (military)

text: However, these were not "armored cars" as the term is understood today, as they provided little protection for their crews from enemy fire.


title: Armored car (military)

text: At the beginning of the 20th century, the first military armored vehicles were manufactured, by adding armor and weapons to existing vehicles.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The first armored car was the Simms' Motor War Car, designed by F.R. Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim of Barrow on a special Coventry-built Daimler chassis with a German-built Daimler motor in 1899. and a single prototype was ordered in April 1899 The prototype was finished in 1902, too late to be used during the Boer War.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The vehicle had Vickers armor, 6 mm thick, and was powered by a four-cylinder 3.3-liter 16-hp Cannstatt Daimler engine, giving it a maximum speed of around . The armament, consisting of two Maxim guns, was carried in two turrets with 360° traverse. It had a crew of four. Simms' Motor War Car was presented at the Crystal Palace, London, in April 1902.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Another early armored car of the period was the French Charron, Girardot et Voigt 1902, presented at the "Salon de l'Automobile et du cycle" in Brussels, on 8 March 1902. The vehicle was equipped with a Hotchkiss machine gun, and with 7 mm armour for the gunner.


title: Armored car (military)

text: One of the first operational armored cars with four wheel (4x4) drive and partly enclosed rotating turret, was the Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen built by Austro-Daimler in 1904. It was armored with 3–3.5 mm thick curved plates over the body (drive space and engine) and had a 4 mm thick dome-shaped rotating turret that housed one or two machine-guns. It had a four-cylinder 35 hp 4.4 litre engine giving it average cross country performance. Both the driver and co-driver had adjustable seats enabling them to raise them to see out of the roof of the drive compartment as needed.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The Italians used armored cars during the Italo-Turkish War. A great variety of armored cars appeared on both sides during World War I and these were used in various ways.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Generally, armored cars were used by more or less independent car commanders. However, sometimes they were used in larger units up to squadron size. The cars were primarily armed with light machine guns, but larger units usually employed a few cars with heavier guns. As air power became a factor, armored cars offered a mobile platform for antiaircraft guns.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The first effective use of an armored vehicle in combat was achieved by the Belgian Army in August–September 1914. They had placed Cockerill armour plating and a Hotchkiss machine gun on Minerva touring cars, creating the Minerva Armored Car. Their successes in the early days of the war convinced the Belgian GHQ to create a Corps of Armoured Cars, who would be sent to fight on the Eastern front once the western front immobilized after the Battle of the Yser.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The British Royal Naval Air Service dispatched aircraft to Dunkirk to defend the UK from Zeppelins. The officers' cars followed them and these began to be used to rescue downed reconnaissance pilots in the battle areas. They mounted machine guns on them and as these excursions became increasingly dangerous, they improvised boiler plate armoring on the vehicles provided by a local shipbuilder. In London Murray Sueter ordered "fighting cars" based on Rolls-Royce, Talbot and Wolseley chassis. By the time Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars arrived in December 1914, the mobile period on the Western Front was already over. They had a fascinating birth and long and interesting service.


title: Armored car (military)

text: More tactically important was the development of formed units of armored cars, such as the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, which was the first fully mechanized unit in the history of the British Army. The brigade was established on September 2, 1914, in Ottawa, as Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel. The brigade was originally equipped with eight Armoured Autocars mounting two machine guns. By 1918 Brutinel's force consisted of two motor machine gun brigades (each of five gun batteries containing eight weapons apiece). The brigade, and its armored cars, provided yeoman service in many battles, notably at Amiens.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car was famously proposed, developed, and utilized by the 2nd Duke of Westminster. He took a squadron of these cars to France in time to make a noted contribution to the Second Battle of Ypres, and thereafter the cars with their master were sent to the Middle East to play a part in the British campaign in Palestine and elsewhere. These cars appear in the memoirs of numerous officers of the BEF during the earlier stages of the Great War - their ducal master often being described in an almost piratical style.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Armored cars also saw action on the Eastern Front. From 18 February - 26 March 1915, the German army under General Max von Gallwitz attempted to break through the Russian lines in and around the town of Przasnysz, Poland, (about 110 km / 68 miles north of Warsaw) during the Battle of Przasnysz (Polish: ). Near the end of the battle, the Russians used four Russo-Balt armored cars and a armored car to break through the Germans' lines and force the Germans to retreat.


title: Armored car (military)

text: The British Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Middle East was equipped with Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars and Morris tenders. Some of these vehicles were among the last of a consignment of ex-Royal Navy armored cars that had been serving in the Middle East since 1915. In September 1940 a section of the No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment Company was detached to General Wavell's ground forces during the first offensive against the Italians in Egypt. It is said that these armored cars became ‘the eyes and ears of Wavell’. During the actions in the October of that year the company was employed on convoy escort tasks, airfield defense, fighting reconnaissance patrols and screening operations.


title: Armored car (military)

text: During the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War, some of the units located in the British Mandate of Palestine were sent to Iraq and drove Fordson armored cars. "Fordson" armored cars were Rolls-Royce armored cars which received new chassis from a Fordson truck in Egypt.


title: Armored car (military)

text: By the start of the new war, the German army possessed some highly effective reconnaissance vehicles, such as the "Schwerer Panzerspähwagen". The Soviet BA-64 was influenced by a captured "Leichter Panzerspähwagen" before it was first tested in January 1942.


title: Armored car (military)

text: In the second half of the war, the American M8 Greyhound and the British Daimler Armoured Cars featured turrets mounting light guns (40 mm or less). As with other wartime armored cars, their reconnaissance roles emphasized greater speed and stealth than a tracked vehicle could provide, so their limited armor, armament and off-road capabilities were seen as acceptable compromises.


title: Armored car (military)

text: A military armored car is a type of armored fighting vehicle having wheels (from four to ten large, off-road wheels) instead of tracks, and usually light armor. Armored cars are typically less expensive and on roads have better speed and range than tracked military vehicles. They do however have less mobility as they have less off-road capabilities because of the higher ground pressure. They also have less obstacle climbing capabilities than tracked vehicles. Wheels are more vulnerable to enemy fire than tracks, they have a higher signature and in most cases less armor than comparable tracked vehicles. As a result, they are not intended for heavy fighting; their normal use is for reconnaissance, command, control, and communications, or for use against lightly armed insurgents or rioters. Only some are intended to enter close combat, often accompanying convoys to protect soft-skinned vehicles.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Light armored cars, such as the British Ferret are armed with just a machine gun. Heavier vehicles are armed with autocannon or a large caliber gun. The heaviest armored cars, such as the German, World War II era Sd.Kfz. 234 or the modern, US M1128 Mobile Gun System, mount the same guns that arm medium tanks.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Armored cars are popular for peacekeeping or internal security duties. Their appearance is less confrontational and threatening than tanks, and their size and maneuverability is said to be more compatible with tight urban spaces designed for wheeled vehicles. However, they do have a larger turning radius compared to tracked vehicles which can turn on the spot and their tires are vulnerable and are less capable in climbing and crushing obstacles. Further, when there is true combat they are easily outgunned and lightly armored. The threatening appearance of a tank is often enough to keep an opponent from attacking, whereas a less threatening vehicle such as an armored car is more likely to be attacked.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Many modern forces now have their dedicated armored car designs, to exploit the advantages noted above. Examples would be the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle of the USA or Alvis Saladin of the post-World War II era in the United Kingdom.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Alternatively, civilian vehicles may be modified into improvised armored cars in "ad hoc" fashion. Many militias and irregular forces adapt civilian vehicles into AFVs (armored fighting vehicles) and troop carriers, and in some regional conflicts these "technicals" are the only combat vehicles present. On occasion, even the soldiers of national militaries are forced to adapt their civilian-type vehicles for combat use, often using improvised armor and scrounged weapons.


title: Armored car (military)

text: In the 1930s, a new sub-class of armored car emerged in the United States, known as the "scout car". This was a compact light armored car which was either unarmed or armed only with machine guns for self-defense. Scout cars were designed as purpose-built reconnaissance vehicles for passive observation and intelligence gathering. Armored cars which carried large caliber, turreted weapons systems were not considered scout cars. The concept gained popularity worldwide during World War II and was especially favored in nations where reconnaissance theory emphasized passive observation over combat.


title: Armored car (military)

text: Examples of armored cars also classified as scout cars include the Soviet BRDM series, the British Ferret, the Brazilian EE-3 Jararaca, the Hungarian D-442 FÚG, and the American Cadillac Gage Commando Scout.


title: Sexual identity

text: Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of to whom one is romantically and/or sexually attracted. "Sexual identity" may also refer to sexual orientation identity, which is when people identify or dis-identify with a sexual orientation or choose not to identify with a sexual orientation. Sexual identity and sexual behavior are closely related to sexual orientation, but they are distinguished, with "identity" referring to an individual's conception of themselves, "behavior" referring to actual sexual acts performed by the individual, and "sexual orientation" referring to romantic or sexual attractions toward persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, to both sexes or more than one gender, or to no one.


title: Sexual identity

text: Historical models of sexual identity have tended to view its formation as a process undergone only by sexual minorities, while more contemporary models view the process as far more universal and attempt to present sexual identity within the larger scope of other major identity theories and processes.


title: Sexual identity

text: Sexual identity has been described as a component of an individual's identity that reflects their sexual self-concept. The integration of the respective identity components (e.g. moral, religious, ethnic, occupational) into a greater overall identity is essential to the process of developing the multi-dimensional construct of identity.


title: Sexual identity

text: Sexual identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation.<ref name="Concordance/discordance in SO"></ref> In a 1990 study by the Social Organization of Sexuality, only 16% of women and 36% of men who reported some level of same-sex attraction had a homosexual or bisexual identity.


title: Sexual identity

text: Sexual identity is more closely related to sexual behavior than sexual orientation is. The same survey found that 96% of women and 87% of men with a homosexual or bisexual identity had engaged in sexual activity with someone of the same sex, contrasted to 32% of women and 43% of men who had same-sex attractions. Upon reviewing the results, the organization commented: "Development of self-identification as homosexual or gay is a psychological and socially complex state, something which, in this society, is achieved only over time, often with considerable personal struggle and self-doubt, not to mention social discomfort."


title: Sexual identity

text: Heterosexuality describes a pattern of attraction to persons of the opposite sex. The term "straight" is commonly used to refer to heterosexuals. Heterosexuals are by far the largest sexual identity group.


title: Sexual identity

text: Bisexuality describes a pattern of attraction toward both males and females, or to more than one sex or gender. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other also identify themselves as bisexual.


title: Sexual identity

text: Homosexuality describes a pattern of attraction to other persons of the same sex. The term "lesbian" is commonly used to refer to homosexual women, and the term "gay" is commonly used to refer to homosexual men, although "gay" is sometimes used to refer to women as well.


title: Sexual identity

text: Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may also be categorized more widely to include a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities. Asexuality is distinct from abstention from sexual activity and from celibacy.


title: Sexual identity

text: Pansexuality describes attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others. Pansexuality is sometimes considered a type of bisexuality.


title: Sexual identity

text: Relationship anarchy combines polyamory and anarchical principles. Its practice has no norms but tends towards criticism of American relationship norms, absence of demands and expectations on partners, and lack of distinction between hierarchical value of friendship and romantic relationships.


title: Sexual identity

text: Unlabeled sexuality is when an individual chooses not to label their sexual identity. This identification could stem from one's uncertainty about their sexuality or their unwillingness to conform to a sexuality because they don't necessarily like labels, or they wish to feel free in their attractions instead of feeling forced into same, other, both, or all attractions because of their sexual identity. Identifying as unlabeled could also be because of one's "unwillingness to accept their sexual minority status." Because being unlabeled is the purposeful decision of no sexual identity, it is different from bisexuality or any other sexual identity. Those who are unlabeled are more likely to view sexuality as less stable and more fluid and tend to focus more on the “person, not the gender.”


title: Sexual identity

text: It is reported that some women who identify as unlabeled did so because they are unable or uncertain about the types of relationships they will have in the future. As such, this divergence from sexual labels could provide for a person to be able to more fully realize their "true" sexuality because it frees them from the pressure of liking and being attracted to who their sexual identification dictates they should like. Pham, Q.T. (2022) conducted an empirical qualitative research on the sexual identity management strategies of working women who experience sexual fluidity. The results show that female employees first consider or choose (non)identity that matches their new sexual attractions. These (non)identity choices include identity change, fluid identity, non-identity, and resisting identity. Next, strategies are utilized for managing that (non)identity at work—pass, cover, implicitly out, explicitly out, inform/educate. These strategies can be used independently or multiply (mixed/change), in which mixed strategy takes account of communication object and situation, while change strategy relies on time.


title: Sexual identity

text: Most of the research on sexual orientation identity development focuses on the development of people who are attracted to the same sex. Many people who feel attracted to members of their own sex come out at some point in their lives. "Coming out" is described in three phases. The first phase is the phase of "knowing oneself," and the realization emerges that one is sexually and emotionally attracted to members of one's own sex. This is often described as an internal coming out and can occur in childhood or at puberty, but sometimes as late as age 40 or older. The second phase involves a decision to come out to others, e.g. family, friends, and/or colleagues, while the third phase involves living openly as an LGBT person. In the United States today, people often come out during high school or college age. At this age, they may not trust or ask for help from others, especially when their orientation is not accepted in society. Sometimes they do not inform their own families.


title: Sexual identity

text: According to Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, Braun (2006), "the development of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other minority groups (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most LGB individuals are not raised in a community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity" and "[r]ather, LGB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality."


title: Sexual identity

text: Some individuals with unwanted sexual attractions may choose to actively dis-identify with a sexual minority identity, which creates a different sexual orientation identity from their actual sexual orientation. Sexual orientation identity, but not sexual orientation, can change through psychotherapy, support groups, and life events. A person who has homosexual feelings can self-identify in various ways. An individual may come to accept an LGB identity, to develop a heterosexual identity, to reject an LGB identity while choosing to identify as ex-gay, or to refrain from specifying a sexual identity.


title: Sexual identity

text: Several models have been created to describe coming out as a process for gay and lesbian identity development (e.g. Dank, 1971; Cass, 1984; Coleman, 1989; Troiden, 1989). These historical models have taken a view of sexual identity formation as a sexual-minority process only. However, not every LGBT person follows such a model. For example, some LGBT youth become aware of and accept their same-sex desires or gender identity at puberty in a way similar to which heterosexual teens become aware of their sexuality, i.e. free of any notion of difference, stigma or shame in terms of the gender of the people to whom they are attracted. More contemporary models take the stance that it is a more universal process. Current models for the development of sexual identity attempt to incorporate other models of identity development, such as Marcia’s ego-identity statuses.


title: Sexual identity

text: The Cass identity model, established by Vivienne Cass, outlines six discrete stages transited by individuals who successfully come out: (1) identity confusion, (2) identity comparison, (3) identity tolerance, (4) identity acceptance, (5) identity pride, and (6) identity synthesis. Fassinger's model of gay and lesbian identity development contains four stages at the individual and group level: (1) awareness, (2) exploration, (3) deepening/commitment, and (4) internalization/synthesis.


title: Sexual identity

text: Some models of sexual identity development do not use discrete, ordered stages, but instead conceptualize identity development as consisting of independent identity processes. For example, D'Augelli's model describes six unordered independent identity processes: (1) exiting heterosexual identity, (2) developing personal LGB identity status, (3) developing an LGB social identity, (4) becoming an LGB offspring, (5) developing an LGB intimacy status, and (6) entering an LGB community.


title: Sexual identity

text: The Unifying Model of Sexual Identity Development is currently the only model that incorporates heterosexual identity development within its statuses to include compulsory heterosexuality, active exploration, diffusion, deepening and commitment to status, and synthesis.


title: Sexual identity

text: Contemporary models view sexual identity formation as a universal process, rather than a sexual minority one, in that it is not only sexual minorities that undergo sexual identity development, but heterosexual populations as well. More recent research has supported these theories, having demonstrated that heterosexual populations display all of Marcia's statuses within the domain of sexual identity.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The Strait of Hormuz ( "Tangeh-ye Hormoz" "Maḍīq Hurmuz") is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam peninsula, shared by the United Arab Emirates and Musandam Governorate, an exclave of Oman. The strait is about long, with a width varying from about to .


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: A third of the world's liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait, making it a highly important strategic location for international trade.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The opening to the Persian Gulf was described, but not given a name, in the "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea", a 1st-century mariner's guide:


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In the 10th17th centuries AD, the Kingdom of Ormus, which seems to have given the strait its name, was located here. Scholars, historians and linguists derive the name "Ormuz" from the local Persian word "Hur-mogh" meaning date palm. In the local dialects of Hurmoz and Minab this strait is still called Hurmogh and has the aforementioned meaning.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The resemblance of this word with the name of the Zoroastrian god "Hormoz" (a variant of "Ahura Mazda") has resulted in the popular belief that these words are related.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: To reduce the risk of collision, ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS): inbound ships use one lane, outbound ships another, each lane being two miles wide. The lanes are separated by a two-mile-wide "median".


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Although not all countries have ratified the convention, most countries, including the U.S., accept these customary navigation rules as codified in the Convention.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In April 1959 Iran altered the legal status of the strait by expanding its territorial sea to and declaring that it would recognize only transit by innocent passage through the newly expanded area. In July 1972, Oman also expanded its territorial sea to by decree. Thus, by mid-1972, the Strait of Hormuz was completely "closed" by the combined territorial waters of Iran and Oman. During the 1970s, neither Iran or Oman attempted to impede the passage of warships through the strait, but in the 1980s, both countries asserted claims that were different from customary (old) law. Upon ratifying UNCLOS in August 1989, Oman submitted declarations confirming its 1981 royal decree that only innocent passage is permitted through its territorial sea. The declarations further asserted that prior permission was required before foreign warships could pass through Omani territorial waters. Upon signing the convention in December 1982, Iran entered a declaration stating "that only states parties to the Law of the Sea Convention shall be entitled to benefit from the contractual rights created therein", including "the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation". In May 1993, Iran enacted a comprehensive law on maritime areas, several provisions of which conflict with UNCLOS provisions, including a requirement that warships, submarines, and nuclear-powered ships obtain permission before exercising innocent passage through Iran's territorial waters. The United States does not recognize any of the claims by Oman and Iran and has contested each of them.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Oman has a radar site Link Quality Indicator (LQI) to monitor the TSS in the Strait of Hormuz. This site is on a small island on the peak of Musandam Governorate.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: A 2007 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies also stated that 17 million barrels passed out of the Persian Gulf daily, but that oil flows through the Strait accounted for roughly 40% of all world-traded oil.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2011, an average of 14 tankers per day passed out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait carrying of crude oil. This was said to represent 35% of the world's seaborne oil shipments and 20% of oil traded worldwide. The report stated that more than 85% of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea and China the largest destinations. In 2018 alone, 21 million barrels a day were passing through the strait - this means $1.17 billion worth of oil a day, at September 2019 prices.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War started when Iraq attacked the oil terminal and oil tankers at Iran's Kharg Island in early 1984. Saddam Hussein's aim in attacking Iranian shipping was, among other things, to provoke the Iranians to retaliate with extreme measures, such as closing the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic, thereby bringing American intervention. Iran limited the retaliatory attacks to Iraqi shipping, leaving the strait open.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy waged a one-day battle against Iranian forces in and around the strait. The battle, dubbed Operation Praying Mantis by the United States, was launched in retaliation for the USS "Samuel B. Roberts" striking a mine laid in the channel by Iran on 14 April 1988. U.S. forces sank one frigate, one gunboat, and up to six armed speedboats, as well as seriously damaging a second frigate.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 3 July 1988, 290 people were killed when an Iran Air Airbus A300 was shot down over the strait by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS "Vincennes" (CG-49) when it was wrongly identified as a jet fighter.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 8 January 2007, the nuclear submarine USS "Newport News", traveling submerged, struck , a 300,000-ton Japanese-flagged very large crude tanker, south of the strait. There were no injuries, and no oil leaked from the tanker.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: A series of naval stand-offs between Iranian speedboats and U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz occurred in December 2007 and January 2008. U.S. officials accused Iran of harassing and provoking their naval vessels, but Iranian officials denied the allegations. On 14 January 2008, U.S. Navy officials appeared to contradict the Pentagon version of the 16 January event, in which the Pentagon had reported that U.S. vessels had almost fired on approaching Iranian boats. The Navy's regional commander, Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, said the Iranians had "neither anti-ship missiles nor torpedoes" and he "wouldn't characterize the posture of the US 5th Fleet as afraid of these small boats".


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 29 June 2008, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that if either Israel or the United States attacked Iran, it would seal off the Strait of Hormuz to wreak havoc in the oil markets. This followed more ambiguous threats from Iran's oil minister and other government officials that an attack on Iran would result in turmoil in the world's oil supply.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet stationed in Bahrain across the Persian Gulf from Iran, warned that such Iranian action would be considered an act of war, and the U.S. would not allow Iran to hold hostage nearly a third of the world's oil supply.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 8 July 2008, Ali Shirazi, a mid-level clerical aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by the student news agency ISNA as telling the Revolutionary Guards, "The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned."


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In the last week of July 2008, in the Operation Brimstone, dozens of U.S. and foreign naval ships came to undergo joint exercises for possible military activity in the shallow waters off the coast of Iran.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: As of 11 August 2008, more than 40 U.S. and allied ships reportedly were en route to the Strait of Hormuz. One U.S. carrier battle group from Japan would complement the two which are already in the Persian Gulf, for a total of five battle groups, not including the submarines.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 20 March 2009, United States Navy collided with the in the strait. The collision, which slightly injured 15 sailors aboard "Hartford", ruptured a fuel tank aboard "New Orleans", spilling of marine diesel fuel.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 27 December 2011, Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi threatened to cut off oil supply from the Strait of Hormuz should economic sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports. A U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman said in response that the Fleet was "always ready to counter malevolent actions", whilst Admiral Habibollah Sayyari of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy claimed that cutting off oil shipments would be "easy". Despite an initial 2% rise in oil prices, oil markets ultimately did not react significantly to the Iranian threat, with oil analyst Thorbjoern Bak Jensen of Global Risk Management concluding that "they cannot stop the flow for a longer period due to the amount of U.S. hardware in the area".


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 3 January 2012, Iran threatened to take action if the U.S. Navy moves an aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf. Iranian Army chief Ataollah Salehi said the United States had moved an aircraft carrier out of the Persian Gulf because of Iran's naval exercises, and Iran would take action if the ship returned. "Iran will not repeat its warning...the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Gulf of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf", he said.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Bill Speaks quickly responded that deployment of U.S. military assets would continue as has been the custom stating: "The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce."


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: While earlier statements from Iran had little effect on global oil markets, coupled with the new sanctions, these comments from Iran are driving crude futures higher, up over 4%. Pressure on prices reflect a combination of uncertainty driven further by China's recent response – reducing oil January 2012 purchases from Iran by 50% compared to those made in 2011.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The U.S. led sanctions may be "beginning to bite" as Iranian currency has recently lost some 12% of its value. Further pressure on Iranian currency was added by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé who was quoted as calling for more "strict sanctions" and urged EU countries to follow the US in freezing Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 7 January 2012, the British government announced that it would be sending the Type 45 destroyer to the Persian Gulf. "Daring", which is the lead ship of her class is one of the "most advanced warships" in the world, and will undertake its first mission in the Persian Gulf. The British Government however have said that this move has been long-planned, as "Daring" will replace another Armilla patrol frigate.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 9 January 2012, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi denied that Iran had ever claimed that it would close the Strait of Hormuz, saying that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is the most important provider of security in the strait... if one threatens the security of the Persian Gulf, then all are threatened."


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed on 16 January 2012 that it has received a letter from the United States concerning the Strait of Hormuz, "via three different channels." Authorities were considering whether to reply, although the contents of the letter were not divulged. The United States had previously announced its intention to warn Iran that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line" that would provoke an American response. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this past weekend that the United States would "take action and re-open the strait", which could be accomplished only by military means, including minesweepers, warship escorts and potentially airstrikes. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told troops in Texas that the United States would not tolerate Iran's closing of the strait. Nevertheless, Iran continued to discuss the impact of shutting the Strait on world oil markets, saying that any disruption of supply would cause a shock to markets that "no country" could manage.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: By 23 January, a flotilla had been established by countries opposing Iran's threats to close the Hormuz Strait. These ships operated in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea off the coast of Iran. The flotilla included three American aircraft carriers (the , the and ) and three destroyers (, , ), seven British warships, including the destroyer and a number of Type 23 frigates (, , and ), and a French warship, the frigate "La Motte-Picquet" .


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 24 January, tensions rose further after the European Union imposed sanctions on Iranian oil. A senior member of Iran's parliament said that the Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Persian Gulf if new sanctions block its oil exports. "If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told the semi-official Fars News Agency.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 28 April 2015, IRGCN patrol boats contacted the Marshall Islands-flagged container ship "Maersk Tigris", which was westbound through the strait, and directed the ship to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department. When the ship's master declined, one of the Iranian craft fired shots across the bridge of "Maersk Tigris". The captain complied and proceeded into Iranian waters near Larak Island. The US Navy sent aircraft and a destroyer, USS "Farragut", to monitor the situation.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Maersk says they have agreed to pay an Iranian company $163,000 over a dispute about 10 container boxes transported to Dubai in 2005. The court ruling allegedly ordered a fine of $3.6 million.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In July 2018, Iran again made threats to close the strait. Citing looming American sanctions after the U.S withdrew from the JCPOA deal earlier in the year. Iran's Revolutionary Guards reported they were ready to carry out the action if required.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In August 2018, Iran test-fired a ballistic missile for the first time in 2018. According to the officials, the anti-ship Fateh-110 Mod 3 flew over 100 miles on a flight path over the Strait of Hormuz to a test range in the Iranian desert. "It was shore-to-shore", said one U.S. official describing the launch, who like the others requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 22 April 2019, the U.S. ended the oil waivers, which allowed some of Iran’s customers to import Iranian oil, without risking financial penalties as part of the U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. Again, this had implication playing out in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iranian threats of Strait closure was put forward in April 2019.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Aljazeera quoted Major-General Mohammad Baqeri of the Iranian Armed Forces, stating "We are not after closing the Strait of Hormuz but if the hostility of the enemies increases, we will be able to do so". Baqeri is also quoted for stating "If our oil does not pass, the oil of others shall not pass the Strait of Hormuz either".


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On the morning of 13 June 2019, the oil tankers "Front Altair" and "Kokuka Courageous" were both rocked by explosions shortly before dawn, the crew of the latter reported seeing a flying object strike the ship; the crew were rescued by the destroyer while the crew of the "Front Altair" were rescued by Iranian ships. That afternoon, U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo issued a statement accusing Iran of the attacks. Iran subsequently denied the accusations, calling the incident a false-flag attack.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In July 2019, a Stena Bulk Tanker, "Stena Impero", sailing under a British flag, was boarded and captured by Iranian forces. The spokesman for Iran's Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, was quoted as describing the seizure as a "reciprocal action." This was presumed to be in reference to the seizure of an Iranian Tanker, "Grace 1", bound for Syria in Gibraltar a few days prior.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In 2020, France deployed about 600 troops at sea and in the air under the CTF474 to protect maritime trade, regional business, and to ease local tensions. Since the first week of April 2020, the operation combines the Dutch frigate Ruyter, the French frigate Forbin, and one french airplane ATLANTIC2 (ATL2).


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In May 2020, Iran launched missiles at one of their own ships in a friendly fire accident, killing 19 sailors.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 4 January 2021, the Tasnim News Agency reported that a South Korea-flagged oil vessel headed from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates was seized for allegedly causing pollution violations. The ship was said to be carrying roughly 7,000 tons of ethanol. South Korea refused to comment on the accusation of causing oil pollution in the Strait of Hormuz. The ship, "Hankuk Chemi", was headed to the UAE port Fujairah after loading oil from Jubail, Saudi Arabia on 2 January 2021, as per ship-tracking data gathered by Bloomberg.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: On 2 June 2021, the IRIS "Kharg", a modified Ol-class replenishment oiler of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, sank in the Strait of Hormuz after catching fire. It was the IRIN's largest vessel.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Millennium Challenge 2002 was a major war game exercise conducted by the United States armed forces in 2002. According to a 2012 article in The Christian Science Monitor, it simulated an attempt by Iran to close the strait. The assumptions and results were controversial. In the article, Iran's strategy beats the materially superior US armed forces.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: A 2008 article in "International Security" contended that Iran could seal off or impede traffic in the Strait for a month, and an attempt by the U.S. to reopen it would be likely to escalate the conflict. In a later issue, however, the journal published a response which questioned some key assumptions and suggested a much shorter timeline for re-opening.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In December 2011, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy began a ten-day exercise in international waters along the strait. The Iranian Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stated that the strait would not be closed during the exercise; Iranian forces could easily accomplish that but such a decision must be made at a political level.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, was quoted in a December 2011 Reuters article: "Efforts to increase tension in that part of the world are unhelpful and counter-productive. For our part, we are comfortable that we have in the region sufficient capabilities to honor our commitments to our friends and partners, as well as the international community." In the same article, Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, said, "The expectation is that the U.S. military could address any Iranian threat relatively quickly."


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in January 2012 that Iran "has invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz." He also stated, "We've invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that."


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: A May 2012 article by Nilufer Oral, a Turkish researcher of maritime law, concludes that both the UNCLOS and the 1958 Convention on the High Seas would be violated if Iran followed through on its threat to block passage of vessels such as oil tankers, and that the act of passage is not related in law to the imposition of economic sanctions. The article further asserts that a coastal state may prevent "transit or non-suspendable innocent passage" only if: 1) there is threatened or actual use of force, occurring during passage, against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of a state bordering the strait; or 2) the vessel in any other way violates the principles of international law as embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In June 2012, Saudi Arabia reopened the Iraq Pipeline through Saudi Arabia (IPSA), which was confiscated from Iraq in 2001 and travels from Iraq across Saudi Arabia to a Red Sea port. It will have a capacity of 1.65 million barrels per day.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In July 2012, the UAE began using the new Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline from the Habshan fields in Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah oil terminal on the Gulf of Oman, effectively bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. It has a maximum capacity of around 2 million barrels per day, over three-quarters of the UAE's 2012 production rate. The UAE is also increasing Fujairah's storage and off-loading capacities. The UAE is building the world's largest crude oil storage facility in Fujairah with a capacity of holding 14 million barrels to enhance Fujairah's growth as a global oil and trading hub. The Habshan – Fujairah route secures the UAE's energy security and has the advantage of being a ground oil pipeline transportation which is considered the cheapest form of oil transportation and also reduces insurance costs as oil tankers would no longer enter the Persian Gulf.


title: Strait of Hormuz

text: In a July 2012 "Foreign Policy" article, Gal Luft compared Iran and the Strait of Hormuz to the Ottoman Empire and the Dardanelles, a choke point for shipments of Russian grain a century ago. He indicated that tensions involving the Strait of Hormuz are leading those currently dependent on shipments from the Persian Gulf to find alternative shipping capabilities. He stated that Saudi Arabia was considering building new pipelines to Oman and Yemen, and that Iraq might revive the disused Iraq–Syria pipeline to ship crude to the Mediterranean. Luft stated that reducing Hormuz traffic "presents the West with a new opportunity to augment its current Iran containment strategy."


title: International Men's Day

text: International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19 to recognize and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day are set out in 'All The Six Pillars of International Men's Day'. It is an occasion to celebrate boys' and men's lives, achievements and contributions, in particular for their contributions to nation, union, society, community, family, marriage, and childcare. The broader and ultimate aim of the event is to promote basic awareness towards men's issues.


title: International Men's Day

text: Inaugurated on 7 February 1992 by Thomas Oaster, the project of International Men's Day was conceived one year earlier, on 8 February 1991. The project was re-initialised in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago. The longest running celebration of International Men's Day is Malta, where events have occurred since 7 February 1994. As Malta was the only country that observed the February date of celebrating Men and their contribution to the society, the Maltese AMR Committee voted in 2009 to shift the date for IMD to 19 November.


title: International Men's Day

text: Jerome Teelucksingh, who revived the event, chose 19 November to honour his father's birthday and also to celebrate how on that date in 1989 Trinidad and Tobago's football team had united the country with their endeavours to qualify for the World Cup. Teelucksingh has promoted International Men's Day as not just a gendered day but a day where all issues affecting men and boys can be addressed. He has said of IMD and its grass roots activists, "They are striving for gender equality and patiently attempt to remove the negative images and the stigma associated with men in our society".


title: International Men's Day

text: Unlike International Women's Day, (8 March) International Men's Day is not officially recognised by the United Nations.


title: International Men's Day

text: Calls for an International Men's Day have been noted since at least the 1960s, when many men were reported to "have been agitating privately to make 23 February International Men's Day, the equivalent of 8 March, which is International Women's Day". In the Soviet Union this day was The Red Army and Navy Day since 1922, which in 2002 was renamed to Defender of the Fatherland Day. The date was informally viewed a male counterpart of Women's Day (8 March) in some territories of the union, however due to the day's limited focus to historical events some countries of the former union have moved to adopt the more 'male specific' 19 November as International Men's Day, including Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and Georgia.


title: International Men's Day

text: In 1968, the American journalist John P. Harris wrote an editorial in the "Salina Journal" highlighting a lack of balance in the Soviet system, which promoted an International Women's Day for the female workers without promoting a corresponding day for male workers. Harris stated that although he did not begrudge Soviet women their March day of glory, its resulting gender inequality clearly exhibited a serious flaw in the communist system, which, "makes much of the equal rights it has given the sexes, but as it turns out, the women are much more equal than the men". Harris stated that while the men toiled along in their grooves doing what their government and womenfolk tell them to do, there was no day when males are recognised for their service, leading Harris to conclude that "This strikes me as unwarranted discrimination and rank injustice". Similar questions about the inequality of observing women's day without a corresponding men's day occurred in media publications from the 1960s through to the 1990s, at which time the first attempts at inaugurating international Men's Day are recorded.


title: International Men's Day

text: In the early 1990s, organizations in the United States, Australia and Malta held small events in February at the invitation of Thomas Oaster who directed the Missouri Center for Men's Studies at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Oaster successfully promoted the event in 1993 and 1994, but his following attempt in 1995 was poorly attended and he ceased plans to continue the event in subsequent years. Australians also ceased to observe the event (until they re-established it on 19 November 2003) whilst the Maltese Association for Men's Rights continued as the only country that continued to observe the event each year in February. Formerly being the only country still observing the original February date, the Maltese AMR Committee voted in 2009 to begin observing the day on 19 November in order to be synchronised with the rest of the world.


title: International Men's Day

text: Although International Men's and Women's Day are considered to be 'gender focused' events, they are not ideological mirror images because they highlight issues that are considered unique to men or to women. The history of IMD primarily concerns celebrating issues that are considered unique to the experiences of men and boys, along with an emphasis on positive role models, which is especially "deemed necessary in a social context which is often fascinated with images of males behaving badly... In highlighting positive male role models IMD attempts to show that males of all ages respond much more energetically to positive role models than they do to negative stereotyping."


title: International Men's Day

text: As well as the six pillars, an optional secondary theme for IMD has usually been suggested by world coordinators, such as peace in 2002, men's health in 2003, healing and forgiveness in 2007, positive male role models in 2009 and 'our children's future' in 2010.