title: Papaver

text: The typical "Papaver" gynoecium is superior (the flower is hypogynous) with a globular ovary. The style is characteristically absent for the type species opium poppy, and several others, although those with a style do exist. The sessile plate-like stigmata lies on top of the ovary. Pollen-receptive surfaces. The characteristic fruit type of "Papaver" is the unilocular capsule. The stigmatic disc rests on top of the capsule, and beneath it are dehiscent pores or valves.


title: Papaver

text: Divided into a number of sections by Kiger (1973, 1985), the following are lectotypified with their lectotype species. Subsequent cladistic classification by Carolan "et al." (2006) suggested "Papaver" was not monophyletic.


title: Papaver

text: "Papaver" sect. "Argemonidium" includes four annual, half-rosette species, "P. argemone", "P. pavonium", "P. apulum", and "P. hybridum" (Kadereit 1986a). "Papaver apulum," "P. argemone" and "P. pavonium" occur allopatrically from the Adriatic Sea to the Himalayan range. "P. hybridum" is distributed widely from the Himalayas to Macaronesian Islands. These species are easily distinguished in petal and capsule characters, but are clearly closely related according to molecular analysis. "Argemonidium" is a sister group to all other "Papaver" sections, with characteristic indels. Morphological characters also support this distinction, including the presence of an apical plug in the capsules, long internodes above the basal leaf rosette, bristly capsules and polyporate pollen grains. Carolan et al. (2006) supported Kadereit et al. (1997)’s suggestions that "Argemonidium" and "Roemeria" are in fact sister taxa. They share some morphological characters that distinguish them from "Papaver", including polyporate pollen grains, and long internodes superior the basal leaf rosette. Previous taxonomies of the Old World clade did include the close relationship between "Argemonidium" and "Roemeria", nor "Argemonidium"’s distinctness from "Papaver" s.s. Carolan suggest "Argemonidium" be elevated to genus status, with "Roemeria" a sub-genus.


title: Papaver

text: "Papaver" sect. "Meconella" is widely distributed, with populations spanning central, inner and eastern Asia, Siberia, Scandinavia, northern Greenland, Canada, the Rocky Mountains, and regions of Europe. It has been distinguished from other "Papaver" sections morphologically by its bristly, valvate capsules, pinnatisect leaves, pale stamen, and white, orange or yellow corolla. Older taxonomies divided "Meconella" into two groups based on degree of leaf dissection (finely dissected leaves vs. broad leaf lobes). Kadereit (1990) and Kadereit and Sytsma (1992) regarded finely dissected leaves as a derived character, and suggested that "Meconella" formed a group with "Argemonidium" as sister to other "Papaver" sects. Bittkau and Kadereit (2002) demonstrated that for "P. alpinum" s.l. broad leaf lobes were ancestral. Carolan et al. (2006) resolved "Meconopsis" as sister to sect. "Meconella", forming a sister clade to the rest of "Papaver", excluding "Argemonidium". "Meconella" possesses a sessile stigmatic disc, similar to the typical discs of "Papaver" sect. "Papaver"., yet differences in the disc and other morphological characters have led to suggestions that this feature may not be homologous. The results of the Carolan "et al." (2006) analysis present a major problem to previous taxonomy of the genera "Meconopsis", and "Papaver". As several species of "Meconopsis" (excluding "M. cambrica") and "P. Meconella" resolved as a monophyletic group, sister to other "Papaver" sects., either "Meconella" must be elevated to genus status, or combined with the Asian species of "Meconopsis", as a subgenus of "Papaver".


title: Papaver

text: "Papaver" sects. "Californicum" and "Horrida" have unique geographic distributions in relation to the rest of the genus. "Horrida" is represented by a single species "Papaver aculeatum" of, an annual flower native to South Africa. The capsule is glabrous narrow, long and poricidal. The vegetative parts are covered with setae, and the growth form is a rosette with rarely branching axes, and narrowly elliptical incised leaves. P. sect. californicum, is also represented by a single annual species, of the same name. As the name implies, it is native to western North America, and is characterized by a slender, ribbed, glabrous capsule, a racemose inflorescence, yellow anthers and filaments, and valvate capsule dehiscece. Previous morphological-based taxonomies of these species have led to unreliable groupings. "Horrida" and "Pilosa" have racemose inflorescences, pale filiform filaments and long capsules with flat stigmatic discs, while "P. californicum" and sect. "Meconidium" share valvate capsule dehiscence and pale filaments, but geographically these species are distinct, and do not follow molecular evidence. Commonality among these features is therefore hypothesized to be a result of convergence. In Carolan et al.’s (2006) combined ITS, trnL-F trees, both "Horrida" and "Californicum" attach to basal nodes within the main clade "Papaver". Kadereit "et al." (1997) postulated that "Stylomecon heterophylla" arose from within "Papaver" and should not be relegated as a separate genus. "S. heterophylla" and "P. californicum" are both native to southwestern North America, and share habitats. They are also morphologically similar, sharing glabrous buds, bright orange corollas, and yellow anthers. Their capsules are different, with "S. heterophylla" possessing a distinct style that is reminiscent of those in many "Meconopsis" species. However, Carolan et al.’s (2006) analysis strongly supports a monophyletic group for "S. heterophylla" and "P. californicum", sister to the core "Papaver" sects, with "Horrida", basal to that grouping. They recommended that both sects. "Californicum" and "Horrida" be elevated to “subgenera” within "Papaver". The authors reject the genus status of "Stylomecon".


title: Papaver

text: "Meconopsis" is composed of mostly Asian dwelling species, and a single European representative, "M. cambrica". Kadereit et al. (1997) first provided evidence that this relationship is not monophyletic. Carolan et al. (2006) confirmed the separation of "M. cambrica" from the rest of "Meconopsis". In fact, it forms a well-supported sister-group to the core sections of "Papaver", excluding "Argemonidium", "Californicum", "Horrida" and "Meconella".


title: Papaver

text: The core sections of "Papaver" s.s. form a well-supported clade, consisting of "Pseudopilosa", "Pilosa", "Papaver", "Carinatae", "Meconidium", "Oxytona", and "Rhoeadium". "Pseudopilosa" spp. have a subscapose growth habit, and their distribution includes south-western Asia, northern Africa and southern Spain. There are some leaves on the lower part of the flower axis carrying a single flower. Carolan et al.’s (2006) analysis placed "Pseudopilosa" as sister to the remaining "Papaver" s.s. sections. "Pilosa" is a single species, "P. pilosum", found mostly in western Turkey Sects. "Pilosa" and "Pseudopilosa" are separated based on morphological and chemical differences.


title: Papaver

text: The monophyly of "Carinatae", "Papaver" and "Rhoeadium" is questionable based on current molecular evidence. "Papaver" sect. "Rhoeadium" comprises seventeen annual species. Carolan et al. (2006) use three representative species, "P. commutatum", "P. dubium", and "P. rhoeas" for their genetic analysis. The geographic center of "Rhoeadium"’s diversity is in south-western Asia and the Aegean area. They have poricidal capsules and usually dark filaments. This section is morphologically diverse however, leading Kadereit (1989) to recognize three distinct groups. The first comprises species with tetraploid and hexaploid genomes, with long capsules. The second group contains diploid species and diverse morphologies. The third group consists of diploid species and uniform morphologies. Carolan et al. (2006) showed some incongruences between their trnL-F and ITS maximum parsimony trees, showing weak support for Kadereit's (1989) groupings. Further analyses with more species and more samples will be necessary to resolve the phylogeny at this level.


title: Papaver

text: "Papaver" has traditionally been characterized by the absence of a stigma, and the presence of a sessile stigmatic disc. Carolan et al. (2006) demonstrated that several species with this trait however are closely related to taxa possessing a style e.g. "S. heterophylla" and "P. californicum", and P. sect. "Meconella" and Asian "Meconopsis". This evidence, in combination with morphological differences among the discs suggests convergent evolutionary pathways. "Papaver" has long been considered the most derived clade within Papaveroideae, due to the belief that the stigmatic disc was an apomorphous characteristic. Sections "Meconella" and "Californicum" exhibit valvate dehiscence, and their basal position within "Papaver" suggest this may be an ancestral form. Its presence in "Meconidium", however, suggests it is also a synapomorphy within that group.


title: Papaver

text: Note: "Meconella" (not to be confused with the genus "Meconella") has an alpine and circumpolar arctic distribution and includes some of the most northerly-growing vascular land plants.


title: Papaver

text: Poppies have been grown as ornamental plants since 5000 BC in Mesopotamia. They were found in Egyptian tombs. In Greek mythology, the poppy was associated with Demeter, goddess of fertility and agriculture. The origin of the cultural symbol was probably Minoan Crete, because a figurine known as the "poppy goddess" was found at a Minoan sanctuary in Crete.


title: Papaver

text: In the course of history, poppies have always been attributed important medicinal properties. The stems contain a milky latex that may cause skin irritation, and the latex in the opium poppy ("Papaver somniferum") contains several narcotic alkaloids, including morphine and codeine. The alkaloid rhoeadine, derived from the flowers of the corn poppy ("Papaver rhoeas"), is used as a mild sedative. Poppy seeds are used in baking and cooking, and poppyseed oil is used in cooking and pharmaceuticals, and as a radiocontrast agent.


title: Papaver

text: The ancient Greeks portrayed Hypnos, Nyx and Thanatos, the gods of sleep, night and death, with the symbol of the poppy. The earliest written record appeared in the eighth century BC. Early Greek accounts seem to indicate the plant was used for euthanasia; on some Greek islands, women used it in old age to shorten the time left until natural death. Hippocrates (460–377 BC) was one of the first to emphasize the medicinal uses of the poppy and outline several methods of preparation. He described poppy juice as narcotic, hypnotic, and cathartic. He also recognized the plant's uses as food, particularly the seeds. By the first century AD, Dioskorides wrote down the first poppy taxonomy. He distinguished between several different kinds, the first of which was the "cultivated" or "garden" poppies. He further distinguished two types within this category, ones with black and others with white seeds. Both had elongated capsules and the black-seeded variety was involuted. Historians speculate this variety was "Papaver somniferum". Other species were in use, as well. Dioskorides named the “flowering” poppy as a type with strong hypnotic properties. This is believed to be "Papaver hybridum". Finally, the “wild” poppy he described is believed to be "Papaver orientale". Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, later mentioned an “intermediate” type between the wild and cultivated poppy, likely "Papaver rhoeas". He wrote about medical applications of the plant; the leaves and capsules were boiled in water to create juice, pressed and rubbed to create tablets, and the dried latex was used to form opium. These products were used in much the same way they are in many cultures today, to promote sleep and to relieve indigestion and respiratory problems.


title: Papaver

text: A century later, Galen wrote even more extensively about the diverse applications of various poppy products. He wrote that opium was the strongest known drug for dulling the senses and for inducing sleep. He wrote about its use to treat a variety of ailments, including eye and lung inflammation.


title: Papaver

text: The First (18391842) and Second Opium Wars (18561860) between China and Great Britain resulted from attempts by successive Chinese emperors to suppress increasing imports of opium into the country. In the first half of the 19th century, poppy seed oil was an important food crop, but large-scale production did not begin until Europe began to manufacture morphine in the mid-19th century. While 800–1000 tons of Indian opium are processed legally each year, this represents only an estimated 5% of total opium production worldwide; the majority is produced illegally. The first factory specializing in dry capsule processing was built in 1928.


title: Papaver

text: Today, morphine and codeine are common alkaloids found in several poppy varieties, and are important drugs for much of the world. Australia, Turkey and India are the most important producers of poppy for medicinal use, while the US, the UK, France, Australia and Hungary are the largest processors. In the United States, opium is illegal, as is possession or cultivation of the flower itself. However, the law is seldom enforced when poppies are grown for culinary or ornamental use. The Opium Poppy Control Act Of 1942 led to the “Poppy Rebellion”, and a battle between California farmers and the federal government. Today, the law and its enforcement remain vague and controversial, even inciting episodes between gardeners and "the poppy police".


title: Pushing Tin

text: Pushing Tin is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Newell. It centers on Nick Falzone (John Cusack), a cocky air traffic controller who quarrels over proving "who's more of a man" with fellow employee Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton). The film is loosely based around the real world New York TRACON radar facility. The film was a box office failure and received mixed reviews. The original music score was composed by Anne Dudley and Chris Seefried.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Nick "The Zone" Falzone and his fellow air traffic controllers at the New York TRACON pride themselves on their ability to handle the intense stress of being a controller for one of the busiest airspaces in the country, even boasting of the 50% drop-out rate for new additions to staff unable to cope with the pressure. The group is joined by the quiet and confident Russell Bell, a veteran of TRACONs in the Western US.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Russell quickly proves to be exceptionally capable of handling the increased workload using unorthodox and risky methods. Nick feels challenged by the new controller's ability to out-perform him at seemingly every task. He warns his supervisor Bell is a loose cannon, especially after discovering that Russell once stood on a runway to allow himself to be violently propelled by a landing commercial airliner's jetwash.


title: Pushing Tin

text: At a supermarket, Nick encounters Russell's despondent young wife Mary, who is sobbing over a grocery cart full of alcohol. In consoling her, he ends up at the Bells' house, where they cheat on their respective spouses. Several days later, Mary informs Nick that she immediately told Russell about the affair, and that the confession has actually improved their marriage.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Fearing retaliation, Nick confronts Russell at work, and is confused and surprised by his even-tempered response to the situation. Meanwhile, Nick's wife, Connie seems to become more and more intrigued by Russell, and Nick becomes increasingly paranoid that he will eventually seek revenge by having sex with her.


title: Pushing Tin

text: While out of town for his father-in-law's funeral, Nick can't bring himself to lie when a grieving Connie challenges him to say that he has never cheated on her. As their flight home approaches New York, she sarcastically boasts that she slept with Russell. The plane then makes an odd turn, and he believes Russell is harassing him, or possibly going insane, purposely directing the plane into a dangerous storm.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Soon after going to TRACON to confront Russell, a bomb threat is called in to the facility. The building is evacuated and both Nick and Russell volunteer to stay behind to handle the daunting task of landing all the planes on approach before the alleged bomb is set to go off in 26 minutes. Successfully routing all but one plane that has lost radio contact, Nick leaves the building as the deadline approaches, while Russell remains inside to make contact with the plane by calling one of its passengers via Airfone. Russell is lauded as a hero for making the effort despite the threat, which turned out to be a hoax.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Russell abruptly quits and he and Mary move to Colorado. Connie leaves Nick, and his performance at work suffers; the once cocky, boastful controller is sent home after being responsible for two "deals" (near mid-air collisions) in one shift. After learning that Russell had ordered the diversion of his flight not to provoke him, but to clear a path to make a plane with a medical emergency on board next in line for a landing, Nick impulsively drives out to Colorado to make amends.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Nick seeks his advice on how to get his personal life back in order, but Russell is unable to make him understand with words. He instead brings Nick to a runway so that he too can experience being caught in a landing aircraft's turbulence. They engage in the stunt together, and it has a profound effect on Nick, who thanks Russell. He returns to New York, where he regains his form at work, and reconciles with Connie.


title: Pushing Tin

text: "Pushing Tin" received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 48%, based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 5.53/10. The site's consensus reads: "Solid performances by the leads, but the generic ending needs help". On Metacritic, it has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade C.


title: Pushing Tin

text: Roger Ebert recommended the film. "The movie is worth seeing, for the good stuff. I'm recommending it because of the performances and the details in the air-traffic control center." Despite this, Ebert has some criticism of the plot and the ending.


title: Pushing Tin

text: It opened #4 at the box office. It grossed $8.4 million in its North American release, which did not make up for its estimated production budget of $33 million.


title: Pushing Tin

text: The film was nominated for best casting in a feature comedy (Ellen Chenoweth) by the Casting Society of America, and was nominated for best sound editing (Colin Miller, Sue Baker, Ross Adams, Derek Holding, Jacques Leroide) by the Motion Picture Sound Editors.


title: Poonguzhali

text: Poonguzhali is a fictional character from the Tamil historical novel, "Ponniyin Selvan", written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Poonguzhali is the niece of Mandakini Devi. She was the wife of Senthan Amuthan, who later became Uttama Chola. Their marriage made Poonguzhali the aunt of Arulmozhi Varman. She was a friend of Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, who was one of the protagonists in the novel. Aishwarya Lekshmi portrayed the character in "".


title: Poonguzhali

text: Her adventures began when she met Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan. She rowed with him to Sri Lanka to meet Arunmozhi varman. Later on the way back from Sri Lanka, she rescued Arulmozhi Varman and Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan from drowning in the Indian Ocean, as their ship met with a storm. Afterwards, she tries to save her aunt, Mandakini Devi, who was kidnapped by Aniruddha Brahmarayar, to bring her to the Chola Emperor, Sundara Chola.


title: Poonguzhali

text: Poonguzhali married Senthan Amuthan, later known as Madhurandhaka Uttama Chola. After the assassination of Aditha Karikalan or Aditya II, people wanted Arulmozhi Varman to ascend the throne.


title: Fetus in fetu

text: Fetus in fetu (or foetus in foetu) is a rare developmental abnormality in which a mass of tissue resembling a fetus forms inside the body of its twin. An early example of the phenomenon was described in 1808 by George William Young.


title: Fetus in fetu

text: There are two hypotheses for the origin of a "fetus in fetu". One hypothesis is that the mass begins as a normal fetus but becomes enveloped inside its twin. The other hypothesis is that the mass is a highly developed teratoma. "Fetus in fetu" is estimated to occur in 1 in 500,000 live births.


title: Fetus in fetu

text: A "fetus in fetu" can be considered alive, but only in the sense that its component tissues have not yet died or been eliminated. Thus, the life of a "fetus in fetu" is akin to that of a tumor in that its cells remain viable by way of normal metabolic activity. However, without the gestational conditions "in utero" with the amnion and placenta, a "fetus in fetu" can develop into, at best, an especially well differentiated teratoma; or, at worst, a high-grade metastatic teratocarcinoma. In terms of physical maturation, its organs have a working blood supply from the host, but all cases of "fetus in fetu" present critical defects, such as no functional brain, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, or urinary tract. Accordingly, while a "fetus in fetu" can share select morphological features with a normal fetus, it has no prospect of any life outside of the host twin. Moreover, it poses clear threats to the life of the host twin on whom its own life depends.


title: Fetus in fetu

text: Fetus in fetu may be a very highly differentiated form of dermoid cyst, itself a highly differentiated form of mature teratoma.


title: Fetus in fetu

text: Fetus in fetu may be a parasitic twin fetus growing within its host twin. Very early in a monozygotic twin pregnancy, in which both fetuses share a common placenta, one fetus wraps around and envelops the other. The enveloped twin becomes a parasite, in that its survival depends on the survival of the host twin, by drawing on the host twin's blood supply. The parasitic twin is anencephalic (without a brain) and lacks some internal organs, and as such is unable to survive on its own. As the host twin has to "feed" the enveloped twin from the nutrients received over a single umbilical cord, they usually die before birth.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Mark-to-market (MTM or M2M) or fair value accounting is accounting for the "fair value" of an asset or liability based on the current market price, or the price for similar assets and liabilities, or based on another objectively assessed "fair" value. Fair value accounting has been a part of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States since the early 1990s, and is now regarded as the "gold standard" in some circles. Failure to use it is viewed as the cause of the Orange County Bankruptcy, even though its use is considered to be one of the reasons for the Enron scandal and the eventual bankruptcy of the company, as well as the closure of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Mark-to-market accounting can change values on the balance sheet as market conditions change. In contrast, historical cost accounting, based on the past transactions, is simpler, more stable, and easier to perform, but does not represent current market value. It summarizes past transactions instead. Mark-to-market accounting can become volatile if market prices fluctuate greatly or change unpredictably. Buyers and sellers may claim a number of specific instances when this is the case, including inability to value the future income and expenses both accurately and collectively, often due to unreliable information, or over-optimistic or over-pessimistic expectations of cash flow and earnings.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: In the 1800s in the U.S., marking to market was the usual practice of bookkeepers. This has been blamed for contributing to the frequent recessions up to the Great Depression and for the collapse of banks. The Securities and Exchange Commission told President Franklin Roosevelt that he should get rid of it, which he did in 1938. But in the 1980s the practice spread to major banks and corporations, and beginning in the 1990s mark-to-market accounting began to result in scandals.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: To understand the original practice, consider that a futures trader, when beginning an account (or "position"), deposits money, termed a "margin", with the exchange. This is intended to protect the exchange against loss. At the end of every trading day, the contract is marked to its present market value. If the trader is on the winning side of a deal, his contract has increased in value that day, and the exchange pays this profit into his account. In contrast, if the market price of his contract has decreased, the exchange charges his account that holds the deposited margin. If the balance of this account becomes less than the deposit required to maintain the account, the trader must immediately pay additional margin into the account in order to maintain the account (a "margin call"). (The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, doing even more, marks positions to market "twice" a day, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.)


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, in contrast, are formula-based financial contracts between buyers and sellers, and are not traded on exchanges, so their market prices are not established by any active, regulated market trading. Market values are, therefore, not objectively determined or available readily (purchasers of derivative contracts are typically furnished with computer programs which compute market values based upon data input from the active markets and the provided formulas). During their early development, OTC derivatives such as interest rate swaps were not marked to market frequently. Deals were monitored on a quarterly or annual basis, when gains or losses would be acknowledged or payments exchanged.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: As the practice of marking to market became more used by corporations and banks, some of them seem to have discovered that this was a tempting way to commit accounting fraud, especially when the market price could not be determined objectively (because there was no real day-to-day market available or the asset value was derived from other traded commodities, such as crude oil futures), so assets were being "marked to model" in a hypothetical or synthetic manner using estimated valuations derived from financial modeling, and sometimes marked in a manipulative manner to achieve spurious valuations. The most infamous use of mark-to-market in this way was the Enron scandal.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: After the Enron scandal, changes were made to the mark to market method by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act in the US during 2002. The Act affected mark to market by forcing companies to implement stricter accounting standards. The stricter standards included more explicit financial reporting, stronger internal controls to prevent and identify fraud, and auditor independence. In addition, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was created by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the purpose of overseeing audits. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also implemented harsher penalties for fraud, such as enhanced prison sentences and fines for committing fraud. Although the law was created to restore investor confidence, the cost of implementing the regulations caused many companies to avoid registering on stock exchanges in the United States.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Internal Revenue Code Section 475 contains the mark to market accounting method rule for taxation. Section 475 provides that qualified securities dealers who elect mark to market treatment shall recognize gain or loss as if the property were sold for its fair market value on the last business day of the year, and any gain or loss shall be taken into account for that year. The section also provides that dealers in commodities can elect mark to market treatment for any commodity (or their derivatives) which is actively traded (i.e., for which there is an established financial market that provides a reasonable basis to determine fair market value by disseminating price quotes from broker/dealers or actual prices from recent transactions).


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, "Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities", commonly known as "FAS 115", is an accounting standard issued during May 1993 by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which became effective for entities with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1993.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: FAS 115 addresses the accounting and reporting for investments in equity securities that have readily determinable fair values and for all investments in debt securities. Those investments are to be classified in three categories and accounted for as follows:


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 124, "Accounting for Certain Investments Held by Not-for-Profit Organizations", commonly known as "FAS 124", is an accounting standard issued during November 1995 by FASB, which became effective for entities with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1995.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: FAS 124 requires that, for investments in equity securities with readily determinable fair values and for all investments in debt securities, a not-for-profit organization must report them at fair value, with gains and losses included in a Statement of Activities. A narrow exception is made to allow limited held-to-maturity accounting for a not-for-profit organization if comparable business entities are engaged in the same industry.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, "Fair Value Measurements", commonly known as "FAS 157", is an accounting standard issued during September 2006 by FASB, which became effective for entities with fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: "The price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date".


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: FAS 157 only applies when another accounting rule requires or permits a fair value measure for that item. While FAS 157 does not introduce any new requirements mandating the use of fair value, the definition as outlined does introduce certain important differences.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: First, it is based on the exit price (for an asset, the price at which it would be sold (bid price)) rather than an entry price (for an asset, the price at which it would be bought (ask price)), regardless of whether the entity plans to hold the asset for investment or resell it later.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Second, FAS 157 emphasizes that fair value is market-based rather than entity-specific. Thus, the optimism that often characterizes an asset acquirer must be replaced with the skepticism that typically characterizes a dispassionate, risk-averse buyer.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: FAS 157's fair value hierarchy underpins the concepts of the standard. The hierarchy ranks the quality and reliability of information used to determine fair values, with level 1 inputs being the most reliable and level 3 inputs being the least reliable. Information based on direct observations of transactions (e.g., quoted prices) involving the same assets and liabilities, not assumptions, offers superior reliability; whereas, inputs based on unobservable data or a reporting entity's own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use are the least reliable. A typical example of the latter is shares of a privately owned company the value of which is based on projected cash flows.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Problems can occur when the market-based measurement does not accurately represent the underlying asset's true value. This can occur when a company is forced to calculate the selling price of these assets or liabilities during unfavorable or volatile times, such as a financial crisis. For example, if the liquidity is low or investors are fearful, the current selling price of a bank's assets could be much less than the value under normal liquidity conditions. The result would be a lowered shareholders' equity. This case occurred during the financial crisis of 2008/09 where many securities held on banks' balance sheets could not be valued efficiently as the markets had disappeared from them. During April 2009, however, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted on and approved new guidelines that would allow for the valuation to be based on a price that would be received in an orderly market rather than a forced liquidation, starting during the first quarter of 2009.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Although FAS 157 does not require fair value to be used on any new classes of assets, it does apply to assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value in accordance with other applicable rules. The accounting rules for which assets and liabilities are held at fair value are complex. Mutual funds and securities companies have recorded assets and some liabilities at fair value for decades in accordance with securities regulations and other accounting guidance. For commercial banks and other types of financial services companies, some asset classes are required to be recorded at fair value, such as derivatives and marketable equity securities. For other types of assets, such as loan receivables and debt securities, it depends on whether the assets are held for trading (active buying and selling) or for investment. All trading assets are recorded at fair value. Loans and debt securities that are held for investment or to maturity are recorded at amortized cost, unless they are deemed to be impaired (in which case, a loss is recognized). However, if they are available for sale or held for sale, they are required to be recorded at fair value or the lower of cost or fair value, respectively. (FAS 65 and FAS 114 cover the accounting for loans, and FAS 115 covers the accounting for securities.) Notwithstanding the above, companies are permitted to account for almost any financial instrument at fair value, which they might elect to do in lieu of historical cost accounting (see FAS 159, "The Fair Value Option").


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Thus, FAS 157 applies in the cases above where a company is required or elects to record an asset or liability at fair value.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: The rule requires a mark to "market", rather than to some theoretical price calculated by a computer — a system often criticized as "mark to make-believe". (Occasionally, for certain types of assets, the rule allows for using a model.)


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Sometimes, there is a weak market for assets which trade relatively infrequently - often during an economic crisis. During these periods, there are few, if any buyers for such products. This complicates the marking process. In the absence of market information, an entity is allowed to use its own assumptions, but the objective is still the same: what would be the current value of a sale to a willing buyer. In developing its own assumptions, the entity can not ignore any available market data, such as interest rates, default rates, prepayment speeds, etc.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: FAS 157 does not distinguish between non cash-generating assets, i.e., broken equipment, which can theoretically have zero value if nobody will buy them in the market – and cash-generating assets, like securities, which are still worth something for as long as they earn some income from their underlying assets. The latter cannot be marked down indefinitely, or at some point, can create incentives for company insiders to buy them from the company at the under-valued prices. Insiders are in the best position to determine the creditworthiness of such securities going forward. In theory, this price pressure should balance market prices to accurately represent the "fair value" of a particular asset. Purchasers of distressed assets should buy undervalued securities, thus increasing prices, allowing other Companies to consequently mark up their similar holdings.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Also new in FAS 157 is the idea of nonperformance risk. FAS 157 requires that in valuing a liability, an entity should consider the nonperformance risk. If FAS 157 simply required that fair value be recorded as an exit price, then nonperformance risk would be extinguished upon exit. However, FAS 157 defines fair value as the price at which you would transfer a liability. In other words, the nonperformance that must be valued should incorporate the correct discount rate for an ongoing contract. An example would be to apply higher discount rate to the future cash flows to account for the credit risk above the stated interest rate. The Basis for Conclusions section has an extensive explanation of what was intended by the original statement with regards to nonperformance risk (paragraphs C40-C49).


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: In response to the rapid developments of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the FASB is fast-tracking the issuance of the proposed FAS 157-d, Determining the Fair Value of a Financial Asset in a Market That Is Not Active.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Under Accounting Standards Codification, FASB's fair value accounting guidance has been codified as Topic 820.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: IFRS 13, "Fair Value Measurement", was adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board on May 12, 2011. IFRS 13 provides guidance for how to perform fair value measurement under International Financial Reporting Standards and took effect on January 1, 2013. It does not provide guidance as to when fair value should be used. The guidance is similar to the US GAAP guidance.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: In marking-to-market a derivatives account, at pre-determined periodic intervals, each counterparty exchanges the change in the market value of their account in cash. For Over-The-Counter (OTC) derivatives, when one counterparty defaults, the sequence of events that follows is governed by an ISDA contract. When using models to compute the ongoing exposure, FAS 157 requires that the entity consider the default risk ("nonperformance risk") of the counterparty and make a necessary adjustment to its computations.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: For exchange traded derivatives, if one of the counterparties defaults in this periodic exchange, that counterparty's account is immediately closed by the exchange and the clearing house is substituted for that counterparty's account.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Marking-to-market virtually eliminates credit risk, but it requires the use of monitoring systems that usually only large institutions can afford.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Stock brokers allow their clients to access credit via margin accounts. These accounts allow clients to borrow funds to buy securities. Therefore, the amount of funds available is more than the value of cash (or equivalents). The credit is provided by charging a rate of interest and requiring a certain amount of collateral, in a similar way that banks provide loans. Even though the value of securities (stocks or other financial instruments such as options) fluctuates in the market, the value of accounts is not computed in real time. Marking-to-market is performed typically at the end of the trading day, and if the account value decreases below a given threshold (typically a ratio predefined by the broker), the broker issues a margin call that requires the client to deposit more funds or liquidate the account.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: In Enron's natural gas business, the accounting had been fairly straightforward: in each time period, the company listed actual costs of supplying the gas and actual revenues received from selling it. However, when Skilling joined the company, he demanded that the trading business adopt mark-to-market accounting, claiming that it would represent "true economic value". Enron became the first nonfinancial company to use the method to account for its complex long-term contracts. Mark-to-market accounting requires that once a long-term contract has been signed, income is estimated as the present value of net future cash flow. Often, the viability of these contracts and their related costs were difficult to estimate. Owing to the large discrepancies between reported profits and cash, investors were typically given false or misleading reports. Under this method, income from projects could be recorded, although the firm might never have received the money, with this income increasing financial earnings on the books. However, because in future years the profits could not be included, new and additional income had to be included from more projects to develop additional growth to appease investors. As one Enron competitor stated, "If you accelerate your income, then you have to keep doing more and more deals to show the same or rising income." Despite potential pitfalls, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the accounting method for Enron in its trading of natural gas futures contracts on January 30, 1992. However, Enron later expanded its use to other areas in the company to help it meet Wall Street projections.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: For one contract, in July 2000, Enron and Blockbuster Video signed a 20-year agreement to introduce on-demand entertainment to various U.S. cities by year's end. After several pilot projects, Enron claimed estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, even though analysts questioned the technical viability and market demand of the service. When the network failed to work, Blockbuster withdrew from the contract. Enron continued to claim future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair William Isaac placed much of the blame for the subprime mortgage crisis on the Securities and Exchange Commission and its fair-value accounting rules, especially the requirement for banks to mark their assets to market, particularly mortgage-backed securities (MBS). A review found little evidence that fair-value accounting had caused or exacerbated the crisis.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: The debate occurs because this accounting rule requires companies to adjust the value of marketable securities (such as the MBS) to their market value. The intent of the standard is to help investors understand the value of these assets at a specific time, rather than just their historical purchase price. Because the market for these assets is distressed, it is difficult to sell many MBS at other than prices which may (or may not) be representative of market stresses, which may be less than the value that the mortgage cash flow related to the MBS would merit. As initially interpreted by companies and their auditors, the typically lesser sale value was used as the market value rather than the cash flow value. Many large financial institutions recognized significant losses during 2007 and 2008 as a result of marking-down MBS asset prices to market value.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: For some institutions, this also triggered a margin call, such that lenders that had provided the funds using the MBS as collateral had contractual rights to get their money back. This resulted in further forced sales of MBS and emergency efforts to obtain cash (liquidity) to pay off the margin call. Markdowns may also reduce the value of bank regulatory capital, requiring additional capital raising and creating uncertainty regarding the health of the bank.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: It is the combination of the extensive use of financial leverage (i.e., borrowing to invest, leaving limited funds in the event of recession), margin calls and large reported losses that may have exacerbated the crisis. If cash flow-derived value — which excludes market judgment as to default risk but may also more accurately represent "actual" value if the market is sufficiently distressed — is used (rather than sale value), the size of market-value adjustments required by the accounting standard would be typically reduced.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: On September 30, 2008, the SEC and the FASB issued a joint clarification regarding the implementation of fair value accounting in cases where a market is disorderly or inactive. This guidance clarified that forced liquidations are not indicative of fair value, as this is not an "orderly" transaction. Further, it clarifies that estimates of fair value can be made using the expected cash flows from such instruments, provided that the estimates represent adjustments that a willing buyer would make, such as adjustments for default and liquidity risks.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: Section 132 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which passed on October 3, 2008, restated the SEC's authority to suspend the application of FAS 157, and Section 133 required a report by the SEC which was delivered December 30, 2008.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: On October 10, 2008, the FASB issued further guidance to provide an example of how to estimate fair value in cases where the market for that asset is not active at a reporting date.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: On December 30, 2008, the SEC issued its report under Sec. 133 and decided not to suspend mark-to-market accounting.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: On March 16, 2009, FASB proposed allowing companies to use more leeway in valuing their assets under "mark-to-market" accounting. On April 2, 2009, after a 15-day public comment period and a contentious testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services subcommittee, FASB eased the mark-to-market rules through the release of three FASB Staff Positions (FSPs). Financial institutions are still required by the rules to mark transactions to market prices but more so in a steady market and less so when the market is inactive. To proponents of the rules, this eliminates the unnecessary "positive feedback loop" that can result in a weakened economy.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: On April 9, 2009, FASB issued an official update to FAS 157 that eases the mark-to-market rules when the market is unsteady or inactive. Early adopters were allowed to apply the ruling as of March 15, 2009, and the rest as of June 15, 2009.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: It was anticipated that these changes could significantly increase banks' statements of earnings and allow them to defer reporting losses. The changes, however, affected accounting standards applicable to a broad range of derivatives, not just banks holding mortgage-backed securities.


title: Mark-to-market accounting

text: During January 2010, Adair Turner, Chairman of the UK's Financial Services Authority, said that marking to market had been a cause of exaggerated bankers' bonuses. This is because it produces a self-reinforcing cycle during an increasing market that feeds into banks' profit estimates. Other academics, such as S.P. Kothari and Karthik Ramanna, have made similar arguments.


title: Boro people

text: Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Boros inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.


title: Boro people

text: Boros are officially listed as "Boro, Borokachari" scheduled tribe under the Constitution of India. Boros speak the Boro language, a Boro-Garo language of the Tibeto-Burman family, which is recognised as one of twenty-two Scheduled languages of India. Over two-thirds of the people are bilingual, speaking Assamese as second language. The Boro along with other cognate groups of Bodo-Kachari peoples are prehistoric settlers who are believed to have migrated at least 3000 years ago. Boros are mostly settled farmers, who have traditional irrigation, dong.


title: Boro people

text: The Boro people are recognised as a plains tribe in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, and have special powers in the Bodoland Territorial Region, an autonomous division; and also as a minority people.


title: Boro people

text: Boro is the self-designation or autonym of the community. "Boro" comes from "Bara-fisa", which means "son of Bara", and "Bara" stands for "man" or "male member" of the group. In the cognate language Kokborok, "Borok" means man ('k' being a suffix for nouns) and so logically, "Boro" would mean "man" even in the Boro language. Generally, the word "Boro" means a "man", in the wider sense "Boro" means a "human being" (but not specific to a female member of the family) in the languages used by the Bodo-Kachari peoples.


title: Boro people

text: After the breakup of Kamarupa around the 12th century till the colonial times (19th century) and beyond different groups that included the Boro people settled in different ecological regions but the constant movements of peoples led to the development of distinctive but hybrid cultural practices. According to , even as different state systems emerged, expanded, and fell—such as the Mughals, the Koch, the Ahoms, and British colonialism—the Boros resisted entry into their fiscal systems and moved slowly but continuously to avoid them. Due to the expansion of these states and the expansion of tenured peasantry, the Boros finally converged close to the forested regions of the lower Himalayan foothills.


title: Boro people

text: In this habitat, the Boros practised shifting cultivation for self-sustenance and controlled forest products. To cultivate in this difficult terrain the Boros developed innovative low-cost irrigation systems that supported shifting cultivation. Landholding, sowing and harvesting, irrigation, and hunting were all performed collectively. As those who controlled forest based produce, they emerged as intermediaries in the trade in these as well as other goods between the plains and the hills and complex relationships developed. The Boros remained shifting cultivators at least till the 18th century and then slowly became less mobile; even during the colonial period, most Boros refused permanent land tenure or made no effort to secure landholding documents.


title: Boro people

text: When the Koch kingdom consolidated its rule in the 16th century into the regions that the Boro people had settled in, it demarcated the region north of the Gohain Kamal Ali—which came to be called the Duars—as the region where non-Brahmin culture could thrive. The Ahoms too made special arrangements with Bhutan in the 17th/18th centuries to share administrative and fiscal responsibilities. But when the British banned forest lands from being used for cultivation in the last quarter of the 19th century the Boros suffered a major habitat loss since the forest lands historically used for shifting cultivation and the source of other produce suddenly became unavailable to them. To alienate indigenous peasants from their lands was a stated colonial aim, to make them available as labour in other enterprises.


title: Boro people

text: Boros identity formation began in the colonial period, when the Boro elite and intelligentsia began differentiating themselves from the Assamese caste-Hindu society. The Boro, as well as many other communities as also much of the indigenous elite, were not exposed to education till the end of the 19th century, and it was by the early 20th century when a class of Boro/Kachari publicists finally emerged—a small Kachari elite formed in the early 20th century from among traders, school teachers and contractors. Foremost among them was Kalicharan Brahma, a trader from Goalpara who established a new monotheistic faith called "Brahma-ism" and most importantly, claimed for himself and his peers a new Bodo Identity. Whereas earlier the only avenue for social mobility was conversion into a low-caste Hindu group, the Boros have now created an additional avenue that was respectful and independent, and by the 1921 census the Boros began giving up their tribal names and identifying themselves as "Boro" by caste and language and "Brahma" by religion. Additional avenues, via conversion to Christianity, were already available by the late 19th century especially with the evangelical work of Sidney Endle who is also known for his tome "The Kacharis", and this formed a parallel stream of Boro articulation till much later times.


title: Boro people

text: "Bodo" was a term first reported by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1847) as a endonym that, he speculated, encompassed a wide group of peoples, and this notion of a wide group was picked up by Kalicharan Brahma and his peers. In parallel there were those like Jadunath Khakhlari who rejected "Bodo" as a neologism, and emphasized the use of the name "Kachari" instead and pointed to the contributions of the Kachari language to Assamese to lay claim to it and to the political legacy of the past. Those of the Kacharis who preferred to progress socially by initiation into the Ekasarana Dharma are called Sarania Kachari and are not considered as Boros today.


title: Boro people

text: The period from 1919 saw the emergence of different Boro organizations: "Bodo Chatra Sanmilan" (Bodo Students Association), "Kachari Chatra Sanmilan" (Kachari Students Association), "Bodo Maha Sanmilan" (Greater Bodo Association), "Kachari Jatiyo Sanmilan" (Kachari Community Association), etc. These organizations pushed divergent means for social and political progress. For example, "Bodo Chatra Sanmilan" advocated giving up tribal attributes and wanted women to follow the ideals of "Sita" of Ramayana. Even as self-assertive politics was on, the Boros were not ready to severe their relationship with the greater Assamese society, with even Kalicharan Brahma advocating Assamese as the medium of instruction in schools, and Boro associations seeking patronage from Assamese figures who showed sympathy for their cause. In the absence of an acknowledged past history of state formation, the associations felt particularly pressed to show that the Boros were not primitive as some other tribal groups and at the same time did not fall into the caste-Hindu hierarchy.


title: Boro people

text: The demand for community rights was made for the first time when at the 1929 Simon Commission the Boro leaders evoked colonial imagery of backward tribes and requested protection in the form of reserved representation in local and central legislatures. The Boro delegation to the Simon Commission included, among others, Kalicharan Brahma and Jadav Khakhlari. The delegation submitted that Goalpara should remain with Assam and should not be included with Bengal; and that the Boros were culturally close to the Assamese.


title: Boro people

text: "Tribe", and "Plains Tribes", were new social categories introduced by the colonial authorities—the only human category in the pre-colonial times was "jati"—and the elites from these social groups, including that from the Boros, used these categories for political articulation. The "Tribal League", a full political organisation, emerged in 1933 as the common platform for all "plains tribes" of the Brahmaputra valley. This formation excluded the "hills tribes" which were not allowed political participation. The Tribal League, which included Boro leaders such as Rabi Chandra Kachari and Rupnath Brahma, succeeded in protecting the Line system in 1937 against the proposal by the Muslim League.


title: Boro people

text: The Boro language is a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It belongs to the Boro–Garo group of the Tibeto-Burman languages branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. It is an official language of the state of Assam and the Bodoland Territorial Region of India. It is also one of the twenty-two languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.


title: Boro people

text: Traditionally, Boros practised Bathouism, which is the worshiping of supreme God, known as "Obonglaoree". The shijou tree (in the genus "Euphorbia") is taken as the symbol of Bathou and worshiped. It is also claimed as the supreme god. In the Boro language, Ba means five and thou means deep. Since Boros believe in the five mighty elements of God – land, water, air, fire, and ether – the number five has become significant in the Bathou culture, which is similar to the five elements of other Asian religions.


title: Boro people

text: According to Bathouism, before the creation of the universe there was simply a great void, in which the supreme being 'Aham Guru', Anan Binan Gosai or Obonglaoree existed formlessly. Aham Guru became tired of living a formless existence and desired to live in flesh and blood. He descended on this great void with all human characteristics and created the universe.


title: Boro people

text: In addition to Bathouism, Boro people have also been converted to Hinduism, especially Hoom Jaygya. For this worship through fire ceremony, a clean surface near a home or courtyard is prepared. Usually, worship offerings include a betel nut called a 'goi' and a betel leaf called a 'pathwi' or 'bathwi' and rice, milk, and sugar. Another important Hindu festival, the Kherai Puja, where an altar is placed in a rice field, is the most important festival of the Boros. However, caste and dowry practices are not practised by the majority of Boro Hindus, who follow a set of rules called Brahma Dharma.


title: Boro people

text: Christianity is followed by around 10% of the Boros and is predominantly of the Baptist denomination. The major Boro Churches associations are the Boro Baptist Convention and Boro Baptist Church Association


title: Boro people

text: The history of the Boro people can be explained from folk traditions. According to Padma Bhushan winner Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, mythologically, Boros are "the offspring of son of the Vishnu (Baraha) and Mother-Earth (Basumati)" who were termed "Kiratas" during the Epic period.


The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous years. The disclosure of widespread misuse of allowances and expenses permitted to Members of Parliament (MPs) aroused widespread anger among the UK public and resulted in a large number of resignations, sackings, de-selections and retirement announcements together with public apologies and the repayment of expenses. Several members or former members of both the House of Commons, and members of the House of Lords, were prosecuted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment.


title: United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal

text: A February 2008 Freedom of Information Act request for the release of details of MPs' expenses claims was allowed by an Information Tribunal but challenged by the House of Commons Authorities on the grounds that it was "unlawfully intrusive". In May 2008 the High Court (England and Wales) ruled in favour of releasing the information. In April 2009 the House of Commons authorities announced that publication of expenses, with certain information deemed "sensitive" removed, would be made in July 2009. But before this could take place the expenses records and documentation were leaked to "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper, which began publishing details in daily instalments from 8 May 2009. These disclosures dominated the British media for weeks. On 18 June 2009 the details of all MPs' expenses and allowance claims approved from 2004 to 2008 were published on the official Parliament website with detail such as addresses, claims that were not approved for payment and correspondence between MPs and the parliamentary fees office removed, bringing further accusations of unnecessary secrecy and allegations that this might have prevented serious abuses from being disclosed.


text: Since most claims revolved around MPs' second homes in London, a panel was established to investigate all claims relating to the "second homes" allowance between 2004 and 2008. Headed by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg, the panel published its findings on 12 October as MPs returned to Westminster following the summer recess. Each MP received a letter stating whether or not he or she would be required to repay any expenses claimed. Details of voluntary repayments by MPs amounting to almost £500,000 were also officially published.


text: It was announced on 5 February 2010 that criminal charges of false accounting were to be prosecuted against four parliamentarians, all later jailed. On 19 May charges were brought against two more, on 13 and 14 October 2010 two more faced legal proceedings. Three peers were suspended on 18 October 2010 due to their expenses claims.


text: In the United Kingdom, MPs can claim expenses, including the cost of accommodation, 'wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the performance of a Member's parliamentary duties'.


text: In January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force, allowing members of the public to request disclosure of information from public bodies. One early request came from the journalist Jon Ungoed-Thomas. Another request came from journalist and freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke. Both asked for details of the expenses claimed by certain MPs to be released. The requests were subsequently passed over to the Information commissioner, who joined the journalists' cases together and ordered the release of some information on 15 June 2007. House of Commons authorities objected to this order in June 2007 and MPs had, in May 2007, voted in favour of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill which sought to exempt MPs from the 2000 act. The House of Commons voted 96 to 25 in favour of the Exemption of the House of Commons amendment but the bill was ultimately withdrawn prior to a second reading in the House of Lords because peers were unwilling to sponsor the bill.


text: In February 2008, after referral to an Information Tribunal, it was held that Commons authorities would release information on 14 MPs. This decision was subsequently appealed against, delaying the release of information.


text: In January 2009 Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons, tabled a motion which would exempt MPs' expenses from being disclosed under a Freedom of Information request, in order to prevent any further disclosure of information. Labour MPs were placed under a three line whip in order to force the motion through the Commons. However, opposition parties stated they would vote against the proposals, and large-scale public opposition emerged. The proposals were ultimately dropped on 21 January 2009. The Commons authorities announced that full disclosure of all MPs' expenses would be published on 1 July 2009.


text: Ultimately the media disclosure made the legal appeal moot; the appeal was finally heard at the High Court, which ruled on 16 May 2008 in favour of releasing the information. No appeal was lodged against the High Court ruling, and the requested details were made public on 23 May 2008.


text: Prior to "The Daily Telegraph"'s revelations in May and June 2009 and the official publication of expenses claimed in June 2009, and during the Freedom of Information cases, there were a variety of exposés that covered the controversial John Lewis List (a list considered to indicate amounts that could be claimed without question) and individual MPs' expenses claims. Examples of items publicised prior to the May 2009 disclosures included:


text: In May 2009, two months prior to the official disclosure of full expenses claims, "The Daily Telegraph" obtained a full copy of all expenses claimed. The "Telegraph" began publishing, in instalments from 8 May 2009, certain MPs' expenses. The "Telegraph" justified the publication of the information because it contended that the official information due to be released would have omitted key information about re-designating of second-home nominations.


text: The information in the leaks published by "The Daily Telegraph" originated from the parliamentary fees office, and had been offered to other newspaper organisations for more than £150,000. In September 2009, the assistant editor of the "Telegraph", Andrew Pierce, revealed in an interview that the newspaper had paid £110,000 for the information, and described it as 'money well spent in the public interest'. "The Times" and "The Sun" had turned down an offer to buy the leaked expenses file.


text: Shortly after the publication of the information, the House of Commons authorities asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate. The Police declined, on the grounds that any attempted prosecution might meet with a successful public interest defence.


text: Alongside specific allegations of incorrect claims such as claims for the cost of mortgages which it transpired had already been repaid in full the "Telegraph" alleged that parliamentary '' expenses rules gave wide scope for a number of abuses, especially those related to costs of maintaining two residences, one in the constituency and one in London. Areas of questionable claims highlighted by the "Telegraph" included:


text: The "Telegraph" first revealed expenses of the governing Labour Party, beginning with the Cabinet on 8 May 2009, before releasing details of the claims by junior ministers and Labour backbenchers. Further allegations were made on 14 May.


text: On 11 and 12 May, publication focused on the frontbench of the Conservative Party followed by the claims of backbench Conservative MPs whom the newspaper dubbed 'the grandees' of the party. On 12 May, the Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, announced that all questionable claims by the Shadow cabinet would be repaid.


text: The Liberal Democrats expenses were revealed last of the three main parties, followed by Sinn Féin members' claims in which it was reported that the five Sinn Féin MPs together had claimed nearly £500,000 in second home allowances, despite never taking up their seats at Westminster due to the party's abstentionist policy. Sinn Féin stated that its members often have to travel to London on parliamentary business.


text: The claims published by "The Daily Telegraph" ultimately covered the entire gamut of Parliament—all major parties and several minor ones, ministers (including the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, cabinet and shadow cabinet members) through to backbenchers, and members of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. A number of members were expelled from their parties, or would not stand for re-election; some members repaid, in part or whole, sums they had previously claimed. Expenses claims to be repaid averaged £3,000. The highest repayment by an MP was £42,458.21 by Barbara Follett. There were also payments to the UK tax authority for taxes on possible gains or income previously not paid.


text: Former SAS officer Major John Wick, the owner of a London-based risk management company has been named as the middle-man for an unnamed whistleblower; he has spoken of the need to bring the information he had been given into the public domain. Wick stated that:


text: Wick went on to explain that following legal advice and review, and soul searching over loyalties, he had felt the matter was of sufficient concern to merit publication in a 'serious newspaper', and following discussions with a number of papers, the "Telegraph" had been granted exclusive access to study the material for 10 days from 30 April 2009.


text: There is an unresolved issue with the data itself, with different numbers being cited by different sources. "The Daily Telegraph" stated that 4 million pieces of information existed; "The Guardian" stated there were 2 million ("two million documents in all, including copies of expense claim forms, handwritten comments scrawled in margins, even attached sticky notes").


text: "The Daily Telegraph" had a team of journalists based in a training room at the "Telegraph" offices over London Victoria station. Training Room 4—"tucked off a dead-end corridor"—became nicknamed "the bunker."


text: Robert Winnett's team of lobby journalists, Whitehall editors, reporters, and social affairs correspondents, initially composed of Martin Beckford, Christopher Hope, Rosa Prince, Jon Swaine, and Holly Watt. James Kirkup joined the team once he returned from jury duty.


text: The team grew to "more than a dozen," as stories were published. Joining the team were a picture researcher and a designer, as well as deputy editor Tony Gallagher, head of news Chris Evans, news editor Matt Bailey, and head lawyer Arthur Wynn Davies.


text: In May 2009, major national newspapers such as "The Times" described the resulting controversy as "Parliament's darkest day" and a "full blown political crisis", reporting upon cross-party firings and resignations, an exodus of shamed MPs, the prospect of criminal and tax evasion charges, and a motion of no confidence being prepared against the Speaker.


text: Public interest in the expenses debate led to the 14 May 2009 edition of the BBC political and current affairs television programme "Question Time" recording its highest viewing figures in its 30-year run, of 3.8 million, with audience members heckling guest panellist Margaret Beckett. The following week's edition on 21 May was brought forward for a special edition into the prime time slot of 9 pm BST.


text: Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP, criticised the "Telegraph"'s handling, which she described as "picking off a few MPs each day, emailing at noon, giving five hours to reply, recording the conversation, not allowing them to speak, telling them they are going to publish anyway". She stated that the stress felt by some MPs was akin to "torture". Her comment was rejected by senior Conservatives. (See also Effect on MPs and on the political structure below)


text: A widespread public reaction was heightened as a result of several factors: the incident broke in the face of an economic recession and financial crisis, under an already unpopular government, only weeks before the 2009 European Parliament elections.


text: The resignation of Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons, followed after he was pressured to step down for approving the allowances system that MPs have manipulated with questionable claims of expenses. The pressure and viable threats of a proposed vote of no confidence in Martin ultimately forced his resignation. Michael Martin's response to the handling of the expense crisis was not well received by the majority of the House. He attacked MPs in Parliament who defended "The Daily Telegraph" for publishing details of expenses and allowances. Martin then concluded his part in the debate over how to handle the expense scandal, by announcing that the Commons clerk had referred the matter of the leaked information to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Overall, Martin appeared to be more concerned with the nature of the leak of the information, which led to the "Telegraph"'s publishing details of MPs' expenses and allowances, rather than offering an anticipated apology or explanation.


text: The majority of the MPs felt Martin's defensive approach and attacks on various MPs as whistleblowers and the backbenchers was a clear indication that Martin was no longer able to lead the House with the required impartiality. MPs from his own majority party, Labour, and the minority opposition party, the Conservatives, felt he had lost the confidence of the public and the House in general. Martin was the first Speaker to be forced out of the office by a motion of no confidence since John Trevor in 1695. Despite apologising to the public on behalf of the House of Commons on 18 May, Martin announced his resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons and as Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East the following day, both effective 21 June.


text: The Labour Party formed a three-person panel of its National Executive Committee (NEC) in order to investigate some of its MPs who were referred to it over expenses allegations, which quickly became known as the "Star Chamber" (a reference to the court of the same name employed by English monarchs to dispense summary justice in the 16th and 17th centuries). Individual cases (in alphabetical order) include:


text: On 20 May 2009 Harriet Harman announced the creation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, intended to manage Members' expenses at an "arm's length" from the House, ending the historical self-policing by MPs of their expenses. The IPSA will be responsible for: paying MPs' annual salaries; drawing up, reviewing, and administering an MPs' allowances scheme; providing MPs with publicly available information relating to taxation issues; preparing the MPs' code of conduct relating to financial interests; and determining the procedures for investigations and complaints relating to MPs. Henceforth, there will therefore be two codes of conduct for MPs to follow: a non-statutory code drawn up by the House of Commons itself; and a statutory code drawn up by the IPSA.


text: The IPSA will take over some of the functions previously undertaken by the Fees Office. It will not, however, determine the level of MPs' pay. That will remain a matter for the Senior Salaries Review Body which annually informs the Speaker of the House of Commons of the percentage increase to be awarded to MPs.


text: The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has been criticised for severely complicating the expenses claims process for MPs and their staff. Former Member of Parliament Paul Flynn recalled his experiences with IPSA upon its creation: "A monthly thirty-minute chore was complicated by ISPA into endless hours of tedious frustrating trawling through a bureaucratic morass of irrational rules" and he believed, "A simple five-part claims system was atomised into a hundred headings and sub-headings".


text: A surge in proposed independent candidates and enhanced profile of minority parties were noted in the press. In various cases these candidates stood in recognition of the loss of public goodwill suffered by established MPs and parties, and proposed to stand on "clean slate" or anti-sleaze platforms. In the immediate aftermath of the revelations, a Populus survey said that only 45% of people were committed to voting in the next general election (although 54% said they wanted an election as soon as possible), which had fallen by around a quarter since before the disclosures began. The Conservatives still maintained their lead over Labour, but support for the BNP was up. The poll showed that 19% of voters were prepared to vote outside of the main three parties, with the British National Party, Green Party of England and Wales, and UK Independence Party also hoping to capitalise, and was particularly pertinent because of the subsequent European Parliament election.


text: The expenses disclosures were published over an extended period of time, with the focus moving to different MPs daily. As a result, there was significant pressure on MPs who did not know whether, and for what, they would be discussed, as well as a general deepening hostility that grew over a relatively long period.


text: On 22 May 2009 Nadine Dorries, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire went on record in saying that many of her colleagues "feared a suicide" and that MPs were "beginning to crack". She likened the atmosphere in Westminster to that surrounding Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch hunts" of suspected Communists during the 1950s. The comment led to a forceful rebuke by Conservative leader David Cameron, who stated that the anger and mood were warranted and that MPs should be more concerned about what the public were thinking.


text: On 23 May 2009 the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams warned about the potential effect of the controversy on the democratic process, and that "the continuing systematic humiliation of politicians itself threatens to carry a heavy price in terms of our ability to salvage some confidence in our democracy." On the same day writing in The Times, columnist and former MP Matthew Parris reflected that "extravagance, genuine mistake, sly acquisitiveness and outright criminal fraud are now jumbled together in the national mind as though there were no moral differences".


text: On 11 June 2009 ex-communities secretary Hazel Blears, who chose to resign from the government just before the English county council and European elections, said that she regretted the timing of her decision. She also stated that her decision to wear a brooch with the words 'rocking the boat' on the same day as the resignation was a "stupid thing to do". Speaking to the "Manchester Evening News" she said of the brooch "It was a brooch my husband had given me. I'd had four weeks of intense media pressure, the like of which I have never known, not just on me but on my husband, my dad, my family. At that point I'd had enough. It was a stupid thing to do but I think it was just trying to put a brave face on—not going out cowed on the basis of expenses claims that genuinely are not true."


text: On 25 May 2009, Health Secretary Alan Johnson (seen as a possible candidate for Labour leadership) stated that one response to the controversy should be a full review of the electoral and political system. He proposed as part of this, a referendum on changing the electoral system to Alternative vote plus.


text: David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader of the opposition, set out his proposal for reform in "The Guardian". He proposed strengthening the power of backbenchers over the government, and other measures as part of 'a radical redistribution of power'. Writing in "The Guardian" on 27 May 2009, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg suggested cancelling MPs holidays until 'the constitutional crisis sparked by the row over expenses is resolved'. Setting out a week by week plan, Clegg made wide-ranging proposals, from placing a cap on individual donations to political parties, to replacing the House of Lords with an elected Senate, to allowing a referendum on electoral reform.


text: The major political parties and some minority parties (not UKIP) have stated they will publicly disclose information on expenses claims by UK Members of the European Parliament. The proposed disclosures vary between parties.


text: A study of the possible influence of the voting system on MPs behaviour concluded that those MPs with the safest seats were twice as likely as those with the most marginal seats to be involved in the expenses row.


text: The UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has identified around 40 MPs, including the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, as having claimed for their tax return costs. A minority of these have affirmed they paid tax on the sums involved; HMRC have confirmed they are investigating former Chancellor Alistair Darling's tax claims, along with those of others involved. Darling had claimed the costs of preparing his tax return as an expense of his office, although tax law regards them as personal costs. Lord Millett, a former Law Lord, described Darling's claim as "astounding", and guidance to ministers in 2005 had stated that such expenses were not claimable for tax purposes.


text: The Economic and Specialist Crime branch of the Metropolitan Police Service have started investigating claims made by a few MPs.


text: Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales announced on 5 February 2010 that three Labour MPs, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, and Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield would face criminal charges of false accounting in relation to their expense claims. He said that the Crown Prosecution Service had concluded that "there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned". All four denied wrongdoing and said they would fight the charges. A joint statement from Morley, Chaytor and Devine said "we totally refute any charges that we have committed an offence and we will defend our position robustly", while Hanningfield said "all the claims I have ever made were made in good faith".


text: David Chaytor (Labour) appealed along with Jim Devine and Elliot Morley to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom that his actions were protected by parliamentary privilege. The Supreme Court ruled against them and he subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting a total of £18,350, and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.


text: Jim Devine (Labour) pleaded not guilty and was found guilty on two counts but cleared of a third (relating to £360) on 10 February 2011. He had fraudulently claimed a total of £8,385 and


text: Eric Illsley (Labour) pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting totalling £14,000 and was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 12 months imprisonment.


text: Denis MacShane (Labour) was jailed for six months on 23 December 2013 for expenses fraud, after admitting submitting 19 fake receipts amounting to £12,900, making him the fifth MP to get a prison sentence as a result of the scandal.


text: Margaret Moran (Labour). On 6 September 2011 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that Moran would face 21 criminal charges 15 of false accounting and six charges of forgery. She was summoned to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 September 2011 where she was reported to have wept throughout the hearing.


text: Moran was sent to the Crown Court at Southwark for trial on 30 October 2011. She failed to appear and a 'not guilty' plea was entered by default in her absence. A date for the trial of an issue was set for 18 April with a directions hearing set for 15 December. On 15 December 2011 Mr Justice Saunders was informed that psychiatrists considered Moran unfit to plead with the defence contending that the trial should therefore not proceed. In April 2012, after receiving evidence from a number of psychiatrists, the judge determined that Moran was not fit to plead. On 13 November 2012 a jury found her guilty of the acts alleged. In December, she was sentenced to a two-year supervision and treatment order, the judge commenting that although some might feel she had "got away with it", the court had acted "in accordance with the law of the land and on the basis of the evidence that it hears". Her false claims totalled more than £53,000, the largest fraud of any MP in the expenses scandal.


text: Elliot Morley (Labour) admitted two charges of dishonesty and was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 20 May 2011 to 16 months imprisonment. His false claims totalled £31,333.54. On 8 June 2011, he was expelled from the Privy Council, the first expulsion since Edgar Speyer in 1921, and thereby removing his right to use the honorific title The Right Honourable.


text: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Conservative) pleaded not guilty to six charges of false accounting, but was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on 25 January 2011. His false claims amounted to £11,277 and on 31 May 2011 he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.


text: Paul White, Baron Hanningfield (Conservative) pleaded not guilty to six charges of false accounting, but was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court on 26 May 2011. He was given a 9-month sentence which was confirmed when his appeal against the conviction and sentence failed in July 2011. As a low-risk prisoner he was released in September 2011 on home detention after serving a quarter of the sentence. After repaying the wrongly claimed £30,254.50 he returned to the House of Lords in April 2012.


text: An independent panel chaired by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg was established following the row, with a remit to examine all claims relating to the second homes allowance between 2004 and 2008. The panel published its findings on 12 October as MPs returned to Westminster following the summer recess, with each MP receiving a letter in which they were informed whether or not they would be required to repay any expenses they had claimed. Among those who had to repay expenses were Prime Minister Gordon Brown who claimed £12,415 for cleaning and gardening costs and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg who was asked to pay back £910 from a £3,900 claim he made for gardening between 2006 and 2009. Conservative leader David Cameron was asked to provide more information regarding over-claiming in 2006 when he changed his mortgage, he had already repaid £218. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith apologised to the House of Commons after a separate investigation found that she had breached expenses rules over claims made on her second home.


text: MPs from all main political parties expressed their anger at Legg's decision to retroactively enforce the rules, meaning some payouts already allowed were now treated as violations. Many senior MPs questioned Legg's authority and cast doubt on the legality of his findings. It was reported that some MPs, including Tory Jonathan Djanogly would challenge the requests to repay their claims. But both the Labour and Conservative leaders urged their party members to pay any overpaid expenses back. Gordon Brown said that MPs should "deal with" the retroactive rules, while David Cameron warned that any member of the Conservative Party who was unwilling to comply with the rules would not be able to stand for the party at the next general election.


text: At the 2010 British Press Awards, "The Daily Telegraph" was named the "National Newspaper of the Year" for its coverage of the MPs expenses scandal, which was also referred to as the "Scoop of the Year". William Lewis won "Journalist of the Year" for his reporting role as well.


text: In May 2010 it was reported in "The Daily Telegraph" that a number of MPs and their staff have been caught attempting to edit their personal Wikipedia pages to remove references to their expenses claims. Wikipedia staff found that a number of IP addresses associated with the Parliamentary Estate had been attempting to remove potentially embarrassing information surrounding MPs expenses claims from their Wikipedia profiles. The article made specific allegations against Chris Grayling (Con), Margaret Moran (Lab) and Joan Ryan (Lab).


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: Joker: Folie à Deux is an upcoming American musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, DC Studios, Bron Creative and Joint Effort, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is based on Joker and other characters appearing in DC Comics publications, serving as the sequel to "Joker" (2019). The film stars Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as Arthur Fleck / Joker, alongside Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener.


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: Additionally, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey have been cast in undisclosed roles.


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: The 2019 film "Joker" was intended to be a standalone with no sequels, although Warner Bros. intended for it to launch DC Black, a line of DC Comics-based films unrelated to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise with darker, more experimental material; similar to the DC Black Label comics publisher. While director Todd Phillips said in August 2019 that he would be interested in making a sequel, depending on the film's performance and if Joaquin Phoenix is interested, he later clarified that "the movie's not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that's it." In October 2019, Phoenix spoke to Peter Travers of possibly reprising the role of Arthur, centering around Travers' asking of Phoenix if he considers Joker to be his "dream role." Phoenix stated, "I can't stop thinking about it ... if there's something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting," and concluded, "It's nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie. I don't know that there is [more to do] ... Because it seemed endless, the possibilities of where we can go with the character."


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: In November 2019, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that a sequel was in development, with Phillips, Silver, and Phoenix expected to reprise their duties. However, "Deadline Hollywood" reported the same day that "The Hollywood Reporter" story was false and that negotiations had not even begun yet. Phillips responded to the reports by saying that he had discussed a sequel with Warner Bros. and it remained a possibility, but it was not in development. Phillips also confirmed that the 2022 film "The Batman" would not be set in the same continuity as "Joker". During an interview with "Variety" at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Phillips expressed interest in a spin-off focusing on Batman, saying, "It's a beautiful Gotham. What I would like to see someone tackle is what Batman looks like from that Gotham. I'm not saying I'm going to do that. What was interesting to me about the inclusion of Batman in our movie was, 'What kind of Batman does that Gotham make?' That's all I meant by that."


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: In June 2022, Phillips announced that the sequel was in development, with a script by him and Silver. The film was also revealed to be titled "Joker: Folie à Deux". Later that month it was announced Lady Gaga was in talks to portray Harley Quinn and that the film would be a musical. Shortly afterward, Gaga confirmed that she would star in the film. In August, it was reported Zazie Beetz was in negotiations to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond in the film. Beetz was confirmed to reprise her role in September, alongside Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Jacob Lofland. Gleeson joined the project out of his admiration for both Phoenix's "indelible" performance in the first film and Gaga, though he admitted to being "kinda intimidated" as to what he had to do for his role. In October, Harry Lawtey was reported by "Deadline Hollywood" to have been cast in the film in what was reported as a "big role".


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: Principal photography began on December 10, 2022, with Phillips releasing a first look on his Instagram account.


title: Joker: Folie à Deux

text: "Joker: Folie à Deux" is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on October 4, 2024, by Warner Bros Pictures.


The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy refers to the controversy surrounding the name and logo of the Chicago Blackhawks, a National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team without permissions from or consultations with local Indigenous communities, is a topic of public controversy in the United States and Canada. Since the 1960s, as part of the indigenous civil rights movements, there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and their supporters targeting the more prominent use of such names and images by professional franchises such as the Cleveland Guardians formerly known as the "Indians" of Major League Baseball (MLB) (in particular their "Chief Wahoo" logo) that was officially discontinued in 2016; the Washington Commanders formerly known as the "Redskins" of the National Football League (NFL), the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and MLB's Atlanta Braves, the latter two attracting criticism of "the tomahawk chop" often performed by their fans. Like other teams with tribal mascots, there are calls from Indigenous activists and organizations to change the Blackhawks' name and logo and eliminate tribal mascots and imagery throughout sports. In contrast to generic names used by other teams, Blackhawks refers to a World War I-era U.S. Army division which was named for prominent Illinois-based Native American chief Black Hawk.


title: Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy

text: Professional organizations representing psychologists, sociologists, school counselors, anthropologists, and educators have published resolutions opposing the use of Native American mascots as harmful and discriminatory. Psychologist Stephanie Fryberg argues that sports mascots and images, rather than being mere entertainment, are important symbols with deeper psychological and social effects. Stereotyping may directly affect the academic performance and self-esteem of Native American youth, whose people face high rates of suicide, unemployment, and poverty. Euro-Americans exposed to mascots may be more likely to believe not only that such stereotypes are true, but that Native Americans have no identity beyond these stereotypes. Research demonstrates the harm of stereotyping, with studies showing that exposure to any stereotypes increased the likelihood of stereotypical thinking with regard to other groups.


text: The National Congress of American Indians, The American Indian Center of Chicago, The Chi-Nations Youth Council and over 1,500 Native organizations and advocates from over 150 federally recognized tribes across the country, including members of the Sac and Fox Nation, support changing the team name and logo.


text: Members of Black Hawk's family have spoken out opposing the use of Black Hawk as a mascot and caricature logo.


text: Since July 2020, headdresses have been banned from being worn at Blackhawk home games. The team has stated that they believe that both the name and logo symbolize the importance of Black Hawk's legacy.


text: The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Chicago Blackhawks was named in honor of the U.S. 86th Infantry Division, which was nicknamed the "Blackhawk Division" after Black Hawk, a Native American chief who was based in present-day Illinois; the team's founder, Frederic McLaughlin, having served in that division.


text: Black Hawk was a leader of the Sauk who sided with the British in the War of 1812 and later attempted to regain tribal land in the Black Hawk War of 1832. Opponents of the logo say that adoption of his name for the 86th Infantry, the hockey team, and later for the Blackhawk helicopter are an example of designating certain Native Americans as "worthy adversaries".


text: Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), who was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom for decades of American Indian advocacy and is President of the Morning Star Institute, says the Blackhawks have escaped the scrutiny given to other teams using Native imagery because hockey is not a cultural force on the level of football. American Indian organizations have called for an end to all Indian-related mascots and that she found the hockey team's name and Indian head symbol to be offensive. "It lacks dignity," she said. "There's dignity in a school being named after a person or a people. There's dignity in a health clinic or hospital. There's nothing dignified in something being so named (that is used for) recreation or entertainment or fun." The National Congress of American Indians also opposes the Blackhawks' logo, as it does all Native American mascots. In 2010, sports columnist Damien Cox called on the franchise to retire the "racially insensitive" logo, saying that: "Clearly, no right-thinking person would name a team after an aboriginal figure these days any more than they would use Muslims or Africans or Chinese or any ethnic group to depict a specific sporting notion."


text: In 2015, Mark Chipman, chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets decided to ban fake Native headdresses at games after meeting with First Nations leaders. The meeting took place in response to a complaint by a Jets fan after seeing a Blackhawks fan in a headdress.


text: The Blackhawks have worked with the American Indian Center (AIC) to help inform their community and fan base by sharing Native American culture and history. Scott Sypolt, Executive Counsel for the American Indian Center weighed in on the logo and name controversy by stating, "There is a consensus among us that there's a huge distinction between a sports team called the Redskins depicting native people as red, screaming, ignorant savages and a group like the Blackhawks honoring Black Hawk, a true Illinois historical figure."


text: However, this stance is markedly different from the one previously taken by the American Indian Center, with the shift coming only in the past few years. In 2010, for instance, Joe Podlasek stated that, "The stance is very clear. We want the Chicago Blackhawks logo to change. For us, that's one of our grandfathers. Would you do that with your grandfather's picture? Take it and throw it on a rug? Walk on it and dance on it?" John Blackhawk, Chairman of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, has suggested that the change in position for the AIC may be connected to contributions the Blackhawks organization has recently begun making to the center: "We all do contributions, but we don't do it for the sake of wanting to be forgiven for something we've done that's offensive."


text: In 2019, the American Indian Center of Chicago ended all ties to the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, stating they will no longer affiliate "with organizations that perpetuate stereotypes through the use of 'Indian' mascots." The AIC noted in its statement that they "previously held a relationship with the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation with the intention of educating the general public about American Indians and the use of logos and mascots. The AIC, along with members of the community have since decided to end this relationship" and stated that "going forward, AIC will have no professional ties with the Blackhawks, or any other organization that perpetuates harmful stereotypes."