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Miffy

Miffy (Nijntje, pronounced ) is a fictional rabbit appearing in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. The original Dutch name, "nijntje", is a shortening of the diminutive konijntje, "little rabbit".

The first Miffy book was produced in 1953 and almost thirty others have followed. In total they have sold over 100 million copies. In addition, four separate television series as well as items such as clothes and toys featuring the character followed. On 30 January 2013, a feature-length film, Miffy the Movie, was released in theaters and stars Eva Poppink in the title role.

Four television series based on the character have been produced: Dick Bruna's Miffy Storybook Classics from 1984; Miffy: Colors, Numbers, and Shapes from 1996; Miffy and Friends from 2003; and Miffy's Adventures Big and Small from 2015.

History
Miffy was created in 1953 after Bruna had been telling his one-year-old son, Sierk, stories about a little rabbit they had seen earlier in the dunes, while on holiday at Egmond aan Zee. Miffy became a female after Bruna decided that he wanted to draw a dress and not trousers on his rabbit. Depending on the story, Miffy can range in age from being a baby to being four years old.

At first Miffy looked like a toy animal with floppy ears, but by 1963, her design was changed to her current incarnation, a stylized form of a rabbit. Miffy is drawn in a graphic style, with minimalist black graphic lines. Bruna chose to only use black, white, the primary colours (red, yellow, and blue), green, orange, brown, and grey. It is his use of primarily primary colors that makes Miffy instantly recognisable, and also popular with preschoolers, because of her bright and intense simplistic colours.

Almost 32 Miffy titles have been published and many more for the other characters. Bruna has produced a total of 124 picture books for children. The Miffy books each contain twelve pages of story. Each page has one illustration and four lines of verse, the last word of the second line rhymes with the last of the fourth. They are written about things that children can understand, and situations they will face such as going to the hospital and going to school, and they always have a happy ending. Some books have no text at all, such as Miffy's Dream.

The books are printed in small format. Bruna considers it important that his audience feels that his books are there for them, not for their parents. Most Miffy books have an advisory reading level of age four to eight years.

Bruna's books have been translated into more than 50 different languages, and over 85 million copies have been sold all over the world. It is also translated in dialects, including in Zeelandic by Engel Reinhoudt. Dick Bruna has won many awards for his books, such as the Golden Brush in 1990, for Boris Bear and the Silver Brush for Miffy In The Tent in 1996. In 1997, he was awarded the Silver Slate for Dear Grandma Bunny, a book where Miffy's grandmother was sick and died.

The other characters that appear in the books are her family: Miffy's parents, her Grandma and Grandpa, her Auntie Alice, and 'Uncle Bob,' a family friend, who appears in Miffy Goes Flying. A new brother or sister for Miffy is introduced in Miffy And The New Baby. She also has many friends, Boris and Barbara Bear, who first appeared in 1989 and are boyfriend and girlfriend, Poppy Pig, who appeared in 1977, and her niece Grunty, Snuffy, who appeared in 1969, and other bunnies such as Aggie and Melanie.

In the early 1990s, an image of Miffy holding an adjustable spanner coyly behind her back appeared on flyers produced by people taking direct action against the UK government's road building program. This unauthorised use of the character spread and Miffy became a mascot for groups involved in radical ecological direct action.

Miffy appeared in her first TV show in 1984, called Dick Bruna's Miffy Storybook Classics: The Original Series. Directed by veteran animator Gene Deitch, each episode was traditionally animated and ran for approximately five minutes. The show aired in the Netherlands on KRO, in the United Kingdom on ITV, in Canada on TVOntario in Australia on ABC, and in the USA on Cartoon Network's Small World block with VHS releases from Geneon USA, episodes of the show were later included as Bonus Features on Miffy and Friends DVDs.

From 2003 to 2007, Miffy and Friends aired on children's television channels such as Treehouse in Canada, and Noggin in the USA. The show added several new characters, such as Melanie's African family and the family of Boris' and Barbara's common cousin, Umik. The series was produced by Pedri Animation BV, a Dutch stop-motion animation company. It was voiced simply by a feminine storytelling narrator.

Miffy is sometimes assumed to be a Japanese character, because Sanrio's Hello Kitty, introduced in 1974, is rendered using a similar line style. The Miffy brand is popular in Japan, with strong sales of Japanese-made Miffy merchandise. In an interview for The Daily Telegraph, Bruna expressed his dislike for Hello Kitty. "'That,' he says darkly, 'is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, "No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself". In 1999, Miffy was the ninth top-selling character in Japan, where licensed merchandise sold ¥billion (US$million).

In addition, on 26 August 2010, Mercis BV, representing Bruna, brought suit against Sanrio with the claim that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy. On 2 November 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. On 7 June 2011, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis reached an out-of-court settlement requiring Sanrio to halt production of merchandise that features Cathy. Instead of continuing the court battle, the two companies announced that they would donate the legal fees to help the earthquake victims.

In Bruna's hometown, Utrecht, there is a square named after nijntje, the Nijntjepleintje (lit: Little Nijntje Square, to retain the rhyme) and in 2006, the Centraal Museum opened a permanent exhibition, the dick bruna huis (Dick Bruna house).

Miffy celebrated her fiftieth birthday in 2005. This was marked in cities across the globe, for example, at the Manchester Art Gallery in England. She also serves a "celebrity character spokesperson" for UNICEF.

Miffy's namesakes include a new species of booklouse from Peru. The insect was given the scientific name Trichadenotecnum miffy in 2008, because its epiproct, an appendage on its abdomen, resembles a small rabbit.

In July 2014, Bruna announced his retirement; the rights to the Miffy character are not sold.

Miffy's Adventures Big and Small premiered 2 October 2015. It currently has a total of six seasons. It airs on the Nick Jr. Channel in the USA.

On 16 February 2017, Dick Bruna died at the age of 89.

In 2021, Miffy collaborated with Converse to capsule menswear collection in the Netherlands to celebrate the creator of Miffy, Dick Bruna.

In December 2022, Tommy Hilfiger announced its new collection with Miffy as the main attraction for the new partnership in celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit.

In October 2023, the fifth series was announced and will premiere in 2025 on Canal+ in France. It will be produced by StudioCanal, Mercis and Superprod Animation. This series will also feature the debut of Miffy's younger brother, Bun.

Help in locating child sex offender
It was images of Miffy that helped Dutch police track down sex offender Roberts Mikelson in the Amsterdam sex crimes case. The police had been alerted following a December 2010 broadcast in the Netherlands on the television show Opsporing Verzocht ("Investigation Requested") of images originating from the United States of Mikelson and an unnamed child with a stuffed toy known as Miffy. As Miffy is originally a Dutch product, the investigators suspected the child to be Dutch. After the boy's grandfather realized the boy was his grandson, the police were directed to the child's sitter, Robert Mikelson.

Characters

 * Miffy: Miffy is a little girl rabbit. She likes to draw and play with her friends.
 * Miffy's school friends: Miffy has made many friends at school.
 * Dan: A new boy in Miffy's class. He sits next to Miffy at school. He has a floppy ear.
 * Uncle Pilot: Miffy's uncle is Father Bunny's brother. He has his own airplane.
 * Father and Mother Bunny: Father and Mother Bunny live in a little white house with a red roof. They often take Miffy to the zoo, the playground, or the museum.
 * Grandpa and Grandma Bunny: Grandpa and Grandma Bunny are Father Bunny's parents. They often go and visit Miffy.
 * Auntie Alice: Auntie Alice is Father Bunny's sister. She loves making music.
 * The New Baby: The new baby is still a tiny baby.
 * Melanie: Melanie is Miffy's pen friend.
 * Snuffy: Snuffy is a female dog. She has three puppies.
 * Boris Bear: Boris Bear lives in the little wooden house near the woods with his girlfriend, Barbara.
 * Barbara Bear: Barbara Bear is Boris Bear's girlfriend.
 * Poppy Pig: Poppy Pig lives in a lovely little house with little plants beneath the windows.
 * Grunty: Grunty is Poppy Pig's niece.
 * Farmer John(Human): He is a human character in this series.
 * Farmer John(Bunny): He is a brown bunny, and a farmer.
 * Lottie: Lottie is a little girl in a wheelchair.

Miffy storybooks
From Dick Bruna, Linders J, Sierman K, de Wijs I and Vrooland-Löb T. Wanders Publishers, Zwolle, 2006. (English) ISBN 90-400-8342-8 (Dutch) ISBN 90-400-9106-4

 * 1953 Miffy, Miffy at the Zoo (first version of Miffy)
 * 1963 Miffy, Miffy at the Zoo, Miffy in the Snow, Miffy at the Seaside
 * 1969 Snuffy, Snuffy and the Fire
 * 1970 Miffy Goes Flying, Miffy's Birthday
 * 1975 Miffy at the Playground, Miffy in Hospital
 * 1977 Poppy Pig, Poppy Pig's Garden
 * 1979 Miffy's Dream
 * 1980 Poppy Pig Goes to Market
 * 1982 Farmer John, Miffy's Bicycle
 * 1984 Miffy at School
 * 1986 Through the year with Boris Bear, Poppy Pig's Birthday, Snuffy's Puppies
 * 1988 Miffy Goes to Visit/Miffy goes to stay/Miffy on a visit, Grandpa and Grandma Bunny/Grandpa and Grandma Rabbit
 * 1989 Boris Bear, Boris and Barbara, ''Boris on the hill/Boris on the mountain
 * 1990 Lottie, Miffy is Crying/Why Miffy Cried, Miffy's House
 * 1992 Auntie Alice's Party/The Party of auntie Alice
 * 1994 Boris in the Snow, Boris, Barbara and benny, Poppy Pig is sick
 * 1995 Miffy in the Tent
 * 1997 Lieve Oma Pluis (Dutch)
 * 1996 Miffy at the Gallery
 * 1997 Miffy and Melanie
 * 1999 Miffy the Ghost, Miffy the Fairy
 * 2001 Miffy Dances
 * 2002 Miffy's Letter, The New Baby
 * 2003 Miffy's Garden
 * 2004 Miffy in Lolly Land, A Flute for Miffy
 * 2005 Hangoor (Flopear); in Dutch only
 * 2006 Queen Miffy
 * 2008 Nijntje en de seizoenen (Miffy and the Seasons), Nijntje is Stout (Miffy is Naughty); in Dutch only
 * 2009 Een cadeau voor Opa Pluis (A Gift for Grandpa Bunny); in Dutch only
 * 2014 Miffy on Holiday
 * 2015 Miffy and the Royal Baby; A Lift-the-Flap Book
 * 2017 Miffy is Naughty
 * 2018 Dear Grandma Bunny (English version of "Lieve Oma Pluis")

Published by Big Tent Entertainment
 * 2005 Miffy Loves New York City

Published by The Tate Gallery, London
 * 2007 Miffy the Artist

Published by Mercis Publishing bv Amsterdam & Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
 * 2019 Miffy x Rembrandt
 * 2023 Miffy x Vermeer

International broadcast

 * United States: Cartoon Network (1996), Noggin
 * The Netherlands: KRO
 * Germany: Super RTL (1995-2013) as part of Toggolino
 * United Kingdom: Sky Kids, Tiny Pop, ITV
 * Australia: ABC
 * Japan: NHK
 * Korean: EBS, Tooniverse

title: Miffy


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Tonya Harding

Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons when Tonya was 3 years old. Harding spent much of her early life training, eventually dropping out of high school to devote her time to the sport. After climbing the ranks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships between 1986 and 1989, Harding won the 1989 Skate America competition. She was the 1991 and 1994 U.S. champion, and 1991 World silver medalist. In 1991, she became the first American woman and the second woman in history (after Midori Ito) to successfully land a triple Axel in an international competition. Harding is a two-time Olympian and a two-time Skate America Champion.

In January 1994, Harding became embroiled in controversy when her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated an attack on her fellow U.S. skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. On March 16, 1994, Harding accepted a plea bargain in which she pled guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. As a result of her involvement in the aftermath of the assault, the United States Figure Skating Association banned her for life on June 30, 1994; she was stripped of her 1994 title.

From 2003 to 2004, Harding competed as a professional boxer. Her life has been the subject of many books, films, documentaries, and academic studies. In 2014, two television documentaries were made about Harding's life and skating career (Nancy & Tonya and The Price of Gold), inspiring Steven Rogers to write the film I, Tonya in 2017, for which Australian star Margot Robbie portrayed Harding (and also produced the film). In 2018, she was a contestant on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in third place. In 2019, she won season 16 of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition.

Early life

Tonya Maxene Harding was born November 12, 1970, in Portland, Oregon, to LaVona Golden (b. 1940) and Albert Harding (1933–2009). During Harding's youth, her father held various odd jobs (managed apartments, drove a truck, and worked at a bait & tackle store), yet was often underemployed due to poor health. She was raised in East Portland and began skating at age three, training with coach Diane Rawlinson. Harding also hunted, drag raced, and learned auto mechanics from her father. LaVona struggled to support the family while working as a waitress and hand-sewed her daughter's skating costumes to save money. Harding's parents divorced after 19 years of marriage in 1987, when she was 16. She dropped out of Milwaukie High School during her sophomore year to focus on skating; she earned a General Educational Development (GED) Certificate in 1988.

Harding claimed she was frequently abused by her mother. She stated that by the time she was seven years old, physical and psychological abuse had become a regular part of her life. LaVona admitted to one instance of hitting Harding at an ice rink. In January 2018, Harding's childhood friend and filmmaker, Sandra Luckow, spoke in defense of Harding's mother because she felt that the 2017 film I, Tonya stretched some truths about LaVona's character. Luckow said that although Harding's mother could be "egregious" towards her daughter, LaVona funded and appreciated Harding's skating lessons and had "a huge amount of humanity".

In Harding's 2008 authorized biography, The Tonya Tapes (written by Lynda D. Prouse from recorded interviews with Harding), she said she was the victim of acquaintance rape in 1991 and that her half-brother, Chris Davison, molested her on several occasions when she was a child. In 1986, Harding called the police after Davison had been sexually harassing and terrorizing her. He was arrested and spent a short time in prison. Harding said her parents were in denial about Davison's behavior and told her not to press criminal charges against him. Davison was killed in an unsolved vehicular hit-and-run accident in 1988. On May 3, 1994, during an interview with Rolonda Watts, Harding said that Davison was the only person in her life unworthy of forgiveness and "the only person I've ever hated."

Skating career
Harding trained as a figure skater throughout her youth with coach Diane Rawlinson. In the mid-1980s, she began working her way up the competitive skating ladder. She placed sixth at the 1986 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, fifth in 1987 and 1988, and third in 1989. After competing in the February 1989 Nationals Championship, Harding began training with Dody Teachman. She then won the October 1989 Skate America competition, and was considered a strong contender at the February 1990 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. However, she was experiencing the flu and asthma and had a poor free skate. After the original program, she dropped from second place and finished seventh. Harding's breakthrough year came in 1991 when, at the U.S. Championships, she completed her first triple Axel in competition on February 16 – the first American woman to do so. She landed seven triple jumps in the long program including the Axel. She won the 1991 U.S. Ladies' Singles title with the event's first 6.0 technical merit score since Janet Lynn's 1973 performance at the U.S. Championships. She won the long program when seven of the nine judges gave her first place. She scored eight 5.9s and one 6.0 for technical merit and six 5.9s, one 5.8, and two 5.7s for composition and style. At the March 1991 World Championships, she again completed the triple Axel. Harding would finish second behind Kristi Yamaguchi and in front of Nancy Kerrigan, marking the first time one country swept the ladies' medal podium at the World Figure Skating Championships.

At the September 1991 Skate America competition, Harding recorded three more firsts:
 * The first ever woman to complete a triple Axel in the short program
 * The first woman ever to successfully execute two triple Axels in a single competition
 * The first ever to complete a triple Axel in combination (with the double toe loop)

Despite these record-breaking performances, after 1991, Harding was never again able to successfully complete the triple Axel in competition; her competitive results began to decline. She and Dody Teachman had briefly parted ways in April 1991, but had reunited in June; Harding was still training under Teachman for the upcoming 1992 season. She placed third in the January 1992 U.S. Figure Skating Championships despite twisting her ankle during practice, and finished fourth in the February 1992 Winter Olympics. On March 1, 1992, Harding gave Teachman a summary dismissal and returned to Diane Rawlinson to be coached by her. On March 29, Harding placed sixth in the 1992 World Championships, although she had a better placement at the November 1992 Skate Canada International event finishing fourth.

In January 1994, Harding won the U.S. Championships, but was later stripped of her title: the USFSA disciplinary panel voted to vacate the title in June 1994, following an investigation of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. In February 1994, Harding was permitted to remain a member of the U.S. Olympic ice skating team, despite brief legal controversy. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, after an issue with a broken skate lace in the long program, she was given a re-skate by the judges and finished in eighth place, behind Oksana Baiul (gold) and Nancy Kerrigan (silver). Despite her USFSA ban, however, she did later compete at the professional level, placing second at the ESPN Pro Skating Championship in 1999.

Nancy Kerrigan
On January 6, 1994, one day before the U.S. Figure Skating Championship first Ladies' Singles competition, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in a corridor after a practice session at the Detroit Cobo Arena. The aftermath of the attack was recorded on a news camera and broadcast around the world. The assailant was Shane Stant, contracted to break her right knee; he turned himself in to the FBI in Phoenix on January 14. Stant and his uncle, Derrick Smith, were hired for this assault by Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard Shawn Eckardt. After failing to find Kerrigan in Massachusetts, Stant had taken a 20-hour bus trip to Detroit. Nancy Kerrigan was walking behind a curtain when Stant rushed behind her. Using both hands, he swung a 21-inch (53 cm) ASP telescopic baton at her right leg, striking above her knee. The attack was intended to seriously injure Kerrigan so that she could not compete in the Nationals (Kerrigan was the defending 1993 Champion) nor the Winter Olympics. Kerrigan's leg was not broken but severely bruised, forcing her to withdraw from the Championships and forgo competing to retain the U.S. Ladies' title. On January 8, Harding won the U.S. title; she and Kerrigan were then both selected for the 1994 Olympic team.

KOIN-TV interview, Eckardt and Smith arrests, USFSA comments
On January 11, Harding was interviewed for KOIN-TV in Portland, Oregon. Harding was asked whether someone she knew could have planned the attack. Harding replied, "I have definitely thought about it." Gillooly stood in her view behind the camera during the interview. The interview ended with Harding saying, "No one controls my life but me...if there's something in there that I don't like, I'm going to change it." Harding also confirmed she had spoken with FBI agents in Detroit and again in Portland. On January 13, Eckardt and Smith were arrested. On January 14, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) made a statement on whether Eckardt's arrest affected Harding's Olympic placement: "We will deal only with the facts." Harding's and Gillooly's separate lawyers confirmed the couple were in daily contact and cooperation with law enforcement. On January 15, Harding and Gillooly spoke with reporters, but declined to comment about the investigation. On January 16, Harding's lawyer held a press conference in which he read a statement denying Harding's involvement in the attack on Kerrigan. Harding left her home that evening to practice with her coaches, where she spoke with reporters and performed a triple Axel.

Harding's confession
On January 18, 1994, Harding was with her lawyers when she submitted to questioning by the DA and FBI. She was interviewed for over ten hours. Eight hours into the interview, her lawyer read a statement declaring her separation from Gillooly: "I continue to believe that Jeff is innocent of any wrongdoing. I wish him nothing but the best." Her full FBI transcript was released on February 1. The Seattle Times reported on the transcript, stating that Harding had "changed her story well into a long interview...After hours of denying any involvement in trying to cover up the plot, an FBI agent finally told [her] that he knew she had lied to him, that he would tell her exactly how she had lied to him." In the transcript's final passage, Harding stated "I hope everyone understands. I'm telling on someone I really care about. I know now [Jeff] is involved. I'm sorry." On January 19, Gillooly surrendered to the FBI. On January 20, Diane Sawyer asked Harding on Primetime about the case. Harding said she had done nothing wrong. On January 27, it was reported Gillooly had been testifying about the attack plot since January 26; possibly implicating Harding as allegedly assisting. Harding's close friend Stephanie Quintero, with whom she was living, spoke to reporters on her behalf: "[Tonya] was shocked, very hurt. She was believing in [Jeff]." Harding later held a press conference to read a prepared statement. She said she was sorry Kerrigan was attacked, that she respected Kerrigan, and claimed not to have known in advance of the plot to disable her. Harding took responsibility "for failing to report things [about the assault] when I returned home from Nationals [on January 10]. Failure to immediately report this information is not a crime." Many states' laws, including Oregon's, state that the act of concealing criminal knowledge alone is not a crime.

The attack on Kerrigan received a substantial amount of publicity, and news media crews camped outside Kerrigan's home. In January 1994, the story was on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and TIME. There was now much speculation about Harding's alleged involvement in the assault plot. Because Harding and Kerrigan would be representing the US in the February Lillehammer Olympics, speculation reached a media frenzy. Abby Haight and J.E. Vader, reporters for The Oregonian, wrote a biography of Harding called Fire on Ice, which included excerpts of her January 18 FBI interview.

Guilty pleas and sentencing of Gillooly, Eckardt, Stant, and Smith
On February 1, Gillooly's attorney negotiated a plea bargain in exchange for testimony regarding all involved parties in the attack. In July, he was sentenced to two years in prison and publicly apologized to Kerrigan – adding "any apology coming from me rings hollow." Gillooly and Eckardt pled guilty to racketeering; Stant and Smith (who drove the getaway car and funneled money) pled guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. Judge Donald Londer noted the attack could have injured Kerrigan more seriously. Eckardt died in 2007.

USFSA disciplinary panel
On February 5, the USFSA disciplinary panel stated there were reasonable grounds to believe Harding had violated the sport's code of ethics. Her admitted failure to report about an assault on a fellow competitor, supported by her FBI transcripts, led to Harding being formally charged with "[making] false statements about her knowledge." The USFSA recommended that she face a disciplinary hearing. Claire Ferguson, president of the USFSA, decided not to suspend Harding's membership before a hearing took place. If she had been suspended, she likely still would have competed at the Olympics after filing suit, seeking an injunction against the USFSA, and asserting her rights under the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. The panel examined evidence including the testimonies of Stant and Smith, Harding's and Gillooly's telephone records, and notes found in a Portland saloon trash bin on January 30. Harding was given 30 days to respond.

Harding and Connie Chung travel to Norway
News media began attending Harding's Portland practices; also filming her on February 7, running barefoot to stop a tow truck from hauling her illegally parked vehicle. On February 10, Connie Chung interviewed Harding. When asked about Gillooly, Harding said: "I never did anything to hurt [Jeff]. If I ever did anything, it was to stick up for him and protect him." Chung also negotiated to fly on the same airplane with Harding to Oslo, leaving on February 15. Chung admitted she would not have travelled to Norway were it not for the scandal.

Kerrigan and Harding share ice; Harding finishes eighth
On February 17, 1994, Harding and Kerrigan shared the ice at a practice session in the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre. Approximately 400 members of the press were there to document the practice. Scott Hamilton thought the sport was depicted as a "tabloid event". It was noted that Nancy Kerrigan chose to wear the same skating costume at the practice session that she was wearing when Stant attacked her. Kerrigan later confirmed that her choice of dress that day was deliberate: "Humor is good, it's empowering." The tape-delayed broadcast of the February 23 Ladies' Olympic technical program is one of the most watched telecasts in the US. On February 25, Harding finished eighth in the Olympics; a bootlace broke early in her free skate routine, and amid jeers from the crowd she was allowed to restart. Nancy Kerrigan, having recovered from her injury, won silver behind Oksana Baiul from Ukraine.

Guilty plea, admissions
On March 9, Judge Owen Panner granted Harding a requested stay until June on her disciplinary hearing. Meanwhile, Portland authorities stated the criminal investigation would conclude by March 21 with any indictments and a grand jury report to be made at that time.

On March 16, 1994, Harding pled guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution as a Class C felony offense at a Multnomah County court hearing. She and her lawyer, Robert Weaver, negotiated a plea bargain ensuring no further prosecution. Judge Donald Londer conducted routine questioning to make certain Harding understood her agreement, that she was entering her plea "knowingly and voluntarily". Harding told Londer she was. Her plea admissions were knowing of the assault plot after the fact, settling on a cover story with Gillooly and Eckardt on January 10, witnessing pay phone calls to Smith affirming the story on January 10 and 11, and lying to FBI with the story on January 18. Law enforcement investigators had been following and videotaping the co-conspirators since January 10; they knew about the pay phone calls. Her penalties included three years of probation, a $100,000 fine, and 500 hours community service. She agreed to reimburse Multnomah County $10,000 in legal expenses, undergo a psychiatric examination, and volunteered to give $50,000 to the Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) charity. Oregon sentencing guidelines carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Harding's plea conditions imposed her U.S. Figure Skating Association resignation, necessitating her withdrawal from the 1994 Worlds (for which she was scheduled to leave on March 17). District attorney Norman Frink said if Harding had not agreed to the plea, she would have faced "an indictment on all possible charges...punishment was taking away [skating] privilege."

Response from defense and USFSA
Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, donated $25,000 toward Harding's legal fees. She had also made approximately $600,000 from an Inside Edition deal.

Weaver said the plea agreement was satisfactory to Harding, partly because she avoided prison: "We would have prevailed at trial." An executive of the USFSA commented "[We] don't know if Tonya is innocent or guilty...if [she was involved before] the national championship." On March 18, Claire Ferguson decided Harding's disciplinary hearing would proceed in June. The USFSA's executive committee met to discuss Harding seeking reinstatement and whether they might strip her of the 1994 National Championship title. Neither issue was decided at that time.

Grand jury indictment
On March 21, 1994, a Portland grand jury issued an indictment stating there was evidence Harding participated in the attack plot. The indictment concluded more than two months of investigation and witness testimonies from Diane Rawlinson; Harding's choreographer Erika Bakacs; freelance figure skating writer Vera Marano; and Eckardt's college instructor and classmates. It stated there was evidence Harding fraudulently used USFSA-provided skating monies to finance the assault. It also read that Harding, Gillooly, Eckardt, Smith, and Stant agreed to "knowingly cause physical injury ... by means of a dangerous weapon." The grand jury said the evidence implied Harding was "involved from the beginning or very close." She was not charged in the indictment due to the terms of her March 16 plea agreement.

USFSA disciplinary panel meeting in June
On June 29, the USFSA disciplinary panel met for nine hours over two days to consider Harding's alleged role in the attack. On June 30, chairman William Hybl stated,
 * "By a preponderance of the evidence, the panel did conclude that she had prior knowledge and was involved prior to the incident. This is based on civil standards, not criminal standards ... bank records, phone records – the way they came together to establish a case."

The panel decided that pertinent FBI reports, court documents, and Harding's March 16 plea agreement presented
 * "a clear disregard for fairness, good sportsmanship, and ethical behaviour."

Harding did not attend or participate in the two-day hearing. Weaver said the decision disappointed her but was not a surprise, and that she had not decided on an appeal. Harding was stripped of her 1994 U.S. Championship title and banned for life from participating in USFSA events as either a skater or coach. The USFSA has no authority over professional skating events, but Harding was persona non grata on the pro circuit. Few skaters and promoters would work with her, and she did not benefit from the ensuing boom in professional skating after the scandal.

Later interviews
Shortly before the 1998 Winter Olympics, the CBS and Fox news divisions re-examined the scandal for two televised special reports. Harry Smith hosted the CBS special. He reported that Harding still held to her statement from her press conference given on January 27, 1994: "I had no prior knowledge of the planned assault on Nancy Kerrigan." Smith then interviewed Kerrigan, asking how she responded to that statement. Kerrigan referred to transcripts she had read from Harding's FBI interview on January 18, 1994. After reading through the interrogation of that day, she concluded that "[Tonya] knew more than she admits." The Fox special report was called Breaking the Ice: The Women of '94 Revisited, hosted by James Brown with interviews of Harding, Gillooly, and Kerrigan. Gillooly (granted a name change to Jeff Stone in 1995) said that Harding's avoiding prison did not anger him, and that he felt his own punishment was just. Stone reflected on Harding's position of "limited involvement" in Kerrigan's attack and speculated that a "guilty conscience" still troubled her. Brown then mediated a joint interview with both Kerrigan and Harding present. The two former competitors shared sincere desires for happy families and general well-wishes. Kerrigan said that she hoped Harding could learn from past mistakes and "find happiness". Harding said she was grateful to personally express remorse to Kerrigan again.

In Harding's 2008 biography, The Tonya Tapes (transcribed by Lynda D. Prouse from recorded interviews), she stated that she wanted to call the FBI in 1994 to reveal what she knew, but decided not to when Gillooly allegedly threatened her with death following a gunpoint gang rape by him and two other men she did not know. Gillooly responded with surprise that "groundless claims" against him could be published and specifically contended her gang rape accusation to be "utterly ridiculous". In 2013, Deadspin sought Gillooly for an interview and he again defended himself against the gunpoint gang rape allegation. He expressed regret that Harding is often "remembered for what I talked her into doing," meaning allegedly plotting to injure Kerrigan. Gillooly admitted that his past "stupidity" was part of Harding's 1994 ruin and maintained that he still considered her a great figure skater. He also said "I've had it easy, compared to poor Tonya...she tends to be the butt of the joke. It's kind of sad to me."

In 2014, Nancy Kerrigan addressed the scandal during a brief interview with sportscaster Bob Costas: "Whatever apology Tonya has given, I accept it. It's time for all us – I've always wished [Tonya] well – she has her own family, I have my family. It's time to make that our focus and move on with our lives."

Later career
On February 15, 1994, an explicit 1991 videotape clip of Harding topless was shown on A Current Affair; three still frames from this clip were also published in The Sun (a British tabloid newspaper). The New York Post reported that Gillooly had supplied the videotaped fragment for an undisclosed sum of money.

On July 26, 1994, Penthouse announced that its September issue would feature different stills of Harding and Gillooly having sex from the same extended videotape. This 35-minute sex tape would also be copied and marketed exclusively by Penthouse. Both Gillooly and Harding used the same agent to negotiate equal payment on the Penthouse sale.

On June 22, 1994, in Portland, Oregon, Harding appeared on an AAA professional wrestling show as the manager for wrestling stable Los Gringos Locos. The night's performance included Art Barr and Eddie Guerrero. A promotional musical event was unsuccessful when Harding and her band, the Golden Blades, were booed off the stage at their only performance, in 1995 in Portland.

In 1994, Harding was cast in Breakaway, an action film, alongside Teri Fruichantie and Joseph "Joe" Estévez. The plot centered on Harding being unwittingly involved in an organized crime syndicate's attempt to violently recover $300,000 of stolen money. The film was released in 1996.

Harding has also appeared on television, on the game show The Weakest Link: "15 Minutes of Fame Edition" in 2002 along with Kato Kaelin, and in March 2008 became a commentator for TruTV's truTV Presents: World's Dumbest....

Since leaving skating and boxing, Harding has worked as a welder, a painter at a metal fabrication company, and a hardware sales clerk at Sears. In 2017, she stated that she worked as a painter and deck builder. She lives in Vancouver, Washington.

In August 2019, Harding was seen in a television commercial in the United States promoting Direct Auto Insurance.

Boxing career
In 2002, Harding boxed against Paula Jones on the Fox Network Celebrity Boxing event, winning the fight. On February 22, 2003, she made her official women's professional boxing debut, losing a four-round split decision against Samantha Browning on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne. Harding's boxing career came about amid rumors that she was having financial difficulties and needed to fight in the ring to earn money. She did another celebrity boxing match, on The Man Show, and won against co-host Doug Stanhope. Stanhope later claimed on his podcast that the fight was fixed because Harding refused to "fight a man".

On March 23, 2004, it was reported that she cancelled a planned boxing match against Tracy Carlton in Oakland, California, because of an alleged death threat against her.

On June 24, 2004, she was defeated by Amy Johnson in a match held in Edmonton, Alberta. Fans reportedly booed Harding as she entered the ring and cheered wildly for Johnson when she won in the third round.

Her boxing career was cut short by her asthma. Her overall record was three wins and three losses.

Automobile racing land speed record
On August 12, 2009, Harding set a new land speed record for a vintage gas coupe with a speed of 97.177 mph driving a 1931 Ford Model A, named Lickity-Split, on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Dancing with the Stars
On April 13, 2018, Harding was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars. Her professional partner was Sasha Farber. Harding and Farber ended up finishing in third place.

Worst Cooks in America
In August 2018, Harding was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete in the fifth celebrity edition of Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, set to broadcast in April 2019. Harding, learning under Chef Anne Burrell, ultimately won the competition. The US$25,000 prize went to her chosen charity of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Personal life
Harding is the only child of Albert Gordon Harding and LaVona Golden, who had been married three times before and had four other children. The two divorced in 1987. Harding had a tumultuous relationship with her mother, alleging both physical and emotional abuse. She cites one occasion where her mother threw a knife at her, leaving a permanent scar on her arm.

Harding began a relationship with 17-year-old Jeff Gillooly in September 1986 when she was 15. They moved into a home together in 1988 when he worked in distribution at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. They married on March 18, 1990, when she was 19 and he was 22. In January 1992, Harding told Terry Richard of The Oregonian, "Jeff always put food on the table and a roof over my head. He paid for my skating for a couple of years. If it hadn't been for him during that time, I wouldn't have been skating." They divorced on August 28, 1993. During the autumn of 1993, Gillooly was working part-time managing Harding's career and taking real estate classes. Harding and Gillooly had been continuing to see each other since early October 1993 and were sharing a rented chalet in Beavercreek, Oregon until January 18, 1994.

Harding married Michael Smith in 1995; they divorced in 1996. On October 29, 1996, Harding received media attention after using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to help revive an 81-year-old woman who collapsed at a bar in Portland while playing video poker.

On February 22, 2000, Harding attacked her then-boyfriend Darren Silver, repeatedly punching him in the face and throwing a hubcap at his head. The attack left Silver with a bloodied face and Harding was arrested. She initially pled not guilty to misdemeanor charges, but in a May trial in Clark County District Court admitted to attacking Silver and was sentenced to three days in jail, 10 days of community service, and a suspended jail sentence of 167 days.

She married 42-year-old Joseph Price on June 23, 2010, when she was 39 years old. She gave birth to a son named Gordon on February 19, 2011.

Harding stated on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on February 26, 2018, that she is still active in skating and practices three times a week. She performed several jumps and spins on the show. She trains with her former coach Dody Teachman.

Cultural effects
Harding's life, career, and role in the 1994 attack have been widely referenced in popular culture, including a 2007 primary campaign speech by then-Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama in which he said, "Folks said there's no way Obama has a chance unless he goes and kneecaps the person ahead of us, does a Tonya Harding." In 2014, Matt Harkins and Viviana Olen created the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding Museum in their Brooklyn apartment, collecting and archiving memorabilia related to Nancy Kerrigan and Harding. A contemporaneous Vogue article noted that Harding had developed a "cult following" through the years.

Representation in other media

 * Sharp Edges (1986), Sandra Luckow's senior-thesis project for her film studies major. Luckow was Harding's childhood friend, and the documentary followed Harding and her coaches to Uniondale, New York as she competed in the February 1986 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The film featured interviews with Harding, her mother, and coaches.
 * Spunk: The Tonya Harding Story (1994), Comedy Central five-minute short film parody summarizing the scandal, estimated to have aired on February 25, 1994. Tina Yothers portrayed Harding.
 * Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (1994), NBC TV film based on public domain material, premiered on April 30, 1994; written by previous Edgar Award winner Phil Penningroth. Alexandra Powers portrayed Harding and Heather Langenkamp portrayed Nancy Kerrigan. It featured fourth wall-breaking by having Dennis Boutsikaris play the film's screenwriter: "We imprisoned [Tonya and Nancy] in images we use to sell newspapers, soup, and TV movies. They're victims of those that the media serve."
 * National Lampoon's Attack of the 5'2" Women (1994), a Showtime TV film, released on August 21, 1994; directed by the U.S. Writers Guild Award-winning comedian Julie Brown. Brown spoofed Harding by portraying her in "Tonya: The Battle of Wounded Knee," which Brown also wrote. Her original song, "Queen of the Ice," was nominated for a CableACE Award.
 * In Living Color (1994 sketches), Carol Rosenthal portrayed Harding in "Tonya Harding for The Club"; aired on February 3.
 * "The Understudy": 1995 Seinfeld episode, alluded to Harding with Jerry Seinfeld's Broadway performer girlfriend. She has a problem with her boot laces (as Harding encountered in the Olympics). Jerry's girlfriend performed because the lead actress had an injury supposedly caused by hitman, George Costanza; originally aired on May 18, 1995.
 * Harding and her role in the 1994 scandal were referenced in several songs, including "Headline News" by "Weird Al" Yankovic; "Queen of the Ice" by Julie Brown; "Breakin' Knees Is Hard to Do" by Capitol Steps; "5 Fingas of Death" by Diamond D; "Tonya's Twirls" by Loudon Wainwright III; "Aunt Dot" by Lil' Kim; "Strange Clouds" by B.o.B; "Put Some Keys On That" by Lil Wayne; "Tonya Harding" by Sufjan Stevens; "Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea" by Fall Out Boy; "Tonya" by Brockhampton; and "If Self-Destruction was an Olympic Event, I'd be Tonya Harding" by Suicideboys
 * Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera (2006), playwright Elizabeth Searle collaborated with composer Abigail Al-Doory in May 2006 to create a chamber opera, directed by Meron Langsner. The dark comedy premiered in Portland, Oregon in 2008. It was also produced in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Searle said that she thought elements of the 1994 scandal reflected "life in America," and that she hoped the show would convey public sympathy towards Kerrigan, Gillooly, and Harding.
 * The Price of Gold (2014) documentary directed by Nanette Burstein, part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, aired on January 16, 2014. It explored some specifics of the 1994 criminal investigation. Kerrigan could not be interviewed for the film because of her contractual obligation to NBC's Nancy & Tonya (2014) documentary. Burstein said her film was "predominantly about Tonya". Burstein later said she thought Harding was jealous of Kerrigan and that "[Tonya] was an unreliable interview subject. A lot of things she said had to be left out because I didn't think they were truthful."
 * Nancy & Tonya (2014), NBC documentary narrated by Olympics correspondent Mary Carillo (former tennis professional – 1977 French Open Grand Slam Mixed Doubles winner), aired on February 23, 2014. It included interviews, brief biographies of Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding, and close observations of their lives and careers before 1994.
 * I, Tonya, 2017 biographical black comedy film directed by Craig Gillespie with Margot Robbie playing Harding, receiving mostly positive reviews. Screenwriter Steven Rogers said he neither knew nor cared about Harding's alleged part in Nancy Kerrigan's attack, that the film was really about "things we tell ourselves...how we change the narrative, and then want that to be the narrative." Gillespie was nominated for a Best Director AACTA; he said he believed Harding was guilty, but debated to what degree. Gillespie also said he wanted the film to convey "why [Tonya] is the way she is." Allison Janney played Harding's mother, LaVona, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Regarding Harding's alleged role in Kerrigan's attack, Janney said "I know [Tonya was] complicit, but...I have a lot more empathy for her than I did." Janney also said, "I think LaVona was actually a very smart woman...knowing her daughter needed to be told she couldn't do it in order to do it was LaVona's way of saying, 'I was there to inspire her.'"
 * Tonya Harding, 2017 song by musician Sufjan Stevens. The song was submitted by Stevens for the soundtrack of I, Tonya, but it was not used. However, the song was not made specifically for the biopic, and Stevens said he had planned to write a song about Harding since 1991.

Academic assessment
In 1995, the book Women on Ice: Feminist Essays on the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Spectacle was published, containing numerous essays analyzing Harding's public image. For example, Abigail Feder wrote that there existed "overdetermined femininity in Ladies' Figure Skating...femininity and athleticism are mutually exclusive concepts in American culture." Sam Stoloff wrote that, during the scandal, the media placed more emphasis on Harding's class than her gender. He noted how she was subjected to a "litany of vaguely pejorative or mocking expressions" associated with "low class" cultural attributes, sometimes due to Harding's personal interests and hobbies. Stoloff theorized that Harding represented an American social class that required interpretation ("the class Other") as he referenced the anthropological tone of Susan Orlean's 1994 essay "Figures in a Mall", written for The New Yorker.

In writer Sarah Marshall's 2014 essay entitled "Remote Control: Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and the Spectacles of Female Power and Pain", she noted the pervasive role of the media in the 1994 scandal: "Somehow, in the scandal's aftermath, the form of the Tonya-bash was able to alchemize even the most chilling details of Tonya's life into tabloid gold." Marshall also examined the role of Harding's "tomboy" persona in the context of figure skating. She theorized that Harding was rejected by the figure skating ethos because she did not conform – as Marshall believed many figure skaters, including Nancy Kerrigan, did – to appearing as "beautiful without being sexual, strong without being intimidating, and vulnerable without being weak."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Tonya Harding


text:
Talk:Money

What about Elon Musks recent definition of money? Should it be added somewhere?
Elon recently talked a little bit about money, i.e.: "central banks basically have an editing privilege on the database"

"money is essentially a database"

"In my opinion, it is most useful to think about money with information theory"

"money is just information"

or

"Money is actually a set of heterogeneous databases with vast amounts of legacy code still using COBOL on mainframes in batch mode." regarding the USD fiat money, obviously.

I feel like those are some good points and understandings regarding money. Elyos92 (talk) 17:15, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Not suitable -- it is one person's non-expert opinion. SPECIFICO talk 18:02, 19 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Agree with SPECIFICO, not suitable. GA-RT-22 (talk) 19:13, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

Money and "mano" (South European for "hand") are directly related
The word "money" and the Spanish (South European) word "mano" meaning "hand" as in "maneuver" or "manipulative" are directly related, formally they are "cognate" and the spelling differences are due to North European orthography, which rejects the South European simple (only five) vowels system and its dominant tendency to feature the /a/ sound as in the word "car." So its /ma/ not /mo/ and /mo/ will yield no results phonologically. And the /ey/ is normal North style in replacing the /i/ vowel as in the word "machine" and its South usage which is dominantly such. So that handles the orthography, and then in South orthography its just /ma-ni/ ie. "of the hand" as in something cheap and lightweight which the government designates as usable for making transactions, instead of the earlier method of taking one's goods, livestock, clothing, and food products, to the market for trade. -Druid Fiesta (talk) 21:10, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * If you've got a good source for that we can add it as an alternate explanation in the Etymology section. Without a source there is nothing we can do with it. GA-RT-22 (talk) 21:25, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Its a straightforward linguistics argument with a lot of straightforward basis. USA military intelligence can maybe talk about whether the South European etymology was censored in recent decades by monarchists and-or a false "frenched" etymology was created (Britain hacked France in 1951, and then after Elizabeth II's secret conversion to Christianity, other Monarchies exploited this takeover and started the Vietnam Wars). We can talk about doing this "sourcing" thing the other way around, rather than just let sources be haphazardly chosen, where we start invalidating monarchist scientists and academics as monarchist instruments rather than actual Christ-covenant scientists and academics. So for example the Higgs particle is a scam, which the USA in cooperation with the Vatican ie. the Holy Catholic church, Russia, and Israel, who saw this intellectual property grab attempt ahead of time and fixed it by hiring a young Scot named Biggs to secretly change his name and thus later Christ-democracy would be able to invalidate British-Swedish attempts to push through the Higgs program.

 * There are ton of these examples now, from hacking the global coordinates system of latitudes (ie. the "Greenwich line") all the way down to Internet censorship of things like the BCS song video, so its only found in the full SNL broadcast video. The difference now is that there are a number who are strong in understanding and explaining the workings of theology, such as to be the "memory" (ref. fictional Bran the Broken) of the world, and now with modern maps we can find the Nordic region on the map (this was censored for millenia) and indicate to their locals that its too cold for humans to live there, and monarchy money won't work to get out, to somewhere warmer.

 * So in addition to talk about sources, there is a need all over the Internet for sorting comments by whether they are serious comments or trivial type comments, and Wikipedia should do trust metrics of users on Wikipedia and then their choices of academic sources can be measured (trust metrics is just rating and ranking, ie. editors rate specific edits and edit editor's rank adds up dynamically), rather than just let overworked Chomsky types (democratic world scientists) give casual opinions of academics like Jordan Peterson without mentioning the actual problem is that those are monarchist servants and therefore their work is unusable even if its not entirely fraudulent. There is a lot of North European hacking ("hacking" is informal for "corrupting" ie. an "attack" but of the non-kinetic type), like the North of mainland Europe, ie. Sweden-Scandinavia hacking a young Julius Caesar and then using him to finally end the Roman Republic. And there is an extremely deep history now of North Europe censoring scientists and academics and thus claiming to have "reliable sources," which are then misused on Wikipedia. -Druid Fiesta (talk) 03:06, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Agreed Derrmerrserrhere (talk) 16:35, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Generic illustration first
I've improved globalization by replacing the first illustration with a greater variety of notes and coins. They are Euro currency, the best I could find to include many countries. (If someone has a worldwide collection, another photo would be welcome.) The caption is neutral. The US dollar is still well represented later in the article. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 04:18, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: College Composition II
— Assignment last updated by Lindseybean28 (talk) 21:26, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 June 2024
I would like to add that on average the life expectancy is 11% higher in richer country Somethingelse123 (talk) 18:39, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Happy Editing-- IAm Chaos  19:14, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Money


text:
SWIFT

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift), legally S.W.I.F.T. SC, is a cooperative established in 1973 in Belgium (Société Coopérative) and owned by the banks and other member firms that use its service. SWIFT provides the main messaging network through which international payments are initiated. It also sells software and services to financial institutions, mostly for use on its proprietary "SWIFTNet", and assigns ISO 9362 Business Identifier Codes (BICs), popularly known as "Swift codes".

As of 2018, around half of all high-value cross-border payments worldwide used the Swift network, and in 2015, Swift linked more than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries and territories, who were exchanging an average of over 32 million messages per day (compared to an average of 2.4 million daily messages in 1995).

Swift is headquartered in La Hulpe near Brussels. It hosts an annual conference, called Sibos, specifically aimed at the financial services industry.

History
Before SWIFT's establishment, international financial transactions were communicated over Telex, a public system involving manual writing and reading of messages. SWIFT was set up out of fear of what might happen if a single private and fully American entity controlled global financial flows – which before was First National City Bank (FNCB) of New York – later Citibank. In response to FNCB's protocol, FNCB's competitors in the US and Europe pushed an alternative "messaging system that could replace the public providers and speed up the payment process".

SWIFT was founded in Brussels on 3 May 1973. Individuals who played a key role in its creation included bankers Jan Kraa (at AMRO Bank) and François Dentz (at the Banque de l'Union Parisienne) as well as Carl Reuterskiöld and Bessel Kok, who became respectively its first two chairmen and chief executives. It was initially supported by 239 banks in 15 countries. It soon started to establish common standards for financial transactions and a shared data processing system and worldwide communications network designed by Logica and developed by the Burroughs Corporation. Fundamental operating procedures and rules for liability were established in 1975, and the first message was ceremonially sent by Prince Albert of Belgium on 1977/05/09.

SWIFT's first non-European operations centre was inaugurated by Governor John N. Dalton of Virginia in 1979. In 1989 SWIFT completed a monumental new head office building in La Hulpe, designed by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura.

Ownership and governance
SWIFT's shareholding structure is adjusted every three years in proportion to volumes of activity incurred by the members, ensuring that the most active members get the most voice irrespective of geography; additional rules are aimed at ensuring some geographical diversity within the board of directors. The 25 directors are elected by the shareholders, on three-year terms with renewal of one-third of the board every year; all directors are member representatives.

As of May 2024, the members directly represented on the board of directors were JPMorgan Chase (chair), Lloyds Bank (deputy chair), Bank of China, BNP Paribas, BPCE, Citi, Clearstream, Commerzbank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, Euroclear, FirstRand, HSBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, KBC, MUFG, NatWest, Nordea, Royal Bank of Canada, Santander, SEB, UBS (2 representatives following the acquisition of Credit Suisse), as well as the Association of Banks in Singapore.

Operations

Swift acts as a carrier of the "messages containing the payment instructions between financial institutions involved in a transaction". However, the organisation does not manage accounts on behalf of individuals or financial institutions, and it does not hold funds from third parties. It also does not perform clearing or settlement functions. After a payment has been initiated, it must be settled through a payment system, such as TARGET2 in Europe. In the context of cross-border transactions, this step often takes place through correspondent banking accounts that financial institutions have with each other.

SWIFT means several things in the financial world:
 * 1) a secure network for transmitting messages between financial institutions;
 * 2) a set of syntax standards for financial messages (for transmission over SWIFTNet or any other network)
 * 3) a set of connection software and services allowing financial institutions to transmit messages over SWIFT network.

Under 3 above, SWIFT provides turn-key solutions for members, consisting of linkage clients to facilitate connectivity to the SWIFT network and CBTs or "computer based terminals" which members use to manage the delivery and receipt of their messages. Some of the more well-known interfaces and CBTs provided to their members are:

 * SWIFTNet Link (SNL) software which is installed on the SWIFT customer's site and opens a connection to SWIFTNet. Other applications can only communicate with SWIFTNet through the SNL.
 * Alliance Gateway (SAG) software with interfaces (e.g., RAHA = Remote Access Host Adapter), allowing other software products to use the SNL to connect to SWIFTNet
 * Alliance WebStation (SAB) desktop interface for SWIFT Alliance Gateway with several usage options:
 * administrative access to the SAG
 * direct connection SWIFTNet by the SAG, to administrate SWIFT Certificates
 * so-called Browse connection to SWIFTNet (also by SAG) to use additional services, for example Target2
 * Alliance Access (SAA) and Alliance Messaging Hub (AMH) are the main messaging software applications by SWIFT, which allow message creation for FIN messages, routing and monitoring for FIN and MX messages. The main interfaces are FTA (files transfer automated, not FTP) and MQSA, a WebSphere MQ interface.
 * The Alliance Workstation (SAW) is the desktop software for administration, monitoring and FIN message creation. Since Alliance Access is not yet capable of creating MX messages, Alliance Messenger (SAM) has to be used for this purpose.
 * Alliance Web Platform (SWP) as new thin-client desktop interface provided as an alternative to existing Alliance WebStation, Alliance Workstation (soon) and Alliance Messenger.
 * Alliance Integrator built on Oracle's Java Caps which enables customer's back office applications to connect to Alliance Access or Alliance Entry.
 * Alliance Lite2 is a secure and reliable, cloud-based way to connect to the SWIFT network which is a light version of Alliance Access specifically targeting customers with low volume of traffic.

Services
There are four key areas that SWIFT services fall under in the financial marketplace: securities, treasury & derivatives, trade services, and payments & cash management.

Securities
 * SWIFTNet FIX (obsolete)
 * SWIFTNet Data Distribution
 * SWIFTNet Funds
 * SWIFTNet Accord for Securities (end of life October 2017)

Treasury and derivatives
 * SWIFTNet Accord for Treasury (end of life October 2017)
 * SWIFTNet Affirmations
 * SWIFTNet CLS Third Party Service

Cash management
 * SWIFTNet Bulk Payments
 * SWIFTNet Cash Reporting
 * SWIFTNet Exceptions and Investigations

Trade services
 * SWIFTNet Trade Services Utility

Swift Ref, the global payment reference data utility, is SWIFT's unique reference data service. Swift Ref sources data direct from data originators, including central banks, code issuers and banks making it easy for issuers and originators to maintain data regularly and thoroughly. SWIFTRef constantly validates and cross-checks data across the different data sets.

Operations centres
The SWIFT secure messaging network is run from three data centres, located in the United States, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. These centres share information in near real-time. In case of a failure in one of the data centres, another is able to handle the traffic of the complete network. SWIFT uses submarine communications cables to transmit its data.

Shortly after opening its third data centre in Switzerland in 2009, SWIFT introduced new distributed architecture with two messaging zones, European and Trans-Atlantic, so data from European SWIFT members no longer mirrored the U.S. data centre. European zone messages are stored in the Netherlands and in part of the Swiss operating centre; Trans-Atlantic zone messages are stored in the United States and in another part of the Swiss operating centre that is segregated from the European zone messages. Countries outside of Europe were by default allocated to the Trans-Atlantic zone, but could choose to have their messages stored in the European zone.

SWIFTNet network
SWIFT moved to its current IP network infrastructure, known as SWIFTNet, from 2001 to 2005, providing a total replacement of the previous X.25 infrastructure. The process involved the development of new protocols that facilitate efficient messaging, using existing and new message standards. The adopted technology chosen to develop the protocols was XML, where it now provides a wrapper around all messages legacy or contemporary. The communication protocols can be broken down into:

InterAct
 * SWIFTNet InterAct Realtime
 * SWIFTNet InterAct Store and Forward

FileAct
 * SWIFTNet FileAct Realtime
 * SWIFTNet FileAct Store and Forward

Browse
 * SWIFTNet Browse

SWIFT provides a centralized store-and-forward mechanism, with some transaction management. For bank A to send a message to bank B with a copy or authorization involving institution C, it formats the message according to standards and securely sends it to SWIFT. SWIFT guarantees its secure and reliable delivery to B after the appropriate action by C. SWIFT guarantees are based primarily on high redundancy of hardware, software, and people.

During 2007 and 2008, the entire SWIFT network migrated its infrastructure to a new protocol called SWIFTNet Phase 2. The main difference between Phase 2 and the former arrangement is that Phase 2 requires banks connecting to the network to use a Relationship Management Application (RMA) instead of the former bilateral key exchange (BKE) system. According to SWIFT's public information database on the subject, RMA software should eventually prove more secure and easier to keep up-to-date; however, converting to the RMA system meant that thousands of banks around the world had to update their international payments systems to comply with the new standards. RMA completely replaced BKE on 1 January 2009.

Standards
SWIFT has become the industry standard for syntax in financial messages. Messages formatted to SWIFT standards can be read and processed by many well-known financial processing systems, whether or not the message travelled over the SWIFT network. SWIFT cooperates with international organizations for defining standards for message format and content. SWIFT is also a registration authority (RA) for the following ISO standards: In RFC 3615  urn:swift:  was defined as Uniform Resource Names (URNs) for SWIFT FIN.
 * ISO 9362: 1994 Banking – Banking telecommunication messages – Bank identifier codes
 * ISO 10383: 2003 Securities and related financial instruments – Codes for exchanges and market identification (MIC)
 * ISO 13616: 2003 IBAN Registry
 * ISO 15022: 1999 Securities – Scheme for messages (Data Field Dictionary) (replaces ISO 7775)
 * ISO 20022-1: 2004 and ISO 20022-2:2007 Financial services – Universal Financial Industry message scheme

Supervision
SWIFT is not a payment system and thus neither regulated nor supervised as such, but is nevertheless deemed to be systemically important and thus under the "oversight" of public authorities. In 1998, the so-called Group of Ten central banks (those of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the U.S. and the European Central Bank) started acting as joint overseers, with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) in a lead role. The oversight focueses primarily on systemic risk, confidentiality, infrastructure security, and business continuity. It is formalized in bilateral documents between the NBB and SWIFT on the one hand, and between the NBB and each of the other G10 central banks on the other hand. In 2018, the International Monetary Fund has recommended that "[t]he National Bank of Belgium should consider enhancing oversight with additional regulatory and supervisory powers."

In 2012, this framework was complemented by a "SWIFT Oversight Forum" including additional central banks. As of 2024, in addition to the G10 central banks, the SWIFT Oversight Forum included the national central banks of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey. According to SWIFT, the Oversight Forum "provides a forum for the G-10 central banks to share information on Swift oversight activities with a wider group of central banks."

Alternatives
Purported alternatives to the SWIFT system include:

 * 1) CIPS: sponsored by China, for RMB related deals. 1467 financial institutions in 111 countries and regions have connected to the system. The actual business covers more than 4,200 banking institutions in 182 countries and regions around the world.
 * 2) SFMS: sponsored by India
 * 3) SPFS: developed by the Russian Federation
 * 4) INSTEX: sponsored by the European Union, limited to non-USD transactions for trade with Iran, largely unused and ineffective

Chair

 * Johannes Kraa (AMRO Bank, Dutch), 1973-1974
 * François Dentz (Crédit du Nord, French), 1974-1976
 * Helmer Hasselblad (Swedish), 1976-1984
 * W. Robert Moore (Chemical Bank, American), 1984-1989
 * Richard Fröhlich (Austrian), 1989-1992
 * Eric C. Chilton (Barclays, British), 1992-1996
 * Jean-Marie Weydert (Société Générale, French), 1996-2000
 * Jaap Kamp (ABN AMRO, Dutch), 2000-2006
 * Yawar Shah (JPMorgan then Citi, American), 2006-2022
 * Mark Buitenhek (ING, Dutch), acting 2022-2023
 * Graeme Munro (JPMorgan, British), since 2023

Chief Executive Officer

 * Carl Reuterskiöld, 1973-1983
 * Bessel Kok, 1983-1991
 * Jacques Cerveau (interim CEO), 1991
 * Leonard (Lennie) Schrank, 1992-2007
 * Lazaro Campos, 2007-2012
 * Gottfried Leibbrandt, 2012-2019
 * Javier Pérez-Tasso, since 2019

Inefficiency
Swift has been criticised for its inefficiency. In 2018, the London-based Financial Times noted that transfers frequently "pass through multiple banks before reaching their final destination, making them time-consuming, costly and lacking transparency on how much money will arrive at the other end". Swift has since introduced an improved service called "Global Payments Innovation" (GPI), claiming it was adopted by 165 banks and was completing half its payments within 30 minutes. The new standard which included Swift Go was supposed to be utilised in receiving and transferring low-value international payments. One of the significant changes was the transaction amount, which would not differ from start to the end. However,, uptake was mixed. For instance, Alisherov Eraj, Alif Bank Treasury Department Swift Transfers & Banking Relationship Expert in the Republic of Tajikistan, describes that the leading cause for the late Swift Go adoption in Tajikistan was the Core Banking System itself. To connect to Swift Go, he adds, banking system interfaces needed to be upgraded and integrate with their software to be fully compatible; this hindered many banks from adopting the technology earlier.

U.S. government surveillance
A series of articles published on 23 June 2006 in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times revealed a program, named the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, which the US Treasury Department, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and other United States governmental agencies initiated after the 11 September attacks to gain access to the SWIFT transaction database.

After the publication of these articles, SWIFT quickly came under pressure for compromising the data privacy of its customers by allowing governments to gain access to sensitive personal information. In September 2006, the Belgian government declared that these SWIFT dealings with American governmental authorities were a breach of Belgian and European privacy laws.

In response, and to satisfy members' concerns about privacy, SWIFT began a process of improving its architecture by implementing a distributed architecture with a two-zone model for storing messages.

Concurrently, the European Union negotiated an agreement with the United States government to permit the transfer of intra-EU SWIFT transaction information to the United States under certain circumstances. Because of concerns about its potential contents, the European Parliament adopted a position statement in September 2009, demanding to see the full text of the agreement and asking that it be fully compliant with EU privacy legislation, with oversight mechanisms emplaced to ensure that all data requests were handled appropriately. An interim agreement was signed without European Parliamentary approval by the European Council on 30 November 2009, the day before the Lisbon Treaty—which would have prohibited such an agreement from being signed under the terms of the codecision procedure—formally came into effect. While the interim agreement was scheduled to come into effect on 1 January 2010, the text of the agreement was classified as "EU Restricted" until translations could be provided in all EU languages and published on 25 January 2010.

On 11 February 2010, the European Parliament decided to reject the interim agreement between the EU and the US by 378 to 196 votes. One week earlier, the parliament's civil liberties committee had already rejected the deal, citing legal reservations.

In March 2011, it was reported that two mechanisms of data protection had failed: EUROPOL released a report complaining that requests for information from the US had been too vague (making it impossible to make judgments on validity) and that the guaranteed right for European citizens to know whether their information had been accessed by US authorities had not been put into practice.

Der Spiegel reported in September 2013 that the National Security Agency (NSA) widely monitors banking transactions via SWIFT, as well as credit card transactions. The NSA intercepted and retained data from the SWIFT network used by thousands of banks to securely send transaction information. SWIFT was named as a "target", according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden. The documents revealed that the NSA spied on SWIFT using a variety of methods, including reading "SWIFT printer traffic from numerous banks". In April 2017, a group known as the Shadow Brokers released files allegedly from the NSA which indicate that the agency monitored financial transactions made through SWIFT.

Iran
In January 2012, the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) implemented a campaign calling on SWIFT to end all relations with Iran's banking system, including the Central Bank of Iran. UANI asserted that Iran's membership in SWIFT violated US and EU financial sanctions against Iran as well as SWIFT's own corporate rules.

Consequently, in February 2012, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved sanctions against SWIFT aimed at pressuring it to terminate its ties with blacklisted Iranian banks. Expelling Iranian banks from SWIFT would potentially deny Iran access to billions of dollars in revenue using SWIFT but not from using IVTS. Mark Wallace, president of UANI, praised the Senate Banking Committee.

Initially SWIFT denied that it was acting illegally, but later said that "it is working with U.S. and European governments to address their concerns that its financial services are being used by Iran to avoid sanctions and conduct illicit business". Targeted banks would be—amongst others—Saderat Bank of Iran, Bank Mellat, Post Bank of Iran and Sepah Bank. On 17 March 2012, following agreement two days earlier between all 27 member states of the Council of the European Union and the Council's subsequent ruling, SWIFT disconnected all Iranian banks that had been identified as institutions in breach of current EU sanctions from its international network and warned that even more Iranian financial institutions could be disconnected from the network.

In February 2016, most Iranian banks reconnected to the network following the lift of sanctions due to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Israel
In 2014, SWIFT rejected calls from pro-Palestinian activists to revoke Israeli banks' access to its network owing to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

Russia and Belarus
Similarly, in August 2014 the UK planned to press the EU to block Russian use of SWIFT as a sanction due to Russian military intervention in Ukraine. However, SWIFT refused to do so. SPFS, a Russian alternative to SWIFT, was developed by the Central Bank of Russia as a backup measure.

During the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States developed preliminary possible sanctions against Russia, but excluded banning Russia from SWIFT. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the foreign ministers of the Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia called for Russia to be cut off from SWIFT. However, other EU member states were reluctant, both because European lenders held most of the nearly $30 billion in foreign banks' exposure to Russia and because Russia had developed the SPFS alternative. The European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States finally agreed to remove few Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; the governments of France, Germany, Italy and Japan individually released statements alongside the EU.

On 20 March 2023, the Russian Federation banned the use of SWIFT.

The European Union issued the first set of sanctions against Belarus - the first was introduced on 27 February 2022, which banned certain categories of Belarusian items in the EU, including timber, steel, mineral fuels and tobacco. After the Lithuanian prime minister proposed disconnecting Belarus from SWIFT, the European Union, which does not recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate President of Belarus, started to plan an extension of the sanctions already issued against Russian entities and top officials to its ally.

Security
In 2016 an $81 million theft from the Bangladesh central bank via its account at the New York Federal Reserve Bank was traced to hacker penetration of SWIFT's Alliance Access software, according to a New York Times report. It was not the first such attempt, the society acknowledged, and the security of the transfer system was undergoing new examination accordingly. Soon after the reports of the theft from the Bangladesh central bank, a second, apparently related, attack was reported to have occurred on a commercial bank in Vietnam.

Both attacks involved malware written to both issue unauthorized SWIFT messages and to conceal that the messages had been sent. After the malware sent the SWIFT messages that stole the funds, it deleted the database record of the transfers then took further steps to prevent confirmation messages from revealing the theft. In the Bangladeshi case, the confirmation messages would have appeared on a paper report; the malware altered the paper reports when they were sent to the printer. In the second case, the bank used a PDF report; the malware altered the PDF viewer to hide the transfers.

In May 2016, Banco del Austro (BDA) in Ecuador sued Wells Fargo after Wells Fargo honoured $12 million in fund transfer requests that had been placed by thieves. In this case, the thieves sent SWIFT messages that resembled recently cancelled transfer requests from BDA, with slightly altered amounts; the reports do not detail how the thieves gained access to send the SWIFT messages. BDA asserts that Wells Fargo should have detected the suspicious SWIFT messages, which were placed outside of normal BDA working hours and were of an unusual size. Wells Fargo claims that BDA is responsible for the loss, as the thieves gained access to the legitimate SWIFT credentials of a BDA employee and sent fully authenticated SWIFT messages.

In the first half of 2016, an anonymous Ukrainian bank and others—even "dozens" that are not being made public—were variously reported to have been "compromised" through the SWIFT network and to have lost money.

In March 2022, Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported about the increased security precautions by the State Police of Thurgau at the SWIFT data centre in Diessenhofen. After most of the Russian banks have been excluded from the private payment system, the risk of sabotage was considered higher. Inhabitants of the town described the large complex as a "fortress" or "prison" where frequent security checks of the fenced property are conducted.

title: SWIFT


text:
Talk:Marijuana (disambiguation)

Initial posts
Is this page necessary, or should it be a redirect to cannabis? It seems redundant. --User:kwertii

We'll need info on why many countries ban marijuana but not alcohol or tobacco.

 * http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~verdant/Marijuana_FAQ/X0020_1_How_and_why_was_he.html is not too NPOV, but it contains a lot of useful assertions that can be verified or falsified.--branko

I would like to merge this page with cannabis since currently much imformation is duplicated. The article will sit at cannabis and we'll have a redirect from marijuana to cannabis. Does that sound like a good idea? AxelBoldt 10:16 Aug 21, 2002 (PDT)

 * Done.

Marijuana refers to both plant cannabis sativa and drug cannabis (drug. Please leave the redirection as it. If you have an issue with this direct it to either Talk:marijuana or Talk:Cannabis. The decision was made to split cannabis in 2, and it is completely wrong to redirect marijuana to only half the article. That is why there is a disambiguation page. --SqueakBox 15:01, Feb 19, 2005 (UTC)

 * I disagree with you, the term "marijuana" usually refers to the drug. It's not a big deal though, I think redirecting to the disambig page is fine too. Rhobite 19:22, Feb 19, 2005 (UTC)

 * I agree. The transition from marijuana directly to the cannabis page would make things seem smoother.--User:Minty Flavoured Pie Sep 8, 2006 (UTC)

This addition, if it isn't a copyvio, ought to be merged into cannabis (drug). — Trilobite (Talk) 06:14, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree... I think this should turn into a disambiguation page and then we can merge parts of this new text (copyvio?) into other articles. — oo64eva (Alex) (U @ 07:12, May 26, 2005 (UTC)

The article does seem now to contain a lot of unnecessary duplication of material from other articles, or material which should be worked into other articles. Laurel Bush 13:56, 26 May 2005 (UTC).

 * Cannabis has an almost identical disambig page, and there is extensive discussion on that talk page about redirecting marijuana to cannabis so I'm going to be bold and do so.

Article
I think we need an article here. see Talk:Hashish/Archive 1, SqueakBox 16:29, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Marijuana not deadly.
The police identify it was a "controlled, dangerous substance", but I don't believe it for a second. I know many stoners such as myself like to believe its not bad, but there are bad sides. It's more of less like mixing alcohol and tobacco in a single herb. Alcohol in which is calms you and makes you feel at ease with yourself, tobacco because its smokable and can leave some sort of residue on your lungs. So you see... It's illegal only because the government isn't making money which is sad. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.150.229.143 (talk)

No the government dont make money because it is illegal not the other way around. I completely disagree that it is a mix of tobacco (yuk) and alcohol, the latter a powerful depressant and poison, SqueakBox 17:48, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Project: Marijuana
I've sorted through the What links here page of this redirect, and I've found that there are 1,400 links to this redirect. I've fixed about a hundred of them manually, but I'd like some help with this. Thank you. Floaterfluss 17:44, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Excellent! I had cleared 50 or so a couple of weeks back, didnt know there were 1400, but count on my support, SqueakBox 17:50, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Manual of style
Per the manual of style, the primary topic is linked in the opening sentence on disambig pages; in cases where the primary topic is a redirect, as in this case, that's normally what's linked. All lines should only have one blue link, even the first one. Additionally, cannabis (drug) and cannabis are separate articles, and both are called "marijuana", so both need to be listed.--Cúchullain t/ c 13:59, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 January 2019
Marijuana is no language at all. It is a propaganda word created by Reafer Madness movie. But all laws in the US must be in English. So marijuana is not a english word that legally defines the plant in this British Monarchy. So all marijuana laws are VOID for not being written in English. Marijuana laws are racial discrimination because no one can read it in English. Cannabis is a arabic word so Cannabis laws are also VOID or not legally enforcable in the US. Hemp is the english word for the cannabis plant. So only hemp can be used to define the plant in english US laws. Trump legalized hemp. 2600:100C:B20B:428B:4096:4DBB:3EA3:10B1 (talk) 17:03, 15 January 2019 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. – Jonesey95 (talk) 19:09, 15 January 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Marijuana (disambiguation)


text:
Talk:Tonya Harding

Separate article for attack
I feel perhaps a separate article should be created for the 1994 Cobo Arena attack (possibly with that title). There is scattered information between multiple articles (mainly this one and Nancy Kerrigan). It easily fits WP:NOTABILITY and would make the information surrounding the attack easier to read. This article shouldn't be 25% about the attack.  IWI  ( chat ) 02:00, 11 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I will begin to draft an article in my userspace.  IWI  ( chat ) 17:08, 11 May 2020 (UTC)

She "could have..."?
I gave up reading this after the second paragraph of the "Early life" section. She could have done this, or could have done that... Is there a source that says she did any of these things (in which case remove the "Could"), or is it just some unsubstantiated rumor (in which case remove the sentence)? IdreamofJeanie (talk) 15:23, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Tonya Harding


text:
Talk:Rambouillet Agreement

Untitled
Yipe! 140,000 bytes for the raw unannotated text of an agreement that had essentially 0 historical importance other than the fact that it never went into effect? It is my opinion that raw source material like this isn't really appropriate for inclusion an encyclopedia, it should at the very least have something added to it to give the reader insight into what it's all about. If I want to read the raw text of the Rambouillet Agreement, I would not go to an encyclopedia to find it; I would go to an encyclopedia to learn about it.

If nobody speaks up in its defence, I'm going to remove the raw text and leave just the first paragraph that talks about the agreement's context. Bryan Derksen, Sunday, April 7, 2002

I think most people are aware of my view about just dumping PD material onto the 'pedia. This is a good case to follow what wikipedia is not guideline number 12. --maveric149

I don't think it belongs, either. Else why not upload The Picture of Dorian Grey for our Oscar Wilde article? We're building an encyclopedia, not a library. My $.02. Koyaanis Qatsi, Sunday, April 7, 2002

Alrighty, off it goes then. Let History be its keeper. Bryan Derksen, Sunday, April 7, 2002

There is no date on the US document pointed to. This leads to confusion because there's at least two distinct texts. There's the one that the Contact Group referred to on the 23rd February (http://www.ohr.int/other-doc/contact-g/default.asp?content_id=3560) and there's the one on the US government site. Themos (talk) 11:06, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Not an Agreement
This was an ultimatum, not an agreement. Right? (LAz17 (talk) 17:42, 23 March 2008 (UTC)).

A republican foreign-policy aide later told a think tank that he'd heard a US official say:

1. the word republican isn't capitalized. I assume it refers to a member? congressman? of the US Republican party?

2. This is a think tank, quoting an UNNAMED foreign-policy aide, quoting an UNNAMED "US official" saying something. That's not encyclopedic, it's not even journalism, it's chinese whispers, and what a surprise, it's anti-US propaganda aswell. Who'd a thunk it? CLEANUP OR DELETION (of the whole article) BADLY NEEDED --LeedsKing (talk) 00:20, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. This is propaganda. And the Article doesn´t mention who the members of the contact group was. That must be relevant, they were some of the main players. Italy, Germany, Russia, US, UK and France if my memory serves me right. --95.34.224.245 (talk) 21:03, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Uncited source
This article is lifted essentially word for word from Beyond Guns and Steel: A War Termination Strategy by Dominic J. Caraccilo. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.203.58.98 (talk) 06:07, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

removing POV tag with no active discussion per Template:POV
I've removed an old neutrality tag from this page that appears to have no active discussion per the instructions at Template:POV:
 * This template is not meant to be a permanent resident on any article. Remove this template whenever:
 * There is consensus on the talkpage or the NPOV Noticeboard that the issue has been resolved
 * It is not clear what the neutrality issue is, and no satisfactory explanation has been given
 * In the absence of any discussion, or if the discussion has become dormant.

Since there's no evidence of ongoing discussion, I'm removing the tag for now. If discussion is continuing and I've failed to see it, however, please feel free to restore the template and continue to address the issues. Thanks to everybody working on this one! -- Khazar2 (talk) 12:49, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Rambouillet Agreement