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American History X

American History X is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye (in his feature directorial debut) and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and neo-Nazi movements. The older brother (Norton) serves three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, is rehabilitated during this time, and then tries to prevent his brother (Furlong) from being indoctrinated further. The supporting cast includes Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Beverly D'Angelo.

McKenna wrote the script based on his own childhood and experiences of growing up in San Diego. He sold the script to New Line Cinema, which was impressed by the writing. American History X was Kaye's first directorial role in a feature film. Budgeted at $20 million, filming took place in 1997. Before the film's release, Kaye and the film studio were in disagreements about the final cut of the film, which Norton had played a pivotal role in conceiving. The final version was longer than Kaye intended, which resulted in him publicly disowning the film, thus negatively affecting his directing career.

Distributed by New Line Cinema, the film was released in the United States on October 30, 1998, grossing $23.9 million, against a $20 million budget. American History X was critically praised, with Norton and Furlong's performances and the film's message drawing acclaim. Norton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film has also been used for educational purposes in the United States and in other countries. A follow-up, African History Y, with Kaye returning as director and starring Djimon Hounsou, was in active development as of 2020.

Plot
High school student Danny Vinyard antagonizes his Jewish history teacher Murray by choosing to write a civil rights essay on Mein Kampf. As a result, African-American principal and outreach worker Dr. Bob Sweeney gives Danny an ultimatum: study history directly under him through current events, which he calls "American History X", or be expelled. Danny's first assignment is to write a paper on his older brother Derek, a past student of Sweeney's and former neo-Nazi leader due to be released from prison that day.

Years earlier, Danny and Derek's father, a firefighter, was shot and killed by a black narcotics dealer while putting out a fire at their home. Immediately after his death, Derek erupts in a racially motivated tirade in a televised interview. High-profile neo-Nazi Cameron Alexander becomes Derek's mentor and they form their own violent white supremacist gang called the Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.) in Venice Beach. A skilled basketball player, Derek defeats several Crips members, winning control of the local ball courts. Later, Derek organizes an attack on an Asian-owned supermarket employing black people and illegal immigrants.

Derek's mother Doris invites Murray, her boyfriend at the time, to dinner where an argument about Rodney King and the 1992 Los Angeles riots ensues. Derek assaults his sister Davina and openly berates Murray, causing Doris to banish Derek from the home. That night, the same group of Crips that Derek had beaten in the basketball game attempt to steal his truck. When Danny alerts Derek to the crime, Derek shoots two of the men, killing one and wounding the other, before curb stomping the wounded man to death in front of Danny. He is arrested and sentenced to three years in the California Institution for Men for voluntary manslaughter.

In prison, Derek joins the Aryan Brotherhood and befriends a black inmate named Lamont. Derek becomes disillusioned by prison gang politics, disapproving of the gang's dealings with non-white gangs and involvement in narcotics dealing, believing that they are only using the philosophy of white supremacy out of convenience. He loses his belief further when his friends in the D.O.C. never visit him in prison. He ultimately abandons the Aryan Brotherhood, who beat and rape him in the shower in retaliation. Derek is visited in the hospital wing by Sweeney, with whom he pleads for help to get out of prison. Sweeney rebukes Derek and reveals his own racist past, and warns that Danny has become involved with the D.O.C. to follow in Derek's footsteps. After recovering and leaving the hospital wing, Derek ignores the Aryan Brotherhood while Lamont warns that he may be targeted by African-American gangs now that he is no longer under the Aryan Brotherhood's protection. An attack never comes, and Derek spends the remainder of his sentence alone. When he is released, Derek thanks Lamont, whom he realizes intervened on his behalf.

Returning home, Derek finds Danny emulating him, sporting a D.O.C. tattoo and becoming a skinhead. Derek tries to persuade him to leave the gang, but Danny feels betrayed. Derek's best friend Seth, also a D.O.C. member, frequently disrespects Derek's mother and sister while grooming Danny for the group; Seth and Danny are closely controlled by Cameron. During a party at the D.O.C. compound, Derek confronts Cameron and calls him out for using him only to abandon him for three years; declaring his departure from the group and refusal to allow them to use Danny the same way, he brutally beats Cameron when the man mocks him. Seth and the others, including Derek's ex-girlfriend Stacey, turn against Derek. Seth holds Derek at gunpoint, but Derek easily disarms him and holds everyone at gunpoint before fleeing, tossing the gun into a nearby bin.

Danny finds Derek and angrily confronts him over his actions. In response, Derek tells Danny about his experience in prison, which seems to prompt a change in Danny. The pair return home and remove racist posters from their shared bedroom. The next morning, Danny completes his paper, reflecting on his reasons for adopting neo-Nazi values from Derek, who most likely adopted such views from their father, in a flashback at dinner showing racial views, particularly against Dr. Sweeney. Derek walks Danny to school, stopping at a diner for breakfast. Sweeney and a police officer inform Derek that Seth and Cameron were attacked the night before and are in an intensive care unit. Derek denies having any knowledge or involvement and reluctantly agrees to inspect the people he denounced. In the boys' bathroom, Danny is killed by a black student that he had confronted the day before. Derek runs to the school and, finding Danny's body, mournfully cradles him while blaming himself for influencing Danny's views and actions. In a voiceover, Danny reads the final lines of his paper for Dr. Sweeney, quoting the final stanza of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address.

Development
Screenwriter David McKenna wrote the screenplay for American History X and sold the rights to New Line Cinema when he was 26. The inspiration for the story came from the punk-rock scene of McKenna's childhood, where he often witnessed violent behavior. "I saw a lot of bigotry growing up, and it made me think about writing something about the world of hate-mongers. The point I tried to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist. It is learned through [the] environment and the people that surround you. The question that intrigued me is: why do people hate and how does one go about changing that? My premise was that hate starts in the family". In order to make the characters as realistic as possible, McKenna interviewed and observed the behavior of skinheads during the writing process. He said "I had seen documentaries that just didn't ring true to me, and I wanted to write an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost".

Producer John Morrissey, who read the script three years prior, was impressed by the script's intense characters and dialogue. Michael De Luca, then-production president of New Line Cinema, said "I was intrigued by its intensity, conviction and brutal honesty. There was a brilliant character study woven into the screenplay, and I knew we had something special if we did it correctly". In 1996, the producers first approached Dennis Hopper to direct the film. Hopper turned down the offer, Larry Clark was approached to direct the film, but turned it down due to a scheduling conflict, Tony Kaye was then approached to direct. Kaye, who had been De Luca's preferred choice from the beginning, accepted and made his directorial debut in a feature film on American History X. He took the contract to a synagogue, "I signed it in front of the rabbi. I thought it would make it good", Kaye said. After the film was released, De Luca stated "It's everything I had hoped for. The performances are explosive and frightening, and the film dramatically demonstrates both the subtle and overt roots of racism while also showing the possibility for redemption".

Casting
Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard, but he was not interested. After holding casting calls, Kaye was unable to find a suitable actor for the lead role, but casting director Valerie McCaffrey suggested Edward Norton. Kaye initially objected, feeling that Norton lacked the "weight or presence", but he eventually conceded. According to executive producer Steve Tisch, Norton's passion for the project was "contagious", and he even agreed to a pay cut of more than $500,000 from his usual $1 million fee, to be cast in the lead. McCaffrey also cast Edward Furlong for the role of Danny Vinyard. To prepare for the role, Norton increased his calorie intake and spent hours in the gym to gain 25 pounds (11 kg) of muscle.

Filming
Principal photography took place in Los Angeles and Venice Beach, lasting for several months and finishing in May 1997. Kaye served as cinematographer and camera operator, and would often silently walk around the set, scouting for camera angles or visuals. During filming, Kaye established a casual environment for the cast and crew. He welcomed visitors on set, including singer Courtney Love, Norton's girlfriend at the time, and British historian John Richardson. Kaye would arrive for work in a Lincoln Town Car with a chauffeur, and a license plate that read "JEWISH". He carried four cell phones and a fax machine, and during the Passover holidays, Kaye had boxes of matzo delivered to the set. He also discovered at the time a newsletter published by a British political group, the National Front, which said he was a prominent Jew who supposedly controlled Britain's media.

Both Furlong and Ethan Suplee found taking on their roles that had hateful views to be uncomfortable. Furlong said "It's pretty intense, having to say this incredibly hateful stuff". The actors had "white power" tattoos painted on their arms, which Suplee forgot to remove one day after filming, and was confronted by a man in a convenience store. Norton recalls "Doing that film created the strangest distortion of perception on me ... the degree to which that film and the magic of camera and art and black and white photography ... made a lot of people think that I was a larger and tougher person than I am". The flashback scenes were edited to be in black-and-white, whereas the present-day scenes were edited to be in color.

Music
Kaye hired British composer Anne Dudley to score the film, and wanted the music to be "big and elegiac". She employed a full orchestra and a boys' choir, and decided against using hip-hop sounds. She said, "The neo-Nazi faction is personified in the music by a boys choir – what could be a more Aryan sound? ... A calming string orchestra instead provides a much more expressive and timeless palette".

Release
Kaye's original cut of the finished film had a run time of 95 minutes, which was delivered on time and within budget. Although it generated a positive response from test screenings, New Line Cinema insisted on further edits to the film. Kaye was mortified, saying "I'm fully aware that I'm a first-time director, but I need the same autonomy and respect that Stanley Kubrick gets". Soon afterwards, Norton was involved with editing alongside Kaye, which was a difficult experience for the pair. At one point, Kaye punched a wall which resulted in stitches to his hand.

In June 1998, the film studio test-screened a second cut of the film which included changes made by Norton. The studio tried to persuade Kaye to release Norton's cut, but he objected. Although the differences between the two cuts are disputed, Kaye objected to an additional 18 minutes of footage, and they disagreed with the length of certain scenes such as a family argument, Norton's anti-immigration speech, and a flashback where Norton's father is criticizing a teacher. Subsequently, the studio compromised and gave Kaye an extra eight weeks to edit and submit a new cut of the film.

During this period, Kaye took a number of combative actions. He spent $100,000 on cryptic advertisements in the Hollywood press that quoted John Lennon and Abraham Lincoln, and condemned the behavior of Norton and the studio. At one point, Kaye brought a priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk to a meeting with producers while videotaping the entire encounter. When the company offered him an additional eight weeks to re-cut the film, Kaye said he had a "radical" new vision in mind, which he did not know when he would finish. He collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning poet Derek Walcott on new narration for the film.

American History X was due to premiere at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, but Kaye requested that organizer Piers Handling withdraw the film. On July 28, 1998, after the eight week deadline, Kaye had nothing new to show and the studio announced that it would release Norton's cut. Kaye attempted to remove his name from the film credits, applying for various pseudonyms, including "Humpty Dumpty", a request that the Directors Guild of America (DGA) refused. Kaye subsequently filed a $200 million lawsuit against DGA and New Line Cinema, although the case was dismissed in 2000. Kaye disowned the film, describing the released version, which was 24 minutes longer than his own cut, as a "total abuse of creativity" and "crammed with shots of everyone crying in each other's arms". Kaye's behavior caused Hollywood to view him as unemployable, and he did not watch the film until June 2007. He later admitted that "My ego got in the way. That was entirely my fault. [...] Whenever I can, I take the opportunity to apologize". He did not direct another film until 2006's Lake of Fire.

Home media
The film was released by New Line Home Video on DVD on April 6, 1999, on laserdisc on April 13, and on VHS on August 24 of the same year. The film was later released on Blu-ray on April 7, 2009, including seven minutes of deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.

Box office
American History X premiered in Los Angeles on October 28, 1998, and on the same week in New York. It received a wider release in the United States on October 30. The film grossed $156,076 in 17 theaters during its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $6,719,864 from 513 theaters in the United States, for a worldwide total of $23,875,127.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, American History X has an approval rating of 84% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "American History X doesn't contend with its subject matter as fully as it could, but Edward Norton's performance gives this hard-hitting drama crucial weight." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 62 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, gave American History X four out of four stars, describing it as "a shockingly powerful screed against racism that also manages to be so well performed and directed that it is entertaining as well", adding it was "also effective at demonstrating how hate is taught from one generation to another". He said Norton was an "immediate front-runner" for an Academy Award. Todd McCarthy, writing for Variety, gave the film a positive review stating "This jolting, superbly acted film will draw serious-minded upscale viewers interested in cutting-edge fare". He particularly praised Norton's performance, saying "His Derek mesmerizes even as he repels, and the actor fully exposes the human being behind the tough poses and attitudinizing". Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote "Though its story elements are all too easily reduced to a simple outline, American History X has enough fiery acting and provocative bombast to make its impact felt. For one thing, its willingness to take on ugly political realities gives it a substantial raison d'être. For another, it has been directed with a mixture of handsome photo-realism and visceral punch".

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, but was critical of the underdeveloped areas, stating "the movie never convincingly charts Derek's path to race hatred". Ebert concluded "This is a good and powerful film. If I am dissatisfied, it is because it contains the promise of being more than it is". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the film "riveting", and praised the narrative structure despite "thinness of the script".

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle expressed disappointment with the picture. LaSalle felt that while it succeeded in portraying Derek's descent into neo-Nazism, it failed to portray his renouncement of his past beliefs, "We had to watch him think his way in. We should see him think his way out". LaSalle also noted that "In some places the dialogue is surprisingly stilted. Far worse, the ending is a misfire". However, he complimented Norton's performance. Stephen Hunter, writing for The Washington Post, was highly critical of the film and gave it a negative review, calling it "an old melodramatic formula hidden under pretentious TV-commercial-slick photography". Michael O'Sullivan wrote "There are moments when Anne Dudley's string-laden score overpowers the stark simplicity of the film's message and other times when the moral of brotherly love is hammered a bit heavily", but conceded "the blunt and brutal American History X is ultimately only as imperfect as we ourselves are".

Accolades
Edward Norton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Derek Vinyard, but lost to Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful. Norton's loss was included on Empire's list of "22 Incredibly Shocking Oscars Injustices".

Legacy
In 1999, Amnesty International USA used American History X for an educational campaign, screening the film in colleges and in nationwide events for raising awareness on human rights. Zara Toussaint, of Amnesty International in France, organized screenings in her country followed by debates. "The reactions [to the film] were varied. Some people thought that this was only an extreme case, that this kind of group was very marginal and that there could be no equivalent in France", she said. In response to the French screening, Sébastien Homer of L'Humanité wrote, "Police violence, the Rodney King affair, unsanitary prisons, ill-treatment, rejection of asylum seekers, the United States has still not assimilated what human rights, freedom, equality meant". In September 1999, Empire magazine ranked the film 311th in a list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. In 2008, Norton's performance was ranked by Total Film as the 72nd greatest film performance of all time. Although director Kaye did not watch the film until 2007, he has acknowledged that it has become "quite a little classic in its own befuddled way". In 2012, he said that he was "very proud of what we all achieved".

For its 20th anniversary, Christopher Hooton writing for The Independent opined that the film "feels more essential now that it ever has". Clayton Schuster of Vice drew comparisons between the film and both the racial rhetoric of Donald Trump and real life atrocities; the murders of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church in 2015, a far-right march in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, and a year later, a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue. He argues that these violent acts are no different to the hate represented in the movie, adding, "White supremacy has existed for centuries. It's lurked on the fringes of American power since the birth of this nation". He added "there is at least one notable difference ... The movie portrays skinheads as visually different ... They're suited up in boots with red laces, heads gleaming from a fresh shave, and tatted with Nazi insignia and racist slogans. White supremacists today have largely adopted a policy of fitting into society rather than standing out". Writing for Esquire magazine in 2018, Justin Kirkland stated that he believed that "Perhaps the reason that American History X still feels so relevant two decades after its release is because we haven't done enough for it not to be ... I'm afraid we're going to be writing about American History X forever. I'm afraid of what will happen if we don't".

title: American History X


text:
Terrazo

Terrazo is a book written in 1947 by Puerto Rican writer Abelardo Diaz Alfaro. The book won many awards, including that of the Sociedad de Periodistas Universitario y Instituto de Literatura Puertorriqueña, and made it to the national libraries of many other Latin American countries where Diaz Alfaro was a known and respected writer.

Terrazo tells the stories, in fiction, of various Puerto Rican villages and people. The majority of these stories are told from the perspective of "jíbaros" (simple country people with little to no education). The stories use jíbaro language, which is slang Spanish. The writer's father was a social worker in Puerto Rico and passed these stories to A. David Alfaro. The stories, while fiction, are based on stories they heard or were told by the country people. Its 20 chapters, while made up of fictional stories, talk in comical terms about the way many of the jíbaros used to talk and describe their lives and their reasoning, such as how they perceived Santa Claus.

The book has been considered by many as one of the tools that helped Puerto Rican people realize the ways, stories and life of the poor in Puerto Rico's past.

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

title: Terrazo


text:
John E. Sununu

John Edward Sununu (born September 10, 1964) is an American politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003 and the U.S. Senate representing New Hampshire from 2003 to 2009. Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate for his entire six-year term. He also remains the only Salvadoran American ever elected to the U.S. Congress.

A Republican, he is the son of former New Hampshire Governor and former White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, and the older brother of Chris Sununu, the current governor of New Hampshire. In 2008, Sununu lost his re-election bid to former governor Jeanne Shaheen.

Early life and education
Sununu, one of eight siblings, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Nancy (née Hayes) and former Governor of New Hampshire and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu.

His father's paternal ancestors came to the United States from the Middle East around the start of the 20th century, while his paternal grandmother was an immigrant from El Salvador, born to a prominent Salvadoran family of Lebanese, Hispanic and Greek descent who were Greek Orthodox Christians. His father's paternal ancestry is Lebanese and Greek, both from the Greek Orthodox communities in Jerusalem. Despite the family's emigration from Jerusalem, some members of the family were from Beirut. His father's maternal ancestry was Greek and Hispanic. His father, John, was born in Havana, Cuba. His paternal grandfather, also named John, was born in the United States, and most of the last two generations of Sununus were also born in the United States. His mother's ancestors include immigrants from Ireland, as well as Scotland and England.

Sununu earned both B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986 and 1987, respectively. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University in 1991. After graduating, he worked in the high-tech industry, at one time for the company of Dean Kamen and as a management consultant for PRTM.

Elections
In 1996, incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman Bill Zeliff decided to run for Governor of New Hampshire. Sununu narrowly defeated Democrat Joe Keefe. In 1998, he won re-election with 67% of the vote beating Democrat Peter Flood. In 2000, he won re-election defeating Democrat Martha Fuller Clark with 53% of the vote.

Tenure
In 1999, New Hampshire's Christian Coalition gave "pro-family" awards to both New Hampshire Representatives, Sununu and Charles Bass, honoring the vote by both men to impeach President Bill Clinton.

On November 8, 2000, the Boston Globe noted Sununu's defeat of Democratic newcomer Martha Fuller Clark, noting that Sununu had "one of the House's most conservative voting records"—opposing abortion and increased minimum wages while favoring school vouchers and the death penalty. He earned a 100% rating from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste. He has also been presented the "Spirit of Enterprise Award" by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the "Guardian of Small Business Award" by the National Federation of Independent Business, and the "Friend of the Taxpayer Award" by the Americans for Tax Reform.

Committee assignments
He served on the House Appropriations and Budget Committees. He held subcommittee seats on the Veterans Administration-Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee, the Treasury Postal Subcommittee, and the District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee, and also served as a member of the Republican Policy Committee.

2002
In 2002, Sununu ran for a United States Senate seat from New Hampshire. In the Republican primary, he defeated the Republican incumbent Bob Smith 54%–45%. In the November election, he subsequently defeated Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen 51%–46%. The election was marred by members of the Republican Party who organized the 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal which disrupted Democratic efforts.

2008
In a rematch, Shaheen defeated Sununu 52% to 45%. She won every county but Carroll, Belknap, and Rockingham counties. Sununu slightly outperformed Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the 2008 national election, as McCain got about 45% of the vote but did not win any counties.

Tenure
According to a Washington Post study, Sununu voted with the Republican Party's position 84% of the time. However, he broke with his party on prominent issues, joining Democrats in filibusters of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Bush Administration's 2003 energy bill. Sununu strongly supported greater access to firearms, voting against the proposed renewal of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004. In 2006, he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He strongly opposed amnesty for illegal aliens, voting against the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill in July 2007. Sununu called for a tougher federal regulator for government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), he filed a dramatic overhaul of regulation of the insurance industry. A long proponent of technology, in January 2007, Sununu called for a permanent ban on taxes of Internet connections and online sales.

The non-partisan National Journal gave Sununu a composite rating of 65.8% conservative and 34% liberal in 2008. Sununu was one of only three senators whose voting record received a score of 100% from the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, in both 2005 and 2006, tying for 1st place. However, his rating fell to 23rd place in 2007, and to 34th place in 2008. The Club for Growth endorsed Sununu's unsuccessful bid for re-election in February 2007 against Jeanne Shaheen (she subsequently during 2009–2012 earned Club for Growth ratings of 64th place to 100th place).

In 2007, Sununu was the lead Republican co-sponsor of the Clean Air Planning Act of 2007 which sought to address air quality and climate change by establishing a schedule to reduce harmful emissions from power plants—in particular, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides—as well as decrease carbon dioxide emissions through a cap and trade system. The legislation, which was never enacted, also addressed mercury pollution, calling for a 90% reduction in emissions of the chemical by 2015. He also supported the bipartisan Clean Energy Stimulus Act of 2008 that provides tax incentives for the development of clean and renewable energy sources. In 2006 Sununu sponsored the bipartisan New England Wilderness Act which added tens of thousand of acres of land to federally protected forests. Sununu opposed the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003, which would have also created a cap-and-trade program. His vote was criticized by the New Hampshire Democratic Party which claimed that he had acted "against reducing greenhouse gases". The New Hampshire Union Leader praised his decision, citing the Energy Information Agency's estimation that the legislation would cost the American economy $507 billion over 22 years.

Sununu took a few positions contrary to the Bush administration and the Republican leadership. Though he voted for the flag-burning amendment, he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and he opposed restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, and was one of only two Republicans to vote in favor of terminating funds for TV Martí, which broadcasts anti-Castro programming in Cuba. He was one of a small group of Republicans to vote in favor of banning loans to China for any nuclear projects, and in September 2005 he voted to disapprove a new rule set in place by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delisting coal and other energy sources from the Clean Air Act.

He also became well known as one of the five Republican Senators who joined Democrats in a filibuster of the USA PATRIOT Act renewal conference report, concerned about possible negative impacts the bill had on civil liberties. This caused the Republican leadership to extend the original legislation until a compromise bill was forged.

In January 2006, at a hearing in front of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on the Broadcast Flag, Sununu was one of the very few present to criticize the legislation, saying "In all cases [of previous technological advancements in the US], we didn't need to step in with a significant statutory government-regulated mandate on technology that consumers use to enjoy this material".

In October 2006, Sununu voted against a portion of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that would suspend the right of habeas corpus for non-citizen detainees. After voting in favor of the final bill, he defended his vote by telling reporters "The Constitution is not a suicide pact".

On March 14, 2007, Sununu became the first Republican senator to call for the firing of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after a controversy over U.S. Attorney firings. Sununu cited his anger with the mismanagement by Gonzales and the lack of trustworthiness by GOP Senators towards Gonzales.

In July 2005, Sununu shaved his head to show solidarity with Senator Arlen Specter, who had lost his hair due to chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease.

In September 2008, Sununu became one of twenty senators (ten Democrats and ten Republicans) co-sponsoring a bipartisan energy bill, the New Energy Reform Act of 2008. The bill was offered as an alternative to the Democrats' energy bill, sponsored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Both bills proposed to increase offshore drilling, while promoting conservation and alternative energy. The "Gang of Twenty" bill also lets coastal states participate in decisions and in revenue about drilling in the fifty-to-one-hundred-mile range off their coasts. It also differs from the Democrats' bill in allowing drilling off Florida's west coast, a proposal both Florida's senators have protested. To quote the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Nearly every potentially vulnerable Senate Republican, from Norm Coleman [of Minnesota] to Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire, has signed on to the legislation."

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Finance
 * Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
 * Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
 * Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Agencies
 * Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
 * Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration (Ranking Member)
 * Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
 * Joint Economic Committee

Later career
Sununu currently sits on the Board of Managers of ConvergEx Holdings, a holding company for BNY ConvergEx Group, an affiliate of Bank of New York Mellon, which holds a 33.8% stake in BNY ConvergEx Group.

On July 7, 2010, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced that Sununu was joining the firm as an adjunct senior policy advisor. Akin Gump is one of the largest law firms and lobbying firms in Washington, D.C.

Sununu was appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to serve on the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, whose purpose is to assess how the TARP program is working, in order to help Congress determine whether to continue injecting capital into the financial sector.

Sununu is a regular op-ed contributor to the Boston Globe.

Prior to the 2014 election cycle, speculation had abounded that he would pursue a rematch against Shaheen, but in April 2013, he said that he would not run for his old seat.

On January 30, 2019, Lloyd's of London announced Sununu had been appointed to its governing council.

Personal life
Sununu married Catherine (Kitty) Halloran on July 9, 1988. They have three children: John, (Catherine) Grace, and Charlotte.

Electoral history
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, write-ins received 197 votes.

title: John E. Sununu


text:
Shmuel Schneersohn

Shmuel Schneersohn (or Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or The Rebbe Maharash) (29 April 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS) was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement.

Biography
Shmuel Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, on 2 Iyar 5594 (1834), the seventh son of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. He faced competition from three of his brothers, primarily from Yehuda Leib Schneersohn who established a dynasty in Kapust upon their father's death. Other brothers also established dynasties in Lyady, Nizhyn, and Ovruch.

In 1848, Schneersohn was married to the daughter of his brother, Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneersohn. After several months she died, and he then married Rivkah, a granddaughter of his own grandfather Dovber Schneuri. He had three sons, Zalman Aharon, Shalom Dovber, and Menachem Mendel, as well as one daughter, Devorah Leah.

Schneersohn was said to have had chariots on call for the evacuation of books in time of fire.

Besides his communal activism, he had wide intellectual interests. He spoke several languages, including Latin. He wrote widely on a range of religious and secular topics, and much of his writing has never been published and remains in manuscript form alone. His discourses began to be published for the first time under the title Likkutei Torat Shmuel in 1945 by Kehot, and 12 volumes have so far been printed.

He died in Lyubavichi, on 13 Tishrei 5643 (1882), leaving three sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.

Schneersohn urged the study of Kabbalah as a prerequisite for one's humanity: "A person who is capable of comprehending the seder hishtalshelus (kabbalistic secrets concerning the coming-into-being of all existence every moment) - and fails to do so - cannot be considered a human being. At every moment and time one must know where his soul stands. It is a mitzvah (commandment) and an obligation to know the seder hishtalshelus."

Works

 * "Likkutei Torah L'Sholosh Parshiyos" - Discourses based on the first three parshiyos in Torah Ohr of the Alter Rebbe
 * "Likkutei Torah - Toras Shmuel 5626-5642" 35 volumes - discourses in order of the parshiyos and festivals
 * "Sefer hasichos Toras Shmuel"
 * "Igros Kodesh" A collection of over 70 surviving letters and Halachik responsa

Aphorisms
"The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, Lechatchilah Ariber--'At the outset, one should climb over.'" "'You cannot fool God; ultimately, you cannot fool others either. The only one you can fool is yourself. And to fool a fool is no great achievement.'" "'because better is better, is good not good? rather good is good, and better is better!'" "Why are you demanding of me? Demand of yourself! If you toil and fill your mind with Torah there won't be any space for foreign thoughts! break your desires and you will feel great pleasure in prayer!"

title: Shmuel Schneersohn


text:
The Hurricane (1999 film)

The Hurricane is a 1999 American biographical sports drama film directed and produced by Norman Jewison. The film stars Denzel Washington as Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, a former middleweight boxer who was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from Carter's 1974 autobiography The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To 45472 and the 1991 non-fiction work Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.

The film depicts Carter's arrest, his life in prison, and how he was freed by the love and compassion of a teenager from Brooklyn named Lesra Martin and his Canadian foster family. The film received positive reviews and won several awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for Washington's performance. Washington was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The film was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on December 29, 1999. It grossed $74 million against a budget of $50 million.

Plot
The film tells the story of middleweight boxer Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, who was wrongfully convicted of committing a triple murder in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey. His sentence was set aside after he had spent nearly 20 years in prison. The film concentrates on Rubin Carter's life between 1966 and 1985. It describes his fight against the conviction for triple murder and how he copes with nearly 20 years in prison.

A parallel plot follows Lesra Martin, an underprivileged Afro-American youth from Brooklyn, now living in Toronto. In the 1980s, the child becomes interested in Carter's life and circumstances after reading Carter's autobiography. He convinces his Canadian foster family to commit themselves to Carter's case. The story culminates with Carter's legal team's successful pleas to Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

In 1966, Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter was a top-ranked middleweight boxer, expected by many fans to become the world's greatest boxing champion. When three victims, specifically the club's bartender and a male and a female customer, were shot to death in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey, Carter and his friend John Artis, driving home from another club in Paterson, were stopped and interrogated by the police.

Although the police asserted that Carter and Artis were innocent and thus, "were never suspects," a man named Alfred Bello, a suspect himself in the killings, claimed that Carter and Artis were present at the time of the murders. On the basis of Bello's testimony, Carter and Artis were convicted of the triple homicide in the club, and Carter was given three consecutive life sentences.

Throughout the trial, Carter proclaimed his innocence, claiming that his race, his boxing career and status and his work as a civil rights activist were the real reasons for his conviction. Eight years later, Bello and a co-suspect, Arthur Bradley, who also claimed that Carter was present at the scene of the crimes, renounced and recanted their testimony. However, Carter and Artis were convicted once again.

Afterwards, the plot goes back to Lesra Martin, who works with a trio of Canadian activists to push the State of New Jersey to reexamine Carter's case.

In 1985, a Federal District Court ruled that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" and that his conviction was based on racism rather than facts. As a result, Carter and later Artis were finally freed. Outside following the verdict, Carter summed up his story by saying, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out."

Background
Norman Jewison became interested in a "Hurricane" Carter biopic in 1992. Armyan Bernstein purchased the filming rights through Beacon Pictures, and went on to write the first scripts while establishing a financing partnership with Irving Azoff. At first, Jewison felt the story was so extensive that it would fit better as a television miniseries.

Once Denzel Washington signed to play the title character, he went through long boxing training, and worked closely with Rubin Carter. Washington said, "He went through pots and pots of coffee and packs of cigarettes. I'd drink a little coffee. It's interesting and challenging when the person is there, alive and in the room."

Filming began in November 1998, with locations in both New Jersey – East Jersey State Prison in Rahway and the cities of Avenel and Paterson – and Toronto.

Premiere
The Hurricane premiered on September 17, 1999, at the Toronto International Film Festival. It also was featured at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2000.

Two weeks prior to its opening in North America, a premiere for The Hurricane was held at the Mann Village Theater in Los Angeles. Many of the depicted people were in attendance. When asked about being portrayed by Denzel Washington, Rubin Carter replied that “I didn’t know I was that good-looking." The film was praised by Lesra Martin, who described it as "a stupendous depiction of accurate events", and John Artis, Carter's friend who was convicted with him, said he “was in awe to see what unfolded and not have to feel the pressure I felt at the time.” An objection was held by H. Lee Sarokin, the federal judge who freed Carter, saying that unlike his portrayal by Rod Steiger “I’m a lower-key guy.”

Box office
The film opened in North American limited release on December 29, 1999. The first week's gross was $384,640 (11 screens) and the total receipts for the run were $50,668,906. In its widest release the film was featured in 2,148 theaters. It closed the week of April 14, 2000. The motion picture was in circulation sixteen weeks.

Critical response
The Hurricane has an 82% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 113 reviews. The consensus reads: "Thanks in large part to one of Denzel Washington's most powerful on-screen performances, The Hurricane is a moving, inspirational sports drama, even if it takes few risks in telling its story." Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun Times, liked the film and the acting, and wrote, "This is one of Denzel Washington's great performances, on a par with his work in Malcolm X.... Washington as Hurricane Carter is spare, focused, filled with anger and pride.... This is strong stuff, and I was amazed, after feeling some impatience in the earlier reaches of the film, to find myself so deeply absorbed in its second and third acts, until at the end I was blinking at tears. What affects me emotionally at the movies is never sadness, but goodness." Metacritic gave the score a film of 74 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ebert discussed his perspective on the "fictionalized" aspects of the film: "Several people have told me dubiously that they heard the movie was 'fictionalized'. Well, of course it was. Those who seek the truth about a man from the film of his life might as well seek it from his loving grandmother. Most biopics, like most grandmothers, see the good in a man and demonize his enemies. They pass silently over his imprudent romances. In dramatizing his victories, they simplify them. And they provide the best roles to the most interesting characters. If they didn't, we wouldn't pay to see them." He added, "The Hurricane is not a documentary but a parable, in which two lives are saved by the power of the written word."

Film critic Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, had mixed views of the film but praised the acting. He wrote: "In telling the story of Mr. Carter's protracted and ultimately successful fight for freedom and justice, The Hurricane rides to glory on an astonishing performance by Denzel Washington.... That is to say, Mr. Washington leans into an otherwise schlocky movie and slams it out of the ballpark. If his Hurricane is an inspiring portrait of nobility, it is because the actor never conceals the demons of fury and despair gnawing beneath his character's forcefully articulate surface."

Alex von Tunzelmann, writing for The Guardian, gave the film a "B", but cited issues with historical accuracy, including depictions of Carter's military service, prior criminal record, and the Giardello fight. She also stated that the inclusion of negative aspects of Carter's life would not have made it acceptable "that he was wrongfully convicted of three murders."

Jewison considered The Hurricane his best work.

Wins

 * Berlin International Film Festival: Prize of the Guild of German rt House Cinemas, Norman Jewison; Silver Berlin Bear, Best Actor, Denzel Washington' 2000.
 * Black Reel Awards: Black Reel; Theatrical, Best Actor; Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama; Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Image Awards: Image Award; Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, Denzel Washington; 2000.

Nominations

 * Academy Awards: Oscar; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role; Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Berlin International Film Festival: Golden Berlin Bear, Norman Jewison; 2000.
 * Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Blockbuster Entertainment Award, Favorite Actor, Drama, Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: CFCA Award; Best Actor; Denzel Washington; 2000.
 * Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Director, Motion Picture, Norman Jewison; Best Motion Picture – Drama; 2000.
 * Image Awards: Image Award; Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Debbi Morgan, Outstanding Motion Picture; 2000.

Lawsuit
Former middleweight World Champion Joey Giardello sued the film's producers for libel over the depiction of his fight with Carter as a "racist fix." Giardello stated: "Virtually every boxing expert then and now will tell you I won the fight." Referee Robert Polis who scored the fight 72–66 in Giardello's favor stated: "They portrayed Joey Giardello as an incompetent fighter. I thought it was ludicrous."

Eventually, the case was settled out of court, with the producers paying the retired champion damages and with Jewison agreeing to make a statement on the DVD version that "Giardello no doubt was a great fighter."

title: The Hurricane (1999 film)


text:
Talk:Shmuel Schneersohn

Untitled
Doesn't he have a surname? -- Zoe

The surnames are never used and no-one in the circles of Chabad Lubavitch or Hasidic Judaism or amongst Jewish Orthodox people, refers or knows them by their surnames. But if you do some deeper research some did have "family names" that often changed and varied in pronounciation. I am relying on biographies published by the Lubavitchers and this is how the names are always used. Except in the case of the last two Rebbes; one used Schneersohn (with an "h" at the end}, and his son-in-law used Schneerson (without an "h" ).IZAK

See entry for Schneersohn / Schneerson IZAK

 * he was called mostly the Maharash more than R.Shmuel (i add to the article). : Chmouel 23:33, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I updated this article now (14 Dec '04) to reflect Wikipedia naming conventions, and it is legitimate to call this rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, and also, provide the various other names he may have been known by. IZAK 06:28, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Date of Birth
According to the hebrew page, he is born on the 2 of Iyar 5554, which means 11 of May 1834 in Gregorian calendar, and end of April in Russian calendar. Not compatible with 17 march 1834 on this page. May be there is a confusion with the date where he became Rabbi, which is 17 march 1866 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bobouh (talk • contribs) 18:49, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Shmuel Schneersohn


text:
Legacy of the Great Irish Famine

The legacy of the Great Famine in Ireland (An Gorta Mór or An Drochshaol, litt: The Bad Life) followed a catastrophic period of Irish history between 1845 and 1852 during which time the population of Ireland was reduced by 50 percent.

The Great Famine (1845–1849) was a watershed in the history of Ireland. Its effects permanently changed the island's demographic, political and cultural landscape. For both the native Irish and those in the resulting diaspora, the famine entered folk memory and became a rallying point for various nationalist movements. Modern historians regard it as a dividing line in the Irish historical narrative, referring to the preceding period of Irish history as "pre-Famine".

In Ireland
Political reaction resulting from the Great Irish Famine was muted, because of the extremely limited electoral franchise that existed at the time. Irish politics in the 1820s to 1840s had been dominated by the Catholic Emancipation and "Repeal" movements under Daniel O'Connell. (The Independent Irish Party, formed in June 1852, disintegrated within four years, but it was in major decline from 1853 when tenants benefited from a recovery in agricultural prices.)

Outside the mainstream, too, reaction was slow. The 1848 Young Ireland rebellion under Thomas Davis, though occurring at the start of the Famine, was hardly impacted upon by the Famine, as much as by the clash between the "constitutional" nationalism and Catholicism of O'Connell and the pluralist republicanism of Davis. Another rebellion would not occur again until the 1860s under the Fenians/Irish Republican Brotherhood. Historians have speculated that, such was the economic and social impact on Ireland, the nation was numbed into inaction for decades afterwards; in other words, that politics mattered less to people than survival after the traumatic experiences of the late 1840s and early 1850s.

Though its electorate was a small part of the population (as elsewhere in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland), those Irish privileged to vote continued until the mid-1870s to vote for the two major British political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals, with more votes and seats going to the latter, even though it had been the party of government during the Famine. The introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 enabled the Home Rule League to largely replace the Liberals in Irish politics in 1874. The Home Rule League was reconstituted as the Irish Parliamentary Party, under Charles Stewart Parnell in the 1880s; Parnell was also instrumental in establishing the Irish Land League, to achieve land reform. A large body of voters continued to vote for unionists, who wished to maintain the Union that joined Britain and Ireland.

The British Royal Family avoided some censure, due to their perceived impotence in political affairs. Although some believed the myth that Queen Victoria (known in Ireland in later decades as the "Famine Queen") had only donated a miserly £5 to famine relief, in fact the sum was £2,000, the equivalent of between £217,000 and £8,120,000 in 2022, from her personal resources. She also was patron of a charity that fundraised. On instruction of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Victoria made what was largely seen as a propaganda visit in 1849. However, this visit was conducted under stringent security measures and was not free from protests or controversy. The celebrations associated with her visit just after the famine were compared to "illuminating a graveyard" in a newspaper editorial at the time.

An additional social impact due to the high numbers of children orphaned was that for some young women, prostitution was one of few options available. Some of these young women became known as Wrens of the Curragh.

Linguistic consequences
It is estimated that one and a half million people died during the Famine and that a million emigrated between 1846 and 1851. A large proportion of these were Irish speakers, and the poorest districts, from which emigration continued to flow, were generally Irish-speaking. The Famine was not the only reason for the decline of the language (the general exclusion of Irish from public life and the influence of the English-speaking clergy and middle classes also played a part) but it was a conspicuous element. This led to the creation of an Ireland which thought of itself as essentially English-speaking, though with a persistent and influential reaction in the form of organisations such as the Gaelic League and the growth of a network of urban Irish-speaking activists from the late nineteenth century on.

In pre-Famine Ireland Irish was the language both of a rich folk culture and a strong literary tradition. The latter persisted in the form of Irish language manuscripts containing both prose and poetry: a single collection would give the reader access to a substantial part of the literature. Many such manuscripts were taken to America by emigrants in the 1840s and after.

The emigration of numerous Irish speakers to America as an immediate or long-term result of the Famine led to a movement there for the maintenance of the Irish language. This was marked in part by the foundation of Philo-Celtic Societies and the founding of the monthly journal An Gaodhal in 1881, the first such publication anywhere in which Irish was extensively used.

Irish emigrants abroad
If the political elite in Ireland remained tolerant of British political parties and the monarchy, emigrants were not so. Many Irish emigrants to the United States quickly associated with separatist republican groups and organisations like the IRB. The political liberties and freedom of opportunity they encountered in the States confirmed for them the potential of an independent Ireland and often made them more passionate and optimistic than some of their brethren at home.

The Famine and its causes became a major platform for emigrant anger, as it was the main cause for most of them being emigrants in the first place. John Mitchel, a journalist by trade (who had written for Thomas Davis's newspaper, The Nation before leaving to set up his own paper, only to be arrested, tried for sedition and transported to the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land) who continued to campaign against British rule in Ireland after moving to the United States. Analysing the famine, he wrote:

"The Almighty indeed sent the potato blight but the English created the famine... a million and half men, women and children were carefully, prudently and peacefully slain by the English government. They died of hunger in the midst of abundance which their own hands created. John Mitchel"

Mitchel's commentary expressed the anger felt by many emigrants, who saw themselves as the dispossessed, forced from Ireland by a famine they blamed on British government policies. The famine became a constant issue with Irish Americans, who to an extent unrivalled among other emigrant communities in the United States, remained emotionally attached to their native land. Leaders such as John Devoy in later decades came to play a major role in supporting Irish independence. It was no accident that the President of Dáil Éireann, Éamon de Valera in 1920 chose to travel to the United States, not elsewhere, in his efforts to get the Irish Republic recognised and accepted, or that when Michael Collins launched special bonds to fund the new Republic, many were sold to Irish Americans.

Genocide
During and after the famine, some commentators have claimed that the British government's response, while it occurred, amounted to genocide, a contention which is disputed. American professor of international law and human rights campaigner Francis Boyle has claimed in his 2011 work United Ireland, Human Rights and International Law that the famine amounted to genocide by the British government, a view which was supported by historian James Mullin. However, numerous Irish, British and American scholars, such as academics F. S. L. Lyons, John A. Murphy, R. F. Foster, and James S. Donnelly Jr., as well as historians Cecil Woodham-Smith, Peter Gray, Ruth Dudley Edwards, and Cormac Ó Gráda have denied claims of a deliberate policy of genocide. All historians generally agree that British policies during the Famine (particularly those applied by the Ministry of Lord John Russell) were misguided, ill-informed, and counter-productive, and that had a similar crisis occurred in England instead of Ireland then the government's response would have been different.

There are public records that there was enough grain and meal in Ireland during that period to have prevented the food shortage caused by the potato blight. Famine conditions were allowed to continue for a number of years in the 1840s, while the surplus food was not distributed. Some have claimed that because emigration was allowed, the Famine period does not qualify as genocide. The poverty, evictions, workshops where workers paid off the cost of their tickets, and the overcrowding and unhygienic conditions on emigration ships, all combined to make the journey of emigrating as great a risk as staying and trying to survive starvation. By modern definitions, the term "refugee" would be more accurate than "emigrant" to describe those who fled Ireland.

Commemorations

Ireland commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine in the 1990s. It was a contrast, in many ways, with the 100th anniversary in the 1940s. Then, only a few commemorations were held – the most significant of which was a commissioned volume of Famine history edited by R. Dudley Edwards and T. Desmond Williams (though not published until 1956), and the important 'Famine Survey' undertaken by the Irish Folklore Commission in 1945. Beyond these important cultural aspects, emigration was a continuing and embarrassing fact of Irish political life in the 1940s, and there was no natural constituency for the famine victims, who had died or emigrated. Some commentators were embarrassed that their ancestors had somehow fed themselves by inevitably not sharing food with the victims, a form of "survivor guilt".

The 1990s marked a significant shift in attitudes towards commemorating the Famine, as hundreds of events took place in Ireland and throughout the Irish diaspora, some of which received sponsorship from the National Famine Commemoration Committee based in the Department of the Taoiseach, led by Avril Doyle TD. At the Great Famine Event held in Millstreet, County Cork, a statement from British Prime Minister Tony Blair was read aloud, apologising for the failure of past British governments to adequately address the crisis. A large number of new research studies on the Famine were produced, many detailing for the first time local experiences. Historians re-examined all aspects of the Famine experience; from practical issues like the number of deaths and emigrants, to the long-term impact it had on society, sexual behaviour, land holdings, property rights and the entire Irish identity, personified in the conservatism of Cardinal Cullen, that persisted into the 1900s.

In 2010, Britain failed to send a diplomatic representative to the opening of the National Famine Commemoration at the Murrisk Millennium Peace Park, at the foot of Croagh Patrick, County Mayo. Representatives of 14 other nations were present including the United States and Australia as well as the European Parliament. The Irish government was represented by several ministers. The Taoiseach and President did not attend in person, but sent staff members.

The Famine in song
The Famine is also commemorated in song, both from the period and from modern times. Irish novelist and songwriter, Brendan Graham has written a number of novels and songs on An Gorta Mór – the Great Irish Famine. His book publishing deal with HarperCollins originated from a number of songs he had written about An Gorta Mór, resulting in the publication of his best selling 'documentary novel' of the Famine – The Whitest Flower (HarperCollins, London, Sydney, Toronto, 1998). The Sunday Times, Canberra called The Whitest Flower – 'An important addition to the Irish national story'. The Whitest Flower, with its song 'soundtrack', was a required text for Boston's MIT Women's Studies Course. Along with its sequel The Element of Fire (HarperCollins, 2001), The Whitest Flower was also listed as 'support fiction' for Ireland's Leaving Certificate, History syllabus.

"The Voice" written by Brendan Graham and performed by Eimear Quinn won the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland. The lyrics refer to Ireland's troubled history and point clearly to Famine times in Ireland, I am The Voice of your hunger and pain. As well as entering the British Pop Charts, The Voice was one of the songs studied for the UK GCSE Music Syllabus, 1998. Eimear Quinn's version featured in the Pierce Brosnan movie – The Nephew, while the song found a new life in America with the recording and widespread PBS broadcasting of it as part of the group Celtic Woman's rise to prominence there. Author and sociologist E. Moore Quinn in her book 'Irish American Folklore in New England', published in 2009, quotes the full lyric of The Voice.

"The Fairhaired Boy" – This song written by Brendan Graham was recorded by Cathy Jordan and Dervish on their 2003 album, 'Spirit'. Carmel Conway also recorded the song on her 2009 album 'This Beautiful Day'. It is also performed in the 'Cois Tine – Stories of Liam O' Flaherty' – by singer and violinist Fionnuala Howard. A song of emigration from Ireland during Famine times, The Fairhaired Boy tells of the sorrow of parting – 'Soon you'll in California be or Colorado bound'. In The Whitest Flower, Graham's heroine Ellen sings the song to Roberteen, a young neighbour from Ireland whom she finds dying in the lazaretto (fever shed) at Canada's Quarantine Island of Grosse Ile, Quebec. The song is written in a traditional narrative style song form where there are no choruses, the hook of the song being contained in the last line of each stanza with the pull of the story being used to keep the listener's interest alive.

"Crucán na bPáiste" – 'the burial place of (unbaptised) children' – lies on a hilltop in Maumtrasna, County Mayo, overlooking Loch Na Fooey, and Lough Mask in Ireland. It is a lament by a mother for a child she buries there during Aimsir an Drochshaoil ('The Time of the Bad Life' – the Famine). The song was written by Graham for Ellen Rua, one of the characters in his second novel, The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night, also published by HarperCollins. It has been recorded and performed by a number of artistes most notably Karen Matheson (as part of the Transatlantic Sessions), Cathy Jordan of Dervish and Eimear Quinn. Graham reveals the story of how the song came to be written in his Sunday Miscellany radio piece for RTÉ, called Effin' Songs, recorded live in Ireland's National Concert Hall, with Eimear Quinn and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and piper Neil Martin, following with the song itself.

"Crucán na bPáiste had become a claw in my gut – and my pilgrimage. Over many months it inched out in me its cry...focal by focal...line by line...until I was set free and it had found its epiphany. I had learned to keep out of the way...let the song write itself. This, I suppose is the real answer to the question with which we started. The truly special songs write us...we don't write them; we don't find them...they find us".

Another of Graham's Famine songs, "Ochón an Ghorta Mhóir / Lament of the Great Hunger", was commissioned by the Irish Government, as part of the Ceól Reoite (Frozen Music – after Goethe's 'Architecture is frozen music') Millennial Project. Fourteen Irish composers were asked to pick a monument of national significance and to write a piece of music/song which would release from it the music frozen within. Graham chose the Curvilinear Glasshouses at Dublin's National Botanic Gardens (Ireland), constructed at the time of An Gorta Mór, by monies diverted from research to find a cure for the potato blight afflicting Ireland. The glasshouses looked down over the Gardens' 'vegetable patch', where the blight was first discovered in Ireland in August 1845. Graham has described the 'frozen music' locked within the architecture of the Curvilinear Glasshouses as 'a lament for a famished people'. A song for unaccompanied voice it has been recorded by Róisín Elsafty, on the Ceól Reoite album and as a 'hidden track' by Cathy Jordan on the Dervish album, Spirit. The song was also performed by Nuala Ní Chanainn in the 2002 production of Aistir/Voyage by the Swiss-based, Cathy Sharp Dance Ensemble.

"You Raise Me Up" – It was in fact reading Graham's novel The Whitest Flower, that led Norwegian composer, Rolf Lovland to contact Graham with a melody. This melody in turn inspired Graham to write the lyric – You Raise Me Up, which has been recorded by some 400 artists (including Westlife, Josh Groban, Brian Kennedy and Secret Garden, Daniel O'Donnell, Helene Fischer, Il Divo, Russell Watson and Paul Potts) and has become one of the most successful songs in popular music history.

Brendan Graham has also recently written a number of integrated song and narrative pieces including Writing the Famine in Fiction and Song, for The National Famine Commemoration Week in Ireland, 2010. This was narrated by the author with songs performed by Cathy Jordan accompanied on piano by Feargal Murray.

In Quebec, 2011, his shorter narrative and song piece – From Famine to Freedom – Ireland to Grosse Ile – was performed by the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and soloist Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, with Graham's narration translated into French. It included a first performance with orchestra of The Whitest Flower, Graham's title song for the soundtrack to his book. In response to the view handed down at the time of Ireland's Famine that "The judgement of God ... sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson, that calamity must not be too much mitigated" (Charles E. Trevelyan – Permanent Assistant Secretary at the British Treasury with prime responsibility for Famine relief in Ireland), Graham's song calls to task a vengeful God.

In August 2012 Brendan Graham composed and presented From Famine to Freedom – Ireland to Australia, a commemoration in word and song of those who suffered during An Gorta Mór – The Great Irish Famine – and of those who fled the Famine to establish a new life Australia. Graham wrote a new song called, "Orphan Girl", dedicated to the memory of the 4,112, mainly teenage Irish orphan girls, who were given a free passage to Australia from Workhouses in every county of Ireland between 1848 and 1850. Brendan Graham was joined by Australian singer-songwriter, Sarah Calderwood who unites classic with contemporary folk. She is the charismatic front woman of Australia's premier Celtic group, Sunas, who released the ABC best-selling debut album ‘As Night Falls’. Graham and Calderwood were also joined on the day by the inspirational Australian Girls Choir, who have previously performed for Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama. The commemoration in words and song was a community day of celebration and remembering, especially for those who are descendants of these Irish Workhouse young women. For more information see www.irishfaminememorial.org

More recently in March 2013 The Possible Dreams Choir toured Victoria in Australia, singing "Orphan Girl" (sung by Fortunate and Nomcebo) and "You Raise Me Up" as part of their Voices for the Voiceless tour. Possible Dreams International, Inc is a non-profit organisation which partners with rural and remote communities in Swaziland, Southern Africa to empower families and individuals living with extreme poverty, malnutrition and endemic disease. So in Graham's "Famine in Song" lyrics, there resonates a global reach.

A famous modern song on the famine is "The Fields of Athenry", by Pete St. John. Written in three verses, it deals with a fictitious but realistic story of "Michael" being deported to Botany Bay for stealing corn to feed his starving family. Performed in folk, traditional and even reggae versions, it is often sung by supporters of Glasgow's Celtic F.C., many of whom are of Irish descent. The song itself sums up the sense of despair, anger and bitterness of famine victims. The song was also covered by Boston punk rock band, the Dropkick Murphys on their 2003 Blackout album.

Luka Bloom's song 'Forgiveness' from his album Salty Heaven is sung from the point of view of an Irish Famine refugee who has relocated to Canada and who despite his suffering has chosen forgiveness over bitterness.

Luka Bloom's brother Christy Moore also has a song, written by Bloom but recorded by Moore, called 'The City of Chicago,' that chronicles the effects of the Famine and the subsequent mass emigration.

Pagan metal band Primordial also have a song about the Famine named "The Coffin Ships" on their 2005 album The Gathering Wilderness.

Another related song is "Famine" by Sinéad O'Connor, released on the Universal Mother album. The lyrics emphasise the political aspect of the famine.

The Famine in film

 * Wide Open Spaces, a 2009 comedy film focusing on the development of a prospective famine-themed theme park in modern-day Ireland
 * Black '47, a 2018 Irish period drama film set in 1847 in Connemara
 * Arracht, a 2019 Irish period drama set in 1845 in Connemara

Ireland and modern famine relief
Ireland has been at the forefront of international famine relief. In 1985 Bob Geldof, Irish rock star and founder of Live Aid, revealed that the people of Ireland had given more to his fundraising efforts per head of population than any other nation in the world. Irish NGOs Goal, Concern, Trócaire and Gorta play a central role in helping famine victims throughout Africa. In 2000, Bono, lead singer with Irish band U2, played a central role in campaigning for debt relief for African nations in the Jubilee 2000 campaign. The Irish famine experience continues to influence many Irish people in their attitudes towards the developing world and famine victims everywhere.

title: Legacy of the Great Irish Famine


text:
1993 in film

The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, and The Firm. (For more about films in foreign languages, check sources in those languages.)

Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1993 by worldwide gross are as follows:

Events

 * January 1 – China Film Import & Export Corporation ends its 40-year monopoly distributing all films in China, with 16 other Chinese film studios now responsible for distributing their own films.
 * January 29 – Bram Stoker's Dracula opens in the United Kingdom setting an opening weekend record of £2,633,635 million.
 * March 31 – actor Brandon Lee is accidentally killed during the filming of The Crow.
 * May 27 – actress Kim Basinger files for bankruptcy after a California judge initially orders her to pay $8.9 million for refusing to honor a verbal contract to star in the film Boxing Helena. As a result, Basinger loses the town that she purchased in 1989, Braselton, Georgia, to her partner in the deal, the pension fund of Chicago-based Ameritech.
 * May 28 – Produced by Hollywood Pictures, Super Mario Bros. opens, marking the first video game film released, starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. The film would unfortunately end up grossing only $20.9 million domestically and receive negative reviews from critics.
 * June 11 – The filmed version of Michael Crichton's novel Jurassic Park, a dinosaur epic with groundbreaking special effects directed by Steven Spielberg, breaks box-office records with a record $50 million opening weekend and goes on to become the highest-grossing film ever made with a worldwide gross of over $900 million.
 * June 18 – Arnold Schwarzenegger's film career falters with the commercial disappointment of Last Action Hero, despite Columbia Pictures new logo making its debut in that film.
 * July 16 – Jurassic Park opens in Mexico and the United Kingdom and on July 17 in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, setting opening records in each market.
 * October 31 – actor River Phoenix accidentally dies of an overdose during the filming of Dark Blood. The film was later completed and released in 2012.
 * December 15 – Schindler's List, directed by Steven Spielberg, is released and goes on to win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Spielberg's first for Best Director.
 * December 22 – Turner Broadcasting System acquired Castle Rock Entertainment.

By country/region

 * List of American films of 1993
 * List of Argentine films of 1993
 * List of Australian films of 1993
 * List of Bangladeshi films of 1993
 * List of British films of 1993
 * List of Canadian films of 1993
 * List of French films of 1993
 * List of Hong Kong films of 1993
 * List of Indian films of 1993
 * List of Hindi films of 1993
 * List of Kannada films of 1993
 * List of Malayalam films of 1993
 * List of Marathi films of 1993
 * List of Tamil films of 1993
 * List of Telugu films of 1993
 * List of Japanese films of 1993
 * List of Mexican films of 1993
 * List of Pakistani films of 1993
 * List of Russian films of 1993
 * List of South Korean films of 1993
 * List of Spanish films of 1993

By genre/medium

 * List of action films of 1993
 * List of animated feature films of 1993
 * List of avant-garde films of 1993
 * List of crime films of 1993
 * List of comedy films of 1993
 * List of drama films of 1993
 * List of horror films of 1993
 * List of science fiction films of 1993
 * List of thriller films of 1993
 * List of western films of 1993

Births

 * January 5 – Franz Drameh, English actor
 * January 7 – Yuta Nakatsuka, Japanese actor and dancer
 * January 9 – Ashley Argota, American actress
 * January 10 - Jacob Scipio, English actor and writer
 * January 11 – Flora Cross, French-American actress
 * January 18 – Morgan York, American actress
 * January 19 – Gus Lewis, American-English actor
 * January 26 – Cameron Bright, Canadian actor
 * January 28 – Will Poulter, English actor
 * January 29 - Lewis Pullman, American actor
 * February 3 - Brandon Micheal Hall, American actor
 * February 7
 * David Dorfman, American actor
 * Philip Wiegratz, German former actor
 * February 12 – Jennifer Stone, American actress
 * February 13 - Sophie Evans, Welsh actress and singer
 * February 14 – Shane Harper, American actor
 * February 19 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
 * February 21 – Masaki Suda, Japanese actor
 * February 24 – Emily Rudd, American actress
 * March 4
 * Jenna Boyd, American actress
 * Abigail Mavity, American actress
 * March 11 – Jodie Comer, English actress
 * March 15 – Alia Bhatt, British actress
 * March 22 - Enzo Vogrincic, Uruguayan actor
 * March 29 - Joe Adler, American actor
 * April 7 – Yell Htwe Aung, Burmese comedian, actor, and model (died 2018)
 * April 10 – Sofia Carson, actress, singer and musician
 * April 14
 * Vivien Cardone, American actress
 * Graham Phillips, American actor, filmmaker and singer
 * April 26 - Ryoma Takeuchi, Japanese actor
 * April 30 - Henry Zaga, Brazilian actor
 * May 6 – Naomi Scott, English actress and singer
 * May 10
 * Spencer Fox, American actor, singer and musician
 * Halston Sage, American actress
 * May 11
 * Olivia Liang, American actress
 * James Reid, Filipino actor
 * May 13 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
 * May 14 – Miranda Cosgrove, American actress, singer
 * May 29 – Maika Monroe, American actress
 * June 7 - Amanda Leighton, American actress
 * June 9 – Danielle Chuchran, American actress
 * June 11 - Sidhu Moose Wala, Indian singer, rapper and actor (died 2022)
 * June 19 – Olajide Olatunji, British YouTuber, rapper and actor
 * June 24 – Beanie Feldstein, American actress
 * June 25 – Barney Clark, English actor
 * June 26 – Ariana Grande, American actress, singer
 * June 27 – Camila Queiroz, Brazilian actress
 * June 29 - Harrison Gilbertson, Australian actor
 * July 1 – Raini Rodriguez, American actress, singer
 * July 3 – Sarah Wiedenheft, Dutch-American voice actress
 * July 8 - David Corenswet, American actor
 * July 9 – Emily Hirst, Canadian actress
 * July 21 - Gabriel Leone, Brazilian actor and musician
 * July 23 – Lili Simmons, American actress
 * July 26
 * Elizabeth Gillies, American actress
 * Taylor Momsen, American actress
 * July 31 – Christian Byers, Australian actor
 * August 1 – Leon Thomas III, American actor, singer/songwriter, musician and dancer
 * August 2 – Ryan and Kyle Pepi, American actors
 * August 4 – Alan Shirahama, Japanese actor and DJ
 * August 5 – Suzuka Ohgo, Japanese actress
 * August 7 - Francesca Eastwood, American actress and television personality
 * August 8 – Devery Jacobs, Canadian actress
 * August 11 – Alyson Stoner, American actress
 * August 12
 * Imani Hakim, American actress
 * Hannah Quinlivan, Taiwanese-Australian actress and model
 * August 16 – Cameron Monaghan, American actor
 * August 18 – Maia Mitchell, Australian actress, singer
 * August 26 – Keke Palmer, American actress
 * September 1 - Alexander Conti, Canadian actor
 * September 18 – Patrick Schwarzenegger, American actor
 * September 22 – Chase Ellison, American actor
 * September 24 – Ben Platt, American actor
 * September 25
 * Greg Davis, American actor
 * Zach Tyler Eisen, American former voice actor
 * October 8
 * Angus T. Jones, American actor
 * Molly C. Quinn, American actress
 * October 9 - Autumn Chiklis, American actress and writer
 * October 19 - Hunter King, American actress
 * October 25
 * Mia Goth, English actress
 * Bessie Carter, English actress
 * Rachel Matthews, American actress
 * October 29 - India Eisley, American actress
 * October 30 – Brett Kelly, Canadian actor
 * October 31 – Letitia Wright, Guyanese-British actress
 * November 8 - Jak Knight, American actor, comedian and writer (died 2022)
 * November 16 – Pete Davidson, American comedian and actor
 * November 22 – Adèle Exarchopoulos, French actress
 * November 24
 * Anthony De La Torre, American actor
 * Zoe Levin, American actress
 * December 8 – AnnaSophia Robb, American actress
 * December 10 - Alicia von Rittberg, German actress
 * December 16 – Stephan James, Canadian actor
 * December 17 – Kiersey Clemons, American actress
 * December 19
 * Hermione Corfield, English actress
 * Nik Dodani, American actor, writer and comedian
 * December 21 - Vanessa Angel, Indonesian actress, model and singer (died 2021)
 * December 22 – Aliana Lohan, American actress
 * December 24 - Millie Brady, English actress and model
 * December 27 – Olivia Cooke, English actress

title: 1993 in film


text:
Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn

Yosef Yitzchak (Joseph Isaac) Schneersohn (יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן; 21 June 1880 – 28 January 1950) was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe (Yiddish for "Previous Rebbe"), the Rebbe RaYYaTz, or the Rebbe Rayatz (an acronym for Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak). After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life.

Early life
Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Smolensk Oblast, Russia), the only son of Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rashab), the fifth Rebbe of Chabad. He was appointed as his father's personal secretary at the age of 15; in that year, he represented his father in the conference of communal leaders in Kovno. The following year (1896), he participated in the Vilna Conference, where rabbis and community leaders discussed issues such as: genuine Jewish education; permission for Jewish children not to attend public school on Shabbat; and the creation of a united Jewish organization for the purpose of strengthening Judaism. He participated in this conference again in 1908.

On 13 Elul 5657 (1897), at the age of 17, he married his second cousin, Nechama Dina Schneersohn, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Schneerson of Chișinău, son of Rabbi Yisroel Noach of Nizhyn, son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the Tzemach Tzedek.

In 1898, he was appointed head of the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva network.

In 1901, with financial support from Yaakov and Eliezer Poliakoff he opened spinning and weaving mills in Dubrovno and Mahilyow and established a yeshiva in Bukhara.

As he matured, he campaigned for the rights of Jews by appearing before the Czarist authorities in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 he sought relief for Jewish conscripts in the Russian army by sending them kosher food and supplies in the Russian Far East. In 1905, he participated in organizing a fund to provide Passover needs for troops in the Far East.

With rising antisemitism and pogroms against Jews, in 1906 he traveled with other prominent rabbis to seek help from Western European governments, especially Germany and the Netherlands, and persuaded bankers there to use their influence to stop pogroms.

He was arrested four times between 1902 and 1911 by the Czarist police because of his activism, but was released each time.

Upon the death of his father, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn ("Rashab"), in 1920, Schneerson became the sixth Rebbe of Chabad.

Battling the Bolsheviks
Following the takeover of Russia by the Communists they created a special "Jewish affairs section" run by Jews, known as the Yevsektsiya, which instigated anti-religious activities meant to strip Orthodox Jews of their religious way of life. As rebbe of a Russia-based Jewish movement, Schneersohn was vehemently outspoken against the state atheism of the Communist regime and its goal of forcibly eradicating religion throughout the land. He purposely directed his followers to set up religious schools, going against the dictates of the Marxist-Leninist "dictatorship of the proletariat".

In 1921, he established a branch of Tomchei Temimim in Warsaw.

In 1924, he was forced by the Cheka (Russian secret police) to leave Rostov due to the Yevsektsiya's slander, and settled in Leningrad. In this time he labored to strengthen Torah observance through activities involving rabbis, Torah schools for children, yeshivot, shochtim, senior Torah-instructors and the opening of mikva'ot; he established a special committee to help manual workers be able to observe Shabbat. He established Agudas Chasidei Chabad in USA and Canada.

In 1927, he established a number of yeshivot in Bukhara.

He was primarily responsible for the maintenance of the now-clandestine Chabad yeshiva system, which had ten branches throughout Russia by this time. He was under continual surveillance by agents of the NKVD.

Imprisonment and release
In 1927, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Bolshoy Dom in Leningrad. He was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, and sentenced to death. A worldwide storm of outrage and pressure from Western governments and the International Red Cross forced the communist regime to commute the death sentence and instead on 3 Tammuz it banished him to Kostroma for an original sentence of three years. Yekaterina Peshkova, a prominent Russian human rights activist, helped from inside as well. This was also commuted following political pressure from the outside, and in July 1927, he was finally allowed to leave Russia for Riga in Latvia, where he lived until 1929.

Yosef Yitzchak's release from Soviet imprisonment is celebrated each year by the Chabad community.

After his release, Yosef Yitzchak went to Palestine where he saw holy gravesites, local yeshivas and Torah centers, and met with rabbis and community leaders from 7–22 August 1929. He visited Hebron ten days before the massacre and, according to Chabad accounts, was the first Jew for many years to be allowed into the Cave of the Patriarchs. Little information is available about the effect his visit had on the attitude of the local Arabs.

1929: First visit to the United States
Following his trip to the Holy Land, he turned his attention to the United States, arriving in Manhattan on 17 September 1929 (12 Elul 5689) on the French passenger liner France. Schneersohn was greeted by some 600 people, with security provided by over 100 New York City police officers. "May the Almighty bless this great country that has been a refuge for our Jewish people," he said at his arrival. The purpose of his visit was to assess the educational and religious state of American Jewry, and raise awareness of the plight of Soviet Jews. Hailed as "one of the greatest Jews of our age," he was honored at a 28 October banquet in Manhattan by Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jewish leaders.

While in the United States, Schneersohn also traveled (among places other than New York) to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, and Chicago. On 10 July, he met President Herbert Hoover at the White House. As the Republican presidential candidate, Hoover had lobbied for his release. Lubavitch followers in America begged their Rebbe to leave Russia and stay in America, but Schneersohn declined, saying that America was an irreligious place where even rabbis shaved off their beards. He left the United States to return to Riga, Latvia, on 17 July 1930.

From 1934 until the early part of World War II, he lived in Warsaw, Poland.

1940: Settling in the United States
Following Nazi Germany's attack against Poland in 1939, Schneersohn refused to leave Warsaw. The government of the United States of America, which was still neutral, used its diplomatic relations to convince Nazi Germany to rescue Schneersohn from the war zone in German-occupied Poland. He remained in the city during the bombardments and its capitulation to Nazi Germany. He gave the full support of his organizations to assist as many Jews as possible to flee the invading armies. With the intercession of the United States Department of State in Washington, DC and with the lobbying of many Jewish leaders, such as Jacob Rutstein, on behalf of the Rebbe (and, reputedly, also with the help of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr), he was finally granted diplomatic immunity and given safe passage to go via Berlin to Riga, Latvia, where the Rebbe was a citizen and which was still free. From Riga, the Rebbe left for America by way of Sweden with his wife, his mother Shterna Sarah, Shemaryahu Gurary, his wife Chana and son Berka, Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov and his wife, and Nissan Mindel. They traveled in a small plane to Sweden since boats were no longer permitted out of Riga, landing in Stockholm, and then took a boat to Gothenburg. There, they boarded the Drottningholm which sailed to America, arriving in New York City on 19 March 1940, and where they stayed at Manhattan’s Greystone Hotel. Major Ernst Bloch (de), a decorated German army officer of Jewish descent, was put in command of a group which included Sgt. Klaus Schenk, a half-Jew and Pvt. Johannes Hamburger, a quarter-Jew assigned to locate the Rebbe in Poland and escort him safely to freedom. They wound up saving not only the Rebbe, but also over a dozen Hasidic Jews in the Rebbe's family or associated with him.

Working with the government and the contacts Schneersohn had with the US State Department, Chabad was able to save his son-in-law (and future successor) Menachem Mendel Schneerson from Vichy France in 1941 before the borders were closed down. When Schneersohn came to America (he was the first major Chasidic leader to move permanently to the United States ) two of his chassidim came to him, and said not to start up all the activities in which Lubavitch had engaged in Europe, because "America is different." To avoid disappointment, they advised him not even to try. Schneersohn wrote, "Out of my eyes came boiling tears", and undeterred, the next day he started the first Lubavitcher Yeshiva in America, declaring that "America is no different." In 1949, Schneersohn became a U.S. citizen.

Following Schneerson's escape from Nazi occupied Poland and his settlement in New York City, he issued a call for repentance, stating L'alter l'tshuva, l'alter l'geula ("speedy repentance brings a speedy redemption"). This campaign was opposed by rabbis Avraham Kalmanowitz and Aaron Kotler of the Vaad Hatzalah. In return, Schneersohn was critical of the efforts of rabbis Kalmanowitz and Kotler based on the suspicion that Kalmanowitz and Kotler were discriminating in their use of funds, placing their yeshivas before all else, and that the Mizrachi and Agudas Harabonim withdrew their support of the Vaad after they discovered this fact.

Launch of Lubavitch activities in the United States
During the last decade of Rabbi Schneersohn's life, from 1940 to 1950, he settled in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in New York City. Rabbi Schneersohn was already physically weak and ill from his suffering at the hands of the Communists and the Nazis and from multiple health issues including multiple sclerosis, but he had a strong vision of rebuilding Orthodox Judaism in America, and he wanted his movement to spearhead it. To do so, he went on a building campaign to establish religious Jewish day schools and yeshivas for boys and girls, women and men. He established printing houses for the voluminous writings and publications of his movement, and started the process of spreading Jewish observance to the Jewish masses worldwide.

He began to teach publicly, and many came to seek out his teachings. He began gathering and sending out a small number of his newly trained rabbis to other cities - a trend later emulated and amplified by his son-in-law and successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

In 1948, he established a Lubavitch village in the Land of Israel known as Kfar Chabad near Tel Aviv, on the site of the de-populated Arab village of Al-Safiriyya.

He died in 1950, and was buried at Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York City. He had no sons, and his younger son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson ("The Rebbe") succeeded him as Lubavitcher Rebbe, while the older son-in-law, Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary continued to run the Chabad Yeshiva network Tomchei Temimim.

After Rabbi Schneersohn's passing, his gravesite, known as "the Ohel", became a central point of focus for his successor Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who would visit it regularly for many hours of prayer, meditation, and supplication for Jews all over the world.

After his successor's passing and burial next to his father-in-law, philanthropist Joseph Gutnick of Melbourne, Australia, established the Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch Center on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens, which is located adjacent to the joint grave site.

Book collection
During his life in Smolensk, Rabbi Schneersohn set up a collection of his family's religious books and writings. It includes texts dating back to the 16th century. After World War I, the Bolsheviks found part of the collection and moved it to the Russian State Library. Another part of the collection was confiscated by Soviet troops in Nazi Germany during World War II and moved to Russia's military archive. In 1994, seven books were loaned to the U.S. Library of Congress for 60 days through an inter-library exchange program.

The books were given to the Chabad-Lubavitch library which helped to prolong the use of the books twice, in 1995 and 1996, before they finally refused to return them to Russia in 2000. They proposed an exchange for the opportunity to keep the books indefinitely, but Russia refused. In 2004, the Chabad-Lubavitch filed a lawsuit against Russia, claiming the remaining books. In 2010, an American court granted their claim, which Russia ignored as invalid. In retaliation, in 2011 Russia put a ban on lending works to American museums. In 2014, Senior United States District Judge Royce C. Lamberth imposed fines of $50,000 a day for Russia refusing to return the Schneersohn collection of more than 12,000 books and 50,000 religious papers. Since Rabbi Schneersohn had no heirs, Russia claims the collection is a national treasure of the Russian people. This dispute is related to the deteriorating ties between Moscow and the U.S. over the ongoing 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine. A Russian court ruled that the Library of Congress should pay fines of $50,000 a day for refusing to return the books.

Hebrew and Yiddish

 * Sefer Hamaamarim – 5680–5689, 8 vol.
 * Sefer Hamaamarim – 5692–5693.
 * Sefer Hamaamarim – 5696–5711, 15 vol.
 * Sefer Hamaamarim – Kuntresim, 3 vol.
 * Sefer Hamaamarim – Yiddish
 * Sefer Hasichot – 5680–5691, 2 vol.
 * Sefer Hasichot – 5696–5710, 8 vol.
 * Likkutei Dibburim, 4 vol.
 * Kuntres Torat Hachasidut
 * Kuntres Limud Hachasidut
 * Admur Hatzemach Tzedek U'Tenuat Hahaskalah
 * Kitzurim L'Biurei Hazohar
 * Sefer Hakitzurim – Shaarei Orah
 * Kitzurim L'Kuntres Hatefillah
 * Sefer Hazichronot, 2 vol.
 * Moreh Shiur B'Limudei Yom Yom – Chumash, Tehillim, Tanya
 * Seder Haselichot
 * Maamar V'Ha'ish Moshe Anav, 5698
 * Igrot Kodesh, 14 vol.
 * Klalei Chinuch veHaDracha

Hebrew translations

 * Likkutei Dibburim, 5 vol.
 * Sefer Hasichot – 5700–5705, 3 vol.
 * Sefer Hazichronot, 2 vol.

English translations

 * Lubavitcher Rabbi's Memoirs, 3 vol.
 * The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskala Movement
 * On Learning Chasidut
 * On the Teachings of Chasidut
 * Some Aspects of Chabad Chasidism
 * Chasidic Discourses, 2 vol.
 * Likkutei Dibburim, 6 vol.
 * The Principles of Education and Guidance
 * The Heroic Struggle
 * The Four Worlds
 * Creation and Redemption
 * The Majestic Bride
 * Oneness in Creation
 * Touching a City’s Soul
 * Defiance and Devotion

CD/video

 * America Is No Different

In film
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak's escape from Poland was the subject of a 2011 Israeli documentary film Ha'rabi Ve'hakatzin Ha'germani (The Chabad Rebbe and the German Officer).

title: Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn