title: Kenji Goto

text: Reporting from war-torn countries around the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East, he focused on the life and humanity of the ordinary citizens in difficult times. His works include books and DVDs on blood diamonds and child soldiers in Sierra Leone, the Rwandan conflict and its survivors, a teenage mother in an Estonian "AIDS village", and girls and education in Afghanistan. In 2006, he won the Sankei Children's Book Award for his 2005 book titled "Daiyamondo yori Heiwa ga Hoshii" ("I Want Peace Rather Than a Diamond"). His video reports appeared on Japanese national networks including NHK and TV Asahi.


title: Kenji Goto

text: Goto converted to Christianity in 1997, and was a member of a United Church of Christ in Japan parish in Den-en-chōfu, Tokyo.


title: Kenji Goto

text: In October 2014, Goto's wife, Rinko Jogo, had a baby, the couple's second child. He also had an older daughter from a previous marriage.


title: Kenji Goto

text: Despite being warned three times by the Japanese government in September and October 2014, both by telephone and in person, not to return to Syria, Goto entered Syria on 24 October 2014 via Turkey to rescue a Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, who had been captured by Islamic State (ISIL) militants in August. He was reportedly captured by ISIL members the following day. He appeared in a video released by ISIL militants on 20 January 2015, in which they demanded $200 million from the government of Japan for the lives of Goto and Yukawa. His mother, , made a plea to ISIL to spare her son at a press conference held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on 23 January.


title: Kenji Goto

text: On 24 January, ISIL released a picture of Goto holding a photo of decapitated Haruna Yukawa. In an audiotape accompanying the picture, Goto read a message in English blaming the Japanese government for the death of his "cellmate" and claiming that ISIL would spare Goto's life and exchange him for Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, an attempted suicide bomber who participated in the 2005 Amman bombings. On 29 January, Goto's wife, Rinko Jogo, released a plea to his captors through the Rory Peck Trust, a UK-based organization that supports freelance journalists.


title: Kenji Goto

text: On 31 January 2015, ISIL released a video that showed Goto being beheaded. It was later reported that he had been moved to the town of Tal Abyad near the Turkish border with Syria on 29 January in preparation for a possible exchange with al-Rishawi, but when it became apparent that the exchange would not be taking place, he was taken back to a location near the city of Raqqa in Syria, and killed on the morning of 30 January, local time. Al-Rishawi for her part was hanged by the Jordanian government on 5 February in response to the death of pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh.


title: Kenji Goto

text: Following the release of Goto's beheading video by ISIL on 31 January, many major Japanese television outlets, including NHK, Nippon Television, TBS, Fuji Television, and TV Asahi, suspended their normal programming schedules to provide breaking news coverage on this event. Some foreign media outlets noted a rather skeptical and critical response by the Japanese public regarding the two hostages. The Japanese public responded in a similar way to three Japanese citizens who were also taken hostage in Iraq. Public outrage of their naïveté compelled the Japanese government to bill them for their return airfare to Japan after their release. The general public sentiment in Japan towards these hostages has been that they are to be blamed for putting themselves deliberately in harm's way, while the Japanese government and taxpayers are pressured to pay the price to get them back.


title: Kenji Goto

text: Before Goto was murdered, a tweet he posted to Twitter in 2010 went viral. , it had been re-tweeted more than 40,000 times. In it, Goto said,


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: HMAS "Sydney, named after the Australian city of Sydney, was one of three modified "Leander"-class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered for the Royal Navy as HMS "Phaeton, the cruiser was purchased by the Australian government and renamed prior to her 1934 launch.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: During the early part of her operational history, "Sydney" helped enforce sanctions during the Abyssinian crisis, and at the start of World War II was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in Australian waters. In May 1940, "Sydney" joined the British Mediterranean Fleet for an eight-month deployment, during which she sank two Italian warships, participated in multiple shore bombardments, and provided support to the Malta Convoys, while receiving minimal damage and no casualties. On her return to Australia in February 1941, "Sydney" resumed convoy escort and patrol duties in home waters.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On 19 November 1941, "Sydney" was involved in a mutually destructive engagement with the , and was lost with all hands (645 aboard). The wrecks of both ships were lost until 2008; "Sydney" was found on 17 March, five days after her adversary. "Sydney"s defeat is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement, and "Kormoran"s advantages of surprise and rapid, accurate fire. However, the cruiser's loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the Germans has resulted in conspiracy theories alleging that the German commander used illegal ruses to lure "Sydney" into range, that a Japanese submarine was involved, and that the true events of the battle are concealed behind a wide-ranging cover-up, despite the lack of evidence for these allegations.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The ship was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend-on-Tyne, England, on 8 July 1933 for the Royal Navy as HMS "Phaeton", named after the Greek mythological figure. However, in 1934, the Australian government was seeking a replacement for the light cruiser , and negotiated to purchase "Phaeton" while she was still under construction.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The cruiser was renamed after the capital city of New South Wales, and was launched on 22 September 1934 by Ethel Bruce, the wife of Stanley Bruce, former prime minister of Australia and the serving Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. "Sydney" was commissioned into the RAN on 24 September 1935, drawing her ship's company from "Brisbane", which had been decommissioned earlier that day.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Following the announcement that Australia was purchasing a British-built cruiser, there was criticism, primarily from the Opposition of the day, stating that such a warship should be built using Australian resources and labour. Several reasons were given in reply for acquiring British-built cruisers instead of Australian-made: the ship was already close to completion, the pending threat of war meant that there was not enough time to train Australians in the necessary shipbuilding skills, and that of the two cruisers built in Australian shipyards, one () had taken seven years to complete.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" was one of three Modified "Leander"-class light cruisers acquired by the RAN during the late 1930s. Although the first ship of the class to join the RAN, "Sydney" was the second ship to be laid down, although the first to be completed, in what was sometimes referred to as the "Perth" class: and operated with the Royal Navy for a short period before they were purchased by Australia in 1938. Like most British cruisers, the "Leander"s were designed for long-range patrols, scouting, and trade protection duties.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney"s displacement ranged between 6,701 tons (light) and 8,940 tons (full load), with a standard displacement of 7,198 tons: improved fabrication and welding techniques made her 52 tons lighter than her sister ships. She had a length of between perpendiculars and overall, a beam of , and a draught at standard displacement between forward and aft.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The ship was propelled by four Admiralty 3-drum boilers, feeding Parsons single-reduction geared turbines, which supplied to the four propeller shafts. Unlike the first five "Leander"s, which had their machinery arranged on the "in-line" principle (consisting of six boilers in three compartments forward, and four turbines in two further compartments aft), "Sydney" was designed with two redundant machinery groups, a design practice adopted from the United States Navy. The cruiser had two boilers and the turbines for the outer shafts forward, and two boilers and the turbines for the inner shafts aft; as steam from any boiler could be routed to any turbine, the ship could continue operating if one space was damaged.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Each space had its own uptake, giving the modified ships a different profile to the single-funnelled early "Leander"s; an arrangement which contributed to naval historian Henry Lenton's description of the Modified "Leander"s as "the most handsome cruisers ever built by the Royal Navy, with a symmetry that was as attractive as it was functional."


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" and her sister ships were constructed from hull plating, with a armour belt over the machinery spaces (the lengthening of this belt from to adequately cover both spaces negated the weight reduction from their reorganisation), and plates over the shell rooms and magazines. "Sydney" was the first Australian warship fitted with asdic; a Type 125 unit in a retractable pattern 3069 dome. The retractable sonar dome, located near the bow, was a weak point in the hull.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: One of the cruiser's early commanding officers, Royal Navy Captain J.W.A. Waller, believed that the ship's single director control tower was a weak point in the design. The director control tower was the highest compartment on the ship, from where personnel would determine the range and optimum firing angle for a gun salvo, then transmit this information to the gun turrets: the actual firing could be controlled from the tower or the turret. Waller believed that the centralised system could be destroyed with a single hit, or the wiring linking the compartment to the turrets could be severed, forcing the four turrets to rely on independent control. Although Waller suggested that a second tower be installed aft to provide redundancy, it was deferred indefinitely as subsequent commanding officers did not share his concerns, and combat experiences of other "Leander"-class cruisers showed that the system was more robust than expected.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney"s main armament consisted of eight 6-inch (152 mm) breech-loading Mk XXIII guns mounted in four Mk XXI twin turrets: "A" and "B" forward, "X" and "Y" aft. All eight guns could be fired in salvo, elevated to an angle of 60° and depressed to −5°, and fire eight rounds a minute at targets up to away.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Four 4-inch (100 mm) quick-firing Mk V guns, mounted on single, high-angle, Mk IV mountings, were fitted to a platform around the aft funnel. These were primarily used to target aircraft at heights up to , but could also be used against surface targets, with a maximum range of . Their replacement with eight Mk XIX high-angle/low-angle guns in four twin mounts, which was to occur in the late 1930s, was prevented by the outbreak of World War II. The guns could have been swapped out during a maintenance docking, but the demand for cruisers and "Sydney"s fortune in never sustaining major damage meant that the additional time in dock could not be justified. For close-range anti-aircraft defence, the 4-inch guns were supplemented by twelve Vickers Mk III machine guns, which were arranged in three Mk II quadruple mountings, one on each side of the forward superstructure, and the third on top of the aft superstructure.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: A mixture of 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) machine guns were used for close defence work, and could be fitted to pedestals at various points on the ship, primarily around the bridge and on the three searchlight platforms (one either side of the forward funnel, the third raised above the aft superstructure). At launch, "Sydney" carried fourteen Lewis machine guns and two Vickers machine guns, but by the start of World War II, the Lewis guns had been reduced to nine, and the Vickers guns removed completely.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two QR Mk VII quadruple mounts to the deck below the platform for the 4-inch guns. Only eight Mark 9 torpedoes were carried. "Sydney" was fitted with a single depth charge rail at the stern, which held five Mk VII depth charges. Four 3-pounder (47-mm, 1.9-in) quick-firing Hotchkiss guns were carried as saluting guns. These were removed during the August 1940 refit.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" was fitted with a , cordite-powered revolving catapult between the two funnels, which was used to launch a Supermarine Walrus (sometimes described as a Seagull V) amphibious aircraft. The Walrus was operated by Royal Australian Air Force personnel from No. 5 Squadron RAAF (which was redesignated No. 9 Squadron RAAF in 1939). The 7-ton electric crane used to recover the aircraft also served to deploy most of the ship's boats.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" completed working up trials before sailing from Portsmouth on 29 October 1935, Captain J.U.P. Fitzgerald RN in command. Almost immediately after departing, "Sydney" was instructed to join the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet at Gibraltar and assist the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in enforcing economic sanctions against Italy in response to the Abyssinian crisis. During January 1936, the cruiser underwent maintenance in Alexandria and visited medical facilities in Cyprus: cases of rubella and mumps had been circulating through the ship's company since late 1935. In March, "Sydney" was reassigned the 1st Cruiser Squadron, where she and the heavy cruiser continued to enforce sanctions and participate in fleet exercises with Royal Navy units. Following the resolution of the Abyssinian crisis, "Sydney" departed for Australia on 14 July; reaching Fremantle in late July before visiting Melbourne on 8 August and arriving in her namesake city three days later.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: After reaching Australian waters, "Sydney" spent most of her time on fleet exercises and training cruises. In 1938, the cruiser was one of several RAN units prepared to respond to the Munich crisis, but all ships stood down after the potential war was averted. From 17 to 19 April 1939, "Sydney" was one of eight warships involved in a joint forces trade protection exercise off the south-east Australian coast. In early August 1939, "Sydney" was in Darwin, prior to visiting the Netherlands East Indies. However, in response to the events which prompted the start of World War II, "Sydney" was ordered to sail to Fremantle on a war footing, where she arrived on 22 August.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Following the declaration of war, "Sydney" was instructed to carry out patrol and escort duties in Australian waters. Captain John Collins took over command of "Sydney" on 16 November. On 28 November, "Sydney" joined the Australian heavy cruisers and in an unsuccessful four-day search for the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee", which was known to be operating in the Indian Ocean. "Sydney" was relieved by on 13 December, and sailed to Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney for a maintenance docking. The work was completed in late January 1940, and as a shakedown cruise "Sydney" joined "Canberra" and the British ships "Leander" and in escorting the Suez-bound Anzac convoy US 1; "Sydney" broke off after the convoy left the east coast of Australia and returned to Sydney. Returning to Fremantle on 6 February, "Sydney" relieved "Australia" as the cruiser responsible for patrol and escort duties on the west coast.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On 19 April, "Sydney" joined the escort of Anzac convoy US 2 off Albany, and remained with the convoy until it reached the Cocos Islands on 28 April and was replaced by . The Australian cruiser set course for Fremantle, but on 1 May was assigned to the East Indies Station and rerouted to Colombo, where she arrived on 8 May. Arriving in Colombo on 8 May, "Sydney" was immediately tasked with meeting Anzac convoy US 3 off the Cocos Islands and escorting it across the Indian Ocean. The cruiser departed on 12 May, but while en route, she was instructed to make for the Mediterranean.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Arriving back in Colombo on 18 May, "Sydney" replenished before sailing at high speed to Aden, where she arrived four days later. The Australian cruiser, accompanied by HM Ships and , departed the next day, with the ships crossing the Suez Canal during the night of 25–26 May, and arriving in Alexandria that afternoon at 15:30. "Sydney" was originally marked for operations in the Red Sea, but after observing the performance of an Australian five-destroyer flotilla assigned to the British Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Andrew Cunningham decided to "keep the Australian cruiser for himself" and attached "Sydney" to the Royal Navy's 7th Cruiser Squadron.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" was in Alexandria harbour on 10 June 1940, and that evening learned of Italy's intention to declare war at midnight. By 01:00 on 11 June, all ships in harbour had departed to search for Italian warships in position to attack Alexandria, and secure the sea lines of communication in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. The Australian cruiser was involved in the westbound sweep, and sailed as far as the Gulf of Taranto during the four-day operation. Apart from an unsuccessful depth charge attack on a suspected submarine during the afternoon of 13 June, "Sydney" did not encounter any enemy vessels.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On 21 June, "Sydney" fired in anger for the first time, joining the British cruisers and , the French battleship "Lorraine", and a force of destroyers in shelling the Italian-controlled Libyan port of Bardia. "Sydney" focused her fire on a military camp throughout the twenty-two-minute bombardment. During this operation, the Australian ship's Walrus amphibian performed bombardment spotting for the squadron, but was fired on by three biplanes: although reported at the time as Italian Fiat CR.42 Falcos, the attackers were later determined to be British Gloster Gladiators. The pilot flew the damaged aircraft to Mersa Matruh, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill in doing so, but the unrepairable Walrus was the only casualty of the operation. The next day, a retaliatory airstrike against the ships, by then having returned to Alexandria, failed to do damage.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: That same day, Germany and Vichy France signed the Second Armistice at Compiègne: although French warships (which had until that point operated with the Allies) were ordered to return to France and disarm, the British government was unwilling to allow them to fall into Axis hands. "Sydney" and the British warships in Alexandria turned their guns on the French, but unlike the situation in Mers-el-Kébir, which deteriorated into a naval battle, British Admiral Cunningham and French Admiral René-Emile Godfroy peacefully negotiated to disarm the ships at Alexandria.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" and other elements of the 7th Squadron sailed from Alexandria on 27 June, escorting a Malta convoy. Late on 28 June, the ships engaged a force of three Italian destroyers carrying out a ressuply mission to Tobruk. Although two Italian vessels were able to continue their way, the third, "Espero" was disabled. At 20:00, "Sydney" (which had little opportunity to fire during the engagement) was detailed to recover any survivors and sink the destroyer while the rest of the force continued on to Malta. However, while from "Espero", the Italian ship fired two shells, both of which fell in line with but short of the cruiser. "Sydney" opened fire, and after four salvos struck the destroyer with no shots fired in return, resumed the approach. "Espero" sank at 20:35, and "Sydney" remained in the area for almost two hours to collect survivors despite the risk of submarine attack, before she was ordered to withdraw to Alexandria. The cruiser rescued 47 Italians (three of whom died from wounds during the return voyage), and left a fully provisioned cutter in the water to be used by other Italian survivors after "Sydney" had departed.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On the evening of 7 July, "Sydney" departed from Alexandria as part of a fleet including four other light cruisers, three battleships, an aircraft carrier, and sixteen destroyers, divided into three groups. The three groups were to rendezvous on 9 July at a point east of Cape Passero and from Malta, at which point the destroyers would escort two convoys outbound from Malta, while the other vessels would attack targets of opportunity around Sicily. However, early on 8 June, the British submarine reported that she had unsuccessfully attacked an Italian fleet including two battleships. Throughout the day, the fleet had to defend itself from multiple Italian air raids: at one point "Sydney" and the other cruisers of the 7th Squadron attacked what they thought was a high-flying bomber, but was later determined to be the planet Venus. Aerial reconnaissance located the Italian force during the afternoon, which was made up of at least two battleships, accompanied by multiple cruisers and destroyers. The sightings of such a large force of warships, combined with the heavy air attack, led Admiral Andrew Cunningham to conclude that the Italians were also covering a major convoy, and decide to reposition his fleet between the Italians and Taranto, the projected destination.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Contact with the Italian fleet was lost during the night, but regained in the morning of 9 July. By 14:00, the Allied fleet had positioned itself in the Italians' path, and Cunningham ordered them west, to close on the projected position of the enemy and engage. "Sydney" spotted smoke at 14:45, and made visual contact with a force of five cruisers just after 15:00. The Allied cruiser squadron, supported by the battleship altered their course northward, and at 15:20, "Sydney" opened fire on an Italian "Zara"-class cruiser, distant, but both the Allied and Italian cruiser forces were unable to successfully hit their opposing numbers. "Sydney" remained unsuccessful until the late part of the engagement, when she successfully shelled a smokescreen-laying destroyer. The naval component of what came to be known as the Battle of Calabria concluded around 17:00, with Cunningham unwilling to pursue the Italian fleet through the smokescreen they had created. The Allied ships instead broke off for Malta, while enduring several heavy but ineffective air attacks; during the safe delivery of Malta Convoy MA 5 and the return to Alexandria on 13 July, "Sydney" sustained no damage, but expended all her anti-aircraft ammunition. "Sydney"s participation in the battle earned the ship a battle honour: "Calabria 1940".


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The Australian cruiser spent five days in Alexandria for resupply and maintenance, before departing for Crete with the British destroyer . They arrived at sunset on 18 July, and the next morning, the two ships were ordered to patrol the Gulf of Athens for Axis warships and shipping, while providing support for a four-ship destroyer force (HM Ships , , , and ) conducting an anti-submarine sweep north of Crete. Believing that these two tasks were incompatible, and that protecting the destroyers was the more important, "Sydney"s commander, Captain John Collins, ordered the two ships to move south of their patrol area while maintaining radio silence. At 07:20 on 19 July, the destroyer force spotted and was spotted by a pair of Italian light cruisers; "Giovanni dalle Bande Nere" and "Bartolomeo Colleoni", which opened fire seven minutes later. The British destroyers turned to a north-east heading and set off at , broadcasting news of the attack to the silent "Sydney" while closing the gap between the two forces. Using the wireless signals to track the four destroyers, "Sydney" and "Havock" made to intercept the destroyers and their cruiser pursuit, and was able to close at least half an hour earlier than if they had followed their original instructions: when "Sydney" opened fire on "Bande Nere" at 08:29, both sides were surprised by the appearance of the cruiser. Within minutes, "Sydney" had successfully damaged "Bande Nere", and when the Italians withdrew to the south, the six Allied ships pursued. At 08:48, with "Bande Nere" hiding behind a smoke screen, "Sydney" shifted her fire to "Bartolomeo Colleoni", which was disabled by 09:33. Collins ordered the destroyers to torpedo the ship and rescue survivors: "Hyperion", "Ilex", and "Havock" did so, while "Hero" and "Hasty" supported "Sydney" in continuing pursuit of "Bande Nere". At 10:37, the chase ended, as the faster Italian cruiser had outrun the Allies, visibility was reduced by smoke and haze, and ammunition aboard the pursuing ships was low: "Sydney" had ten shells left for her forward turrets. The six ships returned to Alexandria around 11:00 on 20 July after fending off several air attacks (one of which damaged "Havock"), and were met by cheering from all ships in the harbour.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The only damage to "Sydney" during what came to be known as the Battle of Cape Spada was caused by a shell at 09:21, which knocked a hole in the forward funnel, and wounded a sailor through splinter damage. For his actions, Collins was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, while other officers and sailors from "Sydney" received two Distinguished Service Orders, two Distinguished Service Crosses, five Distinguished Service Medals, and twelve Mentions in Despatches between them. "Sydney" herself was awarded the battle honour "Spada 1940".


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: After refuelling and rearming, "Sydney" and departed Alexandria on 27 July to join the covering force for a southbound convoy from the Aegean. The ships were attacked five times that afternoon by aircraft, but "Sydney" escaped with only minor damage and shrapnel wounds. The two cruisers broke away from the convoy the next day to locate and sink the Greek tanker "Ermioni", which was supplying the Italian-held Dodecanese Islands. The two cruisers located "Ermioni" just before dusk: "Sydney" provided anti-submarine protection while the tanker's crew were convinced to transfer to the British warships, after which "Ermioni" was shelled by "Neptune". The two ships returned to Alexandria on 30 July, and "Sydney" departed the same day in company with for a three-day patrol.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Back in Alexandria, "Sydney" underwent a refit, during which a high, thick wall of armour plating was constructed around the 4-inch gun platform, while the ship's company repainted the ship from standard grey to a naval camouflage pattern. The refit was completed by 12 August, when "Sydney", "Neptune", and five destroyers set off to interdict Axis shipping along the north African coast and the Aegean Sea. The operation was cancelled after no ships were located during the first two days, and "Sydney" was tasked with assisting a destroyer squadron during shore bombardments at Bomba and Bardia. At the end of the month, the cruiser joined the escort of Malta convoy MB 5.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On the return voyage, "Sydney" and several other vessels were tasked with attacking Italian facilities. Canvas and timber were used to alter the cruiser's profile to resemble an Italian "Condottieri"-class cruiser, allowing her to manoeuvre close to Scarpanto during the night of 3–4 September. At dawn, "Sydney" and the British destroyer "Ilex" attacked the Italian Makri Yalo Airbase at Scarpanto; the cruiser fired 135 shells in 25 minutes, while the destroyer fended off five E-boats, sinking two. On completion, the two ships rejoined the fleet, but were again mistaken for Italian warships and nearly fired on before "Sydney" raised the White Ensign and cut down her disguise. Admiral Cunningham congratulated "Sydney" with the message "Well Done. You are a stormy petrel.", which was adopted as a nickname for the cruiser. On her return to Alexandria, the Australian cruiser underwent another short refit, which was completed late in the month: on 24 September "Sydney" supported during the interception of a French merchant ship, then completed a two-day patrol west of Cyprus. Late on 28 September, "Sydney" joined the heavy escort of a Malta-bound troop convoy. During the return voyage, "Sydney" and left the fleet on 1 October for a sweep of the Aegean Sea, which was concluded with a brief bombardment of Maltezana before returning to Alexandria two days later.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The entire Mediterranean fleet sailed from Alexandria on 8 October to provide cover for several Malta Convoys, and attempt to draw the Italian fleet into battle. The convoys reached their destination safely, and the operation was uneventful for "Sydney"; the only contact with Italian forces was an engagement during the early morning of 12 October between the British cruiser and seven Italian torpedo boats and destroyers, of which "Ajax" sank three and damaged a fourth. From 25 October, "Sydney", "Orion", and the destroyers and were engaged in a sweep of the Aegean for Axis vessels, reaching as far north as the Dardanelles. No major incidents occurred until 28 October, when the Italians invaded Greece: the four ships were recalled to Alexandria, where they arrived that evening. Shortly after, the two cruisers were joined by HM Ships and and met the main force of the Mediterranean fleet west of Crete on 30 October. Over the next few days, the warships patrolled around Crete and along the Greek mainland, and provided cover for the first supply convoy to Crete.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On 5 November, "Sydney" and departed from Port Said with military equipment to be used to establish an Allied advanced base at Souda Bay, Crete. After delivering the equipment, which included almost 1,000 soldiers, the equipment for a Bofors battery, cases of food, and several trucks, the cruisers rejoined the main fleet. The Mediterranean Fleet remained on patrol for several days, and during the night of 11–12 November, while the bulk of the fleet supported the world's first all-naval-aircraft attack on the Italian fleet anchored in Taranto, "Sydney", "Ajax", "Orion" and the destroyers and attempted to transit the Strait of Otranto as a diversion. Despite the mission of "looking for trouble", the northbound passage through the strait passed without incident. The return was not so uneventful: at 01:20, a convoy of four merchantmen with two escorting destroyers was spotted by "Sydney"s lookouts. The Allied warships manoeuvred in close, and opened fire at 01:27: "Sydney" directing her fire onto a freighter away. During the 23-minute engagement, the cruiser successfully contributed to the destruction of three merchant ships and damaged a destroyer, avoided a torpedo, and unsuccessfully fired two in return. At 01:57, the undamaged Allied force departed the strait, and met the main fleet before midday.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: From 15 to 20 November, "Sydney" and three other cruisers transported 4,000 Allied soldiers and their equipment from Alexandria to the Piraeus as reinforcements for the Greek military. On returning to Alexandria, "Sydney" deployed with the majority of the Mediterranean fleet to cover multiple convoys across the sea: the Australian cruiser spent the remainder of the month operating throughout the eastern and central Mediterranean, and was bombed by Italian aircraft on 24 November at Souda Bay, but escaped damage. "Sydney" started December in the Aegean, where she escorted convoys and shelled the port of Valona, then proceeded to Malta for a refit and repairs to her rudder, which lasted until the end of the year. During this refit, the cruiser was fitted with degaussing equipment. The ship rejoined the fleet on 8 January 1941, when she was instructed to head home after proceeding along the north coast of Africa and linking up with any Australia-bound merchant ships she encountered. The recall was attributed to the need to bring "Sydney" in for a major refit and give her personnel leave, a plan to spread combat experience throughout the RAN by trading the cruiser with her sister ship, , and a need to protect Australia against the German merchant raiders operating in the area, particularly following the attacks on Nauru.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Before leaving, 100 of the ship's company were removed on 11 January, so they could be sent to England to help man the new N-class destroyers. The next day, the ship sailed for Aden via the Suez Canal. "Sydney" and the troopship left Aden on 16 January to join Convoy SW 4B, which "Sydney" escorted until relieved by four days later. The Australian cruiser was instructed to attack any Italian ships at Mogadiscio, but as there were no large merchant ships in port and "Sydney" was forbidden to attack the harbour itself, she then proceeded to the Seychelles to refuel. On 24 January, "Sydney" was one of several warships which responded to an attack on the merchantman "Mandasor" by the German merchant raider "Atlantis". Despite a three-day search, "Sydney" did not come into contact with "Atlantis". "Sydney" resumed her voyage home, and arrived in her namesake city after sunset on 9 February. The cruiser anchored in Watsons Bay for the night, then sailed into the inner harbour the next morning and tied up alongside at Sydney Cove to a heroes' welcome. On 11 February, a holiday was declared for school students in Sydney, so they could join the thousands of people who witnessed the ship's company perform a freedom of entry march.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: As well as the battle honours for the battles at Calabria and Cape Spada, "Sydney" was granted the "Mediterranean 1940" battle honour for her various actions during the Mediterranean naval campaign. During the eight-month deployment, the only fatality in the ship's company was a death due to illness.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Following a short refit, "Sydney" sailed for Fremantle on 27 February, where she was assigned to escort and patrol tasks in the Indian Ocean. This primarily involved meeting convoys off the southern Australian coast and escorting them on the next leg of their journey, either westbound to the Middle East and Europe, or northwards to the Dutch East Indies.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: In April, "Sydney" escorted the troopship "Queen Mary" from Fremantle to Jervis Bay, before embarking Admiral Ragnar Colvin and a party of advisors from all three branches of the Australian military and transporting them to Singapore by 19 April for a secret conference between the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands East Indies, and the United States of America. The cruiser returned to Fremantle before month's end, after which Collins handed command over to Captain Joseph Burnett on 15 May. Shortly after, the cruiser escorted the transport SS "Zealandia" during a troop transport run to Singapore. "Sydney" escorted the troopship to Sunda Strait, where responsibility was handed over to the British light cruiser .


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: In early June, "Sydney" met "Zealandia" and "Danae" on the troopship's return voyage, and took over escort duties from Sunda Strait back to Fremantle. After replenishing in Fremantle, "Zealandia" joined a multiple ship convoy to the east coast of Australia, which was also escorted by "Sydney". The convoy departed on 24 June and made for Sydney, after which the cruiser joined the escort of a Pacific convoy before returning for maintenance. This concluded on 8 August, when "Sydney" escorted the troopship "Awatea" to New Zealand, then Fiji.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On her return to Sydney at the end of August, the cruiser joined the troopships "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth" during the first leg of their voyage (Anzac convoy US 12A), escorting them until rendezvousing with "Canberra" in the Great Australian Bight. "Sydney" then sailed to Melbourne, and remained until 19 September, during which her camouflage was repainted in a new pattern. The cruiser then escorted the four-ship Anzac convoy US 12B to Fremantle: heavy seas while crossing the Great Australian Bight caused "A" turret to become jammed on a port facing. This was repaired in Fremantle, and the convoy proceeded to Sunda Strait, where "Sydney" handed the merchant ships over to the British cruisers and "Danae" on 3 October and set course for Fremantle. On the night of 5–6 October, a mysterious ship that responded to challenge signals near Rottnest Island then disappeared led the Naval Officer in Charge Fremantle to believe that the approaches to the harbour had been mined. "Sydney" was diverted to intercept "Queen Mary" before the troopship reached Fremantle, and ordered to remain with her until a channel was swept and found free of mines. After reaching port on 7 October, "Sydney" officially assumed patrol and escort duties in Western Australian waters.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The next few weeks were uneventful for "Sydney", and between 18 and 29 October, the cruiser visited Geraldton and Bunbury. On 2 November, the Australian cruiser sailed to meet "Zealandia" off Albany. The troopship was on a second troop transport run to Singapore; delivering the 8th Division. The two ships returned to Fremantle, and on 11 November, they departed for Sunda Strait. "Zealandia" was handed over on 17 November to for the next leg, and the Australian cruiser turned for home: she was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On the afternoon of 19 November 1941, "Sydney" was off the coast of Western Australia, near Carnarvon, and heading south towards Fremantle. Around 15:55, the cruiser spotted a merchant ship on a northbound course, which quickly turned away from the coast at . "Sydney" increased speed to and made to intercept. As she closed the gap, "Sydney" began to signal the unidentified merchantman, first by signal light, then after no reply was forthcoming and the distance between the two ships had decreased, by a combination of light and signal flag.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The merchant ship hoisted her callsign, but as she was ahead and just port of "Sydney", the flags were obscured by the funnel. The cruiser sent a request that the merchant ship make her signal letters clear, which the signals officer did by lengthening the halyard and swinging the flags clear. The callsign was that of the Dutch ship "Straat Malakka", but she was not on "Sydney"s list of ships meant to be in the area. Further flag signals were exchanged between the ships, with "Sydney" asking the Dutch ship's destination and cargo.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: At 17:00, a distress signal was transmitted by "Straat Malakka", indicating that she was being pursued by a merchant raider. Following this, "Sydney" pulled alongside the merchant ship from astern; pacing the merchantman on a parallel course, approximately away. "Sydney"s main guns and port torpedo launcher were trained on the ship, while she sent the interior portion of "Straat Malakka"s secret callsign. Fifteen minutes later, at around 17:30, the merchantman had not replied, and "Sydney" sent a signal ordering her to show the secret callsign.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Straat Malakka" had not replied because she was the in disguise, and when asked to reveal a callsign the Germans did not know, "Kormoran" responded by decamouflaging and opening fire. Prompted by the raider's unveiling, "Sydney" also fired (accounts are divided as to which ship fired first), but while her first salvo either missed or passed through "Kormoran"s upper superstructure with minimal damage, four of the raider's six guns (the other two guns were on the port side and could not fire to starboard) were able to destroy the cruiser's bridge and gun director tower, damage the forward turrets, and set the aircraft on fire.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" did not fire again until after the raider's sixth salvo: "Y" turret fired without effect, but "X" turret was able to put multiple shells into "Kormoran", damaging machinery spaces and one of the raider's guns, while igniting an oil tank. During this, "Kormoran" maintained heavy fire, and around the time of the eighth or ninth German salvo, a torpedo launched at the start of the engagement hit "Sydney" just forward of "A" turret and near the ASDIC compartment (the weakest point on the ship's hull), ripping a hole in the side and causing the bow of the cruiser to angle down. Down by the bows, the cruiser swung hard to port, and passed behind "Kormoran"; during the turn, shells from the raider knocked "B" turret off "Sydney".


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: By 17:35, "Sydney" was heading south and losing speed, wreathed in smoke from multiple fires. Her main armament was disabled (the two aft turrets had jammed on a port facing and could not be swung around), and her secondary guns were out of effective range. The cruiser continued to be hit by shells from "Kormoran"s aft guns as the distance between the ships increased. The Germans reported that around 17:45, all four torpedoes from "Sydney"s starboard launcher were fired, but as "Kormoran" was manoeuvring to bring her port broadside to bear, they all missed. In fact, only two torpedoes from "Sydney"s port launcher were ever fired, which must have happened some time earlier. The raider's engines broke down after this turn, but she continued to fire on "Sydney" at a high rate despite being immobilised, although many of the shells would have missed as the distance between the two ships increased. "Kormoran" ceased fire at 17:50, with the range at , and launched another torpedo at 18:00, but missed "Sydney".


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The Australian cruiser continued on a south-south-east heading at low speed; observers aboard "Kormoran" doubted that "Sydney" was under control. Although disappearing over the horizon shortly later, the glow from the damaged, burning warship was consistently seen by the Germans until about 22:00, and sporadically until midnight. At some point during the night, "Sydney" lost buoyancy and sank: the bow was torn off as she submerged and descended almost vertically, while the rest of the hull glided forward as she sank, hitting the bottom upright and stern first. "Sydney"s shells had crippled "Kormoran"; the German sailors abandoned ship after it was determined that below-deck fires could not be controlled before they reached the gun magazines or the mines in the cargo hold. The raider was scuttled at midnight, and sank slowly until the mine deck exploded half an hour later.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney"s failure to reach Fremantle on 20 November was not initially cause for concern, as several factors might have delayed the cruiser, none of which were sufficient reason to break the order to maintain wireless silence. However, with no sign of the cruiser by 23 November, shore-based wireless stations began transmitting orders for "Sydney" to break silence and report in. A raft of German survivors was recovered by a British tanker on 24 November, at which point a large-scale air and sea search began. During this search, which lasted until the evening of 29 November 318 survivors from "Kormoran"s 399 personnel were found, but apart from a carley float and a lifebelt, nothing from "Sydney" or the 645 aboard was recovered.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Australian Prime Minister John Curtin officially announced the loss of the cruiser during the afternoon of 30 November. "Sydney"s destruction was a major blow to Australian morale and military capability: her ship's company made up 35 percent of the RAN's wartime casualties. The cruiser's loss did not have the same impact internationally; Japan entered World War II with attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December, just over a week after "Sydney"s loss was announced, and two British capital ships were destroyed within a fortnight, with the loss of Singapore following shortly after.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The German survivors were taken to Fremantle and interrogated. Attempts to learn what had happened were hampered by the German officers instructing their sailors to obfuscate the enemy with false answers, people describing events they did not witness but heard of later, and difficulty in keeping groups separated in order to check their stories against each other. Despite this, Australian authorities were able to piece together the broad details of the battle, which was verified by a group of German sailors who had been taken to Sydney instead: their interviews showed the same commonalities and inconsistencies as those from Fremantle, and the interrogators concluded that the true story was being recounted. Interrogations were concluded in December, and by the end of January, "Kormoran"s personnel had been moved to prisoner-of-war camps in Victoria, where they remained until their repatriation to Germany in early 1947.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: On 6 February 1942, a Carley float containing a dead body was spotted just off Christmas Island and towed ashore. Examination of the raft and its occupant led the island's inhabitants to believe that they were from "Sydney". Although a 1949 investigation conducted by the Royal Navy stated the raft was not from HMAS "Sydney", and while some historians agreed, others concluded that the raft and the body originated from "Sydney". The body was exhumed in October 2006 and reburied at Geraldton Cemetery in November 2008, after DNA was extracted. On 19 November 2021, Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Andrew Gee announced that comparison of the extracted DNA with that of relatives of "Sydney" personnel had identified the sailor as Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark who had joined "Sydney" in August 1941, approximately four months before her sinking.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The battle between "Sydney" and "Kormoran" is seen as controversial: the disbelief that a modified merchant ship could so successfully defeat a cruiser combined with the lack of Australian survivors led some to believe that the German account was false. Rumours that the battle was not what it seemed had been around since "Sydney" failed to reach Fremantle on schedule in 1941, but several historians (including Tom Frame and Wesley Olson) credit Michael Montgomery and his 1980 book "Who Sank The Sydney?" with igniting the controversy.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The main claims made by supporters of an alternative view of the engagement include: that the Germans fired on "Sydney" before raising their battle ensign, or after using a flag of surrender or signals of distress to lure the cruiser in, that a Japanese submarine was partially or completely responsible for sinking "Sydney", that the involvement of the Japanese was covered up to lure the United States into the war, and that Australian survivors were killed in the water to eliminate witnesses. Other claims, less widely heard, include a belief that "Sydney" was not at action stations and thus not prepared for "Kormoran"s attack, distress calls from the cruiser were heard by Australian shore facilities but ignored, and that survivors were captured then executed by the Japanese.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: These claims have been proven false by historians and researchers; the 1998 inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade concluded that the German accounts were a "feasible" interpretation of the battle, but there was no reliable evidence to support any of the alternative claims, while the 2009 report for the Cole Inquiry (the third volume of which was completely dedicated to the "frauds, conspiracies and speculations" surrounding the battle) found nothing to substantiate any of the theories raised.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: In addition, most researchers have speculated as to why "Sydney" was so close to an unknown vessel, with various levels of blame assigned to Captain Burnett for the demise of his ship. Theories to explain Burnett's actions include that he was inexperienced or incompetent, deceived by "Kormoran"s disguise, the idea that he was under conflicting orders instructing that raiders be attacked at range but enemy supply ships be captured, or that he was trying to clearly identify the merchantman.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Despite the approximate position of "Kormoran" being known (most German accounts giving the battle coordinates as ), the required search area for both ships was immense. Calculating a search area was complicated by the fact that several people distrusted the German location, and believed the ships would be found further south and closer to shore. Several attempts to bring supporters of the 'northern' and 'southern' positions to a consensus and narrow down the potential search area were unsuccessful.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Multiple searches were carried out by the RAN between 1974 and 1997 (using the survey ship and later the trials ship ), but efforts were restricted to the continental shelf, and were usually in response to civilian claims that they had found "Sydney" at a certain location. Other searches were conducted by RAAF aircraft carrying magnetometers; again, these were only in response to possible location claims. These searches failed to find either ship.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: American shipwreck hunter David Mearns first learned of the battle in 1996, and began to study it as a prelude to a search for the ships in 2001. Mearns, with the aid of other researchers, focused on primary sources (rediscovering several archive files and diaries in the process), and came to the conclusion that the German accounts were true, and that the ship would be found at the northern position. After attracting the interest of the RAN, Mearns entered into a partnership with HMAS Sydney Search, a not-for-profit company set up to administer and help fund an expedition to locate "Sydney" and "Kormoran". State and Federal government grants totalling just under A$5 million, coupled with private and corporate donations, were used to fund a 45-day search from the end of February to early April 2008.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Mearns' plan was to inspect a search box around the German location with a deep-water, towed side-scan sonar to locate "Kormoran", after which the search team would be able to narrow down the search area for "Sydney". After locating one or both vessels, the search ship (survey vessel SV "Geosounder", chartered from the subsea exploration company DOF Subsea Australia) would return to port and replace the sonar with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph and video the wrecks.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: After problems with equipment and weather, "Geosounder" commenced the search, and located "Kormoran" on 12 March 2008 at . Using the newly discovered wreck and the accounts of the Germans describing "Sydney"s heading, speed, and last sighting after the battle, a search box for the cruiser was calculated: the dramatically smaller area was due to the quality of information regarding "Sydney"s position and heading in relation to "Kormoran", while the raider's location consisted of only broad coordinates.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" was located on 17 March 2008 just after 11:00, only hours after "Kormoran"s discovery was made public. News that the cruiser had been found was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 18 March. "Sydney"s wreck was located at at below sea level, south-east of the raider. The bow of the cruiser had broken off as the ship sank, and was located at the opposite end of a debris field stretching less than north-west from the hull, which was sitting upright on the ocean floor. On discovery, both wrecks were placed under the protection of the "Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976", which penalises anyone disturbing a protected shipwreck with a fine of up to A$10,000 or a maximum five years imprisonment. Both wrecks were placed on the Australian National Heritage List on 14 March 2011.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: After the side-scan sonar aboard "Geosounder" was switched out for the ROV (again delayed by technical issues and more bad weather), the survey ship returned to "Sydney"s wreck site on 3 April, and performed a detailed study of the ship and her debris field. Inspections were also carried out on "Kormoran" and the believed battle site (the latter found to be outcrops of pillow lava), before Mearns declared the search over on 7 April. In April 2015, an expedition to the wrecks by Curtin University and the Western Australian Museum commenced, with the objective of using 3D imaging to map the wrecksites for further study, and to determine if any deterioration since the 2008 discovery requires the development of a conservation management plan.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: "Sydney" was granted the battle honour ""Kormoran" 1941" in recognition of the damage done to "Kormoran". This was one of only three honours awarded during the 20th century for the sinking of a single ship, and the second to a ship named "Sydney" (the other had been awarded to the previous "Sydney" for her defeat of the German light cruiser SMS "Emden" at the Battle of Cocos).


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The main memorial for the loss of "Sydney" is located at Geraldton, Western Australia, on top of Mount Scott. Planning for the memorial commenced in late 1997, after a speech by "Sydney" researcher Glenys McDonald at the local Rotary club. The first, temporary memorial (consisting of a large boulder, a flagpole, and a bronze plaque), was installed prior to 19 November 1998, and was used in a remembrance ceremony that year. During the playing of the Last Post, a large flock of seagulls flew over the participants and headed out to sea in formation: this became a major feature of the permanent memorial. The permanent memorial included four major elements: a stele of the same size and shape of the ship's prow, a granite wall listing the ship's company, a bronze statue of a woman looking out to sea and waiting in vain for the cruiser to come home, and a dome (dubbed the "dome of souls") onto which 645 stainless steel seagulls were welded.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The memorial (minus the stele, which had not been completed in time) was dedicated on 18 November 2001, and was used the next evening for a commemoration ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the ship's loss. In May 2009, the memorial was recognised by the Australian government as being of national significance. By 2011, the stele had been completed, and a fifth element—a pool of remembrance containing a map of the region and the marked position of "Sydney"s wreck—had been added.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: Other memorials commemorating the loss of "Sydney" include an oak tree planted at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance, and an avenue in Carnarvon lined with 645 trees. The service of "Sydney", along with the other ships of the same name, is commemorated by a stained-glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel, and by the mast of the first at Bradleys Head, New South Wales. The names of those killed aboard "Sydney" are inscribed at the Australian War Memorial.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The "HMAS Sydney Replacement Fund" was established to help finance the acquisition of a replacement ship. The AU£426,000 raised was contributed to the purchase of Australia's first aircraft carrier in the late 1940s; the "Majestic"-class carrier was named upon her commissioning into the RAN in December 1948. This "Sydney" operated during the Korean War, then was modified into a troop transport and served in the Vietnam War, before her sale for scrap in 1973.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The Supermarine Seagull V aircraft that operated from "Sydney" between 1937 and 1938 still survives as part of the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum at Colindale in north London.


title: HMAS Sydney (D48)

text: The "HMAS Sydney II Cup" was introduced in 2010 as a commemorative trophy competed for by two Australian Football League clubs, the Sydney Swans (representing the ship's namesake) and the West Coast Eagles (representing the site of the ship's loss), in an annual match. The trophy is based on the cruiser's battle honour board, while the design of a Best On Ground trophy for the match's best player is based on a shell casing from the frigate "Sydney".


title: HostGator

text: HostGator is a Houston-based provider of shared, reseller, virtual private server, and dedicated web hosting with an additional presence in Austin, Texas.


title: HostGator

text: HostGator was founded in October 2002 by Brent Oxley, who was then a student at Florida Atlantic University. In 2006, the company moved from the original office in Boca Raton, Florida to a new 20,000 square foot building in Houston, Texas. In June 2006, the company opened its first international office in Canada.


title: HostGator

text: In 2008, Inc. Magazine ranked HostGator in its list of fastest growing companies at 21 in the United States and 1 in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas area The same year, HostGator decided to make their hosting service green hosting


title: HostGator

text: In 2008, HostGator prepared for competition companies touting themselves as providing "unlimited" hosting services. Founder Brent Oxley was adamant about being able to back up an "unlimited" option prior to offering service named as such and increased staffing. He suggested that this move increased sales by at least 30%.


title: HostGator

text: In 2010, an office was added in Austin, Texas. In May 2011, HostGator started operations in India with a its office in Nashik, Maharashtra and a data centre.


title: HostGator

text: On July 13, 2012, HostGator was sold to Endurance International Group (EIG) for an aggregate purchase price of $299.8 million, of which $227.3 million was paid in cash at the closing. On 21 June 2012, CEO and founder Brent Oxley announced the sale of HostGator, advised employees and users not to worry in part because Oxley would still own the buildings HostGator used. He said he wanted to travel the world before he had children. He was also candid about the failures in creating stable billing and register portions of HostGator, and hoped that Endurance might fix those.


title: HostGator

text: In 2015, HostGator launched Optimized WP, a set of tools for building and maintaining WordPress websites. By the end of 2015, EIG launched local HostGator sites in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Turkey and Mexico. As of 2019, HostGator also offered a web hosting service in the United Kingdom and Australia.


title: HostGator

text: In May 2012, the computer hacker group UGNazi claimed responsibility for hacking the web server of the web host billing software developer WHMCS in an apparent social engineering attack involving HostGator. A member of the group Cosmo called WHMCS's hosting provider impersonating a senior employee. They were subsequently granted root access to WHMCS's web server after providing information for identity verification. UGNazi later leaked publicly WHMCS's SQL database containing user information and 500,000 customer credit cards, website files, and cPanel configuration. After this issue WHMCS emailed members to change their passwords.


title: HostGator

text: Since its acquisition by Endurance International, HostGator has suffered an increased incidence of server outages and downtime. Notably, on August 2, 2013 and December 31, 2013, Endurance International Group’s data center in Provo, Utah, experienced network outages that affected thousands of customers of Bluehost, HostGator, HostMonster and JustHost.


title: HostGator

text: In January 2019, TechCrunch reported that Paulos Yibelo, a well-known bug hunter found serious vulnerabilities at Bluehost, DreamHost, OVH, iPage and HostGator.


title: Kim Director

text: Kimberly Ann Director (born November 13, 1974) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Kim Diamond in "" (2000), and Stevie in "Inside Man" (2006). Beginning in 2017, she has appeared as a recurring guest star on the HBO series "The Deuce".


title: Kim Director

text: Raised in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Director graduated from Upper St. Clair High School in Upper St. Clair in 1993. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997.


title: Kim Director

text: Director's first film role was in 1998's "He Got Game", directed by Spike Lee. This was followed by "Summer of Sam" in 1999 and "Bamboozled" in 2000, both films also directed by Lee. Her breakout performance came in the film "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" as the hard-core Goth girl, Kim Diamond. She went on to act in the independent films "Unforeseen", "Tony n' Tina's Wedding", "Charlie's Party", "Live Free or Die", "Life is Short", and "A Crime" with Harvey Keitel. Director reunited with Spike Lee for the film "She Hate Me" in 2004, and in 2006 played Stevie the bank robber in Lee's "Inside Man".


title: Kim Director

text: Kim Director has appeared in guest roles on television shows "Sex and the City", "Law & Order", "", "", "Shark", "Life", "Cold Case", "Unforgettable", and "Orange is the New Black". She had a recurring role as the Cavewoman on the series "Cavemen".


title: Kim Director

text: Her later roles include HBO's "The Deuce" and the Bianca in the Netflix series "She's Gotta Have It".


title: Kim Director

text: Director is a trained stage actress and appeared in the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical "Company" at the Kennedy Center. She also appeared in the play "Guinea Pig Solo" by Brett C. Leonard at the Public Theater with LAByrinth Theater Company (Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, artistic directors). She also worked at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York in the play "The Wood" written by Dan Klores and directed by David Bar Katz.


title: My body, my choice

text: My body, my choice is a feminist slogan used in several countries, most often surrounding issues of bodily autonomy and abortion.


title: My body, my choice

text: Feminists usually defend an individual's right of self determination over their bodies for sexual, marriage and reproductive choices as rights. The slogan has been used around the world and translated into many different languages. The use of the slogan has caused different types of controversy in different countries and is often used as a rallying cry during protests and demonstrations and/or to bring attention to different feminist issues.


title: My body, my choice

text: "My body, my choice" is a slogan that is meant to represent the idea of personal bodily autonomy, bodily integrity and freedom of choice. Bodily autonomy constitutes self determination over one's own body without external domination or duress. Bodily integrity is the inviolability of the physical body and emphasizes the importance of personal autonomy, self-ownership, and the self-determination of human beings over their own bodies. In the field of human rights, the violation of the bodily integrity of another is regarded as either unethical infringement and/or possibly criminal. Freedom of choice describes an individual's opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties.


title: My body, my choice

text: According to Suzannah Weiss, the slogan, "My body, my choice" is a feminist idea which can be applicable to women's reproductive rights and other women's rights issues. It is also the opposite to treating women's bodies like property, and asserts the importance of a culture of consent. Rameeza Ahmad describes how the Pakistani version of "my body, my choice," ""Mera Jism Meri Marzi"," is important to feminists because it is important for women to know they have control over their own bodies. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner writes that while it seems simple that women's freedom is linked to women's own control and decisions about their own bodies, in practice the slogan of 'My body, my choice' is too often changed to mean of "not really your body, not really your choice." and women's rights like access to birth control, abortion, and reproductive health are attacked.


title: My body, my choice

text: Background document for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) held at Nairobi summit in 2019 sums up, 'state of complete physical, mental and social well-being in all aspects relating to sexuality and the reproductive system Good sexual and reproductive health' can only be termed to be 'Good sexual and reproductive health', to achieve the same, every person need to have a right to make decisions governing their body and to access services that support those rights. The document further elaborates that everyone has the right to make their own choices about their own sexual and reproductive health, which means that every one should be able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the right to self-determination to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.


title: My body, my choice

text: In late 1969 the slogan was coined as a feminist struggle for reproductive rights and subsequently noted by the global feminist struggle.


title: My body, my choice

text: In June 2019, the Vatican City women's football team decided to withdraw from a football match with a Vienna-based Austrian women's football club, since Austrian women used the occasion to display the slogan "my body my rules" on their bodies, along with pro LGBT slogans as a mark of protest against the Catholic Church's position on abortion.


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2011 Hong Kong started an anti slutshaming and anti victim blaming movement called slut walk. Its 7th annual march in 2018 focused on the "My body, my choice" slogan, to raise awareness against "sexual, gender and body-based" violence prevalent in Hong Kong.


title: My body, my choice

text: In India the concept of "My body, my choice" was discussed in a March 2003 article in the Indian women's magazine, "Femina".


title: My body, my choice

text: In March 2015 a short film, "My Choice", as part of "Vogue India"s social awareness initiative. Indian actress, Deepika Padukone, played the lead role and the film was directed by Homi Adajania. "My Choice" not only refers to reproductive rights but also a range of women's rights issues relating to South Asian women, such as freedom to choose clothing, movement, love sex and marriage.


title: My body, my choice

text: In December 2019, Malaysian Deputy Education minister, Teo Nie Ching launched an educational video called "My body is mine" to educate kids about 'Safe touch and unsafe touch' as part of child safety education and save them from possibilities of negative child grooming and decided to include the subject in Malay school books in subject Pendidikan Jasmani dan Kesihatan (Physical education and health).


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2018, multiple South African sexual and reproductive health and rights organizations came together to champion a social and community media initiative named #MyBodyMyChoice. The initiative "call[s] for protecting and promoting women's rights to make decisions about their reproductive health, bodies and lives." The underlying principle is that if it is a woman's body, she should be the one to make choices about and have the agency to access the health support she needs, and take well-informed decisions in relation to her own body, health and life. This considered a fundamental right—irrespective of their sexuality, where they live, how much they earn, or their ethnicity.


title: My body, my choice

text: "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" (; ) is a feminist slogan used by feminists in Pakistan in context of women rights.


title: My body, my choice

text: The slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" was popularized by the Aurat March in Pakistan which has been observed on International Women's Day. The slogan has been very controversial. According to The Friday Times 2022 March end news report a man from Lahore, Pakistan killed his fifth time pregnant wife for chanting the slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi."


title: My body, my choice

text: In South Korea, the slogan of "my body, my choice" has meant choosing whether or not to marry and to have children. It is a push for single women's equality in the workplace, where there is a large wage gap between men and women.


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2012, an abortion rights demonstration in the Kadiköy district in Istanbul drew 3,000 women. Protesters carried banners reading "My body, my choice" in response to the government's plans to limit abortion access in the country.


title: My body, my choice

text: Emma Watson has worn T-shirts with the slogan, "my body, my choice" to bring attention to the need for funding of rape crisis centres in England and Wales.


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2015, in the United States, the slogan was used as a hashtag, to indicate support for Planned Parenthood, which was in danger of losing government funding. In 2019, as the most restrictive abortion law in the United States was signed by Alabama governor, Kay Ivey, demonstrators used the slogan outside of the Alabama Capitol in protest.


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2017 Protest in Lusaka for Women's empowerment issues Zambian women marched with slogans like "My Body, My Sexuality. My Rights, My Choice"; "My Body, My Choice"; "We Have the Right to Be Heard"; and "Before I'm a Woman, I'm a Human."


title: My body, my choice

text: Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include the right to bodily integrity and autonomy; to be free from sexual violence; to vote; to hold public office; to enter into legal contracts; to have equal rights in family law; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to have reproductive rights; to own property; to education. According to Ursula Barry throughout human history the bodily autonomy of women has been contested. The notion of the body (but not the mind) being associated with women has served as a justification to deem women as property, objects, and exchangeable commodities (among men). For example, women's bodies have been objectified throughout history through the changing ideologies of fashion, diet, exercise programs, cosmetic surgery, childbearing, etc. This contrasts to men's role as a moral agent, responsible for working or fighting in bloody wars. The race and class of a woman can determine whether her body will be treated as decoration and protected, which is associated with middle or upper-class women's bodies. On the other hand, the other body is recognized for its use in labor and exploitation which is generally associated with women's bodies in the working-class or with women of color. Second-wave feminist activism has argued for reproductive rights and choice. The women's health movement and lesbian feminism are also associated with this debate. According to Barry, challenges facing women include sexual objectification, sexual harassment and gender based sexual abuse and violence. Barry emphasizes that women's freedom from violence is about the right to bodily integrity. While discussing choices surrounding reproduction, bodily autonomy is about freedom of one's own choices. Impediments posed by conservatives and religious and cultural moral police includes autonomy over one's own fertility includes both opposition to forms of positive fertility treatments, opposition to contraception, sterilization and also abortion. According to Barry, the right and access to abortion manifests one of the last struggles to achieve women's bodily autonomy.


title: My body, my choice

text: According to Shehzil Malik, the slogan means that for all actions between people, actions require consent and that means that women need not experience their bodies getting groped, abused, harassed, or violated. According to Needa Kirmani this slogan disturbs those foundations of the patriarchy which controls and exploit women's bodies against their own will. Kirmani says those who oppose the slogan perpetuate a culture of rape, sexual harassment, child marriage, physical abuse, lack of healthcare, domestic violence, human trafficking, and bonded labour/slavery. According to Sondra Horton Fraleigh a woman's body is not determined by limitations but is a lived experience created through one's free-willed actions and choices in inter connected continuity with one's mind. Emma Fraser asserts that it is by a lack bodily autonomy society declines that women do have mind beyond their bodies and that amounts to cruelty with women.


title: My body, my choice

text: "My body, my choice" also intersects with class struggles, which are also concerned with "a refusal of biopolitical control and the assertion of the right to live self-directed lives autonomous of the demands of the powerful."


title: My body, my choice

text: On the eve of International summit ICPD25 that is commemoration of 25th year of International Conference on Population and Development held at Nairobi in November 2019; UNFPA news report presents grim picture with help of global statistics; more than 800 women die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth also 33000 girls forced in marriages every day; 4 million girl child are forced to go through female genital mutilation every year, an estimated 232 million women who would prefer modern contraception to prevent pregnancies are unable to avail the same for some reason or other.


title: My body, my choice

text: According to UNFPA's 2019 State of World Population Report, which could avail key information on status of Women's status of decision making role only for 51 countries; out of the countries where information was available only 57% women either married or in relationship could make decisions regarding sexual intercourse with their partner, contraception use and health care. Only two countries namely Philippines and Ukraine were found to be in forefront with 81% women could ensure sexual and reproductive autonomy for themselves. Mali, Niger and Senegal were in lowest list with only 7% women getting freedom to decide about their own bodies regarding sexual intercourse with their partner, contraception use and health care. According to UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, it is long way to go for all girls & women to have autonomy in decision making and means to govern their own bodies.


title: My body, my choice

text: Some variations in English include, "My life my choice; My life my rules", "My body, my rules. My life, not yours", "Keep your laws off my body", and "My body my terms". During the April 2004 march in Washington, D.C., a pro-abortion March raised slogans like "My Body Is Not Public Property!", "It's Your Choice, Not Theirs!", "The government does not belong in our bedrooms...It does not belong in our doctors' offices." Anti-abortion protesters replied with "Have compassion on the little ones!" and "Women Need Love, Not Abortion." placards. The pro-abortion marchers responded with slogans like "Pro-life, that's a lie, you don't care if women die", and "Not the church, not the state, women will decide their fate." In 2014 Amnesty international campaigned with slogan "My body, my rights".


title: My body, my choice

text: In the Bangla language, the slogan is ""shorir amar shidhhanto amar"." In Spanish it is translated as ""Mi cuerpo es mío"" ("My body is mine.") In French it is ""Mon corps, mon choix"" (My body, my choice). In German, the commonly used slogan is "Mein Körper gehört mir!" ("My body belongs to me!"). On 11 March 2013, Amina Sboui was the first Tunisian woman to post a photograph of herself nude from the waist up on Facebook, with the phrase "My body is mine and not the source of anybody's honour" in Arabic.


title: My body, my choice

text: In Russian and Ukrainian languages words meaning 'body' rhyme with words meaning 'matter, concern', so the slogan is translated as 'My body my business': , .


title: My body, my choice

text: The Urdu language slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" (My body, my choice) has some variations too. In Aurat March in Pakistan, many signs found a way to spin the main four words of "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" into statements like "Meri zindagi, meri marzi" (My life, my choice), "Meri zindagi mere faisale" (My life, my decisions), "Meri zindagi, mera haq, mera ikhtiyar" (My life, my right, my discretion). "Mera wajood, meri marzi" (my existence, my choice).


title: My body, my choice

text: In India an alleged rape case victim phrased her argument in Hindi "Mera sharir mera hai, mere employer ka khilona nahi" (My body is mine, Not a toy to be played by my employer).


title: My body, my choice

text: When the 2015 viral short film, "My Choice", starring Deepika Padukone, was released, it received a largely negative response on social media. "Quartz India" criticized the film for being hypocritical, since Padukone was advocating choice, while still adhering to patriarchal standards in other movies she stars in. The writer of the "Quartz" article, Gunjeet Sra, felt that the choices made only reflected those already approved by society.


title: My body, my choice

text: Some of the criticism of "My body, my choice" in comes from the religious right in Islam. Both men and women from "conservative Islamist organizations", such as Jamiat Hafsa, have protested against the Pakistani version of the slogan, "Mera Jism Meri Marzi". In 2020, these hardline critics of the slogan stated that it was "anti-Islamic" to imply that women could do as they wished with their bodies.


title: My body, my choice

text: Sometimes the criticism of the slogan is that it is too strident and inappropriate. Men in Pakistan who support women's rights may not support the slogan itself. The slogan is considered vulgar and many see the slogan as being only about "sexual independence", rather than about the whole sum of bodily autonomy. Writer Anjum Altaf says that critics' attempts to suggest alternative slogans to 'My body, my choice' don't realize that this amounts to mansplaining by subjecting feminist struggle to patriarchal approval what actually they are fighting against.


title: My body, my choice

text: Writer Zainab Najeeb contends that the slogan is neither a challenge to religious beliefs, nor should it been seen as scandalous. Najeeb states that opponents of the slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" believe it is about promoting prostitution, and asserts that the slogan is a declaration of women's independence and bodily freedom. Proponents of the slogan claim that it is being misinterpreted and misunderstood by critics. It is also suggested that the slogan continues to be expanded in definition to apply to opposition against abuse and harassment of women. Rameeza Ahmad states that women everywhere have to face huge patriarchal injustices against their own bodies. Like men, women too need to have right to choose their religion or what they want to wear (or not wear) and that the message behind the slogan is very important. Mehr Tarar asserts that women's claim of rights over their own bodies and own choices is a God-given right strengthened by the finest of human values.


title: My body, my choice

text: The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is anti-abortion and has criticized the slogan. Erdogan has said, "They say it is my body, my choice. Feminists say this...No one has the right to abort a fetus in a body."


title: My body, my choice

text: Criticism of the use of "my body, my choice" in the United States often comes in response to its use in abortion rights issues. Critics claim that the slogan fails to include the fetus as an entity that deserves a voice and a right to bodily autonomy as well. The slogan or "attitude" of "my body, my choice" has also been criticized by anti-abortion advocates as being an essentially "self-centered" choice.


title: My body, my choice

text: Comedian Dave Chappelle critiqued that phrase in a comedy sketch. Whilst defending the unilateral right of women to decide whether they have an abortion, he added that if a woman decides to keep the baby, the man shouldn't be forced to pay for it: "If you can kill this , I can at least abandon them. It’s my money, my choice."


title: My body, my choice

text: 2018 UN Gender equality index indexes Zambia at 131 out of 162 countries. In Zambia a youth collective called 'Africa First' takes lead in creating social dialogue awareness regarding youth sexuality and abortion and stigma around the issue. Feminist Coven and Sistah Sistah Foundation have arranged women's rights Marches around the same themes with slogans like 'keep your policies off my body' to contest rape culture and raise their voices on issues like education and reproductive health to equal political and economic representation.


title: My body, my choice

text: In writer Laurell K. Hamilton's novel "Danse Macabre", the character Ronnie asks another character, Anita, "how you can be pro-choice and pro-life same time?" Anita replies that she wants women to have choices; still there is another life once big enough to live outside the womb.


title: My body, my choice

text: "My Body My Choice: The Fight for Abortion Rights" was written by Robin Stevenson and published in 2019. The book covers the conflict over abortion around the world. "Booklist" wrote that it "should be required reading for teens of every gender."


title: My body, my choice

text: Author Jess McCabe introduces a glossary of concepts related to the slogan 'My body my choice' which includes Abortion, Bodily autonomy, Contraception, First nations, Forcible sterilization, Gendered, Heteronormativity, Institutionalized culture, LGBTQI, Prenatal testing, Pro-choice, Reproductive justice, Selective abortion, Sex positive feminism, Sexual consent, Social model of disability, Social mores, Social justice; in her book "30-Second Feminism: 50 Key Ideas, Events, and Protests, Each Explained in half a minute".


title: My body, my choice

text: As part of the women's rights movement with the concept of "My body my choice", South Africans arranged photography and multimedia exhibitions. One exhibition named "Voices and Choices", curated by director Mmabatho Montsho, presented abortion stories and experiences with the mediums of photography, graphics, art and videos. Larissa Klazinga of Rhodes university, experimented with exhibition of photographs of various protest messages which women identify themselves, with a view of contesting objectification and injustices along with their naked bodies, with a concept that women have power to speak about their own bodies and decide how much to reveal for themselves.


title: My body, my choice

text: In 2019, Gucci debuted a fashion collection based on feminist social movements. The collection was inspired by fashion of the 1970s and included clothing bearing the words, "My body, my choice."


title: My body, my choice

text: Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's character Dr. Alex Hesse used the phrase in the 1994 film Junior in relation to the character's rights and desires regarding their reproductive capability.


title: My body, my choice

text: Some uses of the slogan do not come from a feminist perspective, but still form a concept of bodily autonomy. For example, those who are against vaccination have used the slogan to express their right to refuse to be vaccinated or to vaccinate their children. The slogan has been similarly co-opted by those against the wearing of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: My body, my choice

text: Opponents of infant circumcision have used the slogan as a critique of the practice's alteration of infant genitals.


title: My body, my choice

text: According to Kyle Munkittrick in "Discover", "My body my choice" is a somatic right that can also be claimed by transhumanists.


The Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute (FCI Terre Haute) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute (FCC Terre Haute) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.


title: Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute

text: FCI Terre Haute has a controversial high-security wing known as the Communication Management Unit (CMU) for inmates who were determined to pose a serious threat if their communications were not severely restricted. The CMU at FCI Terre Haute is a 55-cell unit located in the former death row and was opened in December 2006. Prisoners there are under open and covert audio and video surveillance, and all of their phone calls are monitored except for talks with their attorneys. Prisoners are prohibited from touching family members during tightly controlled visits. All telephone calls and mail are monitored, and inmates are required to conduct all conversations in English unless special permission is arranged for conversations in other languages. Without such strong security, the government claims, inmates would be able to conspire with outsiders to commit terrorist or criminal acts. The Federal Bureau of Prisons created the CMU in response to criticism that it had not been adequately monitoring the communications of prisoners. According to the Bureau of Prisons, "By concentrating resources in this fashion, it will greatly enhance the agency's capabilities for language translation, content analysis and intelligence sharing," according to the Bureau's summary of the CMU.


text: When the CMU at FCI Terre Haute opened, 15 of the first 17 inmates were Muslim. In August 2008, 38 prisoners signed up for Ramadan observances. The disproportionate number of Muslims at the CMU led the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to raise a concern about racial profiling. The ACLU also charged that the communication restrictions were unduly harsh for prisoners who are not sufficiently serious security threats to warrant placement in USP Florence ADX, the federal supermax facility in Colorado. In response, according to civil rights lawyers, the Bureau of Prisons started moving in non-Muslims. The group included tax resisters, a member of the Japanese Red Army and inmates from Colombia and Mexico. Inmates say the guards there called them "balancers." As of 2011, the Bureau of Prisons says a total of 71 men now live in the units.


text: Most of the inmates are Arab Muslims convicted of terrorism-related offenses. The CMU population has included men convicted in high-profile post-September 11 cases, as well as defendants from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1999 "millennium" plot to bomb the Los Angeles airport, and airline hijacking cases from 1976, 1985 and 1996. Also in the CMUs are men who have threatened officials from behind bars, ordered murders using contraband cellphones, or engaged in other communications that officials deem threatening. The population also includes several black Muslims who have been disciplined for alleged radicalization and recruitment while incarcerated for other crimes at other facilities.


text: The minimum-security prison camp at FCI Terre Haute was built in 1960 for the purpose of housing non-violent felons to perform farm and maintenance duties. The camp has two, eight, and twelve-person rooms. Programs provided for inmates in this facility include GED, ESL, and drug education classes. Sports, cards, golf, and crafts are all different recreational activities in which the inmates may take part within the camp. A selected group of inmates at the camp take part in a community talk tour called, "Choices," where these inmates visit schools and speak to children that are already involved in meth. The Federal Bureau of Prisons National Bus Center is operated through this camp.


text: FCI Terre Haute was referenced in the film "The Blues Brothers" by Matt "Guitar" Murphy, who said that the prison served cabbage rolls for dinner.


text: The song "1st Day Out the Feds" by rapper Gucci Mane is a reference to Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution, where he served out most of a 3-year 3-month sentence for firearm possession. His radically altered appearance, mannerisms, and demeanor upon exiting the prison in May 2016 led many to speculate that he was subjected to an experimental government program at Terre Haute and possibly even cloned by the Central Intelligence Agency. A spokesperson for the CIA dismissed these theories as mere internet rumors and refused to comment on them.


title: Atomic Energy Commission of India

text: The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.


title: Atomic Energy Commission of India

text: The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was set up on 3 August 1948 under the late Department of Scientific Research. A resolution passed by the Government of India later replaced the commission by "Atomic Energy Commission of India" on 1 March 1954 under the Department of Atomic Energy with Homi J. Bhabha as secretary and more financial and executive powers, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.


title: Atomic Energy Commission of India

text: The functions of the Atomic Energy Commission are: (i) to organize research in atomic science in the country (ii) to train atomic scientists in the country (iii) to promote nuclear research in commission's own laboratories in India (iv) to undertake prospecting of atomic minerals in India and to extract such minerals for use on industrial scale.


title: Atomic Energy Commission of India

text: India achieved a major success in terms of breakthrough in science and technology when the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) detonated an underground nuclear device at Pokhran in the deserts of Rajasthan on 18 May, 1974.


title: Atomic Energy Commission of India

text: It also gives financial assistance to autonomous national institutes doing research in the field and has various other organisations under it.


title: Computer Space

text: Computer Space is a space combat arcade game developed in 1971. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering, it was the first arcade video game as well as the first commercially available video game. "Computer Space" is a derivative of the 1962 computer game "Spacewar!", which is possibly the first video game to spread to multiple computer installations. It features a rocket controlled by the player engaged in a missile battle with a pair of hardware-controlled flying saucers set against a starfield background. The goal is to score more hits than the enemy spaceships within a set time period, which awards a free round of gameplay. The game is enclosed in a custom fiberglass cabinet, which Bushnell designed to look futuristic.


title: Computer Space

text: Bushnell and Dabney designed the game in 1970–71 to be a coin-operated version of "Spacewar!". After the pair were unable to find a way to economically run the game on a minicomputer such as the Data General Nova, they hit upon the idea of instead replacing the central computer with custom-designed hardware created to run just that game. While they were working on an early proof of concept, Bushnell found a manufacturer for the game in Nutting Associates. Working in partnership with Nutting, the pair completed the game and ran their first location test in August 1971, a few months prior to the display of a similar prototype called "Galaxy Game", also based on "Spacewar!". It was first shown to industry press and distributors at the annual Music Operators of America (MOA) Expo in October. With encouraging initial interest, though mixed responses from distributors, Nutting ordered an initial production run of 1,500 units, anticipating a hit game.


title: Computer Space

text: While the game was successful and validated Syzygy's belief in the future of arcade video games, selling over 1,000 cabinets by mid-1972 and ultimately 1,300–1,500 units, it was not the runaway success that Nutting had hoped for. The game spawned one clone game, "Star Trek" (1972), and Nutting produced a two-player version of "Computer Space" in 1973 without involvement from Bushnell and Dabney. The pair left Nutting in June 1972 and incorporated Syzygy as Atari, launching the successful "Pong" (1972) as their next arcade game. "Computer Space"s release marked the ending of the early history of video games and the start of the commercial video game industry.


title: Computer Space

text: At the beginning of the 1970s, video games existed almost entirely as novelties passed around by programmers and technicians with access to computers, primarily at research institutions and large companies. One of these games was "Spacewar!", created in 1962 for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-1 by Steve Russell and others in the programming community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This two-player game has the players engage in a dogfight between two spaceships while maneuvering on a two-dimensional plane in the gravity well of a star, set against the backdrop of a starfield. The game was copied to several of the early computer installations in American academic institutions after its initial release, making it probably the first video game to be available outside a single research institute. "Spacewar!" was extremely popular in the small programming community in the 1960s and was widely recreated on other minicomputer and mainframe computers of the time, later migrating to early microcomputer systems. Early computer scientist Alan Kay noted in 1972 that "the game of "Spacewar!" blossoms spontaneously wherever there is a graphics display connected to a computer," and contributor Martin Graetz recalled in 1981 that as the game initially spread it could be found on "just about any research computer that had a programmable CRT". Although the game was widespread for the era, it was still very limited in its direct reach: the PDP-1 was priced at and only 53 were ever sold, most without a monitor, which prohibited the original "Spacewar!" or any game of the time from reaching beyond a narrow, academic audience. The original developers of "Spacewar!" considered ways to monetize the game, but saw no options given the high price of the computer on which it ran. "Computer Space", which would not be released until 1971, was the first commercial video game based on "Spacewar!".


title: Computer Space

text: In "Computer Space", the player controls a rocket as it attempts to shoot a pair of flying saucers while avoiding their fire. The game has the three ships flying on a two-dimensional plane set against the backdrop of a starfield. Missiles are fired one at a time, and there is a cooldown period between launches. The player's rocket remains in motion even when the player is not accelerating, and rotating the ship does not change the direction of its motion, though it can rotate at a constant rate. The flying saucers stay in place or glide in a zig-zag pattern around the screen in tandem, with one staying a constant distance directly below the other. If a ship or missile moves past one edge of the screen, it reappears on the other side in a wraparound effect. While the missile is in flight, the player can turn it left or right by turning their rocket.


title: Computer Space

text: Player controls are clockwise and counterclockwise rotation, forward thrust, and firing missiles. Whenever the player is hit by a missile or flying saucer, the screen flashes and the player's rocket spins rapidly and disappears before reappearing in the same location. If a flying saucer is hit by a missile, the screen flashes, and the saucer briefly disappears. Counters on the right side of the screen track the number of times both the player's rocket and the saucers have been destroyed, as well as how long that round of gameplay has lasted. A round has a time limit—adjustable by the operator—of 60 to 150 seconds, with a default of 90; when the time limit is reached, the game ends if the player's score is lower than the computer's. If it is higher, the black and white colors invert in a "hyperspace" feature, and another round begins for free; the game continues on to new rounds with the display colors inverting indefinitely if the player continues to win. One round costs a quarter, or two quarters if the machine is adjusted against the instruction manual's recommendations for optimal pricing. The game displays distorted characters if the player or computer scores pass 9, and each score independently resets to 0 for both visual and gameplay purposes if it reaches 16.


title: Computer Space

text: In the two-player version of the game, a second game mode is added featuring two player-controlled rockets fighting each other instead of computer-controlled ships. The modified control panel contains two sets of controls, with joysticks replacing the movement buttons on some machines.


title: Computer Space

text: While studying at the University of Utah, electrical engineering student Nolan Bushnell had a part-time job at an amusement arcade, where he became familiar with arcade electro-mechanical games such as Chicago Coin's racing game "Speedway" (1969), watching customers play and helping to maintain the machinery, while learning how it worked and developing his understanding of how the game business operates. In 1969, after graduating from college, Bushnell worked as an engineer in California for Ampex, an electronics company that worked in audio and video recording technology.