title: Sangh Parivar

text: While the BJP governments have been progressively seen to be industry friendly, the opinions and the views of the Sangh Parivar constituents like Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) find consonance with the known leftist stands on labour rights. The Sangh Parivar, as a whole, even the BJP in its earlier days, has advocated 'Swadeshi' (Self Reliance). Sangh Parivar leaders have been very vocal in their criticism of globalization especially its impact on the poor and native people. They have been suspicious of the role of international agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Sangh constituents have advocated and promoted decentralized village centric economic growth with emphasis on ecological protection.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The constituents of the Sangh Parivar have been known for their demands for steps to "protect the environment, natural-ecology and agro-economy" and for establishment of a "self-reliant village-oriented economy". They have been vocal in their demand against the use of chemical fertilizers and have supported preservation and development of organic farming in India. Many of these views are seen to mirror the concerns of the Green party.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The Bharatiya Janata Party, a constituent of Sangh Parivar included the concerns on global warming in its election manifesto for the National Elections of 2009. The manifesto promised prioritising "combating climate change and global warming", "programmes to arrest the melting of Himalayan glaciers", "afforestation" and emphasis on "protecting India's biodiversity".


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The Sangh Parivar has been described with monikers spanning the spectrum from "patriotic Hindus" and "Hindu nationalist". Some have also labeled them "Hindu chauvinist". While its constituent organisations present themselves as embedded in the traditional ethos of Hinduism, their ideological opponents have characterized them as the representatives of authoritarian, xenophobic and majoritarian religious nationalism in India, These organizations have been accused being involved with "Saffron terror". Flemish Indologist and Hindutva supporter Koenraad Elst has challenged the critics, in his 2001 book "The Saffron Swastika", he wrote "So far, the polemical arrows have all been shot from one side, replies from the other side being extremely rare or never more than piecemeal."


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The activities of the Sangh Parivar have had considerable social and religious impact. And considerable influence over country's educational, social and defense policies.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: In 1979, the religious wing of the Sangh Parivar, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad got the Hindu saints and religious leaders to reaffirm that untouchability and caste discrimination had no religious sanction in the Hindu scriptures and texts. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is also spearheading efforts to ordain Dalits as priests in temples across India, positions that were earlier usually occupied only by people of "upper castes". In 1983, RSS founded a dalit organization called Samajik Samrasta Manch.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The leaders of the Sangh Parivar have also been involved in the campaigns against female fetocide and movements for the education. VHP founded a number of educational institutes such as "Bharat Sevashram", "Hindu Milan Mandir", "Ekal Vidalayas" and schools in tribal locations.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The service programs, over the years, have led to the empowerment of the economically and socially underprivileged sections of the society, mostly the tribal, who have long remained politically under-represented. Babulal Marandi belonging to the tribal community, who was the organizing secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, became the first Chief Minister of the state of Jharkhand. Other such leaders of Sangh Parivar who belong to the tribal community include Karia Munda, Jual Oram; both ministers in the Union Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The emergence of the Sangh Parivar in Indian politics also brought many Dalits and representatives of the backward classes, who had been victims of social neglect, to prominent positions in the Government and Administration. Suraj Bhan, a dalit, who had been a member of the RSS, became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, in 1998. Other leaders of the Sangh Parivar from the backward classes, who rose to prominence include Kalyan Singh, the former Chief Minister of UP, Uma Bharti, the former Chief Minister of MP, Narendra Modi, the incumbent Prime Minister of India, Gopinath Munde, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: In many villages across India, "Dharma Raksha Samitis" (Duty/Religion Protection Committees) promote religious discourse and form an arena for bhajan performance. The Sangh sponsors calendars of Hindu deities and provides instruction on sanctioned methods of conducting Ganesh Chaturthi and Navaratri.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which represents the Sangh Parivar in national politics, has formed three governments in India, most recently being in power from May 2014 under the leadership of Prime minister Narendra Modi, reelected in May 2019.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: Political opponents of the BJP allege that the party's moderate face merely serves to cover the Sangh Parivar's "hidden agenda" of undiluted "Hindutva", detectable by the BJP's efforts to change the content of history textbooks and syllabi as well as other aspects of the education system.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: Such criticism of the BJP arises from the fact that BJP had only 2 seats in the parliament in 1984 and after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 the party gained national recognition, and only then it rose to power in 1998.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: According to the report of the UPA instituted Liberhan Commission the Sangh Parivar organised the destruction of the Babri Masjid. The Commission said- "The blame or the credit for the entire temple construction movement at Ayodhya must necessarily be attributed to the Sangh Parivar".


title: Sangh Parivar

text: It also noted that the Sangh Parivar is an "extensive and widespread organic body", which encompasses organizations, which address and bring together just about every type of social, professional and other demographic grouping of individuals.


title: Sangh Parivar

text: The Sangh Parivar includes the following organisations (with membership figures in brackets). They are also categorized.


title: Official Competition

text: Official Competition () is a 2021 comedy film directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, from a screenplay by Duprat, Cohn and Andrés Duprat. It stars Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez.


title: Official Competition

text: On his 80th birthday Humberto Suárez, an ageing multi-millionaire, decides to finance a film so that people will look fondly upon his legacy. He selects the reclusive Palme d'Or laureate Lola Cuevas to be the director, with the screenplay being adapted from a Nobel Prize winning novel titled "Rivalry" about a man who is unable to forgive his brother for killing their parents in a drunk-driving accident. The two brothers are to be played by the acclaimed stage actor Iván Torres and celebrity actor Félix Rivero; Iván is a method actor who has extensively prepared his character's past, while Félix is a more common Hollywood actor who finds Iván's methods pointless.


title: Official Competition

text: Lola proves herself to be a highly eccentric director who makes extensive notes and requires increasingly bizarre exercises of her actors, such as forcing them to repeat single lines or words until she believes they are convincing enough, refusing to show up to rehearsals, and at one point dangling a large boulder over the heads of Iván and Félix via a crane to emulate the tension of the scene they are rehearsing. One session involves Iván and Félix being tied to chairs and forced to watch as Lola crushes their various awards in an industrial shredder, including a hand-made one that was given to Iván by students at a disabled school where he once taught.


title: Official Competition

text: One day during rehearsals, Félix tells Lola and Iván that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is on palliative care, hoping that Rivalry will be his final masterpiece. Iván privately suggests to Lola that he could double up in order to play both brothers if Félix ends up unable to complete the project. Felix later confesses to them both that his diagnosis was a lie that he used in order to prove to the pair that he could fool them with his acting. Iván commends his performance and tells him that he believes Félix to be a better actor than he is, before revealing that this too was a lie as payback.


title: Official Competition

text: Eventually, they reach the final scene of the film, where Félix's character murders Iván's and takes over his brother's life. At a party held by Humberto to commemorate the film starting shooting, Félix overhears Iván describe him as the worst actor he has ever worked with. Félix confronts him on the roof of the building, where Iván attempts to punch Félix who accidentally throws him from the roof, rendering him comatose. Assuming that he must have jumped, Iván's wife is comforted by Félix; however, Lola seems to recognize that Félix is merely acting surprised at the incident.


title: Official Competition

text: The film proceeds to shooting, with both roles played by Félix. At a post-screening Q&A, Lola bluntly denies any perceived meaning that the critics read into her film and gives one-word answers. In the final scenes narrated by Lola who directly addresses the audience, Humberto decides to finance a bridge, Félix returns to Hollywood projects and Iván wakes from his coma and curses Félix's name.


title: Official Competition

text: In January 2020 casting was announced featuring Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Oscar Martínez, Pilar Castro, Irene Escolar, Carlos Hipólito, José Luis Gómez, Nagore Aranburu, Koldo Olabarri and Juan Grandinetti with Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn directing from a screenplay penned alongside . Cruz and Banderas had only shared onscreen time before during two minutes of Pedro Almodóvar's 2013 film "I'm So Excited!".


title: Official Competition

text: The film was produced by The Mediapro Studio, with the participation of RTVE, TV3, and Orange España.


title: Official Competition

text: Principal photography began in February 2020. In March 2020, production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shooting resumed in September 2020 and the wrap was announced in October 2020. Filming took place in the Spanish cities of Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Ávila.


title: Official Competition

text: "Official Competition" had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2021. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September 2021. Buena Vista International released the film on 25 February 2022 in Spain. Protagonist Pictures handled the international distribution rights.


title: Official Competition

text: Star Distribution acquired distribution rights for Latin America. In the case of Argentina, the film was released on 17 March 2022. IFC Films purchased the theatrical release rights for the United States.


title: Official Competition

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 151 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Its premise may resonate most with hardcore film fans, but "Official Competition"s tight focus and sharp humor have a universal appeal."


title: Official Competition

text: At the 2021 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, it won the award for Outstanding International Feature. At the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival, it won the Audience Award for most popular film in the Galas and Special Presentations program.


title: A Royal Affair

text: A Royal Affair () is a 2012 Danish psychological historical drama thriller film directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander and Mikkel Følsgaard. The story is set in the 18th century, at the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, and focuses on the romance between his wife, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, and the royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee.


title: A Royal Affair

text: The film received two Silver Bears at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards. It was also nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards.


title: A Royal Affair

text: Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain is shown writing a letter to her children in which she professes to tell them the truth. In flashback, Caroline talks of England, as she was about to leave to marry Christian VII of Denmark. She is passionate about the arts and education, but when she arrives in Denmark she is told that many of her books are banned by the state. Christian is mentally ill and Caroline is unhappy in the marriage. She is soon pregnant with a son (Frederick VI of Denmark), but the couple grow far apart and the king stops visiting her bedroom.


title: A Royal Affair

text: The German doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee is recruited to work as the king's personal physician. Struensee is a man of the Enlightenment, greatly influenced by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He keeps this secret from the state, who welcome him because his father is a well-known priest. King Christian takes a strong liking to Struensee and he becomes a close friend and confidant. When Struensee manages to inoculate Prince Frederick against a smallpox epidemic, he becomes greatly respected in the court. Christian has very little influence in the Privy Council, and the laws of the country are mostly decided by statesmen, but Struensee tells the king that he can have more power by "acting". The doctor begins writing speeches for the king which advocate his own progressive views, and several reforms are passed in Denmark.


title: A Royal Affair

text: Caroline and Struensee learn of their mutual interests and liberal views. They fall in love and begin an affair. When Caroline becomes pregnant, they protect themselves by convincing Christian to resume sleeping with her. As a result, Princess Louise Auguste is believed to be the king's daughter. Meanwhile, Struensee is appointed a Royal Adviser and eventually persuades Christian to assign him the right to pass any law, making him Denmark's de facto leader. His reforms include the abolition of censorship, the abolition of torture, and reducing the power of the aristocracy. The queen dowager, Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, notices the romance between Caroline and Struensee and their affair is revealed. Christian is initially angry, but he forgives his friend and states that they must carry on as if nothing had changed.


title: A Royal Affair

text: Juliana and the prominent statesman Ove Høegh-Guldberg are strongly against Struensee's reforms, while the Danish people also grow unhappy when it becomes clear an immoral foreigner has power over the country. Høegh-Guldberg incites a coup against him. Christian refuses to hand Struensee over to the people, but Høegh-Guldberg lies that the doctor and Caroline are planning to murder him and take control of Denmark. Christian thus allows Caroline to be arrested and taken to live in exile, while Struensee is sentenced to death. Christian issues a pardon, not wanting his friend to die, but Høegh-Guldberg keeps this from becoming known in time and Struensee is beheaded. Høegh-Guldberg becomes Denmark's new de facto leader, and many of Struensee's reforms are overturned.


title: A Royal Affair

text: The film returns to Caroline writing the letter, where she reveals that she is dying of an illness. Ten years later, Prince Frederick and Princess Louise Auguste read the letter. On-screen text reveals that Frederick soon became king via a coup d'état and returned to the reforming ways of Struensee.


title: A Royal Affair

text: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg started the writing process by reading the 1999 novel "The Visit of the Royal Physician" by Per Olov Enquist, which is based on the events surrounding Johann Friedrich Struensee's time at the Danish court. The exclusive film rights for the novel were already sold to a company which had been struggling for over a decade to make a large-scale adaptation in English, and did not want to sell the rights to Zentropa. Research continued and the film was eventually credited as based on Bodil Steensen-Leth's erotic novel "Prinsesse af blodet", which tells the story from the perspective of the queen, Caroline Mathilde. The film's perspective and characterisation did still remain highly influenced by Enquist's version, in particular in the portrayal of Struensee as an idealistic promoter of freedom of speech, the romantic view of the royal court as an ironical charade and the role of the queen as a revolutionary partner-in-crime to Struensee. To avoid conflicts about rights, Enquist was contacted to clarify some instances of what he had made up and what was based on documented events, and a person was employed specifically to compare the screenplay and the novel to guarantee that they were dissimilar enough.


title: A Royal Affair

text: The film was produced by Zentropa and is a co-production among Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic. It had a budget of 47.7 million Danish kroner. (approximately 7.8 million in 2022) Before settling on the final title, the film had the production titles "Dronningen og livlægen" ("The queen and the royal physician"), based in part on the title of Enquist's book, and "Caroline Mathildes år" ("Caroline Mathilde's years").


title: A Royal Affair

text: "A Royal Affair" opened at 7 theaters domestically in its first week (from 9 to 15 November 2012), grossing 59,841. In its second week, this doubled to 120,012 for a total gross of 179,853. It went on to gross a total of 1,546,761 in 25 weeks domestically and 13,212,236 internationally for a worldwide total of 14,758,997 against a budget of 7.8 million.


title: A Royal Affair

text: The film received critical acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 90% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10 and the summary, ""A Royal Affair" is a lavish and sumptuous costume drama with a juicy story to back it up." Metacritic gives a weighted average rating of 73 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: A Royal Affair

text: British Film Critic Mark Kermode tied the film as the Best Film of 2012 along with "Berberian Sound Studio".


title: A Royal Affair

text: Historian Alfred Brown notes that the film depicts Struensee as speaking fluent Danish, when in fact he did not speak it and persistently used German, which helped alienate him from Danish society. Brown also notes that "The exiled Queen's letter to her children makes a good frame story to the film, however had she in reality written such a letter – frankly admitting Princess Louise Auguste's true parentage – it might have easily fallen into the wrong hands and caused the young princess to be declared a bastard".


title: A Royal Affair

text: At the Berlin Film Festival, Mikkel Følsgaard won the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg won the award for Best Script.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: Kodachrome is a 2017 American comedy-drama film, directed by Mark Raso, based upon a "New York Times" article written by A.G. Sulzberger. It stars Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen, Bruce Greenwood, Wendy Crewson, and Dennis Haysbert. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017, and was released on April 20, 2018, by Netflix.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: In late 2010, Matt Ryder is a record company A&R representative who is in danger of losing his job after his company's biggest client signs with another label. His father's assistant and nurse Zooey informs him that his father Ben, a famous photographer, is terminally ill. Though they have not spoken in over ten years, Ben has requested that Matt drive him to Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, the last shop that develops Kodachrome film. Ben has several rolls he wants to have processed before he dies, and Dwayne's will stop in the near future because Kodak no longer makes the required dyes.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: Ben's manager Larry persuades Matt to go by arranging a meeting between Matt and the Spare Sevens, a band he has been trying to sign. Matt, Ben and Zooey start the journey, and Ben insists on taking back roads so he can take photos and enjoy the scenery. In Ohio, the group visits Ben's brother Dean and Dean's wife Sarah, who were Matt's surrogate parents following his mother's death. Zooey and Matt bond over Matt's old music collection, and later a drunk Matt leans in to kiss her, but falls off the bed. He sleeps on the floor, and they share stories of their failed marriages. The next morning, Zooey is awakened by Ben, who has fallen in the bathroom and needs help to stand. Ben irritates Dean and Sarah at breakfast by mentioning that he and Sarah once had a sexual relationship. Sarah explains that it was before she and Dean dated, which does little to assuage Dean's anger.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: In Chicago, Matt makes his pitch to the Spare Sevens, and follows his father's advice not to tell the band how great they are, but to point out what they are doing wrong and why they need Matt to fix it. Lead singer Jasper and the other members admire Matt's nerve and begin to agree to the outlines of a deal, but start to mock Ben when he accidentally urinates on himself. Though it will probably cost him his job, Matt tells them he does not respect them and leaves the meeting to check on his father.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: At their hotel, Ben expresses disappointment that Matt did not close the deal. Zooey points out that Matt made a career-ending decision to defend his father, which leads to Ben firing her. Zooey joins Matt at a bar, where he receives several texts from his boss confirming that he has been fired. They continue to drink, then spend the night together. The next morning, Zooey calls her night with Matt a mistake and returns to New York. Matt receives no answer at Ben's door and has hotel staff open it. Ben is unconscious on the floor, and Matt has him rushed to the hospital. The doctor tells Matt that Ben's cancer can no longer be treated, he cannot travel, and he should be placed in hospice care. That night, Ben struggles to load film into a camera, eliciting Matt's help. Through tears, Ben tells Matt that he does not expect forgiveness for his shortcomings as a father, but that he loves him. Matt and Ben embrace.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: The next day, Matt takes Ben leave the hospital so they can finish the trip to Parsons, which will require driving nonstop overnight to make it to the photo lab in time. They drop off Ben's film at Dwayne's, where Ben is recognized by several patrons, most of whom are well-known photographers. Several ask to have photos taken with Ben, giving Matt insight into his father's influence and legacy. In their hotel room, Ben is cleaning his camera when he dies. Larry arrives to make funeral arrangements and Dwayne delivers the developed photos. Matt offers them to Larry, but Larry refuses, saying Ben's wish was for Matt to curate them for a showing. At Ben's home, Matt loads the photo slides into a projector and is surprised to see dozens of pictures of himself as a boy, many with his deceased mother, and some with his father. Zooey arrives and asks if he would like company, then they stand together as they view Ben's slides.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: Photographer Steve McCurry contacted Kodak to request that he receive the last roll of Kodachrome in order to create photos that would pay tribute to the film he had used for much of his professional career. Kodak agreed and gave McCurry the final roll in 2009. McCurry used the film to create 36 memorable photos, then hand delivered the roll to Dwayne's to be developed.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: The film had its premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released on April 20, 2018.


title: Kodachrome (film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 49 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.24/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Kodachrome" gains richer hues due to Ed Harris' colorful performance, which is enough to enliven a solid if predictable father-son road trip drama." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanon is an eastern Mediterranean country that has the most religiously diverse society within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognized religious sects. The primary religions are Islam (Sunni, Shia, and a small number of Alawites and Ismailis) and Christianity (the Maronite Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Protestantism, the Armenian Apostolic Church). The Druze are about 5% of the citizens. Outside of Lebanon, Lebanese people (including diaspora) are mostly Christians. It is also estimated that a large proportion of its population are refugees (1.5 million out of a bit over 6 million in 2017), which affects statistics. The refugees, mostly Syrian or Palestinian, are predominantly Sunni but also include Christians and Shia.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanon differs from other Middle East countries where Muslims have become the majority after the civil war, and somewhat resembles Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania; both in Southeastern Europe, in having a diverse mix of Muslims and Christians that each make up a large proportion of the country's population. Christians were once a majority inside Lebanon and are still a majority in the diaspora, which consists of nearly 14 million people. The president of the country is traditionally a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: No official census has been taken since 1932, reflecting the political sensitivity in Lebanon over confessional (i.e. religious) balance.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: As a result, the religious affiliation of the Lebanese population is very difficult to establish with certainty and various sources are used to get the possible estimate of the population by religious affiliation.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The following are different sources that do not pretend to be fully representative of the religious affiliation of the people of Lebanon.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: A 2012 study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, estimated Lebanon's population to be 54% Muslim (27% Shia; 27% Sunni), 5% Druze, 35.5% Christian (21% Maronite, 8% Greek Orthodox, 6.5% other Christian groups), and a small number of other religious groups.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The CIA World Factbook estimates (2020) the following , though this data does not include Lebanon's sizable Syrian and Palestinian refugee populations: Muslim 67.8% (Sunni, Shia and smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailis), Christian 32.4% (mainly Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group), Druze 4.5%, and very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, and Hindus.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The International Foundation for Electoral Systems provides a source for the registered voters in Lebanon for 2018 (it has to be noted that voter registration does not include people under 18 and unregistered voters) that puts the numbers as following:


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Maronite Catholic 25.52%, Greek Orthodox 8.15%, Druze 5.72%, Melkite Catholic 5.62%, Armenian Apostolic 2.64%, other Christian Minorities 1.28%, Alawite Shia Islam 0.88%, Armenian Catholic 0.62%, Evangelical Protestant 0.53%, and other 0.18% of the population.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanon has a community of around 13,000 Hindus. There is a very small and ancient community of Zoroastrians numbering between 100-500 individuals. Lebanon also has a Jewish population estimated at less than 100.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanese Sunnis are mainly residents of the major cities: west Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon. Sunnis are also present in rural areas including Akkar, Ikleem al Kharoub, and the western Beqaa Valley.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanese Shias are concentrated in Southern Lebanon, Baalbek District, Hermel District and the south Beirut (southern parts of Greater Beirut).


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Under the Lebanese political division (Parliament of Lebanon Seat Allocation) the Druze community is combined with Lebanon's Muslim community to form 50% of the parliament, despite the Druze and Muslims having very different beliefs. Most Druze do not identify as Muslims, and they do not accept the five pillars of Islam.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The Druze are located in the areas known as the Metn, Gharb, Chouf, Wadi-al Taym, Beirut and its suburbs, which are the modern day districts of Metn, Baabda, Aley, Chouf, Rashaya, Hasbaya and Beirut. The Druze make the majority in cities like Aley, Choueifat, Rashaya, Ras el-Matn and Baakline.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanese Christians are divided into many groups, several types of Catholics for instance the Maronites and Greek Catholics (Melkites), Greek Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox (among which are Syriacs, Armenians and Copts), Church of the East (Assyrians) and Protestants.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanese Maronites are concentrated in the northern parts of Greater Beirut, the northern part of Mount Lebanon Governorate, the southern part of North Governorate, parts of Beqaa Governorate and South Governorate.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Greek Catholics are found across the country but in particular in districts on the eastern slopes of the Lebanese mountain range and in Zahle where they are a majority.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Lebanese Greek Orthodox are concentrated in north Beirut, as well as Lebanese North areas including Zgharta, Bsharre, Koura, and Batroun.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The other Lebanese Christians are concentrated also in similar areas like in east Beirut (northern parts of Greater Beirut), Mount Lebanon, Zahlé, and Jezzine.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: As of 2018, the Jews in Lebanon make up the smallest recognized religious group, with merely 29 persons or 0.08% of the population.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: The Maronite Catholics and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through a governing and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Religion plays a major role in politics; some researchers describe the political system in Lebanon as "coming out of the womb of religion and politics". After the independence from France in 1943, the leaders of Lebanon agreed on the distribution of the political positions in the country according to religious affiliation, known as the national pact. Since then, the President is always a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister is always a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the Parliament is always a Shia Muslim.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Most parties have a sectarian identity as well, and represent the interests of their religion. A lot of clergies are involved in politics, and some are members and leaders of those parties.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Under the terms of an agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the president of the country must be a Maronite, the Prime Minister must be a Sunni, and the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shia.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Since Lebanon is a sectarian country, family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are handled by the religious authorities representing a person's faith. Calls for civil marriage are unanimously rejected by the religious authorities but civil marriages conducted in another country are recognized by Lebanese civil authorities.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: Non-religion is not recognized by the state. However, following intense pressure and lobbying by the Civil Center for National Initiative, the Minister of the Interior Ziad Baroud made it possible to have a citizen's religious sect removed from his identity card in 2009.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: In April 2010, Laïque Pride, a secular group co-founded by feminist Yalda Younes, called for "an end to the country's deep-rooted sectarian system" and for a "secular Lebanon". Laïque Pride supports the enacting of a unified Civil Code for the Personal Status Law.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: On April 26, 2010, in response to Hizb ut-Tahrir's growing appeal in Beirut and demands to re-establish an Islamic caliphate, a Laïque Pride march was held in Beirut. Three days later, 70,000 gathered in Martyrs' Square, Beirut for a march organized by Laïque Pride.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: In 2011, hundreds of protesters rallied in Beirut on 27 February in a Laïque Pride march, calling for reform of the country's confessional political system. At the same time, a peaceful sit-in took place in Saida.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: At a march in May 2012 in which 600 participated, Laïque Pride issued six demands, four concerning women's rights and two concerning media freedom. Secular student clubs from Saint Joseph University (USJ), the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA), as the American University of Beirut (AUB) also participated in the march.


title: Religion in Lebanon

text: In October 2019, and until August 2020, a series of civil protests ensued in Lebanon, now known as the October Revolution condemning sectarian rule amongst a myriad of other issues plaguing their country. Lina Khatib, a journalist for Al-Jazeera, has labelled these protests as "cross-sectarian". She notes: "They are taking place across Lebanon, rather than only in Beirut. And they are demanding the fall of the government from the outset, while criticising political leaders from every sect."


title: Battery charger

text: A battery charger, or recharger, is a device that stores energy in a battery by running an electric current through it. The charging protocol (how much voltage or current for how long, and what to do when charging is complete) depends on the size and type of the battery being charged. Some battery types have high tolerance for overcharging (i.e., continued charging after the battery has been fully charged) and can be recharged by connection to a constant voltage source or a constant current source, depending on battery type. Simple chargers of this type must be manually disconnected at the end of the charge cycle. Other battery types use a timer to cut off when charging should be complete. Other battery types cannot withstand over-charging, becoming damaged (reduced capacity, reduced lifetime), over heating or even exploding. The charger may have temperature or voltage sensing circuits and a microprocessor controller to safely adjust the charging current and voltage, determine the state of charge, and cut off at the end of charge.


title: Battery charger

text: Chargers may elevate the output voltage proportionally with current to compensate for impedance in the wires.


title: Battery charger

text: A trickle charger provides a relatively small amount of current, only enough to counteract self-discharge of a battery that is idle for a long time. Some battery types cannot tolerate trickle charging; attempts to do so may result in damage. Lithium-ion batteries cannot handle indefinite trickle charging.


title: Battery charger

text: Slow battery chargers may take several hours to complete a charge. High-rate chargers may restore most capacity much faster, but high rate chargers can be more than some battery types can tolerate. Such batteries require active monitoring of the battery to protect it from overcharging. Electric vehicles ideally need high-rate chargers. For public access, installation of such chargers and the distribution support for them is an issue in the proposed adoption of electric cars.


title: Battery charger

text: Charge and discharge rates are often given as "C" or "C-rate", which is a measure of the rate at which a battery is charged or discharged relative to its capacity. The C-rate is defined as the charge or discharge current divided by the battery's capacity to store an electrical charge. While rarely stated explicitly, the unit of the C-rate is h, equivalent to stating the battery's capacity to store an electrical charge in unit hour times current in the same unit as the charge or discharge current. The C-rate is never negative, so whether it describes a charging or discharging process depends on the context.


title: Battery charger

text: For example, for a battery with a capacity of 500 mAh, a discharge rate of 5000 mA (i.e., 5 A) corresponds to a C-rate of 10C, meaning that such a current can discharge 10 such batteries in one hour. Likewise, for the same battery a charge current of 250 mA corresponds to a C-rate of C/2, meaning that this current will increase the state of charge of this battery by 50% in one hour.


title: Battery charger

text: Since the unit of the C-rate is typically implied, some care is required when using it to avoid confusing it with the battery's capacity to store a charge, which in the SI has unit coulomb with unit symbol "C".


title: Battery charger

text: If both the (dis)charge current and the battery capacity in the C-rate ratio is multiplied by the battery voltage, the C-rate becomes a ratio of the (dis)charge power to the battery's energy capacity. For example, when the 100 kWh battery in a Tesla Model S P100D is undergoing supercharging at 120 kW the C-rate is 1.2C and when that battery delivers its maximum power of 451 kW, its C-rate is 4.51C.


title: Battery charger

text: All charging and discharging of batteries generates internal heat, and the amount of heat generated is roughly proportional to the current involved (a battery's current state of charge, condition / history, etc. are also factors). As some batteries reach their full charge, cooling may also be observed. Battery cells which have been built to allow higher C-rates than usual must make provision for increased heating. But high C-ratings are attractive to end users because such batteries can be charged more quickly, and produce higher current output in use. High C-rates typically require the charger to carefully monitor battery parameters such as terminal voltage and temperature to prevent overcharging and so damage to the cells. Such high charging rates are possible only with some battery types. Others will be damaged or possibly overheat or catch fire. Some batteries may even explode. For example, an automobile SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) lead-acid battery carries several risks of explosion.


title: Battery charger

text: A simple charger works by supplying a constant DC or pulsed DC power source to a battery being charged. A simple charger typically does not alter its output based on charging time or the charge on the battery. This simplicity means that a simple charger is inexpensive, but there are tradeoffs. Typically, a carefully designed simple charger takes longer to charge a battery because it is set to use a lower (i.e., safer) charging rate. Even so, many batteries left on a simple charger for too long will be weakened or destroyed due to over-charging. These chargers also vary in that they can supply either a constant voltage or a constant current, to the battery.


title: Battery charger

text: Simple AC-powered battery chargers usually have much higher ripple current and ripple voltage than other kinds of battery chargers because they are inexpensively designed and built. Generally, when the ripple current is within a battery's manufacturer recommended level, the ripple voltage will also be well within the recommended level. The maximum ripple current for a typical 12V 100Ah VRLA battery is 5 amps. As long as the ripple current is not excessive (more than 3 to 4 times the battery manufacturer recommended level), the expected life of a ripple-charged VRLA battery will be within 3% of the life of a constant DC-charged battery.


title: Battery charger

text: Fast chargers make use of control circuitry to rapidly charge the batteries without damaging any of the cells in the battery. The control circuitry can be built into the battery (generally for each cell) or in the external charging unit, or split between both. Most such chargers have a cooling fan to help keep the temperature of the cells at safe levels. Most fast chargers are also capable of acting as standard overnight chargers if used with standard NiMH cells that do not have the special control circuitry.


title: Battery charger

text: To accelerate the charging time and provide continuous charging, an intelligent charger attempts to detect the state of charge and condition of the battery and applies a 3-stage charging scheme. The following description assumes a sealed lead acid traction battery at 25°C. The first stage is referred to as "bulk absorption"; the charging current will be held high and constant and is limited by the capacity of the charger. When the voltage on the battery reaches its outgassing voltage (2.22 volts per cell) the charger switches to the second stage and the voltage is held constant (2.40 volts per cell). The delivered current will decline at the maintained voltage, and when the current reaches less than 0.005C the charger enters its third stage and the charger output will be held constant at 2.25 volts per cell. In the third stage, the charging current is very small 0.005C and at this voltage the battery can be maintained at full charge and compensate for self-discharge.


title: Battery charger

text: Inductive battery chargers use electromagnetic induction to charge batteries. A charging station sends electromagnetic energy through inductive coupling to an electrical device, which stores the energy in the batteries. This is achieved without the need for metal contacts between the charger and the battery. Inductive battery chargers are commonly used in electric toothbrushes and other devices used in bathrooms. Because there are no open electrical contacts, there is no risk of electrocution. Nowadays it is being used to charge wireless phones.


title: Battery charger

text: A smart charger can respond to the condition of a battery and modify its charging parameters accordingly, whereas "dumb" chargers apply a steady voltage, possibly through a fixed resistance. It should not be confused with a smart battery that contains a computer chip and communicates digitally with a smart charger about battery condition. A smart battery requires a smart charger (see Smart Battery Data).


title: Battery charger

text: The output current of a smart charger depends upon the battery's state. An intelligent charger may monitor the battery's voltage, temperature or charge time to determine the optimum charge current or terminate charging.


title: Battery charger

text: For Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries, the voltage of the battery increases slowly during the charging process, until the battery is fully charged. After that, the voltage "decreases", which indicates to an intelligent charger that the battery is fully charged. Such chargers are often labeled as a ΔV, "delta-V," or sometimes "delta peak" charger, indicating that they monitor voltage change. This can cause even an intelligent charger not to sense that the batteries are already fully charged, and continue charging. Overcharging of the batteries may result. Many intelligent chargers employ a variety of cut-off systems to prevent overcharging.


title: Battery charger

text: A typical smart charger fast-charges a battery up to about 85% of its maximum capacity in less than an hour, then switches to trickle charging, which takes several hours to top off the battery to its full capacity.


title: Battery charger

text: Several companies have begun making devices that charge batteries using energy from human motion, such as walking. An example, made by Tremont Electric, consists of a magnet held between two springs that can charge a battery as the device is moved up and down. Such products have not yet achieved significant commercial success.


title: Battery charger

text: A pedal-powered charger for mobile phones fitted into desks has been created for installation in public spaces, such as airports, railway stations and universities. They have been installed in a number of countries on several continents.


title: Battery charger

text: Some chargers use "pulse technology", in which a series of electrical pulses is fed to the battery. The DC pulses have a strictly controlled rise time, pulse width, pulse repetition rate (frequency) and amplitude. This technology works with any size and type of battery, including automotive and valve-regulated ones.


title: Battery charger

text: With pulse charging, high instantaneous voltages are applied without overheating the battery. In a Lead–acid battery, this breaks down lead-sulfate crystals, thus greatly extending the battery service life.


title: Battery charger

text: Some chargers use pulses to check the current battery state when the charger is first connected, then use constant current charging during fast charge, then use pulse mode to trickle charge it.


title: Battery charger

text: Some chargers use "negative pulse charging," also called "reflex charging" or "burp charging." These chargers use both positive and brief negative current pulses. There is no significant evidence that negative pulse charging is more effective than ordinary pulse charging.


title: Battery charger

text: Solar chargers convert light energy into low voltage DC current. They are generally portable, but can also be fixed mounted. Fixed mount solar chargers are also known as solar panels. These are often connected to the electrical grid via control and interface circuits, whereas portable solar chargers are used off-grid (i.e. cars, boats, or RVs).


title: Battery charger

text: Although portable solar chargers obtain energy only from the sun, they some can charge in low light like at sunset). Portable solar chargers are often used for trickle charging, though some can completely recharge batteries.


title: Battery charger

text: The output of a timer charger is terminated after a predetermined time interval. Timer chargers were the most common type for high-capacity Ni-Cd cells in the late 1990s to charge low-capacity consumer Ni-Cd cells.


title: Battery charger

text: Often a timer charger and set of batteries could be bought as a bundle and the charger time is set for those batteries specifically. If batteries of lower capacity are charged, then they would be overcharged, and if batteries of higher capacity were timer-charged, they would not reach full capacity.


title: Battery charger

text: Timer based chargers also had the drawback that charging batteries that were not fully discharged would result in over-charging.


title: Battery charger

text: A trickle charger is typically low-current (usually between 5–1,500 mA). They are generally used to charge small capacity batteries (2–30 Ah). They are also used to maintain larger capacity batteries (> 30 Ah) in cars and boats. In larger applications, the current of the battery charger is only sufficient to provide trickle current. Depending on the technology of the trickle charger, it can be left connected to the battery indefinitely. Some battery types are not suitable for trickle charging. For instance, most Li-ion batteries cannot be safely trickle charged and can cause a fire or explosion.


title: Battery charger

text: The most sophisticated chargers are used in critical applications (e.g. military or aviation batteries). These heavy-duty automatic “intelligent charging” systems can be programmed with complex charging cycles specified by the battery manufacturer. The best are universal (i.e. can charge all battery types), and include automatic capacity testing and analyzing functions.


title: Battery charger

text: Since the Universal Serial Bus specification provides five-volt power, it is possible to use a USB cable to connect a device to a power supply. Products based on this approach include chargers for cellular phones, portable digital audio players, and tablet computers. They may be fully compliant USB peripheral devices or uncontrolled, simple chargers.


title: Battery charger

text: A power or battery bank is a portable device that can supply energy and power from its built-in battery, typically through a USB port.


title: Battery charger

text: Power banks have various sizes and typically contain 18650 battery cells. The smallest power banks have a single cell. Moderately sized ones for mobile phones usually have few cells in a parallel circuit, and large ones additionally in two series. The power bank's real meaning is polymer lithium batteries as a storage unit. The power bank is a lithium battery polymer storage device, through the IC chip for voltage regulation and then by connecting the power line charging or storage and then can be stored electricity released; power bank in the market is still relatively rare more is the standby battery mix called charge bank.


title: Battery charger

text: Power banks are popular for charging smaller battery-powered devices with USB ports such as mobile phones and tablet computers and can be used as a power supply for various USB-powered accessories such as lights, small fans and external digital camera battery chargers. They usually recharge with a USB power supply. More recent power banks use USB-C and may feature an additional USB-B micro port for backwards compatibility.


title: Battery charger

text: The power bank includes a control circuit that both regulates charging of the battery and converts the battery voltage to 5.0 volts for the USB port.


title: Battery charger

text: Power banks may be able to detect a connection and power on automatically. If the current load is under a model-specific threshold for a specific duration, a power bank may power down automatically.


title: Battery charger

text: Charging state is typically indicated through four LED lamps for each quartal, whereas some higher-end models feature an exact percentage display.


title: Battery charger

text: Some power banks are able to deliver power wirelessly, some are equipped with an LED flashlight for casual near-distance illumination when necessary, and some have a "pass-through charging" feature which allows providing power through their USB ports while being charged themselves simultaneously"."


title: Battery charger

text: Some larger power banks have DC connectors (or "barrel connectors") for higher power demands such as laptop computers.


title: Battery charger

text: Battery cases are small power banks attached to the rear side of a mobile phone like a case. Power may be delivered through the USB charging ports, or wirelessly.


title: Battery charger

text: For mobile phones with removable rear cover, "extended batteries" exist. These are larger internal batteries attached with a dedicated, more spacious rear cover replacing the default one. A disadvantage is incompatibility with other phone cases while attached.


title: Battery charger

text: Since a battery charger is intended to be connected to a battery, it may not have voltage regulation or filtering of the DC voltage output; it is cheaper to make them that way. Battery chargers equipped with both voltage regulation and filtering are sometimes termed battery eliminators.


title: Battery charger

text: Chargers for car batteries come in varying ratings. Chargers that are rated up to two amperes may be used to maintain charge on parked vehicle batteries or for small batteries on garden tractors or similar equipment. A motorist may keep a charger rated a few amperes to ten or fifteen amperes for maintenance of automobile batteries or to recharge a vehicle battery that has accidentally discharged. Service stations and commercial garages will have a large charger to fully charge a battery in an hour or two; often these chargers can briefly source the hundreds of amperes required to crank an internal combustion engine starter.


title: Battery charger

text: Electric vehicle battery chargers (ECS) come in a variety of brands and characteristics. These chargers vary from 1 kW to 7.5 kW maximum charge rate. Some use algorithm charge curves, others use constant voltage, constant current. Some are programmable by the end user through a CAN port, some have dials for maximum voltage and amperage, some are preset to specified battery pack voltage, amp-hour and chemistry. Prices range from $400 to $4500.


title: Battery charger

text: A 10 amp-hour battery could take 15 hours to reach a fully charged state from a fully discharged condition with a 1 amp charger as it would require roughly 1.5 times the battery's capacity.


title: Battery charger

text: Public EV charging stations provide 6 kW (host power of 208 to 240 VAC off a 40 amp circuit). 6 kW will recharge an EV roughly 6 times faster than 1 kW overnight charging.


title: Battery charger

text: Rapid charging results in even faster recharge times and is limited only by available AC power, battery type, and the type of charging system.


title: Battery charger

text: Power-factor correction (PFC) chargers can more closely approach the maximum current the plug can deliver, shortening charging time.


title: Battery charger

text: Project Better Place was deploying a network of charging stations and subsidizing vehicle battery costs through leases and credits until filing for bankruptcy in May 2013.


title: Battery charger

text: Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an electric transport system, called Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), where the vehicles get their power needs from cables underneath the surface of the road via inductive charging, a power source is placed underneath the road surface and power is wirelessly picked up on the vehicle itself.


title: Battery charger

text: Most mobile phone chargers are not really chargers, only power adapters that provide a power source for the charging circuitry which is almost always contained within the mobile phone. Older ones are notoriously diverse, having a wide variety of DC connector-styles and voltages, most of which are not compatible with other manufacturers' phones or even different models of phones from a single manufacturer. Some higher-end models feature multiple ports are equipped with a display which indicates output current. Some support communication protocols for charging parameters such as Qualcomm Quick Charge or MediaTek Pump Express.


title: Battery charger

text: Chargers for 12V automobile auxiliary power outlets may support input voltages of up to 24 or 32V DC to ensure compatibility, and are sometimes equipped with a display to monitor current or the voltage of the vehicle's electrical system.


title: Battery charger

text: China, the European Union and other countries are making a national standard on mobile phone chargers using the USB standard. In June 2009, 10 of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop specifications for and support a microUSB-equipped common external power supply (EPS) for all data-enabled mobile phones sold in the EU. On October 22, 2009, the International Telecommunication Union announced that microUSB would be the standard for a universal charger for mobile handsets.


title: Battery charger

text: Telecommunications, electric power, and computer uninterruptible power supply facilities may have very large standby battery banks (installed in battery rooms) to maintain critical loads for several hours during interruptions of primary grid power. Such chargers are permanently installed and equipped with temperature compensation, supervisory alarms for various system faults, and often redundant independent power supplies and redundant rectifier systems. Chargers for stationary battery plants may have adequate voltage regulation and filtration and sufficient current capacity to allow the battery to be disconnected for maintenance, while the charger supplies the direct current (DC) system load. The capacity of the charger is specified to maintain the system load and recharge a completely discharged battery within, say, 8 hours or other intervals.


title: Battery charger

text: A properly designed charger can allow batteries to reach their full cycle life.Excess charging current, lengthy overcharging, or cell reversal in a multiple cell pack cause damage to cells and limit the life expectancy of a battery.


title: Battery charger

text: Most modern cell phones, laptop and tablet computers, and most electric vehicles use Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries last longest if the battery is frequently charged; fully discharging the cells will degrade their capacity relatively quickly, but most such batteries are used in equipment which can sense the approach of full discharge and discontinue equipment use. When stored after charging, lithium battery cells degrade more while fully charged than if they are only 40-50% charged. As with all battery types, degradation also occurs faster at higher temperatures. Degradation in lithium-ion batteries is caused by an increased internal battery resistance often due to the cell oxidation. This decreases the efficiency of the battery, resulting in less net current available to be drawn from the battery. However, if Li-ION cells are discharged below a certain voltage a chemical reaction occurs that make them dangerous if recharged, which is why many such batteries in consumer goods now have an "electronic fuse" that permanently disables them if the voltage falls below a set level. The electronic fuse circuitry draws a small amount of current from the battery, which means that if a laptop battery is left for a long time without charging it, and with a very low initial state of charge, the battery may be permanently destroyed.


title: Battery charger

text: Motor vehicles, such as boats, RVs, ATVs, motorcycles, cars, trucks, etc. have used lead–acid batteries. These batteries employ a sulfuric acid electrolyte and can generally be charged and discharged without exhibiting memory effect, though sulfation (a chemical reaction in the battery which deposits a layer of sulfates on the lead) will occur over time. Typically sulfated batteries are simply replaced with new batteries, and the old ones recycled. Lead–acid batteries will experience substantially longer life when a maintenance charger is used to "float charge" the battery. This prevents the battery from ever being below 100% charge, preventing sulfate from forming. Proper temperature compensated float voltage should be used to achieve the best results.


title: Beam Suntory

text: Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American-founded, Japanese multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is a subsidiary of Suntory, based in Osaka, Japan.


title: Beam Suntory

text: It is the third largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide, behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard. The company's principal products include bourbon whiskey, tequila, Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, Canadian whisky, vodka, cognac, rum, cordials, and ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails.


title: Beam Suntory

text: James Beam began selling barrels of whiskey in 1795. By 1935, his family's business was formally established as the James B. Beam Distilling Company. Ten years later, the Chicago spirits merchant Harry Blum bought the company, and in 1968 sold it to American Brands, Inc.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In 1987, the James B. Beam Distilling Company purchased National Distillers and renamed itself the Jim Beam Brands Company. It was known as Jim Beam Brands Worldwide, Inc. by the time Fortune Brands purchased it in 2005. Fortune Brands also acquired 20 brands from Allied Domecq in 2005, worth $5 billion, which turned Fortune Brands into one of the largest producers of whiskey in the international market.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In 2006, the company was renamed Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. It was split from Fortune Brands to become an independent publicly traded company, Beam Inc., in 2011. Three years later, it was purchased by Suntory Holdings.


title: Beam Suntory

text: As a distinct entity, the company was established as Beam Inc. on October 3, 2011, from the remainder of the Fortune Brands holding company after it sold and divested various other product lines to form a business focused exclusively on spirits and directly related products.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In December 2011, Beam Inc. agreed to buy the only independent Irish whiskey distiller that existed at the time, the Cooley Distillery, for $95 million. On April 23, 2012, Beam announced it would acquire the Pinnacle vodka and Calico Jack rum brands for $600 million.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In January 2014, Suntory announced a deal to buy Beam Inc. for about $13.6 billion. The acquisition was completed in April 2014, for a final cost of about $16 billion, when it was announced that Beam would become a subsidiary named "Beam Suntory." The acquisition created a culture shock within the company, when Japanese managers implied that the American-made Jim Beam whisky could be improved with the "kaizen" Japanese technique of continual improvement.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In November 2015, Beam Suntory sold its sherry and brandy brands (Fundador, Harveys, Terry y Tres Cepas) to the Philippines-owned group Emperador for Euro 275 million.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In March 2016, the company announced it would move its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart building on Chicago's Near North Side; Beam Suntory is subleasing 110,000 sq. ft on the 16th floor of the Mart from Motorola Mobility.


title: Beam Suntory

text: The Chicago Cubs and Beam Suntory announced a long-term sponsorship deal in January 2017, making Beam the official spirits partner of the Cubs and Wrigley Field.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In addition to brands produced directly by the company and its subsidiaries, Beam Suntory imports and markets some brands produced by others, such as the DeKuyper cordial and the coffee liqueur Kamora. Beam facilities also produce spirits for brands owned by other companies, such as Calvert Extra blended whiskey, now owned by Luxco.


title: Beam Suntory

text: The company also previously sold Harveys Bristol Cream sherry, as well as the brandy brands Fundador, Terry Centenario, and Tres Cepas, before selling these brands to Grupo Emperador Spain S.A., part of the Alliance Global Group. In 2021, the Kamora and Leroux brands were sold to Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling.


title: Beam Suntory

text: In the 2003 Sofia Coppola movie "Lost in Translation", actor Bill Murray goes to Japan to shoot a commercial for the Suntory whisky and drops the now famous slogan, "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."


title: Beam Suntory

text: In October, 2020, Beam Suntory Inc. agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $19,572,885 to resolve a United States department’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The resolution arose in part out of Beam’s scheme to pay a bribe to an Indian government official in exchange for approval of a license to bottle a line of products that Beam sought to market and sell in India, and related internal controls and books and records violations, which included efforts by a then-member of Beam’s legal department to affirmatively avoid uncovering information related to improper activities and practices by third-parties engaged by Beam in India that presented corruption risks. Beam entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois in connection with criminal information unsealed in the Northern District of Illinois charging Beam with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Sunjay J Kapur is a billionaire businessman and chairman of Sona Comstar (Sona BLW Precision Forgings Limited), an Indian origin, global automotive systems and components manufacturer, with its headquarter in Gurugram. Sona Comstar is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. He is the current president of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). and co-chairman of the Manufacturing Council Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) He is also a member of the board of governors of The IPSS Doon School, Dehradun, India.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur did his schooling from The Doon School, India. He graduated with a BBA from University of Buckingham, U.K. and did his post-graduation from Harvard Business School in Owner President Management program. He is part of the Harvard Business School Alumni.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur started his career with a training stint at BMW in Munich. In 1991, he took a summer job at TRW Koyo, Tennessee to gain industry-specific knowledge. Thereafter, in 1996 he joined the Sona Group as part of the human resources department of Sona Koyo Steering Ltd. He set up Sona e-Design for conversion of 2D to 3D design (data migration) and gradually rose through the ranks to become the managing director of Sona Sonic Lemforder Co. in 2003. Kapur also began Sixt – a car rentals company, taking up the India franchise under Sona Mobility Services Ltd in 2005. He was the MD & CEO of Sixt and oversaw its expansion to five locations in India. In 2008, as the vice chairman and MD of Sona Koyo Steering System Ltd., he worked towards enriching manpower capital resources in a health-conscious environment.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: In 2009, he was appointed the chairman of the supervisory board of Sona BLW Precision Forgings Limited. Kapur now serves as the chairman of Sona Comstar.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur was elected the Global Chairman of The Entrepreneurs' Organization and served from 2007 to 2008. Kapur's love for nurturing and mentoring young innovators and start-ups led him to collaborate with CNBC for a unique reality show called “Masterpreneur India”, aired on CNBC Awaaz in 2015.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: In August 2021, Kapur was elected the president of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India. Prior to this, he has been the Chairman of the Electric Mobility and Sustainable Development Committees at ACMA.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur is also a member of the National Council of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and served as the Co-Chair of the Smart Manufacturing Committee from 2017 to 2020. Kapur was appointed the Chairman of the CII Haryana State Council for the 2020 to 2021 term.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur developed a keen interest for the equestrian sport of polo in 2004. His passion for polo led him to incept his own team – Sona Polo. Kapur is the captain of the team and Sona Polo is counted amongst the top professional playing teams in India. Kapur also plays the professional circuit in England each summer and his team has won several tournaments under his captaincy in India, USA, and the UK.


title: Sunjay Kapur

text: Kapur is married to Priya Sachdev. The two tied the knot in New York in 2017 and have a son Azarias, born in 2018. He has two children from his previous marriage to Karishma Kapoor, daughter Samaira born in 2005 and son Kiaan born in 2010. Kapur and Karishma got a divorce through mutual consent in 2016. Kapur now resides in New Delhi, India.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene is a third-generation topical retinoid primarily used in the treatment of mild-moderate acne, and is also used off-label to treat keratosis pilaris as well as other skin conditions. Studies have found adapalene is as effective as other retinoids, while causing less irritation. It also has several advantages over other retinoids. The adapalene molecule is more stable compared to tretinoin and tazarotene, which leads to less concern for photodegradation. It is also chemically more stable compared to the other two retinoids, allowing it to be used in combination with benzoyl peroxide. Due to its effects on keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, adapalene is superior to tretinoin for the treatment of comedonal acne and is often used as a first-line agent. The Swiss company Galderma sells adapalene under the brand-name product Differin.


title: Adapalene

text: Per the recommendations of the Global Alliance on Improving Outcomes of Acne, retinoids such as adapalene are considered first-line therapy in acne treatment and are to be used either independently or in conjunction with benzoyl peroxide and/or an antimicrobial agent, like clindamycin, for maximum efficacy. Furthermore, adapalene, like other retinoids, increases the efficacy and penetration of other topical acne medications that are used in conjunction with topical retinoids as well as hastens the improvement of the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation caused by acne. In the long term, it can be used as maintenance therapy.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene has the unique ability to inhibit keratinocyte differentiation and decrease keratin deposition. This property makes adapalene an effective treatment for keratosis pilaris and callus. It may be used by men undergoing foreskin restoration to reduce excess keratin that forms a layer on the exterior of the human penis after circumcision. Other non-FDA approved indications that have been reported in the literature include treatment of warts, molluscum contagiosum, Darier disease, photoaging, pigmentary disorders, actinic keratoses and alopecia areata.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene is known to cause mild adverse effects such as photosensitivity, irritation, redness, dryness, itching, and burning. It is common (between 1% and 10% of users) to experience a brief sensation of warmth or stinging, as well as dry skin, peeling and redness during the first 2–4 weeks of using the medication. These effects are considered mild and generally decrease over time. Any serious allergic reaction is rare. Furthermore, of the three topical retinoids, adapalene is often regarded as the most tolerable.


title: Adapalene

text: Use of topical adapalene in pregnancy has not been well studied, but has a theoretical risk of retinoid embryopathy. Thus far, there is no evidence that the cream causes problems in the baby if used during pregnancy. Use is at the consumer's own risk.


title: Adapalene

text: According to the Drugs and Lactation Database, topical adapalene has poor systemic absorption and results in low blood levels (less than 0.025 mcg/L) despite long term use, suggesting that there is low risk of harm for a nursing infant. However, it is recommended that the topical medication should not be applied to the nipple or any other area that may come into direct contact with the infant's skin.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene has been shown to enhance the efficacy of topical clindamycin, although adverse effects are also increased. Application of adapalene gel to the skin 3–5 minutes before application of clindamycin enhances penetration of clindamycin into the skin, which may enhance the overall efficacy of the treatment as compared to clindamycin alone.


title: Adapalene

text: Unlike the retinoid tretinoin (Retin-A), adapalene has also been shown to retain its efficacy when applied at the same time as benzoyl peroxide due to its more stable chemical structure. Furthermore, photodegradation of the molecule is less of a concern in comparison to tretinoin and tazarotene.


title: Adapalene

text: Absorption of adapalene through the skin is low. A study with six acne patients treated once daily for five days with two grams of adapalene cream applied to of skin found no quantifiable amounts, or less than 0.35 ng/mL of the drug, in the patients' blood plasma. Controlled trials of chronic users of adapalene have found drug levels in the patients' plasma to be 0.25 ng/mL.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene is highly lipophilic. When applied topically, it readily penetrates hair follicles and absorption occurs five minutes after topical application. After penetration into the follicle, adapalene binds to nuclear retinoic acid receptors (namely retinoic acid receptor beta and gamma). These complexes then bind to the retinoid X receptor which induces gene transcription by binding to specific DNA sites, thus modulating downstream keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation. This results in normalization of keratinocyte differentiation, allowing for decreased microcomedone formation, decreased clogging of pores, and increased exfoliation by increasing cell turnover. Adapalene is also regarded as an anti-inflammatory agent, as it suppresses the inflammatory response stimulated by the presence of "Cutibacterium acnes", and inhibits both lipoxygenase activity and the oxidative metabolism of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene selectively targets retinoic acid receptor beta and retinoic acid receptor gamma when applied to epithelial cells such as those found in the skin. Its agonism of the gamma subtype is largely responsible for adapalene's observed effects. In fact, when adapalene is applied in conjunction with a retinoic acid receptor gamma antagonist, adapalene loses clinical efficacy.


title: Adapalene

text: Retinization is a common temporary phenomenon reported by patients when initiating use of retinols. Within the initial period of treatment, skin can become red, irritated, dry and may burn or itch from retinol application; however, this tends to resolve within four weeks with once a day use.


title: Adapalene

text: Adapalene was a research product of the Swiss company Galderma's French subsidiary Galderma Laboratories. Adapalene was approved in 1996 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of acne.


title: Adapalene

text: A study has concluded that adapalene can be used to treat plantar warts and may help clear lesions faster than cryotherapy. Computational study claims that the adapalene can be used as a potential entry inhibitor for Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2.


title: Tara Platt

text: Tara Platt (born June 18, 1978) is an American actress and author who has provided voices for dozens of English-language versions of Japanese anime films, television series and video games. Her notable roles in anime include Temari in "Naruto" and Reina in "Rave Master". She also voices Kali Belladonna in "RWBY", Mitsuru Kirijo in "Persona 3", Edelgard von Hresvelg in "", Miriel & Flavia in "", Anna Williams from the "Tekken" series, as well as characters in "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe", "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3", "", "Bayonetta 2", "Soulcalibur IV", "League of Legends", and Yuri Watanabe in "Spider-Man".


title: Tara Platt

text: Platt moved around a lot when she was young, and her family settled in Chelsea, Michigan when she was 14. She went to Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre arts in 1999. She also studied at the London Academy of Theatre. She lived in New York and worked off-Broadway, and later moved to Los Angeles.


title: Tara Platt

text: On screen, Platt has appeared in television shows like "Scandal", "Hawaii Five-0", "Castle" and "Revenge", as well as the feature film "The Call". Platt has also performed in shows written and directed by John de Lancie. She played Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" (with both the Pasadena Civic and the Toyota Youth Shakespeare Series with the Los Angeles Philharmonic); Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; Katherine in "The Taming of the Shrew"; and appeared in "First Nights: Clara and Robert Schumann" at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as Clara Schumann, in a role written for her by de Lancie.


title: Tara Platt

text: In 2004, Platt and husband Yuri Lowenthal founded Monkey Kingdom Productions, an independent film production company which has produced two feature films including Lowenthal's "Tumbling After", and mockumentary "Con Artists". They also created a live-action web-series "Shelf Life" about a group of superhero figurines; the series ran for four seasons on YouTube. Their comedy series "Whatta Lark" garnered seven IAWTV nominations and won Best Male Performer in a Comedy for lead actor Christopher Graham.


title: Tara Platt

text: In 2018, Platt and Lowenthal were asked to give a TEDx Talk for "TEDxUCSD" for the May 2018 TEDx Conference: When Bubbles Burst. Their topic was Your Life Story: Using Story Structure to Navigate Crisis.


title: Tara Platt

text: Platt and Lowenthal co-authored a book called "Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind the Mic" and follow up "Voice-Over Voice Actor: The Extended Edition", which gives tips and information for aspiring voice actors. Platt also has authored several other books inlcuding kids' bedtime book "Relax Your Toes", an interactive journal of a traveling Romani girl "Zartana", and dystopian YA novel "Prep School for Serial Killers".


title: Tara Platt

text: Platt and fellow voice actor Yuri Lowenthal married in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve in 2001. They have one son, born in 2016.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police), (IAST: ), is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the "Police Act, 1861". It is headed by Director General of Police (DGP).


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: Uttar Pradesh Police is one of the oldest police departments in the Republic of India, and is the largest police force in the world, having about 68 district police department (excluding 7 commissionerates) in it.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Uttar Pradesh Police is headquartered at Signature Building, Gomti Nagar Extension in Lucknow which was earlier located in city of Prayagraj


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Uttar Pradesh Police employ around 1,368 gazetted officers, and 231,443 non gazetted uniformed officers. Uttar Pradesh Police is governed by the Department of Home and Confidential of Uttar Pradesh.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Uttar Pradesh Police is headed by the Director General of Police (DGP) for the state of Uttar Pradesh, who is the highest-ranking (DG) IPS officer of the state cadre. UP Police is the first Indian state police agency to have a highway patrol Unit, the UP-Highway Police (UPHP).


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The present police system in the country was created following the recommendation of the Police Commission headed by Mr. H.M. Court in 1860, which led to the enactment of the Police Act of 1861 that is in force even today. The same Mr. Court became the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the then North West Province and Avadh which comprised the territory of the present state of Uttar Pradesh. The Police structure was erected in the form of the following eight organizations:


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Civil Police too continued to grow and Mr. B.N. Lahiri was the first Indian Inspector General of Police of Uttar Pradesh after independence. The performance of the state police in the spheres of Crime control and maintenance of law and order was highly appreciated, due to which it had the proud privilege of being the first police force in the country to receive the President's Color on 13 November 1952 by the then Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Various specialized wings of the U.P. police have since come into existence for combating organized crimes, economic offences, terrorism, etc.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: A Director General of Police (DGP) heads the state police. He is assisted by many police officers. State police headquarters is situated in Lucknow.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: For the purpose of maintaining law and order in the state, the state of Uttar Pradesh is divided into 8 police zones. Each zone is headed by an officer of the rank of additional director general of police who is an officer of the Indian police Service. Each police zone is constituted by 2 to 3 police ranges. There are a total of 18 police ranges in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Each range is headed by an officer of the rank of either inspector general of police or deputy inspector general of police which corresponds with the administrative division. Each police range is constituted by around 2 to 4 districts.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: There are a total of 68 District police units (headed by SP/SSP) and 7 Police Commissionerate (headed by CP) in the state.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In each district (except all current 7 commissionerates), the head of the police is the SP or SSP. In the discharge of his duties, he is assisted by Superintendent of Police (SP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (Deputy SP) or Assistant Superintendent of Police who may either be the officers of the Provincial Police Service or Indian Police Service.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The number of SPs and Deputy SPs varies with the size, population, police work, or nature of police work in different districts. The number of SPs and Dy.SPs in districts like Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Moradabad is considerably more than other districts. Whereas in smaller districts like Baghpat, Kannauj, Mahoba, Chandauli the number of the PPS officers is relatively lesser.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: Typically, a police district in the state corresponds with the administrative district. Though, the head of the police force in the district is the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)/Superintendent of police (SP), who is always an officer of the Indian Police Service, the ultimate/final responsibility with regard to the maintenance of the law and order in the district lies with the district magistrate who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. The police district is further subdivided into police sub-divisions or police circles. A police circle is usually headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Superintendent of Police. The officer heading the police circle/sub-division is designated as the Circle Officer (C.O.) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A police circle is usually constituted by 2 to 4 police stations. Each police station is headed by a police inspector. Throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh and other states, especially in North India, there is the main police station in the older/ main part of the city known as the Kotwali. The Kotwali covers the main or usually the older part of the town/city under its jurisdiction. Earlier, when the cities and towns were smaller and had a lesser population than at present and they hadn't grown in size so much, Kotwali covered the main town area of the cities or the districts. A police station is also called as a thana in the local language. The officer in charge of a police station is designated as or called as the station officer (S.O.) or station house officer (S.H.O). He is assisted by various sub-inspectors, head-constables, constables. There are also a number of police chowkis that come under the police station. A police chowki is under the charge of a sub-inspector of police. The regular constabulary carries the bulk of normal beat policing and patrolling.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In the police commissionerate system, the Commissioner of Police (CP) in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) or Inspector General of Police (IGP) heads the district police department or commissionerate.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In Lucknow Police, the CP is assisted by 2 Joint Commissioners of Police (JCPs) in the rank of IG, and in all other police commissionerates in UP, the commissioner is assisted by 2 Additional Commissioners (Addl. CPs) in the rank of DIG who look after Law and order while other looks into Crime & Headquarters. Under them, there is a team of IPS & PPS officers who are posted as DCPs and ACPs. Three DCPs are posted in a zone. One DCP's insignia is the state emblem above one star, who is senior to the other two DCPs, whose insignia is one state emblem only. Under the DCPs work ACPs, who are the chiefs of various circles. They are vested with the powers of the executive magistrate for criminal cases.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: Police Commissionerates are independent of zonal & range police chiefs' supervision. They are also vested with powers of an executive magistrate under various acts.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: UP police uses a database of 500,000+ criminals with facial recognition technology in its "Trinetra" face identification system.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: A social media command and research center has been established in Meerut. The center monitors trends in social media that can have an impact on law & order situation and advise concerned district and range police chiefs.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: Most of the weapons in service with the Uttar Pradesh Police are locally produced by the Indian ordnance factories controlled by the Ordnance Factories Board, the police also induct various weapons imported by the Ministry of Home Affairs as part of modernization plans.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: As per the 2017 audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Uttar Pradesh Police has a shortage of 45,047 handguns and an excess of 56,298 rifles.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: 48%, 58,853, of the 1.22 lakh (122,000) rifles available to the state police are of point-303 bore category, which was rendered obsolete by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1995.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: The Uttar Pradesh Police has an extensive history of police brutality, misconduct, and corruption, as well as discrimination on the basis of caste and religion.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In 2007, 18,000 police officers were fired as they were hired despite being unqualified for the job. These new recruits were illiterates who bribed between ₹100,000 and ₹500,000 to cheat in the UP police entrance tests.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In 2018 India Today carried out an investigative piece reporting incidents of UP police framing innocent people and killing them in staged encounters for money and promotions. A sub-inspector had allegedly offered to gun down an innocent civilian for around Rs 8 lakh. Between 2015–2018, 211 complaints of fake encounters were filed in India out of which 39 were on UP police. In 2012, 17 UP police personnel were given life term for killing an incontinent 24-year-old man in a 1992 fake encounter and later they branded the victim as a terrorist.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In 2020, Uttar Pradesh government started an operation to screen allegedly corrupt police officials who will be forced to take retirement.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: In the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder, UP Police forcibly cremated the body of the victim girl without the consent of her family. The station house officer was transferred for his "failure to promptly act" in the case.


title: Uttar Pradesh Police

text: These law enforcement officers have been depicted in Indian cinema through various films. The Dabangg series of films starring Salman Khan are an example of depiction of the UP Police


title: The Protector (Turkish TV series)

text: The Protector () is a Turkish drama fantasy series starring Çağatay Ulusoy. It was created by Binnur Karaevli and directed by Umut Aral, Gönenç Uyanık, and Can Evrenol in the first season. The story is inspired from Turkish novelist Nilüfer İpek Gökdel's mystery novel, 'Karakalem ve Bir Delikanlının Tuhaf Hikayesi' (A Strange Story of Charcoal and a Young Man), which was published in 2016. The first season consists of 10 episodes and became available for streaming on Netflix on December 14, 2018. The second season consists of 8 episodes and was made available for live streaming on April 26, 2019. On June 10, 2019 the series was renewed for seasons 3 and 4. The fourth and last season was released on July 9, 2020.


title: The Protector (Turkish TV series)

text: After his adoptive father Neşet is killed, Hakan Demir, an Istanbul shopkeeper, discovers that he is connected to an ancient secret order whose duty is to protect the city. Hakan must embrace his family's legacy as The Protector, a hero with the duty to kill the Immortal and prevent the destruction of the city.


title: The Protector (Turkish TV series)

text: He is helped by Kemal and his daughter Zeynep, members of the secret order of the Loyal Ones, who are dedicated to assisting the Protector.


title: Sazerac Company

text: Sazerac Company, Inc is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by billionaire William Goldring and his family. , it operated nine distilleries, had 2,000 employees, and operated in 112 countries. It is one of the two largest spirits companies in the United States, with annual revenue of about $1 billion made from selling about 300 mostly discount brands.


title: Sazerac Company

text: The company was founded after the purchase of a bar known as the Sazerac Coffee House in 1869 by Thomas H. Handy. The coffee house itself had been established in 1850. After its purchase, Handy's company began to acquire and market brands of liquor. According to the company, the Sazerac Coffee House had been named after a cocktail called the Sazerac that was created in the mid-1800s by the immigrant Antoine Amédée Peychaud, who operated a pharmacy on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1838. The company publishes a Sazerac recipe and produces a Peychaud's Bitters named after Peychaud, which is an ingredient in the traditional Sazerac cocktail.


title: Sazerac Company

text: William Goldring began buying shares of the company in 1984, and eventually purchased the entire company.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 2009, the company's principal office was moved to Louisville, Kentucky, reflecting an increased company focus on bourbon whiskey production. However, the Sazerac Company still maintains an active presence in the New Orleans area, and it also has operations in Carson and Loomis, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Bardstown, Frankfort, and Owensboro, Kentucky; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Lewiston, Maine; Londonderry, New Hampshire; Newport, Tennessee; and Segonzac, France.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 2016, the company had an estimated revenue of $1 billion per year and a market valuation estimate of $4.5 billion. The valuation placed Goldring in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 1989, Sazerac acquired several brands from Seagram: Benchmark, a bourbon, eventually changing its name from "Benchmark" to McAfee's Benchmark; James Foxe Canadian Whisky; Nikolai (vodka); Carstairs Blended Whiskey; Crown Russe, a vodka and gin brand; Dr. McGillicuddy's, a liqueur brand, that included its Fireball Whisky, which was rebranded as Fireball Cinnamon Whisky in 2007; Eagle Rare, a Kentucky straight bourbon whisky.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 1992, Sazerac acquired the George T. Stagg Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, at which time the company's primary focus became the production of bourbon whiskey, a product that is primarily distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky, later changing its name to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1999.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 1994, Sazerac acquired Monsieur Henri, a wine and specialty spirits company. In 2007, it was announced that they were changing the name Monsieur Henri to Gemini Spirits and Wine; it is headquartered in Loomis, California. In 2014, Sazerac announced the creation the Bond & Royal Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, to take over the specialty and craft segment of its brands from the Gemini Spirits and Wine portfolio including: Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, a "cousin" to the tequila family of spirits, Campo de Encanto Pisco, a Peruvian brandy, Banks Rum, Siete Leguas Tequila, Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch, Dimmi Liquore di Milano, an Italian liqueur, and the Casa San Matias Tequilas.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In 2003, Sazerac acquired the A. Smith Bowman Distillery, located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Virginia Gentleman, a bourbon whiskey, is distilled there.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In March 2009, Sazerac completed its acquisition of Constellation Brands value-priced spirit assets. The purchase included Barton Brands and several other bourbon brands, a distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, and a bottling and warehousing facility in Owensboro, Kentucky. In June, Sazerac acquired The Old Taylor Bourbon label and barrel inventory from Beam Global Spirits & Wine, now known as Beam Suntory.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In September 2011, Sazerac entered into an agreement with Corby Distilleries Limited, to purchase 17 Corby owned brands including: McGuinness Silk Tassel Canadian Whisky, Red Tassel Vodka, and DeKuyper Geneva Gin and Peachtree Schnapps as part of the agreement made with the other brands acquired from Corby Distilleries Limited. The deal also included shares of Corby's manufacturing and bottling facilities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and Quebec, Canada. The distillery was eventually renamed as the Old Montreal Distillery. In October, Sazerac Acquired 32 brands from White Rock Distillery, most notably: Tortilla triple sec, Desert Island cocktails, Kapali liqueurs, Ryans Irish cream liqueur, Fire Water schnapps liqueur, Ice 101 liqueurs, Barbarossa rum, Ice Box blenders and cocktails, Mount Royal Canadian whisky, and others. In May 2012, Sazerac Acquired several more brands from White Rock Distillery including: Baja Tequila, Tenure Vodka, Epic Vodka, Superia Vodka, Stroyski Vodka, El Charro Tequila, Blackmaker Root beer liqueur, and Chocolate Valley Vines wine.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In October 2013, Sazerac bought a distillery, including land and equipment in Lewiston, Maine, from Beam Inc. (now known as Beam Suntory). By 2017, the name of the distillery was changed to Boston Brands of Maine. The Mr. Boston line of Brandies is distilled there.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In October 2015, Sazerac acquired Michael Collins, an Irish whiskey from the Sidney Frank Importing Company. Also in 2015, Sazerac added Van Gogh Imports, changing its name to 375 Park Avenue Spirits, as an independent, but fully integrated, division in its portfolio.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In March 2016, Sazerac completed the purchase of the Southern Comfort brand of whiskey-based liqueur, and Tuaca, a brandy liqueur, from Brown-Forman, Inc. That same month, Sazerac acquired Hi-Spirits to take over the distribution of its products in the UK. In May, it was announced that Sazerac had finalized a deal with Pernod Ricard's Irish Distillers to acquire its Paddy Whiskey brand. In September, Sazerac acquired The Last Drop Distillers, an independent bottler of Scotch whiskey. Also in September, Sazerac acquired South Trade International, an Australian spirit maker, from Pinnacle Drinks. In October, Sazerac acquired Frïs Vodka from Pernod Ricard. In December, Sazerac announced its acquisition of The Popcorn Sutton Distillery in Newport, Tennessee. Also in December, it was announced that Sazerac had acquired Domaine Breuil de Segonzac Cognac, including property located near the town of Segonzac, France, near Cognac.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In November 2018, Sazerac announced it would acquire 19 spirits brands from Diageo Plc, including Seagram VO Canadian whisky and Goldschläger cinnamon schnapps.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In June 2020, the company announced it would acquire the brands Early Times, Collingwood, and Canadian Mist, including the latter's distillery in Ontario, from Brown-Forman. The acquisition included the barrel aging stocks related to the different brands as well.


title: Sazerac Company

text: In June 2009, Sazerac sold Effen Vodka to Fortune Brands. After a restructuring of Fortune Brands and an acquisition by Suntory, Effen has since become a Beam Suntory brand.


title: Here be dragons

text: "Here be dragons" () means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.


title: Here be dragons

text: Although several early maps, such as the , have illustrations of mythological creatures for decoration, the phrase itself is an anachronism. Until the Ostrich Egg Globe was offered for sale in 2012 at the London Map Fair held at the Royal Geographical Society, the only known historical use of this phrase in the Latin form "HC SVNT DRACONES" (i.e., , 'here are dragons') was the Hunt-Lenox Globe dating from 1504. Earlier maps contain a variety of references to mythical and real creatures, but the Ostrich Egg Globe and its twin the Lenox Globe are the only known surviving globes to bear this phrase. The term appears on both globes at the peripheral, extreme end of the Asian continent.


title: Here be dragons

text: The classical phrase used by medieval cartographers was "HIC SVNT LEONES" (literally, "here are lions") when denoting unknown territories on maps.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history."