title: Launch vehicle

text: Orbital spaceflight requires a satellite or spacecraft payload to be accelerated to very high velocity. In the vacuum of space, reaction forces must be provided by the ejection of mass, resulting in the rocket equation. The physics of spaceflight are such that rocket stages are typically required to achieve the desired orbit.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Expendable launch vehicles are designed for one-time use, with boosters that usually separate from their payload and disintegrate during atmospheric reentry or on contact with the ground. In contrast, reusable launch vehicle boosters are designed to be recovered intact and launched again. The Falcon 9 is an example reusable launch vehicle.


title: Launch vehicle

text: For example, the European Space Agency is responsible for the Ariane V, and the United Launch Alliance manufactures and launches the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Launchpads can be located on land (spaceport), on a fixed ocean platform (San Marco), on a mobile ocean platform (Sea Launch), and on a submarine. Launch vehicles can also be launched from the air.


title: Launch vehicle

text: A launch vehicle will start off with its payload at some location on the surface of the Earth. To reach orbit, the vehicle must travel vertically to leave the atmosphere and horizontally to prevent re-contacting the ground. The required velocity varies depending on the orbit but will always be extreme when compared to velocities encountered in normal life.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Launch vehicles provide varying degrees of performance. For example, a satellite bound for Geostationary orbit (GEO) can either be directly inserted by the upper stage of the launch vehicle or launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). A direct insertion places greater demands on the launch vehicle, while GTO is more demanding of the spacecraft. Once in orbit, launch vehicle upper stages and satellites can have overlapping capabilities, although upper stages tend to have orbital lifetimes measured in hours or days while spacecraft can last decades.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Distributed launch involves the accomplishment of a goal with multiple spacecraft launches. A large spacecraft such as the International Space Station can be constructed by assembling modules in orbit, or in-space propellant transfer conducted to greatly increase the delta-V capabilities of a cislunar or deep space vehicle. Distributed launch enables space missions that are not possible with single launch architectures.


title: Launch vehicle

text: and launch vehicles with integrated distributed launch capability built in began development in 2017 with the Starship design. The standard Starship launch architecture is to refuel the spacecraft in low Earth orbit to enable the craft to send high-mass payloads on much more energetic missions.


title: Launch vehicle

text: After 1980, but before the 2010s, two orbital launch vehicles developed the capability to return to the launch site (RTLS). Both the US Space Shuttle—with one of its abort modes—and the Soviet Buran


title: Launch vehicle

text: had a designed-in capability to return a part of the launch vehicle to the launch site via the mechanism of horizontal-landing of the spaceplane portion of the launch vehicle. In both cases, the main vehicle thrust structure and the large propellant tank were expendable, as had been the standard procedure for all orbital launch vehicles flown prior to that time. Both were subsequently demonstrated on actual orbital nominal flights, although both also had an abort mode during launch that could conceivably allow the crew to land the spaceplane following an off-nominal launch.


title: Launch vehicle

text: In the 2000s, both SpaceX and Blue Origin have privately developed a set of technologies to support vertical landing of the booster stage of a launch vehicle.


title: Launch vehicle

text: After 2010, SpaceX undertook a development program to acquire the ability to bring back and vertically land a part of the Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle: the first stage. The first successful landing was done in December 2015, since then several additional rocket stages landed either at a landing pad adjacent to the launch site or on a landing platform at sea, some distance away from the launch site. The Falcon Heavy is similarly designed to reuse the three cores comprising its first stage. On its first flight in February 2018, the two outer cores successfully returned to the launch site landing pads while the center core targeted the landing platform at sea but did not successfully land on it.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Blue Origin developed similar technologies for bringing back and landing their suborbital "New Shepard", and successfully demonstrated return in 2015, and successfully reused the same booster on a second suborbital flight in January 2016. By October 2016, Blue had reflown, and landed successfully, that same launch vehicle a total of five times. It must however be noted that the launch trajectories of both vehicles are very different, with New Shepard going straight up and down, whereas Falcon 9 has to cancel substantial horizontal velocity and return from a significant distance downrange.


title: Launch vehicle

text: Both Blue Origin and SpaceX also have additional reusable launch vehicles under development. Blue is developing the first stage of the orbital New Glenn LV to be reusable, with first flight planned for no earlier than 2020.


title: Launch vehicle

text: SpaceX has a new super-heavy launch vehicle under development for missions to interplanetary space. The Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) is designed to support RTLS, vertical-landing and full reuse of "both" the booster stage and the integrated second-stage/large-spacecraft that are designed for use with the BFR. First launch is expected in the early 2020s.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Family is an American television drama series that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network from 1976 to 1980. It was originally conceived as a limited series; its first season consisted of six episodes. A total of 86 episodes were produced. Creative control of the show was split among executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling, and Mike Nichols.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: "Family" depicted, for its time, a contemporary traditional family with realistic, believable characters. The show starred Sada Thompson and James Broderick as Kate and Doug Lawrence, a happily married middle-class couple living at 1230 Holland Street in Pasadena, California with their three children: Nancy (portrayed by Elayne Heilveil in the original miniseries, then by Jane Actman for the first 2 episodes of Season 2, and finally Meredith Baxter Birney for the remainder of the show's run), Willie (Gary Frank), and Letitia, nicknamed "Buddy" (Kristy McNichol). An early episode establishes that the couple had another son, Timothy, who had died five years prior in an accident. The show raised the profile of all of its featured actors and, in particular, catapulted McNichol to stardom.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: In the fourth season, eleven-year-old Annie Cooper (Quinn Cummings) is adopted by the family after the death of her parents, Kate and Doug's college friends, in a car accident.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Storylines were often topical. "Family" often featured what has come to be known as "very special episodes". In the first episode, Nancy walks in on her husband having sex with one of her friends. During the second season she and Jeff divorce, but he appears occasionally thereafter to complicate the Lawrences' lives. Other storylines include Kate's possible breast cancer and Buddy's dilemmas about whether to have sex; she always chooses to wait. Other episodes deal with homosexuality: in a 1976 episode ("Rites of Friendship"), Willie's childhood friend Zeke is arrested in a gay bar and Willie struggles to accept his friend's sexuality, while a 1977 episode ("We Love You, Miss Jessup") deals with Buddy's friendship with a lesbian teacher. "Family" also contends with alcoholism (Doug's sister; Buddy's friend) and dementia: A 1979 episode directed by Joanne Woodward guest-stars Henry Fonda as Doug's father, who is beginning to experience cognitive decline. Two years later, Fonda would win an Academy Award for playing a similar character in "On Golden Pond".


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: The initial showrunners of "Family" were Nigel McKeand and Carol Evan McKeand, who previously had been writers for "The Waltons". After the fourth season, the McKeands departed and were replaced by Edward Zwick, who would go on to produce the acclaimed series "thirtysomething", "My So-Called Life" and "Once and Again".


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Many well-known (or soon-to-be well-known) actors and actresses appeared on the series, including Howard Hesseman, Ted Danson, Michael J. Fox, Linda Lavin, Tommy Lee Jones, James Woods, Michael Keaton, Kim Cattrall, Shelley Long, Henry Fonda, Mare Winningham, Helen Hunt, Dana Plato, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Annie Potts, Blair Brown, Dominique Dunne, Steve Guttenberg, René Auberjonois and Stephanie Zimbalist.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Meredith Baxter's real-life mother, Whitney Blake, guest starred, as did David Birney, who was Baxter's husband at the time.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: "Family" was widely acclaimed, with many critics calling it a rare quality offering in ABC's primetime schedule, which at the time contained "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley" and "The Love Boat".


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: In the fourth season, some critics took issue with the show's direction. In February 1979, Noel Holston of The Orlando Sentinel called "Family" "ABC's most prestigious program" but claimed "the producers' crisis-of-the-week approach is starting to strain the series' credibility." Some critics complained that "Family", like many TV shows of the period, had become too reliant on sex-related plots. In spring 1979, ABC shifted the show to a Friday night death slot of 8pm, and its previously solid ratings dropped to near the bottom of the chart. As a result, "Family" was renewed for a final season of 13 episodes that began at midseason and aired intermittently.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Despite its occasionally adult themes, the series was consistently praised by the National Parent-Teacher Association. In February 1979, the PTA said "Family" contained "good parenting lessons" and "slightly controversial" but "excellent" content, recommending it for viewing by teens and older.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Seven years after the series' cancellation, it was widely reported that a "Family Reunion" TV movie was planned for the 1987–88 season. At least one report indicated that if its ratings were strong enough, the series would be revived for the then-current ABC schedule. The plot was to involve the Lawrence children gathering for Kate's remarriage. (James Broderick had died of cancer in 1982.) But the writers' strike that year halted production, and the project was abandoned.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: In the original spring 1976 miniseries run of "Family", the theme music is a dramatic-sounding, yet low-key piano solo with minor orchestral contingents, composed by cast member John Rubinstein (son of classical musician Arthur Rubinstein). When "Family" was picked up as a regular series for the fall 1976 schedule, the theme music was changed to a more cheery, upbeat instrumental dominated by trumpets and horns, also written by Rubinstein. This version lasted the rest of the run.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: "Family" became the subject of a 24-year legal dispute due to a lawsuit filed by writer Jeri Emmet in 1977. The claim was against Spelling Television and alleged that Spelling had stolen the idea for the show from a script that Emmet had submitted, titled "The Best Years". Spelling responded to the lawsuit with a statement explaining that he had conceived the idea in his kitchen with Leonard Goldberg, his professional partner. Next they pitched the idea to scriptwriter Jay Presson Allen to create the pilot. She had just completed writing the screenplay for the film "Funny Lady", starring Barbra Streisand and directed by Herbert Ross.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: In October 1981, the suit was dismissed for lack of prosecution. Jeri Emmet filed an appeal the same month. Approximately a year later, she withdrew her appeal as part of a settlement with Spelling and Goldberg for $1,000. Emmet later filed a legal malpractice action against her own lawyers in which it was argued that she would have won her original lawsuit but for the malpractice. The case went to trial and a jury awarded her $1.7 million in damages. The verdict was then successfully appealed based on the resumption of the suit having occurred beyond a one-year limitation period allowed in the law: the trial result and judgment were overturned.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Emmet sued Spelling a second time, in 1996, after Spelling published his memoirs. She claimed that Spelling had defamed her in his book, as she had not been credited with conceiving the original idea for "Family". She lost on appeal in 2001, with the court saying she had not met the standard for showing damages due to the alleged defamation and that she had not explained how the defamation legally constituted a second theft of the same intellectual property. The litigation finally concluded with Allen retaining her "Created by" credit for the series.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: On September 5, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first two seasons of "Family" on DVD in Region 1. On January, 2016, two box sets containing a total of 28 episodes were released in Germany by ALIVE VERTRIEBS- UND MARKETING. These box sets contain select episodes from seasons 1 to 3.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: Beginning in July 2021, all five seasons of "Family" — uncut, were available for viewing on Tubi in their original broadcast running times, except for the season 4 episode 'Magic,' which appears in its syndicated edited form at 44 minutes in length (as opposed to the usual 49 minutes). However, Tubi no longer has episodes of the show in its library. As of July 2022, Family is on Tubi again.


title: Family (1976 TV series)

text: The show currently airs on MeTV+, a companion network to MeTV that is available in select TV markets.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, also called antidepressant withdrawal syndrome, is a condition that can occur following the interruption, reduction, or discontinuation of antidepressant medication following its continuous use of at least a month. The symptoms may include flu-like symptoms, trouble sleeping, nausea, poor balance, sensory changes, anxiety, and depression. The problem usually begins within three days and may last for several months or years. Rarely psychosis may occur.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: A discontinuation syndrome can occur after stopping any antidepressant including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). The risk is greater among those who have taken the medication for longer and when the medication in question has a short half-life. The underlying reason for its occurrence is unclear. The diagnosis is based on the symptoms.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Methods of prevention include gradually decreasing the dose among those who wish to stop, though it is possible for symptoms to occur with tapering. Treatment may include restarting the medication and slowly decreasing the dose. People may also be switched to the long acting antidepressant fluoxetine which can then be gradually decreased.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Approximately 20–50% of people who suddenly stop an antidepressant develop an antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. The condition is generally not serious, though about half of people with symptoms describe them as severe. Many restart antidepressants due to the severity of the symptoms.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: People with antidepressant discontinuation syndrome have been on an antidepressant for at least four weeks and have recently stopped taking the medication, whether abruptly, after a fast taper, or each time the medication is reduced on a slow taper. Commonly reported symptoms include flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, sweating) and sleep disturbances (insomnia, nightmares, constant sleepiness). Sensory and movement disturbances have also been reported, including imbalance, tremors, vertigo, dizziness, and electric-shock-like experiences in the brain, often described by people who have them as "brain zaps". These "brain zaps" have been described as an electric shock felt in the skull, potentially triggered by lateral eye movement, and at times accompanied by vertigo, pain, or dissociative symptoms. Some individuals consider it as a pleasant experience akin to an orgasm, however it is more often reported as an unpleasant experience that interferes with daily function. Mood disturbances such as dysphoria, anxiety, or agitation are also reported, as are cognitive disturbances such as confusion and hyperarousal.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: In cases associated with sudden discontinuation of MAO inhibitors, acute psychosis has been observed. Over fifty symptoms have been reported.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: A 2009 Advisory Committee to the FDA found that online anecdotal reports of discontinuation syndrome related to duloxetine included severe symptoms and exceeded prevalence of both paroxetine and venlafaxine reports by over 250% (although acknowledged this may have been influenced by duloxetine being a much newer drug). It also found that the safety information provided by the manufacturer not only neglected important information about managing discontinuation syndrome, but also explicitly advised against opening capsules, a practice required to gradually taper dosage.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Most cases of discontinuation syndrome may last between one and four weeks and resolve on their own. Occasionally symptoms can last up to one year. They typically resolve within a day of restoring the medication. Paroxetine and venlafaxine seem to be particularly difficult to discontinue, and prolonged withdrawal syndrome (post-acute-withdrawal syndrome, or PAWS) lasting over 18 months has been reported with paroxetine.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: The underlying reason for its occurrence is unclear, though the syndrome appears similar to withdrawal from other psychotropic drugs such as benzodiazepines.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: In some cases, withdrawal symptoms may be prevented by taking medication as directed, and when discontinuing, doing so gradually, although symptoms may appear while tapering. When discontinuing an antidepressant with a short half-life, switching to a drug with a longer half-life (e.g. fluoxetine or citalopram) and then tapering, and eventually discontinuing, from that drug can decrease the severity of symptoms in some cases.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Treatment is dependent on the severity of the discontinuation reaction and whether or not further antidepressant treatment is warranted. In cases where further antidepressant treatment is prescribed, then the only option suggested may be restarting the antidepressant. If antidepressants are no longer required, treatment depends on symptom severity. If symptoms of discontinuation are severe, or do not respond to symptom management, the antidepressant can be reinstated and then withdrawn more cautiously, or by switching to a drug with a longer half life, (such as fluoxetine), and then tapering and discontinuing that drug. In severe cases, hospitalization may be required.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Antidepressants, including SSRIs, can cross the placenta and have the potential to affect the fetus and newborn, including an increased chance of miscarriage, presenting a dilemma for pregnant women to decide whether to continue to take antidepressants at all, or if they do, considering if tapering and discontinuing during pregnancy could have a protective effect for the newborn.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Postnatal adaptation syndrome (PNAS) (originally called "neonatal behavioral syndrome", "poor neonatal adaptation syndrome", or "neonatal withdrawal syndrome") was first noticed in 1973 in newborns of mothers taking antidepressants; symptoms in the infant include irritability, rapid breathing, hypothermia, and blood sugar problems. The symptoms usually develop from birth to days after delivery and usually resolve within days or weeks of delivery.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Antidepressant discontinuation symptoms were first reported with imipramine, the first tricyclic antidepressant (TCA), in the late 1950s, and each new class of antidepressants has brought reports of similar conditions, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), SSRIs, and SNRIs. As of 2001, at least 21 different antidepressants, covering all the major classes, were known to cause discontinuation syndromes. The problem has been poorly studied, and most of the literature has been case reports or small clinical studies; incidence is hard to determine and controversial.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: With the explosion of use and interest in SSRIs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, focused especially on Prozac, interest grew as well in discontinuation syndromes. Some of the symptoms emerged from discussion boards where people with depression discussed their experiences with the disease and their medications; "brain zaps" or "brain shivers" was one symptom that emerged via these websites.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: Heightened media attention and continuing public concerns led to the formation of an expert group on the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in England, to evaluate all the research available prior to 2004. The group determined that the incidence of discontinuation symptoms are between 5% and 49%, depending on the particular SSRI, the length of time on the medicine and abrupt versus gradual cessation.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: With the lack of a definition based on consensus criteria for the syndrome, a panel met in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1997 to form a draft definition, which other groups continued to refine.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: In the late 1990s, some investigators thought that the fact that symptoms emerged when antidepressants were discontinued might mean that antidepressants were causing addiction, and some used the term "withdrawal syndrome" to describe the symptoms. While people taking antidepressants do not commonly exhibit drug-seeking behavior, stopping antidepressants leads to similar symptoms as found in drug withdrawal from benzodiazapines, and other psychotropic drugs. As such, some researchers advocate the term withdrawal over discontinuation, to communicate the similar physiological dependence and negative outcomes. Due to pressure from pharmaceutical companies who make anti-depressants, the term "withdrawal syndrome" is no longer used by drug makers, and thus, most doctors, due to concerns that they may be compared to other drugs more commonly associated with withdrawal.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: In 2013, a proposed class action lawsuit, "Jennifer L Saavedra v. Eli Lilly and Company", was brought against Eli Lilly claiming that the Cymbalta label omitted important information about "brain zaps" and other symptoms upon cessation. Eli Lilly moved for dismissal per the "learned intermediary doctrine" as the doctors prescribing the drug were warned of the potential problems and are an intermediary medical judgment between Lilly and patients; in December 2013, Lilly's motion to dismiss was denied.


title: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

text: The mechanisms of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome have not yet been conclusively identified. The leading hypothesis is that after the antidepressant is discontinued, there is a temporary, but in some cases, long-lasting, deficiency in the brain of one or more essential neurotransmitters that regulate mood, such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, and since neurotransmitters are an interrelated system, dysregulation of one affects the others.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: There are at least three passages that refer to non-heterosexual sexual intercourse in the New Testament (NT), all of which are found in the Pauline epistles: Romans , 1 Corinthians , and 1 Timothy . A fourth passage, found in Jude , is often interpreted as referring to homosexuality. In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus discusses marriage only in a heterosexual context when he cites the Book of Genesis during a discussion of marriage (Mark and Matthew ).


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The references to homosexuality itself in the New Testament hinge on the interpretation of three specific Koine Greek terms: (), (), and () along with its cognates. While it is not disputed that the three Greek words apply to sexual relations between men (and possibly between women), some academics interpret the relevant passages as a prohibition against pederasty or prostitution rather than homosexuality "per se", while some scholars hold the historical position that these passages forbid all same sex sexual acts and relationships.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In 1984, gay historian Joseph Wallfield, writing under the pen name Warren Johansson, revived a 1922 proposal by German philologist Friedrich Schulthess, that "racha" of should be equated with the Hebrew , meaning "soft" or "weak", a "weakling" or "effeminate person."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: As a hapax legomenon, the translators of King James had left "raca" uninterpreted; this remained true at the time of Schulthess' writing. However, the interpretation of "raca" as sexually connoted received support with the 1934 publication of an ancient Egyptian papyrus written in Greek in 257 BC, which contained the word "rachas".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Johansson further suggested that the Greek word , translated above as "fool," refers to a male aggressor. As in Genesis 19:4-6, the allusion to punishment makes this interpretation more plausible. As stated by New York University Sociology Professor David F. Greenberg, "It is tempting to infer that Jesus' denunciation of those who speak abusively to others about their homosexual practices, unaccompanied by any condemnation of the practices themselves, implies a defense of those who engage in them. This would [however] go considerably beyond the text...".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The context is Paul's mission to the gentiles, the gospel being "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (1:16), followed by a description of pagan idolatry in verses 1:21–25. The phrase "passions of dishonor" (KJV: "vile affections") translates ,


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In the expressions "natural use" and "contrary to nature", "nature" translates , i.e. "Physis". The term "error" translates , (lit. "straying, wandering").


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The authenticity of the passage is in doubt; scholars and theologians have proposed its being part of a larger non-Pauline interpolation. Furthermore, many contend 1:18-32 represents not Paul's own position but his summary of Hellenistic Jewish legalism. Calvin Porter, for example, concludes that "in 2:1-16, as well as through Romans as a whole, Paul, as part of his gentile mission, challenges, argues against, and refutes both the content of the discourse [of 1.18-32] and the practice of using such discourses. If that is the case then the ideas in Rom. 1.18-32 are not Paul's. They are ideas which obstruct Paul's gentile mission theology and practice."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The authors of the New Testament had their roots in the Jewish tradition, which is commonly interpreted as prohibiting homosexuality. A more conservative biblical interpretation contends "the most authentic reading of [Romans] 1:26-27 is that which sees it prohibiting homosexual activity in the most general of terms, rather than in respect of more culturally and historically specific forms of such activity".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Several early church writers state that Romans 1:26b is a condemnation of men having unnatural sex with women. Underlying Paul's thinking is Genesis 2:22-24, "The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; ...That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." For Paul, God's intended order is for male and female sexual relationships, united in marriage. That is what he saw as natural, and therefore same sex relationships were unnatural. In 1 Romans, Paul is giving examples of what happens when people abandon God's plan.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The passage has been described by David Hilborn of the Evangelical Alliance as "the most important biblical reference for the homosexuality debate". In common with many traditional commentators, Hilborn goes on to argue that condemnation of homosexual activity is derived from the "broad contours" of Paul's argument, in addition to the selective reading of individual words or phrases.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Yale University professor John Boswell (1980) speculated that the text does not condemn "homosexual acts by homosexuals", but rather "homosexual acts committed by heterosexual persons". Boswell argues that the conceptual modality (natural laws) which would provide the basis for the condemnation of homosexuality did not exist prior to the Enlightenment era. Hays argues that Romans 1:26-27 is part of a general condemnation of humans, in which males and females, have rejected their creational (as in Genesis) distinctions, with homoeroticism being intrinsically wrong.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: John J. McNeill (1993) also invokes "heterosexuals" who "abandoned heterosexuality" or "exchanged heterosexuality for homosexuality". Joe Dallas (1996), opposing what he saw as "pro-gay theology" behind such interpretations, contended that the apostle Paul is condemning changing "the natural use into that which is against nature" (Romans 1:26-27), and to suggest that Paul is referring to "heterosexuals indulging in homosexual behavior requires unreasonable mental gymnastics".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Jeramy Townsley goes on to specify the context of Romans 1:26-27 as the continuation of Paul's condemnation of the worship of pagan gods from earlier in the chapter, linking the 'homosexuality' implied in Romans 1:27 to the practice of temple prostitution with castrated priests of Cybele, practices condemned more explicitly in the Old Testament (1 Kings 15:12, 2 Kings 23:7), the same religious group that violently attacked Paul in Ephesus, driving him from the city (Acts 19). The implication is that the goddess religions, the castrated priests and temple prostitution had a wide impact in ancient Mediterranean culture so would immediately evoke an image for the 1st-century audience of non-Yahwistic religious idolatry, practices not familiar to the modern reader, which makes it easy to misinterpret these verses. On the other hand, Brooten notes that Clement of Alexandria likely interpreted Romans 1:27 as a condemnation of lesbians. Mona West argues that Paul is condemning specific types of homosexual activity (such as temple prostitution or pederasty) rather than a broader interpretation. West argues that Paul is speaking to a gentile audience, in terms that they would understand, to show that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The phrase "abusers of themselves with mankind" translates , also rendered "sodomites" (YLT), or "men who have sex with men" (NIV). Paul's use of the word in 1 Corinthians is the earliest example of the term; its only other usage is in a similar list of wrongdoers given (possibly by the same author) in 1 Timothy 1:8–11. The term rendered as "effeminate" is , with a literal meaning of "soft". Nowhere else in scripture is used to describe a person.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: These verses are a continuation of Paul's berating the Christians at Corinth for suing one another before pagan judges in Roman courts, which he sees as an infringement upon the holiness of the Christian community. Paul lists a catalogue of typical vices that exclude a person from the kingdom of God, specifically vices that the church members either practiced and would still be practicing but for the fact they were now Christians, with the express intention of showing church members that they ought to be able to settle minor disputes within the community, and above all, deal with each other charitably.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The term relevant to homosexuality, "that defile themselves with mankind", translates (), the same term for homosexuals used in 1 Corinthians. Other translations of the term include: "them that do lechery with men" (Wycliffe 1382), "those practicing homosexuality" (NIV), "those who abuse themselves with men" (Amplified Version, 1987).


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Since the 19th century, many scholars have suggested that First Timothy, along with Second Timothy and Titus, are not inspired work original to Paul, but rather an unknown Christian writing some time in the late-1st to mid-2nd century. Most scholars now affirm this view.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The expression of "giving themselves over to fornication" translates , , rendered as "sexual immorality" in both NIV and ESV; the phrase "going after strange flesh" is a literal translation of , rendered as "perversion" in NIV and as "pursued unnatural desire" in ESV. However, scholarly debate remains open whether the transgression of Sodom and Gomorrah is rooted in homosexual actions or consistent with Genesis stories regarding Abraham's hospitality to strangers (see ).


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Simon J. Kistemaker notes that the Greek phrase (, "strange flesh") is often interpreted as the specific desire on the part of the Sodomites to have sexual relations with angels.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In Matthew 19:3, Jesus is asked "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?" He answered that:


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Rob Gagnon, an associate professor of New Testament studies, argues it is "obvious" that Jesus' back-to-back references to Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 show that he "presupposed a two-sex requirement for marriage" even though the question he was being asked was about a contemporary dispute about whether married couples could divorce.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Leroy Huizenga, a Catholic theology professor, acknowledges the question's origin in a dispute between rabbis as to whether divorce was permissible for adultery, for "many" reasons, or for "any reason, including 'even if he find one fairer than she'", and claims Jesus' reply as meaning that Genesis trumps Moses allowing divorce in Deuteronomy. Huizenga argues that Jesus' reference to Genesis is "likely" to include the command in Genesis 1:28 to "Be fruitful and multiply". Thus for him, Jesus is affirming that marriage is a union meant to be fruitful, ideally to result in children. Huizenga says Jesus' teaching about marriage here does modify the position held by his Jewish contemporaries, but in drawing on the creation accounts it is "more radical and less permissive".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Interestingly, still in response to the question in Matthew 19:3, Jesus speaks further and discusses a class he calls 'eunuchs', which would seem to be a reference to something more than simply those who have removed their testicles or external genitalia (or had them removed) or been born without such:


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The word translated as "practicing homosexuals" has been alternately rendered as "abusers of themselves with mankind" (King James Version, 21st Century King James Version), "sodomites" (Young's Literal Translation), or "homosexuals" (New American Standard Bible), "men who practice homosexuality" (English Standard Version), "those who abuse themselves with men" (Amplified Bible), "for those who have a twisted view of sex" (New International Readers Version), "for sexual perverts" (Good News Translation), "for abusers of themselves with men" (American Standard Version) or, in German and several other Northern European languages, as "pederasts." The original term is unknown before it appears in Paul's writings. (), meaning "a male who lies down with a male" (, "male"; , , "bed"), rather than the normal terms from the Greek culture. Within the Bible, it only occurs in this passage and in a similar list in 1 Timothy 1:9-10.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The term is thought to be either a Jewish coinage from the Greek (Septuagint) translation of Leviticus 20:13, or even Paul's own coinage:


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In contrast, John Boswell argues that this is a term specifically created by Paul, and that given its unusual nature, the fact that Paul did not use one of the more common pagan Greek terms, and given its direct reference to the Levitical laws, it is a matter of debate whether Paul was referring generally to any person having homosexual sex, or whether it referred only to anal sex of any form (cf. Elliott 2004). Other translations of the word, based on examinations of the context of its subsequent uses, include Dale B. Martin's (1996), who argued it meant "homosexual slave trader", and Boswell's (1980) who argued it referred to "homosexual rape" or homosexual prostitutes. Like Martin Luther, Scroggs perceives it as referring to exploitative pederasty.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The term was rarely used in Church writings (Elliott 1994), with Townsley (2003) counting a total of 73 references. Most are ambiguous in nature, although St. John Chrysostom, in the 4th century, seems to use the term to refer to pederasty common in the Greco-Roman culture of the time, and Patriarch John IV of Constantinople in the 6th century used it to refer to anal sex: "some men even commit the sin of with their wives" (Townsley 2003). Moreover, Hippolytus of Rome in his "Refutation of all Heresies" describes a Gnostic teaching, according to which an evil angel Naas committed adultery with Eve and with Adam. The context suggests the translation of as pederasty, although it might have a different meaning.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: John Boswell argues that in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 refers specifically to male prostitution.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In his 2006 book "Sex and the Single Savior", Dale B. Martin discusses examples of the word's usage outside of Paul's writings and argues that "no one knows" what it meant but that "It is certainly possible, I think probable, that referred to a particular role of exploiting others by means of sex, perhaps but not necessarily by homosexual sex."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Some scholars argue the word is more against the restriction of the word to pederasty. For example, Scobie states that "there is no evidence that the term was restricted to pederasty; beyond doubt, the NT here repeats the Leviticus condemnation of all same-sex relations". Similarly, Campbell writes, "it must be pointed out, first, that is a broad term that cannot be confined to specific instances of homosexual activity such as male prostitution or pederasty. This is in keeping with the term's Old Testament background where lying with a 'male' (a very general term) is proscribed, relating to every kind of male-male intercourse." Campbell (quoting from Wenham) goes on to say that, "in fact, the Old Testament bans every type of homosexual intercourse, not just male prostitution or intercourse with youths."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Others have pointed out that the meaning of is identified by its derivation from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, where the component words "with a man () do not copulate coitus () as with a woman" refer to homosexual conduct. For example, according to Hays, although the word appears nowhere in Greek literature prior to Paul's use of it, it is evidently a rendering into Greek of the standard rabbinic term for "one who lies with a male [as with a woman]" (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). Moreover, despite recent challenges to this interpretation, the meaning is confirmed by the evidence of "Sybilline Oracles" 2.73. Paul here repeats the standard Jewish condemnation of homosexual conduct. Malick ("op cit") writes, "it is significant that of all the terms available in the Greek language, Paul chose a compound from the Septuagint that in the broadest sense described men lying with men as they would lie with women." According to Scobie, "it clearly echoes the Greek of [Leviticus] 18:22 and 20:13 in the LXX ( = "male", and = "bed"), so that literally means "one who goes to bed with a male".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: David Wright argues that the compound word refers to those who sleep with males, and denotes "'male homosexual activity' without qualification." Haas, reviewing the various arguments on both sides, concluded that "an examination of the biblical passages from linguistic, historical and ethical-theological perspectives fails to support the revisionist ethic and reinforces the traditional Christian teaching that homosexual practice is morally wrong." Via also agrees "arsenokoitēs" refers to homosexual activity. James B. De Young presents similar arguments.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: This word is translated as "male prostitutes" (NRSV), "effeminate" (NASB), or "catamites" (TJB; in the footnotes of the NKJV), in 1 Corinthians 6:9.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The Greek word ; "malakos" carries a root meaning of soft, luxurious or dainty, but here, G. Fee argues, it is used in a much darker way, possibly referring to the more passive partner in a homosexual relationship. According to Scroggs ("op cit"), the word "malakos" in Paul's list refers specifically to this category of person, the effeminate call-boy. Others, for example Olson, based on previous and subsequent uses of the term, interprets "malakos" to mean an effeminate but not necessarily homosexual man. Olson argues that the μαλακοί in Paul's time, "almost always referred in a negative, pejorative way to a widely despised group of people who functioned as effeminate 'call boys'."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Dale B. Martin argues that "it would never have occurred to an ancient person to think that or any other word indicating the feminine in itself referred to homosexual sex at all. It could just as easily refer to heterosexual sex."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Lexical evidence from Greek texts indicates the word was used to refer to the passive partner in a male homosexual act. For example, Malick ("op cit") writes that a significant expression of this usage is found in a letter from Demophon, a wealthy Egyptian, to Ptolemaeus, a police official, concerning needed provisions for a coming festival. According to Ukleja, "a strong possible translation of both "malakos" (and "arsenokoitēs") is the morally loose (effeminate) who allow themselves to be used homosexually and the person who is a practicing homosexual." Ukleja cites a number of classical Greek sources in support his assertion.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The meaning of the word is not confined to male prostitutes. According to Malick ("op cit"), when "malakos" is employed in reference to sexual relationships of men with men, it is not a technical term for male call-boys in a pederastic setting. The term may mean effeminate with respect to boys or men who take the role of a woman in homosexual relationships. Nor is the meaning of the word confined to sexually exploited males.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Standard Greek lexicons and dictionaries understand this word as a reference to the passive partner in a male homosexual act. Most scholars think it means someone wilfully engaged in homosexual relations.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Some theologians have argued that, when read in historical context, the Jewish Platonist philosopher Philo of Alexandria used the term in reference to temple prostitution.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: According to Roy Ward, "malakos" was used to describe an item soft to the touch, such as a soft pillow or cloth. When used negatively, the term meant faint-hearted, lacking in self-control, weak or morally weak with no link to same-gender sexual behaviour.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Whether these lists include homosexuality depends on the translation of (sexual impurity). Translations of these passages generally translate as fornication rather than sexual impurity (see Leviticus). Some interpret the translation of more broadly, to encompass sexual immorality in general, though there is disagreement over whether such an interpretation is supported by the writings of the Church Fathers.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: This event is referred to in both Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 and tells of Jesus healing a centurion's servant. Luke 7:2 (TNIV) says: "There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die." The term translated from the Greek as "servant" in this verse is (. Elsewhere in the two accounts, the term used for the ill person is (), a term that can be translated in a number of different ways including "child" (, Matthew 2:16; Lk 2:43, 8:51-54 where it refers to a girl), "son" (John 4:51) or "servant" (Lk 15:26, Acts 4:25); elsewhere it is unclear whether "son" or "servant" is meant (Acts 3:13, 3:26, 4:27, 4:30).


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Horner and Daniel A. Helminiak both suggest a homosexual theme to this text. Helminiak argues that this is implied by the broader context of the narrative suggesting an unusual level of concern about the servant, whereas Horner suggests that use of the term "valued highly" implies a sexual relationship. Horner goes on to argue that, as Jesus commended the centurion for his faith (Matthew 8:10; Luke 7:9), it shows that Jesus approved of their relationship, otherwise he would have condemned him. However, a contrasting viewpoint is that the term "highly valued" (, ) simply suggests a genuine care for the person or, more archaically, that the centurion was fond of this slave, and that the term has no hint of sexual content in any of its various appearances in the Bible. Jay Michaelson argues that the term "pais" is actually mistranslated as "servant" when its true meaning is "lover".


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Other biblical scholars dismiss any suggestions of a homosexual theme as deliberately distorted interpretations of the text. Marston argues that Jesus would not have condoned any homosexual relationship, in line with the weight of other scriptural evidence, while Chapman suggests that even if the relationship had been homosexual, his lack of condemnation does not necessarily equate to his approval of them.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In Matthew 19:12, Jesus discusses eunuchs who were born as such, eunuchs who were made so by others, and eunuchs who choose to live as such for the kingdom of heaven. Clement of Alexandria wrote in his commentary on it that "some men, from their birth, have a natural sense of repulsion from a woman; and those who are naturally so constituted do well not to marry". The select 144,000 referenced in the heavenly vision of John in Revelation 14:4 are "the ones who have not been defiled with women...they are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes...these have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD established 20 new laws called canons. The first of these was the prohibition of self castration.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The Ethiopian eunuch, an early gentile convert encountered in Acts 8, has been described as an early gay Christian, based on the fact that the word "eunuch" in the Bible was not always used literally, as in Matthew 19:12.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: In the Epistle to the Romans 1:26-27 (ESV), Paul writes, "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature". This is the only known specific reference in the Bible to female homosexuality. Most interpreters assume that, due to the analogy with same-sex lust between males, Paul is referring to female same-sex behavior. This assumption is not conclusive, and it remains difficult to discern exactly what Paul meant by women exchanging natural intercourse for unnatural.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Brooten cites both Anastasios and Augustine as explicitly rejecting the 'lesbian hypothesis' (p. 337). Hanks asserts that "not until John Chrysostom (ca 400 CE) does anyone (mis)interpret Romans 1:26 as referring to relations between two women" (p. 90). Townsley notes that other early writers, possibly including Chrysostom, reject the 'lesbian' hypothesis, specifically, Ambrosiaster, Didymus the Blind and Clement of Alexandria.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Thomas E. Schmidt's dictionary entry on the topic concludes that a process of spirituality and sexuality are developmental in the life of Christian believers and proper instruction is towards "a growth in discipleship" rather than self-identity.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: The history of Christianity and homosexuality has been much debated. The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and its traditional interpretations in Judaism and Christianity have historically affirmed and endorsed a patriarchal and heteronormative approach towards human sexuality, favouring exclusively penetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries of marriage over all other forms of human sexual activity, including autoeroticism, masturbation, oral sex, non-penetrative and non-heterosexual sexual intercourse (all of which have been labeled as "sodomy" at various times), believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they're considered sinful, and further compared to or derived from the behavior of the alleged residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, the status of LGBT people in early Christianity is debated. Throughout the majority of Christian history, most Christian theologians and denominations have considered homosexual behavior as immoral or sinful.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Many commentators have argued that the references to homosexuality in the New Testament, or the Bible in general, have to be understood in their proper historical context. Indeed, most interpreters come to the text with a preconceived notion of what the Bible has to say about normative sexual behaviors, influencing subsequent interpretations. For example, William Walker says that the very notion of "homosexuality" (or even "heterosexuality", "bisexuality" and "sexual orientation") is essentially a modern concept that would simply have been unintelligible to the New Testament writers. The word "homosexuality" and the concept of sexual orientation as being separate from one's perceived masculinity or femininity (i.e. gender identity) did not take shape until the 19th century. Moreover, although some ancient Romans (i.e. doctors, astrologers, etc.) discussed congenital inclinations to unconventional sexual activities such as homosexuality, this classification fails to correspond to a modern psychological, biological and genetic distinction between homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual orientations. However, according to Gagnon, the concept of homosexual orientation was not wholly unknown in the Greco-Roman milieu. Moreover, he asserts that there is absolutely no evidence that modern orientation theory would have had any impact on Paul changing his strong negative valuation of homosexual practice.


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: A statement by the Bishops of the Church of England ("Issues in Human Sexuality") in 1991 illustrates a categorization and understanding of homosexuality, claiming that in ancient times "society recognized the existence of those, predominantly male, who appeared to be attracted entirely to members of their own sex." ("Issues in Human Sexuality" para 2.16, lines 8-9) which almost parallels that of modern ideation. The same study is careful to point out that "the modern concept of orientation has been developed against a background of genetic and psychological theory which was not available to the ancient world."


title: Homosexuality in the New Testament

text: Sarah Ruden, in her "Paul Among the People" (2010) argues that the only form of homosexual sex that was apparent to the public in Paul's time was exploitative pederasty, in which slave boys were raped by adult males, often very violently. Paul's condemnation of homosexuality, Ruden argues, can be interpreted most plausibly as a criticism of this kind of brutally exploitative behavior.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30. The campaign kicked off with the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis defeating the New Orleans in the NFL Kickoff Game.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The New England Patriots became the first team to complete the regular season undefeated since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. Four weeks after the playoffs began on January 5, 2008, the Patriots' bid for a perfect season was dashed when they lost to the New York in Super Bowl XLII, the league championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on February 3.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The 2007 NFL Draft was held from April 28 to 29, 2007 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Oakland Raiders selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell from Louisiana State University.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: John Parry was promoted to referee, replacing Bill Vinovich, who was forced to resign due to a heart condition. Vinovich would then serve as a replay official from 2007 to 2011. He would later be given a clean bill of health and return to the field as a referee in 2012.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in Phoenix, Arizona during the week of March 25–28:


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The Hall of Fame Game was played in Canton, Ohio on Sunday August 5, 2007, with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Saints by a score of 20–7; the game was televised by the NFL Network, replacing NBC, who had been previously scheduled to broadcast the China Bowl exhibition game from Beijing, China on August 8, 2007 between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Workers Stadium. However, with all efforts being put into the London regular season game, plans for the game were postponed (then later cancelled completely) as Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Based on the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2007 were:


title: 2007 NFL season

text: On March 26, 2007, the league announced the opening Saints-Colts Kickoff Game on September 6 that would be telecast on NBC. Pre-game activities featured Indiana native John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, and Kelly Clarkson. The entertainment portion of events started 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time of the game, leading up to the unveiling of the Colts’ Super Bowl XLI championship banner. The opening events were simulcast on NFL Network.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game September 9 at 8:15 p.m. US EDT. Monday Night Football on ESPN kicked off with a doubleheader on September 10 with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens at 7:00 p.m. US EDT, and the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Arizona Cardinals at 10:15 p.m. US EDT. The 49ers paid tribute to three-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Walsh, who died July 30, in that game.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: In October 2006, NFL club owners approved a plan to stage up to two international regular season games per season beginning in 2007 and continuing through at least 2011. On February 2, 2007, the league announced that the Week 8 contest between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins would be played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 28 at 5 p.m. GMT, which was 1 p.m. EDT) As the Giants were the away-team designate from the NFC, Fox broadcast the game in the USA according to league broadcast contract rules.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: In Week 9, the New England Patriots (8–0) faced the Indianapolis Colts (7–0) in a battle of undefeated teams. Thus there was a lot of hype surrounding the game, also due to the fact that these teams had met in the previous season's AFC Championship game, and would possibly meet later in the 2007 AFC Championship game. Many people dubbed the game "Super Bowl 41". The Patriots prevailed 24–20, and would finish the regular season as the league's first 16–0 team.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: For the second year in a row, three games were held on the United States' Thanksgiving Day (November 22). In addition to the traditional games hosted by the Detroit Lions and Cowboys (with those teams respectively playing the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets, with the Packers–Lions game starting at 12:30 p.m. US EST and the Jets–Cowboys game kicking off at 4:15 p.m. US EST respectively), the Colts faced the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. US EST.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The NFL entered its second year of flexible scheduling in the final weeks of the season. In each of the Sunday night contests from Weeks 11 through 17, NBC had the option of switching its Sunday night game for a more favorable contest, up to 12 days before the game's start.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: In addition to an extra week of flexible scheduling (because of the conflict with scheduling Christmas Eve the previous season, which NBC did not do (instead opting to air a game on Christmas Day), the NFL slightly changed its flex-schedule procedure. In 2006, the league did not reveal its predetermined Sunday night game; the reason given by the league was to avoid embarrassing the teams switched out for a more compelling game.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: In 2007, the league announced all predetermined matchups, with a footnote on the games subject to flex scheduling. Also, the network that carries the "doubleheader" week game (either CBS or Fox) will be able to switch one game per week into the 4:15 PM (US


title: 2007 NFL season

text: ET) time slot, except in the final week, when NBC will select one game for the 8:15 PM slot, and both CBS and Fox will have doubleheader games on December 30.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Week 12: The Denver–Chicago game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Week 13: The Tampa Bay–New Orleans game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Week 14: The Pittsburgh–New England game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The NFLPA, then led by their president Gene Upshaw and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, worked with player conduct in the form of suspensions for off the field conduct in light of the more than fifty arrests by local law enforcement since the start of the 2006 season. The hardest hit came on April 10 when Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee Titans was suspended for the entire season for his five arrests, the most blatant while in Las Vegas for the NBA All-Star Weekend in February where he was accused of causing a riot/shooting in a strip club. That same day, Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals was suspended for the first eight games of the season for his run-ins with the legal system. The other big name that has been caught in the web of controversy was Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick. Vick was charged on July 24, 2007 with dogfighting and animal abuse, and was suspended following a guilty plea in the case, on which he was sentenced to 23 months in prison (retroactive to November) and three years probation on December 10.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: On the evening of May 27, 2007, Marquise Hill, a defensive end for the New England Patriots and a friend fell off a jet ski in Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans. The two were wearing neither personal flotation nor tracking devices. The friend was rescued and sent to Tulane Medical Center, but Hill did not survive; his body was found the next day. The Patriots honored Hill, the first Patriots player to die while still a member of the team, by wearing black circular decals on their helmets with Hill's number, 91.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Fourth-year player Sean Taylor, a free safety for the Redskins, was shot in his home near Miami, Florida on November 26. Armed with a machete, Taylor confronted robbers who were breaking into his home—then 17-year-old Eric Rivera, Jr., 18-year-old Charles Wadlow, and 20-year-olds Jason Mitchell and Venjah Hunte. Rivera fired two shots from his 9 mm gun, one missing and the other hitting Taylor's leg, going from his right groin to his left according to an autopsy obtained by Associated Press. He died from his injuries the next day.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: For the remainder of the season, the Redskins honored him with a black patch on their right shoulder of the player uniform jerseys, while all 32 teams honored Taylor by applying a decal with his playing number (21) on the left back side of their helmets. Taylor was honored in all games during Week 13 and all three Redskins representatives in the Pro Bowl wore number 21 in his honor. In 2013, a jury found Rivera guilty of second-degree murder and armed burglary. In 2014 Rivera received a sentence of 57 years in prison; he testified someone else fired the gun. Jason Scott Mitchell was also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, Venjah Hunte was sentenced to 29 years in prison, Charles Wardlow to 30 years in prison, and Timmy Lee Brown to 18 years in prison.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: During the Patriots season opening game at The Meadowlands against the Jets, a Patriots camera staffer was ejected from the Patriots sideline and was accused of videotaping the Jets' defensive coaches relaying signals. The end result was that the team was fined $250,000, head coach Bill Belichick was docked $500,000 (the maximum fine that could be imposed) and also stripped of their first round selection of the 2008 NFL Draft. If the Pats had failed to make the playoffs, the penalty would have been their second and third round picks. The team was allowed to keep their other first-round pick acquired from the San Francisco 49ers during the previous year's selection meeting.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The 2007 season was the last in the RCA Dome for the Indianapolis Colts, who had played there since 1984. The franchise moved to the new Lucas Oil Stadium in time for the 2008 season, located directly across the street. The dome would be demolished, and an extension to the Indiana Convention Center would replace the stadium.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Alltel Stadium reverts to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium after Alltel declines to renew the naming rights of the Jacksonville Jaguars's home.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The 2007 season marked the second year under the league's television contracts with its American broadcast partners. CBS and Fox primarily televised Sunday afternoon AFC and NFC away games, respectively. NBC broadcast "Sunday Night Football", ESPN aired "Monday Night Football", and NFL Network held the rights to "Thursday Night Football".


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The pre-game shows made some changes, with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher joining host James Brown, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino on CBS’ "The NFL Today". On Fox, after one season on the road, "Fox NFL Sunday" returned to Los Angeles as Curt Menefee took over as full-time host. Chris Rose, who had been doing in-game updates of other NFL games, was reverted to a part-time play-by-play role.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The biggest changes were at NBC and ESPN. Michael Irvin’s contract with ESPN was not renewed, and former coach Bill Parcells returned to the network after four years as Cowboys head coach. Parcells left before the season ended to become the Miami Dolphins VP of Player Personnel. Another pair of former Cowboys, Emmitt Smith and Keyshawn Johnson also provided roles in the studio for "Sunday NFL Countdown" and "Monday Night Countdown". At "Monday Night Football", Joe Theismann was dropped (and would later resign from the network) after seventeen years in the booth between the Sunday and Monday Night packages, and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and current Philadelphia Soul (AFL) president Ron Jaworski took his place alongside Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser. Part of the reason that Jaworski replaced Theismann was because of his chemistry with Kornheiser on "Pardon the Interruption", where Jaworski was a frequent guest during the football season.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: NBC’s "Football Night in America" also made two changes. MSNBC "Countdown" anchor Keith Olbermann joined Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth as another co-host, while Sterling Sharpe exited as a studio analyst, and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber replaced him. In another change, Faith Hill took over singing “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” for Pink.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: In the second year of the NFL Network's “"Run to the Playoffs"”, Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders replaced Dick Vermeil for two games when Collinsworth was unavailable. An unforced change saw Bryant Gumbel miss the Broncos–Texans game December 13 due to a sore throat and NBC announcer Tom Hammond step into Gumbel's play-by-play role in what turned out to be more or less a preview of one of NBC's Wild Card Game announcing teams.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: The dispute between the NFL Network and various cable companies involving the distribution of the cable channel continued throughout the season, getting the attention of government officials when the NFL Network was scheduled to televise two high-profile regular season games: the Packers-Cowboys game on November 29 and the Patriots-Giants game on December 29. In the case of the Packers-Cowboys game, the carriage was so limited that even Governor of Wisconsin Jim Doyle went to his brother's house to watch the game on satellite (which is where the majority of the viewers watch the network). The contest drew a network record 10.1 million viewers, a high-water mark at that time.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: Some politicians urged the league to seek a resolution to conflict. In December, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry wrote a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking for the league to settle their differences in time for the Patriots-Giants game. Because the game, as it turned out, would be the Patriots' attempt to seal the record that would make them the first undefeated team in 35 years, Kerry urged for a solution to be decided upon in time so that Americans can witness "an historic event." Also, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter threatened to introduce legislation to eliminate the league's freedom from antitrust laws.


title: 2007 NFL season

text: On December 26, the NFL announced that, despite initial plans to broadcast the game only on the NFL Network, the game would be presented in a three-network simulcast with both CBS and NBC, the first time an NFL game would be broadcast on three networks, and the first simulcast of any pro football game since Super Bowl I. Nielsen ratings saw CBS with 15.7 million viewers, NBC with 13.2 million viewers and NFL Network with 4.5 million viewers for the game. In addition, local stations in New York City (WWOR-TV in nearby Secaucus, New Jersey), Boston (WCVB-TV), and Manchester, New Hampshire (WMUR-TV), all previously signed on to carry the game in the teams' home markets, added 1.2 million viewers, making it the most watched TV show since the 2007 Oscars and the most watched regular season NFL telecast in twelve years.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177) is the fourth and current generation of the A-Class range of subcompact executive hatchbacks and sedans. It was launched in 2018 as the successor to the W176 A-Class, with sales commencing in March 2018. The available body styles include:


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: The W177 A-Class hatchback officially debuted at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. It is based on the front-wheel drive MFA2 (Modular Front Architecture) platform and features front MacPherson struts, and rear torsion beam suspension on lower end models or a multi-link rear suspension on A250 models.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: In mid-2020, the production of the North American-market A-Class sedan returned to Rastatt, Germany from the COMPAS plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico to increase the production capacity of the GLB.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: A 4-door sedan model was released in late 2018. The A-Class sedan is sold alongside the A-Class hatchback in Europe, while it marks the first time the A-Class is offered in North America but as a sedan only in the US and as both a hatchback and sedan in Canada and Mexico.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: It is based on the Mercedes-Benz Concept A Sedan revealed at the 2017 Shanghai Motor Show and came in response to demand for a more practical alternative to the Mercedes-Benz CLA. A long-wheelbase sedan model (Z177) was also unveiled at the 2018 Auto China Show, featuring a longer wheelbase and is sold exclusively in China.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: At its debut Daimler claimed it had the lowest aerodynamic drag of all production vehicles in the world, with a drag area below 0.49 m, depending on exact equipment, including aerodynamic wheel and tire combination, grille shutters, etc.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: The W177 A-Class comes as standard with 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, keyless ignition, and LED daytime running lights.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: All models feature the new Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system with a redesigned touch interface and voice-controlled smart assistant that is activated by saying "Hey Mercedes". MBUX also contains what3words functionality as standard. It is also able to offer quick shortcuts to menus based on the past habits of the user. The system is also optionally available with an augmented reality navigation system that records and displays directional arrows on the road in the navigation system.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: Standard models feature two 7-inch displays for the instrument cluster and MBUX screen, and can be upgraded to a 10.25-inch display with touchpad controls, real-time traffic information, and traffic sign recognition. Other available options include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ambient lighting, a head-up display, and the use of a smartphone to lock or unlock the car via NFC.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: The A 35 4MATIC+ model was unveiled at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. It uses an all-wheel drive layout and has a 7-speed dual clutch AMG SpeedShift DCT transmission.


title: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177)

text: On 2 January 2019, the automobile insurance company, HUK24, accidentally revealed the information about new A 45 4MATIC+ and A 45 S 4MATIC+ AMG in its website. The engine is heavily revised M133 and renamed M139 with higher compression ratio (9.0:1 versus 8.6:1 for M133 engine) and a twin-scroll turbocharger situated behind the engine for better air flow management. There are two power levels: A 45 4MATIC+ with and and A 45 S 4MATIC+ with and . At , the M139 engine is the most powerful series production four-cylinder engine with specific output of per litre (or 104 hp per cylinder).


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Rufus Arthur Johnson (born July 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Bizarre, is an American rapper, best known for his work with the Detroit-based hip hop group D12.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Bizarre was born Rufus Arthur Johnson on July 5, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan. Bizarre grew up living with his single mother. He started rapping when he was in fifth grade. His teacher thought he was talking to himself, and began calling him 'Bizarre'. In 1995, he joined the rap group D12 with neighborhood friends DeShaun "Proof" Holton, Karnail "Bugz" Pitts, Carlos "Fuzz Scoota" Rabb, Willie "Eye Kyu" Drake, and Von "Kuniva" Carlisle. He also met Marshall "Eminem" Mathers through Proof. Bizarre used to attend a club on Friday nights called 'The Shelter' in Saint Andrew's Hall, where rap battles were held.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: He was then featured on D12's first EP in 1997 titled "The Underground EP". On the EP Bizarre recorded songs with D12 members Proof, Eye Kyu, Bugz, Eminem, Kuniva, & Mr Porter, before going on to release his debut solo EP titled "Attack of the Weirdos" in 1997. In 2001, D12 released their debut album, "Devil's Night". In 2004, he was a part of the second studio album of D12 titled "D12 World". Bizarre then released his first official studio album in 2005 titled "Hannicap Circus" through his own label Redhead Records, which received mixed reviews. He also appeared on the 2006 Shady Records compilation album "", on the track "Murder" along with D12 member, Kuniva. Following the death of rapper Proof in April 2006, he and the rest of D12 became inactive for some time.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In 2007, Bizarre released his second studio album called "Blue Cheese & Coney Island". In 2008, Bizarre and D12 recorded their first official mixtape titled "Return of the Dozen". A sequel titled "Return of the Dozen Vol. 2" followed in 2011.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In 2010, Bizarre released his third studio album on Average Joes Entertainment, titled "Friday Night at St. Andrews". The album is more reality-based on actual situations throughout Bizarre's early life and career, thus the album is more conscious than his previous releases. The album features guest appearances from Seven the General, Royce da 5'9", Tech N9ne, Yelawolf, Kuniva, and more.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: The first single released was "Believer" with Tech N9ne & Nate Walker. The second official single for the album was "Rap's Finest" featuring Kuniva, Seven the General, Royce da 5'9" & Redman. However, for unexplained reasons, Redman would not appear on the album version of the single or the video.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Bizarre, along with King Gordy, formed a hip hop duo called The Davidians. The Davidians were featured on Esham's mixtape, "The Butcher Shop". The duo is currently signed to Majik Ninja Entertainment under the name Last American Rock Stars. Bizarre was featured in Snowgoons's music video with Swifty McVay, King Gordy, Sean Strange and Meth Mouth.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In 2010, Bizarre was featured on the single "Be a Legend" with Russian hip-hop group Red Family MC'z. In 2011, Bizarre was featured on the track "Shock Em" with underground rap group Bankrupt Records for the album "Double Vision". In 2012, Bizarre released his fourth mixtape, titled "This Guy's a Weirdo", which includes a song titled "Justin Bieber" featuring King Gordy that was released along with a music video via Reel Wolf. In the song, Bizarre fantasizes about raping and murdering Canadian singer Justin Bieber.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In 2014, he released a song called "Pray for Me" for his upcoming album. His "Lace Blunts 2" mixtape was released in March 2014, with nineteen tracks featuring guest artists such as Fuzz Scoota of their group D12, Rittz, Young Zee, King Gordy, and Big T.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Bizarre was featured on an international collaboration track called "Fuck the DJ" by UK rapper Blacklisted MC also featuring Coolio, Adil Omar (from Pakistan) and Uzimon (from Bermuda) the song was premiered on music website Noisey from "Vice" magazine in October 2014.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Later in the year he wrote a verse alongside Detroit artists Mastamind and Jeremiah Ferguson for their song "Whats Right".


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In 2014, he was featured on the single "Open Heart Surgery" by rapper Lazarus. It was released under All Def Digital and it won the award for "Song of the Year" at the 12th Underground Music Awards in New York City.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: He has also made an appearance on a track titled "In Yo Behind" by Struggle Da Preacher which was released on Struggle's album "Ups'n'Downs" on June 30, 2014. In July 2015 they shot a video for it in Moscow, Russia. Mike ADHD "Frag Out" featuring Young Dirty Bastard, Baby Eazy E and Bizarre.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In August 2017, The Keepaz of the Krypt (One Man Kru & Kapital Z) single "Diaries of the Whack Emcees" feat. Bizarre of D12 was released on all digital media outlets as well as One Man Kru's bandcamp page. The song garnered over 1 million plays on SoundCloud in its first week of release. The track was released just two weeks before it was announced that Bizarre had signed to Majik Ninja Entertainment.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In May 2018, Bizarre released music video "Cocaine In Miami" directed by Abeni Nazeer. He was also a feature guest on the Song Sadistentreff 2 by german Rapper Crystal f, along with Timi Hendrix and King Gordy.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: On July 9, 2018, Bizarre announced that he was reviving Redhead Records with Danny Mellz being his first act other than himself


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: In September 2018, Bizarre featured in the single "Weirdo (feat. Bizarre)" by No Concept on Drumsound and Bassline Smith's label, Technique Recordings.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Also in September 2018, Bizarre made headlines again with Eminem by releasing his own diss track aimed towards Machine Gun Kelly, Jay Electronica and Joe Budden during the MGK and Joe Budden vs. Eminem beef of 2018. Bizarre's diss track titled "Love Tap" was released as a single everywhere on September 18, 2018.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Bizarre also signed a deal for his podcast “The Bizarre World Podcast” with The Digital Soapbox Network/CBS/Entercom


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: On October 10, 2019, Bizarre released his second Extended Play "Rufus". The day after the release of his second extended play, he announced the release of a duo mixtape “Leatherface Mixtape” with Hopsin on October 31, 2019.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: On May 31, 2020, Bizarre appeared on an album “Tabu“ of a Czech rapper named Schyzo on the song “Lubrikant“.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: Bizarre is featured on "Limitless" by Canadian rapper Brax, from album "Leave it to Cleaver" released in late 2021.


title: Bizarre (rapper)

text: On October 31, 2021, Bizarre shared his fifth album "Dumpster Juice" with features from Kidd Kidd, Merkules, and Giggs, among others.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: On the night of 9/10 March 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) conducted a devastating firebombing raid on Tokyo, the Japanese capital city. This attack was code-named Operation Meetinghouse by the USAAF and is known as the Great Tokyo Air Raid in Japan. Bombs dropped from 279 Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers burned out much of eastern Tokyo. More than 90,000 and possibly over 100,000 Japanese people were killed, mostly civilians, and one million were left homeless, making it the most destructive single air attack in human history. The Japanese air and civil defenses proved largely inadequate; 14 American aircraft and 96 airmen were lost.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The attack on Tokyo was an intensification of the air raids on Japan which had begun in June 1944. Prior to this operation, the USAAF had focused on a precision bombing campaign against Japanese industrial facilities. These attacks were generally unsuccessful, which contributed to the decision to shift to firebombing. The operation during the early hours of 10 March was the first major firebombing raid against a Japanese city, and the USAAF units employed significantly different tactics from those used in precision raids, including bombing by night with the aircraft flying at low altitudes. The extensive destruction caused by the raid led to these tactics becoming standard for the USAAF's B-29s until the end of the war.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: There has been a long-running debate over the morality of the 10 March firebombing of Tokyo. The raid is often cited as a key example in criticism of the Allies' strategic bombing campaigns, with many historians and commentators arguing that it was not acceptable for the USAAF to deliberately target civilians, and other historians stating that the USAAF had no choice but to change to area bombing tactics given that the precision bombing campaign had failed. It is generally acknowledged that the tactics used against Tokyo and in similar subsequent raids were militarily successful. The attack is commemorated at two official memorials, several neighborhood memorials, and a privately run museum.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: Pre-war USAAF doctrine emphasized the precision bombing of key industrial facilities over area bombing of cities. Early American strategic bombing attacks on Germany used precision tactics, with the bomber crews seeking to visually identify their targets. This proved difficult to achieve in practice. During the last 20 months of the war in Europe, non-visual attacks accounted for about half of the American strategic bombing campaign against Germany. These included major area bombing raids on Berlin and Dresden, as well as attacks on several towns and cities conducted as part of Operation Clarion. The American attacks on Germany mainly used high-explosive bombs, with incendiary bombs accounting for only 14 percent of those dropped by the Eighth Air Force. The British Bomber Command focused on destroying German cities from early 1942 until the end of the war, and incendiaries represented 21 percent of the tonnage of bombs its aircraft dropped. Area bombing of German cities by Allied forces resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and massive firestorms in cities such as Hamburg and Dresden.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: Japanese forces conducted area bombing attacks on Chinese cities throughout the war. Few attempts were made to target industrial facilities, with the goal of the campaign being to terrorize civilians and cut the Chinese forces off from their sources of supplies. Chongqing, China's provisional capital, was frequently attacked by aircraft using incendiary and high explosive bombs. These raids destroyed most of the city.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The American Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942 was the first air attack on Tokyo, but inflicted little damage on the city. In June 1944 the USAAF's XX Bomber Command began a campaign against Japan using B-29 Superfortress bombers flying from airfields in China. Tokyo was beyond the range of Superfortresses operating from China, and was not attacked. This changed in October 1944, when the B-29s of the XXI Bomber Command began moving into airfields in the Mariana Islands. These islands were close enough to Japan for the B-29s to conduct a sustained bombing campaign against Tokyo and most other Japanese cities. The first Superfortress flight over Tokyo took place on 1November, when a reconnaissance aircraft photographed industrial facilities and urban areas in the western districts of the city. The remainder of Tokyo was photographed in subsequent reconnaissance flights, and these images were used to plan the 10 March raid and other attacks on urban areas.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The overall plan for the strategic bombing campaign against Japan specified that it would commence with precision bombing raids against key industrial facilities, and later include firebombing attacks on cities. The first target directive issued to the XXI Bomber Command by its parent unit, the Twentieth Air Force, on 11 November, 1944 specified that the main target was Japanese aircraft and aviation engine factories. These targets were to be attacked by precision bombing. Japanese cities were specified as the secondary target, with area bombing being authorized for use against them. The directive also indicated that firebombing raids were likely to be ordered against cities to test the effectiveness of this tactic. The Twentieth Air Force had an unusual command structure, as it was personally headed by General Henry H. Arnold, the commanding officer of the USAAF.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: B-29 raids on Tokyo commenced on 24 November. The first raid targeted an aircraft engine factory on the city's outskirts, and caused little damage. XXI Bomber Command's subsequent raids on Tokyo and other cities mainly used precision bombing tactics and high explosive bombs, and were largely unsuccessful due to adverse weather conditions and a range of mechanical problems which affected the B-29s. These failures led to the head of the Command being relieved in January 1945. Major General Curtis LeMay, the commander of XX Bomber Command, replaced General Hansell. Arnold and the Twentieth Air Force's headquarters regarded the campaign against Japan up to that time as unsuccessful, and LeMay understood that he would also be relieved if he failed to deliver results. He believed that changing the emphasis from precision bombing to area bombing was the most promising option to turn the XXI Bomber Command's performance around.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: USAAF planners began assessing the feasibility of a firebombing campaign against Japanese cities in 1943. Japan's main industrial facilities were vulnerable to such attacks as they were concentrated in several large cities, and a high proportion of production took place in homes and small factories in urban areas. The planners estimated that incendiary bomb attacks on Japan's six largest cities could cause physical damage to almost 40 percent of industrial facilities and result in the loss of 7.6 million man-months of labor. It was also estimated that these attacks would kill over 500,000 people, render about 7.75 million homeless and force almost 3.5 million to be evacuated. The plans for the strategic bombing offensive against Japan developed in 1943 specified that it would transition from a focus on the precision bombing of industrial targets to area bombing from around halfway in the campaign, which was forecast to be in March 1945.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: Preparations for firebombing raids against Japan began well before March 1945. In 1943 the USAAF tested the effectiveness of incendiary bombs on adjoining German and Japanese-style domestic building complexes at the Dugway Proving Ground. These trials demonstrated that M69 incendiaries were particularly effective at starting uncontrollable fires. These weapons were dropped from B-29s in clusters, and used napalm as their incendiary filler. After the bomb struck the ground, a fuse ignited a charge which first sprayed napalm from the weapon, and then ignited it. Prior to March 1945, stockpiles of incendiary bombs were built up in the Mariana Islands. These were accumulated on the basis of XXI Bomber Command plans which specified that the B-29s would each carry of the weapons on 40 percent of their monthly sorties. Arnold and the Air Staff wanted to wait to use the incendiaries until a large-scale program of firebombing could be mounted, to overwhelm the Japanese city defenses.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: Several raids were conducted to test the effectiveness of firebombing against Japanese cities. A small incendiary attack was made against Tokyo on the night of 29/30 November 1944, but caused little damage. Incendiaries were also used as part of several other raids. On 18 December 84 XX Bomber Command B-29s conducted an incendiary raid on the Chinese city of Hankou which caused extensive damage. That day, the Twentieth Air Force directed XXI Bomber Command to dispatch 100 B-29s on a firebombing raid against Nagoya. An initial attack took place on 22 December which was directed at an aircraft factory and involved 78 bombers using precision bombing tactics. Few of the incendiaries landed in the target area. On 3January, 97 Superfortresses were dispatched to firebomb Nagoya. This attack started some fires, which were soon brought under control by firefighters. The success in countering the raid led the Japanese authorities to become over-confident about their ability to protect cities against incendiary attacks. The next firebombing raid was directed against Kobe on 4February, and bombs dropped from 69 B-29s started fires which destroyed or damaged 1,039 buildings.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: On 19 February the Twentieth Air Force issued a new targeting directive for XXI Bomber Command. While the Japanese aviation industry remained the primary target, the directive placed a stronger emphasis on firebombing raids against Japanese cities. The directive also called for a large-scale trial incendiary raid as soon as possible. This attack was made against Tokyo on 25 February. A total of 231 B-29s were dispatched, of which 172 arrived over the city; this was XXI Bomber Command's largest raid up to that time. The attack was conducted in daylight, with the bombers flying in formation at high altitudes. It caused extensive damage, with almost 28,000 buildings being destroyed. This was the most destructive raid to have been conducted against Japan, and LeMay and the Twentieth Air Force judged that it demonstrated that large-scale firebombing was an effective tactic.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The failure of a precision bombing attack on an aircraft factory in Tokyo on 4March marked the end of the period in which XXI Bomber Command primarily conducted such raids. Civilian casualties during these operations had been relatively low; for instance, all the raids against Tokyo prior to 10 March caused 1,292 deaths in the city.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: In early March, LeMay judged that further precision bombing of Japanese industrial targets was unlikely to be successful due to the prevailing weather conditions over the country. There were on average only seven days of clear skies each month, and an intense jet stream made it difficult to aim bombs from high altitudes. Due to these constraints, LeMay decided to focus XXI Bomber Command's attacks on Japanese cities. While he made this decision on his own initiative, the general directions issued to LeMay permitted such operations. On 5March XXI Bomber Command's personnel were advised that no further major attacks would be scheduled until 9March. During this period LeMay's staff finalized plans for the attack on Tokyo. At a meeting on 7March, LeMay agreed to conduct an intense series of raids against targets on the island of Honshu between 9and 22 March as part of the preparations for the invasion of Okinawa on 1April.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: LeMay decided to adopt radically different tactics for this campaign. Analysis by XXI Bomber Command staff of the 25 February raid concluded that the incendiary bombs had been dropped from too high an altitude, and attacking at lower levels would both improve accuracy and enable the B-29s to carry more bombs. This would also expose them to the Japanese air defenses, but LeMay judged that poor Japanese fire control tactics meant that the additional risk was moderate. As weather conditions over Japan tended to be more favorable at night and the LORAN systems the B-29s used to navigate were more effective after dusk, it was also decided to conduct the attack at night. This led to a decision to direct the aircraft to attack individually rather than in formations as it was not possible for the B-29s to keep station at night. Flying individually would also lead to reductions in fuel consumption as the pilots would not need to constantly adjust their engines to remain in formation. These fuel savings allowed the Superfortresses to carry twice their usual bomb load. USAAF intelligence had determined that the Japanese had only two night fighter units, and these were believed to pose little threat. As a result, LeMay decided to remove all of the B-29s' guns other than those at the rear of the aircraft to reduce the weight of the aircraft and further boost the weight of bombs they could carry. While LeMay made the ultimate decision to adopt the new tactics, he acknowledged that his plan combined ideas put forward by many officers. On 7March, some of the B-29 crews flew training missions in which they practiced using radar to navigate and attack a target from low altitude. The airmen were not told the purpose of this training.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The officers who commanded XXI Bomber Command's three flying wings agreed with the new tactics, but there were fears that they could result in heavy casualties. These concerns were shared by some of LeMay's staff. XXI Bomber Command's intelligence officers predicted that 70 percent of the bombers could be destroyed. LeMay consulted Arnold's chief of staff Brigadier General Lauris Norstad about the new tactics, but did not formally seek approval to adopt them. He later justified this action on the grounds that he had wanted to protect Arnold from blame had the attack been a failure. LeMay notified the Twentieth Air Force headquarters of his intended tactics on 8March, a day he knew Arnold and Norstad would be absent. There is no evidence that LeMay expected that the Twentieth Air Force would object to firebombing civilian areas, but he may have been concerned that it would have judged that the new tactics were too risky.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The Japanese military anticipated that the USAAF would make major night attacks on the Tokyo region. After several small night raids were conducted on the region during December 1944 and January 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force's 10th Air Division, which was responsible for intercepting attacks on the Kantō region, placed a greater emphasis on training its pilots to operate at night. One of the division's flying regiments (the 53rd Air Regiment) was also converted to a specialized night fighter unit. On the night of 3/4 March, the Japanese military intercepted American radio signals which indicated that the XXI Bomber Command was conducting a major night flying exercise. This was interpreted to mean that the force was preparing to start large-scale night raids on Japan. However, the Japanese did not expect the Americans to change to low altitude bombing tactics.


title: Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)

text: The military forces assigned to protect Tokyo were insufficient to stop a major raid. The Eastern District Army's Kanto Air Defense Sector was responsible for the air defense of the Tokyo region, and was accorded the highest priority for aircraft and antiaircraft guns. The 1st Antiaircraft Division controlled the antiaircraft guns stationed in the central region of Honshu, including Tokyo. It was made up of eight regiments with a total of 780 antiaircraft guns, as well as a regiment equipped with searchlights. American military intelligence estimated that 331 heavy and 307 light antiaircraft guns were allocated to Tokyo's defenses at the time of the raid. A network of picket boats, radar stations and lookout posts was responsible for detecting incoming raids. Due to shortages of radar and other fire control equipment, Japanese antiaircraft gunners found it difficult to target aircraft operating at night. The radar stations had a short range and fire control equipment for the antiaircraft batteries was unsophisticated. As of March 1945, most of the 10th Air Division's 210 combat aircraft were day fighters, with the 53rd Air Regiment operating 25 or 26 night fighters. The regiment was experiencing difficulties converting to the night fighter role, which included an overly intensive training program that exhausted its pilots.