title: USS Olympia (C-6)

text: As a result of the summit, the ISM searched for another nonprofit organization to assume stewardship of the "Olympia" to provide for her maintenance and restoration. On 6 March 2011, the ISM published a Transfer Application (TAPP) similar to a Request for Proposals. Those who qualified to apply for the TAPP include domestic governmental organizations and not-for-profit organizations with valid 501(c)(3) (charitable) IRS status. Several organizations from the East, Gulf and West Coasts submitted applications to preserve and display the "Olympia". Only four were found to be acceptable, from Pennsylvania, California, South Carolina and Washington DC. On 7 May 2011, the National Trust for Historic Preservation set up a national donation repository to allow donations received through it to be used directly for the much-needed temporary and future hull repairs. The ISM, although originally committed to giving up the vessel, will manage any repair work undertaken, should funds become available.


title: USS Olympia (C-6)

text: In April 2014, the ISM announced the end of the TAPP process as it could not find an organization that could present a viable, long-term solution for the ship. The "Olympia" will remain in Philadelphia and the ISM plans to launch a $20 million national fundraising campaign for her long-term preservation.


title: USS Olympia (C-6)

text: The ISM has renewed its commitment to restoring the vessel and has engaged in several preservation projects which were funded in large part by grants from the National Park Service, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, the Jennifer Pritzker's Tawani Foundation and Herman S. Pollock Foundation, as well as private donations. Over the past several decades, the Museum invested over $10 million to maintain the "Olympia." Some of the most notable repairs to the cruiser before 2014 include removing 30 tons of asbestos and other contaminants, conducting safety upgrades, and drafting the necessary engineering and planning work.


title: USS Olympia (C-6)

text: In 2015, the "Olympia" received multiple grants including $169,850.00 from the National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program to continue work on interim repairs of deteriorating hull plates and deck leaks. Between April and August 2015, four 4-foot by 7-foot sections of the hull at the waterline were cleaned, scaled to bare metal, and treated with ceramic epoxy, and new bottom paint. This was accomplished using a custom-made mobile surface-piercing cofferdam. In 2017, the Museum replaced "Olympia's" old gangways for easier and safer access, restored the signal bridge, restored the Admiral and Captain's skylights, and constructed replicas of historic benches, mess lockers and mess tables.


title: USS Olympia (C-6)

text: In 2017, the Museum announced that it would embark on a major national fundraising campaign to raise $20 million to drydock the vessel so that the hull can finally be fully repaired. The restoration efforts are part of a larger plan to make the vessel more accessible and to educate the public about the cultural and historic significance of "Olympia." In May 2017, the Independence Seaport announced a semi-permanent exhibit featuring the "Olympia," entitled "World War I USS Olympia," opening on June 16, 2017.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese science fiction novels in North America.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, Harriet McDougal, and Jim Baen in 1980 (Baen would found his own imprint three years later). They were soon joined by Barbara Doherty and Katherine Pendill, who then composed the original startup team.


title: Tor Books

text: "" is a word meaning a rocky pinnacle, as depicted in Tor's logo. Tor Books was sold to St. Martin's Press in 1987. Along with St. Martin's Press; Henry Holt; and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, it became part of the Holtzbrinck group, now part of Macmillan in the US.


title: Tor Books

text: In June 2019, Tor and other Macmillan imprints moved from the Flatiron Building, to larger offices in the Equitable Building.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group. There is also the Forge imprint that publishes an array of fictional titles, including historical novels and thrillers. Tor Books also publishes two imprints for young readers: Starscape (for readers 10 years of age and up) and Tor Teen (for readers 13 years of age and up). Tor Books also has the Tordotcom imprint that focuses on short works such as novellas, shorter novels and serializations.


title: Tor Books

text: A United Kingdom sister imprint, Tor UK, also exists and specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, while also publishing young-adult crossover fiction based on computer-game franchises. Tor UK briefly maintained an open submission policy, which ended in January 2013.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor Teen publishes young-adult novels such as Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" and repackages novels such as Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" for younger readers.


title: Tor Books

text: A German sister imprint, Fischer Tor, was founded in August 2016 as an imprint of S. Fischer Verlag (which also belongs to Holtzbrinck Publishing Group). It publishes international titles translated into German, as well as original German works. Fischer Tor also publishes the German online magazine "Tor Online", which is based on the same concept as the English "Tor.com" online magazine, but has its own independent content.


title: Tor Books

text: Authors published by Tor and Forge include: Kevin J. Anderson, Kage Baker, Steven Brust, Orson Scott Card, Jonathan Carroll, Myke Cole, Charles de Lint, Philip K. Dick, Cory Doctorow, Steven Erikson, Sarah Gailey, Terry Goodkind, Steven Gould, Eileen Gunn, James Gunn, Brian Herbert, Glen Hirshberg, Robert Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Richard Matheson, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Andre Norton, Harold Robbins, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, V. E. Schwab, Skyler White, and Gene Wolfe.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor UK has published authors such as Douglas Adams, Rjurik Davidson, Amanda Hocking, China Miéville, Adam Nevill, and Adrian Tchaikovsky.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor publishes a range of its works as e-books and, in 2012, Doherty announced that his imprints would sell only DRM-free e-books by July of that year. One year later, Tor stated that the removal of DRM had not harmed its e-book business, so they would continue selling them DRM-free.


title: Tor Books

text: In July 2018, Macmillan Publishers and Tor prompted a boycott spread across social media websites and library bulletin boards after they announced that Tor's e-books would no longer be made available for libraries to purchase and lend to borrowers, via digital distribution services such as OverDrive, until four months after their initial publication date. The company cited the "direct and adverse impact" of electronic lending on retail eBook sales but suggested that the change was part of a "test program" and could be reevaluated.


title: Tor Books

text: Tor won the "Locus Magazine" poll for best science fiction publisher in 33 consecutive years from 1988 to 2022 inclusive.


title: Tor Books

text: In March 2014, "Worlds Without End" listed Tor as the second-most awarded and nominated publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror books, after Gollancz. At that time, Tor had received 316 nominations and 54 wins for 723 published novels, written by 197 authors. In the following year, Tor surpassed Gollancz to become the top publisher on the list.


title: Tor Books

text: By March 2018, Tor's record had increased to 579 nominations and 111 wins, across 16 tracked awards given in the covered genres, with a total of 2,353 published novels written by 576 authors.


title: Madge Blake

text: Madge Blake (née Cummings; May 31, 1899 – February 19, 1969) was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ABC sitcom "Leave It to Beaver", as Flora MacMichael on the ABC/CBS sitcom "The Real McCoys", and as Aunt Harriet Cooper in 96 episodes of ABC's "Batman". Gene Kelly had a special affection for her and included her in each of his films following her role in "An American in Paris".


title: Madge Blake

text: Blake was born in Kinsley in Edwards County, south-central Kansas, to Albert Cummings and the former Alice Stone. Her father was a Methodist circuit rider who discouraged her from becoming an actress, thus she did not enter acting until later in life, despite her family's relocation from Kansas to Southern California.


title: Madge Blake

text: During World War II, Blake and her husband James Lincoln Blake worked in Utah on construction of the detonator for the atomic bomb and performed such jobs as testing equipment destined for the Manhattan Project. The couple received a citation for their work from the U.S. government.


title: Madge Blake

text: Blake was a first cousin of actor Milburn Stone (her mother and his father were sister and brother), who played the role of Doc Adams on "Gunsmoke" Western series. She did not begin to study acting until she was 50 years old, when she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse and took advantage of whatever influence or contacts Milburn Stone had to land acting roles. In the middle 1950s, Blake appeared on Rod Cameron's "City Detective" and in Ray Milland's sitcom "Meet Mr. McNutley", renamed in the second season as "The Ray Milland Show". Blake appeared in four episodes of the NBC sitcom "It's a Great Life" (1954–1956) and twice on CBS's "December Bride", with Spring Byington.


title: Madge Blake

text: Blake portrayed gushy gossip columnist Dora Bailey in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) and was a model for one of the fairies (Fauna) in Walt Disney's animated version of "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). She appeared as Mrs. Porter, a babysitter, in the 1959 pilot of CBS's "Dennis the Menace". About this time, she was cast in a guest-starring role in the sitcoms "Guestward, Ho!", with Joanne Dru on ABC, and "Angel", with Annie Fargé on CBS. In 1960, she guest-starred in "Tom Cuts Off the Credit," the premiere episode of the sitcom "The Tom Ewell Show" starring Tom Ewell. In 1961, she guest-starred in the episode "A View of Murder" of the syndicated crime drama "The Brothers Brannagan". Blake's Flora MacMichael was a romantic foil to Walter Brennan's Grandpa Amos McCoy on "The Real McCoys", a sitcom about a mountain family that relocated to Southern California.


title: Madge Blake

text: Before her role on "Batman", she had a recurring role on "The Jack Benny Program" as the president of the Jack Benny Fan Club - Pasadena Chapter. She played Millie Brinkerhoff in the episode "Instant Wedding" in the 1963 NBC military drama "The Lieutenant" starring Gary Lockwood in the title role, and Larry Mondello's mother on "Leave It to Beaver". Blake appeared in the pilot episode of "The Addams Family" (broadcast in the U.S in September 1964) as Miss Comstock, an official from the Addams' children's school. Blake also appeared in a memorable episode of "I Love Lucy" in 1957 with George Reeves guest-starring as Superman and in an earlier episode in 1954 as store clerk Mrs. Mulford. She played the mother of Joey Barnes on "The Joey Bishop Show" from 1961 to 1964. At one point, the producers of "Batman" wanted to fire Blake for unknown reasons. Adam West, with whom she had become friends, stood up for her and she kept her job. The next day, he found a freshly baked cake in his dressing room.


title: Madge Blake

text: Declining health caused Blake's role as Aunt Harriet to be reduced, and with the introduction of Batgirl in the third and final season of "Batman", she appeared in only two episodes that season in a guest role. Shortly before her death, she appeared as Mrs. Hardy in the episode "The Con Man" of the CBS sitcom "The Doris Day Show".


title: Madge Blake

text: Blake was admitted to Huntington Memorial Hospital where she died at age 69, the result of a heart attack. She was interred beside her mother in the family plot at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery.


title: Hans Münch

text: Hans Wilhelm Münch (14 May 1911 – 6 December 2001), also known as The Good Man of Auschwitz, was a German Nazi Party member who worked as an SS doctor during World War II at the Auschwitz concentration camp from 1943 to 1945 in German occupied Poland. He was acquitted of war crimes at a 1947 trial in Kraków.


title: Hans Münch

text: Münch was nicknamed "The Good Man of Auschwitz" for his refusal to assist in the mass murders there. He developed many elaborate ruses to keep inmates alive. He was the only person acquitted of war crimes at the 1947 Auschwitz trial in Kraków, where many inmates testified in his favour. After the war and the trial, he returned to Germany and worked as a practicing physician in Roßhaupten in Bavaria. While suffering from Alzheimer's in old age, he made several public remarks that appeared to support Nazi ideology, and was tried for inciting racial hatred and similar charges. Münch was never sentenced, as all courts ruled that he was not of sound mind. He died in 2001.


title: Hans Münch

text: After graduating from a gymnasium, Hans Münch studied medicine at the University of Tübingen and the Munich University. He was active in the political section of the (Reich’s leadership of university students). In 1934, he joined the NSDStB.— (National Socialist German Students' League)—and the NSKK— (National Socialist Motor Corps). In May 1937, he joined the NSDAP. He received his doctor's degree and married a physician in 1939.


title: Hans Münch

text: When World War II began, he replaced country doctors in their practices in the Bavarian countryside as they had been inducted into the army; Münch's attempt to enlist in the "Wehrmacht" was rejected as his work as a doctor was considered too important.


title: Hans Münch

text: In June 1943, he was recruited as a scientist by the Waffen-SS and was sent to the in Raisko, about from the main camp at Auschwitz. Münch worked alongside the infamous Josef Mengele, who was the same age and also came from Bavaria. Münch continued the bacteriological research he was known for before the war, as well as making occasional inspections of the camps and the prisoners.


title: Hans Münch

text: Along with other doctors, Münch was expected to participate in the "selections" at the camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, to decide who among the incoming Jewish men, women and children could work, who would be experimented on, and who would be murdered in the gas chambers. He found this abhorrent and refused to take part; this was confirmed by witnesses' testimony at his trial. The book on SS physicians of Auschwitz by Robert Jay Lifton (1986) mentions Münch as the only physician whose commitment to the Hippocratic oath proved stronger than that to the SS.


title: Hans Münch

text: While Münch did conduct human experiments, these were often elaborate farces intended to protect inmates, as experiment subjects who were no longer useful were usually killed. According to testimony from inmate Dr. Louis Micheels, Münch's last act before the camp was abandoned was to provide him with a revolver to assist his escape. After the evacuation of Auschwitz in 1945, Münch spent two months at the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.


title: Hans Münch

text: However, there are doubts as to the truth of this storyanother former inmate, Imre Gönczy alias "Emmerich," paints a very different picture: allegedly, Münch not only participated in selections, but also used the flesh of the dead bodies to cook a broth which was used as a medium for his microbes. He did infect people, including Gönczy, with rheumatism. The latter is still suffering from these experiments. They met shortly before Münch's death, and the meeting was covered by a journalist from the German newspaper "Die Welt". In the meeting, Münch said if he could go back in time and choose to go to Auschwitz again, he'd absolutely do it, because he saw it as a huge opportunity.


title: Hans Münch

text: After the war in 1945, Münch was arrested in a US internment camp after being identified as an Auschwitz physician. He was extradited to Poland in 1946 to stand trial in Kraków.


title: Hans Münch

text: He was specifically accused of injecting inmates with malaria-infected blood, and with a serum that caused rheumatism; however, many former prisoners testified in support of Münch in their witness speeches. The court acquitted him on 22 December 1947, "not only because he did not commit any crime of harm against the camp prisoners, but because he had a benevolent attitude toward them and helped them, while he had to carry the responsibility. He did this independently from the nationality, race-and-religious origin and political conviction of the prisoners." The court's acquittal was based, among other things, on his strict refusal to participate in the selections.


title: Hans Münch

text: Of the 40 Auschwitz staff tried in Kraków at the Auschwitz Trial, only Münch was acquitted. He was called the "Good Man of Auschwitz", who had saved prisoners from being murdered in the gas chambers.


title: Hans Münch

text: He took over a rural doctor's practice in Roßhaupten in Ostallgäu, Bavaria. In 1964, Münch testified in the first Auschwitz Trial in Frankfurt on Main and in the following trials, he was called on for his expert opinion.


title: Hans Münch

text: In West Germany, Münch took part in discussion meetings and commemoration ceremonies. He was appreciated for having saved many Auschwitz prisoners at the risk of his own life. In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, he made a journey back to the concentration camp. Münch was invited by Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of Josef Mengele's experiments on twins. Münch and Kor signed public declarations regarding what had happened there and declaring that such a thing should never be allowed to happen again.


title: Hans Münch

text: Münch has also commented on Holocaust denial. During an interview Münch, asked about the negationist claim that Auschwitz was a hoax, wearily responded:


title: Hans Münch

text: In 1998 Münch made several controversial statements which caused charges to be filed against him. In 1998, journalist Bruno Schirra published an interview with Münch, conducted a year earlier, in "Der Spiegel". Schirra and Münch had watched the film "Schindler's List", and the interview was conducted directly after the viewing.


title: Hans Münch

text: A few days later, Dirk Münch, Münch's son, publicly expressed his lack of comprehension of this interview. He explained that his father had been suffering from poor concentration for two years. He criticised the fact that "Schindler's List" had been watched directly before the interview, saying that this would have been very exhausting due to the film's three-hour length and his father's advanced age. Dirk Münch stated that, after the film, his father had even confused the female house cat Minka with the male cat Peter. A German filmmaker who made a documentary about Münch also stated that he was "non compos mentis". He was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.


title: Hans Münch

text: The Bavarian Justice Ministry initiated proceedings of criminal prosecution as a reaction to the interview. The (the Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes) opened preliminary proceedings. The authorities looked through Stasi-files from the secret police of East Germany (GDR) and demanded "Der Spiegel" hand over the tape recordings of the Münch interview in order to determine to what extent the public prosecutor should act. The assumptions of possible participation in National Socialist crimes were based on three indications:


title: Hans Münch

text: The criminal proceedings against Münch were dropped in January 2000 due to "progressed dementia". One year later, Münch died.


title: Hans Münch

text: Münch appeared in the documentary film "Die letzten Tage", which was released in 1999 in the US as "The Last Days" and in Germany in March 2000. As a contemporary witness, he met and talked with camp survivor Renée Firestone, whose sister was murdered in Auschwitz during experiments with humans. A film review pointed out that the American version of the film made no clear indication that Münch suffered from Alzheimer's disease at this time. Only the credits of the film provided this information and then only in French.


title: Hans Münch

text: In 1998, Münch made derogative statements about Roma and Sinti on the French radio programme France-Inter, where he said that the Roma were "pathetic" and the gas chambers would have been the only solution for them. Münch was accused of "incitement of racial hatred". He did not take part in the court hearing. A medical expert opinion had certified him "psychologically disturbed". The acquittal was based on this expert opinion. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on 7 May 2001 that the Paris appeal court had annulled the June 2000 acquittal.


title: Hans Münch

text: In May 2001, Münch was convicted in Paris for "incitement of racial hatred" and "belittlement of crimes against humanity". The prosecutor demanded not the imprisonment of Münch but his release on license. Münch was found guilty, but due to his old age and his mental health, the Paris appeal court decided that the 89-year-old Münch should not serve out the sentence. As in the previous proceedings, Münch did not attend the court hearings.


title: Hans Münch

text: In September 2001, the French Radio rebroadcast the 1998 interview with Münch. Lawyers Without Borders, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Union of Jewish Students in France lodged complaints. In 2002, all of the accused responsible staff members of the public-law broadcasting institution Radio France were acquitted of the accusation of assistance in incitement to race hatred. The reasoning of the court decision reads that all radio listeners would have understood that Münch's statements about Sinti and Roma and about NS-extermination camps were taken from the Nazi-propaganda.


title: Hans Münch

text: The Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future () has Hans Münch in its listings as a participant in malaria experiments on Auschwitz inmates; however, he is not listed for the malaria experiments in the Dachau concentration camp, which had taken place until 5 April 1945 under the direction of physician Claus Schilling.


title: Hans Münch

text: In 2002 and 2003, the Fritz Bauer-Institute in Frankfurt focused on the analysis of the first Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial and its effects on the socio-political-judicial-historical levels in the Federal Republic of Germany. There was an explicit invitation to participate in the series of public meetings and discussion events on perpetrators' and victims' biographies in the Nazi regime. On 4 November 2002, Prof. Dr. Helgard gave the lecture (SS-physicians in Auschwitz and in the first Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial).


title: Hans Münch

text: Within the context of Holocaust research, Helgard Kramer reports about details in a study from 2005: Hans Münch was heard in the first Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial and even called as an expert on 2 and 5 March 1964. Until the year 2000, the public prosecutor of Frankfurt had only knowledge about the judgement of the Kraków proceedings but not about the protocols and the witness hearings. Münch had stated that he had been forced into the Waffen-SS and that he had come to Birkenau at the end of 1944. During the discussion of the second hearing he corrected himself, stating that he had already arrived in 1943.


title: Hans Münch

text: The documents of the witness hearing provided the answer of Münch to the precise questions of the prosecutor during the main hearing of 1947:


title: Hans Münch

text: Münch was questioned about the medical experiments he had effected in Block 10. The questioning was stopped, when he demanded an expert colleague as interrogator. Professor Jan Sehn had prepared the Kraków Trial of 1947 as examining magistrate. He ordered Münch with the medical treatment of another inmate. He also sent the whole stack of files of the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen-SS in Raisko into his cell for "arranging". Then the files were kept by the Kraków journalist Mieczysław Kieta, who later on engaged himself with the most efforts for the exculpation of Münch. Kieta worked within the command range of the SS-Hygienics Institute as a laboratory assistant under the supervision of Münch.


title: Hans Münch

text: Several concentration camp inmates have certified the fairness of Münch. Three of them are often quoted. The Hungarian medical science professor Geza Mansfeld was regarded as the most important among them. He praised Münch, as he had prevented his selection for the gas chambers and who had given him drugs because Mansfeld suffered from a stomach ulcer. In return Münch obtained training in Serology, Bacteriology and Chemistry. Mansfeld was one of the internationally famous "capacities" in these fields and he was meant to provide his knowledge to the Hygienics Institute for free.


title: Luv Sinha

text: Luv Sinha (born 5 June 1983) is an Indian actor and politician who played the lead role in the Hindi film "Sadiyaan" (2010). He also starred in J. P. Dutta's "Paltan" (2018).


title: Luv Sinha

text: He contested in 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election from INC in Bankipur Constituency. But lost against Nitin Nabin from BJP by 39,036 votes.


title: Kweichow Moutai

text: Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd. is a partial publicly traded, partial state-owned enterprise in China, specializing in the production and sales of the spirit Maotai baijiu, together with the production and sale of beverage, food and packaging material, development of anti-counterfeiting technology, and research and development of relevant information technology products.


title: Kweichow Moutai

text: As of 2021, it is the largest beverage company in the world and China's most valuable non-technology company. In 2022, Kweichow Moutai overtook Tencent as China's largest company by market capitalization.


title: Kweichow Moutai

text: Its A shares were listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. It is one of the few Chinese listed companies whose share price had exceeded CNY100. The price reached CNY803.5 in 2018.


title: Kweichow Moutai

text: It is the world's largest distiller and the world's most valuable spirit company, having surpassed Diageo in April 2017.


title: Kweichow Moutai

text: Kweichow Moutai and Camus started the cooperation in 2004 and Camus became the worldwide exclusive distributor of Moutai products for the duty-free market.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Rosa" × "damascena (Latin for damascene rose), more commonly known as the Damask rose, or sometimes as Bulgarian rose, Turkish rose, Taif rose, Arab rose, Ispahan rose and Castile rose, is a rose hybrid, derived from "Rosa gallica" and "Rosa moschata". DNA analysis has shown that a third species, "Rosa fedtschenkoana", has made some genetic contributions to the Damask rose.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The flowers are renowned for their fine fragrance, and are commercially harvested for rose oil (either "rose otto" or "rose absolute") used in perfumery and to make rose water and "rose concrete". The flower petals are also edible. They may be used to flavor food, as a garnish, as an herbal tea, and preserved in sugar as gulkand.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The Damask rose is a deciduous shrub growing to tall, the stems densely armed with stout, curved prickles and stiff bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with five (rarely seven) leaflets. The roses are a light to moderate pink to light red. The relatively small flowers grow in groups. The bush has an informal shape. It is considered an important type of Old Rose, and also important for its prominent place in the pedigree of many other types.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The hybrid "Rosa" × "centifolia" is derived in part from "Rosa" × "damascena", as are Bourbon, Portland and hybrid perpetual roses.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The cultivar known as "Rosa gallica" forma "trigintipetala" or "Rosa damascena" 'Trigintipetala' is considered to be a synonym of "Rosa" × "damascena".


title: Rosa × damascena

text: "Rosa" × "damascena" is a cultivated flower that is not found growing wild. Recent genetic tests indicate that it is a hybrid of "R. moschata" x "R. gallica" crossed with the pollen of "Rosa fedtschenkoana", which indicates a probable origin in the foothills of central Asia or Iran.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The French Crusader Robert de Brie, who took part in the Siege of Damascus in 1148 at the second crusade, is sometimes credited for bringing the Damask rose from Syria to Europe. The name of the rose refers to the city of Damascus in Syria, known for its steel (Damask steel), fabrics (Damask) and roses.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Other accounts state that the ancient Romans brought it to their colonies in England, and a third account is that the physician of King Henry VIII gifted him one circa 1540.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: There is a history of fragrance production in Kabul Province of Afghanistan from the Damask rose. An attempt has been made to restore this industry as an alternative for farmers who produce opium.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Nirad Chaudhuri, the Bengali writer, recalls that Hindus in East Bengal did not cultivate it because it was "looked upon as an Islamic flower".


title: Rosa × damascena

text: "Rosa" × "damascena" is optimally cultivated in hedge rows to help protect the blooms from wind damage and to facilitate harvesting them. Gathering the flowers is intense manual labor. There are about 20–40 days per year when harvesting occurs, depending on the cultivar grown. The roses are gathered by hand and brought to a central location for steam distillation.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Iran, Bulgaria and Turkey are the most prolific producers of rose oil from the different cultivars of "Rosa" × "damascena". France and India also contribute significantly to the world market. Morocco, Tunisia, and some Middle Eastern nations also historically produced it, but their modern contribution is negligible. Other producers are Afghanistan and Chile.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: The towns of Kazanlak and Karlovo, Bulgaria has been inhabited for thousands of years. Most historians assume that the cultivation of the "Bulgarian rose", as "Rosa" × "damascena" is denominated in that region. It is reported that roses have been cultivated in the area since Roman times. It is cultivated for commercial use in an area in the vicinity of Kazanlak and Karlovo called the "Valley of Roses". The distillate from these roses is called "Bulgarian Rose Oil" and "Bulgarian Rose Otto".


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Turkish rose oil is sold as "Rose Oil", "Turkish Rose Otto", and "Rosa Damascena Attar", or "Ittar" in similar languages. While families still operate their own small distilleries and produce what is denominated "village oil", the commercialization of rose oil as a high quality product is carefully regulated by a state cooperative in the Isparta region of Turkey. The roses are still grown by the small family farms but the flowers are brought to stills established and regulated by the cooperative for distillation and quality control.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: India has also developed an industry producing rose oil, both "Rose Attar" and "Rose Absolutes", as well as "Rose Concrete". Perhaps due to the low labor cost, these products from India are less expensive than those from Bulgaria and Turkey.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Damask roses are used in cooking as a flavouring ingredient or spice. They are an ingredient in the spice mixture denominated "ras el hanout". Rose water and powdered roses are used in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. Rose water is often sprinkled on meat dishes, while rose powder is added to sauces. Chicken with rose is a popular dish in Middle Eastern cuisine. Whole flowers, or petals, are also used in the herbal tea "zuhurat". The most popular use, however, is in the flavoring of desserts such as ice cream, jam, Turkish delights, rice pudding, yogurt, etc.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: For centuries, the Damask rose has symbolized beauty and love. The fragrance of the rose has been captured and preserved in the form of rose water by a method that can be traced to ancient times in the Middle East and later to the Indian subcontinent.


title: Rosa × damascena

text: Modern Western cookery does not use roses or rose water much. However, it was a popular ingredient in ancient times and continued to be popular well into the Renaissance. It was most commonly used in desserts, and still is a flavour in traditional desserts such as marzipan or turrón. It has seen some revival in television cooking in the twenty-first century.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the "Street Fighter II" fighting game written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 6, 1994, was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, and was adapted into English in dubbed and subtitled format by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. It was distributed by Toei Company in Japan, while 20th Century Fox also distributed in other countries.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The film was a critical and commercial success. Group TAC later produced another loose adaptation of the "Street Fighter II" game, the anime series "Street Fighter II V". Though unrelated to the film, a handful of Animaze voice actors reprised their roles for their English dub of the series, produced after ADV Films's dub.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: A live-action film, "Street Fighter", was released on December 23, 1994, in the United States and May 6, 1995, in Japan by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: In the prologue, a fight between Japanese martial artist Ryu and Muay Thai champion Sagat rages until Ryu severely scars Sagat across the chest with a "Shoryuken", a rising uppercut attack that is empowered by ki spiritual energy. Enraged, Sagat charges at Ryu. However Ryu claims victory by launching his Hadouken, a technique where he charges his ki power into his hands and is fired off in the form of a powerful energy blast. Sagat vows revenge.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: A couple of years later, following the assassination of a Justice Minister by Cammy White, a hypnotized MI6 Agent, Interpol agent Chun-Li suggests that they join forces with the United States Military to destroy the enigmatic crime syndicate known as Shadowlaw. Captain Guile, who is out for revenge against Shadowlaw's leader, M. Bison, for the death of his best friend, initially refuses, but eventually relents when Chun-Li later tells him that Bison killed her father years ago and she herself wants revenge, but knows that her duty comes first. At the Shadowlaw base, Bison, along with his bodyguards Balrog, Vega, and Sagat, orders a worldwide manhunt for Ryu, determined to induct him into his organization, and sends out hundreds of monitor cyborgs to find more valuable martial artists for their cause. However, Ryu, who is traveling the world to seek out worthy challengers, such as Fei-Long, Dhalsim, and E. Honda, remains undetected due to suppressing his Ki.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Meanwhile, Ryu's American best friend and fighting rival, Ken Masters, has settled down with his girlfriend, Eliza, but still yearns for a good challenge and desires a rematch with Ryu. During a tussle with T. Hawk, who had sought out Ken to challenge him, Ken is seen by a monitor cyborg and the footage of the fight is sent to the Shadowlaw base. Bison sees the footage and learns of Ken's history with Ryu, and decides to hunt him down and hypnotize him in Ryu's stead. Along the way, Bison sees Chun-Li and Guile warning Dee Jay about the monitor cyborgs and destroying one in the process, and subsequently sends Vega to New York to kill Chun-Li. Vega ambushes Chun-Li in her apartment, but after a bloody fight, Chun-Li kicks Vega through the wall of the building and he falls to his death, yet she is badly wounded and falls into a coma. Guile arrives and rushes her to the hospital. He also learns of Ryu and Ken from Interpol, and after learning that Bison has captured Ken, Guile rushes to Thailand to warn Ryu, who is training in the mountains with E. Honda.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Bison, however, follows Guile and confronts them. He sets the hypnotized Ken on Ryu, who initially refuses to fight back. Honda battles Balrog while Guile faces Bison and is severely beaten, though Bison spares his life as a final insult. As Ryu prepares to retaliate against Ken, memories of their past wreak havoc on Ken's mind and he manages to break free of Bison's mind control. The enraged Bison unleashes his Psycho Power upon Ken and casts him afar before turning his attention to Ryu, who fights Bison with very little success. Ken uses his master's Ki teachings to mend his body and joins the fight. With their combined forces, Ryu and Ken eventually pummel Bison into submission and hurl a joint "Hadouken" at him, apparently destroying him. Honda defeats Balrog and rescues both Guile and Balrog. Shortly afterwards, the United States Military locate and destroy the entrance to Bison's base, presumably arresting all of Bison's subordinates and bringing Shadowlaw down.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Chun-Li makes a full recovery and reunites with Guile in the hospital, informing him that their mission was a success. Elsewhere, Ryu and Ken part ways once again and Ryu begins his journey anew. However, he is ambushed from behind by a huge truck, with the driver revealed to be Bison, who survived the battle. The film closes as Ryu leaps towards the truck to fight Bison again.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: A post-credits message promotes a Japan Spring 1995 release for the "Street Fighter" live-action film, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and the late legendary Raul Julia.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The movie was formally announced by Capcom Japan at a "Street Fighter II Turbo" tournament held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on August 19, 1993. Capcom produced the film on a budget of $6million. The fight sequences of the film were choreographed by K-1 founder Kazuyoshi Ishii and professional fighter Andy Hug.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Initially, Masashi Ikeda was announced as the director, but due to various circumstances, he was dropped out and replaced by Gisaburo Sugii.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Two English dubbed versions were released directly to VHS and LaserDisc in 1995 by SMV Enterprises in North America: a tamer PG-13 version, and an unrated cut which contains, among other things, a slightly more revealing shower scene featuring Chun-Li that is still censored from the original Japanese version. The movie was released in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment UK under license from Capcom. Manga's UK release is censored in a similar way to the US version, yet profanity is retained and is rated 15 by the BBFC. Manga's Australian release is entirely uncut and is rated M by the ACB. In addition, a slightly different version of the movie appears in both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the "Street Fighter Anniversary Collection" as a bonus feature accessible from "Hyper Street Fighter II"s Gallery Mode. It is more censored than the PG-13 version in terms of language, and contains some other minor edits not related to mature or vulgar content. The American VHS releases and the version in the North American "Street Fighter Anniversary Collection" were pan and scan while the Region 1 DVD has non-anamorphic widescreen. The European VHS version is non-anamorphic widescreen. These localized English versions replaced the original Japanese soundtrack in favor of licensed, popular alternative, Western soundtracks from KMFDM, Korn, Alice in Chains, Silverchair, and other bands, as well an instrumental score.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: An "Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed" DVD version of the movie was released in North America on July 18, 2006, and addresses the complaints made about the censored English versions of the film in 1995. Unlike the previous unrated version released in the US, which was still censored, this release is uncut from the original Japanese version and, for the first time (for non-Japanese releases of the movie), contains the original Japanese soundtrack in addition to the English soundtrack (both featuring a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix). It is a double-sided DVD, with one side containing the English dub with the English soundtrack and the other side containing the original Japanese voices with the original Japanese soundtrack with optional English subtitles.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The video on the English and Japanese sides differ, though, with the Japanese side having a new, higher quality transfer from the original Japanese master. Like the original Japanese release and the UK release, the movie is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. The addition of Chun-Li's shower scene and a longer credit roll also makes the Japanese cut of the film longer by three minutes. The dubbed US and UK versions are still slightly cut. The English dubbed version has two instances of the word "fuck" in the stereo mix.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Prior to the 2016 Discotek release, the Australian release by Manga & Madman Entertainment was the only version of the movie to date on either DVD or Blu-ray that is completely uncut outside Japan. At the time, Madman were not satisfied with the quality of any of the video masters available and instead created their own, using a transfer sourced from the original Japanese LaserDisc and applying both IVTC and DNR. The English dub on the disc is the original dub recorded by Manga Entertainment and Animaze, free from any editing of profanity and both English and Japanese dubs have been remixed into 5.1 audio. Easter eggs on the DVD contain three Japanese trailers for the movie as well as making available a version of the movie with the Japanese credits. The aspect ratio of the Australian release is an anamorphic 1.77:1.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: As part of their 2008 deal with Starz Entertainment, Netflix made the film available for streaming. As of 2022, it is no longer available.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: A Blu-ray release was included with the Street Fighter Anniversary Collector's box set, which was released on September 18, 2012. However, the movie is presented in standard definition and contains no nudity.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The film was released with a fresh 16:9 1080p transfer on Blu-ray and as a DVD/Blu combo set in 2013 by Kaze in France with the standalone Blu-ray being distributed in the United Kingdom by Manga UK. The release uses stereo audio tracks of the original Japanese track, a French one, and a heavily censored English dub based on the PG-13 cut. (thus lacking the 5.1 mixes included with the 2006 release) but features the full uncut video including the Chun-Li shower scene intact. It has optional English and French subtitles and the aspect ratio is 1.85:1.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: In October 2016, Discotek Media released a new 16:9 1080p transfer on Blu-ray with fully uncut footage and various English and Japanese audio tracks, including the rare unrated English dub mixed with the Japanese soundtrack. It has optional newly translated English subtitles and the aspect ratio is 1.85:1. An anamorphic DVD with similar features was also released by Discotek.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Street Fighter II Movie Original Soundtrack features musical score tracks by Yuji Toriyama and songs by Ryōko Shinohara, Big Life, and Alph Lyla.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Street Fighter II Movie Soundtrack Vol. 2: Original Score Album features additional musical score tracks by Yuji Toriyama and a Q Sound remix of "Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Zuyosa to", which was used during the Dramatic Battle fight with Ryu and Ken against M. Bison in the Japanese arcade version of "Street Fighter Alpha".


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The alternative/grunge-oriented musical score for the English version was composed by Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea. Songs featured in the movie include:


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: At the Japanese box office, the film grossed more than $16million, becoming one of 1994's top five highest-grossing films in Japan. It earned a distributor rental income of in Japan. Adjusted for inflation, its Japanese gross is equivalent to approximately .


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: In the United States, the home video release sold close to 500,000 copies of two versions, Unrated and PG-13. One of these versions sold 200,000 copies in the United States.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Capcom produced a video game adaptation of the film simply titled "Street Fighter II MOVIE". The game was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation on December 15, 1995, and the Sega Saturn on March 15, 1996. Despite the similar title, it is unrelated to the arcade game "", nor with the home console game of the , both based on the live-action film. Although unreleased in America, the game was shown at the 1995 Electronic Entertainment Expo under the title of "Street Fighter II: The Interactive Movie". A version for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was also announced, but never released. The game consists of footage from the movie mixed with newly animated footage by Group TAC created specifically for the game (including an opening video).


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The player takes control of a new type of monitor cyborg that has been secretly developed by Shadaloo. The objective of the game is to develop the Cyborg's abilities by analyzing the fighting techniques of martial artists around the world in order to gain enough strength to challenge Ryu in combat. The gameplay consists of watching pre-rendered footage and analyzing them using the "search" command. For example, if the scene is shown which involves a character performing a kick technique, then the cyborg's kick abilities will increase by pointing and clicking on the character's kicks. On each stage, the player has a limited amount of time to analyze their surrounding as much as possible in order to gather the most data.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: While the majority of the game is strictly a life simulation, the final battle between the Cyborg and Ryu is a one-on-one fighting segment that features the same game system as "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" (including the presence of the Super Combo gauge). All of the Cyborg's acquired abilities can be put to use in battle. The Cyborg's special moves are the same ones used by Ken in "Super Street Fighter II Turbo", including his "Shōryū Reppa" Super Combo.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The player can keep track of their Cyborg's development via a save file or through a passcode and test their Cyborg's current abilities against a virtual hologram of Ryu. This practice segments can also be played with a second player. The game also includes a database featuring information on the characters from the film.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: A manga adaptation of the film was authored by Takayuki Sakai and serialized in the monthly "CoroCoro Comic" in 1994, later republished in a single tankōbon collected edition. An English adaptation of this manga was published by Viz Communications as a six-issue comic book, released monthly from August 1995 to February 1996.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The movie served as the basis for "Street Fighter Alpha". Many elements and character designs were integrated into future games of the series (the "Street Fighter Alpha" series in particular). The film's final battle is loosely adapted into Ryu's story in "Street Fighter Alpha 3", where Ryu's sub-boss is a brainwashed Ken, whom he must defeat before facing Bison.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: The film's success also led to the production of a television series, "Street Fighter II V", and another animated film, "". While neither are set in the same continuity as the film, the Animaze English dubs featured a handful of actors reprising their roles from the film.


title: Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

text: Though it was preceded by "" by one month, both movies' positive receptions also led to the production of several anime adaptations of different fighting video game series, such as "", "Battle Arena Toshinden", "", and "", though none reached the same critical success.


title: Angelica

text: Angelica is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They grow to tall, with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or greenish-white flowers. Found mainly in China, its main use was for medicine. It shows variations in fruit anatomy, leaf morphology, and subterranean structures. The genes are extremely polymorphic.


title: Angelica

text: "Angelica" species grow to tall, with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or greenish-white flowers. Their large, sparkling, starburst flowers are pollinated by a great variety of insects (the generalist pollination syndrome), the floral scents are species-specific, and even specific to particular subspecies. The active ingredients of angelica are found in the roots and rhizomes and contains furocoumarins in its tissues, which make the skin sensitive to light.


title: Angelica

text: Some species are grown as flavouring agents or for their medicinal properties. The most notable of these is garden angelica ("A. archangelica"), which is commonly known simply as angelica. Natives of Lapland use the fleshy roots as food and the stalks as medicine. Crystallized strips of young angelica stems and midribs are green in colour and are sold as decorative and flavoursome cake decoration material, but may also be enjoyed on their own. The roots and seeds are commonly used to flavour gin. Its presence accounts for the distinct flavour of many liqueurs, such as Chartreuse.


title: Angelica

text: Among the Sami people of Lapland, the plant is used to make a traditional musical instrument the "fadno".


title: Angelica

text: In parts of Japan, especially the Izu Islands, the shoots and leaves of "ashitaba" ("A. keiskei") are eaten as tempura, particularly in the spring.


title: Angelica

text: "A. sylvestris" and some other species are eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including bordered pug, grey pug, lime-speck pug and the V-pug.


title: Angelica

text: "A. atropurpurea" is found in North America from Newfoundland west to Wisconsin and south to Maryland, and was smoked by Missouri tribes for colds and respiratory ailments. This species is very similar in appearance to the poisonous water hemlock.


title: Angelica

text: The boiled roots of angelica were applied internally and externally to wounds by the Aleut people in Alaska to speed healing.


title: Angelica

text: The herb, also known by the Chinese name, , and Latin name, , is used medicinally in traditional Chinese medicine.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat."


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Coast Guardsmen, Navy sailors, and Marines active in clandestine, stealth or special operations are deemed eligible for consideration of the award.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The U.S. Navy first authorized the Combat Action Ribbon on 17 February 1969. The CAR is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps with a rank no higher than captain and colonel, respectively.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Coast Guardsmen in Vietnam riverine warfare operations were deemed eligible for award of the Navy Combat Action Ribbon (the Coast Guard did not have its own Combat Action Ribbon until 2008).


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Air combat does not meet the criteria for the Combat Action Ribbon; naval aviators, naval flight officers and enlisted naval aircrewmen, while in the performance of aerial flight, are eligible for consideration for the Air Medal, although this award requires far more combat exposure over a prolonged period.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon was authorized on 16 July 2008, and may be awarded to members of the Coast Guard in the rank of captain and below, "who have actively participated in ground or maritime combat."


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Navy Combat Action Ribbon was originally retroactive to March 1961; in 1999 it was made retroactive to 7 December 1941.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon is retroactive to 1 May 1975 (during the Vietnam war Coast Guard members were awarded the Navy Combat Action ribbon).


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: For a military member to be awarded a Combat Action Ribbon evidence must establish the member engaged the enemy, was under hostile fire, or was physically attacked by the enemy. The service member must have demonstrated satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or surface engagement. The Combat Action Ribbon will not be awarded to personnel for aerial combat, since the Strike/flight Air Medal provides recognition for aerial combat exposure; however, a pilot, flight officer/navigator, or other crew member forced to escape or evade, after being forced down, may be eligible for the award. Direct exposure to the detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) used by an enemy, with or without the immediate presence of enemy forces, constitutes active participation in a ground or surface engagement. Eligibility under this criterion is retroactive to 7 October 2001.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Combat Action Ribbon is awarded to individuals only. The CAR is not awarded to a military unit, station, or group, although multiple individual service members (e.g., those stationed on a boat or ship) may be nominated for the award arising from combat action in which all participated.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: A military member does not automatically qualify for the Combat Action Ribbon. The CAR is awarded after the service member's command takes into consideration the evidence and specified criteria. The evidence must show a service member was engaged in direct combat, not indirect or in an area where combat is occurring; mere presence in a designated combat zone does not qualify a service member for the award.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Only one Combat Action Ribbon is awarded to a service member per theater of war. The CAR is a positive assessment of a service member's battle effectiveness during a combat engagement within a specific theater of war and is not awarded for additional combat interactions therein. Colloquially speaking, it's one CAR per war.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: A military member who serves in special operations, who by the nature of their mission, are restricted in their ability to return fire, and who are operating in conditions where the risk of enemy fire was great and expected to be encountered, may be eligible for the Combat Action Ribbon.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Combat Action Ribbon is a ribbon-only decoration in contrast to military branches that award a badge or medal. Compare: the U.S. Army awards the Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Action Badge, or Combat Medical Badge. U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force combat participant is awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal (AFCAM), which includes both full and miniature size suspension medals and a ribbon.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Combat Action Ribbon is worn in order of precedence on a member's "ribbon rack" displayed on the left (or right) side of a service member's uniform. The outermost blue stripe is always to the wearer's center, with the central colors in order of red, white, and blue (left to right when worn on left side of uniform; right to left when worn on right side of uniform); only one Combat Action Ribbon is authorized for wear, with each additional CAR award signified with a inch gold star device attached to the center of the ribbon. For example, two CAR awards are signified with the CAR ribbon and the addition of one gold star device. Three awards are signified with the ribbon and two gold star devices.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: In full dress uniform medals are worn on the member's left side. The CAR ribbon is therefore worn on the right side of the uniform. The CAR is the highest rated ribbon award in the U.S. military decorations order of precedence and is superseded only by medals of meritorious achievement and combat valor.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: An individual whose eligibility has been established in combat in any of the following listed operations may be authorized award of the Combat Action Ribbon. Only one award per operation is authorized. This listing is not all-inclusive, as the Combat Action Ribbon has been awarded in minor operations, as well as for specific actions.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Combat Action Ribbon is currently authorized with a U.S. Navy/Marine Corps design, and as of 2008, a U.S. Coast Guard version.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Navy CAR covers the Navy and Marine Corps since the establishment of the CAR in 1969. Additionally, the award was made retroactive to 7 December 1941.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Prior to 2008, eligible U.S. Coast Guardsmen were awarded the Navy Combat Action Ribbon (because in most conflicts and wars Coast Guard members usually operated with or under the U.S. Navy). From 2009 forward, Coast Guard members who engage in combat are now awarded the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard veterans are advised to submit requests about eligibility or other matters to their respective branches to inquire about the Combat Action Ribbon or other awards of this nature.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The Navy Combat Action Ribbon ("CAR") was established during the Vietnam War by a Secretary of the Navy Notice, dated February 17, 1969, with retroactive award to 1 March 1961. The Navy CAR is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps (and Coast Guard, when operating under the control of the Navy during a war or national emergency), with the grade of captain/colonel and below, who have actively participated in ground or surface combat.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Marines, Navy sailors, or Coast Guardsmen who are awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Medical Badge, Combat Action Badge, or Combat Action Medal while assigned to United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Space Force units, or who earned such for prior service in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Space Force, may be authorized to wear the Combat Action Ribbon upon application to the Department of the Navy (or Department of Homeland Security, as applicable).


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: After the destroyer was attacked by suicide bombers in 2000, the entire crew of the ship was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon a year later.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: In January 2013, the awarding criteria were expanded to include dangerous exposure to IEDs, mines, and scatterable munitions, be it the detonation of such or direct action taken to disable, render safe, or destroy such; servicemembers may be deemed eligible if the IEDs are detonated or specifically emplaced by the enemy. Previous eligibility applied only to exposure to IEDs actually detonated by the enemy. Eligibility under this criterion is retroactive only to 7 October 2001.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Blanket lists of units and operations whose members or participants are deemed to be "in-combat", and thus potentially eligible, can be found in OPNAVNOTE 1650 (for specific units and ships) and in chapter 2, appendix E, of recent SECNAVINSTs (for specific operations and ships) though, "Neither service in a combat area nor being awarded the Purple Heart Medal automatically makes a service member eligible", and specific sailors and marines may receive the ribbon in recognition of individual actions or various minor operations.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: In 2017, sailors from , , , and were awarded the Combat Action Ribbon after their ships were fired upon by rebels off the coast of Yemen in 2016, one of the few instances in the 21st century when U.S. Navy sailors aboard a commissioned warship were awarded the ribbon for combat occurring at sea. In 2005, the crew of the were awarded the CAR as well.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: In October 1999, World War II and Korean War veterans became retroactively eligible for the Navy Combat Action Ribbon by Public Law 106-65 on 5 October 1999, which permitted the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) to award the Combat Action Ribbon to a member of the Navy or Marine Corps for participation in ground or surface combat during any period on or after 7 December 1941, and before 1 March 1961, if the Secretary determines that the member has not been previously recognized in an appropriate manner for such participation. Two specific blocks of time were later designated by then SECNAV Danzig: Dec. 7, 1941 – Apr. 14, 1946 (World War II), and June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1954 (Korean War)


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: In 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard began awarding a Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon (CGCAR), that is stylized similarly in design to the Navy Combat Action Ribbon.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Prior to 2008 Coast Guard members awarded the Combat Action Ribbon received the U.S. Navy CAR because in times of conflict and war the Coast Guard in combat areas typically operated with or under the U.S. Navy. For example, in the Vietnam War's Operation Market Time the U.S. Coast Guard had at any one time approximately 1,200 Coast Guard members participating in brown water navy riverine warfare operations. Those Coast Guard members were awarded the U.S. Navy Combat Action Ribbon by the Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: The U.S. Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon (CGCAR) was established by the approval of the Secretary of Homeland Security on 16 July 2008, in ALCOAST 361/08. The CGCAR is awarded to members who have actively participated in ground or maritime combat. Satisfactory performance under fire with the enemy is required.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: From 2009 forward U.S. Coast Guard members will receive the CGCAR regardless if a member is operating in conjunction with or under the control of the U.S. Navy. Those USCG members awarded the U.S. Navy CAR prior to 2009 are authorized to continue wearing the Navy award, or at the member's option can choose to wear the CGCAR.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Eligibility for the CGCAR also includes personnel having direct exposure to the detonation of an enemy's improvised explosive device, and to personnel who served in clandestine/special operations and were restricted in their ability to return fire, where the risk of enemy fire was great.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Other minor operations and specific actions may allow the award, as determined by the Commandant of the Coast Guard. Only one award per operation is authorized.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Initially, all other similar military awards from other services were required to be converted to the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon in order to be worn on the Coast Guard uniform, but the policy was modified effective January 1, 2009 to allow wearing the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, Air Force Combat Action Medal, and Army Combat Infantry/Medical/Action Badge for service prior to May 1, 1975, and which cannot be converted to the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon.


title: Combat Action Ribbon

text: Additional awards of the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon are denoted by inch gold stars on the ribbon.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: Lebanese Druze () are Lebanese people who are Druze. The Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion, and an ethnoreligious esoteric group originating from the Near East who self identify as unitarians ().


title: Lebanese Druze

text: The Lebanese Druze people are believed to constitute about 5.2 percent of the total population of Lebanon and have around 1.5 million members worldwide. The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or "believers in one God," are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Beirut. Lebanon has the world's second largest Druze population, after Syria.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: Under the Lebanese political division (Parliament of Lebanon Seat Allocation) the Druze community is designated as one of the five Lebanese Muslim communities in Lebanon (Sunni, Shia, Druze, Alawi, and Ismaili), even though the Druze are no longer considered Muslim. Lebanon's constitution was intended to guarantee political representation for each of the nation's ethno-religious groups.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: Wadi al-Taym is generally considered the "birthplace of the Druze faith". The Maronite Catholic and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the Chief of the General Staff must be a Druze.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: The Druze faith does not follow the Five Pillars of Islam, such as fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Druze beliefs incorporate elements of Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of Unitarianism or Monotheism" or "al-Muwaḥḥidūn.""The Druze follow a lifestyle of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of, or into, the religion. When Druze live among people of other religions, they try to blend in, in order to protect their religion and their own safety. They can pray as Muslims, or as Christians, depending on where they are. This system is apparently changing in modern times, where more security has allowed Druze to be more open about their religious belonging."The Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Lebanon when most of them accepted and adopted the new message that was being preached in the 11th century, due to their leaderships close ties with then Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: The relationship between the Druze and Christians in Lebanon has been characterized by harmony and coexistence, with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: Historically the relationship between the Druze and Muslims has been characterized by intense persecution. The Druze faith is often classified as a branch of Isma'ili. Even though the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, most Druze do not identify as Muslims, and they do not accept the five pillars of Islam. The Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Muslim regimes such as the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, Sunni Ottoman Empire, and Egypt Eyalet. The persecution of the Druze included massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and forced conversion to Islam. Those were no ordinary killings in the Druze's narrative, they were meant to eradicate the whole community according to the Druze narrative.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: The Druze community in Lebanon played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Lebanon, and even though they are a minority they play an important role in the Lebanese political scene. Before and during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90), the Druze were in favor of Pan-Arabism and Palestinian resistance represented by the PLO. Most of the community supported the Progressive Socialist Party formed by their leader Kamal Jumblatt and they fought alongside other leftist and Palestinian parties against the Lebanese Front that was mainly constituted of Christians. After the assassination of Kamal Jumblatt on 16 March 1977, his son Walid Jumblatt took the leadership of the party and played an important role in preserving his father's legacy after winning the Mountain War and sustained the existence of the Druze community during the sectarian bloodshed that lasted until 1990.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: In August 2001, Maronite Catholic Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir toured the predominantly Druze Chouf region of Mount Lebanon and visited Mukhtara, the ancestral stronghold of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. The tumultuous reception that Sfeir received not only signified a historic reconciliation between Maronites and Druze, who fought a bloody war in 1983–84, but underscored the fact that the banner of Lebanese sovereignty had broad multi-confessional appeal and was a cornerstone for the Cedar Revolution in 2005. Jumblatt's post-2005 position diverged sharply from the tradition of his family. He also accused Damascus of being behind the 1977 assassination of his father, Kamal Jumblatt, expressing for the first time what many knew he privately suspected. The BBC describes Jumblatt as "the smartest leader of Lebanon's most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty". The second largest political party supported by Druze is the Lebanese Democratic Party led by Prince Talal Arslan, the son of Lebanese independence hero Emir Majid Arslan.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: On May 10, 2008 as part of the 2008 Conflict, clashes occurred between Hezbollah forces and Druze militias in their mountain resulting is casualties on both sides. The clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon including Baysur, Shuweifat and Aley. Most of the fighting was concentrated on Hill 888. After negotiations a ceasefire was called in from outside the country before Hezbollah could call in artillery support. Releases from Hezbollah leaders in 2016 stated that bombing the mountain with close-range artillery from the South and longer-ranged artillery from Syria were both an option and greatly considered.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: A number of the Druze embraced Christianity, such as some of Shihab dynasty members, as well as the Abi-Lamma clan, and Khazen family. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Protestant missionaries established schools and churches in Druze strongholds, with some Druze converting to Protestant Christianity; yet they did not succeed to convert Druze to Christianity en masse. On the other hand, many Druze immigrants to the United States converted to Protestantism, becoming communicants of the Presbyterian or Methodist Churches.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: According to scholar Colbert C. Held of University of Nebraska, Lincoln the number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% live in Syria, 35% to 40% live in Lebanon, and less than 10% live in Israel, with recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.


title: Lebanese Druze

text: The Druze are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Beirut. The Lebanese Druze are estimated to constitute 5.2 percent of Lebanon's population. They live in 136 villages in Hasbaya, Rashaya, Chouf, Aley, Marjeyoun and Beirut, and they constitute the majority of the population in the city of Aley, Baakleen, Hasbaya and Rashaya. The Druze make up more than half of the population of the Aley District, and they constitute about a third of the residents of the Rachaya District, and they constitute about the quarter of residents of the Chouf District and the Matn District.


title: Brooks's law

text: Brooks' law is an observation about software project management according to which adding manpower to software project that is behind schedule delays it even longer. It was coined by Fred Brooks in his 1975 book "The Mythical Man-Month". According to Brooks, under certain conditions, an incremental person when added to a project makes it take more, not less time.


title: Brooks's law

text: According to Brooks himself, the law is an "outrageous oversimplification", but it captures the general rule. Brooks points to the main factors that explain why it works this way:


title: Brooks's law

text: There are some key points in Brooks's law that allow exceptions and open the door for possible solutions.


title: Brooks's law

text: The first point is to note that Brooks's law only applies to projects that are already late. Projects can be brought back into (or kept in) control if people are added earlier in the process. It is also important to determine if the project is really late, or if the schedule was originally overly optimistic. Scheduling mistakes account for a large number of late projects. Correcting the schedule is the best way to have a meaningful and reliable time frame for the project's completion.


title: Brooks's law

text: The quantity, quality and role of the people added to the project also must be taken into consideration. One simple way to circumvent the law on an overrun project is to add more people than needed, in such a way that the extra capacity compensates the training and communication overhead. Good programmers or specialists can be added with less overhead for training. People can be added to do other tasks related with the project, for example, quality assurance or documentation; given that the task is clear, ramp up time is minimized.


title: Brooks's law

text: Good segmentation helps by minimizing the communication overhead between team members. Smaller sub-problems are solved by a smaller team, and a top-level team is responsible for systems integration. For this method to work, the segmentation of the problem must be done correctly in the first place; if done incorrectly, this can make the problem worse, not better, by impeding communication between programmers working on parts of the problem which are actually closely coupled, even when the project plan has decreed that they are not.


title: Brooks's law

text: An example of segmentation are design patterns that simplify the distribution of work, because the entire team can do its part within the framework provided by that pattern. The design pattern defines the rules that the programmers follow, simplifies communication through the use of a standard language, and provides consistency and scalability.


title: Brooks's law

text: The Bermuda plan, where most developers on a project are removed ("sent to Bermuda") and the remaining are left to complete the software, has been suggested as a way of circumventing Brooks’s law.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in France have been among some of the most progressive in the world. Although same-sex sexual activity was a capital crime that often resulted in the death penalty during the Ancien Régime, all sodomy laws were repealed in 1791 during the French Revolution. However, a lesser-known indecent exposure law that often targeted LGBT people was introduced in 1960 before being repealed in 1980.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: The age of consent for same-sex sexual activity was altered more than once before being equalised in 1982 under President François Mitterrand. After granting same-sex couples domestic partnership benefits known as the civil solidarity pact in 1999, France became the thirteenth country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage in 2013. Laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity were enacted in 1985 and 2012, respectively. In 2010, France became the first country in the world to declassify gender dysphoria as a mental illness. Additionally, since 2017, transgender people have been allowed to change their legal gender without undergoing surgery or receiving any medical diagnosis.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: France has frequently been named one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. Recent polls have indicated that a majority of the French people support same-sex marriage and in 2013, another poll indicated that 77% of the French population believed homosexuality should be accepted by society, one of the highest in the 39 countries polled. Paris has been named by many publications as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, with Le Marais, Quartier Pigalle and Bois de Boulogne being said to have a thriving LGBT community and nightlife.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Before the French Revolution, sodomy was a serious crime. Jean Diot and Bruno Lenoir were the last gay people burned to death on 6 July 1750. The first French Revolution decriminalised homosexuality when the Penal Code of 1791 made no mention of same-sex relations in private. This policy on private sexual conduct was retained in the Penal Code of 1810 and followed in nations and French colonies that adopted the Code. Still, homosexuality and cross-dressing were widely seen as being immoral, and LGBT people were still subjected to legal harassment under various laws concerning public morality and order. Some LGBT people from the regions of Alsace and Lorraine, which were annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, were persecuted and interned in concentration camps. LGBT people were also persecuted under the Vichy Regime, despite there being no laws criminalizing homosexuality.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: An age of consent was introduced on 28 April 1832. It was fixed to 11 years for both sexes and later raised to 13 years in 1863. On 6 August 1942, the Vichy Government introduced a discriminative law in the Penal Code: article 334 (moved to article 331 on 8 February 1945 by the Provisional Government of the French Republic) which increased the age of consent to 21 for homosexual relations and 15 for heterosexual ones. The age of 21 was then lowered to 18 in 1974, which had become the age of legal majority. This law remained valid until 4 August 1982, when it was repealed under President François Mitterrand to equalise the age of consent at 15 years of age, despite the vocal opposition of Jean Foyer in the French National Assembly.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: A less known discriminative law was adopted in 1960, inserting into the Penal Code (article 330, 2nd alinea) a clause that doubled the penalty for indecent exposure for homosexual activity. This "ordonnance" was intended to repress pimping. The clause against homosexuality was adopted due to a wish of Parliament, as follows:


title: LGBT rights in France

text: This "ordonnance" was adopted by the executive after it was authorised by Parliament to take legislative measures against national scourges such as alcoholism. Paul Mirguet, a Member of the National Assembly, felt that homosexuality was also a scourge, and thus proposed a sub-amendment, therefore known as the Mirguet amendment, tasking the Government to enact measures against homosexuality, which was adopted.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Civil solidarity pacts (PACS for ), a form of registered domestic partnerships, were enacted in 1999 for both same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples by the Government of Lionel Jospin. Couples who enter into a PACS contract are afforded most of the legal protections, rights, and responsibilities of marriage. The right to adoption and artificial insemination are, however, denied to PACS partners (and are largely restricted to married couples). Unlike married couples, they were originally not allowed to file joint tax returns until after three years, though this was changed in 2005.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 14 June 2011, the National Assembly of France voted 293–222 against legalising same-sex marriage. Deputies of the majority party Union for a Popular Movement voted mostly against the measure, while deputies of the Socialist Party mostly voted in favor. Members of the Socialist Party stated that legalisation of same-sex marriage would become a priority should they gain a majority in the 2012 elections.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 7 May 2012, François Hollande won the election, and the Socialist Party and its coalition partners, Miscellaneous Left, Europe Ecology - The Greens and Radical Party of the Left, won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. In October, a marriage bill was introduced by the Aryault Government. On 2 February 2013, the National Assembly approved the first article of the bill, by 249 votes against 97. On 12 February 2013, the National Assembly approved the bill as a whole in a 329–229 vote and sent it to the country's Senate. The majority of the ruling Socialist Party voted in favor of the bill (only four of its members voted "no") while the majority of the opposition party UMP voted against it (only two of its members voted "yes").


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 4 April 2013, the Senate started the debate on the bill and five days later approved its first article in a 179–157 vote. On 12 April, the Senate approved the bill with minor amendments, which were accepted by the National Assembly on 23 April.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: A challenge to the law by the conservative UMP party was filed with the Constitutional Council following the vote. On 17 May 2013, the Council ruled that the law is constitutional. On 18 May 2013, President Francois Hollande signed the bill into law, which was officially published the next day in the "Journal Officiel". The first official same-sex ceremony took place on 29 May in the city of Montpellier.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Same-sex couples have been legally able to adopt children since May 2013, when the same-sex marriage law took effect. The first joint adoption by a same-sex couple was announced on 18 October 2013.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In April 2018, the Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents reported that only four same-sex couples had been able to jointly adopt a child, and the Association of LGBT Families (ADFH) reported that "some families" were able to foster a French child and "less than ten" families were able to foster a foreign child. Between May 2013 and May 2019, 10 same-sex adoptions occurred in Paris.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Lesbian couples used to not have access to assisted reproductive technology ("procréation médicalement assistée", PMA), as it would only be available to heterosexual couples. A poll in 2012 showed that 51% of the French population supported allowing lesbian couples to access it. The French Socialist Party also supports it. In June 2017, a spokesperson for French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the government intends to legislate to allow assisted reproduction for lesbian couples. This followed a report by an independent ethics panel in France which recommended that PMA law be revised to include lesbian couples and single people. In 2017, a poll indicated that 64% of the French people supported the extension of assisted reproduction to lesbian couples.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In July 2018, MP Guillaume Chiche introduced a bill to legalise assisted reproduction for lesbian couples and single women. In June 2019, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told the National Assembly that the legislation will be examined in the Assembly from the end of September 2019. The bill was adopted in its first reading by the National Assembly on 15 October 2019 by a vote of 359–114. It passed its second reading on 31 July 2020 by 60 votes to 37 (the low turnout being due to most Assembly members having gone on summer holidays). The Senate approved the bill in first reading on 4 February 2020 by 153 votes to 143 with 45 abstentions. The proposal also foresees the state covering the cost of the assisted reproduction procedures for all women under 43 and allowing children born with donated sperm to find out their donor's identity when they reach the age of 18. The bill came into effect in September 2021.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Up until 2015, France refused to recognise surrogate children as French citizens. This left many such children in legal limbo. On 5 July 2017, the Court of Cassation ruled that a child born to a surrogate abroad can be adopted by the partner of his or her biological father. That same year, the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris granted French citizenship to twin boys born through surrogacy in Ontario, Canada, to a same-sex couple (both French citizens). However, it refused to register the children in the vital records. In May 2019, the Court of Appeal of Paris reversed certain parts of the decision, holding that the Canadian birth certificate must be recognised by the French state. In December 2019, the Court of Cassation ruled that foreign birth certificates that recognise same-sex partners must be fully recognised in France.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In 1985, national legislation was enacted to prohibit sexual orientation based discrimination in employment, housing and other public and private provisions of services and goods. In July 2012, the French Parliament added "sexual identity" to the protected grounds of discrimination in French law. The phrase "sexual identity" was used synonymous with "gender identity" despite some criticism from ILGA-Europe, who nevertheless still considered it an important step. On 18 November 2016, a new law amended article 225-1 of the French Penal Code to replace "sexual identity" with "gender identity".


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In March 2008, Xavier Darcos, Minister of Education, announced a policy fighting against all forms of discrimination, including homophobia, in schools. It was one of 15 national priorities of education for the 2008–2009 school year. The "Fédération Indépendante et Démocratique Lycéenne" (FIDL; Independent and Democratic Federation of High School Students)–the first high school student union in France–has also launched campaigns against homophobia in schools and among young people.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In January 2019, the Ministry of Education launched a new campaign to tackle anti-LGBT bullying in schools. The campaign, called "Tous égaux, tous alliés" (All equal, all allied), helps students access services to report bullying, established a helpline for students and staff to use, and requires all French schools to provide guidance about LGBT issues. The International Day Against Homophobia (17 May) will also be a special day to promote actions of sensitisation.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In February 2019, it was reported that France uses the words "parent 1" and "parent 2" rather than "mother" and "father" on application forms to enroll children into schools. This caused widespread outrage among conservatives in France, despite both same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption having been legal in the country for six years.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In March 2019, Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, announced that she wanted all higher education institutions to use transgender people's preferred names, including on student cards, exam forms, etc.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 31 December 2004, the National Assembly approved an amendment to existing anti-discrimination legislation, making homophobic, sexist, racist, xenophobic etc. comments illegal. The maximum penalty of a €45,000 fine and/or 12 months' imprisonment has been criticised by civil liberty groups such as Reporters Without Borders as a serious infringement on free speech. But the conservative Chirac Government pointed to a rise in anti-gay violence as justification for the measure. Ironically, an MP in Chirac's own UMP party, Christian Vanneste, became the first person to be convicted under the law in January 2006 although this conviction was later cancelled by the Court of Cassation after a refused appeal.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: The law of December 2004 created the "Haute autorité de lutte contre les discriminations et pour l'égalité" (High Authority against Discrimination and for Equality). Title 3 and articles 20 and 21 of the law amended the "Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881" to make provisions for more specific offenses including injury, defamation, insult, incitement to hatred or violence, or discrimination against a person or group of persons because of their gender, sexual orientation or disability. When a physical assault or murder is motivated by the sexual orientation of the victim, the law increases the penalties that are normally given.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In October 2018, after a rise in a series of homophobic attacks, President Emmanuel Macron denounced the homophobic violence as being "unworthy of France", announcing future "concrete measures". He tweeted: "Homophobic violence must be a concern for our entire society. They are unworthy of France. Concrete measures will be announced but they [cannot] replace humanity and tolerance which are at the heart of our culture", without specifying the content of these future measures.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: A report released on 16 May 2020, right before the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, showed that homophobic and transphobic attacks and insults rose by 36% in 2019. Police identified around 1,870 victims of transphobic and homophobic attacks. In 2018, the figures were around 1,380.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In 2010, France removed gender identity disorder as a diagnosis by decree, but according to French transgender rights organizations, beyond the impact of the announcement itself, nothing changed. Transsexualism is part of the ALD 31 () and treatment is funded by Sécurité Sociale.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Discrimination on the basis of "sexual identity" has been banned since 2012. In 2016, the term "sexual identity" was replaced by "gender identity".


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 6 November 2015, a bill to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without the need for sex reassignment surgery and forced sterilisation was approved by the French Senate. On 24 May 2016, the National Assembly approved the bill. MP Pascale Crozon, who introduced the bill, reminded MPs before the vote about the long, uncertain and humiliating procedures by which transgender people must go through to change their gender on vital records. Due to differing texts, a joint session was established. On 12 July 2016, the National Assembly approved a modified version of the bill which maintained the provisions outlawing psychiatrist certificates and proofs of sex reassignment surgery, while also dropping the original bill's provision of allowing self-certification of gender. On 28 September, the French Senate discussed the bill. The National Assembly then met on 12 October in a plenary session to approve the bill once more and rejected amendments proposed by the Senate which would have required proof of medical treatment. On 17 November, the Constitutional Council ruled that the bill is constitutional. It was signed by the President on 18 November 2016, published in the "Journal Officiel" the next day, and took effect on 1 January 2017. While no longer requiring proof of surgery or medical interventions, transgender people need to go before a court in order to have their gender marker changed. Changing the first name can be also done by registry office.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In 2022 a court of appeal has ruled that a woman who was born male should be considered the mother of the child she conceived with her partner before her sex change.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Intersex people in France enjoy some of the same rights as other people, but with significant gaps in protection from non-consensual medical interventions and protection from discrimination. In response to pressure from intersex activists and recommendations by United Nations Treaty Bodies, the Senate published an inquiry into the treatment of intersex people in February 2017. A legal challenge by Gaëtan Schmitt to obtain "neutral sex" ("sexe neutre") classification was rejected by the Court of Cassation in May 2017. On 17 March 2017, the President of the Republic, François Hollande, described medical interventions to make the bodies of intersex children more typically male or female as increasingly considered to be mutilations.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Conversion therapy has a negative effect on the lives of LGBT people, and can lead to low self-esteem, depression and suicidal ideation. The pseudoscientific practice is believed to include electroconvulsive therapy, exorcisms, starvation or, especially, talk therapy. A French survivor of a conversion therapy workshop described the practice as "psychological rape". The extent of the practice in France is unknown. The association "Le Refuge" estimated that around 3% to 4% of its helpline calls dealt with the issue. In summer 2019, MP Laurence Vanceunebrock-Mialon announced her intention to introduce a proposal to the National Assembly in 2020 to prohibit the usage of such 'treatments'. Punishments would be two years' imprisonment and/or a fine of 30,000 euros.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: The bill to legally ban conversion therapy passed the Senate on 7 December 2020. It was concurred to by the National Assembly on 25 January 2022 and was officially published on February 1, 2022.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals are allowed to serve openly in the French Armed Forces.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: A circulaire from the Directorate General of Health, which dates back to 20 June 1983 at the height of the HIV epidemic, banned men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood. However, it was recalled by a ministerial decree on 12 January 2009.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 3 April 2015, a deputy member of the UMP party, Arnaud Richard, presented an amendment against the exclusion of MSM, which was eventually adopted later in the same month. In November 2015, Minister of Health Marisol Touraine announced that gay and bisexual men in France can donate blood after one year of abstinence from sex. This policy was implemented and went into effect on 10 July 2016. In July 2019, Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn announced that the deferral period would be reduced to four months of abstinence from 2 April 2020.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: On 16 March 2022, France removed the four-month deferral period policy on gay and bi men donating blood. The new policy applies to all individuals regardless of sexual orientation.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: LGBT rights organisations in France include Act Up Paris, SOS Homophobie, Arcadie, FHAR ("Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire"), Gouines rouges, GLH ("Groupe de libération homosexuelle"), CUARH ("Comité d'urgence anti-répression homosexuelle"), "L'Association Trans Aide", ("Trans Aid Association", established in September 2004) and "Bi'Cause".


title: LGBT rights in France

text: The first pride parade in France was held in Paris on 4 April 1981 at the Place Maubert. It was organised by CUARH, and saw the participation of around 10,000 people. Paris Pride ("Marche des Fiertés de Paris") is held annually in June. Its turnout has increased significantly since the 1980s, reaching around 100,000 participants in the late 1990s. Its 2019 edition saw a turnout of 500,000 people. The event is the third-largest in the city, following the Paris Marathon and the Paris Techno Parade, and includes about 60 associations, various human rights groups, political parties and several companies.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Outside Paris, pride events are also held in numerous cities around the country, including Rennes and Marseille, which held their first in 1994. Nantes, Montpellier and Toulouse organised their first pride festivals in 1995, followed by Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Cannes and Aix-en-Provence in 1996, Rouen, Biarritz, Angers and Poitiers in 2000, and Caen and Strasbourg in 2001. Others including Auxerre, Dijon, Nice and Avignon also hold pride events.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë publicly revealed his homosexuality in 1998, before his first election in 2001.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In December 2006, an Ipsos-MORI Eurobarometer survey showed that 62% of the French public supported same-sex marriage, while 37% were opposed. 55% believed gay and lesbian couples should not have parenting rights, while 44% believed same-sex couples should be able to adopt.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: In June 2011, an Ifop poll found that 63% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage, while 58% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples. In 2012, an Ifop poll showed that 90% of French perceived homosexuality like one way as another to live their sexuality.


title: LGBT rights in France

text: A 2013 Pew Research Center opinion survey showed that 77% of the French population believed homosexuality should be accepted by society, while 22% believed it should not. Younger people were more accepting: 81% of people between 18 and 29 believed it should be accepted, 79% of people between 30 and 49 and 74% of people over 50.