title: Disgust

text: In a series of significant studies by Paul Ekman in the 1970s, it was discovered that facial expressions of emotion are not culturally determined, but universal across human cultures and thus likely to be biological in origin. The facial expression of disgust was found to be one of these facial expressions. This characteristic facial expression includes slightly narrowed brows waving the hand back and forth although different elicitors may produce different forms of this expression. It was found that the facial expression of disgust is readily recognizable across cultures. This facial expression is also produced in blind individuals and is correctly interpreted by deaf individuals. This evidence indicates an innate biological basis for the expression and recognition of disgust. The recognition of disgust is also important among species as it has been found that when an individual sees a conspecific looking disgusted after tasting a particular food, he or she automatically infers that the food is bad and should not be eaten. This evidence suggests that disgust is experienced and recognized almost universally and strongly implicates its evolutionary significance.


title: Disgust

text: Facial feedback has also been implicated in the expression of disgust. That is, the making of the facial expression of disgust leads to an increased feeling of disgust. This can occur if the person just wrinkles one's nose without awareness that they are making a disgust expression.


title: Disgust

text: The mirror-neuron matching system found in monkeys and humans is a proposed explanation for such recognition, and shows that our internal representation of actions is triggered during the observation of another's actions. It has been demonstrated that a similar mechanism may apply to emotions. Seeing someone else's facial emotional expressions triggers the neural activity that would relate to our own experience of the same emotion. This points to the universality, as well as survival value of the emotion of disgust.


title: Disgust

text: At a very young age, children are able to identify different, basic facial emotions. If a parent makes a negative face and a positive emotional face toward two different toys, a child as young as five months would avoid the toy associated with a negative face. Young children tend to associate a face showing disgust with anger instead of being able to identify the difference. Adults can make the distinction. The age of understanding seems to be around ten years old.


title: Disgust

text: Because disgust is partially a result of social conditioning, there are differences among different cultures in the objects of disgust. For example, Americans "are more likely to link feelings of disgust to actions that limit a person's rights or degrade a person's dignity" while Japanese people "are more likely to link feelings of disgust to actions that frustrate their integration into the social world". Furthermore, practices viewed as acceptable in some cultures may be viewed as disgusting in other cultures. In English the concept disgust can apply to both physical and abstract things, but in Hindi and Malayalam languages, the concept does not apply to both.


title: Disgust

text: Disgust is one of the basic emotions recognizable across multiple cultures and is a response to something revolting typically involving taste or sight. Though different cultures find different things disgusting, the reaction to the grotesque things remains the same throughout each culture; people and their emotional reactions in the realm of disgust remain the same.


title: Disgust

text: The scientific attempts to map specific emotions onto underlying neural substrates dates back to the first half of the 20th century.


title: Disgust

text: Functional MRI experiments have revealed that the anterior insula in the brain is particularly active when experiencing disgust, when being exposed to offensive tastes, and when viewing facial expressions of disgust. The research has supported that there are independent neural systems in the brain, each handling a specific basic emotion. Specifically, f-MRI studies have provided evidence for the activation of the insula in disgust recognition, as well as visceral changes in disgust reactions such as the feeling of nausea. The importance of disgust recognition and the visceral reaction of "feeling disgusted" is evident when considering the survival of organisms, and the evolutionary benefit of avoiding contamination.


title: Disgust

text: The insula (or insular cortex), is the main neural structure involved in the emotion of disgust. The insula has been shown by several studies to be the main neural correlate of the feeling of disgust both in humans and in macaque monkeys. The insula is activated by unpleasant tastes, smells, and the visual recognition of disgust in conspecific organisms.


title: Disgust

text: The anterior insula is an olfactory and gustatory center that controls visceral sensations and the related autonomic responses. It also receives visual information from the anterior portion of the ventral superior temporal cortex, where cells have been found to respond to the sight of faces.


title: Disgust

text: The posterior insula is characterized by connections with auditory, somatosensory, and premotor areas, and is not related to the olfactory or gustatory modalities.


title: Disgust

text: The fact that the insula is necessary for our ability to feel and recognize the emotion of disgust is further supported by neuropsychological studies. Both Calder (2000) and Adolphs (2003) showed that lesions on the anterior insula lead to deficits in the experience of disgust and recognizing facial expressions of disgust in others. The patients also reported having reduced sensations of disgust themselves. Furthermore, electrical stimulation of the anterior insula conducted during neurosurgery triggered nausea, the feeling of wanting to throw up and uneasiness in the stomach. Finally, electrically stimulating the anterior insula through implanted electrodes produced sensations in the throat and mouth that were "difficult to stand". These findings demonstrate the role of the insula in transforming unpleasant sensory input into physiological reactions, and the associated feeling of disgust.


title: Disgust

text: Studies have demonstrated that the insula is activated by disgusting stimuli, and that observing someone else's facial expression of disgust seems to automatically retrieve a neural representation of disgust. Furthermore, these findings emphasize the role of the insula in feelings of disgust.


title: Disgust

text: One particular neuropsychological study focused on patient NK who was diagnosed with a left hemisphere infarction involving the insula, internal


title: Disgust

text: capsule, putamen and globus pallidus. NK's neural damage included the insula and putamen and it was found that NK's overall response to disgust-inducing stimuli was significantly lower than that of controls. The patient showed a reduction in disgust-response on eight categories including food, animals, body products, envelope violation and death. Moreover, NK incorrectly categorized disgust facial expressions as anger. The results of this study support the idea that NK had damage to a system involved in recognizing social signals of disgust, due to a damaged insula caused by neurodegeneration.


title: Disgust

text: Many patients with Huntington's disease, a genetically transmitted progressive neurodegenerative disease, are unable to recognize expressions of disgust in others and also don't show reactions of disgust to foul odors or tastes. The inability to recognize expressions of disgust appears in carriers of the Huntington gene before other symptoms appear. People with Huntington's disease are impaired at recognition of anger and fear, and experience a notably severe problem with disgust recognition.


title: Disgust

text: Patients with major depression have been found to display greater brain activation to facial expressions of disgust. Self-disgust, which is disgust direct towards ones own actions, may also contribute to the relationship between dysfunctional thoughts and depression.


title: Disgust

text: The emotion of disgust may have an important role in understanding the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), particularly in those with contamination preoccupations. In a study by Shapira & colleagues (2003), eight OCD subjects with contamination preoccupations and eight healthy volunteers viewed pictures from the International Affective Picture System during f-MRI scans. OCD subjects showed significantly greater neural responses to disgust-invoking images, specifically in the right insula. Furthermore, Sprengelmeyer (1997) found that the brain activation associated with disgust included the insula and part of the gustatory cortex that processes unpleasant tastes and smells. OCD subjects and healthy volunteers showed activation patterns in response to disgust pictures that differed significantly at the right insula. In contrast, the two groups were similar in their response to threat-inducing pictures, with no significant group differences at any site.


title: Disgust

text: With respect to studies using rats, prior research of signs of a conditioned disgust response have been experimentally verified by Grill and Norgren (1978) who developed a systematic test to assess palatability. The Taste Reactivity (TR) test has thus become a standard tool in measuring disgust response. When given a stimulus intraorally which had been previously paired with a nausea-inducing substance, rats will show conditioned disgust reactions. "Gaping" in rats is the most dominant conditioned disgust reaction and the muscles used in this response mimic those used in species capable of vomiting. Studies have shown that treatments that reduced serotonin availability or that activate the endocannabinoid system can interfere with the expression of a conditioned disgust reaction in rats. These researchers showed that as nausea produced conditioned disgust reactions, by administering the rats with an antinausea treatment they could prevent toxin-induced conditioned disgust reactions. Furthermore, in looking at the different disgust and vomiting reactions between rats and shrews the authors showed that these reactions (particularly vomiting) play a crucial role in the associative processes that govern food selection across species.


title: Disgust

text: In discussing specific neural locations of disgust, research has shown that forebrain mechanisms are necessary for rats to acquire conditioned disgust for a specific emetic (vomit-inducing) substance (such as lithium chloride). Other studies have shown that lesions to the area postrema and the parabrachial nucleus of the pons but not the nucleus of the solitary tract prevented conditioned disgust. Moreover, lesions of the dorsal and medial raphe nuclei (depleting forebrain serotonin) prevented the establishment of lithium chloride-induced conditioned disgust.


title: Disgust

text: Non-human primates display signs of disgust and aversion to biological contaminants. Exposure to bodily excrements that usually elicit disgust reactions in humans, such as feces, semen, or blood, have an impact on primates' feeding preferences. Chimpanzees generally avoid the smells of biological contaminants, but only show a weak tendency to move away from these odors, possibly because olfactory stimuli are not enough to give chimps a high enough threat level to move away. Chimpanzees physically recoil when presented with food items on soft, moist substrates, possibly because in nature, moisture, softness, and warmth are characteristics needed to grow pathogens. These responses are functionally similar to what humans' responses would be to the same kinds of stimuli, indicating that the underlying mechanism for this behavior is similar to ours.


title: Disgust

text: Chimpanzees generally avoid food contaminated with dirt or feces, but most individuals still consume these kinds of contaminated foods. While chimps do show a preference for food items with lower contamination risk, they do not avoid risk altogether, as most humans would. This may be due to a trade-off between the nutritional value of the food items and the risk of infection from the biological contaminants, with the chimps weighing the benefit of the food more heavily than the risk of contamination. In contrast to chimpanzees, Japanese macaques are more sensitive to visual cues of contaminants when there is no accompanying odor. Bonobos are most sensitive to fecal odors and rotten food odors. Overall, primates incorporate various senses in their feeding decisions, with disgust being an adaptive trait that helps them avoid potential parasites and other threats from contaminants.


title: Disgust

text: The most frequently reported disgust-like behavior in non-human primates is expelling bad-tasting food items, but even this behavior is not very common. This might be because primates effectively avoid potentially bad-tasting food items, and food that is avoided cannot be expelled, hence the low observation rate of this behavior. Primates, notably gorillas and chimpanzees, occasionally make facial expressions such as grimacing and tongue protrusions after having bad-tasting food. Individual primate preferences vary widely, some tolerating extremely bitter food, while others are more particular. Taste preferences are more often noticed in high ranking individuals, likely because lower ranked individuals may have to tolerate less-desired foods.


title: Disgust

text: While in humans there is a strong difference in disgust reactions between the two sexes, this difference has not been documented in non-human primates. In humans, women generally report greater disgust than men. In bonobos and chimps, females are not any more avoidant than males of contamination risk. There is some evidence suggesting that juveniles are less contamination-risk avoidant than adults, which is in line with research on the development of the disgust response in humans.


title: Disgust

text: Coprophagy is commonly observed in chimpanzees, possibly suggesting that chimps do not really have a disgust mechanism the way humans do. Coprophagy is usually only done to re-ingest seeds from one's own feces, which is less risky than ingesting others' feces in terms of exposure to new parasites. Additionally, chimps often use leaves and twigs to wipe themselves when they stepped in others' feces instead of removing it with their bare hands. Great apes almost always remove feces from their bodies after accidentally stepping in it, even in instances where it would be beneficial to wait. For example, when grapes are being passed out to chimps and they accidentally step in feces, they almost always take the time to stop and wipe it off even if it means missing out on food.


title: Disgust

text: Unlike in humans, the avoidance of social contamination (ex: staying away from sick conspecifics) is rare in great apes. Instead, great apes often groom sick conspecifics or just treat them with indifference. Additionally, great apes treat products of a sick conspecific such as mucus or blood with interest or indifference. This is in contrast with human disease avoidance, where avoiding those who appear sick is a key feature.


title: Disgust

text: Taken together, studies on the disgust reaction in primates show that disgust is adaptive in primates and that the avoidance of potential sources of pathogens is triggered by the same contaminants as for humans. The adaptive problems that primates faced did not align to the degree that they did for early humans, which is why disgust manifests differently in humans and non-human primates. Differences in disgust responses between humans and non-human primates likely reflects their unique ecological standpoints. Rather than disgust being a unique human emotion, disgust is a continuation of the parasite and infection avoidance behavior found in all animals. One theory explaining the difference is that since primates are largely foragers and never shifted to the hunter-scavenger lifestyle with a diet high in meat, they were never exposed to the new wave of pathogens that humans were exposed to, as well as the selection pressures that would come with this diet. Therefore, the disgust mechanisms in primates remained muted, only strong enough to address the distinct problems primates faced in their evolutionary history. Additionally, disgust-like behavior in great apes should be lower than in humans because they live in less hygienic conditions. Humans' clean habits over generations has reduced how frequently we are exposed to disgust elicitors and has likely expanded the stimuli that would elicit disgust reactions in us. Great apes on the other hand are constantly exposed to disgust elicitors, leading to habituation and a muted form of disgust compared to modern humans.


title: Disgust

text: Although disgust was first thought to be a motivation for humans to only physical contaminants, it has since been applied to moral and social moral contaminants as well. The similarities between these types of disgust can especially be seen in the way people react to the contaminants. For example, if someone stumbles upon a pool of vomit, they will do whatever possible to place as much distance between themselves and the vomit as possible, which can include pinching the nose, closing the eyes, or running away. Likewise, when a group experiences someone who cheats, rapes, or murders another member of the group, its reaction is to shun or expel that person from the group.


title: Disgust

text: Arguably, there is a completely different construct of the emotion of disgust from the core disgust that can be seen in Ekman's basic emotions. Socio-moral disgust occurs when social or moral boundaries appear to be violated, the socio-moral aspect centers on human violations of the autonomy and dignity of others (e.g., racism, hypocrisy, disloyalty). Socio-moral disgust is different from core disgust. In the 2006 study done by Simpson and colleagues, there was a divergence found in disgust responses between the core elicitors of disgust and the socio-moral elicitors of disgust, suggesting that the makeup of core and socio-moral disgust may be different emotional constructs.


title: Disgust

text: Studies have found that disgust has been known to predict prejudice and discrimination. Through passive viewing tasks and functional magnetic resonance researchers were able to provide direct evidence that the insula is largely involved in racially biased perception of facial disgust through two distinct neural pathways: amygdala and insula, both areas of the brain that deal with emotion processing. It was found that racial prejudice elicited disgusted facial expressions. Disgust can also predict prejudice and discrimination towards individuals with obesity. Vertanian, Trewartha and Vanman (2016) showed participants photos of obese targets and non-obese targets performing everyday activities. They found that, compared to non-obese people, obese targets elicited more disgust, more negative attitudes and stereotypes, and a greater desire for a social distance from participants.


title: Disgust

text: Jones & Fitness (2008) coined the term "moral hypervigilance" to describe the phenomenon that individuals who are prone to physical disgust are also prone to moral disgust. The link between physical disgust and moral disgust can be seen in the United States where criminals are often referred to as "slime" or "scum" and criminal activity as "stinking" or being "fishy". Furthermore, people often try to block out the stimuli of morally repulsive images in much the same way that they would block out the stimuli of a physically repulsive image. When people see an image of abuse, rape, or murder, they often avert their gazes to inhibit the incoming visual stimuli from the photograph just like they would if they saw a decomposing body.


title: Disgust

text: Moral judgments can be traditionally defined or thought of as directed by standards such as impartiality and respect towards others for their well-being. From more recent theoretical and empirical information, it can be suggested that morality may be guided by basic affective processes. Jonathan Haidt proposed that one's instant judgments about morality are experienced as a "flash of intuition" and that these affective perceptions operate rapidly, associatively, and outside of consciousness. From this, moral intuitions are believed to be stimulated prior to conscious moral cognitions which correlates with having a greater influence on moral judgments.


title: Disgust

text: Research suggests that the experience of disgust can alter moral judgments. Many studies have focused on the average change in behavior across participants, with some studies indicating disgust stimuli intensifies the severity of moral judgments. Later studies found the reverse effect, and some studies have suggested that the average effect of disgust on moral judgments is small or absent. Potentially reconciling these effects, one study indicated that the direction and size of the effect of disgust stimuli on moral judgment depends upon an individual's sensitivity to disgust.


title: Disgust

text: The effect also seems to be limited to a certain aspect of morality. Horberg et al. found that disgust plays a role in the development and intensification of moral judgments of purity in particular. In other words, the feeling of disgust is often associated with a feeling that some image of what is pure has been violated. For example, a vegetarian might feel disgust after seeing another person eating meat because he/she has a view of vegetarianism as the pure state-of-being. When this state-of-being is violated, the vegetarian feels disgust. Furthermore, disgust appears to be uniquely associated with purity judgments, not with what is just/unjust or what is harmful/caregiving, while other emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness are "unrelated to moral judgments of purity".


title: Disgust

text: Some other research suggests that an individual's level of disgust sensitivity is due to their particular experience of disgust. One's disgust sensitivity can be either high or low. The higher one's disgust sensitivity is, the greater the tendency to make stricter moral judgments. Disgust sensitivity can also relate to various aspects of moral values, which can have a negative or positive impact. For example, Disgust sensitivity is associated with moral hypervigilance, which means people who have higher disgust sensitivity are more likely to think that other people who are suspects of a crime are more guilty. They also associate them as being morally evil and criminal, thus endorsing them to harsher punishment in the setting of a court.


title: Disgust

text: Disgust is also theorized as an evaluative emotion that can control moral behavior. When one experiences disgust, this emotion might signal that certain behaviors, objects, or people are to be avoided in order to preserve their purity. Research has established that when the idea or concept of cleanliness is made salient then people make less severe moral judgments of others. From this particular finding, it can be suggested that this reduces the experience of disgust and the ensuing threat of psychological impurity diminishes the apparent severity of moral transgressions.


title: Disgust

text: In one study, people of differing political persuasions were shown disgusting images in a brain scanner. In conservatives, the basal ganglia and amygdala and several other regions showed increased activity, while in liberals other regions of the brain increased in activity. Both groups reported similar conscious reactions to the images. The difference in activity patterns was large: the reaction to a single image could predict a person's political leanings with 95% accuracy.


title: Disgust

text: Although limited research has been done on self-disgust, one study found that self-disgust and severity of moral judgments were negatively correlated. This is in contrast to findings related to disgust, which typically results in harsher judgments of transgressions. This implies that disgust directed towards the self functions very differently from disgust directed towards other people or objects. Self-disgust "may reflect a pervasive condition of self-loathing that makes it difficult to assign deserving punishment to others". In other words, those who feel self-disgust cannot easily condemn others to punishment because they feel that they may also be deserving of punishment. The concept of self-disgust has been implicated in several mental health conditions, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders.


title: Disgust

text: The emotion of disgust can be described to serve as an effective mechanism following occurrences of negative social value, provoking repulsion, and desire for social distance. The origin of disgust can be defined by motivating the avoidance of offensive things, and in the context of a social environment, it can become an instrument of social avoidance. An example of disgust in action can be found from the Bible in the book of Leviticus (See especially Leviticus chapter 11). Leviticus includes direct commandments from God to avoid disgust causing individuals, which included people who were sexually immoral and those who had leprosy. Disgust is known to promote the avoidance of pathogens and disease.


title: Disgust

text: As an effective instrument for reducing motivations for social interaction, disgust can be anticipated to interfere with dehumanization or the maltreatment of persons as less than human. Research was performed which conducted several functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) in which participants viewed images of individuals from stigmatized groups that were associated with disgust, which were drug addicts and homeless people. What the study found was that people were not inclined in making inferences about the mental conditions of these particular disgust inducing groups. Therefore, examining images of homeless people and drug addicts caused disgust in the response of the people who participated with this study. This study coincides with disgust following the law of contagion, which explains that contact with disgusting material renders one disgusting. Disgust can be applied towards people and can function as maltreatment towards another human being. Disgust can exclude people from being a part of a clique by leading to the view that they are merely less than human. An example of this is if groups were to avoid people from outside of their own particular group. Some researchers have distinguished between two different forms of dehumanization. The first form is the denial of uniquely human traits, examples include: products of culture and modification. The second form is the denial of human nature, examples include: emotionality and personality.


title: Disgust

text: Failure to attribute distinctively human traits to a group leads to animalistic dehumanization, which defines the object group or individual as savage, crude, and similar to animals. These forms of dehumanization have clear connections to disgust. Researchers have proposed that many disgust elicitors are disgusting because they are reminders that humans are not diverse from other creatures. With the aid of disgust, animalistic dehumanization directly reduces one's moral concerns towards excluding members from the outer group. Disgust can be a cause and consequence of dehumanization. Animalistic dehumanization may generate feelings of disgust and revulsion. Feelings of disgust, through rousing social distance, may lead to dehumanization. Therefore, a person or group that is generally connected with disgusting effects and seen as physically unclean may induce moral avoidance. Being deemed disgusting produces a variety of cognitive effects that result in exclusion from the perceived inner group.


title: Disgust

text: The emotion disgust has been noted to feature strongly in the public sphere in relation to issues and debates, among other things, regarding anatomy, sex and bioethics. There is a range of views by different commentators on the role, purpose and effects of disgust on public discourse.


title: Disgust

text: Leon Kass, a bioethicist, has advocated that "in crucial cases...repugnance is the emotional expression of deep wisdom, beyond reason's power fully to articulate it." in relation to bio-ethical issues (See: Wisdom of repugnance).


title: Disgust

text: Martha Nussbaum, a jurist and ethicist, explicitly rejects disgust as an appropriate guide for legislating, arguing the "politics of disgust" is an unreliable emotional reaction with no inherent wisdom. Furthermore, she argues this "politics of disgust" has in the past and present had the effects of supporting bigotry in the forms of sexism, racism and antisemitism and links the emotion of disgust to support for laws against Miscegenation and the oppressive caste system in India. In place of this "politics of disgust", Nussbaum argues for the Harm principle from John Stuart Mill as the proper basis for legislating. Nussbaum argues the harm principle supports the legal ideas of consent, the Age of majority and privacy and protects citizens. She contrasts this with the "politics of disgust" which she argues denies citizens humanity and equality before the law on no rational grounds and cause palpable social harm. (See Martha Nussbaum, "From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law"). Nussbaum published "Hiding From Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law" in 2004; the book examines the relationship of disgust and shame to a society's laws. Nussbaum identifies disgust as a marker that bigoted, and often merely majoritarian, discourse employs to "place", by diminishment and denigration, a despised minority. Removing "disgust" from public discourse constitutes an important step in achieving humane and tolerant democracies.


title: Disgust

text: Leigh Turner (2004) has argued that "reactions of disgust are often built upon prejudices that should be challenged and rebutted." On the other hand, writers, such as Kass, find wisdom in adhering to one's initial feelings of disgust. A number of writers on the theory of disgust find it to be the proto-legal foundation of human law.


title: Disgust

text: Disgust has also figured prominently in the work of several other philosophers. Nietzsche became disgusted with the music and orientation of Richard Wagner, as well as other aspects of 19th century culture and morality. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote widely about experiences involving various negative emotions related to disgust.


title: Disgust

text: According to the book "The Hydra's Tale: Imagining Disgust" by Robert Rawdon Wilson, disgust may be further subdivided into physical disgust, associated with physical or metaphorical uncleanliness, and moral disgust, a similar feeling related to courses of action. For example; "I am disgusted by the hurtful things that you are saying." Moral disgust should be understood as culturally determined; physical disgust as more universally grounded. The book also discusses moral disgust as an aspect of the representation of disgust. Wilson does this in two ways. First, he discusses representations of disgust in literature, film and fine art. Since there are characteristic facial expressions (the clenched nostrils, the pursed lips)—as Charles Darwin, Paul Ekman, and others have shown—they may be represented with more or less skill in any set of circumstances imaginable. There may even be "disgust worlds" in which disgust motifs so dominate that it may seem that entire represented world is, in itself, disgusting. Second, since people know what disgust is as a primary, or visceral, emotion (with characteristic gestures and expressions), they may imitate it. Thus, Wilson argues that, for example, contempt is acted out on the basis of the visceral emotion, disgust, but is not identical with disgust. It is a "compound affect" that entails intellectual preparation, or formatting, and theatrical techniques. Wilson argues that there are many such "intellectual" compound affects—such as nostalgia and outrage—but that disgust is a fundamental and unmistakable example. Moral disgust, then, is different from visceral disgust; it is more conscious and more layered in performance.


title: Disgust

text: Wilson links shame and guilt to disgust (now transformed, wholly or partially, into self-disgust) primarily as a consequence rooted in self-consciousness. Referring to a passage in Doris Lessing's "The Golden Notebook", Wilson writes that "the dance between disgust and shame takes place. A slow choreography unfolds before the mind's-eye."


title: Disgust

text: Wilson examines the claims of several jurists and legal scholars—such as William Ian Miller—that disgust must underlie positive law. "In the absence of disgust", he observes, stating their claim, ". . . there would be either total barbarism or a society ruled solely by force, violence and terror." The moral-legal argument, he remarks, "leaves much out of account." His own argument turns largely upon the human capacity to learn how to control, even to suppress, strong and problematic affects and, over time, for entire populations to abandon specific disgust responses.


title: Disgust

text: Disgust is opposite trust on the emotion wheel. A mild form of disgust is boredom, while a more intense version is loathing.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: USS "Michael Monsoor" (DDG-1001) is the second ship of the three-ship of guided missile destroyers. The "Zumwalt"-class was designed as a multi-mission surface combatant for land attack and littoral operations with a mission of supporting both ground campaigns and the joint/naval battlespace. The main guns are a pair of Advanced Gun Systems (AGS). The Navy cancelled the ammunition procurement program for the only type of ammunition it can use, so the AGS cannot provide naval gunfire support and the "Zumwalts" were repurposed for surface warfare.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: "Michael Monsoor" is the second "Zumwalt"-class destroyer. The ship is in length, with a beam of and displacing approximately 15,000 tons. "Michael Monsoor" has a crew size of approximately 148 officers and sailors; she can make speed in excess of .


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: "Michael Monsoor" is named after Master-at-Arms Second Class Michael A. Monsoor (1981–2006), a United States Navy SEAL killed during the Iraq War and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: Assembly of modules for "Michael Monsoor" began in March 2010. The keel laying and authentication ceremony for "Michael Monsoor" was held at the General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard on 23 May 2013. "Michael Monsoor" was launched on 21 June 2016.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: On 4 December 2017, "Michael Monsoor" had problems with the complex electrical system which ended builders' trials early and forced the ship to return to the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine. A harmonic filter aboard failed one day after she left the yard. The ship returned to the yard on 5 December 2017. Harmonic filters are used in complex electrical systems to prevent unintended power fluctuations from damaging sensitive equipment. The delay in sea trials would not affect her expected March 2018 delivery.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: The Navy chose to use an unusual two-part commissioning scheme for the "Zumwalt"-class. The initial commissioning was done prior to weapons systems integration, and the ships were placed in the status of "in commission, special", before sailing to San Diego for weapons installation and final acceptance. "Zumwalt" and "Michael Monsoor" used this scheme, while the third and final ship in the class, "Lyndon B. Johnson", will use the more traditional approach with formal commissioning after final acceptance.


title: USS Michael Monsoor

text: "Michael Monsoor" was delivered to the Navy in April 2018, and commissioned on 26 January 2019, at Naval Air Station North Island. She is homeported at Naval Base San Diego. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday visited "Michael Monsoor" while in San Diego on 25 February 2021.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), also known as the white caiman, common caiman, and speckled caiman, is a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. It is brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has a spectacle-like ridge between its eyes, which is where its common name come from. It grows to a length of and a weight of , with males being both longer and heavier than females. Its diet varies seasonally, commonly consisting of crabs, fish, small mammals, amphibians and snails. Breeding occurs from May to August and 14–40 eggs are laid in July and August. This crocodilian has a large range and population; it is native to much of Latin America, and has been introduced to the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, originally as "Lacerta crocodilus". It has since been redescribed several times, including as "Caiman sclerops" by Schneider in 1801. Although "Caiman crocodilus" is now the scientific name of the species, some scientists still prefer using "sclerops", as having "crocodilus" as the scientific name for a caiman may cause confusion.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The yacare caiman ("Caiman yacare"), while previously thought to be a subspecies of "C. crocodilus", is now usually considered a separate species.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The Rio Apaporis caiman was believed to have become extinct by 1981, when the last known specimen died in a zoo. However, a specimen was captured for the television show "Extinct or Alive" in 2019 and identified by DNA sampling.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman is a small to medium-sized crocodilian. Females generally grow to no more than (the lower size typical upon the onset of sexual maturity), but can rarely grow to nearly . Adult males can regularly reach while large mature ones grow to , although relatively few get to the upper size. The maximum reported size for the species is . The body mass of most adults is between , with males typically being considerably heavier than females. Some males in the Llanos have been reported to grow to up to .


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The upperside of the species is mostly brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has dark brown crossbands, with a lighter underside. It has a greenish iris. and wrinkled eyelids. It changes color seasonally – during colder weather, the black pigment within its skin cells expands, making it appear darker. The species has an enlarged 4th tooth, and the teeth in its lower jaw penetrate into a socket in its upper jaw. It has a long snout that tapers moderately, with an unexpanded tip. Several ridges begin in front of its eyes and travel to the tip of its snout. Its common name comes from a bony ridge between its eyes, which gives the appearance of a pair of spectacles.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman is the most widely distributed New World crocodilian, and is the most geographically variable species in the Americas, making it a highly adaptable species.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman can move rapidly when threatened, but is usually immobile, resting on shores or partly in water. In the rainy season, males become aggressive and territorial.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: Usually hunting at night, the diet of the spectacled caiman varies seasonally. During the wet season, it primarily eats snails and freshwater crabs, while it mostly eats fish in the dry season. Smaller specimens tend to eat more insects and freshwater shrimp, while larger ones more frequently consume mammals and fish. Overall, the most common animals in this species' diet are crabs, fish, mammals, and snails. Other animals that have been known to be a part of its diet include amphibians, arachnids, birds, myriapods, and reptiles (lizards, snakes, and turtles). Older animals are capable of taking larger, mammalian prey (e.g. wild pigs). Cannibalism has been reported under such conditions. It has also been known to eat plant matter; in a study of this species in Puerto Rico, about 55% of adult specimens had plants in their diet, primarily grass and seeds. About 8% of adults and 6% of juveniles in the study had gastroliths in their stomach as well. Although the species has been suggested to control piranha populations, piranhas have not been found to be a normal diet component, unlike the yacare caiman. According to the Crocodilian Species List, it is probably a generalist species, being able to adapt to a variety of prey.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman uses nine different vocalizations and 13 visual displays to communicate with individuals of its species. Both adults and young produce calls for group cohesion. Males are known to communicate by moving their tail to a certain position, such as making it vertical or arched. Juveniles vocalize when in distress and adult females emit calls to warn young of threats.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman reaches sexual maturity from four to seven years old, at a length of for females and for males. Usually, the more dominant individuals mature more quickly. Specimens choose mates and engage in copulation from May to August, the wet season. The females build nests as a mound of dense vegetation, in areas that are close to water but not at risk of being flooded. The nests are over in diameter and can be high, but the exact size depends on the resources available. Eggs are laid in July and August; the species very rarely nests in the winter, as the temperature is too low for the eggs. Clutch size is 22 on average, but can range from 14 to 40. Larger females have been known to lay larger eggs compared to smaller females. Females stay close to their nests during the incubation period, as several species, such as lizards in the genus "Tupinambis", have been known to destroy nests and prey on the eggs. White-nosed coatis and foxes also raid nests. Flooding and human egg collecting can also be a threat to the nests. In a study in the Central Amazonia assessing reproductive similarities between C. crocodilus and Melanochus niger, research found that they indiscriminately separate their nests at larger distances than other species in this family, most likely to avoid predation.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: Temperature is important to the developing eggs, so females build their nests in a way that insulates them from extreme temperature changes. As the vegetation in the nests decays, the nests produce heat which can keep the eggs about 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than if they were insulated by mud alone. Heat not only incubates the eggs, but also determines the sex of the developing caimans (temperature-dependent sex determination). When the temperature inside the nest is about or higher, the caimans become female, and otherwise become male. Young hatch after 90 days, with 20–25 percent of eggs hatching successfully. They are yellow with black spots, a coloration which fades away as they grow older, with a length of . Parents raise their young in crèches, with one female taking care of her own, as well as several others' offspring. They take care of their young for 12–18 months. Young are threatened by various predators, such as raptors (like hawks) and wader birds (like herons), causing most to die in their first year. These juveniles are also preyed upon by large fish, large snakes (such as anacondas), and other crocodilians.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman has the largest range of any caiman, and of any New World crocodilian. It is found in various countries throughout the Americas. It lives in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, and may also be extant in Belize and Bolivia. It has been introduced to Isla de la Juventud in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Florida in the United States; in the latter, it is sometimes mislabeled as the American alligator ("Alligator mississippiensis"). Invasive populations have become established in South Florida, with isolated records further north in the state. It is intolerant to cold climates, so its range is unlikely to expand to further north than Florida. It usually lives in forests, inland bodies of fresh water (such as wetlands and rivers), grasslands, shrublands, and savannas, but is very adaptable. It prefers habitats with calm water containing floating vegetation, usually flooding and drying seasonally. It is most common in low-lying areas, but has been found at elevations of up to . In Brazil, the species lives in the rivers Amazon, Araguaia, Araguari, Itapicuru, Rio Negro, Paranaíba, Solimões, Tapajós, Tocantins, and Xingu. It is able to live in human-inhabited areas.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The adult population of this crocodilian is estimated to be in the millions and stable. About four million spectacled caimans are found in Venezuela and surveys have shown that it is expected to increase. This is an example of how well the species is able to adapt. However, populations are not doing well in other countries, such as Peru. The population in a single area can be determined the easiest by counting individuals in the dry season at night.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The skin of the spectacled caiman is covered with osteoderms, which previously caused it to not be a major commercial target for its skin. However, harvesting of the skins of this caiman and others became very common in the 1950s, due to the declining stocks of crocodiles. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the species was frequently traded, causing its population to decrease in some areas. Its skin was often exported from South America and utilized primarily for leather; at least 6 million skins were exported from Colombia from 1996 to 2015. However, conservation efforts since have caused a significant reduction in the number of skins exported. In most countries, hunting this species is legal. Venezuela permits hunting every fall, provided the total number of kills in the season does not exceed 150,000. Because of its adaptability and wide distribution, habitat loss does not affect the species significantly globally. It is reasonably resilient to hunting as well, as hunters usually focus on large males and the species reproduces at a small size. However, it is severely threatened in Colombia, primarily the subspecies "C. c. fuscus" and sometimes "C. c. crocodilus".


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman benefits from overhunting of competitive species which occupy the same home range, as this allows it to access resources normally lost to these other species. Specimens that have been introduced to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States negatively impact the native animals there. They are believed to have been the main reason for the likely extirpation of the Cuban crocodile ("Crocodylus rhombifer") from the Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. The species has a similar diet to the black caiman ("Melanosuchus niger") – both species eat mostly insects as juveniles and fish as adults. This causes interspecific competition, making it more difficult for the black caiman's population to recover. The spectacled caiman lives in parts of the Amazon rainforest that the black caiman was extirpated from.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: Conservation programs for this species are used in many countries. The most common form of conservation is the use of cropping, which consists of manually reducing the numbers of several wild and abundant species. Long-term effects of cropping have yet to be discovered; more surveys have been recommended. Farming or ranching programs have also been used as conservation efforts for the species, but seem to be more expensive and possibly less effective. A conservation program in Colombia, which existed from 2004 to 2006, bred spectacled caimans in captivity and released the young into the wild at one year old. A similar program released over 15,000 juveniles into wetlands from 2005 to 2009. Previously, Colombia restricted the exportation of spectacled caiman skins to ones shorter than , but as of 2011 there are now only size limits for some individual pieces of the skin, rather than the overall size of the skin. These limits are less effective, as large skins could accord with the size limits if cut and trimmed. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), further surveys of the species would help with future conservation plans.


title: Spectacled caiman

text: The spectacled caiman is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List, due to its large range and population globally, following two assessments as threatened in 1986 and 1988. The subspecies "C. c. crocodilus" is on Appendix II of CITES, "C. c. apaporiensis" Appendix I, and "C. c. fuscus" Appendix II.


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: Jean-Marc Barr (born September 27, 1960) is a French-American film actor and director. He is best known for working on several films from Danish film director and frequent collaborator Lars von Trier since "Europa" (1991).


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: Barr was born to a French mother and an American father working in the United States Armed Forces. He is fluent in both French and English. Barr was born in West Germany where his father was stationed, and lived an itinerant childhood. His family moved to France in 1968, then to California in 1974.


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: Barr's parents wished for him to join the armed forces, but he was unwilling to follow in his father's footsteps. He studied philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, then at the Paris Conservatoire and the Sorbonne. He moved to London to pursue an education in drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: Barr began working in theatre in France in 1986. After finding work in television (including a small role in "Hotel du Lac" (1986), the BBC's version of the Booker prize-winning novel by Anita Brookner), and film, (in particular "Hope and Glory" (1987) by John Boorman), he was cast in the tremendously successful "The Big Blue" (1988). Luc Besson cast him in the role of French diver Jacques Mayol, alongside Rosanna Arquette and Jean Reno. The Big Blue was the most financially successful film in France in the 1980s.


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: In 1991, Barr starred in Danish director Lars von Trier's "Europa", marking the beginning of a long friendship (he is the godfather of von Trier's children) as well as a significant professional relationship. He went on to appear in von Trier's "Breaking the Waves" (1996), "Dancer in the Dark" (2000), "Dogville" (2004), "Manderlay" (2005), "The Boss of It All" (2006) and "Nymph()maniac" (2013). In 2005 he starred in the French film "Crustacés et Coquillages". In 1999 he starred in the French cinéma du corps/cinema of the body drama film, "Don't Let Me Die on a Sunday" (French: J'aimerais pas crever un dimanche), directed by Didier Le Pêcheur.


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: Barr's collaboration with von Trier put him on track to start directing his own work. He debuted in 1999 as a director, screenwriter and producer with the intimate love story "Lovers". The film became the first part of a trilogy; the films that followed were the drama "Too Much Flesh" (2000) and the comedy "Being Light" (2001), which he co-directed with Pascal Arnold. Barr and Pascal also directed the 2006 film Chacun sa nuit (eng: One to another), where they first discovered Lizzie Brocher, Arthur Dupont and Karl E. Landler. This was followed by another collaboration in 2012, "Sexual Chronicles of a French Family".


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: In 1997, Barr appeared in "The Scarlet Tunic", produced by Zigi Kamasa. He appeared as Hugo in "The Red Siren" in 2002 and played divorce lawyer Maître Bertram in the 2003 Merchant Ivory film "le Divorce". He appeared as the titular character in the video for Blur's 1996 single, "Charmless Man".


title: Jean-Marc Barr

text: In 2010, he starred in Kim Nguyen's film "City of Shadows (La Cité)". Barr played author Jack Kerouac in the 2013 film adaptation of the Beat Generation autobiographical novel "Big Sur".


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: The Bahala Na Gang (BNG) is a street gang founded in the Philippines which subsequently spread to the United States.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: The Bahala Na Gang was established in the early 1940s in Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines, by Divino Talastas, a native of Bulacan who was born in early 1920s and who later moved with his siblings to Sampaloc. Before the forming of the Bahala Na Gang, Divino had a brother known as "Emong" who at an early age of 13–14 was most feared in the area, known for his fighting skill, and was notorious for targeting and killing police officers. This was rooted from his early trouble with the police, when he was arrested and tortured (including the use of electricity on his genitals), allegedly in order to secure his conviction. When Emong was released, he became the top enemy for the police and soon, numerous murdered policemen followed and terror ensued. However, the authorities eventually found his whereabouts and shot him dead at the age of 15. A 5-year-old half brother witnessed how his brother's dead body moved while gunshots continued to hit the dead body. The event would have an impact to Emong's siblings, including Divino (Diving as what he was known in the area).


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: After Emong's death, there was a struggle for territorial power as to who would lead. Another gang tried to take control: the Sige-Sige Gang. This was the Golden Period of Philippine Street Gangs. To match with the existing Sige-Sige Gang, Divino formed the Bahala Na Gang, whose name he took from the existing night bar in Sampaloc, the "Bahala Na Bar." A place known as a meeting place for tough guys around the area. This was where Diving gained a reputation for his fighting skill. Divino was only 5'6, quiet, had a soft pleasant face, but known for his skills fighting even with numerous men. He earned the respect within the criminal group. The earliest members were hardcore street fighters who were loyal to Emong; their main goal was merely to protect them from terror from other gangs. The gang spread and eventually many members of the gang were doing all kinds of criminal activities. Divino himself was a regular to Iwahig Prison, and whenever he would reside there, he held a top position among inmates, as their "mayor". Before he died, Divino himself told his story to few people he knew as he reached his old age. He died in the early 1980s, after being abducted, and his body was later found inside a sack floating in a river. There was evidence of torture and most likely suffered a painful slow death, believed to be in connection with some kind of 'unfinished job' he made for one influential person of power.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: The gang continued to gain notoriety decades after the deaths of the original founders. In the 1960s, the gang eventually made their homes and territories in prisons throughout the Philippines, including New Bilibid Prison and the Bureau of Corrections. July 10, 1961, saw the highly-documented murder of Bahala Na Gang member, Roberto Monreal, who was forced to fight to a last stand after being cornered in the Manila City Jail by criminals Ramon Narciso y Contreras, Elias Gloria y Bernardino, Francisco Celso y Garcia and Rufino Peña y Guevarra.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: It was in this decade where notorious BNG member, Arturo Forcuna (aka ), gained infamy. Forcuna was only forced to be inducted into the gang in desperation to survive the violence inside the Manila City Jail. In the 1960s, he became infamous for his numerous altercation with rival gangs such as the Sige-Sige Gang, at one point even surviving a beating with makeshift weapons from numerous members of the latter. At this time, the Bahala Na Gang's culture of violence became more widely recorded by law enforcement and journalists. Franklin G. Ashburn in his research book entitled "Some Recent Inquiries into the Structure-Function of Conflict Gangs in Manila City Jail" described the gang:


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: The Bahala Na Gang spread into Filipino immigrant communities in the United States, especially California. Bahala Na Gang sets emerged throughout the San Diego area, Los Angeles area, San Jose, San Francisco Bay area, Stockton, Sacramento as well as the Las Vegas area in Nevada Older members are generally in their 50s and form much of the organization's base. Younger members, however, are the ones most likely to commit violent acts to prove themselves, often forming the muscle of much of the gang's drug and weapons trafficking activities. Outside of drug and weapon trafficking rings, gang members are involved in murder, robbery and kidnapping among others. At one point in the summer of 1990, a gang fight participated by a dozen BNG members at a taco stand killed two people and injured five. The suspects were charged with 29 counts of murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, chaos, conspiracy, battery and other total crimes of 348 criminal counts, one of the largest a single case in California murder history.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: A well-publicized case involving the gang happened in July 2007 when BNG members Matthew N. Anderson, Jason R. Rodriguez and William K. Taylor attacked and almost mutilated a 15-year-old boy. The fight started when the victim insulted the gang on social media, prompting the three (and another accomplice) to confront the boy. Using a bolo knife, the teens hacked the boy multiple times, severing his arm "almost all the way to the bone". Reports also indicated that this was also an initiation ceremony for the youths to become full members of the gang. The kid survived and the three BNG members were charged with malicious wounding.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: Since President Rodrigo Duterte started his drug war in 2016, the Bahala Na Gang became one of the highly sought-after criminal groups in the conflict. On August 17, 2017, 25 alleged criminals were killed in separate police shootouts and drug busts, one of them a member of the gang. A gang member was also gunned down in a Manila street on April 18, 2019. In 2017, a member by the name of Niño Baccay was captured in a buy-bust operation in Quezon City. He was convicted of the illegal sale of methamphetamine. The year 2018 saw the capture of BNG member Crisanto Maguddatu in Sampaloc, Manila, by the Manila Police District after a tip and a careful surveillance. A packet of shabu (methamphetamine) and a .38 caliber revolver was found in him during the raid.


title: Bahala Na Gang

text: In June 2020, gang members Robert Yabut y Marmol and Raymart Yabut y Marmol, were captured in a buy-bust operation together with members of the Sputnik gang. Late October 2020 also saw the capture of two more members, Gerald Agustin and May Junio for three sachets of shabu worth ₱81,600.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 5.7 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 70% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamils. The Tamil-speaking Muslims are descendants of marriages between early West Asian Muslims and Tamil women as well as local converts. The community is matrilineal, matriarchal and matrilocal. There is a substantial diaspora, particularly in Southeast Asia, which has seen their presence as early as the 13th century. In the late 20th century, the diaspora expanded to Western Europe, Persian Gulf and North America. A separate Tamil-speaking Muslim population also exists in Sri Lanka known as the Sri Lankan Moors, who do not identify as Tamils but are a mixture of Arab, Persian, South Indian and Malay ancestries of which the Dravidian element is predominant because of centuries of heavy Indian injection. Historically, both these Tamil speaking communities in India and Sri Lanka were known as the Sonakar, which is derived from the term "Yona", originally meaning a West Asian.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Though numerically nominal, the community is not homogeneous. Its origin is shaped by centuries of miscegenation and trade between the Bay of Bengal and the Maritime Southeast Asia. By the 20th century, certain Tamil races began to be listed as social classes in official gazettes of different nations as Rowther, Marakkar, and Labbay.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Of Anatolian descent, the Rowther sect is a entrepreneurial community settled in the deltaic districts of Tamil Nadu. They were famous for their cavalry and horse trade. They are found as Zamindar, Mirazudar and Polygar.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Of Arab descent, the Marakkar sect has been a maritime trading community in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. One notable sea-faring merchant, as recorded in the "Chronicles of Thondaiman", was Periya Thambi Nainar Marakkayar who is widely believed to be the first rupee millionaire. His son Seethakaathi, an altruist, commissioned the penning of "Seerapuranam" by Umaru Pulavar. B. S. Abdur Rahman was the first rupee billionaire Marakkayar. The 11th president of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was also born to a Marakkayar boat-builder.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Similar to the Jewish Levite, the Labbay sect mainly engages in religious scholarship and avoids entrepreneurial activities.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: In Tamil Nadu, the community is well known as rentiers, entrepreneurs, gemstone jewellers and money changers with above State-average GDP per capita incomes.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: As a mark of modesty, Rowther women traditionally wear white thuppatti which is draped over their body on top of the saree but revealing face. This is in marked contrast to black full body veil of Urdu community. Many visit dargah on major life milestones like births, marriages and deaths and recite mawlid.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Rowther weddings have retained several Rajput traditions across generations like grooms going on a horseback procession. Surnames (identifying caste or tribe like Bohra, Bukhari, Chishti, Khan, Syed, Sahib, Shah, etc) were positively discouraged by the community to avoid sectarianism in line with Dravidian reform movement of 20th century.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Cuisine is a tell-tale syncretic mixture of Tamil and other Asian recipes. Biriyani is the favourite in banquets while congee is the favourite during the fasting month of Ramadan. There are many regional improvisations. For instance, , a semolina ghee cake with soft centre and hard crust at the top, is popular in the deltaic households.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Culture and literature are heavily influenced by the Qadiri flavour of Sufism. Their domain range from mystical to medical, from fictional to political, from philosophical to legal and spiritual.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: The earliest literary works in the community could be traced to "Palsanthmalai", a work of eight stanzas written in the 13th century. In 1572, Seyku Issaku, better known as Vanna Parimala Pulavar, published "Aayira Masala Venru Vazhankum Adisaya Puranam" detailing the Islamic principles and beliefs in a FAQ format. In 1592, Aali Pulavar wrote the "Mikurasu Malai". The epic "Seerapuranam" by Umaru Pulavar is dated to the 17th century and still considered as the crowning achievement in canonical literature. Other significant works of 17th century include "Thiruneri Neetham" by Sufi master Pir Mohammad, "Kanakabhisheka Malai" by Seyku Nainar (alias Kanakavirayar), "Tirumana Katchi" by Sekathi Nainar and the Iraqi war ballad "Sackoon Pataippor".


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Nevertheless, an independent identity evolved only in the last quarter of the 20th century triggered by the rise of Dravidian politics as well as the introduction of new mass communications and lithographic technologies. The world's first Tamil Islamic Literature Conference was held in Trichy in 1973. In early 2000s, the Department of Tamil Islamic Literature was set up in the University of Madras. Modern notable writers include Mu Metha and Pavalar Inqulab,


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Kalifulla served as the minister for public works in the Cabinet of Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu in 1937. He was sympathetic to the cause of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and his Self-Respect Movement. He spoke against the introduction of compulsory Hindi classes in the Madras legislature and participated in the anti-Hindi agitations. He was a lawyer by profession and was known by the honorifics "Khan Bahadur". He became the "Dewan" of Pudukottai after withdrawal from political work. Mohammad Usman was the most prominent among the early political leaders of the community. In 1930, Jamal Mohammad became the president of the Madras Presidency Muslim League. Yakub Hasan Sait served as a minister in the Rajaji administration. Karim Ghani, veteran freedom fighter and a close associate of Subash Chandra Bose, who hailed from Ilayangudi, served as Information Minister in Netaji ministry during the 1930s.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: Since the late 20th century, politicians like Muhammad Ismail (first President of Indian Union Muslim League) and Dawood Shah advocated Tamil to be made an official language of India due to its antiquity in parliamentary debates The community was united in a single political party under "Quaid-e-Millath" presidency for 27 years keeping rabble-rousers away until his death in 1972. His support was invaluable for ruling parties in the state, as well as in the Centre. He was instrumental in framing and obtaining the minority status and privileges for minorities in India thus safeguarding the Constitution of India. His newspaper "Urimaikkural" was a very popular daily.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: S. M. Muhammed Sheriff was the first elected IUML MP from Tamil Nadu. He produced clear documentary evidence that Kachchatheevu belonged to India. During the Emergency, he was the advisor to the Governor. M. M. Ismail became Chief Justice in 1979 and was sworn in as Acting Governor of Tamil Nadu in 1980. As "Kamban Kazhagam" president, he organised literary festivals, that focussed on classical Tamil literature. Justice S. A. Kader who was the Judge of Madras High Court during 1983-89 became the President of Tamil Nadu State Government Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on retirement. In the early 1990s, the Indian National League split from the IUML. The non-denominational social reform movements (called Ghair Muqallid) began to take the front stage (to fight superstition creep) spearheaded by P. Jainulabdeen further weakening the IUML and causing unrest among community elders who preferred status quo. Nevertheless, the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham was constituted in 1995. This non-profit organisation quickly became popular and assertive among the working class youth.


title: Tamil Muslim

text: In 2009, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, the political arm of TMMK was formed. The TMMK itself split to form the break-away organisation Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath soon. In 2011, MMK won 2 of 3 contested Assembly seats "viz." Ambur (A. Aslam Basha) and Ramanathapuram (M. H. Jawahirullah). Broadly speaking, the community tends to support laissez faire and free trade; and have been unimpressed by Communism as a public policy though fringe groups often called for affirmative action in the last quarter of the 20th century. New generation of leaders like Daud Sharifa Khanum have been active in pioneering social reforms like independent mosques for women. MLAs and MPs such as A. Anwar Rhazza, J. M. Aaroon Rashid, Abdul Rahman, Jinna, Khaleelur Rahman, S. N. M. Ubayadullah, Hassan Ali and T. P. M. Mohideen Khan are found across all major Dravidian political parties like DMK, DMDK and AIADMK, as well as national parties like the INC. At the age of 30, the award-winning documentarian Aloor Shanavas became the Deputy General Secretary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The United Football League (UFL) was a professional American football minor league based in the United States that began play in October 2009 and played four seasons, the final one being cut short in October 2012. The small league, which never had more than five teams playing at one time, played most of its games in markets where the National Football League (NFL) had no current presence. Unlike most alternative professional football leagues since the 1980s, the UFL played all of its games in the traditional fall season, competing directly with the NFL, college football, and high school football.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL occupied the second tier of professional football in the United States, behind the National Football League. The UFL primarily consisted of players who had previously played for an NFL team. Although the league had no connection with the NFL, and had never intended to foster any such connection, some speculated that it could have become a minor or "developmental" league for the NFL, including the UFL's own commissioner.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Early news reports had speculated that based on the UFL's initial plan the league would become a "competitor" to the NFL. The UFL seemed poised to capitalize on fan disgust with the NFL should the established league lock out its players prior to the 2011−12 season. The thought was that the NFL would fail to reach an agreement with the NFL players' union after the end of their collective bargaining agreement. This would have led to the 2011−12 NFL season being delayed or cancelled, leaving the UFL the only pro football available. The NFL did lock out their players, but the situation was resolved in July 2011, before the start of the NFL season. This negated any benefits the UFL might have hoped to reap from the labor dispute.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The league was beset by frequent operational interruptions, stemming from systemic financial shortfalls, especially from summer 2011 onward. The United Football League announced on October 20, 2012, that it was ceasing operations immediately, after four weeks of play. The official line from the league was that they intended to resume operations and complete the unfinished 2012 schedule at an unspecified time in spring 2013, then revert to a fall schedule in fall 2013 without a full off-season. This announcement, however, was met with widespread skepticism from both within and outside the league, skepticism that was proven to be warranted as the league never returned.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Over the course of the league's history, the Las Vegas Locomotives were the most successful team, winning two of the three championships, appearing in (but losing) the third, and having a perfect record for the season at the time of the cessation of operations.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL initially had plans to start with eight teams with $12–20 million rosters playing in targeted sites in the fall of 2008. T. Boone Pickens and Mark Cuban had originally been in discussion with the league as potential owners, but both backed out prior to the 2009 season. On February 9, 2009, it was announced that Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was one of four investors who had stepped forward to invest $10,000,000, plus a personal commitment to cover opening-season losses up to another $10,000,000 for a one-half interest in four franchises to play in the league's 2009 inaugural season. The league was under the overall direction of William Hambrecht, a former Wall Street figure who had sold his old firm, Hambrecht & Quist, to what was then Chase Manhattan Bank for US$1.35 billion in 1999.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Michael Huyghue, a former executive with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the head of a sports agency service, was the league's first and only commissioner.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The league had identified 21 cities that they deemed possessed strong economic bases, passionate football tradition, and a high number of average TV viewing households as potential team locations. Target markets in the US included: Austin, Birmingham, Columbus, Hartford, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, New York City, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and San Jose; as well as international markets in London, Mexico City and Monterrey.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: With their planned launch date arriving soon and only a couple owners in hand, the UFL decided to go ahead and do a "soft launch" in 2009, similar to the one used by the Arena Football League in its inaugural season in 1987, rather than delaying play another year. The soft launch called for opening the league with fewer teams than planned and playing an abbreviated schedule. They hoped a functioning league would yield the UFL a superior position for attracting potential owners over competing leagues still under development (like the New USFL, which at the time was trumpeting a spring 2010 launch).


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The markets chosen for the premiere season were New York City (Sentinels), Las Vegas (Locomotives), Orlando (Florida Tuskers), and the San Francisco Bay Area (California Redwoods). The league's short schedule made the kind of expensive promotional efforts often employed with a new league cost prohibitive. Additionally, the league had a full schedule of three home games in the same stadium in only one of their selected cities, Las Vegas.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: During the week of August 10, 2009, the four team names and their uniform jerseys were revealed. Each of the uniforms (and the team logos and helmets that were unveiled on October 2) incorporated the UFL's signature color scheme into their designs, including silver (primary color for the Las Vegas Locomotives), blue (Florida Tuskers), black (New York Sentinels), and lime green and white (California Redwoods). Each of the team jerseys had the same design template, complete with a horizontal arc across the top front that resembles the arc on the UFL's logo.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: One of the Redwoods' games was moved to San Jose; the other two were played in San Francisco (the move to San Jose was a short-notice move due to poor attendance in San Francisco; however, the San Jose game ended up being even more poorly attended). The league was unable to secure a fiscally reasonable deal for a stadium within New York City, forcing the league to have the Sentinels play one home game each in Hartford, Connecticut; on the campus of Hofstra University in Long Island, and in New Jersey. In addition, one of the Tuskers' games was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, in part because the Tuskers shared ownership that year with the Tampa Bay Rays; this was not reprised in 2010.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The Florida Tuskers finished 2009 with a 6–0 record. The Las Vegas Locomotives were next at 4–2, the California Redwoods were 2–4, and the Sentinels were last at 0–6. The Locomotives played the Tuskers in the 2009 UFL Championship Game; the Locomotives won the title on a field goal in overtime.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Before the 2010 season, the New York Sentinels permanently settled in Hartford, Connecticut, becoming the Hartford Colonials. The new name was chosen by fans through an online vote. The California Redwoods relocated to Sacramento, California, and chose the name Mountain Lions, also from a fan vote. In another change for the 2010 season, each UFL team would gain their own uniform color identity, loosening them from the standard league colors.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: For 2010, the league indicated that five markets were under consideration for expansion teams: Omaha, Nebraska; San Antonio or Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City. On April 15, 2010, Omaha was granted an expansion team, called the Omaha Nighthawks.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Mark Cuban, who was mentioned as a potential franchise owner in the league's formative stages, loaned the league $5 million in April 2010. He did not own a franchise and he was not involved in day-to-day operations of the league nor of any of its teams. In January 2011, Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and majority owner of HDNet (now AXS TV), a cable channel and Web-streaming service which had broadcast some games of the league's inaugural two seasons, filed a federal lawsuit against the UFL for their failure to repay the loan by the October 6, 2010, deadline.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: For the 2011 season, the UFL announced the addition of a franchise in the Hampton Roads (Norfolk metro area) region of Virginia, originally owned by former CFL owner Jim Speros and managed by former NFL and USFL quarterback Doug Williams. Soon after Speros' ownership was announced, he relinquished control of the team to the league and allowed bidding to be opened again. Williams later joined his alma mater Grambling State University as their head coach, resigning as Destroyers' general manager.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL announced former TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia as the first head coach and president of the Destroyers in November 2010; however, in January 2011, the league announced Moglia would instead coach the Omaha Nighthawks. At the same time, the Florida Tuskers ceased operations in Orlando and moved to Virginia, with Jay Gruden initially remaining as the Destroyers' coach; however, Gruden was hired the next month by the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: For possible 2011 expansion, all cities that were in consideration for 2010 (Portland, San Antonio, Austin, and Salt Lake City) remained in consideration, as well as Raleigh, North Carolina; Los Angeles; and Honolulu. In regards to future expansion, Huyghue has said that they "may never have more than eight teams" depending on the league's economic situation.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The league announced it would expand into the Hampton Roads region of Virginia prior to the start of the 2011 season, giving the Virginia Destroyers time to organize. During UFL Championship Week 2010, the league announced it had a seventh franchise in place, with Huyghue indicating that it would most likely be in Los Angeles, and that the team would not be officially announced until an eighth franchise was confirmed. As events would turn out, neither franchise would materialize.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The league suffered a setback when they had to fold the Florida Tuskers in January 2011. The league moved most of the Tuskers' staff to the Destroyers and reassigned the coaching staff already in Virginia to Omaha, firing the previous Omaha coaching staff. After this, the league reduced their goal to six teams, with Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; and new contender Chattanooga, Tennessee, still in consideration, and Los Angeles no longer in consideration for the third consecutive year. If a sixth team had been added, the schedule for each team would have expanded to ten games.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The schedule for the 2011 UFL season, released June 9, 2011, confirmed that the league would be locked at five teams for the season, with no expansion. The 2011 season was to shift from a traditional late fall schedule to a late summer/early fall schedule beginning in August 2011 and ending in October; however, in July 2011, the UFL announced it would delay the start of its season until mid-September due to financial issues. The league was in negotiations with CBS and TNT for coverage after Versus dropped the UFL as part of its rebranding to NBC Sports Network, but was unable to get any, and the league also lost its existing television partners. After this postponement, the league confirmed it was considering even further contraction, with the Hartford Colonials potentially on the chopping block. On August 10, 2011, the UFL announced that it would "suspend operations" of the Colonials and go forward with a four-team league.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Jerry Glanville, a UFL consultant who had previously been announced as the new head coach of the now-suspended Colonials, began a listening tour of Chattanooga, Salt Lake City and Jackson, Mississippi, in October 2011 to gauge support for UFL expansion franchises. He has stated that of the three, at least "one has a UFL team and one may get a UFL team."


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: On October 16, 2011, immediately after each team's fourth game, numerous reports indicated that the remainder of the 2011 season had been cancelled and that the 2011 UFL Championship Game between Las Vegas and Virginia would be moved up to the date of Virginia's last home game, which would have taken place against Omaha on October 21. This is in fact what happened; in addition to the championship game between Virginia and Las Vegas, the season concluded with a third-place game (on the same day) in Omaha between the other two teams, the first such game in outdoor professional gridiron football since the demise of the NFL's old third-place game, the Playoff Bowl, which was last contested in January 1970 following the 1969 season.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Despite the difficulties of 2011, UFL officials were on record as wanting to move ahead on future plans for the league. An April 2012 "Las Vegas Review-Journal" report indicated that the UFL would announce plans on May 1 to field a five-team league for the 2012 season, including the four 2011 teams plus a fifth expansion team. (The "Review-Journal" report mentioned San Antonio, Southern California, and Portland, Oregon, were expansion candidates.) The report also indicated that the UFL was arranging a broadcast TV deal with CBS Sports Network (a deal the league had desperately sought) to go along with regional supplemental coverage. However, May 1 came and went without any official announcement by the UFL on their future plans. The league had previously entertained input on the possibility of moving from a fall schedule to the spring.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Michael Huyghue, the UFL's original commissioner, resigned from the position on January 31, 2012, citing in part the league's severe financial problems and philosophical differences with the league's owners on how to move forward. Instead, the league dispensed, at least for the time being, with a central office and owners Bill Hambrecht (Las Vegas) and Bill Mayer (Virginia) oversee the league's business operations, while Locos' coach/president Jim Fassel oversees football operations. Before the fourth season starts, a rebuilding and restocking of personnel will need to take place. To conserve much-needed funds the Virginia Destroyers relocated to much smaller office space by February 2012. The league remained silent throughout winter, spring and early summer 2012, raising fears that the league had quietly folded, in the same way the proposed All American Football League, without ever actually taking the field, had done in 2010 after repeated delays of its announced inaugural schedule. However, on July 26, 2012, news broke that the UFL would indeed play a fourth season in 2012. Terms had not been finalized, but initial plans called for four teams playing an eight-game schedule (which would require an unbalanced schedule) on Wednesdays and Fridays beginning September 19, 2012. The league did reach a deal to have their games broadcast on CBS sports. On the league's official website on August 1, 2012, an official schedule for 2012, with the September 19 starting date and each team playing an unbalanced, eight-game schedule was posted, matching the earlier speculation. As of that time, final postseason plans remained undecided; the date for the championship game, Friday, November 16, was set, although the location was not. Also left unanswered was the question of whether last season's unusual third-place game would be repeated. On September 6, a revised UFL schedule for 2012 was posted on the Omaha Nighthawks website showing the season rescheduled to begin on Friday, September 28, and end on Saturday, December 1, along with the claim that CBS Sports Network was in full concordance with this revision.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: All teams but Sacramento used the same home stadiums as in 2011; the Mountain Lions moved to the Triple-A baseball stadium (Raley Field) of the Sacramento franchise of the Pacific Coast League, the Sacramento River Cats. In addition, the Las Vegas Locomotives also negotiated backup plans with Cashman Field in Las Vegas, although the team was able to play its first two home games at Sam Boyd Stadium.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: On October 20, 2012, after four weeks, continued financial shortfalls, an uncertain stadium situation in Las Vegas, and dramatically reduced attendances across all four markets, the UFL ceased operations for the remainder of the 2012 season. According to head of public relations Larry Weismann, the league intended on resuming the canceled schedule some time in spring 2013, with those games counting toward the 2012 season standings, then come back yet again for the next season in fall 2013.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: By spring 2013, 78 players from the 2012 season, two head coaches from 2011 and four assistant coaches from the 2012 season had sued the league ownership for failure to pay their salaries. The Destroyers' business license expired on March 1, 2013, and that team's remaining offices were closed before that date. On March 28, 2013, a report in "The Wall Street Journal" noted that both the spring 2013 resumption and the fall 2013 season were canceled, and that if the league were to return, it would not have been until spring 2014 at the earliest.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: As of 2016, all of the remaining non-liquid assets of the league sit in a warehouse in Jacksonville, Florida, with an estimated value of $100,000. The ownership lost or settled most of the lawsuits against them in 2014. The league still owes approximately $1,000,000 to the estate of Dennis Green; under a court ruling, the league itself is liable for Green's salary, as the owners had not personally guaranteed it. Hambrecht has also allegedly not paid the 78 players who sued him for back pay, even as the players won a $2.4 million judgment against Hambrecht. Frank Vuono, an executive with the UFL in its early existence, stated that Hambrecht had simply stopped paying the league's bills.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL abandoned its trademarks by 2017, when Vince McMahon filed a trademark on the United Football League name. In 2018, he instead announced a new XFL, a brand used by McMahon's defunct football league that played one season in 2001.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL's original pay structure plan included a player salary cap range of $12–20 million per team with a staff salary cap of $3 million per team. The UFL hoped to be paying at least 10 players on each roster in excess of $1 million each per season. These players would provide name value and legitimacy for the league and would fast track the development of local fanbases and a national TV audience.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The original plan was predicated on luring very wealthy owners like billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. The UFL however ultimately proved unsuccessful in securing commitments from enough of the deep-pocketed owners their original plan required.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: By time the initial season began, the league had totally dumped its original salary structure to suit the reality of the soft launch. The league's original plan would have had the average UFL salary in the $240,000-$500,000 range, far in excess of the CFL's average salary. The short schedule gutted the league's ability to generate TV or gate revenue. To make a soft launch financially tolerable, player salaries had to be dramatically scaled back—pro-rated to reflect the shortened season.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: An agent representing two players with NFL experience, Jack Bechta, reported his clients were offered UFL contracts at a base salary of $35,000. He confirmed with other agents that $35,000 was the league mandated salary for skill players and $25,000 for punters, place kickers and long snappers, at least for the 2009 inaugural season. One of the players represented by the agent was a quarterback who received an offer of $35,000, although he stated that his negotiations revealed that teams are allowed to pay one quarterback more than the $35,000 salary. Bonuses were limited to $10,000 per player. In addition to the base salary, the league also paid for all housing expenses for its players.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The league's initial salaries were roughly equal to the average per-game salaries in the Canadian Football League and, adjusted for inflation, equivalent to the old XFL. In another similarity to the XFL, teams could offer a sizable performance bonus; former Locomotives starting quarterback J. P. Losman has stated that he received a "nice sized" bonus for winning the 2009 UFL Championship Game.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: In 2010, players earned $6,250 per game, for a total of $50,000 in the regular season; participants in the 2010 UFL Championship Game were paid a total of $10,000 each, with an additional $10,000 going to each player on the winning team. Starting quarterbacks earned a $200,000 salary.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: There was a significant delay in payments after the 2010 season, because of a revenue shortfall, a severe underestimation of expenses, and a delay in a $50,000,000 subsidy from one of the UFL's owners. As of February 2011, the bonuses for the 2010 championship game remained unpaid, as did numerous other bills accrued by the league during the 2010 season. Most of these bills were eventually paid in March.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: According to reports that surfaced in May 2011, the base salary for players was reduced to $5,000 per game (including the championship), with only a $1,000 additional bonus for winning the championship game. This contradicted the word of the commissioner, who had previously stated he aimed to increase compensation to $10,000 per game in March.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Each player was under contract to the UFL through February of the following year, effectively creating a two-month non-compete clause after the season ends, and any NFL team that wished to sign a UFL player was supposed pay a transfer fee of $150,000 (later lowered to $25,000) to the league. This fee was waived after the 2009 season but was more strictly enforced for 2010; in practice, no NFL team ever paid the fee, and the players who did jump to the NFL ended up paying the fee out of their UFL salaries. The league dropped the transfer fee for the 2011 season.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: For 2009, each team was unofficially tied to a pair of divisions in the National Football League. In addition to this feature, the league held a draft on June 18, 2009, the UFL Premiere Season Draft. A second draft was held on June 2, 2010. The 2011 UFL Draft was held on May 2, with player selections announced via Twitter. No formal draft was staged prior to the 2012 UFL season.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The original plan was for owners to pay $30 million to buy a half interest in a team. The league would own the other half. The UFL had difficulties finding willing owners the UFL leadership considered suitable.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: The UFL planned for each team to eventually sell shares to the public that they hoped could raise another $60 million. This never came to pass.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Ultimately, the league accrued financial losses of between $120 million and $150 million over the course of the league's four years of play. Paul Pelosi's investment alone was between $10 million and $50 million, according to federal disclosure forms filed by his wife Nancy. For his part, Pelosi initially anticipated losing $6 million per year, based on an anticipated 20,000 fans per game, and hoped to make up the difference from a renegotiated television contract in 2011 that paid enough rights fees for the league to turn a profit. While he did reach the 20,000 fan threshold in Sacramento in 2010 and 2011, the paying television contract never materialized. Hambrecht sustained losses of $40 million on the league.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: Six teams played in the UFL over the course of its history, no more than five in any given year. The teams that played in the league were: the Las Vegas Locomotives, Hartford Colonials (originally the New York Sentinels), Omaha Nighthawks, Sacramento Mountain Lions (originally the California Redwoods), Florida Tuskers, and Virginia Destroyers. The Florida Tuskers and Virginia Destroyers were legally separate teams, but because the Tuskers folded before the Destroyers began play, the UFL assigned most of the Tuskers' staff to the Destroyers and the two are typically conflated for the purpose of league history.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: In an approach similar to previous football leagues, the UFL mostly adhered to standard NFL and football rules with a few differences of note:


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: For the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the UFL scheduled its games on non-traditional evenings for pro football: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Though these games conflicted with high school and college football events in some locations, the UFL's scheduling plan was different from that of the National Football League, which is prohibited under federal anti-trust exemption law (15 U.S.C. § 1291, i.e., the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961) from broadcasting any professional game within seventy-five miles of any inter-collegiate or high school game on any Friday or Saturday, beginning with the second Friday in September and ending the second Saturday in December (15 U.S.C. § 1293).


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: In 2011, the league originally intended to play its games primarily on the traditional Sunday afternoon time setting for professional football, but starting its season in August, a full month before the start of the NFL regular season. However, financial difficulties forced the league to return to its schedule from previous years.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: In 2012 it was announced that games would begin in September and that the schedule would be played over eight weeks. When this announcement was made, it had been anticipated that the league would have expanded beyond four active members. Games were to be played on Wednesday and Friday nights with six weeks of regular season action and two weeks of playoffs, culminating with a championship game in early November. The eventual schedule announced in August 2012 varied somewhat from this, with the regular season extended to eight weeks but only one playoff game. A revision announced in early September moved the opening week back to the last week in September. The regular season was to be unbalanced, with each team playing two of the others three times and the third one only twice. The 2012 championship game had originally been rescheduled to be played on December 1; during one week in late October the games were to have been played on Tuesday and Thursday nights.


title: United Football League (2009–2012)

text: All league games except for two during the first two seasons were carried nationally by either Versus or Mark Cuban's HDNet. The arrangement with these two outlets garnered some exposure for the league, but little revenue, as it was obligated to purchase the broadcast time for the games and then attempt to recoup the expense entailed, and potentially any profit, by reselling commercial sponsorships. The only exceptions were two games involving the Hartford Colonials, games that Versus originally held rights to, rights that were granted to New England Sports Network in 2010. In 2009, Versus carried eight games (including the championship), mostly on Thursday nights, while HDNet carried the remaining five. All games were available in high definition. Versus' new play-by-play team for 2010 consisted of former TNN announcer Craig Minervini on play-by-play, Doug Flutie as color analyst, ex-NFL linebacker Ryan Nece on the sidelines and Damon Hack of "Sports Illustrated" included. HDNet had Kenny Rice as play-by-play commentator, Paul Maguire as color commentator, and Ron Kruck and Paul Crane on the sidelines. The New England Sports Network had Mike Logan for one game and Brett Haber for the other game, with Scott Zolak providing color commentary and John Chandler and Tony Terzi on the sidelines. All of the games were webcast for those fans who didn't have either of the stations.