title: Washington Wizards

text: On September 30, 2015, the Wizards unveiled a new alternate uniform. Called the "Baltimore Pride" uniform, the uniform was intended to be worn for six select games during the Wizards' 2015–16 season.


title: Washington Wizards

text: On September 8, 2016, the Wizards released a second white uniform to honor the United States Armed Forces. The side stripes pay homage to the American flag.


title: Washington Wizards

text: The Wizards kept their existing uniforms (minus the two alternate uniforms) when Nike took over as uniform supplier in 2017. Along with the white "Association", red "Icon" and navy "Statement" uniforms, a "City" uniform was also released as part of the collection. The 2017–18 "City" uniform featured a white base, "The District of Columbia" wordmark in navy and numbers in white. The uniform paid tribute to the Washington Monument. The "City" uniform for 2018–19 was similar to the previous set, but with a black base, white letters and orange trim. The uniform paid homage to the National Mall at night. A red version of the 2017–18 "City" uniform served as the team's "Earned" uniform, which was a reward for making the 2018 playoffs.


title: Washington Wizards

text: Prior to the 2019–20 season, the navy "Statement" uniform received a minor tweak as the city name was replaced with "The District of Columbia" wordmark previously used on the team's "City" uniforms.


title: Washington Wizards

text: For the Wizards' 2019–20 "City" uniform, they brought back the white alternate uniform design worn in the 2016–17 season, but with the "dc" alternate logo in front and red numbers. The same design was carried over to the 2020–21 "City" uniform, but with a grey base.


title: Washington Wizards

text: In the 2021–22 season, the Wizards were one of 27 teams to wear mashup "City" uniforms in commemoration of the NBA's 75th anniversary. This uniform featured a lighter blue base and red stripes (a nod to the 1973–85 Bullets uniforms), gold trim and stylized uniform numbers (a nod to the 1997–2011 Wizards uniforms), the stylized "Washington" typeface (a nod to the present-day uniforms), and a tribute to the recently deceased Wes Unseld along the jock tag. Three mashup logos were also added. The alternate Monument logo on the waist was tweaked to feature the throwback ball from the 1973–87 Bullets logo, while the logos on the shorts feature the alternate "dc" logo in the shape of the aforementioned Bullets logo, and the "DMV" logo modeled after the alternate 1997–2011 Wizards' "dc" logo.


title: Washington Wizards

text: The 2022–23 "City" uniform was unveiled alongside the Washington Nationals' "City Connect" uniform; both the NBA and Major League Baseball currently have uniform deals with Nike. This uniform, which is predominantly pink with blue accents, pays homage to the cherry blossoms which permeate Washington, D.C. in the spring.


title: Washington Wizards

text: The Wizards hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends. This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the "al-Haram al-Sharif" or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial construction was undertaken by the Umayyad Caliphate on the orders of Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna in 691–692 CE, and it has since been situated on top of the site of the Second Jewish Temple (built in to replace the destroyed Solomon's Temple), which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The Dome of the Rock is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Its architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces, although its outside appearance was significantly changed during the Ottoman period and again in the modern period, notably with the addition of the gold-plated roof, in 1959–61 and again in 1993. The octagonal plan of the structure may have been influenced by the Byzantine-era Church of the Seat of Mary (also known as "Kathisma" in Greek and "al-Qadismu" in Arabic), which was built between 451 and 458 on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Foundation Stone (or Noble Rock) that the temple was built over bears great significance in the Abrahamic religions as the place where God created the world as well as the first human, Adam. It is also believed to be the site where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son, and as the place where God's divine presence is manifested more than in any other place, towards which Jews turn during prayer. The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and the belief that the Night Journey of Muhammad began from the rock at the centre of the structure.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, it has been called "Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark" along with two nearby Old City structures: the Western Wall and the "Resurrection Rotunda" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the earliest archaeologically attested religious structure to be built by a Muslim ruler and the building's inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad; the inscriptions proved to be a milestone, as afterward they became a common feature in Islamic structures and almost always mention Muhammad. The Dome of the Rock remains a "unique monument of Islamic culture in almost all respects", including as a "work of art and as a cultural and pious document", according to historian Oleg Grabar.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The structure is basically octagonal. It is capped at its centre by a dome, approximately in diameter, mounted on an elevated circular drum standing on 16 supports (4 tiers and 12 columns).


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. The octagonal arcade and the inner circular drum create an inner ambulatorium that encircles the holy rock.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The outer walls are also octagonal. They each measure approximately wide and high. The outer and inner octagon create a second, outer ambulatorium surrounding the inner one.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The interior of the dome is lavishly decorated with mosaic, faience and marble, much of which was added several centuries after its completion. It also contains Qur'anic inscriptions. They vary from today's standard text (mainly changes from the first to the third person) and are mixed with pious inscriptions not in the Quran.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The dedicatory inscription in Kufic script placed around the dome contains the date believed to be the year the Dome was first completed, AH 72 (691/2 CE), while the name of the corresponding caliph and builder of the Dome, al-Malik, was deleted and replaced by the name of Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) during whose reign renovations took place.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The decoration of the outer walls went through two major phases: the initial Umayyad scheme comprised marble and mosaics, much like the interior walls. Sixteenth-century Ottoman sultan Suleyman the Magnificent replaced it with Turkish faience tiles. The Ottoman tile decoration was replaced in the 1960s with faithful copies produced in Italy.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Surah Ya Sin (the 'Heart of the Quran') is inscribed across the top of the tile work and was commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent. Al-Isra, the Surah 17 which tells the story of the "Isra" or Night Journey, is inscribed above this.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Dome of the Rock is situated in the center of the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Jewish Temple, which had been greatly expanded under Herod the Great in the 1st century BCE. Herod's Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, and after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, a Roman temple to "Jupiter Capitolinus" was built at the site by Emperor Hadrian.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Jerusalem was ruled by the Byzantine Empire throughout the 4th to 6th centuries. During this time, Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem began to develop. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built under Constantine in the 320s, but the Temple Mount was left undeveloped after a failed project of restoration of the Jewish Temple under Julian the Apostate.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: In 638 CE, Byzantine Jerusalem was conquered by the Arab armies of Umar ibn al-Khattab, second Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. Umar was advised by Ka'b al-Ahbar, a Jewish rabbi who converted to Islam, that the site is identical with the site of the former Jewish Temples in Jerusalem. Among the first Muslims, Jerusalem was referred to as "Madinat bayt al-Maqdis" ("City of the Temple").


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The initial octagonal structure of the Dome of the Rock and its round wooden dome had basically the same shape as it does today. It was built by the order of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (). According to Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (1185–1256), construction started in 685/86, while al-Suyuti (1445–1505) holds that its commencement year was 688. A dedicatory inscription in Kufic script is preserved inside the dome. The date is recorded as AH 72 (691/2 CE), the year most historians believe the construction of the original Dome was completed. An alternative interpretation of the inscription claims that it indicates the year when construction started. In this inscription, the name of "al-Malik" was deleted and replaced by the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (). This alteration of the original inscription was first noted by Melchior de Vogüé in 1864. Some scholars have suggested that the dome was added to an existing building, built either by Muawiyah I (r. 661–680), or indeed a Byzantine building dating to before the Muslim conquest, built under Heraclius (r. 610–641).


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Dome of the Rock's architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces. The supervisor and engineer in charge of the project were Raja ibn Haywa, Yazid ibn Salam, and the latter's son Baha. Raja was a Muslim theologian and native of Beisan, and Yazid and Baha were "mawali" (non-Arab, Muslim converts; clients) of Abd al-Malik from Jerusalem. Abd al-Malik was represented in the supervision of the construction by his son Sa'id al-Khayr. The Caliph employed expert works from across his domain, at the time restricted to Syria and Egypt, who were presumably Christians. Construction cost was reportedly seven times the yearly tax income of Egypt. The historian K. A. C. Creswell noted that those who built the shrine used the measurements of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The diameter of the dome of the shrine is and its height , while the diameter of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is and its height .


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Narratives by the medieval sources about Abd al-Malik's motivations in building the Dome of the Rock vary. At the time of its construction, the Caliph was engaged in war with Christian Byzantium and its Syrian Christian allies on the one hand and with the rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who controlled Mecca, the annual destination of Muslim pilgrimage, on the other hand. Thus, one series of explanations was that Abd al-Malik intended for the Dome of the Rock to be a religious monument of victory over the Christians that would distinguish Islam's uniqueness within the common Abrahamic religious setting of Jerusalem, home of the two older Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity. The historian Shelomo Dov Goitein has argued that the Dome of the Rock was intended to compete with the many fine buildings of worship of other religions: "The very form of a rotunda, given to the "Qubbat as-Sakhra", although it was foreign to Islam, was destined to rival the many Christian domes."


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The other main explanation holds that Abd al-Malik, in the heat of the war with Ibn al-Zubayr, sought to build the structure to divert the focus of the Muslims in his realm from the Ka'aba in Mecca, where Ibn al-Zubayr would publicly condemn the Umayyads during the annual pilgrimage to the sanctuary. Though most modern historians dismiss the latter account as a product of anti-Umayyad propaganda in the traditional Muslim sources and doubt that Abd al-Malik would attempt to alter the sacred Muslim requirement of fulfilling the pilgrimage to the Ka'aba, other historians concede that this cannot be conclusively dismissed.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The building was severely damaged by earthquakes in 808 and again in 846. The dome collapsed in an earthquake in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The mosaics on the drum were repaired in 1027–28. The earthquake of 1033 resulted in the introduction of wooden beams to enforce the dome.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: For centuries Christian pilgrims were able to come and experience the Temple Mount, but escalating violence against pilgrims to Jerusalem (Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre, was an example) resulted in the Crusades. The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, while the nearby Jami'a Al-Aqsa first became a royal palace for a while, and then for much of the 12th century the headquarters of the Knights Templar. The Templars, active from c. 1119, identified the Dome of the Rock as the site of the Temple of Solomon. The "Templum Domini", as they called the Dome of the Rock, featured on the official seals of the Order's Grand Masters (such as Everard des Barres and Renaud de Vichiers), and soon became the architectural model for round Templar churches across Europe.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin on 2 October 1187, and the Dome of the Rock was reconsecrated as a Muslim shrine. The cross on top of the dome was replaced by a crescent, and a wooden screen was placed around the rock below. Saladin's nephew al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Isa carried out other restorations within the building, and added the porch to the Jami'a Al-Aqsa.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Dome of the Rock was the focus of extensive royal patronage by the sultans during the Mamluk period, which lasted from 1260 until 1516.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566), the exterior of the Dome of the Rock was covered with tiles. This work took seven years. Some of the interior decoration was added in the Ottoman period.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Large-scale renovation was undertaken during the reign of Mahmud II in 1817. In a major restoration project undertaken in 1874–75 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz, all the tiles on the west and southwest walls of the octagonal part of the building were removed and replaced by copies that had been made in Turkey.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Haj Amin al-Husseini, appointed Grand Mufti by the British in 1917, along with Yaqub al-Ghusayn, implemented the restoration of the Dome of the Rock and the Jami Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Parts of the Dome of the Rock collapsed during the 11 July 1927 earthquake, and the walls were left badly cracked, damaging many of the repairs that had taken place over previous years.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: In 1955, an extensive program of renovation was begun by the government of Jordan, with funds supplied by Arab governments and Turkey. The work included replacement of large numbers of tiles dating back to the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which had become dislodged by heavy rain. In 1965, as part of this restoration, the dome was covered with a durable aluminium bronze alloy made in Italy that replaced the lead exterior. Before 1959, the dome was covered in blackened lead. In the course of substantial restoration carried out from 1959 to 1962, the lead was replaced by aluminum-bronze plates covered with gold leaf.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: A few hours after the Israeli flag was hoisted over the Dome of the Rock in 1967 during the Six-Day War, Israelis lowered it on the orders of Moshe Dayan and invested the Muslim "waqf" (religious trust) with the authority to manage the Temple Mount in order to "keep the peace".


title: Dome of the Rock

text: In 1993, the golden dome covering was refurbished following a donation of US$8.25 million by King Hussein of Jordan, who sold one of his houses in London to fund the 80 kilograms of gold required.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Until the mid-20th century, non-Muslims were not permitted in the area. Since 1967, non-Muslims have been permitted limited access; however non-Muslims are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, bring prayer books, or wear religious apparel. The Israeli police help enforce this. Israel restricted access for a short time during 2012 of Palestinian residents of the West Bank to the Temple Mount. West Bank Palestinian men had to be over 35 to be eligible for a permit. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, who hold Israeli residency cards, and Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are permitted unrestricted access.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Some Orthodox rabbis encourage Jews to visit the site, while most forbid entry to the compound lest there be a violation of Jewish law. Even rabbis who encourage entrance to the Temple Mount prohibit entrance to the actual Dome of the Rock.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The location of the Dome of the Rock is believed by many Muslims to be the site mentioned in Sura 17 of the Qur'an, which tells the story of the Isra and Mi'raj, the miraculous Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad from the Great Mosque of Mecca to the Masjid Al-Aqsa ('"the farthest place of prayer") where he prayed, and then to visit heaven where he leads prayers and rises to heaven to receive instructions from Allah. Although the city of Jerusalem is not mentioned by any of its names in the Qur'an, it is mentioned in hadiths as the place of Muhammad's Night Journey.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Judging though by the early Muslim sources, this doesn't seem to have been yet a fully formulated part of the beliefs shared by Muslims during the construction of the Dome in the 8th century, and the inscriptions inside the dome attributing the building to Caliph 'Abd al-Malik in the year 691/2 do not refer at all to the Night Journey, but contain only the Quranic view on the nature of the prophet Isa (Jesus) instead. The inscription is in a mosaic frieze that includes an explicit rejection of the divinity of Christ:


title: Dome of the Rock

text: According to Goitein, the inscriptions decorating the interior clearly display a spirit of polemic against Christianity, whilst stressing at the same time the Qur'anic doctrine that Jesus was a true prophet. The formula "la sharika lahu" ("God has no companion") is repeated five times; the verses from Sura Maryam 19:35–37, which strongly reaffirm Jesus' prophethood to God, are quoted together with the prayer: "Allahumma salli ala rasulika wa'abdika 'Isa bin Maryam" – "O Lord, send your blessings to your Prophet and Servant Jesus son of Mary." He believes that this shows that rivalry with Christendom, together with the spirit of Muslim mission to the Christians, was at work at the time of construction.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: At the beginning of the 8th century, Ibn Ishaq codified the earliest Arabic source pertaining to the Jerusalem Rock, as part of his "Sirat al-Nabi", a biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, introducing the notion that right after the Prophet's Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem ("isra"'), he set off immediately and specifically from the Rock in his Ascension ("mi'raj") to Heaven, where God instructed him in the doctrines of the new religion.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Today, many Muslims believe the Dome serves for the commemoration of the Prophet's Ascension, in accordance to the views shared by some Islamic scholars, that the Rock is indeed the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. Further, Muhammad was taken here by Gabriel to pray with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Other Islamic scholars believe that the Prophet ascended to Heaven from the Masjid Al-Aqsa, of which the Dome of the Rock is a part.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: In traditional Jewish sources, it is believed to be the place from which the creation of the world began. Moreover, many Jews believe the site to be where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Foundation Stone and its surroundings which lie at the center of the dome, are considered the holiest site in Judaism. Jews traditionally regard the location of the stone as the holiest spot on Earth, the site of the Holy of Holies of the First and the Second Temple.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: Though Muslims now pray towards the Kaaba at Mecca, they once faced the Temple Mount as the Jews do; Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards Jerusalem until the 16th or 17th month after his migration from Mecca to Medina, when Allah directed him to instead turn towards the Kaaba in Mecca.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Temple Institute wishes to relocate the Dome to another site and replace it with a Third Temple. Many Israelis are ambivalent about the Movement's wishes. Some religious Jews, following rabbinic teaching, believe that the Temple should only be rebuilt in the messianic era, and that it would be presumptuous of people to force God's hand. However, some Evangelical Christians consider rebuilding of the Temple to be a prerequisite to Armageddon and the Second Coming. Jeremy Gimpel, a US-born candidate for The Jewish Home political party in the 2013 Israeli elections, caused a controversy when he was recorded telling a Fellowship Church evangelical group in Florida in 2011 to imagine the incredible experience that would follow were the Dome to be destroyed and the construction of the Third Temple begun. All evangelicals would immediately rush to go to Israel, he opined.


title: Dome of the Rock

text: The Dome of the Rock has inspired the architecture of a number of buildings. These include the octagonal Church of St. Giacomo in Italy, the Mausoleum of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in Istanbul, the octagonal Moorish Revival style Rumbach Street Synagogue in Budapest, and the New Synagogue in Berlin, Germany. It was long believed by Christians that the Dome of the Rock echoed the architecture of the Temple in Jerusalem, as can be seen in Raphael's "The Marriage of the Virgin" and in Perugino's "Marriage of the Virgin".


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as Oklahoma City Thunder.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It was then owned by Barry Ackerley until 2001, when it came under ownership of Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president and CEO Howard Schultz. On July 18, 2006, Basketball Club of Seattle sold SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) sister franchise Seattle Storm to Professional Basketball Club LLC, headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale on October 24, 2006, and finalized it seven days later, at which point the new ownership group took control. After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off their existing lease at the KeyArena at Seattle Center before it expired in 2010.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Seattle SuperSonics played their home games at KeyArena (originally the Seattle Center Coliseum) for 33 of the franchise's 41 seasons in Seattle. In 1978, the team moved to the Kingdome, which they shared with Major League Baseball (MLB) team Seattle Mariners and National Football League (NFL) team Seattle Seahawks. SuperSonics returned to the Coliseum in 1985, and temporarily moved to Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season while the Coliseum was renovated and renamed KeyArena.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA championship in 1979. The franchise won Western Conference titles in 1978, 1979 and 1996; and six divisional titles—their last being in 2005—five in the Pacific Division and one in the Northwest Division. The franchise attained a 1,745–1,585 () regular season win–loss record, as well as a 107–110 () playoff win–loss record during its time in Seattle. Both marks would rank in the top half of the NBA's all-time standings. Settlement terms of a lawsuit between the city of Seattle and Clay Bennett's ownership group stipulated SuperSonics' banners, trophies and retired jerseys remain in Seattle; the nickname, logo and color scheme are available to any subsequent NBA team that plays at KeyArena subject to NBA approval. The SuperSonics' franchise history, however, would be shared with Thunder.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On December 20, 1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein, both of whom owned the AFL side San Diego Chargers, and a group of minority partners were awarded an NBA franchise for Seattle, the first major-league sports franchise in the city. Schulman served as the active partner and head of team operations, and named the team SuperSonics after Boeing's recently awarded contract for the SST project.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Seattle SuperSonics began play on October 13, 1967; they were coached by Al Bianchi, and included All-Star guard Walt Hazzard and All-Rookie Team members Bob Rule and Al Tucker. The expansion team debuted in San Francisco with a 144–116 loss in their first game against Golden State Warriors. On October 21, the Seattle team's first win came against the San Diego Rockets in overtime 117–110, and SuperSonics finished the season with a 23–59 record.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Before the start of the next season, Hazzard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Lenny Wilkens, who brought a strong, all-around game to the SuperSonics, averaging 22.4 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game for SuperSonics in the 1968–69 season. Rule improved on his rookie statistics with 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. SuperSonics won only 30 games and Bianchi was replaced by Wilkens as player/coach during the off-season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Wilkens and Rule both represented Seattle in the 1970 NBA All-Star Game, and Wilkens led the NBA in assists during the 1969–70 season. In June 1970, the NBA owners voted 13–4 to work toward a merger with the ABA; Schulman, a member of the ABA–NBA merger committee in 1970, was eager to merge the leagues and he publicly announced if the NBA did not accept the merger agreement, he would move SuperSonics to the ABA; he also threatened to move his soon-to-be ABA team to Los Angeles to compete with Lakers. The Oscar Robertson suit delayed the merger and SuperSonics remained in Seattle. Early in the 1970–71 season, Rule tore his left Achilles' tendon and was injured for the rest of the season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Wilkens was named the 1971 All-Star Game MVP. Schulman was awarded American Basketball Association Rookie of the Year and MVP Spencer Haywood following a lengthy court battle. The following season, SuperSonics had their first winning season at 47–35. On March 3, the team, which was led by player-coach Wilkens and First Team forward Haywood, held a 46–27 mark but late-season injuries to starters Haywood, Dick Snyder and Don Smith led to the team losing eight of its final nine games.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: For the 1972–73 season, Wilkens was traded to Cleveland Cavaliers in an unpopular move; without his leadership, SuperSonics fell to a 26–56 record. One of the highlights of the season was Haywood's second-consecutive All-NBA First Team selection; he averaged a SuperSonics record 29.2 points per game and collected 12.9 rebounds per game.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Bill Russell was hired as the head coach in 1974, and he led the SuperSonics to the playoffs for the first time. The team, which featured Haywood, guards Fred Brown and Slick Watts, and rookie center Tommy Burleson, defeated Detroit Pistons in a three-game mini-series before losing to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six games. The next season, SuperSonics traded Haywood to New York Knicks, forcing the remaining players to pick up the offensive slack. Guard Fred Brown, now in his fifth season, was selected to the 1976 NBA All-Star Game, and finished fifth in the league in scoring average and free-throw percentage. Burleson's game continued to strengthen as Watts led the NBA in assists and steals, and was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team. SuperSonics again made the playoffs but lost to Phoenix Suns in six games, in spite of strong performances from Brown (28.5 ppg) and Burleson (20.8 ppg).


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Russell left SuperSonics after the 1976–77 season, and the team started the season at 5–17 under new coach Bob Hopkins. Lenny Wilkens was brought back to replace Hopkins, and the team's performance immediately improved. SuperSonics won 11 of their first 12 games under Wilkens, finished the season at 47–35, won the Western Conference title, and led Washington Bullets three games to two before losing in seven games in the 1978 NBA Finals. Center Marvin Webster went to New York but SuperSonics' roster stayed largely intact during the off-season, and they won their first division title in 1979. In the playoffs, SuperSonics defeated Phoenix Suns in a seven-game conference final series to set up a rematch with Washington Bullets in the finals, in which Bullets lost to SuperSonics in five games to give SuperSonics their first-and-only NBA title. The championship team roster included Gus Williams and Finals MVP Dennis Johnson, second-year All-Star center Jack Sikma, forwards John Johnson and Lonnie Shelton, and key reserves Fred Brown and Paul Silas.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The 1979–80 season saw SuperSonics finish second in the Pacific Division to Los Angeles Lakers with a strong 56–26 record. That season, SuperSonics set an NBA record with a regular-season average attendance of 21,725 fans per game, a record that has since broken. Fred Brown won the NBA's first three-point shooting-percentage title, Jack Sikma played in the second of his seven career All-Star Games for SuperSonics, Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson were named to the All-NBA Second Team, and Johnson was also named to the All-NBA First Defensive Team for the second consecutive year. SuperSonics made it to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive season but lost to Lakers in five games.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: It was the last time the backcourt of Williams and Johnson played together SuperSonics; Johnson was traded to Phoenix Suns before the start of the 1980–81 season and Williams missed the year due to a contract dispute. As a result, SuperSonics fell to last place in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 mark, the only time they finished in last place. Williams returned for the 1981–82 season and SuperSonics scored 52–30 and 48–34 records during the next two years.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In 1981, SuperSonics created Sonics SuperChannel, the first sports subscription cable service; subscriptions were available for $120 ($1.33 a game) but the service shut down after the 1984–85 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In October 1983, original team owner Sam Schulman sold SuperSonics to Barry Ackerley. In 1984, Fred Brown retired after playing 13 productive seasons with SuperSonics; during this time, he had been on the same team roster as Rule and Wilkens during his rookie season, playing a key role on Seattle's first playoff teams, and being the team's important sixth man during the championship series years. In recognition of his contributions to the team, Brown's number was retired in 1986. Lenny Wilkens left the organization following the 1984–85 season and Jack Sikma, the last-remaining member of the SuperSonics' championship team aside from trainer Frank Furtado, was traded after the 1985–86 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Among the few SuperSonics highlights in the latter half of the 1980s were Tom Chambers' 1987 All-Star Game MVP award, SuperSonics' appearance in the 1987 Western Conference Finals, despite posting a 39–43 regular-season record during the 1986–87 season, and the performances of Chambers, Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis. In 1987–88, the three players each averaged over 20 points per game with Ellis at 25.8 ppg, McDaniel at 21.4, and Chambers at 20.4. In the 1988–89 season, Chambers had signed with Phoenix, Ellis improved his scoring average to 27.5 points per game and finished second in the league in three-point percentage. SuperSonics finished with a 47–35 record and qualified for the second round of the 1989 playoffs.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The SuperSonics began setting a new foundation with the drafting of forward Shawn Kemp in 1989 and guard Gary Payton in 1990, and the trading of Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel to other teams during the 1990–91 season. It was George Karl's arrival as head coach in 1992, however, that marked a return to regular season and playoff competitiveness for the SuperSonics. With the continued improvement of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the SuperSonics posted a 55–27 record in the 1992–93 season and took the Phoenix Suns to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In the 1993–94 season, the SuperSonics had the best record in the NBA at 63–19, but suffered a first round loss to the Denver Nuggets, becoming the first number one seed to lose a playoff series to an eighth seed. The Sonics moved to the Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season while the Coliseum underwent renovations and went on to earn a second place 57–25 record. Again, the Sonics were eliminated in the first round, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. The team returned to the rebuilt Coliseum, now the KeyArena, for the 1995–96 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Perhaps the strongest roster the SuperSonics ever had was the 1995–96 team, which had a franchise best 64–18 record. With a deep roster of All-NBA Second Team selections Kemp and Payton, forward Detlef Schrempf, forward Sam Perkins, guard Hersey Hawkins, and guard Nate McMillan, the team reached the 1996 NBA Finals, but lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games. Seattle continued to be a Western Conference powerhouse during the next two seasons, winning 57 games in 1996–97 and 61 games in 1997–98 for their second and third straight Pacific Division titles. At the end of the 1997–98 season, longtime Sonic and defensive specialist McMillan retired, and disagreements with management led Karl to end his tenure as head coach. He was replaced by former Sonic Paul Westphal for the 1998–99 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The 1998–99 season saw SuperSonics struggle. Westphal was dismissed after the team started the 2000–01 season 6–9, and replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Nate McMillan, who was appointed permanent head coach in February 2001. In the 2002–03 season, All-Star Payton was traded to Milwaukee Bucks; that season marked the end to the SuperSonics' 11-year run of seasons with a winning percentage of at least .500, then the second-longest current run in the NBA.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The 2004–05 team won the organization's sixth-division title under the leadership of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, winning 52 games and defeating Sacramento Kings to advance to the 2005 Western Conference Semifinals. SuperSonics lost in six games to the established trio of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili of San Antonio Spurs, who subsequently defeated Detroit Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals. This was also the last time this SuperSonics team would make the playoffs. During the 2005 off-season, head coach McMillan left SuperSonics to accept a high-paying position to coach Portland Trail Blazers. The season after his departure, the team regressed with a 35–47 record.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On May 22, 2007, SuperSonics were awarded the second pick in the 2007 NBA draft, equaling the highest draft position the team ever held, selecting Kevin Durant from the University of Texas. On June 28, SuperSonics traded Ray Allen and the 35th pick of the second-round Glen Davis in the 2007 NBA draft to Boston Celtics for rights to the fifth pick; Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. On July 11, SuperSonics and Orlando Magic agreed to a sign and trade for Rashard Lewis. SuperSonics received a future second-round draft pick and a $9.5 million trade exception from Magic. On July 20, SuperSonics used the trade exception and a second-round draft pick to acquire Kurt Thomas and two first-round draft picks from Phoenix Suns.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In 2008, morale was low at the beginning of SuperSonics season as talks with the city of Seattle for a new arena had broken down. SuperSonics had received a franchise player with second-overall pick in the NBA draft with Durant. With the Ray Allen trade, however, SuperSonics had little talent with which to surround their rookie forward and lost their first eight games under coach P. J. Carlesimo to achieve a 3–14 record in the first month of the season. Durant led all rookies in scoring at 20.3 ppg and won the Rookie of the Year award. SuperSonics, however, posted a franchise-worst record of 20–62. It was their final season in Seattle because Bennett got the right to move the team after settling all legal issues with the city. Seattle SuperSonics played their last home game on April 13, 2008, winning 99–95 against Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the game, the crowd chanted "Save our Sonics" and Durant waved his hands at the crowd. The last game they played was against Durant's future team, the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena three days later. KD scored 42 points.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: From 2001 to 2006, Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president and CEO Howard Schultz was the majority owner of the team, along with 58 partners or minor owners as part of Basketball Club of Seattle LLP. On July 18, 2006, after unsuccessful efforts to persuade Washington State government officials to provide funding to update KeyArena, Schultz and Basketball Club of Seattle LLP sold SuperSonics and their sister team the Women's National Basketball Association's Seattle Storm for $350 million to Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), an investment group that was headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. Schultz sold the franchise to Bennett's group because they thought Bennett would keep the franchise in Seattle rather than move it to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said:


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: I think it's presumptuous to assume that Clay Bennett and his ownership group won't own that Seattle team for a long, long time in Seattle or somewhere else. It's presumptuous to assume they're going to move that franchise to Oklahoma City. I understand that people are going to say that seems to be a likely scenario, but that's just speculation.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: After failing to persuade local governments to fund a $500-million arena complex in the Seattle suburb Renton, Bennett's group notified the NBA it intended to move the team to Oklahoma City and requested arbitration with the city of Seattle to be released from SuperSonics' lease of KeyArena.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The judge rejected the request and Seattle sued Bennett's group to enforce the lease that required the team to play at KeyArena until 2010.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On April 18, 2008, NBA owners approved a potential SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City in a 28–2 vote by the league's Board of Governors; only Mark Cuban of Dallas Mavericks and Paul Allen of Portland Trail Blazers voted against the move. The approval meant SuperSonics would be allowed to move to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for the 2008–09 season after reaching a settlement with the city of Seattle.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On July 2, 2008, a settlement that allowed the team to move under certain conditions, including the ownership group's payment of $45 million to Seattle and the possibility of an additional $30 million by 2013 if a new team had not been awarded to the city, was reached. It was agreed the Oklahoma City team would not use the name "SuperSonics", and that the team's history would be shared between Oklahoma City and any future NBA team in Seattle. The relocated team began play as Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2008–09 season, becoming the third NBA franchise to relocate in the past decade, following Vancouver Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and were renamed Memphis Grizzlies for the 2001–02 season; and Charlotte Hornets, who moved to New Orleans and began play as New Orleans Hornets for the 2002–03 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In months prior to the settlement, Seattle publicly released email conversations that took place within Bennett's ownership group and alleged they indicated at least some members of the group wanted to move the team to Oklahoma City prior to the purchase in 2006. Before that, SuperSonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon told "The Journal Record"; "we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here", although Bennett denied knowledge of this. Seattle used these incidents to argue the owners failed to negotiate in good faith, prompting Schultz to file a lawsuit seeking to rescind the sale of the team and transfer the ownership to a court-appointed receiver. The NBA said Schultz's lawsuit was void because Schultz signed a release forbidding himself to sue Bennett's group but also said the proposal would have violated league ownership rules. Schultz dropped the case before the start of the 2008–09 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In 2009, a group of Seattle filmmakers known as Seattle SuperSonics Historical Preservation Society produced a critically acclaimed documentary film titled "Sonicsgate – Requiem For A Team", which describes the rise and demise of the Seattle SuperSonics franchise. The film focuses on the controversial aspects of the team's departure from Seattle; it won the 2010 Webby Award for Best Sports Film.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In 2011, a group of investors led by hedge fund founder Chris Hansen spoke with Seattle mayor Mike McGinn about investing in an arena in hopes of securing an NBA franchise and reviving Seattle SuperSonics. McGinn offered to Hansen to obtain ownership of KeyArena for little to no money.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Rumors Hansen would begin pursuing a vulnerable franchise to move to Seattle began circulating. Most of the discussion centered on Sacramento Kings, a struggling franchise that had been unsuccessfully trying to replace the aging Power Balance Pavilion. The rumors were such Think Big Sacramento, a community action group created by Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson to develop solutions for Kings, write to Hansen asking him not to pursue the city's team.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On May 16, 2012, after coming to agreement, McGinn, Constantine, and Hansen presented the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the public.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: King County Council voted to approve the MOU on July 30, 2012, adding amendments that provided for work with the Port of Seattle, securing the SuperSonics naming rights, offering reduced-price tickets, support for Seattle Storm WNBA franchise, and requiring an economic analysis.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Hansen and Seattle City Council announced on September 11, 2012, a tentative agreement on a revised MOU that included the county council's amendments and new provisions; a personal guarantee from Hansen to cover cost overruns of construction of the new arena and make up any backfall for annual repayment of the city bonds issued. To address concerns of Port of Seattle, Seattle Mariners, and local industry, a SoDo transportation improvement fund to be maintained at $40 million by tax revenue generated by the arena was also included. All parties agreed transaction documents would not be signed and construction would not begin before the state-required environmental impact analysis was completed. By a vote of 7–2, Seattle City Council approved the amended MOU on September 24, 2012. The King County Council reviewed the amended MOU and voted unanimously in favor of approval on October 15, 2012.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In June 2012, it was revealed Hansen's investment partners included Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and brothers Erik and Peter Nordstrom of fashion retailer Nordstrom, Inc. Peter Nordstrom had been a minority owner of SuperSonics under Howard Schultz's ownership. Wally Walker, formerSuper Sonics executive, was also later revealed to be part of Hansen's group. On January 9, 2013, media reports regarding the imminent sale of majority ownership of Sacramento Kings to Hansen, Ballmer, the Nordstroms, and Walker for $500 million to relocate to Seattle as early as the 2013–14 NBA season emerged.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On January 20, 2013, several sources reported the Maloof family had agreed to sell Hansen and Ballmer's ownership group their 53% majority stake in the Kings franchise, pending approval of the NBA's Board of Governors. The next day, the NBA, Hansen, and the Maloofs all released statements announcing the agreement, which also included the 12% minority stake of owner Robert Hernreich, and based the sale price on a team valuation of $525 million.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: David Stern, then NBA Commissioner, confirmed on February 6, 2013, that the Maloofs had filed paperwork with the league office to officially request relocation of the Kings from Sacramento to Seattle on behalf of the potential new ownership group. Johnson, with guidance from Stern and the NBA league office, began to assemble an alternative ownership group that would keep the Kings in Sacramento and aid in getting a new arena constructed. On February 26, 2013, the Sacramento City Council voted to enter into negotiations with an unnamed group of investors revealed two days later to be headed by grocery magnate and developer Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov, founder of 24 Hour Fitness. An initial counteroffer presented to the NBA by this new group was deemed "not comparable" as to merit consideration. Burkle eventually left the group because of a conflict with other business interests, but offered to be primary developer of lands around the planned downtown location of the new arena to aid in city council passage of public funding for the project. Mastrov took a backseat to Vivek Ranadivé, founder and CEO of TIBCO and a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors, brought in to assemble a stronger group of investors.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Ahead of the annual Board of Governors meeting where they were expected to vote on approval of the sale of the Kings to Hansen and Ballmer's group, as well as the relocation request, members of the NBA owners' finance and relocation committees held a meeting in New York City on April 3, 2013, for the Seattle group and the Sacramento group to each present their proposals.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: With the meeting of the Board of Governors to vote moved again to mid-May, the groups were asked to make another brief presentation to the full relocation committee on April 29, 2013. The committee voted to recommend rejection of the relocation request to the full board. When the Board of Governors finally convened in Dallas on May 15, 2013, they heard final presentations from both the Seattle and Sacramento groups. The BOG voted 22–8 against moving the Kings from Sacramento to Seattle.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Though initially resistant to the idea, after negotiations, on May 17, 2013, the Maloof family and Hernreich formally agreed to sell their ownership stake in the Kings (65% of the team, valued at US$535 million) to Ranadivé's ownership group.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: In September 2013, then-Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver announced Milwaukee Bucks would need to replace the aging BMO Harris Bradley Center because of its small size and lack of amenities.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On April 16, 2014, it was announced owner Herb Kohl Kohl had agreed to sell the franchise to New York hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens for a record $550 million. The deal included provisions for contributions of $100 million each from Kohl and the new ownership group towards the construction of a new downtown arena. During sale discussions, it was revealed Hansen and Ballmer had expressed interest in purchasing the team for more than $600 million but had not made a formal offer because of Kohl's insistence the team stay in Milwaukee.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On January 2, 2015, "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reported Atlanta Spirit, then-owners of Atlanta Hawks, would sell the team. Initially, only majority owner Bruce Levenson would sell his stake but the remaining minority owners announced they would also sell their stakes. On January 6, 2015, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" reported Chris Hansen and film producer Thomas Tull—a minority owner of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers—would enter separate bids to acquire the Hawks and move them to Seattle. The NBA stated the Hawks were to remain in Atlanta as a condition of their sale; additionally, Atlanta Spirit were unlikely to sell Hawks to a prospective owner that would relocate the team, in contrast with the group's sale of the now-defunct NHL team Atlanta Thrashers in 2011. Any attempt to move the Hawks out of Atlanta would incur a $75 million penalty from the city of Atlanta and Fulton County for breaking the Hawks' lease of Philips Arena before 2017. The Hawks were sold to a group led by Tony Ressler on June 24, 2015.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: On May 2, 2016, Seattle City Council voted 5–4 against vacating a section of Occidental Avenue South that connected property purchased by Hansen and was deemed critical to the siting of a future arena. The vote was seen as a significant delay to the MOU between Hansen, the city and King County that expired in November 2017. On October 25, 2016, Chris Hansen announced he will fund the arena without public funding. On November 14, 2016, Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson announced he would be investing in the NBA arena effort.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: While talks about building a new arena were underway, so were talks with another group of investors—including Tim Leiweke, co-founder of the Oak View Group—who wanted to renovate KeyArena, SuperSonics' former home venue. On December 4, 2017, one day after the deal with Chris Hansen expired, Seattle City Council voted 7–1 to approve the renovation of KeyArena. The renovation was considered to mainly focus on fitting out Seattle Kraken for the National Hockey League (NHL), interest for the revival of SuperSonics remained a possibility with the renovated arena. Hansen and his fellow investors felt having a future arena should be considered as a back-up plan for the future of SuperSonics, they would support the renovation by Oak View Group if the plan to acquire an NBA team was successful. Renovations of KeyArena, which was renamed Climate Pledge Arena, began in 2018 and were completed by the beginning of the 2021–22 NBA and NHL seasons.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Seattle SuperSonics' first uniforms had "Sonics" displayed in a font that was also used by Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings). The road jerseys were green and had yellow lettering; the home uniforms were white with green lettering. In 1995, SuperSonics changed their uniforms, adding red and orange, and removing yellow, to their new jerseys that would last six seasons. It displayed the team's new logo on the front and their alternative logo on the shorts. The home uniforms had green stripes on the right side of the jersey and shorts, and the green road jersey had red stripes.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: The final SuperSonics uniforms were worn from the 2001–02 season through to the 2007–08 season. The side's owner Howard Schultz commissioned the design from Seattle design agency Hornall Anderson. The home jerseys were white with green-and-gold trim, displaying "SONICS" across the chest. Road uniforms were dark green with white-and-gold accents, with "SEATTLE" across the chest. The alternative uniform was gold with green-and-white trim with "SONICS" arched across the chest. These uniforms were an "homage" to a similar style worn from the 1975–76 season through to the 1994–95 season.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: Seattle SuperSonics were traditional rivals of Portland Trail Blazers because of the teams' proximity; the rivalry had been dubbed the I-5 Rivalry in reference to Interstate 5 that connects the two cities, which are apart. The rivalry was fairly equal in accomplishments; both teams won one championship. The all-time record of this rivalry is 98–94 in favor of SuperSonics.


title: Seattle SuperSonics

text: SuperSonics were rivals of Los Angeles Lakers due to the teams' longstanding pairing in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Lakers' sustained success meant regular-season games often affected NBA Playoffs seedings, with the teams matching head-to-head for numerous playoff battles.


title: China Global Television Network

text: China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in six languages. CGTN is registered under the State Council of the People's Republic of China and is under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.


title: China Global Television Network

text: Media regulators, journalist advocacy groups, and others have accused CGTN of broadcasting propaganda and disinformation on behalf of the Chinese government, and airing forced confessions.<ref name="reuters/australian-broadcaster"></ref>


title: China Global Television Network

text: CGTN grew out of CCTV's all-English channel, known as CCTV-9 or CCTV International, launched in 2000 and renamed CCTV News in 2010. Channels in other languages were launched during the mid and late 2000s. In December 2016, the six non-Chinese language television channels under CCTV International were rebranded to bear the CGTN name. By 2022, CGTN had built a network of social media influencers, according to the Associated Press.


title: China Global Television Network

text: Observers have noted that the "aim [of CGTN] is to influence public opinion overseas in order to nudge foreign governments into making policies favourable towards China’s Communist party" through subtle means. Researchers Thomas Fearon and Usha M. Rodrigues argued that CGTN has a "dichotomous role as a credible media competing for audience attention on the world stage, and a vital government propaganda organ domestically."


title: China Global Television Network

text: According to James Palmer at "Foreign Policy", the contrasting aims of RT (formerly Russia Today) and CGTN, "mirrors wider strategies: Moscow wants chaos it can exploit, while Beijing wants a stable world order—on its terms". While "RT doesn't mind whether it goes to the far-left or the far-right," Chinese state media is permitted to "act from a very narrow, officially approved scope, and the risk of the political extremes is too much," according to journalist Hilton Yip. On the contrary to CGTN's investments in studios and numerous overseas bureaus, "the actual content is a mix of brutally tedious propaganda and bland documentaries. The audience is always the bosses in Beijing, not the average viewer overseas". Yip also noted the growing disillusionment of journalists in China who "are allowed to do little more than parrot the official line", citing a viral video of a journalist rolling her eyes at another reporter's softball question during a ministerial press conference, which "seemed to speak for many in the country who are tired of the charade that local media has become".


title: China Global Television Network

text: Despite a decade of overseas expansion, the redoubling of efforts by CGTN, and to an extension other state media, to push the party's theories and principles abroad is at odds with boosting China's overseas image. CGTN, along with other Chinese state media outlets, is still widely regarded as "editorially biased and full of propaganda, and they still struggle to attract large audiences", particularly in the age of widespread internet use with social media and nontraditional forms of media where the public has become "more averse to clumsy state-run propaganda than ever".


title: China Global Television Network

text: In his 2022 book "Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World", journalist Joshua Kurlantzick wrote that the Chinese government had tried and failed to make CGTN similar to Al Jazeera. In December 2022, he said that the government "wanted CGTN to be regarded as a credible source of information, like Al Jazeera", but described the idea as "something of a fantasy". He added: "Qatar is a small state, and it has significant foreign policy on a few certain issues. But outside of those issues, Qatar has basically left its Al Jazeera reporters alone. China was never going to be able to do that because virtually any issue could have an impact on China."


title: China Global Television Network

text: Critics have accused CGTN of broadcasting misinformation and making false allegations against opponents of the Chinese government. The network has been investigated and censured by Britain's Ofcom for biased coverage of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests and the airing of forced confessions. CGTN has been characterized as a vehicle for government propaganda and disinformation campaigns by Reporters Without Borders, BBC, and other sources.


title: China Global Television Network

text: Despite its revamp launching of CCTV America, critics have voiced concerns over the level of censorship exercised by the channel, especially on sensitive domestic issues in China. Philip Cunningham of Cornell University, who has appeared more than 100 times on CCTV talk shows, noted that sensitive issues such as Tibet and Xinjiang were heavily edited on various programs. Ma Jing, Director of CCTV America, defended the channel against such allegations by saying that the channel edits stories the same way other news organizations do. She said: "We uphold the traditional journalistic values. We consider accuracy, objectivity, truthfulness, and public accountability very important, more important than anything else."


title: China Global Television Network

text: On 18 September 2019, Nick Pollard, a British TV executive, resigned from his post as consultant and advisor to CGTN, giving his reason for leaving as being CGTN's failure to comply with Ofcom's rules on impartiality in connection to its coverage of the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests. He had joined CGTN in December 2018. Ofcom had several inquiries into CGTN going on in September 2019. In March 2021, CGTN was fined £225,000 by Ofcom for bias in its coverage of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which was found to have repeatedly breached fairness and impartiality requirements.


title: China Global Television Network

text: A September 2019 article in "The Diplomat" stated that CGTN "has a consistent record of blatantly and egregiously violating journalistic standards and encouraging or justifying hatred and violence against innocent people."


title: China Global Television Network

text: In July 2021, BBC News reported that CGTN initiated a drive to use foreign vloggers, such as Raz Gal-Or and Lee and Oli Barrett, as stringers to denounce negative coverage of Xinjiang. The use of these individuals prevents YouTube from labelling their content as state-sponsored content, although their videos are promoted by state media accounts. Australian cybersecurity researcher Robert Potter from Internet 2.0 said there was evidence that these vloggers were heavily promoted using a mix of 50 Cent Army, click farms, fake bot accounts, and fake news websites, all to "spoof YouTube into treating it like a legitimate view." Global Voices reported in October 2021 that CGTN had also hired Arabic-speaking social media influencers to frame Chinese government policies toward the Uyghurs as part of an anti-terrorist measure.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In February 2021, a "Press Gazette" investigation found that CGTN purchased ads on Facebook that denied any mistreatment of Uyghurs and promoted Xinjiang internment camps as "vocational training centres."


title: China Global Television Network

text: In a 2022 research paper comparing RT and CGTN's coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election, Martin Moore and Thomas Colley of King's College London described CGTN as using a "surface neutrality" propaganda model, noting that it "avoid[ed] expressing partisanship or framing US politics in an unduly biased or subjective way" in its coverage of the election, but it "dropp[ed] its objective tone in favour of being enthusiastically pro-China, without exception" in its coverage of geopolitical issues affecting China, and that CGTN did not publish content that was critical of or embarrassing to the Chinese government. They added: "Unlike RT, it frequently frames issues (such as the revelations about Trump's taxes) through the prism of the Chinese interest—even if the issues have no direct bearing on China. These characteristics contravene journalistic norms of independence from government and impartiality". Moore and Colley noted in another paper that during the election, "[CGTN] presented the US as poorly governed, plutocratic, racist and a destabilising international influence, and China as well governed, benign, stable, and as a rising superpower."


title: China Global Television Network

text: CCTV broadcast two forced confessions of the British journalist Peter Humphrey. The first was staged in August 2013, and was filmed by a CCTV crew with Humphrey locked in an iron chair inside a steel cage, wearing handcuffs and an orange prison vest. This was before he had been indicted, tried or convicted of a crime. The second, in July 2014, was once again filmed by CCTV, not in a cage this time, but still in a prison vest and handcuffs, before he had been tried or convicted on the charge of illegal information gathering. Both were aired in the UK by CGTN.


title: China Global Television Network

text: On 23 November 2018, Humphrey filed a complaint to Ofcom against CCTV, citing violations of the United Kingdom Broadcasting Code's Fairness and Privacy provisions. Humphrey said that both confessions were scripted and directed by the Chinese police, the public security bureau, while he was a prisoner, in conditions of duress amounting to torture. On 6 July 2020, Ofcom ruled that CGTN was guilty of breaching UK broadcasting standards in both incidents. The ruling stated that CGTN had breached Humphrey's privacy and that in the channel's reporting, "material facts were presented, disregarded or omitted in a way that was unfair to Mr Humphrey".


title: China Global Television Network

text: In November 2019, CGTN aired a video of a UK consular employee, Simon Cheng, in captivity "confessing" to consorting with prostitutes. Within a week, Cheng had filed a complaint with Ofcom.


title: China Global Television Network

text: On 8 March 2021, CGTN was fined a total of £225,000 by Ofcom for serious breaches of fairness, privacy and impartiality rules. "We found the individuals (Simon Cheng and Gui Minhai) concerned were unfairly treated and had their privacy unwarrantably infringed," Ofcom said, adding that the broadcaster had "failed to obtain their informed consent to be interviewed." It concluded that "material facts which cast serious doubt on the reliability of their alleged confessions" had been left out of the programmes, which aired pre-trial "confessions" of the two men while they were being detained. Ofcom said it was considering further sanctions.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In August 2020, Australian CGTN television anchor Cheng Lei was detained by Chinese authorities on national security grounds but no details of accusations were provided.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In April 2020, the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders criticized CGTN for engaging in disinformation regarding COVID-19. The United States Department of State described CGTN's output on COVID-19 as part of a wider government-led disinformation campaign. In April 2021, the European External Action Service published a report that cited Chinese state media outlets, including CGTN, as spreading disinformation to present Western vaccines as unsafe.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In March 2021, an investigation by "Le Monde" claimed that a supposed French journalist for CGTN named "Laurène Beaumond" was a fabricated identity. "Le Figaro" disputed this, saying "Beaumond" was a real French journalist from Sarthe, but had been publishing for CGTN under a pseudonym. "Le Figaro" said they had interviewed "Beaumond", under the condition that her true identity be kept secret.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In May 2021, Israel's embassy in Beijing accused CGTN of "blatant antisemitism" when it broadcast an antisemitic canard during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In December 2021, Chinese professional tennis player Peng Shuai disappeared after publicizing sexual assault allegations against former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli. CGTN's official account on Twitter subsequently posted an "email" professed to be from her claiming she was okay, but attracted questions over its authenticity as a cursor was visible in the screenshot of the third line. The Women's Tennis Association did not believe the email was genuine.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In March 2022, CGTN paid for digital ads on Facebook targeting global users with briefings and newscasts featuring pro-Kremlin talking points about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine after Meta Platforms banned Russian state media advertisement buys. The same month, CGTN repeated unsubstantiated Russian claims of biological weapons labs in Ukraine.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In 2018, the United States Department of Justice directed CGTN America, the U.S. division of CGTN, to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). CGTN America said in its FARA filings on 1 February 2019 that it disagreed with the Justice Department's decision, but registered nonetheless. In 2020, the United States Department of State designated CGTN and its parent company, CCTV, as foreign missions.


title: China Global Television Network

text: On 4 February 2021, Star China Media (the UK broadcast license holder for CGTN) had its broadcast license revoked by UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Ofcom found that Star had no editorial oversight over the channel it was broadcasting, and was instead acting as a third-party distributor for CGTN's feed. Ofcom also denied an application to transfer the broadcast license to the China Global Television Network Corporation (CGTNC), on the grounds that CGTNC was "controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party". UK law prohibits license holders from being controlled by political bodies. In a statement, Ofcom said:


title: China Global Television Network

text: We have given CGTN significant time to come into compliance with the statutory rules. Those efforts have now been exhausted. Following careful consideration, taking account of all the facts and the broadcaster’s and audience's rights to freedom of expression, we have decided it is appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK. We expect to conclude separate sanctions proceedings against CGTN for due impartiality and fairness and privacy breaches shortly.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In what CNN Business characterised as "an apparent tit-for-tat move", the Chinese government on 11 February banned the BBC World News TV channel from airing in China. Given that BBC World News could only be received in so-called foreign compounds (such as internationally owned hotels) in mainland China in the first place, it was unclear what impact, if any, this ban would have.


title: China Global Television Network

text: CGTN later sought and received agreement from French regulatory authorities to broadcast in France, which would allow them to broadcast in member states of the Council of Europe, including the United Kingdom.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In August 2021, Ofcom levied additional fines on CGTN's UK license holder, Star China Media, for breaches of rules around fairness and privacy. The channel announced later in the month that the channel has returned to the UK by launching on Freeview. Ofcom later claimed the channel uses the Vision TV Network, an internet-based datacasting service.


title: China Global Television Network

text: In March 2021, the Australian television network SBS suspended the English and Mandarin broadcasts of CGTN and CCTV respectively, which were broadcast on SBS as part of its "World Watch" program, over human rights complaints concerning the airings of "forced confessions." CGTN responded that CCTV has signed a cooperation agreement with SBS to broadcast some of CCTV's Chinese programs for free in 2006, but CGTN did not authorize SBS to broadcast its English programs.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum ( – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves throughout his life.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum was heavily featured in CNN Films' 2013 documentary "Blackfish", which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive. Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P. Dukes, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando; and SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. He measured long and weighed about . His pectoral fins were long, his fluke curled under, and his dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: His name, in the Chinook Jargon of the Pacific Northwest, means "friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people".


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum was captured when he was two years old, along with two other young orcas, by a purse-seine net in November 1983, at Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. After almost a year in a tank at the Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific, in Oak Bay, a suburb of the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. At Sealand, he lived with two older female orcas named Haida II and Nootka IV. As a result of their matriarchal social structure, Tilikum was abused by Haida II and Nootka IV who behaved aggressively towards him, including forcing him into a smaller medical pool where trainers kept him for protection.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: While orca attacks on humans in the wild are rare, and no fatal attacks have been recorded, as of 2022 four humans have died due to interactions with captive orcas. Tilikum was involved in three of those deaths.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Keltie Lee Byrne was a Canadian student, animal trainer and competitive swimmer. She had been working with orcas Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II at Sealand of the Pacific to earn extra money. On February 20, 1991, Byrne was working a shift when she slipped and fell into the whale pool. Witnesses recalled that Byrne screamed and panicked after realizing that one of the whales (later identified as Tilikum) was holding her foot and dragging her underwater. One witness described the theme park as looking unkempt, like a "gray theme park on its last legs, a kind of dingy swimming pool", and claimed to have heard Byrne screaming "I don't want to die!" while her eyes went wide in the water. According to the coroner's report, rescue attempts were thwarted by the whales, who refused to let Byrne go even after she was believed to have fallen unconscious in the water. Her corpse was later retrieved with a large net, after which she was determined to be deceased. Her death was ruled an accident.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Sealand of the Pacific went defunct in 1992, largely as a result of Byrne's death and allegations surfacing of physical and mental abuse of the whales in the park. Tilikum was sold to the United States' SeaWorld theme park chain for performance shows and breeding. The whale's semen was collected and used for artificial insemination to breed a number of captive orcas for SeaWorld's shows and also for its sister park, Loro Parque in Spain.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Byrnes's death attracted renewed attention after the 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and the 2013 documentary "Blackfish", when it was revealed that Tilikum had killed Byrne before later killing Daniel P. Dukes and later Brancheau; the two deaths occurred after Tilikum had been sold by then-defunct Sealand of the Pacific to SeaWorld's parks in the United States. "Blackfish" also revealed it is still unclear exactly what drove Tilikum and the other whales to attack Byrne, but suggested that years of abuse and cruelty towards Tilikum, including the act of allowing the other whales to "rake" Tilikum's skin with their teeth until he bled, had made him an aggressive whale. Steve Huxter, head of animal training at Sealand at the time, said "They never had a plaything in the pool that was so interactive. They just got incredibly excited and stimulated." No official motive of the three whales has ever been established, as the case was over twenty years old by the time it resurfaced in relation to the death of Dawn Brancheau.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Daniel P. Dukes was a 27-year-old man from South Carolina and the second of three deaths attributed to Tilikum. SeaWorld has maintained that Dukes was a vagrant who climbed into Tilikum's pool and drowned, while the coroner's report, along with animal rights advocates for Tilikum, have pointed out that Dukes' corpse was found severely mutilated by the whale. Dukes is generally regarded by the media as a trespasser and nuisance rather than a direct victim of Tilikum, although this perception has been challenged with the release of the documentary "Blackfish".


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Little has been published in the media regarding the early life of Dukes. A known drifter with a love of nature and environmentalism, he had a troubled life and was notorious among peers for acts of petty theft and general vagrancy. These details were often brought up by SeaWorld. At some point in the night on July 6, 1999, Dukes, who had hidden in the SeaWorld theme park, emerged from elsewhere in the park and went to the whale pool where Tilikum resided. The following morning, his body was discovered in the water by SeaWorld staff, draped over Tilikum's backside as the whale swam around. As SeaWorld claims to have no security tape footage of the pool on that night, it is unclear exactly what transpired. According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) report, a 911 call was received from SeaWorld at 7:25 a.m., at almost the exact time that Dukes' body was spotted. OCSO immediately dispatched Detective Calhoun who arrived at SeaWorld eight minutes later. Dukes' corpse was retrieved and later identified.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Dukes' parents filed a lawsuit against Seaworld two months after their son's death. This lawsuit was later dropped.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: The 2013 documentary "Blackfish" was the first media to explore Dukes' death extensively. The lack of early relevant coverage of his death later became noted for the way that the media and investigators handle the deaths of homeless and mentally ill individuals, particularly the lack of dignity ascribed to such cases. "The Dolphin Project" argued against SeaWorld's unflattering description of Dukes as a filthy man with poor hygiene spotted at the park mumbling oddly to himself, stating that "Daniel Dukes was a troubled individual with a history of petty thefts, and questionable decisions but as a human being, "no" death is meaningless. Unwittingly, Dukes will forever be remembered as Tilikum's second victim and SeaWorld's first major incident."


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: The case of Dukes' death has become a frequent example in arguments over the welfare of marine mammals in captivity. Marine mammal trainer Ric O'Barry argued that Dukes was probably not near Tilikum's tank with any form of malicious intent, but instead that the nature-loving man was "fascinated" by the whale and wanted to visit it. He further argued, "I think the whale probably pulled [Dukes] down, held him underwater. I don't think they know how often we breathe. The problem is that the whales have nothing better to do," O'Barry explains. "They're bored. We literally bore them to death. It's like you living in the bathroom for your life."


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: On February 24, 2010, Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old SeaWorld trainer. Brancheau was killed following a "Dine with Shamu" show. The veteran trainer was rubbing Tilikum as part of a post-show routine when the orca grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her into the water. Some witnesses reported seeing Tilikum grab Brancheau by the arm or shoulder. He reportedly scalped her, then bit off her arm and swallowed it during the attack. Brancheau's autopsy indicated death by drowning and blunt force trauma. Brancheau's death resulted in a contentious legal case over the safety of working with orcas and the ethics of keeping live whales and other marine mammals in captivity.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum returned to performing on March 30, 2011. High-pressure water hoses were used to massage him, rather than hands, and removable guardrails were used on the platforms, as OSHA has restricted close contact between orcas and trainers and reinforced workplace safety precautions after Brancheau's death. He was paired with his grandson Trua and was often seen performing alongside him during the finale of the new "One Ocean" show. He had on occasion been kept with his daughter Malia, or both Trua and Malia at the same time. In December 2011, he was put on hiatus from the shows following an undisclosed illness. He resumed performing in April 2012.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: SeaWorld announced in March 2016 that Tilikum's health was deteriorating, and it was thought he had a lung infection due to bacterial pneumonia. In May 2016, it was reported Tilikum's health was improving. On January 6, 2017, SeaWorld announced that Tilikum had died early in the morning. The cause of death was reported as a bacterial infection.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: While at Sealand of the Pacific, Tilikum sired his first calf when he was about eight or nine years old. His first son, Kyuquot, was born to Haida II on December 24, 1991. Just a few months prior to the birth of Kyuquot, Tilikum was involved in the first incident involving a death. Seaworld requested an emergency transfer of Tilikum to their facility.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Following his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum sired many calves with many different females. His first calf born in Orlando was to Katina. Katina gave birth to Taku on September 9, 1993. Taku died on October 17, 2007.


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Among Tilikum's other offspring are: Nyar (born 1993, died 1996), Unna (1996–2015), Sumar (1998–2010), Tuar (1999), Tekoa (2000), Nakai (2001-2022), Kohana (2002-2022), Ikaika (2002), Skyla (2004-2021), Malia (2007), Sakari (2010) and Makaio (2010).


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: In 1999, Tilikum began training for artificial insemination. In early 2000, Kasatka who resided at SeaWorld San Diego was artificially inseminated using his sperm. She gave birth to Tilikum's son, Nakai, on September 1, 2001. On May 3, 2002, another female in San Diego, named Takara, bore Tilikum's calf through artificial insemination. Tilikum was also the first successful, surviving grandfather orca in captivity with the births of Trua (2005), Nalani (2006), Adán (2010) and Victoria (2012–2013).


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: On December 7, 2010, TMZ reported that SeaWorld's president, Terry Prather, received a letter from PETA and Mötley Crüe member Tommy Lee referencing SeaWorld's announcement regarding limiting human contact with Tilikum. In the letter, Lee refers to Tilikum as SeaWorld's "Chief Sperm Bank" and asserts that the relevant process constitutes continued human contact. The letter implores SeaWorld to release Tilikum from his tank, stating, "I hope it doesn't take another tragic death for SeaWorld to realize it shouldn't frustrate these smart animals by keeping them [confined] in tanks." On December 8, 2010, the SeaWorld VP of Communications responded to Lee's letter via E! News, stating that PETA's facts were not only inaccurate, but that SeaWorld trainers also "do not now, nor have they ever entered the water with Tilikum for this purpose".


title: Tilikum (orca)

text: Tilikum and the captivity of orcas is the main subject of the documentary film "Blackfish", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013 and caused a drop in SeaWorld attendance and revenue. The film and a subsequent online petition led to several popular musical groups cancelling performances at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens' "Bands, Brew & BBQ" event in 2014.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Amsterdam is a 2022 period comedy thriller film written, directed, and produced by David O. Russell. Led by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington, the film features an ensemble cast including Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro. It was released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by 20th Century Studios.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: The story is based on the Business Plot, a 1933 political conspiracy in the US, and follows three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer—who are caught in the mysterious murder of a retired US general. Filmed in Los Angeles from January to March 2021, it is Russell's first film since "Joy" (2015). It received mixed reviews from critics, most of whom praised the production design and the cast's performances, but criticized Russell's screenplay and direction. It was also a box office bomb, with estimated losses for the studio reaching $97 million.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: In 1918, Burt Berendsen is sent by his estranged wife's parents to fight in World War I. While stationed in France, Burt befriends African-American soldier Harold Woodman. After sustaining injuries in battle, Burt and Harold are nursed back to health by Valerie Bandenberg, an eccentric nurse who makes art out of shrapnel removed from the soldiers, whom they befriend as well.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: After the end of the war, the three move to Amsterdam, where they start living together and become close friends until Burt returns to New York City to be with his wife. Harold, who has fallen in love with Valerie and begun a tenuous romantic relationship with her, also departs to New York to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a lawyer.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Fifteen years later, Burt has opened his own medical practice catering to veterans of the war, and still remains friends with Harold, who is now a lawyer. However, they have not heard from Valerie since they left Amsterdam. Harold asks Burt to perform an autopsy on Bill Meekins (a senator who served as the commander of their regiment during the war) at the behest of Meekins' daughter Elizabeth, who believes that he was murdered. With the help of nurse Irma St. Clair, Burt performs the autopsy. It reveals that there is a considerable amount of poison in Meekins' stomach; Burt and Irma theorize that this must have been the cause of death. Burt and Harold meet with Elizabeth to talk about the autopsy results, though she is suddenly killed when a hitman pushes her into traffic. The hitman frames Burt and Harold for her death, and they flee as the police arrive.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Burt and Harold attempt to find out who had led Elizabeth to hire them in order to clear their names. This leads them to wealthy textile heir Tom Voze, his patronizing wife Libby, and Valerie (whose real surname was Voze), Tom's sister. They learn that Valerie was the one who convinced Elizabeth to hire them, knowing that they were trustworthy. Valerie is under constant supervision by Tom and Libby, who claim that she suffers from a nerve disease. Burt and Harold talk with Tom, who suggests they talk to General Gil Dillenbeck, a famous and decorated veteran who was friends with Meekins.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: While Burt attempts to contact the General, Harold and Valerie spend the day at her home, where they notice the hitman, Tarim Milfax. They follow him to a forced sterilization clinic owned by a mysterious organization known as the "Committee of the Five". After a fight with Milfax, Harold and Valerie reunite with Burt. Valerie takes them to the Waldorf Astoria New York, where they meet Paul Canterbury and Henry Norcross, Valerie's benefactors from Amsterdam who are secretly spies in the intelligence community. Paul and Henry explain that the Committee of the Five plan to overthrow the American government and that Dillenbeck can help them foil their plot.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: The trio meet up with General Dillenbeck, who is offered a large sum of money from a man on behalf of an unnamed benefactor to deliver a speech advocating for veterans to forcibly remove President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install Dillenbeck as a puppet dictator instead. The General agrees and plans to speak at a reunion gala Burt and Harold are hosting in order to draw out whoever is behind the plot.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: At the gala, General Dillenbeck reads his own speech instead of the one he was paid to read. Milfax intends to shoot him for doing so, but Harold and Valerie spot him and manage to stop him in time. Milfax is arrested and the Committee of the Five are revealed to be four industry leaders, including Tom, who are fanatically obsessed with Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and intended to make America a fascist country.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Tom and the other leaders are arrested by the police, but they do not stay inside long and slander General Dillenbeck in the press following their release. General Dillenbeck testifies about the incident to Congress and returns home to live out his life. Harold and Valerie leave the country since they cannot be together in the United States. Burt wishes them farewell, planning to reopen his medical practice and pursue a relationship with Irma.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: In January 2020, New Regency announced the development on an untitled film written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Christian Bale, with filming expected to begin that April. In February, Margot Robbie and Michael B. Jordan were announced to star, but the latter dropped out before production began due to scheduling conflicts. Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly considered for Robbie's role, while Jamie Foxx was considered for Jordan's. In October, John David Washington was cast as Jordan's replacement. The rest of the ensemble cast was revealed between January and June 2021. Much of the cast worked for scale, and Bale took less than his typical $5 million fee while Malek earned a six-figure salary.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Filming was originally set to begin in March 2021 in Boston on a $50 million budget, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming was moved to Los Angeles, California after the cast did not want to travel to Boston amid the pandemic. Principal photography took place over 49 days between January and March 2021. The move from Boston to Los Angeles and COVID-precautions caused the film's final budget to balloon to $80 million. Crew members included cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (his first feature film since 2015), editor Jay Cassidy, and score composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. In April 2022, at CinemaCon, the film's title was revealed to be "Amsterdam". In August, it was revealed that Guðnadóttir had exited as composer, with Daniel Pemberton now replacing her. According to Robbie, on the last day of filming, they kept production going after their filming permit ended, so the police had to call "wrap" on the film.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: The film was previewed at the 2022 CinemaCon on April 27, 2022. The trailer was released on July 6, 2022, set to Ten Years After's 1971 song "I'd Love to Change the World". An edited version of the trailer was shown in theaters, revealing the film's release date as October 7. Character posters were released on September 12, 2022. Disney and Regency spent an estimated $70 million on global promotion.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: "Amsterdam" premiered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on September 18, 2022, and was released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by 20th Century Studios. It was originally scheduled for November 4, 2022 release, but was moved up to October 7 to avoid the release of "", another film being released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was also screened in IMAX; a special screening, preceded by a Live Q&A broadcast, took place in IMAX theaters nationwide on September 27, 2022.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: The film was released for VOD on November 11, 2022, with a Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD release set for December 6, 2022.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: , "Amsterdam" has grossed $15 million in the United States and Canada, and $16.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $31.2 million, against a production budget of $80 million. Following its opening weekend, "Deadline Hollywood" estimated the film would lose Disney an estimated $97million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs versus box office grosses and home media revenues.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: In the United States and Canada, "Amsterdam" was released alongside "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile", and was initially projected to gross around $10 million from 3,005 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates reaching $15 million. After making $2.6 million on its first day, including $550,000 from Thursday night previews, expectations were lowered to $7 million. The film went on to debut to $6.5 million, finishing in third. "Deadline Hollywood" blamed the poor performance on the critical response, 134-minute runtime deterring audiences, and Disney being unsure how to market the film due to its quirky style and convoluted plot. The film made $2.2 million in its second weekend, dropping 55% and finishing in fifth.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 244 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critics consensus reads: ""Amsterdam" has a bunch of big stars and a very busy plot, all of which amounts to painfully less than the sum of its dazzling parts." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film a 72% overall positive score.


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: In positive reviews, Pete Hammond of "Deadline Hollywood" lauded the "complex" screenplay, "uniquely conceived" characters, cinematography, costume, production, and score. Giving the film four out of five stars, James Mottram of "South China Morning Post" described "Amsterdam" as "a Hal Ashby-style caper full of fireworks with contemporary political overtones". Scott Mendelson of "Forbes" described it as an "all-star delight" with "strong production values" and a "terrific ensemble cast delivering some top-shelf work." Chris Knight, writing for "National Post", admired the film's "rattling" pace, "lovely" screenplay and supporting cast. Brian Truitt of "USA Today," Ryan Swen of "Slate", and Oliver Jones of "The New York Observer" gave the film three out of four stars. Calling it a thoroughly entertaining, "whimsical whodunit" and "quirky, big-hearted trip", Truitt's praise was focused on the cast, especially the "crowd-pleasing" chemistry between Bale, Robbie and Washington. Swen complimented the film's sentiment and "detail-rich" narrative. Jones wrote, the film is "quite odd and discombobulating, but if you allow its turned up and persistent energy to sweep over you, and soak in the joy and righteous anger that animates its generous spirit, the end result is decidedly moving, and—at some points—even enthralling."


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Several critics found "Amsterdam" overambitious and tonally inconsistent. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" rated the film three out of five stars and complimented its humor, but felt the story was "exhaustingly wacky". "/Film"s Jeff Ewing stated that "Amsterdam" "has a number of charming scenes, a stunningly top-tier cast, and flawless cinematography", but cited "wildly fluctuating tones" and "plot contrivances" as its shortcomings. Rating it a B–, "The A.V. Club"s Jordan Hoffman found the cast to be "energetic, entertaining, and enjoyable", but called the film "an overly ambitious political potboiler". David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that "Amsterdam" is "a lot of movies inelegantly squidged into one—a zany screwball comedy, a crime thriller, an earnest salute to pacts of love and friendship, an antifascist history lesson with fictional flourishes." He praised the lead performances, cinematography, production and costume design, but felt its material suits a limited series more than a film. "Paste"s Aurora Amidon praised the "vibrant" cinematography", "whip-tight" editing and the cast's "incredible" performances, despite the "bewildering" story. Reviewing for "Screen International", Tim Grierson called the film an "overstuffed murder mystery" with a "convoluted" story, but cheered some aspects—the plot's "unpredictability" and the "indulgent cheekiness" of the film. "Variety" critic Peter Debruge dubbed it a "beautifully shot" yet "overstuffed social satire" with intelligent ideas poorly executed. Ian Freer of "Empire" stated that "Amsterdam" "fails to amount to more than the sum of its occasionally impressive parts". Leah Greenblatt, writing for "Entertainment Weekly," rated "Amsterdam" a C+ and described it as an "odd shaggy-dog mystery" with a "hectic" story, but called the production and costume design "impeccable".


title: Amsterdam (2022 film)

text: Some reviews were very critical. Rating the film two out of five stars, Robbie Collin of "The Daily Telegraph" found the dialogue unimpressive and wrote that Russell's screenplay "makes heavy weather" of the story. Describing the plot as a "wanton disarray", IndieWire's David Ehrlich rated the film a C−, owing to its "negligible" entertainment value. Barry Hertz of "The Globe and Mail" wrote, ""Amsterdam" so badly wants to be a light romp with heavy-duty meaning that it cannot help but be flattened by a sagging self-exhaustion." Mark Kennedy of the "Associated Press" stated that the film "reaches for something contemporary to say about race relations, concentration of wealth, veterans and fascism but ends up with a plodding, mannerist noise." Giving the film an F rating, Chase Hutchinson of "Collider" criticized its "egregious" editing, "banal" dialogue, "muddled" tone, and overall "lack of vision".


title: Arctic Circle

text: The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.


title: Arctic Circle

text: The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the December solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not rise all day, and on the June solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk, three degrees above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise for 40 successive days in midwinter.