title: LANTIRN

text: Until the early 1990s, the F-14 Tomcat didn't have clearance to drop bombs even though all Tomcats were built with a Stores Management System (SMS) that included air-to-ground options as well as rudimentary software in the AWG-9. Early flight clearance work to clear the aircraft for air-to-ground were suspended due to development delays with the F-14 and it being shifted away from the air to ground mission. At the time, the Tomcat was so expensive (and lacked proper defensive electronic countermeasures ("DECM") and radar homing and warning ("RHAW") for overland operations) that the Navy did not want to risk it in the air-to-ground role. However, the TARPS mission had proven the Tomcat was survivable overland and upgrades to the Tomcat's DECM, expendables and RHAW gear were developed to increase its survivability. With the end of the Cold War and de-emphasis on the Fleet Air Defense mission, NAVAIR had renewed flight clearance work before Desert Storm so the F-14 could carry gravity bombs as well as laser-guided bombs if the target was lased by another jet (first Tomcat LGB drop in combat was made by VF-41 in 1995 during operations over Bosnia with an A-6 Intruder providing the requisite target illumination). Meanwhile, the decision had been made by Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) to retire the A-6 altogether and allow the F-14 Block 1 Strike variant to take over as the precision strike platform for the air wing. However, the $1.6B Block 1 Strike program was canceled in budgetary cuts by 1994 with only enough funding to integrate the JDAM, which was years away. In late 1994, an unsolicited proposal from Martin Marietta was initiated to demonstrate how a USAF LANTIRN targeting pod could be rapidly integrated onto the Tomcat. This effort was done under the auspices of Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet (COMNAVAIRLANT) using a fleet aircraft to integrate the digital 1553-based pod on an analog F-14B. In March 1995 a VF-103 fleet aircraft successfully dropped the first laser-guided training rounds (LGTR) and quickly laser-guided bombs (LGB). Due to the early success and interest from Fleet Commanders, NAVAIR began to procure pods and control units for deployment, resulting in VF-103 receiving the first LANTIRN pod June 14, 1996 in time for its upcoming deployment.


title: LANTIRN

text: The basic LANTIRN was modified into LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS), the navigation pod was removed from the two-pod system and the targeting pod was improved for Tomcat use. The LTS featured a Global Positioning System and inertial measurement unit that provided the pod line-of-sight cueing and weapon release ballistics and eliminated the need for external cumbersome and time-consuming boresight equipment.


title: LANTIRN

text: Unlike the early versions, the LTS performed all weapon release calculations and presented release cues that it had generated to the aircrew. The LTS also had a masking avoidance curve display (preventing firing the laser at the jet) and eventually a north orientation curve and 12,200 m (40,000 ft) capable laser. The latter became very useful allowing F-14s to employ LGBs above potential threat systems and it came into its own in the higher terrain in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.


title: LANTIRN

text: The LTS could also generate coordinates for any target located on the FLIR, and a latter software modification, known as T3 (Tomcat Tactical Targeting) increased the accuracy of the coordinates produced by the LTS and allowed generated coordinates for GPS/INS guided weapons (JDAM, JSOW and WCMD). The first combat use of this was during Operation Enduring Freedom when an F-14 generated coordinates for a B-52 that dropped a CBU-103 WCMD from over . These weapons scored hits on a vehicle convoy that had stopped after the first vehicle was destroyed by the Tomcat with LGBs.


title: LANTIRN

text: The pod also featured an internal computer with ballistics data for the various precision munitions carried by the F-14. Data is fed to the pod by the Tomcat's AWG-9 (F-14A and F-14B) and AN/APG-71 (F-14D) radar, but the LTS in turn only sends video and guidance symbology to the crew's cockpit displays. This means that few wiring and software changes had to be made to the Tomcat in order for it to operate the LTS. All pod controls are in the RIO's cockpit, but the bomb release button is situated with the pilot. The LTS had a price tag of around 3 million US Dollars each and due to these high costs, only 75 were bought for fleet use. Typically, an F-14 squadron brought 6 to 8 pods with them on deployment, which would be permanently fitted to the non-TARPS jets.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Robert Lewis Thomson (born August 16, 1963) is a Canadian professional baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.


title: Rob Thomson

text: During Thomson’s playing career, he was a catcher and third baseman in the Detroit Tigers organization from 1985 to 1988. Following his years as a player, Thomson spent one year as the manager of the Class A Oneonta Yankees, and several more years in various front office capacities for the New York Yankees including as Major League Field Coordinator. He then served as the Yankees’ bench coach in 2008, from 2009 to 2014, and bench coach again from 2015 to 2017.


title: Rob Thomson

text: In 2018, Thomson was named as the bench coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. On June 3, 2022, Thomson was named interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies following the firing of manager Joe Girardi. After leading the Phillies to their first playoff series win since 2010, Thomson was named the full-time manager on October 10, 2022. That year, he went on to lead the Phillies to their first National League pennant since 2009.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson was born on August 16, 1963 in Sarnia, Ontario and grew up in nearby Corunna, Ontario. He grew up playing baseball in the summers and hockey in the winter. Thomson has a younger sister and two older brothers, one of whom signed with the Montreal Expos.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson was a standout for the Stratford Nationals of the Intercounty Baseball League. From there, he was recruited to St. Clair County Community College where he played baseball for one year. After a year, he transferred to the University of Kansas. Thomson led the Jayhawks in hits in 1984 and 1985 and holds the school record for the highest single-season batting average.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft from the University of Kansas. He played catcher and third base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988, reaching as high as Class A. In 661 at bats, he hit .225/.312/.304 with seven home runs and three steals. He played 136 games at catcher, 55 games at third base, and pitched in one game.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson represented Canada in baseball, which was a demonstration sport, in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.


title: Rob Thomson

text: From 1988 to 1990, Thomson served as a minor league coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. Thomson says he got into coaching because "I wasn’t a good enough player. The game sort of forced me into coaching. I was lucky enough the Tigers thought enough of me as an evaluator, teacher and an organizer to offer me a coaching position."


title: Rob Thomson

text: In 1990, Thomson joined the New York Yankees organization as a third base coach for the team's Class-A affiliate in Fort Lauderdale. He moved into the front office in 1998 as a Field Coordinator, and became Director of Player Development in 2000. Prior to the 2003 season, he was named Vice President of Minor League Development, and he was named to the Yankees major league coaching staff in November of the same year. Thomson ran the Yankees’ spring training camp. Yankees manager Joe Torre nicknamed Thomson "Topper" because Thomson was always on top of everything while running the spring training camp.


title: Rob Thomson

text: During the 1994–95 offseason, he managed the Canberra Bushrangers of the original Australian Baseball League.


title: Rob Thomson

text: On September 27, 2006, Thomson took over as first base coach of the Yankees in place of Tony Peña, who had learned before the game that his father had died. He filled in at the position for four games, and Peña returned in time for the season finale on October 1.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Prior to the 2008 season, incoming manager Joe Girardi named Thomson his bench coach. On April 4, 2008, Girardi fell ill with a respiratory infection and designated Thomson to manage that night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was Thomson's first major league game as a manager, and he became the first Canadian to manage a Major League game since George Gibson for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934; the Yankees lost 13–4. Thomson also managed the April 5 game due to Girardi's illness.


title: Rob Thomson

text: He served as the team's third base coach for six seasons, and was a member of the coaching staff for the Yankees' 2009 World Series championship. Prior to the 2015 season, Thomson was named bench coach, which was a role he held until 2017.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson held the position of Philadelphia Phillies bench coach from 2018–2022. He initially got the assignment under first year manager Gabe Kapler. A report by Jon Heyman claimed that after a series of managing mistakes by Kapler, Thomson had taken over in-game decisions. Kapler was fired after two seasons, but Thomson remained the Phillies’ bench coach under new manager Joe Girardi, who had worked with Thomson while with the Yankees. Prior to the 2022 season, Thomson had stated to the team that it would be his last as a bench coach, intending to retire after the completion of the season.


title: Rob Thomson

text: On June 3, 2022, the Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi after a disappointing 22–29 start to the season. The same day, Thomson was named the Phillies’ interim manager. Thomson became the first Canadian full-time manager since George Gibson managed the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934. The Phillies won their first game under Thomson, blanking the Los Angeles Angels 10–0.


title: Rob Thomson

text: On July 13, 2022, Thomson managed a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, at the Rogers Centre, to become the first Canadian to manage a major league game in Canada.


title: Rob Thomson

text: The Phillies secured a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros to clinch their first playoff berth since 2011 on October 3, 2022. After the game, Thomson said in the locker room "We’re not done. After Wednesday, we have 13 more wins and [then] we’re world champions." With the Phillies making the playoffs, Thomson became just the fourth interim manager in MLB history to take over a team at least 7 games under .500 and lead them to the postseason. In the Wild Card Series, against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies swept the Cardinals 2-0 for their first playoff series win since 2010. In the National League Division Series, the Phillies faced off against the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves. The Phillies defeated the Braves, 3-1, and reached the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2010.


title: Rob Thomson

text: On October 10, 2022, the Phillies removed the interim tag from Thomson's title and formally named him the 55th manager in franchise history, with a two-year contract.


title: Rob Thomson

text: He then led the team to win the 2022 National League Pennant. After clinching a trip to the 2022 World Series, Thomson reiterated that there was more work to be done telling his team that they had "beaten three really good teams, and there was one to go." The Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in six games, where the Astros won three in a row after losing two of the first three games. In Game 6, Thomson received scrutiny from some in the media for his decision to take out starter Zach Wheeler after 70 pitches that saw José Alvarado promptly give up a home run to Yordan Alvarez for the go-ahead runs.


title: Rob Thomson

text: Thomson lives in Stratford, Ontario, a 1 hour 45-minute drive from Toronto, with his wife, Michele. In the past, Thomson lived in Tampa Bay, Florida and Manhattan, New York. He has two daughters.


title: Talking Cricket

text: The Talking Cricket () is a fictional character that appears in the 1883 Italian book "The Adventures of Pinocchio" ("Le avventure di Pinocchio") by Carlo Collodi.


title: Talking Cricket

text: The Talking Cricket, who has lived in Geppetto's house for over a century, makes his first appearance in chapter IV, after Pinocchio's mischief has landed his maker Geppetto to spend one night in prison, and insists that Pinocchio must either attend school or work to function properly in the world. When Pinocchio refuses to listen, the Cricket states, "You are a puppet and what's worse is that you have a head of wood", whereupon Pinocchio throws a mallet at the cricket, which kills him.


title: Talking Cricket

text: In chapter XIII, the Talking Cricket reappears as a ghost to Pinocchio, telling him to return home rather than keep an appointment with the Fox and the Cat ("Il Gatto e la Volpe"). Pinocchio refuses and in chapter XIV, he is subsequently injured.


title: Talking Cricket

text: The Talking Cricket's ghost reappears in chapter XVI, where he and his colleagues the Crow and the Owl tend to Pinocchio's injuries. While the Crow and the Owl argue over if Pinocchio is dead or alive, the Talking Cricket states that Pinocchio is fine and disobeyed his father.


title: Talking Cricket

text: The Talking Cricket makes his final appearance in chapter XXXVI, living in a house given to him by the Fairy with Turquoise Hair, where he allows Pinocchio and the ailing Geppetto to stay while Geppetto regains his health.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The Iranian Green Movement () or Green Wave of Iran (), also referred to as the Persian Awakening or Persian Spring by the western media, refers to a political movement that arose after the June 12, 2009 Iranian presidential election and lasted until early 2010, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Green was initially used as the symbol of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, but after the election it became the symbol of unity and hope for those asking for annulment of what they regarded as a fraudulent election. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are recognized as political leaders of the Green Movement. Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri was also mentioned as spiritual leader of the movement.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The Green Movement protests were a major event in Iran's modern political history and observers claimed that these protests were the largest since the Iranian Revolution of 1978–79. While the protests started out as a peaceful, non-violent movement, hundreds of people were arrested and several died as protests turned more violent in the following months. The movement eventually had trouble with retaining its momentum.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The office of the President in Iran is considered the second most powerful position in the country, after that of the Supreme Leader, as the President is the head of the executive branch of power. Since 2005, Iran was led by conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served as mayor of Tehran before being elected as president. Ahmadinejad's name was associated with human rights violations in the country, particularly with the use of violence. The list of these violations included the increased number of death penalties and problems with LGBT rights. According to Human Rights Watch, "basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows" under Ahmadinejad's first presidency as, for example, the number of executions increased by three times. The Iranian president has no power over the judiciary, as it is headed by the chief justice who is in turn appointed by the Supreme Leader.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: During the first presidency of Ahmadinejad, the problem was particularly severe with juvenile death penalty. More than 130 juvenile offenders were sentenced to death in Iran as of 2008. Moreover, independent researchers pointed out that the number of political prisoners increased during Ahmadinejad's first presidency. Other problems with human rights involved the absence of basic protection of LGBT rights. The number of criminal convictions for homosexual sex increased between 2005 and 2009, while the President even denied the existence of gay people in Iran.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Issues with human rights and other problems, such as the alleged voting fraud, led Ahmadinejad's popularity to decline. This was especially the case in urban areas, including the country's capital Tehran, and among the youth, according to "The Guardian".


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: In 2009, the Iranian government held a regular presidential election. Former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi was the most popular candidate opposing Ahmadinejad.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The election took place on 12 June 2009 but the disagreement between the government and the opposition over the results of the election quickly caused a significant controversy. Ahmadinejad was considered to be winning in a landslide victory, but Mousavi and his supporters believed the results were fraudulent. They suggested that the Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli, an ally of Ahmadinejad, had interfered with the election and distorted the votes to keep Ahmadinejad in power.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Mousavi claimed the victory and called for his supporters to celebrate it. At the same time, the office of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad almost immediately announced that the sitting president had won the election as he had received approximately two-thirds of votes. It sparked the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, which were organized mostly by Mousavi's supporters and were directed against Ahmadinejad and the government in general.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Clashes broke out between police and groups protesting the election results from early morning on Saturday onward. Initially, the protests were largely peaceful. However, as time passed, they became increasingly violent. In a stand-off that later took place in north Tehran between supporters of Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, an angry throng of people broke into shops, started fires, and tore down signs. Civil unrest took place as riot police on motorbikes used batons to disperse Mousavi supporters who staged a sit-in near the interior ministry, where the results were announced. Up to 2,000 Mousavi supporters erected barricades of burning tyres and chanted "Mousavi take back our vote!".


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The demonstrations grew bigger and more heated than the 1999 student protests. Al Jazeera English described the 13 June situation as the "biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution." It also reported that protests seemed spontaneous without any formal organization. Two hundred people protested outside Iran's embassy in London on 13 June. Ynet has stated that "tens of thousands" protested on 13 June. Demonstrators are chanting phrases such as "Down with the dictator", "Death to the dictator", and "Give us our votes back". Mousavi urged for calm and asked that his supporters refrain from acts of violence.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Ynet reported on 14 June that two people had died in the rioting so far. That day, protests had been organized in front of the Iranian embassies in Turkey, Dubai, Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, Sydney, Vienna and The Hague. In response to the reformist protests, tens of thousands of people rallied in Tehran on 14 June to support the victory of Ahmadinejad.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: On 15 June, Mousavi rallied, with a number of his supporters ranging anywhere from hundreds of thousands to three million, in Tehran, despite being warned by state officials that any such rally would be illegal. The demonstration, the largest in the Islamic Republic of Iran's 30-year history, was Mousavi's first public appearance after the election. Protests focused around Azadi Tower, around which lines of people stretched for more than nine kilometers. Gunshots were reported to have been fired at the rally, where Mousavi had spoken to his supporters saying, "The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person." All three opposition candidates made an appearance.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Competing rallies for Mousavi and for Ahmadinejad took place on 16 June. The pro-Ahmadinejad protesters, chanting the phrases "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!", outnumbered their opponents, but they did not match the numbers of opponents who had protested the day before. Reports from the state media and elsewhere stated on 16 June that seven people have died in all of the protests so far. However, Times Online quoted a Rasoul Akram Hospital nurse that day who asserted that 28 people have suffered from "bullet wounds" and eight have died so far. Over half a million reformist Iranians marched silently from Haft-e-Tir Square to Vali Asr Square on 17 June. Huffington Post reported that day that 32 people had died protesting so far.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: On 14 February 2011, the largest Green demonstrations in Iran in more than a year broke out. In response, pro-government MPs called for the death of opposition leaders Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: On the weekend of 13 and 14 June, in a series of raids across Tehran, the government arrested over 170 people, according to police officials. Among them were prominent reformist politicians, including Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO) founder Behzad Nabavi, Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) leader Mohsen Mirdamadi, and former president Mohammad Khatami's brother Mohammad-Reza Khatami, who was later released. Also arrested were Mostafa Tajzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh, whom the IRNA said were involved in orchestrating protests on 13 June. Anonymous sources said that the police stormed the headquarters of the IIPF and arrested a number of people. Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin claimed that presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi was put under house arrest, although officials denied this. An estimated 200 people were detained after clashes with students at Tehran University, although many were later released.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Acting Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan stated via the state press service on the 14th that "in the interrogation of related rebels, we intend to find the link between the plotters and foreign media". A judiciary spokesman said they had not been arrested but that they were summoned, "warned not to increase tension," and later released. Intelligence minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei linked some arrests to terrorism supported from outside Iran, stating that "more than 20 explosive consignments were discovered". Others, he said, were "counter-revolutionary groups" who had "penetrated election headquarters" of the election candidates.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: On 16 June, Reuters reported that former vice-president Mohammad-Ali Abtahi and former presidential advisor Saeed Hajjarian had been arrested. Human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who had been demanding a recount of all votes, was also arrested on the Tuesday according to Shirin Ebadi, who said that security officials had posed as clients. Over 100 students were arrested after security forces fired tear gas at protesters at Shiraz University on the same day. Reporters Without Borders reported that 5 of 11 arrested journalists were still detention as of 16 June, and that a further 10 journalists were unaccounted for and may have been arrested.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: On 17 June, former foreign minister and secretary-general of the Freedom Movement of Iran, Ebrahim Yazdi, was arrested while undergoing tests at Pars hospital in Tehran. He was held overnight in Evin Prison before being released and returning to hospital, where according to Human Rights Watch he remained under guard. In Tabriz, other Freedom Movement activists and eight members of the IIPF were arrested, with reports of at least 100 civic figures' arrests. The total number of arrests across Iran since the election was reported as 500.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, stated that "Iranian intelligence and security forces are using the public protests to engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals whose situations in detention could be life-threatening". In Isfahan Province, prosecutor-general Mohammadreza Habibi warned that dissidents could face execution under Islamic law.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: In 2011, Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife and Mehdi Karroubi were placed under house arrest by the government. During his election campaigns in 2013 and 2017, then-presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani pledged to release them if he were to be elected as president, but the opposition leaders remain under house arrest to this day.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: "Where is my vote?" ( "ra'y-e-man kojāst?") is a motto which was used during the protests. The Iranian government, headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, released results claiming a two-thirds majority. However, Mousavi had already claimed victory before the vote count was done and supporters of Mousavi and Karroubi accused the government of rigging the votes.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: In the aftermath of the election, protests were widened and several massive protests were held around the country by the people. The government arrested a large number of the protesters and several were killed by the police and governmental militia forces.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Although the Iranian government prohibited any form of gathering by opposition-supporters in Tehran and across the country, significantly slowed down internet access and censored any form of media agreeing with the opposition, hundreds of thousands of Iranians chanted this motto, defying the law and challenging the Islamic Republic.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The Green Movement spread throughout the nation as a non-violent protest movement, bringing about hope of more democratization. Protests lasted all through the fall of 2009, with big events happening on national holidays. On Quds Day (September 18th), the anniversary of the US Embassy takeover (November 4th), National Students Day (December 7th) and the day of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's death (December 19th) there were turnouts of thousands of people. On the holy day of Ashura (December 7th), the protests turned more violent as hundreds of thousands took to the streets once again, the highest turnout since June, and clashed with state security forces. Hundreds of people were arrested and at least 15 people died. Among them was the 35 year-old nephew of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Seyed Ali Mousavi.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Within a year, the Green Movement had trouble with retaining its relevance. The number of public demonstrations started to decrease because of the harsh reactions by the state. Security forces attacked protesters in the streets and imprisoned activists as well as politicians. Mousavi and Karroubi were placed under house arrest in 2010, which created even more difficulties for the Green Movement to stay organized.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Access to the Internet and social media as well as the possibility to send text messages was regularly restricted by the government, making it difficult for further protests to materialize. The movement later became less confrontational in an effort to influence the next presidential elections and several groups linked to the Green Movement supported the campaign of Hassan Rouhani in 2014. Following his victory, slogans and symbols that emerged during the protests in 2009 were used again by his supporters.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: Mousavi and other reformist leaders are now working in peaceful and legal methods to widen the influence of their reforms. They have set up a new coalition named "The Green Path of Hope". Iranian political parties and movements need to be authorized by the Interior Ministry. Mousavi neither recognizes the current government as legitimate nor is likely to receive permission; so, the movement was named a "path" in order to bypass this law.


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: The Green Path of Hope claims it seeks to continue protests against Ahmadinejad's presidency following lawful and peaceful methods, and the full execution of the constitution, as Mousavi says:"You can't follow some parts of the constitution and throw the rest into a bin." According to organization officials, the movement encompasses numerous political parties, NGO's and social networks. The "Green Path" has six main members of the central council, who are connected to reformist parties, NGOs, and social networks. The main body consists of ordinary protesters. The strategy is to connect existent pressures and issues in society in a social network, and to therefore lead protests in a lawful manner. The goals of the organization are stated as follows:"During the election, our mottos supported and remained in the framework of the constitution; today we are devoted to those slogans. We believe that if the people's demands were treated fairly, instead of being distorted by the media and linked to foreigners, and the government promoted truth by fair criticism, our mottos could satisfy the public."


title: Iranian Green Movement

text: During Iran's final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Korea in Seoul on 17 June 2009, seven members of the team, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi, Hossein Kaebi, Masoud Shojaei, Mohammad Nosrati, Vahid Hashemian, and captain Mehdi Mahdavikia allegedly wore green wristbands in support of the Iranian Green Movement during the 2009 Iranian election protests. However green was one of the colors of their uniform, which also had green shirt logos. Initially it was reported that all seven players were banned for life by the Iranian Football Federation, but state-run media claimed that all seven had "retired". On 24 June 2009, FIFA wrote to Iran's Football Federation asking for clarification on the situation. The Iranian Football Federation replied that no disciplinary action has been taken against any player. As of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, several of the above-mentioned players have played again for the national team, notably Javad Nekounam, Masoud Shojaei, and Mehdi Mahdavikia.


title: Diana-Maria Riva

text: Diana-Maria Riva (born July 22, 1969) is an American actress, known for her performances on television. She was regular cast member in series including "Philly" (2001-02), "Side Order of Life" (2007), "The Good Guys" (2010), "Telenovela" (2015-16) and "Gordita Chronicles" (2022). Riva also had major recurring roles in "The West Wing", "The Bridge" and "Dead to Me".


title: Diana-Maria Riva

text: Diana-Maria Riva grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Maria (née Riva) and Chris, a dentist. She attended St. Ursula Academy and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music


title: Diana-Maria Riva

text: Riva began her career on stage appearing in Michael Weller play "Help!" in 1996. Also that year, she made her screen debut in the short-lived ABC comedy series, "Common Law". The series was canceled after only four episodes. She later was cast in a recurring role in the ABC legal series, "Murder One" created by Steven Bochco. She later would appear on regular and recurring roles on his shows including "NYPD Blue" (1997, 1999), "City of Angels" (2000), and "Philly" (2001-02). Her other early television credits including "Party of Five", "The X Files", "The Drew Carey Show", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "", and "Less Than Perfect". She has also appeared as a celebrity guest on the Donny Osmond version of the game show "Pyramid".


title: Diana-Maria Riva

text: In 2000, Riva made her big screen debut playing the supporting role in the romantic comedy film, "What Women Want". She later appeared in films "The Third Wheel" (2002), "Chasing Papi" (2003), "Our Family Wedding" (2010), "Short Term 12" (2012), "Love & Mercy" (2014), and "McFarland, USA" (2015). Riva had recurring roles in "Sabrina The Teenage Witch" (2002-03), "The West Wing" (2005-06), and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006-07). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived Lifetime drama series, "Side Order of Life".


title: Diana-Maria Riva

text: In 2010, Riva starred as Lieutenant Ana Ruiz in the FOX police comedy series, "The Good Guys" as the boss of detectives Dan Stark ("West Wing"/"Studio 60" alum Bradley Whitford) and Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks) in the Dallas Police Department. In 2012, she starred as a mother-in-law of Rob Schneider's title character in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Rob!". From 2013 to 2015, she had a recurring role in the FX crime drama "The Bridge", and from 2015 to 2016 starred alongside Eva Longoria in the NBC comedy series, "Telenovela". The following year, she was regular cast member during the first season of CBS sitcom "Man with a Plan" as Mrs. Rodriguez. In 2019, she starred in the NBC sitcom "Sunnyside" opposite Kal Penn, and from 2019 to 2022 had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy-drama series, "Dead to Me". In 2022, she starred in the another short-lived comedy series, "Gordita Chronicles" for HBO Max.


Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a 2006 American mockumentary black comedy slasher film directed by Scott Glosserman. It stars Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubenstein, and Robert Englund. A homage to the slasher genre, the film follows a journalist and her crew that are documenting an aspiring serial killer who models himself according to slasher film conventions.


title: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

text: Principal photography took place in Oregon, although the story takes place in a small town in Maryland. The film premiered at the 2006 South by Southwest film festival and was shown at several other festivals followed by a limited release in the United States on March 16, 2007. It is Zelda Rubenstein's final film released during her lifetime before her death in 2010.


text: The film is shot as a documentary set in a world where the killers depicted in famous slasher films are historical figures. A journalist named Taylor Gentry and her two cameramen, Doug and Todd, document the preparations of Leslie Vernon as he prepares to join the ranks of other slasher villains. Leslie claims to be a boy from a local urban legend who supposedly became possessed and killed his family before being killed by the townsfolk, but having in fact survived the attack. He walks Taylor and her crew through his plans but refuses to truly explain his motives.


text: Leslie plans to orchestrate a killing spree at his alleged family home, a rundown farm in the woods. At the farm, he plans to slaughter a number of teenagers before being confronted by his chosen virginal "survivor girl", a local seventeen-year-old high school student named Kelly Curtis. In addition to a strict training regime and learning theater techniques to create the proper atmosphere, he has rigged the farm to be in his favor: sealing off exits within the house, mapping the routes his victims will take, rigging the electrical system to fail, and tampering with potential weapons in the barn. Leslie also discusses the bizarre behavior of people in such circumstances, such as herding together without really protecting themselves, tripping on level and stable ground, and attempting to hide in obvious and dangerous locations.


text: During the documentary shoot, Leslie introduces Taylor and her crew to his mentor, Eugene, who vaguely elaborates on the motives of killers like himself: for them to be a sacrifice by acting as evil to counter and even bring out the good within the world. Eugene's wife offhandedly suggests killing the local librarian, Mrs. Collinwood, as a stinger kill in order to draw Kelly in, which he does after Eugene agrees that it's a good idea. However, Leslie's claim to be Leslie Vernon avenging his death is proven false when a psychiatrist, Doc Halloran, interrupts Taylor and her crew, revealing that Leslie is in fact an ordinary, mentally-unstable man named Leslie Mancuso, whom Halloran treated in Reno, Nevada. Taylor confronts Leslie about Halloran's allegation and Leslie becomes aggressive with her. Taylor contemplates ending the documentary, but reconciles with Leslie and chooses to continue filming. Taylor and her crew continue to film Leslie's meticulous preparations for his killing spree.


text: Though Taylor and her crew possess enthusiasm for Leslie's creativity, their consciences catch up with them on the night of the murders. They beg Leslie to call off his killing spree, but Leslie is adamant, believing that his survivor girl will define herself by facing him. He implores and invites the crew to leave but they ultimately decide to stop Leslie. At this point, the film's mise-en-scène shifts from documentary mode to a standard horror film presentation. Taylor attempts to warn and rally the remaining teens together to fight Leslie, attempting to use the knowledge they have against Leslie, but Leslie's preparations appear to have expected the crew remaining. The group looks to Kelly - who is revealed to not be a virgin - for leadership, but she unexpectedly dies when trying to escape. Taylor struggles to keep the teenagers from bumbling through Leslie's preordained schedule, with Todd sacrificing himself by drawing Leslie away from the house, one of the few disruptions that Leslie mentioned as being potentially ruinous to his plan.


text: Taylor quickly realizes that, as a virgin herself, she was Leslie's intended survivor girl all along. Leslie continues picking off the group one-by-one until only Taylor remains. She faces Leslie and defeats him in the exact manner he had laid out for her, crushing Leslie's head in the apple press, then burns down the shed in which he was defeated, apparently killing him. Outside, she finds Doug and Doc Halloran, who have both survived their encounters with Leslie.


text: Over the final credits, security camera footage reveals Leslie's charred body sitting up on an autopsy table, still alive.


text: "Behind the Mask" was filmed largely in Portland, Oregon and the outlying towns of Troutdale, Banks, St. Helens, Estacada, and Sauvie Island. The establishing shots of Glen Echo were filmed on Main Street in downtown Troutdale. One of the film's key sequences featuring Leslie's confrontation with Kelly at the library was filmed at the Central Library in downtown Portland. Filming took place in November 2004.


text: Due to the limited budget and location restrictions, some of the script was re-written during filming to accommodate the filming locations. During filming, several locations needed for certain scenes had yet to be scouted and were discovered in the middle of shooting.


text: Actor Scott Wilson became involved in the film after a suggestion from friend Robert Englund, who was already cast in the film. According to writer David J. Stieve, Wilson's character, Eugene, was written as both a homage and an allusion to Billy Lenz, the antagonist of the 1974 film "Black Christmas". He notes that both characters helped "pioneer the business of fear", but were not as widely recognized as much as their successors. In earlier drafts of the film's script, Eugene was more heavily implied to be Billy, but the idea was later abandoned in subsequent drafts in favor of making the character more of an archetype or an amalgamation of various slasher villains.


text: Director Scott Glosserman recruited a group of young local filmmakers in Portland to work as additional editors on the film after seeing and being impressed by an independent film they had produced called "The Black Shoe Drifter".


text: The film premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March 2006, and toured at other festivals, eventually acquiring distribution from Anchor Bay Entertainment, who released the film limitedly in the United States in March 2007.


text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" holds a 76% approval rating based on 42 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.98/10. The consensus reads: "A smart mockumentary that presents a gory, funny, and obviously affectionate skewering of the slasher genre.” On Metacritic, the film has a 66/100 rating based on 14 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".


text: Elizabeth Weitzman of the "New York Daily News" called the film "a must for those who like thrills laced with a sense of humor" and noted the film's deadpan sense of humor. James Berardinelli said that it "provides a fresh, chilling breeze through the stale air of the crypt that has become multiplex horror", and awarded it three out of four stars, while the "Los Angeles Times" referred to it as "original and weirdly delicious, and executed with gory aplomb."


text: Stephen Hunter of "The Washington Post" said the film's "breakdown of cliches is vivid and witty", noting that its intended audience was "genre deconstructionists" and "smart young people who have studied horror/slasher movies and enjoy them for their vulgar energy." Hunter also called the performances of Baesal and Goethals "brilliant".


text: Contrarily, "The Village Voice" gave the film an unfavorable review, stating: "Desperately overcompensating for the fact that most horror films are already parodies of themselves, "Behind the Mask" takes a bite out of the dumb "Scream" franchise before devouring its own tail, proving that you are what you eat."


text: Tyler Doupe of Fearnet included Leslie Vernon in his list of "Ten of Horror's Most Disarming Psychopaths".


text: ... there's a certain chance. I know that ideas have already been circulating around Scott and David's heads and I'd love to take Leslie on again. However, I don't think we'd undertake a sequel unless the script is as good or better than "Behind the Mask". The first was so good it would be pissing on Leslie's legacy to set out with anything less than inspired ... and Leslie would never have that.


text: In early 2017, director Scott Glosserman explained that the script for the sequel had become a little dated due to the changes in horror over the intervening years.


title: Just Lose It

text: "Just Lose It" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fifth studio album, "Encore" (2004). It was released on September 28, 2004, as the lead single from "Encore", and was later included on his greatest hits compilation album, "" (2005). The song caused controversy as its lyrics and music video parodies Michael Jackson, who was being accused of child molestation at the time. The song also pokes fun at Beavis/Cornholio, MC Hammer, Madonna, and others. It also heavily spoofs Pee-wee Herman, going as far as imitating his signature shout during the chorus and Eminem dressing like him in the video.


title: Just Lose It

text: on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and reached number one in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom as well as the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway.


title: Just Lose It

text: Two skits regarding the Michael Jackson controversy were included on "Encore", "Paul (Skit)" and "Em Calls Paul (Skit)". The lyrics to "Just Lose It" refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "... and that's not a stab at Michael, That's just a metaphor, I'm just psycho..." At the beginning of the song there is a lyrical excerpt from Eminem's 2002 single "Without Me" about how "Shady's back". The line "Snap back to reality. Look! It's B. Rabbit" and "You signed me up to battle" refers to "Lose Yourself" and Eminem's character in the movie "8 Mile". In the second verse of the song there is a line "So fellas, fellas..." which is a reference to Sir Mix-a-Lot's song "Baby Got Back". The line "Girl you know you're my world," from the chorus, is a reference to the chorus of his song "Superman" from his album "The Eminem Show".


title: Just Lose It

text: The song received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it too similar to Eminem's previous work. AllMusic highlighted the song in a review of the album. Pitchfork was also positive: "'Just Lose It' is still most notable for dancing with paedo and homoerotic imagery: It's the one track here that seems as potentially multilayered as the best of "The Marshall Mathers LP", yet it's still more curio than anything else." "NME" wrote: "Em (is) reduced to making funny noises to keep things interesting." David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly", however, felt mixed: "First [on the album] came the sarcastically bouncy "Just Lose It", a lazy retread of earlier hits that, with its easy-target references to Michael Jackson, made Eminem appear to be the one who'd actually lost it." "HipHopDX" panned the song and called it "by far the worst song Eminem or Dr. Dre has ever made. It really seems like their object here was to make the worst song possible. The interlude leading into it is damn hilarious though." "Los Angeles Times" called it "the album's hilarious slap at celebrity voyeurism, with Eminem himself a prominent target."


title: Just Lose It

text: RapReviews argued it isn't "dropping any jaws or widening any eyes." "Rolling Stone" described this song as "dance-music dis." In a review praising "Encore"'s "edginess," Steve Jones of USA Today cited the song's mocking of the Michael Jackson child-molestation scandal. Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian", however, wrote: "[Eminem's] plan appears to involve belching and making fart noises, which, with the best will in the world, won't suffice." Kelefa Sanneh of "The New York Times" wrote that song "unfolds as a series of puzzlingly unfunny jokes." "Stylus Magazine" was negative as well, calling it "Em’s brand new tendency to bite himself." "The Austin Chronicle" was a bit negative as well: "Where 2002 smash 'Without Me' was bitingly clever, "Encore"s carbon copy 'Just Lose It' is puerile and embarrassing, even though he quotes "Beavis and Butt-head" and does a wicked Pee-wee Herman." "Slant Magazine" said that the song "was so derivative that it had to be a joke—even the song’s title seemed to mock the Academy Award-winning "8 Mile" theme song that elevated the Great White Rapper to a whole new level of acceptance (as if he hadn’t already transcended nearly every other boundary in pop culture). Not only is 'Just Lose It' the worst song on "Encore", it’s easily one of the most annoying songs of the year (credit Em’s incessant Pee Wee Herman impersonations and tired attacks on Michael Jackson)."


title: Just Lose It

text: The video contains a parody of a rap battle scene from "8 Mile" in which it is Eminem, as B-Rabbit, versus Eminem, as Slim Shady. It also contains several scenes where Eminem is walking down the streets naked. As he is doing this, Dr. Dre is driving next to him, looking disgusted. For the music video, the lyrics were edited slightly, notably the phrase "shake that ass", becoming the less provocative "shake that thing". Other changes include the muting of some parts of the second verse, and the phrase "butt naked" becoming "buck naked". Such examples of parodies that are included in this video are Michael Jackson, MC Hammer and his hit single "U Can't Touch This", Pee-wee Herman, Madonna, blink-182 and the music video for "What's My Age Again", and the movie "Bad Santa", by displaying Eminem as a "mall santa", and even going so far to include Tony Cox, the actor who played the elf from the actual movie, as Eminem's helper. Some of the celebrities who appeared in this music video were Paris Hilton, Monica Parales, Erik Estrada, Alyson Stoner, BooBoo Stewart, Omar Benson Miller, De'Angelo Wilson, "8 Mile" co-star Mekhi Phifer and Dr. Dre. The video was later nominated at the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video, but lost to Ludacris' "Number One Spot". Much Music's 50 Most Controversial Videos ranked it #1 for its jokes on famous people.


title: Just Lose It

text: The music video for "Just Lose It" generated controversy by parodying singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery and an incident in 1984 when Jackson's hair caught fire whilst filming a Pepsi commercial.


title: Just Lose It

text: A week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson called into Steve Harvey's radio show to report his displeasure with the video. "I am very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in his video," Jackson said in the interview. "I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive." Jackson continued: "I've admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large." Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called it "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit", and Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back." The video was banned on the BET channel, after complaints from Benzino and others (but was later reinstated, as critics of the ban argued that Nelly's "Tip Drill" video which has been alleged to be misogynistic was aired; both were seen on ""). However MTV did not drop it, and the video became one of the most requested on the channel.


title: Just Lose It

text: The song was remixed by Shady Records DJ and producer DJ Green Lantern. The remix's only official releases were on the British, German and digital download of "Like Toy Soldiers" and the second British edition of "Mockingbird".


Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has changed dramatically since the late 1980s, and by the early 2020s an overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the legality of these marriages.


title: Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States

text: A December 2022 "Quinnipiac University" poll found that 68% of Americans supported legal recognition of same-sex marriage and 22 percent opposed it. From 1988 to 2009, support for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year, and accelerated thereafter, rising above 50% in "Pew Research Center" polling for the first time in 2011.


text: A 2021 "Public Religion Research Institute" poll of the states found majority support for same-sex marriage in 47 states, ranging from 50% in South Carolina to 85% in Massachusetts. There is plurality support for legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Alabama, where 49% support and 47% oppose. Only Mississippi and Arkansas have majority opposition to same-sex marriage; in Mississippi, 55% oppose and 44% support, while in Arkansas, 52% oppose and 47% support same-sex marriage.


text: "Garretson (2018)" writes: "The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling."


text: Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has changed radically since polling of the American people regarding the issue was first conducted in 1988. The issue of same-sex marriage was not brought up as an issue for public debate until at least the 1950s and wasn't a political issue until the 1970s. According to statistician Nate Silver of the poll aggregator "FiveThirtyEight", from 1988 to April 2009, support for same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year and about 4% from April 2009 to August 2010. A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from May 21, 2008, to May 25, 2008, found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans did not oppose same-sex marriage, with opposition having fallen to 49%.<ref name="PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS MAY 2008 POLITICAL/BELIEVABILITY SURVEY FINAL TOPLINE May 21–25, 2008"></ref> An ABC News/"Washington Post" poll, conducted from April 21, 2009, to April 24, 2009, found that, for the first time, a plurality of Americans supported same-sex marriage at 49% and that a majority of Americans supported the marriages of same-sex couples validly entered into in one state being recognized in all states at 53%. A CNN/Opinion Research poll, conducted from August 6, 2010, to August 10, 2010, found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans supported same-sex marriage at 52%. A Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll, conducted from January 25, 2015 to January 31, 2015, found that, for the first time, 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage.


text: Continual polling by Gallup over the course of more than two decades has shown that support for same-sex marriage has grown rapidly, while opposition has simultaneously collapsed. In 1996, 68% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while only 27% supported. In 2018, 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while only 31% opposed. As of 2018, 60% of Americans said they would not mind if their child married someone of the same gender.


text: A December 2022 "Quinnipiac University" poll found that 68% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 22 percent opposed it.


text: A September 2022 "Grinnell College National Poll" found that 74% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagreed and 13% were uncertain.


text: A June 2021 CBS News/YouGov poll found that 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage while 36% were opposed. Two-thirds of Republicans over age 45 are opposed, but the opinions of Republicans under age 45 are almost evenly split with 52% oppose and 48% support same sex marriage.


text: An 2021 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 32% were opposed.


text: A June 2021 Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans supported same-sex marriage and 29% were against.


text: A June 2020 Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans supported same sex marriage, while 31% were against, matching their May 2018 record high.


text: A Public Religion Research Institute nationwide & state-by-state poll conducted in 2020 found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 27% opposed, and 5% refused to answer or answered "don't know," with there being majority support for same-sex marriage in 46 states, and plurality support in 4 states.


text: A 2020 American National Election Studies poll found that 66% of Americans supported legal recognition of same-sex marriage, 20% supported civil unions, while 14% of Americans were opposed to any legal recognition of same-sex relationships.


text: A June 2019 CBS News poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% were against.


text: A June 2019 IPSOS/Reuters poll found that 58% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% were against.


text: A May 2019 Pew Research Center poll found 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage while 31% were against.


text: A May 2019 Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans supported same sex marriage, with 36% opposing it. While this is a drop when compared to 2018, same sex marriage approval still remains stable.


text: A May 2018 Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 31% opposed, and 2% had no opinion.


text: An April 2018 NBC News poll found that 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 33% opposed, and 3% had no opinion. The poll was reported by NBC News as notable as it found that 55% of Southerners supported same-sex marriage, which represented an historic change for a region that was previously staunchly opposed.


text: A Public Religion Research Institute nationwide & state-by-state poll conducted throughout 2017 found that 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 30% opposed, and 9% refused to answer or answered "don't know," with there being majority support for same-sex marriage in 44 states, plurality support in 4 states, plurality opposition in 1 state, and majority opposition in 1 state.


text: An August 2017 NBC News/"The Wall Street Journal" poll found that 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 33% opposed, and 7% had no opinion.


text: A June 2017 Pew Research Center poll found 62% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 32% opposed, and 6% had no opinion. This marked the first Pew poll where a majority of Baby Boomers supported same-sex marriage, did not oppose same-sex marriage.


text: A May 2017 Gallup poll found 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 34% opposed, and 2% had no opinion. This marked the first Gallup poll where a majority of Protestants supported same-sex marriage.


text: A May 2016 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 37% opposed, and 2% had no opinion. This marked the first Gallup poll where a majority of Americans aged 65 and older supported same-sex marriage.


text: A May Gallup poll found 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 37% opposed, and 3% had no opinion.


text: A January–February Human Rights Campaign poll found that 60% of Americans favored same-sex marriage, while 37% opposed. The same poll also found that 46% of respondents knew a same-sex couple who had gotten married.


text: A February 12–15 CNN/ORC poll found that 63% of Americans believed same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, while 36% disagreed.


text: A May Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 42% opposed, and 4% had no opinion.


text: An April Public Religion Research Institute poll sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that 55% of all Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 39% were opposed.


text: A Pew Research Center poll released in March found 54% of Americans favored same-sex marriage, 39% opposed, and 7% didn't know. It also researched support for same-sex marriage among Republican leaning voters in the United States. 61% of Republican leaning voters aged 18–29 supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while only 27% of Republican leaning voters over 50 years of age were supportive. 52% of Republican voters aged 18–50 supported same-sex marriage.


text: A "Washington Post"/ABC News poll from February–March found that a record high of 59% of Americans approved of same-sex marriage, with only 34% opposed and 7% with no opinion. The poll also revealed that 53% of the population in the states that did not allow same-sex couples to marry at the time approved of same-sex marriage. 50% of respondents agreed that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the freedom to marry regardless of sex or sexual orientation, while 41% disagreed, and 9% had no opinion. The same poll also found that 81% of people believed that businesses should not be allowed to refuse to serve gays and lesbians. 16% disagreed, and 3% had no opinion. 78% thought that gay couples can be "just as good parents" as straight couples, while 18% disagreed and 4% had no opinion.


text: A November/December Public Religion Research Institute poll sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that 53% of all Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 41% were opposed and 6% unsure. The margin of error was 1.1%. The same poll found clear majorities in favor of same-sex marriage in the Northeast (60%), West (58%), and Midwest (51%). Only the South was evenly divided 48% in favor to 48% opposed. Further, nearly 7-in-10 (69%) of those born after 1980 (ages 18–33) favored allowing same-sex couples to marry.


text: A Bloomberg National Poll conducted by Selzer & Company taken during September 20–23, 2013 found that 55% supported same-sex marriage, while 36% opposed and 9% were unsure.


text: A September Quinnipiac University poll found that 56% of American adults and 57% of registered voters supported same-sex marriage. Only 36% of both groups were opposed.


text: A July 10–14 poll by Gallup found support for same-sex marriage at 54%, a record high, and double the support of 27% Gallup first measured when the question was asked in 1996.


text: A July poll by "USA Today" found that 55% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 40% did not.


text: A May 9 "Washington Post"-ABC News poll found that 55% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 40% did not.


text: A March 20–24 CBS News Poll found that 53% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 39% opposed it, and 8% were undecided. The same poll also found that 33% of Americans who thought same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry said they once held the opposite view and had changed their opinion.


text: A March 7–10 "Washington Post"-ABC News poll found that 58% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 36% opposed. The poll indicated that 52% of GOP-leaning independents under 50 years old supported same-sex marriage.


text: A March Quinnipiac University poll of voters found 47% supported same-sex marriage and 43% were opposed.


text: A November 26–29 Gallup poll found that 53% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 46% did not.


text: A November 16–19 CBS News poll found that 51% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 40% did not.


text: A November 7–11 ABC News/"Washington Post" poll found that 51% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, while 47% were opposed.


text: A June 6 CNN/ORC International poll showed that a majority of Americans supported same-sex marriage being legalized at 54%, while 42% were opposed.


text: A May 22 NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll showed that 54% of Americans would support a law in their state making same-sex marriage legal, with 40% opposed.


text: A May 17–20 ABC News/"Washington Post" poll showed that 53% believed same-sex marriage should be legal, with only 39% opposed, a low point for opposition in any national poll that far.


text: A May 10 "USA Today"/Gallup Poll, taken one day after Barack Obama became the first sitting president to express support for same-sex marriage, showed 51% of Americans agreed with the President's endorsement, while 45% disagreed. A May 8 Gallup Poll showed majority support for same-sex marriage nationwide, with 50% in favor and 48% opposed.


text: An April Pew Research Center poll showed support for same-sex marriage at 48%, while opposition fell to 44%.


text: A March 7–10 ABC News/"Washington Post" poll found 52% of adults thought it should be legal for same-sex couples to get married, while 42% disagreed and 5% were unsure. A March survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found 52% of Americans supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 44% opposed.


text: A February 29 – March 3 NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll found 49% of adults supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 40% opposed.


text: Public support for same-sex marriage continued to grow in 2011. In February and March, a Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey found about as many adults favored (45%) as opposed (46%) allowing same-sex couples to marry legally, compared to a 2009 Pew Research survey that found just 37% backed same-sex marriage while 54% opposed. In March and April, polls by Gallup, ABC News/"Washington Post", and CNN/Opinion Research all showed that a majority of Americans approved of same-sex marriage.


text: In March, Pew reported that 57% of Democrats favored legal recognition for same-sex marriage, and 51% of independents agreed, but only 23% of Republicans agreed. An April CNN/Opinion Research Poll showed majority support including 64% of Democrats and 55% of independents, but only 27% of Republicans.


text: In March 2011, Democracy Corps conducted a survey of 1,000 likely 2012 election voters in 50 congressional districts considered political battlegrounds. It asked respondents to rate their feelings on the same-sex marriage issue on a 0–100 scale, with 100 being "very warm" or favorable feelings, and 0 being "very cold" or unfavorable feelings. 42% were on the "cool" or unfavorable side, and 35% were on the "warm" or favorable side.


text: A May 2011 Gallup Poll also showed majority support for same-sex marriage, 53% in favor to 45% opposed. Gallup measured a 9-point increase in support, from 44% to 53%, indicating that support increased faster than in any previous year.


text: An August Associated Press/National Constitution Center poll found 52% agreed that the federal government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex, an increase from 46% in 2009. 46% disagreed, compared to 53% in 2009.


text: An August CNN/Opinion Research Poll showed that 49% of respondents thought gays and lesbians "do" have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid, and 52% thought gays and lesbians "should" have that right.


text: Earlier polls in February and May found opinion divided within the margin of error, but with a consistent trend of increasing support and decreasing opposition compared to prior years. One August poll found majority opposition, and a November exit poll of 17,504 voters by CNN during the 2010 midterm elections found 53% opposition with 41% support.


text: An April 30 ABC News/"Washington Post" poll found support for allowing same-sex couples to marry in the United States ahead of opposition for the first time: 49% support, 46% opposition, and 5% with no opinion. In addition, 53% believed that same-sex marriages performed in other states should be legal in their states. 62% of Democrats and 52% of Independents supported same-sex marriage, while 74% of Republicans opposed.


text: An April 22–26 poll by CBS/"New York Times" found 42% supported marriage for same-sex couples, 25% supported civil unions, and 28% opposed any legal recognition of same-sex couples. 5% of respondents were unsure.


text: In April, Nate Silver noted that the discrepancy in support for same-sex marriage appeared to result from 5-10% of respondents who favored civil unions over same-sex marriage, but given only two choices, would support same-sex marriage.


text: A LifeWay Research poll conducted in August 2009 found that 61% of Americans born between 1980 and 1991 saw nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married, while 39% disagreed. The survey was conducted on a demographically representative survey of 1,200 U.S. adults between 18 and 29 years old.


text: A December poll revealed that 32% supported the concept of civil unions, 31% would offer full marriage rights to same-sex couples, and 30% opposed any legal recognition for gay and lesbian partnerships.


text: In a July 17 poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, 55 percent opposed same-sex marriage, and 36 percent were in favor.


text: An ABC News poll found that a majority (58%) of Americans remained opposed to same-sex marriages, while a minority (36%) support them. However, on the question of a constitutional amendment, more were opposed than for it. The majority (51%) of Americans said the issue should be left for the states to decide, while 43% would agree with amending the Constitution.


text: A July poll by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute revealed that 32% would allow homosexual partners to legally marry, 33% would permit them to form civil unions, and 29% would grant them no legal recognition.


text: In May, a Gallup poll found that opposition to same-sex marriage had fallen slightly, as other polls found a sharper dip. In the poll, when asked if marriages between homosexuals should be recognized by law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages, 58% (down 1 point from Aug 2005, and 9 points from March 1996) of Americans responded that they should not be recognized. 39% (up 2 points from Aug 2005, and 12 points from 1996) felt same-sex marriages should be recognized by law. If "homosexuals" is replaced with "same-sex couples", 42% backed same-sex marriage while 56% opposed it.


text: In June, a Princeton Survey Research Associates/Pew Research Center poll found a rise in those opposed to same-sex marriage, with 56% disapproving.


text: In March, a Princeton Survey Research Associates/Pew Research Center poll concluded that 39% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 51% opposed it, and 10% were undecided.


text: A Pew study in March found that 51% opposed same-sex marriage, with 39% supporting it, and the level of "strongly opposing" same-sex marriage had fallen from 42% to 28%. Pew's May 2008 Survey found that for the first time, a majority of people did not oppose same-sex marriage at 49%. 20% opposed and 29% strongly opposed same-sex marriage, up 1% from the March 2006 Pew Research Results.


text: In December, a Princeton Survey Research Associates/Pew Research Center poll found 61% of Americans opposed (including 38% "strongly opposed").


text: An October 1989 Yankelovich Clancy Shulman telephone poll found that 84% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, with 12% supporting same-sex marriage, and 4% being not sure.


text: A 1988 International Social Survey Programme poll found that 80.3% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while 11.9% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, and 2.1% of Americans neither agreed or disagreed.


text: A 1988 National Opinion Research Center / General Social Survey / University of Chicago poll found that 82.6% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, 10.7% of Americans supported it, 3.9% of Americans neither agreed or disagreed, and 2.8% didn't know / etc.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Greater Poland Voivodeship (; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland or "Wielkopolska" . The modern province includes most of this historic region, except for some western parts.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Greater Poland Voivodeship is second in area and third in population among Poland's sixteen voivodeships, with an area of and a population of close to 3.5 million. Its capital city is Poznań; other important cities include Kalisz, Konin, Piła, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gniezno (an early capital of Poland) and Leszno. It is bordered by seven other voivodeships: West Pomeranian to the northwest, Pomeranian to the north, Kuyavian-Pomeranian to the north-east, Łódź to the south-east, Opole to the south, Lower Silesian to the southwest and Lubusz to the west.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The city of Poznań has international twinning arrangements with the English county of Nottinghamshire.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Greater Poland, sometimes called the "cradle of Poland," formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state. Poznań and Gniezno were early centers of royal power, but following the region's devastation by pagan rebellion in the 1030s, and an invasion by Bretislaus I of Bohemia in 1038, the capital was moved by Casimir the Restorer from Gniezno to Kraków.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: In the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland (1138–1320), the western part of Greater Poland (including Poznań) was granted to Mieszko III the Old. The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz, was part of the Duchy of Kraków, granted to Władysław II the Exile. However, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland (although at times there were separately ruled duchies of Poznań, Gniezno, Kalisz and Ujście). The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-High in 1314, and thus became part of the reunited Poland of which Władysław was crowned king in 1320.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: In the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships. In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz Voivodeship. The Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as "prowincja", one of which was named Greater Poland. However, this "prowincja" covered a larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia and Royal Prussia. (This division of Crown Poland into two entities called Greater and Lesser Poland had its roots in the Statutes of Casimir the Great of 1346–1362, where the laws of "Greater Poland" – the northern part of the country – were codified in the Piotrków statute, with those of "Lesser Poland" in the separate Wiślica statute.)


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: In 1768, a new Gniezno Voivodeship was formed out of the northern part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland. In the first partition (1772), northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć (German "Netze") were taken over by Prussia, becoming the Netze District. In the second partition (1793) the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia, becoming part of the province of South Prussia. It remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland Uprising (1794), part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against the Russian Empire.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806, which led to the region's becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw (forming the Poznań Department and parts of the Kalisz and Bydgoszcz Departments). However, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part (including Poznań) going to Prussia. The eastern part joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland, where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, then the Kalisz Governorate (merged into the Warsaw Governorate between 1844 and 1867).


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Within the Prussian empire, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen (Poznań), which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealized uprising in 1846, and the more substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848 (during the Spring of Nations), the Grand Duchy was replaced by the Province of Posen. The authorities made efforts to Germanize the region, particularly after the founding of Germany in 1871, and from 1886 onwards the Prussian Settlement Commission was active in increasing German land ownership in formerly Polish areas.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Following the end of World War I, the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) ensured that most of the region became part of the newly independent Polish state, forming most of Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939). Northern and some western parts of Greater Poland remained in Germany, where they formed much of the province of Posen-West Prussia (1922–1938), whose capital was Schneidemühl (Piła).


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Following the German invasion of 1939, Greater Poland was incorporated into Nazi Germany, becoming the province called Reichsgau Posen, later Reichsgau Wartheland ("Warthe" being the German name for the Warta river). The Polish population was oppressed, with many former officials and others considered potential enemies by the Nazis being imprisoned or executed, including at the notorious Fort VII concentration camp in Poznań. Poznań was declared a stronghold city "(Festung)" in the closing stages of the war, being taken by the Red Army in the Battle of Poznań, which ended on 22 February 1945.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: After the war, Greater Poland was fully within the Polish People's Republic, as Poznań Voivodeship. With the reforms of 1975 this was divided into smaller provinces (the voivodeships of Kalisz, Konin, Leszno and Piła, and a smaller Poznań Voivodeship). The present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship, again with Poznań as its capital, was created in 1999.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The voivodeship contains 7 cities and 106 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The highest elevation is Greater Kobyla Mountain (284 m) in the Ostrzeszowski Hills, the lowest area is located in the valley of the Warta River at the mouth of its tributary the Noteć (21 m) in the north-western part of the region. Agriculturally fertile soils account for around 60% of the province's area, while 20%, the rest of the non-forested or urban areas, is mostly wetland soil (muck-peat and alluvial soils).


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: An area of approximately 800 thousand hectares is covered by forests, this represents around 25.8% of the total surface area of the region.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: In the lake districts of the northern and central parts of the province there are about 800 lakes; 58% of which cover an area of at least 10 hectares and 8%, with an area exceeding 100 hectares. The largest reservoir is the natural Greater Powidzkie Lake (1036 ha) in the Gniezno Lake District.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Wielkopolska Region lies within the basin of the Oder River, 88% of the province's surface water drains into the Warta river basin, and the remaining 12% is drained by a multitude of other river systems, including the Barycz, Ladislaus Trench and Obrzycy waterways. The quality of river waters is generally poor, but their condition is gradually improving and should soon be classed as 'clean'.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Brown coal deposits are currently mined in the Konin area, and form the basis for the province's power industry (the Pątnów-Adams-Konin coal-fired power stations account for more than 10% of the national electricity production). The region also has significant quantities of peat deposits; it is calculated that there are ca. 886 thousand hectares of land covered with an average thickness of 1.5 m of peat. An abundance of raw materials used in the production of numerous medicines was recently discovered in the muds of Błażejewo, Oderbank and Mechnacz. In addition, very large deposits of brown coal have been discovered in the vicinity of Kościan, these however are not currently being extracted and probably never will be extracted, due to the expense that would be incurred in adapting the site to build a coal mine and the need to resettle thousands of people.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Rock salt is mined intensively at a salt mine in Kłodawa (this mine alone accounts for about 20% of domestic production).


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Throughout the province there are significant deposits of aggregates, gypsum, ceramic materials, and lacustrine chalk. In Kościan the largest and most modern, a natural gas production site is in operation. It supplies raw material for Kościańska Zieme, and Zielona Gora CHP. It is estimated that at the rate local gas reserves are being exploited, the reserves in Kościan will be enough for about 20 years of operation, thus practically allowing for local independence against the effects of gas crises.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Wielkopolska is influenced by oceanic air masses that affect the mildness of the climate. The farther east one travels the more distinctly continental the climate becomes. The area is situated in the Silesian Greater Poland agro-climatic region where the average annual temperature is about 8.2 °C, and in the north drops to around 7.6 °C. It is slightly warmer in the south and west where the average temperature is usually about 8.5 °C. The number of days with snow can reach up to 57 days in and around the Kalisz district.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The growing season is one of the longest in Poland. On the province's southern plains this season constitutes around 228 days, while north of Gniezno and Szamotuły this gradually declines to 216 days.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Precipitation ranges from 500 to 550 mm. Despite this the region is still faced with a deficit in rainfall, particularly in the eastern part of the province (around Słupcy, Kazimierz Biskupi, Kleczew) where sometimes experience only 450 mm of rainfall per year, this threatens steppization of the region. Throughout the province there is typically a prevailing westerly wind.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Greater Poland is a major transport hub within Poland; a great deal of traffic from Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union passes through Poznań and Konin to reach Germany and other EU member states. To the south runs the international route from Gdańsk via Poznań and Leszno to Prague and then to the south of Europe. There is also a major highway in the province, the A2 motorway, which when completed will run from the western border of Poland with Germany, through Poznań to Warsaw and then via Belarus to Moscow.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The main railway hubs located in Greater Poland are Poznań, Piła and Ostrów Wielkopolski. PKP Intercity operate a number of trains a day between Warsaw and Berlin which provide a fast connection for the two cities also to Poznań. This route was the first in Poland, adapted for use by the European high-speed transportation system.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: In the near future the government expects to construct a high-speed rail line in the shape of a Y connecting Kalisz and Poznań from Łódź, Warsaw and Wrocław.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Poznań is the port of arrival for most international travellers as it plays host to Ławica International Airport, which has recently seen the second-highest passenger growth rate in the country.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 40.4 billion € in 2018, accounting for 8.1% of Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 19,700 € or 65% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 72% of the EU average.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The Greater Poland voivodeship's government is headed by the province's voivode "(governor)" who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeship's marshal, who is the appointed speaker for the voivodeship's executive and is elected by the sejmik "(provincial assembly)". The current voivode of Greater Poland is Łukasz Mikołajczyk, whilst the present marshal is Marek Woźniak.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Greater Poland Voivodeship is divided into 35 counties (powiats): 4 city counties and 31 land counties. These are further divided into 226 gminas.


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population).


title: Greater Poland Voivodeship

text: Protected areas in Greater Poland Voivodeship include two National Parks and 12 Landscape Parks. These are listed below.


title: Killing an Arab

text: "Killing an Arab" is the first single by the Cure. It was recorded at the same time as their first album "Three Imaginary Boys" (1979), but not included on the album. However, it was included on the band's first US album, "Boys Don't Cry" (1980).


title: Killing an Arab

text: The song's title and lyrics reference Albert Camus's novel "The Stranger". Because of the title, the song has drawn controversy for promoting violence against Arabs, which songwriter Robert Smith pinned on the public's lack of knowledge regarding the novel. Shortly after its release, Smith said, "It just happened that the main character in the book had actually killed an Arab, but it could have been a Scandinavian or an English bloke." In 2003, Smith acknowledged that, "If I knew it before, I would have called it 'Standing on the Beach'. It would have avoided many troubles."


title: Killing an Arab

text: Composer Robert Smith said the song "was a short poetic attempt at condensing my impression of the key moments in the 1942 novel "L'Étranger" ("The Stranger") by Albert Camus". The lyrics describe a shooting on a beach, in which the Arab of the title is killed by the song's narrator; in Camus' story the protagonist, Meursault, shoots an Arab on a beach, overwhelmed by his surroundings. Meursault is condemned for his honesty about his feelings. He is considered an outsider (or "stranger") because "he refuses to lie" and "doesn't play the game".


title: Killing an Arab

text: Upon release, "Melody Maker" compared the song to "Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Music critic Ian Birch wrote: "As 'Hong Kong Garden' used a simple Oriental-styled riff to striking effect, so '[Killing An] Arab' conjures up edginess through a Moorish-flavour guitar pattern".


title: Killing an Arab

text: This song lends two of its lines to the titles of one of the Cure's compilation albums, "Standing on a Beach", and to its CD/video counterpart "Staring at the Sea".


title: Killing an Arab

text: Since the song's release, "Killing an Arab" has been controversial and viewed as promoting violence against Arabs. A 1978 "NME" article described the song's title as "at first glance irresponsibly racist," with Robert Smith responding, "It’s not really racist, if you know what the song is about. It’s not a call to kill Arabs."


title: Killing an Arab

text: In the US, the Cure's first compilation of singles, "Standing on a Beach" (1986), was packaged with a sticker advising against racist usage of the song after a student DJ on WPRB Princeton offended listeners by insensitively introducing the track prior to playing it on the radio in October 1986. Robert Smith and Elektra Records requested that radio stations discontinue airing the song and saw the sticker as a compromise to prevent having to pull the album from sale entirely. Smith conceded that the song was "being used increasingly by certain reactionary factions of the media, most notably by some particularly brainless DJ's, as a part of a wave of anti-Arab feeling currently existing in some parts of America." Chris Parry, who produced the song, said that "if it was called 'The Stranger', we couldn't have had this problem." Smith conceded in 2003 that he should have titled the song "Standing on the Beach" instead.


title: Killing an Arab

text: The song was revived in 2005, when the band performed it at several European festivals. The lyrics, however, were changed from "Killing an Arab" to "Kissing an Arab". Smith added a whole new opening verse when the band performed it at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 1 April 2006 as "Killing Another". The "killing another" lyric was also used during the 2007–2008 4Tour. The band performed the song as "Killing an Ahab" with lyrics inspired by Herman Melville on 2011's Reflections Tour. During the band's 40th anniversary tour, the lyrics and title were changed back to "Killing an Arab".


title: Modus vivendi

text: Modus vivendi (plural modi vivendi) is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or "way of life". It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science, it is used to describe lifestyles.


title: Modus vivendi

text: "Modus" means "mode", "way", "method", or "manner". "Vivendi" means "of living". The phrase is often used to describe informal and temporary arrangements in political affairs. For example, if two sides reach a "modus vivendi" regarding disputed territories, despite political, historical or cultural incompatibilities, an accommodation of their respective differences is established for the sake of contingency.


title: Modus vivendi

text: In diplomacy, a "modus vivendi" is an instrument for establishing an international accord of a temporary or provisional nature, intended to be replaced by a more substantial and thorough agreement, such as a treaty. Armistices and instruments of surrender are intended to achieve a "modus vivendi".


title: Modus vivendi

text: The term often refers to Anglo-French relations from the 1815 end of the Napoleonic Wars to the 1904 Entente Cordiale.


title: Modus vivendi

text: On 7 January 1948, the United States, Britain and Canada, concluded an agreement known as the "modus vivendi", that allowed for limited sharing of technical information on nuclear weapons which officially repealed the Quebec Agreement.


title: Sand mandala

text: Sand mandala (; ) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Once complete, the sand mandala's ritualistic dismantling is accompanied by ceremonies and viewing to symbolize Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.


title: Sand mandala

text: Historically, the mandala was not created with naturally dyed sand, but granules of crushed colored stone. In modern times, plain white stones are ground down and dyed with opaque inks to achieve the same effect. The monks use a special, extremely dense sand in order to limit interference by things such as wind or sneezes. Before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, called chak-pur, until the desired pattern is achieved. Sand mandalas traditionally take several weeks to build due to the large amount of work involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail. It is common that a team of monks will work together on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time, working from the middle outwards.


title: Sand mandala

text: The Kalachakra Mandala for instance, contains 722 deities portrayed within the complex structure and geometry of the mandala itself. Other smaller mandalas, such as the one attributed to Vajrabhairava, contain significantly fewer deities and require less geometry, but still take several days to complete. Like all mandalas, these are meant as two-dimensional representations of what is supposed to be a three-dimensional environment. Various buildings have been suggested to be three-dimensional mandalas, such as Borobodur in Java, Indonesia, and the Bayon in Siem Reap, Cambodia, although no academic consensus on either has yet been reached.


title: Sand mandala

text: The colors for the painting are usually made with naturally colored sand, crushed gypsum (white), yellow ocher, red sandstone, charcoal, and a mixture of charcoal and gypsum (blue). Mixing red and black can make brown, red and white make pink. Other coloring agents include corn meal, flower pollen, or powdered roots and bark.


title: Sand mandala

text: The destruction of a sand mandala is highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order along with the rest of the geometry until at last the mandala has been dismantled to show impermanence. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature to disperse the healing energies of the mandala to sentient beings in water and throughout the world.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: The Proud Family Movie is a 2005 American animated comedy television film based on the Disney Channel animated series, "The Proud Family". It premiered on August 19, 2005 and serves as the finale to the show’s original run.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: Penny Proud is about to celebrate her 16th birthday, and she is excited for herself and her friends to be part of a dance group led by 15 Cent since he's Sticky's cousin. However, when 15 Cent drives Penny home, her father Oscar gets angry when he finds them kissing. Overreacting on this, Oscar grounds Penny indefinitely and cancels her birthday, which leaves Penny very furious as she outrageously resents Oscar for being her father.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: In the meantime, Oscar manages to create a serum that can make his Proud Snacks tastier, but it instead causes the snack to expand and explode. As he is hauled away following his failed presentation, he protests that his formula has no expiration date, which is overheard by a man named Dr. Carver, who has been trying to create an army of humanoid peanuts but never got his formula stabilized. Plotting to nab the formula, Carver invites the Proud family to his home in Legume Island. Trudy forces Oscar and Penny to go, hoping they will bond in spite of their issues. Upon arrival, the Prouds meet the G-nomes, dwarf-sized creatures made from peanuts and Penny wants peanuts from the minibar.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: Carver tries to negotiate obtaining the formula from Oscar, but when Oscar refuses, Carver reveals he has created peanut clones of his family from DNA snatched from them while they were partying. Oscar runs away and tries explaining to his family, but they don't believe him. Meanwhile, the clones get a mix-up when the real Penny comes with them back to the mainland to search for the formula, while her clone remains with the original family. Penny soon enjoys the free life, which was encouraged by the clones, but eventually gets tired of it.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: At that moment, a mysterious G-nome leads the Prouds and the Penny clone on a perilous journey to the other side of the island, saying there is someone who can answer their questions. Along the way, the Penny clone proves to be the kind of daughter that Oscar desires: obedient. When they meet the person that the G-nome wanted them to meet, he turns out to be the real Dr. Carver, who explains that the Dr. Carver that they met was actually a clone made of a peanut. Dr. Carver revealed that he created the G-nomes based on his research of peanuts. He created the Carver clone as a means of carrying out his research for the better of humankind, but the Carver clone went sizzling crisp in the sun one day and became evil. Donning a disguise of his original form, the Carver clone took over the island and enslaved the G-nomes, turning Carver's peanut research for evil. This makes Oscar realize that his formula is the key and tells the family he had left it in a locket for Penny's birthday, which she opens back home.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: With this information, the Penny clone reveals herself by trapping the Prouds and the real Dr. Carver before informing the other clones, who take the formula after revealing their true nature to the real Penny. Realizing what just happened, Penny gathers her friends to head over to Legume Island and rescue her family. Unfortunately, the Carver clone has already used the formula to create and stabilize his peanut soldier army to conquer the world and has left on an air blimp. Anticipating that this would happen, Carver reveals that he has a container of gas that could instantly turn solid peanuts into peanut butter. Penny takes the container and boards on the blimp, intending to release it. Before she is about to, the Carver clone tries to convince her otherwise by offering her a life of complete freedom from her family. Though Penny admits that while she may have a lot of issues with her family (especially Oscar), she refuses the Carver clone's offer and unleashes the gas, melting the peanut soldier army and reverting the Carver clone back into a lifeless peanut.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: With the Carver clone's plot finally foiled, the Prouds are declared heroes by the public, and Oscar gives Penny her birthday necklace before allowing her to attend the dance group with 15 Cent and her friends.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: The score to the film was composed by Elika Alvarez, Frank Fitzpatrick and Freddy Sheinfel. The film features new songs written by Frank Fitzpatrick, Jorge Corante, Robyn Johnson, Stephen Anderson and Jayne Houston, along with covers of calypso songs. The songs featured in the film are:


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: "The Proud Family Movie" premiered on Disney Channel on August 19, 2005 and was released on VHS and DVD on December 6, 2005 with an extended ending.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: In his 2020 autobiography, Tommy Davidson revealed that the cast on the original show quit after Disney paid them unfairly, but he convinced them to stay to complete a final season and a film before the series came to a close. In a February 2022 interview, Pratt revealed that she introduced her children to the series by showing them a DVD of the film since she didn't have access to episodes from the original series.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: The film re-aired on Disney Channel on May 28, 2016, as part of Disney Channel's 100 DCOM Marathon to celebrate the 100th film, "Adventures in Babysitting" and again on April 5, 2021 as part of Disney Channel's Monday block DCOM and Dessert.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: The film is also included in the 7-disc complete collection which includes the show and Shorties to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series. It was released on March 15, 2022 on DVD.


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: Reception to the film was mixed. Nancy Davis Kho of Common Sense Media argued that the film had a "weird plot" and gave it two out of five stars, saying that the movie's plot is so strange and has slow-moving parts that viewers may prefer to watch the "shorter and pithier TV episodes." Although Cho also called the movie "light on substance," she praised the character traits of the Proud family clones, fast-paced comedic dialogue, and rap music soundtrack. Some were even more critical, arguing that the film uses low-rent animation, an unpleasant look, cliches, stereotypes, and offensive characteristics, calling it an "entirely worthless endeavor." In contrast ET called the film


title: The Proud Family Movie

text: a "childhood favorite." Bustle recommended the film, as one of those to bring you back to your childhood, and asked viewers to remember the "peanut dance battle scene." Kareem Gannett of Collider said that while the movie is as "sassy and bold" as the original series, the film is a "mess" in terms of its plot, even though it comes together in the end. Liv McConnell of Teen Vogue said that the movie, like the series, combined "cartoon-level absurdity" with a relatable slice-of-life stories. Black film scholar Debbie Olson criticized the movie for not having "ethnically rich" characters like Fat Albert and for stereotypes, but praised it for having all the Black characters as being affluent or middle class.