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Moazzam Begg

Moazzam Begg (born 5 July 1968 in Sparkhill, Birmingham) is a British Pakistani who was held in extrajudicial detention by the US government in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, for nearly three years. Seized by Pakistani intelligence at his home in Pakistan in February 2002, he was transferred to the custody of US Army officers, who held him in the detention centre at Bagram, Afghanistan, before transferring him to Guantanamo Bay, where he was held until January 2005.

The US authorities held Begg as an enemy combatant, claiming Begg was an al-Qaeda member, who recruited for, and provided money for, al-Qaeda training camps, and himself trained there to fight US or allied troops. Begg acknowledged having spent time at two non-al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the early 1990s and given some financial support to fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya, but denies that he was ever involved in terrorism.

Begg says that he was abused by guards at Bagram, and saw two detainees beaten to death. Military coroners subsequently ruled that the two deaths were homicides, but US military spokesmen denied Begg's story at the time. Later, a 2005 military investigation into reports of abuse at Bagram concluded that both deaths were caused by abuse by American guards.

Following a "long public outcry" in the UK over the detention of British nationals, in 2004, the UK government intervened on behalf of the British citizens being detained at Guantanamo Bay. President George W. Bush had Begg released without charge on 25 January 2005, despite Pentagon, CIA, and FBI objections. Begg and other British citizens who had been detained at Guantanamo later sued the British government for complicity in their alleged abuse and torture while in US custody. In November 2010, the British Government announced an out-of-court financial settlement with 16 detainees, including Begg.

After his release, Begg became a media commentator on issues pertaining to the US, UK and international anti-terror measures. He toured as a speaker about Guantanamo and other detention facilities. Begg co-authored a book, and has written newspaper and magazine articles. He was interviewed in Taxi to the Dark Side (2007), a documentary about the death in custody of an Afghan detainee and the mistreatment of prisoners held by Americans in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In 2014, British police arrested Begg, alleging terrorist activities during the Syrian civil war. Charges were later withdrawn and he was released when the prosecution became aware that MI5 had known of, and consented to, his travel to Syria.

Early life and education
Moazzam Begg was born in Sparkhill in 1968, and grew up in Moseley, both suburbs of Birmingham. His father, Azmat Begg, was born in British India and lived in Pakistan before emigrating with his wife to Great Britain. Begg's mother died when he was six, and his father initially worked in Britain as a bank manager. Begg holds dual UK–Pakistani citizenship.

Begg attended the Jewish King David School, Birmingham, from age 5 to 11, because his father thought it promoted good values. Begg later attended Moseley Secondary School. During secondary school, he became a member of the Lynx gang, a Birmingham street gang. The group was mostly Pakistani, but also included Algerian, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Irish youths. The group was founded in the early 1970s to fight attacks by far right anti-immigrant groups. He said "we did things that no good Muslim should," but stated he rarely did anything violent. He once appeared in court for taking part in a fight with skinheads.

Begg attended Solihull College, and later the University of Wolverhampton, where he studied Law for two years, which he did not enjoy and did not complete his degree.

UK and travels to Islamic countries, 1993–98
On a family holiday to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in his late teens, Begg became interested in Islam. In late 1993 he returned to Pakistan and crossed the Pakistani–Afghan border with some young Pakistanis near the city of Khost. Begg said he visited a camp where US-backed nationalist and Islamic rebels were training to fight the Soviet-backed Afghan government. The training camp was run by either the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance or a Pakistani group fighting for Kashmir. Begg later wrote of his time at the camp: "I had met men who seemed to me exemplary in their faith and self-sacrifice, and seen a world that awed and inspired me". Begg says he did not participate in the training.

Inspired by the commitment of the mujahedeen, Begg said he travelled to Bosnia in the early 1990s to help the Muslims during the war. He said he was "terribly affected by some of the stories ... of the atrocities taking place there". In 1994 he joined a charity that worked with Muslims in Bosnia. He states he "very briefly" joined the Bosnian Army Foreign Volunteer Force: "In Bosnia, I did fight for a while. But I saw people horribly damaged, and I thought, This is not for me". Begg first met Khalil Deek in Bosnia.

Begg also tried to travel to Chechnya, in the early 1990s during its war with Russia. While he thought that "fighting wasn't out of the question," he says that he did not participate in the armed struggle, but did give financial support to the foreign fighters.

In 1994, Begg was arrested charged with conspiracy to defraud the Department of Social Security. His friend and fellow "Lynx Gang" member Syed Murad Meah Butt was also charged, pleaded guilty, and served 18 months in jail. The fraud charges against Begg were dropped for lack of evidence.

A search of his home by anti-terrorist police, at the time of the 1994 arrest, reportedly found night vision goggles, a flak jacket, and "extremist Islamic literature". Other items found included a hand-held night vision lens. Begg insisted that the goggles and flak jacket were from his charity work in Bosnia and Chechnya and denied owning any "extremist Islamic literature" and noted the items seized were identical to those that many aid workers operating in conflict zones carry. His father said Begg had been collecting military paraphernalia as a hobby since childhood.

In 2005, after Begg's detention at Guantanamo became public knowledge, the US Justice Department alleged he had "received extensive training in al-Qaeda terrorist camps since 1993". Pentagon officials said that Begg trained at three terrorist camps associated with al-Qaeda. While at the training camps, he reportedly trained to use handguns, AK-47 rifles, and RPGs and to plan ambushes. The statement identified Begg as "a member of al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations," who was "engaged in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners" in Afghanistan and said he "provided support to al-Qaeda terrorists, by providing shelter for their families while the al-Qaeda terrorists committed terrorist acts". Begg has denied all these charges, saying that he has "never planned, aided or participated in any attacks against Westerners".

Marriage and move to Pakistan
In 1995, Begg married, and in early 1998, he and his new family moved to Peshawar, Pakistan. An American counterterrorism official claimed that the CIA and MI5 suspected Begg had worked with Khalil Deek, who also lived in Peshawar at that time, to create a CD-ROM terrorist manual. Begg said in interviews that he had met Deek in Bosnia and later collaborated with him on a business enterprise to sell traditional Pakistani clothing, but said he had never met Zubaydah. Pentagon officials said this conflicts with what he told interrogators.

Begg notes that he visited a second Afghan training camp, near Jalalabad, for two or three days during that time. He says it was run by Iraqi Kurds, not by al-Qaeda. They were training to use improvised incendiary grenades to fight Saddam Hussein. He donated a few hundred British pounds to that camp and a third training camp. A Pentagon spokesman said Begg spent five days in early 1998 at Derunta, an al-Qaeda-affiliated Afghan training camp. Defense Department officials said that Begg's sworn statements state he trained at Derunta and two other Afghan camps. He denied saying that, but acknowledged signing some documents while in custody because he feared for his life.

UK, 1998–2001
Begg returned to Birmingham in 1998 and, along with Imran Khan, a former stockbroker, opened the 'Maktabah Al Ansar' Islamic book and video shop, in Sparkhill, Birmingham. Police raided the shop the following year. In 1999, Begg's bookstore commissioned and published a book by Dhiren Barot about Barot's experiences in Kashmir, entitled The Army of Madinah in Kashmir.

In February 2000, police and MI5 officers investigating Islamic terrorism raided the bookshop, took away books, files and computers, questioned staff and arrested Begg under British anti-terrorism laws. Begg was released without charge. Begg's father said the British government retrieved encrypted files from his son's computer, and ordered Begg to open them, but Begg refused. A judge ruled that Begg could not be compelled to unlock the files.

Ruhal Ahmed was one of the so-called 'Tipton Three,' young men from Tipton in Britain who were held as Guantanamo detainees. While incarcerated in Guantanamo, he is alleged to have told investigators that he had first become interested in jihad in summer 2000 after purchasing books on the subject from the Maktabah Al Ansar bookshop.

Begg's home in the UK was raided by anti-terrorist police in the summer of 2001. They took his computer and some related materials, but he was not charged.

Afghanistan and Pakistan, July 2001 – February 2002
With his wife Zaynab and three young children, Begg moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, in late July 2001. At the time, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. Begg considered it an economical place to bring up his family, and one where they would not be harassed for their race. He wrote in his autobiography that by 2001 the Taliban had made "some modest progress — in social justice and upholding pure, old Islamic values forgotten in many Islamic countries". Begg has since criticised the Taliban for its human rights abuses.

He says that he moved to Kabul to build wells in northwest Afghanistan, where there had been a drought in 2000. He and others also intended to build a school for girls in Kabul. Begg says while still in the UK, he, and others, had raised money and had begun providing equipment for a school. He says he was in the process of starting the school, and intended to work in it as an aid worker. The Taliban regime opposed education for females and had not given him a licence for the school, but "they didn't try to stop us either", The Taliban, he says, "were more receptive to Islamic volunteers", and that the repression of women was less intense in Kabul than in other places he saw. While in Afghanistan, he bought a handgun.

In his book Enemy Combatant, Begg recalls telling two US agents who visited him in Guantanamo Bay that: "I wanted to live in an Islamic state–one that was free from the corruption and despotism of the rest of the Muslim world.... I knew you wouldn't understand. The Taliban were better than anything Afghanistan has had in the past 25 years."

Begg has also said "before the Taliban, warlords abounded, there was no security, the opium trade was booming, children were being used as sex slaves. At least the Taliban provided security and were building roads, and as opposed to the warlords, they seemed honest".

Begg says that he "had never even heard of Al Qaeda before 9/11", and although he knew about Osama bin Laden, he agreed with those who saw bin Laden's conflict with the US as "counterproductive for Muslims".

The Allied attack on Afghanistan began in October 2001, and, following the fall of the Taliban, a US Justice Department dossier on Begg alleges that he joined their retreat to the Tora Bora mountains. The Pentagon claims that he was "prepared to fight in the front line against allied forces". He says that he and his family intended to evacuate to Islamabad in Pakistan for safety. Initially he became separated from his family in Afghanistan, he and several other men were guided over the mountains into western Pakistan, and he was reunited with his family in Pakistan by mid-November.

Derunta training camp, 15 mi from Jalalabad, was captured in November 2001. In the camp was found, among other things, a photocopy of a wire transfer moving funds from the Habib Bank AG Zurich to a 'Moazzam Begg' in Karachi. US and Pakistani officials did not know who this was. Begg maintains that he is unaware of such a transaction, and that no one has ever shown him the document.

In February 2002, Begg was seized at his rented home in Islamabad by, what Begg believes were, Pakistani agents working on behalf of the US. His family maintained it was a case of mistaken identity. Begg says the Pakistanis treated him well and that after several weeks, they transferred him to United States Army officers in Bagram, near Kabul.

Detention in Afghanistan
Begg was held at Bagram Theater Internment Facility from February 2002 to February 2003. He says that while there he was hog-tied, kicked, punched, left in a room with a bag put over his head (even though he suffered from asthma), sworn at, denied access to a lawyer, and threatened with electric shocks, having his fingers broken, sexual abuse, and, with extraordinary rendition to Egypt or Syria if he did not sign confessions.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman later said there was "no credible evidence that Begg was ever abused by US forces", and US intelligence officials insisted Begg had exaggerated the harshness of his treatment, though Whitman declined to answer whether Begg's abuse allegations had ever been investigated.

In July 2004, Begg wrote in a letter of "threats of torture, actual torture, death threats, racial and religious abuse", "cruel and unusual treatment", and that "documents ... were signed under duress". He also wrote: "This culminated, in my opinion, with the deaths of two fellow detainees, at the hands of US military personnel, to which I myself was partially witness". Begg claims that while at Bagram, he saw two other detainees (Dilawar and Habibullah) being beaten so badly that he believed the beatings caused their deaths.

At the time DoD denied Begg's account and, despite military coroner's having ruled the deaths as homicides, military spokesmen at that time attributed the deaths to natural causes. However a Department of Defense investigation, whose results were reported in May 2005, concluded that the deaths of Dilawar and Habibullah were wholly due to mistreatment by American soldiers. Begg wrote after his release that, he believed, one of the reasons he had continued to be detained was because he had been a witness to the two killings.

Guantanamo files leaked in 2011 revealed that, nine months after Begg's capture, the Department of Defence had concluded that Begg was a "confirmed member of al-Qaida," and that he had been an instructor at the Derunta training camp, as well as having attended the al-Badr and Harakat aI-Ansar training camps.

Detention in Guantanamo Bay

On 2 February 2003, Begg was transferred to United States military custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. A February 2003 editorial in Gulf News reported that Begg had written to his parents that he did not know what he was accused of and was beginning to feel hopeless and depressed. It also said that Begg had confessed to being part of a plot to spray the Palace of Westminster with anthrax, a plan which had "caused hilarity" among security experts because of its implausibility, but, the article claimed, detainees were not allowed access to a lawyer until they had confessed to a crime.

Begg was held in Guantanamo Bay for just under two years, the first almost 600 days of which were spent in solitary confinement. The US government considered Begg an enemy combatant, and claimed that he trained at al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan. He was not charged with any crime and was not allowed to consult legal counsel for the majority of the time he spent there.

On 9 October 2003, a memo summarising a meeting between General Geoffrey Miller and his staff and Vincent Cassard of the International Committee of the Red Cross said that camp authorities did not permit them to have access to Begg, due to "military necessity". This is allowed by the Geneva Conventions, only as an "exceptional and temporary measure".

In July 2004, Begg wrote a letter saying he was not tortured in Guantanamo, though the conditions were "torturous". Late in 2004, Clive Stafford Smith (a British lawyer working in the US) visited Begg and said he heard "credible and consistent evidence" from Begg of torture, including the use of strappado.

Begg's American lawyer, Gitanjali Gutierrez of the Center for Constitutional Rights, received a handwritten letter from him, dated 12 July 2004, addressed to the US Forces Administration at Guantanamo Bay. It was copied to Begg's lawyers, and the US authorities agreed to declassify it. Its full text was passed to his British lawyer, Gareth Peirce. He insisted: "I am a law-abiding citizen of the UK, and attest vehemently to my innocence, before God and the law, of any crime — though none has even been alleged".

Release
Following the United States Supreme Court decision in Rasul v. Bush (2004), in which the court ruled that detainees had habeas corpus rights and could challenge their detention, the US government quickly developed a system of Combatant Status Review Tribunals, Administrative Review Boards, and military commissions to provide the detainees with an "impartial tribunal" for reviewing their cases. Detainees could not call defence lawyers, could not review the evidence against them, and had allegations made that were dependent on hearsay evidence. The British government protested about their citizens being subjected to the planned Guantanamo tribunals, because due process rights would be severely curtailed.

On 11 January 2005, the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that, after "intensive and complex discussions" between his government and the US, the remaining four British nationals in Guantanamo Bay would be returned "within weeks". While they were still regarded as "enemy combatants" by the US government, it had brought no specific charges against them. The New York Times and CNN reported that Bush had released Begg as a favour to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was being harshly criticised in the UK for his support of the Iraq war. The Atlantic claimed that the Bush administration has tried to make a gag order a condition of Begg's release, but that this would not have been acceptable to the British public.

On 25 January 2005, Begg and the three other British detainees, Feroz Abbasi, Martin Mubanga and Richard Belmar, were flown to RAF Northolt in west London. On arrival they were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken to Paddington Green Police Station for questioning by anti-terrorist officers. By 9.00pm on 26 January, all four had been released without charge.

US claims of ties to terrorism
Bush released Begg over the objections of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the FBI, overruling most of his senior national security advisers, who were concerned that Begg could be a dangerous terrorist. In 2006, the Pentagon still maintained that he was a terrorist.

After Begg's release, Bryan Whitman, a Defense Department spokesman, said of Begg: "He has strong, long-term ties to terrorism — as a sympathizer, as a recruiter, as a financier and as a combatant". Whitman quoted from a single-spaced eight-page confession that Begg had signed while incarcerated in Bagram: "I was armed and prepared to fight alongside the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the U.S. and others, and eventually retreated to Tora Bora to flee from U.S. forces when our front lines collapsed".

Begg maintains the confession is false, and that he gave it while under duress. Whitman said Begg was trying to recant his confession and that Begg was now "clearly lying", though Whitman declined to answer whether Begg's abuse allegations had ever been investigated.

Former military interrogator Christopher Hogan said: "He provided us with excellent information routinely ... I don't think he was the mastermind of 9/11, but nor do I think he was just an innocent ... more of a romantic than some sort of ideologically steeled fighter". The New York Times reported in June 2006, "of nearly 20 American military and intelligence officials who were interviewed about Begg, none thought he had been wrongly detained. But some said they doubted that he could be tied to any terrorist acts".

Alleged contacts with extremists after release
Begg gave a number of presentations to the Islamic Society at University College London in 2007, at a time that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was its president. The Times reported that Begg took part in the 'War on Terror Week' UCL presentations at Abdulmutallab's invitation. The New York Times reported that Abdulmutallab had helped to organise the week as president of the society and that an attendee had claimed that Abdulmutallab was seated "very close [to Begg]". The Weekly Standard called Begg "A jihadist", "a masterful anti-American propagandist" and "a demonstrable fraud".

Begg said that he does not recall Abdulmutallab, and that he was told that the 'War on Terror Week' UCL presentations were organised by Qasim Rafiq, a friend of Abdulmuttalab's. He was told Abdulmutallab did not attend any of the lectures.

Begg interviewed American imam, and alleged al-Qaeda senior figure, Anwar al-Awlaki after al-Awlaki was released from jail in Yemen in 2007. Al-Awlaki was invited to address CAGE's' Ramadan fundraising dinners in August 2008 at Wandsworth Civic Centre, South London (by videolink, as he was banned from entering the UK), and August 2009 at Kensington Town Hall.

Passport refusal and confiscation
In February 2005, British Home Secretary Charles Clarke refused to issue Begg a passport. He did so based on information obtained while Begg was in US custody. He said "there are strong grounds for believing that, on leaving the UK, [Begg] would take part in activities against the United Kingdom or allied targets". Clarke used Royal prerogative to refuse the passport which had only been used 13 times since 1947 in this way – the previous time being in 1976.

A British passport was issued in 2009, but in 2013 it was confiscated at Heathrow airport upon Begg's return from a trip to South Africa. The Home Office said that Begg had been assessed as having been involved in terrorist activity due to a trip to Syria the previous year. Begg claimed that the real reason for the confiscation was his campaign to prove UK and US complicity in the use of torture and rendition of suspects, and that he had been stopped for questioning almost every time he had travelled, even when returning from an official speaking invitation at the European Parliament.

In January 2022, Begg announced he was taking legal action for a judicial review of the British Home Secretary's rejection of his application for a passport, which had been confiscated in 2013. In February 2022 VICE World News published an interview of Mr Begg in which refers to his continuing “harassment” by authorities.

Public positions
Since his release, Begg has stated he is against attacks such as 9/11 but that he supported those fighting against British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, referring to Afghanistan, Begg said he completely supported the inalienable right of the people to fight "foreign occupation". . . if resisting the occupation of Afghanistan was not only considered good but lionised [in the 1980s] by the British government and US. . . then nothing has changed other than interests."

He has worked as outreach director for the charitable organisation and advocacy group CAGE, (formerly 'Cageprisoners') to represent those detainees still held at Guantanamo, as well as to help those who have been released to get services and integrate into society. He has travelled on speaking tours, and worked to persuade governments to accept former detainees for resettlement. In 2010, Cynthia Stroum, then-U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, commented "Mr Begg is doing our work for us...", adding that Begg's "articulate, reasoned presentation makes for a convincing argument".

In December 2005, Begg made a video appeal to the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, the Iraqi kidnappers of four Western peace workers, asking for their release. There was an inter-faith effort calling for the men's release. Abu Qatada, a detainee held in Britain also appealed for release of the men. In early March 2006, the body of the American hostage, Tom Fox, was found in Baghdad. A week-long military operation led by British forces secured the release of the remaining three hostages, one Briton and two Canadians, later that month.

In 2010, when CAGE had recently expanded its work to include the highlighting of the use of drone strikes for extrajudicial killings, Begg said that little had changed despite Barack Obama's promises: "We say that Bush was the president of torture, but Obama is the president of extra-judicial killing . . . while one used to extra-judicially detain people, the other has gone a step further and extra-judicially kills them". Speaking of Guantánamo, Begg said that recently released detainees had told him that conditions had improved slightly after Obama came to power, but none believed it would close: "It is like a town now and every thing around it has continued to expand. It seems that this is a permanent facility and they intend to keep it as such".

Following the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, in which over 130 pupils and teachers were killed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Begg wrote a comment on Facebook which was reported in his home town's main newspaper, the Birmingham Post. Begg stated that 'It is time to stop this cycle of uncontrolled rage and internecine violence that will only drive us to the pits of hell. Incessant calls for revenge each time need to be tempered with reflections on the consequences of what that means. There are no winners in this'.

Speaker and activist
As director of outreach for the prisoner rights organisation, CAGE, Begg has appeared in the media and around the country, lecturing on issues pertaining to the British Muslim community, such as imprisonment without trial, torture, anti-terror legislation and measures and community relations. He has appeared as a commentator on radio and television interviews and documentaries, including the BBC's Panorama and Newsnight shows, PBS's The Prisoner, Al-Jazeera's Prisoner 345, Taking Liberties, and Torturing Democracy, and National Geographic's Guantanamo's Secrets. He has authored pieces which have appeared in newspapers and magazines.

He has toured as a speaker about his time in detention facilities, calling the British response to terrorism racist, and disproportionate to anti-terror measures and legislation during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In January 2009, Begg toured the UK with former Guantanamo guard Christopher Arendt, in the Two Sides, One Story tour.

Begg has campaigned against US wartime policy with human rights organisations such as Reprieve, Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, PeaceMaker and Conflicts Forum.

In July 2015, Begg endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election.

Book, 2006
Begg co-authored a book released in March 2006 about his Guantanamo experiences, it was co-written with Victoria Brittain, a former associate foreign editor of The Guardian. It was published in Britain as Enemy Combatant: A British Muslim's Journey To Guantanamo and Back (ISBN 0-7432-8567-0), and in the US as Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar (ISBN 1-59558-136-7). In the US, the foreword was written by David Ignatius of The Washington Post.

The book received praise in Britain for Begg's "outstanding liberality of mind and evenhandedness toward his captors".

It received mixed reviews in the US, Publishers Weekly described it as "a fast-paced, harrowing narrative". "Much of the Moazzam Begg story is consistent with other accounts of detention conditions in both Afghanistan and Guantanamo", said John Sifton, a New York-based official from Human Rights Watch, who interviewed former Guantanamo prisoners in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported "some notable gaps in Mr. Begg's memoir", such as not mentioning his arrest in 1994 for alleged fraud. U-T San Diego said: "Begg has been less than forthcoming about his criminal past ... his cooperation with interrogators ... and his ties to terrorism".

Jonathan Raban, reviewing the book for The New York Review of Books, wrote " The gaps in his story — and they're more frustrating than downright suspicious — cease at the moment when Begg enters captivity". Raban criticised some "notably talentless" dialogue writing, "Perhaps Begg really did strike up a warm relationship with soldier Jennifer … but only in bad fiction do people speak this way". Finally concluding "There can be no doubt about the reality of the predicament described by Moazzam Begg … the indiscriminate dragnet thrown out by the United States … brought in a catch that included many bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and whose single common denominator was that they were Muslims."

The Muslim News called it an "open, honest and touching account". Begg earned the "Published Writer Award" for the book, at the annual Muslim Writers Awards in March 2008.

Lawsuit against the British government
In April 2008, Begg and seven other former Guantanamo detainees filed lawsuits in Britain's High Court accusing the British Attorney General, Home and Foreign Secretaries, MI5 and MI6, of unlawful acts, negligence and complicity in their abduction, treatment and interrogation. At a 2009 court hearing, Government lawyers denied the charges, but stated that MI5 had interviewed some detainees and in some instances supplied questions that they wished prisoners to be asked.

In November 2010, the British Government announced that it had reached a financial settlement with 16 detainees, including Begg. The British Government said there was no evidence that British officials participated directly in the abuse of prisoners, however, in 2010, a Public inquiry was formed to investigate the matter. In 2013, an interim report by the Gibson Inquiry into British involvement in torture and rendition of detainees concluded that the British government and UK intelligence services had been involved in rendition and had interviewed suspects whom they knew were being mistreated. The public inquiry was then suspended and further investigation handed over to the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee.

Guantanamo video game, 2009
In 2009, Begg was an advisor, and was due to appear as himself, for the Scottish software company T-Enterprise in the development of a video game entitled Rendition: Guantanamo, for Microsoft's Xbox 360. The game would have put the player in the place of the detainees.

The software company's director said, "We approached Moazzam because it's very hard for us to know how to design the layout of the prison and he helped", and that neither US nor British soldiers would get killed in the game, only "mercenaries". Begg said that, when first approached, he hesitated, "I was worried that it might trivialise my experience", but that he would "help to bring those issues to people who would not usually think about it". Although Begg had a financial stake in the game, he said that he had not received any money at that point. The software company said: "We have had a lot of hate mail about this, mainly from America, saying things like 'don't dare put out a game that shows them killing our soldiers'".

Conservative pundits such as The Weekly Standard's Tom Joscelyn and radio host Rush Limbaugh reacted negatively to the game and Begg's involvement. Ultimately, T-Enterprise did not complete the game due to US press coverage, which it described as "inaccurate and ill informed speculation ... many conclusions were reached that have absolutely no foundation whatsoever".

Amnesty International controversy, 2010
In 2010, Gita Sahgal, then head of Amnesty's gender unit, publicly condemned her organisation for its collaboration with Begg because of his association with CAGE. She said its "Counter Terror With Justice" campaign "constitutes a threat to human rights". In an open letter to Amnesty's leadership, she said: "To be appearing on platforms with Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment".

Begg filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission against The Sunday Times for publishing an accusation of links between Amnesty and the Taliban. Amnesty International posted a response to press coverage of the incident by Claudio Cordone, Amnesty Secretary General, pointing out that Amnesty's work with Begg had "focused exclusively on highlighting the human rights violations committed in Guantánamo Bay".

Begg says he later discussed the allegations with Sahgal, "Because I advocate a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan, she portrayed me as the greatest supporter of the Taliban and therefore, by extension, a supporter of everything they have said in terms of rights of women and so forth. That's not very clever, nor is it very honest".

2014 arrests
In February 2014, Begg was arrested by West Midlands Police on suspicion of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas. West Midlands Police said: "This is an arrest, not a charge, and ... our naming does not imply any guilt". In July of the same year, Begg was charged by the same force with terrorist activities related to his alleged actions in the Syrian Civil War, including attending a terrorist training camp. While awaiting trial, he was held in Belmarsh, a British high-security prison.

In October 2014, shortly before his trial was due to start, Begg was released after the prosecution announced that they would be offering no evidence due to documents having come into their possession showing that MI5 had been aware of, and had consented to, Begg's travels to Syria. West Midlands Police said "new evidence had come to light" and immediately following the verdict, its assistant chief constable said the police fully accepted that Moazzam Begg was an innocent man. A CPS spokesperson said 'If we had been made aware of all of this information at the time of charging, we would not have charged'.

Open letter to President Biden
On 29 January 2021 the New York Review of Books published an open letter from Begg, and six other Guantanamo detainees, to newly inaugurated American President Biden, appealing to him to close the detention camp.

Documentary appearances

 * Begg was among those interviewed in the 2007 documentary Taxi to the Dark Side about the killing of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram detention centre. The film, which was directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, won the 2007 Academy Award for "Best Documentary Feature". The documentary was also shown as part of the international Why Democracy? documentary series.
 * Begg is the subject of an extended interview in The Confession (2016), discussing his life prior to his incarceration in Guantánamo Bay, his incarceration, and subsequent life. It was given four stars by the Guardian, who described Begg's "principled, consistent testimony" having a "rare gravity and profound moral force". This documentary has also been shown in the BBC Storyville documentary series, under the title Moazzam Begg: Living the War on Terror.
 * Begg is interviewed in the 2009 documentary Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo, co-directed by Andy Worthington and Polly Nash. The film focuses on the cases of Begg and other UK detainees with comments by lawyers Clive Stafford Smith, Gareth Peirce and Tom Wilner.

 * In 2006, Begg was interviewed in the video 21st Century CrUSAders, saying that the War on Terrorism is really akin to a war against Islam. According to Gareth Peirce, possession of this film has been offered in British courts as evidence of radicalisation.

Representation in play

 * Begg, and his father Azmat, both feature as characters in a play written by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo, entitled Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, which opened in 2004 at the Tricycle Theatre before transferring to the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End. The play is based on the testimonies of detainees and others. A production was mounted at the Culture Project in New York. In 2006 the Tricycle presented performances of the play at the Houses of Parliament and on Washington's Capitol Hill.

title: Moazzam Begg


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Pembina

Pembina may refer to:

Alberta

 * Pembina (Alberta federal electoral district), a former federal electoral district
 * Pembina, Edmonton, a neighbourhood in Edmonton
 * Pembina Institute, an environmental research group
 * Pembina oil field, an oil- and gas-producing region in central Alberta
 * Pembina Pipeline, a pipeline company
 * Pembina River (Alberta), a river in central Alberta
 * Pembina River Provincial Park

Manitoba

 * Municipality of Pembina, a municipality in southern Manitoba
 * Rural Municipality of Pembina, a former municipality
 * Pembina (Manitoba provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district
 * North Pembina, original name for West Lynne, Manitoba
 * Pembina Trails School Division, Winnipeg Metro Region
 * Pembina Valley Region
 * Pembina Valley Provincial Park
 * Winnipeg Route 42, commonly known as Pembina Highway

United States

 * Pembina County, Minnesota, a historical county in Minnesota Territory
 * Pembina, Missouri an unincorporated community in Christian County
 * Pembina County, North Dakota
 * Pembina, North Dakota, a city in Pembina County
 * Pembina Region, a historical unorganized territory now part of North and South Dakota
 * Pembina Township, Mahnomen County, Minnesota

Canada and the United States

 * Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, a historical tribe that lived along upper Red River of the North and its tributaries
 * Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing in North Dakota and Manitoba
 * Pembina Escarpment in North Dakota and Manitoba
 * Pembina River (Manitoba – North Dakota)

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

title: Pembina


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Mutual organization

A mutual organization, also mutual society or simply mutual, is an organization (which is often, but not always, a company or business) based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a cooperative, members usually do not directly contribute to the capital of the organization, but derive their right to profits and votes through their customer relationship.

A mutual exists with the purpose of raising funds from its membership or customers (collectively called its members), which can then be used to provide common services to all members of the organization or society. A mutual is therefore owned by, and run for the benefit of, its members – it has no external shareholders to pay in the form of dividends, and as such does not usually seek to maximize and make large profits or capital gains. Mutuals exist for the members to benefit from the services they provide and often do not pay income tax.

Surplus revenue made will usually be re-invested in the mutual to sustain or grow the organization, though some mutuals operate a dividend scheme similar to a cooperative.

Background
The primary form of financial business set up as a mutual company in the United States has been mutual insurance. Some insurance companies are set up as stock companies and then mutualized, their ownership passing to their policy owners. In mutual insurance companies, what would have been profits are instead rebated to the clients in the form of dividend distributions, reduced future premiums or paid up additions to the policy value.

This is a competitive advantage to such companies—the idea of owning a piece of the company could be more attractive to some potential clients than the idea of being a source of profits for investors. In the typical stock company, profits go to shareholders. In contrast, a mutual manages the company in the best interests of the customers. Furthermore, a mutual company is able to focus on a longer horizon than a typical company. Some mutual insurance companies make this claim explicitly.

In more general terms, mutual organizations are able to minimize the principal–agent problem by removing one stakeholder, the investor-owner, in favor of one of the other stakeholders, usually the customer, who becomes both user and joint owner of the business.

However, the mutual form of ownership also has disadvantages. One example is that mutual companies have no shares to sell and hence no access to equity markets.

At one time, most major U.S. life insurers were mutual companies. For many years, the tax status of such organizations was open to dispute, as they were technically nonprofit organizations. Eventually, it was agreed that federal taxation would be based on their share of business: for instance, in years in which mutual companies represented half of the business, they would be responsible for half of the taxes paid by the industry.

Many savings and loan associations were also mutual companies, owned by their depositors.

As a form of corporate ownership the mutual has fallen out of favor in the U.S. since the 1980s. Savings and loan industry deregulation and the late 1980s savings and loan crisis led many to change to stock ownership, or in some cases into banks. Many large U.S.-based insurance companies, such as the Prudential Insurance Company of America and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company have demutualized, with shares of stock being distributed to their policyholders to represent the ownership interest they formerly had in the form of their interest as mutual policyholders.

The Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company has also investigated demutualization, even though its form of ownership is embedded in its name. It is noted that other formerly mutual companies such as Washington Mutual, a former savings and loan association, have been allowed to demutualize and yet retain their names.

The approximate British equivalent of the savings and loan is the building society. Building societies also went through an era of demutualisation in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving only one large national building society and around forty smaller regional and local ones. Significant demutualisation also occurred in Australia and South Africa in the same era.

Cooperatives are very similar to mutual companies. They tend to deal in primarily tangible goods and services such as agricultural commodities or utilities rather than intangible products such as financial services. Nevertheless, banking institutions with close ties to the co-operative movement are usually known as credit unions or cooperative banks rather than mutuals.

Modern mutuality
Various types of financial institutions around the world are mutuals, and examples include:
 * Mutual building societies
 * Nationwide Building Society – United Kingdom
 * Coventry Building Society – United Kingdom
 * Nelson Building Society – New Zealand
 * Mutual banks and mutual savings banks
 * Greater Bank – Australia
 * SBS Bank – New Zealand
 * Mutual healthcare providers
 * Benenden Healthcare Society – United Kingdom
 * Mutual insurance companies
 * Shepherds Friendly Society – United Kingdom
 * Protection and indemnity insurance

Some mutual financial institutions offer services very similar to (if not the same as) those of a commercial bank. In some markets, mutuals offer very competitive interest rates and fee tariffs on savings and deposit accounts, mortgages and loans. The members who save and borrow with the mutual ultimately own the business.

Conversion
Mutualization or mutualisation is the process by which a joint stock company changes legal form to a mutual organization or a cooperative, so that the majority of the stock is owned by employees or customers.

Demutualization or demutualisation is the reverse process, whereby a mutual may convert itself to a joint-stock company. This process became increasingly common in the 1980s as a result of deregulation. In the United States, conversion may be full, to a public company, or in many states, partial, to a mutual holding company.

title: Mutual organization


text:
User talk:Llhm

Extended image syntax goes into it in detail... Evercat 20:30, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Copyrighted Images
Hello, please read up on Copyright, Wikipedia's image use policy, and Wikipedia's Copyright: Image guidelines before uploading any further images. Many of the photos that you've uploaded are copyrighted and you've given no indication that the copyright holder has released the photos under the GFDL or compatible license. - Redjar 02:34, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * They are the official apple released photos so there is no issue there... (Llhm)

 * Just because they are official photos from Apple does not mean they are not copyrighted. Any created work is automatically copyright of the author (Apple in this case).  It must be explicitly licensed for use under a GFDL or similar license for it to be used on Wikipedia. - Redjar 19:18, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Non-free use disputed for Image:Wm logo.gif
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If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our Criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 11:56, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Trucks-its just porn mum.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Trucks-its just porn mum.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale you have provided for using this image under "fair use" may be invalid. Please read the instructions at Non-free content carefully, then go to the image description page and clarify why you think the image qualifies for fair use. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot (talk) 02:11, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Dirty vegas.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Dirty vegas.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale you have provided for using this image under "fair use" may be invalid. Please read the instructions at Non-free content carefully, then go to the image description page and clarify why you think the image qualifies for fair use. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot (talk) 20:26, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image (Image:Trucks-its just porn mum.jpg)
 Thanks for uploading Image:Trucks-its just porn mum.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. - AWeenieMan (talk) 05:45, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Llhm


text: User talk:24.168.66.27

title: User talk:24.168.66.27


text:
Krantikari Manuwadi Morcha

Krantikari Manuwadi Morcha ("Revolutionary Manuvadi Front", KMM) is a Hindu ultra-conservative political organisation in India, formed in 2000.

In the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections in 2002 KMM nominated Dara Singh, the accused of the murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines, from the Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad constituencies. KMM also openly defended Singh's actions. The nomination sparked protests from the Christian community, and the All India Christian Council demanded that KMM ought to be banned. The nomination was later withdrawn.

In 2012, the Krantikari Manuwadi Morcha along with Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance approached the Supreme Court to challenge a 2009 Delhi High Court order decriminalising homosexual acts.

title: Krantikari Manuwadi Morcha


text:
David Dundas

David Dundas may refer to:

 * David Dundas (musician) (born 1945), pop singer of the 1970s
 * David Dundas (British Army officer), (1735–1820) military officer
 * Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet (1749–1826), distinguished surgeon
 * Sir David Dundas (politician) (1799–1877), politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales and UK Privy Counsellor
 * David Dundas, Lord Dundas (1854–1922), Scottish politician and judge

title: David Dundas


text:
Serenity (Firefly episode)

"Serenity" is the original intended pilot for the American science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It was the first episode produced for the series and premiered as the show's series finale on Friday, December 20, 2002 on Fox. With studio executives unsatisfied with the episode for the series premiere, the show's second episode, "The Train Job", was re-written and produced as a second pilot to be aired first. The episode shares its name with the 2005 feature film Serenity, which serves as a continuation to Firefly.

In the early 26th Century, Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and Zoe Washburne (Gina Torres) are survivors of their rebel unit in the Battle of Serenity Valley during the Unification War, in which their side lost. Six years later, they are eking out an existence on the edges of space in their Firefly-class spaceship Serenity, taking odd jobs even if they involve petty crime. They also take on passengers to supplement their income, including a man with a secret that will change the path of their lives forever.

In 2003, the episode won the award for "Best Visual Effects in a Television Series" from Visual Effects Society, and was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2003 for "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form".

Part 1
In 2511, a squad of "Independents", led by Sergeant Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds and Corporal Zoe Alleyne, fight in the Battle of Serenity Valley during the Unification War. Despite Mal's insistence that the battle can be won with air support, Zoe receives orders to surrender from the leaders of the rebellion. Mal is forced to watch in horror as Alliance ships sweep the battlefield unopposed, destroying the rest of the Independents.

Six years later, Mal is the captain of his own transport ship, an older-model Firefly-class vessel he named Serenity, with Zoe as his second-in-command. The rest of the ship's crew consists of Wash (Alan Tudyk), who is the pilot and Zoe's husband; Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the engineer; and Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin), an untrustworthy gun-for-hire. Inara (Morena Baccarin), a "Companion" (a very high-class courtesan) who rents one of Serenity's two shuttles, normally travels with them, but she is currently away on business.

While the crew are illegally salvaging some crates off a derelict Alliance spaceship, they are spotted by an Alliance cruiser. To escape capture, Mal has Wash deploy a fake distress beacon. The Alliance cruiser falls for the deception, but broadcasts a bulletin that a Firefly-class ship is carrying stolen Alliance goods.

The crew of Serenity travel to Persephone to deliver the stolen goods to Badger (Mark Sheppard), the small-time crime lord who hired them for the heist. However, Badger reneges on their deal after learning that the Alliance has put a bulletin on Mal's crew. He also does not like the way Mal looks down on him. Mal decides to try selling the cargo to Patience, an old business associate who lives on Whitefall. Zoe has misgivings, since Patience shot Mal the last time they met, but Mal is desperate to get rid of the hot cargo. The crew picks up passengers before leaving Persephone for extra income, and Inara rejoins the ship. The new passengers are a preacher named Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), a bumbling man named Dobson (Carlos Jacott), and a wealthy doctor named Simon Tam (Sean Maher) who brings aboard a mysterious large crate.

En route to Whitefall, Wash discovers that someone on board sent a message hailing the nearest Alliance cruiser. Suspecting that Simon is the mole, Mal confronts him, only to discover that Dobson is actually an undercover Alliance lawman. Dobson surprises Mal by telling them it's Simon he wants to arrest, not Mal. During the tense confrontation, a nervous Dobson accidentally shoots Kaylee in the stomach before being overpowered by Book, who manages to easily disarm and subdue him. When an Alliance cruiser orders them to dock for prisoner transfer, Simon threatens not to treat Kaylee if they do not flee. Mal reluctantly agrees (after being prodded by Inara to do so), but then has Jayne restrain Simon while he opens Simon's mysterious crate, only to be surprised to find a naked young woman inside in cryonic sleep.

Part 2
The woman in the crate is River Tam (Summer Glau), Simon's younger sister. Simon explains that his sister was a brilliant child prodigy who was sent to an elite, but secretive Alliance academy when she was fourteen. After River sent him an encoded letter for help, he discovered that the Alliance was experimenting on the academy students. Simon abandoned his career as a successful trauma surgeon to rescue her and spent all of his money to get her smuggled out of the academy. The Alliance wants River back very badly. Mal decides to proceed to Whitefall as planned and drop off both the goods and the Tam siblings.

Mal tells Jayne to interrogate Dobson to find out what he told the Alliance about them. Once Jayne finds out that the Alliance knows nothing, Dobson tries to bribe him, offering him enough money to buy his own ship.

Soon after, they discover that a Reaver ship is approaching. Zoe explains to Simon that "If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing. And if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order." Luckily, the Reaver ship passes by without incident.

Serenity lands on Whitefall. Not trusting Patience, Mal sends Jayne to take out her hidden sniper while he and Zoe meet Patience and some of her henchmen in a barren valley. Mal gives Patience a sample of the cargo. As expected, Patience tries to kill them after learning where they have buried the rest, but Mal, Zoe and Jayne gun down Patience's men. Mal leaves Patience alive, but takes the money he was promised. Jayne is warned by Wash that the Reavers turned around and followed them to Whitefall.

Meanwhile, back on the ship Dobson escapes, knocking out Book and grabbing River. Mal returns and calmly shoots Dobson in the head, dumping his body off the ship as they start to lift off, the Reavers hot on their tail.

Mal orders Inara, Book, Simon and River to go to Inara's shuttle, just in case the ship is boarded. Jayne carries the still-convalescing Kaylee to the engine room, and Book offers to help her. With Jayne and Book carrying out Kaylee's instructions, Wash is able to pull off a "Crazy Ivan" (VIFF), and Serenity manages to shake the pursuing Reavers.

Jayne tells Mal that they should dump the siblings since Dobson had told him that the Alliance will keep coming after River. Mal asks Jayne why he did not turn against him. Jayne responds that the money Dobson offered was not enough. Mal suggests to Simon that he and River might be safer on the move, and points out that Serenity is always moving, and in need of a qualified ship's medic. Simon reluctantly accepts his offer.

Deleted scenes
This episode has two deleted scenes.
 * An alternate opening scene showing the aftermath of the Battle of Serenity Valley. Most of the Independent soldiers are dead. Mal and the survivors witness the long-awaited arrival of the medships; when Zoe says "Thank God" for the ships' arrival, Mal bitterly asks whose side God is on. This scene was deleted because the studio wanted a more action-packed opening scene. This scene would have explained why Mal, who is seen kissing a cross on his neck during the battle, lost his faith in God.
 * A scene where Simon is taking care of the wounded Kaylee. Book asks why Simon chose to come aboard Serenity and Simon replies that it seemed disreputable. Book suggests that Simon lacks a knowledge of history. Simon researches the Battle of Serenity Valley on his encyclopedia and Zoe tells him about how many soldiers died during the battle and its aftermath. She tells Simon that Mal will not kill him unless he's got no other option. When Simon asks why Mal named the ship after such a horrible battle, Zoe replies that "once you've been in Serenity, you never leave."

Arc significance
This episode introduces a major story arc of the short-lived series: that of River and Simon. It reveals Simon's deep, selfless love for his sister and that his life is now defined by her.

Despite the script stating that Dobson is killed by Mal, Joss Whedon had planned to bring the character back. Although the series was cancelled, Dobson coming back for revenge was a key part of the plot in Serenity: Those Left Behind, a three-issue comic book miniseries intended to bridge the television series and the movie Serenity.

Themes
As Joss Whedon points out in the commentary for this episode, every show he does is "about creating family". To achieve the sense of family, he centers some action around a dinner scene at a table, and directs warm light into the faces of the characters. Strengthening this theme is the interaction between Simon and his sister River. Simon has done a selfless act in rescuing his sister, and his life is now defined by it. Whedon wanted to show a relationship like that that was not a parent-child relationship.

Another theme is the fusion of Asian and frontier culture. As Brett Matthews said, you couldn't ask for a better mission statement for the show than the shot of Mal with a Western tin cup and chopsticks. He then contrasts this to the tall, vertical Alliance cruiser that detects them, as he wanted to show how inefficient the Alliance government was.

He also wanted to show a lifestyle that was very tactile and physical, and contrast it to the lifestyle of the contemporary audience where things "fall in your lap."

Production
Production on the pilot episode began on March 20, 2002. The episode's beginning sequence was reshot before it did air, to provide more of the "action" that Fox wanted. The pilot reportedly cost more than $8 million.

Rebecca Gayheart initially played the role of Inara Serra, but was replaced by Baccarin early in the episode's filming. In anticipation of the role being recast, Whedon shot scenes of the character interacting with the crew in singles, so the only portions that would have to be reshot would be the shots of Inara.

After the Reavers are introduced, the screen goes to near black to end the act. Whedon wanted to give the audience time to "breathe" before the beginning of commercials, but a true black would automatically cue the ads, so he went with a color that was as close to black as possible without causing this.

Guest cast

 * Carlos Jacott as Lawrence Dobson, an Alliance "Fed." This is also one of Whedon's "hat tricks" for the episode: an actor that has appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, as well as Firefly.
 * Mark Sheppard as Badger, the crime boss located on Persephone.
 * Andy Umberger as the captain of the Alliance cruiser Dortmunder. He is also a "hat trick." In Buffy, though, he wore the heavy makeup of an important recurring character, the demon D'Hoffryn, Anyanka's boss, so he's barely recognizable, as Fillion notes in the DVD commentary.
 * Philip Sternberg as Inara's client.
 * Eddie Adams as Bendis, one of the members of Mal and Zoe's unit in the Battle of Serenity Valley.
 * Colin Patrick Lynch as Radio Operator.
 * Bonnie Bartlett as Patience.

title: Serenity (Firefly episode)


text:
Talk:Herring soup

Untitled
Is that thing about Sweden really true? Evercat 20:36, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * ''There is a reported superstition from southwestern Sweden to spit three times at the herring soup pot while it is cooking, throwing the soup away if any attempt misses. Swedish tradition suggests that this will prevent the herrings from coming alive in your stomach.
 * I can not find this being a common practice, although I would image it was probably done somewhere. / Fred-Chess 10:05, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

Swedish source?
Does this actually exist in Sweden? Herring is traditionally often eaten, so someone must have used it in soup sometime, but what is the source on this being a real dish from sweden? What is it's swedish name? "Sillsoppa" and "strömmingsoppa" give very few results on google2A02:C7D:697D:CB00:C450:1EA8:DA58:48F7 (talk) 22:17, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Herring soup


text:
Incredicoaster

Incredicoaster is a steel launched roller coaster located at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was originally opened to the public as California Screamin' in early 2001. It is the only roller coaster with an inversion at the Disneyland Resort and it is the fastest, reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph. With a track length of 6072 ft, Incredicoaster is the sixth-longest steel roller coaster in the world.

California Screamin' permanently closed on the late evening of January 7, 2018 for a transformation and reopened as the Incredicoaster with the debut of Pixar Pier on June 22, 2018. Its theme is inspired by The Incredibles film franchise.

History
In October 1998, following months of construction on the new California Adventure theme park next to Disneyland, Disney announced additional details about the park's rides and attractions set to open in 2001. Among them would be a state-of-the-art launched roller coaster named California Screamin', which uses linear induction motor (LIM) launch technology to propel its riders to a maximum speed of 55 mph. Although made of steel, the ride would be designed to resemble a classic wooden coaster, and it would include a vertical loop in the signature shape of Mickey Mouse's head.

California Screamin' debuted with the park's grand opening on February 8, 2001. Designed by Werner Stengel and built by Intamin, it features a track length of 6072 ft, making it the sixth-longest steel coaster in the world and third-longest in the US behind Fury 325 at Carowinds and Millennium Force at Cedar Point. Materials used to build the attraction included 11,500,000 lb of concrete for the footers, 36 mi of electric cables, 167 mi of conductors, and 5,800,000 lb of steel. It also became the longest roller coaster in the world to feature an inversion after the vertical loop on Son of Beast at Kings Island was removed in 2006.

In addition to the LIM launch that propels the train up the first hill, an additional LIM Boost is used on the main lift midway through the ride. These motors are used in lieu of a traditional lift hill chain. The coaster is one of Disney Parks' fastest attractions, accelerating guests from zero to 55 mph in four seconds. Since the resort was located next to a residential area, Disney had installed tunnels throughout the ride to block the screams from riders and reduce noise complaints from nearby residents of Anaheim and neighboring Garden Grove.

Like several other coasters in Disney Parks, California Screamin' featured an onboard audio soundtrack during the ride, created by Gary Hoey and George Wilkins. On January 3, 2007, as part of the "Rockin' Both Parks" campaign, the audio track was temporarily replaced by a remixed version of "Around the World" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the attraction was renamed Rockin' California Screamin'. This was promoted along with Rockin' Space Mountain, a similar change made to Space Mountain in Disneyland, though that ride's audio was changed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' cover version of "Higher Ground". The standard audio track was restored when the campaign ended.

After the refurbishment of Disney California Adventure, from 2008 to 2009 the Mickey Mouse head located behind the vertical loop was changed to a sunburst icon with the Paradise Pier logo.

On July 15, 2017, Disney announced a complete renovation of Paradise Pier, renaming it Pixar Pier. Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate that California Screamin' would be rethemed to Pixar Animation Studios' The Incredibles. On November 2, it was confirmed that the ride would be remodeled. California Screamin' closed on January 8, 2018, for the transformation into Incredicoaster. The remodel would include a new queue line, engineering reboots of the existing launch system, new storyline, enclosed scream tunnels and a new soundtrack. The new trains were unveiled in April. Incredicoaster opened on June 23, 2018, to coincide with the release of Incredibles 2.

Pre-show and ride
TV screens display news footage of the Incredibles and Edna Mode being interviewed for a classic roller coaster's rebranding as Incredicoaster. While they are being interviewed, Jack-Jack uses his unpredictable superpowers, much to his family's frustration and Edna's amusement. As the guests board the cars and take off from the station, Elastigirl asks Edna to look after Jack-Jack. The guests pass by the VIP room where Edna watches Jack-Jack as he teleports around. Moments later, Edna announces that Jack-Jack has escaped. The Incredibles then take off throughout the ride trying to catch Jack-Jack as he uses his vast array of super powers to "attack" certain points on the ride as the coaster arrives in the launch area.

After Dash gives the countdown, the train is launched at 55 mph into the first tunnel, accompanied by a stream of water jets that glow red to simulate Dash's super speed. In the first tunnel, Dash tries to use his super speed to catch Jack-Jack, while Jack-Jack shoots lasers from his eyes. The train then exits the tunnel as it descends the drop and rises uphill onto the first block brake and then navigates a right hand turn around Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind before passing under the outbound track and climbing up the main lift, which uses LIMs to propel the train. When new, this was the first use of Linear Induction Motor (LIM) technology that allowed a roller coaster vehicle to travel on an inclined angle.

As the train crests the hill, it enters the second tunnel, where Elastigirl tries using her stretching powers to grab Jack-Jack while he is phasing in and out of the tunnel wall. Past the crest of the hill, Mr. Incredible has used his super strength to smash through the wall and is trying to catch Jack-Jack by offering him a cookie, after which the train drops out of the tunnel. Exiting this tunnel, the ride goes through a three-quarter turn before diving into the vertical loop. Following this, the train dives through the third tunnel, which Jack-Jack has set ablaze with his fire powers, forcing Violet to put an invisible forcefield around the tunnel to put out the flames and keep the riders safe as they make another loop around the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind.

After hitting the second block brake section, the track passes through a series of airtime filled bunny hop hills as it passes over Toy Story Midway Mania, where Jack-Jack makes multiple versions of himself pop up everywhere. The train then rises into the third and final block brake section. After dropping off the block brakes the train traverses through a 270-degree downward spiral that leads into a straight section of track with one last bunny hop. Which is followed by a final 100-degree left turn into the final brake run, as Jack-Jack makes it back safely. This time he has increased in size, but Edna manages to keep him calm by giving him a cookie. The train then makes another left turn before returning to the station.

Safety design
The original safety announcements were recorded by Dee Bradley Baker. On November 5, 2010, the announcements were updated with the voice of Neil Patrick Harris. Baker and Harris also recorded audio for the launch, counting down for guests. There are 108 acoustic devices to play the onboard audio aboard each train, including high-range speakers in the headrests, mid-range speakers near riders' ears, and subwoofers under each rider's seat.

The tubes through which the coaster shoots enable the coaster to comply with Orange County sound ordinances, projecting noise in the direction of the park, in addition to concealing scenes with characters.

Cast

 * Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible
 * Holly Hunter as Elastigirl
 * Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr
 * Huck Milner as Dash Parr
 * Brad Bird as Edna Mode

Incidents
In August 2001, Dr. David Heber, a Milwaukee surgeon, suffered a neurological disorder and whiplash after his restraint locked at eye level. He sued Disney in 2003, alleging equipment failure, lack of lubrication and ride operators failing to notice his unlocked restraint. However, Heber lost.

On July 29, 2005, multiple guests were injured when the purple train rear-ended the orange train. Of the 48 guests aboard the two trains, 15 were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The accident occurred on the section of track about 30 ft short of the loading station. A full ride stop was activated with the orange train stopped. The brake segment that was supposed to have stopped the purple train failed, and the purple train continued until it collided with the stopped orange train. An investigation showed that a faulty brake valve, installed a few days earlier by Disney (not by the ride manufacturer Intamin) was the cause.

On July 22, 2011, 23 people were rescued from California Screamin' by firefighters when a rider's backpack fell out of a train and landed on the track, causing the orange train to valley between the loop and the next block section. It reopened two days later after the train was winched up the next hill, had its damaged wheels replaced and was allowed to complete the circuit.

On August 6, 2016, passengers on the ride were stranded for 45 minutes before being rescued when a fallen purse triggered an automatic stop.

title: Incredicoaster


text:
Fast-roping

Fast-roping is a technique for descending a thick rope, allowing troops to deploy from a helicopter in places where the aircraft cannot touch down.

The person holds onto the rope with gloved hands (with or without using their feet) and slides down it. Several people can slide down the same rope simultaneously, provided that there is a gap of about 3 m between them, so that each one has time to get out of the way when they reach the ground.

Fast roping is quicker than abseiling (rappelling), although more dangerous, particularly if the person is carrying a heavy load, because the rope is not attached to them with a descender. The technique is particularly useful for naval infantry, who can use it to board ships at sea.

History
The technique was first developed by the UK with British rope manufacturer Marlow Ropes, and first used in combat during the Falklands War. The original rope was made of thick nylon that could be used in a manner akin to a fireman's pole. The special ropes used today are braided (plaited), producing a pattern on the outer circumference that is not smooth and so is easier to grip. Originally, each person would hold the rope for the next person, but this has been phased out.

Rope
The rope must be thick, typically 40mm (1.57 in) diameter, to prevent it from being wildly jerked about from the rotor blast of the helicopter. Some types have a weighted core, the ballast helping to combat the blast effect.

Glove techniques
Fast-ropers use heat-resistant gloves to protect their hands from the heat of friction while descending. Such gloves are generally not dextrous enough to be useful after the descent has been completed, though specialized gloves have been developed for this purpose. More often, a glove-inside-glove technique is used, with tactical gloves worn inside heavy leather metalworking gloves. After descending the rope, the wearer removes the outer gloves to regain dexterity.

Use of feet
In the U.S. Marine Corps, fast-ropers are trained to control the speed of descent by using their legs and feet in addition to their hands (instructors claim that some Marines have let go of their rope because their gloves became too hot, causing injury). Deployment of around 25 fast-ropers onto a ship can take about 30 seconds.

The British military advises against use of the feet as this can make the descent for following personnel more dangerous: boot polish or the leather of the boot can make the rope extremely slippery.

title: Fast-roping


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User talk:Newfoundglory

Welcome to my talk page... leave a message below, or just say hi.

title: User talk:Newfoundglory


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User:Wikibob/District (Swiss)

District (Swiss) now moved to the main article space Districts of Switzerland, the missing district lists still need to be completed.

I aim to finish translating it from de:Bezirk (Schweiz) and finish the templates for each Canton:

 * Template:Canton Aargau
 * Template:Canton Bern

 * Template:Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden districts
 * Template:Canton Aargau districts
 * Template:Canton Basel-Country districts
 * Template:Canton Bern districts
 * Template:Canton Freiburg districts
 * Template:Canton Graubünden districts
 * Template:Canton Jura districts
 * Template:Canton Lucerne districts
 * Template:Canton Neuenburg districts
 * Canton St. Gallen has no districts
 * Canton Schaffhausen has no districts
 * Template:Canton Schwyz districts
 * Template:Canton Solothurn districts DONE
 * Template:Canton Tessin districts
 * Template:Canton Thurgau districts
 * Template:Canton Waadt districts
 * Template:Canton Wallis districts
 * Template:Canton Zurich districts
 * Template:Infobox Swiss town

An alternative in dictionary order.
 * Plan to move this to Districts of Switzerland (alphabetical order)

title: User:Wikibob/District (Swiss)


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Penalosa

Peñalosa or, frequently misspelled, Penalosa may refer to:

People with the surname

 * Diego Peñalosa, (1690 - ?) Spanish governor of Cuba
 * Gil Penalosa, (born 1956 or 1957) Canadian urbanist and runner-up in the 2022 Toronto mayoral election
 * Diosdado "Dodie Boy" Peñalosa (born 1962), retired Filipino boxer and a former IBF champion
 * Enrique Peñalosa (born 1954), Colombian politician and former mayor of Bogotá
 * Francisco de Peñalosa (1470–1528), Spanish composer of the middle Renaissance
 * Gerry Peñalosa, Filipino professional boxer

Places

 * Penalosa, Kansas, city in Kingman County, Kansas, United States

title: Penalosa


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Kaleem Omar

Kaleem Omar (KO) (1937 – 25 June 2009) was a Pakistani journalist, and an English language poet.

Life
Born in Lucknow, Omar attended Sherwood College, Naini Tal. He was associated with the Jang Group's daily The News International, in Karachi for the past many years. From 1983 to 1988, he wrote a column for The Star Weekend; beginning in 1989, he wrote for The News.

His work is included in the anthologies Pieces of eight, Wordfall and A Dragonfly in the Sun.

Kaleem Omar died of heart failure on 28 June 2009.

title: Kaleem Omar


text: User talk:80.126.65.34

title: User talk:80.126.65.34


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Paula Kelly (actress)

Paula Alma Kelly (October 21, 1942 – February 8, 2020) was an American actress, singer, dancer and choreographer in films, television and theatre. Kelly's career began during the mid–1960s in theatre, making her Broadway debut as Mrs. Veloz in the 1964 musical Something More!, alongside Barbara Cook. Kelly's other Broadway credits include The Dozens (1969), Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971), Ovid's Metamorphoses (1971), and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), based on the music of Duke Ellington, appearing with Gregory Hines and Phyllis Hyman.

Early life and education
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Kelly was one of three daughters born to Ruth and Lehman Kelly, a jazz musician. By age six, Kelly's family had relocated to Harlem neighborhood of New York City. For high school, Kelly attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, majoring in music. Kelly continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music, where she majored in dance under Martha Hill. Graduating in 1964 with an M.S. degree, Kelly performed as a soloist with major modern dance companies such as Martha Graham, Donald McKayle, and Alvin Ailey.

Career
Kelly performed as guest artist and sometimes assistant choreographer for numerous television musical specials, including Sammy and Friends (starring Sammy Davis, Jr.); co-choreographer of the BBC production of Peter Pan, in which she also performed the role of Tiger-Lily; Quincy Jones' TV tribute to Duke Ellington, We Love You Madly; The Richard Pryor Show; and Gene Kelly's New York, New York, in which the two Kellys performed a duet.

Kelly performed a dance solo at the 41st Academy Awards for the nominated title song from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). She appeared on the London stage in Sweet Charity with dancer and actress Juliet Prowse, for which Kelly won the London Variety Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred in the record-breaking west coast premiere of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope at the Mark Taper Forum, for which she was awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Variety, and the first of three NAACP Image Awards. Kelly's film credits include the Bob Fosse-directed film Sweet Charity; Soylent Green; The Spook Who Sat by the Door; The Andromeda Strain; Uptown Saturday Night; Lost in the Stars, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling; Drop Squad; and Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored.

Kelly had a regular role as Liz Williams on the first season of the sitcom Night Court, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. Kelly also guest-starred in a variety of television movies and sitcoms, including Sanford and Son, Kojak, Police Woman, Golden Girls, Good Times, Any Day Now and in the Oprah Winfrey-produced TV mini-series The Women of Brewster Place (based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Gloria Naylor), in which she portrayed one half of a lesbian couple (with Lonette McKee) struggling against homophobia in an inner-city ghetto. Kelly was nominated for a second Emmy for her role in The Women of Brewster Place.

Personal life and death
On September 15, 1985, Kelly married British film director Don Chaffey. Chaffey died in November 1990.

Her partner since 2003 was George Parkington.

Kelly died of heart failure on February 8, 2020, at age 77.

title: Paula Kelly (actress)


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Kappa curve

In geometry, the kappa curve or Gutschoven's curve is a two-dimensional algebraic curve resembling the Greek letter $ϰ$ (kappa). The kappa curve was first studied by Gérard van Gutschoven around 1662. In the history of mathematics, it is remembered as one of the first examples of Isaac Barrow's application of rudimentary calculus methods to determine the tangent of a curve. Isaac Newton and Johann Bernoulli continued the studies of this curve subsequently.

Using the Cartesian coordinate system it can be expressed as
 * $$x^2\left(x^2 + y^2\right) = a^2y^2$$

or, using parametric equations,
 * $$\begin{align}

x &= a\sin t,\\ y &= a\sin t\tan t. \end{align}$$

In polar coordinates its equation is even simpler:
 * $$r = a\tan\theta.$$

It has two vertical asymptotes at $x = ±a$, shown as dashed blue lines in the figure at right.

The kappa curve's curvature:
 * $$\kappa(\theta) = \frac{8\left(3 - \sin^2\theta\right)\sin^4\theta}{a \left(\sin^2(2\theta) + 4\right)^\frac32}.$$

Tangential angle:
 * $$\phi(\theta) = -\arctan\left(\tfrac12 \sin(2\theta)\right).$$

Tangents via infinitesimals
The tangent lines of the kappa curve can also be determined geometrically using differentials and the elementary rules of infinitesimal arithmetic. Suppose $x$ and $y$ are variables, while a is taken to be a constant. From the definition of the kappa curve,
 * $$ x^2\left(x^2 + y^2\right)-a^2y^2 = 0 $$

Now, an infinitesimal change in our location must also change the value of the left hand side, so
 * $$d \left(x^2\left(x^2 + y^2\right)-a^2y^2\right) = 0 $$

Distributing the differential and applying appropriate rules,

 * $$\begin{align}

d \left(x^2\left(x^2 + y^2\right)\right)-d \left(a^2y^2\right) &= 0 \\[6px] (2 x\,dx ) \left(x^2+y^2\right) + x^2 (2x\,dx + 2y\,dy) - a^2 2y\,dy &= 0 \\[6px] \left( 4 x^3 + 2 x y^2\right) dx + \left( 2 y x^2 - 2 a^2 y \right) dy &= 0 \\[6px] x \left( 2 x^2 + y^2 \right) dx + y \left(x^2 - a^2\right) dy &= 0 \\[6px] \frac{ x \left( 2 x^2 + y^2 \right) }{ y \left(a^2 - x^2\right)} &= \frac{dy}{dx} \end{align}$$

Derivative
If we use the modern concept of a functional relationship $y(x)$ and apply implicit differentiation, the slope of a tangent line to the kappa curve at a point $(x,y)$ is:

 * $$\begin{align}

2 x \left( x^2 + y^2 \right) + x^2 \left( 2x + 2 y \frac{dy}{dx} \right) &= 2 a^2 y \frac{dy}{dx} \\[6px] 2 x^3 + 2 x y^2 + 2 x^3 &= 2 a^2 y \frac{dy}{dx} - 2 x^2 y \frac{dy}{dx} \\[6px] 4 x^3 + 2 x y^2 &= \left(2 a^2 y - 2 x^2 y \right) \frac{dy}{dx} \\[6px] \frac{2 x^3 + x y^2}{a^2 y - x^2 y} &= \frac{dy}{dx} \end{align}$$

title: Kappa curve


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Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, both of whom had worked for Giovanola.

B&M has pioneered several new ride technologies, most notably the inverted roller coaster and the box-section track. In 2016, the company completed its 100th roller coaster. B&M currently produces ten types of coaster models: Stand-Up Coaster, Inverted Coaster, Floorless Coaster, Flying Coaster, Hyper Coaster, Dive Coaster, Sitting Coaster, Wing Coaster, Family Coaster, and most recently, the Surf Coaster. Though B&M has not used the term, the company has also manufactured three giga coasters.

Roots
Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard started working for Giovanola, a manufacturing company which supplied rides to Intamin, in the 1970s. During their time at Giovanola, they helped design the company's first stand-up roller coaster, Shockwave (at Six Flags Magic Mountain). They also worked on other projects, such as Z-Force (at Six Flags Great America). Bolliger & Mabillard left Giovanola, but the company continued to use that track design; the company's roller coasters Goliath (at Six Flags Magic Mountain) and Titan (at Six Flags Over Texas), use a track style very similar to B&M's.

Launch
In 1987, Giovanola underwent a change of management, and the pair decided to leave and create their own company. At the time, B&M employed four people, including two draftsmen: Bolliger and Mabillard. When B&M was created, the pair had agreed not to make any more amusement attractions. However, Robert Mampe, Six Flags Great America's staff engineer, had worked with both men during the construction of Z-Force; he contacted the newly-formed company and asked them to reconfigure the cars for its Giovanola-built, Intamin bobsled coaster, to be relocated from Six Flags Great Adventure.

Following that project, Mampe asked the new company to design and build a stand-up roller coaster for Six Flags Great America, similar to Shockwave at Six Flags Magic Mountain. B&M accepted the offer and hired two more draftsmen. But B&M had a problem regarding how and where to manufacture the track pieces for the roller coaster. With the favorable history of the work done by Clermont Steel Fabricators (on Vortex, Kings Island, and Shockwave, Six Flags Great America), Walter Bolliger went to the steel plant and asked if they would be interested in manufacturing the track. Clermont Steel Fabricators accepted, and to this day, manufactures all of B&M’s roller coaster track pieces for all of North America. Now with a company to manufacture the track, B&M built its first roller coaster, a stand-up roller coaster, Iron Wolf, which opened in 1990 at Six Flags Great America. Two years later, Bolliger & Mabillard built another project for Six Flags Great America, Batman: The Ride, the world's first inverted roller coaster, which brought them to prominence in the industry.

Development
Bolliger & Mabillard also invented the Floorless Coaster and the Dive Coaster. The company also built its first launched roller coaster, the Incredible Hulk, which is at Islands of Adventure. In 2010, B&M unveiled its new Wing Coaster and premiered the prototype model, named Raptor, at Gardaland in 2011. It has two seats on each side on the car that hang riders over the sides of the track. there are fifteen in operation. In 2015, B&M constructed Thunderbird at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, its first in-house launched coaster.

By 2010, B&M employed twelve engineers, twelve draftsmen and two draftswomen. The company has made other contributions to the roller coaster industry. The company built the trains for the Psyclone, a now-demolished wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The trains were later used on the park's Colossus wooden roller coaster (until it was refurbished by Rocky Mountain Construction), but were only used during October each year. The trains faced backward and usually raced against trains on the second track, which ran forward.

In 2013, the company launched the construction of Banshee, the world's longest inverted roller coaster. B&M supplied new trains for Steel Dragon 2000, built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing in 2000. As of 2012, Bolliger & Mabillard had 85 operating roller coasters worldwide. Of these, twenty-two were listed among that year's Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards Top 50 Steel Coasters List for 2012 and five were in the top 10.

By 2016, Bolliger & Mabillard had completed its 100th coaster, and had built more roller coasters than any other manufacturer on the Golden Ticket Awards Steel Coasters list.

Features
Bolliger & Mabillard currently manufactures ten different roller coaster styles: Stand-Up Coaster, Inverted Coaster, Floorless Coaster, Flying Coaster, Hyper Coaster, Dive Coaster, Sitting Coaster, Wing Coaster, Family Coaster and most recently, the Surf Coaster. Bolliger & Mabillard has been involved in developing new technologies and concepts in roller coasters almost since its inception. It has often worked with engineer Werner Stengel and with designers and management of client theme parks.

Lift hills

Early Bolliger & Mabillard coasters feature an element known as a "pre-drop", a short drop after the top of the lift hill and before the start of the first drop, designed to reduce stress on the lift chain. The flat section between the pre-drop and the first drop serves as a shelf to support the weight of the train, reducing related stresses on the chain. On most coasters without a pre-drop, the weight of the train tends to pull on the lift chain as it begins its descent because the latter half of the train is still being lifted by the chain. Pre-drops have not been used on the company's Dive or Flying coasters, or on hyper coasters built after 1999. OzIris at Parc Astérix was the first B&M inverted roller coaster that does not feature a pre-drop. Ever since, no coaster built by B&M has featured a pre-drop because the chain accelerates to acquire the same speed as the train when it is being taken over by gravity after it passes the crest.

Trains
Most of Bolliger & Mabillard's roller coaster trains use four-abreast seating. Each car has one row of four seats, while the train length can vary between coasters. All of the company's coaster models, except the Dive Coaster, Wing Coaster, Family Inverted Coaster and Surf Coaster use this configuration. The Dive Coaster uses six, seven, eight or ten-abreast seating, with two or three rows of seats. For example, Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, uses ten seats in three rows, while Krake at Heide Park uses six-across seating in three rows. On recent hyper coaster projects, B&M has used a new car design that has two rows of two seats; the two seats in the rear of the car pushed out from the centerline so that the four seats resemble a V formation. This formation has only been used on Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, Diamondback at Kings Island, Intimidator and Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya at PortAventura Park, in the resort PortAventura World. In 2013, B&M introduced a new car design that has two rows of two seats, however, they are not in a V formation.

All B&M hyper coasters use a type of restraint called a "T-bar" or "Clamshell" restraint, which consists of bar with a cushioned lap bar with two handles for riders to hold on to. This type of restraint generally does not use a seat belt, however seat belts have been added to Behemoth and Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland, Diamondback and Orion at Kings Island, and Intimidator and Fury 325 at Carowinds. Bolliger & Mabillard also uses over-the-shoulder restraints, in that the restraint is placed over the riders' shoulders and sits and extends to the riders' laps. This type of restraint is used on Dive, Inverted, Sitting, Flying, Floorless, Stand-up and Wing Coasters. Bolliger & Mabillard has recently begun using a vest like over the shoulder restraint, which reduces headbanging found on the older, more common padded over the shoulder restraints. These have been met with some criticism from the coaster community, due to the nature in which they tighten during the ride; stapling riders to their seats, resulting in less airtime (negative g-forces) being felt.

Track
A notable feature of Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters is the box-section track. The running rails are connected to a box-section spine, instead of the circular spine used by other manufacturers. When a train travels around a box-section track, it creates a one-of-a-kind whooshing sound, which is sometimes nicknamed the “B&M roar” by roller coaster enthusiasts. However, on some Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters, such as Talon at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and GateKeeper at Cedar Point, the track is filled with a proprietary sound dampening material to reduce this noise.

Also, depending on the model of the roller coaster, the track size can vary. Models such as the Flying, Wing and Dive Coaster have heavier trains which require a larger track size while models with lighter trains, such as the Stand-Up and Hyper Coaster, do not and use a smaller sized track.

Brakes
As of 2016, Bolliger & Mabillard uses three types of braking systems: friction, magnetic, and water.

Friction brakes
When B&M was first founded, the linear magnetic eddy brake had yet to be developed, so it used friction brakes as its main braking system. On the train, pads are fitted on the vehicle chassis between the wheel assemblies. On the brakes, similar pads are connected to steel supports. When the pads on the train come into contact with the brakes, friction is created which slows the train. Beginning with Kumba in 1993, friction brakes have also been used as trim brakes that regulate the speed of the train while it is still navigating the course.

Magnetic brakes
Magnetic brakes provide smoother deceleration than friction brakes; most B&M roller coasters built after 2001 (starting with Nitro) have at least one set of magnetic brakes. Magnetic brakes do not make contact with the train. Metal fins that run parallel to the train are fitted on the vehicle chassis between the wheel assemblies. As the fins pass through the brakes, the magnetic field created by the brakes slows the train. Magnetic brakes have also been used as an alternate type of trim brake on B&M roller coasters such as Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland.

Water brakes
Water brakes were first introduced on SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 2005. Water brakes can only be used when a splashdown element, in which a body of water surrounds a section of track, is present within the layout of the roller coaster. When scoops on the last car of each train come in contact with the surrounding water, the train slows down and the water is sprayed several feet into the air behind it.

Notable roller coasters

According to the Roller Coaster DataBase, Bolliger & Mabillard has built 127 roller coasters since its founding in 1988, beginning with Iron Wolf, which opened at Six Flags Great America in 1990. Some have either been relocated, renamed or closed. In North America, B&M coaster designs are manufactured by Ohio company Clermont Steel Fabricators.

title: Bolliger & Mabillard


text:
Talk:Kappa curve

To do

 * Graphics! --Pt 20:50, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I just uploaded the picture. --Pt 23:28, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)

This article needs a major edit: The kappa curve's equation is r= a*cot(θ). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.25.250.145 (talk) 08:14, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Stub?
What do you think, how much information can we yet add about the curve? Is the stub notice still necessary? --Pt 23:46, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I compared the amount of text with some other articles about curves. I reached a conclusion that this article is not a stub anymore. I removed the notice. --Pt 21:19, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Implicit derivative
In the text the implicit derivative changes the roles of x and y that is given in the definition. It would be clearer if it were consistent. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.18.76.220 (talk) 18:43, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kappa curve