title: Modal verb

text: In many Germanic languages, the modal verbs may be used in more functions than in English. In German, for instance, modals can occur as non-finite verbs, which means they can be subordinate to other verbs in verb catenae; they need not appear as the clause root. In Swedish, some (but not all) modal verbs have infinitive forms. This for instance enables catenae containing several modal auxiliaries. The modal verbs are underlined in the following table.


title: Modal verb

text: The Swedish sentence translated word by word would yield the impossible "*he must can do it"; the same goes for the German one, except that German has a different word order in such clauses, yielding "*he must it do can".


title: Modal verb

text: Hawaiian Pidgin is a creole language most of whose vocabulary, but not grammar, is drawn from English. As is generally the case with creole languages, it is an isolating language and modality is typically indicated by the use of invariant pre-verbal auxiliaries. The invariance of the modal auxiliaries to person, number, and tense makes them analogous to modal auxiliaries in English. . However, as in most creoles the main verbs are also invariant; the auxiliaries are distinguished by their use in combination with (followed by) a main verb.


title: Modal verb

text: There are various preverbal modal auxiliaries: "Kaen" "can", "laik" "want to", "gata" "have got to", "haeftu" "have to", "baeta" "had better", "sapostu" "am/is/are supposed to". Unlike in Germanic languages, tense markers are used, albeit infrequently, before modals: "Gon kaen kam" "is going to be able to come". "Waz" "was" can indicate past tense before the future/volitional marker "gon" and the modal "sapostu": "Ai waz gon lift weits" "I was gonna lift weights"; "Ai waz sapostu go" "I was supposed to go".


title: Modal verb

text: Hawaiian, like the Polynesian languages generally, is an isolating language, so its verbal grammar exclusively relies on unconjugated verbs. Thus, as with creoles, there is no real distinction between modal auxiliaries and lexically modal main verbs that are followed by another main verb. Hawaiian has an imperative indicated by "e" + verb (or in the negative by "mai" + verb). Some examples of the treatment of modality are as follows: "Pono" conveys obligation/necessity as in "He pono i nā kamali'i a pau e maka'ala", "It's right for children all to beware", "All children should/must beware"; ability is conveyed by "hiki" as in "Ua hiki i keia kamali'i ke heluhelu" "Has enabled to this child to read", "This child can read".


title: Modal verb

text: French, like some other Romance languages, does not have a grammatically distinct class of modal auxiliary verbs; instead, it expresses modality using conjugated verbs followed by infinitives: for example, "pouvoir" "to be able" ("Je peux aller", "I can go"), "devoir" "to have an obligation" ("Je dois aller", "I must go"), and "vouloir" "to want" ("Je veux aller" "I want to go").


title: Modal verb

text: Modal verbs in Italian form a distinct class ("verbi modali" or "verbi servili"). They can be easily recognized by the fact that they are the only group of verbs that does not have a fixed auxiliary verb for forming the perfect, but they can inherit it from the verb they accompany – Italian can have two different auxiliary verbs for forming the perfect, "avere" ("to have"), and "essere" ("to be"). There are in total four modal verbs in Italian: "potere" ("can"), "volere" ("want"), "dovere" ("must"), "sapere" ("to be able to"). Modal verbs in Italian are the only group of verbs allowed to follow this particular behavior. When they do not accompany other verbs, they all use "avere" ("to have") as a helping verb for forming the perfect.


title: Modal verb

text: For example, the helping verb for the perfect of "potere" ("can") is "avere" ("have"), as in "ho potuto" (lit. "I-have been-able","I could"); nevertheless, when used together with a verb that has as auxiliary "essere" ("be"), "potere" inherits the auxiliary of the second verb. For example: ho visitato il castello" (lit. "I-have visited the castle") / ho potuto visitare il castello" (lit. "I-have been-able to-visit the castle","I could visit the castle"); but sono scappato" (lit. "I-am escaped", "I have escaped") / sono potuto scappare" (lit. "I-am been-able to-escape", "I could escape").


title: Modal verb

text: Note that, like in other Romance languages, there is no distinction between an infinitive and a bare infinitive in Italian, hence modal verbs are not the only group of verbs that accompanies an infinitive (where in English instead there would be the form with "to" – see for example "Ho preferito scappare" ("I have preferred to escape"). Thus, while in English a modal verb can be easily recognized by the sole presence of a bare infinitive, there is no easy way to distinguish the four traditional Italian modal verbs from other verbs, except the fact that the former are the only verbs that do not have a fixed auxiliary verb for the perfect. For this reason some grammars consider also the verbs "osare" ("to dare to"), "preferire" ("to refer to"), "desiderare" ("to desire to"), "solere" ("to use to") as modal verbs, despite these always use "avere" as auxiliary verb for the perfect.


title: Modal verb

text: Mandarin Chinese is an isolating language without inflections. As in English, modality can be indicated either lexically, with main verbs such as "yào" "want" followed by another main verb, or with auxiliary verbs. In Mandarin the auxiliary verbs have six properties that distinguish them from main verbs:


title: Modal verb

text: Spanish, like French, uses fully conjugated verbs followed by infinitives. For example, "poder" "to be able" ("Puedo andar", "I can walk"), "deber" "to have an obligation" ("Debo andar", "I must walk"), and "querer" "to want" ("Quiero andar" "I want to walk").


title: Modal verb

text: The correct use of "andar" in these examples would be reflexive. ""Puedo andar"" means "I can walk", ""Puedo irme"" means "I can leave" or "I can take myself off/away". The same applies to the other examples.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The fourth generation of the BMW 7 Series consists of the BMW E65 and BMW E66 luxury cars. The E65/E66 was produced from 2001 to 2008 and is often collectively referred to as the E65. The E65 replaced the E38 7 Series and was produced with petrol and turbo-diesel straight-six and V8 engines, along with a petrol V12 flagship model.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 was the first BMW vehicle to include the iDrive infotainment system and the controversial exterior styling (overseen by Chris Bangle) marked a significant departure from traditional BMW styling. Other new features included active anti-roll bars, a six-speed automatic transmission, an electronic "Smart Key" (dispensing with the traditional metallic key), and night vision. The 760i model also utilised the world's first production V12 engine to use direct injection.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Development for the BMW E65 7 Series began in early 1996. In early 1997, Chris Bangle delivered a brief to BMW's Munich and DesignworksUSA studios. After a competition between 20 designers, Adrian van Hooydonk's design was approved in the spring of 1998. Production specifications were frozen in January 1999 and took 34 months from freeze to market launch. The design was patented on 16 November 2000 and development ended in early 2001.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 was introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 2001, and launched in Europe in November 2001. In order to produce the E65 7 Series and other future models, the BMW Dingolfing plant was retooled at a cost of approximately €500,000,000.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Under the direction of Chris Bangle, BMW's Design Chief at the time, the BMW E65 7 Series saw a departure from traditional BMW exterior styling.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: BMW's board of directors were keen to move the company's image into the future, and the initial styling sketches from 1998 by Adrian van Hooydonk were of a fastback body style - even more radical than the eventual production model. The controversial "flame surfacing" design greatly contrasted the conservative lines of its E38 predecessor. The rear end styling was nicknamed "Bangle Butt" by critics, due to the elongated rear bootlid. However, many believe that the controversial styling helped the 7 series look modern even after many years.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Dimensionally the E65 7 Series is longer, wider and taller than the E38. The wheelbase is , an increase of over the outgoing model. Despite these increased dimensions, the E65 7 Series is only heavier than the E38.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 contained many departures from automotive interior design conventions. BMW removed the traditional console mounted gear selector, replacing it with a steering-column mounted stalk in favour of two cup holders. The e-brake is controlled using a button on the dashboard. The seat adjustment controls were moved from their traditional place on the side of the seat base to the inside of the raised central console, which drew some criticisms.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Unlike most BMWs since 1975 (including the E65's predecessor and successor), the centre instrument panel is not angled towards the driver.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The V8 models were the first to use the then-new BMW N62 V8 engine, which was the world's first engine to use a continuously variable-length intake manifold. It was also BMW's first V8 engine to use variable valve lift (Valvetronic), replacing throttle butterflies for added response, efficiency and power. A system using traditional throttle butterflies was also present as a backup in case of faults in the valvetronic system.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65/E66 was the first sedan to use a 6-speed automatic transmission. The specific models of transmission used for the E65 are:


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65/E66 was one of the few BMWs to have a column shift lever, as opposed to a stick in the centre console.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 was the first BMW to use the iDrive infotainment system. The iDrive system was built on VxWorks while the navigation system was built on the Windows CE for Automotive platform, and featured an interface primarily based around a central control knob. Many of the functions such as climate, navigation, seat heating, telephony, and car settings were incorporated into a single system allowing for centralised control. Early versions of iDrive were criticised for complicated menu structures and a steep learning curve.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The first generation of the system relied on CD media for map data. In March 2003, the maps switched to DVD format, a faster processor was used and a 'Menu' and 'Customisable' button were added below the control knob. In 2005, dedicated buttons were added to change radio stations or skip tracks and a brighter screen was used for the 8.8" widescreen option.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 was the flagship model and the most technologically advanced car produced by BMW at the time.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E66 long-wheelbase models, badged "Li" were introduced in June 2002. Long-wheelbase models are longer, allowing for extra rear legroom. The initial long wheelbase models were the 735Li, 745Li and 760Li. After 2003, 730Li, 730Ld, 740Li and 750Li models were added to the lineup.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E67 high security 7 Series is an armoured variant of the BMW 7 Series. The 760Li high security was introduced at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, with the 745Li high security model released later in September 2003.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: E65 high security models are designed to withstand attacks, and meet the requirements of the B7 weapons standard. Security features include a detachable multi-layer laminated windscreen, a remote starting system, a fire extinguishing system, a fresh air system, and under-body protection. High security models also feature run flat tyres, with Michelin's PAX system; which allows continuous driving at for approximately , with a puncture.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: BMW offers a buyback service for high security models up to seven years old, which are inspected then resold to potential customers worldwide. A training course is also offered to owners and chauffeurs, and teaches car control in case of emergency situations.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The BMW Hydrogen 7 is a limited production hydrogen-fueled model. It uses a modified version of the 760Li's N73 V12 engine, producing . Claimed fuel economy is and the hydrogen is stored as a liquid in an insulated tank. Only 100 cars were made, which were leased to high-profile customers, in order to promote the use of hydrogen vehicles.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The Alpina B7 prototype was introduced to the public at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show in March, and the production version was later unveiled at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. Production began in February 2004, and was built in the Dingolfing BMW plant alongside the regular E65 models.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The Alpina B7 uses a supercharged version of the 4.4-litre V8 found in the 745i, and was the first Alpina model to feature a supercharged engine.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Exterior changes include a rear spoiler and 21-inch traditional Alpina multi-spoke style wheels. Interior changes include sports seats, an Alpina instrument cluster, a three spoke steering wheel with shift buttons, and a silver plated production plaque.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: In late 2005, night vision ("BMW night vision") became available. The system uses passive infrared sensors and has a claimed range of .


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: Automatic highbeam headlamps ("BMW high-beam assistant") was introduced at the same time, whereby the high beam headlights are automatically activated in dark areas and temporarily deactivated when oncoming traffic is detected.


title: BMW 7 Series (E65)

text: The E65 was produced at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing in Germany, with complete knock-down (CKD) assembly for local markets conducted in Thailand (Rayong), Russia (Kaliningrad) and Egypt (6th of October City).


title: The Starling

text: The Starling is a 2021 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Matt Harris. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, Timothy Olyphant, Kim Quinn, Skyler Gisondo, Loretta Devine, Ravi Kapoor, Daveed Diggs, Rosalind Chao, Laura Harrier, and Kevin Kline.


title: The Starling

text: "The Starling" premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021, and had a limited release on September 17, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on September 24, 2021. It received unfavorable reviews from critics.


title: The Starling

text: A married couple, the Maynards, suffer after the death of their baby daughter from SIDS. The husband, Jack (Chris O’Dowd), is in a residential mental hospital while his wife Lilly (Melissa McCarthy) remains at home, facing her loss alone.


title: The Starling

text: Lilly is trying to hold it together for Jack's return from the facility. Employed at a grocery store, she works to maintain her family's property. As if Lilly's troubles weren't bad enough, a starling nesting in a tree in her backyard begins to harass and attack her, and she becomes obsessed with stopping it. She's also driving two hours every week to see Jack, wondering if he really wants to come home, and what life would be like if he did.


title: The Starling

text: Prioritizing Jack's grief without managing her own, a counselor at Jack's hospital suggests Lilly see someone for her own mental health before Jack's release. This leads Lilly to the office of Larry Fine (Kevin Kline), a quirky psychiatrist-turned-veterinarian. They form a unique and unlikely bond as they help each other acknowledge and confront their problems. He helps her with the starling whilst embedding ways to help her grieve into their conversations. Lilly begins to become attached to the bird, and when she accidentally hits it with a stone and nearly kills it, she turns to Larry to help her revive the bird.


title: The Starling

text: When the bird recovers, Lilly lets it go. She and the bird start to tolerate each other instead of abusing one another.


title: The Starling

text: Jack returns home and they reconcile and work on their relationship, facing the world together. The film ends with them gardening watched by the starling, who still spends time in their yard.


title: The Starling

text: "The Starling" was on the 2005 "Black List" of most-liked unproduced screenplays. In March 2017, it was reported that Dome Karukoski was attached to direct the film, with Keanu Reeves and Isla Fisher in negotiations to star.


title: The Starling

text: In June 2019, it was announced that Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd would star in the film, with Theodore Melfi directing. The three previously worked together on "St. Vincent" (2014). In August 2019, Kevin Kline, Timothy Olyphant, Daveed Diggs, Skyler Gisondo, Loretta Devine, Laura Harrier, Rosalind Chao, and Kimberly Quinn joined the cast.


title: The Starling

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 19% based on 90 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Burying its talented cast and worthy themes under mounds of heavy-handed melodrama, "The Starling" is a turkey." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 31 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: The Starling

text: Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave the film a score of 1/5 stars, writing that the film "is so staggeringly peculiar and bad that it almost has some value as a kind of Dadaist event, a synthesis of non-meaning, a randomly generated heart-warmer movie that has come chuntering out of the printer as a result of an experimental computer program." Clarisse Loughrey of "The Independent" also gave the film a score of 1/5 stars, describing it as "an utterly bizarre, tonal misfire that fumbles through several ideas before implying that it's perfectly OK to berate the suicidal for being so suicidal", and wrote: "Not only are the jokes in Matt Harris's script badly timed, but they're also largely incomprehensible – there's an extended bit about a leg-humping dog and several caricatures of the mentally ill that all feel like half-remembered approximations of Oscar bait." Johanna Schneller of "The Globe and Mail" gave the film a score of 1.5/4 stars, writing: "Director Theodore Melfi, who did a fine job with "Hidden Figures", focuses his energies here on leaden metaphors, especially a persistent CGI starling, which represents … no one cares what." Caryn James of "The Hollywood Reporter" described the film as being "so slushily sentimental it makes the typical tearjerker look like a noir."


title: The Starling

text: Kevin Maher of "The Times" was more positive in his review of the film, giving it a score of 4/5 stars and writing: "The enjoyment of watching this modest melodrama is implicitly connected to a giddy acknowledgement that there remains a bold class of film-maker willing to blow $20 million on a low-key tale of grief for grown-ups." Adam Graham of "The Detroit News" gave the film a grade of B, writing that it "handles grief in a mature way that is relatable for adult viewers in the mood for a small film about human issues", and concluded that the film "isn't exactly subtle … but there is warmth and truth in its performances, particularly McCarthy and O'Dowd."


title: Powerage

text: Powerage is the fifth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1978. This was the band's first album to feature Cliff Williams on bass guitar, and it was also the first AC/DC album not to have a title track (aside from the Australia-only "High Voltage" album) and the first worldwide not to be released with a different album cover. "Powerage" was re-released in 2003 as part of the "AC/DC Remasters" series.


title: Powerage

text: After a 12-date European tour opening for Black Sabbath in April, bassist Mark Evans was fired from AC/DC on 3 May 1977. In the AC/DC memoir "AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll", former manager Michael Browning states, "I got a call one day from Malcolm and Angus. We were in London, I went to their apartment and they told me they wanted to get rid of Mark. Him and Angus didn't see eye to eye. They used to have a sort of tit-for-tat thing going, but nothing that I would have ever thought was going to be gig-threatening." According to Browning, the Young brothers were seriously considering Colin Pattenden of Manfred Mann's Earth Band fame. Browning feared that Pattenden was too old and didn't fit the band's image, so he instead pushed for Englishman Cliff Williams, who had previously played with Home and Bandit. Williams, who could also sing background vocals, passed the audition and was asked to join the band. In a 2011 interview with Joe Bosso that appears on MusicRadar, Evans reflected on his ousting from the group:


title: Powerage

text: The band finally toured America for the first time in the summer of 1977, focusing on smaller markets at first but eventually playing CBGB in New York City and the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. In December, they played a set in front of a small audience at Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City which was broadcast live over Radio WIOQ in Philadelphia and hosted by Ed Sciaky. The promotional album, "Live from the Atlantic Studios", was later released on the 1997 "Bonfire" box set. In early 1978, the band returned to Sydney to record their next album.


title: Powerage

text: According to the Murray Engleheart book "AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll", several songs that appeared on "Powerage" were started in July 1977 during the band's first rehearsals with Williams at Albert Studios, including "Kicked in the Teeth", "Up to My Neck in You", an early version of "Touch Too Much" (which later appeared on the follow up album "Highway to Hell"), and possibly "Riff Raff". The "Powerage" sessions officially got going in January 1978 and stretched over a period of about eight weeks. Atlantic Records executives in the United States complained that the album did not contain a radio-friendly single, so with the first pressings of "Powerage" ready to go in the UK, the band complied and recorded "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation". The song, which features handclaps and maracas and does not have a traditional guitar solo, was released in Britain at the end of May and reached #24, the best performance yet by an AC/DC single. However, "Powerage" was ultimately the final Bon Scott-era studio album the band recorded with the team of Harry Vanda and George Young, who had produced all of the band's albums up to that point (George was the older brother of Angus and Malcolm; he and Vanda had enjoyed their own pop success with the Easybeats in the 1960s), the feeling from Atlantic being that a more commercial producer might do wonders for the band's profile in the lucrative American market.


title: Powerage

text: Biographer Clinton Walker wrote in his 1994 Scott memoir "Highway to Hell", "'Gimme a Bullet' was perhaps Bon's most accomplished piece of writing to date, in which his penchant for hardcase metaphors finds even more genuine pathos and humour than it had before." "What's Next to the Moon", with its allusions to Casey Jones and Clark Kent, as well as the elusive "Gone Shootin'" and the unapologetic "Down Payment Blues" ("I know I ain't doin' much, but doin' nothin' means a lot to me"), clearly show that Scott's writing, much like the band's sound, had evolved from the novelties of the group's early albums. "Bon was a street poet – he described it as 'toilet wall' poetry," former AC/DC manager Michael Browning explained to Peter Watts of "Uncut" in 2013. "That was unknown. They signed a singer and got a lyricist, as well." "Sin City", which the band performed frequently in concert, explores the seductive charms and dangers of Las Vegas, while "Kicked in the Teeth" addresses a two-faced woman with "two-faced lies". In an interview with "Bass Frontiers", Cliff Williams recalls the sessions fondly: "The guys had already been in the studio for a while and we went in to do what turned out to be the "Powerage" album. Great work environment. Albert Studios there in Sydney was a great little rock and roll room... Great producers. Obviously a lot of chemistry there being brothers. Just a real fiery, energetic work environment. And we had about three weeks to do it, 'cause that's about all the money we had... It was really a tremendous experience."


title: Powerage

text: Many of AC/DC's early albums were altered for release in other markets, and this practice continued with "Powerage", although it was the first LP to be released nearly simultaneously in both Australian and international markets and the first to use just one cover image for both. However, the first UK pressing also includes different mixes than all later versions, most noticeably on "Down Payment Blues" (which excludes the bluesy coda heard on later pressings), "Kicked In The Teeth" (the opening chord was omitted on all other pressings but is present on the UK vinyl version) and "What's Next to the Moon" (which omits solos and backing vocals heard on later pressings). The European vinyl edition included "Cold Hearted Man", a song that was not previously released, and would not be released on any other AC/DC album until 2009's "AC/DC Backtracks" boxed set. The song became more widely available through the boxed set of Bon Scott-era vinyl LP albums in 1981. The song was packaged on a single-sided 12-inch single in the 1987 boxed set. In some territories, "Powerage" omitted "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" due to a rushed job in getting the LP to pressing plants in time for the release date, hence "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" (which was not yet completed) was omitted, "Cold Hearted Man" was added, and the rushed mixes are different from the 'finished' mixes that were thereafter used.


title: Powerage

text: While initial sales were somewhat disappointing, "Powerage" surpassed its predecessor, "Let There Be Rock", by reaching No. 133 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in the US, eventually achieving platinum certification. Eddie Van Halen and Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards have stated that "Powerage" remains their favourite AC/DC record. The album has remained a favourite of Malcolm Young, who was quoted in "AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll" as saying, "I know a lot of people respect it. A lot of real rock and roll AC/DC fans, the real pure rock and roll guys. I think that's the most under-rated album of them all."


title: Powerage

text: AllMusic gives "Powerage" a rating of three and a half out of five stars, stating that while "it is the most uneven of" AC/DC's 1970s material, the album still contained a "few genuine classics", specifically mentioning "Down Payment Blues" and "Up to My Neck in You". Edwin Faust of "Stylus Magazine" considers "Powerage" "AC/DC's best album... because it isn't simply about sex, drinking and tongue-in-cheek Satanism", but shows a band "growing up". In 1994, Bon Scott biographer Clinton Walker opined in his book "Highway to Hell" that "altogether, "Powerage" just seemed to lack the uncompromising coherence and relentless body and soul that was its predecessor's greatness." Band biographer Jesse Fink cites the album as containing "their best ever collection of songs" and deems it "a high point creatively for the three Youngs, an album arguably superior to the commercially successful Mutt Lange circuitbreakers that followed, "Highway to Hell" and "Back in Black"."


title: Powerage

text: In 2005, "Powerage" was ranked number 325 in "Rock Hard" magazine's book "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time". "Kerrang!" magazine listed the album at No. 26 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".


title: Powerage

text: "The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC" book claims that George Young played bass on all tracks, but Cliff Williams denied this in a 2020 interview.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Cefuroxime, sold under the brand name Zinacef among others, is a second-generation cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat and prevent a number of bacterial infections. These include pneumonia, meningitis, otitis media, sepsis, urinary tract infections, and Lyme disease. It is used by mouth or by injection into a vein or muscle.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, allergic reactions, and pain at the site of injection. Serious side effects may include "Clostridium difficile" infection, anaphylaxis, and Stevens–Johnson syndrome. Use in pregnancy and breastfeeding is believed to be safe. It is a second-generation cephalosporin and works by interfering with a bacteria's ability to make a cell wall resulting in its death.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Cefuroxime was patented in 1971, and approved for medical use in 1977. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In 2020, it was the 325th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 800thousand prescriptions.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Cefuroxime is active against many bacteria including susceptible strains of Staphylococci and Streptococci, as well as a range of gram negative organisms. As with the other cephalosporins, it is susceptible to beta-lactamase, although as a second-generation variety, it is less so. Hence, it may have greater activity against "Haemophilus influenzae", "Neisseria gonorrhoeae", and Lyme disease. Unlike other second-generation cephalosporins, cefuroxime can cross the blood–brain barrier.


title: Cefuroxime

text: A systematic review found high quality evidence that injecting the eye with cefuroxime after cataract surgery will lower the chance of developing endophthalmitis after surgery.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Cefuroxime is generally well tolerated, and its side effects are usually transient. If ingested after food, this antibiotic is both better absorbed and less likely to cause its most common side effects of diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headaches/migraines, dizziness, and abdominal pain compared to most antibiotics in its class.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Although a widely stated cross-allergic risk of about 10% exists between cephalosporins and penicillin, recent assessments have shown no increased risk for a cross-allergic reaction for cefuroxime and several other second-generation or later cephalosporins.


title: Cefuroxime

text: Cefuroxime axetil is an acetoxyethyl ester prodrug of cefuroxime which is effective when taken by mouth. It is a second-generation cephalosporin.


title: Cefuroxime

text: In the U.S. it is marketed as "Zinacef" by Covis Pharmaceuticals since the company acquired the U.S. rights to the product from GSK. GSK had continued marketing a pediatric oral suspension as "Ceftin"; however, this presentation was discontinued as of 24 June 2017.


title: Cefuroxime

text: In Bangladesh, it is available as "Kilbac" by Incepta, "Axim" by Aristopharma, "Rofurox" by Radiant and "Xorimax" by Sandoz. In India, it is available as "Ceftum" and "Cefuall" by Allencia Biosciences in tablet form and "Supacef" in injection form by GSK. In Poland, it is available as "Zamur" by Mepha, subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. In Australia, the "first generic" form of Cefuroxime axetil, "Pharmacor Cefuroxime" (tablets) from Pharmacor Pty Ltd, was registered on 27 March 2017, by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Cefuroxime axetil is also available (in two strengths) as granules for oral suspension from Aspen Pharmacare Australia Pty Ltd under the brand name "Zinnat cefuroxime".


title: Timer

text: The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices that do the opposite, measuring elapsed time by counting upwards from zero, are called stopwatches. A simple example of the first type is an hourglass. Working method timers have two main groups: hardware and software timers.


title: Timer

text: Mechanical use clockwork to measure time. Manual timers are typically set by turning a dial to the time interval desired; turning the dial stores energy in a mainspring to run the mechanism. They function similarly to a mechanical alarm clock; the energy in the mainspring causes a balance wheel to rotate back and forth. Each swing of the wheel releases the gear train to move forward by a small fixed amount, causing the dial to move steadily backward until it reaches zero when a lever arm strikes a bell. The mechanical kitchen timer was invented in 1926 called a "fan fly" that spins against air resistance; low-precision mechanical egg-timers are sometimes of this type.


title: Timer

text: The simplest and oldest type of mechanical timer is the hourglass - which is also known as "the glass of the hour" - in which a fixed amount of sand drains through a narrow opening from one chamber to another to measure a time interval.


title: Timer

text: Short-period bimetallic electromechanical timers use a thermal mechanism, with a metal finger made of strips of two metals with different rates of thermal expansion sandwiched together; steel and bronze are common. An electric current flowing through this finger causes heating of the metals, one side expands less than the other, and an electrical contact on the end of the finger moves away from or towards an electrical switch contact. The most common use of this type is in the "flasher" units that flash turn signals in automobiles, and sometimes in Christmas lights. This is a non-electronic type of multivibrator.


title: Timer

text: An electromechanical cam timer uses a small synchronous AC motor turning a cam against a comb of switch contacts. The AC motor is turned at an accurate rate by the alternating current, which power companies carefully regulate. Gears drive a shaft at the desired rate, and turn the cam. The most common application of this timer now is in washers, driers and dishwashers. This type of timer often has a friction clutch between the gear train and the cam, so that the cam can be turned to reset the time.


title: Timer

text: Electromechanical timers survive in these applications because mechanical switch contacts may still be less expensive than the semiconductor devices needed to control powerful lights, motors and heaters.


title: Timer

text: In the past, these electromechanical timers were often combined with electrical relays to create electro-mechanical controllers. Electromechanical timers reached a high state of development in the 1950s and 1960s because of their extensive use in aerospace and weapons systems. Programmable electromechanical timers controlled launch sequence events in early rockets and ballistic missiles. As digital electronics has progressed and dropped in price, electronic timers have become more advantageous.


title: Timer

text: Electronic timers are essentially quartz clocks with special electronics, and can achieve higher precision than mechanical timers. Electronic timers have digital electronics, but may have an analog or digital display. Integrated circuits have made digital logic so inexpensive that an electronic timer is now less expensive than many mechanical and electromechanical timers. Individual timers are implemented as a simple single-chip computer system, similar to a watch and usually using the same, mass-produced, technology.


title: Timer

text: Many timers are now implemented in software. Modern controllers use a programmable logic controller (PLC) rather than a box full of electromechanical parts. The logic is usually designed as if it were relays, using a special computer language called ladder logic. In PLCs, timers are usually simulated by the software built into the controller. Each timer is just an entry in a table maintained by the software.


title: Timer

text: Computer systems usually have at least one hardware timer. These are typically digital counters that either increment or decrement at a fixed frequency, which is often configurable, and which interrupt the processor when reaching zero. An alternative design uses a counter with a sufficiently large word size that it will not reach its overflow limit before the end of life of the system.


title: Timer

text: More sophisticated timers may have comparison logic to compare the timer value against a specific value, set by software, that triggers some action when the timer value matches the preset value. This might be used, for example, to measure events or generate pulse-width modulated waveforms to control the speed of motors (using a class D digital electronic amplifier).


title: Timer

text: One specialist use of hardware timers in computer systems is as watchdog timers, which are designed to perform a hardware reset of the system if the software fails.


title: Timer

text: These types of timers are not devices nor parts of devices; they exist only as software. They rely on the accuracy of a clock generator usually built into a hardware device that runs the software.


title: Timer

text: Due to the increasing popularity of mobile phones, many timer apps have been developed that mimic the old mechanical timer, but which have also highly sophisticated functions. These apps are also easier to use, because they are available at once, without any need to purchase or carry separate devices. Timers can be software applications phones, smartwatches, or tablets. Some of these apps are countdown timers, stopwatch timers, etc. These timer apps can be used for tracking working or training time, motivating children to do tasks, replacing an hourglass-form egg timer in board games such as Boggle, or for the traditional purpose of tracking time when cooking and baking.


title: Timer

text: Apps may be superior to hour glasses, or to mechanical timers. Hour glasses are not precise and clear, and they can jam. Mechanical timers lack the customization that applications support, such as sound volume adjustments for individual needs. Most applications will also offer selectable alarm sounds.


title: Timer

text: Some timer applications can help children to understand the concept of time, help them to finish tasks in time, and help them to get motivated. These applications are especially used with children with disabilities like ADHD, Down syndrome, etc., but everybody else can also benefit from them.


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to , Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Named an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts (), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia.


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles. Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture. The Epistle of Barnabas was ascribed to him by Clement of Alexandria and others in the early church and the epistle is included under his name in Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest extant manuscript of the complete New Testament. A few modern scholars concur with this traditional attribution but it is presently a minority view.


title: Barnabas

text: Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The feast day of Barnabas is celebrated on June 11.


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas is usually identified as the cousin of Mark the Evangelist on the basis of the term used in Colossians 4, which carries the connotation of "cousin." Orthodox tradition holds that Aristobulus of Britannia, one of the Seventy Disciples, was the brother of Barnabas.


title: Barnabas

text: His Hellenic Jewish parents called him Joseph (although the Byzantine text-type calls him , , 'Joses', a Greek variant of 'Joseph'), but when recounting the story of how he sold his land and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem, the Book of Acts says the apostles called him Barnabas. (The "s" at the end is the Greek nominative case ending, and it is not present in the Aramaic form.) The Greek text of explains the name as , , meaning "son of encouragement" or "son of consolation". One theory is that this is from the Aramaic , , meaning 'son (of) consolation'. Another is that it is related to the Hebrew word (, Aramaic ) meaning "prophet". In the Syriac Bible, the phrase "son of consolation" is translated .


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas appears mainly in Acts, a history of the early Christian church. He also appears in several of Paul's epistles.


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas, a native of Cyprus and a Levite, is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem, who sold the land that he owned and gave the proceeds to the community. When the future Paul the Apostle returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas introduced him to the apostles. Easton, in his Bible Dictionary, supposes that they had been fellow students in the school of Gamaliel.


title: Barnabas

text: The successful preaching of Christianity at Antioch to non-Jews led the church at Jerusalem to send Barnabas there to oversee the movement. He found the work so extensive and weighty that he went to Tarsus in search of Paul (still referred to as Saul), "an admirable colleague", to assist him. Paul returned with him to Antioch and labored with him for a whole year. At the end of this period, the two were sent up to Jerusalem (44 AD) with contributions from the church at Antioch for the relief of the poorer Christians in Judea.


title: Barnabas

text: They returned to Antioch taking John Mark with them, the cousin or nephew of Barnabas. Later, they went to Cyprus and some of the principal cities of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. After recounting what the governor of Cyprus Sergius Paulus believed, Acts 13:9 speaks of Barnabas's spiritual brother no longer as Saul, but as Paul, his Roman name, and generally refers to the two no longer as "Barnabas and Saul" as heretofore, but as "Paul and Barnabas". Only in Acts 14:14 and Acts 15:12–25 does Barnabas again occupy the first place, in the first passage with recollection of Acts 14:12, in the last 2, because Barnabas stood in closer relation to the Jerusalem church than Paul. Paul appears as the more eloquent missionary, whence the Lystrans regarded him as Hermes and Barnabas as Zeus.


title: Barnabas

text: Acts 14:14 is also the unique biblical topic where Saint Barnabas is called with the Greek word for Apostle.


title: Barnabas

text: Returning from this first missionary journey to Antioch, they were again sent up to Jerusalem to consult with the church there regarding the relation of Gentiles to the church. According to Galatians 2:9–10, Barnabas was included with Paul in the agreement made between them, on the one hand, and James, Peter, and John, on the other, that the two former should in the future preach to the pagans, not forgetting the poor at Jerusalem. This matter having been settled, they returned again to Antioch, bringing the agreement of the council that Gentiles were to be admitted into the church without having to adopt Jewish practices.


title: Barnabas

text: After they had returned to Antioch from the Jerusalem council, they spent some time there. Peter came and associated freely there with the Gentiles, eating with them, until criticized for this by some disciples of James, as against Mosaic law. Upon their remonstrances, Peter yielded apparently through fear of displeasing them, and refused to eat any longer with the Gentiles. Barnabas followed his example. Paul considered that they "walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" and upbraided them before the whole church. In Galatians 2:11–13, Paul says, "And when Kephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews (also) acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy."


title: Barnabas

text: Paul then asked Barnabas to accompany him on another journey. Barnabas wished to take John Mark along, but Paul did not, as he had left them on the earlier journey. The dispute ended by Paul and Barnabas taking separate routes. Paul took Silas as his companion, and journeyed through Syria and Cilicia; while Barnabas took John Mark to visit Cyprus.


title: Barnabas

text: Little is known of the subsequent career of Barnabas. He was still living and labouring as an Apostle in 56 or 57, when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (9:5–6), in which it is stated that he, too, like Paul, earned his own living. The reference indicates also that the friendship between the two was unimpaired. When Paul was a prisoner in Rome (61–63), John Mark was attached to him as a disciple, which is regarded as an indication that Barnabas was no longer living (Colossians 4:10).


title: Barnabas

text: Antioch, the third-most important city of the Roman Empire, then the capital city of Syria province, today Antakya, Turkey, was where Christians were first called thus.


title: Barnabas

text: Some of those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went to Antioch, which became the site of an early Christian community. A considerable minority of the Antioch church of Barnabas's time belonged to the merchant class, and they provided support to the poorer Jerusalem church.


title: Barnabas

text: Church tradition developed outside of the canon of the New Testament describes the martyrdom of many saints, including the legend of the martyrdom of Barnabas. It relates that certain Jews coming to Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then preaching the gospel, being highly exasperated at his extraordinary success, fell upon him as he was disputing in the synagogue, dragged him out, and, after the most inhumane tortures, stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, who was a spectator of this barbarous action, privately interred his body.


title: Barnabas

text: Although it is believed he was martyred by being stoned, the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas states that he was bound with a rope by the neck, and then being dragged only to the site where he would be burned to death.


title: Barnabas

text: According to the "History of the Cyprus Church", in 478 Barnabas appeared in a dream to the Archbishop Anthemios of Cyprus and revealed to him the place of his sepulchre beneath a carob-tree. The following day Anthemios found the tomb and inside it the remains of Barnabas with a manuscript of Matthew's Gospel on his breast. Anthemios presented the Gospel to Emperor Zeno at Constantinople and received from him the privileges of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, that is, the purple cloak which the Greek Archbishop of Cyprus wears at festivals of the church, the imperial sceptre and the red ink with which he affixes his signature.


title: Barnabas

text: Anthemios then placed the venerable remains of Barnabas in a church which he founded near the tomb. Excavations near the site of a present-day church and monastery, have revealed an early church with two empty tombs, believed to be that of St. Barnabas and Anthemios.


title: Barnabas

text: St. Barnabas is venerated as the patron saint of Cyprus. He is also considered a patron saint in many other places in the world, highlighting


title: Barnabas

text: Milan in Italy. On the island of Tenerife (Spain), St. Barnabas was invoked in historical times as patron saint and protector of the island's fields against drought, together with St. Benedict of Nursia.


title: Barnabas

text: Although many assume that the biblical Mark the cousin of Barnabas is the same as John Mark and Mark the Evangelist, the traditionally believed author of the Gospel of Mark, they are listed as three distinct people in Pseudo-Hippolytus' "On the Seventy Apostles of Christ," which includes Barnabas himself as one of the Seventy-Two Disciples. There are two people named Barnabas among Hippolytus' list of Seventy Disciples, One (#13) became the bishop of Milan, the other (#25) the bishop of Heraclea. Most likely one of these two is the biblical Barnabas; the first one is more likely, because the numbering by Hippolytus seems to indicate a level of significance, and Barnabas is traditionally credited with founding the apostolic see of Milan. Clement of Alexandria also makes Barnabas one of the Seventy Disciples that are mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.


title: Barnabas

text: Other sources bring Barnabas to Rome and Alexandria. In the "Clementine Recognitions" (i, 7) he is depicted as preaching in Rome even during Christ's lifetime.


title: Barnabas

text: Cypriots developed the tradition of his later activity and martyrdom no earlier than the 3rd century. The question whether Barnabas was an apostle was often discussed during the Middle Ages.


title: Barnabas

text: Tertullian and other Western writers regard Barnabas as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. This may have been the Roman tradition—which Tertullian usually follows—and in Rome the epistle may have had its first readers. Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown, though Barnabas amongst others has been proposed as potential authors.


title: Barnabas

text: “Photius of the ninth century, refers to some in his day who were uncertain whether the Acts was written by Clement of Rome, Barnabas, or Luke. Yet Photius is certain that the work must be ascribed to Luke.”


title: Barnabas

text: He is also traditionally associated with the Epistle of Barnabas, although some modern scholars think it more likely that the epistle was written in Alexandria in the 130s. John Dominic Crossan quotes Koester as stating that New Testament writings are used "neither explicitly nor tacitly" in the Epistle of Barnabas and that this "would argue for an early date, perhaps even before the end of the first century AD." Crossan continues (The Cross that Spoke, p. 121):


title: Barnabas

text: Richardson and Shukster have also argued for a first-century date. Among several arguments they point to the detail of "a little king, who shall subdue three of the kings under one" and "a little crescent horn, and that it subdued under one three of the great horns" in Barnabas 4:4–5. They propose a composition "date during or immediately after the reign of Nerva (96–8 AD.) . . . viewed as bringing to an end the glorious Flavian dynasty of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian . . . when a powerful, distinguished, and successful dynasty was brought low, humiliated by an assassin's knife" (33, 40).


title: Barnabas

text: In 16:3–4, the Epistle of Barnabas says: "Furthermore he says again, 'Lo, they who destroyed this temple shall themselves build it.' That is happening now. For owing to the war it was destroyed by the enemy; at present even the servants of the enemy will build it up again." This clearly places Barnabas after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. But it also places Barnabas before the Bar Kochba revolt in 132 AD, after which there could have been no hope that the Romans would help to rebuild the temple. This shows that the document comes from the period between these two revolts.


title: Barnabas

text: Since Barnabas 16:3 refers to the destruction of the temple, Barnabas must be written after 70 C.E. It must be written before its first indisputable use in Clement of Alexandria, ca. 190. Since 16:4 expects the temple to be rebuilt, it was most likely written before Hadrian built a Roman temple on the site ca. 135. Attempts to use 4:4–5 and 16:1–5 to specify the time of origin more exactly have not won wide agreement. It is important to remember that traditions of varying ages have been incorporated into this work.


title: Barnabas

text: Barnabas does not give enough indications to permit confident identification of either the teacher's location or the location to which he writes. His thought, hermeneutical methods, and style have many parallels throughout the known Jewish and Christian worlds. Most scholars have located the work's origin in the area of Alexandria, on the grounds that it has many affinities with Alexandrian Jewish and Christian thought and because its first witnesses are Alexandrian. Recently, Prigent (Prigent and Kraft 1971: 20–24), Wengst (1971: 114–18), and Scorza Barcellona (1975: 62–65) have suggested other origins based on affinities in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor. The place of origin must remain an open question, although the Greek-speaking E. Mediterranean appears most probable.


title: Barnabas

text: Although Barnabas 4:14 appears to quote Matt 22:14, it must remain an open question whether the Barnabas circle knew written gospels. Based on Koester's analysis (1957: 125–27, 157), it appears more likely that Barnabas stood in the living oral tradition used by the written gospels. For example, the reference to gall and vinegar in Barnabas 7:3, 5 seems to preserve an early stage of tradition that influenced the formation of the passion narratives in the Gospel of Peter and the synoptic gospels.


title: Barnabas

text: The 5th century "Decretum Gelasianum" includes a "Gospel of Barnabas" amongst works condemned as apocryphal; but no certain text or quotation from this work has been identified.


title: Barnabas

text: Another book using that same title, the Gospel of Barnabas, survives in two post-medieval manuscripts in Italian and Spanish. Contrary to the canonical Christian Gospels, and in accordance with the Islamic view of Jesus, this later Gospel of Barnabas states that Jesus was not the son of God, but a prophet and messenger.


title: Barnabas

text: In 1538, the Catholic religious order officially known as "Clerics Regular of St. Paul" ("Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli"), gained the grand old Monastery of Saint Barnabas by the city wall of Milan as their main seat. The Order was thenceforth known by the popular name of "Barnabites".


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information. It describes its mission, "vital to US national interests", to "inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy". It is considered an arm of US diplomacy.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The USAGM supervises Voice of America (VOA) and Office of Cuba Broadcasting as well as state-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Open Technology Fund. The board of USAGM has an advisory role. It previously supervised USAGM media networks directly, but was replaced with a single appointed chief executive officer (CEO) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, passed in December 2016.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The BBG was formed in 1994 with the passing of the International Broadcasting Act. The act established a bipartisan board that consisted of nine voting members, eight of whom were to be appointed by the President for a three–year term. The ninth was the Secretary of State, also a political appointee, who would serve as an "ex officio" board member for the duration of their term as secretary. At this point, BBG was considered a part of the U.S. Information Agency.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The first voting members of the BBG, confirmed on August 11, 1995, were David W. Burke, Ted Kaufman, Tom C. Korologos, Bette Bao Lord, Alberto J. Mora, Cheryl Halpern, Marc Nathanson, and Carl Spielvogel.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: On October 1, 1999, the BBG was established as an independent agency by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act. Despite this change, the act required that the BBG would remain under the supervision of the Inspector General of the State Department and the Foreign Service.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In 2002, BBG launched Radio Sawa, a 24/7 Arabic language radio network that broadcasts news and a mix of Western and Arabic music in the Middle East.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In 2004, Alhurra TV was created as a televised sister network to Radio Sawa and began broadcasting throughout the Middle East. Since its founding, it has established programs such as "Al Youm" ("Today" in English), a daily three-hour news program broadcast from five countries on three different continents; and "Musawat" ("Equality" in English), a program that focuses on women's issues and rights in the Arab world.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In 2005, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, Inc (MBN) was initiated to oversee Arabic broadcasts. Under MBN, Arabic broadcasting had expanded, including the 2009 establishment of the program "Al Youm", expanding programming in Egypt, and covering the Iraq War, the first Egyptian democratic elections, Arab viewpoints on U.S. elections, and more.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: Other networks were also expanded under the BBG. Voice of America worked with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to launch Radio Farda, a Persian-language radio program targeting youth. In 2006, VOA initiated TV Ashna, a one-hour televised news broadcast, and Radio Deewa, a daily radio program of sports, music, and local and international news.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In a January 2015 interview with "The New York Times", the then newly appointed CEO of the BBG, Andrew Lack, said "We are facing a number of challenges from entities like Russia Today which is out there pushing a point of view, the Islamic State in the Middle East and groups like Boko Haram." State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki clarified Lack's statement in her January 23 press briefing, saying "would the U.S. Government put those three in the same category? No, we wouldn’t. However, there are concerns...that Russia’s own independent media space is shrinking and the Kremlin continues to apply pressure on the few remaining outlets."


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: On January 20, 2021, Taiwanese journalist Kelu Chao was appointed acting CEO of the USAGM, replacing outgoing CEO Michael Pack.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: USAGM is led by a single Chief Executive Officer appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Until 2016, it was headed by a bi-partisan board with nine members; eight were appointed by the President with Senate confirmation, and the ninth member "ex officio" was the Secretary of State. By law, no more than four members could be from the same political party, in an effort to limit partisanship. The president designated one member (other than the Secretary of State) to serve as Chairman. The Board served as a "firewall" against political interference in the journalistic product.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: But, upon the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 on 23 December 2016 the agency was placed under the direction of a single CEO. The board, officially renamed as the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, was reduced to five members appointed by the President to serve in an advisory role. (Previously appointed board members in excess of five could continue to serve, but would not be replaced when their term expired.) Under the 2016 reform legislation, any new agency CEO is to be nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate with authority to select key agency personnel. Former USAGM CEO John F. Lansing, who had been selected and approved in 2015 by the BBG Board holding a Democratic majority during the Obama administration, was not nominated by President Obama nor confirmed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, as this was not required under previous legislation.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In June 2018, President Trump announced his intention to nominate documentary film producer Michael Pack to head the agency. He was confirmed by the Senate two years later, and served from June 5, 2020 until January 20, 2021, when he was asked to resign at the request of newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In October 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report about USAGM’s organization.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The BBG solicited annual funding from Congress via a proposed budget summary, which can be found on the BBG website. The Board submitted an annual budget submission in which they lay out specific initiatives. Initiatives in 2011 included improving the global satellite distribution capacity, creating Radio Free Asia video programming and improving distribution of Voice of America content.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: Announced in April 2011, the BBG received $10 million from Congress for the purpose of fighting Internet censorship. During the federal funding dispute for the fiscal year 2011, President Barack Obama sided with the BBG agreeing to language that the organization would "expand unrestricted access to information on the Internet." This work includes anti-censorship campaigns in China and other countries.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: The agency has $2 million earmarked to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests through the Open Technology Fund. This funding was frozen in June 2020 as China was preparing to introduce a new national security law for Hong Kong.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In February 2010, BBG Executive Director Jeff Trimble collaborated with the National Security Council to publish a VOA statement about Iran's jamming of international satellites. In an email to "Foreign Policy" magazine, BBG's Public Affairs Director responded to the controversy, stating "the BBG 'firewall' served to protect the integrity and credibility of our journalistic products. An official policy statement by a senior management official of the agency is not a journalistic product."


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: Later that year, Senator Tom Coburn held up the Obama administration's appointments of Michael P. Meehan and Dana Perino to the board, with the aim of drawing attention to the organization's perceived ineffectiveness, stating in an interview with "Foreign Policy" magazine: "The BBG is the most worthless organization in the federal government. It's full of people who know nothing about media or foreign policy." Senator Jim DeMint also attempted to use the nominations to force a hearing on the BBG after frustrations with a perceived lack of congressional oversight over the organization. Coburn had written an open letter to then–Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in August 2010 citing "longstanding concerns regarding transparency and effectiveness of our taxpayer funded international broadcasting agencies under the purview of the Broadcasting Board of Governors." Though a report on BBG was eventually given to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Coburn was ultimately unsuccessful in trying to block the appointments to the board.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In July 2016, the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Jeff Shell, was denied entry into Russia. Matt Novak, writing for the tech website "Gizmodo", referred to the BBG as the "propaganda arm" of the U.S. government and speculated that its alleged role in spreading propaganda on behalf of the U.S. government was the reason Shell was denied entry to Russia.


title: U.S. Agency for Global Media

text: In 2018, "The New York Times" reported that the Agency had targeted Americans with Facebook ads for one of its outlets, which would violate the Smith–Mundt Act, a law "to protect Americans from domestic propaganda".


title: Evil

text: Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generally seen as taking multiple possible forms, such as the form of personal moral evil commonly associated with the word, or impersonal natural evil (as in the case of natural disasters or illnesses), and in religious thought, the form of the demonic or supernatural/eternal. While some religions, world views, and philosophies focus on "good versus evil", others deny evil's existence and usefulness in describing people.


title: Evil

text: Evil can denote profound immorality, but typically not without some basis in the understanding of the human condition, where strife and suffering (cf. Hinduism) are the true roots of evil. In certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives. Elements that are commonly associated with personal forms of evil involve unbalanced behavior including anger, revenge, hatred, psychological trauma, expediency, selfishness, ignorance, destruction and neglect.


title: Evil

text: In some forms of thought, evil is also sometimes perceived as the dualistic antagonistic binary opposite to good, in which good should prevail and evil should be defeated. In cultures with Buddhist spiritual influence, both good and evil are perceived as part of an antagonistic duality that itself must be overcome through achieving "Nirvana". The ethical questions regarding good and evil are subsumed into three major areas of study: meta-ethics concerning the nature of good and evil, normative ethics concerning how we ought to behave, and applied ethics concerning particular moral issues. While the term is applied to events and conditions without agency, the forms of evil addressed in this article presume one or more evildoers.


title: Evil

text: The modern English word "evil" (Old English ) and its cognates such as the German and Dutch are widely considered to come from a Proto-Germanic reconstructed form of "*ubilaz", comparable to the Hittite "huwapp-" ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European form and suffixed zero-grade form . Other later Germanic forms include Middle English , , , Old Frisian (adjective and noun), Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic .


title: Evil

text: The root meaning of the word is of obscure origin though shown to be akin to modern German "übel" (noun: "", although the noun "evil" is normally translated as "das Böse") with the basic idea of social or religious transgression.


title: Evil

text: As with Buddhism, in Confucianism or Taoism there is no direct analogue to the way "good and evil" are opposed although reference to "demonic influence" is common in Chinese folk religion. Confucianism's primary concern is with correct social relationships and the behavior appropriate to the learned or superior man. Thus "evil" would correspond to wrong behavior. Still less does it map into Taoism, in spite of the centrality of dualism in that system, but the opposite of the cardinal virtues of Taoism, compassion, moderation, and humility can be inferred to be the analogue of evil in it.


title: Evil

text: Spinoza assumes a quasi-mathematical style and states these further propositions which he purports to prove or demonstrate from the above definitions in part IV of his "Ethics":


title: Evil

text: Carl Jung, in his book "Answer to Job" and elsewhere, depicted evil as the dark side of God. People tend to believe evil is something external to them, because they project their shadow onto others. Jung interpreted the story of Jesus as an account of God facing his own shadow.


title: Evil

text: In 2007, Philip Zimbardo suggested that people may act in evil ways as a result of a collective identity. This hypothesis, based on his previous experience from the Stanford prison experiment, was published in the book "The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil".


title: Evil

text: In 1961, Stanley Milgram began an experiment to help explain how thousands of ordinary, non-deviant, people could have reconciled themselves to a role in the Holocaust. Participants were led to believe they were assisting in an unrelated experiment in which they had to inflict electric shocks on another person. The experiment unexpectedly found that most could be led to inflict the electric shocks, including shocks that would have been fatal if they had been real. The participants tended to be uncomfortable and reluctant in the role. Nearly all stopped at some point to question the experiment, but most continued after being reassured.


title: Evil

text: A 2014 re-assessment of Milgram's work argued that the results should be interpreted with the "engaged followership" model: that people are not simply obeying the orders of a leader, but instead are willing to continue the experiment because of their desire to support the scientific goals of the leader and because of a lack of identification with the learner. Thomas Blass argues that the experiment explains how people can be complicit in roles such as "the dispassionate bureaucrat who may have shipped Jews to Auschwitz with the same degree of routinization as potatoes to Bremerhaven". However, like James Waller, he argues that it cannot explain an event like the Holocaust. Unlike the perpetrators of the Holocaust, the participants in Milgram's experiment were reassured that their actions would cause little harm and had little time to contemplate their actions.


title: Evil

text: The Baháʼí Faith asserts that evil is non-existent and that it is a concept reflecting lack of good, just as cold is the state of no heat, darkness is the state of no light, forgetfulness the lacking of memory, ignorance the lacking of knowledge. All of these are states of lacking and have no real existence.


title: Evil

text: Thus, evil does not exist and is relative to man. `Abdu'l-Bahá, son of the founder of the religion, in Some Answered Questions states:


title: Evil

text: "Nevertheless a doubt occurs to the mind—that is, scorpions and serpents are poisonous. Are they good or evil, for they are existing beings? Yes, a scorpion is evil in relation to man; a serpent is evil in relation to man; but in relation to themselves they are not evil, for their poison is their weapon, and by their sting they defend themselves."


title: Evil

text: Thus, evil is more of an intellectual concept than a true reality. Since God is good, and upon creating creation he confirmed it by saying it is Good (Genesis 1:31) evil cannot have a true reality.


title: Evil

text: Christian theology draws its concept of evil from the Old and New Testaments. The Christian Bible exercises "the dominant influence upon ideas about God and evil in the Western world." In the Old Testament, evil is understood to be an opposition to God as well as something unsuitable or inferior such as the leader of the fallen angels Satan In the New Testament the Greek word "poneros" is used to indicate unsuitability, while "kakos" is used to refer to opposition to God in the human realm. Officially, the Catholic Church extracts its understanding of evil from its canonical antiquity and the Dominican theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who in "Summa Theologica" defines evil as the absence or privation of good. French-American theologian Henri Blocher describes evil, when viewed as a theological concept, as an "unjustifiable reality. In common parlance, evil is 'something' that occurs in the experience that "ought not to be"."


title: Evil

text: There is no concept of absolute evil in Islam, as a fundamental universal principle that is independent from and equal with good in a dualistic sense. Although the Quran mentions the biblical forbidden tree, it never refers to it as the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil'. Within Islam, it is considered essential to believe that all comes from God, whether it is perceived as good or bad by individuals; and things that are perceived as "evil" or "bad" are either natural events (natural disasters or illnesses) or caused by humanity's free will. Much more the behavior of beings with free will, then they disobey God's orders, harming others or putting themselves over God or others, is considered to be evil. Evil does not necessarily refer to evil as an ontological or moral category, but often to harm or as the intention and consequence of an action, but also to unlawfull actions.


title: Evil

text: A typical understanding of evil is reflected by Al-Ash`ari founder of Asharism. Accordingly, qualifying something as evil depends on the circumstances of the observer. An event or an action itself is neutral, but it receives its qualification by God. Since God is omnipotent and nothing can exist outside of God's power, God's will determine, whether or not something is evil.


title: Evil

text: In Judaism, evil is per se not part of God's creation, but comes into existence through man's bad actions.


title: Evil

text: Evil in the religion of ancient Egypt is known as "Isfet", "disorder/violence". It is the opposite of "Maat", "order", and embodied by the serpent god Apep, who routinely attempts to kill the sun god Ra and is stopped by nearly every other deity. Isfet is not a primordial force, but the consequence of free will and an individual's struggle against the non-existence embodied by Apep, as evidenced by the fact that it was born from Ra's umbilical cord instead of being recorded in the religion's creation myths.


title: Evil

text: The primal duality in Buddhism is between suffering and enlightenment, so the good vs. evil splitting has no direct analogue in it. One may infer from the general teachings of the Buddha that the catalogued causes of suffering are what correspond in this belief system to 'evil'.


title: Evil

text: Practically this can refer to 1) the three selfish emotions—desire, hate and delusion; and 2) to their expression in physical and verbal actions. Specifically, "evil" means whatever harms or obstructs the causes for happiness in this life, a better rebirth, liberation from samsara, and the true and complete enlightenment of a buddha (samyaksambodhi).


title: Evil

text: "What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil: envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil." Gautama Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism, 563–483 BC.


title: Evil

text: In Hinduism, the concept of [[Dharma]] or righteousness clearly divides the world into [[Good and evil#Hinduism|good and evil]], and clearly explains that wars have to be waged sometimes to establish and protect Dharma, this war is called [[Dharmayuddha]]. This division of good and evil is of major importance in both the Hindu epics of [[Ramayana]] and [[Mahabharata]]. The main emphasis in [[Hinduism]] is on bad action, rather than bad people. The Hindu holy text, the [[Bhagavad Gita]], speaks of the balance of good and evil. When this balance goes off, divine incarnations come to help to restore this balance.


title: Evil

text: In adherence to the core principle of spiritual evolution, the Sikh idea of evil changes depending on one's position on the path to liberation. At the beginning stages of spiritual growth, good and evil may seem neatly separated. Once one's spirit evolves to the point where it sees most clearly, the idea of evil vanishes and the truth is revealed. In his writings [[Guru Arjan]] explains that, because God is the source of all things, what we believe to be evil must too come from God. And because God is ultimately a source of absolute good, nothing truly evil can originate from God.


title: Evil

text: Sikhism, like many other religions, does incorporate a list of "vices" from which suffering, corruption, and abject negativity arise. These are known as the [[Five Thieves]], called such due to their propensity to cloud the mind and lead one astray from the prosecution of righteous action. These are:


title: Evil

text: One who gives in to the temptations of the [[Five Thieves]] is known as "[[Manmukh]]", or someone who lives selfishly and without virtue. Inversely, the "[[Gurmukh]], who thrive in their reverence toward divine knowledge, rise above vice via the practice of the high virtues of Sikhism. These are:


title: Evil

text: A fundamental question is whether there is a universal, transcendent definition of evil, or whether one's definition of evil is determined by one's social or cultural background. [[C. S. Lewis]], in "[[The Abolition of Man]]", maintained that there are certain acts that are universally considered evil, such as [[rape]] and [[murder]]. However, the rape of women, by men, is found in every society, and there are more societies that see at least some versions of it, such as marital rape or punitive rape, as normative than there are societies that see all rape as non-normative (a crime). In nearly all societies, killing except for defense or duty is seen as murder. Yet the definition of defense and duty varies from one society to another. Social deviance is not uniformly defined across different cultures, and is not, in all circumstances, necessarily an aspect of evil.


title: Evil

text: Defining evil is complicated by its multiple, often ambiguous, common usages: evil is used to describe the whole range of suffering, including that caused by nature, and it is also used to describe the full range of human immorality from the "evil of genocide to the evil of malicious gossip". It is sometimes thought of as the generic opposite of good. [[Marcus Singer]] asserts that these common connotations must be set aside as overgeneralized ideas that do not sufficiently describe the nature of evil.


title: Evil

text: In contemporary philosophy, there are two basic concepts of evil: a broad concept and a narrow concept. A broad concept defines evil simply as any and all pain and suffering: "any bad state of affairs, wrongful action, or character flaw". Yet, it is also asserted that evil cannot be correctly understood "(as some of the utilitarians once thought) [on] a simple hedonic scale on which pleasure appears as a plus, and pain as a minus". This is because pain is necessary for survival. Renowned orthopedist and missionary to lepers, [[Paul Brand (physician)|Dr. Paul Brand]] explains that leprosy attacks the nerve cells that feel pain resulting in no more pain for the leper, which leads to ever increasing, often catastrophic, damage to the body of the leper. Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia, is a neurological disorder that prevents feeling pain. It "leads to ... bone fractures, multiple scars, osteomyelitis, joint deformities, and limb amputation ... Mental retardation is common. Death from hyperpyrexia occurs within the first 3 years of life in almost 20% of the patients." Few with the disorder are able to live into adulthood. Evil cannot be simply defined as all pain and its connected suffering because, as Marcus Singer says: "If something is really evil, it can't be necessary, and if it is really necessary, it can't be evil".


title: Evil

text: The narrow concept of evil involves moral condemnation, therefore it is ascribed only to moral agents and their actions. This eliminates natural disasters and animal suffering from consideration as evil: according to [[Claudia Card]], "When not guided by moral agents, forces of nature are neither "goods" nor "evils". They just are. Their "agency" routinely produces consequences vital to some forms of life and lethal to others". The narrow definition of evil "picks out only the most morally despicable sorts of actions, characters, events, etc. "Evil" [in this sense] ... is the worst possible term of opprobrium imaginable”. [[Eve Garrard]] suggests that evil describes "particularly horrifying kinds of action which we feel are to be contrasted with more ordinary kinds of wrongdoing, as when for example we might say 'that action wasn't just wrong, it was positively evil'. The implication is that there is a qualitative, and not merely quantitative, difference between evil acts and other wrongful ones; evil acts are not just very bad or wrongful acts, but rather ones possessing some specially horrific quality". In this context, the concept of evil is one element in a full nexus of moral concepts.


title: Evil

text: Views on the nature of evil belong to the branch of philosophy known as [[ethics]]—which in modern philosophy is subsumed into three major areas of study:


title: Evil

text: There is debate on how useful the term "evil" is, since it is often associated with spirits and the devil. Some see the term as useless because they say it lacks any real ability to explain what it names. There is also real danger of the harm that being labeled "evil" can do when used in moral, political, and legal contexts. Those who support the usefulness of the term say there is a secular view of evil that offers plausible analyses without reference to the supernatural. Garrard and Russell argue that evil is as useful an explanation as any moral concept. Garrard adds that evil actions result from a particular kind of motivation, such as taking pleasure in the suffering of others, and this distinctive motivation provides a partial explanation even if it does not provide a complete explanation. Most theorists agree use of the term evil can be harmful but disagree over what response that requires. Some argue it is "more dangerous to ignore evil than to try to understand it".


title: Evil

text: Those who support the usefulness of the term, such as Eve Garrard and [[David McNaughton]], argue that the term evil "captures a distinct part of our moral phenomenology, specifically, 'collect[ing] together those wrongful actions to which we have ... a response of moral horror'." Claudia Card asserts it is only by understanding the nature of evil that we can preserve humanitarian values and prevent evil in the future. If evils are the worst sorts of moral wrongs, social policy should focus limited energy and resources on reducing evil over other wrongs. Card asserts that by categorizing certain actions and practices as evil, we are better able to recognize and guard against responding to evil with more evil which will "interrupt cycles of hostility generated by past evils".


title: Evil

text: One school of thought holds that no "person" is evil and that only "acts" may be properly considered evil. Some theorists define an evil action simply as a kind of action an evil person performs. But just as many theorists believe that an evil character is one who is inclined toward evil acts.


title: Evil

text: Luke Russell argues that both evil actions and evil feelings are necessary to identify a person as evil, while [[Daniel Haybron]] argues that evil feelings and evil motivations are necessary.


title: Evil

text: American psychiatrist [[M. Scott Peck]] describes evil as a kind of personal "militant ignorance". According to Peck, an evil person is consistently self-deceiving, deceives others, [[psychological projection|psychologically projects]] his or her evil onto very specific targets, hates, abuses power, and lies incessantly. Evil people are unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim. Peck considers those he calls evil to be attempting to escape and hide from their own conscience (through self-deception) and views this as being quite distinct from the apparent absence of conscience evident in [[Psychopathy|sociopaths]]. He also considers that certain institutions may be evil, using the [[My Lai Massacre]] to illustrate. By this definition, acts of [[terrorism|criminal]] and [[state terrorism]] would also be considered evil.


title: Evil

text: [[Martin Luther]] argued that there are cases where a little evil is a positive good. He wrote, "Seek out the society of your boon companions, drink, play, talk bawdy, and amuse yourself. One must sometimes commit a sin out of hate and contempt for [[the Devil]], so as not to give him the chance to make one scrupulous over mere nothings ... "


title: Evil

text: According to the "realist" schools of political philosophy, leaders should be indifferent to good or evil, taking actions based only upon advantage; this approach to politics was put forth most famously by [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], a 16th-century [[Florence, Italy|Florentine]] writer who advised tyrants that "it is far safer to be feared than loved."


title: Evil

text: The [[international relations]] theories of [[Realism in international relations|realism]] and [[neorealism (international relations)|neorealism]], sometimes called "[[realpolitik]]" advise politicians to explicitly ban absolute moral and [[Ethics|ethical]] considerations from international politics, and to focus on self-interest, political survival, and power politics, which they hold to be more accurate in explaining a world they view as explicitly [[amorality|amoral]] and dangerous. Political realists usually justify their perspectives by stating that morals and politics should be separated as two unrelated things, as exerting authority often involves doing something not moral. Machiavelli wrote: "there will be traits considered good that, if followed, will lead to ruin, while other traits, considered vices which if practiced achieve security and well being for the prince."


title: Evil

text: [[Anton LaVey]], founder of the [[Church of Satan]], was a materialist and claimed that evil is actually good. He was responding to the common practice of describing sexuality or disbelief as evil, and his claim was that when the word "evil" is used to describe the natural pleasures and instincts of men and women or the skepticism of an inquiring mind, the things called and feared as evil are really non-evil and in fact good.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD is a joint organisation of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the common interests of the new, decentralised, post-war broadcasting services – in particular the introduction of a joint television network.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: The ARD has a budget of €6.9 billion, 22,612 employees and is the largest public broadcaster network in the world. The budget comes primarily from a licence fee which every household, company and public institution are required by law to pay. For an ordinary household the fee is currently €18.36 per month. Households living on welfare are exempt from the fee. The fees are not collected directly by the ARD, but by the Beitragsservice (formerly known as Gebühreneinzugszentrale GEZ), a common organisation of the ARD member broadcasters, the second public TV broadcaster ZDF, and Deutschlandradio.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD maintains and operates a national television network, called "Das Erste" ("The First") to differentiate it from ZDF, a.k.a. "das Zweite" ("The Second"), which started 1963, as a separate public TV-broadcaster. The ARD network began broadcasting on 31 October 1954 under the name of "Deutsches Fernsehen" ("German Television"), becoming "Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen" ("First German Television") with a corporate redesign in 1984; it adopted its current short name ("Das Erste") in 1994. ARD's programmes are aired over its own terrestrial broadcast network, as well as via cable, satellite and IPTV.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD also produces two free-to-air channels (one and Tagesschau24) and participates in the production of Phoenix (current events, news and documentaries), KiKa (kids-oriented), 3sat (cultural-oriented), arte (Franco-German cultural programming), and Funk (teenage-oriented, online only).


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD's programming is produced by its regional members (see also Institutions and member organizations) (Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Radio Bremen, Rundfunk Berlin–Brandenburg (RBB), Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR), Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which operate 54 regional and local radio stations and seven regional TV networks, some of which have opt outs at during the day. Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster, is also a member of ARD.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: public-law broadcasting institutions means broadcasters which are not privately owned () and are not governmental radio or TV. ARD is not 'owned by' anybody, particularly not by "Germany" (meaning its government/federal state). ARD-members like BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk) are not owned by their "Land" (state and its government, here Bavaria), either. With the "Rundfunkfreiheit" (freedom of broadcasting), they have an independent position (within a legal framework).


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: The winning Allies of World War II determined that German radio after World War II would not broadcast the same propaganda as the pre-war "Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft" ("Reich Broadcasting Company"). A federal structure, the renunciation of state influence and the avoidance of economic dependence were to be the key of the radio and TV institutions under public law ("", public radio and television organisations). The legal form of the new entity was "Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts" ("Institution under Public Law"), a non-government and nonprofit organisation with its own administration under the control of two commissions, the "Rundfunkrat" (Broadcasting Council, responsible for the programmed content) and the "Verwaltungsrat" (Administration Council, responsible for management and infrastructure), in which different stakeholders from German public life were represented.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD's founding members were Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR), the station for the former British zone, Südwestfunk (SWF), the station in the French zone, and four stations located in the former American sector— Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), and Radio Bremen (RB). The new entity was financed by an obligatory fee which every German household with at least one radio receiver paid. Each station received the money collected in its state. Larger ARD members subsidised smaller ones up to a certain extent.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: In 1947, American military governor Lucius D. Clay declared diversity of public opinion as the main aim of post-war media policy. Individuals aligned with the post-war Allied forces in their respective sectors of Germany had a local influence on local regional broadcasters. NDR cites the influence of Hugh Greene on the early years of their organisation.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: After the creation of individual broadcasting agencies for most German federal states these principles were further consolidated by "Länder" broadcasting laws, decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court ("Bundesverfassungsgericht") and state treaties between the "Länder". ARD members are thus (at least nominally) free of government influence and rely for only a small part of their income on advertising (1995: ten percent). They are financed mainly from licence fees from radio and TV owners, which are set through a complex political process. The mandated aim of the ARD corporations is not only to inform and to entertain, but also to encourage the integration of various parts of society and allow minorities a say in programming.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: In the 1950s the ARD radio services became the major factor of the mass media system in West Germany. As early as 1952 the ARD radio stations had ten million listeners. However, the radio stations operated on a regional level, and it was only the development of a television umbrella that helped the ARD to establish itself nationwide. The broadcasting of a countrywide TV broadcast service was the goal of the ARD from the outset and the go-ahead for this was given at the end of 1952. The same year ARD was admitted as a full active member of the European Broadcasting Union and the "German sound archive", now German Broadcasting Archive (DRA, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv), was established as a joint facility of the ARD.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: In 1955 the founding member "NWDR" ("Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk", English: "North-West German Broadcasting") split into today's NDR and WDR. The year before (1954) the smaller SFB was split off. The first daily news feature, the "Tagesschau", went on the air from Hamburg in 1952. The famous 8:00 pm chime and announcement """" ("This is the first German television channel with the Tagesschau") remains an ARD hallmark today. The broadcast attracts an average of 8 million viewers.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: After starting with a schedule of a mere two hours per-night, television became more widespread in Germany in the 1960s. Color broadcasts were introduced in 1967. Without competition from private broadcasters (other than the francophone Europe 1 and the multilingual RTL (Radio-Television Luxembourg) radio programs), the ARD stations made considerable progress in becoming modern and respected broadcasters. ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Second German Television), a second public television broadcaster with centralized national organization structure, began its programming in 1963, but ARD would encounter no private competition in Germany until 1984. The ARD stations have also been a significant force in German politics; such investigative news magazines as "Monitor" and "Panorama" still reach millions of viewers every week. The environmental movement increased in popularity during the 1980s largely as a result of the disclosures made by ARD.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: When private/commercial German-language broadcasters were admitted in Germany by federal law in the mid-1980s, ARD television made subtle changes, adapting somewhat by producing programs oriented to a larger audience for their national networks and shifting many cultural and news programs to the regional networks and to newly created niche channels.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: Informational television programs and the orientation of "Deutschlandfunk" (Germany's national public radio station, associated with, but not a member of the ARD) programs towards the GDR were of importance to the eventual collapse of the GDR. Established in 1974, the ARD bureau in East Berlin made ARD television the most important source of information for GDR citizens, eighty percent of whom could watch what they referred to as "Westfernsehen". Notwithstanding obstruction on the part of GDR authorities and the repeated expulsion of their correspondents, the ARD-Tagesschau and Deutschlandfunk transmitted reports about the Leipzig Monday Demonstrations (which started on 4 September 1989) as early as September 1989.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: After unification and the closure of the GDR television service, two new regional broadcasters were established in the East, becoming ARD members in 1992. These were originally the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR, English: "Central German Broadcasting"), and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB, English: "East German Broadcasting Brandenburg"). The existing NDR service expanded into the north-east, where it also covered Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The ORB service has since merged with the former Sender Freies Berlin (SFB, English "Radio Free Berlin") to become Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB, English: "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting") in 2003.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: Another merger took place between two member organisations of the ARD in 1998. The former Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, English: "Southern German Broadcasting") and Südwestfunk (SWF, English: "Southwestcast") became Südwestrundfunk (SWR, English: "Southwest Broadcasting") on 1 October 1998.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: Today, ARD member stations usually produce their own radio programming. Some ARD member stations usually collaborate for common radio services (an example being Nordwestradio, a culture-oriented radio station co-produced by Radio Bremen and NDR). Most ARD stations, however, will have at least a news-oriented radio station, a classical-music station, a youth-oriented station, and a cultural station. At night some stations will relay common night programming produced on a rota system by the ARD stations themselves. There are four common night programming services: Hitnacht (light music), Nachtkonzert (classical music), Infonacht (all news) and Popnacht (pop music). Most services are on the FM broadcast band, though some services are also available on DAB.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: A similar network intended for national coverage is called Deutschlandradio, however Deutschlandradio is not an ARD member – instead Deutschlandradio is controlled by both ARD and ZDF. Deutschlandradio provides two terrestrial radio services: Deutschlandfunk (DLF), a news-oriented service, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, a culture-oriented service. It also provides a science-orientated internet channel:


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: ARD's best known radio station outside Germany is Deutsche Welle, which broadcasts its radio services around the world in many languages, mostly on analogue shortwave radio, online and FM partner stations. Deutsche Welle has no FM distribution in Germany.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: "Archivradio" is an ARD internet radio station which streams raw audio material from German sound archives, mainly the ARD radio archives and the DRA. The program is accompanied by a web portal run by the ARD-member SWR, with background information of the original sounds aired.


title: ARD (broadcaster)

text: The main television channels of the ARD are the nationwide Das Erste and seven regional channels operated by the different regional broadcasting institutions. These channels were available on the analogue terrestrial transmitters until the shutdown of the analogue transmitters started in 2003. Das Erste and the third programmes, like the radio stations, are principally funded by licence fees, with a very limited amount of on-air advertising.