title: Moe incest case

text: During the years of abuse, M gave birth to four of her father's children, each in major hospitals in the state capital Melbourne. One child, a girl, died from severe brain and respiratory developmental problems at eleven weeks of age; two of the surviving boys are seriously intellectually disabled; and the third boy has a major speech impediment and social interaction problems. None of the children had fathers listed on their birth certificates, raising concerns about why questions were not asked at the time. The victim's mother was allegedly unaware of any abuse, despite sharing a house with her daughter, husband, and grandchildren until 2005.


title: Moe incest case

text: RSJ was charged with 83 sexual abuse offences by police in June 2008 after DNA tests showed he was the father of M's children. M and her three surviving sons were taken into the care of the Victorian authorities.


title: Moe incest case

text: RSJ appeared in court in November 2009, where he pleaded guilty to ten counts of incest, two counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16, and one count of common assault. He also asked for the remaining 70 counts against him to be taken into consideration.


title: Moe incest case

text: "You defiled your daughter over many years on a regular basis. Your offending involved a gross breach of trust. To describe your treatment of your daughter as appalling is a gross understatement."


title: Moe incest case

text: RSJ was sentenced to 22 years and five months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 years and will be placed on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. With time in custody taken into account, he will be eligible for parole in February 2027 at the age of 84.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Metroid: Samus Returns is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It is a remake of the 1991 Game Boy game "". Players control series protagonist Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who is contracted by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the parasitic Metroid species on their home planet of SR388. While the story and structure parallel the original game, "Samus Returns" features redone graphics, updated controls and user interface, and new gameplay mechanics not seen in previous 2D "Metroid" titles, such as a melee counterattack and the ability to aim freely at any angle.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Development began in 2015, overseen by longtime producer Yoshio Sakamoto. MercurySteam originally pitched a remake of "Metroid Fusion" before Sakamoto suggested remaking "Metroid II". New gameplay features and areas were added to "spice up" the experience of the original game. Music was composed by Daisuke Matsuoka and directed by Kenji Yamamoto, who had co-composed the music for "Super Metroid".


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Samus Returns" received positive reviews upon release for its visuals and improvements over the original version, with many also deeming it a return to form for the series. Some criticism was given to the controls and the counterattack mechanics. It received awards and accolades from multiple publications and awards shows, including Best Handheld Game at The Game Awards 2017. Sakamoto was impressed with MercurySteam's understanding of the series, leading to their continued partnership for "Metroid Dread" (2021) on the Nintendo Switch.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Metroid: Samus Returns" is a side-scrolling action-adventure displayed in a 2.5D perspective. Players take control of series protagonist Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who explores labyrinthine environments, kills hostile aliens, and collects power-ups to gain access to new areas. "Samus Returns" is a remake of the 1991 Game Boy game ""; as such, it features a story and structure similar to the original game, but with new controls, visuals, and gameplay.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: The game introduces some features that are new to the side-scrolling "Metroid" games. Samus can perform a melee counterattack to deal critical damage on foes. In "Metroid II", her firing direction was limited to specific angles, whereas now she is capable of firing freely at any angle. Samus also has a selection of new powers, called Aeion abilities, that rely on an energy gauge for their usage. One example of an Aeion ability is the Scan Pulse, which lets Samus scan the surrounding environment for hidden pathways and items. The game also features Teleport Stations, allowing Samus to fast travel between areas. Several abilities introduced after "Metroid II" are implemented in "Samus Returns", such as the Grapple Beam, Power Bombs, and Super Missiles.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Samus Returns" features Amiibo support, with compatible figurines being based on the "Metroid" series. When scanned, players can unlock reserve tanks and a Metroid Marker which can be used to locate nearby Metroids. After the player finishes the game at least once, certain Amiibo-exclusive content is unlocked; such content includes a "Metroid II" art gallery, a "Samus Returns" art gallery, a Sound Test, and Fusion Mode, an extra hard difficulty setting which features Samus's Fusion Suit. A standard Hard Mode is also unlocked upon completing the game, but it does not require an Amiibo figurine.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: In the year 20X5, a lone bounty hunter named Samus Aran is sent by the Galactic Federation to infiltrate the Space Pirate base on the planet Zebes, where she foils the Pirates' plans to use the parasitic organisms called Metroids and defeats the Pirate leader, the Mother Brain. Seeing the threat posed by the Metroids, the Federation sends a special squadron of elite soldiers to the Metroids' home planet of SR388 to investigate, but the squadron soon goes missing. After retrieving a small sampling of data confirming a Metroid presence within the planet, the Federation sends Samus to SR388 to destroy the species.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Samus lands on the surface of SR388 and explores the planet, traveling through its caverns. She encounters the Metroids in different metamorphosis stages, growing from small jellyfish-like creatures to large reptilian beasts. After killing most of the planet's Metroids, Samus finds and destroys the Queen Metroid. Shortly afterward, Samus discovers a Metroid egg that hatches in front of her. The Metroid hatchling imprints onto Samus, thinking she is its mother. Refusing to kill the infant Metroid, Samus decides to take it with her. As Samus and the infant Metroid reach the planet's surface to return to her gunship, they are attacked by a half-mechanical Ridley. After a long battle, Ridley is defeated, and Samus, along with the Metroid, leave the planet together. In a post-credits scene, a Hornoad wanders on the planet's surface, gnaws on Ridley's discarded mechanical claw before suddenly being killed and copied into a vicious form by an X Parasite.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Based on the item completion rating, players may unlock a series of images, depicting the history of the Chozo race inhabiting SR388. After landing on the planet, the Chozo encountered the X parasites, which use the planet's creatures as hosts. To this end, the Chozo created the Metroids using their advanced technology to combat the X parasites. Although the Chozo lived in peace when the X parasites were gone, the Metroids grew out of control and the civilization came under threat. A discussion was held between two Chozo leaders; the final image reveals one leader seemingly killed the other, standing over its body while overlooking its army.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Metroid: Samus Returns" was developed by the Spanish studio MercurySteam in collaboration with Nintendo EPD. Yoshio Sakamoto, senior officer of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division, was the game’s producer, while Takehiko Hosokawa of the same division was the director, along with Jose Luis Márquez of MercurySteam who was creative director. MercurySteam head Enric Álvarez described their collaboration with Nintendo as an "incredible" achievement, and Sakamoto in return stated that the studio was the best choice for a Metroidvania game given their "good design sensibility" and respect for the "Metroid" series.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Sakamoto had expressed interest in making a new 2D "Metroid" game, which had not been done since "" (2004), for a few years before the game's development started in 2015. After hearing that MercurySteam, following their involvement with "" (2013), was interested in taking on the challenge of remaking a "Metroid" game, he visited their studio to organise a collaboration. MercurySteam specifically pitched Nintendo a remake of "Metroid Fusion" (2002), but Sakamoto instead wanted to recreate "Metroid II". Although Sakamoto had never worked on the original Game Boy game, he believed it to be an important entry in the "Metroid" series, particularly regarding its plot point of Samus encountering the last Metroid, and so he was enthusiastic about remaking it. The Nintendo 3DS was Sakamoto's platform of choice to employ the 3D visuals and a dual-screen setup offered by the portable system.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Sakamoto noted that the potential for 2D games in the "Metroid" franchise had opened up for Nintendo following the announcement of the game. He expressed that he was keen to evolve some of the traditions in 2D "Metroid" games. As a remake, he wanted to preserve some of the originality and to avoid changing things without good reason. Their approach was to add to aspects that improved upon the game's core concept of hunting the Metroids. Sakamoto hoped to start from the original game's "simple and straightforward progression" and "spice up and excite the experience", offering new gameplay features and areas to explore such as the Aeion abilities. These ideas led to some control enhancements, such as the addition of free aiming for more precise firing. The idea of a melee counterattack came from MercurySteam, who had implemented a similar parry mechanic in their "Castlevania" game. Sakamoto felt that the inclusion of the melee counterattack offered players an alternative combat style, in contrast to previous games where players had to rely on dodging charge attacks from enemies and then defeating them from afar.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: The team moved from the pixel art of 2D "Metroid" games to 3D models to incorporate varied animations and use different camera angles to enhance the cutscenes. The music was composed by Daisuke Matsuoka and directed by Kenji Yamamoto, who had co-composed the music for the 1994 game "Super Metroid".


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: The project was revealed during Nintendo's Treehouse livestream at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 held in June and was released for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console on 15 September. A special edition version of the game includes a reversible cover and a soundtrack CD called "Samus Archives", featuring 25 tracks from numerous "Metroid" games including "Samus Returns". A European Legacy Edition version also includes a soundtrack CD, alongside a 40-page art book, a Morph Ball keyring, an S-marked pin badge, a download code for "Metroid II", and a steelbook designed in the likeness of a Game Boy cartridge. Two Amiibo figurines were released alongside the game; one figurine is of Samus kneeling in the pose shown on the cover art of "Metroid II", while the other is of a Metroid creature that has escaped containment. A special "Samus Edition" of the New Nintendo 3DS XL console was also released alongside the game.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Metroid: Samus Returns" received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. Andrew Webster at "The Verge" viewed "Samus Returns" as a return to the series' roots. Peter Brown of GameSpot believed that it represented a look at the potential future for 2D "Metroid" games. Russ Frushtick of "Polygon" thought that the game's visuals were "remarkable", while Webster thought that the game's 3D visuals made it easier and more playable than "Metroid II". Webster also praised its use of the handheld's glasses-free 3D effect, stating that it added a "wonderful" sense of depth. The game's soundtrack by Daisuke Matsuoka also received praise, with Chris Carter of "Destructoid" calling the melodies "hauntingly beautiful". Ben Reeves of "Game Informer" considered the games environments to be rich in detail, noting the graphics being inspired by the "Metroid Prime" sub-series. Chris Scullion of "Nintendo Life" called it a "must-buy" for fans of the series.


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: Reception to the gameplay mechanics and controls were more mixed. Chris Scullion at "Nintendo Life" wrote that the "Scan Pulse" ability was a useful feature and made the game "far more entertaining" as a result, although Brown felt that it removed some of the thrills of discovering secrets in the game. Webster called the game's combat "fast and fluid", while Brown wrote that it was more aggressive and satisfying than expected. Frushtick considered the introduction of a counterattack ability to be a major improvement to the 2D "Metroid"s gameplay. Conversely, Martin Robinson of "Eurogamer" criticised the effect of the counterattack system, writing that it led "to a staccato rhythm to the action as you're constantly stopped in your tracks for such one-note encounters". Robinson, while beleving "Samus Returns" fixed problems the original game had, overall considered it to be underwhelming. IGN's Samuel Claiborn complained about the controls, stating that Samus's complicated weapon options have players "working the 3DS shoulder buttons, slider, and face buttons in a downright painful way".


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: During its first week in the United Kingdom, "Samus Returns" was ranked eighth in an all-format chart. It was the third best-selling game in Japan in its debut week, with 30,855 copies sold. An additional 6,206 copies were sold the following week. It was also the eighth best-selling game in the United States during September 2017. The game returned to the top sales charts on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in June 2021 following the announcement of "Metroid Dread".


title: Metroid: Samus Returns

text: "Metroid: Samus Returns" won the "Best Mobile Game" award at the Gamescom 2017 Awards. It also won the Best Handheld Game category at The Game Awards 2017, and was nominated for "Best Spanish Game" at the Titanium Awards. At the 2017 Golden Joystick Awards, Nintendo EPD won Studio of the Year, while the game received a nomination for Nintendo Game of the Year. "Samus Returns" won "Destructoid" award for Best Portable Game of 2017. It also won IGN's Best 3DS Game as part of their Best of 2017 Awards. The 2017 Game Critics Awards awarded "Samus Returns" for Best Handheld Game. GameSpot listed it as one of five best Nintendo 3DS games in 2017. "Game Informer" gave it the award each for "Best Mobile/Handheld Exclusive" in their "Best of 2017 Awards", and for "Best Handheld" in their 2017 Action Game of the Year Awards. In their Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game came up at second place for "Best Mobile/Handheld Exclusive". "Polygon" ranked the game 30th on their list of the 50 best games of 2017. It also won the Tappan Zee Bridge Award for Best Remake at the New York Game Awards 2018, and won "Handheld Game of the Year" at the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The game won the award for "Control Design, 2D or Limited 3D" at the 17th Annual National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Original Light Mix Score, Franchise".


title: Anup Jalota

text: Anup Jalota, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer, musician and actor, best known for his contributions to the Bhajan genre of Indian Music. He is popularly known as the "Bhajan Samraat" (Emperor of Bhajans).


title: Anup Jalota

text: Padma Shri was conferred upon him by Government of India in 2012. He was a contestant on the reality show "Bigg Boss 12".


title: Anup Jalota

text: Anup Jalota was born in Nainital, Uttrakhand a renowned exponent of bhajan and hails from the Sham Chowrasi Gharana of Punjab. He was educated in Lucknow's Bhatkhande Music Institute. His father, Purshottam Das Jalota, was also a prominent Bhajan singer. He also spent few years in Savarkundla, Gujarat in his early days. He has two younger brothers, Anil Jalota and Ajay Jalota and two sisters, Anjali Dhir and Anita Mehra. Ajay currently lives in California.


title: Anup Jalota

text: Jalota started his musical career as a chorus singer in All India Radio. He is usually backed by a santoor player, dholak player, sarod player, sarangi player, violinist, sitar player, tabla player and guitarist. Some of his popular bhajans include Aisi Lagi Lagan, Main Nahi Makhan Khayo, Rang De Chunariya, Jag Me Sundar Hai Do Naam, and Chadariya Jhini Re Jhini. He was also the presenter of the program "Dharam Aur Hum", telecast in Star Plus from 2002 to 2005.


title: Anup Jalota

text: He met Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in Mumbai and agreed to release several CDs of his compositions. In 2008 he recorded the title song "Golden Memorable Yaadein" for the CD "Noorani Chehra", produced by Shaukat (Sam) Kassam to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Aga Khan.


title: Anup Jalota

text: On 16 September 2018, Jalota entered "Bigg Boss" house in its twelfth season, as a contestant, along with Jasleen Matharu.


title: Anup Jalota

text: Jalota's first marriage was to Sonali Sheth, a Gujarati girl who was then a music student and later a singer. They married without his family's approval. The couple became popular in the North Indian live performance circuit as "Anup and Sonali Jalota," which disbanded after their divorce.


title: Anup Jalota

text: His second marriage was an arranged one, to Bina Bhatia, which too ended in divorce. Anup's third marriage was to Medha Gujral, niece of former Indian Prime Minister I. K. Gujral and director Shekhar Kapur's first wife whom he had divorced in 1994. Anup and Medha have a son named Aryaman (born in 1996), who studied at Princeton University. Medha died on 25 November 2014 in New York City of renal failure following a second heart and first kidney transplant.


title: Anup Jalota

text: It came to light in 2018 that he had been in a relationship with Bigg Boss 12 contestant Jasleen Matharu, who is thirty-seven years younger than him. They had been together at least three and a half years prior. However, after getting evicted from the house, Anup said their relationship was only of a teacher and student.


title: Le Freak

text: "Le Freak" is a 1978 funk / disco song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first "Billboard" Hot 100 and R&B number-one hit song. Along with the tracks "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks. The single achieved sales of 7 million and also scored number seven in the UK Singles Chart.


title: Le Freak

text: "Billboard" magazine ranked it as the number 3 song for 1979. The song was ranked number 21 on "Billboard" magazine's top 100 songs of the first 55 years of the "Hot 100" chart. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."


title: Le Freak

text: The lyrics mention "Stompin' at the Savoy", a 1933 song composed by Edgar Sampson. They also invite the listener to "Come on down to 54", that is, Studio 54, a popular nightclub in New York City at the time. This song is written in the key of A minor.


title: Le Freak

text: This song commemorates Studio 54 in New York City for its notoriously long customer waiting lines, exclusive clientele, and discourteous doormen. According to guitarist Nile Rodgers, the song was devised during New Year's Eve 1977, as a result of his and bassist Bernard Edwards' being refused entrance to Studio 54, where they had been invited by Grace Jones, due to her failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "Fuck off!" rather than "Freak out!"; for the documentary "How to Make It in the Music Business", he said that 'fuck off' was what the doorman had said to him when he slammed the door on them; first it was changed to "freak off" after Rodgers mused that they wouldn't be able to say 'fuck off' on the radio, but that sounded "terrible", so he changed it to 'freak out'.


title: Le Freak

text: "Le Freak" was the first song to score the number one position on the "Billboard" Hot 100 three separate times.


title: Le Freak

text: In 1987, an acid house-styled re-mix was issued under the title "Jack Le Freak". It reached number 18 in the United Kingdom, becoming Chic's last top 40 hit to date in that country.


title: Le Freak

text: MC Lyte sampled the song "Woo Woo (Freak Out)" featuring Nicci Gilbert of the group Brownstone, which first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1998 movie "Woo" and was also included on her album "Seven & Seven", titled "Woo Woo (Party Time)", which released three months later.


title: Le Freak

text: This song was used in a 2010 film Toy Story 3 scene in which Ken models his outfits for Barbie. It was also shown in the 2004 film Shrek 2, when they were partying in Shrek Swamp.


title: Danny Blind

text: Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national team.


title: Danny Blind

text: He is one of only two Dutch players, together with Arnold Mühren, to have won all UEFA club competitions.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind made his professional football debut on 29 August 1979 with Sparta Rotterdam. He stayed under contract with Sparta for seven seasons when in July 1986 he transferred to Ajax, attracted there by manager Johan Cruyff. Blind's signing, however, was much to the chagrin of Ajax superstar Marco van Basten, who was upset that his manager had brought in a relatively unknown, defensive player from a fairly small club like Sparta, instead of splashing out on a big-money, big-name transfer. With Ajax, Blind amassed an impressive trophy list, winning all three European trophies (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995). He also secured the Intercontinental Cup in 1995 against Brazil's Grêmio by scoring the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind was again a penalty hero when he converted twice against Real Zaragoza in the European Super Cup Final of 1995, which Ajax won 5–1 over the two legs. The two penalties Blind converted were in the 65th and 69th minutes of the second leg.


title: Danny Blind

text: Domestically, with Ajax, he won five Dutch Eredivisie Championships and four national cups. He retired on 16 May 1999.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind was known for being a solid, dependable defender and a leader on the field. However, he was also a technically gifted and cultured player who could pass and strike the ball well for a non-attacking player. Whilst famous for being a centre back, Blind started his career as a right full-back.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind gained 42 caps for the Netherlands over a ten-year period, scoring once against Greece in a UEFA Euro 1992 qualifier. He made his debut in 1986 against Scotland but was not capped at all in 1987 or 1988, an absence which meant he missed being a part of the triumphant UEFA Euro 1988 side. He did, however, appear at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and the 1992 and 1996 European Championships, retiring after the latter.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind was head coach at Ajax from 14 March 2005 (appointed as successor to Ronald Koeman) until 10 May 2006, after only 422 days in charge. He led Ajax to victory in the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield.


title: Danny Blind

text: In 2007–08, Blind became director of football at his old club, Sparta Rotterdam. On 15 May 2008, he returned to Ajax to become the new director of football in Amsterdam but switched roles when Martin Jol joined the club to assistant coach. Moving to the position of technical director for Ajax at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, on 9 February 2012 it was announced that Blind would retire from his duties as technical director at Ajax, concluding a heated dispute surrounding the club's board of directors.


title: Danny Blind

text: On 1 July 2015, Blind was named Guus Hiddink's successor as head coach of the Dutch national team. He failed to lead them to Euro 2016, and he put the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign at stake after more meagre results. He was sacked by the Dutch FA on 26 March 2017, the day after losing 2–0 away at Bulgaria, which left their chances of qualification in serious doubt.


title: Danny Blind

text: Blind is the father of professional footballer Daley Blind, who has played for Ajax and Manchester United. His son is also a Dutch international, and is one of their ten most featured players of all time with over 90 caps.


title: Vae victis

text: Vae victis () is Latin for "woe to the vanquished", or "woe to the conquered". It means that those defeated in battle are entirely at the mercy of their conquerors and should not expect—or request—leniency.


title: Vae victis

text: According to tradition, in 390 BC, an army of Gauls led by Brennus attacked Rome, capturing all of the city except for the Capitoline Hill. Brennus besieged the hill, and finally the Romans asked to ransom their city. Brennus demanded 1,000 pounds (329 kg) of gold, and the Romans agreed to his terms. According to Plutarch's life of Camillus and Livy's "Ab Urbe Condita" (Book 5 Sections 34–49), the Gauls provided steelyard balances and weights, which were used to measure the amount of gold. The Romans brought the gold, but claimed that the provided weights were rigged in the Gauls' favor. The Romans complained to Brennus, who took his sword, threw it onto the weights, and exclaimed, "Vae victis!" The Romans thus needed to bring even more gold, as they now had to counterbalance the sword as well. Livy and Plutarch claim that Camillus subsequently succeeded in defeating the Gauls before the ransom had to be paid, although Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, and a later passage from Livy contradict this.


title: Vae victis

text: Most of the events related by ancient historians about early Roman history are considered legends, while the Gaulish sack of Rome is one of the first events which modern scholars are confident actually occurred, although the colourful incidents reported by tradition are not accepted.


title: Gesso

text: Gesso (; "chalk", from the , from ) is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these. It is used in painting as a preparation for any number of substrates such as wood panels, canvas and sculpture as a base for paint and other materials that are applied over it.


title: Gesso

text: ""Gesso"", also known "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso", is a traditional mix of an animal glue binder (usually rabbit-skin glue), chalk, and white pigment, used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden painting panels or masonite as a permanent absorbent primer substrate for painting. The colour of gesso is usually white or off-white. Its absorbency makes it work with all painting media, including water-based media, different types of tempera and oil paint. It is also used as a base on three-dimensional surfaces for the application of paint or gold leaf.


title: Gesso

text: Mixing and applying it is a craft in itself, as it is usually applied in ten or more extremely thin layers. The hide glue mixture used to make the traditional gesso is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, thus making it suitable for rigid surfaces only.


title: Gesso

text: For priming flexible canvas, an emulsion of gesso and linseed oil, also called "half-chalk ground", is used.


title: Gesso

text: Acrylic gesso is a mixture of white pigment and some kind of filler (chalk, silica, etc.) and acrylic resin dispersed in water. It produces a soft, flexible non-absorbent surface that is technically not "gesso" (although it is commonly called that by its manufacturers). It can contain calcium carbonate (CaCO) to increase the absorbency of the primer coat as well as titanium dioxide or "titanium white" as a whitening agent. It is sold premixed for both sizing and priming panels and flexible canvas for painting. Art supply manufacturers market canvases pre-primed with acrylic gesso.


title: Gesso

text: Acrylic gesso can be colored, either commercially by replacing the titanium white with another pigment, such as carbon black, or by the artist directly, with the addition of an acrylic paint. Acrylic gesso can be odorous, due to the presence of ammonia and/or formaldehyde, which are added in small amounts as preservatives.


title: Gesso

text: Acrylic gesso's non-absorbent acrylic polymer base makes it incompatible with media that require an absorbent substrate, such as egg tempera. "The Painter's Handbook" notes a problem with using oil paints over an acrylic gesso ground instead of a traditional oil ground, citing a mismatch in flexibility that over time could cause the oil paint to delaminate.


title: Gesso

text: Gesso is used by sculptors to prepare the shape of a final sculpture (fused bronze) or directly as a material for sculpting.


title: Gesso

text: Gesso can also be used as a layer between sculpted wood and gold leaf. In this case, a layer of refined and coloured clay called 'bole' is used to cover the gesso before applying the gold. Bole is usually red in colour.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Edward Oakley Thorp (born August 14, 1932) is an American mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack researcher. He pioneered the modern applications of probability theory, including the harnessing of very small correlations for reliable financial gain.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp is the author of "Beat the Dealer", which mathematically proved that the house advantage in blackjack could be overcome by card counting. He also developed and applied effective hedge fund techniques in the financial markets, and collaborated with Claude Shannon in creating the first wearable computer.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1958, and worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1959 to 1961. He was a professor of mathematics from 1961 to 1965 at New Mexico State University, and then joined the University of California, Irvine where he was a professor of mathematics from 1965 to 1977 and a professor of mathematics and finance from 1977 to 1982.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp was born in Chicago, but moved to southern California in his childhood. He had an early aptitude for science, and often tinkered with experiments of his own creation. He was one of the youngest amateur radio operators when he was certified at age 12. Thorp went on to win scholarships by doing well in chemistry and physics competitions (one instance led him to meeting President Truman), ultimately electing to go to UC Berkeley for his undergraduate degree. However, he transferred to UCLA after one year, majoring in physics. This was eventually followed by a PhD in Mathematics at UCLA. He met his future wife Vivian during his first year at UCLA. They married in January 1956.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp used the IBM 704 as a research tool in order to investigate the probabilities of winning while developing his blackjack game theory, which was based on the Kelly criterion, which he learned about from the 1956 paper by Kelly. He learned Fortran in order to program the equations needed for his theoretical research model on the probabilities of winning at blackjack. Thorp analyzed the game of blackjack to a great extent this way, while devising card counting schemes with the aid of the IBM 704 in order to improve his odds, especially near the end of a card deck that is not being reshuffled after every deal.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp started his applied research using $10,000, with Manny Kimmel, a wealthy professional gambler and former bookmaker, providing the venture capital. First they visited Reno and Lake Tahoe establishments where they tested Thorp's theory at the local blackjack tables. The experimental results proved successful and his theory was verified since he won $11,000 in a single weekend. Casinos now shuffle a long way before the end of the deck is reached as a countermeasure to his methods. During his Las Vegas casino visits Thorp frequently used disguises such as wraparound glasses and false beards. In addition to the blackjack activities, Thorp had assembled a baccarat team which was also winning.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: News quickly spread throughout the gambling community, which was eager for new methods of winning, while Thorp became an instant celebrity among blackjack aficionados. Due to the great demand generated about disseminating his research results to a wider gambling audience, he wrote the book "Beat the Dealer" in 1966, widely considered the original guide to card counting, which sold over 700,000 copies, a huge number for a specialty title which earned it a place in the "New York Times" bestseller list, much to the chagrin of Kimmel whose identity was thinly disguised in the book as Mr. X.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Thorp's blackjack research is one of the very few examples where results from such research reached the public directly, completely bypassing the usual academic peer review process cycle. He has also stated that he considered the whole experiment an academic exercise.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: In addition, Thorp, while a professor of mathematics at MIT, met Claude Shannon, and took him and his wife Betty Shannon as partners on weekend forays to Las Vegas to play roulette and blackjack, at which Thorp was very successful. His team's roulette play was the first instance of using a wearable computer in a casino — something which is now illegal, as of May 30, 1985, when the Nevada devices law came into effect as an emergency measure targeting blackjack and roulette devices. The wearable computer was co-developed with Claude Shannon between 1960 and 1961. It relied on a pair of operators, where one would watch the wheel and use his toe to input the cadence of the wheel, and the other would receive a message in the form of musical tones through a hidden earpiece. By betting on groups of neighboring numbers on the wheel they could gain a sufficient advantage to make a profit. The final operating version of the device was tested in Shannon's home lab at his basement in June 1961. Based on his achievements, Thorp was an inaugural member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: He also devised the "Thorp count", a method for calculating the likelihood of winning in certain endgame positions in backgammon.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: Since the late 1960s, Thorp has used his knowledge of probability and statistics in the stock market by discovering and exploiting a number of pricing anomalies in the securities markets and has made a significant fortune. Thorp's first hedge fund was Princeton/Newport Partners from 1969 to 1989 based on Market Neutral Derivatives Hedging. His second hedge fund was called Ridgeline Partners and it ran from August 1994 through September 2002 based on Statistical arbitrage. This hedge fund was closed largely because the return of the statistical arbitrage strategies had been low since 2002. He is currently the President of Edward O. Thorp & Associates, based in Newport Beach, California. In May 1998, Thorp reported that his personal investments yielded an annualized 20 percent rate of return averaged over 28.5 years.


title: Edward O. Thorp

text: In 1991, Thorp was an early skeptic of Bernie Madoff's supposedly stellar investing returns which were proved to be a fraud in 2008.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University () is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa, together with the University of Cape Town - which received full university status on the same day in 1918. Stellenbosch University (abbreviated as SU) designed and manufactured Africa's first microsatellite, SUNSAT, launched in 1999.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University was the first African university to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The students of Stellenbosch University are nicknamed "Maties". The term probably arises from the Afrikaans word "tamatie" (meaning tomato, and referring to the maroon sports uniforms and blazer colour). An alternative theory is that the term comes from the Afrikaans colloquialism "maat" (meaning "buddy" or "mate"), originally used diminutively ("maatjie") by the students of the University of Cape Town's precursor, the South African College.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The origin of the university can be traced back to the Stellenbosch Gymnasium, which was founded in 1864 and opened on 1 March 1866. The first five students matriculated in 1870, but capacity did not initially exist for any tertiary education. However, in the 1870s, the Cape Colony's first locally elected government took office and prioritised education. In 1873, four of the five 1870 matriculates became the institution's first graduates by attaining the "Second Class Certificate" through distance learning, and the gymnasium's student numbers rose to over a hundred.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: In 1874, a series of government acts provided for colleges and universities, with generous subsidies and staff. A personal intervention by the Prime Minister in the same year ensured that Stellenbosch qualified, after initially being allocated to be purely a secondary school. Later in 1874, the institution acquired its first Professor and, in the coming few years, its capacity and staff grew rapidly. Its first academic senate was constituted at the beginning of 1876, when several new premises were also acquired. The first MA degree (in Stellenbosch and in South Africa) was completed in 1878, and also in that year, the Gymnasium's first four female students were enrolled.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The institution became the Stellenbosch College in 1881, and was located at the current Arts Department. In 1887, this college was renamed Victoria College; when it acquired university status on 2 April 1918 it was renamed once again, to Stellenbosch University. Initially only one university was planned for the Cape but after the government was visited by a delegation from the "Victoria College", it was decided to allow the college to be a university if it could raise £100,000. Jannie Marais, a wealthy Stellenbosch farmer, bequeathed the money required before his death in 1915. There were certain conditions to his gift which included Dutch/Afrikaans having equal status to English and that the lecturers teach at least half their lectures in Dutch/Afrikaans. By 1930, very little, if any, tuition was in English.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: In December 2014, specialists at the university performed the first successful penis transplantation on a 21-year-old man.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Although the university was originally named the University of Stellenbosch (Afrikaans: Universiteit van Stellenbosch), it nowadays uses two forms: the English version "Stellenbosch University" (abbreviated SU) and the Afrikaans version "Universiteit Stellenbosch" (abbreviated US). In all its official documents, such as degree certificates, as well as the university coat of arms, both the English "Stellenbosch University" and the Afrikaans "Universiteit Stellenbosch" are used.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university is one of only three public universities in the Western Cape and one of about 20 universities in the country.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: In the latest edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Stellenbosch University was ranked in the 251-275 category in the world and third in Africa. Another reputable ranking system, QS World University Rankings recently ranked the university at 390 in the world and also third in Africa.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The Leiden University ranked Stellenbosch 395th out of the top 500 universities worldwide on its CWTS Leiden Ranking list of 2013. This list also ranked the university second in both South Africa and Africa, behind only the University of Cape Town.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University is ranked in the top 100 worldwide in development studies, theology, agriculture and forestry.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: In 2012, Webometrics ranked Stellenbosch's web footprint 2nd largest in Africa, again behind the University of Cape Town.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The University of Stellenbosch Business School's MBA program was ranked 65th out of 100 MBA programmes of the leading business schools in the world the Aspen Institute's 2011-12 edition of its Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey. The USB is also the only business school in South Africa, as well as the rest of the continent, to be included in the Top 100 list.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The University of Stellenbosch Business School has triple accreditation (AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB accreditation) and is ranked second in Africa by Eduniversal. The University of Stellenbosch Business School is ranked in the top 100 worldwide in executive education by Financial Times.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch is located about 50 kilometres from Cape Town and is situated on the banks of the "Eersterivier" ("First River") in the famous wine-growing region and is encircled by picturesque mountains. Teaching at Stellenbosch University is divided between the main campus in Stellenbosch, the Tygerberg campus (where the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is situated), the Bellville Park campus (where the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) is situated), and the Saldanha campus (housing the Faculty of Military Science at the Military Academy of the South African National Defence Force).


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University used to be a predominantly Afrikaans-medium university. However, as the student body became more diversified, pressure mounted for more classes in English.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Today, the university's language policy promotes multilingualism as a means to increase equitable access for all students and staff. Afrikaans, English and Xhosa are used in academic, administrative, professional and social contexts, and classes are offered in Afrikaans and English.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Students are allowed to write their assignments, tests and examinations in English or Afrikaans. The language of tuition also varies depending on the faculty. The Faculty of Arts for example, is 40% English, so courses are lectured bilingually and the language of most handouts or prescribed material is determined by the student.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: At postgraduate level the language of tuition is determined by the composition of the class. Most advanced postgraduate courses are conducted in English. According to the 2016 language profile of the university, 40.7% of its students stated Afrikaans as their home language, 46.1% stated English, 0.9% stated English and Afrikaans, and 3.1% of students stated isiXhosa as their home language.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The language policy is still an ongoing issue for the university, since it is one of the very few tertiary institutions left in South Africa still offering tuition in Afrikaans. It is situated in the Western Cape province, where 67% of the population have Afrikaans as home language, and the only one of four universities in the province to offer degree courses in Afrikaans. Due to this, it is held in high regard by the Afrikaner community.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university annually hosts the SU "Woordfees", a predominantly Afrikaans-language festival of the written and spoken word.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University consists of about 150 departments divided amongst 10 faculties. It also has more than 40 research (and other) institutions.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The Southern African node of the Pan-African University is based in South Africa and will concentrate on space sciences.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: This decision was connected with South Africa's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array of radio telescopes. In September 2009 Jean-Pierre Ezin, African Union commissioner for science, said the node at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa was hoped to open in February 2010. According to "University World News", however, "The PAU project continues in other regions although Southern Africa has been lagging behind".


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The Stellenbosch University Library has collections scattered around the campus outside of the main facility, and all of which are catalogued on a computerised database, using the university's original mainframe, a UNIVAC. There are several other satellite libraries servicing the different faculties, including the Theology Library, Law Library and Tygerberg Medical Library.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch University also has a Conservatory, with two concert halls. The Conservatory is the home of the internationally acclaimed Stellenbosch University Choir, who, along with being the oldest South African choir have received numerous awards overseas.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university also has a 430-seat theatre, known as the HB Thom Theatre and an open-air amphitheatre. Accompanying these facilities is the university's own Drama Department, under the guidance of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The department regularly puts on plays, dramas, productions, cabarets and musicals.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden is the oldest university botanical garden in South Africa.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The Langenhoven Students' Centre ("Neelsie") houses the Student Representative Council, a food court, a cinema, a post office, a shopping centre, an advice office and all the student societies' offices. Student bands and various entertainment and activity promotions usually appear in the main food court during lunch hour.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university has its own radio station known as MFM (Matie FM), situated in the Neelsie. It broadcasts a mix of music, news, entertainment and campus news over the entire Stellenbosch area at 92.6 FM.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university also distributes regular publications, "Die Matie" (appearing every fortnight) for its students and "Kampusnuus" (appearing monthly) for its staff. An official yearbook, "Stellenbosch Student", is published annually and presented to all graduating students. "Matieland" is the name of the official alumni magazine. It is published twice a year and distributed to some 100 000 alumni and friends of the university.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Sports facilities for the more than 30 competitive and recreational sports that are supported by the university include Danie Craven Stadium, two large swimming pools (one under roof), the Coetzenburg Centre, a multi-purpose center for ceremonies and indoor sports, playing fields, including two artificial hockey fields, a gymnasium, and a new football complex.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The university offers several sports to its students. Some of them are athletics, bouldering, badminton, basketball, canoeing, cricket, cross country running, cycling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, field hockey, judo, kendo, netball, rowing, rugby union, soccer, squash, surfing, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, underwater hockey, volleyball, water polo, and yachting.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch has served as a test site in 2006 for a set of proposed modifications to the rules of rugby union, commonly referred to as the Stellenbosch Laws.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: Stellenbosch has 34 residence halls in configurations for women only, men only and mixed gender. Each residence is supervised by a resident head assisted by a House Committee of senior students. The House Committee assists students with security, maintenance, and social programs.} Each first year student on campus gets access to a be-well mentor who assist them with their social-emotional transition from school to university. Each residence for undergrads incorporates a laundry room, a common living room and a dining hall where meals are provided for which students book beforehand on their student account.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The number of available rooms in university residences is limited, which requires some students to find private boarding. Students in private lodgings are assigned to one of 6 Private Student Organisations (PSO), also known as Private Wards. These PSOs give private students exposure to the same campus experience as students residing in residences. The oldest residence is Wilgenhof men's residence, established in 1903.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: The PSO wards are grouped into six clusters with nearby residences to form student communities (a seventh cluster is on the Tygerberg campus). For each of these clusters, a hub facility is being built, of which two have already been completed, namely amaMaties and Wimbledon. In this way, day students can enjoy the same benefits as residence students, such as mentor support, meals and a well-appointed place to go to between classes.


title: Stellenbosch University

text: There have been several incidences of racism at the university since 1994, with the latest being of a white student urinating into study material of a black student.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; ) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Ascending the throne at the age of eight, the young shah lacked authority and reigned as figurehead, whilst real power was in the hands of the army commanders, courtiers, and powerful members of the aristocracy, who engaged in internecine warfare. The Sasanian Empire was weakened severely by these internal conflicts, resulting in invasions by the Göktürks from the east, and Khazars from the west. It was, however, the Arabs, united under the banner of Islam, who dealt the decisive blow. Yazdegerd was unable to contain the Arab invasion of Iran, and spent most of his reign fleeing from one province to another in the vain hope of raising an army. Yazdegerd met his end at the hands of a miller near Marw in 651, bringing an end to the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire after more than 400 years of rule.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: The name of Yazdegerd is a combination of the Old Iranian "yazad yazata"- "divine being" and "-karta" "made", and thus stands for "God-made", comparable to Iranian "Bagkart" and Greek "Theoktistos". The name of Yazdegerd is known in other languages as; Pahlavi "Yazdekert"; New Persian "Yazd(e)gerd"; Syriac "Yazdegerd", "Izdegerd", and "Yazdeger"; Armenian "Yazkert"; Talmudic "Izdeger" and "Azger"; Arabic "Yazdeijerd"; Greek "Isdigerdes".


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd was the son of prince Shahriyar and the grandson of the last prominent shah of Iran, Khosrow II (), who was in 628 overthrown and executed by his own son Kavad II, who proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, including Shahriyar. This dealt a heavy blow to the empire, which it would never recover from. Furthermore, the fall of Khosrow II also culminated in a civil war lasting four years, with the most powerful members of the nobility gaining full autonomy and starting to create their own government. The hostilities between the Persian ("Parsig") and Parthian ("Pahlav") noble-families were also resumed, which split up the wealth of the nation. A few months later, a devastating plague swept through the western Sasanian provinces, killing half of its population including Kavad II.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: He was succeeded by his eight-year-old son Ardashir III, who was killed two years later by the distinguished Sasanian general Shahrbaraz, who was in turn murdered forty days later in a coup by the "Pahlav" leader Farrukh Hormizd, who installed the daughter of Khosrow II, Boran, on the throne. She was deposed a year later, and a succession of rulers followed one another, until Boran was sovereign once more in 631, only to be killed the following year, seemingly by the "Parsig" leader Piruz Khosrow. The most powerful magnates in the empire, Rostam Farrokhzad and Piruz Khosrow, now threatened by their own men, eventually agreed to work together, and installed Yazdegerd III on the throne, thus putting an end to the civil war. He was crowned in the Anahid fire-temple in Istakhr, where he had been hiding during the civil war. The temple was the very place where the first Sasanian shah Ardashir I () had crowned himself, indicating that the reason behind Yazdegerd's coronation at the same place was due to hopes for a rejuvenation of the empire. He was almost the last living member of the House of Sasan. Most scholars agree that Yazdegerd was eight years old at his coronation.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd, however, did not have the authority required to bring stability to his extensive empire, which was swiftly falling apart due to ceaseless internal conflicts between the army commanders, courtiers, and powerful members of the aristocracy, who were fighting amongst themselves and wiping each other out. Many of the governors of the empire had proclaimed independence and carved out their own kingdom. The governors of the provinces of Mazun and Yemen had already asserted their independence during the civil war of 628–632, thus resulting in the disintegration of Sasanian rule in the Arabian peninsula, which was uniting under the banner of Islam. The Iranologist Khodadad Rezakhani argues that the Sasanians had most likely lost much of their possessions after Khosrow II's execution in 628.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: The empire was starting to look more like the Parthian feudal system before the fall of the Arsacid Empire. Yazdegerd, although being acknowledged as the rightful monarch by both the "Parsig" and "Pahlav" factions, does not seem to have held sway over all of his empire. Indeed, during the first years of his rule coins were only minted in Pars, Sakastan, and Khuzestan, approximately corresponding to the regions of the southwest ("Xwarwarān") and southeast ("Nēmrōz"), where the "Parsig" was based. The "Pahlav", who were mainly based in the northern portion of the empire, refused to mint coins of him. Even in the south Yazdegerd's rule was not seemingly secure; a Sasanian claimant to the throne, Khosrow IV, minted coins at Susa in Khuzestan around this time, which he would do till 636. According to Rezakhani, Yazdegerd seemingly did not control Mesopotamia, including the capital of Ctesiphon. He argues that the conspiring aristocrats and the population of Ctesiphon, "do not appear to have been too successful or eager in bringing Yazdgerd to the capital."


title: Yazdegerd III

text: The empire was also at the same time invaded on all fronts; by the Göktürks in the east, and by Khazars in the west, who raided Armenia and Adurbadagan. The Sasanian army had been heavily weakened due to the war with the Byzantines and internal conflict. The circumstances were so chaotic, and the condition of the nation so alarming, that "the Persians openly spoke of the imminent downfall of their empire, and saw its portents in natural calamities."


title: Yazdegerd III

text: In May 633, the Muslims defeated a Sasanian force under Azadbeh near the important strategic Sasanian city of Hira, which was shortly afterwards occupied. After the fall of Hira, Yazdegerd began to pay greater attention to the Muslims; Rostam Farrokhzad sent an army under the Persian military officer Bahman Jadhuyih and the Armenian military officer Jalinus against the Muslims. Rostam is known to have told Bahman secretly that: "if Jalinus returns to the like of his defeat, then cut off his head." The Sasanian army managed to defeat the Muslims at the Battle of the Bridge.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: In 636, Yazdegerd III ordered Rostam Farrokhzad to subdue the invading Arabs and then told him: "Today you are the [most prominent] man among the Iranians. You see that the people of Iran have not faced a situation like this since the family of Ardashir I assumed power." Envoys then came to Yazdegerd III asking him to consider the dismissal of Rostam in order to replace him with someone around whom the people would rally.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd III asked Rostam for an assessment of the Arab forces since they had camped at Qadisiyyah. Rostam Farrokhzad stated that the Arabs were "a pack of wolves, falling upon unsuspecting shepherds and annihilating them." Yazdegerd III responds to Rostam by saying,


title: Yazdegerd III

text: However, the Sasanian army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, with Rostam, Bahman, Jalinus and two Armenian princes named Grigor II Novirak and Mushegh III Mamikonian being killed during the battle. The Arabs then marched towards the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon without meeting any resistance. Yazdegerd took his treasury, and along with 1,000 of his servants fled to Hulwan in Media, leaving Rostam Farrokhzad's brother Farrukhzad in charge of Ctesiphon. Farrukhzad, however, did not attempt any resistance and also went to Hulwan. The Arabs subsequently reached Ctesiphon, besieged the western parts of the city, and soon occupied all of it. The Iranian defeat at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah has often been described as a turning point in the Arab invasion of Iran. However, in reality, it was far from it. The battle served as a wake-up call for the Iranian armies, who became conscious that persistent factionalism could result in their inevitable destruction. Al-Tabari emphasizes this, stating that after the fall of Ctesiphon "the people... were about to go their separate ways, they started to incite one another: 'If you disperse now, you will never get together again; this is a spot that sends us in different directions'."


title: Yazdegerd III

text: In April 637, the Arabs defeated another Sasanian army at the Battle of Jalula. After this defeat, Yazdegerd fled deeper into Media. He subsequently raised a new army and send it to Nahavand to retake Ctesiphon and prevent any further Muslim advances. The army that Yazdegerd sent seemed such a serious threat that it led Umar to combine the Arab forces of Kufa and Basra under Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin and send them against the Sasanians with reinforcements from Syria and Oman. The battle is said to have lasted several days. It resulted in major losses on both sides, including the death of al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin and the Iranian generals Mardanshah and Piruz Khosrow. The Battle of Nahavand in 642 was the second military disaster for the Sasanians after the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: After the Sasanian disaster, Yazdegerd fled to Isfahan, and raised a small army under a certain military officer named Siyah, who had lost his property to the Arabs. However, Siyah and the rest of the army mutinied against Yazdegerd, and agreed to help the Arabs in return for places to live. Meanwhile, Yazdegerd had arrived in Estakhr, where he tried organizing a base for resistance in the province of Pars. However, in 650, Abdullah ibn Aamir, the governor of Basra, invaded Pars and put an end to the Persian resistance. Estakhr was made into ruins after the battle and a force of 40,000 defenders including many Persian nobles were killed. After the Arab conquest of Pars, Yazdegerd fled to Kirman while being pursued by an Arab force. Yazdegerd managed to flee from the Arab force in a snowstorm at Bimand.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: After arriving at Kirman, Yazdegerd became unfriendly with the "marzban" (general of a frontier province, "margrave") of Kirman, and then left Kirman for Sakastan. Another Basran army later arrived which defeated and killed the "marzban" of Kirman in a bloody fight. When Yazdegerd arrived at Sakastan he lost the support of the governor of Sakastan by demanding tax from him. Yazdegerd then headed for Merv to join the leader of the Turks. However, when he arrived in Khorasan the inhabitants did not agree with Yazdegerd's decision to continue waging war and told him that it was better if he made peace with the Arabs; Yazdegerd, however, refused. Sakastan was later taken by the Arab forces after a bloody fight around 650–652. Yazdegerd was also supported by the Principality of Chaghaniyan, which sent him troops to aid him against the Arabs. When Yazdegerd arrived in Marw (in what is today's Turkmenistan) he demanded tax from the "marzban" of Marw, losing also his support and making him ally with Nezak Tarkan, the Hephthalite ruler of Badghis, who helped him defeat Yazdegerd and his followers.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: After Yazdegerd III started to suffer from the onslaught of the Muslim Arabs, he soon sent an envoy to the Chinese court in 639 "for offering tribute”. As he continued to suffer defeats from the Arabs, he again sent envoys to China, in 647 and 648, in order to “seek assistance from the Chinese court with the hope to form a new army". Some form of help would only arrive in 661, after Peroz III, the son of Yazdegerd, again sent envoys in 654 and 661. The Chinese established a "Persian military commandery" (波斯都督府) in the city of Zābol (疾陵城 "Jilingcheng") in Tokharistan, and Peroz was appointed as Military Commander (都督 "Dudu"). Only in 679 would a Chinese army accompany Narsieh, the exiled son of Peroz, in order to restore him to the Sasanian throne, but the army stopped in Tokharistan and instead repelled the invasion of Western Turkic Khan Ashina Duzhi, leaving Narsieh to fight against the Muslim Arabs for the next twenty years.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: After his defeat, Yazdegerd sought refuge at a miller near Marw, who, however, murdered him in 651. According to Kia, the miller had reportedly killed Yazdegerd in order to obtain his jewelry, whilst the Cambridge History of Iran states that the miller was sent by Mahoe Suri. Regardless, the death of Yazdegerd marked the end of the Sasanian Empire, and made it less difficult for the Arabs to conquer the rest of Iran. All of Khorasan was soon conquered by the Arabs, who would use it as a base to attack Transoxiana. The death of Yazdegerd thus marked the end of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire after more than 400 years of rule. An empire–which had a generation earlier briefly conquered Egypt and Asia Minor, even reaching as a far as Constantinople, fell to a force of lightly equipped Arabs that were used to skirmishes and desert warfare. The heavy Sasanian cavalry was too sluggish and systematized to contain them; employing light-armed Arab or East Iranian mercenaries from Khorasan and Transoxiana would have been much more successful.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd was according to tradition buried by Christian monks in a tall tomb that was situated in a garden decorated with silk and musk. His funeral and the construction of a mausoleum for his body near Merv was organized by the Nestorian bishop Elijah - in memory of the fact that the Shahanshah's grandmother Shirin was a Christian. Mahoe, for his part in the murder of the Sassanian king, had his arms, legs, ears and nose cut off by the Turks, who eventually left him die under the scorching summer sun. The corpse of Mahoe was then burned at the stake, along with the bodies of his three sons.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: The monks cursed Mahoe and made a hymn to Yazdegerd, mourning the fall of a "combative" king and the "house of Ardashir I." Whether this event was factual or not, it emphasizes that the Christians of the empire remained loyal to the Zoroastrian Sasanians, even possibly more than the Iranian nobles who had deserted Yazdegerd. Indeed, there were close links between the late Sasanian rulers and Christians, whose conditions had greatly improved compared to that of the early Sasanian era. Yazdegerd's wife was according to folklore a Christian, whilst his son and heir, Peroz III was seemingly an adherent of Christianity, and even had a church built in Tang China, where he had taken refuge. Yazdegerd became remembered in history as a martyred prince; many rulers and officers would later claim being an descendant of him in Islamic Iran.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Yazdegerd was well educated and cultured, but his arrogance, pride and inability to compare his demands with the real situation led to him constantly falling out with his governors and his influence diminishing as he, pursued by Arabs, moved from one city to another. At each new place, he behaved as if he was still the all-powerful monarch of the kingdom, and not an outcast running away from enemies, which, combined with his military failures, turned many of his most loyal subjects away from him.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: The Zoroastrian religious calendar, which is still in use today, uses the regnal year of Yazdegerd III as its base year, and its calendar era (year numbering system) is accompanied by a Y.Z. suffix.


title: Yazdegerd III

text: Magians took Yazdegerd III's death as the end of the millennium of Zoroaster and the beginning of the millennium of Oshedar.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: The Dangerous Woman Tour was the third concert tour and the second arena tour by American singer Ariana Grande in support of her third studio album, "Dangerous Woman" (2016). It traveled across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. The tour started on February 3, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona, and ended on September 21, 2017 in Hong Kong. The tour was temporarily halted on May 22, 2017 due to a terrorist bombing, which happened minutes after the end of Grande's Manchester Arena show, killing 22 concert-goers (excluding the perpetrator) and physically injuring 139 others. After organizing and performing at the One Love Manchester benefit concert, Grande resumed the tour on June 7, 2017 in Paris, France.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: On November 29, 2018, Grande released a four-part docu-series on YouTube titled "" that included behind-the-scenes footage from the tour, performances as well as the creation of her fourth studio album, "Sweetener" (2018).


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: On May 23, 2016, Ariana Grande announced on social media that she would go on tour starting in late 2016 or early 2017 and that fans who ordered her album before May 25 would get a code to purchase tickets before the general public sale. On September 9, 2016, Grande released the dates for the first leg of the tour, beginning on February 3, 2017. Ticket pre-sales for the first leg began on September 20, and general ticket sales began on September 24, 2016. European tour dates were announced on October 20, 2016 for May and June 2017.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: On September 22, 2016, Grande announced on Twitter that Victoria Monét and Little Mix would be joining the tour as opening acts throughout the North American leg of the tour. On September 26, 2016, Grande announced that the tour would visit New Zealand and Australia. Bia joined the tour as the opening act for the Europe dates. Grande also scheduled dates in Latin America for June and July 2017, in Oceania for September 2017, and in Asia for August and September 2017, including in Singapore as part of the F1 Grand Prix.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: For the show's visual, Grande worked with her stylist Law Roach and designer Bryan Hearns, creating a more "mature" and "growth" look for Grande. Describing the concept of the outfits used during the shows, Hearns stated: "It's about making an adult Ariana, marrying her silhouette with what's happening in fashion right now, so a big theme is sportswear—everything is oversized, there are straps everywhere, and cool hardware ... It's definitely more edgy, it's more adult, but still playful and young." Talking about the opening look, a high-neck black bodysuit, with a flirty skirt on top, he revealed that the look was designed one day before of the first show. He explained: "I slept for four hours. It was stressful, but it was exciting. It was awesome." The look was inspired by Audrey Hepburn. During an interview with "Billboard", Hearns said:


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: Most of the looks are my direct aesthetic, so I put my stamp on it. It was just a certain silhouette that she wanted and certain colors, and that's how we met in the middle. We had a couple of looks that were in her silhouette, which is usually high-waisted bodysuits, shorts, skirts and crop tops. It's very flattering on her so we have a lot of items in that shape.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: He also revealed that "everything was a mixture of leather, denim, strappy fabrics and hardware." "We use a lot of sweatshirt fabric because everything is very relaxed-looking. It doesn’t have a lot going on in terms of the details." The look styled by Grande during the fourth act of the show, a crop-top with blue denim harem pants, was inspired by 90s styles (mainly the R&B group TLC).


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: Ten minutes and fifty seconds before the show started, a countdown timer and video projected on a giant curtain placed at the back of the stage showing Grande and two of her dancers and close friends, Brian Nicholson and Scott Nicholson. After the end of the countdown, ten dancers emerged onstage followed by Grande, who wore a black dress and black high heeled boots. The curtain drops to show a wider screen as the show began with "Be Alright". Grande sang while performing in a vogue-style choreography, while dancers, dressed in black costumes, move around her dancing vogue-like actions. After the song, Grande puts on a jacket and performed "Everyday" as red lights dimmed the stage to a background of pyrotechnics. During the performance, the rapper Future appeared in the projected video singing his verse. Next was "Bad Decisions", with elevated platforms and Grande's dancers around her. "Let Me Love You" followed, on a stage dimly lit by blue and white lights. Grande exited the stage laying down on an elevated platform that then descended under the stage. The song transitioned into an orchestral string interlude followed by a video of Grande, with a purple, blue and pink aura around her, singing the unreleased intro for the original version of "Dangerous Woman" (formerly titled Moonlight), titled "Baby Loves", that did not appear on the retail release.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: The second part of the show began with an extended version of “Knew Better” with Grande and her dancers dressed in street-style white clothes, followed by a shortened version of “Forever Boy”, featuring colorful stage effects while Grande walks down the catwalk towards the front of the stage. Once there at the front of the stage, Grande then performed a stripped-down version of "One Last Time", which transitioned back into the original version of the song. After that was R&B-inspired song “Touch It”. Stage projections and visual effects were shown as Grande walks the catwalk and makes her way back towards the main part of the stage and stands atop an elevated platform. Grande concluded the second part of the show singing "Leave Me Lonely" with light laser lighting effects. After the end of the song, an extended version of the song played as Grande exits and goes backstage for a costume change, and a backing band (guitars, drums, bass and keyboards) arrived onstage.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: The third part of the show started with a second interlude on the video screen, showing Grande in blonde hair and a leotard posing provocatively as feminist words are displayed, including "empowered", "grounded", "not asking for it" (which repeats multiple times), "raw", "gentle", "sensual", "sexual", "human" and "female". Grande then ascended to the stage wearing a gray bra and a skirt with straps, while her dancers rode stationary bicycles on a platform to perform "Side to Side". The stage transformed into a gymnasium with lockers, benches and a chinning bar. Rapper Nicki Minaj was shown on the video screen in scenes from the official music video during her verse. Grande then performed a remixed version of "Bang Bang" with colorful and extreme strobe lighting and laser effects. Next, during "Greedy", fake money with Grande's face on it fell onto the audience. Starting with the second leg in Europe, the song then swiftly transitioned into "Focus", during which the screen showed scenes from the music video. Grande ended the third part of the show with “I Don't Care“ and exited as the band played an extended outro for the song.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: The fourth part of the show started with Grande returning to the catwalk area of the stage wearing a bra and a pair of denim harem pants with black high heel shoes (a brown jumpsuit dress with a moon on it wearing white high heel shoes during the Europe leg onwards) and singing "Moonlight" as she sat and knelt on the edge of the catwalk in front of a celestial background with celestial projections. Next was "Love Me Harder" and a reworked version of "Break Free" with laser effects around the stage. Grande then talks to the audience for a bit and then performed ”Sometimes”. While performing, pink balloons fell from the ceiling as Grande continues to interact with the audience. This is followed by "Thinking Bout You" as the video screen showed coloured silhouettes of opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples making out. There ensued an optional interchangeable section of the concert, which featured anything from Ariana singing the original version of "Honeymoon Avenue", to Ariana singing a cover of Pink + White by Frank Ocean (this was changed to Grande performing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" after performing "Thinking Bout You" starting with the show in Paris, France after the Manchester Arena Bombing). After the interchangeable section came "Problem" with the stage dimmed to blue lights while the dancers carried big blue neon glow sticks, followed by "Into You", which concluded the main set. For the encore, after a two-minute silence, Grande performed "Dangerous Woman", wearing a black latex dress, with red lighting and pyrotechnics on the stage. After performing, Grande thanks the audience and exits the stage as the band played an extended outro of the song.


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: The Dangerous Woman Tour received mostly positive reviews. For example, in a review for "Las Vegas Weekly", Ian Caramanzana wrote: "Grande's burly, soulful vibrato and wide range remain the star of her show, and she's at her best when it's just her, a microphone and her band – especially when she performs ballads". Ed Masley commented for "The Arizona Republic" that Grande has grown "into a self-assured R&B diva with the vocal chops to back up the confident swagger she brought to the stage. ... Vocally, Grande exuded more power and passion than ever, especially on the ballads". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" praised Grande for not resorting to shock value. He described the concert as "a show of confidence, prowess and aplomb. ... Onstage, Ms. Grande ... flaunts professionalism, not skin or profanities". "Billboard"'s Kristin Corpuz said of Grande's performance at Madison Square Garden: "She's showing off a more mature sound and edgier image. With outfits custom-made by celebrity fashion designer Bryan Hearns, Grande electrified the Madison Square Garden stage with her four-piece rhythm section and 10 backup dancers." A "Billboard" report later commented of the last concert of the tour that Grande "more than delivered with her impressive vocal range, sultry dance moves, unstoppable energy and a whirl of costume changes. ... [Through her tour,] Grande has brought people together through music to love and support each other."


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: In a more mixed review, Chris Kelly of "The Washington Post" thought that "her gorgeous four-octave soprano was often obscured by her bass-heavy backing band", but he described the show as "a pristine showcase of her immense vocal talent." Dan Hyman of "Chicago Tribune" opined, "[A]side from a massive projection screen that lived behind the stage and stretched the width of the arena, the production seemed a bit cheap for a show of this scale. ... But it doesn't matter for this gifted singer: all Grande needs do to ... is dial back the bass and belt out some of her magnificent vocal runs."


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: On May 22, 2017, after Grande's show at Manchester Arena in England finished, a shrapnel bomb explosion caused the death of 22 concert-goers and more than 800 injuries. Grande cancelled subsequent tour dates through June 5. Grande organised a benefit concert, One Love Manchester, which took place on June 4 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, to aid the bombing victims and affected families. By the end of the concert, it had raised £17 million. Grande also re-released her previous single, "One Last Time" and a live cover of her singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", with all funds going to the British Red Cross. Various artists joined Grande for the concert. Alfredo Flores, Grande's tour photographer, told "Refinery 29" that, after the bombing:


title: Dangerous Woman Tour

text: This set list is representative of the February 3, 2017, show in Phoenix. It is not intended to represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.


title: CJ Jones

text: CJ Jones (born September 29, 1950) is an American actor residing in Los Angeles. He is one of the subjects of "" (2009). Jones made his feature film debut with Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" (2017), in which he portrays Joseph, the deaf foster father of Ansel Elgort's protagonist.


title: CJ Jones

text: He has developed three one-man shows that have toured the United States, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Ecuador, and Canada. He co-wrote and directed six classic fairy tales for children's television for the series "Once Upon a Sign". CJ produced the International Sign Language Theater Festival, which hosted theater artists from all over the world. He has also appeared in various episodes of American TV series.


title: CJ Jones

text: CJ Jones is the son of deaf parents who communicated in ASL American Sign Language. One of seven hearing children born to the couple, he lost his hearing at the age of 7 when he fell ill with spinal meningitis. He attended Missouri School for the Deaf. Active in sports, he was voted class valedictorian. He remains active in deaf awareness causes and charities.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more briefly known as the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India from 1917 to 1922, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India between 1916 and 1921. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report, prepared in 1918, and formed the basis of the Government of India Act 1919. These are related to constitutional reforms. Indian nationalists considered that the reforms did not go far enough, while British conservatives were critical of them. The important features of this act were that:


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: 1. The Imperial Legislative Council was now to consist of two houses: the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: Edwin Montagu became Secretary of State for India in June 1917 after Austen Chamberlain resigned following the capture of Kut by the Turks in 1916 and the capture of an Indian army staged there. He put before the British Cabinet a proposed statement regarding his intention to work towards the gradual development of free institutions in India with a view to ultimate self-government. Lord Curzon thought that this gave Montagu too much emphasis on working towards self-government and suggested that he work towards increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire. The Cabinet approved the statement with Curzon's amendment incorporated in place of Montagu's original statement.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: In late 1917, Montagu went to India to meet Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India, and leaders of Indian community, to discuss the introduction of limited self-government to India, and the protection rights of minority communities. He drew up a report, with Bhupendra Nath Bose, Lord Donoghmore, William Duke and Charles Roberts.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The Report went before Cabinet on 24 May and 7 June 1918 and was embodied in the Government of India Act of 1919. These reforms represented the maximum concessions the British were prepared to make at that time. The franchise was extended, and increased authority was given to central and provincial legislative councils, but the viceroy remained responsible only to London.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The changes at the provincial level were very significant, as the provincial legislative councils contained a considerable majority of elected members. In a system called "dyarchy," the nation-building departments of government were placed under ministers who were individually responsible to the legislature. The departments that made up the "steel frame" of British rule were retained by executive councilors who were nominated by the Governor. They were often, but not always, British and who were responsible to the governor. The Act of 1919 introduced Diarchy in the provinces. Accordingly, the Rights of the Central and Provincial Governments were divided in clear-cut terms. The central list included rights over defence, foreign affairs, telegraphs, railways, postal, foreign trade etc. The provincial list dealt with the affairs like health, sanitation, education, public work, irrigation, jail, police, justice etc. The powers which were not included in the state list vested in the hands of the centre. In case of any conflict between the 'reserved' and 'unreserved' powers of the State (the former included finance, police, revenue, publication of books, etc. and the latter included health, sanitation, local-self government etc.), the Governor had its final say. In 1921, the "Diarchy" was installed in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, the United Provinces, the Central Provinces, the Punjab, Bihar and Orissa, and Assam; in 1932 it was extended to the North-West Frontier Province.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: In 1921 another change recommended by the report was carried out when elected local councils were set up in rural areas, and during the 1920s urban municipal corporations were made more democratic and "Indianized".


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: Many Indians had fought with the British in the First World War and they expected much greater concessions. The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League had recently come together demanding self-rule.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The 1919 reforms did not satisfy political demands in India. The British repressed opposition, and restrictions on the press and on movement were re-enacted through the Rowlatt Acts introduced in 1919. These measures were rammed through the Legislative Council with the unanimous opposition of the Indian members. Several members of the council including Jinnah resigned in protest. These measures were widely seen throughout India as a betrayal of the strong support given by the population for the British war effort.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: Gandhi launched a nationwide protest against the Rowlatt Acts with the strongest level of protest in the Punjab. The situation worsened in Amritsar in April 1919, when General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on demonstrators hemmed into a tight square, resulting in the deaths of at least 379 civilians. Montagu ordered an inquiry into the events at Amritsar by Lord Hunter. The Hunter Inquiry recommended that General Dyer, who commanded the troops, be dismissed, leading to Dyer's sacking. Many British citizens supported Dyer, whom they considered had received unfair treatment from the Hunter Inquiry. The conservative "Morning Post" newspaper collected a subscription of £26,000 for General Dyer and Sir Edward Carson moved a censure motion on Montagu which was nearly successful. Montagu was saved largely due to a strong speech in his defence by Winston Churchill.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The Amritsar massacre further inflamed Indian nationalist sentiment ending the initial response of reluctant co-operation. At the grass roots level, many young Indians wanted faster progress towards Indian independence and were disappointed by lack of advancement as Britons returned to their former positions in the administration. At the Indian National Congress annual session in September 1920, delegates supported Gandhi's proposal of swaraj or self-rule – preferably within the British Empire or out of it if necessary. The proposal was to be implemented through a policy of non-cooperation with British rule meaning that Congress did not field candidates in the first elections held under the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms in 1921.


title: Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

text: The Montagu-Chelmsford report stated that there should be a review after 10 years. Sir John Simon headed the committee (Simon Commission) responsible for the review, which recommended further constitutional change. Three round table conferences were held in London in 1930, 1931 and 1932 with representation of the major interests. Mahatma Gandhi attended the 1931 round table after negotiations with the British Government. The major disagreement between the Indian National Congress and the British was separate electorates for each community which Congress opposed but which were retained in Ramsay MacDonald's Communal Award. A new Government of India Act 1935 was passed continuing the move towards self-government first made in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report.


title: Proprietary trading

text: Proprietary trading (also known as prop trading) occurs when a trader trades stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, their derivatives, or other financial instruments with the firm's own money (instead of using depositors' money) in order to make a profit for itself. Proprietary trading can create potential conflicts of interest such as insider trading and front running.


title: Proprietary trading

text: Proprietary traders may use a variety of strategies such as index arbitrage, statistical arbitrage, merger arbitrage, fundamental analysis, volatility arbitrage, or global macro trading, much like a hedge fund. Many reporters and analysts believe that large banks purposely leave ambiguous the proportion of proprietary versus non-proprietary trading, because it is felt that proprietary trading is riskier and results in more volatile profits.


title: Proprietary trading

text: One of the main strategies of trading, traditionally associated with banks, is arbitrage. In the most basic sense, arbitrage is defined as taking advantage of a price discrepancy through the purchase or sale of certain combinations of securities to lock in a market-neutral profit. The trade will remain subject to various non-market risks, such as settlement risk and other operational risks. Investment banks, which are often active in many markets around the world, constantly watch for arbitrage opportunities.


title: Proprietary trading

text: One of the more-notable areas of arbitrage, called risk arbitrage or merger arbitrage, evolved in the 1980s. When a company plans to buy another company, often the share price of the buyer falls (because the buyer will have to pay money to buy the other company) and the share price of the purchased company rises (because the buyer usually buys those shares at a price higher than the current price). When an investment bank believes a buyout is imminent, it often sells short the shares of the buyer (betting that the price will go down) and buys the shares of the company being acquired (betting the price will go up).


title: Proprietary trading

text: There are a number of ways in which proprietary trading can create conflicts of interest between a bank's interests and those of its customers.


title: Proprietary trading

text: As investment banks are key figures in mergers and acquisitions, it is possible (though prohibited) for traders to use inside information to engage in merger arbitrage. Investment banks are required to have a Chinese wall separating their trading and investment banking divisions; however, in recent years, especially since the Enron scandal, these have come under closer scrutiny. One example of an alleged conflict of interest can be found in charges brought by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission against Citigroup in 2007.


title: Proprietary trading

text: Another source of conflicts of interest is potential front running, in which case the buy-side clients suffer from significantly higher trading costs. Front running per se is illegal, but there are circumstances under which a broker that operates a proprietary trading desk gains advantage over its clients based on inferences from order book data.


title: Proprietary trading

text: Famous proprietary traders have included Ivan Boesky, Steven A. Cohen, John Meriwether, Daniel Och, and Boaz Weinstein. Some of the investment banks most historically associated with trading were Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert. Trader Nick Leeson took down Barings Bank with unauthorized proprietary positions. UBS trader Kweku Adoboli lost $2.2 billion of the bank's money and was convicted for his actions.


title: Proprietary trading

text: Armin S, a German private trader, sued BNP Paribas for 152m EUR because they sold to him structured products for 108 EUR each which were worth 54 00 EUR.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Poitras has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for "Citizenfour", about Edward Snowden, while "My Country, My Country" received a nomination in the same category in 2007. She won the 2013 George Polk Award for national security reporting related to the NSA disclosures. The NSA reporting by Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill, and Barton Gellman contributed to the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service awarded jointly to "The Guardian" and "The Washington Post". In 2022, her documentary film, "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed", which explores the career of Nan Goldin and the fall of the Sackler family, was awarded the Golden Lion, making it the second documentary to win the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.


title: Laura Poitras

text: She is a MacDowell Colony Fellow, 2012 MacArthur Fellow, the creator of "Field of Vision", and one of the initial supporters of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. She was awarded the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard's Nieman Foundation in 2014.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Poitras was one of the founding editors of the online newspaper, "The Intercept". On November 30, 2020, Poitras was fired by First Look Media, the parent company of "The Intercept", allegedly in relation to the Reality Winner controversy.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Laura Poitras is the middle daughter of Patricia "Pat" and James "Jim" Poitras, who in 2007 donated $20 million to found The Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research at McGovern Institute for Brain Research, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her parents keep a home in Massachusetts, but live mostly in Orlando, Florida. Her sisters are Christine Poitras, an ESL teacher, and Jennifer Poitras, a disaster response planner and consultant.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Growing up, Laura planned to become a chef, and spent several years as a cook at L'Espalier, a French restaurant located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. However, after finishing Sudbury Valley School, she moved to San Francisco and lost interest in becoming a chef. Instead she studied at the San Francisco Art Institute with experimental filmmakers Ernie Gehr and Janis Crystal Lipzin. In 1992, Poitras moved to New York to pursue filmmaking. In 1996, she graduated from The New School for Public Engagement with a bachelor's degree.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Poitras co-directed, produced, and shot her documentary, "Flag Wars" (2003), about gentrification in Columbus, Ohio. It received a Peabody Award, Best Documentary at both the 2003 South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and the Filmmaker Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. The film launched the 2003 season of the PBS TV series POV. It was nominated for a 2004 Independent Spirit Award and a 2004 Emmy Award. Poitras's other early films include "O' Say Can You See..." (2003) and "Exact Fantasy" (1995).


title: Laura Poitras

text: Her film "My Country, My Country" (2006), about life for Iraqis under U.S. occupation, was nominated for an Academy Award. "The Oath" (2010), concerns two Yemeni men caught up in America's War on Terror, won the Excellence in Cinematography Award for U.S. Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The two films form parts of a trilogy. The last third "Citizenfour" (2014) details how the War on Terror increasingly focuses on Americans through surveillance, covert activities, and attacks on whistleblowers.


title: Laura Poitras

text: On August 22, 2012, in a forum of short documentaries produced by independent filmmakers, "The New York Times" published an "Op-doc" produced by Poitras entitled "The Program". It was preliminary work that was to be included in a documentary planned for release as the final part of the trilogy. The documentary was based on interviews with William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the National Security Agency, who became a whistleblower and described the details of the Stellar Wind project that he helped to design. He stated that the program he worked on had been designed for foreign espionage, but was converted in 2001 to spying on citizens in the United States, prompting concerns by him and others that the actions were illegal and unconstitutional and that led to their disclosures.


title: Laura Poitras

text: "The Program" implied that a facility being built at Bluffdale, Utah is part of domestic surveillance, intended for storage of massive amounts of data collected from a broad range of communications that could be mined readily for intelligence without warrants. Poitras reported that on October 29, 2012 the United States Supreme Court would hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of the amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that were used to authorize the creation of such facilities and justify such actions.


title: Laura Poitras

text: In 2012, Poitras took an active part in the three-month exposition of Whitney Biennial exhibition of contemporary American art.


title: Laura Poitras

text: Poitras has been subject to monitoring by the U.S. Government, which she speculates is because of a wire transfer she sent in 2006 to Riyadh al-Adhadh, the Iraqi medical doctor and Sunni political candidate who was the subject of her 2006 documentary "My Country, My Country". After completing "My Country, My Country", Poitras claims, "I've been placed on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) watch list" and have been notified by airport security "that my 'threat rating' was the highest the Department of Homeland Security assigns". She says her work has been hampered by constant harassment by border agents during more than three dozen border crossings into and out of the United States. She has been detained for hours and interrogated and agents have seized her computer, cell phone and reporters notes and not returned them for weeks. Once she was threatened with being refused entry back into the United States. In response to a Glenn Greenwald article on this issue, a group of film directors began a petition to protest against the government's actions towards her. In April 2012, Poitras was interviewed about surveillance on "Democracy Now!" and called elected leaders' behavior "shameful".


title: Laura Poitras

text: In January 2014, Poitras filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to learn the reason for being searched, detained and interrogated on multiple occasions. After receiving no response to her FOIA request, Poitras filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and other security agencies in July 2015. More than a year later, Poitras received 1,000+ pages of material from the federal government. The documents indicate that Poitras's repeated detainments were due to U.S. government suspicion that she had prior knowledge of a 2004 ambush on U.S. troops in Iraq, an allegation Poitras denies.


title: Laura Poitras

text: In 2013, Poitras was one of the initial three journalists to meet Edward Snowden in Hong Kong and to receive copies of leaked NSA documents. Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald are the only two people with full archives of Snowden's leaked NSA documents, according to Greenwald.