title: Biscuit (bread)

text: The biscuit emerged as a distinct food type in the early 19th century, before the American Civil War. Cooks created a cheaply produced addition for their meals that required no yeast, which was expensive and difficult to store. With no leavening agents except the bitter-tasting pearlash available, beaten biscuits were laboriously beaten and folded to incorporate air into the dough which expanded when heated in the oven causing the biscuit to rise. In eating, the advantage of the biscuit over a slice of bread was that it was harder, and hence kept its shape when wiping up gravy in the popular combination biscuits and gravy.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: In 1875, Alexander P. Ashbourne patented the first biscuit cutter in the United States, useful for making cookies, cakes, or baking powder biscuits. It consisted of a board to roll the biscuits out on, which was hinged to a metal plate with various biscuit cutter shapes mounted to it.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Southern chefs may have had an advantage in creating biscuits. Northern American all-purpose flours, mainly grown in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, are made from the hard spring wheats that grow in the North's cold-winter climate. Southern American bleached all-purpose flours, originally grown in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee before national food distribution networks, are made from the soft winter wheat that grows in the warm Southern summer. This summer growth results in wheat that has less protein, which is more suited to the creation of quick breads, as well as cookies, cakes and muffins.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Pre-shaped ready-to-bake biscuits can be purchased in supermarkets, in the form of small refrigerated cylindrical segments of dough encased in a cardboard can. These refrigerator biscuits were patented by Ballard and Ballard in 1931.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: A typical recipe will include baking powder or baking soda, flour, salt, shortening or butter, and milk or buttermilk. The percentages of these ingredients vary as historically the recipe would pass orally from family to family and generation to generation. Biscuits are almost always a savory food item. Sugar is rare or included only in small quantities, and was not part of the traditional recipe.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Biscuits can be prepared for baking in several ways. The dough can be rolled out flat and cut into rounds, which expand when baked into flaky-layered cylinders (rolled biscuits). If extra liquid is added, the dough's texture changes to resemble stiff pancake batter so that small spoonfuls can be dropped upon the baking sheet to produce drop biscuits, which are more amorphous in texture and shape.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Although most biscuits are made without yeast, a type of biscuit called an angel biscuit contains yeast as well, as do those made with a sourdough starter.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Biscuits may be eaten for breakfast. They are meant to be served warm with a choice of spread of butter, honey, cane syrup, or some fruit-based jam; otherwise, they are cut in half and become the Southern version of the breakfast sandwich, in which any combination of Country ham, tomato, scrambled eggs, bacon, or sausage is put in the biscuits halves as a filling.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: For dinner, they are a popular accompaniment to fried chicken, nearly all types of Southern barbecue, and several Lowcountry dishes. They also often figure in to the Southern version of Thanksgiving dinner as well.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Large drop biscuits, because of their size and rough exterior texture, are sometimes referred to as cat head biscuits.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: Biscuits may be flavored with other ingredients. For example, the baker may add grated cheddar or American cheese to the basic recipe to produce cheese biscuits. Home cooks may use mass-produced, highly processed refrigerator biscuits for a quicker alternative to rolled or drop biscuits.


title: Biscuit (bread)

text: A sweet biscuit layered or topped with fruit (typically strawberries) and whipped cream is one type of shortcake.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel "The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit" (1854) by John Rollin Ridge ostensibly recounts his story.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Legends subsequently arose about a notorious outlaw in California during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, but evidence for a historical Murrieta is scarce. Contemporary documents record testimony in 1852 concerning a minor horse thief of that name. Newspapers reported" banditos" named Joaquin, who robbed and killed several people during the same time. A California Ranger named Harry Love was assigned to track down Murrieta and was said to have brought his head in for the bounty.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: The popular legend of Joaquin Murrieta was that he was a forty-niner, a gold miner and a "vaquero "from Sonora. Peace loving, he was driven to revenge after his brother and he were falsely accused of stealing a mule. His brother was hanged and Murrieta was horse-whipped. His young wife was raped, and in one version, she died in Murrieta's arms. Swearing revenge, he hunted down the men who had violated her. He embarked on a short but violent career to kill his Anglo tormentors. The state of California offered a reward up to $5,000 for Murrieta, "dead or alive." He was reportedly killed in 1853, but the news of his death was disputed. Myths arose about him and his possible survival.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Controversy surrounds the figure of Joaquin Murrieta—who he was, what he did, and many of his life's events. Historian Susan Lee Johnson says:


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: "So many tales have grown up around Murrieta that it is hard to disentangle the fabulous from the factual. There seems to be a consensus that Anglos drove him from a rich mining claim, and that, in rapid succession, his wife was raped, his half-brother lynched, and Murrieta himself horse-whipped. He may have worked as a monte dealer for a time; then, according to whichever version one accepts, he became either a horse trader and occasional horse thief, or a bandit."


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: John Rollin Ridge, grandson of Cherokee leader Major Ridge, wrote a dime novel about Murrieta. This fictional account contributed to his legend, especially as it was translated into various European languages. A portion of Ridge's novel was reprinted in 1858 in the "California Police Gazette". This story was picked up and subsequently translated into French. The French version was translated into Spanish by Roberto Hyenne, who took Ridge's original story and changed every "Mexican" reference to "Chilean".


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Early 20th-century writer Johnston McCulley was said to have based his character Don Diego de la Vega—better known as Zorro in his 1919 novel of that name—on Ridge's 1854 novel about Murrieta.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Most biographical sources hold that Murrieta was born in Hermosillo in the northwestern state of Sonora, Mexico. Historian Frank Forrest Latta wrote "Joaquín Murrieta and His Horse Gangs" (1980) based on decades of investigation of the Murrieta family in Sonora, California, and Texas. He said that Murrieta was from the Pueblo de Murrieta on the Rancho Tapizuelas, across the Cuchujaqui River (known locally as the Arroyo de [los] Álamos). This was north of Casanate, in the southeast of Sonora and near the Sinaloa border, within what is now the Álamos Municipality, of Sonora. Murrieta was educated at a school nearby in El Salado.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Murrieta reportedly went to California in 1849 to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. His older Carrillo stepbrother Joaquin Manuel Carrillo Murrieta, who was already in California, had written him about the discovery of gold and urged him to come. Like many Sonorans, Murrieta and a party including his new wife Rosa Feliz, traveled there across the Altar and Colorado Deserts in 1849. This large family expedition included Joaquin's younger brother (Jesus Murrieta); Jesus Carrillo Murrieta, his other Carrillo stepbrother; three Feliz brothers-in-law (Claudio, Reyes, and Jesus); two Murrieta cousins (Joaquin Juan and Martin Murrieta; four Valenzuela cousins (including Joaquin, Theodoro, and Jesus Valenzuela); two Duarte cousins (Antonio and Manuel); and a few other men from Pueblo de Murrieta or nearby.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Murrieta encountered prejudice and hostility in the extreme competition of the rough mining camps. While mining for gold, his wife and he were supposedly attacked by American miners jealous of his success. They allegedly beat him and raped his wife. However, the only source for this account was a dime novel, "The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta", written by John Rollin Ridge and published in 1854.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Historian Latta wrote that Murrieta formed a gang, with well-organized bands, one led by himself and the rest led by one or two of his trusted Sonoran relatives. Latta documented that the core of these men had gathered to help Murrieta kill at least six of the Americans who had lynched his stepbrother Jesus Carrillo and whipped him on the false charge of the theft of a mule. The gang began to engage in illegal horse trade with Mexico, using stolen horses and legally captured mustangs. They drove herds of stolen horses from as far north as Contra Costa County, the gold camps of the Sierras, and the Central Valley via the remote La Vereda del Monte trail through the Diablo Range, then south to Sonora for sale.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: At other times, the bands robbed and killed miners or American settlers, particularly those returning from the California goldfields. The gang is believed to have killed up to 28 Chinese and 13 Anglo-Americans. This figure is based on accounts of their raids in early 1853.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: By 1853, the California state legislature listed Murrieta as one of the so-called "Five Joaquins", suspected criminals in a bill passed in May 1853. The legislature authorized hiring for three months a company of 20 California Rangers, veterans of the Mexican War, to hunt down "the five Joaquins, whose names are Joaquin Muriati [sic], Joaquin Ocomorenia, Joaquin Valenzuela, Joaquin Botellier, and Joaquin Carillo, and their banded associates." On May 11, 1853, the governor, John Bigler, signed an act to create the "California State Rangers," to be led by Captain Harry Love (a former Texas Ranger and Mexican War veteran).


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: The state paid the California Rangers $150 a month, and promised them a $1,000 governor's reward if they captured the wanted men. On July 25, 1853, a group of rangers encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Arroyo de Cantua on the edge of the Diablo Range near Coalinga. In the confrontation, three of the Mexicans were killed. The rangers claimed one of the dead was Murrieta, and another Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of his most notorious associates. Two others were captured.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: A California Historical Landmark plaque has been installed near Coalinga at the intersection of State Routes 33 and 198 to mark the approximate site of the incident.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: As proof of the outlaws' deaths, the Rangers cut off the hand of Three-Fingered Jack, and the alleged head of Murrieta. They preserved these in a jar of alcohol to bring to the authorities to claim their reward. Officials displayed the jar of remains in Mariposa County, Stockton, and San Francisco. The rangers took the display throughout California; spectators could pay $1 to see the relics.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Love and his rangers received the $1,000 reward money. In August 1853, an anonymous Los Angeles-based man wrote to the "San Francisco Alta California Daily" that Love and his rangers had murdered some innocent Mexican mustang catchers, and bribed people to swear out affidavits as to their identities. Later that fall, California newspapers carried letters by a few men claiming that Capt. Love had failed to display Murrieta's head at the mining camps, but this was not true. On May 28, 1854, the California State Legislature voted to reward the Rangers with another $5,000 for their defeat of Murrieta and his band.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Some 25 years later, myths began to form about Murrieta. In 1879, O. P. Stidger reportedly heard Murrieta's sister say that the displayed head was not her brother's. At around the same time, numerous sightings were reported of Murrieta as a middle-aged man. These were never confirmed. His preserved head was destroyed during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fire.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Murrieta's nephew, known as Procopio, became one of California's most notorious bandits of the 1860s and 1870s. He was said to have wanted to exceed the reputation of his uncle.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Murrieta is believed to have inspired the fictional character of "Zorro", the lead character in the five-part serial story, "The Curse of Capistrano", written by Johnston McCulley, and published in 1919 in a pulp fiction magazine.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: For some political activists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Murrieta has symbolized Mexican resistance against Anglo-American economic and cultural domination in California, as Spanish colonists, Native Americans, "mixtos", and independent Mexicans were there first. The "Association of Descendants of Joaquin Murrieta" says that Murrieta was not a ""gringo" eater", but "He wanted to retrieve the part of Mexico that was lost at that time in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" (after the Mexican-American War).


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: Joaquin Murrieta has been used frequently as a romantic outlaw figure in novels, stories, and comics, and in films and TV series.


title: Joaquin Murrieta

text: In the late 20th century a Los Angeles Chicano community center was named Centro Joaquin Murrieta de Aztlan.


title: History of sport

text: The history of sports extends back to the Ancient world. The physical activity that developed into sports had early links with ritual, warfare and entertainment.


title: History of sport

text: Study of the history of sport can teach lessons about social changes and about the nature of sport itself, as sport seems involved in the development of basic human skills (compare play). As one delves further back in history, dwindling evidence makes theories of the origins and purposes of sport more and more difficult to support.


title: History of sport

text: As far back as the beginnings of sport, it was related to military training. For example, competition was used as a mean to determine whether individuals were fit and useful for service. Team sports were used to train and to prove the capability to fight in the military and also to work together as a team (military unit).


title: History of sport

text: Cave paintings found in the Lascaux caves in France appear to depict sprinting and wrestling in the Upper Paleolithic around 15,300 years ago. Cave paintings in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia dating back to the Neolithic age ( show a wrestling match surrounded by crowds. Neolithic Rock art found at the cave of swimmers in Wadi Sura, near Gilf Kebir in Egypt shows evidence of swimming and archery being practiced around 10,000 BCE. Prehistoric cave paintings in Japan depict a sport similar to sumo wrestling.


title: History of sport

text: Various representations of wrestlers have been found on stone slabs recovered from the Sumerian civilization. One showing three pairs of wrestlers was generally dated to around 3000 BCE. A cast Bronze figurine, (perhaps the base of a vase) has been found at Khafaji in Iraq that shows two figures in a wrestling hold that dates to around 2600 BCE. The statue is one of the earliest depictions of sport and is housed in the National Museum of Iraq. The origins of boxing have also been traced to ancient Sumer. The Epic of Gilgamesh gives one of the first historical records of sport with Gilgamesh engaging in a form of belt wrestling with Enkidu. The cuneiform tablets recording the tale date to around 2000 BCE; however, the historical Gilgamesh is supposed to have lived around 2800 to 2600 BCE. The Sumerian king Shulgi also boasts of his prowess in sport in the Self-praise of Shulgi A, B, and C. Fishing hooks not unlike those made today have been found during excavations at Ur, showing evidence of angling in Sumer at around 2600 BCE.


title: History of sport

text: Monuments to the Pharaohs found at Beni Hasan dating to around 2000 BCE indicate that a number of sports, including wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, archery, fishing and athletics, as well as various kinds of ball games, were well-developed and regulated in ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports also included javelin throwing and high jump. An earlier portrayal of figures wrestling was found in the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum in Saqqara dating to around 2400 BCE.


title: History of sport

text: The Minoan art of Bronze Age Crete depict ritual sporting events - thus a fresco dating to 1500 BCE records gymnastics in the form of religious bull-leaping and possibly bullfighting. The origins of Greek sporting festivals may date to funeral games of the Mycenean period, between 1600 BCE and 1100 BCE.


title: History of sport

text: The "Iliad" includes extensive descriptions of funeral games held in honour of deceased warriors, such as those held for Patroclus by Achilles. Engaging in sport is described as the occupation of the noble and wealthy, who have no need to do manual labour themselves. In the Odyssey, king Odysseus of Ithaca proves his royal status to king Alkinoös of the Phaiakes by showing his proficiency in throwing the javelin. It was in Greece that sports were first instituted formally, with the first Olympic Games recorded in 776 BCE in Olympia, where they were celebrated until 393 CE. These games took place every four years, or "Olympiad", which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. Initially a single sprinting event, the Olympics gradually expanded to include several footraces, run in the nude or in armor, boxing, wrestling, "pankration", chariot racing, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw. During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves. Other important sporting events in ancient Greece included the Isthmian games, the Nemean Games, and the Pythian Games. Together with the Olympics, these were the most prestigious games, and formed the Panhellenic Games. Some games, e.g. the Panathenaia of Athens, included musical, reading and other non-athletic contests in addition to regular sports-events. The Heraean Games, held in Olympia as early as the 6th century BCE, were the first recorded sporting competition for women.


title: History of sport

text: Sports that are at least two and a half thousand years old include hurling in Ancient Ireland, shinty in Scotland, harpastum (similar to rugby) in Rome, cuju (similar to association football) in China, and polo in Persia. The Mesoamerican ballgame originated over three thousand years ago. The Mayan ballgame of Pitz is believed to be the first ball sport, as it was first played around 2500 BCE.There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting activities as early as 2000 BCE. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's ancient past. Ancient Persian sports include the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh. Among other sports that originated in Persia are polo and jousting. A polished bone implement found at Eva in Tennessee, United States and dated to around 5000 BCE has been construed as a possible sporting device used in a "ring and pin" game. Various traditional sports of South Asia are believed to be thousands of years old, with aspects of kabaddi and kho-kho having potentially been mentioned in the Mahabharata, and atya-patya having been described in the Naṟṟiṇai, around 300 CE.


title: History of sport

text: For at least 900 years, entire villages have competed with each other in rough, and sometimes violent, ballgames in England (Shrovetide football) and Ireland (caid). In comparison, the game of calcio Fiorentino, in Florence, Italy, was originally reserved for combat sports such as fencing and jousting being popular. Horse racing, in particular, was a favourite of the upper class in Great Britain, with Queen Anne founding the Ascot Racecourse.


title: History of sport

text: Sports did not disappear completely in the Middle Ages. Peasants would be able to find time as long summer days and nights afforded predictable occasions of free time which was indulged in with many of the activities we recognize today. Swimming, wrestling, and racing were common among all ages and both genders, while organized ball games of various types can be found in every medieval society and culture. The participation of sports (ball games to be exact) at the time loosened control the ruling class had over the peasants; this is not a rare trend throughout history. By the fourteenth century no fewer than thirty bans have been placed by English Kings on ball games such as football, handball, and hurling.


title: History of sport

text: The Middle Ages were not immediately devoid of sports from the Roman Empire after it collapsed. Gladiatorial bouts and chariot racing continued sporadically and intermittently well into the Middle Ages. They would eventually fade away and be replaced by local activities. Hawking, however, was the particular reserve of emperors and kings. This sport would be one of the few sports continued in the Middle Ages; Frederick II may have played a critical role in its persistence as he was an avid hawker who authored the first comprehensive book on falconry. Furthermore, kings may have followed the example of falconry as to mimic the status of an emperor.


title: History of sport

text: During the Middle Ages, tournaments were not an uncommon occurrence; after all, war was a constant threat that could occur often. Thus, preparation (for war) is practice, practice is competition, and competition is sport; consequently, (before the establishment of sports history), the medieval hallmarks of upper-class sports (i.e. jousting, mock combat, and blood sports) were generally agreed upon as military training. Modern sports historians, however, debate that such sports were for entertainment purposes; one example considered were tournaments which offered little to prepare one for actual war and would likely have set any forms of real training back. Tournaments in the Middle Ages arose out of local festivals. As a result, many tournaments had their own local characteristic but were uniform in habits and customs of the region the tournament was stationed in.


title: History of sport

text: Medieval tournaments presents characteristics of modern sport as those (ex: professional knights) who were most successful and popular, perhaps the only medieval equivalent to today's sports stars, followed the money and fame of the tournament circuit. Those with political backing and social favor were able to accumulate property and goods to ensure a comfortable life after their competitive days were over. The tournament was a market and a social mixer. These tournaments consequently attracted many people to attend for various purposes such as marriages, and trade of livestock and land or wares provided by merchants and vendors.


title: History of sport

text: The Middle Ages also revealed the importance of owning a horse; common to the sports and amusements of the ruling class was the horse. If someone of the ruling class did not own a horse, it would represent that they did not have much wealth as well and fun (since they would be unable to participate in certain sports like horse racing).


title: History of sport

text: After the late middle ages, early modern sports became less of a violent or military training activity and more of an activity done for recreational benefit in Europe. During the Renaissance, educators, and medical surgeons promoted playing sports because of their numerous physical and psychological benefits to the human body. During this era, there was also support for moderating sports, as it was viewed as more for leisure than a strict procedure. Open-air sporting events became an attraction for many and people of all different social hierarchies were involved in this new culture. These new radical ideas about sports made their way into books, and films, and eventually became part of the social culture during the Renaissance. As mentioned by Mike Huggins, Gargantua written by François Rabelais was a well-known novel published in 1534 that mentioned sports and games as a unit, like many other renowned works of literature. All different types of sports became a functional unit in many people’s routines and it brought refreshment into people’s lives. As the popularity and involvement of sports increased, rules began to form and sports became more regulated so they could be fair. Sports clubs and associations which provided a sense of unity also became more common, especially for elite sports such as horse racing, cockfighting, hunting, and tennis during the sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries. For example, Charles II formed 20 rules for horse racing in 1665. Sports were a form of entertainment for spectators who did not play themselves. There were stake-money contests and prizes in these sports and racing competitions. These modern advancements and developments made about sporting life in the Renaissance in Europe eventually made their way to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.


title: History of sport

text: Some historians – most notably Bernard Lewis – claim that team sports as we know them today are primarily an invention of Western culture. British Prime Minister John Major was more explicit in 1995:


title: History of sport

text: The traditional team sports are seen as springing primarily from Britain, and subsequently exported across the vast British Empire. European colonialism helped spread particular games around the world, especially cricket (not directly related to baseball), football of various sorts, bowling in a number of forms, cue sports (like snooker, carom billiards, and pool), hockey and its derivatives, equestrian, and tennis, and many winter sports. The originally European-dominated modern Olympic Games generally also ensured standardization in particularly European, especially British, directions when rules for similar games around the world were merged.


title: History of sport

text: Regardless of game origins, the Industrial Revolution and mass production brought increased leisure which allowed more time to engage in playing or observing (and gambling upon) spectator sports, as well as less elitism in and greater accessibility of sports of many kinds. With the advent of mass media and global communication, professionalism became prevalent in sports, and this furthered sports popularity in general.


title: History of sport

text: With the increasing values placed on those who won also came the increased desire to cheat. Some of the most common ways of cheating today involve the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. The use of these drugs has always been frowned on but in recent history there have also been agencies set up to monitor professional athletes and ensure fair play in the sport.


title: History of sport

text: Writing about cricket in particular, John Leech has explained the role of Puritan power, the English Civil War, and the Restoration of the monarchy in England. The Long Parliament in 1642 "banned theatres, which had met with Puritan disapproval. Although similar action would be taken against certain sports, it is not clear if cricket was in any way prohibited, except that players must not "break the Sabbath"". In 1660, "the Restoration of the monarchy in England was immediately followed by the reopening of the theatres and so any sanctions that had been imposed by the Puritans on cricket would also have been lifted." He goes on to make the key point that political, social and economic conditions in the aftermath of the Restoration encouraged excessive gambling, so much so that a Gambling Act was deemed necessary in 1664. It is certain that cricket, horse racing and boxing (i.e., prizefighting) were financed by gambling interests. Leech explains that it was the habit of cricket patrons, all of whom were gamblers, to form strong teams through the 18th century to represent their interests. He defines a strong team as one representative of more than one parish and he is certain that such teams were first assembled in or immediately after 1660. Prior to the English Civil War and the Commonwealth, all available evidence concludes that cricket had evolved to the level of village cricket only where teams that are strictly representative of individual parishes compete. The "strong teams" of the post-Restoration mark the evolution of cricket (and, indeed of professional team sport, for cricket is the oldest professional team sport) from the parish standard to the county standard. This was the point of origin for major, or first-class, cricket. The year 1660 also marks the origin of professional team sport. All-England cricket teams have played since 1739.


title: History of sport

text: A number of the public schools such as Winchester and Eton, introduced variants of football and other sports for their pupils. These were described at the time as "innocent and lawful", certainly in comparison with the rougher rural games. With urbanization in the 19th century, the rural games moved to the new urban centres and came under the influence of the middle and upper classes. The rules and regulations devised at English institutions began to be applied to the wider game, with governing bodies in England being set up for a number of sports by the end of the 19th century. The rising influence of the upper class also produced an emphasis on the amateur, and the spirit of "fair play". The industrial revolution also brought with it increasing mobility, and created the opportunity for universities in Britain and elsewhere to compete with one another. This sparked increasing attempts to unify and reconcile various games in England, leading to the establishment of the Football Association in London, the first official governing body in football.


title: History of sport

text: For sports to become professionalized, coaching had to come first. It gradually professionalized in the Victorian era and the role was well established by 1914. In the First World War, military units sought out the coaches to supervise physical conditioning and develop morale-building teams. Sport became an important part of military life for British servicemen serving around the world.


title: History of sport

text: The influence of British sports and their codified rules began to spread across the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly association football. A number of major teams elsewhere in the world still show these British origins in their names, such as A.C. Milan in Italy, Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense in Brazil, and Athletic Bilbao in Spain. Cricket became popular in several of the nations of the then British Empire, such as Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan, and remain popular in and beyond today's Commonwealth of Nations. The revival of the Olympic Games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin was also heavily influenced by the amateur ethos of the English public schools. The British played a major role in defining amateurism, professionalism, the tournament system and the concept of fair play. Some sports developed in England, spread to other countries and then lost its popularity in England while remaining actively played in other countries, a notable example being bandy which remains popular in Finland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.


title: History of sport

text: European morals and views on empires were embedded in the structure of sports. Ideas of "social discipline" and "loyalty" were key factors in European empire ettiequte, which eventually transferred into sports ettiequte. Also ideas of "patient and methodical training", were enforced to make soldiers stronger, and athletes better. Diffusion helped with the process of connecting these two concepts and has helped shaped the values of sports as we know it today. Sports like baseball, football (soccer), and cricket all came from European influence, and all share the same values based on European empires.


title: History of sport

text: Baseball (closely related to English rounders and French la soule, and less clearly connected to cricket) became established in the urban Northeastern United States, with the first rules being codified in the 1840s, while American football was very popular in the south-east, with baseball spreading to the south, and American football spreading to the north after the Civil War. There is documented evidence of baseball in England. An extract from an 18th-century diary containing the oldest known reference to baseball is among the items on display in a new exhibition in London exploring the English origins and cricketing connections of America's national sport.


title: History of sport

text: While baseball was once claimed to have been invented in the U.S. in the mid-19th century, recent findings suggest a sport of the same name may have evolved decades earlier alongside cricket, crossing the Atlantic with English settlers to the American colonies. One notable discovery found in a shed in a village in Surrey, southern England, in 2008 was a handwritten 18th-century diary belonging to a local lawyer, William Bray. "Went to Stoke church this morn.," wrote Bray on Easter Monday in 1755. "After dinner, went to Miss Jeale's to play at base ball with her the 3 Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Ford and H. Parsons. Drank tea and stayed til 8." In the 1870s the game split between the professionals and amateurs; the professional game rapidly gained dominance, and marked a shift in the focus from the player to the club. The rise of baseball also helped squeeze out other sports such as cricket, which had been popular in Philadelphia prior to the rise of baseball.


title: History of sport

text: American football (and gridiron football more generally) also has its origins in the English variants of the game, with the first set of intercollegiate football rules based directly on the rules of the Football Association in London. However, Harvard chose to play a game based on the rules of Rugby football. Walter Camp would then heavily modify this variant in the 1880s, with the modifications also heavily influencing the rules of Canadian football.


title: History of sport

text: Worldwide, the British influence includes many different football codes, lawn bowls, lawn tennis and other sports. The major impetus for this was the patenting of the world's first lawn mower in 1830. This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals, playing fields, pitches, grass courts, etc.


title: History of sport

text: Most sports in the United States evolved out of European practices. However, volleyball, skateboarding, and snowboarding are European American inventions, some of which have become popular in other countries. However, Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact.


title: History of sport

text: The 21st century has seen a move towards adventure sports as a form of individual escapism, transcending the routines of life. Examples include white water rafting, paragliding, canyoning, base jumping and more genteelly, orienteering.


title: History of sport

text: Women's competition in sports has been frowned upon by many societies in the past. The English public-school background of organized sport in the 19th and early 20th century led to a paternalism that tended to discourage women's involvement in sports, with, for example, no women officially competing in the 1896 Olympic Games. The 20th century saw major advances in the participation of women in sports due to a growing women's sports movement in Europe and North America. This led to the initiation of the Women's Olympiad (held three times 1921, 1922 and 1923) and the Women's World Games (held four times (1922, 1926, 1930 and 1934. In 1924 the 1924 Women's Olympiad was held in London. The increase in girls' and women's participation in sport has been partly influenced by the women's rights and feminist movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively. In the United States, female students’ participation in sports was significantly boosted by the Title IX Act in 1972, which forbade gender discrimination in all aspects of any educational environment that uses federal financial aid, leading to increased funding and support to develop female athletes.


title: History of sport

text: Pressure from sports funding bodies has also improved gender equality in sports. For example, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Leander Club (for rowing) in England had both been male-only establishments since their founding in 1787 and 1818, respectively, but both opened their doors to female members at the end of the 20th century at least partially due to the requirements of the United Kingdom Lottery Sports Fund.


title: History of sport

text: The 21st century has seen women’s participation in sport at its all-time highest. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, women competed in 27 sports over 137 events, compared to 28 men’s sports in 175 events. Several national women's professional sports leagues have been founded and are in competition, and women’s international sporting events such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, Women's Rugby World Cup, and Women's Hockey World Cup continue to grow.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: The Second Battle of Kiev was a part of a much wider Soviet offensive in Ukraine known as the Battle of the Dnieper involving three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht, which took place between 3 November and 22 December 1943.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Following the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army launched the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation, pushing Erich von Manstein's Army Group South back towards the Dnieper River. Stavka, the Soviet high command, ordered the Central Front and the Voronezh Front to force crossings of the Dnieper. When this was unsuccessful in October, the effort was handed over to the 1st Ukrainian Front, with some support from the 2nd Ukrainian Front. The 1st Ukrainian Front, commanded by Nikolai Vatutin, was able to secure bridgeheads north and south of Kiev (Kyiv).


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: In October 1943, several of Vatutin's armies were having serious trouble trying to break out of the rugged terrain of the Bukrin bend, the southern bridgehead. The 24th Panzer Corps of Walther Nehring, in an effective defensive position, had the opposing Soviet forces squeezed in. As a result, Vatutin decided to concentrate his strength at the northern bridgehead at Lyutezh.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: The 3rd Guards Tank Army, commanded by Pavel Rybalko, moved northwards toward the Lyutezh bridgehead under cover of darkness and diversionary attacks out of the Bukrin bend. The Soviet preparations were considerable, including the installation of 26 bridges and 87 ferries. Many of the Soviet bridges were built underwater, making them difficult to detect. Feint attacks and the construction of fake bridges may have fooled the Germans for a short while. Fire support was provided by 7,000 guns and mortars and 700 combat aircraft. The 27th and 40th Armies launched the Soviet diversionary attack at Bukrin on 1 November, two days ahead of schedule, but advanced only 1.5 kilometers before being driven back.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Soviet historians claimed complete success for the Red Army deception measures but the Germans correctly identified the Soviet assault sector and sent armored reinforcements to the area. The 4th Panzer Army war diary referred to the main Soviet push north of Kiev on 3 November as "the offensive we have been expecting". The Germans were uncertain whether the anticipated Soviet assault had far-reaching objectives from the outset or was merely for the capture of an initial bridgehead to be exploited later.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Early on the morning of 3 November 1943, the 4th Panzer Army was subjected to a massive Soviet bombardment. The Soviet 38th and 60th Armies attacked in the first wave but failed to break through the positions of the German VII Army Corps. On 4 November, the 3rd Guards Armored Army and I Guard Cavalry Corps were added to the assault, compelling VII Army Corps to retreat and evacuate Kiev. The Soviets captured Kiev on 6 November. The second phase of the Soviet offensive now began, with the 1st Ukrainian Front's objective consisting of the capture of the towns of Zhitomir, Korosten, Berdichev and Fastov and the cutting of the rail link to Army Group Center; the ultimate objective being the encirclement of Army Group South. By 7 November, the Soviet spearheads had already reached the important railway node at Fastov 50 kilometers south-west of Kiev.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: The plan went well at first for Vatutin; Manstein, however, became worried. As Rybalko's tanks moved through the streets of Kiev on 6 November, Manstein pleaded with Adolf Hitler to release the 48th and 40th Panzer Corps in order to have sufficient forces to retake Kiev. The 48th Panzer Corps was committed to Manstein. Hitler refused to divert the 40th Panzer Corps, and replaced Hoth with Erhard Raus, who was ordered to blunt the Soviet attack and secure the Army Group South's northern flank and communications with Army Group Centre. A number of sources give 6 November as the date for the fall of Kiev. The 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade seems to have started the assault earlier, at 12.30 on 5 November, reaching the Dniepr at 02:00 on the 6th, after sweeping through the western suburbs of the city and were the first unit in the city center, with Kiev finally being captured at 06:50 on the 6th.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Raus had some difficulty with his units suffering heavy casualties in the initial stages of Vatutin's offensive. The 4th Panzer Army was reinforced, especially with artillery and rockets. The German divisions were bolstered on 7 November by the arrival of the newly formed 25th Panzer Division commanded by "General der Panzertruppen" Georg Jauer. Its drive on Fastov was halted by the 7th Guards Tank Corps. The half-formed 25th Panzer Division had only emergency individual training, lacked entire equipment categories and was committed against the protests of Heinz Guderian, the Inspector of Panzer Troops. It became the first committed Panzer Division that failed to achieve at least initial offensive success on the Eastern Front. The failed German offensive stopped however the advance of the Soviet 3rd Guards Armored Army.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: The rest of the Soviet forces continued their attacks. Rybalko was soon just from Berdichev. Zhitomir was taken by the 38th Army on 12 November but the Soviet advance came to a halt as the I Guards Cavalry Corps troopers looted the German 4th Army's alcohol stocks. The 60th Army took Korosten on 17 November and the 40th Army was moving south from Kiev. The only respite for the Germans came when the 27th Army exhausted itself and went over to the defensive in the Bukrin bend. In 10 days the Soviets had advanced 150 kilometers and opened up a 100 kilometer-wide gap between Army Group Center and Army Group South.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: The 4th Panzer Army was in deep trouble. However, the situation changed with the arrival of Hermann Balck's XLVIII Panzer Corps, comprising the SS Division Leibstandarte, 1st Panzer Division and 7th Panzer Division. Balck drove his forces north to Brusyliv and then west to retake Zhitomir. Rybalko sent the 7th Guards Tank Corps to counter the German assault. A huge tank battle ensued, which continued until the latter part of November, when the autumn mud halted all operations.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: With the recapture of Zhitomir and Korosten, the 4th Panzer had gained some breathing room. With Vatutin halted, Stavka released substantial reserves to his First Ukrainian Front to regain momentum.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: By 5 December, the mud had frozen. 48th Panzer Corps conducted a wide sweeping attack north of Zhitomir. Catching the Red Army by surprise, the German forces sought to encircle the Soviet 60th Army and the 13th Corps. Reinforced with the 2nd Parachute Division, the Germans drove eastward, putting the Soviets on the defensive. With Fastov also being threatened, the 60th Army withdrew from Korosten.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Vatutin was forced to ask Stavka for more reserves, and was allocated the 1st Tank Army and the 18th Army. These new units, along with additional Corps from other sectors, were hastily rushed westward. Thus, the Red Army stopped the German advance, went back on the offensive, and retook Brusilov. Both sides were exhausted by late December and the battle for Kiev was over.


title: Battle of Kiev (1943)

text: Although the Soviets had failed to break the rail link with Army Group Center or envelop Army Group South, they had broken the Dnieper line, taken Kiev, the third biggest city in the Soviet Union, and inflicted significant casualties on the 4th Panzer Army. The Germans, for their part, had bloodied several sizable Soviet formations and kept the vital rail link open, but failed in its attempt to encircle and destroy the Soviet spearheads. A few days after XLVIII Panzer Corps was pulled out to rest and refit, the Soviets launched Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive on Christmas Eve. The renamed Voronezh Front Offensive pushed the Germans back to the 1939 Polish border by 3 January 1944.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: The fourth season of the American reality competition streaming series "The Circle" premiered on Netflix on May 4, 2022. Michelle Buteau returned as host; the season consists of 13 episodes, initially released four episodes weekly. Players compete without ever actually meeting in person; they communicate through a simulated social media interface, portraying themselves in any way they choose.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: Frank Grimsley, who had played the game as himself, won the US$150,000 prize on May 25, 2022. His win cemented him as the first LGBT winner. Trevor St. Agathe as "Imani" was the runner-up. Josh "Bru" Brubaker won the Fan Favorite award and US$10,000.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: The contestants, or "players", move into the same apartment building. However, the contestants do not meet face-to-face during the course of the competition, as they each live in their own individual apartment. They communicate solely using their profiles on a specially-designed social media app that gives them the ability to portray themselves in any way they choose. Players can thus opt to present themselves as a completely different personality to the other players, a tactic otherwise known as catfishing.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: Throughout the series, the contestants "rate" one another from first to last place. At the end of the ratings, their average ratings are revealed to one another from lowest to highest. Normally, the two highest-rated players become "Influencers", while the remaining players will be at risk of being "blocked" by the Influencers. However, occasionally there may be a twist to the blocking process – varying from the lowest rating players being instantly blocked, the identity of the Influencers being a secret, or multiple players being blocked at one time. Blocked players are eliminated from the game, but are given the opportunity to meet one player still in the game in-person. Then, the day after a blocking, a video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal if they were real or fake.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and . Also, fans of "The Circle" are able to vote for their favorite player. The player that receives the most votes is known as the Fan Favorite and receives .


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: The season was announced on August 9, 2021 when Netflix renewed "The Circle" for a fourth and fifth season prior the premiere of the third season. The season premiered on May 4, with four episodes releasing weekly until May 25.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: A teaser for the season was released on April 27, 2022 showing bits of the cast and revealing that the prize money had been increased to $150,000 rather than the $100,000 prize awarded during previous seasons due to Spice Girls members Emma Bunton and Mel B increasing the prize fund by completing a mission while partaking in the season. During the trailer, it was also confirmed that previous host Michelle Buteau will continue to host the series.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: Filming for the season took place in Fall 2021 at an apartment complex in Manchester, England. The same complex that was used during previous seasons and other versions of the series. The apartment complex is prepared with twelve furnished and ready-to-use apartments for the players to live in.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: After the third season began airing, casting for the fourth and fifth seasons opened on April 12, 2021. The initial members of the cast were revealed on April 27, 2022.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: The season consisted of 13 players. Various members of the first set of nine players were teased alongside a trailer release on April 27, 2022. An official cast reveal took place the following day. These players included two catfishes and five players participating as themselves. Additionally, extra players were revealed as the season progressed. The first celebrity contestants, Emma Bunton & Mel B from Spice Girls, competed to help increase the prize money, however they did not partake in ratings and were not competing to win. Other additional cast members included one catfish and two players playing as themselves, two of these players were revealed with the rest of the cast but joined "The Circle" later. Additionally, Trevor St. Agathe, who was the catfish profile of season two winner DeLeesa St. Agathe, participated in this season.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: Since the season premiered, it kept in Netflix's "Top 10 TV Series in the U.S." list, and kept in the top for its entire run. The series landed at number six on the list for its second week on air, for its third, the series landed at number three, and for its last the series ranked at number ten.


title: The Circle (American season 4)

text: However, the season received criticism for its casting of big personalities. Many fans were upset at the fact that most of the players were social media personalities and not "real people".


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon trafficking; cyber crime; as well as economic crime that goes across domestic and international borders, but can be tasked to investigate any crime under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is accountable to the Parliament of Singapore.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: SPF's main geographical area of responsibilities covers the entire country, consisting of five regions which are further divided into 55 planning areas. The organisation has various staff departments with specific focuses. These include the Airport Police Division (APD), which covers policing of Singapore's main civilian airports of Changi and Seletar, or the Police Coast Guard (PCG), which protects and enforces areas under Singapore's territorial waters and its ports.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police (RSP), the SPF is a uniformed organisation. The SPF has declared its mission and vision as to "prevent, deter and detect crime to ensure the safety and security of Singapore". It is Singapore's point of contact for foreign agencies such as Interpol and other international law enforcement agencies. The organisational structure of the SPF is split between staff and line functions, which is roughly modelled after the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The SPF currently consists of sixteen staff departments, four specialist staff departments, eighteen specialist and line units as well as seven land divisions. Its headquarters are located at one of the blocks of the New Phoenix Park building in the Novena district, which is located directly adjacent to a twin block occupied by the MHA. Situated within the headquarters are the Police Heritage Centre (PHC), which is open to the public and showcases the SPF's history through its various exhibits and multimedia displays.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: As of 2020, the SPF has a strength of approximately 10,706 personnel: 9,571 sworn officers and 1,135 civilian staff. The SPF has generally been credited as being the forefront in keeping crime in Singapore low, as well as being relatively transparent in its policing. Accordingly, Singapore has been considered as being one of least corrupt and most safe countries in the world. The SPF also works closely with the Internal Security Department (ISD) and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). As of 2022, the current Minister of Home Affairs is K Shanmugam, while the current commissioner of the SPF is Hoong Wee Teck.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The Singapore Police Force was founded in 1820, starting with just 11 men under the command of Francis James Bernard, the son-in-law of William Farquhar. With no background nor knowledge on policing, Bernard had to work from scratch, as well as occasionally turning to Farquhar for help. In addition, he held multiple roles as magistrate, chief jailer, harbour master, marine storekeeper, as well as personal assistants to Farquhar. Farquhar informed Raffles that he had provisionally introduced licenses for opium and alcohol sales that would raise $650 per month, with $300 of this sum being used to run a small police department.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: As the department took form, Bernard became in charge of a writer, one jailor, one "jemadar" (sergeant) and eight "peada" (constables) by May 1820. Raffles approved these arrangements by August 1820 and cemented the formal establishment of a police force in Singapore. Manpower constraints meant that the men had to perform a wide range of roles, and required the help of headmen among the various ethnic communities to maintain orderliness on the streets.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Many laws that were enacted during this time remains in force today. These include the passing of Singapore's first arms law in March 1823, which heavily restricts the right to bear arms. Nearly two centuries later, these anti-arms laws continue to be strictly enforced, resulting in a society relatively free from firearms-related criminal offences.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The SPF remains the sole policing force in Singapore after its independence. The country has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, as well as the lowest firearm-related death rates. The major crimes that tend to affect the Singaporean populace in the 21st century are usually cybercrimes, such as scams that are often based overseas. In 2020, it made up almost half of all crimes in Singapore.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The Singapore Police Force receives the highest budget allocation annually as compared to the various departments of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), typically accounting for about 50% of its annual budget. For the fiscal year of 2013 (for the year beginning 1 April 2013), S$3.89 billion was budgeted to the MHA, of which 47.8% or S$1.86 billion was allocated for the Police Programme. Actual expenses in the 2013 fiscal year were S$2.04 billion, of which S$1.88 billion was spent on operating expenditure (against the budgeted S$1.79 billion) and S$159.1 million on development expenditure (budgeted at $71.83 million). Manpower costs amounting to S$1.16 billion continue to dominate the SPF's expenditure, accounting for 61.7% of its operating expenditure and 56.9% of total expenditure in FY2013.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The latest budget for fiscal year 2015, S$2.47 billion was allocated to the Police Programme, or 49.5% of MHA's total budget of S$5 billion (the Ministry of Defence, in comparison, received a S$13.12 billion budget allocation). This includes S$2.26 billion for Operating Expenditure and $210.93 million for Development Expenditure. The main Development Expenditures expected in FY2015 included the construction of new buildings such as the Woodlands Police Divisional HQ as well as the acquisition of new patrol craft for the Police Coast Guard and the installation of police cameras at more HDB blocks and multi-storey car parks.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Regulars, or uniformed, full-time officers, constitute about 20% of the police's total workforce and number approximately 9,000 in strength. Basic entry requirements for police officers include normal fitness levels, good eyesight, and at least five passes in the GCE Ordinary level or a NITEC from the Institute of Technical Education, although those with lower qualifications may still be considered. Those joining the senior police officers require a basic degree from a recognised university. Alternatively, police officers from the junior ranks may also be considered for promotion into the senior ranks. Officers serving in the force as national servicemen are also regularly considered for absorption into the regular scheme. Basic training for all officers are conducted at the Home Team Academy, under the purview of the Police Training Command. It takes about six months and nine months to train a new police officer and senior police officer respectively.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: As is the case with many other civil service positions in Singapore, the salaries of police officers are reviewed in accordance to market rates. Salaries are kept competitive as part of anti-corruption measures. Gross starting salaries for police officers may range from S$1,820 to S$2,480, and that of senior police officers from S$3,400 to S$4,770, depending on entry qualifications, relevant/useful work experiences and National Service.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Police officers commence their careers as Sergeants (Full GCE 'A' level or Diploma holders), while senior police officers start as Inspectors (Bachelor's degree). Reviews of an officer's performance for promotion consideration are conducted annually.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: When full-time National Service (NS) was first introduced in Singapore in 1967, it was initially solely aimed and geared towards the building-up of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Meanwhile, in Singapore Police Force, NS was not extended to that of compulsory full-time service, with police NS being only part-time, unlike that of the SAF. There was little urgency and pressure for the police force to increase its overall manpower-strength until the Laju incident of 1974, Singapore's first encounter with international terrorism, demonstrated the need for additionally trained reserve-officers who could be called up at short-notice in the event of a national crisis or a major and serious public emergency. Singapore's full-time National Service policy was thus extended to the Singapore Police Force in 1975, which stemmed from the then-primary aim of guarding and protecting key and vital public installations, such as sensitive ones like power substations and petrochemical industries, and to act as a swift-response reserve unit. Subsequent expansion of this NS scheme, along with changing security needs and requirements and the trend in outsourcing key-installation protection (such as to the various local auxiliary police forces) has expanded the role of police national servicemen to more varied functions, which may range from mainstream administration and operations (such as the role of Staff Assistants (SAs) based in offices), to basic police investigation (like the Ground Response Force (GRF) of the SPF's Land Divisions) and front line policing (as seen in the Police Coast Guard), alongside their regular counterparts.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Formed in 1946, The Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) is an important component of the Singapore Police Force, contributing more than fifty years of volunteer service to the nation.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The VSC is composed of volunteers from all walks of life in Singapore, from businessmen to blue-collar executives to even bus captains, bonded with the same aspiration to serve the nation by complementing the Singapore Police Force. They are vested with equal powers of a police officer to enforce law and order in Singapore. VSC Officers don the same police uniform and patrol the streets, participate in anti-drug operations and sometimes even high-speed sea chases.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Previously headquartered at the Eu Tong Sen Street Police Station and Toa Payoh Police Station, it relocated to the new Police Cantonment Complex in the year 2000.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Civilian staff in the Police Force are deployed in areas such as technology, logistics, human resource, and administrative and financial services as well as investigation, planning and intelligence.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The civilian staff schemes fall under the general civil service schemes managed by the Public Service Division. These schemes include:


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The civilization of non-core police functions has accelerated over the years in order to free up additional manpower for redeployment into Police Divisions. Other changes include the deployment of contract staff through organisations such as Ministry of Finance's VITAL.org for administrative staff and partners such as ST Engineering and Cyber Security Agency for technical support.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Dark blue is the organisational colour of the Singapore Police Force, and has remained so continuously since 1969. Derivatives of the standard blue uniform (collectively called the No. 3 uniform) was adopted for specialized forces and for all officers in various occasions which calls for more formal or casual attire.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The Traffic Police Department adopted a short-sleeved white tunic, dark blue breeches, a black leather Sam Browne belt, and riding boots for its officers performing mobile squad duties. A white crash helmet is worn when on the move, while a new dark blue jockey cap with chequered white and dark blue patterns around its circumference is worn when convenient while performing static duty. Members of the Vigilante Corps are also attired by a white short-sleeved top similar in design to the dark blue version for normal officers, gold-coloured buttons and badges, and a dark blue beret in place of the peaked cap.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Combat uniforms have also been adopted for specialist units such as those from the Special Operations Command and the Police Coast Guard (PCG), collectively known as the No. 4 uniforms. These involve the replacement of metal buttons with sewn-on plastic ones, the avoidance of all other metallic accruements which are deemed potentially hazardous to the officer or to others and the use of long-sleeved shirts.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The SPF introduced new uniforms made of 98% polyester and 2% spandex with better stretchable, perspiration absorption, and faster drying characteristics, as "part of ongoing efforts to improve officers' operational effectiveness and support them in their work". The word "police" is embroidered above the name tag of the new uniforms and the metallic buttons replaced with concealed plastic buttons for better comfort to allow officers put on the body vests over their uniforms. Riveted buttons are also fixed on the shoulders to allow the attachment of a body worn camera.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The rank of corporal (CPL) was abolished in 1972, but reinstated in 1976. In 1997, the location of all rank devices was shifted from the sleeves to the shoulder epaulets except for the Gurkha Contingent. Also in the same year, the station inspector rank insignia was changed from collar pips to a coat of arms of Singapore with upward-pointing chevrons above and an arc below, a design similar to that of the warrant officers of the Singapore Armed Forces, while the rank of senior station inspector (SSI) was also introduced. In 1998, the senior station inspector (2) (SSI(2)) rank was introduced, and changes were made to the SI, SSI, and SSI(2) rank designs. The rank of lance corporal was abolished in 2002. In 2006, the Gurkha Contingent adopted embroidered ranks as part of an overhaul of its combat dress, but are worn on the right chest pocket.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: In July 2016, a revamped rank overhaul was done with the retirement of the ranks of staff sergeant, senior station inspector (1) and senior station inspector (2), as well as the abolishment of the separation line between junior officers and senior officers, to unify a unified rank-scheme. In addition, the sergeant rank has three different grades noted by a number from "1" to "3" placed in parentheses and suffixed to the rank abbreviation; namely, SGT(1), SGT(2), and SGT(3).


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Police officers in the various divisions are armed when conducting regular uniformed patrols and plainclothes duties. Officers from different units are issued with different weapons.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The five-shot .38 Taurus Model 85 with 3-inch barrel featuring a laser sight by Crimson Trace is the standard issued sidearm of the Singapore Police Force with 10 rounds of ammunition. In 2015, the SPF purchased a number of CZ P-07 semi-automatic pistols. From 2016, selected officers were issued with the pistols as a trial. In 2019, it was announced that the Glock 19 was chosen as a replacement to the Taurus revolver. In addition to the use of the handguns, the police also use the Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun and the Remington 870 shotgun.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Extendable batons were initially used by specialist units such as Security Command and Special Operations Command, however, it has since been used by officers from other front-line units, replacing the Monadnock PR-21 side-handle baton. Sabre Red pepper spray canisters are exclusively equipped to the officers of Police Coast Guard and Police Tactical Unit. A pair of handcuffs is issued to the officers as restraints.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The Taser X26E stun gun was procured in the late 2000s and is part of the officers' equipment, which provides another non-lethal means of subduing suspects. Despite safety concerns due to incidents experienced by foreign police forces, the weapon was deemed suitable for use by trained personnel, and was rolled out across other NPCs. In 2018, the Taser X26E was replaced with the X26P model.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Land division officers typically patrol and respond to calls in vehicles known as the Fast Response Car (FRC). Car models that have been used by the SPF include the Subaru Impreza TS 1.6.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: In 2005, the SPF introduced the new Fast Response Vehicle (FRV), consisting of modified Toyota Hi-Lux sport utility vehicles with a back compartment to carry equipment.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: In 2009, the SPF introduced Forward Command Vehicles. These were replaced in 2017 by Division Command Vehicles with greater mobility designed to enhance command, control and coordination. In addition, the SPF introduced new unmanned aerial vehicles with red and blue siren lights, a searchlight, a high-definition camera and an audio warning system. The UAVs are controlled by two-man teams (consisting of a pilot and a safety officer) and are designed to conduct search and rescue operations, attending public order incidents, traffic management, hostage situations and crowd monitoring.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Police from the Community Policing Units may also patrol in residential neighbourhoods on bicycles. At the 2007 Singapore National Day Parade, the Singapore Police Force unveiled a Tenix S600 APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) had been purchased for its operations for the Special Operations Command, and in NDP 2015, the Achleitner HMV Survivor and the Gurkha MPV by Terradyne Armored Vehicles Inc was unveiled.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: The various specialist units may also make use of other specialised equipment specific to their scope of duty


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Police officers are governed by the Police Force Act (Chapter 235) and its Police Regulations (Chapter 235, Section 28 and 117) of the Singapore Statutes. The disciplinary offences can be found in its schedule. Misfeasance and malfeasance such as blue wall of silence, conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, corruption, misconduct and malicious prosecution are referred to the Internal Affairs Office (IAO). The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) can be consulted to advise the police on its disciplinary proceedings. Police officers can whistleblow their colleagues' official misconducts and wrongdoings by filing official police reports themselves to officially open investigation papers against lawless officers of the law. Full-time police national servicemen are also subjected to the Police (Special Constabulary) Regulations (Chapter 235, Section 85).


title: Singapore Police Force

text: SPF HQ spokesperson routinely issues official statements stating that its officers are not only expected to uphold the law, but also to maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. The spokesperson added that SPF deals severely with officers who break the law, including charging them in court. Also, SPF usually commence disciplinary proceedings against the officers involved, and as well as suspend them pending internal investigations.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: In March 1976, one of Singapore's top prominent senior lawyers, the late Subhas Anandan, was arrested by a corrupt policeman for suspected involvement in a secret society under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act. He was remanded without trial in a prison for a few months. Subhas was exonerated and acquitted in November of the same year, following an investigation probe by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: On 10 July 2013, ex-policeman Senior Staff Sergeant Iskandar Rahmat — a 14-year veteran award-winning investigation officer — killed a car workshop owner and the man's son, and has since been on the death row from 2017 onward, after failing in his appeal and president clemency against the death sentence. The case was known as the Kovan double murders in Singapore media.


title: Singapore Police Force

text: Through the Public Affairs Department, SPF has collaborated with the media industry to produce content that supports and promote the mission and brand of the organisation.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine has been estimated to possess natural gas reserves of over 1 trillion cubic meters, and in 2018 was ranked 26th among countries with proved reserves of natural gas. Its total gas reserves have been estimated at 5.4 trillion cubic meters. In 2021, Ukraine produced 19.8 billion cubic meters (bcm or Gm) of natural gas. To satisfy domestic demand of 27.3 bcm that year, Ukraine relied on gas imports (2.6 bcm) and withdrawal from underground storage (4.9 bcm). Winter demand can reach 150 mcm per day. To meet domestic demand, Ukraine plans to increase domestic natural gas output to 27 bcm.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: During Soviet times, Ukraine produced a record of 68.7 bcm in 1976. At the time of independence in 1991 production was at 26.6 bcm, and fell in the 1990s to about 18 bcm. Since the mid-2000s production has stabilised between 20 and 21 bcm. According to a report issued by the OECD, over 70% of domestic gas production is extracted by UkrGasVydobuvannya, a subsidiary of the state-owned company Naftogaz. Private gas production companies in Ukraine are DTEK Oil&Gas, Ukrnaftoburinnya, Burisma, Smart Energy, Poltava Petroleum Company, Geo Alliance Group, and KUB-GAS.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine stopped buying gas from Russia in November 2015 to reduce gas dependence after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, but instead buys it indirectly from traders in Western Europe as part of the Russian gas that transits through Ukraine. In earlier disputes in 2006 and 2008, Russia stopped gas delivery to the country. In 2009, 80% of the European Union gas from Russia was delivered via Ukraine as transit country.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Domestic production peaked in 1975 at 68.1 billion cubic meters (bcm). Since then production gradually declined, stabilising in recent years at around 20 bcm.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine aimed to increase natural gas production in the Black Sea from 1 bcm in 2011 to 3 bcm in 2015. In 2012, Black Sea production reached 1.2 bcm and was predicted to rise to 1.65 bcm in 2013.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukrainian government plans predicted that by 2030 about half of Ukraine's production will come from non-traditional gas deposits (including 6-11 bcm of shale gas a year).


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: In 2012, Naftogaz and China Development Bank signed a deal to switch power and chemical production plants from natural gas to coal gasification technologies developed by China in order to reduce reliance on imported gas.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine is a major natural gas consumer, being ranked thirteenth in the world and fifth in Europe. Consumption levels have fallen from 118 bcm in 1991 to less than 55 bcm in 2012, and from 50.4 bcm in 2013 to 29.8 bcm in 2019. Heavy industry is the largest consumer of natural gas in Ukraine (accounting for 40% of domestic consumption) followed by households (over 30%) and communal heating systems for government buildings and residential properties (20%). It is estimated that 9% of gas is wasted.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Naftogaz stated on 17 December 2013 that only four Ukrainian Oblasts (provinces) made regular payments for natural gas.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine announced on 26 March 2014 that household natural gas prices would rise by 50% from 1 May 2014 in order to receive an IMF $14bn-$18bn rescue package.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: In the first seven months of 2014, gas consumption in Ukraine fell by 15%; this was amidst the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Despite its own production of natural gas, Ukraine still had to import about 80% of its natural gas needs in 1999. After 2008, the Ukrainian volume of imports of natural gas dropped. According to estimates from 2017, Ukraine domestically supplies 63.8% of its own gas consumption, whereas 36.2% is imported from other countries. Traditionally, Ukraine imported natural gas mainly from Turkmenistan and Russia (about two-thirds of its gas in 2012). Since November 2012, Ukraine has diversified its suppliers of imported natural gas. On 9 January 2014, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytsky stated that Ukraine (at that time) will buy only Russian natural gas "because it's currently the most profitable".


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: On 16 June 2014, Russia halted its natural gas supplies to Ukraine because Ukraine refused to pay a debt to Gazprom of $4.5 billion that had arisen after Russia denounced the 2010 Kharkiv Pact on 31 March 2014. In June 2014, Ukraine increased imports of natural gas from Poland and Hungary. Ukraine has not bought gas directly from Russia since 2015, sourcing it instead from traders of the gas which is transported through Ukraine to be sold elsewhere in Europe.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Disputes over gas prices lead to several economic conflicts with Russia since 1990. After 2004, Russia began to steadily raise the price of its natural gas exports to Ukraine, aiming to bring prices in line with the rates paid by other European states. Until 2005, Ukraine was charged $50 per 1,000 cm; the price rose to $426 per 1,000 cm in 2012. In January 2013, Ukraine paid $430 per 1,000 cm.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: These rapid price increases raised Ukraine's annual cost of gas imports from less than $4 billion in 2005 to $14 billion in 2011 and 2012. Natural gas is Ukraine's biggest import at present and is the main cause of the country's structural trade deficit.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: In the 17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan, it was agreed that the cost of Russian natural gas supplied to Ukraine would be lowered to $268 per 1,000 cubic metres from a price of more than $400 in December 2013.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: During the Russo-Ukrainian War which started in February 2014 with the Russian military invasion of Crimea, severe tensions extended to the gas sector. The EU commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger was called in to broker a deal securing supplies to Ukraine and transit to the EU. The package signed on 30 October 2014 included Russian supplies of gas to Ukraine in the period of November 2014 through March 2015, conditioned on the payment of undisputed Ukrainian gas debt ($3 billion). The price for November and December 2014 was set at $378 per thousand cubic meters, to be adjusted in January. Deliveries were to be prepaid. During that winter Ukrainian monopoly Naftogaz was able to import limited quantities of gas from the EU (reverse flow from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary) at Central European hub prices, around $250 per thousand cubic meters.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Due to severe drop of oil market price (the price halved from mid-2014 to end of the year) Gazprom had to reduce the oil-linked gas price. On 9 January 2014, Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom signed a supplement to the Russian-Ukrainian gas contract, setting the price of natural gas for Ukraine in the first quarter of 2014 at $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Since the end of gas purchases from the Russian Federation in November 2015, Ukraine has started to purchase natural gas from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, and is planning to provisional a pipeline from Romania through Moldova. There is no physical reverse flow yet, but a virtual reverse flow, aka "netting". Ukraine buys natural gas from international gas traders as part of the volumes that Gazprom sends westwards through Ukraine as transit country.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: In 2020, Ukraine transited more natural gas than any other country in the world, and it remains the main transit route for Russian natural gas sold to Europe, which earns Ukraine about $3 billion a year in transit fees, making it the country's most lucrative export service. Following Russia's launch of the Nord Stream pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine, gas transit volumes have been steadily decreasing. In 2004, more than 120 bcm of Russian gas was transported through Ukraine; this figure dropped to just 84 bcm in 2012.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Russia–Ukraine gas disputes left many countries with a significant drop in their supplies when Russia cut off all natural gas supplies passing through Ukraine in 2009 and 2006.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine's largest natural gas fields are about 80-85% depleted, although there are still large quantities of unexploited gas reserves stored in hard-to-reach areas or solid rock. Ukraine has Europe's third-largest shale gas reserves at 1.2 trillion cubic meters (tcm). There are two potentially large shale gas fields. The Yuzivska gas field located in Donetsk Oblast (province) and Kharkiv Oblast, and the Olesska gas field in Lviv Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Ukraine signed a 50-year production sharing agreement with Royal Dutch Shell on 25 January 2013 involving the Yuzivska shale gas field. The $10 billion deal was the largest foreign direct investment ever for Ukraine. Full shale gas production was expected to depend on successful results from 15 test wells. On 13 September 2013, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that the (containing all expenditures) price of shale gas will be $120–130 per 1,000 cubic meters.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: On 5 November 2013, Ukraine signed a $10 billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with Chevron Corporation to develop the Olesska gas field. The Ukrainian government projected that the Yuzivska and Olesska projects together could provide Ukraine with an additional 11 to 16 bcm of natural gas per year by 2018. By 2030, a production of 6-11 bcm of shale gas a year is called for in Ukrainian Government plans.


title: Natural gas in Ukraine

text: Ukraine originally expected commercial shale gas extraction to begin in 2017, but Shell pulled out of the Yuzivska project in 2015 as a consequence of the war in the Donbas region, located near the field, a collapse in European natural gas prices, and opposition from local residents. Similarly, Chevron abandoned the Olesska project in the West of Ukraine due to increased geopolitical risks and a collapse in European natural gas prices.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: A Flying Jatt is a 2016 Indian superhero film co-written and directed by Remo D'Souza and produced under the banner of Balaji Motion Pictures. It features Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nathan Jones in the lead roles. "A Flying Jatt" narrates the story of Aman Dhillon, a teenager (Shroff) who gains superpowers from a divine tree.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: The film released worldwide on 25 August 2016 on Janmashtami weekend. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Wealthy and influential builder Mr. Rakesh Malhotra has built a factory on the shore of a lake into which pollutants and toxic waste are released. He wants to build a bridge across it for faster transportation. Still, He cannot do so due to a sacred tree present on the other side of the lake on a piece of land that belongs to Mrs. Dhillon, a religious but irrepressible Punjabi woman living with her son Aman Dhillon and his brother, Rohit Dhillon. Aman is a martial arts teacher in a school and has a crush on Kirti, a fellow teacher. After Malhotra fails to intimidate the Dhillon family into selling their land, he brings in Raka, a mercenary, to get the job done. Raka arrives at the tree with a chainsaw, but Aman is present there and tries to stop him. Raka beats Aman badly but moments, before he tries to decapitate him with the chainsaw, saw a lightning bolt hits the tree. The impact flings Raka away, and he lands amongst barrels of toxic waste outside Malhotra's factory.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: The next morning, Aman finds himself in his bed alive with no sign of any injury and presumes all that happened to be a dream. He also notices a khanda that has appeared on his back, the same symbol which was carved on the tree and had been imprinted on him during the attack. Later that day, he and his brother notice a few unusual things happening to him, such as increased agility and the ability to absorb information by touching objects. After escaping an ambush using super speed, Rohit and his mother confirm that Aman has somehow gained superpowers. She immediately declares him a superhero. After making him a costume and showing him several superhero films for inspiration, Aman's mother tells him the story of his father, Sardar Kartar Singh Dhillon, a Sikh who went to Shaolin to learn martial arts and was named "Flying Jatt". She asks Aman to take up the legacy of his father and keep Flying Jatt as his superhero name to which he agrees. Although his superhero exploits get off to a rocky start, Flying Jatt is soon recognized when he saves hostages from a terrorist attack at an airport. As he gains even more success being a hero, Aman proposes to Kirti and reveals his secret identity to her.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Raka is found alive but is now stronger and more dangerous than before after being exposed to the pollutants at the factory, which further exposure continues to make him even more powerful. Aman goes on to battle him several times, beating Raka each time before finally becoming gravely injured in a brutal fight. To save him from further pain, his brother Rohit goes in his place as Flying Jatt and gets brutally beaten by Raka and dies. After this, Aman is very angry about the death of his brother and kills Raka, and becomes a Sikh Sardar.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: A Flying Jatt received mixed-to-negative reviews, who appreciated cast performance, visual effects, music direction and action sequences, but criticised for script, narration, pace, inconsistent tone, clichès and direction. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "A Flying Jatt" has an approval rating of 43% on the basis of 7 reviews with an average rating of 4.8 out of 10.


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Srijana Mitra Das from The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "Tiger does a neat job as Aman, shivering superhero who fights crime but also buys 'do kilo lauki' on the way home".


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Firstpost said, "The film's comedy, occasional inventiveness and aura of innocence are what make it effective in its own way, despite the lack of depth. D'souza had displayed his natural wit even in his first film F.A.L.T.U. in 2011. A Flying Jatt could have been so much better than what it is, if he had not kept one eye fixed Westward for inspiration. This one is perhaps best suited to the very very young."


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Sarita Tanwar from Daily News and Analysis gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "You'll need superhero levels of patience to watch this".


title: A Flying Jatt

text: Anupama Chopra from the Hindustan Times gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, and said "The first half of A Flying Jatt has moments of fun – I loved that despite being a superhero he has a fear of heights, so he flies very close to the ground. But post-interval, laughter takes a back seat."


title: A Flying Jatt

text: HuffPost critic Suprateek Chatterjee asked the question, "Why does this even exist?" and stated, "Remo D'Souza's superhero flick is a symbol of Bollywood's laziness and creative bankruptcy".


title: A Flying Jatt

text: "A Flying Jatt" has been made into a graphic novel by Thought Bubbles Studio Planet. The story continues where the film ends.


title: Maladolescenza

text: The film caused significant controversy because of its simulated sex scenes involving underage actresses. Because of these scenes, it was banned in several countries, being labeled as child pornography.


title: Maladolescenza

text: Laura (Lara Wendel, age 11y 5mo ) and Fabrizio (Martin Loeb, age 18) have been meeting every summer in the forest by her parents' summer home. Fabrizio is a solitary boy with only his dog for company; Laura is a sweet girl, but she lacks confidence. This summer new aspects enter into their story as both are growing up. The film represents them as part child, part adult. Part naive, part knowing. Laura is falling in love with Fabrizio, while he displays a new sexual awareness of her masked by his malice.


title: Maladolescenza

text: Fabrizio becomes inexplicably cruel. He accelerates his unwarranted torment of Laura in many ways, including tying her up and putting a snake near her and killing a pet bird she is fond of. Fabrizio prides himself on being 'king of the forest' and rubbishes Laura's tender attempts to be his queen. One day they climb the "Blue Mountain", a mysterious tall mountain at the forest's edge and discover ancient building ruins. Exploring these they find a cave. Inside, Fabrizio seduces Laura.


title: Maladolescenza

text: Fabrizio's cruel streak is boosted by his new sexual confidence. At one point he virtually forces himself on Laura, much to her upset. He does relent when she makes it clear she wants Fabrizio to be gentle with her, which he ridicules.


title: Maladolescenza

text: Things develop further when they meet Sylvia (Eva Ionesco, age 11yr 2mo). Unlike the previously virginal Laura, Sylvia is confident and assertive. Fabrizio develops a fascination with her, eventually bribing Laura to fetch her to the forest to join them in play. Sylvia, aware of Fabrizio's interest in her, asserts herself in his affections, quickly replacing Laura and demoting her to servant and victim, which Fabrizio takes delight in. Laura, reluctant to leave her old friend and new lover, stays and becomes the target of the duo's ever progressing cruelty. At one point, they both 'hunt' Laura with bows and arrows and at another, pretend to throw her off a high ledge. They make love in front of her, insisting her punishment is that she must watch, leaving Laura confused and heartbroken.


title: Maladolescenza

text: At the end of summer, with the girls talking about returning to school, Fabrizio becomes pensive and agitated. He insists on taking Sylvia to the ruins for the first time. All three of them go into the cave to escape a thunderstorm and Fabrizio again pretends they are lost as he did with Laura. Sylvia breaks down sobbing for her mother, all traces of her confidence and maturity lost in the fear of being in the cave. Fabrizio repeatedly begs Sylvia to stay with him forever. In the morning, Sylvia is still lost in the cave and further rejects the desperate Fabrizio and his pleas to stay with him. She becomes hysterical and he kills her with a knife, feeling it is the only way he won't lose her. He stays with the dead body and gives Laura the flashlight telling her she knows the way home and Laura reluctantly leaves. The film ends with a translation of the poem "Akarsz-e játszani" ("Would You Like to Play?") by Hungarian writer Dezső Kosztolányi.


title: Maladolescenza

text: The film was co-produced by two Munich companies as well as an Italian enterprise, filmed from 17 August to 16 September 1976, in upper Austria and Kärnten. Chosen to play Sylvia was young Eva Ionesco, herself no stranger to controversy, as her mother was infamous in their native France for her photos featuring a then five-year-old Ionesco in semi-sexual artistic photography.


title: Maladolescenza

text: In May 1977, at the press conference for the presentation of the film, Eva Ionesco said it was "vulgar, shocking and useless".


title: Maladolescenza

text: "Maladolescenza" is known primarily for its use of a young actor and two 11-year-old pubescent actresses in scenes involving both nudity and simulated sex. It's largely unseen in all but a few countries primarily for this reason.


title: Maladolescenza

text: In Germany, although released uncut in cinemas at 91 minutes in 1977, public outcry caused for several scenes to be removed on its home video releases, namely all instances of nudity, sexuality and death involving children, bringing the running time down to 77 minutes.


title: Maladolescenza

text: In 2004, a German cult DVD distributor restored these cuts in a re-mastered version running at 91 minutes. This version was later banned in a German court on 28 July 2006, condemning the material as child pornography, successfully withdrawing all copies from distribution.


title: Maladolescenza

text: In 2010, a Dutch court ruled that the movie qualifies as child pornography because it depicts the sexual exploitation of children.


title: Maladolescenza

text: Its worldwide circulation is largely unknown to this day, including in Italy and France where seemingly no DVD or home video releases have ever been made available.


title: Maladolescenza

text: The music was recorded in stereo at Dirmaphon Studios, Rome, Italy. The original release contained the first 18 tracks.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: A cryptic crossword is a crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth nations, including Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, and South Africa. Compilers of cryptic crosswords are commonly called "setters" in the UK and "constructors" in the US.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Cryptic crossword puzzles come in two main types: the basic cryptic in which each clue answer is entered into the diagram normally, and "themed" or "variety" cryptics, in which some or all of the answers must be altered before entering, usually in accordance with a hidden pattern or rule which must be discovered by the solver.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Cryptic crosswords originated in the UK. The first British crossword puzzles appeared around 1923 and were purely definitional, but from the mid-1920s they began to include cryptic material: not cryptic clues in the modern sense, but anagrams, classical allusions, incomplete quotations, and other references and wordplay. Torquemada (Edward Powys Mathers), who set for "The Saturday Westminster" from 1925 and for "The Observer" from 1926 until his death in 1939, was the first setter to use cryptic clues exclusively and is often credited as the inventor of the cryptic crossword.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: The first newspaper crosswords appeared in the "Sunday" and "Daily Express" from about 1924. Crosswords were gradually taken up by other newspapers, appearing in the "Daily Telegraph" from 1925, "The Manchester Guardian" from 1929 and "The Times" from 1930. These newspaper puzzles were almost entirely non-cryptic at first and gradually used more cryptic clues, until the fully cryptic puzzle as known today became widespread. In some papers this took until about 1960. Puzzles appeared in "The Listener" from 1930, but this was a weekly magazine rather than a newspaper, and the puzzles were much harder than the newspaper ones, though again they took a while to become entirely cryptic. Composer Stephen Sondheim, a lover of puzzles, is credited with introducing cryptic crosswords to American audiences, through a series of puzzles he created for "New York" magazine in 1968 and 1969.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Torquemada's puzzles were extremely obscure and difficult, and later setters reacted against this tendency by developing a standard for fair clues, ones that can be solved, at least in principle, by deduction, without needing leaps of faith or insights into the setter's thought processes.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: The basic principle of fairness was set out by "Listener" setter Afrit (Alistair Ferguson Ritchie) in his book "Armchair Crosswords" (1946), wherein he credits it to the fictional "Book of the Crossword":


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Here the composer intends the answer to be "derby", with "hat" the definition, "could be" the anagram indicator, and "be dry" the anagram fodder. I.e., "derby" is an anagram of "be dry". But "be" is doing double duty, and this means that any attempt to read the clue cryptically in the form "[definition] [anagram indicator] [fodder]" fails: if "be" is part of the anagram indicator, then the fodder is too short, but if it is part of the fodder, there is no anagram indicator; to be a correct clue it would have to be "Hat could be be dry (5)", which is ungrammatical. A variation might read "Hat turns out to be dry (5)", but this also fails because the word "to", which is necessary to make the sentence grammatical, follows the indicator ("turns out") even though it is not part of the anagram indicated.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Torquemada's successor at "The Observer" was Ximenes (Derrick Somerset Macnutt), and in his influential work, "Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword Puzzle" (1966), he set out more detailed guidelines for setting fair cryptic clues, now known as "Ximenean principles" and sometimes described by the phrase "square-dealing". The most important of them are tersely summed up by Ximenes' successor Azed (Jonathan Crowther):


title: Cryptic crossword

text: The Ximenean principles are adhered to most strictly in the subgenre of "advanced cryptics" — difficult puzzles using barred grids and a large vocabulary. Easier puzzles often have more relaxed standards, permitting a wider array of clue types, and allowing a little flexibility. The popular "Guardian" setter Araucaria (John Galbraith Graham) was a noted non-Ximenean, celebrated for his witty, if occasionally unorthodox, clues.


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Most of the major national newspapers in the UK carry both cryptic and concise (quick) crosswords in every issue. The puzzle in "The Guardian" is well loved for its humour and quirkiness, and quite often includes puzzles with themes, which are extremely rare in "The Times".


title: Cryptic crossword

text: Many Canadian newspapers, including the "Ottawa Citizen", "Toronto Star" and "The Globe and Mail", carry cryptic crosswords.