document_title: List of Fitbit products

question_text: when did the fitbit charge 2 come out

question_tokens: when did the fitbit charge 2 come out

root

text: List of Fitbit products

text: Comparison[edit]

text: Fitness Trackers[edit]

text:
Model
Type
Released
Steps
Floors
Heart rate
Sleep
Clock
GPS
Fitbit Pay
Water resistance
Battery life
Customizable appearance

Classic
Clip
2009

Resistant
7 days

Ultra
Clip
2011

Resistant
7 days

One
Clip
2012

Resistant
10–14 days

Zip
Clip
2012

Resistant
4–6 months

Flex
Wristband
2014

Resistant
5 days

Force
Wristband
2013

Charge
Wristband
2014

Resistant
7–10 days

Charge HR
Wristband
2015

Resistant
5 days

Surge
Smart watch
2015

Resistant
7 days

Blaze
Smart watch
2016

via smartphone

Resistant
5 days

Alta
Wristband
2016

Resistant
5 days

Charge 2
Wristband
2017

via smartphone

Resistant
5 days

Flex 2
Wristband
2017

Waterproof
5 days

Alta HR
Wristband
2017

Resistant
7 days

Ionic
Smart watch
2017

Waterproof
5 days

Versa
Smart watch
2018

Via smartphone
Select models
Waterproof
4 days

Ace
Wristband
2018

Via smartphone

Resistant
5 days

tag: table

text: Other products[edit]

text:
Model
Type
Released
Tracks
Connectivity
Battery life

Aria
Scale
2012
Weight, body fat %, BMI[1]
Wi-Fi
6 months

Flyer
Earbuds
2017
N/A
Bluetooth 4.2
6 hours

Aria 2
Scale
2017
Weight, body fat %, BMI
Wi-Fi

text: Fitbit Tracker[edit]

text: The Fitbit Tracker was a small black and teal device that could be clipped discreetly onto clothing and worn 24/7. It uses a three-dimensional accelerometer to sense user movement. The Tracker measures steps taken and combines it with user data to calculate distance walked, calories burned, floors climbed and activity duration and intensity. It uses an OLED display to display this and other information such as the battery level. It also measures sleep quality by tracking periods of restlessness, how long it takes the wearer to fall asleep and how long they are actually asleep.[2]

tag: p

text: A wireless base station is included to receive data from the Tracker and to charge its battery. When connected to a computer, the base station will upload data to the Fitbit website, where a number of features are available: seeing an overview of physical activity, setting and tracking goals, keeping food and activity logs and interacting with friends. Use of the website is free.

text: The Fitbit Classic tracked only steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, activity intensity and sleep.

text: At the TechCrunch50 during the "Mobile" session on September 9, 2008,[3] Fitbit received positive reactions during its panel from experts like Rafe Needleman, Tim O'Reilly, and Evan Williams who cited its wearability, price, and lack of subscription fees.

text: Fitbit Ultra[edit]

text: The Fitbit Ultra was announced on October 3, 2011.[4] The new features included:

text:
an altimeter that measures elevation gain in terms of floors, with one floor roughly equivalent to ten feet
a digital clock visible on the device's display
a stopwatch that can be used to time activities
randomized "Chatter" messages show when the Ultra is moved after sitting idle for a while
new colors

tag: ul

text: The Fitbit Ultra is powered by a small lithium polymer battery.[5]

text: The Fitbit Ultra suffered from a small design flaw: the unit had a permanently curved shape in order to clip directly onto any piece of clothing. The plastic used in the unit was not appropriate for the strain experienced at the looped end, and with time would become brittle, and crack. While most users experienced only minor cracking with no effects to the device's function, in a few cases the cracking led to total failure.[6][7][8] Fitbit offered replacement or repair of affected units that were under warranty.

text: Fitbit One[edit]

text: Announced on September 17, 2012, the Fitbit One is an update to the Fitbit Ultra that uses a more vivid digital display, has a separate clip and a separate charging cable and wireless sync dongle.[9] The Fitbit One and the Fitbit Zip were the first wireless activity trackers to sync using Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth SMART technology. The wireless syncing is currently available on iOS and Android devices such as the iPhone 4S and higher, iPad 3rd generation, iPod touch 5th generation, Samsung Galaxy Note II and higher, Samsung Galaxy S III and higher, LG G2, HTC One, Moto X, and Nexus 4 or higher.[10] Fitbit One can record several daily activities, including but not limited to, number of steps taken, distance traveled on foot, number of floors climbed, calories burned, vigorously active minutes, and sleep efficiency.

text: Fitbit Zip[edit]

text: Announced on September 17, 2012, the Fitbit Zip is roughly the size of a United States quarter and tracks only steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. Compared to the other Fitbit trackers, the Zip is the first Fitbit product to include a disposable battery. Similar to the Fitbit One, it is able to sync its data wirelessly to supported mobile devices.[10]

text: Fitbit Flex[edit]

text: In May 2013, Fitbit released the Fitbit Flex, the first Fitbit tracker worn on the wrist. It tracks movement 24 hours a day, including sleep patterns. It has a simple display of 5 LED lights that indicate the progress toward the goal number of steps walked in a day and vibrates to indicate when the goal has been reached. The sync functions are similar to the Fitbit One and Zip. The Flex is the most water-resistant tracker, though cannot be worn while swimming.[11] It includes a specialized USB charger; the battery lasts 5–7 days, and it takes 1–2 hours to charge.

text: Fitbit Flex 2[edit]

text: Released in 2017 as a replacement to the original Flex, the Fitbit Flex 2 replaces the lowest end of Fitbit's wristband line. It is the first model to be waterproof and track swimming. The tracker can be worn in a wristband, pendant, or carried in a pocket. The LED lights function similar to the original Flex, with the number of illuminated dots indicating progress toward the set goal. It features "reminder to move" alerts and vibrations when a call or text is received.

text: Fitbit Force[edit]

text: The Fitbit Force was announced on October 10, 2013. It has an OLED display[12] that shows time and daily activity. The Force tracks a number of statistics in real-time, including steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed and active minutes throughout the day. At night, the Force tracks sleep and can wake a user silently with a vibrating alarm.

text: On January 13, 2014 it was reported that an unconfirmed number of Fitbit customers had complained about skin irritation after wearing the Force for extended periods of time.[13] Fitbit stated on its website that the company consulted with medical professionals whose assessments are that these irritations are most likely allergic reactions to nickel, a component of the surgical-grade steel or the adhesives used to assemble the Fitbit Force.[14] Fitbit, working with the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, recalled the Fitbit Force on February 20, 2014.[14] On March 12, 2014 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) made the recall official.[15] At that time it was revealed that The Fitbit Force had caused about 9,900 injuries.[15] It is no longer for sale on Fitbit's website.

text: Fitbit Charge[edit]

text: Announced in October 2014, the Fitbit Charge is intended as a replacement for the recalled Fitbit Force. It was released in November 2014 for US$130 retail. The Charge's wrist band is textured and has a screen that can display caller ID information from a connected smartphone through the Fitbit app. The Charge automatically tracks users' steps, sleep, flights of stairs (using an altimeter) and an approximation of distance traveled. It tracks steps using a 3 axis accelerometer by tracking forward movement along with upward movements.[16][17]

text: Fitbit Charge HR[edit]

text: Announced in October 2014 and released in early January 2015, the Charge HR is similar to the Charge, with an additional heart-rate monitor. With this addition, the 7-day battery life is reduced to 5 days. The Charge HR has the same textured band as the Charge and comes in black, plum, blue, tangerine, pink, and teal colors. The Charge HR band clasp resembles that of a traditional watch instead of the snap-on band of the original Charge, as the band needs to fit tightly for the heart rate feature.[18][19][20]

text: Fitbit Charge 2[edit]

text: The Fitbit Charge 2 has many similar features as the Charge HR, which it replaced. It features a new Multi-Sport Mode allowing users to start workouts from their Fitbit. Compared to its predecessor, it features a larger screen. It also enables the wristband to be changed in a way similar to the Fitbit Alta.

text: Fitbit Surge[edit]

text: Announced in October 2014, the Surge is intended to be a smartwatch as well as an activity tracker. It features a heart-rate monitor and the ability to track pace, distance, and elevation using the GPS on the device. The Surge also can send alerts of text and incoming calls from a connected smartphone.

text: The Surge was phased out and discontinued in late 2017, replaced with the Ionic in Fitbit's lineup.

text: Fitbit Aria[edit]

text: In April 2012,[21] Fitbit released a weighing scale called the Fitbit Aria. It recognizes users and measures weight, body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat of the user. It can keep track of eight individual users and updates information to fitbit.com automatically via Wi-Fi network.[22] The information is also updated to smartphone apps.

text: Fitbit Aria 2[edit]

text: An updated version of the Aria was announced in August 2017 concurrent with the Ionic. The Aria 2 has been re-engineered for greater accuracy and easier Bluetooth setup. The Aria 2 also has personalized face icons and greetings, compatibility with more Wi-Fi networks, and has an increased weight tolerance of up to 400 pounds. The product was released in late 2017.

text: Fitbit Blaze[edit]

text: At the CES event in January 2016,[23] Fitbit announced the release of the Fitbit Blaze. It is similar to a smart-watch, such as Apple Watch, Pebble Smart-watch, and Android Wear watches. Unlike the Surge, the Blaze comes with a colored touchscreen, and exchangeable strap and frame. Some functionality from the Surge has been retained, such as auto-tracking exercise and heart-rate monitor. Blaze has connected GPS,[24] meaning it tracks location using the connected smartphone's GPS. It can display notifications, including incoming calls, texts and calendar appointments.[25] The Blaze introduces the Sleep Stages feature.

text: The Fitbit Blaze also integrates with Fitstar, Fitbit's website for customized workouts. These workouts can be displayed on the Blaze's screen.[26]

text: The Blaze was discontinued in early 2018, replaced in Fitbit's lineup by the Versa.

text: Fitbit Alta[edit]

text: The Fitbit Alta[27] was released in 2016. The wristband offers a full OLED screen that can be tapped for reminders, a clock and smartphone notifications. While not a touch screen, it is interacted with by tapping the band, similar to previous models. The Alta is also able to recognize the type of activity in progress: running, playing football, or just walking.

text: Fitbit Alta HR[edit]

text: The Fitbit Alta HR was released in March 2017. It has the same features as the Alta, with an added heart rate monitor. While lacking an altimeter, making the Alta HR unable to track flights of stairs climbed, it does include the new Sleep Stages feature, which intends to show the stages of sleep, rather than just time asleep as in previous versions.

text: Fitbit Ionic[edit]

text: The Fitbit Ionic[28] was released in late September 2017. It is a successor to both the Blaze and the Surge, though is cosmetically more similar to the Blaze. Like the Surge, the Ionic uses built-in GPS, using GLONASS to tap into global satellites and provide better accuracy when recording exercises, with the antenna being integrated into the watch case for a stronger connection. The Ionic also features SmartTrack, which auto-recognizes user activity and records it in the Fitbit app. The Ionic has interchangeable bands, including classic Fitbit bands, leather bands, and perforated bands for a more sport-like appearance. It is also water-resistant, making it safe to wear when swimming. Many of the Blaze's clock faces return, as do several new clock faces. New to the Ionic is the ability to load apps onto the watch itself such as AccuWeather and Starbucks, as well as an NFC chip that allows the Ionic to be used for credit card purchases at places that allow contactless payment. As a result, the tactile buttons on the Ionic have some new functions. The right side buttons now function as shortcuts for the leftmost two apps loaded onto the watch, while a long press on the left side button brings up Fitbit Pay as well as music and quick settings. The Ionic comes in three color combinations of the wristband and watches case: Charcoal & Smoke Gray, Slate Blue & Burnt Orange, and Blue Gray & Silver Gray.

text: In 2018, the Ionic was updated to Fitbit OS 2.0 alongside the release of the Versa. The most notable change from OS 1.0 is the addition of a new app called Fitbit Today, a much more intuitive and informative dashboard displaying the user's health and fitness data. It is accessible by swiping up from the clock face, while the notification tray is now accessed by swiping down from the clock face. In addition, a long press on the back button now opens up the music controls, payments, and the shortcuts screen, instead of just Fitbit Pay.

text: Fitbit Versa[edit]

text: Released in April 2018, the Fitbit Versa is the successor to the Fitbit Blaze. It has a squircle design similar to that of the Apple Watch and previous Pebble watches. Although it does not have built-in GPS like the Ionic, instead featuring the Blaze's connected GPS, it retains most of the Ionic's features and interface and is capable of tracking women's menstrual cycles. There are two variants of the Versa, a regular edition and a Special Edition. The Special Edition comes with woven wristbands as well as the standard wristbands. In international markets, all versions of the Versa have NFC for Fitbit Pay like the Ionic, but in the United States, only the Special Edition features NFC.[29]

text: The standard Versa comes in three color variations: Black, Peach/Rose Gold, and Silver. The Special Edition comes in two variants: Rose Gold & Lavender, and Graphite & Charcoal.

text: Fitbit Ace[edit]

text: Released alongside the Versa in 2018, the Fitbit Ace is a variant of the Alta meant for children and pre-teens 8 and older.[30] It will go on sale in the summer of 2018.[31]


document_title: White Rabbit (song)

question_text: the lyrics of white rabbit are based on what children’s book

question_tokens: the lyrics of white rabbit are based on what children 's book

text: White Rabbit (song)

text: History[edit]

text: "White Rabbit" was written and performed by Grace Slick while she was still with The Great Society. When that band broke up in 1966, Slick was invited to join Jefferson Airplane to replace their departed female singer, Signe Toly Anderson, who left the band with the birth of her child. The first album Slick recorded with Jefferson Airplane was Surrealistic Pillow, and Slick provided two songs from her previous group: her own "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love", written by her brother-in-law Darby Slick and recorded under the title "Someone to Love" by The Great Society.[5] The Great Society's version of "White Rabbit" was much longer than the more aggressive version of Jefferson Airplane. Both songs became top-10 hits[6] for Jefferson Airplane and have ever since been associated with that band.[7]

text: Lyrics and composition[edit]

text: "White Rabbit" is one of Grace Slick's earliest songs, written during either late 1965 or early 1966. It uses imagery found in the fantasy works of Lewis Carroll—1865's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass—such as changing size after taking pills or drinking an unknown liquid.

text: Slick had stated the composition was intended to be a slap to parents who read their children such novels and then wondered why their children later used drugs.[8] Characters Slick referenced include Alice, the White Rabbit, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, the White Knight, the Red Queen, and the Dormouse.[9] Slick reportedly wrote the song after an acid trip.[10] For Slick, "White Rabbit" "is about following your curiosity. The White Rabbit is your curiosity".[11] For her and others in the 1960s, drugs were a part of mind expansion and social experimentation. With its enigmatic lyrics, "White Rabbit" became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. Even Marty Balin, Slick's eventual rival in Jefferson Airplane, regarded the song as a "masterpiece". In interviews, Slick has related that Alice in Wonderland was often read to her as a child and remained a vivid memory well into her adulthood.[3]

text: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Slick mentioned that in addition to Alice in Wonderland, her other inspiration for the song was "the bolero used by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on their 1960 album Sketches of Spain."[12] The song is essentially one long crescendo similar to that of Ravel's famous "Boléro". The music combined with the song's lyrics strongly suggests the sensory distortions experienced with hallucinogens, and the song was later used in pop culture to imply or accompany just such a state.[13]

text: Personnel[edit]

text:
Grace Slick – vocals
Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar
Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar
Jack Casady – bass
Spencer Dryden – drums

text: Charts[edit]

text: Cashbox[14] (11 weeks): 59, 45, 23, 14, 12, 11, 8, 6, 7, 22, 41

text: Covers[edit]

text: Many artists have covered the song. Among the more notable examples are guitarist George Benson's jazz version from 1971 (featuring an electric piano solo by Herbie Hancock), and a single released in 1980 by punk/gothic rock band the Damned. The song was covered by industrial rock group Death Method for the various artists compilation album Shut Up Kitty, released in 1993. A 1996 version by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini was used in the soundtrack for the 2011 film Sucker Punch. The 2002 Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again: A Compilation Benefiting American Veterans of the Vietnam War contains a cover by the band Enon. Collide contributed a DnB-remix version for the soundtrack of Resident Evil: Extinction in 2007. Pop-rock singer P!nk has covered the song in 2016 for the Disney movie Alice Through the Looking Glass without the version appearing on the soundtrack. Blue Man Group used the song for their stage production and put it into their album, The Complex.

text: In media[edit]

text: "White Rabbit" has been used in numerous films and television shows.[15]

text:
In the "A Head in the Polls" episode of the television show Futurama, the character of Richard Nixon's head, while announcing his campaign to become president of Earth and in an attempt to broaden his political appeal, sings, "Remember what the dormouse said. Feed your head." Then adds, "I'm meeting you halfway, you stupid hippies."
In an episode of Blossom, Blossom's dad (Ted Wass) has a nightmare sequence of Blossom and Six trying pot to the song.
The song is featured in the 1997 film The Game.
The song is featured in the Terry Gilliam adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (corresponding to the book's mention of the song).
A line in the song, "Go Ask Alice", was used as the title of a 1971 book about drug addiction by Beatrice Sparks that was adapted two years later into an ABC Movie of the Week. The song was used in the soundtrack for the film. [16]
What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry, by John Markoff, is a book about the development of the personal computer in the context of the collaboration-driven, World War II-era defense research community and the cooperatives and psychedelics of the American counterculture of the 1960s. "What the Dormouse Said" is a reference to lines at the end of the song, "Remember what the dormouse said. Feed your head."[17]
A version, sung in Arabic by Mayssa Karaa, is heard in the 2013 movie American Hustle.
The song is played in The Simpsons season 10 episode 6, "D'oh-in' in the Wind", season 16 episode 6, "Midnight Rx", and season 19 episode 19, "Mona Leaves-a".
The song is played in the 1986 Academy Award winner Platoon.
The song is played in the Warehouse 13 season 1 episode 8 "Duped" when Alice (inhabiting the body of Myka Bering) returns to the Warehouse to destroy the mirror that would trap her.
The song is played in the beginning and very ending of Season 1, Episode 7 of The Sopranos, titled "Down Neck".
The song is played in Supernatural season 2 episode 10 "Hunted".
The song is played in Episode 1 of the first season of Stranger Things, titled "The Vanishing of Will Byers"
The song is included in the soundtrack to Mafia III
The song is included in the soundtrack to Sucker Punch.
A remixed version of the song was used for Battlefield Vietnam's theme, and the original song was also available for use with the ingame radio function.
The song is again featured in Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, again available with the ingame radio function.
The song is played in Call of Duty: Black Ops III's last campaign mission "Life", as the background music played in the building when the Player exited.
The song is played in season 4 episode 2 of Queer as Folk.
The song is played in the fourth episode of the HBO miniseries "Big Little Lies".
The song is played in season one, episode eight of Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale".
The song was briefly played in Kong: Skull Island.
The song is played in Pawn Sacrifice.


document_title: Elections in India

question_text: general elections in india is based on the principle of

text: Elections in India

text: Major types of elections in the country[7][edit]

text:
Executive

President and Vice-President (indirectly elected i.e. through electoral college of India)

Union Legislature (Parliament of India)

Lok Sabha (Lower house) (directly elected)
Rajya Sabha (Upper house) (indirectly elected)

State Legislature

State Assemblies (directly elected)
Legislative Council (indirectly elected)

Elections to Local Bodies

Municipal Corporation
Gram Panchayat Elections
Zila Panchayat Elections
Block Panchayat Elections

text: Indian Electoral System[edit]

text: The President of India is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college of India consisting of members of federal legislature and state legislatures (i.e. all the elected member of parliament and all elected members of all legislative assemblies of the country).

text: The House of the People (Lok Sabha) represents citizens of India (as envisaged by the Constitution of India, currently the members of Lok Sabha are 545, out of which 543 are elected for five-year term and two members represent the Anglo-Indian community). The 543 members are elected under the plurality ('first past the post') electoral system.[8] The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) has 250 members, 238 members elected for a six-year term, with one-third retiring every two years. The members are indirectly elected, this being achieved by the votes of legislators in the state and union (federal) territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The twelve nominated members are usually an eclectic mix of eminent artists (including actors), scientists, jurists, sportspersons, businessmen and journalists and common people.[3]

text: Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, which is made up by election of up to 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the President, if, in his/ her opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the lower house i.e. Lok Sabha. In 1952 Lok Sabha Elections there were 1874 candidates, which rose to 13952 candidates in 1996. However, in 2009 Lok Sabha Elections only 8070 candidates contested.[9] Historical share of seats and votes of major political parties are ranked by the number of seats won.[10]

text:
LOK SABHA ELECTIONS

First
Second
Third

Year
Election
Total seats
Party
Seats
 % votes
Party
Seats
 % votes
Party
Seats
 % votes

1951-52 [11][12][13]
1st Lok Sabha
489
INC
364
44.99%
CPI
16
3.29%
SOC
12
10.59%

1957 [14]
2nd Lok Sabha
494
INC
371
47.78%
CPI
27
8.92%
PSP
19
10.41%

1962
3rd Lok Sabha
494
INC
361
44.72%
CPI
29
9.94%
SWA
18
7.89%

1967
4th Lok Sabha
520
INC
283
40.78%
SWA
44
8.67%
BJS
35
9.31%

1971
5th Lok Sabha
518
INC
352
43.68%
CPM
25
5.12%
CPI
23
4.73%

1977
6th Lok Sabha
542
BLD
295
41.32%
INC
154
34.52%
CPM
22
4.29%

1980
7th Lok Sabha
529 ( 542* )
INC(I)
351
42.69%
JNP(S)
41
9.39%
CPM
37
6.24%

1984
8th Lok Sabha
514
INC
404
49.01%
TDP
30
4.31%
CPM
22
5.87%

1989
9th Lok Sabha
529
INC
197
39.53%
JD
143
17.79%
BJP
85
11.36%

1991
10th Lok Sabha
521
INC
232
36.26%
BJP
120
20.11%
JD
59
11.84%

1996
11th Lok Sabha
543
BJP
161
20.29%
INC
140
28.80%
JD
46
23.45%

1998
12th Lok Sabha
545
BJP
182
25.59%
INC
141
25.82%
CPM
32
5.16%

1999
13th Lok Sabha
545
BJP
182
23.75%
INC
114
28.30%
CPM
33
5.40%

2004
14th Lok Sabha
543
INC
145
26.53%
BJP
138
22.16%
CPM
43
5.66%

2009
15th Lok Sabha
545
INC
206
28.55%
BJP
116
18.80%
SP
23
3.23%

2014
16th Lok Sabha
545
BJP
282
31.34%
INC
44
19.52%
AIADMK
37
3.31%

text: * : 12 seats in Assam and 1 in Meghalaya did not vote.[15]

text:
AIADMK - All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
BJP - Bharatiya Janata Party
BJS - Bharatiya Jana Sangh
BLD - Bharatiya Lok Dal
CPI - Communist Party of India
CPM - Communist Party of India (Marxist)
DMK - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
INC - Indian National Congress
INC(I) - Indian National Congress (Indira)
JD - Janata Dal
JNP(S) - Janata Party (Secular)
JP - Janata Party
PSP - Praja Socialist Party
RLD - Rashtriya Lok Dal
SOC - Socialist Party
SP - Samajwadi Party
SWA - Swatantra Party
TDP - Telugu Desam Party

text: Indian Political Parties[edit]

text: Indian National Congress dominated the Indian political scene under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru from the independence in 1947 until his death in 1964. The party continued its dominance under the leadership of K Kamaraj and Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Congress party was split into two in the 1970s and Indira Gandhi led Congress (I) to election victory. But the winning run was broken for the first time in 1977, with the defeat of the party led by Indira Gandhi, by an unlikely coalition of all the major other parties, which protested against the imposition of a controversial emergency from 1975–1977. But, Indira Gandhi regained power soon after and her son Rajiv Gandhi led the party after her assassination. A coalition led by VP Singh swept to power in 1989 in the wake of major allegations of corruption against then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. But the coalition lost steam in 1990 necessitating new elections with the congress party again emerging victorious under the leadership of P V Narasimha Rao.

text: In 1996, the election results led to a coalition system wherein no single party achieved a majority in the Parliament to form a government, but rather has to depend on a process of coalition building with other parties to form a block and claim a majority to be invited to form the government. This has been a consequence of strong regional parties which ride on the back of regional aspirations. There were multiple governments within a span of few years led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I K Gujral and H D Deve Gowda.

text: In 1999, National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power and became the first coalition government to complete the full term. For the next decade, congress led coalition United Progressive Alliance formed the government under Manmohan Singh. In the recent elections held in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power with Bharatiya Janata Party achieving a simple majority on its own by securing 282 seats. Narendra Modi, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, is now serving his first term as the Prime Minister of India.

text: While parties like the Telugu Desam Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have traditionally been strong regional contenders, the 1990s saw the emergence of other regional players such as Indian National Lok Dal, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Janata Dal. These parties are traditionally based on regional aspirations like Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Shiv Sena or strongly influenced by caste considerations like Bahujan Samaj Party which claims to represent the Dalits.

text: Election Commission[edit]

text: The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the Republic of India. Under the supervision of the commission, free and fair elections have been held in India at regular intervals as per the principles enshrined in the Constitution. The Election Commission has the power of superintendence, direction and control of all elections to the Parliament of India and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of the President of India and the Vice-President of India.[16]

text: Elections are conducted according to the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by Parliament. The major laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post election disputes. The Supreme Court of India has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner. Originally the commission had only a single Chief Election Commissioner. Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989, but they had a very short tenure until 1 January 1990. The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1993 made the Election Commission a multi-member body. Later, on 1 October 1993, two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The concept of a multi-member Commission has been in operation since then, with decision-making power by majority vote.

text: Electoral process: Electoral Process in India starts with the declaration of dates by the election commission. Publishing of electoral rolls is a key process that happens before the elections and is vital for the conduct of elections in India. The Indian Constitution sets the eligibility of an individual for voting as any person who is a citizen of India and above 18 years of age. It is the responsibility of the eligible voters to enroll their names. The model code of conduct comes in force from the day the dates are announced.

text: The candidates are required to file the nomination papers following which the candidate list is published after scrutiny. No party is allowed to use the government resources for campaigning. No party is allowed to bribe the candidates before elections. The government cannot start a project during the election period. The campaigning ends at 6:00 pm of the second last day before the polling day.

text: The polling is held normally from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, whereas it might be changed under special circumstances. The Collector of each district is in charge of polling. Government employees are employed as poll officers at the polling stations. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being increasingly used instead of ballot boxes to prevent election fraud via booth capturing, which is heavily prevalent in certain parts of India. An indelible ink is applied usually on the left index finger of the voter as an indicator that the voter has cast his vote. This practice has been followed since the 1962 general elections to prevent a bad vote. Re-polling happens if the initial polling is unsuccessful due to reasons such as adverse weather, violence etc. The polled votes are counted to announce the winner. India follows first past the post methodology to declare the winner.

text: Indelible Ink[edit]

text: One of the earliest achievements of CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), was to counter the challenge of fraudulent voting that research work on formulating indelible ink was initiated. Founding father of Indeliable Ink Dr. M. L. Goel and his team of Scientists in 1950's started Chemical Division, NPL (National Physical Laboratory) now called the Analytical Chemistry Section.

text: As the ink is photo-sensitive, it needs to be protected from exposure to direct sun rays. Therefore, amber-coloured plastic containers are used for storing the ink, which in earlier times was stored in brown-coloured glass bottles. On application, the ink remains on the fingernail for at least two days, to even up to a month depending upon the person's body temperature and the environment. The ink contains silver nitrate, which on exposure to UV light gets darker.

text: The precise protocol for making this ink including chemical composition and the quantity of each constituent is not known to many people, though the basic chemical formula of this ink has not been altered since 1952.

text: Government Expenditure[edit]

text: The cost per voter in the 2014 general elections was Rs 17, a twenty-fold increase over the first election, held in 1952. The total expenditure for the 2014 general election was 37.5 crore.[17]

text: Modern Elections[edit]

text: Electronic voting machines[edit]

text: Electronic voting machines (EVM) are being used in Indian general and state elections to implement electronic voting in part from 1999 elections and in total since 2004 elections. The EVMs reduce the time in both casting a vote and declaring the results compared to the old paper ballot system. After rulings of Delhi High Court and Supreme Court and demands from various political parties, Election Commission decided to introduce EVMs with Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT)system.

text: Voter verifiable paper audit trail system[edit]

text: On 14 August 2013, the Government of India amended the elections rules to permit the use of the Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system. The first election to implement the new system was a by-election held in the 51 Noksen (Assembly Constituency) of Nagaland.[18] Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system is introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies as a pilot project in Indian general election, 2014.[19][20][21][22] VVPAT is implemented in Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Bangalore South, Chennai Central, Jadavpur, Raipur, Patna Sahib and Mizoram constituencies.[23][24][25][26][27][28] Generated slip tells voter to which party or candidate vote has been given and also includes name of voter, constituency and polling booth.[29][30][31][32][33]

text: NOTA[edit]

text: "None of the above" is a voting option in India that would allow voters who support none of the candidates available to them to register an official vote of "none of the above", which is currently allowed under India election regulation.[33] The Election Commission of India told the Supreme Court in 2009 that it wished to offer the voter a None of the above button on voting machines; the government, however, has generally opposed this option.[34] On 27 September 2013, Supreme Court of India pronounced a judgement that citizen's of India have Right to Negative Vote by exercising None of the above (NOTA) option in EVMs and ballot papers. The judgment was passed on a PIL filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties, an NGO in 2009.[35][36][37]

text: The Election Commission has implemented this option of "none of the above" voting option in EVM machines w.e.f.five states polls starting from November 2013. However it does not mean that if 'NOTA' gets highest votes the election will be conducted again, rather even in that case, the candidate with the highest votes will be treated as elected candidate.[34]

text: Absentee voting[edit]

text: An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station or to which the voter is normally allocated. Numerous methods have been devised to facilitate this. Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots is seen by many as one way to improve voter turnout, though some countries require that a valid reason, such as infirmity or travel, be given before a voter can participate in an absentee ballot.Currently, India does not have an absentee ballot system for all citizens except in few exceptions.[35][36][37] Section 19 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA)-1950[38] allows a person to register to vote if he or she is above 18 years of age and is an 'ordinary resident' of the residing constituency i.e. living at the current address for 6 months or longer. Section 20 of the above Act disqualifies a non-resident Indian (NRI) from getting his/her name registered in the electoral rolls. Consequently, it also prevents a NRI from casting his/her vote in elections to the Parliament and to the State Legislatures. In August 2010, Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill-2010 which allows voting rights to NRI's was passed in both Lok Sabha with subsequent gazette notifications on 24 November 2010.[39] With this NRI's will now be able to vote in Indian elections but have to be physically present at the time of voting. Several civic society organisations have urged the government to amend the RPA act to allow NRI's and people on the move to cast their vote through absentee ballot system.[40][41] People for Lok Satta has been actively pushing combination of internet and postal ballot as a viable means for NRI voting.[42]


document_title: United States foreign policy in the Middle East

question_text: when did america first enter the middle east

text: History[edit]

text: The United States' relationship with the Middle East prior to World War I was limited, although commercial ties existed even in the early 19th century. President Andrew Jackson established formal ties with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman in 1833. (The Sultan saw the U.S. as a potential balance to Britain's overwhelming regional influence.) Commercial relations opened between the U.S. and Persia in 1857, after Britain persuaded the Persian government not to ratify a similar agreement in 1851.[3]

text: In comparison to European powers such as Britain and France which had managed to colonize almost all of the Middle East region after defeating the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the United States was "popular and respected throughout the Middle East".[4] Indeed, "Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans."[5] American missionaries had brought modern medicine and set up educational institutions all over the Middle East. Moreover, the United States had provided the Middle East with highly skilled petroleum engineers.[6] Thus, there were some connections made between the United States and the Middle East before the Second World War. Other examples of cooperations between the U.S. and the Middle East are the Red Line Agreement signed in 1928 and the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement signed in 1944. Both of these agreements were legally binding and reflected an American interest in control of Middle Eastern energy resources, namely oil, and moreover reflected an American "security imperative to prevent the (re)emergence of a powerful regional rival".[7] The Red Line Agreement had been "part of a network of agreements made in the 1920s to restrict supply of petroleum and ensure that the major [mostly American] companies … could control oil prices on world markets".[8] The Red Line agreement governed the development of Middle East oil for the next two decades. The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil. Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for to a British Ambassador in 1944:

text: Persian oil … is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it's ours.[9]

text: On August 8, 1944, the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement was signed, dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain. Consequently, political scholar Fred H. Lawson remarks, that by the mid-1944, U.S. officials had buttressed their country's position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement that protected "all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights" belonging to the signatories and established a principle of "equal opportunity" in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned.[10] Furthermore, political scholar Irvine Anderson summarises American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that, "the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum."[11]

text: By the end of the Second World War, the United States had come to consider the Middle East region as "the most strategically important area of the world."[12] and "one of the greatest material prizes in world history," argues Noam Chomsky.[12] For that reason, it was not until around the period of World War II that America became directly involved in the Middle East region. At this time the region was going through great social, economic and political changes and as a result, internally the Middle East was in turmoil. Politically, the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region, which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers.

text: History scholar Jack Watson explains that "Europeans could not hold these lands indefinitely in the face of Arab nationalism".[13] Watson then continues, stating that "by the end of 1946 Palestine was the last remaining mandate, but it posed a major problem".[14] In truth, this nationalistic political trend clashed with American interests in the Middle East, which were, as Middle East scholar Louise Fawcett argues, "about the Soviet Union, access to oil and the project for a Jewish state in Palestine".[15] Hence, Arabist Ambassador Raymond Hare described the Second World War, as "the great divide" in United States' relation with the Middle East, because these three interests would later serve as a backdrop and reasoning for a great deal of American interventions in the Middle East and thus also come to be the cause of several future conflicts between the United States and the Middle East.[5]

text: Formation of Israel[edit]

text: In 1947, the U.S. and the Truman administration, under domestic political pressure, pushed for a solution and resolution on the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in May 1948 the new state of Israel came into existence. This process was not without its fights and loss of lives. Nevertheless, "the first state to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel was the United States; the Soviet Union and several Western nations quickly followed suit. No Arab state, however, recognized Israel."[16]

text: Syria: 1949[edit]

text: Syria became an independent republic in 1946, but the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état, led by Army Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im, ended the initial period of civilian rule. Za'im met at least six times with CIA operatives in the months prior to the coup to discuss his plan to seize power. Za'im requested American funding or personnel, but it is not known whether this assistance was provided. Once in power, Za'im made several key decisions that benefitted the United States. He approved the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (TAPLINE), an American project designed to transport Saudi Arabian oil to Mediterranean ports. Construction of TAPLINE had been delayed due to Syrian intransigence. Za'im also improved relations with two American allies in the region: Israel and Turkey. He signed an armistice with Israel, formally ending the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and he renounced Syrian claims to Hatay Province, a major source of dispute between Syria and Turkey. Za'im also cracked down on local communists. However, Za'im's regime was short-lived. He was overthrown in August, just four and a half months after seizing power.[17][18][19][20]

text: Mosaddeq and the Shah[edit]

text: Opposed to foreign intervention in Iran and a keen nationalist, Mohammed Mosaddeq became the prime minister of Iran in 1951. Thus, when Mosaddeq was elected he chose to nationalize the Iranian oil industry, where previously British holdings had generated great profits for Britain through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Furthermore, prior to the nationalisation of Iranian oil Mosaddeq had also cut all diplomatic ties with Britain.[21] The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was opposed to the nationalisation of Iranian oil as he feared this would result in an oil embargo, which would destroy Iran's economy and thus, the Shah was very concerned with the effect of Mosaddeq's policies on Iran. Equally worried were workers in the Iranian oil industry, when they experienced the economic effect of the sanctions on Iranian oil exports which Mosaddeq's policies had resulted in, and riots were happening across Iran.[22]

text: Thus, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asked Mosaddeq to resign, as was the Shah's constitutional right, but Mosaddeq refused, which resulted in national uprisings. The Shah, fearing for his personal security, fled the country but nominated General Fazlollah Zahedi as new Prime Minister. Although General Fazlollah Zahedi was a nationalist, he did not agree with the Mosaddeq's lenient attitude towards the communist Tudeh party, which the United States had also become increasingly concerned with, fearing Soviet influence spreading in the Middle East. Therefore, in late 1952, the British government asked the U.S. administration for help with the removal of Mohammed Mosaddeq. President Harry S. Truman thought Mossadeq was a valuable bulwark against Soviet influence.[23] However, Truman left office in January 1953, and the new administration of Dwight Eisenhower shared British concern over Mossadeq. Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA, approved one million dollars on April 4, 1953 to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh"[24] Consequently, after a failed attempt on August 15, "on August 19, 1953, General Fazlollah Zahedi succeeded [with the help of the United States and Britain] and Mossadegh was overthrown. The CIA covertly funneled five million dollars to General Zahedi's regime on August 21, 1953."[24]

text: This CIA operation, often referred to as Operation Ajax and led by CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., ensured the return of the Shah on August 22, 1953.[22]

text: The Suez Crisis[edit]

text: Today more than a quarter of the world's oil is shipped through the Suez Canal.[25]

text: Although accepting large sums of military aid from the United States in 1954, by 1956 Egyptian leader Nasser had grown tired of the American influence in the country. The involvement that the U.S. would take in Egyptian business and politics in return for aid, Nasser thought "smacked of colonialism."[26] Indeed, as political scholar B.M. Bleckman argued in 1978, "Nasser had ambivalent feelings toward the United States. From 1952 to 1954 he was on close terms with U.S. officials and was viewed in Washington as a promising moderate Arab leader. The conclusion of an arms deal with the USSR in 1955, however, had cooled the relationship between Cairo and Washington considerably, and the Dulles-Eisenhower decision to withdraw the offer to finance the Aswan High Dam in mid-1956 was a further blow to the chances of maintaining friendly ties. Eisenhower's stand against the British, French, and Israeli attack on Egypt in October 1956 created a momentary sense of gratitude on the part of Nasser, but the subsequent development of the Eisenhower Doctrine, so clearly aimed at 'containing' Nasserism, undermined what little goodwill existed toward the United States in Cairo."[27] "The Suez Crisis of 1956 marked the demise of British power and its gradual replacement by USA as the dominant power in the Middle East."[28] The Eisenhower Doctrine became a manifestation of this process. "The general objective of the Eisenhower Doctrine, like that of the Truman Doctrine formulated ten years earlier, was the containment of Soviet expansion."[29] Furthermore, when the Doctrine was finalised on March 9, 1957, it "essentially gave the president the latitude to intervene militarily in the Middle East … without having to resort to Congress."[30] indeed as, Middle East scholar Irene L. Gerdzier explains "that with the Eisenhower Doctrine the United States emerged "as the uncontested Western power … in the Middle East."[31]

text: Meanwhile, in Jordan nationalistic anti-government rioting broke out and the United States decided to send a battalion of marines to Lebanon in case of possibly having to intervene in Jordan later that year. Moreover, attempting to keep the pro-American King Hussein of Jordan in power, the CIA started to make secret payments of millions of dollars a year to King Hussein. In the same year, the U.S. supported allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Saudi Arabia and sent fleets to be near Syria as Syria's government had executed nationalistic and pro-Soviet policies the same year.[32] However, 1958 was to become a difficult year in U.S. foreign policy; in 1958 Syria and Egypt were merged into the "United Arab Republic", anti-American and anti-government revolts started occurring in Lebanon, causing the Lebanese president Chamoun to ask America for help, and the very pro-American King Feisal the 2nd of Iraq was overthrown by a group of nationalistic military officers.[33] It was quite "commonly believed that [Nasser] … stirred up the unrest in Lebanon and, perhaps, had helped to plan the Iraqi revolution."[34]

text: The Six Day War and Black September[edit]

text: In June 1967 Israel fought with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War. As a result of the war, Israel captured the West Bank, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. The U.S. supported Israel with weapons and continued to support Israel financially throughout the 1970s. On September 17, 1970, with U.S. and Israeli help, Jordanian troops attacked PLO guerrilla camps, while Jordan's U.S.-supplied air force dropped napalm from above. The U.S. deployed the aircraft carrier Independence and six destroyers off the coast of Lebanon and readied troops in Turkey to support the assault.

text: The American interventions in the years before the Iranian revolution have all proven to be based in part on economic considerations, but more so have been influenced and led by the international Cold War context.[35]

text: Iran–Iraq War[edit]

text: Support for Iraq[edit]

text: Support for Iran[edit]

text: Saudi Arabia[edit]

text: Saudi Arabia and the United States are strategic allies,[36][37][38] but relations with the U.S. became strained following September 11 attacks.[39]

text: In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia.[40] The report by Human Rights Watch stated that US-made bombs were being used in attacks indiscriminately targeting civilians and violating the laws of war.[41]

text: Afghanistan and Pakistan[edit]

text: Afghanistan and Pakistan, though situated in South Asia, are considered part of the Greater Middle East. U.S. intervention in both Afghanistan and Pakistan started with the Carter Administration after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The relations of the U.S. with Afghanistan and Pakistan have been closely tied to the War on terrorism that has happened there. American policy has been instrumental in coordinating the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. In recent times, political situations of both countries have been bracketed under a single theater of operations, denoted by the newly coined American term "AfPak."[42]

text: Iraq (2003–present)[edit]

text: Libya (2011–present)[edit]

text: Syria (2011–present)[edit]

text: Turkey[edit]

text: Coup attempt (2016)[edit]

text: On 15 July 2016, a coup d'état was attempted in Turkey by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces against state institutions, including, but not limited to the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

text: The Turkish government accused the coup leaders of being linked to the Gülen movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, United States. Erdoğan accuses Gülen of being behind the coup—a claim that Gülen denies—and accused the United States of harboring him. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the head of United States Central Command, chief General Joseph Votel[43] of "siding with coup plotters," (after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon's contacts in Turkey).[44]

text: American allies[edit]

text:
Israel (see Israel–United States relations)
Saudia Arabia (see Saudi Arabia–United States relations)

text: Iraqi Kurdistan (see Iraqi Kurdistan–United States relations)

text:
Syrian Democratic Forces
Free Syrian Army

text: Criticism[edit]


document_title: Rise of the Guardians

question_text: who plays north in rise of the guardians

text: Rise of the Guardians

text: Plot[edit]

text: Jack Frost awakens from a frozen pond with amnesia. Upon realizing no one can see or hear him, he disappears. Three hundred years later, Jack, as the young Spirit of Winter, enjoys delivering snow days to school kids, but resents that they do not believe in him. At the North Pole, the Man in the Moon warns Nicholas St. North that Pitch Black is threatening the children of the world with his nightmares. He calls E. Aster Bunnymund, Sandy, and Tooth, to arms. They are then told that Jack Frost has been chosen to be a new Guardian.

text: Visiting Tooth's world, Jack learns that each and every baby tooth contains childhood memories of the children who lost it, Jack's teeth included. However, Pitch raids Tooth's home, kidnapping all of her subordinate tooth fairies except Baby Tooth and stealing all the teeth, thus preventing Tooth from sharing Jack's memories and weakening children's belief in Tooth. In order to thwart Pitch's plan, the group decides to collect children's teeth. During their journey, a quarrel between North and Bunnymund awakens a boy, Jamie. Since he still believes, he can see everybody except for Jack. Pitch's nightmares then attack, provoking Sandy as the Guardian of Dreams. Jack tries to intervene, but Sandy is overwhelmed and killed by Pitch.

text: As Easter approaches, the dejected Guardians gather in Bunnymund's home. With the unexpected aid of Jamie's little sister, Sophie, they begin the process of painting eggs for Easter. After Jack takes Sophie home, he is lured to Pitch's lair by a voice. Pitch taunts him with his memories and fear of non-belief, distracting him long enough for Pitch to destroy the eggs, causing children to stop believing in Easter and Bunnymund. Losing his trust in the Guardians, Jack isolates himself in Antarctica, where Pitch tries to convince him to join his side. When Jack refuses, Pitch threatens to kill Baby Tooth unless Jack gives him his staff, the source of his magic. He agrees, but Pitch breaks Jack's staff and throws him down a chasm. Unlocking his memories, he learns that he was a mortal teenager who fell into ice while saving his younger sister. Inspired, Jack repairs his staff and returns to the lair to rescue the kidnapped baby fairies.

text: Due to Pitch, every child in the world except Jamie disbelieves, drastically weakening the Guardians. Finding Jamie's belief wavering, Jack makes it snow in his room, renewing Jamie's belief and letting him see Jack. Jack and Jamie gather the boy's friends, whose renewed belief bolsters their fight against Pitch. Pitch threatens them, but their dreams prove stronger than his nightmares, resulting in Sandy's resurrection. Defeated and disbelieved in, Pitch tries to retreat, but his nightmares, sensing his own fears, turn on him and trap him in his lair. Afterward, Jamie and his friends bid goodbye to the Guardians as Jack accepts his place as the Guardian of Fun.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Pine as Jack Frost, the spirit of winter.[7] Jack Frost is a teenage hellion who enjoys creating mischief and has no interest in being bound by rules or obligations; he just wants to spread his winter magic for the sake of fun, but also wants to be believed in. At the end of the film, Jack becomes the Guardian of Fun.
Jude Law as Pitch Black (The Boogeyman), the essence of fear and the Nightmare King.[7]
Alec Baldwin as North (Santa Claus), the leader of the guardians,[7] and the Guardian of Wonder. He lives at the North Pole in his Ice Castle and is served by loyal North Pole natives, the Yetis (who built the castle and workshop) and the Christmas Elves. He carries a Russian accent/culture persona.[8]
Hugh Jackman as Bunnymund (Easter Bunny), the Australian-accented fabled keeper and bringer of Easter eggs and the Guardian of Hope. He has an Australian accent.[7]
Isla Fisher as Tooth Fairy, or Tooth for short, the mythical tooth collector and the Guardian of Memories.[7] Tooth is part human and part hummingbird. Assisted by mini fairies that are split-off extensions of herself, she collects the children's teeth, which hold their most precious memories. Tooth stores them in her palace and returns memories when they are needed the most."[9]
The Sandman, or Sandy for short, the Guardian of Dreams is the oldest of the Guardians[10] and the first Guardian chosen by Man in the Moon.[11] He does not speak, but communicates through sand images that he conjures above his head.[12]
Dakota Goyo as Jamie Bennett, a child who has not given up on believing in the Guardians.[13]
Georgie Grieve as Sophie Bennett, Jamie's little sister
Dominique Grund as Cupcake
Olivia Mattingly as Pippa

text: Production[edit]

text: In 2005, William Joyce and Reel FX launched a joint venture, Aimesworth Amusements,[14] to produce CG-animated feature films,[15] one of which was set to be The Guardians of Childhood, based on Joyce's idea.[16] The film was not realized, but they did create a short animated film, The Man in the Moon, directed by Joyce, which introduced the Guardians idea,[16] and served as an inspiration for the film.[2]

text: Early in 2008, Joyce sold the film rights to DreamWorks Animation,[17] after the studio assured him it would respect his vision for the characters and that he would be involved with the creative process.[18] In November 2009, it was revealed that DreamWorks had hired Peter Ramsey to make his feature debut as director of what was then titled The Guardians, and playwright David Lindsay-Abaire to script.[19] Joyce acted as a co-director for the first few years, but left this position after the death of his daughter Mary Katherine,[17] who died of a brain tumor.[18] Joyce continued to assist as an executive producer, while Ramsey took over full directing, making him the first African American to direct a big-budget CG animated film.[20] As with some previous DreamWorks films, Guillermo del Toro came on board as an executive producer. Present almost from the beginning,[21] he was able to help shape the story, character design, theme and structure of the film.[22] He said he was proud that the filmmakers were making parts of the film "dark and moody and poetic," and expressed hope this might "set a different tone for family movies, for entertainment movies."[21] The final title, Rise of the Guardians was announced in early 2011, along with the first cast.[7]

text: Roger Deakins, the cinematographer who had already worked on the previous DreamWorks' film, How to Train Your Dragon, advised on the lighting to achieve its real look. He selected photographic references for color keys, and during the production gave notes on contrast, saturation, depth of field and light intensity.[23] The film contains a lot of special effects, particularly the volumetric particles for depicting Sandman and Pitch.[24] For this, DreamWorks Animation developed OpenVDB, a more efficient tool and format for manipulating and storing volume data, like smoke and other amorphous materials. OpenVDB had been already used on Puss in Boots and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and was released in August 2012 for free as an open-source project with a hope to become an industry standard.[25]

text: Although the film is based on the Joyce's book series, it contains differences from the books. The book series, begun in 2011, explains the origins of the characters, while the film takes place about 300 years after the books, and shows how the characters function in present time. Joyce explained, "Because I don't want people to read the book and then go see the movie and go, 'Oh, I like the book better,' and I also didn't want them to know what happens in the movie. And I also knew that during the progress of film production, a lot of things can change. So I wanted to have a sort of distance, so we were able to invoke the books and use them to help us figure out the world of the movie, but I didn't want them to be openly competitive to each other."[17] The idea for the Guardians came from Joyce's daughter, who asked him "if he thought Santa Claus had ever met the Easter Bunny." The film includes a dedication to her,[18] as well a song, "Still Dream," sung over the end credits.[26]

text: Originally, the film was set to be released on November 2, 2012, but DreamWorks Animation pushed the film to November 21, 2012 to avoid competition with Pixar's upcoming film Monsters University, which in turn had been pushed to November 2, 2012 to avoid competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.[27] Monsters University was then pushed to June 21, 2013, with Disney's Wreck-It Ralph taking its place.[28]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: French composer Alexandre Desplat composed the original music for the film, which was released on November 13, 2012 by Varèse Sarabande. The score was recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, with a choral contribution by London Voices. David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the lyrics for the end-credit song, "Still Dream," which was performed by soprano Renée Fleming.[29] Stravinsky's Firebird Suite can also be heard during the scene where North first appears. This film marks the first time that a DreamWorks Animation film has not been composed by Hans Zimmer or a member of his Remote Control Productions family of composers (mainly John Powell, Henry Jackman, Harry Gregson-Williams or his brother Rupert Gregson-Williams).

text:
Rise of the GuardiansFilm score by Alexandre DesplatReleased
November 13, 2012Recorded
2012Genre
ScoreLength
67:47Label
Varèse SarabandeProducer
Alexandre DesplatAlexandre Desplat film scores chronology

Argo(2012)Argo2012

Rise of the Guardians(2012)

Zero Dark Thirty(2012)Zero Dark Thirty2012

text: Track listing:[30]No.TitleLength1."Still Dream" (performed by Renée Fleming)3:122."Calling the Guardians"2:063."Alone in the World"2:044."Fanfare of the Elves"0:535."Wind Take Me Home!"1:286."Dreamsand"2:037."Pitch on the Globe"0:578."The Moon"1:329."Snowballs"1:3110."Busy Workshop"1:3311."Sleigh Launch"1:4512."Nightmares Attack"7:1713."Tooth Collection"2:2214."Jamie's Bedroom"2:3115."Jack & Sandman"4:1816."Memorial"1:2117."Guardians Regroup"0:5818."Easter"3:3919."Jack Betrays"3:2020."Kids Stop Believing"2:3521."Jack's Memories"2:2422."Pitch at North Pole"2:0023."Jamie Believes"3:0124."Jack's Center"4:5225."Sandman Returns"2:3626."Dreamsand Miracles"2:1827."Oath of the Guardians"3:11Total length:67:47

text: Release[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians had its premiere on October 10, 2012, at The Mill Valley Film Festival in Mill Valley, California,[1] followed by the international premiere at The International Rome Film Festival on November 13, 2012.[31][32] Under distribution by Paramount Pictures, the film was released on November 21, 2012, in American theaters.[27] Digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D, it was shown in limited international and domestic IMAX theaters.[33] It was the second film released in the firm Barco's Auro 11.1 3D audio format, after Red Tails.[34] The film was also shown in Dolby Atmos, a surround sound technology introduced in 2012.[35] Rise of the Guardians was the last DreamWorks Animation film distributed by Paramount, as DreamWorks has signed a five-year distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, which started in 2013 with The Croods.[6]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians was released on Blu-ray Disc (2D and 3D) and DVD on March 12, 2013.[36]

text: That was the last DreamWorks Animation home media release to be distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, since 20th Century Fox announced its distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation a few months before the theatrical release.[6] The film was more successful at home media sales than at the box office, having at the end of the second quarter of 2013 "the highest box office to DVD conversion ratio among major releases."[37] In the first quarter of 2013, it sold 3.2 million home entertainment units worldwide,[38] and in the second quarter 0.9 million units, for a total of 4.1 million units.[39] As of August 2013, 2 million DVDs were sold domestically.[40]

text: It was re-released on DVD on November 5, 2013 and comes with a wind-up marching elf toy.[41]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Based on 148 reviews, the film holds a rating of 74% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 151 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "A sort of Avengers for the elementary school set, Rise of the Guardians is wonderfully animated and briskly paced, but it's only so-so in the storytelling department."[42] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 57 based on 34 reviews, or "Mixed or average."[43] The film earned an "A" from audiences polled by CinemaScore.[44]

text: Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and found the film's characters to have "a primal familiarity, as though they were developed by a tag team of Maurice Sendak and Walt Disney."[45] Olly Richards of Empire wrote, "It's gorgeously designed, deftly written and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. For child or adult, this is a fantasy to get lost in."[46] The Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan also gave the film a positive review and said, "Thoughts become things. That's the message of Rise of the Guardians, a charming if slightly dark and cobwebbed animated feature about how believing in something makes it real, or real enough."[47] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars and wrote in his review, "There's an audience for this film. It's not me. I gather younger children will like the breakneck action, the magical ability to fly and the young hero who has tired of only being a name." Though he did say, "Their parents and older siblings may find the 89-minute running time quite long enough."[48]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a lively but derivative 3D storybook spree for some unlikely action heroes."[2] Conversely, Justin Chang in Variety said, "Even tots may emerge feeling slightly browbeaten by this colorful, strenuous and hyperactive fantasy, which has moments of charm and beauty but often resembles an exploding toy factory rather than a work of honest enchantment."[49] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal found that the film "lacks a resonant center," and that the script, "seems to have been written by committee, with members lobbying for each major character, and the action, set in vast environments all over the map, spreads itself so thin that a surfeit of motion vitiates emotion."[50]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Rise of the Guardians grossed $103,412,758 in North America, and $203,528,912 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $306,941,670.[4]

text: In North America, the film opened to $32.3 million over its extended five-day weekend, and with $23.8 million over the three-day weekend, it reached fourth place behind The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Skyfall, and Lincoln. The film's opening was the lowest debut for a DreamWorks Animation film since Flushed Away.[44] While the film did gross more than double of its $145 million budget, it still did not turn a profit for DreamWorks Animation due to its high production and marketing costs, forcing the studio to take an $83 million write-down.[51] This marked the first time that the studio had lost money on an animated film since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.[51][52] As a result of this combined with other factors, in February 2013, the studio announced it was laying off 350 employees as part of a company-wide restructuring.[52]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The Rome Film Festival and Vanity Fair magazine awarded the new Vanity Fair International Award for Cinematic Excellence in November 2012 to Rise of the Guardians.[31] The film also received the Hollywood Animation Award at the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Festival, held on October 22, 2012.[53]

text:
List of awards and nominations

Award
Category
Recipients
Result

African-American Film Critics Association

Best Animation

Won

Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Best Animated Female

Isla Fisher (Tooth)

Nominated

American Cinema Editors

Best Edited Animated Feature Film

Joyce Arrastia

Annie Awards[54][55]

Best Animated Feature

Animated Effects in an Animated Production

Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton

Won

Character Animation in a Feature Production

David Pate

Nominated

Phillppe LeBrun

Pierre Perifel

Music in an Animated Feature Production

Alexandre Desplat

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

Patrick Hanenberger, Max Boas, Jayee BorcarWoonyoung Jung, Perry Maple, Peter MaynezStan Seo, Felix Yoon

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Johanne Matte

Won

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Jude Law

Nominated

Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Joyce Arrastia

Critics Choice Awards[56]

Best Animated Feature

Cinema Audio Society

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures Animated

Golden Globe Awards[57]

Best Animated Feature Film

Golden Reel Awards

Best Sound Editing in an Animated Feature Film

Hollywood Film Festival[53]

Best Animated Feature

Peter Ramsey

Won

International Film Music Critics Association Awards

Film Composer of the Year

Alexandre Desplat, also for Argo, Moonrise Kingdom, Rust and Bone, and Zero Dark Thirty

Nominated

Best Original Score for an Animated Feature

Alexandre Desplat

Won

Mill Valley Film Festival[58]

Audience Favorite Children's Film

Peter Ramsey

Producers Guild of America

Outstanding Producer of An Animated Theatrical Motion Picture

Nancy Bernstein, Christina Steinberg

Nominated

Satellite Awards 2012[59]

Best Animated or Mixed Media

Won

Visual Effects Society[60][61]

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Nancy Bernstein, David Prescott, Peter Ramsey, Christina Steinberg

Nominated

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

The North Pole: Eric Bouffard, Sonja Burchard, Andy Harbeck, Peter Maynez

Nominated

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Last Stand: Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, Andrew Wheeler, Stephen Wood

Nominated

Women Film Critics Circle[62]

Best Family Film

Rise of the Guardians – tied with Life of Pi

Won

text: Video game[edit]

text: A video game based on the film was released by D3 Publisher on November 20, 2012 in North America,[63] and released on November 23, 2012 in Europe.[64] It allows gamers to lead the Guardians in their battle against Pitch. The game is a 3D beat-em-up, where the player travels through each of the worlds: Burgess, North Pole, Bunnymund Valley, Tooth Palace, and Sandman's Ship, to fight Pitch's army of Nightmares. The player can switch between all five guardians at any time, and freely customize their powers, and they learn new special abilities as they level up. All the game versions support up to 4-player gameplay.[65] It is available on the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS.[66]

text: Possible sequels[edit]

text: After the release of the film, the creators of Rise of the Guardians expressed hope that the strong A- Cinemascore average for the film and an enthusiastic word-of-mouth would gather support for the "chance to make a sequel or two."[67] Author and co-producer of the series, William Joyce, also mentioned in March 2013 that he was still in talks about a sequel with DreamWorks Animation: "There is something that we are proposing that we hope they will want to do."[68]

text: Notes[edit]

text: ^  In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures and transferred to Universal Pictures.[69]

tag: ol