title: Dear White People

text: Samantha White, a media arts major at the fictional Winchester University, causes a stir at the prestigious and predominantly white school by criticizing white people and the racist transgressions at Winchester in her sharp-tongued, witty radio show "Dear White People" and her self-published book, "Ebony and Ivy". Tensions rise when Sam runs to become head of house of Armstrong/Parker, the historically-black house on campus. She is opposed by Troy Fairbanks, an ex-boyfriend who harbors dreams of being a comedic writer, but who is pressed by his father, the school's dean, to become a lawyer, to not give white people a chance to profile him, and to give nothing less than his best. Coco is trying to persuade a reality TV producer to do a show on her, but he would prefer to highlight the light-skinned Sam. Lionel Higgins, a black gay student, gets a chance to find his place at Winchester by being recruited by the school's most prestigious student newspaper to write a piece on Sam and the black experience at Winchester. When Kurt, a white student and son of the school's president, and his club throw a blackface party in response to Sam's outspoken show, black students appear at the party, and a brawl ensues.


title: Dear White People

text: Simien spent five years writing the script beginning in 2007. The next year, he made a trailer to promote and gain attention and funds for his project, which went viral. He also launched a campaign at Indiegogo to raise $25,000 but he got an overwhelming response and managed to raise $40,000 instead.


title: Dear White People

text: The project won IndieWire's "Project of the Year" title and Simien was later invited to 2013 Tribeca Film Festival to participate in Filmmaker/Industry meetings hosted by the festival. Talking about Tribeca Film Festival, Simien said that "we had a lot of meetings with a lot of studios. We had a lot of conversations with studios and distributors and basically, we decided that the best offer on the table was from an independent financier, Julie Lebedev of Code Red Films. To make it independently, that was really the dream -- because then we could make the movie we wanted to make."


title: Dear White People

text: Principal photography took place in late September 2013 in Minnesota, including at the University of Minnesota and other locations in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and in Los Angeles, including the UCLA campus. The filming was completed in 19 days. Simien shot the film with Red Epic digital camera and said that "I would love to shoot on film. I don't believe it's completely dead, but this format made a lot of sense for our production."


title: Dear White People

text: "Dear White People" grossed $347,959 in its first weekend in only 11 theaters. It went on to earn $4,404,154 in a limited theatrical run, finishing as the 3rd highest-grossing film to come out of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.


title: Dear White People

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 91% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 7.47/10. The site's critical consensus reads ""Dear White People" adds a welcome new voice to cinema's oft-neglected discussion of race, tackling its timely themes with intelligence, honesty, and gratifyingly sharp wit." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 79 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Dear White People

text: Justin Chang, in his review for "Variety", said that the film "provokes admiration for having bothered to ask some of the hard questions without pretending to know any of the answers" and praising the cast said that "Williams, Thompson, Parris and Bell all make strong, distinctive impressions, with Thompson perhaps the standout as the film’s sharpest and most enigmatic figure." Justin Lowe of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the performances of cast, saying, "Thompson’s conflicted student activist, which she pulls off with practiced composure. Williams manages to consistently dial up Lionel's nervousness and bewilderment throughout the film to a point of heightened tension that necessitates decisive resolution. As lovers, then rivals who must eventually seek mutual accommodation, Parris and Bell understand that for Coco and Troy, discovering humility is just the beginning of these characters' realigned journeys." He further added, "An edgy premise and memorable cast make for a potent first impression." Zeba Blay of "IndieWire" gave a positive review and said, "With its vividly drawn world and characters, the movie doesn’t presume to encompass the entirety of what it means to be black, but it does give one of the most entertaining and honest depictions of black life in a so-called “white” world in years." Terence Johnson of "ScottFeinberg.com" gave a positive review to the film and said that "Dear White People is a perfect film for today’s generation".


title: Dear White People

text: On May 5, 2016, Lionsgate announced a deal to produce a series based on the film, distributed through Netflix. This is the second Netflix original program for Lionsgate Television, following "Orange Is the New Black".


title: 'O sole mio

text: "O sole mio" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972). The title translates literally as "my sun" or "my sunshine". The lyrics have been translated to other languages.


title: 'O sole mio

text: O sole mio" has been performed and covered by many artists, including Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle and her sister Carmella, Andrea Bocelli, Beniamino Gigli, Richard Tucker and Mario Lanza. Sergio Franchi recorded this song on his 1962 RCA Victor Red Seal debut album "Romantic Italian Songs." Luciano Pavarotti won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his rendition of O sole mio".


title: 'O sole mio

text: For nearly 75 years after its publication, the music of "O sole mio" had generally been attributed to Eduardo di Capua alone. According to the traditional account, di Capua had composed it in April 1898 in Odessa, while touring with his father's band. It has turned out, however, that the melody was an elaboration of one of 23 which di Capua had bought from another musician, Alfredo Mazzucchi, in the preceding year.


title: 'O sole mio

text: In November 1972, shortly after her father's death, Mazzucchi's daughter lodged a declaration with Italy's "Office of Literary, Artistic and Scientific Property", which sought to have her father recognised as a co-composer of 18 of di Capua's songs, including "O sole mio". In October 2002, Maria Alvau, a judge in Turin, upheld the declaration, ruling that Mazzucchi had indeed been a legitimate co-composer of the 18 songs, because they included melodies he had composed and then sold to di Capua in June 1897, with a written authorisation for the latter to make free use of them. At the time of the decision, therefore, the melody of "O sole mio" had not yet—as had been widely supposed—entered into the public domain in any country that was a party to the Berne Convention during the relevant period. In most countries where copyright in a work lasts for 70 years after any of its authors' deaths, the melody will remain under copyright until 2042.


title: 'O sole mio

text: In 1915, Charles W. Harrison recorded the first English translation of O sole mio". In 1921, William E. Booth-Clibborn wrote lyrics for a hymn using the music, entitled "Down from His Glory."


title: 'O sole mio

text: In 1949 U.S. singer Tony Martin recorded "There's No Tomorrow" with lyrics by Al Hoffman, Leo Corday, and Leon Carr, which used the melody of O sole mio". About ten years later, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, Elvis Presley heard the recording and put to tape a private version of the song. Upon his discharge, he requested that new lyrics be written especially for him, a job that was undertaken by the songwriting duo of Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, with a demo by David Hill. The rewritten version was entitled "It's Now or Never" and was a worldwide hit for Presley. When performing it in concert in the mid-1970s, Elvis would explain the origin of "It's Now Or Never" and have singer Sherrill Nielsen perform a few lines of the original Neapolitan version before commencing with his version.


title: 'O sole mio

text: Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album "101 Gang Songs" (1961). Actor John Schneider also had a hit with it in 1981. It was on the Billboard Pop charts at number 14 and the Country charts at number 4.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Saturday, 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest bomb detonated in Great Britain since the Second World War. It targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused significant damage, estimated by insurers at £700 million (equivalent to £ in ), a sum surpassed only by the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing, also by the IRA.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: At the time, England was hosting the Euro '96 football championships and a Russia vs. Germany match was scheduled to take place in Manchester the following day. The IRA sent telephoned warnings about 90 minutes before the bomb detonated. At least 75,000 people were evacuated, but the bomb squad were unable to defuse the bomb in time. More than 200 people were injured, but there were no fatalities despite the strength of the bomb, which has been largely credited to the rapid response of emergency services in evacuating the city centre.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Although Manchester had been targeted by the IRA before, it had not been subjected to an attack on this scale. In February 1996, the IRA had ended its seventeen-month ceasefire with a large truck bomb attack on London's Canary Wharf financial district, though the 3,300-pound bomb of Manchester was three times the size of the Canary Wharf bomb. The Manchester bombing was condemned by the British and Irish governments and U.S. President Bill Clinton. Five days after the blast, the IRA issued a statement from Dublin in which it claimed responsibility, but regretted causing injury to civilians.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Several buildings were damaged beyond repair and had to be demolished, while many more were closed for months for structural repairs. Most of the rebuilding work was completed by the end of 1999, at a cost of £1.2 billion, although redevelopment continued until 2005. The perpetrators have not been caught, and although Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had suggested it was unlikely that anyone will be charged in connection with the bombing, a suspect was arrested on 8 September 2022. The bombing has, however, been viewed by some as a "catalyst" for Manchester's mass regeneration, turning it into a modern "powerhouse" city with above-national average economic growth in the 20 years following the bombing.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: From 1970, the Provisional Irish Republican Army was carrying out an armed campaign with the ultimate objective of bringing about a united Ireland. As well as attacking military and political targets, it also bombed infrastructure and commercial targets in Northern Ireland and England. It believed that by damaging the economy and causing severe disruption, it could pressure the British government to negotiate a withdrawal from Northern Ireland. Manchester had been the target of earlier IRA bombs. Firebombs damaged city centre businesses in 1973 and 1974, for which a man was later imprisoned. In April 1974, a bomb exploded at Manchester Magistrates' Court, injuring twelve. In 1975, IRA bomb factories were found in Greater Manchester and five men were imprisoned for planning attacks in North West England. On 3 December 1992, the IRA detonated two small bombs in Manchester city centre, forcing police to evacuate thousands of shoppers. More than 60 were hurt by shattered glass and the blasts cost an estimated £10 million in damage and business losses.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The Downing Street Declaration of 1993 allowed Sinn Féin, a political party associated with the IRA, to participate in all-party peace negotiations on condition that the IRA called a ceasefire. The IRA called a ceasefire on 31 August 1994. John Major's government, dependent on Ulster Unionist Party votes, then began insisting that the IRA must fully disarm before there could be any all-party negotiations. The IRA saw this as a demand for total surrender and believed the British were unwilling to hold negotiations. It ended its ceasefire on 9 February 1996 when it detonated a powerful truck bomb in Canary Wharf, one of the two financial districts of London. The blast killed two people and caused an estimated £150 million worth of damage. The IRA then planted five other devices in London within the space of 10 weeks.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The IRA planned to carry out a similar bombing in Manchester. The city may have been chosen because it was one of the host cities of the Euro '96 football tournament, attended by visitors and media organisations from all over Europe, guaranteeing the IRA what Margaret Thatcher called the "oxygen of publicity". A Russia vs Germany match was to take place at Old Trafford in Manchester a day after the bombing. The year before, Manchester had also won its bid to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, at the time the biggest multi-sport event ever to be staged in Britain.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: On 10 June 1996, multi-party negotiations began in Belfast. Sinn Féin had been elected to take part but were barred because the IRA had not resumed its ceasefire or agreed to disarm.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The IRA's South Armagh Brigade was tasked with planning and carrying out the attack. It had also been responsible for the Canary Wharf bombing in February, and the Bishopsgate bombing in 1993. Its members mixed the explosives in Ireland and shipped them by freight from Dublin to England. In London, the bomb was assembled and loaded into the back of a red and white Ford Cargo van. On 14 June it was driven north towards Manchester, accompanied by a burgundy Ford Granada which served as a "scout car".


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: At about 9:20 am on Saturday 15 June 1996, the Ford van was parked on Corporation Street, outside the Marks & Spencer store, near the Arndale Centre. After setting the bomb's timer, two men—wearing hooded jackets, baseball caps and sunglasses—left the vehicle and walked to Cathedral Street, where a third man picked them up in the Ford Granada, which was later abandoned in Preston. The truck had been parked on double yellow lines with its hazard lights flashing. Within three minutes a traffic warden had issued the vehicle with a parking ticket and called for its removal. At about 9:40 am, Granada Studios on Quay Street received a telephone call claiming that there was a bomb at the corner of Corporation Street and Cannon Street and that it would explode in one hour. The caller had an Irish accent and gave an IRA codeword so that police would know the threat was genuine. Four other telephoned warnings were sent to television/radio stations, newspapers and a hospital.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The first policeman to arrive on the scene noticed wires running from the van's dashboard through a hole into the back and reported that he had found the bomb. Forensic experts later estimated that the bomb weighed 1,500–1,600 kg (3,300–3,500 lb) and was a mixture of semtex, a military-grade plastic explosive, and ammonium nitrate fertiliser, a cheap and easily obtainable explosive used extensively by the IRA. Components of what may have been a tremble trigger were also found later, designed to detonate the bomb if it was tampered with.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: At 10:00 am, there were an estimated 75,000–80,000 people shopping and working in the vicinity. An evacuation of the area was undertaken by police officers from Bootle Street police station, supplemented by officers drafted into Manchester to control the football crowds. The police were helped by security guards from local shops.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: One group worked to move people away from the bomb while another, assisted by firefighters and security guards, established a continuously expanding cordon around the area to prevent entry. By 11:10 am the cordon was at the greatest extent that available manpower would permit, about a quarter of a mile (400 m) from the truck and in circumference.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The bomb squad arrived from their Liverpool base at 10:46 am and attempted to defuse the bomb using a remote-controlled device, but they were unable to conduct positive EOD action, resulting in the timer expiring and functioning the device. The bomb exploded at 11:17 am, causing an estimated £700 million (£ as of ) of damage and affecting a third of the city centre's retail space. Marks & Spencer, the sky bridge connecting it with the Arndale Centre, and neighbouring buildings were destroyed. It was the largest peacetime bomb ever detonated in Great Britain, and the blast created a mushroom cloud which rose 300 metres (1,000 feet) from the ground. The explosion could be heard up to away and left a crater 15 metres wide. Glass and masonry were thrown into the air, and behind the police cordon – up to away, people were showered by falling debris. There were no fatalities, but 212 people were injured. A search of the area for casualties was confused by mannequins blasted from shop windows, which were sometimes mistaken for bodies. Hospitals across Greater Manchester were made ready to receive those injured in the blast. The police commandeered a Metrolink tram to take 50 of the casualties to North Manchester General Hospital, which treated 79 in total; a further 80 were cared for at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, and many others were treated in the streets by ambulance crews assisted by doctors and nurses who happened to be in the city centre that morning.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The bombing was condemned by British Prime Minister John Major and his government, by the opposition, and by individual members of parliament (MPs) as a "sickening", "callous" and "barbaric" terrorist attack. Early on, Major stated that, "This explosion looks like the work of the IRA. It is the work of a few fanatics and ... causes absolute revulsion in Ireland as it does here". Sinn Féin was criticised by Taoiseach John Bruton for being "struck mute" on the attack in the immediate aftermath. Bruton described the bombing as "a slap in the face to people who've been trying, against perhaps their better instincts, to give Sinn Féin a chance to show that they could persuade the IRA to reinstate the ceasefire". The President of the United States, Bill Clinton, stated he was "deeply outraged by the bomb explosion" and joined Bruton and Major in "utterly condemning this brutal and cowardly act of terrorism". Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, stated that he was "shocked and saddened" by the bombing. He insisted that his party was committed to achieving a peace settlement and argued "it is sheer folly to return to the old agenda of excluding Sinn Féin and seeking to isolate republicans". On 20 June 1996, the IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing, and stated that it "sincerely regretted" causing injury to civilians. The IRA statement continued:


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The bombing came five days after the beginning of the peace talks in Belfast, and represented the IRA's opposition to talks which excluded republicans. The attack was part of a political strategy by the IRA to be included in negotiations on the IRA's own terms. According to historian Richard English: "What they were doing with their return to bombings like the Manchester bomb was saying, 'We can still return to war if we want to. We can still put off a huge bomb in your cities and devastate them and therefore you have to deal with us.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: In an effort to allay fears that Manchester's considerable Irish community might be subjected to reprisal attacks, Councillors Richard Leese and Martin Pagel – leader and deputy leader of Manchester City Council respectively – made a public visit to the Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill. There were ultimately only a few incidents, the most serious of which occurred on the evening of the bombing, when a gang of ten men rampaged through an Irish-themed bar in the centre of Middleton, shouting the Ulster loyalist slogan "No surrender" and smashing furniture and windows. Seven days after the bombing, Manchester Council held a 'family fun day' in front of the Town Hall in Albert Square to encourage shoppers and visitors back into the city centre, the first of a "series of events and entertainments". The Euro '96 football match between Russia and Germany at Old Trafford went ahead as planned the day following the bombing, after the stadium had been heavily guarded overnight and carefully searched; the game, which Germany won 3–0, was watched by a capacity crowd of 50,700.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: In an effort to trace the route of the Ford van, police examined CCTV footage from every major road and motorway taken in England within two days of the bombing. Footage revealed that the van was driven south along the M1 motorway into London on the Friday afternoon before the attack. It was seen again heading north along the motorway at 7:40 pm, accompanied by the Ford Granada. Detectives surmised that the van had been loaded with explosives in London and that the Granada was intended to be the getaway vehicle. The van was last recorded travelling east along the M62 motorway towards Manchester at 8:31 am on the morning of the explosion.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Police in Manchester were aware that their Metropolitan Police colleagues in London were investigating a suspected IRA unit based in the capital, and wondered whether the London unit was responsible for the Manchester bombing. On 15 July, Metropolitan police arrested six men suspected of IRA membership: Donal Gannon, John Crawley, Gerard Hanratty, Robert Morrow, Patrick Martin, and Francis Rafferty. Each was tried and convicted of "conspiracy to cause explosions at National Grid electricity stations", and sentenced to 35 years in jail. Police in Manchester meanwhile worked to establish if the men were also responsible for the Manchester bomb.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Their investigation was led by Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Mutch of the GMP. The van's last registered owner told police that he had sold it to a dealer in Peterborough, who had in turn sold the van on to a man calling himself Tom Fox, two weeks before the bombing. After the purchase price was delivered in cash by a taxi driver, the dealer was instructed to take the van to a nearby lorry park, and leave it there with the keys and documents hidden inside.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: On checking records of telephone calls made to the dealer, the police found that some had been made from a mobile phone registered in Ireland, and on further checking the records of that phone it appeared that the calls were made from locations consistent with the known whereabouts of the Ford van. One call was to a known IRA member. The phone was last used at 9:23 am on the morning of the bombing, just three minutes after the bombers had parked their van in Corporation Street. On 27 June, the phone's registered owner reported that it had been stolen 17 days earlier, but the police felt they had gathered enough evidence to bring a prosecution against the six IRA men held in London.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: At a meeting attended by the commander of Special Branch in Manchester, a GMP assistant chief constable and a "senior officer" from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), it was decided, for reasons never made public, not to present the findings of the investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the body responsible for undertaking criminal prosecutions in England. The three may have felt that as the IRA suspects were already in police custody they were no longer a threat, or that to pursue the case against them may have jeopardised ongoing undercover operations. It was not until 1998 that the police finally sent their file to the CPS, who decided not to prosecute.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: In September 2022, a man was arrested in connection with the bombing. According to GMP, the suspect was held at Birmingham Airport on 8 September on suspicion of terrorism offences and will be interviewed by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing for the North West (CTPNW).


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Early in 1999, Steve Panter, chief crime reporter for the "Manchester Evening News", leaked classified Special Branch documents naming those suspected of the bombing. The documents also revealed that the man suspected of organising the attack had visited Manchester shortly after the bombing and been under covert police surveillance as he toured the devastated city centre before returning to his home in South Armagh. Suspicion fell on Mutch as the source of the leaked documents after an analysis of mobile phone records placed both him and Panter at the same hotel in Skipton, North Yorkshire, about from Manchester on the same evening.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: On 21 April 1999, the "Manchester Evening News" named a man it described as "a prime suspect in the 1996 Manchester bomb plot". The newspaper reported that the file sent by GMP to the Crown Prosecution Service contained the sentence: "It is the opinion of the investigating officers of GMP that there is sufficient evidence to charge [him] with being a party in a conspiracy to cause explosions in the United Kingdom." The man denied any involvement. The Attorney General wrote in a letter to a local MP that the advice given to the CPS by an independent lawyer was that "there was not a case to answer on the evidence available ... a judge would stop the case": the Attorney General further wrote that the decision not to prosecute was not influenced by the government. The newspaper also identified the six men arrested in London on 15 July as having planned the attack. By July 2000, all six had been released under the terms of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Up until September 2022, Panter and Mutch were the only people to have been arrested in connection with the bombing. Mutch was tried for "misconduct in a public office" during an 11-day trial held in January 2002 but was acquitted. During the trial, Panter was found in contempt of court for refusing to reveal his source, an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment without the right of appeal. GMP announced in 2006 that there was no realistic chance of convicting those responsible for the bombing.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: About twelve buildings in the immediate vicinity of the explosion were severely damaged. Overall, of retail space and of office space were put out of use. Insurers paid out £411 million (£ as of ) in damages for what was at the time one of the most expensive man-made disasters ever, and there was considerable under-insurance. Victims of the bombing received a total of £1,145,971 in compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; one individual received £146,524, the largest amount awarded as a result of this incident.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: According to Home Office statistics, an estimated 400 businesses within half a mile (0.8 km) of the blast were affected, 40% of which did not recover. The heaviest damage was sustained by the three buildings nearest the bomb: Michael House, comprising a Marks & Spencer store and a six-storey office block; Longridge House, offices for Royal and Sun Alliance, an insurance company; and the Arndale Centre, a shopping mall. Michael House was deemed beyond economic repair and demolished. Marks & Spencer took the opportunity to acquire and demolish the adjacent Longridge House, using the enlarged site for the world's biggest branch of the store. The company's fortunes changed during construction, and Selfridges subsequently co-occupied the building; Marks & Spencer leased part of the Lewis's store in the interim. The frontage of the Arndale was badly damaged and was remodelled when this area of the city centre was redeveloped.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The glass domes of the Corn Exchange and the Royal Exchange were blown in. The landlord of the Corn Exchange invoked a "force majeure" condition in the lease to evict all tenants, and the building was converted into a shopping centre. The dome of the Royal Exchange shifted in the blast; its reconstruction took two and a half years and cost £32 million, paid for by the National Lottery.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: The possibility of rebuilding parts of the city centre was raised within days of the bomb. On 26 June 1996, Michael Heseltine, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced an international competition for designs of the redevelopment of the bomb-affected area. Bids were received from 27 entrants, five of whom were invited to submit designs in a second round. It was announced on 5 November 1996 that the winning design was by a consortium headed by EDAW.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Much of the 1960s redevelopment of Manchester's city centre was unpopular with residents. Market Street, near the explosion and at that time the second-busiest shopping street in the UK, was considered by some commentators a "fearful" place, to be "avoided like the plague". Until Margaret Thatcher's third consecutive election victory in 1987, the staunchly Labour-controlled Manchester Council believed that Manchester's regeneration should be funded solely by public money, despite the government's insistence on only funding schemes with a significant element of private investment. Graham Stringer, leader of Manchester City Council, later admitted that after the 1987 General Election result "there was no get out of jail card. We had gambled on Labour winning the General Election and we lost." Thatcher's victory effectively put paid to Manchester's "socialist experiment", and Stringer shortly afterwards wrote a letter of capitulation to Nicholas Ridley, then Secretary of State for the Environment, saying, "in a nutshell; OK, you win, we'd like to work together with you".


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: Efforts at improvement before the bombing had in some respects made matters worse, cutting off the area north of the Arndale Centre – the exterior of which was widely unloved – from the rest of the city centre. A large building nearby, now redeveloped as The Printworks and formerly occupied by the "Daily Mirror" newspaper, had been unoccupied since 1987. Many locals therefore considered that "the bomb was the best thing that ever happened to Manchester", as it cleared the way for redevelopment of the dysfunctional city centre, a view also expressed in 2007 by Terry Rooney, MP for Bradford North. The leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Manchester City Council, Simon Ashley, responded that "I take exception to his [Rooney's] comments about the IRA bomb. No one who was in the city on that day, who lost their jobs or was scared witless or injured by the blast, would say the bomb was the best thing to happen to Manchester". Sir Gerald Kaufman, MP for Manchester Gorton, stated that the bomb provided the opportunity for redeveloping Manchester city centre, although it was not fully exploited. "The bomb was obviously bad but from a redevelopment point of view, it was a lost opportunity. While the area around St Ann's Square and Deansgate is not disagreeable, if you compare it with Birmingham and its exciting development, we've got nothing to touch that in Manchester". Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, has been quoted as saying "people say the bomb turned out to be a great thing for Manchester. That's rubbish." There was already substantial regeneration and redevelopment taking place in the city centre before the bombing, in support of the Manchester bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, its second Olympic bid. Tom Bloxham, chairman of property development group Urban Splash and of the Arts Council England (North West), agreed with Bernstein that the bomb attack was not the trigger for the large-scale redevelopment that has taken place in Manchester since the early 1990s:


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: A pillar box that survived the blast, despite being yards from the explosion, now carries a small brass plaque recording the bombing. It was removed during construction and redevelopment work, and returned to its original spot when Corporation Street reopened. The plaque reads:


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: A Thanksgiving service for the "Miracle of Manchester" was held at Manchester Cathedral on 24 July 2002, to coincide with the arrival of the Commonwealth Games baton, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh. At 11:17 am on 15 June 2006, a candle was lit at a memorial held at Manchester Cathedral to mark the tenth anniversary of the bombing.


title: 1996 Manchester bombing

text: "One Man's Fool", the closing track on Genesis' 1997 album "Calling All Stations", was inspired by the bombing. Tony Banks stated in a SongFacts interview:


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: Snatch is a crime comedy-drama streaming television series based on the film of the same name, and that premiered on March 16, 2017, on Crackle. The series was created by Alex De Rakoff and stars Luke Pasqualino, Rupert Grint, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor, Juliet Aubrey, Marc Warren, Stephanie Leonidas, Tamer Hassan, and Dougray Scott.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: "Snatch" follows a group of young scammers who find themselves with a truck loaded with stolen gold bullion and are soon involved in the world of organized crime.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: On April 20, 2016, it was announced that Crackle had given a series order to a television series adaptation of Guy Ritchie's 2000 film "Snatch" for a first season consisting of ten episodes. On August 22, 2016, it was announced that the series was created by Alex De Rakoff who was also set to serve as the show's head writer and an executive producer. It was additionally announced that Helen Flint would act as a producer for the series, Nick Renton would direct, and that production companies involved with the series were expected to include Little Island Productions.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: Principal photography for season one was expected to commence during the week of August 29, 2016 in Manchester, England.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: On April 19, 2017, it was announced that Crackle had renewed the series for a second season. On July 24, 2018, it was announced that season two would premiere on September 13, 2018.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: In August 2016, it was announced that Rupert Grint, Dougray Scott, Luke Pasqualino, and Lucien Laviscount had been cast in the series' lead roles and that Ed Westwick would appear in a recurring capacity. On September 23, 2016, it was reported that Phoebe Dynevor had been cast in series regular role. On February 7, 2018, it was announced that Úrsula Corberó had been cast in a recurring role for the second season.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: On January 13, 2017, the first trailer for the series was released. On August 22, 2018, the official trailer for the second season was released.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: On March 9, 2017, the series held its world premiere at the ArcLight Culver City movie theater in Culver City, California. On September 28, 2017, the series held its British premiere at the BT Tower in Fitzrovia, London, England. On October 31, 2017, the series premiered on AMC in the United Kingdom.


title: Snatch (TV series)

text: The first season was met with a mixed to negative response from critics upon its debut. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 33% approval rating with an average rating of 4.61 out of 10 based on 15 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Snatch" won't grab you." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 55 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Stephanie Ann Davis (born 8 March 1993) is an English actress. She began her career with small roles in British television series, and in 2010, she competed in the BBC talent-search "Over the Rainbow". She was then cast in the Channel 4 soap opera "Hollyoaks", portraying the role of Sinead O'Connor from September 2010 to September 2019. In 2016, she was the runner-up in the seventeenth series of "Celebrity Big Brother".


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Davis began her career playing the role of Gretl von Trapp in the Liverpool Empire Theatre's production of "The Sound of Music" when she was eight years old. Two years later, she played the title role in the theatre's production of "Annie" and later as Little Nell in "Her Benny".


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Davis' television career began with guest roles in "Holby City", "Doctors", "Parents of the Band" and the television movie "The Outsiders". In 2010, Davis took part in "Over the Rainbow", which was a talent show searching for an actress to play Dorothy Gale in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of "The Wizard of Oz". She advanced to the seventh episode where she was voted off following a sing-off against Stephanie Fearon.


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Following her appearance in "Over the Rainbow", Davis went on to be cast as Sinead O'Connor in "Hollyoaks" and made her on-screen debut on 1 September 2010. On 16 July 2015, it was announced Davis' contract had been terminated. Her agent confirmed that she was fired from the job because she arrived on-set "unfit for work". In May 2018, Davis announced that she would be returning to "Hollyoaks" as Sinead, nearly three years after her sacking.


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: In November 2015, Davis signed up to appear on the fifteenth series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!". She had to cancel her appearance because of a potentially fatal nut allergy. In January 2016, Davis appeared on the seventeenth series of "Celebrity Big Brother" as a contestant, eventually finishing the series as runner-up.


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Davis grew up in St Helens and attended the De La Salle School in St Helens. She is the daughter of Pauline and Roy Davis and has two younger brothers, Keelan and Jordan.


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Davis had a widely publicised and tumultuous relationship with reality television personality Jeremy McConnell. In January 2017, Davis gave birth to their son named Caben Albi. After their relationship ended, McConnell was found guilty of assaulting Davis; he received a 20-week suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service, and was later jailed for triggering his suspended sentence by failing to attend his community service appointments. In 2018, Davis had a relationship with her "Hollyoaks" colleague Owen Warner.


title: Stephanie Davis (actress)

text: Davis has spoken openly about her mental health issues and depression. She has stated that she is an alcoholic and spent time in rehab. In November 2019, Davis revealed that she was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. In 2019, Davis had a mental health relapse and attempted suicide. She later discussed the incident when she started vlogging to help others.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by "seppuku" of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide, an act of betrayal that ended Nobunaga's Sengoku period campaign to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority. Nobunaga's death was avenged two weeks later when his retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide in the Battle of Yamazaki, paving the way for Hideyoshi to continue Nobunaga's endeavor to unify power in Japan during the 1580s and 1590s.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Mitsuhide's motive for assassinating Nobunaga is unknown and there are multiple theories for his betrayal.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: By 1582, Oda Nobunaga was the most powerful daimyo in Japan and was continuing a sustained campaign of unification in the face of the ongoing political upheaval that characterized Japanese history during the Sengoku period. Nobunaga had destroyed the Takeda clan earlier that year at the Battle of Tenmokuzan and had central Japan firmly under his control, with his only rivals, the Mōri clan, the Uesugi clan, and the Hōjō clan, each weakened by internal affairs. After the death of Mōri Motonari, his grandson Terumoto strove only to maintain the "status quo", aided by his two uncles, as per Motonari's will. Hōjō Ujiyasu, a renowned strategist and domestic manager, had also died, leaving his less prominent son Ujimasa in place. Finally, the death of Uesugi Kenshin left the Uesugi clan, devastated also by an internal conflict between his two adopted sons, weaker than before.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: It was at this point that Nobunaga began sending his generals aggressively in all directions to continue his military expansion. Nobunaga ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi to attack the Mōri clan; Niwa Nagahide to prepare for an invasion of Shikoku; Takigawa Kazumasu to watch the Hōjō clan from Kōzuke Province and Shinano Province; and Shibata Katsuie to invade Echigo Province, the home domain of the Uesugi clan. At the same time, Nobunaga also invited his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu to tour the Kansai region in celebration of the demise of the Takeda clan. Around this time, Nobunaga received a request for reinforcements from Hashiba Hideyoshi, whose forces were stuck besieging the Mōri-controlled Takamatsu Castle. Nobunaga then parted ways with Ieyasu, who went on to tour the rest of Kansai while Nobunaga himself made preparations to aid Hashiba in the frontline. Nobunaga ordered Akechi Mitsuhide also to go to Hideyoshi's aid and travelled to Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto, his usual resting place when he stopped by in the capital. Nobunaga was unprotected at Honnō-ji, deep within his territory, with the only people he had around him being court officials, merchants, upper-class artists, and dozens of servants.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Upon receiving the order, Mitsuhide returned to Sakamoto Castle and moved to his base in Tanba Province. Around this time, Mitsuhide had a session of "renga" with several prominent poets, where he made clear his intentions of rising against Nobunaga. Mitsuhide saw an opportunity to act, when not only was Nobunaga resting in Honnō-ji and unprepared for an attack, but all the other major "daimyō" and the bulk of Nobunaga's army were occupied in other parts of the country.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Mitsuhide led his army toward Kyoto under the pretense of following the order of Nobunaga. It was not the first time that Nobunaga had demonstrated his modernized and well-equipped troops in Kyoto, so the march toward Kyoto did not raise any suspicion from Mitsuhide's men. As they were crossing the Katsura River, Mitsuhide announced to his troops that . Before dawn, the Akechi army had the Honnō-ji temple surrounded in a coup d'état. Nobunaga and his servants and bodyguards resisted, but they realized it was futile against the overwhelming numbers of Akechi troops. Nobunaga then, with the help of his young page, Mori Ranmaru, committed "seppuku". Reportedly, Nobunaga's last words were "Ran, don't let them come in ..." to Ranmaru, who then set the temple on fire as Nobunaga requested so that no one would be able to get his head. Ranmaru then followed suit, committing "seppuku" himself. His loyalty and devotion makes him a revered figure in Japanese history. Nobunaga's remains were never found, a fact often speculated about by writers and historians.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: After capturing Honnō-ji, Mitsuhide attacked Nobunaga's eldest son and heir, Oda Nobutada, who was staying at the nearby Nijō Palace. During the attack of Nijō palace, Nobutada orders Maeda Geni fled with his infant son, Sanpōshi (Oda Hidenobu), going from Gifu Castle in Mino to Kiyosu Castle in Owari. Later, Nobutada also committed "seppuku".


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Mitsuhide tried to persuade Oda vassals in the vicinity of Kyoto to recognize him as the new master of former Oda territories. Then, Mitsuhide entered Nobunaga's Azuchi Castle east of Kyoto and began sending messages to the Imperial Court to boost his position and force the court to recognize his authority as well.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Akechi Mitsuhide's reasons for the coup are a mystery and have been a source of controversy and speculation. Although there have been several theories, the reason the historian Kuwata Tadachika put forth was that Mitsuhide bore a personal grudge. Other theories maintain that Mitsuhide acted out of fear, had the ambition to take over Japan, was simply acting to protect the Imperial Court (whose authority Nobunaga did not respect), or was trying to remove the iconoclastic revolutionary. Another theory is that Mitsuhide did not enjoy the cruelty of Nobunaga. Many think it was a combination of at least some of the above suggested reasons.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: When Nobunaga invited Tokugawa Ieyasu to Azuchi Castle, Akechi was the official in charge of catering to the needs of Ieyasu's group. He was later removed from this post for unknown reasons. One story spoke of Nobunaga yelling at him in front of the guests for serving rotten fish.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Another story claims that when Nobunaga gave Akechi the order to assist Hashiba Hideyoshi, it was somehow hinted that Akechi would lose his current territories and would have to fight for land which was not even under Oda control yet. As Nobunaga had sent two senior retainers under him, Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hidesada, into exile for poor performance, Akechi might have thought that he could suffer a similar fate. Akechi was already in his early fifties, and some believe he might have felt insecure about such a grim future.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Furthermore, when invading Tanba Province, Akechi Mitsuhide supposedly sent his mother as hostage to Hatano Hideharu, the castellan of Yakami Castle, to convince him to surrender. Nobunaga, however, had Hatano Hideharu executed, and this action caused former Hatano retainers to kill Akechi's mother. Akechi Mitsuhide felt humiliated and depressed by this and eventually decided to kill his master. This story, however, began to circulate only during the Edo period, and is of dubious historical origin.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Luís Fróis wrote that Mitsuhide liked to use treachery and diversion as his strategy. He also suggested daimyōs disliked Mitsuhide because he did not belong to the "fudai" clan, which had served his master's clan for a long time. Many books said Nobunaga insulted and kicked, or even forced Mitsuhide to drink sake at a party, even though he was not a heavy drinker.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Before Akechi began his march toward Chugoku, he held a "renga" session at the shrine on Mount Atago. The beginning line, "Toki wa ima, ame ga shita shiru satsuki kana" (), translates to "The time is now, the fifth month when the rain falls." However, there are several homonyms in the line, such that it could be taken as a double entendre. An alternate meaning, without changing any of the pronunciations, would be: . Thus it has also been translated as "Now is the time to rule the world: It's the fifth month!" In this case, the word "toki", which means "time" in the first version, sounds identical to Akechi's ancestral family name, "Toki" ().


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: It is also believed Akechi may have been manipulated by Ieyasu or Hideyoshi, since the coup presented clear prospects of profit for both of them (Hideyoshi ruled the country, and Ieyasu became the number two, avenging his wife and child).


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Oda Nobutaka, third son of Nobunaga, wrote a poem before his death cursing Toyotomi Hideyoshi under his court title of Hashiba Chikuzen(-no-kami), which he used before becoming Kampaku.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Quickly making peace with the Mōri clan, Hideyoshi headed to Kyoto, joined by Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka in Osaka. Marching toward Kyoto, he defeated Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki. Mitsuhide was killed by bandits as he tried to flee.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: With the help of his retainer and ninja leader Hattori Hanzō, Ieyasu first toured Sakai, then fled through several provinces and crossed the mountains of Iga Province, finally reaching the shore in Ise Province. He returned to his home Mikawa Province by sea, and it took him so long that by the time he consolidated his position, Hideyoshi had already had most of Nobunaga's territories under firm control.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Takigawa Kazumasu suddenly faced the assault of the Hōjō clan and lost most of his land there, a defeat that cost him his previous prestige in the Oda clan.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: Shibata Katsuie and his forces in the north were bogged down by an Uesugi counterattack in Echizen Province and remained unable to act for quite a while. He would later fall in the Battle of Shizugatake against Hideyoshi a year later.


title: Honnō-ji Incident

text: The fact that no one else had the chance, resources, or ability to act decisively ensured Hashiba Hideyoshi's supremacy and spiritual inheritance of Oda Nobunaga's legacy.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: The story takes place towards the end of the 20th century and explores the idea that the human world secretly coexists with the demon world with a secret police force known as the Black Guard protecting the boundary.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: The existence of the "Black World"—an alternate dimension populated by supernatural demons—is known to few humans. For centuries, a peace treaty between the Black World and the world of humans has been maintained to ensure relative harmony. Both sides of the continuum are protected by an organization of secret agents called the Black Guard, specifically from a group of radicalized members of the Black World.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Renzaburō Taki, a salaryman electronics salesman by day, and a Black Guard when needed, has casual sex with Kanako, a young woman who he has been meeting at a local bar for three months. Kanako reveals herself to be a spider-like doppelgänger from the Black World Radicals and escapes with a sample of Taki's semen after attempting to kill him. The next day, Taki is assigned to protect Giuseppe Mayart, a comical and perverted 200-year-old mystic who is a signatory for a ratified treaty between the Human World and the Black World in Tokyo, and a target for the Radicals. Taki is also informed that he will be working with a partner: a Black Guard from the Black World.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: While awaiting Mayart's arrival at Narita, Taki is attacked by two Radicals at the runway, but is saved by his partner—a beautiful fashion model named Makie. Taki and Makie eventually meet Mayart; the trio take shelter in a Hibiya hotel with spiritual barriers to protect it from Radicals. While playing chess to pass time, the hotelier explains to Taki, who is unsure of his responsibilities within the Black Guard, that he will only value his position once he knows what he is protecting. During an assault on the hotel by a Radical, Mayart sneaks out.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Makie and Taki find him in a soapland in the grip of a Radical who has sapped his health, prompting a frantic trip to a spiritual hospital under Black Guard protection. Halfway there, Makie is taken prisoner by a tentacle demon, and Taki is forced to leave her behind. Upon their arrival at the clinic, Mayart begins his recovery, while Mr. Shadow—the leader of the Radicals—uses a psychic projection to taunt Taki into rescuing Makie. Ignoring Mayart's threats that he will be fired, he pursues Shadow to a dilapidated building far from the hospital, where he finds Makie being gang raped by Radicals. A female Radical attempts to seduce Taki, asking him if he ever copulated with Makie, but he kills her and the Radicals violating Makie, and wounds Shadow.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: While tending to each other, Makie reveals to Taki that she was once romantically involved with a member of the Radicals, and that she joined the Black Guard because of her belief in the need for peace between the two worlds. Upon returning to the clinic, the pair are fired by Taki's superior, who deems Taki's desires a liability to his duties. While driving through a tunnel with a stowaway Mayart, they are ensnared by Kanako, who—having determined that Taki and Makie were partnered for genetic reasons—attempts to kill them again. Bolts of supernatural lightning kill Kanako, while Taki and Makie are wounded. They later awaken inside a church, and engage in passionate lovemaking.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: A final attack by Shadow comes against Taki and Makie, which is deflected by more lightning generated by a surprisingly healthy Mayart, who reveals that he was actually hired to protect his "bodyguards". Mayart and Taki almost succeed in defeating Shadow, but the final blow comes from Makie, whose powers have increased due to her being impregnated by Taki. Mayart explains that the two are essential to the new peace treaty; Taki and Makie were selected to be the first couple from both worlds that can produce half-human, half-demon children, and their bond will be instrumental in ensuring everlasting peace between the two worlds. Although angry with Mayart because they were not informed of the Black Guard's plans, Taki implicitly admits that he has fallen for Makie and, per the hotelier's advice, wants to protect her and their child. The trio leave to attend the peace ceremony. Taki remains in the Black Guard to ensure the protection of both worlds and his loved ones.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Yoshiaki Kawajiri had just completed his work directing "The Running Man", a segment from the portmanteau film "Neo-Tokyo" (1987), and was asked to direct a 35-minute OVA short film based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel. Writing under the pseudonym "Kisei Chō", Norio Osada's original draft of the screenplay began with Makie's saving of Taki from two demons at Narita, and ended with Taki's first battle with Mr. Shadow and rescue of Makie. After Japan Home Video were shown the first 15 minutes of completed animation, they were impressed enough with Kawajiri's work that the runtime was extended to 80 minutes. Kawajiri saw this as an opportunity to explore more characterization and created more animation for the start, the middle and the end. The project was completed in under a year.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Although classified as OVA by JHV, it was released theatrically in Japan by Joy Pack Film on 19 April 1987 and received a western release dubbed by Streamline Pictures under the name Wicked City on 20 August 1993. After Streamline Pictures lost the distribution rights, it was licensed and distributed by Urban Vision. A censored version of the film was distributed by Manga Entertainment in the UK with a different dub. Both the Streamline and Manga UK dubs were released in Australia, with the Manga UK dub being released on VHS in 1994. In 1995, Manga Video released in Australia a bundle VHS consisting of "Wicked City" and "Monster City", this version containing the Streamline dub. In 1997 when Madman Entertainment was named distributor for Manga in Australia, the Streamline dub was released on a single tape, and the Manga UK version was phased out. On 26 July 2015, Discotek Media announced at their Otakon panel that they have acquired the movie and re-released the movie on DVD in 2016 with a new video transfer and with both Streamline and Manga UK English dubs. On 28 September 2018, Toei announced a Region 2 Blu-ray release of the OVA to be released on 9 January 2019.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Charles Solomon of the "Los Angeles Times" stated that the film epitomizes the "sadistic, misogynistic erotica" popular in Japan. He noted that Yoshiaki Kawajiri composes scenes like a live-action filmmaker, and complimented his deft cutting and camera angles, but felt that the "Saturday-morning style animation" and juvenile story did not warrant the effort. Solomon also opined that Kisei Choo's screenplay was inscrutable. Solomon concluded his review by touching upon the belief that there is a connection between screen violence and real-life violence by pointing out that Japan is one of the least violent societies in the industrialized world.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Desson Howe of "The Washington Post", who observed the level of violence toward women in the film, characterized it as a "post-Chandler, quasi-cyberpunky violence fest". Howe found the film compelling for its "gymnastic" camera angles, its kinetic pace and imaginative (if slightly twisted) images." He also found the English dubbing laughable, though he saw ominous subtext in various bits of dialogue and other moments in the film.


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Richard Harrigton, also of "The Washington Post", saw the film as an attempt to create the "Blade Runner" of Japanese animation, citing its distinctively languid pace, linear storytelling and gradual exposition. Harrington also detected a "Brave New World" subtext, and calling it "stylish and erotic, exciting in its limited confrontations and provocative in its ambition."


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Marc Savlov of "The Austin Chronicle" gave the film two and a half out of five stars, calling it a "better-than-average" treatment of the "demons from an alternate universe" subject matter. Savlov stated that the film was easier to follow than "", due to "Wicked City" more linear and rapid storyline, and the lack of flashbacks and cyberpunk jargon that Savlov disliked in the genre. Savlov also appreciated the clarified animation. Savlov commented, "This may not be the second coming of "Akira", but it's a step in the right direction."


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Bob Strauss from "Animation Magazine" described it as "one of the strongest features to come out of Japan’s anime", presenting a seemingly incoherent scenario that "makes more sense as it climaxes, revealing a few solid, thematic reasons for what initially seemed to be inexplicable behavior, gratuitous sex and reckless sci-fi gimmickry." He added that there was also a "neat moral and spiritual subtext to the whole bizarre enterprise."


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Chuck Arrington of DVD Talk, reviewing the DVD of the film, recommended that consumers "skip it", citing the transfer errors and scratches on the print, the at-times washed-out colors, and the uninteresting lengthy interview among the DVD's extras. Arrington thought that the visuals and the fight scenes were generally done well, and that the dubbing into English was acceptable, though exhibited some "wooden elements" endemic to all anime titles. Regarding the sexual violence in the film, Arrington found it excluded recommendation for most viewers, commenting, "Though not nearly as gruesome as "Legend of the Overfiend", "Wicked City" is definitely not for children and not really for adults either."


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: Theron Martin of "Anime News Network" said that "in all, "Wicked City" isn't great fare, but if explicit, sexually-charged supernatural action stories appeal to you then it should fit the bill quite nicely."


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: "Wicked City", a Hong Kong live-action adaptation of the film was made in 1992 produced by Film Workshop Ltd. The film was directed by Tai Kit Mak, produced and written by Tsui Hark, and starred Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Yuen Woo-ping, Roy Cheung, and Tatsuya Nakadai. (Michelle Reis said that Tsui Hark actually directed many scenes himself.)


title: Wicked City (1987 film)

text: The story takes place in Hong Kong in a conflict between worlds of Humans and "Rapters". Special police in the city are investigating a mysterious drug named "happiness". Taki, one of the police, meets his old lover Windy, who is a rapter and now mistress of a powerful old rapter named Daishu. Taki and other special police track down and fight Daishu, but later find that he hopes to coexist with human. The son of Daishu, Shudo, is the mastermind. In the end, Shudo is defeated, but Daishu and Taki's friends die too. Windy leaves alone.


title: Charles University

text: Charles University (, UK; ; ), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague (), is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe in continuous operation. Today, the university consists of 17 faculties located in Prague, Hradec Králové, and Plzeň. Charles University belongs among the top three universities in Central and Eastern Europe. It is ranked around 200–300 in the world.


title: Charles University

text: The establishment of a medieval university in Prague was inspired by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. He asked his friend and ally, Pope Clement VI, to do so. On 26 January 1347 the pope issued the bull establishing a university in Prague, modeled on the University of Paris, with the full (4) number of faculties, that is including a theological faculty. On 7 April 1348 Charles, the king of Bohemia, gave to the established university privileges and immunities from the secular power in a Golden Bull and on 14 January 1349 he repeated that as the King of the Romans. Most Czech sources since the 19th century—encyclopedias, general histories, materials of the university itself—prefer to give 1348 as the year of the founding of the university, rather than 1347 or 1349. This was caused by an anticlerical shift in the 19th century, shared by both Czechs and Germans.


title: Charles University

text: The university was opened in 1349. The university was sectioned into parts called "nations": the Bohemian, Bavarian, Polish and Saxon. The Bohemian "natio" included Bohemians, Moravians, southern Slavs, and Hungarians; the Bavarian included Austrians, Swabians, natives of Franconia and of the Rhine provinces; the Polish included Silesians, Poles, Ruthenians; the Saxon included inhabitants of the Margravate of Meissen, Thuringia, Upper and Lower Saxony, Denmark, and Sweden. Ethnically Czech students made 16–20% of all students. Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice took an active part in the foundation by obliging the clergy to contribute and became a chancellor of the university (i.e., director or manager).


title: Charles University

text: The first graduate was promoted in 1359. The lectures were held in the colleges, of which the oldest was named for the king the "Carolinum", established in 1366. In 1372 the Faculty of Law became an independent university.


title: Charles University

text: In 1402 Jerome of Prague in Oxford copied out the "Dialogus" and "Trialogus" of John Wycliffe. The dean of the philosophical faculty, Jan Hus, translated "Trialogus" into the Czech language. In 1403 the university forbade its members to follow the teachings of Wycliffe, but his doctrine continued to gain in popularity.


title: Charles University

text: In the Western Schism, the Bohemian "natio" took the side of king Wenceslaus and supported the Council of Pisa (1409). The other "nationes" of the university declared their support for the side of Pope Gregory XII, thus the vote was 1:3 against the Bohemians. Hus and other Bohemians, though, took advantage of Wenceslaus' opposition to Gregory. By the Decree of Kutná Hora () on 18 January 1409, the king subverted the university constitution by granting the Bohemian masters three votes. Only a single vote was left for all other three "nationes" combined, compared to one vote per each "natio" before. The result of this "coup" was the emigration of foreign (mostly German) professors and students, founding the University of Leipzig in May 1409. Before that, in 1408, the university had about 200 doctors and magisters, 500 bachelors, and 30,000 students ; it now lost a large part of this number, accounts of the loss varying from 5000 to 20,000 including 46 professors.


title: Charles University

text: In the autumn of 1409, Hus was elected rector of the now Czech-dominated rump university. The standing of the university declined, and it became merely a regional institution with a very low status. Soon, in 1419, the faculties of theology and law disappeared, and only the faculty of arts remained in existence.


title: Charles University

text: The faculty of arts became a centre of the Hussite movement, and the chief doctrinal authority of the Utraquists. No degrees were given in the years 1417–30; at times there were only eight or nine professors. Emperor Sigismund, son of Charles IV, took what was left into his personal property and some progress was made. The emperor Ferdinand I called the Jesuits to Prague and in 1562 they opened an academy—the "Clementinum". From 1541 till 1558 the Czech humanist (1516–1566) was a professor of Greek language. Some progress was made again when the emperor Rudolph II took up residence in Prague. In 1609 the obligatory celibacy of the professors was abolished. In 1616 the Jesuit Academy became a university. (It could award academic degrees.)


title: Charles University

text: Jesuits were expelled 1618–1621 during the early stages of the Thirty Years' War, which was started in Prague by anti-Catholic and anti-Imperial Bohemians. By 1622, the Jesuits had a predominant influence over the emperor. An Imperial decree of 19 September 1622 gave the Jesuits supreme control over the entire school system of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. The last four professors at the Carolinum resigned, and all of the Carolinum and nine colleges went to the Jesuits. The right of handing out degrees, of holding chancellorships, and of appointing the secular professors was also granted to the Jesuits.


title: Charles University

text: Cardinal Ernst Adalbert von Harrach actively opposed the union of the university with another institution, the withdrawal of the archiepiscopal right to the chancellorship, and prevented the drawing up of the Golden Bull for the confirmation of the grant to Jesuits. Cardinal Ernst funded the "Collegium Adalbertinum", and in 1638, Emperor Ferdinand III limited the teaching monopoly enjoyed by the Jesuits. He took from them the rights, properties and archives of the Carolinum making the university once more independent under an imperial protector. During the last years of the Thirty Years' War the Charles Bridge in Prague was courageously defended by students of the Carolinum and Clementinum. Since 1650, those who received any degrees took an oath to maintain the "Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin", which has been renewed annually.


title: Charles University

text: On 23 February 1654 emperor Ferdinand III merged "Carolinum" and "Clementinum" and created a single university with four faculties—Charles-Ferdinand University. "Carolinum" had at that time only the faculty of arts, as the only faculty surviving the period of the Hussite Wars. Starting at this time, the university designated itself Charles-Ferdinand University (). The dilapidated Carolinum was rebuilt in 1718 at the expense of the state.


title: Charles University

text: The rebuilding and the bureaucratic reforms of universities in the Habsburg monarchy in 1752 and 1754 deprived the university of many of its former privileges. In 1757 a Dominican and an Augustinian were appointed to give theological instruction. However, there was a gradual introduction of enlightened reforms, and this process culminated at the end of the century when even non-Catholics were granted the right to study. On 29 July 1784, German replaced Latin as the language of instruction. For the first time Protestants were allowed, and soon after Jews. The university acknowledged the need for a Czech language and literature chair. Emperor Leopold II established it by a courtly decree on 28 October 1791. On 15 May 1792, scholar and historian was named the professor of the chair. He started his lectures on 13 March 1793.


title: Charles University

text: In the revolution of 1848, German and Czech students fought for the addition of the Czech language at the Charles-Ferdinand University as a language of lectures. Due to the demographic changes of the 19th century, Prague ceased to have a German-language majority around 1860. By 1863, 22 lecture courses were held in Czech, the remainder (out of 187) in German. In 1864, Germans suggested the creation of a separate Czech university. Czech professors rejected this because they did not wish to lose the continuity of university traditions.


title: Charles University

text: It soon became clear that neither the German-speaking Bohemians nor the Czechs were satisfied with the bilingual arrangement that the university arranged after the revolutions of 1848. The Czechs also refused to support the idea of the reinstitution of the 1349 student nations, instead declaring their support for the idea of keeping the university together, but dividing it into separate colleges, one German and one Czech. This would allow both Germans and Czechs to retain the collective traditions of the university. German-speakers, however, quickly vetoed this proposal, preferring a pure German university: they proposed to split Charles-Ferdinand University into two separate institutions.


title: Charles University

text: After long negotiations, Charles-Ferdinand was divided into a German Charles-Ferdinand University () and a Czech Charles-Ferdinand University () by an act of the Cisleithanian Imperial Council, which Emperor Franz Joseph sanctioned on 28 February 1882. Each section was entirely independent of the other, and enjoyed equal status. The two universities shared medical and scientific institutes, the old insignia, aula, library, and botanical garden, but common facilities were administrated by the German University. The first rector of the Czech University became .


title: Charles University

text: In 1890, the Royal and Imperial Czech Charles Ferdinand University had 112 teachers and 2,191 students and the Royal and Imperial German Charles Ferdinand University had 146 teachers and 1,483 students. Both universities had three faculties; the Theological Faculty remained the common until 1891, when it was divided as well. In the winter semester of 1909–10 the German Charles-Ferdinand University had 1,778 students; these were divided into: 58 theological students, for both the secular priesthood and religious orders; 755 law students; 376 medical; 589 philosophical. Among the students were about 80 women. The professors were divided as follows: theology, 7 regular professors, 1 assistant professor, 1 docent; law, 12 regular professors, 2 assistant professors, 4 docents; medicine, 15 regular professors, 19 assistant, 30 docents; philosophy, 30 regular professors, 8 assistant, 19 docents, 7 lecturers. The Czech Charles-Ferdinand University in the winter semester of 1909–10 included 4,319 students; of these 131 were theological students belonging both to the secular and regular clergy; 1,962 law students; 687 medical; 1,539 philosophical; 256 students were women. The professors were divided as follows: theological faculty, 8 regular professors, 2 docents; law, 12 regular, 7 assistant professors, 12 docents; medicine, 16 regular professors, 22 assistant, 24 docents; philosophy, 29 regular, 16 assistant, 35 docents, 11 lecturers.


title: Charles University

text: The high point of the German University was the era preceding the First World War, when it was home to world-renowned scientists such as physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach, Moritz Winternitz and Albert Einstein. In addition, the German-language students included prominent individuals such as future writers Max Brod, Franz Kafka, and Johannes Urzidil. The "Lese- und Redehalle der deutschen Studenten in Prag" ("Reading and Lecture Hall of the German students in Prague"), founded in 1848, was an important social and scientific centre. Their library contained in 1885 more than 23,519 books and offered 248 scientific journals, 19 daily newspapers, 49 periodicals and 34 papers of entertainment. Regular lectures were held to scientific and political themes.


title: Charles University

text: Even before the Austro-Hungarian Empire was abolished in late 1918, to be succeeded by Czechoslovakia, Czech politicians demanded that the insignia of 1348 were exclusively to be kept by the Czech university. The "Act No. 197/1919 Sb. z. a n." established the Protestant Theological Faculty, but not as a part of the Charles University. (That changed on 10 May 1990, when it finally became a faculty of the university.)


title: Charles University

text: In 1920, the so-called "" (No. 135/1920 Sb. z. a n.) was issued, named for its initiator, professor of physiology František Mareš, which determined that the Czech university was to be the successor to the original university. Dropping the Habsburg name "Ferdinand", it designated itself Charles University, while the German university was not named in the document, and then became officially called the German University in Prague ().


title: Charles University

text: In 1921 the German-speaking Bohemians considered moving their university to Liberec (), in northern Bohemia. In 1930, about 42,000 inhabitants of Prague spoke German as their native language, while millions lived in northern, southern and western Bohemia, in Czech Silesia and parts of Moravia near the borders with Austria and Germany.


title: Charles University

text: In October 1932, after Naegle's death, the Czechs started again a controversy over the insignia. Ethnic tensions intensified, although some professors of the German University were members of the Czechoslovak government. Any agreement to use the insignia for both the universities was rejected. On 21 November 1934, the German University had to hand over the "insigniae" to the Czechs. The German University senate sent a delegation to Minister of Education Krčmář to protest the writ. At noon on 24 November 1934, several thousand students of the Czech University protested in front of the German university building. The Czech rector Karel Domin gave a speech urging the crowd to attack, while the outnumbered German students tried to resist. Under the threat of violence, on 25 November 1934 rector (1873–1951) handed over the "insigniae". These troubles of 1934 harmed relations between the two universities and nationalities.


title: Charles University

text: The tide turned in 1938 when, following the Munich Agreement, German troops entered the border areas of Czechoslovakia (the so-called Sudetenland), as did Polish and Hungarian troops elsewhere. On 15 March 1939 Germans forced Czecho-Slovakia to split apart and the Czech lands were occupied by Nazis as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. "Reichsprotektor" Konstantin von Neurath handed the historical "insigniae" to the German University, which was officially renamed "Deutsche Karls-Universität in Prag". On 1 September 1939 the German University was subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Education in Berlin and on 4 November 1939 it was proclaimed to be "Reichsuniversität".


title: Charles University

text: On 28 October 1939, during a demonstration, Jan Opletal was shot. His burial on 15 November 1939 became another demonstration. On 17 November 1939 (now marked as International Students' Day) the Czech University and all other Czech institutions of higher learning were closed, remaining closed until the end of the War. Nine student leaders were executed and about 1,200 Czech students were interned in Sachsenhausen and not released until 1943. About 20 or 35 interned students died in the camp. On 8 May 1940 the Czech University was officially renamed Czech Charles University () by government regulation 188/1940 Coll.


title: Charles University

text: In 1945 the insignia of the university (the rector's chain, the scepters of the individual faculties, the university seal and also the founding documents and other historical documents) were stolen by the Nazis. None of these historical objects have been found to this day.


title: Charles University

text: Although the university began to recover rapidly after 1945, it did not enjoy academic freedom for long. After the communist coup in 1948, the new regime started to arrange purges and repress all forms of disagreement with the official ideology, and continued to do so for the next four decades, with the second wave of purges during the "normalization" period in the beginning of the 1970s. Only in the late 1980s did the situation start to improve; students organized various activities and several peaceful demonstrations in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 abroad. This initiated the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, in which both students and faculty of the university played a large role. Václav Havel, a writer, dramatist and philosopher, was recruited from the independent academic community and appointed president of the republic in December 1989.


title: Charles University

text: Charles University does not have one joint campus. The academic facilities occupy many locations throughout the city of Prague and three of the faculties are located in other cities (two of them in Hradec Králové, one in Plzeň). The historical main building from the 14th century called "Carolinum" is situated in the Old Town of Prague and constitutes the university's center. It is the seat of the rector and of the Academic Senate of Charles university. Carolinum is also the venue for official academic ceremonies such as matriculations or graduations.


title: Charles University

text: Its academic publishing house is Karolinum Press and the university also operates several museums. The Botanical Garden of Charles University, maintained by its Faculty of Science, is located in the New Town.


title: Charles University

text: Among the four original faculties of Charles University were: the faculty of law, medicine, art (philosophy) and theology (now catholic theology). Today, Charles University consists of 17 faculties, based primarily in Prague, two houses in Hradec Králové and one in Plzeň.


title: Charles University

text: There are also such programs as Egyptology (Czech Institute of Egyptology), Addictology and Criminology.


title: Charles University

text: According to Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Ranking), Charles University ranked in the upper 1.5 percent of the world's best universities in 2011. It came 201st to 300th out of 17,000 universities worldwide. It is the best university in the Czech Republic and one of the best universities in Central and Eastern Europe only overtaken by Russian Lomonosov Moscow State University at 74th place. It was placed 31st in Times "BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014" (after 23rd University of Warsaw).


title: Charles University

text: It was ranked in 2013 as 201–300 best in the World among 500 universities evaluated by Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Ranking), 233rd among 500 in QS World University Rankings, 351–400 among 400 universities in Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 485th in CWTS Leiden Ranking of 500 universities. Earlier rankings are presented in following table:


title: Charles University

text: Rector of the University Václav Hampl said in 2008: "I am very pleased that Charles University achieved such a great success and I would like to thank to all who have contributed to it. An overwhelming majority of schools with a similar placement like Charles University have incomparably better financing and therefore this success is not only a reflection of professional qualities of our academics but also their personal efforts and dedication."


title: Charles University

text: According to the QS Subject Ranking Charles University is among the 51–100 best universities in the world in geography and linguistics.


title: Charles University

text: In Germany the Charles University in Prague cooperates with the Goethe-University in Frankfurt/Main. Both cities are linked by a long-lasting partnership agreement.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: The fourth-generation model was released in March 1979 in Japan, and was the last generation to have the entire lineup in rear-wheel-drive configuration. Export sales commenced in August 1979. Although most of the fourth generation was replaced by 1984, the station wagon and van versions were offered into late 1987. In 1980 Corolla daily production reached an all-time high, averaging 2,346 units. The one-millionth Corolla was a 70-series, built in February 1983. A limited "One Million Edition" was released in Japan at this time.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: This generation (apart from the wagon) got a new rear coil spring five-link rear end with a panhard rod (two years after its main Japanese rival the Nissan Sunny had made the same change), and the wheelbase was longer at 94.5 in (2,400 mm). A new 1.8 L (1,770 cc/108 in³) "3T" engine was optional to some markets, while parts of the world retained the old "4K". The most notable inline-four engine advancement came in 1979 and 1983, however, as Toyota began offering the 1.5 L (1,452 cc) 3A-U and 1.6 L (1,587 cc/96 in³) 4A-C engines respectively. The aluminum head, SOHC engines, although bulkier in size and weight than the K and T engines it was offered alongside, was a grand step up in performance. This would be the last generation of Corollas to use any pushrod or alloy cylinder head engines, as Toyota made the decision to focus exclusively on aluminium head, OHC engine design from this point forward. This was the first generation to have power steering. In the US market, this was introduced in 1981 for the 1982 model year.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: Various facelifts were made during production. In 1979–1980, a four-round headlamp setup was used in most markets. A restyle for 1981 involved two rectangular headlamps. A more extensive facelift was given for 1982, involving a new sloping nose with wraparound headlights, remodeled taillights and new bumpers, which on some models were rubber moulded. From August 1983 (subsequent to the changeover to front-wheel drive for the rest of the range) the Corolla Van received a new 1.5-litre 5K-J engine as well as a light restyling, and also a roof raised by . The Wagon/Van underwent a final light facelift in August 1985, including an upgraded 1C-II engine for the diesels. It also received seats that could be folded nearly flat to make the car beddable, and continued in production until being replaced by the 90-series Corolla Van/Wagon in August 1987.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: In Japan, where it was introduced in March 1979, the Corolla was offered in all body styles: two-door Sedan, four-door Sedan, two-door Hardtop Coupé, three-door Coupé, and three-door Liftback Coupé. The three- or five-door Van models were added to the lineup in August 1979; until then the old 30-series Van had continued to be available. This was also when the 1.8-litre 13T engine first became available in the domestic Japanese market. The continued as a coupé, with a sporting four-door sedan called the Corolla GT also available.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: February 1982 saw the introduction of the Toyota 1C diesel engine installed in the Corolla sedan. This car was exclusive to the "Toyota Diesel Store" to encourage sales at the largely commercial truck retailer for Toyota in Japan, alongside the larger, diesel-engined Toyota Vista. At the same time, the Van was no longer available with the 1.6-litre gasoline engine, but the five-door KE73G wagon was introduced as the first Corolla Wagon to be sold in Japan (rather than the "van" commercial car). The Van/Wagon continued to be offered until August 1987, skipping the first front-wheel-drive generation of Corollas. After the introduction of the front-wheel drive E80-series Corolla, the Van range received a facelift and a new set of chassis codes (KE72V, KE74V, CE71V).


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: The E70-series Corolla Hardtop and Liftback models were among the last true pillarless hardtops available in the United States. These models used the same 13-inch styled steel wheels and trim rings that graced the U.S-market 1974–75 Celica GT.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: The TE72 Liftback was marketed in Australia as the Toyota T-18 as it was originally sold alongside the previous 30-series Corolla range. Introduced in October 1979, it was fitted with a 1.8-litre engine and a five-speed transmission and was available in either standard or DeLuxe trim.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: 70 series sedan, wagon and panel van variants were introduced in October 1981 with a 1.3-litre engine. Facelifted models were offered from October 1983, with a 1.6-litre engine now available as an option. A special edition sedan called the "Corolla Spirit" arrived in early 1984; it received a boot spoiler, the 1.6-litre engine, chromed wheel trim, stripes, and some additional equipment.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: Most E70-series Corollas sold in Europe were fitted with the 1.3-litre 4K engine, producing . All European market cars were rated according to DIN. There was also the 1.6-litre 2T engine with , which was also available in the wagon in some markets, as well as a twin-carburetted version of the same (the 2T-B) for the coupés and liftbacks. The 2T-B has . The twin-cam 2T-G was also listed in Europe (only with coupé/liftback bodywork), with at 6,200 rpm. The European twin-cam has twin carburettors rather than the fuel injection found in domestic Japanese cars. Due to their peculiar emissions regulations, the most powerful engine available to a Swiss and Swedish Liftback buyer was the 1,770 cc 3T unit, producing in 1983. The 1982 Swedish models produce for the 4K or 3T engines.


title: Toyota Corolla (E70)

text: This generation of Corolla was marketed in many Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The E70 Corolla was also locally built in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: Sticky Fingers is an Australian Indie rock band formed in 2008 in Sydney. The band consists of Dylan Frost (lead vocals/guitar), Paddy Cornwall (bass/vocals), Seamus Coyle (lead guitar), Beaker Best (drums/percussion) and Freddy Crabs (keys/synth). Former band member Taras Hrubyj-Piper (guitar/keyboards) left the band in 2009, shortly after their debut EP "Helping Hand" was released.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: They have released five studio albums: "Caress Your Soul" (2013), "Land of Pleasure" (2014), "Westway (The Glitter & The Slums)" (2016), "Yours to Keep" (2019) and Lekkerboy (2022), as well as three EP's: "Helping Hand" (2009), "Extended Play" (2010), and "Happy Endings" (2011). Their third album was the first album to debut and appear at number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On 5 December 2016 the band announced they would be going on an indefinite hiatus in February, due to several internal issues. On 26 March 2018, the band announced their return via their instagram account.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: The band was formed after Cornwall and Best met Frost busking outside of the Coopers Hotel in Newtown.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: In 2008, Sticky Fingers played their first live show and in October 2009, released their debut EP titled "Helping Hand". The EP showcases the early sound of Sticky Fingers which is mainly reggae driven, and includes the songs "Inspirational" and "Juicy Ones" which were later re-recorded for their "Extended Play" EP. The EP credits Taras Hrubyj-Piper for guitar and keyboard work, as well as Caroline De Dear and rapper Mute Mc for vocal work on the song "Lyrical Stoka".


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: Sticky Fingers released the "Extended Play" EP in October 2010 (through sureshaker), and the acoustic EP "Happy Endings" in October 2011.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: After having their applications to play the Newtown Festival rejected on two consecutive occasions, in 2010, Sticky Fingers set up their own DIY stage in a friend's backyard nearby on the day of the festival. The renegade performance caught the attention of promoters, and notably, producer Dan Hume, who would go on to produce their next 3 records. Sticky Fingers also went on to headline Newtown Festival the next year.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: "Caress Your Soul", the band's debut album (sureshaker), was released in March 2013 and reached number 39 in the Australian Albums Chart. The band's second album "Land of Pleasure" reached number 3 on the Australian Albums Chart when it released in August 2014.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: The band has not only gained popularity in Australia, but became popular in countries such as France, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the UK. The band postponed their 2015 European tour due to personal reasons.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: Their third album "Westway (The Glitter & the Slums)" was mostly recorded over the course of a month in Karma Sound Studios, Bang Saray, Thailand in early 2016 and was released on 30 September 2016. Frost and Cornwall wrote the lyrics of the album and two songs, "Something Strange" featuring Australian rapper Remi and "Amillionite", were recorded in Sydney. The album debuted at number one on the Australian Albums Chart, making it the band's first number-one Australian album.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On 5 December 2016, the band announced through a Facebook post that they were going on an indefinite hiatus. Later that day, Dylan Frost posted a Facebook status on the band's page apologising for his behaviour and announcing he struggles with alcohol addiction and mental health issues. On 6 December 2016, an article published by "The Sydney Morning Herald" detailed further events leading to the hiatus. Frost was accused of being physically threatening to indigenous singer Thelma Plum after an incident at a Sydney pub where he reportedly spat on her.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On 26 March 2018, the band used their Instagram account to post an image of the five members together, with the caption "Look who's back", signalling a return from their hiatus. On 30 March they played at Bad Friday, a neighborhood music festival held in Sydney's Inner West.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On 13 April 2018, they released a comeback single, "Kick On", and announced a June 2018 world tour with shows in Australia, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Indonesia. This tour includes a performance at Luna Park's Big Top, Sydney.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On May 19th, 2020 the band announced on social media that they recently updated their website. In the bio section of their website the band stated "as they ready their 5th album for 2021 and more surprises, Sticky Fingers welcomes everyone to join them."


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On September 24th, 2021 the band released the title track/lead single from their 5th studio album "We Can Make The World Glow".


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On October 29, 2021 the band released 2 more singles from their 5th studio album which were joined together as one release titled "Saves The Day" and "My Rush"


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: On December 15th, 2021 the band released their 4th single from their 5th studio album titled "Crooked Eyes"


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: When asked where the band got their reggae vibe from, bassist Paddy Cornwall stated, Sydney 'Rock Steady Reggae got soul band 'King Tide' were [are] a huge influence on 'Sticky Fingers' opening for King Tide many times. Later on the band let King Tide open for them on their sold out run of Enmore Theatre gigs. That said, You know Dizza (Dylan) is rocking his Kiwi roots from Auckland, you know Seamus loves his rock 'n' roll, and me and Beaks just do our thing on the rhythm section." The band has stated their psychedelic reggae music has also been influenced by bands such as The Clash, Pink Floyd and the Arctic Monkeys.


title: Sticky Fingers (band)

text: "A melting pot of reggae, psych and bourbon. Hypnotising you into a swaying trance, then punching you in the face for dancing like a hippy. Their borderline contradictory fusion of flavours speaks to every walk of life, and it's this multiplicity which makes the world their oyster."


title: A (Cyrillic)

text: А (А а; italics: "А а") is a letter of the Cyrillic script. It commonly represents an open central unrounded vowel , halfway between the pronunciation of in "cat" and "father". The Cyrillic letter А is romanized using the Latin letter A.


title: A (Cyrillic)

text: The Cyrillic letter А was derived directly from the Greek letter Alpha (). In the Early Cyrillic alphabet its name was (azǔ), meaning "I". In the Cyrillic numeral system, the Cyrillic letter А has a value of 1.


title: A (Cyrillic)

text: Throughout history, the Cyrillic letter А has had various shapes, but today is standardised on one that looks exactly like the Latin letter A, including the italic and lower case forms.


title: A (Cyrillic)

text: In most languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet – such as Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, Macedonian and Montenegrin – the Cyrillic letter А represents the open central unrounded vowel . In Ingush and Chechen the Cyrillic letter А represents both the open back unrounded vowel and the mid-central vowel . In Tuvan the letter can be written as a double vowel.


title: Albin Kurti

text: Albin Kurti (; born 24 March 1975) is a Kosovar Albanian politician and activist, serving as the Prime Minister of Kosovo since 22 March 2021, having previously served in that role between February and June 2020.


title: Albin Kurti

text: He came to prominence in 1997 as the vice-president of the University of Pristina student union, and a main organizer of non-violent demonstrations in 1997 and 1998. When Adem Demaçi became the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Kurti worked in his office. He has been member of the Assembly of Kosovo since 2010 in three consecutive legislatures.


title: Albin Kurti

text: Albin Kurti was born on 24 March 1975 in Pristina, at the time part of Yugoslavia. Kurti's father originates from an Albanian family from the village of Sukobin (Albanian: Sukubinë) in Ulcinj Municipality, Montenegro; an engineer, he moved to Pristina in search for employment. Kurti's mother is a retired elementary school teacher, born and educated in Pristina. Kurti finished his elementary and middle education in Prishtina. In 1993 he got admitted at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Pristina as a top applicant, having scored 100% in the admission exam. He graduated in 2003 in Telecommunications and Computer Engineering.


title: Albin Kurti

text: He is married to Norwegian Rita Augestad Knudsen, and they have a daughter named Lea. In addition to his native Albanian, he also speaks Serbo-Croatian, French and English. Besides his Kosovo citizenship, Kurti also holds Albanian citizenship and has voted in Albanian elections.


title: Albin Kurti

text: In Pristina, Kurti attended primary and secondary schools from 1981–1993, then studied electrical engineering at the University of Pristina. During this time, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke up into its former republics, which were now striving for independence (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro). Against the background of increasing ethnic tensions between Kosovar Serbs and Kosovar Albanians, Serbia began in 1989 with a withdrawal of essential Kosovar-Albanian rights and reprisals against the Albanian majority. The Kosovar Albanian professors and students at the University of Pristina were therefore forced to move the lectures to private rooms from 1991–1996, where Kurti also completed his studies. In 2001 he was still studying computer science.


title: Albin Kurti

text: Albin Kurti first came to prominence in October 1997, as one of the leaders of the student protests in Kosovo. Albanian students protested against the occupation of the university campus by the Yugoslav police. The protests were crushed violently, but the students and Kurti did not stop the resistance and they organized other protests in the following years. In July 1998, Kurti joined the Kosovo Liberation Army as an assistant of the political representative Adem Demaçi. These actions made him a target of the Yugoslav police.


title: Albin Kurti

text: In April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Kurti was arrested and beaten by Yugoslav forces. He was first sent to the Dubrava prison, but as the Serbian army withdrew from Kosovo, they transferred him to a prison in Požarevac on 10 June 1999. Later that year, he was charged with "jeopardizing Yugoslavia's territorial integrity and conspiring to commit an enemy activity linked to terrorism" and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.


title: Albin Kurti

text: Kurti was released in December 2001 by Yugoslavia's post-Milošević government after being pardoned by President Vojislav Koštunica amid international pressure. Since his release, he has worked outside party politics in Kosovo but has been a severe critic of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and of corruption. He organised non-violent protests in support of the families of those whose relatives disappeared in the war, and in favor of Kosovo's self-determination. On 23 April 2003 Kurti graduated with a degree in Computer and Telecommunications Sciences from the University of Prishtina. He was an activist for the Action for Kosovo Network (AKN), which was formed in 1997, and was a movement whose mission focused on human rights and social justice, education, culture and art.