title: Oommen Chandy

text: Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011. He represents Puthuppally constituency as MLA in the State Assembly since 1970. He is the longest serving MLA in the Kerala Legislative Assembly and the only Indian Chief Minister to achieve award for public service from United Nations.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: On 6 June 2018, Congress President Rahul Gandhi appointed him as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of the crucial state of Andhra Pradesh. He is now the Congress Working Committee member.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Oommen Chandy was born on 31 October 1943 in Puthupally, Kottayam district. Chandy ventured into the political arena as an activist of Kerala's Largest Students Organization Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Indian National Congress party. He was the unit president of the KSU at St. George High School, Puthupally, and went on to become the State President of the organization.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Chandy completed his pre-university course from CMS College, Kottayam and B.A Economics from St. Berchmans College, Changanassery. Later, he took a bachelor's degree in law (LL.B) from the Government Law College, Ernakulam.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Chandy started his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), in which he served as president from 1967 to 1969. He was elected as the president of the State Youth Congress in 1970.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: He has represented the Puthuppally constituency for 5 decades, having been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011,2016 and 2021. During his legislative career, he had also served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee during 1996–98.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Chandy has been a minister in the Government of Kerala on four occasions. He was the Minister for Labour from 11 April 1977 to 25 April 1977 in the first K. Karunakaran Ministry and continued holding the same portfolio in the succeeding first A. K. Antony Ministry until 27 October 1978. He was in the charge of Home portfolio in the second K. Karunakaran Ministry from 28 December 1981 to 17 March 1982. Again, he was sworn in as a minister in the fourth K.Karunakaran Ministry on 2 July 1991. He was in charge of the Finance Portfolio and resigned from the cabinet on 22 June 1994 as a protest against Karunakaran's denial of a Rajya Sabha ticket to a factional leader.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The results of the parliamentary elections in May 2004 saw the Indian National Congress not winning a single seat in Kerala. The sitting Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, was forced to resign and accept responsibility for the poor results. On 30 August 2004, Chandy was elected the Congress Legislature Party leader at the end of a meeting by AICC observers and clearance by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. In what may be seen as a reflection of his work as Chief Minister, the Congress-led alliance was defeated but managed to retain 42 out of 140 seats in the assembly and boost its vote-share by nearly 10% after the general election rout. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2006 following the defeat of his party in 2006 Assembly Elections.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Oommen Chandy was the leader of opposition in the twelfth Kerala Legislative Assembly. Under his leadership UDF marked victories in Lok Sabha Election 2009, gaining 16 out of 20 parliament constituencies in Kerala, and Local Body Election 2010. In the history of Kerala politics, it's the first time that the UDF got an upper hand in local body elections.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: After winning the closely contested 2011 assembly election, Congress's legislative party unanimously elected Oommen Chandy as its leader. At the Congress Legislature Party meeting, Chandy's name was proposed by Ramesh Chennithala and seconded by Aryadan Mohammed. The election process was formally launched after Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Mohsina Kidwai and AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, who is in charge of Kerala, held a one-to-one meeting in their capacity as observers with the 38 elected MLAs.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: UDF, led by Oommen Chandy secured a slender margin of majority in the assembly election held on 13 April 2011. by winning 72 seats against 68 seats of LDF. He took the oath on 18 May 2011 with six other ministers of his cabinet. Later thirteen other ministers were also inducted into his cabinet.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Oommen Chandy received the 2013 United Nations Public Service Award from the Asia-Pacific region, for the category "Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service." The award was presented on 27 June 2013, in Manama, Bahrain, by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. The award was based on the theme "Transformative e-Government and Innovation: Creating a Better Future for All."


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Chandy first took charge as Chief Minister leading First Chandy ministry on 31 August 2004 and adopted the motto "Athivegam Bahudooram" (Fast and far). Sanctioning of Unemployment allowance, and welfare measures for the labourers, were some of the measure of his government. Chandy attended the 35th World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland, in the year 2006. The "Karunya" benevolent scheme was implemented in the year 2011-12 for the free treatment of patients with Cancer, Haemophilia, Kidney, and Heart diseases. More Cochlear implant surgeries were done. More Organ implantation surgeries were done through "Mruthasanjeevani" project. Chandy also received the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme ("Jana Samparkka Paripadi"), for hearing and solving the complaints of citizens. In 2005, Information Technology was made a compulsory subject for the school-level students, thus making Kerala the first Indian state to do so. Victers TV, which is India's first public edutainment channel broadband network on EDUSAT for schools, was inaugurated by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 28 July 2005 at Thiruvananthapuram. The Hill highway project, a massive highway project that connects the eastern hilly areas of the districts of Kerala which was proposed in 1960, was approved by the First Chandy ministry in 2005. The Government of Kerala approved the project and funds were allocated for the same in 2005 and the same year on 17 January 2005, Oommen Chandy inaugurated the first phase of the project between Kasaragod and Palakkad at a function held in Payyavoor.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The Second Chandy ministry (2011–16) adopted the motto "Vikasanavum Karuthalum" (Development and care). Chandy's regime as a Chief Minister was instrumental in beginning the construction of several massive infrastructure projects as well as some human-welfare schemes in Kerala which includes the Kannur International Airport in Kannur, the Kochi Metro at Kochi, the Vizhinjam International Seaport at Thiruvananthapuram, and Smart City project. The projects for Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro and Kozhikode Light Metro were approved in 2012. Suburban rail project was initiated in 2013.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram became the largest Information Technology park in India with the inauguration of Phase-3 in 2014. The Taurus Downtown at Technopark was commenced during the period 2011–16. The phase-2 of InfoPark, Kochi was inaugurated in May 2015. Phase-2 of InfoPark Thrissur was completed during the same period. The Park Centre of Cybercity at Kozhikode was formally opened by IT Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty on 15 February 2014. UL Cyberpark at Kozhikode was inaugurated in January 2016.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: It was also during his reign that 12 new Taluks, 28 new Municipalities, and Kannur Municipal Corporation were formed, for the effective decentralisation and proper utilisation of resources in the state, in all regions of the state. It was the largest Taluk delimitation in the state of Kerala after 1957. A number of State Highways were constructed including all regions of the state under Chandy government, and the final decision to widen the National highways of the state to 45 m were taken in 2014. During his period, 227 Road Bridges worth nearly Rs 1,600 crore were built across Kerala, which was the ever-highest in the state. Kozhikode bypass was completed and the works of Kollam Bypass and Alappuzha Bypass roads were restarted during 2011–16. The projects of Karamana-Kaliyikkavila bypass and Kazhakootam-Karode bypass for Thiruvananthapuram city were designated and started. The Kochi-Mangalore GAIL pipeline was commissioned by the Second Chandy ministry in 2013.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: His ministry also took decision to built at least one Government Medical College in the districts which don't have it to ensure the presence of Public Medical College all the 14 districts of Kerala, which was instrumental in the Public health infrastructure of the state. As a part of the project, New Government Medical Colleges were established in the state in 2013, after a gap of 31 years. The National University of Advanced Legal Studies at Kochi was founded in 2005 and the Indian Institute of Technology at Palakkad was established in the year 2015. The universities founded in 2011-16 period include the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University at Tirur (2012) and APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University at Thiruvananthapuram (2014). The K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts at Kottayam was inaugurated in January 2016. In 2015, the Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport with the inauguration of a dedicated solar plant. For this entrepreneurial vision, the airport won the coveted Champion of the Earth award in 2018, the highest environmental honour instituted by the United Nations. The airport was awarded The Best Airport in Asia-Pacific in 2020 (5 to 15 million passengers per annum) by Airports Council International. The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) was formed under KSRTC in 2015 to manage affairs related to urban transportation. It was inaugurated on 12 April 2015 at Thevara. Works on the last phase of Kollam Bypass was started on 27 May 2015.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Social welfare pensions were doubled during the era of Second Chandy ministry. UDF government of 2011 increased it to Rs.600 which was only Rs.300 until 2011. The Second Chandy government distributed pensions ranging from Rs 800 - Rs 1,500. Social welfare pensions which had been distributed to 12.9 lakh people until 2011 were extended to 34.43 lakh during the period 2011–16. Pensions for the disabled and widows were increased to Rs 800. Old-age pensions were increased to Rs 1,500 for those above 75 years and Rs 1,100 to those above 80 years. Other social welfare measures during Chandy reign include free ration for those who lost their employment, and 4,14,552 houses for those who hadn't homes before. Free rice were given to those who didn't belong to Above Poverty Line (APL). Food kits were distributed to the people during Onam, Ramdan, and Christmas. Rubber Subsidy to ensure a minimum price of Rs 150/kg was implemented in 2015. The Kerala Public Service Commission filled the vacant posts during 2011–16. As many as 1,67,096 job candidates were appointed, setting a record. As many as 46,223 posts were created in the same period. The Second Chandy ministry had also took decision to prohibit Liqueur in the state by discouraging bars. The number of political killings were relatively low (11) during the period 2011–16 in the state. Kerala was declared as the first complete digital state of India on 27 February 2016.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Twenty-six sectors were identified for showcasing in the "Emerging Kerala" summit of 2012 held at Kochi to attract investments. Those included:


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The first edition of Emerging Kerala summit, was held from 12 to 14 September 2012 at the Le Meridien International Convention Centre, Kochi. The event was organised by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), to highlight investment opportunities available in Kerala and advertise to the world its state of readiness to receive investors.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: 2013 Kerala solar panel scam was one of the main scams accused by the LDF-led the opposition during the reign of Second Chandy ministry. It was also one of the main election issues accused by LDF during 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: However, later the Crime Branch appointed by First Vijayan ministry in the year 2018 found that there was no evidence against Oommen Chandy in the scam. As part of the procedures, the state home secretary T. K. Jose had forwarded a report to the central government. According to the report, no evidence could be collected against Chandy and the Crime Branch failed to confirm that the incident mentioned in the complaint actually happened. The case was handed over to the central agency after several teams of the Kerala Police, repeatedly failed to prove the allegations against Chandy.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The opposition led by CPI(M) had accused corruption in Vizhinjam International Seaport project ahead of 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The First Vijayan ministry appointed a three-member judicial commission under Justice C. N. Ramachandran for investigation in May 2017.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The commission in 2018 concluded that there was no corruption with the State's dream project and that there was no misuse of political power in the port project. The commission report states that there was no evidence to prove there was corruption. C. N. Ramachandran said that "Nobody came forward with any specific corruption charges against any individual and nobody ventured to give any evidence. When there is no allegation of corruption against anyone, there is no need to investigate corruption against anyone. That is why the commission has not found corruption against anyone."


title: Oommen Chandy

text: Pattoor Land Case was accused by the LDF-led opposition ahead of 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election. In February 2018, the Kerala High Court pointed out that the Vigilance registered the First information report based on the wrong report prepared by Jacob Thomas. The court said that the claim that the property vests with Kerala Water Authority was not based on any document. As the High Court rejected the case, UDF government got a clean chit. The High Court found that Oommen Chandy or UDF government was not involved in any corruption.


title: Oommen Chandy

text: The Palmolein Oil Import Scam (1991–92) refers to the alleged irregularities in the import of palm olein by the K. Karunakaran-led United Democratic Front government of the state of Kerala, India through the Power and Energy Limited Company. It was accused by the LDF-led opposition in 1992. However, a 2011 Vigilance probe found that Oommen Chandy, the finance minister in the 1991-96 period, had no role in the corruption. The report filed by vigilance said that Chandy was not aware of the details of the decision to import palmolein through a Singapore-based firm. Hence, Chandy got a clean chit by vigilance probe.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: "Cartoon Wars Part I" is the third episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series "South Park". The 142nd episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 5, 2006. It is the first part of a two-episode story-arc, which concludes with "Cartoon Wars Part II". In the episode, it is announced that a "Family Guy" episode will air with the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a character, leaving the whole of the United States fearing for their lives. Cartman apparently believes that the episode is offensive to Muslims and decides to go to Hollywood to try to get the episode pulled.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker. Parker and fellow series co-creator Matt Stone originally planned for this episode to be the first of season ten, but disagreements with Comedy Central regarding the depiction of Muhammad forced them to postpone it until later in the season. Once production on the episode began, the dispute still had not been resolved, so it was decided that the story would be split into two separate episodes to allow for more negotiations between the two sides. A similar story-arc was used in the season fourteen episodes "200" and "201".


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: When the series was transferred to HBO Max in 2020, it was announced that "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II" would be 2 of 5 episodes cut from the series, alongside "Super Best Friends", "200," and "201," all of which are episodes featuring Muhammad.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: The townspeople of South Park are in a panic late one night when they discover that a cartoon is going to show an episode featuring Muhammad as a character. Everyone hides in the Community Center for fear of an Islamic terrorist attack and Randy announces that the cartoon is "Family Guy". The next morning, everyone is thrilled to find out that there was no attack and that Fox censored the image of Muhammad at the last minute.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: It is later announced that the "Family Guy" episode was just part one of a two-parter, and that part two will air the following week without censorship. Cartman believes that this is insulting to Muslims, declaring that Fox was right to censor Muhammad. Kyle likes "Family Guy" and thinks that he is faking until Cartman gives an impassioned speech about keeping people from getting hurt. Kyle is guilt-ridden and believes him, agreeing to go with him to Hollywood to get the "Family Guy" episode pulled.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: The people of South Park, meanwhile, decide to literally bury their heads in the sand, so as to show Islamists that they have no part in the insult. On the way to Hollywood, Kyle discovers that Cartman only wants to get "Family Guy" cancelled as a way to alleviate himself of the comparisons between his brand of humor and that of "Family Guy" and does not care about the Muslims. Cartman decides to go at it alone, but Kyle insists he will not let that happen. The two start racing one another on their Big Wheels, with Kyle losing to Cartman and being left behind.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: U.S. President George W. Bush meets with the Fox executives. The Fox president says that there is something secret about the "Family Guy" writers that Bush needs to know. At this point, it is revealed this is a two-part episode and that the conclusion will be given in the next episode.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: In the DVD commentaries for season ten, series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone spoke about how they experienced difficulties with Comedy Central during the production of "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II". They originally wanted to open season ten with these episodes, but were forced to postpone them until later in the season, due to Comedy Central not approving of the depiction of Muhammad. Instead, the season opened with "The Return of Chef", after one of the show's former actors, Isaac Hayes, released a statement bad-mouthing "South Park" over a previous dispute. Even as Parker and Stone continued to work on "Cartoon Wars", the dispute between them and the network had still not been resolved. As a result, the plot was developed into a two-part story-arc to allow for more negotiations between the two sides.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: Parker and Stone also clarified their opinions on "Family Guy"; Parker stated: "we do hate it [...] we understand that people love it [...] we certainly don't think it should be taken off the air [...] we just don't respect it in terms of writing". The two later referred to the writers behind the show as "smart" but emphatically criticized their overuse of "gag-humor". After "Cartoon Wars Part I" aired, Parker and Stone said that they were contacted by the staff of "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill", who both gave praise for lampooning "Family Guy". Parker said that the staff of "The Simpsons" hate "Family Guy" more than they do, and that "King of the Hill"s staff said to them, "you're doing God's work". The depictions of Bart Simpson and "King of the Hill"s writing staff in "Cartoon Wars Part II" were influenced by the two shows contacting "South Park". Parker and Stone also expressed a level of disappointment with how the episode was received; they felt that people ignored the scope of the Muhammad plot elements and found that more trivial aspects of the show received more attention than they deserved.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: The season fourteen episodes "200" and "201" also feature a story-arc involving depictions of Muhammad and censorship in general. Like "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II", "200" and particularly "201" caused a large amount of controversy.


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: Eric Goldman of "IGN" gave the episode a 7.0 out of 10, praising the depiction of "Family Guy" and the cliffhanger ending. In an article a part of a series analyzing television episodes that "exemplify the spirit of [their] time and the properties that make television a unique medium", "The A.V. Club"s Noel Murray praised the episode, citing it and "Cartoon Wars Part II" as a good example of Parker and Stone's ability to satirize various forms of media and still be able to write quality episodes despite a large amount of controversy. Seth MacFarlane, creator of "Family Guy", called the episode "funny and accurate."


title: Cartoon Wars Part I

text: "Cartoon Wars Part I", along with the fourteen other episodes from "South Park"s tenth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 21, 2007. The set includes brief audio commentaries by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for each episode. "Cartoon Wars Part I" was also released as part of "The Cult of Cartman", a 2008 DVD compilation of Cartman-centric episodes.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime, sold under the brand name Fortaz among others, is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. Specifically it is used for joint infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, urinary tract infections, malignant otitis externa, "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" infection, and vibrio infection. It is given by injection into a vein, muscle, or eye.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Common side effects include nausea, allergic reactions, and pain at the site of injection. Other side effects may include "Clostridium difficile" diarrhea. It is not recommended in people who have had previous anaphylaxis to a penicillin. Its use is relatively safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is in the third-generation cephalosporin family of medications and works by interfering with the bacteria's cell wall.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime was patented in 1978 and came into commercial use in 1984. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Ceftazidime is available as a generic medication.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime is used to treat lower respiratory tract, skin, urinary tract, blood-stream, joint, and abdominal infections, and meningitis.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime is the first-line treatment for the tropical infection, melioidosis, an important cause of sepsis in Asia and Australia.


title: Ceftazidime

text: As a class, cephalosporins have activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The balance of activity tips toward Gram-positive organisms for earlier generations; later generations of cephalosporins have more Gram-negative coverage. Ceftazidime is one of the few in this class with activity against "Pseudomonas aeruginosa". It is not active against methicillin-resistant "Staphylococcus aureus".


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime is generally well tolerated. When side effects occur, they are most commonly local effects from the intravenous line site, allergic reactions, and gastrointestinal symptoms. According to one manufacturer, in clinical trials, allergic reactions including itching, rash, and fever, happened in fewer than 2% of patients. Rare but more serious allergic reactions, such as toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens–Johnson syndrome, and erythema multiforme, have been reported with this class of antibiotics, including ceftazidime. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, were reported in fewer than 2% of patients.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Another source reported, in addition, blood tests of patients may show increased eosinophils (8%), increased lactate dehydrogenase (6%), increased gamma-glutamyl transferase (5%), positive direct Coombs test (4%), increased platelets (thrombocythemia) (2%), increased ALT (7%), increased AST (6%), or increased alkaline phosphatase (4%).


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime is contraindicated in people with a known allergy to ceftazidime or to any other cephalosporin antibiotic.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Ceftazidime is mainly eliminated by the kidneys into the urine. As such, drug levels in the blood may build up in persons with kidney injury or kidney disease. This includes those on dialysis. In these cases of renal impairment, the drug is dosed less frequently. No dose adjustment is needed for those with liver disease.


title: Ceftazidime

text: According to the manufacturer, research studies in mice and rats showed no evidence of harm to the fetus, even at up to 40 times the human dose of ceftazidime. Importantly, though, no high-quality research studies of the effects of the drug in pregnant women were conducted.


title: Ceftazidime

text: Third-generation cephalosporins differ from earlier generations in the presence of a C=N-OCH group in their chemical structure (cefuroxime & cefuzonam also bear this functional group but are only listed as class II). This group provides improved stability against certain beta-lactamase enzymes produced by Gram-negative bacteria. These bacterial enzymes rapidly destroy earlier-generation cephalosporins by breaking open the drug's beta-lactam chemical ring, leading to antibiotic resistance. Though initially active against these bacteria, with widespread use of third-generation cephalosporins, some Gram-negative bacteria that produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are even able to inactivate the third-generation cephalosporins. Infections caused by ESBL-producing Gram-negative bacteria are of particular concern in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.


title: Ceftazidime

text: In addition to the "syn"-configuration of the imino side chain, compared to other third-generation cephalosporins, the more complex moiety (containing two methyl and a carboxylic acid group) confers extra stability to β-lactamase enzymes produced by many Gram-negative bacteria. The extra stability to β-lactamases increases the activity of ceftazidime against otherwise resistant Gram-negative organisms including "Pseudomonas aeruginosa". The charged pyridinium moiety increases water-solubility. Ceftazidime shares the same variable R-group side chain with aztreonam, a monobactam antibiotic; the two drugs share a similar spectrum of activity, including activity against "Pseudomonas aeruginosa".


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Mauritian Creole or Morisien (formerly Morisyen) ( ) is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and indentured servants from cultures in Africa and Asia left a diverse legacy of language in the country. The words spoken by these groups are also incorporated into contemporary Morisien.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Mauritian Creole is the "lingua franca" of the Republic of Mauritius, which gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968. Both English and French are used as alternatives to Mauritian Creole. English is spoken primarily for administration and educational purposes and French is used by the media and as a second language.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Mauritians tend to speak Mauritian Creole at home and French in the workplace. French and English are taught in schools. Though Mauritians are of numerous ethnic origins (including Indian, African, European, and Chinese) Mauritian Creole has gradually replaced the ancestral languages of most the population to become the primary home language of the country. Today, around 1.3 million people speak the language.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole language that may be related to the Seychellois, Rodriguan, and Chagossian Creoles. Linguists disagree over the relationship, if any, of Mauritian Creole to other creole language examples in other parts of the world. Robert Chaudenson and Henri Wittmann hypothesize that Mauritian Creole is closely related to Réunion Creole. However, Philip Baker and Chris Corne, have argued that Réunionnais influence on Mauritian was minimal and that the two languages are no more similar to each other than they are to other French-based creoles.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit Mauritius, but they did not settle there. Only a small portion of Mauritian vocabulary derives from the Portuguese element in European maritime jargon (e.g., the Mediterranean Lingua Franca) or from enslaved Africans or Asians who came from areas in which Portuguese was used as a trade language (e.g., Angola and Mozambique). Similarly, the Dutch had a colony on Mauritius from 1638 — 1710, but ultimately evacuated to Réunion. A few runaway slaves remained, leaving no discernible impact on the Mauritian language.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The French ultimately claimed Mauritius and first settled it from 1715 — 1721, building a plantation economy based on slave labour. People from West Africa, Southeast Africa, and Madagascar became 85% of the population by 1777, which lead to linguistic fragmentation. The size of the native French settler population on the island remained small and the enslaved population lacked formal education. The common language that developed was based on French, but a dialect that differed greatly from the language spoken by the slave owners. Mechanistically, this was similar to the genesis of creole languages in other parts of the world. The pidgin language used for daily communication by people from varying linguistic backgrounds eventually became the native language of children born in these communities. Eventually, this evolved into a creole language, with the complexity and completeness required for young children to use it as their mother tongue. Historical documents from as early as 1773 note the "creole language" that the slaves spoke.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The British took over Mauritius during the Napoleonic era, but few native English speakers ever settled there. Mauritian Creole had already been firmly entrenched and continued to be the language used after British occupation began.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The abolition of slavery in the 1830s made many Africans leave the plantations. Indentured workers from India were brought to replace the freed slaves. The widely variable linguistic background of these immigrants mirrored that of the African slaves before them; therefore, no native language was dominant enough to become the basis for a shared language. Though Indians soon became the majority population on the island, their own linguistic fragmentation, as well as their alienation from the English- and French-speaking plantation owners, led them to take up Mauritian Creole as their lingua franca.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The native English and French population have long enjoyed greater social status, in addition to dominating government, business, education, and the media; however, Mauritian Creole's popularity in most informal domains has persisted, with around 85% of the population speaking this language.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The phonology of Mauritian Creole is very similar to that of Standard French. However, French and have respectively depalatalised to and in Mauritian, and the front vowels and have respectively been unrounded to and .


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The language has several published dictionaries, both monolingual and bilingual, written by authors such as Philip Baker (1987) and Arnaud Carpooran (2005, 2009, 2011). The number of publications is increasing steadily, however, the orthographies used in them are significantly different.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: The Mauritian government began supporting an orthographic reform in 2011, with a system that generally follows French but eliminates silent letters and reduces the number of different ways in which the same sound can be written. It was codified in the "Lortograf Kreol Morisien" (2011) and used in the "Gramer Kreol Morisien" (2012) as well. The language became standard upon the publication of the second edition of the "Diksioner Morisien".


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Most words come from French but are not always used in the same way. For example, the French article "le, la, les" is often fused with the noun in Mauritian: French "rat" is Mauritian "lera" and French "temps" is Mauritian "letan". The same is true for some adjectives and prepositions: French "femme" ("woman") and "riz" ("rice") are "bonnfam" (from "bonne femme") and "diri" (from "du riz") in Mauritian. Some words have changed their meanings altogether: Mauritian "gagn" ("to get" or "to obtain") is derived from French "gagner" ("to win" or "to earn").


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Other words come from either Portuguese or Spanish. The word "ziromon" meaning pumpkin is from Portuguese, originally from Tupi.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: There are also several loanwords from the languages of the African Malagasy slaves, who contributed such words as Mauritian "lapang" from Malagasy "ampango" (rice stuck to the bottom of a pot), Mauritian "lafus" from Malagasy "hafotsa" (a kind of tree), and Mauritian "zahtak" from Malagasy "antaka" (a kind of plant). In some cases, as with some of the nouns from French, the Mauritian word has fused with the French article "le/la/les".


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Words of East African origin include Mauritian "makutu" from Makua "makhwatta" (running sore), Mauritian "matak" from Swahili, and Makonde "matako" (buttock).


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Recent loanwords tend to come from English, such as "map" instead of "plan" or "carte" in French (plan or kart in Mauritian Creole). English words used in Mauritian Creole retain their English spelling but should normally be written with inverted commas.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Nouns do not change in the according to grammatical number. Whether a noun is singular or plural can usually be determined only by context. However, the particle "bann" (from "bande") is often placed before a plural. French "un/une" corresponds to Mauritian "enn" but its use has slightly different rules. Mauritian has an article ("la"), but it is placed after the noun. Compare French "un rat", "ce rat", "le rat", "les rats", and Mauritian "enn lera", "lera-la" and "bann lera".


title: Mauritian Creole

text: In Mauritian, there is only one form for each plural pronoun and the third-person singular pronoun, regardless of case or gender; "li" can thus be translated as "he, she, it, him, his, her, hers" depending on the context.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: Verbs do not change their form according to tense or person. Instead, the accompanying noun or pronoun determines who is engaging in the action, and several preverbal particles are used alone or in combination to indicate the tense: "ti" (from French "étais") marks past tense, "pe", short for the now-rare "ape" (from "après," as Québec French) still uses to mark the progressive aspect, "(f)inn" (from French "fini") marks the completive or perfect, and "pou" or sometimes "va" or "av" (from French "va") marks the future tense.


title: Mauritian Creole

text: For example, "li finn gagn" ("he/she/it had") can also be shortened to "linn gagn" and pronounced as one word. The Réunion version is "li té fine gagne" for past, "li té i gagne" for past progressive, and "li sava gagne" for present progressive or near future.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Cocaine intoxication refers to the subjective, desired and adverse effects of cocaine on the mind and behavior of users. Both self-induced and involuntary cocaine intoxication have medical and legal implications (even in absence of relevant adverse effects).


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Adverse effects can develop over time due to repeated use and so become chronic conditions. However, even a one-time intake of the substance can result in severe acute intoxication.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Recurrent cocaine use and dependence to the drug inevitably leads to the reduction of the desired effects perceived by the users, while the occurrence of adverse effects of intoxication increase. The last can sometimes be completely reversed without bearing consequences but they can also potentially kill the users (e.g., in cases of untreated or non-manageable overdoses).


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Cocaine increases alertness, feelings of well-being, euphoria, energy, sociability, and sexuality. The former are some of the desired effects of cocaine intoxication. Not having the normal use of mental faculties by reason of the introduction of cocaine is defined drug intoxication by the laws in America, Europe, and most of the rest of the World, and it is a serious crime in specific contexts (e.g., in drug-impaired driving).


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Mild adverse effects include anxiety, increased temperature, paranoia, restlessness, and teeth grinding. With prolonged use, the drug can cause chronic complications like insomnia, weight loss, anorexia, persistent tachycardia, heart failure, kidney failure, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Depression with suicidal ideation may develop in heavy users. Finally, a loss of vesicular monoamine transporters, neurofilament proteins, and other morphological changes appear to indicate a long-term damage to dopamine neurons. Chronic intranasal usage can degrade the cartilage separating the nostrils (the nasal septum), which can eventually lead to its complete disappearance.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Studies have shown that cocaine usage during pregnancy triggers premature labor and may lead to abruptio placentae.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: In cases of severe acute intoxication, potentially lethal adverse effects include prolonged episodes of arrhythmia (i.e., a group of abnormal heart rhythms that also include tachycardia), heavy hypoglycemia, tremors, convulsions, hyperthermia (i.e., markedly increased core temperature), untreated uremia, myocardial infarction, stroke, and sudden cardiac arrest.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Cocaine can be snorted, swallowed, injected, or smoked. Most deaths due to cocaine are accidental but may also be the result of body packing or stuffing with rupture in the gastrointestinal tract. Use of cocaine causes abnormally fast heart rhythms and a marked elevation of blood pressure (hypertension), which can be life-threatening. This can lead to death from acute myocardial infarction, acute respiratory failure (i.e., hypoxemia, with or without hypercapnia), stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, and sudden cardiac arrest. Cocaine overdose may result in hyperthermia as stimulation and increased muscular activity cause greater heat production. Heat loss is also inhibited by the cocaine-induced vasoconstriction. Cocaine and/or associated hyperthermia may cause muscle cell destruction (rhabdomyolysis) and myoglobinuria resulting in kidney failure. Individuals with cocaine overdose should be transported immediately to the nearest emergency department, preferably by ambulance in case cardiac arrest occurs en route. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, approximately 14,600 deaths occurred in the US in 2017 due to an overdose where cocaine was somehow involved in any capacity, defined or undefined. Because of the increase in heart rate, cocaine users can be prone to elevated body temperatures, tremors, chest pains, and subject to nausea and vomiting. Some psychological symptoms due to an overdose include paranoia, delirium, anxiety as well as panicked feelings. Some signs of an overdose of cocaine are difficulty breathing, loss of urine control, bluish color of the skin, loss of awareness or surroundings, and high blood pressure. Death can be also be caused from an over intoxication of cocaine, especially if high doses are taken. Most severe overdoses occur when users combine cocaine with other substances like alcohol or heroin, which increase the effects and heighten the chances of having a dangerous overdose. Treating an overdose can be done by bringing back blood flow to the heart, and restoring the body with oxygen rich blood, especially for the brain to reduce the risk of stroke. Cocaine overdoses have fluctuated over the years. From 2006 to 2010 there has been a decline in the number of reported cases. Though, from 2010 to 2015 there has been an increase in the reported cases involving over cocaine Intoxication. Males appear to have a much higher chance of overdosing than females. The ratio of male to female cocaine overdoses is 3:1.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Cocaine withdrawal is not as severe as the withdrawal from other substances. For example, substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines can involve severe physical withdrawal symptoms while cocaine results in mostly psychological symptoms. Physiological changes caused by cocaine withdrawal include vivid and unpleasant dreams, insomnia, hypersomnia, anger, increased appetite, weight gain, psychomotor retardation, agitation, depression, and anxiety. According to a study done by Gawin and Kleber in 1986, there are three phases in the withdrawal process. They observed the behavior of 30 cocaine-dependent individuals. Phase one, the crash, is characterized by acute dysphoria, irritability and anxiety, increased desire for sleep, exhaustion, increased appetite, decreased craving to use. Phase two, withdrawal, is characterized by increasing craving to use, poor concentration, some irritability and some lethargy, which persisted for up to 10 weeks. Lastly, phase three is characterized by the intermittent craving to use in the context of external cues. Cocaine and its metabolites are eliminated from the body by 3 days. There are not any FDA-approved medications that specifically help treat cocaine withdrawal, however, there are some useful medications that could possibly help individuals overcome their addiction. One example is propranolol. Propranolol is a beta blocker that has been approved to treat hypertension, angina, anxiety, and other related psychological problems. Buprenorphine and naltrexone are two substances that act as an effective treatment in the earlier stages of withdrawal.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Cocaine pharmacodynamics involve multiple complex mechanisms. Although it has a short half-life (~ 1 hour), cocaine metabolites, which rise in concentrations several hours after cocaine ingestion, persist in circulation for up to 24 hours, and may cause delayed or recurrent coronary vasoconstriction. This drug binds and blocks monoamine (dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) re-uptake transporters with equal affinity. Monoamines accumulate in the synaptic cleft resulting in enhanced and prolonged sympathetic effects. Cocaine's acute effect in the central nervous system is to raise the amount of dopamine and serotonin in the nucleus accumbens (the pleasure center in the brain). When this effect ceases due to metabolism of cocaine, depletion of associated neurotransmitters, and receptor down-regulation (tachyphylaxis), the cocaine user may experience dysphoria, or a "crash" after the initial high. The principal actions of cocaine on the cardiovascular system are from alpha- and beta-1-adrenoceptor stimulation resulting in increased heart rate, systemic arterial pressure, and myocardial contractility, which are major determinants of myocardial oxygen demand. Cocaine and its metabolites may cause arterial vasoconstriction hours after use. Epicardial coronary arteries are especially vulnerable to these effects, leading to decreased myocardial oxygen supply. Cocaine-induced platelet activation and thrombus formation is another deleterious effect, caused by alpha-adrenergic- and adenosine diphosphate-mediated increase in platelet aggregation. Plasminogen activator inhibitor is also increased following cocaine use, thereby promoting thrombosis. Cocaine acts like a class I antiarrhythmic agent by blocking sodium and potassium channels, in a similar way of local anesthetics such as lidocaine, and interferes with action potential propagation. This Vaughn-Williams class IC effect increases the risk of conduction disturbance and tachyarrhythmias. Adding to its complex toxicity, cocaine targets muscarinic acetylcholine, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), sigma, and kappa-opioid receptors.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: There is no specific antidote for cocaine. Emergency treatment of cocaine-associated high body temperature consists of giving a benzodiazepine and physical cooling. Immediate administration of aspirin is required for patients reporting cocaine-associated chest pain. Cooling is best accomplished with tepid water misting and cooling with a fan. Antipyretics (e.g., paracetamol) have no effect in lowering high temperature because cocaine is an muscarinic receptor agonist.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: The chest pain, high blood pressure, and increased heart rate caused by cocaine may be also treated with benzodiazepines. Multiple and escalating dose of benzodiazepines may be necessary to achieve effect, which increases risk of over-sedation and respiratory depression. A review of cocaine cardiovascular toxicity found benzodiazepines may not always reliably lower heart rate and blood pressure.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Lidocaine and intravenous lipid emulsion have been successfully used for serious ventricular tachyarrhythmias in several case reports.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: People who are agitated are best treated with benzodiazepines, though antipsychotics such as haloperidol and olanzapine may also be useful. The alpha-2 agonist dexmedetomidine may also be useful for agitation, but effects on heart rate and blood pressure are variable based on several studies and case reports.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Nitric-oxide mediated vasodilators, such as nitroglycerin and nitroprusside, are effective at lowering blood pressure and reversing coronary arterial vasoconstriction, but not heart rate. Nitroglycerin is useful for cocaine-induced chest pain, but the possibility of reflex tachycardia must be considered.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Alpha-blockers such as phentolamine have been recommended and may be used to treat cocaine-induced hypertension and coronary arterial vasoconstriction, but these agents do not reduce heart rate. Furthermore, phentolamine is rarely used, not readily available in many emergency departments, and many present-day clinicians are unfamiliar with its use.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Although the use of beta blockers is still controversial, notwithstanding decades of practice, despite research papers and systematic reviews on this subject (more details are in the next section), the intravenous racemic mixture of labetalol, a non-selective β blocker and selective α blocker is recommended for treating concomitant hypertension and tachycardia. Furthermore, the use of labetolol is approved by a AHA/ACC guideline for people who have used cocaine and methamphetamine with unstable angina/non-STEMI.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: A relative contraindication to the use of beta-blockers is still evident in some guidelines for the treatment of cocaine toxicity despite limited evidence. The phenomenon of "unopposed alpha-stimulation," in which blood pressure increases or coronary artery vasoconstriction worsens after blockade of beta-2 vasodilation in people using cocaine, is controversial. This rarely-encountered and unpredictable adverse effect has resulted in some clinicians advocating for an absolute contraindication of all beta-blockers, including specific, non-specific, and mixed. Many clinicians have disregarded this dogma and administer beta-blockers for cocaine-related chest pain and acute coronary syndrome, especially when there is demand ischemia from uncontrolled tachycardia. Of the 1,744 people in the aforementioned systematic review, only 7 adverse events were from putative cases of "unopposed alpha-stimulation" due to propranolol (n=3), esmolol (n=3), and metoprolol (n=1). Some detractors of beta-blockers for cocaine-induced chest pain have cited minimal acute mortality and the short half-life of the medication, making it unnecessary to aggressively treat any associated tachycardia and hypertension. However, the long-term effect of cocaine use and development of heart failure, with early mortality, high morbidity, and tremendous demand on hospital utilization should be taken under consideration.


title: Cocaine intoxication

text: Calcium channel blockers may also be used to treat hypertension and coronary arterial vasoconstriction, but fail to lower tachycardia based on all cocaine-related studies. Non-dihydropyridine calcium channels blockers such as diltiazem and verapamil are preferable, as dihydropyridine agents such as nifedipine have much higher risk of reflex tachycardia (however, clinicians can prevent reflex tachycardia by administering beta-blockers some minutes before using the latter class of CCBs).


title: Jubail

text: Jubail (, "Al Jubayl") is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 684,531 as of 2021. It is home to the largest industrial city in the world. It is also home to the Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company SABIC. It has the world's largest IWPP (Independent Water and Power Project) producing 2743.6 MW of electricity and 800,000 m of water daily. Jubail comprises the Old Town of Al Jubail (Jubail Balad), which was a small fishing village until 1975, and the Industrial Area. Jubail Industrial City is the largest civil engineering project in the world today.


title: Jubail

text: In 1975, the Saudi government designated Jubail as the site for new industrial city, with rapid expansion and industrialization arising. The new industrial and residential areas were named Madīnat al Jubayl aṣ Ṣinā`īyah (Jubail Industrial City). The 2005 Census Report for Jubail Industrial City estimates the population at 224,430 residents.


title: Jubail

text: The town of Al-Jubail, on the Arabian Gulf coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has ancient roots. Human habitation dates back at least 7,000 years, when the people of Dilmun — whose civilization radiated up and down the coast of the Arabian Gulf — established a settlement there.


title: Jubail

text: Archaeological place: Crease Tower or Tuwayah Tower was constructed around 1928. It was key source of water for Jubail.


title: Jubail

text: In September 1933, Jubail gained a measure of fame as the landing site for the first team of geologists to explore for oil in Saudi Arabia.


title: Jubail

text: It is the world's largest industrial city established in 1975. It covers 1,016 square kilometers and includes industrial complexes, major harbour and port facilities. It contributes to about 7% of Saudi Arabia's GDP.


title: Jubail

text: Bechtel began work on the Jubail Industrial City project more than 40 years ago and is still working in Jubail now. Bechtel has managed the Jubail project since it began in the mid-1970s, and in 2004 the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu asked the company to manage Jubail II, a $3.8 billion expansion of the city's industrial and residential areas.


title: Jubail

text: Jubail is directly connected with other cities by two major highways; Dhahran-Jubail Highway and Abu Hadriyah Highway.


title: Jubail

text: One ongoing project is the Jubail-Qassim (Buraidah) Expressway , which will reduce the distance between Jubail and Qassim (Buraidah) to around from the current .


title: Jubail

text: There are two seaports in Jubail—the Jubail Commercial Seaport and the King Fahd Industrial Seaport. As of 2011, Jubail ranks 92nd in the world in terms of Total Cargo Volume with 44,700 tons.


title: Jubail

text: Jubail Naval Airport is an airfield 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Jubail City, near the industrial area. Originally constructed by the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu as part of Jubail project, it was meant to be used for commercial aviation until it was decided to utilize the large nearby King Fahd International Airport. Thus, it was handed over to the Ministry of Defence and has been used as a base for the naval aviation group/eastern fleet of the Royal Saudi Navy since then. The terminal in Dammam Airport is about 60 km drive from the suburbs of Jubail, 80 km from the city center and 100 km from the Royal Commission neighborhoods.


title: Jubail

text: However it was recently announced that the airport will be opened for private aviation operations starting September 2014. A project to renovate the airfield was undertaken since some of the airfield's infrastructure was incomplete, as a result of the previous change for the use of airport from commercial to military. To date, the project and renovations have not been completed.


title: Jubail

text: In addition, two other airfields are located in the city; Abu Ali Airport is located in the Island of Abu Ali while the other is located in King Abdulaziz Naval Base.


title: Jubail

text: Jubail has a robust market place, known as International Market. It also has several malls, such as Fanateer Mall, Galleria Mall, Jubail Center Mall, Day N Day, City Max, Hyper-Panda, Panda, HyperMarket, Jubail Centre, Home Center, Red Tag, Centrepoint, Nesto, Jubail Plaza, Lulu and Jubail Mall.


title: Jubail

text: As part of the industrial city, Jubail has a desalination plant called Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC). In 2019, SWCC hit Guinness World Record as the largest producer of desalinated water worldwide. The plant hit the record as it produces 5.6 million cubic meters every day.


title: Goetta

text: Goetta ( ) is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in Metro Cincinnati. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or sausage and beef), pin-head oats and spices. It was originally a dish meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to conserve money, and is a similar dish to scrapple and livermush, both also developed by German immigrants.


title: Goetta

text: The dish probably originated with German settlers from the northwestern regions of Oldenburg, Hannover, and Westphalia who emigrated to the Cincinnati area in the 19th century. Along with Cincinnati chili and mock turtle soup it is, according to Cincinnati food historian Dann Woellert, one of the area's "holy trinity" of local specialties.


title: Goetta

text: While goetta comes in a variety of forms, all goetta is based around ground meat combined with pin-head oats, the "traditional Low German cook's way of stretching a minimum amount of meat to feed a maximum number of people." Usually goetta is made from pork, but occasionally contains equal parts pork and beef. Goetta is typically flavored with bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper, and thyme. It contains onions and sometimes other vegetables. The USDA standards for goetta require that it contain no less than 50% meat.


title: Goetta

text: While similar to Pennsylvanian scrapple and North Carolinian livermush in that it is a dish created by German immigrants and uses a grain product for the purpose of stretching out pork to feed more people, scrapple is made with cornmeal and livermush with either cornmeal or rice rather than the pinhead oats used in goetta.


title: Goetta

text: Goetta is made with meat, oats, broth, spices, often onions, and occasionally other vegetables, simmered until thick, poured into loaf pans, and chilled or allowed to cool completely so that the loaves become firm enough to slice. It is then cut into slices and fried, often in butter.


title: Goetta

text: Traditionally goetta is served as a breakfast food, but it is also put into sandwiches and used as a topping for burgers and pizza.


title: Goetta

text: A number of commercial distributors produce and sell goetta in the parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana near Cincinnati. Glier's Goetta, established in 1946, produces more than 1,000,000 lb (450 metric tons) annually, around 99 percent of which is consumed locally in Greater Cincinnati. Queen City Sausage is the next largest producer, while multiple small and artisanal producers also make goetta in and around Cincinnati.


title: Goetta

text: "Glier's Goettafest" is an annual culinary festival held in August on the Ohio River waterfront near Newport, Kentucky's Newport on the Levee. The festival celebrates both the dish and Greater Cincinnati's German American heritage. While the main focus of the festival is goetta served in many different ways, it also typically includes music, dancing, and other public entertainment. In 2019 it expanded to two consecutive weekends.


title: Goetta

text: Glier's markets goetta as the "German Breakfast Sausage," which may create the impression that it is something commonly eaten for breakfast in Germany. Cincinnati food expert Dann Woellert says, "Will you find something on a menu called goetta in a Westphalian gasthaus? The answer is no," but that grützwurst and knipp are similar "meat gruels".


title: Recursive acronym

text: A recursive acronym is an acronym that refers to itself, and appears most frequently in computer programming. The term was first used in print in 1979 in Douglas Hofstadter's book "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", in which Hofstadter invents the acronym GOD, meaning "GOD Over Djinn", to help explain infinite series, and describes it as a recursive acronym. Other references followed, however the concept was used as early as 1968 in John Brunner's science fiction novel "Stand on Zanzibar". In the story, the acronym EPT (Education for Particular Task) later morphed into "Eptification for Particular Task".


title: Recursive acronym

text: Recursive acronyms typically form backwardly: either an existing ordinary acronym is given a new explanation of what the letters stand for, or a name is turned into an acronym by giving the letters an explanation of what they stand for, in each case with the first letter standing recursively for the whole acronym.


title: Recursive acronym

text: In computing, an early tradition in the hacker community, especially at MIT, was to choose acronyms and abbreviations that referred humorously to themselves or to other abbreviations. Perhaps the earliest example in this context is the backronym "Mash Until No Good", which was created in 1960 to describe Mung, and revised to "Mung Until No Good". It lived on as a recursive command in the editing language TECO. In 1977 programmer Ted Anderson coined TINT ("TINT Is Not TECO"), an editor for MagicSix. This inspired the two MIT Lisp Machine editors called EINE ("EINE Is Not Emacs", German for "one") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was EINE Initially", German for "two"), in turn inspiring Anderson's retort SINE ("SINE is not EINE"). Richard Stallman followed with GNU (GNU's Not Unix).


title: Recursive acronym

text: Recursive acronym examples often include negatives, such as denials that the thing defined is or resembles something else (which the thing defined does in fact resemble or is even derived from), to indicate that, despite the similarities, it was distinct from the program on which it was based.


title: Recursive acronym

text: An earlier example appears in a 1976 textbook on data structures, in which the pseudo-language SPARKS is used to define the algorithms discussed in the text. "SPARKS" is claimed to be a non-acronymic name, but "several cute ideas have been suggested" as expansions of the name. One of the suggestions is "Smart Programmers Are Required to Know SPARKS". (this example is tail recursive)


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Skylon is a series of concept designs for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the British company Reaction Engines Limited (Reaction), using SABRE, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system. The vehicle design is for a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft that would take off from a specially built reinforced runway, and accelerate to Mach 5.4 at altitude (compared to typical airliner's ) using the atmosphere's oxygen before switching the engines to use the internal liquid oxygen (LOX) supply to take it into orbit. It could carry of cargo to an equatorial low Earth orbit (LEO); up to to the International Space Station, almost 45% more than the capacity of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle; or to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), over 24% more than SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle in reusable mode (). The relatively light vehicle would then re-enter the atmosphere and land on a runway, being protected from the conditions of re-entry by a ceramic composite skin. When on the ground, it would undergo inspection and necessary maintenance, with a turnaround time of approximately two days, and be able to complete at least 200 orbital flights per vehicle.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: As work on the project has progressed, information has been published on a number of design versions, including A4, C1, C2, and D1. Testing of the key technologies was successfully completed in November 2012, allowing Skylon's design to advance from its research phase to a development phase. , the groundworks for an engine test facility have been completed at Westcott and current plans are for the plant to be completed and the first ground-based engine tests to begin in 2021, and SABRE engines could be performing uncrewed test flights in a "hypersonic testbed" (HTB) by 2025.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In paper studies, the cost per kilogram (kg) of payload carried to LEO in this way is hoped to be reduced from the current £1,108/kg (), including research and development, to around £650/kg (718.16USD/Kg), with costs expected to fall much more over time after initial expenditures have amortised. In 2004, the developer estimated the total lifetime cost of the Skylon C1 programme to be about $12 billion. , only a small portion of the funding required to develop and build Skylon had been secured. For the first couple of decades the work was privately funded, with public funding beginning in 2009 through a European Space Agency (ESA) contract. The British government pledged £60 million to the project on 16 July 2013 to allow a prototype of the SABRE engine to be built; contracts for this funding were signed in 2015.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Skylon has its origins within a previous space development programme for an envisioned single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane, known as HOTOL. In 1982, when work commenced on the HOTOL by several British companies, there was significant international interest to develop and produce viable reusable launch systems, perhaps the most high-profile of these being the NASA-operated Space Shuttle. In conjunction with British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce, a promising design emerged to which the British government contributed £2 million towards its refinement; British engineer Alan Bond was amongst the engineers who worked on HOTOL. However, during 1988, the British government decided to withdraw further funding from the programme, resulting in development work being terminated. Aerospace publication Flight International observed that HOTOL and other competing spaceplane programmes were "over-ambitious" and that development on such launch systems would involve more research and slower progress than previously envisioned.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Following the setback of HOTOL's cancellation, in 1989 Alan Bond, along with John Scott-Scott and Richard Varvill decided to establish their own company, Reaction Engines Limited, to pursue the development of a viable spaceplane and associated technology using private funding. In 1993, Reaction publicly revealed its spaceplane proposal, which it named "Skylon" after the Skylon structure that had inspired Alan Bond at the Festival of Britain exhibition. Skylon was a clean sheet redesign based on lessons learned during development of HOTOL, the new concept again utilised dual-mode propulsion system, using engines that could combust hydrogen with the external air during atmospheric flight.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Early on, Skylon was promoted by the company to the ESA for its Future European Space Transportation Investigations Programme (FESTIP) initiative, as well as seeking out both government or commercial investment in order to finance the vehicle's development. Reaction has also sought to form ties with other companies with the aim of producing an international consortium of interested firms to participate in the Skylon programme.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The Skylon design features several distinct differences when compared with the earlier HOTOL program. Whereas HOTOL would have launched from a rocket sled as a weight-saving measure, Skylon is to be equipped with conventional retractable undercarriage. The revised engine design, using the SABRE engine, is expected to offer higher performance than its predecessor. The rear mounted engine of HOTOL meant that the vehicle possessed intrinsically poor in-flight stability; early attempts to resolve this problem had ended up sacrificing much of HOTOL's payload potential, which in turn contributed to the failure of the overall project. Skylon's solution to the issue was to position its engines at the end of its wings, which located them further forward and much closer to the vehicle's longitudinal centre of mass, thereby resolving the instability problem.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Reaction intends ultimately to operate as a for-profit commercial enterprise which, upon the completion of development, shall manufacture Skylon vehicles for multiple international customers who shall operate their fleets directly, while being provided with support from Reaction. Skylon has been designed with the target of achieving no less than 200 flights per vehicle. According to the company, its business plan is to sell vehicles for $1 billion each, for which it has forecast a market for at least 30 Skylons, while recurring costs of just $10 million per flight are predicted to be incurred by operators. While the Reaction intends to manufacture some components directly, such as the engine precooler, other components have been designed by partner companies and a consortium of various aerospace firms is expected to handle full production of Skylon.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In service, Skylon could potentially lower the cost of launching satellites which, according to evidence submitted to the UK parliament by Reaction, is forecast to be around £650/kg; as of 2011, the average launch cost using conventional methods was estimated to be roughly £15,000/kg. Amongst other prospective operations, Skylon would be capable of transporting payloads of up to 10-tonnes to the International Space Station. Reaction has also completed internal studies into the use of Skylon as a launch platform for a network of space-based solar power satellites, which have been historically unfeasible due to high launch costs. According to business publication Management Today, Skylon has been discussed as a possible replacement for NASA's Space Shuttle programme.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Speaking in June 2011, Reaction estimated that it would require ultimately $12 billion to achieve an operational configuration, which was then estimated to be achieved around 2020, dependent on funding. The obtaining of additional financing for the Skylon programme from the British government has often been difficult. During 2000, Reaction issued an ultimately unsuccessful request for funding from the British government; according to the government, Reaction's proposal had involved an offer of a potentially large return on its investment. However, several officials have emerged as proponents and advocated for the official backing of the Skylon programme. Speaking in 2009, the former UK Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, stated of Reaction: "This is an example of a British company developing world-beating technology with exciting consequences for the future of space."


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: During February 2009, following on from a series of extended discussions with the British National Space Centre (which later became the UK Space Agency), it was announced that a major funding agreement had been established between the British National Space Centre, ESA and Reaction, committing €1 million ($1.28 million) for the purpose of producing a demonstration engine for the Skylon programme by 2011. The initiative, known as the "Technology Demonstration Programme", was scheduled to last approximately 2.5 years, during which further financing in the form of €1 million was made available by ESA. The 2009 agreement allowed Reaction to involve several external companies, including EADS-owned Astrium, the University of Bristol and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), in further development work. As a consequence of the enactment of the Technology Demonstration Programme, Reaction was able to transition from a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 2/3 up to 4/5 within a matter of months.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: By 2012, according to the UK Space Agency, the funding required to develop and construct the entire craft has not yet been secured; as such, research and development work was at that point mainly focused on the engines alone, which was supported by an ESA grant of €1 million. In January 2011, Reaction submitted a proposal to the British Government requesting additional funding for the Skylon project. On 13 April 2011, Reaction announced that the design of the Skylon had passed several rigorous independent reviews. On 24 May 2011, ESA publicly declared the design to be feasible, having found "no impediments or critical items" to be present in the proposal. Speaking on the topic of Skylon in 2011, David Willetts, the UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, stated:


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In June 2013, George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated that the British government would be giving £60 million towards the further development of the SABRE engine. The grant was contingent upon Reaction having an industrial partner. The first grant of £50 million was approved by the European Commission in August 2015.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In October 2015, British defence conglomerate BAE Systems entered into an agreement with Reaction Engines, under which it would invest £20.6 million in Reaction to acquire 20% of its share capital, as well as to provide assistance in the development of the SABRE engine.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: On 25 September 2017 it was announced that the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had awarded a contract to Reaction Engines for an undisclosed amount to conduct high-temperature airflow testing at a Colorado, United States site of a Reaction Engines precooler called HTX. Testing work is scheduled to start in 2018.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In April 2018, Reaction Engines announced Boeing and Rolls-Royce would be joining BAE Systems as investors in the development of the SABRE engine. A total of $37.5 million of new funding is to be provided including contributions from Baillie Gifford Asset Management and Woodford Investment Management.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: From 2007 to 2009 Reaction worked with University of Bristol and Airborne Engineering on Project STERN (Static Test Expansion/Deflection Rocket Nozzle), which tested Reaction's engine ignition system, a Reaction designed air breathing hydrogen rocket engine, and investigated the flow stability and behaviour of with Dr Neil Taylor's expansion deflection nozzle design via multiple test-firings by Airborne Engineering. An expansion deflection nozzle is capable of compensating for the changing ambient pressure encountered while gaining altitude during atmospheric flight, thus generating greater thrust and thereby efficiency.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Work on STERN was continued in project STRICT (Static Test Rocket Incorporating Cooled Thrust-chamber), which investigated the stability of the engine's exhaust flow and the dissipation of the generated heat into the engine walls. The results and designs delivered by both the STRICT and STERN projects were subsequently declared by Reaction to have been "a great success".


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Static testing of the engine precooler began in June 2011, marking the start of Phase 3 in the Skylon development programme, In April 2012, Reaction announced that the first series of the precooler test programme had been successfully completed. On 10 July 2012, Reaction announced that the second of three series of tests has been completed successfully, and the final series of tests would begin the following month after the testing facilities had been upgraded to allow testing of temperatures. ESA's propulsion division audited the precooler tests during mid-2012 and found the results satisfactory.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: On 9 May 2011, Reaction stated that a preproduction prototype of the Skylon could be flying by 2016, and the proposed route would be a suborbital flight between the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou in French Guiana and the North European Aerospace Test Range, located in northern Sweden. Pre-orders are expected in the 2011–2013 time frame coinciding with the formation of the manufacturing consortium. On 8 December 2011, Alan Bond stated that Skylon would enter into service by 2021–2022 instead of 2020 as previously envisaged. On 13 July 2012, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain publicly stated that the ESA would be holding a series of talks with Reaction with the aim of developing a further "technical understanding".


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: In November 2012, Reaction announced that it would commence work upon a three-and-a-half-year project to develop and build a test rig of the SABRE engine to prove its performance across both the air-breathing and rocket modes. Reaction's precooler tests are still ongoing as of July 2022.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The Skylon is a fully reusable SSTO vehicle, able to achieve orbit without staging, which is intended to be used principally as a reusable launch system. Proponents of the SSTO approach have often claimed that staging involves a number of inherent complications and problems due to complexity, such as being difficult or typically impossible to recover and reuse most elements, thus unavoidably incurring great expense to produce entirely new launch vehicles instead; therefore, they believe that SSTO designs hold the promise of providing a reduction to the high cost of space flights. Operationally, it is envisioned for the non-crewed Skylon to take off from a specially strengthened runway, gain altitude in a fashion akin to a conventional aeroplane and perform an ascent at very high speeds, in excess of five times the speed of sound (), to attain a peak air-breathing altitude of roughly , where payloads would typically be launched prior to the vehicle's re-entry into the atmosphere, upon which it will conduct a relatively gentle descent before performing a traditional landing upon a runway.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The design of the Skylon D1 features a large cylindrical payload bay, long and in diameter. It is designed to be comparable with current payload dimensions, and able to support the containerisation of payloads that Reaction Engines envisions being produced in the future. To an equatorial orbit, Skylon could deliver to a altitude or to a altitude. Using interchangeable payload containers, Skylon could be fitted to carry satellites or fluid cargo into orbit, or, in a specialised habitation module, the latter being capable of housing a maximum of 30 astronauts during a single launch. Richard Varvill, technical director at Reaction, stated of Reaction's market: "we're competing with expendable rockets, a machine that is only used once".


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Because the SABRE engine uses the atmosphere as reaction mass at low altitude, it will have a high specific impulse (around for SABRE 4, or for SABRE 3,) and burn about one fifth of the propellant that would have been required by a conventional rocket. Therefore, Skylon would be able to take off with much less total propellant than conventional systems. The weight reduction enabled by the lower quantity of propellant needed meant that the vehicle would not require as much lift or thrust, which in turn permits the use of smaller engines and allows for the use of a conventional wing configuration. While flying within the atmosphere, the use of wings to counteract gravity drag is more fuel-efficient than simply expelling propellant (as in a rocket), which again serves to reduce the total amount of propellant needed. The payload fraction would be significantly greater than normal rockets and the vehicle should be fully reusable, capable of performing in excess of 200 launches.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: One of the most significant features of the Skylon's design is its powerplant, known as "Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine" (SABRE). The design of the SABRE engine has drawn heavily upon the STRICT/STERN experimental engines, sharing many features such as the propellant and the adoption of the trialled Expansion Deflection Nozzle, as well as building upon the wider field of liquid air cycle engines (LACE). The engines are designed to operate much like a conventional jet engine to around , altitude, beyond which the air inlet closes and the engine operates as a highly efficient rocket to orbital speed. The proposed SABRE engine is not a scramjet, but a jet engine running combined cycles of a precooled jet engine, rocket engine and ramjet. Originally the key technology for this type of precooled jet engine did not exist, as it required a heat exchanger that was ten times lighter than the state of the art. Research conducted since then has achieved the necessary performance.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Operating an air-breathing jet engine at velocities of up to Mach 5.5 poses numerous engineering problems; several previous engines proposed by other designers have worked well as jet engines, but performed poorly as rockets. This engine design aims to be a good jet engine within the atmosphere, as well as being an excellent rocket engine outside; however, the conventional problem posed by operating at Mach 5.5 has been that the air coming into the engine rapidly heats up as it is compressed into the engine; due to certain thermodynamic effects, this greatly reduces the thrust that can be produced by burning fuel. Attempts to avoid these issues have typically resulted in the engine being much heavier (scramjets/ramjets) or has greatly reduced the thrust generated (conventional turbojets/ramjets); in either of these scenarios, the end result would be an engine that possesses a poor thrust to weight ratio at high speeds, which in turn would be too heavy to assist much in reaching orbit.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The SABRE engine design aims to avoid the historic weight-performance issue by using some of the liquid hydrogen fuel to cool helium within a closed-cycle precooler, which quickly reduces the temperature of the air at the inlet. The air is then used for combustion in a similar manner to a conventional jet engine. Once the helium has left the pre-cooler it is further heated by the products of the pre-burner giving it enough energy to drive the turbine and the liquid hydrogen pump. As a consequence of the air being cooled at all speeds, the jet can be built of light alloys and the weight is roughly halved. Additionally, more fuel can be burnt at high speeds. Beyond Mach 5.5, the air would normally become unusably hot despite the cooling; accordingly, the air inlet is closed upon attaining this speed and the engine instead is solely fed via on-board liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel, as in a traditional rocket.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The currently proposed Skylon model D1 is a large vehicle, possessing a length of and a diameter of . The fuselage of the Skylon is expected to be a silicon carbide reinforced titanium space frame; a light and strong structure that supports the weight of the aluminium fuel tanks and to which the ceramic skin is attached. Multiple layers of titanium foil thermal insulation are sandwiched between the skin and frame to protect the inside of Skylon from the heat of hypersonic flight and the intense heat of re-entry.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: Due to the vehicle's use of a low-density fuel in the form of liquid hydrogen, a great volume is required to contain enough energy to reach orbit. The propellant is intended to be kept at low pressure to minimise stress; a vehicle that is both large and light has an advantage during atmospheric reentry compared to other vehicles due to a low ballistic coefficient. Because of the low ballistic coefficient, Skylon would be slowed at higher altitudes where the air is thinner; as a consequence, the skin of the vehicle would reach only . In contrast, the smaller Space Shuttle was heated to on its leading edge, and so employed an extremely heat-resistant but fragile silica thermal protection system. The Skylon design does not require such an approach, instead opting for using a far thinner yet durable reinforced ceramic skin; however, due to turbulent flow around the wings during re-entry, some sections of the vehicle shall need to be provided with active cooling systems.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: The Skylon shall possess a retractable undercarriage, equipped with high pressure tyres and water-cooled brakes; if any difficulties were to occur just before a take-off, the brakes would be applied to stop the vehicle, the water boiling away to dissipate the heat. During a normal landing, the empty vehicle would be far lighter, and hence the water would not be required, so upon a successful take-off, the of water would be jettisoned. When this feature was introduced in the C1 model of the design the weight of the brakes was reduced from around .


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: A special runway will be required for launch: it needs to be reinforced to tolerate the high equivalent single wheel load; necessitated by the Skylon's 325 tonnes takeoff weight; it will need to have heat resistant sections at the start of the take-off run and at the rotation zone; and it will have to be long to allow the Skylon to accelerate to its rotation speed, yet still have to abort the launch and brake to a standstill if required. The Skylon would be able to land on a Code F civil runway.


title: Skylon (spacecraft)

text: When on the ground, it would undergo inspection and necessary maintenance, with a turnaround time of approximately two days, and be able to complete at least 200 orbital flights per vehicle.


title: Bleach (season 14)

text: The fourteenth season of the "Bleach" anime series is based on Tite Kubo's "Bleach" manga series. It is known as the , is directed by Noriyuki Abe, and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot. The season concludes the fight between the Soul Reapers and Sōsuke Aizen's arrancar army as the former defends Karakura Town from the latter's invasion, while Ichigo and his group fight the arrancars in Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime Inoue.


title: Bleach (season 14)

text: The season aired from April 2010 to 2011. Aniplex collected it in eleven DVD volumes between February 23 and December 14, 2011. The English adaptation of the "Bleach" anime is licensed by Viz Media, and this season started airing on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on August 12, 2012, and ended on September 29, 2013.


title: Bleach (season 14)

text: The episodes uses six pieces of theme music: two opening themes and four closing themes. The first opening theme, "chAngE" by Miwa is used for episodes 266 to 291, while the second opening theme, by Sid is used from episode 292 to 316. The first ending theme, "Stay Beautiful" by Diggy-Mo is used for episodes 266 to 278, the second ending theme, "echoes" by Universe is used from episode 279 to 291, the third ending theme, "Last Moment" by SPYAIR is used from episode 292 to 303, and the fourth ending theme "Song For..." by ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D is used from episode 304 to 316.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: Massoud Rajavi (, born 18 August 1948 – disappeared 13 March 2003) became the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1979. In 1985, he married Maryam Rajavi, who became the co-leader of the MEK. After leaving Iran in 1981, he resided in France and Iraq. He disappeared during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and it is not known whether he is still alive. This has left Maryam Rajavi as the public face of the MEK.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: Rajavi joined the MEK when he was 20 and a law student at the University of Tehran. He graduated with a degree in political law. Rajavi and the MEK actively opposed the Shah of Iran and participated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: During the Pahlavi regime, Rajavi was arrested by SAVAK and sentenced to death. Due to efforts by his brother, Kazem Rajavi, and various Swiss lawyers and professors, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He was released from prison during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. After the revolution, Rajavi assumed leadership of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: When Iran's first presidential election took place in 1980, Rajavi nominated himself and his own People's Mujahedin of Iran. He was endorsed by the People's Fedai, the National Democratic Front, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, Komala and the League of Iranian Socialists. He was disqualified in the elections by Ayatollah Khomeini on the grounds that 'those who did not endorse the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran could not be trusted to abide by that constitution'.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: In 1981, when Ayatollah Khomeini dismissed President Abolhassan Banisadr and a new wave of arrests and executions started in the country, Rajavi and Banisadr fled to Paris from Tehran's airbase. Massoud Rajavi and Banisadr formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) "with the intent to replace the Khomeini regime with the 'Democratic Islamic Republic.'” As a form of agreement with the Islamic republic, in 1986 France's Prime Minister Jacques Chirac evicted the MEK out of France. Rajavi and approximately five to ten thousand MEK members were received by the Iraqi government. Rajavi moved to Iraq and set up a base on the Iranian border.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: Shortly after the Iraq War, Massoud Rajavi disappeared. His whereabouts remained unknown. In his absence, Maryam Rajavi has assumed his responsibilities as leader of the MEK. According to members of the NCRI, Massoud Rajavi is still alive and in hiding due to being a "prime target" of the Islamic regime, while other sources have said that he is presumed to be dead.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: In July 2010, the Iraqi High Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for 39 MEK members, including Rajavi, "due to evidence that confirms they committed crimes against humanity" by "involvement with the former Iraqi security forces in suppressing the 1991 uprising against the former Iraqi regime and the killing of Iraqi citizens". The MEK have denied the charges, saying that they constitute a "politically motivated decision and it's the last gift presented from the government of Nuri al-Maliki to the Iranian government". Back in 2005, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan official asked for arrest and trial of Rajavi based on his organization's documentary evidence of the involvement.


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: Rajavi came from a prominent family. He received a degree in political law from Tehran University. His brother was Kazem Rajavi, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva who held doctoral degrees from Universities in Paris and Geneva. They had three other brothers, Saleh (a cardiologist in France), Ahamad (a British-educated surgeon), and Hooshang (an engineer in Belgium).


title: Massoud Rajavi

text: Rajavi married fellow MEK member Ashraf Rabiei in summer 1980. Rabiei was regarded as "the symbol of revolutionary womanhood". She was surrounded and killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His second wife was Abolhassan Banisadr's daughter, Firouzeh. Their marriage took place in October 1982 and the couple divorced in 1984, after Banisadr left the NCRI. Rajavi married Maryam Qajar Azodanlu (later known as Maryam Rajavi) in 1985. Rajavi has a son from his first wife, named Mostafa.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Ford Five Hundred is a full-size automobile that was manufactured and marketed by Ford from 2004 to 2007, and debuted as a 2005 model year vehicle. Deriving its nameplate from the <nowiki>"</nowiki>500" suffix used by Ford on the Custom 500, Fairlane 500 and Galaxie 500 model ranges from the 1950s to 1970s, the Five Hundred was the larger of two model lines intended to replace the Ford Taurus (the Ford Fusion being the smaller vehicle). Within the Ford model line, the Five Hundred was slotted between the Fusion and Crown Victoria.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: Marking the debut of the Ford D3 platform, the Five Hundred marked several firsts for full-size Ford vehicles, introducing front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive (as an option), unibody construction, and the first generation sold without a V8 engine (since the Ford Model A). Along with the first completely new full-size chassis since 1979, the 2005 Five Hundred introduced two distinct full-size model lines to Ford (for the first time since the 1978 discontinuation of the Custom 500).


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Five Hundred was produced exclusively as a four-door sedan, with the role of the Ford Taurus station wagon adopted by the Ford Freestyle (marketed as a CUV by Ford). The Five Hundred was marketed by Lincoln-Mercury under the revived Mercury Montego nameplate, slotted between the Mercury Milan and Mercury Grand Marquis. For the 2008 model year, for a mid-cycle revision, the Five Hundred was re-christened as the Ford Taurus; the Freestyle became the Taurus X, with the Mercury Montego renamed the Mercury Sable. Outside of North America and South Korea, the Five Hundred name remained in use through 2009.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Five Hundred was assembled by Ford at its Chicago Assembly facility (Chicago, Illinois) alongside the Freestyle and Montego. Excluding export sales, 241,402 Ford Five Hundreds were produced.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: As part of the 1999 acquisition of Volvo Cars and its addition to Premier Automotive Group, Ford Motor Company expanded on its vehicle safety technology capabilities and began development of a D186 Taurus replacement. In 2000, the Ford Prodigy concept car was shown. A 72MPG diesel-electric hybrid designed as part of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, the Prodigy would introduce much of the exterior styling of the Five Hundred; it was also the first Ford to use the horizontal "three-bar" grille (which made its production debut on the 2006 Ford Fusion).


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Ford Five Hundred entered production on July 12, 2004 at Chicago Assembly (the previous assembly site of the Ford Taurus), and became available to the public in September 2004.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego were engineered with a quality control system named Total Vehicle Geometry (TVG). Designed by Volvo, TVG is heavily computer-based, allowing for designers, engineers, and suppliers access for all data and results related to prototypes at all stages of the design process. With improved participation and access, fit and finish increased on prototype parts, decreasing the time needed for preliminary production vehicles, so called "pilot" vehicles.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: Noted for its simple, straight-forward styling, large interior cabin, prominent greenhouse and high H-point seating, the Five Hundred was designed by George Bucher, Chief Designer, under the direction of Ford Vice President of Design, J Mays.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Ford Five Hundred is based on the Ford D3 platform, shared with the Mercury Montego and Ford Freestyle. An evolution of the Volvo P2 platform (used in the Volvo S80), the platform marked the shift to front-wheel drive in full-size Ford sedans; an electro-hydraulic Haldex all-wheel drive system (based on that used on the Volvo S80 and XC90) was optional in all versions of the Ford Five Hundred or Mercury Montego.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: Along with Haldex AWD, several Volvo design features were incorporated into the structure of the Five Hundred, including a modified version of Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) from Volvo, channeling impact forces around the passenger compartment; the front frame rails were redesigned to better absorb impact forces. Alongside standard dual front airbags, the Five Hundred was available with both side airbags and curtain airbags as an option.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: For the first time in a full-size Ford sedan, the Ford Five Hundred featured independent suspension for both front and rear axles, with MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link rear axle with coilover shocks; both axles were fitted with stabilizer bars. As with the Ford Crown Victoria, the Five Hundred was configured with four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes (12.5-inch front, 13-inch rear).


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego were powered by a single engine, shared with the Ford Taurus: a 203 hp 3.0L Duratec V6, paired with a 6-speed Aisin automatic transmission (for front-wheel drive versions) or a ZF CVT (for AWD).


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: A distinguishing feature of the Ford Five Hundred is its tall exterior height; at 61.5 inches tall, it was over 5 inches taller than the Ford Taurus sold alongside it. A key feature driving the use of the tall body design was the upward movement of the H-point (hip point). As with the first-generation Ford Focus, the seats of the Five Hundred were positioned relatively high from the floor, providing an upright seating position and improved visibility, access, and egress. In addition, the rear seat was positioned higher than the front seats. The Ford Five Hundred was the first full-size Ford sedan to feature a folding rear seat to supplement the 21 cubic foot trunk (larger than the Lincoln Town Car). With the option of a folding front passenger seat, a Five Hundred was able to carry objects up to ten feet long inside the vehicle.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: While visibility was one factor behind the higher seating position, safety was another as well. Derived from the Volvo Side Impact Protection System (SIPS), a hydroformed cross-car steel beam underneath the front seats was welded between the B-pillars (directly below an identical beam above the B-pillars).


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: George Bucher, Ford's chief designer said "it was a challenge to sculpt a Ford-styled body around a Volvo chassis, and added that designers used what he calls plainer surfaces with taut lines to give the car a modern look without losing its passenger-car proportions."


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: Three trim lines were offered: "SE", "SEL", and "Limited". An all wheel drive system was available across the range. Base prices start at US$22,795 for a front-wheel drive "SE" and range to US$28,495 for an all-wheel drive "Limited". Interiors on SEL and Limited trim levels featured a new hydrographic system for applying wood appliqués.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: For 2006, a new navigation radio made by Pioneer (featuring Sirius Satellite Radio) became an option; traction control was now changed to an option on front-wheel drive models (from standard). A mid-year running change removed the exterior doorside trim molding on all trim levels in favor of a small sill molding at the bottom edge of the door.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The 2007 Five Hundred remained unchanged, with the SE model discontinued. All versions built after September 4, 2006 have side airbags as standard, along with curtain airbags (marketed as the "Safety Canopy"). The powertrain warranty was revised to 5 years / . A new Chrome Package became available, with 18-inch eight-spoke alloy wheels and a chrome trim mesh grille.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: The Five Hundred ended production on April 12, 2007, as did the Mercury Montego and Ford Freestyle. For the 2007 North American International Auto Show, Ford introduced a mid-cycle 2008 update of the Five Hundred and Montego; the new sedans had front and rear fascia styling, new interiors, and new powertrains with a 263 hp 3.5L V6 and a new 6-speed automatic transmission.


title: Ford Five Hundred

text: Although the changes were positively received, Ford CEO Alan Mulally chose to rename all three D3 platform cars, with the Five Hundred and Montego becoming the fifth-generation Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable; the similarly updated Ford Freestyle continued as the Ford Taurus X. Although the Taurus had been out of retail markets since 2006 (the Sable, since 2005), Mullaly cited the larger brand familiarity of the Taurus/Sable nameplates as the reason for the renaming of the two D3 sedans.