title: Dean Heller

text: Heller opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate secret ballots in union organizing elections and subject employers and employees to mandatory arbitration when negotiating union contracts.


title: Dean Heller

text: Heller voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 in the House of Representatives. In 2013, Heller announced that he supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He opposes same-sex marriage. In 2015, Heller voted to endorse Social Security and veterans benefits for married gay couples.


title: Dean Heller

text: Heller voted against the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. In April 2014, the United States Senate debated the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress). The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period. The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House. Heller opposed the bill, arguing that Nevada already had a minimum wage higher than the federally mandated level and that he thought the minimum wage should be left up to the states. Heller said "I think there is a difference between North and South, East and West on what those minimum wages ought to be."


title: Dean Heller

text: In April 2014, Heller led a successful effort to pass legislation in the Senate extending emergency unemployment benefits to 2 million Americans.


title: Dean Heller

text: In March 2018, Heller and 20 other senators introduced the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, which would allocate funding with the goal of improving school security.


title: Dean Heller

text: After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Heller was the first Republican senator to break with party leader Mitch McConnell and say that President Barack Obama should nominate a replacement. He said Nevadans “should have a voice” in replacing Scalia.


title: Dean Heller

text: In April 2017, he voted to invoke cloture (end debate) on the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, putting an end to the Democratic filibuster. Heller also voted for the "nuclear option", ending the three-fifths (60-vote threshold) for Supreme Court nominees.


title: Dean Heller

text: In October 2018, Heller voted in favor of Brett Kavanaugh's successful nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh had been accused by several women of sexual assault; Heller referred to these allegations as a "hiccup", and later clarified that sexual assault allegations should not be considered to be a hiccup.


title: Dean Heller

text: On September 23, 2021, Heller announced his candidacy for Governor of Nevada on the Republican ticket in the 2022 primary race. During his campaign, he repeatedly refused to recognize Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election, calling the election a "mess".


title: Dean Heller

text: A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he and his wife Lynne have four children and two grandchildren. His son-in-law, Ed Ableser, served for nearly ten years as a Democratic member of the Arizona Legislature.


title: Dean Heller

text: Heller was a founding board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada and the Western Nevada Community College Foundation. He is an advisory board member for Nevada's Foster Grandparent program.


title: Dean Heller

text: Heller's wife Lynne competed on the original Family Feud game show in 1985 under the Brombach family name along with her father, sister and two other relatives. They had a winning streak that lasted through several episodes before losing to the Peterson family. The Brombachs finished with cash winnings totaling $18,344.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.


title: Artur Boruc

text: He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 and, whilst still a reserve, had a spell on loan at Dolcan Ząbki in 2000. Boruc broke through to the Legia first team in 2002 and by 2003 had become the club's first choice goalkeeper. In the summer of 2005, he joined Scottish Premier League side Celtic. In his five years in Glasgow, Boruc made 221 appearances for the club, winning the league three times, the Scottish Cup once and the Scottish League Cup twice. Celtic fans nicknamed Boruc 'The Holy Goalie' for his devout Catholicism. He moved to Italy in 2010 to join Fiorentina, spending two years at the Serie A club before returning to Britain in 2012 to sign for Premier League side Southampton, moving to Bournemouth in 2015 after a season on loan. In June 2022, Boruc retired from professional football.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc made his international debut against the Republic of Ireland in April 2004 and became a regular in the Polish international squad, earning 65 caps. He represented the nation at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2016. In November 2017, Boruc retired from international football.


title: Artur Boruc

text: The next season Boruc joined Legia Warsaw, initially playing for the reserve team, as well as being loaned out in 2000 for half a season to Dolcan Ząbki.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 8 March 2002, Boruc played his first league match for Legia when he came on as a substitute during a 2–2 draw against Pogoń Szczecin. This unexpected debut was due to an injury sustained by Bulgarian goalkeeper, Radostin Stanev, during the game. Boruc played in Legia's next four league matches and kept clean sheets against Wisła Kraków and Odra Wodzisław, although Stanev regained his place in the side upon his return from injury for the remaining league and cup fixtures. Legia went on to win the Ekstraklasa title that season for the first time in seven years.


title: Artur Boruc

text: In the second half of the following season, 2002–03, Boruc established himself as the club's first choice goalkeeper where he played in 11 of the club's last 15 league fixtures. Legia lost only 1 of these 11 matches and Boruc kept 5 clean sheets, although Legia only managed to finish fourth.


title: Artur Boruc

text: By the 2003–04 season, Boruc was very much a first-pick for Legia and played in all 26 of their league fixtures. In June 2004, Boruc scored his only goal for the club, converting a penalty kick in a home game against Widzew Łódź (final score: 6–0) and then celebrated by waving the corner flag. Legia finished second in the league and qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup. Boruc also made his first appearance for Poland in April 2004, playing in a scoreless draw against the Republic of Ireland.


title: Artur Boruc

text: The 2004–05 season saw Boruc remain Legia's key player and a fan-favourite, again playing in all of the club's league fixtures. Boruc's performances for Legia saw the club extend his contract up to 2012. In March 2005, Boruc was made captain of the side. However, it was another disappointing league campaign for Legia, as they came a distant third behind Wisła Kraków who finished as champions for the third year in a row. Legia's UEFA Cup run was also relatively brief, disposing of FC Tbilisi 7–0 on aggregate in a relatively easy qualifying tie before going out 1–4 on aggregate in the first-round proper to Austria Wien. Despite the lack of silverware, Boruc's form was attracting attention from abroad by the summer of 2005.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 20 July 2005, Boruc signed with Scottish club Celtic. The deal was initially a year's loan, with an option to make it permanent. The move was later made permanent, with Boruc penning a three-and-a-half-year contract on 17 October until 2009. On 5 January 2008, it was reported that Boruc had signed a new contract with Celtic set to keep him at the club until 2011.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc made his debut for Celtic on 2 August 2005 when he replaced David Marshall for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier tie against Slovakian side Artmedia Bratislava. Celtic won 4–0, but having lost the first leg 5–0 still went out on aggregate. Boruc quickly established himself as first-choice keeper at Celtic, displaying a combination of outstanding shot-stopping, immense self-belief and, at times, outright arrogance. Indeed, gestures allegedly made by Boruc towards Rangers fans at Ibrox Stadium on 12 February 2006 later resulted in the player being cautioned by the police. In his first season, he made 40 appearances and kept 17 clean sheets. Boruc also added to his winner's medals collection as Celtic won the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish League Cup, the latter after beating Dunfermline Athletic 3–0.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc continued his fine form for Celtic the following season. On 21 November 2006, in a UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United at Celtic Park, Boruc helped Celtic through to the knockout stage of the competition by saving Louis Saha's 89th-minute penalty. Indeed, Boruc succeeded in keeping a clean sheet in each of Celtic's three home Champions League group stages games (Copenhagen 1–0, Benfica 3–0 and Manchester United 1–0). He was named player of the month for December 2006 in the Scottish Premier League, a very uncommon event for a goalkeeper. His form was also recognised with a nomination for the Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2007. The season culminated in more silverware for Boruc as Celtic retained their Scottish Premier League title and defeated Dunfermline 1–0 on 26 May 2007 to win the Scottish Cup.


title: Artur Boruc

text: The start of the 2007–08 season saw Celtic drawn against Russian side Spartak Moscow in the third qualifying round for the Champions League. The tie ended in a penalty shootout, with Boruc saving twice to ensure Celtic's passage to the group stages. The season also saw Celtic complete a hat-trick of consecutive Scottish Premier League titles.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc was fined an estimated £50,000 by Celtic in August 2008 for breaching the club's drinking policy after a pre-season friendly in the Netherlands against Feyenoord.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc endured a decline of form in the first half of season 2008–09 as he committed several goalkeeping errors, in particular against Rangers in a 2–4 defeat at Parkhead on 31 August 2008 where he was badly at fault for Rangers fourth goal, and against Hibernian at Easter Road on 7 December 2008, where John Rankin scored against him from 45 yards out, a goal Rankin later referred to as a "squiggler." He did however save a James McArthur penalty in a 4–0 win over Hamilton Academical on 4 October 2008. Despite this run of relatively poor performances, Boruc was one of 55 players (including five goalkeepers) shortlisted on 20 October 2008 for the FIFPro World XI Player Awards. Discipline, however, also became an issue again, with Boruc fined £500 by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) for gestures he made towards Rangers fans during the Old Firm game in August.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 28 January 2009, Boruc converted a penalty for Celtic during the penalty shootout in the semi-final match of the League Cup against Dundee United, helping Celtic to an 11–10 win on penalties. Boruc picked up his last silverware at Celtic in the same tournament a couple of months later when Celtic defeated Rangers 2–0 after extra-time in the Scottish League Cup Final.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 12 December 2009, Boruc made his 200th appearance for Celtic against Motherwell, which Celtic won 3–2. In April 2010, he won the Scottish Premier League save of the season award for a reflex save against Hibernian at Easter Road in August 2009.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 4 May 2010, Boruc made the last appearance of his Celtic career in a 2–1 victory against Old Firm rivals Rangers, although he had to be substituted in the second half as he was unable to continue playing due to an injury he sustained to his hand in the pre-match warm up. This transpired to be a broken finger and ruled him out of the final league fixture of the season.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 12 July 2010, Celtic agreed to sell Boruc to Serie A club Fiorentina subject to a medical, for an undisclosed fee. The transfer was confirmed three days later.


title: Artur Boruc

text: He made his Fiorentina debut on 26 October 2010 in the Coppa Italia against Empoli. After an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Sébastien Frey, he made his Serie A debut in a 1–0 win over Chievo on 7 November 2010. Boruc went on to play in the next 25 Serie A fixtures, before Frey regained his place in the team for the final two league games of the season.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 18 August 2011, Boruc officially claimed Fiorentina's number one jersey after Frey's move to Genoa. For the next year, Boruc played in all but two of Fiorentina's Serie A fixtures, but despite this he was criticised for some of his performances and apparent lack of fitness. After two seasons in Italy, Boruc was released by Fiorentina in July 2012.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 22 September 2012, Boruc joined Premier League club Southampton on a one-year deal. He made his debut on 20 October in a 4–1 defeat away to West Ham United at Upton Park.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 28 October 2012, he was allegedly involved in an incident following Tottenham Hotspur's second goal, when he responded to the jeers coming from behind him by sarcastically applauding the home fans, before throwing a water bottle in their direction. The incident resulted in Boruc being dropped from the side.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Despite the early controversy in his Southampton career, Boruc regained his place in the first team and played in all the club's league matches from 1 January 2013 to the end of the season. On 9 March 2013 in a league match against Norwich City at Carrow Road, Boruc saved a penalty in the 90th minute from Grant Holt. The game finished 0–0, with Southampton winning a point in their bid to avoid relegation. Boruc's form since returning to the Southampton first team resulted in manager Mauricio Pochettino expressing a desire for Boruc to be signed up on a longer-term deal at Southampton. On 18 April 2013 this wish was realised when Boruc signed a new 2-year contract for the club. Southampton's 1–1 draw with Sunderland on 12 May 2013 ensured their Premier League status for the following season., and they eventually finished in 14th place at the end of season.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Now firmly established as first-choice goalkeeper at Southampton, Boruc helped his team make an excellent start to the 2013–14 season. The club's 2–0 win over Fulham on 26 October 2013 saw the team move to 18 points and into third place in the Premier League, their best-ever start to a top-flight season.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 2 November 2013, in a 1–1 draw at Stoke City, Boruc conceded a goal to opposing goalkeeper Asmir Begović after just 13 seconds. Three weeks later, under pressure from Arsenal's Olivier Giroud, "instead of simply clearing he did one Cruyff turn, then another, before tying himself into so many knots attempting a third that Giroud was able to nick the ball off him" and score the first of Arsenal's two goals. A week later, he suffered a broken hand trying to keep out a Demba Ba goal in a 3–1 defeat against Chelsea, which kept him out for six weeks. Boruc returned from injury on 11 January 2014 and kept a clean sheet in Southampton's 1–0 win over West Bromwich Albion, impressing with a last minute save from Shane Long to deny the club an equaliser. Boruc maintained his place in his side, and although he was at fault for one of Sunderland's goals in a 2–2 draw on 18 January, he redeemed himself with better performances in 1–0 and 3–0 league wins over Fulham and Hull City respectively during February 2014. His form remained reasonably consistent, although his distribution was occasionally poor, and he helped Southampton to an eighth-place finish in the league at the end of the season.


title: Artur Boruc

text: At the start of the 2014–15 season, Fraser Forster arrived at Southampton from Celtic in a £10 million transfer deal, with the Englishman taking over Boruc's place in goal. On 19 September 2014, Boruc joined Championship side AFC Bournemouth on an emergency loan deal until January 2015. He made his debut the following day in a 1–1 draw away against Watford. On 25 October, Bournemouth won 0–8 away at St. Andrew's against Birmingham City. It was the first time that the Cherries had ever scored eight goals in a league game (barring a 10–0 win over Northampton Town in September 1939 which was expunged from the records after World War II broke out the next day), and they recorded their biggest winning margin in a league fixture. Boruc played his part in this statistic by saving a penalty taken by Paul Caddis in the 53rd minute with the score at 0–3. The loan spell at Bournemouth went well, and by the end of December 2014, Boruc had kept clean sheets in nine of his 18 appearances, helping the club go top of the Championship. As such, the loan was extended to the end of the season, with Boruc commenting, "I'm pleased I'm here and that I'm part of a great team, and that's why I'm staying until the end of the season."


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 2 May 2015, Boruc was part of the Bournemouth team which won the Championship title and a first-ever promotion to the Premier League. Twenty-four days later, he was one of six players released by Southampton,


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc began the 2015–16 season as Bournemouth's first choice goalkeeper, starting the club's first ever top division match against Aston Villa on 8 August 2015. His and the club's first clean sheet came in a 2–0 defeat of Sunderland at Dean Court on 19 September.


title: Artur Boruc

text: After a poor performance in a 1–5 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 25 October, Boruc was replaced in the Bournemouth goal by Adam Federici for all four of the Cherries' November fixtures. An injury to Federici saw Boruc return to the side for an away fixture at Premier League champions Chelsea on 5 December, with the Polish goalkeeper keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win for Bournemouth. A week later, Boruc was a member of the Bournemouth side that beat Manchester United 2–1 at Dean Court.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 17 May 2018 he signed a new contract with Bournemouth, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2019. He signed a further contract in June 2019.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 1 August 2020, Boruc returned to Poland to sign for Legia Warsaw, on a one-year deal. On 17 June 2022, Boruc announced his retirement aged 42, and will have a testimonial-style match between Legia Warsaw and Celtic.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc's debut for Poland came on 28 April 2004 in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, coming on as second-half substitute for Jerzy Dudek, with the match ending in a goalless draw. Boruc made his first starting appearance for Poland with his third cap, a friendly on 12 July 2004 in Chicago against the United States. Boruc saved a penalty in the 11th minute from American striker Brian McBride.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On August 17, 2005 he received a red card in the final match Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament 2005, but this did not prevent his team from winning, and he won the first trophy with the national team.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc soon established himself as a regular in the Polish squad and was selected to the 23-men national squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals held in Germany. He had been battling with Tomasz Kuszczak and also Łukasz Fabiański for the starting slot, but was first-choice goalkeeper during the World Cup and played in all three of their games. Boruc was particularly outstanding in the game against Germany, although he was unable to prevent his country losing 1–0.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc remained first choice goalkeeper and was named in Poland's UEFA Euro 2008 squad. He played their first game against Germany and held his place through to the important second game against co-hosts Austria in which the Poles conceded a penalty in the 92nd minute to level the game. In the same match, he saved all three shots by the Austrians, leading to a final score of 1–1. He was nicknamed "Spaceman" by the Austrian and German press during the tournament. The famous Polish striker from the late 1970s and 1980s, Zbigniew Boniek, criticised Poland's team performance at Euro 2008 but singled out Boruc for praise, describing him as "world class."


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc incurred the wrath of manager Leo Beenhakker in August 2008 when he and two teammates went on a night out after a friendly against Ukraine in defiance of the orders of their manager. As a result, Boruc, Dariusz Dudka and Radosław Majewski were all suspended by Beenhakker for the next two internationals. Boruc, however, quickly regained his place in the team and continued to be the regular choice until falling from favour again in October 2010 under Beenhakker's successor as Poland manager, Franciszek Smuda.


title: Artur Boruc

text: After an absence of over two years, Boruc was recalled to the Polish squad in January 2013 and played in their 0–2 defeat against the Republic of Ireland a week later on 6 February 2013. Boruc maintained his place in the international side for their next two competitive games on 22 and 26 March 2013, World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and San Marino respectively.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc made 64 appearances for his country, his last appearance coming in a friendly on 14 November 2016 against Slovenia, playing the first half before being substituted at half time in a 1–1 draw. His appearance in that game saw him become the most highly capped goalkeeper for Poland, passing Jan Tomaszewski's record of 63 caps.


title: Artur Boruc

text: In March 2017, Boruc announced his retirement from international football, through his Instagram profile, citing his age, "peace of mind" regarding the position of a Polish goalkeeper, and focusing on his career in Bournemouth. He earned his final 65th cap at his farewell match against Uruguay on 10 November 2017 in Warsaw, being substituted shortly before half-time by former Legia Warszawa teammate, Łukasz Fabiański.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 25 August 2006, Boruc was cautioned by the Strathclyde Police for a breach of the peace for making gestures in front of Rangers fans before a game earlier that year. According to the "Sunday Herald", "police reports highlighted three hand gestures made by 26-year-old Boruc ... a V sign at the crowd, another obscene gesture at the crowd and a blessing." The gestures were not caught on video and the caution was issued on the basis of police reports and witness statements. This incident has led to him attaining the nickname "The Holy Goalie".


title: Artur Boruc

text: The Procurator Fiscal said Boruc "was seen by members of the public and police officers to bless himself. Witnesses describe him smiling or laughing at a Rangers section of the crowd and making 'come on' gestures. This action appeared to incense a section of the crowd to react in such a way that police officers and security personnel had to become involved to calm the situation. The police reported that it took 10 minutes to restore normality in the crowd." According to a cross-party working group of the Scottish Parliament, "the sign of the cross in itself is an expression of the Roman Catholic faith; however, using it to alarm, upset or provoke others might be a breach of the peace at common law."


title: Artur Boruc

text: The Catholic Church condemned the legal action, however, expressing regret that "Scotland seems to have made itself one of the few countries in the world where this simple religious gesture is considered an offence." Following extensive press comment, the Crown Office issued a statement on 28 August 2006 stressing that the "very limited" action had been taken against Boruc for gestures made toward Rangers supporters rather than for crossing himself, and that it would not take action against individuals for "acts of religious observance." According to BBC News Online, the caution "brought the issue of sectarianism in Scotland back into sharp focus." The Roman Catholic Church welcomed the Crown Office's clarification of the limited action taken against Boruc, particularly the statement that it "did not in any way refer to the act of blessing himself."


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 17 December 2006, Boruc again crossed himself during his first Old Firm game since the caution, drawing "a roar" from the Rangers fans behind his goal. A spokesman for Celtic defended his gesture, stating "the police have said they have no problem with Artur Boruc in this regard and neither does Celtic Football Club."


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc courted further controversy in April 2008 when he displayed a T-shirt saying "God bless the Pope" and bearing a picture of Pope John Paul II after a game against Rangers, and also in May 2007 when he waved a flag proclaiming Celtic the "champions" following a match against Rangers.


title: Artur Boruc

text: On 21 April 2007, he helped a 27-year-old pregnant Polish woman, her sister and brother-in-law, when they were attacked in Glasgow.


title: Artur Boruc

text: Boruc's father died in April 2010; his mother Jadwiga died when he was only 20. He has a brother and three sisters. On 11 June 2008, Boruc's then-wife Katarzyna gave birth to their son, Aleksander ("Aleks"), in Warsaw. Boruc and his wife separated in 2008, amid reports of his relationship with former "Polish Idol" contestant Sara Mannei. Mannei gave birth to daughter Amelia on 9 August 2010 in Poland and the couple married in 2014.


title: Artur Boruc

text: In September 2009, "The Scottish Sun" published an apology, for claiming Boruc had had an affair with a young woman, shown in a photograph, who was actually his sister. In June 2011, the "News of the World" admitted it had published a false report on Boruc, and paid him £70,000, believed to be a record for Scottish libel cases, plus legal expenses.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: Kochi Tuskers Kerala was a franchise cricket team that played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) representing the city of Kochi, Kerala. The team was one of two new franchises added to the IPL for the 2011 season, alongside Pune Warriors India. The team franchise was owned by Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd., which was a consortium of multiple companies.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: The auction for expanding the initial eight franchises for the Indian Premier League was held on 22 March 2010. The cities involved were Pune, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Cuttack, Vadodara, Indore and Gwalior. Two new teams were selected out of 12 cities. Sahara Group made the highest bid in the auction and chose to base its team in Pune, at the cost of US$370m (1702 crore). Rendezvous Sports World made the second highest bid of US$333.2m(1533 crores), and elected to base its team in Kochi. The two new franchises were sold for a combined sum greater than the combined purchase price of the original eight franchises.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: The franchise initially announced that the name of the team would be "Indi Commandos". This led to negative responses worldwide. The franchise management suggested that a move to Ahmedabad was possible, moving the team away from Kochi, due in part to a comparatively high entertainment tax in Kerala (36%). This invoked a mass response on social networks, particularly on Facebook, forcing management to change the team name and logo. A poll on the franchise's official website eventually determined the team name. The decision to move the home ground was dropped when the Corporation of Cochin waived 50% of the entertainment tax levee.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: Due to a dispute amongst the team owners, the franchise failed to pay the 10% bank guarantee element of the franchise fee which was supposed to be paid before the 2011 season began. The BCCI claimed that it had sent several requests for payment to the franchise owners but received no response. On 19 September 2011, then BCCI president N. Srinivasan announced that the franchise was being terminated because it had failed to provide the bank guarantee. On 14 October 2011, the IPL Governing Council announced that there would be only nine teams participating in 2012 after the Kochi franchise was expelled. The players from the side were auctioned to other franchises in the 2012 IPL player auction. Players who attracted no bids had their salaries covered via the team's bank guarantee from the previous season.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: On 13 January 2012, the BCCI asked overseas players who had signed a contract with the franchise to sue the owners, with the BCCI included as a party to each case.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: In February 2012, Rendezvous Sports World announced that it would take the BCCI to court over its termination from the IPL. In July 2015, a court-appointed arbitrator Justice Lahoti ordered the BCCI to pay as compensation for terminating the franchise agreement. "ESPNCricinfo" reported that the franchise owners had requested the BCCI to permit the team to return to the IPL, "in lieu" of the compensation awarded by the arbitrator.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: The two home grounds of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala were the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. Five homes matches were held at Kochi and two at Indore. The Greater Cochin Development Authority completely over-hauled the Jawaharlaal Nehru Stadium to cater for hosting IPL matches.


title: Kochi Tuskers Kerala

text: Federal Bank, a major Indian commercial bank in the private sector, with its headquarters in Aluva, Kerala, was the principal sponsor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Lotto, an Italian sports goods manufacturer, was the apparel sponsor, V-Guard, an electronics company, and AVT, a tea brand, were the associate sponsors with Elite Foods, Parinee Developers and Anchor Earth are the other main sponsors.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. The associated video display controller provides color graphics and sprite support which were only comparable with those of the Atari 400 and 800 released a month after the TI-99/4.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The calculator-style keyboard of the TI-99/4 was cited as a weak point, and TI's reliance on ROM cartridges and their practice of limiting developer information to select third parties resulted in a lack of software for the system. The TI-99/4A was released in June 1981 to address some of these issues with a simplified internal design, full-travel keyboard, improved graphics, and a unique expansion system. At half the price of the original model, sales picked up significantly and TI supported the 4A with peripherals, including a speech synthesizer and a "Peripheral Expansion System" box to contain hardware add-ons. TI released developer information and tools, but the insistence on remaining sole publisher continued to starve the platform of software.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The 1981 US launch of the TI-99/4A followed Commodore's VIC-20 by several months. Commodore CEO Jack Tramiel did not like TI's predatory pricing in the mid-1970s and retaliated with a price war by repeatedly lowering the price of the VIC-20 and forcing TI to do the same. By 1983, the 99/4A was selling at a loss for under . Even with the increased user base created by the heavy discounts, Texas Instruments lost US$330 million in the third quarter of 1983 and announced the discontinuation of the TI-99/4A in October 1983. Production ended in March 1984.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TI-99/4 was intended to fit in the middle of a planned range of TI-99 computers, none of which were ultimately released but prototypes and documentation have been found after the TI-99/4A was discontinued.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TI-99/4A is a self-contained console with the motherboard, ROM cartridge slot, and full-travel keyboard in the same case. The power supply is external. An RF modulator allows the use of a television as a monitor. Lowercase letters are displayed as small caps, rather than separate glyphs. TI BASIC, an ANSI-compliant BASIC interpreter based on Dartmouth BASIC, is built-in and includes support for graphics, sound, and file system access. Later versions of the 99/4A, identified by codice_1 on the title page, prevent the use of unlicensed ROM cartridges from third-party manufacturers such as Atarisoft.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Peripherals include a 5¼" floppy disk drive and controller, an RS-232 card with two serial ports and one parallel port, a P-code card for Pascal support, a thermal printer, a 300-baud acoustic coupler, a tape drive using standard audio cassettes as media, and a 32 KB memory expansion card.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Both TI-99/4 models use the 16-bit TMS9900 CPU running at 3 MHz. The TMS9900 is a single-chip implementation of a TI-990 minicomputer. Although a full 16-bit processor, only the system ROM and 256 bytes of scratchpad RAM are available on the 16-bit bus.


title: TI-99/4A

text: In order to build a complete 16-bit system, TI would have had to redesign many of their existing 8-bit support chips. Instead, TI decided to use existing devices for the majority of the system. The result was that only a small portion of the system was 16-bit, and used a second 8-bit computer bus for the rest.


title: TI-99/4A

text: One of the key features of the TMS9900 from the minicomputer design that spawned it was the inclusion of several sets of processor registers. Registers are used to store information that is being actively worked on by a particular program, as opposed to main memory which stores much more data but is slower to access. In a minicomputer setting, the system was typically running a time sharing or multitasking operating system, or being used for real-time computing, both of which benefit from being able to quickly switch among programs. To do this, the TMS9900 stored several sets of registers in main memory and could switch between the sets of sixteen 16-bit registers by changing the single workspace pointer register, thereby allowing very rapid context switching.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The new design put 256 bytes of random access memory (RAM) on the 16-bit bus to store up to eight sets of registers. This area of RAM is known as the "scratchpad memory". As the processor's instructions are all 16-bit as well, the 8 KB internal system read only memory (ROM) was also on the 16-bit side. Only the program counter, status register, and workspace pointer registers are actually implemented on the chip itself.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Included on the 8-bit side of the system is the majority of the RAM and almost all of the support chips, especially the video display controller (VDP). All accesses to the VDP system are executed eight bits at a time. The system's RAM is managed by the VDP, which provides access to the CPU only when the CPU is not using the memory. This means that user programs and data has to be read over two machine cycles, essentially reducing speed by half. According to "IEEE Spectrum", this negates the performance advantage of a 16-bit processor.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Graphics in the 99/4A are generated by a TMS9918A Video Display Processor (VDP), with a variant for PAL territories. The VDP was developed by Texas Instruments and also sold independently, allowing it to be used in other systems. It serves as the video processor for the ColecoVision and SG-1000 consoles, and an earlier model is part of the MSX computer standard.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TMS9918A supports character-based and bitmap display modes as well as hardware sprites. There are 32 single-color sprites total, but only a maximum of 4 can be displayed per scan line. Each sprite is either 8×8 or 16×16 pixels and can be scaled 2x to 16x16 or 32x32.


title: TI-99/4A

text: 16 KB of RAM is provided for the Video Display Processor. VDP RAM is the largest block of writeable memory in the unexpanded TI-99/4A architecture, and is used for storing disk I/O buffers and


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI-99 peripherals contain device drivers in ROMs in the hardware. When a new peripheral is attached, it is immediately available for any software that wants to use it. All device access uses a generic file-based I/O mechanism, allowing new devices to be added without updating software. The Peripheral Expansion System can hold two RS-232 cards, for a total of four RS-232 ports and two parallel printer ports.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The computer supports two cassette drives through a dedicated port, using a custom data format. Composite video and audio are output through another port on NTSC-based machines, and combine through an external RF modulator for use with a television. PAL-based machines output a more complex YUV signal which is also modulated to UHF externally.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Two digital joysticks can be connected through a single DE-9 port. It is identical to the Atari joystick port, but with incompatible pins. Aftermarket adapters allow the use of Atari compatible joysticks.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI sold an official 32 KB RAM expansion. The memory is not available to all uses. For example, an Extended Basic program is restricted to using 24 KB with the remaining 8 KB available for machine code routines. The Mini Memory plug-in module contains 4 KB of battery-backed RAM that can be used as a persistent RAM disk or to load a machine-code program.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TI-99/4A can be upgraded via expansion cards added to an eight-slot, external chassis containing its own linear power supply and a full-height 5¼" floppy bay. Encased in silver plastic, but made from sheet steel, this is labeled as the Peripheral Expansion System by TI, but usually called the Peripheral Expansion Box or PEB. Each card has an LED that blinks or flickers when being accessed by software. The section of the power supply that powers the card slots is unregulated. Each card has on-board regulators for its own requirements, which reduces power consumption on a partially-loaded PEB, allowing for cards with unusual voltage requirements.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The PEB carries an analog sound input on the expansion bus, allowing the Speech Synthesizer's audio to be carried through the console to the monitor. The audio is also carried through the ribbon cable to the PEB, both allowing the relocation of the Speech Synthesizer to the PEB and the possibility of audio cards offering more features than the console's built-in sound. No official cards from TI do this.


title: TI-99/4A

text: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, TI was a pioneer in speech synthesis because of its Texas Instruments LPC Speech Chips which were used in its Speak & Spell toys. A plug-in speech synthesizer module was available for the TI-99/4 and 4A. Speech synthesizers were offered free with the purchase of a number of cartridges and were used by video games such as "Alpiner" and "Parsec". "Alpiner"s speech includes male and female voices and can be sarcastic when the player makes a bad move.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The synthesizer uses a variant of linear predictive coding and has a small in-built vocabulary. The original intent was to release small cartridges that plugged directly into the synthesizer unit to increase the device's vocabulary. However, the success of software text-to-speech in the Terminal Emulator II cartridge cancelled that plan.


title: TI-99/4A

text: In 1977, groups within Texas Instruments were designing a video game console, a home computer to compete against the TRS-80 and Apple II, and a high-end business personal computer with a hard drive. The first two groups were both working at TI's consumer products division in Lubbock, Texas, and continually competed. According to Wally Rhines, the 99/4's "ultracheap keyboard" (with calculator-style keys), RF modulator, and ROM cartridges came from the console design. Eventually, the two teams were merged and directed towards the home computer market. Meanwhile, the third team was merged into TI's Data Systems Division, which had a line of minicomputer products and various computer terminals; they viewed the all-in-one machine as a threat and the project was eventually killed.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Others within the company persuaded the Lubbock group to use TI's TMS9900 CPU. This was in keeping with TI's "one company, one computer architecture" concept, where a single processor model would scale from consoles to its high-end minicomputers. The TMS9900 is a single-chip implementation of TI's 16-bit TI-990 mini design, and is the CPU in low-end models of that platform. Feature-limited single-chip versions of popular minicomputer designs from the 1960s were popular in the mid-1970s and newly designed 16-bit and 32-bit CPUs like the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000, respectively, quickly rendered these earlier designs obsolete. Many of the TMS9900's quirky features, like processor registers in main memory, came from its minicomputer roots where such concepts were more common.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Meanwhile, another home computer product was emerging from TI's European headquarters, where a third party consulting firm was contracted to produce a prototype codenamed "Mojo". This was based on TI's version of the 8-bit Intel 8080 supported by an all-TI chip set. After a series of discussions, Mojo was abandoned and the Consumer Products concept moved forward.


title: TI-99/4A

text: In 1979, TI was a successful manufacturer of large computers and was the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. Its catalog included a huge variety of analog and digital integrated circuits already widely used in the microcomputers, giving it a single-source advantage no other company could meet. It used this position to take over markets, as it did in the mid-1970s introducing its first scientific calculators. These underpriced its former customers like Commodore and drove them out of the calculator business. Observers expected TI would do the same to the microcomputer market if it released a competitive system. "The New York Times" suggested that the entry of TI and Hewlett-Packard would reshape the entire industry.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Through the development period, several companies attempting to enter the home computer market were faced with significant pushback from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC had developed new rules for consumer devices that connected directly to televisions in an effort to control ongoing complaints about interference by poorly shielded devices. Televisions of the era generally had only a single antenna input, and thus connecting to them required the internal video signal of the device to be converted to radio frequency using an RF modulator. The resulting signals were often poorly shielded and signal leakage could be picked up in the antennas of nearby televisions.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The new rules were extremely difficult to meet. TI continued battling the FCC both in the lab and in Congress, where it had considerable power due to its position within Texas's high-tech industry. It failed to meet the FCC requirements as the release date approached. The company eventually gave up and bundled a modified Zenith Electronics television as a computer monitor, eliminating the need for the RF modulator that generates the interference by connecting directly to the TV's circuitry using a composite video signal. This put the introductory price at .


title: TI-99/4A

text: The 99/4 sold poorly. Very little software was available, as few developers ported their products to its 16-bit CPU. The machine was met with almost universal disdain when it was released. Every review complained about the keyboard, the lack of lower case characters, any sort of expansion, and lack of software. In July 1980, Adam Osborne reported that, despite poor sales, TI had raised the price of a complete system to , higher than the popular Apple II, which started at . Osborne said, "Some dealers, who have offered the complete system (including the monitor) for less than the price of the Apple, have still been unable to sell it". TI sold fewer than 20,000 computers by summer 1981, less than one tenth Apple or Radio Shack's volume; even Atari, Inc., which reportedly lost on sales of of computers, had an Atari 8-bit family installed base more than twice as large. David H. Ahl described the 99/4 as "vastly overpriced, particularly considering its strange keyboard, non-standard Basic, and lack of software". The "Times" called it an "embarrassing failure".


title: TI-99/4A

text: Two years after the 99/4's debut, TI released the 99/4A. It adds a typewriter-style keyboard—keeping the non-standard layout—and more expansion options. The expansion system extends from the right side of the chassis, with modules that can be daisy-chained. There is a practical limitation to this, because each module increases the width of the system. The price was initially , less than half that of the 99/4.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI continued lowering the price through 1981, first to , and then to in early 1982, in competition with Commodore's VIC-20. This turned into a price war with Commodore. TI responded by cutting the wholesale price of the 99 by , while also offering a rebate directly to consumers, lowering the street price to about . TI spokesman Bill Cosby joked how easy it was to sell a computer by paying people to buy one. By mid-1982, Jerry Pournelle wrote that TI was "practically giving away the TI-99/4A". An industry joke stated that the company was losing money on each computer, but was making up for it in volume. Commodore matched the price in December 1982.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI celebrated the 99/4A's market success at the January 1983 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Sales peaked at 30,000 a week that month, but on 10 January 1983 Commodore lowered the price of its computers. In February TI responded with a 99/4A retail price of . In April, the VIC-20's bundled retail price reached and the 99/4A followed suit. In the spring of 1983, TI attempted to reduce the parts count to maintain a competitive edge by combining multiple chips into a single custom chip, renaming the 4A PCB as a "QI" (Quality Improved) board and began production of plastic beige cases without the former aluminum trim of the black console. In May, it began offering the PEB for free with the purchase of three peripherals. In August the company reduced prices of peripherals by 50% and offered of free software; in September, it reduced software prices by up to 43%.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The president of Spectravideo later said that "TI got suckered by" Jack Tramiel, head of Commodore. TI was forced to sell the 99/4A for about the same price as the VIC-20, even though it was much more expensive to manufacture.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI could not make a profit on the TI-99/4A at a price of $99, but hoped that selling many inexpensive computers would increase sales of more profitable software and peripherals. Because such a razor and blades business model requires that such products be its own, TI strictly controlled development for the computer, discouraging hobbyists and third-party developers. It wanted unsophisticated consumers to buy its computers like an appliance, and not technical users who might want to write their own software, despite the latter being what Pournelle described as "a large unpaid R&D department" for computer companies. The company advertised its calculators in almost every issue of "BYTE" starting in 1980, but deliberately excluded its home computer from the ads except briefly in late 1982. TI also used its preexisting calculator sales channel of mass-market retailers, and not specialized computer stores.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI did not provide an editor, assembler, or hardware technical information when it released the computer. Pournelle stated that "TI's message is loud and clear: 'Drop dead, hobbyists!, and added that the company "worked very hard at keeping you outside the machine". Citing "Money", publisher of "Kilobaud Microcomputing" Wayne Green reported in August 1980 that TI planned to have only 100 applications available by the end of 1981, stating that "This tiny figure has to put a chill on the whole industry". Green's company, Instant Software, was a prolific publisher of TRS-80 software, but could not find anyone to port software to the TI. He wrote, "We understand the problems with the system and the efforts Texas Instruments made to make translation difficult". A Spinnaker Software executive said that the 99/4A had "the worst software in the business", and Ahl noted that unlike other computers, it did not have "Microsoft BASIC, VisiCalc, WordStar, or any popular games". Peripherals cost about twice as much as for other computers. TI joysticks, for example, were of poor quality and difficult to find; one reseller reported that its best-selling product was the Atari CX40 joystick adapter cable.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Pournelle added, "TI had rightly concluded that the hobbyists and hackers were a tiny part of the market and "wrongly" concluded that they were therefore unimportant". Rivals were more open with information. "Kilobaud Microcomputing" reported that a Commodore executive promised the VIC-20 would have "enough additional documentation to enable an experienced programmer/hobbyist to get inside and let his imagination work". Even when competitors did not disclose technical information, because their computers used commercial off-the-shelf parts like the MOS 6502 and Zilog Z-80, much more information was public than for TI's proprietary components. IBM learned from TI's mistake, Pournelle said. The company released software and hardware technical information when the IBM PC was announced in 1981, stating that "the definition of a personal computer "is" third-party hardware and software".


title: TI-99/4A

text: TI had also learned from its mistake and no longer ignored hobbyists, Pournelle said in 1982. The company did advertise in "BYTE" its program for publishing others' software, and job openings for software developers. It insisted on being the sole publisher for the system, however, which many developers refused to agree to. After third-party developers' games for the Atari 2600 became very successful, TI at the June 1983 Consumer Electronics Show announced that only cartridges with a TI-licensed lockout chip would work in the 99/4A. The "Boston Phoenix" predicted that "most [software developers] just won't bother making TI-compatible versions of their programs", and Pournelle wrote that "TI once again tells the hobbyists to drop dead".


title: TI-99/4A

text: No official technical documentation from TI was released until the "Editor/Assembler" development suite was released in 1981, and no system schematics were ever released to the public until after TI had discontinued the computer.


title: TI-99/4A

text: After TI in mid-1983 unexpectedly announced a loss in the second calendar quarter—implying a pretax loss from home computers of —its stock dropped by one third in two days. The "Times" stated in June 1983 that Cosby's refund "joke is no longer funny", and that "future options are slim". The low price affected the 99/4A's reputation; "When they went to , people started asking 'What's wrong with it?'", one retail executive said. An L.F. Rothschild sell-side analyst estimated that TI had prepared to manufacture three million computers in 1983, but would only be able to sell two million.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Some observers predicted after the second quarter's loss that the 99/4A would not be able to recover; even if the company did not plan to discontinue the computer, the fear that it would become orphaned technology might cause retailers to avoid ordering inventory. Others thought that TI could sell excess inventory and continue producing the computer. After losing after taxes in the third calendar quarter of 1983, TI announced plans to discontinue the 99/4A, while continuing to sell the TI Professional MS-DOS-compatible computer. (TI stock rose by 25% after the announcement, because the company's other businesses were strong.) With another TI price cut, retailers sold remaining inventory of the former computer during Christmas for $49. The 90 Child World stores quickly sold over 40,000 computers at a price referred to as "nearly a stocking stuffer" in a "Times" article.


title: TI-99/4A

text: A total of 2.8 million units were shipped before the TI-99/4A was discontinued in March 1984. The 99/4A became the first in a series of home computers to be orphaned by their manufacturer over the next few years, along with the Coleco Adam, Mattel Aquarius, Timex Sinclair 1000, and IBM PCjr.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TMS9900's machine language instructions must be word-aligned, so at least 16-bits are needed for every instruction. At the time, memory was expensive, so the size of this format was a concern. Additionally, programming the 8-bit side of the system from 16-bit code is somewhat complex. To address this, TI built a pseudo-assembly language known as "Graphic Programming Language", or GPL. This is a compact 8-bit language interpreted by the CPU which dynamically translates the GPL instructions into one or more TMS9900 instructions. GPL also includes utility routines that appear as single instructions in GPL code, allowing complex operations to be reduced to small sequences of code. For example, a block of memory can be cleared with a single instruction. All software originally distributed on ROM cartridges were written using GPL, and are sometimes referred to as GROMs.


title: TI-99/4A

text: At the time of launch, the system included only a single user-accessible programming language: TI's built-in BASIC interpreter, written in GPL. On the Creative Computing Benchmark, it runs at roughly half the speed of the Apple II.


title: TI-99/4A

text: TMS9918A VDP, 40 pin DIP. The earlier 99/4 uses the TMS9918. PAL systems use the "9929" versions of each.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Roughly 100 games were published for the TI-99/4A, with most published by Texas Instruments. Some of the games released only for the 99/4A are "Parsec", "Alpiner", "", "Tunnels of Doom", and "The Attack". "TI Invaders" and "Car Wars" are TI's renditions of "Space Invaders" and "Head On" respectively. "Munch Man" is similar to "Pac-Man", but the title character fills the maze with a pattern rather than emptying it of dots.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Tigervision offered a solution to the memory limitation of the standard cartridge slot in the form of a 24kB memory expansion cartridge that attached to the side expansion interface, emulating an expansion device. This allowed the company to implement a larger game completely in machine code, which was used for "Espial" and "Miner 2049er". Exceltec also released two similar side cartridges: "Arcturus" and "Killer Caterpillar".


title: TI-99/4A

text: The media criticized the computer's game library as mediocre. TI not only discouraged third-party development, including games, but it also failed to license popular arcade games like "Zaxxon" and "Frogger".


title: TI-99/4A

text: The Hex-Bus interface was designed in 1982 and intended for commercial release in late 1983. It connects the console to peripherals via a high-speed serial link. Though it is similar to today's USB (plug and play, hot-swappable, etc.), it was never released, with only a small number of prototypes appearing in collector hands after TI pulled out of the market.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The TI-99/4 was intended to fit in the middle of a planned range of TI-99 computers, with prototypes and documentation created for other models. Initial plans were for a lower-end TI-99/2 and a more powerful TI-99/8. Later ideas for expanding the range included a bargain-priced TI-99/3, a terminal TI-99/7, and a direct follow-up to the TI-99/4A referred to as either TI-99/4B or TI-99/5.


title: TI-99/4A

text: At the time they left the home computer market, TI had been actively developing two successors to the TI-99/4A that went through several prototypes but never entered production. Some of these prototypes are now in the hands of TI-99/4A collectors. Both machines would have been substantially faster than the original TI-99/4A and used the Hex-Bus serial interface.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The Tomy Tutor and its sibling systems are Japanese computers similar in architecture and firmware to the 99/8. Unlike the 99/8, it was released commercially, but sold poorly outside Japan. Portions of the operating system and BASIC code are similar to the 99/8.


title: TI-99/4A

text: Until 2006, there was an annual Chicago TI Faire where people celebrated the TI-99 family of computers.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The Myarc Geneve 9640 is an enhanced TI-99/4A clone built by Myarc as a card to fit into the TI Peripheral Expansion System. It uses an IBM PC/XT detached keyboard. Released in 1987, it is similar to the unreleased TI-99/8 system. It includes a 12 MHz TMS9995 processor, enhanced graphics with 80-column text mode, 16-bit wide RAM, MDOS, and is compatible with nearly all TI software and slot-mounted hardware. A toggle switch slows the computer to the speed of the original.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The Second Generation CPU card (SGCPU) was released by the System 99 User Group in 1996 as a card to be installed in the PEB.


title: TI-99/4A

text: In 2004, a Universal Serial Bus card and Advanced Technology Attachment controller for IDE hard disks for the PEB were released.


title: TI-99/4A

text: A range of plug-in cartridge boards have been developed, allowing software projects to be distributed on cartridge.


title: TI-99/4A

text: The Phoenix G2, was designed in 2010 by Gary Smith, a member of TI-User Group UK. It uses two FPGAs to emulate the entire architecture of the Myarc Geneve 9640 and the TMS9995 microprocessor. It incorporates an SD card reader, Ethernet, VGA output, and 64 MB RAM.


title: TI-99/4A

text: An FPGA-based TMS9918 compatible graphics chip, called the F18A, is a drop-in replacement for the original 9918 VDP, but features VGA output, bypassing the TMS9918A's native composite output, and contains other enhancements such as removal of the restriction of 4 sprites per scan line.


title: R. Sundarrajan (director)

text: R. Sundarrajan is an Indian director, actor and writer for Tamil language films. Active primarily in the 1980s and the 1990s as a film maker, he appeared more often as an actor thereafter.


title: R. Sundarrajan (director)

text: He has served as an actor, filmmaker and a renowned director. He is very well appreciated and a name of honor in Tamil film industry. Sundarajan is known for his silver jubilee films such as "Payanangal Mudivathillai" (1982), "Vaidehi Kathirunthal" (1984), "Rajadhi Raja" (1989), "Thirumathi Palanisamy" (1992) and many others. Sundarrajan's last movie directed was in the year 2013 "Chithirayil Nilachoru".


title: R. Sundarrajan (director)

text: Sundarrajan is married to Durga, a dubbing artist. They had three sons: Ashok, Karthik and Deepak. Karthik died in 2004 in an road accident. Deepak made his directorial debut in 2021 with "Annabelle Sethupathi". Ashok acted in his father's directorial "Chithirayil Nilachoru" (2013).


title: Cream Lemon

text: "Cream Lemon" is a collection of sometimes surreal stories having different settings and situations, with genres including fantasy, comedy, suspense, sci-fi, action, drama, mecha, magical girl, horror, and mystery. The overriding theme of the series is sex of almost any kind imaginable. Most chapters stand alone as separate titles, having no relation to any other stories within the "Cream Lemon" series. The main recurring character is Ami Nonomura, who has an incestuous relationship with her step-brother Hiroshi.


title: Cream Lemon

text: "Cream Lemon" often focuses on unrealistic and exaggerated sexual themes. One example is the story of a teenage girl who does not like having sex because of a series of rapes in her family. To cure this, the school counselor orders her to strip in front of the art class and masturbate herself to the point of orgasm. She then has public sex with a boy and likes it, causing the whole class to start having sex. Many others are similarly surreal.


title: Cream Lemon

text: The "Ami: From Then On" OVAs are an alternate ending to the "Ami" series, replacing the 1986 theatrical short film "Going on a Journey: Ami Final Chapter".


title: Cream Lemon

text: Due to the moral panic after the arrest of Tsutomu Miyazaki, three episodes of this series besides "Magic City Astalot" had sex scenes removed and were released as "The VHS Series". Later, the uncensored works were released as "full versions".


title: Cream Lemon

text: After eight years, the first in a brief new age of "Cream Lemon" OVAs made its appearance, with another following the year after. The episodes are connected to the "Escalation" and "Ami" series.


title: Cream Lemon

text: A music video, "Ami Image -White Shadow-", as well as a feature film, "Going on a Journey -Ami Final Chapter-", were released in 1985 and 1986, respectively.


title: Cream Lemon

text: "Going on a Journey -Ami Final Chapter-" was screened as a double feature alongside "Project A-ko". They were bundled onto a single LaserDisc set released by Pony Canyon on September 21, 1986.


title: Cream Lemon

text: On March 21, 1997, a live-action video based on the "Escalation" series was released under the title "Cream Lemon Escalation: Angel Wings".


title: Cream Lemon

text: A romantic live action movie titled "Cream Lemon", loosely based on the "Ami" series, was released in Japanese theaters on September 25, 2004. It was directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, with Chiharu Muraishi as Ami and Kenji Mizuhashi as Hiroshi.


title: Cream Lemon

text: A nine-episode erotic V-Cinema (direct-to-video) series, "Cream Lemon Label", focusing on forbidden brother-sister relationships, was released from September 16, 2005 to March 28, 2008, with the last episode also being released in theaters on February 23, 2008.


title: Cream Lemon

text: Green Bunny distributed the "Cream Lemon" OVAs across eighteen DVD sets from October 25, 1999 to August 25, 2000. AMG Entertainment released a single DVD box set on April 20, 2007.


title: Plane wave

text: In physics, a plane wave is a special case of wave or field: a physical quantity whose value, at any moment, is constant through any plane that is perpendicular to a fixed direction in space.


title: Plane wave

text: For any position formula_1 in space and any time formula_2, the value of such a field can be written as


title: Plane wave

text: where formula_4 is a unit-length vector, and formula_5 is a function that gives the field's value as dependent on only two real parameters: the time formula_2, and the scalar-valued displacement formula_7 of the point formula_1 along the direction formula_4. The displacement is constant over each plane perpendicular to formula_4.


title: Plane wave

text: The values of the field formula_11 may be scalars, vectors, or any other physical or mathematical quantity. They can be complex numbers, as in a complex exponential plane wave.


title: Plane wave

text: When the values of formula_11 are vectors, the wave is said to be a longitudinal wave if the vectors are always collinear with the vector formula_4, and a transverse wave if they are always orthogonal (perpendicular) to it.


title: Plane wave

text: Often the term "plane wave" refers specifically to a traveling plane wave, whose evolution in time can be described as simple translation of the field at a constant wave speed formula_14 along the direction perpendicular to the wavefronts. Such a field can be written as


title: Plane wave

text: where formula_16 is now a function of a single real parameter formula_17, that describes the "profile" of the wave, namely the value of the field at time formula_18, for each displacement formula_7. In that case, formula_4 is called the direction of propagation. For each displacement formula_21, the moving plane perpendicular to formula_4 at distance formula_23 from the origin is called a "wavefront". This plane travels along the direction of propagation formula_4 with velocity formula_14; and the value of the field is then the same, and constant in time, at every one of its points.


title: Plane wave

text: The term is also used, even more specifically, to mean a "monochromatic" or sinusoidal plane wave: a travelling plane wave whose profile formula_16is a sinusoidal function. That is,


title: Plane wave

text: The parameter formula_28, which may be a scalar or a vector, is called the amplitude of the wave; the scalar coefficient formula_29 is its "spatial frequency"; and the scalar formula_30 is its "phase".


title: Plane wave

text: A true plane wave cannot physically exist, because it would have to fill all space. Nevertheless, the plane wave model is important and widely used in physics. The waves emitted by any source with finite extent into a large homogeneous region of space can be well approximated by plane waves when viewed over any part of that region that is sufficiently small compared to its distance from the source. That is the case, for example, of the light waves from a distant star that arrive at a telescope.


title: Plane wave

text: A standing wave is a field whose value can be expressed as the product of two functions, one depending only on position, the other only on time. A plane standing wave, in particular, can be expressed as


title: Plane wave

text: where formula_32 is a function of one scalar parameter (the displacement formula_7) with scalar or vector values, and formula_34 is a scalar function of time.


title: Plane wave

text: This representation is not unique, since the same field values are obtained if formula_34 and formula_32 are scaled by reciprocal factors. If formula_37 is bounded in the time interval of interest (which is usually the case in physical contexts), formula_34 and formula_32 can be scaled so that the maximum value of formula_37 is 1. Then formula_41 will be the maximum field magnitude seen at the point formula_1.


title: Plane wave

text: A plane wave can be studied by ignoring the directions perpendicular to the direction vector formula_4; that is, by considering the function formula_44 as a wave in a one-dimensional medium.


title: Plane wave

text: Any local operator, linear or not, applied to a plane wave yields a plane wave. Any linear combination of plane waves with the same normal vector formula_4 is also a plane wave.


title: Plane wave

text: For a scalar plane wave in two or three dimensions, the gradient of the field is always collinear with the direction formula_4; specifically, formula_47, where formula_48 is the partial derivative of formula_32 with respect to the first argument.


title: Plane wave

text: The divergence of a vector-valued plane wave depends only on the projection of the vector formula_5 in the direction formula_4. Specifically,


title: Classes of supply

text: The United States Army divides supplies into ten numerically identifiable classes of supply. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) uses only the first five, for which NATO allies have agreed to share a common nomenclature with each other based on a NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG). A common naming convention is reflective of the necessity for interoperability and mutual logistical support.


title: Classes of supply

text: Class VI is usually associated with the liquor store on a U.S. military base, typically a U.S. Army or U.S. Air Force installation.


title: President of Austria

text: The president of Austria () is the head of state of the Republic of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the Constitution, in practice the president is largely a ceremonial and symbolic figurehead.


title: President of Austria

text: The office of the president was established in 1920 following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Habsburg monarchy in 1918. As head of state, the president succeeded the chair of the Constituent Assembly, the post-monarchic provisional legislature. Originally intended to be chosen directly by the Austrian people through universal suffrage every six years, the president was instead appointed by the legislative Federal Assembly until 1951, when Theodor Körner became the first popularly-elected president. Since the institution of the popular vote, only nominees of the Social Democratic Party and the People's Party had been elected to the presidency, with the exception of the Green-endorsed incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen.


title: President of Austria

text: The president appoints the chancellor, the vice chancellor, the ministers, the secretaries of state, and the justices of the Supreme Courts. The president can also remove the chancellor and the Cabinet at any time. Additionally, the president signs bills into law and is empowered to dissolve the National Council and the state legislatures, sign treaties with foreign countries, rule by emergency decree, and command the Armed Forces. However, most of these presidential powers have never been applied. Furthermore, the president ranks first in Austria's order of precedence, ahead of the presidium of the National Council and the chancellor.


title: President of Austria

text: The principal residence and workplace of the president is the Leopoldine Wing of the Hofburg Imperial Palace, situated in Vienna.


title: President of Austria

text: Prior to the collapse of the multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire towards the end of World War I, what now is the Republic of Austria had been part of a monarchy with an emperor as its head of state and chief executive. The empire noticeably began to fracture in late 1917 and manifestly disintegrated into a number of independent rump states over the course of the following year.


title: President of Austria

text: As the emperor had grown practically powerless, the members of the lower chamber of the Imperial Council – representing Cisleithania, the empire's ethnically German provinces – formed a Provisional National Assembly for their paralyzed country on 21 October 1918. The National Assembly appointed three coequal chairmen, one of them being Karl Seitz, and established a State Council to administer the executive branch.


title: President of Austria

text: On 11 November, Emperor Charles I dissolved the Imperial Cabinet and officially renounced any participation in government affairs but did not abdicate, seeing this move only as a temporary break from his rule. However, the next day, the National Assembly proclaimed the Republic of German-Austria, thus effectively ending the monarchy. The State Council assumed the remaining powers and responsibilities of the emperor that day, while the three assembly chairmen – as chairmen of the State Council – became the country's collective head of state.


title: President of Austria

text: On 4 March 1919, the Constituent National Assembly, the first parliament to be elected by universal suffrage, convened and named Seitz its chairman a day later. The National Assembly disbanded the State Council on 15 March – hence Seitz became the sole head of state – and began drafting a new Constitution the same year. The Christian Social Party advocated for creating a presidency with comprehensive executive powers, similar to those of the president of the Weimar Republic. However, the Social Democratic Worker's Party, fearing that such a president would become a "substitute emperor", favored reverting to a parliamentary presidium acting as collective head of state. In the end, the framers of the Constitution opted for a presidency that is separate from the legislature but bears not even nominal authority.


title: President of Austria

text: On 1 October, the Federal Constitutional Law, the centerpiece of the new Constitution, was ratified by the National Assembly and on 10 November, it became effective, making Seitz president of Austria in all but name. The new Constitution established that president is to be elected by the Federal Assembly, a joint session of both houses of the now-bicameral Parliament. On 9 December 1920, the Federal Assembly elected Michael Hainisch to become the first president of Austria.


title: President of Austria

text: The parliamentary system erected by the new Constitution was highly unpopular. This led to surging support for the authoritarian and paramilitary "Heimwehr" movement, which preferred a system granting substantially more powers to the president. On 7 December 1929, under growing pressure from the "Heimwehr", the Constitution was amended to give the president sweeping executive and legislative authority. Although most of these powers were to be exercised through the ministers, on paper the president now had powers equivalent to those of presidents in presidential systems. It also called for the office to be elected by popular vote and expanded the president's term to six years. The first election was scheduled for 1934. However, owing to the financial ramifications of the Great Depression, all parties agreed to suspend the election in favor of having Wilhelm Miklas reelected by the Federal Assembly.


title: President of Austria

text: Three years later, Engelbert Dollfuss and the Fatherland Front tore down Austrian parliamentarism altogether, formally annulling the Constitution on 1 May 1934. It was replaced by an authoritarian and corporatist system of government that concentrated power in the hands of the chancellor, not the president. Miklas was stripped of the authority he had gained in 1929, but agreed to act as a figurehead for the sake of institutional continuity anyway. He was not entirely powerless, however; during the "Anschluss" crisis, he provided some of the stiffest resistance to Nazi demands. He technically remained in office until 13 March 1938, the day Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany and thus lost its sovereignty.


title: President of Austria

text: When Austria re-established itself as an independent state on 27 April 1945, the party leaders forming the provisional government decided not to write a new Constitution, instead restoring that of 1920, as amended in 1929. Even though this revision was still somewhat controversial at that point, it was part of Austria's most recent constitutional framework, giving it at least some much-needed form of democratic legitimacy. The party leaders were also afraid that lengthy discussion might provoke the Red Army, then in control of Vienna, to barge in and impose Communist rule. The Constitution thus reenacted, effective 1 May, therefore still entailed the provision calling for popular election of the president. Following the November 1945 legislative election, however, the Federal Assembly temporarily suspended this provision and installed Karl Renner as the president of Austria as of 20 December. The suspension in question seemed to have been motivated mainly by a lack of money; no attempt was ever made to prolong it, and Renner had already been the universally accepted, "de facto" head of state anyway. Starting with the 1951 election of Renner's successor Theodor Körner, all presidents have in fact been elected by the people.


title: President of Austria

text: Since the restoration of the republic, presidents have taken an increasingly passive role in day-to-day politics and are scarcely ever the focus of the press, except during presidential elections and political upheavals. A notable exception was Kurt Waldheim, who became the subject of domestic and international controversy, after his service in the armed forces of Nazi Germany and paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party garnered widespread public attention. Another exception was Thomas Klestil, who attempted to assume a far more active political role; he called for the grand coalition to remain in power and demanded to represent Austria in the European Council but ultimately failed on both counts. Alexander Van der Bellen (generally associated with the Green Party) became the first president not affiliated with either of the two dominant parties – the Social Democratic Party and the People's Party – and the first president to dismiss a chancellor as well as an entire Cabinet as a result of a parliamentary ouster.


title: President of Austria

text: The president of Austria is elected by popular vote for a term of six years and is limited to two consecutive terms of office. Voting is open to all people entitled to vote in general parliamentary elections, which in practice means that suffrage is universal for all Austrian citizens over the age of sixteen that have not been convicted of a jail term of more than one year of imprisonment. (Even so, they regain the right to vote six months after their release from prison.)


title: President of Austria

text: Until 1 October 2011, with the exception of members of any ruling or formerly ruling dynastic houses (a measure of precaution against monarchist subversion, and primarily aimed at members of the House of Habsburg), anyone entitled to vote in elections to the National Council who is at least 35 years of age is eligible for the office of president. The exception of ruling or formerly ruling dynasties has been abolished meanwhile within the "Wahlrechtsänderungsgesetz 2011" (Amendment of the law on the right to vote 2011) due to an initiative by Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen.


title: President of Austria

text: The president is elected under the two-round system. This means that if no candidate receives an absolute majority (i.e. more than 50%) of valid votes cast in the first round, then a second ballot occurs in which only those two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round may stand. However, the constitution also provides that the group that nominates one of these two candidates may instead nominate an alternative candidate in the second round. If there is only one candidate standing in a presidential election then the electorate is granted the opportunity to either accept or reject the candidate in a referendum.


title: President of Austria

text: Article 62 of the Austrian Constitution provides that the president must take the following oath or affirmation of office in the presence of the Federal Assembly (although the addition of a religious asseveration is admissible):


title: President of Austria

text: The presidency as well as its powers and duties are established by the Federal Constitutional Law, while certain additional powers may be created by statutory law, judicial interpretation, convention or precedent.


title: President of Austria

text: The president appoints the chancellor, the vice chancellor, and the ministers, which collectively form the Cabinet of Austria.<ref name="https://www.jusline.at/gesetz/b-vg/paragraf/artikel70"></ref><ref name="https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10000138&FassungVom=2020-09-28&Artikel=70"></ref>Statutory law


title: President of Austria

text: A new National Council, the powerful lower chamber of Parliament, is elected at least every five years by universal suffrage. Following such an election the president conventionally charges the chancellor candidate of the party that won either an absolute majority or a plurality of seats with the formation of a new Cabinet. Theoretically, the president could appoint any adult citizen (with some minor constraints) chancellor of Austria. However, the National Council can adopt a motion of no confidence against the chancellor, a minister, or the entire Cabinet at any time, thus substantially limiting the president's actual options.


title: President of Austria

text: If the winning party did not receive an absolute majority (the common electoral outcome since 1983), the victor will search for a junior coalition partner, to create a politically stable Cabinet that commands the support of the National Council. This process will kick off with a series of rather brief "exploratory discussions" ("Sondierungsgespräche") with all parties, which usually lasts several weeks. During this time, the victor will commonly look out for the party that demands the least ministerial posts and is the most willing to compromise. The victor will subsequently enter more serious and comprehensive "coalition negotiations" ("Koalitionsverhandlungen") with that party, a process usually lasting several months. During the coalition negotiations, both parties most produce a cabinet agenda ("Regierungsprogramm"), a coalition contract ("Koalitionsvertrag"), and a ministers' list ("Ministerliste"), which defines the Cabinet's composition; the victor commonly claims the chancellorship, while leader of the junior coalition party commonly asserts the vice chancellorship and an additional ministerial position.


title: President of Austria

text: The list is then introduced to the president, who can either accept or reject it. If the president accepts, the new Cabinet will be appointed and officially sworn in at an inauguration ceremony about a week later. If the president rejects the list, there are several possibilities; the president asks the victor to rewrite the list and/or omit certain nominees, the president strips the victor of their responsibility to form a Cabinet and charges someone else, or the president calls a new legislative election.


title: President of Austria

text: So far, there have only been three cases where a president refused to appoint a Cabinet nominee; Karl Renner denied to re-appoint a minister suspected of corruption, Theodor Körner dismissed the call of Chancellor Leopold Figl to appoint a Cabinet with the participation of the far-right Federation of Independents, Thomas Klestil declined to appoint a ministerial nominee involved in criminal proceedings and a ministerial nominee who had made frequent extremist and xenophobic statements.


title: President of Austria

text: The president can dismiss the chancellor or the entire Cabinet at any time, such at will. However, individual Cabinet members can only be dismissed by the president on the advice of the chancellor. So far, the dismissal of an entire Cabinet against its will has never occurred. President Wilhelm Miklas did not make use of this power when Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß absolished the Constitution to establish the dictatorial Federal State of Austria.


title: President of Austria

text: The removal of a minister against their will occurred only once, when Chancellor Sebastian Kurz asked President Alexander Van der Bellen to remove Interior Minister Herbert Kickl. Ensuing the Ibiza affair and a likely collapse of the Cabinet, Kickl swiftly appointed Peter Goldgruber – with whom he had close ties – to the office of director general for the Public Security, which would have indefinitely granted him direct operational control over the vast majority of Austrian law enforcement agencies. President Alexander Van der Bellen refused to assent Goldgruber's appointment – following a convention to avoid high-level appointments during transition periods – thus preventing him from taking office.


title: President of Austria

text: From the official and legal point of view, the president appoints all officers of the federal government, not just the members of Cabinet and the justices of the supreme courts. This includes all military officers and soldiers, all judges, as well as all ordinary functionaries and bureaucrats. In practice however, this power of appointment is delegated to the ministers and their subordinates, although the highest-ranking officers of government are always personally appointed by the president.


title: President of Austria

text: Because the governors of the states do not only serve as the chief executives of their respective state but also as the chief representatives of the federal government within that state, the president swears in all governors, following their election by the state diet.


title: President of Austria

text: As state notary of Austria, the president signs bills into law. Signing bills into law is a constitutionally mandated duty of the president and not a discretionary power; it is not comparable with the presidential veto in the United States or the Royal Assent in the United Kingdom. In their capacity as state notary, the president scrutinises the constitutionality of the lawmaking process undertaken to enact a piece of legislation. If the president finds the bill to have been crafted in an unconstitutional way, the president is compelled to deny their signature, which strikes down the piece of legislation. All bills on federal level, no matter if they affect statutory or even constitutional law, must be signed by the president to take effect.


title: President of Austria

text: The president generally does not verify if an enacted statute complies with constitutional law; that is subject to the Constitutional Court, once the statute becomes effective and is legally challenged. Judicial interpretations regarding the scrutiny extent of this presidential responsibility have varied, with some arguing that the president may deny signature if provisions of an enacted statute are "undoubtedly" unconstitutional. President Heinz Fischer established a precedent for that, by refusing to sign a statute – containing retrospective criminal provisions – into law; this remains the only time a president has denied signature.


title: President of Austria

text: Once a bill is introduced in Parliament, it must pass the National Council with the requisite quorums and be approved by the Federal Council to become 'enacted'. After its enactment the bill is forwarded to the chancellor, who submits it to the president. The president then signs the bill into law (if it has been enacted in accordance with constitutional requirements). The chancellor subsequently countersigns and then promulgates the bill in the federal law gazette, ultimately rendering it effective.


title: President of Austria

text: If the president refuses to sign any or particular bills into law – that are not in obvious or direct violation of the Constitution – the president may be impeached by the Federal Assembly before the Constitutional Court and subsequently removed from office through conviction for failing their constitutional responsibilities.


title: President of Austria

text: The president may dissolve the National Council at the request of Cabinet, but only once for the same reason. The legal consequences of a dissolution of the National Council by the president differ from those of a parliamentary self-dissolution. If the president terminates the legislative period, the National Council is immediately dissolved and thereby incapacitated. However, the Standing Subcommittee of the National Council's Principal Committee remains as an emergency body until the newly-elected National Council convenes. Prior to that, the president may issue emergency decrees on the request of the Cabinet and with the consent of the Standing Subcommittee of the Principal Committee. In the case of self-dissolution, the old National Council keeps meeting until a new one is elected.


title: President of Austria

text: So far, only President Wilhelm Miklas has made use of this power, after the Christian Social Party had lost its coalition partner and thus a majority in Parliament.


title: President of Austria

text: The president can dissolve every state diet at the request of Cabinet and with the consent of the Federal Council. However, the president may only do so once for the same reason; as with the dissolution of the National Council. The Federal Council must agree to the dissolution by a two-thirds majority. The delegation of the state whose diet is to be dissolved, may not partake in the vote.


title: President of Austria

text: The dissolution of a state diet is viewed as an encroachment on federalism, as the national government directly intervenes into state affairs. Like with the presidential dissolution of the National Council, a dissolved state diet is considered incapacitated until after a new election. This power has never been applied by any president yet.


title: President of Austria

text: The president is authorized to rule by emergency decree in times of crisis. The Constitution states as follow:


title: President of Austria

text: Such emergency decrees do not affect the Constitution – which chiefly consists of the Federal Constitutional Law and the Basic Human Rights – as well as any other important legal provision. As soon as the National Council is in session again, it is ought to immediately approve or invalidate active emergency decrees. The power to rule by decree has never been applied yet.


title: President of Austria

text: The president is entrusted with the enforcement of findings of fact of the Constitutional Court, when such enforcement is not subject to ordinary courts. The request for enforcement is submitted to the president by the Court itself. The Constitution provides the president with extensive enforcement powers. Enforcement jurisdiction can comprise state and federal authorities (this includes the Armed Forces and law enforcement) as well as a state or the republic in its entirety. When wielding enforcement rights, the president obtains direct operational control over the authorities concerned. If a federal authority or the republic as a whole are affected, the president does not require countersignature.


title: President of Austria

text: The president appoints the president, the vice president, the six further justices, and the three substitute justices of the Constitutional Court on the nomination of Cabinet; additionally, the president appoints three justices and two substitute justices on the nomination of the National Council and three justices and one substitute justice on the nomination of the Federal Council. The president also appoints the president, the two vice presidents, the 14 presiding justices, and the 43 further justices of the Supreme Court of Justice; as well as the president, the vice president, the presiding justices, and the further justices of the Supreme Administrative Court on the nomination of Cabinet, of which all members expect the president and vice president are recommended to Cabinet by the Court itself.


title: President of Austria

text: The president is the chief diplomat of Austria and may negotiate and sign treaties with foreign countries; some treaties require the assent of the National Council.<ref name="https://www.jusline.at/gesetz/b-vg/paragraf/artikel65"></ref><ref name="https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10000138&FassungVom=2020-09-28&Artikel=65"></ref>


title: President of Austria

text: When Austria joined the European Union, President Thomas Klestil and Chancellor Franz Vranitzky had a disagreement on who would represent Austria in the European Council. Ultimately, the chancellor's point of view prevailed, mainly due to legal and practical reasons. However, President Klestil argued that he had only delegated this power of representation to the chancellor.


title: President of Austria

text: The president is the commander-in-chief of the Austrian Armed Forces. While there is no clear juridical or scholarly consensus on the exact constitutional meaning and extent of this power, the majority of legal scholars believe that the president may, in this capacity, exercise ultimate operational direction over the Armed Forces.


title: President of Austria

text: Article 80 of the Constitution establishes how the military is to be governed. Clause 1 of that article states "the President shall have Supreme Authority over the Armed Forces", Clause 2 that "if not the President bears disposal authority, the [Minister of Defense] shall have disposal authority within a scope of responsibility defined by the Cabinet", and Clause 3 that "command authority over the military shall be vested in the [Minister of Defense]".


title: President of Austria

text: The Constitution hence distinguishes between three different types of military authority: "command authority" ("Befehlsgewalt"), the power to issue verbal or written directives; "disposal authority" ("Verfügungsgewalt"), the power to define the organization, tasks, and missions of the Armed Forces or individual military units; and "supreme authority" ("Oberbefehl"). The latter one – which Clause 1 vests in the presidency – has particularly been ambiguous and inconclusive.


title: President of Austria

text: As no president has ever made use of this power, precedents were never established. Day-to-day military operations are administered by the minister of defense, who is widely seen as "de facto" commander-in-chief, while defense policy and key decisions are made by the Cabinet as a whole.


title: President of Austria

text: As commander-in-chief, the president succeeds the emperor of Austria in his capacity as supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian military. Following the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, the Principal Committee of the newly established National Council began serving as the main decision-making body of the Armed Forces. In 1929, the Christian Social Party transferred supreme military authority from the Principal Committee to the president.


title: President of Austria

text: The president has various additional powers and duties, which are typically vested in a head of state. These include, for example, the creation and conferment of honorary and professional titles, and the basically meaningless right to legitimise illegitimate children at the request of their parents. Another power is the bestowal of the "Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae", a golden ring serving as the highest possible distinction and decoration for doctoral students with the most extraordinary credentials. Furthermore, the president is empowered to strike down criminal cases ("right of abolition") and to grant pardons and commutations. According to case law of the Constitutional Court, presidential pardons do not only void the sentence but also undo the conviction.


title: President of Austria

text: The president enjoys full sovereign immunity from any type of official prosecution, including civil suit and criminal prosecution. The president may only be prosecuted with the explicit consent of the Federal Assembly. If a government authority intends to prosecute the president, it must refer a request for extradition to the National Council. If the National Council approves, the chancellor must convene the Federal Assembly, which will then decide over the request for extradition.


title: President of Austria

text: The ordinary way of removing a sitting president from office would be through popular deposition. Since the president is elected by the people, the people also have the power to remove the president again through a plebiscite.


title: President of Austria

text: Popular deposition commences with an act of the National Council requesting the convocation of the Federal Assembly. Such a resolution of the National Council is passed with a supermajority, meaning it requires the same quorums as when amending constitutional law; the attendance of at least half of the members of the National Council and a successful two-thirds vote. If passed, the president is automatically unable to "further exercise the powers and duties of the presidency" and thereby deprived of all authority, the chancellor in turn, is required to immediately call a session of the Federal Assembly. Once convened, the Federal Assembly then considers and decides over the National Council's request of administering a plebiscite.


title: President of Austria

text: If a plebiscite is conducted and turns out successful, the president is removed from office. However, if the plebiscite fails the Constitution treats it as a new legislative election, which triggers the immediate and automatic dissolution of the National Council; even in such a case, the president's term of office may not exceed twelve years in total.


title: President of Austria

text: The president can be impeached before the Constitutional Court by the Federal Assembly for violating constitutional law. This process is triggered by either a resolution of the National Council or the Federal Council. Upon the passage of such a resolution, the chancellor is required to call a session of the Federal Assembly, which then considers the impeachment of the president. A supermajority is needed to impeach the president, meaning the attendance of at least half of the members of the National Council and the Federal Council as well as a successful two-thirds vote are required.


title: President of Austria

text: If the Federal Assembly decides to impeach the president, it acts as the plaintiff before the Constitutional Court. If the Court convicts the president of having breached constitutional law, the president is automatically removed from office. Conversely, if the Court finds the president to have committed a minor offense, the president remains in office and is merely reprimanded.


title: President of Austria

text: The Constitution of Austria makes no provisions for an office of vice president. Should the president become temporarily incapacitated – undergoes surgery, becomes severely ill, or visits a foreign country (excluding EU member states) – presidential powers and duties devolve upon the chancellor for a period of twenty days, although the chancellor does not become "acting president" during that time.


title: President of Austria

text: The powers and duties of the presidency devolve upon the Presidium of the National Council in the following three cases:


title: President of Austria

text: When exercising the powers and duties of the presidency, the three presiding officers of the National Council – forming the Presidium – act collectively as a collegiate body. If votes are divided equally, the higher-ranking presiding officer's vote takes precedence.