title: Voice (grammar)

text: The uniform theory has primarily been examined by McCrawley (1976) and Kuno (1973, 1978). The non-uniform theory argues that direct and indirect passives in Japanese should be treated differently. This theory hypothesizes that direct and indirect passives have separate underlying structures which are distinct from each other. Direct passives are derived from the transitive underlying structure and do not contain the passive morpheme "-(r)are" in its underlying structure while the indirect passive does contain "-(r)are" in its underlying structure. The non-uniform theory argues that direct and indirect passives in Japanese should be treated differently. This theory is not preferable compared to the uniform theory because the morpheme "-(r)are" being spelled the same for both direct and indirect passives is difficult to be passed as just a coincidence.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In non-uniform theory "-(r)are" is not contained within the underlying structure so in this sentence is the result of a subject object shift.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: While in ordinary passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence, in impersonal passive voice, it remains the grammatical object. The subject can be replaced with an impersonal pronoun, as in French "On lit le journal" or German "Man liest die Zeitung" ("The newspaper is (being) read"). Similar constructions are sometimes used in English, as in "One reads the newspaper"; "you" and "they" can also be used in an impersonal sense.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Verbs in the Finnic languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, have an impersonal voice, often simply called the passive (Finnish: "passiivi", Estonian: "umbisikuline tegumood"), which omits the subject and retains the grammatical role of the object. It has also been called the "zero person". In Estonian:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In Estonian, the agent can be included by using the postposition "poolt", although using such a construction instead of the active voice is criticized as a foreignism (influenced by German, Russian and English) and characteristic of officialese.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In both Finnish and Estonian, the use of the impersonal voice generally implies that the agent is capable of own initiative . For example, Finnish "Ikkuna hajotettiin" ("The window was broken") would generally not be used if the window was broken by the wind, rather than a person. In the latter case, one could instead use a reflexive (anticausative) verb in the active voice, such as "Ikkuna hajosi" ("The window broke").


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Celtic languages have an inflection commonly called the "impersonal" or "autonomous" form, of similar origin to the Latin "passive-impersonal". This is similar to a passive construction in that the agent of the verb is not specified. However its syntax is different from prototypical passives, in that the object of the action remains in the accusative.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: It is similar to the use of the pronoun ""on"" in French (except wherever ""on"" is instead used an alternative to ""we"", which is very frequent). It increasingly corresponds to the passive in modern English, in which there is a trend towards avoiding the use of the passive unless it is specifically required to omit the subject. It also appears to be similar to the "fourth person" mentioned in the preceding paragraph. However, what is called in Irish "an briathar saor" or "the free verb" does not suggest passivity but a kind of generalized agency.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: The construction has equal validity in transitive and intransitive clauses, and the best translation into English is normally by using the "dummy" subjects "they", "one", or impersonal "you". For example, the common sign against tobacco consumption has its closest direct translation in English as "No smoking":


title: Voice (grammar)

text: The difference between the autonomous and a true passive is that while the autonomous focuses on the action and overtly avoids mentioning the actor, there is nonetheless an anonymous agent who may be referred to in the sentence. For instance:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In English, the formation of the passive allows the optional inclusion of an agent in a prepositional phrase, "by the man", etc. Where English would leave out the noun phrase, Irish uses the autonomous; where English includes the noun phrase, Irish uses its periphrastic passive – which can also leave out the noun phrase:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: The impersonal endings have been re-analysed as a passive voice in Modern Welsh and the agent can be included after the preposition "gan" ("by"):


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Some linguists draw a distinction between static (or stative) passive voice and dynamic (or eventive) passive voice in some languages. Examples include English, German, Swedish, Spanish and Italian. "Static" means that an action was, is, or will be done to the subject at a certain point in time that did, does, or will result in a state in the time focused upon, whereas "dynamic" means that an action was, is, or will be taking place.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Note that for some speakers of English the dynamic passive constructed with "get" is not accepted and is considered colloquial or sub-standard.


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Spanish has two verbs corresponding to English "to be": "ser" and "estar". "Ser" is used to form the ordinary (dynamic) passive voice:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: However, this construction is very unidiomatic. The usual passive voice is the "se pasiva", in which the verb is conjugated in the active voice, but preceded by the "se" particle:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: "Estar" is used to form what might be termed a static passive voice (not regarded as a passive voice in traditional Spanish grammar):


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In the "ser" and "estar" cases, the verb's participle is used as the complement (as is sometimes the case in English).


title: Voice (grammar)

text: In Venetian (Vèneto) the difference between dynamic (true) passive and stative (adjectival) passive is more clear cut, using èser (to be) only for the static passives and vegner (to become, to come) only for the dynamic passive:


title: Voice (grammar)

text: Static forms represents much more a property or general condition, whereas the dynamic form is a real passive action entailing "by someone":


title: Voice (grammar)

text: A particular language may use the same construction for several voices, such as the same form for passive and reflexive.


title: Jonathan James

text: Jonathan Joseph James (December 12, 1983 – May 18, 2008) was an American hacker (a gray hat ethical hacker) who was the first juvenile incarcerated for cybercrime in the United States. The South Florida native was 15 years old at the time of the first offense and 16 years old on the date of his sentencing. He died at his Pinecrest, Florida home on May 18, 2008, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.


title: Jonathan James

text: Between August 23, 1999, and October 27, 1999, James committed a series of intrusions into various systems, including those of BellSouth and the Miami-Dade school system. What brought him to the attention of federal authorities, however, was his intrusion into the computers of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a division of the United States Department of Defense, the primary function of which is to analyze potential threats to the United States of America, both at home and abroad. James later admitted to authorities that he had installed an unauthorized backdoor in a computer server in Dulles, Virginia, which he used to install a sniffer that allowed him to intercept over three thousand messages passing to and from DTRA employees, along with numerous usernames and passwords of other DTRA employees, including at least 10 on official military computers.


title: Jonathan James

text: It was later revealed that the precise software obtained was the International Space Station's source code controlling critical life-sustaining elements. According to NASA, "the software supported the International Space Station's physical environment, including control of the temperature and humidity within the living space."


title: Jonathan James

text: James' house was raided on January 26, 2000, by agents from the Department of Defense, NASA and the Pinecrest Police Dept. James was formally indicted six months later. On September 21, 2000, he entered into an agreement with U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis: he would plead guilty to two counts of juvenile delinquency in exchange for a lenient sentence.


title: Jonathan James

text: James was sentenced to seven months house arrest and probation until the age of eighteen and was required to write letters of apology to NASA and the Department of Defense. He was also banned from using computers for recreational purposes. James later violated that probation when he tested positive for drug use and was then subsequently taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service and flown to an Alabama federal correctional facility where he ultimately served six months.


title: Jonathan James

text: Legal experts have suggested that, given the extent of his intrusions, he could have served at least ten years for his crimes if he had been an adult.


title: Jonathan James

text: Both Attorney General Janet Reno and prosecuting attorney Guy Lewis issued statements claiming the James case was proof the Justice Department was willing to get tough with juvenile offenders accused of cybercrime.


title: Jonathan James

text: , department store chain TJX was the victim of a massive computer systems intrusion that compromised the personal and credit information of millions of customers. The same ring of hackers also committed intrusions on BJ's Wholesale Club, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21, DSW, OfficeMax, and Dave & Buster's, and reportedly made a millionaire out of the group's ringleader, Albert Gonzalez. Though he denied having done anything, James—who was friends with some of the hackers involved—was investigated by the Secret Service, who raided James', his brother's, and his girlfriend's houses. Although they apparently discovered no connection to the intrusion, they did discover a legally owned firearm, which they did not take, and notes indicating he had considered killing himself; James' father would later say that his son had been prone to depression. The criminal complaint filed against the TJX hackers mention an additional, unnamed conspirator who was not indicted, who is identified only by the initials "J.J.". In 2004, this co-conspirator assisted one of the hackers in stealing credit card numbers, account numbers, and encrypted PINs from an OfficeMax store via Wi-Fi. These numbers were later allegedly provided to Albert Gonzalez, for whom "J.J." also opened a mail drop. James's father believes "J.J." to have been his son. However, it is plausible that the initials "J.J." may in fact have been referring to "Jim Jones", a (hacker) alias believed to be used by Stephen Watt who was a close friend of computer hacker and criminal Albert Gonzalez.


title: Jonathan James

text: On May 18, 2008, Jonathan James was found dead in his shower with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His suicide was allegedly motivated by the belief that he would be prosecuted for crimes he had not committed. "I honestly, honestly had nothing to do with TJX," James wrote in his suicide note, "I have no faith in the 'justice' system. Perhaps my actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this is my only way to regain control."


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and as Manda Best in "EastEnders".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence was born Wendy Lawrence on 6 June 1959 in Old Hill, Staffordshire. Her parents were Bert Lawrence and Kathleen Lawrence, née Griffin, who were married in 1948. She has older twin siblings, John and Janet, who are ten years her senior (1949). They were brought up in nearby Cradley Heath, where her father worked for British Leyland and her mother as a dinner lady. She knew she wanted to be an actress at the early age of 5, and by the time she was 16 she joined the Barlow Players in Oldbury.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: She studied at Dartington College of Arts from 1978 to 1981, receiving a Bachelor of Arts honours degree.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Her first acting role was as a young boy in a production of "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" at the Half Moon Theatre (in 2016 she became a patron of the theatre). During the 1980s, she was also involved in a play called "Passionaria" at the Newcastle Playhouse, starring Denise Black and Kate McKenzie, and they later formed the jazz group Denise Black and the Kray Sisters.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Her work in comedy began as a result of starring in a Donmar Warehouse play called "Songs For Stray Cats" and hearing the audience invited to supply lines and ideas for improvisers appearing in after-show cabaret.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: She starred as the title character in the 1993 Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith production of the musical "Moll Flanders".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: From 1994–96, Lawrence played Katharine in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of "The Taming of the Shrew" in both Stratford-upon-Avon and London, for which she received a Dame Peggy Ashcroft award for Best Actress. She also appeared in "Faust" and "The Cherry Orchard" and starred as Benedick in an all-female production of "Much Ado About Nothing" at Shakespeare's Globe, having played Beatrice previously at Manchester's Royal Exchange. She made her West End theatre debut in 2001 taking over the lead role of Anna in the stage musical "The King and I", replacing Elaine Paige. In 2005, she appeared with Victoria Wood, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie in the cult West End production of Wood's "".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2008, Lawrence took the lead role in Tom Stoppard's "Hapgood" at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and later at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in which she was a secret spymaster given the task of exposing a traitor who is leaking vital information to the Russians. In the same year, she co-directed "The Time Step", a comedy about fantasies and talent contests, with Linda Marlowe at the Edinburgh Festival.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence appeared as Madame Ranevskaya in a new version of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard", translated by Tom Stoppard, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in autumn 2010.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence came to public attention as a regular guest on the Channel 4 improvisational comedy series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" at its launch in 1988. Lawrence's speciality on "Whose Line" was her ability to improvise songs on the spot. She was the first female performer to perform regularly and featured on the show until 1997, which was the final UK series to be made in London. She also performed in two episodes of the American edition of the show in 1999.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 1991, she had her own short-lived comedy series "Josie", also on Channel 4. The next year she starred in "Enchanted April" a British remake of the 1935 film based on Elizabeth von Arnim's novel. Her other television work includes the comedy series "Not with a Bang" and "Downwardly Mobile", and she is remembered for her performances as Maggie Costello in the cricketing comedy drama "Outside Edge" alongside Timothy Spall and Brenda Blethyn, for which she was awarded the Spectacle Wearer of the Year award in 1993. She went on to perform in "Sealed with a Loving Kiss" and "Lunch in the Park" as part of the "Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's..." series on 16 February 1996 and 21 October 1997. She appeared in the 1999 made-for-television film "The Flint Street Nativity" as both Debbie Bennett and Debbie's mother. In 2000, she played Camilla in "A Many Splintered Thing". Between 1999 and 2001, she was the voice of "Duck" in the children's television show "Dog and Duck".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2006, she starred alongside Peter Davison in "The Complete Guide to Parenting" as Phoebe Huntley. She has also appeared in the BBC 1 drama series "Robin Hood" and as Mrs Jiniwin in the 2007 ITV adaptation of "The Old Curiosity Shop". She appeared in an episode of the 2007 E4 teen comedy/drama "Skins", playing Liz Jenkins, estranged mother of Sid Jenkins, a role which she reprised in the second series.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence was in "EastEnders" from March 2009 to February 2010. She played Amanda Best, an old flame of Minty Peterson. She was featured with Meera Syal in a celebrity special of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" that aired on 31 January 2009. She has appeared as a guest on the panel show games "QI" and "Never Mind the Buzzcocks".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2010, Lawrence appeared in series 25, episode 3 of "Casualty" named "The Chaos Theory". Lawrence played Mrs Janet Haines, head teacher of a school where sixteen children were admitted to the emergency department having taken LSD. Also in 2010, she played the part of Sandra, Tony's agent, in the 2010 British feature film version of Tony Hawks' best selling book "Round Ireland with a Fridge" that was released in September 2010 and was released on DVD in November 2010.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2012, she appeared in "Doctors" alongside Louise Jameson who has also appeared in "EastEnders". Lawrence played Cathy Dayman, and Jameson played Shirley Carter. Also in 2012, she appeared on one episode of the US improv series, "Trust Us With Your Life", similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway?", but never made it to air.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2016, she played Barbara, a synthetic marriage counsellor in series 2 of the Channel 4 television series "Humans".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2018, she played the lover of a married man portrayed by former "Whose Line" castmate John Sessions in the feature film "Finding Your Feet".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2020, she appeared in the BBC television series "" episode 3.5 "Thy Fury Spent" as Dr Helen Middleton.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence starred in three series of the improvised comedy series "The Masterson Inheritance" from 1993 to 1995 on BBC Radio 4 alongside Paul Merton, Phelim McDermott, Caroline Quentin, Lee Simpson and Jim Sweeney. Each episode comprised a different time period, and the plots were improvised based on suggestions from the studio audience. One unaired episode was produced and narrated by Lawrence, but it was released on the internet by Jim Sweeney on his official site.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: The BBC Radio 4 series "The Lawrence Sweeney Mix" aired from 27 February to 20 March 2007 and was described as "Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney create improvised sketches from audience suggestions". Series 2 began airing on 29 January 2008.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: She has starred in three other BBC Radio 4 comedy series: the science fiction comedy "Married" in 1996 and the dark comedy series "Vent" in 2006 as well as appearing in a "Galton and Simpson Radio Playhouse" 50th Anniversary recording of "Clicquot et Fils" alongside Richard Griffiths and Roger Lloyd-Pack that originally aired on 29 December 1998.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence made her debut appearance in the long-running BBC Radio 4 show "Just a Minute" on 7 January 2008 and returned again in the following series.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In December 2014, Lawrence played the role of Agnes Nutter in an adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's book "Good Omens" for BBC Radio 4. In 2019, she reprised the role for the Amazon/BBC television production of the book.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence has lent her voice to several audiobooks, the majority of which were books for children. She has recorded several of the books in Roger Hargreaves' "Little Miss" series, namely, Bossy, Giggles, Trouble, Tiny, Sunshine, Naughty, Somersault and Neat and four of Jacqueline Wilson's books, "Secrets", "The Illustrated Mum", "Bad Girls" and "The Bed and Breakfast Star". She has also recorded books from Emma Thomson's "Felicity Wishes", Eric Hill's "Spot the Dog" and Tony Bradman's "Dilly the Dinosaur", as well as Philip Ridley's "Mercedes Ice" and Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's "Room on the Broom" as well as the 2005 "Muffin The Mule" story books for a grand CD release.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: For adults, Lawrence has recorded audiocassettes of Rosie Thomas's "Sun at Midnight", Lynne Truss's "Going Loco" and Daphne du Maurier's "Jamaica Inn".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: She appeared on the 1992-1993 series of "GamesMaster", playing "Mad Dog McCree" winning her challenge.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2003, Lawrence spent eight months walking across China, Cuba, Peru and Tanzania for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and helped to raise over £550,000. She had to wear a knee brace throughout the trek because of damage to her anterior cruciate ligament.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 2005, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Sunfield, a school for children with autism and complex learning needs, of which she is a patron. On 21 April 2008, she hosted a VIP-night performance of Hapgood at The Birmingham Rep in aid of Sunfield and raised a further £3,500 for the charity. In 2009, Lawrence raised £25,000 for Sunfield by appearing on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" with Meera Syal.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence and Shane Richie participated in the final leg of the celebrity "Around the World in 80 Days" challenge to raise money for Children in Need 2009. They travelled from Memphis to Wilmington, North Carolina and then to London over 15 days.


title: Josie Lawrence

text: Lawrence is single. In an interview with Jim Sweeney, she said of being asked why she is unmarried, "It's always the same: 'You're 41 and not married and no kids.' God, I'm so bored with it." She resides in Hackney, London. She has two cats, a long-haired ginger (Aynuk) and a black-and-white (Ayli), named after the Black Country characters Aynuk and Ayli, who feature prominently in jokes about Black Country dialect. As a guest on "QI" she named David Attenborough "her God".


title: Josie Lawrence

text: In 1994, Lawrence was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dartington College of Arts, and she has since been awarded two more, an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Wolverhampton in 2004 and in 2006 a doctorate by Aston University for "services to the entertainment industry."


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The Isuzu Faster is a pickup truck that was manufactured and marketed by Isuzu between 1972 and 2002 over three generations. The Faster was succeeded worldwide by Isuzu D-Max, except in North America.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Isuzu of Japan introduced the "KB20" / "25" series Faster pickup in 1972. The regular wheelbase models were designated "20", while "25" referred to the longer version. Derived from the Isuzu Florian, the Faster shared many components, including doors and the front-end assemblage. It served as a replacement for the Isuzu Wasp, a pickup version of the Bellett which preceded the Florian. Both single and twin headlamp front fascia designs were produced.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Due to the exterior dimensions, and engines offered were found to be in compliance with Japanese regulations, the platform was classed in the favorable "compact" designation, and competed with other Japanese made products sold in Japan at the time.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In most export markets, Isuzu rebranded the Faster as the "Isuzu KB". However, the Faster was often distributed through General Motors (GM) retail channels and sold under the Chevrolet brand as the "Chevrolet LUV"—"LUV" being an acronym for "light utility vehicle". Bedford, the European commercial vehicle subsidiary of GM also offered the vehicle under the "Bedford KB" name.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The Isuzu Faster used a traditional pickup truck chassis with a ladder frame and a leaf spring live axle rear suspension. At the front, the A-arm suspension used an independent configuration. The wheelbase was similar to its competitors, as was the cargo bay. Unlike for the preceding Wasp, there was also a long wheelbase version ("KB25") which had between the axles, which made for a bed.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In 1978, a four-wheel drive version became available, with the "KB40" chassis code but sold under the "Faster Rodeo" label in Japan. There was also a double cab (on the longer chassis) version. Sales ended in 1980 when the second generation was introduced. The engine used in most markets was a carbureted gasoline SOHC inline-four of , which was complemented by a diesel four ("KBD") which produced . Top speeds were and for the gasoline and diesel versions respectively. In Japan, an overhead valve engine (G161) was fitted originally; this produces for a top speed.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: General Motors-Holden imported the Faster into Australia from November 1972 under the name "Chevrolet LUV", renaming it "Isuzu KB" in 1977 before it was replaced in December 1980 by the second generation model (badged "Holden Rodeo"). Holden launched the LUV in Australia with the 1.6-liter inline-four gasoline engine delivering approximately of power and of torque. Gaining an early reputation for reliability and durability, these original rear-wheel drive models featured a four-speed manual transmission, short-wheelbase construction, and circa payload capacity.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: An update in 1978 expanded the LUV range—now comprising the short-wheelbase "KB20" model, the new long-wheelbase "KB25" and the four-wheel drive "KB40" short-wheelbase. These "KB25" and "KB40" variants were offered in both cab chassis and utility (pickup) body styles and could be specified with the 1.6-liter gasoline engine or the newly available 1.95-liter inline-four diesel. The diesel produced and .


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Responsibility of sales in North America was delegated to General Motors. Thus, the Isuzu was retailed via Chevrolet dealerships as the "Chevrolet LUV". The only engine was a SOHC inline-four which produced .


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Sales in the United States began in March 1972 as a response to the Datsun and Toyota pickup trucks, as well as Ford's Mazda-built Courier. To circumvent the 25 percent tariff on light trucks (known as the chicken tax), LUVs were imported in cab chassis configuration, which included the entire light truck, less the cargo box or truck bed and were only subject to a 4 percent tariff. Subsequently, a truck bed would be attached to the chassis and the vehicle could be sold as a light truck.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The LUV's exterior was updated slightly for the 1974 model year, but the first major update came in the 1976 model year, when a three-speed automatic transmission option and front disc brakes were added. Power was up to for 1977, and sales continued to rise. An exterior refresh and the addition of a cargo bay option, with longer wheelbase, brought sales up to 71,145 in 1978. The addition of four-wheel drive for 1979 brought the LUV to the attention of "Motor Trend" magazine, and earned it their second "Truck of the Year" award. The LUV was the first four-wheel-drive minitruck available and set a new trend. Sales peaked at 100,192.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The second generation was more commonly marketed worldwide under the Isuzu label (either as the "Isuzu KB" or just plain "Pick Up"). It continued to use the "Rodeo" suffix for the four-wheel drives. The second generation model was the first Isuzu pickup offered in three cab styles: single cab, double cab and "Space Cab" ("Sports Cab" in some markets). Sales in the UK continued as the Bedford KB.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: This generation was not shared with the GM North American GMT325 platform, which replaced the North American Chevrolet LUV in 1982.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Holden in Australasia distributed the second generation Isuzu Faster between January 1981 and August 1988 as the first generation or "KB" series "Holden Rodeo", for which production started in December 1980. Early KBs were fitted with circular headlamps and a horizontal four-bar grille, but a 1983 model year facelift in December 1982 brought rectangular lamps with a 12-port grille insert as well as restyled side mirrors.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: At launch, Holden made the Rodeo available in utility (pickup) and cab chassis body variants in both rear- (LWB) and four-wheel drive (SWB) layouts. All models featured a floor- or column-mounted four-speed synchromesh manual transmission coupled with the 1.6-liter gasoline or 2.0-liter diesel engines. The 1983 model year update increased these displacements to 1.8- and 2.2-liters, respectively. At the same time a new upmarket "LS" model was issued (coded "KB28"), fitted with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and five-speed manual. For the 1984 year model, beginning in February 1984, the 2.0-liter became the base gasoline engine.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The 1985 model from July the same year signaled another facelift, the release of the two-door "Space Cab" body style, the debut of a new 2.3-liter gasoline engine, and the deletion of the four-speed manual and column-shift selector (making the floor-mounted five-speed manual standard). From March 1986 (1986 model year), the 2.3-liter became the standard gasoline engine and in April the subsequent year, the 1987 models obtained a final facelift with an open rectangular grille design and optional power steering.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Versions with unique local specifications were assembled in New Zealand at GM's Trentham assembly plant. These were also badged as Holdens.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The second generation KB was introduced in many European markets, not only Britain, as the Bedford KB. In subsequent years continental markets saw a switch to Isuzu badging as General Motors stopped using the Vauxhall and Bedford brands outside of the United Kingdom. It was called by the model code, Specifications and trims varied depending on market needs, but most received the 1.6-liter G161Z petrol engine with a twin carburettor and , or the 2-liter C190 diesel inline-four with . Two-wheel-drives were also available on a long wheelbase not offered in combination with four-wheel-drive.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The United States continued to receive the Faster under the "Chevrolet LUV" name for the second generation, introduced in 1980 for the 1981 model year. The gasoline engine remained the same, but the LUV was now available with an Isuzu "C223" diesel engine making at 4300 rpm and at 2200 rpm. This new engine gave the rear-wheel drive diesel LUV a fuel economy rating of city / highway.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: After the 1982 model year, General Motors stopped selling the Chevrolet LUV (although many '82s lingered on forecourts into the next year) in the United States in favor of their own S-10 compact pickup. Meanwhile, Isuzu had sold their version in parallel with the LUV since their 1981 entry to the US market, under the name "Isuzu P'up" (short for "pickup"). Isuzu's version received another grille and other differences to set it apart from the LUV, not the least of which is the giant "ISUZU" block letters on the tailgate. The P'up received the same engines as the LUV; either an 1.8-liter gasoline inline-four ("G180Z") or a 2.2-liter diesel version with ("C223"). Four-wheel drive was available with either engine but only in short-wheelbase form, though some 4WD long-wheelbase diesel are known to exist, possibly dealer-installed or aftermarket conversions. Because of technology-sharing agreement between GM and Isuzu, the diesel was also offered with the LUV's replacement until 1985. Later, the gasoline engine was upgraded to Isuzu's 1.95-liter four and a turbodiesel version was added, with the turbo standard on diesel-engined 4WD models.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: For 1987, the P'up gained a "Spacecab" extended cab model. This was only available in LS or Deluxe trim. Also new was the option of a 2.3-liter gasoline four (standard on 4WDs). Production for the Mexican and Latin American markets did not end until 1994.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: As with North America, the Isuzu KB was generally issued under the name "Chevrolet LUV" in South America. Manufactured in Colombia from Japanese complete knock down (CKD) sets, these models entered production in 1980 to be exported to other South American countries, continuing on until the release of the "TF" series in 1988. At the start, the versions assembled were the "K-26" and "K-28". It was offered with a 1584 cc ("G161Z") engine. It was also offered a ("C190") diesel version of 1951 cc with eight valves in the cylinder head and . This model of the Isuzu KB only was assembled in via CKD kits from Japanese origin.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: For the third generation ("TF"), introduced in 1988, the domestic Japanese lineup was divided into two, with the "Faster" label used on rear-wheel drive versions with four-wheel drives now sold as the Isuzu Rodeo. Rodeo became the name used in most markets for this car, but the profusion of labels for different markets continued. Versions sold in the Americas were called Isuzu Pickup and Chevrolet LUV. In the United Kingdom, the pickup was called Isuzu TF and also Bedford Brava from 1988 until 1991 when the Bedford brand was dropped and it became the Vauxhall Brava. The Isuzu was also sold in mainland Europe along with the Opel Campo. This Opel branding was also utilized in the Middle East, parts of North Africa and some Asian countries.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Holden Rodeo was the only name used in Australasia, with the Isuzu KB name used in South Africa and some other markets. The names Isuzu Faster-Z, Isuzu TFR, and Honda Tourmaster were used in Thailand. A Thai-market SUV based on the TF was sold as the Thairung Adventure, produced in semi-knocked-down by Thai Rung Union Car. Names used in other markets include: Chevrolet T-Series (Egypt), Isuzu Ippon (Israel), Isuzu Fuego (Philippines), and as the Isuzu Invader in the north-eastern parts of Malaysia (Sabah). License built copies have been sold as the Jinbei SY10 series, Foton Aoling T-Series in China, where the car has served as a basis for innumerable local copies, authorized and unauthorized.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In Japan, two-wheel drive versions were called "Isuzu Faster", with the "Rodeo" name reserved for four-wheel drive units. In 1992, an updated version of the 4JB1 2.8-litre turbodiesel with direct injection was introduced; while the original 2.8 has , the direct-injected version offered at 3,600 rpm and of torque at 2,300 rpm. Japanese sales ended in 1994 without replacement, although export markets continued to receive the vehicle until replaced by the D-Max from 2002.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Isuzu Japan had Yokohama Motor Sales manufacture from 1990-1993 a 4 berth camper on the Isuzu Rodeo TFS55H chassis platform. This was the popular 4WD version which gave offroad accessibility and comfort. This option only came in the 2.8 litre 4JB1T engine option and 5 Speed manual with low/high transferbox. There was no automatic options offered.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The TF series received a facelift in 1997. Styling was changed, with a more rounded look at the front, and a new-look dash similar to that used in the 1995 to 1997 model Isuzu Wizard. In China, where the TF is still built by Isuzu's local joint venture partner Qingling Motors, it received a second facelift at the beginning of 2015.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: Holden introduced the "TF" series into Australia in 1988, branded as the Holden Rodeo, following on from the name of the previous Isuzu based light truck sold by the brand in Australia. The Holden Rodeo was initially available with a 2.6-liter inline-four. A 2.8-liter turbodiesel was introduced soon after. Body styles offered were a two-door single cab, a two-door "SpaceCab", with space for two small jump-seats (rarely if ever fitted in Australia) behind the front passengers, and a four-door "Crewcab", with space for the driver and four passengers. Several trim levels were available, which included DX (base model), LX (mid-range RWD, top of the 4WD range) and LT (top of the range, only available as an RWD petrol Crewcab).


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The facelifted 1997 (1998 model year) Holden Rodeo came with a new trim level, LT Sport, available as a four-wheel "Crewcab" only. Airbags for the driver and front passenger also became an option. By 1998 the 2.6-liter engine was discontinued and a new engine was offered, a 3.2-liter V6. This engine was available in both rear- and four-wheel-drive. The rear-wheel-drive version had the same chassis, and thus ride-height as the four-wheel-drive, but without the transfer case and front axle. The 3.2-liter V6 was the most powerful engine in a pickup truck in Australia until it was replaced in 2003 by the new look Rodeo based on the Isuzu D-Max. Accordingly, this engine was the most popular engine in the Rodeo, and the Rodeo sold very well overall, near the sales numbers of the Toyota Hilux, traditionally the best-selling commercial vehicle in Australia.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: The Holden Rodeo was updated once again in 2001 for the 2002 model year, with a new diesel engine, a 3.1-liter direct injection intercooled turbodiesel. The update was also accompanied by minor styling changes, such as clear indicator lenses, and a different grille.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In Europe, the Isuzu was sold as the TF alongside the rebadged "Opel Campo". It was also sold as the "Isuzu Campo." In the United Kingdom "Vauxhall Brava" badging was used rather than Opel. These received the same updates as did the Isuzu TF in general markets, and a variety of body styles were available, usually coupled with diesel engines.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In North America, the "TF" series appeared in 1988 as simply the "Isuzu Pickup". Produced at Lafayette, Indiana, Isuzu continued on with the TF until 1996 when it was finally replaced with the Hombre (a badged-engineered Chevrolet S-10). The only engines available were the 2.3-liter 4ZD1, the 2.6-liter 4ZE1 and the GM 3.1-liter V-6 (designation LG6) producing and for the 1991–1994 model years. The 2.3-liter version holds the distinction of becoming the last carbureted passenger vehicle sold new in the United States (1994 model year). There was also a heavier, work oriented one-tonne model available. The truck continued to be sold in Mexico, and Latin America until production ended in 2016.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: As with the previous "KB" series generation, South American markets again received the "TF" models under the "Chevrolet LUV" name. The Chilean assembling works began in 1982, meanwhile in Colombia commenced in 1989, In the assembling process, the local parts usage percentage was high and important for the LUV manufacturing process. In Chile it has to reach 40  percent domestic parts content, meanwhile in Colombia exceeded 70%.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: A successful export program beginning in Chile in 1980s to the Andean Community countries: Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela; and in 1993 began the exports from Chilean assembled units (in the SpaceCab model only) to Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, and Venezuela. In total, more than 220,000 units were produced only in Chile, and more than 300.000 in Colombia. From 1999 and to little success, Thai Rung Union Car supplied the Chevrolet plant in Arica, Chile with the unique body panels from their "Isuzu Grand Adventure" model to make the "Chevrolet Grand Adventure" and the "Chevrolet Grand LUV". The Grand Adventure was a wagon version of the "TF" series pickup.


title: Isuzu Faster

text: By the late 1980s, supplementary assembly began in Quito, Ecuador by with a 1.6-liter inline-four cylinder engine, making .


title: Isuzu Faster

text: In October 2005; was ceased the Isuzu Faster Chilean manufacture. In Colombia, the Isuzu Faster has ceased its production in 2010. The last Faster rolled off the assembly line on May 8, 2010. In both countries, the Isuzu Faster was replaced by the Isuzu D-Max, these firsts units were assembled only in Ecuador and later from vehicles coming from Thailand (2014 onwards).


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: With recent improvements in firearms at the time, the Ikko-ikki movement would be able to rise very suddenly as a menacing force and which presented a credible threat to the government, as a peasant or merchant could transform himself into a capable mobile cannoner in mere days.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: According to Sansom, "The Ikko (Single-Minded) sect of Nenbutsu, or Buddha-calling ... is a branch of the worship of Amida developed from the teaching of Shinran into an aggressive doctrine of salvation by faith." In the 13th century, the jizamurai, a new class of small landowners, "formed leagues ("ikki") for mutual defence", since they came from "good warrior families, long established in their own districts, and they were determined to protect their interests, both economic and social, against newcomers", according to Sansom. The Shirahata-Ikki, "White Flag Uprising", and Mikazuki-Ikki, "Crescent Uprising", were examples of the numerous risings against the Ashikaga shogunate. An uprising involving an entire province was called a Kuni-Ikki (kuni meaning province). Uprisings took place in 1351, 1353, 1369, 1377, 1384–1386, and 1366–1369. The risings in the 15th century, Tsuchi-Ikki or Do-Ikki, were better organized "and the peasants appear to have played a more prominent part". At the conclusion of the Ōnin War, in 1477, "many of the members of the numerous ikki" occupied the monasteries and shrines, and "would ring the warning bells day and night, hoping to terrify the rich citizens", according to Sansom.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: The Ikkō-ikki were, at first, disparate and disorganized followers of Rennyo's teachings. His missionary work, and his appointment to the position of abbot of the Kyoto Hongan-ji, was in 1457, allowed him to "express in words and deeds" his unorthodox views. In 1465, Rennyo was forced to flee Kyoto, and established a new Hongan-ji branch temple, Yoshizaki-gobō, in Echizen Province in 1471. It was at this temple that he began to attract a significant following among peasants and farmers. About 1486 brought the first violent uprising, the first major organized action on the part of the Ikkō-ikki. They overthrew the governor of Kaga Province, and took control of it for themselves; this represented the first time in Japanese history that a group of commoners ruled a province.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: The Ikko-ikki fought Asakura Norikage in the of 1506 and defeated Nagao Tamekage in the 1536 Battle of Sendanno. They fought Asakura Norikage again in the 1555 Battle of Daishoji-omote.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: Rennyo was a pacifist and taught pacifism. He advocated self-defense only as a guard against the particularly tumultuous times in which he lived. "Daimyō", samurai warlords, fought one another for territory nearly constantly, across the entire country. Rennyo thus saw to it that the temples of his sect were fortified and defended from attackers. Though it was his charismatic leadership and populist teachings that inspired the fervor which powered the Ikkō-ikki uprisings, he never advocated or supported them. The uprisings continued nevertheless, past Rennyo's death in 1499, and the sub-sect of Jōdo Shinshū that he had founded spread as well. They established themselves in fortresses at Ishiyama Hongan-ji, just outside Osaka, and in Nagashima, on the borders of Owari and Ise Provinces and in a series of temples in Mikawa Province as well.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: Towards the end of the 16th century, however, their growing numbers and strength caught the attention and concern of the great samurai leaders of the time. Tokugawa Ieyasu worried that sōhei of Mikawa Province would rise up and seize the province. In 1564, his forces, with the help of Jōdo-shū sōhei, defeated the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki in the Battle of Azukizaka.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: The "ikki" attracted the ire of the likes of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga due to the economic and political threat they posed, more so than as a result of their military might. Ishiyama Hongan-ji and other strongholds of the "ikki" lay across major trade routes and occupied the same areas that Nobunaga saw as his primary territorial objectives. Nearly every road to the capital from this western part of the country was controlled by the "ikki" or their allies, and the populist roots of the "ikki" movement gave them significant economic power as well. Nobunaga in particular sought the destruction of the Ikkō-ikki for these reasons, and because they allied themselves with nearly every one of his major enemies or rivals. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was once strongly supported in his claim to become Shōgun by Nobunaga, but turned to the "ikki" when their relationship soured. The "ikki" also had powerful allies in the Mōri, Azai, and Asakura clans. In the Asakura stronghold of Echizen province, today's Fukui-prefecture, Nobunaga ordered his generals to kill the people in Ajimano village in August 1575 as noted in "The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga". The Ishiyama Hongan-ji and Nagashima fortresses were besieged several times by the forces of Oda Nobunaga. After several failed attempts at seizing each emplacement, he eventually succeeded.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: In the 1580s, the last of the Ikkō-ikki courted Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and fought alongside his forces against warrior monks and priests of other sects.


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: The Ikkō-ikki bands of the 16th century, due largely to their origins as countryside mobs, used quite varied armor and armament. Many wore the more traditional priest robes, with varying degrees and types of armor. Some wore various sorts of helmets, while others opted for the straw hat and cloak of a peasant. Naginata remained very common, along with a variety of swords and daggers, and a limited number of arquebuses. Finally, while not truly armor nor armament, a very common item wielded by the mobs of Ikkō-ikki priest warriors was a banner with a Buddhist slogan written upon it. Some of the more common slogans included the "nenbutsu" chant "Hail to Buddha Amida!" ("Namu Amida Butsu"; 南無阿弥陀仏) and "He who advances is sure of salvation, but he who retreats will go to hell".


title: Ikkō-ikki

text: Shin Buddhism was persecuted in response to the Ikkō-ikki, which caused the formation of "kakure nenbutsu" secret societies.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Meet the Feebles (also known as Frogs of War in New Zealand as the film's English fake working title) is a 1989 New Zealand puppet musical black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson, and written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair and Danny Mulheron (who also performed the body of lead character Heidi the Hippo). It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets (plus some suited performers) who are members of a stage troupe. However, whereas the Muppets characterize positivity, naïve folly and innocence, the Feebles largely present negativity, vice and other misanthropic characteristics. It is the first Jackson film that was co-written by his future partner Fran Walsh, who has gone on to act as co-writer for all his subsequent films.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: The eponymous Feeble Variety Hour theatre troupe is rehearsing the title song with hopes of finding success through being picked up for a syndicated television show. Heidi (a hippopotamus), the star, is insulted by pornographic director Trevor (a rat) and complains to her boss and lover, Bletch (a walrus), who is actually in an adulterous relationship with Samantha (a Siamese cat). Meanwhile, Robert (a hedgehog), the newest member of the team, arrives at the theatre, where he is accosted by reporter F. W. Fly (a fly), who tries to corrupt Robert into informing on the cast, meets Arthur (a worm), the show's manager, and immediately falls in love with another newcomer, Lucille (a poodle). Trevor is approached by sniveling drug-addicted knife thrower Wynyard (a frog) looking for his fix, but the drugs have not yet been delivered. Guppy (a fish) auditions for The Feebles backstage, only to get eaten by Bletch. After Heidi finishes jogging, Samantha confronts her, insults her, and reveals her relationship with Bletch, resulting in a fight between the two, in which Heidi throws her in a cardboard box. With the help of Arthur, Robert is able to serenade Lucille, confessing his love to her, and the two become engaged.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: After his tribble-like creatures accidentally get crushed by a barrel, animal tamer, Sid (an elephant), and Arthur have a beer, when he receives a visit from his ex-girlfriend, showgirl Sandy (a chicken) with his alleged son Seymour the Elechicken (an improbable-looking elephant/chicken hybrid). Sandy informs him she will be preparing a paternity case against him. Bletch and Barry (a bulldog) consummate a drug deal with Cedric (a warthog), during which Bletch and Cedric deliberately sabotage eachother during a game of golf, which ends with Bletch winning by throwing up the chewed remains of Guppy.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Back at the theater, Dennis (a perverted aardvark) is shown peeping on the second most important star of the show, Harry (a hypersexual rabbit) in a threesome with two female rabbits. Trevor is shooting a porn film in the basement with the Masked Masochist (a weta) and Madam Bovine (a cow). They are interrupted by Robert, who mistakes the scene for torture and tries to save Bovine, who in turn accidentally crushes the Masked Masochist, suffocating him. Trevor later feeds him to a fish-like monster.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: The director of the show, Sebastian (a red fox), lambasts Robert for failing his part as an extra on the stage. As punishment, he assigns Robert the task of replacing Wynyard's assistant, who has just been killed by Wynyard's knife throwing while going through drug withdrawal. At the toilet, Harry is suffering from a mystery illness and F. W. Fly harasses him. Wynyard tells Robert his story of Vietnam, and convinces Robert to give him $50 to buy drugs from Trevor. After seeing Trevor's latest porno film starring Dennis (who Trevor chose for a substitute) and Madame Bovine, Bletch decides they need a new porn star, and Trevor chooses Lucille. Harry passes out down some stairs, much to the surprise of fellow cast member Dorothy (a sheep), who yells for help. Dr. Quack (a duck) gives Harry only twelve hours to live, and F. W. Fly spies on them.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Elsewhere, Abi, the show's contortionist, accidentally manages to roll himself into a ball during rehearsal. Hating how the show is turning out, Sebastian demands for his song to be included, only to be turned down and thrown out by Bletch.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: F. W. Fly continually harasses Harry, ultimately reporting his illness to the tabloids. Trevor drugs Lucille and tries to rape her as an audition, but is caught by Robert. When he walks in on the scene, Robert thinks that Lucille was drinking and throwing herself at Trevor, and disowns her. After an awful rehearsal, Sebastian lambasts Heidi, causing her to rush to Bletch for emotional affirmation, but walks in on Samantha performing oral sex on him. That night, after testing the drugs provided by Cedric on Dennis, the drugs turn out to be borax, infuriating Bletch. Cedric's agent Louie (a dog) is literally liquefied after being force-fed some of the borax by Bletch's henchmen.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Heidi locks herself in her room, throws a tantrum, and refuses to perform, but relents after Bletch has make-up sex with her. Soon after, Bletch and his cronies venture to the docklands to fight Cedric and his crab-crewmen. Bletch's side prevails after killing Cedric and the crabs, as well as a giant spider, which bites off Barry's head, and Cedric's boss, Mr. Big (a sperm whale), by driving through him and coming out the other end. Lucille tries to convince Robert of her love for him, but he tells her he never wants to see her again. After seeing the article of Harry's illness in the paper, Trevor lures F. W. Fly into the bathroom, where Bletch tears his wings off and flushes him down the toilet. Shortly afterwards, Heidi attempts to seduce Bletch in his office, but Bletch confesses to Heidi that he actually hates her and wants to give the main role to Samantha. This causes Heidi to mentally break down, and envisions the rest of the Feebles laughing at her.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Later, things begin to go awry during the performance. An ailing Harry winds up vomiting all over the stage during his performance, Sid is accosted by Sandy in the midst of his act, which causes it to fall apart, Wynyard accidentally kills himself during his act when he loses his grip on one of his knives and it comes down on his head, and Sebastian decides to take matters into his own hands. After a failed attempt at hanging herself, Heidi then tries to commit suicide with an M60 machine gun, but at that second, Samantha walks into the room and taunts Heidi upon seeing her about to end her life. Heidi snaps, turns the gun on Samantha, and shoots her dead. Heidi then goes on a shooting spree, killing many of the cast, including Harry (who was told by Dr. Quack that he was going to recover as he only has "bunny pox"), Abi (who finally managed to free his head only to be crushed by his bedded nails), Dorothy (who attempted to talk to Heidi), and others.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Sebastian, in a poor and desperate attempt to save the show, puts on a musical number about the act of "Sodomy", disgusting the silent and unamused live audience, much to the horror of Bletch who orders Trevor to kill him. At the end of the show, Heidi continues her shooting spree, and Sid braves the crazed Heidi's automatic fire to save his son, after Sandy gets her head shot off. Robert rescues Lucille from being shot and professes that he still loves her, and Lucille tells him the truth about Trevor's attempted raping of her. Sebastian hides in Harry’s giant carrot-rocket, and is injured when Heidi causes it to go off and crash into a wall. Bletch attempts to talk Heidi into surrendering, but Heidi opens fire on him and he drops from the balcony. Lying injured on the stage, Bletch convinces Heidi to stop her rampage by proclaiming he still loves her, only for Trevor to shoot her in the shoulder from behind with a shotgun.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Bletch, having tricked Heidi into letting her guard down, orders Trevor to kill her, only for Robert to intervene by swinging on a rope from the rafters and colliding with Trevor, incapacitating Trevor briefly enough for Heidi to reclaim the machine gun and shoot him dead. Bletch lunges at Heidi in a last ditch effort, but is killed too. From backstage, Arthur tells Heidi that he regrettably had to tip off the police about Heidi's shooting rampage. Heidi accepts this and makes one last request before her impending incarceration - to play her musical number, "Garden of Love", to which Arthur complies.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: The epilogue reveals the fates of only seven survivors: Sid gets extensive repair on his kneecaps after being accidentally shot by Heidi in her rampage and works in an orchard as a struggling horticulturist with his son Seymour. Arthur received an OBE for his lifelong service at the theater and retires to the country. Sebastian recovers from his injuries and became a successful writer who achieved worldwide fame for his best seller, "The Feeble Variety Massacre: One Man's Act of Heroism!", and is currently negotiating film rights. Robert (now an award-winning fashion photographer for a women's magazine) and Lucille are married with two children. Finally, Heidi, whose killing spree resulted in her imprisonment in a women's penitentiary for ten years, has been rehabilitated into the community and now works under a new identity on the check-out counter of a large supermarket.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: The film was originally conceived as part of a television series, and only belatedly became a feature after Japanese investors proposed expanding it; as such, the script was hastily re-written. The dialogue was recorded before shooting began. Made on an extremely low budget considering the time-consuming process of working with puppets, the film went over budget and schedule. Some scenes, including the Vietnam flashback, were funded by members of the film crew, and filmed secretly under the title "Frogs of War". The Vietnam flashback includes a game of Russian roulette as a parody of "The Deer Hunter". An initial application for Film Commission money was rejected by executive director Jim Booth, who a short time later became Jackson's producer. The Commission eventually granted the production two-thirds of its $750,000 budget, though relationships between the funders and the production soured and the Film Commission removed its credit from the film. It is often mistakenly stated that there are no human characters in the film; the character Abi is a human. However, there are no "real-life" human characters in the film. Director Jackson has a cameo as an audience member dressed as an alien from "Bad Taste". Every vehicle seen in the film is a variation on the Morris Minor, including a specially constructed limousine. Morris Minors also appear in Jackson's "Bad Taste" and "Braindead". By presumed coincidence, one of the characters, Harry the Hare, shares a name with the title character of James B. Hemesath's short story "Harry the Hare" (himself a Bugs Bunny pastiche), written for Harlan Ellison's anthology "Again, Dangerous Visions" in 1972.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: The film was marketed in some countries with the tagline: "From the director of "Bad Taste", comes a movie with no taste at all!"


title: Meet the Feebles

text: "Meet the Feebles" was given its public premiere at a fantasy film festival in Hamburg, in April 1990.


title: Meet the Feebles

text: From then on, the film was released theatrically in Japan (7 December 1990); Portugal (February 1991); Australia (March 1991); Sweden (April 1991); Germany (May 1991); France (July 1991); United Kingdom (April 1992); and the United States (February 1995 in New York and September 1995 nationwide).


title: Meet the Feebles

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 71% based on reviews from 24 critics, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's consensus reads "Dark and vulgar, "Meet the Feebles" is a backstage comedy featuring puppets that offers proof of Peter Jackson's taste for sheer outrageousness, even if it often lapses into pure juvenilia."


title: Meet the Feebles

text: During a limited theatrical release in North America in 2002, critic James Berardinelli touched on aspects of the film which likely helped ensure it limited release in cinemas. "The stories of these ... characters are told in a disgustingly graphic, obscenely offbeat, and caustically funny manner. "Meet the Feebles" is for those with a strong stomach and a seriously warped sense of humor. The film is so off the beaten track that it makes Monty Python seem mainstream." Janet Maslin of the "New York Times" gave it 2 out of 5 and wrote that it was "Destined to stand as an unfortunate footnote to Mr. Jackson's career."


title: Meet the Feebles

text: Despite being a commercial failure on release (grossing only 80,000), the film went on to win critical praise and a cult following plus won over new viewers following Jackson's success with "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. During his acceptance speech at the 2004 Academy Awards, Jackson mentioned "Meet the Feebles" (along with "Bad Taste"), joking that it had been "wisely overlooked by the Academy."


title: Battletoads

text: Battletoads is a video game media franchise by Rare that began with the original beat 'em up game "Battletoads" in 1991. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin conditions, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple, the series was created to rival the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" games series. The original "Battletoads" game for the NES was renowned for its extreme difficulty, but still received a cult following, spawning sequels for various platforms including a crossover with the "Double Dragon" series and a modern reboot after a 25 year gap in releases. In each of the games, the objective is to defeat the toads' nemesis the Dark Queen and her army of space mutants.


title: Battletoads

text: The Battletoads appear in a bonus boss encounter in the Xbox One and PC versions of "Shovel Knight". "Battletoads" and "Battletoads Arcade" are included in "Rare Replay", a compilation of 30 Rare games released for the Xbox One in 2015. Rash appears as a playable guest character in the third season of the fighting game "Killer Instinct", available on Xbox One and Windows. Rash also appears as an action figure in "Grounded".


title: Battletoads

text: A sequel/remake game was being developed for the Game Boy Advance, but was ultimately canceled. In 2013, Phil Spencer from Microsoft's Xbox team mentioned his fondness for "Battletoads" while asking the fans what Rare games should be brought back for the Xbox One. In 2014, "Battletoads" was re-trademarked in the United States. Spencer appeared publicly in a "Battletoads" T-shirt in 2015, just days after Microsoft Studios' Ken Lobb (creator of 2013's "Killer Instinct" reboot) said they have plans to bring "Battletoads" and other classic Rare series back "someday".


title: Battletoads

text: "Battletoads: The Official Battlebook," the Tradewest-authorized guide to the Battletoads console games, was written by Steve Schwartz and published in 1994 by Prima Publishing. Detailed playing tips, strategies, and secrets were provided for the following games: "Battletoads" (NES and Genesis), "Battletoads in Battlemaniacs" (Super NES), and "Battletoads/Double Dragon" (NES, Genesis, and Super NES).


title: Battletoads

text: "Battletoads" spun off a half-hour animated television special produced by DIC Animation City in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (DiC would try this again later on when producing "Street Sharks" and "Extreme Dinosaurs"). Intended as the pilot for a full-fledged series, the special aired in syndication in the United States on the weekend of Thanksgiving 1992. It was never picked up for a series however, despite comic-style ads in "GamePro" magazine claiming otherwise.


title: Battletoads

text: Buena Vista Home Video released the pilot on VHS in January 1994. It received an official YouTube release on August 5, 2014, on a YouTube channel run by the Canadian company DHX Media, which currently owns the rights to DIC's cartoon library.


title: Battletoads

text: The story served as a prequel to the video game franchise. Set in Oxnard, California, it stars three junior high schoolers. The trio is given the ability to transform into anthropomorphic toads with superhuman strength and the ability to change their arms and legs into weapons in techniques called "Smash Hits". They are charged with protecting Professor T. Bird and Princess Angelica from the Dark Queen, who wants to steal Angelica's magical amulet for her plans of universal conquest.


title: Battletoads

text: The cartoon was adapted and written by David Wise (no relation to the "Battletoads" video games' composer of the same name). A comic with the backstory of "Battletoads", written by Rare employee Guy Millar, was also published in "Nintendo Power".


title: Battletoads

text: In 2010, "Game Informer" included "Battletoads" among ten gaming franchises that deserve a revival, and precisely, "a true HD sequel". In 2012, "Forbes" listed it as one of five video game franchises "that need to come back from the dead", adding that a modern "Battletoads" "should retain its side-scroller qualities while adopting the 2.5D style" similar to "Mark of the Ninja". The series' return was also demanded by other outlets, including "Complex", "Maxim" and GameRevolution.


title: Battletoads

text: On the other hand, the animated version of "Battletoads" was very badly received. It was included on the lists of five "worst one-shot TV cartoons ever made" by Topless Robot in 2008.


title: Battletoads

text: Beginning in early 2011, 4chan users organized a mass prank calling to the Gold and Silver pawn shop, home to the popular television show "Pawn Stars". The callers would repeatedly ask the employees if they sold "Battletoads". This call led Rick Harrison, star of "Pawn Stars" and owner of the store, to repeatedly swear and yell at the callers, who recorded this and uploaded it to YouTube. This originated a series of many other similar videos of pranksters dialing random establishments and asking about "Battletoads". "Battletoads" developer Rare has acknowledged the prank via an achievement named "Do You Have Battletoads?" in their 2015 game compilation "Rare Replay".


title: Exocrine gland

text: Exocrine glands are glands that secrete substances on to an epithelial surface by way of a duct. Examples of exocrine glands include sweat, salivary, mammary, ceruminous, lacrimal, sebaceous, prostate and mucous. Exocrine glands are one of two types of glands in the human body, the other being endocrine glands, which secrete their products directly into the bloodstream. The liver and pancreas are both exocrine and endocrine glands; they are exocrine glands because they secrete products—bile and pancreatic juice—into the gastrointestinal tract through a series of ducts, and endocrine because they secrete other substances directly into the bloodstream. Exocrine sweat glands are part of the integumentary system; they have eccrine and apocrine types.


title: Exocrine gland

text: Exocrine glands contain a glandular portion and a duct portion, the structures of which can be used to classify the gland.


title: Exocrine gland

text: Exocrine glands are named apocrine glands, holocrine glands, or merocrine glands based on how their products are secreted.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah (born 3 August 1947), also referred to by his nickname Siddu, Siddaramaiah served as Chief Minister of Karnataka from 13 May 2013 to 17 May 2018 and currently serving as the leader of the opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly since 9 December 2019. He belongs to Indian National Congress party and a member of Congress Working Committee.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah was a member of various Janata Parivar factions for several years. Earlier, as a Janata Dal (Secular) leader, he was the deputy chief minister of Karnataka on two occasions. On 13 May 2013 he was sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka. He has presently continued as the opposition leader of Karnataka despite his resignation, which was not accepted at higher levels and continued his tenure.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: He was born to Siddarame Gowda and Boramma in a remote village called Siddaramanahundi in Varuna Hobli near T. Narasipura of Mysore district in a farming family. He had no formal schooling until he was ten but went on to do his B. Sc. and LL.B. from Mysore University. He is the second among five siblings and he belongs to Kuruba Gowda/


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah was a junior under a lawyer, Chikkaboraiah, in Mysore and later taught law for some time.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Before 1978, he began political career when Nanjunda Swamy, a lawyer in Mysore, spotted him at the district courts as a law graduate. He was asked to contest and was elected to the Mysore Taluka. He contested on a Bharatiya Lok Dal ticket from Chamundeshwari constituency and entered the 7th Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1983. This was a surprise victory for all and it earned him a name and fame in the Old Mysore region.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Later he joined the ruling Janata Party and became the first president of the Kannada Surveillance Committee (Kannada Kavalu Samiti), set up to supervise the implementation of Kannada as an official language. During the mid-term polls in 1985, Siddaramaiah was re-elected from the same constituency and became Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services. In Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde's government, he handled diverse portfolios such as Sericulture, Animal Husbandry and Transport at different stages.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: He first suffered defeat in the 1989 Assembly elections, beaten by a veteran Congress leader, M. Rajasekara Murthy. Later in 1992, he was appointed Secretary General of Janata Dal, which H. D. Deve Gowda had also joined. He was elected again in the 1994 State Elections and became the Minister for Finance in the Janata Dal government headed by Deve Gowda. He was made Deputy Chief Minister when J. H. Patel became Chief Minister in 1996. He was sacked as Deputy Chief Minister and dropped from the Cabinet on 22 July 1999. After the split in the Janata Dal, he joined the Janata Dal (Secular) faction of Deve Gowda and became the president of its state unit. However, he lost in the 1999 state elections. In 2004, when the Indian National Congress and JD (S) formed a coalition government with Dharam Singh as Chief Minister, he was again appointed Deputy Chief Minister. He addressed ahinda samavesha in Hubballi, which had the huge public gathering. He even challenged Reddy brothers in the house when he was the leader of the opposition that he would come to Bellary through padayatra. It garnered attention of whole state and eventually Siddaramaiah came to power in 2013.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah celebrated his 75th birthday on 03 August 2022 in Davanagere and called it "Siddaramotsava", where more than 6 lakh followers of Siddaramaiah had attended the program.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: In 2005, after differences with H. D. Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah was expelled from JD (S). He wanted to form a regional party "ABPJD" in the state after quitting the JD (S), but he did not because regional parties formed earlier in Karnataka had not survived. He subsequently garnered mass support from the backward classes and joined the Congress at a large public meeting held in Bangalore, in Sonia Gandhi's presence. He won the Chamundeshwari bypolls held in December 2006, by a margin of 257 votes against M. Shivabasappa of JD (S), despite a fierce campaign against him by Deve Gowda, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister Yeddyurappa in the constituency. In the 2008 state Assembly elections, he contested from Varuna Constituency and was re-elected for the fifth time.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: He won the 2013 election from the same constituency (Varuna) on 8 May 2013 and was reelected for the 7th time. He was elected as the leader of the Congress legislative party in the Karnataka assembly on 10 May 2013. He had previously announced that the 2013 Assembly election would be his last election, but in the 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, he left his safe Varuna seat for his son, and he himself went on to contest from two constituencies, i.e. Chamundeshwari and Badami, and faced stiff competition against GT Devegowda of JD (S) and B. Sriramulu of BJP respectively, both of which were new constituencies for him. He lost in Chamundeshwari, but won in Badami vidhan sabha seat beating BJP heavyweight Sriramulu with a narrow margin of 1,696 votes and he was reelected for the 8th time. Congress under his leadership then supported the Janata Dal (Secular) in forming the government in 2018 to keep BJP out of power. He was the chairman of coordination committee that coordinated the congress-JDS coalition govt under H. D Kumarswamy. After the resignation of 17 MLAs, leading to the downfall of the coalition government, Siddaramaiah took the leadership of the upcoming by-elections in Karnataka.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: The by-polls were held on 5 December 2019 for the 15 assembly seats. Though Siddaramaiah expressed his confidence in winning 12 out of the 15 contested seats, Congress managed to win only 2 seats and the JDS winning none of it. This was a major setback for his leadership and differences arose among his own party members questioning his leadership. Thus Siddaramaiah resigned as the Leader of the CLP and the Leader of opposition of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on 9 December.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah was elected as Chief Minister after Congress adopted secret balloting to select the new chief minister.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: He led the Indian National Congress to victory by achieving an absolute majority of 122/224 seats in the 2013 Legislative Assembly election.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: On 15 May 2018, he resigned from his position of the Chief minister of Karnataka, respecting the verdict of the 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election. He also became the first chief minister of Karnataka to serve full 5 years term in 40 years, and the second in the history of the southern state after Devaraj Urs. He also holds the record of presenting state budget 13 times as a finance minister in Government of Karnataka. Despite allegations of mounting debt on state exchequer by the opposition, he is known for maintaining fiscal prudence within the ambit of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act of the state.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah is mononymous. Siddaramaiah is married to Parvathi and had two sons. His elder son, Rakesh, seen as his father's heir in politics, died of multiple organ failure in 2016 at the age of 38. The surviving son, Yathindra, contested the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections and won from the seat of Varuna in Mysuru, formerly his father's seat, by over 45,000 votes.


title: Siddaramaiah

text: Siddaramaiah has stated on record that he is an atheist, though he has more recently clarified his public stance on the subject: "Word has spread that I am an atheist, which I am not. I am spiritual -- I have participated in festivities as child. I have visited some of the popular pilgrimage centres. But I am definitely against superstition, as I view everything from science point of view,".


title: J. Geils

text: John Warren Geils Jr. () (February 20, 1946 – April 11, 2017), known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of The J. Geils Band.


title: J. Geils

text: Growing up in New York City, Geils became interested in jazz and blues. After moving to Massachusetts for his college education, he formed the J. Geils Blues Band while still a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After dropping the word "Blues" from their name, the band released their first album in 1970, performing soul and rhythm and blues-influenced rock music for most of the 1970s before turning to pop music in the 1980s. After the band broke up in 1985, Geils left regular performing to take up restoration and racing of automobiles, with occasional forays into music production. He continued to appear in reunion tours with the rest of his band sporadically during the 2000s and 2010s.


title: J. Geils

text: John Warren Geils Jr. was born on February 20, 1946, in New York City, and grew up in Morris Plains, New Jersey. He was of German ancestry.


title: J. Geils

text: In 1959, his family moved to Old Farm Lane in Bedminster. He attended Bernards High School in nearby Bernardsville. Before he graduated in 1964 he was a member of the math club, the physics club, student council, car club, band club and the marching band. He also was a big fan of motorcycles.


title: J. Geils

text: From an early age, he heard his father's albums by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie, and was escorted by his father to a Louis Armstrong concert. He learned to play Miles Davis music on the trumpet and drums, and he listened to blues singers Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters on the radio. In 1964, he began attending Northeastern University and was a trumpeter in the marching band. When he was drawn to folk musicians in Boston, he left Northeastern for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he studied mechanical engineering.


title: J. Geils

text: He dated Meryl Streep, who had moved to Bernardsville in 1962. They were in a relationship when she was a sophomore and junior in high school.


title: J. Geils

text: Geils began playing jazz trumpet but eventually switched to blues guitar. He formed an acoustic blues trio, 'Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels', with bassist Danny Klein and harmonica player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz, while studying mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the mid-1960s. In late 1965 their line-up consisted of vocalist/saxophone player Peter Kraemer, guitarists Terry MacNeil and William "Truckaway" Sievers, bassist Martin Beard (born 1947, London), and drummer Norman Mayell. They soon moved to Boston, where they added new drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and lead vocalist Peter Wolf, who was a late-night DJ on WBCN. Geils later formed the 'J. Geils Blues Band' with Klein, Salwitz, Bladd, and Wolf, with Seth Justman becoming the final member before the band released its debut album in 1970.


title: J. Geils

text: Renamed "The J. Geils Band", the band released eleven albums between 1970 and 1985. Although they were influenced by soul music and rhythm and blues, their musical style was difficult to categorize. Their success was allegedly limited by being "too white for the black kids and too black for the whites".


title: J. Geils

text: The band's sound moved toward pop and rock by the time the breakthrough album "Love Stinks" (EMI, 1980) came out. Their next album, "Freeze Frame", produced the song "Centerfold", which sat at number one for six weeks, and the title track, which was a "Billboard" Top 10 hit.


title: J. Geils

text: Tension and conflict arose among band members, and Wolf left to pursue a solo career. The band broke up in 1985. Geils took a break from music to concentrate on auto racing and restoration.


title: J. Geils

text: In 2012 he filed a lawsuit against the other band members when they allegedly planned to tour without him while using the band's trademarked name. This prompted him to quit the group permanently.


title: J. Geils

text: Geils recorded two blues albums with Magic Dick during the 1990s, then formed a jazz trio with guitarists Duke Robillard and Gerry Beaudoin. He released his first solo album, "Jay Geils Plays Jazz!", in 2005.


title: J. Geils

text: In 2015, Geils was named to the Wall of Honor at his alma mater, Bernards High School, in Bernardsville, New Jersey.


title: J. Geils

text: In addition to passing on an interest in jazz, Geils's father took him to auto races in Pennsylvania in the 1950s. Geils became fascinated with Italian sports cars. He drove in five races a year during the early 1980s, at the peak of the J. Geils Band's popularity. He opened KTR Motorsports, an automobile restoration shop in Ayer, Massachusetts to service and repair vintage sports cars such as Ferrari and Maserati. He sold the shop in 1996, though he continued to use the shop and participate in the company.


title: J. Geils

text: In 1982, Geils moved to Groton, Massachusetts. The town honored him by proclaiming J. Geils Day on December 1, 2009. In September 2016, Geils was arrested and charged with drunk driving after allegedly rear-ending a car in Concord, Massachusetts.


title: J. Geils

text: On April 11, 2017, Groton Police conducted a well-being check on Geils and found him unresponsive at his home. He was pronounced dead from natural causes at age 71.


title: Rocket launcher

text: The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few inches behind the arrowhead. The rocket was propelled by the burning of the black powder in the motor; these should not be confused with early fire arrows, which were conventional arrows carrying small tubes of black powder as an incendiary that ignited only after the arrow hit its target. The rocket launchers were constructed of wood, basketry, and bamboo tubes. The launchers divided the rockets with frames meant to keep them separated, and the launchers were capable of firing multiple rockets at once. Textual evidence and illustrations of various early rocket launchers are found in the 1510 edition of the "Wujing Zongyao" translated by Needham and others at Princeton University. (The original "Wujing Zongyao" was compiled between 1040 and 1044 and described the discovery of black powder but preceded the invention of the rocket. Partial copies of the original survived and "Wujing Zongyao" was republished in 1231 during the Southern Song Dynasty, including military developments since the original 1044 publication. The British scientist, sinologist, historian Joseph Needham asserts that the 1510 edition is the most reliable in its faithfulness to the original and 1231 versions, since it was printed from blocks that were re-carved directly from tracings of the edition made in 1231 AD.) The 1510 "Wujing Zongyao" describes the "long serpent" rocket launcher, a rocket launcher constructed of wood and carried with a wheelbarrow, and the "hundred tiger" rocket launcher, a rocket launcher made of wood and capable of firing 320 rocket arrows. The text also describes a portable rocket carrier consisting of a sling and a bamboo tube.


title: Rocket launcher

text: Rocket launchers known as "wasp nest" launchers were used by the Ming dynasty in 1380 and in 1400 by Li Jinglong against Zhu Di.


title: Rocket launcher

text: Rockets were introduced to the West during the Napoleonic Wars; the Congreve rocket was a British weapon devised by Sir William Congreve in 1804 after experiencing Indian rockets at the Siege of Seringapatam (1799). Congreve rockets were launched from an iron trough about 18 inches (45 centimetres) in length, called a "chamber". These chambers could be fixed to the ground for horizontal launching, secured to a folding copper tripod for high angle fire or mounted on frames on carts or the decks of warships.


title: Rocket launcher

text: During the American Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate Military experimented upon and produced rocket launchers. Confederate forces used Congreve rockets in limited uses due to its inaccuracies, while the Union forces used Hale patent rocket launcher which fired seven to ten inch rockets with fin stabilizers at a range of 2000 yards.


title: Rocket launcher

text: Pre-war research programmes into military rocket technology by many of the major powers led to the introduction of a number of rocket artillery systems with fixed or mobile launchers, often capable of firing a number of rockets in a single salvo. In the United Kingdom, solid fuel rockets were initially used in the anti-aircraft role; the 7-inch Unrotated Projectile was fired from single pedestal-mounted launchers on warships and a 3-inch version was used by shore based Z Batteries, for which multiple "projectors" were developed. Later developments of these weapons included the Land Mattress multiple launchers for surface-to-surface bombardment and the RP-3 air-to-ground rockets that were launched from rails fitted to fighter bomber aircraft. In Germany, the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 was an adaptation of a multiple barrelled smoke mortar for artillery rockets. The Soviets "Katyusha" was a self-propelled system, being mounted on trucks, tanks and even trains. The United States Army deployed the tank mounted T34 Calliope system late in the war.


title: Rocket launcher

text: The rocket launchers category includes shoulder-fired weapons, any weapon that fires a rocket-propelled projectile at a target yet is small enough to be carried by a single person and fired while held on one's shoulder. Depending on the country or region, people might use the terms "bazooka" or "RPG" as generalized terms to refer to such weapons, both of which are in fact specific types of rocket launchers. The Bazooka was an American anti-tank weapon which was in service from 1942–1957, while the RPG (most commonly the RPG-7) is a Soviet anti-tank weapon.


title: Rocket launcher

text: A smaller variation is the gyrojet, a small arms rocket launcher with ammunition slightly larger than that of a .45-caliber pistol.


title: Rocket launcher

text: Recoilless rifles are sometimes confused with rocket launchers. A recoilless rifle launches its projectile using an explosive powder charge, not a rocket engine, though some such systems have sustainer rocker motors.


title: Rocket launcher

text: A rocket pod is a launcher that contains several unguided rockets held in individual tubes, designed to be used by attack aircraft or attack helicopters for close air support. In many cases, rocket pods are streamlined to reduce aerodynamic drag. The first pods were developed immediately after World War II, as an improvement over the previous arrangement of firing rockets from rails, racks or tubes fixed under the wings of aircraft. Early examples of pod-launched rockets were the US Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket and the French SNEB.


title: Rocket launcher

text: Larger-scale devices which serve to launch rockets include the multiple rocket launcher, a type of unguided rocket artillery system.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Laura Jane Richardson (born December 11, 1963) is a four-star general in the United States Army who is the commander of United States Southern Command since October 29, 2021. Prior to that, she was the commanding general of United States Army North from July 2019 to September 2021.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: As an army aviator, Richardson flew Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Promoted to brigadier general in 2011, she served in various commands at Fort Hood and as chief of staff for communication in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. In June 2017, she was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed deputy commanding general of United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM). She served as acting commander of FORSCOM from October 2018 until March 2019 and, on July 8, 2019, became the first woman appointed to command United States Army North. Richardson was nominated as commander of United States Southern Command by President Joe Biden in March 2021 and confirmed in this role by the United States Senate on August 11. Having been promoted on October 18, 2021, Richardson became the second woman to attain the rank of general in the U.S. Army, as well as the third woman to lead a combatant command.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: The daughter of Suzanne (Allen) Strickland, a teacher and Darwin Jan Strickland, a physician, Richardson grew up in Northglenn, Colorado, where she attended the public schools and graduated from Northglenn High School in 1982. She attended Metropolitan State College in Denver, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She was an All American swimmer and earned her pilot's license at the age of 16. Richardson was commissioned via the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in 1986.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Richardson was commissioned into the United States Army Aviation Branch in 1986 as a second lieutenant. Richardson flew Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the 128th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter). She was promoted to first lieutenant in 1988 and subsequently was administrative officer, executive officer, and platoon leader with 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment. She transferred to the 17th Aviation Brigade as an assistant logistics officer in 1989 and served in South Korea before returning to the 501st Aviation Regiment as a personnel officer in the 4th Battalion in 1990. Richardson commanded Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion from September 1990 to September 1991, and was promoted to captain in March 1991.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Richardson attended the Aviation Officer Advanced Course at Fort Rucker in 1991–1992 and took command of Company B, 1st Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in July 1992. She later served as the battalion's personnel officer (S-1). In 1995–1996 she was a trainer in the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth before she spent a year as a student at the Army Command and General Staff College. Promoted to major in March 1997 Richardson became operations officer and then executive officer of 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Richardson served as a military aide to Vice President Al Gore between February 1999 and January 2001. That year she was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became deputy operations officer of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). From July 2002 to May 2004 Richardson was commander of 5th Battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment and served with that unit on Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time, she was featured on the cover of the March 24, 2003 edition of "Time" magazine. She, her husband, and their daughter were the subjects of a story by Nancy Gibbs entitled "An American Family Goes to War", in which they were described as "...the first husband and wife battalion commanders in the new married-with-children military". She was Army campaign planner with the deputy chief of staff for operations and plans from 2004 to 2006. She was awarded a Master of Science degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy) at Fort McNair in June 2007. Promoted to colonel, she was commander of the Army garrison at Fort Myer until October 2009 when she was chief of the United States Senate liaison division for the Secretary of the Army.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: In July 2011, Richardson was promoted to brigadier general and appointed commanding general of the Operational Test Command at Fort Hood. She was subsequently appointed deputy commanding general – support for the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, a position she left in 2013 to become deputy chief of staff, communication for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Richardson returned to the United States after a year and became chief legislative liaison to the Office of the Secretary of the Army as a major general.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: In June 2017, Richardson was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed deputy commander of United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), replacing Lieutenant General Patrick J. Donahue II, who was retiring. She was appointed by FORSCOM commander General Robert B. Abrams who said the decision took "less than a second". This was despite never having worked with Richardson; Abrams said "I know her reputation. I’ve seen her work... She’s the exact right leader at the exact right time". Her appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and she became the first woman to hold the position officially (Major General Jody J. Daniels had acted as deputy for the week prior to Richardson's appointment). FORSCOM is the largest command in the U.S. Army, representing 770,000 soldiers and civilians including 200,000 regular army soldiers stationed in the United States and the entire National Guard and Army Reserve. In October 2018, Abrams left FORSCOM for a new assignment, and Richardson was named acting commander, the first woman to head the organization. In announcing the appointment, Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley indicated that Richardson could expect to be the acting commander for several months, and was being considered for permanent assignment to the post. She continued to serve as acting commander until General Michael X. Garrett assumed command in March 2019.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: In April, Richardson was nominated to be the first female commander of United States Army North. She assumed command of ARNORTH/5th Army on July 8, 2019.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: During Richardson's tenure, ARNORTH supported the Operation Allies Welcome Afghan evacuee mission. ARNORTH also participated in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as natural disaster relief including wildland firefighting operations in Northern California.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: On March 6, 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that President Biden nominated Richardson to become commander of the United States Southern Command. Her nomination was sent to the Senate on March 5, 2021, with hearings held on August 3, 2021. Richardson was originally going to be recommended by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, but they delayed until after the 2020 United States presidential election over concern that then-President Donald Trump might react negatively to the nomination of a woman to a top command.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: At her nomination hearing, Richardson stated her commitment to strengthening SOUTHCOM's approach to security cooperation and ensuring the United States remained the partner of choice in the region, as well as ensuring SOUTHCOM played its part in supporting the "whole-of-government" effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to partner nations. She added that she would focus on expanding the command's security cooperation efforts and multilateral exercises, prioritize international military education and training exchanges, and continue to work with Congress and the Department of Defense to increase interoperability levels and global integration. She was confirmed by unanimous voice vote on August 11, 2021.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Richardson relinquished command of ARNORTH to John R. Evans Jr. on September 9, 2021. She received her fourth star as the third woman to lead a combatant command, with the promotion ceremony held on October 18, 2021. Her four-star rank was pinned by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General James C. McConville and her husband, Lieutenant General James M. Richardson.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: The change of command ceremony took place on October 29, 2021, with her predecessor, Admiral Craig S. Faller, retiring after 38 years of distinguished service.


title: Laura J. Richardson

text: Richardson is married to retired Lieutenant General James M. Richardson, who was deputy commander for combat development at the Army Futures Command. They have one daughter.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: The Battle of Kulikovo () was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command of Mamai, and various Russian principalities, under the united command of Prince Dmitry of Moscow. The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at the Kulikovo Field near the Don River (now Tula Oblast, Russia) and was won by Dmitry, who became known as after the battle.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: Although the victory did not end Mongol domination over Rus, it is widely regarded by Russian historians as the turning point at which Mongol influence began to wane and Moscow's power began to rise. The process eventually led to Grand Duchy of Moscow independence and the formation of the modern Russian state.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: After the Mongol-Tatar conquest, the territories of the disintegrating Kievan Rus became part of the western region of the Mongol Empire (also known as the Golden Horde), centered in the lower Volga region. The numerous Rus principalities became the Horde's tributaries. During this period, the small regional principality of Moscow was growing in power and was often challenging its neighbors over territory, including clashing with the Grand Duchy of Ryazan. Thus, in 1300, Moscow seized the city of Kolomna from Ryazan, and the Ryazan Prince was killed after several years in captivity.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: After the killing of Khan Berdi Beg of the Golden Horde at 1359, a civil war had arisen there. Warlord ("temnik") Mamai, who was son-in-law and beylerbey of Berdi Beg, soon took power in the western part of the Golden Horde. Mamai enthroned Abdullah Khan in 1361 and after his mysterious death in 1370 immature Khan Muhammad Bolak was enthroned. Mamai was not a Genghisid (descendant of Genghis Khan), and as such his grip on power was tenuous, as there were true Genghisids with claims to mastery. Therefore, he had to constantly fight for supreme power and at the same time struggle against separatism. While there was a civil war in the falling Golden Horde, the new political powers were appearing, such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Grand Duchy of Ryazan.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: Meanwhile, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania continued its expansion. It competed with Moscow for supremacy over Tver and in 1368–1372 made three campaigns against Moscow. After the death of Algirdas in 1377, his eldest sons Andrei of Polotsk and Dmitri of Bryansk began to struggle with their step-brother Jogaila for their legitimate right to the throne and entered into an alliance with the Grand Prince of Moscow.


title: Battle of Kulikovo

text: Simultaneously with the beginning of the Great Troubles in the Horde in 1359, Prince of Moscow Ivan II died and the new Khan of the Horde by his jarliq (law pronouncement) transferred the throne of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir to the Prince of Nizhny Novgorod. But the Moscow elite (in 1359, new Prince Dmitry was only 9 years old) did not accept this. They used equally armed force and bribes to various Khans and as a result, in 1365, forced the princes of Nizhny Novgorod to finally give up claims to the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In 1368, the conflict between Moscow and Tver began. Prince of Tver Mikhail used the help of Lithuania, and in addition, in 1371 Mamai gave him a jarliq to the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. But the Moscow troops simply did not let the new "Grand Prince" enter to Vladimir, despite the presence of the Tatar ambassador. The campaigns of the Lithuanian army also ended in failure and so the jarliq returned to Dmitry. According to the results of the truce with Lithuania in 1372, the Grand Duchy of Vladimir was now recognized as the hereditary possession of the Moscow Princes. In 1375 the Prince of Tver once again received a jarliq for the Grand Duchy from Mamai. Then Dmitri with a strong army (larger than it was in the Kulikovo battle) quickly moved to Tver and forced it to capitulate. Mikhail recognized himself as the "little brother" of the Moscow Prince and ensure to participate in wars with the Tatars.