title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Early prohibitions on interracial marriages date back to the rule of the Dutch East India Company when High Commissioner Van Rheede prohibited marriages between European settlers and "heelslag" or full-blooded slave women (that is, of pure Asian or African origin) in 1685. The ban was never enforced.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In 1905, German South West Africa banned the "Rassenmischehe" (racial mixed marriage). These bans had no legal basis in German citizenship laws (issued in 1870 and 1913) and the "decrees [were] issued by either a colonial governor or the colonial secretary", they were "not laws that had received the approval of the Reichstag". Similar such laws were also adopted in the German colonies of German East Africa (1906) and German Samoa (1912).


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In 1927, the Pact coalition government passed a law prohibiting marriages between whites and blacks (though not between whites and "coloured" people). An attempt was made to extend this ban in 1936 to marriages between whites and coloureds when a bill was introduced in parliament, but a commission of inquiry recommended against it.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, passed in 1949 under Apartheid, forbade marriages between whites and anyone deemed to be non-whites. The Population Registration Act (No. 30) of 1950 provided the basis for separating the population of South Africa into different races. Under the terms of this act, all residents of South Africa were to be classified as white, coloured, or native (later called Bantu) people. Indians were included under the category "Asian" in 1959. Also in 1950, the Immorality Act was passed, which criminalized all sexual relations between whites and non-whites. The Immorality Act of 1950 extended an earlier ban on sexual relations between whites and blacks (the Immorality Act [No. 5] of 1927) to a ban on sexual relations between whites and any non-whites. Both Acts were repealed in 1985 as part of the reforms carried out during the tenure of P. W. Botha.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In the late 18th century and early 19th century, laws called Half-Caste Acts which included anti-interracial marriage clauses were enacted in some of the Australian states, including the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland. From the start there was a widespread ideology in lawmaking of separating races due to inferiority. However, by the mid-1930s there was a shift in which they used the anti miscegenation clauses to control who specifically Aboriginal peoples can marry in order to promote “assimilation” but this did not change their views on their inferiority, just merely to improve them by “whitening”. Surprisingly, at the beginning when these acts were passed the biggest fear was not interracial aboriginal and white intermarriage, but aboriginal and Asian intermarriage, a reflection on Australia’s extreme stance during the yellow peril era, but after the white Australia Policy which banned all Asian immigration from 1901 on, these fears subsided and their attention was put on aboriginal and white interracial marriages and sexual behavior.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In Egypt, based on a law No. 26 of 1975, the government reviews all marriages between Egyptian men and Israeli women to decide on an individual basis whether to strip the men of their Egyptian citizenship. The decision is made by the Ministry of Interior. The cabinet takes into consideration whether the Israeli woman is an Arab or a Jew.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Egyptian law says citizenship can only be revoked if the citizen is proven to be spying on his country, and marrying an Israeli is considered an act of spying or a risk to national security.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In 2022, Israel's Knesset passed a law barring Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens from receiving citizenship or permanent residency, effectively denying spouses the right to live together in Israel. According to Reuters, proponents of the law stated it would ensure Israel's security and maintain its "Jewish character". Similar temporary restrictions had been enacted during the Second Intifada of 2003 and renewed on an annual basis before lapsing in 2021.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Saudi women are prohibited from marrying men other than Arab citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries without special dispensation from the King. Under Sharia law, Saudi women, as Muslims, are not permitted under any circumstances to marry non-Muslim men.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Saudi men require a government permit to marry a foreign woman and must be at least 25 years old to apply for such a permit. They may obtain a permit to take a foreign woman as a second wife only if their first wife has cancer, is disabled, or is unable to bear children. Saudi men are forbidden to marry women from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Chad, and Pakistan. Supposedly, this decision was predicated on the population of these countries collectively surpassing 500,000.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Laws and policies which discouraged miscegenation were issued in various dynasties, including an 836 AD decree forbidding Chinese people to have relations with other peoples such as Iranians, Arabs, Indians, Malays, Sumatrans, and so on.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: While there are no specific provisions in the Constitution of India regarding the freedom to marry someone from a different race, Article 21 of the Constitution, which is a Fundamental Right, is widely regarded as to provide that freedom as it comes under "personal liberty", which the Constitution guarantees to protect.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: After the events of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, several anti-miscegenation laws were passed by the British colonial government.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: After the deterioration of relations between North Korea and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, North Korea began to enact practices such as forcing its male citizens who had married Eastern European and African women to divorce.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Additionally, the North Korean government has been accused of performing forced abortions and infanticides on repatriated defectors to "prevent the survival of half-Chinese babies".


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: The U.S. was the global leader in codified racism, and its race laws fascinated the Nazis. The "National Socialist Handbook for Law and Legislation" of 1934–35, edited by the lawyer Hans Frank, contains a pivotal essay by Herbert Kier on the recommendations for race legislation which devoted a quarter of its pages to U.S. legislation—from segregation, race based citizenship, immigration regulations, and anti-miscegenation. The Nazis enacted miscegenation statutes which discriminated against Jews, Roma and Sinti ("Gypsies"), and Black people. The Nazis considered the Jews to be a race supposedly bound by close genetic (blood) ties to form a unit which one could neither join nor secede from, rather than a religious group of people. The influence of Jews had been declared to have detrimental impact on Germany, in order to justify the discrimination and persecutions of Jews. To be spared, one had to prove one's Aryan descent, normally by obtaining an Aryan certificate.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Although Nazi doctrine stressed the importance of physiognomy and genes in determining race, in practice race was determined only through the religions followed by each individual's ancestors. Individuals were considered non-'Aryan' (i.e. Jewish) if at least three of four of their grandparents had been enrolled as members of a Jewish congregation; it did not matter if those grandparents had been born to a Jewish mother or had converted to Judaism. The actual religious beliefs of the individual himself or herself were also immaterial, as was the individual's status under Halachic law.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: An anti-miscegenation law was enacted by the Nazi government in September 1935 as part of the Nuremberg Laws. The "Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour" ('Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre'), enacted on 15 September 1935, forbade sexual relations and marriages between Germans classified as so-called 'Aryans' and Germans classified as Jews. This applied also to marriages concluded in Germany with only one spouse of German citizenship. On 26 November 1935, the law was extended to include, "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring". Such extramarital intercourse was marked as "Rassenschande" ("race defilement") and could be punished by imprisonment — later usually followed by the deportation to a concentration camp, often entailing the inmate's death. Germans of African and other non-European descent were classified following their own origin or the origin of their parents. Sinti and Roma ("Gypsies") were mostly categorised following police records, e.g. mentioning them or their forefathers as Gypsies, when having been met by the police as travelling peddlers.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: The existing 20,454 (as of 1939) marriages between persons "racially" regarded as so-called 'Aryans' and non-Aryans — called "mixed marriages" () — would continue. However, the government eased the conditions for the divorce of mixed marriages. In the beginning the Nazi authorities hoped to make the 'Aryan' partner get a divorce from their non-Aryan-classified spouses, by granting easy legal divorce procedures and opportunities for the 'Aryan' spouse to withhold most of the common property after a divorce. Those who stuck to their spouse would suffer discriminations like dismissal from public employment, exclusion from civic society organisations, etc.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Any children — whenever born — within a mixed marriage, as well as children from extramarital mixed relationships born until 31 July 1936, were discriminated against as "Mischlinge". However, children later born to mixed parents, not yet married at passing the Nuremberg Laws, were to be discriminated against as "Geltungsjuden", regardless if the parents had meanwhile married abroad or remained unmarried. Any children who were enrolled in a Jewish congregation were also subject to discrimination as "Geltungsjuden".


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: According to the Nazi family value attitude, the husband was regarded the head of a family. Thus people living in a mixed marriage were treated differently according to the sex of the 'Aryan' spouse and according to the religious affiliation of the children, their being or not being enrolled with a Jewish congregation. Nazi-termed mixed marriages were often not interfaith marriages, because in many cases the classification of one spouse as non-Aryan was only due to her or his grandparents being enrolled with a Jewish congregation or else classified as non-Aryan. In many cases both spouses had a common faith, either because the parents had already converted or because at marrying one spouse converted to the religion of the second (marital conversion). Traditionally the wife used to be the convert. However, in urban areas and after 1900, actual interfaith marriages occurred more often, with interfaith marriages legally allowed in some states of the German Confederation since 1847, and generally since 1875, when civil marriage became an obligatory prerequisite for any religious marriage ceremony throughout the united Germany.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Most mixed marriages occurred with one spouse being considered as non-Aryan, due to his or her Jewish descent. Many special regulations were developed for such couples. A differentiation of privileged and other mixed marriages emerged on 28 December 1938, when Hermann Göring discretionarily ordered this in a letter to the "Reich's Ministry of the Interior". The "Gesetz über die Mietverhältnisse mit Juden" () of 30 April 1939, allowing proprietors to unconditionally cancel tenancy contracts with Germans classified as Jews, thus forcing them to move into houses reserved for them, for the first time enacted Göring's creation. The law defined "privileged mixed marriages" and exempted them from the act.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: The legal definitions decreed that the marriage of a Gentile husband and his wife, being a Jewess or being classified as a Jewess due to her descent, was generally considered to be a "privileged mixed marriage", unless they had children who were enrolled in a Jewish congregation. Then the husband was obviously not the dominant part in the family and the wife had to wear the yellow badge and the children as well, who were thus discriminated against as "Geltungsjuden". Without children, or with children not enrolled with a Jewish congregation, the Jewish-classified wife was spared from wearing the yellow badge (else compulsory for Germans classified as Jews as of 1 September 1941).


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In the opposite case, when the wife was classified as a so-called 'Aryan' and the husband as a Jew, the husband had to wear the yellow badge, if they had no children or children enrolled with a Jewish congregation. In case they had common children not enrolled in a Jewish congregation (irreligionist, Christian etc.) they were discriminated as "Mischlinge" and their father was spared from wearing the yellow badge.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Since there was no elaborate regulation, the practice of exempting "privileged mixed marriages" from anti-Semitic invidiousnesses varied amongst Greater Germany's different Reichsgaue. However, all discriminations enacted until 28 December 1938, remained valid without exemptions for "privileged mixed marriages". In the Reichsgau Hamburg, for example, Jewish-classified spouses living in "privileged mixed marriages" received equal food rations like Aryan-classified Germans. In many other Reichsgaue they received shortened rations. In some Reichsgaue in 1942 and 1943, privileged mixed couples, and their minor children whose father was classified as a Jew, were forced to move into houses reserved for Jews only; this effectively made a privileged mixed marriage one where the husband was the one classified as so-called 'Aryan'.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: The inconsistent application of "privileged mixed marriages" led to different compulsions to forced labour in 1940: Sometimes it was ordered for all Jewish-classified spouses, sometimes for Jewish-classified husbands, sometimes exempting Jewish-classified wives taking care of minor children. No document or law indicated the exemption of a mixed marriage from some persecutions and especially of its Jewish-classified spouse. Thus if arrested, non-arrested relatives or friends had to prove their exemption status, hopefully fast enough to rescue the arrested from any deportation.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Systematic deportations of Jewish Germans and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent started on 18 October 1941. German Jews and German Gentiles of Jewish descent living in "mixed marriage" were in fact mostly spared from deportation. In case a mixed marriage ended by death of the 'Aryan' spouse or divorce, the Jewish-classified spouse residing within Germany was usually deported soon after, unless the couple still had minor children not counting as Geltungsjuden.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In March 1943, an attempt to deport the Berlin-based Jews and Gentiles of Jewish descent living in non-privileged mixed marriages, failed due to public protest by their relatives-in-law of 'Aryan kinship' (see Rosenstrasse protest). Also, the Aryan-classified husbands and Mischling-classified children (starting at the age of 16) from mixed marriages were taken by the Organisation Todt for forced labour, starting in autumn 1944.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: A last attempt, undertaken in February/March 1945 ended, because the extermination camps already were liberated. However, 2,600 from all areas of the Reich, not yet captured by the Allies, were deported to Theresienstadt, of whom most survived the last months until their liberation.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: With the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 the laws banning mixed marriages were lifted again. Marriage dates could be backdated, if so desired, for couples who lived together unmarried during the Nazi era due to the legal restrictions, upon marrying after the war. Even if one spouse was already dead, the marriage could be retroactively recognised, in order to legitimise any children and enable them or the surviving spouse to inherit from their late father or partner, respectively. In the West German Federal Republic of Germany 1,823 couples applied for recognition (until 1963), which was granted in 1,255 cases.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: In 1723, 1724 and 1774 several administrative acts forbade interracial marriages, mainly in colonies, although it is not clear if these acts were lawful. On 2 May 1746, the Parlement de Paris validated an interracial marriage.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: Under King Louis XVI, the order of the Conseil du Roi of 5 April 1778, signed by Antoine de Sartine, forbade "whites of either sex to contract marriage with blacks, mulattos or other people of color" in the Kingdom, as the number of blacks had increased so much in France, mostly in the capital. Nevertheless, it was an interracial marriage prohibition, not an interracial sex prohibition. Moreover, it was an administrative act, not a law. There was never any racial law about marriage in France, with the exception of French Louisiana. But some restricted rules were applied about heritage and nobility. In any case, nobles needed the King's authorization for their marriage.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: On 20 September 1792, all restrictions regarding interracial marriage were repealed by the Revolutionary government. On 8 January 1803, a Napoleonic governmental circular forbade marriages between white males and black women, or black men and white women, although the 1804 Napoleonic code did not mention anything specific about interracial marriage. In 1806, a French court validated an interracial marriage. In 1818, the highest French court ("cour de cassation") validated a marriage contracted in New York between a white man and a colored woman. All administrative prohibitions were canceled by a law in 1833.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, the Ostrogoths under the Theodoric the Great established the Ostrogothic Kingdom at Ravenna, ruling Italy as a dominant minority. In order to prevent the Romanization of his people, Theodoric forbade intermarriage between Goths and Romans. Theodoric's effort to separate Goths and Romans was however not successful, as intermarriages and assimilation were common. The Rugii, a Germanic tribe which supported Theodoric while preserving its independence within the Ostrogothic Kingdom, avoided intermarriage with Goths and other tribes in order to preserve the purity of their race.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: As part of the Charter of Race in Fascist Italy, laws prohibiting marriage between Italians and non-European races were passed in Italy and its foreign colonies. A subsequent Grand Council's resolution reiterated the prohibition of marriage between Italians and people belonging to Semitic, Hamitic, African and other non-European (or "non-Aryan") races; it established also a ban on marriage between public servants and foreigners. An analogous legislation was adopted in 1942 in the fascist Republic of San Marino.


title: Anti-miscegenation laws

text: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, the Visigoths established the Visigothic Kingdom in Iberia, ruling the peninsula as a dominant minority. The Visigoths were subjected to their own legal code, and were forbidden from intermarrying with indigenous Iberians. This law was abolished in the end of the 6th century however, and by that time so many intermarriages had occurred that any reality of a biologically-linked Visigothic identity were "visibly crumbling", in the words of Gavin Langmuir. The Visigothic nobles and princes married Hispano-Romans and converted to Nicean Christianity, and the connection between Visigoths, their religion and royal authority became obscure.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Although exceptional, some teams can be wildcarded.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: In October 2015, FIBA attempted to take back control of Europe's top-tier club competition, by proposing a new competition, featuring 16 teams playing in a round-robin format, and granting eight guaranteed spots to different clubs. When top European clubs decided to maintain the same competition format, keeping organization within Euroleague Basketball, FIBA announced launch of a new European basketball club competition, with qualification based on sporting merit.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: The tournament proper begins with a regular season of 32 teams, divided into four groups. Seeding is used in the draw for this stage, and teams from the same country may not be drawn into groups together. Each team meets the others in its group in home and away games, in a round-robin format. The top four teams from each group then progress to the play-offs. The fifth and sixth-placed teams can choose to enter the FIBA Europe Cup playoffs in the same season.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: The regular season is played from October to January, and the playoffs start in February. In the round of 16 and quarter-finals, ties are played in a 'home and away' format, based on aggregate scores. For the round of 16, the winning team from one group plays against the fourth-placed team from another group and the runner-up from one group plays against the third-placed team from another group. For the quarter-finals, the winners of games between the group winners and fourth-placed teams play against the winners from the runners-up and third-placed teams. The Final Four is typically held in the final week of April or the first week of May.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: Currently, the minimum seating capacity for home arenas of the clubs that compete in the Basketball Champions League (BCL) is 3,000 seats. However, the Basketball Champions League organizing body has the authority to grant clubs with smaller arenas a waiver of the rule.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: Each year, the winning team is presented with the Basketball Champions League Trophy. The current trophy is tall and made of sterling silver with 24ct gold plated highlights, weighing . It was designed by Radiant Studios and crafted by Thomas Lyte. A basketball net forms the focus of the trophy, and the design creates the effect of a crown.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: From 2016–17 to 2017–18, FIBA reduced the prize money from €5,200,000 to €3,500,000, but doubled the prize for the winner from €500,000 to €1,000,000. As of 2017–18, FIBA awards a base fee of €50,000 for reaching the regular season. In addition, FIBA pays teams reaching the round of 16 €20,000, each quarter-finalist €30,000, €40,000 for the fourth-placed team, €100,000 for the third-placed team, €300,000 for the runners-up, and €900,000 for the winners.


title: Basketball Champions League

text: A total of 93 clubs from 27 national associations have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stage.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun bodhi (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: "bodhi"), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root "budh-" means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to awakening. Although the term "buddhi" is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. Vimukti is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of German-born philologist Max Müller. It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight ("prajna" (Sanskrit), "wu" (Chinese), "kensho" and "satori" (Japanese)); knowledge ("vidya"); the "blowing out" ("Nirvana") of disturbing emotions and desires; and the attainment of supreme Buddhahood ("samyak sam bodhi"), as exemplified by Gautama Buddha.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: What exactly constituted the Buddha's awakening is unknown. It may have involved the knowledge that liberation was attained by the combination of mindfulness and "dhyāna", applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. The relation between "dhyana" and insight is a core problem in the study of Buddhism, and is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist practice.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the Western world, the concept of (spiritual) enlightenment has taken on a romantic meaning. It has become synonymous with self-realization and the true self and false self, being regarded as a substantial essence being covered over by social conditioning.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: "Bodhi", Sanskrit बोधि, "awakening," "perfect knowledge," "perfect knowledge or wisdom (by which a man becomes a बुद्ध [Buddha] or जिन ["jina", "arahant"; "victorious," "victor"], the illuminated or enlightened intellect (of a Buddha or जिन)."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The word Bodhi is an abstract noun, formed from the verbal root "*budh-", Sanskrit बुध, "to awaken, to know," "to wake, wake up, be awake," "to recover consciousness (after a swoon)," "to observe, heed, attend to."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: It corresponds to the verbs "bujjhati" (Pāli) and "bodhati", बोदति, "become or be aware of, perceive, learn, know, understand, awake" or "budhyate" (Sanskrit).


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The feminine Sanskrit noun of "*budh-" is बुद्धि, "buddhi", "prescience, intuition, perception, point of view."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Robert S. Cohen notes that the majority of English books on Buddhism use the term "enlightenment" to translate the term "bodhi". The root "budh", from which both "bodhi" and "Buddha" are derived, means "to wake up" or "to recover consciousness". Cohen notes that "bodhi" is not the result of an "illumination", but of a path of realization, or coming to understanding. The term "enlightenment" is event-oriented, whereas the term "awakening" is process-oriented. The western use of the term "enlighten" has Christian roots, as in Calvin's "It is God alone who enlightens our minds to perceive his truths".


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Early 19th century "bodhi" was translated as "intelligence". The term "enlighten" was first being used in 1835, in an English translation of a French article, while the first recorded use of the term 'enlightenment' is credited (by the Oxford English Dictionary) to the "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" (February, 1836). In 1857 "The Times" used the term "the Enlightened" for the Buddha in a short article, which was reprinted the following year by Max Müller. Thereafter, the use of the term subsided, but reappeared with the publication of Max Müller's "Chips from a german Workshop", which included a reprint from the "Times"-article. The book was translated in 1969 into German, using the term "der Erleuchtete". Max Müller was an essentialist, who believed in a natural religion, and saw religion as an inherent capacity of human beings. "Enlightenment" was a means to capture natural religious truths, as distinguished from mere mythology.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: By the mid-1870s it had become commonplace to call the Buddha "enlightened", and by the end of the 1880s the terms "enlightened" and "enlightenment" dominated the English literature.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: While the Buddhist tradition regards "bodhi" as referring to full and complete liberation ("samyaksambudh"), it also has the more modest meaning of knowing that the path that's being followed leads to the desired goal. According to Johannes Bronkhorst, Tillman Vetter, and K.R. Norman, "bodhi" was at first not specified. K.R. Norman:


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: According to Norman, "bodhi" may basically have meant the knowledge that "nibbana" was attained, due to the practice of "dhyana". Originally only "prajna" may have been mentioned, and Tillman Vetter even concludes that originally dhyana itself was deemed liberating, with the stilling of pleasure or pain in the fourth jhana, not the gaining of some perfect wisdom or insight. Gombrich also argues that the emphasis on insight is a later development.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Theravada Buddhism, "bodhi" refers to the realisation of the four stages of enlightenment and becoming an Arahant. In Theravada Buddhism, "bodhi" is equal to supreme insight, and the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance. According to Nyanatiloka,


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: This equation of "bodhi" with the four noble truths is a later development, in response to developments within Indian religious thought, where "liberating insight" was deemed essential for liberation. The four noble truths as the liberating insight of the Buddha eventually were superseded by Pratītyasamutpāda, the twelvefold chain of causation, and still later by anatta, the emptiness of the self.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Mahayana Buddhism, "bodhi" is equal to "prajna", insight into the Buddha-nature, sunyata and tathatā. This is equal to the realisation of the non-duality of absolute and relative.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Theravada Buddhism "pannā" (Pali) means "understanding", "wisdom", "insight". "Insight" is equivalent to "vipassana"', insight into the three marks of existence, namely "anicca", "dukkha" and "anatta". Insight leads to the four stages of enlightenment and Nirvana.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Mahayana Buddhism Prajna (Sanskrit) means "insight" or "wisdom", and entails insight into "sunyata". The attainment of this insight is often seen as the attainment of "enlightenment".


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: "wu" is the Chinese term for initial insight. "Kensho" and "Satori" are Japanese terms used in Zen traditions. "Kensho" means "seeing into one's true nature." "Ken" means "seeing", "sho" means "nature", "essence", c.q Buddha-nature. "Satori" (Japanese) is often used interchangeably with kensho, but refers to the "experience" of kensho. The Rinzai tradition sees "kensho" as essential to the attainment of Buddhahood, but considers further practice essential to attain Buddhahood.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: East-Asian (Chinese) Buddhism emphasizes insight into Buddha-nature. This term is derived from Indian tathagata-garbha thought, "the womb of the thus-gone" (the Buddha), the inherent potential of every sentient being to become a Buddha. This idea was integrated with the Yogacara-idea of the "ālaya vijñāna", and further developed in Chinese Buddhism, which integrated Indian Buddhism with native Chinese thought. Buddha-nature came to mean both the potential of awakening "and" the whole of reality, a dynamic interpenetration of absolute and relative. In this awakening it is realized that observer and observed are not distinct entities, but mutually co-dependent.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The term "vidhya" is being used in contrast to "avidhya", ignorance or the lack of knowledge, which binds us to samsara. The "Mahasaccaka Sutta" describes the three knowledges which the Buddha attained:


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: According to Bronkhorst, the first two knowledges are later additions, while insight into the four truths represents a later development, in response to concurring religious traditions, in which "liberating insight" came to be stressed over the practice of "dhyana".


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Vimukthi, also called moksha, means "freedom", "release", "deliverance". Sometimes a distinction is being made between "ceto-vimukthi", "liberation of the mind", and "panna-vimukthi", "liberation by understanding". The Buddhist tradition recognises two kinds of "ceto-vimukthi", one temporarily and one permanent, the last being equivalent to "panna-vimukthi".


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Nirvana is the "blowing out" of disturbing emotions, which is the same as liberation. The usage of the term "enlightenment" to translate "nirvana" was popularized in the 19th century, in part, due to the efforts of Max Muller, who used the term consistently in his translations.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, is said to have achieved full awakening, known as "samyaksaṃbodhi" (Sanskrit; Pāli: "sammāsaṃbodhi"), "perfect Buddhahood", or "anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi", "highest perfect awakening". Specifically, "anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi", literally meaning unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment, is often used to distinguish the enlightenment of a Buddha from that of an Arhat.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The term "Buddha" has acquired somewhat different meanings in the various Buddhist traditions. An equivalent term for Buddha is Tathāgata, "the thus-gone". The way to Buddhahood is somewhat differently understood in the various Buddhist traditions.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the suttapitaka, the Buddhist canon as preserved in the Theravada tradition, a couple of texts can be found in which the Buddha's attainment of liberation forms part of the narrative.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The "Ariyapariyesana Sutta" (Majjhima Nikaya 26) describes how the Buddha was dissatisfied with the teachings of Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, wandered further through Magadhan country, and then found "an agreeable piece of ground" which served for striving. The sutta then only says that he attained Nibbana.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the "Vanapattha Sutta" (Majjhima Nikaya 17) the Buddha describes life in the jungle, and the attainment of awakening. The "Mahasaccaka Sutta" (Majjhima Nikaya 36) describes his ascetic practices, which he abandoned. Thereafter he remembered a spontaneous state of jhana, and set out for jhana-practice. Both suttas narrate how, after destroying the disturbances of the mind, and attaining concentration of the mind, he attained three knowledges (vidhya):


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Insight into the Four Noble Truths is here called awakening. The monk ("bhikkhu") has "...attained the unattained supreme security from bondage." Awakening is also described as synonymous with Nirvana, the extinction of the passions whereby suffering is ended and no more rebirths take place. The insight arises that this liberation is certain: "Knowledge arose in me, and insight: my freedom is certain, this is my last birth, now there is no rebirth."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Schmithausen notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36. Bronkhorst notices that


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: It calls in question the reliability of these accounts, and the relation between "dhyana" and insight, which is a core problem in the study of early Buddhism. Originally the term "prajna" may have been used, which came to be replaced by the four truths in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. Bronkhorst also notices that the conception of what exactly this "liberating insight" was developed throughout time. Whereas originally it may not have been specified, later on the four truths served as such, to be superseded by "pratityasamutpada", and still later, in the Hinayana schools, by the doctrine of the non-existence of a substantial self or person. And Schmithausen notices that still other descriptions of this "liberating insight" exist in the Buddhist canon:


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: An example of this substitution, and its consequences, is Majjhima Nikaya 36:42–43, which gives an account of the awakening of the Buddha.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The term bodhi acquired a variety of meanings and connotations during the development of Buddhist thoughts in the various schools.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In early Buddhism, "bodhi" carried a meaning synonymous to "nirvana", using only some different metaphors to describe the insight, which implied the extinction of "lobha" (greed), "dosa" (hate) and "moha" (delusion).


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning, that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion. In Theravada Buddhism, "bodhi" refers to the realisation of the four stages of enlightenment and becoming an Arahant. In Theravada Buddhism, "bodhi" is equal to supreme insight, the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance. Reaching full awakening is equivalent in meaning to reaching Nirvāṇa. Attaining Nirvāṇa is the ultimate goal of Theravada and other śrāvaka traditions. It involves the abandonment of the ten fetters and the cessation of dukkha or suffering. Full awakening is reached in four stages. According to Nyanatiloka,


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Since the 1980s, western Theravada-oriented teachers have started to question the primacy of insight. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "jhana" and "vipassana" (insight) form an integrated practice. Polak and Arbel, following scholars like Vetter and Bronkhorst, argue that right effort, c.q. the four right efforts (sense restraint, preventing the arising of unwholesome states, and the generation of wholesome states), mindfulness, and "dhyana" form an integrated practice, in which "dhyana" is the actualisation of insight, leading to an awakened awareness which is "non-reactive and lucid."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Mahayana-thought, bodhi is the realisation of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana, and the unity of subject and object. It is similar to prajna, to realizing the Buddha-nature, realizing sunyata and realizing suchness. In time, the Buddha's awakening came to be understood as an immediate full awakening and liberation, instead of the insight into and certainty about the way to follow to reach enlightenment. However, in some Zen traditions this perfection came to be relativized again; according to one contemporary Zen master, "Shakyamuni buddha and Bodhidharma are still practicing."


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Within the various Mahayana-schools exist various further explanations and interpretations. In Mahāyāna Buddhism the Bodhisattva is the ideal. The ultimate goal is not only of one's own liberation in Buddhahood, but the liberation of all living beings. But Mahayana Buddhism also developed a cosmology with a wide range of buddhas and bodhisattvas, who assist humans on their way to liberation.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism regards Buddhahood as a state of perfect freedom, in which one is awakened to the eternal and ultimate truth that is the reality of all things. This supreme state of life is characterized by boundless wisdom and infinite compassion. The Lotus Sutra reveals that Buddhahood is a potential in the lives of all beings.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the Tathagatagarbha and Buddha-nature doctrines bodhi becomes equivalent to the universal, natural and pure state of the mind:


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: According to these doctrines bodhi is always there within one's mind, but requires the defilements to be removed. This vision is expounded in texts such as the Shurangama Sutra and the Uttaratantra.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In Shingon Buddhism, the state of Bodhi is also seen as naturally inherent in the mind. It is the mind's natural and pure state, where no distinction is being made between a perceiving subject and perceived objects. This is also the understanding of Bodhi found in Yogacara Buddhism.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: During the development of Mahayana Buddhism the various strands of thought on Bodhi were continuously being elaborated. Attempts were made to harmonize the various terms. The Vajrayana Buddhist commentator Buddhaguhya treats various terms as synonyms:


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the western world the concept of "enlightenment" has taken on a romantic meaning. It has become synonymous with self-realization and the true self, being regarded as a substantial essence being covered over by social conditioning.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The use of the western word "enlightenment" is based on the supposed resemblance of "bodhi" with "Aufklärung", the independent use of reason to gain insight into the true nature of our world. In fact there are more resemblances with Romanticism than with the Enlightenment: the emphasis on feeling, on intuitive insight, on a true essence beyond the world of appearances.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The equivalent term "awakening" has also been used in a Christian context, namely the Great Awakenings, several periods of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The romantic idea of enlightenment as insight into a timeless, transcendent reality has been popularized especially by D.T. Suzuki. Further popularization was due to the writings of Heinrich Dumoulin. Dumoulin viewed metaphysics as the expression of a transcendent truth, which according to him was expressed by Mahayana Buddhism, but not by the pragmatic analysis of the oldest Buddhism, which emphasizes anatta. This romantic vision is also recognizable in the works of Ken Wilber.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: In the oldest Buddhism this essentialism is not recognizable. According to critics it doesn't really contribute to a real insight into Buddhism:...most of them labour under the old cliché that the goal of Buddhist psychological analysis is to reveal the hidden mysteries in the human mind and thereby facilitate the development of a transcendental state of consciousness beyond the reach of linguistic expression.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: A common reference in western culture is the notion of "enlightenment "experience"". This notion can be traced back to William James, who used the term "religious experience" in his 1902 book, "The Varieties of Religious Experience". Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. Schleiermacher used the notion of "religious experience" to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: It was popularised by the Transcendentalists, and exported to Asia via missionaries. Transcendentalism developed as a reaction against 18th Century rationalism, John Locke's philosophy of Sensualism, and the predestination of New England Calvinism. It is fundamentally a variety of diverse sources such as Hindu texts like the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, various religions, and German idealism.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The notion of "experience" has been criticised. Robert Sharf points out that "experience" is a typical western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The notion of "experience" introduces a false notion of duality between "experiencer" and "experienced", whereas the essence of kensho is the realisation of the "non-duality" of observer and observed. "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity. The specific teachings and practices of a specific tradition may even determine what "experience" someone has, which means that this "experience" is not the "proof" of the teaching, but a "result" of the teaching. A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception" as per romantic poet William Blake, would, according to Mohr, be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: Sakyamuni's awakening is celebrated on Bodhi Day. In Sri Lanka and Japan different days are used for this celebration.


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: According to the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka, Sakyamuni reached Buddhahood at the full moon in May. This is celebrated at Wesak Poya, the full moon in May, as Sambuddhatva jayanthi (also known as Sambuddha jayanthi).


title: Enlightenment in Buddhism

text: The Zen tradition claims the Buddha reached his decisive insight on 8 December. This is celebrated in Zen monasteries with a very intensive eight-day session of "Rōhatsu".


title: Uli Latukefu

text: Talia'uli Latukefu is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his roles as Dwayne Johnson in the NBC comedy "Young Rock" and Byamba in the American Netflix series "Marco Polo". He also played Darren Ngata in the popular Australian dramatic series "Doctor Doctor" in series 2–4 from 2017 to 2020. He played Cole in the short film "" and the feature film "", both directed by Ridley Scott; "Last Supper" was released on February 22, 2017, and "Covenant" on May 19, 2017. He is also known for his role as Father Matteo in the psychological thriller miniseries "Devil's Playground" and as "Kool Kris" in the Chris Lilley mockumentary series "Jonah from Tonga". In 2004, he was a contestant in the reality singing competition series "Australian Idol". In 2022, he portrayed the superhero Hurut in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film "Black Adam".


title: Uli Latukefu

text: Of Tongan descent, Latukefu is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). He lives in Sydney, Australia.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Vivian Wilson Fernandes (born 2 October 1990), known by his stage name Divine (stylized as DIVINE), is an Indian rapper from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He started to gain popularity after the release of his song "Yeh Mera Bombay" (2013). He broke through with the release of his song "Mere Gully Mein" (2019) featuring the Mumbai-based rapper Naezy.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: On 12 December 2020, Divine became the first Indian rapper to be featured on Spotify Times Square billboard in New York City for his album "Punya Paap" (2020), which had claimed the top spot on Apple Music India. He made his debut at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022 becoming the first Indian hip-hop star to attend the Grammys. He is well known to represent street life of Mumbai.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Divine started his career as an underground rapper in 2011 after discovering hip hop on a T-shirt. A friend of his wore a T-shirt of 50 Cent's first album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" at school. The same friend gave him his first MP3 CD with hip-hop music on it which inspired him to start rapping in English. He was part of the hip hop crew Mumbai's Finest. He often raps about his own life experiences, such as the life of the poor people in Mumbai and his upbringing with a single mother. He cites American rappers such as Nas, Eminem, Big L, Tupac, 50 Cent and Rakim as his influences.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Following the release of his song "Yeh Mera Bombay", Divine obtained the attention of Sony Music India while performing at the Blue Frog Festival 2014 in Mumbai, and shortly after signed a contract with them. The song later won the Best Video of the Year award by "Rolling Stone India" that same year. He released his breakout single "Mere Gully Mein" featuring Naezy on 16 April 2015. The song went viral and many Bollywood celebrities shared it on social media. He collaborated with Indian DJ Nucleya on the track "Jungle Raja" from Nucleya's album "Bass Rani", which helped him gain even more popularity. The song won Best EDM track of the Year at the GiMA Awards in 2016.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: On 24 March 2016, his debut solo single "Jungli Sher" was released and it ruled the charts because of its raw depiction of the life of the poor in Mumbai. He took the song to the "Breakfast Show" ahead of BBC Asian Network Live on 29 April 2016. He appeared on the BBC Asian Network on the Charlie Sloth Show"; he was the first Hindi-speaking rapper to freestyle on the show and also the first to rap in Hindi with the name-giving host in attendance. He was also featured on Brapp TV.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Divine also collaborated with Nucleya on another hit track, "Scene Kya Hai" off Nucleya's album "Raja Baja". He was featured on "Daru Daru" with Deep Jandu and Gangis Khan, his first commercially oriented song, which came out on 10 January 2017. His next solo single, "Farak", was released on 16 February 2017 and topped the Indipop charts on iTunes India. He appeared as a feature on the record "City Slums" by Indian-American rapper/singer/songwriter Raja Kumari in May 2017. City Slums was further certified triple platinum In India by IMI.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: In 2018, Divine terminated his contract with Sony Music India. He released a remix to Lil Pump's "Gucci Gang" called "Gully Gang" independently on 18 January 2018. The song was perceived well by both critics and fans and helped him garner more attention. On 5 April 2018, he followed up with "One Side" produced by Byg Byrd. The video was produced by Red Bull Media House and came out on the rapper's own YouTube channel.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: His next single, "Teesri Manzil", earned him a copyright strike from Zee Music Company a few hours after its release and was deleted from his channel. It was eventually re-released on 14 December 2018 with some changes in the lyrics. He released "Junoon", the intro to his upcoming first full-length album, on 10 November 2018. The album's name, "Kohinoor", was announced on 13 February 2019 on Apple Music's "Beats 1" radio show hosted by Ebro Darden. The album release was announced to be sometime in April 2019 but was finally released later. In July 2019, Divine released a documentary film about his career so far entitled "Gully Life - The Story of Divine". It first aired on TV on channels such as the Discovery Channel and was released on Divine's YouTube channel a week later.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: On 20 August 2019, Nas' Mass Appeal Records and Universal Music India launched Mass Appeal India and signed Divine. Universal Music Group and Mass Appeal jointly took the step to take him to India and globalize the Indian hip-hop scene. On 20 August 2019, in an interview with Nas published on Mass Appeal India's YouTube channel, and Universal Music India's Facebook Page, Nas revealed that Divine's debut album "Kohinoor" was set to release soon. It was released on 9 October 2019 and featured all-new tracks recorded specifically for the album.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: In 2021, "GQ"s global editions nominated a local artist across a world of genres and Divine was among the 21 most exciting young musicians. He appeared on a cover of the Metallica song "The Unforgiven" with Vishal Dadlani and Shor Police, for the charity tribute album "The Metallica Blacklist", released in September 2021.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Divine made his Bollywood debut in the film "Mukkabaaz" with the song "Paintra". The track was another collaboration with Nucleya and was released on 1 December 2017. He collaborated with famous Indian music director and singer Amit Trivedi for the Irrfan Khan-starring film "Blackmail" on the song "Badla", which was released on 16 March 2018 via T-Series. Divine also contributed to the soundtrack for "Sacred Games", an Indian Netflix original series. It features his song "Jungli Sher" as well as "Kaam 25" produced by Indo-Canadian producer Phenom, which was made specifically for the series. Its music video was released on 14 June 2018 on both Divine's and Netflix's YouTube channels, with the version on Netflix featuring English subtitles.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: Divine most notably contributed to the soundtrack of "Gully Boy" by Zoya Akhtar, a 2019 film inspired by the lives of Naezy and himself, with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. Divine and Naezy both helped as consultants to get an authentic representation of hip hop culture for the film. Their song "Mere Gully Mein" was remade with Ranveer Singh rapping Naezy's lyrics as part of the film. Divine provided additional rap lyrics for Ranveer Singh's character and composed some of the songs for the original soundtrack. A promotional single featuring American artist Nas as well as Naezy, divine and Ranveer Singh was released on JioSaavn shortly prior to the film's release.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: On 20 September 2020 Divine appeared on the international remix of "Bando Diaries" by UK rapper Dutchavelli alongside OneFour from Australia, Noizy from Albania and Kekra from France. On 23 September 2020, he released his new song and video, "Punya Paap", on Mass Appeal India's YouTube channel. It was announced to be the first single off his second album, also entitled "Punya Paap".


title: Divine (rapper)

text: On 16 October 2020, he released "Mirchi", the second single from the album. The song with its prominent baile funk sound was well received. Another track from the album, "Mera Bhai", had its music video launched on 6 November 2020. The animated video portrays a story where one of Divine's childhood friends betrays him out of jealousy and ends with his message to the listeners to trust no one but themselves in today's world.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: His second album, "Punya Paap", was released on 3 December 2020, under the label Mass Appeal India. It consists of 11 tracks, with features from Nas, Cocoa Sarai, Dutchavelli, Stylo G, D'Evil, MC Altaf, Lisa Mishra and Phenom. The album has a blend of old-school 808 patterns and new heavy, trap-hop beats with a lot of sampled loops, produced by some of the finest producers from the Indian hip-hop scene, including Stunnah Beatz, iLL Wayno, and Karan Kanchan. The album has an overall ominous theme, and chronicles Divine's struggles and rise to the top in the Indian hip-hop scene.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: In November 2022, he released his third album titled "Gunehgar." The album prominently features international artists and producers.


title: Divine (rapper)

text: In February 2019 Divine announced the founding of a new company, Gully Gang Entertainment, a venture that includes a record label "Gully Gang Records", to recruit and produce hip hop talent in the Mumbai area. The song "Gully Gang Cypher" released on 22 May 2019 as the first collaboration of the label's artists such as the emerging rap quartet Aavrutti, solo hip-hop artists D’Evil, MC Altaf and Shah Rule as well as music producer Karan Kanchan. Artists from outside of Mumbai too have been signed, for instance, 100RBH from Amravati and Tsumyoki from Goa.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Omen III: The Final Conflict (also released as simply The Final Conflict) is a 1981 supernatural horror film directed by Graham Baker. It is the third installment in "The Omen" series. Starring Sam Neill, Lisa Harrow and Rossano Brazzi, the film tells the progression of the now adult Damien Thorn to a position of earthly power, set against the countdown to the Second Coming and attempts of a group of priests to kill the Antichrist. Richard Donner, director of the first Omen film, returns as executive producer. The film was released in theatres on March 20, 1981.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Following the grisly suicide of the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 33-year-old international conglomerate CEO Damien Thorn is appointed in his place, an office his adoptive father, Robert Thorn, once held. Having fully embraced his unholy lineage and having run his company for seven years, Damien now attempts to reshape his destiny by halting the Second Coming of Christ.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: However, Father DeCarlo, a priest from the Subiaco monastery where Father Spiletto spent his final days and who has observed Damien from afar since his adopted father's death, acquires the Seven Daggers of Megiddo that were dug out of the ruins of the Thorn Museum in Chicago following the fire at the end of the second movie. Joined by six other priests, DeCarlo plans to kill Damien while finding the Christ child. Meanwhile, Damien becomes romantically involved with journalist Kate Reynolds. Learning of his assassins and killing all but DeCarlo over time, he proceeds to mold Reynolds's young son Peter into a disciple by playing on the boy's desire for a father figure.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: After the alignment of stars in the Cassiopeia constellation on March 24, 1981, generating what is described as a second Star of Bethlehem, Damien realizes that it is a sign of the Second Coming and orders his followers to kill all boys born in England on the morning of March 24, 1981 to prevent the Christ's return to power. A week after a string of 31 infant deaths, Reynolds encounters DeCarlo and he reveals Damien's true identity to her while giving her evidence of the murders. The following morning she discovers Damien's birthmark.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Damien tells Peter to follow DeCarlo, resulting in Damien learning that his adviser, Harvey Dean, had concealed the date of his son's birth when Peter reports that DeCarlo visited Dean's wife Barbara and revealed her husband's role in the infant murders. Dean refuses to kill his son and makes preparations to flee the country, only to return home and be killed by his wife who just killed their son with a burning iron while under Damien's demonic influence.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: DeCarlo later visits Reynolds and reveals that Peter is now under Damien's influence and that the real Christ child is now beyond Damien's reach. Agreeing to help DeCarlo, Reynolds tricks Damien with the promise to bring him to the church ruins where the Christ child is in exchange for Peter. The plan backfires when Damien spots DeCarlo first and uses Peter as a human shield against the dagger. As Peter dies in his mother's arms, Damien throttles Father DeCarlo before calling out for Christ to appear before him and "face him". This leaves Damien open to be stabbed in the back by Reynolds using DeCarlo's Megiddo dagger.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: As Damien staggers through the courtyard and collapses, a vision of Christ appears in the archway above him. Damien mocks Christ for thinking he has won, and then dies. DeCarlo reappears carrying Peter's body and hands him to a praying Kate. As they leave the ruins, Bible passages are shown on-screen.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: The evening party scene was filmed in Brocket Hall, just outside London, which also substituted as Damien's residence. Kate, Damien, and Peter walk from Hyde Park to Speakers Corner. The Moors sequence was shot in Cornwall including Roche Rock with added visuals for the lightning. The Disciples Of The Watch sequence was shot at around 4–5 am in one night in the North York Moors. The finale was shot at Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. "Shooting here was very cold and very eerie," according to Graham Baker's commentary on the DVD. University of London Observatory in Mill Hill, London (identified as "Hendon" in Baker's commentary) substituted for the Fernbank Observatory for The Second Coming sequence.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: The crew did not go back to Subiaco to film the exterior location of the monastery as it only appears in two scenes in this film; footage from the first film was reused. Stock footage from "The Omen" was also used when the Ambassador, who kills himself at the beginning of the film, walks to the United States Embassy. The footage of the White House featured in the film was taken from "Superman II", subtracting the visual effects.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Lisa Harrow said one of the most difficult sequences to shoot for the film was the death of the first priest in the television studio where her character Kate Reynolds interviews Damien. It took over two weeks to get right. It is considered one of the nastiest mainstream movie deaths, involving a priest burning to death whilst trapped in melting plastic sheets. The scene where Barbara saw a vision of her baby burned/dead was shot on slate 666 and the camera jammed according to director Graham Baker. Stuntman Vic Armstrong performed the backwards one-hundred-foot fall from the bridge. In "Guinness World Records 2005", he described it as the most frightening stunt of his career. Most of his falls were less than seventy feet.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: The score to "The Final Conflict" was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who had also composed the Academy Award winning music for "The Omen" and the score for its sequel "". The score was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Lionel Newman (who also conducted the scores for the previous two movies).


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: True to the style of his first two scores, Goldsmith used an orchestral/choral blend with light electronic elements to create the film's sound, though unlike the soundtrack to "Damien", "The Final Conflict" makes no pronounced reference to the original "Omen" theme "Ave Satani", which had earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 1976. Instead, Goldsmith composed an all-new theme for the character of Damien introduced during the opening credits which emphasized robust tragedy over the more horrific sound of its prequel scores. Goldsmith also composed a new theme for the rebirth of Christ first introduced at the end of "Main Title" and later given full Romantic treatment with orchestra and choir at the film's climax in "The Final Conflict".


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: The score has been released twice on album though Varèse Sarabande: first in 1986, featuring thirteen tracks of score at a running time just over forty-eight minutes; and an expanded version on 9 September 2001, which features fifteen tracks of score at a running time of just under sixty-three minutes.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: When first released in 1981, the film's original official title was simply "The Final Conflict". Later, the title was adjusted to "Omen III: The Final Conflict" in home releases in order to accentuate its link to the other two films in the cycle. However, the opening title sequence still shows the original title without "Omen III" displayed.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: In Germany and Hungary, the film was released as "Barbara's Baby", a play on the title "Rosemary's Baby". This title also appeared on some posters in many countries before the eventual title was announced.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: "Omen III: The Final Conflict" received mixed to negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 29% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10.


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of 4, writing that it became "a growing disappointment, as we realize that the apocalyptic confrontation between the forces of good and evil is being reduced to a bunch of guys with Italian accents running around trying to stab Damien in the back." Ebert and Gene Siskel also gave the film "No" ratings on their TV show, finding the movie to be boring and frankly small-scale relative to the material it was trying to present, and concluding they were happy that the OMEN series had come to its stopping point. "Variety" called the film "the funniest one yet" in the Omen series, adding that Neill played his part "with an emotional range of shifting his eyes to the left, then shifting his eyes to the right, a practice no doubt perfected while watching dailies." Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" praised the film for mostly avoiding "the sort of tacky, splashy deaths" of the first two entries and concluded that Baker "has rounded off the gaudy trilogy with the most surprising qualities possible: intelligence and elegant visual style." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote that the film "makes "no" case for prolonging the saga of 'The Omen' one last groggy round ... Moviegoers who expected the concluding chapter of The Omen Trilogy to supply a ringside seat at Armageddon should be prepared for conflict on a far punier scale."


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: Larry Kart of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4, praising Sam Neill's performance as "the only thing" the film had going for it, but criticizing the plot in particular as "barren of suspense. For instance, at the beginning of the film, we're told that the world is in an unprecedented state of chaos, which should be the case if the Second Coming is due. But never again do we get a hint of external uproar, as the characters toddle about in a London that seems in quite decent shape." Richard Combs of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote that the film "somehow becomes a hell-and-brimstone version of Whitehall farce ... Damien just comes across as an ambitious junior executive who overreaches himself." John Marrone of "Bloody Disgusting" said that "[The movie has] some gore and darkness, but nothing compared to the first two – even Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack is awkward – a little too “noisy” and overdone."


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: A sequel, titled "Omen IV: Armageddon", was planned for release in late 1984, with a screenplay by ""'s Stanley Mann, based on the novel "Omen IV: Armageddon 2000" by author Gordon McGill. Graham Baker would return to direct, but scheduling conflicts with "Impulse" prevented him from doing so. He was briefly replaced by television director Horace D. Burton, but the film's developments where stalled again by Burton's untimely death in 1983, leading 20th Century Fox to ultimately cancel the production. Later, McGill wrote a final "Omen" novel called "Omen V: The Abomination".


title: Omen III: The Final Conflict

text: In 1991, another sequel, "", was produced for television in a failed attempt by 20th Century Fox to revive the films as a horror franchise in the style of "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", and "A Nightmare on Elm Street".


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter that was designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people while its "Loach" nickname comes from the acronym for the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) programme that it was procured under.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: The OH-6 was developed in response to the United States Army issuing Technical Specification 153 in 1960 to replace its Bell H-13 Sioux fleet. The "Model 369" was submitted by Hughes, and competed against the two finalists, Fairchild-Hiller and Bell, for a production contract. On 27 February 1963, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight. The Model 369 had a distinctive teardrop-shaped fuselage that had strong crashworthiness properties and provided excellent external visibility. Its four-bladed full-articulated main rotor made it particularly agile, and it was suitable for personnel transport, escort and attack missions, and observation. During May 1965, the U.S. Army awarded the production contract to Hughes.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During 1966, the OH-6 entered service with the U.S. Army, it promptly arrived into active combat in the Vietnam War. In this theatre, it was commonly operated in teams with other rotorcraft, such as the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, using so-called "hunter-killer" tactics to flush out and eliminate hostile ground targets; the OH-6 would act as bait to draw enemy fire and mark targets for other platforms such as the AH-1 to attack. In one particular clandestine incident in 1972, known as the Vinh wiretap, a pair of OH-6As were heavily modified and used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) via Air America was used to infiltrate Vietnamese high level communications, providing valuable intelligence. Reportedly, 964 out of the 1,422 OH-6As produced for the U.S. Army were destroyed in Vietnam alone.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During 1967, following price escalations for the OH-6, the U.S. Army reopened the programme to bids for as many as 2,700 additional airframes beyond the 1,300 OH-6s already contracted. Following a competitive fly-off and a sealed bidding process, Hughes lost the contract to Bell, resulting in the competing Bell OH-58 Kiowa being produced. The OH-6/Model 369 was also license-produced overseas by the Japanese aerospace company Kawasaki Heavy Industries for both military and civilian operators. Furthermore, the helicopter was also developed into a civilian helicopter, the Model 500, which was still in production into the twenty-first century under MD Helicopters as the "MD 500".


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During 1960, the United States Army issued Technical Specification 153 for a "Light Observation Helicopter" (LOH) capable of fulfilling various roles on the battlefield, including personnel transport, escort, casualty evacuation, observation, and attack missions. These would be used to replace its fleet of Bell H-13 Sioux, a compact first generation rotorcraft. Twelve companies opted to participate in the competition, Hughes Tool Company's Aircraft Division being one of them, submitted the "Model 369" as its response. Two of these designs, those submitted by Fairchild-Hiller and Bell, were selected as finalists by the Army-Navy design competition board. However, the U.S. Army subsequently chose to include Hughes's Model 369 for further consideration as well.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: In terms of its basic configuration, the Model 369 had an atypical teardrop-shaped fuselage, a feature that led to personnel sometimes referring to it as the "flying egg". This shaping, combined with the provision of internal bulkheads, has been attributed as giving the rotorcraft its uncommonly strong crashworthiness properties. This aspect was further bolstered by the use of self-sealing fuel tanks that lowered the likelihood of a post-impact fire breaking out. The pilot was provisioned with excellent external visibility via its large plexiglass windscreen, while its four-bladed fully-articulated main rotor meant it was considerably more agile than the preceding H-13 Sioux. It would often be crewed by a pilot and an observer; up to five passengers or up to 1,000lb of cargo could be carried internally.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: On 27 February 1963, the first Model 369 prototype performed its maiden flight. Originally designated as the "YHO-6A" according to the Army's designation system, the aircraft was redesignated as the "YOH-6A" in 1962 when the Department of Defense created a joint designation system for all aircraft. A total of five prototypes were built, all of which were powered by a single Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft engine, capable of producing . The prototypes were delivered to the U.S. Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where they competed against the other ten prototype aircraft produced by Bell and Fairchild-Hiller. During the course of the competition, the Bell submission, the "YOH-4", was eliminated as being underpowered (it was powered by the T63-A-5). Accordingly, the bidding for the LOH contract came down to Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes. Ultimately, Hughes was selected as the winner of the competition.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During May 1965, the U.S. Army awarded a production contract to Hughes; this initial order for 714 rotorcraft was subsequently increased to 1,300 along with an option for another 114. Hughes's price was $19,860 per airframe, without the engine, while Hiller's price was $29,415 per airframe, also without the engine. The Hiller design, designated OH-5A, had featured a boosted control system, while the Hughes design did not, a difference that accounted for some of the price increase. Hughes is reported to have told his confidant, Jack Real, that he lost over $100 million to construct 1,370 airframes. It was reported that Howard Hughes had directed his company to submit a bid at a price beneath the actual production cost of the helicopter in order to secure this order. Accordingly, this tactic had resulted in substantial losses being incurred on the contract with the U.S. Army; the company had allegedly anticipated that an extended production cycle would eventually make the rotorcraft financially viable.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: Due to price escalations for both the OH-6 and spare components, the U.S. Army opted to reopen bids for the programme in 1967. Accordingly, during 1968, Hughes submitted a bid to build a further 2,700 airframes. Stanley Hiller complained to the U.S. Army that Hughes had used unethical procedures; therefore, the Army opened the contract for rebidding by all parties. While Hiller did not participate in the rebidding, Bell opted to, submitting their redesigned Model 206. Following a competitive fly-off, the Army requested the manufacturers to submit sealed bids. Hughes bid $56,550 per airframe, while Bell bid $54,200. Reportedly, Hughes had consulted at the last moment with Real, who recommended a bid of $53,550. Hughes, without informing Real, raised the bid by $3,000, and thus lost the contract to Bell.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: A total of 387 OH-6/Hughes 369s were produced under license in Japan by the Japanese aerospace company Kawasaki Heavy Industries. These rotorcraft were operated by several different organisations, the majority of which were based in Japan. Military operators included the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and the Japanese Coast Guard. Furthermore, a number of civilian customers also flew Kawasaki-built OH-6s for a variety of missions, including emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement, and agricultural work. Beginning in 2001, the JGSDF OH-6s were supplemented by the indigenously-developed Kawasaki OH-1, a more advanced observation helicopter.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During 1966, the OH-1 entered service with the U.S. Army. Its first overseas deployment, as well as into frontline combat, was the Vietnam War. The pilots dubbed the new helicopter "Loach", a word created by pronunciation of the acronym of the program that spawned the aircraft, LOH (light observation helicopter). During 1964, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a memorandum directing that all U.S. Army fixed-wing aircraft be transferred to the U.S. Air Force, while the U.S. Army transitioned to solely operating "rotor-wing" aircraft. Accordingly, the U.S. Army's fixed-wing airplane, the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, which was utilized for artillery observation and reconnaissance flights, would be replaced by the incoming OH-6A.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: Early on in the OH-6's career, the type demonstrated its performance in a particularly prominent manner via the setting of 23 individual world records for helicopters during 1966 in the categories of speed, endurance and time to climb. On 26 March 1966, Jack Schwiebold set the closed circuit distance record in a YOH-6A at Edwards Air Force Base, California, flying without landing for 1,739.96 mi (2,800.20 km). Subsequently, on 6 April 1966, Robert Ferry set the long distance world record for helicopters by flying from Culver City, California, with over a ton of fuel to Ormond Beach, Florida, covering a total of 1,923.08 nm (2,213.04 mi, 3,561.55 km) in 15 hours, and near the finish at up to altitude. As of 2021, these records still stand.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: In December 1967, the first OH-6As arrived in Vietnam. Its straightforward design made it easier to maintain than most other helicopters, while its relatively compact 26-foot main rotor made it easier to use tight landing zones. While its light aluminum skin could be easily penetrated by small arms fire, it also crumpled and absorbed energy in a crash while the rugged structure protected key systems and its crew; even though the OH-6 was relatively difficult to shoot down, its occupants would often survive forced landings that would have likely been fatal onboard other rotorcraft. The remaining H-13s were promptly withdrawn in favour of the OH-6s. Typically missions were flown during the daylight, starting at dawn; common roles included the clearance of landing zones and general intelligence/observation flights.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: It became common for OH-6s to operate in teams with other rotorcraft, particularly the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. This teamwork was actively encouraged by Army officials, and led to the development of so-called "hunter-killer" tactics that sought to flush out and eliminate hostile ground targets. Such a team would have normally comprised a single OH-6 that would fly relatively slow and at a low altitude while attempting to spot the presence of enemies. If the OH-6 came under fire, the nearby Cobra would then strike at the revealed enemy. As to indicate the position of concealed enemy ground forces, the observer in the OH-6 would mark the spot using a smoke grenade, assisting other units in effectively firing upon them. Over time, the effectiveness of this pairing was such that enemies would often decide against firing on the relatively vulnerable OH-1 in fear of the response that would be unleased by the AH-1. Prior to the arrival of the AH-1, "hunter-killer" teams often relied on the firepower from armed models of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois utility helicopter.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During 1972, a pair of heavily modified OH-6As were utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) via Air America for a covert wire-tapping mission. The aircraft, dubbed "500P" (penetrator) by Hughes, began as an ARPA project, codenamed "Mainstreet", in 1968. Development included test and training flights in Culver City, California (Hughes Airport) and at Area 51 in 1971. In order to reduce their acoustic signature, the helicopters ("N351X" and "N352X") received a four-blade 'scissors' style tail rotor (later incorporated into the Hughes-designed AH-64 Apache), a fifth rotor blade and reshaped rotor tips, a modified exhaust system, and various other performance boosting modifications. During June 1972, they were deployed to a secret base in southern Laos (PS-44), where one of the helicopters was heavily damaged during a training mission late in the summer. On the night of 5–6 December 1972, the remaining helicopter deployed a wiretap near Vinh, Vietnam; useful information provided from this wiretap was acted on by the United States on several occasions, such as during the Linebacker II campaign and Paris Peace Talks. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft were returned to the U.S., where they were dismantled and converted back to a standard configuration; they continued to be operated as such for a time.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: During the early 1970s, Soviet-supplied SA-7 Grail shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles emerged amongst North Vietnamese troops; one hit could down a Loach, potentially dealing fatal damage before its crew were aware that they were under fire. All American rotorcraft in the theatre had to be operated more cautiously following this development. Reportedly, 964 out of the 1,422 OH-6As produced for the US Army were destroyed in the Vietnam theatre, the majority of these losses being a result of hostile action, typically ground fire. Towards the end of the conflict, the replacement of the OH-6 by the Bell OH-58 Kiowa was imminent across nearly all US Army units. Some crews argued that the Kiowa was nowhere near as nimble as the OH-6, however, the transition proceeded while scouting doctrine was changed to emphasis operations from greater distances.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: Following the April 1980 failure of Operation Eagle Claw (the attempted rescue of American hostages in Tehran), it was determined that the military lacked aircraft and crews who were trained and prepared to perform special operations missions. To remedy this shortcoming, the Army began developing a special aviation task force to prepare for the next attempt to rescue the hostages: Operation Honey Badger. The architects of the task force identified the need for a small helicopter to land in the most restrictive locations and that was also easily transported on Air Force transport aircraft. They chose the OH-6A scout helicopter to fill that role, and it became known as the "Little Bird" compared to the other aircraft in the task force, the MH-60 and the MH-47. As a separate part of the project, armed OH-6As were being developed at Fort Rucker, Alabama.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: The pilots selected to fly the OH-6A helicopters came from the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion and were sent to the Mississippi Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at Gulfport, Mississippi, for two weeks of qualification training in the rotorcraft. When the training was completed, C-141 Starlifter airlifters transported both rotorcraft and crews to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, for two weeks of mission training. The mission training consisted of loading onto C-130 Hercules transport aircraft which would then transport them to forward staging areas over routes as long as . The armed OH-6s from Fort Rucker joined the training program in the fall of 1980.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: Operation Honey Badger was canceled after the hostages were released on 20 January 1981, and for a short while, it looked as if the task force would be disbanded and the personnel returned to their former units. But the Army decided that it would be more prudent to keep the unit in order to be prepared for future contingencies. The task force, which had been designated as Task Force 158, was soon formed into the 160th Aviation Battalion. The OH-6A helicopters used for transporting personnel became the MH-6 aircraft of the Light Assault Company and the armed OH-6As became the AH-6 aircraft of the Light Attack Company.


title: Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

text: On 1 October 1986, to help meet the increasing demands for support, the 1-245th Aviation Battalion from the Oklahoma National Guard, which had 25 AH-6 and 23 UH-1 helicopters, was placed under the operational control of the 160th. The 1-245th AVN BN enlisted were sent to the Mississippi Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at Gulfport, Mississippi, for two weeks of qualification training in the aircraft. The following two-week mission was to Yuma for night operation training. The AH/MH Little Birds were lifted by a single C-5 Galaxy, and two C-130 Hercules, along with all support kits for the battalion. Crews trained side by side with the 160th for all operational concepts. The 1-245 modified infantry night vision goggles and worked to develop the necessary skills for rapid deployment with Little Birds and C-130s.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon was born at 26 (now number 24) to Désiré Simenon and his wife Henriette Brüll. Désiré Simenon worked in an accounting office at an insurance company and had married Henriette in April 1902. Although Simenon was born on Friday 13 February 1903, superstition resulted in his birth being registered as having been on the 12th. This story of his birth is recounted at the beginning of his novel "Pedigree".


title: Georges Simenon

text: The Simenon family traces its origins back to Belgian Limburg. Simenon could trace his line back to peasants living in the area since as early as 1580. His mother had origins from Limburg, the Netherlands and Germany while his father was of Walloon origin. One of his mother's most notorious ancestors was Gabriel Brühl, a criminal who preyed on Limburg from the 1720s until he was hanged in 1743. Later, Simenon would use Brühl as one of his many pen names.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In April 1905, two years after Simenon's birth, the family moved to 3 rue Pasteur (now 25 rue Georges Simenon) in Liège's neighbourhood. Simenon's brother Christian was born in September 1906 and eventually became their mother's favourite child, much to Simenon's chagrin. Later, in February 1911, the Simenons moved to 53 rue de la Loi, also in the Outremeuse. In this larger home, the Simenons were able to take in lodgers. Typical among them were apprentices and students of various nationalities, giving the young Simenon an important introduction to the wider world; this marked his novels, notably "Pedigree" and "Le Locataire".


title: Georges Simenon

text: At the age of three, Simenon learned to read at the Saint-Julienne nursery school. Then, between 1908 and 1914, he attended the Institut Saint-André. In September 1914, shortly after the beginning of the First World War, he began his studies at the Collège Saint-Louis, a Jesuit high school.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In February 1917, the Simenon family moved to a former post office building in the Amercoeur neighbourhood. June 1919 saw another move, this time to the rue de l'Enseignement, again back in the Outremeuse neighbourhood.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Using his father's heart condition as a pretext, Simenon decided to put an end to his studies in June 1918, not even taking the Collège Saint-Louis' year-end exams. He subsequently worked a number of very short-term odd jobs.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In January 1919, the 15-year-old Simenon took a job at the "Gazette de Liège", a newspaper edited by Joseph Demarteau. While Simenon's own beat only covered unimportant human interest stories, it afforded him an opportunity to explore the seamier side of the city, including politics, bars, and cheap hotels but also crime, police investigations and lectures on police technique by the criminologist Edmond Locard. Simenon's experience at the "Gazette" also taught him the art of quick editing. He wrote more than 150 articles under the pen name "G. Sim." He began submitting stories to "Le Matin" in the early 1920s.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon's first novel, "Au Pont des Arches", was written in June 1919 and published in 1921 under his "G. Sim" pseudonym. Writing as "Monsieur Le Coq", he also published more than 800 humorous pieces between November 1919 and December 1922. He stopped writing for the "Gazette" in December 1922.


title: Georges Simenon

text: During this period, Simenon's familiarity with nightlife, prostitutes, drunkenness and carousing increased. The people he rubbed elbows with included anarchists, bohemian artists and even two future murderers, the latter appearing in his novel "Les Trois crimes de mes amis". He also frequented a group of artists known as "La Caque". While not really involved in the group, he did meet his future wife Régine Renchon through it.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon's father died in 1922 and this served as the occasion for the author to move to Paris with Régine Renchon (hereafter referred to by her nickname "Tigy"), at first living in the 17th Arrondissement, not far from the Boulevard des Batignolles. He became familiar with the city, its bistros, cheap hotels, bars and restaurants. More importantly, he also came to know ordinary working-class Parisians. Writing under numerous pseudonyms, he found his creativity beginning to pay financial dividends.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon and Tigy returned briefly to Liège in March 1923 to marry. Despite his Catholic upbringing, Simenon was not a believer. Tigy came from a thoroughly non-religious family. However, Simenon's mother insisted on a church wedding, forcing Tigy to become a nominal convert, learning the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Despite their father's lack of religious convictions, all of Simenon's children would be baptised as Catholics. Marriage to Tigy, however, did not prevent Simenon from having liaisons with numerous other women, including Josephine Baker.


title: Georges Simenon

text: A reporting assignment had Simenon on a lengthy sea voyage in 1928, giving him a taste for boating. In 1929, he decided to have a boat built, the "Ostrogoth". Simenon, Tigy, their cook and housekeeper Henriette Liberge, and their dog Olaf lived on board the "Ostrogoth", travelling the French canal system. Henriette Liberge, known as "Boule" (literally "Ball," a reference to her slight pudginess) was romantically involved with Simenon for the next several decades and would remain a close friend of the family, really part of it.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In 1930, the most famous character invented by Simenon, Commissaire Maigret, made his first appearance in a piece in "Detective" written at Joseph Kessel's request. This first ever Maigret detective story was written while boating in The Netherlands, particularly in and around the Dutch town of Delfzijl. A statue of Maigret in Delfzijl is a perpetual reminder of this.


title: Georges Simenon

text: 1932 saw Simenon travel extensively, sending back reports from Africa, eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Soviet Union. In 1933 he interviewed Leon Trotsky in Istanbul. A trip around the world followed in 1934–35.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Between 1932 and 1936, Simenon, Tigy, and Boule lived at La Richardière, a 16th-century manor house in Marsilly at the Charente-Maritime département. The house is evoked in Simenon's novel "Le Testament Donadieu". At the beginning of 1938, he rented the villa Agnès in La Rochelle, and published "Le Suspect", and then, in August, purchased a farm house in Nieul-sur-Mer (also in the Charente-Maritime) where his and Tigy's only child, Marc, was born in 1939.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon lived in the Vendée during the Second World War. Simenon's conduct during the war is a matter of considerable controversy, with some scholars inclined to view him as having been a collaborator with the Germans while others disagree, viewing Simenon as having been an apolitical man who was essentially an opportunist but by no means a collaborator. Further confusion stems from the fact that he was denounced as a collaborator by local farmers while at the same time the Gestapo suspected him of being Jewish, apparently conflating the names "Simenon" and "Simon". In any case, Simenon was under investigation at the end of the war because he had negotiated film rights of his books with German studios during the occupation and in 1950 was sentenced to a five-year period during which he was forbidden to publish any new work. This sentence, however, was kept from the public and had little practical effect.


title: Georges Simenon

text: The war years did see Simenon produce a number of works, including "Le Testament Donadieu", "Le Voyageur de la Toussaint" and "Le Cercle des Mahé". He also conducted correspondence, most notably with André Gide. His novel "La Veuve Couderc" was published in 1942 at about the same time as Camus' "The Stranger". Both novels contain a similar main character and themes, and Simenon was upset that Camus' work went on to greater acclaim.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Also in the early 1940s, Simenon had a health scare when a local doctor misdiagnosed him with a serious heart condition (a reminder of his father), giving him only months to live. It was also at this time that Tigy finally realised the nature of the relationship between her husband and Boule. He and Tigy remained married until 1949, but it was now a marriage in name only. Despite Tigy's initial protests, Boule remained with the family.


title: Georges Simenon

text: The ambiguities of the war years notwithstanding, the city of La Rochelle eventually honoured Simenon, naming a quay after him in 1989. Simenon was too ill to attend the dedication ceremony. However, in 2003, his son Johnny participated in another event honouring his father.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon escaped questioning in France and in 1945 arrived, along with Tigy and Marc, in North America. He spent several months in Quebec, Canada, north of Montreal, at Domaine L'Esterel (Ste-Marguerite du Lac Masson) where he lived in a modern-style house and wrote three novels (one of which was "Three Bedrooms in Manhattan") in one of the log cabins (LC5, still there today). Boule, due to visa difficulties, was initially unable to join them.


title: Georges Simenon

text: During the years he spent in the United States, Simenon regularly visited New York City. He and his family also went on lengthy car trips, traveling from Maine to Florida and then west as far as California. Simenon lived for a short time on Anna Maria Island near Bradenton, Florida, before renting a house in Nogales, Arizona, where Boule was finally reunited with him. His novel "The Bottom of the Bottle" was heavily influenced by his stay in Nogales.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Although enchanted by the desert, Simenon decided to leave Arizona, and following a stay in California, settled into a large house, Shadow Rock Farm, in Lakeville, Connecticut. This town forms the background for his 1952 novel "La Mort de Belle" ("The Death of Belle").


title: Georges Simenon

text: While in the United States, Simenon and his son Marc learned to speak English with relative ease, as did Boule. Tigy, however, had a great deal of trouble with the language and pined for a return to Europe.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In the meantime, Simenon had met Denyse Ouimet, a woman seventeen years his junior. Denyse, who was originally from Montréal, met Simenon in New York City in 1945 (she was to be hired as a secretary) and they promptly began an often stormy and unhappy relationship. After resolving numerous legal difficulties, Simenon and Tigy were divorced in 1949. Simenon and Denyse Ouimet were then married in Reno, Nevada in 1950 and eventually had three children, Johnny (born in 1949), Marie-Jo (born in 1953) and Pierre (born in 1959). In accordance with the divorce agreement, Tigy continued to live in close proximity to Simenon and their son Marc, an arrangement that continued until they all returned to Europe in 1955.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In 1952, Simenon paid a visit to Belgium and was made a member of the Académie Royale de Belgique. Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon and his family returned to Europe in 1955, first living in France (mainly on the Côte d'Azur) before settling in Switzerland. After living in a rented house in Echandens, in 1963 he purchased a property in Epalinges, north of Lausanne, where he had an enormous house constructed to his own design.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon and Denyse Ouimet separated definitively in 1964. Teresa, who had been hired by Simenon as a housekeeper in 1961, had by this time become romantically involved with him and remained his companion for the rest of his life.


title: Georges Simenon

text: His long-troubled daughter Marie-Jo committed suicide in Paris in 1978 at the age of 25, an event that darkened Simenon's later years.


title: Georges Simenon

text: The documentary film "The Mirror of Maigret" by director/producer John Goldschmidt was filmed at Simenon's villa in Lausanne and was a profile of the man based on his confessional dialogue with a criminal psychologist. The film was made for ATV and shown in the UK on the ITV Network in 1971.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon underwent surgery for a brain tumor in 1984 and made a good recovery. In subsequent years however, his health worsened. He gave his last televised interview in December 1988.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon left such a legacy that he was honored with a silver commemorative coin: the Belgian 100 Years of Georges Simenon coin, minted in 2003. The obverse side shows his portrait.


title: Georges Simenon

text: In 1977 he said he had had sex with 10,000 women in the 61 years since his 13th birthday. His second wife has said the number is closer to 1,200 women.


title: Georges Simenon

text: Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.