Toys "R" Us

Toys"R"Us, Inc. (ToysЯUs) is an American toy and juvenile-products retailer founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. Company's merchandise is sold in 856 Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and in more than 755 international stores and more than 255 licensed stores in 38 countries and jurisdictions.

In addition, it exclusively operates the FAO Schwarz brand. It also operates a portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com and FAO.com.

Stores

Company history

Charles Lazarus started Children's Supermart (which would evolve into Toys "R" Us) in Washington, D.C., during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby-furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St. NW, where the nightclub Madam's Organ Blues Bar is located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for toys for older children. The focus of the store changed in 1957, and Toys"R"Us was born in Rockville, Maryland. Toys"R"Us was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Department Stores,Inc., owner of the White Front, Topps Chains and Children's Bargain Town USA, a sister toy-store chain to Toys "R" Us in the American Midwest that would later be re-branded as part of the Toys "R" Us chain. The original Toys "R" Us store design from 1969 to 1989 consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit. Some brown-roof locations still exist, although some have been painted different colors or renovated.

D-Company

Dawood Company is a term coined by the media for the organized criminal group controlled by wanted terrorist and crime boss Dawood Ibrahim.

Overview

Dawood Ibrahim established a criminal syndicate in the 1980s.

Members

Other prominent members of the gang include Chhota Shakeel, Tiger Memon,Yakub Memon, and Abu Salem. The organization has a history of rivalry with the Mumbai police and other underworld dons such as Chhota Rajan, Ejaz Lakdawala, who was arrested in Canada in 2004, and Arun Gawli.

History

In 1993, D-Company associates undertook the 1993 Bombay bombings.

In 2011, Indian intelligence agencies managed to link Dawood Company with the 2G spectrum scam, through DB Realty and DB Etisalat (formerly Swan Telecom) promoted by Shahid Balwa. Later in March, security at CBI headquarters in Delhi was tightened after it had been suggested that D-Company might launch an attack in an attempt to destroy documents relating to the ongoing probe of the 2G spectrum scam.

In popular culture

At times, Dawood Company has been linked to the Bollywood film industry, as well as real estate and betting businesses, from which it is said to derive considerable revenue. The 2002 film Company is based loosely on its activities, as well as its sequel, the 2005 film D, Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), and the 2010 film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. The 2013 movie Shootout at Wadala is based on the rise of the D-Company.

General Motors

General Motors Company, commonly known as GM, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under thirteen brands: Alpheon, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, HSV, Opel, Vauxhall, Wuling, Baojun, Jie Fang, UzDaewoo. General Motors holds a 20% stake in IMM, and a 77% stake in GM Korea. It also has a number of joint-ventures, including Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM in China, GM-AvtoVAZ in Russia, Ghandhara Industries in Pakistan, GM Uzbekistan, General Motors India, General Motors Egypt, and Isuzu Truck South Africa. General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in more than 120 countries. General Motors is divided into five business segments: GM North America (GMNA), Opel Group, GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America (GMSA), and GM Financial. As part of its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring the current company, General Motors Company LLC, ("new GM"), was formed in 2009, after the bankruptcy of the General Motors Corporation ("old GM"). The new company purchased the majority of the assets of "old GM", including the name "General Motors".

What Happened

What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception is an auto-biographical bestseller by Scott McClellan, who served as White House Press Secretary from 2003 until 2006 under President George W. Bush. The book was scheduled to be released on June 2, 2008; however, excerpts were released to the press a week before publication. The book quickly became a media sensation for its candid, insider's critique of the Bush administration and ran as a leading story on most top news outlets days after the content became public. It was listed as a number-one bestseller by the New York Times and on Amazon.com when it first went on sale.

Content

McClellan harshly criticizes the Bush administration over its Iraq war-making campaign, though he writes in detail about his personal admiration for President Bush. He accuses Bush of "self-deception" and of maintaining a "permanent campaign approach" to governing, rather than making the best choices. McClellan stops short of saying Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq (in fact, stating flatly that he did not believe that Bush would intentionally lie), writing that the administration was not "employing out-and-out deception" to make the case for war in 2002, though he does assert the administration relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war. The book is also critical of the press corps for being too accepting of the administration's perspective on the Iraq War, and of Condoleezza Rice for being "too accommodating" and overly careful about protecting her own reputation.

The Decline

The Decline is an EP by NOFX. The CD version consisted of only the 18-minute title track, but the vinyl included a different version of "Clams Have Feelings Too" (from Pump Up the Valuum) on the B-side. The Decline is largely a satire of American politics and law, with an overwhelming concern for blind behaviors of the masses, such as complacency, indifference, gun violence, drug-use, and conformity, as well as destruction of constitutional rights, and condemnation of the religious right. Although the lyrics are somewhat disjointed, they all refer back to the unifying theme of the "decline" of America. The trombone is played by Lars Nylander of Skankin' Pickle.

According to the band,

The first 155 copies were pressed on clear vinyl, a version which is no longer available.

The first 1 min and 20 seconds of a live version of The Decline is played as an encore after "Stickin' In My Eye" on They've Actually Gotten Worse Live! (2007) before being faded out. A DVD featuring a live performance of The Decline was released on September 12, 2012.