title: Aranos Reformed Church

text: Over the years, the Aranos congregation coped with financial problems and never grew significantly. At the end of 1958, for example, there were 76 confirmed members, and at the end of 1997, there were 84. However, in the next four years the congregation cut in half to 36 of them and to half again at 16 by the end of 2014. The members' efforts continued, however, in 2016 outside of GKSA auspices. Even before the Middellande Synod (primarily consisting of black churches) and its primarily white or mixed-race counterparts were reclassified into the Klassis format, denominations seceded from Aranos, including Namib-Kus in 2007 and Khomas-Hoogland in 2009. The three congregations were all members until 2016 of the Klassis Waterberg, along with Outjo, Otjiwarongo, and Biermanskool, while the other 12 Namibian churches belonged to Klassis Etosha. Aranos, Outjo, Biermanskool, Namib-Kus, and Khomas-Hoogland all seceded from the GKSA in 2016, by which time Otjiwarongo had already joined the Klassis Etosha.


title: List of Drake & Josh episodes

text: As an anniversary gift for Audrey and Walter, Drake and Josh agree to have their house's living room redecorated by the company of a television series which they never heard of before called Pump My Room. However, it soon turns out to be a scam; when the associated "producers" said the room was going to be redecorated, its furniture is stolen instead. The police officer duo summoned to the house are uninterested in helping the family due to one of them being unimpressed about how Drake and Josh gullibly fell for the scam in the first place and the other one having suffered because of Walter's bad weather predictions. Drake and Josh attempt to earn enough money to pay for the stolen furniture by getting part-time jobs working a sushi-packaging line at a fish factory, but it proves to be a disaster due to the factory's demanding head-chef and the speed of the line's conveyor belt. Returning home from their failure, the duo discover that all the furniture is back where it belongs thanks to the police having located the faulty moving van the scammers used for their heist, which was abandoned after breaking down about half of one mile up the street. Meanwhile, Megan becomes too busy to prank Drake and Josh, so she hires a young boy named Tyler.


title: Robert A. Stern (neuropsychologist)

text: A major focus of Stern's research involves the long-term effects of repetitive brain trauma in athletes, including the neurodegenerative disease, CTE. He has been funded from NIH and the Department of Defense for his work on developing methods of detecting and diagnosing CTE during life, as well as examining potential genetic and other risk factors for this disease. He is the lead principal investigator for the 7-year, multi-center DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. His other major areas of funded research include the assessment and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the cognitive effects of chemotherapy in the elderly, thyroid-brain relationships, and driving and dementia. He is the BU site principal investigator for several clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Stern has also published on various aspects of cognitive assessment and is the senior author of many widely used neuropsychological tests, including the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB).


title: Robert A. Stern (neuropsychologist)

text: Stern has received several NIH and other national grants, has published over 250 journal articles, chapters, and abstracts, and is the co-editor of two recently published books: Sports Neurology, which is part of the Handbook in Clinical Neurology series published by Elsevier, and The Oxford Handbook of Adult Cognitive Disorders, which is part of the Oxford Handbook collection. He is a Fellow of both the American Neuropsychiatric Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. He is a member of the Mackey-White Health and Safety Committee of the NFL Players Association, as well as the court-appointed Medical Scientific Committee for the NCAA Student-Athlete Concussion Injury Litigation. Dr. Stern has testified before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging and the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He appears frequently in national and international print and broadcast media for his work on CTE and AD. He also appears in the feature-length documentaries League of Denial , Head Games , and I Remember Better When I Paint .


title: Robert A. Stern (neuropsychologist)

text: Stern received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and his master's and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island. He completed his neuropsychology internship training at the Boston VA Medical Center, under the supervision of Edith Kaplan, and his postdoctoral fellowship training in both neuropsychology and psychoneuroendocrinology at the UNC School of Medicine. He was on the faculty at UNC from 1990 to 1993, where he was associate director of the NIMH-funded Mental Health Clinical Research Center and director of the Neurobehavioral Assessment Core. He then joined the faculty at Alpert Medical School, where he was associate professor of psychiatry and neurology, as well as director of neuropsychology and the Memory and Cognitive Assessment Program at Rhode Island Hospital. He also directed the Brown Clinical Neuropsychology Internship Training Program. In 2004, Stern joined the Boston University School of Medicine's Department of Neurology as an associate professor. He was promoted to professor of neurology and neurosurgery in 2011 and was then appointed to professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and neurobiology, in 2014.


title: Nilmani Mitra

text: Nilmani started his career in the Ganges canal division. He then became the Assistant Architect of the Presidency Division. In 1858, at the young age of 30, he rose to the position of Assistant Engineer. He quit the government services over difference in opinion, and began a private practice. During his career as a freelance architect he designed some of the most magnificent mansions of 19th century Kolkata. He designed the building of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj and Metropolitan Institution free of cost. He designed the building of Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Bowbazar not only free of cost, but himself donated one thousand rupees for the noble cause. He also designed the mansion of Nandalal Bose and Pashupatinath Bose in Baghbazar, Kirtichand Mitra's Mohun Bagan Villa, the palace of Jatindra Mohan Tagore and the Emarald Bower. He also designed the famous Jagannath chariot of Mahesh. He also played a pioneering role behind the growth of Bengali settlement in Madhupur.


title: Denver Mint

text: The predecessors of the Denver Mint were the men of Clark, Gruber and Company. During the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, they coined gold dust brought from the gold fields by the miners. In 1858, Austin M. Clark, Milton E. Clark and Emanuel Henry Gruber founded a brokerage firm in Leavenworth, Kansas, and then established an office in Denver at the beginning of the Colorado Gold Rush. Desiring to save on shipping and insurance costs associated with shipping gold back east, the firm opened a private mint. On July 25, 1860, the mint opened in a two-story brick building on the corner of Market and 16th Streets, minting $10 gold pieces at the rate of "fifteen or twenty coins a minute". "On the face is a representation of the peak, its base surrounded by a forest of timber and 'Pikes Peak Gold' encircling the summit. Immediately under its base is the word 'Denver', and beneath it 'Ten D.'. On the reverse is the American Eagle encircled by the name of the firm 'Clark, Gruber & Co.', and beneath the date, '1860'.": 26–27


title: 2010 National League Division Series

text: Rookie right-hander Craig Kimbrel came out of the bullpen to start the top of the ninth for the Braves, relieving Jonny Venters, who had struck out the side the previous inning. Kimbrel retired Ross on a popout to Conrad, for the first out. Travis Ishikawa then pinch-hit for Romo and drew a walk. After striking out leadoff man Andrés Torres, Kimbrel gave up a single to second baseman Freddy Sanchez, and was removed from the game, leaving runners on first and second base, with two outs. Another rookie Brave, lefty Michael Dunn, came on and gave up a game-tying single to Aubrey Huff. Dunn was then pulled for a right-hander, Peter Moylan, who induced a grounder from Buster Posey, which proceeded to bounce through the legs of Conrad, the second baseman's third error of the game. Sanchez scored on the play, giving the Giants a 3–2 lead. Kyle Farnsworth came on and got the third out, but the damage was done. The Giants brought in their closer Brian Wilson for the bottom of the ninth. He held the lead, giving up a single to Brian McCann, but retiring Nate McLouth on a grounder to end the game.


title: 2010 National League Division Series

text: Lowe was relieved after 6+1⁄3 innings. After walking Aubrey Huff and allowing an infield single to Buster Posey, Bobby Cox made his way out to the mound, apparently to remove Lowe from the game. However, after talking to him, Cox elected to leave Lowe in, prompting huge cheers from the Atlanta fans. The next batter, Pat Burrell, walked on a 3–1 pitch near the inside corner and Lowe's night was done. He struck out eight while allowing only two hits and walking two. Braves' relievers Peter Moylan and Jonny Venters could not hold the lead as the Giants scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning on Juan Uribe's RBI fielder's choice and Cody Ross' RBI single. The Braves might have been able to escape the one-out, bases-loaded jam, but Álex González's throwing error, his second in the game, cost them. Both errors were debatable. The first was a ball hit in the hole he didn't field cleanly with the speedy Andrés Torres running. The second was, again, another crucial controversial call that went against the Braves in the series. With two on and one out and a weakly hit groundball, González elected to go to second, throwing it high, causing Omar Infante to edge up, however, the umpire ruled he came off the base.


title: Kfarmishki

text: In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, massive waves of migration from Lebanon were spurred by major conflicts in the region, particularly the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war , the 1925 Great Druze Revolt (also known as the Great Syrian Revolt, and the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War. Migrants left to escape these conflicts, in search of political stability, freedoms, and better economic opportunities. Another impetus for migration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was to evade conscription into Ottoman armies, especially after 1911 when the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in the Balkans. These early migrants reached their destinations penniless and not knowing the country's language. Yet they were able to build successful businesses, which allowed them to send remittances to the families they left behind in Lebanon. The story of Lebanese migrants was celebrated by the Lebanese American poet and philosopher Gibran Khalil Gibran (Arabic: جبران خليل جبران, known in English as Kahlil Gibran): "Let me tell you who are the children of my Lebanon… They are those who migrate with nothing but courage in their hearts and strength in their arms but return with wealth in their hands and a wreath of glory upon their heads."


title: Kfarmishki

text: The demise of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I marked another period of great upheaval in Lebanon and Syria. A movement led by Prince Faisal aimed to unify all Arab lands and create the Arab Kingdom of Syria with Faisal as king. In opposition to this movement, western powers imposed a mandate system that divided these lands into French- and British-controlled territories. Under this system, France gained control of Syria and Lebanon, with Lebanon being recognized as an independent entity. This arrangement led to an anti-French uprising that culminated in the Great Druze revolt of 1925. Officials of the French Mandatory power antagonized the Druze tribes of Jabal al-Druze (Arabic: جبل الدروز) by introducing administrative and social reforms that were perceived as upending the traditional tribal hierarchy of the area. The arrest by the French of several Druze leaders ignited a full fledge rebellion. In south-east Lebanon, Christian towns and villages were attacked because of the pro-French leanings of Lebanese Christians, many of whom supported the French plan to incorporate the Beqaa into a Greater Lebanon. While the rebellion was eventually defeated, these towns and villages suffered severe damage. Kfarmishki was no exception and most of its houses were destroyed. New houses were subsequently rebuilt with financial assistance from the French Mandatory power, which was secured under the leadership of then-mayor Elia Mikhail Nasrallah. These houses, many of which still stand throughout the village, were built using limestone blocks excavated from local quarries following the traditional Lebanese architectural style, which features a cubic house shape, a triple-arch façade, and a distinctive pyramidal orange-red tiled roof (see photo).


title: Kfarmishki

text: The largest Kfarmishki diaspora community is in Ottawa, Canada, where the early arrival of the Boushey and Tannous Nasrallah (now Tannis) families was followed by several waves of migration. The community now numbers more than 9,000 individuals and includes the Ayoub, Besharah, Boushey, Nesrallah, Saab, Saikaly, Tannis families. Additionally, smaller Kfarmishki diaspora communities are found in Montreal, Canada, in Brazil (~2,000 individuals), in Mexico, and in Argentina. As was the case for other Lebanese, the impetus for early waves of migration was often a desire to escape strife and secure economic opportunities. In the latter half of the twentieth century to the present, an additional impetus was the pursuit of opportunities for educational and professional advancement. In general, members of the Kfarmishki diaspora are well-respected members of their adoptive societies and have succeeded in many fields of work, including business, engineering, academics, medicine, music, and sports.


title: Kfarmishki

text: Early inhabitants of Kfarmishki practiced subsistence agriculture based primarily on the cultivation of cereal grain (wheat, barley) crops and pulse (lentil, chickpea) crops using landraces that are highly adapted to the local semi-arid conditions. While these crops are still grown, they have been supplanted by other crops following the introduction in the 1930s of different fruit and nut tree varieties by forward-looking residents such as Elia Mikhail Nasrallah and the development of steady sources of water for irrigation. In addition to digging deep wells, villagers have dug pools for storage of rain and surface water runoff, a practice that was pioneered by Mikhail Elia Nasrallah in the early 1970s. Many different fruits including apples, pears, cherries, and grapes, as well as vegetables are grown primarily in a fertile plateau called Marj (Arabic: مرج; pasture) and in an area of rugged terrain called Shemiseh (Arabic: شميسه). Olive trees (for the production of table olives and olive oil, both essential staples of the Lebanese diet), as well as fig trees and trees for nut production (almonds, walnuts, and more recently pine nuts) are grown at various locations within and around the village. Notwithstanding this variety of crops, Kfarmishki is best known for its grapes, especially table grape varieties destined for Lebanese and international markets. A major grape producer in the village, Kamal Saikaly, owner of Saikaly farms, maintains a grape germplasm consisting of indigenous and introduced varieties. While several varieties (including the native Beitamouni and Tfeifihi varieties) are grown for production of table grapes, other varieties, the native white grape Obaideh in particular, are used for small-scale production of grape molasses (Arabic: دبس), of the distilled anise-flavored liqueur called arak (Arabic: عرق), and more recently of wine. In recent years, new grape varieties with high market value (such as Crimson and Thompson Seedless) have been introduced which, along with the adoption of modern agricultural practices, are expected to improve the villagers' income.


title: Kfarmishki

text: In recent years, an increased environmental awareness by villagers has spurred environmental sustainability projects. With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)], oaks (Lebanon oak and Kermes oak), cedar (Cedrus libani and Juniperus oxycedrus), and pine trees have been planted to re-forest and protect some non-arable areas from the destructive grazing by goats. Also with support from the USAID and cost sharing by the village municipality, a solar farm project was initiated by Raja Adballah and implemented by Caritas Lebanon under the Baladi Project. A total of 206 photovoltaic panels were installed on top of the school building, producing 87,364 KWH of energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 63,000 cubic meters, and resulting in yearly savings of over $12,000. With this project, Kfarmishki became one of the first Lebanese municipalities to gain energy independence and avoid the frequent electricity blackouts that plague all areas of Lebanon, and at the same time reduce the air and noise pollution previously produced by gasoline and diesel generators.


title: Marcus Furius Camillus

text: According to Livy, after the fall of the city, Camillus is recalled from exile at Ardea by the people and appointed again as dictator – even though a consular tribune was available to nominate a dictator in the normal fashion – in the city's hour of need. Then, at the climax of the Gallic sack, when a thousand pounds of gold is being weighed out, Camillus and a hastily organised army returns and defeats the Gauls, saving the city and recovering the ransom. This story was probably a creation of Roman annalists during the first century BC; Ogilvie in his Commentary on Livy, calls it "one of the most daring fabrications in Roman history". Other traditions have different narratives: for example, the Livii Drusi are supposed to have by single combat with a Gaul named Drausus recovered the same ransom; Plutarch records a fragment of Aristotle asserting that "a certain Lucius" (probably a Lucius Albinius who is recorded to have secreted away the Vestal Virgins and sacred objects to Caere) having saved the city.


title: Marcus Furius Camillus

text: According to Livy, there are ten years in which Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus were elected plebeian tribunes continuously. During the last five or six years, they blocked the election of all magistrates in an attempt to pass what would become the Licinio-Sextian rogations. Camillus is alleged to have been elected dictator in 368 BC and attempted to obstruct their attempts, without success. But the next year, he is appointed dictator again. He then reconciles the plebeians and the patricians with a proposal to appoint a patrician-only praetor and curule aediles (in exchange for plebeian eligibility to the consulship); all accept the passage of the rogations and domestic harmony is restored; Camillus then constructs a temple to Concordia. "Very little of this narrative can be accepted as it stands". While Diodorus Siculus reports the length of the anarchy to have been merely one year, it is implausible that Rome could have been without magistrates for more than a few months. More damningly, a passage of Aulus Gellius' Attic Nights (5.4) preserves a fragment of Numerius Fabius Pictor that shows that alleged years where tribunes blocked all elections were a late annalistic invention, likely to line up Greek and Roman chronologies.


title: Marcus Furius Camillus

text: His reputation by the late republic and early empire was such that Camillus was a source of exempla: fables giving lessons for Romans on how to act in line both with morals and with Roman tradition and procedures. One of the most famous ones is during Camillus' capture of Faliscii: one of their schoolmasters defects, bringing with him to the camp his pupils who are Faliscan nobles' children. Camillus, displaying his exemplary fides, has the schoolmaster reprimanded and punished by the pupils; the Faliscans then surrender the city before Camillus' good faith. Camillus is similarly alleged to have resigned a dictatorship to which he was appointed merely because of faulty procedure; Livy mentions it – an event that "almost certainly never took place" – as an example of Roman legal scruples. In all, Camillus is mentioned in Livy's Ab urbe condita as an example to be followed eight times, an "unusually high frequency", usually in relation to his alleged successes as a general, moderation in the face of hot-headed colleagues, and triumphant recall from exile.


title: S. S. Davidson

text: At Nagercoil, he started a Tribal Foundation club that would form the genesis of campus-based nature conservation activities and Awareness among the Tribal populace of the Western Ghat Hills of Southern Tamil Nadu. The club also became involved in studying threats to the environment. Additionally, Davidson also leads the movement against the Hill quarry, and the conversion of paddy fields, wetlands, lakes and other pristine water bodies of the former South Travancore that was later renamed to Kanyakumari District. His activity in preserving the turtle and other coastal biodiversity is applauded by many conservationist across Southern India. He is credited with drawing up a plan to preserve the heritage wetlands of Nagercoil and the Suchindram Theroor Birds Sanctuary Wetland Complex. He is also known to track bird migration patterns and study indigenous bird species of a given landscape or geography. His authentic work on the extinction and near extinction of certain bird species from the bio-diverse rich landscapes of Nagercoil is a must read for amateur ornithologists.


title: Sarah Coupland

text: Sarah Coupland is an Australian-born pathologist and professor who is the George Holt Chair in Pathology at the University of Liverpool. Coupland is an active clinical scientist whose research focuses on the molecular genetics of cancers, with particular interests in uveal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma, intraocular and ocular adnexal lymphomas and CNS lymphoma. Coupland is also an NHS Honorary Consultant Histopathologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Since 2006, Coupland has been head of the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group; from which she runs a multidisciplinary oncology research group focussing on Uveal melanoma, based in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine at the University of Liverpool. Her research laboratory is currently located in the Institute of Translational Medicine From April 2014 to December 2019, Coupland was also Director of the North West Cancer Research Centre, @UoL. In both 2019 and 2020, Coupland was included on the 'Pathology Powerlist' on The Pathologist website.


title: Sarah Coupland

text: Following the completion of her Ph.D. studies, Coupland moved to Germany to continue her specialist pathology training at the Charité University Hospital Benjamin Franklin, FU Berlin between 1995 – 2002, obtaining a Klein Sprachdiplom from the Goethe Institute, Berlin in 1994, and completing her Facharzt ('specialist') examinations in Surgical Histopathology in 2002 at the Free University of Berlin, from where she was also awarded a Habilitation degree in Surgical Histopathology (Assoc. Professor thesis) in 2005. She was then made Consultant Pathologist at the Charité University Hospital Benjamin Franklin, Berlin from 2002–2005. In 2005, she has registered by the General Medical Council, a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. She re-registered in 2015 and as a Liverpool-based pathologist was Director of the Liverpool Tissue Bank between 2011 – 2016 and a contributor to the Athena SWAN agenda as Deputy Lead for the Institute of Translational medicine at the University of Liverpool.


title: Sarah Coupland

text: In addition to her research activities, she has contributed to numerous international meetings, giving international keynote lectures. She dedicates much of her career to service within her field, including roles as Vice-Chair of the 'Ophthalmic Tumor Writing Group', 7th & 8th Ed'ns AJCC/TNM Classification , as a member of the International Society of Ophthalmic Pathology , a member for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) , and she has been a trustee of ARVO Anatomy-Pathology-Oncology group & an ARVO Board Member . Coupland was also Chair of the 'Ophthalmic Pathology Working Group' of the European Society of Pathology , the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), where she was Pathology rep on the "Clinical Trials Committee" . She has also served on the Mucosal Melanoma Guidelines Writing group , the ACCEA Merseyside Regional Committee for National Awards , the National Cancer Research Institute CM-Path Workstream 4 – Molecular technologies, Digital Pathology . She is an elected committee member of the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland and served on the Education & Training Subcommittee (2016-2019. She was a Committee Member of the WHO Eye Tumour Writing Group . She was a member of the European Ophthalmic Oncology Group (and Secretary between 2008–2011, and President . Coupland is an active patient advocate, and part of the OcuMelUK patient support group and the NCRI Lymphoma Biological Studies Subgroup . In terms of scientific publishing and scholarship, she has been a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science since 2016, an Associate Editor for Acta Ophthalmologica , and was an Associate Editor (pathology) for Graefe's Archives for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. She was a Reviewing Editor of "Ocular Immunology and Inflammation" and an Editorial Board Member of BMC Cancer .


title: Sarah Coupland

text: As well as serving on multiple committees and charities, especially in the broader field of ocular diseases, Coupland is a decorated clinical pathologist, and in recognition of her science, she has received numerous awards. Her most recent prizes include an ARVO Silver Fellow Award , an ARVO Gold Fellow Award and a prestigious ARVO Distinguished Service Award . In 2018, she received the International Council of Ophthalmology Eye Pathology Award – 2018 and most recently, in 2019, a Royal College of Pathology Excellence Award in the Subspecialty of Ophthalmic Pathology and Oncology. The citation reads 'Professor Coupland is an outstanding pre-eminent ocular pathologist in the UK and is internationally acclaimed for her work in ocular oncology. She has been instrumental to the care delivered to the world-recognised ocular oncology service in Liverpool through her pathology work, development of molecular and tumour signatures of ocular tumours, providing the evidence that informs treatments, prognosis and optimal patient care'. In further recognition of her work and achievements, Coupland was included on the Pathologist Power List for 2019


title: 2020 Piacenza scandal

text: On 22 July 2020 in Piacenza, seven Carabinieri were arrested after being accused of drug trafficking, receiving stolen goods, extortion, illegal arrest, torture, grievous bodily harm, embezzlement, abuse of office and fraud; the seven were later charged of their crimes. The "leader" of the group, officer Montella, arrested and charged people with planting evidence of crimes that the detainees never committed, placing in the pocket of the people in custody the drug that he smuggled. A Moroccan man was illegally arrested by the seven officers; the man accused Montella of punching him several times while in custody and reported that the officer laughed during the torture. Montella later admitted that he carried out the torture, after initially trying to accuse only his colleagues. However, many other cases of torture inside the police station and outside during arrests were reported, as that of a Nigerian man who was approached by Montella; a photo of the man was taken during the arrest, showing him covered with blood. Montella quoted that the man "had a fall" during the arrest; however, prosecutors didn't believe Montella's version. A Brazilian woman accused Marshal Orlando, one of the charged officers, of being forced to have sex with him under blackmail and intimidation, as the Marshal menaced her of "sending her in Brazil and never returning to Italy". The woman was also beat at the police station by Orlando; she reported that the seven officers consumed cocaine inside the police station several times, and orgies with prostitutes happened there; Orlando was the one who carried the drugs inside the station. Several prostitutes were beaten and menaced by the officers.


title: Donato Bilancia

text: Bilancia was a compulsive gambler who lived alone. His first murder was the October 1997 strangulation of a friend who betrayed him by luring him into a rigged card game, in which he lost £185,000 (about $226,864.57). The authorities originally thought this death was a heart attack. Bilancia's next two murders were the revenge shooting of the game's operator, and of his wife. He emptied their safe afterwards. Bilancia later said these first killings gave him a taste for murder. In all his killings he used or carried a .38 calibre revolver loaded with wad cutter ammunition. He made no attempt to conceal his victims' bodies. That same month, he followed a jeweller home to rob him, then shot him and his wife dead when the wife began screaming. He emptied their safe of jewellery. He next robbed and murdered a money changer. Two months later, he killed a night watchman making his rounds, simply because he did not like night watchmen. He killed an Albanian sex worker and a Russian worker. A second money changer was killed next, shot multiple times, and his safe emptied.


title: Ruchi Anand

text: Anand is currently a professor at the American Graduate School in Paris, France, where she teaches courses on international relations, gender studies and environmental politics, and co-teaches a course on NGO management along with Jean-Marie Fardeau, France Director of Human Rights Watch, and NGO specialist Solène Edouard. Anand also regularly teaches courses through the Junior Statesmen of America summer programs at Princeton University, Stanford University and Georgetown University. She also teaches and lectures at several other campuses such as INSEEC and CEFAM in Lyon; Chambre de Commerce and IUT/IAE in Valence >, and at the University of California in Paris. She serves as an Associate Editor for New York-based peer-reviewed journal called 'Environmental Justice.' She has appeared in several documentaries and television interviews on various subjects of her expertise. Her prominent appearance in France was in December 2016 when she was interviewed for a Documentary by Maximal Production called 'L'inquiétant Monsieur Trump' on France 5 - Le monde en face about the then newly elected President Donald Trump. Another noteworthy documentary in which she appeared is 'The Illusionist' by Italian film-maker Elena Rossini. Anand's research interests include international relations, international law, international organizations, foreign policy, environmental policy, politics of developing countries and women's studies.


title: Yonah Alexander

text: Yonah also serves as a member of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national biodefense. In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Commission created a 33-step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge, the Commission assembled in 2014 in Washington D.C. for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs and concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Commission report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the Vice President authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Commission's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.


title: MFS (label)

text: In December 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the communist state-owned ex-Amiga record label aka Deutschen Schallplatten Berlin (DSB) followed Mark Reeder's suggestion in founding an electronic music record label "Masterminded For Success". Reeder had already built up a working relationship with the AMIGA/DSB, during the recording of the album "Torture" for East German indie band, Die Vision in East Berlin while the Berlin Wall was still up. The name "MFS" was actually taken from the initials of Ministry for State Security(German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, MfS), commonly known as the Stasi in East Germany. The label was originally started by Reeder and the distribution was run by Mirko Withfield. Reeder brought in Torsten Jurk and Matt Graver, who shortly after left the label to become the manager of Atari Teenage Riot. After the collapse of DSB and the sale to BMG in the late 1993, Reeder and Jurk secured all the rights on the label name and catalogue, which had originally been funded by the DSB.


title: Seetha Coleman-Kammula

text: In 2005, Coleman-Kammula left Bassell and founded Simply Sustain, a consulting firm aimed at advising businesses on more sustainable models. After a trip to India around that time, Coleman-Kammula realized that the plastics she had helped develop were negatively impacting the environment because as an inventor and designer she had never considered what happened when the product was no longer usable and became waste. She now consults with firms recommending that they supply the information of what is in their products and how to disassemble them, both as a means of protecting the environment and providing jobs in disposal and recycling. She promotes "industrial ecology" and recommends that corporate entities make environmental impact assessments over the life cycle of products as a means of increasing value of products and decreasing the negative impacts to the environment. She works on the Sustainability External Advisory Council of Dow Chemical Company and with other corporate entities.


title: Hara school of painters

text: Artistic ability was defined as a combination of shitsuga (質画) and gakuga (学画): innate and learned painting skill. Pupils entered workshops as children, based not primarily on talent, but on status. Some studios strictly policed students' leisure activities, such as drinking and socializing, which was facilitated by the fact that pupils traditionally lived-in as uchi deshi. Study was a serious, time-consuming endeavor: "the successful student spent years in training, a time during which he developed physical stamina, self-discipline, perseverance, the ability to earn for himself, facility in technical skills, and a good understanding of the aesthetics and spiritual considerations required of a dedicated painter." Most studied for over ten years before being allowed to graduate, if they were allowed to graduate. Apprenticeship began with menial tasks and "unobtrusive observation". As pupils worked their way up to the rank of head students (deshi gashira), their relationship to their mentors was comparable to that of retainer to lord. Though seniors were usually referred to as sensei (teacher), some pupils addressed their instructors as tonosama, an honorific title for a feudal lord.


title: Seirogan

text: The Seirogan (正露丸) name was filed for trademark registration by Taiko Pharmaceutical in 1954, but approximately thirty competitors such as Izumi Yakuhin Kogyou Co., Ltd. objected, leading to a lengthy battle, petitioning the Patent Office, then later litigating in court. The Tokyo District Court rejected Taiko's claim to proprietary use of the Seirogan name, and the Supreme Court of Japan upheld that decision in 1974. The Supreme Court delivered the opinion that the name seirogan had passed into a common noun, so that use of the Seirogan (正露丸) name by any company was valid, not answerable to the claims of this trademark, and did not constitute an infringement of any intellectually property rights thereof. The court also did not recognize Taiko Pharmaceutical's exclusive right to use the distinctive color scheme and graphic design on the packaged box (and sticker label on the pill bottle), with the exception of the product logo depicting a bugle (cf. §Taiko's trademark registration and Izumi's lawsuit to revoke trademark).


title: Seirogan

text: But this was in the days when drug use as preventive medicine was not a widely embraced concept, and soldiers resisted swallowing this weird-smelling and unfamiliar pill, even when so instructed. The top brass decided to invoke the name of Emperor Meiji, telling the men that taking the pill was "according to the wishes of His Imperial Majesty". This subterfuge reportedly greatly improved the soldiers' compliance towards taking the pill, making them less prone to be forced out of action due to stomach aches or diarrhea. The army doctors were however disappointed to find that the pill did not show any of the desired combative effect towards the (non-existent) beriberi microbe. The army insisted on feeding their men pure white rice to boost morale, but that led to vitamin-deficient diet, so that one in three men serving the Russo-Japanese War were afflicted by beriberi, and 27,800 succumbed to it. Meanwhile, the Japanese navy deduced early on that beriberi was a nutritional disorder, and added breads and mugimeshi (麦飯) (wheat or wheat-rice mixture steam-cooked like rice) to their rations, so that none of their servicemen fell ill with beriberi.


title: Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)

text: The work is in three movements. The Moderato first movement follows a typical sonata form with an expressive and cantabile opening theme. The Allegro second movement begins with a terse but humorous scherzo, which Martin Cooper believes is based on two folk songs, followed by a trio section. The last movement comprises multiple contrasting sections: a slow introductory recitative, an arioso dolente, a fugue, a return of the arioso, and a second fugue that builds to a passionate and heroic conclusion. William Kinderman finds parallels between the last movement's fugue and other late works by Beethoven, such as the fughetta in the Diabelli Variations and sections of the Missa solemnis, and Adolf Bernhard Marx favourably compares the fugue to those of Bach and Handel. The sonata is the subject of musical analyses including studies by Donald Tovey, Denis Matthews, Heinrich Schenker, and Charles Rosen. It has been recorded by pianists such as Artur Schnabel, Glenn Gould, and Alfred Brendel.


title: Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)

text: Adolf Schlesinger's letters to Beethoven in July 1822 confirm that the sonata, along with Op. 111, was being engraved in Paris. The sonata was published simultaneously in Paris and Berlin that year, and it was announced in the Bibliographie de la France on 14 September. Some copies of the first edition reached Vienna as early as August, and the sonata was announced in the Wiener Zeitung that month. The sonata was published without a dedication, though there is evidence that Beethoven intended to dedicate Opp. 110 and 111 to Antonie Brentano. In February 1823, Beethoven sent a letter to the composer Ferdinand Ries in London, informing him that he had sent manuscripts of Opp. 110 and 111 so that Ries could arrange their publication in Britain. Beethoven noted that while Op. 110 was already available in London, the edition had mistakes that would be corrected in Ries's edition. Ries persuaded Muzio Clementi to acquire the British rights to the two sonatas, and Clementi published them in London that year.


title: Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)

text: The arioso ends with repeated G major chords of increasing strength, repeating the sudden minor-to-major device that concluded the scherzo. A second fugue emerges with the subject of the first inverted, marked wieder auflebend (again reviving; poi a poi di nuovo vivente – little by little with renewed vigour – in the traditional Italian); Brendel ascribes an illusory quality to this passage. Some performance instructions in this passage begin poi a poi and nach und nach (little by little). Initially, the pianist is instructed to play una corda (that is to use the soft pedal). The final fugue gradually increases in intensity and volume, initially in the key of G major. After all three voices have entered, the bass introduces a diminution of the first fugue's subject (whose accent is also altered), while the treble augments the same subject with the rhythm across the bars. The bass eventually enters with the augmented version of the fugue subject in C minor, and this ends on E♭. During this statement of the subject in the bass, the pianist is instructed to gradually raise the una corda pedal. Beethoven then relaxes the tempo (marked Meno allegro) and introduces a truncated double-diminution of the fugue subject; after statements of the first fugue subject and its inversion surrounded by what Tovey calls the "flame" motif, the contrapuntal parts lose their identity. Brendel views the section that follows as a " off" of the constraints of polyphony; Tovey labels it a "peroration", calling the passage "exultant". It leads to a closing four-bar tonic arpeggio and a final emphatic chord of A♭ major.


title: Louis Rukeyser

text: Over the years, stock traders and analysts noted that a company touted on WSW on Friday would experience a spike (rapid short term advance) in its stock price the following Monday. This phenomenon, dubbed "The Rukeyser Effect", was described as a further demonstration of the program's influence. However, in 1987, Professor Robert Pari of Bentley College published an academic article in the Journal of Portfolio Management detailing the results of a study that found that stocks recommended by Rukeyser's guests on Wall Street Week not only tended to rise in price and trading volume in the days preceding the Friday evening broadcast, peaking on the Monday afterward, but also tended to under perform the market for up to a year following the recommendation. Rukeyser strongly disputed this analysis, but ten years later Professors Jess Beltz and Robert Jennings published another academic article in the Review of Financial Economics reporting results consistent with Pari's original findings, and that there was "little correlation between the 6-month performance of a recommendation and the abnormal volume at the date the recommendation is made." They observed that there were differences in return performance between the recommendations of different individuals, but the market could not discern the more insightful recommendations from the less insightful. Another commentator noted "It is mathematically impossible for the thirty million viewers of this show to beat the market, since they are the market."


title: Snövit Hedstierna

text: Her work has focused on gender rights as a main topic since 2013, beginning with her graduation show from Valand Academy where she displayed the photo series Practices of Looking, and the related group performance Another View, which was considered controversial for its depictions of nudity. Snövit Hedstierna has created several exhibitions where the audience has been invited to participate in different ways. One was her thesis show at Valand, To Give and To Hold, a 48 hours long durational performance where the artist offered her body as spoon for anyone in the audience saying "she rather spoon with someone than shoot someone" as a comment to the growing otherness in society. During late September 2015 Snövit Hedstierna exhibited a one-on-one performance and installation in the "Dream a Dream" solo show at the Abteilung für Alles Andere. The artist described the exhibition as "A guided sleep meditation in an experimental and transcendental environment, now and forever." During Manifesta11 in Zürich 2016, she performed the piece A source of Values in which the audience were invited to wash her naked body with a sponge, soap and water. She exhibited the video installation Sisterhood at the Pane Per Poveri pavilion at The Venice Biennale 2015 (La Biennale di Venezia).


title: Endless Summer Vacation

text: "Flowers", the album's lead single, was released on January 12, 2023, along with its music video, directed by Jacob Bixenman. Its demo version was released digitally on March 3, 2023. "Flowers" was met with mostly positive reception from critics, with many complimenting Cyrus' vocal delivery. It experienced widespread commercial success, becoming the best-selling global single of 2023, earning 2.70 billion subscription streams equivalents globally, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It broke record as the most streamed song in a week on Spotify during both its first and second week. It spent eleven weeks atop the Billboard Global 200 chart and became the second song in the chart's history to gain over 100 million streams worldwide in eight weeks. It topped the charts in over 35 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany and France. In the United States, it spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cyrus' second number-one single on the chart after 2013's "Wrecking Ball". Due to 57 weeks atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, it became the longest-running number one song on any Billboard airplay chart in history. In the United Kingdom, it spent its ten debut weeks atop the UK Singles Chart, becoming Cyrus' third number-one single. In Australia, it broke the record of the most streams in a song's first week of release. It spent its twelve debut weeks atop the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Cyrus' first number-one single.


title: Endless Summer Vacation

text: The album was met with favorable reviews from music critics, becoming Cyrus' most acclaimed album to date. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos called it Cyrus' "sharpest, most independent album yet" and "a powerful artistic statement, focused and clear-eyed as Cyrus seems to have found herself in her thirties". Maura Johnston of the same outlet wrote that the album "feels like a recap of her career's 15-plus years, with Cyrus breezing through genres with the ease of a well-seasoned tourist." Helen Brown of The Independent called it a "lovely long bask in Cyrus's maturing talent." According to Nick Levine of NME, the album "may appear subdued by standards, but it remains remarkably intriguing" and "feels like an accurate reflection of who she is as an artist – and a person – in 2023." Emily Swingle of Clash believed that "while previous releases have been Cyrus attempting to don the outfit of another artist she admires, this release feels like she is fully embodying her own skin – this is a release that aims for timelessness in its own right, allowing the true, unfiltered Miley Cyrus to step into the sunlight."


title: Endless Summer Vacation

text: The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick wrote "there is much to be admired in Cyrus's defiant will to keep messing about on pop's more eccentric fringes." Mary Siroky of Consequence called the album "cohesive without feeling repetitive", adding that "that sort of plain-spoken storytelling might have made for a good record; Cyrus' vocals take things further into the territory of greatness." Chris Willman of Variety described it as "a fairly unpretentious pop record that has some stylistic micro-shifts that don't announce themselves too proudly or loudly," noting that it balances "mellow gold and dance-pop." David Smyth of Evening Standard felt that "the strength of Cyrus is suiting her mighty voice to so many styles, on an album where even those with the shortest attention spans should find a new favourite". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian opined Cyrus "has delivered a hazily atmospheric album that plays to her provocative strengths." Heather Phares of AllMusic praised Cyrus's growth both as a vocalist and a songwriter, and wrote, "this is a mature album in the best sense of the word; like a good relationship, it's smooth, but not dull, grounded in resilience and self-love." Vulture's Craig Jenkins opined the album "showcases a more unified and refined version of Miley," feeling that "the sound is pliable and chewy, and the lyrics are unpretentious."


title: Endless Summer Vacation

text: In a more mixed review, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complemented Cyrus' vocal performance, but criticized "nondescript lyricism." For David Cobbals of The Line of Best Fit, Endless Summer Vacation "is a good album with each track deserving of a listen, but in the same breath, the majority of them aren't worthy of a replay either." Pitchfork's Shaad D'Souza called it "edgeless and synthetic." Mark Richardson of The Wall Street Journal felt that it "boasts several songs that rank among her best", but criticized its second half, which "reveals the limitations of Ms. Cyrus's small-plate method of construction." Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood was critical of the album's lyrics, however opining that " singing is vivid enough on Endless Summer Vacation to make up for some mushy songwriting." Kyle Denis of Uproxx called it a "perfectly fine record" and "undeniable proof that Miley Cyrus is still capable of playing and thriving in the mainstream pop game," however feeling that it "ultimately suffers from how safe it is."


title: Greg Todd (basketball)

text: Todd began his head coaching career at his alma mater, Berea Community High School. From 1992 to 1999, Todd led the Lady Pirates to a record of 166–54 and seven 20-win seasons. Todd's 1998 BCHS team achieved the best finish in school history during the 1997–98 campaign as it advanced to the semi-final round of the 1998 KHSAA Sweet Sixteen Tournament where it fell to eventual champion, Elizabethtown. In 1999, Todd took over the women's basketball program at Lexington Catholic High School. From 1999 to 2006, the coach compiled a stellar 225–26 record which included three KHSAA State Championships and two runner-up finishes. Todd's 2005–06 team would earn the coach national recognition as the EA Sports National Coach of the Year award as it finished 35–1 on its way to a championship and a KHSAA record No. 3 ranking in the final USA Today national girls' basketball poll. The team featured five All-State players and seven players that signed scholarships to play in Division I. Todd finished his 14 seasons coaching in the high school ranks with a combined record of 391–80 (.830) and is the only coach in KHSAA girls' basketball history to win over 375 games and have less than 100 losses.


title: Greg Todd (basketball)

text: During the 2022–23 season, Todd signed a total of six players out of the transfer portal, including Marquette's Antwainette Walker, who helped lead the program to an 18–14 overall record and its second consecutive trip to the Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. In the regular season, EKU would travel to Dublin, Ireland to compete in the 2022 MAAC/ASUN Dublin Challenge, defeating Rider 85–64 in the historic National Basketball Arena, home of the Ireland National Basketball programs and the Basketball Ireland headquarters. Additionally, the Colonels visited Army West Point and defeated the women's team by a vast 83–62 final score. EKU would go on to win 11 games in Atlantic Sun Conference play, ending the season with a 73–55 loss to Austin Peay in the conference quarterfinals. Antwainette Walker was named to the National Basketball Hall of Fame Ann Myers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award as well as the Dawn Staley Late Season Watchlist, both awards recognizing the top guards across NCAA Division I. She finished the season named the ASUN Newcomer of the Year and Kentucky Herald Leader Women's Player of the Year. Todd was named the Kentucky Herald Leader Women's Coach of the Year, the first honor of his career.


title: Greg Todd (basketball)

text: In 2023–24, Todd coached the Colonels to a 22–12 overall record and 9–7 mark in ASUN Conference play, EKU's first 20-win season since 2004–05. Eastern Kentucky opened the regular season with a 9–2 record, the best start to a season in program history, only suffering losses to the Tennessee Lady Vols coached by Kellie Harper on the road, cutting the deficit to just one point in the fourth quarter in Food City Center, and nationally ranked No. 4 Utah Utes in the 2023 Great Alaska Shootout Championship in Anchorage, Alaska. Todd earned his 700th career win as a head coach as the team upset UAB in the first round of the shootout. Todd and the Colonels won nine games in league play, earning the 5-seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, defeating Lipscomb 99–68 in the quarterfinals, the team's third consecutive season making the tournament. Two players were named All-Conference, including Antwainette Walker who was named the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watchlist. Todd became the fastest coach in Eastern Kentucky program history to record 50 wins, doing so in just three short seasons. He led EKU to its first appearance in the Women's National Invitational Tournament since 2002 and the first national postseason tournament since 2013, falling to Purdue Fort Wayne 83–75 in the opening round, Todd's third WNIT as a Division I head coach. Eastern Kentucky spent a program record eight weeks receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released on each Tuesday during the regular season. Also, Todd pushed the program to a record No. 162 ranking in the NCAA NET poll on Jan. 26, 2024.


title: True Romance (Charli XCX album)

text: At 14, Charli XCX persuaded her parents to grant her a loan to record her first album, 14, and in early 2008, began posting songs from the album, as well as numerous other demos, on her official Myspace page. This caught the attention of a promoter running numerous illegal warehouse raves and parties in East London, who invited her to perform at them. She was billed on flyers under the stage name Charli XCX, which was her MSN Messenger display name when she was younger. Despite the illicit nature of the gigs, her parents were supportive of her career and attended several raves with her. In late 2008, while 14 was never commercially released, she released the two singles "!Franchesckaar!" and double A-side "Emelline"/"Art Bitch", under Orgy Music. She has since frequently expressed her distaste for her music of the time, going as far to call it "gimmicky dance tracks" and "fucking terrible Myspace music". At the age of 18, Charli moved to London to study for a fine art degree at UCL's Slade School of Fine Art but dropped out in her second year.


title: True Romance (Charli XCX album)

text: Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that Charli "has a flair for combining a wide array of pop culture sources into something fresh and familiar, as well as a fondness for strong female characters." Phares continued, "Since quite a few of these songs were already road-tested, it's not surprising that this is a strong debut, but just how consistently catchy and personal True Romance is might raise a few eyebrows." Spin's Puja Patel viewed True Romance as "a strident departure from those frivolities so far as solid, true-to-aim songwriting is concerned, but the divergence and a touch of the silliness remains: Goth, she is not. Dramatic? A bit. Complicated? Like every budding pop starlet. Defiant? Absolutely." Despite stating that the album "is confusing at times and will most definitely require multiple listens", Enio Chiola of PopMatters opined that Charli is "the fun pop you don't have to be embarrassed about listening to, and she's definitely worth focusing your attention. True Romance is certainly the true beginning of an illustrious career." Lauren Martin of Fact commented, "Love, lust and longing are chronicled and dissected in True Romance through online relationships being gradually given tangible, tactile form, setting Charli up as a young pop star to be reckoned with." Rolling Stone critic Will Hermes described True Romance as "the pop-album equivalent of a wicked Tumblr".


title: True Romance (Charli XCX album)

text: In a mixed review, Nick Levine of NME felt that although the album "begins strongly" with "Nuclear Seasons" and "You (Ha Ha Ha)", the songs eventually "become samey and Charli shoves some kind of speak-rap into almost every track", concluding, "At the moment, her music is best consumed in blog-sized chunks, not as a stodgy 48-minute album." Similarly, John Murphy of musicOMH expressed that "here's much to enjoy on True Romance, although it's probably best sampled in small doses as it doesn't hang together that successfully over the course of an album." Paula Mejia of Consequence of Sound dismissed the album as "a valiant attempt that doesn't do much more than provide the soundtrack for 'getting ready to go out' songs on tinny laptop speakers." Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel criticised the album as "a little too slickly produced and self-aware to deliver the kind of spontaneous creativity or carefree chic that Charli XCX aims for", while dubbing its music "almost incidental, a postscript to the larger brand, confirming that whoever 'Charli XCX' actually is, she's more product than artist."


title: Until Death (1988 film)

text: Until Death was based on an older script by Dardano Sacchetti. Director Lucio Fulci claimed to have created the original story for the film with a title Evil Comes Back based on the 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. Fulci claimed that Sacchetti then wrote it up and submitted it to several producers with Fulci's name attached, and then found it sold to Luciano Martino with only Sacchetti's name attached. Fulci stated he decided not to sue Sacchetti but broke off all relations with the screenwriter. Sacchetti claims that he was working on a script trying about sex and ghosts but couldn't choose which one to focus on and that Fulci asked him what he was working on which was a pseudo-sequel to The Postman Always Rings Twice. Sacchetti claimed that Fulci had taken it from producer to producer without it going into production and went as far as having it translated into English without Sacchetti's knowledge. While working on Brivido giallo, Sacchetti stated that Bava knew about the script and asked if it was still available for the series as they required one more episode.


title: Urban forest

text: As cities struggle to comply with air quality standards, trees can help to clean the air. The most serious pollutants in the urban atmosphere are ozone, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfuric oxides (SOx) and particulate pollution. Ground-level ozone, or smog, is created by chemical reactions between NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. High temperatures increase the rate of this reaction. Vehicle emissions (especially diesel), and emissions from industrial facilities are the major sources of NOx. Vehicle emissions, industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, chemical solvents, trees and other plants are the major sources of VOCs. Particulate pollution, or particulate matter (PM10 and PM25), is made up of microscopic solids or liquid droplets that can be inhaled and retained in lung tissue causing serious health problems. Most particulate pollution begins as smoke or diesel soot and can cause serious health risk to people with heart and lung diseases and irritation to healthy citizens. Trees are an important, cost-effective solution to reducing pollution and improving air quality.


title: Trine (video game)

text: In the ruins, one of the guardians give the heroes visions of the past. These ruins were the resting place of the artifact of body, but an earthquake left its shrine vulnerable and it was stolen. It was then somehow paired with the artifact of the mind. Without the Trine, the artifact of souls, the other two became tainted and gave birth to an evil tower and the undead, creatures with a physical body and capable of thought, but devoid of purpose and righteousness. The trio ascends the tower, avoiding the obstacles created by the tormented soul of the old king and combines the Trine with the two lost artifacts, unbinding their souls. The undead are cleansed through the kingdom, allowing it to eventually recover, with the Wizard, the Thief and the Knight proclaimed as its heroes. The game ends with the narrator describing what happens to the three heroes; Pontius gives in to his true passion and becomes the new king's royal ale provider, Zoya is given reign over the forest ruins, and Amadeus marries a lady called Margaret, who gives birth to triplets that master the fireball as infants.


title: Trine (video game)

text: To date, four sequels to Trine have been developed by Frozenbyte. Trine 2 was released in December 2011 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, with later ports to the Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Trine 2 included the series' first downloadable content pack, the Goblin Menace. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power was released for personal computers in August 2015 with later ports for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Trine 3 veered from the previous games by making the gameplay based on 3D platforming, rather than the 2.5D of the previous two games, and generally was not as well-received due to this change. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince was released in October 2019 for personal computer, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, with a return to the 2.5D style of the first two games. Alongside Trine 4, the Trine: Ultimate Collection has been released containing all four games and additional content released up to that point as well as physical collectible items for the physical version of the game. Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy was released on August 31, 2023.


title: Craig Rousseau

text: In 2001 Rousseau began work at Image Comics by drawing Tellos: The Last Heist, when he was paired with legendary inker Terry Austin. During this time he branched out and worked for companies such as Beckett (Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai) and Portal Productions Studio (Bots!!). He also began work at Marvel, illustrating an issue of X-Men: First Class, and Marvel Adventures Super Heroes. He also returned to DC to illustrate their children's safety book, Energy & Safety Adventures with the JLA. In 2008 he was the regular artist on the second series of Marvel's Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, a job that he relished for its change of pace. In a recent interview he stated, "It's a breath of fresh air since it's not so much costumes and superheroes. It's a lot of acting and facial expressions which can be a lot of fun. I'm at the point now where issue five is wrapping up and I'm going on to more mainstream superhero stuff, so it'll be nice to do more fight scenes and stuff like that. But the teenage girl stuff has been kinda fun."


title: Craig Rousseau

text: In 2001 Rousseau helped develop and co-create the series Perhapanauts with writer Todd DeZago. Rousseau and DeZago had previously worked together on DC's Impulse title and DeZago pitched the initial idea for Perhapanauts. "When I first pitched The Perhapanauts to Craig," says DeZago, "I think I told him that it would be part X-Files, part Mission: Impossible, and part Archie comic. (I had imagined that it would be a Saturday morning cartoon of a comic book; a spooky Scooby-Doo-type adventure, and then a few pages of Archie-like jokes and gags.) As the first issues unfolded, however, with our concept still fairly ambiguous, we found that it was developing its own voice, its own 'flavor', and, like parents with a young child, we let it go and discover its own identity." Together the duo took the concept to Dark Horse Comics where a mini-series was published, after which DeZago and Rousseau moved to Image Comics. The reasons for the move included a perception of apathy for the series on the part of Dark Horse. "Craig and I were feeling zero love from Dark Horse," said DeZago, "They did nothing at all to promote our second series, Second Chances, when it came out and were very slow at getting back to us with any sales or financial information. People would come up to our table and claim that they had never even heard of the book. Craig and I would go to shows/conventions and find that Dark Horse didn't even have our book at their booth!" Once the title had moved from Dark Horse, Image Comics subsequently discarded the mini-series concept and relaunched the title as an ongoing series and it now appears as a quarterly title.


title: Samurai Shodown

text: The first anime OVA, the two-part Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaeden, serves as a preface to the events of Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage. Character designs were done by Aoi Nanase, a longtime fan of SNK. Unlike most game-based anime, the voices were supplied by the same actors as in the game. It is relatively obscure, never having been released in the U.S., and the prospect of licensing is dim at best, as it offers no introduction to any of the characters, assuming (not unreasonably) that anyone watching it is likely to be familiar with the series and its cast already. The story mainly revolves on Nakoruru and her humanistic ideals: she believes that anyone with a heart has the right to live peacefully. Shiki, though apparently free from Yuga's influence, is recognized as a threat for the sorcerer's return and it was through Nakoruru's reasonings that previously saved her life from Haohmaru. Nakoruru finds her and then struggles to peacefully defend her from her pursuers, which include Haohmaru, Galford, and Asura. Though torn because of her morals and pacifistic nature, Nakoruru eventually agrees to draw her blade and fight for those who need protecting. Despite being wounded in his final skirmish with Nakoruru, Asura stabs Shiki and they both sink into a portal to the underworld. Making peace with her blood-thirsty alter ego, the Ainu priestess leaves Kamui Kotan, hoping to find news of Shiki's safety.


title: Winmalee High School

text: Being designed fairly recently in 1985 Winmalee High School is of architectural significance; the building is an example of Modern Architecture. It is one of the only High Schools in the Blue Mountains with wheel-chair access into a large percentage of the school which was added recently. 2008 saw the opening of the Performing Arts Centre at the rear of the main hall. The Performing Arts Centre was designed to cater for drama and small performances as well as a rehearsal space and holding room for the biennial school Musical. The school has a wide range of rooms, including general 'learning spaces', science laboratories, 11 computer labs, specialty music rooms, art studios, large wood and metal technology rooms, textiles and food technology labs, one of which has recently been refitted with new restaurant quality commercial equipment. A new trade training centre has been built as part of the Applied Technology faculty adjoining the newly refurbished food technology lab. A new fitness centre has also recently been built for PDHPE lessons.


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: In Java, forest fires burned in West Java and Mount Merapi, Central Java. A forest fire, which trapped hikers and killed at least seven of them on Mount Lawu in Magetan Regency in East Java, was later reported to have been caused by a bonfire. This incident caused local areas to be evacuated. The haze in Palangkaraya was so thick that it turned the air yellow and exceeded the 'dangerous' threshold by 10 times. The annual parliamentary meeting was interrupted, as the smoke from outside entered the room, causing all of the politicians to use masks and tissues in the room. Most schools in the affected area were closed until further notice due to the haze. In Riau and Palembang, students were advised to go to school only twice a week. Sometimes they did not even go to school for a whole week due to the haze, causing wide concern among parents and government officials. At least ten companies, seven of which are foreign companies, were declared as the prime suspects for fire in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Two of the companies' certificates were suspended by the government. Indonesian president Joko Widodo ordered all hospitals and puskesmas (community health clinics) to be open for 24 hours. On 20 October, there were 825 new hotspots in Sumatra, with the visibility in Riau deteriorating to 50 meters. Around 66 flights in Pekanbaru were cancelled. At noon, the haze worsened as the air became yellow. The Government of Riau, later made a statement that the haze crisis has killed their citizens slowly by suffocating them.


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: Unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) readings were recorded in 24 areas in the states of Sarawak, with Selangor and Langkawi in Kedah being the worst hit by the haze. Residents with asthma and pulmonary problems were told to stay indoors until the air quality in their areas improved. Malaysia's aviation and maritime sectors were put on high alert following a worsening in view of the reduced visibility caused by the haze. The education ministry stated all schools had to close if the API readings surpassed 200. As a result, on 15 September, schools in the four states of Sarawak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca together with the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were ordered to close temporarily. On 3 October, the officials decided to cancel the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015 due to the worsening haze. On 4 October, as haze reached unhealthy levels in many parts of the country, the government announced that all states except for Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak were to close schools again for two days. The API in Shah Alam, Selangor even hit the hazardous level of 308. Until 20 October, around 1,909,842 students from 3,029 schools in Malaysia were affected, which increased to 2,696,110 students and 4,778 schools by 22 October. Flights were also delayed and cancelled in the east coast of Sabah due to continuous haze from Kalimantan. It was a concern in the week leading up to the 2015 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix as the event could have come under threat of haze.


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: As of 3 October, the Philippine island of Cebu suffered its seventh straight day of haze. Therefore, it was suspected, although not confirmed, that the haze was originating from Indonesian and not local sources, possibly as a result of monsoon winds blowing north-east from fires in Indonesia towards the direction of the central Philippines. As a result, some Philippine aircraft had difficulties landing at Mactan–Cebu International Airport. Visual Flight Rules in the country were suspended, so that "only airline operations using airplanes with instrument flying capabilities are allowed to take off and land". The Philippines at first did not believe haze from Indonesia was reaching the country, but later suspected it was due to the fact that the haze did not disappear within a day as per the usual haze that is particular to the region of Cebu City. Gerry Bagtasa, an atmospheric scientist, however concluded that the haze in Cebu was both from Indonesian and local sources due to several factors including effects by Typhoon Koppu, locally known as Typhoon Lando, and the north-east monsoon. The interaction made a pocket of air above Cebu where a visible haze accumulated. Bagtasa said that the haze had already reached the island of Mindanao and other parts of Visayas when it was reported in Cebu but was too thin to be visible.


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: Residents and non-governmental organisations in Riau and Central Kalimantan complained about the lack of aid and inaction from the Indonesian government over the ongoing forest fires. An NGO (non-governmental organisation) called the "Mandate of People's Suffering" as well as some Riau residents even wrote to the Malaysian government requesting aid. Some residents and leaders in Riau claimed that the central government was intentionally providing a slow and inadequate response, although the situation had been worsening over time. They explained that foreign aid had been blocked, even though the government had shown an inability to combat the fires itself, and that sub-standard masks were handed out to locals. The Indonesian government was also criticised for promising to cut CO2 emissions by 20% but failing to provide any commitment to zero deforestation as the country has overtaken Brazil in terms of deforestation. Indonesia has received a new record from the Guinness World Records as the country with the fastest destruction of forest due to fire. During the crisis, Indonesia surpassed the United States as the second largest producer of CO2 in the world due to the haze, just behind China. The haze, which sent air pollution levels up to 'very unhealthy' levels in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, also affected the Pacific nations of Guam, Palau and the Northern Marianas. Guam's Office of Homeland Security and Civil Defence spokesperson Jenna Gaminde warned the public to expect the haze to reduce visibility and adversely affect those with respiratory issues. Western Melanesia was currently susceptible to winds from Typhoon Koppu and Champi pulling smoke plumes from vast fires in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The World Resources Institute said in an October report that since early September, carbon emissions from the fires had exceeded average US daily output on 26 out of 44 days. If the haze continues until next year, the haze could be the worst haze crisis in Southeast Asia since the 1997 Southeast Asia haze. Robert Field, a NASA scientist from Columbia University, stated:


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: Indonesia – President Joko Widodo has instructed government agencies to revoke the permits of any palm oil companies involved in the burning of forests and urged the arrest of those responsible. While Jokowi conceded in September 2015 that the recurrent haze was "not a problem that you can solve quickly", he insisted that Indonesia had "gone to great lengths" to tackle the problem, and declared: "You will see results soon and in three years we will have solved this". Around 25,000 Indonesian National Armed Forces troops had been deployed to battle the fires. While Indonesian Member of Parliament (MP) Hamdhani Mukhdar Said apologised to both Malaysia and Singapore over the haze, Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla restated his position that Indonesia has no obligation to apologise to neighbouring countries for the haze caused by "forest fires" lasting "a month at the most" when these countries were not "grateful" for the "months" of "fresh air from our green environment and our forests when there are no fires". In a separate speech, Kalla said that Indonesia is "open", and requested that "Singapore, please come if you want to help. Don't just talk". However, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar had earlier rejected any Singaporean offers to help Indonesia by stating that Indonesia had enough resources to deal with the crisis. October saw the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) requesting help from Malaysia, Singapore or other countries to secure bigger aerial firefighting aircraft for Indonesia, around the same time as the Indonesian cabinet finally agreed to receive international help with the crisis, with President Jokowi declaring that Indonesia was now "working with a number of countries including Singapore", and other officials saying that Russia had also offered to help. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung explained why Indonesia had earlier rejected Singapore's help, saying that "if we are assisted, the government does not want them to claim the credit".


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: Malaysia – Prime Minister Najib Razak has demanded Indonesia take action against companies responsible for illegal forest fires blanketing parts of Southeast Asia in smoke, adding "Only Indonesia alone can gather evidence and convict the companies concerned". Meanwhile, Malaysian Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid has stated "We will not compromise with anything that may bring harm to our children in schools". The Malaysian government has called Indonesia to ratify a new memorandum of understanding to tackle transboundary haze. According to Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar the MoU would let both countries "assisting and exchange ideas with each other in the case of jungle and peat soil fires while requiring Indonesia to comply with its side of the bargain". The Fire and Rescue Department of Sarawak has ready to assist in putting out peat fires in Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia if it is instructed to do. Malaysian military has also offered to help Indonesia to fight fires in both Sumatra and Kalimantan as stated by Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.


title: 2015 Southeast Asian haze

text: Singapore – On 3 June 2015, preceding both the dry season and the 2015 haze crisis, the Singaporean government offered Indonesia an 'assistance package' to combat haze; Singapore said assistance had been "consistently" offered "since 2005". The 2015 offer included three C-130 aircraft, one Chinook helicopter and a Singapore Civil Defence Force team. The offer to deal with the crisis was again reiterated to Indonesia in September when Singapore was then affected by the haze. At first, Indonesia accepted the offers but rejected it under a recent statement by its Environment and Forestry Minister as confirmed by its ministry's chief spokesman, Mr Eka Soegiri. Singapore has since reiterated the offer according to its former Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Dr Vivian also delivered Singapore's national statement at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit 2015 on 27 September 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York US. The Summit has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a long-term global development framework that includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In the statement, Minister Balakrishnan also called for closer regional and international co-operation on the issue of transboundary haze pollution in Southeast Asia. On 7 October 2015, after the haze had affected parts of Southeast Asia for more than a month, Indonesia finally accepted Singapore's offer to help. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the request was sent via the Indonesian embassy in Singapore.


title: Robert Johnson (Louisiana politician)

text: Johnson was an unsuccessful candidate in Louisiana's 5th congressional district special election held on October 19, 2013. Among fourteen candidates, he finished fifth with 9,971 votes (10 percent). He won a majority in his own Avoyelles Parish and finished with a plurality as well in East Feliciana, one of the Florida Parishes. Johnson finished just behind Clyde C. Holloway, the fourth-place candidate and a Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from Johnson's neighboring Rapides Parish. Holloway polled 11,250 votes (11 percent). The two top vote getters, both Republicans from northeastern Louisiana, State Senator Neil Riser of Columbia in Caldwell Parish and political newcomer, Vance McAllister, a businessman from the Monroe area, meet in the November 16 runoff election to choose a new representative to succeed Republican Rodney Alexander, who resigned in September to join the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal. While Riser has the support of three sitting U.S. representatives from Louisiana, McAllister shot to a runoff berth with the celebrity endorsement of Phil Robertson of the A&E Network's Duck Dynasty television series.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: A core issue to net neutrality is how ISPs should be classified under the Communications Act of 1934 as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996: as either Title I "information services" or Title II "common carrier services". The classification determines the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) authority over ISPs: the FCC would have significant ability to regulate ISPs if classified as common carriers, but would have little control over them if classified as information services. Because the Communications Act has not been amended by Congress to account for ISPs, the FCC has the authority to designate how ISPs are classified, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in the case National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n v. Brand X Internet Services , in addition to choosing what regulations to set on common carriers. The five member FCC commission changes with each new administration, and no more than three members may be of the same political party, thus the FCC's attitudes and rule-making regarding net neutrality shifts relatively frequently.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: The ideas underlying net neutrality have a long pedigree in telecommunications practice and regulation. Services such as telegrams and the phone network (officially, the public switched telephone network or PSTN) have been considered common carriers under U.S. law since the Mann–Elkins Act of 1910, which means that they have been akin to public utilities and expressly forbidden to give preferential treatment. The Communications Act of 1934 created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the industry and ensure fair pricing and access. Different titles of the Act covered different modes of communication, but primary focus on the debate of net neutrality has been on Titles I and II. The Act distinguished between common carriers, who were bound under Title II of the Act, and other telecommunication systems of the time, covered broadly under Title I. Within Title II, common carriers such as the phone networks were to be regulated by the FCC as to assure reasonable pricing rates and non-discriminatory practices. Systems under Title I were left to be unregulated by the FCC.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: Several non-cable ISPs and other industry groups sued the FCC, challenging this ruling in multiple courts. The cases were consolidated to the Ninth Circuit. In May 2003, the Ninth Circuit vacated the FCC's ruling, stating that cable ISPs had a telecommunications function and thus should be regulated under Title II. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association challenged the ruling, and while the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the case en banc, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The Court announced its judgment in June 2005. The 6–3 decision reversed the Ninth Circuit's ruling, deeming that the FCC had properly defined cable ISPs as an information service. The majority opinion relied on the Chevron deference, a principle that the judicial body gives deference to an executive agency's interpretation of legislation outlining its granted powers as long as that interpretation is reasonable and consistent. While the ruling was unfavorable for proponents of net neutrality, Brand X established that the FCC had powers to classify Internet services subject to their interpretation, which has played a key role in how net neutrality has since played out in the United States with changing administrations.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: In early 2005, in the Madison River case, the FCC for the first time showed the willingness to enforce its network neutrality principles by opening an investigation about Madison River Communications, a local telephone carrier that was blocking Vonage's voice over IP (VoIP) service in its digital subscriber line (DSL) offering to customers. At the time, while the FCC classified cable providers under Title I as an information provider (as per the Brand X case) and were unregulated, services such as DSL were still considered under Title II as a common carrier, and were bound by non-discriminatory regulation from the FCC. Nevertheless, the FCC's investigation led to a settlement between the FCC and Madison River Communications before any further litigation occurred, with Madison River agreeing to stop blocking VoIP traffic and paying a $15,000 fine. While the action did not set any precedent for the FCC's stance on net neutrality, the Madison River case was an indication the agency was willing to uphold Powell's principles. Shortly after the case was settled, the FCC issued a new rule in 2005 to reclassified DSL as a Title I information service and allowing them to operate unregulated by the FCC.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: In 2007, Comcast, the largest cable company in the US, was found to be blocking or severely delaying BitTorrent uploads on their network using a technique which involved creating 'reset' packets (TCP RST) that appeared to come from the other party. An August 2007 report by TorrentFreak (based on substantial nationwide research led by chief researcher Andrew Norton) noted that ISPs had been throttling BitTorrent traffic for almost two years, since 2005, but Comcast was completely blocking it in at least some cases. This was later verified by both the EFF and Associated Press. On March 27, 2008, Comcast and BitTorrent reached an agreement to work together on network traffic where Comcast was to adopt a protocol-neutral stance "as soon as the end of ", and explore ways to "more effectively manage traffic on its network at peak times." In December 2009, Comcast reached an out-of-court settlement of a class action lawsuit for US$16 million, admitting no wrongdoing and amounting to no more than US$16 per affected account.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: In August 2008, the FCC made its first Internet network management decision. It voted 3-to-2 to uphold a complaint against Comcast ruling that it had illegally inhibited users of its high-speed Internet service from using file-sharing software because it throttled the bandwidth available to certain customers for video files to ensure that other customers had adequate bandwidth. The FCC imposed no fine, but required Comcast to end such blocking in the year 2008, ordered Comcast to disclose the details of its network management practices within 30 days, submit a compliance plan for ending the offending practices by the end of the year, and disclose to the public the details of intended future practices. Then-FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin said the order was meant to set a precedent, that Internet providers and all communications companies could not prevent customers from using their networks the way they see fit, unless there is a good reason. In an interview Martin stated that "We are preserving the open character of the Internet" and "We are saying that network operators can't block people from getting access to any content and any applications."


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: While the 2010 Open Internet Order was generally favorable to ISPs, the issuing of the neutrality principles that would still apply to Title I information services was criticized by some ISPs. Verizon Communications challenged the order at the D.C. Circuit court in early 2011, asserting that the FCC had overstepped its authority by applying principles to Title I information services. The D.C. Circuit ruled in January 2014 to vacate the blocking and discrimination principles from the 2010 Open Internet Order while upholding other parts. The decision determined that the FCC improperly relied on Section 706 of the amended Communications Act, which gives the FCC authority to incentivize the deployment of telecommunications services to all Americans including those in rural and low-income areas. The FCC had relied on Section 706's language that they had authority to "promulgate rules governing broadband providers' treatment of Internet traffic" to apply these rules to Title I information services. The Court ruled that ISPs were still specifically treated as Title I information services by the FCC, and for the FCC to be able to regulate aspects like blocking or discrimination, they would specifically have to be cataloged as telecommunication common carriers under Title II. The court agreed that FCC can regulate broadband in a general manner and may craft more specific rules that stop short of identifying service providers as common carriers.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: As a response to the DC Circuit Court's decision, a dispute developed as to whether net neutrality could be guaranteed under existing law, or if reclassification of ISPs was needed to ensure net neutrality. Wheeler stated that the FCC had the authority under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to regulate ISPs, while others, including President Obama, supported reclassifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Critics of Section 706 point out that the section has no clear mandate to guarantee equal access to content provided over the internet, while subsection 202(a) of the Communications Act states that common carriers cannot "make any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services." Advocates of net neutrality have generally supported reclassifying ISPs under Title II, while FCC leadership and ISPs have generally opposed such reclassification. The FCC stated that if they reclassified ISPs as common carriers, the commission would selectively enforce Title II, so that only sections relating to broadband would apply to ISPs.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: Public response was heated, pointing out FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's past as a president and CEO of two major ISP-related organizations, and the suspicion of bias towards the profit-motives of ISPs as a result. Shortly afterwards, during late April 2014, the contours of a document leaked that indicated that the FCC under Wheeler would consider promulgating rules allowing Internet service providers (ISPs) to violate net neutrality principles by making it easier for Internet users to access certain content — whose owners paid fees to the ISPs (including cable companies and wireless ISPs) — and harder to access other content, thus undermining the traditional open architecture of the Internet. These plans received substantial backlash from activists, the mainstream press, and some other FCC commissioners. In May 2014, over 100 Internet companies — including Google, Microsoft, eBay, and Facebook — signed a letter to Wheeler voicing their disagreement with his plans, saying they represented a "grave threat to the Internet".


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: Several of the telecom groups petitioned the Supreme Court for writ of certiorari following the Court of Appeals ruling, ultimately falling under the case name Berninger v. Federal Communications Commission (Docket 17-489). The petition argued that the FCC did not have the power to issue the Open Internet Order, which required a re-interpretation of the Communications Act of 1934, under the Chevron deference. On November 5, 2018, seven members of the Court denied the petition, leaving in place the Court of Appeals ruling, which established that the FCC had the ability to reclassify Internet under Title II. Chief Justice John Roberts abstained due to financial conflict, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh abstained due to his previous involvement with the case history. Three Justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch had recommended accepting the petition as to order a Munsingwear vacatur, in which the Appeals Court order would have been vacated, returned to that court, and have the case rendered moot due to the more recent 2018 FCC order that reversed the Open Internet Order.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: Shortly after his inauguration in January 2017, President Trump appointed Ajit Pai as the new chairman of the FCC. Pai had previously been nominated to fill one of the required Republican seats on the commission by President Obama under the recommendation of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Pai, who objected to the 2015 Open Internet Order, quickly began to roll back some of the policies that had been implemented by the FCC during the Obama administration, and halted an investigation into the use of zero-rating by U.S. wireless providers. After his appointment, Pai stated that he planned to "modernize" FCC policies to "match the reality of the modern marketplace", but was unsure over whether the FCC would continue to enforce the net neutrality rules or Title II classification of broadband services established in the 2015 Open Internet Order. Pai stated his opposition to the current net neutrality rules as they were "regulating against hypothetical harms", rather than trying to correct actual anti-competitive behavior, and that there was no need for such wide-spread government intervention when there were only a few companies that may be harming consumers or innovators. Pai argued that net neutrality rules also would "prohibit a number of pro-competitive business arrangements" and "would reduce investments" into extending the Internet infrastructure. By April 2017, Pai had indicated that the FCC would likely propose to roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order, reverting the classification of ISPs as Title II common carriers, and instead have ISPs to "voluntarily" commit to net neutrality principles, with violations to be covered by the Federal Trade Commission rather than the FCC. On April 29, 2017, a clearer understanding of the latest net neutrality compromise proposal was described.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: On May 18, 2017, the FCC voted 2–1 to move forward with Pai's Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on "Restoring Internet freedom" rules by rolling back net neutrality regulations. The new rules were published for public viewing on July 17, 2017. The FCC supported their rules by arguing that the classification of ISPs as Title II carriers had caused them to reduce their capital expenditures in new infrastructure, threatening the future of the nation's telecommunication systems. The FCC cited a drop of approximately $1 billion in capital spending by telecoms between 2014 and 2015, based on data from the United States Telecom Association and similar figures from industry consultant Hal Singer, to demonstrate this. Analysts stated that the FCC had cherry picked this data, as about 75% of the annual changes in capital spending by telecoms between the period of 1996 to 2015 were decreases of at least $1 billion. In her dissent to this NPRM, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn wrote, "I have yet to see a credible analysis that suggests that broadband provider capital expenditures have declined as a result of our 2015 Open Internet Order. ... Using the same logic that the NPRM uses, one could suggest that the FCC's classification of cable modem service as an information service in 2002 resulted in an even more precipitous drop in broadband provider investment."


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: One of the first studies performed after the closure of the public commenting period, done on behalf of Broadband for America, which sought to repeal the Obama-era rules, found that 60% of the comments were in favor of retaining the current rules. However, the study also identified a large number of duplicate comments; if these were taken out, the unique comments favoring retaining the current rules far outweighed those seeking repeal, 1.52 million to 23,000. During and after the public commenting period, analysts reviewed the public comments and observed that a significant proportion of those using boilerplate language in support of repealing the rules had used names and addresses off known spam databases, and of those who were willing and able to be contacts asserts they left no such comment for the FCC. At least twenty-four people listed by the FCC as giving anti-net neutrality comments signed an open letter to the FCC in May 2017 requesting the comments they were asserted to have made to be removed from public record. The FCC's system for public comments, the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), came under scrutiny: it uses an open application programming interface (API), along keys to that provided by the FCC, to submit comments, making it exploitable for mass-messaging.


title: Net neutrality in the United States

text: A separate FOIA request was made by The New York Times as well as the website Gizmodo for records pertaining to the API key logs from the ECFS, which were granted after journalists from the works filed suit against the FCC's initial denial. Data analysis led by The New York Times and Gizmodo to review the logs against those of the duplicated comments. They concluded that the duplicated comments were coming from submissions through the API assigned to CQ Roll Call, which does offer advocacy software to clients for this purpose. Gizmodo found the comments tied to the name of those that had signed the May 2017 open letter to the FCC, matching this pattern. Separately, Gizmodo found the language of the duplicated comments shares many similarities with statements made by the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), which had been outspoken against net neutrality of the page. Due to these investigations, CQ Roll Call, CFIF, and several other advocacy groups with access to CQ Roll Call's had been called for questioning within the New York State case against the FCC. In May 2020, Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the FCC must provide The New York Times the IP addresses of all the comments from this commenting period. Judge Schofield stated that despite the FCC's claims of privacy issues, the request by the newspaper was valid to examine if any fraudulent activity interfered during the public commenting period towards the issue if the FCC's decision to repeal was "vulnerable to corruption".