title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: However, unknown to Dracula, Pete Wisdom had tricked him into destroying fake remains and Spitfire had been faking her mind control while channeling information to MI-13. In order to stop Dracula from finding out the remains were fake, he was briefly trapped in a demonic "Dream Corridor" which saw him live out his fantasies of victory (ending with him standing in a conquered House of Commons while holding the Speaker's mace); as well as giving MI-13 some intelligence on his plans, it stopped him from sending in advance teams. Once he escaped, there were a series of attacks to keep him occupied until the warships entered British airspace without invitation, wiping out the bulk of his forces.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In the final battle, he was pursued to his fortress and prevented from escaping by the Black Knight and Faiza Hussain, wielder of the sword Excalibur. While Dracula was able to seriously wound the Black Knight, he was slain with a single blow from Excalibur, leaving Britain victorious.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In a 2010 "X-Men" storyline "Curse of the Mutants", Dracula has been killed by his son Xarus, but is resurrected by the X-Men in hopes that he would join them against Xarus. However, Dracula declines and leaves shortly after. Dracula reasserts himself as Lord of the Vampires, granting amnesty to those who sided with Xarus. When Xarus tries to attack Dracula, he rips off Xarus' head. Although he contemplated attacking the X-Men, Cyclops reminded him that they had had custody of his body for 17 hours before the head was reattached, suggesting that they had included a 'contingency plan' in Dracula similar to the plan that they had used to infiltrate Xarus' forces by temporarily shutting down Wolverine's healing factor so that he could be turned and then returned to normal. Although Dracula suspected that Cyclops was bluffing, he complimented Cyclops's style and allowed them to depart, even returning the now-vampire Jubilee to the X-Men.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Dracula is informed of the arrival of the Hulk (in the form of Nul: Breaker of Worlds) by one of his followers when Nul lands in the Carpathian foothills following his fight with Thor and ends up taking down some vampires. It is revealed that he has the mysterious Raizo Kodo and his legion of vampires called "the Forgiven" locked up in his dungeon. Dracula frees the Forgiven, who worked to slow Nul's progress. Dracula then prepares the vampires for his last stand. As the Forgiven continue to stall Nul, Dracula prepares his vampire armies for battle when Nul gets closer. In the end, Nul is defeated when Inka uses a vampire-mesmerizing spell to take the form of Betty Ross, causing the Hulk to break free of the hammer's magic and revert to normal.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In "Dracula's Gauntlet", Dracula hired Deadpool to retrieve his fiancé, a succubus queen named Shiklah. On the way, she falls in love with him instead and, during the extended trip, her brothers are killed by Dracula to secure the kingdom of Monster Metropolis as his own. This causes Shiklah to deny him the throne by marrying Deadpool, driving Dracula into a rage not because of the power and kingdom he lost, but because he was cuckolded by "an escaped mental patient". After a fight in which he is stabbed with Deadpool's severed hand, poisoned by the mercenary's blood and his army mostly wiped out, Dracula flees into hiding, leaving Shiklah as Queen of the Monsters.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Possibly a little over a year later, there is trouble in his ex-fiancé's marriage. Shiklah has had enough of the humans and started a war to annex New York. Deadpool comes to Dracula for help in stopping her, threatening him with a wooden stake. Dracula cannot remember Shiklah's name at first, until Deadpool angrily reminds him. He states that he hates Deadpool, who replies that Dracula hates himself more, which actually makes him Shiklah's type. Once they return to New York, Dracula is able to gain control of the vampires in Shiklah's army to fight against her monsters. However, the second he meets Shiklah, he proposes to her — wanting to merge their kingdoms and rule with the humans at their feet. Deadpool angrily curses Dracula. Dracula and Shiklah are married by Mephisto, while an angry Deadpool and a confused Spider-Man are tied up and made to watch. Dracula and Shiklah share a kiss, and she thanks him for giving her the wedding she always wanted — with chaos and fire burning.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: They head off to tell their followers of their union. However, Shiklah's monsters tell her that they do not wish to be ruled by a monarch any longer. Shiklah is shocked that her subjects want her run off, and Deadpool shows up to tell her that she cannot marry Dracula. He argues that the entire reason they married was because he was saving her from Dracula, reminding her that Dracula killed her brothers. Shiklah shrugs it off, and tells Deadpool that he would have done the same if he knew them. She then attacks him, telling him that he cannot tell her who she can impetuously marry. After one last tryst and talk with Deadpool, Shiklah emerges and tells Dracula to let their subjects rule themselves, stating that she does not want to rule by force. Dracula eventually relents, stating that he was retired anyway before Deadpool dragged him into this fight. He leaves with Shiklah, who wants to see more of the world. Shiklah wrote Deadpool a note, stating she was off for some stake-play with Dracula.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Dracula returns to his castle in Romania without Shiklah, and somehow begins summoning all vampires in the world to him, including Jubilee. Old Man Logan tracks Jubilee to Dracula's castle, where it is revealed that she is under the vampire's control. Dracula bites Old Man Logan, but his healing factor is able to resist vampirism. Jubilee eventually breaks free from Dracula's influence, allowing Old Man Logan to decapitate Dracula. Dracula's head is given to a Sentinel that then throws it into the Sun.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Dracula gained the powers of a vampire from his transformation into a vampire by the bite of the vampiress Lianda, and gained additional power by Varnae. Dracula possesses far greater powers than most vampires. He is superhumanly strong (to the point of standing toe-to-toe and defeating Colossus in single combat), and also possesses superhuman speed, stamina, reflexes, and transvection. He is immune to aging, conventional disease, sickness and most forms of injury. He cannot be killed or permanently injured by conventional means.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: He is unaffected by most assaults and, due to his healing factor, can rapidly regenerate damaged tissue. Dracula can manipulate the minds of others, and command animals, such as rats, bats, and wolves, to his will. With limited exceptions, he may control other vampires. He has the ability to mentally control victims he has bitten, and can temporarily hypnotize anyone with his gaze.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: He is capable of shapeshifting into a bat – either normal or human size – or a wolf while retaining his intelligence and into a fog or mist – partially or fully – and has the ability of weather control, such as summoning electrical storms. Like some vampires in other works of fiction, Dracula does not cast a reflection in mirrors and his image cannot be captured on film. His powers have been greatly amplified and his weaknesses circumvented by magical sources, such as the spells of the Darkholders.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Dracula has a dependence on the ingestion of fresh blood to sustain his existence, and an inability to endure direct sunlight. He falls into a comatose state during daylight hours and must spend much time in contact with his native soil. He has vulnerabilities to garlic (which can both repel him and prevent him from changing form), silver and wood (both of which can cause severe pain, the latter to a lesser extent unless it penetrates his heart) and the presence of religious symbols (wielded by one who believes in their spiritual meaning), and can be killed either by beheading or by a wooden stake or blade made of silver driven through his heart. He can also be destroyed by the spell in the Darkhold known as the Montesi Formula (named after Brother Montesi, the late monk who both discovered it and first realized what it was).


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Dracula is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and swordsman with centuries of experience, specializing in 15th-century warfare and militaristic strategy. He has a gifted intellect, and studied under tutors in his youth in Transylvania.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Marc Buxton of "Den of Geek" called Dracula "Marvel’s greatest classic monster," writing, "Somehow, Marvel made Dracula into a classic anti-hero that captured the atmosphere and pathos of Bram Stokers’ novel and the Universal Horror classic. Somehow, Marvel also managed to weave in some super hero craziness as well with Dracula serving as the sometime hero in a book that featured one of the richest supporting casts of any comic of the 1970s. So many characters on our list, Lilith, Blade, and Hannibal King to name but a few, got their starts in Tomb of Dracula. But it was Vlad the Impaler himself that outshined them all with his evil brand of nobility."


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In the mid-1970s, Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano created a serialized adaptation of the original Bram Stoker novel, published in 10- to 12-page installments in the short-lived series "Dracula Lives!".


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: Following the cancellation of "Dracula Lives!", an additional installment of their adaptation appeared in "Marvel Preview" #8 ("The Legion of Monsters"), for a total of 76 pages comprising roughly one-third of the novel. After a 30-year hiatus, Marvel commissioned Thomas and Giordano to finish the adaptation, and ran the reprinted and new material as the four-issue miniseries "Stoker's Dracula" (Oct. 2004 – May 2005). The entire adaptation was collected by "Marvel Illustrated" in 2010.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Vlad III Dracula is the brother of the vampire known as Morbius the Living Vampire and a direct ancestor of Doctor Doom.


title: Dracula (Marvel Comics)

text: In "Mutant X", Dracula succeeded in transforming Storm into a vampire. After Dracula's defeat, he was imprisoned in the Vault, contained in a coffin. The Marauders broke Dracula free. Dracula went on a killing spree, until being killed by Storm.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: Charles Rozell Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded "Insight for Living", headquartered in Frisco, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2,000 stations around the world in 15 languages. He is currently senior pastor at Stonebriar Community Church, in Frisco, Texas.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: Charles Rozell Swindoll was born on October 18, 1934, in El Campo in Wharton County, Texas, the third of three children born to Earl and Lovell Swindoll. He attended Charles H. Milby High School in Houston. He credits his drama teacher, Dick Nieme, for helping him manage his stutter. As a member of the school marching band and orchestra, he learned to play all of the instruments in the woodwind section, although the clarinet remained his primary instrument. After graduating from high school, he studied mechanical engineering while working for Reed Roller Bit Company in Houston, Texas. Swindoll then fulfilled his military service obligation with the United States Marine Corps, first in San Francisco, then on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Part of his duty included playing in the Marine Corps Marching Band.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: After his honorable discharge in 1959, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, where he graduated magna cum laude four years later.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: Swindoll was ordained into the ministry in 1963 and served in Dallas, under J. Dwight Pentecost, for two years. He has since held senior pastorates in Waltham, Massachusetts (1965–67), Irving, Texas (1967–71), and Fullerton, California (1971–94). He started his current senior pastorate in Frisco, Texas in 1998.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: Swindoll is the founder of "Insight for Living", which produces a radio program of the same name on Christian and non-Christian radio stations around the world. The program is heard on more than 2000 stations, as well as being webcast, and is translated into several languages. Its roots go back to the summer of 1977, when Swindoll's sermons from the First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton were broadcast on radio. In 1979 the "Insight for Living" radio ministry began; its offices are now located in Frisco.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: In July 1994, Swindoll became the president of Dallas Theological Seminary and now serves as its chancellor. He is the author of more than 70 books, most of which are based on his research and preparation for sermons preached each Sunday. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, "Christianity Today" produced an article naming Swindoll as one of the top 25 most influential preachers of the past 50 years (1956–2006).


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: In 1998 Swindoll founded Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco. Many of the pastors at Stonebriar are graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary. The church first held services at Collin County Community College (now Collin College), then moved to its permanent home on Legendary Drive. The congregation grew rapidly from a few hundred members to several thousand in the first few years, and this growth has necessitated major expansion of the current facility. Construction for the additions began in 2005. The church is known for its missionary work in India and in other countries. Though Swindoll is still widely regarded as an Evangelical Free Church of America preacher, the Stonebriar Community Church is not affiliated with any particular denomination.


title: Chuck Swindoll

text: On June 18, 1955, Swindoll married Cynthia Ann Parker, who used to be the pianist at a Baptist Church in Galena Park, Texas. Together, the couple has four children, ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO Software Inc. is an American business intelligence software company founded in 1997 in Palo Alto, California.


title: TIBCO Software

text: It has headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and offices in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Its Palo Alto campus consists of four buildings on 16 acres in Palo Alto's Stanford Research Park.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In 1997, Vivek Ranadivé, who had previously founded and sold Teknekron Software Systems, Inc, founded TIBCO (The Information Bus Company) as a subsidiary of Reuters Holdings, which was then a new venture firm, with financial backing from Cisco Systems. The bus software allowed communication within the financial markets to happen in real-time and without human intervention. The technology was used by companies like SAP, IBM, and Oracle. Later in 1997, the company became one of 13 of Microsoft's partners in "push" technology, which delivers internet content to users for free through web browsers.


title: TIBCO Software

text: The company's initial public offering (IPO) of stock was made in July 1999 with a range value of $9 to $11. In its first day of trading, the company's stock doubled, from $17.38 to $32.38 per share and in early 2000, the company's value went from $22.75 to $244.88 per share, its record high at the time. After the IPO, the company raised $109.5 million and 7.3 million common shares sold for $15 each, above its range value.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In 2000, Yahoo! introduced Corporate Yahoo, a platform developed using TIBCO Software that allowed companies to develop customized communications between computers. Corporate Yahoo contained early examples of bundled e-mail, calendars, stock prices, and news displayed on intranet homepages. Hewlett-Packard was one of the partners in the software's development.


title: TIBCO Software

text: The company survived the dot-com bubble burst and was listed among "USA Today"'s e-Consumer and e-Business index of 50 technology companies that remained relevant in 2001 following the boom. During the first and second quarters of 2001, the firm's market capitalization approached $2 billion.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In 2002, Verity, Inc., an American business portal infrastructure software provider, announced an expanded alliance with the company to integrate Verity K2 Developer technology with TIBCO ActivePortal 4.0.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In 2003, British mobile operator Vodafone and Indian mobile provider Reliance Communications began using the firm's software, and Delta Air Lines used TIBCO software to organize its operation systems, including baggage handling, ticketing and check-in. The same year, Lufthansa also used their software and Deutsche Bahn used it to construct digitally integrated train stations.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In 2004, Wellpoint (now Anthem) and RealMed used TIBCO technology to process HIPAA claims, and Harrah's casinos used predictive software to analyze system demands. Allstate used its programming to process insurance claims. Since its release in 2007, Apple Inc.'s iPhone has used TIBCO software to process user requests and facilitate sales. Xcel Energy launched its SmartGridCity program in 2009, which assisted companies seeking to reduce carbon emissions while using TIBCO software.


title: TIBCO Software

text: By 2011, the company's annual revenues had grown to $920 million, its customer base to 4,000, and its number of employees to 2,500. In March 2013, TIBCO announced that it had chosen LaunchSquad as its corporate PR Agency of Record.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In September 2014, TIBCO revealed it was being bought out by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for $4.3 billion.


title: TIBCO Software

text: On December 5, 2014, the acquisition of TIBCO by Vista Equity Partners was completed. Murray Rode was made the CEO of TIBCO.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In October 2020, TIBCO announced the acquisition of Information Builders, Inc. (IBI), a leading data and analytics company based in New York City.


title: TIBCO Software

text: In September 2022, TIBCO announced the acquisition of Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS), a cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service, and cloud computing technologies based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. In July 2022, Citrix announced that Tom Krause would succeed Robert Calderoni as CEO of the company following its merger with TIBCO software.


title: TIBCO Software

text: The company's infrastructure software focuses on real-time communication for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and business-to-employee data transfers, including facilitation of communication between otherwise incompatible software. The company provides middleware, which allows for access to real-time data between multiple systems while predicting users' needs. The software appears in Amazon.com's personalized product recommendations and FedEx's package tracking system. Clients also use the software's feedback to deliver offers to customers based on their browsing habits.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO EBX is a multi dimensional (vector) MDM master data management software. EBX provides consistent and accurate data for any domain. Create maximum flexibility through fully configurable applications. Empower business users with self-service capabilities and collaborative governance.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO ActiveSpaces is an expandable, in-memory system-of-record datastore. It stores, retrieves, and queries data stored in tables and distributes changes to that data in real time. It can function as an alternative to a database datastore (with ACID properties and query filtering criteria expressed as SQL-compatible strings) and can process large amounts of distributed data.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO BusinessEvents is a complex event processing (CEP) software used to identify patterns across a business by correlating large volumes of data with external events and applying rules to identify situations that require a response.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO Data Virtualization is a data virtualization software that orchestrates access to multiple data sources. It was originally written by Composite Software.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO LogLogic collects logs and events from network devices, servers, databases, operating systems and applications.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO MDM is the legacy master data management software for aligning enterprise data across multiple business units, departments and partners and synchronizing the information with IT transactional systems.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO Spotfire is an analytics and business intelligence platform for analysis of data by predictive and complex statistics. During the 2010 World Cup, FIFA used this software to give viewers analytics on country teams' past performances. Its components include TIBCO Enterprise Runtime for R, a runtime engine for the R programming language, which was added in September 2012 as part of Spotfire 5.0.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO tibbr, announced in January 2011, is a social media system for the workplace. It manages input and output feeds to outside programs and integrates with other social media platforms. Sixty companies, encompassing 50,000 users, have signed up. tibbr 3.0, launched in June 2011, added HD video conferencing, and distinguishes between public and private information sharing.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO ActiveMatrix is a technology-neutral platform for composite business process management (BPM) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) applications. The platform includes products for service creation and integration, distributed service and data grids, packaged applications, BPM and governance.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO Rendezvous a message bus for enterprise Application integration (EAI) with a messaging API in several programming languages.


title: TIBCO Software

text: TIBCO Hawk is a software product that allows monitoring and management of distributed computing applications.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Female sex tourism is sex tourism by women who travel intending to engage in sexual activities with one or more locals, usually male sex workers. Female sex tourists may seek aspects of the sexual relationship not typically shared by male sex tourists, such as perceived romance and intimacy. Women who fit this profile – especially wealthy, single, older white women – plan their holidays to have romance and sex with a companion who knows how to make them feel special and give them attention. The incidence of female sex tourism is reportedly lower than male sex tourism.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Female sex tourism occurs in diverse regions of the world. Africa, the Caribbean, and southern Europe appear to be preferred destinations for female sex tourists, but some other regions with many unemployed or underemployed males are also becoming popular. The demographics of female sex tourism vary by destination, but in general female sex tourists are usually classified as women from a developed country, who travel to Less Developed Countries in search of romance or sexual outlets.


title: Female sex tourism

text: With this movement of different populations to different countries, problems concerning health increase, especially ailments involving sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS. Some women involved with sex tourism do not use barrier contraceptives during the majority of their visit, leaving them and the men they have sex with unprotected against STIs.


title: Female sex tourism

text: There is an ongoing debate on terminology regarding female sex tourism. Pruitt and LaFont argue that the term "female sex tourism" is not representative of the relationship that female tourists have with local men. They argue that "female sex tourism" oversimplifies the motives of these women and that "romance tourism" explains the complex nature of what these women are engaging themselves in while involved in romance tours. They also propose that the expression "female sex tourism" "serves to perpetuate gender roles and reinforce power relations of male dominance and female subordination, romance tourism in Jamaica provides an arena for change".


title: Female sex tourism

text: Scholars such as Klaus de Albuquerque counter that the term "romance tourism" overcomplicates what the motives of sex tourists are. de Albuquerque stated that concepts like "romance tourism" are only representative of small niches, like that of Jamaica and its cultural beliefs. Through his research, he concludes that the majority of female sex tourists are solely touring for physical encounters and not romance. He also says that the "tourist and beach boys may define their relationships as one of romance, [but] in reality, the relationship is one of prostitution".


title: Female sex tourism

text: Researcher Jacqueline Sanchez-Taylor argues that the term "female sex tourism" and even the term "romance tourism" undermine what is actually happening in these situations. She compares female and male sex tourism and shows how each relationship is based upon sexual-economic relationships. She also explores whether or not female sex tourism is based on romance and if there is some sort of sexual-economic relationship occurring between the two parties. She added, "The fact that parallels between male and female sex tourism are widely overlooked reflects and reproduces weaknesses in existing theoretical and commonsense understandings of gendered power...[and] sex tourism."


title: Female sex tourism

text: Female sex tourists popularly visit Southern Europe (mainly in Greece, Italy, Spain and Croatia), Africa (Kenya, The Gambia, and Morocco) and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Cuba and Barbados). Other destinations include other parts of Latin America (Ecuador and Costa Rica),Turkey, Nepal, Fiji, and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia). Bali in Indonesia is a destination where women from Western Europe, Japan, and Australia engage in sex tourism with male locals. A survey from 2009 conducted by Wanjohi Kibicho in Malindi Kenya from the book "Sex Tourism in Africa: Kenya's Booming Industry," found that out of the sex tourists surveyed, 61% were between the ages of 46–50, 31–35 (3%) being the youngest age bracket. Of the background of these women surveyed 22% were from Germany, 19% from Italy, and 15% from the Netherlands. In addition 71% of those surveyed were revisiting the destination. In gauging the reasoning for sex touring, Kibicho summarizes that women who feel rejected by men in the developed countries for being "overweight and older" find that in Kenya this is suddenly reversed. There they are "romanced", appreciated and "loved" by men.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Traditional female sex tourists have the same intentions as their male counterparts, and travel to foreign countries that have lower wages, and take advantage of cheap prostitution at a level unaffordable in their own countries.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Examples of these sexual-economic relationships can be found in countries like Kenya, where women from the United Kingdom travel to Kenya to enjoy the sun and enjoy the "company of young men" in a sexual manner.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Situational sex tourists differ from traditional sex tourists by considering their sexual activities with the sex worker as an added amenity to their original motive to travel.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The majority of situational sex tourists are first-time tourists who do not plan on being involved with local men, and who become involved in romantic relationships rather than having exclusively physical relationships with sex workers.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Situational sex tourism occurs when foreign tourists are attracted by male sex workers, known as "beach boys" in the Caribbean or "gringueros" in Costa Rica. According to the tourists, they are usually attracted by the exotic appeal that these men possess. This appeal can result from the ethnic differences between the sex worker and the sex tourist or the foreign lifestyle that the local men live. Women who have sexual encounters with such men are typically middle-aged and of European ethnicities.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The sex workers will often approach women who they deem vulnerable for various reasons, such as weight or age.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The concept of romance tourism came from researchers' observations in Jamaica; it appeared to them that the female tourist and local males viewed their relationship with each other solely based on romance and courtship rather than lust and monetary value. Romance tourism is an issue of gender identification: "gender identity is a relational construct, the Western women who seek to break from conventional roles require a different kind of relationship with men in order to realize a new gender identity". With increasing independence and financial self-reliance, women are able to travel, showing their independence from men of their culture, "female tourists have the opportunity to explore new gender behavior". Like traditional sex tourists, romance tourists have a motive for travel, romance tourists travel to underdeveloped countries to find romantic relationships.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Male sex workers have more freedom and security than female sex workers do because males are not confined to a brothel or a pimp and are not generally physically abused by their clients.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Similar to the sex tourists, sex workers have their own intentions. Just as some Western women may consider the local men exotic, the local men may consider Western women to be exotic. Popular characteristics that appeal to a majority of sex workers are women with blonde hair and light colored eyes. Some of the sex workers will target this type of exotic woman for their own personal pleasure with no guarantee of monetary gain.


title: Female sex tourism

text: On the other side of the spectrum, most sex workers have the intention of making some form of monetary gain. Such a sex worker typically profiles tourists, in hopes of increasing his monetary wealth the fastest. While profiling he will look for older women, over the age of forty or young, overweight women. The sex worker considers these women vulnerable and will play on their vulnerability to get the tourists to obtain feelings for the sex worker. Once the tourist and sex worker obtain a relationship, the sex worker finds it easier for them to engage in a monetary exchange.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Romance tourists do not label their sex workers "prostitutes". The local men and the tourists understand their roles in the relationship. The primary difference in definition of a local man to a romance tourist and a local man to a sex tourist is the emphasis the romance tourist places on passion instead of a transaction of goods or money for sexual favors.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The rate of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, may be relatively high in some countries which are popular destinations for female sex tourism, particularly in comparison to the home countries of many sex tourists. Little or no research has been done into the transmission rates of HIV and other STDs pertaining to sex tourism. Neither has there been reliable research done into whether or not condom use is prevalent among female sex tourists. However, writer Julie Bindel speculates, in an article for "The Guardian", that HIV infection figures for the region suggest that condom use by the "beach boys" in the Caribbean may be sporadic, yet female sex tourists do not appear especially preoccupied by the potential risks.


title: Female sex tourism

text: Women seeking to experience sex with foreign men put themselves at a higher risk for sexually transmitted infections. Condom use during sex tours is relatively low. It is often cited that women have the intention to have safe sex with their casual sex partners while on vacation, but at some point during the initiation of the condom, the women do not follow through.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The sex workers usually will not initiate the use of a condom due to either the limited availability of condoms, cost, beliefs, or previous experiences the sex worker has had with condoms. Female sex tourists report that, given the atmosphere and the exoticness of their lover; condoms are rarely used or discussed prior to engaging in sexual activities.


title: Female sex tourism

text: The lack of barrier contraceptives increases the risk of the tourist obtaining a sexually transmitted infection from their foreign partner especially when their partner has been with multiple women.


title: Female sex tourism

text: It has been found that in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica, female sex tourists in the region engage in some form of unprotected sexual activity with local men known as "gringueros" (men who pursue "gringas", women from the United States, according to data researched by Nancy Romero-Daza. The women in the study were found to not be traditional sex tourists but situational sex tourists.


title: Davey Richards

text: Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), under the ring name Davey Richards, and is the current MLW National Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor (ROH), and for several independent promotions, including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) and Full Impact Pro (FIP).


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards has also worked internationally in Pro Wrestling Noah through ROH's involvement in the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance, a global organization of cooperative promotions that allow their competitors to travel abroad to other companies, and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards was a former one-time ROH World Champion. He is also an eight-time world tag team champion, having won the ROH World Tag Team Championship three times (once with Rocky Romero and twice with Eddie Edwards), as well as a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with Rocky Romero) and the TNA World Tag Team Champion with Eddie Edwards. He has also won several titles in the Independent circuit, most notably the CZW World Heavyweight Championship, PWG World Championship, the FIP World Heavyweight Championship twice and the PWG World Tag Team Championship three times (with Super Dragon twice and Roderick Strong once). Richards was the winner of several tournaments that highlight the top performers of the United States, most notably East Coast Wrestling Association's (ECWA) Super 8 Tournament in 2006 and PWG's Battle of Los Angeles in the same year.


title: Davey Richards

text: Prior to entering professional wrestling, Richards was an accomplished amateur wrestler in high school, as well as learning Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Richards began training in 2004 with Tony Kozina before making his debut in June of the same year in the Washington-based company, Pro Wrestling War against a wrestler named Mr. Sexy. Richards also spent time training with Paul Orndorff in Atlanta, while working at the same time at a Duracell factory an hour-and-a-half drive away in Cleveland, Tennessee.


title: Davey Richards

text: In April 2005, he began wrestling for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) in California; he debuted in an eight-man tag match for the first All Star Weekend. He later returned for a three-way match with Human Tornado and Puma; during the match Richards established himself as a villain by removing Puma's mask and revealing him as T. J. Perkins, starting a rivalry between the two. Richards then began to work more extensively in tag team matches with his new partner, Super Dragon; the two managed to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship from El Generico and Tornado, which led to a seven-month reign, defeating a variety of teams before losing the championship to Chris Bosh and Scott Lost in May of the following year. Following the loss, Richards entered singles competition to be in the company's annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament by defeating, Ronin, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and finally Cima, a guest from Japan's Dragon Gate promotion, in the finals.


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards went back to tag team competition to win the tag championship for a second time with Strong defeating B-Boy and former partner, Super Dragon, only to lose the belts back to their former champions the following night. Richards spent his time with PWG in a number of singles matches until the fall of 2007 at "European Vacation II", he and Dragon reunited to defeat rivals Kevin Steen and El Generico. The two held the championship until January 2008 when Richards no-showed the "Pearl Habra" show; this resulted in the team being stripped of the championship, and led to a sixty-day suspension for Richards. He returned to the company sixty days later, competing in the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, once again teaming up with Super Dragon. After they were eliminated in the first round by the team of Steen and Generico, Dragon took time off due to a shoulder injury, and Richards returned to singles competition. Richards defeated Kenny Omega on February 27, 2010, at "As the Worm Turns" to win the PWG World Championship for the first time. On September 13, 2010, Richards was stripped of the title, when he was unable to defend it due to other booking commitments.


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards returned to PWG during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend on January 29, 2011, in a match, where he defeated by Low Ki. On March 4, Richards and Eddie Edwards entered the "DDT4" tag team tournament, where they made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winners, The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). In his next PWG appearance on September 10, Richards unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Steen for the PWG World Championship. During December 2013's "All Star Weekend X", Richards announced it would be his final weekend with the promotion. On December 21, Richards was defeated by Ricochet in his PWG farewell match.


title: Davey Richards

text: On June 3, 2006, Richards made his debut with Ring of Honor (ROH) at "Destiny" by defeating Jimmy Rave. This was the start of a rivalry with Rave, who challenged Richards to a rematch at "In Your Face" on June 17. During the match, the pre-match ritual of fans throwing toilet paper at Rave backfired when one roll hit the chandelier above the ring, breaking some glass that scattered in the ring. Nevertheless, the two wrestled on that glass, resulting in numerous cuts on both men's bodies, and Richards went on to win the rematch.


title: Davey Richards

text: Soon after, Richards was chosen as the American protégé of Kenta, a junior heavyweight from the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, who was on loan to the company as part of the talent exchange agreement between the two, the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance. On August 4, the two teamed together to face the Briscoe Brothers with Richards ending up getting pinned. The next night, Richards faced his mentor in a singles match at "Fight of the Century"; he was unable to secure a victory. Later in the year, Richards and KENTA lost to Roderick Strong and Austin Aries at "Honor Reclaims Boston."


title: Davey Richards

text: In early 2007, Richards helped Roderick Strong turn on Strong's former Generation Next partner Austin Aries. Together, Richards and Strong formed the No Remorse Corps, a contingency out to hinder Aries' endeavors; the pair was later joined by Rocky Romero. The No Remorse Corps was involved in a feud with Aries's faction The Resilience. In early 2008, Richards and Romero won the ROH World Tag Team Championship from The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black), which led to a four-month reign before losing to the Briscoe Brothers. Following a victory of Strong over rival Erick Stevens, Richards himself turned on his mentor after revealing his allegiance to Larry Sweeney and his group, Sweet 'n' Sour, Inc. This was followed by Strong attempting to gain a measure of revenge before Richards won a match between the two.


title: Davey Richards

text: It was announced by Sweeney on the ROH Newswire that he would team up Richards and Eddie Edwards to create The American Wolves. The Wolves would first team in a triple threat tag team elimination match at "All-Star Extravaganza IV" against the Briscoes and the unofficial European Union (Claudio Castagnoli and Nigel McGuinness). They eliminated the European Union but ultimately were defeated by the Briscoes. Later that night, Richards attacked Kevin Steen's knee with a pipe. The next night at "Final Battle 2008" they teamed with Go Shiozaki against Brent Albright, Erick Stevens and Roderick Strong in a losing effort. They later attacked the Briscoes, attacking the already injured Mark Briscoe's knee putting him out of action. Kevin Steen and El Generico tried to make the save, but were laid out by the Wolves.


title: Davey Richards

text: Beginning in 2009, after defeating Strong twice with different tag partners The Wolves gained their first World Tag Team Championship match against Steen and Generico at "Motor City Madness", where they were defeated. Richards went on to face ROH World Championship contender Tyler Black in a losing effort at "Proving Ground Night 1". At "Proving Ground Night 2", Richards lost to Steen in a singles match and after the show, he attacked Generico's knee with a chair. At "Stylin' & Profilin"', The American Wolves and Chris Hero defeated Steen, Generico and Bobby Dempsey, which granted the Wolves another title shot. Before their tag team title shot in New York City, Richards was hand picked by ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness to be his tag team partner in a match against Generico and Kenta, but Richards and McGuinness lost the match. Richards faced his former mentor Kenta in a GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match, which took place at "Supercard of Honor IV" in Houston. Despite losing, Richards received a standing ovation at the end of the match. As the American Wolves gained contendership for the ROH World Tag Team Championship, they lost their initial match against Steen and Generico, but the Wolves attacked Steen before putting Generico through a table.


title: Davey Richards

text: On April 10 at a television taping of "Ring of Honor Wrestling", The American Wolves were able to capture the World Tag Team Championship from Steen and Generico in a Tables are Legal match. At "Tag Title Classic", the Wolves took on the team of Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black. The match ended in 45-minute time-limit draw, the first time in ROH history that a World Tag Team Championship match had ended in a time-limit draw. The next weekend, Richards defeated Kevin Steen in a singles match, before he and Edwards defeated Steen and Jay Briscoe in a two out of three falls match to retain the World Tag Team Championship.


title: Davey Richards

text: In September 2009, Richards defeated Bryan Danielson in Danielson's penultimate match. The next night, at Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown in New York, NY, Richards and Edwards retained the title against Steen and Generico in Ladder War II. On November 13, Richards faced Austin Aries for the ROH World Championship in a losing effort. On December 19, at Final Battle 2009, the Wolves lost the Tag Team Championship to the Briscoe Brothers.


title: Davey Richards

text: On January 29, 2010, ROH announced that Richards had signed a contract renewal with the company. On February 5 at the "Ring of Honor Wrestling" tapings, Richards entered the tournament to determine the inaugural ROH World Television Champion and defeated Delirious to advance to the second round, where he would meet Kenny King. The tournament concluded on March 5, when Richards defeated King to advance to the finals, where he was defeated by his American Wolves tag team partner Eddie Edwards. On April 3, Richards earned the number five spot in the Pick 6 series by defeating Kenny King at The Big Bang! pay-per-view.


title: Davey Richards

text: On June 19 at Death Before Dishonor VIII Richards received a shot at Tyler Black's ROH World Championship, but was unable to dethrone the defending champion. At the "Ring of Honor Wrestling" television tapings on July 16, Richards lost to Roderick Strong in a match where Strong's guaranteed championship match was on the line. Richards refused assistance from Shane Hagadorn, his manager, during the match, and attacked Hagadorn afterwards when Hagadorn claimed credit for making Richards the best wrestler in the world, ending their association. On September 11, 2010, at Glory By Honor IX, Jim Cornette announced that Richards had signed a new contract with Ring of Honor. At the following pay-per-view, Final Battle 2010 on December 18, Richards unsuccessfully challenged Roderick Strong for the ROH World Championship. On June 26, 2011, at Best in the World 2011, Richards defeated his own tag team partner Eddie Edwards to win the ROH World Championship for the first time. On August 10 ROH announced that Richards had signed a contract extension with the promotion. At Final Battle 2011, Richards successfully defended the championship against Edwards.


title: Davey Richards

text: At the January 7, 2012, tapings of "Ring of Honor Wrestling", Richards formed Team Ambition with Kyle O'Reilly, opposite Eddie Edwards and Adam Cole. Outside of ROH, the team also came to include Tony Kozina. On March 4 at the 10th Anniversary Show, Team Ambition was defeated by Edwards and Cole in a main event tag team match, with Cole pinning Richards for the win. During the Showdown in the Sun weekend on March 30 and 31, Richards first successfully defended the ROH World Championship in a three-way elimination match against Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong and then in a singles match against Michael Elgin. Richards' match with Elgin was later given a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer of the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter". On May 12 at Border Wars, Richards lost the ROH World Championship to Kevin Steen, ending his reign at 321 days. On June 24 at , Richards received his final shot at the ROH World Championship as long as Steen was champion, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the title.


title: Davey Richards

text: On December 16 at , Richards reunited with Eddie Edwards in a tag team match, where they defeated Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly. Following their win, the American Wolves received a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the defending champions, the Briscoe Brothers, on January 18, 2013. On August 3, the American Wolves defeated the Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title to reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) on August 17. On September 20 at Death Before Dishonor XI, the American Wolves unsuccessfully challenged the Forever Hooligans for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On November 30, Richards announced that he had parted ways with ROH. ROH later claimed that the promotion had decided to part ways with Richards due to his "unprofessionalism and unreliability with the company".


title: Davey Richards

text: In 2010 Richards was invited to take part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Best of the Super Juniors tournament along with fellow North American and ROH wrestler, Kenny Omega. Richards entered the two-week-long tournament on May 30, but although he managed to win five out of his seven matches, he finished third in his block and narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. After the tournament Richards began working regularly for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, joining the promotion's top heel stable Chaos, and no longer made appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. In November 2010 Richards and Rocky Romero, reviving the No Remorse Corps name, made it to the finals of a five-day-long Super J Tag League tournament, before being defeated by their Chaos teammates Jado and Gedo. On December 11, 2010, Richards received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Prince Devitt. On May 3, 2011, Richards and Romero unsuccessfully challenged Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi, known collectively as Apollo 55, for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On May 26, Richards entered the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament and after winning six out of his eight round robin stage matches, which included a win over the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt, Richards finished second in his block and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. On June 10, Richards was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by the eventual winner of the entire tournament, Kota Ibushi. On October 10, 2011, at Destruction '11, Richards and Romero defeated Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the first time. Richards and Romero made their first successful title defense on November 12 at Power Struggle, defeating the team of Kushida and Tiger Mask. As a result of pinning Prince Devitt in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, Richards was granted another shot at his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on December 4, but failed in his attempt to become a double champion. On January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Richards and Romero lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to Devitt and Taguchi. On February 12 at The New Beginning, the No Remorse Corps defeated Apollo 55 to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. As a result, Richards received his third shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on March 10, but was yet again defeated by Prince Devitt. On May 2, Richards and Romero were stripped of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after a car accident forced Richards to miss his flight to Japan and the following day's Wrestling Dontaku 2012 event, where the two were scheduled to defend the title against Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. Despite being able to wrestle in the United States, New Japan also pulled Richards from the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, citing doctor's orders.


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards has also done extensive tours of Japan, debuting in 2007 with Pro Wrestling Noah. He made a tour of the company again the following summer, competing in tag team matches. Richards was scheduled to return to Noah on November 27, 2013, working an entire tour, which would culminate in him challenging Taiji Ishimori for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. However, on November 25, Richards announced that he had suffered a neck injury and would be forced to pull out of the tour.


title: Davey Richards

text: On April 8, 2006, Richards won the ECWA Super 8 Tournament after defeating Scott Lost, Milano Collection A.T., and Charlie Haas. After winning this tournament, Richards began competing in many different organizations, including NWA Anarchy, Ring of Honor and ROH's sister promotion Full Impact Pro (FIP). On May 2, 2009, Richards defeated Tyler Black via forfeit for the FIP World Heavyweight Championship, his first singles title. While on tour in Japan for Dragon Gate in December 2009, Richards lost the FIP title to Masaaki Mochizuki. He would regain the title a month later at DGUSA Fearless.


title: Davey Richards

text: Richards has competed twice in German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling's (wXw) 16 Carat Gold tournament. While being eliminated from the tournament in his first round match against Go Shiozaki in 2007, Richards made it all the way to the semifinals in 2011, defeating Jon Ryan and Zack Sabre Jr. along the way, before losing to eventual tournament winner, Sami Callihan.


title: Davey Richards

text: In mid-2009, Richards began competing for Dragon Gate USA and performed at the promotion's Open the Untouchable Gate show, where he defeated Shingo Takagi. After his match, Bryan Danielson praised Richards and touted him as the best wrestler in the world, but Richards attacked Danielson claiming that he already deserved that title. On November 28, Richards competed in a tournament to determine the inaugural DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion, but lost to Yamato in the first round. After BxB Hulk won the championship later that night, Richards challenged him to a championship match before attacking him. He also began competing for DGUSA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate, and completed a tour with them in December 2009.


title: Davey Richards

text: In 2009, Richards, along with FIP booker Sal Hamaoui and Dragon Gate USA vice president Gabe Sapolsky founded the company, Evolve, which saw Richards in the main event of the first show, Evolve 1, on January 16 in the following year, defeating Kota Ibushi. On January 29, 2010, it was announced that Richards will no longer be involved with either Dragon Gate USA or Evolve because he signed a new contract with ROH. On March 22 Richards was stripped of the FIP World Heavyweight Championship and will not be wrestling for that company in the future either. Following his departure from ROH, Richards returned to Evolve on January 10, 2014, unsuccessfully challenging A. R. Fox for the Evolve Championship.


title: Davey Richards

text: On April 2, 2010, the American Wolves traveled to Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) and won the 2CW Tag Team Championship from Cheech and Cloudy in Watertown, New York. They held the title for four months before losing them to Colin Delaney and Jimmy Olsen on August 22, 2010.


title: Davey Richards

text: From June 30 to July 2, 2012, Richards took part in World Wrestling Council's (WWC) Anniversario weekend in Puerto Rico. On the first two nights, he was defeated in singles matches by Ray Gonzalez and Chris Angel and, on the final night, he and Melina were defeated in a mixed tag team match by Velvet Sky and Xix Savant.


title: Davey Richards

text: In August 2013, after their contracts with ROH had expired, Richards and Eddie Edwards took part in a tryout camp for WWE, where they were described as "standing out of everyone". On November 18, Richards and Edwards entered the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for another week-long tryout. Three days later, Richards and Edwards, working under the ring names Derek Billington and John Cahill, respectively, and billed together as "The American Pitbulls", made their NXT debut, losing to NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) in a non-title match. The following month, Richards announced that his time on the independent circuit was coming to an end, implying that he had signed a developmental contract with WWE.


title: Davey Richards

text: On the January 16, 2014 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Richards made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling debut alongside his American Wolves teammate Eddie Edwards (now renamed The Wolves), in a segment with TNA President Dixie Carter, where she welcomed them and then offered them a tryout match on the following episode of "Impact Wrestling" before they informed her that they had already signed contracts with the company, courtesy of the private investor, MVP. On February 23, 2014, he and Eddie won the TNA World Tag Team Champions at a live event in Morgantown, West Virginia. After a week-long reign, The Wolves lost the title back to The BroMans at Wrestle-1's event in Tokyo, Japan in a three-way match, which also included Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo).


title: Davey Richards

text: On April 27 at the Sacrifice pay-per-view, The Wolves regained the championship by defeating Robbie E, Godderz, and DJ Z in a two-on-three handicap match. On June 15, 2014, at Slammiversary XII The Wolves competed in six way ladder match for TNA X Division Championship, which was won by Sanada. On June 26, 2014, the Wolves defeated The Hardy Boyz. The Wolves returned to Wrestle-1 on July 6, successfully defending the TNA World Tag Team Championship against the Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka). The Hardys and Team 3D challenged The Wolves to a three-way for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, to which they agreed. Kurt Angle later announced that all three teams would compete in a best of three series for the title with the winners of the first match being able to choose the stipulation of the next one. Team 3D won the first match and chose a Tables match, The Hardys won the second match and chose a ladder match, and The Wolves won the third match at No Surrender, tying them all at one win each. A final match to decide the series took place, and was won by The Wolves. At the "Impact Wrestling" tapings on September 19, Edwards and Richards lost the titles to The Revolution (James Storm and Abyss). On January 30, 2015, The Wolves defeated The Revolution to become three time World Tag Team Champions. However, The Wolves vacated the titles on March 14 due to Edwards suffering a broken heel.


title: Davey Richards

text: On their return, The Wolves faced Dirty Heels in a Best of 5 Series matches for the Tag Team Championships. The Wolves won the first 2 matches and Dirty Heels won the next two. At Slammiversary, Aries defeated Richards, so he chose the stipulation for the last match of the series, a 30 minutes tag team iron man match. On June 25, 2015, (aired July 1, 2015) The Wolves defeated Dirty Heels to win the Tag Team Titles. With this victory, The Wolves tied Beer Money for the record of most reigns, with four. They lost the titles to Brian Myers and Trevor Lee on the edition of September 2, 2015, of Impact Wrestling. only to regain them the following week on the September 9, 2015 episode of Impact. During October and November (taped in July), Richards participated in the first ever TNA World Title Series where he ended second of his block by only defeating Robbie E to receive 4 points, surpassing Eddie Edwards record (via time limit draw), but lost to Matt Hardy to retain his status with 4 points of his block. This was enough to advance to the round of 16 where he defeated Bram to advance in the round of 8, in which he would lose to Ethan Carter III, eliminating him from the series.


title: Davey Richards

text: At One Night Only Live, The Wolves defended their world tag titles in the Three-way tag team match against Kurt Angle and Drew Galloway and Eli Drake and Jessie Godderz which saw the Wolves retain the titles. On the January 26 edition of Impact Wrestling, The Wolves were attacked by the newest stable called The Decay consisting of Abyss, Crazzy Steve and the debuting Rosemary, who stole the titles. However they retained the titles from them on the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling. the following week, the Wolves challenged Decay to a hardcore Monster's Ball match which is won by the Decay. On the March 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, The Wolves dropped the titles to Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Bobby Roode).


title: Davey Richards

text: In March, Richards suffered an ACL injury and Edwards started his singles run by feuding with TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee. In July at Destination X, Richards was seen on a TNA broadcast for the first time in months, when he joined Edwards at ringside in a run-in with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley in the build-up to their match later that evening. Richards confirmed on the broadcast that he was there to support Edwards in his landmark match, although was still "A way off being in a condition to compete." Eddie's match resulted in a no-contest when Mike Bennett interfered in the match flooring the referee and then invited new signee to TNA, Moose to the ring, who had a confrontation with Lashley.


title: Davey Richards

text: On January 5, 2017, Richards made his return to TNA, helping Edwards retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, by stopping Lashley from hitting Edwards with the title. Richards faced Lashley on January 6, 2017, at in a losing effort. On the February 9 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Richards turned heel by costing Edwards the TNA World Heavyweight Championship rematch against Lashley, by pulling the referee out of the ring and hitting Edwards with the title belt while the referee was distracted by Angelina Love. Afterwards, Richards and his wife Angelina Love attacked Edwards and his wife Alisha Edwards, thus ending The Wolves in the process. Richards' character then went through a complete transformation, sporting new theme music, trunks, being infatuated with Love and calling himself "The Lone Wolf". On the February 16 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Richards faced Edwards in a Street Fight, however the match ended in a no-contest. On the March 9 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Richards brawled with Edwards at the beginning of the show, but the two were separated by security guards. On the April 6 episode of Impact Wrestling, Richards defeated Edwards in a Last Man Standing Match.


title: Davey Richards

text: On August 22, 2017, Evolve announced the return of Richards for September 22 and 23, to be part to Evolve 92, where he faced Zack Sabre Jr. for the Evolve Championship, and to Evolve 93, where he faced Keith Lee.


title: Davey Richards

text: On September 17, 2017, Richards announced he would be undergoing knee surgery, forcing him to cancel his bookings for the rest of the year. On November 4, Richards announced he would be taking all of 2018 off from professional wrestling due to his studies.


title: Davey Richards

text: On March 10, 2021, it was announced by Global Syndicate Wrestling that Richards will be returning to professional wrestling in June.


title: Davey Richards

text: At Slammiversary, on June 19, 2022, Richards returned to Impact Wrestling, teaming with Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian, and Nick Aldis to defeat Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, PCO, and Vincent).


title: Davey Richards

text: In 2008, Richards married Jennifer, better known as female professional wrestler Christie Summers. In addition to a short-lived career in professional wrestling, Jennifer is also a competitive bodybuilder in the figure class. The couple separated sometime in 2010, leading Richards to reevaluate his retirement plans.


title: Davey Richards

text: In a June 2010 interview, Richards stated that he planned to quit the wrestling business by the end of the year to concentrate on other areas of his life. However, he later withdrew those plans. Richards is a trained paramedic.


title: Davey Richards

text: In January 2015, Richards began dating fellow Impact wrestler Lauren Williams, better known as Angelina Love. The couple announced their engagement on April 27, 2015, and were married on June 10, 2015. On July 30, Williams announced on her Twitter account that she and Richards were expecting their first child, a boy named David Vincent Richards, born on March 17, 2016. The couple divorced amicably sometime in 2017 and in 2019 Richards married a woman named Melissa, becoming stepfather to her two children from a previous relationship.


title: Abbess

text: An abbess (Latin: "abbatissa"), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.


title: Abbess

text: In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Anglican abbeys, the mode of election, position, rights, and authority of an abbess correspond generally with those of an abbot. She must be at least 40 years old and have been a nun for 10 years. The age requirement in the Catholic Church has evolved over time, ranging from 30 to 60. The requirement of 10 years as a nun is only eight in Catholicism. In the rare case of there not being a nun with the qualifications, the requirements may be lowered to 30 years of age and five of those in an "upright manner", as determined by the superior. A woman who is of illegitimate birth, is not a virgin, has undergone non-salutory public penance, is a widow, or is blind or deaf, is typically disqualified for the position, saving by permission of the Holy See. The office is elective, the choice being by the secret votes of the nuns belonging to the community. Like an abbot, after being confirmed in her office by the Holy See, an abbess is solemnly admitted to her office by a formal blessing, conferred by the bishop in whose territory the monastery is located, or by an abbot or another bishop with appropriate permission. Unlike the abbot, the abbess receives only the ring, the crosier, and a copy of the rule of the order. She does not receive a mitre as part of the ceremony. The abbess also traditionally adds a pectoral cross to the outside of her habit as a symbol of office, though she continues to wear a modified form of her religious habit or dress, as she is unordained—females cannot be ordained—and so does not vest or use choir dress in the liturgy. An abbess serves for life, except in Italy and some adjacent islands.


title: Abbess

text: Abbesses are, like abbots, major superiors according to canon law, the equivalents of abbots or bishops (the ordained male members of the church hierarchy who have, by right of their own office, executive jurisdiction over a building, diocesan territory, or a communal or non-communal group of persons—juridical entities under church law). They receive the vows of the nuns of the abbey; they may admit candidates to their order's novitiate; they may send them to study; and they may send them to do pastoral or missionary, or to work or assist—to the extent allowed by canon and civil law—in the administration and ministry of a parish or diocese (these activities could be inside or outside the community's territory). They have full authority in its administration.


title: Abbess

text: There are exigent circumstances, where due to Apostolical privilege, certain Abbesses have been granted rights and responsibilities above the normal, such as the Abbess of the Cistercian Monastery of the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas near Burgos, Spain. Also granted exceptional rights was the Abbess of the Cistercian order in Conversano Italy. She was granted the ability to appoint her own vicar-general, select and approve the confessors, along with the practice of receiving the public homage of her clergy. This practice continued until some of the duties were modified due to an appeal by the clergy to Rome. Finally in 1750, the public homage was abolished.


title: Abbess

text: During the Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries) in the Catholic Church, greater restrictions on abbesses' spiritual independence gained pace. Instruments of church authority, from papal bulls down to local sanctions, were increasingly used to restrict their freedom to dispense blessings, administer sacraments, including the veiling of nuns, and publicly read the gospels or preach. Such spiritual—and even temporal—authority had in earlier church history, largely been unremarkable. As Thomas Oestereich, contributor to the "Catholic Encyclopedia" (1913), makes clear, abbesses' past spiritual authority was increasingly seen as the "usurpation" of corresponding priestly power, and a solely male privilege. He gives an example of the attitude toward such practice, from the 9th century, which persists in church administrative control into the modern era:


title: Abbess

text: Similarly, in 1210, Innocent III (died 1216) expressed his view of the Cistercian Abbesses of Burgos and Palencia in Spain, who preached and heard confessions of their own religious, characterizing these acts as "unheard of, most indecorous, and highly preposterous."


title: Abbess

text: Historically, in some Celtic monasteries, abbesses presided over joint-houses of monks and nuns, the most famous example being Saint Brigid of Kildare's leadership in the founding of the monastery at Kildare in Ireland. This custom accompanied Celtic monastic missions to France, Spain, and even to Rome itself. In 1115, Robert, the founder of Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon and Saumur, France, committed the government of the whole order, men as well as women, to a female superior.


title: Abbess

text: In Lutheran churches, the title of abbess () has in some cases survived (for example, in the ) to designate the heads of abbeys which since the Protestant Reformation have continued as monasteries or convents (). These positions continued, merely changing from Catholic to Lutheran. The first to make this change was the Abbey of Quedlinburg, whose last Catholic Abbess died in 1514. These are collegiate foundations, which provide a home and an income for unmarried ladies, generally of noble birth, called canonesses (), or more usually, or . The office of abbess is of considerable social dignity, and in the past, was sometimes filled by princesses of the reigning houses. Until the dissolution of Holy Roman Empire and mediatisation of smaller imperial fiefs by Napoleon, the evangelical Abbess of Quedlinburg was also per officio the head of that state. The last such ruling abbess was Sofia Albertina, Princess of Sweden. The abess Hildegard of Fraunmünster Abbey sat in the Imperial Diet among other princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The oldest women's abbey in Germany is St. Marienthal Abbey of Cistercian nuns, near Ostritz, established during the early 13th century.


title: Abbess

text: In the Hradčany of Prague is a Catholic institute whose mistress is titled an Abbess. It was founded in 1755 by the Empress Maria Theresa, and traditionally was responsible for the coronation of the Queen of Bohemia. The Abbess is required to be an Austrian Archduchess.


title: Lists of exoplanets

text: These are lists of exoplanets. Most of these were discovered by the Kepler space telescope. There are an additional 2,054 potential exoplanets from Kepler's first mission yet to be confirmed, as well as 978 from its "Second Light" mission and 4,094 from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.


title: Lists of exoplanets

text: For yearly lists on physical, orbital and other properties, as well as on discovery circumstances and other aspects, "see ".


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in English, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese language films. He has worked for directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Montazur Rahman Akbar and Ram Gopal Varma. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film "Ghare Baire". He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2022 by the Indian Government in the field of art.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Banerjee was born in a Zamindari Bengali Hindu family. He is a descendant of the Raja Bahadur of Chanchal (Malda District) and the Raja of Uttarpara.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Banerjee completed his schooling from St. Edmund's School, Shillong. He did his graduation in English literature from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta; and completed his post graduation in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: He turned down a scholarship to Trinity College in Dublin, which had offered to him, through the Irish Christian Brothers, to admit him as an operatic tenor.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: A man of many parts, Banerjee had a deep and abiding interest in theatre in the early years. While in Calcutta, he performed in plays for the British Council,British Women's Association and the theatre group Amateurs. He was the lead tenor in the Calcutta Light Opera Group production of "The Desert Song,". During his time in Bombay he performed for the Cambridge Society, director Arun Sachdev and also played Jesus in Bombay Theatre's first ever musical production, "Godspell". He also played senior division hockey and football in the Bengal League in the 1960s. During the 1991 Uttarkashi Earthquake, he actively participated in relief work. He single-handedly led five mules loaded with relief materials plus carried a backpack of of milk and medicines to Pinswar village (which is beyond the tree line) just before the first winter snowfall and before the Govt supplies reached. In December 1999, he and his wife Maya brought in the new millennium with hands-on participation in relief work in cyclone devastated Orissa which included rebuilding mud huts and clearing animal carcasses. The Moran Blind School in Assam founded by his father Maj S.N. Banerjee in 1971 is an Institution which Banerjee continues to nurture and develop. Under his stewardship, it is now a full-fledged residential school. Recently, the students were the semi-finalists in the North East Blind Football Championship and rated by a Bangalore-based organisation as one of the best schools for visually challenged students. His passion for Art lead him to establish The Calcutta Art Gallery in the late 1970s which was the first commercial art gallery in the city. He brought in renowned artists such as M.F.Husain, Jehangir Sabavala, Anjolie Ela Menon, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Sakti Burman and many others to exhibit. He also actively promoted new talent and artists like Shyamal Roy had their first shows in the Gallery. He is the Brand Ambassador of the Srimants Sankaradeva Society of Assam and the Bird Watchers Society of Uttarakhand and the Goodwill Ambassador of the Dimasa Tribe of the Northeast Hill Tracts. He divides his time between his homes in Landour in Uttarakhand and in Kolkata.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: He has a daughter who was a reputable VFX supervisor for 16 years and is now an aspiring teacher. His other daughter, a former Scientist, is settled in the U.S.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: In 1984, Banerjee portrayed Dr. Aziz Ahmed in David Lean's film of "A Passage to India", bringing him to the attention of western audiences. He was nominated for a BAFTA award for the role in 1986, and won the Evening Standard British Film Award and NBR Award (National Board Review, USA) for it. Very few non Americans and no Asian has won the NBR Award for Best Actor. In April 1985, at a special event in Louisiana where John Travolta and Loretta Swit were also honoured, Banerjee received the "Show-a-Rama Award" from the Motion Picture Association of America as "New International Star".


title: Victor Banerjee

text: He acted in Merchant Ivory Productions "Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures", Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj Ke Khilari" and "Ghare Baire" and in Mrinal Sen's "Mahaprithivi". On the set of Gunday starring Priyanka Chopra, Mr. Banerjee has said that he feels "all work is a challenge and therefore fun".


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Though has been involved with Bollywood in recent years, Banerjee is primarily affiliated with the Bengali film industry. He also plays character roles from time to time in the British cinema.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: He was also cast in the critically acclaimed role of "Jesus" in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays, by director Steven Pimlott. He was the first Asian to play a lead role in British Theatre.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: In 1991, BBC and CBC of Canada produced a documentary titled "Return Journey" directed by John McGreevy on six world celebrities. Banerjee, along with greats like Plácido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa and Jackie Stewart were featured as celebrities who refused to live away from their home countries.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Banerjee is the only person in India who has won the National Award in three categories: As a cinematographer, for his documentary "Where No Journeys End" (which, in competition with 3100 entries from 27 countries, also won the Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival); as a director, for his documentary "The Splendour of Garhwal and Roopkund"; and as an actor (Best Supporting Actor) for his work in Satyajit Ray's "Ghare Baire".


title: Victor Banerjee

text: Banerjee unsuccessfully contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election in Calcutta North West from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He got 89,155 votes and stood third.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: As an active member of the BJP, he was critical of Mulayam Singh Yadav's order to shoot the Karsevaks who had once climbed the Babri Masjid prior to its demolition.


title: Victor Banerjee

text: He has been highly critical of what he called Navjot Singh Sidhu's pacifist attitude to terrorism exported from Pakistan.


The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany () is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.


title: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

text: The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came into effect on 23 May after having been approved by the occupying western Allies of World War II on 12 May. It was termed "Basic Law" () to indicate that it was a provisional piece of legislation pending the reunification of Germany. However, when reunification took place in 1990, the Basic Law was retained as the definitive constitution of reunified Germany. Its original field of application ()—that is, the states that were initially included in the Federal Republic of Germany—consisted of the three Western Allies' zones of occupation, but at the insistence of the Western Allies, formally excluded West Berlin. In 1990, the Two Plus Four Agreement between the two parts of Germany and all four Allies stipulated the implementation of a number of amendments.


text: The German word Grundgesetz may be translated as either "Basic Law" or "Fundamental Law". The term "constitution" (Verfassung) was avoided as the drafters regarded the "Grundgesetz" as an interim arrangement for a provisional West German state, expecting that an eventual reunified Germany would adopt a proper constitution, enacted under the provisions of Article 146 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that such a constitution must be "freely adopted by the German people". Nevertheless, although the amended Basic Law was approved by all four Allied Powers in 1990 (who thereby relinquished their reserved constitutional rights), it was never submitted to a popular vote, neither in 1949 nor in 1990. However, the Basic Law as passed in 1949 also contained Article 23 which provided for "other parts of Germany" to "join the area of applicability of the Basic Law" which was the provision that was used for German reunification from the constitutional standpoint. As the overwhelming consensus thereafter was that the German question was settled, and to reaffirm the renunciation of any residual German claim to land east of Oder and Neiße, Article 23 was repealed the same day as reunification came into force. An unrelated article on the relationship between Germany and the European Union was instead inserted in its place two years later.


text: In the preamble to the Basic Law, its adoption was declared as an action of the "German people", and Article 20 states "All state authority is derived from the people". These statements embody the constitutional principles that 'Germany' is identical with the German people, and that the German people act constitutionally as the primary institution of the German state. Where the Basic Law refers to the territory under the jurisdiction of this German state, it refers to it as the 'federal territory', so avoiding any inference of there being a constitutionally defined 'German national territory'.


text: The authors of the Basic Law sought to ensure that a potential dictator would never again be able to come to power in the country. Although some of the Basic Law is based on the Weimar Republic's constitution, the first article is a protection of the human dignity ("Menschenwürde") and human rights; they are core values protected by the Basic Law. The principles of democracy, republicanism, social responsibility, federalism and rule of law are key components of the Basic Law (Article 20). Articles 1 and 20 are protected by the so-called eternity clause ("Ewigkeitsklausel") Article 79 (3) that prohibits any sort of change or removal of the principles laid down in Articles 1 and 20.


text: Fundamental rights () are guaranteed in Germany by the Federal Constitution and in some state constitutions. In the Basic Law, most fundamental rights are guaranteed in the first section of the same name (Articles 1 to 19). They are subjective public rights with the constitutional rank which bind all institutions and functions of the state. In cases where a federal or state law or public ordinance is alleged to be in violation of these fundamental rights, the Basic Law provides the constitutional complaint with an appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court (Article 93 paragraph 1 No. 4a). Article 1 of these fundamental rights, which states that human dignity shall be inviolable and all state authority shall respect and protect it, cannot be changed or removed. The same is true of Article 20, which enshrines fundamental principles of the state--for example, that Germany is a state of law and a democracy. Laws which limit these basic rights are in no case allowed to affect the essence of these rights (Article 19 paragraph 3). Some people think every basic right cannot be changed or removed. However, that is a misconception as other fundamental rights are not protected by Article 79 paragraph 3 (Eternity Clause).


text: According to this regulation the Federal Constitutional Court can be called not only because of a violation of fundamental rights, but also by violation "of the rights set out in Article 20 paragraph 4 and Articles 33, 38, 101, 103 and 104". Hence, these rights are called the rights identical to fundamental rights.


text: Like the Weimar Constitution from 1919, the 1949 Basic Law was explicitly irredentist, maintaining that there remained separated parts of 'Germany as a whole' in the form of German peoples living outside the territory under the control of the Federal Republic of 1949, with whom the Federal Republic was constitutionally bound to pursue reunification, and in respect of whom mechanisms were provided by which such other parts of Germany might subsequently declare their accession to the Basic Law. Since initially the Basic Law did not apply for all of Germany, its legal provisions were only valid in its field of application (). This legal term was frequently used in West German legislation when West German laws did not apply to the entirety of German territory, as was usually the case.


text: Article 23 of the Basic Law provided other "de jure" German states, initially not included in the field of application of the Basic Law, with the right to declare their accession ("Beitritt") at a later date. Therefore, although the Basic Law was considered provisional, it allowed more parts of Germany to join its field of application. On one side, it gave the Federal Republic of Germany—composed as it was in 1949—no right to negotiate, reject or deny another German state's declaration of its accession to the FRG, subject to the FRG's recognising that state "de jure" and being satisfied that the declaration of accession resulted from the free self-determination of its people; while on the other side an acceding state would have to accept the Basic Law and all laws so far legislated under the institutions of the FRG as they were. As the Federal Republic could not itself declare the accession of another part of Germany under Article 23, this provision could not be applied as an instrument of annexation, nor could accession under Article 23 be achieved by international treaty with third party states, although the Federal Constitutional Court recognised that a future declared accession could be framed "de facto" as a compact between the Federal Republic and the acceding state. It remained unclear whether accession under Article 23 could be achieved by a part of Germany whose government was not recognised "de jure" by the Federal Republic, and if so how; but in practice this situation did not arise. Article 23, altered after 1990, originally read as follows:


text: Whereas the West German state had gained restricted sovereignty in May 1955, the Sarrois rejected in a referendum (1955) the transformation of their protectorate into an independent state within the emerging European Economic Community. The Saar Treaty then opened the way for the government of the Saar Protectorate to declare its accession to the West German state under Article 23, including the new Saarland into the field of application of the Basic Law. The Saar held no separate referendum on its accession. With effect from 1 January 1957 the Federal Republic regarded itself as including almost all of Western Germany such that the only "other parts of Germany" to which Article 23 might be extended were now to the east, hence relinquishing all claims to those western parts of the former German Reich that had been surrendered to France and Denmark. (cf. Little Reunification with the Saar). The towns of Elten, Selfkant, and Suderwick, which had been occupied and annexed by Netherlands in 1949, were reunited with the Federal Republic in 1963 by means of an international treaty without invoking Article 23.


text: The Basic Law, in its original form, maintained the continuing existence of a larger Germany and German people, only parts of whom were currently organised within the Federal Republic. Nevertheless, the full extent of the implied wider German nation is nowhere defined in the Basic Law, although it was always clearly understood that the peoples of both East Germany and Berlin would be included. In its judgement of 1973, confirming the constitutional validity of the Basic Treaty between East Germany and West Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court justified the recognition of East Germany as a valid German state, on the basis that this would enable the GDR in the future to declare accession to the Basic Law under Article 23. But the Court then explicitly acknowledged that this limited "de jure" recognition of the GDR also implied acceptance of the constitutional power of the GDR in the interim to enter into international treaties on its own account, naming specifically the treaty with Poland which confirmed the transfer of the "Eastern Territories" to Polish sovereignty.


text: The Communist regime in East Germany fell in 1990. Following free elections the parliament of the GDR (East Germany) declared the accession of the GDR according to Article 23 to the Federal Republic of Germany to come into effect on 3 October 1990, making unification an act unilaterally initiated by the last East German parliament. East Germany's "declaration of accession" ("Beitrittserklärung") envisaged states within East Germany being included into the field of application of the Basic Law, but subject to the Basic Law first being amended in accordance with both the previously negotiated Unification Treaty between East and West Germany, and also the Two-Plus-Four Treaty, under which the Allied Powers had relinquished their residual German sovereignty. So, on the date of accession of East Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany Article 23 was repealed, representing an explicit commitment under Two-Plus-Four Treaty that, following the unification of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin, no "other parts of Germany" remained in east or west to which the Berlin Republic might validly be extended. Rather than adopting a new constitution under Article 146 of the Basic Law, the "Bundestag" (Parliament of Germany) amended Article 146 and the Preamble of the Basic Law to state that German unification had now been fully achieved, while also adding a further clause 143(3) to entrench in the Basic Law the irreversibility of acts of expropriation undertaken by the Soviet occupying powers between 1945 and 1949. Hence when the GDR's nominal accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 came into effect on 3 October 1990, Article 23 was no longer in place. Strictly therefore, German reunification was effected by the Unification Treaty between two sovereign states, the GDR and the Federal Republic, and not by the GDR's prior declaration of accession under Article 23, although the former Article 23 was agreed by both parties to the Treaty as setting the constitutional model by which unification would be achieved.


text: As part of the process, East Germany, which had been a unitary state since 1952, was re-divided into its initial five partially self-governing states ("Bundesländer"), being granted equal status as the already existing Länder, with East and West Berlin reuniting into a new city-state (like Bremen and Hamburg). After the changes of the Basic Law, mostly pertaining to the accession in 1990, additional major modifications were made in 1994 ("Verfassungsreform"), 2002 and 2006 (2006 = "Föderalismusreform").


text: Between February and June 1948, the London Six-Power Conference of the three western occupying powers (US, United Kingdom, France) and the three Western neighbours of Germany (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) was debating the political future of the three western occupation zones of Germany. The negotiations ended with the conclusion that a democratic and federal West German state was to be established.


text: As an immediate consequence of the London Six-Power Conference, the representatives of the three western occupation powers on 1 July 1948, convoked the "Ministerpräsidenten" (ministers-president) of the West German "Länder" in Frankfurt-am-Main and committed to them the so-called Frankfurt Documents ("Frankfurter Dokumente"). These papers—amongst other points—summoned the Ministerpräsidenten to arrange a constitutional assembly, that should work out a democratic and federal constitution for a West German state. According to Frankfurt Document No 1, the constitution should specify a central power of German government, but nevertheless respect the administration of the "Länder" and it should contain provisions and guarantees of individual freedom and individual rights of the German people in respect to their government. With the specific request of a federal structure of a future German state the Western Powers followed German constitutional tradition since the foundation of the Reich in 1871.


text: The "Ministerpräsidenten" were reluctant to fulfill what was expected from them, as they anticipated that the formal foundation of a West German state would mean a permanent disruption of German unity. A few days later they convened a conference of their own on Rittersturz ridge near Koblenz. They decided that any of the Frankfurt requirements should only be implemented in a formally provisional way. So the constitutional assembly was to be called Parlamentarischer Rat (lit. parliamentary council) and the constitution given the name of "Basic Law" instead of calling it a "constitution". By these provisions they made clear, that any West German state was not a definite state for the German people, and that future German self-determination and the reunification of Germany was still on their agenda. The "Ministerpräsidenten" prevailed and the Western Powers gave in concerning this highly symbolic question.


text: The draft was prepared at the preliminary Herrenchiemsee convention (10–23 August 1948) on the Herreninsel in the Chiemsee, a lake in southeastern Bavaria. The delegates at the convention were appointed by the leaders of the newly formed (or newly reconstituted) "Länder" (states).


text: On 1 September 1948 the Parlamentarischer Rat assembled and began working on the exact wording of the Basic Law. The 65 members of the Parlamentarischer Rat were elected by the parliaments of the German "Länder" with one deputy representing about 750,000 people. After being passed by the Parliamentary Council assembled at the Museum Koenig in Bonn on 8 May 1949—the museum was the only intact building in Bonn large enough to house the assembly—and after being approved by the occupying powers on 12 May 1949, it was ratified by the parliaments of all the Trizonal "Länder" with the exception of Bavaria. The Landtag of Bavaria rejected the Basic Law mainly because it was seen as not granting sufficient powers to the individual "Länder", but at the same time decided that it would still come into force in Bavaria if two-thirds of the other Länder ratified it. On 23 May 1949, in a solemn session of the Parliamentary Council, the German Basic Law was signed and promulgated. The time of "legal nonentity" ended, as the new West German state, the Federal Republic of Germany, came into being, although still under Western occupation.


text: Basic rights are fundamental to the Basic Law, in contrast to the Weimar Constitution, which listed them merely as "state objectives." Pursuant to the mandate to respect human dignity, all state power is directly bound to guarantee these basic rights. Article 1 of the Basic Law, which establishes this principle that "human dignity is inviolable" and that human rights are directly applicable law, as well as the general principles of the state in Article 20, which guarantees democracy, republicanism, social responsibility and federalism, remain under the guarantee of perpetuity stated in Article 79 paragraph 3, i.e., the principles underlying these clauses cannot be removed even if the normal amendment process is followed.


text: There were, in the original version, no emergency powers such as those used by the "Reichspräsident" in the Reichstag Fire Decree of 1933 to suspend basic rights and to remove communist members of the Reichstag from power, an important step for Hitler's "Machtergreifung". The suspension of human rights would also be illegal under Articles 20 and 79, as above. The right to resist is permitted against anyone seeking to abolish constitutional order, if other remedies were to fail under Article 20.


text: The constitutional position of the federal government was strengthened, as the "Bundespräsident" has only a small fraction of the former power of the "Reichspräsident", and in particular, is no longer in Supreme Command of the armed forces. Indeed, the original text of the Basic Law of 1949 made no provision for federal armed forces; only in 1955 was the Basic Law amended with Article 87a to allow the creation of a German military for the Federal Republic. The government now depends only on the parliament; while the military, by contrast with their status in the Weimar Republic, are entirely under parliamentary authority.


text: To remove the chancellor, the parliament has to engage in a Constructive vote of no confidence ("Konstruktives Misstrauensvotum"), i.e. the election of a new chancellor. The new procedure was intended to provide more stability than under the Weimar Constitution, when extremists on the left and right would vote to remove a chancellor, without agreeing on a new one, creating a leadership vacuum. In addition it was possible for the parliament to remove individual ministers by a vote of distrust, while it now has to vote against the cabinet as a whole.


text: Article 32 of the Basic Law allows the states to conduct foreign affairs with states with regards to matters falling within their purview, under supervision of the Federal Government.


text: Article 24 states that the Federal Government may 'transfer sovereign powers to international institutions' and Article 25 states that 'general rules of international law shall be an integral part of federal law'. The latter article was included in deference to the post-war actions of the occupying Western powers; but had the unintended consequence that the Federal Constitutional Court tended to define 'rules of international law' as applicable to German federal law within Germany, that were nevertheless different from the generality of rules and principles of international law as they might operate between Germany and other nations. Hence, the Federal Constitutional Court could recognise East Germany as a sovereign state in international law in the second sense, while still asserting that it was not a 'sovereign state in international law' within Germany itself.


text: In seeking to come to terms with Germany's catastrophic recent history, much discussion has focused on the key theory of a German "Sonderweg" (special way): the proposition that Germany had followed a path to modernity radically different from that of its European neighbours, that had rendered it particularly susceptible to militaristic, anti-humanitarian, totalitarian and genocidal impulses. The theory is much contested, but formed the major context for the original formulation of the Basic Law. The Basic Law sought "to correct the course of Germany's Sonderweg—to reclaim the German State from its special historical path, and to realise in postwar West Germany the Liberal Democratic Republic that had proved unachievable for the Frankfurt patriots of 1848 or the Weimar revolutionaries of 1919." In interpreting it, the Federal Constitutional Court seemed to "have its eye on a Germany that might have been".


text: In the dominant post-war narrative of West Germany, the Nazi regime was characterised as having been a 'criminal' state, illegal and illegitimate from the outset, while the Weimar Republic was characterised as having been a 'failed' state, whose inherent institutional and constitutional flaws had been exploited by Hitler in his "illegal" seizure of dictatorial powers. Consequently, following the death of Hitler in 1945 and the subsequent capitulation of the German Armed Forces, the national institutions and constitutional instruments of both Nazi Germany and the Weimar Republic were understood as entirely defunct, such that the Basic Law could be established in a condition of constitutional nullity. Nevertheless, although the Weimar Republic was now wholly irretrievable, avoiding its perceived constitutional weaknesses represented the predominant concern for the framers of the Basic Law.