title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The archaeological evidence of the Toltec intrusion into Seibal, Peten, suggests to some the theory of foreign invasion. The latest hypothesis states that the southern lowlands were invaded by a non-Maya group whose homelands were probably in the gulf coast lowlands. This invasion began in the 9th century and set off, within 100 years, a group of events that destroyed the Classic Maya. It is believed that this invasion was somehow influenced by the Toltec people of central Mexico. However, most Mayanists do not believe that foreign invasion was the main cause of the Classic Maya collapse; they postulate that no military defeat can explain or be the cause of the protracted and complex Classic collapse process. Teotihuacan influence across the Maya region may have involved some form of military invasion; however, it is generally noted that significant Teotihuacan-Maya interactions date from at least the Early Classic period, well before the episodes of Late Classic collapse.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The foreign invasion theory does not answer the question of where the inhabitants went. David Webster believed that the population should have increased because of the lack of elite power. Further, it is not understood why the governmental institutions were not remade following the revolts, which happened under similar circumstances in places like China. A study by anthropologist Elliot M. Abrams came to the conclusion that buildings, specifically in Copán, did not require an extensive amount of time and workers to construct. However, this theory was developed during a period when the archaeological evidence showed that there were fewer Maya people than there are now known to have been. Revolutions, peasant revolts, and social turmoil change circumstances, and are often followed by foreign wars, but they run their course. There are no documented revolutions that caused wholesale abandonment of entire regions.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: It has been hypothesized that the decline of the Maya is related to the collapse of their intricate trade systems, especially those connected to the central Mexican city of Teotihuacán. Preceding improved knowledge of the chronology of Mesoamerica, Teotihuacan was believed to have fallen during 700–750, forcing the "restructuring of economic relations throughout highland Mesoamerica and the Gulf Coast". This remaking of relationships between civilizations would have then given the collapse of the Classic Maya a slightly later date. However, after researchers learned more about the events and the periods when they occurred, it is believed that the strongest Teotihuacan influence was during the 4th and 5th centuries. In addition, the civilization of Teotihuacan started to lose its power, and maybe abandoned the city, during 600–650. This differs greatly from the previous belief that Teotihuacán power decreased during 700–750. But since the new decline date of 600–650 has been accepted, the Maya civilizations are now thought to have lived on and prospered "for another century and more" than what was previously believed. Rather than the decline of Teotihuacan directly preceding the collapse of the Maya, their decline is now seen as contributing "to the 6th-century 'hiatus'".


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The disease theory is also a contender as a factor in the Classic Maya collapse. Widespread disease could explain some rapid depopulation, both directly through the spread of infection itself and indirectly as an inhibition to recovery over the long run. According to Dunn (1968) and Shimkin (1973), infectious diseases spread by parasites are common in tropical rainforest regions, such as the Maya lowlands. Shimkin specifically suggests that the Maya may have encountered endemic infections related to American trypanosomiasis, "Ascaris", and some enteropathogens that cause acute diarrheal illness. Furthermore, some experts believe that, through development of their civilization (that is, development of agriculture and settlements), the Maya could have created a "disturbed environment", in which parasitic and pathogen-carrying insects often thrive. Among the pathogens listed above, it is thought that those that cause the acute diarrheal illnesses would have been the most devastating to the Maya population, because such illness would have struck a victim at an early age, thereby hampering nutritional health and the natural growth and development of a child. This would have made them more susceptible to other diseases later in life, and would have been exacerbated by an increasing dependence on carbohydrate-rich crops. Such ideas as this could explain the role of disease as at least a possible partial reason for the Classic Maya Collapse.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The drought theory holds that rapid climate change in the form of severe drought (a megadrought) brought about the Classic Maya collapse. Paleoclimatologists have discovered abundant evidence that prolonged droughts occurred in the Yucatán Peninsula and Petén Basin areas during the Terminal Classic. Large droughts likely caused a decline in agricultural fertility due to regular seasonal drought drying up surface waters, as well as causing thin tropical soils to erode when deprived of vegetation and forest cover.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Climatic factors were first implicated in the collapse as early as 1931 by Mayanists Thomas Gann and J. E. S. Thompson. In 1995, Hodell, Curtis and Brenner published a paleoclimate record from Lake Chichancanab on the Yucatán Peninsula that showed an intense, protracted drought occurred in the 9th century AD and coincided with the Classic Maya collapse. In "The Great Maya Droughts", Richardson Gill gathered and analyzed an array of climatic, historical, hydrologic, tree ring, volcanic, geologic, and archeological research, and suggested that a prolonged series of droughts likely caused the Classic Maya collapse. The drought theory provides a comprehensive explanation, because non-environmental and cultural factors (excessive warfare, foreign invasion, peasant revolt, less trade, etc.) can all be explained by the effects of prolonged drought on Classic Maya civilization.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: [Studies of] Yucatecan lake sediment cores ... provide unambiguous evidence for a severe 200-year drought from AD 800 to 1000 ... the most severe in the last 7,000 years ... precisely at the time of the Maya Collapse.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The role of drought in the collapse of Classic Maya civilization has remained controversial, however, largely because the majority of paleoclimate records only provide qualitative data, for example whether conditions were simply "wetter" or "drier". The lack of quantitative data makes it difficult to predict how climatic changes would have affected human populations and the environment in which they lived. In 2012, a study attempted to quantify the drought using four detailed paleoclimate records of the drought event. Semi-quantitative rainfall estimates were achieved by correlating oxygen isotopes measurements in carbonate cave formations (speleothems) with modern seasonal rainfall amounts recorded in the nearby city of Mérida, northern Yucatán, which were extrapolated back to the time of the Terminal Classic Period. The authors suggest that modest rainfall reductions, amounting to only 25 to 40 percent of annual rainfall, may have been the tipping point to the Maya collapse. Although this analysis referred to the estimated decrease in rainfall as "modest", subsequent studies suggest that the same data could represent a 20 to 65 percent decrease in rainfall.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: A study published in the journal "Science" in 2018 provides the most robust estimate of the magnitude of rainfall reduction to date. Evans and co-authors developed a method to measure the different isotopes of water trapped in the hydrate mineral, gypsum, a mineral that forms in lakes of the Yucatán Peninsula during times of drought when the water level is lowered. When gypsum forms, water molecules are incorporated directly into its crystalline structure, and this water records the different isotopes that were present in the ancient lake water at the time of its formation. The "fossil water" inside the crystals allowed Evans and his co-authors to analyze the properties of the lake water during each drought period. Based on these measurements, the researchers found that annual precipitation decreased between 41 and 54 percent during the period of the Maya civilisation's collapse, with periods of up to 70 percent rainfall reduction during peak drought conditions, and that relative humidity declined by 2 to 7 percent compared to today. This quantitative climate data can be used to better predict how these drought conditions may have affected agriculture, including yields of the Maya's staple crops, such as maize.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Critics of the drought theory question the spatial patterns of drought and its relation to the timing of the degradation of Maya city-states. Archaeological research demonstrates that while many regions of the Maya Lowlands were indeed abandoned during the eighth to eleventh centuries CE, other regions experienced only minor disruption, or even flourished. Although the spatial patterns of societal collapse are complex, population centers continued in many coastal regions and in the northern Yucatán Peninsula, including as Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Coba, whereas most states in the central regions collapsed and landscapes were depopulated. The reasons for this spatial heterogeneity in societal disintegration are largely unknown, but researches have hypothesised that central regions may have been more affected because of a very deep water table (which would have exacerbated the effects of drought), or that the longevity of the northern regions was likely facilitated by access to the coast, and thus trade routes.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Other critics of the megadrought theory, including David Webster, note that much of the evidence of drought comes from the northern Yucatán and not the southern part of the peninsula, where Classic Maya civilization flourished. Webster states that if water sources were to have dried up, then several city-states would have moved to other water sources. That Gill suggests that all water in the region would have dried up and destroyed Maya civilization is a stretch, according to Webster, although Webster does not have a precise competing theory explaining the Classic Maya Collapse. Since publication, further records from the more southerly states have strengthened the argument of a synchronous drought occurring across the Yucatán Peninsula.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Climatic changes are, with increasing frequency, found to be major drivers in the rise and fall of civilizations all over the world. Professors Harvey Weiss of Yale University and Raymond S. Bradley of the University of Massachusetts have written, "Many lines of evidence now point to climate forcing as the primary agent in repeated social collapse." In a separate publication, Weiss illustrates an emerging understanding of scientists:


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Within the past five years new tools and new data for archaeologists, climatologists, and historians have brought us to the edge of a new era in the study of global and hemispheric climate change and its cultural impacts. The climate of the Holocene, previously assumed static, now displays a surprising dynamism, which has affected the agricultural bases of pre-industrial societies. The list of Holocene climate alterations and their socio-economic effects has rapidly become too complex for brief summary.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: A number of causal mechanisms for droughts in the Maya area have been proposed, but there is no consensus among researchers regarding a single causal mechanism. Instead, it is likely that multiple mechanisms were involved, including solar variability, shifts in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, changes in tropical cyclone frequency and deforestation.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: The Maya are often perceived as having lived in a rainforest, but technically, they lived in a seasonal desert without access to stable sources of drinking water. The exceptional accomplishments of the Maya are even more remarkable because of their engineered response to the fundamental environmental difficulty of relying upon rainwater rather than permanent sources of water. "The Maya succeeded in creating a civilization in a seasonal desert by creating a system of water storage and management which was totally dependent on consistent rainfall." The constant need for water kept the Maya on the edge of survival. "Given this precarious balance of wet and dry conditions, even a slight shift in the distribution of annual precipitation can have serious consequences." Water and civilization were vitally connected in ancient Mesoamerica. Vernon Scarborough, an archaeologist and specialist in pre-industrial land and water usage practices, believes water management and access were critical to the development of Maya civilization.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Some ecological theories of Maya decline focus on the worsening agricultural and resource conditions in the late Classic period. It was originally thought that the majority of Maya agriculture was dependent on a simple slash-and-burn system. Based on this method, the hypothesis of soil exhaustion was advanced by Orator F. Cook in 1921. Similar soil exhaustion assumptions are associated with erosion, intensive agricultural, and savanna grass competition.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: More recent investigations have shown a complicated variety of intensive agricultural techniques utilized by the Maya, explaining the high population of the Classic Maya polities. Modern archaeologists now comprehend the sophisticated intensive and productive agricultural techniques of the ancient Maya, and several of the Maya agricultural methods have not yet been reproduced. Intensive agricultural methods were developed and utilized by all the Mesoamerican cultures to boost their food production and give them a competitive advantage over less skillful peoples. These intensive agricultural methods included canals, terracing, raised fields, ridged fields, chinampas, the use of human feces as fertilizer, seasonal swamps or "bajos", using muck from the "bajos" to create fertile fields, dikes, dams, irrigation, water reservoirs, several types of water storage systems, hydraulic systems, swamp reclamation, swidden systems, and other agricultural techniques that have not yet been fully understood. Systemic ecological collapse is said to be evidenced by deforestation, siltation, and the decline of biological diversity.


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: In addition to mountainous terrain, Mesoamericans successfully exploited the very problematic tropical rainforest for 1,500 years. The agricultural techniques utilized by the Maya were entirely dependent upon ample supplies of water, lending credit to the drought theory of collapse. The Maya thrived in territory that would be uninhabitable to most peoples. Their success over two millennia in this environment was "amazing."


title: Classic Maya collapse

text: Anthropologist Joseph Tainter wrote extensively about the collapse of the Southern Lowland Maya in his 1988 study "The Collapse of Complex Societies". His theory about Maya collapse encompasses some of the above explanations, but focuses specifically on the development of and the declining marginal returns from the increasing social complexity of the competing Maya city-states. Psychologist Julian Jaynes suggested that the collapse was due to a failure in the social control systems of religion and political authority, due to increasing socioeconomic complexity that overwhelmed the power of traditional rituals and the king's authority to compel obedience.


title: Monster movie

text: A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature. Typically, movie monsters differ from more traditional antagonists in that many exist due to circumstances beyond their control; their actions are not entirely based on choice, potentially making them objects of sympathy to film viewers.


title: Monster movie

text: The most common aspect of a monster movie is the struggle between a human collective of protagonists against one or more monsters, who often serve as the antagonistic force. In Japanese cinema, giant monsters known as "kaiju" often take up this role.


title: Monster movie

text: The monster is often created by a folly of mankind – an experiment gone wrong, the effects of radiation or the destruction of habitat. Or the monster is from outer space, has been on Earth for a long time with no one ever seeing it, or released (or awakened) from a prison of some sort where it was being held.


title: Monster movie

text: The monster is usually a villain, but can be a metaphor of humankind's continuous destruction; giant monsters since the introduction of "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" have for a time been considered a symbol of atomic warfare, for instance. On the contrary, Godzilla began in this fashion yet as time moved on his reputation quickly grew into that of a cultural icon to the Japanese, as much as Superman is a cultural symbol to America, with a number of films presenting Godzilla as a sort of protagonist who helps protect humans from other, more malevolent monsters.


title: Monster movie

text: The attempts of the humans to destroy the monster would at first be the usage of an opposing military force – an attempt that would antagonize the monster even more and prove useless (a cliché associated with the genre). The "Godzilla" series utilized the concept of a superweapon built by Japanese scientists to suppress him or any of the monsters he fights.


title: Monster movie

text: Historically, monsters have been depicted using stop motion animation, puppets, or creature suits. In the modern day, many monster movies have used CGI monsters.


title: Monster movie

text: The first feature-length films to include what are regarded as monsters were often classed as horror or science fiction films. The 1915 German silent film "The Golem", directed by Paul Wegener, is one of the earliest examples of film to include a creature. The German Expressionist "Nosferatu" in 1922, and the depiction of a dragon in Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen in 1924, followed tradition. In the 1930s, American film studios began to produce more successful films of this type, usually based on gothic tales such as "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" in 1931, both heavily influenced by German Expressionism, followed by "The Mummy" (1932) and "The Invisible Man" (1933). Classified as Horror films, they included iconic monsters.


title: Monster movie

text: Special effects animator Willis O'Brien worked on the 1925 fantasy adventure "The Lost World", based on the novel of the same name. The book and film featured dinosaurs, the basis for many future movies. He began work on a similar film known as "Creation" in 1931, but the project was never completed. Two years later, O'Brien produced special effects for the 1933 RKO film "King Kong", directed by Merian C. Cooper. Since then, "King Kong" has not only become one of the most famous examples of a monster movie, but also is considered a landmark film in the history of cinema. The monster King Kong became a cultural icon, being featured in many other films and media since then.


title: Monster movie

text: King Kong went on to inspire many other films of its genre and aspiring animators. A notable example was Ray Harryhausen, who would work with Willis O’Brien on "Mighty Joe Young" in 1949. Following the re-release of "King Kong" in 1952, Harryhausen would later work on "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" in 1953. The film was about a fictional dinosaur, a Rhedosaurus, that was awakened from frozen ice in the Arctic Circle by an atomic bomb test. It is considered to be the film which kick-started the 1950s wave of “creature features” and the concept of combining nuclear paranoia with the genre. Such films at the time included "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954), "Them!" (1954), "It Came from Beneath the Sea" (1955), "Tarantula" (1955), "The Deadly Mantis" (1957) and "20 Million Miles to Earth" (1957). "The Giant Behemoth" (1959) was an unacknowledged remake of "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms".


title: Monster movie

text: During the 1950s, Japanese film studio Toho produce their first successful kaiju films. Their first successful Kaiju film was "Godzilla" (1954), which adapted the nuclear concept from "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" from a Japanese perspective, rooted in real-life Japanese historical events, such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident in 1954. The film's success spawned the "Godzilla" franchise, the longest-running film franchise in history. The titular monster has become a cultural icon, and one of the most recognizable monsters in cinema history. It also inspired a wave of Kaiju films, such as "Rodan" from this time.


title: Monster movie

text: "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), a re-edited Americanized version of "Godzilla" for the North American market, notably inspired Steven Spielberg when he was a youth. He described "Godzilla" as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies" because "it made you believe it was really happening."


title: Monster movie

text: A parallel development during this era was the rise of the Z movie, films made outside the organized motion picture industry with ultra-low budgets. Grade-Z monster movies such as "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1959) and "The Creeping Terror" (1964) are often listed among the worst films ever made because of their inept acting and amateurish special effects.


title: Monster movie

text: After 1960, American monster movies were less popular yet were still produced. However, Japanese kaiju films were popular during this decade. In 1962, "King Kong vs. Godzilla" was a kaiju film produced by Toho featuring both Godzilla and King Kong. In 1965, Japanese studio Kadokawa Pictures started their own kaiju franchise to rival that of Godzilla, in the form of "Gamera".


title: Monster movie

text: Ray Harryhausen continued to work on a number of films such as "The Valley of Gwangi" (1969), while Toho continued production of Godzilla and other kaiju films like "Mothra" (1961).


title: Monster movie

text: "The Monster Times" film magazine was founded in 1972. In 1973, "The Monster Times" conducted a poll to determine the most popular screen monster. Godzilla was voted the most popular movie monster, beating Count Dracula, King Kong, Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein's monster.


title: Monster movie

text: In 1975, Steven Spielberg directed "Jaws", which while labeled as a “thriller”, features a large, animatronic great white shark. "Jaws" was an aquatic monster movie influenced by earlier monster films such as "King Kong" and "Godzilla". "Jaws" is one of the few monster movies based on a real incident: the New Jersey shark-attacks of 1916 (from which Peter Benchley got the idea for the story). Director John Guillermin remade "King Kong" in 1976. The xenomorph alien had its first appearance in the 1979 science-fiction/horror film "Alien", directed by Ridley Scott. That was the same year when magazine Fangoria started being published, in response to the popularity of this genre.


title: Monster movie

text: Since the mid-1970s, with Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, and into the 1980s, monster movies like Larry Cohen's "Q, the Winged Serpent" (1982), Tom Holland's "Fright Night" (1985), George Romero's "Creepshow" and Ron Underwood's "Tremors" (1989) used comedy as a scaring device. Just before the technological revolution that made possible to create digital special effects thanks to CGI, the last generation of SFX artists impressed many with the quality and realism of their creations: Rick Baker, Stan Winston and Rob Bottin are among the most remarkable names in the industry.


title: Monster movie

text: 1993 saw the release of "Jurassic Park", based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton and directed by Steven Spielberg, which set a new benchmark in the genre with innovative use of CGI and tried-and-tested animatronics to recreate dinosaurs. The film was also influenced by "Godzilla". "Jurassic Park" was an enormous critical and commercial success and at one point held the title of the highest-grossing film of all time.


title: Monster movie

text: The success of "Jurassic Park" and its four sequels, "", "Jurassic Park III", "Jurassic World", and "", made sure that dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex and the Velociraptor established themselves in the public psyche. The movies also helped generate renewed interest in paleontology. While the films showed allegedly authentic dinosaurs which had been recreated by Genetic engineering and could be understood as science fiction, advanced contemporary animation technology made it also possible to revive medieval legends about dragons. The successful feature film "Dragonheart" showed a friendly dragon voiced by Sean Connery.


title: Monster movie

text: Traditional monster movies re-emerged to a wider audience during the late 1990s. An American remake of "Godzilla" was made in 1998. The Godzilla featured in that film was considerably different from the original and many Godzilla fans disliked it, but it was a box office success. In 2002, a French monster film "Brotherhood of the Wolf" became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades. In 2004, Godzilla was temporarily retired following "". Director Peter Jackson, inspired by the original "King Kong" and Ray Harryhausen films, remade "King Kong" in 2005, which was both a critical and commercial success. In 2006, a South Korean monster film, "The Host", involved more political overtones than most of its genre.


title: Monster movie

text: The 2008 monster movie, "Cloverfield", a story in the vein of classic monster movies, focuses entirely on the perspective and reactions of the human cast and is regarded by some as a look at terrorism and the September 11 attacks metaphorically. The following year "" was released, in which the legendary Loch Ness Monster is portrayed as a playful creature menaced by overly aggressive humans. The British Independent Film Award winning film "Monsters", in a manner similar to "Cloverfield", presented the story of a monster epidemic from the perspective of the humans affected by it. Although not entirely focused on monsters, blockbusters such as "The Avengers" and "Prometheus" included scenes that featured monsters posing threats to the protagonists.


title: Monster movie

text: In 2013, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures released the Guillermo del Toro film "Pacific Rim". Though the film was heavily inspired by the Kaiju and Mecha anime genres, del Toro wished to create something original with the film rather than to reference previous work. The film was a moderate success in the United States but a box office hit overseas. It received generally positive reviews with significant praise for the film's special effects. A sequel, "", was released in 2018.


title: Monster movie

text: In 2014, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures released "Godzilla", a reboot of the "Godzilla" franchise directed by Gareth Edwards. Legendary originally intended to produce a trilogy with Edwards attached to direct all films. Shortly afterwards, Legendary announced a shared cinematic universe between Godzilla and King Kong, titled "MonsterVerse". 2 years later in 2016, Toho rebooted the Godzilla franchise with "Shin Godzilla". "" was released in March 2017, a reboot of the "King Kong" franchise and second film in Legendary's MonsterVerse. The third film in the MonsterVerse, "" was released on May 31, 2019. Michael Dougherty directed the film and featured Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. The fourth film in the MonsterVerse, "Godzilla vs. Kong", was released on March 31, 2021. It is directed by Adam Wingard.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, it is the third most populous London borough.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Ealing is the third largest London borough in population and eleventh largest in area, covering part of West London and a small part of Northwest London. It bridges Inner and Outer London. Ealing's administrative centre is in Ealing Broadway. Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority. Ealing has long been known as the "Queen of the Suburbs" due to its many parks and tree-lined streets; the term was coined in 1902 by Ealing's borough surveyor, Charles Jones. This is reflected by the tree emblem seen on the Ealing Council logo and Ealing's coat of arms.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London Borough of Hounslow to the south.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The modern London borough was formed in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963. At the same time, the act abolished several local councils, some of which had covered areas now covered by the newly created London borough of Ealing. These were: the Municipal Borough of Ealing (which included Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Perivale, Tyford Abbey and Northolt), the Municipal Borough of Southall and the Municipal Borough of Acton.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Ealing is also the primary setting for "The Sarah Jane Adventures", being the location of Sarah Jane Smith's home.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The London Borough of Ealing is represented by three Members of Parliament (MPs), elected in the following constituencies:


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: There are four fire stations within the London Borough of Ealing. Southall and Northolt have similar-sized station grounds and both house two pumping appliances. Southall attended some 700 incidents more than their Northolt counterparts in 2006/07. Ealing, with two pumping appliances, and Acton, one pump and two fire investigation units, are the other two appliances in the area. The ward of Northfield had over forty malicious calls made from it, more than twice as many as any other ward within Ealing.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Ealing has a total of 91 state-run schools and nurseries. There are 13 high schools under the domain of the local education authority, 12 of which are either comprehensive, foundation or voluntary-aided, and one city academy.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: A number of successful independent schools, including St Benedict's School (co-ed), the Barbara Speake Stage School (co-ed, ages 4–16), St Augustine's Priory (girls) and Notting Hill & Ealing High School (girls), are also located within the borough. The King Fahad Academy is an independent Saudi funded school within the borough.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The borough of Ealing is ethnically diverse. In 2011, 49% gave their ethnicity as white, 30% as Asian, 15% as Black and 4.5% as of mixed or multiple ethnicity, the remaining identifying as Arab or other ethnicity. The main religions of the borough's population in 2011 were Christianity (44%), Islam (16%) Hinduism (9%) and Sikhism (8%); 15% stated they had no religion and a further 7% did not state any religion.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The borough has a long-standing Irish community which is particularly visible through the number of established Irish pubs in the borough and the popularity of Gaelic games in the community. Country flags for example can be seen flown on the outside or hung inside of various pubs in the area, especially on St Patrick's Day. St Benedict's School has also had a long term affiliation with the Irish community in Ealing, as it is a Catholic school. Many Irish members of the Ealing borough attend Ealing Abbey which is linked to St Benedict's School.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Ealing has a large British-Polish community that owes its origins to the World War II refugees and Polish armed forces finding both cheap accommodation and work in the Acton area, which then had a high proportion of London's light engineering companies involved with government war contracts. This community has grown considerably including more shops with authentic Polish food since Poland joined the European Union and its migrant workers have been able to come to the UK freely; in 2011 the borough had the UK's highest proportion of Polish speakers at 6% of the population. This has also led to an increase in Polish social centres in the borough. The population is highly concentrated in Acton, Greenford and Perivale.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Southall in the west of the borough is home to one of the largest South Asian communities in the UK, the majority of whom are Sikhs. The community first developed in the 1950s. The Asian population makes up 80% of Southall Broadway ward as of 2011, a contrast compared to the 8% of Southfield ward in the borough's east.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The most noticeable Afro-Caribbean populations in the borough are in the areas of Northolt and Acton. Of the residents in the Northolt West End ward (as of 2011), 19.4% of them were of Afro-Caribbean heritage, with a relatively large proportion of these being Somali. 16.1% of the South Acton ward was black, whilst 15.9% of the East Acton ward was black. The Caribbean population of Ealing Borough is also mostly concentrated in these two wards of Acton.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: In a speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the Indian Journalists' Association and of Indian independence on 15 August 1947 North Ealing MP Stephen Pound said: "There is North Ealing, South Ealing and Darjeeling" referring to the relatively large Asian population.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: As of the 2011 census, Hanger Hill had, at 13%, the largest proportion of people aged 65 and over. The lowest were East Acton and Southall Green, at 8% each.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: Ealing is home to Ealing Studios, and was a major centre of the UK film industry. Brentford F.C. draw a large amount of local support from the borough, although Griffin Park is situated just outside the borough, in the neighbouring London Borough of Hounslow.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The borough is represented in Rugby Union by Ealing Trailfinders and in Rugby league by the London Broncos.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The borough has four non-League football clubs Hanwell Town F.C. and Southall F.C. which both play at Reynolds Field in Perivale. the other two clubs are London Tigers F.C., which plays at the Avenue Park Stadium in Greenford and North Greenford United F.C., which plays at Berkeley Fields.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The borough is also home to one of the country's top athletics clubs, with Ealing Southall & Middlesex AC being based at Perivale Athletics Track.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: The club has a successful history, with many national and international honours, including the double Olympic gold medallist, Kelly Holmes.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 21.8% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 18.0%; bus, minibus or coach, 9.2%; on foot, 4.7%; train, 4.0%; work mainly at or from home, 3.0%; bicycle, 2.0%.


title: London Borough of Ealing

text: In April 2009 the council voted to call on Transport for London to look into the proposal for a North and West London Light Railway.


title: Nape

text: The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is "nuchal", as in the term "nuchal rigidity" for neck stiffness.


title: Nape

text: In many mammals the nape bears a loose, non-sensitive area of skin, known as the scruff, by which a mother carries her young by her teeth, temporarily immobilizing it during transport. In the mating of cats the male will grip the female's scruff with his teeth to help immobilize her during the act, a form of pinch-induced behavioral inhibition.


title: Nape

text: In traditional Japanese culture, the was one of the few areas of the body (other than face and hands) left uncovered by women's attire. The nape of a woman's neck held a strong attraction for many Japanese men (see ).


title: Compassionate release

text: Compassionate release is a process by which inmates in criminal justice systems may be eligible for immediate early release on grounds of "particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing". Compassionate release procedures, which are also known as medical release, medical parole, medical furlough, and humanitarian parole, can be mandated by the courts or by internal corrections authorities. Unlike regular parole, compassionate release is not based on a prisoner's behavior or sentencing, but on medical or humanitarian changes in the prisoner's situation.


title: Compassionate release

text: Obtaining a compassionate release for a prison inmate is a process that varies from country to country (and sometimes even within countries) but generally involves petitioning the warden or court to the effect that the subject is terminally ill and would benefit from obtaining aid outside of the prison system, or is otherwise eligible under the relevant law.


title: Compassionate release

text: Compassionate release is most often granted to inmates with terminal illnesses that cause life expectancies of time periods less than between six and eighteen months, depending on the jurisdiction. Other allowable causes for compassionate release may be medical but non-terminal, such as incurable debilitating mental or physical conditions that prevent inmate self-care or a combination of advanced age and irreversible age-related conditions that prevent functioning in a prison setting. Prisoners with illness such as Alzheimer's would be considered eligible for release.


title: Compassionate release

text: Grounds for compassionate release may also be familial, although not all jurisdictions offer this option. Under United States Federal law for example inmates may be released to care for a minor child or debilitated spouse in the absence of other family caregivers. This is intended to be subsequent to the death or debilitation of the child's primary caregiver in the former case or the finding of permanent mental or physical disability of the spouse in the latter. While there are clear advantages to the individual in this type of release, there are many procedural obstacles to this type of petition which lead to it rarely being granted.


title: Compassionate release

text: Debate as to the relative merits of compassionate release is ongoing, and major arguments are presented below.


title: Compassionate release

text: Arguments for expansion of compassionate release programs generally address the benefit to terminally ill prisoners as well as cost savings to the state. Terminal illness which requires special care or treatment is a major concern for prison inmates who may be unable to access the same type or quality of care in prison as they would outside of an institutional setting. These illnesses can further shorten the lifespan of the individual while he or she is in prison, a setting that already has poorer health outcomes and a lower life expectancy than the general population. The Bureau of Prisons estimates that the United States would save $5.8 million per year by releasing 100 people on compassionate release per year, and overcrowding would be lessened. Those who are approved for compassionate release have a lower tendency to recommit crime, which is attributed to those being released being in extremely poor health, as well as possibly due to the careful screening process inmates go through for risk of recidivism before approval for compassionate release can be granted.


title: Compassionate release

text: Compassionate release relies on good faith, requiring that the released inmates do not continue committing crimes after they have been released; while many of these criminals are in very poor health, some are not incapacitated, and their reintroduction into society puts them back into a setting where they would be free to commit crimes. A questionnaire study by Jennifer Boothby and Lorraine Overduin on attitudes towards compassionate release suggested that the general public have negative attitudes towards the compassionate release of prisoners, based on responses from 163 undergraduate students in an introductory psychology course. This suggests that negative attitudes toward compassionately released prisoners, and attitudes towards prisoners themselves, could be an obstacle to those seeking an expansion of this type of resentencing, and that there is a negative attitude in midwestern university undergraduates over mingling with those convicted of crimes meriting time potentially up to life sentences. Another argument against compassionate release is fairness and concern over justice for time served; for those that were placed in prison justifiably, the question arises of how long they should be forced to serve for their crimes before they are allowed renewed access to their community for health and support, and state and federal laws generally stipulate guidelines that address minimum proportions of sentences that must be served prior to eligibility for compassionate release.


title: Compassionate release

text: The process of obtaining compassionate release on medical grounds has been criticized in multiple states for being highly subjective on a case-by-case basis, relying heavily on specific doctors' opinions and for not having sufficiently clear-cut guidelines as to what defines a patient as being eligible for compassionate release. This often results in calls for reform, fueled by statistics regarding the rate of compassionate release and the illnesses of the patients who do not receive it.


title: Compassionate release

text: A major roadblock to the implementation of compassionate release is its reliance on medical trial. Because the criteria for medically based petitions for compassionate release are, by necessity, dependent on medicine and doctors, individual medical professionals have an inordinate amount of power in determining each compassionate release case. Because of the high degree of variation among individual medical professionals, the high variation that is translated into each decision is a major issue in many of the current compassionate release systems. The inconsistency of current systems of compassionate release is a common flaw that hinders increased use of compassionate release.


title: Compassionate release

text: For prisoners suffering from terminal illnesses, alternative options include programs that distribute health materials and segregation of affected individuals and expanded hospice programs. Hospice programs within the prisons have been used, although this does not address the humanitarian aspect of allowing inmates to die with dignity among family and friends, and the issue of cost to the state still looms large. Specialized medical care in a prison setting is difficult to achieve and is a costly proposition. With the prison population aging and in poorer health than the general population, as previously mentioned, cost may become a prohibitive factor, increasing the attraction of compassionate release where possible.


title: Compassionate release

text: For non-medical cases such as care for a family member in the absence of other available parties, practical alternatives are difficult to identify. A minor child or disabled spouse for whom no other caregiver is available is likely to end up as a ward of the courts or in institutional care if the compassionate release request is not granted.


title: Compassionate release

text: As of 2009, Corrections systems with compassionate release procedures included the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons (often known as the BOP), Scotland, England and Wales, China, France, New Zealand and 36 of the 50 U.S. state prison systems.


title: Compassionate release

text: New Zealand legislation includes a provision for prisoners to apply for compassionate release from prison. Section 41 of the Parole Act 2002 provides that the Parole board may, on referral by the chairperson, direct that an offender be released on compassionate release on either of the following grounds: (a) the offender has given birth to a child or (b) the offender is seriously ill and is unlikely to recover. The Department of Corrections is not responsible for decisions regarding compassionate release of prisoners. When a prisoner is seriously ill and unlikely to recover, an application will be made to the New Zealand Parole Board where an independent decision will be made. All prisoners in New Zealand are eligible for compassionate release. The length of a sentence or eligibility for parole are not factors that will affect the prisoner's ability to apply for compassionate release.


title: Compassionate release

text: In November 2016, a high-profile prisoner, Vicki Ravana Letele was granted compassionate release from prison. Letele was sentenced to three years and two months for ten charges of dishonestly using a document. The application for compassionate release was based on Letele's diagnosis of metastatic cancer. Her illness was terminal with a life expectancy of 6 months. The chairman of the Parole Board, Hon J W Gendall initially declined Letele's release on compassionate grounds, citing that "it is quite often the case that prisoners contract or are diagnosed with serious illness but if they can be adequately treated and managed in prison and death is not imminent that compassionate release is not appropriate. It is not the case that family and others may reasonably believe that the prisoner should be in care of his/her family at such difficult times."


title: Compassionate release

text: The serving Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2016, Sir John Key, voiced his opinion on the Letele case following widespread public outcry and protest. Key stated that "I would have thought we were a pretty compassionate country. We do need to take on board the criminal activity that the person’s undertaken but I don’t think we want to see people dying in prison if, on compassionate grounds, it’s reasonable they be returned home." Initial conflicting views between the Ministry of Justice and the Parole Board resolved on 10 November 2016, when the Parole Board under s41(3) of the Parole Act 2002 ordered the compassionate release of Letele. The decision factored in that there was no offending history, the prison security classification was low and Letele was plainly seriously ill and unlikely to recover.


title: Compassionate release

text: In the last financial year of 2015/2016 seven prisoners were released on compassionate grounds, all cases determined on the basis that they were seriously ill and unlikely to recover. Figures from the years 2006 – 2013 revealed a total of twenty-five applications, with three of those declined. The application process for compassionate release can be difficult to achieve in a timely manner, which is one of the reasons that very few applications are received. Other reasons include the likelihood of a prisoner dying in prison before an application is approved, and an absence of reasonable and available support from family if a prisoner is released from prison. Furthermore, long-stay prisoners may not wish to be released; the prison may be regarded as home, and fellow inmates as family.


title: Compassionate release

text: In practice, the Parole Board only releases prisoners on compassionate release if they are seriously ill and unlikely to recover. However, the Act also provides for compassionate release of a prisoner when they have given birth to a child. Prison management first assess the prisoner's suitability, taking account of security classification, the welfare of the prisoner and the child, and the views of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki (formerly Child Youth and Family). A report is then submitted to the Parole Board. However, the establishment of mother and baby units in prisons has made this provision practically void. The reason it has not been removed from the Act is because it would violate New Zealand's International Human Rights obligations and be in contravention of s19 of the Bill of Rights Act; Freedom from Discrimination, if it were not available. Comparatively, compassionate release is based on underlying principles of human dignity. Dignity in this sense refers to the right of a human being to have inherent equal and inalienable rights to achieve social progress and better standards of living. Preventing the release of seriously ill prisoners would undeniably violate their human dignity.


title: Compassionate release

text: The 2004 review of Human Rights in New Zealand stated that the vulnerability of people in detention was one of New Zealand's most pressing human rights issues. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child United Nations Convention on the Right's of the Child (UNCROC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are the relevant conventions in relation to compassionate release. In practice, the Department of Corrections supports a child's contact with parents who are in prison when it is in the best interests of the child. Prisoners are encouraged to have positive relationships with their children so they can better reintegrate on release. These principles uphold New Zealand's obligations under Article 9 of UNCROC: Separation from Parents, and includes several programs including ‘Mothers with Babies Units’, ‘Mothers and Bonding Facilities’ and importantly, ‘Prison Activities Centres’ that teach fathers parenting skills.


title: Compassionate release

text: Similarly, under New Zealand's obligations in Article 12 of CEDAW improvements were made in women's correctional facilities to include ‘Mothers with Babies Units’ allowing mothers to keep their children with them in prison up until the age of two, where it was previously 9 months. The aim of this is to achieve a reduction in re-offending for the women and increase their children's life chances. Compassionate release must be available to prisoners following the birth of a child in order to meet the obligations that are specified in these conventions. In practice, the incorporation of units that enable a relationship between a mother and child in prison are consistent with the obligations that New Zealand has in the context of international human rights. This explains the apparent non-existence of compassionate release on the ground that a prisoner has given birth.


title: Compassionate release

text: England and Wales allow applications for early release on compassionate grounds for prisoners serving determinate or indeterminate sentences. Three general principles are applied during the decision-making process: the safety of the public, new information not available to the court, and whether there was a specific purpose for the early release. The Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 s10 provides that the Secretary of State may at any time release a prisoner if they are satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist which justify the prisoner's release on compassionate grounds. Compassionate release will be considered where the prisoner is terminally ill, bedridden or severely incapacitated. Where terminal illness is the case, no specific timescale is strictly followed, however a life expectancy of three months or less is suggested.


title: Compassionate release

text: Prisoners serving determinate sentences are also eligible for compassionate release based on tragic family circumstances. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences are excluded from this provision and are subject to further restricting criteria in an application for compassionate release on the basis of terminal illness. They will be assessed on the risk of re-offending, particularly of a sexual or violent nature, whether further imprisonment would reduce their life expectancy, whether adequate arrangements are available outside prison, and whether early release will provide some significant benefit to their family. Where conditions are self-induced, such as a hunger strike or refusal of treatment, an application may be declined.


title: Compassionate release

text: The rates of death from natural causes have doubled in eight years, with 199 deaths occurring in prison in 2016. The age of the prison population is rising because of a shift in major sentencing trends; prison terms are increasingly longer for the older population. The Prison Reform Trust called for a review of the current compassionate release process, commenting on the difficulty that a medical professional will have diagnosing a three-month life expectancy. The Trust recommended that a one-year life expectancy be sufficient for an application of compassionate release from prison. Former Deputy Director of the Trust observed that older prisoners who are terminally ill are unlikely to pose a risk to the public. His belief was that a range of options should be considered, including compassionate release to ensure that people spend their last days with dignity.


title: Compassionate release

text: High-profile cases such as the release of Reggie Kray in 2000 and Ronnie Briggs in 2009 raised issues regarding the term ‘compassionate release’. The idea that compassion should be exercised in relation to prisoners was a concept that did not reconcile with popular societal views. Costs associated with medical care for the elderly and terminally ill was noted, with acceptance of the costs that are incurred sending prison guards to hospital and providing palliative care within the prison environment. However, early release is largely deemed to be socially incompatible.


title: Compassionate release

text: Compassionate release is founded on a humanitarian concern for the dying, and practical reasons such as high costs or the inability to care adequately for such persons in prison. Prison is generally deemed unsuitable for compassionate end-of-life care due to its punitive purpose. End-of-life care exists in prisons in England and Wales, however, the adequacy of the care has been challenged, as the opposing goals of security and compassionate care are said to be mutually exclusive. In May 2016, the Council of Europe European Committee on Crime Problems issued a white paper on prison overcrowding. The paper addressed the root causes of prison overcrowding and supports the wide application for early release for the seriously ill and aged prisoners on compassionate grounds.


title: Compassionate release

text: A 2011 report to the UN Secretary-General highlighted the difficulties with the aging population, particularly in regard to long-term care of the elderly. This is made worse by the lack of legal framework to monitor human rights violations in long-term care facilities. Dying and suffering are not part of a prisoner's punishment. Human rights recommendations for aging prisoners advocate that necessary changes should be made to adapt to the older prisoner's physical and mental health. If changes cannot be adequately implemented, then compassionate release of the prisoner should be considered in order not to violate Article 3 on inhumane and degrading treatment of the European Convention on Human Rights.


title: Compassionate release

text: The Scottish legal system permits compassionate release for terminal illness. There are only a few applications per year, and most are granted. A prominent case was that of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, released on 20 August 2009 because of prostate cancer.


title: Compassionate release

text: In the United States forms of compassionate release are found both federally and in the laws of thirty-nine states. With the rapid increase in prison populations following the introduction of mandatory minimum sentencing laws in the 1990s, many people have called for the expanded use of compassionate release as a "safety valve" to relieve overcrowded prison systems and reduce pressure on government budgets as well as to ease suffering of inmates and their families. Some states have recently expanded their own forms of compassionate release, as can be seen in New York's changes to its medical parole laws to include both the terminally ill and chronically ill inmates in the absence of a prognosis of imminent death, although this has not necessarily resulted in more releases.


title: Compassionate release

text: Many who are eligible for compassionate release on grounds of terminal illness and who have applications pending die in prison before their cases are processed due to case backlogs and narrow interpretation of the law. The issue of where and how to best deliver end of life care has been compounded by the sheer number of prisoners now incarcerated in the United States, as well as by the aging of the prison population.


title: Compassionate release

text: Federal laws governing compassionate release include 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)1(A), which came into effect on 1 November 1987 and governs those whose offenses occurred since it was enacted, and 18 U.S.C. 4205(g), the previous version, which still controls release of inmates who were convicted of offenses that occurred on or prior to that date. States that offer compassionate release each have their own laws governing eligibility, and it may differ from the federal versions both in the requirements for eligibility and in the type of release that can be granted, for example medical parole rather than resentencing.


title: Compassionate release

text: To seek compassionate release, federal inmates must file a petition with the warden. Compassionate release is only granted "when there are particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing."


title: Compassionate release

text: In 2013, the terminally ill Herman Wallace was released from Angola Prison to spend the rest of his life in a personal care home. He died a few days later.


title: Compassionate release

text: Lynne Stewart, a criminal defense attorney was convicted of passing messages from imprisoned terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") to his followers in al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya. Judge John Koeltl sentenced Stewart to ten years in prison, but on December 31, 2013, Koeltl ordered Stewart released from federal prison due to her terminal breast cancer. Koeltl cited the incurable nature of Stewart's disease and the "relatively limited risk" of recidivism and danger to the community upon release. She was 74 years old at the time of her release from the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Texas where she had been held, and had served just over four years of her sentence. Stewart died in March 2017.


title: Compassionate release

text: Different states have various policies on compassionate release system, varying on details such as the life expectancy required to warrant compassionate release.


title: Jessica Bowman

text: Jessica Robyn Bowman (born November 26, 1980) is an American actress known for her role as Colleen Cooper on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman".


title: Jessica Bowman

text: Bowman was born in Walnut Creek, California. She began acting in community theater and commercials, and appeared as Darcy on "The Road Home".


title: Jessica Bowman

text: After guest appearances on "Boy Meets World", "NYPD Blue", and "Baywatch", Bowman assumed the role of Colleen Cooper on the popular drama "Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman" in season three, episode 15. She took over this role after the original portrayer, Erika Flores, did not renew her contract. Bowman won the Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Series at the Young Artists Awards in 1996 for her role as Colleen. She was also nominated in 1997 and 1998. She won the Michael Landon Award in 1996, along with Beth Sullivan, Tim Johnson, Chad Allen, and Shawn Toovey, for Outstanding Family Television series of the year. After "Dr. Quinn" was cancelled in 1998, Bowman starred in "Someone to Love Me", playing a rape victim who struggles to prove her rapist's guilt.


title: Jessica Bowman

text: Bowman appeared in two made-for-TV movies, "Young Hearts Unlimited" and "Lethal Vows", before reprising her role as Colleen for the movie "" in 2001. She appeared in the movies "Joy Ride" and "Derailed", starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.


title: Independence referendum

text: An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence does not always ultimately result in independence.


title: Independence referendum

text: An independence referendum typically arises first after political success for nationalists of a territory. This could come in the election of politicians or parties with separatist policies, or from pressure from nationalist organisations.


title: Independence referendum

text: Negotiations for the terms of an independence referendum may take place between the nationalists and the government which exercises sovereignty over the territory. If terms can be agreed, then the independence referendum can be held with its result binding, and respected by the international community. Independence referendums can be held without the consent of a national or the federal governments, then the international community will rely on several other factors, e.g. were the local people oppressed by the central government or not, to decide if the result can be recognized or not.


title: Independence referendum

text: Various issues can be discussed in negotiations, such as the date and timing of the poll, as well as voter eligibility. For these instances, common electoral practice is often widely used, although there can be deviations, as seen with the lowering of the voting age for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.


title: Independence referendum

text: Other issues to be negotiated include what question or questions should be on the ballot, and what the voting options could be. Independence referendums can offer options of greater autonomy as well as, or instead of, the status quo. They can also put forward other constitutional questions to ballot. The questions that referendums ask may be revised if parties involved in negotiations consider them to be too leading.


title: Independence referendum

text: Negotiations notably need to address what would make a result binding. For some independence referendums, a simple majority is required for one option. In other cases, a quota can be used, where a certain percentage of the vote or the electorate needs to be in favour of an option for it to be binding.


title: Independence referendum

text: Successful negotiations can be hard to achieve for nationalists, as governments can be reluctant to give up sovereignty. For example, nationalists planned to hold a referendum in Catalonia in 2014, but met opposition from the Spanish government. As a result, the referendum that went ahead was unofficial and non-binding.


title: Independence referendum

text: In the event of a vote for independence, there may be negotiations on the terms of secession for the territory from the sovereign state. A declaration of independence for a new state is then made, and international recognition can follow, as well as membership of international organisations such as the United Nations. In cases involving non-binding referendums, this can lead to a unilateral declaration of independence, and therefore partially recognised or self-proclaimed states, like the Donbas status referendums.


title: Independence referendum

text: In the event of a vote against independence, there may still be a strong nationalist movement and calls for there to be a rerun of the independence referendum. For example, after two referendums in Quebec, the Parti Québécois has continued to raise the prospect of holding another referendum, and the Scottish National Party has said that there should be a repeat of the 2014 referendum now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: An uncodified constitution is a type of constitution where the fundamental rules often take the form of customs, usage, precedent and a variety of statutes and legal instruments. An understanding of the constitution is obtained through reading commentary by the judiciary, government committees or legal experts. In such a constitutional system, all these elements may be (or may not be) recognized by courts, legislators and the bureaucracy as binding upon government and limiting its powers. Such a framework is sometimes imprecisely called an "unwritten constitution"; however, all the elements of an uncodified constitution are typically written down in a variety of official documents, though not codified in a single document.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: An uncodified constitution has the advantages of elasticity, adaptability and resilience, A. V. Dicey described the uncodified constitution as "the most flexible polity in existence." A significant disadvantage, however, is that controversies may arise due to different understandings of the usages and customs that form the fundamental provisions of the constitution.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: A new condition or situation of government may be resolved by precedent or passing legislation. Unlike a codified constitution, there are no special procedures for making a constitutional law and it will not be inherently superior to other legislation. A country with an uncodified constitution lacks a specific moment where the principles of its government were deliberately decided. Instead, these are allowed to evolve according to the political and social forces arising throughout its history.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: When viewed as a whole system, the difference between a codified and uncodified constitution is one of degree. Any codified constitution will be overlaid with supplementary legislation and customary practice after a period of time. Conversely, customs and practices that have been observed for long periods in an uncodified manner may be added to the written constitution at various junctures, such as in the case of the two-term limit for presidents of the United States. This custom was observed for nearly a century and a half, unbroken, without any enforcement mechanism until it was ignored by Franklin Roosevelt, after which it was added to the written Constitution as mandatory .


title: Uncodified constitution

text: Although there are Constitution Acts, important aspects of the constitutional system are uncodified. The preamble to the Constitution of Canada declares it to be "similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom" (which is uncodified).


title: Uncodified constitution

text: This applies at the federal level and to the provinces, although each does have the power to modify or enact their own within their exclusive areas of responsibility. To date only British Columbia has enacted a codified provincial constitution (see Constitution of British Columbia), though the other provinces' roles and powers are spelled out in section 93 of the "Constitution Act, 1867", and through amendments to it dealing with particular provinces such as the Manitoba Act and the Newfoundland Act.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: Some Chinese academics including legal theorist Jiang Shigong have argued that China has both a written constitution and an unwritten constitution based on the comprehensive leadership of the Communist Party.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: The Israeli declaration of independence promised a constitution by 2 October 1948, but due to irreconcilable differences in the Knesset, no complete codified constitution has been written yet. There are several Basic Laws, however.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: New Zealand has no single constitutional document. It is an uncodified constitution, sometimes referred to as an "unwritten constitution", although the New Zealand constitution is in fact an amalgamation of written and unwritten sources.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: The Constitution Act 1986 has a central role, alongside a collection of other statutes, orders in Council, letters patent, decisions of the courts, principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and unwritten traditions and conventions.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: San Marino has several documents that make up its constitution, including some lasting centuries. These documents include 6 books of The Statues of 1600 and the Declarations of Citizen's Rights. It is the oldest surviving constitution in the world.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: Saudi Arabia has no legally binding written constitution. In 1960, King Faisal declared the Quran, the religious text of Islam, to be the constitution. However, in 1992, the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia was adopted by royal decree.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: In the United Kingdom, there is no defining document that can be termed "the constitution". Because the political system evolved over time, rather than being changed suddenly in an event such as a revolution, collapse of government or overthrow of monarchy, it is continuously being defined by acts of Parliament and decisions of the courts. The closest the UK has come to a constitutional code has been the Treaty of Union 1707.


title: Uncodified constitution

text: Due to the United Kingdom having an uncodified constitution, many acts have been added to the collection of constitutional statutes, e.g. the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. This means the United Kingdom's constitutional rules are not written in a single document, but not that it has an "unwritten" constitution.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: Tyrsenian (also Tyrrhenian or Common Tyrrhenic), named after the Tyrrhenians (Ancient Greek, Ionic: "Tyrsenoi"), is a proposed extinct family of closely related ancient languages put forward by linguist Helmut Rix (1998), which consists of the Etruscan language of northern, central and south-western Italy, and eastern Corsica (France); the Rhaetic language of the Alps, named after the Rhaetian people; and the Lemnian language of the Aegean Sea. Camunic in northern Lombardy, in between Etruscan and Rhaetic, may belong here too, but the material is very scant. The Tyrsenian languages are generally considered Pre-Indo-European and Paleo-European.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: In 1998 the German linguist Helmut Rix proposed that three then unclassified ancient languages belonged to a common linguistic family he called "Tyrrhenian": the Etruscan language spoken in Etruria, the Rhaetic language of the southern Alps, and the Lemnian language, only attested by a small number of inscriptions from the Greek island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: Rix's Tyrsenian family is supported by a number of linguists such as Stefan Schumacher, Carlo De Simone, Norbert Oettinger, Simona Marchesini, or Rex E. Wallace. Common features among Etruscan, Rhaetic, Lemnian have been found in morphology, phonology, and syntax. On the other hand, few lexical correspondences are documented, at least partly due to the scant number of Rhaetic and Lemnian texts and possibly also to the early date at which the languages split.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: Tyrsenian was probably a Paleo-European language family predating the arrival of Indo-European languages in Europe. Helmut Rix dated the end of the Proto-Tyrsenian period to the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. Carlo De Simone and Simona Marchesini have proposed a much earlier date, placing the Tyrsenian language split before the Bronze Age. This would provide one explanation for the low number of lexical correspondences.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: In 2004 L. Bouke van der Meer proposed that Rhaetic could have split from Etruscan from around 900 BC or even earlier, at any rate no later than 700 BC since divergences are already present in the oldest Etruscan and Rhaetic inscriptions, such as in the grammatical voices of past tenses or in the endings of male "gentilicia". From around 400 BCE, the Rhaeti became isolated from the Etruscan area by the Cisalpine Celts, thus limiting contacts between the two languages. Such a late datation has not enjoyed consensus, because the split would still be too recent, and in contrast with the archaeological data, the Rhaeti in the second Iron Age being characterized by the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture, in continuity with late Bronze Age culture and early Iron Age Laugen-Melaun culture. The Raeti are not believed, archeologically, to descend from the Etruscans, as well as it is not believed plausible that the Etruscans are descended from the Rhaeti, while the relationship between the Etruscan and Rhaetic languages is thought to date back to a remote stage of prehistory.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: After more than 90 years of archaeological excavations at Lemnos, nothing has been found that would support a migration from Lemnos to Etruria or to the Alps where Rhaetic was spoken. The indigenous inhabitants of Lemnos, also called in ancient times "Sinteis", were the Sintians, a Thracian population. While the results of the previous excavations indicate that the Early Iron Age inhabitants of Lemnos could be a remnant of a Mycenaean population and, in addition, the earliest attested reference to Lemnos is the Mycenaean Greek "ra-mi-ni-ja", "Lemnian woman", written in Linear B syllabic script. Scholars such as Norbert Oettinger, Michel Gras and Carlo De Simone think that Lemnian is the testimony of an Etruscan commercial settlement on the island that took place before 700 BC, not related to the Sea Peoples. Alternatively, the Lemnian language could have arrived in the Aegean Sea during the Late Bronze Age, when Mycenaean rulers recruited groups of mercenaries from Sicily, Sardinia and various parts of the Italian peninsula.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: A 2021 archeogenetic analysis of Etruscan individuals who lived between 800 BC and 1 BC concluded that the Etruscans may have been descendants of the populations that were widespread in Europe from at least the Neolithic period before the arrival of Indo-Europeans, as already argued by German geneticist Johannes Krause who concluded that it is likely that the Etruscan language (as well as Basque, Paleo-Sardinian and Minoan) "developed on the continent in the course of the Neolithic Revolution". The lack of recent Anatolian-related admixture and Iranian-related ancestry among the Etruscans, who genetically joined firmly to the European cluster, might also suggest that the presence of a handful of inscriptions found at Lemnos, in a language related to Etruscan and Rhaetic, "could represent population movements departing from the Italian peninsula".


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: Strabo's ("Geography" V, 2) citation from Anticlides attributes a share in the foundation of Etruria to the Pelasgians of Lemnos and Imbros. The Pelasgians are also referred to by Herodotus as settlers in Lemnos, after they were expelled from Attica by the Athenians. Apollonius of Rhodes mentioned an ancient settlement of Tyrrhenians on Lemnos in his "Argonautica" (IV.1760), written in the third century BC, in an elaborate invented "aition" of Kalliste or Thera: in passing, he attributes the flight of Sintian Lemnians to the island Kalliste to "Tyrrhenian warriors" from the island of Lemnos.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: A larger "Aegean" family including Eteocretan, Minoan and Eteocypriot has been proposed by G. M. Facchetti referring to some alleged similarities between on the one hand Etruscan and Lemnian, and on the other hand languages like Minoan and Eteocretan. If these languages could be shown to be related to Etruscan and Rhaetic, they would constitute a pre-Indo-European language family stretching from (at the very least) the Aegean islands and Crete across mainland Greece and the Italian peninsula to the Alps. A proposed relation between these languages has also been made previously by Raymond A. Brown. Michael Ventris, who successfully deciphered Linear B with John Chadwick, also thought there to be a relation between Etruscan and Minoan. Facchetti proposes a hypothetical language family derived from Minoan in two branches. From Minoan he proposes a Proto-Tyrrhenian from which would have come the Etruscan, Lemnian and Rhaetic languages. James Mellaart has proposed that this language family is related to the pre-Indo-European languages of Anatolia, based upon place name analysis. From another Minoan branch would have come the Eteocretan language. T. B. Jones proposed in 1950 reading of Eteocypriot texts in Etruscan, which was refuted by most scholars but gained popularity in the former Soviet Union. In any case, a relationship between the Etruscan language and the Minoan (including Eteocretan and Eteocypriot) is considered unfounded.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: A relation with the Anatolian languages within Indo-European has been proposed, but is not accepted. If these languages are an early Indo-European stratum rather than pre-Indo-European, they would be associated with Krahe's Old European hydronymy and would date back to a "Kurganization" during the early Bronze Age.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: A number of mainly Soviet or post-Soviet linguists, including Sergei Starostin, suggested a link between the Tyrrhenian languages and the Northeast Caucasian languages in an Alarodian language family, based on claimed sound correspondences between Etruscan, Hurrian, and Northeast Caucasian languages, numerals, grammatical structures and phonologies. Most linguists, however, either doubt that the language families are related, or believe that the evidence is far from conclusive.


title: Tyrsenian languages

text: The language group seems to have died out around the 3rd century BC in the Aegean (by assimilation of the speakers to Greek), and as regards Etruscan around the 1st century AD in Italy (by assimilation to Latin). The latest Rhaetic inscriptions are dated to the 1st century BC.


title: Calabar

text: Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and creeks of the Cross River (from its inland delta).


title: Calabar

text: Calabar is often described as the tourism capital of Nigeria, especially due to several initiatives implemented during the administration of Donald Duke as governor of Cross River State (1999–2007), which made the city the cleanest and most environmentally friendly city in Nigeria. Administratively, the city is divided into Calabar Municipal and Calabar South Local Government Areas. It has an area of and a population of 371,022 as at 2006 census.


title: Calabar

text: Calabar was the name given by the Portuguese discoverers from the 15th century to the tribes on this part of the Guinea coast at the time of their arrival, when the present inhabitants in the district were the Quas. It was not till the early part of the 18th century that the Efik people, owing to civil war with their kindred and the Ibibio, migrated from the neighbourhood of the Niger River to the shores of the Calabar.


title: Calabar

text: On 10 September 1884, Queen Victoria signed a treaty of protection with the king and chiefs of Akwa Akpa, known to Europeans as Old Calabar—then the official title to distinguish it from New Calabar to the east. This enabled the United Kingdom to exercise control over the entire territory around Calabar, including Bakassi. Calabar was the headquarters of the European administration in the Niger Delta until 1906, when the seat of government was moved to Lagos.


title: Calabar

text: Since the 16th century, Calabar has served as an international seaport, shipping out goods such as palm oil. During the period of the Atlantic slave trade, it became a major port in the transportation of African slaves and was named Calabar by the Spanish. Igbo people formed the majority of enslaved Africans which were sold as slaves from Calabar, despite forming a minority among the ethnic groups in the region.


title: Calabar

text: From 1725 until 1750, roughly 17,000 enslaved Africans were sold from Calabar to European slave traders; from 1772 to 1775, the number soared to over 62,000. Old Calabar (Duke Town) and Creek Town, northeast, were crucial towns in the trade of slaves in that era. , as part of the British blockade of Africa against the slave trade, sailed into Duke Town in 1815, where she captured seven Spanish and Portuguese slave ships. African-American writer and slave John Jea came from the area. A small mulatto community of merchants was located there that had links to missionary and other merchant colonies in Igboland, Lagos, and across the Atlantic.


title: Calabar

text: The city was the home the first social club in Nigeria, the Africa Club. It hosted the first competitive football, cricket and field hockey games in Nigeria. Among the city's firsts were the first Roman Catholic Mass (held at 19 Bocco Street, Calabar – 1903) and the oldest secondary school (Hope Waddell Training Institution – 1895) in eastern Nigeria. The school later graduated Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was elected as the first President of Nigeria.


title: Calabar

text: The city has several museums (including the Slave History Museum), a botanical garden, a free trade zone/port, an international airport and seaport, an integrated sports stadium complex, a cultural centre, one of the most prominent universities in the country – the University of Calabar, a slave history park and several historical and cultural landmarks. It also has several standard hotels, resorts and amusement parks. The former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor lived in the old colonial palace in the city, under an agreement that led to the end of his country's civil war, before fleeing extradition to Liberia in March 2006.


title: Calabar

text: The Tinapa Resort, a development by the Cross River State government, lies to the north of the city beside the Calabar Free Trade Zone.


title: Calabar

text: The Cross River State Annual Christmas Festival held every year attracts thousands from within and beyond Nigeria. The festival, includes music performance from both local and international artists. Other annual events include the Calabar Carnival, a boat regatta, fashion shows, a Christmas Village, traditional dances and the annual Ekpe Festival.


title: Calabar

text: Under Köppen's climate classification, Calabar features a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen: "Am") amidst a lengthy wet season spanning ten months and a short dry season covering the remaining two months. The harmattan, which significantly influences weather in West Africa, is noticeably less pronounced in the city. Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the year, with average high temperatures usually ranging from 25 to 28 degrees Celsius. There is also little variance between daytime and nighttime temperature, as temperatures at night are typically only a few degrees lower than the daytime high temperature. Calabar averages just over of precipitation annually.


title: Calabar

text: Calabar has three principal landlord kingdoms, namely the Qua Kingdom of Ejagham (Ekoi)/Bantu origin, the Efut and the Efik Kingdoms. The Qua Kingdom has the Ndidem of the Qua nation as the Grand Patriarch, the Efut have the Muri munene as the Grand Patriarch, and the Efik Kingdom patriarch is known as the Obong.


title: Calabar

text: Before the colonial period, Calabar, originally known as Akwa Akpa, was a kingdom with the City of Calabar as the site of government. Calabar has three different monarchs, the Obong of Calabar as the ruler of the Efiks and the Ekpe secret society as the stool on which the Obong of Calabar sat. The Ndidem of Calabar is the ruler of the Quas and paramount ruler of Calabar Municipality which is the seat of government. The muri munene of the Efuts who is the ruler of the Efuts and paramount ruler of Calabar South.


title: Calabar

text: Calabar people are mainly people from the old Calabar province – Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, Akpabuyo, Bakassi, Biase, Odukpani and Akamkpa, but as commonly used in Nigeria, the term "Calabar people" could also refer to the indigenes of Greater Calabar as well as the people of the original South Eastern State of Nigeria who are at present the people of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State.


title: Calabar

text: Calabar is the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command. The city has a new model school, Nigerian Navy Secondary School, situated in Akpabuyo, about 10 minutes' drive from the airport. This new school complements the existing Nigerian Navy Primary School and Naval Officers Wives Association Primary School, both situated at Ikot Ansa Calabar.


You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish is the seventh studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1978. It was their first album to be co-produced by lead singer Kevin Cronin and lead guitarist Gary Richrath. The album was REO's first to make the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. The album sold over 2 million copies in the US, which led it to being certified 2× Platinum.


title: You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish

text: This is the first album to feature Bruce Hall on bass, replacing Gregg Philbin. In 2013, the album was released on CD by UK-based company Rock Candy Records, with expanded liner notes and photos.


text: The hits "Time for Me to Fly" and "Roll with the Changes" have since become two of the band's best-known songs. "Time for Me to Fly" was later covered in a bluegrass arrangement by Dolly Parton on her 1989 album "White Limozeen". In 2005, the album cover was featured on "Pitchfork"'s list of "The Worst Record Covers of All Time", and in 2014 its title was featured in "NME"'s list of "The 50 Worst Album Titles in History". In 2020, Netflix's "Ozark" TV series third season episode, "Kevin Cronin Was Here" featured "Time for Me to Fly", which resulted in the song making the top 40 on the "Billboard" Digital Songs Chart.


text: "Roll with the Changes" was featured in the 2011 movie "The Cabin in the Woods". "Cash Box" said that it "opens with a flowing piano riff that quickly develops into a dynamic, well-structured tune propelled by electrifying guitar licks."


text: The song "Time for Me to Fly" peaked at No. 56 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1978; despite this relatively modest peak position, it has become one of the band's best-known songs, and has received airplay on FM radio over the years. According to singer Kevin Cronin, the song was inspired by his breakup with his high school girlfriend. The song would again hit the top 40 in 2020 on "Billboard"'s Digital Songs Chart after it was featured on Netflix's "Ozark" third-season episode, "Kevin Cronin was Here", as well as its usage in the films "Vision Quest" and "Grown Ups".


title: Kristian Bush

text: Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyra. In addition to his work in these two groups, Bush has released one solo album, "Southern Gravity", via Streamsound Records in 2015.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Kristian Bush was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is the great grandson of A.J. Bush, founder of Bush Brothers and Company; his part of the family sold their shares in the company when Bush was a child, although Kristian's cousin, Jay Bush, continues as company spokesman. Bush was raised outside of Knoxville in Sevierville, Tennessee, a small town at the base of the Smoky Mountains that was also the hometown of Dolly Parton. He was exposed to instruments from an early age, and picked up his first violin at the age of four years. During these early years, Bush, alongside younger brother Brandon, made his musical debut at the local Bush Beans Jamboree performing as Parton's opening act.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Throughout childhood, Bush was enrolled in violin lessons and classically trained under the Suzuki method at the University of Tennessee. The family eventually relocated to Knoxville and by the age of eleven, Bush agreed to play one season in the Knoxville Youth Symphony, before earning the right to lay the violin down for good and start learning the guitar. As a teenager, Bush stuck with the guitar and began to create original music. It wasn't long before he was writing his own songs and recording homemade albums.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush attended Avon Old Farms Boarding School in Avon, Connecticut, graduating in 1988. He then attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, earning a degree in Creative Writing. During college, Bush began to connect with Atlanta's growing music scene, often begging his way into clubs; witnessing first-hand success from bands like R.E.M. and (fellow Emory students) the Indigo Girls.


title: Kristian Bush

text: While attending Emory University, Bush was the lead singer and guitarist in the rock band Storyteller, with fellow Emory students Chris "Tex" Nolter (bass, guitar) and Jon Slatkin (drums). Storyteller covered the Replacement's "I Can't Wait”, Rod Stewart's "Maggie May”, The English Beat's "Mirror in the Bathroom", and Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says”, among other songs, and they performed at numerous bars, campus events and parties in Atlanta.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush started his career in the early 1990s forming folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra. Bush and Hyra originally met in Knoxville after Hyra relocated to Tennessee with his sister Annie to pursue music together as a brother-sister duo, the Hyras. Bush had made a number of studio contacts while in college and he and the Hyras began performing together. Annie lent her voice to Bush's "Politics and Pocketchange" album, and Bush played guitar on the Hyras' "Big Back Porch Songs". Bush was recruited to fill in for a string of Hyra's shows when Annie parted ways for a job in Florida.


title: Kristian Bush

text: As a new duo, Bush and Hyra soon relocated to Atlanta and began to gain a following with a place for themselves among the acoustic scene and songwriting community. They performed on Emory's campus occasionally under their names, before they chose a moniker for the duo. Bush and Hyra decided upon the name Billy Pilgrim (borrowed from the time traveling protagonist of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five") and released a pair of albums for Atlantic Records (their 1994 self-titled debut and 1995's Bloom), earning multiple Top 5 singles on the AAA charts, rotation on VH1 and a reputation as dynamic live performers who traveled from the tiny stage of Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, to a worldwide tour supporting Melissa Etheridge in 1995.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush co-founded Sugarland in 2002, signed with Mercury Records Nashville in 2004, and exploded onto the country music scene. They have surpassed sales of over 22 million albums worldwide, achieved five No. 1 singles and won numerous awards, including trophies from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, CMT Music Awards and CMA Awards.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Sugarland broke through in 2004 with the release of their debut single "Baby Girl", the first single from their multi-platinum debut album "Twice the Speed of Life". The trio became a duo in 2006, when they also released their second album, "Enjoy the Ride". This album produced their first two No. 1 singles (in the U.S.), "Want To" and "Settlin'", and won the duo a Grammy for "Stay". In 2008 they released their third album, titled "Love on the Inside". This album produced three more No. 1 singles with "All I Want to Do", "Already Gone"and "It Happens". Their fourth album, "The Incredible Machine" was released on October 19, 2010 in both a standard and deluxe edition. Upon "The Incredible Machine" being certified platinum, Sugarland has sold in excess of 14 million records. Nettles and Bush also write all of the band's songs. In October of 2012, they were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.


title: Kristian Bush

text: At the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2017, Sugarland officially reunited following a five year hiatus and announced that they were working on new music together. Their first full-band shows were at the festival in March 2018. Their sixth studio album, "Bigger" was released on June 8, 2019.


title: Kristian Bush

text: To date, Bush has won six BMI Awards for his songwriting abilities, and in 2011 he founded the music publishing company and songwriting collective Songs of the Architect. Recent producing and songwriting collaborations include Ellis Paul, Laura Bell Bundy, Matt Nathanson, the dB’s, Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls, Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale, and up-and-comers including Kristina Train, Larkin Poe, Canaan Smith, Lauren Alaina, Jaida Dreyer and Alana Springsteen.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush made his solo debut in March 2013 at the inaugural Festival at the O2 Arena in London, England; his first single as a solo act, "Love or Money," debuted on iTunes in Europe the following week, along with an official lyric video released on YouTube for fans back home in the States. He often takes part in the Country Music Association's Songwriters Series, which has included various appearances across the United States, as well as time spent abroad with the CMA's first-ever international initiative showcasing Nashville songwriters and their work to foreign audiences in clubs and theaters. Bush is also a frequent panelist and speaker at events for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.


title: Kristian Bush

text: In July 2013, Bush collaborated with Canada-based computer and video game developer Big Blue Bubble, to become the latest character, and first celebrity guest in the hit online game, "My Singing Monsters. "Bush became a fan of the game after being introduced to it by his 11-year-old son. He then took his liking of the game to his Twitter account, and was soon connected with head developer Dave Kerr. Bush received an invitation to guest star" "and made his debut as the all-new "Shugabush" monster on July 29, 2013. Bush provides his own mandolin and vocal recordings for the character. A new island was also added to the game, called Shugabush Island, with a song that highly resembled Bush's " Love Or Money ".


title: Kristian Bush

text: On October 10, 2013, "Love or Money" was remixed by longtime Sugarland producer Byron Gallimore and released to iTunes in the United States. After the collaboration, Gallimore asked to hear more of Bush's solo music, and subsequently signed him to his own label, Streamsound Records.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush's debut solo single, "Trailer Hitch", was released on July 28, 2014. His first solo album, "Southern Gravity", was released on April 7, 2015. He wrote over 300 songs for the project, which he refers to as a “mainstream country record that is meant to be played on the radio.”


title: Kristian Bush

text: On February 5, 2016, it was announced that Bush has signed a new publishing, producing, and label deal with Broken Bow Records, where he will record under their imprint Wheelhouse Records.


title: Kristian Bush

text: "Forever Now (Say Yes)", written and performed by Bush, became the new theme song for the TLC reality series "Say Yes to the Dress" when their 14th season premiered on March 4, 2016. Bush also makes a guest appearance on the show later in the season.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush collaborated with playwright Janece Shaffer on "Troubadour", a romantic comedy set in 1950s Nashville (featuring original songs by Bush) that was scheduled to make its debut at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia on January 28, 2017. In March 2017, he returned to the festival, headlining the CMA songwriters series.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush has also co-written with actress and singer Rita Wilson on three of her albums; "Rita Wilson", "Bigger Picture", and "Halfway to Home". He will be touring will Wilson in 2019.


title: Kristian Bush

text: In 2019 Bush formed a new band with his brother Brandon, and friend Benji Shanks called Dark Water. He calls the band "an amazing experience", and he "can't wait for people to hear it."


title: Kristian Bush

text: On BBC Radio 2 Country, Bush presented 'Country Duos', selecting some of his favourite country songs. He presented coverage of the 2017 CMA Music Festival on BBC Radio 2.


title: Kristian Bush

text: Bush's brother Brandon is a former member of the rock group Train, and also tours with Sugarland and Kristian's solo project as a keyboardist.


title: Easy Money (2010 film)

text: Easy Money () is a Swedish crime thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa (in his directorial debut) that was released on 15 January 2010. It is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Jens Lapidus. Joel Kinnaman stars in the lead role of Johan "JW" Westlund, a rather poor man living a double life in the upper class areas of Stockholm. After meeting a wealthy girl, he is enticed into the world of organized crime and begins to sell cocaine to afford his expensive lifestyle. "Easy Money" was well received by critics and was a hit at the box office.