title: Portal (series)

text: In speaking at the 2012 Games for Change Festival, Newell said that the response to these efforts was praised by educators. Their efforts culminated in a "Teach with Portals" program that Newell announced at the Festival. The effort is built on a standalone "Puzzle Maker" that incorporates the level editor for "Portal 2" that was released as free content for the game in early 2012. Valve had built the Puzzle Maker with the aid of educators, as to make it suitable for lesson plans as well as making it as easy for teachers to use to construct such plans. The Puzzle Maker is not limited to physics, but designed to be modular so that other fields, such as fundamental electronics or chemistry, could be included. The "Teach with Portals" initiative is built atop of a stripped-down version of the Steam client, "Steam for Schools", that is designed to be used in schools, allowing instructors to control the installation of the games and lesson plans on the students' computers. These tools, as well as copies of "Portal 2" and the Puzzle Maker, are being offered for free for all educators.


title: Portal (series)

text: In February 2013, Valve president Gabe Newell and film director J. J. Abrams announced that they were to collaborate on a film adaptation of the "Portal" series. In 2016, Abrams stated that the film was in the scriptwriting stage. Abrams confirmed in May 2021 that the film adaptation was still in the works as they were still working on a script for the film from Warner Bros. Pictures.


title: Portal (series)

text: Several elements of the "Portal" series have entered popular culture, typically as bases for Internet memes.


title: Garfield (character)

text: Garfield is a fictional cat and the protagonist of the comic strip of the same name, created by Jim Davis. The comic strip centers on Garfield, portrayed as a lazy, fat, and cynical orange tabby Persian cat. He is noted for his love of lasagna and sleeping, and his hatred of Mondays, fellow cat Nermal and exercise.


title: Garfield (character)

text: Garfield was born on , in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant. Jim Davis named Garfield after his grandfather, James Garfield Davis. As a kitten, he develops a taste for lasagna, which would become his favorite food. Because of his appetite, the owner of Mamma Leoni's has to choose between giving away Garfield or closing down his restaurant; so Garfield is sold to a pet shop. Garfield is adopted from the store by Jon Arbuckle on August 19, 1978. In his cartoon appearances, Garfield usually causes mischief in every episode.


title: Garfield (character)

text: Garfield also has several alter egos: Amoeba Man was introduced in June 1983 and was shown in six strips (June 20–25). In February 2010, Super Garfield and his sidekick Odieboy (Odie) were introduced. However, his most common alter ego is the Caped Avenger. For a short period of time in 2001–02, Garfield would fall prey to an overweight dog assuming various identities (e.g. Bungee Dog, Trapdoor Dog, Warm-Up Dog, etc.), which would appear from out of nowhere and squish him in any direction.


title: Garfield (character)

text: It is also given that Garfield uses the "sandbox" on occasion, such as in one 1978 strip; he says he hates commercials because they're "too long to sit through and too short for a trip to the sandbox". It was revealed on October 27, 1979, that he doesn't like raisins. His birthday is June 19, 1978, the day the first "Garfield" strip was published. On Garfield's 25th anniversary in 2003, several strips were featured in which he interacted with his 1978 version.


title: Garfield (character)

text: Garfield frequently gets into many adventures, such as getting stuck in roll-up shades, sparring with mice, and getting locked up in animal shelters. In 2005, Garfield and Jon appeared in several comic strips of Blondie in honor of their 75th anniversary. There was an earlier Blondie crossover on the Garfield strip published April 1, 1997 and vice versa, as part of the comic strip switcheroo.


title: Garfield (character)

text: Garfield was one of numerous cartoon characters featured in the 1990 animated special "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue".


title: AM broadcasting

text: AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmissions, but also on the longwave and shortwave radio bands.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The earliest experimental AM transmissions began in the early 1900s. However, widespread AM broadcasting was not established until the 1920s, following the development of vacuum tube receivers and transmitters. AM radio remained the dominant method of broadcasting for the next 30 years, a period called the "Golden Age of Radio", until television broadcasting became widespread in the 1950s and received most of the programming previously carried by radio. Subsequently, AM radio's audiences have also greatly shrunk due to competition from FM (frequency modulation) radio, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), satellite radio, HD (digital) radio, Internet radio, music streaming services, and podcasting.


title: AM broadcasting

text: AM transmissions are much more susceptible to interference than FM or digital signals, and often have lower audio fidelity. Thus, AM broadcasters tend to specialise in spoken-word formats, such as talk radio, all news and sports, with music formats primarily for FM and digital stations.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The idea of broadcasting — the unrestricted transmission of signals to a widespread audience — dates back to the founding period of radio development, even though the earliest radio transmissions, originally known as "Hertzian radiation" and "wireless telegraphy", used spark-gap transmitters that could only transmit the dots-and-dashes of Morse code. In October 1898 a London publication, "The Electrician", noted that "there are rare cases where, as Dr. [Oliver] Lodge once expressed it, it might be advantageous to 'shout' the message, spreading it broadcast to receivers in all directions". However, it was recognized that this would involve significant financial issues, as that same year "The Electrician" also commented "did not Prof. Lodge forget that no one wants to pay for shouting to the world on a system by which it would be impossible to prevent non-subscribers from benefiting gratuitously?"


title: AM broadcasting

text: On January 1, 1902, Nathan Stubblefield gave a short-range "wireless telephone" demonstration, that included simultaneously broadcasting speech and music to seven locations throughout Murray, Kentucky. However, this was transmitted using induction rather than radio signals, and although Stubblefield predicted that his system would be perfected so that "it will be possible to communicate with hundreds of homes at the same time", and "a single message can be sent from a central station to all parts of the United States", he was unable to overcome the inherent distance limitations of this technology.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The earliest public radiotelegraph broadcasts were provided as government services, beginning with daily time signals inaugurated on January 1, 1905, by a number of U.S. Navy stations. In Europe, signals transmitted from a station located on the Eiffel tower were received throughout much of Europe. In both the United States and France this led to a small market of receiver lines geared for jewelers who needed accurate time to set their clocks, including the Ondophone in France, and the De Forest RS-100 Jewelers Time Receiver in the United States


title: AM broadcasting

text: The ability to pick up time signal broadcasts, in addition to Morse code weather reports and news summaries, also attracted the interest of amateur radio enthusiasts.


title: AM broadcasting

text: It was immediately recognized that, much like the telegraph had preceded the invention of the telephone, the ability to make audio radio transmissions would be a significant technical advance. Despite this knowledge, it still took two decades to perfect the technology needed to make quality audio transmissions. In addition, the telephone had rarely been used for distributing entertainment, outside of a few "telephone newspaper" systems, most of which were established in Europe. With this in mind, most early radiotelephone development envisioned that the device would be more profitably developed as a "wireless telephone" for personal communication, or for providing links where regular telephone lines could not be run, rather than for the uncertain finances of broadcasting.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The person generally credited as the primary early developer of AM technology is Canadian-born inventor Reginald Fessenden. The original spark-gap radio transmitters were impractical for transmitting audio, since they produced discontinuous pulses known as "damped waves". Fessenden realized that what was needed was a new type of radio transmitter that produced steady "undamped" (better known as "continuous wave") signals, which could then be "modulated" to reflect the sounds being transmitted.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Fessenden's basic approach was disclosed in U.S. Patent 706,737, which he applied for on May 29, 1901, and was issued the next year. It called for the use of a high-speed alternator (referred to as "an alternating-current dynamo") that generated "pure sine waves" and produced "a continuous train of radiant waves of substantially uniform strength", or, in modern terminology, a continuous-wave (CW) transmitter. Fessenden began his research on audio transmissions while doing developmental work for the United States Weather Service on Cobb Island, Maryland. Because he did not yet have a continuous-wave transmitter, initially he worked with an experimental "high-frequency spark" transmitter, taking advantage of the fact that the higher the spark rate, the closer a spark-gap transmission comes to producing continuous waves. He later reported that, in the fall of 1900, he successfully transmitted speech over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (one mile), which appears to have been the first successful audio transmission using radio signals. However, at this time the sound was far too distorted to be commercially practical. For a time he continued working with more sophisticated high-frequency spark transmitters, including versions that used compressed air, which began to take on some of the characteristics of arc-transmitters. Fessenden attempted to sell this form of radiotelephone for point-to-point communication, but was unsuccessful.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Fessenden's work with high-frequency spark transmissions was only a temporary measure. His ultimate plan for creating an audio-capable transmitter was to redesign an electrical alternator, which normally produced alternating current of at most a few hundred (Hz), to increase its rotational speed and so generate currents of tens-of-thousands Hz, thus producing a steady continuous-wave transmission when connected to an aerial. The next step, adopted from standard wire-telephone practice, was to insert a simple carbon microphone into the transmission line, to modulate the carrier wave signal to produce AM audio transmissions. However, it would take many years of expensive development before even a prototype alternator-transmitter would be ready, and a few years beyond that for high-power versions to become available.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Fessenden worked with General Electric's (GE) Ernst F. W. Alexanderson, who in August 1906 delivered an improved model which operated at a transmitting frequency of approximately 50 kHz, although at low power. The alternator-transmitter achieved the goal of transmitting quality audio signals, but the lack of any way to amplify the signals meant they were somewhat weak. On December 21, 1906, Fessenden made an extensive demonstration of the new alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, showing its utility for point-to-point wireless telephony, including interconnecting his stations to the wire telephone network. As part of the demonstration, speech was transmitted 18 kilometers (11 miles) to a listening site at Plymouth, Massachusetts.


title: AM broadcasting

text: An "American Telephone Journal" account of the December 21 alternator-transmitter demonstration included the statement that "It is admirably adapted to the transmission of news, music, etc. as, owing to the fact that no wires are needed, simultaneous transmission to many subscribers can be effected as easily as to a few", echoing the words of a handout distributed to the demonstration witnesses, which stated "[Radio] Telephony is admirably adapted for transmitting news, stock quotations, music, race reports, etc. simultaneously over a city, on account of the fact that no wires are needed and a single apparatus can distribute to ten thousand subscribers as easily as to a few. It is proposed to erect stations for this purpose in the large cities here and abroad." However, other than two holiday transmissions reportedly made shortly after these demonstrations, Fessenden does not appear to have conducted any radio broadcasts for the general public, or to have even given additional thought about the potential of a regular broadcast service, and in a 1908 article providing a comprehensive review of the potential uses for his radiotelephone invention, he made no references to broadcasting.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Because there was no way to amplify electrical currents at this time, modulation was usually accomplished by a carbon microphone inserted directly in the antenna wire. This meant that the full transmitter power flowed through the microphone, and even using water cooling, the power handling ability of the microphones severely limited the power of the transmissions. Ultimately only a small number of large and powerful Alexanderson alternators would be developed. However, they would be almost exclusively used for long-range radiotelegraph communication, and occasionally for radiotelephone experimentation, but were never used for general broadcasting.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Almost all of the continuous wave AM transmissions made prior to 1915 were made by versions of the arc converter transmitter, which had been initially developed by Valdemar Poulsen in 1903. Arc transmitters worked by producing a pulsating electrical arc in an enclosed hydrogen atmosphere. They were much more compact than alternator transmitters, and could operate on somewhat higher transmitting frequencies. However, they suffered from some of the same deficiencies. The lack of any means to amplify electrical currents meant that, like the alternator transmitters, modulation was usually accomplished by a microphone inserted directly in the antenna wire, which again resulted in overheating issues, even with the use of water-cooled microphones. Thus, transmitter powers tended to be limited. The arc was also somewhat unstable, which reduced audio quality. Experimenters who used arc transmitters for their radiotelephone research included Ernst Ruhmer, Quirino Majorana, Charles "Doc" Herrold, and Lee de Forest.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Advances in vacuum tube technology (called "valves" in British usage), especially after around 1915, revolutionized radio technology. Vacuum tube devices could be used to amplify electrical currents, which overcame the overheating issues of needing to insert microphones directly in the transmission antenna circuit. Vacuum tube transmitters also provided high-quality AM signals, and could operate on higher transmitting frequencies than alternator and arc transmitters. Non-governmental radio transmissions were prohibited in many countries during World War I, but AM radiotelephony technology advanced greatly due to wartime research, and after the war the availability of tubes sparked a great increase in the number of amateur radio stations experimenting with AM transmission of news or music. Vacuum tubes remained the central technology of radio for 40 years, until transistors began to dominate in the late 1950s, and are still used in the highest power broadcast transmitters.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Unlike telegraph and telephone systems, which used completely different types of equipment, most radio receivers were equally suitable for both radiotelegraph and radiotelephone reception. In 1903 and 1904 the electrolytic detector and thermionic diode (Fleming valve) were invented by Reginald Fessenden and John Ambrose Fleming, respectively. Most important, in 1904–1906 the crystal detector, the simplest and cheapest AM detector, was developed by G. W. Pickard. Homemade crystal radios spread rapidly during the next 15 years, providing ready audiences for the first radio broadcasts. One limitation of crystals sets was the lack of amplifying the signals, so listeners had to use earphones, and it required the development of vacuum-tube receivers before loudspeakers could be used. The dynamic cone loudspeaker, invented in 1924, greatly improved audio frequency response over the previous horn speakers, allowing music to be reproduced with good fidelity. AM radio offered the highest sound quality available in a home audio device prior to the introduction of the high-fidelity, long-playing record in the late 1940s.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Listening habits changed in the 1960s due to the introduction of the revolutionary transistor radio, (Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio released December 1954) which was made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1948. (The transistor was invented at Bell labs and released in June 1948). Their compact size — small enough to fit in a shirt pocket — and lower power requirements, compared to vacuum tubes, meant that for the first time radio receivers were readily portable. The transistor radio became the most widely used communication device in history, with billions manufactured by the 1970s. Radio became a ubiquitous "companion medium" which people could take with them anywhere they went.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The demarcation between what is considered "experimental" and "organized" broadcasting is largely arbitrary. Listed below are some of the early AM radio broadcasts, which, due to their irregular schedules and limited purposes, can be classified as "experimental":


title: AM broadcasting

text: Following World War I, the number of stations providing a regular broadcasting service greatly increased, primarily due to advances in vacuum-tube technology. In response to ongoing activities, government regulators eventually codified standards for which stations could make broadcasts intended for the general public, for example, in the United States formal recognition of a "broadcasting service" came with the establishment of regulations effective December 1, 1921, and Canadian authorities created a separate category of "radio-telephone broadcasting stations" in April 1922. However, there were numerous cases of entertainment broadcasts being presented on a regular schedule before their formal recognition by government regulators. Some early examples include:


title: AM broadcasting

text: Because most longwave radio frequencies were used for international radiotelegraph communication, a majority of early broadcasting stations operated on mediumwave frequencies, whose limited range generally restricted them to local audiences. One method for overcoming this limitation, as well as a method for sharing program costs, was to create radio networks, linking stations together with telephone lines to provide a nationwide audience.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In the U.S., the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) was the first organization to create a radio network, and also to promote commercial advertising, which it called "toll" broadcasting. Its flagship station, WEAF (now WFAN) in New York City, sold blocks of airtime to commercial sponsors that developed entertainment shows containing commercial messages. AT&T held a monopoly on quality telephone lines, and by 1924 had linked 12 stations in Eastern cities into a "chain". The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), General Electric and Westinghouse organized a competing network around its own flagship station, RCA's WJZ (now WABC) in New York City, but were hampered by AT&T's refusal to lease connecting lines or allow them to sell airtime. In 1926 AT&T sold its radio operations to RCA, which used them to form the nucleus of the new NBC network. By the 1930s, most of the major radio stations in the country were affiliated with networks owned by two companies, NBC and CBS. In 1934, a third national network, the Mutual Radio Network was formed as a cooperative owned by its stations.


title: AM broadcasting

text: A second country which quickly adopted network programming was the United Kingdom, and its national network quickly became a prototype for a state-managed monopoly of broadcasting. A rising interest in radio broadcasting by the British public pressured the government to reintroduce the service, following its suspension in 1920. However, the government also wanted to avoid what it termed the "chaotic" U.S. experience of allowing large numbers of stations to operate with few restrictions. There were also concerns about broadcasting becoming dominated by the Marconi company. Arrangements were made for six large radio manufacturers to form a consortium, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), established on 18 October 1922, which was given a monopoly on broadcasting. This enterprise was supported by a tax on radio sets sales, plus an annual license fee on receivers, collected by the Post Office. Initially the eight stations were allowed regional autonomy. In 1927, the original broadcasting organization was replaced by a government chartered British Broadcasting Corporation. an independent nonprofit supported solely by a 10 shilling receiver license fee. A mixture of populist and high brow programmes were carried by the National and Regional networks.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The period from the early 1920s through the 1940s is often called the "Golden Age of Radio". During this period AM radio was the main source of home entertainment, until it was replaced by television. For the first time entertainment was provided from outside the home, replacing traditional forms of entertainment such as oral storytelling and music from family members. New forms were created, including radio plays, mystery serials, soap operas, quiz shows, variety hours, situation comedies and children's shows. Radio news, including remote reporting, allowed listeners to be vicariously present at notable events.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Radio greatly eased the isolation of rural life. Political officials could now speak directly to millions of citizens. One of the first to take advantage of this was American president Franklin Roosevelt, who became famous for his fireside chats during the Great Depression. However, broadcasting also provided the means to use propaganda as a powerful government tool, and contributed to the rise of fascist and communist ideologies.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In the 1940s two new broadcast media, FM radio and television, began to provide extensive competition with the established broadcasting services. The AM radio industry suffered a serious loss of audience and advertising revenue, and coped by developing new strategies. Network broadcasting gave way to format broadcasting: instead of broadcasting the same programs all over the country, stations individually adopted specialized formats which appealed to different audiences, such as regional and local news, sports, "talk" programs, and programs targeted at minorities. Instead of live music, most stations began playing less expensive recorded music.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In the late 1970s, spurred by the exodus of musical programming to FM stations, the AM radio industry in the United States developed technology for broadcasting in stereo. Other nations adopted AM stereo, most commonly choosing Motorola's C-QUAM, and in 1993 the United States also made the C-QUAM system its standard, after a period allowing four different standards to compete. The selection of a single standard improved acceptance of AM stereo, however overall there was limited adoption of AM stereo worldwide, and interest declined after 1990. With the continued migration of AM stations away from music to news, sports, and talk formats, receiver manufacturers saw little reason to adopt the more expensive stereo tuners, and thus radio stations have little incentive to upgrade to stereo transmission.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In countries where the use of directional antennas is common, such as the United States, transmitter sites consisting of multiple towers often occupy large tracts of land that have significantly increased in value over the decades, to the point that the value of land exceeds that of the station itself. This sometimes results in the sale of the transmitter site, with the station relocating to a more distant shared site using significantly less power, or completely shutting down operations.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The ongoing development of alternative transmission systems, including Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), satellite radio, and HD (digital) radio, continued the decline of the popularity of the traditional broadcast technologies. These new options, including the introduction of Internet streaming, particularly resulted in the reduction of shortwave transmissions, as international broadcasters found ways to reach their audiences more easily.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The FM broadcast band was established in 1941 in the United States, and at the time some suggested that the AM band would soon be eliminated. In 1948 wide-band FM's inventor, Edwin H. Armstrong, predicted that "The broadcasters will set up FM stations which will parallel, carry the same program, as over their AM stations... eventually the day will come, of course, when we will no longer have to build receivers capable of receiving both types of transmission, and then the AM transmitters will disappear." However, FM stations actually struggled for many decades, and it wasn't until 1978 that FM listenership surpassed that of AM stations. Since then the AM band's share of the audience has continued to decline.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The elimination of the Fairness Doctrine requirement in 1987 meant that talk shows, which were commonly carried by AM stations, could adopt a more focused presentation on controversial topics, without the distraction of having to provide airtime for any contrasting opinions. In addition, satellite distribution made it possible for programs to be economically carried on a national scale. The introduction of nationwide talk shows, most prominently Rush Limbaugh's beginning in 1988, was sometimes credited with "saving AM radio". However, these stations tended to attract older listeners who were of lesser interest to advertisers, and AM radio's audience share continued to erode.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In 1961, the FCC adopted a single standard for FM stereo transmissions, which was widely credited with enhancing FM's popularity. Developing the technology for AM broadcasting in stereo was challenging due to the need to limit the transmissions to a 20 kHz bandwidth, while also making the transmissions backward compatible with existing non-stereo receivers. In 1990, the FCC authorized an AM stereo standard developed by Magnavox, but two years later revised its decision to instead approve four competing implementations, saying it would "let the marketplace decide" which was best. The lack of a common standard resulted in consumer confusion and increased the complexity and cost of producing AM stereo receivers. In 1993, the FCC again revised its policy, by selecting C-QUAM as the sole AM stereo implementation.


title: AM broadcasting

text: In 1993, the FCC also endorsed, although it did not make mandatory, AMAX broadcasting standards that were developed by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) with the intention of helping AM stations, especially ones with musical formats, become more competitive with FM broadcasters by promoting better quality receivers. However, the stereo AM and AMAX initiatives had little impact, and a 2015 review of these events concluded that "Initially the consumer manufacturers made a concerted attempt to specify performance of AM receivers through the 1993 AMAX standard, a joint effort of the EIA and the NAB, with FCC backing... The FCC rapidly followed up on this with codification of the CQUAM AM stereo standard, also in 1993. At this point, the stage appeared to be set for rejuvenation of the AM band. Nevertheless, with the legacy of confusion and disappointment in the rollout of the multiple incompatible AM stereo systems, and failure of the manufacturers (including the auto makers) to effectively promote AMAX radios, coupled with the ever-increasing background of noise in the band, the general public soon lost interest and moved on to other media."


title: AM broadcasting

text: On June 8, 1988 an International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-sponsored conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil adopted provisions, effective July 1, 1990, to extend the upper end of the Region 2 AM broadcast band, by adding ten frequencies which spanned from 1610 kHz to 1700 kHz. At this time it was suggested that as many as 500 U.S. stations could be assigned to the new frequencies. On April 12, 1990 the FCC voted to begin the process of populating the expanded band, with the main priority being the reduction of interference on the existing AM band, by transferring selected stations to the new frequencies. It was now estimated that the expanded band could accommodate around 300 U.S. stations.


title: AM broadcasting

text: However, it turned out that the number of possible station reassignments was much lower, with a 2006 accounting reporting that, out of 4,758 licensed U.S. AM stations, only 56 were now operating on the expanded band. Moreover, despite an initial requirement that by the end of five years either the original station or its expanded band counterpart had to cease broadcasting, as of 2015 there were 25 cases where the original standard band station was still on the air, despite also operating as an expanded band station.


title: AM broadcasting

text: HD Radio is a digital audio broadcasting method developed by iBiquity. In 2002 its "hybrid mode", which simultaneously transmits a standard analog signal as well as a digital one, was approved by the FCC for use by AM stations, initially only during daytime hours, due to concerns that during the night its wider bandwidth would cause unacceptable interference to stations on adjacent frequencies. In 2007 nighttime operation was also authorized.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The number of hybrid mode AM stations is not exactly known, because the FCC does not keep track of the stations employing the system, and some authorized stations have later turned it off. But as of 2020 the commission estimated that fewer than 250 AM stations were transmitting hybrid mode signals. On October 27, 2020, the FCC voted to allow AM stations to eliminate their analog transmissions and convert to all-digital operation, with the requirement that stations making the change had to continue to make programming available over "at least one free over-the-air digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio quality than a standard analog broadcast".


title: AM broadcasting

text: Despite the various actions, AM band audiences continued to contract, and the number of stations began to slowly decline. A 2009 FCC review reported that "The story of AM radio over the last 50 years has been a transition from being the dominant form of audio entertainment for all age groups to being almost non-existent to the youngest demographic groups. Among persons aged 12-24, AM accounts for only 4% of listening, while FM accounts for 96%. Among persons aged 25-34, AM accounts for only 9% of listening, while FM accounts for 91%. The median age of listeners to the AM band is 57 years old, a full generation older than the median age of FM listeners."


title: AM broadcasting

text: In 2009, the FCC made a major regulatory change, when it adopted a policy allowing AM stations to simulcast over FM translator stations. Translators had previously been available only to FM broadcasters, in order to increase coverage in fringe areas. Their assignment for use by AM stations was intended to approximate the station's daytime coverage, which in cases where the stations reduced power at night, often resulted in expanded nighttime coverage. Although the translator stations are not permitted to originate programming when the "primary" AM station is broadcasting, they are permitted to do so during nighttime hours for AM stations licensed for daytime-only operation.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Prior to the adoption of the new policy, as of March 18, 2009 the FCC had issued 215 Special Temporary Authority grants for FM translators relaying AM stations. After creation of the new policy, by 2011 there were approximately 500 in operation, and as of 2020 approximately 2,800 of the 4,570 licensed AM stations were rebroadcasting on one or more FM translators. In 2009 the FCC stated that "We do not intend to allow these cross-service translators to be used as surrogates for FM stations". However, based on station slogans, especially in the case of recently adopted musical formats, in most cases the expectation is that listeners will primarily be tuning into the FM signal rather than the nominally "primary" AM station. A 2020 review noted that "for many owners, keeping their AM stations on the air now is pretty much just about retaining their FM translator footprint rather than keeping the AM on the air on its own merits".


title: AM broadcasting

text: In 2018 the FCC, led by then-Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, proposed greatly reducing signal protection for 50 kW Class A "clear channel" stations. This would allow co-channel secondary stations to operate with higher powers, especially at night. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) expressed concerns that this would reduce the effectiveness of emergency communications.


title: AM broadcasting

text: AM radio technology is simpler than later transmission systems. An AM receiver detects amplitude variations in the radio waves at a particular frequency, then amplifies changes in the signal voltage to operate a loudspeaker or earphone. However, the simplicity of AM transmission also makes it vulnerable to "static" (radio noise, radio frequency interference) created by both natural atmospheric electrical activity such as lightning, and electrical and electronic equipment, including fluorescent lights, motors and vehicle ignition systems. In large urban centres, AM radio signals can be severely disrupted by metal structures and tall buildings. As a result, AM radio tends to do best in areas where FM frequencies are in short supply, or in thinly populated or mountainous areas where FM coverage is poor. Great care must be taken to avoid mutual interference between stations operating on the same frequency. In general, an AM transmission needs to be about 20 times stronger than an interfering signal to avoid a reduction in quality, in contrast to FM signals, where the "capture effect" means that the dominant signal needs to only be about twice as strong as the interfering one.


title: AM broadcasting

text: To allow room for more stations on the mediumwave broadcast band in the United States, in June 1989 the FCC adopted a National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) standard that limited maximum transmitted audio bandwidth to 10.2 kHz, limiting occupied bandwidth to 20.4 kHz. The former audio limitation was 15 kHz resulting in bandwidth of 30 kHz. Another common limitation on AM fidelity is the result of receiver design, although some efforts have been made to improve this, notably through the AMAX standards adopted in the United States.


title: AM broadcasting

text: AM broadcasts are used on several frequency bands. The allocation of these bands is governed by the ITU's Radio Regulations and, on the national level, by each country's telecommunications administration (the FCC in the U.S., for example) subject to international agreements.


title: AM broadcasting

text: The frequency ranges given here are those that are allocated to stations. Because of the bandwidth taken up by the sidebands, the range allocated for the band as a whole is usually about 5 kHz wider on either side.


title: AM broadcasting

text: "Longwave" (also known as Low frequency (LF)) (148.5 kHz – 283.5 kHz) Broadcasting stations in this band are assigned transmitting frequencies in the range 153 kHz – 279 kHz, and generally maintain 9 kHz spacing.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Longwave assignments for broadcasting only exist in ITU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, and northern and central Asia) and are not allocated elsewhere. Individual stations have coverage measured in the hundreds of kilometers; however, there is only a very limited number of available broadcasting slots.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Most of the earliest broadcasting experiments took place on longwave frequencies; however, complaints about interference from existing services, particularly the military, led to most broadcasting moving to higher frequencies.


title: AM broadcasting

text: "Medium wave" (also known as Medium frequency (MF)), which is by far the most commonly used AM broadcasting band. In ITU Regions 1 and 3, transmitting frequencies run from 531 kHz to 1602 kHz, with 9 kHz spacing (526.5 kHz - 1606.5 kHz), and in ITU Region 2 (the Americas), transmitting frequencies are 530 kHz to 1700 kHz, using 10 kHz spacing (525 kHz - 1705 kHz), including the ITU Extended AM broadcast band, authorized in Region 2, between 1605 kHz and 1705 kHz, previously used for police radio.


title: AM broadcasting

text: "Shortwave" (also known as High frequency (HF)) transmissions range from approximately 2.3 to 26.1 MHz, divided into 14 broadcast bands. Shortwave broadcasts generally use a narrow 5 kHz channel spacing. Shortwave is used by audio services intended to be heard at great distances from the transmitting station. The long range of shortwave broadcasts comes at the expense of lower audio fidelity.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Most broadcast services use AM transmissions, although some use a modified version of AM such as Single-sideband modulation (SSB) or an AM-compatible version of SSB such as "SSB with carrier reinserted".


title: AM broadcasting

text: Beginning in the mid-1930s, the United States evaluated options for the establishment of broadcasting stations using much higher transmitting frequencies. In October 1937, the FCC announced a second band of AM stations, consisting of 75 channels spanning from 41.02 to 43.98 MHz, which were informally called "Apex".


title: AM broadcasting

text: The 40 kHz spacing between adjacent frequencies was four times that of the 10 kHz spacing used on the standard AM broadcast band, which reduced adjacent-frequency interference, and provided more bandwidth for high-fidelity programming. However, this band was eliminated effective 1 January 1941, after the FCC determined that establishing a band of FM stations was preferable.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Beginning in the mid-1930s, starting with "The Brown Network" at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, a very low power broadcasting method known as carrier current was developed, and mostly adopted on U.S. college campuses. In this approach AM broadcast signals are distributed over electric power lines, which radiate a signal receivable at a short distance from the lines. In Switzerland a system known as "wire broadcasting" ("Telefonrundspruch" in German) transmitted AM signals over telephone lines in the longwave band until 1998, when it was shut down. In the UK, Rediffusion was an early pioneer of AM radio cable distribution.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Hybrid digital broadcast systems, which combine (mono analog) AM transmission with digital sidebands, have started to be used around the world. In the United States, iBiquity's proprietary HD Radio has been adopted and approved by the FCC for medium wave transmissions, while Digital Radio Mondiale is a more open effort often used on the shortwave bands, and can be used alongside many AM broadcasts. Both of these standards are capable of broadcasting audio of significantly greater fidelity than that of standard AM with current bandwidth limitations, and a theoretical frequency response of 0–16 kHz, in addition to stereo sound and text data.


title: AM broadcasting

text: Some microbroadcasters, especially those in the United States operating under the FCC's Part 15 rules, and pirate radio operators on mediumwave and shortwave, achieve greater range than possible on the FM band. On mediumwave these stations often transmit on 1610 kHz to 1710 kHz. Hobbyists also use low-power AM (LPAM) transmitters to provide programming for vintage radio equipment in areas where AM programming is not widely available or does not carry programming the listener desires; in such cases the transmitter, which is designed to cover only the immediate property and perhaps nearby areas, is connected to a computer, an FM radio or an MP3 player. Microbroadcasting and pirate radio have generally been supplanted by streaming audio on the Internet, but some schools and hobbyists still use LPAM transmissions.


title: Isdal Woman

text: The Isdal Woman (, 1930–1945 – November 1970) is a placeholder name given to an unidentified woman who was found dead at Isdalen ("The Ice Valley") in Bergen, Norway, on 29 November 1970.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Although police at the time ruled a verdict of likely suicide, the nature of the case encouraged speculation and ongoing investigation in the years since. Half a century later, it remains one of the most profound Cold War mysteries in Norwegian history.


title: Isdal Woman

text: On the afternoon of 29 November 1970, a man and his two young daughters were hiking in the foothills of the north face of Ulriken, in an area known as Isdalen ("The Ice Valley"); it was also nicknamed "Dødsdalen" ("The Death Valley") due to the area's history of suicides in the Middle Ages, and a more recent string of hiking accidents.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Noting an unusual burning smell, one of the daughters located the charred body of a woman located among some scree. Surprised and fearful, the group returned to town to notify the police.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Bergen Police responded quickly and launched a full-scale investigation (filed as case name "134/70"). Examining the site, police noted the woman's supine position, her clenched hands up by her torso, and the absence of a nearby campfire. The front of her body and her clothes had been severely burned and she was unrecognisable. Also located or placed near the body, and affected by the fire, were: an empty bottle of St. Hallvard liqueur, two plastic water bottles, a plastic passport container, rubber boots, a woolen jumper, a scarf, nylon stockings, an umbrella, a purse, a matchbox, a watch, two earrings, and a ring. Around the body were traces of burned paper, and beneath it was a fur hat which was later found to have traces of petrol. All identifying marks and labels on these items had been removed or rubbed off.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Three days later, investigators found two suitcases belonging to the woman at Bergen railway station. In the lining of one, police discovered five 100 Deutsche Mark notes ( US$137 in 1970). Among other items, they found clothing, shoes, wigs, makeup, eczema cream, 135 Norwegian kroner, Belgian, British and Swiss coins, maps, timetables, a pair of glasses (with non-prescription lenses), sunglasses (with partial fingerprints that matched the body), cosmetics, and a notepad. As with the body, any possible identifying information had been removed.


title: Isdal Woman

text: An autopsy at the Gades Institutt concluded the woman had died from a combination of incapacitation by phenobarbital and poisoning by carbon monoxide. Soot was found in her lungs, indicating she was alive as she burned, and her neck was bruised, possibly from a fall or by a blow. Analysis of her blood and stomach showed that she had consumed between 50 and 70 Fenemal brand sleeping pills, and found next to her body were a further 12 sleeping pills. At autopsy, her teeth and jaw were removed due to her unique gold-filling dental work, and tissue samples of her organs were taken.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Police then launched an appeal for information in the Norwegian media regarding the case. The last time she was seen alive was on 23 November when she checked out of Room 407 of the Hotel Hordaheimen. Hotel staff told police that she was good-looking and roughly tall, with dark brown hair and small brown eyes. Staff noted that the woman kept mainly to her room and seemed to be on guard. When she checked out, she paid her bill in cash and requested a taxi. Her movements between then and the discovery of her body remain unknown.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Police were able to decode the notepad entries, and determined that they indicated dates and places the woman had visited. As a result, based on handwritten check-in forms, police determined that the Isdal Woman had travelled around Norway (i.e. Oslo, Trondheim, Stavanger) and Europe (Paris) with at least eight fake passports and aliases. While details such as birthdays and occupations changed from one form to another, she consistently gave her nationality as Belgian; the forms were filled out in either German or French.


title: Isdal Woman

text: It was also learned that the woman had previously stayed at several hotels in Bergen, and was known to change rooms after checking in. She often told hotel staff that she was a travelling saleswoman and antiquities dealer. One witness said that she overheard the woman talking to a man in German in a Bergen hotel. Others who met her mentioned that she also spoke Flemish and broken English and smelled of garlic. People who saw or met her also commented that she wore wigs.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Composite sketches, based on witness descriptions and analysis of her body, were then circulated in many countries via Interpol. Despite the significant police resources deployed, the unknown woman was never identified and the case was quickly closed. While authorities concluded that she had committed suicide by ingestion of sleeping pills, others believe that there is evidence that she was murdered.


title: Isdal Woman

text: On 5 February 1971, the woman was given a Catholic burial (based on her use of saint's names on check-in forms) in an unmarked grave within the Møllendal graveyard located in Bergen. Attended by 16 members of the Bergen police force, she was buried in a zinc coffin to both preserve her remains and for ease of disinterment. Her ceremony was also photographed in case relatives came forward at a later date.


title: Isdal Woman

text: Many questions remain unanswered about the case, especially the reasons for the woman's many identities and unexplained travel plans. Multiple investigations point to the possibility that she was a spy, given the Cold War context of the time. Norway had also experienced other strange disappearances in the 1960s, close to military installations, which also traced back to international espionage. The declassified records of the Norwegian Armed Forces also reveal that many of the woman's movements seem to correspond to top secret trials of the Penguin missile. A fisherman is also reported to have recognised the unknown woman while observing military movements in Stavanger. The nine identities used in hotels (no passports were found) could imply the involvement of a very professional organization or, alternatively, involvement in a crime gang.


title: Isdal Woman

text: The taxi driver who took the woman from the hotel to Bergen railway station was never found. In 1991, however, a taxi driver wishing to remain anonymous said that after picking up the unknown woman at the hotel, they were joined by another man for the ride to the train station.


title: Isdal Woman

text: In 2005, a Bergen resident, who was 26 in 1970, told a local newspaper that after seeing the sketch circulated, he had suspected that the dead woman was a woman he had seen five days before the body was found, when he was hiking on the hillside at Fløyen. Surprisingly, she was dressed lightly for the city rather than a hike, and was walking ahead of two men wearing coats who looked "southern". She appeared resigned and seemed about to say something to him but did not. He went to someone he knew at the police to report this, but was told to forget about it. Therefore, neither his name nor his alleged sighting was recorded at that time.


title: Isdal Woman

text: In 2016, the case was reopened, and NRK commissioned the American artist Stephen Missal to create six alternative sketches of the Isdal Woman, which were shown to people who had seen her.


title: Isdal Woman

text: In 2017, stable isotope analysis of the woman's teeth (taken from her unburied jawbone) indicated that the woman had been born in about 1930, plus or minus four years, in or near Nuremberg, Germany, but had moved to France or the France–Germany border as a child. This reinforced earlier analysis of her handwriting, which suggested that she had been educated in France or a neighbouring country. Analysis also indicated she had been to a dentist in either East Asia, Central Europe, Southern Europe or South America.


title: Isdal Woman

text: In 2018, NRK and the BBC World Service published a podcast series titled "Death in Ice Valley", which included interviews with eyewitnesses and forensic scientists, also suggesting that the Isdal Woman's birthplace may have been southern Germany or the French-German border region, and that she was likely born 1930 (±4 years). She was also likely raised in French-speaking Belgium. In June 2019, the BBC revealed that listeners of the podcast had given some more clues. Further, Colleen Fitzpatrick, a geneticist with the DNA Doe Project, contacted the "Death in Ice Valley" team to offer her help in identifying the woman through genetic genealogical isotope testing of autopsied tissues. It has been revealed that she is of mtDNA haplogroup H24, indicating a matrilineal line of descent originating in South East Europe or South West Asia. She also seems to have had a French passport based on the fact that an unidentified French national was registered on one of the flights she took to Norway.


title: Isdal Woman

text: The author Dennis Zacher Aske, in a book about the case, proposed the woman to have been a sex worker. This is based on the way that her route was planned (goal oriented and always returning to the same point, likely her home), her wish to remain anonymous, her behaviour at hotels (including marking the doors in different ways) and the fact that the different men she was witnessed meeting never came forward. He argued that another person was likely at the crime scene when she died, based on evidence from the scene and her medically intoxicated condition in the hours before her death. He said there were arguments that supported the death being either murder or assisted suicide, and believed murder to be most likely.


title: Isdal Woman

text: In 2019, after a publication of an article on the case in "Le Républicain Lorrain", an inhabitant of Forbach, France, claims to have had a relationship with the woman in the summer of 1970. The woman, a polyglot, supposedly had a Balkan accent. She pretended to be about 26 years old but often dressed herself up to look younger, and refused to share any personal details. She is said to have often received scheduled phone calls from abroad. The resident managed to rifle through her belongings and found various wigs and colorful clothes. He had also pilfered a photograph of the woman riding a horse. Suspecting she was a spy, he considered contacting the authorities, but was afraid to do so. His story and the photograph were published in a subsequent issue of the newspaper.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Walter Duranty (25 May 1884 – 3 October 1957) was an Anglo-American journalist who served as Moscow bureau chief of "The New York Times" for fourteen years (1922–1936) following the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War (1918–1921).


title: Walter Duranty

text: In 1932, Duranty received a Pulitzer Prize for a series of reports about the Soviet Union, eleven of which were published in June 1931. He was later criticized for his subsequent denial of the widespread famine (1930–1933) in the USSR, most particularly the Holodomor. Beginning in 1990, there were calls for the Pulitzer board to revoke Duranty's prize. The Pulitzer Board declined to revoke the award and in 2003 said the articles which it examined in making the award did not contain "clear and convincing evidence of deliberate deception".


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty was born in a middle-class Merseyside family to Emmeline (née Hutchins) and William Steel Duranty. His grandparents had moved to Birkenhead on the Wirral from the West Indies in 1842 and established a successful merchant business in which his father worked. He studied at Harrow, one of Britain's most prestigious public schools, but a sudden collapse in the family business led to a transfer to Bedford School. Nevertheless, he gained a scholarship to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first-class degree.


title: Walter Duranty

text: After completing his education, Duranty moved to Paris, where he met Aleister Crowley and participated in magic rituals with him. Duranty became involved in a relationship with Crowley's mistress, Jane Cheron, and eventually married her. In "Magick Without Tears", Crowley terms Duranty "my old friend" and quotes from Duranty's book "I Write as I Please".


title: Walter Duranty

text: During World War I, Duranty worked as a reporter for "The New York Times". A story Duranty filed about the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 gained him wider notice as a journalist. He moved to Riga, Latvia, to cover events in the newly independent Baltic states.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty moved to the Soviet Union in 1921. On holiday in France in 1924, his left leg was injured in a train wreck. After an operation, the surgeon discovered gangrene and the leg was amputated. Once he had recovered, Duranty returned to the Soviet Union.


title: Walter Duranty

text: During the New Economic Policy, which implemented a mixed economy, Duranty's articles failed to draw widespread attention. After the advent of the first five-year plan (1928–1933), which aimed to transform Soviet industry and agriculture, however, he was granted an exclusive interview with Joseph Stalin that greatly enhanced his reputation as a journalist. Duranty remained in Moscow for twelve years.


title: Walter Duranty

text: After settling in the United States in 1934, Duranty was placed on retainer with "The New York Times", the terms of which required him to spend several months a year in Moscow. In this capacity, he reported on the show trials of Stalin's political opponents in 1936–1938.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In the 1931 series of reports for which he received the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence, Duranty argued that the Russian people were "Asiatic" in thought, valuing communal effort and requiring autocratic government. He claimed that they viewed individuality and private enterprise as alien concepts that led to social disruption and were just as unacceptable to them as tyranny and Communism were unacceptable to the Western world.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Failed attempts since the time of Peter the Great to apply Western ideals in Russia were a form of European colonialism, he wrote, that had been finally swept away by the 1917 Revolution. Vladimir Lenin and his New Economic Policy were both failures tainted by Western thought. Duranty believed that Stalin scrapped the New Economic Policy because he had no political competition. The famine in Ukraine demonstrated the lack of organized opposition to Stalin, because his position was never truly threatened by the catastrophe. Stalin succeeded where Lenin had failed: he "re-established a dictator of the imperial idea and put himself in charge" by means of intimidation. "Stalin didn't look upon himself as a dictator, but as a 'guardian of a sacred flame' that he called Stalinism for lack of a better name." Stalin's five-year plan was an attempt to effect a new way of life for the Russian people.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty argued that the Soviet Union's mentality in 1931 greatly differed from the perception created by the ideas of Karl Marx; he viewed Stalinism as an integration of Marxism with Leninism. In one of his articles submitted for the Pulitzer Prize, Duranty opines on the Soviet actions that led to the famine.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty sometimes claimed that individuals being sent to the labor camps in the Russian North, Siberia, or Kazakhstan were given a choice between rejoining Soviet society or becoming underprivileged outsiders. However, he admitted that for those who could not accept the system, "the final fate of such enemies is death". Though describing the system as cruel, he stated that he had "no brief for or against it, nor any purpose save to try to tell the truth". He argued that the brutal collectivization campaign was motivated by the "hope or promise of a subsequent raising up" of Asian-minded masses in the Soviet Union that only history would be able to judge.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty both admitted the brutality of the Stalinist system and defended the necessity of it. He repeated Soviet views as his own opinion, as if his 'observations' from Moscow had given him deeper insights into the country as a whole.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty's motivations have been hotly debated and his reporting is faulted for being too uncritical of the USSR, presenting Soviet propaganda as legitimate reporting.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In his praise of Joseph Stalin as an imperial, national, "authentically Russian" dictator to be compared to Ivan the Terrible, Duranty was expressing views similar to those of some White (Russian) émigrés during the same period, namely the Smenovekhovtsy movement, echoing still earlier hopes by the Eurasianism movement and the Mladorossi group currents in the 1920s. (Of course, Stalin was not Russian, but Georgian, with distant Ossetian ancestry – his paternal great-grandfather was an Ossetian—a fact that he himself downplayed during his lifetime.)


title: Walter Duranty

text: In 1933, Stalin rewarded this praise and appreciation by saying that Duranty tried "to tell the truth about our country".


title: Walter Duranty

text: In "The New York Times" on 31 March 1933, Walter Duranty denounced reports of a famine and, in particular, he attacked Gareth Jones, a British journalist who had witnessed the starving in Ukraine and issued a widely published press release about their plight two days earlier in Berlin. (Jones' release was itself immediately preceded by three unsigned articles by Malcolm Muggeridge describing the famine in the "Manchester Guardian".)


title: Walter Duranty

text: Under the title "Russians Hungry, But Not Starving" Duranty's article described the situation as follows:


title: Walter Duranty

text: In the middle of the diplomatic duel between Great Britain and the Soviet Union over the accused British engineers, there appears from a British source a big scare story in the American press about famine in the Soviet Union, with "thousands already dead and millions menaced by death from starvation".


title: Walter Duranty

text: The "diplomatic duel" was a reference to the arrest of engineers from the Metropolitan-Vickers company who were working in the USSR. Accused with Soviet citizens of "wrecking" (sabotaging) the plant they were building, they were the subjects of one in a series of show trials presided over by Andrey Vyshinsky during the First Five Year Plan.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Any report of a famine in Russia is today an exaggeration or malignant propaganda. The food shortage, however, which has affected the whole population in the last year and particularly in the grain-producing provinces – the Ukraine, North Caucasus [i.e. Kuban Region], and the Lower Volga – has, however, caused heavy loss of life.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty concluded "it is conservative to suppose" that, in certain provinces with a total population of over 40 million, mortality had "at least trebled." The duel in the press over the famine stories did not damage esteem for Duranty. "The Nation" then described his reporting as "the most enlightened, dispassionate dispatches from a great nation in the making which appeared in any newspaper in the world."


title: Walter Duranty

text: Following sensitive negotiations in November 1933 that resulted in the establishment of relations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., a dinner was given for Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov in New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Each of the attendees' names was read in turn, politely applauded by the guests, until Duranty's. Whereupon, Alexander Woollcott wrote, "the one really prolonged pandemonium was evoked ... Indeed, one quite got the impression that America, in a spasm of discernment, was recognizing both Russia and Walter Duranty."


title: Walter Duranty

text: Sally J. Taylor, author of the critical Duranty biography "Stalin's Apologist", argues that his reporting from the USSR was a key factor in U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 decision to grant official recognition to the Soviet Union.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In 1934, Duranty left Moscow and visited the White House in the company of Soviet officials, including Litvinov. He continued as a Special Correspondent for "The New York Times" until 1940.


title: Walter Duranty

text: He wrote several books on the Soviet Union after 1940. His name was on a list maintained by writer George Orwell of those Orwell considered to be unsuitable as possible writers for the British Foreign Office's Information Research Department, owing to the possibility of them being too sympathetic to communism or possibly paid communist agents.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty was reporting at a time when opinions were strongly divided on the Soviet Union and its leadership.


title: Walter Duranty

text: The admission of the USSR to the League of Nations in 1934 was viewed optimistically by some. Others saw an inevitable confrontation between fascism and communism as requiring individuals to take one side or the other.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Many reporters of Duranty's time slanted their coverage in favour of the Soviet Union. Some drew a contrast with the capitalist world, going through the Great Depression; others wrote out of a true belief in Communism; some acted out of fear of being expelled from Moscow, which would result in a loss of livelihood. At home many of their editors found it hard to believe a state would deliberately starve millions of its own people. Duranty's reports for "The New York Times" were a source of much frustration for the paper's readers in 1932, because they directly contradicted the line taken on the paper's own editorial page.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty has been criticized for deferring to Stalin and the Soviet Union's official propaganda rather than reporting news, both when he was living in Moscow and later. For example, he later defended Stalin's Moscow Trials of 1938, which were staged to eliminate potential challengers to Stalin's authority.


title: Walter Duranty

text: The major controversy regarding his work remains his reporting on the great famine of 1930–33 that struck certain parts of the USSR after agriculture was forcibly and rapidly "collectivised". He published reports stating "there is no famine or actual starvation nor is there likely to be" and "any report of a famine in Russia is today an exaggeration or malignant propaganda". In Ukraine, the region most affected, this man-made disaster is today known as the Holodomor.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Since the late 1960s, Duranty's work has come increasingly under fire for failing to report the famine. Robert Conquest was critical of Duranty's reporting in "The Great Terror" (1968), "The Harvest of Sorrow" (1986) and, most recently, in "Reflections on a Ravaged Century" (1990). Joseph Alsop and Andrew Stuttaford spoke out against Duranty during the Pulitzer Prize controversy. "Lying was Duranty's stock in trade," commented Alsop. In his memoirs British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, then "The Manchester Guardian"s correspondent in Moscow, talked of Duranty's "persistent lying" and elsewhere called him "the greatest liar I ever knew".


title: Walter Duranty

text: It was clear, meanwhile, from Duranty's comments to others that he was fully aware of the scale of the calamity. In 1934, he privately reported to the British embassy in Moscow that as many as 10 million people might have died, directly or indirectly, from famine in the Soviet Union in the previous year.


title: Walter Duranty

text: Both British intelligence and American engineer Zara Witkin, who worked in the USSR from 1932 to 1934, confirmed that Duranty knowingly misrepresented information about the nature and scale of the famine.


title: Walter Duranty

text: There are some indications that Duranty's deliberate misdirection concerning the famine was the result of duress. Conquest believed Duranty was being blackmailed over his sexual proclivities.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In his 1944 book, Duranty wrote in a chastened tone about his 1932–34 reporting, but he offered only a Stalinist defense of it. He admits that people starved, including not just "class enemies" but also loyal communists, but he says that Stalin was forced to order the requisitions to equip the Red Army enough to deter an imminent Japanese invasion (a reprise of the Siberian Intervention of a decade earlier)—in other words, to save the Soviet Union from impending military doom, not because Stalin wanted to collectivize the population at gunpoint, on pain of death. Although it is likely that Stalin did expect a Japanese invasion (expecting foreign attacks all the time), most historians today do not accept the view that it was his sole motivation.


title: Walter Duranty

text: The concern over Duranty's reporting on the famine in Soviet Ukraine led to a move to posthumously and symbolically strip him of the Pulitzer Prize he received in 1932.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In response to "Stalin's Apologist" (1990), the critical biography by Sally J. Taylor, "The New York Times" assigned a member of its editorial board, Karl Meyer, to write a signed editorial about Duranty's work for the "Times". In a scathing piece, Meyer said (24 June 1990) that Duranty's articles were "some of the worst reporting to appear in this newspaper." Duranty, Meyer said, had bet his career on Stalin's rise and "strove to preserve it by ignoring or excusing Stalin's crimes." The Pulitzer Board in 1990 reconsidered the prize but decided to preserve it as awarded. Four years earlier, in a review of Robert Conquest's "The Harvest of Sorrow" (1986), former Moscow bureau reporter Craig Whitney wrote that Duranty effectively ignored the famine until it was almost over.


title: Walter Duranty

text: In 2003, following an international campaign by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Pulitzer Board began a renewed inquiry, and "The New York Times" hired Mark von Hagen, professor of Russian history at Columbia University, to review Duranty's work as a whole. Von Hagen found Duranty's reports to be unbalanced and uncritical, and that they far too often gave voice to Stalinist propaganda. In comments to the press he stated, "For the sake of "The New York Times" honor, they should take the prize away." The "Times" sent Von Hagen's report to the Pulitzer Board and left it to the Board to take whatever action they considered appropriate. In a letter accompanying the report, "The New York Times" publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. called Duranty's work "slovenly" and said it "should have been recognized for what it was by his editors and by his Pulitzer judges seven decades ago."


title: Walter Duranty

text: Ultimately, Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prize board, declined to revoke the award. In a press release of November 21, 2003, he stated that with regard to the 13 articles by Duranty from 1931 submitted for the award "there was not clear and convincing evidence of deliberate deception, the relevant standard in this case."


title: Walter Duranty

text: In 2022, Russian escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War led to renewed attention on this decision. The "New York Times" executive editor in 2003, Bill Keller, later publicly expressed remorse that he did not do more to return the award, saying, "A Pulitzer Prize is not just an accolade for an isolated piece of work. It at least implies an accolade for the reporter's performance, and Duranty's performance was shameful."


title: Walter Duranty

text: Duranty is portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard in the film "Mr. Jones" (2019). The film depicts the story of journalist Gareth Jones as he seeks to find the truth about what was happening in Ukraine and then to have that story reported to the world in the face of opposition and denials from Stalin's Kremlin and Duranty.


title: The Last Dragon

text: The Last Dragon (sometimes listed as Berry Gordy's "The Last Dragon") is a 1985 American martial arts comedy film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, Christopher Murney, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Faith Prince. Choreography was created by Lester Wilson and Lawrence Leritz.


title: The Last Dragon

text: "The Last Dragon" was released in theatres by TriStar Pictures on March 22, 1985. The film was a financial success despite a mixed reception by critics, and is considered a cult classic.


title: The Last Dragon

text: In New York City, Leroy Green (also known as "Bruce Leeroy") has dreams of becoming a great martial artist like his idol Bruce Lee. His master explains that he has reached the final level of martial arts accomplishment known as "The Last Dragon." Martial artists who reach this final level are said to be able to concentrate such mystical energy into their hands that they begin to glow. Only a true martial arts master would be able to exhibit "The Glow" over his entire body. Leroy doesn't fully understand and, in possession of a medal supposedly belonging to Bruce Lee, Leroy embarks upon a spiritual journey to find Master Sum Dum Goy, whom his master claims can help Leroy unlock the power of "The Glow."


title: The Last Dragon

text: Another martial artist, Sho'nuff (also known as "The Shogun of Harlem") sees Leroy as the only obstacle to being acknowledged as the true master of martial arts. When Leroy refuses to fight him, a furious Sho'nuff attempts to menace Leroy into accepting his challenge. Accompanied by his minions Crunch, Beast, and Cyclone, Sho'nuff barges into Leroy's martial arts school. The gang assaults Johnny Yu, one of Leroy's students, demanding that Leroy bow before Sho'nuff. Finally, Sho'nuff and company ransack the Green family's pizza restaurant.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Meanwhile, video arcade mogul Eddie Arkadian sends his men to kidnap local VJ Laura Charles, owner of the "7th Heaven" studio, where she films a TV series similar to "Soul Train". Eddie hopes to get several trashy music videos he has produced starring his girlfriend Angela Viracco featured on Laura's show. The kidnap attempt is thwarted by Leroy who easily fends off the thugs. He loses his medal during the struggle, which Laura recovers. Later, Leroy witnesses Laura being kidnapped by Arkadian's brutish henchman Rock. A clue left behind reveals that the kidnappers work for Eddie Arkadian Productions.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Laura refuses to promote Angela's video on her program, but as Arkadian's men prepare to coerce her, Leroy suddenly bursts into the room clothed as a Ninja and rescues Laura once again. Back at her apartment, Laura gratefully returns Leroy's medal. Consumed with vengeance, Arkadian hires Sho'nuff to defeat Leroy and takes control of the "7th Heaven" studio, capturing Laura and Leroy's younger brother, Richie, who has snuck in hoping to woo Laura.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Posing as a pizza delivery man, Leroy manages to infiltrate the assumed lair of Master Sum Dum Goy within a fortune cookie factory, but is shocked to discover that the "Master" is only a computer churning out cookie fortunes. Leroy consults his former master for answers, but his master suggests that Leroy has known the answers all along.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Not wanting anyone to get hurt in the process of achieving her stardom, Angela leaves Arkadian and asks Johnny to warn Leroy about his plan. As Leroy returns to "7th Heaven", he is ambushed by an army of violent thugs hired by Arkadian. Leroy's students, led by Johnny, charge into the studio to even the odds. Using Laura as bait, Eddie lures Leroy to a dilapidated building where he finally faces off against Sho'nuff. During the battle, Sho'nuff reveals his ability to use "The Glow," his hands pulsating with a red aura, and beats Leroy viciously before attempting to force him to acknowledge Sho'nuff as "The Master." As recent events flash before Leroy's eyes, he realizes that his former Master was correct and that everything he needed to achieve the "Final Level" was within him all along. His entire body bathed in the sublime golden light of "The Glow," Leroy uses his newfound power to defeat Sho'nuff.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Arkadian appears and fires a single bullet which Leroy catches between his teeth before detaining Arkadian for the police. Laura and Leroy are reunited at the studio where the two kiss.


title: The Last Dragon

text: "The Last Dragon" began production in New York City locations on April 16, 1984. This was the first acting role for Taimak, a then-19-year-old black belt who learned to act on the set of this picture. Reyes, martial artist and actor, made his film debut at the age of twelve in this film. Carry, in the role of Sho'nuff, trained in martial arts for the film. Gordy was frequently on the set and had many of his Motown artists visit. Producer Suzanne de Passe was very hands on with the project. Billy Blanks was at one point considered for the role of Leroy Green as was Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, Laurence Fishburne and even Denzel Washington.


title: The Last Dragon

text: Notable film locations include the Harlem Karate Institute of Grandmaster Ernest Hyman, Japanese Goju-Ryu, in Harlem, New York City where the Dojo and workout scenes were filmed. The Victory Theater on 42nd Street, which was an adult movie theatre, was used for the scene where Sho'nuff interrupts the viewing of "Enter the Dragon". Ron Van Clief choreographed the fight for this scene in which Carry performed his own stunts. Bernstein's-on-Essex, a kosher Chinese restaurant used in the film with its decor intact.


title: The Last Dragon

text: The film has a soundtrack of the same name and features music supervised by executive producer Berry Gordy. The music was supervised by executive producer Gordy. Featured in this film is a DeBarge song, "Rhythm of the Night," written by Diane Warren. The song reached #3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The film's Richard Perry-produced title theme was nominated for Worst "Original" Song at the 1985 Golden Raspberry Awards, as was Vanity's song "7th Heaven."


title: The Last Dragon

text: A song that was not featured but still benefited from critical acclaim was "Upset Stomach," written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It also marked the return of Willie Hutch to Motown with the song "The Glow." Charlene performed the song "Fire" for the soundtrack. The score was composed by Segal. The love theme song called "First Time on a Ferris Wheel" was also composed by Segal and performed by Smokey Robinson and Syreeta.


title: The Last Dragon

text: On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 59% approval rating based on reviews from 22 critics. The site's consensus reads: ""The Last Dragon" is a flamboyant genre mashup brimming with style, romance, and an infectious fondness for kung fu, but audiences may find the tonal whiplash more goofy than endearing."


title: The Last Dragon

text: Neil Gaiman reviewed "The Last Dragon" for "Imagine" magazine, and stated that "Will black Kung Fu whiz 'Bruce' Leroy find The Master, defeat wicked Eddie Arcadian, beat Sho-Nuff ('The Shogun of Harlem'), rescue the lovely Laura (Vanity), outsmart the jive-talking Chinese fortune-cookie people, and learn how to get down and boogie? Very probably."


title: The Last Dragon

text: In 2002, a paper in the "Journal of Asian American Studies" applauded the strong character development of the black hero, who reverses the stereotype of the typical Asian in an action film. The hero, while learning from an Asian Zen master, learns to use his internal strength and aura to overcome obstacles.


title: Third Watch

text: Third Watch is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced by John Wells Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.


title: Third Watch

text: The show was set and taped in New York City, and with an ensemble cast of characters, the storylines centered on the lives of police officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), all working the same fictional precinct during the 3 pm to 11 pm shift – the 'third watch'.


title: Third Watch

text: After the September 11 attacks hit New York in 2001, season three opened with the episode "In Their Own Words", which aired on October 15, 2001, and featured interviews with real-life NYPD and FDNY members who responded to the attacks. The following episode was titled "September Tenth".


title: Third Watch

text: The series followed the exploits of a group of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics in the fictional NYPD 55th Precinct and the fictional FDNY Squad 55/Ladder 100/Battalion 24 firehouse, whose shifts fell between 3 pm and 11 pm, the "third watch". The precinct and fire station were located on the fictional corner of King Boulevard and Arthur Street; hence the nickname "Camelot". Exterior/interior shots of the 55th Precinct and the firehouse were filmed in Long Island City, Queens, although both in the show appear to be located somewhere between the Bronx, and midtown and Inwood in Manhattan. "Third Watch" succeeded in presenting all three branches of New York City's emergency services in the same show, reviving a failed attempt to do so nine years prior with the similarly themed "H.E.L.P."


title: Third Watch

text: The show balanced numerous single-episode events with other, ongoing storylines, some of which spanned multiple seasons. Though it gained much acclaim and eventually won an award for its emotional and honest portrayal of 9/11 and its aftermath, "Third Watch" was also criticized in some circles for extremely detailed violence, and extensive (by network standards) profane language. The show was created, produced, and written by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. The theme song for the show was "Keep Hope Alive" by The Crystal Method, except for the pilot episode, when "Right Here, Right Now" by Fatboy Slim was played during the opening sequence.


title: Third Watch

text: In the spring of 2005, NBC decided not to renew "Third Watch", making the sixth season its last. The series' finale, "Goodbye to Camelot", aired in the United States on Friday, May 6, 2005. Several major newspapers, including the "New York Times" and the "Bergen Record", have since listed it as a TV show that was cancelled too early.


title: Third Watch

text: John Wells had wanted to do a show about paramedics for some time due to his work on "ER", but did not think he had enough material to make such a show. Ed Bernero, a former Chicago cop, had wanted to do a police drama partly based on his own experiences. The two worked together on the short-lived show "Trinity" and, after that show was cancelled, Wells asked Bernero if he wanted to co-create a show with him.


title: Third Watch

text: Originally, the show was only going to be about the police and paramedics, but firefighter Jimmy Doherty was added to the show after Eddie Cibrian auditioned for the role of Bosco. Cibrian lost out to Jason Wiles, but because of the attention he received from women due to his good looks, the producers decided to put him in the show as a new character. Bernero reportedly commented that they did not have any firefighters, and the fire aspect of the show was added.


title: Third Watch

text: The series consists of six seasons with a total of 132 episodes, produced and broadcast from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005.


title: Third Watch

text: "Third Watch's" original ensemble cast in the series' first season consisted of Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Bobby Cannavale, Eddie Cibrian, Molly Price, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar, Skipp Sudduth, and Jason Wiles.


title: Third Watch

text: Eddie Cibrian also portrayed the contract-role of Cole on "Sunset Beach" while appearing on "Third Watch" at the same time until "Sunset Beach"'s cancellation in January 2000.


title: Third Watch

text: In 2000, Amy Carlson was added to the cast as paramedic/firefighter Alex Taylor. In 2001, series regular Bobby Cannavale willingly left the series after he asked to be written out due to lack of character use and development.


title: Third Watch

text: At the start of season three, Chris Bauer was added to the main credits as Fred Yokas after being a recurring guest star previously. Tia Texada became a recurring guest star, and later, a full cast member, in 2002. Carlson left the show in 2003. Later that year, Nia Long was introduced as Officer Sasha Monroe (her rank was changed in season six in one of the show's most shocking plot twists). Yvonne Jung became a recurring guest star also in 2003, although she had been a guest in season-three episode "Act Brave" as a lawyer defending Kim in her custody battle with Jimmy. Also in 2003, Bonnie Dennison was added as Emily Yokas, previously being recurring.


title: Third Watch

text: In 2004, just after celebrating the show's 100th episode, Eddie Cibrian and Michael Beach left the show. Cibrian's departure marked the first time a main character was written out of the show without dying. Series regular Molly Price's character, Faith Yokas, made very few appearances in season five of the series because Price was pregnant throughout much of the season. The writers for "Third Watch" explained her absence by her character being seriously injured in a shootout, and then trying to recuperate at home. In the few scenes Price was in, her growing belly was frequently hidden by blankets piled on top of her while she lay in bed. Cara Buono joined the cast as Paramedic Grace Foster late in the show's fifth season in 2004.


title: Third Watch

text: Kim Raver decided to leave the show after the show's sixth-season opener and became a series regular on "24". Josh Stewart was introduced as a main cast member of season six as Probationary Officer Brendan Finney. After a several-month absence, Dennison reclaimed the role of Emily Yokas for the rest of the final season, while Chris Bauer left the show to pursue his new show "Tilt", which coincidentally co-starred his former "Third Watch" castmate, Eddie Cibrian, but made sporadic guest-star appearances in season six. Beach, Cibrian, and Raver rejoined their former co-stars in the series finale, "Goodbye To Camelot".


title: Third Watch

text: All six seasons of "Third Watch" were originally broadcast on NBC in the United States and simulcast in Canada on CTV .


title: Third Watch

text: "Third Watch" was also broadcast worldwide including Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.


title: Third Watch

text: Warner Home Video released Season 1 of "Third Watch" on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Season 2 was released in Region 1 on July 7, 2009.


title: Third Watch

text: Music licensing issues delayed the release of the first two seasons and, as of 2021, it is unknown when or if the remaining four seasons will ever be released. However, some post-broadcast releases include episodes slightly modified, with music different from the original broadcast. In March 2015, Crave TV began streaming the first three seasons. However, as of 2021, Crave TV no longer offers this streaming option.


title: Third Watch

text: In December 2021, The Roku Channel added all 6 seasons of Third Watch to watch for free. In December of 2022 Roku stopped offering Third Watch for streaming.


title: Third Watch

text: The hit series won the prestigious Peabody Award for Season 3 episode "In Their Own Words", in which series regulars Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Amy Carlson, Eddie Cibrian, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar, Skipp Sudduth, and Jason Wiles introduced clips of interviews with the real-life NYPD and FDNY members who responded to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Series regular Molly Price was interviewed in a segment because she is married to real-life FDNY firefighter and "Third Watch" recurring guest star Derek Kelly.


title: Third Watch

text: Many "Third Watch" former cast members were nominated for awards for their work on the show. Among them, both Bobby Cannavale and Anthony Ruivivar were nominated for ALMA Awards for their positive portrayals of Latino characters. Nia Long also won several NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of the African-American character Sasha Monroe. Other cast members, including Michael Beach, Molly Price, and Tia Texada also were nominated for various awards. The show itself was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Stunt Coordination and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, which it won in 2000.


title: Badrinath

text: Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. It gets its name from the Badrinath Temple.


title: Badrinath

text: "Badri" refers to "Badrayana", another name for Rishi Ved Vyas who is believed to have resided in this region. It is also known as "Badarikashrama".


title: Badrinath

text: Badrinath was re-established as a major pilgrimage site by Adi Shankara in the 8th century. In earlier days, pilgrims used to walk hundreds of miles to visit the Badrinath temple.


title: Badrinath

text: The temple has been repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes and avalanches. As late as the First World War, the town consisted only of the 20-odd huts used by the temple's staff, but the site drew thousands each year and up to 50,000 on its duodecennial festivals (every twelve years). In recent years its popularity has increased still more, with an estimated 600,000 pilgrims visiting during the 2006 season, compared to 90,676 in 1961. The temple in Badrinath is also a sacred pilgrimage site for Vaishnavites. Badrinath is also gateway to several mountaineering expeditions headed to mountains like Nilkantha.


title: Badrinath

text: The Badrinath temple is the main attraction in the town. According to legend, Adi Shankaracharya discovered a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan made of Shaligram stone in the Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple. The temple is approximately 50 ft (15 m) tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof. The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to a tall arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The architecture resembles a Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly painted facade also more typical of Buddhist temples. Just inside is the mandapa, a large pillared hall that leads to the garbha grha, or main shrine area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carving.


title: Badrinath

text: According to the Bhagavata Purana, "There in Badrikashram, the supreme being (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities." (Bhagavata Purana 3.4.22)


title: Badrinath

text: The Badrinath area is referred to as Badari or Badarikaashram (बदरिकाश्रम) in Hindu scriptures. It is a place sacred to Vishnu, particularly in Vishnu's dual form of Nara-Narayana. Thus, in the Mahabharata, Krishna, addressing Arjuna, says, "Thou wast Nara in a former body, and, with Narayana for thy companion, didst perform dreadful austerity at Badari for many myriads of years."


title: Badrinath

text: As per one legend, when the goddess Ganga was requested to descend on earth to help the suffering humanity at the request of Suryavanshi king Bhagiratha, the earth was unable to withstand the force of her descent. Therefore, the mighty Ganga (Ganges) was split into two holy channels, with Alaknanda as one of them.


title: Badrinath

text: Another lore states that the area was full of Badri bushes and Vishnu meditated here. His beloved Lakshmi stood next to him, sheltering him from scorching sunlight and thus turned into a Badri herself called 'BADRI VISHAL' and her lord (Nath) became the BadriNath.


title: Badrinath

text: The mountains around Badrinath are mentioned in the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were said to have expired one by one, when ascending the slopes of a peak in western Garhwal called Swargarohini (literal meaning - the 'Ascent to Heaven'). The Pandavas passed through Badrinath and the town of Mana, 4 km north of Badrinath, on their way to Svarga (heaven). There is also a cave in Mana where Vyasa, according to legend, wrote the Mahabharata.


title: Badrinath

text: This place is considered holy in Jainism as well. In Jainism, Himalaya is also called Ashtapad because of its eight different mountain range Gaurishankar, Kailash, Badrinath, Nanda, Drongiri, Nara-Narayana and Trishuli. Rishabhanatha attained Nirvana on Mount Kailash situated in the Himalayan range and according to Jain faith (Nirvankand), from Badrinath numerous Jain Muni got Moksha by doing Tapsya. According to Shrimadbhagwat, at this place Rishabhdev's father Nabhirai and mother Marudevi had done hard Tapa after Rishabhdev's Rajyabhishek and taken Samadhi. Even today footprint of Nabhirai at Neelkanth mountain attracts everybody towards him.


title: Badrinath

text: Badrinath has an average elevation of 3,100 metres (10,170 feet). It is in the Garhwal Himalayas, on the banks of the Alaknanda River. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges 9 km east of Nilkantha peak (6,596m). Badrinath is located 62 km northwest of Nanda Devi peak and 301 km north of Rishikesh. From Gaurikund (near Kedarnath) to Badrinath by road is 233 km.


title: Badrinath

text: According to the Köppen climate system, Badrinath's climate is humid continental ("Dwb") bordering a subtropical highland climate ("Cwb").


title: Badrinath

text: As of 2011 Indian Census, Badrinath had a total population of 2,438, of which 2,054 were males and 384 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 68. The total number of literates in Badrinath was 2,265, which constituted 92.9% of the population with male literacy of 95.4% and female literacy of 79.7%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Badrinath was 95.6%, of which male literacy rate was 97.1% and female literacy rate was 86.9%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 113 and 22 respectively. Badrinath had 850 households in 2011.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 British historical drama film directed and produced by Fred Zinnemann, adapted by Robert Bolt from his play of the same name. It depicts the final years of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England who refused both to sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to take an Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film, starring alongside Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, and Orson Welles. Also appearing are Nigel Davenport, Leo McKern, Corin Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave and, in one of his earliest screen roles, John Hurt. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on 12 December 1966.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: "A Man for All Seasons" was a critical and box-office success. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 39th Academy Awards, while the cast and crew won another five, including Best Director for Zinnemann and Best Actor for Scofield. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best British Film. In 1999, the British Film Institute named it the 43rd greatest British film of all time.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: The title reflects playwright Bolt's portrayal of More as the ultimate man of conscience, remaining true to his principles and religion under all circumstances and at all times. Bolt borrowed the title from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of More, who in 1520 wrote of him:


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: During a private late-night meeting at Hampton Court, Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England, chastises More for being the only member of the Privy Council to oppose Wolsey's attempts to obtain from the Pope an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, as their marriage has not produced a male heir. With the annulment, Henry would be able to marry Anne Boleyn, with whom he hopes to father such an heir and avoid a repeat of the Wars of the Roses. More says that he cannot agree to Wolsey's suggestion that they apply "pressure" on Church property and revenue in England. Unknown to More, the conversation is being overheard by Wolsey's aide, Thomas Cromwell.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: Returning to his home at Chelsea at dawn, More finds his young acquaintance Richard Rich waiting for his return so as to lobby for a position at Court. More instead offers Rich a job as a teacher. Rich declines More's offer, saying that teaching would offer him little chance to become well known. More finds his daughter Meg chatting with a brilliant young lawyer, William Roper, who announces his desire to marry her. The devoutly Catholic More says he cannot give his blessing as long as Roper remains a Lutheran.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: Some time later, Wolsey dies in a rural monastery in disgrace after banishment from court for failing to obtain the papal annulment Henry wanted. Henry appoints More Lord Chancellor of England. The King makes an "impromptu" visit to the More estate and again requests More's support for an annulment, but More remains unmoved as Henry alternates between threats, tantrums, and promises of unbounded royal favour. As the King leaves, Cromwell promises Rich a position at Court in return for damaging information about More.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: Roper, learning of More's quarrel with the king, says that his religious views have altered considerably and declares that by attacking the Church, the king has become "the Devil's minister." More is admonishing Roper to be more guarded when Rich arrives, pleading again for a position at Court. When More again refuses, Rich denounces More's steward as a spy for Thomas Cromwell. An unmoved More responds, "Of course, that's one of my servants."


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: Humiliated, Rich joins Cromwell in attempting to bring More down. Meanwhile, the king orders Parliament and the bishops to declare him "Supreme Head of the Church of England". Embracing Caesaropapism, the bishops and Parliament accede to the king's demands and renounce all allegiance to the Pope. More quietly resigns as Lord Chancellor rather than accept the new order. His close friend, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, attempts to draw out his opinions in a friendly private chat, but More knows that the time for speaking openly of such matters is over.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: In a meeting with Norfolk, Cromwell implies that More's troubles will be over if he will attend the king's "wedding" to Boleyn. After More does not, he is summoned again to the royal palace of Hampton Court, where Cromwell interrogates More inside Wolsey's former office. More refuses to answer and an infuriated Cromwell reveals that the king views More as a traitor, but allows him to leave. The Thames boatmen are aware of the King's hostility to More and refuse to ferry him, so More returns home on foot.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: As More finally arrives, his daughter Meg informs him that a new oath is being circulated and that all must take it or face charges of high treason. Initially, More says he might be willing to take the oath, depending on its wording. Upon learning that it names the king as Supreme Head of the Church and allows no legal or moral loopholes, More refuses to take it and is imprisoned in the Tower of London.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: More remains steadfast in his refusal to take the Oath and refuses to explain, knowing that he cannot be convicted if he has not explicitly denied the king's supremacy. A request for new books to read backfires, resulting in the confiscation of the books he has, and Rich removes them from More's cell, providing an opportunity for Rich to further debate More.


title: A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

text: More says goodbye to his wife Alice, Meg and Roper, urging them not to try to defend him, but to leave the country.