title: Kathleen Hanna

text: Hanna contributed the piece "Gen X Survivor: From Riot Grrrl Rock Star to Feminist Artist" to the 2003 anthology "", edited by Robin Morgan. The riot grrrl genre, to which Hanna was central, has been credited as a historical site for the empowerment of women by such documentaries as "The Punk Singer", which credits Hanna with having molded many tenets of third-wave feminism.


title: Kathleen Hanna

text: In 2009, the Fales Library at New York University created a Riot Grrrl Collection which focuses on the early formation of the Riot Grrrl movement, and has a series of zines, art pieces, photography, video, music, journals, and more. Some of Hanna's solo work, along with zines that she has created with Bikini Kill and other collaborators are also included. The Bikini Kill archive is also available online.


title: Kathleen Hanna

text: In a 2014 interview with Amy Middleton of Australian webzine "Archer", Hanna stated that she supported marriage equality. Hanna also noted that while on tour with Le Tigre, she met teenagers who had told her of starting LGBT groups and gay/straight alliances in their high schools; she said, "Hearing that made me feel so hopeful for the future". In the same interview, Hanna stated she was saddened by trans-exclusionary feminist movements, and appeared to support transfeminism. Previously, critics had suggested Hanna was trans-exclusionary for having performed at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in 2001 and 2005, which had a policy of exclusively allowing "womyn-born-womyn" into the event.


title: Kathleen Hanna

text: In 2018, Hanna started "Tees 4 Togo", a project which sells t-shirts with drawings of Hanna's friends such as Kim Gordon, Patton Oswalt, Joan Jett, and Chuck D, along with artists such as Sarah Larnach, Adee Roberson, and Hannah Lucy. 100% of the proceeds go to the non-profit Peace Sisters, which helps fund local girls' school tuition costs in Dapaong, Togo. The cost of one $40 shirt funds an entire school year for a student.


title: Kathleen Hanna

text: In 2006, Hanna married Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. The songs "Capri Pants" by Bikini Kill and "Just My Kind" by the Julie Ruin are written about their relationship.


title: Kathleen Hanna

text: Hanna suffered from Lyme disease for six years before it was correctly diagnosed. The disease forced her to enter a three-month course of treatment in 2014, resulting in canceling live performances with her band The Julie Ruin. In 2013 in "Bust" magazine she revealed that Horovitz "took care of me throughout the whole thing." By June 2015, tests revealed that she was Lyme-free.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS and was initially released as open development on 18 October 2012. The game is a direct sequel to the 2008 game "Euro Truck Simulator" and it is the second video game in the "Truck Simulator" series. The game is non-linear with basic premise of the game being that the player can drive one of a choice of articulated trucks across a condensed depiction of Europe, picking up cargo from various locations and delivering it. As the game progresses, it is possible for the player to buy more vehicles and depots, as well as hire other drivers to work for them.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: The game has sold over 9 million units as of March 2021, according to a press release by Renault Trucks.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: "Euro Truck Simulator 2" is a truck driving simulator with business management elements. Players drive articulated trucks in an open world rendition of Europe, delivering loads to a designated locations in order to be compensated with money and experience points. The payload must be delivered to the destination within a given amount of time, and with the least amount of damage to the goods as possible, in order to get the most money and experience points possible. Players will have to spend money on refuelling, toll costs in certain countries, and maintenance costs if damage is incurred.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: When starting out, players choose their headquarters location in any of the game map's cities. At first, the player can only take what is known as quick jobs—these jobs involve making hired driver deliveries while employed by a delivery company, with a provided truck and all expenses (fuel, road tolls, ferry crossings) covered. As the player earns money or takes bank loans, they can eventually afford to buy themselves a truck, acquire a home garage, and start accepting better-paying jobs by using their own truck instead of being a driver for hire with equipment being provided.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Money earned in the game can be spent on upgrading or purchasing new customizable trucks and ownable trailers, hiring non-player character drivers to take on deliveries, buying more garages and expanding them to accommodate more trucks and drivers. The skills of the drivers hired by the player also grow with experience and the player can create a huge fleet of the trucks, each with the option of having their own trailer, and drivers to drive the fleet, in turn, expanding the business across Europe.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: The player gains experience points after each delivery. A skill point is awarded after each level-up. Skill points can be used to unlock deliveries that require different ADR classes, longer distance deliveries, special cargo loads, fragile cargo loads, deliveries that are urgent and eco-driving. This progression allows the player to take on better-paying jobs. The base game features 71 cities in twelve countries, over twenty types of cargo and over fifteen fictional European companies. There are seven items of map downloadable content (DLC) that expand the game to more countries and locations, and multiple other truck and trailer DLCs.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Excluding downloadable packs, the base game features Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, north-eastern France, Germany, northern Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, western Poland, Bratislava in Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Part of SCS Software's recent development philosophy for "Euro Truck Simulator 2", amongst releasing paid downloadable map packs, is to improve old areas of the map. The initial reception from fans and media highlighted that areas such as the UK appeared to be unrealistic. As the initial game areas were mainly ported from older SCS Software games, these older areas did not stand up to the quality of recent expansion packs. Map updates are free. Early updates included the cities of Venice, Graz and Klagenfurt.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Update 1.26 included reworked parts of France, parts outside of Vive la France DLC. Update 1.30 prepared existing Italy areas for the Italia DLC. Germany was rebuilt in stages with Travemünde added in version 1.33, with overall improvements visible in versions 1.32, 1.35, 1.40 with Hannover rebuilt in 1.45. Several French cities received free updates. Update 1.37 brought changes to French cities of Dijon, Metz, Strasbourg and Reims, with reskin of Lille arriving in version 1.38, rebuild of Calais in version 1.39, and the rebuild of Lyon present in version 1.43. An entire rehaul of Austria was released as part of the version 1.44 update in May 2022.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: SCS Software has released several other minor expansion packs. "Euro Truck Simulator 2" can be enhanced with several paint job packs for trucks, ranging from seasonal repaints to nation-themed repaints.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Other expansion packs expand the game with licensed content from real-life manufacturers: Feldbinder Trailer Pack, Krone Trailer Pack, Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack, with additional tire, wheel and truck parts modifications from Goodyear, HS-Schoch and Michelin. In addition, special tuning packs are available for each truck manufacturer besides Iveco and MAN. These packs add more tuning options, ranging from bullbars to branded mugs to all trucks of the selected brand, except for the Renault tuning pack, which only features new tuning parts for the newest Renault Range T truck.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: There are several expansion packs that expand the functionality of the game, including Cabin Accessories DLC (which allows players to personalize their truck interiors), and two DLCs that allow transport of heavy cargo: Heavy Cargo DLC and Special Transport DLC (also available for American Truck Simulator; consisting of even heavier cargo that exceed regular cargo regulations with escort vehicles that will help guide the player deliver cargo at short distances). With this DLC, the dynamic is separate from the regular gameplay. Players can take special jobs, during which they cannot make stops at rest areas, gas stations or deviate away from escort vehicles.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: The game was generally well received by critics, holding a score of 79/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: In a review for "Destructoid", Jim Sterling praised the game's accessibility, noting how easy the GPS and map features were to use, as well as the option to stream European internet radio, and the multitude of control options available. They also praised the graphics, stating that "[f]rom the shape of the traffic lights to the atmosphere of the backdrops, there's a sense of individuality to each new territory you uncover, and the trucks themselves are lovingly recreated with an intricate level of detail", although they did criticise the AI of the other vehicles on the road.


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: In a similarly favourable review, Tim Stone of "PC Gamer" called it "unexpectedly engrossing", praising the size of the map and the variation of the roads and scenery available. He did however have reservations about the accuracy of the surroundings, commenting "no one seems to have told SCS’s countryside crafters that rural Britain features long green things called hedges. Cities are often depicted with the shortest of visual shorthand – a few warehouses, the odd landmark if you’re lucky."


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Rock, Paper, Shotgun listed "Euro Truck Simulator 2" ninth on their list of "The 25 Best Simulation Games Ever Made". In 2012, PC Gamer awarded the game with the accolade of "The Sim of The Year 2012".


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: Initially released for Windows and available for purchase and download via SCS's own website, the game was added to Steam in January 2013. Expanding beyond the Windows version, SCS announced in March 2013 that they were developing a Mac version of the game. One month later, they released a Linux beta version of the game to the public through Steam. On 27 February, they stated "the Mac OS port of ETS 2 is taking longer than anybody would like, but trust us, we are still working hard on it."


title: Euro Truck Simulator 2

text: On 19 December 2014, SCS Software announced on their blog that the OS X version of the game is ready for a public beta available on Steam. On 21 January 2015, a 64-bit version of "Euro Truck Simulator 2" was released, which allows for more memory to be used by the game.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), as named by the Western Allies.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: East German leader Walter Ulbricht agitated and maneuvered to get the Soviet Union's permission to construct the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop emigration and defection westward through the Border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin into West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of East and West. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. On June 26, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited Checkpoint Charlie and looked from a platform onto the Berlin Wall and into East Berlin.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in the Allied Museum in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: By the early 1950s, the Soviet method of restricting emigration was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, including East Germany. However, in occupied Germany, until 1952, the lines between East Germany and the western occupied zones remained easily crossed in most places. Subsequently, the inner German border between the two German states was closed and a barbed-wire fence erected.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Even after closing of the inner German border officially in 1952, the city sector border in between East Berlin and West Berlin remained considerably more accessible than the rest of the border because it was administered by all four occupying powers. Accordingly, Berlin became the main route by which East Germans left for the West. Hence the Berlin sector border was essentially a "loophole" through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still escape.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The 3.5 million East Germans who had left by 1961 totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population. The emigrants tended to be young and well educated. The loss was disproportionately great among professionals — engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers and skilled workers.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The brain drain of professionals had become so damaging to the political credibility and economic viability of East Germany that the resecuring of the Soviet imperial frontier was imperative. Between 1949 and 1961, over 2½ million East Germans fled to the West. The numbers increased during the three years before the Berlin Wall was erected, with 144,000 in 1959, 199,000 in 1960 and 207,000 in the first seven months of 1961 alone. The East German economy suffered accordingly.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: On 13 August 1961, a barbed-wire barrier that would become the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin was erected by the East Germans. Two days later, police and army engineers began to construct a more permanent concrete wall. Along with the wall, the 830-mile (1336 km) zonal border became 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide on its East German side in some parts of Germany with a tall steel-mesh fence running along a "death strip" bordered by mines, as well as channels of ploughed earth, to slow escapees and more easily reveal their footprints.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Checkpoint Charlie was a crossing point in the Berlin Wall located at the junction of with and (which for older historical reasons coincidentally means 'Wall Street'). It is in the Friedrichstadt neighborhood. Checkpoint Charlie was designated as the single crossing point (on foot or by car) for foreigners and members of the Allied forces. (Members of the Allied forces were not allowed to use the other sector crossing point designated for use by foreigners, the Friedrichstraße railway station).


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The name Charlie came from the letter C in the NATO phonetic alphabet; similarly for other Allied checkpoints on the "Autobahn" from the West: Checkpoint Alpha at and its counterpart Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden, Wannsee in the south-west corner of Berlin. The Soviets simply called it the " Crossing Point" (, ). The East Germans referred officially to Checkpoint Charlie as the ("Border Crossing Point") .


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: As the most visible Berlin Wall checkpoint, Checkpoint Charlie was featured in movies and books. A famous cafe and viewing place for Allied officials, armed forces and visitors alike, ("Eagle Café"), was situated right on the checkpoint.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The development of the infrastructure around the checkpoint was largely asymmetrical, reflecting the contrary priorities of East German and Western border authorities. During its 28-year active life, the infrastructure on the Eastern side was expanded to include not only the wall, watchtower and zig-zag barriers, but a multi-lane shed where cars and their occupants were checked. However, the Allied authority never erected any permanent buildings. A wooden shed was replaced during the 1980s by a larger metal structure, now displayed at the Allied Museum in western Berlin. Their reasoning was that they did not consider the inner Berlin sector boundary an international border and did not treat it as such.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Soon after the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, a stand-off occurred between US and Soviet tanks on either side of Checkpoint Charlie. It began on 22 October as a dispute over whether East German border guards were authorized to examine the travel documents of a US diplomat based in West Berlin named Allan Lightner heading to East Berlin to watch an opera show there, since according to the agreement between all four Allied powers occupying Germany, there was to be free movement for Allied forces in Berlin and that no German military forces from either West Germany or East Germany were to be based in the city, and moreover the Western Allies did not (initially) recognise the East German state and its right to remain in its self-declared capital of East Berlin. Instead, Allied forces only recognised the authority of the Soviets over East Berlin rather than their East German allies. By 27 October, ten Soviet and an equal number of American tanks stood 100 yards apart on either side of the checkpoint. This stand-off ended peacefully on 28 October following a US-Soviet understanding to withdraw tanks and reduce tensions. Discussions between US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and KGB spy Georgi Bolshakov played a vital role in realizing this tacit agreement.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The Berlin Wall was erected with great speed by the East German government in 1961, but there were initially many means of escape that had not been anticipated. For example, Checkpoint Charlie was initially blocked only by a gate, and a citizen of the GDR (East Germany) smashed a car through it to escape, so a strong pole was erected. Another escapee approached the barrier in a convertible, the windscreen removed prior to the event, and slipped under the barrier. This was repeated two weeks later, so the East Germans duly lowered the barrier and added uprights.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: On 17 August 1962, a teenaged East German, Peter Fechter, was shot in the pelvis by East German guards while trying to escape from East Berlin. His body lay tangled in a barbed wire fence as he bled to death in full view of the world's media. He could not be rescued from West Berlin because he was a few metres inside the Soviet sector. East German border guards were reluctant to approach him for fear of provoking Western soldiers, one of whom had shot an East German border guard just days earlier. More than an hour later, Fechter's body was removed by the East German guards. A spontaneous demonstration formed on the American side of the checkpoint, protesting against the action of the East and the inaction of the West.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: A few days later, a crowd threw stones at Soviet buses driving towards the Soviet War Memorial, located in the Tiergarten in the British sector; the Soviets tried to escort the buses with armoured personnel carriers (APCs). Thereafter, the Soviets were only allowed to cross via the Sandkrug Bridge crossing (which was the nearest to Tiergarten) and were prohibited from bringing APCs. Western units were deployed in the middle of the night in early September with live armaments and vehicles, in order to enforce the ban.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Although the wall was opened in November 1989 and the checkpoint booth removed on 22 June 1990, the checkpoint remained an official crossing for foreigners and diplomats until German reunification in October 1990.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Checkpoint Charlie has since become one of Berlin's primary tourist attractions, where some original remnants of the border crossing blend with reconstructed parts, memorial and tourist facilities.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The guard house on the American side was removed in 1990; it is now on display in the open-air museum of the Allied Museum in Berlin-Zehlendorf. A copy of the guard house and the sign that once marked the border crossing was reconstructed later on roughly the same site. It resembles the first guard house erected during 1961, behind a sandbag barrier toward the border. Over the years this was replaced several times by guard houses of different sizes and layouts (see photographs). The one removed in 1990 was considerably larger than the first one and did not have sandbags. Tourists used to be able to have their photographs taken for a fee with actors dressed as allied military police standing in front of the guard house but Berlin authorities banned the practice in November 2019 stating the actors had been exploiting tourists by demanding money for photos at the attraction.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The course of the former wall and border is now marked in the street with a line of cobblestones. An open-air exhibit was opened during the summer of 2006. Gallery walls along Friedrichstraße and Zimmerstraße give information about escape attempts, how the checkpoint was expanded, and its significance during the Cold War, in particular the confrontation of Soviet and American tanks in 1961. Also an overview of other important memorial sites and museums about the division of Germany and the wall is presented.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Developers demolished the East German checkpoint watchtower in 2000, to make way for offices and shops. The watchtower was the last surviving major original Checkpoint Charlie structure. The city tried to save the tower but failed, as it was not classified as a historic landmark. Yet, that development project was never realised. To this day, the area between Zimmerstraße and Mauerstraße/Schützenstraße (the East German side of the border crossing) remains vacant, providing space for a number of temporary tourist and memorial uses. New plans since 2017 for a hotel on the site stirred a professional and political debate about appropriate development of the area. After the final listing of the site as a protected heritage area in 2018, plans were changed towards a more heritage-friendly approach.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The “BlackBox Cold War” exhibition has illuminated the division of Germany and Berlin since 2012. The free open-air exhibit offers original Berlin Wall segments and information about the historic site. However, the indoor exhibit illustrates Berlin's contemporary history with 16 media stations, a movie theatre and original objects and documents (entrance fee required). It is run by the NGO "Berliner Forum fuer Geschichte und Gegenwart e.V.."


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Near the location of the guard house is the "Haus am Checkpoint Charlie". The "Mauermuseum - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie" was opened on 14 June 1963 in the immediate vicinity of the Berlin Wall. It shows photographs and fragments related to the separation of Germany. The border fortifications and the "assistance of the protecting powers" are illustrated. In addition to photos and documentation of successful escape attempts, the exhibition also showcases escape devices including a hot-air balloon, escape cars, chair lifts, and a mini-submarine.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: From October 2004 until July 2005, the Freedom Memorial, consisting of original wall segments and 1,067 commemorative crosses, stood on a leased site.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The museum is operated by the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August e. V.", a registered association founded by Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt. The director is Alexandra Hildebrandt, the founder's widow. The museum is housed in part in the "House at Checkpoint Charlie" building by architect Peter Eisenman.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: With 850,000 visitors in 2007, the Wall Museum is one of the most visited museums in Berlin and in Germany.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Checkpoint Charlie figures in numerous Cold War-era espionage and political novels and films. Some examples:


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: James Bond (played by Roger Moore) passed through Checkpoint Charlie in the film "Octopussy" (1983) from West to East.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: Checkpoint Charlie is featured in the opening scene of the 1965 film "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom), based on the John le Carré novel of the same name.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: In the feature film "Bridge of Spies", imprisoned American student Frederic Pryor is released at Checkpoint Charlie as part of a deal to trade Pryor and U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for convicted Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Pryor's release happens offscreen while the trade of Powers for Abel takes place at the Glienicke Bridge.


title: Checkpoint Charlie

text: The 1985 film "Gotcha!" includes a scene where the protagonist (Anthony Edwards) transits through Checkpoint Charlie into West Berlin.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program "The Ramsey Show". Ramsey has written several books, including "The New York Times" bestseller "The Total Money Makeover", and hosted a television show on Fox Business from 2007 to 2010.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey was born in Antioch, Tennessee, to real estate developers. He attended Antioch High School where he played ice hockey. At age 18, Ramsey took the real estate exam and began selling property, working through college at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Real Estate.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: By 1986, Ramsey had amassed a significant portfolio worth over $4million. However, when the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 took effect, several banks changed ownership and recalled his $1.2million in loans and lines of credit because he was over-leveraged. Ramsey was unable to pay and filed for bankruptcy in 1988.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey experienced several years of financial recovery and began offering financial advice to couples at his local church. In 1988 he founded the Lampo Group, a financial counseling service, and in 1992 he wrote and self-published his first book, "Financial Peace".


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey began as one of three alternating hosts of "The Money Game" on radio station WWTN/Nashville in 1992. The show eventually became "The Dave Ramsey Show", Ramsey's daily three-hour call-in financial advice talk show.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Financial Peace University, Ramsey's nine-lesson, video-based personal finance course, debuted in 1994. The Gannett newspaper group ran his financial column, though it was dropped when they realized that Ramsey had changed the names on the letters to which he was responding. He offered to pay them their money back." The Dave Ramsey Show" aired on the Fox Business Network from 2007 to 2010.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In 2014, The Lampo Group, Inc. was rebranded as Ramsey Solutions. The company's headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, and a new 47-acre campus opened there in 2019.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey has written five books for adults, three of which were "New York Times" bestsellers, and six children's books. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey advises listeners to first reduce debt using the debt snowball method, where debtors pay off their lowest balances first.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey adamantly opposes the use of credit cards. At live shows, he sometimes takes out his wallet to show audiences the "only four pieces of plastic" he carries: A business debit card, a personal debit card, a driver's license, and a concealed-carry permit. Ramsey encourages the use of cash and advises families to utilize an envelope system, putting a cash allocation for each month's food, entertainment, etc., in separate envelopes and then spending only what is in the envelope.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey encourages people not to take on student loan debt and calls the idea that student loans are required for college "a myth".


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Critics of Ramsey's core teachings point out that they are often a "one-size-fits-all" approach that both disregards income disparities and ignores financial emergencies. The debt snowball method is frequently debated, and studies have returned results that both support and oppose its efficacy. Ramsey's investing advice has also drawn criticism over its reliance on stock investment, as opposed to bonds, using mutual funds with load fees, and its frequent claim of 12% annual returns on investments.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In 2014, "The Daily Beast" reported that Ramsey had lashed out against former employees he claimed were discussing working conditions at the company on Facebook and Twitter. At company staff meetings, Ramsey allegedly recounted conversations from a private Facebook group of former employees that he had infiltrated, eventually offering cash rewards for the identities of some members who took to anonymous Twitter accounts once they realized Ramsey had joined the private group. The incident prompted increased backlash, a meeting Ramsey set up to confront alleged critics, and the eventual deletion of several of the critical Twitter accounts.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: According to a September 2021 lawsuit, when Julie Anne Stamps, a Ramsey Solutions employee on the customer care team, approached her supervisor regarding coming out as a lesbian in May 2020, the supervisor explained that company policy would not allow Stamps to continue to be employed at Ramsey Solutions. Stamps alleges that her departure from the company was further expedited once the United States Supreme Court June 15, 2020, ruling in "Bostock v. Clayton County" was decided. Ramsey Solutions denies the accusations.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In July 2020, Caitlin O'Connor, a former Ramsey Solutions employee, filed a federal lawsuit against the company alleging that she was fired for being pregnant and, since she wasn't married to the baby's father, for violating Ramsey Solutions' employee conduct policies. On May 27, 2021, O'Connor gave her first interview about the termination and her experience working for Ramsey.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: On March 10, 2021, featured personality Chris Hogan left the company citing "things going on in my personal life ... that are not in line with Ramsey Solutions." Hogan's resignation followed a request for his personnel file at Ramsey Solutions during the Caitlin O'Connor case. Prior to the release of his book "Everyday Millionaires", Hogan admitted to several affairs, including one with a co-worker at Ramsey Solutions during his marriage to wife Melissa Hogan. References to his book and videos are still available on the Ramsey website () and YouTube channels; however, direct links on the Ramsey Solutions website are replaced with a redirect page for other company resources.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In May 2021, Religion News Service (RNS) obtained recordings of Ramsey mocking employees over the policy and explaining Hogan's 2019 absence as a "rest break" following the affair accusations. Melissa Hogan, Chris Hogan's ex-wife, issued a statement to RNS claiming that the company downplayed Chris's behavior, covered for him and characterized her behavior as "anger, hyperbole, and drama".


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In December 2020, a complaint was filed with the Franklin health department alleging that caterers hired for the Ramsey Solutions Christmas party at its company headquarters were instructed not to wear masks or gloves while serving, which the company later confirmed to the local NBC affiliate. Ramsey Solutions responded that there was no truth to the complaint. The company had drawn attention earlier in the pandemic for remaining open after employees tested positive for the virus, for ignoring recommendations to avoid large gatherings, and for hosting a July business conference after the Marriott hotel cancelled citing safety concerns.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: On his radio show and in staff meetings, Ramsey railed against face coverings and other COVID-19 precautions, calling them "a sign of fear". On his March 2, 2020, show, he mocked concerned ticket holders for his upcoming live events, calling anyone who wanted a refund a "wuss" and insisting that he would be attending the upcoming "Live Like No One Else" cruise "by my freaking self" if necessary.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In February 2021, Ramsey appeared on Fox News, where he said, "I don't believe in stimulus checks, because if $600 or $1,400 changes your life you were pretty much screwed already. You got other issues going on."


title: Dave Ramsey

text: In a December 2021 federal lawsuit, a former employee alleged that Ramsey violated his religious rights by firing him when he took scientifically prescribed precautions against COVID-19. The lawsuit said Ramsey ran a "cultlike" environment where employees who worried about the pandemic were accused of "weakness of spirit" and told to pray if they wanted to ward off the virus. Ramsey Solutions has denied all accusations and has claimed the suit was “completely false.”


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey is an evangelical Christian who describes himself as conservative, both fiscally and culturally.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: Ramsey married his wife Sharon in 1982, and the Ramseys have three children: Denise (Ramsey) Whittemore, Rachel (Ramsey) Cruze, and Daniel Ramsey. All three work for Ramsey Solutions. With Ramsey, Cruze co-wrote and published the "New York Times" No. 1 bestseller "Smart Money, Smart Kids" in 2014.


title: Dave Ramsey

text: He sold his custom-built home in the Nashville, Tennessee, area for $10.2million in 2021 after living there for over a decade. A spokesperson said he was having another home built in the area.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language crime action film directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. It is the first installment of the "Gangs of Wasseypur" series, centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families from 1941 to the mid-1990s. "Part 1" stars an ensemble cast, featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda, Reema Sen, Piyush Mishra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vineet Kumar Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Anurita Jha and Tigmanshu Dhulia.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Although both parts were shot as a single film measuring a total of 319 minutes, no Indian theatre would screen a five-hour film, so it was divided into two parts. "Gangs of Wasseypur" was screened in its entirety at the 2012 Cannes Directors' Fortnight, marking one of the only Hindi-language films to achieve this. It was also screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. It was filmed in Varanasi, Bihar, and Chunar, with these settings inspiring the film's soundtrack, which consists mainly of Indian folk.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The film was theatrically released on 22 June 2012, but was banned in Kuwait and Qatar for violent content. Upon release, "Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1" received critical acclaim, and won a number of awards. It received nominations for Best Film and Best Director for Kashyap at the 55th Asia-Pacific Film Festival, and won for Best Audiography at the 60th National Film Awards, while Siddiqui won a Special Mention for acting at the same ceremony. "Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1" also won four Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film, while Chadda won the Critics Award for Best Actress, at the 58th Filmfare Awards.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Although not an individual financial success, it is a combined gross of ₹50.81 crore that facilitated a modest commercial return due to its certificate


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In January 2004, a gang of heavily armed men scour and finally narrow down on a house in Wasseypur. They surround the house and unleash a wave of bullets and grenades on it with the intention of killing the family inside it. After heavy firing on the house, they retreat from the crime scene in a vehicle, convinced they have killed everyone within. The leader (Pankaj Tripathi) informs minister J.P. Singh (Satya Anand) that the family has been successfully executed but he is double crossed by JP as a firefight erupts between them and a police check post blocking their escape route. The scene cuts abruptly for a prologue by the narrator, Nasir (Piyush Mishra). The whole scene is then revealed in the sequel.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Nasir's narration describes the history and nature of Wasseypur. During the British Raj, Wasseypur and Dhanbad were located in the Bengal region. After India gained independence in 1947, they were carved out of Bengal and redistricted into the state of Bihar in 1956. In 2000, Wasseypur and Dhanbad were redistricted for a second time into the newly formed state of Jharkhand where they remain. The village has been historically dominated by the Qureshi Muslims, a sub-caste of animal butchers who are feared by the non-Qureshi Muslims living there and Dhanbad by extension.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: During British colonial rule, the British had seized the farm lands of Dhanbad for coal which began the business of coal mining in Dhanbad. The region was the domain of the faceless dacoit Sultana Qureshi who robbed British trains in the night and thus held some patriotic value for the locals.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1941, Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat), a Pathan, takes advantage of the mysteriousness of the faceless dacoit, Sultana, a Qureshi, by impersonating his identity to rob British ferry trains. The Qureshi clans eventually find out and order the banishment of Shahid and his family from Wasseypur. They settle down in Dhanbad where Shahid begins work as a labourer in a coal mine. He is unable to be at his wife's side during childbirth, and she dies. The enraged Shahid kills the coal mine's muscleman who had denied him leave on that day.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1947, independent India begins to assert its authority over itself. The British coal mines are sold to Indian industrialists and Ramadhir Singh (Rajat Bhagat) receives a few coal mines in the Dhanbad region. He hires Shahid as the new muscleman of one of the coal mines. Shahid terrorises the local population to seize their lands and extract compliance.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: On a rainy day, Ramadhir overhears Shahid's ambitions of taking over the coal mines from him. Ramadhir tricks Shahid into traveling to Varanasi for business but instead has him murdered by an assassin named Yadav (Harish Khanna). Nasir (Piyush Mishra), Shahid's servant, finds Ramadhir's umbrella with his initials near the door and concludes that Ramadhir eavesdropped on their conversation. He flees from the house with Shahid's son Sardar just as Ehsaan Qureshi (Vipin Sharma), another associate of Ramadhir and a member of the Wasseypur Qureshi clan, shows up to kill them. An unsuccessful Ehsaan lies to Ramadhir that Shahid's family has been murdered, burnt, and buried. Under the care of Nasir, Sardar grows up along with Nasir's nephew Asgar . Sardar learns the truth about his father's death, upon which he shaves his head and vows not to grow his hair until he has avenged his father's murder.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1952, Jagjivan Ram is appointed as India's first Labour Minister. He starts the Coal Welfare Association in 1954 and in 1960, the National Trade Union which allowed mine supervisors to pressurise mine owners, the movement of which is led by a much older Ramadhir (Tigmanshu Dhulia). In 1962, the Trade Union becomes the mafia and begins extortion in exchange for union membership. Union workers start lending money and keep the workers' income as interest. In 1965, Ramadhir enters politics, wins the election and becomes the local workers' leader.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1972, the coal mines are nationalised. A mature Sardar (Manoj Bajpai), Nasir (Piyush Mishra) and Asgar (Jameel Khan) start hijacking Ramadhir's coal trucks mid-transit. Ramadhir suspects S.P. Sinha (Pravin Singh Sisodia), a Coal India official, to be behind the hijackings and has him murdered. After Sinha's murder, Ramadhir's reputation for ruthlessness grows, and he becomes feared in Dhanbad.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Sardar marries Nagma Khatoon (Richa Chadda). The pregnant Nagma confronts Sardar and a prostitute inside a brothel and chases him away. Later, Nagma gives birth to Danish but gets pregnant soon afterwards. Unable to have sex with a pregnant Nagma, Sardar confesses his sexual frustrations with his kin. At dinner, Nagma gives her consent to Sardar to sleep with other women but with the condition that he won't bring them home or dishonour the family name.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Sardar, Asgar and Nasir start working for J.P., Ramadhir's son. They misuse their employment by secretly selling the company petrol in the black market. Later, they rob a petrol pump and a train bogie belonging to the Singh family. They usurp Ramadhir's land, which forces the two families to confront each other for talks. The meeting ends in a scuffle, but Ramadhir realizes that Sardar is the son of Shahid who he had murdered in 1947. Sardar and Asgar are jailed for assaulting J.P. during the meeting.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1979, Sardar and Asgar escape from jail. While hiding in Wasseypur at the home of Qamar Makhdoomi (Sanjeeva Vats), Sardar marries a woman named Durga (Reema Sen) working as a cook for Makhdoomi. Asgar informs Nagma that Sardar has taken a second wife, leaving Nagma helpless.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Meanwhile, in the '80s, Wasseypur has merged with Dhanbad and the Qureshi clan, now led by Sultan Qureshi (Pankaj Tripathi), a nephew of Sultana raised by his uncle Ehsaan, continues to terrorise the non-Qureshi Muslims and rape their women. Makhdoomi then asks Sultan for a peaceful negotiation but gets mocked. He then approaches Sardar for help, telling him about a house he'd bought which was now being used by Sultan's men as a hangout for gambling, drinking and raping kidnapped women. Sardar manages to get back to the house, moving his family there. He also kills J.P.'s muscle man, making him feared. During Muharram, both Shias and Sunnis are out mourning, including the Qureshi clan, and Sardar uses the opportunity to launch a major bomb attack on many Qureshi shops and houses, angering Sultan. When word spreads about Sardar's raids, his reputation grows and he commands more fear than the Qureshi clan.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Eventually, Sardar returns home to Nagma and she gets pregnant again. Sardar tries to initiate sex with a pregnant Nagma but she refuses, which prompts an angry Sardar to leave. He goes to stay with his second wife, Durga, and she gives birth to his son, Definite. Ramadhir, noticing that Sardar has abandoned his first family, tries to reach out to Nagma through Danish by giving him money. An enraged Nagma beats Danish for taking the money while she breaks down in front of Nasir. A thirsty Faizal (Danish's younger brother) wakes up in the middle of the night to find Nagma and Nasir about to have sex. Angry, he storms out of the house and becomes a stoner, permanently seen with his chillum. Nasir reveals that the desires were never consummated, but Faizal and Nasir can never look at each other in the eye again.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1985, a Wasseypur girl, Sabrina Khan, is abducted by four drunk men at night. Sardar threatens Ramadhir's family in order to retrieve the girl, so Ramadhir sends J.P. to complete the task. J.P. finds the girl and kills two of the kidnappers. Sardar and Asgar track down the other kidnappers; Asgar chops up one of them into pieces while Sardar makes Mohsin, the survivor watch. He then forces Mohsin to divorce his first wife and marry Sabrina. Sensing Sardar's increasing clout, Ramadhir calls Ehsaan who brokers a meeting between Sultan and Ramadhir where the two decide to become allies against their common enemy, Sardar. Sultan asks Ramadhir for modern automatic weapons which the latter promises to give.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: By 1989, coal theft has become a common, petty crime and the big money has moved to fraudulent contracts for logging hollow mines and filling up defunct mines.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In 1990, Sardar quits coal and starts stealing sand off the riverbank. He gets the contract to fill the defunct mines in Nasir's name. He becomes the most feared man in Wasseypur, pushing the Qureishis out of Wasseypur and shifts his business to stealing iron ore. Coal becomes a mere chapter in the Dhanbad mafia. A mature Danish (Vineet Kumar Singh) joins the family business. A failed attack from Sultan leaves Danish with a minor injury and causes reconciliation between Sardar and Nagma. Sardar finds Ramadhir and warns him of terrible consequences if anything ever happens to his family.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: A mature Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is seriously affected by Bollywood movies as he starts behaving, talking and dressing like Bollywood characters. Sardar sends Faizal to Varanasi to buy guns, but Faizal is caught by the police and jailed. Upon release, he kills the gun seller Yadav, unknowingly avenging his grandfather's murder. An uneasy peace is maintained between the Qureshi and Khan families when Danish convinces Badoor Qureshi, uncle of Sultan, to stop the war and marries Shama Parveen (Anurita Jha), Sultan's cousin. Sultan detests the marriage and tries to prevent it to no avail. At the same time, Faizal begins romancing Mohsina Hamid (Huma Qureshi), another kin of Sultan.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Faizal reveals to his friend, Fazlu (Sanjay Singh) that his father would be travelling without security the next day. Fazlu, who works for Sultan, calls up the Qureshis and tells them that Sardar's bodyguards wouldn't be with him the next day. The next morning, Sardar leaves home alone and reaches Durga's house where he gives her expense allowance. Once Sardar leaves, Durga also calls up the Qureshis and tells them that he has just left her house. The Qureshi men follow Sardar's car, and, when the latter stops at a petrol pump to refuel, they start shooting as Sardar ducks in the car for cover. The Qureshi men put several close rounds through the car window ensuring a precise and unmistakable hit, after which they escape. A shocked Sardar opens the car door and stands up to reveal multiple bullet wounds, with one bullet embedded in his head. He steps out with his gun drawn to stop a cycle ferry on which he eventually collapses to his death.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Anurag Kashyap said he had wanted to make a film on Bihar with the name Bihar for some time but for various reasons it didn't take off. In 2008 he met Zeishan Quadri (the writer of Gangs of Wasseypur) who told him about Wasseypur's story. He found it unreal to believe that mafia activity and gang war existed at such a high level. Zeishan narrated enough stories but what really attracted him was not gang war but the entire story of the emergence of the mafia. According to him to tell the story through a few families is what interested him but that also meant a longer reel. "We all know mafia exists but what they do, how they operate, why they do we don't know and that is something which forms the basis of the film".


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: According to Bajpayee, the role of Sardar Khan is the most negative role he has done till date. His motivation for doing this role came from the fact that there was "something new" with the character of Sardar Khan. Piyush Mishra and Tigmanshu Dhulia were given the discretion to decide who, among them, would perform the roles of Nasir and Ramadhir. Mishra chose the role of Nasir and Dhulia portrayed Ramadhir Singh. Chadda revealed in an interview that this role helped her bag 11 film roles. This was Huma Qureshi's first film, and she characterised this as her "dream debut". Qureshi landed this role after director Anurag Kashyap spotted her in a Samsung commercial he was directing.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: During filming in Varanasi in December 2010, film's chief assistant director Sohil Shah died while performing one of the stunt shot scenes. The movie was dedicated to Sohil Shah, as is seen in the opening titles. The film finished production in late March 2011, with Anurag Kashyap moving on to direct his next film immediately due to the accident.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Anurag Kashyap, who co-produced the film with Sunil Bohra, has said that it is his most expensive film and he reportedly had to spend 15 crore on paying the actors. Both parts of "Gangs of Wasseypur" together cost just ₹18.4 crore to make. Anurag Kashyap, the director of film tweeted – "450 million as reported in the media is false."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The filming style adopted by Anurag Kashyap in "Gangs of Wasseypur" bears a striking similarity to the styles of Sam Peckinpah. The scenes are short in length, several in number and often a series of montages take the story forward. Anurag Kashyap never has to resort to extraneous elements like stylised entries, editing patterns or camera motions to add to the effect because the story has an intrinsic impact of its own. However the film doesn't fall short of any technical finesse. There's unabashed blood, gore and abuse wherever the scene demands.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Lines like "Tum sahi ho, woh marad hai," ("You are right, he is male") said in resigned agreement to a wronged wife stand out for their cruel truths of rural life. Kashyap's use of occasional bursts of music and comedy to punctuate the slowly augmenting tension at different junctures is highly reminiscent of Spaghetti Westerns. Kashyap's use of dark humour to judiciously propagate violence bears an uncanny similarity to Quentin Tarantino's style of movie-making. Absorbing styles as diverse as those of old-school Italo-American mafia classics a la Coppola, Scorsese and Leone, as well as David Michod's taut crime thriller "Animal Kingdom," Kashyap never lets his influences override the distinct Indian color. The pacing is machine-gun relentless, sweeping incoherence and repetitiveness under the carpet as it barrels forward with hypnotic speed.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The movie chronicles the journey of the saga associated with coal mines. It portrays the gang lords of Wasseypur like Shafi Khan, Faheem Khan and Shabir Alam. The film has also been inspired from the story of rivals Shafi Khan and Surya Dev Singh. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN calls the movie, a "gang warfare" and notes that "On the surface, "Gangs of Wasseypur" is a revenge saga, a tableau of vengeance between generations of gangsters. Scratch that surface and you'll discover more than just a grim portrait".


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: While some of the critics noted that the film, is a powerful political film, which underlines the party politics system (at that time) allowing the growth of illegal coal trading and mafias in the region (Bihar) and their use as a political tool, thus making the allotment of coal blocks, one of the most powerful expressions of controlling power in the region. Despite its grim theme, the film also has an inherent sense of humour that comes quite naturally to it from its series of events. The scene where Reema Sen is charmed by Manoj Bajpai over her daily chores or the one where Nawazuddin goes on a formal date with Huma Qureshi are outrageously hilarious.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The household politics is one of the many subplots rendering layers to the story. You realise Sardar's family is emerging into a Corleone set-up of sorts. His sons - the brooding Danish and the doped-out Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) from Nagma, and the enigmatic Definite Khan (Zeishan Quadri) from Durga - will become key players in this revenge story. Violent as his screenplay is, Kashyap reveals wit while narrating his tale. Ample black comedy is used to imagine the gang war milieu. The humour lets us relate to the intrinsic irreverent nature of men who live by the gun. Character development can best justify the length of "Part 1".


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The soundtrack album of the two-part compilation of "Gangs of Wasseypur" has 27 songs, composed by Sneha Khanwalkar and Piyush Mishra, with lyrics by Mishra and Varun Grover. However, the album was split up according to the film's release. Part 1 has 14 songs which were released on 23 May 2012. The film's soundtrack is heavily influenced by traditional Indian folk songs. The film score is composed by noted Tamil composer G. V. Prakash Kumar.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The audio launch of this film took place in a unique way at a road show event, held in the streets of Mumbai, where Manoj Bajpayee, Huma Qureshi and Anurag Kashyap, had driven a jeep around the suburbs and the team danced on the streets wearing red gamuchas and has been making public appearances in them ever since.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Raja Sen of Rediff gave a 5 star rating to the soundtrack calling it a "A strikingly flavourful and headily authentic collection of quirky music". Purva Desai of Times of India said "The music is brilliant and this album deserves all the praises." Shivi Reflections of Koimoi in her favourable review wrote that ""Gangs of Wasseypur" is a soundtrack which should be acknowledged for its experimentation and uniqueness." Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama rated 2 out of 5, stating that "Despite it being song-heavy, it doesn't quite boast of tracks that have a long lasting appeal."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Sneha Khanwalkar had been nominated for various awards for the music of the 2 parts, including the prestigious Best Music Director award at the 58th Filmfare Awards.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The marketing of "Gangs of Wasseypur" was noted for its uniqueness. Gamucha, a thin traditional East Indian towel was taken to Cannes, the "Gangs of Wasseypur" team danced on the streets wearing red gamchhas, after the Cannes Film Festival and has been making public appearances in them ever since. While most music launches in India happen with a big party in a 5-star banquet hall in Delhi or Mumbai, and formal announcements before the press, the music of this film, was launched in Patna.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In another effective way of building the world of Wasseypur for the audience, a fictitious newspaper was made available online which was named Wasseypur Patrika.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: In keeping with the language and setup of the film, wall paintings instead of posters, reading "Goli Nahi Marenge, Keh Ke Lenge" – "Gangs of Wasseypur" were painted on walls across 20 cities.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: "Gangs of Wasseypur" mementos — The "Gangs of Wasseypur" team has made a memento consisting of bullets of a different era. While all sorts of weapons have been used in the film, this is the best thing one could give as a memento.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Bikas Bhagat of Zee News gave the movie 4 stars out of 5, concluding that "So if you want to experience an all new wave of cinema in Bollywood, "Gangs of Wasseypur" is your movie. It has some really quirky moments which I'll leave for you to explore in the film. Watch it for its sheer cinematic pleasure!"


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Subhash K. Jha of IANS gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars, saying that "Brutal, brilliant, dark, sinister, terrifying in its violence and yet savagely funny in the way human life is disregarded "Gangs of Wasseypur" is one helluva romp into the raw and rugged heartland. Not to be missed." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, saying that "On the whole, "Gangs of Wasseypur" symbolizes the fearless new Indian cinema that shatters the clichés and conventional formulas, something which Anurag Kashyap has come to be acknowledged for. It has all the trappings of an entertainer, but with a difference. The film prides itself with the substance that connects with enthusiasts of new-age cinema. But, I wish to restate, one needs to have a really strong belly to soak up to a film like "Gangs of Wasseypur". Also, this striking movie-watching experience comes with a colossal length and duration. The reactions, therefore, would be in extremes. "Gangs of Wasseypur" is for that segment of spectators who seek pleasure in watching forceful, hard-hitting and gritty movies."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, concluding that "Bolstered by its riveting performances and its thrilling plot dynamics, this is a gripping film that seizes your full attention. I'm going with three-and-a-half out of five for Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs of Wasseypur". Despite its occasionally indulgent narrative, this bullet-ridden saga is worthy of a repeat viewing, if only to catch all its nuances. Don't miss it." Mansha Rastogi of Now Running gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, commenting that ""Gangs of Wasseypur" works like an explosive leaving you wanting for more. "Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2" will definitely be a film eagerly awaited! Devour part one in the meantime!"


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Madhureeta Mukherjee of Times of India gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, saying that "Director Anurag Kashyap, in his trademark style of story- telling – realistic, with strong characters, over-the-top sequences, and unadulterated local flavour (crude maa-behen gaalis galore), gruesome bloody violence and raw humour – interestingly spins this twisted tale. This first of a two-part film, is ambitious indeed; showing promise of brilliance in parts, but not bullet-proof to flaws. With a runtime this long, meandering side tracks and random sub-plots, countless characters, documentary-style narrative backed with black and white montages from actual history, it loses blood in the second half because of the Director's over-(self)indulgence. So, hold on to your guns, gamchas and 'womaniyas'."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, concluding that "It may not be for the faint-hearted and the prissy. "Gangs of Wasseypur" is a heavyweight knockout punch. You're down for the count!" Blessy Chettiar of DNA gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "Even though there's so much going for "Part 1", there's something always amiss, something that leaves you underwhelmed after all those expectations. May be its a hope of a dashing "Part 2". Let's wait and watch."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Kunal Guha of Yahoo! gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, concluding that "Considering the amount of blood spilled in this film, it could’ve just been called 'Gangs of Sauce-e-pur'. Hot and sweet and different. 'Bata deejiyega sabko!’" Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying that ""Gangs of Wasseypur" is a very good movie that gets bogged down by the endless characters and length of the movie. If you love those hinterland mafia movies, this is definitely for you."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: On the contrary, Raja Sen of Rediff gave the movie 2.5 stars out of 5, concluding that "It is the excess that suffocates all the magic, originality dying out for lack of room to breathe. Kashyap gets flavour, setting and character right, but the lack of economy cripples the film. There is a lot of gunfire, but like the fine actors populating its sets, Wasseypur fires too many blanks."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Mayank Shekhar of theW14.com said, "Most movies have a definite beginning (starting point), middle (turning point) and end (high point), or what playwrights call the three-act structure in a script. There doesn't seem to be one here, at least on the face of it. The genre it comes closest to then is an epic, spelt with a capital E, along the lines of saying Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy, or this film's immediate inspiration Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002). And, of course, it is like all mythologies are supposed to be. You enjoy them for the parts rather than caring merely for the hero's final goal. If it wasn't a film, this would’ve been a stylised graphic novel. But you would’ve missed a memorable background score and striking sound design."


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The film met positive international reviews. Deborah Young of "The Hollywood Reporter" called the film "an extraordinary ride through Bollywood's spectacular, over-the-top filmmaking". Referring to the violence and pace of the film she says ""Gangs of Wasseypur" puts Tarantino in a corner with its cool command of cinematically inspired and referenced violence, ironic characters and breathless pace". Maggie Lee of Variety notes Kashyap never lets his diverse influences of old-school Italo-American mafia classics a la Coppola, Scorsese and Leone, as well as David Michod's taut crime thriller "Animal Kingdom," override the distinct Indian color. Calling the film "the love child of Bollywood and Hollywood," she felt the film was "by turns pulverizing and poetic in its depiction of violence." Lee Marshall of Screen International writes "the script alternates engagingly between scenes of sometimes stomach-churning violence and moments of domestic comedy, made more tasty by hard-boiled lines of dialogue like "in Wasseypur even the pigeons fly with one wing, because they need the other to cover their arse". He describes song lyrics "as if mouthed by a Greek chorus of street punks" commenting sarcastically on what's happening onscreen.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: "Gangs of Wasseypur" collected ₹12.25 crore in the first four days. "Gangs of Wasseypur" collected ₹10 crore net approx over its first weekend. The collections were good all over. Both instalments of the film were made at a production cost of ₹18.5 crore and with ₹17.5 crore as the total first week collection of the first part, film has successfully recovered the total production cost minus promotion cost. "Gangs of Wasseypur" held up week two but with low collections. The second week was around 7 crore nett. "Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1" has earned ₹27.52 crore in India, as of 27 July 2012 and the film is declared "Below Average" at box-office.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The success party for the film was held at Escobar in Bandra, Mumbai on Thursday, 5 July, late evening.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The film mainly draws its story from the real life gang wars that took place in the region of Dhanbad, Jharkhand. There are several differences in the film which contradict actual documented events most notably the character of Faizal Khan (based on Faheem Khan) who dies in the climax. Faheem Khan is currently in jail in Hazaribagh and has been sentenced to life imprisonment. In the film, Sardar Khan marries the Bengali girl but in real life, the woman was maintained as a keep. Most of the gang wars were between the gangs of Wasseypur, not with the Singhs, who had been instrumental in instigating these wars, but never participated in them. There was no character akin to Shahid Khan.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Another scene in the movie, where a Muslim girl is kidnapped by Singh's men, has been portrayed conversely. In real life, the victim was a local Hindu girl and the kidnappers were a few goons from Wasseypur. The members of the Singh family ultimately had to threaten the entire Wasseypur community to return the girl in 24 hours. The girl was eventually returned as the Singhs were regarded in the village with might and fear.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The character of Ramadhir Singh is based on Surajdeo Singh. In the film's climax, Singh is brutally killed by Faizal but in real life, Singh died of natural causes in June 1991.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: Fazloo's character is based on Sabir Alam. In the film, Fazloo is killed and dismembered by Faizal Khan. In real life, Sabir Alam and Faheem Khan were childhood friends turned enemies. Sabir was awarded a life sentence in 2007 for the murder of Faheem Khan's mother and aunt, is out on bail in Wasseypur.


title: Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

text: The mafia's downfall in Dhanbad didn't come from gang wars but rather it came from the differences between Kunti Singh, the widow of Surajdeo Singh, and his three brothers – Baccha Singh, Rajan Singh and Ram Dhani Singh – which gave others an opportunity to make space for themselves.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four counties in England to hold the name Yorkshire; the three other counties are the East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire may also refer to a non-metropolitan county, which covers most of the ceremonial county's area () and population (a mid-2016 estimate by the ONS of 602,300), and is administered by North Yorkshire County Council. The non-metropolitan county does not include four areas of the ceremonial county: the City of York, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and the southern part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, which are all administered by unitary authorities.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The non-metropolitan county and the City of York are within the Yorkshire and the Humber region. Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and the southern part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, all in the north-east of the county, are within the North East England region.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Middlesbrough (at 174,700) is the county's most populous settlement while York (Yorkshire's historic county town) is second with 152,841, although both are outside the non-metropolitan county. The most populous place in the non-metropolitan county, and third overall in the ceremonial county, is Harrogate at 75,070: this is followed by Scarborough with 61,749. Some other settlements in the county are Ripon (city), Northallerton (county town), Knaresborough, Selby and Skipton, and outside the non-metropolitan county, Redcar (in Redcar and Cleveland) and the towns of Thornaby-on-Tees, Ingleby Barwick and Yarm (in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees).


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered most of the lands of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire, as well as northern parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, northern and eastern East Riding of Yorkshire and the former county borough of York. The new county was governed by North Yorkshire County Council and was wholly within the Yorkshire and the Humber region.


title: North Yorkshire

text: On 1 April 1996, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton borough south of the River Tees became part of the ceremonial county, but not part of the non-metropolitan county governed by North Yorkshire County Council. These areas were and remain within the North East England region. They had been part of the North Riding until 1974, but for twenty-two years from 1974 to 1996 were part of the county of Cleveland.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Also on 1 April 1996, York, rural areas around York, and the town of Haxby were transferred from the non-metropolitan county to become a unitary authority independent of county council authority. The enlarged City of York remained within the ceremonial county.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The geology of North Yorkshire is closely reflected in its landscape. Within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales; two of eleven areas of countryside within England and Wales to be officially designated as national parks. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills in the west lie the Vales of Mowbray and York. The Tees Lowlands lie to the north of the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering lies to the south. Its eastern border is the North sea coast. The highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at .


title: North Yorkshire

text: The two major rivers in the county are the River Swale and the River Ure. The Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows through York and into the Humber Estuary. The River Tees forms part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham and flows from upper Teesdale through Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough and to the coast. The River Wharfe forms much of the southern border and also flows into the Ouse within the county.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire contains a small section of green belt in the south of the county, just north of Ilkley and Otley along the North and West Yorkshire borders. It extends to the east to cover small communities such as Huby, Kirkby Overblow, and Follifoot before covering the gap between the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, helping to keep those towns separate.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The belt adjoins the southernmost part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the Nidderdale AONB. It extends into the western area of Selby district, reaching as far as Tadcaster and Balne. The belt was first drawn up from the 1950s.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The city of York has an independent surrounding belt area affording protections to several outlying settlements such as Haxby and Dunnington, and it too extends into the surrounding districts.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire has a temperate oceanic climate, like most of the UK. However, there are large climate variations within the county. The upper Pennines border on a Subarctic climate, whereas the Vale of Mowbray has an almost Semi-arid climate. Overall, with the county being situated in the east, it receives below-average rainfall for the UK, but the upper Dales of the Pennines are one of the wettest parts of England, where in contrast the driest parts of the Vale of Mowbray are some of the driest areas in the UK.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Summer temperatures are above average, at 22 °C, but highs can regularly reach up to 28 °C, with over 30 °C reached in heat waves. Winter temperatures are below average, with average lows of 1 °C. Snow and Fog can be expected depending on location, with the North York Moors and Pennines having snow lying for an average of between 45 and 75 days per year. Sunshine is most plentiful on the coast, receiving an average of 1650 hours a year, and reduces further west in the county, with the Pennines only receiving 1250 hours a year.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire County Council governs the non-metropolitan county in a cabinet-style council. The non-metropolitan county excludes the City of York and boroughs of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockon-on-Tees. 90 councillors (increased from 72 councillors with effect from the May 2022 election) elect a council leader, who in turn appoints up to 9 councillors to form an executive cabinet. Offices for the county are in County Hall, Northallerton.


title: North Yorkshire

text: In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county will be reorganised into a unitary authority, which will be called North Yorkshire Council. The district councils (Harrogate, Scarborough, Hambleton, Selby, Craven, Richmondshire and Ryedale), are to be abolished and their functions transferred to a single authority. The parts of the county already unitary authorities will not be affected.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Until April 2023, the county is divided into the local government districts of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Parts of the county are administered independently of the county council, having their own unitary authorities: the City of York Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The latter three are part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. Uniquely for England, the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is split between North Yorkshire and County Durham.


title: North Yorkshire

text: In August 2022 the government agreed proposals for a devolution deal, which will require the formation of a combined authority comprising the new unitary North Yorkshire Council and the City of York Council, and election of a directly elected mayor for the combined authority. The proposals are subject to a public consultation, and anticpate that elections for the first mayor would take place in May 2024.


title: North Yorkshire

text: In large areas of North Yorkshire, agriculture is the primary source of employment; some 85% of the county is considered to be "rural or super sparse".


title: North Yorkshire

text: Other sectors in 2019 included some manufacturing, the provision of accommodation and meals (primarily for tourists) which accounted for 19 per cent of all jobs and food manufacturing which employed 11 per cent of workers; a few people are involved in forestry and fishing in 2019. The average weekly earnings in 2018 were £531. Some 15% of workers declared themselves as self-employed. One report in late 2020 stated that "North Yorkshire has a relatively healthy and diverse economy which largely mirrors the national picture in terms of productivity and jobs.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Tourism is a significant contributor to the economy. A study of visitors between 2013 and 2015 indicated that the Borough of Scarborough, including Filey, Whitby and parts of the North York Moors National Park, received 1.4m trips per year on average. A 2016 report by the National Park however, provides more impressive numbers: the park area gets 7.93 million visitors annually, generating £647 million and supporting 10,900 full-time equivalent jobs.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The Yorkshire Dales have also attracted many visitors. In 2016, there were 3.8 million visits to the National Park including 0.48 million who stayed at least one night. The parks service estimates that this contributed


title: North Yorkshire

text: £252 million to the economy and provided 3,583 full-time equivalent jobs. The wider Yorkshire Dales area received 9.7 million visitors who contributed £644 million to the economy. The North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales are among England's best known destinations.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The North Yorkshire County Council operates many small tourist information offices in rural areas. Nature or eco-tourism has become an important factor. In addition to hiking, some areas attract tourists with wildlife, although the latter aspect has yet to be fully developed. Another agency promoting tourism to the region is the Herriot Country Tourism Group which covers the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales as well as communities such as Thirsk, Northallerton, Easingwold, Great Ayton & Bedale.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The historic towns of York and Harrogate are the top tourist destinations in the geographic area. York attracts millions of visitors, some of whom may be enticed to continue northward to other areas of North Yorkshire. A 2014 report, based on 2012 data, stated that York alone receives 6.9 million visitors annually; they contribute £564 million to the economy and support over 19,000 jobs. In the 2017 Condé Nast Traveller survey of readers, York rated 12th among The 15 Best Cities in the UK for visitors. In a 2020 Condé Nast Traveller report, York rated as the sixth best among ten "urban destinations [in the UK] that scored the highest marks when it comes to ... nightlife, restaurants and friendliness".


title: North Yorkshire

text: During February 2020 to January 2021, the average property in North Yorkshire county sold for £240,000, up by £8100 over the previous 12 months. By comparison, the average for England and Wales was £314,000. In certain communities of North Yorkshire, however, house prices were higher than average for the county, as of early 2021: Harrogate (average value: £376,195), Knaresborough (£375,625), Tadcaster (£314,278), Leyburn (£309,165) and Ripon (£299,998), for example.


title: North Yorkshire

text: This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added for North Yorkshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Unemployment in the county was traditionally low in recent years, but the lockdowns and travel restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on the economy during much of 2020 and into 2021. The UK government said in early February 2021 that it was planning "unprecedented levels of support to help businesses [in the UK] survive the crisis". A report published on 1 March 2021 stated that the unemployment rate in North Yorkshire had "risen to the highest level in nearly 5 years - with under 25s often bearing the worst of job losses".


title: North Yorkshire

text: York experienced high unemployment during lockdown periods. One analysis (by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership) predicted in August 2020 that "as many as 13,835 jobs in York will be lost in the scenario considered most likely, taking the city's unemployment rate to 14.5%". Some critics claimed that part of the problem was caused by "over-reliance on the booming tourism industry at the expense of a long-term economic plan". A report in mid June 2020 stated that unemployment had risen 114 per cent over the previous year because of restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Tourism in the county was expected to increase after the restrictions imposed due the pandemic are relaxed. One reason for the expected increase is the airing of "All Creatures Great and Small", a TV series about the vet James Herriot, based on a successful series of books; it was largely filmed within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The show aired in the UK in September 2020 and in the US in early 2021. One source stated that visits to Yorkshire websites had increased significantly by late September 2020.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The East Coast Main Line (ECML) bisects the county stopping at , and . Passenger services on the ECML within the county are operated by London North Eastern Railway, TransPennine Express and Grand Central. TransPennine Express run services on the York to Scarborough Line and the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line (for ) that both branch off the ECML.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Northern operates the remaining lines in the county, including commuter services on the Harrogate Line, Airedale Line and York & Selby Lines, of which the former two are covered by the Metro ticketing area. Remaining branch lines operated by Northern include the Yorkshire Coast Line from Scarborough to Hull, the Hull to York Line via Selby, the Tees Valley Line from to and the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough to . Last but certainly not least, the Settle-Carlisle Line runs through the west of the county, with services again operated by Northern.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The county suffered badly under the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. Places such as , , , , and the Wensleydale communities lost their passenger services. Notable lines closed were the Scarborough and Whitby Railway, Malton and Driffield Railway and the secondary main line between Northallerton and Harrogate via Ripon.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Heritage railways within North Yorkshire include: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, between and , which opened in 1973; the Derwent Valley Light Railway near York; and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The Wensleydale Railway, which started operating in 2003, runs services between and along a former freight-only line. The medium-term aim is to operate into Northallerton station on the ECML, once an agreement can be reached with Network Rail. In the longer term, the aim is to reinstate the full line west via to on the Settle-Carlisle line.


title: North Yorkshire

text: York railway station is the largest station in the county, with 11 platforms and is a major tourist attraction in its own right. The station is immediately adjacent to the National Railway Museum.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The main road through the county is the north–south A1(M), which has gradually been upgraded in sections to motorway status since the early 1990s. The only other motorways within the county are the short A66(M) near Darlington and a small stretch of the M62 motorway close to Eggborough. The other nationally maintained trunk routes are the A168/A19, A64, A66 and A174.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Long-distance coach services are operated by National Express and Megabus. Local bus service operators include Arriva Yorkshire, Harrogate Bus Company, Scarborough & District (East Yorkshire), Yorkshire Coastliner, First York and the local Dales & District.


title: North Yorkshire

text: There are no major airports in the county itself, but nearby airports include Teesside International (Darlington), Newcastle, Doncaster Sheffield and Leeds Bradford.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire LEA has a mostly comprehensive education system with 42 state schools secondary (not including sixth form colleges) and 12 independent schools.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The county is served by BBC Yorkshire and BBC North East and Cumbria. Along the county's coast, Scarborough and Filey receive BBC Yorkshire and Whitby receives BBC North East and Cumbria.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television are also received in most areas of the county, Settle and the Western part of the Craven area is served by BBC North West and Granada Television.


title: North Yorkshire

text: BBC Tees is broadcast to northern parts of the county, whilst BBC Radio York is broadcast more widely. BBC Radio Leeds broadcasts to southern parts of the county.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Yorkshire County Cricket Club play a number of fixtures at North Marine Road, Scarborough and some 2nd XI games in Richmond. The ball game Rock-It-Ball was developed in the county.


title: North Yorkshire

text: Middlesbrough are currently the highest-ranked team in the county as they play in the EFL Championship. In the past, they have won the EFL Cup and reached the UEFA Cup final. Harrogate Town play in the EFL League Two. York City play in the National League North and finished 2nd on points-per-game during the 2019–20 season, but they lost their play-off semi-final to Altrincham. Whitby Town have reached the FA Cup first round seven times and have played the likes of Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Plymouth Argyle; they currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, along with nearby Scarborough Athletic, a phoenix club of Scarborough.


title: North Yorkshire

text: The leading rugby union teams in the county include Wharfedale RUFC, Harrogate RUFC, but teams also include Middlesbrough RUFC and Acklam RUFC who play their league games in Regional 2 North, a corresponding league of the same level hosting teams from Teesside, County Durham and Northumberland. York City Knights, previously known as York F.C., are a rugby league team who play in the Rugby League Championships.


title: North Yorkshire

text: North Yorkshire has multiple racecourses at: Catterick Bridge, Redcar, Ripon, Thirsk and York. It also has one motor racing circuit, Croft Circuit; the circuit holds meetings of the British Touring Car Championship, British Superbike and Pickup Truck Racing race series and one Motorcycle Racing Circuit at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are the majority languages of Vietnam and Cambodia. There are around 117 million speakers of Austroasiatic languages. Of these languages, only Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mon have a long-established recorded history. Only two have official status as modern national languages: Vietnamese in Vietnam and Khmer in Cambodia. The Mon language is a recognized indigenous language in Myanmar and Thailand. In Myanmar, the Wa language is the de facto official language of Wa State. Santali is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. The rest of the languages are spoken by minority groups and have no official status.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: "Ethnologue" identifies 168 Austroasiatic languages. These form thirteen established families (plus perhaps Shompen, which is poorly attested, as a fourteenth), which have traditionally been grouped into two, as Mon–Khmer, and Munda. However, one recent classification posits three groups (Munda, Mon-Khmer, and Khasi–Khmuic), while another has abandoned Mon–Khmer as a taxon altogether, making it synonymous with the larger family.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Austroasiatic languages have a disjunct distribution across Southeast Asia and parts of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and East Asia, separated by regions where other languages are spoken. They appear to be the extant original languages of Mainland Southeast Asia (excluding the Andaman Islands), with the neighboring, and sometimes surrounding, Kra–Dai, Hmong-Mien, Austronesian, and Sino-Tibetan languages being the result of later migrations.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: The name "Austroasiatic" comes from a combination of the Latin words for "South" and "Asia", hence "South Asia".


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Regarding word structure, Austroasiatic languages are well known for having an iambic "sesquisyllabic" pattern, with basic nouns and verbs consisting of an initial, unstressed, reduced minor syllable followed by a stressed, full syllable. This reduction of presyllables has led to a variety among modern languages of phonological shapes of the same original Proto-Austroasiatic prefixes, such as the causative prefix, ranging from CVC syllables to consonant clusters to single consonants. As for word formation, most Austroasiatic languages have a variety of derivational prefixes, many have infixes, but suffixes are almost completely non-existent in most branches except Munda, and a few specialized exceptions in other Austroasiatic branches.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: The Austroasiatic languages are further characterized as having unusually large vowel inventories and employing some sort of register contrast, either between modal (normal) voice and breathy (lax) voice or between modal voice and creaky voice. Languages in the Pearic branch and some in the Vietic branch can have a three- or even four-way voicing contrast.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: However, some Austroasiatic languages have lost the register contrast by evolving more diphthongs or in a few cases, such as Vietnamese, tonogenesis. Vietnamese has been so heavily influenced by Chinese that its original Austroasiatic phonological quality is obscured and now resembles that of South Chinese languages, whereas Khmer, which had more influence from Sanskrit, has retained a more typically Austroasiatic structure.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Much work has been done on the reconstruction of Proto-Mon–Khmer in Harry L. Shorto's "Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary". Little work has been done on the Munda languages, which are not well documented. With their demotion from a primary branch, Proto-Mon–Khmer becomes synonymous with Proto-Austroasiatic. Paul Sidwell (2005) reconstructs the consonant inventory of Proto-Mon–Khmer as follows:


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: This is identical to earlier reconstructions except for . is better preserved in the Katuic languages, which Sidwell has specialized in.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Linguists traditionally recognize two primary divisions of Austroasiatic: the Mon–Khmer languages of Southeast Asia, Northeast India and the Nicobar Islands, and the Munda languages of East and Central India and parts of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal. However, no evidence for this classification has ever been published.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Each of the families that is written in boldface type below is accepted as a valid clade. By contrast, the relationships "between" these families within Austroasiatic are debated. In addition to the traditional classification, two recent proposals are given, neither of which accepts traditional "Mon–Khmer" as a valid unit. However, little of the data used for competing classifications has ever been published, and therefore cannot be evaluated by peer review.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: In addition, there are suggestions that additional branches of Austroasiatic might be preserved in substrata of Acehnese in Sumatra (Diffloth), the Chamic languages of Vietnam, and the Land Dayak languages of Borneo (Adelaar 1995).


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Diffloth's widely cited original classification, now abandoned by Diffloth himself, is used in "Encyclopædia Britannica" and—except for the breakup of Southern Mon–Khmer—in "Ethnologue."


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Peiros is a lexicostatistic classification, based on percentages of shared vocabulary. This means that languages can appear to be more distantly related than they actually are due to language contact. Indeed, when Sidwell (2009) replicated Peiros's study with languages known well enough to account for loans, he did not find the internal (branching) structure below.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Diffloth compares reconstructions of various clades, and attempts to classify them based on shared innovations, though like other classifications the evidence has not been published. As a schematic, we have:


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Paul Sidwell (2009), in a lexicostatistical comparison of 36 languages which are well known enough to exclude loanwords, finds little evidence for internal branching, though he did find an area of increased contact between the Bahnaric and Katuic languages, such that languages of all branches apart from the geographically distant Munda and Nicobarese show greater similarity to Bahnaric and Katuic the closer they are to those branches, without any noticeable innovations common to Bahnaric and Katuic.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: He therefore takes the conservative view that the thirteen branches of Austroasiatic should be treated as equidistant on current evidence. Sidwell & Blench (2011) discuss this proposal in more detail, and note that there is good evidence for a Khasi–Palaungic node, which could also possibly be closely related to Khmuic.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: If this would the case, Sidwell & Blench suggest that Khasic may have been an early offshoot of Palaungic that had spread westward. Sidwell & Blench (2011) suggest Shompen as an additional branch, and believe that a Vieto-Katuic connection is worth investigating. In general, however, the family is thought to have diversified too quickly for a deeply nested structure to have developed, since Proto-Austroasiatic speakers are believed by Sidwell to have radiated out from the central Mekong river valley relatively quickly.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Subsequently, Sidwell (2015a: 179) proposed that Nicobarese subgroups with Aslian, just as how Khasian and Palaungic subgroup with each other.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: A subsequent computational phylogenetic analysis (Sidwell 2015b) suggests that Austroasiatic branches may have a loosely nested structure rather than a completely rake-like structure, with an east–west division (consisting of Munda, Khasic, Palaungic, and Khmuic forming a western group as opposed to all of the other branches) occurring possibly as early as 7,000 years before present. However, he still considers the subbranching dubious.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Integrating computational phylogenetic linguistics with recent archaeological findings, Paul Sidwell (2015c) further expanded his Mekong riverine hypothesis by proposing that Austroasiatic had ultimately expanded into Indochina from the Lingnan area of southern China, with the subsequent Mekong riverine dispersal taking place after the initial arrival of Neolithic farmers from southern China.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Sidwell (2015c) tentatively suggests that Austroasiatic may have begun to split up 5,000 years B.P. during the Neolithic transition era of mainland Southeast Asia, with all the major branches of Austroasiatic formed by 4,000 B.P. Austroasiatic would have had two possible dispersal routes from the western periphery of the Pearl River watershed of Lingnan, which would have been either a coastal route down the coast of Vietnam, or downstream through the Mekong River via Yunnan. Both the reconstructed lexicon of Proto-Austroasiatic and the archaeological record clearly show that early Austroasiatic speakers around 4,000 B.P. cultivated rice and millet, kept livestock such as dogs, pigs, and chickens, and thrived mostly in estuarine rather than coastal environments.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: At 4,500 B.P., this "Neolithic package" suddenly arrived in Indochina from the Lingnan area without cereal grains and displaced the earlier pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer cultures, with grain husks found in northern Indochina by 4,100 B.P. and in southern Indochina by 3,800 B.P. However, Sidwell (2015c) found that iron is not reconstructable in Proto-Austroasiatic, since each Austroasiatic branch has different terms for iron that had been borrowed relatively lately from Tai, Chinese, Tibetan, Malay, and other languages.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: During the Iron Age about 2,500 B.P., relatively young Austroasiatic branches in Indochina such as Vietic, Katuic, Pearic, and Khmer were formed, while the more internally diverse Bahnaric branch (dating to about 3,000 B.P.) underwent more extensive internal diversification. By the Iron Age, all of the Austroasiatic branches were more or less in their present-day locations, with most of the diversification within Austroasiatic taking place during the Iron Age.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Paul Sidwell (2018) considers the Austroasiatic language family to have rapidly diversified around 4,000 years B.P. during the arrival of rice agriculture in Indochina, but notes that the origin of Proto-Austroasiatic itself is older than that date. The lexicon of Proto-Austroasiatic can be divided into an early and late stratum. The early stratum consists of basic lexicon including body parts, animal names, natural features, and pronouns, while the names of cultural items (agriculture terms and words for cultural artifacts, which are reconstructible in Proto-Austroasiatic) form part of the later stratum.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Roger Blench (2017) suggests that vocabulary related to aquatic subsistence strategies (such as boats, waterways, river fauna, and fish capture techniques) can be reconstructed for Proto-Austroasiatic. Blench (2017) finds widespread Austroasiatic roots for 'river, valley', 'boat', 'fish', 'catfish sp.', 'eel', 'prawn', 'shrimp' (Central Austroasiatic), 'crab', 'tortoise', 'turtle', 'otter', 'crocodile', 'heron, fishing bird', and 'fish trap'. Archaeological evidence for the presence of agriculture in northern Indochina (northern Vietnam, Laos, and other nearby areas) dates back to only about 4,000 years ago (2,000 BC), with agriculture ultimately being introduced from further up to the north in the Yangtze valley where it has been dated to 6,000 B.P.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Sidwell (2022) proposes that the locus of Proto-Austroasiatic was in the Red River Delta area about 4,000-4,500 years before present, instead of the Middle Mekong as he had previously proposed. Austroasiatic dispersed coastal maritime routes and also upstream through river valleys. Khmuic, Palaungic, and Khasic resulted from a westward dispersal that ultimately came from the Red Valley valley. Based on their current distributions, about half of all Austroasiatic branches (including Nicobaric and Munda) can be traced to coastal maritime dispersals.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Hence, this points to a relatively late riverine dispersal of Austroasiatic as compared to Sino-Tibetan, whose speakers had a distinct non-riverine culture. In addition to living an aquatic-based lifestyle, early Austroasiatic speakers would have also had access to livestock, crops, and newer types of watercraft. As early Austroasiatic speakers dispersed rapidly via waterways, they would have encountered speakers of older language families who were already settled in the area, such as Sino-Tibetan.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Sidwell (2018) (quoted in Sidwell 2021) gives a more nested classification of Austroasiatic branches as suggested by his computational phylogenetic analysis of Austroasiatic languages using a 200-word list. Many of the tentative groupings are likely linkages. Pakanic and Shompen were not included.


title: Austroasiatic languages

text: Roger Blench (2009) also proposes that there might have been other primary branches of Austroasiatic that are now extinct, based on substrate evidence in modern-day languages.