title: Ages of consent in North America

text: In the United States, the age of consent laws are made at the state, territorial, and federal district levels. There exist several federal statutes related to protecting minors from sexual predators, but none of them imposes an age limit on sexual acts. On 26 June 2003, both heterosexual and homosexual sodomy became legal in all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia under the U.S. Supreme Court decision "Lawrence v. Texas" (between non-commercial, consenting adults in a private bedroom). In "State v. Limon" (2005), the Kansas Supreme Court used "Lawrence" as a precedent to overturn the state's "Romeo and Juliet" law, which proscribed lesser penalties for heterosexuals than homosexuals convicted of similar age of consent related offenses.


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: Each U.S. state has its own age of consent, as does the District of Columbia. As of 1 August 2018, the age of consent in each state in the United States was 16 years of age, 17 years of age, or 18 years of age. The most common age of consent is 16.


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: The age of consent is 18. There is however a close-in-age exemption that allows minors 16 and 17 years old to consent with someone no more than five years older than themselves and minors 13 to 15 years old to consent with one another, but not with anyone 16 or over.


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: Article § 1700. "Aggravated rape in the first degree" bans sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child under 13. Sexual acts with minors are aggravated by the use of force, intimidation, or the perpetrator's position of authority, and by the fact that the minor, being under 16 and not the perpetrator's spouse, is residing in the same household as the perpetrator.(see Article § 1700, Article § 1702, Article § 1708).


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: (a) Any person over 18 years of age who perpetrates under circumstances not amounting to rape in the first degree, an act of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a person not the perpetrator's spouse who is at least 16 years but less than 18 years of age, and the perpetrator is 5 years or older than the victim, is guilty of rape in the second degree and shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years.


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: Any person under 18 years of age but over 16 years of age who perpetrates an act of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a person not the perpetrator's spouse who is under 16 years of age but over 13 years of age, under circumstances not amounting to rape in the first degree, is guilty of rape in the third degree and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Division of the Superior Court


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: "Sexual contact", that is, non-penetrative sex, defined as "the intentional touching of a person's intimate parts, whether directly or through clothing, to arouse or to gratify the sexual desires of any person" is not permitted with children under 16, but a close-in-age exemption allows those aged at least 13 to engage in such acts with partners under 18.


title: Ages of consent in North America

text: A person over eighteen years of age who engages in sexual contact with a person not the perpetrator's spouse who is over thirteen but under sixteen years of age is guilty of unlawful sexual contact in the second degree and shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The church reports 250,000 members in 1,100 congregations in 59 countries. The church traces its origins to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Christ on April 6, 1830. His eldest son Joseph Smith III formally accepted leadership of the church on April 6, 1860 in the aftermath of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith.


title: Community of Christ

text: Although Community of Christ is a Restorationist faith expression, various practices and beliefs are congruent with mainline Protestant Christianity. While it generally rejects the term "Mormon" to describe its members, the church abides by a number of theological distinctions relatively unique to Mormonism, including but not limited to: ongoing prophetic leadership, a priesthood polity, the use of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture, belief in the cause of Zion, the building of temples, and an interpretation of the Word of Wisdom. In many respects, the church differs from the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and most other Latter Day Saint denominations in its religious liberalism, belief in the traditional conception of the trinity (as opposed to a godhead of three separate and distinct beings), and rejection of exaltation and the plan of salvation. Salvation is considered a personal matter and not subject to dogma, but salvation by grace alone is emphasized. The church considers itself to be non-creedal and accepts people with a wide range of beliefs. Church teachings emphasize that "all are called" as "persons of worth" to "share the peace of Christ".


title: Community of Christ

text: Community of Christ worship follows a free-form worship placing more of the foundation on scripture based on the Revised Common Lectionary. From its headquarters in Independence, Missouri, the church offers a special focus on evangelism, peace and justice ministries, spirituality and wholeness, youth ministries and outreach ministries.


title: Community of Christ

text: Formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Community of Christ regards itself as the true embodiment of the original church organized in 1830 by Joseph Smith, and it regards Joseph Smith III, the eldest surviving son of Smith, to have been his legitimate successor. The church was "legally organized on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York". The formal reorganization occurred on April 6, 1860, in Amboy, Illinois, as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints", adding the word "Reorganized" to the church name in 1872. The church was founded based on a pattern of lineal succession through Joseph Smith of Prophet/presidents of the church, and as a mainstream alternative to the Strangites and the larger LDS church led by Brigham Young. It has long history as a Midwestern wing of the Latter Day Saint movement. It also had a long history of vocal opposition to plural marriage within the Latter Day Saint movement.


title: Community of Christ

text: Community of Christ considers the period from 1830 to 1844 to be a part of its early history and from 1844, the year of the death of the prophet-founder, to 1860, to be a period of disorganization. Since 1844, the doctrines and practices of the Community of Christ have evolved separately from the other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.


title: Community of Christ

text: Since the 1960s, the church's proselytizing outside North America have caused a re-assessment and gradual evolution of its traditional practices and beliefs.


title: Community of Christ

text: A revelation presented by Wallace B. Smith in 1984 decreed the construction of the Independence Temple and the ordination of women to the priesthood, after long-standing calls for both. Following the retirement of Smith as Prophet-President of the Church, W. Grant McMurray was appointed as the new President. Although McMurray had been designated prophet-president by Smith, some members objected because he was the first church president who was not a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, which they considered to be a distinguishing trait from other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.


title: Community of Christ

text: These changes, among others, were controversial among the membership, and they led to the formation of breakaway churches such as the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; in 1994, former church historian Richard P. Howard estimated that 25,000 members had left to join such groups. Between the mid-1960s and the late 1990s, there was a one-third decline in new baptisms in the United States along with a 50 percent drop in contributions in the decade before 1998. The decline in membership was offset somewhat by an increase in converts outside the United States. Growth continues to be driven by missions outside the US, particularly in the developing world and in Australia. In recent years, the church has attracted many ex-Mormons.


title: Community of Christ

text: The vision and mission statements of the Community of Christ were adopted in 1996 by the leading quorums of the church's leadership and reflect the peace and justice centered ministries of the denomination. In its mission statement, the church declares that "[w]e proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love and peace." The vision statement states that "We will become a worldwide church dedicated to the pursuit of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit."


title: Community of Christ

text: The church owns two temples: the Kirtland Temple, dedicated in 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio (operated in part as a historic site as part of its educational ministry), and the relatively new Independence Temple, which serves as the church's headquarters in Independence, Missouri. These structures are open to the public and are also used for education and gatherings. The church also owns and operates some Latter Day Saint historic sites in Lamoni, Iowa, and Plano and Nauvoo, Illinois. The Auditorium in Independence houses the Children's Peace Pavilion and is the site of the major legislative assembly of the Community of Christ, which convenes during the World Conference. The church sponsors Graceland University, with a campus in Lamoni and another in Independence, where the School of Nursing and the Community of Christ Seminary are based.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ states that it recognizes that "perception of truth is always qualified by human nature and experience" and it therefore has not adopted an official religious creed. Nevertheless, the Community of Christ offers a number of the commonly held beliefs of its members and leaders as the "generally accepted beliefs of the church." As Stephen M. Veazey, president of the church states, "Community of Christ is a church that provides light for the way as well as space for the personal faith journey."


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ generally accepts the doctrine of the Trinity and other commonly held Christian beliefs. The concept of Zion as both a present reality of Christian living and as a hoped for community of the future is a rather strongly held belief in the Community of Christ and it ties closely to the peace and justice emphasis of the denomination. The movement also differs from most other Christian faiths in its belief in prophetic leadership, in the Book of Mormon, and in an open canon of scripture recorded in its version of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is regularly appended.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ teaches that the "one eternal living God is triune.” It acknowledges God, who is a community of three persons, as the Creator and the Source of love, life, and truth. It states that "[t]his God alone is worthy of worship.” Jesus Christ is described as both Savior and as a living expression of God and is acknowledged as having lived, died, and been resurrected. As the name of the denomination implies, Jesus Christ is central to its members' study and worship. The Community of Christ's Theology Task Force states that "Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, both fully human and fully divine.” The Holy Spirit is described as the "continuing presence of God in the world" and as the source of divine inspiration.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Independence and Kirtland Temples are places of education and worship for all people. In keeping with the Community of Christ's role as a "peace and justice church," the Independence Temple was "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". Every day at 1 pm a Daily Prayer for Peace is held in the sanctuary of the Independence Temple. Each day at 1 pm Eastern Time the Daily Prayer for Peace is held at the Community of Christ Spiritual Formation Center portion of the Kirtland Temple Complex. The church's peace position was influenced by the Mennonite Central Committee Peace and Justice Education Associate. In addition, the Community of Christ International Peace Award has been bestowed annually since 1993 (except 1996). The call to "peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit" is a recurring theme of the Community of Christ and is reflected in its official vision statement. Doctrinal statements by the church suggest that "because of our commitment to Christ and belief in the worth of all people and the value of community building, we dedicate our lives to the pursuit of peace and justice for all people." The church maintains a Peace and Justice Ministries Office at its headquarters which is designed to provide resources, education and networking. The Peace Colloquy is a major conference on peace held annually at the Community of Christ headquarters. The Community of Christ promotes the Young Peacemakers Club as a means of teaching and promoting peace among children all over the world. In 2008, the church organized an additional 501(c)3 organization called the Peace Support Network whose stated purpose is to "build a global movement which provides individuals the opportunity to join together based upon passion, calling, and that which resonates within them, rather than be constrained by the limitations of circumstance and geography."


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ states that "God loves each of us equally and unconditionally. All persons have great worth and should be respected as creations of God with basic human rights. The willingness to love and the acceptance of others is essential to faithfulness to the gospel of Christ." Recognizing that scripture has sometimes been used to marginalize and oppress classes of persons, the church accepted this statement into the Doctrine and Covenants in 2007: "It is not pleasing to God when any passage of scripture is used to oppress races, genders, or classes of human beings. Many violent acts have been committed against some of God's beloved children through the misuse of scripture. The church is called to confess and repent of such attitudes and practices."


title: Community of Christ

text: The belief in continuing divine revelation is a distinctive aspect of the church. The Community of Christ states that "[t]he process through which God reveals divine will and love is called revelation. God continues to reveal today as in the past. God is revealed to us through scripture, the faith community, prayer, nature, and in human history."


title: Community of Christ

text: The president of the Community of Christ is sometimes referred to by the titles of Prophet or Prophet-President. The president of the church acts as a prophet when bringing occasional inspired counsel or inspired documents to the church. These are usually brief passages of text which bring encouragement, counsel and direction to the church. When an inspired document is presented to the World Conference by the president of the church, an elaborate review process takes place. Each quorum of the church and several caucuses review the document and vote upon it. The quorums typically vote heavily in favor of the documents and sometimes unanimously. Debate is allowed, however, and the body has been known to refer the inspired document back to the president for further reflection or for clarification. When the document comes to the floor of the World Conference for debate, the president retires from the room to allow for more impartial consideration. The World Conference may vote to include the document as a new section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is regarded as scripture by the denomination. If the delegates at the World Conference do approve an inspired document, it is the custom of the church to then have a courtesy vote, which is opened to all non-delegates attending the conference. This is the only time non-delegates are permitted to vote on World Conference business. Through this action, the president of the church can be assured that a large representation of the church membership supports the inspired document.


title: Community of Christ

text: The concept of Zion in the Community of Christ relates to a theology of the "kingdom of God". As a doctrine, it is therefore closely founded upon the kingdom parables of Jesus as recorded in the four gospels. Based on references in the Bible to Mt. Zion or simply Zion, it was initially regarded as a city, sometimes called the New Jerusalem. Prior to 1920, most members of the RLDS Church identified Independence, Missouri, as Zion or the New Jerusalem. As New Testament understandings of basileia, as the realm or the domain of God, have gradually taken root among members of the denomination, Zion is now understood more as a cause, as a way of living or as a state of existence, and is usually not regarded as having its foundation in a specific place. Officially, the denomination states that "[t]he 'cause of Zion' expresses our commitment to pursuing God's kingdom through the establishment of Christ-centered communities in families, congregations, neighborhoods, cities, and throughout the world." While the Concept of Zion is rarely associated with the Jewish concept of Zionism, some members of the RLDS Church from Maine, intrigued by the doctrine of Zion, established a refugee center near Tel Aviv during the initial return of the Jewish diaspora to Israel in the early 1900s.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ commonly attests that "all are called according to the gifts of God unto them" (D&C 119:8b). Published statements of belief proclaim that "[a]ll men, women, youth, and children are given gifts and abilities to enhance life and to become involved in Christ's mission. Some are called to fulfill a particular responsibility as ordained ministers (priesthood) in the church. The church provides for a wide range of priesthood ministries through the calling and ordination of both men and women."


title: Community of Christ

text: Nearly one in ten members of the church hold a priesthood office. These are primarily unpaid bi-vocational ministers. The church does maintain a relatively small group of professional ministers who typically serve as administrators, financial officers or missionaries. Priesthood members are called to teach and preach the gospel or "good news" of Jesus Christ. The ministry of the church at the congregational level is led by priesthood members and is carried out by all members of the priesthood and the laity. In most congregations the pastors and other elected and appointed leadership positions are unpaid positions. The right of women to hold the priesthood was recognized by a church conference in 1984.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ Theology Task Force offers theological statements on the principle of salvation for the consideration of members, but the denomination does not expect strict doctrinal adherence on such matters of belief. The task force presents the view that salvation and eternal life are gifts and that by baptism and discipleship lived as a response to the gospel, individuals become new people.


title: Community of Christ

text: The "Disciples' Generous Response" (or "A Disciple's Generous Response") was announced in April 2002 as the name given by the Community of Christ to a major rethinking of its stewardship theology and practices. Prior to this program, members of the Community of Christ were taught that a stewardship principle known as "increase" determined the base amount for tithing to be paid to the church.


title: Community of Christ

text: Based in part on teachings by writers such as Walter Brueggemann and Leonard Sweet, the Disciple's Generous Response can be traced to a theology or liturgy of abundance, as well as the principle of receiving God's abundance. Like many recent enhancements of church doctrine and practice, it is described as belonging to a postmodernism trend in thinking within the church. While carefully built upon the many differing stewardship principles in both overall Christian and specific Community of Christ traditions, the new thinking emphasizes a natural generosity in all of life lived as response to the overwhelming and incomparable generosity of God. As such, tithing is not limited to World Church giving as in the past, or even to the church at all. Through the principle of community tithes, almost any charitable organization to which a disciple contributes could be considered tithing. While most giving is now seen as tithing, the typical interpretation is that a majority of one's tithing should be given in Mission Tithes (Tithes to Local and World Church) and the minority to Community Tithes (Organizations like Outreach International, Graceland University, Restoration Trails Foundation, World Accord, etc.) The church teaches the principle of community tithes believing that it will not decrease giving to the church, but rather increase it as more members embrace a fully generous and responsive way of living.


title: Community of Christ

text: The new stewardship thinking in the Disciples' Generous Response is referred to indirectly in the book of Doctrine and Covenants 162:7c as "the principle of generosity, rightly interpreted for a new time." The six principles of the Disciples' Generous Response call on Christian disciples to practice generosity as a spiritual discipline, respond faithfully to the blessings of God, to give financially as appropriate to our unique personal circumstances and desires, to share in mission tithes and community tithes, to save wisely for the future and to spend responsibly. Responsibility for interpretation and teaching of the Disciples' Generous Response lies principally with the Presiding Bishopric.


title: Community of Christ

text: Members commonly believe that sacraments (or ordinances) express the abiding presence of God in the life of the church, its members and priesthood. Sacraments are considered metaphorical acts designed to create and renew a person's spiritual relationship with God. Sacraments are viewed as covenants with God in response to God's grace. The Community of Christ practices eight sacraments: baptism, confirmation, blessing of children, The Lord's Supper, marriage, ministration to the sick, ordination, and Evangelist's Blessing. Laying on of hands is used in confirmation, ordination, the blessing of children, ministration to the sick, and Evangelist's blessing.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ points to Jesus Christ as the living Word of God and it affirms the Bible (including but not limited to the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures) along with the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, as scripture for the church. The Community of Christ view of scripture is that it should be "reasonably interpreted and faithfully applied." Scripture references provided for congregational worship generally follow the Revised Common Lectionary. The church views the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as "additional witnesses of Christ's ministry and God's love." The Community of Christ understands scripture as an inspired record of God's activity with humanity. While it recognizes scripture as the revelation of God, its members would not typically suggest that scriptures constitute the literal "words of God." In words of counsel to the church brought by church president Stephen M. Veazey in 2007 and now included in Section 163 of the Doctrine and Covenants, it is suggested that "[s]cripture is an indispensable witness to the Eternal Source of light and truth, which cannot be contained in any finite vessel or language. Scripture has been written and shaped by human authors through experiences of revelation and ongoing inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the midst of time and culture. Scripture is not to be worshipped or idolized. Only God, the Eternal One of whom scripture testifies, is worthy of worship. God's nature, as revealed in Jesus Christ and affirmed by the Holy Spirit, provides the ultimate standard by which any portion of scripture should be interpreted and applied."


title: Community of Christ

text: Scripture has been given a place in the Community of Christ theology. Doctrine and Covenants 163 states: "Scripture, prophetic guidance, knowledge, and discernment in the faith community must walk hand in hand to reveal the true will of God." The Community of Christ's Theology Task Force has produced nine affirmations regarding scripture, the preamble of which states: "Scripture provides divine guidance and inspired insight for life when responsibly interpreted and faithfully applied. Scripture helps us believe in Jesus Christ. Its witness guides us to eternal life and enables us to grow spiritually, to transform our lives, and to participate actively in the life and ministry of the church."


title: Community of Christ

text: In unity with Christianity, the Community of Christ upholds the Bible as scripture. Adherents read and reference both the Hebrew Old Testament and the Christian New Testament in public worship as well as in private study. The church encourages prayerful meditation upon the meaning and the importance of Bible passages. "If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting" (James 1:5–6) is an oft quoted passage from the New Testament, as well as being the scripture reference that Joseph Smith read when he was trying, as a boy, to determine what church to join. His experience following his reading of this scripture resulted in the eventual organization of the Church of Christ.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ does not prescribe a single translation of the Bible. Although Smith began a project to revise the King James Version by inspiration during his lifetime, the liturgy of the church today is usually based on more recent translations of the Bible. Upon Smith's death, the working manuscript of his translation was retained by his family and came into the possession of the Community of Christ. The work was edited and is published by the church as the Inspired Version of the Bible. Since it largely relies on the language of the King James Version, most official publications of the Community of Christ quote scripture from newer versions such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). The Community of Christ does not view scripture, including the Bible, as inerrant. Members are encouraged to understand the historical and literary context of Bible passages and are not required to interpret all of the language literally.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ views the Book of Mormon as an additional witness of Jesus Christ and publishes two versions of the book through its official publishing arm, Herald House. The Authorized Edition is based on the original printer's manuscript and the 1837 Second Edition (or Kirtland Edition) of the Book of Mormon. Its content is similar to the Book of Mormon published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), but the versification is different. The Community of Christ also publishes a 1966 "Revised Authorized Edition" which attempts to modernize some of the language.


title: Community of Christ

text: In 2001, church president W. Grant McMurray reflected on increasing questions about the Book of Mormon: "The proper use of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historicity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity." In the introduction he qualified his statements: "I cannot speak for each person within our community, but perhaps I can say some words on behalf of our community."


title: Community of Christ

text: At the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference, church president Stephen M. Veazey ruled as out of order a resolution to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record". In so doing he stated that "while the Church affirms the Book of Mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree of belief or use. This position is in keeping with our longstanding tradition that belief in the Book of Mormon is not to be used as a test of fellowship or membership in the church."


title: Community of Christ

text: "With other Christians, we affirm the Bible as the foundational scripture for the church. In addition, the Community of Christ uses the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture. We do not use these sacred writings to replace the witness of the Bible or improve upon it, but because they confirm its message that Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God (Preface of the Book of Mormon; Doctrine and Covenants 76: 3g). We have heard Christ speak in all three books of scripture, and bear witness that he is 'alive forever and ever' (Revelation 1:18)."


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is a growing work of scripture containing inspired documents given through the prophet-presidents recognized by the Community of Christ. It contains inspirational Christian messages such as this passage shared by former President, W. Grant McMurray as inspired counsel: "Open your hearts and feel the yearnings of your brothers and sisters who are lonely, despised, fearful, neglected, unloved. Reach out in understanding, clasp their hands, and invite all to share in the blessings of community created in the name of the One who suffered on behalf of all." (Doctrine and Covenants 161:3a)


title: Community of Christ

text: Church president Stephen Veazey presented words of counsel to the membership, which were accepted as scripture on March 30, 2007. This document, now officially Section 163 of the Doctrine and Covenants, further challenges the Community of Christ's membership to engage in ministries that foster peace, and are specifically charged to "pursue peace" and to "strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth".


title: Community of Christ

text: On January 17, 2010, Veazey presented his second revelation, which was officially approved as Section 164 in April 2010. This document enables the church to accept new members previously baptized in other churches via the sacrament of confirmation, instead of having to be re-baptized (although they may be re-baptized if they so wish). The counsel also encourages all church members to periodically reflect upon the meaning of their own baptisms; as well as providing clarification on open communion. In addition, the church is called to more directly confront global concerns of an ethical nature. Finally, the document authorized the church leadership to adjust the number of missionary quorums of the church to align with the particular needs of the church as they may exist.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ employs a three-year lectionary cycle based upon the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) used by other Christian traditions. The readings from the biblical canon are those of the RCL except where the Inspired Version differs in versification from other biblical canons. In these instances verses from the RCL are given along with the corresponding verses of the Inspired Version. In addition, the church has added readings from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, however after feedback and to allow flexibility the church stopped using the 3-year cycle for Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants readings and now these readings are chosen by the author(s) of the Worship Helps published each year and are to be tied to the chosen theme for that Sunday. Worship helps based on the lectionary are published by the Herald House as well as posted on the official denominational website and they include sample orders of worship with recommended hymns from the official denominational hymnal, "Community of Christ Sings".


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ has made efforts to reconcile with traditional Christianity and to reach out to other Christians. The Community of Christ frequently notes that it has never sanctioned polygamy; it has always ordained persons of any race; it has no required creedal statement, asking only that people profess faith in Christ as a condition for baptism; it has accepted Trinitarian doctrine; it has been in dialogue with the National Council of Churches (NCC), the World Council of Churches (WCC), and Christian Churches Together; and it has practiced open communion since 1994. On November 10, 2010, the Community of Christ was unanimously approved for membership by the National Council of Churches, becoming the 37th member communion of this ecumenical body.


title: Community of Christ

text: In its World Conference in 2002, a committee on "Ecumenical/Interfaith Relations" was established to explore the possibility of entering into the membership of the WCC. In its report for the 2004 World Conference, the committee concluded that while there was an openness to further meetings and discussions, there were concerns about several issues including new entrance criteria based on theology and the Community of Christ's acceptance of extra-biblical scriptures. The report states that this warrants caution in their approach, but the dialogue would continue.


title: Community of Christ

text: The church's priesthood was opened to women in 1984. In 1998, Gail E. Mengel and Linda L. Booth became the first two women apostles in the church. At the 2007 World Conference of the church, Becky L. Savage was ordained as the first woman to serve in the First Presidency. In 2013, Linda L. Booth became the first woman elected to serve as president of the Council of Twelve. In 2016, Stassi D. Cramm became the first woman presiding bishop of the church and Jane M. Gardner became the church's first female presiding evangelist.


title: Community of Christ

text: For a period of time, the church under the presidency of W. Grant McMurray allowed the priesthood ordination of practicing homosexuals, something which he acknowledged was already occurring. The church would later halt this practice, prohibiting the ordination of sexually active homosexuals. However, the church allows those who were ordained against policy to continue in priesthood office.


title: Community of Christ

text: In 2012, the Community of Christ held national conferences in Canada and Australia both of which recommended to church leadership to change standing policies regarding ordination to include those in same-sex marriage (Canada) and in marriage-like same-sex committed relationships (Australia), and in Canada to extend the sacrament of marriage to same-sex couples. Official policy changes for these nations have since been released that follow the recommendations of these conferences.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ's 2013 USA National Conference like those in Canada and Australia recommended changes. Those changes were recommended for the extension of the sacrament of marriage to same-sex couples in states where same-sex marriages are legal, the extension of covenant commitment services for same-sex couples in states where same-sex marriages are not yet legal, and extending eligibility for the priesthood call sacrament to all church members regardless of sexual orientation or open same-sex relationship. As a result of these recommendations, church leadership released in March 2014 policy embracing the recommendations for the church in the United States.


title: Community of Christ

text: Ireland and Great Britain held a special multi-nation conference in 2013 which also recommended changes to policy similar to those of Canada, Australia, and the United States. The changes have yet to be approved by the First Presidency and Council of Twelve for Ireland and Great Britain, with the likely time-frame to "develop, approve, and implement interim policies" being up to one year after the 2013 Conferences.


title: Community of Christ

text: A petition by the Australia Mission Centre Council to permit same-sex marriages was approved by the First Presidency in 2017.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ is led by a First Presidency, consisting of a president and two counselors. The president is regarded as a prophet. The church's ministry is overseen by a Council of Twelve Apostles and the financial concerns of the church are overseen by the Presiding Bishopric. Meeting together, these three quorums are known as the World Church Leadership Council.


title: Community of Christ

text: Other key leadership positions include Presiding Evangelist, Senior President of the Presidents of Seventy, President of the High Priests Quorum, and Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer. Every three years (formerly two, until a change made in 2007), delegates from around the world meet together with these leaders to vote on church business in World Conference.


title: Community of Christ

text: The Community of Christ has 250,000 members in 1,100 congregations in 59 countries according to the most recent report. Membership is distributed as 30,000 in Africa, 9,000 in Asia, 8,000 in Canada, 13,250 in the Caribbean, 2,500 in Europe, 12,250 in the Pacific and Australia, 4,500 in Central and South America, and 117,000 in the United States according to the 2016 World Conference Bulletin.


title: Community of Christ

text: The church is officially established in these countries and territories: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.


title: Community of Christ

text: It is estimated that more than half of the active members of the church speak a primary language other than English. The church translates resources into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Telugu, Kwi, Sora, Tahitian, Chewa, Chibemba, Efik, Lingala and Swahili.


title: Community of Christ

text: For the purposes of church organization and administration, the church has divided the world into geographical areas termed fields (which can include areas that are not adjoining, such as Australia and parts of Canada). Each field is presided over by a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, who are collectively overseen by a member of the First Presidency, in his or her capacity of Director of Field Ministries (this role was previously held by the President of the Council of Twelve but followed the outgoing president when he joined the First Presidency in 2013). Fields are further divided into multiple Mission Centers, which succeeded the former jurisdictional units known as stakes and regions (which were each further divided into the now abolished level of district). Each mission center is presided over by a president, holding the office of high priest. Mission centers are composed of congregations, presided over by a pastor or co-pastors.


title: Community of Christ

text: The organizational fields are: Africa and Haiti Mission Field, Asia Mission Field, Canada and Australia Mission Field, Caribbean–Mexico Mission Field, Central and South America Mission Field, Eurasia Mission Field, North Central USA/Canada Mission Field, North East USA Mission Field, Pacific Mission Field, South Central USA Mission Field, Southern USA Mission Field and Western USA Mission Field.


title: Community of Christ

text: Mormon scholars, including members of the Community of Christ, have sometimes described the church as "adrift", not being distinctively Mormon enough, but not completely mainline either. The church has made a long-standing effort to de-mythologize its past, for example, by taking a pragmatic view of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, both of which the church now views as inspired but imperfect. Historian Ken Mulliken has argued that this has led to a policy of "historical amnesia", resulting in a church that has abandoned its past and created a new organization that is focused on social-interaction (Community) and shared mission (Christ).


title: Strip steak

text: The strip steak (sirloin in Britain, Australia, and South Africa) is a cut of beef steaks from the short loin of a cow. It consists of a muscle that does little work, the longissimus, making the meat particularly tender, although not as tender as the nearby psoas major or tenderloin. Unlike the tenderloin, the longissimus is a sizable muscle, allowing it to be cut into larger portions.


title: Strip steak

text: According to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the steak is marketed in the United States under various names, including Ambassador Steak, Boneless Club Steak, Hotel-Style Steak, Kansas City Steak, Top Loin, Veiny Steak, and New York Steak. Delmonico's Restaurant, an operation opened in New York City in 1827, offered as one of its signature dishes a cut from the short loin called a Delmonico steak. Due to its association with the city, it is often referred to as a New York strip steak.


title: Strip steak

text: In New Zealand and Australia, it is known as porterhouse and sirloin (striploin steak) and is in the "Handbook of Australian Meat" under codes 2140 to 2143. In the UK it is called sirloin, and in Ireland it is called striploin.


title: Strip steak

text: In Canada, most meat purveyors refer to this cut as a strip loin; in French it is known as "contre-filet".


title: Strip steak

text: When still attached to the bone, and with a piece of the tenderloin also included, the strip steak becomes a T-bone steak or a porterhouse steak, the difference being that the porterhouse is cut from further rear and thus has a larger portion of tenderloin included. The strip steak may be sold with or without the bone. Strip steaks may be substituted for most recipes calling for T-bone and porterhouse steaks, and sometimes for fillet and rib eye steaks.


title: Warren Lieberstein

text: Warren Keith Lieberstein (born September 20, 1968) is an American writer and producer. He has worked on shows such as "Carpoolers" and "The Office", to which he has extensive ties. He is the younger brother of Paul Lieberstein, the show's former showrunner/actor and the brother-in-law of Greg Daniels, its developer and original producer.


title: Warren Lieberstein

text: Lieberstein worked on the short-lived sketch comedy series "Hype" in 2000 and on ABC's 2003 series "All of Us". He has also written for "Second Time Around", "Modern Men" and "Carpoolers". He joined his brother on the writing staff of "The Office" at the end of its fifth season and became a producer at the beginning of the sixth season. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for writing on "The Office".


title: Warren Lieberstein

text: Lieberstein and Angela Kinsey (who plays Angela Martin on The Office) were married for ten years and have a daughter who was born in 2008. The pair have remained on good terms since their divorce. Lieberstein married fellow television writer Audrey Wauchope in 2016 and they have two daughters together, born in 2014 and 2017. His family is Jewish.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design in his 50-year career. His projects include cultural, educational, and civic institutions; neighborhoods and public parks; housing; mixed-use urban centers; airports; and master plans for existing communities and entirely new cities in North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. He is most identified with designing Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport, as well as his debut project, Habitat 67, originally conceived as his thesis at McGill University.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Moshe Safdie was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, to a Sephardic Jewish family of Syrian-Jewish and Lebanese-Jewish descent. He was nine years old, living in Haifa, when, on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. Safdie attended Reali High School. He lived on a kibbutz, working in the countryside. He tended goats and kept bees. In 1953, the Israeli government restricted imports in response to an economic and currency crisis, which severely affected Safdie's father's textile business. Consequently, when Safdie was 15, his family emigrated to Montreal. There, he attended Westmount High School.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In September 1955, he registered for the six-year architectural degree program at the McGill University Faculty of Engineering. In his fifth year, Safdie was named University Scholar. The following summer, he was awarded the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Scholarship. He traveled across North America to observe housing developments in major cities. In his final year, Safdie developed his thesis, entitled "A Case for City Living" and described as "A Three-Dimensional Modular Building System". He received his degree in 1961. Two years later, while apprenticing with Louis Kahn, Safdie at age 23 was invited by his thesis advisor, Sandy van Ginkel, to submit his modular project for the World Exposition of 1967, to be held in Montreal. Constructed permanently there, it became known as Habitat 67.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In 1964, Safdie established Safdie Architects in Montreal to undertake work on Habitat 67, an adaptation of his thesis at McGill University. Habitat 67 was selected by Canada as a central feature of Expo 67; it pioneered the design and implementation of three-dimensional, prefabricated units for living. Safdie designed the complex as a neighborhood with open spaces, garden terraces, and many other amenities typically reserved for the single-family home, and adapted to a high-density urban environment.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In 1970, Safdie established a branch office of his practice in Jerusalem. During this period, Safdie combined his interests in social activism and advanced technologies with respect for historic and regional context. He worked on the restoration of the Old City and the construction of Mamilla Center, linking old and new cities. Other significant works in Israel include the New City of Modi’in, the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum, Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies, Ben Gurion International Airport, National Campus for the Archeology of Israel, multiple projects for Hebrew Union College, and others. During this period, Safdie also worked with leaders in Senegal and Iran.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Later, Safdie received commissions for public buildings in Canada: the National Gallery of Canada, the Quebec Museum of Civilization, and Vancouver Library Square. Other notable cultural works include the Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex, the national museum of the Sikh people in Punjab, India; the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters on the Mall in Washington, DC; the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri; and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Safdie has worked on projects in emerging markets, and brought projects to completion in shorter time spans, at larger scales. including: Marina Bay Sands, a mixed-use resort integrated with Singapore's iconic Skypark; Jewel Changi Airport, a new community-centric airport typology combining marketplace and garden; and Raffles City Chongqing, a mixed-use development featuring over one million square meters of housing, office, retail, transportation, and hotel programs. To connect four towers in Chongqing, China, he designed a skybridge that has been referred to as the world's longest "Horizontal Skyscraper." Safdie and his team have used skybridges and multi-level connectivity in other projects to make skyscrapers more accessible.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Today, Safdie Architects is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with offices in Jerusalem, Toronto, Shanghai, and Singapore. The business is organized as a partnership.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: Within his office, Safdie formed a research program to pursue advanced investigation of design topics. The practice-oriented fellowship explores speculative ideas outside normal business practice constraints. Fellows work independently with Safdie and firm principals to formulate specific proposals and research plans. The salaried position is located in-residence, with full access to project teams and outside consultants. Past fellowships include Habitat of the Future, Mobility on Demand, and Tall Buildings in the City.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In 1978, after teaching at McGill, Ben Gurion, and Yale universities, Safdie was appointed Director of the Urban Design Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) and moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He served as Director until 1984. From 1984 to 1989, he was the Ian Woodner Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Harvard. Safdie continues to work closely with the GSD, frequently teaching design studio; Notably, Rethinking the Humanist High-Rise (2019) and Rethinking Hudson Yards (2017).


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In 1959, Safdie married Nina Nusynowicz, a Polish-Israeli Holocaust survivor. Safdie and Nusynowicz have two children, a daughter and son, born during the inception and erection of Habitat 67. Just before the opening, Safdie and his young family moved into the development. His daughter Taal is an architect in San Diego, a partner of the firm Safdie Rabines Architects; His son Oren is a playwright who has written several plays about architecture. Safdie's great-nephews, Josh and Benny, are independent filmmakers. Safdie and Nusynowicz divorced in 1981.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: In 1981, Safdie married Michal Ronnen, a Jerusalem-born photographer and daughter of artist Vera Ronnen. Safdie and Ronnen have two daughters, Carmelle and Yasmin. Carmelle is an artist, and Yasmin is a social worker.


title: Moshe Safdie

text: The Moshe Safdie Archive, donated to McGill University by the architect in 1990, is one of the most extensive individual collections of architectural documentation in Canada. Comprising material from 235 projects, the Moshe Safdie Archive records the progression of Safdie's career from his first unpublished university papers to Safdie Architects' current projects. The collection includes over 140,000 drawings, over 200 architectural models, extensive project files, audio visual and digital material, as well as over 100,000


title: Moshe Safdie

text: project photos and travel slides, 215 personal sketchbooks, and 2,250 large sketches. Administered by the McGill University Library, a list of physical holdings are available to researchers.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: The "Yorktown" class was a class of three aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy and completed shortly before World War II, the , , and . They immediately followed , the first U.S. aircraft carrier built as such, and benefited in design from experience with "Ranger" and the earlier , which were conversions into carriers of two battlecruisers that were to be scrapped to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty, an arms limitation accord.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: These ships bore the brunt of the fighting in the Pacific during 1942, and two of the three were lost: "Yorktown", sunk at the Battle of Midway, and "Hornet", sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Enterprise", the sole survivor of the class, was the most decorated ship of the U.S. Navy in the Second World War. After efforts to save her as a museum ship failed, she was scrapped in 1958.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: In an early example of modern weapons development, the "Yorktown" class was a result of standardized war gaming exercises using and the Newport Naval War College. Analysis of the results, combined with lessons learned from operations with the large converted battlecruiser "Lexington"-class in comparison with the smaller purpose-built "Ranger", highlighted the greater flexibility presented by large air groups and fast ships. These became, along with torpedo protection, the guiding principles in the "Yorktown" class designs.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: With the commissioning of USS "Ranger", the USN had 54,400 tons of carrier construction left under the Washington Treaty. Initially, the development plan for the class envisioned a 17,000-ton design that would allow the Navy to build three ships and stay within the 135,000-ton Washington Naval Treaty limit on aircraft carrier tonnage. However, this design could not achieve the desired high operating speed without sacrificing protection features and air wing capacity. In addition, the London Treaty of 1930 required that the USS "Langley" be added into the tonnage limits, no longer being classified as an "experimental" carrier. In the end, the Navy chose instead to build two 19,000-ton carriers that could fulfill the design vision; though smaller in displacement than the USS "Lexington" class and a nominal 27,000-ton limit design, the ships retained high-powered machinery, hull volume and flight deck area that allowed for a fast and capacious design, but also improved durability and provided close to an all-weather ability to launch aircraft. These were versatile carriers that could carry and operate over 80 aircraft, almost as many as the much larger "Lexington" class.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: Plans initially called for a flush deck with no island. However, the Royal Navy had constructed several flush-deck carriers, and the problems encountered in those designs were known to the US Navy; the US naval attaché in Britain, J.C. Hunsacker, reported that had problems exhausting boiler smoke without proper smoke stacks. In addition to the engineering constraints, it was becoming evident that larger air groups and antiaircraft batteries would be easier to command from an island design. In the end BuAer retracted all demands for flush decked carriers.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: Conversion of USS "Langley" into a seaplane tender allowed the Navy to fill in the remaining available treaty tonnage with a scaled-down version of the class, which became the 14,700-ton . Service experience validated the advantages of the larger hull design. USS "Ranger" proved to be unable to withstand rougher weather in the Pacific, while lack of virtually any protective features soon relegated her to a training ship. USS "Wasp"s lack of torpedo protection contributed to her loss in the Pacific theater.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: The abandonment of the arms limitation treaties system in 1937 allowed the US to begin building more carriers, and the first of this new carrier program was "Hornet", another of the class, commissioned in 1941. Improvements to the "Yorktown" design and freedom from the Washington Treaty limitations brought about the s.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: The "Yorktown"s carried a seldom-used catapult on the hangar deck. This catapult was subsequently eliminated from U.S. carriers as it was relatively useless in operation. The hangar-deck catapult was removed from "Enterprise" and "Hornet" in late June 1942.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: All three ships of the "Yorktown" class were built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: The three ships of this class are noted for bearing the brunt of the fighting in the early months of the Pacific War, most notably during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Guadalcanal campaign. During the latter campaign, "Hornet" and later "Enterprise" had the distinction of being the only operational carrier in the United States Pacific Fleet.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Enterprise" was at sea on the morning of 7 December 1941 (the day of the Attack on Pearl Harbor). That evening, "Enterprise", screened by six of her Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters, put into Pearl Harbor for fuel and supplies. The aircraft were fired on by anti-aircraft defenses, and one pilot radioed in, reporting that his aircraft was an American aircraft. "Enterprise" later participated in the first offensive actions against Japan, launching attacks against the Marshall Islands, Wake, and Marcus Island.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Yorktown" transferred to the Pacific on 16 December 1941 and later raided the Gilbert Islands in the same operation as "Enterprise". Along with , she raided bases in New Guinea, then participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Her planes helped sink the and damaged the carrier . Damaged by Japanese carrier aircraft, "Yorktown" returned to Pearl Harbor and was hastily repaired in time to participate in the Battle of Midway.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Hornet" spent the first months of the war training in Norfolk, Virginia, before being assigned to the Doolittle Raid. Loaded with a squadron of B-25 bombers and escorted by "Enterprise", the ship launched the first air raids against the Japanese mainland.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: All three ships of the class saw action during the Battle of Midway (4–7 June 1942), "Enterprise" and "Yorktown" aircraft were responsible for sinking all four Japanese carriers engaged in the battle, while "Hornet" assisted in the sinking of one heavy cruiser and severely damaging another. All three carriers suffered severe losses among their air groups, most notably "Hornet"s Torpedo Squadron 8, which lost 15 aircraft with only a single surviving airman. "Yorktown" was damaged by aerial bombs and torpedoes and abandoned on 4 June. Later re-manned by repair crews, the ship was spotted and torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and eventually sank on 7 June 1942.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Enterprise" was assigned to the invasion of Guadalcanal and participated in preliminary strikes on the island. She suffered moderate damage during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons but was repaired in time to join "Hornet" in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. "Hornet" was severely damaged during the latter engagement and had to be abandoned. Attempts to scuttle the ship by her escorts failed, and she was left adrift before finally being sunk by Japanese destroyers on 27 October 1942. "Enterprise" was again damaged during the battle, but was repaired enough to deliver her air group to Guadalcanal, where it participated in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. "Enterprise" aircraft assisted in finishing off the heavily damaged battleship and were instrumental in destroying the Japanese transport fleet, thereby ending Japan's last serious attempt at reclaiming the island.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: After a lengthy overhaul and repair period at Bremerton, Washington, "Enterprise" joined the Central Pacific Fleet as part of the Fast Carrier Task Force. She participated in every major invasion of the Central Pacific campaign, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Her air groups contributed to the development of carrier night operations, executing a night air raid on Truk Lagoon and operating as a specialized night air group towards the end of the war.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: "Enterprise" was finally put out of action on 14 May 1945 when she was struck in the forward elevator by a "kamikaze" aircraft flown by Japanese pilot Lt. Shunsuke Tomiyasu, which destroyed the elevator and severely damaged her hangar deck. She was still out of action on V-J Day but was subsequently fitted out for Operation Magic Carpet, ferrying over 10,000 veterans home from Europe.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: By the end of World War II, "Enterprise" had been considerably modified. Her final displacement was 32,060 tons and her final armament was 8 single 5-inch/38 caliber DP guns, 40 40 mm Bofors AA guns, 6 quad and 8 twin (replacing the ineffective 1.1"/75 caliber gun quad mounts which the "Yorktown" class had initially been fitted with) and 50 single 20 mm Oerlikon AA cannons. The "Yorktown"s had proved to be vulnerable to torpedoes, and while undergoing repairs at Bremerton, Washington, from July to October, 1943, "Enterprise" received an extensive refit, which included an anti-torpedo blister that significantly improved her underwater protection.


title: Yorktown-class aircraft carrier

text: With the commissioning of the more advanced "Essex" and carriers, "Enterprise" was surplus for post war needs. She entered New York Naval Shipyard on 18 January 1946 for deactivation, and was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. Stricken from the list in 1959 after multiple attempts to preserve her as a museum and memorial, ex-"Enterprise" met her fate in the breaker's yards at Kearny, New Jersey, in 1960, although several artifacts were retained.


title: Sai Tej

text: Panja Sai Dharam Tej (born 15 October 1986) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. Related to the Allu–Konidela family, he made his acting debut with the box office success "Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham" (2014) for which he received SIIMA Award for Best Male Debut and CineMAA Awards Best Male Debut.


title: Sai Tej

text: Post his debut, Tej appeared in films such as "Subramanyam for Sale" (2015) and "Supreme" (2016), which were box office successes. This was followed with back to back critical and commercial failures. Tej then went onto establish himself with successful films "Chitralahari" (2019) and "Prati Roju Pandage" both (2019). His other notable works include "Solo Brathuke So Better" (2020) and "Republic" (2021).


title: Sai Tej

text: Sai Tej was born to Vijaya Durga, sister of notable Telugu film actor-politician Chiranjeevi on 15 October 1986. Tej did his schooling at Nalanda School, Hyderabad and completed his graduation from St. Mary's College, Hyderabad.


title: Sai Tej

text: Actors Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Allu Sirish, Varun Tej and Niharika Konidela are Tej's cousins. His younger brother Vaisshnav Tej is also an actor. Pawan Kalyan and Nagendra Babu are his maternal uncles.


title: Sai Tej

text: Tej made his debut with the film "Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham" in 2014 though he shot for YVS Chowdary's "Rey" earlier, which was completed in 2013 but delayed until 2015. In his review about the film "Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham," Hemanth Kumar of "The Times of India" wrote that "The hero’s characterization is written in an arbitrary manner; however, Sai Dharam Tej’s rustic charm makes his actions believable. The actor is particularly quite impressive with his dance moves". Another critic too opined the same, and praising his looks in particular. His next film "Rey" (2015) received negative reviews. Tej's second release in 2015 was "Subramanyam for Sale", which was successful at the box office, grossing over ₹33.95 crore. He starred alongside Regina Cassandra, for the second time, after "Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham" (2014). Although various critics called it "routine", Tej's performance was cited as "improved performance", "spontaneous", and "stunning".


title: Sai Tej

text: Tej's action comedy "Supreme" which released the following year, was also financially successful and was one of his best movie. Following "Supreme," Tej went onto star in five films (in lead), including "Thikka" (2016), "Winner" (2017), "Jawaan" (2017), "Inttelligent" (2018) and "Tej I Love You" (2018). Tej was also criticized for selecting similar and regular stories in his films.


title: Sai Tej

text: "Chitralahari" was his first release of 2019. The film was a box office success with critics praising his performance and Tej giving one of his career best performance. "The Times of India" had called the character Vijay in the film, the best in Tej's career so far. About his role in the film, "Deccan Chronicle" reported that "Sai Tej has put on weight and with a beard looks fresh and fits the character. For this role, he has completely set aside his mass image". His next film of the year, "Prati Roju Pandage" was also successful. Murali Krishna CH of "The New Indian Express" in his review of the film, wrote that "The film definitely Sai Tej’s canvas and he delivers his standard chops with flamboyance". Later in 2020, his film "Solo Brathuke So Better" was released following the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the restriction of 50% occupancy in cinemas, the film was successful at the box office. "Idlebrain"'s Jeevi appreciated Tej's performance, particularly his comedy timing and acting in the emotional scenes of the film. In contrast, Y Sunita Chowdhary of "The Hindu" opined that "Tej could have benefited from a better script."


title: Sai Tej

text: In his next film "Republic" (2021), directed by Deva Katta, Tej played the role of an IAS officer. The film which is a political drama, opened to positive reviews, with critics calling his performance "matured" and the film was well received by audience and became a 'hit'. Prakash Pecheti of "Telangana Today" stated: ""Republic" surely adds a cap in the feather for Sai Dharam Tej."


title: Sai Tej

text: In September 2021, Tej was in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident near the Durgam Cheruvu Bridge in Hyderabad. He was admitted to Apollo Hospitals whose doctors announced that he sustained soft tissue injuries and a collar bone fracture but was out of danger.


title: Sai Tej

text: Tej turned brand ambassador for ‘Sky Zone Park’. He also became an ambassador for charity organisation 'Think Peace'.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selected locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were initially applications for both. Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup included England, Russia, a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, and a joint bid from Portugal and Spain. Bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified due to lack of governmental support, and Mexico withdrew its bid for financial reasons.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: On 2 December 2010, Russia and Qatar were selected as the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups respectively. The selection process involved several controversies. Two members of the FIFA Executive Committee had their voting rights suspended following allegations that they would accept money in exchange for votes. More allegations of vote buying arose after Qatar's win was announced. Eleven of the 22 committee members who voted on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments have been fined, suspended, banned for life or prosecuted for corruption.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead, countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Following the selection of the 2006 World Cup hosts, FIFA had decided on a policy for determining the hosts of future editions. The six world confederations — roughly corresponding to continents – would rotate in their turn of providing bids, for a specific edition, from within their member national associations. This system was used only for the selection of the 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 World Cup (Brazil) hosts, open only to CAF and CONMEBOL members, respectively.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In September 2007, the rotation system came under review, and a new system was proposed which renders ineligible for bidding only the last two World Cup host confederations. This proposal was adopted on 29 October 2007, in Zurich, Switzerland by FIFA's Executive Committee. Under this policy, a 2018 bid could have come from CONCACAF, AFC, UEFA, or OFC, as Africa and South America were ineligible. Likewise, no CONMEBOL member could make a 2022 bid, and candidates from the same confederation as the successful 2018 applicant would be disregarded in the 2022 selection procedure.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The United States, the last non-European candidate in the 2018 bidding cycle, withdrew its bid for that year; hence the 2018 tournament would have to be held in Europe. This in turn meant that CONMEBOL and UEFA were ineligible for 2022.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: For both the 2018 and 2022 editions of the World Cup, the FIFA Executive Committee voted to decide which candidate should host the tournament. The multiple round exhaustive ballot system was used to determine the tournament host. All eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee had one vote. The candidate country that received the fewest votes in each round was eliminated until a single candidate was chosen by the majority. In the event of a tied vote, FIFA President Sepp Blatter would have had the deciding vote. There are twenty-four members on the committee, but two of those were suspended due to accusations of selling votes.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010. Five of the remaining nine bids, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Australia and United States were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others bid for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, all UEFA bids were forced to be for 2018 only. Four bids came from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), four from Europe's UEFA, and one from CONCACAF. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Alain Courtois, a Belgian Member of Parliament, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In June 2007 the three countries launched their campaign not as a joint bid in the manner of the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, but emphasising it as a common political organisation. Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch national football associations met FIFA president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid. On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA President Michel Platini to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the World Cup to Europe. Former French football international Christian Karembeu was presented as official counselor for the joint bid on 23 June 2009.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: A factor that was against the Benelux bid was the lack of an 80,000 capacity stadium to host the final.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In November 2009, the venues were presented. In Belgium, matches would have been played in 7 venues: Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Charleroi, Genk, Ghent and Liège. In the Netherlands, only five cities would host matches: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Heerenveen and Rotterdam, but both Amsterdam and Rotterdam would provide two stadiums. Eindhoven would function as the 'capital city' of the World Cup. Euro 2000 was also jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: On 31 October 2007, The Football Association officially announced its bid to host the event. On 24 April 2008 England finalised a 63-page bid to host the 2018 World Cup, focusing on the development of football worldwide. On 27 January 2009, England officially submitted their bid to FIFA.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Richard Caborn led England's bid to stage the event after stepping down as Sports Minister. On 24 October 2008 the Football Association named the Executive Board to prepare the bid, with David Triesman as the bid chairman. Triesman resigned on 16 May 2010 after comments were published where he suggested that Spain would drop their bid if Russia helped bribe referees in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was then replaced by Geoff Thompson.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The British government backed the England 2018 bid. In November 2005, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell first announced that they were to investigate the possibility of bidding.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: That month, Adrian Bevington, the Football Association's Director of Communications, announced the support of the Government and the Treasury in the bid, but put off definite proposals.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Brown reiterated his support for a bid in March 2006, before England's 2006 World Cup campaign, and again in May 2006.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The UK government launched its official report on 12 February 2007, in which it was made clear that its support was for an England-only bid and that all games would be played at English grounds. The venues selected on 16 December 2009 to form the bid were: London (three stadiums), Manchester (two stadiums), Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield and Sunderland.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: FIFA officials also expressed interest in an English bid. David Will, a vice-president of FIFA, noted England's World Cup proposal as early as May 2004.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Franz Beckenbauer, leader of Germany's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, twice publicly backed an English bid to host the World Cup, in January and July 2007.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Blatter met David Cameron on two occasions to discuss the bid while paying visits to England. The British Prime Minister showed much support for the bid and was hopeful that the "home of football" would host the tournament.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In an interview the leader of Russia's bid, Alexei Sorokin, criticised England's bid citing London's high crime rate, alcohol consumption among young people and English fans "inciting ethnic hatred." England filed a complaint, though the complaint was withdrawn following Russia's apology.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The President of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Gilberto Madail, first proposed a joint bid with Spain in November 2007. The bid intent was confirmed by FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, on 18 February 2008.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: However, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Angel Villar, announced in July 2008 that it was Spain's intention to submit an individual World Cup bid, and that positive contacts had already taken place with the government, through the secretary of sports, Jaime Lissavetzky. No specifications were made then regarding a joint bid with Portugal. On 23 November 2008, after his re-election for the RFEF presidency, Villar pledged that one of the fundamental objectives of his term was to bring a World Cup to Spain. While he did not mention whether Spain would present a joint bid with Portugal, he did not rule it out when asked about it.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: On 23 December 2008, Angel Villar restated "We need to present a strong, consistent and winning bid for the 2018 World Cup." He further confessed "Personally, I think it should be with Portugal." Subsequently, in the aftermath of a RFEF meeting board, Spain and Portugal announced their intention to bid together. Spanish sports newspaper "Marca" advanced some details about the potential bid: Spain would lead a twelve-stadium project with eight of the venues, and the opening and final games would be held in Lisbon and Madrid, respectively. Spain has previously hosted the 1982 World Cup, while Portugal organised the Euro 2004.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Russia announced its intent to bid in early 2009, and submitted its request to FIFA in time. Russia's President Vladimir Putin took a keen interest in the bid and ordered Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, to "prepare a bid for Russia to hold the 2018 World Cup". According to a report earlier submitted by Vitaly Mutko, who also served that time as President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), the country was ready to spend some $10.1 billion on the tournament. The bid committee also included RFU CEO Alexey Sorokin and Alexander Djordjadze as the Director of Bid Planning and Operations.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Fourteen cities were included in the proposal, which divided them into five different clusters: one in the north, centered on Saint Petersburg, a central cluster, centered on Moscow, a southern cluster, centered on Sochi, and the Volga River cluster. Only one city beyond the Ural Mountains was cited, Yekaterinburg. The other cities were: Kaliningrad in the north cluster, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar in the south cluster and Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saransk, Samara and Volgograd in the Volga River cluster. At the time of bidding, Russia did not have a stadium with 80,000 capacity, but the bid called for the expansion of Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, already a UEFA Elite stadium, from a capacity of slightly over 78,000 to over 89,000. Russia hoped to have five stadiums fit to host World Cup matches ready by 2013 – two in Moscow and one stadium each in Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, which at the time was due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In September 2007, the Football Federation Australia confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy, the FFA chairman, stated that they aimed to use 16 stadiums for the bid.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis announced that the federal government would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government's support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Australia's largest stadiums are currently used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League and National Rugby League claimed that loss of access to these major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and impact the viability of their clubs. The AFL in particular had previously advised it would not relinquish Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for the entire period required. On 9 May 2010 the AFL, NRL, and FFA announced a Memorandum of Understanding guaranteeing that the AFL and NRL seasons would continue, should the bid be successful. Compensation for the rival football codes would be awarded as a result of any disruptions caused by hosting the World Cup. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou came out in support of the bid, despite initially not supporting the bid. Franz Beckenbauer indicated that the issue of factional disputes between the FFA, NRL and, AFL were not considered by the FIFA Executive Committee. Although initially Australia seemed to be a popular contender to host the tournament, the final Australian World Cup bid received only one vote astonishing Franz Beckenbauer and experts alike.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Japan bid to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid. Although Japan did not have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Japan also pledged that if it had been granted the rights to host the 2022 World Cup games, it would develop technology enabling it to provide a live international telecast of the event in 3D, which would allow 400 stadiums in 208 countries to provide 360 million people with real-time 3D coverage of the games projected on giant screens, captured in 360 degrees by 200 HD cameras. Furthermore, Japan will broadcast the games in holographic format if the technology to do so is available by that time. Beyond allowing the world's spectators to view the games on flat screens projecting 3D imaging, holographic projection would project the games onto stadium fields, creating a greater illusion of actually being in the presence of the players. Microphones embedded below the playing surface would record all sounds, such as ball kicks, in order to add to the sense of realism.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo were to fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good. On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Qatar made a bid for only the 2022 World Cup. Qatar was attempting to become the first Arab country to host the World Cup. Failed bids from other Arab countries include Morocco (1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010), Egypt and a Libya-Tunisia joint bid withdrew in the 2010 World Cup bidding process.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of the former Emir of Qatar, was the chairman of the bid committee.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Qatar planned to promote the bid as an Arab unity bid and hoped to draw on support from the entire Arab world and were positioning this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab and Western worlds. The bid launched an advertising campaign across the nation in November 2009.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Some concerns with Qatar's bid deal with the extreme temperatures. The World Cup is always held in the European off-season in June and July and during this period the average daytime high in most of Qatar is in excess of 40 °C (104 °F), with the average daily low temperatures not dropping below 30 °C (86 °F). Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the 2022 Qatar bid chairman, responded saying "the event has to be organised in June or July. We will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather. We have already set in motion the process. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem. We have other plans up our sleeves as well." The first five proposed stadiums are planned to employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the upper tiers of the stadiums will be dis-assembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: President of FIFA Sepp Blatter endorsed the idea of having a World Cup in the Middle East, saying in April 2010, "The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament." Blatter also praised Qatar's progress, "When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million. In terms of infrastructure, when you are able to organise the Asian Games (in 2006) with more than 30 events for men and women, then that is not in question." Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup received a huge boost on 28 July 2010 when Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam threw his weight behind his country's campaign. Speaking in Singapore, Bin Hammam said: "I have one vote and, frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country." Qatar has already hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1988, FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: South Korea bid only for the 2022 World Cup. They were bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zürich, Switzerland. In January 2010, President Lee Myung-bak visited the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Although South Korea did not have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it planned to upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people—Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium and Daegu Stadium. Another 70,000 seat stadium is scheduled to be built in Incheon as the main stadium for the 2014 Asian Games. Other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 cities selected to hold the finals were South Korea to win the bid were selected in March 2010 and were Busan, Cheonan, Daegu, Daejeon, Goyang, Gwangju, Incheon (2 venues), Jeonju, Seogwipo, Seoul (2 venues), Suwon and Ulsan.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: U.S. Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer then announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision Sports, was executive director of the bid. Other committee members included president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee. The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner, who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: However, Warner also stated that he preferred the USSF change their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cities, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadiums in 27 cities. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadiums were selected for the final bid. The cities were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston (Foxboro), Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums were Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas and Washington. With several large American football stadiums, the 21 venues were to have an average capacity of 77,000; none seated fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadiums seat at least 80,000. Two proposed stadiums would be used by Major League Soccer during the summer.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In October 2010, the United States withdrew from the 2018 bid process, to focus solely on the 2022 competition.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Two countries had to cancel bids for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cups before individual evaluations began. Mexico cancelled its bid for both cups, while Indonesia was only bidding for the 2022 World Cup.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In January 2009 the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) confirmed their intention to bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with government support. In February 2009, PSSI launched the "Green World Cup Indonesia 2022" campaign.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: This campaign included a $1 billion plan to upgrade supporting infrastructure beside stadiums to meet FIFA's requirements. The funds to construct stadiums were to come from regional governments. Indonesia had previously made World Cup history when it became the first Asian nation to play in a World Cup, at the 1938 tournament in France under its colonial name of the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia also had tournament hosting experience as the co-host of 2007 AFC Asian Cup.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In the campaign presentation, PSSI president Nurdin Halid said he believed Indonesia stood a chance to win FIFA's approval to host the 2022 World Cup, despite the relatively poor infrastructure, coupled with the low quality of the national squad compared to other candidates. He said Indonesia had proposed a "Green World Cup 2022", hoping to capitalise on the current green and global warming movement worldwide: "Our deforestation rate has contributed much to world pollution. By hosting the World Cup, we wish to build infrastructure and facilities that are environmentally friendly so we can give more to the planet."


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: The bid was launched at a moment when there were strong pressures from Indonesian football fans for Halid to step down from his position as chairman of PSSI. There was no official support from the government of Indonesia until 9 February 2010, the deadline for the country's government to file a letter of support for the bid. Secretary General of PSSI Nugraha Besoes did not deny that Indonesia could be disqualified from the bidding process because the Indonesian government did not support the bid. On 19 March 2010, FIFA rejected Indonesia's bid to host the 2022 World Cup because the government stated that their concern is for the people of the country and so could not support the bid as FIFA requested. As a consequence, PSSI threw their support behind Australia's bid for the 2022 tournament.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Former Mexican Football Federation President, Alberto de la Torre, announced their intention to bid for the cup in 2005, but was ineligible because of the rotation policy at that time.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: On 2 December 2010, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the winning bids at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. This made Russia the first Eastern European country to host the World Cup, while Qatar would be the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Blatter noted that the committee had decided to "go to new lands" and reflected a desire to "develop football" by bringing it to more countries.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In each round a majority of twelve votes was needed. If no bid received 12 votes in a round, the bid with the fewest votes in that round was eliminated, and accordingly each remaining bid should receive no fewer votes in subsequent rounds than in preceding rounds. Multiple bids received fewer votes in voting round 2 compared to voting round 1 (Netherlands/Belgium, Qatar and Japan), at least 2 voting members in each of the 2018 and 2022 votes changed their votes between voting rounds despite their initial bid not being eliminated in voting round 1. The actual votes cast were as follows:


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: Shortly after the voting in December 2010, ESPN published allegations linking Qatar's successful bid to Football Dreams, a youth development program that channeled money from the Qatari government to football programs in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia—six of which had representatives on the FIFA executive committee. In February 2011, Blatter admitted that the Spanish and Qatari bid teams did try to trade votes, "but it didn't work".


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In May 2011, the former England 2018 bid chief Lord Treisman told a House of Commons select committee that four FIFA committee members approached him asking for various things in exchange for votes. Among the accused were FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who allegedly asked for £2.5 million to be used for projects, and Nicolás Leoz, who allegedly asked to be knighted. "The Sunday Times" further reported that month that Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were given $1.5 million in exchange for their votes in favor of Qatar. On 30 May 2011, FIFA President Sepp Blatter rejected the evidence in a press conference, while Jack Warner, who had been suspended that day for a separate ethics violations pending an investigation, leaked an email from FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke which suggested that Qatar had "bought" the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Theo Zwanziger, President of the German Football Association, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the Cup to Qatar.


title: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

text: In July 2012, FIFA appointed former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia to investigate allegations of vote-buying in the selection process. He submitted the report in September 2014, which FIFA at the time declined to release in full. Instead, FIFA released a summary that Garcia described as "materially incomplete," leading Garcia to resign in protest. FIFA ultimately published the report in 2017, after German tabloid "Bild" announced they would publish a leaked copy. The report detailed dozens of allegations but didn't provide hard evidence for vote-buying. In May 2015, as members gathered in Zürich for the 65th FIFA Congress, U.S. federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption leading to the arrest of seven. More than 40 individuals were indicted, including 2018 and 2022 voters Luis Bedoya, Chuck Blazer, Nicolás Leoz, Rafael Salguero, Ricardo Teixeira, and Jack Warner. The resulting cases led FIFA to suspend many members, including Issa Hayatou, and the end of Sepp Blatter's presidency of the organization.