title: Race to the Sea

text: By 1 November, the BEF was close to exhaustion and the French XIV Corps was moved north from the Tenth Army and the French IX Corps attacked southwards towards Becelaere, which relieved the pressure on the British flanks. German attacks began to diminish on 3 November, by when had lost A French offensive was planned for 6 November towards Langemarck (Langemark) and Messines but was forestalled by German attacks from and The main attack on 10 November was made by the 4th Army between Langemarck and Diksmuide, in which Diksmuide was lost by the Franco-Belgian garrison. Next day, the British were subjected to an unprecedented bombardment between Messines and Polygon Wood and then attacked by the Prussian Guard, which broke into British positions along the Menin road, before being forced back by counter-attacks. From mid-October to early November, the German 4th Army lost the 6th Army lost


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). He was reelected in 2020 with 92.2% of the vote.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: A historian, Guðni was a professor at the University of Iceland before running for president in 2016. His field of research is modern Icelandic history, and he has published works on the Cod Wars, the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the Icelandic presidency, among other topics.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni is the son of teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and sports instructor Jóhannes Sæmundsson. His brother Patrekur Jóhannesson is a former Icelandic handball national team player. Guðni played handball in his youth, in both Iceland and the UK.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR), a junior college in central Reykjavík, in 1987. While at MR, he competed in "Gettu betur", an Icelandic team quiz show for junior college students. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science from the University of Warwick in England in 1991 and a Master of Arts in history from the University of Iceland in 1997. He has also studied German and Russian at university level. In 1999, he completed an MSt degree in history at St Antony's College at the University of Oxford. In 2003, he received a PhD in history from Queen Mary, University of London.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni has worked as a lecturer at the University of Iceland, Bifröst University and University of London. At the time of his presidential candidacy he worked as a senior lecturer in history at the University of Iceland. His field of research is modern Icelandic history, in which he has published a number of works, including on the Cod Wars, the 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis and the Icelandic presidency. He has written a biography of Gunnar Thoroddsen and a book about Kristján Eldjárn's presidency. Between 1992 and 1997, he translated four works by Stephen King into Icelandic. From 2011 to 2015, Guðni was president of Sögufélag, the Icelandic historical society.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni decided to stand for president on 5 May 2016. Before his candidacy, he had appeared frequently on live television to provide commentary and historical context in the wake of the publication of the Panama Papers, which created a scandal for Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and ultimately led to his ouster. A scholar of the Icelandic presidency, Guðni delineated on live television the options available to incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and other Icelandic political actors. After his television appearances, there were calls for Guðni to run for the presidency himself.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: His platform included support for a citizen initiative referendum provision in the Constitution. Early polls showed significant support, and following incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson's decision to drop out of the race Guðni saw an increase in popularity reflected in various polls, which ranked him first with 67% to 69%, far ahead of other contenders. Guðni was elected on 25 June after receiving a plurality of 39.1% of the vote.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni was unaffiliated with any of Iceland's political parties. He said he would be a "less political president" than his predecessor due to a lack of partisanship. Guðni has emphasized the importance of unity for the small nation.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni took office as President of Iceland on 1 August 2016. At 48, he was Iceland's youngest president. Roughly one month into his term, Guðni had approval ratings of 68.6% in an MMR survey, the highest approval rating this pollster has measured for an Icelandic president since its establishment in 2011. Early in his term, Guðni had to oversee negotiations to form a government in Iceland in the wake of the 2016 Icelandic parliamentary election on 29 October. These negotiations were difficult, as no pre-election coalition had a majority, and all possible majority coalitions had parties with highly divergent policy positions. In December 2016, Guðni had approval ratings of 97%. Such high approval ratings for Icelandic politicians are without precedent. In April 2019, his approval rating was 93.5% among those who took a position in a survey.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni attracted international attention in February 2017 when he jokingly vowed to ban pineapple as a pizza topping.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni stands outside organized religion, but was raised in the Catholic faith. He left the Catholic Church due to its delayed and muted response to reports of criminal abuses by priests. His credo is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights. Humans are endowed with reason and conscience and should act in the spirit of brotherhood towards each other."


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni is the son of the teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and the physical education teacher and coach Jóhannes Sæmundsson. His father died of cancer at age 42. He has two brothers, Patrekur (a former Icelandic men's national handball team player, who is coach of the Austria men's national handball team and father of rapper JóiPé) and Jóhannes, who is a systems analyst.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni married Canadian Eliza Jean Reid in 2004 and they have four children. The couple, who met while studying in the United Kingdom, moved to Iceland in 2003. Reid became First Lady of Iceland when her husband was sworn into office. Guðni also has a daughter from a previous marriage.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni has authored many books on historical topics. On 1 September 2022 he presented a book about the Icelandic Cod Wars with the United Kingdom, " Stand milli stríða. Saga landhelgismálsins, 1961-1971" (A Lull in the Cod Wars. Iceland and its Territorial Waters 1961-1971) on the 50th anniversary of the 1972 skirmish.


title: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

text: Guðni is distantly related to former US president Barack Obama: they are 24th cousins 8 times removed. The connection is through Obama's Scottish ancestry, but since almost all Icelanders can trace themselves to bishop Gottskálk grimmi Nikulásson they are all distantly related to Obama. Guðni also shares ancestry with former US president Donald Trump through their descent from Haakon V of Norway.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( , abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia) by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian. Today the party operates in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon, Iran and in countries where the Armenian diaspora is present. Although it has long been the most influential political party in the Armenian diaspora, it has a comparatively smaller presence in modern-day Armenia. As of October 2021, the party was represented in three national parliaments with ten seats in the National Assembly of Armenia, three seats in the National Assembly of Artsakh and three seats in the Parliament of Lebanon as part of the March 8 Alliance.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF has traditionally advocated socialist democracy and has been a full member of the Socialist International since 2003, which it originally joined in 1907. Politically the ARF supports a socialism aligned with Marxism. In line with their Marxist socialist alignment, the ARF Program promotes a materialist conception of history stating "human beings and human societies, peoples and nations have aspired to freedom and equality and have struggled to attain them" and that the "natural and conscious struggle for the development of both individuals and societies has progressed through the interaction of the subjective and objective factors of life", the ARF program continued stating that the historical context is in both "national liberation struggles and human societies' evolutionary and revolutionary progress." It has the largest membership of the political parties present in the Armenian diaspora, having established affiliates in more than 20 countries. Compared to other diasporan Armenian parties which tend to primarily focus on educational or humanitarian projects, the ARF is the most politically oriented of the organizations and traditionally has been one of the staunchest supporters of Armenian nationalism. The party campaigns for the recognition of the Armenian genocide and the right to reparations. It also advocates the establishment of United Armenia, partially based on the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF was founded as a merger of various Armenian political groups, mainly from the Russian Empire, with the declared goal of achieving "the political and economic freedom of Turkish Armenia" by means of armed rebellion. In the 1890s, the party sought to unify the various small groups in the Ottoman Empire that were advocating for reform and defending Armenian villages from the massacres and banditry that were widespread in some of the Armenian-populated areas of the empire. ARF members formed "fedayi" groups that defended Armenian civilians through armed resistance. The party refrained from revolutionary activity in the Russian Empire until the decision of the Russian authorities to confiscate Armenian Church property in 1903. Initially restricting its demands to the establishment of autonomy and democratic rights for Armenians in the two empires, the party adopted an independent and united Armenia as part of its program in 1919.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1918, the party was instrumental in the creation of the First Republic of Armenia, which fell to the Soviet communists in 1920. After its leadership was exiled by the communists, the ARF established itself within Armenian diaspora communities, where it helped Armenians preserve their cultural identity. After the fall of the USSR, it reestablished its presence in Armenia. Prior to Serzh Sargsyan's election as president of Armenia and for a short time thereafter, the ARF was a member of the governing coalition, even though it nominated its own candidate in the presidential elections.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: ARF then reentered Sargsyan's cabinet in February 2016 in what was defined as a "long-term political cooperation" agreement with the Republican Party by means of which the ARF would share responsibility for all government policies. The ARF then approved of Sargsyan's nomination as Prime Minister, from which he resigned six days later amid large-scale protests in what came to be known as the Velvet Revolution. By the evening of 25 April 2018, ARF-Dashnaktsutyun had withdrawn from the coalition.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Following the Velvet Revolution, the party lost support from the general public in Armenia and is now being polled at 1–2%. The party then lost political representation after 2018 Armenian parliamentary election after receiving only 3.89% of the votes, which is lower than the 5% minimum threshold required for representation in parliament.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During the 2020–2021 Armenian protests, the party confirmed it would participate in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election as part of a political alliance with Reborn Armenia. In the election, the Armenia Alliance led by the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan won 21% of the popular vote and gained 29 seats in the National Assembly.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In the late 19th century, the Russian Empire became the hub of small groups advocating reform in Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire. In 1890, recognizing the need to unify these groups in order to be more efficient, Christapor Mikaelian, Simon Zavarian and Stepan Zorian created a new political party called the "Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries" (, Hay Heghapokhakanneri Dashnaktsutyun), which would eventually be called the "Armenian Revolutionary Federation" or "Dashnaktsutiun" in 1890.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, an existing Armenian socialist and revolutionary party, initially agreed to join the "Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries." However, the Hunchaks soon withdrew due to disputes over ideological and organizational questions, such as the role of socialism in the party's program. Another faction of non-socialists led by Konstantin Khatisian split from the federation early on. Despite this, the party began to organize itself in the Ottoman Empire and convened its First General Congress in 1892, where a program containing socialist principles was adopted. The original aim of the ARF was to gain autonomy for the Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire by means of armed rebellion. At the First Congress, the party adopted a decentralized "modus operandi" according to which the chapters in different countries were allowed to plan and implement policies in tune with their local political atmosphere. The party set its goal of a society based on the democratic principles of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and agrarian reform.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF gradually acquired significant strength and sympathy among Russian Armenians. Mainly because of the ARF's stance towards the Ottoman Empire, the party enjoyed the support of the central Russian administration, as tsarist and ARF foreign policy had the same alignment until 1903. On 12 June 1903, the tsarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control. This was faced by strong ARF opposition, because the ARF perceived the tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian national existence. As a result, the ARF leadership decided to defend Armenian churches by dispatching militiamen who acted as guards and by holding mass demonstrations. In 1904, the party broke with its old policy of non-struggle against the Tsarist authorities, engaging in acts of terrorism against the imperial bureaucracy and establishing separate schools, courts, and prisons in Russian Armenia.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1905–06, the Armenian-Tatar massacres broke out during which the ARF became involved in armed activities. Some sources claim that the Russian government incited the massacres in order to reinforce its authority during the revolutionary turmoil of 1905. The first outbreak of violence occurred in Baku, in February 1905. The ARF held the Russian authorities responsible for inaction and instigation of massacres that were part of a larger anti-Armenian policy. On 11 May 1905, Dashnak revolutionary Drastamat Kanayan assassinated Russian governor general Nakashidze, who was considered by the Armenian population as the main instigator of hate and confrontation between the Armenians and the Tatars. Unable to rely on the state for protection, the Armenian bourgeoisie turned to the ARF. Against the criticisms of their rivals to the left (the Hunchaks, Bolsheviks and Specifists), the Dashnak leaders argued that, given employment discrimination against Armenian workers in non-Armenian concerns, the defence provided to the Armenian bourgeoisie was essential to the safekeeping of employment opportunities for Armenian laborers. The Russian Tsar's envoy in the Caucasus, Vorontsov-Dashkov, reported that the ARF bore a major portion of responsibilities for perpetrating the massacres. The ARF, however, argued that it helped to organize the defence of the Armenian population against Muslim attacks. The blows suffered at the hands of the Dashnakist fighting squads proved a catalyst for the consolidation of the Muslim community of the Caucasus. During that period, the ARF regarded armed activity, including terror, as necessary for the achievement of political goals.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In January 1912, 159 ARF members, being lawyers, bankers, merchants and other intellectuals, were tried before the Russian senate for their participation in the party. They were defended by then-lawyer Alexander Kerensky, who challenged much of the evidence used against them as the "original investigators had been encouraged by the local administration to use any available means" to convict the men. Kerensky succeeded in having the evidence reexamined for one of the defendants. He and several other lawyers "made openly contemptuous declarations" about this discrepancy to the Russian press, which was forbidden to attend the trials, and this in turn greatly embarrassed the senators. The Senate eventually opened an inquiry against the chief magistrate who had brought the charges against the Dashnak members and concluded that he was insane. Ninety-four of the accused were acquitted, while the rest were either imprisoned or exiled for varying periods, the most severe being six years.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Dashnaktsutiun held a meeting on 26 April 1907, dubbed the Fourth General Congress, at which ARF leaders such as Aram Manukian, Hamo Ohanjanyan and Stepan Stepanian discussed their engagement in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. They established that the movement was one that had political, ideological and economic components and was thus aimed at establishing law and order, human rights and the interests of all working people. They also felt that it would work for the benefit and interest of Armenian-Iranians. The final vote was 25 votes in favour and one absentia.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: From 1907 to 1908, during the time when the Young Turks came to power in the Ottoman Empire, Armenians from the Caucasus, Western Armenia, and Iran started to collaborate with Iranian constitutionalists and revolutionaries. Political parties, notably the Dashnaktsutiun, wanted to influence the direction of the revolution towards greater democracy and to safeguard gains already achieved. The Dashnak contribution to the fight was mostly military, as it sent some of its well-known fedayees to Iran after the guerrilla campaign in the Ottoman Empire ended with the rise of the Young Turks. A notable ARF member already in Iran was Yeprem Khan, who had established a branch of the party in the country. Yeprem Khan was highly instrumental in the Constitutional revolution of Iran. After the Persian national parliament was shelled by the Russian Colonel Vladimir Liakhov, Yeprem Khan rallied with Sattar Khan and other revolutionary leaders in the Constitutional Revolution of Iran against Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. Relations between Sattar Khan and the ARF oscillated between amity and resentment. Sometimes he was viewed as being ignorant, while at other times he was dubbed a great hero. Nonetheless, the ARF came to collaborate with him and alongside Yeprem Khan posted many victories including the capture of Rasht in February 1909. At the end of June 1909, the fighters arrived in Tehran and after several battles, took over the Majles building and the Sepahsalar Mosque. Yeprem Khan was then appointed chief of Tehran police. This caused tensions between the Dashnaks and Khan.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF became a major political force in Armenian life. It was especially active in the Ottoman Empire, where it organized or participated in many revolutionary activities. In 1894, the ARF took part in the Sasun Resistance, supplying arms to the local population to help the people of Sasun defend themselves against the Hamidian purges. In June 1896, the Armenakan Party organized the Van Rebellion in the province of Van. The Armenakans, assisted by members of the Hunchakian and ARF parties, supplied all able-bodied men of Van with weapons. They rose to defend the civilians from the attack and subsequent massacre.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During this period, many famous intellectuals joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, including Harutiun Shahrigian, Avetik Isahakyan, Hakob Zavriev, Levon Shant, Karekin Khajag, Vartkes Serengülian, Abraham Gyulkhandanyan, Vahan Papazian, Siamanto, Nikol Aghbalian and many others.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Khanasor Expedition was performed by the Armenian militia against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on 25 July 1897. During the Defense of Van, the Mazrik tribe had ambushed a squad of Armenian defenders and massacred them. The Khanasor Expedition was the ARF's retaliation. Some Armenians consider this their first victory over the Ottoman Empire and celebrate each year in its remembrance.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: On 30 March 1904, the ARF played a major role in the Second Sasun Uprising. The ARF sent arms and "fedayi" to defend the region for the second time. Among the 500 fedayees participating in the resistance were famed figures such as Kevork Chavush, Sepasdatsi Murad and Hrayr Djoghk. Although they managed to hold off the Ottoman army for several months, despite their lack of fighters and firepower, Ottoman forces captured Sasun and massacred thousands of Armenians.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1905, members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation organized the failed Yıldız Attempt, an assassination plot on Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul); the explosion missed its target by a few minutes. One of Dashnaksutiun's founders Kristapor Mikaelian was killed by an accidental explosion during the planning of the operation.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In the 1890s the party used terrorism against the Ottoman Empire and Russia with the goal of gaining an independent nation, more well known attacks occurred against Bedros Kapamciyan, the mayor of Van who was assassinated in December 1912, and the assassination of archbishop Leon Tourian in New York City on December 24, 1933.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Two of the largest revolutionary groups trying to overthrow Sultan Abdul Hamid II had been the ARF and the Committee of Union and Progress, a group of mostly European-educated Turks. In a general assembly meeting in 1907, the ARF acknowledged that the Armenian and Turkish revolutionaries had the same goals. Although the Tanzimat reforms had given Armenians more rights and seats in the parliament, the ARF hoped to gain autonomy to govern Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire as a "state within a state". The "Second congress of the Ottoman opposition" took place in Paris, France, in 1907. Opposition leaders including Ahmed Riza (liberal), Sabahheddin Bey, and ARF member Khachatur Maloumian attended. During the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was officially declared. The ARF decided to cooperate with the Committee of Union and Progress, hoping that if the Young Turks came to power, autonomy would be granted to the Armenians.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1908, Abdul Hamid II was overthrown during the Young Turk Revolution, which launched the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Dashnaktsutiun became a legal political party and Armenians gained more seats in the 1908 parliament, but the reforms fell short of the greater autonomy that the ARF had hoped for. The Adana massacre in 1909 also created antipathy between Armenians and Turks, and the ARF cut relations with the Young Turks in 1912. Between December 1912 and 1914 ARF politicians held negotiations with the CUP about political reforms in the eastern provinces. The Armenians had the support of the Russians and the CUP accused the Armenians that their actions caused further division between Turks and Armenians.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1915, Dashnak leaders were deported and killed alongside other Armenian intellectuals during a purge by Ottoman officials against the leaders of the empire's Armenian communities. The ARF, maintaining its ideological commitment to a "Free, Independent, and United Armenia", led the defense of the Armenian people during the Armenian genocide, becoming leaders of the successful Van Resistance. Jevdet Bey, the Ottoman administrator of Van, tried to suppress the resistance by killing two Armenian leaders (Ishkhan and Vramian) and trying to imprison Aram Manukian, who had risen to fame and gained the nickname "Aram of Van". Moreover, on 19 April, he issued an order to exterminate all Armenians, and threatened to kill all Muslims who helped them.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: About 185,000 Armenians lived in Vaspurakan. In the city of Van itself, there were around 30,000 Armenians, but more Armenians from surrounding villages joined them during the Ottoman offensive. The battle started on 20 April 1915, with Aram Manukian as the leader of the resistance, and lasted for two months. In May, the Armenian battalions and Russian regulars entered the city and successfully drove the Ottoman army out of Van. The Dashnaktsutiun was also involved in other less-successful resistance movements in Zeitun, Shabin-Karahisar, Urfa, and Musa Dagh. After the end of the Van resistance, ARF leader Aram Manukian became governor of the Administration for Western Armenia and worked to ease the sufferings of Armenians.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: At the end of World War I, members of the Young Turks movement, considered executors of the Armenian genocide by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, were assassinated during Operation Nemesis.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: As a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani leaders of the Caucasus united to create the Transcaucasian Federation in the winter of 1918. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had drastic consequences for the Armenians: Turkish forces reoccupied Western Armenia. The federation lasted for only three months, eventually leading to the proclamation of the Republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The negotiators for Armenia were from the ARF.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: With the collapse of the Transcaucasian Federation, the Armenians were left to fend for themselves as the Turkish army approached the capital of Yerevan. At first, fearing a major military defeat and massacre of the population of Armenia, the Dashnaks wanted to evacuate the city of Yerevan. Instead, the Military Council headed by Colonel Pirumian decided that they would not surrender and would confront the Turkish army. The opposing armies met on 28 May 1918, near Sardarapat. The battle was a major military success for the Armenian army as it was able to halt the invading Turkish forces. The Armenians also stood their ground at the Battle of Kara Killisse and at the Battle of Bash Abaran. The creation of the First Republic of Armenia was proclaimed on the same day of the Battle of Sardarapat, and the ARF became the ruling party. However, the new state was devastated, with a dislocated economy, hundreds of thousands of refugees, and a mostly starving population.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF, led by General Andranik, tried several times to seize Shusha (known as Shushi by Armenians), a city in Karabakh. Just before the Armistice of Mudros was signed, Andranik was on the way from Zangezur to Shusha, to control the main city of Karabakh. Andranik's forces got within of the city when the First World War ended, and Turkey, along with Germany and Austria-Hungary, surrendered to the Allies. British forces ordered Andranik to stop all military advances, assuring him that the conflict would be solved with the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Andranik, not wanting to antagonize the British, retreated to Goris, Zangezur.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation had a strong presence in the DRA government. Most of the important government posts, such as prime minister, defence minister and interior minister were controlled by its members.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The DRA wanted to recover the country's economy, and create new rules and regulations, but the situation required it to focus on overcoming widespread hunger in the country. The situation was complicated externally, provoked by Turkish and Azerbaijani Muslim riots. In 1920 the situation in the country became worse, with apparent rapprochement between Soviet Russia and Kemal's Turkey. When the Turkish-Armenian war started in autumn 1920, Armenia was isolated and abandoned by Western allies. The newly formed League of Nations did not provide any help. Soviet Russia intensified its pressure on Armenia. Losing the war, Armenia signed the Treaty of Alexandropol on 2 December 1920, which resulted in the recognition of large territorial losses to Turkey. The Armenia military-revolutionary committee formed in Soviet Azerbaijan. Despite their tight grip on power, the ARF ceded power to the Communist Red Army troops invading from the north, which culminated with a Soviet takeover. The ARF was banned, its leaders exiled, and many of its members dispersed to other parts of the world.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: After the communists took over the short-lived First Republic of Armenia and ARF leaders were exiled, the Dashnaks moved their base of operations to where the Armenian diaspora had settled. With the large influx of Armenian refugees in the Levant, the ARF established a strong political structure in Lebanon and to a lesser extent, Syria. From 1921 to 1990, the Dashnaktsutiun established political structures in more than 200 states including the USA, where another large influx of Armenians settled.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: With political and geographic division came religious division. One part of the Armenian Church claimed it wanted to be separate from the head, whose seat was in Echmiadzin, Armenian SSR. Some Armenians in the US thought Moscow tried to use the Armenian Church to promote Communists' ideas outside the country. The Armenian Church thus separated into two branches, Echmiadzin and Cilician, and started to operate separately. In the US, Echmiadzin branch churches of the Armenian Apostolic Church would not admit members of the ARF. This was one of the reasons why the ARF discouraged people from attending these churches and brought the representatives from a different wing of the church, the Armenian Catholicate of Cilicia, from Lebanon to the US. In 1933, members of ARF were convicted in the assassination of Armenian archbishop Levon Tourian in New York City. Prior to his murder, the archbishop had been accused of being exclusively pro-Soviet by the ARF. The ARF was legally exonerated from any direct complicity in the assassination.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During World War II, some Berlin-based ARF members saw an opportunity to remove Soviet control from Armenia by supporting the Nazis. The Armenian Legion, composed largely of former Soviet Red Army POWs, was led by Drastamat Kanayan. It participated in the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula but was later based in the Netherlands and France a result of Adolf Hitler's distrust of their loyalty.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During the 1950s, tensions arose between the ARF and Armenian SSR. The death of Catholicos Garegin of the Holy See of Cilicia prompted a struggle for succession. The National Ecclesiastic Assembly, which was largely influenced by the ARF, elected Zareh of Aleppo. This decision was rejected by the Echmiadzin-based Catholicos of All Armenians, the anti-ARF coalition, and Soviet Armenian authorities. Zareh extended his administrative authority over a large part of the Armenian diaspora, furthering the rift that had already been created by his election. This event split the large Armenian community of Lebanon, creating sporadic clashes between the supporters of Zareh and those who opposed his election.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Religious conflict was part of a greater conflict that raged between the two "camps" of the Armenian diaspora. The ARF still resented the fact that they were ousted from Armenia after the Red Army took control, and the ARF leaders supported the creation of a "Free, Independent, and United Armenia", free from both Soviet and Turkish hegemony. The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and Ramgavar Party, the main rivals of the ARF, supported the newly established Soviet rule in Armenia.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: From 1923 to 1958, conflicts erupted among Armenian political parties struggling to dominate and organize the diaspora. The ARF and Hunchakian parties struggled in 1926 for control of the newly established shanty-town of Bourj Hammoud in Lebanon; ARF member Vahan Vartabedian was assassinated. The assassination of Hunchakian members Mihran Aghazarian and S. Dekhrouhi followed in 1929 and 1931 respectively. In 1956, when Bishop Zareh was consecrated Catholicos of Cilicia, the Catholicos of Echmiadzin refused to recognize his authority. This controversy polarized the Armenian community of Lebanon. As a result, in the context of the Lebanese civil strife of 1958, an armed conflict erupted between supporters (the ARF) and opponents (Hunchakians, Ramgavars) of Zareh.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Prior to the Lebanese Civil War of 1975–90, the party was closely allied to the Phalangist Party of Pierre Gemayel and generally ran joint tickets with the Phalangists, especially in Beirut constituencies with large Armenian populations. The refusal of the ARF, along with most Armenian groups, to play an active role in the civil war, however, soured relations between the two parties, and the Lebanese Forces (a militia dominated by Phalangists and commanded by Bachir Gemayel, Pierre Gemayel's son), responded by attacking the Armenian quarters of many Lebanese towns, including Bourj Hammoud. Many Armenians affiliated with the ARF took up arms voluntarily to defend their quarters. In the midst of the Lebanese civil war, the shadowy guerrilla organization Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide emerged and carried out assassinations from 1975 to 1983. The guerrilla organization has sometimes been linked to the Dashnaks.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Ethnic Armenians are allocated six seats in Lebanon's 128-member National Assembly. The Lebanese branch of the ARF has usually controlled a majority of the Armenian vote and won most of the ethnic Armenian seats in the National Assembly. A major change occurred in the parliamentary election of 2000. With a rift between ARF and the Mustaqbal (Future) party of Rafik Hariri and the ARF was left with only one parliamentary seat, its worst result in many decades. The ARF called for a boycott of the 2005 Beirut elections. Relations soured further when on 5 August 2007 by-election in the Metn district, which includes the predominantly Armenian area of Bourj Hammoud, ARF decided to support Camille Khoury, the candidate backed by opposition leader Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement against Phalangist leader Amine Gemayel and subsequently won the seat. In the 2009 Lebanese general elections, the ARF won 2 seats in parliament which it holds presently. In June 2011, a new Lebanese government was formed where ARF party members were appointed to two ministerial positions, including Ministry of Industry, as part of the March 8 alliance.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF Lebanon branch is headquartered in Bourj Hammoud in the Shaghzoian Centre, along with the ARF Lebanon Central Committee's "Aztag Daily" newspaper and "Voice Of Van" 24-hour radio station.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During the French Mandate and under the parliamentary régime in Syria, there were reserved seats for the various religious communities, like in Lebanon, including for Armenians. This system is unofficially still living. Even when they didn't take part as such in elections, Armenian parties such as Dashnak exerted an influence on them.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF has always maintained its ideological commitment to "a Free, Independent, and United Armenia". The term "United Armenia" refers to the borders of Armenia recognized by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and outlined in the Treaty of Sèvres. After Armenia fell under Soviet control in 1920, the ARF within the Armenian diaspora opposed Soviet rule over Armenia and rallied in support of Armenian independence. It contributed to organizing a social and cultural framework aimed at preserving the Armenian identity. However, because of tight communist control, the ARF could not operate in the Armenian SSR and the political party remained banned until 1991.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In the leadup to the reestablishment of independent Armenia, the ARF was opposed to Armenia's immediate independence from the Soviet Union, considering the threat of neighboring Turkey to be too great.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: When independence was achieved in 1991, the ARF soon became one of the major and most active political parties, rivaled mainly by the Pan-Armenian National Movement. Subsequently, on 28 December 1994, President Levon Ter-Petrosyan in a famous television speech banned the ARF, which was the nation's leading opposition party, along with "Yerkir", the country's largest daily newspaper. Ter-Petrosyan introduced evidence that supposedly detailed a plot hatched by the ARF to engage in terrorism against his administration, endanger Armenia's national security and overthrow the government. Throughout the evening, government security forces arrested leading ARF figures, and police seized computers, fax machines, files and printing equipment from ARF offices. In addition to "Yerkir", government forces also closed several literary, women's, cultural, and youth publications. A group of eleven ARF members were arrested and accused of being members of a purported secret terrorist cell within the ARF known as the "Dro Group" (named after the Dro Committee, the group that was allegedly behind the plot), which was allegedly led by ARF member Hrant Markarian. Another group of thirty-one ARF members, including ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisyan, were also arrested and charged with attempting to stage an armed coup, among other crimes.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Gerard Libaridian, an historian and close adviser of Ter-Petrosyan, collected and presented the evidence against the defendants. He later stated in an interview that he was unsure if the evidence was true, inviting the notion that the party was banned because of its increasing chances of winning seats in the July 1995 parliamentary elections. The trials were marked by accusations of misconduct, including forced confessions, and were regarded as politically motivated by the opposition and human rights groups. Several months after the elections, most of the men were found not guilty with the exception of several defendants charged for engaging in corrupt business practices. Three men from the "Dro Group" case (Arsen Artsruni, Armenak Mnjoyan, Armen Grigoryan) and one man from the group of 31 (Tigran Avetisyan) were sentenced to death for murder. Their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment in 2003. Mnjoyan died while in prison in early 2019, while Artsruni and Avetisyan continue to serve their sentences.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ban on the party was lifted less than a week after Ter-Petrosyan fell from power in February 1998 and was replaced by Robert Kocharyan, who was backed by the Dashnaks. Most of the ARF members convicted in relation to the "Dro Group" and "Group of 31" cases were released after the relegalization of the party.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 2007, the ARF was not part of but had a cooperation agreement in place with the governing coalition, which consisted of two parties in the government coalition, the Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia Party. The Country of Law party was also a member of the governing coalition until it pulled out in May 2006. With 16 of the 131 seats in the National Assembly of Armenia, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation became the third-largest party in parliament.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In addition to its parliamentary seats, the following governmental ministries were also headed by ARF members: Ministry of Agriculture, Davit Lokian; Ministry of Education and Science, Levon Mkrtchian; Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Aghvan Vardanian; Ministry of Healthcare, Norair Davidian. On 13 July 2007, the ARF History Museum was inaugurated in Yerevan, displaying the history of the party and of its notable members.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 2007, the ARF announced that it would nominate its own candidate to run for president of Armenia in the February 2008 presidential election. In an innovation on 24–25 November 2007, the ARF conducted a non-binding Armenia-wide primary election. They invited the public to vote to advise the party which of two candidates, Vahan Hovhannisyan and Armen Rustamyan, they should formally nominate for president of Armenia in the subsequent official election. What characterized it as a primary instead of a standard opinion poll was that the public knew of the primary in advance, all eligible voters were invited, and the voting was by secret ballot. Nearly 300,000 people voted in makeshift tents and mobile ballot boxes. Vahan Hovhannisyan received the most votes and was subsequently nominated for the presidential election by the ARF Supreme Council in a secret ballot. In the presidential election, Hovhannisyan placed fourth with 6.2% of the vote. In 2008, ARF re-joined the ruling political coalition in Armenia and supported strong police actions during the 2008 Armenian presidential election protests that led to ten deaths.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Due to the signature of the so-called Zurich Protocols the ARF left the coalition and became an opposition party once again in 2009, but relations with other factions in the Armenian opposition remained frosty. In 2012 parliamentary election the ARF won 5 seats losing 11 parliamentary seats from 2007.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: ARF then reentered Sargsyan's cabinet in February 2016, obtaining three ministerial posts: Ministry of Economy, Local Government and Education; also as a result of what was defined as a "long-term political cooperation" agreement with the Republican Party, ARF also got to appoint the regional governors of Aragatsotn and Shirak Provinces.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: After the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes, the ARF helped the Ministry of Defense of Armenia in setting up a volunteer reserve battalion, made up mostly of party members. This unit, made up of experienced commanders and soldiers, some of them veterans from the Nagorno-Karabakh war, is one of the newest units of the Armenian military. It traces back its heritage from the Shushi independent battalion of the previous war, and is called the "ARF battalion".


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Following the 2017 elections, the party won 7 seats in the National Assembly with 6,58% of the votes.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Following the start of the Armenian Velvet Revolution, the ARF broke its coalition with the Republican Party of Armenia and moved into opposition; later on, the party supported Nikol Pashinyan's new cabinet. The 2018 election saw the collapse of the party. The ARF only scored 3,89% of the votes and won no seats. It was the first time since the independence of Armenia that ARF had no political representation in the National Assembly.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Since its loss in the 2018 election, the ARF has become the main extra parliamentary opposition party to the Pashinyan government.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF also gained popularity by intensifying its social aid programs to those in need in Armenia, especially in the rural areas. The party has provided aid to locals during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, mainly thanks to various donation made by members of the Armenian diaspora.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, the ARF again formed volunteer battalions to fight in the war. After the conclusion of the war, the party formed a coalition with 16 other political parties (most notably the former ruling Republican Party and the parliamentary opposition party Prosperous Armenia) calling itself the "Homeland Salvation Movement", calling on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign for the defeat of the Armenian side in the war. Along with the other parties in the coalition, the ARF supported former prime minister Vazgen Manukyan as their candidate for prime minister. The Homeland Salvation Movement attempted to force Pashinyan's resignation through the organization of mass protests.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF formed the Armenia Alliance electoral alliance with ex-president Robert Kocharyan and the Reborn Armenia party to participate in the 2021 snap parliamentary election. The alliance won 29 seats out of 107, 10 of which were taken by candidates put forward by the ARF.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In the 2000s, the party usually garnered some 10 to 15 percent of the vote in national elections. In a 2007 confidential telegram Anthony Godfrey, U.S. Embassy in Armenia "chargé d'affaires", wrote that the party "has had a historically loyal following of 10 to 12 percent of the population, but probably has little chance to expand from that base." Following the 2018 Armenian Velvet Revolution, the party polled at 1–2%. The ARF, for the first time since 1999, did not win seats in parliament and effectively became an extra-parliamentary opposition party. However, the party gained 10 seats in parliament following the 2021 elections, as part of the Armenia Alliance coalition.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: After the Soviet Union expanded into the South Caucasus, it established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923. In the final years of the Soviet Union, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation established a branch in Nagorno-Karabakh. In January 1991, the Dashnaktsutiun won the parliamentary election and governed as the ruling party during the entirety of the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The Dashnaks actively supported the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh (or Artsakh as Armenians call it). It aided the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army by sending armed volunteers to the front lines and supplying the army with weapons, food, medicine and moral support. The party even had its own infantry battalion, subordinated to NKR army command, the "Shushi independent battalion", which became one of the most efficient Armenian units during the war. After deciding not to run in the second parliamentary elections, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation ran in the 1999 elections and won 9 of the 33 seats in the National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh. At the June 2005 elections, the Dashnaktsutiun was part of an electoral alliance with Movement 88 that won 3 out of 33 seats. Following the March 2020 elections, the party won 3 seats in the National Assembly.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The principal founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were nationalist, socialists, and Marxist elements were omnipresent in the introductory section of the party's first program written by Rosdom, entitled "General Theory". The ARF first set down its ideological and political goals during the Hamidian regime. It denounced the Ottoman regime and the unbearable conditions of life for its Armenians and advocated changing the regime in power and securing more rights through revolution and armed struggle. The ARF had and still has socialism within its political philosophy. Its program expresses the entire, multifaceted make-up of the Armenian revolutionary movement, including its national-liberation, political, and social-economic aspects. Politically the ARF is aligned with Marxist socialism, being influenced by Marxist analysis of history, capitalism, and politics.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Despite subsequent modifications, the above-mentioned principles and tendencies continue to characterize the ideological world of the Dashnaktsutiun, and its approach toward issues has remained unchanged. In recent decades, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation reasserted itself ideologically and reformulated the section of its program called "General Theory", adapting it to current concepts of socialism, democracy and rights of self-determination. The party has long supported a parliamentary republican political system and campaigned for a "yes" vote in the 2015 constitutional referendum.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: In 1907, the Dashnaktsutiun joined the Second International until its dissolution during World War I. It later joined the reformed Socialist International and remained a full member until 1960, when it decided to pull out of the organization. In 1996, it was re-accepted as an observer member, and in 1999 the Dashnaks earned full membership in the international organization. The party was also a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: A member of the ARF is called "Dashnaktsakan" (in Eastern Armenian) or "Tashnagtsagan" (in Western Armenian), or Dashnak/Tashnag for short. Other than calling each other by name, members formally address one another as "Comrade" (Ընկեր or "Unger" for boys and men, Ընկերուհի or "Ungerouhi" for girls and women).


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The party has supported some pro-European policies which favor the European integration of Armenia. The party was in favor of Armenia's continued political association and economic integration with the European Union. However, in 2013 the ARF backed the government's decision to join the Eurasian Economic Union instead of signing an Association Agreement and DCTFA with the EU, stating that there were "security concerns" facing Armenia. In 2016, the ARF signed a memorandum of co-operation with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). Former S&D President Gianni Pittella stated, "Armenia deserves to benefit from both its membership of the Eurasian Economic Union and the closest relations with the European Union. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation has its place within the European social-democratic family."


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) was the militant arm of the ARF, it was active in from 1975 to 1987. They were responsible for a number of assassinations of Turkish diplomats with their goal being bringing attention to the Armenian genocide.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF is considered the foremost organization in the Armenian diaspora, having established numerous Armenian schools, community centers, Scouting and athletic groups, relief societies, youth groups, camps, and other organs throughout the world.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF also works as an umbrella organ for the Armenian Relief Society, the Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union, the Hamazkayin Cultural Foundation, and many other community organizations. It operates the Armenian Youth Federation, which encourages the youth of the diaspora to join the political cause of the ARF and the Armenian people.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The ARF Shant Student Association and the ARF Armen Karo Student Association are organizations of college and university students on various campuses and are the only ARF organizations whose membership is exclusively from this group.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Starting in late December 2020, a small group of former and punished ARF members believed to be loyalists of Viken "Alex" Hovsepian began to assert that they represent the organization in the Western United States and are not subject to the decisions of the ARF's highest body, the Bureau.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Earlier in December, the ARF's Bureau had appointed a new Central Committee in the Western United States, in compliance with the Bylaws of the ARF and ARF Western United States Region.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: The Bylaws explicitly allow the Bureau to dissolve any Central Committee and appoint one for a temporary term until new and duly organized elections can be held. Within days of it being dissolved, a minority of the former Central Committee haphazardly called a "regional convention" in violation of not only California organizational laws but also prevailing COVID-related state and county health orders. This illegitimate meeting claimed to elect a new Central Committee in the Western United States, despite the fact that the meeting lacked the required two-thirds quorum, was not sanctioned or attended by the ARF Bureau, did not invite all the Gomidehutyuns (chapters) of the ARF in the Western Region, only gave two days' notice to those whom it did invite, and was not in compliance with California state organizational laws requiring ample notice for such meetings. Furthermore, the meeting was called at the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Los Angeles, California against state and county orders in effect at the time, which barred any such public gatherings.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Though the ARF Bureau attempted to resolve the issue amicably, the rogue group continued to insist that it will not hand over control of the ARF's and its subsidiary Armenian Cultural Foundation's assets over to the legitimately appointed Central Committee. To further aggravate the situation, the rogue group continued to represent itself as the Central Committee of the ARF in the Western United States. It then initiated lawsuits, including Federal RICO litigation, claiming that it is the legitimate ARF body in the Western United States. To attempt to substantiate its claims, the rogue group provided a falsified version of the ARF's Bylaws to the courts, which purport to claim that the ARF Bureau has no authority to dissolve and appoint a Central Committee. This, despite the fact that the real ARF Western United States Bylaws are a well-established fact, in circulation among all members and bodies of the organization.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: While the legal ownership of the ARF's assets were under litigation, the rogue group continued to exercise control over some properties and assets. As such, the rogue group illegally installed fake Gomidehs (chapter executives) in some of the ARF chapters in the Western United States, handing over physical control over some of the chapters' buildings to the illegitimate chapter executives. One such example is the ACF Glendale Youth Center which was occupied by individuals who have been expelled from the ARF. An attempt was made by representatives of the rogue group to illegally occupy another center in La Crescenta, California. One of the representatives of the rogue group was even caught on surveillance video attempting to run over a volunteer with his car.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: On July 18, 2021, at the ARF Western United States 55th Regional Convention, sanctioned and attended by the ARF Bureau, and in accordance with the organization's bylaws, a new Central Committee of the ARF Western United States Region was elected for a two-year term. On March 8, 2022, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's World Congress, its highest authority, issued a public statement re-affirming that "the only ARF entity operating in the Western United States region is the ARF Central Committee elected for a term of two years on July 18, 2021 at the ARF Western United States 55th Regional Convention. This entity is the only one authorized to incorporate the use of the ARF's name and use its flag, insignia and anthem."


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: On 3 April 2022, the ARF Western United States of America celebrated the organization's 131st anniversary at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. At the event, it was announced that the organization's new official publication in the Western United States is "Oragark".


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Armenian National Committee of America, an ARF-affiliate organization, is the strongest Armenian lobby organization in the United States. Its sister organization Armenian National Committee of Canada, operates in Canada as the strongest and most influential Armenian-Canadian organization.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: Branches of the Armenian National Committee in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, England, France, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland, Syria, the Netherlands and Uruguay subsequently have played a significant role in the campaign for the recognition of the Armenian genocide in their respective countries.


title: Armenian Revolutionary Federation

text: ARF and its affiliate organizations worldwide publish 12 newspapers: 4 daily and 8 weekly. Also, there are two TV channels, including one online. Two radio stations are aired everyday, including one online.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: John Lee Hancock Jr. (born December 15, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He directed the sports drama films "The Rookie" (2002) and "The Blind Side" (2009), and the historical drama films "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013), "The Founder" (2016), "The Alamo" (2004), and "The Highwaymen" (2019). Most recently, he wrote and directed the horror film, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" (2022).


title: John Lee Hancock

text: Hancock was born in Longview, but grew up in Texas City. His father, John Lee Hancock Sr., played football for Baylor and in the NFL and went on to become a football coach at Texas City High School. His mother, Sue Hancock is a retired English teacher who taught in the Texas City ISD. The eldest of four children (two brothers and one sister), John Jr. played football and competed in swimming while in high school (his brother played briefly in the NFL). Throughout high school and when home from college, John worked in his grandfather's pipe fabrication shop, located near the industrial refineries of his hometown, Texas City, Texas. Hancock received his bachelor's degree in English from Baylor in 1979 and earned a J.D. degree from Baylor Law School in 1982.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: After working in a Houston law firm for four years, he decided to pursue screenwriting and moved to Los Angeles. Choosing not to take the California bar exam and practice law in California, Hancock instead held numerous non-legal jobs those next few years, took acting classes, and worked in local theater. He debuted as both a screenwriter and director with 1991's "Hard Time Romance," and another screenplay he wrote in 1991 was noticed by Clint Eastwood and went on to become "A Perfect World" directed by Eastwood and starring Eastwood and Kevin Costner. He went on to produce the critically acclaimed "My Dog Skip" before finding widespread recognition as director of "The Rookie""," which won an ESPY in 2002 for "Best Sports Movie" and was both critically and commercially successful. He also wrote the screenplay for "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and directed "The Alamo""," a remake of the 1960 film. It starred Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric and Patrick Wilson.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: After a five-year absence from directing spent honing his screenwriting skills, Hancock returned to both his football and Christian roots with 2009's "The Blind Side", a biographical sports drama film starring Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, a homeless, 350-pound African-American teenager who ended up becoming the Baltimore Ravens' first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a well-off Memphis woman who makes room in her life for Oher. With a budget of $29 million, the film grossed over $309 million, becoming Hancock's highest-grossing film to date, and received two Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress, with Bullock winning the latter award. Bullock also won Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards for her portrayal of Tuohy.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: In 2013 Hancock directed "Saving Mr. Banks", a film about the life of P. L. Travers and her difficult negotiations with Walt Disney over adapting her novel "Mary Poppins" into a feature film. He also directed "The Founder" (2016), about the McDonald's fast food chain, and co-wrote the upcoming musical film "The Goree Girls". In 2019 he directed his first "Netflix" movie "The Highwaymen".


title: John Lee Hancock

text: Hancock also directed the pilot of the television series "Paradise Lost", which premiered on April 13, 2020.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: His latest film is "The Little Things", a 2021 neo-noir crime thriller written, directed and produced by Hancock and Mark Johnson. The plot follows two police officers (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) who try to catch a serial killer in 1990s Los Angeles; the film also stars Jared Leto as their top suspect and Natalie Morales as another detective.


title: John Lee Hancock

text: In 2022, he wrote and directed "Mr. Harrigan's Phone". Based on a short story by Stephen King, which appears in the collection "If It Bleeds", the film follows a boy who befriends an older billionaire who lives in his small town. When the man dies, the boy finds himself able to communicate with his friend from the grave by leaving voicemails on the iPhone that was buried with him.


title: Hydronium

text: In chemistry, hydronium (hydroxonium in traditional British English) is the common name for the aqueous cation , the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water. It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is dissolved in water, as Arrhenius acid molecules in solution give up a proton (a positive hydrogen ion, ) to the surrounding water molecules (). In fact, acids must be surrounded by more than a single water molecule in order to ionize, yielding aqueous and conjugate base. Three main structures for the aqueous proton have garnered experimental support: The Eigen cation, which is a tetrahydrate, HO(HO); the Zundel cation, which is a symmetric dihydrate, H(HO); and the Stoyanov cation, an expanded Zundel cation, which is a hexahydrate: H(HO)(HO). Spectroscopic evidence from well-defined IR spectra overwhelmingly supports the Stoyanov cation as the predominant form. For this reason, it has been suggested that wherever possible, the symbol H(aq) should be used instead of the hydronium ion.


title: Hydronium

text: where M = mol/L. The concentration of hydroxide ions analogously determines a solution's pOH. The molecules in pure water auto-dissociate into aqueous protons and hydroxide ions in the following equilibrium:


title: Hydronium

text: In pure water, there is an equal number of hydroxide and ions, so it is a neutral solution. At , pure water has a pH of 7 and a pOH of 7 (this varies when the temperature changes: see self-ionization of water). A pH value less than 7 indicates an acidic solution, and a pH value more than 7 indicates a basic solution.


title: Hydronium

text: According to IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry, the hydronium ion should be referred to as "oxonium". "Hydroxonium" may also be used unambiguously to identify it.


title: Hydronium

text: An oxonium ion is any ion with a trivalent oxygen cation. For example, a protonated hydroxyl group is an oxonium ion, but not a hydronium ion.


title: Hydronium

text: Since and N have the same number of electrons, is isoelectronic with ammonia. As shown in the images above, has a trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry with the oxygen atom at its apex. The bond angle is approximately 113°, and the center of mass is very close to the oxygen atom. Because the base of the pyramid is made up of three identical hydrogen atoms, the molecule's symmetric top configuration is such that it belongs to the point group. Because of this symmetry and the fact that it has a dipole moment, the rotational selection rules are Δ"J" = ±1 and Δ"K" = 0. The transition dipole lies along the "c"-axis and, because the negative charge is localized near the oxygen atom, the dipole moment points to the apex, perpendicular to the base plane.


title: Hydronium

text: The hydrated proton is very acidic: at 25 °C, its p"K" is approximately 0. The values commonly given for p"K"(HO) are 0 or –1.74. The former uses the convention that the activity of the solvent in a dilute solution (in this case, water) is 1, while the latter uses the value of the concentration of water in the pure liquid of 55.5 M. Silverstein has shown that the latter value is thermodynamically unsupportable. The disagreement comes from the ambiguity that to define p"K" of HO in water, HO has to act simultaneously as a solute and the solvent. The IUPAC has not given an official definition of p"K" that would resolve this ambiguity. Burgot has argued that HO(aq) + HO (l) ⇄ HO (aq) + HO (aq) is simply not a thermodynamically well-defined process. For an estimate of p"K"(HO), Burgot suggests taking the measured value p"K"(HO) = 0.3, the p"K" of HO in ethanol, and applying the correlation equation p"K" = p"K" – 1.0 (± 0.3) to convert the ethanol p"K" to an aqueous value, to give a value of p"K"(HO) = –0.7 (± 0.3). On the other hand, Silverstein has shown that Ballinger and Long's experimental results support a pKa of 0.0 for the aqueous proton. Neils and Schaertel provide added arguments for a pKa of 0.0


title: Hydronium

text: The aqueous proton is the most acidic species that can exist in water (assuming sufficient water for dissolution): any stronger acid will ionize and yield a hydrated proton. The acidity of (aq) is the implicit standard used to judge the strength of an acid in water: strong acids must be better proton donors than (aq), as otherwise a significant portion of acid will exist in a non-ionized state (i.e.: a weak acid). Unlike (aq) in neutral solutions that result from water's autodissociation, in acidic solutions, (aq) is long-lasting and concentrated, in proportion to the strength of the dissolved acid.


title: Hydronium

text: pH was originally conceived to be a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of aqueous solution. Virtually all such free protons are quickly hydrated; acidity of an aqueous solution is therefore more accurately characterized by its concentration of (aq). In organic syntheses, such as acid catalyzed reactions, the hydronium ion () is used interchangeably with the ion; choosing one over the other has no significant effect on the mechanism of reaction.


title: Hydronium

text: Researchers have yet to fully characterize the solvation of hydronium ion in water, in part because many different meanings of solvation exist. A freezing-point depression study determined that the mean hydration ion in cold water is approximately : on average, each hydronium ion is solvated by 6 water molecules which are unable to solvate other solute molecules.


title: Hydronium

text: Some hydration structures are quite large: the magic ion number structure (called "magic number" because of its increased stability with respect to hydration structures involving a comparable number of water molecules – this is a similar usage of the term "magic number" as in nuclear physics) might place the hydronium inside a dodecahedral cage. However, more recent ab initio method molecular dynamics simulations have shown that, on average, the hydrated proton resides on the surface of the cluster. Further, several disparate features of these simulations agree with their experimental counterparts suggesting an alternative interpretation of the experimental results.


title: Hydronium

text: Two other well-known structures are the "Zundel cation" and the "Eigen cation". The Eigen solvation structure has the hydronium ion at the center of an complex in which the hydronium is strongly hydrogen-bonded to three neighbouring water molecules. In the Zundel complex the proton is shared equally by two water molecules in a symmetric hydrogen bond. Recent work indicates that both of these complexes represent ideal structures in a more general hydrogen bond network defect.


title: Hydronium

text: Isolation of the hydronium ion monomer in liquid phase was achieved in a nonaqueous, low nucleophilicity superacid solution (). The ion was characterized by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance.


title: Hydronium

text: A 2007 calculation of the enthalpies and free energies of the various hydrogen bonds around the hydronium cation in liquid protonated water at room temperature and a study of the proton hopping mechanism using molecular dynamics showed that the hydrogen-bonds around the hydronium ion (formed with the three water ligands in the first solvation shell of the hydronium) are quite strong compared to those of bulk water.


title: Hydronium

text: A new model was proposed by Stoyanov based on infrared spectroscopy in which the proton exists as an ion. The positive charge is thus delocalized over 6 water molecules.


title: Hydronium

text: For many strong acids, it is possible to form crystals of their hydronium salt that are relatively stable. These salts are sometimes called "acid monohydrates". As a rule, any acid with an ionization constant of or higher may do this. Acids whose ionization constants are below generally cannot form stable salts. For example, nitric acid has an ionization constant of , and mixtures with water at all proportions are liquid at room temperature. However, perchloric acid has an ionization constant of , and if liquid anhydrous perchloric acid and water are combined in a 1:1 molar ratio, they react to form solid hydronium perchlorate ().


title: Hydronium

text: The hydronium ion also forms stable compounds with the carborane superacid . X-ray crystallography shows a symmetry for the hydronium ion with each proton interacting with a bromine atom each from three carborane anions 320 pm apart on average. The salt is also soluble in benzene. In crystals grown from a benzene solution the solvent co-crystallizes and a cation is completely separated from the anion. In the cation three benzene molecules surround hydronium forming pi-cation interactions with the hydrogen atoms. The closest (non-bonding) approach of the anion at chlorine to the cation at oxygen is 348 pm.


title: Hydronium

text: There are also many examples of hydrated hydronium ions known, such as the ion in , the and ions both found in .


title: Hydronium

text: Hydronium is an abundant molecular ion in the interstellar medium and is found in diffuse and dense molecular clouds as well as the plasma tails of comets. Interstellar sources of hydronium observations include the regions of Sagittarius B2, Orion OMC-1, Orion BN–IRc2, Orion KL, and the comet Hale–Bopp.


title: Hydronium

text: Interstellar hydronium is formed by a chain of reactions started by the ionization of into by cosmic radiation. can produce either or through dissociative recombination reactions, which occur very quickly even at the low (≥10 K) temperatures of dense clouds. This leads to hydronium playing a very important role in interstellar ion-neutral chemistry.


title: Hydronium

text: Astronomers are especially interested in determining the abundance of water in various interstellar climates due to its key role in the cooling of dense molecular gases through radiative processes. However, does not have many favorable transitions for ground-based observations. Although observations of HDO (the deuterated version of water) could potentially be used for estimating abundances, the ratio of HDO to is not known very accurately.


title: Hydronium

text: Hydronium, on the other hand, has several transitions that make it a superior candidate for detection and identification in a variety of situations. This information has been used in conjunction with laboratory measurements of the branching ratios of the various dissociative recombination reactions to provide what are believed to be relatively accurate and abundances without requiring direct observation of these species.


title: Hydronium

text: As mentioned previously, is found in both diffuse and dense molecular clouds. By applying the reaction rate constants ("α", "β", and "γ") corresponding to all of the currently available characterized reactions involving , it is possible to calculate "k"("T") for each of these reactions. By multiplying these "k"("T") by the relative abundances of the products, the relative rates (in cm/s) for each reaction at a given temperature can be determined. These relative rates can be made in absolute rates by multiplying them by the . By assuming for a dense cloud and for a diffuse cloud, the results indicate that most dominant formation and destruction mechanisms were the same for both cases. It should be mentioned that the relative abundances used in these calculations correspond to TMC-1, a dense molecular cloud, and that the calculated relative rates are therefore expected to be more accurate at . The three fastest formation and destruction mechanisms are listed in the table below, along with their relative rates. Note that the rates of these six reactions are such that they make up approximately 99% of hydronium ion's chemical interactions under these conditions. All three destruction mechanisms in the table below are classified as dissociative recombination reactions.


title: Hydronium

text: It is also worth noting that the relative rates for the formation reactions in the table above are the same for a given reaction at both temperatures. This is due to the reaction rate constants for these reactions having "β" and "γ" constants of 0, resulting in which is independent of temperature.


title: Hydronium

text: Since all three of these reactions produce either or OH, these results reinforce the strong connection between their relative abundances and that of . The rates of these six reactions are such that they make up approximately 99% of hydronium ion's chemical interactions under these conditions.


title: Hydronium

text: As early as 1973 and before the first interstellar detection, chemical models of the interstellar medium (the first corresponding to a dense cloud) predicted that hydronium was an abundant molecular ion and that it played an important role in ion-neutral chemistry. However, before an astronomical search could be underway there was still the matter of determining hydronium's spectroscopic features in the gas phase, which at this point were unknown. The first studies of these characteristics came in 1977, which was followed by other, higher resolution spectroscopy experiments. Once several lines had been identified in the laboratory, the first interstellar detection of HO was made by two groups almost simultaneously in 1986. The first, published in June 1986, reported observation of the "J" = 1 − 2 transition at in OMC-1 and Sgr B2. The second, published in August, reported observation of the same transition toward the Orion-KL nebula.


title: Hydronium

text: These first detections have been followed by observations of a number of additional transitions. The first observations of each subsequent transition detection are given below in chronological order:


title: Hydronium

text: In 1991, the 3 − 2 transition at was observed in OMC-1 and Sgr B2. One year later, the 3 − 2 transition at was observed in several regions, the clearest of which was the W3 IRS 5 cloud.


title: Hydronium

text: The first far-IR 4 − 3 transition at 69.524 µm (4.3121 THz) was made in 1996 near Orion BN-IRc2. In 2001, three additional transitions of in were observed in the far infrared in Sgr B2; 2 − 1 transition at 100.577 µm (2.98073 THz), 1 − 1 at 181.054 µm (1.65582 THz) and 2 − 1 at 100.869 µm (2.9721 THz).


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Major , or just "Major", is the main protagonist in Masamune Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell" manga and series. She is a synthetic "full-body prosthesis" augmented-cybernetic human employed as the field commander of Public Security Section 9, a fictional anti-cybercrime law-enforcement division of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Being strong-willed, physically powerful, and highly intelligent cyberhero, she is well known for her skills in deduction, hacking and military tactics.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Motoko Kusanagi's body was designed by the manga author and artist Masamune Shirow to be a mass production model so she would not be conspicuous. Her electrical and mechanical system within is special and features parts unavailable on the civilian market. Shirow intentionally chose this appearance so Motoko would not be harvested for those parts.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the 1995 anime film adaptation, character designer and key animator supervisor Hiroyuki Okiura, made her different from her original manga counterpart stating, "Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg. Therefore her body is strong and youthful. However her human mentality is considerably older than she looks. I tried to depict this maturity in her character instead of the original girl created by Masamune Shirow." In nearly all portrayals, Kusanagi is depicted as a self-made woman. She is a fiercely independent and capable leader who has proven herself under fire countless times.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Kenji Kamiyama had a difficult time identifying her and could not understand her motives during the first season of the anime series "". Due to this, he created an episode in the second season where he recounted her past. He was then able to describe her as a human who was chosen to gain this superhuman power; she probably believes that she has an obligation to use that ability for the benefit of others. English voice actor and director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn states she loved playing the role of Motoko Kusanagi and described her as "someone [who] was that strong, and still kind of feminine at times, but also kick-ass".


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Neurobiology, cybernetics and computer technology have advanced to such a point that most people possess "neuro-cyberbrains"—a technological "organic-synthetic" wetware computer user interface implant located in the suboccipital nerve region of the cranium; this allows their minds to seamlessly interact with mobile devices, machines or networks around them. The neuro-cyberbrain revolutionized education and has made training in any task simply a matter of uploading the proper data. The military uses the technology to train their soldiers into veterans within days. Civilians use it to become adept at their jobs and learn new hobbies. In some cases of extreme trauma, it is possible to replace large segments of the brain and body with prosthetic counterparts.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Major Motoko Kusanagi is one such person, living in a "full-body" prosthesis after an accident as a child; her only organic parts are her brain and spinal cord. Her current prosthetic body looks like a generic product, but is actually military grade.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In every anime iteration, Section 9 has been all-male excepting the Major who leads the team. The "Arise" series details Kusanagi forming the current team roster to her own specifications. She forms and leads Section 9 because she is the most capable member of the team.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Kusanagi is a leading expert in fourth-generation warfare and cyberbrain combative warfare. As the most heavily mechanized member of Section 9, she is regarded among her peers as the best hand-to-hand melee fighter and the most skilled "hacker and net diver." Chief Aramaki described her abilities as "...rarer than 'ESP'; the kind of person that government agencies hire to assassinate without leaving a trace." Classified as "Wizard Class" grey hat, her computer security hacking skills allow her brain–computer interface consciousness to control two-external humanoid "drone"-robots remotely with the ability to move her "ghost" from host to host. Kusanagi repeatedly demonstrates uncanny ability to hack people's wetware protected with military-grade malware protection and counter-measures, allowing her to "see through their eyes," disable their vocal systems, or even take control of their bodies altogether. As a cyborg, Kusanagi is able to perform numerous superhuman feats, such as demonstrating superhuman strength, leaping between skyscrapers, advanced acrobatics, or shooting down a bullet after it was fired at mid-range.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Little is known of Motoko Kusanagi's early history. Only hints at some of her background, usually through flashbacks, and nearly always from the points of view of others; rarely from Kusanagi's herself. The "Stand Alone Complex" television series, establishes that Motoko Kusanagi has lived within cyborg “shells” practically since birth. The "Arise" video series confirms that Motoko Kusanagi earned her military rank “Major” by serving in the JGSDF. Motoko Kusanagi earned her reputation as “Fire Starter,” a master computer hacker, through years of experience and activity. Kusanagi is often portrayed wearing provocative dress and attire (or lack of attire) and experiments with "human vices" in an attempt to understand that part of her humanity, and in particular her femininity.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Kusanagi's various incarnations in the different manga or movies or TV series all portray her differently. In the original manga, Kusanagi's portrayal differs from that of the film-versions; she has a much more slapstick, vivacious, and sexy personality. Since each of these have independent storylines, the physical and mental characteristics of Motoko Kusanagi has been modified in different ways to reflect the focus of the story; these changes are reflected in the different ways that artists draw her.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the "2nd Gig" episode "Kusanagi's Labyrinth – AFFECTION" portrays a youthful Kusanagi was involved in a plane crash, the only other survivor of which was Hideo Kuze who later became a member of the "Individual Eleven". After spending an undefined period of time in a coma Kusanagi's "ghost" was transferred into a fully cybernetic-prosthetic body without her prior consent. After this she visited Hideo Kuze in hospital since he was still paralysed from the injuries he had suffered in the crash and eventually convinced him to undergo the cyberization procedure himself. At the end of the series Kusanagi confessed that she couldn't remember what her real name was, indicating that Motoko Kusanagi is actually only a pseudonym as Chroma, Fire Starter or Mira Killian; just as Hideo Kuze's name is as well.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In "Ghost in the Shell", Kusanagi participates in a lesbian sex splash panel, involving Kurutan and Ran, and has a boyfriend. The unnamed boyfriend works for "Section One", and they have been dating for seven months; to which Batou considers this "a new record". In Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG, Episode 17 – "DI Mother and Child – RED DATA", having taken an adolescent male to a hotel after rescuing him from yakuza, both share the same bed for the night. The boy asks Motoko if cyborgs can still have sex, to which Motoko responds "You care to find out?"


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Motoko shares a strong bond with and respect for her partner Batou, with whom she has worked in several missions; it is heavily implied the two are in love with one another.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Heterosexual "E-sex" is rather painful, as depicted in the splash panel. It is also an illegal act and lucrative "side business" for Motoko, as stated by Masamune Shirow in the back of the manga collection. "Same gender/sex" cyborg-compatibility are rarely an issue, as the user(s)' interfaced nervous systems allow shared simultaneous sensations; such intimate connections have the potential for serious medical complications for user(s) of "Opposing sex/gender" compatibility, as illustrated by the accidental arrival of Batou (who is male). Shirow stated in his poster-book, "Intron Depot 1", that "I drew an all-girl orgy because I didn't want to draw some guy's butt." The lesbian sex splash panel was cut from the original American release of the manga, as it would have entailed giving the book an "adults only" rating. Ultimately, Shirow decided it wasn't important to the plot. In the second edition, released in 2004, the scene is completely unedited.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Motoko is a commanding presence when on assignment, but also trades insults with her troops. She constantly calls Aramaki "Ape Face" as well as other members in Public Security Section 9, and when the Puppet Master reveals the "Motokos" that exist in the minds of those who know her, Aramaki's "Motoko" is sticking her tongue out. She is very light-hearted and immature on some occasions. Due to the Puppeteer case, she started to change and became much more serious.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the sequel, "Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface", a person known as Motoko Aramaki appears. She identifies herself as containing "Motoko Kusanagi" elements, along with Project 2501, the Puppeteer. She is also identified as "Motoko 11" hinting that there is more than one.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: A second character is also introduced in "Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface" named Millennium, who controls a group named "Stabat Mater" that is researching a process known as "Brain Expansion". This research is apparently called off after Millennium is taken over by Motoko Aramaki. At this time Millennium is revealed to be "'No. 20' (Millennium)," indicating that Millennium is another of the Motoko Kusanagi/Project 2501 hybrid entities.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the 1995 animated film "Ghost in the Shell" by Mamoru Oshii, the Major's design is significantly different from her original manga appearance. Unlike her manga counterpart, the Major has an androgynous face and rarely shows emotion. Like the manga, Public Security Section 9 investigate the crimes of a genius hacker called the Puppet Master. Kusanagi is frequently portrayed in the film as contemplative and brooding, in contrast to the down-to-earth nature of her partner Batou. Since she has a full cybernetic body, she is not certain her "ghost" retains any humanity and speculates on the possibility that she is entirely synthetic intelligence, with artificially generated memories and emotions designed to "fool her" into thinking she was once human. Throughout the movie, she seeks to find answers to her questions and finally meets the Puppet Master, a rogue AI who became sentient and who is also looking for existential meaning. In the climax of the film, Kusanagi and the Puppet Master "merge" to form a "newborn": an entirely new entity that exists free of physical boundaries and can propagate itself through the Net.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the 2004 follow-up "", picking up three years after the events of the original movie, the Major herself does not appear. Throughout the film, the Major makes her first "true" appearance in Kim's manor, where she breaks into the hallway component of Kim's looping false memories and inserts herself (represented by the child's prosthetic body she inhabited at the end of the first movie), and provides clues to alert Batou to Kim's attempted "ghost-hack" on himself and Togusa. The Major's "ghost" eventually returns in person to help Batou on the Locus Solus gynoid factory ship. Using a satellite transmission, she attempts to download her "ghost" into one of the Hadaly gynoid production models—however, due to the insufficient memory of the gynoid's e-brain, she is only able to download a fraction of her full "ghost" into the doll. (She notes with marked disdain that the gynoid had barely enough memory for her combat protocols.) Her personality has not changed much from the first movie—she still retains her fondness for philosophy and her considerable skills in battle, though she has also gained the Puppet Master's formidable hacking abilities. In a climactic sequence, she tears apart her mechanical body in the process of opening the ship's CPU hatch in order to hack into it. After successfully locking down the ship and uncovering the truth behind the conspiracy, Kusanagi prepares to once again disappear into the Net, but reassures a despondent Batou that whenever he logs in, she will always be beside him.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the 2017 DreamWorks Pictures "Ghost in the Shell" live-action movie directed by Rupert Sanders, Scarlett Johansson portrays Motoko, who is initially introduced as Mira Killian (who shares the same initials). It is revealed at the end of the film that she was originally a teenage Japanese girl and activist named Motoko Kusanagi (portrayed by Kaori Yamamoto) who had run away from home one year prior to the events of the film. While living with other critics of cyborg technology in what is referred to as the Lawless Region, she is kidnapped by agents of the Hanka Robotics corporation, who perform experiments upon her and place her brain inside a cybernetic body. In effect, this makes her the first full-body cyborg to be successfully developed. Upon awakening inside her new body, Kusanagi is told that her name is Mira Killian and that her family was killed in a terrorist attack. She is also given false memories and subsequently employed by Section 9. Mira later discovers the secret behind her creation from the film's initial antagonist Kuze, who also underwent experimentation, as well as Dr. Ouelet, who played a primary role in developing her prosthetic body. With the help of Section 9, she consents to having Cutter, the Hanka executive trying to murder her, killed by her boss, Aramaki.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: The Major retains much of her personality from the manga in the anime series "" and its followup "", although she is not disrespectful toward the Chief like she is in the manga. As in the manga and unlike the movies, where she had black hair and blue-grey eyes, she now has blue-purple hair and red-violet eyes. Throughout the series, The Major maintains her signature commanding presence and authority. Among the various members of Section 9, Kusanagi is usually the one Chief Aramaki singles out to accompany him on official and off the record business. Kusanagi's personal life is not shown much in the first season. She underwent cyberization at a very early age and had trouble adapting to the use of her body which resulted in her inadvertently breaking one of her favorite dolls. She keeps a wrist watch as proof of her past.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the first season, Kusanagi started questioning the use of the Tachikoma sentient tanks, due to them showing signs of individuality and curiosity not suited for combat. Ultimately, she decides to have them stripped of their weaponry and sent back to the lab that manufactured them for analysis and further work. When the Tachikoma sacrificed themselves to save Batou, Major Kusanagi understands that she was wrong in halting the usage of the Tachikoma and proposes that they might have evolved to have ghosts themselves.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the second season her past was revealed. She was once a little girl who had been in a plane crash causing her to be in a coma. A boy who was also a victim of the plane crash continuously made origami cranes using only his left hand, as much of his body was paralyzed in the accident, in hopes of giving them to her when she woke up. Motoko was eventually taken away when medical complications occurred. The boy thought she had died, but she was actually being cyberized and given a full prosthetic body. When she returned to see the boy, the boy did not recognize her and ignored her. When she left the hospital, the boy realized she was the girl in the coma and made a decision to get cyberized and look for her, but he never saw her again. Throughout the second season, the Major and Section 9 go against a terrorist group called "The Individual Eleven". Believing it to be another "stand alone complex" they unwillingly teamed up with Kazundo Gouda in order to figure out their motive. When the 11 leaders of the individual eleven reveal themselves, they all kill each other except for Hideo Kuze. It was later revealed that Hideo Kuze was the little boy who Motoko once knew as a child; this discovery caused her some emotional confusion.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the "" OVA, the Major has left Section 9 for two years and does not appear much in the first half of the film. She first appears on a building jumping off into the darkness. She shows up later as Chroma, to warn Batou to stay away from the "Solid State Society". She returns to her normal body after "Chroma" re-stores herself in the recharging chamber. She is suspected of being the Puppeteer, but is no longer suspected when she rescues Togusa from a (coerced) suicide attempt. She leads Section 9 on a raid to find the Puppeteer. At the end of Solid State Society, she repeats her famous line, "The net is truly vast and infinite."


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: In the " (2013)" OVA series, Motoko is completely redesigned from her previous incarnations, as are all members of the main character cast. Her cybernetic body is shown as far younger in appearance and shorter in height to other versions, resembling a teenager or young adult and not much taller than Chief Aramaki. Her hair is blue and cut in a close, straight bang form, and she is usually shown wearing full red leather pants and jackets and high heel boots.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: The Major appears in a CGI Japanese/American animated series "", released in 2020. This series is set after previous events, and sees Public Section 9 hire themselves out as mercenaries.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Motoko is a player character in "Ghost in the Shell" (1997) for the PlayStation, "" (2004) for the PlayStation 2, "" (2005) for the PlayStation Portable, and "" (2016) for Microsoft Windows.


title: Motoko Kusanagi

text: Motoko Kusanagi was well received by media. Motoko ranked 13th in IGN's list of the top anime characters of all time in 2009, commenting that "though she may be cool, professional, and mostly artificial, she's unquestionably human, and following her adventures through "Ghost in the Shell" was never less than fascinating". In 2014, IGN ranked her as the 11th greatest anime character of all time, saying that "Motoko was a stunning example of a strong female character that didn't need to have her feminism make a statement." Motoko's female identity and appearance is countered by the autonomous subjectivity, resulting in a "male" cyborg body which cannot menstruate. The original film depicts Motoko's identity and ontological concerns with the evolution of a being, resulting in full subjectivity, through a new form of reproduction with the Puppet Master. Austin Corbett commented on the lack of sexualization from her team as freedom from femininity, noting that Motoko is "overtly feminine, and clearly non-female". Mania.com her as the 4th most skilled gunslinger in anime citing how strong she is regardless of her several appearances in media.


title: Archduchess Sophie of Austria

text: Archduchess Sophie of Austria (; 5 March 185529 May 1857) was the first child and first of three daughters and one son born to Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and his wife, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. She died aged two.


title: Archduchess Sophie of Austria

text: Within two months of her marriage to Franz Joseph, Elisabeth was pregnant. On 5 March 1855, the 17-year-old Empress of Austria delivered a daughter who was christened the same day, without Elisabeth's knowledge, "Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha", after Franz Joseph's mother. On both her mother and her father's side, Sophie descended from King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, as her parents were first cousins. On her father's side, she descended from the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II. During the next year, Elisabeth delivered another daughter, Archduchess Gisela, a younger sister to Sophie. Although they were both girls and did not need to be educated for duties a monarch would be obliged to fulfill, both infants right after being baptised were taken away from Elisabeth by Archduchess Sophie (who was both Elisabeth's aunt and mother-in-law) on account of the Empress being too young to raise two children. Elisabeth later commented:


title: Archduchess Sophie of Austria

text: No matter how long Elisabeth begged Franz Joseph to discuss the matter with his mother, her cries went unheard. Eventually, Franz Joseph did discuss the problem with his mother and Elisabeth eventually began to openly express her wishes to her mother-in-law and even took the little girls with her as she travelled.