title: Shameless (season 5)

text: The fifth season of "Shameless", an American comedy-drama television series based on the British series of the same name by Paul Abbott, premiered on January 11, 2015 on the Showtime television network. Executive producers are John Wells, Paul Abbott and Andrew Stearn, and producer Michael Hissrich. Like all previous seasons, the season consisted of 12 episodes.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: The season picks up two to three months after the events of the previous season. Fiona, officially off house arrest, is still a waitress at the Golden House diner, which has been renamed to Patsy's Pies and is now under the new ownership of Sean Pierce (Dermot Mulroney); Sheila leaves town after her house burns down; Frank, Sammi and Chuckie move into the Gallagher household; Mandy moves to Indiana with Kenyatta; and Ian remains in denial of his bipolarity as Mickey continues to look after him. When Ian begins showing increasingly erratic behavior, Mickey gets Ian to admit himself into a psychological evaluation ward.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: Fiona begins a relationship with local musician Gus Pfender (Steve Kazee). After a one-week relationship, Fiona and Gus impulsively decide to get married. Her problems are compounded when Jimmy—going under the alias of Jack—suddenly returns to Chicago; Jimmy reveals that after boarding Nando's yacht, he had been forced to do slave labor in South America. Fiona has sex with Jimmy, who pleads with her to accompany him on a trip to Dubai, which she refuses. Jimmy later returns, stating that he cancelled the trip to stay with her; Fiona, recognizing the problems of their relationship, ends things with him for good. Fiona later learns from Jimmy's colleague Angela (Dichen Lachman), that the client had cancelled the Dubai trip—not Jimmy. Fiona and Gus' relationship strains following Fiona's infidelity, and Fiona ends up developing feelings for Sean, who is a recovering heroin addict.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: Meanwhile, Debbie begins dating Derek, a boy she bonds with during boxing lessons. Debbie goes on birth control and has sex with Derek, despite being advised against doing so within 48 hours; this ultimately results in Debbie becoming pregnant, to Fiona's dismay. Lip and Amanda continue a non-exclusive relationship, though Amanda eventually begins showing feelings for Lip, which he ignores. When Lip pursues his older professor, Helene (Sasha Alexander), Amanda angrily lashes out at him for ditching her. Kevin and Veronica struggle with parental life, and the two go through a brief break-up period, in which Svetlana strikes an unlikely bond with Kevin. Kevin and Veronica eventually make amends at the end of the season.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: At the Gallagher home, Sammi takes charge as the family's caretaker. She begins openly showing a disdain for Frank, her eyes opened to her father by her half-siblings. Frank wants to get rid of Sammi and convinces Carl, who has begun dealing drugs, to use Chuckie as a drug mule. In the second half of the season, Frank bonds with his doctor Bianca (Bojana Novakovic), who is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bianca refuses to endure chemo, instead wanting to experience a debauched lifestyle that Frank introduces her to. They eventually begin a romantic relationship. As Bianca's health begins deteriorating, she and Frank take a trip to Costa Rica. While Frank is sleeping, Bianca leaves a thankful goodbye note for him before walking into the ocean to presumably drown herself.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: Under Frank's advice, Carl gets an unaware Chuckie to transfer heroin, but Chuckie is quickly caught by the police. Enraged by Chuckie's arrest, Sammi turns on the Gallagher clan and calls the cops on Carl. In court, Chuckie is sentenced to ninety days in juvenile prison while Carl, refusing to give up his drug dealers, is sentenced to one year. In another attempt to get retribution on the Gallaghers, Sammi reports Ian to the military police for his military insubordination. Ian is subsequently arrested. Angered by Sammi's actions, Mickey vengefully drugs Sammi with roofies until she passes out unconscious. When Mickey wrongly assumes the roofies have killed Sammi, he and Debbie hide Sammi's body in a moving storage container. Meanwhile, Ian receives a visit from Monica, and the two briefly hitchhike out of the state after he is released.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: Ian returns to the South Side and reunites with Mickey. However, Ian breaks up with him, affirming that he doesn't want to put Mickey through his bipolarity. The fifth season closes on a cliffhanger, with Sammi suddenly showing up and attempting to shoot Mickey with a gun. The shootout ultimately results in both Mickey and Sammi's incarceration.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: On February 18, 2014, Showtime announced the series would be renewed for a fifth season. Production on the first episode began on July 3, 2014 with the first table read, with principal photography commencing on July 8, 2014.


title: Shameless (season 5)

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the fifth season a 92%, based on 12 reviews. The critics consensus reads, "Settling into its fifth year with a irascible sense of fun, "Shameless" hints that the Gallaghers won't become a functional family unit anytime soon - but audiences will adore them all the same."


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: The 2022 Giro d'Italia was the 105th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race. The race started on 6 May in Budapest, Hungary, and finished on 29 May in Verona, Italy.


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: The race was won by Jai Hindley of , taking his first Grand Tour victory and becoming the first Australian to win the Giro. Hindley came into the race as one of his team's three potential GC leaders before taking the team leadership when he won stage 9, which finished atop Blockhaus. Over the last half of the race, he emerged as one of the strongest climbers, staying within ten seconds of the race lead until stage 20 to Marmolada. On that stage, he rode away from the rest of the contenders on the final climb to move into the race lead, which he kept in the final day time trial. Second place went to Richard Carapaz of . Carapaz took the "maglia rosa" on stage 14, holding a slim advantage over Hindley. The two were inseparable until the penultimate stage, when Carapaz was dropped inside the final three kilometres. He dropped to second place, which he solidified in the final day time trial. Third place went to Mikel Landa of . He performed consistently in the mountains, emerging as one of the strongest climbers in the race to take his first podium result in a Grand Tour since the 2015 Giro.


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: In the race's other classifications, Arnaud Démare of won the points classification. He was the race's best sprinter, winning three sprint stages along the way. Koen Bouwman of won the mountains classification while also winning two stages from the breakaway. Juan Pedro López of won the young rider classification. Apart from finishing in the top ten, López also held the "maglia rosa" for ten days before losing it to Carapaz midway through the race. took both the teams classification and the fair play classification. Filippo Tagliani of won the intermediate sprint classification for taking the most points in intermediate sprints while his teammate, Mattia Bais, took the breakaway classification for spending the greatest number of kilometres in the break. Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel of won the combativity classification. He also won the first stage and held the "maglia rosa" for the first three days before getting into multiple breaks over the rest of the race.


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: Although are invited to all UCI World Tour events, they declined their invitation to this year's Giro deciding to focus on the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: Richard Carapaz (), the 2019 champion, was considered the pre-race favourite, followed by Simon Yates () and João Almeida (). Their closest challengers were seen to be Miguel Ángel López (), Mikel Landa () and 2017 champion Tom Dumoulin (). Other contenders were considered to be Wilco Kelderman (), Romain Bardet () and Hugh Carthy (). Defending champion Egan Bernal did not participate, as he had not recovered from injuries suffered on a training ride during the offseason.


title: 2022 Giro d'Italia

text: Riders believed to be the main contenders for victories on the sprint stages were Mark Cavendish (), Mathieu van der Poel (), Arnaud Démare (), and Caleb Ewan ().


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Chhota Shakeel (born 31 December 1955) is an Indian crime boss and a high-ranking leader of the D-Company, a criminal group based in South Asia. He joined the D-Company in 1988 under the kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, and was reportedly responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the criminal group. Shakeel became one of the most-wanted men in India after his alleged participation in the 1993 Bombay bombings. He is also wanted by the U.S. government for international drug trafficking.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: He has been sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Chhota Shakeel was born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, on 31 December 1955 or 1960. His birth name was Mohammed Shakeel Babu Miyan Shaikh. Prior to joining organized crime, Shakeel ran a dubious travel agency in Dongri, Mumbai. In 1988, he joined the D-Company, a criminal group based in South Asia, while stationed in Dubai. He was one of its earliest members along with Bishal Cheetah, Johnny Akhawat and Liger Bhai or Mushu Bhai. According to his Interpol criminal profile, Shakeel is tall, has black-colored hair and eyes, and speaks Hindi, English, and Urdu.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: During his early years in the D-Company, Sharad Shetty ran match fixes, betting and hawala deals for D-Company leader Dawood Ibrahim, while Chhota Rajan headed criminal activities in Mumbai. After the 1993 Bombay bombings and a split between Dawood and Rajan's factions, Shakeel was promoted to an executive role within the D-Company by befriending Dawood. As a leader of the D-Company, Shakeel reportedly oversaw the day-to-day operations of the criminal group.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: In the D-Company, Shakeel was known as the CEO, and reported directly to Dawood. According to the Maharashtra police, he reportedly received support from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's intelligence agency, in his criminal operations. After the Bombay attacks, Shakeel sought refuge in Pakistan under the protection of the ISI.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Shakeel is one of the most-wanted men in India. He is wanted for murder, extortion, and terrorism, the last charge stemming from his alleged involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings. After the attacks, Shakeel worked with Rahim Merchant (alias "Dogla"), a wealthy Pakistani from North Karachi, to create a voice proxy. Shakeel did this to conceal his voice while having conversations abroad, and wrote what he wanted to say to Merchant, who worked as his speaker. This helped keep Shakeel under authorities' radar. Through Merchant, Shakeel brokered deals for the D-Company, conducted extortion activities, and helped run many arms operations on the ISI's behalf. Authorities believe that even if Shakeel was in fact dead, his voice impersonator Merchant would likely continue mimicking his voice to continue running criminal activities.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Authorities suspect that Shakeel was responsible for international drug trafficking operations for D-Company, and worked with Afghan and Colombian suppliers. He was also interested in arms trafficking and real-estate, and bought several mines in Africa to begin his illegal diamond mining business. Shakeel reportedly smuggled diamonds for the Ukrainian mafia group Odessa and bartered them for weapons. In addition to his Indian passport, Shakeel had two more – from Botswana and the other from Malawi – to presumably help him in his diamond business. The diamonds were smuggled by African nationals from countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Republic of Mali. They were collected for further distribution in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. They were then taken to Kenya, and then shipped to Dubai and Pakistan. Shakeel reportedly had real estate in countries like the United States, India, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Spain and South Africa.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Shakeel was one of the mentors of the former gangster Abu Salem. He entrusted him with overseeing Bollywood's finances and acquiring their film rights abroad. Their partnership eventually ended and Salem branched out of the D-Company. In 1997, Shakeel reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of social activist SM Khalid, the Bombay Bakers Association President, in Dongri. In September 2000, Shakeel openly agreed to have ordered an attack against Rajan, who was based out of Indonesia. In 2001, he was interviewed by "India Today" and claimed to have financed several Hindi films.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: On 15 May 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a branch of the United States Department of the Treasury, sanctioned Shakeel and D-Company high-ranking leader Tiger Memon under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). According to the OFAC, Shakeel and his criminal group were involved in international drug trafficking since the late 1980s. The narcotics smuggled included heroin and hashish, which were brought from Afghanistan and Thailand and imported illegally into the United States, Western Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. As part of this sanction, U.S. citizens were prohibited from engaging in business activities with Shakeel, and his assets under U.S. jurisdiction were also frozen.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: In mid-2016, D-company lieutenant and Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim had a fallout with Skaheel over the D-Company's operations in Dubai. Anees wanted to oust Shakeel of his leadership role. Shakeel organized a faction within the D-Company to counter Anees' efforts. Dawood refused to take sides since he wanted to keep his friendship with Shakeel and ties with his sibling Anees. Other high-ranking leaders of the D-Company were confused with whose orders to follow, and this infighting created tensions within the criminal group.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: In 2016, the police were able to gain possession of a photograph of Shakeel after it was taken during a birthday party of another suspect involved in the Bombay attacks. Shakeel was caught on camera for the first time in the 1980s, and the picture remained the only photograph of him for at least three decades. During these years, Shakeel was suspected of living in a mansion near Karachi, Pakistan.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: In 2017, Dawood's brother Iqbal Kaskar was arrested for extortion by the Thane police. In that criminal case, Shakeel was accused of helping Iqbal by help him threaten people for money. Investigators stated that Iqbal's arrest worsened the ties between Shakeel and Anees.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: by multiple sources after an audio clip of a man claiming to be Dawood stated that he had died in Karachi, Pakistan on 7 January 2017. Another source, citing an unnamed Indian intelligence officer based in the U.S., stated that Shakeel died of a heart attack in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. In the clip, a man known as Bilal was heard telling a relative of Shakeel that Shakeel had died of a heart attack and that Dawood's brother Anees was taking his earnings. The Royal Thai Police had reportedly sent a letter to the Interpol saying that Shakeel was dead and was no longer subject to the Interpol's Red Notice.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: An investigation conducted by India Today TV in 2018 concluded that this scheme was fake. The letter provided by the Royal Thai Police was signed by Piya Uthayo, an officer that was employed in another department. The police discovered that the fax number used to send the letter to the Interpol was based out of Bangkok, Thailand. The probe led to the arrest of a German-national who confessed to the Bangkok police that he was sent to Thailand to send the letter on orders from an Indian-national. Investigators believe that Dawood was responsible for planning this scheme after disagreements with Shakeel. Dawood's brother Anees and Shakeel have tried to take over the D-Company's second-in-command position. India Today TV tried reaching Shakeel for comment but his three mobile numbers were unreachable.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: There are several versions explaining how Shakeel reportedly died. One version suggests that he died of a heart attack shortly after a meeting with members of Odessa in Islamabad. He was reportedly transported by air to a hospital in Rawalpindi, but was declared dead upon arrival.


title: Chhota Shakeel

text: Dawood reportedly got ill after learning about Shakeel's death two days later. He was admitted to the hospital twice, on January and March 2017, and experienced depression. Sources close to the crime boss stated that he was contemplating to return to India. Most of Shakeel's alleged associates, Bilal, Mohammed Rashid, Iqbal Salim, Yusuf Raja, and Parvez Khawaja, reportedly left the D-Company after his death. Other unconfirmed reports stated that Shakeel had broken away from Dawood's partnership prior to his death. Sources close to Dawood's inner circle stated that Anees took over the operations headed by Shakeel on 5 January 2019. D-Company was reportedly not able to find a replacement for Shakeel's void in Tajikistan and took longer than expected to appoint a successor. The infighting between Shakeel and Anees' faction reportedly ended after both parties agreed on certain terms following Shakeel's rumored death.


title: Positive liberty

text: Positive liberty is the possession of the power and resources to act in the context of the structural limitations of the broader society which impacts a person's ability to act, as opposed to negative liberty, which is freedom from external restraint on one's actions.


title: Positive liberty

text: As Heyman notes, it is important to understand Isaiah Berlin's two definitions of liberty in the context of the ideological circumstances of the 1950's, so a conception of positive liberty includes freedom from external constraints, leading to an understanding of positive liberty in the context of human agency. According to Charles Taylor, Positive liberty is the ability to fulfill one's purposes. Negative liberty is the freedom from interference by others.


title: Positive liberty

text: The concepts of structure and agency are central to the concept of positive liberty because in order to be free, a person should be free from inhibitions of the social structure in carrying out their ambitions. Structurally, classism, sexism, ageism, ableism and racism can inhibit a person's freedom. As positive liberty is primarily concerned with the possession of sociological agency, it is enhanced by the ability of citizens to participate in government and have their voices, interests, and concerns recognized and acted upon.


title: Positive liberty

text: Isaiah Berlin's essay "Two Concepts of Liberty" (1958) is typically acknowledged as the first to explicitly draw the distinction between positive and negative liberty.


title: Positive liberty

text: Charles Taylor works to resolve one of the issues that separate ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ theories of freedom, as these have been distinguished in Isaiah Berlin's seminal essay, ‘Two concepts of liberty'. He sees it as undeniable that there are two such families of conceptions of political freedom.


title: Positive liberty

text: Thus, Taylor clarifies that there are two competing theories. One aims to define freedom exclusively in terms of the independence of the individual from interference by others, be these governments, corporations, or private persons; this theory is challenged by those who believe that freedom resides at least in part in collective control over the common life.


title: Positive liberty

text: Negative liberty is a concept that is often used in political philosophy. It is the idea that freedom means being able to do what you want, without any external obstacles. This concept has been criticized for being too simplistic and not taking into account the importance of individual self-realization.


title: Positive liberty

text: Taylor suggests that negative liberty is little more than a philosophical term and that real liberty is achieved when significant social and economic inequalities are also considered. He proposed dialectical positive liberty as a means to gaining both negative and positive liberty, by overcoming the inequalities that divide us.


title: Positive liberty

text: According to Taylor, restricting the expression of people's religious and ethical convictions is more significant than restricting their movement around uninhabited parts of the country; and both are more significant than the trivia of traffic control. But the Hobbesian scheme has no place for the notion of significance. It will allow only for purely quantitative judgments.


title: Positive liberty

text: Further, Taylor argues that the Hobbes-Bentham view is indefensible as a view of freedom. Faced with this two-step process, it seems safer and easier to stop it at the first step, to insist firmly that freedom is just a matter of the absence of external obstacles, that it, therefore, involves no discrimination of motivation and permits in principle no second-guessing of the subject by anyone else. This is the essence of the Maginot Line strategy and it is very tempting; (here, Taylor is referring to ways in which one can "fortify" an argument). But, he claims this is wrong, we cannot defend a view of freedom that does not involve at least some qualitative discrimination as to motive, that is which does not put some restrictions on motivation among the necessary conditions for freedom, and hence which could rule out second-guessing in principle.


title: Positive liberty

text: Therefore, Taylor argues for a distinction between negative and positive liberty that highlights the importance of social justice.


title: Positive liberty

text: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's theory of freedom, according to which individual freedom is achieved through participation in the process whereby one's community exercises collective control over its own affairs in accordance with the "general will". Some interpret "The Social Contract" to suggest that Rousseau believed that liberty was the power of individual citizens to act in the government to bring about changes; this is essentially the power for self-governance and democracy. Rousseau himself said, "the mere impulse to appetite is slavery, while obedience to law "we prescribe ourselves" is liberty." For Rousseau, the passage from the state of nature to the civil state substitutes justice for instinct gives his actions the morality they had formerly lacked.


title: Positive liberty

text: G. F. W. Hegel wrote in his "Elements of the Philosophy of Right" (in the part in which he introduced the concept of the sphere of abstract right) that "duty is not a restriction on freedom, but only on freedom in the abstract" and that "duty is the attainment of our essence, the winning of positive freedom.


title: Positive liberty

text: Put in the simplest terms, one might say that a democratic society is a free society because it is a self-determined society, and that a member of that society is free to the extent that he or she participates in its democratic process. But there are also individualist applications of the concept of positive freedom. For example, it is sometimes said that a government should aim actively to create the conditions necessary for individuals to be self-sufficient or to achieve self-realization.


title: Positive liberty

text: In "Recovering the Social Contract", Ron Replogle made a metaphor that is helpful in understanding positive liberty. "Surely, it is no assault on my dignity as a person if you take my car keys, against my will, when I have had too much to drink. There is nothing paradoxical about making an agreement beforehand providing for paternalistic supervision in circumstances when our competence is open to doubt." In this sense, positive liberty is the adherence to a set of rules agreed upon by all parties involved, all of whom must agree to any alterations to the rules. Therefore, positive liberty is a contractarian philosophy.


title: Positive liberty

text: However, Isaiah Berlin opposed any suggestion that paternalism and positive liberty could be equivalent. He stated that positive liberty could only apply when the withdrawal of liberty from an individual was in pursuit of a choice that individual himself/herself made, not a general principle of society or any other person's opinion. In the case where a person removes a driver's car keys against their will because they have had too much to drink, this constitutes positive freedom only if the driver has made, of their own free will, an earlier decision not to drive drunk. Thus, by removing the keys, the other person facilitates this decision and ensures that it will be upheld in the face of paradoxical behaviour (i.e., drinking) by the driver. For the remover to remove the keys in the absence of such an expressed intent by the driver, because the "remover" feels that the driver "ought not to" drive drunk, is paternalism, and not positive freedom by Berlin's definition.


title: Positive liberty

text: Erich Fromm sees the distinction between the two types of freedom emerging alongside humanity's evolution away from the instinctual activity that characterizes lower animal forms. This aspect of freedom, he argues, "is here used not in its positive sense of 'freedom to' but in its negative sense of 'freedom from', namely freedom from instinctual determination of his actions." For Fromm, freedom from animal instinct implicitly implies that survival now hinges on the necessity of charting one's own course. He relates this distinction to the biblical story of man's expulsion from Eden:


title: Positive liberty

text: Positive freedom, Fromm maintains, comes through the actualization of individuality in balance with the separation from the whole: a "solidarity with all men", united not by instinctual or predetermined ties, but on the basis of a freedom founded on reason.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: "Game of Thrones" Theme", also referred to as "Game of Thrones" Main Title Theme", is the theme music of HBO's fantasy television series "Game of Thrones" and its prequel "House of the Dragon", and plays during title sequences to both shows. It was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2011, after series creator David Benioff and D. B. Weiss approached him requesting a theme.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: Asked to avoid flutes and violins, which the producers felt were overused in fantasy themes, Djawadi used the cello as the lead instrument. The piece begins in a minor key, then switches between corresponding major and minor keys repeatedly. Djawadi was shown a preliminary rendering of the title sequence before composing this music to accompany it. Several artists have covered or parodied the music, sometimes adding lyrics to the originally instrumental work.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: Ramin Djawadi began composing the music for the show after he had watched the first two episodes of the series that the showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss sent him, and discussed the concepts of the show with them. According to Djawadi, the show creators wanted the main title theme to be about a journey as there are many locations and characters in the show and the narrative involves much traveling. After Djawadi was shown a preliminary animated "Game of Thrones" title sequence that the visual effect artists were still working on, he was inspired to write the piece. He said that he started humming what would become the theme tune in the car after seeing the visuals for the title sequence, and conceived of the idea for the theme on the drive back to his studio. The finished theme music was presented to the producer three days later.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: Djawadi said he intended to capture the overall impression of the show with the theme tune. Cello is featured strongly as Benioff and Weiss wanted to avoid the flutes or solo vocals found in many other productions in the fantasy genre so as to give the show a distinctive sound, and Djawadi chose cello as the main instrument for the music as he thought it has a "darker sound" that suited the show.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: Djawadi started with a riff and he built the title theme around the riff. The tune begins with the riff played on strings in a minor key, then changed to a major key after 2 bars, and back to minor again. Djawadi said that he wanted to reflect the "backstabbing and conspiracy" and the unpredictability of the show: "... I thought it would be cool to kinda do the same play with the music. So even though the majority of the piece is in minor, there's that little hint of major in there where it kinda switches and then it changes back again." The main melody is then introduced with the cello, joined later by a solo violin that may suggest an interplay between different characters. The melody is then repeated with the entire orchestra. The next section introduces a change in melody, described by Djawadi as giving "a sense of adventure", and continues with a repeat that involves a choir of twenty female voices - recorded in Prague, like the instrumental parts. The title theme ends with a combination of dulcimer and kantele, producing a "shimmery quality" in its sound that Djawadi thought would give a sense of mystery and anticipation for the episode.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: The title music is reprised as a global theme in the soundtracks for the series. It may be played occasionally on its own in fragments, sometimes as part of the theme of individual characters or in combination with other pieces of music, and may also be played in large section during particularly important scenes.


title: Game of Thrones Theme

text: The main theme of "Game of Thrones" has inspired many tributes and cover versions, including a rendition by the electropop band Chvrches. Lyrics were added for the first time in April 2014 when Element Animation partnered with Mojang Studios for that year's "Minecraft" April Fools' Day Prank, adding an a cappella rendition of theme (from voice actor Dan Lloyd, in-character as NPC Villagers) to the sandbox game's title screen. Later that August, "Weird Al" Yankovic performed a parody version of the song (with added lyrics) during the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. In March 2015, FORTE added lyrics based on High Valyrian text for an operatic performance and music video. Some of the cover and parody versions mentioned by news media include:


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass guitar), Michael Jerome (drums), and James Arthur Payne Jr. (guitar, keyboards). The band has released eight studio albums, most recently 2014's "All Together Now". They are best known for their 1993 multi-platinum album "Deluxe" and the 1995 single "Good", which reached number 1 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin, lead guitarist Joel Rundell, bassist Tom Drummond, and drummer Cary Bonnecaze. All four members were attending Louisiana State University at the time of Better Than Ezra's formation. Better Than Ezra's first public performance was at Murphy's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also in 1988. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name. One theory is that it comes from a line in Ernest Hemingway's memoir "A Moveable Feast", in which Hemingway describes a particularly annoying sound as "...no worse than other noises, certainly better than Ezra learning to play the bassoon." Drummond once told a reporter that the meaning of the band's name is "so lame you wouldn't even want to print it." It has also been said that the name came into being when the then nameless band entered a battle of the bands in competition with a group named Ezra. Needing a name to register they simply said that they were better. Fans of the group often refer to themselves as Ezralites.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Better Than Ezra circulated a demo cassette tape later in 1988, the "Chime Street Demo". While not an official release, this demo is sought-after by the band's fans, and traded by collectors. In 1990 the band released a cassette-only album, "Surprise".


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Joel Rundell, the band's lead guitarist, died by suicide on August 8, 1990. The remaining three members of the band took some time off to reassess its future following Rundell's death. However, Griffin, Drummond and Bonnecaze reunited Better Than Ezra as a trio by the end of 1990. The trio continued playing house parties and fraternity shows across southern United States during the early 1990s.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: The band released its first nationally distributed album "Deluxe" in 1993 on its own indie label, Swell Records, which caught the attention of major record labels and radio. Better Than Ezra signed with Elektra Records in 1995. Elektra Records rereleased "Deluxe" in 1995 and the single, "Good", reached the No. 1 position on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart which helped push the album to platinum record status by the end of 1995.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Success came quickly to Better Than Ezra. Tom Drummond commented later in a 1998 interview with CNN, "It took us seven years to get signed, and then seven weeks to get to No. 1" when describing the overnight success of "Deluxe" and its single "Good."


title: Better Than Ezra

text: After "Deluxe" major label release, original drummer Cary Bonnecaze left the band in 1996. He was replaced by drummer Travis McNabb, formerly of the band Vigilantes of Love, who was tapped to play on the band's upcoming album, "Friction, Baby". Bonnecaze's departure set off a series of lawsuits and counter-suits between Bonnecaze and Better Than Ezra. Bonnecaze, who took his suit to the United States District Court in New Orleans, argued that the band owed him money "based on his role in fortifying the band's reputation," according to "Rolling Stone". He asked for approximately $1 million in damages. A settlement was reached between the band and Bonnecaze on August 5, 1999. The exact terms of the settlement were not released at the time, though Better Than Ezra's manager John Isbell was quoted as saying that Bonnecaze received "way less" than the one million dollars he had originally requested.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Better Than Ezra released their second major label album, "Friction, Baby", in 1996 through Elektra Records. The album produced the hits "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans". "Friction, Baby" was not as commercially successful as "Deluxe", but has sold almost 500,000 units as of 1999.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: The trio began work on their third major release, "How Does Your Garden Grow?", soon after the end of touring for "Friction, Baby". The album was recorded between mid-January and late-April at a studio in New Orleans. The album was produced by record producer Malcolm Burn, who had formerly produced Iggy Pop and U2, and released on August 25, 1998. The album was described as "experimental" and a significant departure from their previous two albums. Griffin described the album in 1998 as "guitar driven ... rhythmic." Likewise, Tom Drummond described the band's thinking on its third major album, "We thought the third album was a very important record, because generally a band either makes or breaks on the third record. We wanted it to be a record that didn't necessarily sound like what people expected." Despite the emphasis on guitar experimentation, two tracks, "One More Murder" and "Je ne m'en souviens pas" contain no guitars.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: The single "At the Stars" debuted, and peaked, at number 78 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The band was dropped by Elektra Records following the release of "How Does Your Garden Grow?" in 1999.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: The band released the B-Sides and rarities collection "Artifakt" on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. "Artifakt" was only sold online and at concerts. Tom Drummond, the band's bassist, noted in 2002, "It's basically an album full of rarities."


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Better Than Ezra, now no longer with Elektra Records, signed with the Beyond Records label and began work on new material. Drummond explained the reasoning for choosing a smaller label, "We decided we wanted to be big fish in a small pond instead of a little fish in a big pond. We just wanted to be with a label who wanted success as much as we did."


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Griffin, Drummond and McNabb spent 18 months working on "Closer", their follow-up album to 1998's "How Does Your Garden Grow?" and their first new material since being dropped by Elektra Records. The album was recorded in New Orleans in the band's own studio, which allowed the members to focus on creating music rather than rental costs per day. "Closer" was mixed in Los Angeles by Better Than Ezra and the album's producer, Brad Wood. However, the band felt that some tracks needed scratching. Producer Brad Wood's management company recommended DJ Swamp, who had previously worked with Beck, to mix several tracks. The use of a DJ for two of the album's tracks, the first single "Extra Ordinary" and "Recognize", marked a departure for the band, who hadn't previously employed a DJ before.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: "Closer" was released on August 7, 2001. Better Than Ezra launched a tour in support of the album on July 26, 2001. The first single off the album, "Extra Ordinary", which had been mixed by DJ Swamp, was inspired by an AC/DC song. The album's promotion hit a snag after its record label, Beyond Records, went out of business in 2002 shortly after "Closer" release. Beyond Record's bankruptcy left "Closer" out of print for several years. In June 2009, Better Than Ezra announced that it had acquired the rights to "Closer" and would re-release it in the Fall of 2009 with two new previously unreleased tracks, "Simple Song" and "Screwed Up and Beautiful."


title: Better Than Ezra

text: In June 2001, Better Than Ezra filmed a series of commercials for ESPN's "College GameDay". The promo features the band while sports analyst Lee Corso crowd surfs to the stage, where he continues his sports reporting.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On September 28, 2004, the band simultaneously released their first live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled "Live at the House of Blues, New Orleans" through Sanctuary Records. The DVD and album were filmed and recorded at two separate shows at the House of Blues in New Orleans during the summer of 2004.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: A Greatest Hits collection was released on March 15, 2005, through Rhino Entertainment, a division of the Warner Music Group.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: The band's sixth studio album "Before the Robots" (Artemis Records) was released on May 31, 2005. In 2005, "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisements, which Griffin credited with bringing attention to the album. The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: Longtime drummer Travis McNabb left Better Than Ezra in February 2009 and their last performance together was Family Gras in Metairie, Louisiana. The primary reason given for his departure was the demand on his time by country and bluegrass group, Sugarland, with whom McNabb had previously been touring for some time. The split was amicable, with bassist Tom Drummond saying, "It's bittersweet. He's fantastic. We're still good friends, and there are no hard feelings. We'll miss him. But this is an opportunity he needed to take." Announced at the same time was McNabb's replacement, New Orleans-based drummer Michael Jerome, formerly of the band Pleasure Club. In addition, Better Than Ezra announced the May 12, 2009, release date for their seventh studio album, entitled "Paper Empire", which is produced by Warren Huart and singer Kevin Griffin. The first single, "Absolutely Still", was released for iTunes purchase on March 17.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On January 22, 2010, American country-pop singer Taylor Swift covered "Breathless" at a performance on "", a charity telethon to benefit the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On May 22, 2013, Griffin confirmed that the band plans to release their first new album since 2009 later in the year.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On February 10, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with The End Records for the release of their eighth studio album. The album, "All Together Now", was released on September 9, 2014.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On August 29, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of "Surprise" was released. According to original drummer Cary Bonnecaze, "The family of Joel Rundell (our original guitarist who passed away in 1990) and I own the original recording, and we thought that with 2014 being the 25th anniversary of its original release, it would be a good time to release it."


title: Better Than Ezra

text: On August 13 and 14, 2021, Better Than Ezra played a pair of sold-out shows at the House of Blues New Orleans in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their second album "Friction, Baby". During these shows, the band played the album in its entirety, as well as some other fan-favorite songs. A few months later, the band returned to the same venue to play their album "Closer" in its entirety to another sold-out crowd.


title: Better Than Ezra

text: In October 2022, during their fall tour, Griffin revealed that the band would be releasing a new album in March 2023 and have teased a new song entitled "Mystified".


title: Nigel Green

text: Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English character actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s films as "Jason and the Argonauts", "Zulu", "Tobruk" and "The Ipcress File".


title: Nigel Green

text: The son of a professor, Green was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and was raised in London, attending King's College School, Wimbledon and the University of London, followed by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During the Second World War he trained as an Observer in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.


title: Nigel Green

text: Among early stage appearances, he was at London's New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) in October 1948, playing multiple roles in John Burrell's Old Vic company revival of "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus". At the Stratford Memorial Theatre in 1950, he was cast as Sir Thomas Lovell in "Henry VIII" (directed by Tyrone Guthrie), Abhorson in Peter Brook's production of "Measure for Measure" (which also went on tour in Germany), Decius Brutus in "Julius Caesar" (directed by Anthony Quayle), and - most notably - Edmund in "King Lear", starring and co-directed by John Gielgud.


title: Nigel Green

text: Subsequent West End appearances included "Come Live With Me" (directed by Roy Rich: Vaudeville Theatre, June 1951), "Heloise" (directed by Michael Powell: Duke of York's Theatre, November 1951), Vernon Sylvaine's "As Long as They're Happy", opposite Jack Buchanan (directed by Roy Rich: Garrick Theatre, July 1953), Félicien Marceau's "The Egg" (directed by Charles Frank: Saville Theatre, October 1957)) and Agatha Christie's "Go Back for Murder" (directed by Hubert Gregg: Duchess Theatre, March 1960).


title: Nigel Green

text: In his second volume of autobiography, Michael Powell pointed out that, though the play they collaborated on was a failure, "Nigel Green, with his great face and towering figure, would soon make a name for himself in movies. Who could ever forget him in "Zulu"? He was an almost mythical figure, like Harry Andrews and Victor McLaglen, and later John Wayne, all of them genuine and generous artists. Among other men they were like Norse gods, mythical, large and gentle, suddenly exploding into rage and performing fabulous feats of strength."


title: Nigel Green

text: Early film roles included "Reach for the Sky" (1956), "The Criminal" (1960), "The League of Gentlemen" (1960) and "Beat Girl" (1960). His large physique led to his being cast as Little John in the film "Sword of Sherwood Forest" (1960).


title: Nigel Green

text: He had one of his most memorable roles as Hercules in "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963), followed by his co-starring role as Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne in "Zulu" (1964). He had a leading role as Inspector Sir Denis Nayland Smith in "The Face of Fu Manchu" (1965) and the supporting role of Major Dalby in "The Ipcress File" (also 1965). Other roles include Carl Petersen in the Bulldog Drummond film "Deadlier Than the Male" (1967), as McCune, a devious Australian in the 1967 comedy-adventure The Pink Jungle, Count Contini in the Matt Helm film "The Wrecking Crew" (1969), and 'Lord Ashley's Whore' in John Huston's "The Kremlin Letter" (1969). His many military roles included parts in "Khartoum" (1966), "Tobruk" (1967), "Fräulein Doktor" and "Play Dirty" (both 1969).


title: Nigel Green

text: Green also appeared in a number of horror films, including "Corridors of Blood" (1958), "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964), "The Skull" (1965), "Let's Kill Uncle" (1966) and "Countess Dracula" (1971). His penultimate role was as McKyle the 'Electric Messiah', a mental patient believing himself to be God, in "The Ruling Class" (1972).


title: Nigel Green

text: His television appearances included "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot", "The Adventures of William Tell", "The Other Man", "Danger Man", "The Power Game", "The Avengers", "Sherlock Holmes", "Jason King", "The Protectors" and "The Persuaders!".


title: Nigel Green

text: Green's first wife was the actress Patricia Marmont. His second wife was the actress Pamela Gordon, with whom he had one daughter.


title: Nigel Green

text: Green died following an overdose of sleeping pills in 1972, aged 47. It is unknown if his death was intentional. Peter O'Toole said on his commentary on "The Ruling Class" that he believed Green was very depressed and that his death shortly after filming ended was a suicide, although Green's family believed it to be accidental. He was separated from Gordon at the time.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: Miftah Ismail (born 23 July 1965) is a Pakistani politician and political economist who served as Pakistan's Minister of Finance from 19 April 2022 to 27 September 2022. While only serving 5 months in office, he had to undertake hard economic challenges in office when the country was struggling economically. He also served on previous government from April 2018 to May 2018. Prior to that, he served as the Federal Adviser on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, chairman of the Pakistan Board of Investment and an economist with the International Monetary Fund.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: He was born on 23 July 1965 in Karachi, Sindh. Ismail received his B.S. degree from Duquesne University in business studies in 1985, followed by a Ph.D degree in public finance and political economy from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1990. Ismail worked with the International Monetary Fund as an economist based in Washington, D.C. in the early 1990s.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: He returned to Pakistan to work for his family business, Ismail Industries Limited, in 1993. The business includes the manufacturing of confectionery (candies), biscuits, potato chips, and plastics and has an annual revenue of about 200 million dollars.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: Ismail joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 2011 and served as the head and vice-chairman of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade from 2012 to 2013.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: During the 2013 Pakistani general election, Ismail served as a member of the election strategy team and the manifesto committee of Pakistan Muslim League (N). In October 2013, Ismail became a member of the "Board of Directors" of Pakistan International Airlines. In November 2013, he joined the "Board of Directors" of Sui Southern Gas Company. Both of these positions he retained until 4 January 2014, when he was appointed as the head of Federal Board of Investment and was added as a junior member of the Prime Minister Sharif's cabinet. Under his leadership the Board of Investment underwent massive restructuring including winding up of its regional offices. During his tenure at the Board of Investment, the government of Pakistan formulated a new automobile sector policy that has attracted a lot of new investment in the automobile sector.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: Ismail has served as adjunct faculty at the Institute of Business Administration and also as chairman of the board at Karachi American School.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: After being appointed as one of the key finance advisers to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in December 2017, he stated that one of his top priorities is to help broaden the extremely narrow tax base in Pakistan which would strengthen the overall economy. He said that he would help design an economic policy that gives opportunity to the wealthy Pakistanis abroad to bring back their wealth. In other words, the government was ready to initiate an 'offshore tax amnesty scheme' soon.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: On 27 April 2018, Ismail took oath as Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's cabinet, where he served until 31 May 2018.


title: Miftah Ismail

text: He took again oath as Finance minister on 19 April 2022 and resigned on 27 September 2022 to pave way for Ishaq Dar the next finance minister.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the 14th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) led by Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by President Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan. Prior to the elections, the ruling PPP formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and Awami National Party, while the main opposition party, the PML-N allied with the Pakistan Muslim League (F) and Baloch parties. The PTI led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, also emerged as a key-player.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The result was a hung parliament, with the PML-N receiving the most votes and winning the most seats, but falling six seats short of a majority. However, following the elections, 19 independent MPs joined the PML-N, allowing it to form a government alone with Nawaz Sharif as new Prime Minister.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In the provincial elections, the PPP was able to defend its majority in Sindh. The PTI won the most seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the first time it had gained control of a province. The PML-N emerged as the largest party in Punjab and Balochistan.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The elections were the first civilian transfer of power following the successful completion of a five-year term by a democratically elected government.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: By Constitution's stipulation on Time of conducting elections in the country, [general] elections are to be held at an interval of five years or whenever parliament is dissolved by the President. Upon dissolution of the National Assembly (a lower house of the Parliament), the elections are to be held within a period of sixty days immediately under a caretaker set–up. The previous elections were held in February 2008 and its term naturally expired in February 2013.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In mid-January 2013, Sufi cleric and politician Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri led a Long March from Lahore to Islamabad, which is over 350 km, demanding the electoral reforms, the quick dissolution of the National Assembly and a precise date for the election. The march attracted about ~50,000 participants from across Pakistan and ended peacefully. However, this appeared to have little impact on the PPP government who continued on as per normal, and were seemingly following their plan as to when to announce elections. The anti-corruption activism led by Imran Khan gathered momentum and political interests.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In the run up to the elections, a US Congressional report provided a brief overview of the PPP government between 2008 and 2013. The annual report included the input of 16 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, which pointed the policies and performances of the PPP government during their five-year term. The report wanted that "Economically, trouble looms. Pakistan, with its small tax base, poor system of tax collection, and reliance on foreign aid, faces no real prospects for sustainable economic growth. The government has been unwilling to address economic problems that continue to constrain economic growth. The PPP government has made no real effort to persuade its disparate coalition members to accept much-needed monetary policy and tax reforms, because members are simply focused on retaining their seats in the upcoming elections."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: With assistance from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)announced the printing of computerised electoral rolls, the first of its kind database which resulted in the elimination of 35 million bogus voters off the list.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Following the recommendations in Article 224 (Clauses 1A-1B) of the constitution of Pakistan, there arose a need to form a caretaker government to operate in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament, facilitating the election process, until a new government was formed after the election results were known. To this effect, prime minister Pervez Ashraf wrote a letter to the opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan, requesting him to propose names of persons for appointment as the caretaker prime minister.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI), Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) all agreed on the name of retired senior justice Nasir Aslam Zahid as the caretaker PM until the elections take place. After a failure to achieve a consensus between the PPP government and the opposition, the matter was forwarded to a parliamentary committee of four members from both the government and the opposition.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Under the provision of Article 224-A (Clause 3) of the constitution, the Election Commission announced the appointment of retired Federal Shariat Court chief justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on 24 March 2013 in a press conference held by chief election commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim. Consequently, Khoso was sworn into office as the caretaker prime minister on 25 March 2013, while his caretaker federal cabinet was sworn into office on 2 April 2013.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Following is the final list of registered voters in each district of Pakistan who are eligible to cast their vote.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: With the announcement of the care-taker government, campaigning from parties—including the PPP, PML (N) and PTI—started as early as 27 March, six weeks ahead of the 11 May election date. Observers noted that different parties stressed on different interest groups – PTI on the disaffected youth, PML-N on the centre-right constituency, PPP on liberal classes and rural Sindhis, and MQM on Karachi-based muhajirs. Power shortages were another issue in the election campaign.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Founded in 1968, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a centre-left and left oriented party, with a mainstream agenda of promoting socialist economics and social justice. The PPP announced that Zardari would be its candidate for the next Prime Minister, though Bilawal Zardari was still too young to become Prime Minister. Article 62 of the Constitution clearly states that the Prime Minister must be a person who is "not less than twenty-five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll for election to the seat". On 5 May 2013, it was revealed that Zardari had left Pakistan for Dubai and would not be present at all on election day. He unexpectedly left the country and would not be addressing any party rallies or meetings. The PPP also announced that he would not return until after the elections are over.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The PPP's campaign was led by Amin Fahim, accompanied by notable leftist activists such as Taj Haider, Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani, and Yousaf Gillani. The PPP ran two different political programmes during the election campaign: ""Massawat"" (lit. Egalitarianism) and "People's Employment Programme" for the youth voters, and also its vintage ""Roti Kapda Aur Makaan" (lit. Bread, Cloth, House) slogan. The PPP highlighted its implementation of the nationalization and welfare programs that were launched in 2008. In addition, the PPP greatly supported awareness of industrial and labor rights, importance of higher education in the country, promotion of social economics, a foreign policy of building relations with Russia and Eastern Europe, counterterrorism legislation, efforts to reduce gas shortages in the country. Generally, the PPP's main focused was on gathering its support from Sindh. In a critical editorial in the English-language newspaper, "The Nation", the PPP neglected to highlight the prevailing issue of energy conservation to reduce the repeated cycle of loadshedding in the country.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Soon after the PM's last address on 16 March 2013, TV carried live broadcasts from the streets of Lahore and Karachi, where the public mood was one of anger over corruption, the bad economy, and faulty public services. The reaction of political analysts was mixed, with many holding massive corruption and nepotism as the reasons for the government's perceived failures. Even in his televised address, while trumpeting the occasion, PM Raja P Ashraf quietly conceded that his government had also been a source of disappointment for many. Public resentment had been fed by an endless list of problems: enduring power shortages [up to 18 hours a day at the peak of summer]; the failure to curb terrorist attacks, protect religious minorities and formulate a coherent anti-terrorism strategy; slow and weak response to the floods; sluggish economic growth, a bloated public sector, cresting inflation; and tales of legendary corruption, carving out private fortunes from a treasury to which they scandalously paid little in tax. Many Pakistanis, particularly among the urban middle classes, were looking to the next elections with relief.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In Karachi and other parts of the country, the PPP also maintained a New Left alliance with the ANP, MQM, and Communist Party against the conservative parties in Sindh.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Pakistan Muslim League, a centre-right conservative party, began its campaign on terminating the energy conservation crises, and also issues involving national security, economic development, higher education, immigration, and taxation reforms. The campaign was led by Nawaz Sharif, who emphasis the success of the privatisation to alleviate youth employment and small businesses, introducing policies for the environmental preservation, building motorways, counterterrorism legislation, economic liberalisation, improvement of the public transportation in all over the country, and then the decision of authorising the nuclear-testing programme in 1998. Over several days, Sharif delivered speeches and visited in all over the country for the support, promising that: "Just like the nuclear blasts, conducted in our last tenure, made us an atomic power, an economic explosion in our next term will turn the country into a commercial powerhouse." Furthermore, the PML(N) indicated to bring a balance on civil-military relations with the military, through opening a source of political channel to resolve issues.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The PML(N) ran a political programme which was termed as ""Ilmi aur Maashi Dhamaka"" (lit. Education and Economic boom) at the public circles, and gained a lot of public support from all over the Punjab, and the financial support from the business community in Karachi, which proved to be a crucial factor in PML(N)'s efforts to gain majority in the elections. After delivering a victory speech in May 2013, Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister for a third term on 5 June 2013 after receiving vote of confidence in the Parliament. He received 244 votes in the 342-seat parliament. The PML(N) was generally supported by PML(F) against the PPP in Sindh and BNP in Balochistan, also against the PPP. Terming it as "EEE programme" for Education, Energy, Economy, the PML(N) popularise its slogan ""Stronger Economy–Strong Pakistan"", which was released in 2012.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Addressing to the national via news channels representatives, the PML(N) debated that aside from balancing the energy conservation, ending stagflation as well inflation, and resolving the issues relating to counter-terrorism and national security, its quick economic recovery programmes is also aimed to increase the expenditure on education, health, food security, and "non-pension" social security from the annual GDP by 2018, as part of the policy measurement programmes.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a centrist, welfarist, and nationalist political party a mainstream political programme of supporting the "Third Way" and "welfarism".


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In the midst of election campaign, the PTI's chairman, Imran Khan, called for an inter-party elections for the leadership of the PTI. Many renowned individuals were defeated in the intra-party elections, such as Arif Alvi who was replaced by Pervez Khattak as secretary-general and Ejaz Chaudhary who defeated Ahsan Rasheed. Imran informed the media that no-one from his party will be eligible to hold the post of the party chairman for more than two terms. Motives behind this inter-party elections were to will ultimately finish off the "dynasty-type, family limited companies politics" from the country, as Imran Khan maintained.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The PTI rigorously campaigned on social awareness, social reforms, telecommunication, and the expansion of the e-government in all over the country. Other main points of PTI's campaign was to end the role of country in the War on Terrorism and to regulate private schools' fees structure with the quality of education they provide. The PTI targeted the left-wing policies of PPP and the corruption that took place in after underwent through the nationalisation programme, started in 2008 by the PPP.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: During a campaign rally in Lahore, Imran fell 14 ft as he was stepping off an improvised forklift. He was seen to be bleeding and unconscious with a gash on his head. He was then taken to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital where Imran was treated for two fractures to his spinal column. During the election process, the PTI was also leading a religio-political alliance, consisting of Jamaat-e-Islami and the Shia minority MWM.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On 24 March 2013, former President Pervez Musharraf returned from self-imposed exile to lead the liberal APML and to run in the election despite threats from the far-right and extremist Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on his life, similar to the return of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated shortly after returning.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On immediate basis, Musharraf's candidature was rejected from his home town of Karachi on the grounds that he violated the Constitution and that he had sacked senior judges during his presidency. Electoral returning officer Ikramur Rehman upheld the objections by his rivals. The liberal PML(Q) official, Afzal Agha, said "this is a biased decision." He was also rejected from the Kasur– a rural town in Punjab. However, he was later approved in the Chitral, also a rural town in Khyber–Pathtunkwa. On 8 April 2013, the Supreme Court issued a summon to be appear over in the apex court to face charges of treason and barred him from leaving the country.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On 16 April, an appeal for his approval from Chitral decided by a court in the provincial capital of Peshawar in which he was barred on the grounds that he violated the constitution by imposing emergency rule in 2007. His lawyer said that he would appeal to the Supreme Court. He was also ordered to be kept under house arrest for two weeks. On 23 April, he appeared at a Rawalpindi court under tight security on charges relating to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. On 25 April, he was formally arrested for the same charge. The Peshawar High Court then banned him for life from taking part in politics activities. Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan said: "The former dictator [Musharraf] had ordered senior judges and their families be put under house arrest and twice abrogated the country's constitution." In reaction to the ban, a party spokeswoman for the All Pakistan Muslim League said that it would boycott the election. He was granted US$20,000 bail on 20 May.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The extremist terrorist organisation, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed the responsibility for two bombings at the offices of independent candidates on 28 April. In Kohat, the TTP bombed left-wing ANP's Nasir Khan Afridi's office which killed six and critically wounded others. In the suburbs of Peshawar, a device bomb at killed three people. The next day, at least eight people, including the son of Afghani cleric Qazi Amin Waqad, were killed and 45 others were wounded in a suicide attack in Peshawar. The bomb had targeted Sahibzada Anees, a senior city administrator, who had just passed the area. Hilal was a part of the Afghan High Peace Council and was organising a meeting of Afghan and Pakistani religious scholars to oppose militancy. All political parties condemned the attack. The same day, at a Karachi press conference the leaders of the left-wing parties– the PPP, MQM and ANP—said that the attacks would not stop them from participating in the election. ANP's Secretary-General, Bashir Jan, said that his party had previously made sacrifices in relations to the 2012 assassination of Bashir Bilour, the former party leader. His statement followed an explosion that wounded three children near the election office of Mohammad Ahmed Khan, the ANP candidate from Charsadda in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. On 2 May, a bomb exploded outside the MQM headquarters in which seven people were injured. On 4 May, at least three people were killed and 34 others were wounded when two bombs targeted the election office of the MQM in the Azeezabad area of Karachi.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In a rally in Kurram Valley, at least 15 people were dead and over 50 injured at a JUI(F) rally for candidates Munir Orakzai and Ain-u-Dun Shakir. The rally was part of the faction led by Fazal-ur-Rehman. The latter was slightly wounded. Armed skirmishes and tensions also flared near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. On 9 May, the son of former Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani, Ali Haider Gilani, was abducted following a gunfight at a rally in Multan that killed his personal secretary.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Scattered gun and bomb attacks marred an otherwise celebratory day in a nation mired in economic crisis and locked in a fight with a virulent native Taliban insurgency. By the time polls closed in the evening, at least 20 people had died in attacks, the most serious targeting a pro-US political party in the southern port city of Karachi. The violence, which included blasts outside a political office in Karachi that left 10 dead, capped a bloody election season. More than 130 people have been killed in bombings and shootings over the campaign, prompting some to call this one of the deadliest votes in the country's history.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Several bombs were reportedly defused before voting began on Saturday morning, according to "al-Jazeera". No one had so far taken the responsibility for the attacks, except for the initial two blasts in the coastal city of Karachi, claimed by TTP.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Various polls were conducted by different organisations, all of which show inconsistencies and different results.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In March 2013, a survey by Heinrich Böll Foundation showed that 29% of the people surveyed would support the Pakistan Peoples Party. As the highest nummain opposition party, 25% would support the Pakistan Muslim League (N), led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Another 20% supported the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by former cricketer Imran Khan.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: According to a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan and PILDAT the Pakistan Muslim League topped the list on voting intention score in Punjab, followed by the PPP and the PTI respectively. The February 2013 political forecast is based on a nationwide poll of approximately 9,660 voters in 300 villages and urban localities. The voting intention score of PML-N stands at 63% in North and Central Punjab, 69% in Western Punjab and 49% in Southern Punjab, shows the survey. According to the consolidated findings of two nationwide polls on voting intentions, conducted by IRI and Gallup Pakistan respectively during past three months, the front runner in Pakistan's elections scheduled in mid-2013 is the PML-N. The PTI, according to the survey, is making deep inroads in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where it has surpassed every other player by a 30% score.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Senior political analyst, Najam Sethi said, Nawaz Sharif held public meetings and rallies in every nook and corner of the country while Shahbaz Sharif completed development projects in Punjab which attracted politicians from the other parties. Sethi said that the 3% raise in the popularity graph of the PPP was made possible due to Asif Ali Zardari's efforts who gathered many such politicians as used to oppose him. He said the popularity of both the parties increased due to the revival of the traditional politics and the same was the cause of decrease in popularity of unorthodox politicians like Imran Khan. However, Imran Khan's next public meetings would help him a lot, Sethi predicted, saying that the PTI leader's graph would go up after public rallies in Lahore and Peshawar and the party would play an important role in formation of the next government.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The survey's findings indicate that the PTI's support is derived from all age groups – 22.9 per cent of those between 18 and 35 years, 18.6 per cent of those between 36 and 50 years, 18.4 per cent of those between 51 and 70 years and 7.7 of those above 70 years support the PTI, dispelling the notion that its vote bank is rooted in the younger generation. The highest proportion of those aged between 36 and 50 years (32.5 per cent) indicate a preference for the PPP. Similarly, 46.2 per cent of those aged over 70 expressed a preference for the PML(N). Compared with respondents' voting histories, the PML(N)'s vote bank appears to have remained stagnant while the PPP's seems to have declined significantly. It appears that the PTI has a stronger urban base, while a higher proportion of rural respondents indicated that they would vote for either the PPP or the PML(N) in the upcoming elections.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Predictably, the highest level of support for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party was pledged by Sindhis, 55% of whom said they would vote for the PPP in the upcoming elections. This was followed by Seraiki-speakers at 46%. Around ~44% of Hindko-speakers said they intend to vote for the Pakistan Muslim League, closely followed by Punjabi people at 43%. The same proportion of Hindko-speakers – 44% – also expressed an intention to vote for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, indicating a close contest between the two parties (PMLN and PTI) within that particular demographic. It is worth noting that while 34% of Pakhtuns stated that they would vote for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, only 11% expressed support for the Awami National Party (ANP). 47% of Balochis said that they would vote for the Balochistan National Party. Similarly 90% Muhajirs of Hyderabad and urban areas of Karachi Largest metropolis in terms of area and population votes for Muttahida Qoumi Movement.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On average, approximately a third of those earning up to 30,000 rupees each month indicated a preference for the Pakistan Peoples Party whereas, among those earning more than 30,000 rupees, support for the party dropped to 10.8 percent. This is in keeping with the party's traditional pro-poor image. No such trend could be determined for the Pakistan Muslim League, whose level of support remained similar across all income levels. Those earning in excess of 250,000 rupees each month (the highest identified income bracket in the survey) expressed the maximum intention to vote for either the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) or the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, at 33 per cent each. While this figure may appear anomalistic in the MQM's case – support for the party within the second highest income bracket (those earning between 100,000 and 250,000 rupees each month) was only four per cent – it was possible to identify a rough direct trend between level of income and support for the PTI. In general, it appeared that support for smaller parties declined with increasing levels of income.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The National Democratic Institution have stated the elections will be a "historical transition." An NDI assessment mission—consisting of Canada's former prime minister Joe Clark, former Indonesian House of Representatives member Nursanita Nasution, Chatham House senior fellow Xenia Dormandy and NDI Asia programmes director Peter Manikas—released its findings at a press briefing in Islamabad after its observation of Pakistan's political framework.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The mission visited Pakistan from 16 to 21 December and met with election authorities, government officials, party leaders, media and citizen monitoring groups. Joe Clark commended the co-operation of all parties, especially in adopting measures to bring the Federally Administered Tribal Areas under the political umbrella. Clark stated that the 18th Amendment to the constitution reflects the parliament's integrity and commitment towards a fair democratic handover. Nursanita Nasution highlighted the need to address the rights of women in the polling process so that "fear and intimidation in high-risk areas such as Baluchistan, FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi" would not strip women of the opportunity to vote. Xenia Dormandy suggested "improving accessibility and adjusting locations" of women polling stations closer to those for men so that they could travel with the men in their families to vote. Sandra Houston, Regional Director of NDI, stated "We are impressed with the cooperation of all the stakeholders in assuring a smooth transition," sharing that voters have been registered with Computerised National Identity Cards and biometrics including photographs where possible.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The European Union offered to send its observers to Pakistan's elections, in a bid to ensure a "peaceful, credible" vote that will be "acceptable" to all. "The EU looks forward to upcoming elections that are peaceful, credible, transparent, inclusive and acceptable to the Pakistani people," EU foreign ministers said released after talks. The 27-nation bloc "is ready to assist by deploying an election observation mission, as a tangible sign of our support for the democratic process," the statement added. The ministers also said they looked forward to re-energizing ties with the next government and hoped quick contacts could lead to a third EU-Pakistan summit. Pakistan responded by saying it will welcome a European Union election observation mission during the forthcoming general elections."Yes, we will welcome the observation mission", foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: A 110-member team from the European Union will observe Pakistan's elections. The European Union High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms. Catherine Ashton, has decided to authorise a European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the elections. A member of the European Parliament will lead the 2013 EU EOM as its Chief Observer. The EU EOM team will include observers, experts, election analysts, political analysts, legal analysts, human rights analysts, media analysts and others. On the basis of special agreements with the EU, observers from Norway, Switzerland and Canada are also part of the EOM. Some members will be deployed well in advance of election day, while others will be deployed at least ten days prior to the election day.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The observers will assess aspects of the election process, nomination of candidates, election campaign, counting, tabulation, announcement of official results and complaints' procedures, and will cover pre-election preparations, election-day itself and the post-electoral period. The observers will follow the political campaign and hold regular meetings with representatives of election management bodies, political parties, candidates and civil society groups.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olsen stated that the United States applauds democratic tendencies in Pakistan, expressing hopes that free and fair general elections would lead to peaceful transfer of authority from one civilian government to successor dispensation. Completion of the current term by a democratically elected government will be a milestone in Pakistan's history.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: A US delegation consisting of Senator Carl Levin, US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olsen and Armed Services Committee Senator Jack Reed visited Pakistan on 8 January for talks with Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The delegation stated that not only the US, but the world would observe the general election with great interest.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Centre for American Progress published a report called "Previewing Pakistan's 2013 Elections" whose author, Colin Cookman, writes that the United States should work with, and not attempt to control Pakistan's internal political processes. The report also warns that whoever wins the elections should try to resolve the problems the country faces or be prepared to face accountability. Cookman states that "only Pakistanis themselves are capable of establishing a more stable, democratic system capable of balancing diverse interest groups and effectively addressing the country's challenges."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: It encourages the US to make efforts to support Pakistan's democratic evolution and the success of its upcoming elections. Such efforts should include a public commitment to neutrality and respect for the electoral processes, coupled with support for an international observation mission. It also urges US diplomatic and military officials to continue to engage with a broad array of Pakistani civilian leaders and military officials, while making it clear that the United States "does not favour any specific electoral outcome and strongly opposes any disruption of the constitutional process or intervention during the caretaker period."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: US officials have denied the general perception in Pakistan that the US government wants to influence the electoral process in Pakistan to bring in a friendly government. US Secretary of State John Kerry skipped a planned visit to Pakistan to avoid accusations of meddling in the 11 May elections. Spokesperson Victoria Nuland stated that the message the United States wants to send out during the election season is "we have no favourites among Pakistani politicians and we are looking forward to work with whoever is elected on May 11." Secretary Kerry's decision to skip Pakistan during his South Asia visit is an indication of Washington's eagerness to maintain neutrality during the elections.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Statistics and database collected and published by the Election Commission (EC), approximately ~86.9 million Pakistanis were registered to vote. Overall, the Voter turnout was 55.02%, the highest since 1970 and 1977.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Election Commission results were broadcast by news channels announcing that the PML(N) had emerged as the largest party, winning four times as many seats as its nearest competitor, the PPP. Though, it fell short for a supermajority in the Parliament. The PML-N ranks were boosted into an overall majority by 19 independent winning candidates who switched allegiance to the PML-N. The PPP emerged as the second largest party, with 45 seats, and the PTI, with 33 seats, emerged as third largest party.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On the night of the elections, the youth supporter, partisans, and lobbyists gathered in Raiwand– a private residential place of president of the PML, Nawaz Sharif. Speaking to his supporters and media representatives, Nawaz Sharif who was standing with his daughter, Maryam Nawaz and wife Kulsoom Nawaz, said:


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim expressed gratitude to the voters for the record high turnout of 60%. Secretary of the Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan said that the elections were free, fair and transparent and the claims of irregularities will be answered on a case-by-case basis.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Even before the result was announced, the PTI conceded defeat. PTI leader Imran Khan congratulated Nawaz Sharif but also demanded recounting in numerous constituencies.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: MQM leader Altaf Hussain spoke to PML (N). He also called then the 'Punjabis representative party.' He went on to say that the "Muslim League (N) has emerged victorious in the elections and Nawaz Sharif is a representative leader of the Punjabis." His statements were condemned by some in the Pakistani media and from supporters of the PML (N).


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Military analyst and security expert Talat Masood said: "This is an ideal and a graceful victory for Sharif. He will form a strong government at the center, which is badly needed to tackle some enormous economic and security challenges."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: President Asif Ali Zardari blamed the poor performance of PPP on a domestic and international conspiracy, as well as domestic terrorism by the Taliban preventing the party from campaigning.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The country's stocks rose to record and the economic indicators performed well in advance of the unofficially determined results in an expectation of PML(N)'s win.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: Upon news of the results, the KSE 100 at the Karachi Stock Exchange crossed the 20,000 mark for the first time on 13 May 2013. The victory by PML(N) in the general election lifted the stock market to an all-time high on 11–13 May, in a sign that investors, which include Goldman Sachs and Mark Mobius of Templeton, were seen as the top foreign investors at the Karachi Stock Exchange on the prospect of further market gains through a stable government.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On the day of the elections, the benchmark KSE 100 Index gained 1.8%, the most since 12 March, ~20,272.28 Marks, taking its rally this year to 20.0%. The MCB Ltd. gained ~4.9% to ₨. 261.60 million, poised for the highest close since May 2008. The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) jumped 5.0% to ₨. 221.86 million; the ABL Assets also increased its profit variation to ~$203.0 million.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: "I am fully justified on the basis of documentary evidence to set aside the election of the returned candidate, which does not reflect the true will of the people," Malik states in the report. "I therefore discard the available record as well as the election record, which has been misappropriated or stolen. I declare the election of the returned candidates from PP-107, Hafizabad-III as a whole to be void."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: In PP-107, Hafizabad-III, 21,298 fake and bogus votes were counted as valid votes towards the vote account of the candidates. The number of used counterfoils found in election bags by the commission was 54,242, while the total number of polled votes in a statement by the Returning Officer (RO) was recorded as 72,895.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: On 17 May 2013, the Vice-President of the PTI, Zahra Hussain, was shot and killed in Karachi just before re-election was due to be held. Three days later, it was announced that the PTI had taken the Karachi seat in re-polling. Imran Khan alleged that Altaf Hussain, a leader of MQM, was responsible for inciting violence and was responsible for the murder. Few days later, British Police raided Altaf Hussain's house in London.


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: The PML(N)'s key strategist, Sartaj Aziz, announced in news media the next day that the independents candidates were in negotiation process with the PML(N) to join the party to form the government and to work out "a few key portfolios."


title: 2013 Pakistani general election

text: A total of nineteenth independents who had won from their respected constituencies joined the PML(N), which allowed the party to form a government with a simple majority. This swing ultimately led to Nawaz Sharif elevated as the Prime Minister. Soon after his appointment, Sharif said after being formally approved as Prime Minister that in regards to drone strikes: "We respect the sovereignty of others and they should also respect our sovereignty and independence. This campaign should come to an end." Despite this, two days later another drone strike killed seven people in Pakistan.


title: Always (2011 film)

text: Always (; lit. "Only You") is a 2011 South Korean drama film directed by Song Il-gon. Starring So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-joo in the lead roles, it is about a romance between an ex-boxer who has closed his heart to the world and a telemarketer who remains spirited despite slowly going blind.


title: Always (2011 film)

text: It was released in theaters on October 20, 2011. In South Korea, the film had a total of 1,027,614 admissions nationwide. With online tickets selling out a 2,000-seat outdoor movie theater in a record seven seconds, "Always" was the opening film of the 2011 Busan International Film Festival.


title: Always (2011 film)

text: The film was officially remade in 2014 in Turkish as "Sadece Sen". It has also been remade in Kannada in 2015 as "Boxer" and in Hindi in 2016 as "Do Lafzon Ki Kahani". A Japanese remake, titled "Your Eyes Tell (きみの瞳が問いかけている, Kimi no Me ga Toikaketeiru)", starring Ryusei Yokohama and Yuriko Yoshitaka, was released on October 23, 2020. A Filipino remake, titled "Always", starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim was released on September 28, 2022.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: Wet and messy fetish (WAM), also known as sploshing, is a form of sexual fetishism whereby a person becomes aroused when copious amounts of a substance are applied to the naked skin, face, or to clothing. Several dozen websites are dedicated to WAM.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: Many people with WAM fetishes are drawn to the tactile sensations of wet or messy substances against their skin. Other individuals simply prefer the visual appeal of others getting wet or messy with products that have different textures, consistencies and colours. A subject will often be pelted with cream pies (sometimes using shaving foam rather than real cream pie filling), have slime dumped on them, or sit on cakes. Another common theme is the pouring of substances inside clothing while it is being worn; clothing chosen for this can vary from swimsuits or underwear to full outfits. Normal street clothes, either casual or office wear, are commonly featured in WAM productions, but many other types of outfits, from wedding attire to industrial overalls or more specialist fetishwear such as PVC, latex, or leather items may be used. White items are particularly popular with some fans of this fetish.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: Messy substances most commonly focused on by WAM participants include whipped cream, raw eggs, milk, lotion (see lotion play), paint, oil, mud, pudding, chocolate sauce, shaving foam, hair conditioner, soap, custard, baked beans, treacle, ketchup, ice cream, peanut butter, slime, and cake batter, among others.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: A fetish for bodily fluids such as feces, urine, vomit, semen, and female ejaculate is not considered part of WAM. The former three are typically considered coprophilia, urophilia, and emetophilia; urophilia is occasionally found in mainstream pornography; the other two are less common fetishes.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: WAM fetish videos (made by both fans and commercial producers) may include nudity and sexual acts, while others may only feature fully clothed participants. Videos can frequently be seen on public video hosting sites like YouTube. Some of these videos are flagged but most of them remain available despite the sexual undertones, mainly because a large majority of wet and messy videos posted publicly do not include nudity and are therefore considered suitable for all audiences to view. Indeed, not only is much WAM video content indistinguishable in any easily defined sense from the kind of slapstick featured in mainstream entertainment, but scenes of slimings or pieings from the mainstream media are often compiled and marketed by producers towards a WAM fetishist target audience.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: There is some crossover between the wet and messy fetish and clothing destruction fetishes. Some WAM productions will see models start out fully dressed, usually in quite smart outfits such as formal dresses or suits; they will then be covered in messy substances, after which their messy clothes are cut up, typically with scissors, leaving them naked or nearly so.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: WAM is sometimes also combined with bondage, where a subject is first restrained or chained up and then hosed down or messed up. Wet and Messy fetishism lends itself well to domination/submission role-playing.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: "Cake Sitting" (the act of deliberately sitting on a large cake, either clothed or nude) is often considered a sub-fetish in its own right, but may be linked to the crush fetish. While participants who sit on cakes for pleasure will do so for the tactile sensory experience, or as part of submissive role-playing, those who enjoy watching the act will often focus specifically on the crushing of the dessert as a visual stimulus for a sexual reaction. Cake sitting as a fully clothed WAM activity can also form just part of the overall messing up of a participant, along with other methods of application of messy substances.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: No conclusive research has been conducted into the psychology behind the fetish; however, it is not uncommon for fetishists to have had interest in the sensations of messy play since their formative years (age 3–4) with a sexual element manifesting at the onset of puberty. For many, the simple breaking of taboos—doing what one was told not to as a child—brings about a sense of personal liberation. In any form, the fetish is about sensual stimulation, whether visual, tactile, or otherwise.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: One unproven theory is that individuals drawn to WAM have low tactile sensitivity, which is increased and intensified by wet substances acting as a lubricant under applied pressure or friction. "Messy play" is a common clinical therapy used in treating hypo-tactile patients (mostly pediatric cases) to give them an outlet and appropriate time and place to engage in mess-making.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: Another aspect is the link to other fetishes, as some wet and messy play is done in a submissive or dominating way and has possible links to BDSM, the emphasis being on the humiliation of the victim, although this is often mitigated or negated by the victim taking it in good humour. The dominant partner inflicting the mess can also be an object of attraction as an assertive figure of playful mischief.


title: Wet and messy fetishism

text: The popular sex column "Savage Love" has mentioned WAM. In one article, there was a reply to a letter from the roommate of someone who masturbates with condiments, possibly for fetishistic purposes. Daniel Savage, the writer of "Savage Love," did not condemn the use of condiments in that incident, but, instead, only chided the fetishist for using condiments that were later used by others.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: Most seat belt laws in the United States are left to the states and territories. However, the first seat belt law was a federal law, Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Safety Standard, which took effect on January 1, 1968, that required all vehicles (except buses) to be fitted with seat belts in all designated seating positions. This law has since been modified to require three-point seat belts in outboard-seating positions, and finally three-point seat belts in all seating positions. Seat belt use was voluntary until New York became the first state to require vehicle occupants to wear seat belts, . New Hampshire is the only state that has no enforceable laws requiring adults to wear seat belts in a vehicle.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: U.S. seat belt use laws may be subject to primary enforcement or secondary enforcement. Primary enforcement allows a law enforcement officer to stop and ticket a driver if they observe a violation. Secondary enforcement means that a peace officer may only stop or cite a driver for a seat belt violation if the driver committed another primary violation (such as speeding, running a stop sign, etc.) at the same time. New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that does not by law require adult drivers to wear safety belts while operating a motor vehicle.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: In 15 of the 50 states, non-use of seat belts is considered a secondary offense, which means that a police officer cannot stop and ticket a driver for the sole offense of not wearing a seat belt. (One exception to this is Colorado, where children not properly restrained is a primary offense and brings a much larger fine.) If a driver commits a primary violation (e.g., for speeding) they may additionally be charged for not wearing a seat belt. In most states the seat belt use law was originally a secondary offense; in many it was later changed to a primary offense: California was the first state to make this change, in 1993. Of the 30 states with primary seat belt use laws, all but California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington originally had only secondary enforcement laws.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: Thirty-four states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have primary enforcement laws for front seats.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: Seat belt use laws often do not themselves apply to children. Even so, all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and all 5 inhabited U.S. territories have separate child restraint laws. The table shows only the base fine, but not applicable add-on fees in many areas, such as the head injury fund and court security fees, which can increase the total assessed fine by up to a factor of five. These are also "first offense" fines, and subsequent offenses may be much higher.


title: Seat belt laws in the United States

text: Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands had seat belt usage of 90% or higher in 2017.