title: Stingless bee

text: Australian farmers rely almost exclusively on the introduced western honey bee to pollinate their crops. However, native bees may be better pollinators for certain agricultural crops. Stingless bees have been shown to be valuable pollinators of tropical plants such as macadamias and mangos. Their foraging may also benefit strawberries, watermelons, citrus, avocados, lychees, and many others. Research into the use of stingless bees for crop pollination in Australia is still in its very early stages, but these bees show great potential. Studies at the University of Western Sydney have shown these bees' are effective pollinators even in confined areas such as glasshouses.


title: Stingless bee

text: Brazil is home to several species of stingless bees belonging to Meliponini, with more than 300 species already identified and probably more yet to be discovered. They vary greatly in shape, size, and habits, and 20 to 30 of these species have good potential as honey producers. Although they are still quite unknown by most people, an increasing number of beekeepers have been dedicated to these bees throughout the country. This activity has experienced significant growth since August 2004, when national laws were changed to allow native bee colonies to be freely marketed, which was previously forbidden in an unsuccessful attempt to protect these species. Nowadays the capture or destruction of existing colonies in nature is still forbidden, and only new colonies formed by the bees themselves in artificial traps can be collected from the wild. Most colonies marketed are artificially produced by authorized beekeepers, through division of already existing captive colonies. Besides honey production, Brazilian stingless bees such as the "irapuá" ("Trigona spinipes") serve as major pollinators of tropical plants and are considered the ecological equivalent of the honey bee.


title: Stingless bee

text: Also, much practical and academic work is being done about the best ways of keeping such bees, multiplying their colonies, and exploring the honey they produce. Among many others, species such as "jandaíra" ("Melipona subnitida") and true "uruçu" ("Melipona scutellaris") in the northeast of the country, "mandaçaia" ("Melipona quadrifasciata") and yellow "uruçu" ("Melipona rufiventris") in the south-southeast, "tiúba" or "jupará" ("Melipona interrupta") and straw-bee ("Scaptotrigona polysticta") in the north and "jataí" ("Tetragonisca angustula") throughout the country are increasingly kept by small, medium, and large producers. Many other species as the Mandaguari ("Scaptotrigona postica"), the Guaraipo ("Melipona bicolor") and the Iraí ("Nannotrigona testaceicornis"), to mention a few, are also reared in smaller scale. Through the cultivation of honey or selling of colonies, keeping stingless bees is an increasingly profitable activity. A single colony of species like mandaçaia and true "uruçu" can be divided up to four times a year, and each of the new colonies obtained this way can be sold for about US$100.


title: Stingless bee

text: According to the Ministry of the Environment there are presently four species of Meliponini listed in the National Red List of Threatened Species in Brazil. "Melipona capixaba", "Melipona rufiventris", "Melipona scutellaris", and "Partamona littoralis" all listed as Endangered (EN).


title: Stingless bee

text: Although the colony sizes of most of these bees are much smaller than those of the European honey bee, the per-bee productivity can be quite high, with colonies containing fewer than a thousand bees being able to produce up to 4 liters (one US gallon) of honey every year. Probably the world champion in honey productivity, the "manduri" ("Melipona marginata"), lives in swarms with only about 300 individuals, but even so, it can produce up to 3 liters (.79 US gallon) of honey a year in the right conditions. One of the smallest among all bees in the genus "Melipona", with lengths ranging from 6 to 7 mm (15/64" to 9/32"), Is being used in some countries such as Japan and Germany as a pollinator for greenhouses. Although they do not tend to attack if not molested, when they feel the nest is under menace, these tiny bees' reaction is violent, and their strong jaws can penetrate human skin.


title: Stingless bee

text: Species of the genus "Scaptotrigona" have very large colonies, with up to 20,000 individuals, and can produce from 8 to 12 liters (2-3 US gallons) of honey a year, but they are somewhat aggressive and thus not popular among Brazilian meliponine beekeepers. Some large breeders have more than 3,000 hives of the tamer but still highly productive species in the genus "Melipona", such as the "tiúba", the true "uruçu", and the "jandaíra", each with 3,000 or more bees per colony. They can produce over 1.5 tons (3,000 lbs) of honey every year. In large bee farms, only the availability of flowers limits the honey production per colony. Their honey is considered more palatable because not overly sweet, and it also is thought to have medicinal properties more pronounced than honey from bees of the genus "Apis" due to the higher level of antimicrobial substances. As a result, the honey from stingless bees returns very high profits, with prices as much as 5-10 times greater than those for the more common honey produced by European or Africanized bees. However, much larger numbers of beehives are required to produce amounts of honey comparable to that of European or Africanized bees. Also, due to the fact of those bees storing honey in cerumen pots instead of standardized honeycombs as in the honeybee rearing makes extraction a lot more difficult and laborious.


title: Stingless bee

text: The honey from stingless bees has a lighter color and a higher water content, from 25% to 35%, compared to the honey from the genus "Apis". This contributes to its less cloying taste but also causes it to spoil more easily. Thus, for marketing, this honey needs to be processed through desiccation or pasteurization. In its natural state, it should be kept under refrigeration.


title: Stingless bee

text: Due to the lack of a functional stinger and characteristic nonaggressive behavior of many Brazilian species of stingless bees, they can be reared without problems in densely populated environments such as cities, provided enough flowers are at their disposal nearby. Some breeders (meliponicultors) can produce honey even in apartments up to the 12th floor.


title: Stingless bee

text: Despite being in general fairly peaceful, with exception of a few species such as the "tubuna" ("Scaptotrigona bipunctata"), most Brazilian meliponines will react if their hives are molested, nipping with their jaws, entangling themselves in the hair, trying to enter in the ears or the nose, and releasing propolis or even acid over their aggressors.


title: Stingless bee

text: Some species, nevertheless, are more suitable for rearing at home as pets. The "mandaçaia" are extremely tame, not attacking humans even when their hives are opened for honey extraction or colony division. They form small, manageable colonies of only 400–600 individuals. At the same time, a single rational beehive of "mandaçaia" can produce up to 4 liters (1 US gallon) of honey a year, making the species very attractive for home keepers. They are fairly large bees, up to 11 mm (7/16") in length, and as a result have better body heat control, allowing them to live in regions where temperatures can drop a little lower than 0 °C (32 °F). However, they are somewhat selective about which flowers they will visit, preferring the flora that occurs in their natural environment. They are thus difficult to keep outside their region of origin, along the east coast of Brazil from the state of Bahia south.


title: Stingless bee

text: Other species, like the "tiúba" and the true "uruçu", are also very tame and highly productive. Their colonies have from 3000–5000 individuals (for comparison, the population of honeybee swarms can peak at 80000 individuals) and can produce up to 10 liters (2.6 US gallons) of honey a year. They can be easily kept at home but will survive only in regions with a warm climate, their larvae dying at temperatures lower than 12 °C (54 °F). The yellow "uruçu", however, can survive at temperatures lower than 0 °C (32 °F), and their colonies, bearing about 3500 individuals, can produce up to 6 liters (1.5 US gallons) of honey a year. But this species will react with powerful nipping if its nests are molested, and usually they are only kept by professional meliponicultors.


title: Stingless bee

text: Another suitable species for keeping at home is the "guaraipo" ("Melipona bicolor"). It is also quite tame, never attacking the beekeeper, and their colonies have fewer than 600 individuals. They can withstand temperatures as low as −10 °C (14 °F), and each colony can produce over 3 liters ( US gallons) of honey a year. Their colonies usually have more than one single queen at a time (usually two or three, but sometimes up to five), a phenomenon called polygyne, and thus are less sensitive to the death of one queen, which can cause the loss of a whole colony in other species. But the "guaraipo" is very sensitive to low levels of humidity, and their hives must be equipped with means to keep a high moisture content. Once very common, the "guaraipo" is now rather rare in nature, mainly due to the destruction of their native forests in the south-southeast of Brazil.


title: Stingless bee

text: Other groups of Brazilian stingless bees, genera "Plebeia" and "Leurotrigona", are also very tame and much smaller, with one of them ("Plebeia minima") reaching no more than 2.5 mm (3/32") in length, and the lambe-olhos ("lick-eyes" bee, "Leurotrigona muelleri") being even smaller, at no more than 1.5 mm (3/32"). Many of these species are known as "mirim" (meaning 'small' in the Tupi-Guarani languages). As a result, they can be kept in very small artificial hives, thus being of interest for keepers who want them as pollinators in small glasshouses or just for the pleasure of having a ‘toy’ bee colony at home. Being so tiny, these species produce only a very small amount of honey, typically less than 500 ml (1/2 US pint) a year, so are not interesting for commercial honey production.


title: Stingless bee

text: Belonging to the same group, the "jatai" ("Tetragonisca angustula"), the "marmelada "("Frieseomelitta varia"), and the "moça-branca" ("Frieseomelitta doederleini") are intermediate in size between those very small species and the European bee. They are very adaptable species; the "jataí", and can be reared in many different regions and environments, being quite common in most Brazilian cities. The "jataí" can bite when molested, but its jaws are weak, and in practice they are harmless, while the "marmelada" and "moça-branca" usually deposit propolis on their aggressors. Producing up to 1.5 liters (0.4 US gallons) of honey a year, their honey is considered among the best from stingless bees. In fact, the "jataí" was one of the first species to be kept by home beekeepers. Their nests can be easily identified in trees or wall cavities by the wax pipe they build at the entrance, usually guarded by some soldier bees, which are stronger than regular worker bees. The" marmelada" and "moça-branca" make a little less honey, but it is denser and sweeter than most from other stingless bees and is considered very tasty.


title: Stingless bee

text: The stingless bees "Melipona beecheii" and "M. yucatanica" are the primary native bees cultured in Central America, though a few other species are reported as being occasionally managed (e.g., "Trigona fulviventris" and "Scaptotrigona mexicana"). They were extensively cultured by the Maya civilization for honey, and regarded as sacred. They continue to be cultivated by the modern Maya peoples, although these bees are endangered due to massive deforestation, altered agricultural practices (especially overuse of insecticides), and changing beekeeping practices with the arrival of the Africanized honey bee, which produces much greater honey crops.


title: Stingless bee

text: Native meliponines ("M. beecheii" being the favorite) have been kept by the lowland Maya for thousands of years. The Yucatec Maya language name for this bee is "xunan kab", meaning "(royal, noble) lady bee". The bees were once the subject of religious ceremonies and were a symbol of the bee-god Ah-Muzen-Cab, known from the "Madrid Codex".


title: Stingless bee

text: The bees were, and still are, treated as pets. Families would have one or many log-hives hanging in and around their houses. Although they are stingless, the bees do bite and can leave welts similar to a mosquito bite. The traditional way to gather bees, still favored among the locals, is find a wild hive, then the branch is cut around the hive to create a portable log, enclosing the colony. This log is then capped on both ends with another piece of wood or pottery and sealed with mud. This clever method keeps the melipine bees from mixing their brood, pollen, and honey in the same comb as do the European bees. The brood is kept in the middle of the hive, and the honey is stored in vertical "pots" on the outer edges of the hive. A temporary, replaceable cap at the end of the log allows for easy access to the honey while doing minimal damage to the hive. However, inexperienced handlers can still do irreversible damage to a hive, causing the hive to swarm and abscond from the log. With proper maintenance, though, hives have been recorded as lasting over 80 years, being passed down through generations. In the archaeological record of Mesoamerica, stone discs have been found that are generally considered to be the caps of long-disintegrated logs that once housed the beehives.


title: Stingless bee

text: Tulum, the site of a pre-Columbian Maya city on the Caribbean coast 130 km (81 mi) south of Cancun, has a god depicted repeatedly all over the site. Upside down, he appears as a small figure over many doorways and entrances. One of the temples, the "Templo del Dios Descendente" or the Temple of the Descending God, stands just left of the central plaza. Speculation is that he may be the "Bee God", Ah Muzen Cab, as seen in the Madrid Codex. It is possible that this was a religious/trade center with emphasis on "xunan kab", the "royal lady".


title: Stingless bee

text: Balché, a traditional Mesoamerican alcoholic beverage similar to mead, was made from fermented honey and the bark of the leguminous" balché" tree ("Lonchocarpus violaceus"), hence its name. It was traditionally brewed in a canoe. The drink was known to have entheogenic properties, that is, to produce mystical experiences, and was consumed in medicinal and ritual practices. Beekeepers would place the nests near the psychoactive plant "Turbina corymbosa" and possibly near "balché" trees, forcing the bees to use nectar from these plants to make their honey. Additionally, brewers would add extracts of the bark of the "balché" tree to the honey mixture before fermentation. The resulting beverage is responsible for psychotropic effects when consumed, due to the ergoline compounds in the pollen of the "T. corymbosa", the "Melipona" nectar gathered from the "balché" flowers, or the hallucinogenic compounds of the "balché" tree bark.


title: Stingless bee

text: Lost-wax casting, a common metalworking method typically found where the inhabitants keep bees, was also used by the Maya. The wax from "Melipona" is soft and easy to work, especially in the humid Maya lowland. This allowed the Maya to create smaller works of art, jewelry, and other metalsmithing that would be difficult to forge. It also makes use of the leftovers from honey extraction. If the hive was damaged beyond repair, the whole of the comb could be used, thus using all of the hive. With experienced keepers, though, only the honey pot could be removed, the honey extracted, and the wax used for casting or other purposes.


title: Stingless bee

text: The outlook for meliponines in Mesoamerica is uncertain. The number of active "Melipona" beekeepers is rapidly declining in favor of the more economical, nonindigenous Africanized "Apis mellifera". The high honey yield, 100 kg (220 lbs) or more annually, along with the ease of hive care and ability to create new hives from existing stock, commonly outweighs the negative consequences of "killer bee" hive maintenance.


title: Stingless bee

text: Further complicating the issue, Africanized honey bees do not visit some flora, such as those in the tomato family, and several forest trees and shrubs, which rely on the native stingless bees for pollination. A decline in populations of native flora has already occurred in areas where stingless bees have been displaced by Africanized honey bees.


title: Stingless bee

text: An additional blow to the art of meliponine beekeeping is that many of the meliponine beekeepers are now elderly, and their hives may not be cared for once they die. The hives are considered similar to an old family collection, to be parted out once the collector dies or to be buried in whole or part along with the beekeeper upon death. In fact, a survey of a once-popular area of the Maya lowlands shows the rapid decline of beekeepers, down to around 70 in 2004 from thousands in the late 1980s. It is traditional in the Maya lowlands that the hive itself or parts of the hive be buried along with the beekeeper to "volar al cielo", "to fly to heaven". Conservation efforts are underway in several parts of Mesoamerica.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Loutelious "T. J." Holmes, Jr. (born August 19, 1977) is an American journalist and national television personality. Holmes first gained national prominence as an anchor and correspondent for CNN. He spent five years at the network anchoring CNN "Saturday & Sunday Morning."


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes left CNN at the end of 2011 after signing a multi-platform talent deal with BET Networks, which included the new show "Don't Sleep". BET and Holmes parted ways in 2013 upon the program's cancellation.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: In December 2012, Holmes became a substitute weekend anchor on MSNBC. He also appeared on CNN as a fill-in correspondent and anchor during this same period.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes was born in West Memphis, Arkansas and is the younger of two children. His family gave him the nickname "T. Jr." He only began using the name "T. J." when he started his professional television career.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes started his television career at KSNF Channel 16 in Joplin, Missouri. He drove to Joplin from the University of Arkansas campus to hand-deliver his resume and reel. He was hired on the spot. Holmes spent less than a year at KSNF as a producer, assignment reporter, and weekend anchor.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes moved back to his home state of Arkansas in 2000 to join CBS affiliate KTHV in Little Rock as a general assignment reporter. Within a year, he was promoted to weekend anchor.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: In 2003, Holmes moved on to KNTV, the NBC O&O station in the San Francisco Bay Area, to become anchor of the 5 p.m. evening news. While at KNTV, he traveled to Athens, Greece to cover the 2004 Olympics, the first Summer Games held after the September 11th attacks. While at KNTV, he covered numerous other stories that garnered national attention, including the historic recall election of California Gov. Gray Davis that resulted in the election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; and, the double murder trial of Scott Peterson.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes joined CNN as a news anchor and correspondent in October 2006. He co-anchored CNN "Saturday & Sunday Morning" with Betty Nguyen until March 2010 when Nguyen left for CBS. Holmes then anchored the newscast solo.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: At CNN, Holmes reported from the scene of numerous breaking news events, including Joplin, MO, which was devastated by multiple tornadoes in May 2011, New Orleans during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010; and, Blacksburg, VA immediately after the shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech. Holmes also anchored from Ground Zero on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes covered the historic first papal visit to the United States of Pope Benedict XIV in 2008, including anchoring live from the mass at Yankee Stadium. Holmes secured some of the first stories from the survivors of the US Airways Flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson River in January 2009. Holmes also reported from the campus of the University of Mississippi during the first presidential debate between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes also anchored significant news stories, including Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India in 2008, and the terrorist attacks at the Glasgow Airport in 2007.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes contributed to CNN's 2010 coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and 2008 coverage of the presidential primary campaigns, both of which garnered Peabody Awards.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: In December 2011, Holmes and BET announced he had signed a multi-platform deal with BET Networks. In a statement, BET revealed:


title: T. J. Holmes

text: "The deal with Holmes includes a new show on BET, as well as content on BET.com in which he can bring his many talents to what the company regards as "the most important and interesting stories" for the BET audience. "We are simply ecstatic to have T.J. Holmes coming to our fold. He's been an outstanding news anchor and we look forward to working with him in a variety of new ways on BET," said Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials at BET Networks. "It's now upon us to develop vehicles that capture his intelligence, curiosity about the world, warmth, humor and compassion. It's a challenge that we are happy to have."


title: T. J. Holmes

text: In August 2012, BET Networks announced that Holmes will be the host of their new original series "Don't Sleep", which will premiere October 1, 2012 from 11 p.m.-11:30 p.m. ET /PT. Airing Monday through Thursday, Holmes will deliver smart, biting social commentary on significant issues important to the black community.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: After much speculation in March 2013, BET announced they had cancelled "Don't Sleep" and that Holmes had left the network.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Since December 29, 2012, Holmes has appeared on MSNBC on several occasions as a substitute anchor. He has appeared on "Weekends with Alex Witt" and "NewsNation with Tamron Hall".


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Starting on June 24, 2013, Holmes made a brief return to the Turner family of networks when he anchored coverage of the George Zimmerman trial.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: T. J. Holmes joined the ABC News Team on September 26, 2014, on a freelance/temporary basis, substituting on the overnight news program "World News Now" and "America This Morning", and filing reports for "Good Morning America" when news broke overnight, such that as it did on the day of his hiring; a career milestone that was made publicly official the next day by the "GMA Weekend" hosts. Like other WNN anchors, Holmes substituted on GMA as needed.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: On December 5, 2022, Holmes, along with his "GMA3" co-host Amy Robach, were taken off the air following the public disclosure of a romantic relationship between the two.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes is a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta and the National Association of Black Journalists. He is also on the Chancellor's Board of Advisors at the University of Arkansas and the Board of Visitors at Emory University in Atlanta.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes received the Young Alumni Award from the Arkansas Alumni Association at the University of Arkansas in 2007. In 2011, he was named to The Root 100 List of Most Influential Black Americans.


title: T. J. Holmes

text: Holmes was married to Amy Ferson; the two divorced in 2007. They have two children, daughter Brianna and son Jaiden. He then married Atlanta-area attorney, Marilee Fiebig on March 1, 2010, in Memphis, Tennessee. Their daughter, Sabine, was born in January 2013. The couple separated in August 2022, before his relationship with his "GMA3" co-host Amy Robach was revealed.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Mike Dean (born 2 June 1968) is a former English professional football referee and currently a video assistant referee (VAR) primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Heswall, Wirral, in North West England, and is a member of the Cheshire County Football Association.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Since his appointment as a Select Group referee in 2000, Dean has officiated a number of notable matches, including the FA Community Shield and the finals of the FA Cup, Football League Cup and FA Trophy.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean began refereeing in 1985. He progressed to officiate in the Northern Premier League as a referee, becoming a Football League assistant referee in 1995 and being promoted to the full referees' list in 1997.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean was appointed to the Select Group of referees for the Premier League in 2000, being subsequently promoted to the FIFA international referees' list in 2003. Also in 2003, he was fourth official to Graham Barber at the FA Cup final held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, where Arsenal beat Southampton 1–0.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean took control of the 2004 FA Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium, a game which Arsenal won 3–1. He also refereed the FA Trophy final of that year.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean was originally appointed to referee the 2006 FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium on 13 May 2006 but the Football Association later replaced him with Alan Wiley after concerns were raised about Dean's ability to be impartial towards Liverpool, who are based near his hometown in Wirral. Dean made it to the Millennium Stadium eight days later though, when he refereed the Championship play-off final between Leeds United and Watford.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean's highest refereeing honour came on 17 May 2008 when he took charge of that year's FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City, with Trevor Massey and Martin Yerby as his assistants and Chris Foy as the fourth official. Dean issued three cautions during the match at Wembley Stadium, which was won 1–0 by Portsmouth.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: On 5 April 2009, in a South Wales derby between Cardiff City and Swansea City, Dean suffered a cut to the forehead resulting from what appeared to be a coin thrown by a Cardiff supporter. He later awarded Cardiff a penalty kick, which was converted to earn a draw for the home side. Cardiff's chairman Peter Ridsdale condemned the attack and said that the supporter would be given a lifelong ban if found guilty. A 24-year-old man was later convicted over the incident and given a three-year ban and £200 fine. No action was taken by the Football Association of Wales against Cardiff City.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: On 31 January 2011, Dean was appointed to referee the 2011 League Cup final between Arsenal and Birmingham City. Birmingham won the match 2–1, with an 89th-minute winning goal by Obafemi Martins. The Blues had taken the lead through Nikola Žigić, before Robin van Persie equalised for Arsenal. Dean issued five yellow cards during the course of the final.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: In January 2017, Dean was criticised after giving a straight red card to West Ham midfielder Sofiane Feghouli for a coming together with Manchester United defender Phil Jones, after which Jones writhed on the floor in apparent pain. The red card came after only 15 minutes and with the score at 0–0; Manchester United eventually won the game 2–0. Replays suggested that it was in fact Jones who had committed a dangerous challenge on Feghouli and was himself lucky not to have been sent off. Feghouli's red card was later rescinded.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: On 2 April 2019, during a game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at Molineux, Dean issued the 100th red card of his career as a Premier League referee to Manchester United's Ashley Young, making Dean the first referee in Premier League history to reach the 100 red cards milestone.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: In February 2021, Dean and his family received bomb threats following two controversial decisions which saw Dean give a red card to Southampton’s Jan Bednarek and West Ham’s Tomáš Souček in successive games, and asked not to officiate the following weekend Premier League fixtures. Both red cards were rescinded by the FA.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean made a cameo appearance as himself in Season 2, Episode 8 of the American television series Ted Lasso.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean's retirement was made known on 21 March 2022. He refereed his final game on Matchday 38 of the 2021–22 Premier League season. Chelsea won 2–1 against Watford in this game.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: On 16 August 2022, Dean was dropped as a video assistant referee (VAR) for a single round in the 2022–23 Premier League season after a controversial performance during a league fixture the day prior between Chelsea and Tottenham. The controversy surrounds Tottenham's first equaliser by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, first on his potential foul on Chelsea's Kai Havertz and subsequently his shot that led to the goal, with Tottenham's Richarlison standing in an offside position and potentially blocking Chelsea's Edouard Mendy line of vision. The other was Tottenham's Cristian Romero's hair pull on Chelsea's Marc Cucurella at the final moments of the game, a disallowed action that was reviewed by Dean as not being a foul, leading to Spurs' late equaliser by Harry Kane in the subsequent corner. Two days later on 18 August, Dean personally admitted his mistake in regards to the incident, adding that he should had asked Anthony Taylor, the referee during the fixture, to review the hair pull on the pitch-side monitor instead of carrying on.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean first international match came in 2004 when he was appointed to a friendly between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland at the Amsterdam Arena. The away side won 1–0 thanks to a Robbie Keane goal.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: On 30 September 2010, Dean refereed a Europa League group stage match between Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla. Early in the second half he showed a second yellow card to Dortmund player Marcel Schmelzer for diving.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean has also officiated European Championship qualifying matches. His first appointment was to the Euro 2008 group F qualifier between Iceland and Latvia on 13 October 2007. The game in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík ended with a 4–2 win for the visitors. Dean's next European Championship match was on 12 October 2010 when he oversaw a group A qualifier for Euro 2012 between Belgium and Austria in Brussels. The away team appeared to have secured a 3–2 victory but two Belgium goals on 87 and 89 minutes overturned that scoreline, only for ten-man Austria to score an injury-time equaliser to earn a 4–4 draw.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean stepped down from the FIFA international list at the end of 2013 at the mandatory retirement age of 45.


title: Mike Dean (referee)

text: Dean was born in Wirral, England, and played football as a goalkeeper in his Primary School. Dean pulled out of his school at age 18 and, soon after expressing his gain in weight, came into refereeing. He has been a supporter of Tranmere Rovers since childhood.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sandeep Singh Sidhu, known as Deep Sidhu (2 April 1984 – 15 February 2022) was an Indian actor, barrister and activist who worked in Punjabi language films. Sidhu started his film career with the Punjabi film "Ramta Jogi" which was produced by actor Dharmendra under his banner Vijayta Films.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sidhu was born on 2 April 1984, to a Punjabi family in Udekaran village of Muktsar district of Punjab. His father Sardar Surjit Singh Sidhu was a lawyer and his mother passed away when he was 4 years old. He has a brother called Surjit. He obtained a degree in law from Punjabi University in Patiala.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Prior to his separation, Deep Sidhu was married to Namrata Sidhu and they both had a daughter called Rahne. He then started dating actress Reena Rai.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Before starting his acting career Sidhu worked as a model, then as a lawyer. He practiced law only for a short time.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sidhu made his acting debut in "Ramta Jogi", which brought him the PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best male debut in Punjabi Cinema in 2016. He then made an even bigger impression in "Jora 10 Numbaria" (2017). He followed that with "Rang Panjab" (2018), "Saade Aale" (2018), "Desi" (2019) and "Jora: The Second Chapter" (2020).


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sidhu entered politics during the 2019 Indian general election when he campaigned for Gurdaspur BJP MP Sunny Deol. He was said to be close to Deol and in December 2020, during the farmers protest, farmer unions used Sidhu's pictures with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sunny Deol to show the link of BJP and RSS in protests—a claim which was later denied by Sidhu.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: The farmer unions blamed Sidhu and gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana for instigating a riot and hoisting a religious flag on Red Fort during the 2021 Farmers' Republic Day parade. Sidhu and Sadana were also booked by the police. In a preliminary investigation by the police, they said in a statement "there was a pre-conceived and well-coordinated plan to break the agreement between the Delhi Police and the leaders of protesting organizations."


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sidhu was arrested on 9 February 2021 in a police case related to violence at the Red Fort. Sidhu pleaded innocence in the case and claimed he was not involved in any violence nor did he incite others. Sidhu claimed he was peacefully exercising his right to protest and was implicated as he was a "popular face" present "at the wrong place at the wrong time".


title: Deep Sidhu

text: After his bail plea was approved, he was arrested a second time on a police case filed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). ASI had accused Sidhu of damaging the monument and vandalism by the rioters. His lawyer denounced the second arrest after bail as unconstitutional. He was released on bail on 16 April 2021.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: In September Sidhu formed a political organisation named "Waris Punjab De" that would work to get the farmers their rights from the Union government. Before his death, he campaigned for far-right leader Simranjit Singh Mann and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).


title: Deep Sidhu

text: Sidhu met with a road accident on 15 February 2022, at the age of 37. The accident occurred on the Kundli-Manesar highway, in Haryana's Kharkhoda area, near Delhi. Sidhu was driving his car (a Mahindra Scorpio) towards Punjab. There were two people in the car; the passenger was his girlfriend, Punjabi film actress Reena Rai, survived with injuries.


title: Deep Sidhu

text: According to Sonipat police, Sidhu died around 9 p.m. near the Peepli toll booth, after his car hit the rear end of a truck parked on the highway. The truck had broken down on the side of the road. The driver side of the car took the maximum impact of the crash. Sidhu was declared dead at the hospital.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: Ukraine on Fire is a documentary film directed by Igor Lopatonok and premiered at the 2016 Taormina Film Fest. It features Oliver Stone, the executive producer, interviewing figures surrounding the 2014 Ukrainian revolution such as Viktor Yanukovich and Vladimir Putin. The central thesis of the film is that the events that led to the flight of Yanukovych in February 2014 were a coup d'état led by the USA with the help of far-right Ukrainian factions.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: The film starts with an historical overview, detailing events such as the Cossack Hetmanate, World War I and the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, the incorporation of Western Ukraine into the USSR, the Great Patriotic War, Ukrainian collaborationism in World War II, the events in Babi Yar, the Volyn massacre and the guerilla war of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army up to the mid 1950s. During the Cold War, the CIA maintained contact with Ukrainian nationalists in order to have possible channels for counterintelligence towards the USSR. The film presents Mykola Lebed, who was allowed to enter the USA, while Stepan Bandera was hiding as Stefan Popel in Munich, where he was assassinated in 1959 and thus became the symbol of Ukrainian nationalists, although he was not the most influential leader compared to Dmytro Dontsov, Andriy Melnyk and Roman Shukhevych. The film covers the development in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the "crazy 1990s", in which the free market and poorly regulated privatizations of state assets gave rise to oligarchs, while the standard of living declined among the general public. The documentary recounts the development of far-right politics in Ukraine. In 1991, Oleh Tyahnybok founded a radical national party Svoboda. Dmytro Yarosh founded another far-right organization Trysub (Trident) in 1994, which later merged into Right Sector. In 2004, the nonviolent Orange Revolution took place; in the film's depiction, it was a neck-and-neck race between presidential candidates Viktor Yanukovych (east-leaning) and Viktor Yushchenko (west-leaning). Yushchenko won the election after it had to be repeated due to massive electoral fraud, but disappointed during his term and was not re-elected in 2010; that year his former political opponent came to power.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: The historical retrospective is followed by Oliver Stone's interviews with Viktor Yanukovych and Vladimir Putin, in which they explain the situation in 2013 regarding the trade agreement with the European Union and why negotiations were paused. Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko adds that there was information that protests were already prepared for 2015, which were brought forward by the opposition due to the current situation with the EU agreement. The initially peaceful protests were supported by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Robert Parry claimed that there are NGOs funded by US government money that represent their interests, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The protest movement on the Maidan also received support from Mustafa Nayyem, a media veteran, notably through an appeal via Facebook on 21 November 2013. In those days, three TV channels were established that focused on Maidan coverage: SPILNO.TV, hromadske.tv and Espreso TV. In the early days, the protests were peaceful, although the documentary claims that radical elements were already appearing. On 24 November, the level of aggression began to rise with the storming of a government building by protesters. On 30 November a violent eviction of the Maidan was carried out by the police, presumably on the orders of Oleksandr Popov and Serhiy Lyovochkin (ostensibly to install the annual Christmas tree in the square). The film also claims that the side of the demonstrators, there were young men who were ready to use violence and provoked the riot police with stones and flares. Among them were Right Sector activists who, according to Richard Parry, were brought to Kiev on the Maidan to "muscle" the peaceful demonstrations, which became more violent.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: From December 1 onwards, the film shows the Maidan protests - supported by TV coverage - gaining momentum. An armament took place on the side of the demonstrators: with baseball bats, metal pipes and also using construction vehicles. Yanukovych claims in an interview that these escalation techniques had been planned in advance. The film shows leaflets from other world regions that gave tips on how to prepare for a confrontation with the riot police. The symbol of the outstretched fist is presented as a common meme. Funding of the preparations through foundations such as George Soros' Renaissance Foundation is suspected, the appearance of US politicians (Chris Murphy, John McCain) on the Maidan is shown. The US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, also regularly received representatives of Maidan groups. The intercepted telephone conversation between him and the Assistant Secretary of State at the US State Department, Victoria Nuland, which took place in early February 2014 and in which both discuss a restructuring of the Ukrainian government bench, is presented in the film. Parry describes the strategy of the neocons who are interested in regime change: They demonise the political leadership and put their personal weaknesses in the foreground without taking a closer look at their policies - a black-and-white painting is preferred to shades of grey.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: The film introduces the concept of the holy sacrifice: Tetiana Chornovol, who was beaten up at Christmas, and Serhiy Nigoyan, who was shot on 22 January, were useful as Maidan martyrs in the sense of perpetuating tensions. A month later, the gun violence escalated, with deaths on both sides starting on 20 February. Shooting took place from the conservatory, among other places, which was under the control of the demonstrators. Andriy Parubiy is presented as the Maidan commander or leader of the radical opposition. Vitali Klitschko is also shown as an opposition politician calling on the Maidan demonstrators to persevere. Foreign Ministers of France, Laurent Fabius, Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Poland, Radosław Sikorski, mediate in the negotiations between President Yanukovych and the opposition parties. However, the agreement was not seen as binding by Right Sector activists as long as Yanukovych was still in office. Yanukovych came to the conclusion that a coup was in full swing and could no longer be stopped - he left the country by helicopter via Kharkiv, arriving in Russia on 24 February. The official residence and his residence were occupied by armed groups, the (empty) presidential motorcade had been fired upon.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: After Yanukovych fled, the film shows Oleksandr Turchynov as newly appointed interim president. The impeachment procedure concerning Yanukovych is criticized as not in accordance with the constitution: the required three-quarters majority of 450 members of parliament would have required 338 votes; only 328 votes in favour of impeachment had been collected. Because the US State Department welcomed the new government as legitimate, this status quo had been cemented. Sergei Aksyonov became prime minister of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Shortly afterwards, a referendum in the pro-Russian Crimea decided on secession to Russia. In this context, the film mentions NATO's eastward expansion, which Russia views with concern. In spring 2014, protests arose in eastern Ukraine against the new government in Kiev. One point of criticism was the status of the Russian language in Ukraine. On 6 April, government buildings were occupied by demonstrators and then the Donetsk People's Republic was declared, to which the central government in Kiev responded with a so-called anti-terrorist operation. Furthermore, the riots in Odessa at the beginning of May 2014 are mentioned, in which the trade union house was set on fire and in which many anti-Maidan demonstrators died. On 30 May 2015, the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, was appointed as the new governor of Odessa Oblast. The film deals with the downing of the airliner MH 17 over the civil war zone in eastern Ukraine, in the wake of which sanctions against Russia were tightened. The concept of the Doomsday Clock is presented, which indicated '3 to 12' in 2015, partly due to the modernisation of the nuclear arsenal.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: The film premiered at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy on 16 June 2016; thereafter, it did not receive a general theatrical release but was published as DVD on 18 July 2017. Later, the documentary became also available in the video on demand market via Apple TV and Amazon Prime and since June 2021 also on YouTube.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: In March 2022, it was reported that the documentary had been removed from YouTube and Vimeo. YouTube explained they "removed this video for violating our violent or graphic content policy, which prohibits content containing footage of corpses with massive injuries, such as severed limbs"; subsequently, the film was uploaded to Rumble for free viewing. As of 12 March 2022, the documentary was again available on YouTube, this time with a content warning attached.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: Rod Dreher, writing for the "American Conservative", gave this impression: "I expected 'Ukraine On Fire' to be propaganda, and indeed it was. But that doesn't mean it is entirely a lie, and in any case, it's important to know how the other side regards a conflict, if only to understand how they are likely thinking." He confirmed that some NGO are in the political change business as seen personally observed in Hungary and argues against a black hat vs. white hat interpretation of the situation. According to his assessment, the argument by Mearsheimer and Kennan, that the West has pushed Ukraine and Russia towards an escalating crisis, needs some consideration (not full endorsement) in order to understand the complexity of the situation.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: Andrew Roth, writing from Moscow for "The Guardian", observed that "Ukraine on Fire" is part of "a series of documentary projects featuring Stone about Russia and Ukraine that reflect a strongly pro-Kremlin worldview", remarking further that "Stone has noted that the films, which are strongly critical of the 2014 maidan revolution and have been attacked as propaganda vehicles, are very popular in Russia."


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: , University of Toronto's 'Chair of Ukrainian Studies', writer for Kyiv Post, and author of several books on Ukrainian history, strongly criticized Stone's pro-Russian bias. He suggested to "peruse Karen Dawisha’s book Putin's Kleptocracy (2013) and some of Andrew Wilson’s and Timothy Snyder’s books on Ukraine". While Velychenko does not deny the possible involvement of the CIA and assesses that this is to be expected in normal international relations, he allocates only a minor role to them compared to domestic political forces and argues that the focus on external forces only will lead to apologetics or conspiracy theories.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: Antonio Armano, an Italian journalist covering Eastern Europe, criticized that the film does not mention either Stalin's dekulakization or Holodomor, which may explain why the Nazi occupation during World War II was seen by some Ukrainians as welcomed liberation. Comparing "Ukraine of Fire" with the documentary "Winter on Fire" released one year earlier (and portrayed the 2014 revolution positively), he stated that "Ukraine on Fire" is a "less narrative and emotional" journalistic product, while "Winter of Fire" is "hagiographic, partial and a bit naïve", but manages to stay out of the realm of conspiracies. According to Armano, the main message of "Ukraine on Fire" is to avoid a new Cold War between the United States and Russia with the potential for nuclear confrontation.


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: James Kirchick of "The Daily Beast" called the documentary a "dictator suckup", noting that "Yanukovych ceased being president on 22 February 2014 because he fled Kiev, rendering himself incapable of performing his presidential duties under the Ukrainian constitution. Over three-quarters of the country’s parliament, including many members of Yanukovych’s own party, voted effectively to impeach him that day", and "It is astoundingly patronizing for Stone to lecture Ukrainians—thousands of whom have fought and died defending their dismembered country from an all-out invasion by their much more powerful neighbor—about what they do and do not know about Viktor Yanukovych, Russia and the potential for a new Cold War".


title: Ukraine on Fire

text: Pavel Shekhtman, a Russian dissident wanted by Russian authorities on charges of extremism, also called the documentary "undistilled Kremlin propaganda", arguing among others that from the main Ukrainian political figures described as neo-Nazis by Oliver Stone, only Oleh Tyahnybok resorted to xenophobia and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Tyahnybok's ultranationalist party, Svoboda, subsequently lost most of their seats in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: The Men Who Built America (also known as The Innovators: The Men Who Built America in some international markets) is an eight-hour, four-part miniseries docudrama which was originally broadcast on the History Channel in autumn 2012, and on the History Channel UK in fall 2013. The series focuses on the lives of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford. It tells how their industrial innovations and business empires revolutionized modern society. The series is directed by Patrick Reams and Ruán Magan and is narrated by Campbell Scott. It averaged 2.6 million total viewers (1.2 million adults 25–54 and 1 million adults 18–49) across four nights.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: Note: The series consists of eight one-hour episodes; for TV they were combined into four two-hour episodes.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: Neil Genzlinger from "The New York Times" observed that the series did not contain startling revelations about its principal subjects, although certainly gave them a modern-day relevance.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: Linda Holmes writing for NPR ridiculed the series for dull presentation, corny re-enactments and ineffective narration. She criticized the production for feeling "a lot like a tricked-out version of an elementary school filmstrip" and suggested that the series might be popular among those who accepted Donald Trump as one of the experts.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: Geoff Berkshire from "Variety" criticized the series for "overblown recreations backed by bombastic music, combined with tepid performances by the re-enactors and rudimentary writing". Mentioning the series' "ostentatious style [that] begins to grate within the first 30 minutes", he scorned "the talking heads [that] simply feel like filler" and the particular style of padding out the runtime when "the viewers are subjected to the customary recap of the previous segment after every ad break." He concluded that unlike the game-changing icons it intended to celebrate, the series failed to leave its mark.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: Verne Gay from "Newsday" gave the series "C" grade for "self-serving, obvious or of the fortune cookie variety" tips dispensed by the guests and for the lack of subtlety and historic context. On another hand, he praised the well-produced, although often static, recreations.


title: The Men Who Built America

text: On Metacritic the series has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: The Men Who Built America

text: The miniseries has been released by The History Channel on January 22, 2013, in a three-disc set in both DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for from 1987 to 2007. Cardin served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1979 to 1987, the youngest person to hold the position in history. In his half-century career as an elected official, he has never lost an election.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin was elected as U.S. Senator to succeed Paul Sarbanes in 2006, defeating Republican Michael Steele, the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, by a margin of 54% to 44%. He was reelected in 2012 taking 56% of the vote. He became Maryland's senior U.S. senator on January 3, 2017, upon Barbara Mikulski's retirement. Cardin won reelection to a third term in 2018, taking 65% of the vote.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Benjamin Louis Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The family name was originally "Kardonsky", before it was changed to "Cardin". Cardin's grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His grandfather, Benjamin Green, operated a neighborhood grocery store that later turned into a wholesale food distribution company. His mother, Dora (Green), was a schoolteacher, and his father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates (1935–1937) and later sat on the Baltimore City Supreme Bench (1961–1977).


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin and his family attended the Modern Orthodox Beth Tfiloh Congregation near their home, with which the family had been affiliated for three generations. Cardin attended City College High School, graduating in 1961. In 1964, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree "cum laude" from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967, graduating first in his class. Cardin was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year, and joined the private practice of Rosen and Esterson until 1978.


title: Ben Cardin

text: While still in law school, Cardin was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in November 1966. He held the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin, who had decided to not run for re-election so that his nephew could instead pursue the seat. He was chairman of the Ways & Means Committee from 1974 to 1979, then served as the 103rd Speaker of the House until he left office. At age 35, he was the youngest Speaker in Maryland history at the time. As Speaker, he was involved with reform efforts involving Maryland's property tax system, school financing formula, and ethical standards for elected officials.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 1986, with Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski mounting what would be a successful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Charles Mathias, Cardin ran for Mikulski's seat representing the 3rd congressional district, which covered a large slice of inner Baltimore, as well as several close-in suburbs. Cardin won the Democratic nomination with 82 percent of the vote—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. He won the general election with 79 percent of the vote against a perennial candidate, Republican Ross Z. Pierpont.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin served as one of the House impeachment managers that successfully prosecuted the case in the 1989 impeachment trial of Judge Walter Nixon.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin was reelected nine times, rarely facing serious opposition and even running unopposed in 1992. In the 2000 round of redistricting, his district was redrawn to add significant portions of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis. His last two opponents hailed from Anne Arundel and nearly carried the district's portion of that county.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In the House, Cardin was involved with fiscal issues, pension reform, and health care. His legislation to increase the amount individuals can store in their 401k plans and IRAs was passed in 2001. His bill to expand Medicare to include preventive benefits such as colorectal, prostate, mammogram, and osteoporosis screening was also enacted. He also authored legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit for chronic illnesses; fund graduate medical education; and guarantee coverage for emergency services.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin has also advocated, via proposed legislation, welfare reform. His bill to increase education and support services for foster children between ages 18 and 21 was signed into law in 1999. He authored bills to expand child support, improve the welfare-to-work program, and increase the child care tax credit.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 1998, Cardin was appointed Chairman of the Special Study Commission on Maryland Public Ethics Law by the Maryland General Assembly. In 1997, he co-chaired the Bipartisan Ethics Task Force in an effort to reform ethics procedures in the House of Representatives. He also held leadership positions on the Organization, Study and Review Committee and the Steering Committee of the House Democratic Caucus, and served as Senior Democratic Whip.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin has been commended for his work with fiscal policy. He has been honored by "Worth" magazine and by "Treasury and Risk Management" for his work protecting retirement plans and government-supported medical care for the elderly. He has also received scores of 100 percent from the League of Conservation Voters and the NAACP, indicating stances that are in favor of environmental protection and civil rights. Cardin was also one of 133 members of Congress to vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution.


title: Ben Cardin

text: On April 26, 2005, Cardin announced that he would seek the U.S. Senate seat of long-standing senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), following the announcement by Sarbanes that he would not be running for re-election in 2006. On September 12, 2006, Cardin faced a challenging primary battle with other Maryland Democrats, including Allan Lichtman, Josh Rales, Dennis F. Rasmussen, and his former House colleague Kweisi Mfume. Cardin won, however, with 44 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Mfume, five percent for Rales, and two percent for Rasmussen.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin won election on November 7, 2006, defeating Republican challenger Michael Steele 54 percent to 44 percent. Cardin became the third consecutive Representative from Maryland's 3rd congressional district to be elected Senator (following Sarbanes and Mikulski). John Sarbanes, Paul's son, succeeded Cardin in the 3rd district.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin ran for re-election to a second term in 2012. He turned back a primary challenge from State Senator C. Anthony Muse, defeating him 74% to 16%, with seven other candidates taking the remaining 10%.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In the general election, he faced Republican Dan Bongino, a former United States Secret Service agent, Independent Rob Sobhani, an economist and businessman, and Libertarian Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute. Cardin easily won the election, taking 56% of the vote to Bongino's 26.3%, Sobhani's 16.4% and Ahmad's 1%.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count when the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol happened. Cardin was on the Senate chamber floor when the rioters breached the Capitol. He was "ushered quickly — and I do mean quickly — away from the Capitol" after Vice President Mike Pence was removed from the chambers. During the storming, while Cardin hid with other senators in a safe location, he tweeted, blaming President Donald Trump for encouraging the rioters. He called for Trump to stop the protestors so the event would end "peacefully." Cardin also compared the police involvement during the storming to that seen during Black Lives Matter protests, calling it a "stark contrast." After the Capitol was secure, Cardin joined Congress to certify the count. After, he said that Trump should be held accountable for the insurrection and called for Republican leaders to tell Trump that he needs to resign. Two days later, on January 8, Cardin called for the invocation of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution or impeachment to remove Trump.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 2015, Cardin became the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the departure of Senator Robert Menendez as ranking Democrat and Chairman. Two weeks after Menendez departure, Cardin was credited with facilitating achievement of a unanimous committee vote in favor of the markup for the bill on the USA's involvement in the negotiations with Iran on nuclear technology.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin has been a Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) since 1993, serving as Ranking Member from 2003 to 2006. He subsequently served two terms as co-chair of the commission, from 2007 to 2008, and 2011 to 2012; and also two terms as chair, from 2009 to 2010, and 2013 to 2014. From 2015 to 2016 he was again ranking member. In 2006 he was elected vice president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, and served through 2014.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin holds honorary degrees from several institutions, including the University of Baltimore School of Law (1990); University of Maryland, Baltimore (1993); Baltimore Hebrew University (1994); Goucher College (1996); and Villa Julie College (2007).


title: Ben Cardin

text: From 1988 to 1995, he chaired the Maryland Legal Services Corp. Through much of his political career, he has continued to work with law policy.


title: Ben Cardin

text: From 1988 to 1999, Cardin served on the St. Mary's College of Maryland Board of Trustees, and in 2002, he was appointed to the St. Mary's Advisory Board for the Study of Democracy. In 1999, he was appointed to the Goucher College Board of Trustees.


title: Ben Cardin

text: On a list by "Congressional Quarterly" of the members of Congress who were most supportive of President Barack Obama's legislative agenda in 2009, Cardin was tied for fifth most supportive senator with five other senators. In 2013, "National Journal" rated him as tied with six other Democratic senators for fifth most liberal Senator. The American Conservative Union gave him a 4% lifetime conservative rating in 2020.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In June 2019, Cardin and eighteen other Democratic senators sent a letter to USDA Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong with the request that the IG investigate USDA instances of retaliation and political decision-making and asserted that not conducting an investigation would mean these "actions could be perceived as a part of this administration's broader pattern of not only discounting the value of federal employees, but suppressing, undermining, discounting, and wholesale ignoring scientific data produced by their own qualified scientists."


title: Ben Cardin

text: In March 2019, Cardin was one of six senators to sign a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting it "use its rulemaking authority, along with other tools, in order to combat the scourge of non-compete clauses rigging our economy against workers" and espousing the view that such provisions "harm employees by limiting their ability to find alternate work, which leaves them with little leverage to bargain for better wages or working conditions with their immediate employer." The senators furthered that the FTC had the responsibility of protecting both consumers and workers and needed to "act decisively" to address their concerns over "serious anti-competitive harms from the proliferation of non-competes in the economy."


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 2007, Cardin supported the United States Public Service Academy Act. The Act would serve to create "an undergraduate institution devoted to developing civilian leaders." Like the Military Academies, this would give students 4 years of tuition-free education in exchange for 5 years of public service upon graduation.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Liberal environmentalists criticized Cardin for compromising too much while working with conservative James Inhofe on an amendment to Cardin's Chesapeake Bay legislation. Josh Saks, senior legislative representative for water resources campaigns with the National Wildlife Federation, praised Cardin as "the lead voice for clean water and the restoration of America's great waters in Congress."


title: Ben Cardin

text: In November 2018, Cardin was one of twenty-five Democratic senators to cosponsor a resolution specifying key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment. The resolution affirmed the senators' acceptance of the findings and their support for bold action toward addressing climate change.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In March 2019, Cardin was one of eleven senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019, legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would have the responsibility for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic, which had been dismantled by President Trump in 2017. The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In October 2018, Cardin cosponsored, together with Chris Van Hollen and Susan Collins, a bipartisan bill that if passed would block "any persons from foreign adversaries from owning or having control over vendors administering U.S. elections." Protect Our Elections Act would make companies involved in administering elections reveal foreign owners, and informing local, state and federal authorities if said ownership changes. Companies failing to comply would face fines of $100,000.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 2013, he co-sponsored the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act in an effort to ban large-capacity ammunition.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In response to the Orlando nightclub shooting, Cardin questioned the legality of military style assault weapons stating that "in my observations in Maryland, I don't know too many people who need to have that type of weapon in order to do hunting in my state or to keep themselves safe."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin opposed the 2016 sale of approximately 26,000 assault rifles to the national police of the Philippines. His opposition led to the U.S. State Department halting the sale.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Cardin stated that thoughts and prayers were not going to save more people from dying in mass shootings. He also made a call for action to change gun laws, stating on Twitter that "Automatic weapons aren't needed to hunt deer or ducks; they're meant to kill people." In response to the shooting, Cardin sponsored Dianne Feinstein's proposal to ban bump stocks, which were used by the shooter to kill 58 individuals and injure over 500.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In July 2019, Cardin and Rob Portman introduced the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, a bill that would create a new memorial that would be privately funded and constructed on federal lands within Washington, D.C. in order to honor journalists, photographers, and broadcasters that have died in the line of duty.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In the 111th Congress, Cardin helped secure dental benefits in the State Children's Health Insurance Plan.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In August 2019, Cardin was one of nineteen senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration in order to aid in the comprehension of states and Congress on potential consequences in the event that the Texas v. United States Affordable Care Act (ACA) lawsuit prevailed in courts, citing that an overhaul of the present health care system would form "an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets".


title: Ben Cardin

text: In October 2019, Cardin was one of twenty-seven senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer advocating for the passage of the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act, which was set to expire the following month. The senators warned that if the funding for the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) was allowed to expire, it "would cause an estimated 2,400 site closures, 47,000 lost jobs, and threaten the health care of approximately 9 million Americans."


title: Ben Cardin

text: In April 2019, Cardin was one of forty-one senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that President Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators wrote of their hope that the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.


title: Ben Cardin

text: On October 31, 2011, Cardin endorsed the proposal for the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA). He is one of only six persons who served as members of the United States Congress ever to do so and is the only one who did so while in office.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin has often supported positions that aim to strengthen America's relationship with Israel. In 2017, Cardin sponsored a bill, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), that would penalize commercial businesses that wanted to aid International NGOs and/or organizations in boycotting Israel.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Weeks after the 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign and Umbrella Movement broke out which demands genuine universal suffrage among other goals, Cardin among bipartisan colleagues joined U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Rep. Chris Smith's effort to introduce Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act which would update the United States–Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and U.S. commitment to Hong Kong's freedom and democracy. "Civil society and democratic freedoms are under attack around the world and Hong Kong is on the front lines. The United States has a responsibility to protect human rights and defend against these threats," Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee said.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In July 2017, Cardin voted in favor of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran together with Russia and North Korea. On October 11, 2017, in a joint statement, Cardin and Senator John McCain questioned the Trump administration's commitment to the sanctions bill.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In October 2017, Cardin condemned the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and called for a stronger response to the crisis.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In August 2018, Cardin and 16 other lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials who are responsible for human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China's Xinjiang region. They wrote: "The detention of as many as a million or more Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in 'political reeducation' centers or camps requires a tough, targeted, and global response."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin condemned President Erdoğan's wide-ranging crackdown on dissent following a failed July 2016 coup in America's NATO ally Turkey.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In April 2019, Cardin was one of thirty-four senators to sign a letter to President Trump encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America", asserting that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since becoming president and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" through preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding. The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S., citing the funding's helping to improve conditions in those countries.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin supports Net Neutrality, as shown by his vote during the 109th Congress in favor of the Markey Amendment to H.R. 5252 which would add Net Neutrality provisions to the federal telecommunications code. Cardin also supports Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which gives DOJ the tools to target those site owners who are engaged in illegal digital piracy.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin is opposed to eliminating the tax deduction for charitable donations and supports raising taxes on higher-income earners. During a December 20, 2012, interview with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC, Cardin stated, "We're now a few days away from Christmas. The easiest way to get the revenues is to get the rates from the higher income, uh, taxpayers." In response to the question, "Are you prepared to vote to limit the loophole of charitable deductions?" Cardin responded, "No."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin has, on multiple occasions, introduced a bill to adopt a "Progressive Consumption Tax", which is a variation of Michael J. Graetz's Competitive Tax Plan. This tax reform would abolish income tax for a large portion of American taxpayers, replacing the lost revenue with a 10% value-added tax. As of 2022, the Progressive Consumption Tax has not made it out of committee.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin spoke out after the Pandora Papers were revealed in 2021. Cardin said, "The Pandora Papers are a wake-up call to all who care about the future of democracy. Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, it is time for democracies to band together and demand an end to the unprecedented corruption that has come to be the defining feature of the global order. We must purge the dirty money from our systems and deny kleptocrats safe haven."


title: Ben Cardin

text: In November 2011, Cardin's intended update of the 1917 Espionage Act upset some public disclosure advocates. They complained that it "would make it harder for federal employees to expose government fraud and abuse."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin is a co-sponsor of a Senate resolution expressing objection to the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of international law. Cardin said that "Congress will take action against efforts at the UN, or beyond, that use Resolution 2334 to target Israel."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin supported President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He stated: "Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel and the location of the US Embassy should reflect this fact."


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) proposed the Israel Anti-Boycott Act in late 2018 which would make it illegal for companies to engage in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories. The bill would expand the Export Administration Act (EAA) to foreign boycotts imposed by international organizations like the European Union, Arab League and the United Nations. Cardin and Portman were strongly in promotion of the bill, and worked to integrate it into larger spending legislation to be signed by then-President Trump.


title: Ben Cardin

text: Cardin married high school sweetheart Myrna Edelman, a teacher, on November 24, 1964. They have a daughter, Deborah. Their son Michael (Born ) died of suicide on March 24, 1998 at age 30.


title: Ben Cardin

text: In 2002, Cardin's 32-year-old nephew, Jon S. Cardin, was elected as a Delegate representing the 11th district of western Baltimore County. With the 11th legislative district overlapping the 3rd congressional district, there were two Cardin's on the ticket in this area in 2002. Present at Jon's swearing in was the oldest living former member of the House of Delegates at 95 years of age, Meyer Cardin, Jon's grandfather and Ben's father. Also in attendance was Cardin, who remarked, "The next generation's taking over."


title: Ben Cardin

text: For many years Cardin served on the board of trustees for St. Mary's College of Maryland. He was very active on the board and also played key roles in the establishment of the Center for the Study of Democracy at the college, where he also served on the advisory board.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Ronald David Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. Known for his punching power, crowd-pleasing fighting style, and his courage and determination in the ring, Lyle defeated Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena, Jimmy Ellis, Vicente Rondón, Earnie Shavers, Joe Bugner, and Scott LeDoux, but is best known for his fight against George Foreman in 1976, which was voted Fight of the Year by "The Ring" magazine.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle was born the third of 19 children to William and Nellie Lyle of Dayton, Ohio. In 1954, they moved to Denver, Colorado, where his father got a job as a sandblaster at Buckley Air Force Base. Growing up in the housing projects on the city's northeast side, Lyle associated with street gangs and at 19, after dropping out of Manual High School, Lyle was involved in the shooting death of a 21-year-old gang rival. Lyle argued he was being attacked with a lead pipe and was not the one who pulled the trigger, but he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15-to-25 years in the Colorado State Penitentiary. He nearly died on an operating table there after being stabbed by another inmate, but survived after 36 blood transfusions. In solitary confinement for 90 days afterward, he began doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and other exercises, and he trained regularly from then on.


title: Ron Lyle

text: While in prison, Lyle, then age 26, enlisted the African-American self-help group named Black Cultural Development Society (BCDS,) and coached the group's football team, "The Wildcats", leading them to a championship among the inter-prison teams. He also played with the "Canon City Rockbusters".


title: Ron Lyle

text: He first attended a prison boxing event on July 4, 1962, as a spectator, where he decided he could compete as well. His prison boxing debut came in 1964. Lyle credited Lt. Cliff Mattax, the athletic director at the prison, with getting him interested in boxing. Although when Mattax first approached Lyle, and tried to befriend him, he wasn't welcomed, "Man, you're a screw and I'm a convict. I came here by myself and I'll leave the same way." But after recovering from the stab-wound, he changed his mind. "It was the turning point of my life. Mattax was white, and he wore a badge, but he really cared. He believed in me and my ability. Right then I decided to be a success," Lyle said later. Mattax in turn said: "I don't like to take any credit for what happened, but Ron turned into a real gentleman."


title: Ron Lyle

text: He watched boxing on TV and said, "I can do better than that," and soon the prison was bringing in boxers for him to fight. "They had fight cards in prison. I sat around watching them for a while and finally said to myself, 'I can do that,'" Lyle said. In his first match for the prison boxing team, Lyle was said to be defeated by Texas Johnson. He never lost a prison boxing match again, however. According to Colorado State' Warden Wayne K. Patterson, Lyle was a "natural born athlete."


title: Ron Lyle

text: During the remainder of his sentence, he had around twenty-five unaccounted amateur fights, losing only once, and winning six heavyweight titles for inmates.


title: Ron Lyle

text: By 1969 Lyle was eligible for parole, but twice he was turned down. He was told that a professional boxing career was not a suitable parole plan. Fortunately, his fame had spread to Denver, where the Denver Rocks boxing team had just joined the short-lived International Boxing League. Bill Daniels, a cable television executive, president of American Basketball Association and owner of the Denver Rocks boxing team and the Utah Stars basketball team, offered Lyle an official job as a welder with a firm he owned, and on Sunday, November 9, 1969, Lyle was released from prison on parole. He was released after serving 7½ years. The next morning he showed up at the Rocks' Gym in Denver (later known as Elks Gym,) and was trying out with the Rocks. He made the team, and in the succeeding fifteen months, before turning pro, he won a number of tournaments. He was paroled on November 22, 1969, and later he was given a full pardon by the Governor John Arthur Love.


title: Ron Lyle

text: "I asked around about the Rocks. They told me they already had a heavyweight (Richard Archuletta and Dan Hermosillo). I figured I could whip him so I stuck around." They were trained by the well-known boxing veteran Bobby Lewis. Less than a month later, Lyle made his amateur debut with the team, avenged an earlier Rocks' heavyweight loss and became the team's heavyweight at 215 pounds. Lyle's first amateur victory was a third-round knockout over Fred Houpe (who would later be Leon Spinks's final opponent). He was the 1970 National AAU Heavyweight Champion (outpointed previously unbeaten Mike Montgomery of Philadelphia), the 1970 North American Amateur Heavyweight Champion, and the 1970 International Boxing League Heavyweight Champion. After capturing the NAA title, Lyle became a member of the United States National Boxing Team, as he was still on parole he was given permission to leave the U.S., and dispatched on a boxing journey across Europe, visiting Italy, Yugoslavia, and Romania and meeting top local heavyweights in the process. He lost by decision to Romanian Ion Alexe, but pounded Soviet Armenian heavyweight Kamo Saroyan (89–9) against the ropes (referee interrupted and saved Saroyan from further pounding) in a match broadcast by ABC television's Wide World of Sports, preparing for which he quit his regular job, and dispatched of Duane Bobick, which took the latter's corner five minutes to bring him back into consciousness. No American before Lyle knocked out a Soviet heavyweight. Fighting Bobick to make it to the national team, Lyle was behind on judges' scorecards, and when he fought Saroyan, he again was behind on points, which nonetheless didn't stop him from knocking out both. On January 25, 1971, Lyle fought his last fight as an amateur, knocking out the Pacific Northwest Golden Gloves heavyweight champion Jim Wahlberg. Meanwhile, two world's top-ranked heavyweights, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, were preparing themselves for the "Fight of the Century". In February, Lyle visited both rival camps. First he went to Miami Beach, Florida, where the Ali's training camp was based, to spar several rounds with Ali. Then he went to Catskill, New York, to the Frazier's camp, but Yancey Durham, Frazier's manager, did not approve Lyle as a sparring partner, instead he went against one of already selected Frazier's sparring partners, a professional boxer from Chicago (Frazier reportedly has invited Lyle for a two-round exhibition at Kiamesha Lake, New York, on January 19, but Lyle was busy qualifying to fight the Soviet.)


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Chicago match-up (Denver Rocks vs. Chicago Clippers), Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado, December 1969:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Eastern–Western Division match-up (Kentucky Pacers vs. Denver Rocks), Memorial Auditorium, Louisville, Kentucky, January 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Milwaukee match-up (Denver Rocks vs. Milwaukee Bombers), Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado, January 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Detroit–Denver (Detroit Dukes vs. Denver Rocks), Community Arts Building, State Fairgrounds, Detroit, Michigan, April 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Miami match-up (Denver Rocks vs. Miami Barracudas), Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado, April 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Louisville match-up (Denver Rocks vs. Kentucky Pacers), Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado, June 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Mexico Exhibition (Denver Rocks vs. all-star Mexican team), State Fair Grounds, Pueblo, Colorado, August 1970:


title: Ron Lyle

text: IBL Denver–Seattle match-up (Denver Rocks vs. the Pacific Northwest team), Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado, January 1971:


title: Ron Lyle

text: His amateur career outside of prison lasted only 14 months, during which he compiled a record of 25–4 (no stoppages,) with 17 knockouts at national and international contests. (plus unaccounted record of 23–1, 15 KOs, and also without a stoppage, while serving seven-and-a-half-years prison term, bringing his overall amateur record to around 47–5.) During his amateur days he was never knocked down or cut. Lyle was an obvious choice for the 1971 Pan American Games and the 1972 Olympics, but as he stepped into the pro ranks, Duane Bobick, whom he knocked out twice, was set to represent the United States.


title: Ron Lyle

text: On February 24, 1971, Lyle, age 30, signed a professional boxing contract with Bill Daniels. "Daniels told me ‘You fight this Russian in January and we'll turn you pro.’ This was the door that had to be opened, whuppin' the Russian. So I quit my job and trained for six months. I wasn't going to get beat because I wasn't in shape," Lyle recalled. Daniels, in turn, said of Lyle that, "The reason Ron has adjusted is that he's got a talent, something he knows he's good at and can dedicate himself to."


title: Ron Lyle

text: After he turned pro, Lyle visited his fellow inmates in prison the day before or after each and every professional fight.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle had a very late start in professional boxing. He turned professional under Bill Daniels, with trainer Bobby Lewis. His first fight was at the age of 30 in Denver, Colorado, against A. J. Staples, which he won by knockout in the second round. Lyle went on to post a 19–0 record with 17 knockouts, and became the 5th rated heavyweight contender. He scored impressive knockouts over notables Vicente Rondon, a light heavyweight champion; hulking Buster Mathis; and won by unanimous decision over former WBA Heavyweight Champion, Jimmy Ellis. After dispatching of Buster Mathis, Lyle stated that he is looking for a match-up versus current undisputed champion Joe Frazier, saying "When I'm ready. I'm not taking any shortcuts." Yancey Durham, Frazier's manager and an interested observer, did compliment Lyle on his punching power. He was ranked #4 heavyweight in the world by WBA and the Ring Magazine. Lyle's undefeated streak ended on a one-sided decision to veteran Jerry Quarry: the latter gave one of his career best performances using a boxer/puncher style to create openings first, gaining the initiative using his greater experience. Lyle then lost to Jimmy Young in 1975. In a later rematch, Young again edged Lyle and went on to outpoint George Foreman in 1977.


title: Ron Lyle

text: On May 16, 1975 he was given an opportunity to face heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, during Ali's second title defense in his second reign as champion. Lyle had Bobby Lewis and Chico Ferrara in his corner. Lyle was the more aggressive fighter in the early rounds, with Ali conserving his energy and covering up in the center of the ring allowing Lyle to score. Lyle also showed restraint and did not respond to Ali's attempts at the rope-a-dope ploy. Though in danger of falling too far behind on points, Ali appeared to be in control of the pace of the fight, and picked his moments to score. The fight was close going into the 11th round, with Lyle winning on all three of the judges' score cards. Ali then hit Lyle with a strong right hand and followed with several flurrying punches, scoring. The referee stopped the fight, seeing that Lyle was unable to defend himself and Ali was punching him in the head at will. Lyle's corner was not happy with the referee's decision.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle is perhaps best known for a brawling fight in 1976 with Hall of Famer George Foreman. Foreman was making a comeback after suffering his first loss to Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle.


title: Ron Lyle

text: The fight is looked upon to this day as one of the most exciting and brutal in heavyweight history. Lyle took the offensive against the former champion and won the opening round. At one point he hit Foreman with a staggering body punch. After almost being knocked out in Round Two, Lyle amazed the crowd by flooring Foreman twice in the fourth round while being knocked down once himself. Lyle, Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Young are the only boxers to have ever knocked down Foreman during a professional boxing match. Foreman later said that Lyle was the toughest man he ever fought, and the hardest hitter he ever took up. The former champion recovered and scored a knockout in the fifth round. Foreman later said he won the fight due to Lyle's exhaustion.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle scored impressive victories over rated Jose Luis Garcia, and big names Oscar Bonavena and Earnie Shavers during his career. He also won a split decision over Joe Bugner, boring in with a thudding body attack in a fine contest.


title: Ron Lyle

text: While Lyle was working as a security guard in Las Vegas, he was accused of another murder. He shot a man in his apartment who had spent time with him in the Colorado State Penitentiary. On December 16th 1978, Lyle was acquitted. His attorney Walter Gerash said Lyle shot Clark in self defense.


title: Ron Lyle

text: According to George Foreman, Ron Lyle was one of the three hardest punchers he had faced in his career along with Gerry Cooney and Cleveland Williams.


title: Ron Lyle

text: The year 1979 marked a decline in Lyle's abilities. Draws with fringe contenders Stan Ward and Scott LeDoux were followed by a stunning one-punch loss to unheard-of Lynn Ball. Ball went on to match other names but never achieved similar success. "The Ring" magazine quoted Lyle as saying afterwards "No one does that to me."


title: Ron Lyle

text: He would return to the ring, however, but not for long. Ron retired again after a first-round knockout loss to then-rising star and undefeated power-hitting Gerry Cooney. By then, Lyle was 39 years old and his best years had gone.


title: Ron Lyle

text: In 1995, after George Foreman made his comeback into the ring to capture the world heavyweight title again, Lyle, at the age of 54, also decided on a brief comeback. After scoring four quick knockouts over second-rate opponents, Lyle tried to get a rematch with Foreman. The match was never made, however, and Lyle retired from boxing.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle ran the boxing gym Denver Red Shield in Denver, Colorado. He was the former trainer of light welterweight contender Victor Ortíz, who fought out of Denver during some of his amateur career.


title: Ron Lyle

text: In 1992 Lyle trained a young promising talent from Las Vegas, Arash Hashemi, and under his mentorship Hashemi won two Golden Gloves championships.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Lyle died at the age of 70, on Saturday November 26, 2011 from complications from a sudden stomach ailment. "We're gonna miss Ron. He was a friend", Earnie Shavers said. "He was the strongest man I have ever known, inside-and-out. When he gave advice, it was solid. He will never know how much I loved him. I will greatly miss him now that he is gone. I will never have a close friend like him again", states Lisa Dawn Sheridan.


title: Ron Lyle

text: A biography titled "Off the Ropes: the Ron Lyle Story" was written by Candace Toft and released in the United Kingdom by Scratching Shed Publishing in May 2010. It was republished in the United States by Hamilcar Publications in October 2018.


title: Ron Lyle

text: Ron Lyle appeared in the film "Facing Ali", a 2009 documentary, where he discusses his life and career. About his fight against Ali, when referee Fredy Nunez stopped the fight, he said "I couldn't believe it, you know. I'm ahead on all scorecards. [...] Am I bitter? Forget about it. I never took it personal. If there don't be no Ali, you think you'd be sitting here talking to Ron Lyle? About what?"


title: Ron Lyle

text: During this documentary he revealed that, during his stint in prison, where he received one meal a day consisting of a bowl of spinach, he passed time by doing up to 1,000 push-ups in an hour each day.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a book written and illustrated by children's author Dr. Seuss. It was first published by Random House on January 22, 1990. It was his last book to be published during his lifetime. The book concerns the journey of life, its challenges and joys.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: Though written in the style of previous books such as "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat", "Oh, the Places You’ll Go!" has many specific characters, including a narrator and "the reader". A young boy, referred to simply as "you", initiates the action of the story; the presence of a main character helps readers to identify with the book. Unlike other Dr. Seuss books, it is written in the second person and uses the future tense.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: The story begins with the narrator, relating the decision of the unnamed protagonist (who represents the reader) to leave town. The protagonist travels through several geometrical and polychromatic landscapes and places, eventually encountering a place simply called "The Waiting Place", which is ominously addressed as being a place where everyone is always waiting for something to happen. As the protagonist continues to explore, spurred on by the thoughts of places he will visit and things he will discover, the book cheerfully concludes with an open ending.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: Following its original release in 1990, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" reached number one on "The New York Times" Best-Selling Fiction Hardcover list. This made Dr. Seuss one of the handful of authors to have number one Hardcover Fiction and Nonfiction books on the list; among them are John Steinbeck, Jimmy Buffett, Mitch Albom and James Patterson; his "You're Only Old Once!" hit number one on the Nonfiction list in 1986.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: In the United States and Canada, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" is a popular gift for students graduating from kindergarten through college, spiking in sales in the April–June period. It reached number one on "USA Today"s Best Selling Book list in 1997, 2021 and 2022, and reached #2 in 2015 and 2017. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: In the early 1990s, producers Ben Myron & Roland Joffé, at Lightmotive with TriStar Pictures, were set to produce a film adaptation of the book with Seuss penning the screenplay. The Seuss screenplay was later rewritten by Richard LaGravenese and Barry Berman respectively, but the adaptation was never filmed. A musical animated film adaptation of the book along with "The Cat in the Hat" and a spin-off "Thing One and Thing Two" are in development from Warner Animation Group. J. J. Abrams is producing the film alongside his production company Bad Robot Productions. In November 2021, it was announced that Jon M. Chu is attached to direct the film.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: In 2016, former "Star Trek" writer David Gerrold partnered with artist Ty Templeton and Glenn Hauman's website ComicMix for a Kickstarter for a parodic book entitled "Oh, the Places You'll Boldly Go!" The proposed book would parody the original Seuss book in a "Star Trek" context. (The title references the phrase "to boldly go where no one has gone before", made famous by "Star Trek".)


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which manages the assets of Dr. Seuss's estate, sued to stop the Kickstarter. The lawsuit stated that Hauman's book, which, also makes use of other of Seuss' books, including "Oh, The Places You'll Go!", "Horton Hears a Who", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!", "The Lorax", and "The Sneetches and Other Stories", copied Dr. Seuss' copyrighted work, recreating entire pages from his books "with meticulous precision."


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: The lawsuit also stated that the book's violation of Dr. Seuss' trademark would create confusion in the minds of the public as to Dr. Seuss's approval or licensing.


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: In May 2018, U.S District Court Judge Janis Sammartino found in favor of ComicMix on the issue of Dr. Seuss' trademark, ruling that its book was "a highly transformative work that takes no more than necessary to accomplish its transformative purpose and will not impinge on the original market for Plaintiff's underlying work."


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: In March 2019, Sammartino similarly found in favor of ComicMix on the issue of copyright, ruling that the book was protected under Fair Use, because its authors borrowed "no more than was necessary for their purposes," and those elements "were always adapted or transformed," and "imbued with a different character."


title: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

text: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in December 2020 on the basis that the work was not parody as it copied too much of the book's original style and composition, only juxtaposing "Star Trek" characters in place of Seuss' original ones. Further, the Ninth Circuit argued that the timing of release might impact the commercial value of Seuss' book, since the latter is often given out as gifts for graduates.