id
stringlengths 8
8
| title
stringlengths 4
109
| created_at
stringlengths 25
25
| content
stringlengths 0
135k
|
|---|---|---|---|
28033881 | Big Tits Zombie | 2010-07-14 13:09:48+00:00 | Big Tits Zombie (巨乳ドラゴン 温泉ゾンビVSストリッパー5, Kyonyū doragon: Onsen zonbi vs sutorippaa 5, lit. "Big Tits Dragon: Hot Spring Zombie Vs. Stripper 5") is a 2010 Japanese fantasy-horror film. It was adapted from the manga Kyonyū Dragon by Rei Mikamoto, and stars several known faces from Japan's adult movie industry, most notably Sola Aoi. It is directed by Japanese satirist Takao Nakano and much of the action is shot in 3D. The film is said to be an ironic take on Japanese pop culture.
Ginko and Lena work at an unsuccessful strip club called Paradise Ikagawa Theatre with several other strippers, including Nene; Maria, an intelligent, red-headed gothic bookworm with a penchant for self mutilation; Lena, a fortune-teller; and Darna, who is raising money to see her siblings. Explaining how she became a stripper, Lena says that after returning from Mexico in desperate need of cash, she got drunk and slept with a homeless man instead of finding work. Hungover and disgusted, Lena steals his umbrella and leaves.
Lena receives a phone call from Manjiro, a deadbeat Ikagawa Promotions manager. Manjiro informs Lena Ginko got arrested recently, and he needs a dancer to perform for ten days. Lena reluctantly accepts. Lena meets up with Yudai, an employee of the strip club. Yudai tells Lena about a man whose unsuccessful attempt to build a spa resort next to the strip club led his family to commit suicide. Yudai informs them that the theatre will be closed tomorrow. After trying to lie his way out of paying them, Manjiro agrees to pay for the gig and offers them a strip show gig at a spa resort.
At the spa resort, a spa worker tells them that sex trade workers must come through the back door. Ginko says they are dancers, not strippers or prostitutes. The group performs a show for one of the spa attendees. The lead attendee insists on a sumo wrestling match between Lena and Ginko. Lena wins a cash prize, and Ginko is reluctantly forced to become a human sushi bar. Lena ends up unintentionally sleeping with the lead spa attendee after getting drunk.
Ginko becomes angry with Lena's habit of sleeping with men when drunk, and the two of them fight, ripping each other's shirts off and knocking down a stack of boxes. While cleaning up, Maria discovers a door leading to an underground cellar. The strippers discover the former owner had a collection of occult books and a strange, sealed-off well called the Well of Spirits. Darna finds a hidden stash of yen bills, and, Maria finds a medieval Book of the Dead. Believing she can use the book to perform necromancy, Maria chants several spells, which do not seem to work. Disappointed, Maria and the other girls leave the basement.
While preparing dinner, Ginko and Nene discover that the spell worked and has caused all types of deceased life, including raw fish and sushi, to return from the dead and terrorize Ikagawa. Darna sneaks into the cellar where she saw the money. She discovers a zombie is hidden underneath the pile of cash and is torn to pieces.
Back in the dressing room, Ginko and Nene inform Lena and Maria about the zombie sushi incident but are interrupted when they hear of a large audience outside. The audience is revealed to be zombies who have recently killed Yudai. The zombies attack them, and, although Nene is bitten, she escapes with Maria, Ginko and Lena. The zombies continue to emerge from the well and slaughter the citizens of Ikagawa, eventually spreading over Japan in a manner of seconds according to a reporter who is soon devoured. Although sharing the basic characteristics of infectious zombies, the zombies still retain their intelligence and intellect they had prior to being zombified.
While cornered in the dressing room, Maria betrays Lena, Nene, and Ginko and escapes. The three escape in the Ikagawa Paradise Theatre van, eventually driving to the spa resort. The van is ruined when running over an elderly human. Ginko recognizes a one eyed zombie among the crowd as having killed Ginko's younger sister. He could not be touched legally due to being insane. Ginko kills the man by impaling him on an umbrella.
Meanwhile, Maria returns to the abandoned spa's basement, where she discovers the mutilated remains of Darna. The zombies attempt to kill Maria, who bribes them with flashing and candy. When these attempts fail, Maria chants a spell from the Book of the Dead and controls them.
Sola Aoi as Rena Jodo
Risa Kasumi as Ginko
Mari Sakurai as Maria
Tamayo as Nene
Io Aikawa as Darna
Minoru Torihada as Blue Ogre
Saori Andô
The film opened on 15 May 2010, in Japan, and was released on DVD on 14 August.
Big Tits Zombie 3D was released in some cinemas in the UK in October 2010 by Terracotta Distribution. The DVD followed in November.
Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Although the narrative is as minimalist as the wardrobes, screenwriter-director Takao Nakano has heaved in some brainy wit amid a cornucopia of gore and flesh." Scott Foy of Dread Central rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "The whole sorry spectacle is really more like an endless stream of non sequiturs that rarely amount to anything beyond inane gibberish." Ard Vijn of Twitch Film wrote, "There are a few half-good jokes in there and the film never drags, but it also never rises above the barest (haha) (sic) expectations you'd get from the title." Ben Bussey of Brutal as Hell wrote, "[I]f you're after a quick blast of something silly, splattery and sexy, then Big Tits Zombie may well be to your liking." James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood wrote, "Takao Nakano certainly knows what the fans want, and serves up gore, imaginative splatter gags, surreal humour and bare breasts in equal measure, most of which are pretty entertaining, if often baffling and random." Gordon Sullivan of DVD Verdict recommended the film to people enticed by the title, but said that others probably would not enjoy it. Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2, academic Peter Dendle called it "a clever parody of Japanese trash cinema". |
37674973 | Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes | 2012-11-18 03:35:44+00:00 | Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is a 2010 fantasy film, a sequel to The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens. The low-budget film was produced as a mockbuster, capitalizing on the success of Harry Potter film series. The film follows the adventures of Billy Owens and his friends Mandy and Devin, as they attempt to save the town of Spirit River from the curse of the Norse God Loki.
Billy, joined by his friends Mandy, Devin and Danny, continue their adventure from the previous movie in the series, The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens. With the help of their magical professor, Mr. Thurgood, the children are still learning about their new powers. When the carnival comes to town, we learn that Professor Mould has used the children to trap the soul of Mr. Thurgood in a magical amulet. As the legend goes, inserting the amulet into the scepter will result in the unlocking of the magical powers of the scepter, and release the treasure of the god Loki.
Billy and his pals set out on a journey through dark caves and enchanted forests, as they attempt to solve the riddle of the ancient runes, and find the scepter. The whole time, being pursued by Professor Mould and his sidekick, Kurt Nemees.
Dalton Mugridge as Billy Owens
Christopher Fazio as Devin
Ciara O'Hanlon as Mandy
Roddy Piper as Mr. Thurgood
Jordan Goulet as Kurt Nemees
Paul Germs as Professor Mould
The movie was released via DVD on May 11, 2010 by MTI Home Video and Artistview Entertainment.
The film received mainly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an aggregate score of 0% based on 15 user reviews. DVD Verdict said of the movie "It's a step up from the first entry" (referring to The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens), but went on to say "It's worse than only 99 percent instead of 99.9 percent of all other films that get distributed". MatchFlick's Mike Thomas gave the movie 0 out of 5 stars, saying of the movie "(it's) an obvious Harry Potter rip-off". |
38211790 | The Adventures of Unemployed Man | 2013-01-13 04:09:35+00:00 | The Adventures of Unemployed Man is a 2010 parody comic book created by Erich Origen and Gan Golan. The book was published on October 18, 2010, through Little, Brown & Company.
Origen and Golan stated that they came up with the idea of using the comic book as a medium as a "dose of emergency comic relief" and because they saw the idea of "ordinary people" dealing with large issues such as unemployment as "not that far" from the idea of superheroes battling large villains.
The book brought together many living artists from classic eras of comics, including Ramona Fradon, one of the first women artists to work in the industry, as well as Rick Veitch, Thomas Yeates, Terry Beatty, Josef Rubenstein, Benton Jew, Michael Netzer, Shawn Martinbrough, with lettering by Clem Robins and Tom Orzechowski, and colors by Lee Loughridge.
The book follows Unemployed Man, an out of work superhero and his sidekick Plan B. Unemployed Man first began as The Ultimatum, a rich superhero that looked down upon the poor and unemployed as lazy or otherwise unmotivated. He later loses his job and is defeated by the Invisible Hand, eventually ending up homeless. Unemployed Man must then seek a new job and team up with other superheroes in the same situation he is currently in.
The book was reviewed in Wired and Time. The Guardian called it "a furious, fearless, Swiftian kind of a book".
Time Magazine called it "Hilarious, clever, very relevant, and remarkably insightful and thought-provoking."
Salon.com called it "the funniest economic primer ever written" while The Guardian claimed "This book is so good it might cause a rare outbreak of shame among the ruling classes..."
Publishers Weekly stated that the "entire message comes off as preaching to the choir, the superhero pastiche, drawn in a Silver Age comics style... gets the point across in an enjoyable way". |
27911709 | After Dark (comics) | 2010-07-01 19:55:23+00:00 | After Dark is a three-issue, dark science fiction limited series published by Radical Comics in a 56-page graphic novella format. The series concept and characters were created by film director/writer Antoine Fuqua (director of Training Day) and actor Wesley Snipes (star of the Blade series). The series is written by Peter Milligan (best known for Marvel Comics's X-Statix series) and illustrated by Jeff Nentrup.
On June 30, 2010, a "#0" issue was released as a prequel. The official start of the main series is August 2010.
The first book is due to be released in August (ISBN 1-935417-15-0) and the second in October (ISBN 1-935417-16-9).
The series is set in a post-apocalyptic near-future in which the Earth exists in a state of near-perpetual darkness. Civilization has largely become confined to domed cities in which the populace exists in a state of drug-addled stupor in order to while away time between birth and death.
The rulers of Solar City, the most populated of humanity's remaining bastions, enlist a Bedouin drifter, named simply Omar, to lead a team into the wilds outside of the city in search of the savior they believe may exist somewhere in the sparsely populated wilds. |
31607938 | Aalto University Executive Education | 2011-04-27 07:33:44+00:00 | Aalto University Executive Education Ltd (also known as Aalto EE) is a Finnish company that offers executive education and leadership development services in 12 countries. Aalto EE is owned by Aalto University.
Aalto EE has an office in Helsinki that coordinates operations in Europe and an office in Singapore for the Asia Pacific rim. In addition to Finland and Singapore, Aalto EE offers education programs in multiple locations worldwide.
Aalto University's two executive education providers, HSE Executive Education and TKK School of Business, merged on 1 April 2010. The name of the new company is Aalto University Executive Education Ltd (Aalto EE).
In 2014 the activities of Aalto EE have been extended to include the commercial professional development activities of both Aalto University Professional Development (Aalto PRO) and the School of Business' Small Business Center (PYK).
In 2017 Aalto EE acquired the entire share capital of FINVA Financial Education Ltd (Finva Finanssikoulutus Oy) from the Insurance Sector Development Association (Vakuutustiedon Kehittämissäätiö). The company is now part of the Aalto EE Group.
Aalto University Executive Education organizes Aalto University's MBA programs: Aalto MBA Program and Aalto Executive MBA Program. Aalto EE also organizes Aalto Executive Doctor of Business Administration program (Aalto Executive DBA).
In addition to MBA programs, Aalto EE offers open enrollment programs for individuals and customized solutions for companies that need education tailored for the company needs. All Aalto EE's open programs offer a pathway to the Aalto MBA and Aalto Executive MBA programs.
Aalto EE is ranked in Financial Times Executive Education and Executive MBA rankings. Aalto EE ranked 42nd globally in the Financial Times Executive Education overall ranking in 2020. Aalto Executive MBA program ranked 78th in 2017.
As a part of Aalto University Aalto EE holds three business university accreditations AACSB (The Association to Advance Colleagiate Schools of Business, US), EQUIS (the European Quality Improvement System Label, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)) and AMBA (Association of MBAs, UK).
Aalto University and Aalto EE are part of various networks: UNICON (The International University Consortium for Executive Education), EFMD (The European Foundation for Management Development) and PIM (Partnership in International Management). Aalto University School of Business is also a member of CEMS, a network united by the leading European universities and major companies.
Suurnäkki, Margit (2019). Global Integration and Local Flexibility: Managing Contradictions in a Global Company - A Case Study of a Multi-National Service-Oriented Manufacturing Company. Aalto University Publication Series. BUSINESS+ECONOMY 4/2019. 978-952-60-8838-9 (printed) 978-952-60-8839-6 (pdf).
Airaksinen-Aminoff, Pauliina (2018). Learning to Resolve Interpersonal Conflicts more Efficiently through Transformational Leadership: A Study on Coaching. Aalto University Publication Series. BUSINESS+ECONOMY. ISBN 978-952-60-8284-4 (printed). ISBN 978-952-60-8285-1 (pdf)
Lumme-Tuomala, Riitta (2017). Talent Management in the Humanitarian Aid Context. Aalto University Publication Series. BUSINESS+ECONOMY 1/2017. ISBN 978-952-60-7440-5 (printed). ISBN 978-952-60-3736-3(pdf)
Kukkonen, Elina (2016). "Gaining more Value of Customer Relationships in the Digital Business Environment". Aalto University Publication Series. BUSINESS + ECONOMY 1/2016. ISBN 978-952-60-6714-8 (printed). ISBN 978-952-60-6715-5 (pdf)
Ahdekivi, Eeva (2016). "Interactions between non-profit finance, governance and investment style". Aalto University Publication Series. BUSINESS + ECONOMY 2/2016. ISBN 978-952-60-6948-7 (printed). ISBN 978-952-60-6949-4 (pdf) |
75297253 | AlGooru | 2023-11-12 22:46:50+00:00 | AlGooru (Arabic: القورو) a Startup and platform specialized in educational technologies located in Saudi Arabia. It has won many local and international awards, including first place in the “Innovate” Award and the Entrepreneurship World Cup for the Top 20 Startups (EWC2022), It was also ranked on HolonIQ's list of the top 50 promising emerging companies in the field of education in MENA and CrunchBase top 20 Saudi companies in the field of education, and it is considered one of the most prominent online education platforms in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.
It concluded several partnership agreements with famous platforms such as Rwaq and Annab, and in 2023 it joined the Saudi Unicorns Program sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Misk Charitable Foundation in order to qualify it for the billion-dollar evaluation. It also received bold investment rounds from several prominent funds, including : Techstars, RAZ Group, RZM Investment, 100Ventures and others.
AlGooru was officially launched by its founders: Khaled Abou Kassem, Omer Awad, and Muhanad AlJaser, who had each begun with a similar concept before merging their ventures in 2021, Khaled Abou Kassem and Omer Awad initiated their project in 2018 to connect university students with trustworthy private tutors, identifying their peers' need for a simpler way to find reliable tutors, Meanwhile, Muhanad AlJaser founded ChillLearn in 2019, an idea that originated in 2014 during his studies in Canada when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This led him to seek connections with tutors via Skype, an experience that ignited his vision to create a platform easing the link between students and tutors.
After their companies combined in 2020 and officially launched in 2021, AlGooru has charted a course of continuous success. It was accepted into the Techstars accelerator in Riyadh that same year, securing an initial investment of $600,000 from Nawah Investment, Aqal, and Techstars.
In 2020, the two platforms were merged under the name AlGooru platform, then it achieved acceptance in the TechStars Riyadh business accelerator and obtained $600,000 in its initial stage of investment, and in 2021 it obtained an investment worth 2.25 million riyals in an investment round (pre-Seed), and in 2022 it received an investment worth $1.8 million from several investment funds: RAZ Group, RZM Investment, 100 Ventures, and RAY Investment.
In recent years, several partnership agreements have been concluded with famous platforms such as Rwaq and Annab, it was admission to the first batch in the Saudi Billionaire Companies Program which is exclusive to limited startup companies. It is currently receiving support and embrace from several parties, namely: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, the Communications and Information Technology Commission, represented by the (CODE) Center, and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat).
AlGooru includes more than 700 certified private teachers in more than 20 academic fields. Also, the subsidiary company AlGooru Learn has provided its services to more than 10,000 students.
AlGooru has been mentioned in Fortune Arabia, CNBC, Al Arabiya and Bloomberg Asharq.
It was also ranked on HolonIQ's list of the top 50 promising emerging companies in the field of education in MENA and CrunchBase top 20 Saudi companies in the field of education and ranked on top online education platforms in Saudi Arabia in many lists.
SME 2022 Award as the best company specializing in private education technologies in the region.
First place in the Entrepreneurship World Cup for Top 20 Startups (EWC2022).
GSV Elite 200 GSV Summit Semi-Final.
First place in the "Innovate Award" from Monshaat to support entrepreneurship and emerging innovative companies. |
46362403 | DTEK Academy | 2015-04-09 13:23:02+00:00 | DTEK Academy (Russian: Академия ДТЭК, Ukrainian: Академiя ДТЕК) is a corporate university of DTEK energy company. DTEK strategic holding company manages three operational sub-holding companies with the assets in the sectors of conventional energy, alternative energy and hydrocarbons production. DTEK is part of the financial and industrial group System Capital Management (SCM). The shareholder of the group is a Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. DTEK Chief Executive Officer is Maksym Tymchenko. DTEK Academy was founded in 2010 as a common knowledge management centre for all DTEK's companies, providing services to all employees from grassroots workers to senior executives. It is a tool for shaping the company's ideology and developing methods of fostering talents.
DTEK Academy is a member of international associations CEEMAN and EFMD. Since 2013, it has also been providing training services to external clients.
Academy's Targets until 2020:
Talents: to prepare 70% of talented employees to hold managerial positions.
To improve the quality of training in 87 blue-collar professions in Ukraine.
To bring up a new generation of the HR business partners in the international market.
DTEK Academy was founded in March 2010 in Donetsk.
The MBA Programme 'Energy of Knowledge' created for middle and top-level managers was launched at the same time. In May 2010, DTEK Academy started the 'Energy of Leader' programme designed for senior executives on the basis of the concept of 5 Roles of DTEK's Leader: Leader, Strategist, Operator, Mentor, and Team Player. The programmes were designed together with leading European and Ukrainian business schools, including LBS, INSEAD and Kyiv Mohyla Business School.
Apart from modular programmes for managers, DTEK Academy also offers competences development programmes, professional training courses, online e-courses, foreign language courses and special programmes for the talent pool and potential successors included into the TOP 50 programme.
In November 2010, DTEK Academy launched a culture project of the DTEK Academy Movie Club as an informal method of personnel development.
The same year a project started on creating the Institute of In-house Coaches out of companies' employees to implement a common training system at DTEK Academy Branches.
Since 2011, DTEK Academy has been a member of international business education associations CEEMAN and EFMD.
In 2012, DTEK Academy launched the second culture project 'English Speaking Club' with native English speakers.
In 2012, it implemented a large-scale project 'Modernisation of the On-the-Job Training System at DTEK Group Companies', and as part of which professional and educational standards were designed for five key jobs; two DTEK-sponsored Departments were opened in the universities (Donetsk National Technical University, Donetsk, and the National Mining University, Dnipropetrovsk) as well as 13 Branches of DTEK Academy created on the basis of the companies' training centres.
The first international conference for senior executives and HR managers 'Corporate Education: Challenges and Prospects' took place on 30 November 2012.
The second international conference 'Corporate Education: from Costs to Investment' was held on 19 and 20 September 2013.
On 27 June 2014, a series of master classes started: workshops by international professors and experts for Ukrainian business community. The first master class 'How to Manage in the Conditions of Uncertainty' was held by Dave Snowden, a leading expert in strategic thinking, a creator of the unique system of planning in the conditions of uncertainty Cynefin.
In July 2014, the 'Underground Miner' professional standard prepared by DTEK was approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine as the state standard of the professional technical education, which was the first such case in the history of Ukraine.
In July 2014, the third culture project — the Debate Club— was launched to promote skills of public speaking, persuasion and influence, active listening and objection handling.
On 18 September 2014, DTEK Academy was opened in Kyiv.
In October 2014, DTEK Academy launched a 'HR-Coffee House' project, which envisaged 12 meetings of HR executives where they could discuss key issues of the effective functioning of the HR system and current trends in human resources management.
November 2014: a master class on Risk Management by Dr Ronald Huisman, Erasmus School of Economics, Rotterdam.
In November 2014, the academy implemented two new cultural initiatives: Photo Club and Creativity Workshop, which help developing creativity and unconventional approaches to tackling business tasks.
Since 2015, DTEK Academy has become a partner for a number of national conferences and HR clubs: Team Forum 3 'Conquering Employees' Hearts', Human Capital Insights, HRD Forum, HR-Land and HR-Space.
March 2015: launch of the HR Business Partner programme aimed at developing the HR function as a business partner in professional community.
February 2022: DTEK Academy has become a partner of American University of Kyiv (AUK).
DTEK Academy educates about 92.5 thousand employees annually.
It has over 1,000 training programmes.
There are training courses for 128 blue-collar jobs.
Over 100 corporate programmes have been implemented for external clients.
There are 13 Academy branches at DTEK enterprises
DTEK Academy has over 300 coaches and 850 in-house experts.
Five new informal development methods (the club system: Film Club, Debate Club, Speaking Club, Creativity Workshops, and Photo Club).
Energy of Leader programme for senior executives and business owners.
Energy of Knowledge MBA programme for middle-level managers and senior executives.
HR Business-partner for HR executives and specialists of mid-size companies.
Competence training sessions for specialists, managers and middle-level executives.
Production management for operating companies' managers.
2010: the winner of the second National CRS Projects' Contest held by the Corporate Social Responsibility Development Centre in the 'Labour Relations' nomination with a project on corporate university establishment.
'Introduction to the Coal Industry' electronic learning course by DTEK Academy won all four nominations in the contest Best E-Learning Course Created with Courselab 2010 Software organized by WebSoft company.
In 2011, 'Basics of the Energy Industry' e-learning course became the winner of WebSoft contest once again.
April 2011: the winner of the Trainings INDEX 2011 award, established by Amplua company, in the nomination 'The effective Start of the Personnel Training And Development System.'
In November 2011, the academy won the title HR-BRAND Ukraine 2011 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine as part of the annual independent HeadHunter award.
In 2013, the 'DTEK's Generation' project aimed at the cooperation with higher education establishments of Ukraine won the prestigious Human Capital 2013 award!
September 2014: a laureate of Crystal Pyramid award in 2 nominations: Corporate University 2014 and HR Project of 2014.
December 2014: the Best Employer of Ukraine Award according to ranking of business publisher Capital.
INSEAD
KMBS
CEEMAN
EFMD
Coursera
LBS
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Амплуа
Lege Artis |
30984115 | Memrise | 2011-02-23 16:22:28+00:00 | Memrise is a British language platform that uses spaced repetition of flashcards to increase the rate of learning. It is based in London, UK.
Memrise offers user-generated content on a wide range of other subjects. The Memrise app has courses in 16 languages and its combinations, while the website for "community courses" has a great many more languages available, including minority and ancient languages. As of 2018, the app had 35 million registered users. Memrise has been profitable since late 2016, having a turnover of $4 million monthly.
Memrise was founded by Ed Cooke, a Grand Master of Memory, Ben Whately and Greg Detre, a Princeton neuroscientist specializing in the science of memory and forgetting. The website launched in private beta after winning the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club 2009 TigerLaunch competition.
In July 2010, Memrise was named as one of the winners of the London Mini-Seedcamp competition. In November 2010, the site was named as one of the finalists for the 2010 TechCrunch Europas Start-up of the Year. In March 2011, it was selected as one of the Techstars Boston startups. In May 2017, Memrise was named as the winner of the "Best App" award at the second edition of the Google Play awards.
On 1 October 2012, 100 users were allowed to sign up to test a non-beta version of the website called Memrise 1.0. As of May 2013, a Memrise app has been available for download on both the App Store (iOS) and Google Play.
As of January 2020, the app received $21.8 million of investments in a total of seven seed rounds.
=
Memrise makes language studying a game, like its competitor Duolingo. Memrise uses spaced repetition to accelerate language acquisition. Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material to exploit the psychological spacing effect. The use of spaced repetition has been shown to increase the rate of memorization.
=
Users of the platform have the ability to create personalized "courses," which consist of curated lists of words and phrases that can be accompanied by audio and pictures. These courses can be used for individual learning purposes or shared with the community by making them publicly available in the course catalogue. This feature has led to the accumulation of a diverse range of "community courses" over time, which has proven useful for studying languages with limited resources or those of niche interest, in addition to the more popular languages.
In 2012, less than two years after its launching, Memrise had already crowdsourced materials for about 100 languages, "from Catalan to Haitian Creole." Courses have been created by enthusiasts to teach Klingon, Toki Pona, and Esperanto, among other artificial languages. Classical languages, such as Latin and Ancient Greek, have been covered as well.
In Taiwan, the Department of Education of Keelung City Government has taken initiatives to foster the education of indigenous and local languages by publishing Memrise-based learning materials for the Amis, Taroko, Taiwanese Hakka, and Taiwanese Hokkien languages. Journalist Joshua Foer, in an attempt to communicate with the Pygmy peoples in the Congo Basin, was able to pick up Lingala, a language with scarce learning materials, by utilizing community courses.
Speech communities of endangered languages have made use of the platform to aid in their revitalization endeavors, as seen in the case of Ume Sámi, a language spoken by fewer than 50 people in Sweden. In the United States, indigenous nations have published courses on Memrise to support efforts to revitalize their heritage languages, including Cherokee, Seneca, Comanche, Potawatomi, and Choctaw. In Singapore, an initiative known as Kodrah Kristang to revitalize the critically endangered Kristang language includes a vocabulary course based on Memrise. The success of this project "inspired the start of similar projects among speakers of other Indigenous languages," like Unangam Qilinĝingin to teach the Aleut language spoken in Alaska. Courses of many other endangered languages can be found, including the other Sámi languages, Hawaiian, Yiddish, Cornish, Greenlandic, Navajo, Irish, and Welsh.
The Institute on Collaborative Language Research, founded at the University of California, organized a workshop in 2018 to teach participants to use Memrise for teaching and learning endangered languages with the aim of revitalization, considering that Memrise is "an ideal tool for language revitalization because it’s flexible, community-oriented, easy-to-use, fun, and free" and "a great way for fluent elders and more tech-savvy young people to collaborate on a revitalization project". A research conducted by NEȾOLṈEW̱, a Canadian partnership working on indigenous language revitalization, praises the motivational effect of Memrise' leaderboard for learners, but raises concerns about the issue of data sovereignty. In 2023, the successes of the Memrise projects for Ume Sámi and Kristang were cited as "inspiring stories" by the UNESCO publication Digital initiatives for indigenous languages.
Apart from resources for language learning, the community has produced courses for other subject matters, including geography, history, mathematics, natural science, some designed for general interests and some for test preparation.
=
Memrise used to have a function known as "mems," which are user-generated mnemonic devices or memory aids to help learners remember and retain new information more effectively. Mems are often designed to be humorous or even absurd to be memorable, such as using a picture of Abraham Lincoln listening to a ghetto blaster with the caption "Abe ends work in the evening" for the German word Abend, which means "evening". For learning Chinese characters, mems have been created to help relate their meaning and the concept they represent.
In 2012, Ed Cooke highlighted the network effect associated with learning through mems, explaining that "the more people on the site, the more there are contributing new content for the mems". In 2013, Ben Whately and Ed Cooke discussed their team's approach to take advantage of the Intenet obsession with cats and "the relationship between cuteness and improved cognitive function" to create memorable mems.
However, since September 2022, mems have been completely removed from the site, despite overwhelmingly negative feedback from users as expressed in the official forum (see the "Criticism" section below).
=
As of March 2024, Memrise has official materials for 23 languages for English speakers, combined with a GPT-3-powered "AI Language partner" that allows learners to practice human-like conversations, which Memrise believes can help learners to overcome the "confidence gap" in language acquisition. Official courses do not cover the vast majority of languages covered by community courses, nor are there any non-language-related official materials.
=
In late September 2012, the leaderboard on the website was temporarily suspended due to "extensive cheating". Specific users had been using bots and non-intensive mechanisms, such as celebrity photo memory courses, to achieve atypical scores that were not reflective of actual learning. In response, the administrators established a new leaderboard after revising the scoring loopholes.
Over time, Memrise, initially established as a learning platform centered around crowdsourcing and community engagement, has undergone a noticeable transition by gradually phasing out significant features in favor of prioritizing their official content offerings.
=
In late February 2019, Memrise announced that user-created content will be moving to a different web-based platform. It was announced that this new website would not have an app and that users would be unable to access their material offline. On 25 February 2020, as a response to the loud criticism from users, Memrise decided to undo the split (i.e. closing Decks and merging its content back to the Memrise main site.)
=
However, in November 2023, Memrise announced on a forum post that it planned to "sunset" user-created courses. The very forum was closed on 8th December 2023 as the company shifts its focus from supporting community-created content to developing a new "experience" based on official content. In February 2024, Memrise has again separated community courses to a new website, which is not accessible through the updated mobile app, meaning that users can no longer download the courses for offline accessibility. The official notice states that the courses will remain on the new website until "at least the end of 2024". The CEO Steve Toy has made posts announcing and trying to explain the abovementioned change on the Memrise subreddit, under which many users have expressed concerns, frustrations, and even anger regarding the future of community courses. Regarding the future of community courses, Toy has clarified that he has no plan to take them down after 2024 or any date, but is "not prepared to put [his] name next to a promise about the site['s] longevity at this moment." |
74062005 | 2010 Asian Para Games closing ceremony | 2023-06-18 00:46:07+00:00 | The 2010 Asian Para Games closing ceremony was held at 8:00pm on 19 December in the Guangdong Olympic Stadium featuring Chinese cultural performances and fireworks. The 40-minute artistic performance was entitled "You Make the World Different" comprising three chapters, namely "Sky and Sea" (blue), "Leaf and Vein" (green), and "Light and Dream" (red), and was themed on the concepts of reunion and departure. It featured songs by local artists Cao Fujia, Huang Zheng, Xu Yang and Shi Peng and a performance by hundreds of children.
Among the highlights was as the cauldron flame was extinguished, the torch which ignited the cauldron during the opening ceremony was relit and passed down the man-made cliff below the cauldron by several disabled athletes forming the Chinese character for people "ren" (人). The flame was then carried in a rectangular lantern and handed over to Wan Qingliang, the mayor of Guangzhou. As the first Asian Para Games, the flame will be kept in Guangzhou forever. The torch and flag of the Guangzhou Asian Para games as well as the flag of the Asian Paralympic Committee were passed from Wan Qingling to Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin who passed it on to the President of South Korea Paralympic Committee for the 2014 Games. All future games closing ceremonies will involve delegations passing the torch and flag of the Guangzhou Games.
The closing ceremony was attended by President of Asian Paralympic Committee Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin and State Councilor of the People's Republic of China Liu Yandong. Wang Xinxian, President of Chinese Paralympic Committee, said, "We can say proudly that the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Para Games were a complete success under the theme, "We Cheer, We Share, We Win". We are confident that the Asian Para Games flame with the value of humanitarianism will forever light the way of human progress and a better tomorrow." Dato' Zainal Abu Zarin described the games as "the best Games for [disabled] athletes ever staged in Asia so far". The ceremony was watched by a 60,000 capacity-stadium crowd. The games were officially closed by Abu Zarin. |
26684700 | 2010 Guangzhou Evergrande F.C. season | 2010-03-24 17:51:22+00:00 | The 2010 season is the 57th year in Guangzhou Football Club's existence, their 43rd season in the Chinese football league. The club was relegated to China League One in the fallout of a match fixing scandal despite having achieved the ninth place previous season in the Chinese Super League.
26 November 2009, Guangzhou announced that they were to put Lu Lin, Huang Zhiyi, Xu Liang, Zhou Lin, Cao Zhijie, Wang Xiaoshi, Zhang Si and Tan Ning into the transfer list.
1 December 2009, Peng Weiguo was appointed as the temporary manager of the club.
31 December 2009, the Sports Bureau of Guangzhou took over the club and the club's name was changed into Guangzhou Football Club.
12 February 2010, Guangzhou confirmed earlier in the transfer window that they had agreed a club record fee of ¥2.8 million to sell Xu Liang to Beijing Guoan. Bai Lei joined Tianjin Teda for a fee of ¥1.7 million on the same day.
21 February 2010, Guangzhou was relegated to China League One in the fallout of a match fixing scandal.
28 February 2010, Evergrande Real Estate Group took over the club for a fee of ¥100 million.
11 March 2010, China national team striker Gao Lin signed for Guangzhou from Shanghai Shenhua for a reported ¥2 million.
25 March 2010, it was announced that manager Peng Weiguo had been relieved of his duties, with Korean manager Lee Jang-Soo put in charge.
3 April 2010, Guangzhou's League One 2010 campaign kicked off with a 3–1 home victory over Beijing Institute of Technology. Gao Lin scored two goals in this match.
28 April 2010, Sun Xiang, the first Chinese footballer to play in a UEFA Champions League match with PSV Eindhoven, announced that he would give up to join Australia's A-League side Sydney FC and sign a long-term contract with Guangzhou instead in the summer transfer window.
29 May 2010, Guangzhou claimed first place in China League One for the first time this season with a 2–1 home win against Guangzhou rivals Guangdong Sunray Cave.
28 June 2010, former China national team captain Zheng Zhi signed for Guangzhou from Celtic on a free transfer.
30 June 2010, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Muriqui on a four-year deal from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Atlético Mineiro with a domestic record fee of US$3.5 million.
21 July 2010, Guangzhou trounced Nanjing Yoyo 10–0 at Century Lotus Stadium, setting a new club record (also a new record in Chinese professional football league) for their biggest ever League win in the process as well as breaking numerous scoring records.
25 September 2010, Guangzhou beat Guangdong Sunray Cave 3–2 at Boluo Sports Center and promoted to the Chinese Super League for the 2011 season after Hubei Oriental draw 1–1 with Shanghai Pudong Zobon.
16 October 2010, Guangzhou returned to their real home stadium, Yuexiushan Stadium for the first time this season and beat Hubei Oriental International Travel 2–1 in this match.
30 October 2010, Guangzhou successfully achieved League One champions for the second time with a 3–1 victory at home to Hunan Billows. Gao Lin's first half hat-trick ensured he finished the season with the League One top scorer, having scored 20 goals, six more than the 14 scored by second-placed Ye Weichao.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=
=
=
=
=
=
All times GMT+8.
Updated to games played on 30 October 2010.To see the table ordered by certain column title click that column header icon once or twice.
No appearances player not listed. |
28684469 | 2010 Guangzhou International Women's Open | 2010-09-03 07:33:25+00:00 | The 2010 Guangzhou International Women's Open (also known as the Landsky Lighting Guangzhou International Women's Open for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament on outdoor hard courts. It was the 7th edition of the Guangzhou International Women's Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, from September 13 through September 19, 2010.
=
1 Seeds are based on the rankings of August 30, 2010.
=
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:
Han Xinyun
Lu Jing-jing
Xu Yifan
The following players received entry from the qualifying draw:
Hsieh Su-wei
Kim So-jung
Junri Namigata
Sun Shengnan
=
Jarmila Groth def. Alla Kudryavtseva 6–1, 6–4
It was Jarmila's first title on the WTA Tour.
=
Edina Gallovits / Sania Mirza def. Han Xinyun / Liu Wanting, 7–5, 6–3 |
33157813 | The Clock (2010 film) | 2011-09-21 02:30:40+00:00 | The Clock is an art installation by video artist Christian Marclay. It is a looped 24-hour video supercut (montage of scenes from film and television) that feature clocks or timepieces. The artwork itself functions as a clock: its presentation is synchronized with the local time, resulting in the time shown in a scene being the actual time.
Marclay developed the idea for The Clock while working on his 2005 piece Screen Play. With the support of the London-based White Cube gallery, he assembled a team to find footage, which he edited together over the course of three years. Marclay debuted The Clock at White Cube's London gallery in 2010. The work garnered critical praise, winning the Golden Lion at the 2011 Venice Biennale. Its six editions were purchased by major museums, allowing it to attract a widespread following.
After midnight, characters go to bars and drink. Some seek intimacy while others are angry to have been awakened by the phone. In the early hours, characters are generally alone or sleeping. Several dream sequences occur between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. At around 7 a.m., characters are shown waking up. From 9 a.m. to noon, they eat breakfast and have wake-up sex. As noon approaches, a sequence of action scenes build up to bells ringing in High Noon. The video's pace immediately slows once noon passes.
Between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., transportation becomes important as characters travel on planes, trains and automobiles. At 6 p.m., characters eat dinner and have shootouts. In the evening, they attend parties. Around 8 p.m., orchestras and theaters begin their shows. As midnight approaches, the characters become more frantic, throwing tantrums and requesting stays of execution. Screeching violins from multiple clips build up to the moment. At midnight, Orson Welles is impaled on a clock tower in The Stranger, and Big Ben, a common sight in The Clock, explodes in V for Vendetta.
=
The Clock was conceived in 2005 while Marclay was working on the video score Screen Play. He realised that he needed a way for musicians to synchronise with film footage. An assistant at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center brought him footage of clocks, and Marclay began wondering if it was possible to find footage of every minute of the day. He kept the idea secret for several years, concerned that someone else would poach his idea. After his partner Lydia Yee accepted a position at the Barbican Centre, Marclay moved from New York to London in mid 2007. There he proposed the film to the White Cube gallery, unsure of the project's feasibility. He received a budget of over US$100,000, covered in part by the Paula Cooper Gallery.
=
The first several months of production were intended to show that Marclay would be able to find enough material to achieve his vision. White Cube helped him assemble a team of six people to watch DVDs and copy scenes with clocks or time. Marclay himself was often unfamiliar with the source works. They used a Google Spreadsheet to record and search through clips. As the number of scenes available increased, Marclay was able to start working on transitions between scenes. Working in Final Cut Pro, he edited clips together, standardising the video formats and smoothing the audio. He cited Bruce Conner's "odd transitions" as an influence on his editing. Marclay wanted to include more outlandish, melodramatic clips but worried that it would be exhausting over a long period. He instead focused on incidental moments; his head assistant Paul Anton Smith explained that Marclay wanted to show scenes that were "banal and plain but visually interesting." One assistant who focused heavily on scenes of violence was fired, and the remaining assistants began to specialise in individual film genres.
After six months, Marclay presented White Cube with several extended sequences, confident that he would eventually be able to finish the project. The footage began taking up too much capacity, so he worked on two Power Mac G5s with footage split by time of day. Marclay organised files by hour, which became like chapters for him. Each folder suggested different themes to him, allowing him to form loose narratives. He spent three years editing scenes together. Some of the scenes not selected for The Clock became a part of his 2012 performance piece Everyday.
In mid 2010, Marclay recruited Quentin Chiappetta, a sound designer with whom he had worked before, to work on the audio for The Clock. He saved files to disc and sent them to Chiappetta so that the films' soundtracks could be equalised. By September, Marclay realised that hundreds of the audio transitions were lacking, with White Cube set to premiere The Clock the following month. Because of his background as a DJ, he did not want to use simple fades between clips. He went to Chiappetta's MediaNoise studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the two worked on the soundtrack using Pro Tools. In some cases, they created completely new audio for the scenes. During the first week of The Clock's exhibition, Marclay continued fixing continuity errors and working on the audio. The final product used around 12,000 clips. Because of its size, Marclay enlisted professor Mick Grierson to create a program that plays the separate audio and video tracks, synchronised with the current time. The program continues running while a museum is closed so that it remains synchronised.
Marclay made six editions of The Clock, plus two artist's proofs. Five copies were designated to be sold to institutions for US$467,500, each under the condition that The Clock can't be played in more than one location at the same time. The last copy was sold to hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen for an undisclosed amount. Within a day of premiering The Clock, White Cube received a host of offers from museums, some of which purchased copies jointly. The sale became one of the largest purchases of video art and one of the highest purchases to happen on the primary market. The work owned by the New York collectors Jill and Peter Kraus, is a promised gift to the Museum of Modern Art. In 2011, Steve Tisch pledged the money needed to buy the work for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. One month later, the National Gallery of Canada and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, announced the acquisition of another copy. In February 2012, yet another version was acquired jointly by the Tate in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
=
Marclay originally considered making The Clock as a public art piece. However, difficulty with lighting and sound made it impractical. Marclay gave museums specifications for the exhibitions' screening rooms. He wanted the video to be projected onto a 21 by 12 foot (6.4 m × 3.7 m) screen, in a room with white IKEA couches. Presenting the piece became a source of friction between Marclay and some museums. The Art Newspaper reported that LACMA's director Michael Govan wanted to project it onto the museum, though LACMA denied suggesting it be projected outside. Marclay disapproved of other screening locations suggested by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Tate. In order to ensure that the full video would be exhibited, he required that museums agree to be open for all 24 hours at some point during its run.
The Clock premiered 15 October 2010 at White Cube's gallery in central London. Since then, it has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and found crossover success beyond art patrons. The Paula Cooper Gallery exhibited it in early 2011, where it attracted 11,500 visitors over the course of a month. In mid 2012, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts showed it to 18,000 people over six weeks. MoMA heavily promoted its run with a silent disco, a New Year's celebration and a dedicated @TheClockatMoMA account on Twitter. The month-long exhibition drew over 40,000 people.
=
When he started to make The Clock, Marclay expected that copyright would not be a substantial obstacle, theorizing that "If you make something good and interesting and not ridiculing someone or being offensive, the creators of the original material will like it." He did not get copyright clearances for any of the films used. He stated that although his use was illegal, "most would consider it fair use." Because of the film's copyright status, museums have offered it as part of their general admission instead of charging for separate tickets.
The Clock has been described as "addictive" and "mesmerizing". The Guardian called it "a masterpiece of our times". Chris Petit complimented its "edge-of-hysteria relentlessness, the anti-narrative drive", and the simple concept, commenting that he wished he had thought of the idea himself. In The New York Review of Books, Zadie Smith stated that The Clock "is neither bad nor good, but sublime, maybe the greatest film you have ever seen". Newsweek named Marclay one of the ten most important artists of today. He was included in the 2012 Time 100.
At the 2011 Venice Biennale, Marclay was recognised as the best artist in the official exhibition, winning the Golden Lion for The Clock. Accepting the Golden Lion, Marclay invoked Andy Warhol, thanking the jury "for giving The Clock its fifteen minutes". The film also won in the "Best Editing" category at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2011 and was included among ARTnews editors' most important artworks of the decade.
The Clock reveals its plot largely through the use of cutaway shots. A shot indicating the time is followed by a reaction shot with a character's emotional response, often one of anxiety, fear or boredom. Petit remarked that the impact of repeated reactions lacking context "comes over as incredibly weird". The sequence interpellates viewers into The Clock's flow, and they often experience a detached, hypnotic effect.
Marclay viewed The Clock as a memento mori. In contrast to the escapism that cinema provides, The Clock draws attention to how much time the audience has spent watching it. As they spend more time with the film, its actors reappear at various points in their careers. To make this theme more explicit, Marclay included symbols of time and death in connecting shots. These included sunsets; withering flowers; and burning cigarettes, which he described as "the twentieth-century symbol of time", a modern version of burning candles. Marclay included shots of turntables and vinyl records not only as a representation of "capturing time, trying to hold it back", but also as a self-reference to his earlier works that used vinyl.
=
Marclay made several forays into video art that informed The Clock. His 1995 film Telephones forms a narrative out of clips from Hollywood films where characters use a telephone. It was a link between Marclay's audio and video art, and its discontinuous structure was a template for The Clock. Telephones broke using a telephone into several discrete steps, each reenacted by multiple films, similar to sequences in The Clock where the act of sleeping or waking is demonstrated by one character after another. His 1998 film Up and Out combines video from Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup with audio from Brian De Palma's Blow Out. It was an early experiment in the effect of synchronization, where viewers naturally attempted to find intersections between the two works, and it developed the editing style that Marclay employs for The Clock. His 2002 installation Video Quartet is a 13-minute video with four continuous screens of clips from commercial films. Its combinations of coinciding sounds and images were a model for the synchronicity of The Clock.
The Clock has been viewed as an extension of similar compilations, particularly by Christoph Girardet. Girardet's 1999 Phoenix Tapes, a collaboration with Matthias Müller, is composed of footage from Alfred Hitchcock's films. It arranges them into clusters to illustrate Hitchcock's techniques and motifs. Girardet and Müller use low-quality footage from VHS tapes to draw attention to their appropriation. In contrast, Marclay seeks to replicate Hollywood production through high-quality footage with standardised sound production and aspect ratios. Girardet's 2003 work 60 Seconds (analog) is a 60-second film intended to be played on a loop. 60 brief shots show the hands of watches and clocks counting the seconds. Girardet wanted to show how interchangeable the cinema footage could be. Müller described it as The Clock "in a conceptual, minimalist nutshell." In 2005, Étienne Chambaud presented L'Horloge, a piece of software that displays the time using images of clocks in films. Chambaud's use of still images give L'Horloge a slower, more regular pace, whereas The Clock experiments with the rhythm of commercial films.
15 October to 13 November 2010 – White Cube, London, England
9 December 2010 to 13 February 2011 – Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
21 January to 19 February 2011 – Paula Cooper Gallery, New York City, New York, US
16 February to 17 April 2011 – Hayward Gallery, London, England
24 February to 25 April 2011 – Garage Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
20 May to 31 July 2011 – Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, US
4 June to 27 November 2011 – Corderie dell'Arsenale, Venice Biennale, Italy
6 August to 6 November 2011 – Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
23 August to 22 October 2011 – Israel Museum, Jerusalem
3 to 5 September 2011 – Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
16 September to 31 December 2011 – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, US
30 March to 6 August 2012 – Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada/National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
29 March to 3 June 2012 – Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
13 July to 1 August 2012 – Lincoln Center, New York, New York, US
24 August to 9 September 2012 – Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
21 September to 25 November 2012 – Power Plant Contemporary Art Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
21 December 2012 to 21 January 2013 – MoMA, New York, New York, US
27 January to 7 April 2013 – Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio, US
6 April to 2 June 2013 – San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California, US
23 July to 19 October 2013 – Israel Museum, Jerusalem
11 October 2013 to 5 January 2014 – Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
22 February to 20 April 2014 – Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
6 March to 18 May 2014 – Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Biscay, Spain
9 to 25 May 2014 – SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
14 June to 25 August 2014 – Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
13 February to 12 April 2015 – Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
5 March to 19 April 2015 – Cultural Centre of Belém, Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
5 July to 7 September 2015 – Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, US
17 September 2016 to 29 January 2017 – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, US
10 November 2016 to 4 December 2016 – Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
1 June to 3 September 2017 – Copenhagen Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark
20 September to 19 November 2017 – Instituto Moreira Salles, São Paulo, Brazil
20 February to 30 June 2018 – Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
14 September 2018 to 20 January 2019 – Tate Modern, London, England
23 January to 10 March 2019 – Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne, Australia
5 July to 22 September 2019 – The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada
25 June to 18 July 2021 – Le Plaza, Geneva, Switzerland
26 June 2021 to 20 March 2022 – LUMA Arles, Arles, France
Some text for this article was copied from article Christian Marclay. |
27743497 | 2010–11 European Challenge Cup | 2010-06-17 17:41:16+00:00 | The 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 15th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second-tier club rugby union competition, and the second to be sponsored by the British insurance company Amlin. The tournament began on 7 October 2010, with the final played on 20 May 2011 at Cardiff City Stadium, the day before the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in the same city at Millennium Stadium. A total of 23 teams from six countries participated. The competition began with 20 teams; three more teams that began their seasons in the Heineken Cup parachuted into the knockout stage. Cardiff Blues did not defend their title, as by winning the 2009–10 cup, they qualified for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, and did not parachute into the Challenge Cup.
Harlequins claimed the title with a 19–18 win over Stade Français, becoming the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times. The victory also sent Quins into the 2011–12 Heineken Cup.
The allocation of teams is as follows:
England: 6 teams — all teams from the Aviva Premiership that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup
France: 7 teams — all teams from the Top 14 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup. Normally 8 teams, but Toulouse's win in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup gave France an extra place in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup.
Italy: 4 teams — the top four teams from the 2009–10 Super 10 (now Top12) that did not move to the Celtic League for 2010–11
Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team that failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup through the Magners League
Spain: 1 team — the champion of the previous season's División de Honor
Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition
Teams that did not qualify for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup were ordered into four tiers according to the European Rugby Club Ranking. Five pools of four teams were drawn comprising one team from each tier.
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2009–10 season.
The draw for the pool stage took place on 9 June 2010.
=
=
=
=
=
=
Following the end of the pool stage, the 5 pool winners were seeded alongside the top 3 2010–11 Heineken Cup pool runners-up who failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
(HC) Means a team has entered the competition from the Heineken Cup
=
The quarter-finals were decided based on the above seeding. All game times are local.
=
The draw for the semi-finals of both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup took place after the Pool 6 Heinieken Cup match between London Wasps and Toulouse on 23 January 2011. The draw was conducted in the Sky Sports booth by Ieuan Evans and Jean-Pierre Lux, Chairman of ERC, at Adams Park, High Wycombe.
In last season's Challenge Cup, any semi-final that involved a club that started the season in the Challenge Cup and a club that started in the Heineken Cup would be hosted by the club that started in the Challenge Cup. This rule was abandoned for 2010–11; the home club in each semi-final is now determined strictly by the draw.
=
The final of the Amlin Challenge Cup took place at Cardiff City Stadium on 20 May 2011. Harlequins won the trophy for the third time with a 19–18 victory over Stade Francais. |
28212706 | 2010–11 European Challenge Cup pool stage | 2010-07-31 15:43:46+00:00 | The 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup pool stage was the opening stage of the 15th season of the European Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition for European rugby union clubs. It began on 7 October 2010 at Kingston Park in Newcastle with a match between Newcastle Falcons and Bourgoin, and was completed on 23 January 2011.
Twenty teams are participating in this competition; they are divided into five pools of four teams each, with each team playing the others home and away. Competition points are earned using the standard bonus point system. The pool winners advanced to the knockout stage, where they were joined by three entrants from the Heineken Cup pool stage. These teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament that ended with the final on 20 May 2011 in Cardiff at Cardiff City Stadium.
All times are local to the game location.
=
=
=
^1 : Bourgoin were awarded a five-point 28–0 win by the ERC after Newcastle refused to play and left before a pitch inspection on January 23.
=
= |
41948228 | Acanthosaura cardamomensis | 2014-02-15 04:45:30+00:00 | Acanthosaura cardamomensis is a species of Agamid lizard found in eastern Thailand, western Cambodia and Vietnam. Its name derives from the Cardamom Mountains in eastern Thailand. It was first identified in 2010. |
62781024 | Acontias kgalagadi | 2020-01-08 19:16:49+00:00 | Acontias kgalagadi, the Kalahari burrowing skink or Kgalagadi legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Angola. |
60218108 | Amphisbaena carli | 2019-03-13 13:55:41+00:00 | Amphisbaena carli is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to Brazil.
The specific name, carli, is in honor of American herpetologist Carl Gans.
A. carli has been found in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Piauí.
The preferred habitat of A. carli is savanna. The holotype was collected in an area that had been recently deforested and replanted with pines.
A. carli is uniformly pink, both dorsally and ventrally. It may attain a total length (including tail) of 264 mm (10.4 in).
A. carli is fossorial.
Pinna, Pedro H.; Mendonça, André F.; Bocchiglieri, Adriana; Fernandes, Daniel S. (2010). "A new two-pored Amphisbaena Linnaeus from the endangered Brazilian Cerrado biome (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)". Zootaxa 2569: 44–54. (Amphisbaena carli, new species). (in English, with an abstract in Portuguese). |
61251457 | Andinosaura afrania | 2019-07-10 13:53:44+00:00 | Andinosaura afrania is a species of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae. It is endemic to Colombia. |
61251943 | Andinosaura stellae | 2019-07-10 15:01:18+00:00 | Andinosaura stellae is a species of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae. It is endemic to Colombia. |
30207371 | Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express | 2010-12-27 11:21:36+00:00 | Jaipur-Hyderabad Express is a train started by Indian Railways in September 2010. It connects Ajmer/Jaipur in Rajasthan with Hyderabad the capital of Telangana. It replaced a train called Meenakshi Express that used to run from Jaipur to Kacheguda near Secunderabad on metre gauge but was cancelled when the track was being converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge.
The train is unofficially called by the name of its earlier avatar Meenakshi Express. At Hyderabad it is simply called Ajmer Express and at Ajmer it is simply called Hyderabad Express. An earlier train Nagarjuna Express that ran between Tenali and Secunderabad and was terminated in the middle of 2007 had the train numbers but ran on a completely different route.
The train runs twice a week. Train number 12720 departs every Monday and Wednesday at 20:25 hours. from Hyderabad (station code HYB) and at 20.55 hours from Secunderabad and reaches Jaipur (station code JP) after 33 hours at 05.25 hours. on Wednesday and Friday respectively. In the return direction, train number 12719 departs Jaipur every Wednesday and Friday at 15.20 hours. and reaches Hyderabad at 00.45 hours after 33 hours. The distance is 1,849 km (1,149 mi).
The train stops at Nizamabad, Mudkhed, Nanded, Purna, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Itarsi, Bhopal, Ujjain, Ratlam, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Ajmer & Phulera en route.
When the metre gauge track between Akola and Khandwa passing through Satpura mountains & Khandwa-Indore section are converted to broad gauge, the distance will shorten to 1,573 km (977 mi)and the time taken by the train will be reduced to 29 hours & the train will take the original route of Meenakshi Express.
The train has one AC 2 tier, two AC 3 tier, seven sleeper, six unreserved second and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches with no pantry car
but its run with LHB rake from 2 July 2017, now it has one AC 2 tier, nine AC 3 tier, seven sleeper class, two general unreserved coaches and two generator car cum luggage van.
The train uses to be led by Moula Ali Diesel Shed based Twin WDM3A Locomotive from Hyderabad in both directions. The train reverses direction at Purna and Ratlam with stoppage of 20 mins in both stations.
Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad Line was laid in Broad Gauge up till Marwar bypassing Ajmer via Madar. But Malwa-Rajputhana Railways did blunder & laid Udaipur-Chanderiya-Gurla as a Metre Gauge. Thus by 1873, the British had to convert BG line from Delhi to Marwar as a Metre Gauge with addition of Ajmer station. Jaipur – Madar – Ratlam – Indore was fully laid in Broad Gauge via Chittorgarh & Nimach up till Chandrawatiganj. Again Malwa-Rajputhana Railways did blunder & laid Ujjain – Chandrawatiganj – Indore in Metre Gauge & further completed the line till Khandwa. A parallel Broad Gauge line from Omkareswar to Khandwa was laid by British along with Akola-Purna Broad Gauge line in 1890–1895 AD. But Nizam Guaranteed Railways had laid the Ajanta Line from Hyderabad to Manmad in Metre Gauge by 1895 AD. Keeping the request of Nizam, the British converted Madar – Chittorgarh – Ratlam – Chandrawatiganj & Akola – Hingoli – Purna Broad Gauge line as a Metre Gauge in 1900 AD. Thus the 1,349 km (838 mi) long Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Ratlam/Ujjain – Chandrawatiganj – Indore – Mhow – Barwaha – Khandwa – Akola – Purna – Nanded – Kacheguda Meter Gauge Line came into existence. The parallel Broad Gauge line from Barwaha to Khandwa was scrapped in 1901 & the Nizam Guaranteed Railways started Meenakshi Express on the metre-gauge track to link the Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railways and Malwa-Rajputhana Railways. The Khandwa–Akola metre gauge was opened in 1963 but even then no direct service was between Ajmer and Hyderabad. In 1976 railway minister Shri Kamlapat Tripathi announce amalgamation of 69/70 Ajmer-Khandwa and 581/582 Khandwa-Kacheguda passenger. Then Ajmer-Kachiguda passenger was longest 1,326 km (824 mi) Metre Gauge Passenger train in the country. The train used to run every day to Ajmer via Nizamabad, Nanded, Purna, Akola, Khandwa, Indore MG, Ratlam, Neemuch, Mandsaur and Chittorgarh. In October 1977 railway minister Shri Madhu Dandvate started 69/70 bi-weekly Ajmer-kacheguda express later on Shri Madhavrao Scindia increase the frequency 2-5-7 and extended to Jaipur. Though the train does not go to Ujjain, it stops at Fatehabad junction which is about 22.80 km (14.17 mi) each from Ujjain. This train was unofficially called Meenaxi express as it was proposed to extend to Madurai where famous MEENAXI temple is there, but it was never done and the train was discontinued in phase manner due to gauge conversion.
It was named Minakshi possibly because
The Mahur Ekvira or Ekaveera Aayee, of Nanded district, which is the most adorable goddess of Marathi people and people living around Nizamabad and Adilabad districts, is also known Minakshi aayee.
Mahakali goddess of Ujjain, which is also adored as Minakshi.
Many Muslims of Hyderabad travel by the train for ziyarat to the dargah of Gharīb Nawāz Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Sharif in Ajmer. Pushkar is a Hindu sacred place near Ajmer.
Also there are many Hindus of Hyderabad who travels to Pushkar, a sacred place for Hindus.
Hyderabad-Ajmer Express (train numbers 17019 and 17020) is another train that runs between Hyderabad and Ajmer once a week. From Purna it goes to Manmad and then Itarsi. Therefore, the distance is longer at 2,025 km (1,258 mi) and the time taken is 37 hours 30 minutes . |
32929146 | Akal Takht Express | 2011-08-31 04:34:12+00:00 | The 12317 / 12318 Akal Takht Express is an Indian Railways Express train connecting eastern Indian city of Kolkata with northern Indian city of Amritsar.
Originally started from Asansol. In 2004 it was extended upto Sealdah, its terminus got changed to Kolkata in 2014. It is a Express-class train travelling 1,900 kilometres (1,200 mi) at an average speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). It has sleeper, third AC, second AC, first AC, and unreserved types of coaches along with 2 EOG for power.
This train has modern LHB coach, however, pantry car facility is not available with this train but on-board catering and e-catering is available.
The train has standard LHB rakes with max speed of 130 km/h. The train consists of 22 coaches:
1 AC I cum AC II Tier
1 AC II Tier
6 AC III Tier
10 Sleeper coaches
2 General
2 EOG
As the route is fully electrified, train is hauled by an Howrah / Sealdah-based WAP-7 electric locomotive from Kolkata to Amritsar, and vice versa.
The train sharing its rake with 12315/12316 Ananya Express. |
42812080 | Prayagraj–New Delhi Humsafar Express | 2014-05-20 12:24:08+00:00 | The 12275 / 12276 Prayagraj Junction railway station - New Delhi Humsafar Express (also known as Prayagraj Humsafar Express) is a Superfast Express train of the Humsafar Express category belonging to Indian Railways - North Central Railway zone that runs between Prayagraj Junction railway station and New Delhi in India. It holds the record for longest distance between consecutive passenger halts. It is the seventh-fastest-running train in India. Earlier it used to run as 12275/76 Allahabad - New Delhi Duronto Express of Duronto Express category from 9 February 2010 to 14 September 2019 before being converted to Humsafar Express.
It is operated as train number 12275 from Prayagraj Junction to New Delhi and as train number 12276 in the reverse direction serving the states of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Earlier the 12275 / 76 Allahabad - New Delhi had Duronto Express Coaches. This Train is now replaced with Prayagraj Junction railway station - New Delhi Humsafar Express with effect from 13 September 2019. The train comprises 14 3-tier AC, 4 Sleeper LHB coach along with two generator cars at each end. It has two screens in each coach displaying information about upcoming stations and passenger awareness. It is also equipped with CCTV cameras in each coach to ensure passenger safety. It is the 1st Humsafar Express which is having Sleeper Coaches since Humsafar Express is a full AC 3 Tier Train. These are state of the art coaches and are superior to the previous rake of Duronto Express which is now removed on railways exercise of upgradation and giving passengers a more convenient travel on peak routes.
Coach composition for 12275/12276 :
The 12275 / 12276 Prayagraj Junction railway station - New Delhi Humsafar Express has one Technical Halt at Tundla Junction Where Bookings are not allowed. (The halt is only for Crew Change) between Prayagraj junction railway station and New Delhi |
26987737 | Allegro (train) | 2010-04-17 13:46:17+00:00 | Allegro was the brand name of a now defunct high-speed train service, operated by Alstom VR Class Sm6 trains, between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
The service started on 12 December 2010. The aim was to reduce travel time between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg: before Allegro, the journey time was 5½ hours; it became 3 hours and 27 minutes over a journey of 407 km (253 mi) and there were plans to bring it down to 3 hours. The name Allegro is a musical term for a quick tempo, thereby suggesting "high speed". On board the inaugural service were Finnish president Tarja Halonen and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
The service was suspended between 18 March 2020 and 11 December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Service resumed with restrictions on 12 December 2021.
During the 2022 Russian financial crisis, in the aftermath of international sanctions placed on Russian companies following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Allegro train became a primary means for people to leave Russia. As European airspace had been closed to Russian planes, and Russian airspace was closed to European planes, the train was the only passenger connection between Russia and the European Union. EU authorities asked VR to keep this train running so that those wishing to leave Russia could do so (though as part of COVID-19 restrictions, only Finnish and Russian citizens were allowed to use the train, and it ran only twice a day at half-capacity, of 327 passengers; but operators worked to lift those restrictions in order to allow the evacuation of other nationals). The service was suspended on 27 March 2022 due to the aforementioned sanctions.
In December 2023, it was announced that VR Group had assumed the financial obligations of the joint stock company that used to run Allegro since it could no longer meet them itself. VR Group plans to reuse the rolling stock in domestic operations.
Allegro connected the following stations:
St. Petersburg (Finlyandsky station)
Vyborg
Vainikkala
Kouvola
Lahti
Tikkurila
Helsinki (Central Station)
The trains also stopped previously in Pasila like every other passenger train from and to Helsinki, but this stop was discontinued between 27 March 2016 and 11 December 2021, when the stop in Pasila was revived.
Vainikkala (on the Finnish side of the border) and Vyborg are special stations: on trains bound for Finland, passengers are not allowed to leave the train at Vyborg, as the train only stops to pick up passengers; and on trains bound for Russia, passengers are not allowed to leave the train at Vainikkala, for the same reason.
=
On board the train, each passenger was visited by Finnish Border Guard and customs officers, as well as their Russian counterparts. Finnish border control took place while the train was travelling between Kouvola and Vainikkala, while Russian border control took place while the train was travelling between Vyborg and St Petersburg. If boarding/exiting at Vainikkala or Vyborg, the checks took place inside these stations.
The Allegro service was operated using Class Sm6 trainsets built by Alstom. Sm6 stood for electric multiple unit (Finnish: sähkömoottorijuna, literally 'electric motor train') model 6. VR had announced that they had seized full control of the trains and would begin using them in domestic services during 2025
The Sm6 appeared externally similar to VR's earlier Sm3 Pendolino series, but was based on the fourth generation 'Pendolino Nuovo' or 'New Pendolino' designs and its construction differed from the Sm3 in many ways.
The top speed of the train in passenger traffic was 220 km/h (140 mph) which could be reached between Kerava and Lahti. The train could run at a speed of 200 km/h (120 mph) between Tikkurila and Luumäki and Vyborg and St. Petersburg after extensive rail works. The aim had been to reduce travel time between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg from 5½ hours to 3 hours. The travel time as of 2017 was 3 hours 27 minutes.
All four Sm6 trains were refurbished by VR FleetCare between 2018 and 2019. The Sm6 fleet was primarily maintained at Ilmala depot north of Helsinki, although some maintenance mainly related to Russian technical systems was also performed in Saint Petersburg.
The Sm6 was equipped to operate on both the Finnish and the Russian railway networks. The units had dual-voltage electrical equipment able to use both the Finnish 25 kV 50 Hz alternating current and the Russian 3 kV direct current electrification systems. The wheelsets were built to run at over 200 km/h (120 mph) speeds on both the Finnish 1,524 mm (5 ft) and the nominally slightly narrower Russian 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) gauges, and the doors were equipped with a retractable step to make boarding from both Finnish 550 mm (21.7 in) high and Russian 1,100 mm (43.3 in) high platforms easy. The units were equipped for both the Finnish and Russian railway technical systems, which differed substantially.
Food: there is a restaurant coach, which serves food during the whole journey, except during customs inspection.
Currency exchange: there is an agent walking constantly back and forth on the train offering currency exchange services.
Children's area: there is an area where small children can play. |
40557009 | Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Yuva Express | 2013-09-17 13:02:25+00:00 | The 12247 / 12248 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Yuva Express is a Yuva Express train belonging to Indian Railways that run between Bandra Terminus and Hazrat Nizamuddin in India.
It operates as train number 12247 from Bandra Terminus to Hazrat Nizamuddin and as train number 12248 in the reverse direction, serving the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Delhi.
The 12248/12247 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bandra Terminus Yuva Express has currently 11 AC 3 Tier and 6 AC Economy Chair Car coaches.
As with most train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand.
12247 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Yuva Express covers the distance of 1366 kilometres in 17 hours 05 mins (81.15 km/h).
12248 Hazrat Nizamuddin–Bandra Terminus Yuva Express covers the distance of 1366 kilometres in 17 hours 45 mins (77.32 km/h).
As the average speed of the train is more than 55 km/h, its fare includes a Superfast surcharge.
The important halts of the train are:
Bandra Terminus
Surat
Vadodara Junction
Ratlam Junction
Kota Junction
Mathura Junction
Hazrat Nizamuddin
The route is fully electrified. Prior to Western Railway switching to the AC traction, it would be hauled by a WCAM-2/2P engine until Vadodara Junction after which it would get either a WAP-7 locomotive from Ghaziabad shed or a WAP-4 from the Vadodara shed.
Since Western Railway switched over to AC traction in February 2012, it is hauled from end to end by a WAP-5 locomotive of Vadodara shed.
=0&id=0,4,268&dcd=1714&did=13872828774443E9957A4C0A99BC4A93487CEE8EFB03A.web103
August Kranti Rajdhani Express
Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin AC Superfast Express
Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express
Delhi Sarai Rohilla Bandra Terminus Garib Rath Express
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin AC Express
Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express
Mumbai–New Delhi Duronto Express
Mumbai Rajdhani Express
Mumbai CSMT–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express |
28850585 | 2010 PTT Thailand Open | 2010-09-17 00:31:07+00:00 | The 2010 PTT Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 8th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 27 through October 3, 2010.
=
Seeds are based on the rankings of September 20, 2010.
=
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:
Marc López
Danai Udomchoke
Fernando Verdasco
The following player received a Special Exempt into the singles main draw:
Mischa Zverev
The following players received entry from the qualifying draw:
Ruben Bemelmans
Ryler DeHeart
Konstantin Kravchuk
Frederik Nielsen
=
Guillermo García-López defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4.
It was García-López' first title of the year, and the second of his career.
=
Christopher Kas / Viktor Troicki defeated Jonathan Erlich / Jürgen Melzer, 6–4, 6–4. |
28947400 | 2010 PTT Thailand Open – Doubles | 2010-09-25 13:56:33+00:00 | Christopher Kas and Viktor Troicki won the title, defeating Jonathan Erlich and Jürgen Melzer in the final, 6–4, 6–4.
Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram were the defending champions, but decided not to participate.
= |
28946215 | 2010 PTT Thailand Open – Singles | 2010-09-25 10:10:38+00:00 | Gilles Simon was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.
Guillermo García-López, who eliminated World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, won in the final against Jarkko Nieminen, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 to become the first Spanish winner of this event.
=
=
=
= |
26779293 | Action of 30 March 2010 | 2010-03-31 21:38:11+00:00 | The action of 30 March 2010 was a naval battle involving a patrol boat of the Seychelles Coast Guard and two groups of Somali pirate vessels. The encounter resulted in the freeing of twenty-seven hostages held by the pirates.
Topaz, a Trinkat-class patrol vessel of the Seychelles Coast Guard, was sent out on an anti-piracy patrol during late March as part of a new initiative by the Government of Seychelles to combat the steady increase in Somali piracy.
On 30 April, Seychelles Coast Guard patrol vessel Topaz approached a captured vessel where nine Somali pirates were holding six Seychellois and 21 Iranian sailors hostage, and were attempting to reach the Somali coast. A Somali translator aboard Topaz sent audio calls urging the immediate release of the hostages, but the pirates ignored these demands, and continued towards the coast of Somalia even when warning shots were fired by Topaz. Seychellois President James Michel gave the order to prevent the pirates from reaching the Somali coastline at all cost.
The pirates opened fire on Topaz with rocket-propelled grenades, which Topaz evaded. Topaz then opened fire on the dhow's engine with 12.7 mm machine guns, firing a total of 10,000 rounds. The engine caught fire, forcing all of the pirates and hostages to jump overboard. Topaz then rescued all of the hostages and arrested the Somali pirates. While en route back to the Seychelles, Topaz was approached by Somali pirates in a naval trawler and two skiffs. The pirates opened fire on Topaz, after which Topaz returned fire. The pirate trawler caught fire and exploded after being hit, and a skiff was also sunk by the return fire, while the last skiff managed to escape. Topaz then proceeded to Mahé.
The operation was successfully completed with no casualties to either combatant, though one Iranian seaman, a hostage of the pirates, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm.
Topaz arrived in Port Victoria on 1 April 2010, and was met by the families of hostages. The nine pirates being held aboard Topaz were disembarked and taken into custody by the Seychelles Police. |
28535587 | Seychelles at the 2010 Commonwealth Games | 2010-08-25 09:41:52+00:00 | Seychelles competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. |
28578378 | Seychelles at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics | 2010-08-27 11:03:22+00:00 | Seychelles competed at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore from August 14 to August 26, 2010. The nation was represented by the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, which sent a total of four athletes to compete in four sports. The flagbearer at the opening ceremony for the nation was badminton player Kervin Ghislain. Seychelles' Olympic team was one of the 106 that did not win a single medal at the Games.
Sole competitor for the nation in athletics Marie-Michell Athanase, competing in the girls' 200 metres, set a season best with a time of 27.10 seconds but failed to make it into the medal final. She progressed to the B Final (non-medal final), where she set a personal best in the event with a time of 26.44 seconds.
=
Track and Road Events
Kervin Ghislain, the sole competitor in badminton for Seychelles, played three matches in the group play of the boys' singles, and was defeated in all three. As such he did not advance to the quarterfinals and beyond.
Boxer Stan Nicette competed in the men's bantam 54kg. In the preliminaries, he fought against Robeisy Eloy Ramirez of Cuba and lost with a score of 17–3, thus did not progress to the semifinals.
Boys
Shannon Austin was the only Seychellois athlete at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics to compete in more than one event; namely, the girls' 200 metres freestyle and the girls' 400 metres freestyle. Despite clinching a second place in heat 2 of the girls' 200 metres freestyle, her timing was not enough to secure her a place in the final. She did not progress to the final either in the girls' 400 metres freestyle. |
26833395 | 5 April 2010 North-West Frontier Province attacks | 2010-04-05 08:51:53+00:00 | On April 5, 2010, two bombings in Pakistan killed up to 50 people and injured 100 more. In the first attack the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was attacked by militants. The coordinated attack involved a vehicle suicide bomb and attackers who tried to enter the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar by using grenades and weapons fire. Three explosions went off within a span of 15 minutes in the area of Saddar and Hayatabad Avenue, near the American consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency. Several militants came in two vehicles. The first vehicle exploded near a security checkpoint, and gunmen in the second car opened fire.
A Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman claimed responsibility for the assault on the consulate. In Timergara, Lower Dir district an Awami National Party rally came under attack. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said "Americans are our enemies. We carried out the attack on their consulate in Peshawar. We plan more such attacks."
A suicide attack at a political rally in Timergarah preceded the Peshawar Bombings. The suicide attacker detonated a bomb near the stage built for the organized celebrations. At least 46 people have died.
The American consulate attack killed 8 people including 2 security service personnel. However, no Americans were hurt in the attack. The perpetrators were armed with guns and grenades and two car bombs. The security barrier was damaged, while shells from rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades were seen in the vicinity. Police said one of the car bombs exploded at a checkpoint 50 metres from the consulate, while the other 100 kg bomb went off close to the consulate gate. At least three blasts were reported before a firefight between security forces and the attackers followed. According to Pakistan police official Ghulam Hussain, "The target was certainly the American consulate but they didn't succeed in getting there...one of the suicide bombers blew himself up close to the gate. Police guarding the US consulate started retaliatory fire. More blasts took place. We have recovered unexploded material from four different points". The US Consulate General said two Pakistani security guards employed by the Consulate General were among those killed in the attack.
Hours earlier 44 people died in a suicide attack at a rally in the north-western town of Timergara, Lower Dir District, during a meeting of the Awami National Party (ANP), the ruling coalition in North West Frontier Province. Zahid Khan, an Awami National Party spokesperson, said his party were celebrating plans to change the name of the North West Frontier Province when a suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives. An official of the ruling ANP party, Hashim Khan Babar, told the media the attacks appeared to be in response to a major security operation which was launched in the Orakzai tribal region near Peshawar last week.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attacks in a telephone release by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq, with the statement "We accept the attacks on the American consulate. This is revenge for drone attacks. We have already told you that we have 2,800 to 3,000 fedayeen (suicide bombers). We will carry out more such attacks. We will target any place where there are Americans" The attack was revenge for Drone attacks in Pakistan.
A BBC analyst said the Pakistani Taliban were apparently aiming for a feat to match the one last December in Khost, Afghanistan, in which several American CIA officials were killed.
An analyst in the capital said that after the government war on the Taliban the militants spread into more settled areas. He added that "The American consulate is one of the most well-guarded places in Peshawar. It [the attack] was well planned and they very confidently hit their target." Al Jazeera's correspondent also noted that "Although they have been driven out of their strongholds in key areas, there is a feeling that a substantial number of those people have now infiltrated into the settled areas. There is trouble in the southern parts of the Punjab - so you do see some sort of regrouping attempt and a fear that there maybe an escalation of this sort of violence."
The United States embassy in Pakistan released a statement condemning the attack and saying that it reflected the "terrorists' desperation". Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesmen, added: "We strongly condemn the violence and the actions. And I would point out that ... extremists in Pakistan have succeeded in killing Pakistanis, which I think hardens the view that has led to gains that have been made over the course of the year against extremism by native Pakistanis." |
28393278 | 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings | 2010-08-17 06:33:18+00:00 | The 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings were two attacks in Baghdad, Iraq. The first attack in the morning was when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the Iraqi Army division headquarters on potential recruits to the army, some of whom had queued for hours prior to the bombings, that killed over 60 and wounded more than 100. The second attack took place in the evening when a fuel truck exploded in a Shia neighbourhood, killing 8 and wounding 44.Islamic State of Iraq claimed the first of the two attacks.
The bombing came amid uncertainty over the future government in Iraq following the 2010 Iraqi parliamentary election. One day before the attack former Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi pulled out of coalition talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki following claims that al-Maliki was pushing for a sectarian division of government.
Security forces have been targets of attack in the months prior to this bombing. The United States began to reduce its troop strength in Iraq, from just under 60,000 at the time of this bombing, to about 50,000 by 31 August, which was scheduled to be the formal end of combat operations.
The bombing was the first major attack of the year's Ramadan, the most venerated month in the Islamic calendar.
=
Unemployed people had queued for hours outside an Army recruiting centre when a suicide bomber approached and detonated his explosives. The recruiting location is near the Bab al-Muadhan (Great Gate) by the Tigris River and the former Iraqi Ministry of Defense building in downtown Baghdad.
An interior ministry official said the majority of the victims were army recruits but there were also some soldiers who were protecting the recruitment centre among the casualties. The casualties among these soldiers were at least three dead and eight wounded, with the overall total killed at over 60.
=
On the same day another attack occurred at 21:30 in the majority Shia neighbourhood of Hay Ur. A bomb attached to a fuel truck loaded with kerosene exploded, killing eight people and wounding 44 more.
Iraqi spokesman Gen. Al-Moussawi immediately blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq for the bombings.
Islamic State of Iraq, which includes al-Qaida in Iraq, within three days claimed the first of the two attacks, saying it targeted "a group of Shias and apostates who sold their faith for money and to be a tool in the war on Iraqi Sunnis",
and boasting that its operative easily passed through checkpoints before detonating his explosives belt in a crowd of officers and recruits outside army headquarters.
A White House spokesman said "There obviously are still people who want to derail the advances that the Iraqi people have made toward democracy. But they are firmly on track. And we're confident that we're moving toward the end of our combat mission. The fact that there is a lot of competition for who is going to be running that country is a good thing." |
26911446 | 6 April 2010 Baghdad bombings | 2010-04-11 02:33:04+00:00 | The 4 April 2010 Baghdad bombings where a series of bomb explosions in Baghdad, Iraq.The attack killed 41 people and at least 200 were injured. |
28881617 | 19 September 2010 Baghdad bombings | 2010-09-19 18:27:58+00:00 | The 19 September 2010 Baghdad bombings were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 31 people, in two neighbourhoods of the capital. Over a hundred more were wounded. On 24 September the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iraqis blamed the political deadlock in their country for the attacks as Iraqi authorities are struggling to form a unity government since March 2010 elections which rendered no single bloc to form a majority win and hence, depending upon each other, for forming a coalition government.
Further the attacks in recent days also coincided with the USA's decision to downsize its troops in Iraq and handing over the security to Iraqi forces.
On 19 September 2010 two car bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital almost simultaneously at around 10:10 am. The first (and most powerful) car bomb exploded in the residential Mansour district killing 10 people. The attack was in front of the local sales office of Asiacell (an Iraqi mobile phone company), although it is not clear if this was the specific target.
Minutes later, a second attack occurred, in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of Al Kadhimiyah. Apparently aimed at an office of the Iraqi Federal Police and the National Security Ministry in Adan Square, it killed approximately 21 people and injured 71. A witness described the attack; "It was a minibus – the driver stopped and told people nearby that he was going to go see a doctor, a few minutes later, it exploded."
On 24 September, Islamic state of Iraq organization claimed responsibility for the attack. |
41176389 | Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance | 2013-11-24 11:01:03+00:00 | To improve building energy efficiency, the Hong Kong Government formulated a Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (建築物能源效益條例) which was passed by the Legislative Council in November 2010. Under the Ordinance, certain prescribed types of buildings have to comply with Building Energy Code (BEC) and/or Energy Audit Code (EAC). The Ordinance came into full operation on 21 September 2012.
Under the Ordinance, building services installations including electrical, air-conditioning, lighting and lift and escalator installations in newly constructed buildings are required to meet the minimum energy efficiency standards and requirements as specified in the Code of Practice for Energy Efficiency of Building Services Installation. Existing buildings will also be required to comply with the requirement when undergoing major retrofitting works. The standards stipulated in the Code, which was published in February 2012 are more stringent than those in the last version promulgated in 2007, which have been implemented on a voluntary basis. Most of the new standards are comparable to those adopted in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, while some standards are not specified in overseas jurisdictions.
In addition, the central building services installations of commercial buildings and commercial portions of composite buildings are required to carry out energy audits in accordance with the Code of Practice for Building Energy Audit every 10 years, and the results have to be displayed in a conspicuous position at the main entrance of the buildings concerned for public inspection.
Implementation of the Ordinance is operated by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department |
38084306 | City Council Cemetery Land Scandal | 2013-01-01 11:52:58+00:00 | The City Council Cemetery Land Scandal is a scandal that in March 2010, resulted in the Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi coming under investigation by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission over a Sh283 million cemetery land fraud at the Nairobi City Council. Commission officials said that they wanted to establish whether the minister was party to the fraud in which the City Council of Nairobi bought land valued at Sh24 million for nearly Sh300 million. Mudavadi however protested his innocence and said that the commission was being unfair by accusing him without giving him a chance to be heard. Investigations are currently ongoing into the matter.
In 2016, a high court in Kenya established that Musalia Mudavadi did not receive any funds from the scandal neither was he involved in any way in the conspiracy that led to the scandal thus he was not culpable in any way. |
28759849 | Constitution of Curaçao | 2010-09-09 13:08:20+00:00 | Curaçao is one of the three autonomous countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (with Aruba and Saint-Martin). It has a constitution (Dutch: staatsregelingen) which governs its constitutional organization and which has been approved by a country law (Dutch: landverordening) adopted by a two-thirds majority of the local parliament, in application of Chapter IV of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) dating from 1954 and reformed in 2010.
The Constitution of Curaçao (Dutch: Staatsregeling van Curaçao; Papiamento: Konstitushon di Kòrsou) was adopted by a 15 to 6 vote majority in the island council of Curaçao on 5 September 2010. In the initial vote on the constitution in July, the two-thirds majority required was not reached, after which new elections were held on 27 August. The newly elected island council could then adopt the constitution with an ordinary majority.
The constitution entered into force on 10 October 2010, on the date of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. |
28759964 | Constitution of Sint Maarten | 2010-09-09 13:23:04+00:00 | The Constitution of Sint Maarten (Dutch: Staatsregeling van Sint Maarten) was unanimously adopted by the island council of Sint Maarten on 21 July 2010.
The constitution entered into force on 10 October 2010, on the date of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. |
28274795 | List of Archibald Prize 2010 finalists | 2010-08-06 05:00:13+00:00 | This is a list of finalists for the 2010 Archibald Prize for portraiture (listed is Artist – Title).
Giles Alexander – The alternative ambassadors (Professors Ross Garnaut & Martin Green)
Martin Ball – Jacqueline Fahey
Kate Beynon – Self portrait with guardian spirits
Shane Bowden and Dean Reilly – I wake up with Today!
Adam Chang – Two eyes – closing to open (Simeon Kronenberg)
Kordelya Chi – Mr Walker
Kevin Connor – Self portrait
Adam Cullen – Gareth at the country fair
Marc de Jong – Janice Petersen
McLean Edwards – Tim Storrier
Carla Fletcher – C. W. Stoneking
Robert Hannaford – Malcolm Fraser
Cherry Hood – Michael Zavros
Peter Clifton Kendall – Underdog
Jasper Knight – Bill Wright AM
Sam Leach – Tim Minchin (Winner of the Archibald Prize)
Robert Malherbe – The squire – portrait of Luke Sciberras
Alexander McKenzie – Andrew Upton
Nigel Milsom – Adam Cullen (bird as prophet)
James Money – The Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Nafisa – Glenn in black & white (Winner of the Packing Room Prize)
Paul Newton – Self portrait #2 – dark night of the soul
Khue Nguyen – Unleashed
Christine O’Hagan – Kate Ceberano
Rodney Pople – Stelarc triptych
Victor Rubin – John Olsen – A diptych – part I seated: part II in his bath
Craig Ruddy – The prince of darkness – Warwick Thornton (Winner of the People's Choice Award)
Paul Ryan – Danie Mellor, true blue country
Peter Smeeth – Peter FitzSimons, author
Ian Smith – Keith Looby alfresco
Greg Somers – Self portrait with the picture of dory in grey
Nick Stathopoulos – The bequest
Yi Wang – Bishop Elliott and Lady Jacqueline
Apple Yin – The previous life |
36816529 | 2010 Australia Day Honours | 2012-08-24 14:55:17+00:00 | The 2010 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2010 by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce.
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, the first announced to coincide with Australia Day (26 January), with the other being the Queen's Birthday Honours, which are announced on the second Monday in June.
† indicates an award given posthumously.
=
General Division
Military Division
=
General Division
Military Division
=
General Division
Military Division
=
General Division
Military Division
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
= |
51044789 | 10th Helpmann Awards | 2016-07-11 02:48:59+00:00 | The 10th Annual Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia were held on 6 September 2010 at the Sydney Opera House.
In the following tables, winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface. The nominees are those which are listed below the winner and not in boldface.
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
= |
26609712 | Logie Awards of 2010 | 2010-03-19 00:43:58+00:00 | The 52nd TV Week Logie Awards ceremony was held on Sunday 2 May 2010 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, and broadcast on the Nine Network. The ceremony was hosted by Bert Newton, making it the 19th time he hosted the event as a solo host. The red carpet arrivals were hosted by Karl Stefanovic, Lisa Wilkinson, Jules Lund and Ruby Rose, while Richard Wilkins and Natalie Gruzlewski presented the Myer Logie Minute during the ceremony. The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki was one of the international guests. Musical performers at the event were John Mayer, Gabriella Cilmi with the cast from the stage musical Fame, k.d. lang and the Rogue Traders. John Foreman returned as musical director for the event. Susan Boyle was scheduled to perform but pulled out a few weeks before the ceremony, cancelling all her appearances in Australia. PJ Lane sang a tribute to his late father Don Lane. Early that year, Each network is restricted in the number of personalities and programs they can submit for consideration in the publicly voted category, including up to 10 names in both the Most Popular Actor and Actress categories, 15 names for Most Popular Presenter and 5 programs for Most Popular Drama. These restrictions often lead to controversy over those who are not listed in the voting form, and are not eligible to be nominated for an award.
The traditional Logies nominations breakfast was held on 29 March 2010 at the Ivy Pool Bar in Sydney. The breakfast was hosted by Charlie Pickering and Gigi Edgley. Both Sunrise, The Morning Show and Today crossed to the event live. The Seven Network had 34 nominations, the most of any network out of the 113 in total. ABC3 got its first nomination since its launch months earlier than the ceremony, and is the first of any of the digital channels (ABC2, 7Two, GO!, SBS Two and ONE HD) to receive a nomination.
In the tables below, winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
=
=
=
= |
36630382 | 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia) | 2012-08-04 09:39:01+00:00 | The Queen's Birthday Honours 2010 for Australia were announced on 13 June 2010.
† indicates an award given posthumously.
=
General Division
=
General Division
Military Division
=
General Division
Military Division
=
General Division
Military Division |
27810399 | 2010 United States deepwater drilling moratorium | 2010-06-23 03:48:07+00:00 | On May 30, 2010 a 6-month moratorium on all deepwater offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf was declared by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The limitation was in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico.
As a response to the disaster, on 30 April President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to hold the issuing of new offshore drilling leases until a review determined whether more safety systems were needed and authorized teams to investigate 29 oil rigs in the Gulf in an effort to determine the cause of the disaster.
On May 27 the United States Department of the Interior issued a press release stating that Salazar would issue a 6-month offshore drilling (below 500 feet (150 m) of water) moratorium in the area. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar ordered immediate inspections of all deep-water operations in the Gulf of Mexico. An Outer Continental Shelf safety review board within the Department of the Interior is to provide recommendations for conducting drilling activities in the Gulf. In a May 30 announcement of the limitation Salazar said:
The six month moratorium on deepwater drilling will provide time to implement new safety requirements and to allow the Presidential Commission to complete its work... Deepwater production from the Gulf of Mexico will continue subject to close oversight and safety requirements, but deepwater drilling operations must safely come to a halt. With the BP oil spill still growing in the Gulf, and investigations and reviews still underway, a six month pause in drilling is needed, appropriate, and prudent.
It was challenged by several drilling and oil services companies. The moratorium was to impact 33 deepwater drilling sites, less than 1% of the 3,600 oil and natural gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Local officials in Louisiana expressed concern that the moratorium imposed in response to the spill would further harm the economies of coastal communities as the oil industry employs about 58,000 Louisiana residents and has created another 260,000 oil-related jobs, accounting for about 17% of all Louisiana jobs.
Soon after, Hornbeck Offshore Services, a company with financial interests in deepwater drilling, filed suit in the Eastern District of Louisiana District Court seeking an injunction to ban enforcement. Judge Martin Feldman issued a decision for Hornbeck on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, granting a preliminary injunction, barring enforcement of the order.
The White House appealed the injunction. On July 8 the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, ruled against a stay of injunction, saying the administration failed to show how it would be irreparably harmed if the stay was not granted. The court also said that the administration also "made no showing that there is any likelihood that drilling activities will be resumed pending appeal."
Salazar has indicated that the Department of the Interior will "issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities."
The Obama administration assembled a panel to advise his administration on how to address offshore drilling in the wake of the spill. The group have stated that Salazar's May 27 report to Obama portrayed their approval of the moratorium, they claim that the panel reviewed a previous draft of the document with bans only on new drilling in water deeper than 1,000 feet.
On 30 June, Salazar said that "he is working very hard to finalize a new offshore drilling moratorium". Michael Bromwich, the head of the newly created Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said that a record of "bad performance, deadly performance" by an oil company should be considered "a relevant factor" for the government when it decides if that company should be awarded future drilling leases. Representative George Miller plans to introduce to the energy reform bill under consideration in the United States House of Representatives that a company's safety record should factor into leasing decisions. By this amendment he wants to ban BP from leasing any additional offshore area for seven years because of "extensive record of serious worker safety and environmental violations".
The ban was lifted in October 2010, but by February 2011 no one had received a permit to drill because those applying had to prove the ability to contain a spill. A group that included Exxon had developed a system with this capability.
In July 2011 The Heritage Foundation's Robert Bluey reported at Scribe that deepwater drilling permits were down 71% from their historical monthly average of 5.9 permits per month, while shallow-water permits were off 34% from their historical 7.1 monthly average permits. |
27912361 | A Whale | 2010-07-01 20:59:23+00:00 | Cosmo Ace, formerly A Whale and Madison Orca, is a Liberian-flagged ore-oil carrier built in 2010 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan, South Korea for TMT Co. Ltd. (formerly Taiwan Maritime Transport Co. Ltd.) from the Republic of China (Taiwan). She has seven other sister ships in the fleet, built in 2010-2011 and named in succession: B Whale, C Whale etc., to H Whale.
She was refitted and converted in Portugal into a skimmer to assist in the cleanup of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, near the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana. The ship's owners stated that A Whale is capable of separating 300,000 to 500,000 US gallons (1,000 to 2,000 m3) of oil per day, while storing the crude and returning the processed sea water to the sea.
A Whale arrived in the Gulf of Mexico on 30 June 2010, while financial agreements were yet pending. However, in two weeks of testing A Whale collected virtually no oil. TMT stated that the ship's poor performance was due to the dispersion of oil in the Gulf.
On July 16, the Coast Guard announced it would not be authorized to join the containment process because tests had shown that its oil skimming capabilities were "negligible" in comparison to the other more nimble and much smaller skimmers in the containment.
In early 2013, the A Whale became stranded due to a technical problem off Suez. The ship's crew remained stranded for six months without pay, exacerbated by owner TMT's bankruptcy filing in June, before eventually receiving supplies and some of their backpay in July. That August the ship was allegedly fired on by Libyan Marine Special Forces, according to a video posted on their Facebook page, as it attempted to enter the Es Sider terminal.
In 2014 the ship was renamed to Madison Orca and transferred to Monarch Vessel Holdings Corporation. As of December 2020, operated by Suntech Maritime, it is in active service as the Cosmo Ace. |
25676588 | 2010 Chicago Bears season | 2010-01-04 15:12:08+00:00 | The 2010 season was the Chicago Bears' 91st season in the National Football League, and the seventh under head coach Lovie Smith.
Coming off a 7–9 record in the 2009 season and failing to qualify for the NFL playoffs for a third consecutive season, the Bears sought to develop their roster and improve on their record in 2010, particularly their standing in the NFC North. All Bears home games were scheduled to be played at Soldier Field. With their final regular season record at 11–5, the Bears improved drastically on their 2009 record. Their regular season finished with their first playoff appearance since the Super Bowl season of 2006, winning the NFC North division and earning a bye as the NFC's second seed. The Bears won their first game in the Divisional round of the playoffs, defeating the Seattle Seahawks, to advance to the NFC Championship game. However, their season came to an end with a 21–14 loss to their longtime rivals and eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.
This was the last time the Bears won the NFC North and appeared in the postseason until 2018. This is also the most recent season the Bears won a playoff game.
=
On January 5, 2010, Chicago fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner as well as position coaches Pep Hamilton (quarterbacks), Rob Boras (tight ends), and Harry Hiestand (offensive line). Quality control assistants Luke Butkus and Charles London did not have their respective contracts renewed. While it's unclear whether or not former defensive coordinator Bob Babich will be brought back as a linebackers coach or released, his contract will not be extended under its current terms.
Former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was selected to succeed Hiestand as the Bears' offensive line coach on January 15.
After nearly a month-long search for Turner's replacement, on February 1, 2010, former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz was hired to the Chicago coaching staff as offensive coordinator.
Following the Martz hire, Mike DeBord, former college head coach and Seattle Seahawks position coach, as a tight ends coach.
With the addition of Martz and DeBord in the offseason, the amount of experience on the staff grew. These two offseason acquisitions joined defensive line coach (and former Detroit Lions head coach), Rod Marinelli.
In a series of moves finalizing their 2010 coaching roster, the Bears hired former San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Shane Day (an assistant to Mike Martz during his tenure in San Francisco) and quality control coaches Andrew Hayes-Stoker and Mikal Smith, assigned to the offense and defense, respectively. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was promoted to defensive coordinator and his assistant, Eric Washington, was promoted to the vacated position.
On April 27, 2010, the Bears allowed the contract of director of college scouting, Greg Gabriel, a member of the Bears scouting staff since 2001, to expire. There has been no announcement regarding who will succeed him.
In a long anticipated move, on April 30, the Bears welcomed former Seattle Seahawks officer Tim Ruskell to assume the post of director of pro personnel at Halas Hall.
=
Draft pick trades
In 2009, Chicago traded their second round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Gaines Adams.
In 2009, the Bears traded their 2010 first round pick (along with 2009 NFL Draft selections and quarterback Kyle Orton) to the Denver Broncos for quarterback Jay Cutler.
2010 Chicago Bears draft choices
=
The Bears announced in April that the first Training Camp session will be held on July 30, 2010, at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. This is preceded by the official Rookie Mini-Camp which traditionally is held the weekend following the NFL Draft at Halas Hall, this year beginning on April 30.
Rookie Mini-Camp
A total of 54 players were listed on the roster sheet for the Chicago Bears' April 30 – May 3 Rookie Mini-Camp at Halas Hall. In addition to the five drafted rookies and the 13 rookie signees, the Bears invited 31 undrafted free agents to participate on a try-out basis.
=
=
The Bears preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.
=
=
The Bears kicked off their season at home with an NFC North duel against the Detroit Lions. In the first quarter, the Bears took the early lead with kicker Robbie Gould nailing a 20-yard field goal. The Lions responded with 2 TD runs (7 and 4 yards) by running back Jahvid Best in the second quarter. The Bears fought back with quarterback Jay Cutler completing an 89-yard screen pass to running back Matt Forté for a TD, followed by Gould's 31-yard field goal after a Stafford fumble. The Bears increased their lead in the fourth quarter when Cutler threw a 28-yard TD pass to Matt Forté. The Bears tried to extend their lead to 7, but failed on their 2-point conversion. The game ended in somewhat controversial fashion, however, as an apparent touchdown reception in the final minute by Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson was overturned via a little known rule (completing the process of a catch) and ruled incomplete.
With the win, Chicago began the season at 1–0.
=
Hoping to continue their winning streak, the Bears flew to Cowboys Stadium for an NFC matchup with the Cowboys. In the first quarter Chicago took the early lead as kicker Robbie Gould nailed a 38-yard field goal. Then they trailed with WR Dez Bryant returning a punt 62 yards to the endzone for a touchdown. While the Cowboys were able to pressure quarterback Jay Cutler in the early stages of the game, the Bears' offense made adjustments and regained momentum. The Bears got the lead back when Cutler made a 39-yard TD pass to tight end Greg Olsen. In the second quarter the Bears trailed again when QB Tony Romo made a 1-yard touchdown pass to RB Chris Gronkowski, but took the lead with Cutler making a nine-yard TD pass to WR Devin Hester. The Bears increased their lead when kicker Robbie Gould made a 40-yard field goal. In the third quarter Dallas would reply with kicker David Buehler nailing a 28-yard field goal. The Bears increased their lead in the fourth quarter when Cutler made a three-yard TD pass to RB Matt Forte. The Cowboys made the final score of the game with Buehler hitting a 48-yard field goal.
With the win, Chicago improved to 2–0.
=
Coming off their road win over the Cowboys, the Bears went home, donned their throwback uniforms, and played a Week 3 Monday night duel with their so-called hated rival, the Green Bay Packers. Chicago would trail in the first quarter as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings. Green Bay would add onto their lead in the second quarter with a 38-yard field goal from kicker Mason Crosby. Afterwards, the Bears answered with quarterback Jay Cutler connecting with tight end Greg Olsen on a nine-yard touchdown pass. After a scoreless third quarter, Chicago took the lead as wide receiver Devin Hester returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown. However, the Packers struck back as Rodgers got a three-yard touchdown run. The Bears would get the last laugh as kicker Robbie Gould booted 25-yard and 19-yard field goals, the latter in the closing seconds of the game to put the Bears on top.
With the win, Chicago improved to 3–0.
=
Coming off their Monday night home win over the Packers, the Bears flew to New Meadowlands Stadium for a Week 4 Sunday night duel with the New York Giants. Chicago would trail early in the first quarter as Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes got a 22-yard field goal. Both teams went scoreless in the second quarter, but pressure on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was mounting. By the half's end, Cutler had already been sacked nine times. Cutler would leave the game early in the third quarter with a concussion and would be replaced by backup Todd Collins. The Bears' deficit increased in the third quarter as running back Ahmad Bradshaw got a three-yard touchdown run. Chicago would finally get on the board in the fourth quarter as kicker Robbie Gould got a 40-yard field goal, but New York would come right back as running back Brandon Jacobs scored on a two-yard touchdown run.
With the loss, Chicago fell to 3–1.
=
Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Giants the Bears flew to Bank of America Stadium for a matchup against the Carolina Panthers. The Bears took the lead in the first quarter as RB Matt Forte got an 18-yard TD run. The Panthers replied with kicker John Kasay making a 24-yard field goal. The lead increased with Forte making a 68-yard TD run, followed by a 28-yard field goal from kicker Robbie Gould. In the third quarter the Panthers replied with Kasay making a 53-yard field goal, but in the fourth quarter the Bears pulled away when Gould made 53- and 43-yard field goals.
With the win, Chicago improved to 4–1.
=
Hoping to increase their winning streak the Bears returned to Chicago for an NFC duel with the Seattle Seahawks. The Bears took the early lead as RB Matt Forte got a six-yard TD run. But the Seahawks answered back with QB Matt Hasselbeck getting a 22-yard TD pass to WR Deon Butler, followed in the second quarter by RB Justin Forsett getting a 9-yard TD run. Then the Bears responded with kicker Robbie Gould making a 34 and a 24-yard field goal. In the third quarter the Bears fell further behind when QB Jay Cutler was sacked in the endzone by free safety Jordan Babineaux for a safety. This was followed in the fourth quarter by RB Marshawn Lynch getting a 1-yard TD run. The Bears tried to come back into the game but only came away with a touchdown after WR Devin Hester returned a punt 89 yards to the endzone for a touchdown.
With the loss, Chicago fell to 4–2.
=
The Bears' seventh game was an NFC duel with the Redskins at home. In the first quarter, the Bears took a sudden lead as CB D.J. Moore returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown. However, their defense was broken down as QB Donovan McNabb completed a 24-yard TD pass to WR Santana Moss. In the second quarter, they trailed after kicker Graham Gano nailed a 46-yard field goal. The Bears' offense broke through as QB Jay Cutler got a 9-yard TD pass to WR Johnny Knox, but was closed off in the third quarter as Cutler's pass was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall and returned 92 yards for a touchdown. Hall intercepted four passes during the game, which is an NFL record.
With the loss, Chicago fell to 4–3 heading into their bye week.
=
Coming off their bye week, the Bears flew to the Rogers Centre for their Week 9 interconference duel with the winless Buffalo Bills. After a scoreless first quarter, Chicago delivered the opening strike in the second quarter as quarterback Jay Cutler found tight end Greg Olsen on a 4-yard touchdown pass. The Bills responded with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completing a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roscoe Parrish.
The Bears regained the lead in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Chester Taylor. Buffalo answered with running back Fred Jackson getting a 4-yard touchdown run (with a blocked extra point). Chicago trailed in the fourth quarter as fullback Corey McIntyre got a 1-yard touchdown run, yet they came right back as Cutler found wide receiver Earl Bennett on a 2-yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful two-point conversion pass to running back Matt Forté. The Bears would eventually take the win as a Fitzpatrick throw was intercepted by cornerback Tim Jennings.
With the win, Chicago improved to 5–3.
=
Coming off their win over the Bills the Bears played on home ground for an NFC North rivalry match against the Vikings. In the first quarter the Bears trailed early after kicker Ryan Longwell hit a 36-yard field goal. They took the lead in the second quarter when QB Jay Cutler threw a 17-yard TD pass to TE Greg Olsen. They fell behind after QB Brett Favre completed a 53-yard TD pass to WR Percy Harvin. They got the lead back when Cutler got a 19-yard TD pass to WR Devin Hester. The Bears extended their lead in the third quarter after kicker Robbie Gould nailed a 34-yard field goal. The Vikings replied with Longwell making a 33-yard field goal, but the Bears continued to score with Gould hitting a 37-yard field goal, and in the 4th quarter with Cutler making a 19-yard TD pass to TE Kellen Davis.
With the win, the Bears improved to 6–3.
=
Coming off their home win over the Vikings, the Bears flew to Sun Life Stadium for a Week 11 interconference duel with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. Chicago delivered the game's opening strike in the first quarter with a 46-yard field goal from kicker Robbie Gould. The Bears added onto their lead in the second quarter with Gould's 24-yard field goal.
Chicago went back to work in the third quarter as Gould booted a 50-yard field goal, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run from running back Matt Forté. As they had done all game, the Bears defense continued to stifle any offensive production by the Dolphins, thus completing the shutout, the first shutout recorded by the Bears since 2006. As of 2016, this remains the final shutout by the team.
With the win, not only did the Bears improve to 7–3, but they also won their 700th game in franchise history (the first NFL team to do so).
Ironically, 25 years prior, the Bears lost to the Dolphins, with the score of the 2010 matchup being the record the 1985 team was vying for had they been able to defeat the Dolphins.
=
Coming off their win over the Dolphins, the Bears played on home ground for an NFC duel with the Eagles. The Bears trailed early with kicker David Akers nailing a 45-yard field goal. They took the lead after QB Jay Cutler completed a 10 and a 20-yard TD pass to wide receivers Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox respectively. The lead was narrowed with QB Michael Vick getting an 8-yard TD pass to WR Jeremy Maclin, followed by Akers hitting a 36-yard field goal. The Bears increased their lead as Cutler got a 6 and a 9-yard TD pass to Bennett and Greg Olsen. This was followed by kicker Robbie Gould making a 23-yard field goal. The Eagles tried to narrow the lead as Akers got a 22 and a 36-yard field goal, followed by Vick throwing a 30-yard TD pass to TE Brent Celek, but they failed to recover the onside kick which could have given them one last shot to win.
With the win, Chicago improved to 8–3.
=
The Bears' twelfth game was an NFC North rivalry match against the Lions at Ford Field. In the first quarter the Bears trailed early as QB Drew Stanton scrambled 3 yards to the endzone for a touchdown. They replied with RB Chester Taylor getting a 1-yard TD run. The tie did not last long as kicker Dave Rayner hit a 50-yard field goal. They took the lead with RB Matt Forte getting a 14-yard TD run. They fell behind again after Stanton completed a 46-yard TD pass to WR Calvin Johnson, followed by Rayner nailing a 25-yard field goal. The Bears responded to take the win with kicker Robbie Gould making a 54-yard field goal, followed by QB Jay Cutler making a 7-yard TD pass to TE Brandon Manumaleuna.
With the win, Chicago improved to 9–3.
=
Hoping to make it 6-straight the Bears played an interconference duel with the Patriots at home. The Bears trailed early as the Patriots commanded the first half with QB Tom Brady throwing a 7-yard TD pass to TE Rob Gronkowski, followed by RB Danny Woodhead getting a 3-yard TD run, then with ILB Gary Guyton recovering a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. This was followed by kicker Shayne Graham getting a 30 and a 25-yard field goal, and then by Brady completing a 59-yard TD pass to WR Deion Branch. The Bears fell further behind with Graham getting a 29-yard field goal. The Bears tried to come back, but only came away with a 1-yard TD run by Chester Taylor, with the fourth quarter controlled by the defense, giving them a loss.
With the loss, Chicago fell to 9–4.
=
With the Monday night game having been moved to the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium due to the snow-induced collapse of the Metrodome roof, Chicago looked to rebound from the previous week's rout in the first outdoor NFL game held in Minnesota in over two decades. Quarterback Brett Favre made a surprise start for the Vikings after having been ruled out earlier in the week due to injury.
Minnesota started strong with an impressive opening drive that culminated in a touchdown pass from Favre to Percy Harvin, but the Bears soon took control in all three phases as the Vikings would be outscored 40–7 over the rest of the game. Jay Cutler connected with Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, and Rashied Davis for three touchdown passes, and Robbie Gould was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts. Chicago wide receiver/kick returner Devin Hester ran his way into the record books in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown on a punt return off the foot of the Vikings' Chris Kluwe and becoming the all-time NFL leader in combined punt and kick returns for touchdowns. Minnesota quarterback Joe Webb (who entered the game in the second quarter after Favre was injured while being sacked by Bears rookie Corey Wootton) scrambled for a touchdown in the third quarter.
With the win, Chicago improved to 10–4 and clinched the NFC North division title.
=
Coming off their win over the Vikings the Bears played on home ground for an interconference duel with the Jets. In the first quarter the Bears took the lead as kicker Robbie Gould got a 37-yard field goal, followed by Matt Forte getting a 22-yard TD run. They trailed with RB Shonn Greene getting a 3-yard TD run, followed by CB Dwight Lowery returning an interception 20 yards for a touchdown, followed by RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting a 3-yard TD run letting the Jets lead 21–10. The Bears tried to cut the lead as QB Jay Cutler scrambled 2 yards for a touchdown, but the lead was soon extended as kicker Nick Folk made a 26-yard field goal. They got the lead back with Cutler completing a 40 and a 25-yard TD pass to wide receivers Devin Hester and Johnny Knox respectively, but soon the game was tied with QB Mark Sanchez throwing a 23-yard TD pass to WR Santonio Holmes. The Bears escaped the tie with Cutler finding Knox again on a 26-yard TD pass. After a 34-yard field goal from Folk, and the Bears punting, the Jets attempted to score with less than a minute left in the game, but a Chris Harris interception would seal the game for the Bears.
With the win, Chicago improved to 11–4, and clinched a first-round bye when the Eagles lost to the Vikings.
=
The Bears' final game was an NFC North rivalry rematch against the Packers. While the Bears scored first with kicker Robbie Gould nailing a 30-yard field goal, the Packers tied the game with kicker Mason Crosby hitting a 23-yard field goal, and then eventually found the winning score with QB Aaron Rodgers throwing a 1-yard TD pass to TE Donald Lee.
With the loss, the Bears finished with an 11–5 regular season record.
=
Entering the postseason as the NFC's #2 seed, the Bears began their playoff run at home against the #4 Seattle Seahawks, hoping to avenge their Week 6 loss. Chicago delivered the game early strike in the first quarter as quarterback Jay Cutler found tight end Greg Olsen on a 58-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Chester Taylor. The Bears added onto their lead in the second quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run from Cutler.
Chicago continued their dominating day in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown run from Cutler. Seattle would finally get on the board as kicker Olindo Mare got a 30-yard field goal. The Seahawks tried to rally as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Williams, yet the Bears pulled away with Cutler hooking up with tight end Kellen Davis on a 39-yard touchdown pass. Seattle closed out the game with Hasselbeck completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Williams, followed by a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokley.
With the win, Chicago improved their overall record to 12–5.
=
Coming off their win over the Seahawks, the Bears stayed at home for the NFC Championship Game against their historic rival, the #6 Green Bay Packers (who were coming off their victory over the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons), in Round 3 of their 2010 series. This would be the second playoff meeting between the two teams, the first since defeating Green Bay 33–14 in 1941.
Chicago trailed early in the first quarter as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers got a 1-yard touchdown run. Green Bay added onto their lead in the second quarter as running back James Starks got a 4-yard touchdown run. Bears center Olin Kreutz had a Lisfranc injury on the first play of the second half, but he played through the entire second half, even though he couldn't block anyone, because no one else on the active roster could effectively play center. Starting Bears quarterback Jay Cutler left the game early in the third quarter with a knee injury. After a scoreless third quarter, Chicago finally got on the board in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Chester Taylor. However, the Packers came right back with nose tackle B. J. Raji returning an interception 18 yards for a touchdown. The Bears tried to rally with quarterback Caleb Hanie finding wide receiver Earl Bennett on a 35-yard touchdown pass, but Green Bay's Sam Shields intercepted a pass with 37 seconds left in the game.
With the loss, Chicago's season came to an end with an overall record of 12–6. |
29142854 | 2010 Chicago Marathon | 2010-10-10 17:14:25+00:00 | The 2010 Chicago Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States, held on Sunday, October 10. Over 38,000 runners took part, the most in the race's history.
Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru won the men's event with a time of 2:06:24, beating Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede by 19 seconds. Ethiopian Atsede Baysa won the women's event with a time of 2:23:40, beating Desiree Davlia by two minutes and forty seconds. On race day, Liliya Shobukhova crossed the finish line first in 2:20:25 more than 3 minutes ahead of Baysa but Shobukhova would eventually lose the title due to an anti-doping suspension. Wanjiru's win likely clinched him the men's championship, but Kebede could still take it if he wins or places second in the New York Marathon; this is considered unlikely since it is only four weeks from the Chicago Marathon. Heinz Frei of Switzerland won the men's wheelchair event in 1:26:56 and American Amanda McGrory won the women's in 1:47:25.
Richard Whitehead of Great Britain broke his old world record for athletes with lower-limb amputations, with a time of 2:42:52.
Over six months before the race, organizers moved up the race's start-time by half an hour to 7:30 am to help prevent heat-related injuries like those that occurred in the 2007 when more than 300 runners were hospitalized. A red-flag warning was issued during the race, and sixty-five people were hospitalized, which is in line with other marathons. Despite the conditions, over 36,000 runners finished the 42.195-kilometer (26.219 mi) race, the most in Chicago Marathon history.
=
Elite Men
Elite Women
=
Men
Women |
41752896 | Insidious (film series) | 2014-01-26 23:14:27+00:00 | Insidious is an American horror franchise created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan that is produced by Blumhouse in association with Sony’s Stage 6 Films. The films in the franchise include Insidious (2010), Chapter 2 (2013), Chapter 3 (2015), The Last Key (2018), and The Red Door (2023). The films have grossed over $731 million worldwide on a combined budget of $42.5 million.
The first two films were directed by Wan, the third by Whannell (who also served as the screenwriter for all five films), Adam Robitel directed the fourth installment, and Patrick Wilson directed the fifth installment (the films marked the respective directorial debuts for Whannell and Wilson). Jeremy Slater is set to direct the first spin-off and sixth installment. FilmDistrict released the first and second films, while Focus Features, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing handled the third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
The first two films center on a couple who, after their son mysteriously enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral plane, are continuously haunted by demons from a forbidden realm known as the Further until they take from the family what they want most: life. The couple hire a team of paranormal investigators to help get their son back.
The third film, a prequel, focuses on the same psychic who helped the family; this time she comes to the aid of a young girl who calls out to the dead. The fourth film follows her when her own family becomes haunted. The fifth film follows a grown-up Dalton and his relationship with his father, with the two having to uncover their repressed past. While Josh is haunted by his father's spirit, Dalton gets terrorized by the titular demon of his past.
=
Insidious was directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starred Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral plane. The film had its world premiere on September 14, 2010, at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was released in theaters on April 1, 2011, and is FilmDistrict's first theatrical release. The film's success led to it being used as inspiration for a maze in Universal's Halloween Horror Nights in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
=
Insidious: Chapter 2 was also directed by Wan and written by Whannell. The film stars Wilson and Byrne reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released on September 13, 2013. It was a box-office success, grossing over $161 million worldwide, but received mixed reviews.
=
Insidious: Chapter 3 is the third film in the series, written and directed by Whannell. The film is a prequel to the haunting of the Lambert family in the first two films, and stars Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney, Lin Shaye, and Whannell. The plot follows a girl—Quinn—who is haunted by a demon after trying to call out to her mother Lillith, who died. It was released on June 5, 2015.
=
Insidious: The Last Key is the fourth film in the series while chronologically taking place between the third and first installments. Lin Shaye reprises her role as Elise Rainier alongside Spencer Locke, Caitlin Gerard, Bruce Davison. The plot centers on the Rainier haunting, after a young Elise opened a forbidden red door and unwillingly allowed an extremely dangerous spirit known as the Key Demon to enter the human world. Directed by Adam Robitel and written by Whannell, the film was released on January 5, 2018.
=
Insidious: The Red Door is the fifth film in the series and serves as a direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2. The film is Patrick Wilson's directorial debut, while Scott Teems serves as screenwriter, based on an original story by Whannell and Teems. The plot centers around a now-grown Dalton Lambert and his relationship with his father, with the two having to uncover their repressed past. Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Andrew Astor, Rose Byrne, Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Lin Shaye all reprise their roles from the first two films with Sinclair Daniel joining the cast. It was released on July 7, 2023.
=
In January 2018, during a press interview for The Last Key, Jason Blum stated that a crossover film between Insidious and Sinister had previously been in development. He also said that he personally believed it had potential for re-entering development in the future, stating that "we're going to cross our worlds at some point... We're going to try".
=
Thread: An Insidious Tale: In January 2022, a new film in the franchise titled Thread, was revealed to be in development. While the plot was not revealed, Jeremy Slater was hired to serve as writer and director in his directorial debut, with James Wan serving as producer. By May 2023, the film was revealed to be a spin-off of the mainline series and will be titled Thread: An Insidious Tale. Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani will co-star.
=
In May 2024, a sixth untitled Insidious film was announced to be in development, from Sony Pictures. The film was given a scheduled release date of August 29, 2025.
=
= |
27645834 | Insidious (film) | 2010-06-08 14:36:38+00:00 | Insidious is a 2010 supernatural horror film directed and co-edited by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. It is the first installment in the Insidious franchise and the third in terms of the series' in-story chronology. The story centers on a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.
Insidious had its world premiere on September 14, 2010, at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and received a wide theatrical release on April 1, 2011, by FilmDistrict. The film is followed by two sequels, Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), Insidious: The Red Door (2023); and two prequels, Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) and Insidious: The Last Key (2018).
Married couple Josh and Renai Lambert have recently moved in to a new home with their sons, Dalton and Foster, and their infant daughter Kali. One evening, Dalton sneaks into the attic, where he encounters a mysterious entity after falling from a rigidity ladder and hitting his head. The next day, he inexplicably slips into a coma.
Three months later, with no signs of improvement, Renai and Josh take Dalton back home. The family starts to experience frightening paranormal events, including strange noises and their home security alarm going off on its own repeatedly. Foster also claims he has seen the comatose Dalton walking around the house and Renai finds a bloody handprint on Dalton's bed. Later, Renai begins seeing a fiendish, long-haired apparition that tries to attack her. The Lamberts decide to move, with Renai believing the house to be haunted.
However, the supernatural activity continues in their new home when Renai sees the ghost of a young child dressed in period attire. Josh's mother Lorraine arrives and explains she had a nightmare about a demon with a red face in Dalton's bedroom. She later sees the same demon behind Josh, and Dalton's bedroom is ransacked by unseen forces. Lorraine calls psychic Elise Rainier and her paranormal investigators Specs and Tucker. In Dalton's bedroom, Elise sees a vision of the red-faced demon.
Elise explains that Dalton is not in a coma; he was born with the ability to astral project his consciousness and had been unknowingly doing so in his sleep, believing he was simply dreaming. This time he has travelled too far and has been captured in a purgatory realm called "The Further," a place inhabited by the tortured spirits of the deceased. Without his consciousness present, his body is comatose, but spirits desire to use it so they can re-enter the physical world. Josh accuses Elise of being a scam artist and throws her out, but later finds drawings in Dalton's room that seem to confirm Elise's theory.
Josh brings Elise and her team back. After an attempted séance goes horribly wrong, Elise explains that she has known Lorraine for decades, and had previously helped Josh when he was a child. Josh also possesses the ability to astral project, but had suppressed his memory of it years ago with Elise's help, after she helped him beat the parasitic spirit of an evil old woman that wanted to possess him. The only way to rescue Dalton is for Josh to go into The Further and save him.
Elise puts Josh in a hypnotic trance and he is able to project himself into The Further. He finds his way to Dalton, encountering multiple perilous and horrifying ghosts along the way. He frees his son, but they are chased and attacked by the red-faced demon while the spirits of The Further invade the real world and terrorize Renai, Elise, and the others. Josh is confronted by the old woman that tormented him as a child. He tries once and for all to overcome his fear, and she appears to retreat from him. Josh and Dalton wake up in the real world and the invading spirits vanish.
The family celebrates their victory, believing that the nightmare is over. Elise senses that something is amiss about Josh. When she snaps a photo of him, Josh goes berserk and strangles her. Renai discovers Elise's corpse and sees the photograph she took. The photo reveals that Josh is now possessed by the ghost of the old woman from his childhood, the latter having slipped into his body when he confronted her in The Further. Josh appears behind Renai and she lets out a frightened gasp as the movie cuts to black.
The film came as a result of the success of Wan's Saw series. Wan directed the first Saw film in 2004, and while he stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he was "very proud" of the film, he also felt that the film, specifically, the violence and gore of it, put some people off and made them hesitant to work with him. Wan thus made Insidious in part to prove that he could make a film without the level of violence found in the Saw series.
=
Principal photography for Insidious was completed over the course of three weeks in 2010, from late April to mid-May at the historic Herald Examiner Building in downtown Los Angeles. In regards to the shorter shooting schedule, actor Patrick Wilson explained, "We had long days and a lot of pages a day, and we didn't get a lot of coverage or rehearsal. But luckily, the benefit of doing a movie that's not on a big budget—and the reason it's usually done like that—is so if the filmmakers feel like, 'OK, we're not going to sacrifice anything on screen,' which I don't think they have, it lets them have complete control. So we were in good hands."
=
The musical score to Insidious was composed by Joseph Bishara, who also appears in the film as the demon. Performed with a quartet and a piano, a bulk of the score was improvised and structured in the editing process, although some recording sessions began prior to filming. On describing the approach of the film's soundtrack, director James Wan explained, "We wanted a lot of the scare sequences to play really silent. But, what I like to do with the soundtrack is set you on edge with a really loud, sort of like, atonal scratchy violin score, mixing with some really weird piano bangs and take that away and all of a sudden, you're like, 'What just happened there?'"
=
Insidious had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010. Less than 12 hours after its screening, the U.S distribution rights to the film and the worldwide distribution rights to any sequels were picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. On December 29, 2010, it was announced that the film would be released theatrically on April 1, 2011 by the then-relatively new film company FilmDistrict. The film was also screened at South by Southwest in mid-March 2011.
=
Insidious was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 12, 2011 through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray bonus content includes three featurettes: Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar, On Set With Insidious, and Insidious Entities. On the day prior to the film's home media release, Sony Pictures and Fangoria hosted a free screening of the film at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles followed by an interactive Q&A with director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell.
=
The film opened with $13.3 million, making it No. 3 at the US box office behind Hop and Source Code. On a budget of $1.5 million, it has since grossed a total of US$54 million in the US and $46.1 million internationally, for a total of $100.1 million worldwide.
=
Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 176 reviews; the average score is 6.00/10. The critical consensus is: "Aside from a shaky final act, Insidious is a very scary and very fun haunted house thrill ride." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "It depends on characters, atmosphere, sneaky happenings and mounting dread. This one is not terrifically good, but moviegoers will get what they're expecting."
A number of negative reviews reported that the second half of the film did not match the development of the first. Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote that "the strongest analogue for the second half of Insidious is one that the filmmakers probably weren't trying for: it feels like a less poetic version of an M. Night Shyamalan fairy tale." Similarly, James Berardinelli commented, "[i]f there's a complaint to be made about Insidious, it's that the film's second half is unable to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the first half." Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe wrote that "[t]he film begins with promise" but "[t]he crazy train of Insidious runs fully off the rails when the filmmakers go logical and some of the strange gets explained away as a double shot of demonic possession and astral projection."
Positive reviews have focused on the filmmakers' ability to build suspense. John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal explains "[w]hat makes a movie scary isn't what jumps out of the closet. It's what might jump out of the closet. The blood, the gore and the noise of so many fright films miss the horrifying point: Movie watchers are far more convinced, instinctively, that what we don't know will most assuredly hurt us... Insidious establishes that these folks can make a film that operates on an entirely different level, sans gore, or obvious gimmicks. And make flesh crawl." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell admire all sorts of fright, from the blatant to the insidiously subtle. This one lies at an effective halfway point between those extremes." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone commented: "Here's a better-than-average spook house movie, mostly because Insidious decides it can daunt an audience without spraying it with blood." Christy Lemire of the Associated Press stated: "Insidious is the kind of movie you could watch with your eyes closed and still feel engrossed by it."
=
=
A sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2, was released on Friday, September 13, 2013.
The fifth film, Insidious: The Red Door, which serves as a direct sequel to Chapter 2, was released on July 7, 2023.
=
A third installment, Insidious: Chapter 3, with Leigh Whannell serving as director and writer, was released on June 5, 2015, to a high box office gross and a mixed critical response.
A fourth installment, with Adam Robitel as director and Whannell as writer of the film, Insidious: The Last Key was released on January 5, 2018, and received mixed reviews. |
38350958 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013-01-28 05:46:38+00:00 | Insidious: Chapter 2 is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. The film is a sequel to the 2010 film Insidious, and the second installment in the Insidious franchise, and the fourth in terms of the series's in-story chronology. The film stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released September 13, 2013.
Two prequels, Chapter 3 and The Last Key were released on June 5, 2015, and January 5, 2018, respectively, with a direct sequel to Chapter 2, The Red Door, released on July 7, 2023.
In 1986, Lorraine Lambert summons demonologist Elise Rainier to help her son Josh, who is being haunted by the spirit of an old woman in a black bridal gown. While searching for paranormal phenomena in their home, Elise's arm is slashed by an unseen but physical
force. She insists that they must suppress Josh's astral projection abilities for his own safety and plant altered memories in his brain.
24 years later, Josh's wife, Renai Lambert, is being questioned by a detective about the death of Elise. She's warned that if Josh's fingerprints are found at the crime scene, he'll be charged with Elise's murder. Josh, Renai, and their children – Dalton, Foster, and Kali – temporarily relocate to Lorraine's house, where they begin to encounter eerie paranormal events again. Dalton tells his mother that he has been having nightmares about a woman in a white dress, as well as hearing Josh talk to an unseen figure. Renai receives a call from the police stating that the fingerprints did not match Josh's. A ghostly woman in a white dress then attacks Renai and Josh hears a voice urging him to kill his family.
Specs and Tucker, Elise's former associates, show Lorraine a videotape of the 1986 investigation, enhanced to reveal an adult Josh standing behind the young Josh. They contact Elise's former colleague, Carl, who attempts to contact Elise's spirit. They are instructed to find answers at an abandoned hospital, where Lorraine used to work as a doctor. Lorraine recounts the story twenty-five years ago when a patient named Parker Crane, who was admitted for trying to castrate himself, had assaulted a then-young Josh. She saw Parker some days later and when she asked a nurse why he was out of bed, the nurse was perplexed, then stunned. She then told Lorraine that he had jumped to his death the day before. The group goes to the Crane family home where Lorraine is attacked by the spirit of Parker's mother, Michelle, who calls herself "Mother Mortis." She is the spirit Carl had summoned and mistakenly believed to be Elise. The group finds a secret room, containing numerous corpses, a black wedding gown, and newspaper clippings. Carl touches the gown and discovers Parker had been a serial killer known as "The Bride in Black,” who abucted and murdered 15 women while dressed as a woman. Parker had been forced to kill his victims at the behest of his mother's spirit.
Josh's body begins to slowly deteriorate, the longer Parker’s dead soul occupies it, and Renai realizes Josh is possessed. Lorraine insists that they all get away from Josh. Carl, Specs, and Tucker arrive to drug him but he gains the upper hand and incapacitates them, instead. Carl awakens in the spirit realm of The Further, where he meets the spirits of the real Josh and Elise. The time moves non-chronologically there, and Josh is able to communicate with himself as a child to locate Parker's house in The Further.
Meanwhile in the physical world, the possessed Josh ambushes Lorraine and Renai. After locking Lorraine in a closet, Josh pursues Renai, and attempts to strangle her. He is then hit over the head by Dalton, who has just returned home with Foster. Renai escapes to the basement with the children and Dalton voluntarily enters The Further to help his father. There, Josh and the others find Parker's house where they witness Michelle abusing him and forcing him to act like a girl. Elise saves Josh and appears to destroy Michelle's spirit, which stops the possessed Josh from murdering his family in the real world. Carl and Josh escape and Dalton leads them back to the living world, allowing Josh to finally regain control of his body. The Lambert family is finally reunited, with Josh and Dalton once again having their memories suppressed by Carl.
Some time later, Specs and Tucker arrive at the house of a family whose daughter, Allison, is in an inexplicable coma. No one but Allison's younger sister can see Elise's spirit, who is first seen standing behind Specs and Tucker, due to the potential ability of astral projection. Elise’s spirit then passes between them and enters Allison's room. There, a terrified-looking Elise is confronted by an unseen figure, behind Allison, as a creaking sound is heard.
=
After the financial success of Insidious In April 2011, discussions for a sequel soon followed. With producer Jason Blum insisting on the return of director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, a treatment script did not arrive until nearly a year later. "As long as there was a chance that James and Leigh were gonna write the second movie and direct the second movie, I didn't want to do it with someone else," said Blum. "They kept saying they might do it, they might not do it, which was why there's quite a bit of time between the two movies." On February 2, 2012, it was announced that director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell were in talks to return for the sequel.
While promoting The Conjuring (2013) at New York Comic Con in October 2012, Wan described how he and Whannell were working closely on developing the story and the script for the follow-up to Insidious, explaining to ShockTilYouDrop.com, "I think the sequel to Insidious is kind of my reaction to Saw where for my own reason I wasn't as involved in the sequels, and so I felt with Insidious, think it would be good to shepherd it and keep it more in track to the version I had when I made the first film so that it doesn't detour too far."
The film was titled Insidious: Chapter 2 because it is a direct continuation of the first installment. However, the tone of the film was to be more grounded than in the first film, with Wan citing his work on The Conjuring as an influence to how he and Whannell approached Insidious: Chapter 2. "I pulled things from Insidious that I applied to The Conjuring, and what I learned from The Conjuring I applied to Insidious 2," said Wan. "So for me, I feel like it's a cumulative filmmaking experience that I've gathered over the years."
=
On November 19, 2012, it was officially announced that Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins would reprise their roles from the first film. The following month, it was announced that Barbara Hershey would also be returning. In February 2013, Jocelin Donahue and Lindsay Seim rounded out the cast as younger versions of Hershey and Shaye's characters, respectively. It was also confirmed that the film's screenwriter Leigh Whannell and actor Angus Sampson would reprise their roles as Specs and Tucker, respectively. When asked about the return of the two characters, Whannell explained, "There was this hatred that spewed out from fans saying 'I hated those guys! They sucked! They ruined the movie!' so there will probably be a lot of people out there who will be disappointed to hear that the Specs and Tucker characters will be coming back."
=
Principal photography for Insidious: Chapter 2 began on January 15, 2013, in Los Angeles. Having a slightly higher production budget than its predecessor, the film was captured over the course of 25 shooting days. A bulk of the film was shot at a house in Highland Park, Los Angeles, which served as the location of Lorraine Lambert's house. Another location used for filming was the former Linda Vista Community Hospital, which was redressed as a hospital setting and used for the construction of interior sets (including recreations of sets from the first film). "I've never shot in Linda Vista," said Wan about the location. "It's kind of funny because Leigh and I have always heard so much about it. For research on the first one [Leigh] came here to do a bit of ghost-hunting. And I think a lot of that inspired us when we needed a hospital set."
=
The musical score to Insidious: Chapter 2 is composed by Joseph Bishara, who previously collaborated with director James Wan on the first installment as well as The Conjuring. "Finding the right range and tone for the feeling is an important part," described Bishara on generating tension through sound. "James is very particular with sting placement along with Kirk, our editor on both Insidious films and Conjuring. Silence can create a listening space, where rather than give you something else to listen to it enables you to hear things."
A soundtrack album for the film was released digitally on September 15 and in physical forms on October 8, 2013, by Void Recordings. Additional songs featured in the film include:
"Waiting For You" by Alan Ett
"Piano Sonata in B-flat Minor, Op. 35, 3rd movement" by Frédéric Chopin
=
In April 2013, the first promotional poster for the film went on display at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The first theatrical trailer for the film was screened to a live audience on location at the Linda Vista Community Hospital on June 4, 2013, with an online release the following day. On August 10, 2013, it was announced at the convention Scare L.A by producer Jason Blum and Universal's creative director John Murdy, that a maze attraction entitled "Insidious: Into the Further" will be featured at the 2013 Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.
=
While originally intended to be released on August 30, 2013, Insidious: Chapter 2 was rescheduled for a September 20 release date. The film's release date was later moved again to September 13, 2013.
On the night prior to its theatrical wide release, the film was shown in select theatres as part of a double feature with the first installment. A red carpet premiere for the film was held in Los Angeles on September 10, 2013.
=
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $32–35 million in its opening weekend. It earned $1.5 million from its Thursday night showings, and $20 million Friday, making it the biggest opening day in September box office history. It went on to debut number one, taking in $41 million at the box office. The film grossed a worldwide total of $161.9 million against a budget of $5 million.
=
Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 38% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Insidious: Chapter 2 is decidedly short on the tension and surprises that made its predecessor so chilling." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film a positive review, stating that "the scares are mostly very scary indeed, and that means the film does its job." Scott Foundas of Variety praised the "artfully eerie" cinematography work of John R. Leonetti and the "pervasively unsettling atmosphere" constructed by sound designer and editor Joe Dzuban. Foundas further wrote that "where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious: Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldn't at all mind returning to again." Conversely, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times commented, "After the pleasurable free fall into old-fashioned nightmare artistry that was last summer's The Conjuring, this busy-yet-dull sequel feels like Wan robotically flexing his manipulation of fright-film signposts, an exercise more silly than sinister." Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Setting aside the movie's tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predictable scares, the narrative's compulsively shifting chronology intermittently manages to engage, although it does little to obscure the distracting shortcomings of both plot and character development."
=
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 10, 2013.
=
On September 16, 2013, a third film in the series was announced, with Leigh Whannell signed on to return as writer while Jason Blum and Oren Peli were also set to produce. When asked about returning for another sequel, actor Patrick Wilson went on to say that he "[doesn't] know where else it could go," and that "[Josh Lambert has] been through the wringer, and I think the movie sets it up well at the end... And that's great, that's how it should end." On March 11, 2014, it was reported that the third film wouldn't focus on the Lambert family, but would focus on a new family and story, that it wouldn't connect to the last teaser scene in the second film, and that Whannell and Sampson wouldn't return as ghost hunters Specs and Tucker. On May 7, 2014, Wan tweeted that Whannell would be directing the third film, which would mark his directorial debut. Stefanie Scott and Dermot Mulroney starred in the film. Focus Features and Stage 6 Films released Insidious: Chapter 3 on June 5, 2015.
A fourth film, Insidious: The Last Key, was announced in May 2016. Whannell returned to write, with Blum, Peli, and Wan producing, as well as Shaye reprising her role as Elise Rainier and Adam Robitel directing. The film was released on January 5, 2018.
=
In October 2020, it was announced that a direct sequel to Chapter 2 was in development. Patrick Wilson was announced as director, in addition to reprising his starring role, while Scott Teems serves as screenwriter, based on an original story by Whannell. The premise centers around a now-grown Dalton Lambert as he goes off to college, with Ty Simpkins reprising the role. Blum, Wan, Whannell, and Pelli again serve as producers. Insidious: The Red Door was produced by Blumhouse Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures, and was released on July 7, 2023. |
42695673 | Insidious: Chapter 3 | 2014-05-08 03:42:15+00:00 | Insidious: Chapter 3 is a 2015 supernatural horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell in his directorial debut. The film is a prequel to the first two films and the third installment in the Insidious franchise. The film stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott, with Angus Sampson, Whannell, and Lin Shaye reprising their roles from the previous films.
By September 2013, a third installment in the Insidious series was announced, with Whannell signed on to return as writer and Jason Blum and Oren Peli set to produce. Screen Rant reported that the third film would not focus on the Lamberts, but on a new family and story, and would not connect to the last scene in the second film. Principal photography began on July 9, 2014, in Los Angeles under the title "Into The Further," on a scheduled 29-day shoot. Filming wrapped on August 18, 2014.
The film was released on June 5, 2015, received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $113 million against a budget of $11 million. A sequel, Insidious: The Last Key, was released in January 2018.
In 2007, three years before the Lambert haunting, teenager Quinn Brenner meets with retired demonologist, Elise Rainier. Elise reluctantly agrees to try to contact the spirit of Quinn's mother, Lily, who died one year prior. However, Elise urges Quinn not to try to contact her mother again after sensing a malevolent force.
Grace, an elderly woman who lives at Quinn's apartment building and suffers from dementia, says several strange and cryptic things to Quinn, seeming to allude to an unseen spirit. Quinn later attends an audition for a performance arts school. After leaving the audition, she sees a mysterious figure waving to her from the distance on the street. Distracted, she is hit by a car, breaking both of her legs.
Now stuck in her home with her father, Sean, and brother, Alex, Quinn begins to experience increasingly disturbing paranormal phenomena, including seeing visions of a dark spirit wearing an oxygen mask known as the Man Who Can't Breathe. Quinn realizes that he is the same figure that caused her accident. Sean runs into Grace's husband, Harry, and learns that Grace has passed away.
Sean meets with Elise, who like him is also grieving after the death of her husband, Jack, and tries to convince her to help his daughter. Elise declines, stating that her previous visits to the dark spiritual world of the Further made her realize that an evil spirit―a Bride in Black―is hunting her. However, she is convinced by her friend and former colleague, Carl, to continue using her spiritual ability after he reminds her about her successful case involving Josh Lambert in 1986 and that she is stronger than the spirits, because she is still alive.
Due to Elise's initial refusal, Alex suggests Sean call on alleged demonologists, Specs and Tucker, who have built a following on the internet. During their investigation, Quinn becomes briefly possessed by the Man Who Can't Breathe and attacks Sean, Specs, and Tucker. Sean realizes Specs and Tucker are frauds and prepares to kick the duo out until Elise arrives. Deducing that the dark spirit's goal is to lure potential victims to the Further, so it can eat their life force, Elise decides to enter the spiritual world and enlists Specs and Tucker to help.
Elise enters the Further and has a brief fight with the Bride in Black before she discovers Jack's spirit. Jack begins to encourage Elise to commit suicide, so that they might be reunited. Elise realizes that Jack is actually the Man Who Can't Breathe in disguise and orders it to release Quinn. Quinn appears. Elise and the Man Who Can't Breathe engage in a struggle over Quinn before Elise escapes the Further and realizes that Quinn has to defeat him on her own. Though Quinn is at first at a disadvantage, Elise receives a message from Grace's spirit: Lily had left Quinn a letter to read before she graduated high school, but Quinn never found it. Elise calls out to Lily's spirit to help. Lily suddenly appears in the Further and helps Quinn defeat the Man Who Can't Breathe by inspiring her to stand up for herself and pull off his mask, seemingly suffocating and destroying him. Quinn escapes the Further. Elise gives parting words to the family, including words of encouragement from Lily's spirit. She leaves with Specs and Tucker and the three agree to form a partnership.
Later in her home, Elise's dog barks at an unseen force. Elise cannot see that behind her, a demon with a red face is watching.
On September 15, 2013, a third installment in the Insidious series was announced, with Leigh Whannell signed on to return as writer, and Jason Blum and Oren Peli set to produce. When asked about returning for another sequel, actor Patrick Wilson went on to say that he "[doesn't] know where else it could go", and that "[Josh Lambert has] been through the wringer, and I think the movie sets it up well at the end [...] And that's great, that's how it should end." On November 13, 2013, it was announced Focus Features and Stage 6 Films would release the film on April 3, 2015. The date was later moved to May 29, 2015.
On March 11, 2014, Screen Rant reported that the third film would not focus on the Lamberts, but on a new family and story, and would not connect to the last scene in the second film. It was also reported that both Whannell and Angus Sampson would return as ghost hunters Specs and Tucker, along with Lin Shaye as Elise. On May 7, 2014, Wan tweeted that Whannell would direct the third film, which marks his directorial debut. In June 2014, Stefanie Scott and Dermot Mulroney were cast in the film. On September 22, 2014, during the Cinema Diverse Film Festival in Palm Springs, actress Ele Keats said she had recently wrapped an undisclosed supporting role in the film.
=
Principal photography began on July 9, 2014, in Los Angeles under the title "Into The Further", on a scheduled 29-day shoot. Several scenes were shot in the San Fernando Valley at the Delfino Studios in Sylmar, where the Brenner apartment's interiors were built.
A first look image was released on July 22, 2014. Filming wrapped on August 18, 2014.
=
The musical score for Insidious: Chapter 3 is composed by Joseph Bishara, who composed the music for the previous installments. A soundtrack album for the film was released digitally on June 5, 2015 by Void Recordings.
=
Insidious: Chapter 3 grossed $52.2 million in North America and $60.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $112.8 million, against a budget of $10 million.
In North America, the film made $1.6 million from its early Thursday night showings, from 2,150 theaters, and $10.4 million on its opening day, from 3,003 theaters. It finished at third place in its opening weekend, earning $23 million behind fellow opener Spy and holdover San Andreas.
Outside North America, Insidious: Chapter 3 grossed $14.3 million in its opening weekend, from 42 countries on 2,989 screens, also finishing in third place behind San Andreas and Spy. It had the biggest opening for a horror film in the Philippines ($1.5 million) and in Vietnam ($620,000), the second-biggest in Malaysia ($1.6 million), and had similarly successful openings in Russia and the CIS ($2.7 million). Mexico opened with $1.8 million and India with $620,000.
=
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes lists a 57% approval rating based on 130 reviews and a rating average of 5.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Insidious: Chapter 3 isn't as terrifying as the original, although it boasts surprising thematic depth and is enlivened by another fine performance from Lin Shaye." On Metacritic the film has a score of 52 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In CinemaScore polls, cinema audiences gave the film an average score of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Daniel Krupa of IGN awarded it a score of 7.1 out of 10, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 is the most focussed, dark, and creepy installment of the series to date." Scott Foundas of Variety gave the film a negative review, saying "Chief among things that go bump in the night in Insidious: Chapter 3 is the movie itself—a thuddingly dull prequel to James Wan's very enjoyable (and highly profitable) demonic-possession horror franchise." Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 offers a relatable young protagonist and several key supporting players from the prior films in a nimble setup to the series." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+, saying "Insidious Chapter 3 is the worst kind of sequel: Not terrible, but also cartoonishly unnecessary." Michael Ordoña of the San Francisco Chronicle rated it zero out of four stars, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 is simply not scary. Not a bit, not a whit. Except that the audience will be terrified of the next stabbing of their eardrums, at generally predictable intervals." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "The Insidious franchise, after three attempts to exorcise its real demons, still can't seem to shake what really haunts it: the ghost of B-movies past." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "This prequel to the shriek hell, directed and scripted by series writer/actor Leigh Whannell, manages to avoid the Curse of the Triple Cash Grab."
Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 is almost more a spoof of a classic like The Exorcist than it is an homage. It's not scary horror, it's silly horror, and the audience is in on the joke." Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two-and-a-half stars, saying "You need more than a few sudden noises and scary shocks to make a good horror movie. But Insidious: Chapter Three is at least an OK horror movie." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, saying "They say the third time's the charm. Not with the Insidious series, it isn't. Admittedly, installment #3 is an improvement over #2, but it fails to reach the highs of the chilling-but-uneven original." Tim Robey of The Telegraph gave the film four out of five stars, saying "It manages the all-important jump scares with the finesse of a skilled stage illusionist, but it’s the surprisingly sincere emotional core that makes it the pick of the series." Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave the film a B−, saying "The motif of grief runs throughout Insidious: Chapter 3, which is surprisingly thematically rich for the third installment of a horror franchise. This emotional undercurrent informs the fright scenes, which otherwise lean rather heavily on jump scares." Bilge Ebiri of New York magazine gave the film a negative review, saying "This is so often the problem with this genre—scary setups, followed by dopey resolutions—that you sort of want to give the movie a pass. But given its distinguished forebears, Insidious: Chapter 3 doesn’t quite live up to expectations."
In an interview Leigh Whannell was asked "If there is a fourth Insidious film, would that be a sequel to Chapter 3, another prequel to the original or will it continue in this timeline or go to a whole new timeline?" Whannell stated: "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it yet. But for the purposes of this interview, I'll say that I'd like to explore the time between this film and the first film. That whole area there where Elise has rediscovered her gift, I think you could have a lot of adventures before she arrives. So I think there is a lot of room there. We've kind of established Lin [Shaye] in this particular film as kind of this superhero, so that would be kind of interesting to explore in the other films."
Insidious: The Last Key was announced in May 2016 for a release date of October 20, 2017. Whannell will return to write, Blum, Peli and Wan producing as well as Shaye reprising her role as Elise Rainier and Adam Robitel directing. The film was released on January 5, 2018. |
50560637 | Insidious: The Last Key | 2016-05-17 01:26:26+00:00 | Insidious: The Last Key is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell. It is produced by Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and James Wan. It is the fourth installment in the Insidious franchise, and the second in the chronology of the story running through the series. Starring Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Whannell, Spencer Locke, Caitlin Gerard, and Bruce Davison, the film follows parapsychologist Elise Rainier as she investigates a haunting in her childhood home. The film is the sequel to Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) and the second prequel to Insidious (2010) and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013).
Talks for a fourth installment in the franchise began in June 2015, with Whannell saying the next film would take place shortly before the first film. In May 2016, it was announced that Chapter 4 would have an October 2017 release date with Whannell writing, Blum, Peli and Wan producing, Robitel directing, and Shaye returning to reprise her role as Elise Rainier. Principal photography began in August 2016, and ended the following month.
The film was released in the United States on January 5, 2018, by Universal Pictures. It grossed $167 million worldwide and received negative reviews. Insidious: The Red Door was released on July 7, 2023, continuing the storyline of the first two films.
In 1953, Elise Rainier lives in Five Keys, New Mexico, with her parents, Audrey and Gerald, and younger brother, Christian. Elise and Christian encounter a ghost in their bedroom. Frightened, Christian looks for a whistle their mother gave him to call for help, but can't find it. Gerald, furious, canes Elise and locks her in the basement. Elise opens a mysterious red doorway and is briefly possessed by a demonic spirit. Audrey is killed by the demon.
Decades later in California in 2010, Elise works as a paranormal investigator with her colleagues, Specs and Tucker. A man named Ted Garza calls, saying he has been experiencing paranormal activity at his house. Realizing it's her childhood home, Elise departs to help him. While investigating, she finds Christian's lost whistle, but it disappears again after she encounters a female spirit. Elise tells Specs and Tucker that she had seen the spirit before when she was a teenager. She had fled the house in fear of another beating from her father, abandoning Christian.
Elise, Tucker, and Specs meet Melissa and Imogen, Christian's daughters. Christian is still furious at Elise for abandoning him. Hoping to repair their relationship, Elise hands Melissa a photo of the whistle, telling her to show it to Christian. Elise and Tucker discover a hidden room in the basement. Guided by the female spirit, they discover a young woman being held prisoner inside. Ted reveals that he is responsible. He locks the group in and tries to kill Specs, but Specs kills Ted in self-defense.
After police clear the house, Christian and his daughters go inside to find the whistle. Melissa is attacked by the demon from Elise's past, known as Keyface. Keyface sends her into a coma with her consciousness now stuck in the spirit realm of the Further.
Trying to save Melissa, Elise searches the house and discovers hidden suitcases containing belongings of numerous other women who had been held prisoner, including the young woman she had seen as a girl. Elise realizes that like Ted, her father, Gerald, had also kidnapped women and held them in the secret room. The woman she saw as a girl, Anna, was actually alive then, not a ghost; she had escaped the hidden room and found a passage leading to the laundry room. Gerald saw Anna hiding when he confronted Elise about seeing someone and lied to her, precipitating her leaving the home. Elise temporarily stunned Gerald by grabbing his face and showing him the manner of his death, giving her time to escape. Once Elise ran from him, Gerald went back and killed Anna. In the present, Elise is ambushed by Keyface and her spirit taken into the Further.
Adult Elise encounters her younger self in the Further, where she explains to adult Elise that she knows her daddy is just scared when he punishes her and that Keyface wants her to help him open all the doors in the Further. Imogen, who possesses abilities like Elise's, enters the Further and is led by Anna's ghost into a prison realm where Keyface is holding all of the souls he has taken, including Melissa and Elise. Elise realizes Keyface had been controlling both Gerald and Ted and feeds on the fear and hatred generated by the women they kidnapped. Keyface tries to coerce Elise into hurting her father's spirit as revenge for what he has done. Elise starts beating Gerald, but is stopped by Imogen and refuses to feed Keyface any more hatred. Keyface captures Imogen's soul and then attacks Elise, but Gerald tries to save her before he is stabbed by Keyface, his spirit vanishing.
Keyface stabs Melissa, causing her physical body to convulse, then flatline. He attempts to possess Elise but Elise blows Christian's whistle and Audrey's spirit arrives, vanquishing Keyface. Audrey releases Elise, Melissa and Imogen's chains from their spirits and they search for their bodies on the way out. While searching, they open a door and see a young boy, Dalton Lambert, fall from the ladder in his attic. Realizing they opened the wrong door, they leave the door open and find Melissa's body. Melissa's spirit returns to her body in the real world, saving her life. Elise makes amends with her mother's spirit and she and Imogen return to their own bodies and reunite with Christian who forgives Elise.
In her sleep, Elise has a dream about Dalton and a red-faced demon. She awakens and receives a call from Lorraine. Elise had helped her son years earlier and now her grandson, Dalton, needs the same help, which Elise agrees to provide.
=
Prior to the release of Insidious: Chapter 3, Leigh Whannell was asked, "If there is a Insidious: Chapter 4, would that be a sequel to Chapter 3, another prequel to the original or will it continue in this timeline or go to a whole new timeline?" Whannell replied, "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it yet. But for the purposes of this interview, I'll say that I'd like to explore the time between this film and the first film. That whole area there where Elise has rediscovered her gift, I think you could have a lot of adventures before she arrives. So I think there is a lot of room there. We've kind of established Lin [Shaye] in this particular film as kind of this superhero, so that would be kind of interesting to explore in the other films."
On May 16, 2016, it was announced that Chapter 4 would have an October 20, 2017, release date with Whannell writing, Jason Blum, Oren Peli and James Wan producing, Adam Robitel directing, and Lin Shaye returning to reprise her role as Elise Rainier.
=
Principal photography began in August 2016, and ended the following month.
Insidious: The Last Key was released on January 5, 2018. The film was then released a week later on January 12, 2018, in the United Kingdom.
=
On August 29, 2017, it was announced via Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights that the film would be titled Insidious: The Last Key. In October 2017, the first poster and two trailer were divulged via Universal and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The variant poster art for social media promotion was designed by American Artist Justin Paul.
=
Insidious: The Last Key grossed $67.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $100.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $167.9 million, against a production budget of $10 million. It is the highest-grossing film in the franchise, surpassing the second installment's $161 million, and the first film of the series to gross $100 million overseas.
In the United States and Canada, Insidious: The Last Key was released alongside the wide expansion of Molly's Game, and was projected to gross $20–22 million from 3,116 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $1.98 grossed from Thursday night previews, the highest preview total of the franchise. It went on to debut to $29.3 million for the weekend, finishing second at the box office behind holdover Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and marking the second-highest opening of the series and grossing, behind Chapter 2.
=
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33%, based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Insidious: The Last Key offers franchise star Lin Shaye another welcome opportunity to take the lead, but her efforts aren't enough to rescue this uninspired sequel." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest score of the franchise.
Screen Rant's Sandy Schaefer scored the film 3/5 stars, stating "Insidious: The Last Key is a solid finale to the Insidious franchise that gives series lead Lin Shaye the chance to take a graceful final bow." Brent McKnight of the Seattle Times rated the film two stars, saying "Old horror franchises don't die, they unspool tepid, uninspired sequels in perpetuity. And with the fourth chapter, Insidious: The Last Key, this saga is on a familiar path." Emily Yoshida of New York Magazine noted how "the fourth installment of Leigh Whannell's ghost-and-mediums horror series wraps up its own free-association illogic with an impenetrable tangle of woo-woo spirit-world mechanics and lingo," while John DeFore of Hollywood Reporter faulted the film's delivery of "the boos" as remaining "cheap and arbitrary."
=
Insidious: The Last Key was released on Digital HD on March 20, 2018, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 3, 2018, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
On October 29, 2020, it was announced that a sequel was in the works with Scott Teems writing the screenplay based on a story by Leigh Whannell and series star Patrick Wilson directing. It focuses on a grown-up Dalton, a role reprised by series star Ty Simpkins, as he heads off to college. It released on July 7, 2023. |
29420082 | 2010 Istanbul bombing | 2010-10-31 10:47:31+00:00 | The 2010 Istanbul bomb blast was a suicide bombing that took place on Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey on 31 October 2010. The bomb resulted in at least 32 injuries, 15 of whom were police officers and was claimed by a Kurdish secessionist group known as the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK).
The explosion occurred in Taksim Square on the European side of the city. The blast was reportedly a suicide bombing, targeting the riot officers and police vehicles typically stationed in the area. Multiple additional explosive devices were reportedly discovered at the scene of the incident after bomb squads examined the area.
Seventeen of the injured were civilians, while fifteen were police.
Initially, there were no official confirmations as to who carried out the attack, though many speculated that left-wing groups or the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were responsible. PKK never confirmed that they had organised the attack.
The day was significant as it was the day of final celebrations for Republic Day, marking the declaration of independence for the Turkish Republic, and Turkish President Abdullah Gül was due to arrive at a nearby location. The timing could also be significant since a unilateral ceasefire by the PKK declared two months earlier was due to expire on 31 October. The PKK, however, denied responsibility, with its spokesman, Roj Qandil, saying he had no "idea" about the bombing. The PKK also declared it was extending the unilateral ceasefire till the 2011 Turkish general election.
The TAK released a statement on their website claiming responsibility for the attack. The statement said that "We as TAK claim responsibility for the action carried out against the police force of Turkish fascism at Istanbul's Taksim Square on 31 Oct 2010." The PKK denied involvement in the attack.
Turkey – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "Those who threaten Turkey's peace, security and development will not be tolerated."
Arab League – Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa condemned the attack and said that attack was "unacceptable".
Human Rights Watch – HRW (Human Rights Watch) condemned the attack.
Israel – Israeli embassy in Turkey condemned the attack and said "We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack that was carried out indiscriminately."
Jordan – King of Jordan Abdullah II sent a message to then Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu and condemned the attack.
Kurdistan Regional Government – The Kurdistan Regional Government condemned the attack in a statement saying "The Kurdistan Region Presidency strongly condemns the terrorist attack that was perpetrated in central Istanbul on Sunday, wounding a large number of civilians and policemen. We send our sympathies to the victims and their families."
Kuwait – Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Salem Al-Sabah sent a message to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu denouncing the attack as a "terrorist crime."
Russia – President of Russia Vladimir Putin condemned the attack.
South Africa – President Jacob Zuma stated: "As the government and the people of South Africa, we reach out in thoughts and prayers to the government and peoples of Turkey and wishing those wounded a speedy recovery. Violence and any other form of terrorist attacks will not advance world peace and stability in any country."
United States – United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the bombing, while also pledging to continue working with Turkey to "combat violent extremism. This is a shocking crime and the people of the United States stand in solidarity with our friends, the people of Turkey." |
61243940 | Khaan Quest | 2019-07-09 11:33:07+00:00 | Khaan Quest (Mongolian: Хааны эрэлд) is an annual military exercise held in Mongolia for a week in the summer. It brings together over a dozen foreign militaries to engage in the sharing of practices for multinational peacekeeping operations. In the exercise, personnel gain United Nations peacekeeper training as well as certification for support of peacekeeping operations. According to Mongolian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Tserendejidiin Byambajav, "Khaan Quest has become one of the signature training events for the participating nations."
Since its establishment in 2003, it has been held in the Five Hills Training Area. It only became an international exercise in 2006, originally being a joint exercise between the Mongolian Armed Forces and the United States Indo-Pacific Command. It is usually opened by an opening ceremony attended by the President of Mongolia. |
28842009 | 2010 Kashmir unrest | 2010-08-01 13:43:21+00:00 | The 2010 Kashmir unrest was a series of violent protests and riots in the Kashmir Division and Northern Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India which started in June 2010 after the Indian Army claimed to have killed three Pakistani infiltrators in which a soldier of the Territorial Army, a counter-insurgent and a former special police officer had found three young men from their Nadihal village in Baramulla district and killed them in a "staged" encounter at Sona Pindi. The protests occurred in a movement launched by Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in June 2010, who called for the complete demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference made this call to a strike, citing human rights abuses by security forces. Rioters shouting pro-independence slogans, defied curfew, attacked riot police with stones and burnt vehicles and buildings. The protests started out as anti India protests but later were also targeted against the United States following the 2010 Qur'an-burning controversy. The riot police consisting of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian Para-military forces fired teargas shells rubber bullets and also live ammunition on the protesters, resulting in 112 deaths, including many teenagers and an 11-year-old boy. The protests subsided after the Indian government announced a package of measures aimed at defusing the tensions in September 2010.
On 30 April 2010, the Indian Army claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid from across the Line of Control, at Machil Sector in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir by killing three armed militants from Pakistan. However, it was subsequently established that the encounter had been staged and that the three alleged militants were in fact civilians of Rafiabad area, who had been lured to the army camp by promising them jobs as "porters" for the Army, and then shot in cold blood, in order to claim a cash award.
On 11 June, there were protests against these killings in the downtown area of Srinagar. Police used massive force to disperse the protesting youth during which a teargas bullet killed a seventeen-year-old Tufail Ahmad Mattoo who participated in the protest. Stadium. Several protest marches were organised across the Valley in response to the killings which turned violent. Thereafter a vicious circle was set, killing of a boy was followed by protest demonstrations and clashes with police and CRPF in which another boy was killed which led to another protest by the boys till several youth lost their lives. Official figures reveal around 110 people have lost their lives and 537 civilians were injured during stone-pelting incidents from May to 21 September 2010. Around 1,274 CRPF men and 2,747 police personnel were injured during the same period across the valley.
Indian intelligence agencies claimed that these protests and demonstrations were part of covert operations of Pakistani intelligence agencies and were sponsored and supported from them. Media reports earlier in march had suggested that with the support of its intelligence agencies Pakistan has been once again 'boosting' Kashmir militants and recruitment of 'martyrs' in Pakistani state of Punjab. It was reported that in a meeting held in Muzaffarabad in mid January 2010 which was chaired by former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Hamid Gul, United Jihad Council called for reinvigorated jihad until Kashmir was free of "Indian occupation". In May 2010 increased activities of militants was reported from across the border in Neelum valley in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan. The locals reported that large numbers of militants had set up camps in the area with plans of crossing into the Kashmir valley, and they did not appear to be Kashmiri.
The erstwhile undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir is the largest militarised territorial dispute. Around 700,000 –1,000,000 Indian troops and paramilitaries station permanently in the state with a population of 14 million. Protesters demanded that the number of troops in the state of Jammu and Kashmir be reduced. In addition protesters shouted pro-independence slogans demanding Indian forces 'Quit Kashmir'.
On 11 June, Tufail Ahmad Mattoo a 17-year-old student, who was there to protest "peacefully" against atrocities was killed after being hit in the head by a tear gas shell. His death proved to be a catalyst and subsequently stone throwing mobs confronted the police almost daily. A vicious cycle was initiated, killing of a person was followed by demonstrations and clashes with police and Central Reserve Police Force in which another person was killed which led to another protest till more lost their lives and hundreds of security personnel were injured in riots.
=
The mob pelted stones and bricks at the riot police and in response the Indian forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and in some cases live ammunition resulting in death of some of the unarmed protestors. The protesters were accused by the government of using stone pelting as a violent mean of creating chaos. The violent stone pelting by the mob resulted in several security personnel being injured.
To prevent the riots Indian authorities imposed curfew in Srinagar and other towns in the valley. In August, the government responded by imposing curfews in the disturbed areas and by deploying Rapid Action Force (RAF) in the Srinagar valley to control demonstrations. Protesters, however, defied curfew and also pelted stones on the police and paramilitary personnel. The year 2010 opened the Pandora's box for the Indian government which responded to the chaos by using live ammunition which resulted in death of more than hundred protestors.
=
Protests in Kashmir escalated over several days, as demonstrations against public burning of the Koran as a protest in the United States commemorating the 11 September attacks quickly turned into separatist protests against the Indian government in the Muslim-majority province. On 13 September, Muslim protesters defied a curfew, setting fire to a Christian missionary school and government buildings. At least 17 people were shot dead by police, and one policeman was killed by a thrown rock; at least 113 policemen and 45 protesters were wounded. On 12 September, a church was burned and a curfew instituted in Punjab. Violence spread into Poonch in the Jammu division, with three protesters shot by police. Protesters burned government buildings and vehicles including the SDM's office, where a gas cylinder exploded inflicting injuries on six persons; the SDPO office; the Forest Department office; the BDO office and two police and five civilian vehicles. Muslim protesters also burnt a Christian school in Poonch, and another in Mendhar the next day, in clashes leaving four protesters killed, 19 wounded, but dozens of government offices, a police station, and eight vehicles were burned. 2 other churches were also reportedly burnt by Muslim protesters in Rajouri and Naushera. At this point, the riots had now spread to outside the Kashmir Valley and in the western areas of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control which are also majority Muslim. As of 18 September, the estimated death toll was approximately 100. The Hindustan Times blamed much of the resentment on the indefinite military curfew, the first in ten years to affect the entire Kashmir Valley, calling the curfew "collective punishment" and writing that after four days, "People are running out of milk, vegetables and baby food. " On 18 September, after six days, the curfew was relaxed in parts of Srinagar and some other areas for four hours to allow people to buy essentials.
On the night of 17 September, a policeman's house was set on fire in Pinjoora village. On 18 September, a large procession in Anantnag defied curfew, carrying the body of Maroof Ahmad Nath, who drowned while fleeing police. After "agitating mobs attempted to torch government property", security forces opened fire, killing Noorul Amin Dagga and injuring five. Fayaz Ahmad Naiku of Boatman Colony (Bemina), Srinigar died from injuries received the preceding day. A group stoning and attempting to burn the home of Samajwadi Party leader Fayaz Ahmad Bhat were dispersed by gunfire. A group of men emerging from a mosque were fired on with one killed and four injured in Pattan area. A police spokesman disputed claims that the attack was unprovoked, because a mob tried to block the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway and started heavy stone pelting on police.
=
Amnesty International called on Indian security forces not to use gunfire against rioters. Prime minister of India Manmohan Singh expressing concern over the deaths asked for revisiting operating procedures and "non-lethal, yet effective and more focussed" crowd control measures to deal with the violent protesters.
=
In response to the unrest in Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits met with Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and asked that there be no dilution of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act that applies to Kashmir. Their leader Ramesh Manvati, belonging to Panun Kashmir, stated: "The security forces must be provided the constitutional protection as they are playing crucial role in preservation of the country's sovereignty." the Kashmiri Pandits also staged a dharna in Jammu stating that no solution of the problem was possible without including them in the dialogue.
Indian Home minister P. Chidambaram hinted at Pakistan's involvement in the unrest saying that "It is possible that they believe that relying upon civilian unrest will pay them better dividends. But I am confident if we are able to win the hearts and minds of the people those designs can be foiled."
Condemning the violent protests Farooq Abdullah president of the largest political party in Kashmir Jammu & Kashmir National Conference stated that Kashmir has been and will always remain a part of India. He however demanded withdrawal of AFSPA. Chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah has also called for withdrawal of AFSPA. However the leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the withdrawal of AFSPA and the party spokesman said that BJP saw the hand of Inter-Services Intelligence behind the protests.
Yasin Malik, leader of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, accused Pakistani militants of subverting the indigenous movement.
J&K police claimed that there exist a nexus that raises money to make weekly payments for stone pelting and many arrests have taken place on this.
On 15 September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed an all-party meeting in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that dialogue was the only way to find lasting peace, and "We are ready for dialogue with anybody or any group that does not espouse or practice violence". Written invitations included Kashmiri separatists Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, who had been excluded from a previous all-party meeting in 2008 during the Amarnath land transfer controversy. Members of the 39-member delegation include Home Minister P Chidambaram and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley (BJP), Basudeb Acharia (CPM), Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Ram Vilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).
The delegation subsequently visited Kashmir. Following this visit Indian government announced several measures to defuse the tensions. The measures included release of all the students arrested during the protests, reopening of schools, discussions on reducing the number of security forces in Kashmir and appointment of a group to begin sustained dialogue with the Kashmiris. In addition financial compensation of $11,000 to the families of each of those killed was announced. Most of the families rejected the compensation but a few accepted it, in spite of calls by the Hurriyat Conference and social pressure on families to reject the money from Government of India.
The army convicted seven soldiers, including two officers, and sentenced them to life imprisonment for a staged killing of three Kashmiri civilians and passing it off as an anti-militancy operation for rewards and remunerations in J&K in 2010. The court martial proceedings began in January 2014 and ended in September of that year. In April 2010, army had said it had killed three infiltrators in the Machil sector and claimed they were Pakistani militants. The men were later identified as Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone, all residents of Baramulla district. They were lured to work as porters for the Army in Kupwara district. Instead, the Army killed them in a fake encounter, applied black paint on the clean-shaven faces of the slain, placed weapons on them and said they had killed foreign militants.
=
On 27 July 2017, The Armed Forces Tribunal suspended the life sentence of the five army personnel including a Colonel and a Captain who had been convicted by a General Court Martial in 2014 for staging the killing of three Kashmiri civilians at Macchil in 2010 and branding them as foreign militants for brass medals and cash rewards.
In March 2015, All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani entirely blamed then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah and former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashiq Bukhari for killings of 2010 unrest and filed a FIR in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar.
"(We) have decided to register a criminal case against Omar Abdullah and Ashiq Bukhari for the innocent killings of 2010 and will try to bring the murderers of the innocent students to justice," a Hurriyat statement said. |
28777114 | 2010 Deganga riots | 2010-09-10 18:55:51+00:00 | The 2010 Deganga riots occurred at Deganga, North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India on 6 September 2010 by local Muslim against Hindu community over a disputed land. The violence began late in the evening of that Monday and continued throughout the night and for several subsequent days. The district police, Rapid Action Force, paramilitary were all unable to quell the problems and the Indian Army was eventually deployed. The army staged a series of flag marches on the Taki Road but the violence continued in the interior villages lying off that road until Thursday, despite the army presence and the promulgation of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Military Commanders on approval by the state Government imposed AFSPA.
Deganga is a Community Development Block (CDB) in North 24 Parganas district, India. According to The Pioneer newspaper at the time of the riots, over 69 per cent of the CDB population were Muslim. It forms a part of the Basirhat parliamentary constituency that for over 30 years up until the Indian general elections of 2009 had been held by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). In those elections, the seat was won by Haji Nurul Islam of the Trinamul Congress.
The CDB had remained calm during what journalist Partha Dasgupta described as "the two most trying times in recent history", being the Babri Masjid incident of 1992 and the Gujarat riots of 2002 in this situation CPI(M) did the best work to control the violence.
The flashpoint for the riots related to a dispute on land at Chattal Pally village that was formerly owned by Rani Rashmoni. On this was a Muslim cemetery and also a place of Hindu worship that had been used for annual Durga Puja celebrations for many years. The two areas, near to which was situated a police station, were separated by a narrow pathway and news reports variously claimed that members of the Muslim community had begun to excavate that pathway on the morning of 6 September 2010, or had been constructing a wall there. There were claims that the action was an attempt to stop the Durga Puja from taking place and that the Hindu community had been constructing a "makeshift structure" (a pandal adjacent to their temple) by the boundary of the cemetery. Underlying the immediate cause was resentment relating to use of a loudspeaker by a local mosque: the Kolkata High Court was at that time in the process of adjudicating on the issue and had prevented its use while doing so, and there was a belief that Haji Nurul Islam had gained votes in the 2009 elections by promising to support those who favoured its use.
Members of the Hindu community objected to the works being carried out on 6 September. Some news reports indicated that the objectors were attacked for doing so, while others stated that the attacks began when the police intervened. The police tactics involved use of a lathicharge and resulted in the arrest of three or four Muslims. The Muslim community retaliated first by establishing a road-block and then, in the evening, by marching as a mob to protest at the police station and to possibly to free those who were in custody. Shops and other property belonging to Hindus were looted, burned, torched and destroyed, as were various vehicles on the road, including some belonging to the police and also buses. Claims were made that this mob of around 500 people was led by Haji Nurul Islam, although other "local thugs" and anti socials were also named among the leaders. The troubles spread to the nearby areas of Kadambagachi and Beliaghata, and two Hindu temples were also desecrated.
The disruption continued overnight and into Tuesday morning. The police, who were outnumbered by the mob, had been augmented by the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and then by paramilitary reinforcements from Kolkata as the number of reported injured people rose to at least 24. A curfew was also put in place, using powers available under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. With the RAF, paramilitary also finding themselves to be outnumbered and unable fully to control matters, the central government sent in the Army. The force, which was variously reported to comprise 200 and 400 personnel, conducted route marches in the area.
The violence was worsened by the death of a youth who had been shot by one of the rioters. Although the Trinamool Party had refused to take part in meetings intended to resolve the riots, Haji Nurul Islam refuted claims that members of his party were protecting the rioters and explained that they were instead trying to pacify those involved. The violence continued on Wednesday morning, 8 September, with one incident involving a mob from Ramnathpur and Khejurdanga attacking houses in the Salimpukur and Hospital area, off the Taki Road that runs through the district. They ransacked 23 houses, causing their victims to take shelter in nearby Kartikpur. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act was imposed. Small Arms and tear gas was used. Nonetheless, state officials claimed that the situation was gradually coming under control and they announced a compensation scheme for those who had lost property.
A later news report, published on Friday 10 September, noted that at least 250 shops had been looted during the several days of rioting, while 50 houses had been burned and 5 temples desecrated. The mob had also hoisted a loudspeaker at the mosque near Deganga market, violating the High Court order.
Sporadic incidents continued as late as Thursday but had calmed by Friday. The army and various law enforcement bodies remained in place while the Muslim festival of Eid was celebrated on Saturday 11 September, by which time the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) had announced their plans for a peace meeting on 13 September that would involve various religious leaders. The two parties claimed that the troublemakers had come into the area from other villages.
On 9 September, a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders visited the areas and on the following day the BJP demanded the arrest of Haji Nurul Islam for instigating the mob into a communal frenzy. A First Information Report had been filed against him. Subsequently, a Hindu advocacy group Hindu Samhati (HS), led by a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Tapan Ghosh, pressed claims that there had been attacks on Hindu women, torture and other atrocities. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an international organisation of Hindus, also took up the issue with local authorities, based on calligraphy and other evidence, that the riots were masterminded by the CPI(M) with the intent of garnering votes in an area where the Muslim community had in recent years grown to a majority status and were moving towards right-wing hardliner Islamic parties and away from the left parties.
As with other politicians, Haji Nurul Islam could offer no explanation for the death of the Hindu youth, who had ventured into the area from his home village of Falti and whose family were being generally shunned in the aftermath of the events. He challenged the claims laid against him, saying The episode is designed to malign my secular credentials. I have information that CPM goons Yakub and Netai led the loot and arson ... I am not a newcomer. I rose through the panchayat ranks. I have been involved in most of the pujas here over the years. Many Hindu victims celebrated Eid at my house. Thank God no one lost their lives. Property can be compensated, but not life.
In October 2010, the National Human Rights Commission of India, which is an autonomous statutory body, requested the Government of West Bengal to supply information regarding the riots, allegedly in response to a complaint filed by the All India Legal Aid Forum, who were concerned about the police response to the incident. |
53180140 | 2010 in professional wrestling | 2017-02-13 19:58:58+00:00 | 2010 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
These promotions held notable events in 2010.
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
WWE Hall of Fame
Slammy Awards
=
=
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
=
=
=
=
=
– Raw
– SmackDown
– ECW
Raw and SmackDown each had a world championship, a secondary championship, and a women's championship, while the male tag team championship was shared across all the brands. ECW only had a world championship.
1 ^ Both titles were independently active, but were collectively defended on any brand as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.
Uncertain debut date
Reby Sky
February 19 – Parrow
February 20 – Zelina Vega/Rosita
March 14 – Kazuki Hirata
March 21 – Sawako Shimono
March 26 – Jessie Godderz
April 29 – Sayaka Obihiro
May 3 – Hiragi Kurumi
May 15 – Fuma
June 11 – Musashi
July 18 – Moon Mizuki
August 8 – Mercedes Mone
August 19 – Roman Reigns
September – Taya Valkyrie
September 2 – Alex Lee
September 7 – Kaitlyn
November 21 – Mika Iida
November 25 – Dralístico
December – Shaul Guerrero
December 11 – Sammy Guevara
December 12 – Ruby Soho (wrestler)
December 23 - masu-me
December 25 – Mochi Miyagi
The Iron Sheik (1972–April 24, 2010)
Chavo Guerrero Sr. (1970–2010)
Ron Simmons (1986–2010)
DJ Gabriel (2004 – 2010)
Kamala (1978 – 2010)
Kristal Marshall (December 2, 2005 – February 2010)
Shawn Michaels (October 10, 1984 – March 28, 2010) (had a one-off match at Crown Jewel in 2018)
Ray Gordy / Jesse Dalton / Slam Master J (2000 – April 23, 2010)
Scott Hall (1984-June 2010, return to wrestle one match in 2016)
Ricky Steamboat (1976-June 18, 2010, returned to wrestle one match in 2022)
Abdullah the Butcher (1958 – October 9, 2010)
Lacey Von Erich (September 15, 2007 – November 11, 2010)
Mae Young (August 20, 1939 – November 15, 2010)
Caylen Croft (2001 – November 19, 2010)
Ashley Vance (June 22, 2010 – December 28, 2010)
Kazumi Shimouma (September 16, 2007 – December 26, 2010)
Tanny Mouse (October 7, 1994 – December 31, 2010)
January 8 – Tony Halme, 47
February 1 – Jack Brisco, 68
March 4 - Angelo Poffo, 84
March 8 - Jerry Valiant, 68
March 11 - Sandy Scott, 75
March 14 - Corsica Joe, 90
March 20 – Mikel Scicluna, 80
March 29 - Tom Burton, 48
April 2 – Chris Kanyon, 40
April 14 - Gene Kiniski, 81
April 21 – Mr. Hito, 67
May 3:
Kinji Shibuya, 88
El Supremo (wrestler), 67
May 24 - Andre Baker (wrestler), 45
May 24 - Rusher Kimura, 68
June 12 – Grizzly Smith, 77
June 12 - Trent Acid, 29
June 24 - Toni Adams, 45
July 2 - Steve Stanlee, 90
August 13 – Lance Cade, 29
August 19 - Ted Allen (wrestler), 54
August 20 - Skandor Akbar, 75
August 27 - Anton Geesink, 76
August 27 - Tony Borne, 84
August 28 - Kotetsu Yamamoto, 68
August 30 – J. C. Bailey, 27
September 10 – Mike Shaw, 53
September 11 - La Fiera, 49
September 22 – Giant González, 44
October 6 - Gran Naniwa, 33
October 23 - Michael Porter, 59
October 30 - Édouard Carpentier, 84
November 8 - Joe Higuchi, 81
November 25 - Kantaro Hoshino, 67
December 3 - Skip Young, 59
December 4 - King Curtis Iaukea, 73
December 15 - Hans Mortier, 85
December 18 - Donn Lewin, 84 |
31297679 | Acid-Fest: A Tribute to Trent Acid | 2011-03-25 22:39:17+00:00 | Acid-Fest: A Tribute to Trent Acid was an interpromotional professional wrestling memorial event co-produced by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) promotions, which took place on July 10, 2010, at the Viking Hall in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show was held in honor of Trent Acid, one-half of the independent wrestling tag team The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashmere, who died of an accidental drug overdose at his home in Philadelphia less than a month before. It was the second such event held at the venue following the Pitbull/Public Enemy Memorial Cup, an event The Backseat Boyz had participated at, in 2006. It was the 106th wrestling event held by CZW in the building, once known as the ECW Arena, surpassing the record number of events held by Extreme Championship Wrestling. Six professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card with all the participants being among Acid's closest friends in the industry.
The main event was a standard wrestling match between Johnny Kashmere and Devon Moore. Kashmere was accompanied to the ring by Donnie B, a retired manager and owner of Phoenix Championship Wrestling, who agreed to make a one-time appearance at the event. It was Donnie who had paired the two together earlier in their careers. The match was originally scheduled to be a Three-Way Dance between Kashmere, Moore and CZW founder John Zandig, however, Zandig was forced to pull out when he was seriously injured in a car accident a week before the show.
Another featured match was a four-way tag team elimination match with The S.A.T., The Carnage Crew, Da Hit Squad and The H8 Club, managed by Dewey Donovan and Justice Pain, which The S.A.T. won; the match was also the first time that Da Hit Squad had wrestled as a team in six years. Homicide and B-Boy defeated Sonjay Dutt and Ruckus in a tag team match and a 6-person tag team match between Amy Lee, Missy Sampson and Annie Social, as "Acid's Angels", beat Alere Little Feather, Roxxie Cotton and Detox. The event also hosted one of the largest battle royals ever held, involving a "cast of thousands" as one reviewer called it, and included wrestlers from throughout Acid's career from personal friends to his own students. The battle royal was won by Acid's childhood friend Helter Skelter, with manager Missy Hyatt, after eliminating Big Vito.
One of the highlights of the show came when Lou E. Dangerously, in his "Danger Zone" interview segment, gave a short speech to the crowd and brought out Tod Gordon, founder of Extreme Championship Wrestling and co-promoter of Pro Wrestling Unplugged with Kashmere, who both presented a plaque to Trent Acid's parents, for "Acid's lifetime achievements in professional wrestling". He was also unexpectedly inducted into the ECW Arena Hardcore Hall of Fame by CZW owner D. J. Hyde during the event's opening ceremony. The event was free of charge with a suggested $10 minimum donation to the Trent Acid Memorial Fund to help pay for the funeral costs, a fee paid by all the wrestlers that night, and was successful in raising $7,540 by the end of the show. Additional money was raised through merchandise sales of Acid-Fest T-shirts and programs, and a memorabilia auction of a World Wrestling Entertainment watch, designed to look like a spinner belt, donated by John Cena. The show was attended by an estimated 650 to 750 fans and was filmed by several different companies, most notably Smart Mark Video and RF Video, and later released on DVD.
a A full list of participants was not announced beforehand, however, the majority were wrestlers involved throughout Acid's career from personal friends to his own students. The match was held using "Royal Rumble" rules starting off with four men in the ring and another two men entering the ring at regular intervals. The known participants included were: Balls Mahoney, The Messiah, Adam Flash, Rockin' Rebel, Greg Matthews, Bison Bravado, Matt Walsh, Kwame, Ron Starr, Earl Cooter, Nate Stein, Eddie Valentine, John Dahmer, Lil’ Greatness, Slayer, Deranged, Billy Angus, Danny Angus, Kid America, Flash Wheeler, Aramis, Cory Kastle, Darren Wyse, and the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz (EC Negro and KC Blade). |
39296622 | Arena Naucalpan 33rd Anniversary Show | 2013-05-04 06:32:09+00:00 | The Arena Naucalpan 33rd Anniversary Show was an annual professional wrestling major event produced by Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), which took place on December 16, 2010 in Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico. The show celebrated the 34th Anniversary of the construction of Arena Naucalpann, IWRG's main venue, in December 1977. From 1977 until 1996 the arena was affiliated with various promotions such as Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) but in 1996 arena owner and wrestling promoter Adolfo Moreno created his own promotion, IWRG.
=
Promoter Adolfo Moreno had promoted Lucha Libre, or professional wrestling in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico prior to financing the building of Arena Naucalpan that opened in late 1976. Originally Moreno worked together with the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and then later Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) as a local promoter. On January 1, 1996 Moreno created International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) as an independent promotion. IWRG celebrates the anniversary of Arena Naucalpan each year in December with a major show, making it the second oldest, still promoted show series in the world. pre-dating WrestleMania by eight years. Only the CMLL Anniversary Show series has a longer history. The 2010 Arena Naucalpan anniversary show marked the 33rd Anniversary of Arena Naucalpab. The Anniversary show, as well as the majority of the IWRG shows in general are held in Arena Naucalpan.
=
The event featured five professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. |
71945593 | Battle of Los Angeles (2010) | 2022-10-07 18:46:38+00:00 | Battle of Los Angeles (2010) was the sixth Battle of Los Angeles professional wrestling tournament produced by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). It was a two-night event held on September 4 and 5, 2010 at the American Legion Post #308 in Reseda, Los Angeles, California.
The tournament concluded with Joey Ryan defeating Chris Hero in the final. Aside from the tournament, several non-tournament matches took place at the event. At the first night, The Cutler Brothers (Brandon Cutler Dustin Cutler) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a tag team match. On night two, ¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico and Paul London) successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Cutler Brothers and The Fightin' Taylor Boys (Brian Cage, Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor) defeated Johnny Goodtime, Ricochet and Rocky Romero in a six-man tag team match. The event marked the PWG debut of Ricochet.
=
The 2010 Battle of Los Angeles tournament kicked off with a match between Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson, the two members of The Young Bucks, who interrupted the PWG commissioner Excalibur as he announced the tournament lineup in front of the live crowd. Bucks demanded that the referee Rick Knox count both of them out but Excalibur ordered them to compete because they needed to have a winner. Bucks responded by superkicking Knox and then a second referee Patrick Hernandez stepped in and disqualified both men. The Cutler Brothers (Brandon Cutler and Dustin Cutler) entered the ring to begin an immediate match against Young Bucks. Cutlers hit a double-team kneeling reverse piledriver to Matt for the win.
Next, Brandon Gatson took on Ryan Taylor. Gatson hit a corner splash and delivered a sit-out side powerslam to Taylor for the win.
Next, Joey Ryan took on Chuck Taylor. Ryan delivered That 70's Kick twice to Taylor for the win.
Next, Paul London took on Roderick Strong. Strong delivered a Death From Roderick and a seated big boot to London for the win.
Next, Ricochet made his PWG debut against Claudio Castagnoli. Castagnoli made Ricochet submit to the Neutralizer for the win.
Next, Austin Aries took on Rocky Romero. Aries powered out of a triangle choke by Romero and delivered a brainbuster to Romero for the win.
Next, Brandon Bonham took on Brian Cage. Bonham got a near-fall after performing a Hammer of the Gods on Cage and then Bonham executed a second Hammer of the Gods on Cage for the win.
Next, El Generico took on Akira Tozawa. Tozawa avoided a Brainbustaah!!! by Generico and delivered a German suplex for a near-fall before hitting a second German suplex for the win.
Next, Christopher Daniels took on Chris Hero. Hero countered a Last Rites by Daniels into a Hero's Welcome and then applied a dragon sleeper on Daniels to make him submit for the win.
=
Quarterfinals
The second night of the tournament began with the quarterfinal round of the tournament. The first quarterfinal match pitted Austin Aries against Joey Ryan. Ryan delivered a That 70's Kick to Aries, who was about to perform an IED. Ryan followed by hitting another That 70's Kick to Aries for the win.
Next, Claudio Castagnoli took on Roderick Strong. Castagnoli hit a pop-up European uppercut to Strong for the win.
Next, Brandon Bonham took on Brandon Gatson. Gatson reversed a Hammer of the Gods attempt by Bonham into a near-fall and then hit a sit-out side powerslam to Bonham for the win.
Next, Chris Hero took on Akira Tozawa. Hero hit a running elbow smash and a moonsault on Tozawa for the win.
Semifinals
The semifinal round match between a match between Claudio Castagnoli and Joey Ryan. As Castagnoli tried to dive onto Ryan from the ropes, Ryan hit a mid-air That 70's Kick and followed it with a second That 70's Kick for the win.
In the second semifinal match, Chris Hero took on Brandon Gatson. Hero countered a handspring elbow by Gatson by hitting an elbow smash and then followed by hitting a Deathblow and applied a Stretch Plum Alpha on Gatson to make him submit for the win.
Non-tournament matches
Next, a six-man tag team match took place in which Brian Cage joined forces with Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor and changed his name to Brian Taylor, with the trio collectively known as Fightin' Taylor Boys. They took on the team of Johnny Goodtime, Ricochet and Rocky Romero. Chuck delivered an Awful Waffle to Ricochet to pick up the win for Fightin' Taylor Boys.
Next, ¡Peligro Abejas! defended the World Tag Team Championship against The Cutler Brothers. London hit a superkick on Dustin Cutler allowing Generico to deliver a Brainbustaah!!! to Dustin to win the match and retain the titles.
Final
The tournament final took place between Chris Hero and Joey Ryan. Ryan countered a rolling elbow attempt by Hero and pinned him with a small package to win the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles tournament.
Ryan Rozanski of 411Mania rated the night one 7 out of 10, stating it "lengthy" with "enough quality matches to earn a slight recommendation". He stated that "the show started off with a hot opener and ended with an enjoyable main event." He considered Ricochet's debut against Claudio Castagnoli in the first round "the match of the night" while Austin Aries and Rocky Romero's match was "smartly-worked".
He heavily praised the night two as "a consistent show with worthwhile matches throughout the card". He rated it 8 out of 10. Rozanski appreciated Akira Tozawa for delivering "a star-making performance" against Chris Hero and praised the six-man tag team match featuring Fightin' Taylor Boys as an "energetic" contest. He gave mixed reviews to the last two matches which he believed "weren’t able to top expectations" and "there was definitely room for improvement".
After winning the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, Joey Ryan was supposed to receive his title shot for the PWG World Championship but the champion Davey Richards vacated the title due to his outside commitments and was unable to compete in PWG for the rest of the year. As a result, at the following event, The Curse of the Guerrilla Island, a four-way match was set up for the vacant title between Joey Ryan, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli and Brandon Gatson, the four semifinalists of the Battle of Los Angeles. Castagnoli won the vacant title.
However, Ryan remained entitled to a World Championship match which he earned due to his Battle of Los Angeles win. Ryan successfully defended his #1 contendership for the title against the Open Invitational Gauntlet winner Candice LeRae at the 2011 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. Ryan subsequently cashed in his title shot against Claudio Castagnoli at Card Subject To Change III but failed to win.
The alliance which formed between Brian Cage, Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor would begin to be referred as Fightin' Taylor Boys and Cage's ring name was changed to Brian Cage-Taylor at The Curse of the Guerrilla Island. Cage used that name and remained a part of the trio until the 2012 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. He then quietly left the group and reverted to using his Brian Cage ring name at Death To All But Metal.
=
The tournament included eighteen participants, up from previous two years. |
28138703 | Bloodymania IV | 2010-07-24 13:48:18+00:00 | Bloodymania IV was a professional wrestling event produced by Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW), which took place at midnight on August 15, 2010 at Hog Rock in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois. Professional wrestling is a type of sports entertainment in which theatrical events are combined with a competitive sport. The buildup to the matches and the scenarios that took place before, during, and after the event were planned by JCW's script writers. The event starred wrestlers from Juggalo Championship Wrestling, as well as guest wrestlers from the independent circuit. Like Bloodymania III, the event did not feature a buildup from a season of JCW's SlamTV! internet wrestling show.
Eight matches were held on the event's card. The main event match was a Triple Threat match for the JCW Heavyweight Championship where the champion Corporal Robinson defeated Mike Knox and Raven. Featured matches on the undercard included a singles match where The Weedman defeated Officer Colt Cabana, a singles match which saw Booker T defeat "Southern" Tracy Smothers, a tag team Deathmatch where Balls Mahoney and Hollywood Chuck Hogan defeated the team of Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher, and a Fatal 4 way tag team match for the JCW Tag Team Championship in which The Kings of Wrestling defeated the champions The Haters and the Briscoe Brothers and Ring Rydas.
The event had an attendance of approximately 3,000, and was released on DVD on January 8, 2011. The video, JCW at the Gathering Wrestle Reunion Edition, also featured Oddball Wrestling 2010 and both Flashlight Wrestling 2010 events.
Bloodymania IV featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on SlamTV!, Juggalo Championship Wrestling's (JCW) internet program. Wrestlers were portrayed as either a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. The event featured wrestlers from JCW's SlamTV!.
The predominant rivalry for the show was a confrontation for the JCW Heavyweight Championship between the champion Corporal Robinson, Mike Knox, and Raven. During the second season of SlamTV!, Scott D'Amore proclaimed that he was going to reform Juggalo Championship Wrestling. In the two following years, D'Amore brought in several competitors to attempt to defeat Corporal Robinson for the championship, but all had failed. That same year, Raven assaulted and stole the JCW Heavyweight Championship belt from Robinson. The two continued to battle throughout the season, leading to Robinson defeating Raven in a Ladder match at Bloodymania II. Corporal Robinson, managed by Terry Funk, was then booked to face Raven, managed by Todd Bridges, and Mike Knox, managed by Scott D'Amore, in a Triple Threat match at Bloodymania IV.
In early 2008, the Thomaselli Brothers became involved in a brief feud with the heroic tag team Ring Rydas. At Big Ballas X-Mas Party '08, the Thomaselli Brothers disguised themselves as The Ring Rydas and defeated The Bump-N-Uglies to win the JCW Tag Team Championship. On June 3, 2010, as part of a storyline, the Thomaselli Brothers were renamed The Haters by Juggalo Championship Wrestling owners Insane Clown Posse due to their villainous actions. The Haters were placed in a Fatal 4 way tag team match in which they would defend their tag team championship against the Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling, and Ring Rydas.
Officer Colt Cabana first appeared in Juggalo Championship Wrestling through a promo in which he spoke of keeping order and forcing fans to show respect for the law. He targeted hero The Weedman as the first offender to be brought down, due to The Weedman's storyline illegal use of smoking and selling marijuana. Cabana made his in-ring debut at Insane Clown Posse's Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear Edition Release Party!, losing to The Weedman. Cabana attacked The Weedman after the match, delivering a Tombstone Piledriver outside of the ring. A rematch was scheduled for Bloodymania IV.
Throughout the first and second seasons of SlamTV!, villain Tracy Smothers had been involved in a feud with hero 2 Tuff Tony. In the third episode of season two, Tracy caught his illegitimate daughter Isabella listening to Boondox, the rapper who sings 2 Tuff Tony's entrance music. The following week, Smothers caught Isabella engaging in sexual actions with Boondox, through storyline, and assaulted him. At Bloodymania II, the team of 2 Tuff Tony and Boondox defeated Tracy Smothers and Bull Pain. Smothers was placed in a match with Booker T, who would be accompanied by Boondox, at Bloodymania IV.
At Bloodymania III, Balls Mahoney attacked 2 Tuff Tony in his match against Viscera, causing Tony to lose the match and be banned from Bloodymania. Mahoney later explained that he had been trying to get hired by the company for several years, but was ignored. He attacked hero 2 Tuff Tony to make an impact on the company and show that he was an important asset. Mahoney and teammate Hollywood Chuck Hogan were booked to face Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher in a tag team Ultra-Deathmatch, where there was no disqualifications and the use of weapons was encouraged.
=
The first preliminary match saw The Weedman kick Officer Colt Cabana in the chin for the pinfall. Prior to the next match, per storyline, Shawn Daivari attacked one of his opponents Road Dogg Jesse James backstage. Daivari and Joey Ryan then wrestled while James was left incapacitated. While attempting to enter the match midway through, James was knocked to the outside of the ring by Daivari. The end saw Sabu interfere and perform a diving leg drop with a steel chair onto Daivari, allowing Joey Ryan to pick up the pinfall.
The following match was a 4 team tag team elimination match for the JCW Tag Team Championship featuring the champions The Haters, Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling, and Ring Rydas. Early in the match, Jay Briscoe had lifted Chris Hero onto his shoulders when Hero tagged in Vito Thomaselli. Vito then went behind Briscoe and pulled him backwards for the pinfall, eliminating the Briscoe Brothers from the match. Soon after, Vito lifted Ring Ryda Blue and placed him on Pauly's shoulders. Pauly then slammed Blue down back first onto his knees and pinned him, eliminating the Ring Rydas. Following a lengthy battle between the two remaining teams, Claudio Castagnoli lifted Vito onto Hero's shoulders. They then flipped him in the air before dropping him back first onto the mat for the victory, becoming the new JCW Tag Team Champions.
Butterbean quickly defeated Twinkie Hop with a knockout punch in the fourth match. Eugene then ran into the ring and delivered a stunner to Butterbean. Managed by Boondox in the next match, Booker T faced Tracy Smothers, who was managed by Isabella Smothers. Near the end of the match, Bull Pain and Ian Bloody interfered and attacked Booker. Jim Duggan ran into the ring and fended off both Pain and Bloody. Booker T then pinned Smothers after driving his leg into the back of Smothers' neck. In the following match, Isis scored a pinfall after lifting Isabella by her neck then slamming her back to the mat.
In the final preliminary match, Balls Mahoney and Hollywood Chuck Hogan faced Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher in a tag team Ultra-Deathmatch. The end saw Mahoney pick up the pinfall on Necro after performing the Nutcracker Suite onto a steel chair, a move in which Mahoney lifted him upside down then sat down while driving Necro to the mat neck first. Following the victory, Hollywood Chuck Hogan unmasked himself to reveal that he was actually 2 Tuff Tony. Tony then lifted and threw Mahoney onto the ropes, climbed to the top turnbuckle, and landed a somersault leg drop onto the back of Mahoney's neck.
=
The main event of the night was a triple threat match for the JCW Heavyweight Championship between the champion Corporal Robinson, managed by Terry Funk, Mike Knox, managed by Scott D'Amore, and the mystery opponent Lord Ninja, managed by Todd Bridges. Early in the match, Ninja spit mist into Robinson's eyes and kicked him in the chin. He then removed the hoodie and bandana that was covering his face and revealed himself to be Raven. He and Knox teamed together to attack Robinson for several minutes before Corporal kicked Raven in the chin and landed a diving leg drop onto Knox. Following a fight between managers Scott D'Amore and Todd Bridges, Terry Funk entered the ring and delivered a series of punches to D'Amore and Mike Knox. Raven then put Funk in a front facelock and drove him face first into the mat. As Raven attempted the move a second time, Corporal Robinson grabbed him and applied a cobra clutch. He then hooked his foot behind Raven's leg and threw himself backwards for the pinfall to retain his championship.
After the match, Funk grabbed Raven's right leg and applied a Spinning toe hold. The Haters later ran into the ring and attacked Robinson and Funk while they were celebrating. Robinson and Funk fought back and scared the duo toward the back of the stage. Juggalo World Order member Sid Vicious came down and threw the duo back into the ring. He then powerbombed both Vito and Pauly before celebrating with Robinson and Funk.
Four-team tag team elimination match |
28036194 | Asia Pacific Poker Tour season 4 results | 2010-07-14 17:54:03+00:00 | Below are the results of the fourth season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. All currencies are US dollars unless otherwise stated.
=
Casino: Hyatt Hotel & Casino Manila
Buy-in: $2,700
6-Day Event: Mar 20-25, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 430
Total Prize Pool: $1,042,750
Number of Payouts: 52
=
Casino: Casino Grand Lisboa
Buy-in: 37,600+2,400 HKD (5,160 USD)
6-Day Event: May 18–23, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 342
Total Prize Pool: $1,639,372
Number of Payouts: 40
=
Casino: Skycity Casino
Buy-in: 3,250 NZD ($2,275)
5-Day Event: Sep 15-19, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 218
Total Prize Pool: NZ$654,000
Number of Payouts: 24
=
Casino: Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa
Buy-in: 100,000 PHP (2,165 USD)
5-Day Event: Nov 12-16, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 239
Total Prize Pool: PHP 21,518,480 (approx US$490,170)
Number of Payouts: 28
=
Casino: Star City Casino
Buy-in: 6,300 A$ ($5,650)
6-Day Event: Dec 7-12, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 289
Total Prize Pool: A$1,734,000
Number of Payouts: 32 |
28032931 | Latin American Poker Tour season 3 results | 2010-07-14 10:46:57+00:00 | Below are the results of the third season of the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). All currency amounts are in US dollars.
=
Casino: Ramada Plaza Herradura
Buy-in: $2,500 +$200
4-Day Event: November 19–22, 2009
Number of buy-ins: 259
Total Prize Pool: $628,075
Number of Payouts: 40
=
Casino: Mantra Resort Spa Casino
Buy-in: $3,700
4-Day Event: February 24–27, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 307
Total Prize Pool: $1,042,260
Number of Payouts: 48
=
Casino: Atlantic City Casino
Buy-in: $2,500 +$200
4-Day Event: June 2–5, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 384
Total Prize Pool: $931,200
Number of Payouts: 48
=
Casino:
Buy-in: $2,500 +$200 (R$5,000)
4-Day Event: August 5–8, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 356
Total Prize Pool: $995,996 (R$1,624,200)
Number of Payouts: 48
=
Casino: City Center Casino, Rosario
Buy-in: $4,700 +$300
5-Day Event: September 22–26, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 254
Total Prize Pool: $1,176,200
Number of Payouts: 40 |
30495144 | North American Poker Tour season 1 | 2011-01-16 15:31:07+00:00 | Below are the results for season 1 of the North American Poker Tour (NAPT).
=
Casino: Atlantis Resort, Bahamas
Buy-in: $10,000 + $300
7-Day Event: January 5, 2010 to January 11, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 1,529
Total Prize Pool: $14,831,300
Number of Payouts: 224
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: Atlantis Resort, Bahamas
Buy-in: $25,000 + $500
4-Day Event: January 11, 2010 to January 14, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 84
Total Prize Pool: $2,058,000
Number of Payouts: 16
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: The Venetian, Paradise, Nevada
Buy-in: $4,750 + $250
5-Day Event: February 20, 2010 to February 24, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 872
Total Prize Pool: $4,017,740
Number of Payouts: 128
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: The Venetian, Paradise
Buy-in: $25,000 + $600 ($20,000 to Prize Pool / $5,000 for Bounty)
2-Day Event: February 23, 2010 to February 25, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 49
Total Prize Pool: $1,240,000
Number of Payouts: 7
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut
Buy-in: $4,700 + $300
5-Day Event: April 7, 2010 to April 11, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 716
Total Prize Pool: $3,365,200
Number of Payouts: 104
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut
Buy-in: $20,000 + $5,000 (bounty) + $600
2-Day Event: April 23, 2010 to April 25, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 35
Total Prize Pool: $875,000
Number of Payouts: 6
Official Results: The Hendom Mob
=
Casino: Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles, California
Buy-in: $4,750 + $250
6-Day Event: November 12, 2010 to November 17, 2010
Number of buy-ins: 701
Total Prize Pool: $3,229,857
Number of Payouts: 104
Official Results: The Hendom Mob |
28277285 | 2010 Kenya–Al-Shabaab border clash | 2010-08-06 11:50:18+00:00 | The 2010 Kenya–Al-Shabaab border clash occurred on July 20, 2010, when gunmen from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group attacked a Kenyan border patrol along the border area in Liboi, Lagdera. There was a subsequent fierce exchange of fire between the two sides leading to the deaths of two militia and the wounding of one Kenyan officer. Hundreds of security personnel were later deployed to the border following the clash and because of continued fighting between two militia groups in the neighboring town of Dobley, Somalia. The Islamist outfit had previously claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing in Uganda in July. |
29269618 | Causes of the Great Recession | 2010-10-20 03:32:34+00:00 | Many factors directly and indirectly serve as the causes of the Great Recession that started in 2008 with the US subprime mortgage crisis. The major causes of the initial subprime mortgage crisis and the following recession include lax lending standards contributing to the real-estate bubbles that have since burst; U.S. government housing policies; and limited regulation of non-depository financial institutions. Once the recession began, various responses were attempted with different degrees of success. These included fiscal policies of governments; monetary policies of central banks; measures designed to help indebted consumers refinance their mortgage debt; and inconsistent approaches used by nations to bail out troubled banking industries and private bondholders, assuming private debt burdens or socializing losses.
The immediate or proximate cause of the crisis in 2008 was the failure or risk of failure at major financial institutions globally, starting with the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns in March 2008 and the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Many of these institutions had invested in risky securities that lost much or all of their value when U.S. and European housing bubbles began to deflate during the 2007-2009 period, depending on the country. Further, many institutions had become dependent on short-term (overnight) funding markets subject to disruption.
Many institutions lowered credit standards to continue feeding the global demand for mortgage securities, generating huge profits that their investors shared. They also shared the risk. When the bubbles developed, household debt levels rose sharply after the year 2000 globally. Households became dependent on being able to refinance their mortgages. Further, U.S. households often had adjustable rate mortgages, which had lower initial interest rates and payments that later rose. When global credit markets essentially stopped funding mortgage-related investments in the 2007-2008 period, U.S. homeowners were no longer able to refinance and defaulted in record numbers, leading to the collapse of securities backed by these mortgages that now pervaded the system.
The fall in asset prices (such as subprime mortgage-backed securities) during 2007 and 2008 caused the equivalent of a bank run on the U.S., which includes investment banks and other non-depository financial entities. This system had grown to rival the depository system in scale yet was not subject to the same regulatory safeguards. Struggling banks in the U.S. and Europe cut back lending causing a credit crunch. Consumers and some governments were no longer able to borrow and spend at pre-crisis levels. Businesses also cut back their investments as demand faltered and reduced their workforces. Higher unemployment due to the recession made it more difficult for consumers and countries to honor their obligations. This caused financial institution losses to surge, deepening the credit crunch, thereby creating an adverse feedback loop.
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke testified in September 2010 regarding the causes of the crisis. He wrote that there were shocks or triggers (i.e., particular events that touched off the crisis) and vulnerabilities (i.e., structural weaknesses in the financial system, regulation and supervision) that amplified the shocks. Examples of triggers included: losses on subprime mortgage securities that began in 2007 and a run on the shadow banking system that began in mid-2007, which adversely affected the functioning of money markets. Examples of vulnerabilities in the private sector included: financial institution dependence on unstable sources of short-term funding such as repurchase agreements or Repos; deficiencies in corporate risk management; excessive use of leverage (borrowing to invest); and inappropriate usage of derivatives as a tool for taking excessive risks. Examples of vulnerabilities in the public sector included: statutory gaps and conflicts between regulators; ineffective use of regulatory authority; and ineffective crisis management capabilities. Bernanke also discussed "Too big to fail" institutions, monetary policy, and trade deficits.
Economists surveyed by the University of Chicago rated the factors that caused the crisis in order of importance. The results included: 1) Flawed financial sector regulation and supervision; 2) Underestimating risks in financial engineering (e.g., CDOs); 3) Mortgage fraud and bad incentives; 4) Short-term funding decisions and corresponding runs in those markets (e.g., repo); and 5) Credit rating agency failures.
There are several "narratives" attempting to place the causes of the crisis into context, with overlapping elements. Five such narratives include:
There was the equivalent of a bank run on the shadow banking system, which includes investment banks and other non-depository financial entities. This system had grown to rival the depository system in scale yet was not subject to the same regulatory safeguards.
The economy was being driven by a housing bubble. When it burst, private residential investment (i.e., housing construction) fell by nearly 4%. GDP and consumption enabled by bubble-generated housing wealth also slowed. This created a gap in annual demand (GDP) of nearly $1 trillion. Government was unwilling to make up for this private sector shortfall.
Record levels of household debt accumulated in the decades preceding the crisis resulted in a "balance sheet recession" once housing prices began falling in 2006. Consumers began paying down debt, which reduces their consumption, slowing down the economy for an extended period while debt levels are reduced.
Government policies that encouraged home ownership even for those who could not afford it, contributing to lax lending standards, unsustainable housing price increases, and indebtedness.
The financial turmoil induced an increase in money demand (precautionary hoarding). This increase in money demand triggered a corresponding decline in commodity demand.
One narrative describing the causes of the crisis begins with the significant increase in savings available for investment during the 2000–2007 period when the global pool of fixed-income securities increased from approximately $36 trillion in 2000 to $80 trillion by 2007. This "Giant Pool of Money" increased as savings from high-growth developing nations entered global capital markets. Investors searching for higher yields than those offered by U.S. Treasury bonds sought alternatives globally.
The temptation offered by such readily available savings overwhelmed the policy and regulatory control mechanisms in country after country, as lenders and borrowers put these savings to use, generating bubble after bubble across the globe.
When these bubbles burst, causing asset prices (e.g., housing and commercial property) to decline, the liabilities owed to global investors remained at full price, generating questions regarding the solvency of consumers, governments, and banking systems. The effect of this debt overhang is to slow consumption and therefore economic growth and is referred to as a "balance sheet recession" or debt-deflation.
=
Between 1997 and 2006, the price of the typical American house increased by 124%. During the two decades ending in 2001, the national median home price ranged from 2.9 to 3.1 times median household income. This ratio rose to 4.0 in 2004, and 4.6 in 2006. This housing bubble resulted in quite a few homeowners refinancing their homes at lower interest rates, or financing consumer spending by taking out second mortgages secured by the price appreciation.
By September 2008, average U.S. housing prices had declined by over 20% from their mid-2006 peak. Easy credit, and a belief that house prices would continue to appreciate, had encouraged many subprime borrowers to obtain adjustable-rate mortgages. These mortgages enticed borrowers with a below market interest rate for some predetermined period, followed by market interest rates for the remainder of the mortgage's term. Borrowers who could not make the higher payments once the initial grace period ended would try to refinance their mortgages. Refinancing became more difficult, once house prices began to decline in many parts of the US. Borrowers who found themselves unable to escape higher monthly payments by refinancing began to default. During 2007, lenders had begun foreclosure proceedings on nearly 1.3 million properties, a 79% increase over 2006. This increased to 2.3 million in 2008, an 81% increase vs. 2007. As of August 2008, 9.2% of all mortgages outstanding were either delinquent or in foreclosure.
The Economist described the issue this way: "No part of the financial crisis has received so much attention, with so little to show for it, as the tidal wave of home foreclosures sweeping over America. Government programmes have been ineffectual, and private efforts not much better." Up to 9 million homes were at risk of entering foreclosure over the 2009-2011 period, versus one million in a typical year. At roughly U.S. $50,000 per foreclosure according to a 2006 study by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, 9 million foreclosures represents $450 billion in losses.
=
In addition to easy credit conditions, there is evidence that both competitive pressures and some government regulations contributed to an increase in the amount of subprime lending during the years preceding the crisis. Major U.S. investment banks and, to a lesser extent, government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae played an important role in the expansion of higher-risk lending.
The term subprime refers to the credit quality of particular borrowers, who have weakened credit histories at a greater risk of loan default than prime borrowers. The value of U.S. subprime mortgages was estimated at $1.3 trillion as of March 2007, with over 7.5 million first-lien subprime mortgages outstanding.
Subprime mortgages remained below 10% of all mortgage originations until 2004, when they spiked to nearly 20% and remained there through the 2005-2006 peak of the United States housing bubble. A proximate event to this increase was the April 2004 decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to relax the net capital rule, which encouraged the largest five investment banks to dramatically increase their financial leverage and aggressively expand their issuance of mortgage-backed securities. Subprime mortgage payment delinquency rates remained in the 10-15% range from 1998 to 2006, then began to increase rapidly, rising to 25% by early 2008.
Mortgage underwriting
In addition to considering higher-risk borrowers, lenders offered increasingly risky loan options and borrowing incentives.
Mortgage underwriting standards declined gradually during the boom period, particularly from 2004 to 2007. The use of automated loan approvals let loans be made without appropriate review and documentation. In 2007, 40% of all subprime loans resulted from automated underwriting. The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association claimed that mortgage brokers, while profiting from the home loan boom, did not do enough to examine whether borrowers could repay. Mortgage fraud by lenders and borrowers increased enormously. Adverse selection in low-to-no documentation loans can account for a substantial fraction of losses on home foreclosures between 2007 and 2012.
A study by analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found that the average difference between subprime and prime mortgage interest rates (the "subprime markup") declined significantly between 2001 and 2007. The quality of loans originated also worsened gradually during that period. The combination of declining risk premia and credit standards is common to boom and bust credit cycles. The authors also concluded that the decline in underwriting standards did not directly trigger the crisis, because the gradual changes in standards did not statistically account for the large difference in default rates for subprime mortgages issued between 2001-2005 (which had a 10% default rate within one year of origination) and 2006-2007 (which had a 20% rate). In other words, standards gradually declined but defaults suddenly jumped. Furthermore, the authors argued that the trend in worsening loan quality was harder to detect with rising housing prices, as more refinancing options were available, keeping the default rate lower.
Mortgage fraud
In 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned of an "epidemic" in mortgage fraud, an important credit risk of non-prime mortgage lending, which, they said, could lead to "a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis".
Down payments and negative equity
A down payment refers to the cash paid to the lender for the home and represents the initial homeowners' equity or financial interest in the home. A low down payment means that a home represents a highly leveraged investment for the homeowner, with little equity relative to debt. In such circumstances, only small declines in the value of the home result in negative equity, a situation in which the value of the home is less than the mortgage amount owed. In 2005, the median down payment for first-time home buyers was 2%, with 43% of those buyers making no down payment whatsoever. By comparison, China has down payment requirements that exceed 20%, with higher amounts for non-primary residences.
A 2009 paper identifies twelve economists and commentators who, between 2000 and 2006, predicted a recession based on the collapse of the then-booming housing market in the United States: Dean Baker, Wynne Godley, Fred Harrison, Michael Hudson, Eric Janszen, Med Jones Steve Keen, Jakob Brøchner Madsen, Jens Kjaer Sørensen, Kurt Richebächer, Nouriel Roubini, Peter Schiff, and Robert Shiller. Roubini wrote in Forbes in July 2009 that: "Home prices have already fallen from their peak by about 30%. Based on my analysis, they are going to fall by at least 40% from their peak, and more likely 45%, before they bottom out. They are still falling at an annualized rate of over 18%. That fall of at least 40%-45% percent of home prices from their peak is going to imply that about half of all households that have a mortgage—about 25 million of the 51 million that have mortgages—are going to be underwater with negative equity and will have a significant incentive to walk away from their homes."
Economist Stan Leibowitz argued in The Wall Street Journal that the extent of equity in the home was the key factor in foreclosure, rather than the type of loan, credit worthiness of the borrower, or ability to pay. Although only 12% of homes had negative equity (meaning the property was worth less than the mortgage obligation), they comprised 47% of foreclosures during the second half of 2008. Homeowners with negative equity have less financial incentive to stay in the home.
The L.A. Times reported the results of a study that found homeowners with high credit scores at the time of entering a mortgage are 50% more likely to "strategically default" - abruptly and intentionally pull the plug and abandon the mortgage — compared with lower-scoring borrowers. Such strategic defaults were heavily concentrated in markets with the highest price declines. An estimated 588,000 strategic defaults occurred nationwide during 2008, more than double the total in 2007. They represented 18% of all serious delinquencies that extended for more than 60 days in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Predatory lending
Predatory lending refers to the practice of unscrupulous lenders, to enter into "unsafe" or "unsound" secured loans for inappropriate purposes. A classic bait-and-switch method was used by Countrywide, advertising low interest rates for home refinancing. Such loans were written into mind-numbingly detailed contracts and then swapped for more expensive loan products on the day of closing. Whereas the advertisement might have stated that 1% or 1.5% interest would be charged, the consumer would be put into an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) in which the interest charged would be greater than the amount of interest paid. This created negative amortization, which the credit consumer might not notice until long after the loan transaction had been consummated.
Countrywide, sued by California Attorney General Jerry Brown for "Unfair Business Practices" and "False Advertising" was making high cost mortgages "to homeowners with weak credit, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) that allowed homeowners to make interest-only payments.". When housing prices decreased, homeowners in ARMs then had little incentive to pay their monthly payments, since their home equity had disappeared. This caused Countrywide's financial condition to deteriorate, ultimately resulting in a decision by the Office of Thrift Supervision to seize the lender.
Countrywide, according to Republican Lawmakers, had involved itself in making low-cost loans to politicians, for purposes of gaining political favors.
Former employees from Ameriquest, which was United States's leading wholesale lender, described a system in which they were pushed to falsify mortgage documents and then sell the mortgages to Wall Street banks eager to make fast profits. There is growing evidence that such mortgage frauds may be a large cause of the crisis.
Others have pointed to the passage of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act by the 106th Congress, and over-leveraging by banks and investors eager to achieve high returns on capital.
In a June 2009 speech, U.S. President Barack Obama argued that a "culture of irresponsibility" was an important cause of the crisis. He criticized executive compensation that "rewarded recklessness rather than responsibility" and Americans who bought homes "without accepting the responsibilities." He continued that there "was far too much debt and not nearly enough capital in the system. And a growing economy bred complacency." Excessive consumer housing debt was in turn caused by the mortgage-backed security, credit default swap, and collateralized debt obligation sub-sectors of the finance industry, which were offering irrationally low interest rates and irrationally high levels of approval to subprime mortgage consumers. Formulas for calculating aggregate risk were based on the gaussian copula which wrongly assumed that individual components of mortgages were independent. In fact the credit-worthiness of almost every new subprime mortgage was highly correlated with that of any other, due to linkages through consumer spending levels which fell sharply when property values began to fall during the initial wave of mortgage defaults. Debt consumers were acting in their rational self-interest, because they were unable to audit the finance industry's opaque faulty risk pricing methodology.
A key theme of the crisis is that many large financial institutions did not have a sufficient financial cushion to absorb the losses they sustained or to support the commitments made to others. Using technical terms, these firms were highly leveraged (i.e., they maintained a high ratio of debt to equity) or had insufficient capital to post as collateral for their borrowing. A key to a stable financial system is that firms have the financial capacity to support their commitments. Michael Lewis and David Einhorn argued: "The most critical role for regulation is to make sure that the sellers of risk have the capital to support their bets."
=
U.S. households and financial institutions became increasingly indebted or overleveraged during the years preceding the crisis. This increased their vulnerability to the collapse of the housing bubble and worsened the ensuing economic downturn.
USA household debt as a percentage of annual disposable personal income was 127% at the end of 2007, versus 77% in 1990.
U.S. home mortgage debt relative to gross domestic product (GDP) increased from an average of 46% during the 1990s to 73% during 2008, reaching $10.5 trillion.
In 1981, U.S. private debt was 123% of GDP; by the third quarter of 2008, it was 290%.
Several economists and think tanks have argued that income inequality is one of the reasons for this over-leveraging. Research by Raghuram Rajan indicated that: "Starting in the early 1970s, advanced economies found it increasingly difficult to grow...the shortsighted political response to the anxieties of those falling behind was to ease their access to credit. Faced with little regulatory restraint, banks overdosed on risky loans."
To counter the 2000 Stock Market Crash and subsequent economic slowdown, the Federal Reserve eased credit availability and drove interest rates down to lows not seen in many decades. These low interest rates facilitated the growth of debt at all levels of the economy, chief among them private debt to purchase more expensive housing. High levels of debt have long been recognized as a causative factor for recessions. Any debt default has the possibility of causing the lender to also default, if the lender is itself in a weak financial condition and has too much debt. This second default in turn can lead to still further defaults through a domino effect. The chances of these follow-up defaults is increased at high levels of debt. Attempts to prevent this domino effect by bailing out Wall Street lenders such as AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have had mixed success. The takeover is another example of attempts to stop the dominoes from falling.There was a real irony in the recent intervention by the Federal Reserve System to provide the money that enabled the firm of JPMorgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns before it went bankrupt. The point was to try to prevent a domino effect of panic in the financial markets that could lead to a downturn in the economy.
Excessive consumer housing debt was in turn caused by the mortgage-backed security, credit default swap, and collateralized debt obligation sub-sectors of the finance industry, which were offering irrationally low interest rates and irrationally high levels of approval to subprime mortgage consumers because they were calculating aggregate risk using gaussian copula formulas that strictly assumed the independence of individual component mortgages, when in fact the credit-worthiness almost every new subprime mortgage was highly correlated with that of any other because of linkages through consumer spending levels which fell sharply when property values began to fall during the initial wave of mortgage defaults. Debt consumers were acting in their rational self-interest, because they were unable to audit the finance industry's opaque faulty risk pricing methodology.
According to M.S. Eccles, who was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve by FDR and held that position until 1948, excessive debt levels were not a source cause of the Great Depression. Increasing debt levels were caused by a concentration of wealth during the 1920s, causing the middle and poorer classes, which saw a relative and/or actual decrease in wealth, to go increasingly into debt in an attempt to maintain or improve their living standards. According to Eccles this concentration of wealth was the source cause of the Great Depression. The ever-increasing debt levels eventually became unpayable, and therefore unsustainable, leading to debt defaults and the financial panics of the 1930s. The concentration of wealth in the modern era parallels that of the 1920s and has had similar effects. Some of the causes of wealth concentration in the modern era are lower tax rates for the rich, such as Warren Buffett paying taxes at a lower rate than the people working for him, policies such as propping up the stock market, which benefit the stock owning rich more than the middle or poorer classes who own little or no stock, and bailouts which funnel tax money collected largely from the middle class to bail out large corporations largely owned by the rich.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported in April 2012: "Household debt soared in the years leading up to the Great Recession. In advanced economies, during the five years preceding 2007, the ratio of household debt to income rose by an average of 39 percentage points, to 138 percent. In Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, debt peaked at more than 200 percent of household income. A surge in household debt to historic highs also occurred in emerging economies such as Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania. The concurrent boom in both house prices and the stock market meant that household debt relative to assets held broadly stable, which masked households’ growing exposure to a sharp fall in asset prices. When house prices declined, ushering in the global financial crisis, many households saw their wealth shrink relative to their debt, and, with less income and more unemployment, found it harder to meet mortgage payments. By the end of 2011, real house prices had fallen from their peak by about 41% in Ireland, 29% in Iceland, 23% in Spain and the United States, and 21% in Denmark. Household defaults, underwater mortgages (where the loan balance exceeds the house value), foreclosures, and fire sales are now endemic to a number of economies. Household deleveraging by paying off debts or defaulting on them has begun in some countries. It has been most pronounced in the United States, where about two-thirds of the debt reduction reflects defaults."
=
This refers to homeowners borrowing and spending against the value of their homes, typically via a home equity loan or when selling the home. Free cash used by consumers from home equity extraction doubled from $627 billion in 2001 to $1,428 billion in 2005 as the housing bubble built, a total of nearly $5 trillion over the period, contributing to economic growth worldwide. U.S. home mortgage debt relative to GDP increased from an average of 46% during the 1990s to 73% during 2008, reaching $10.5 trillion.
Economist Tyler Cowen explained that the economy was highly dependent on this home equity extraction: "In the 1993-1997 period, home owners extracted an amount of equity from their homes equivalent to 2.3% to 3.8% GDP. By 2005, this figure had increased to 11.5% GDP."
=
Speculative borrowing in residential real estate has been cited as a contributing factor to the subprime mortgage crisis. During 2006, 22% of homes purchased (1.65 million units) were for investment purposes, with an additional 14% (1.07 million units) purchased as vacation homes. During 2005, these figures were 28% and 12%, respectively. In other words, a record level of nearly 40% of homes purchases were not intended as primary residences. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist at the time, stated that the 2006 decline in investment buying was expected: "Speculators left the market in 2006, which caused investment sales to fall much faster than the primary market."
Housing prices nearly doubled between 2000 and 2006, a vastly different trend from the historical appreciation at roughly the rate of inflation. While homes had not traditionally been treated as investments subject to speculation, this behavior changed during the housing boom. Media widely reported condominiums being purchased while under construction, then being "flipped" (sold) for a profit without the seller ever having lived in them. Some mortgage companies identified risks inherent in this activity as early as 2005, after identifying investors assuming highly leveraged positions in multiple properties.
One 2017 NBER study argued that real estate investors (i.e., those owning 2+ homes) were more to blame for the crisis than subprime borrowers: "The rise in mortgage defaults during the crisis was concentrated in the middle of the credit score distribution, and mostly attributable to real estate investors" and that "credit growth between 2001 and 2007 was concentrated in the prime segment, and debt to high-risk [subprime] borrowers was virtually constant for all debt categories during this period." The authors argued that this investor-driven narrative was more accurate than blaming the crisis on lower-income, subprime borrowers. A 2011 Fed study had a similar finding: "In states that experienced the largest housing booms and busts, at the peak of the market almost half of purchase mortgage originations were associated with investors. In part by apparently misreporting their intentions to occupy the property, investors took on more leverage, contributing to higher rates of default." The Fed study reported that mortgage originations to investors rose from 25% in 2000 to 45% in 2006, for Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada overall, where housing price increases during the bubble (and declines in the bust) were most pronounced. In these states, investor delinquency rose from around 15% in 2000 to over 35% in 2007 and 2008.
Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute described the negative consequences of not adjusting tax and mortgage policies to the shifting treatment of a home from conservative inflation hedge to speculative investment. Economist Robert Shiller argued that speculative bubbles are fueled by "contagious optimism, seemingly impervious to facts, that often takes hold when prices are rising. Bubbles are primarily social phenomena; until we understand and address the psychology that fuels them, they're going to keep forming."
Mortgage risks were underestimated by every institution in the chain from originator to investor by underweighting the possibility of falling housing prices given historical trends of rising prices. Misplaced confidence in innovation and excessive optimism led to miscalculations by both public and private institutions.
=
Keynesian economist Hyman Minsky described how speculative borrowing contributed to rising debt and an eventual collapse of asset values.
Economist Paul McCulley described how Minsky's hypothesis translates to the current crisis, using Minsky's words: "...from time to time, capitalist economies exhibit inflations and debt deflations which seem to have the potential to spin out of control. In such processes, the economic system's reactions to a movement of the economy amplify the movement--inflation feeds upon inflation and debt-deflation feeds upon debt deflation." In other words, people are momentum investors by nature, not value investors. People naturally take actions that expand the apex and nadir of cycles. One implication for policymakers and regulators is the implementation of counter-cyclical policies, such as contingent capital requirements for banks that increase during boom periods and are reduced during busts.
=
The former CEO of Citigroup Charles O. Prince said in November 2007: "As long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance." This metaphor summarized how financial institutions took advantage of easy credit conditions, by borrowing and investing large sums of money, a practice called leveraged lending. Debt taken on by financial institutions increased from 63.8% of U.S. gross domestic product in 1997 to 113.8% in 2007.
Net capital rule
A 2004 SEC decision related to the net capital rule allowed USA investment banks to issue substantially more debt, which was then used to help fund the housing bubble through purchases of mortgage-backed securities. The change in regulation left the capital adequacy requirement at the same level but added a risk weighting that lowered capital requirements on AAA rated bonds and tranches. This led to a shift from first loss tranches to highly rated less risky tranches and was seen as an improvement in risk management in the spirit of the European Basel accords.
From 2004-07, the top five U.S. investment banks each significantly increased their financial leverage (see diagram), which increased their vulnerability to a financial shock. These five institutions reported over $4.1 trillion in debt for fiscal year 2007, about 30% of USA nominal GDP for 2007. Lehman Brothers was liquidated, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch were sold at fire-sale prices, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley became commercial banks, subjecting themselves to more stringent regulation. With the exception of Lehman, these companies required or received government support.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, owned or guaranteed nearly $5 trillion in mortgage obligations at the time they were placed into conservatorship by the U.S. government in September 2008.
These seven entities were highly leveraged and had $9 trillion in debt or guarantee obligations, an enormous concentration of risk, yet were not subject to the same regulation as depository banks.
In a May 2008 speech, Ben Bernanke quoted Walter Bagehot: "A good banker will have accumulated in ordinary times the reserve he is to make use of in extraordinary times." However, this advice was not heeded by these institutions, which had used the boom times to increase their leverage ratio instead.
In its "Declaration of the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy," dated 15 November 2008, leaders of the Group of 20 cited the following causes related to features of the modern financial markets:
During a period of strong global growth, growing capital flows, and prolonged stability earlier this decade, market participants sought higher yields without an adequate appreciation of the risks and failed to exercise proper due diligence. At the same time, weak underwriting standards, unsound risk management practices, increasingly complex and opaque financial products, and consequent excessive leverage combined to create vulnerabilities in the system. Policy-makers, regulators and supervisors, in some advanced countries, did not adequately appreciate and address the risks building up in financial markets, keep pace with financial innovation, or take into account the systemic ramifications of domestic regulatory actions.
=
The term financial innovation refers to the ongoing development of financial products designed to achieve particular client objectives, such as offsetting a particular risk exposure (such as the default of a borrower) or to assist with obtaining financing. Examples pertinent to this crisis included: the adjustable-rate mortgage; the bundling of subprime mortgages into mortgage-backed securities (MBS) or collateralized debt obligations (CDO) for sale to investors, a type of securitization; and a form of credit insurance called credit default swaps(CDS). The usage of these products expanded dramatically in the years leading up to the crisis. These products vary in complexity and the ease with which they can be valued on the books of financial institutions.
The CDO in particular enabled financial institutions to obtain investor funds to finance subprime and other lending, extending or increasing the housing bubble and generating large fees. Approximately $1.6 trillion in CDO's were originated between 2003-2007. A CDO essentially places cash payments from multiple mortgages or other debt obligations into a single pool, from which the cash is allocated to specific securities in a priority sequence. Those securities obtaining cash first received investment-grade ratings from rating agencies. Lower priority securities received cash thereafter, with lower credit ratings but theoretically a higher rate of return on the amount invested. A sample of 735 CDO deals originated between 1999 and 2007 showed that subprime and other less-than-prime mortgages represented an increasing percentage of CDO assets, rising from 5% in 2000 to 36% in 2007.
For a variety of reasons, market participants did not accurately measure the risk inherent with this innovation or understand its impact on the overall stability of the financial system. For example, the pricing model for CDOs clearly did not reflect the level of risk they introduced into the system. The average recovery rate for "high quality" CDOs has been approximately 32 cents on the dollar, while the recovery rate for mezzanine CDO's has been approximately five cents for every dollar. These massive, practically unthinkable, losses have dramatically impacted the balance sheets of banks across the globe, leaving them with very little capital to continue operations.
Others have pointed out that there were not enough of these loans made to cause a crisis of this magnitude. In an article in Portfolio Magazine, Michael Lewis spoke with one trader who noted that "There weren’t enough Americans with [bad] credit taking out [bad loans] to satisfy investors’ appetite for the end product." Essentially, investment banks and hedge funds used financial innovation to synthesize more loans using derivatives. "They were creating [loans] out of whole cloth. One hundred times over! That’s why the losses are so much greater than the loans."
Princeton professor Harold James wrote that one of the byproducts of this innovation was that MBS and other financial assets were "repackaged so thoroughly and resold so often that it became impossible to clearly connect the thing being traded to its underlying value." He called this a "...profound flaw at the core of the U.S. financial system..."
Another example relates to AIG, which insured obligations of various financial institutions through the usage of credit default swaps. The basic CDS transaction involved AIG receiving a premium in exchange for a promise to pay money to party A in the event party B defaulted. However, AIG did not have the financial strength to support its many CDS commitments as the crisis progressed and was taken over by the government in September 2008. U.S. taxpayers provided over $180 billion in government support to AIG during 2008 and early 2009, through which the money flowed to various counterparties to CDS transactions, including many large global financial institutions.
Author Michael Lewis wrote that CDS enabled speculators to stack bets on the same mortgage bonds and CDO's. This is analogous to allowing many persons to buy insurance on the same house. Speculators that bought CDS insurance were betting that significant defaults would occur, while the sellers (such as AIG) bet they would not. In addition, Chicago Public Radio and the Huffington Post reported in April 2010 that market participants, including a hedge fund called Magnetar Capital, encouraged the creation of CDO's containing low quality mortgages, so they could bet against them using CDS. NPR reported that Magnetar encouraged investors to purchase CDO's while simultaneously betting against them, without disclosing the latter bet.
=
Credit rating agencies are under scrutiny for having given investment-grade ratings to MBSs based on risky subprime mortgage loans. These high ratings enabled these MBS to be sold to investors, thereby financing the housing boom. These ratings were believed justified because of risk reducing practices, such as credit default insurance and equity investors willing to bear the first losses. However, there are also indications that some involved in rating subprime-related securities knew at the time that the rating process was faulty.
An estimated $3.2 trillion in loans were made to homeowners with bad credit and undocumented incomes (e.g., subprime or Alt-A mortgages) between 2002 and 2007. Economist Joseph Stiglitz stated: "I view the rating agencies as one of the key culprits...They were the party that performed the alchemy that converted the securities from F-rated to A-rated. The banks could not have done what they did without the complicity of the rating agencies." Without the AAA ratings, demand for these securities would have been considerably less. Bank writedowns and losses on these investments totaled $523 billion as of September 2008.
The ratings of these securities was a lucrative business for the rating agencies, accounting for just under half of Moody's total ratings revenue in 2007. Through 2007, ratings companies enjoyed record revenue, profits and share prices. The rating companies earned as much as three times more for grading these complex products than corporate bonds, their traditional business. Rating agencies also competed with each other to rate particular MBS and CDO securities issued by investment banks, which critics argued contributed to lower rating standards. Interviews with rating agency senior managers indicate the competitive pressure to rate the CDO's favorably was strong within the firms. This rating business was their "golden goose" (which laid the proverbial golden egg or wealth) in the words of one manager. Author Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) famously stated: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it." From 2000-2006, structured finance (which includes CDO's) accounted for 40% of the revenues of the credit rating agencies. During that time, one major rating agency had its stock increase six-fold and its earnings grew by 900%.
Critics allege that the rating agencies suffered from conflicts of interest, as they were paid by investment banks and other firms that organize and sell structured securities to investors. On 11 June 2008, the SEC proposed rules designed to mitigate perceived conflicts of interest between rating agencies and issuers of structured securities. On 3 December 2008, the SEC approved measures to strengthen oversight of credit rating agencies, following a ten-month investigation that found "significant weaknesses in ratings practices," including conflicts of interest.
Between Q3 2007 and Q2 2008, rating agencies lowered the credit ratings on $1.9 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. Financial institutions felt they had to lower the value of their MBS and acquire additional capital so as to maintain capital ratios. If this involved the sale of new shares of stock, the value of the existing shares was reduced. Thus ratings downgrades lowered the stock prices of many financial firms.
=
The limitations of many, widely used financial models also were not properly understood. Li's Gaussian copula formula assumed that the price of CDS was correlated with and could predict the correct price of mortgage backed securities. Because it was highly tractable, it rapidly came to be used by a huge percentage of CDO and CDS investors, issuers, and rating agencies. According to one wired.com article: "Then the model fell apart. Cracks started appearing early on, when financial markets began behaving in ways that users of Li's formula hadn't expected. The cracks became full-fledged canyons in 2008—when ruptures in the financial system's foundation swallowed up trillions of dollars and put the survival of the global banking system in serious peril... Li's Gaussian copula formula will go down in history as instrumental in causing the unfathomable losses that brought the world financial system to its knees."
George Soros commented that "The super-boom got out of hand when the new products became so complicated that the authorities could no longer calculate the risks and started relying on the risk management methods of the banks themselves. Similarly, the rating agencies relied on the information provided by the originators of synthetic products. It was a shocking abdication of responsibility."
=
Complex financing structures called structured investment vehicles (SIV) or conduits enabled banks to move significant amounts of assets and liabilities, including unsold CDO's, off their books. This had the effect of helping the banks maintain regulatory minimum capital ratios. They were then able to lend anew, earning additional fees. Author Robin Blackburn explained how they worked: Institutional investors could be persuaded to buy the SIV's supposedly high-quality, short-term commercial paper, allowing the vehicles to acquire longer-term, lower quality assets, and generating a profit on the spread between the two. The latter included larger amounts of mortgages, credit-card debt, student loans and other receivables...For about five years those dealing in SIV's and conduits did very well by exploiting the spread...but this disappeared in August 2007, and the banks were left holding a very distressed baby. Off balance sheet financing also made firms look less leveraged and enabled them to borrow at cheaper rates.
Banks had established automatic lines of credit to these SIV and conduits. When the cash flow into the SIV's began to decline as subprime defaults mounted, banks were contractually obligated to provide cash to these structures and their investors. This "conduit-related balance sheet pressure" placed strain on the banks' ability to lend, both raising interbank lending rates and reducing the availability of funds.
In the years leading up to the crisis, the top four U.S. depository banks moved an estimated $5.2 trillion in assets and liabilities off-balance sheet into these SIV's and conduits. This enabled them to essentially bypass existing regulations regarding minimum capital ratios, thereby increasing leverage and profits during the boom but increasing losses during the crisis. Accounting guidance was changed in 2009 that will require them to put some of these assets back onto their books, which significantly reduces their capital ratios. One news agency estimated this amount at between $500 billion and $1 trillion. This effect was considered as part of the stress tests performed by the government during 2009.
During March 2010, the bankruptcy court examiner released a report on Lehman Brothers, which had failed spectacularly in September 2008. The report indicated that up to $50 billion was moved off-balance sheet in a questionable manner by management during 2008, with the effect of making its debt level (leverage ratio) appear smaller. Analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated big banks mask their risk levels just prior to reporting data quarterly to the public.
=
Certain financial innovation may also have the effect of circumventing regulations, such as off-balance sheet financing that affects the leverage or capital cushion reported by major banks. For example, Martin Wolf wrote in June 2009: "...an enormous part of what banks did in the early part of this decade – the off-balance-sheet vehicles, the derivatives and the 'shadow banking system' itself – was to find a way round regulation."
=
Niall Ferguson wrote that the financial sector became increasingly concentrated in the years leading up to the crisis, which made the stability of the financial system more reliant on just a few firms, which were also highly leveraged:
Between 1990 and 2008, according to Wall Street veteran Henry Kaufman, the share of financial assets held by the 10 largest U.S. financial institutions rose from 10 percent to 50 percent, even as the number of banks fell from more than 15,000 to about 8,000. By the end of 2007, 15 institutions with combined shareholder equity of $857 billion had total assets of $13.6 trillion and off-balance-sheet commitments of $5.8 trillion—a total leverage ratio of 23 to 1. They also had underwritten derivatives with a gross notional value of $216 trillion. These firms had once been Wall Street's "bulge bracket," the companies that led underwriting syndicates. Now they did more than bulge. These institutions had become so big that the failure of just one of them would pose a systemic risk.
By contrast, some scholars have argued that fragmentation in the mortgage securitization market led to increased risk taking and a deterioration in underwriting standards.
=
The Shadow banking system grew to exceed the size of the depository system, but was not subject to the same requirements and protections. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman described the run on the shadow banking system as the "core of what happened" to cause the crisis. "As the shadow banking system expanded to rival or even surpass conventional banking in importance, politicians and government officials should have realized that they were re-creating the kind of financial vulnerability that made the Great Depression possible – and they should have responded by extending regulations and the financial safety net to cover these new institutions. Influential figures should have proclaimed a simple rule: anything that does what a bank does, anything that has to be rescued in crises the way banks are, should be regulated like a bank." He referred to this lack of controls as "malign neglect."
=
Critics of government policy argued that government lending programs were the main cause of the crisis. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (report of the Democratic party majority) stated that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government affordable housing policies, and the Community Reinvestment Act were not primary causes of the crisis. The Republican members of the commission disagreed.
=
In 1992, the Democratic-controlled 102nd Congress under the George H. W. Bush administration weakened regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the goal of making available more money for the issuance of home loans. The Washington Post wrote: "Congress also wanted to free up money for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy mortgage loans and specified that the pair would be required to keep a much smaller share of their funds on hand than other financial institutions. Whereas banks that held $100 could spend $90 buying mortgage loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could spend $97.50 buying loans. Finally, Congress ordered that the companies be required to keep more capital as a cushion against losses if they invested in riskier securities. But the rule was never set during the Clinton administration, which came to office that winter, and was only put in place nine years later."
Some economists have pointed to deregulation efforts as contributing to the collapse. In 1999, the Republican-controlled 106th Congress U.S. Congress under the Clinton administration passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. This repeal has been criticized by some for having contributed to the proliferation of the complex and opaque financial instruments at the heart of the crisis. However, some economists object to singling out the repeal of Glass–Steagall for criticism. Brad DeLong, a former advisor to President Clinton and economist at the University of California, Berkeley and Tyler Cowen of George Mason University have both argued that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act softened the impact of the crisis by allowing for mergers and acquisitions of collapsing banks as the crisis unfolded in late 2008.
=
In a Peabody Award winning program, NPR correspondents argued that a "Giant Pool of Money" (represented by $70 trillion in worldwide fixed income investments) sought higher yields than those offered by U.S. Treasury bonds early in the decade, which were low due to low interest rates and trade deficits discussed above. Further, this pool of money had roughly doubled in size from 2000 to 2007, yet the supply of relatively safe, income generating investments had not grown as fast. Investment banks on Wall Street answered this demand with the mortgage-backed security (MBS) and collateralized debt obligation (CDO), which were assigned safe ratings by the credit rating agencies. In effect, Wall Street connected this pool of money to the mortgage market in the U.S., with enormous fees accruing to those throughout the mortgage supply chain, from the mortgage broker selling the loans, to small banks that funded the brokers, to the giant investment banks behind them. By approximately 2003, the supply of mortgages originated at traditional lending standards had been exhausted. However, continued strong demand for MBS and CDO began to drive down lending standards, as long as mortgages could still be sold along the supply chain. Eventually, this speculative bubble proved unsustainable.
=
In a June 2008 speech, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, then President and CEO of the NY Federal Reserve Bank, placed significant blame for the freezing of credit markets on a "run" on the entities in the "parallel" banking system, also called the shadow banking system. These entities became critical to the credit markets underpinning the financial system, but were not subject to the same regulatory controls. Further, these entities were vulnerable because they borrowed short-term in liquid markets to purchase long-term, illiquid and risky assets. This meant that disruptions in credit markets would make them subject to rapid deleveraging, selling their long-term assets at depressed prices. He described the significance of these entities: "In early 2007, asset-backed commercial paper conduits, in structured investment vehicles, in auction-rate preferred securities, tender option bonds and variable rate demand notes, had a combined asset size of roughly $2.2 trillion. Assets financed overnight in triparty repo grew to $2.5 trillion. Assets held in hedge funds grew to roughly $1.8 trillion. The combined balance sheets of the then five major investment banks totaled $4 trillion. In comparison, the total assets of the top five bank holding companies in the United States at that point were just over $6 trillion, and total assets of the entire banking system were about $10 trillion." He stated that the "combined effect of these factors was a financial system vulnerable to self-reinforcing asset price and credit cycles."
=
Nobel laureate and liberal political columnist Paul Krugman described the run on the shadow banking system as the "core of what happened" to cause the crisis. "As the shadow banking system expanded to rival or even surpass conventional banking in importance, politicians and government officials should have realized that they were re-creating the kind of financial vulnerability that made the Great Depression possible—and they should have responded by extending regulations and the financial safety net to cover these new institutions. Influential figures should have proclaimed a simple rule: anything that does what a bank does, anything that has to be rescued in crises the way banks are, should be regulated like a bank." He referred to this lack of controls as "malign neglect." Some researchers have suggested that competition between GSEs and the shadow banking system led to a deterioration in underwriting standards.
For example, investment bank Bear Stearns was required to replenish much of its funding in overnight markets, making the firm vulnerable to credit market disruptions. When concerns arose regarding its financial strength, its ability to secure funds in these short-term markets was compromised, leading to the equivalent of a bank run. Over four days, its available cash declined from $18 billion to $3 billion as investors pulled funding from the firm. It collapsed and was sold at a fire-sale price to bank JP Morgan Chase March 16, 2008.
More than a third of the private credit markets thus became unavailable as a source of funds. In February 2009, Ben Bernanke stated that securitization markets remained effectively shut, with the exception of conforming mortgages, which could be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Economist reported in March 2010: "Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers were non-banks that were crippled by a silent run among panicky overnight "repo" lenders, many of them money market funds uncertain about the quality of securitized collateral they were holding. Mass redemptions from these funds after Lehman's failure froze short-term funding for big firms."
During the boom period, enormous fees were paid to those throughout the mortgage supply chain, from the mortgage broker selling the loans, to small banks that funded the brokers, to the giant investment banks behind them. Those originating loans were paid fees for selling them, regardless of how the loans performed. Default or credit risk was passed from mortgage originators to investors using various types of financial innovation. This became known as the "originate to distribute" model, as opposed to the traditional model where the bank originating the mortgage retained the credit risk. In effect, the mortgage originators were left with nothing at risk, giving rise to a moral hazard that separated behavior and consequence.
Economist Mark Zandi described moral hazard as a root cause of the subprime mortgage crisis. He wrote: "...the risks inherent in mortgage lending became so widely dispersed that no one was forced to worry about the quality of any single loan. As shaky mortgages were combined, diluting any problems into a larger pool, the incentive for responsibility was undermined." He also wrote: "Finance companies weren't subject to the same regulatory oversight as banks. Taxpayers weren't on the hook if they went belly up [pre-crisis], only their shareholders and other creditors were. Finance companies thus had little to discourage them from growing as aggressively as possible, even if that meant lowering or winking at traditional lending standards."
The New York State Comptroller's Office has said that in 2006, Wall Street executives took home bonuses totaling $23.9 billion. "Wall Street traders were thinking of the bonus at the end of the year, not the long-term health of their firm. The whole system—from mortgage brokers to Wall Street risk managers—seemed tilted toward taking short-term risks while ignoring long-term obligations. The most damning evidence is that most of the people at the top of the banks didn't really understand how those [investments] worked."
Investment banker incentive compensation was focused on fees generated from assembling financial products, rather than the performance of those products and profits generated over time. Their bonuses were heavily skewed towards cash rather than stock and not subject to "claw-back" (recovery of the bonus from the employee by the firm) in the event the MBS or CDO created did not perform. In addition, the increased risk (in the form of financial leverage) taken by the major investment banks was not adequately factored into the compensation of senior executives.
Bank CEO Jamie Dimon argued: "Rewards have to track real, sustained, risk-adjusted performance. Golden parachutes, special contracts, and unreasonable perks must disappear. There must be a relentless focus on risk management that starts at the top of the organization and permeates down to the entire firm. This should be business-as-usual, but at too many places, it wasn't."
Critics have argued that the regulatory framework did not keep pace with financial innovation, such as the increasing importance of the shadow banking system, derivatives and off-balance sheet financing. In other cases, laws were changed or enforcement weakened in parts of the financial system. Several critics have argued that the most critical role for regulation is to make sure that financial institutions have the ability or capital to deliver on their commitments. Critics have also noted de facto deregulation through a shift in market share toward the least regulated portions of the mortgage market.
Key examples of regulatory failures include:
In 1999, the Republican controlled 106th Congress U.S. Congress under the Clinton administration passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. This repeal has been criticized for reducing the separation between commercial banks (which traditionally had a conservative culture) and investment banks (which had a more risk-taking culture).
In 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission relaxed the net capital rule, which enabled investment banks to substantially increase the level of debt they were taking on, fueling the growth in mortgage-backed securities supporting subprime mortgages. The SEC has conceded that self-regulation of investment banks contributed to the crisis.
Financial institutions in the shadow banking system are not subject to the same regulation as depository banks, allowing them to assume additional debt obligations relative to their financial cushion or capital base. This was the case despite the Long-Term Capital Management debacle in 1998, where a highly leveraged shadow institution failed with systemic implications.
Regulators and accounting standard-setters allowed depository banks such as Citigroup to move significant amounts of assets and liabilities off-balance sheet into complex legal entities called structured investment vehicles, masking the weakness of the capital base of the firm or degree of leverage or risk taken. One news agency estimated that the top four U.S. banks will have to return between $500 billion and $1 trillion to their balance sheets during 2009. This increased uncertainty during the crisis regarding the financial position of the major banks. Off-balance sheet entities were also used by Enron as part of the scandal that brought down that company in 2001.
The U.S. Congress allowed the self-regulation of the derivatives market when it passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. Derivatives such as credit default swaps (CDS) can be used to hedge or speculate against particular credit risks. The volume of CDS outstanding increased 100-fold from 1998 to 2008, with estimates of the debt covered by CDS contracts, as of November 2008, ranging from US$33 to $47 trillion. Total over-the-counter (OTC) derivative notional value rose to $683 trillion by June 2008. Warren Buffett famously referred to derivatives as "financial weapons of mass destruction" in early 2003.
Author Roger Lowenstein summarized some of the regulatory problems that caused the crisis in November 2009:
"1) Mortgage regulation was too lax and in some cases nonexistent; 2) Capital requirements for banks were too low; 3) Trading in derivatives such as credit default swaps posed giant, unseen risks; 4) Credit ratings on structured securities such as collateralized-debt obligations were deeply flawed; 5) Bankers were moved to take on risk by excessive pay packages; 6) The government’s response to the crash also created, or exacerbated, moral hazard. Markets now expect that big banks won’t be allowed to fail, weakening the incentives of investors to discipline big banks and keep them from piling up too many risky assets again."
A 2011 documentary film, Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? argues that deregulation led to the crisis, and is geared towards a general audience.
A variety of conflicts of interest have been argued as contributing to this crisis:
Credit rating agencies are compensated for rating debt securities by those issuing the securities, who have an interest in seeing the most positive ratings applied. Further, changing the debt rating on a company that insures multiple debt securities such as AIG or MBIA, requires the re-rating of many other securities, creating significant costs. Despite taking on significantly more risk, AIG and MBIA retained the highest credit ratings until well into the crisis.
There is a "revolving door" between major financial institutions, the Treasury Department, and Treasury bailout programs. For example, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs was Henry Paulson, who became President George W. Bush's Treasury Secretary. Although three of Goldman's key competitors either failed or were allowed to fail, it received $10 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds (which it has since paid back) and $12.9 billion in payments via AIG, while remaining highly profitable and paying enormous bonuses. The first two officials in charge of the TARP bailout program were also from Goldman.
There is a "revolving door" between major financial institutions and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is supposed to monitor them. For example, as of January 2009, the SEC's two most recent Directors of Enforcement had taken positions at powerful banks directly after leaving the role. The route into lucrative positions with banks places a financial incentive on regulators to maintain good relationships with those they monitor. This is sometimes referred to as regulatory capture.
Banks in the U.S. lobby politicians extensively. A November 2009 report from economists of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) writing independently of that organization indicated that:
Thirty-three legislative proposals that would have increased regulatory scrutiny over banks were the targets of intense and successful lobbying;
The study concluded that: "the prevention of future crises might require weakening political influence of the financial industry or closer monitoring of lobbying activities to understand better the incentives behind it."
The Boston Globe reported during that during January–June 2009, the largest four U.S. banks spent these amounts ($ millions) on lobbying, despite receiving taxpayer bailouts: Citigroup $3.1; JP Morgan Chase $3.1; Bank of America $1.5; and Wells Fargo $1.4.
The New York Times reported in April 2010: "An analysis by Public Citizen found that at least 70 former members of Congress were lobbying for Wall Street and the financial services sector last year, including two former Senate majority leaders (Trent Lott and Bob Dole), two former House majority leaders (Richard A. Gephardt and Dick Armey) and a former House speaker (J. Dennis Hastert). In addition to the lawmakers, data from OpenSecrets counted 56 former Congressional aides on the Senate or House banking committees who went on to use their expertise to lobby for the financial sector."
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported in January 2011 that "...from 1998 to 2008, the financial sector expended $2.7 billion in reported federal lobbying expenses; individuals and political action committees in the sector made more than $1 billion in campaign contributions."
=
A 2012 book by Hedrick Smith, Who Stole the American Dream?, suggests that the Powell Memo was instrumental in setting a new political direction for US business leaders that led to "America’s contemporary economic malaise."
=
A commodity price bubble was created following the collapse in the housing bubble. The price of oil nearly tripled from $50 to $140 from early 2007 to 2008, before plunging as the financial crisis began to take hold in late 2008. Experts debate the causes, which include the flow of money from housing and other investments into commodities to speculation and monetary policy. An increase in oil prices tends to divert a larger share of consumer spending into gasoline, which creates downward pressure on economic growth in oil importing countries, as wealth flows to oil-producing states. Spiking instability in the price of oil over the decade leading up to the price high of 2008 has also been proposed as a causal factor in the financial crisis.
=
A cover story in BusinessWeek magazine claims that economists mostly failed to predict the worst international economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania online business journal examines why economists failed to predict a major global financial crisis. But in fact, a 2009 paper identifies twelve economists and commentators who, between 2000 and 2006, predicted a recession based on the collapse of the then-booming housing market in the United States: Dean Baker, Wynne Godley, Fred Harrison, Michael Hudson, Eric Janszen, Med Jones Steve Keen, Jakob Brøchner Madsen, Jens Kjaer Sørensen, Kurt Richebächer, Nouriel Roubini, Peter Schiff, and Robert Shiller. An article in The New York Times informs that Roubini warned of such crisis as early as September 2006, and the article goes on to state that the profession of economics is bad at predicting recessions. According to The Guardian, Roubini was ridiculed for predicting a collapse of the housing market and worldwide recession, while The New York Times labelled him "Dr. Doom". However, there are examples of other experts who gave indications of a financial crisis.
The failure to forecast the "Great Recession" has caused a lot of soul searching in the economics profession. The Queen of the United Kingdom asked why had nobody noticed that the credit crunch was on its way, and a group of economists—experts from business, the City, its regulators, academia, and government—tried to explain in a letter.
=
Another probable cause of the crisis—and a factor that unquestionably amplified its magnitude—was widespread miscalculation by banks and investors of the level of risk inherent in the unregulated collateralized debt obligation and credit default swap markets. Under this theory, banks and investors systematized the risk by taking advantage of low interest rates to borrow tremendous sums of money that they could only pay back if the housing market continued to increase in value.
According to an article published in Wired, the risk was further systematized by the use of David X. Li's Gaussian copula model function to rapidly price collateralized debt obligations based on the price of related credit default swaps. Because it was highly tractable, it rapidly came to be used by a huge percentage of CDO and CDS investors, issuers, and rating agencies. According to one wired.com article: "Then the model fell apart. Cracks started appearing early on, when financial markets began behaving in ways that users of Li's formula hadn't expected. The cracks became full-fledged canyons in 2008—when ruptures in the financial system's foundation swallowed up trillions of dollars and put the survival of the global banking system in serious peril...Li's Gaussian copula formula will go down in history as instrumental in causing the unfathomable losses that brought the world financial system to its knees."
The pricing model for CDOs clearly did not reflect the level of risk they introduced into the system. It has been estimated that the "from late 2005 to the middle of 2007, around $450bn of CDO of ABS were issued, of which about one third were created from risky mortgage-backed bonds...[o]ut of that pile, around $305bn of the CDOs are now in a formal state of default, with the CDOs underwritten by Merrill Lynch accounting for the biggest pile of defaulted assets, followed by UBS and Citi." The average recovery rate for high quality CDOs has been approximately 32 cents on the dollar, while the recovery rate for mezzanine CDO's has been approximately five cents for every dollar. These massive, practically unthinkable, losses have dramatically impacted the balance sheets of banks across the globe, leaving them with very little capital to continue operations.
=
Economist James D. Hamilton has argued that the increase in oil prices in the period of 2007 through 2008 was a significant cause of the recession. He evaluated several different approaches to estimating the impact of oil price shocks on the economy, including some methods that had previously shown a decline in the relationship between oil price shocks and the overall economy. All of these methods "support a common conclusion; had there been no increase in oil prices between 2007:Q3 and 2008:Q2, the US economy would not have been in a recession over the period 2007:Q4 through 2008:Q3." Hamilton's own model, a time-series econometric forecast based on data up to 2003, showed that the decline in GDP could have been successfully predicted to almost its full extent given knowledge of the price of oil. The results imply that oil prices were entirely responsible for the recession. Hamilton acknowledged that this was probably not the entire cause but maintained that it showed that oil price increases made a significant contribution to the downturn in economic growth.
=
It has also been debated that the root cause of the crisis is overproduction of goods caused by globalization. Overproduction tends to cause deflation and signs of deflation were evident in October and November 2008, as commodity prices tumbled and the Federal Reserve was lowering its target rate to an all-time-low 0.25%. On the other hand, ecological economist Herman Daly suggests that it is not actually an economic crisis, but rather a crisis of exceeding growth beyond sustainable ecological limits. This reflects a claim made in the 1972 book Limits to Growth, which stated that without major deviation from the policies followed in the 20th century, a permanent end of economic growth could be reached sometime in the first two decades of the 21st century, due to gradual depletion of natural resources.
Black, William K. (2005). The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72139-5. |
37060890 | Bankocracy | 2012-09-19 14:04:49+00:00 | Bankocracy (from the English word bank and Ancient Greek κράτος - kratos, "power, rule") or trapezocracy (from Greek τράπεζα - trapeza, "bank") is a polemic term referring to the excessive power or influence of banks on public policy-making. It can also refer to a form of government where financial institutions rule society.
One of the first uses of the term was by British Member of Parliament William Fullarton (1754–1808), who in a parliamentary debate on April 10, 1797 characterized the monopoly of the Bank of England as being a more important issue to solve than the peace attempts to end the war against France: It is Bankocracy that threatens the destruction of social order ... that turns and overturns all questions respecting war, negotiations, and peace.
United States Senator Robert J. Walker (1801–1869), a staunch opponent of the Bank of the United States, delivered a speech in the Senate on January 21, 1840, where he warned that the acceptance of paper money as legal tender would "overthrow the Constitution, subvert the liberties of the country, and the rights of the people, and establish the reign of a bankocracy, more sordid, ruinous, and despotic, than that of any monarch, however absolute."
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon used the term in his work Les Confessions d’un révolutionnaire (1849), in reference to the July Monarchy:
The principle of the July government, founded by and for the middle class, was therefore property, the capital. Under a monarchical form, the essence of that government was bankocracy.
Mikhail Bakunin, an anarchist like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, used the term in his work Statism and Anarchy while talking about the reaction from the German State headed by Otto von Bismarck. He uses the russian term for Yid in the original script, a derogatory for the word "Jew", showing his historically noted anti-semitism.
This reaction is nothing other than the ultimate realization of the anti-popular idea of the modern state, the sole objective of which is to organize the most intensive exploitation of the people’s labor for the benefit of capital concentrated in a very small number of hands. It signifies the triumphant reign of the Yids,{3} of a bankocracy under the powerful protection of a fiscal, bureaucratic, and police regime which relies mainly on military force and is therefore in essence despotic, but cloaks itself in the parliamentary game of pseudo-constitutionalism.
The term was also used by Karl Marx in his work Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie (1867). He theorizes the birth of national debt as the catalyst for the primitive accumulation of capital: The public debt becomes one of the most powerful levers of primitive accumulation. ... [T]he national debt has given rise to joint-stock companies, to dealings in negotiable effects of all kinds, and to agiotage, in a word to stock-exchange gambling and the modern bankocracy.
In Marxian economics, the term cognates with finance capitalism in general.
Numerous political observers and journalists have used the term when describing or commenting on the 2007–2012 global financial crisis. |
57516167 | Delight School District | 2018-05-26 09:29:12+00:00 | Delight School District No. 44 or Delight Public Schools was a school district headquartered in Delight, Arkansas. It operated an elementary school and a high school. The district occupied portions of Pike and Clark counties.
In addition to Delight, the district served residents of Antoine, Bowen, Billstown, Pike City, and Pisgah. The district also stated it served Okolona; Okolona itself is within the Gurdon School District.
In 2001 the Delight district had 29 preschool students; that year it also had 206 elementary school students and 170 secondary students for a total of 376 in K-12. In 2010 it merged into the South Pike County School District.
Sometime before 1900 a two-story building was constructed to serve as the community's school; in 1924 a fire destroyed the building. In 1926 grades 11 and 12 opened; the district previously went to grade 10. In 1927 Coach N.C. Crain asked athletes to pick the school colors and mascot while traveling to an athletics match.
On July 1, 1987, the Okolona School District was dissolved; a portion went to the Delight School District.
By 2010 the student population of Delight had fallen below 350, which required the district to be merged into another district under Arkansas law. That year the Delight district and the Weiner School District, another school district under the 350 student limit, attempted a voluntary merger, but the Arkansas Board of Education (ABE) declined on the grounds of the two districts being too far apart. Weiner instead ultimately merged with the Harrisburg School District.
On February 25, 2010, the Delight district asked the ABE to be instead merged into the adjacent Murfreesboro School District, which had 545 students. On July 1, 2010, the Delight district merged with the Murfreesboro district to form the South Pike County School District.
The campus had main classroom buildings for elementary and secondary students. It also had a preschool building, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a home economics building, a building for biological sciences and business classes, an art building, an agricultural classroom/shop facility, the Pickett Building, and a bus barn.
In 1978 the main classroom buildings for both elementary and secondary levels opened. The final gymnasium opened in 1982, replacing a 1950 building that was destroyed in a fire in 1982. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) had built a previous high school building. The WPA also built the agriculture, Pickett, and home economics facilities. The cafeteria built in 1965, received a renovation about 15–20 years later.
Maps of the Delight school district and predecessor districts
"Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Pike County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download)
"Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Clark County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download) |
59696822 | Graettinger Community School District | 2019-01-17 17:55:27+00:00 | Graettinger Community School District was a school district headquartered in Graettinger, Iowa.
On July 1, 2010, it merged with the Terril Community School District to form the Graettinger–Terril Community School District. |
57941619 | South Clay Community School District | 2018-07-19 18:35:17+00:00 | South Clay Community School District was a school district headquartered in Gillett Grove, Iowa. In addition to Gillett Grove, it served Dickens and Webb.
The district was established in 1964.
By 1993, the population had declined so much, to 325, that the district decided to close its junior and senior high school divisions and send students to other school districts: Laurens–Marathon, Ruthven-Ayrshire, Sioux Central, and Spencer. Within the same year, as whole-grade sharing was in place, the student population was down to 232. After the closure of the high school, according to superintendent David Schulz, the community perceived the district to be doomed and speculated on how long the South Clay district would survive. According to Schulz, administrators were, at the time, operating on the presumption that the district would close circa 1996 to 1998.
After 1993 the area population further declined, and increasing numbers of elementary students transferred to other schools. In 2010, the district had 132 students; there were seven preschool students, no kindergarten students, and no 4th-grade students. At the same time there were 97 students living in the district boundaries attending secondary school in other districts. There were also 18 employees, both full-time and part-time. At that time the district leadership decided to suggest dissolution of the district. On February 2, 2010, the residents voted to dissolve the school district. Schulz had stated that since taxpayers had requested the vote, he expected it to be approved by voters, but even if it had not been, the state would have involuntarily dissolved the school district anyway, with the local education agency (LEA) placing students in new schools.
On July 1, 2010, the district was dissolved. Portions went to the Clay Central–Everly, Laurens–Marathon, Ruthven-Ayrshire, Sioux Central, and Spencer school districts; the respective assessed valuation of the former South Clay territory given to each district were: less than 1%, 3.2%, less than 1%, 45.5%, and 50%. It was the fifth school district in the state to dissolve (instead of merge into another district) since 1965, when the Iowa Department of Education began keeping records of school district dissolutions and consolidations. In mid-March 2011, the main building of the school was razed. Webb and the areas south of Gillett Grove were reassigned to Sioux Central. |
59696808 | Terril Community School District | 2019-01-17 17:54:13+00:00 | Terril Community School District was a school district headquartered in Terril, Iowa.
On July 1, 2010, it merged with the Graettinger Community School District to form the Graettinger–Terril Community School District. |
30363679 | Tropical cyclones in 2010 | 2011-01-08 03:27:38+00:00 | During 2010, tropical cyclones formed within seven different tropical cyclone basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the year, a total of 111 tropical cyclones developed, with 64 of them being named by either a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC). The most active basin was the North Atlantic, which documented 19 named systems, while the North Indian Ocean, despite only amounting to five named systems, was its basin's most active since 1998. Conversely, both the West Pacific typhoon and East Pacific hurricane seasons experienced the fewest cyclones reaching tropical storm intensity in recorded history, numbering 14 and 8, respectively. Activity across the southern hemisphere's three basins—South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific—was spread evenly, with each region recording 7 named storms apiece. The southern hemisphere's strongest tropical cyclone was Cyclone Edzani, which bottomed out with a barometric pressure of 910 mbar (hPa; 26.87 inHg) in the South-West Indian Ocean. Nineteen Category 3 tropical cyclones formed, including four Category 5 tropical cyclones in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2010 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University was 573.8 units.
The strongest of these tropical cyclones was Typhoon Megi, which strengthened to a minimum barometric pressure of 885 mbar (hPa; 26.13 inHg) before striking the east coast of Luzon in the Philippines. The costliest tropical cyclone in 2010 was Hurricane Karl, which struck the Veracruz, Mexico area in September, causing US$5.6 billion in damage. Hurricane Alex, Tropical Storm Matthew, and Tropical Storm Agatha were the only other tropical cyclones worldwide in 2010 to accrue over US$1 billion in damage. Agatha was also the year's deadliest storm, killing 190 people primarily in Guatemala after lasting for only one day over the waters of the East Pacific.
The previous El Niño event broke down during the first quarter of 2010. The climate of the Pacific Ocean subsequently returned to neutral conditions by the end of April, while climate models used and developed by various meteorological agencies, subsequently started to show signs that a La Niña event would develop later in 2010. Over the next month the Pacific Ocean started to show various signals that indicated a La Niña event was developing and as a result, a La Niña watch was issued by the United States Climate Prediction Center during their June 2010 ENSO diagnostic discussion. As the ocean's surface temperature cooling progressed, more colder anomalies appeared at the International Date Line rather than over eastern Pacific, what made the event a Modoki La Nina.
=
During the month of January, a total of twelve tropical cyclones formed, with only five receiving names by their meteorological agencies of responsibility. The most intense tropical cyclone of the month was Cyclone Edzani, peaking with 910 hPa and 150 mph in 10-minute sustained winds.
=
The month of February was quite inactive, with only seven tropical cyclones forming, with five becoming named storms. Cyclone Gelane was the most intense of the month, peaking at 930 hPa, along with 10-minute sustained winds of 125 mph. No one was killed by a tropical cyclone in the month.
=
March was somewhat active with eight tropical cyclones forming with seven receiving names. Cyclone Ului was the most intense for March, as it was one of the fastest intensifying tropical cyclones on record. Ului was a Category 5 tropical cyclone (in 1-minute sustained winds) for a near-record breaking 30 hours. When Ului made landfall in Queensland, Brisbane, damages totaled to be US$72 million ($100 million AUD)
=
April was an unusually inactive month with only three tropical cyclones forming and two of them being named. No tropical cyclones attained pressure less than 980 hPa, which makes Cyclone Robyn the most intense of the month, attaining that intensity, as well as 10-minute sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. No deaths occurred during this month.
=
May was a relatively inactive month with five tropical cyclones forming and all five received names. Tropical Storm Agatha was the deadliest and costliest of the month, killing around 204 people and inflicting $1.11 billion in damage. Cyclone Phet was the most intense tropical cyclone in the month. As Category 4 tropical cyclone on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS), Phet was the least intense for that category on record, with a high pressure of 970 hPa. Phet attained 3-minute sustained winds of 100 MPH.
=
June was relatively inactive with only six systems forming all within the northern hemisphere, with four further developing into tropical storms and receiving names. Hurricane Celia was the strongest and most intense tropical cyclone of the month which became a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale; the first Category 5 in the month of June in the Eastern Pacific basin since Ava in 1973. Hurricane Alex is tied with 1957's Hurricane Audrey as the most intense hurricane in the month of June on record in the Atlantic, peaking at 946 hPa.
=
July was a very inactive month and the least active July on record for any given year, with only eight tropical cyclones forming, three of which becoming named tropical storms. Only two reached hurricane strength, with no major-hurricane equivalent tropical cyclones. Typhoon Chanthu was the most intense tropical cyclone in the month, with a minimum pressure of 965 hPa, and 10-minute sustained winds of 80 mph.
=
August was above average, featuring 16 systems with 12 of them being named. The strongest storm was Hurricane Earl, with a minimum pressure of 927 hPa, and 1-minute sustained winds of 145 MPH.
=
September was fairly-above average, featuring 15 storms, with 13 of them being named. Igor was the strongest system, with a minimum pressure of 924 hPa and 1-minute sustained winds of 155 MPH.
=
October was slightly-below average, featuring 15 storms, with 9 of them being named. October featured Typhoon Megi, the strongest storm of the year, with a minimum pressure of 885 hPa and 10-minute sustained winds of 145 MPH.
=
November was extremely inactive, featuring 5 storms and only 2 named storms. Due to this inactivity, Cyclone Abele was the strongest of the month, with a minimum barometric pressure of 974 hPa and 10-minute sustained winds of 80 MPH.
=
December was very inactive. But, it did feature ten tropical cyclones forming. Only two made it to become named storms; Omeka and Tasha; the last two names of the year. Since Omeka only lasts for a day, Tasha became the strongest of the month, with a minimum pressure of 993 hPa and 10-minute sustained winds of 45 MPH |
27979656 | Tropical Depression Two (2010) | 2010-07-08 21:03:49+00:00 | Tropical Depression Two was a short-lived tropical cyclone that impacted portions of Texas and Mexico during the highly active 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed from a tropical wave that emerged off the western coast of Africa and crossed the Atlantic Ocean without any development. Upon entering the western Gulf of Mexico, the depression encountered a conducive environment for tropical cyclogenesis, and was designated Tropical Depression Two at 0600 UTC on July 8. Intensification into a tropical storm was initially anticipated by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), but due to its proximity to land, the depression failed to attain the status. It made landfall on South Padre Island, Texas before degenerating into a remnant low on July 9, and dissipating the following day. Due to the system's weak intensity, there were no reports of damage inflicted by winds across Texas or Mexico, although the cyclone did bring minimal rainfall totals to northern Mexico, an area severely affected by Hurricane Alex just one week previous.
The origins of Tropical Depression Two can be traced back to a disorganized tropical wave that was first noted by the NHC on June 24 as it moved off the western coast of Africa, and into the Atlantic Ocean. Moving towards the west, the wave showed no signs of organization until July 3 as it entered the western Caribbean. During the 24 hours that followed, it continued to coalesce, and the NHC subsequently increased the disturbance's chance of developing into a tropical cyclone. A defined surface circulation did not form as a result of the wave's movement over the Yucatán Peninsula, and the system lost organization. The system remained disorganized as it traversed the peninsula and eventually emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on July 7. Situated over water once more, the wave was able to gradually develop as it moved in a northwesterly direction. Following a reconnaissance mission, the NHC noted in their Tropical Weather Outlook that there was a high chance of the system developing into a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours.
Early on July 8, additional data from the hurricane hunters indicated that the system developed a closed circulation and the NHC classified it as a tropical depression at 0000 UTC, making it the second of the hurricane season. At this time, the system was situated roughly 250 mi (400 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. At this time, the depression also attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1005 mbar (hPa; 29.68 inHg). Tropical Depression Two was anticipated to intensify into a tropical storm before making landfall in Mexico; however, the depression failed to gain strength before moving inland. Following a reconnaissance mission at 1200 UTC, hurricane hunters found winds near tropical storm intensity; however, land-based observations did not support this and the depression was not classified as a tropical storm. Later that day, the depression made landfall in South Padre Island, Texas at 1515 UTC with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h). The tropical depression weakened slightly while moving near the Texas-Mexico border, when the NHC discontinued advisories on the system. Although the NHC ceased monitoring Tropical Depression Two, the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) issued advisories until it dissipated early on July 10, over northern Mexico.
Immediately after Tropical Depression Two was classified, a tropical storm warning was issued for the state of Texas, covering the coastline from Baffin Bay to the northern mouth of the Rio Grande. In addition, a tropical storm warning was also issued by the government of Mexico, stretching from Rio San Fernando northward also to the mouth of the Rio Grande. Subsequent coastal flooding and flash flood warnings were issued by local National Weather Service offices in southern and eastern Texas as the NHC predicted 4 to 8 in (100 to 200 mm) of rain, with 10 in (250 mm) locally. Alerts were also issued for the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and Coahuila, where officials warned people of the potential for heavy rains, flooding, and landslides. The Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (National Civil Protection System) raised a red alert, the highest level on the scale, for portions of Tamaulipas and noted that extreme caution was necessary in areas between Rio San Fernando and the Texas-Mexico border. After Tropical Depression Two made landfall in Texas, all of the tropical storm warnings associated with the storm were discontinued.
Upon making landfall along the Texas-Mexico border, the depression produced a storm surge between 2 and 4 ft (0.61 and 1.22 m). Portions of Mustang and Padre Island were flooded by the storm; however, damage was minimal. Two funnel clouds were reported in relation to the depression — one near Rockport and the other near Victoria. After the NHC issued their final advisory on Tropical Depression Two, the HPC began to monitor the system, recording minimal rainfall across southern and eastern Texas. As Tropical Depression Two dissipated, it moved inland and the HPC's advisories indicated that much of eastern and southern Texas experienced rainfall of at least 1 in (25 mm), with the exception of Corpus Christi and Laredo. Rainfall associated with Tropical Depression Two in Texas peaked at 5.16 in (131 mm) along the Guadalupe River adjacent to the city of Victoria. Rainfall inside the city of Victoria itself was measured at 4.25 in (108 mm), while the Victoria Regional Airport reported precipitation at Victoria Regional Airport. Tropical Depression Two contributed to localized flooding in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, adding to the 24 in (610 mm) of rain caused by Hurricane Alex, less than a week prior, just south of the Rio Grande. Throughout Tamaulipas, Mexico, relatively little rain fell in relation to the depression. Matamoros recorded rainfall for roughly two hours before the system passed through the region. The resulting floods from Alex and the depression caused nearly $80 million in losses throughout the region. |
28357752 | Tropical Depression Five (2010) | 2010-08-14 02:58:45+00:00 | Tropical Depression Five was an Atlantic tropical cyclone that lasted for 12 hours, although its remnants persisted for almost another week. Its precursor was from a non-tropical trough east of Florida, and on August 10 it developed in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It was the fifth depression of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. The system was declassified as a tropical cyclone the following day, a remnant circulation later moved over Louisiana and Mississippi, producing heavy rainfall and causing flooding. Along the Florida coast, the system produced heavy waves that contributed to two deaths. Moving inland, the remnants of the depression reached central Alabama before turning southward. The system nearly redeveloped into a tropical cyclone on August 16 after it again reached the Gulf of Mexico, but it became disorganized and turned northward into Mississippi. The depression twice caused BP to delay work in building a relief well to combat the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The origins of the depression were from a dissipating cold front that extended from the northeast Gulf of Mexico across Florida on August 7, connected to a weak non-tropical low-pressure area located several hundred miles east-southeast of Jacksonville, Florida. The system had disorganized convection– thunderstorms– and moved generally southwestward after drifting against the Gulf Stream. Conditions were initially unfavorable for development, due to strong upper-level wind shear and land interaction. By late August 9, the low reached the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted a medium chance for tropical or subtropical development, due to an anticipated decrease in wind shear. The convection gradually increased and became better organized, and a hurricane hunters flight late on August 10 confirmed the development of Tropical Depression Five about 120 miles (190 km) west of Fort Myers, Florida.
Upon being classified as a tropical cyclone, the tropical depression had a broad circulation and organized deep convection. It was located over very warm water temperatures, although the upper-level environment was not conducive for significant intensification. Easterly wind shear was forecast, but the NHC anticipated the depression strengthening to 45 mph (70 km/h) before making landfall in Louisiana. Under the influence of a mid-level ridge to its north, the depression was forecast to track generally northwestward. Early on August 11, the convection diminished significantly due to the entrainment of dry air and vertical wind shear from a nearby upper-level low. The circulation became difficult to locate; however, conditions favored the redevelopment of the thunderstorm activity. One tropical cyclone prediction model forecast significant intensification to a minimum pressure of 968 mbar, and other models forecast the depression would reach hurricane status upon making landfall. As it continued to the northwest, the circulation remained broad and disorganized, and convection remained minimal. Late on August 11, a hurricane hunters flight reported that the depression was no longer a tropical cyclone, and in post-analysis, the NHC determined that the depression was only a tropical cyclone for 12 hours. Redevelopment was not anticipated.
The remnants of Tropical Depression Five moved ashore on Louisiana on August 12, by which time the circulation had become better defined. A small circular area of convection was observed on radar approaching New Orleans, supported by diffluence from an anticyclone over Georgia. The system moved slowly, turning northeastward and tracking inland along southern Mississippi on August 13. By late on August 14, the remnants reached central Alabama and began to move southward due to a ridge to its north. The next day it reached the Florida Panhandle, and before the low reached open waters, the NHC assessed a 50% chance for redevelopment due to favorable conditions. Early on August 16, the low reached the Gulf of Mexico, and a hurricane hunters flight reported a weak circulation and convection that was disorganized and disassociated. Upper-level conditions remained only marginally favorable, although the NHC noted that "only a small increase in organization would result in the formation of a tropical depression." Early on August 18, the remnants of the system dissipated over Southwestern Mississippi.
Prior to becoming a tropical cyclone, the system dropped locally heavy rainfall in portions of southern Florida. Palm Beach International Airport recorded 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) on August 8, a record for the date. The system spawned a weak tornado near Boca Raton, which downed a few trees and damaged shingles from one house. In Sarasota, high tides from the system affected 200 sea turtle nests, of which 20 had to be transported to a safer location. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, the developing system threatened the area affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; this prompted BP to stop operations temporarily in constructing a relief well. The same event occurred a week later when the depression was threatening to redevelop.
Upon issuing the first advisory on Tropical Depression Five, the NHC issued a tropical storm warning from Destin, Florida to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal issued a state of emergency due to the threat from the depression. The remnants of the depression produced rough surf and riptides along the coast. In Panama City Beach, Florida, one man was hospitalized, and on Anna Maria Island, two elderly people died after being swept away by rip currents; the deaths were believed to have been fatigue-induced heart attacks, and not drowning. In the final advisory on the depression, the NHC noted the potential for the system to produce heavy rainfall across the southern United States. Accordingly, local National Weather Service offices issued flood watches for 12 Louisiana parishes and 8 Mississippi counties. While the depression moved through the region, it dropped heavy rainfall of up to 8 in (20 cm) around the New Orleans area, flooding streets as well as entering one apartment complex. Rainfall from the system extended as far inland as Atlanta, where thunderstorms damaged three houses.
As the remnants moved southward toward the Gulf of Mexico, its associated thunderstorms struck Mobile, Alabama and produced heavy rainfall, estimated up to 4 in (10 cm). The rainfall flooded several streets and damaged the city's water line, and 1,921 customers were left without power. When the remnants affected Mississippi a second time, the system dropped heavy rainfall that resulted in flash flooding near Sibley. The system caused about $1 million in damage after floodwaters washed out a bridge and entered several buildings. As the system approached Louisiana for a second time, local National Weather Offices issued a coastal flood watch and a flash flood watch. Sixteen hours of intense rainfall occurred in Avoyelles Parish, flooding at least 40 buildings. Lightning killed three cows and destroyed a house, and damage was estimated around $750,000. Further inland, the remnants interacted with a stationary cold front over central Tennessee, causing $22 million in damage after heavy rainfall affected bridges, roads, and properties. |
28322541 | Timeline of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season | 2010-08-10 17:01:09+00:00 | The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons since record keeping began in 1851 as 19 named storms formed. The season officially began on June 1, 2010, and ended on November 30, 2010, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. The first storm to form was Hurricane Alex, on June 25; and the last to dissipate was Hurricane Tomas, on November 7.
Of the year's 19 named storms, 12 strengthened into hurricanes with five intensifying further into major hurricanes. The two most significant storms of the season, in terms of damage and loss of life, were hurricanes Igor and Tomas. Igor was one of the largest storms by gale diameter on record, and one that attained maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) before striking Newfoundland as a much weaker storm several days later. Tomas was a late-season tropical cyclone that rapidly intensified to reach maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) as it entered the eastern Caribbean Sea. Though the system did not make landfall, it severely affected the Greater Antilles, and impacted the southeastern Bahamas as a tropical storm before quickly moving into the open Atlantic.
This timeline includes information that was not operationally released, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as a storm that was not operationally warned upon, has been included. This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season.
By convention, meteorologists use one time zone when issuing forecasts and making observations: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and also use the 24-hour clock (where 00:00 = midnight UTC). The National Hurricane Center uses both UTC and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone is currently located. The time zones utilized (east to west) prior to 2020 were: Atlantic, Eastern, and Central. In this timeline, all information is listed by UTC first with the respective regional time included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (knots, miles, or kilometers), following the convention used in the National Hurricane Center's products. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury.
=
June 1
The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins.
June 25
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression One develops from an area of low pressure roughly 80 mi (130 km) north-northeast of Puerto Lempira.
June 26
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression One intensifies into Tropical Storm Alex.
June 27
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, June 26) – Tropical Storm Alex makes its first landfall near Belize City with winds of 65 mph (100 km/h).
June 30
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, June 29) – Tropical Storm Alex intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, becoming the first of the 2010 season.
=
July 1
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT June 30) – Hurricane Alex intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
02:00 UTC (9:00 p.m. CDT June 30) – Hurricane Alex attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 946 mb (hPa; 27.94 inHg), and simultaneously makes a second and final landfall near Soto la Marina.
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Alex weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Alex weakens to a tropical storm.
July 2
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, July 1) – Tropical Storm Alex weakens to a tropical depression.
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Alex dissipates over the high terrain of central Mexico.
July 8
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, July 7) – Tropical Depression Two develops from an area of low pressure roughly 250 mi (400 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1005 mb (hPa; 29.68 inHg).
14:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Two makes landfall on South Padre Island, Texas, with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h).
July 9
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Two degenerates into a non-convective remnant area of low pressure over northern Mexico.
July 22
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Three develops from an area of low pressure south of Acklins Island.
23:15 UTC (7:15 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Three intensifies into Tropical Storm Bonnie and simultaneously makes its first landfall on Ragged Island, Bahamas, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h).
July 23
05:15 UTC (1:15 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Bonnie makes its second landfall on Andros Island with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h).
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Bonnie attains its peak intensity with a minimum barometric pressure of 1005 mb (29.68 inHg).
14:30 UTC (10:30 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Bonnie makes its third and final landfall near Elliott Key with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Bonnie weakens to a tropical depression.
July 25
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, July 24) – Tropical Depression Bonnie degenerates into a non-convective remnant area of low pressure roughly 60 mi (95 km) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
=
August 2
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Four develops from an area of low pressure in the central Atlantic.
August 3
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Four intensifies into Tropical Storm Colin roughly 840 mi (1350 km) east of the Lesser Antilles.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Colin degenerates into a trough of low pressure.
August 5
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – The remnants of Tropical Storm Colin regenerate into a tropical storm roughly 280 mi (450 km) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
21:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Colin attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1005 mb (hPa; 29.68 inHg).
August 8
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, August 7) – Tropical Storm Colin weakens to a tropical depression roughly 170 mi (275 km) south-southwest of Bermuda.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Colin dissipates roughly 100 mi (160 km) southwest of Bermuda.
August 10
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Five develops from an area of low pressure roughly 105 mi (165 km) west of Naples, Florida.
August 11
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, August 10) – Tropical Depression Five attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1007 mb (hPa; 29.74 inHg).
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Five degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure roughly 125 mi (200 km) west of Naples, Florida.
August 21
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Six develops from an area of low pressure roughly 450 mi (720 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
August 22
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Six intensifies into Tropical Storm Danielle.
August 23
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Danielle intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane roughly 960 mi (1545 km) west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
August 25
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Seven develops from an area of low pressure roughly 200 mi (320 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Seven intensifies into Tropical Storm Earl.
August 26
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
August 27
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle intensifies into a Category 3 hurricane, the first major hurricane of the season.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle intensifies into a Category 4 hurricane and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 942 mb (hPa; 27.82 inHg).
August 28
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, August 27) – Hurricane Danielle weakens to a Category 3 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle weakens to a Category 2 hurricane.
August 29
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Earl intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane roughly 220 mi (355 km) east of the northern Leeward Islands.
August 30
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, August 29) – Hurricane Earl intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl intensifies into a Category 3 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 900 mi (1450 km) east of the Lesser Antilles.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Danielle weakens to a tropical storm.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl intensifies into a Category 4 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Fiona.
August 31
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, August 30) – Tropical Storm Danielle degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure well northeast of the Azores.
=
September 1
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, August 31) – Hurricane Earl weakens to a Category 3 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Nine develops from an area of low pressure roughly 800 mi (1290 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Fiona attains its peak intensity with a minimum barometric pressure of 998 mb (hPa; 29.47 inHg).
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Nine intensifies into Tropical Storm Gaston.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl re-intensifies into a Category 4 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Fiona attains peak maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Gaston attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1005 mb (hPa; 29.68 inHg).
September 2
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 927 mb (hPa; 27.37 inHg).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl weakens to a Category 3 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Gaston degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure roughly midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles.
September 3
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, September 2) – Hurricane Earl weakens to a Category 2 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
September 4
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, September 3) – Hurricane Earl weakens to a tropical storm roughly 130 mi (210 km) south-southeast of Long Island, New York.
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 3) – Tropical Storm Fiona degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure roughly 95 mi (150 km) northeast of Bermuda.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Earl re-intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Earl makes its first landfall near Liverpool, Nova Scotia, with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h).
19:00 UTC (3:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Earl makes its second and final landfall in Prince Edward Island, and simultaneously weakens to a tropical storm, with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).
September 5
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 4) – Tropical Storm Earl transitions into an extratropical cyclone in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Ten develops from an area of low pressure in the southern Bay of Campeche.
September 6
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Ten intensifies into Tropical Storm Hermine.
September 7
02:00 UTC (9:00 p.m. CDT September 6) – Tropical Storm Hermine attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 989 mb (hPa; 29.21 inHg) and simultaneously makes landfall near Matamoros, Mexico at that intensity.
September 8
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, September 7) – Tropical Storm Hermine weakens to a tropical depression over central Texas.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 80 mi (130 km) southeast of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Igor.
September 9
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Igor weakens to a tropical depression.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Hermine transitions into a post-tropical cyclone over southeastern Kansas.
September 10
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Igor re-intensifies into a tropical storm.
September 12
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 11) – Tropical Storm Igor intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Twelve develops from an area of low pressure roughly 250 mi (400 km) southeast of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor intensifies into a Category 4 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Twelve intensifies into Tropical Storm Julia.
September 14
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Julia intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 325 mi (525 km) east of Chetumal, Mexico.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Fiona attains its peak intensity with a minimum barometric pressure of 998 mb (hPa; 29.47 inHg).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Karl.
September 15
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 14) – Hurricane Igor attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 924 mb (hPa; 27.29 inHg).
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 14) – Hurricane Julia intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Julia intensifies into a Category 3 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Julia intensifies into a Category 4 hurricane and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 948 mb (hPa; 27.99 inHg).
12:45 UTC (7:45 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Karl makes its first landfall near Rio Huach, Mexico, with winds of 65 mph (100 km/h).
September 16
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 15) – Hurricane Julia weakens to a Category 3 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Julia weakens to a Category 2 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Julia weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Karl intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
September 17
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, September 16) – Hurricane Karl intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor weakens to a Category 3 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Karl intensifies into a Category 3 hurricane and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 956 mb (hPa; 28.23 inHg).
16:45 UTC (11:45 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Karl makes its second and final landfall roughly 10 mi (20 km) northwest of Veracruz, Mexico, with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor weakens to a Category 2 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Hurricane Karl weakens to a Category 2 hurricane.
September 18
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 17) – Hurricane Julia weakens to a tropical storm.
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, September 17) – Hurricane Karl weakens to a tropical storm.
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Karl weakens to a tropical depression.
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Karl dissipates roughly 75 mi (120 km) west-southwest of Veracruz.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
September 20
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Julia degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure roughly 950 mi (1530 km) west of the Azores.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Fourteen develops from an area of low pressure roughly 400 mi (640 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands.
September 21
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 20) – Tropical Depression Fourteen intensifies into Tropical Storm Lisa.
15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor makes landfall near Cape Race, Newfoundland, with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h).
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Igor transitions into an extratropical cyclone off the northeastern coast of Newfoundland.
September 22
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Lisa weakens to a tropical depression.
September 23
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Lisa re-intensifies into a tropical storm.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Fifteen develops from an area of low pressure roughly 490 mi (790 km) east of Cabo Gracias a Dios.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Fifteen intensifies into Tropical Storm Matthew roughly 410 mi (660 km) east of Cabo Gracias a Dios.
September 24
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Matthew attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 998 mb (hPa; 29.47 inHg).
19:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Matthew makes its first landfall roughly 20 mi (30 km) south of Cabo Gracias a Dios with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h).
21:00 UTC (5:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Lisa intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
September 25
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 24) – Hurricane Lisa attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 982 mb (hPa; 29.00 inHg).
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Lisa weakens to a tropical storm.
15:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Matthew makes its second and final landfall roughly 10 mi (20 km) north-northeast of Monkey River Town, Belize, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h).
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Matthew weakens to a tropical depression.
September 26
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Lisa weakens to a tropical depression.
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Matthew degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Depression Lisa degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure.
September 28
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Nicole develops from an area of low pressure roughly 65 mi (100 km) south of the Isle of Youth.
September 29
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Nicole attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 995 mb (hPa; 29.38 inHg).
15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Nicole degenerates into a trough of low pressure over Cuba.
=
October 6
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Subtropical Depression Seventeen develops from an area of low pressure roughly 230 mi (370 km) north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Subtropical Depression Seventeen intensifies into Subtropical Storm Otto.
October 7
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) Subtropical Storm Otto transitions into a tropical storm.
October 8
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Otto intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
October 9
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, October 8) – Hurricane Otto attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 976 mb (hPa; 28.82 inHg).
October 10
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, October 9) – Hurricane Otto weakens to a tropical storm.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Otto transitions into an extratropical cyclone roughly 900 mi (1450 km) east-northeast of Bermuda.
October 11
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, October 10) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 100 mi (160 km) southeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Paula.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Paula makes its first landfall near Cabo Gracias a Dios with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).
October 12
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, October 11) – Tropical Storm Paula intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Hurricane Paula intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 981 mb (hPa; 28.97 inHg).
October 13
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Hurricane Paula weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
October 14
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Paula weakens to a tropical storm.
15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Paula makes its second and final landfall between St. Lucia, Cuba and Puerto Esperanza, Cuba, with winds of 65 mph (100 km/h).
October 15
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Paula weakens to a tropical depression.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Paula degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure.
October 20
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Nineteen develops from an area of low pressure roughly 170 mi (270 km) north of Cabo Gracias a Dios.
October 21
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Nineteen intensifies into Tropical Storm Richard roughly 180 mi (290 km) northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios.
October 24
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Richard intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
October 25
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, October 24) – Hurricane Richard intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane and simultaneously attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 977 mb (hPa; 28.85 inHg).
00:30 UTC (7:30 p.m. CDT October 24) – Hurricane Richard makes landfall near Gales Point, Belize, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h).
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Richard weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Richard weakens to a tropical storm.
18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Richard weakens to a tropical depression roughly 115 mi (175 km) south of Campeche.
October 26
00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, October 25) – Tropical Depression Richard degenerates into a remnant area of low pressure roughly 20 mi (30 km) southeast of Ciudad del Carmen.
October 28
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 450 mi (720 km) south-southeast of Bermuda.
October 29
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, October 28) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Shary.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – A tropical depression develops from an area of low pressure roughly 400 mi (640 km) southeast of Barbados.
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – The tropical depression intensifies into Tropical Storm Tomas.
October 30
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, October 29) – Tropical Storm Shary intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Shary attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 989 mb (hPa; 29.21 inHg).
0900 UTC (5:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Tomas makes its first landfall on the south coast of Barbados with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Tomas intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Shary transitions into an extratropical cyclone several hundred miles south of Newfoundland.
20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. AST) – Hurricane Tomas intensifies into a Category 2 hurricane and simultaneously makes its second landfall on the north coast of Saint Vincent with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h).
October 31
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, October 30) – Hurricane Tomas attains its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 982 mb (hPa; 29.00 inHg).
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Tomas weakens to a Category 1 hurricane.
=
November 1
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, October 31) – Hurricane Tomas weakens to a tropical storm.
November 3
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, November 2) – Tropical Storm Tomas weakens to a tropical depression.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Tomas re-intensifies into a tropical storm.
November 5
06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Tomas re-intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
November 6
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, November 5) – Hurricane Tomas weakens to a tropical storm.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) – Tropical Storm Tomas re-intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.
November 7
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) – Hurricane Tomas weakens to a tropical storm.
November 8
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, November 7) – Tropical Storm Tomas transitions into an extratropical cyclone south of Newfoundland.
November 30
The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends. |
65894406 | 2010 İskenderun attack | 2020-11-20 21:47:29+00:00 | 2010 İskenderun attack was an attack in Mediterranean port city of İskenderun on 31 May 2010, around 00:40 perpetrated by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). 6 soldiers died and 7 or 9 others were injured as a result of the attack.
İskenderun is a city in Turkey located in the Hatay Province. It is the second largest city in the province after Antakya, and is a port city located on the Mediterranean Sea.
The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and NATO) has been active since 1984, primarily in the southeast of the country. More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the conflict.
On 30 May 2010, around 23:58, a military vehicle carrying troops to the İskenderun Naval Base started its passage from Modernevler neighbourhood. Around 00:40, a few militants of the PKK stationed on Nur Mountains attacked the vehicle with RPG-7 grenade launchers and long-range weapons, killing 6 soldiers and injuring 7 or 9 other soldiers. Surviving soldiers and militants clashed for 15 minutes after the attack, no casualties occurred. Three of the injured were in a critical condition and were taken to a military hospital in the Ankara.
The president of Turkey, Abdullah Gül condemned the attack and the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Mehmet Ali Şahin stated that "Turkey will not give up in its struggle against terrorism".
As a reaction to the attack, a group of Turkish civilians attacked district center of the Peace and Democracy Party. Police prevented the crowd from entering the building and no casualties occurred.
=
Vice President of the Felicity Party, Şevket Kazan, claimed that the attack was perpetrated by PKK members who were also agents working for the Mossad. The fact that attack took place 3 hours before the Gaza flotilla raid, in which 9 citizens of Turkey were killed by Israeli naval commandos created further controversy among the public. |
28087930 | Miss France 2011 | 2010-07-19 21:08:59+00:00 | Miss France 2011 was the 64th Miss France pageant, held at the Zénith de Caen in Caen, France, on 4 December 2010. Laury Thilleman of Brittany was crowned the winner at the end of the event.
= |
32481982 | 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification | 2011-07-21 04:42:19+00:00 | This article include details of 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification.
Each group winner will advance to the Second round.
=
All matches were held in Makati, Philippines (UTC+8).
Note: Hong Kong withdrew before playing any matches.
=
All matches were held in Dhaka, Bangladesh (UTC+6).
All matches were held Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (UTC+8). |
32739316 | 2011 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification | 2011-08-14 01:44:11+00:00 | The 2011 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification was qualification section of 2011 AFC U-16 Women's Championship. It was held from October 10 to December 12, 2010.
=
=
Bahrain and Uzbekistan withdrew from 2011 AFC U16 qualification.
Note: Since Jordan and Iran tied in points, goal differences, number of goals and the head-to-head result, a penalty shootout was held after the 90 minutes match to determine the group winner, in which Iran won and advanced to the second round.
All matches in Bangkok, Thailand.
Times listed are UTC+7.
Thailand is ranked ahead of Myanmar based on head-to-head result
=
Australia
China
Japan
North Korea
South Korea
=
Thailand |
26163095 | 2010 African U-17 Women's World Cup qualification | 2010-02-11 18:56:08+00:00 | The 2010 African U-17 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament was the second edition of the African U-17 Cup of Nations for Women and the first edition of this under-17 qualification tournament new format. The biennial international under-17 football competition organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to determine which women's under-17 national teams from Africa qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
10 teams entered the competition, but due to many withdrawals, only 5 played matches. The final three teams qualified to the World Cup. The top three teams of the tournament Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa qualified for the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago as the CAF representatives.
1 – Both Kenya and Sierra Leone withdrew from competition before the start of the 1st leg. As a result, Botswana and Togo qualified for the next round.
2 – Togo, RD Congo, and Egypt withdrew from competition before the start of the 1st leg. As a result, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Ghana qualified for the next round.
Nigeria and Ghana qualify for the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup held in Trinidad and Tobago. South Africa and Tunisia will play in a playoff round to determine the last qualifier.
The winner of the play-off round will qualify for the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup held in Trinidad and Tobago.
The following three teams from CAF qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. |
26393047 | 2010 African Women's Championship qualification | 2010-03-02 05:53:47+00:00 | This page provides the summaries of the matches of the qualifying rounds for the group stage of the 2010 African Women's Championship. These matches also served as part of the qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup to be held in Germany.
A total of 23 national teams entered qualification which has held over two rounds. In the preliminary round, the 18 lowest-ranked nations were drawn in pairs. The nine winners joined five other national teams in the first round, where the seven winners qualified for the finals.
The matches in the preliminary round were held on 6–7 March 2010 (first leg) and 19–21 March 2010 (second leg).
=
=
Algeria advanced to the first round after Egypt withdrew.
Namibia won 3 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Congo DR won 7 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Senegal won 1 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Ivory Coast won 5 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Guinea won 4 – 3 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Mali advanced to the first round after Togo withdrew.
Tanzania won 4 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
Eritrea advanced to the first round after Kenya withdrew.
The first round was scheduled to be held on 21–23 May 2010 (first leg) and 4–6 June 2010 (second leg).
=
=
Algeria won 2 – 1 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament.
Equatorial Guinea advanced to the final tournament after Namibia were forced to withdraw prior to the second leg.
Cameroon won 5 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament.
Ghana won 4 – 0 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament.
Nigeria won 5 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament.
Mali won 3 – 2 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament.
Tanzania won 11 – 4 on aggregate and advanced to the final tournament. |
70300839 | 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup final | 2022-03-13 16:10:57+00:00 | The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match that determined the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup winner. The match occurred on 5 September 2010 at the Twickenham Stoop in Twickenham, London and was contested between New Zealand and England for a third time. It was England's record fifth appearance in a Final and New Zealand's fourth. New Zealand made history with their fourth back-to-back title after defeating England in a tightly contested match.
New Zealand was placed in Pool A with South Africa, Australia and Wales. England was in Pool B along with Ireland, Kazakhstan and the United States. New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a 55–3 trouncing of South Africa. Carla Hohepa scored a hat-trick and Kelly Brazier slotted in five conversions. South Africa's only points came by way of a penalty in the 66th minute. Australia were New Zealand's next opponents in the pool; Wallaroos Prop Lindsay Morgan shocked the defending champions by scoring first in the 8th minute. Despite playing into the elements for most of the first half, the Black Ferns managed to go into halftime 22–5. They only managed 10 points in the second half as they defeated Australia 32–5. Kelly Brazier's hat-trick helped New Zealand thrash Wales 41–8 in their last pool game. New Zealand met France in the semi-final, they scored five tries with three successful conversions in the first half. France only answer came from hooker, Laetitia Salles, who scored a late first half try just before the break and begin halftime 31–7. New Zealand scored only 14 points in the second half and ended the game 45–7.
England beat Ireland 27–0 in their first pool match as they scored four unanswered tries. In their second pool game, Fiona Pocock and Charlotte Barras each scored a hat-trick as England ran in 14 tries as they heavily defeated Kazakhstan 82–0. Inaugural champions, the United States were England's last pool opponents. Danielle Waterman scored a brace of tries and four other try scorers also crossed the try line to help England beat USA 37–10. England met Australia who had reached the semi-finals for the first time. It was a hard-fought match but England triumphed in the end, 15–0, as they booked a final showdown with New Zealand.
=
England spent the first ten minutes of the game stuck in their own half but did not concede a single point. Anna Richards was sin-binned in the 22nd minute for killing the ball and was later joined by Mel Bosman 7 minutes later for the same offence, however England could not capitalize on the fact that New Zealand were down to 13 players. Winger Carla Hohepa eventually broke through the English defence and scored for the Black Ferns, a successful conversion by Kelly Brazier put them in the lead 7–0 at half-time.
Three minutes into the second half Katy McLean kicked a penalty and reduced their deficit to 5 points. 13 minutes later Brazier kicked another penalty and increased New Zealand's lead to 10–3. New Zealand captain Melissa Ruscoe was sin-binned in the 57th minute, this time England took advantage of the Black Ferns misfortune as Charlotte Barras scored moments later and a conversion to Katy McLean leveled the game at 10–10. Kelly Brazier's penalty in the 66th minute helped New Zealand secure their fourth World title as they edged England 13–10. |
29660391 | 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool A | 2010-11-19 14:10:52+00:00 | Pool A of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was composed of 2006 World Cup winners New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Wales.
Touch judges:
Joyce Henry (Canada)
Dana Teagarden (United States)
Fourth official:
Dave Broadwell (England)
Fifth official:
Paula Carter (England)
Touch judges:
Sébastien Minery (France)
Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong)
Fourth official:
Andrea Ttofa (England)
Fifth official:
Rebecca Patrick (England)
Touch judges:
Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Barbara Guastini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Alan Biggs (England)
Fifth official:
Jane Pizii (England)
Touch judges:
Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany)
Debbie Innes (England)
Fourth official:
Ed Turnill (England)
Fifth official:
Catherine Lewis (England)
Touch judges:
Sherry Trumbull (Canada)
Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany)
Fourth official:
Claire Hodnett (England)
Fifth official:
Natalie Amor (England)
Touch judges:
Sébastien Minery (France)
Barbara Guastini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Natalie Amor (England)
Fifth official:
Moira Pritchard (England) |
29660392 | 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool B | 2010-11-19 14:10:59+00:00 | Pool B of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was composed of 2006 World Cup runners-up England, Ireland, United States and Kazakhstan.
Touch judges:
Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany)
Barbara Guastini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Alan Biggs (England)
Fifth official:
Andrea Ttofa (England)
Touch judges:
Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany)
Barbara Guastini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Alan Biggs (England)
Fifth official:
Andrea Ttofa (England)
Touch judges:
Clare Daniels (England)
Barbara Guastini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Andrea Ttofa (England)
Fifth official:
Sarah Cox (England)
Touch judges:
Sherry Trumbull (Canada)
Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Fourth official:
Ed Turnill (England)
Fifth official:
Jane Pizii (England)
Touch judges:
Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong)
Joyce Henry (Canada)
Fourth official:
Jane Pizii (England)
Fifth official:
Catherine Lewis (England)
Touch judges:
Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong)
Joyce Henry (Canada)
Fourth official:
Ed Turnill (England)
Fifth official:
Claire Hodnett (England) |
29660393 | 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool C | 2010-11-19 14:11:11+00:00 | Pool C of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was composed of 2006 World Cup semi-finalists France and Canada, Scotland and Sweden.
Touch judges:
David Keane (Ireland)
Debbie Innes (England)
Fourth official:
Will Halford (England)
Fifth official:
Paula Carter (England)
Touch judges:
David Keane (Ireland)
Debbie Innes (England)
Fourth official:
Will Halford (England)
Fifth official:
Rebecca Patrick (England)
Touch judges:
Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany)
Fourth official:
Andrea Ttofa (England)
Fifth official:
Sarah Cox (England)
Touch judges:
Nicky Inwood (New Zealand)
Debbie Innes (England)
Fourth official:
Alan Biggs (England)
Fifth official:
Catherine Lewis (England)
Touch judges:
Javier Mancuso (Argentina)
Sébastien Minery (France)
Fourth official:
Moira Pritchard (England)
Fifth official:
Jane Pizii (England)
Touch judges:
Javier Mancuso (Argentina)
Debbie Innes (England)
Fourth official:
Ed Turnill (England)
Fifth official:
Catherine Lewis (England) |
26357457 | 2010 Chile earthquake | 2010-02-27 07:22:27+00:00 | The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami (Spanish: Terremoto del 27F) occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34:12 local time (06:34:12 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It was felt strongly in six Chilean regions (from Valparaíso in the north to Araucanía in the south) that together make up about 80 percent of the country's population. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the cities experiencing the strongest shaking—VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale (MM)—were Concepción, Arauco, and Coronel. According to Chile's Seismological Service, Concepción experienced the strongest shaking at MM IX (Violent). The earthquake was felt in the capital Santiago at MM VII (Very strong) or MM VIII. Tremors were felt in many Argentine cities, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, and La Rioja. Tremors were felt as far north as the city of Ica in southern Peru (approx. 2,400 km (1,500 mi) away). It is the largest earthquake to hit Chile since the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami which devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile and damaged the port at Talcahuano. Tsunami warnings were issued in 53 countries, and the wave caused minor damage in the San Diego area of California and in the Tōhoku region of Japan, where damage to the fisheries business was estimated at ¥6.26 billion (US$66.7 million). The earthquake also generated a blackout that affected 93 percent of the Chilean population and which went on for several days in some locations. President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" and sent military troops to take control of the most affected areas. According to official sources, 525 people lost their lives, 25 people went missing and about 9% of the population in the affected regions lost their homes.
On 10 March, Swiss Reinsurance Co. estimated that the Chilean quake would cost insurance companies between 4 and 7 billion dollars. The rival German-based Munich Re AG made the same estimate. The losses to the economy of Chile caused by the earthquake are estimated at US$15–30 billion.
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was about 3 km (1.9 miles) off the coast of Pelluhue, a town in the Maule Region. This is about 6 km (3.7 miles) west of the village of Chovellén, 15 km (9.3 miles) southwest of the town of Pelluhue and at a point approximately 100 km (62 miles) away from the following four provincial capitals: Talca (to the north-east), Linares (to the east), Chillán (to the south-east) and Concepción (to the south). Chile's Seismological Service located the quake's epicenter at about 34 km (21 miles) off the coast of Ñuble Region in the Biobío Region. This is 60 km (37 miles) north of Concepción and 170 km (110 miles) south-west of Talca.
The earthquake took place along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates at a location where they converge at a rate of 80 millimetres (3.1 in) a year. This earthquake was characterized by a thrust-faulting focal mechanism, caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American Tectonic Plates. The end-regions of the rupture zone coincided with the Andean oroclines of Maipo (33° S) and Arauco (37° S). This has been interpreted as suggesting a link between upper plate (South American plate) structure and rupture length.
Chile has been at a convergent plate boundary that generates megathrust earthquakes since the Paleozoic era (500 million years ago). In historical times the Chilean coast has suffered many megathrust earthquakes along this plate boundary, including the strongest earthquake ever measured, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. More recently, the boundary ruptured during the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake in northern Chile.
The segment of the fault zone which ruptured in this earthquake was estimated to be over 700 km (430 mi) long with a displacement of almost 10 meters, or 120 years of accumulated plate movement. It lay immediately north of the 1,000 km (620 mi) segment which ruptured in the great earthquake of 1960. Preliminary measurements show that the entire South American Plate moved abruptly westward during the quake. A research collaborative of Ohio State and other institutions have found, using GPS, that the earthquake shifted Santiago 28 cm (11 in) to the west-southwest and moved Concepción at least 3 metres (10 ft) to the west. The earthquake also shifted other parts of South America from the Falkland Islands to Fortaleza, Brazil. For example, it moved Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) to the west. Several cities south of Cobquecura were also raised by up to 3 meters. The maximum recorded peak ground acceleration was at Concepcion, with a value of 0.65 g (6.38 m/s2).
The locality of Tirúa south of Concepción recorded a 180 cm (71 in) uplift relative to sea level as result of the earthquake. This is the highest known uplift of the coast resulting from the earthquake. This uplift made a large islet emerge at the mouth of Lebu River.
=
This was the strongest earthquake affecting Chile since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake (the most energetic earthquake ever measured), and it was the strongest earthquake worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. It is tied with the 1906 Ecuador–Colombia and 1833 Sumatra earthquakes as the sixth strongest earthquake ever measured, approximately 500 times more powerful than the 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti one month prior in January 2010.
=
An aftershock of 6.2 was recorded 20 minutes after the initial quake. Two more aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4 and 5.6 followed within an hour of the initial quake. The USGS said that "a large vigorous aftershock sequence can be expected from this earthquake". By 6 March UTC, more than 130 aftershocks had been registered, including thirteen above magnitude 6.0.
Shortly after the mainshock seismologists installed a dense network of seismometers along the whole rupture area. This network captured 20,000 aftershocks in the 6 months after the mainshock and shows a detailed picture of the structure of the Chilean margin. Seismicity is focused in the depth range of 25–35 km (16–22 mi) and in a deeper band of between 45 and 50 km (28 and 31 mi) depth. Around 10,000 aftershocks occurred in the region of two large aftershocks in the Pichilemu region.
A 6.9-magnitude offshore earthquake struck approximately 300 kilometers southwest of, and less than 90 minutes after, the initial shock; however, it is not clear if that quake was related to the main shock. A separate earthquake of magnitude 6.3 occurred in Salta, Argentina, at 15:45 UTC on 27 February, at a depth of 38.2 km (23.7 mi); two people were injured and one died in Salta. This earthquake was followed on 1 March at 06:32 UTC by a magnitude 4.9 aftershock. Four other earthquakes above M5.0, some possible aftershocks, also occurred near the border in Argentina following the Chile earthquake; a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred in Mendoza on 28 February, a M5.3 earthquake in Neuquen and a M5.2 in San Juan on 2 March, and a M5.1 quake in Mendoza on 4 March.
Another strong earthquake occurred on 4 March, at 22:39 UTC in Antofagasta in northern Chile, with a magnitude of 6.3.
Minor quakes generated by the main one could be felt as far away as São Paulo, Brazil, located about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) away from Concepción. Since the major earthquake, and as of 15 March, at least four to forty >M5.0 earthquakes have been recorded daily in the vicinity of the main earthquake, including four above magnitude 6.0 between 3 March and 6 March.
On 5 March, two aftershocks above M6.0 were reported. The first was a 6.3-magnitude off the coast of the Biobío Region. The second was near the epicenter of the original quake at 08:47 local time with a magnitude of 6.6.
On 11 March, the March 2010 Chile earthquake (magnitude 6.9, treated by some as an aftershock of the February 2010 earthquake) was reported, followed quickly by further aftershocks measuring 6.7 and 6.0. The epicenter of the 6.9 quake was in Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region.
On 15 March, two aftershocks of the February 2010 earthquake were reported, one at magnitude 6.2 at 08:08:28 local time offshore Maule, and another at magnitude 6.7 with the epicenter located offshore the Biobío Region, near Cobquecura, at 23:21:58 local time. This tremor was followed by two minor aftershocks, one occurring 45 minutes later, measuring M5.5. No tsunami was reported and there were no tsunami warnings issued.
On 17 March, at 14:38:37 local time, an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 was recorded in Aisén, in Southern Chile. Another magnitude 5.2 earthquake was recorded in Los Lagos the next day. On 26 March, at 10:52:06 local time, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the Atacama region, in Northern Chile.
The Biobio Region of Chile had strong aftershocks of this earthquake. The first one was a magnitude 6.7 MW earthquake that struck off the coast of Biobío, Chile, at 23:21 on 15 March 2010 at the epicenter, at a depth of 18 kilometres (11 mi). The second earthquake struck on land in the region at 22:58 (UTC) on 2 April 2010 at 5.9 MW and at a depth of 39 km (24 mi). The third struck on 10:03 (UTC) on 23 April 2010 at 6.2 MW. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that historical data indicates that this quake would not generate a tsunami but still advised of the possibility. On 3 May, at 19:09 a 6.4 MW earthquake magnitude struck off Biobío, Chile, at the epicenter, at a depth of 20 km (12 mi). The epicenter was 55 km (34 mi) south of Lebu. On 14 July 2010, another 6.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in the area.
=
On 2 January at 17:20:18 local time, a 7.1 magnitude aftershock occurred 70 km (43 mi) northwest of Temuco, Chile. On Lautaro, Cañete, Nueva Imperial, Traiguén and Carahue the quake was felt at intensity VI (Strong) of the Mercalli intensity scale. In Temuco it was perceived at intensity V (Moderate). In Talcahuano, Concepción, Chillán, Osorno and Valdivia it shook at intensity IV (Light). According to the USGS the earthquake's epicenter was located on the ground, east of the coastal town of Tirúa in the Araucanía Region. However, according to the University of Chile's Seismological Service, the seismic event was located 134 km (83 mi) off the coast of Tirúa, measuring a magnitude 6.9 ML. The University of Chile also reported that the localities who received the strongest shaking (VI) were Curanilahue, Lebu and Tirúa. In Concepción, Talcahuano and Temuco it was felt at intensity V, and in Chillán and Valdivia at intensity IV.
A magnitude 6.2 Mw aftershock struck the coast of Biobío, Chile at a shallow depth of 15.1 km (9.4 mi) on 1 June 2011 at 08:55 local time (12:55 UTC). It was centered just offshore Arauco Province near a moderately populated area, with most structures in its vicinity reported to be resistant to earthquake shaking. Strong shaking registering at VI on the Mercalli intensity scale was felt in Lebu, just 7 km (4.3 mi) south of the epicenter, lasting for approximately one minute. Some residents in coastal areas panicked and evacuated their homes. The earthquake was followed by a moderate magnitude 5.1 Mw tremor that occurred about 52 minutes later to the northeast of the main shock epicenter at an estimated depth of 26.9 km (16.7 mi). Initial estimates from the USGS placed its intensity at a magnitude of 6.4 Mw.
=
Seismologists estimate that the earthquake was so powerful that it may have shortened the length of the day by 1.26 microseconds and moved the Earth's figure axis by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 cm). Precise GPS measurement indicated the telluric movement moved the entire city of Concepción 3.04 metres (10.0 ft) to the west. The capital Santiago experienced a displacement of almost 24 centimetres (9.4 in) west, and even Buenos Aires, about 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) from Concepción, shifted 4 centimetres (1.6 in). It is estimated that Chile's territory could have expanded 1.2 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi) as a result.
The earthquake also caused seiches to occur in Lake Pontchartrain to the north of New Orleans, United States, located nearly 7,500 kilometres (4,700 mi) from the epicenter of the quake. In Antarctica a series of icequakes were triggered by the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
People were found dead after the earthquake struck, mostly under buildings and inside cars. Many people were also seriously injured. Most injuries were reported in Santiago and Maule.
According to an Associated Press Television News cameraman, some buildings collapsed in Santiago and there were power outages in parts of the city. A fire was reported in a chemical plant on the outskirts of Santiago and caused the evacuation of the neighborhood. Santiago's International Airport seemed to have been damaged and the airport authority closed off all flight operations for 24 hours from around 12:00 UTC. On Sunday, 28 February, Ricardo Ortega, head of the Chilean Air Force, said commercial airline services had been partially re-established and aircraft were being allowed to land in Santiago.
Santiago's national Fine Arts Museum was badly damaged and did not reopen until 9 March 2010. An apartment building's two-story parking lot collapsed, wrecking 68 cars. According to one health official, three hospitals in Santiago collapsed, and a dozen more south of the capital also suffered significant damage.
In Valparaíso, a tsunami wave of 1.29 m (4 ft 3 in) was reported. The port of Valparaíso was ordered to close due to the damage caused by the earthquake. The port started to resume limited operations on 28 February. In Viña del Mar, a touristic city and part of Greater Valparaíso, several buildings were structurally damaged, principally in the district Plan de Viña.
Many cities in the Maule region were seriously affected by the earthquake which triggered more than 1,000 landslides, a significant contributor to earthquake fatalities. Mapped from satellite images, most landslides occurring in the Principal Andean Cordillera and a constrained area on the Arauco Peninsula. Curanipe, only 8 km (5 mi) from the epicenter, was hit by a tsunami after the earthquake and still remained isolated from outside as of 28 February. A surfer said the tsunami "...was like the one in Thailand, a sudden rise of water. One could not estimate the dimension of the wave, because it was advancing foam. There were 10 to 15 rises, the last one being at 08:30 in the morning." In Talca, the capital of the Maule region, many dead were trapped in the rubble. The administrative building was uninhabitable, and the authorities had to be set up in the parade ground. All but two of the local hospital's thirteen wings were in ruins. Dr. Claudio Martínez was quoted as saying, "We're only keeping the people in danger of dying." Hospital staff attempted to transport some patients to Santiago on Sunday morning, but roads were blocked.
Damaged buildings and fires were reported in Concepción. Rescue teams had difficulty accessing Concepción because of the damaged infrastructure. The fifteen-story residential building "Alto Río" toppled, trapping many of the residents. As the building was newly completed, 19 of the apartments were occupied and 36 were of unknown occupancy. A 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) tsunami wave hit Talcahuano, a port city and part of the Concepción conurbation. The tsunami caused serious damage to port facilities and lifted boats out of the water. In the fishing town of Dichato, of 7,000 residents, it was the third tsunami wave that ended up being the most damaging.
Dilapidated buildings could be seen on the streets of Temuco, about 400 km (250 mi) from the epicenter. The adobe of some buildings fell. Façades fell in pieces and crushed cars. Two people were reported dead because of not having been able to escape from a nightclub. On 27 February, it was reported that "finding an open business [was] almost impossible" ("Encontrar un negocio abierto es casi imposible"). Further south, in the city of Valdivia damage to houses were restricted to areas of poor soil quality, chiefly former wetlands and artificial fills. Some pavements near the rivershore in Valdivia cracked and collapsed much like in the 1960 earthquake. Overall there was little damage in Valdivia and this was highly localized. A survey showed that 434 persons in Valdivia had their homes damaged by the earthquake.
The earthquake also triggered more than 1,000 landslides mapped from satellite images with most landslides occurring in the Principal Andean Cordillera and a constrained area on the Arauco Peninsula Landslides are a significant contributor to earthquake fatalities. In Chile, 370,000 homes were damaged. The final death toll of 525 victims and 25 people missing was announced by authorities in January 2011. This is down from early reports on 3 March of 802 people dead.
The Chilean National Emergency Office (Oficina Nacional de Emergencia) estimated that the intensity of the earthquake was 9 on the Mercalli intensity scale in the Biobío Region and 8 in Santiago. USGS put the intensity in Talcahuano at MM VIII, in Santiago and Concepción at MM VII and in Valparaíso at MM VI.
On 10 March, Swiss Reinsurance Co. estimated that the Chilean quake would cost the insurance industry between 4 and 7 billion dollars. The same estimate was echoed by the rival German-based Munich Re AG.
=
Notes: USGS=United States Geological Survey, SS=Chile's Seismological Service.
=
The records of deaths were reported by a number of different agencies at different figures immediately after the earthquake. The official total is 525 dead, 25 missing not all of which are identified in the table below.
=
The table below shows the percentage of the regional population whose homes were destroyed or were severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in the six most affected regions. The data were collected between May and June 2010.
Source: Casen Post-Earthquake Survey, Ministry of Planning.
South of Araucanía Region, in the city of Valdivia, 35 houses were destroyed and 44 others were damaged.
Despite President Michelle Bachelet's earlier statement that Chile would only ask for international aid once it had assessed the extent of the damage, leaders of many countries and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and European Union, responded to the earthquake and sent messages of condolence to the government and people of Chile over the loss of life and property. Argentina, Mexico, the United States, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, Singapore, Haiti, and Pakistan were among the countries that responded earliest following the quake. Appeals for humanitarian aid were issued by the UK-based Oxfam, Save the Children, and others.
Chilean television host Don Francisco led a telethon called Chile helps Chile with the goal of raising 15 billion pesos (about US$29 million) needed to build 30,000 emergency houses ("mediaguas"). The charity event, which ran for 24 hours in Santiago starting on Friday 5 March at 22:00, was summoned by the government and organized by several Chilean NGOs. At 23:00 on Saturday the goal was doubled, collecting 30.2 billion pesos (about US$58 million).
The Chilean NGO Un Techo para Chile constructed 23,886 transitional houses for families affected by the earthquake.
=
Nearly half the places in the country were declared "catastrophe zones", and curfews were imposed in some areas of looting and public disorder. On 28 February 2010, a day after the earthquake, some affected cities were chaotic, with extensive looting of supermarkets in Concepción. Items stolen included not only food and other necessities, but also electronic goods and other durable merchandise. To control vandalism, a special force of carabineros (police) was sent to disperse rioters with tear gas and water cannons. However, measures were taken late. The outgoing president didn't want to remind people of the Dictatorship years by militarizing the streets, thus failed to provide assistance on time to the city. When the situation became unsustainable and all sectors of the population were demanding actions, the government authorized the use of the military to control the affected cities. Despite these and other government acts (including the curfews), pillaging continued in both urban and rural areas of the affected zones. Reportedly, military police arrested 160 in Concepción on 1 and 2 March.
In Concepción, despite the militarization of the zone, mobs continued to steal from supermarkets and went as far as to set one store ablaze. The government warned looters they would face the full weight of the law, as penalties for stealing are increased under a state of catastrophe. A week after the quake the police—tipped by neighbors—arrested three people with massive quantities of looted goods stashed in their homes. Other looted goods such as mattresses, furniture, television sets and other electronic appliances were abandoned in the streets of Concepción during the following days.
According to the BBC on 5 March, the city and fishing port of Talcahuano, which lies but a few kilometers down the coast from Concepción, has been left largely to fend for itself. Neighbourhood vigilante groups, including one led by a public works employee with a gun license, and the few police present allow such behavior as residents' siphoning fuel from tanks at a petrol station, but step in if someone starts to attack a cash machine. One man stated, "I've personally saved dozens of people from attack in this apartment block."
Chileans living in regions not affected by the earthquake (including those living abroad) also grieved, as they sought to learn more regarding kinsmen and friends affected by the earthquake. In the hardest-hit zones there was no communication with the exterior because of the failure of electricity and the destruction of telephone lines.
=
In the prison of El Manzano in Concepción, a prison riot began after a failed escape attempt by the inmates. Different parts of the prison were set afire and the riot was brought under control only after the guards shot into the air and received help from military units.
By 1 March, prison guards in a prison in Chillán had recaptured 36 of 203 prisoners who had escaped following the earthquake. During their escape, prisoners burned seven houses close to the prison. A witness in Chillán asserted that he had been robbed by prisoners with a machine gun who had also forced his girlfriend to kiss them. Another witness alleged sexual molestation by around twenty men who were believed to be escaped prisoners. The leading Chilean newspaper El Mercurio described the situation in Chillán as reminiscent of the "Wild West".
=
Four hours after the earthquake, when the death count was still low, President Bachelet gave a press conference in which she informed the population of the situation and stated that Chile did not yet need international aid. However, about two million people were affected by the quake with more than 500,000 houses uninhabitable. In many cities, people slept in tents, in parks or simply on the streets for fear of aftershocks. The government began distributing food and other vital aid around the country.
On 28 February, President Bachelet said that her government had reached an agreement with the major supermarkets which would allow them to give away basic foodstuffs in stock to people affected by the earthquake. By 28 February, the Santiago Metro rapid-transit network was already partially up and running and expected to be fully operative on the following day, 1 March.
On 4 March, President-elect Sebastián Piñera, who assumed office on 11 March, was quoted as saying that his goals were "to cope with the emergency needs of citizens, find people who are still missing, provide prompt and timely assistance to the sick and wounded, and restore law and order so that people can return to peace."
=
Authorities of the central port city of San Antonio speaking on 3 March 2010, stated that the port had returned to eighty percent of capacity. On the same date, Raul Maturana, a spokesman for the Federation of Port Workers' union, stated that the port of Valparaíso was operating normally. However, ports in southern Chile, which were closer to the epicenter, remained closed.
On 4 March, President Bachelet said that Chile would need international loans and three to four years to rebuild.
=
On 10 March the National Commission for Agricultural emergencies (CNEA) assured that milk and wheat prices would not rise, despite fears of lack of fuel supply for transport and harvest of these products. In the same CNEA report the mill associations of central and southern Chile are said to have expressed that they had currently no production difficulties. Despite this on 11 March newspaper La Segunda cited the president of the bakeries association complaining on unjustified price rises for flour, who said of cases of price rises of 10 to 20%.
The earthquake affected production at the Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) and Cervecería Chile factories that together have a 90% share of the Chilean beer market. With an average annual per capita consumption of 36 liters, scarcity caused prices to rise from 990–1500 to 2000 Chilean pesos per litre. CCU responded by increasing capacity of their plant in Temuco that did not suffer major damage during the earthquake and by importing beer from their factories in Argentina. 50 trucks with beer are reported to have reached Santiago from Argentina. In March 2010, ten CCU executives said that the country will not run out of beer and that within two to three months production levels would be normalized. Liquor store owners expressed complaints regarding a beer rationing scheme implemented by CCU. The scarcity favored consumption of "premium beers" like Kunstmann and Paceña.
A tsunami warning was first declared for Chile and Peru, and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Antarctica, Panama and Costa Rica. The warning was later extended to a Pacific Ocean-wide warning, covering all coastal areas on the Pacific Ocean except the west coast of the United States, British Columbia, and Alaska. Hawaiian media reported that tsunami warning sirens first sounded at 06:00 local time. The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center issued advisories about potential tsunami of less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) striking the Pacific Ocean coastline between California and most of Alaska late in the afternoon or through the evening 12 or more hours after the initial earthquake. The tsunami warning was cancelled for all countries except Japan and Russia in PTWC Bulletin 18 of 00:12 UTC on 28 February 2010.
In general, tsunamis tend to come in several waves, of which the first may not be the highest.
The U.S. National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning throughout a huge swathe of the Pacific region, including Antarctica. In the Americas, the warning extended to Chile (including Easter Island), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama. A warning was also issued for the Oceania and Pacific Islands nations and territories of American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (including the FSM states of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap), Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Jarvis Island, Johnston Island, the Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, Marcus Island, the Marshall Islands, Midway Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna and Wake Island. Tsunami warnings were also in effect as far away as East and Southeast Asia including Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Russia and Taiwan.
Coastal areas of Canada's westernmost province British Columbia was under a tsunami advisory, and this was the most alarming advisory as the earthquake occurred during the same time as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. No large wave was expected to strike British Columbia, but strong local ocean currents combined with a wave put low-lying coastal regions at risk of flooding. The first wave was expected to reach southern British Columbia at 15:11 local time. Residents were advised to avoid beaches, harbors and marinas.
A tsunami advisory was also issued for coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington and southern Alaska in the United States. This tsunami advisory was canceled as of 07:13 UTD on 28 February.
Russian authorities lifted a tsunami alert for the Kamchatka coast, after the arrival of a 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) surge that caused no damage. The tsunami was also reported to be small along the Japanese coast, and passed without incident. Many coastal areas in Japan had been evacuated as a precaution.
The projections use DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) gauges spread along the sea floor, which is a fairly new technology. Initial deep sea readings showed wave height of 25 cm (9.8 in), which is huge for deep water, according to Gerard Fryer of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. He went on to say, "although it was huge, we didn't quite know what it meant because we haven't much experience with those. As we get more under our belts, we'll get better."
=
Some 30 minutes after the first shock, consecutive tsunamis hit coastal towns, among which Constitución suffered the hardest damage, with maximum wave heights of approximately 24.1 m (79 ft), and around 350 people killed. subsequently, a tsunami amplitude of up to 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) high was recorded in the sea at Valparaíso. A wave amplitude of 2.34 m (7.68 ft) was recorded at Talcahuano in the Biobío Region. Robinson Crusoe Island, the largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, was struck by a large wave which led to the deaths of four people on the island, with eleven people reported as missing, according to Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza. President Bachelet is reported to have sent an aid mission to the remote island.
As a precaution against the coming tsunami, partial evacuation was ordered in Easter Island, about 3,510 km (2,180 mi) away from the coast of Chile. The tsunami wave arrived in Easter Island at 12:05 UTC, measuring 0.35 m (1 ft 2 in).
On 27 February, defense minister Francisco Vidal said that the Chilean Navy had made a mistake by not immediately issuing a tsunami warning after the earthquake, a step that could have helped coastal villagers flee to higher ground sooner. However, an alarm was later sounded by port captains and saved some lives. Mariano Rojas Bustos, then head of Chile's oceanographic service SHOA, which is part of the country's navy, was later fired for the organization's failure to provide clear warnings about the tsunami.
=
New Zealand
Initially, the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) said they did not expect a tsunami to reach New Zealand, but later issued a warning stating that waves of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high were likely for the eastern and later the entire New Zealand coast. By 19:55 UTC (08:40 local), CDEM reported wave activity of 50 cm (1.6 ft) in the Chatham Islands, and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) surges were reported there later in the morning. A surge 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) high hit the South Island's Banks Peninsula, while surges up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high were reported in the northern North Island. By mid afternoon (local time), Civil Defence had downgraded the tsunami warning to an alert, while still advising that sea levels could change quickly for up to 24 hours from the initial surge.
Antarctica
The U.S. Antarctic Program's coastal station along the Antarctic Peninsula, Palmer Station, went on a tsunami alert shortly after the earthquake struck Chile. To prepare for a possible tsunami, station personnel removed all Zodiac boats from the water and moved any materials from low-lying areas that waves could have swept away. Personnel also retreated to the station's highest building, GWR, while the tsunami warning was in effect, Ellis said. Palmer personnel developed a tsunami emergency plan following the 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean that created a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries. While no noticeable tsunami occurred at Palmer, the station tide monitor displayed bumps of several centimeters, signifying that a small wave had indeed reached the shores of Anvers Island.
Australia
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center (JATWC) sent out tsunami warnings for New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Tasmania, and Victoria. The organization warned of the possibility of dangerous waves, strong ocean currents and foreshore flooding to occur on the east coast of Australia for several hours on Sunday. As a result of the warnings, patrolled beaches in New South Wales and Queensland remained closed (red flags) and lifeguards ushered people to leave the water. However beach goers and surfers ignored the warnings. Numerous onlookers also crowded parts of the shore to view potential effects of the tsunami. The beach ban was lifted by the end of the day and there was no reports of damage, flooding or other emergencies. Tsunami waves of between 10 and 50 cm (3.9 and 19.7 in) were recorded and their surges were believed to have created strong currents. Increases in sea levels include: Norfolk Island 50 cm (20 in), Gold Coast (Qld) 20 cm (7.9 in), Port Kembla (NSW) 14 cm (5.5 in), Southport (Tas) 17 cm (6.7 in).
French Polynesia
A wave measuring up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) high struck portions of French Polynesia between 15:50 to 17:50 UTC with no reports of injuries as of February 28, 2010. A wave 4 meters high was reported to have struck Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands. The first waves were expected to hit the main island of Tahiti at approximately 16:50 UTC (07:50 local). Cars and other automobiles were banned from roads closer than 500 m (1,600 ft) from the Pacific Ocean.
Réseau France Outre-mer in Papeete reported that a wave measuring less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) passed east of the Gambier Islands with no damage, according to Monique Richeton, the mayor of Rikitea. Residents of the Tuamotus, which are low-lying, were told to move to the highest points on the island.
American Samoa
The first wave was expected to reach American Samoa, which was still recovering from the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami, at 08:51 local time. Lieutenant Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia urged residents not to rush to A'oloau, a high elevation area on Tutuila, as it could cause traffic jams, putting safety at risk. Many coastal towns, including the main city of Pago Pago, had already been heavily damaged in the 2009 tsunami. The first wave arrived on Pago Plaza at 21:58 UTC.
Philippines
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) issued an advisory that tsunami wave(s) were expected to hit the eastern coast of the Philippines on Sunday between 05:00 and 06:30 UTC (13:00 and 14:30 local). Residents of 19 eastern provinces "are advised to prepare for possible evacuation." However, at 15:15 on 28 February 2010, all warnings were canceled.
Hawaii
United States Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka issued a joint press release announcing the first tsunami evacuation in Hawaii since 1994. Warning sirens were sounded throughout the state, as hotels in Waikiki evacuated tourists at 6 a.m. People in tall buildings were encouraged to move above the third floor. Waves measuring 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) high were originally predicted to strike Hilo Bay on the Big Island of Hawai'i at 11:05 local time (21:05 GMT), but by 11:18, major receding and waves had not been reported on the shoreline. By 11:40, several waves hit the islands amounting to raising and lowering of the sea near the coast, and a fourth wave hit around 13:12. The tsunami warning for Hawaii was canceled in the early afternoon on Saturday, 27 February.
Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was quoted as saying: "We expected the waves to be bigger in Hawaii, maybe about 50 percent bigger than they actually were." Early in the morning, the Center expected waves of 3 m (9.8 ft). In actuality, the highest tsunami waves ended up being about 1.5–1.8 m (4 ft 11 in – 5 ft 11 in) peak to trough.
=
British Columbia
At around 23:00 UTC (15:00 local), a tsunami warning was issued for coastal British Columbia. Extra precautions were already in place due to the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver at the time.
California
Small waves were expected in Southern California, and receding was reported at Long Beach. Minor damage was reported on some coastal areas. The tsunami damaged navigation buoys at Ventura. Additionally, a boat was torn loose from its mooring and minor erosion occurred within Ventura Harbor. Damage to docks and pilings in the area was moderate.
Guerrero
In Guerrero, surges of between 30 cm (12 in) and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and receding of up to 10 m (33 ft) were reported, and three small vessels were sunk at Tecpán de Galeana. The state tourism authorities announced they would be sending a letter to the CNN news network to protest the "alarming" way in which it had forecast a tsunami for the major tourist destination of Acapulco.
=
Argentina has sent construction teams to Chiloé Island to help reconstruct some of the washed away coastal buildings. In July 2010, the government of Argentina released a statement that they would lend $300 million to Chile for reconstruction efforts using Argentine goods.
=
The following data, published by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the National Tsunami Warning Center, lists measured and reported values of the tsunami when it arrived at specific places. Some data is taken from the Chilean Army. |
26758629 | List of earthquakes in Chile occurring in 2010 | 2010-03-30 07:21:50+00:00 | Several earthquakes have occurred in Chilean territory in 2010:
2010 Chile earthquake (also called the Maule earthquake), the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on 27 February 2010 off the coast of Maule, which killed more than 500 people.
2010 first Pichilemu earthquake, the 6.9 magnitude earthquake on 11 March 2010 on the coast of Pichilemu
2010 first Biobío earthquake, the 6.7 magnitude earthquake on 15 March 2010 off the coast of Biobio
2010 third Biobío earthquake, the 6.2 magnitude on 23 April 2010 in Biobío
2010 second Pichilemu earthquake, the 6.0 magnitude on 2 May 2010 on the coast of Pichilemu
2010 second Biobío earthquake, the 5.9 magnitude earthquake on 2 April 2010 in Biobío
2010 Pichilemu earthquakes, the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred on September 29, 2010, near Lolol. |
28027175 | 1.26 | 2010-07-13 20:39:24+00:00 | 1.26 is a public art sculpture commission designed by artist Janet Echelman for Denver's inaugural Biennial of the Americas celebration in July 2010.
The sculpture's name is a reference the 2010 Chile earthquake which may have resulted in a 1.26 microsecond shortening of the days on Earth. The sculpture's shape was inspired by NOAA's graphic simulation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake. The sculpture was hung outside the Denver Art Museum between the museum and the Civic Center Park's Greek Amphitheater. It was installed in Sydney in 2011, Amsterdam in 2012, and Singapore in 2014, and Durham in 2015. From May to October 2016, the work is installed in Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal. |
30560837 | 03:34: Earthquake in Chile | 2011-01-21 22:35:29+00:00 | 03:34: Earthquake in Chile (Spanish: 03:34: Terremoto en Chile) is a 2011 Chilean film directed by Juan Pablo Ternicier and written by Mateo Iribarren. The film narrates three different stories based on the 2010 Chile earthquake.
The movie premiered in Dichato, Biobío Region, on February 27, 2011, exactly one year after the catastrophe, and was released throughout the rest of Chile on March 3. The first teaser for "03:34" was released on January 17, 2011.
Filming began in November 2010 in the same locations where the earthquake occurred, with the support of the National Council of Culture and the Arts and Carabineros de Chile, who helped with the recording in the affected zones. The movie had a budget of $1.4 million, and all profits from the movie were to be donated towards the construction of schools in the most affected coastal zones.
The movie portrays three stories of people who were affected by the disaster.
The first story follows a woman (Andrea Freund), who travels from Pichilemu in the O'Higgins Region to the devastated town of Dichato in the Biobío Region to find her sons, who were spending their vacation with their father Manuel (Marcelo Alonso) in the area.
The second story depicts the experience of a convict (Fernando Gómez-Revira), who escapes from the Chillán Prison to Concepción because his daughter was in the Alto Río building, which collapsed during the earthquake.
The third story takes place in Dichato, where a group of young people (played by Loreto Aravena, Eduardo Paxeco, and Andrés Reyes) are enjoying their last day of vacation at a party when they experience the strong earthquake and tsunami that devastate the town. |
32074814 | 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes | 2010-03-11 15:31:23+00:00 | The 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes (Spanish: Terremoto de Pichilemu de 2010), also known as the Libertador O'Higgins earthquakes, were a pair of intraplate earthquakes measuring 6.9 and 7.0 Mw that struck Chile's O'Higgins Region on 11 March 2010 about 16 minutes apart. The earthquakes were centred 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of the city of Pichilemu.
The earthquakes were caused by increased regional stress arising from an earthquake on 27 February, centered offshore Maule Region, which was felt throughout central Chile. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center pointed out the possibility of local tsunamis within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the epicentre, although small, but violent waves were seen in the Pichilemu and Bucalemu area. One person was reported dead. At least eleven aftershocks immediately followed, causing panic throughout coastal towns between the Coquimbo and Los Lagos regions.
The earthquakes were especially destructive in the epicentre town, Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro Province. The city hosts five National Monuments of Chile, of which two, the Agustín Ross Park and the Agustín Ross Cultural Centre, were seriously damaged by the earthquake. They also damaged the villages of La Aguada and Cardonal de Panilonco. Rancagua, the capital of O'Higgins Region, was also damaged, leading President Sebastián Piñera to declare a state of catastrophe in that region.
Nearly all of the territory of Chile lies above the convergent boundary where the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate at a rate of about 71 mm per year. Earthquakes occur along the plate interface and in both the subducting and overriding plates. Within the South American Plate shallow earthquakes occur on reverse, normal and strike-slip faults. The subduction zone along the Chilean coast produced the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Some earthquakes which occurred near the epicentre of the 11 March 2010 event are the 1985 Algarrobo and Rapel Lake earthquakes.
On 27 February 2010, a strong earthquake, which reached a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, hit central Chile. The earthquake occurred in the region of the plate boundary between the Nazca and South American plates, offshore Maule Region. The earthquake produced a tsunami which caused great damage in cities and towns along the Chilean coast; Pichilemu was badly damaged after the earthquake and tsunami struck.
The 6.9 and 7.0 earthquakes of 11 March 2010 occurred two weeks after the 27 February event. Chilean seismologists, including Sergio Barrientos from the University of Chile Seismological Service, had suggested that the absence of an aftershock greater than magnitude 6 following the February 27 quake indicated that there remained energy with the potential to be released. Two foreshocks of the 11 March events occurred on 5 March: one reached magnitude 5.7, and the other magnitude 5.2; both were felt between the Valparaíso and Maule regions.
The Pichilemu earthquakes were caused by the change in regional stress from the 27 February earthquake. Preliminary analyses by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) of the 11 March earthquake locations and seismic-wave radiation patterns suggested that the events resulted from normal faulting within the subducting Nazca plate or the overriding South America plate, unlike the 27 February earthquake, which occurred as thrust faulting on the interface between the two plates. Later in 2010, University of Chile Seismologist Sergio Barrientos stated that the earthquakes were produced inside the South American plate.
The earthquakes' depths were estimated as 33.1 kilometres (20.6 mi) and 31.0 kilometres (19.3 mi) by the University of Chile Seismological Service (Servicio Sismológico de la Universidad de Chile), and 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) and 18.0 kilometres (11.2 mi) by the USGS.
On 15 March 2010, seismologist Mario Pardo from the University of Chile Seismological Service ruled out that Pichilemu was experiencing a seismic swarm, after public concerns about the continued aftershocks in the area; as of that date, more than 50 aftershocks had occurred in the area, the strongest of them measuring 6.7 in the moment magnitude scale, minutes after the initial quake. From the pattern of aftershocks, it has been suggested that the earthquakes originated from rupture along a previously unknown geological fault, the Pichilemu Fault, between Pichilemu and the commune of Vichuquén in Maule Region, at 15 km depth, 40 km in length and 20 km wide. At first it was not known whether this fault was formed during the earthquakes or if it was just reactivated, however geologist José Cembrano from the University of Chile affirmed that "[the fault] corresponds to a long life fault, in a million years time, whose activity had not been detected before."
In a 2012 publication titled Aftershock Seismicity of the 27 February 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule Earthquake Rupture Zone, it was stated that, in total, 10,000 aftershocks were located in the Pichilemu area for the first six months after the mainshock; this pronounced crustal aftershock activity with mainly normal faulting mechanisms found in approximately a 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide region, with sharp inclined borders and oriented oblique to the trench.
The earthquakes took place minutes before the new President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, was sworn in, at about 12:15 local time, at the Chilean congress in Valparaíso, where the shaking was clearly felt. Piñera was at the Palace of Cerro Castillo at the time of the earthquakes, and as he left the palace, he was seen "looking worried"; Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing president, was also seen "worried" by the earthquakes as she entered the Congress. La Nación newspaper reported some journalists attempted to flee the Congress building. According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, there was "nervousness" at the ceremony, and the ceremony narrator called for calm, adding that the Congress building could even stand stronger earthquakes.
Presidents Néstor Kirchner of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay were present at the ceremony, but television footage showed that the inauguration was not interrupted, even though there was a tsunami warning in place; however, it was reported the ceremony was concluded more quickly than planned.
President Piñera cancelled the ceremonial lunch with his visitors and traveled to Rancagua, one of the cities most affected by the earthquakes; Piñera subsequently declared a catastrophe state in O'Higgins Region as a result of the earthquakes, and appointed Army General Antonio Yackcich as Area Commander in Chief (Jefe de Plaza) for the region, while he was visiting Rancagua that day. The declaration meant that "the military would occupy the area to keep order and prevent the kind of looting that occurred in Concepción during the first two to three days after last month's quake", according to The New York Times.
A Pacific-wide tsunami warning was not issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, although the organization pointed out the possibility of local tsunamis within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the epicentre, roughly the area between La Serena and Concepción. Half an hour after the first earthquake, the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada, SHOA) issued a tsunami warning for the area between Coquimbo and Los Lagos regions, as a way of "keeping people protected" against the possible occurrence of new tsunamis. President Piñera urged coastal residents to move to higher ground in case of a tsunami. Following the tsunami alert, thousands of residents of central Pichilemu fled to La Cruz Hill, with some of them staying there for several days, and received advice from members of the Army. People from the village of Cáhuil stayed at Cordón. The tsunami warning emitted by SHOA was lifted that same day at around 15:50 local time.
According to a preliminary report by the National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry (Oficina Nacional de Emergencias del Ministerio del Interior, ONEMI) on 11 March 2010, only 'small waves, without any [special] kind of characteristics' were seen in the area surrounding Pichilemu, while the USGS reported a small tsunami, with sea wave heights of 16 centimetres (0.525 ft) at Valparaíso, and 29 centimetres (0.951 ft) at San Antonio. Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter reported violent waves in Pichilemu and Bucalemu.
At Pichilemu, the epicentre town, the earthquakes destroyed the balustres surrounding Agustín Ross Park, damaged severely the recently re-inaugurated Agustín Ross Cultural Centre, and the Espinillo, and Rodeillo villages. The earthquake was accompanied by "great noise", according to witnesses from the Pichilemu villages of
Cardonal de Panilonco and La Aguada; most of the already damaged buildings in La Aguada fell down, including the local church. The road to Cardonal de Panilonco was damaged, and many houses built with adobe did not resist the shaking.
Outside Pichilemu, in Rancagua, local mayor Eduardo Soto reported severe damage to homes in the town. The Santa Julia highway overpass located between Rancagua and Graneros collapsed, and part of the Pan-American highway was damaged. A power outage affected Pichilemu for two days, beginning right after the earthquake struck, and there were partial power outages in Mostazal, San Fernando and Peumo. In Santiago, "windows rattled, buildings trembled and cellphone service failed", according to a New York Times article. The old Basílica del Salvador in Santiago, which was damaged during the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake and was never repaired, suffered additional damage. In Nilahue Barahona, a village near the town of Pumanque, electric cables fell to the ground during the earthquake, causing a fire that burned 65 hectares (160 acres) of a pine, eucalyptus and grassland forest. The earthquake was also reported to have been felt in Mendoza, Bariloche, Córdoba, San Rafael, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Asunción.
One person died of a heart attack during the earthquakes in Talca, Maule Region. A United States Geological Survey summary of the earthquakes reported damage at Rancagua, 177 kilometers northeast of Pichilemu. Relief efforts for the 27 February earthquake stalled for about six hours because of the constant aftershocks.
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center, the damage caused by the earthquakes and the accompanying small tsunami was "limited", adding that "a rough estimate of the dollar amount of damage" was "roughly corresponding to less than one million".
Following the main shock, there were two aftershocks of magnitude 6 or greater. The first of them occurred at 11:55 local time, fifteen minutes after the initial quake, and was centered in the commune of La Estrella, Cardenal Caro Province, at a depth of 18.0 kilometres (11.2 mi), reaching a magnitude of 6.7; another aftershock, of magnitude 6.0, took place eleven minutes later, at 12:06 local time, this time centered in Pichilemu, at a depth of 29.3 kilometres (18.2 mi). In total, there were ten aftershocks within the six hours after the 6.9 magnitude earthquake, two of magnitude 6 or greater, and seven between 5 and 6.
Almost two months later, on 2 May 2010, an aftershock of magnitude 5.8 MW struck the Chilean O'Higgins Region, at 10:52 local time. The aftershock was centered 44 kilometres (27 mi) southwest of Navidad, and occurred at a depth of 32.9 kilometres (20 mi), according to the University of Chile Seismological Service. The National Emergencies Office (ONEMI) reported that the aftershock was felt most strongly in Talca, 258 kilometres (160 mi) south of Santiago, and that there were no casualties, only some telephone lines had collapsed. Six other aftershocks subsequently hit the Pichilemu area that day. The United States Geological Survey measured the aftershock with a magnitude of 5.9.
A further aftershock of the Pichilemu earthquake occurred on 29 September 2010 at 12:29 local time. It reached magnitude 5.6, and its epicentre was centered 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southwest of Lolol, 43 kilometres (27 mi) southwest of Santa Cruz, at a depth of 50 kilometres (31 mi). Telephone lines collapsed in O'Higgins Region. No infrastructural damage or casualties were reported. The aftershock was felt between the Valparaíso and Maule regions. The event reached Mercalli V intensity in Rancagua, Navidad, Talca, Curicó, amid other cities and towns.
As of February 2013, there have been about 8,500 aftershocks of the Chilean February and March 2010 earthquakes according to the University of Chile Seismological Service, with most taking place in the proximities of Pichilemu. Seismologist Sergio Ruiz said that "a significant number of aftershocks" will take place at least until 2015.
The earthquakes were reported by local, national and international news media. Locally, online newspaper Pichilemu News published an article named "First signs of change?: Shaken handover ceremony in Chile because of new earthquake aftershocks" ("¿Los primeros signos del cambio?: Movido cambio de mando se vivió en el país ante nuevas réplicas del terremoto") on 11 March; five days later, local newspaper El Expreso de la Costa published an interview with Mario Pardo, seismologist in charge of the geophysics department of the University of Chile, who recommended people of Pichilemu to "try to remain calm, the worst already happened". The only local radio that continued broadcasting through the day of the earthquakes was Radio Entre Olas, directed by Jorge Nasser Guerra, who along with two other radio workers, reportedly were the only ones not to be evacuated after the earthquakes in Pichilemu. Because the earthquakes provoked a power outage, the radio worked with "emergency equipment". Previously, after the 27 February earthquake, Entre Olas did not stop broadcasting either, despite there was a power outage that lasted for several days.
Nationally distributed newspaper El Mercurio published on its 12 March 2010 main page the headline "6.9 [magnitude] aftershock marks the most seismic day after the earthquake" ("Réplica de 6,9° marca el día más sísmico post terremoto"), adding that "[s]eventeen of the twenty seisms that occurred yesterday [11 March] in central-southern Chile had their epicentre in Pichilemu, Region of O'Higgins, which was declared in Disaster State yesterday." On that same day, Santiago-based newspaper La Tercera published on their headline: "Piñera faces first crisis as he takes office as new President" ("Piñera enfrenta primera crisis al asumir como nuevo Presidente"); La Tercera elaborated: "The 6.9 Richter magnitude earthquake, which occurred minutes before the power handover took place, added an additional quota of drama to the oath of Sebastián Piñera, whose agenda was already modified by the 27 February disaster." Other newspapers of national distribution where the earthquake was reported on its main page included Las Últimas Noticias (which featured a photograph of President Piñera aboarding a helicopter in military dress), Publimetro, and La Nación, whose main headline said "Emergency measures marked start of Piñera['s presidency]" ("Medidas de emergencia marcan partida de Piñera").
Throughout Chile, regional newspapers also reported the earthquakes and tsunami warning on their edition of 12 March 2010. Among these are La Estrella de Arica (Arica), La Estrella de Iquique (Iquique), El Mercurio de Antofagasta, La Estrella del Norte (both from Antofagasta), El Mercurio de Calama, La Estrella del Loa (both from Calama), El Diario de Atacama, Diario Chañarcillo (both from Copiapó), El Día (La Serena), El Mercurio de Valparaíso, La Estrella de Valparaíso (both from Valparaíso), El Líder (San Antonio), El Tipógrafo (Rancagua), La Prensa (Curicó), El Sur (Concepción), El Austral de Temuco (Temuco), El Diario Austral de Los Ríos (Valdivia), El Austral de Osorno (Osorno), El Llanquihue (Puerto Montt), and La Prensa Austral (Punta Arenas).
Among the international media who reported on the earthquakes were the BBC, CNN, CBS News, The Huffington Post, and news agencies Al Jazeera, Reuters, and Associated Press. The New York Times included on their 12 March 2010 main page a photograph of Presidents Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and Rafael Correa of Ecuador "re-acting to an aftershock felt Thursday [11 March] in Valparaíso, Chile, the strongest since the devastating Feb. 27 earthquake"; the photograph was followed by the headline "For Chile, More Aftershocks, and an Inauguration". The newspaper published an extensive article titled "Aftershocks Jolt Chile as New President Is Sworn In", which stated that the earthquakes "almost overshadowed the inauguration of Chile’s first right-wing leader in 20 years [Piñera]." Other newspapers who included headlines on the earthquake on their 12 March 2010 main pages include El Mundo, El País, ABC (the three from Madrid, Spain), Clarín (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Bild (Berlin, Germany), El Colombiano (Medellín, Colombia), El Tiempo (Bogotá, Colombia), The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas, United States of America), El Comercio (Lima, Peru), and Excélsior (Mexico City, Mexico).
Farías, Marcelo; Comte, Diana; Roecker, Steven; Carrizo, Daniel; Pardo, Mario (2011). "Crustal extensional faulting triggered by the 2010 Chilean earthquake: The Pichilemu Seismic Sequence". Tectonics. 30 (6): n/a. Bibcode:2011Tecto..30.6010F. doi:10.1029/2011TC002888. hdl:10533/132113. ISSN 0278-7407. S2CID 130357954.
Ryder, Isabelle; Rietbrock, Andreas; Kelson, Keith; Bürgmann, Roland; Floyd, Michael; Socquet, Anne; Vigny, Christophe; Carrizo, Daniel (2012). "Large extensional aftershocks in the continental forearc triggered by the 2010 Maule earthquake, Chile". Geophysical Journal International. 188 (3): 879–890. Bibcode:2012GeoJI.188..879R. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05321.x. ISSN 0956-540X.
Aron, Felipe; Allmendinger, Richard W.; Cembrano, José; González, Gabriel; Yáñez, Gonzalo (2013). "Permanent fore-arc extension and seismic segmentation: Insights from the 2010 Maule earthquake, Chile". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 118 (2): 724–739. Bibcode:2013JGRB..118..724A. doi:10.1029/2012JB009339. ISSN 2169-9313.
Lange, Dietrich; Tilmann, Frederik; Barrientos, Sergio E.; Contreras-Reyes, Eduardo; Methe, Pascal; Moreno, Marcos; Heit, Ben; Agurto, Hans; Bernard, Pascal; Vilotte, Jean-Pierre; Beck, Susan (2012). "Aftershock seismicity of the 27 February 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake rupture zone". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 317–318: 413–425. Bibcode:2012E&PSL.317..413L. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.11.034. ISSN 0012-821X.
Quezada, Jorge; Jaque, Edilia; Belmonte, Arturo; Fernández, Alfonso; Vásquez, Daniela; Martínez, Carolina (2010). "Movimientos cosísmicos verticales y cambios geomorfológicos generados durante el terremoto Mw=8,8 del 27 de febrero de 2010 en el centro-sur de Chile" [Vertical coseismic movements and geomorphological changes generated by the Mw=8,8 earthquake of 27 February 2010 in Central-Southern Chile] (PDF). Geográfica del Sur (in Spanish). 2: 11–45. |
34133979 | Buku Jingga | 2011-12-20 08:00:03+00:00 | Buku Jingga, a Malay phrase literally translated as Orange Book, was a political manifesto of the Malaysian political coalition Pakatan Rakyat, which was made up of three major component parties: Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), People's Justice Party (PKR) and Democratic Action Party (DAP). Buku Jingga was agreed by the parties during the Second Pakatan Rakyat Convention in Penang on 19 December 2010. It acted as an alternative to Barisan Nasional's policies such as the Economic Transformation Programme, New Economic Model (NEM) and the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Buku Jingga outlined a stand on various issues, including a 100-day reform plan. This included increases in teachers' incentives, abolishment of the highway toll system and the Internal Security Act (ISA), and the increase of royalties paid by the government to oil-producing states in Malaysia.
A transparent and true democracy to demonstrate and accredit the supremacy of the people of Malaysia;
A dynamic and sustainable economy to offer wealth and social benefit to all;
Social justice to guarantee an integrated development of rights and respect of human dignity.
Federal state and foreign policies that are based on the fundamentals of fairness and justice.
To protect the Federal Constitution, Islam as the official religion of the Federation while other forms of non-Islamic religions can be adhered and practised freely and peacefully in the country.
To protect the role and authority of the institution of Constitutional Monarchy.
To uphold the use of the Malay language in correspondence to Article 152 of the Constitution and advocate the Malay language as the country's lingua franca, while preserving and strengthening the use of mother tongue for all races and of all social background, and ameliorate the command of the English language in order to improve Malaysia's global competitiveness.
These are the basic principles set out by the Pakatan Rakyat which have been put into practice in several Pakatan Rakyat controlled states in Malaysia with several key people-friendly policies to achieve distributive growth.
=
Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Extend the practice of transparent and responsible government currently advocated by Pakatan Rakyat states, to demonstrate our commitment towards freeing the nation's institutions from the undue influence of politics.
Establish Set up a Council of Experts to develop and change existing national policies with regard to key economic, political and social challenges.
Enhance the working of Pakatan Rakyat's Parliamentary Committees (currently tasked to shadow designated ministries), to monitor and verify the operational effectiveness of the various Ministries by publishing reports and findings once every six months.
Provide information and educate a wider audience of the precedence of independent national institutions with integrity, co-operating with NGOs and civil society.
Proceed to pressure on the current Government to free the nation's institutions from political conflict, through sustained campaigns and initiatives.
=
Pakatan Rakyat believes that hardships and poverty faced by majority of Malaysians are caused by uneven distribution of income. Therefore, it vows to:
Create a paradigm shift in the mainstream discourse away from the obsession by the ruling party with corporate equity shareholdings to one that revolves on concrete and measurable targets that focuses on actual household income. The 30% Malay/Bumiputra equity target obsessively defended by ruling party has been seized by the very same elites defending it. These equity targets means nothing to the majority of Malays/Bumiputras, still in poverty under the regime of the ruling party. Pakatan Rakyat propose using household income targets; targets that will directly impact hundreds of thousands of Malaysian families earning less than RM1,500 per month.
Probe and take necessary action against the exploiters of the people's wealth; stolen in the name of championing the interests of the Malays/Bumiputra, including the scandalous loss of shares worth RM52 billion allocated to the elite and cronies.
Resume non-discriminatory direct assistance schemes for the people as a means of equitable wealth redistribution, including welfare inspired schemes such as free water, old folks and single mother assistance.
Safeguard the people's right to petrol and basic household subsidies so long as corporate subsidies to independent power producers and concessionaires remain.
Challenge the interest of the poorest, regardless of race with household incomes under RM1,500 per month. The party coalition strives to provide a minimum household income of RM4,000 per month for every household in Malaysia within the first 5 years of a Pakatan Rakyat government. This is achievable by way of implementing a series of policies which will raise incomes and create job opportunities to ensure that every household will be able to have more than one member in employment. These policies will include the implementation of a minimum wage, employment laws which will allow women to work from their homes, training schemes to transform and upgrade the skill-sets of the Malaysian workforce, and entrepreneurial assistance free from discrimination.
Offer and ensure food security for all and ensure reasonable food prices, including efforts to reduce the nation's dependence on food imports. Within the first two years of taking power at federal level.
=
Pakatan Rakyat believes that there has been an incessive erosion of the rakyat's purchasing power, as inflation continues to outpace increases in salaries. In addition to promoting productivity growth, there is an increasing pressure to address the problem of rising costs which are suppressing the disposable income of the people. Productivity growth will require the development of an effective education system, the growth of investments and the promotion of R&D. This will take time to implement and achieve. However, the party coalition believes it can address unjustified high costs of utilities due to corporate monopolies and put the steps to ensure abundance of affordable housing immediately. Therefore, Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Re-construct four key areas of public infrastructure and utilities in order to reduce the high prices incurred by the people, by preventing concession holders from monopolies and excessive profits. The four areas of public infrastructure and utilities concerned are water, electricity, highways and broadband connectivity. Pakatan Rakyat will ensure that these utilities are either cost effectively run or competitive via effective regulations.
Finalize the take-over of the management of the water industry in the Klang Valley in order to ensure that water tariffs remain affordable. The party will proceed the Free Water Scheme enjoyed by the rakyat thus far.
Prevent the wholesale privatisation of the healthcare sector, as this could jeopardise the cost and quality of healthcare to the people. It will thus ensure that quality healthcare services can continue to be enjoyed by the rakyat free of charge.
Create a National Housing Board to oversee, develop and manage a people-centric housing development scheme. This will ensure that every family in Malaysia can afford to own a comfortable dwelling at a price commensurate with their income.
Quickly solve outstanding cases of abandoned housing projects which continue to oppress the rakyat, by any means thought appropriate by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments. Thus far, Pakatan Rakyat governments have already begun to rejuvenate housing projects involving some 3,000 homes.
Pursue and further expand micro-credit schemes introduced to help the poorest improve their economic position, through financial aid, training and effective implementation. Thus far, RM70 million has already been allocated for various micro-credit schemes in the Pakatan Rakyat states.
=
Besides that, Pakatan Rakyat thinks that the people possess the right to monitor the effectiveness of any government – to ensure good and clean administration. Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Proceed the empowerment of the people as a check and balance mechanism by practising complete transparency of government and information. This will comprise the complete implementation of the Freedom of Information Enactments already introduced in Pakatan Rakyat states.
Extend support for civil society through increased assistance to NGOs which champion the rakyat's interests, as part of the overall effort to strengthen the role of NGOs as the voice of the rakyat.
=
Recognising the immense contribution of the educators towards the nation's development and social solidarity, Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Offer direct funding to all types of educational institutions - at all levels and for academic, technical and vocational streams - in order to expand access to effective education for Malaysians of all walks of life. Aside from that, educators are the core of the Malaysian education system and the party would offer them direct assistance programmes, as recognition of their key role and their noble sacrifices and unrelenting service in nation building.
Standardize the pay of educators using the principle of fair assessment with consideration to expertise and length of service.
Implement a salary scheme with a fair and comprehensive assessment system for teachers which will be on par with that of engineers, accountants and doctors. This is our firm commitment to establish a quality education system. In addition, reassess current deployments in schools to ensure that all teachers are fully trained and qualified, including a resolution of the status of temporary teachers.
Curtail the bureaucratic and administrative burden faced by Malaysian educators. The ruling party's constant cycle of new education policies and its emphasis on administrative perfection and complete reports has come at the expense of time which would have been better spent in educating our future generations.
=
Under regime of Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat believes that Malaysian universities are trapped in a crisis of
credibility and quality. This is a pressing and major problem for the nation. Aside from that, Pakatan Rakyat believes that no further time can be wasted, and that urgent and specific attention is needed, with a concerted effort to restore the standard of the varsities. Therefore, Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Reinstate intellectual and academic freedom to the universities, by ending all forms of political interference in their administration.
Form a Selection Panel, staffed by experts, to shortlist and assess the suitability of candidates to lead the universities. The party shall ensure that the best possible candidates are placed at the head of our universities. Furthermore, the party are obligated to the principle of academic meritocracy in various varsities.
Strongly advocate the students’ struggle to repeal the university and University College Act and restore the right of university students to express themselves and engage fully in political thoughts and activities.
Deal the funding crisis in higher education. PTPTN's deficit is projected to reach a stratospheric RM46 billion within a decade. The party would minimise the financial burden of student loans by offering interest-free schemes and allowing repayments to start six months after entering full-time employment.
Assure the right of every qualified Malaysian to obtain tertiary and further education at minimal cost.
Revive the people's right to educational scholarships, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, for those who are deserving. The party vows to limit the need for costly private education.
=
Identifying the widespread destructive trends wrought by corruption upon the nation, Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Allocate the administration of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under the supervision of Parliament, including the appointment of MACC's most senior positions.
Dispatch an all-out anti-corruption ‘war’ at state level. This would include tightening government procedures and administrative mechanisms.
Provide legal services to defend any individual who exposes a corruption scandal, without regard for political affiliation. This is to encourage more people to come forward and play their part in the fight against corruption.
Proceed implementing the practice of open tenders, including the implementation of new steps with checks and balances in supply chain management. These are aimed at stamping out all forms of corruption.
=
Recognizing the position of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the Malaysian Federation, and honouring previous agreements made, Pakatan Rakyat vows to:
Reinstate autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak in line with and within the framework of the Federal Constitution and the Federation Agreement.
Increase the royalties paid on petroleum and hydrocarbon resources to Sabah and Sarawak to 20% from the present 5%.
Establish a Royal Commission to solve the chronic problem of illegal immigration and citizenship in Sabah.
Assist bring the level of infrastructural development in Sabah and Sarawak up to par with other states of the Federation.
Promote national integration between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia through a fair power-sharing arrangement that fully upholds the spirit of the Federation.
Amend various public institutions, such as the Election Commission of Malaysia, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney General of Malaysia and the Royal Malaysian Police to introduce transparency and reinstate accountability of the government.
Abolish the Internal Security Act.
Direct Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and all other government organisation that possess highway concessions to complete the transference of such highway assets to the government with the purpose of abolishing tolls.
Alter the structure of national subsidies (such as the gas subsidies of RM 19 billion to independent power producers) and transferring these savings towards the subsidies of the people.
Acknowledge the roles and contributions of civil servants by re-assessing the salary structures; starting with an increase in teacher's salaries by RM 500 per teacher per month as an acknowledgement of the importance of their role as educators in nation-building.
Restore all private water concessions to the government, which would make water a public resource of the people.
Distribute free Wi-Fi internet services to all Malaysians living in the urban and semi-urban areas.
Dismiss FELDA Plantations to redistribute its estate lands to the second and third generations of the FELDA settlers.
Increase oil royalties to Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan to 20%.
Form a Royal Commission to thoroughly investigate the problems of illegal immigration and citizenship in Sabah.
Malaysia's Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, has dismissed Buku Jingga as "not worth the paper it is printed on". In a speech on 31 September, he said that Pakatan's masterplan which amongst others aimed to restructure subsidies and abolish tolls was not feasible, arguing that doing so would spell the end of Bursa Malaysia since most of the concessionaires are public-listed companies. He said as well that Pakatan's promise to wipe out the National Higher Education Fund Corporation's (PTPTN) RM33bil debt was also not doable.
=
One of the component parties of Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, explicitly states that its mission is to create an Islamic state guided by Islamic principles. As such, UMNO Kelantan delegate Mohd Afandi Yusoff has criticised Buku Jingga for not including hudud law, accusing PAS of abandoning their Islamic principles. |
26406225 | Chinese Communist Party 52 code of ethics | 2010-03-03 05:13:21+00:00 | The Chinese Communist Party 52 code of ethics (Chinese: 中国共产党党员领导干部廉洁从政若干准则) or (廉政准则) was issued on February 23, 2010, to fight widespread corruption within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The codes list 52 "unacceptable practices" (不准) which say that party officials who violate the guidelines will be severely punished and could face criminal charges.
An initial "trial" code of ethics was pushed out in March 1997. According to Xinhua News Agency, the 2010 code is a replacement of the trial one introduced in 1997. In addition, the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention and the Ministry of Supervision made it a priority to monitor about 4,000 corrupt officials who left China with $50 billion between 1978 and 2003, after first sending their spouses and child overseas.
Each rule of the code is formulated as a "Not Allowed To…" statement describing some kind of illegal activity related to embezzlement, bribery, cover-up, and so on. Roots of some specific rules can be traced to the recent corruption scandals in China. For example, rule 20 states that officials are "Not allowed to divert the public funds, such as social security funds or housing funds (for other purposes)," which can be seen as a reference to the misuse of pension funds in Shanghai.
Special emphasis is put on indirect corruption when government officials use their positions to benefit relatives. Thus, the whole section of rules (from rule 28 to rule 36) explicitly names "spouses, children, in-laws, and other relatives" as illegal beneficiaries in certain transactions.
The code is concluded with rule 52 stating that CCP cadres are "[n]ot allowed to engage in activities going against social norms, professional ethics, and family virtues." |
26982346 | Contract from America | 2010-04-17 00:05:09+00:00 | The Contract from America was the idea of Houston-based attorney Ryan Hecker. Hecker states that he developed the concept of creating a grassroots call for reform prior to the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Party rallies. To get his idea off the ground, he launched a website which encouraged people to offer possible planks for the contract. Hecker told The New York Times, "Hundreds of thousands of people voted for their favorite principles online to create the Contract as an open-sourced platform for the Tea Party movement. The agenda had the imprint of everyday citizens every step of the way (in the online voting process)." Hecker said the Republicans' 1994 Contract with America represented the nation's last intellectual economic conservative movement, but the new list, he said, was "created from the bottom up. It was not crafted in Washington with the help of pollsters."
From the original 1,000 ideas which were submitted, Hecker reduced it to about 50 based on popularity, then to 21 items with the help of former House Republican Leader Dick Armey, whose conservative group FreedomWorks has established close ties with many Tea Party activists around the country.
After releasing the 21 ideas at CPAC on February 18, 2010, a final online vote was held to narrow the 21 ideas down to the final 10 to be included in the Contract from America. Over two months, 454,331 votes were cast. The resulting document, including the vote percentages for the statements, was posted online on April 12, 2010.
The Contract lists 10 agenda items that it encourages congressional candidates to follow:
Identify constitutionality of every new law: Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does (82.0%).
Reject emissions trading: Stop the "cap and trade" administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. (72.2%).
Demand a balanced federal budget: Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax modification. (69.7%)
Simplify the tax system: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words – the length of the original Constitution. (64.9%)
Audit federal government agencies for constitutionality: Create a blue ribbon taskforce that engages in an audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities. (63.4%)
Limit annual growth in federal spending: Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth. (56.57%).
Repeal the health care legislation passed on March 23, 2010: Defund, repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (56.4%).
Pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy: Authorize the exploration of additional energy reserves (see Oil reserves in the United States) to reduce American dependence on foreign energy sources and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation. (55.5%).
Reduce Earmarks: Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark. (55.5%).
Reduce Taxes: Permanently repeal all recent tax increases, and extend permanently the George W. Bush temporary reductions in income tax, capital gains tax and estate taxes, currently scheduled to end in 2011. (53.4%).
The Tea Party Patriots have asked both Democrats and Republicans to sign on to the Contract. No Democrats have signed on, and the contract has met resistance from some Republicans who have since created the Pledge to America. Brendan Buck, former Speaker of the House John Boehner's Communications Director for Special Legislative Initiatives (while Boehner was House Minority Leader), explained that the Contract is too narrow in focus, and not exactly what the Republican Party would include in its own top 10 list of priorities. "We just want to have as big and open process as we can," he said, while making sure to add that "[t]he tea party people will have a seat at the table."
Candidates who have signed the Contract from America include Utah's Mike Lee, Nevada's Sharron Angle, Sen. Coburn (R-OK), and Sen. DeMint (R-SC). |
56661443 | Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan | 2018-02-22 22:27:53+00:00 | Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan was a report published by the Washington D.C. based think tank Center for a New American Security that examined the role and relevance of the U.S. intelligence community in ongoing counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan and recommended a reform of intelligence-gathering and analytical efforts. The 26-page long report was authored by Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, at the time a senior intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Captain Matthew Pottinger, a Marine Corps officer and Flynn aide, and Defense Intelligence Agency adviser Paul D. Batchelor.
The report argues that the United States has placed the focus of much of its intelligence resources on militant groups in the region and too little on the country of Afghanistan as a whole and the people itself creating an environment in which the U.S. is unable to adequately conduct the war.
Fixing Intel was written in 2009 and draws off the personal experiences of the authors as well as interviews with hundreds of people both within and outside of the intelligence community. The report is meant to address fundamental problems in how the United States pursues intelligence-gathering in the War in Afghanistan and offers a critique, as well as a litany of recommendations on how the intelligence community operates. Notably, it casts doubt on the effectiveness of American intelligence assets that place the brunt of their focus on studying and observing various insurgent groups while remaining unacquainted with local economics, powerbrokers, and the relationships between various villages and ethnic groups and the government. The report was aimed at informing U.S. military commanders and intelligence officials on the inability to "answer fundamental questions about the environment in which we operate and the people we are trying to protect and persuade."
=
The report labels U.S. intelligence efforts in Afghanistan as "token and ineffective." One of the major criticisms is the lack of sufficient and effective analysts as well as the absence of guidance from commanders to their intelligence subordinates. The absence of effectual reporting channels inhibits the ability of intelligence-gatherers to report their findings to the appropriate levels. In addition, the United States places an overemphasis on tracking and researching militants while disregarding "population-centric information" such as the productiveness of local contractors, or the state of a heavily trafficked roadways. General Stanley McChrystal stated, "Our senior leaders – the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, Congress, the President of the United States – are not getting the right information to make decisions with ... The media is driving the issues. We need to build a process from the sensor all the way to the political decision makers."
=
Employ analysts at a lower level that have the ability to move between units in the field to communicate with intelligence collectors, such as soldiers speaking with village elders, and allow them to disseminate that information at a higher command level. The authors cite the example of a 2009 U.S. Marine offensive in Nawa District that was effective in gaining local trust, in part because the Marines employed analysts and other intelligence personnel at the company-level.
Allow for a freer flow of information between various elements on the ground in Afghanistan such as Provisional Reconstruction Teams, civil affairs troops, international aid workers, foot soldiers, etc in order to create a more cogent picture of the situation.
Intelligence officials should work in a geographic limit rather than a functional one. For example, instead of separating work into areas such as counternarcotics, terrorism, and governance, intelligence officials would instead encompass specific regions of the country to better understand the environment. The authors urge commanders to view the war as a violent political campaign rather than a military conflict, using the example of an electoral campaign.
Feed all compiled information into one source at the regional command level that works to categorize and distribute the intelligence to appropriate commands. Analysts will examine how enemy operations are evolving, the attitude of local civilians, economic climates, and levels of violence, among other things.
The establishment of "Stability Operations Information Centers" that work under the umbrella of the U.S. State Department. These SOICs will be responsible for providing crucial information to ground commanders on the political, military, social, and economic climate of the area they are operating in. Reports are to be kept at the lowest classification possible and be disseminated every six weeks.
Despite its rebuke of coalition efforts, the report was endorsed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who called it "brilliant" and "spot on," though he held reservations about the fact that it was published through a private think tank.
James Philips, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation said, "I think it was a valid criticism and I think it's a long-overdue effort to reform intelligence gathering and set things right." |
34378003 | 2010 Australian federal budget | 2012-01-14 15:53:24+00:00 | The 2010 Australian federal budget for the Australian financial year ended 30 June 2011 was presented on 11 May 2010 by the Treasurer of Australia, Wayne Swan, the third federal budget presented by Swan, and the third budget of the first Rudd government.
The budget forecast a return to surplus in 2012/13. Projections were based on a successful passing of the Resource Super Profits tax based on a 40% of mining company profits.
The budget featured changes to regulation regarding savings from 1 July 2011. Tax will only have to be paid on half of the total interest earned so as to encourage people to save. There were changes to the way millions of Australians do their tax returns by decreasing their reliance on tax agents. Sport in Australia is set to receive a funding boost described as the largest in Australian history. The budget was the first ever to be released under a Creative Commons license.
=
The deficit for the 2010–2011 financial year was expected to be A$40.8 billion or 2.9% of gross domestic product.
The total revenue is expected to be $321.8 billion.
=
The Resource Super Profits tax (RSPT) was expected to generate $3 billion in revenue in 2011/12. However Julia Gillard replaced the RSPT with the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT). The new tax was expected to generate $10.5 billion in revenue during its first two years of operation beginning in 2012. By increasing the taxation on mining super profits the company taxation rate can be dropped to 29% in 2013–14 and 28% in 2014–15.
Those able to save will receive a 50% tax discount on the first $1,000 of interest earned on their deposits.
The forecast total expenditure is $354.6 billion.
=
More than $1 billion is planned to be spent on securing Australian borders. $120 million will be spent on improving the Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. Airport security is receiving $759 million over four years and to combat illegal fishing $163 million will be spent over the same period.
After recommendation which were made in the Ahead of the Game report the budget allocated funds for improving service delivery. More than $1 billion is to be spent on public-sector technology projects, particularly on applications development and simplification of interacting with clients using the internet. Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre is to receive extra funding so it can target of serious and organised crime, tax evasion and fraud.
=
Compulsory superannuation rates are to increase from 9% to 12%.
=
$652 million was allocated to the Renewable Energy Future Fund which will develop solar, wind, geothermal and clean coal technologies. According to the Clean Energy Council the purpose of the fund is to "leverage private venture capital by encouraging partnerships between the Government and the private sector in the commercialisation of new renewable technologies and to encourage energy efficiency measures".
As part of the national road-building program New South Wales received the largest share at $717 million, then Queensland with $539 million and $260 million in Victoria.
=
Funding for an extra 70,000 vocational education places has been provided for in the budget.
=
Defence spending was boosted $4.3 billion. $9.7 million was to be spent on combating domestic terrorist threats. Money was allocated for the establishment of the Counter Terrorism Control Centre and on an improved and more secure passport issuing system.
=
$2.2 billion in new funding was allocated to the National Health and Hospitals Network after agreement was reached with the states. $355 million was to be provided for the establishment of GP Super Clinics. An increase of 25% on the tax for cigarettes is expected to raise $5 billion over five years to help fund primary health care expenses. Payments will be made eligible so that every doctor's practice in the country may employ a nurse. These rebates were previously only available in rural area and were capped at $40,000.
Aged care received a boost of $132 million. Some of the money will be spent on investigating a national licensing and regulation system for personal care workers and $90 million was allocated to upgrading the qualifications of aged care nurses and personal care workers.
$467 million has been set aside for the provision of electronic health records to those who want it. Changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will see $2.5 billion being saved over five years from the beginning of the 2010/11 financial year.
=
Elite sports in Australia have been allocated $237 million over four years and $71 million is planned to support community sports.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott focused his attack on the mining industry tax, indicating he would rescind the tax if he could. Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey claimed the budget was "based on false assumptions". Hockey suggested the budget was too reliant on a "great big new tax" and lacked any serious reform.
The election year budget was described as an exercise in restraint that contained few surprises. The budget was faulted because it relies on strong terms of trade, demand from Asia, in particular China and a global recovery. It was praised by health and financial services sectors. The Australian Medical Association welcomed the extra funding for health. Catholic Health Australia reacted positively to the measures aimed at training and retaining medical and aged care staff.
The Business Council of Australia was disappointed the MRRT would be used to return to surplus. |
26436964 | 2010 Canadian federal budget | 2010-03-05 16:04:34+00:00 | The Canadian federal budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year (April 1, 2010 - March 31, 2011) was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on March 4, 2010 after returning from a two-month prorogued parliament.
$3.2 billion in personal income tax relief.
Over $4 billion in actions to create and protect jobs.
$7.7 billion in infrastructure stimulus to create jobs.
Nearly $2 billion to help create the "Economy of Tomorrow"
$2.2 billion to support industries and communities.
Fiscal spending of $1.6 billion on unemployment benefits and $1 billion in new skills and training programs.
Youth-related spending of $108 million
During the budget speech on 4 March 2010, Flaherty announced the use of a polymer substrate for the upcoming Frontier Series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar and that future versions of the loonie ($1 coin) and toonie ($2 coin) would be made of steel instead of nickel to reduce manufacturing costs.
The New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois voted against the budget, which passed due to 30 Liberal abstentions.
=23579149 |
45703425 | 2010 New Zealand budget | 2015-03-18 05:09:21+00:00 | The New Zealand budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 was presented to the New Zealand House of Representatives by Finance Minister Bill English on 20 May 2010.
This was the second budget Bill English has presented as Minister of Finance.
=
The main feature of the 2010 Budget was a tax package that lowered income taxes, reduced the company tax rate to 28%, and raised GST to 15%. There were increases to Superannuation, Working for Families and Benefits to compensate for the GST increase.
New income tax rates from 2010 are:
Depreciation on buildings with a life exceeding 50 years was removed, resulting in an increase of tax paid on property, and Loss Attributing Qualifying Companies were abolished and replaced with Look-through company, subject to much tighter rules.
The 2010 Budget included new spending of $1.8 billion in health, education, research and broadband rollout.
The Budget forecast a return to fiscal surplus in 2016. |
72797060 | Gustavo Petro 2010 presidential campaign | 2023-01-19 23:24:30+00:00 | The 2010 presidential campaign of Gustavo Petro in 2010, Gustavo Petro was elected presidential candidate, this time obtaining the fourth best result in the vote count in the first round on May 27 with 1,331,267, a sum that was not enough to advance to the second round on June 20.
Petro obtained the support of the Democratic Pole and the Patriotic Union party, two of his main supports throughout his political career.
Since former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez was elected for a second presidential term, some sectors of Uribismo raised the idea of seeking constitutional mechanisms that would allow Uribe to aspire to a third term. The first promoter of this initiative was the then conservative senator Ciro Ramírez, who presented this project at the beginning of 2007.
In September of that same year, the Partido de la U led by its congressman Luis Guillermo Giraldo promoted a project to call a referendum to decide the possibility of electing President Álvaro Uribe Vélez for the period 2010-2014. To this end, a campaign was launched in 2008 in which 5 million citizen signatures were collected, of which the National Registry endorsed 3,900,000.
Once the signatures were collected and endorsed by the Registry, between August 2008 and August 2009 the two chambers of Congress processed the project to call the referendum. During this period, a series of irregularities in the process of collecting signatures were revealed, such as the confusing wording of the question that only allowed Álvaro Uribe to run for re-election in 2014, the violation of the funding limits authorized by the law or the participation of the Transval company (owned by the extradited David Murcia Guzmán) in the transfer of the signatures. Despite the doubts, the Congress of the Republic approved a referendum project to become effective in the 2010 presidential elections.
In accordance with the constitutional procedure, Alejandro Ordóñez, Attorney General of the Nation, gave a favorable opinion to the initiative and asked the Constitutional Court to declare it enforceable in January 2010. However, on February 26, 2010 the Constitutional Court, with seven votes in favor and two against, declared the referendum unenforceable, by accepting the presentation of magistrate Humberto Sierra Porto according to which the project had five process and competition defects.
Additionally, these irregularities led to an investigation by the National Electoral Council,15 which on March 4 declared the signature collection process invalid. Due to the same facts, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation is currently an investigation for procedural fraud against the promoters of the referendum.
Alternative Democratic Pole |
57768181 | British Sikh Report | 2018-06-26 10:33:03+00:00 | The British Sikh Report, (Punjabi: ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼ ਸਿੱਖ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ) also known as the BSR, is an annual report launched in Parliament every year about Sikhs in the United Kingdom. The report looks at the views of Sikhs living in the UK and provides this information e.g. the government, non-governmental organisations, companies and other groups. It is one of the largest projects to regularly study the needs and wants of Sikhs anywhere in the world.
The BSR was founded by Jasvir Singh CBE in 2012 and is created annually by a team of research analysts, lawyers, academics, social workers, senior consultants and managers who work on the BSR on a voluntary basis. The Editor of the report is Jagdev Singh Virdee MBE, who is a British statistician. The report takes approximately 500 hours and costs £30,000 to create every year. The purpose of BSR is to "identify the needs and wants of the 432,000 strong Sikh population in the UK." The BSR is "one of the few large-scale surveys undertaken of Britain's Sikhs" and it is one of the largest projects to study this group of people in the country.
BSR is launched annually in Parliament. The report has been quoted in the British Parliament, referred to in pieces of research and white papers relating to Sikhs or faith in general, and used by public bodies, the corporate sector and third sector groups. The report is also meant to help other non-Sikh organisations better work with Sikhs in the UK. The BSR fills a gap in information relating to modern Sikhs in Britain.
In 2019, the report was used to support the first Sikh National History and Awareness Month.
The report, which focuses on the views of Sikhs living in Britain, is organized into several sections, including an introduction, review of relevant literature, research methodology and then goes into the selected feedback areas. The report also addresses recommendations for areas in people's lives that need improvement. BSR has focused on different subjects over the last few years. In 2018, the focus of the report was mental health which has subsequently led to a new generation of Sikhs more open to discussions and leading the dialogue regarding mental health within the British Sikh Community.
In the first year, the respondents were selected through an online study, which the BSR acknowledged as being skewed towards those who have internet access.
The British Sikh Report team has been awarded a wide range of awards recognising their community work, including:
In the 2019 New Year Honours, Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, the academic advisor to the British Sikh Report and senior lecturer in Sikh studies at the University of Birmingham received an OBE for services to higher education, faith communities and the voluntary sector.
In the 2018 Birthday Honours, Jagdev Singh Virdee, the editor of the British Sikh Report, received an MBE for services to statistics and the Sikh community in the UK. He is the most senior expert in official statistics amongst Sikhs globally.
In the 2018 New Year Honours, Onkardeep Singh, a founding trustee, received an MBE for services to faith communities and young people in the UK. He became the youngest person of South Asian heritage to receive this award.
In the 2017 New Year Honours the chairman, Jasvir Singh, received an OBE for services to faith communities and social cohesion in the UK. He became the youngest Sikh to receive this award. In the 2023 New Year Honours, he received a CBE for services to charity, faith communities and social cohesion. |
48492933 | DKBA-5 | 2015-11-08 01:10:02+00:00 | The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5 (Burmese: ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော် - တပ်မဟာ 5; abbreviated DKBA-5), also known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (Burmese: ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော်; abbreviated DKBA) and the Klo Htoo Baw Battalion by the Burmese government, is a Karen Buddhist insurgent group in Myanmar. The group was led by Bo Nat Khann Mway, also known as "Saw Lah Pwe", until his death in 2016.
The DKBA-5 split from the original Democratic Karen Buddhist Army in 2010 and is loosely affiliated with the Karen National Union. They have also worked with the Arakan Army.
During the 2010 general election, the DKBA-5 attacked government troops and security forces in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State. The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government on 3 November 2011, though they have not agreed to disarming, unlike their DKBA predecessors in 2010. |