title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: Promoted to vice admiral in February 1994, Boyce was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1995 New Year Honours. He was promoted to full admiral on 25 May 1995, on appointment as Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Fleet as well as NATO Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic and NATO Commander Allied Naval Forces North West Europe in September 1997.


title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: Boyce became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in October 1998 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1999 Birthday Honours. He was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in February 2001, and in that role is believed to have had concerns about US plans for a national missile defence system. In early 2003 he advised the British Government on the deployment of troops for the invasion of Iraq, seeking assurances as to the legitimacy of the deployment before it was allowed to proceed. He was appointed a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem on 27 November 2002, and retired as Chief of Defence Staff on 7 November 2003.


title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: Boyce was created a life peer as Baron Boyce, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster, on 16 June 2003 and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London on 19 December 2003. He was also appointed a non-executive director of WS Atkins plc in May 2004 and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports on 10 December 2004, succeeding Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in that role. He became chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889) in 2004.


title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: In May 2005, Boyce was among the several retired Chiefs of Defence Staff who spoke in the House of Lords about the risk to servicemen facing liability for their actions – for which he claims politicians are ultimately responsible – before the International Criminal Court. He gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry on 3 December 2009. He was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in April 2011 and was a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation.


title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: Boyce was Patron of the Submariners Association, Dover College, the Dover War Memorial Project and of Kent Search and Rescue as well as being an Elder Brother of Trinity House and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He took a keen interest in sports. In 2013, he was elected Master of the Drapers' Company. He has been the president of the Pilgrims Society, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Hastings charity, the Winkle Club, as well as a trustee of the Naval and Military Club.


title: Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

text: In 1971, Boyce married Harriette Gail Fletcher, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Fleur Margaret Anne Rutherford (née Smith). Lady Boyce died in 2016 at the age of 67.


title: Jason Drucker

text: Jason Ian Drucker is an American child actor. He starred as Greg Heffley in the 2017 film "". He also played Tommy Miller, the youngest of the Miller family, in Nickelodeon's "Every Witch Way". In 2018, he co-starred in the "Transformers" spin-off "Bumblebee".


title: Jason Drucker

text: Drucker first rose to prominence with his role in Nickelodeon's Every Which Way, where he played the role of Tommy Miller. Drucker's film debut Barely Legal came out in 2015. Drucker was also in 2017's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, where he played the protagonist, Greg Heffely. He also had a co-starring role in 2018's Bumblebee.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: As well as his work with Queen, Freddie Mercury released two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Music Charts. Following Mercury's death in 1991, several posthumous box sets and compilation albums have been released.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: Mercury's first solo effort goes back to 1972 under the pseudonym Larry Lurex, when Trident Studios' house engineer Robin Geoffrey Cable was working in a musical project, at the time when Queen were recording their debut album; Cable enlisted Mercury to perform lead vocals on the songs "I Can Hear Music" and "Goin' Back", both were released together as a single in 1973. Eleven years later, Mercury contributed to the soundtrack for the restoration of the 1927 Fritz Lang film "Metropolis". The song "Love Kills" was written for the film by Giorgio Moroder in collaboration with Mercury, and produced by Moroder and Mack; in 1984 it debuted at the number 10 position in the UK Singles Chart.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: Mercury's two full albums outside the band were "Mr. Bad Guy" (1985) and "Barcelona" (1988). His first album, "Mr. Bad Guy", debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts. In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, posthumously reached number one on the UK Singles Charts. The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes "Mr. Bad Guy" as "outstanding from start to finish" and expressed his view that Mercury "did a commendable job of stretching into uncharted territory". In particular, the album is heavily synthesiser-driven; that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: His second album, "Barcelona", recorded with Spanish soprano vocalist Montserrat Caballé, combines elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain what to make of the album; one referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year". The album was a commercial success, and the album's title track debuted at No. 8 in the UK and was also a hit in Spain. The title track received massive airplay as the official anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death). Caballé sang it live at the opening of the Olympics with Mercury's part played on a screen, and again before the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich in Barcelona.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit "The Great Pretender" by the Platters, which debuted at No. 5 in the UK in 1987. In September 2006 a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the UK top 10. In 2012, "", a documentary film directed by Rhys Thomas on Mercury's attempts to forge a solo career, premiered on BBC One.


title: Freddie Mercury discography

text: In 1981–1983 Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory", and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". None of these collaborations were officially released at the time, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the single "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album "Victory". Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his "Mr. Bad Guy" album. "There Must Be More to Life Than This" was eventually reworked by Queen and released on their compilation album "Queen Forever" in 2014. In addition to working with Michael Jackson, Mercury and Roger Taylorsang on the title track for Billy Squier's 1982 studio release, "Emotions in Motion" and later contributed to two tracks on Squier's 1986 release, "Enough Is Enough", providing vocals on "Love is the Hero" and musical arrangements on "Lady With a Tenor Sax". In 2020, Mercury's music video for "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" was nominated for Best Animation at the Berlin Music Video Awards. Woodlock studio is behind the animation.


title: An American Haunting

text: An American Haunting is a 2005 horror film written and directed by Courtney Solomon and starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, James D'Arcy, and Rachel Hurd-Wood. The film was previewed at the AFI Film Festival on November 5, 2005 and was released in the UK on April 14, 2006 with follow-up in US theaters on May 5. The film is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, and the United States.


title: An American Haunting

text: The film is based on the novel "The Bell Witch: An American Haunting" by Brent Monahan. The events in the novel are based on the legend of the Bell Witch. The film switches from the 21st century to the 19th, and features a subplot about a recently divorced mother (Susan Almgren) whose daughter (Isabelle Almgren-Doré) is going through something like the same experience as Betsy Bell.


title: An American Haunting

text: A terrified young girl runs through the forest and into her house to escape from an unseen threat. When she sees the Bell Witch, a ghost that takes the form of a girl, she awakens with a scream. Her mother dismisses it as a dream and reminds her that this is her week to visit her father. The mother goes to her desk and picks up a binder full of old letters, with a note from someone who claims to be an ancestor. The letters appear written in 19th-century script.


title: An American Haunting

text: The story goes back to the early 19th-century to show the Bell Witch's story. John Bell is taken to church court and found guilty of theft of a woman's land. The church releases him with the verdict that his loss of honor is sufficient punishment. The offended party, Kate Batts, is infamous in the village due to claims of witchcraft.


title: An American Haunting

text: Strange events begin to occur and John believes that Batts cursed him. Betsy starts to look very sick and the haunting worsens. Her young teacher, Richard Powell, notices the change in Betsy's behavior. The Bell family tells him they fear that the cause is paranormal. Powell attempts to prove that this is impossible because spirits don't exist. It is implied that Richard is in love with Betsy.


title: An American Haunting

text: Richard stays in the Bell home to observe Betsy's behavior. His theory is proven wrong when he witnesses Betsy dangling in the air, as if someone is holding her up by her hair. Betsy is sexually assaulted by the spirit. John loses his sanity and sees many forms of the Bell Witch. John asks Kate Batts to kill him and remove her curse. She refuses and tells him that he cursed himself. John tries to kill himself, but the spirit stops him.


title: An American Haunting

text: Betsy is struck with a revelation that the attacks on her and her father are caused by a supernatural being who was born out of her innocence. She needed to "remember" that the true cause of her pain is her father's child sexual abuse of her. Lucy, Betsy's mother, has the same revelation because she witnessed the sexual assault, which she and Betsy repressed. Betsy poisons her now bed-ridden father with medicine while her mother watches. Betsy is then seen at her father's grave, and she is never haunted again.


title: An American Haunting

text: In present day, the mother's daughter says her father has come to take her for their weekend stay. She sends her daughter to her ex-husband, who is waiting outside. Betsy's ghost suddenly appears and looks ominous. The mother realizes Betsy is trying to warn her that something is amiss between her daughter and her ex-husband.


title: An American Haunting

text: She runs out of her house and catches a glimpse of her daughter's worried face peering out from the car window as it drives away; the implication is that the father is sexually abusing her. She runs after her ex-husband's car, frantically yelling his name.


title: An American Haunting

text: "An American Haunting" was panned by critics, holding a 38/100 rating on Metacritic, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Rotten Tomatoes reports a 14% rating from 71 reviews; the consensus states: "Well, it looks good. But wasn't it supposed to be scary?"


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: The Davies boys (the middle name Llewelyn was a tradition begun with their grandfather, not a true double-barreled surname, though the family sometimes treated it as such) were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, in which several of the characters were named after them. They were the sons of Sylvia (1866–1910) and Arthur Llewelyn Davies (1863–1907). Their mother was a daughter of French-born cartoonist and writer George du Maurier and sister of actor Gerald du Maurier, whose daughter was author Daphne du Maurier. Their father was a son of preacher John Llewelyn Davies, and brother of suffragist Margaret Llewelyn Davies.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: Barrie became the boys' guardian following the deaths of their parents, and they were publicly associated with Barrie and Peter Pan for the rest of their lives. The three eldest served in the British military during World War I. Two of the brothers died in their early twenties (one in combat, the other drowning), and a third died by suicide when he was 63. Their early lives have been the subject of two cinematic dramatizations.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: The boys were born and grew up in the Paddington and Notting Hill areas of London. Their parents were a barrister and the daughter of a successful cartoonist and writer, and they enjoyed a comfortable middle class upbringing in a household with servants. They were befriended in 1897 by playwright/novelist J. M. Barrie, who first met George and Jack in Kensington Gardens during outings with their nurse Mary Hodgson and infant Peter. He initially entertained them with his playful antics such as dancing with his dog Porthos, wiggling his ears, and performing feats with his eyebrows, and further endeared himself to them with his stories. He became a regular part of their lives; they came to call him 'Uncle Jim'.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: In addition to the time the boys spent with Barrie in Kensington Gardens and at the Davies home, the family accompanied him to his retreat Black Lake Cottage, where George, Jack, and Peter were the subjects of "The Boy Castaways", a photobook made by Barrie about their play adventures living on an island and fighting pirates. The boys and their activities with Barrie provided him with much of the inspiration for the character of Peter Pan, introduced in "The Little White Bird" in 1901, and the characters of the Lost Boys and Wendy Darling's brothers, introduced in Barrie's 1904 play "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" and further immortalized in its 1911 adaptation as the novel "Peter and Wendy".


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: In 1904, the year when Barrie's play debuted, the Davies family moved out of London and went to live in Egerton House, an Elizabethan mansion house in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: Their father died of a salivary sarcoma at Egerton in 1907, and their mother took them back to live in London; she developed lung cancer and died in 1910. Over the course of their illnesses, Barrie became more involved with the family, including providing financial support for them. With Sylvia's death, Barrie became the boys' trustee and guardian, along with their maternal grandmother Emma du Maurier, Sylvia's brother Guy du Maurier, and Arthur's brother Compton Llewelyn Davies. Mary Hodgson continued to care for them, until increasing friction with Barrie and a confrontation with Jack's new wife led to her resignation when the boys were in their teens and twenties. Barrie, whose success as a novelist and playwright had made him wealthy, provided housing, education, and financial support for them until they were independent.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: Upon the United Kingdom's entry into World War I, Jack was already in the Royal Navy, and George and Peter volunteered to serve as officers in the British Army. George was killed in action in 1915. Michael drowned with a close friend at Oxford University in 1921. Peter, plagued by his lifelong identification as "the real Peter Pan" and other personal troubles, died by suicide in 1960.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: The boys' relationships with Barrie varied. George and Michael were very close to him, and their deaths affected him strongly. Jack harboured some resentment towards Barrie for taking his father's place during and after Arthur's illness. Peter's relationship with Barrie was ambivalent, but Nico adored him.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: Although there has often been suspicion about the nature of Barrie's relationship with the boys, there is no evidence that he engaged in any sexual activity with them, nor that there was any suspicion of such at the time. Their father Arthur was troubled by Barrie's relationship with them, but that was based on its interference with his own relationship with them as their father, and he didn't care for the man personally. As an adult, Nico flatly denied any inappropriate behaviour or intentions by Barrie. 'I don't believe that Uncle Jim ever experienced what one might call "a stirring in the undergrowth" for anyone — man, woman, or child,' he wrote to biographer Andrew Birkin in 1978. 'He was an innocent — which is why he could write Peter Pan.' In an interview taped in 1976, bisexual Conservative Party politician Robert Boothby, who had been a close friend of Michael during their teens, described Michael's relationship with Barrie at that time as 'morbid' and 'unhealthy', but dismissed the notion that there had been a sexual aspect to it.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: The BBC produced an award-winning miniseries "The Lost Boys" in 1978, written by Andrew Birkin, and starring Ian Holm as Barrie, Ann Bell as their mother, and Tim Pigott-Smith as their father. It dramatises with good historical accuracy the relationship between the Davies family and Barrie, from the time they met until shortly after Michael's drowning. The boys are each portrayed by a series of actors as they age. Birkin also wrote the biography "J. M. Barrie & the Lost Boys" on the same subject.


title: Llewelyn Davies boys

text: A semi-fictional film about their relationship with Barrie, "Finding Neverland", starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet as Barrie and their mother, was released to theatres in November 2004. It covers in a condensed fashion the period from their first meeting until the debut of the play, but leaves out the boys' father (who was said to have already died) and Nico (who was born during that time and was only an infant at the end of it). The boys are played by Nick Roud (George), Joe Prospero (Jack), Freddie Highmore (Peter), and Luke Spill (Michael). The film has been adapted as a stage musical.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 2008 jukebox musical film "Mamma Mia!", based on the 1999 stage musical of the same name. Released on July 8, 2008, by Decca and Polydor Records in the United States and internationally, respectively, it features performances by the film's cast including Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Ashley Lilley, and Rachel McDowall. The recording was produced by Benny Andersson who along with Björn Ulvaeus had produced the original ABBA recordings. Additionally, many of the musicians from the original ABBA recordings participated in making the soundtrack album. In keeping with the setting, the musical arrangements featured the use of traditional Greek instruments, most noticeably the bouzouki. The deluxe edition of the soundtrack album was released on November 25, 2008.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: The Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack features the original soundtrack (with no new songs) and a bonus DVD that features a "Behind the Music" special that shows some of the recording process for the movie, as well as a music video for "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" featuring Amanda Seyfried. The booklet for the deluxe edition is different from the original, containing all the lyrics, an article written by Musical Director Martin Lowe, taping location info, and additional photos from the movie.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: In 2017, a limited run of the soundtrack was released onto vinyl in the US, and was sold exclusively by Barnes & Noble. As part of 'Vinyl Week', in March 2018, HMV released an exclusive limited edition of the soundtrack on picture discs. With only 1000 produced, 2 are included which contain high quality images on both sides.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: The album peaked at #1 in the USA on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart in August 2008. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA on August 18, 2008, and has sold 1,694,000 copies in the United States as of July 2014. Worldwide, the soundtrack has sold over 5 million copies to date, spending a total of 2 weeks at #1 on the world charts.


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: While the album was originally ineligible for the Official UK Albums Chart, it peaked atop the Official Soundtrack Albums Chart for 15 consecutive weeks and was outselling the top 10 albums in the UK Albums Chart. Following the release of "", the album entered the UK chart for the first time, peaking at number 5 on the chart. In New Zealand, the album debuted at number 8 on July 14, 2008, and climbed to number one the following week. In Greece, it peaked at number one on the international chart and number 1 on the main albums chart for many weeks. In Australia, the album reached #1 in its second week on the ARIA Albums Chart, knocking off the highly successful Coldplay album "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends".


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: In Austria, peaked at No. 1 for 6 weeks and returned to the top 10, at No. 8, 10 years after its release due to the release of the sequel "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again".


title: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack

text: "Honey, Honey" has also charted at #16 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and #50 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, due to high download sales. Other tracks selling well enough to chart in Australia include "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (#70), "Lay All Your Love on Me" (#85), "Dancing Queen" (#96) and "Mamma Mia" (#98).


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are off the coast by Proserpine. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the commercial centre is Hamilton Island. The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro people and the Gia people, whose Juru people has the only legally recognised native title in the Whitsunday Region.


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: The islands are within the locality of Whitsundays and the local government Whitsunday Region. In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Whitsunday Islands became one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for their role as a natural attraction.


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: On Sunday 3 June 1770, (the day Whitsun—Pentecost was celebrated on the Christian calendar) Captain James Cook sailed his ship H.M.B. Endeavour, through a broad expanse of islands which provided an unimpeded passage to the north. Cook named the passage "Whitsundays' Passage". Cook's recorded times and dates are often questioned. Time quoted is simply local time (calculated at Noon), the Date recorded is a little more confusing. Cook recorded Marine Time (PM comes before AM or GMT+12 hours). Considering the International Date Line, and knowing today's date on the East Coast of Australia is calculated at GMT+10 - Cook's recorded date is fortuitously correct.


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: There is some contention as to exactly which islands are within the informally named Whitsunday Islands, in particular those at the southern extremity and the inclusions to the west. What is certain is that they lie within the chain named Cumberland Isles by Captain Cook (now officially the Cumberland Islands) and a reasonably defined section of that chain and surrounding waters have become known worldwide as The Whitsundays, based on a contraction of the Whitsunday Islands designation.


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: The Whitsunday islands are a popular tourist destination for travellers to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef with the area being one of the most popular yachting destinations in the Southern Hemisphere. The islands received about 700,000 visitors between March 2008 and March 2009.


title: Whitsunday Islands

text: The Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail is a mix of seaways and short walks, crossing South Molle, Hook and Whitsunday islands. The tracks across the islands are linked by seaways suited to kayaking, sailing or powerboating. Camping is available at eight camping areas on the three islands. Several islands have large resorts, offering a wide variety of accommodation and activities. Chartering a yacht or bareboating is a popular way to explore the seaways, beaches and coves.


title: Modern Family (season 7)

text: The seventh season of "Modern Family" was ordered on May 7, 2015, by ABC. The season premiered on September 23, 2015. The season was produced by Steven Levitan Productions and Picador Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television, with creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd as showrunners. On March 3, 2016, ABC renewed the show for an eighth season.


title: Modern Family (season 7)

text: "Modern Family" was renewed for a seventh season on May 7, 2015, by ABC. It was announced that the show will be recasting Joe, the son of Jay and Gloria, who has been played by Pierce Wallace for the previous two seasons. On August 7, 2015, the role of Joe had been recast by actor Jeremy Maguire. The table read for the premiere happened on August 3, 2015, being confirmed by Sofia Vergara. Filming for the seventh season began shortly after the table read.


title: Modern Family (season 7)

text: The seventh season received mixed reviews from critics. Kyle Fowle from The A.V. Club gave half of the season's episodes a B- or less. The middle third of the season was more warmly received, especially the episodes "Playdates," "Spread Your Wings," and "Clean for a Day." The three episodes received a B+, A- and B+, respectively.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920s.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Her compositions include "Struttin' with Some Barbecue", "Don't Jive Me", "Two Deuces", "Knee Drops", "Doin' the Suzie-Q", "Just for a Thrill" (which was a hit when revived by Ray Charles in 1959), "Clip Joint", and "Bad Boy" (a hit for Ringo Starr in 1978). Armstrong was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2014.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: She was born Lillian Hardin in Memphis, Tennessee, where she grew up in a household with her grandmother, Priscilla Martin, a former slave from near Oxford, Mississippi. Martin had a son and three daughters, one of whom was Dempsey, Lil's mother. Priscilla Martin moved her family to Memphis to escape from her husband, a trek the family made by mule-drawn wagon. Dempsey married Will Harden, and Lil was born on February 3, 1898. Will died when Lil was seven, though Dempsey later remarried to John Miller.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: During her early years, Hardin was taught hymns, spirituals, and classical music on the piano. She was drawn to popular music and later blues.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Hardin first received piano instruction from her third-grade teacher, Violet White. Her mother then enrolled her in Mrs. Hook's School of Music. At Fisk University, a college for African Americans in Nashville, she received more advanced training, and earning a diploma from Fisk, returned to Memphis in 1917. In August 1918, she moved to Chicago with her mother and stepfather. By then she had become a proficient sight-reader, a skill that helped her gain a job as a sheet music demonstrator at Jones Music Store.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: The store paid Hardin $3 a week (US$ in dollars), but bandleader Lawrence Duhé offered $22.50 (US$ in dollars). Knowing that her mother would disapprove of her working in a cabaret, she made it known that her new job was playing for a dancing school. As observed by Thomas Brothers, the discrepancies between her education and that of Duhé's band members were apparent; when she asked what key the New Orleanians were going to play in, they remarked, "We don't know what key. When you hear two knocks start playing." Three weeks later the band moved to a better booking at the De Luxe Café, where the entertainers included Florence Mills and Cora Green. From there, the band moved up to Dreamland. Here the principal entertainers were Alberta Hunter and Ollie Powers. When King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band replaced Duhé's group at Dreamland, Oliver asked Hardin to stay with him. She was with Oliver at Dreamland in 1921 when an offer came for the orchestra to play a six-month engagement at the Pergola Ballroom in San Francisco. At the end of that booking Hardin returned to Chicago while the rest of the Oliver band went to Los Angeles. She later studied at the New York College of Music, where she earned a post-graduate diploma in 1929.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: In Chicago, Hardin returned to work at Dreamland as a pianist in an orchestra for Mae Brady, a violinist and vaudeville stalwart. While there, she fell for Jimmie Johnson, a young singer from Washington, D.C., whom she married on August 22, 1922. The marriage was short-lived, ending in divorce. The Oliver band returned from California and opened at the Royal Gardens with Bertha Gonzales at the piano but soon found itself back at Dreamland with Hardin at the piano.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: King Oliver's band was enjoying enormous success at Dreamland when he sent for Louis Armstrong to join as second cornetist. Armstrong was beginning to make a name for himself in New Orleans and regarded Oliver ("Papa Joe") as his mentor. At first, Hardin was unimpressed, remembering that she "was very disgusted" by Louis, who arrived in Chicago wearing clothes and a hair style that she deemed to be "too country" for Chicago, but she worked to "take the country out of him", and a romance developed (to the surprise of other band members, some of whom had been trying to woo her for some time with no success). They would visit cabarets and after-hour spots after their job at Lincoln Gardens, but their relationship was solidified after Armstrong's mother's intervention in 1923, when she visited Armstrong in Chicago. She and Armstrong needed to be divorced from their previous relationships (Lil Hardin to Jimmie Johnson, Louis Armstrong to Daisy Armstrong) and "claimed desertion" from said relationships to annul the marriages. Hardin and Armstrong were married on February 5, 1924 and honeymooned/toured with the Oliver band in Biglerville, Pennsylvania. The "Defender" noted that Hardin was dressed in a "Parisian gown of white crepe elaborately beaded in rhinestones and silver beads."


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Hardin took Armstrong shopping and taught him how to dress more fashionably. She got rid of his bangs and began working to foster his career. In addition to updating his appearance, Hardin assisted Armstrong in learning classical music with the help of a German teacher in Chicago. She felt he was wasting his talent in a secondary role. Armstrong was happy to be playing next to his idol, but Hardin at first persuaded him to manage his own money and assert himself on the bandstand and during recording sessions; eventually, she convinced him to leave Oliver and go out on his own. Armstrong resigned from Oliver's band and in September 1924 accepted a job with bandleader Fletcher Henderson in New York City. Hardin stayed in Chicago, first with Oliver, then leading a band of her own. When Hardin's band got a job at the Dreamland Café in Chicago she prepared for Armstrong's return to Chicago by having a huge banner that read "The World's Greatest Trumpet Player".


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Richard M. Jones convinced Okeh Records to make a series of sessions under his name: the Armstrong "Hot Five" recordings. With Hardin at the piano, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo, this group rehearsed at Armstrong and Hardin's residence on Chicago's East 41st Street and held its first session on November 15, 1925.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: In the late 1920s, Hardin and Armstrong grew apart due to class differences and money issues. He formed a new Hot Five with Earl Hines on piano. Hardin reformed her own band with Freddie Keppard, whom she considered second only to Armstrong. Hardin and Armstrong separated in 1931 when he had a liaison with Alpha Smith, who threatened to sue Armstrong for breach of promise, so he begged Hardin not to grant him a divorce. They finally divorced in 1938.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: In the 1930s, sometimes billing herself as "Mrs. Louis Armstrong", Hardin led an "All Girl Orchestra", a mixed-sex big band which broadcast nationally over the NBC radio network. In the same decade she recorded for Decca as a swing vocalist and performed as piano accompanist for other singers. She also performed with Red Allen.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hardin worked mostly as a soloist, singing and playing piano. In the late 1940s, she decided to leave the music business and become a tailor, so she took a course in tailoring. Her graduation project was to make a tuxedo for Armstrong.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Hardin returned to Chicago and the house on East 41st Street. She made a trip to Europe and had a brief love affair in France, but mostly she worked around Chicago, often with fellow Chicagoans. Collaborators included Red Saunders, Joe Williams, Oscar Brown Jr., and Little Brother Montgomery.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: In the 1950s, Hardin recorded a biographical narrative for Bill Grauer at Riverside Records that was issued in LP form. She would again appear on that label in 1961, participating in its project "Chicago: The Living Legends" as accompanist for Alberta Hunter and leader of her own hastily assembled big band. The Riverside recordings led to her inclusion in a 1961 NBC network special, "Chicago and All That Jazz", and a follow-up album released by Verve. In 1962, she began writing her autobiography with Chris Albertson, but she changed her mind when she realized the book would include experiences that might discomfit Louis Armstrong, so the project was delayed until his death. She died before finishing the book.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: When Louis Armstrong died in 1971, she traveled to New York for the funeral and rode in the family car. Returning to Chicago, she felt that work on her autobiography could continue, but the following month, performing at a televised memorial concert for Armstrong, she collapsed at the piano and died from a heart attack on the way to the hospital. After her funeral, her letters and the unfinished manuscript of her autobiography disappeared from her house.


title: Lil Hardin Armstrong

text: Armstrong's composition "Oriental Swing" was sampled by electro swing musician Parov Stelar to create the 2012 song "Booty Swing". The song gained notoriety when it was used in a 2013 Chevrolet commercial.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: The Cross Island Line (CRL) is a high capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line under development in Singapore. The eighth MRT line, the CRL will run in the general east–west direction from Changi to Jurong Industrial Estate via Loyang, Pasir Ris, Hougang, Ang Mo Kio, Sin Ming, Bukit Timah, Clementi and the West Coast. From Pasir Ris, the line will branch off to Punggol. Coloured lime on official maps, the line will replace the East West Line as the longest line on the MRT network upon its complete opening by the 2040s, serving roughly about 27 stations. It will be the sixth MRT line to be completely automated and driverless, as well as the fourth high capacity MRT line.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: Plans for the line were first announced in 2013. The CRL is envisioned to serve various key hubs including the Jurong Lake District and the Punggol Digital District, offering an alternative east–west connection to alleviate passenger load on the East West line. Shortly after the announcement, calls were made by some nature groups to divert the line tunnels away from the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR). Nevertheless, the Government ultimately decided after years of assessments and deliberation to continue with the original direct route in 2019, citing commuting time, economical factors as well as long-term energy consumption. The alignment and stations for CRL1 were finalised in 2019, followed by the Punggol branch in 2020 and Phase 2 in 2022. The proposed full line is expected to have a daily ridership of over one million in the long term, and cost an estimated S$40.7 billion.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: The Cross Island Line was first announced by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on 17 January 2013. The line was planned to relieve congestion on the existing East West Line and slated to begin at Changi on Singapore's eastern coast, passing through the major eastern towns including Pasir Ris, Hougang and Ang Mo Kio. From this point, it would proceed further west toward Bukit Timah, Clementi and West Coast, before terminating in the Jurong Industrial Estate. A branch line was to connect the mainline to Punggol. The line was planned to be 50 km long and open in 2030. Studies on the Cross Island Line began in May 2013.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: Since its announcement, there has been controversy over the alignment of the line's Bukit Timah stretch crossing the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) and MacRitchie Reservoir, which prompted the Nature Society Singapore to call the line's realignment. Environmental groups have urged the Government not to build the MRT line under the CCNR.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: On 19 July 2013, the NSS put forward two proposed alternative alignments: a northern route that would run close to the Thomson–East Coast Line, heading west towards Mandai, Sungei Kadut and Gali Batu before terminating at Choa Chu Kang, and a southern route skirting the reserve along Lornie Road. Engineers noted the feasibility of constructing the line through the reserve without impacting the environment, though one said the decision "shouldn’t be just based on transport".


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: A tender to assess the environmental impact of the line was called on 24 February 2014 to facilitate civil works for the line. In July 2014, the LTA appointed Environmental Resources Management (S) Pte Ltd (ERM) to conduct the (EIA) for the section of the line around and through the nature reserve. The EIA was to be conducted in two phases, with the first studying the ecosystem and physical conditions along both the straight and skirting alignments, as well as assessing how construction and operation of the line would affect the CCNR. The Phase 1 EIA report was released in February 2016.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: Soil investigation works along the CCNR began in February 2017 and by October, was announced to be nearing completion by the end of the year. On 20 March 2018, the LTA declared that the findings on the environmental impact of drilling and other initial works would be completed later that year. The Phase 2 EIA report was released in September 2019. On 4 December 2019, the Ministry of Transport confirmed that the direct route underneath the CCNR had been chosen, with mitigating factors such as tunnelling deeper than usual under the CCNR as well as no surface works in the area. The construction cost is also expected to be $2 billion lower than the alternative alignments.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: On 25 January 2019, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced the alignment of CRL Phase 1. This segment of the line, spanning , consists of 12 stations from Aviation Park station to Bright Hill station. A new 57-hectare Changi East Depot was to be built to serve the line. CRL Phase 1 was expected to be completed in 2029. On 10 March 2020, a branch line from Pasir Ris station to Punggol station was announced.The Punggol extension, consisting of four stations between this station and Punggol, was expected to be completed in 2031. However, the restrictions imposed on construction works due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to delays and the completion dates for CRL1 and CRLe were pushed by one year to 2030 and 2032 respectively.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: In December 2021, as part of a virtual exhibition by the LTA, a future system map depicted a series of 11 unnamed stations on the western half of the CRL. The map also showed the western segment interchanging with existing stations including King Albert Park, Clementi and Jurong Pier. The line was shown to terminate at Gul Circle station. The map, along with the virtual exhibition, has since been offline. The LTA explained that the route was a "conceptual alignment" yet to be finalised, with the interchange stations being tentative.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: On 20 September 2022, Transport Minister S. Iswaran confirmed the stations for Phase 2 of the CRL. Expected to open in 2032, the segment spans six stations from Turf City station to Jurong Lake District station. Construction of these stations is expected to start in 2023.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: Based on tender documents, "The Straits Times" projected in February 2022 that civil works for the CRL might be completed by end-2033, with operations beginning in 2034 or later. The CRL is to be completed in three phases. However, the LTA stated that the exact timeline is unclear and will only be known with the completion of advanced engineering studies. It is projected that the second and third phases will be about and long respectively. The Phase 3 segment is predicted to have five stations, with tentative stations CR21 and CR24 on the Phase 3 segment interchanging with the Jurong Region line and the East West line. An additional shell station might be built as part of the segment. Engineering studies for the new phases have not yet been completed at this stage.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: In conceptual plans for the redevelopment of Paya Lebar Air Base, an additional station (labeled "Paya Lebar Air Base" has been proposed between Defu and Tampines North stations to serve the new developments.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: The CRL is planned to run in a general east–west direction, being an alternative route to the existing East West (EWL) and North East (NEL) lines. At least half of the CRL stations are to interchange with existing lines, providing alternative routes for commuters. The LTA is also studying a possible extension to link to the future Changi Airport Terminal 5.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: The Government briefly considered in 2014 to implement an express service for the CRL. However, Transport Minister Khaw announced in 2018 that express services were considered not feasible, citing the need to dedicate more infrastructure for extra tracks and additional signalling systems.


title: Cross Island MRT line

text: The Cross Island Line's numbering scheme reserves the station code 'CR1' for a future extension towards Changi Airport.


title: Taxation in India

text: Taxes in India are levied by the Central Government and the State Governments by virtue of powers conferred to them from the Constitution of India. Some minor taxes are also levied by the local authorities such as the Municipality.


title: Taxation in India

text: The authority to levy a tax is derived from the Constitution of India which allocates the power to levy various taxes between the Union Government and the State Governments. An important restriction on this power is Article 265 of the Constitution which states that "No tax shall be levied or collected except by the authority of law". Therefore, each tax levied or collected has to be backed by an accompanying law, passed either by the Parliament or the State Legislature. Nonetheless, tax evasion is a massive problem in India, ultimately catalyzing various negative effects on the country. In 2019–20, the Direct tax collections reported by CBDT were approximately INR 12.33 trillion.


title: Taxation in India

text: India has abolished multiple taxes with passage of time and imposed new ones. A few of these taxes include inheritance tax, interest tax, gift tax, wealth tax, etc. Wealth Tax Act, 1957 was repealed in the year 2015.


title: Taxation in India

text: Direct Taxes in India were governed by two major legislations, Income Tax Act, 1961 and Wealth Tax Act, 1957. A new legislation, Direct Taxes Code (DTC), was proposed to replace the two acts. However, the Wealth Tax Act was repealed in 2015 and the idea of DTC was dropped.


title: Taxation in India

text: Article 246 of the Indian Constitution, distributes legislative powers including taxation, between the Parliament of India and the State Legislature. Schedule VII enumerates these subject matters with the use of three lists:


title: Taxation in India

text: Separate heads of taxation are no head of taxation in the Concurrent List (Union and the States have no concurrent power of taxation). The list of thirteen Union heads of taxation and the list of nineteen State heads are given below:


title: Taxation in India

text: Income Tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) that varies with respective income or profits (taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times taxable income. However, for individuals, tax is payable at slab rates. In the Finance Act, 2020 the Government introduced a new tax regime for individuals giving them the option to opt for the new regime or continue with the old regime.


title: Taxation in India

text: The tax is collected by the Income Tax Department for the central government. Farmers - who constitute 70% of the Indian workforce - are generally excluded from paying income tax in India.


title: Taxation in India

text: Income tax returns are due in India generally on 31 July, 30 September or 30 November, depending on the category of taxpayer. Everyone who earns or gets an income in India is subject to income tax. Income is divided into five categories: Income from Salary, Income from Other Sources, Income from House Property, Income from Capital Gains, and Income from Business and Profession.


title: Taxation in India

text: Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. However, petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments, as per the previous tax system.


title: Taxation in India

text: Customs duty is a tax on import & export of goods in India with specific rates on certain types of goods. Customs authorities are rightful in checking accurate details of the items exported or imported along with the origin of the item and duly validated rates & structure.


title: Taxation in India

text: Custom duty measures the value of the items in the context of the tax applicable on such item and is much higher on certain types of items including sin goods i.e. liquor & imported cigars.


title: Taxation in India

text: Custom Duty is an indirect tax levied on import or export of goods in and out of country. When goods are imported from outside, the tax known as import custom duty. when goods are exported outside India, the tax is known as export custom duty. The tax collected by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. In February 2020, as part of India's attempts to increase and support local production, the government stated that it raised taxes on imports for items such as electronic devices, furniture and toys.


title: Taxation in India

text: Service tax is imposed by the government on all the services provided by firms and servicing companies in lieu of monetary benefit. The service tax levied on services is actually borne by the customers which in turn goes through multiple channels of levying authorities till back to the government. Service tax will be applicable on the taxable services only which is provided or will be provided by the service provider agreeing upon the concern of actually offering services.


title: Taxation in India

text: It is a tax levied on services provided in India. The responsibility of collecting the tax lies with the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). From 2012, service tax is imposed on all services, except those which are specifically exempted under law(e.g. Exempt under Negative List, Exempt as exclusion from Service definition as per Service Tax, Exempt under MEN(Mega exemption notification)). In budget presented for 2008–2009, it was announced that all small service providers whose turnover does not exceed need not pay service tax. Service tax at a rate of 14 percent(Inclusive of EC & SHEC) will be imposed on all applicable services from 1 June 2015. From 15 November 2015, Swacch Bharat cess of 0.5% has been added to all taxable service leading the new Service Tax rate to be 14.5 percent (Inclusive of EC, SHEC & Swacch Bharat cess). On 29 February 2016, Current Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley announces a new Cess, Krishi Kalyan Cess that would be levied from 1 June 2016 at the rate of 0.5% on all taxable services. The purpose of introducing Krishi Kalyan Cess is to improve agriculture activities and welfare of Indian farmers. Thus, the new Service Tax rate would be 15% incorporating EC, SHEC, Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess.


title: Taxation in India

text: From 2015 to currently, the gross tax collection of the centre from service tax has amounted in excess of .


title: Taxation in India

text: Service tax has been replaced by Goods and Services Tax in India. Service tax no longer applies to services in India.


title: Taxation in India

text: In the 2016 Union budget of India, an excise of duty of 1% without input tax credit and 12.5% with input tax credit was imposed on articles of jewellery with the exception of silver jewellery. The government had earlier proposed an excise duty in the Budget 2011–12, which had to be rolled back after massive protests by jewellers.


title: Taxation in India

text: "Local Body Tax", popularly known by its abbreviation as "LBT", is the tax imposed by the local civic bodies of India on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale therein. The tax is imposed based on the Entry 52 of the State List from the Schedule VII of the Constitution of India which reads; ""Taxes on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale therein."" The tax is to be paid by the trader to the civic bodies and the rules and regulations of these vary amongst different States in India. The LBT is now partially abolished as of 1 August 2015.


title: Taxation in India

text: Property tax, or 'house tax,' is a local tax on buildings, along with appurtenant land, and imposed on Possessor (certainly, not true custodian of property as per 1978, 44th amendment of constitution). It resembles the US-type wealth tax and differs from the excise-type UK rate. The tax power is vested in the states and it is delegated by law to the local bodies, specifying the valuation method, rate band, and collection procedures. The tax base is the annual rental value (ARV) or area-based rating. Owner-occupied and other properties not producing rent are assessed on cost and then converted into ARV by applying a percentage of cost, usually six percent. Vacant land is generally exempt. Central government properties are exempt. Instead a 'service charge' is permissible under executive order. Properties of foreign missions also enjoy tax exemption without an insistence for reciprocity. The tax is usually accompanied by a number of service taxes, e.g., water tax, drainage tax, conservancy (sanitation) tax, lighting tax, all using the same tax base. The rate structure is flat on rural (panchayat) properties, but in the urban (municipal) areas it is mildly progressive with about 80% of assessments falling in the first two slabs.


title: Taxation in India

text: The Indian government's deficiency in governmental expenditures is most notably attributed to wide spread tax evasion. Relative to other developing countries, the fact that India's income tax comprises 5% of its GDP is due to the fact nearly 2-3% of the population is exposed to income taxation. India faces more difficulties in proliferating its income tax than a country like China, who subjects 20% of its population, because there is an emphatically low amount of formal wage earners. Even though India's income tax was instituted in 1922 by the British, their tax history explains their high degree of tax delinquency today. With effect from 1 April 2017, the Income-tax Act, 1961 has introduced the General Anti-avoidance Rules. The intent of the bringing the said rules is to curb the ill-practices of the tax payers & tax practitioners assisting the tax payers in avoiding the tax where the tax impact of the arrangement or the transactions is more than INR Three Crores in a particular Financial Year. GAAR intends to cover the cases where the main purpose of the transaction is to obtain the tax benefit. It is pertinent to note that recently due to BEPS project by OECD & G 20 Member nations, there was huge hue and cry by the Inclusive Framework countries, where every country were trying to protect their respective tax base. Accordingly, basis the Action Plan Report 6 of the BEPS Project, member nations were required to adopt PPT test as a minimum standard. The said standard re-enshrines that where " one of the principal purpose of the transaction is to obtain tax benefit" then treaty benefit will not be allowed. Thus, presently in Indian context most of the treaties entered into by India, includes such minimum standard, accordingly where one of the principal purpose of the transaction is to obtain tax benefit, treaty benefit will be denied. This has posed several difficulties for MNCs who have routed their investments through Island Countries in India such as Mauritius, which though has a very good- Double tax avoidance treaty with India but with PPT all the benefits could be questioned due to want of Substance & PPT test requirements. The same was considered recently by Authority for Advance Rulings, New Delhi in ruling for Tiger Global International II Holdings,


title: Taxation in India

text: In the beginning of the income tax operation, the rates of taxes were comparatively low to levels today, and thus, so were levels of evasion. However, World War Two catalyzed a set of conditions that inspired mass tax evasion. As many supplies were cut off and shortages were rampant, the prices of commodities and the level of taxes imposed by the government augmented. This ultimately generated black markets, and stimulated a nationwide sentiment of tax evasion. Consequently, as the government tried to combat this extensive issue, the government continued to impose extortionate levels of taxation, only exacerbating the normalcy of tax evasion. Today, opportunities for tax evasion are comprehensive amongst self-employed individuals, as they have more opportunities to lie about the origination of their income. For instance, many individuals exaggerate or lie about their wealth deriving from agriculture, because agricultural income is excluded from the purview of the central income tax. In addition, many individuals divert their incomes to spouses and children, or even create fictitious partnerships, in order to evade taxation. The general consensus asserts the following to be chiefly responsible for increasing tax evasion and generation of black money in India:


title: Taxation in India

text: Additionally, enormous amounts of black income and tax evasion are fueled by bribery and corruption. In India, corrupt businessmen sponsor political parties with black money, in order to augment their wealth reduce their taxation. Inherently then, the lack of revenue for governmental expenditures is partly created by the government themselves. While individuals blame the government for difficulties and shortages, many do not understand the importance of taking accountability and paying one's taxes.


title: Taxation in India

text: The exorbitant levels of tax evasion has inspired the creation of a black money parallel economy. Black money inherently causes inflation and hinders the government's ability to bring down the prices of commodities. In fact, the large volume of black money actually diverts governmental resources from national welfare and encourages the continuation of illegal activity. Unfortunately, it is the honest individuals who are in the salaried class who feel the negative externalities of this situation. Besides depriving the state's exchequer and understating India's GDP, extensive tax evasion has encouraged the payment of huge dowries at the time of marriages. This ultimately makes it difficult for low and middle class individuals to marry off their children, adding a social detriment to this widespread economic problem. More than anything though, the normalcy of tax evasion has understated positive societal values like honesty and hard work.


title: Taxation in India

text: The Indian government has taken several steps in order to mitigate the effects and degree of tax evasion. Amongst actual legislations, Searches, seizures, surveys, and scrutiny of income tax returns are being done by the Income Tax Department. The government has also created Voluntary Disclosure of Income Schemes, whereby black income and assets can actually be declared without penalty or prosecution. In addition, the introduction of the Prevention of Money‐Laundering Act makes any and all activities related to the laundering of money a federal offense with a minimum imprisonment of less than three years. Similarly, the Finance Act of 2004 prosecutes for the falsification of books and taxing gifts worth more than 25,000 Rupees. Given that tax evasion is one of the most wide spread, yet difficult issues a government can deal with, they have historically relegated this issue to recommendations made by Taxation Enquiry Commission (1953), Administrative Reforms Commission (1969), and Direct Tax Enquiry Committee (1971). Additionally, India has attempted to eradicate tax evasion by requiring an identification number for all major financial deals. However, this method has proven very ineffective, as many transactions are conducted with cash and therefore often go unreported.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: The Albanian Air Force ( - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force of Albania and one of the branches of the Albanian Armed Forces.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: In 1914 the government of Albania ordered three "Lohner" Daimler aircraft from Austria to form an air force. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, the order was cancelled. Albania did not have the resources to start the development of a proper Air Force during the 1920s and 1930s. After the establishment of the Albanian Kingdom in 1928, King Zog formed the Royal Albanian Air Corps under the direction of the Royal Albanian Army.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: The Royal Air Force, and the rest of Albanian armed forces, were abolished following the Italian invasion of Albania during the Second World War.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: An academy was founded in Vlorë in 1962. Albania cut diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1962, leading to a shift to China for the supply of necessary parts to maintain its MiGs.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first squadron was equipped with Yakovlev Yak-9s. The first jet fighter to enter service was the MiG-15, dating officially 15 May 1955, followed by the MiG-17. Some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from the North Korean Air Force. The backbone of the Albanian Air Force jet fighters became MiG-19 (NATO code "Farmer"). 12 MiG-19PM were delivered by the USSR in October 1959 and on the same year pilots and specialists were sent in USSR to train with the all-weather interceptor MiG-19 PM. After the collapse of USSR-Albanian relations, significant numbers of Shenyang J-6 fighters (Chinese copy of the MiG-19S), were acquired from China. In the early 1970s, Albania exchanged its lot of Soviet-made MiG-19PM (NATO code "Farmer-E") fighters equipped for beam-riding missiles, with 12, more advanced, Chengdu J-7A fighters (Chinese copy of the Soviet-built MiG-21). Two of them were lost in incidents in the early 1970s, eight had problems with lack of batteries in the early 1980s.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: In total, during the 70s and early 80s, the Albanian Air Force was able to deploy 142 aircraft, between Shenyang J-6Cs, 12 Chengdu J-7As, a fighter squadron equipped with MiG-17s, a considerable number of MiG-15 (both "BIS" and "UTI" versions), and 4 Soviet-made Il-14 transport aircraft. A squadron of Shijiazhuang Y-5 was deployed in Tirana and the "Air Force Academy" in Vlora had 2 squadrons of Yak-18 for basic pilot training purposes. The helicopter component consisted in 18 Harbin Z-5 (Chinese copy of Mil Mi-4) helicopters based in "Farka" Tirana, meanwhile there was a single prototype of a light H-5 bomber based in "Rinas".


title: Albanian Air Force

text: Due to the collapse of relations between Albania and the Chinese, maintenance became extremely difficult and the number of deadly incidents involving Mikoyan fighters increased. Despite Albanian efforts and some initial success in repairing the engines of the MiGs, the lack of specific jet fuel forced authorities to start production locally, resulting in low-quality production (the first attempt was in 1961, when the "Kuçova" factory produced the special jet kerosene called "TSI"). The fuel shortened the lifespan of the jet engines and was often blamed as the main reason for several deadly incidents. 35 Albanian pilots lost their lives from 1955 to 2005, mainly due to MiG mechanical failures.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: Following the fall of communism in Albania in 1990, the air force had 200 jets and 40 helicopters, and four Il-14 transport planes. During the 1997 uprising in Albania, seven MiGs were destroyed and their parts were stolen. In the early 90s, in an effort to keep the MiGs flying, the Albanian Air Force received spare parts from Bulgaria and engines from the ex-GDR. By 2004, Albania still had 117 J-6C aircraft, although mostly were not operational and only 12 Chengdu J-7A. The Albanian fighter jets were finally withdrawn from active service in late 2004 after the last deadly incident involving a J-6C during take-off from the military area at "Mother Teresa Airport" in Tirana.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: By 2006, Albania had scrapped over half of its Z-5s and had signed a contract for the delivery of six Bolkow 105s over three years. This acquisition allowed air force to operate with 4 Y-5s, 7 B206s, 3 B205s, 6 Bolkow 105s. Currently, the Albanian Air Brigade does not operate any Soviet-era aircraft. Since 2011, 9 Shijiazhuang Y-5 have been retired from service. In 2011, the air force sold four Il-14 transport planes for scrap.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: In 2016, 40 retired Albanian military aircraft were prepared for auction at a future date. The aircraft for sale include a military trainer aircraft, the Yak-18, and four types of military jets – MiG-15s, MiG-17s, MiG-19s, and MiG-21s – and four Mi-4 transport helicopters. The government said there has been interest from collectors and museums, and that it will sell another 100 jets if the auction is successful. The funds generated will be used to further modernise the Air Force.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: The Albanian Air Force has retired all its fixed wing aircraft and now operates several types of helicopters. Also, close NATO Integration Air defense is no longer a priority for the Albanian military.


title: Albanian Air Force

text: The air force's headquarters is located in Tirana and it operates three airbases: Tirana Air Base with the national Control and Reporting Centre, which reports to NATO's Integrated Air Defense System CAOC Torrejón in Spain, Kuçovë Air Base, and Lapraka Air Base, home to the government's transport helicopters.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: In Hindu mythology, there are deities or heroes whose attributes or behavior can be interpreted as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) or have elements of gender variance and non-heterosexual sexuality. Traditional Hindu literary sources do not speak of homosexuality directly, but changes of sex, homoerotic encounters, and intersex or third gender characters are often found both in traditional religious narratives such as the "Vedas", "Mahabharata", "Ramayana" and "Puranas" as well as in regional folklore.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Hindu mythology has many examples of deities changing gender, manifesting as different genders at different times, or combining to form androgynous or hermaphroditic beings. Gods change sex or manifest as an avatar of the opposite sex in order to facilitate sexual congress. Non-divine beings also undergo sex-changes through the actions of the gods, as the result of curses or blessings, or as the natural outcome of reincarnation.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Hindu mythology contains numerous incidents where sexual interactions serve a non-sexual, sacred purpose; in some cases, these are same-sex interactions. Sometimes the gods condemn these interactions but at other times they occur with their blessing.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: In addition to stories of gender and sexual variance that are generally accepted by mainstream Hinduism, modern scholars and queer activists have highlighted LGBT themes in lesser-known texts, or inferred them from stories that traditionally are considered to have no homoerotic subtext. Such analyses have caused disagreements about the true meaning of the ancient stories.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Many deities in Hinduism and mythology are represented as both male and female at different times and in different incarnations or may manifest with characteristics of both genders at once, such as Ardhanarishvara, created by the merging of the god Shiva and his consort Parvati whose half right body is male while the left half is female. The name Ardhanarishvara means "The Lord whose half is a woman". This form of Shiva represents the "totality that lies beyond duality", and is associated with communication between mortals and gods and between men and women. Alain Danielou says that "The hermaphrodite, the homosexual and the transvestite have a symbolic value and are considered privileged beings, images of the Ardhararishvara." A similar merger occurs between the beauty and prosperity goddess Lakshmi and her husband Vishnu, forming the hermaphroditic or androgynous Lakshmi-Narayana.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: In the "Bhagavata Purana", Vishnu takes the form of the enchantress, Mohini, in order to trick the demons into giving up Amrita, the elixir of life. Shiva later becomes attracted to Mohini and their relationship results in the birth of a son. In the "Brahmanda Purana", Shiva's wife Parvati "hangs her head in shame" when she sees her husband's pursuit of Mohini. In some stories, Shiva asks Vishnu to take on the Mohini form again so he can see the actual transformation for himself. Stories in which Shiva knows of Mohini's true nature have been interpreted to "suggest the fluidity of gender in sexual attraction".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Pattanik writes that those focusing only on homoeroticism miss the narrative's deeper metaphysical significance: Mohini's femininity represents the material aspect of reality, and Mohini's seduction is another attempt to induce Shiva into taking an interest in worldly matters. He cites another story to show that only Vishnu has the power to "enchant" Shiva: a demon tries to kill Shiva by taking the form of a woman (placing sharp teeth in "his" vagina). Shiva recognizes the impostor and kills the demon by the placing a "thunderbolt" on his "manhood" during their act of "lovemaking".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: In the later, non-Puranic story of the origin of God Ayyappa, Vishnu as Mohini becomes pregnant from Shiva, and gives birth to Ayyappa, who she abandons in shame. Pattanaik writes that rather than Mohini becoming pregnant, Ayyappa sprang from Shiva's semen, which he ejaculated upon embracing Mohini. In another version, the Pandyan king Rajasekhara of Pandalam adopts the baby. In this version, Ayyappa is referred to as "ayoni jata", "born of a non-vagina", and later "Hariharaputra", "the son of Vishnu and Shiva", and grows up to be a great hero.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: According to Tamil versions of the "Mahabharata", the god Krishna – an avatar of Vishnu – also took the form of Mohini and married Aravan. This was in order to give Aravan the chance to experience love before his death, as he had volunteered to be sacrificed. Krishna remained in mourning in the Mohini form for some time after Aravan's death. This marriage and death of Aravan are commemorated annually in a rite known as "Thali", during which "Hijra" (Indian "third gender") take on the role of Krishna-Mohini and "marry" Aravan in a mass-wedding, followed by an 18-day festival. The festival ends with a ritual burial of Aravan, while the Hijras mourn in Tamil style: by beating their chests in ritual dances, breaking their bangles and changing into white mourning clothes. In other versions, this story does not appear.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Changes of sex and cross-dressing also occur in mythology about non-divine figures. One such figure is Shikhandi, a character in the "Mahabharata". He was originally born as a girl named 'Shikhandini' to Drupada, the king of Panchala. In a previous lifetime, Shikandini was a woman named Amba, who was rendered unmarriageable by the hero Bhishma. Humiliated, Amba undertook great austerities, and the gods granted her wish to be the cause of Bhishma's death. Amba was then reborn as Shikhandini. A divine voice told Drupada to raise Shikhandini as a son; so Drupada raised her like a man, trained her in warfare and arranged for her to marry a female. On the wedding night, Shikhandini's wife discovered that her "husband" was female, and insulted her. Shikhandini fled, but met a yaksha who exchanged his sex with her. Shikhandini returned as a man with the name 'Shikhandi' and led a happy married life with his wife and children. During the Kurukshetra war, Bhishma recognised him as Amba reborn and refused to fight 'a woman'. Accordingly, Arjuna hid behind Shikhandi in order to defeat the almost invincible Bhishma. In the Javanese telling, Srikandi (as she is known) never becomes a man, but is a woman equal to men, and is the wife of Arjuna. After his death, Shikhandi's masculinity was transferred back to the yaksha.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Arjuna himself is an example of gender variance. When Arjuna refused her amorous advances, the nymph Urvashi cursed Arjuna; he would become a "kliba", a member of the third gender. Krishna assured Arjuna that this curse would serve as the perfect disguise for Arjuna during his last year of exile. Arjuna took the name Brihannala and dressed in women's clothes, causing the curse to take effect. Thus Arjuna gained entry into the city ruled by king Virata, where he taught the arts of music, singing and dancing to the princess Uttarā and her female attendees. In the "Padma Purana", Arjuna is also physically transformed into a woman when he requests permission to take part in Krishna's mystical dance, which only women may attend.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: The story of Ila, a king cursed by Shiva and Parvati to alternate between being a man and woman each month, appears in several traditional Hindu texts. After changing sex, Ila loses the memory of being the other gender. During one such period, Ila marries Budha (the god of the planet Mercury). Although Budha knows of Ila's alternating gender, he does not enlighten the 'male' Ila, who remains unaware of his life as a woman. The two live together as man and wife only when Ila is female. In the "Ramayana" version, Ila bears Budha a son, although in the "Mahabharata" Ila is called both mother and father of the child. After this birth the curse is lifted and Ila is totally changed into a man who goes on to father several children with his wife. In another version, Budha is described as transgender as well.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Another story in Hinduism involving a sex change is the story of the sage Lopamudra found in the Giridhara Ramayana. This version of the story is different from the other two (as found in the Rigveda Hymns and the Mahabharata) as it depicts Lopamudra as a man who is turned into a woman (in contrast to the others which depict as Lopamudra as being created as a woman and remaining so). In the Giridhara Ramayana, the sage Agastya approached the king of Kanyakubja and asked if he could marry one of the king's many daughters when they came of age. The king agreed and promised Agastya that one of his daughters would marry the sage and asked him to wait a few years until then. However, By the time Agastya returned, the king had already married off all his daughters and was so worried about getting cursed by the sage that the king dressed his son Lopamudra as a woman and presented him to Agastya. When Agastya and Lopamudra were married, a miracle occurred and Lopamudra was transformed into a woman.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Numerous deities have been considered patrons of third-sex or homoerotically-inclined people. This patronage can originate in epical stories about the deity, or from religious practices and rituals. For example, Conner and Sparks argue that the goddess of fire, love and sexuality, Arani, has been linked to lesbian eroticism via rituals in her honor: for example two pieces of wood perceived as feminine, called the "adhararani" and "utararani", are rubbed together, simulating a spiritual lesbian interaction.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: These sticks are also perceived as male and female parents of the god Agni who in the "Rig Veda" is identified as a child of two births, two mothers and even three mothers. His mothers are identified as heaven and earth. These two, called Dyaus and Prithvi, however are also referred to as male and female in the Vedic verses. The two mothers are also referred to as sisters in, the verses. The two sticks or "aranis" used in the ritual are referred to as feminine. In the "Bhagavata Purana" the two sticks are however interpreted as belonging to opposite genders.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Bahuchara Mata is a patron goddess of the Hijra. In popular iconography she is often shown riding a rooster and carrying a sword, trident and a book. Various stories link Bahuchara to castration or other changes in physical sexual characteristics, sometimes as the result of her aiming curses against men. Bahuchara is believed to have originated as a mortal woman who became martyred. In one story, Bahuchara is attacked by a bandit who attempts to rape her, but she takes his sword, cuts off her breasts and dies. In another story, Bahuchara curses her husband when she catches him sneaking to the woods to engage in homoerotic behavior, causing his genitals to fall off and forcing him to dress as a woman.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Stories also link Bahuchara to gender variance after she becomes divine. One epic concerns a king who prayed to Bahuchara for a son. Bahuchara complied, but the prince grew up to be impotent. One night Bahuchara appeared to the prince in a dream and ordered him to cut off his genitals, wear women's clothes and become her servant. Bahuchara is believed to continue to identify impotent men and command them to do the same. If they refuse, she punishes them: for their next seven incarnations they will be impotent. This epic is the origin of the cult of Bahuchara Mata, whose devotees are required to self-castrate and remain celibate.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Samba, the son of Krishna, is also a patron of eunuchs, transgender people and homoeroticism. Samba dresses in women's clothes to mock and trick people, and so that he can more easily enter the company of women and seduce them. In the "Mausala Purana", Samba, dressed as woman, is cursed after being questioned about "her" supposed pregnancy. As a result of the curse, Samba, although remaining male, gives birth to an iron pestle and mortar.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Homosexual or bisexual activity also occurs between gods, although such interactions are most usually considered purely ritualistic, or have purposes other than sexual pleasure. Agni, the god of fire, wealth and creative energy, has same-sex sexual encounters that involve accepting semen from other gods. Although married to the goddess Svaha, Agni is also shown as being part of a same-sex couple with Soma, the god of the moon. Agni takes a receptive role in this relationship, accepting semen from Soma with his mouth, paralleling Agni's role in accepting sacrifices from Earth to Heaven. Orthodox Hinduism emphasises that these are "mithuna", ritual sexual encounters, and Agni and his mouth represent the feminine role.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Agni also accepts semen from different deities, in the mythx of the conception and birth of Karttikeya, a god of male beauty and battle. Numerous versions of Karttikeya's birth story exist, many having a conception from only male input, although heterosexual sex or desire also plays a part. However, Parvati is credited as Karttikeya's mother. Ganga is Karttikeya's mother in other versions, accepting semen from Agni and carrying the unborn child. The male progenitor is sometimes Shiva, Agni, or a combination of the two. In the "Shiva Purana" and the "Ramayana", the gods fear the outcome of Shiva and Parvati's "unending embrace", and interrupt their coitus. Shiva then appears before the gods and declares "now let him step forward who will swallow the semen I ejaculate". At the prompting of the gods, Agni performs fellatio on Shiva and swallows his semen. In these stories, Parvati and Shiva condemn Agni's actions, calling them "wicked" or "improper". In the eleventh century text "Kathasaritsagara", however, Shiva forces the unwilling Agni to swallow his ejaculate. The semen causes a burning sensation in those that ingest it, prompting Agni to divest it into wives of a group of sages, under Shiva's advice. The sages' wives, in turn, drop the semen into the Ganges river (the "Ganga"), where it flows to the shore from which Kārttikeya springs. In the "Mahabharata", Kārttikeya is also the son of Agni, who ejaculates into the hands of one of the "Krittikas" (the Pleiades), who in turn throws the semen into a lake, from whence Kārttikeya is born. In some myths, Agni ejaculates onto a mountain that was itself made from Shiva's divine semen, making Kārttikeya the child of the two gods, according to an interpretation by Markandeya in the "Vana Parva".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Mitra and Varuna are gods of great intimacy and often mentioned together in Vedic literature. These Adityas preside over the universal waters wherein Mitra controls the ocean depths and lower portals while Varuna rules over the ocean's upper regions, rivers and shorelines.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: In Vedic literature, Mitra and Varuna are portrayed as icons of affection and intimate friendship between males (the Sanskrit word Mitra means "friend" or "companion"). They are depicted riding a shark or crocodile together while bearing tridents, ropes, conch shells and water pots. Sometimes they are portrayed seated side-by-side on a golden chariot drawn by seven swans. Ancient Brahmana texts furthermore associate Mitra and Varuna with the two lunar phases and same-sex relations: "Mitra and Varuna, on the other hand, are the two half-moons: the waxing one is Varuna and the waning one is Mitra. During the new-moon night these two meet and when they are thus together they are pleased with a cake offering. Verily, all are pleased and all is obtained by any person knowing this. On that same night, Mitra implants his seed in Varuna and when the moon later wanes, that waning is produced from his seed." (Shatapatha Brahmana 2.4.4.19) Varuna is similarly said to implant his seed in Mitra on the full-moon night for the purpose of securing its future waxing. In Hinduism, the new- and full-moon nights are discouraged times for procreation and consequently often associated with citrarata or unusual types of intercourse.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: The Bhagavata Purana (6.18.3-6) lists Varuna and Mitra as having children through ayoni or non-vaginal sex. For example, Varuna fathered the sage Valmiki when his semen fell upon a termite mound, and Agastya and Vasistha were born from water pots after Mitra and Varuna discharged their semen in the presence of Urvasi. This account is arguably similar to gay couples having children through surrogate mothers in modern days.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Some versions of the Bengali mythological text "Krittivasa Ramayana" contain a story of two queens that conceived a child together. When the famous king of the Sun Dynasty, Maharaja Dilipa, died, the demigods become concerned that he did not have an heir. Shiva appeared before the king's two widowed queens and commanded, "You two make love together and by my blessings you will bear a beautiful son." The two queens execute Shiva's order and one of them conceived a child. In other versions of the story, Kamadeva, the god of love, blesses them with a child after they fall in love. The child was born boneless, but by the blessings of the sage Ashtavakra, the child was restored to full health. Ashtavakra named the child "Bhagiratha" – he who was born from two vulvas ("bhaga"). Bhagiratha would later become one of the most famous mythic kings of India and is credited with bringing the Ganges River down to earth through his austerities.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: The elephant-headed, wisdom god Ganesha's conception has numerous versions. Some sources consider him to be the progeny of Shiva and Parvati, although conception occurs outside the womb. However, most versions consider him to have been produced purely through the actions of Parvati, who in the "Shiva Purana" fashioned him from clay. However, when Ganesha blocks Shiva, he is beheaded and later restored to life by Shiva. In a 13th-century Kashmiri text, Jayadratha's "Haracaritacintamani", Ganesha's birth is the result of Parvati's menstrual blood being washed into the Ganges, where it is swallowed by Parvati's elephant-headed handmaiden Malini, who in turn gives birth, giving Ganesha an all-female origin. Courtright considers the birth to be "less auspicious" due to the lack of male input and use of bodily fluids such as sweat or menstrual blood, but Ruth Vanita points out that Hindus consider Ganesha's birth auspicious, and that the use of non-procreative bodily fluids is considered sacred and purifying in many Hindu rituals.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Sangam literature uses the word 'pēṭi' () to refer to people born with intersex condition, it also refers to Antharlinga hijras and various types of Hijra. Likewise, the famous Sangam period characters of King Kopperuncholan and Pisuranthaiyar are another example for same-sex love. They are said to have not seen each other at all and yet shared love and regard for each other, so much, that they die at the same time at different places. For instance, the friendship between King Pari and poet Kabilar is shown as something more than just friendship. There are lyrical undertones suggestive of the intimate relationship they had. But since there are no explicit representation, one can only postulate a possibility.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Hindu traditional literary sources say little about homosexuality directly, although there are many references, accounts to suggest the LGBTQ in ancient Hindu religion. Homoeroticism in traditional texts is often masked by adherence to strict gender rules. Critical study is further hampered by the lack of Sanskrit words for modern conceptions (such as homosexuality), although words for specific same-sex sexual acts exist. Timothy Murphy writes that LGBT themes are often ignored by "heterosexist scholars", and even early investigations into sexual minorities in Hindu culture failed to analyse stories or artwork depicting same-sex sexual acts between mythological beings. Murphy describes the study of LGBT topics in Hindu culture as "still in their infancy".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Goldman writes of transgenderism in Hindu literature: "Few cultures have accorded this phenomenon so prominent a place in the realms of mythology and religion as has that of traditional India." Goldman considers the numerous myths concerning gender change to be a manifestation of patriarchal cultures desire to control the sexuality of women, but writes that many myths "project a positive valuation of women and femininity". Changes in gender may be caused by a god or through the use of magic, in order to deceive others or to facilitate a romantic encounter. A change in gender may also occur spontaneously due to changes in a person's spiritual or moral character, either in a single life, or through reincarnation.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: According to the "Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions", queer theorists and activists have reinterpreted ancient texts "searching for alternative voices" that demonstrate the diversity of gender models and sexualities in Hinduism. These scholars include Giti Thadani, who attempted to uncover lesbian subtext in ancient Vedic and Sanskrit texts in "Sakhiyani: lesbian desire in ancient and modern India", and Ruth Vanita, who attempts "to locate spaces of same-sex intimacy in vernacular texts" in "Same-sex love in India: readings from literature and history".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Some LGBT interpretations of popular stories and characters have been controversial. "Ganeśa: Lord of obstacles, Lord of beginnings", applied psychoanalytic approaches to Hindu stories. The book stated that Ganesha's trunk represented a flaccid penis and his love of sweets indicated a desire to perform homosexual oral sex. The deductions of this book, and similar application of psychoanalysis to the study of Hinduism, has been questioned by Western and Indian academics including Antonio De Nicholas, Krishnan Ramaswamy, S.N.Balagangadhara, Saraha Claerhout, who have stated that the book is based on mistranslations and psychoanalytic misinterpretations. The book became infamous in India, triggering protests and resulting in a public apology from the publishers and withdrawal of the book in India.


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: The scholarship of Wendy Doniger, which focuses on interpretation of Hindu texts through psychoanalysis, is similarly controversial and has been criticised. Doniger has been described as "being rude, crude and very lewd in the hallowed portals of Sanskrit Academics." Doniger's works that feature LGBT interpretations of Hindu myths include the books "Siva: The Erotic Ascetic", "Tales of Sex and Violence", and "Splitting the difference: gender and myth in ancient Greece and India".


title: LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

text: Michael Witzel, a Professor of Sanskrit, said that Wendy Doniger's knowledge of Vedic Sanskrit is severely flawed. Nicholas Kazanas, a European Indologist, has also criticised Doniger's works and wrote that Doniger seems to be obsessed with only one meaning of myths: the most sexual imaginable.


title: Toyota U transmission

text: Toyota Motor Corporation's U family is a family of automatic front-wheel drive/rear-wheel drive/four-wheel drive transmissions found in later vehicle models.


title: Toyota U transmission

text: Production of the U660E and U660F commenced in January 2006, Toyota's first 6-speed automatic transaxles for front-wheel-drive vehicles; transaxles feature a compact gear train that achieves six speeds using a single axis to produce a high torque of 400 Nm, and are as low cost, compact, and light as 4-speed automatic transaxles The transaxle is a Lepelletier design which uses a simple gear set to drive a Ravigneaux planetary gear set (with long and short pinion gears in the same planet carrier).


title: Toyota U transmission

text: 6 speed automatic communicates with engine to calculate torque with reduced-friction clutch and thrust bearings multi-mode automatic transmission, electronically controlled transmission with intelligence (ECT-i)


title: Toyota U transmission

text: Production of the UA80E and UA80F commenced in August 2016. This transaxle features a compact gear train that achieves eight speeds using a single axis allowing for input torque up to 430Nm. It is a more compact and optimized version of the U880 automatic transmission structure with additional features for improved performance and efficiency. The marketing name for the transmission is the "Direct Shift – 8AT 8-speed automatic transmission" Unlike the U880 transmission, which was developed for Toyota by Aisin AW, the UA80 was developed in a joint venture between Toyota and Aisin AW. Due to global application, development was done in a global fashion involving engineering resources in both Japan and the US.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One is the third studio album by American heavy metal band White Zombie, released on March 17, 1992 through Geffen Records. The album marked a major artistic and commercial turning point for the band. After the recruitment of guitarist Jay Noel Yuenger, White Zombie was able to successfully embrace the heavy metal sound they had pursued since "Make Them Die Slowly" (1989), while incorporating more groove-based elements into their sound. The album was the band's last to feature drummer Ivan de Prume.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: The album was a critical and commercial success for White Zombie after the artistic failure of "Make Them Die Slowly". "La Sexorcisto" became the band's first album to chart on the "Billboard" 200, peaking at number 26 in 1993. The singles "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine" received heavy rotation on rock radio and MTV, the former earning the band their first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. The album has been certified two times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: The album's sound is a mix of groove metal and heavy metal with multiple B-movie samples. Rob Zombie explained he "wanted to keep a groovable dance element in the music", a trait that is often absent in metal music. Contrary to rumors, a "Devil Music Volume Two" was never planned for recording or release. Almost every song on the album made an appearance on the 1994 video game "Way of the Warrior".


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: White Zombie toured for two years to promote "La Sexorcisto". The tour was a critical success and some archived footage of the shows can be seen on the "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" DVD. White Zombie began a five-month U.S. tour in April 1992, supporting such bands as My Sister's Machine, Paw, Testament, Pantera, Trouble and Crowbar. In the fall of 1992, the band opened for Danzig on their "" tour in Europe and the United States, and wrapped up the year doing a brief U.S. tour, again supporting Pantera. White Zombie spent most of 1993 and 1994 touring non-stop in support of "La Sexorcisto". They toured with Monster Magnet in February and March 1993 and with Anthrax and Quicksand that summer. White Zombie embarked on two more U.S. tours: one with Chemlab and Nudeswirl in the fall of 1993, and another with Prong and The Obsessed in early 1994. The "La Sexorcisto" tour concluded in May 1994 with four Japanese shows, which were supported by Pantera.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: "La Sexorcisto" was both a critical and commercial success for White Zombie, climbing up the charts in the US and gaining massive MTV video airplay and mainstream rock radio airplay with "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine". Although released in early 1992, "La Sexorcisto" did not enter the "Billboard" 200 until 1993, after the success of "Thunder Kiss '65", which reached number 26 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA, and gold by the CRIA.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: Jacob N. Lunders of AllMusic praised the album with 4.5 out of 5 stars and claimed "Perhaps co-defining the future of heavy metal, White Zombie's major-label debut nearly equals fellow classics Guns N' Roses's "Appetite for Destruction", The Cult's "Electric", and Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" in significance". In 2017, "Rolling Stone" ranked "La Sexorcisto" as 93rd on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'.


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: Adam McCann of Metal Digest praised "La Sexorcisto" as both a "seminal" and a "massive 90's album", and wrote, "This was the album which saw White Zombie take their sound to the next level by inserting a rocket into their rectum. Tracks such as 'Thunder Kiss '65' and 'Black Sunshine' saw the band prominently feature on MTV and before too long, White Zombie posters began to adorn thousands of teenage bedrooms."


title: La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One

text: Some pressings of the CD incorrectly divide tracks 12 and 13, beginning track 13 at 3:31 of "Grindhouse (A Go-Go)".


title: Jerian Grant

text: Holdyn Jerian Grant (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Türk Telekom of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball with the University of Notre Dame and was considered one of the top college players in the nation for the 2014–15 season. After being selected with the 19th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2015 NBA draft, his rights were sent to the Atlanta Hawks and then moved again to the New York Knicks on draft night.


title: Jerian Grant

text: After a high school career at prep power DeMatha Catholic High School, Grant came to Notre Dame to play for coach Mike Brey. After redshirting his freshman season, Grant was named to the Big East Conference All-Rookie team after averaging 12.3 points and 4.97 assists per game. In his second season with the Irish, Grant was named second-team All-Big East after averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 assists per game.


title: Jerian Grant

text: After the 2012–13 season, Notre Dame moved from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Based on his strong sophomore campaign, Grant was voted onto the preseason All-ACC team. Grant had a strong start to the season, leading the Fighting Irish at 19.01 points per game during their 8–4 start. But on December 23, 2013 Grant was ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the season and forced to withdraw from Notre Dame. Grant chose to return to Notre Dame rather than declare his eligibility for the 2014 NBA draft.


title: Jerian Grant

text: Grant returned to Notre Dame for the 2014–15 season. Grant immediately helped the Fighting Irish to a 20–3 start and Grant personally had a breakout season as the leader of the team's highly efficient offense. He was named to the midseason watch lists for the John R. Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy. The Grant-led Irish finished the year with a 32–6 record and an ACC Tournament championship; they advanced to the Elite 8 in the Midwest Region, where they lost to an undefeated Kentucky team by 2 points.


title: Jerian Grant

text: Grant was selected the 19th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2015 NBA draft. His rights were subsequently traded to the Atlanta Hawks before finally being traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr. He later joined the Knicks for the 2015 NBA Summer League where he averaged 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in five games. On July 30, 2015, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Knicks. On December 2, he tied his season-high of 12 points in a win over his brother Jerami and the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 12, 2016, he had a season-best game with 16 points and 8 assists in a 120–114 win over the Boston Celtics.


title: Jerian Grant

text: On June 22, 2016, Grant was traded, along with José Calderón and Robin Lopez, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Derrick Rose, future teammate Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round draft pick. The following month, he helped the Bulls win the Las Vegas Summer League championship game and earned MVP honors for his 24 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. On November 15, 2016, he made his first start of the season and had 18 points and five steals in a 113–88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On November 26, he was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, Chicago's D-League affiliate. He was recalled on November 27, reassigned on December 9, and recalled again on December 10. On April 10, 2017, he had 17 points and a career-high 11 assists in a 122–75 win over the Orlando Magic.