title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: The series premiere of "The Kardashians", which debuted on April 14, 2022, titled ""Burn Them All to the F*cking Ground"", led to a public feud between Kim Kardashian and "Roblox". In the episode, Kim's son Saint West shows his mother an experience on the platform from a tablet that depicts an image of Kim crying across skybox and baseplate. She claimed, however, that the person who uploaded the experience had also obtained footage of her and Ray J's sex tape, and that she reacted by crying and claiming to later sue the company. Despite this allegation, the incident has been seen by many as a hoax, and was deceptively edited and staged as a way to cause uproar and false drama.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: A spokesperson for Roblox responded by saying "The referenced video was never available on our platform. We have strict moderation and policies to protect our community, including zero tolerance for sexual content of any kind which violates our community rules." and "The text reference to the tape that got around our filters was quickly taken down and fortunately visible only to an extremely small number of people on the platform. We also swiftly took down the associated experience and banned the community developer involved with the incident." An individual close to the Kardashian family denied accusations of faking the event.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: The series is distributed by Disney Platform Distribution and was released in the United States on Hulu, Disney+ internationally via Star and Star+ in Latin America.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Between 1957, when the park first allowed dancing, and 1989, Disneyland only allowed pairs of men and women to dance on stage, barring single and group dancers (with the exception of children) as well as same-sex couples. Disney claimed the policy had been put in place for crowd control and to avoid harassment of women, but also stated that it was "because some patrons might have found dance partners of the same sex offensive". Teenage gay rights activist Andrew Exler (now known as Crusader) decided to dance with his friend Shawn Elliott in 1980 to protest the policy after his lesbian roommate was told she couldn't dance with other girls; the security guards responded to their "homosexual fast-dancing" by kicking them out, claiming that as a "family park... We do not put up with alternative lifestyles here." Exeler, who had already notified the media, sued Disney in court for discrimination and won the suit in 1984; however, Disney later claimed that the ruling only applied to Exler and Elliott and continued to enforce the ban, particularly for same-sex "slow" or "touch" dancing, resulting in another lawsuit later in the decade that forced Disney to rescind the policy in 1989.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Al Lutz, who has written about Disney since the 1990s, often writes about a perceived decline in value and quality at Disney's theme parks, chiefly Disneyland and its neighboring park Disney California Adventure that opened in 2001. Much of his criticism was directed at Paul Pressler, the one-time president of Disneyland who later was named chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Cynthia Harriss, Pressler's successor as Disneyland's president. From 1996–2002, Lutz maintained a set of sarcastic Web pages called "Promote Paul Pressler!", whose stated goal was "getting current Disneyland Resort President Paul Pressler promoted to a new job "somewhere else" within The Walt Disney Company!"


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Lutz's July 2006 report on the alleged antics of Lindsay Lohan during a private party held at Disneyland for her 20th birthday drew a rebuke from a representative for the actress, who said that reports of bad behavior were "complete bull". This report brought Lutz's website, MiceAge, briefly into the spotlight, and established Lutz as a Disney watchdog in the mainstream media.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In late 2007, mainstream media outlets including "The New York Times"; the "Los Angeles Times"; the Associated Press; and foreign newspapers referenced claims made in two of Lutz's columns. One was about a planned refurbishment of the "it's a small world" attraction at Disneyland that would modify the ride's boat and flume trough to accommodate boats capable of carrying heavier park guests, a claim that Disney has consistently denied in subsequent media coverage.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Disney California Adventure, originally named Disney's California Adventure Park until a name change in June 2010, was expected to draw large crowds when it opened in 2001. A January 14, 2001 "Los Angeles Times" article titled "The most Jam-Packed Theme Park on Earth?" stated "Senior Disney officials acknowledge that there will be days when California Adventure will have to turn patrons away, particularly in the first weeks after the park opens, during spring break and again in the summer." The actual attendance was not close to the size that Disney expected for the park back in 2001.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Disney's chief executive officer, Robert Iger, went on record during the company's annual stockholder meeting on March 10, 2006, when someone asked about a potential third park being built in Anaheim. "We're still working to assure the second gate is successful", Iger said, referring to California Adventure. "In the spirit of candor, we have been challenged."


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On October 17, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year, $1.1 billion expansion plan for Disney's California Adventure Park. Plans for the renovation and expansion were put on display for park visitors inside the Blue Sky Cellar at the Golden Vine Winery. Disney listened to the public and several of the attractions which drew criticism from the public were removed in the multi-year, multibillion-dollar redesign and expansion of Disney's California Adventure. Other rides were redesigned or replaced with a larger focus on Disney characters and stories.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On May 28, 2010, it was announced through the Disney Parks Blog that the park would also be receiving a name change, to Disney California Adventure, as well as a new logo. The new name took effect on June 11, 2010, appearing on park maps and banners, but it was first used in a commercial promoting Disney's World of Color a few days prior. World of Color premiered on June 11, 2010, as part of Disney's Summer Nighttastic.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Even in the planning stages, various Florida based animal rights groups and PETA did not like the idea of Disney creating a theme park where animals were held in captivity. The groups protested, and PETA tried to convince travel agents not to book trips to the park. A few weeks before the park opened, a number of animals died due to accidents. The United States Department of Agriculture viewed most of the cases and found no violations of animal-welfare regulations. On opening day, the Orange County Sheriff's office sent about 150 deputies in fear that there may be a large protest, but only 24 protesters showed up. The protest lasted two hours, and there were no arrests.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: One year after the park opened, The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida complained that a New Year's Eve fireworks show could upset the animals. A USDA inspector came to the park to find no problems with launching low-noise fireworks half a mile away.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: A former baseball umpire and an architect alleged that they approached The Walt Disney Company in 1987 with plans for a sports complex and that Wide World of Sports, which opened 10 years later, was heavily based on their designs. Disney claimed that, while the designs had some similarities, the complex was also similar to numerous other sporting facilities, and the concept of a sports park was too generic for any one group to claim ownership. The two men, represented in part by noted attorney Johnnie Cochran, sued Disney in Orange County civil court. In August 2000, a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs with damages in the amount of $240 million, a fraction of the $1.5 billion sought. Disney appealed the judgment, and settled out of court in September 2002 for undisclosed terms.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: The Walt Disney World College Program is a U.S. national internship program operated by The Walt Disney Company, located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Walt Disney World College Program recruits students (18 years and older) and all majors for a semester-long paid internship program working at the Walt Disney World Resort.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Critics argue that Disney is using the program as a source of cheap labor, as interns do the same work as veteran employees, but at a significantly lower pay rate. In late 2007, a permanent Cast Member ran for president of the local union in Orlando. Part of his platform intended to get rid of the Disney College Program, claiming that the program "imports thousands of low-wage earners every year to work for Disney, depressing the local employment market and keeping wages down." Disney responded that the program is beneficial in the recruitment of cast members and that 8,000 workers out of 62,000 do not greatly impact operations. It has been criticized also for its lack of union representation and denial of insurance benefits by the company.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In 2017, The Walt Disney Company and two of its subsidiaries reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to pay $3.8M to 16,339 employees of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc and Disney Vacation Club Management Corp. After Disney had started charging employees for their costumes, the income of many employees fell below the federal minimum wage. The resorts were also found to be in violation of overtime and payroll recordkeeping regulations.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In May 1992, entertainment magazine "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce – approximately 3,000 men and women – had resigned their jobs due to unacceptable working conditions. It also reported that the park's attendance was far behind expectations. Euro Disney S.C.A., the company that operates Disneyland Paris, responded in an interview with "The Wall Street Journal", in which the company's president, Robert Fitzpatrick, claimed that only 1,000 people had left their jobs.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In response to the financial situation, Fitzpatrick ordered that the Disney-MGM Studios Europe project would be put on hiatus until a further decision could be made. Prices at the resort's hotels were also reduced significantly.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Despite these efforts, in May 1992 daily park attendance was around 25,000 (some reports give a figure of 30,000) instead of the predicted 60,000. Euro Disney's stock price spiraled downwards and on July 23, 1992, the Resort announced an expected net loss in its first year of operation of approximately 300 million French francs. During Euro Disney's first winter, hotel occupancy was such that it was decided to close Disney's Newport Bay Club hotel for the season. Initial hopes were that each visitor would spend around US$33 per day, but near the end of 1992, analysts reckoned spending to be around 12% lower.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Efforts to improve attendance included serving alcoholic beverages with meals inside the Euro Disneyland theme park, in response to a presumed European demand, which began June 12, 1993.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In January 1994, Sanford Litvack, an attorney from New York City and former Assistant Attorney General during the Jimmy Carter presidency, was assigned to be Disney's lead negotiator regarding Euro Disney's future. On February 28, Litvack made an offer (without the consent of Eisner or Frank Wells) to split the debts between Euro Disney creditors and Disney. After the banks showed interest, Litvack informed Eisner and Wells. On March 14, the day before the annual shareholders meeting, the banks capitulated to Disney's demands. The creditor banks bought US$500 million worth of Euro Disney shares, forgave 18 months of interest and deferred interest payments for three years. The Walt Disney Company invested US$750 million into Euro Disney and granted a five-year suspension of royalty payments. In June that same year, Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud cut a deal whereby The Walt Disney Company bought 51% of a new US$1.1 billion share issue, the rest being offered to existing shareholders at below-market rates, with the Prince buying any that were not taken up by existing shareholders (up to a 24.5% holding). Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal was alleged to be a financier of Al Qaeda by The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Walt Disney Studios Park, which was built in a desperate and rushed attempt to increase the resort's attendance, was also criticized for its lackluster theming, lack of quality attractions and bland environment since its opening. It was also Disney's smallest and least attended theme park. Efforts made to improve the park included the addition of several new attractions, a new themed land Toy Story Playland and re-theming of other areas. One of the new attractions, Crush's Coaster, was also criticized for its long lines and wait times reaching up to two hours even on non-crowded days due to its popularity, despite being not capable of handling riders at a fast rate. About one hour before the official opening time of the park, guests were able to enter the park to wait in line for the ride, which had not been done before in any other Disney ride. Attempts to apply a Fastpass line in the ride have been proved to be more inefficient.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Just before the grand opening, the park was criticized for underestimating the daily capacity limit. The problem became apparent on the charity preview day on September 4, 2005, when 30,000 locals visited the park. This event turned out to be a disaster, because there were too many guests for the park to accommodate. Wait times at fast food outlets were at least 45 minutes in length, and wait times at rides were two hours in length.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Although the community, and the park's biggest shareholder, the Hong Kong government, put pressure on the park to lower the capacity, the park insisted on keeping the limit and only agreed to relieve the capacity problem by extending the opening time by one hour or introducing more discounts during weekdays. However, the park said that local visitors tend to stay in the park for about nine hours per visit, implying that the mentioned practices would do little to solve the problem.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: During the Chinese New Year 2006, many visitors arrived at the park in the morning bearing valid tickets but were refused entry, because the park was already at capacity. Disgruntled visitors attempted to force their way into the park or gain access by climbing over the barrier gates. Disneyland management was forced to revise their ticketing policy and designated future periods close to Chinese public holidays as 'special days' during which admission would only be allowed through a date-specific ticket.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, who were asked by Disney staff to take off their badges and caps in order to enter the park, left park visitors feeling very uneasy. The officers investigated a food-poisoning case in the park's restaurants. The chairman of Legco's food Safety panel, Fred Li, described the incident as shocking and called on the director of the department to take follow-up action against Disney. Hong Kong Disneyland says that what happened was inappropriate and has apologized for the incident. The Secretary for Justice has since said that the government did not have enough evidence to make a prosecution, thus dropping the case.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: As at other Disney theme parks, visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland have their finger biometrics scanned at the entry gate. Visitors are not warned of the policy beforehand. Scanning is done of all visitors older than 10 years of age, and is used to associate ticket media with the person using it. The company claims that "the 50 sample points from the surface of a guest's finger ... do not contain sufficient information to recreate a fingerprint image." Nonetheless, forensic specialists note that the data collected are more than adequate to establish a positive identification.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Disney originally planned to serve shark fin soup, a traditional Chinese delicacy, at wedding banquets. Animal rights groups protested in June 2005, citing the declining shark population in global waters and the cruel methods sometimes used of cutting the fin and discarding live sharks back into the sea.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: At first, Disney removed shark fin soup from its menu, but said that it would still offer the soup if their clients insisted on having it served at their wedding. They said they would distribute leaflets about shark conservation in order to discourage the choice.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: However, after constant and continuous pressure from both environmental groups and animal welfare groups, shareholders concerned about the company's image, Disney announced on June 24, 2005, that shark fin soup will not be served at all, because, according to their press release, "After careful consideration and a thorough review process, we were not able to identify an environmentally sustainable fishing source, leaving us no alternative except to remove shark fin soup from our wedding banquet menu".


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Disney's PhotoPass is a professional photography service offered at Disney theme parks, water parks, and resorts. Photographers positioned at locations in the theme parks, dining events at the resorts, and at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Downtown Disney are linked to a free card containing a unique serial number. Guests can view or purchase PhotoPass pictures at locations in the parks (generally near the park entrance) or online by registering the card's number.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Customers have complained about the difference in advertised prices, particularly of Photo CD products, and the actual cost. Disney has responded that advertised specials apply only to products purchased at the parks and do not apply to the website.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On December 24, 2006, Peggy Orenstein published "What's Wrong With Cinderella?" in "The New York Times". In her article, Orenstein discussed her concerns about the effects of princess figures on young girls. Orenstein used the Disney Princesses specifically to present many of her points. Orenstein also noted the pervasive nature of princess-related merchandise and that every facet of play has its princess equivalent.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Other sources have also voiced concern that the franchise could possibly give young girls the wrong message. However, other parents who have young daughters say that they would eventually grow out of this phase.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Page 16 of "Captain America" #602 (March 2010) depicted an anti-tax protest march in Idaho in which one participant held a sign reading "Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You", with a caption containing the words of an off-screen African-American superhero, the Falcon, telling Captain America, "I don't exactly see a black man from Harlem fitting in with a bunch of angry white folks." The cartoon drew the condemnation of Michael Johns, a board member of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada characterized the sign as inadvertent and as "something that we need to apologize for and own up to." Quesada explained that with a printing deadline looming, the comic's editor noticed that the protest group's signs on the original art were empty, and the editor "asked the letterer on the book to just fudge in some quick signs. The letterer in his rush ... looked on the 'net and started pulling slogans from actual signs", including a "Tea Bag" sign.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Following the issue's printing, Marvel staff "caught the mistake" and "spoke to the letterer, [who] was mortified at his mistake and was truly sorry as he had no political agenda." Quesada said Marvel "removed the sign from the art files so that it no longer appears in future reprints of the title or collections. So, while the crowd protesting has nothing to do with the villains in the story, we in no way meant to say they were associated with the Tea Party movement."


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On December 21, 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm (and as a result, the rights to the "Star Wars" franchise; Skywalker Sound; and Industrial Light and Magic) as a subsidiary for the price of $4 billion. Lucasfilm and "Star Wars" in general were evaluated to decide upon how each area was to be approached.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: After Dark Horse Comics lost the rights to create "Star Wars" comics, Marvel Comics gained the rights as a subsidiary in the area of expertise. The way the movies are being handled is still in flux with possible spin-offs in talks as well as the planned new trilogy. The decisions regarding the other sectors like games, books and animated media can be interpreted as anti-consumer.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: With the elimination of the LucasArts developing arm, EA Games is being entrusted to make "Star Wars" video games in the future. The well-regarded animated TV series "" was cancelled a few seasons from the end of its run, in order to shift the series' team to "Star Wars Rebels", a new animated TV series created for Disney XD, set approximately five years before the events of "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope". This was done in the knowledge that many people loved the series and that it was quite profitable. They eventually revived "Clone Wars" for a final season.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Furthermore, book consumers were not given the option of two universes to read from, the first of which is what many of them have been reading about for over 40 years and have grown to love and the second of which is Disney's attempt to unify things under one controllable banner; as a result, this left fans of these books to only read new entries in the Unified Canon, and if they wish to see the continued growth of the "Star Wars" universe, the previous universe is now stuck in limbo.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On June 20, 2017, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directors of the film "", left the production of the film five weeks before filming ended. Lord and Miller cited "creative differences" for their reason to part ways with the film. Many compared this to Edgar Wright stepping down as director of "Ant-Man" due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. Three months later, "Episode IX" director Colin Trevorrow stepped down as director under similar circumstances and was replaced with "" director J. J. Abrams.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In 1996, the New York-based National Labor Committee released a 12-page report that severely criticized Sears, Walmart, and The Walt Disney Company. <q>Haitian contractors producing Mickey Mouse and Pocahontas pajamas for U.S. companies under license with the Walt Disney Corporation are in some cases paying workers as little as 15 gourdes (US$1) per day – 12 cents an hour – in clear violation of Haitian law,</q> said the NLC. One factory owner testified that workers underperform because they cannot eat enough. Besides living on starvation wages, Haitian factory workers have to deal with sexual harassment and extraordinarily long working days. The report claimed it would take on seamstress 1,040 years to earn what, then CEO, Michael Eisner earned in one day.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In 2012, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights released the report "Toys From Hell". It describes how workers at Dream International factory in Shenzen, China work 117 hours weeks, in a filthy and unhealthy environment, where they are constantly screamed at by supervisors and only earns $1.39 per hour. They're also expected to lodge in filthy and overcrowded dormitories, where they are served below par food. The Dream International factory was also considered to be a fire hazard.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: It has been criticized by animal welfare groups for their care of, and procedures for, wild animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In 1989, Disney was charged with sixteen state and federal counts of animal cruelty relating to the abuse of vultures and other birds at its Discovery Island zoological park. According to investigators, employees shot at hawks, clubbed vultures to death with a stick, and destroyed nests and eggs. The park's supervisor supposedly sanctioned the abuses. Most striking were the deaths of fifteen vultures crammed into a tiny, overheated shed for days with limited food and water. Authorities also discovered 72 vultures confined in a windowless, airless shed, which legally speaking was only big enough for three vultures. Disney made a deal and in exchange for the dismissal of three federal charges, it pleaded guilty to a simple misdemeanor and agreed to pay a total of $95,000 to various institutions.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Disney has been criticized for using purebred dogs in movies such as "101 Dalmatians". Animal rights groups claim movies with purebreds create an artificial demand for purebreds from people who may not be prepared or temperamentally suited for the animals, many of whom end up abandoned or surrendered to animal shelters or rescue groups.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: On December 14, 2017, Disney agreed to acquire 21st Century Fox's motion picture business, cable and direct satellite entertainment networks, that was completed on March 20, 2019. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney acquired the 20th Century Fox film and TV studios and related assets; cable and satellite networks including FX Networks, Fox Networks Group; Indian TV broadcasting company Star India; stakes in National Geographic Partners and Hulu, and other assets. Prior to the completion of the deal, Fox spun-off its news and broadcast businesses, including Fox News, Fox Business, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network, the Fox Broadcasting Company, and MyNetworkTV into the newly-formed Fox Corporation.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: This merger was subject to widespread criticism among critics, consumers, and businesses due to antitrust concerns. One of the biggest concerns is that unlike Disney's acquisition of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm, the Disney/Fox deal was a horizontal integration (in which a company owns a direct competitor) in contrast to a vertical integration (in which two companies operate different stages for a specific finished product) like the mergers of AT&T-Time Warner and Comcast-NBCUniversal. Given Disney's already powerful box market shares, a combined Disney/Fox would give it a 39% theatrical market share and would strengthen Disney's already leveraging power over theater owners in its favor without regard to the negative effects on their businesses.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: The Jonas Brothers and Disney Channel are parodied in the "South Park" episode entitled "The Ring" and play a prominent role in the episode's plot. In a television column written before "The Ring" aired, Lisa de Moraes of "The Washington Post" suggested that creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were using the Jonas Brothers in the 13th season debut as a means of improving the show's ratings; Comedy Central executives, however, insisted that the Jonas Brothers fans do not fit into "South Park" demographic of males aged from 18 to 49.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: The Walt Disney Company, Disney Channel and the Mickey Mouse cartoon character are also prominently featured and spoofed in the episode; even when Mickey Mouse says callous things or physically assaults people, he follows up most statements with the character's trademark high-pitched "Ha ha!" laugh, which in context comes off like a nervous tic.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Reviewers and commentators have described "The Ring" as not just a parody of the Jonas Brothers, but also of the ethos of The Walt Disney Company. The episode portrays Disney as a corporation using the ruse of family-friendly morals to disguise their primary motive, which is profit; reviewers and articles said this point is further illustrated by the use of Mickey Mouse, a cartoon symbol for the wholesome Disney image, as a foul-mouthed, contemptuous, greedy, all-powerful and violent character.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Specifically, the episode targets Disney's marketing tactic of the band members pledging abstinence through purity rings, which the script suggests is used to subliminally sell sex to young girls, while simultaneously appeasing their parents' ethical standards and taking advantage of their fearful desire to protect their daughters, as Mickey had said.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Due to other speculation on the orientation and personal activities of the Jonas brothers, the episode continued to create a running gag on the effect of the Jonas brothers on young girls of the "tween" period, often provoking the image that they too would become like Mickey Mouse, in most unwanted characteristics. The episode further illustrates the greed of corporate culture by portraying Mickey as capitalizing on religion for profit, while secretly mocking it in a particularly cruel tone: "Even the Christians are too fucking stupid to figure out I'm selling sex to their daughters! I've made billions off of Christian ignorance for decades now! And do you know why? Because Christians are retarded! They believe in a talking dead guy!"


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In May 2021, conservative activist Christopher Rufo released internal documents from Disney. These included employee training material containing what Rufo said were racially inflammatory accusations, telling employees to complete a white privilege checklist. In May 2022, Rufo released internal video calls from the company, including one in which Disney corporate president Karey Burke said, "as the mother [of] one transgender child and one pansexual child," she supported having "many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories" and wanting a minimum of 50 percent of characters to be LGBTQIA and racial minorities. Rufo publicly called for a boycott of Disney products and experiences.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In January 2016, lawsuits were filed against Disney, HCL Technologies and Cognizant alleging the companies colluded to bring in holders of H-1B visas to replace American workers thereby breaking the law. The lawsuits were filed by two former employees who filed a separate but similar complaint both seeking class-action status. This is the first lawsuit filed against both the former employer and the outsourcing companies, alleging that the companies involved collaborated intentionally to displace Americans and replace them with foreign workers. In October 2016, federal Judge Gregory A. Presnell of the United States District Court in Orlando dismissed the lawsuits, stating: "none of the allegedly false statements put at issue in the complaint are adequate".


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: In late February 2022 it was reported that Disney donated money to sponsors and cosponsors of Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act (known by its critics as the "Don't Say Gay law"), which was estimated to be around 200,000 dollars. On March 7, 2022, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the company would not take a public stance on the bill, focusing instead on affecting change through its content. After criticism of their stance by those affiliated with Disney, including the company's employees, Disney affirmed that they would challenge the bill. In a possible act of retaliation, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers threatened to repeal the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which established the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as its own city. On April 22, 2022, DeSantis signed a bill to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District by June 2023.


title: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

text: Since 1990, The Walt Disney Company has lobbied for copyright extension. The Copyright Term Extension Act delayed the entry into the public domain of the earliest Mickey Mouse movies, leading detractors to nickname it "The Mickey Mouse Protection Act". Opponents of the legislation consider it to be corporate welfare and have tried (but failed) to have it declared unconstitutional, claiming that such an act is not "necessary and proper" to accomplishing the Constitution's stated purpose of "promot[ing] the progress of science and useful arts". They argue that most works bring most of the profits during the first few years and are pushed off the market by the publishers thereafter. Thus there is a little economic incentive in extending the terms of copyrights except for the few owners of franchises that are wildly successful, such as Disney.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Ashok Saraf (Hindii pronunciation: ]; born 4 June 1947) is an Indian actor and comedian. He has played the lead in various Marathi films and stage plays. He has also played supporting roles in Hindi films. He received five Filmfare Awards, Maharashtra government award for the film "Pandu Havaldar", Screen Award for "Sawai Havaldar", Bhojpuri Film Award for "Maika Bitua", ten state government awards for Marathi films and Best Comedian in "Maharashtracha Favorite Kon".


title: Ashok Saraf

text: From the early 1980s, Saraf started getting cast as the leading hero in Marathi films. The combination of Ashok Saraf, Laxmikant Berde, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Mahesh Kothare created the "comedy films wave" in Marathi cinema from 1985 that lasted for more than a decade. His successful Marathi films as the lead hero include "Ek Daav Bhutacha", "Dhoom Dhadaka", "Gammat Jammat", "Ashi hi Banawa Banavi" and "Vazir". Saraf has also starred in television serials like "Yeh Choti Badi Baatein" and "Hum Paanch" (as Anand Mathur).


title: Ashok Saraf

text: In Bollywood, he is best remembered for the comic "Munshiji" in Rakesh Roshan's 1995 action thriller "Karan Arjun", in "Yes Boss" as Shah Rukh Khan's friend and as Ajay Devgn's colleague in "Singham" as head constable. In the Marathi film industry, he is popularly known as "Mama" (maternal uncle).


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf was born in Bombay, (present day Mumbai) on 4 June 1947. He grew up in the South Mumbai neighbourhood of Chikhalwadi and went to DGT Vidyalay for his education. He was named "Ashok" after veteran actor Ashok Kumar. He spent his childhood at Chikhalwadi in South Mumbai. He completed his schooling at DGT Vidyalay Mumbai.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf has been working in the film and television industry since the year 1969. He has acted in more than 250 Marathi films, out of which more than 100 were commercially successful. He has mostly acted in comedy films. He has played many roles in Marathi cinema, Marathi plays, Hindi cinema, Marathi television serials and Hindi television serials. He started his career with the Marathi movie "Janaki" in 1969. He then acted in the films like "Donhi Gharacha Pahuna", "Jawal Ye Laju Nako", "Tumacha Amacha Jamala", "Chimanrao Gundyabhau", "Deed Shahane", "Haldikunku", "Duniya Kari Salam" and more during the 1970s and 1980s. He continued to work in Marathi films with Laxmikant Berde, Sachin and Mahesh Kothare. The Marathi films moved in to a different term of comedy during that phase. "Ashi Hi Banava Banavi", "Aayatya Gharat Gharoba", "Balache Baap Bramhachari", "Bhootacha Bhau" and "Dhum Dhadaka" are some of the notable Marathi films in which Saraf acted.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf has also acted in various Marathi plays and Hindi serials. He then developed his own production house "Aniket Telefilms", which is handled by his wife Nivedita Saraf.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Ashok Saraf had success pairing with Laxmikant Berde, another comedian from Marathi cinema who has also acted in many Hindi films. With Saraf, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Laxmikant Berde, together they played many Marathi films and most films were super-hits. Both Laxmikant and Ashok were known to be good friends of actor-director Sachin Pilgaonkar and actor-producer-director Mahesh Kothare. He tasted major success in "Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi" (1988), in the lead role with the two reigning superstars of Marathi cinema, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Laxmikant Berde. The movie was a runaway hit.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf played important roles in Bollywood. Some of the roles which are remembered are from the films "Singham", "Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya", "Gupt", "Koyla", "Yes Boss" , "Joru Ka Gulaam" and "Karan Arjun". His performance in films against powerful comedy actors like Govinda, Johny Lever and Kader Khan was praised.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf has also starred in television serials like "Yeh Choti Badi Baatein" and "Hum Paanch" (as Anand Mathur), which tasted a major success. Ashok Saraf's comedy show "Don't Worry Ho Jayega" which was at that time telecast on Sahara TV was very popular in the 1990s. Audiences were very excited to watch this show at that time.


title: Ashok Saraf

text: Saraf has played number of roles in Marathi plays in his career. Some of the important plays are "Hamidabaichi Kothi", "Anidhikrut", "Manomilan", "He Ram Cardiogram", "Darling Darling", "Sarkha Chatit Dukhtay", "Laginghai", and "Vacuum Cleaner".


title: Ashok Saraf

text: He is married to actress Nivedita Joshi-Saraf in 1990. They married at the Mangueshi Temple in Goa, where Saraf's family, of the Baniya Agarwal caste, originally from Rajasthan used to live before moving to Maharashtra. They have a son named Aniket Saraf who is a chef.


title: La Bombonera

text: The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; ) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands round the rest of the stadium.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium is owned by Boca Juniors, one of Argentina's top football clubs. The unusual shape of the stadium has led to it having excellent acoustics and the Boca support being nicknamed "La Doce". The pitch at La Bombonera is the minimum size required under FIFA regulations – 105m × 68m.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium is widely regarded as one of the most emblematic stadiums of the world, and has been declared of public interest by the Government of Buenos Aires autonomous city.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium, as well as being the home of Boca Juniors, who have over 16 million fans (the highest in Argentina), is also used as a concert venue. Past performers at "La Bombonera" have included Lenny Kravitz, Elton John, James Blunt, the Bee Gees, and the Backstreet Boys.


title: La Bombonera

text: Previous to "La Bombonera", Boca Juniors had used several locations before settling on their current ground on Brandsen. The club's first ground had been located in "Dársena Sur" of the old Buenos Aires port (currently Puerto Madero) and "Isla Demarchi" before moving to Brandsen and Del Crucero (currently Del Valle Iberlucea) streets in 1924. The club built a stadium there. This would be used as their home venue until the construction of "La Bombonera" at the same location.


title: La Bombonera

text: In 1931, Boca Juniors' steering committee (led by president Ruperto Molfino) acquired the lands from the Municipality of Buenos Aires for A$ 2,200,000. Three years later the club published a call for tenders to built its new stadium. The project was finally granted to the Delpini-Sulcic-Bes architectural office. which would be also design the Abasto Shopping in the 1990s.


title: La Bombonera

text: The old stadium (still with wooden grandstands) was used for the last time on April 10, 1938, before being demolished to build the new stadium at the same location. While "La Bombonera" was under construction, Boca Juniors played their home games at Ferro Carril Oeste stadium.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium finally opened on May 25, 1940, with a friendly match between Boca and San Lorenzo, which the home side won 2–0 with both goals scored by . Due to the fact that the stadium did not have a lighting system, the game only lasted 70' (two halves of 35' each).


title: La Bombonera

text: The first official game at the new stadium was on June 2, 1940, when Boca Juniors beat Newell's Old Boys 2–0. Ricardo Alarcón (who had scored in the opening game v. San Lorenzo) scored the first official goal at the new venue.


title: La Bombonera

text: After the stadium was inaugurated, the club continued to introduce refurbishments to expand its capacity. As a result, on November 16, 1941, a second tier was opened on the north side of the stadium, near Casa Amarilla train station. The grandstand was named "Natalio Pescia" in honour of one of the key players in Boca Juniors' history. In 1949 the club decided to add a third tier, adding also a lighting system. All of those works were completed in 1953; this third tier gave the stadium its enduring nickname: "La Bombonera". Boca Juniors celebrated with a friendly match v. Yugoslav club NK Hajduk Split, which ended 1–1.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium was named on April 20, 1986, by team President Antonio Alegre in honor of Camilo Cichero, a former team president under whose tenure work on "La Bombonera" began. It was renamed on December 27, 2000, by team President Mauricio Macri in honor of Alberto Armando, team president during its resurgence during the 1960s as well as a former business partner of his father Francisco Macri. The stadium was expanded and modernized during Macri's tenure, notably with the addition in 1996 of a fourth tier; and a wing housing a press area, VIP boxes, a museum, and offices. The stadium's exterior was later decorated with works by painters Rómulo Macció and Pérez Celis.


title: La Bombonera

text: Since then, "La Bombonera" was not remodeled until 1996 when the presidency of Mauricio Macri decided to expand its capacity to 57,500 spectators. Works included the demolition of the lateral boxes on Del Valle Iberlucea street, replacing them by a small stand and new and modern boxes (with metallic structure) placed over there. The "new" Bombonera was reinaugurated with a friendly match v. Club Universidad de Chile won by Boca Juniors by 3–1.


title: La Bombonera

text: An electronic screen was installed in 2008, making Boca Juniors' stadium the third venue in Argentina with this technology, after the stadiums of Vélez Sársfield and River Plate. At the beginning of 2012, more than 500 seats were replaced and other 500 were added, part of the building of four additional boxes.


title: La Bombonera

text: The stadium is popularly known as "La Bombonera". It is said that the nickname came along the project of Viktor Sulčič during the process of development. On occasion of Sulčič's birthday, a friend gave him a box of chocolates as a gift. After that, Sulčič used to go with the box at meetings with engineer Delpine and other persons that collaborated with the project to show them that the box shape was very like the one of the stadium they were designing.


title: La Bombonera

text: Since then, the stadium would be known as "La Bombonera" ("box of chocolates" in Spanish) and that name has remained to present days. In fact, the opening day (May 25, 1940) the stadium was named that way even by the club executives.


title: La Bombonera

text: Nevertheless, there are other stories or myths about the origin of the nickname. One of them tells that Delpini projected the stands with a highly vertical grade of inclination to host 100,000 persons (which was the first project). The shape of the stands looked like the carts used to collect horses dung in the streets of Buenos Aires. Other version credits journalist Hugo Marini or broadcaster Joaquín Carballo Serantes (aka) "Fioravanti" for the "Bombonera" nickname.


title: La Bombonera

text: Despite its distinguished nickname, the first official denomination came on April 20, 1986, when it was named "Camilo Cichero" in commemoration of the president under whose tenure the stadium was projected and built. That same day Boca Juniors defeated Talleres de Córdoba by 4–2. Nevertheless, president Mauricio Macri decided to change the stadium's name to "Alberto J. Armando", honoring long-time president of the club during two periods (1954–55, 1960–80).


title: La Bombonera

text: La Bombonera currently has a capacity of around 48,000 and the club's popularity make tickets hard to find, especially for the Superclásico derby against River Plate.


title: La Bombonera

text: Out of its capacity of 49,000, there are 37,538 seats, 2,780 in boxes, and 8,682 standing. Both its interior and exterior are lined with a number of murals painted by the artist Pérez Celis depicting many of the club's legendary players and aspects of the district's culture, such as the life of Italian immigrants.


title: La Bombonera

text: In 1996 a small stand was built on the 4th side, which had been largely open until then, except for some VIP boxes.


title: La Bombonera

text: The national team has played several games in La Bombonera, including qualifying matches to the FIFA World Cup. The squad played the most games since the 1920s to the mid-1970s. Since the "Estadio Monumental" of River Plate was completely refurbished for the 1978 WC, the Argentine Football Association fixtured the majority of Argentina's home games at that venue. That decision was based on the "Monumental" higher capacity and modern facilities in comparison with La Bombonera.


title: La Bombonera

text: Playing at Boca Juniors stadium, Argentina was only defeated in two games, having played a total of 27 matches, winning 18 and losing 2 with 7 ties. The squad scored 67 goals and only conceded 27. Some of the official and friendly games played by Argentina at the stadium (as of 25 March 2022) are listed below:


title: La Bombonera

text: The Passion of Boca Juniors Museum () was opened in 2001 during the Mauricio Macri's administration. It is located within the stadium, just below the grandstands. The Museum was built on two floors and chronicles the club's rise from 1905 (the year the club was established) to the present day.


title: La Bombonera

text: One of the exhibits in the museum is a giant football with 360-degree footage of the club's fans and players at a match. The museum also includes a Hall of fame and a large mural of Diego Maradona. Also included are non-football items such as the specially commissioned blue and gold guitar played by Lenny Kravitz when he performed at La Bombonera in 2005.


title: La Bombonera

text: A giant statue of Boca Juniors' all-time topscorer, Martín Palermo, was unveiled in 2011. Other former players who have their statues honoring them are Diego Maradona and Román Riquelme A total of seven Boca Juniors idols have been honored by the club with their respective monuments, they are Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Angel Clemente Rojas, Silvio Marzolini and Antonio Rattín, apart from Maradona, Palermo and Riquelme.


title: La Bombonera

text: Carlos Bianchi was the first Boca Juniors manager to be honored with a statue, when a monument of his figure was unveiled in October 2016. Bianchi won 9 titles during his two tenures on the club (1998–2003), becoming the most winning manager in Boca Juniors' history. Under Bianchi's coaching, the team also set a record of 40 matches unbeaten, the biggest since Argentine football became professional in 1931.


title: La Bombonera

text: There are planned improvements for the stadium, including measures to ease crowd congestion, use of new technology in the stadium and improved corporate facilities. These include:


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis.<ref name="Birbrair n/a–n/a"></ref> In vertebrates, the very first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within the (midgestational) aorta-gonad-mesonephros region, through a process known as endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. In adults, haematopoiesis occurs in the red bone marrow, in the core of most bones. The red bone marrow is derived from the layer of the embryo called the mesoderm.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Haematopoiesis is the process by which all mature blood cells are produced. It must balance enormous production needs (the average person produces more than 500 billion blood cells every day) with the need to regulate the number of each blood cell type in the circulation. In vertebrates, the vast majority of hematopoiesis occurs in the bone marrow and is derived from a limited number of hematopoietic stem cells that are multipotent and capable of extensive self-renewal.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to different types of blood cells, in lines called myeloid and lymphoid. Myeloid and lymphoid lineages both are involved in dendritic cell formation. Myeloid cells include monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, erythrocytes, and megakaryocytes to platelets. Lymphoid cells include T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, and innate lymphoid cells. The definition of hematopoietic stem cell has developed since HSCs were first discovered in 1961. The hematopoietic tissue contains cells with long-term and short-term regeneration capacities and committed multipotent, oligopotent, and unipotent progenitors. Hematopoietic stem cells constitute 1:10,000 of cells in myeloid tissue.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: They are round, non-adherent, with a rounded nucleus and low cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratio. In shape, hematopoietic stem cells resemble lymphocytes.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: The very first hematopoietic stem cells during (mouse and human) embryonic development are found in aorta-gonad-mesonephros region and the vitelline and umbilical arteries. Slightly later, HSCs are also found in the placenta, yolk sac, embryonic head, and fetal liver.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells are found in the bone marrow of adults, especially in the pelvis, femur, and sternum. They are also found in umbilical cord blood and, in small numbers, in peripheral blood.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Stem and progenitor cells can be taken from the pelvis, at the iliac crest, using a needle and syringe. The cells can be removed as liquid (to perform a smear to look at the cell morphology) or they can be removed via a core biopsy (to maintain the architecture or relationship of the cells to each other and to the bone).


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: A colony-forming unit is a subtype of HSC. (This sense of the term is different from colony-forming units of microbes, which is a cell counting unit.) There are various kinds of HSC colony-forming units:


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: The above CFUs are based on the lineage. Another CFU, the colony-forming unit–spleen (CFU-S), was the basis of an "in vivo" clonal colony formation, which depends on the ability of infused bone marrow cells to give rise to clones of maturing hematopoietic cells in the spleens of irradiated mice after 8 to 12 days. It was used extensively in early studies, but is now considered to measure more mature progenitor or transit-amplifying cells rather than stem cells.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Since hematopoietic stem cells cannot be isolated as a pure population, it is not possible to identify them in a microscope. Hematopoietic stem cells can be identified or isolated by the use of flow cytometry where the combination of several different cell surface markers (particularly CD34) are used to separate the rare Hematopoietic stem cells from the surrounding blood cells. Hematopoietic stem cells lack expression of mature blood cell markers and are thus called Lin-. Lack of expression of lineage markers is used in combination with detection of several positive cell-surface markers to isolate hematopoietic stem cells. In addition, hematopoietic stem cells are characterised by their small size and low staining with vital dyes such as rhodamine 123 (rhodamine ) or Hoechst 33342 (side population).


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells are essential to haematopoiesis, the formation of the cells within blood. Hematopoietic stem cells can replenish all blood cell types (i.e., are multipotent) and self-renew. A small number of Hematopoietic stem cells can expand to generate a very large number of daughter Hematopoietic stem cells. This phenomenon is used in bone marrow transplantation, when a small number of Hematopoietic stem cells reconstitute the hematopoietic system. This process indicates that, subsequent to bone marrow transplantation, symmetrical cell divisions into two daughter Hematopoietic stem cells must occur.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Stem cell self-renewal is thought to occur in the stem cell niche in the bone marrow, and it is reasonable to assume that key signals present in this niche will be important in self-renewal. There is much interest in the environmental and molecular requirements for HSC self-renewal, as understanding the ability of HSC to replenish themselves will eventually allow the generation of expanded populations of HSC "in vitro" that can be used therapeutically.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells, like all adult stem cells, mostly exist in a state of quiescence, or reversible growth arrest. The altered metabolism of quiescent HSCs helps the cells survive for extended periods of time in the hypoxic bone marrow environment. When provoked by cell death or damage, Hematopoietic stem cells exit quiescence and begin actively dividing again. The transition from dormancy to propagation and back is regulated by the MEK/ERK pathway and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Dysregulation of these transitions can lead to stem cell exhaustion, or the gradual loss of active Hematopoietic stem cells in the blood system.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells have a higher potential than other immature blood cells to pass the bone marrow barrier, and, thus, may travel in the blood from the bone marrow in one bone to another bone. If they settle in the thymus, they may develop into T cells. In the case of fetuses and other extramedullary hematopoiesis. Hematopoietic stem cells may also settle in the liver or spleen and develop.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood. It may be autologous (the patient's own stem cells are used), allogeneic (the stem cells come from a donor) or syngeneic (from an identical twin).


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: It is most often performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow, such as multiple myeloma or leukemia. In these cases, the recipient's immune system is usually destroyed with radiation or chemotherapy before the transplantation. Infection and graft-versus-host disease are major complications of allogeneic HSCT.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: In order to harvest stem cells from the circulating peripheral blood, blood donors are injected with a cytokine, such as granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), that induces cells to leave the bone marrow and circulate in the blood vessels.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: In mammalian embryology, the first definitive Hematopoietic stem cells are detected in the AGM (aorta-gonad-mesonephros), and then massively expanded in the fetal liver prior to colonising the bone marrow before birth.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains a dangerous procedure with many possible complications; it is reserved for patients with life-threatening diseases. As survival following the procedure has increased, its use has expanded beyond cancer to autoimmune diseases and hereditary skeletal dysplasias; notably malignant infantile osteopetrosis and mucopolysaccharidosis.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: DNA strand breaks accumulate in long term hematopoietic stem cells during aging. This accumulation is associated with a broad attenuation of DNA repair and response pathways that depends on HSC quiescence. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a pathway that repairs double-strand breaks in DNA. NHEJ is referred to as "non-homologous" because the break ends are directly ligated without the need for a homologous template. The NHEJ pathway depends on several proteins including ligase 4, DNA polymerase mu and NHEJ factor 1 (NHEJ1, also known as Cernunnos or XLF).


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: DNA ligase 4 (Lig4) has a highly specific role in the repair of double-strand breaks by NHEJ. Lig4 deficiency in the mouse causes a progressive loss of Hematopoietic stem cells during aging. Deficiency of lig4 in pluripotent stem cells results in accumulation of DNA double-strand breaks and enhanced apoptosis.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: In polymerase mu mutant mice, hematopoietic cell development is defective in several peripheral and bone marrow cell populations with about a 40% decrease in bone marrow cell number that includes several hematopoietic lineages. Expansion potential of hematopoietic progenitor cells is also reduced. These characteristics correlate with reduced ability to repair double-strand breaks in hematopoietic tissue.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Deficiency of NHEJ factor 1 in mice leads to premature aging of hematopoietic stem cells as indicated by several lines of evidence including evidence that long-term repopulation is defective and worsens over time. Using a human induced pluripotent stem cell model of NHEJ1 deficiency, it was shown that NHEJ1 has an important role in promoting survival of the primitive hematopoietic progenitors. These NHEJ1 deficient cells possess a weak NHEJ1-mediated repair capacity that is apparently incapable of coping with DNA damages induced by physiological stress, normal metabolism, and ionizing radiation.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: The sensitivity of hematopoietic stem cells to Lig4, DNA polymerase mu and NHEJ1 deficiency suggests that NHEJ is a key determinant of the ability of stem cells to maintain themselves against physiological stress over time. Rossi et al. found that endogenous DNA damage accumulates with age even in wild type Hematopoietic stem cells, and suggested that DNA damage accrual may be an important physiological mechanism of stem cell aging.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: A study shows the clonal diversity of hematopoietic stem cells gets drastically reduced around age 70 , substantiating a novel theory of ageing which could enable healthy aging.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: A "cobblestone area-forming cell (CAFC)" assay is a cell culture-based empirical assay. When plated onto a confluent culture of stromal feeder layer, a fraction of Hematopoietic stem cells creep between the gaps (even though the stromal cells are touching each other) and eventually settle between the stromal cells and the substratum (here the dish surface) or trapped in the cellular processes between the stromal cells. Emperipolesis is the "in vivo" phenomenon in which one cell is completely engulfed into another (e.g. thymocytes into thymic nurse cells); on the other hand, when "in vitro", lymphoid lineage cells creep beneath nurse-like cells, the process is called pseudoemperipolesis. This similar phenomenon is more commonly known in the HSC field by the cell culture terminology "cobble stone area-forming cells (CAFC)", which means areas or clusters of cells look dull cobblestone-like under phase contrast microscopy, compared to the other Hematopoietic stem cells, which are refractile. This happens because the cells that are floating loosely on top of the stromal cells are spherical and thus refractile. However, the cells that creep beneath the stromal cells are flattened and, thus, not refractile. The mechanism of pseudoemperipolesis is only recently coming to light. It may be mediated by interaction through CXCR4 (CD184) the receptor for CXC Chemokines (e.g., SDF1) and α4β1 integrins.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) cannot be easily observed directly, and, therefore, their behaviors need to be inferred indirectly. Clonal studies are likely the closest technique for single cell in vivo studies of HSC. Here, sophisticated experimental and statistical methods are used to ascertain that, with a high probability, a single HSC is contained in a transplant administered to a lethally irradiated host. The clonal expansion of this stem cell can then be observed over time by monitoring the percent donor-type cells in blood as the host is reconstituted. The resulting time series is defined as the repopulation kinetic of the HSC.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: The reconstitution kinetics are very heterogeneous. However, using symbolic dynamics, one can show that they fall into a limited number of classes. To prove this, several hundred experimental repopulation kinetics from clonal Thy-1 SCA-1 lin(B220, CD4, CD8, Gr-1, Mac-1 and Ter-119) c-kit HSC were translated into symbolic sequences by assigning the symbols "+", "-", "~" whenever two successive measurements of the percent donor-type cells have a positive, negative, or unchanged slope, respectively. By using the Hamming distance, the repopulation patterns were subjected to cluster analysis yielding 16 distinct groups of kinetics. To finish the empirical proof, the Laplace add-one approach was used to determine that the probability of finding kinetics not contained in these 16 groups is very small. By corollary, this result shows that the hematopoietic stem cell compartment is also heterogeneous by dynamical criteria.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: It was originally believed that all Hematopoietic stem cells were alike in their self-renewal and differentiation abilities. This view was first challenged by the 2002 discovery by the Muller-Sieburg group in San Diego, who illustrated that different stem cells can show distinct repopulation patterns that are epigenetically predetermined intrinsic properties of clonal Thy-1 Sca-1 lin c-kit HSC. The results of these clonal studies led to the notion of lineage bias. Using the ratio formula_1 of lymphoid (L) to myeloid (M) cells in blood as a quantitative marker, the stem cell compartment can be split into three categories of HSC. Balanced (Bala) Hematopoietic stem cells repopulate peripheral white blood cells in the same ratio of myeloid to lymphoid cells as seen in unmanipulated mice (on average about 15% myeloid and 85% lymphoid cells, or 3 ≤ ρ ≤ 10). Myeloid-biased (My-bi) Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to very few lymphocytes resulting in ratios 0 < ρ < 3, while lymphoid-biased (Ly-bi) Hematopoietic stem cells generate very few myeloid cells, which results in lymphoid-to-myeloid ratios of ρ > 10. All three types are normal types of HSC, and they do not represent stages of differentiation. Rather, these are three classes of HSC, each with an epigenetically fixed differentiation program. These studies also showed that lineage bias is not stochastically regulated or dependent on differences in environmental influence. My-bi HSC self-renew longer than balanced or Ly-bi HSC. The myeloid bias results from reduced responsiveness to the lymphopoetin interleukin 7 (IL-7).


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: Subsequently, other groups confirmed and highlighted the original findings. For example, the Eaves group confirmed in 2007 that repopulation kinetics, long-term self-renewal capacity, and My-bi and Ly-bi are stably inherited intrinsic HSC properties. In 2010, the Goodell group provided additional insights about the molecular basis of lineage bias in side population (SP) SCA-1 lin c-kit HSC. As previously shown for IL-7 signaling, it was found that a member of the transforming growth factor family (TGF-beta) induces and inhibits the proliferation of My-bi and Ly-bi HSC, respectively.


title: Hematopoietic stem cell

text: From Greek "haimato-", combining form of "haima" 'blood', and from the Latinized form of Greek "poietikos" 'capable of making, creative, productive', from "poiein" 'to make, create'.


title: I Fought the Law

text: "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the "Rolling Stone" list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, and the same year was named one of the 500 "Songs that Shaped Rock" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


title: I Fought the Law

text: A version by Sam Neely charted in 1975. The song was also recorded by the Clash in 1979. A version with different lyrics was recorded by the Dead Kennedys.


title: I Fought the Law

text: The song was written in 1958 by Sonny Curtis, and recorded in 1959 when he joined the Crickets, taking the place of Buddy Holly on guitar. Joe B. Mauldin and Jerry Allison continued their positions on the stand-up bass and drums, respectively, while Earl Sinks filled the role for vocals. The song was included on their 1960 album, "In Style with the Crickets", and the following year appeared as the B-side of their single, "A Sweet Love". The song received very little airplay.


title: I Fought the Law

text: Milwaukee's Paul Stefen and the Royal Lancers covered the song in 1962; it provided them with a local hit, but it did not make the national charts. In 1964, Sammy Masters recorded his cover of the song. That same year, the song was recorded by Bobby Fuller and his band on his own Exeter label in El Paso, which solidified the band's popularity in the West Texas area with one of his biggest local hits.


title: I Fought the Law

text: After enjoying regional success in Texas, Bobby Fuller and his band decided to switch to a major label—Del-Fi Records under Mustang Records—and they became known as The Bobby Fuller Four. While producing minor hits, the band broke the national top ten when they re-recorded "I Fought the Law" in 1965 with Bobby Fuller (vocals, guitar), Randy Fuller (backing vocals, bass guitar), Jim Reese (backing vocals, guitar), and DeWayne Quirico (drums).


title: I Fought the Law

text: Just six months after the song made its first appearance on the "Billboard" Top 100 chart, Fuller was found dead from asphyxiation in his mother's car in a parking lot near his Los Angeles apartment. The police declared the death an apparent suicide, but others believe that he was murdered.


title: I Fought the Law

text: In mid-1978, the Clash were working on their second album, "Give 'Em Enough Rope". Singer Joe Strummer and guitarist Mick Jones flew to San Francisco to record overdubs in September–October at the Automatt studio. The owner of the Automatt kept his collection of classic jukeboxes distributed around the various rooms of the studio complex. Strummer and Jones heard the Bobby Fuller version of "I Fought the Law" for the first time on one of the jukeboxes. Their version first appeared on the EP "The Cost of Living" in May 1979 in the UK, and later that year was made part of the American edition of the Clash's eponymous album. This cover version helped gain the Clash their first taste of airplay in the States, and is one of the best-known cover versions of the song. The live recording of the song, performed at the Lyceum Theatre, West End, London, on December 28, 1978, features as the last piece of the 1980 film "Rude Boy" directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay. The Clash were dressed all in black for that gig, and the song, at that stage, was considered the film's title song. On July 26, 1979, "I Fought the Law" was the first single by the band to be released in the United States.


title: I Fought the Law

text: In 1988, CBS Records re-issued the single (catalog number) in CD, 12-inch and 7-inch vinyl formats, with "City of the Dead" (2:24) and "1977" (1:40) as its 7-inch B-side. The song is featured as a downloadable track in the music video game series "Rock Band".


title: I Fought the Law

text: In 1989, during Operation Just Cause, the U.S. military surrounded the Apostolic Nunciature in Panama while trying to capture Manuel Noriega, the strongman of Panama. U.S. forces blasted loud rock music—including "I Fought the Law" by the Clash—to put pressure on Noriega to give himself up.


title: I Fought the Law

text: In 2012, the Clash's version of the song was featured in the video game "Sleeping Dogs", as part of a karaoke mini-game.


title: I Fought the Law

text: The song appears during the end credits of the 2014 film "RoboCop" and the 2016 film "War on Everyone".


title: Autoharp

text: An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term "autoharp" was once a trademark of the Oscar Schmidt company, but has become a generic designation for all such instruments, regardless of manufacturer.


title: Autoharp

text: Charles F. Zimmermann, a German immigrant in Philadelphia, was awarded a patent in 1882 for a “Harp” fitted with a mechanism that muted strings selectively during play. He called a zither-sized instrument using this mechanism an “autoharp.” Unlike later designs, the instrument shown in the patent was symmetrical, and the damping mechanism engaged with the strings laterally instead of from above. It is not known if Zimmermann ever produced such instruments commercially. Karl August Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany, built a model that he called a "Volkszither", which was more clearly the prototype of the autoharp in its current form. He obtained a British patent for it c. 1883–1884. In 1885, after returning from a visit to Germany, Zimmermann began production of instruments with the Gütter design. He labeled them autoharps and included his own name and patent number. As a result, Zimmermann is widely but incorrectly regarded as the inventor of the instrument in its now familiar form.


title: Autoharp

text: A form of the term "autoharp" in stylized lettering was registered as a trademark in 1926. The word is currently claimed as a trademark by the U.S. Music Corporation, whose Oscar Schmidt Inc. division manufactures autoharps. The USPTO registration, however, covers only a “Mark Drawing Code (5) Words, Letters, and/or Numbers in Stylized Form” and has expired. In litigation with George Orthey, it was held that Oscar Schmidt could only claim ownership of the stylized graphic representation of "autoharp", the word itself having come into generic use.


title: Autoharp

text: The autoharp body is made of wood, and has a generally rectangular shape, with one corner cut off. The soundboard generally features a guitar-like sound-hole, and the top may be either solid wood or of laminated construction. A pin-block of multiple laminated layers of wood occupies the top and slanted edges, and serves as a bed for the tuning pins, which resemble those used in pianos and concert zithers.


title: Autoharp

text: On the edge opposite the top pin-block is either a series of metal pins, or a grooved metal plate, which accepts the lower ends of the strings. Directly above the strings, on the lower half of the top, are the chord bars, which are made of plastic, wood, or metal, and support felt or foam pads on the side facing the strings. These bars are mounted on springs, and pressed down with one hand, via buttons mounted to their topside. The buttons are labeled with the name of the chord produced when that bar is pressed against the strings, and the strings strummed. The back of the instrument usually has three wooden, plastic, or rubber "feet", which support the instrument when it is placed backside down on a table top, for playing in the traditional position.


title: Autoharp

text: Strings run parallel to the top, between the mounting plate and the tuning pins, and pass under the chord bar assembly. Modern autoharps most often have 36 strings, with some examples having as many as 47 strings, and rare 48-string models (such as Orthey Autoharps No. 136, tuned to G and D major). They are strung in a semi-chromatic manner which, however, is sometimes modified into either diatonic or fully chromatic scales. Standard models have 12, 15 or 21 chord bars available, providing a selection of major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. These are arranged for historical or systemic reasons. Various special models have also been produced, such as diatonic one-, two-, or three-key models, models with fewer or additional chords, and a reverse-strung model (the 43-string, 28-chord Chromaharp "Caroler").


title: Autoharp

text: The range is determined by the number of strings and their tuning. A typical 36-string chromatic autoharp in standard tuning has a -octave range, from F to C. The instrument is not fully chromatic throughout this range, however, as this would require 44 strings. The exact 36-string tuning is:


title: Autoharp

text: There are a number of gaps in the lowest octave, which functions primarily to provide bass notes in diatonic contexts; there is also a missing G in the tenor octave. The fully chromatic part of the instrument's range begins with A (the A below middle C).


title: Autoharp

text: Diatonically-strung single-key instruments from modern luthiers are known for their lush sound. This is achieved by doubling the strings for individual notes. Since the strings for notes not in the diatonic scale need not appear in the string bed, the resulting extra space is used for the doubled strings, resulting in fewer damped strings. Two- and three-key diatonics compromise the number of doubled strings to gain the ability to play in two or three keys, and to permit tunes containing accidentals, which could not otherwise be rendered on a single-key harp. A three-key harp in the circle of fifths, such as a GDA, is often called a festival or campfire harp, as the instrument can easily accompany fiddles around a campfire or at a festival.


title: Autoharp

text: A variety of chord bar layouts may be had, both in as-delivered instruments, and after customization.


title: Autoharp

text: Until the 1960s, no pickups were available to amplify the autoharp other than rudimentary contact microphones, which frequently had a poor-quality, tinny sound. In the early 1960s, a bar magnetic pickup was designed for the instrument by Harry DeArmond, and manufactured by Rowe Industries. Pinkerton's Assorted Colours used the instrument on their 1966 single "Mirror, Mirror". In the 1970s, Oscar Schmidt came out with their own magnetic pickup. "The Evil One", a 1979 hard rock album by Roky Erickson and the Aliens prominently featured the electric autoharp of Bill Miller which granted "an unearthly edge" to the music.


title: Autoharp

text: Shown is a 1930 refinished Oscar Schmidt “Model A”. This harp has two DeArmond magnetic pickups (one under the chord bars), with a d'Aigle fine-tuning mechanism, and d'Aigle chord bar assembly, and was used in a 1968 MGM Records/Heritage Records recording by Euphoria.


title: Autoharp

text: A synthesized version of the autoharp, the Omnichord, was introduced in 1981 and is now known as the Q-Chord, described as a "digital songcard guitar".


title: Autoharp

text: As initially conceived, the autoharp was played in the position of a concert zither, that is, with the instrument set flat on a table (there are three "feet" on the back for this purpose), and the flat-edge of the instrument (below the chord bars) placed to the player's right. The left hand worked the chord buttons, and the right hand would strum the strings in the narrow area below the chord bars. Right hand strums were typically done with a plectrum similar to a guitar pick, made of shell, plastic, or compressed felt. A strum would usually activate multiple strings, playing the chord held down by the left hand.


title: Autoharp

text: Partly because of this playing mode, the autoharp came to be thought of as a rhythm instrument for playing chordal accompaniment, and even today many still think of the instrument in that way. New techniques have been developed, however, and modern players can play melodies on the instrument: diatonic players, for example, are able to play fiddle tunes using open-chording techniques, "pumping" the damper buttons while picking individual strings. Skilled chromatic players can perform a range of melodies, and even solos including melody, chords, and complex rhythmic accompaniments.


title: Autoharp

text: In the mid-20th century performers began experimenting with taking the instrument off the table and playing it in an upright position, held in the lap, with the back of the instrument (having the "feet") held against the chest. Cecil Null, of the Grand Ole Opry is usually credited as the first to adopt this playing style in public performance, in the 1950s. In this position the left hand still works the chord buttons, but from the "opposite edge" of the instrument, and the right hand still executes the strums, but now plays in the area "above" the chord bars. (See "Joe Butler" illustration, below.) This playing mode makes a wider area of the strings available to the picking hand, increasing the range of tonal possibilities, and it proved very popular. It was soon adopted by other performers, notably by members of the Carter Family.


title: Autoharp

text: By the early 1970s some players were experimenting with finger-style techniques, where individual fingers of the right hand would pluck specific strings, rather than simply hold a pick and strum chords. Bryan Bowers became a master of this mode of playing, and developed a complex technique utilizing all five fingers of his right hand. This allows him to play independent bass notes, chords, melody, and counter melodies as a soloist. Bowers was also one of the early pioneers in adding a strap to the instrument and playing it while standing up.


title: Autoharp

text: Kilby Snow (May 28, 1905 – March 29, 1980) was an American folk musician and virtuoso autoharpist, who won the title of "Autoharp Champion of North Carolina" at the age of 5. He developed the "drag note" playing style, a technique that relied on his left-handedness to produce "slurred" notes; he has been enormously influential among autoharpists, and is regarded by many as the first modern autoharp player.


title: Autoharp

text: Maybelle Carter of the original Carter Family brought the instrument to prominence in the late 1940s by using it as a lead instrument when performing with her daughters; the Carter Sisters.


title: Autoharp

text: Maybelle Carter's granddaughter Carlene Carter frequently plays the autoharp onstage and on her recordings; her song "Me and the Wildwood Rose", a tribute to her grandmother, makes prominent use of the autoharp.


title: Autoharp

text: Several Lovin' Spoonful songs feature the autoharp playing of John Sebastian, including "Do You Believe in Magic" and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice". He also played in the 1979 Randy VanWarmer hit song "Just When I Needed You Most".


title: Autoharp

text: Bryan Bowers developed a complex finger-picking style of playing the autoharp (as opposed to the more common strumming technique) which he initially brought to bluegrass performances with The Dillards in the 1970s, and later to several of his own solo albums.


title: Autoharp

text: British singer songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae regularly plays the autoharp and composed the title track from her 2010 album "The Sea" on the autoharp.


title: Autoharp

text: Singer/songwriter Brittain Ashford of the band Prairie Empire is known for using autoharp in her music, including the 2008 release "There, but for You, go I". She also regularly performs on the autoharp as part of her role in Ghost Quartet, a four-person song cycle composed by Dave Malloy.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: After a brief refit, "Hiryū" and three other fleet carriers of the First Air Fleet ("Kido Butai") participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on the atoll, the carriers were attacked by aircraft from Midway and the carriers , , and . Dive bombers from "Yorktown" and "Enterprise" crippled "Hiryū" and set her afire. She was scuttled the following day after it became clear that she could not be salvaged. The loss of "Hiryū" and three other IJN carriers at Midway was a crucial strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to the Allies' ultimate victory in the Pacific.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: "Hiryū" was one of two large carriers approved for construction under the 1931–32 Supplementary Program. Originally designed as the sister ship of "Sōryū", her design was enlarged and modified in light of the "Tomozuru" and Fourth Fleet Incidents in 1934–1935 that revealed many IJN ships were top-heavy, unstable and structurally weak. Her forecastle was raised and her hull strengthened. Other changes involved increasing her beam, displacement, and armor protection.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: The ship had a length of overall, a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at standard load and at normal load. Her crew consisted of 1,100 officers and enlisted men.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: "Hiryū" was fitted with four geared steam turbine sets with a total of , each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by eight Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines and boilers were the same as those used in the s. The ship's power and slim, cruiser-type hull with a length-to-beam ratio of 10:1 gave her a speed of and made her the fastest carrier in the world at the time of her commissioning. "Hiryū" carried of fuel oil which gave her a range of at . The boiler uptakes were trunked to the ship's starboard side amidships and exhausted just below flight deck level through two funnels curved downward.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: The carrier's flight deck was wide and overhung her superstructure at both ends, supported by pairs of pillars. "Hiryū" was one of only two carriers ever built whose island was on the port side of the ship ( was the other). It was also positioned further to the rear and encroached on the width of the flight deck, unlike "Sōryū". Nine transverse arrestor wires were installed on the flight deck that could stop a aircraft. One group of three wires was positioned further forward to allow the ship to land aircraft over the bow, although this was never done in practice. The flight deck was only above the waterline and the ship's designers kept this figure low by reducing the height of the hangars. The upper hangar was and had an approximate height of ; the lower was and had an approximate height of . Together they had an approximate total area of . This caused problems in handling aircraft because the wings of a Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber could neither be spread nor folded in the upper hangar.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by three elevators, the forward one abreast the island on the centerline and the other two offset to starboard. The forward platform measured , the middle one , and the rear . They were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to . "Hiryū" had a designed aircraft capacity of 64, plus nine spares.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: "Hiryū"s primary anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of six twin-gun mounts equipped with 12.7-centimeter Type 89 dual-purpose guns mounted on projecting sponsons, three on either side of the carrier's hull. When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of ; they had a maximum ceiling of at their maximum elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was approximately eight rounds per minute. The ship was equipped with two Type 94 fire-control directors to control the guns, one for each side of the ship; the starboard-side director was on top of the island and the other director was positioned below flight deck level on the port side.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: The ship's light AA armament consisted of seven triple and five twin-gun mounts for license-built Hotchkiss 25 mm Type 96 AA guns. Two of the triple mounts were sited on a platform just below the forward end of the flight deck. The gun was the standard Japanese light AA gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it largely ineffective. According to historian Mark Stille, the weapon had many faults including an inability to "handle high-speed targets because it could not be trained or elevated fast enough by either hand or power, its sights were inadequate for high-speed targets, it possessed excessive vibration and muzzle blast, and its magazines were too small to maintain high rates of fire". These guns had an effective range of , and an effective ceiling of at an elevation of +85 degrees. The maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute because of the frequent need to change the fifteen-round magazines. The Type 96 guns were controlled by five Type 95 directors, two on each side and one in the bow.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: "Hiryū" had a waterline belt with a maximum thickness of over the magazines that reduced to over the machinery spaces and the avgas storage tanks. It was backed by an internal anti-splinter bulkhead. The ship's deck was thick over the machinery spaces and thick over the magazines and avgas storage tanks.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions for aircraft carriers, "Hiryū" was named "Flying Dragon". The ship was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 8 July 1936, launched on 16 November 1937 and commissioned on 5 July 1939. She was assigned to the Second Carrier Division on 15 November. In September 1940, the ship's air group was transferred to Hainan Island to support the Japanese invasion of French Indochina. In February 1941, "Hiryū" supported the blockade of Southern China. Two months later, the 2nd Carrier Division, commanded by Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, was assigned to the First Air Fleet, or "Kido Butai", on 10 April. "Hiryū" returned to Japan on 7 August and began a short refit that was completed on 15 September. She became flagship of the Second Division from 22 September to 26 October while "Sōryū" was refitting.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: In November 1941, the IJN's Combined Fleet, commanded by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, prepared to participate in Japan's initiation of a formal war with the United States by conducting a preemptive strike against the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On 22 November, "Hiryū", commanded by Captain Tomeo Kaku, and the rest of the "Kido Butai", under Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and including six fleet carriers from the First, Second, and Fifth Carrier Divisions, assembled in Hitokappu Bay at Etorofu Island. The fleet departed Etorofu on 26 November and followed a course across the north-central Pacific to avoid commercial shipping lanes. Now the flagship of the Second Carrier Division, the ship embarked 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, 18 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers, and 18 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. From a position north of Oahu, "Hiryū" and the other five carriers launched two waves of aircraft on the morning of 7 December 1941 Hawaiian time.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: In the first wave, 8 B5N torpedo bombers were supposed to attack the aircraft carriers that normally berthed on the northwest side of Ford Island, but none were in Pearl Harbor that day; 4 of the B5N pilots diverted to their secondary target, ships berthed alongside "1010 Pier" where the fleet flagship was usually moored. That ship, the battleship , was in drydock and its position was occupied by the light cruiser and the minelayer ; all four torpedoes missed. The other four pilots attacked the battleships and . The remaining 10 B5Ns were tasked to drop armor-piercing bombs on the battleships berthed on the southeast side of Ford Island ("Battleship Row") and may have scored one or two hits on them, in addition to causing a magazine explosion aboard the battleship that sank her with heavy loss of life. The 6 A6M Zeros strafed parked aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa), claiming 22 aircraft destroyed.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: The second wave consisted of 9 Zeros and 18 D3As, one of each aborting with mechanical problems. The former strafed Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay before moving on to attack Bellows Army Airfield. They strafed the airfield, and shot down two Curtiss P-40 fighters attempting to take off when the Zeros arrived and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber that had earlier diverted from Hickam Army Airfield, and also destroyed a Stinson O-49 observation aircraft on the ground for the loss of one of their own. The fighters with remaining ammunition expended it strafing MCAS Ewa, the rendezvous point for the second-wave fighters. The D3As attacked various ships in Pearl Harbor, but it is not possible to identify which aircraft attacked which ship. Two D3As from "Hiryū" were lost during the attack, one shot down by Second Lieutenant George Welch.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: While returning to Japan after the attack, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, commander of the First Air Fleet, ordered that "Sōryū" and "Hiryū" be detached on 16 December to attack the defenders of Wake Island who had already defeated the first Japanese attack on the island. The two carriers reached the vicinity of the island on 21 December and launched 29 D3As and 2 B5Ns, escorted by 18 Zeros, to attack ground targets. They encountered no aerial opposition and launched 35 B5Ns and 6 A6M Zeros the following day. They were intercepted by the 2 surviving Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-211. The Wildcats shot down 2 B5Ns before they were shot down by PO3c Isao Towara. The garrison surrendered the next day after Japanese troops were landed.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: The carriers arrived at Kure on 29 December. They were assigned to the Southern Force on 8 January 1942 and departed four days later for the Dutch East Indies. The ships supported the invasion of the Palau Islands and the Battle of Ambon, attacking Allied positions on the island on 23 January with 54 aircraft. Four days later the carriers detached 18 Zeros and 9 D3As to operate from land bases in support of Japanese operations in the Battle of Borneo. "Hiryū" and "Sōryū" arrived at Palau on 28 January and waited for the arrival of the carriers and "Akagi". All four carriers departed Palau on 15 February and launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia, four days later. "Hiryū" contributed 18 B5Ns, 18 D3As, and 9 Zeros to the attack. Her aircraft attacked the ships in port and its facilities, sinking or setting on fire three ships and damaging two others. The Zeros destroyed 1 P-40E as it was taking off, 2 Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes on the water, and a Zero was forced to crash land after being damaged by a P-40E of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 33rd Pursuit Squadron.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: "Hiryū" and the other carriers arrived at Staring Bay on Celebes Island on 21 February to resupply and rest before departing four days later to support the invasion of Java. On 1 March 1942, the ship's D3As damaged the destroyer badly enough for her to be caught and sunk by Japanese cruisers. Later that day the dive bombers sank the oil tanker . The four carriers launched an airstrike of 180 aircraft against Tjilatjep on 5 March and set the town on fire, sinking five small ships, and damaging nine others that later had to be scuttled. Two days later, they attacked Christmas Island and "Hiryū"s aircraft sank the Dutch freighter "Poelau Bras" before returning to Staring Bay on 11 March to resupply and train for the impending Indian Ocean raid. This raid was intended to secure newly conquered Burma, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies against any Allied attack by destroying base facilities and forces in the eastern Indian Ocean.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: On 26 March, the five carriers of the First Air Fleet departed from Staring Bay; they were spotted by a Catalina about southeast of Ceylon on the morning of 4 April. Six of "Hiryū"s Zeros were on Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and helped to shoot it down. Nagumo closed to within of Colombo before launching an airstrike the next morning. "Hiryū" contributed 18 B5Ns and 9 Zeros to the force; the latter encountered a flight of 6 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from 788 Naval Air Squadron en route and shot them all down without loss. The Japanese aircraft encountered defending Hawker Hurricane fighters from Nos. 30 and 258 Squadrons RAF over Ratmalana airfield and "Hiryū"s fighters claimed to have shot down 11 with 3 Zeros damaged, although the fighters from the other carriers also made claims. British losses were 21 Hurricanes shot down and 2 more forced to crash land. The D3As and B5Ns inflicted some damage to the port facilities, but a day's warning had allowed much of the shipping in the harbor to be evacuated. The British were attempting to find Nagumo's ships all morning and "Hiryū"s Zeros on CAP over the fleet helped to shoot down an RAF Catalina, shot down a Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber and drove off another from the carrier . Later that morning the British heavy cruisers and were spotted and "Hiryū" launched 18 D3As. They sank both ships in combination with the dive bombers from the other carriers.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: On the morning of 9 April, "Hiryū"s CAP shot down another Catalina attempting to locate the fleet and, later that morning, contributed 18 B5Ns, escorted by 6 Zeros, to the attack on Trincomalee. The fighters engaged 261 Squadron RAF, claiming to have shot down two with two more shared with fighters from the other carriers. British losses were only eight fighters, but the Japanese pilots claimed a total of 49 aircraft shot down when the RAF only had 16 Hurricanes in the fight. The British pilots shot down one of "Hiryū"s B5Ns and forced another to crash land while they were bombing the port. Meanwhile, a floatplane from the battleship spotted the small aircraft carrier , escorted by the destroyer , and every available D3A was launched to attack the ships, escorted by nine Zeros. "Hiryū" contributed 18 dive bombers and 3 fighters, but they arrived too late to assist in sinking them and found two other ships further north. They sank the freighter RFA "Athelstone" and her escorting corvette, . While this was going on, "Akagi" narrowly escaped damage when 9 British Bristol Blenheim bombers from Ceylon penetrated the CAP and dropped their bombs from . "Hiryū" had eight Zeros aloft, along with 12 more from the other carriers, and collectively they accounted for 5 of the British bombers for the loss of 1 of "Hiryū"s Zeros. The Blenheims ran into the D3As from , escorted by "Hiryū"s Zeros, on their way back home and lost one more bomber to the Japanese aircraft. The dive bombers claimed to have shot down two Blenheims in conjunction with the Zeros, which claimed one on their own, for the loss of one Zero shot down by the bombers' gunners and one D3A damaged. After launching the dive bombers that sank "Hermes" and the other ships, the First Air Fleet reversed course and headed southeast for the Malacca Strait and Japan.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū

text: On 19 April, while transiting the Bashi Straits between Taiwan and Luzon en route to Japan, "Hiryū", "Sōryū", and "Akagi" were sent in pursuit of the American carriers and , which had launched the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo. They found only empty ocean, as the American carriers had immediately departed the area to return to Hawaii. The carriers quickly abandoned the chase and dropped anchor at Hashirajima anchorage on 22 April. Having been engaged in constant operations for four and a half months, the ship, along with the other three carriers of the First and Second Carrier Divisions, was hurriedly refitted and replenished in preparation for the Combined Fleet's next major operation, scheduled to begin one month hence. While at Hashirajima, "Hiryū"s air group was based ashore at Tomitaka Airfield, near Saiki, Ōita, and conducted flight and weapons training with the other First Air Fleet carrier units.