title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Starting the following season in League One, Evans continued to produce good results, an honorable mention being the 6–0 win at home against Notts County. Rotherham were promoted later that season in May 2014, drawing the play-off final 2–2 over 120 minutes, and subsequently beating Leyton Orient 4 – 3 in a penalty shootout.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 29 May 2014, Evans agreed a new three-year contract with Rotherham, live on Sky Sports News, a deal which would commit him to the club until 2017.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Under his management Rotherham survived their first season back in the Championship, with a game to spare. Evans wore a sombrero, shorts and sandals to the fixture against Leeds United at Elland Road on the final day of the season by way of a celebration.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 28 September 2015, Evans and his assistant manager Paul Raynor left Rotherham with the club citing that the two parties wanted to take the club in different directions. He was replaced as manager on 9 October by former Leeds Head Coach Neil Redfearn.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 19 October 2015, Evans joined fellow Championship side Leeds United on a rolling contract until the end of the 2015–16 season, with the option of a second year, replacing previous Head Coach Uwe Rösler. Evans' assistant at Rotherham, Paul Raynor, also joined him as part of the coaching staff.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Evans took charge of a Leeds side one point off the relegation zone, however, he managed to guide Leeds to a 13th-place finish at the end of the 2015–16 season with Leeds finishing 15 points behind the playoff positions. He also gave débuts to 3 academy graduates during the season with Lewie Coyle, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Ronaldo Vieira all making their débuts under Evans during his tenure. Evans also helped Leeds have an FA Cup run, however his side were knocked out on 20 February 2016 against Premier League side Watford in a narrow 1–0 defeat after a high-profile own goal from Leeds defender Scott Wootton to send Watford through to the FA Cup quarter-final.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: After the final game of the 2015–16 season against Preston North End, a tearful Evans proclaimed that he had a 'gut feeling' that his contract would not be renewed by club owner Massimo Cellino.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 23 May 2016, it was revealed that MK Dons Manager Karl Robinson had turned down the opportunity from Cellino to become Leeds United Head Coach, further casting doubt on Evans's future at the club. On 27 May, after being turned down by Robinson, Cellino then approached Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke to replace Evans, however again was rebuffed with Clarke preferring to sign a new contract with Rovers. On 27 May, Evans revealed that despite Cellino publicly approaching other managers to replace him he would still say 'yes' if Cellino was to ask him to stay on as Leeds Head Coach, however he also revealed that he would need to be given an answer regarding his future – "I need to establish, in the next week or so at the latest, whether I have a plan going forward at Leeds United."


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 31 May 2016 Evans, along with his assistant Paul Raynor, was sacked by Cellino, becoming the sixth manager sacked by Cellino in two years. On Evans's sacking Cellino revealed in a club statement that he felt the club 'needed a different approach in order to achieve targets for the new season'.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 14 June, after being linked with the managerial vacancy at Bradford City, Evans revealed to Telegraph & Argus he had held talks with a club in China to manage a club in China League One, Evans described the financial package as 'mind-blowing' but rejected the job due to personal reasons to stay with his family in England. On 21 June Evans was offered the managerial job at League One side Oldham Athletic but after originally agreeing personal terms he decided to pursue other managerial offers in the pipeline.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Evans was appointed manager of League Two side Mansfield Town on 16 November 2016, replacing Adam Murray. He resigned on 27 February 2018, saying he wanted to go and work in China.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Evans was appointed manager of League One side Peterborough United on 28 February 2018, one day after leaving Mansfield. On 23 January 2019 he was charged by the FA over comments made to a match official during a defeat against Luton Town, and then on the 26th both he and assistant Paul Raynor were released from their contracts, with Darren Ferguson taking charge just hours later.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 21 May 2019, Evans was announced as the new manager of Gillingham and began his role on 1 June 2019. Evans was awarded the League One Manager of the Month award for March 2021 after achieving 17 points from a possible 24.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: In August 2021, Evans started the 2020-21 season by being awarded a yellow card in the first match against Lincoln City, and then a red card in the next game, a EFL Cup fixture against Crawley Town. He was then once again charged with verbally abusing a match official.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: On 9 January 2022, following a 4–0 home defeat to Ipswich Town that left the side 22nd in the table, seven points from safety, Evans was sacked by the club.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Evans was appointed as manager of League Two club Stevenage on 16 March 2022, the club sitting in 22nd position just three points clear of the relegation zone with the team below having two games in hand. Survival was secured with three matches remaining after a run of ten points across Evans' first six matches, culminating in a 2–0 home win over Tranmere Rovers, saw his side move seven points clear of Oldham Athletic who were relegated at Stevenage's expense. Evans' 2022-23 campaign started strongly with 10 victories out of 13 in the League, resulting in Stevenage sitting top of the league on 8 October 2022.


title: Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

text: Evans is married to Sarah-Jane and has two daughters.<ref name="Boston United Squad 2003/2004"></ref> He is a supporter of Scottish club Celtic.


title: History of Mauritius

text: The known history of Mauritius begins with its discovery by Arabs and Malays, followed by Europeans and its appearance on maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent in 12th March 1968.


title: History of Mauritius

text: Mauritius was first discovered by the Moors. This is corroborated by the earliest existing historical evidence of the island on a map produced by the Italian cartographer Alberto Cantino in 1502. Cantino shows three islands which are thought to represent the Mascarenes (Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues) and calls them Dina Margabin, Dina Arobi, and Dina Moraze. The medieval Arab world called the Indian Ocean island region Waqwaq.


title: History of Mauritius

text: Mauritius was later discovered and visited by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513. Mauritius and surrounding islands were known as the Mascarene Islands () after Pedro Mascarenhas.


title: History of Mauritius

text: An official world map by Diogo Ribeiro described "from west to east, the first island, 'Mascarenhas', the second, 'Santa Apolonia' and the third, 'Domingo Froiz.' " The three islands (Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues) were encountered some years earlier by chance during an exploratory expedition of the coast of the Bay of Bengal led by Tristão da Cunha. The expedition ran into a cyclone and was forced to change course. Thus, the ship "Cirne" of the captain Diogo Fernandes Pereira, came into view of Réunion island on 9 February 1507. They called the island "Santa Apolonia" ("Saint Apollonia") in honor of that day's saint. Mauritius was encountered during the same expedition and received the name of "Cirne" and Rodrigues that of "Diogo Rodrigues". Five years later, the islands were visited by Pedro Mascarenhas. who left the name "Mascarene" for the whole region. The Portuguese took no interest in these isolated islands. They were already established in Asia in Goa, on the coast of Malabar, on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and on the Malaysian coast.


title: History of Mauritius

text: Their main African base was in Mozambique, therefore the Portuguese navigators preferred to use the Mozambique Channel to go to India. The Comoros to the north proved to be a more practical port of call. Thus no permanent colony was established on the island by the Portuguese.


title: History of Mauritius

text: In 1598, the second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia consisting of eight ships, under the orders of admirals Jacques Cornelius van Neck and Wybrandt van Warwyck, set sail from Texel, Netherlands, towards the Indian subcontinent. The eight ships ran into foul weather after passing the Cape of Good Hope and were separated. Three found their way to the northeast of Madagascar, while the remaining five regrouped and sailed in a southeasterly direction. On 17 September, the five ships under the orders of Admiral van Warwyck came into view of Mauritius. On 20 September, they entered a sheltered bay which they named "Port de Warwick" (now known as "Grand Port"). They landed and decided to name the island "Prins Mauritz van Nassaueiland," after the son of William the Silent, Prince Maurits (Latin version: Mauritius) of the House of Nassau, the "stadtholder" of most of the Dutch Republic, and after the main vessel of the fleet, the "Mauritius". From that time, only the name Mauritius has remained. On 2 October, the ships again took to the sea towards Bantam.


title: History of Mauritius

text: From then on, the island's Port de Warwick was used by the Dutch as a stopover after long months at sea. In 1606, two expeditions came for the first time to what would later become Port-Louis in the northwest part of the island. The expedition, consisting of eleven ships and 1,357 men under the orders of Admiral Corneille, came into the bay, which they named "Rade des Tortues" (literally meaning "Harbor of the Tortoises") because of the great number of terrestrial tortoises they found there. From that date, Dutch sailors shifted their choice to Rade des Tortues as a harbor.


title: History of Mauritius

text: In 1615, the shipwreck and death of governor Pieter Both, who was coming back from India with four richly laden ships in the bay, led Dutch sailors to consider the route cursed, and they tried to avoid it as much as possible. In the meantime, the British and the Danes were beginning to make incursions into the Indian Ocean. Those who landed on the island freely cut and took with them the precious heartwood of the ebony trees, then found in profusion all over the island.


title: History of Mauritius

text: Dutch colonization started in 1638 and ended in 1710, with a brief interruption between 1658 and 1666 (the year of Great Fire of London). Numerous governors were appointed, but continuous hardships such as cyclones, droughts, pest infestations, lack of food, and illnesses in the end took their toll, and the island was definitively abandoned in 1710.


title: History of Mauritius

text: The island was not permanently inhabited for the first forty years after its "discovery" by the Dutch, but in 1638 Cornelius Gooyer established the first permanent Dutch settlement in Mauritius with a garrison of twenty-five. He thus became the first governor of the island. In 1639, thirty more men came to reinforce the Dutch colony. Gooyer was instructed to develop the commercial potential of the island, but he did nothing of the sort, so he was recalled. His successor was Adriaan van der Stel, who began the development in earnest, developing the export of ebony wood. For that purpose, van der Stel brought 105 Malagasy slaves to the island. Within the first week, about sixty were able to escape into the forests; about twenty of them were recaptured.


title: History of Mauritius

text: In 1644, the islanders were faced with many months of hardships, due to delayed shipment of supplies, bad harvests, and cyclones. During those months, the colonists could only rely on their own ability to feed themselves by fishing and hunting. Nonetheless, van der Stel secured the shipment of 95 more servants from Madagascar, before being transferred to Ceylon. His replacement was Jacob van der Meersh. In 1645, the latter brought in 108 more Malagasy


title: History of Mauritius

text: In 1652, more hardships befell the inhabitants, colonists and servants alike. The population was then about a hundred people. The continuing hardships affected the commercial potential of the island and a pullout was ordered in 1657. On 16 July 1658, almost all the inhabitants left the island, except for a ship's boy and two servants


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: The Social Democrats (, SD) is a centre-left and pro-European social-democratic political party in Slovenia led by Tanja Fajon. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats (, ). It is the successor of the League of Communists of Slovenia. As of 2022, the party is a member of a three-party coalition government with Robert Golob's Freedom Movement alongside The Left, as well as a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: The origins of the modern-day party date from the end of 1989, when the League of Communists of Slovenia decided to renounce the absolute monopoly over political, social and economic life in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, and agreed to introduce a system of political pluralism. On 23 January 1990, the Slovenian Communists left the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and on 4 February 1990 renamed themselves to League of Communists of Slovenia-Party of Democratic Renewal ("Zveza komunistov Slovenije-", ZKS-SDP). Former prominent Communist politician Ciril Ribičič was elected as the party's new president. The party lost against the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (DEMOS) centre-right coalition at the first democratic elections in Slovenia in April 1990, gaining 17.3% of the popular vote. They nevertheless became the single largest party in Slovenia.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: Between 1990 and 1992, the party remained in opposition against the centre-right coalition government of Lojze Peterle. After the fall of Peterle's cabinet in 1992, the party entered the first coalition government of Janez Drnovšek, formed by the left wing of the dissolved DEMOS coalition (the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia, the Democratic Party of Slovenia and the Greens of Slovenia). The same year, the party was renamed to Social Democratic Renewal (), maintaining the same acronym, SDP.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: Prior to the 1992 general election intensive discussions were held and agreements reached between left-oriented political parties and groups on an electoral coalition. Thus just prior the parliamentary election of 1992, an agreement was reached between the Social Democratic Renewal (SDP) and three smaller extra-parliamentary centre-left and left-wing parties (the Social Democratic Union, the Workers' Party of Slovenia and the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia) to form an electoral coalition under the name United List. The newly formed coalition gained 13.6% of the popular vote, thus becoming the third political force in the country, after Liberal Democracy of Slovenia and the Slovene Christian Democrats. These three largest parties decided to form a government coalition, which soon became popularly known as the "grand coalition" (), under the leadership of Liberal Democrat Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek. Until March 1994, the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia also participated in this government coalition.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: On 29 May 1993, a congress was held in Ljubljana at which the constitutive members of the United List decided to form a unified party. The new party was named the United List of Social Democrats and Janez Kocijančič was elected as its president. The party remained in government until January 1996, when it left the ruling coalition in disagreement over the government's social welfare policies. Furthermore, several prominent members exited the party and re-established Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia. In the general elections of 1996, the United List of Social Democrats suffered a substantial loss support, gaining only around 9% of the popular vote.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: In the period between 1996 and 2000, the party remained in opposition. On the third National Congress of the United List of Social Democrats in 1997 a new party president, Borut Pahor, was elected. A gradual evolution towards more moderate positions started. In the election of 2000, the party rose to 12% of the vote and entered the centre-left coalition government led by Janez Drnovšek, while the party's president Borut Pahor was elected chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly. In the general elections of 2004, the party gained around 10.2% of the vote and went into opposition against the centre-right government dominated by the Slovenian Democratic Party.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: In the fifth party Congress held in 2005 in Ljubljana, the decision was taken to shorten the party name to the Social Democrats. Borut Pahor was confirmed as the party president, strengthening his positions against internal opposition from the left wing of the party. In the programmatic congress held in Nova Gorica in July 2006, the party clearly distanciated itself against its communist past, while its president publicly condemned the socialist regime in Slovenia and Yugoslavia established after World War II.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: After the internal crisis in the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS) following the loss of election in 2004, which resulted in the split of the party, the Social Democrats emerged as the main centre-left opposition force against the centre-right government led by Janez Janša. In 2007, several prominent members of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, including former Prime Minister Anton Rop, left their party and joined the Social Democrats. Following these developments, the Social Democrats became the second largest parliamentary party in Slovenia, after the Slovenian Democratic Party.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: In 2008, the Social Democrats signed a coalition agreement with the extra-parliamentary "Christian Socialists of Slovenia", and decided to set up a common election list on the coming elections.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: In September 2008, Social Democrats won the parliamentary election with 30.45%. The ruling Slovenian Democratic Party finished second with 29.26%. Social Democrats formed a new Slovenian government in coalition with Zares, DeSUS and LDS. They won 29 seats in the 90-member National Assembly, one of which was won by Andrej Magajna, the president of the Christian Socialists of Slovenia. In October 2010, Andrej Magajna left the deputy group of Social Democrats due to differences of opinion with the rest of the group. He especially criticised the party leader Borut Pahor and the Minister of Economic Development Mitja Gaspari, claiming that he had been threatened with "removal" for not having supported the new act on the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija. After Magajna's break with the party, the SD parliamentary group was left with 28 MPs.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: SD won 10.5% of the vote at the early 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, gaining 10 seats in the National Assembly. SD were therefore in third place behind the SDS and new centre-left party Positive Slovenia (PS). SDS leader Janez Janša became Prime Minister for a second time on 10 February 2012 heading a centre-right coalition government.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: In June 2012, Pahor unsuccessfully ran for re-election as president of the Social Democrats. He was defeated by Igor Lukšič by a narrow margin.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: However, on 20 March 2013 Janša's coalition was replaced by a new government headed by PS interim leader Alenka Bratušek, a comprising PS, the Social Democrats, Civic List and DeSUS. Bratušek resigned as Prime Minister on 3 May 2014 seeking an early general election.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: After the party won only one MEP seat and 8.0% of the vote in 2014 European Parliament election, Lukšič resigned as SD party president on 26 May.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: The party received 5.95% of the vote in the Slovenian parliamentary election on 13 July 2014, and won 6 seats in parliament. On 18 September 2014, the Social Democrats joined the cabinet of Miro Cerar, also comprising Prime Minister Cerar's Modern Centre Party (SMC) and DeSUS.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: SD scored badly at the 2014 European election, only obtaining 8,08% of votes and one seat. Following the result, Lukšič resigned and Dejan Židan was elected as new leader of the party.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: The party improved its result in the 2018 parliamentary election, scoring 9,9% of votes and winning ten seats in the National Assembly. The Social Democrats later joined Marjan Šarec's government and held the posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Culture until the dissolution of government in January 2020 by Marjan Šarec.


title: Social Democrats (Slovenia)

text: The United List of Social Democrats became full member party of Socialist International at the organisation's 20th Congress in September 1996 in New York City. Since 16 May 2003, the Social Democrats have been a full member party of the Party of European Socialists (PES). SD party representatives were present at the foundation of the Progressive Alliance on 22 May 2013. SD was delisted from the Socialist International in December 2014 for not paying membership fees.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: Greatest Hits is the eleventh official album release for English musician Elton John, and the first compilation. Released in November 1974, it spans the years 1970 to 1974, compiling ten of John's singles, with one track variation for releases in North America and for Europe and Australia. It topped the album chart in both the United States and the United Kingdom, staying at number one for ten consecutive weeks in the former nation and eleven weeks in the latter. In Canada, it was number one for 13 weeks between December 14, 1974, and March 22, 1975, missing only December 28, 1974, at number 2 to Jim Croce's "Photographs & Memories".


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: It was the best-selling album of 1975 in the United States, and is his second best-selling album to date, being his first to have received an RIAA diamond certification for US sales of more than 10 million copies – as of April 2016 the album has been certified for 17 million units in the US. It remains John's best-selling album in the U.S. and one of the best-selling albums of all time, with 24 million copies sold worldwide. Although all of its songs are available as downloads, the album is currently out of print, having been superseded by four other greatest hits releases over the years; "The Very Best of Elton John" in 1990, "Greatest Hits 1970–2002" in 2002, "" in 2007 and "Diamonds" in 2017.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: The single "Bennie and the Jets", which had topped the charts in both the US and Canada but which had not been released as a single in the United Kingdom at that point, appeared on the American and Canadian edition of the album. It was replaced by "Candle in the Wind" for the UK and Australian edition, having been a hit in both of those countries but never released as a single in the US and Canada. The 1992 reissue contains eleven tracks, with both songs included.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: "Border Song," Elton’s debut single from his second album "Elton John" in the UK, Australia, US and Canada, went to No. 92 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and to No. 34 on the Canadian "RPM" national singles chart as a single in 1970. All other songs made the Top 40 in the UK and the US, most also making the top ten, with "Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock" topping the chart in the States. John would wait until 1976 to top the singles chart in the UK, via his duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: With only ten tracks total, several other hit singles from the time period are not included in this collection. "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" from the "Madman Across the Water" album reached No. 41 and No. 24 respectively as singles in the US, and "The Bitch Is Back," his most recent single, peaked at No. 4 in the US and topped the chart in Canada. Although all of these records charted higher than "Border Song," it may have been included because it was the first single by Elton John to chart in any market, or because of cover versions by high-profile acts such as The 5th Dimension or Aretha Franklin, the latter version reaching #37 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #23 in the Cash Box Top 100 in December 1970. Of the ten selections for the North American album, two ("Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the Jets") were No. 1 hits in the US; in Canada, five (these two plus "Daniel", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me") had been chart-toppers.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: In 2003, "Greatest Hits" was ranked at number 135 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, then was re-ranked at number 136 in a 2012 revised list.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: On the international releases, "Bennie and the Jets" was replaced by "Candle in the Wind" (3:41, taken from the album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road").


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: The compact disc version of "Greatest Hits", issued in the 1990s, features both "Bennie and the Jets" (track 7) and "Candle in the Wind" (track 8).


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: This edition follows the US LP track listing for the main album and adds "Candle In The Wind" as track 11.


title: Greatest Hits (Elton John album)

text: The expanded edition released by Nippon PolyGram/Mercury Music Entertainment (subtitled Your Song) has a different running order, excluding "Bennie and the Jets" and adding five additional tracks. In 2000, Universal Music Japan reissued the album under the alternative title Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The track listing is as follows:


title: Michael Baden

text: Michael M. Baden (born July 27, 1934) is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's "Autopsy". Baden was the chief medical examiner of the City of New York from 1978 to 1979. He was also chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Baden's independent autopsy findings are often in conflict with the local authorities' opinions.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 27, 1934, to a Jewish family from Russian Poland. He graduated at the top of his class from the City College of New York in 1955. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1960. He completed a pathology residency at Bellevue Hospital.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden was the chief medical examiner of the City of New York from 1978 to 1979, but was removed from his position by New York City Mayor Ed Koch, after Koch had received complaints about his work, including memos from district attorney Robert Morgenthau and city health commissioner Reinaldo Ferrer, documenting their criticism of Baden for “sloppy record keeping, poor judgment, and a lack of cooperation". In 1979, Baden's onetime lawyer Robert Tanenbaum defended his autopsy methods, while also acknowledging his lack of cooperation with the New York establishment. Baden later won $100,000 in a wrongful-termination suit.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden was chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy.


title: Michael Baden

text: Afterward, Baden was hired as deputy medical examiner for Suffolk County, but was dismissed for allegedly making inappropriate comments about how to commit the perfect murder. An article in Oui Magazine quoted him describing how to get away with "high tech murder," but Baden strongly refuted it. The decision to let him go was rescinded shortly thereafter, as the circumstances of his alleged comments were unclear, but Baden chose to leave the position nonetheless.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden maintains a private forensic pathology consulting practice. He has been a consulting or lead pathologist and an expert witness on a number of other high-profile cases and investigations. He testified at the trial of O. J. Simpson on behalf of the defendant, at Sergeant Evan Vela's court martial, and on behalf of Phil Spector at the latter's murder trial, while Baden's wife served as Spector's defense attorney. He has been hired to conduct private autopsies in a number of cases, including the shooting of Michael Brown and the deaths of New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez, civil rights lawyer and politician Chokwe Lumumba, George Floyd and African-American artist Ellis Ruley.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden was the Forensic Science Contributor for Fox News, and a frequent guest on Fox's late-night satirical program Red Eye where he was known as the "Death Correspondent". Baden also has his own television series on HBO: "Autopsy".


title: Michael Baden

text: Some of his opinions have been considered controversial, especially where he has opposed the findings of the county coroner. New York Magazine journalist Sarah Weinmann labeled Baden as a "celebrity pathologist."


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden testified in the O. J. Simpson trial on August 10 and 11, 1995, and made two claims that he later disowned. First, he claimed that Nicole Brown was still standing and conscious when her throat was slashed. The purpose of this claim was to dispute the theory that Brown was the intended target. The prosecution argued that Brown was murdered first and the intended target because the soles of her feet didn't have any blood on them despite the large amount of blood at the crime scene and that she was unconscious when her throat was cut because she had very few defensive wounds. At the subsequent civil trial the following year he disowned that claim and admitted it was absurd to think that someone would stand still without moving their feet while their throat is being slashed and not fight back.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden then claimed that Ron Goldman remained conscious and fought with his assailant for at least ten minutes with a severed jugular vein. The purpose of this testimony was to extend the length of time it took the murders to happen to the point where Simpson had an alibi. At the subsequent civil trial he initially denied making that claim and then after being confronted with a video clip of him saying it at the criminal trial, he disowned it. Baden claimed he misunderstood the question but the Goldman's attorney allege he said it because the defense paid him to do so. He also alleged that Baden knowingly gave false testimony because he knew that Ron Goldman's blood was found inside Simpson's Bronco despite Goldman never having an opportunity within his lifetime to be in Simpson's car.


title: Michael Baden

text: After the trial, Baden said that testifying for Simpson was a mistake as his reputation and credibility never recovered and his clientele for his consulting practice all but vanished. Because of the negative reaction to the acquittal by the public, the jurors stating they believed his two aforementioned claims that he later disowned, and the trial being televised making his testimony widely known, he was constantly being made to rehash his testimony from the Simpson case during cross-examination in other cases and constantly being discredited for allegedly being a "rented expert" who sold himself to Simpson and deliberately gave misleading testimony in order to collect a $165,000 retainer.


title: Michael Baden

text: In 2007, Baden testified on his new theory on the death of music producer Phil Spector's victim. He sought to provide an alternate explanation for blood on the victim's jacket. When asked by a prosecutor if he had any conflicts of interest, Baden replied "None that I can think of." It was later revealed that his wife was one of Spector's main attorneys.


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden was hired by the sons of former New Jersey state Transportation Commissioner John Sheridan to work with the county medical examiner doing the autopsy on Sheridan and his wife after their 2014 deaths in a fire at their Skillman home. The Somerset County prosecutor's office eventually found their deaths to be a murder-suicide. Baden believed that there was enough evidence contradicting that theory and suggesting the possibility of an intruder in the house that while Joyce Sheridan's death was definitely a homicide, her husband's should be considered undetermined; he was able to persuade the county medical examiner to indicate definitely in the autopsy report that the knife responsible for some of John Sheridan's wounds was not any of those recovered at the crime scene, as well as that some of the DNA on one of the knife handles was not John Sheridan or anyone related to him. In 2017, the state's chief medical examiner formally changed the manner of John Sheridan's death from suicide to undetermined, after an open letter whose signatories included three former governors, two former state attorneys general and one sitting justice of the state Supreme Court, urged the change.


title: Michael Baden

text: At the request of the family of Michael Brown, Baden conducted a four-hour autopsy. The body had been washed and embalmed, and he did not have clothing or x-rays to examine for gunpowder residue or bullet locations. He determined his evidence was insufficient to forensically reconstruct the shooting.


title: Michael Baden

text: In October 2019, Baden was hired by Jeffrey Epstein's brother, and observed the autopsy done by city officials following Epstein's death in custody at a federal facility in New York City on sex trafficking charges. Baden disputed New York City chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson's conclusion that Epstein's death was a suicide, asserting that three fractures in Epstein's neck were more consistent with homicide by strangulation and rarely seen in suicide by hanging. Baden has stated that the autopsy "points to homicide".


title: Michael Baden

text: In late May 2020, Baden and Allecia M. Wilson, a pathologist and director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan Medical School and owner of Michigan Autopsy & Medicolegal Consulting, PLLC, were hired by the family of George Floyd to perform an autopsy following Floyd's murder by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer. From the evidence available to them, which did not include a toxicology report or unspecified bodily samples, Baden and Wilson announced on June 1 that Floyd's death was caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression and that Floyd had no underlying medical problem that contributed to his death. Their results conflicted with the autopsy performed by Andrew Baker, a pathologist and the chief medical examiner for Hennepin County since 2004, which found that the cause of death was "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."


title: Michael Baden

text: Baden's first marriage, which ended in 1997, was to Judianne Densen-Gerber, a physician and founder of the drug treatment program Odyssey House; together they had four children, Trissa, Judson, Lindsey, and Sarah. Baden later married Linda Kenney Baden, who served as one of Phil Spector's main attorneys during his capital murder trial and replaced Bruce Cutler after his withdrawal from the proceedings.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Conscription in Finland is part of a general compulsion for national military service for all adult males (; ) defined in the section 127 of the Constitution of Finland.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Conscription can take the form of military or of civilian service. According to Finnish Defence Forces 2011 data, slightly under 80% of Finnish males turned 30 had entered and finished the military service. The number of female volunteers to annually enter armed service had stabilized at approximately 300. The service period is 165 days, 255 days, or 347 days for the rank and file conscripts and 347 days for conscripts trained as NCOs or reserve officers. The length of civilian service is always twelve months. Those electing to serve unarmed in duties where unarmed service is possible serve either nine or twelve months, depending on their training.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Any Finnish citizen who refuses to perform both military and civilian service faces a penalty of 173 days in prison, minus any served days. Such sentences are usually served fully in prison, with no parole. Jehovah's Witnesses are no longer exempted from service as of February 27, 2019. The inhabitants of demilitarized Åland are exempt from military service. By the Conscription Act of 1951, they are, however, required to serve a time at a local institution, like the coast guard. However, until such service has been arranged, they are freed from service obligation. The non-military service of Åland islands has not been arranged since the introduction of the act, and there are no plans to institute it. The inhabitants of Åland islands can also volunteer for military service on the mainland. As of 1995, women are permitted to serve on a voluntary basis and pursue careers in the military after their initial voluntary military service.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The military service takes place in Finnish Defence Forces or in the Finnish Border Guard. All services of the Finnish Defence Forces train conscripts. However, the Border Guard trains conscripts only in land-based units, not in coast guard detachments or in the Border Guard Air Wing. Civilian service may take place in the Civilian Service Center in Lapinjärvi or in an accepted non-profit organization of educational, social or medical nature.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The Finnish Defence Forces is based on a universal male conscription. All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either 165, 255 or 347 days. Yearly, about 27,000 conscripts are trained. About 80% of Finnish male citizens complete the service. Thus, Finland has one of the highest rates of conscription, along with such countries as Singapore, Israel, Armenia, South Korea, Turkey, Estonia, and North Korea. The conscripts first receive basic training (8 weeks), after which they are assigned to various units for special training. Privates who are trained for tasks not requiring special skills serve for five and a half months. In technically demanding tasks, the time of service is eight and a half months or (in some cases, such as those selected for NCO or officer training) eleven and a half months.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: All males are liable to report at the drafting event (, ) of their municipality of domicile in the autumn of the year they turn 18. The Finnish Defence Forces sends the youth an official invitation to the event along with an information package. Prior to the drafting event, the male is required to visit a municipal doctor for a physical examination. The drafting event is held simultaneously for all males of the age cohort of the municipality. In cities where this would be unfeasible, the age cohort is divided to different days based on the first letters of surname. The drafting event consists of a number of lectures, after which a doctor appointed by the municipality gives each male a physical examination. After the check-up, the youth meets the draft board in person. The draft board consists of two officers from the military regional office and of one civilian appointed by the municipality. The youth can express his wishes for a service location, branch of service and the time of induction. After this, the board decides whether the youth is fit for service. If he is not, he is exempted completely or temporarily. Those fit for service are given an order of induction that determines their place of service and time of induction, or if necessary, a letter of delayed service. It is also possible for the youth to elect national service in front of the draft board. The decision of the draft board to give an induction order or to give a declaration of unfitness for service can be appealed against to the Central Draft Board which has five legally trained members and two members who have a minimum rank of lieutenant colonel. The decision of the Central Draft Board is final.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The draft board uses a system of six grades (only five of which are in active use) to determine the draftee's fitness for duty:


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Those who fail to report to the drafting event are fetched to the event by the police. If they are not found, they are given an order to report to the military regional office and, if necessary, brought there for an examination and drafting by the police. In addition, they will be prosecuted and sentenced to a fine. Those residing abroad can report to the nearest Finnish embassy for medical examination and drafting.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The conscripts are inducted twice a year, in January and in July. The order of induction received from the draft board is binding: The conscript becomes a military person on the hour stated in the order even if he is absent from service. Not reporting to the service is prosecuted as an absence without leave or as desertion.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The basic training takes place during the first eight weeks. At the end of the basic training, the actual training specialty and, consequently, the service time, are decided by the brigade commander on the recommendation of the company commander. Those ordered for leadership training attend next the NCO course. After the seven-week phase I of the course, a portion of the students are sent to Reserve Officer School or an equivalent institution for officer training, while the remaining NCO students complete the 12-week phase II of the NCO course. At the same time, the rank and file receive the specialized training of their branch, often at the same company as they underwent their basic training. After completion of their NCO or reserve officer training, the new conscript leaders are sent to normal units to serve as the leaders for the next incoming conscript cohort. The NCOs serve as corporals (in the Navy, petty officers 3rd class), with the possibility of promotion to sergeant (petty officer 2nd class). Those who have graduated Reserve Officer School or equivalent serve as officer candidates, ranking junior to career personnel but outranking conscript sergeants. At the end of their service, officer candidates are promoted to second lieutenants (in the navy, sublieutenants). Privates have a possibility of being promoted to lance corporal (in the navy, seaman) for extraordinarily good service. The service times are determined so that the conscript leaders are demobilized with the rank and file of that cohort. After discharge, the conscripts retain their ranks as inactive reserve ranks


title: Conscription in Finland

text: After their military service, the former conscripts are placed in reserve until the age of 50 or 60, depending on their military rank. During their time in reserve, the reservists are liable for activation for five types of duty:


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The males who do not belong to the reserve may only be activated in case of a full mobilization, and those rank-and-file personnel who have fulfilled 50 years of age only with a specific parliamentary decision. In addition to the mandatory refresher exercises, the reservist may be activated for voluntary exercises, but participation in these is, as name suggests, voluntary. However, when the reservist answers affirmatively to a voluntary activation request, he becomes an active member of the military for the duration of the exercise, with same rights and obligations as a mandatorily activated reservist, though with only an allowance corresponding only to the conscript's lowest allowance. The reservists who have been activated mandatorily for any reason receive a taxable pay of 58.85–64.50 euros per diem, based on their rank and a taxfree allowance corresponding to the lowest conscript's allowance. Similarly to the induction, an activated reservist becomes a military person at the moment when he was ordered to report to service. Disobeying an activation order is prosecuted as an absence without leave or as desertion, depending on the length of absence.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Military service can be started after turning 18, but can be delayed due to studies, work or other personal reasons until the age of 28. In addition to lodging, food, clothes and health care the conscripts receive a tax-free allowance between €5.10 and €11.90 per day, depending on the time they have served. In addition to the basic allowance, conscripts serving as parachutists, divers or pilots receive danger bonuses of 10-20 euros per jump or day of diving or, for pilots, 182 euros per month.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The state pays the conscript's rent and electricity bills. If the conscripts have families, they are entitled to benefits as well. Reservists are eligible for similar support only if the total income of reservist's family from all sources is below a certain, rather low, limit. It is illegal to fire an employee due to absence due military service or due to a refresher exercise or activation. Voluntary females in military service receive the same benefits as males and a small additional benefit, because they are expected to provide their own underwear and other personal items.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Military service consists of lessons, practical training, various cleaning and maintenance duties and field exercises. The wake-up call is usually at 05:30 and a day's typical duty lasts for twelve hours, including meals and some breaks. In the evening there are a few hours of free time. Roll call is at 21:00, and at 22:00 silence is announced, after which no noise is to be made. On a majority of weekends conscripts can leave the barracks on Friday and are expected to return by midnight on Sunday evening. A small force of conscripts is kept in readiness on weekends to aid civil agencies in various types of emergency situations, to guard the premises and to maintain defense in case of a sudden military emergency. Field exercises can go on regardless of the time of day or day of week. An average conscript spends 40–60 nights outdoors during field exercises, depending on his unit.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The training of conscripts is based on the "joukkotuotanto" principle (lit. English "troop production"). In this system, 80% of the conscripts train to fulfill a specific role in a specific wartime military unit. Each brigade-level unit has a responsibility of producing specified reserve units from the conscripts it has been allocated. As the reservists are discharged, they receive a specific wartime placement in the unit with which they have trained during their conscription. As the conscripts age, their unit is given new, different tasks and materiel. Typically, reservists are placed for the first five years in first-line units, then moved to military formations with less demanding tasks, while the reservists unable to serve in the unit are substituted with reservists from the reserve without specific placement. In refresher exercises, the unit is then given new training for these duties, if the defense budget permits this.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Non-military service has a fixed length of 347 days and consists of basic training and the actual service. The basic training takes place in the Lapinjärvi Civilian Service Center and lasts 28 days. During basic training, the serviceman is given instruction in first aid, peace education, internationalism, and non-violent resistance. In addition, some trainees receive an anti-oil leak or non-violent activity training. During the basic training, the civilian servicemen have training during weekdays from 08:00 until 16:00. On Fridays, the service usually ends before noon, while weekends are off. The servicemen are allowed to leave the service center freely during their free time, and may, if they wish, live at their homes during the basic training.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: For the actual service period, the serviceman is required to obtain a service place, which must have an agreement with the civilian service center. During the actual service period, the place of service is responsible for the health care and maintenance of the serviceman. The serviceman is obligated to work for 40 hours a week at times prescribed by the place of service. He has the right to enjoy a continuous daily rest period hours of 8 hours, however. The work is carried out according to the usual civilian OSHA regulations. During his free time, the serviceman is allowed to leave the premises of the service place freely. During the service and basic training, the serviceman receives the same daily allowance as the conscript. During the service, the serviceman is entitled to receive 18 days of leave, in addition to his free time. In addition to this leave, he may receive a maximum of 20 days of leave for good performance.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: If the serviceman does not comply with his duties and obligations or is absent, the service place is obligated to inform the civilian service center, which carries out an investigation. For minor infractions, the serviceman may be punished administratively. The punishment consists of a written warning, extra work (maximum 4 hours/day for five days), or the loss of daily allowance for a maximum of 30 days. If the infractions are continuous, the civilian service center reports the serviceman to the police and discharges him. After this, the serviceman is usually convicted of civilian service crime to prison for a time that corresponds half of his remaining term of service. No parole is available. The same punishment applies to those who make a written denunciation of their service obligation. After serving the prison term, the former inmate is freed of his remaining peacetime service obligations.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: After their service, the civilian servicemen belong to the civil reserve ("siviilivaranto") until the end of their 50th life year. After this, they belong to the civil militia ("lisävaranto") until the end of their 60th life year. During this time, they may be activated for extra training, if the international tension rises to the level where military reserves are activated. During a mobilization, the civilian servicemen may be mobilized and assigned duties in civil defense, rescue authorities or environmental authorities. In case of general mobilization, the parliament may give permission to activate even the civil militia. The "total objectors", who have served a prison term for refusing civilian service, receive no exceptions. The activated or mobilized servicemen receive the same pay as rank-and-file reservists.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: In case of a crisis where reserve is partially activated, the automatic acceptance into civilian service is suspended. Instead, those applying to the civilian service on grounds of conscience must demonstrate their personal, non-violent conviction to an investigation board. The board would consist of three professional judges, a psychologist selected by the civilian service center, an officer selected by the Finnish Defence Forces and a priest or a religious scholar. Only those who could prove their conviction would be given the right to civilian service. Persons failing the examination would be liable for military service. However, those who have already served their civilian or supplemental service are ensured of their right to non-military duties at all times. In addition, any conscript or activated reservist always has the right to be transferred to non-armed military service, regardless of eventual crisis.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: If, after his military service, a person experiences a crisis of conscience that prevents him from fulfilling his reserve obligations, he may ask the military regional office for acceptance into civilian service. In such a case, the person is ordered to start a supplemental service, the length of which is not more than 40 days, but usually less. After starting the supplemental service, the person is transferred to civilian reserve and cannot be ordered to serve in military duties at any time.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: Finnish conscription is based on the general duty of national defense, which applies to all citizens, regardless of their age or sex. The other forms of the fulfillment of this duty are


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The duty to partake in civil defense training is applicable to those persons who have been designated as civil defense personnel by a competent authority. Such persons may be called up to civil defense training for a maximum of ten days per year. During the training, they enjoy the same benefits and pay as activated reservists.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The duty to partake in rescue operations is applicable to anyone near a fire or an accident. Everyone is required to report the accident or fire and to immediately start such rescue and fire-fighting they are capable of. After the arrival of the rescue crew, the chief of the rescue operation may order anyone who is nearby to help in rescue operation in such manner as they are capable, if preventing an accident or saving a human life requires the order. If the emergency cannot be otherwise controlled, a career rescue authority official may order any person inside the municipality to immediately arrive at the place of operation to assist in the operation.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The general work duty is applicable only during a severe crisis which involves a war, a foreign aggression, a heightened international tension causing a danger of war, a severe disruption of international economy or a large-scale disaster. In the case of such emergency, the Government may, using the powers given by the Emergency Powers Act, introduce a general work duty, pertaining to all Finnish citizens between 16 and 65 years of age. In the case of non-military emergency, a person may only be ordered to perform work pertaining to health care, civil defense or rescue operations. In case of a military emergency, the work may consist of any duties that are necessary "to secure the livelihood of the population and the national economy, to maintain legal order and constitutional and human rights, and to safeguard the territorial integrity and independence of Finland in emergency conditions." However, the work must be such that the person obligated to work can carry it out within their skills and strength. The order to work suspends, but does not terminate, the present employment. The work carried out by the obligated person is regulated under the usual conditions of the field of employment and the standard union wages are paid for it.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: During a war or an armed crisis, the military has the power to order persons present in the area which is exposed to enemy attack to perform such work as is necessary for the maintenance of the troops or for the defense preparations. A person given such an order may not be obligated to work for longer than 12, or in special circumstances, 24 days. Anyone between 15 and 65 years of age may be drafted for such work, regardless of nationality, occupation or obligation to perform general work duty. The right to draft civilians for necessary work is delegated to commanders of battalion-sized units.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: A citizen's initiative on abolition of conscription in Finland started collecting names on 2 September 2013. The initiative proposed that men who refuse service should no longer be sentenced to prison.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: According to the initiative conscription is an expensive, sexist, and out-dated solution for combating any realistic threat scenarios of today.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: However, the initiative gained little public support and failed to reach the hurdle of 50,000 signatories needed for bringing the initiative to parliamentary process. The military is a strong part of Finnish society and culture. Before the 1990s, national service was regarded as a rite of passage for young men. This was especially true for the rural Finnish population. Often, before the 1990s, a lot of private companies were hesitant to hire 20-year-olds if they had neither military service nor education to show for what they were doing during the previous two years.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: According to Yle, the Finnish Army has joined a battle on mandatory military service. Numerous pro-conscription letters and columns by officers and regional army heads were published in the summer of 2013 praising the benefits of military service, although political activism is not one of the army's official tasks.


title: Conscription in Finland

text: The Defence Forces has been accused of providing misleading information on the economical effects of conscription. The commanders of the Defence Forces have repeatedly claimed that conscription is a cost-effective method to defend the country. Professor of Economics Roope Uusitalo says that the claim is not supported by economic research. Professor of Economics Panu Poutvaara has stated that an all-volunteer army would produce a stronger army using fewer resources.


title: Baduizm

text: Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, "Country Cousins", which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.


title: Baduizm

text: "Baduizm" was met with positive reviews from music critics who praised the album's musical style and Badu's artistic vision; other critics noted similarities between Badu and Billie Holiday. "Baduizm" was a commercial success debuting at number two on the US "Billboard" charts and number one on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was certified three times platinum by Recording Industry Association of America, Gold by British Phonographic Industry and Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association.


title: Baduizm

text: "Baduizm" was promoted with the release of four singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime", "Otherside of the Game", and "Appletree". The album received many accolades, including the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 40th Grammy Awards. Along with fellow contemporary albums such as D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" (1995) and Maxwell's "Urban Hang Suite" (1996), "Baduizm" success helped establish Badu as one of the leading artists in the neo-soul genre and is one of the albums credited with contributing to the genre's commercial visibility at the time.


title: Baduizm

text: To focus on music full time Badu dropped out from Grambling State University. Badu then began working and touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, during this period she recorded a 19-song demo, "Country Cousins", which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. Massenburg set a recording session up with D'Angelo to record, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Records.


title: Baduizm

text: Badu was partly influenced by Brandy's debut album, notably "I Wanna Be Down" and "Always on My Mind". Badu also took inspiration from her ancestry particularly turbans and African drums.


title: Baduizm

text: Recording sessions started in January through to October 1996 at Battery Studios in New York City, Sigma Sounds & Ivory Studios in Philadelphia, and Dallas Sound Lab in Dallas. Badu provided lead and background vocals, along with keyboards, drum machine and other music programming on the album with the help of Madukwu, N'Dambi, Bob Power, Ike Lee III, and Ron Carter. Shortly before the albums release, Badu grew unhappy with the recorded material and travelled back to Philadelphia to work with the Roots. The sessions led to the demo's "Otherside of the Game" and "Sometimes" being included on "Baduizm".


title: Baduizm

text: "Baduizm" established Badu as a popular artist and received positive reviews from critics, who viewed the record as a return to the simplicity of early '70s soul. "Vibe" magazine's Karen R. Good called the record "a conduit of awakening of something dark, familiar and long slept," while John Bush from AllMusic felt it was innovative primarily for its sound, "heavier hip-hop beats over organic, conscientious soul music."


title: Baduizm

text: Badu's particular style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday. "Entertainment Weekly" said Badu echoed Holiday in "her phrasing and cadence," while Greg Kot from the "Chicago Tribune" commented: "Rather than merely mimicking Holiday, Badu offers a canny update of the socially conscious soul of the early '70s with her mid-tempo grooves and sultry, conversational vocals." In the "Los Angeles Times", Robert Hilburn wrote: "Freely mixing musical eras and inspirations (Billie Holiday to Stevie Wonder, jazz to hip-hop), Badu combines supper-club sophistication with an artistic vision as unique and independent" as Prince in the '80s. Writing for "Rolling Stone", Miles Marshall Lewis stated: ""Baduizm" showcases the heart and soul of a bohemian B-girl who happens to have an effortless jazz swing."


title: Baduizm

text: At the end of 1997, "Baduizm" was voted the seventh best record of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by "The Village Voice". Robert Christgau, the poll's supervisor, was less enthusiastic and dismissed the comparisons to Billie Holiday, deeming Badu "a mite too bourgie-boho" for his tastes.


title: Baduizm

text: After "Baduizm" was released, it peaked at number two on the "Billboard" 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album's success helped establish Badu as one of the leading artists in the flourishing neo-soul genre. "Baduizm" was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, Gold by the British Phonographic Industry and the Canadian Recording Industry Association. As of February 2017 the album has sold 2.8 million copies in United States.


title: Baduizm

text: The album produced four singles; the lead single "On & On" was released in December 1996, and reached number 12 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 charts and the UK Singles Charts, as well as making an appearance on the New Zealand charts.


title: Baduizm

text: In 1997, Badu received six nominations and won three: Favorite Female Solo Single for "On & On", Favorite Female Solo Album for "Baduizm" and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year for "On & On" at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.


title: Baduizm

text: In 1998, Badu received fourteen nominations and won eight, including Favorite R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist at the American Music Awards; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "On & On" and Best R&B Album for "Baduizm" at the Grammy Awards; Outstanding New Artist and Outstanding Female Artist at the NAACP Image Awards; Favorite Female Soul/R&B Single for "On & On", Favorite Female Soul/R&B Album for "Baduizm" and Favorite New R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for "On & On" at the Soul Train Music Awards.


title: Baduizm

text: "Baduizm" is listed as one of the 261 greatest albums since punk and disco (the year 1976), in the music critic Garry Mulholland's book "Fear of Music" (). 'This record works as seduction soundtrack, Saturday night chill-out, Sunday morning church replacement. The success of Erykah Badu's masterpiece briefly threatened to inspire a new era in conscious soul. But only Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo were at her level. "Baduizm" stands alone, a missing link between '70s street funk, basement jazz, bohemian hip hop and the blues reinventions of Portishead."


title: Baduizm

text: In the 2020 reboot of their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", Rolling Stone ranked "Baduizm" number 89.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Mark Radcliffe (born 29 June 1958) is an English radio broadcaster, musician and writer. He is best known for his broadcasting work for the BBC, for which he has worked in various roles since the 1980s.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe began his broadcasting career in local commercial radio in Manchester before a move to the national station BBC Radio 5, where he met and formed a partnership with Marc Riley, a former guitarist with the Fall. In 1991 he moved to BBC Radio 1, closely followed by Riley with whom, under the moniker Mark and Lard, he worked for 11 years on the station. The pair's stint on Radio 1 included a brief and opinion-dividing spell on the flagship "Radio 1 Breakfast" and a subsequent afternoon slot show that garnered three prestigious Sony Radio Academy Awards.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: When the Mark and Lard duo left BBC Radio 1 in 2004, Radcliffe joined BBC Radio 2 and has also presented various TV shows for the BBC, including its coverage of the Glastonbury Festival. He remains a presenter on BBC Radio 2, where he presents the weekly programme "The Folk Show". On BBC Radio 6 Music, he co-hosts the weekend breakfast show with Stuart Maconie; they previously co-presented the weekday afternoon show on the same channel, and before that the evening show on Radio 2.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe was born in Bolton, Lancashire, and educated at Bolton School and the University of Manchester, where he studied English, American Studies and Classical Civilisation. He took an interest in music from a young age, playing drums in numerous bands while at school and university and into his working life. As of 2007, he lives in Knutsford, Cheshire; he is married to Bella Sharp (since 1997), with three daughters (1 from his first marriage), and became a grandfather in October 2008. In July 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Bolton. On 3rd October 2018, he announced on his BBC Radio 2 show that he had "cancerous tongue and lymph node issues" and he would take a break from his radio broadcasting for a while. Radcliffe returned to the show on 13 February 2019.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: During his student years, Radcliffe was a member of a number of bands, including a short stint as the drummer for the band Skrewdriver but left before their later transformation into a white power group. Radcliffe's radio career began in late 1982 at Piccadilly Radio, where he hosted a Friday night show called "Cures For Insomnia". He later hosted "Transmission", an eclectic show playing local and nationally recognised new wave and post-punk bands as well as European avant-garde and electronic music.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe came to prominence as a DJ on BBC Radio 5's "Hit the North" in 1990, but also appeared on other shows such as "Cult Radio". Nearly twenty years later, in 2009, he briefly stood in as a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live, the station that replaced it, to cover Simon Mayo's afternoon show.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe's BBC Radio 1 career began in 1983 when he produced sessions at Maida Vale Studios for John Peel's show. In 1991, he started presenting the one-hour Monday evening show "Out on Blue Six". Starting in early 1993, he presented the arts programme "The Guest List" on Thursdays. Also in 1993, Radcliffe presented "Skyman", an odd show that he presented in character as a visiting alien, and all the records played were space-related. This half-hour show aired immediately before "Out on Blue Six" on Monday evenings.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: His most famous work was as part of the act Mark and Lard (with Marc ""The Boy Lard"" Riley) on Radio 1. The duo began in a 10pm–midnight slot, the graveyard shift, on Mondays to Thursdays in October 1993. Mark and Lard hosted a show of unprecedented variety, incorporating poetry readings from regular guest Ian McMillan, off the wall, irreverent comedy, bizarre quizzes 'Fish or Fowl', 'Bird or Bloke', 'Bard or Blake' (amongst others), and a playlist that rivalled John Peel in terms of eclecticism. The show also held some of the best sessions from up and coming and alternative bands of the time, including Throwing Muses, Moloko, Nick Cave, Pulp, Cardiacs, The Bluetones, Babybird, The Divine Comedy, Placebo and Mice. Radcliffe is also credited with the success of White Town's "Your Woman" in January 1997.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Following Chris Evans' sudden departure from Radio 1 in early 1997, Radcliffe and Riley were moved to a brief and unsuccessful position on the breakfast show. Their style of music and broadcasting was not a success in this slot, which catered for a more mainstream audience, and they were soon moved into the early afternoon slot where they resided for the next seven years. This show was a success and saw them win three Sony Gold awards for Best Daily Music Show.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe left Radio 1 in March 2004 and moved to BBC Radio 2 in June of the same year, with Riley moving to BBC Radio 6 Music. The new show was reminiscent of the graveyard slot he had previously occupied on BBC Radio 1; with live music and studio guests and ran between 10:30pm and midnight. The respect Radcliffe had garnered as a broadcaster was cemented when he scooped a major interview with Kate Bush in late 2005, her first in several years. For many months prior to this, he had been running his own 'Bush-O-Meter' on his show, questioning the possible whereabouts and activities of the elusive singer-songwriter and adding a photo of the day's guest or the 'Blessed Kate' to the chart until she appeared on the show. Radcliffe also won a Sony award for this show. Starting on 16 April 2007, Radcliffe joined forces with Stuart Maconie to present a new show on BBC Radio 2 on Mondays to Thursdays from 8–10pm to much critical acclaim, including winning the prestigious Sony award for best Radio show of 2009. From April 2010, the show was reduced to three nights a week, Mondays to Wednesdays.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: For a time, he was a frequent stand-in in partnership with Emma Forbes or Liza Tarbuck during the 2–5pm slot when Steve Wright was away on holiday, thus taking him back to afternoon radio, and also stood in for Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 5 Live on a few occasions.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: In 2009, Radcliffe reunited with Marc Riley to make a series of radio adverts for Manchester City F.C. that were broadcast in North West England.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: In spring 2011, his show with Maconie moved to BBC Radio 6 Music, in the weekday afternoon slot. Radcliffe also presented his own weekly solo show on BBC Radio 2, called "Mark Radcliffe's Music Club", and in 2013 he took over the presentation of BBC Radio 2's weekly folk programme from Mike Harding. His weekday afternoon show with Maconie was moved on 21 December 2018 to the weekends while he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Maconie had broadcast solo while Radcliffe was away for treatment, but Radcliffe joined Maconie for the last hour of the weekday show. He rang in at home on the first weekend breakfast show on 12 January 2019, and then he rejoined Maconie on a permanent basis from 2 February 2019 and Radcliffe also rejoined to BBC Radio 2 on 13 February 2019.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe experienced brief commercial success with Shirehorses, a parody band (its name based on the short-lived band The Seahorses) spawned from his Mark And Lard antics. Earlier in his career, he had played in other bands, including the band Skrewdriver (briefly, before their reincarnation as a white power skinhead band, in which he played no part). Radcliffe has written about his part in this band in his book "Showbusiness". As of 2007, Radcliffe was a member of the more folk-orientated The Family Mahone which evolved into the group Mark Radcliffe & Foes. He also fronted the Dr. Feelgood tribute band Mark Radcliffe & the Big Figures and the pirate-themed band Galleon Blast. Radcliffe is also co-writer and performer in an avant-garde electronic duo UNE with Paul Langley and performs percussion and backing vocals with the band Fine Lines, who will be supporting Kiefer Sutherland on his 2022 UK tour.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe presented a live music TV programme, "The White Room", for four series on Channel 4 from 11 June 1994 to 23 August 1996, and has regularly appeared in both Channel 4 and the BBC's coverage of the Glastonbury Festival, as well as the latter's broadcasts from the Cambridge Folk Festival. Along with Marc Riley, he presented a music-based quiz programme, "Pop Upstairs Downstairs", for the BBC/Flextech digital TV channel UK Play in 1999 and 2000. He also presented the BBC One football retrospective show "Match of the Nineties", which aired in summer 1999. In 2006, he won the ITV singing competition "Stars in Their Eyes" with an appearance portraying The Pogues front-man Shane MacGowan singing "The Irish Rover". In 2009, he took over from Steve Wright as the presenter of "Top of the Pops 2". He presented the BBC Four documentary "The Richest Songs in the World", which counted down the 10 most successful songs of all time in terms of money earned.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: The Shirehorses were due to appear in an episode of the sitcom "Phoenix Nights" as the folk band Half a Shilling, but had concerns about the potentially racist content of the part they were to play. They were replaced at the last minute by Tim Healy.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: In 2021, he presented "Live from the Edge", a 13-part music series shown on Showcase TV (Sky channel 191) from Edge Recording Studio, with performances by bands like The Sherlocks, Sea Fever and The Lottery Winners. Radcliffe was also one of a number of music experts hired by Viacom International Studios UK, to comment on the best selling chart hits of the 1980s and 1990s, for a number of Friday night music countdowns on Channel 5 (with the shows being known under various titles such as "Greatest Hits of the 80s", or "Britain's Biggest 90s Hits").


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe wrote the autobiographical "Showbusiness: The Diary of a Rock 'N' Roll Nobody"; a critically acclaimed history of his attempts at a career as a musician, including his exploits with Shirehorses. His novel "Northern Sky", based around a folk music club in an imaginary Northern English city, was published in 2005. A book of anecdotes about his life and career, "Thank You For the Days" was published in 2009. Another memoir, "Reelin' in the Years", was published in 2011. "Crossroads: In Search of the Moments that Changed Music", a "personal journey" through music history, was published in September 2019.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe started his BBC Radio career in 1983, where he worked as a producer, producing sessions for John Peel featuring artists such as Billy Bragg.


title: Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)

text: Radcliffe was a producer of "Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!" for BBC Radio 4 from series 1 to series 6.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in octaves, with those of the upper two courses tuned in unison. The gap between the strings within each dual-string course is narrow, and the strings of each course are fretted and plucked as a single unit. The neck is wider, to accommodate the extra strings, and is similar to the width of a classical guitar neck. The sound, particularly on acoustic instruments, is fuller and more harmonically resonant than six-string instruments. The 12-string guitar can be played like a 6-string guitar as players still use the same notes, chords and guitar techniques like a standard 6-string guitar, but advanced techniques might be tough as players need to play or pluck two strings simultaneously.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Structurally, 12-string guitars, especially those built before 1970, differ from six-string guitars in the following ways:


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Twelve-string guitars are made in both acoustic and electric forms. However, the acoustic type is more common.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The double ranks of strings of the 12-string guitar produce a shimmering effect, because even the strings tuned in unison can never vibrate with precise simultaneity—that is, they vibrate out of phase. The result to the ear is a sound that seems to "shimmer", which some describe as resembling strings that are slightly detuned. The interference between the out-of-phase vibrations produces a phenomenon known as a beat that results in a periodic rise and fall of intensity that is, in music, often considered pleasing to the ear. Pete Seeger described the distinctive sound of the 12-string guitar as "the clanging of bells."


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The origin of the modern 12-string guitar is not clear, but it arose in the closing years of the 19th Century. The most likely ancestors using courses of doubled strings are some Mexican instruments of Spanish ancestry such as the "bandolón", the "guitarra séptima," the "guitarra quinta huapanguera," and the "bajo sexto ." Pictures such as the 1901 "Mexican Typical Orchestra" at the Pan-American Exposition show a guitar with 12 strings. At the end of the 19th century, the archtop mandolin was one of the first instruments with courses of doubled strings designed in the United States.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, 12-strings were regarded as "novelty" instruments. The 12-string guitar did not become a major part of blues and folk music till the 1920s and the 1930s, when their "larger than life" sound made them ideal as solo accompaniment for vocalists, especially Lead Belly and Blind Willie McTell. The 12-string guitar has since occupied roles in certain varieties of folk, rock, jazz, and popular music.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: In the 1930s, Mexican-American guitarist and singer Lydia Mendoza popularized the instrument. In the 1950s, Lead Belly's protégé, Fred Gerlach, brought the instrument into the American folk music world. Initially, it was primarily used for accompaniment, owing to the greater difficulty of picking or executing string "bends" on its double-strung courses. The Delta Blues guitar virtuoso Robert Lockwood Jr was presented a handcrafted acoustic 12-string guitar made by an outstanding Japanese luthier in the end of the sixties, and this became the instrument of choice for Lockwood thereafter. In the later 20th century, however, a number of players devoted themselves to producing solo performances on the 12-string guitar, including Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Ralph Towner, Robbie Basho, Jack Rose, and James Blackshaw.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Electric 12-strings became a staple in pop and rock music in the 1960s. Early use of the instrument was pioneered by the guitarists of The Wrecking Crew; in 1963, Carol Kaye used a converted Guild six-string on The Crystals' hit "Then He Kissed Me," and on Jackie DeShannon's song "When You Walk in the Room," Glen Campbell played a well-known guitar figure, composed by DeShannon, on an electric 12-string.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: One of the first mass-produced electric 12-strings was the Bellzouki. Introduced by Danelectro in 1961, from a design by session guitarist Vinnie Bell, it was initially considered a cross between an electric guitar and a bouzouki rather than an electric version of the traditional 12-string guitar. In the UK in 1963, JMI briefly produced the Vox Bouzouki, later produced in Italy as The Vox Tempest XII, which was used by Vic Flick on the Peter and Gordon hit single "A World Without Love" in 1964. In late 1963, Burns developed the Double Six, supplying a prototype to Hank Marvin of The Shadows, who used it on a number of songs for the soundtrack of the 1964 Cliff Richard movie "Wonderful Life;" the Double Six was also used on The Searchers' cover version of De Shannon's "When You Walk in the Room."


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The electric 12-string gained prominence with the introduction in 1964 of the Rickenbacker 360, made famous through George Harrison's use of it on The Beatles' album "A Hard Day's Night" and many subsequent recordings. In 1965, inspired by Harrison, Roger McGuinn made the Rickenbacker 12-string central to The Byrds' folk rock sound, further popularising the instrument. By the mid-1960s, most major guitar manufacturers were producing competing instruments, including the Fender Electric XII (used by Roy Wood of The Move), and the Vox Phantom XII (used by Tony Hicks of The Hollies). Gretsch, Guild, and Gibson also produced electric 12-string models from the mid-Sixties and following decades, with Gretsch promoting theirs by supplying a number of custom made 12-strings for The Monkees guitarist Michael Nesmith, for use on "The Monkees" TV series.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Standard electric 12-strings became less popular with the end of the American folk rock scene in the late sixties; Fender and Gibson ceased production of the Electric XII and ES-335 12-string variant respectively, in 1969. However, from the 1970s, some progressive rock, hard rock, and jazz fusion guitarists, most notably Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Don Felder of the Eagles, John McLaughlin of The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Alex Lifeson of Rush used double-necked guitars such as the Gibson EDS-1275, with six-string and 12-string necks, for live appearances, allowing easy transition between different sounds mid-song.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The post punk era of the late '70s and early' 80s saw a resurgence of electric 12-string guitar use among '60s-influenced alternative rock, pop, and indie guitarists. Players such as Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Dave Gregory of XTC, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, Marty Willson-Piper of The Church, Peter Buck of R.E.M., Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü, and Tom Petty and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers often chose 12-strings (particularly Rickenbackers) for many songs.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The strings are placed in courses of two strings each that are usually played together. The two strings in each of the lower four courses are normally tuned an octave apart, while each pair of strings in the top two courses are tuned in unison. The strings are generally arranged such that the higher string of each pair is struck first on a downward strum. However, Rickenbacker usually reverses this arrangement on its electric 12-string guitars. The tuning of the second string in the third course (G) varies. Some players use a unison string, while most prefer the distinctive high-pitched, bell-like quality an octave string makes in this position. Another common variant is to tune the octave string in the sixth (lowest) course "two" octaves above the lower string, rather than one. Some players, either in search of distinctive tone or for ease of playing, remove some doubled strings. For example, removing the higher octave from the three bass courses simplifies playing running bass lines, but keeps the extra treble strings for the full strums. Some manufacturers have produced 9-string instruments based on this setup, in which either the lower three courses are undoubled, or the upper three courses are undoubled.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The extra tension placed on the instrument by the doubled strings is high, and because of this additional stress on their necks and soundboards, 12-string guitars long had a reputation for warping after a few years of use. (This is less of a problem in modern instruments, built after 1970.) Until the invention of the truss rod in 1921, 12-string guitars were frequently tuned lower than the traditional EADGBE to reduce the stresses on the instrument. Lead Belly often used a low-C tuning, but in some recordings, his tunings can be recognized as low-B and A tunings. Some 12-string guitars have nontraditional structural supports to prevent or postpone warping, at the expense of appearance and tone. To additionally reduce string tension, 12-string guitars built prior to 1970 typically had shorter necks and scale lengths than six-string guitars, which made frets more closely spaced. Their bridges, especially in acoustic guitars, had a larger reinforcement plate for the same reason.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Advances in materials, design, and construction in such guitars made after 1970 have eliminated most of these accommodations. Contemporary 12 string guitars are commonly built to the same dimensions and scale as their six-string counterparts.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The most common tuning, considered standard today, is , moving from lowest (sixth) course to highest (first) course. Lead Belly and some other players have doubled the lowest course two octaves above instead of one, producing a third string in unison with the top course.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Some performers use open tunings and other non-standard guitar tunings on 12-string guitars. Some performers have experimented with tuning the two strings within a course to intervals other than octaves or unisons: jazz guitarists such as Ralph Towner (of Oregon), Larry Coryell, and Philip Catherine have tuned the bass courses of their 12-string guitars to the upper fifths and trebles to the lower fourths instead of octaves and unisons; Michael Gulezian tuned strings in the top two courses to whole-tone intervals (and possibly some of the other strings an octave lower) to achieve a very rich, complex sound. The greater number of strings offers almost endless possibilities.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: Nashville Tuning is a way of simulating a 12-string guitar sound, using two six-string guitars playing in unison. This is achieved by replacing the lower four courses on one six-string with the higher octave strings for those four courses from a 12-string set, and tuning these four strings an octave higher than normal tuning for those courses on a six-string. Double-tracking this guitar with the standard-tuned six-string is commonly used in recording studios to achieve a "cleaner" 12-string effect.


title: Twelve-string guitar

text: The 12-string guitar's greater number of strings and higher cumulative string tension complicates playing, in both hands. Fretting chords requires greater force, and the width of the neck and the added string tension combine to make soloing and string-bending challenging. The gap between the dual-string courses is usually narrower than that between the single-string courses of a conventional six-string guitar, so more precision is required with the pick or fingertip when not simply strumming chords. Consequently, the instrument is most commonly used for accompaniment, though several players have taken the time to develop the 12-string guitar as a solo instrument. Flat-picking solos are more frequently seen with electric players, whereas a few acoustic players, such as Leo Kottke, have adapted fingerstyle techniques to the instrument; players such as Ralph Towner have applied classical playing techniques.


title: Kabardian language

text: Kabardian (; ; ), also known as , is a Northwest Caucasian language closely related to the Adyghe (West Circassian) language. Circassian nationalists reject the distinction between the two languages and refer to them both as "Circassian".


title: Kabardian language

text: It is spoken mainly in parts of the North Caucasus republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia (Eastern Circassia), and in Turkey, Jordan and Syria (the extensive post-war diaspora). It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes, of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts as phonemic, but it has only 3 phonemic vowels. It is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives.


title: Kabardian language

text: The Kabardian language has two major dialects: Kabardian and Besleney. Some linguists argue that Kabardian is only one dialect of an overarching Adyghe or Circassian language, which consists of all of the dialects of Adyghe and Kabardian together, and the Kabardians themselves most often refer to their language using the Kabardian term "Adighabze" ("Adyghe language"). Several linguists, including Georges Dumézil, have used the terms "eastern Circassian" (Kabardian) and "western Circassian" (Adyghe) to avoid that confusion, but both "Circassian" and "Kabardian" may still be found in linguistic literature. There are several key phonetic and lexical differences that create a reasonably well-defined separation between the eastern and the western Circassian dialects, but the degree to which the two are mutually intelligible has not yet been determined. The matter is also complicated somewhat by the existence of Besleney, which is usually considered a dialect of Kabardian but also shares many features with certain dialects of Adyghe.


title: Kabardian language

text: Kabardian is written in a form of Cyrillic and serves as the literary language for Circassians in both Kabardino-Balkaria (where it is usually called the "Kabardian language") and Karachay-Cherkessia (where it is called the "Cherkess language").


title: Kabardian language

text: Like all other Northwest Caucasian languages, Kabardian is ergative and has an extremely complex verbal system.


title: Kabardian language

text: Since 2004, the Turkish broadcasting corporation TRT has maintained a half-an-hour programme a week in the Terek dialect of Kabardian.


title: Kabardian language

text: The phoneme written "Л л" is pronounced as a voiced alveolar lateral fricative mostly by the Circassians of Kabardino and Cherkessia, but many Kabardians pronounce it as an alveolar lateral approximant in diaspora. The series of labialized alveolar sibilant affricates and fricatives that exist in Adyghe became labiodental consonants in Kabardian, for example the Kabardian words "мафӏэ" "fire", "зэвы" "narrow", "фыз" "wife" and "вакъэ" "shoe" are pronounced as "машӏо" , "зэжъу" , "шъуз" and "цуакъэ" in Adyghe. Kabardian has a labialized voiceless velar fricative which correspond to Adyghe , for example the Adyghe word "тфы" ( "five" is тху () in Kabardian. In the Beslenei dialect, there exists an alveolar lateral ejective affricate which corresponds to in literary Kabardian. The Turkish Kabardians (Uzunyayla) and Besleneys have a palatalized voiced velar stop and a palatalized velar ejective which corresponds to and in literary Kabardian.


title: Kabardian language

text: The glottalization of the ejective stops (but not fricatives) can be quite weak, and has been reported to often be creaky voice, that is, to have laryngealized voicing. Something similar seems to have happened historically in the Veinakh languages.


title: Kabardian language

text: Kabardian has a vertical vowel system. Although many surface vowels appear, they can be analyzed as consisting of at most the following three phonemic vowels: , and .


title: Kabardian language

text: Most of the long vowels appear as automatic variants of a sequence of short vowel and glide, when it occurs in a single syllable:


title: Kabardian language

text: This leaves only the vowel . Kuipers claims that this can be analyzed as underlying when word-initial, and underlying elsewhere, based on the following facts:


title: Kabardian language

text: Halle finds Kuipers' analysis "exemplary". Gordon and Applebaum note this analysis, but also note that some authors disagree, and as a result prefer to maintain a phoneme .


title: Kabardian language

text: In a later section of his monograph, Kuipers also attempts to analyze the two vowels phonemes and out of existence. Halle, however, shows that this analysis is flawed, as it requires the introduction of multiple new phonemes to carry the information formerly encoded by the two vowel phonemes.


title: Kabardian language

text: The diphthong is pronounced in some dialects. may be realised as , as and as . This monophthongisation does not occur in all dialects.


title: Kabardian language

text: The current Cyrillic alphabet is as follows. The preceding Latin alphabet was much like the one for Adyghe.


title: Kabardian language

text: Kabardian, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, has a basic agent–object–verb typology, and is characterized by an ergative construction of the sentence.


title: Kabardian language

text: The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kabardian and Adyghe, along with the original declaration in English.


title: Apple A8

text: The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2014. Apple states that it has 25% more CPU performance and 50% more graphics performance while drawing only 50% of the power of its predecessor, the Apple A7. The latest software updates for the 1.1GHz and 1.4GHz variants systems using this chip are iOS 12.5.6, released on August 31, 2022 as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 13 in 2019, and 1.5GHz variant for the iPad Mini 4 is iPadOS 15.7.1, released on October 27, 2022 as it was discontinued with the release of iPadOS 16 in 2022, while updates for the 1.5GHz variant continue for Apple TV HD. The A8 chip was discontinued on October 18, 2022, following the discontinuation of the Apple TV HD.


title: Apple A8

text: The A8 is manufactured on a 20 nm process by TSMC, which replaced Samsung as the manufacturer of Apple's mobile device processors. It contains 2 billion transistors. Despite having twice the number of transistors of the A7, the A8's physical size has been reduced by 13% to . The A8 uses LPDDR3-1333 RAM on a 64-bit memory interface; in the iPhone 6/6 Plus, sixth generation iPod Touch, and HomePod, the A8 has 1 GB RAM included in the package. Meanwhile, the A8 in the iPad Mini 4 and 4th generation Apple TV is packaged with 2 GB RAM.


title: Apple A8

text: The A8 CPU has a per-core L1 cache of 64 KB for data and 64 KB for instructions, an L2 cache of 1 MB shared by both CPU cores, and a 4 MB L3 cache that services the entire SoC. As its predecessor, it has a 6 decode, 6 issue, 9 wide, out-of-order design.


title: Apple A8

text: The processor is dual core, and as used in the iPhone 6 has a frequency of 1.4 GHz, supporting Apple's claim of it being 25% faster than the A7. It also supports the notion of this being a second generation enhanced Cyclone core called Typhoon, and not an entirely new architecture which would supposedly mean a more significant performance gain per Hz.


title: Apple A8

text: The A8 also integrates a graphics processing unit (GPU) which is a 4-shader-cluster PowerVR Series 6XT. However the GPU features custom shader cores designed by Apple.


title: Apple A8

text: On October 16, 2014, Apple introduced a variant of the A8, the A8X, in the iPad Air 2. Compared with the A8, the A8X has an enhanced 8-shader-cluster GPU and improved CPU performance due to one extra core and higher frequency.


title: Apple A8

text: The A8 has video codec encoding support for H.264. It has decoding support for H.264, MPEG‑4, and Motion JPEG.


title: Apple A8

text: The A8's branch predictor has been claimed to infringe on a 1998 patent. On October 14, 2015, a district judge found Apple guilty of infringing U.S. patent , "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer", on the Apple A7 and A8 processors. The patent is owned by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), a firm affiliated with the University of Wisconsin. On July 24, 2017, Apple was ordered to pay WARF $506 million for patent infringement. Apple filed an appellate brief on October 26, 2017, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that argued that Apple did not infringe on the patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. On September 28, 2018, the ruling was overturned on appeal and the award thrown out by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The patent expired in December 2016.


title: Another Toothpick

text: "Another Toothpick" is the 31st episode of the HBO original series "The Sopranos" and the fifth of the show's third season. It was written by Terence Winter and directed by Jack Bender, and originally aired on March 25, 2001.